[WikiEN-l] Audience : was Re: pictures of genetalia

Tue Jan 13 17:55:58 UTC 2004

tarquin-
> In terms of material and content, we should consider the audience of all
> wikipedia languages to be international.

I agree, too, and I don't think that this precludes the inclusion of a  
circumcised penis or clitoris picture in the respective articles [[penis]]  
and [[clitoris]], as long as these images are put into proper context and  
counter balanced with images of intact organs.

The English Wikipedia should be orientated toward the English *language*.  
I don't think it should be orientated toward the English-speaking  
*culture*, if there even is such a thing. That would be inherently POV.  
Realistically of course there will always be some cultural bias, but we  
should work to eliminate it.

Ideally, in my opinion, Wikipedia articles in all languages should contain  
exactly the same information. And yes, that also means facts like "In  
Germany, circumcision is rarely practiced .." - we do have such "by  
country" sections in many articles. And yes, this also means that  
"cultural sensibilities" are more or less irrelevant -- the only relevant  
sensibilities are those that are shared among most humans.

The NPOV principle is a serious thing. We can't sacrifice it at the altar  
of popular culture at every opportunity.

Regards,

Erik