[WikiEN-l] Reply to Tony, David, and Christiaan

Wed Feb 16 15:05:22 UTC 2005

Tony Sidaway wrote:

> Bill Konrad said:
>> It's a bit of a  broad exageration to claim ALL editors would have to
>> bowlderize ALL of their  edits.
>
> No, it's absolutely true.  Just one goes and vandalizes the article on the
> American Revolution, on one day, and you'll have school governors freaking
> out.

Huh? What does the ever-present problem with vandalism have to do with 
placing images potentially offensive to many behind a link instead of inline 
(or what you seem to characterize as "bowlderizing")?

Whether some articles might contain offensive vandalism for a short time is 
a very different matter from what is accepted as appropriate content by the 
community (and by extension by the MediaWiki foundation). Both may pose 
problems to school administrators and parents regarding the suitability of 
Wikipedia for children, but the vast majority of vandalism is not much 
different from what is scrawled on bathroom walls or heard in the 
schoolyard. Given that most such vandalism is quickly removed, it is of an 
entirely different nature than more or less permanent content sanctioned by 
the community.

Bkonrad