[WikiEN-l] The Censorship Lie

Wed Feb 16 19:01:05 UTC 2005

On Wed, 16 Feb 2005 09:10:12 -0800 (PST), Christopher Mahan
<chris_mahan at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> An encyclopedia is an exposition, a knowledge book, of mankind's
> experience on this planet. All subjects are by definition required.
> Leaving some out for a purpose means we will have failed at making a
> good encyclopedia.

When I was younger, my idea of a good encyclopaedia was Britannica or
World Book. I'd go to World Book to look something up, get distracted
by an article on the way and the next time I re-entered the real world
several pleasant hours had passed.

But if World Book had had Wikipedia's [[Autofellatio]] article, my
mother would have picked up the whole set and burnt it in the back
yard. Thirty years later I'm a parent, and I know that my teenage kids
and I would be more likely to laugh at such an image than anything
else, but I still think such material has no place in a good
encyclopaedia.

And guess what? If you look at what the general public regards as good
encyclopaedias in this day and age, you'll see no Autofellatio, no
Goatse, no terrorist beheadings. I suggest that the people who think
that such material belongs in a good encyclopaedia are a tiny
minority.

For my part, I think this sort of stuff devalues Wikipedia.
-- 
Peter in Canberra