[WikiEN-l] Illegal sources

Fri Apr 7 10:20:42 UTC 2006

Keith Old wrote:
> On 4/7/06, Stephen Bain <stephen.bain at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Here's a problem: what happens when the contents of an article can
>> only be verified by relying on sources which are illegal to view?
>>
>> The issue has arisen in the context of the article currently known as
>> [[2004 Ukranian child pornography raids]]
>> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Ukranian_child_pornography_raids>.
>>
>> The article has changed now, but much of the content (describing the
>> pornography-producing organisation, aswell as describing the actual
>> material produced) was based on the assertions of those who had viewed
>> the content. On a couple of occasions, when sources were asked for in
>> relation to particular claims in the article, users provided links to
>> the Internet Archive's stored copy of the pornographic website.
>>
>> Based on the descriptions given in the news sources, it would be
>> illegal for me (and for most others) to view this content, and thus it
>> would be illegal for me to verify the article. Thus, from my
>> perspective, the article is unverifiable.
>>
>> I think it would be very much a matter of common sense to alter
>> [[WP:V]] and [[WP:RS]] to prohibit the use of illegal sources to
>> verify articles. But the question is where should the line of
>> definition be drawn? Laws vary substantially across jurisdictions.
>> Should we prohibit reliance on sources which are illegal to view in
>> Florida? Laws are much stricter in other countries: New Zealand
>> springs to mind as an example, but there are other countries where I
>> am sure the laws are even stricter.
>>
> 
> I think that content that cannot be verified other than by accessing illegal
> materials is unverifiable. As well, our policy on sourcing requires reliable
> third-party sources. Thus a Reuters report for example on the raids would be
> deemed to be a reliable source. A cached copy of the material is not a
> reliable third party source quite apart from its illegality.
> 

Wouldn't it also count as Original Research?

-- 
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