[Foundation-l] Principle and pragmatism with nudity and sexual content

Mon Apr 20 14:03:41 UTC 2009

--- On Mon, 4/20/09, Samuel Klein <meta.sj at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Samuel Klein <meta.sj at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Foundation-l] Principle and pragmatism with nudity and sexual content
> To: "Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List" <foundation-l at lists.wikimedia.org>
> Date: Monday, April 20, 2009, 3:39 AM

> On Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 1:19 AM, private musings <thepmaccount at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
> > Here's a few questions about the foundation's role in
> > ensuring the projects are responsible media hosts -
> Can the foundation play
> > a role in discussing and establishing things like what
> it means to be
> > 'collegial' and 'collaborative' on the various
> projects? Can the foundation
> > offer guidance, and dare I say it 'rules' for the
> boundaries of behaviour?
> > Is there space, beyond limiting project activities to
> legality, to offer
> > firm leadership and direction in project governance?
> >
> > I'm hoping the answer to all of the above is a careful
> 'yes'.
> 
> I believe the answer to the above, as worded, may be a
> careful 'no'.
> These are important decisions, and should be made and
> improved over
> time, but I believe it is the community's role to make them
> - and the
> foundation's to help provide interface or infrastructure to
> support
> the community's resolutions.  Feel free to elaborate
> if you disagree.
> 
> A strong and sustainable group within the community can
> absolutely
> work towards and establish the definitions and guidance you
> suggest.
> Past discussions have generally been useful, and not
> spiteful, but
> never pushed through to a resolution at least on meta and
> en:wp.
> 

I second this. Does anyone really believe it is even possible to set one standard of what it means to be 'collegial' and 'collaborative' for all cultures? These things are not absolute values and each community needs to work out what standards are most pragmatic for it's members.  There is no shortcut or appeal to authority that can solve this for en.WP.  en.WP has to do the work and find these answers from within.

Birgitte SB