Commons:Sexual content

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Revision as of 01:20, 11 December 2008 by Lar (talk | contribs) (talk page makes it clear this is rejected.)
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The Commons community has rejected this guideline, policy, or process.

A failed proposal is one for which a consensus to accept is not present after a reasonable amount of time, and seems unlikely to form, regardless of continuing discussion. References or links to this page must not describe it as "policy".

This tag is designed primarily to communicate status to other commons volunteers, and isn't intended to prohibit further development of ideas or proposals. It's probably not a good idea for those working on the proposal page itself to remove this tag unilaterally, but above all - remember that it's just a tag! - Be Mellow :-)

Wikimedia projects are not censored, which in practice means that we permit Sexual content in many areas. This proposal aims to work towards establishing a broad community consensus on what types of images serve the project well in which contexts, and where exactly we 'set the bar' on Sexual content on Wikimedia Commons.

For many reasons, it is sensible to apply rigour in establishing the usefulness of material broadly construed as 'sexual content' within Wikimedia. Any material which on balance serves a useful purpose should be preserved.

Important related information

The Commons policy on censorship is based on the principle that we don't omit anything to protect the readers. This proposal is based on the idea that we might voluntarily choose to develop a clear set of standards relating to sexual content on Wikimedia Commons.

policy / internal 'Wikipedia' pages

pages detailing external considerations

Current Practice

The MediaWiki:Bad image list

We currently have a list of images which have been used for disruption, or where there is sufficient similarity to an existing 'bad image' that there is a substantial likelihood that the image will be used for disruption. In practice, this list is strongly geared towards explicit sexual content.

In some ways, this represents a kind of policy for explicit images, although is essentially reactive as oppose to proactive, and there may be problems such as scalability (the list recommends a size of 10K or less). Further, inclusion on the list seems somewhat arbitrary, with unclear specific criteria aside from the general prevalence of sexual content - there is much sexual content of a similar nature to some of the images on this list not currently listed. Please feel free to work up a proposal below for how we might utilise this technical method of restriction image use in regard to sexual content on Wikipedia.

Proposal 1 - Sexual content restricted from userspace

Sexual content is restricted from userspace. Hyperlinking to such material is acceptable.

Proposal 2 - A sexual content flag

See also w:Wikipedia:Descriptive_image_tagging

The community could support the creation of a 'sexual content flag' - which allows users to choose whether or not explicit content (perhaps judged loosely by the 'safe for work' bar) will appear. This may be achievable through some implementation of the flagged revisions extension, or require further development.

If such a flag were technically feasible, then it may further be sensible to develop a policy surrounding the terms of use - for example inviting users to confirm that they are of a certain age, and that certain material is legal in their jurisdiction etc. - this is similar to the approach taken at Flickr for example.

Proposal 3 - Model ages, releases, and personality rights

See also Commons:Non-copyright restrictions

It is self-evidently responsible to apply particular rigour in establishing model release, and the age of models in all sexual content. The community may work on proposals to increase confidence that all images are legal, and appropriately released. The uploader, and those wishing retain the image for an encyclopedic purpose, should endeavor to provide some evidence that the content is suitable for inclusion.

Current System

Assume good faith of uploader - a trust based system. Little specific information outside licensing currently required or invited to be submitted

Additional Measures

  • Ask uploaders to confirm the age of models in media containing sexual content
  • Delete sexual content tagged with the 'personality rights' template as potentially harmful.
  • Integrate the OTRS system to allow some evidence to be submitted
  • Delete Sexual content where no information concerning model ages and release is present
  • Clarify existing practice in terms of explicit imagery - what material is desirable, what material is less useful etc.

Further Proposals

Please feel free to use this space, and the talk page, to develop ideas and further policy work in this area.

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