<CPOV> image filter referendum

[Geert Lovink]

http://news.slashdot.org/story/11/08/19/1236235/Wikipedia-May-Censor-Images

"To appease 'morality' watchdogs, Wikipedia is contemplating the  
introduction of a censorship feature, where images would be flagged  
for containing sexual references, nudity, 'mass graves,' and so on. At  
least in the initial implementation, it is supposed to be 'opt-in.'  
However, with such precedents as the UK censoring artistic nudity,  
Turkey censoring references to the Armenian genocide or China's stance  
on information about the Tiananmen massacre (note that any sensitive  
photos, like the Tank Man, are already absent!), I find it quite hard  
to believe this feature won't be mandatory for some groups of readers  
— whether it's thanks to an oppressive government, an ISP or a school."

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Wikimedia Referendum, 2011" <improve at wikimedia.org>
> Date: 19 August 2011 4:10:12 PM
> To: Glovink <geert at xs4all.nl>
> Subject: Image filter referendum
>
> Dear Glovink,
>
> You are eligible to vote in the image filter referendum, a  
> referendum to gather more input into the development and usage of an  
> opt-in personal image hiding feature. This feature will allow  
> readers to voluntarily screen particular types of images strictly  
> for their own accounts.
>
> Its purpose is to enable readers to easily hide images on the  
> Wikimedia projects that they do not wish to view, either when first  
> viewing the image or ahead of time through individual preference  
> settings. The feature is intended to benefit readers by offering  
> them more choice, and to that end it will be made as user-friendly  
> and simple as possible. We will also make it as easy as possible for  
> editors to support. For its development, we have created a number of  
> guiding principles, but trade-offs will need to be made throughout  
> the development process. In order to aid the developers in making  
> those trade-offs, we need your help us assess the importance of each  
> by taking part in this referendum.
>
> For more information, please see http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image_filter_referendum/en 
> . To remove yourself from future notifications, please add your user  
> name at http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_nomail_list.
>