Wiki Community/Inappropriate Content

For discussion of Inappropriate Content by the Wiki Community.

Two general categories:

1. Content that is inappropriate (any content that is illegal, non-family safe content, content not relevant to Davis)

2. Uses of the Wiki that are inappropriate (Spam, SEO Spam, a forum for debate of unresolvable issues)

See also existing discussion on Wiki Ethics about what should be taboo on the wiki, will copy that over here as well.

Should anything be taboo? If so, what?

Possible ideas (add what you want, even if it's just a bud of an idea):

• Threats of any kind. Threatening other users is totally inappropriate.
• Libel (spreading lies via print)
• Creating pages that intentionally mislead users. This is not to say that dramatic or humorous wording is disallowed; just that it should be clear to an average reader when something is true versus when something is a joke or tongue in cheek.
• Anything that might legally be construed as "Hate". Legally considered hate? There are only two places where the law considers "hate speech" to be problematic. The first is when it causes imminent danger. The second is in an employment context.
• Confrontational speech is usually edited or removed. Controversial statements should be attributed to those who say them.
• Derisive commentary motivated by gender, race, orientation or political beliefs (I've removed a number of really derisive comments about the campus conservatives lately - really I find it as offensive as any of the more "commonly recognized" forms of discrimination - there's no place for it here -KrisFricke)
• Personal information regarding an individual without their permission. Some leeway might be acceptable for public figures. When in doubt, get permission.
• Pornography
• Does this include links to pornography websites? (they are easy to find) Please have someone explain specifics. -GabeKoulikov
• Depends on the context. For instance, there was a porn shoot done on a local bridge. A link to the gallery (with an appropriate warning) would make sense. A link on somebody's personal page may well make sense (if the person is a photographer, model, etc). A link in the middle of the entry on free-trade coffee probably wouldn't make sense. There are exceptions to taboos (which is why they are taboos, not hard rules), but only ones where it makes sense and adds to the wiki. Do you have any examples? — jw

See also: Unethical Editing, Wiki Social Norms, and Welcome to the Wiki. Also, when it comes to flames, see Insults.

2009-07-29 12:02:09   A long time ago, the occasional vulgarity level was an issue. This was when the DavisWiki was possibly going to be used in local schools, and people wanted to censor out most usage of the F-word to that effect, to make it more friendly and if not PG, than PG-13. —EdWins