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What policies should we put in place around photo descriptions?

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We haven't defined any clear policies around photo descriptions yet. However, it would be good to do so. That could be very basic as in what is the description for and what should you generally include in there, but there could also be more specific rules around what (not) to include. For instance, in a recent photo it reads the following:

> In the foreground you can also see the monument that exists of the colonizer and tyrant Christopher Columbus.

While I personally may sympathize with this particular labeling, it does introduce a level of complexity when we introduce these kinds of qualitative statements about people (and the same of course applies if we were to describe companies, cities, countries, religions, etc). While I don't think there is a concrete or increased risk that this will get out of hand in any way on our website, I do think that it's better to prevent potentially difficult discussions or disagreements down the road. So what I would therefore propose is that we try to create some sort of set of policies or conventions when it comes to writing up descriptions. I guess this should apply not just to photo descriptions, but also to the wider range of text and articles published on our site.

My questions are:

  • Do people think it is good/useful to have these kinds of policies in place?
  • If so, do you have suggestions for what we should put in there, how we should define these policies, or what direction to take?

All input is welcome!

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