David Friedland wrote:
I would like to note that we discussed this matter in February, and although perhaps no consensus was formed on policy, I continue to stand by my statements on the topic, particularly that how-tos, recipes, and similar didactic texts are inherently POV and don't belong on Wikipedia proper.
http://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2004-February/010873.html http://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2004-February/010883.html
Note, however, that information about this kind of content is decidedly NPOV.
It is completely ridiculous to say that because the verbs in a recipe are in the imperative mood, they are inherently POV. The imperative mood can be instructive by nature, and does not imply an order to do things that will be enforced by anybody. If you don't follow the recipe the meal may be a flop, but the cook proceeds at his own risk. We have a general disclaimer which should apply when the recipe doesn't work.
But if a recipe is POV, then so too is its deletion.
This intent to delete articles of practical instruction communicates a view that the content of an encyclopedia should be restricted to a narrow and snobbishly academic range of subjects.
In any case, the point is that there is no such thing as a neutral recipe, only a neutral "meta-recipe".
If your solution were really to turn a recipe into a "meta-recipe" then go ahead and do that. It would be better than deleting, though the downside for you would be the requirement to do constructive work.
Ec