On 2/26/07, Berto 'd Sera <albertoserra(a)ukr.net> wrote:
Writing an encyclopedia is not enough to get rid of
POV (cfr soviet
encyclopedia, fascist Treccani, catholic encyclopedias, etc).
Well, we're not the Catholic Encyclopedia, we're the free
encyclopedia. There is no POV implicit in our mission. That said, the
most recent version of our mission statement (which is currently in
the resolution stage for voting by the Board) states that our mission
is to create "neutral educational content"; making this part of the
WMF Mission Statement seems to be uncontroversial among the Board and
I expect that this will become official soon.
It's not enough to get rid of advertising, as many
such online publications DO
show ads.
Wikimedia doesn't and has no intention to. That said, it doesn't seem
appropriate in a mission statement.
And it's not enough to get rid of original
research, since it's
perfectly normal for other encyclopedias to publish (sometimes even to
prepare) such material.
Indeed, and the boundaries are very hard to define as well -- this is
why it is important to be careful with blanket statements that apply
to all projects in all languages. Both Wikinews & Wikiversity do
permit original research within limits, and Wikipedia might in some
way feature such original content. I'm not saying it shouldn't be in
a Wikipedia mission statement -- I'm saying it shouldn't be rushed.
--
Peace & Love,
Erik
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