On Mon, Dec 09, 2002 at 05:45:02AM -0800, Jimmy Wales wrote:
Our process should not be a competitive process of posting POV claims and daring others to fix them.
I'm not so sure this is a good general rule. Probably if used in too many cases or taken to extremes then it is a bad thing, but used sensibly it can be a good thing in my opinion.
If I start an article about something controversial and I stick to a bland NPOV stub, chances are it'll get ignored or only get minor corrections and additions. If I start with a blatantly biased stub which makes outrageous claims, you can almost guarantee one or more gangs of people will become very interested in expanding the article.
Of course, once you've "hooked" some people, you have to revert to being fair and neutral otherwise it's counter-productive.
Consensus and niceness are good things, but contention and argument drive the wheel faster and produce more comprehensive results.