[WikiEN-l] NPOV is not "objectivity"

[Poor, Edmund W]

Some Wikipedians have been using the terms NPOV and POV as synonyms for
"objective" and "biased", respectively. This is an error, if I may say
so.

Jimbo and Larry established the "Neutral Point of View" as the official
standard for Wikipedia. This means that when facts are in dispute, we
write ABOUT that dispute, rather than trying to settle it. Thus we say X
said Y about Z rather than "Y is true".

Some contributors, possibly Khranus among them, want articles to reflect
REALITY and OBJECTIVE TRUTH. That is all well and good, for the 99% of
topics which are uncontroversial. 

It is when contributors disagree about what is real and objectively
true, that we need to write from the Neutral Point of View. We must say,
for example, that some people believe dolphins are smarter than human
beings, while other people consider their intelligence to be much less
than that of humans. 

We cannot and must not try to ANSWER the question, "Are dolphins
smarter?" with a yes or no answer. We can only describe the various
Points of View (POV) of researchers in the field, as well as science
fiction writers, drama writers, historical legends or anything else
which relates to the question.

Please, please understand that NPOV is not "objective truth".

Ed Poor, aka Uncle Ed