[WikiEN-l] Re: NPOV

[The Cunctator]

> From: Sheldon Rampton
> 
> Cunctator wrote:
> 
> >A brief summary of what I'd like to see as the policy:
> >1. The ultimate goal of Wikipedia is to be neutral and authoritative.
> >2. All claims made in Wikipedia should be confirmable by outside
> >sources.
> >3. For contentious issues, provide the reasoning behind the
antagonists'
> >contentions.
> >4. Recognize that neutrality is impossible to achieve without
> >omniscience.
> >5. Eliminate ambiguity. (Make as strong claims as possible.)
> >6. Celebrate terseness. (If another entry says the same thing, link
to
> >it. Don't say it twice if possible.)
> 
> This is all well-stated, but some of this goes beyond mere editorial
> policy and reaches the status of philosophy. Maybe we need a new
> word: "wikilosophy"?

The one statement above that verges on the philosophical is #4. I
recognize that it's a philosophical point, but I think that it's a
crucial position for Wikipedians to agree upon to move past the flawed
prevailing conception of NPOV.

Another way of stating #4 is "NPOV is a goal, not a style." Our style
choices need to move us toward a NPOV. But it should be recognized as
nonsensical to say "The article was POV, I fixed it to be NPOV."

The way I stated #4 originally also contains what I believe is a central
goal of Wikipedia, which is comprehensiveness (since neutrality is a
goal, and neutrality is impossible to achieve without
comprehensiveness).