[WikiEN-l] minor issue, but still a npov warning

Anthere anthere9 at yahoo.com
Fri Jan 14 22:40:24 UTC 2005


Cassini Huygens is today the most updated article on the net. 
Congratulations.

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This said, just a comment.

During months, the Cassini-Huygens mission was only on ONE article, 
called http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassini-Huygens.

The Huygens probe article was JUST a redirect.
It obviously did not need an article. The content about the probe (only 
european) could very well be under an article about the craftship 
(american european, with of course, american name first).

When the Huygens page was created, it was immediately made a redirect, 
with the argument : redirecting to Cassini probe, since Huygens is 
basically a subsystem of it.

Sorry, there is no such thing that as a Cassini probe. There is a 
Huygens probe.

And the Huygens probe landed, NOT the "Cassini" probe.

Only yesterday, the article was split and the real probe authorized to 
have an existence on its own.
It was not because it was a unit in itself, it was MERELY because the 
Cassini page was too big.

I forgot, a good part of the Huygens article was about its critical 
flaw. The good points were in the Cassini article.

The images of the landing were not on Huygens article, they were on 
Cassini article

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It does not matter ?

Well, I think it does.

It makes far too much light on the american part of a project and forget 
the other involved. For me, it is the perfect example of how bias is 
lightly, oh ever so lightly, included in some articles.

Without probably anyone noticing.

I am sure it was not done on purpose at all. This is just a view of 
things so different between one culture and another.

For european, this is a joint project but a european success.

For american, according to what is implied by the article division, it 
is basically an american (and a bit european) success.

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Does it matter really ?

Well, I think it does.

Go on google, and look at "Cassini-Huygens landing site".
Look at results, Wikipedia IS there.

now, look at "Huygens landing site"
Look at results, right, Wikipedia is not in the first page.
Only on the second, and only for Cassini.

This is very very small thing ?
I do not think so. Most people look at the first search page. They do 
not go further.

It is Huygens which landed. Not Cassini.
One look for a european probe and finds only an american mission.

--------

The articles are great. But the bias is there. Google has it more true 
than us.


Anthere





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