[WikiEN-l] WP:LIVING and "sensitivity" again

[Stephen Bain]

On 8/30/06, Matt Brown <morven at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Very much agreed.  I am very against any suggestion that strongly
> sourced, accurate negative information that is relevant to the
> person's notability/notoriety should be removed from articles for
> 'sensitivity'.
>
> I am in favor of being very tough about the 'well sourced' part,
> though, and about the notability of life details.  Not everything
> about their private lives that has been e.g. dragged out in divorce
> court is really notable.

The term "sensitivity" is somewhat awkward, and needs defining. To me
it's a manifestation of the undue weight problem recognised by NPOV,
the problem that comes when well sourced, accurate negative
information is given disproportionate attention.

I'm sure we've all seen bios on WP which consist of not much more than
negative information, which people have trouble editing down, or
editing back into context, because it's sourced and thus sacrosanct.

Undue weight happens everywhere, and we want to correct it everywhere,
we just like to say what we're doing is "sensitivity" on BLP articles
because it's a little more human.

-- 
Stephen Bain
stephen.bain at gmail.com