[WikiEN-l] systemic bias

[charles matthews]

"Raphael Wegmann" wrote

> The systemic bias, which stems from the fact that most contributors
> are living in anglophone countries, where islamist terrorist attacks
> occured, which resulted in widespread anti-islam bias, is IMHO bad
> enough. You don't believe me? Well, read it up on [[Islamophobia]]
> and it's talk page.

There is systemic bias, no question.  This analysis is unhelpful for a few 
reasons.

- Islamist terrorist attacks are by no means limited to anglophone 
countries.
- Anti-Islam feeling is not restricted to anglophone countries either.
- The real issue with systemic bias is not that it contributes to 
_systematic_ bias.  WP policy directly targets systematic bias, since the 
NPOV policy says quite clearly that it is not acceptable.  It may be there, 
but it is not acceptable in the encyclopedia.  Systemic bias manifests 
itself, for example, in the distribution of articles by sector, even if 
those articles are all good.

Charles