[WikiEN-l] Criticism sections on bios of living people

[Jimmy Wales]

Michael Snow wrote:
> Erik Moeller wrote:
> 
>> On 5/6/06, A <jokestress at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> 3. Are "criticism" sections valid in general, or do they just become a
>>> repository for quibbles and an amplifier of relatively insignificant
>>> hatecruft about a person?
>> They are not only valid, in many cases they are necessary.
> 
> I beg to differ. In many cases they are not at all necessary. In fact, 
> they are often symptoms of the shoddy research, writing, and 
> organization that has gone into so many of our most problematic biographies.

I think you are both right.  In many cases they are necessary, and in
many cases they are not necessary. :)

And I agree with the view expressed by others that often, they are a
symptom of bad writing.  That is, it isn't that we should not include
the criticisms, but that the information should be properly incorporated
throughout the article rather than having a troll magnet section of
random criticisms.

> The guidelines are perhaps adequate, because this is partly a cultural 
> issue. But it's been clear for a while that we have serious systemic and 
> cultural issues on articles dealing with living people.

Indeed.