[WikiEN-l] NPOV and how to find and maintain it

[Nathan]

It isn't clear to me what change you are actually proposing. Your argument
that neutrality is defined by general agreement vs. some intrinsic nature is
not practically relevant, and developing an "objective" definition of
neutrality that is based on "no one objects" is problematic in a number of
ways: firstly, on low profiles articles in a certain sense we already
operate this way and secondly, if we tried to spread this sort of practice
further throughout the wiki the project would simply collapse. There is also
the very basic problem, of course, in identifying what you describe as
"reasonable editors" and ignoring, as you counsel, "unreasonable POV
pushers."

On principle I object to attempts to drastically increase the attention paid
to procedural formalism on Wikipedia; such proposals typically revere
philosophical purity at the expense of any real chance of achievement. If
you have an idea you would like to see implemented in the realm of policy, I
suggest the following steps: Begin with a simple philosophical statement,
and spend most of your energy developing a similarly clear and simple
practical framework. I realize this pragmatic approach to change doesn't
lend itself well to amazingly long theoretical soliloquy; that's what we
call a "feature." If you wish to effect a cultural change, well, good luck.
I'd suggest the same steps, but I think it might be futile. For most writers
the value in a succinctly worded statement is immediately apparent, for
others not so much.

Nathan