[Wikipedia-l] Edit Wars

[Poor, Edmund W]

Locking a page is only a temporary solution to an edit war. It stops the current battle, of course, but a better long-term solution is to teach contributors how to write from the NPOV. I'm not saying that this is an EASY solution, obviously. I myself have struggled mightily to learn how to write neutrally, and I still fail occasionally on subjects dear to me (such as Global Warming, which Axel has reverted in flames a few times :-).

I've stepped in from time to time, as in the Eisenhower controversy, trying to show how information that veers away from the consensus can be included: usually by summarizing, creating a new article, or demoting content to an external link.

What do others think about the prospects for educating contributors to the controversial pages, on how to write from the?

Ed Poor