[WikiEN-l] Wikipedia in the news

Wed Aug 4 04:30:06 UTC 2004

I agree with jimbo here, I read some parts of the Kerry article and it appears to me that it does adhere to wiki's policy of NPOV, as it should! :o)

"Jimmy (Jimbo) Wales" <jwales at wikia.com> wrote:
It occurs to me that it is entirely possible that a Republican might
praise the article precisely because it is neutral and factual. 

It is only natural for honest opponents of Kerry's election to feel
that a factual description of his record, particularly a factual
description that highlights facts that may be relevant but which are
not widely discussed in the soundbite-friendly partisan media, helps
to educate voters who, being honest, will naturally come to better
understand why people oppose Kerry's election.

I am quite sure that many Democratic activists (perhaps the sort who
like to call their political opponents "dumbasses", not naming any
names here) will read our Bush article with similar joy, due to it
naming some facts that these partisans feel are scandalous, but which
Bush supporters may greet with either a yawn or even admiration.

The test of NPOV is not "does one side really like it?" because that
assumes bad faith, that the only reason someone could like an article
is that it is biased.

The test of NPOV is "do both sides like it?" This is assuming good
faith, i.e. that all sides of any controversial issue are typically
good people who are not "dumbasses" and who have a sincere interest in
a fair presentation of the facts.

--Jimbo
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