[WikiEN-l] NPOV writing about extreme right-wing topics

Tue Feb 22 15:23:32 UTC 2005

Hi,

As someone who has studied, written about, and opposed the political right for over 20 years, I may surprise some by saying that I correspond with a wide range of intellectuals on the political right who are quite able to understand the concept of an NPOV encyclopedia article--and this ranges from the Christian Right out to neonazis (not the same thing, thanks).

Bad manners in editing have no political, class, gender, race or any other boundaries.  Jerks are jerks.  It is the behavior we need to sanction, not the ideas.

Ironically, I write this although if you search the web you will find many articles by rightwingers saying that I do not hold these pluralistic civil society beliefs. They do not do their homework and cannot rise abouve their bias. Those that do homework, strive for NPOV, and have good collaborative manners make good editors.

Chip Berlet

________________________________

From: wikien-l-bounces at Wikipedia.org on behalf of Poor, Edmund W
Sent: Tue 2/22/2005 10:09 AM
To: wikien-l at Wikipedia.org
Subject: [WikiEN-l] NPOV writing about extreme right-wing topics

=>From: Matt R <matt_crypto at yahoo.co.uk>
=>
=>I posit that Wikipedia
=>would be better off with a well-behaved, NPOV-writing Neo-Nazi than
=>without;
=>could such an individual exist?
=
=I agree with this in theory; I've just never met one who fit the
criteria.
=
=Jay.

You've met *me*, and we all know that Unificationists are well to the
right of Adolf Hitler. I'm the most conservative, homophobic,
anti-scientific, pro-brainwashing, POV-pushing contributor to Wikipedia.
(Er, to hear others tell it, anyway ;-)

And yet I manage to write so neutrally on many topics that people
regularly come to me for help when there's an edit war on all sorts of
controversial articles. (Except those topics on which I have known blind
spots).

So it *is* possible for a writer to temper their extreme POV and write
neutrally.

Ed "The thick-skinned one" Poor
aka Uncle Ed
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