Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Neutrality

message: I've been away for a while and just returned; but I think it's necessary to discuss the (potential) backlog problem. 
What I think is a major danger for us is developing a backlog. There already exist categories for NPOV tagged articles, and their problem is immense backlog, making categories nearly useless. The reason I've originally seen the necessity of WNP is to enable more specifics in resolving issues, creating a working initiative. The most difficult issues in NPOV check, at least for me, are finding the actual concerning POV problems, and deciding what is correct and what is not, and what to do. What we've already achieved is receiving requests with explanation, not just a tag; but, still, not as much on the decision side. I'd suggest to have more discussion of the articles here, just asking for the opinion of others on specific issues, when in doubt - it's one of the goals of WNP, after all.
Also, for specific dealing with articles, it's often hard to eliminate the problem or make sure there are none. Sometimes POV is hidden, sometimes it just requires specific knowledge to distinguish facts from presentation. In my opinion, it's best if we, in such cases, create a section to ask for specific opinions or pointing issues, sometimes ask the corresponding Wikiproject to review the article, and don't hesitate to clean the tag if no POV is visible and nobody responds in considerable time. This is both about requests and just POV check category. CP/M comm |Wikipedia Neutrality Project| 21:15, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm not quite sure what your points are here, it may just be a tired mind after a long three days work with only an hour of sleep between them.  Maybe you could summate it in some points? Cheers, ✎ Peter M Dodge ( Talk to Me • Neutrality Project ) 20:31, 30 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Perhaps a list of salient points. I feel the same way as Peter (except for the sleep:)).Nina Odell 23:00, 30 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Dealing with articles and backlog (opinion) 

message: I think this is a fair point to make, because some editors come to us looking for dispute resolution, which we are not. Although it is fair to simply add a  tag and move on, it would do Wikipedia better if we referred the editor to another forum, such as the actual dispute resolution processes, including AN/I, WQA, AIV, and RFC, which are processes for dispute resolution, as well as generating consensus.
For these purposes, I have borrowed the template used on WQA and suited it to our needs  will serve our purposes, simply add a comment under it or within the template .
I will continue to serve as a clerk here, archiving old requests as is necessary. If everyone could simply sign their comments, this will allow me to archive requests older than a week. If a request has an Opening or Doing tag on it too long, I'll contact the associated reviewer to confirm interest. I'll also be knocking back any new requests that are clearly subject to Dispute Resolution processes, as well as those which are clearly not our territory, including editors asking for Dispute Resolution.
I hope that this helps things run more smoothly around here. Jame§ugrono 07:10, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Do not decline 

message: Hi, I'm Ed Poor (aka Uncle Ed), and I used to be a big wheel around here when NPOV still meant something. I was one of the first 200 people to sign up; was the first elected bureaucrat; etc. 
But when Wikipedia became a top 100 web site, a lot of things changed. The idea that NPOV is paramount and should not be subordinate to consensus came under attack. I mounted a defense and lost. I was labeled a "tendentious editor" and put on indefinite probation a year ago.
Yet I am a founding member (and still in good standing, though inactive) of the Mediation Committee. I started the Harmonious Editing Club, which is ironic considering Fred Bauder called me a tendentious editor.
My question is whether it's possible for Wikipedia to fulfull its stated goal of refusing to take a side on controversial issues. 
I've noted a clear trend to take the liberal side over the conservative side in dozens of major cases. And I'm wondering whether anyone who is liberal would like to join with me (a conservative) in removing the liberal bias found in Wikipedia.
Even if anyone agrees to do this, it will be a long row to hoe, because in nearly every case people who are biased either (1) don't even realize that they are biased ("I'm just stating facts!") or (2) know they are bias but are dead set on denying this for partisan advantage.
In the case of holocaust denial, Wikipedia has so many Westerners and Jews (I'm both :-) that the deniers are hopelessly outnumbered, and there's a pretty good article on their brand of historical revisionism. But in other areas, it's not so easy:
*Communism, totalitarianism, and genocide - the Wikipedia conensensus promotes the biased view that Communism is not totalitarian and has not murdered 200 million civilians. 
*Physical science - nearly every biology and psychology article exalts the materialistic POV that natural forces and laws can account for everything of importance in these areas of study. In particular, evolution adopts the philosophy of science - promoted by liberals - that science should only examine physical causes; this leads to a very negative one-sided view of intelligent design.
*Global warming and other environmental issues are overwhelmed by liberal POV, with the possible exception of the DDT ban article.
*Law articles and a lot of U.S. politics leans toward the liberal side, e.g., the Patriot Act is mainly about how it is a civil liberties violation. 
Is there anyone here other than me, who feels that regardless of the proportions of adherents (amoung any given group of "experts") the articles should cover both sides thoroughly? I don't think it's undue weight to give a comprehensive summary of a "skeptical" point of view of a legal or scientific topic, even if 99.9% of the experts are in agreement. 
I think it helps our readers to know why opponents disagree. --Uncle Ed (talk) 21:34, 24 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Long row to hoe

message: Hey there, everyone!  I hope today finds you well and in good spirits and health.  Some of you may remember me from ... well, way back when, now, as the founder of the WNP, which I can see is now called WikiProject Neutrality!  I see that some of you have been quite busy working on some articles here, but things have still gotten backlogged, and looking at one of the sections above, it looks like people are starting to wonder if this project is active!
So on that note, lets get things going again!  I'm going to be around a little more now, the wikibreak I took giving me a lot of time to get things sorted in my life and whatnot, and I'm eager to see the project get active a little more.  As Ed mentioned above, NPOV is one of the fundamental founding guidelines about Wikipedia!  So this project is really one of the cruxes of Wikipedia - or it ought to be.
With that in mind a few things I'd like people to keep in mind:
* The homepage of the project reflects on the project.  Please try to keep the new requests processed.
* Many editors come here with issues not fully understanding what NPOV means.  Please don't bite them!  Instead try to understand their frustrations, and if you decline a request, please be sure to kindly explain why.
* Lets try to avoid editing articles where your own POV may be an issue.  There's a very fine line between someone being an expert on someone/something and someone pushing a POV, but it's especially important that WPN editors be seen as fair and impartial.
* Remember that we're not dispute resolution.  While you can certainly try to help mend things between frustrated editors, try to gently prod anyone with genuine conflicts over to the appropriate dispute resolution.
* Also remember that Wikipedia is the Wiki that anyone can edit.  It's not really our place to say 'this person has a POV, they shouldn't be allowed to edit.'  Instead, if you have editors who are being genuinely disruptive, please post a notice on the appropriate administrative board.
Cheers, Peter M Dodge (Talk to Me) 10:12, 22 February 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Welcome back! I looked at this project a couple of weeks ago and was given the impression that it had become inactive - a situation that seems ridiculous for a project devoted to one of the pillars. I will be joining this project and hope to see it flourishing.--FimusTauri (talk) 09:56, 23 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Getting things moving again 

message: Hi. I discovered this project while searching material for this draft essay I've started, WP:Neutrality through accuracy; I wonder, is there any kind of activity here?  walk victor falk talk 18:20, 11 March 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  [[Wikipedia:Neutrality through accuracy]] 

message: Template:British Isles has been protected to allow for discussion of its title. It has been possible to change the title of this template on a page-by-page basis. Titles that have been used on different pages being:
* British Isles
* British-Irish Council area
* Great Britain, Ireland, and related islands
* British Isles — or Great Britain, Ireland, and related islands
A user has raised the question of whether this practice is a violation of NPOV.
A list of alternative solutions (aside form those being reverted between) is invited also. --RA (talk) 21:01, 10 May 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  [[Template:British Isles]] 

message: Hello there! As you may already know, most WikiProjects here on Wikipedia struggle to stay active after they've been founded. I believe there is a lot of potential for WikiProjects to facilitate collaboration across subject areas, so I have submitted a grant proposal with the Wikimedia Foundation for the "WikiProject X" project. WikiProject X will study what makes WikiProjects succeed in retaining editors and then design a prototype WikiProject system that will recruit contributors to WikiProjects and help them run effectively. Please review the proposal here and leave feedback. If you have any questions, you can ask on the proposal page or leave a message on my talk page. Thank you for your time! (Also, sorry about the posting mistake earlier. If someone already moved my message to the talk page, feel free to remove this posting.) Harej (talk) 22:47, 1 October 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Comment on the WikiProject X proposal 

message: Hello everyone!
You may have received a message from me earlier asking you to comment on my WikiProject X proposal. The good news is that WikiProject X is now live! In our first phase, we are focusing on research. At this time, we are looking for people to share their experiences with WikiProjects: good, bad, or neutral. We are also looking for WikiProjects that may be interested in trying out new tools and layouts that will make participating easier and projects easier to maintain. If you or your WikiProject are interested, check us out! Note that this is an opt-in program; no WikiProject will be required to change anything against its wishes. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!
Note: To receive additional notifications about WikiProject X on this talk page, please add this page to Wikipedia:WikiProject X/Newsletter. Otherwise, this will be the last notification sent about WikiProject X.
Harej (talk) 16:57, 14 January 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  WikiProject X is live!