Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 11:57, 23 April 2010

This page documents an English Misplaced Pages policy.It describes a widely accepted standard that editors should normally follow, though exceptions may apply. Changes made to it should reflect consensus.

Shortcuts WP:NPOV WP:NPV WP:NEU

This page in a nutshell: Editors must write articles from a neutral point of view, representing all significant views fairly, proportionately, and without bias.

Neutral point of view (NPOV) is a fundamental Wikimedia principle and a cornerstone of Misplaced Pages. All Misplaced Pages articles must be written from a neutral point of view, representing fairly, proportionately, and as far as possible without bias, all significant views that have been published by reliable sources. This is non-negotiable and expected of all articles and all editors.

"Neutral point of view" is one of Misplaced Pages's three core content policies, along with "Verifiability" and "No original research." Jointly, these policies determine the type and quality of material that is acceptable in Misplaced Pages articles. They should not be interpreted in isolation from one another, and editors should therefore familiarize themselves with all three. The principles upon which these policies are based cannot be superseded by other policies or guidelines, or by editors' consensus.

Explaining the neutral point of view

• WP:YESPOV
• WP:ASF

The neutral point of view is a way of dealing with conflicting perspectives. It requires that all majority- and significant-minority views as found in reliable sources be presented in a disinterested tone, and in rough proportion to their prevalence within the source material. Material should not be removed just because it is not neutral, or what Wikipedians call "pov".

The neutral point of view neither sympathizes with nor disparages its subject. Unbiased writing is the disinterested description of all significant sides of a debate as found in reliable sources. Articles should describe different points of view without endorsing any of them. It may describe the criticism of particular viewpoints found in reliable sources, but it should not take sides. Good research can prevent NPOV disagreements by using the best sources available and accurately summarizing what they say.

Verifiability and No original research require that anything challenged or likely to be challenged, including all quotations, be attributed to a reliable source in the form of an inline citation, and that the source directly support the material in question. Where a statement is controversial or subjective, use in-text attribution—"John Smith writes that"— rather than publishing the opinion in Misplaced Pages's voice. Avoid mass attribution such as "some people believe": see Words to watch.

Articles should contain balanced coverage of all majority and significant-minority views, but make sure they roughly reflect the relative levels of support among reliable sources for the position in question. Do not write: "Charles Darwin argued that humankind evolved from apes, but Keith's mum thinks we came from another planet." Appropriate weight must be given to each view, so that it is clear what status the majority and significant-minority views have among reliable sources. If the topic has attracted fringe or tiny-minority views, consider writing about those views in articles devoted to them, so long as there are reliable secondary sources to support inclusion.

Achieving neutrality

See Misplaced Pages:NPOV tutorial and Misplaced Pages:Neutral point of view/Examples

Article titles and structure

• WP:STRUCTURE

Titles should follow the Article titles policy and be neutral wherever possible. Redirects can be used to address situations where a topic is known by several names. Where the name of a topic is part of the debate, discussion should be included in the article using reliable sources. The policy against content forking applies to article titles too.

Exercise caution in how you structure the text, and what titles you use for section headers. Sections devoted to criticism, and "pro and con" sections, can be problematic: there are differing views as to whether such structures are appropriate. Avoid formatting that may favor a particular point of view, or that may make it difficult for the reader to assess the credibility of each position.

Undue weight

• WP:DUE
• WP:UNDUE
• WP:Undue weight
• WP:WEIGHT
• WP:UNDUEWEIGHT
• WP:PROMINENCE

Neutral point of view requires that articles fairly represent all majority and significant-minority positions that have been published by reliable sources, in rough proportion to the prominence of each. In determining appropriate weight, we consider a viewpoint's prevalence within reliable published sources, not among Wikipedians or the general public.

The views of tiny minorities should not be included at all, except in articles devoted to them, so long as reliable secondary sources exist that describe those views. For example, the article Earth should not mention modern support for the flat earth theory, but a separate article, Flat Earth, can be created if sources can be found for it. In articles about a minority viewpoint, the majority view should also be explained, so long as the distinction is discussed by reliable sources, so that the reader understands how the minority view differs from it.

Undue weight can occur in several ways, including depth of detail, length of text, prominence of placement, and juxtaposition of statements. The same principle applies to images, wikilinks, external links, and categories.

Words to avoid

Some words carry non-neutral implications. For example, the word claim can imply that a statement is incorrect, such as John claimed he had not eaten the pie. Try to present different views without using biased words: for example, John said he had not eaten the pie. Similarly, it is sometimes appropriate to make clear that, for example, Shakespeare is widely considered one of the greatest authors in the English language, but make sure this really is the view of multiple sources, and not only of Wikipedians.

Neutrality disputes and handling

Attributing and specifying biased statements

• WP:SUBSTANTIATE
• WP:ATTRIBUTEPOV

A biased statement violates this policy when it is presented as a fact or the truth. It does not violate this policy when it is presented as an identifiable point of view. It is therefore important to verify it and make every effort possible to add an appropriate citation.

For instance, "John Doe is the best baseball player" expresses an opinion; it cannot be included in Misplaced Pages as if it were a fact. One way to make it suitable for Misplaced Pages is to change it into a statement about the fact that someone holds an opinion, e.g.: "John Doe's baseball skills have been praised by baseball insiders such as Al Kaline and Joe Torre," as long as those statements are correct and can be verified. The goal here is to attribute the opinion to some recognized subject-matter expert, rather than to merely state it as true.

A different approach is to specify the statement, by giving underlying details that are undisputed. For example: "John Doe had the highest batting average in the major leagues from 2003 through 2006." People may still argue over whether he was the best baseball player. But they will not argue over this.

There is a temptation to rephrase biased or opinion statements with weasel words: "Many people think John Doe is the best baseball player." But statements of this form are subject to obvious attacks: "Yes, many people think so, but only ignorant people"; and "Just how many is 'many'? I think it's only 'a few' who think that!" By attributing the claim to a known authority, or substantiating the facts behind it, you can avoid these problems.

Point of view (POV) and content forks

See the guideline Misplaced Pages:Content forking for clarification on the issues raised in this section.

A content fork is a usually unintentional creation of multiple articles all treating the same subject. A point of view fork is a deliberate attempt to evade the neutrality policy by creating a new article about a subject that is already being treated, often to avoid or highlight negative or positive viewpoints or facts. Both are considered unacceptable. The generally accepted policy is that all facts and major points of view on the same subject are treated in one article.

It is vital to note that this does not rule out separate articles on related but distinct subjects if there is enough information about each subject to justify a separate article. For example, Evolution, Evolution as theory and fact, Creationism, and Creationism-evolution controversy are all separate. This is fine because these articles deal with merely related but not identical subjects, each of which has been determined to be independently notable. Spin-offs are another case of related but distinct articles: they are not only justified but are a central part of Misplaced Pages's structure. Whether distinctions between topics are sufficiently large and each topic notable enough to justify separate articles must be decided on a case by case basis.

Making necessary assumptions

• WP:MNA

When writing any of a long series of articles on some general subject, there can be cases where we must make some potentially controversial assumptions. For example, in writing about evolution, it's not helpful to hash out the evolution-vs.-creationism debate on every page. There are virtually no topics that could proceed without making some assumptions that someone would find controversial. This is true not only in evolutionary biology, but also in philosophy, history, physics, etc.

It is difficult to draw up general principles on which to rule in specific cases, but the following might help: there is probably not a good reason to discuss some assumption on a given page, if an assumption is best discussed in depth on some other page. Some brief, unobtrusive pointer might be appropriate, however.

Common objections and clarifications

See Misplaced Pages:Neutral point of view/FAQ for answers and clarifications on the issues raised in this section.

Common objections or concerns raised to Misplaced Pages's Neutral point of view policy include the following.

Being neutral

• There's no such thing as objectivity
  Everybody with any philosophical sophistication knows that. So how can we take the "neutrality" policy seriously?

• Lack of neutrality as an excuse to delete
  The neutrality policy is used sometimes as an excuse to delete texts that are perceived as biased. Isn't this a problem?

Balancing different views

• Writing for the "opponent"
  I'm not convinced by what you say about "writing for the opponent." I don't want to write for the opponent. My opponents rely on stating as fact many things which I believe are demonstrably false. Are you saying that, to be neutral in writing an article, I must lie, in order to represent the view I disagree with?

• Morally offensive views
  What about views that are morally offensive to most Westerners, such as racism, sexism, and Holocaust denial, that some people actually hold? Surely we are not to be neutral about them?

Editorship disputes

• Dealing with biased contributors
  I agree with the non-bias policy but there are some here who seem completely, irremediably biased. I have to go around and clean up after them. What do I do?

• Avoiding constant disputes
  How can we avoid constant and endless warfare over neutrality issues?

Other

• Anglo-American focus
  Misplaced Pages seems to have an Anglo-American focus. Is this contrary to the neutral point of view?

• Other objections
  I have some other objection—where should I complain?

Since the neutral-point-of-view policy is often unfamiliar to newcomers—and is so central to Misplaced Pages's approach—many issues surrounding the neutrality policy have been covered before very extensively. If you have some new contribution to make to the debate, you could try Talk:Neutral point of view, or bring it up on the Misplaced Pages-l mailing list. Before asking it, please review the links below.

See also

Content policies

• Misplaced Pages:No original research
• Misplaced Pages:Verifiability

Guidelines

• Misplaced Pages:Article size
• Misplaced Pages:Conflict of interest
• Misplaced Pages:Controversial articles
• Misplaced Pages:Fringe theories
• Misplaced Pages:Words to avoid

Essays

• Misplaced Pages:Coatrack
• Misplaced Pages:Describing points of view
• Misplaced Pages:Let the reader decide
• Misplaced Pages:List of controversial issues
• NPOV tutorial
• NPOV FAQ
• NPOV Examples
• NPOV Disputes
• Positive tone - (meta, historical)
• Misplaced Pages:Scientific consensus
• Misplaced Pages:Systemic bias
• Understand Bias - (meta, historical)

Articles

• Objectivity (journalism)
• Consensus reality
• One-sided argument
• Subject-object problem

Templates

• {{POV}} or {{Bias}}—message used to warn of problems
• {{POV-check}}—message used to request that an article be checked for neutrality
• {{POV-section}}—tags only a single section as disputed
• {{POV-lead}}—when the article's introduction is questionable
• {{POV-title}}—when the article's title is questionable
• {{POV-statement}}—when only one sentence is questionable
• {{NPOV language}}—message used when the neutrality of the style of writing is questioned
• {{undue}}—message used to warn that a part of an article lends undue weight to certain ideas relative to the article as a whole
• {{undue-inline}}—same as above but to tag a sentence or paragraph only

Wikiproject

• Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Neutrality

Notes

1. See Misplaced Pages:Avoid thread mode, Misplaced Pages:Criticism, Misplaced Pages:Pro and con lists, and Template:Criticism-section.
2. Commonly cited examples include articles that read too much like a "debate", and content structured like a "resume". See also: Misplaced Pages:Guide to layout, Formatting criticism, Misplaced Pages:Edit war, WP cleanup templates, and Template:Lopsided.
3. Cite error: The named reference avoid weasels was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

External links

1. Part 1

• NeutralPointOfView on MeatballWiki

Related information

• Misplaced Pages policies
• Misplaced Pages neutral point of view
• Misplaced Pages policy
• Misplaced Pages content policy