Essays Low‑impact | ||||||||||
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There is seldom a zero sum. In case of a dispute like this it is simple. If we can't say it neutrally, and accurately, then we shouldn't say it at all. There's no need to err on the side of one side or t'other, simply err on the side of silence.-- Docg 15:44, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
As a professional writer and occasional Wikipedia contributor, I had a troubling encounter when I went looking for information regarding Prem Rawat and found only one link, that to his official web site. I turned my attention to his ministry, Divine Light Mission, and found no external links at all.
After a couple of hours of googling, I turned up sufficient research from other sites to complete my assignment. Willing to share my research, I returned to Wikipedia and attempted to add links I'd discovered, both positive and negative. I was immediately slapped down, and slapped down hard. When I attempted to add links a second time, Will Beback threatened me with a block.
The arguments on the Prem Rawat page was that links that could be interpreted as critical (which included ex-cult support sites and de-programming but also included official web sites), violated WP:BLP and WP:EL rules. On the DLM page, the administrator asserted the links applied to Prem Rawat and not the DLM.
My impression was the administrator, like an old-fashioned sheriff, staked out his purty lil town and no one was going to mess with it. Disallowing links was his way of keeping the peace. In fact, he said, quote: "Only by stripping it down to that single link have we been able to achieve peace", and no links at all on the DLM site.
At no point was any material added to the content of the article, and I had (and still have) no opinion about Prem Rawat one way or the other. In my estimation, I believe WP:BLP and WP:EL policies were misinterpreted and misused. Including official web site links is not expressing a PoV and if including critical links is considered non-NPOV, at least they present a balance.
I felt that if I found the articles useless in my research, other readers might as well. Some may judge I was wrong to press the issue. My conclusion is that it wasn't a zero-sum article, but an article that approached zero worth.
-- UnicornTapestry ( talk) 15:07, 7 January 2009 (UTC)
Essays Low‑impact | ||||||||||
|
There is seldom a zero sum. In case of a dispute like this it is simple. If we can't say it neutrally, and accurately, then we shouldn't say it at all. There's no need to err on the side of one side or t'other, simply err on the side of silence.-- Docg 15:44, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
As a professional writer and occasional Wikipedia contributor, I had a troubling encounter when I went looking for information regarding Prem Rawat and found only one link, that to his official web site. I turned my attention to his ministry, Divine Light Mission, and found no external links at all.
After a couple of hours of googling, I turned up sufficient research from other sites to complete my assignment. Willing to share my research, I returned to Wikipedia and attempted to add links I'd discovered, both positive and negative. I was immediately slapped down, and slapped down hard. When I attempted to add links a second time, Will Beback threatened me with a block.
The arguments on the Prem Rawat page was that links that could be interpreted as critical (which included ex-cult support sites and de-programming but also included official web sites), violated WP:BLP and WP:EL rules. On the DLM page, the administrator asserted the links applied to Prem Rawat and not the DLM.
My impression was the administrator, like an old-fashioned sheriff, staked out his purty lil town and no one was going to mess with it. Disallowing links was his way of keeping the peace. In fact, he said, quote: "Only by stripping it down to that single link have we been able to achieve peace", and no links at all on the DLM site.
At no point was any material added to the content of the article, and I had (and still have) no opinion about Prem Rawat one way or the other. In my estimation, I believe WP:BLP and WP:EL policies were misinterpreted and misused. Including official web site links is not expressing a PoV and if including critical links is considered non-NPOV, at least they present a balance.
I felt that if I found the articles useless in my research, other readers might as well. Some may judge I was wrong to press the issue. My conclusion is that it wasn't a zero-sum article, but an article that approached zero worth.
-- UnicornTapestry ( talk) 15:07, 7 January 2009 (UTC)