Wikipedia:POV Cleanup

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WP:POVC

There are pages sitting in Point of View (POV) Dispute state where the discussion ended and it was resolved months ago. We clean up those tags. You can find a complete list of pages with the POV template on them Category:NPOV disputes. ("NPOV" as used on this page is an abbreviation for "Neutral Point of View".)

[edit] Guidelines for cleanup

  1. If the discussion presents major issues that have not been fixed in the current article version, even if the discussion is old, leave the NPOV tag on so it can be cleaned up in the future.
  2. If the issues are minor and there is no recent discussion, remove the tag. (If someone disagrees they can just put it back!)
  3. If the issues seem to be suitably resolved, remove the tag.
  4. Don't get involved in a revert war.

[edit] Reconciling differences

For articles where there are still differences to be ironed out, it is helpful for people not involved in the original dispute to offer opinions or compromises. This process can take longer than simple cleanup. Some tips:

  1. Sometimes a disputed passage needs to be re-written for completely different reasons or in a completely different way than what was being fought over, and doing so solves the problem to the satisfaction of both sides.
  2. If you see a reasonable compromise to an old dispute, write it into the article, and remove the tag. If anyone disagrees, she will respond, or change it back.
  3. If you come across an active dispute, you may wish to weigh in on the talk page before editing the article.
  • Ignore any personality conflicts (even if some "wrongs" have been committed) and focus solely on content.
  • Ignore any philosophical disputes that don't affect the content of the article.
  1. Be polite, even when confronted with anger or insults. The point is to help defuse and resolve a conflict, not to fan the flames with more anger or rudeness.
  2. If someone reverts your changes, instead of reverting them, respond on the talk page, or with a personal message. Another revert will almost certainly make them upset, and make your job much harder.

[edit] Wikipedia Neutrality Project

If you are involved in activity concerning NPOV templates and neutrality of the articles, consider joining the Wikipedia Neutrality Project, which works with NPOV issues, including addition or removal of NPOV tags.