Wikipedia:Dispute resolution noticeboard/Archive 97

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Barlas

  – General close. See comments for reasoning.
Closed discussion

"Heroes" (David Bowie song)

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Closed discussion

Talk:American Dad!#Season 11 & season 12 dispute

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Closed discussion

Shudra

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Closed discussion

user talk:Thomas.W

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Closed discussion

Talk:Turkish presidential_election,_2014

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Closed discussion

May 22

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Closed discussion

Talk:Teutonic takeover of Danzig (Gdańsk) #blanket reverts

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Closed discussion

Avril (singer)

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Closed discussion

Talk:John B._Taschner#This_page_should_not_be_deleted_because...

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Closed discussion

Talk:Babymetal/Archive 2#Disruptive edits by SilentDan297

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Closed discussion

Talk:List of Bloomsbury Group people#The Bloomsbury Group

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Closed discussion

Talk:LGBT rights in Croatia#'Public promotion of LGBT issues' bias

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Closed discussion

Mormon folklore

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Closed discussion

Talk: 19 Kids and Counting

Closed discussion

Talk:Amish Mafia

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Closed discussion

Talk:Bob Avakian

  – This request has been open for some time and must be reviewed.

Have you discussed this on a talk page?

Yes, I have discussed this issue on a talk page already.

Location of dispute

Users involved

Dispute overview

There are issues of objectivity in this article. A single editor essentially has turned the entire article into his own pet project. Any edits done by other editors tend to be undone. The issue is in regards to the articles neutral point of view, appropriate usage of external links, and appropriate links for critical opinions of the subject.

Have you tried to resolve this previously?

There has been a lengthy discussion in the Talk section about what is appropriate and inappropriate. But in the end, no matter what changes have been made by other editors, EnRealidad reverts it back to his own original take on the article.

How do you think we can help?

We need help determining what is appropriate for a neutral or objective point of view in the case of this controversial biography of a living person.

Summary of dispute by EnRealidad

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

Although xcuref1endx says the dispute is over a neutral or objective point of view of the contents of this Wiki page, the source of the dispute appears to be xcuref1endx's personal dislike for and dismissal of Avakian (the subject of the biography). He/she has consistently edited the site for more than three years in a way to promote his/her own opinion of Avakian. I have had to consistently revert or re-edit xfend1cure's changes because they distort Avakian's actual views and instead insert xfend1cure's views of the matter in question.

For example, look at the discussion on the Talk page under headings "Correcting prior edits to accurately reflect views of subject" (begun 11-29-11) through "Dictatorship of the Proletariat" (4-19-12). I carefully documented each revision or re-edit to explain why I felt xcure1fendx's changes had distorted Avakian's views in favor of his/her own, clarifying what Avakian has actually said or written. One way xcuref1endx's edits changed the content and meaning was to remove citations or links to Avakian's works documenting his views, making it impossible for a reader to recognize the distortions.

The same is true of the ongoing dispute over the "critical opinions" section of the page. The "Bob Avakian" page has been up for a number of years. In 2009, after many editors complained about the quality of the entry, I put up a complete rewrite. As I explained at the time, this was based on lengthy study of Avakian and of the Revolutionary Communist Party, the organization he leads. I kept the "critical opinions" subsection that had previously existed because I felt at least the main entries there contained material that clarified the differences between Avakian's views and those of other political forces.

Xcuref1endx's recent additions to "critical opinions", however, can I think be fairly characterized as opportunities for the pieces' respective authors to pour out their personal dislike for Avakian without any attempt to actually engage the content of his ideas and positions. That frankly doesn't add anything relevant, and I think cuts against the purpose of an objective Wiki article.

Finally, I'd suggest that the history of xcuref1endx's edits reveals that they come from his/her own personal dislike for Avakian. Xcuref1endx only edits to the Wiki site for over three years have been to the Avakian page except a couple to one other site. Many of the edits and deletions have been explained by with comments like "Avakians work is largely only read by his followers" or "‎He's a minor douche who happens to be the center of a cult of personality". Even if true (which I'd argue is quite far from the reality of the situation), (a) I find it ironic that xcuref1endx has contributed nothing to Wiki for three years except over 100 edits to the article (and many more to the Talk page) and (b) I do not see how xcuref1endx's personal disagreements with Avakian's philosophical or political views has any place in the content of a Wiki page. The page is about Avakian, not xcuref1endx.

I'd be happy to speak further to specific differences if the Wiki senior editors would like. EnRealidad (talk) 15:34, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

Summary of dispute by xcuref1endx

Enrealidad summary basically describes the main theme of issues surrounding Avakian's biography. However, he largely ignores the arguments established in the 'talk' section, not just by me, but by others, about the issue of neutrality and non-point of view, and immediately goes straight to questioning the edits that I made not by the content itself, but by motives he suspects me of harboring. "The minor douche" comment was not made by me, so I do not know why he attributes that to me, however, I have stated that Avakian's work is largely read only by his followers, but this was stated in the talk section, not in the actual article. This was stated because precisely of the style that EnRealidad insists upon for the main article. It has been noted over and over in the Talk section how the article does read like a RCP propaganda piece, often suggesting that Avakian's work is widely contended and engaged with by those outside of RCP circles. There is no proof of this, his work is not submitted to peer review, nor can one find extensive articles or editorials that engage with Avakian's work. Almost every note or citation in the article is from Avakian himself or the RCP, which are primary sources. Peppered throughout the article are external links to the RCP magazine, sometimes appearing to have no other purpose other than using the Avakian wikipedia page as an advertising tool for Avakian and the RCP rather than providing an objective perspective of Avakian. The few articles that do, usually from defunct or eccentric radical periodicals that do critically examine Avakian are immediately under suspicion by Enrealided, hence the controversy that brought us here now.

It seems that the controversy surrounding the neutrality of the argument stems between two different ideas of what 'neutrality' actually means. Enrealidad is approaching this term as understanding Avakian through Avakian's own words. That to objectively understand Avakian we need to look at what Avakian has presented to us in his writing or speeches. However, my perspective, I feel evidenced through my edits, is that using Avakian to describe Avakian does not comport with encyclopedia standards, and that external opinions matter in understanding the objective influences, perspectives, and ideas of a living individual.

Oddly, about the history of my edits that enrealidad brought up... I am not certain as to what that says about the content of my edits, because equally, the history of enrealidad's edits are exactly the same for the past x amount of years. It appears that his history suggests that he is taking careful effort to sustain a certain image of the RCP in wikipedia articles. If my intentions are to be considered suspicious, then there should be no reason as to why enrealidad should not be subjected to the same suspicion using his rationale. Others have made edits similar to mine that enrealidad have done away with. We are at loggerheads here, hence the necessity of a third party stepping in.

I'd also be happy to speak of the specific differences. xcuref1endx (talk) 15:49, 17 August 2014 (UTC)

Summary of dispute by Tamfang

Please keep it brief - less than 2000 characters if possible, it helps us help you quicker.

I write here because I'm invited, but my role in all this is very small. On April 15, in my wanderings, I removed a trivial detail (which was supported only by Avakian's uncertain memory), changed a couple of external links to point more directly to content and thus save the reader some clicks, and shortened a citation for a book that is cited more fully elsewhere on the page. On April 17, EnRealidad undid these changes. When I asked why, the ensuing bickering had no obvious relation to my question. I probably unwatched within a week. Trying to understand people who take the RCP seriously (as friends or foes) would be too much like work. —Tamfang (talk) 05:44, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Talk:Bob Avakian discussion

Please keep discussion to a minimum before being opened by a volunteer. Continue on article talk page if necessary.

Hello, I am Icarosaurvus, a volunteer here at the Dispute Resolution Noticeboard. First, I would like to direct all concerned to the Wikipedia page on Ownership. If a new editor provides a well-sourced edit, one cannot remove it simply because one dislikes it. This is related to one of Wikipedia's five pillars, in fact. To quote it "Since all editors freely license their work to the public, no editor owns an article and any contributions can and will be mercilessly edited and redistributed." Further, Wikipedia generally discourages relying too heavily on primary sources, as these can quite easily be biased. (See the Wikipedia page on verifiability, specifically the section on primary sources.) While it's okay to have some, the article in question does indeed seem to rely awfully heavily on them, and it's good of other users to try to add in some secondary sources. Finally, Wikipedia is meant to be from a Neutral point of view, so adding criticisms of Mr. Avakian to the article is an excellent idea, as it does sound fairly one sided at this time. I hope I've been of some help! Icarosaurvus (talk) 06:37, 29 August 2014 (UTC)

24 hr closing notice: This case was filed 16 days ago. Unless a DRN volunteer begins moderation very soon. It will need to be closed as unresolved.--KeithbobTalk 22:30, 29 August 2014 (UTC)
Keithbob, I have begun working on moderating this dispute. I am listed in the Volunteer list thing, and in fact posted just above you. Icarosaurvus (talk) 23:19, 29 August 2014 (UTC)

Dear User:Xcuref1endx, User:EnRealidadand User:Tamfang please be informed that User:Icarosaurvus has opened your case for moderation and you may now begin a moderated discussion here in this section.--KeithbobTalk 13:41, 30 August 2014 (UTC)