User:Owen

I have been with Wikipedia since September 2003, and an administrator since 6 February 2004. I later voluntarily reapplied for this status and was reaffirmed on 8 January 2006.

I take a radical approach to Wikipedia that acknowledges that this site is being developed in the context of oppressive systems of power, that manifests in systemic bias on the site. For instance, I do not believe that "neutral point of view" means "least controversial point of view". Neutrality is not a synonym for "moderate". Taking a neutral point of view means taking the most evenhanded view even if nine out of ten Wikipedians find that view distasteful or offensive. There are clear biases on Wikipedia. Among members, there is a bias against women, a bias against the poor, a bias against people of color, a bias against indigenous people, a political bias towards liberalism in the broadest sense, a bias towards the young and youthful, a bias in favor of science and technology. So too there are biases in what information we present: biases linked in culture, in nationality, in language, in who controls the "respectable" media. We can't hope to overcome these biases by ignoring their existence, and defaulting to the "moderate" point of view. On top of this, there is a tendency on Wikipedia for aggressive editors to try to force their biases, easily exhausting editors who would prefer an agreement based on good faith discussion. Much of my work here involves combating these pervasive issues. I'm also the founder of the Sociology WikiProject.

Please feel free to address personal attacks and any other criticisms of my person to my talk page. Attempting to illustrate these concerns through this page may prove less successful. Statistical fluff concerning my contributions to the English language Wikipedia can be located here.

• Henry Zenk
• Antonio Garra
• U'mista Cultural Society
• Peggy Reeves Sanday
• William Tichenor
• Lakeport, Oregon
• Fort Orford