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Behind the Scenes: James Burrill Angell

Wikipedia prides itself on articles that convey valuable information to the public. In analyzing the Wikipedia page about James B. Angell, which can be found at https://wiki.riteme.site/wiki/James_Burrill_Angell, it’s evident that Wikipedia continues to uphold its promise on accuracy and neutrality and as a result, it has become a leader in reliable information.

For the most part, the article was written from a very neutral standpoint. When describing Angell, the editors ensured that all facts were presented in a clear and unbiased manner. Whenever there was a controversial topic, the article made sure to carefully explain the reasons for controversy without attacking the individual. For example, there was controversy surrounding the fact that Angell wanted to hire faculty who would promote work in the Christian civilization. The editors carefully highlighted the reasons for the controversy and then the results of the entire fiasco without ever stating their opinions. This is very characteristic of Wikipedia’s goal to only describe disputes, not engage in them. In the section that discussed Angell’s diplomatic posts, there was likely to be bias on his political actions. However, the article stayed neutral and only presented the facts. When discussing Angell’s role in the Treaty Regulating Immigration from China, the editors stayed away from arguing their views on the treaty. Instead, they only presented the goal of the treaty and how the treaties were ratified. However, there is one instance that conflicted with Wikipedia’s stance on neutrality. In the section titled “Professor and editor”, two of Angell’s students were described as becoming memorable future U.S. secretaries of states. However, the term “memorable” is subjective and can mean different things for different people. Regardless, the article still did an excellent job remaining neutral.

In regards to accuracy, the Wikipedia article continued to uphold its promise to present reliable and accurate facts. Facts listed in the article can often be found in others sources. For example, a newspaper article published by the Boston Daily Globe and titled “James B. Angell Dead” included information that confirmed many facts in the Wikipedia article, such as his appointment to Minister of Turkey in 1897. The article included many citations in order to give credit to other individuals and sites. These citations provided a way for all the facts listed in the article to be verified if necessary.  Links to other articles, containing more specific information about certain things, could also be found. For example, the article provided a link to the “Order of Angell” when it mentioned how Angell inspired its creation at Michigan. Wikipedia’s commitment to accuracy can be seen evidently in this article.

The article on Angell did not have a talk page. Talk pages are a great way for Wikipedia editors to reach consensus about certain issues. After looking at the talk pages for other articles, it’s evident that talk pages are useful for sorting out disagreements about certain facts. Talk pages also serve as a way for editors to discuss and provide feedback for others in order to improve the quality of the article. Without talk pages, there is no effective way to improve articles in a constructive and productive manner. Through the use of talk pages, Wikipedia has the ability to thrive and emerge as a leader in information.