Since Quora is English-only, is there a policy similar to the "neutral point of view" or is it the "Anglocentric point of view" on use of terms like "America", "Latino", "Hispanic", and "Native American"?
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I include more details about the subject in my post here: https://daimontrsna.quora.com/The-Real-Americans One common issue that we found in Quora, and many other English centric sites, is that people from outside the Anglo nations is forced to accept the point of view of the native English speakers. The issue is really annoying and sometimes plainly discriminatory. The goal of this question is to understand where Quora as company stands in this matter. I will provide two examples, mostly ethnocentric, that illustrate the problem: America: Is a term used in English only to name the United States, for 600 million people that lives in America and is not a citizen of the United States the term sometimes turns discriminatory (in English) and even causes situations that are just stupid like these names (between others): "Argentine American" "Puerto Rican American", which are clearly redundant as any Argentinian is from America, same for Puerto Rican. In the same sense, of ethics, the demographic categorizations in the English language of: Latino, Hispanic, Native American, are used erroneously most of the times, if not all the times. Not all Latinos are Hispanic and not all Native Americans live in the US, there are thousands or millions in the southern nations. I probably could think of other issues, but the point here is simple: Should we keep using this Anglocentric terms in Quora, or should we elevate even further the quality of the site and use an Universal Point of View? I am not saying, to change every questions or answer, but at least, keep the topics and general guidelines focused in this Universal Point of View. People will still make mistakes, but the great group of moderators, and the Quoran Community as a whole could help them improve their understanding of the world. This sounds quite idealistic, but the ideal of all the people that contributes with this site seems to make it better for everyone, not just for an specific ethnic group. Then let´s work together to improve it! I want to make clear this is not an issue about changing the English language. The site is used by many non-English natives but the language is the "lingua franca". Under that circunstance people deserve some respect, the tip of the iceberg is that is usual for some US citizens to appropiate the word American (or label people with others), in some way sending us to a "second class" group. I know many people have the same feelings but few express them and I will like to use this as an starting point to improve ourselves in that matter.
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Answer:
If you feel that an answer (or a question), includes assumptions or definitions that are incorrect or incomplete, or a phrasing that you find discriminatory or in any other way incorrect, Quora already offers a number of solutions. 1. Write a better answer 2. Downvote an answer with obvious flaws 3. Comment on the answer, explaining what should, in your opinion, be changed. I agree there is a US-centric bias on Quora, largely due to the large population of Americans on Quora. However, language is not static; a word like American is now widely and commonly accepted to mean "someone who lives in the United States". The word America comes from the name of an Italian explorer, and was originally applied to the "New World" of North and South America, and the two continents inhabitants. However, it was never a word those original inhabitants used themselves, it was a word used to describe them by early Europeans. South Americans, Central Americans, Mexicans and Canadians, of European descent, can rightfully claim that the US has misappropriated the term America from them, however most of them associate with their home country more than their continent (I'm a proud Canadian, and I know a proud Brazilian, for example). I could be wrong, but a few different google searches didn't bring up any examples of people using America to describe anything other than the United States. If I am misinterpreting your question, or I haven't fully appreciated your argument, please comment on this answer. However, I think the system of upvotes and downvotes, as well as the ability to comment on questions and answers, assign topics like "Questions that contain assumptions", all combine to eliminate the need for Quora moderators or users adopt a more neutral point of view. I don't want a neutral point of view, I want to know what people actually think. Sometimes, the biases or assumptions built into a question or answer can be more illuminating than the question or answers themselves.
Jason MacDonald at Quora Visit the source
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