Wikipedia:Mediation Cabal/Cases/2007-08-08 Robot

Who are the involved parties?
Rocketmagnet and Bangthedash101.

What's going on?
The dispute is over the use of the ISO definition of robot in the robot article. Bangthedash101 believes this definition is an important minimum standard, and machines which do not fit this definition should be removed from the article. He has already deleted sections of the article refering to one particular machine. Rocketmagnet believes the article must remain NPOV and should take an inclusive attitude, accepting that there is no single definition of robot which is considered correct. He also believes that the ISO definition rules out a great many machines which are widely considered to be robots, making the article one about industrial robot arms, rather than robots in general.

From Bangthedash101:

I have summarized my points as well as I think I can in the context of the "Timeline" and the "Father or Robotics" sections of this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Robot

Please review the discussion thoroughly and let me know if you would like any more input/feedback from me, in the context of this forum.

Please note, Rocketmagnet has not addressed any of the final points I made regarding Tesla's radio-controlled boat nor provided any authority for his statement regarding Tesla's purported statement of intent. This is the fulcrum issue: whether a radio controlled boat - which is constantly under the control of a human being - is ever considered a robot. My position is that it fails even the broadest definition of robot, and as such, Tesla has no place in the "History" section, including "Modern Developments" and the "Timeline", or anywhere on the page for that matter.

I do not feel the ISO standard is the minimum, but as I stated in my penultimate posting, at the very least, a robot must have autonomous motion, and be either teachable/programmable or responsive to its environment. That standard is far broader than the ISO standard on which Rocketmagnet presumes this dispute is based and covers virtually every type of robot listed on the page, save for so-called "telerobots" which are merely radio controlled machines. ~ Bangthedash101 4.228.27.82 03:09, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

What would you like to change about that?
Rocketmagnet would like the removed passages to be returned to the article.

Bangthedash101 would like all mention of Tesla removed from the "History" section, including "Modern Developments" and the "Timeline", and if possible from the page itself. If not removed entirely, then as described in the discussion, in an aside related to "teleoperation" with a disclaimer that "telerobot" is a misnomer because a radio-controlled machine cannot meet even the broadest definition of robot.

Mediator notes
The issue here is resolved. If anything further comes up, I will re-open the case.  Singu larity  08:32, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Discussion
The discussion is currently on the Robot talk page.