Erik Moeller wrote:
So add the criticisms you have, I don't see a problem with that. As a matter of fact, I find it less courteous to bring these criticisms up on the list, from your position as benevolent dictator, than to simply edit the article. [And please let's not get off-topic on this issue, I know you have to rant sometimes, but if you want to discuss this, it should be done privately.]
Sure, well, my point was not to bring onto the list a discussion of Sheldon Rampton's politics, nor mine, but rather to point out that his editing the article about himself is likely to give rise to people refraining from editing it, as a courtesy to him because we all want to get along here.
You are an expert on yourself, to be sure. So, who could possibly challenge you on such statements as "At the age of three, his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where his father worked as a musician"?
Sheldon has a reputation to lose. As such, we should extend some trust to him when it comes to non-controversial statements of fact about himself. After all, that's what any biographer would do as well.
Yes, of course, and I don't mean to say that I doubt him on such facts. But saying that also reveals the particular danger here, which is that out of respect for each other, out of courtesy to each other, out of our very reasonable trust for each other, we aren't likely to challenge autobiographical entries.
The best rule, in my opinion, is to only allow contributors to make additions/modifications, not to start articles about themselves.
That's an interesting twist, to be sure. But I'm not proposing any rule here, because I think it's far too individualized for a general rule to be of sufficient value.
It would be dangerous if someone who is directly opposed to Sheldon's work, such as Ed, could write all the negative things he wants, while Sheldon had no way to directly defend himself.
I agree that this is a potential problem. The way I would recommend handling it would be to comment on the talk page, or to ask a few independent parties to assist.
But let me say again and again, I'm here expressing a personal preference, not promoting a rule. I do recognize that there are reasonable arguments on all sides of this matter, there are a lot of pro's and con's to be balanced.
--Jimbo