On 6/19/06, Alphax (Wikipedia email) alphasigmax@gmail.com wrote:
Yes. Firstly, it's an unacceptable username;
Wikipedia:Username only speaks of usernames explicitly advertising a company:
Accounts with usernames that advertise a particular website, company, etc. (e.g. "visit [name of url]" ) are discouraged and may be blocked.
secondly, it could be seen as a "group account";
True. This would be a reason to use a username like "Some Guy (Some Company)".
thirdly, it could be being used for impersonation.
That can be said about virtually any name. I suspect we probably have a few undetected cases of users impersonating people they don't like, ex-girlfriends, etc. Normally we assume good faith until impersonation is brought to our attention.
People identifying the company they work for shouldn't be editing the article on that company
I would make an exception for obvious errors. They also have every right to comment on the talk page.
I'm not saying these user accounts shouldn't be blocked -- I think they just may warrant a slightly more refined treatment than a commented version of the same template that we use for people who call themselves "YOU ARE ALL DICKHEADS11!!" A friendly notice how companies are allowed to contribute to Wikipedia would work better, I think.
It would also be nice to be able to turn off the IP autoblocker in those cases.
Erik