On 4/4/06, Phil Boswell phil.boswell@gmail.com wrote:
I wonder whether "don't bite the newbies" needs to be amplified when it comes to this kind of person: it's bad enough when we're rude to someone who doesn't have sufficient clout to make a stink elsewhere. Deliberately pissing-off someone who could bring us much good publicity is simply asking for trouble, and Assuming Bad Faith simply because they're editing their own article should be stomped on hard.
I agree, but I think the policy should be quite firm: Don't edit your own articles, add the material/corrections to the talk page instead. We don't have to accuse anyone of vanity, having an agenda etc. Sort of like the "For your safety, this store has surveillance cameras". Of course we trust *you* not to add false information to your own page, but you wouldn't want us to allow *other* people to modify their pages, would you?
I also think it makes the encyclopaedia look better if we have that kind of editing standard. "I tried to spin my article, but some editors stepped in and said they welcomed my contributions, but preferred to do the editing for me." As opposed to "Yeah, I took out that crap about a stupid promise I made 10 years ago and no one stopped me."
Steve