On 11/6/06, Anthony wikilegal@inbox.org wrote:
It seems to me that the type of people with whom this is an increasing problem are not the type of people who are even going to read such a long and complictated guideline, let alone care about following it.
If your relationship with an article's topic might cause someone else to question your ability to write neutrally about it, then don't be bold. Explain your changes, document your additions, and back down when challenged. If you believe there are legal issues involved which necessitate your edits, then contact OTRS. And if you yourself question your ability to write neutrally about a topic, then don't edit the article at all.
I dunno, that seems to me like a common sense guideline to potential conflicts of interest when it comes to writing Wikipedia articles. This doesn't seem like a place where spelling out detailed policies is useful, because the problem isn't one that deals with many longstanding editors. It also doesn't seem to be a place where there is a strong consensus as to what exactly the policies should be.
That seems common sense to me too. All we need to say about conflicts of interest is "try to recognise your own biases, be open to others who apprehend biases, and don't let your biases get in the way of editing neutrally".
I don't see a real need to say much more beyond what's already at the heart of [[WP:NPOV]], except for some very general advice as is contained in your second paragraph Anthony. I would be happy to include that verbatim as the contents of [[WP:COI]].