On Thu, 13 Aug 2009, Abd ul-Rahman Lomax wrote:

That's right. I proposed that we *treat* self-proclaimed experts as having a COI, i.e., the same basic rules. A badge of honor, not a shame. No more arguments about whether a situation is a real COI or not. You claim to be an expert, please don't contentiously edit the article.

The idea that a badge of honor results in a restriction is contrary to what most people think of as a badge of honor.

Like the argument "a block isn't a punishment", calling a restriction by a nicer name and pretending it isn't a restriction isn't going to fool anyone, and may only discourage more people as they now see that not only are you adding dubious restrictions, you're trying to lie about them.

It's a way to *protect* experts, not attack them. Treating "as COI" isn't an attack at all. Right now, "COI" is often used as a attack.

It's an attack because it allows you to limit their activities in a way that you could not if they didn't have a COI. In other words, it's treated as an attack because it functions just like one.

You're not going to get anywhere by pretending it's not something that it is.