Ray Saintonge wrote
So a few people recently decided that they wanted a COI policy. Let's not pretend that there was suddenly a groundswell in support of this policy.
Let's not pretend that's an accurate history.
Someone WAS BOLD and renamed the old WP:VAIN, which was about vanity editing, to WP:COI. David Gerard appealed for help here in getting the text more compatible with the title. Exit DG for a bit (Gothing it up on the Yorkshire coast, I surmise).
Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, another guideline page (NB none, but none, of this is hard policy) has been created by User:Eloquence. This is the one that lays down how editors on behalf of companies should comport themselves.
I only got involved when DG broadcast his appeal. I resisted the merge (now carried out) that created a composite page, for as long as I could, and until I could see how to fit the bits together.
We now do have a composite guideline, not obviously compatible with absolutely everything elsewhere written about autobiographical writing, not integrating in WP:SPAM, and with other potential weaknesses. It does however fill in gaping holes in previous material in this area, making explicit in particular some aspects of procedure at AfD and the implications if you 'declare an interest'.
While this is all kind of dull, WP:COI is being cited in a current ArbCom case, and a high profile deletion debate.
Charles
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