[WikiEN-l] let's be honest then

[Ken Arromdee]

On Sat, 31 Mar 2007, MacGyverMagic/Mgm wrote:
> It doesn't prevent them editing such articles. It even gives them
> tips on how to handle it properly:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Conflict_of_interest#Editors_who_may_have_a_conflict_of_interest

No sane Wikipedia newcomer is going to read that section and think they are
permitted to fix their own article about themselves.  If you squint at that
section long enough, you might realize that it doesn't in fact prohibit
editing where there is a conflict of interest, but this is a very non-
obvious reading that is not what anyone's going to think of when the first
thing the article says is that a conflict of interest is strongly discouraged.
A newcomer simply will not have the sophistication to understand that
"discouraged" actually means "encouraged in some cases".

Allowing people to fix errors in articles about themselves won't work unless
you make it *utterly clear* that they can do so.  Having an article which
sounds like it says they cannot, but which upon very careful examination
reveals that it is after all allowed, will not let them know.