[WikiEN-l] preventing COI edits by corporations

[Charlotte Webb]

On 9/12/07, Steven Walling <steven.walling at gmail.com> wrote:
> Honestly, it doesn't if it's "cluelessness" or not. When employees of the
> Miller Brewing Corporation significantly alter, or even remove altogether,
> content critical of their company, it is COI editing that has resulted in a
> slanted article.

Why would it [make a difference] whether such edits are made by beer
manufacturers or, for example, beer consumers? The focus in either
case should be to encourage the users to do something other than
drunkenly removing content. We're not here to rub their nose in the
barrel of some smoking gun of sorts. Bloggers will handle that.

On 9/11/07, Steven Walling <steven.walling at gmail.com> wrote:
> Showcasing in advance the IPs that should not be say, removing critical
> content about the odd chemical composition of Miller Lite, might not only
> make it easier for Wikipedians to remove COI and POV, but it might
> discourage the corporations from making such edits in the first place.

I'd prefer we didn't discourage non-vandal edits from anybody,
regardless of whom we have reason to believe they work for.

> Restricting its usage to corporate entities, rather than subjects that fall
> under the BLP, definitely might be in order.

Yay, another free pass for celebrities. I see that disclaimers like
this one have become robotic. :)

—C.W.