User:Tisane/Let people edit their own biographies

WP:COI says that users shouldn't edit their own biographies. I would disagree with the wisdom of this guideline. The problem is not that such a guidelines has no benefits, but rather that the downsides outweigh the benefits.

First of all, it is worth noting that many, if not most, users have conflicts of interest in reference to some of the articles they edit. People typically feel more motivated to write about subjects they have an interest or passion for, because they want to share the information with the world. Typically, people tend to become subject matter experts (SMEs) about topics they feel strongly about; e.g., if you like electronics, you are more likely to major in electrical engineering or become an electrician. SMEs often experience a strong temptation to join pertinent WikiProjects and add their knowledge to the wiki, especially when they notice that facts are incorrect or incomplete. This is not necessarily a bad thing.

Conflict of interest is a relative concept. If you create a biography of an artist you like, arguably you have some degree of conflict of interest. Even if you are in a habit of putting the good of the wiki first, there may be a temptation to bend the rules a bit for the sake of publicizing that artist or of depicting him in a good light.

The COI guideline is often unenforceable, in that a savvy user will disguise his identity and affiliations (e.g. by creating an alias that does not hint at his identity or affiliations, and avoiding certain userboxes) if he wants to edit articles he has a strong conflict of interest about. The guideline may even discourage transparency by encouraging users to hide their identities and affiliations. When they do so, it diminishes the information other editors have at their disposal by which to decide whether to scrutinize a particular pattern of edits.

We should focus not on the characteristics of editors but on the characteristics of their edits. A user who has no apparent COI can still edit an article in a biased way. A user with an apparent COI can edit an article in a way that complies with our policies on neutral point of view, verifiability, reliable sourcing, etc.

The Wikipedia biography controversy could have been resolved by John Seigenthaler editing his biography himself. And why not? He may not be the most objective person in the world to take on that task, but he is probably the foremost SME on himself. He also has the greatest incentive to ensure that his article is kept free of incorrect information that would depict him in a bad light.