User talk:Newtoo

Please read up on reliable sources
Hello Newtoo, and welcome to Wikipedia.

Wikipedia generally (with some exceptions) does not regard the subject of an article as a reliable source for that article, because the subject is inherently biased. To give you an example, let's say there was a Wikipedia article about a particular donut shop. That donut shop's press release saying it makes "the best donuts in the world" could not be used as a source for the article, because it has not been vetted by any secondary parties, such as newspapers or magazines that review donuts. It is an unsupported, unverifiable opinion of the donut shop.

The same thing applies to Scientology and Scientology-related articles. The Church of Scientology cannot -- and should not -- be used as a source of information about it for an encyclopedia, because it has an inherently biased opinion of itself. Rather, articles and stories about Scientology coming from reliable sources such as newspapers and academic journals are the sources we should and must use.

Fair warning: These sources typically do not paint a favorable view of the Church. However, if you wish to edit at Wikipedia, you must be able to set aside your own personal biases and edit from a neutral point-of-view. I would suggest, therefore, that you avoid editing entirely in the Scientology-related articles, to avoid any appearance of a conflict-of-interest, and instead edit in another area in which you have an interest. -- Good Damon 19:05, 25 March 2008 (UTC)