User:Lexein/Paid content tax

 In progress

The road to a policy about paid editing is littered with failure and almost and some confusion over the meaning of the words "paid" & "editing" when combined:

• Wikipedia:Paid editing (guideline), a failed proposal
• Wikipedia:Paid editing (policy), a failed proposal
• Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Paid editing, a 2009 RFC currently inactive, no consensus.
• Wikipedia:Paid advocacy, a proposed policy
• Wikipedia:Bright Line, a stub essay, userfied, links to User:Jimbo Wales/Paid Advocacy FAQ
• WP:BRIGHTLINE -> Wikipedia:Paid advocacy
• WP:WPEW -> Wikipedia:WikiProject Paid Advocacy Watch
• Wikipedia:Paid editing (essay)

Paid content tax is a set of documentation and process requirements to be imposed on paid content: articles created/expanded under contract by paid editors (that is, paid by any entity other than WMF)

1. Clearly identify funded or non-funded content:
   • Category:Articles started by COI editor - in compliance with WP:COI
   • Category:Articles started by paid editor - in compliance with WP:COI which should address this
   • Category:Articles with COI content by paid editor
   • Category:Articles with no COI content by paid editor
2. All COI and PE (paid editor)-created articles must go through Articles for creation (AfC), with Conflict of interest and WP:Paid editor status clearly identified in-article with Category:Articles started by declared COI editor and/or Category:Articles started by paid editor. If such an article is caught having not gone through that process, as indicated by the article history, it should be summarily and uncontroversially speedy-moved to AfC space, and review requested. We keep the mainspace free of possible promo and POV problems for as long as humanly possible.
3. Clearly identify paid editors permanently. Once paid, always a paid editor.
   • At least on User page: Category:Editors paid by external entities (not paid by WMF or any related entity)
   • A status bit: "paid editor", like rollbacker, but with no additional rights. Not changeable by editor, and shall not be turned off, once on.
4. Rights restrictions: Paid editors can never become administrators or bureaucrats. Sorry to all those paid editors acting in good faith, but the frequency and temptation of bad acts is too great to even be considered to be allowed. This means all current administrators/bureaucrats who still engage in paid editing should abandon that, abandon their admin/crat privilege, or come in from the cold and work at WMF.
5. Tax: For every article created by a paid editor, or non-GLAM project, they should be required to completely develop, to start-class quality, some number "N" of non-contractual WP:GNG, WP:NPOV articles, through AfC. For Gibraltar, for example, the ratio should be 3:1 or 4:1.