User talk:VikiSecrets

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16:03, 12 March 2019 (UTC)

Managing a conflict of interest

Hello, VikiSecrets. We welcome your contributions, but if you have an external relationship with the people, places or things you have written about in the page Steem, you may have a conflict of interest (COI). Editors with a conflict of interest may be unduly influenced by their connection to the topic. See the conflict of interest guideline and FAQ for organizations for more information. We ask that you:

avoid editing or creating articles about yourself, your family, friends, company, organization or competitors;
propose changes on the talk pages of affected articles (see the {{request edit}} template);
disclose your conflict of interest when discussing affected articles (see WP:DISCLOSE);
avoid linking to your organization's website in other articles (see WP:SPAM);
do your best to comply with Wikipedia's content policies.

In addition, you must disclose your employer, client, and affiliation with respect to any contribution which forms all or part of work for which you receive, or expect to receive, compensation (see WP:PAID).

Also please note that editing for the purpose of advertising, publicising, or promoting anyone or anything is not permitted. Thank you. GermanJoe (talk) 21:11, 14 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I am not affiliated to any of the involved companies and I am writing in my personal legitimate interest as a user of the social media Steemit and holder of the cryptocurrency Steem (every user who joins the platform becomes a holder of the cryptocurrency btw). I am trying to stay as neutral and relevant as possible and hoping that my contributions and knowledge in the space of cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology and decentralized applications are still valuable to others, best regards VikiSecrets (talk) 22:43, 14 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

As an editor holding the cryptocurrency you have indeed a conflict of interest per Wikipedia's guidelines, as explained at WP:EXTERNALREL (whether it's a minor or large conflict of interest is a separate case by case question). Please make sure to read and follow the disclosure requirements and editing guidelines for such a situation. If you have any questions regarding the application of these guidelines or other Wikipedia-related aspects, I recommend to ask at WP:Teahouse (a forum specifically for new editors). Thank you for your consideration. GermanJoe (talk) 10:25, 16 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I added a COI declaration on the Talk page as requested -- VikiSecrets (talk) 11:02, 16 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Please read this notice carefully.

You are receiving this notice because you recently edited one or more pages relating to blockchain or cryptocurrencies topics. You have not done anything wrong. We just want to alert you that "general" sanctions are authorized for certain types of edits to those pages.

A community decision has authorized the use of general sanctions for pages related to blockchain and cryptocurrencies. The details of these sanctions are described here. All pages that are broadly related to these topics are subject to a one revert per twenty-four hours restriction, as described here.

General sanctions is a system of conduct regulation designed to minimise disruption in controversial topic areas. This means uninvolved administrators can impose sanctions for edits relating to these topics that do not adhere to the purpose of Wikipedia, our standards of behaviour, or relevant policies. Administrators may impose sanctions such as editing restrictions, bans, or blocks. An editor can only be sanctioned after the editor has been made aware that general sanctions are in effect. It is only effective if it is logged here. Before continuing to edit pages in these topic areas, please familiarise yourself with the general sanctions system. Don't hesitate to contact me or another editor if you have any questions.

You are required to strictly adhere to the purpose of Wikipedia, and the letter and spirit of the conflict of interest guideline. You are also required to cite reliable sources to support blockchain or cryptocurrency content you add. Cryptocurrency enthusiast websites, social media and the company's own website are not reliable sources. Your editing at Steem is unacceptable and will lead to the termination of your editing privileges without further warning. MER-C 15:49, 16 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Why am I being punished for being honest and posting a COI like required? Banning me from editing articles, I have a personal and legitimate interest to improve and correct, is like banning YouTubers from editing articles about YouTube. I am not affiliated to any company, just a cryptocurrency holder like many other users. VikiSecrets (talk) 19:05, 16 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

We take a zero tolerance approach towards cryptocurrency touting and promotion. If you own the cryptocurrency, you are expected to not edit the article directly. Declaring the ownership is necessary but not sufficient to edit in the topic area - promotional editing is prohibited and information must be cited to reliable sources. The above message is a warning, you are not under any restrictions yet. Editing of Steem and Steemit has been restricted to established users only. MER-C 09:49, 17 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]