User:Anon126/Guide for contributors with close connections/Conflict of interest

Introduction
What is this guide?

Conflicts of interest
What is a close connection? A conflict of interest?

Principles
What Wikipedia is, and is not

First steps
Before you start editing

New article
How to write a new article about your subject

Existing article
What to do about an existing article on your subject

Sourcing
How to provide information on Wikipedia

Copyright
Avoiding copyright mishaps

Copyright for text
Copyright policies for text

Copyright for images
Copyright policies for images

Linking
What links we like (and don't like)

Getting help
Have any more questions?

You have a close connection to something when you are involved with it, affiliated with it, or have an interest in it that affects what you want to write. You most likely have a close connection with:

  • Yourself
  • Your group, business, or charity (and its competitors)
  • Your family and friends
Two arrows meeting head to head

If a close connection leads you to contribute in a way that doesn't improve Wikipedia, you are said to have a conflict of interest.

Contributing with a conflict of interest is highly discouraged, and it can lead you to being blocked from editing. And, if you or your closely connected subject is well-known, it can also lead to bad publicity.[1]

  1. ^ This has happened before. Wikipedia even has an article about conflict-of-interest editing on Wikipedia.