User:Jehochman/Wikipedia is not a game of Clue

Speculation about the real life identity of editors is not productive, and may constitute outing, a serious form of harassment. If an editor reveals their own identity at Wikipedia, that information can be discussed on Wikipedia. Sleuthing for details and clues elsewhere on the Internet to then post that information on Wikipedia is not a good idea.

Wikipedia's conflict of interest guideline provides helpful advice for editors who's real life activities may conflict with their editing of Wikipedia. If they cause a problem, Wikipedia policies such as neutral point of view and no original research may be referenced. Outing is not a suitable strategy to control COI editing.

Though Wikipedia tries to protect editors' privacy, Wikipedia cannot prevent outside parties, such as reporters, from sleuthing edit histories and gathering clues from the Internet. Therefore, editors should be careful not to engage in COI editing, lest they suffer real life embarrassment.

Exceptions

While the community often frowns upon sleuthing, every rule or custom has its exceptions. If an editor freely divulges information about themselves, seeks higher access levels such as Arbitration Committee membership, or becomes a regular editor of hot topics, they should expect that the public record may be scrutinized for evidence of hidden conflicts of interest or advocacy.