VRCWiki：利益衝突政策
「利益衝突」（Conflict of Interest, COI） 指的是當個人與某個專案，例如世界（Worlds）、角色（Avatars）、物件（Prefab）或社群（Community）等有重大關聯時所產生的情況，而「利益衝突編輯」，指的便是與某個專案密切相關的人，建立或對該專案的相關頁面進行重大編輯的行為。
利益衝突不應被視為一項單獨的政策，而是將其定義為整體編輯者準則架構中的一部分，這與其他如「知名度政策（Notability）」、「中立觀點政策（NPOV）」、「不得加入原創研究政策（No Original Research, NOR）」等原則一同運作。利益衝突政策的目的是與這些準則搭配運行，在編輯發生前預先防範潛在問題。例如：知名度不能由個人或機構自行建立，而利益衝突政策正是透過禁止當事人為涉己項目建立頁面，來強化這一原則。
我們不會預設具有利益衝突的編輯者，其建立或編輯頁面是出於宣傳的意圖。然而，由於其與主題的關聯性，這類編輯者本身就更容易傾向於美化資訊、選擇性地呈現內容，或甚至將條目當作第一手資料來使用，這些做法皆可能影響內容的中立性，並違反「不得加入原創研究」的原則。
範例
以下是編輯者在特定項目中可能構成利益衝突的情境：
- 你是該項目的建立者。
- 你曾以任何方式參與項目的開發、管理或推動。
- 你是該項目的唯一或初期資金贊助者（例如：該項目的委託人）。
政策
VRChat Wiki 對於利益衝突編輯實施兩項核心政策：
- 「編輯限制」：對於曾建立某項目或對其做出重大貢獻的編輯者，將嚴格禁止為該項目建立 Wiki 條目。若編輯者與該項目存在重大利益衝突，則僅允許進行小幅度的編輯，亦不得進行實質性內容的新增或改寫。
- 「管制方式」：若是基於違反上述政策所建立的頁面，將會被立即被刪除，並透過適當的管道通知該名編輯者，例如在其討論頁留言或透過 Discord 聯繫（如果有辦法）。
不一定構成利益衝突的情況
利益衝突並不總是具有非黑即白的明確界定，它往往是一種涉及程度與參與深度的連續光譜。當一位編輯者即使僅與某個項目有輕微關聯時，通常會建議採取保守態度，預設自己存在利益衝突，以避免潛在問題。然而，仍有許多情況下，即便某人與主題具有潛在的利益衝突，但依照具體情境與程度，仍可合理且具建設性地對該項目的頁面進行重大編輯。
判斷自己是否存在潛在利益衝突的一個實用方法，是思考自己是否能夠輕易脫離與該專案的關聯。簡單來說，如果你「離開」這個專案對你幾乎沒有任何影響，那麼你的利益衝突可能非常輕微；但若您的參與深深嵌入在該專案的開發或維護中，那麼你顯而易見的存在利益衝突。
在任何情況下，若編輯者認為自己具有即便是輕微的利益衝突，也應在編輯摘要中主動揭露相關細節，並確保其編輯行為嚴格遵守編輯準則，尤其是對於中立觀點政策的要求。
以下是一些範例，依照其利益衝突的程度由高到低大致排序：
Having a personal relationship with someone affiliated with a project
This situation is difficult to define precisely, as it ranges from "close romantic relationships" to "casual acquaintances on social media." Only you can fully assess the extent of your relationship and determine whether you can or should ethically contribute to the project's page. This is the most sensitive case, requiring careful consideration.
Being a Patreon subscriber, or having made other financial contributions to a project
While financial support for a project reflects a strong interest, it does not necessarily indicate a deep affiliation and can be withdrawn at any time. Although financial supporters may lean toward positive phrasing, they are still independent from the project itself and may not share the same views as those actively involved in creating or sustaining it. Disclosure is recommended, but financial support alone is not a definitive COI.
Being a member of a community
This is similar to the case of financial contributors, but with even more independence and flexibility. Community involvement can vary widely, from contributing content and attending events to simply lurking in a Discord server. While these activities fall at different points on the COI spectrum, they are generally of low concern as long as the standard guidelines are followed.
Having a strong interest in a project
Having a general interest in a topic or project is not considered a COI and is, in fact, encouraged! The Wiki is built on contributions from volunteers who share their time and expertise. While we value those who contribute to any page that needs it, we also encourage editors to focus on topics they are passionate about, as long as they do so in a responsible and balanced manner.
A general example that summarizes it all:
Let's assume a hypothetical project in the form of a World called "Super Fun World".
- The creator of Super Fun World cannot create a page about "Super Fun World," but an interested community member can!
- If that community member is also a Patreon subscriber to the creator of Super Fun World, they should ideally disclose this affiliation in the edit summary when creating the page.
- One of the 3D modelers for Super Fun World spots a couple of typos on the page and corrects them in a minor edit.
- The creator of Super Fun World notices an incorrect date attributed to an event hosted in the World and makes a minor edit to correct it, providing a valid citation if necessary (especially if the original date was a typo).
- A hardcore fan of Super Fun World reads a new development blog published by the creator and decides some of the information is notable enough to include in the article. They add a new section (or update an existing one) with a neutral point of view, using the blog as a citation.
…and so on! This example illustrates how different levels of affiliation affect editing practices while ensuring adherence to COI guidelines.
Conflict of Interest noticebox
If an article primarily (or entirely) contains content written by someone with a partial Conflict of Interest, it will be displayed with the following noticebox:
Note, this cannot be used to circumvent the two fundamental policies. Any pages found to have been created in violation of them, even if they contain this noticebox, will still be eligible for deletion.
It can be added to to an article using the following text: {{Noticebox/Conflict of interest}}
See also
- VRCWiki:Guidelines
- Wikipedia:Conflict of interest on Wikipedia
