Can I count on my edits on Wikipedia remaining anonymous?
No. If you don’t register your account, your IP address is visible to the public. If you do register an account and just use it to write about one company or individual, you still may get “outed” and reported by a volunteer. There is a special bulletin board for Wikipedia admins just to review suspected undisclosed COI or “sock puppet” accounts.
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Can I write an entry about my own company or myself?
This is strongly discouraged by Wikipedia. You either have to wait for a volunteer to notice you or, hire a consultant who knows the proper procedures. If you try yourself, you still have to disclose your Conflict of Interest and abide by the Wikipedia mission to produce a neutral, reliably sourced encyclopedia. As a result, many such entries are rejected when reviewed independently in the general “Articles for Creation” queue. Once an article has been rejected, it becomes more difficult for a new article on the same subject to be approved.
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Can’t I just set up a new account if I get caught in a conflict of interest?
This is called “sock puppeting” and is strictly against Wikipedia policy. It’s also potentially illegal. Wikipedia has tools to block entire IP addresses from posting entries once a user has been found to be consistently violating policy. They also put the previously affected articles under permanent watch.
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