ScottDFarmelant
Joined 7 July 2026
Latest comment: 7 days ago by TonySt in topic July 2026
July 2026
edit
Hello, I'm TonySt. I wanted to let you know that one or more of your recent contributions to Alternate Concepts have been undone because they appeared to be promotional. Advertising and using Wikipedia as a "soapbox" are against Wikipedia policy and not permitted; Wikipedia articles should be written objectively, using independent sources, and from a neutral perspective. Take a look at the welcome page to learn more about Wikipedia. Thank you. tony 19:30, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- Tony. With respect, these are not promotional changes, they represent the history of the company and it's current operations. Please advise as to the wording that is considered promotional so it can be revised. Please note that weeks of labor went into these changes so to see them deleted seconds after publication is disheartening. Thank you. ScottDFarmelant (talk) 19:33, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- Hi Scott! What is your relationship with Alternate Concepts? tony 19:34, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- I'm their longtime communications consultant since 2005. I have spent years trying to convince them to update the page and finally succeeded over the past year. Today's publication represents the culmination of these efforts. ScottDFarmelant (talk) 19:35, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- I'm sorry for the frustration, but the changes appeared to be written less than neutrally. I'm going to provide you with some information below regarding conflicts of interest and paid editing. It's a standard message we provide so if it looks boilerplate that's because it is, but it also has a ton of great information on how to request changes to articles related to organizations, companies, or people that you have a conflict of interest with. The main relevant points that you will find useful are the "disclosure" part and the "edit request" part. tony 19:39, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- Tony, I'm confused and unclear how to proceed. I spent the better part of a day posting these changes. Do you have them saved or have they been deleted permanently? Regarding "less than neutrally," please provide examples. This is standard boiler plate text for the transportation management industry to set forth record of accomplishment. The only language related to accolades is reflective of the senior leadership's collective accomplishments and records of public service, which are matters of public record. ScottDFarmelant (talk) 19:44, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- Regarding "conflict of interest," I am happy to disclose my relationship. I'm a one-time print journalist for 12+ years including a record of (award-winning) service as an investigative and community reporter in the 1980s and 1990s. ScottDFarmelant (talk) 19:49, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- Your changes were undone but are available for you to view in the page history. An example of non-neutral content is
ACI is one of the largest U.S.-based private operators of passenger rail services, with an outstanding record of service quality, safety, and customer satisfaction
, for a start. It is very nearly impossible to write neutrally about something you have a professional relationship with, which is why we (as editors of Wikipedia) generally do not directly edit articles like that ourselves. A lot of the information you added appears to be material that probably is industry boilerplate, but for the company website instead of our encyclopedia article about the company. The information I left below has some good starting points, including how to make edit requests to the article. tony 19:54, 7 July 2026 (UTC)- That's helpful in terms of the promotional content consideration. That said, every word you cite is 100% factual and verifiable by third parties. Would this be an acceptable alternative: "ACI is one of the largest U.S.-based private operators of passenger rail services (see 5 major active contracts in AZ, CT, MD, NJ, and Puerto Rico) known for a record of service quality, safety, and client satisfaction (see contract with San Juan since 1997, AZ since 2008, etc.)" ScottDFarmelant (talk) 19:59, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- No, that would not be an acceptable alternative as it is still voicing a subjective opinion of how great your company is. tony 20:06, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- It's not my company, it's a client, one of hundreds I represent. And the content is not subjective as every word is factual and verifiable. Given your position, how is it possible for a large company to articulate its scope and breadth of services in a highly technical space without offending some unclear sensibilities? Should I apply AP Style Guide to the text? Also, I found how to see the text but its not available in 'visual' editor form apparently. How do I see that text? Further, are you the sole arbitrator of what's allowable and not or can I appeal to others for guidance and assistance. Thank you for your consideration. ScottDFarmelant (talk) 20:10, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- A noticeboard where you can talk with other editors besides myself might be the Teahouse (which is meant for general questions by new contributors) or the conflict of interest noticeboard which might have editors more familiar with these issues. If I were to pick one I would pick the Teahouse but you are free to post almost anywhere.
- To answer your question re:
how is it possible for a large company to articulate its scope and breadth of services
-- that is not the purpose of Wikipedia. Companies should never articulate anthing here. Articles are not written by companies. - Also, I left a link further down on this talk page which should bring you to the page with your edits, but here is the link again: tony 20:23, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- It sounds like I should I engage with a third party Wiki editor to edit the content and publish it so as to remove claims of bias. Does that make sense? Thanks. ScottDFarmelant (talk) 20:34, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- If they are receiving payment they are bound by the paid editing policies, and there are no exemptions for neutrality for paid editors, regardless of if they are directly employed by a client or not. tony 20:39, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- It sounds like I should I engage with a third party Wiki editor to edit the content and publish it so as to remove claims of bias. Does that make sense? Thanks. ScottDFarmelant (talk) 20:34, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- It's not my company, it's a client, one of hundreds I represent. And the content is not subjective as every word is factual and verifiable. Given your position, how is it possible for a large company to articulate its scope and breadth of services in a highly technical space without offending some unclear sensibilities? Should I apply AP Style Guide to the text? Also, I found how to see the text but its not available in 'visual' editor form apparently. How do I see that text? Further, are you the sole arbitrator of what's allowable and not or can I appeal to others for guidance and assistance. Thank you for your consideration. ScottDFarmelant (talk) 20:10, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- No, that would not be an acceptable alternative as it is still voicing a subjective opinion of how great your company is. tony 20:06, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- Tony - there is no content that I can see that represents my work product from today, only a reference to the blocking of said content. How can I obtain the content I published? Please send to me here or in email as an attachment. ScottDFarmelant (talk) 20:04, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- Here is a link to the version with your edits: tony 20:07, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- Thanks for that, very helpful. I will do my best to get the content right so it meets guidelines but absent specific line edits, your perspective is clearly subjective. I am asking so many questions with the goal of revising the text so there is no claim of promotional language. Alas, it's hard to see how sharing facts about the scope of a business, it's position in the market place, the specifics of its contracts, etc. is seen as promotional rather than informational to anyone who wants to understand the nature of the companies that are privately owned and manage public transit services. I hope that we can work collaboratively to get this done efficiently without losing the substance of the content. ScottDFarmelant (talk) 20:30, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- A good step while you're working on your text is to create a WP:DRAFT of the article. From there you could even submit it for publishing and it will be reviewed by people who are more experienced than I am. It's a good way to save your progress so it doesn't get lost again, too. Also, would you like me to add the necessary disclosure to your userpage on your behalf? You can add it by following the instructions here but if you get stuck I can add it for you if you would like. tony 20:37, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- Thanks Tony, this is super helpful. Appreciate the patience. ScottDFarmelant (talk) 20:38, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- A good step while you're working on your text is to create a WP:DRAFT of the article. From there you could even submit it for publishing and it will be reviewed by people who are more experienced than I am. It's a good way to save your progress so it doesn't get lost again, too. Also, would you like me to add the necessary disclosure to your userpage on your behalf? You can add it by following the instructions here but if you get stuck I can add it for you if you would like. tony 20:37, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- Thanks for that, very helpful. I will do my best to get the content right so it meets guidelines but absent specific line edits, your perspective is clearly subjective. I am asking so many questions with the goal of revising the text so there is no claim of promotional language. Alas, it's hard to see how sharing facts about the scope of a business, it's position in the market place, the specifics of its contracts, etc. is seen as promotional rather than informational to anyone who wants to understand the nature of the companies that are privately owned and manage public transit services. I hope that we can work collaboratively to get this done efficiently without losing the substance of the content. ScottDFarmelant (talk) 20:30, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- Here is a link to the version with your edits: tony 20:07, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- That's helpful in terms of the promotional content consideration. That said, every word you cite is 100% factual and verifiable by third parties. Would this be an acceptable alternative: "ACI is one of the largest U.S.-based private operators of passenger rail services (see 5 major active contracts in AZ, CT, MD, NJ, and Puerto Rico) known for a record of service quality, safety, and client satisfaction (see contract with San Juan since 1997, AZ since 2008, etc.)" ScottDFarmelant (talk) 19:59, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- Your changes were undone but are available for you to view in the page history. An example of non-neutral content is
- Regarding "conflict of interest," I am happy to disclose my relationship. I'm a one-time print journalist for 12+ years including a record of (award-winning) service as an investigative and community reporter in the 1980s and 1990s. ScottDFarmelant (talk) 19:49, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- Tony, I'm confused and unclear how to proceed. I spent the better part of a day posting these changes. Do you have them saved or have they been deleted permanently? Regarding "less than neutrally," please provide examples. This is standard boiler plate text for the transportation management industry to set forth record of accomplishment. The only language related to accolades is reflective of the senior leadership's collective accomplishments and records of public service, which are matters of public record. ScottDFarmelant (talk) 19:44, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- I'm sorry for the frustration, but the changes appeared to be written less than neutrally. I'm going to provide you with some information below regarding conflicts of interest and paid editing. It's a standard message we provide so if it looks boilerplate that's because it is, but it also has a ton of great information on how to request changes to articles related to organizations, companies, or people that you have a conflict of interest with. The main relevant points that you will find useful are the "disclosure" part and the "edit request" part. tony 19:39, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- I'm their longtime communications consultant since 2005. I have spent years trying to convince them to update the page and finally succeeded over the past year. Today's publication represents the culmination of these efforts. ScottDFarmelant (talk) 19:35, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
- Hi Scott! What is your relationship with Alternate Concepts? tony 19:34, 7 July 2026 (UTC)
Managing a conflict of interest
edit Hello, ScottDFarmelant. We welcome your contributions, but if you have an external relationship with the people, places or things you have written about on the page Alternate Concepts, you may have a conflict of interest (COI). Editors with a conflict of interest may be unduly influenced by their connection to the topic. We ask that you:
- Avoid editing or creating articles about yourself, your family, friends, colleagues, company, organization, clients, or competitors
- Disclose your conflict of interest when discussing affected articles (see Wikipedia:Conflict of interest § How to disclose a COI)
- Propose changes on the talk pages of affected articles (you can use the Edit Request Wizard), including links or details of reliable sources that support your suggestions
- Avoid linking to your organization's website in other articles (see Wikipedia:Spam § External link spamming)
In addition, you are required by the Wikimedia Foundation's terms of use to disclose your employer, client, and affiliation for any contribution which forms all or part of work for which you receive compensation. See Wikipedia:Paid-contribution disclosure.
See the FAQ for article subjects for more information.
Also, editing for the purpose of advertising, publicizing, or promoting anyone or anything is not permitted. Thank you. tony 19:40, 7 July 2026 (UTC)