Standards and corrections

What we publish

Articles should be of use to someone who is actually doing the thing: specific, verifiable and honest about what depends on the operation, the region or the legal position. Where an article cannot give a clear answer, it says so rather than inventing one.

Byline

Articles carry the byline of the responsible desk, not an individual name. A desk is the part of this publication that is responsible for a subject area; the editors page sets out what each desk covers. If a named person writes, their name appears on the article and links to their page.

Corrections

We correct errors visibly. A change that affects the substance of an article is noted on the article with a date. Typographical errors are fixed silently. If something here is wrong, tell us. That is the most useful message we can receive.

Funding

Advertising, which is always labelled as advertising. We do not sell links in articles, publish paid text presented as editorial, or let an advertiser see an article before publication. If an article mentions products, no one paid for the mention.

Sources

If a statement rests on a standard, a regulation, a statistic or a manufacturer's specification, the article names the source so that you can check it yourself. If it rests on our own experience, that is stated there too.

Regulated activities

Anything subject to a permit, a licence, tax law or employment law appears as background information. It is no substitute for a qualified professional or the relevant authority, and the articles concerned say so.

Images

Photographs come from Pexels, Unsplash and Pixabay and are credited beneath the image with the photographer and source. If no photograph fits the subject, the article carries an abstract illustration created for it rather than a stock image that only loosely matches the content.