What will this column not publish?

A brief is only worth reading if the reader can tell what is known and what is not. These are the four things this column refuses to publish.

• Invented market sizes. No "the market is worth US$X" without a citable source.
• Ratings and reviews. We do not collect them and we will not fabricate them.
• Channel claims we cannot evidence. If a retail chain is named, the reason we believe it buys the product is on the page.
• Fishing advice with no basis. Rigging and water descriptions follow published practice, and the source is linked.

What we do instead

• Cite it. Where a number exists publicly, the brief links the source so a buyer can check it without trusting us.
• Mark it. Where a number does not exist, the brief says so under "what we have not verified" rather than estimating.
• Ask for it. If you sell the product and know the real figure, send it and we will credit the source on the page.

How to challenge a claim

If you find a claim on this site that is not sourced, or a source that no longer supports it, send it to the contact page with the URL. We correct the page and mark the change rather than quietly editing it out. That is the only way a column like this stays worth reading.

The same standard applies to supplier records: see the four verification gates and the directory.