Editorial Standards
Core Principles
- Every factual claim must be linked to a source record in the database.
- No fabricated interviews, no invented insider claims, no anonymous sources.
- No rumor amplification. If a claim cannot be independently sourced, it is not published.
- Reporting, analysis, opinion, and review are clearly labeled and kept distinct.
- All data carries a “Data as of” timestamp visible on every article page.
- Corrections are logged publicly and articles are versioned.
Article Types
Reporting
Factual accounts of events or developments. Every claim sourced. No editorial interpretation without explicit labeling.
Analysis
Data-driven interpretation of signals and trends. Clearly distinguished from reporting. All inferences labeled as such.
Opinion
Labeled evaluative positions by named authors. Does not claim factual authority beyond sourced data. Author’s perspective is explicit.
Review
Design and experience evaluation grounded in documented systems. No numeric scores without a published rubric.
Roundtable
Structured multi-author debate. All positions are attributed. Moderator synthesizes; moderator does not adjudicate without evidence.
Market Brief
Quantitative signal summaries. Lead with numbers. Every metric timestamped and sourced.
Sourcing Rules
- Every claim in every article has at least one linked source ID.
- Source records include URL, publisher, publication date, and retrieval timestamp.
- Data sources are labeled as dataset or URL.
- Inferences derived from data are labeled as inferences and include the derivation logic.
- Quoted text requires the verbatim quote to appear in the source record.
- No anonymous sourcing of any kind.
Prohibited Content
- Unverified allegations about individuals or companies.
- Rumors or speculation presented as reporting.
- Exploit guides, cheating instructions, or account manipulation advice.
- Defamatory statements.
- Private personal information not relevant to a matter of public record.
- Outrage framing or moral panic language.
- Sweeping claims without quantitative support.
Corrections Policy
When an error is identified, we correct it promptly and publicly. Corrections are logged in the article’s correction panel, the article revision number is incremented, and a correction banner is displayed at the top of the article.
To submit a correction request, see our Corrections page.
Platform Signal Disclosure
Non-Steam platform rankings (Xbox, PlayStation, Epic) are treated as signals, not absolute player counts. We do not claim exact console player counts unless the data comes from an official, attributed dataset. All platform data is labeled with source and timestamp.
Questions about our standards?
Contact editorial@signalandcircuit.com or see Data Methodology for technical sourcing details.