Editorial policy
This page explains the standards every TODO article must meet before it is published. They are enforced by automated checks on every article and by human review while the site is in review mode.
Sources
- Primary sources first. We prefer the original: a project’s release notes, a vendor’s official changelog or blog, a standards document, a research paper, an official API. Every article lists all of its sources at the end, with links.
- At least two independent sources, or one primary source. An article must cite either two or more independent publishers or at least one primary source. A claim that rests on a single secondary source is flagged and, where it matters, said to be unconfirmed.
- Secondary publishers are for discovery. News sites and aggregators help us notice that something happened. We then go to the primary source for the facts. We only read the full text of sources whose terms and technical signals allow it; for everything else we use the headline and a short excerpt.
- No anonymous rumours. We don’t publish claims that cannot be traced to a named, checkable source.
No copying
Every article is written in our own words. Automated checks reject any draft that shares a run of more than eight consecutive words with a source (outside quotation marks), that follows the structure or sentence order of a single source too closely, or that reuses too much of any one source’s phrasing. We never republish source images; every featured image is generated for us or is a plain branded card.
Quotes
We quote only when the exact words matter. At most one direct quote per source, under 30 words, in quotation marks, attributed in the same sentence. Quotes are checked to appear word for word in the cited source. We never invent or alter quotes.
Original analysis
Every article must add something no single source contains. Depending on the story, that is a release diff (what actually changed between two versions of a project: files, public APIs, breaking-change markers, contributors), a comparison table built from our own coverage history (for example versions or prices over time), or a timeline merged from several sources and our earlier stories. It appears in an “Our analysis” box and is cited in the text as [S0]. Articles without it are never published automatically.
How stories are selected
We collect items from a curated list of official feeds and APIs, group duplicate coverage of the same event, and score each story on freshness, momentum, source authority, relevance to people building with AI agents, and novelty compared with what we already published. Only stories with enough independent sourcing and a clear reason to matter to our readers are written. Most candidate stories are skipped.
Accuracy checks
Before publication every article passes: a schema and safety check; a sourcing check; a copying check; a length, structure and readability check; a deterministic check that every number, version, date, price and name matches the cited source; and a separate AI fact-check that compares each claim with the source it cites and rejects the article if any claim is unsupported. Details are on How we use AI.
Updates
When a story develops, we update the existing article instead of publishing a new one. Updates add an “Update” section, revise the key facts, add the new sources and show an “Updated” date. We never change a date without a real change to the content.
Corrections and retractions
If we get something wrong, we fix it and say so: a dated correction note appears on the article and in the public corrections log. If an article cannot be fixed, we retract it, remove it from search engines and record the reason. Report an error through the contact page; we aim to respond within 48 hours.
Independence
No advertiser, sponsor or source can buy coverage, approve an article before publication, or change it afterwards. The site currently carries no advertising. If ads are switched on later they will be clearly labelled, kept separate from articles, and disclosed on the advertising page.
Responsibility
TODO(human) operates TODO and holds editorial responsibility for everything it publishes. See About.