Editorial policy

One leaf, one question

Every leaf answers a single question, stated in its title or in its first heading. A leaf that drifts into a second subject is split. The answer comes first, in the opening paragraph, then the steps a reader can follow, then the sources the desk read.

Sources are named

A practice leaf names the public body, university extension or civic organisation that states the rule it describes. A history leaf names the document, its date and the collection that holds it. Where the record is thin, the leaf says what the record shows and stops there. A gap in the record is written as a gap, and the leaf stops at what the sources support.

Dates carry meaning

The date on a leaf is the date it was last checked against its sources. When a rule, a document or an organisation changes, the leaf is checked again and the date moves. A leaf is never backdated.

Corrections

A correction is published in the errata of the volume: the leaf, the sentence that was wrong, the source that settles it, and the date of the change. The desk answers a correction with the source it used, whether or not the leaf changes.

Photographs

Every plate is a scene made for its leaf and captioned as a plate. Plates show rooms, tables, streets, tools and hands at work. They carry no slogan, no banner text and no identifiable private person.