Editorial policy

One question, answered first

Each page answers one question in its opening paragraph, then gives the steps, evidence or table behind the answer. Every page ends with what it does not cover and its sources.

Source, result, observation, inference

Every page keeps four kinds of statement apart: what a publisher or specification documents, what a command or calculation produced from stated inputs, what we observed in a named environment, and what we infer. A command that was not run is labelled as not run. Unknown fields stay unknown; we do not fill a gap with a typical value.

Original publishers first

We cite and link the organisation that publishes a dataset, not a portal that republishes it, and we do not rehost third-party datasets. Coverage, formats, access routes and terms are recorded from the publisher’s own documentation with the date checked.

Terms, not legal advice

Licence and terms statements are quoted or summarised as the source states them, with the date. We do not interpret legal rights, combine terms or grant permission. Where a source does not state a condition, we say that it was not established.

Elevation claims name their basis

Grid spacing, surface type, horizontal and vertical reference, and accuracy are kept as separate fields. An accuracy figure is reported with its metric and source; a product specification is not presented as a measurement of a particular tile.

Original work only

Explanations, examples, test fixtures and compilations are written new for this site. We do not reuse prose, code, images, catalogue records or data from earlier sites at this domain; owning a domain is not a licence to old content.

AI assistance and responsibility

Pages are drafted with AI assistance. The publisher is responsible for every page: claims are checked against their sources and tests before publication, and errors are corrected in public as described in corrections.

Review

Independent technical review by a named GIS analyst is being added, with elevation pages also reviewed by an elevation specialist. A reviewed page shows the reviewer’s name, credential and review date. Reviewers must be independent of any sponsor on the page.