Independence and money

Our editorial promise

We describe what a tool does, who it suits, what it costs and where your files are processed. We try to make every claim checkable, and we publish corrections when we get something wrong. Commercial relationships do not change those judgements.

What money cannot buy

No payment buys inclusion in the editorial index, a ranking, a verdict, a score, a recommendation, a better description, or the removal of a criticism.

Paid inclusion is not part of the editorial index. If a clearly labelled sponsored placement exists, it is promotional space. It is kept separate from editorial ordering and does not change how a tool is evaluated.

Voluntary donations, including GitHub sponsorship, are not paid placement. They buy no influence on this site.

Sponsorship and paid placement

If we sell sponsorship or paid placement, the page will say Sponsored or Paid placement next to the unit. The label will be visible before a reader follows the link.

Paid placement will be limited to defined inventory and will not be mixed into editorial rankings or disguised as a review. A sponsor gets distribution. It does not get editorial approval, a ranking promise, a verdict, or a promise of traffic, search rankings, AI citations or sales.

Paid placement is not open yet.

Referral links

If we use referral links, the disclosure will appear next to the link, not only in the footer or on this page. A referral link may pay Dialegein a commission if you buy something after following it.

A commission does not change our evaluation, ranking, order or verdict. Vendors do not get to approve the sentence around the link, choose their position, or ask us to remove a criticism. Commercial links carry rel="sponsored nofollow" in the page code and go through our own /go/ handoff.

Introductions and leads

If you ask us to pass an enquiry to a vendor, we will explain that before you submit it. We may receive a fee for a qualified introduction.

We will ask for your explicit consent, name the vendor that will receive the enquiry, explain the purpose, and share only the details you agree to share. We will explain how long the information is kept. We do not sell personal data as a separate product, and you can ask us not to pass your details on.

Data and API licensing

We may license the structured directory data, evidence records or an API to organisations that want to use it for research, procurement or AI systems. A licence buys access to the data. It does not buy editorial control, a changed verdict, a removed record or a better position.

We will not license personal data. Licence terms will set out attribution, updates, permitted use and the limits of the licence.

If a partner disagrees

A commercial partner can tell us about a factual error and give evidence. We will check it through the same corrections process as any other report. A partner cannot pay us to change a verdict, remove a criticism or move a tool up the ranking.

If we cannot agree, the public correction register is the record of what changed and why. A commercial relationship may end. The evaluation stays where the evidence puts it.

Privacy and consent

We collect only the information needed for the purpose you are using. If a form would pass your details to a vendor, it will say so before you submit it, and you will be asked to consent.

Our privacy notice is in Trust → Privacy. It explains what we collect, why, how long we keep it and who receives it. If you have a privacy question, contact calum@dialegein.com.

Corrections and complaints

If we have published something wrong, tell us. Factual corrections with evidence go through the public corrections register. Complaints and removal requests go through Trust → Corrections and removal.

We aim to acknowledge a correction or complaint and explain the next step. We do not remove accurate criticism because a vendor objects to it.

Creators can ask to check the factual fields in their own record through the creator review programme. That is an accuracy check, not editorial approval.

Who decides

The final editorial decision rests with Calum Kerr, the editor and publisher of Dialegein. It does not rest with a sponsor, referral partner, lead buyer, data licensee or advertiser.

If that changes, this page will say who holds the decision and how editorial independence is protected.

A note on this policy

This is an editorial policy, not legal advice. We will take professional advice before introducing sponsorship, referral, lead or data-licensing arrangements. If an arrangement would require a different disclosure or consent process, we will update this page and the relevant product or vendor page before it starts.