Editorial standards
These are the rules the site is written to. They exist so that you can tell, on any page, whether you are reading a calculation, a transcribed specification, or a judgement, and so that you have a specific thing to hold us to when we get something wrong.
Every figure carries its origin
There are exactly three kinds of number on this site, and we distinguish them consistently.
| Class | Definition | Example | What we guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Derived | Calculated from a published constant or from arithmetic shown on the page | cm/360, frame time, polling interval, pixels per degree | That the arithmetic is correct and the formula is stated so you can check it |
| Manufacturer-stated | Transcribed from a manufacturer's published documentation | Mouse weight, switch actuation force, sensor ratings | That we have transcribed it accurately, not that the manufacturer measured it well |
| Framework | Our own categorisation or judgement | Weight classes, grip-contact ratios, the upgrade order | That we explain the reasoning so you can disagree with a specific step |
Where a figure is community-established rather than published by a primary source, we say so explicitly on the page rather than presenting it with the same confidence as an engine constant.
Independence
- No paid placements. Nothing is included, excluded, ranked or described in a particular way because of a commercial relationship. There are no sponsored pages and no sponsored sections within pages.
- No manufacturer review of content. No manufacturer sees a page before publication or has any input into its wording.
- Advertising is separate from editorial. The site carries display advertising, which is placed programmatically and has no relationship to what any page says. Advertisers do not know what they are appearing next to and could not influence it if they did.
- No affiliate-driven rankings. Where a link goes to a retailer it is because that is where the thing is, and the ordering of anything on this site is never determined by commercial return.
- Disclosure by default. If a product were ever provided to us, that fact would appear on the page it is discussed on.
How things get into the reference sets
The mouse and switch databases are curated, not exhaustive, and the curation rule is simple: an entry earns its place by representing a distinct shape, a distinct size band, or a distinct mechanism. A fourth mouse with the same shell dimensions as three already listed adds nothing, and we leave it out.
This is an editorial judgement and it has a cost: a mouse you own may not be listed. That is preferable to a list so long that it cannot be read, which is a search engine rather than a reference.
How we handle uncertainty
Three practices, all of which make the site less confident-sounding than its competitors and more useful than them.
- Ranges rather than point values where the underlying quantity varies. Switch debounce is "2 to 8 ms", not "5 ms", because it depends on firmware we cannot inspect.
- Explicit exclusions. We do not publish sensitivity conversions for games whose systems we cannot model correctly, and we list those games with the reason rather than quietly omitting them.
- Stated limits on our own frameworks. The mouse size finder gives a window and says it is a shortlist, not a verdict, because two hand measurements cannot capture hand shape.
Corrections policy
We correct any factual error, and we log every substantive correction publicly with a date on the corrections page. That includes:
- A wrong constant, specification or calculated value.
- A claim that turns out not to be supported.
- A framework whose reasoning we no longer think holds.
Typographical fixes and clarifications that do not change meaning are made silently. Anything that changes what a reader would conclude is logged.
Every article carries an "Updated" date reflecting the last substantive revision, not the last time a file was touched.
What we do not cover
Deliberate scope limits, stated so that their absence is not read as an oversight:
- Medical advice. Ergonomics pages describe geometry and comfort. Persistent pain is a matter for a professional, and we say so where it comes up.
- Prices. They vary by region and by week and would be wrong within days of publication.
- Anti-cheat and rules interpretation. We describe what hardware features do. Whether a specific feature is permitted in a specific title is a matter for that title's current rules, which change.
- Individual product reviews. This is a reference and framework site. We describe categories, mechanisms and how to choose within them.