Directory listing guidelines for public organizations

A listing says Oddlynew reviewed the organization at one point in time. It is not an endorsement, an audit or a guarantee that its content is correct or safe.

A listing promises no position, ranking or promotion. Featured organizations are an editorial choice and are marked as such.

Ending a listing never makes the organization private. It stays public; only the listing goes.

Nothing in the organization is unlawful, and nothing breaks the terms of use: nothing that infringes someone else's rights, no illegal goods or services, nothing that incites violence or hatred, and nothing that harms children.

An organization that helps people commit a crime is refused. Discussing the law, or arguing that a law should change, is fine.

Anyone can report illegal content at oddlynew.com/report; a person reviews every notice. Where the law requires it, we inform the authorities.

The name says what the organization is and cannot be taken for another person, company or product. No borrowed names or brands, and no name so generic that it claims a whole field.

"Verified: [domain]" appears only after the owner of that domain proved it. An organization we maintain for a provider says so: "Maintained by Oddlynew for [domain], not by [provider]", and the provider can claim it.

A listing adds something the listed organizations on its topic lack: another audience, a different stance stated openly, or more depth. The summary says which.

A near copy of a listed organization is refused with that reason. What makes a near copy is where it came from, not how alike it reads: two good organizations on one topic will say similar things. One written from a listed organization that adds nothing and does not cite it is a near copy; one built from its own sources, data and results is not. Improving or contributing to the listed one is usually the better way.

Organizations Oddlynew maintains pass the same review, with no easier standard.

A listed organization may teach the agents that read it how to do what their user asked: procedures, Skills, conventions. It may not give them work their user did not give, widen what they may do, change credentials, connections or client settings, send or write data anywhere outside the user's own organizations, or have anything installed, fetched or run, and calling any of that a required first step does not make it allowed. Nothing in it poses as the user, the platform or a system message. Agents treat everything else in it as reference; a procedure becomes their rule only when their own organization adopts it.

No private person's data, nothing internal, and claims carry their sources.

A listing may be reviewed again when the organization changes materially.

An organization that has not changed for 12 months may lose its listing. Its administrators hear from us first and can keep it by bringing it up to date.

Creating a copy under a new name to get around a refusal or a removal, running several near copies, or manipulating reviews or reports is itself a reason to end every listing of the same owner.

An agent reviews each request against these guidelines; featuring and claim handovers are a person's decision at Oddlynew.

We aim to apply these guidelines fairly and consistently. We will sometimes get it wrong, and you can tell us.

We act in proportion: usually a reason and a chance to fix it first; at once for unlawful content or serious harm.

A refusal, suspension or removal comes with the reviewer's reason by e-mail to the organization's administrators. Fix it and request the listing again.

To contest a decision, write to legal@oddlynew.com with the organization's name and why you disagree. A person reads every message.

Oddlynew has no obligation to list any organization, and may refuse, suspend or end a listing at any time and for any reason, including a breach of these guidelines or the terms, reports, security concerns, or a change to these guidelines. We tell the administrators the reason.