Editorial standards

What requires a source

Any of the following must trace to a source that was actually opened and read, or it does not get published:

• a local rule, ordinance, or requirement
• a responsibility or ownership boundary
• an assistance, reimbursement, or cost-sharing program
• a permit or inspection requirement
• a testing requirement
• a description of a public process
• a statistic, a measurement, or a price

What does not require a source

General explanation of how systems are arranged, what a method attempts, and what a document can and cannot establish is written from domain understanding and is presented as explanation, not as a citable finding. Where such explanation touches anything on the list above, it is phrased as a question to put to the relevant authority rather than as an answer.

What is never published here

• invented prices, cost ranges, or averages
• invented programs, rules, or requirements
• a rule from one jurisdiction presented as applying to another
• a contractor ranking, rating, review, or endorsement
• a claim that any contractor is vetted, approved, available, or waiting
• a diagnosis, a condition grade, a risk score, or an urgency score
• substantial copyrighted text reproduced from a source