Editorial Policy

How content on thatdeveloperguy.com is researched, written, fact-checked, disclosed, and corrected.

Who Writes Here

ThatDeveloperGuy is a one-person agency. Unless a post carries a guest byline with explicit attribution, every article is written by Joseph W. Anady. There is no anonymous content, no ghostwritten content published under a fake persona, and no AI-generated content published under a human byline as if a human wrote it unaided. Author bios link to a verifiable profile and a contact email so readers can confirm who stands behind the work. When a guest contributes, their byline, bio, and any relevant affiliations appear at the top of the post.

Sourcing Standards

A source is citable here only if a reader can independently verify it. In practice that means:

• Primary sources first. Official documentation (Google Search Central, Schema.org, W3C, MDN, vendor docs from Ahrefs, Semrush, Cloudflare, and others), peer-reviewed research, government data, and direct statements from named representatives.
• Reputable secondary sources. Established trade publications such as Search Engine Land, Search Engine Journal, Smashing Magazine, and A List Apart, plus named industry experts whose track records are public.
• Original testing. When this site reports performance numbers, ranking shifts, or technical behavior, the testing methodology is described in the post and the underlying data is available on request.
• Not citable. Anonymous forum posts presented as fact, AI chatbot output presented as a source, screenshots without provenance, and SEO “studies” whose methodology is not disclosed.

Every external claim of fact links to its source on first reference. Statistics older than three years are flagged as such or replaced with current data.

Fact-Checking and Verification

Before publication, every post is checked against this list:

1. Every statistic, quote, and named claim has a working link to a primary or reputable secondary source.
2. Every technical instruction, including code, configuration, and command-line examples, has been run on a real system, not just copied from documentation.
3. Vendor claims (“Tool X does Y”) are verified against current vendor documentation on the publication date, because SaaS features change.
4. Screenshots are dated and reflect the actual current interface, not a stylized recreation.
5. Any quoted person has either spoken on the record to this site or has been quoted from an attributed public source.

If a claim cannot be verified, it does not get published as a claim. It either gets removed, rewritten as opinion clearly labeled as such, or held until verification is possible.

Corrections and Updates

Mistakes will happen. When they do, the goal is to correct them transparently rather than quietly.

• Substantive corrections — a wrong fact, a misattributed quote, a broken technical instruction — are fixed in the article body, and a dated correction note is appended at the bottom of the post explaining what was wrong and what was changed.
• Material updates — a vendor changes a feature, Google changes guidance, a tool is deprecated — are reflected in the article body with a dated “Updated” note explaining what changed.
• Minor edits — typos, link rot fixes, style changes — are made silently.

To report an error, request a correction, or flag outdated information, email corrections@thatdeveloperguy.com. Corrections are reviewed within five business days and either applied or responded to with an explanation.

AI Usage Disclosure

Generative AI tools are part of the workflow here, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest. This is how AI is and is not used:

• Research and outlining. Large language models, currently primarily Anthropic’s Claude and occasionally OpenAI’s ChatGPT, are used to surface sources, summarize long documents, and stress-test outlines. Anything an AI suggests is verified against primary sources before it appears in a published article. AI is never the source of a factual claim.
• Drafting. AI is sometimes used to produce a first draft of a section from notes, bullet points, or an outline. Every AI-assisted draft is rewritten, fact-checked, and edited by Joseph W. Anady before publication. No article is published as raw AI output.
• Editing. AI is used as a line editor, similar to Grammarly, for clarity and grammar.
• Original opinion, analysis, and recommendations. These are written by Joseph W. Anady. Recommendations about tools, tactics, or strategy reflect his actual experience working with clients, not aggregated AI output.
• Images. AI-generated illustrations, when used, are labeled as such in the caption. Photographs of real people, products, or screens are never AI-generated.

If an article was produced primarily through AI assistance for a specific reason — for example, a translation or a programmatic data summary — that is disclosed in a note at the top of the post.

Editorial Independence and Sponsored Content

ThatDeveloperGuy is an agency that sells SEO and web development services to paying clients. Some of those clients operate in the same industries this blog writes about. To keep editorial credibility intact, the following rules apply:

• Clients do not get editorial coverage as a perk. Being a paying client of ThatDeveloperGuy does not earn a mention, a link, a case study, or a favorable review on this blog.
• Case studies are clearly labeled. Posts that document work done for a paying client are tagged “Case Study” and identify the client relationship in the first paragraph. The client reviews case studies for factual accuracy but does not control editorial framing.
• Sponsored posts, if ever published, will be labeled “Sponsored” at the top of the page, in the URL slug, and in any social share. As of the date above, this site has not published any sponsored posts.
• Tool reviews are independent. When SaaS tools are reviewed or recommended, the review reflects hands-on use. Vendors do not get pre-publication review of editorial coverage.

A sole proprietor who sells SEO services is not a neutral observer of the SEO industry. The defense against that is transparency, not denial — which is what this policy and the companion Disclosure page are for.

Conflicts of Interest

Where a real or perceived conflict exists, it is disclosed inline in the relevant article. This includes current or former client relationships with a company being discussed, personal financial holdings in a company being discussed, friendships or professional relationships with a person being quoted or evaluated, and any compensation received from a vendor including free accounts and event tickets. Joseph W. Anady does not accept payment, gifts, or other consideration in exchange for editorial coverage.

Affiliate Links and Monetization

This site does not currently use affiliate links, referral codes, or pay-per-click advertising. If that changes in the future, affiliate links will be marked with a clear disclosure on every page that contains them, in compliance with FTC endorsement guidelines (16 CFR Part 255). Revenue for ThatDeveloperGuy comes from agency client work, not from blog monetization.

Contact

For corrections: corrections@thatdeveloperguy.com
For editorial questions, tips, or feedback: editorial@thatdeveloperguy.com
For everything else: admin@thatdeveloperguy.com

This editorial policy is reviewed at least once per year and whenever a material change to workflow occurs — for example, adoption of a new AI tool, addition of a contributor, or introduction of any new monetization method. Statement date: 2026-04-30. Next scheduled review: 2027-04-30.