Editorial policy

Every magazine has a house standard, and this is ours. It governs what may appear on SohoPage: the stories contributors publish, the profiles they present and the responses readers send in. The same rules apply in all three places.

What we hope to print

Writing that takes its reader seriously. We have no quarrel with conviction, and none with a good argument conducted in public; the best long-form work often has an opponent in view. We ask two things in return: be candid about where your material comes from, and keep ordinary courtesy towards your subjects and towards anyone who answers you.

For contributors

Name your sources, and link to them where a link exists. Use only cover images you made or have been given leave to use. Because your links are plain links, check that each one leads where the sentence around it says it does.

For those who respond

A moderator reads every response before it is printed. We print responses that address the story and keep a civil tone. We decline those that wander off the subject, those that insult, and those whose only purpose is to send readers somewhere else.

What we will not publish

None of the following is acceptable anywhere on SohoPage, whether in a story, a profile or a response:

• Unlawful material, and material that urges or helps anyone to break the law.
• Malicious files and deceptive links: nothing that infects, nothing that tricks a reader, and no link that hides its real destination or exists to do the reader harm.
• Attacks on people. Take an argument or a book apart as you see fit; do not threaten, harass or degrade a person or a group.
• Private details about others, such as a home address, a private letter or a personal document, published without that person’s agreement.
• False identities: posing as another person, writer or organisation, or presenting a profile designed to mislead readers about its author.
• Borrowed work passed off as your own. Quote and attribute; publish only text and pictures you are entitled to use.
• Any sexual content involving minors. There are no exceptions.

When the standard is not met

The moderators may take down a story or a response that falls short of this policy, and may close a blog. Closure is reserved above all for breaches that are grave or that keep recurring.

Drawing something to our attention

If you find something here that seems to fall foul of this policy, write to the editors from the contact page under Reporting a story or response. The page’s address and a line explaining your concern give us what we need to look into it.