Editorial policy

Purpose

Open Assay exists to be the peptide category's most trustworthy independent voice. This document is the set of rules we hold ourselves to so that trust is earned, not claimed.

Source of every claim

Every factual claim on a peptide page links to a primary source: a PubMed ID, a DOI, or a ClinicalTrials.gov identifier. We do not cite other peptide blogs, influencer videos, or supplier marketing materials as sources of scientific fact. If we cannot find a primary source for a claim, we do not publish the claim.

Language we do not use

Peptides covered on Open Assay are sold for research use only. To preserve compliance and avoid implying human use, our style guide prohibits:

• "Users," "patients," "treatment," "therapy" (when attributing outcomes to peptide use by people)
• "Healing effects," "promotes repair" (active voice attributing outcomes to the peptide)
• Dosing recommendations, cycle lengths, on/off protocols
• "Under medical supervision"
• Any phrase implying human administration is intended

Preferred replacements:

• "In [species] studies, researchers observed..."
• "Associated with [outcome] in [study]"
• "Under investigation for [indication]"
• "In [citation], participants received [dose]; this is not a recommendation."

Evidence tiering

Every peptide carries an evidence-tier badge (1-4) reflecting the strength of independently-replicated human evidence. See /evidence-tiers for our criteria. A promising animal result from a single laboratory does not lift a peptide out of Tier 3 regardless of how widely it is cited in supplement marketing.

Independence from suppliers

• Rankings are determined before any affiliate relationship is established.
• Affiliate partner status is not an input to the ranking algorithm.
• Suppliers cannot pay to improve their ranking or remove unfavorable coverage.
• Failing test results on affiliate partners are published with the same prominence as failing test results on non-partners.
• We review suppliers who are not affiliate partners — including those without affiliate programs and those we have chosen not to partner with.
• If a supplier's affiliate program threatens editorial consequences for unfavorable coverage, we do not apply.

Corrections and updates

Corrections are logged in the changelog on the affected page with date, reviewer, and summary. Substantive corrections are surfaced at the top of the page for ninety days after publication. Minor typographic or formatting corrections are made silently.

Disputes with suppliers

If a supplier disputes a test result, their response is recorded on the affected assay page in a "Remediation" section. We re-test from a fresh blind-purchased sample at our own expense. The re-test result is published regardless of outcome.

Conflicts of interest

Open Assay editors and scientific reviewers disclose all financial relationships with peptide suppliers, testing labs, or compounding pharmacies on their team pages. Direct equity stakes in reviewed suppliers are disqualifying.

What this policy is not

This policy does not guarantee that Open Assay is never wrong. Science is provisional, and our interpretations of it are too. The policy commits us to correct errors visibly when found — not to avoid ever making them.