Verifying quotes
This page is for reporters and fact-checkers. A quote must be real, exact, in context and correctly attributed. With open source projects, many "quotes" are really sentences from a README, a forum post or an old press release; each of those is quotable, but only as what it is.
Contents
- Four checks for every quote
- Checking quotes from published pages
- Checking quotes from interviews
- Quotes that circulate without a source
- Quotes frequently used about Exponential
Four checks for every quote
- Real: there is an original: a page, a file, a recording, an e-mail.
- Exact: the words match the original, including its spelling. Omissions are marked with "...".
- In context: the surrounding text does not change its meaning.
- Attributed: the speaker or the document is named correctly, with role and date (Attributing statements).
Checking quotes from published pages
- Open the original page; do not copy from another article.
- For a repository file, cite the file and, if precision matters, the commit:
https://github.com/se7enxweb/exponential/blob/<commit>/README.md. - Websites change: save the date you read it, and an archive copy if your outlet uses one.
Checking quotes from interviews
- Record with consent, or take verbatim notes.
- If you clean up spoken language, do not change the meaning; your outlet's rules decide how much cleaning is allowed.
- If you send quotes back for a factual check, say what you will accept as a correction (facts) and what not (tone).
Quotes that circulate without a source
If a quote appears in a forum, a comment or another article without a source, treat it as unverified. Ask the person or organization whether they said it (Quotes policy). Do not use it until confirmed.
Quotes frequently used about Exponential
These published sentences are often quoted; here is where each comes from:
| Quote | Source |
|---|---|
| "a professional PHP application framework with advanced CMS (content management system) functionality" | README, "What is Exponential?" |
| "This project is not associated with the original eZ Publish software or its original developer, eZ Systems or Ibexa" | README; https://exponential.earth/about/project |
| "At the specific request of Ibexa we are changing this projects name to 'Exponential' ..." | https://exponential.earth/about/project |
| "a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Corporation founded in Seattle, Washington, USA" | https://foundation.exponential.earth/ |
| "You can expect a first answer within one business day" | SECURITY.md |
| "Exponential has made it beyond it's end of life in 2021 and survived" | README, "Exponential Project Status" |
| "The simple, flexible and reliable website application engine" | https://exponential.earth/about/press-kit |
Related pages
- Quotes policy
- Fact-checking guide
- Where the facts live, for the press
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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