Fact types
Every public field is assigned a source type. Provider statements are not labeled as measured facts.
- Provider documented: a claim in an official provider source.
- Observed: a fact visible on a public page or supplied by an authorized vendor representative.
- Measured: a result produced by a controlled Folkbench evaluation run.
- Calculated: a value derived from recorded facts using a versioned formula.
- Editorial: context or explanation written by Folkbench.
- Unknown: information that has not been verified and must not be presented as certain.
Measurement windows and limits
Published metrics identify the measurement time, sample size or window, protocol coverage, missing-value treatment, and known limitations. A short test does not represent permanent availability. A successful request does not represent every model, region, or account tier.
Scoring and comparison
Price, latency, availability, protocol consistency, and user feedback are different metrics. Folkbench does not combine them into an unexplained score by default. Calculated results identify their formula version and input snapshot.
Publication gate
A service enters the public directory only after its vendor state, evidence sanitization, fact version, and publication review satisfy the active release rules. Candidate, withdrawn, expired, or private evidence is not a public result.
The public Beta does not yet publish live ranking or probe data. Empty or unavailable states are intentional until an approved snapshot exists.
Corrections and reproducibility
Material public claims should be linked to a source record or evaluation run. When a result is disputed, Folkbench reviews the cited evidence and preserves an audit record. It may correct, annotate, withdraw, or rerun the affected snapshot.