Editorial & Review Process
CodeThemes ships every review through a fixed 7-stage pipeline — research, hands-on testing, drafting, fact-check, compliance review, publication, scheduled re-review — with a named person accountable at each stage and a changelog on every published page. We treat editorial content the way engineering teams treat code: nothing merges to production without review, and everything gets regression-tested on a schedule. This page documents the pipeline, the correction policy, and how you can flag an error.
What is the CodeThemes editorial pipeline?
CodeThemes runs each review through 7 stages in order, with no stage skippable:
- Research. [AUTHOR_CT_2] profiles the platform before testing: underlying software stack, licence records, provider integrations, certification labs, complaint history.
- Hands-on testing. [AUTHOR_CT_1] runs the full 40+ checkpoint bench — real account, real deposit where legal, the 6-profile device matrix, support tickets, a timed withdrawal — as specified on How We Rate.
- Drafting. [AUTHOR_CT_1] writes the review from the logged test results. Every factual claim in the draft traces to a checkpoint record, a screenshot or a timestamp.
- Fact-check. [AUTHOR_CT_2] independently verifies every checkable claim: licence numbers against regulator databases, certificates against lab records, provider lists against the live lobby.
- Compliance review. The draft is checked against advertising and safer-gambling rules: no misleading bonus framing, no appeal to minors, responsible-gambling signposting present.
- Publication. The review goes live with its byline, its score, its test dates and an initial changelog entry.
- Scheduled re-review. The full bench is re-run at least every 90 days, and immediately on trigger events such as a platform migration or licence change.
Who writes CodeThemes reviews, and who checks them?
CodeThemes reviews are written by [AUTHOR_CT_1], whose software-QA background is profiled on our About page, and checked by [AUTHOR_CT_2], a game-industry analyst covering providers, RTP disclosure and RNG certification labs. The two roles never collapse into one: the person who ran the tests drafts the review, and a different person verifies it before it ships. Both bylines are consistent across the whole site, and both author profiles list their credentials and coverage areas. Guest contributions, if we ever publish any, will go through the same stages 4–6 and carry a named byline.
How does CodeThemes handle corrections?
CodeThemes corrects factual errors in place and says so. When an error is confirmed, we fix the text within 3 business days of confirmation, add a dated correction note to the page’s changelog stating what was wrong and what changed, and re-check any score the error touched. We do not silently rewrite history: material corrections stay visible in the changelog permanently. Trivial fixes — typos, broken links, formatting — are made without a correction note because they change no substance. If a correction changes a recommendation, the change is flagged at the top of the review, not buried.
When does CodeThemes update a published review?
CodeThemes updates a review when its substance changes, and the visible last-updated date moves only then. A re-test that confirms nothing changed refreshes the changelog’s “re-verified” line without resetting the date; a re-test that finds a migration, a new provider deal, a cashier change or a support regression produces a substantive update and a new date. We commit to dateModified honesty: the date on a CodeThemes page reflects the last time its facts were re-established, never a cosmetic edit made to look fresh. The re-review cadence itself — 90 days minimum — is documented on How We Rate.
How is editorial kept separate from the affiliate side?
CodeThemes enforces a one-way wall between this pipeline and the commercial function described in our Affiliate Disclosure. Partnership negotiations start only after a score exists; the partnerships function holds no CMS write access and sees no drafts; operators never preview reviews or scores before publication; and commission terms are never visible to the reviewer during testing or drafting. Requests from operators to alter findings are declined and logged. The result is testable from the outside: our published scores include low ratings for commercial partners and high ratings for platforms that pay us nothing.
How can readers flag an error?
CodeThemes treats reader error reports as bug reports, and they enter the same pipeline as internal findings. Email editorial@codethemes.co — or use the form routes on our Contact page — with the review URL, the claim you believe is wrong, and any evidence such as a screenshot or a transaction timestamp. We acknowledge reports within 3 business days, reproduce the issue where possible on our own test bench, and publish the outcome in the review’s changelog whether the report is confirmed or not. Reports about safer-gambling tool failures on reviewed platforms are triaged first, ahead of everything else in the queue.