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Editorial policy
How our content is written, checked, updated and corrected, and a plain disclosure of how this publication is funded.
Readers extend trust to a guide only as far as its process deserves it. This page explains ours without decoration.
Sourcing
Our primary source is documentation and behaviour of the software itself: Apple’s published user guides, the settings panes inside macOS and what those panes actually do when used. Where we describe a menu path, we confirm it on a current macOS release before publishing and note the previous location when Apple has moved an item. We do not copy from other guides, and we do not rely on unattributed forum posts, though reader questions often reveal where our own wording is unclear.
Fact-checking
Every chapter is checked against a simple set of questions. Does the described interface exist in the stated place? Does the action produce the stated result? Is any data lost, and if so, is that loss stated plainly? Could the step be misunderstood by someone with no technical background? A chapter is not published until all four answers are satisfactory, and this checking is done by a different member of the team from the one who drafted the text.
How we test
- Procedures are executed on Macs running current and previous macOS releases.
- Storage measurements are taken before and after, using System Settings > General > Storage.
- Where an action can be destructive, it is tested on a machine with a verified external backup.
- Screenshots and diagrams are produced from our own test machines or drawn in house; we do not use stock imagery that implies a procedure we have not performed.
Updates
macOS changes several times a year, and interfaces move. We review the guide against each major release and update pages when a path or behaviour changes. Pages carry no fake “last updated” timestamps; when we revise a chapter meaningfully, we change the text and, where relevant, the edition note on the e-book page.
Corrections
If you find an error, write to [email protected] with the page and a description of what is wrong. Factual corrections are applied as quickly as we can verify them, typically within a few working days. Where a correction materially changes advice a reader may have acted upon, we note the change on the page rather than revising it silently. We do not remove valid criticism of our content from correspondence.
Independence and funding
Mactria Help is published by Mactria Media LLC and funded entirely by readers who choose to buy the e-book. We do not display advertising, we do not sell sponsored links and we do not accept payment to recommend or rank products. We are not affiliated with Apple Inc.
Affiliate disclosure
This site contains no affiliate links. If that ever changes, this section will say so before any such link appears, and every affected link will be labelled. At present, clicking any link on this site sends you to another page of this site, to an email address, or nowhere at all.
Use of language
We write in plain English and avoid jargon unless we define it. We do not use urgency, scarcity or fear to encourage a purchase. When we cannot be certain of a figure, we give a range and say why. When something is outside our expertise, such as hardware repair or data recovery, we say so rather than improvising.
Many of the clearest passages here began as a reader question about a step that was ambiguous. If something does not make sense, that is a defect in our writing, and we would like to hear about it.
Mactria Help is published by Mactria Media LLC. We are an independent resource and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or otherwise connected to Apple Inc.