Methodik

Last updated: 2026-07-26. This page explains how Tool-Lifes content is researched, translated and scored, so you can judge how much weight to give it.

Editorial standards

Every topic is drafted from public, checkable sources — encyclopedias, official statistics, primary documentation and established reference works — then reviewed for internal consistency across the seven sections each topic covers. Where a fact is time-sensitive (pay, market size, records), we anchor it to a reference period instead of presenting it as permanent.

Validators before publish

Each app has a machine-checked contract (exact array lengths, score ranges, translation parity against the English master). A short array or drifted number fails validation and is held back rather than shipping a page with a visible hole. Operators re-run the same check the builders use, so "complete" in our status tool means "would actually publish".

No fake localization

A language only gets a page once a human-quality translation of that page exists. We never publish English prose under a non-English URL just to fill out a language switcher — a partially translated topic is held back entirely rather than shipped with gaps. This is why the set of languages differs from app to app, and even from topic to topic within an app.

Scores & rankings

The 0–100 scores that power radar charts, quizzes and "best-of" rankings (for example AI resistance and pay in the professions atlas, or speed and safety in the vehicles atlas) are editorial and relative: they compare topics within the same atlas, reasoned from the underlying tasks or characteristics rather than titles or brand reputation. They are a browsing aid, not a certified measurement, a financial projection or career guarantee — treat them the way you would a knowledgeable friend's ranked opinion, not a lab result.

Brain atlas trust surface

For neuroscience pages, see the dedicated brain methodology hub at /brain/{lang}/methodology/ — citations, medical limits, and how we frame belief and contemplative topics without claiming supernatural proof.

Composite stories & archetypes

Operator patterns and "turnaround" sketches on side-hustle and similar pages are synthesised archetypes drawn from common public patterns — not endorsements of named private individuals, and not earnings guarantees. Steal the constraints (hour caps, fee tracking, employer-policy checks), not lifestyle photography.

Images & media credits

Photographs are sourced from Wikimedia Commons, verified to carry a Creative Commons or public-domain licence (non-commercial and no-derivatives licences are rejected), then self-hosted so pages stay fast and stable even if the original upload disappears. Every image's author and licence are recorded and listed on that app's credits page.

Corrections

If you spot an error or an outdated figure, tell us the page URL and the correct information (with a source where possible) at [email protected] and we will review it.