# Article quality checklist

Every article on every platform. Do not publish until every box is ticked. Paste the ticked list into NOTES.md with the publish entry.

## 1. Top of the article
- [ ] Title: one real number + the result the reader cares about. No diary headlines.
- [ ] "Short answer:" right under the title: 2 to 3 sentences, plain English, the main number and the one lesson.
- [ ] Cover image with the headline inside the central band (X crops headers to about 5:2).

## 2. Structure and reading
- [ ] A subhead every 250 to 400 words. Subheads say the point ("The profile is the leak"), not a label ("Analysis").
- [ ] Paragraphs of 1 to 3 sentences. No wall of text on a phone screen.
- [ ] One key number per section, bolded, with its date and source.
- [ ] A "Key numbers" table near the top (What | Number | Source).
- [ ] Clear ending: what happens next + one open question readers can answer in the comments.
- [ ] Readability pass: read it aloud, cut filler ("basically", "in order to"), explain every jargon term in plain words the first time it appears. No em dashes.

## 3. Visuals: 4 to 8 per article
- [ ] At least one real screenshot of the thing being discussed.
- [ ] At least one chart built from the article's data. The caption states the source and the time window.
- [ ] At least one GIF where something moves, under about 4 MB.
- [ ] Alt text on every image that describes the content and the number, not "image".
- [ ] No text smaller than about 18px at 1200px width.

## 4. Truth and privacy
- [ ] Screenshots are real and unedited except crop and blur. Never retouch a number. If a number changed since the text was written, the caption says both.
- [ ] Never show private people's messages, emails or personal info. Blur non-public handles and avatars.
- [ ] Charts never use a dual axis that makes small numbers look big. Use percent growth when comparing series of very different size.
- [ ] Every number links to its primary source. Opinions are labeled as opinion.

## 5. Platform notes (verify and date each one yourself)
| Platform | Animated GIF | Canonical |
|---|---|---|
| dev.to | animates inline | canonical_url in front matter |
| Medium | animates | import from the site URL sets it |
| Substack | animates (some email clients show frame 1) | none; first line links the site copy |
| X Articles | supported in the body | none |
| LinkedIn articles | test it; may show static | none |