Editorial Policy
Blue Dolphin Vault is a small, independent publication. This page describes how we research, write, fact-check, and maintain our articles. We publish it because we want readers, plugin authors, and ad-network reviewers to be able to see exactly how this site is run.
1. Independence
Blue Dolphin Vault is not owned by, sponsored by, or affiliated with Obsidian.md or any plugin author. We do not accept paid reviews. If a plugin author sends us a license key so we can test a paid plugin, we say so in the disclosure at the end of that article and the review proceeds the same way it would otherwise — including the option to publish a negative review.
2. Who writes here
Every article carries a byline that links to a full author page with photo, bio, expertise statement, and links to the author's external profiles (LinkedIn, GitHub, X). No article is published under a pseudonym. No article is written by anyone outside the three named contributors without an explicit "Guest contribution" banner.
3. Research and sourcing
- Every plugin review names the exact plugin version and the Obsidian release we tested against.
- Screenshots are taken from a real, working vault — not staged. We blur or replace any text that would identify a private note or a client.
- External claims are linked to a primary source (the plugin's repository, the Obsidian forum, or a maintainer's own post). We do not cite other blog roundups as a source.
- Where possible, code snippets are linked to a public GitHub gist so readers can verify they haven't been edited for the article.
4. Fact-checking
Before publication every article is read by a second contributor who is not its author. They check: version numbers, claims about plugin behaviour, code that the article asks readers to run, and any factual statement about a third party. Disagreements are resolved by re-testing in a clean vault — not by editorial vote.
5. Updates and retirement
The Obsidian ecosystem moves fast. We schedule every article for a review every six months. When we update an article we change the "last updated" date in the byline and add a short changelog at the foot of the post. When a plugin is abandoned, forked, or removed from the community list we either rewrite the article around the successor plugin or add a retirement banner and unlist it from category pages.
6. Corrections
Found something wrong? Email editor@birminghambluedolphins.com or use the
contact form. We aim to fix factual errors within five working
days. When we correct an article we note what changed and when, at the bottom of the
post. We do not silently rewrite history.
7. Affiliate links and sponsorships
Some links are affiliate links. We only use affiliate links for tools we already use ourselves. Every page with affiliate links carries a clear disclosure at the foot. We do not accept "linkbuilding" requests, sponsored backlinks, or paid guest posts. See the disclaimer for the legal version.
8. AI usage
We do not publish AI-generated articles. We sometimes use AI tools as a research aid (summarising long forum threads, drafting code we then test by hand) but every word on this site is written or rewritten by the named author. We do not auto-translate articles into other languages.
9. Comments and community
Comments are open on most articles and moderated by hand. We delete spam, off-topic posts, and abuse. We do not delete polite disagreement. If your comment is held for moderation, give us a working day.
10. Contact
Editorial contact: editor@birminghambluedolphins.com.
Postal address: available on written request.
Editorial policy last reviewed: June 2026.