FAQ
From Knowmore.org
Who operates / owns Knowmore.org?
Knowmore is owned and maintained by Knowmore, Inc., a 501 (c)3 not-for-profit organization, formed with the purpose of creating this website as an educational tool.
The mission statement of Knowmore.org is the same as the mission statement of Knowmore, Inc.
Beyond that, Knowmore.org is the brainchild of two poets; Bernard Dolan and Sage Francis. Neither is affiliated with any political party, nor is Knowmore, Inc. or Knowmore.org. It is the intention of this site to critically examine all possible aspects of every corporation and political issue we cover. Hence, Knowmore does not advocate for or against any party or politician, nor should it be expected to "side" with any company or group of companies against any other.
While the site and its rating system might seem to endorse or partner with certain companies, this relationship is extremely tenous and will never include a "blank check" to avoid criticism or careful inspection. If anything, these types of relationships open a company to closer scrutiny.
In addition to Knowmore, Inc.'s directors, board members and volunteers, developer Danny Brown and Graphic Designer Irena Mihalinec work to maintain it.
Knowmore's goal is to create a free, reliable corporate database; indeed, the largest of its kind in the world, in terms of both breadth, depth and independence. This is an ambitious goal, and will probably take years to achieve!
Knowmore.Org also takes the form of an easily searchable database that can used by consumers to enter the name of any brand or company in order to immediately find out more about that companies practices & history. This is done with aim of aiding & promoting responsible consumerism.
Where does the content on the site come from?
Our users! Knowmore.org is a continuously evolving, collaborative endeavor thanks to it's WIKI technology. Thousands of people have currently contributed to different parts of this project, and anyone can do so, including you. All you need is to know how to edit a page, and have some knowledge you want to share.
If you see a spelling error, a clearly biased opinion being presented as fact, an awkward sentence or an incomplete account, fix it! We encourage our readers and users to be bold in making corrections and additions, as this practice is one of the basic review mechanisms that maintains the reliability of Knowmore. You'll get the hang of it soon and there's always a self-correction system in place in case you "mess anything up".
You can learn who is responsible for the most recent versions of any given page by clicking on the "History" link.
If you are uncertain or find the wording confusing, quote the material on the associated talk page and leave a question for the next person. This helps eliminate errors, inaccuracies or misleading wording more quickly and is highly appreciated by the community. What on earth is WIKI?
A wiki is a collaborative collection of interlinked web pages, all of which can be visited and edited by anyone at any time (collaborative software).
You could even edit this page by clicking the "edit" link on the third tab above, or edit only a section by clicking on "[edit]" to its right! If you don't have anything to add or correct on this page and you just want to see how it works, try out the Sandbox. See also the Editing FAQ or On Adding a New Company.
Ok, but if anyone can edit Knowmore at any time, how can I be sure the information presented here is correct?
All editors of Knowmore are expected to aim for Objectivity and a Neutral Point of View, to accurately source their material and adhere to the Journalistic Code of Ethics.
As anyone can edit any article however, it is of course possible for biased, out of date or incorrect information to be posted. However, because there are so many other people reading the articles and monitoring contributions using the Recent Changes page, incorrect information is usually corrected quickly. Thus, the overall accuracy of the encyclopedia is improving all the time as it attracts more and more contributors. You are encouraged to help by correcting articles and passing on your own knowledge.
Can anyone rate companies too? Where do the ratings come from?
Ratings are determined by our moderators, who are made up of distinguished, trusted editors and staff. Once a company has been fully researched to the moderator's satisfaction the mod studies and weighs the information presented and arrives at a rating for each category.
The KnowMore.org Rating System is an evolving, unscientific method of quantifying corporate activity. It is not meant to be regarded as definitive or to supplant the forming of one's own opinion about a company. Rather, it is simply meant to provide a quick visual guide that loosely summarizes the information contained in the entry.
For more information on our rating system, see The Rating System in Detail
How can I contact the project?
While contacting individual users is difficult, site administrators can be reached at aim: KnowMoreOrg or via email at Bernard@Knowmore.org.
Is Knowmore.org's information copyrighted?
The articles hosted on this site are released by their authors under the GNU Free Documentation License, so the articles are free content and may be reproduced freely under the same license.
Site X seems to be violating Knowmore's copyright. Do you guys know about this?
It's most likely the answer is yes, and it's reasonably likely they're within their rights. Anybody may mirror or fork Knowmore.org as long as they comply with the GNU Free Documentation License.
