These informal standards govern the choice of hotlinks from The Why Files: Major Standard: The site must contribute to the discussion. Most do this by adding information and elaborating on scientific issues raised in the story. Some add a contrary viewpoint to the discussion. Even fewer are funny -- this keeps readers awake and induces them to return to us. We reject sites that are: hateful, violent, stupid, seemingly libelous, excessively confusing, or on shaky scientific grounds. We carry out "affirmative action" for sites developed by school or university classes. This gives a good role model for our classroom readers, even when the sites are not as polished as commercial sites. We shy away from grossly commercial sites, unless the author contributed to the story, or the information is unavailable elsewhere. Still, we can't verify the accuracy of information and links on external sites. These link are useful to readers, or they may lead to sophomoric, crass or otherwise questionable sites.

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