A reference archive is only as trustworthy as its verification process, and that process is usually far less visible to visitors than the finished catalogue page it produces.
Confirming Basic Facts First
Release year, platform and developer credits sound simple, but regional release dates frequently differ, ports sometimes carry different credited developers than the original release, and a single title can have multiple genuinely correct answers depending on which version is being described — a nuance covered directly in Prince of Persia Ports Compared.
Legal Status Requires Active Checking, Not Assumption
Unlike release year or genre, legal status can change over time as rights get sold, licensed or re-released, which means it needs periodic reverification rather than a one-time check at the moment an entry is created. A conservative default — reference-only until proven otherwise — protects against a label going stale.
Screenshots and Media Need a Real Source
Media attached to an entry should come from an identifiable, traceable source rather than an unlabeled image pulled from an uncertain origin, since misattributed screenshots can misrepresent which version or platform a game actually looked like.
Why This Process Is Worth the Friction
Skipping verification produces a catalogue that looks complete but cannot be trusted on the details that actually matter to researchers, collectors and casual visitors alike. See Fan Wiki or Reference Archive? for how this verification-first approach differs from more open, community-edited alternatives.
