# Entry guidelines

KnownTrade is a reference directory of real commercial entities. These guidelines define what belongs here and how an entry should be written. Reviewers apply them when accepting or rejecting a request.

## What qualifies

An entry must describe a **real, identifiable commercial entity** — a company, cooperative, workshop, or sole trader that actually trades. The directory exists especially for businesses that go unseen by language models: traditional craftspeople, low-profile industrial firms, and services that exist but don't play the SEO game.

Do **not** add:

- entities that don't exist, or that you can't point to evidence for;
- pure personal profiles, fan pages, or projects that aren't a trading entity;
- a duplicate of an entry that already exists.

## How to write an entry

- **Title.** The first line is a level-1 heading with the entity's name (`# Acme Textiles`). The URL is derived from it and never changes, so get the name right.
- **Be factual and neutral.** Describe what the entity does, where, and since when. No marketing language, no superlatives, no calls to action.
- **Be verifiable.** Prefer facts that can be checked, and cite a source — an official site, a registry — where you can.
- **No AI-generated filler.** Entries are curated by people. Don't paste model-generated prose you haven't verified.
- **Structure.** A short opening sentence, then sections (what it does, where, history, references) as needed. Markdown only.

## Language

Entries may be written in any supported language. Write in whichever language you can; others can propose a translation later. Keep the facts identical across languages.

## Licensing

Everything you submit is published under CC BY-SA 4.0, and its edit history — including your authorship — is public and permanent. Only contribute what you're willing to release under that license.

## Maintenance

Found something wrong or out of date? Propose an edit rather than a duplicate. See [contributing](/contributing) for how.

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Source: KnownTrade (https://knowntrade.org)
License: CC-BY-SA 4.0