Editorial standards and methodology
How the tools and reference content on Phrasit are built, checked, and kept accurate, and who is accountable for them.
Who is responsible
Everything on Phrasit is built and maintained by Vikas Dulgunde, a software engineer based in London, United Kingdom. The same person writes the code, writes the reference content, and handles corrections. There is no anonymous content team, and there are no ghost-written or AI-spun pages passed off as expert review. If a page is wrong, there is a named person to tell: team@palenebula.com.
How the tools are built
The tools are software, built with first-hand engineering experience. Each one implements a documented rule set rather than a guess:
- Counting and analysis tools(word counter, character counter, reading-level analyzer) implement published, verifiable formulas. Readability scores use the standard Flesch, Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning Fog, SMOG, and Coleman-Liau equations. Platform character limits reflect each platform’s own counting behaviour, including t.co URL weighting and two-unit counting for emoji and CJK characters where the platform applies it.
- Transformation tools (case converter, find and replace, JSON formatter, text comparator) are deterministic: the same input always produces the same output, and the conversion rules are testable.
- Generators say exactly what they do. Anything described as random uses a cryptographic random source, not a seeded pseudo-pattern. Placeholder text is described as placeholder text, never as random.
- Citation tools code each style (APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE) against the published rules of that style, with worked examples covering many source types.
Tool behaviour is covered by an automated test suite, so a change that would break a count, a conversion, or a citation format is caught before it ships.
How the reference content is researched
The citation rules, style guides, and writing explainers are written by reading the authoritative source for each topic, then translating it into plain English with worked examples. For citation styles that means the official manuals and publisher guidance: the APA Publication Manual (7th edition), the MLA Handbook (9th edition), the Chicago Manual of Style, Cite Them Right for Harvard, and the IEEE editorial guidance. Where reading-speed or page-count figures are quoted, they are attributed to the underlying research rather than asserted.
The aim is accuracy a reader can verify, not authority I do not have. Examples are written to match what the manuals actually prescribe, and edge cases (missing dates, corporate authors, AI-generated sources, online-first articles) are handled the way the relevant style handles them.
What I am and am not an authority on
I am a software engineer. That is genuine, first-hand authority for how the tools work, why they produce a given result, and whether they are correct. It is not a qualification in law, librarianship, medicine, or academic assessment, and I do not pretend otherwise. The guides are general information to help you format and check your own work; they are not a substitute for your institution’s own rules or for professional advice. Citation and academic-integrity pages carry a disclaimer to that effect, and the terms of use set out the no-warranty position in full.
Accuracy, dates, and corrections
Editorial pages show a published date and, where the content has been revised, an updated date, attributed to the named author. Those dates are real: the updated date reflects an actual review or change to that content, not an automated timestamp designed to look fresh.
If you find a mistake, email team@palenebula.com with the page and the problem. Corrections to factual errors are made promptly, because the same person who wrote the page can fix it. Style guidance is updated when the underlying manuals are revised.
Independence and funding
The tools are free and carry no ads inside the tool widgets. The site is funded by display advertising on a small number of content pages, such as the home page and guides. We do not currently use affiliate links anywhere on the site, and product mentions are ordinary editorial references that earn us nothing. The full funding model is on the disclosure page, and what is and is not collected about you is on the privacy policy.