Spotted an Error?
Technology articles age faster than most writing. A menu gets renamed, an app drops a feature, a link stops working, or we simply got something wrong. When that happens we want to know, and we would much rather fix an article than leave a reader stuck.
What counts as an error
- Factual mistakes, such as a wrong term, a misdescribed feature or a muddled explanation.
- Outdated steps that no longer match current software or devices.
- Broken or misdirected links, internal or external.
- Unclear writing that leads readers to the wrong conclusion, even if every word is technically true.
Disagreements about opinion, such as whether one keyboard feels nicer than another, are welcome too, but they are discussions rather than corrections.
What to send
- The address of the article.
- The sentence or step you think is wrong, copied if possible.
- What you believe is correct, and how you know: a screenshot description, an official help page or your own device.
- Your device and software version, if the issue is a technical step.
Send it to inbox@rcsi-usa.com or use the form on Send a Message.
What we do with it
The writer responsible for that beat checks the report first, by repeating the step or reading the relevant official documentation. Before anything is published, a colleague who did not write the piece reads the suggested fix. If the report holds up, the article is corrected and its update date moves forward. For larger changes we add a short note in the text so returning readers can see what was revised.
If we conclude the original wording was right, we explain why when you have left an address. Sometimes the conclusion is that both versions are true on different devices, in which case the article gains a line about the difference.
How long it takes
Simple fixes such as a broken link usually happen quickly. Technical steps take longer, because somebody has to reproduce them, and a correction to a topic like finance or property may wait until we have checked the official source carefully.
Why we bother
A how-to that sends people down the wrong path is worse than no article at all. Every correction makes the blog a little more reliable for the next reader, which is the whole point of writing it. You can read more about how drafts are checked before publication on The Bench and the Byline.
Something to add?
Corrections are always welcome.
Correction route
What happens after you report a mistake
Every report follows the same path, so none of them gets lost between drafts.
Logged
Your message goes into a running list next to the article it concerns.
Reproduced
The writer for that beat repeats the step or rereads the official documentation.
Second look
Another team member reads the proposed change before it goes live.
Updated
The article is revised and its date moves; bigger changes get a short note in the text.
Replied
If you left an address, you hear what changed, or why the original stands.