Editorial Standards

What this blog is for

The Wickium Blog is the editorial voice of the platform. Every post is written by a real trader and signed with their real name. The point is to give readers what the marketplace listings can't: opinion, context, hard-earned experience, and the kind of honest comparison you'd only get from a friend who'd already burned their own money on the wrong tool.

We don't run paid placements. We don't accept “sponsored” posts. If a vendor pays Wickium for visibility on the marketplace, that does not buy them coverage here. The blog and the storefront are walled.

Who can write here

Three tiers, with different review processes:

• Staff. Wickium admins. Posts go live immediately. We're accountable to readers and to each other, not to a queue.
• Guest. Invited contributors — traders, vendors, and operators we know. Every guest post is reviewed by staff before publication.
• Community. Forum members at Elite level (1,500 XP) can apply to write. Posts are reviewed and may be edited for clarity, length, and adherence to these standards.

Vendor self-service authoring is not available. Vendors can pitch story ideas like anyone else (see Pitching us a story), but they cannot publish directly.

The truth standard

Every claim of fact is something we'll defend if challenged. We don't make up backtest numbers, fabricate quotes, or report rumor as fact. If we're uncertain, we say so.

• Numbers are sourced. Performance claims link to a real broker statement, a public dataset, or our own audited test rig.
• Names are real. Bylines use a writer's actual name (e.g., “Justin Alexander”) — not “The Wickium Team.”
• Opinion is labeled. Opinion essays are written in first person. Reviews and comparisons strive for fairness; opinion pieces don't pretend to be neutral.

Not financial advice

We write about what works for the authors, what didn't work, and what readers should consider before they spend money. We do not tell anyone what to buy, sell, or hold.

Disclosures & affiliates

Wickium runs affiliate relationships with most vendors on the marketplace. When a post mentions a product we're affiliated with — every time — the post discloses that at the top, and any link to the product is tagged as an affiliate link.

If the author has a personal financial relationship with a vendor (employed by, paid by, owns shares in), that is disclosed in the byline area on the post itself.

Affiliate payouts do not influence rankings, ratings, recommendations, or which products we cover. If we wouldn't recommend something to a friend, we don't recommend it here — affiliate or not.

AI policy

We use AI as a research and editing tool, not as a ghost-writer. Specifically:

• Drafts may be AI-assisted. A staff writer might use AI to outline a comparison or pull facts from public docs. The published post still represents the writer's own analysis, voice, and judgment.
• Final copy is human-written. No post on this blog is published as raw AI output. We edit, fact-check, add personal experience, and rewrite. If a post can't pass that bar, it doesn't go up.
• AI is not credited as an author. Bylines belong to people. The person whose name is on the post is the person responsible for its accuracy.
• No AI-generated images of real people. No fake screenshots. No fabricated chart captures.

Sources & corrections

Where we cite numbers, we link to the source: a vendor's public docs, a regulator filing, a broker statement, a published study. If a source is paywalled or behind login, we say so and quote enough of the relevant passage that the citation is verifiable.

Found a factual error? Email [email protected] with the URL of the post and what's wrong. Corrections are made in-line, and the post gets a dated “Updated” note at the bottom explaining what changed.

Comments

Every post has a comment thread. Comments are gated behind Pro membership ($9/month) to keep noise down — the same identity, XP, and moderation system that runs the forum runs the blog. The full conduct rules live on the Forum Community Rules page.

Authors are expected to engage with comments on their own posts in good faith, especially respectful disagreement.

Takedowns & complaints

If a post about your product contains factual inaccuracies, contact us at [email protected]. We will correct any genuine factual error. We will not remove a post simply because a vendor doesn't like the review.

For DMCA / copyright takedowns, see the DMCA policy.

Pitching us a story

Have a hard-earned trading story, a contrarian opinion, or a deep-dive comparison you want to write? Email [email protected] with a one-paragraph pitch. Tell us:

• The angle (not the topic — the take).
• Why you specifically can write it (what's your experience?).
• Whether any vendor or product you'd mention has a financial relationship with you.

We can't publish everything. We do read everything.