Which sources do we trust?
- Official and primary sources: the National Park Service (Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and C&O Canal NHP), the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Town of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia Tourism, USGS, NOAA and the National Weather Service, transit operators (MARC, Amtrak), and the organizers of events.
- Businesses' own websites for what they offer, which we note as such.
- Reputable news and reference sources, labeled as secondary.
- Social media and forums (Reddit, Facebook groups, X) are used only as early signals. A tip from social media becomes a fact on this site only after we confirm it with an official or primary source.
When sources disagree, for example on flood crest heights, we say so and name each source rather than quietly picking one.
How are pages dated?
Each guide shows "Fact-checked [date]", the last time a person verified the page's facts against its sources, and lists those sources at the bottom. Fees, hours, shuttle times, closures and train service are labeled "as of [month year]" because they change.
How do we keep pages current?
- Live data (river flow, flood category, weather, NWS alerts and park alerts) updates automatically about every two hours. Stale readings are hidden, not shown as current.
- Scheduled re-checks: closures, fees and transit at least monthly; seasonal pages (fall foliage, Christmas, river season) before and during their season; everything else at least every 12 months.
- Weekly site audit: automated checks for broken links, missing sources, outdated "last verified" dates, image credits and technical SEO.
What happens when we get something wrong?
We fix it quickly and update the page's verified date. Significant corrections are noted on the page. Report an error.
How do we handle photos?
We never use an image without the right to do so. Every photo is either our own or used under a license that permits commercial use (public domain, CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA, or the Unsplash and Pexels licenses). Each one is credited under the image and listed with its license on our photo credits page. Every image has a license record, and the site will not publish a page whose images lack one.
How do we use automation and AI?
We use AI tools to help research and draft, to monitor official sources for changes, and to check our pages for problems. The editor reviews every article before it publishes. Only small, sourced data updates, such as river levels or a closure notice taken from an official alert, publish automatically. We don't publish AI-generated images as photographs.
What about advertising and affiliate links?
Harpers Ferry Guide is independent. In the future the site may show advertising and include affiliate links (for example, to lodging or gear). When it does, those links will be labeled. Advertisers and partners never get to change what we recommend, and ads will never be placed inside the quick answer at the top of a guide.
