Purpose of this policy
My Tamil Nadu exists to help readers discover the state, understand its history and culture, and plan visits with useful context. That work depends on making a clear distinction between evidence, interpretation and information that can change. This policy describes the standards used when selecting sources and deciding what is ready to publish.
No single source is automatically authoritative for every subject. A district administration may be the right source for an official local notice, an archaeological publication for an excavation claim, and a protected-area authority for current access rules. Sources are matched to the type of claim being made.
Our source hierarchy
Sources are considered in a practical order, with the strongest available evidence preferred for important claims.
Primary and official sources
Legislation, government departments, district administrations, the Archaeological Survey of India, HR&CE, protected-area authorities, the India Meteorological Department, official transport bodies, UNESCO and other responsible institutions are preferred for designations, notices, rules and current official facts.
Academic and institutional sources
Universities, museums, peer-reviewed research, excavation reports, scholarly books, catalogues, inscriptions, archival collections and recognised research institutions support historical, archaeological, linguistic, cultural and ecological context.
Reliable secondary sources
Established reference works and responsible journalism may add context, explain recent developments or help identify the primary record. They are not used to override a more direct and authoritative source without a clear reason.
Community knowledge and reader leads
Local knowledge, oral traditions and reader suggestions can identify valuable questions and perspectives. They are treated respectfully but are not converted into confirmed factual claims without suitable context and verification.
How claims are assessed
Before publication, an important claim should be traceable to a source appropriate to its subject. Editors consider who produced the information, when it was published or updated, whether it directly supports the wording, and whether another reliable source materially disagrees.
- Names, dates, designations, administrative relationships and quoted facts require identifiable support.
- A source link should lead as close as practical to the document or page that supports the claim.
- Marketing language, copied summaries and unsourced repetition across websites do not become reliable through frequency.
- When reliable sources disagree, the page should describe the uncertainty or competing interpretation instead of choosing silently.
- Absence of evidence is not filled with an invented date, timing, distance, status or explanation.
Evergreen and current information
Evergreen editorial context
History, geography, architecture, language, culture, food traditions, biographies and broad landscape descriptions usually change slowly. These subjects still require review because scholarship, administrative geography and accepted terminology can develop.
Current and operational information
Weather, events, notices, opening hours, entry fees, temple timings, transport schedules, road conditions, closures, permits and access rules can change rapidly. They require a recent responsible source and should not be presented as permanently valid.
When reliable live or current information is unavailable, My Tamil Nadu should show an unavailable state, link to the responsible authority or omit the claim. Old notices are not treated as current merely because they remain online. Readers should confirm important operational details close to the time of travel.
History, archaeology and people
Historical pages distinguish material evidence, inscriptions, texts, later chronicles, scholarly interpretation and public memory where that distinction matters. Approximate dates and debated chronologies remain visibly qualified. A modern memorial, painting or popular story is not presented as contemporary evidence without support.
Profiles of people should use authenticated photographs or documented representations where available. Later statues, murals and project-created editorial artwork must be labelled so they are not mistaken for verified likenesses or historical documents. Complex legacies should not be reduced to unsupported praise, dismissal or quotations without provenance.
Temples and living traditions
Temple pages address architecture and history while recognising that temples are living places of worship. Historical claims may draw on inscriptions, ASI material, scholarship and institutional records. Current timings, rituals, festival arrangements, dress expectations, photography rules and access conditions remain under local administration and may change.
My Tamil Nadu does not invent pooja timings, fees, ritual details or official status. Devotional traditions may be described as traditions rather than recast as independently verified historical events.
Nature, wildlife and protected areas
Protected-area names, categories, boundaries and designations require the responsible government or international record. References to tiger reserves, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, UNESCO properties or Ramsar sites are checked against the relevant authority and described with care because these terms are not interchangeable.
Species presence is based on credible records and does not guarantee a sighting. Sensitive nesting, breeding or wildlife locations are not published simply to make a guide more specific. Access, safari operations, waterfall conditions, fire risk, sea conditions and conservation restrictions require current official verification.
Travel, maps and distances
Maps and geographic relationships help readers understand where places belong. A map marker or Google Maps handoff does not confirm an entrance, parking location, public access, road condition or legal permission. Approximate straight-line distances used by Near Me are not road distances or travel times.
Travel times, fares and schedules are especially vulnerable to change and should come from the responsible operator when they are published. Itineraries and Trip Planner suggestions are planning aids, not bookings or guarantees that every proposed stop is open or reachable under current conditions.
Weather, events and notices
Tamil Nadu Today keeps current information separate from evergreen guides. Weather data may be obtained through the site’s server endpoints from Open-Meteo. Official alert information may be requested from the India Meteorological Department only where the relevant connection is configured and available.
Events and notices require a responsible publisher, a usable date and enough context to understand their location and status. Automated retrieval does not by itself establish accuracy. Unavailable, delayed or incomplete data should remain visibly qualified, and safety-critical decisions must rely on the responsible official authority.
Images, captions and provenance
Images should be relevant to the exact place or subject they illustrate. Captions and alternative text should not claim more than the image establishes. Where known and required, records should identify the creator, source, licence, retrieval details and any permitted modifications.
Project-created or AI-assisted editorial images must not be presented as documentary photographs, authenticated portraits or evidence of a historical scene. Generic or contextual images should be labelled when a reader could otherwise mistake them for the exact place, object, person or event discussed.
Corrections, review and updates
Pages may be revised when stronger evidence appears, a source changes, an official designation is updated or a reader identifies a supported correction. A review date indicates when a page was assessed; it does not promise that every external detail remains unchanged after that date.
Material corrections should address the published claim rather than silently preserve information known to be wrong. Content may be qualified, removed or left unpublished when the available evidence is insufficient. Editorial coverage is not guaranteed in response to a submission, commercial proposal or request from an interested party.
Suggest a correction or source: rathishblog@gmail.com
Include the page URL, the exact statement or image, and a reliable supporting source where possible.
Independence and related policies
Citing or linking to an organisation does not mean that it endorses, sponsors or partners with My Tamil Nadu. Sources are used as evidence for specific claims, and inclusion does not transfer responsibility for the site’s editorial wording to the source organisation.