How we rate confidence
In short: every fact Omnisaura gives comes with a confidence level and the reason for it. "High" means more than one independent source agrees, or an editor has ruled. It never just means "a respected source said so".
The three levels
highCorroborated. Two independent sources agree (for example the Paleobiology Database and the Natural History Museum record the same family), or an Omnisaura editor has ruled on a disagreement.
mediumSingle source. One source gives the value and nothing contradicts it. A single authoritative source is still medium: we don't upgrade a fact because of who said it.
lowDisputed or thin. Sources disagree and no editor has ruled yet, or the value rests on a single fossil record, which could be a misidentification.
Rules we hold ourselves to
- Per fact, and per entry. Lists such as the countries where fossils were found are rated entry by entry, so one doubtful record doesn't drag down the rest. Example: Tyrannosaurus is high for the United States (two sources) and low for China (one record).
- Our own calculations are labelled, and capped. Where Omnisaura works something out itself, such as the age span of confirmed fossil records, it says so. Those values are never rated higher than medium, and are low when based on fewer than three dated records.
- Anything we add ourselves is checked by an editor first. Where no source gives a value, an Omnisaura editor may add one after checking it. It is labelled as Omnisaura editorial and never credited to a source. Until then the gap is shown as a gap.
- Doubtful records are set aside, not deleted. Fossils identified only tentatively, or only to a broader group, or dated far outside every species-level record, are left out of the profile and counted in "what isn't known", with the reason.
- Disagreements are shown with both sides. Until an editor rules, users see what each source says. When an editor rules, the reason is recorded and the fact becomes high confidence.
- Gaps are stated, not guessed. Every dinosaur lists what no source gives, what only one source gives, what is disputed, and what was held back, so an AI assistant can say "we don't know" instead of filling the gap.
- Release checks. A data release is refused if any published fact is missing its confidence level or its source credits.
What confidence is not
Confidence describes how well a fact is supported by the sources Omnisaura uses, not a scientific consensus. Palaeontology changes as new fossils are found and specimens are re-examined. Omnisaura is a reference, not the final word, and nothing here is guaranteed accurate.