The Formal Playbook Editorial Team

Who writes the guides?

Every guide on Formal Playbook is written, checked and updated by the Formal Playbook Editorial Team. We publish under a team byline rather than invented author personas, and we don't use fake testimonials, reviews, ratings or "as seen in" badges.

How do we research?

We start from primary sources, not other formal websites:

• National fraternity policies — risk-management packets, FIPG-style policies and the NIC's standards
• Regulators and the law — FMCSA for charter buses, federal law on the drinking age and hazing, state rules for sellers of travel
• City agencies and official organizers — licensing rules for party buses and limos, official event dates
• Industry references — event-contract terms such as attrition and cut-off dates, and dress-code guides
• Weather — NOAA's official climate normals

Other publications can point us to a question, but they're never the source of a fact.

How do we verify sources?

Before a source is cited, we check that the page is live and that it contains the specific wording the claim relies on. Our verification tool fetches every source and fails if any required phrase is missing. We re-run it before publishing updates, and each source on a page shows the date it was last verified.

Every number must appear in the source that's cited for it. If a source doesn't support a claim, we narrow the claim or remove it.

How do we write?

• Answer first. Each page opens with a short, direct answer, then the details.
• Rules first, then advice. Where a national policy, the law or a contract controls, we say so. We also tell you to check your own headquarters' policy, which comes first.
• No invented numbers. We don't publish typical prices, attendance figures or "average" lead times until we have our own dated data. Our planning timeline's lead times are labelled as editorial recommendations.
• Plain language for a reader who's planning their first formal.

How do we check and update?

Each guide is reviewed before it's published and whenever a rule, a date or a source changes. Every page shows the date it was last updated. City guides must have at least five facts verified from official sources before they're published.

We plan to add our own data — dated quotes from planners and hotels, and a survey of chapter officers. When we do, we'll publish the method, the sample size and the date with every number.

How do you report a correction?

Email us with the page and what's wrong: support@formalplaybook.com. We review every correction. When we fix an error, we update the page and its date.