Corrections and how errors are fixed

Fixed in place, with a date

When a page is wrong, the sentence is corrected in place and a dated note records what was changed. The page is not deleted and republished as if the error never happened, because a reader who relied on the earlier version deserves to see the correction. The note stays with the page.

The same rule covers figures. A cost, a leverage cap or an entity detail that was misread is corrected with the date the correction was made and, where it helps, the date the correct source was read. Nothing is changed silently, including small wording fixes that alter meaning.

A changed condition is not an error

A condition that merely changed since the check is a re-check, not an error. If a broker alters a cost schedule, a leverage cap or the entity that serves South Africa after a page was dated, the page was accurate when written and is now out of date. That is handled by re-checking and updating the date, not by logging a correction.

The distinction matters because it tells a reader how much to trust a figure. A dated figure is a snapshot, and a snapshot can age. When a reader spots a difference, the first question is whether the broker's document changed after the date on the page, and the answer decides whether it is a correction or a re-check.

The Difference Between a Correction and an Update on This Page

A correction fixes something that was wrong when it was published; an update changes something that was right when published but is no longer current. If the page said one pip equals 0.001 for XAU/USD, that was an error and fixing it is a correction. If the page correctly said the reference price was approximately 4275.0 and that price later moves, restating it is an update. The distinction matters because a correction admits a mistake, while an update only admits that time has passed.

Updates are expected on a trading page because leverage caps, funding methods and regulator details can change. A correction is not expected, and the log treats it more seriously: the old wording is preserved, the reason is stated, and the entry is marked as a correction rather than folded into routine maintenance. An update still gets a dated entry, but it does not imply the earlier version was false. Mixing the two would let a genuine error hide inside a stream of routine price refreshes.

The practical test is simple. Ask whether the original sentence was true on the day it was published, given the facts then available. If it was not, the fix is a correction. If it was true then and is not true now, the fix is an update. A change to the FSCA caveat wording, for example, is an update if the old wording accurately reflected the position at the time; it is a correction if the old wording named the wrong entity for South African accounts.

What Counts as an Error Worth Logging on a Gold Price Page

An error worth logging is any statement on the page that is factually wrong, internally inconsistent, or misapplied to the instrument or reader it describes. For this XAU/USD page that includes a wrong pip value, a margin figure that does not follow from the stated leverage, a lot size that is not 100 oz, or a regulator caveat that names the wrong entity for South African readers. It also includes a broken formula, a stale reference price presented as current, or a rand amount that cannot be reproduced. Opinion about tone, layout or emphasis is not an error and does not enter the log.

A wrong number is the clearest case, but an error can also be a missing condition that changes the meaning. If the page says margin at 1:200 without saying that 1:500 applies only to eligible or professional clients, the statement is incomplete in a way that misleads a South African retail reader. That counts. So does naming a funding method the broker does not actually offer in South Africa, or describing a cost as a fixed figure when it varies by account, instrument and market condition. The test is whether a careful reader could act on the sentence and be wrong.

Errors are judged against the facts supplied to the page, not against whatever a reader saw on another site. If the page states that a 0.10-lot gold position needs about $85.50 margin at the stated leverage, that figure is either reproducible from the formula or it is an error. If a source later changes and the page has not yet caught up, that is a source change, handled separately, not an error in the original wording. Logging starts when the page departs from its own stated basis, or when that basis is shown to be wrong.

How to report an error

A reader reports an error by writing to [email protected] and naming the page, the sentence and the source that contradicts it. A link to the broker's own document is the most useful thing a reader can send, because it lets the desk check the claim against the document rather than against another summary.

Every report is checked against the source the page relied on. If the page is wrong, it is corrected with a dated note. If the page is right, the reader is told why, with the source named, so the disagreement is settled on evidence rather than on assertion.

How a Correction Is Recorded and Dated in the Public Log

A correction is recorded as a dated entry that names the page, the sentence or figure changed, the old wording, the new wording, and the reason. The date is the date the corrected version goes live, not the date someone first noticed the problem. Each entry also carries a short reference so a reader can point to it when querying the change. The entry sits alongside the page it affects, so the history travels with the content rather than in a separate document that can drift out of sync.

The date is written in full, with day, month and year, and it is never backdated to make a page look as if it was always right. If a figure such as the margin on a 0.10-lot gold position at the stated leverage was wrong for three weeks, the log shows the date it was fixed and does not pretend the earlier version never existed. Rand amounts and dollar amounts are quoted exactly as they appeared, so a reader can compare the old and new text without guessing what changed.

Recording is deliberately narrow: one entry per correction, not one entry per edit. A typo that does not change meaning is fixed without a log entry, because logging every comma would bury the entries that matter. A change to a number, a condition, a regulator caveat or a funding method always gets an entry. The log is append-only, so a later correction to the same sentence creates a second dated entry rather than overwriting the first.

Why the Correction Log Stays Public and Who It Serves

The log stays public because a reader deciding whether to risk money on gold needs to know how much to trust the page, and trust is built from visible history rather than from a claim of accuracy. A public log lets a South African reader see that a margin figure was corrected, when, and why, instead of discovering the change only after acting on the old number. It also keeps the site honest: an entry that anyone can read is harder to quietly drop than an internal note.

The log serves three groups. Readers use it to check whether a figure they remember has changed. The people maintaining the page use it as a record of what was decided and on what basis, which prevents the same error being reintroduced. And anyone reviewing the site, including a regulator-conscious reader checking the FSCA caveat, can see that corrections are handled consistently rather than case by case. None of these uses requires the log to be flattering, only complete.

Public does not mean promotional. The log is not a place to announce improvements or to list routine price refreshes as if they were events. It records corrections, updates and clarifications with dates, and it stays short because most of the page does not change often. A reader who wants the current text reads the page; a reader who wants to know what changed reads the log. Keeping both visible is the point.

The Three Kinds of Change and How Each Is Marked

Every logged change is marked as one of three kinds: error, update or clarification. An error entry means the published text was wrong and has been replaced, with the old text shown. An update entry means the text was right when published but the underlying condition has moved, such as a change in the leverage cap available to South African retail clients. A clarification entry means the text was not wrong but could be misread, and the wording has been made more precise without changing the substance.

The mark is applied at the top of each entry, before the description, so a reader scanning the log can tell at a glance what kind of change they are looking at. Error entries also state what was wrong and how it was caught, because the cause matters: a formula error and a misread source are different failures. Clarification entries state what ambiguity was removed. Update entries state what condition changed. The three marks are not interchangeable, and an entry is not relabelled later.

The marking rule is strict enough to be useful. A change that alters a number, a condition or a regulator reference cannot be logged as a clarification, because it changes what a reader would do. A change that only shortens a sentence without altering meaning is not logged at all. This keeps the three categories meaningful: error means wrong, update means dated, clarification means clearer. A reader who understands the three marks can judge how much weight to give the current page.

Who Decides a Correction and Within What Time

The person responsible for the page decides whether a reported issue is an error, an update or a clarification, and that decision is recorded with the entry. Reports are reviewed in the order received, with anything affecting a number, a formula, a leverage cap or the FSCA caveat treated first because those are the statements a reader could act on. The aim is to decide and, where needed, correct within the same working week, though a report that requires checking a source can take longer and the delay is stated in the entry.

Deciding is not a vote. A reader report is evidence, not a verdict, and the page owner checks it against the facts supplied to the page before changing anything. If the report is right, the correction is made and dated. If the report is wrong, no entry is created, because the log records changes to the page, not every query received. If the report identifies a genuine ambiguity, it becomes a clarification. The reasoning is written down so a later reader can see why the decision went the way it did.

Time matters most for figures that carry money risk. A wrong margin figure, a wrong pip value for XAU/USD, or a leverage statement that drops the retail cap is treated as urgent and fixed before routine updates. A wording improvement can wait. The log does not promise instant correction, because checking a source takes time, but it does commit to a dated decision rather than an open-ended acknowledgement. A reader who reports an error should be able to see, in the log, what was decided and when.