How Pharos writes, what it calls things, and what it refuses to say. Pinned here so external commentators, contributors, and the maintainer can hold the project to its own register.
Section 1
Pharos has a vocabulary. Each of the terms below is a Title-Case proper noun and is rendered that way wherever it appears in product copy, OG cards, methodology, or briefings.
DEWS bands
Always rendered as Title-Case proper nouns. Lowercased only when the word is doing its ordinary work ("a calmer week") — never when naming the band.
Grade alphabet
Eleven grades, no half-steps outside this list. A coin is graded A-, never A−− or A-minus-minus.
Section 2
The phrases below are rejected in product copy. They are not banned because they are taboo; they are rejected because they obscure something Pharos exists to make visible.
Without qualification, the word is propaganda. Almost every stablecoin Pharos tracks involves a permissioned issuer, operator-gated mint or redeem, freeze authority, off-chain reserves, or some combination. Pharos says "permissioned issuer," "operator-gated," "consensus-validated," or "on-chain settled," never the unqualified word.
Without third-party corroboration, the phrase is marketing. Attestations are dated; only audited and on-chain-verifiable reserves earn that wording. Pharos says "issuer-reported reserves," "attested reserves dated YYYY-MM-DD," or "on-chain reserve read," and reserves the full phrase for assets where an independent party can corroborate the read.
Not for NAV tokens. A token designed to drift upward to capture yield carries duration risk and does not trade at par. Pharos calls those tokenized treasuries, NAV-bearing instruments, or yield-bearing wrappers — never "stablecoin yield." PegScore is withheld where the asset is not meant to hold a fixed price.
Nothing tracked here is risk-free. Pharos says "operationally low-risk under current conditions" or names the specific risk being absent ("no issuer freeze authority," "no upstream dependency," "no documented redemption gate"). Vague safety language is rewritten before publish.
Not in product copy. The closest Pharos gets is a typographic kicker, a hairline rule, or a numbered marker. Emoji belong to social posts and changelog informalia, not to the dashboard, the methodology, or the briefings.
Section 3
Numbers in Pharos are the load-bearing part of the page. They are typeset and scaled by rule, not by feel.
Section 4
Four oppositions. When a line could read either way, the right side loses.
Pharos publishes information that other people will cite. The four axioms above are the editorial test every line of product copy is reviewed against before publish. When a line could read either way, the right side loses.
