Editorial Policy for Custom Mechanical Keyboard DIY Kits

This page explains how we write about Custom Mechanical Keyboard DIY Kits, who shapes the copy, and where the line sits between useful comparison and sales pressure. We cover kit contents, switch families, layout choices, and compatibility notes so readers can match a published bill of materials to a real shopping cart. Our evaluations compare published specifications and current listings across multiple sources; we do not conduct hands-on testing.

Independence from the checkout button

Affiliate links may appear when a kit, plate, or switch pack is discussed. Those links never rewrite a layout caveat, a missing stabilizer count, or a firmware limitation that the listing already discloses. If two kits share a similar price, we still describe the differences that matter on paper: gasket versus tray mount language, hot-swap socket claims, included keycap profiles, and whether the PCB description names QMK, VIA, or a vendor-only tool. Mira Holtz owns switch type mapping and layout variants. Rafael Duarte owns hot-swap support plus PCB and firmware notes. Niran Voss owns case materials and the included parts inventory. No editor is paid to rank a brand higher. When a merchant listing and a manufacturer sheet disagree, we flag the mismatch instead of smoothing it away.

How facts get checked before a kit page ships

A draft starts with the kit’s current marketplace listing and the maker’s published spec sheet. We then cross-reference a second listing or an archived product page when the first source is thin. The checklist is narrow on purpose:

• Switch type labels (linear, tactile, clicky) are copied from the source language, not inferred from marketing adjectives.
• Layout variants (60%, 65%, 75%, TKL, split, ISO versus ANSI) are recorded only when the listing or spec names them.
• Hot-swap claims, socket type wording, and firmware names are checked by Rafael against the PCB description, not against forum rumor.
• Case material (aluminum, polycarbonate, FR4, wood, 3D-printed polymer) and the parts list—plate, stabs, cable, keycaps, lube—are inventoried by Niran from what the kit says it includes.

If a field is missing, we leave it blank and say so. We do not fill gaps with assumed acoustics, assumed typing feel, or assumed build difficulty. Evaluations rely only on manufacturer specifications, current marketplace listings, and cross-referencing multiple sources.

Conflicts, corrections, and the refresh cadence

A conflict of interest exists whenever an editor, or someone close to them, would gain from a particular kit ranking. In that case the editor steps off the page and another named editor finishes the comparison. Sample kits, press decks, and sponsored roundups are declined as editorial inputs; they are not a substitute for public specs. Corrections follow a short path: a reader points to a wrong socket count, a renamed firmware, or a kit that dropped foam from the box. We verify against the live listing, update the sentence, and add a dated note on the page explaining what changed. We do not quietly swap numbers.

Listings for DIY kits move fast—switch packs rotate, plates disappear, and “hot-swap” wording appears or vanishes between restocks. We revisit comparison tables when a primary listing changes a material, layout SKU, or included-parts line, and we sweep evergreen pages on a regular calendar so stale firmware names do not linger. Trust here is not a lab badge. It is a habit of naming the source, keeping three editors in their lanes, refusing to invent a typing session we never had, and correcting the record when the carton contents on the product page no longer match what we wrote.