Advertising policy

How monetization should work on The Patch without damaging trust.

The Patch is being built toward ad-supported sustainability, but monetization should follow product trust, not replace it. This page explains the standards the site should meet before and during any advertising, sponsorship, or affiliate rollout.

Ad placement standard

Ads should stay visually separate from calculators, benchmark values, and tool controls. A user should never have to guess whether a click target is navigation, editorial content, or paid placement.

Editorial independence

Advertising should not decide benchmark values, pet ordering, corrections, or methodology updates. Trust pages and core calculators should stay governed by the same data and update standards with or without monetization.

Sponsorship disclosure

If a post, page, or placement is sponsored, it should be labeled clearly in plain language near the content itself instead of being hidden in a footer.

Affiliate disclosure standard

If The Patch ever uses affiliate links, those links should be disclosed clearly on the page where they appear. Affiliate arrangements should not be mixed into benchmark values or presented as independent recommendations when they are not.

Young audience safeguards

The site covers a Roblox game with a meaningful under-13 and family audience, so monetization decisions should stay conservative. That includes avoiding deceptive ad styling, maintaining clear parent-facing guidance, and reviewing ad settings carefully before expanding placements.

Open parent guide

Measurement before scaling

Before adding heavier ad loads, the site should understand which tools users actually return for, which pages drive newsletter starts, and whether ad placements would risk hurting retention on mobile or high-intent trade pages.

Changes to this policy

If the monetization model changes materially, for example by adding direct sponsorships, affiliate programs, or broader ad inventory, this page should be updated alongside the rollout and the changelog should note the change.