Affiliate disclosure & funding

Behind the Lore is an independent site, with no intrusive ads, no behavioral tracking, no paywall. To stay sustainable without depending on a patron, we use a few modest and transparent funding levers — detailed below.

Contextual affiliate links

When an entry cites a book, an educational kit (microscope, Snap Circuits, etc.) or a manga volume, the link may be an affiliate link to Amazon, Cultura, Fnac or the publisher. If you click and buy, Behind the Lore earns a small commission (typically 1–5% of the price), at no extra cost to you.

Programs we use (rolled out as we launch):

• Amazon Associates US — for books, manga, science kits
• Amazon Partenaires (FR) — for the French audience
• AWIN — for Cultura, Fnac, Cdiscount
• Publisher programs (Pika, Ki-oon, VIZ, Kodansha) — case-by-case as partnerships open up

How we disclose them

All affiliate links are:

• Explicitly mentioned on the entry concerned ("this entry contains affiliate links").
• Technically marked with the HTML attribute rel="sponsored", in line with Google's recommendations.
• Not cloaked: no URL shortener, the Amazon URL with its tag is visible.

Display ads (forthcoming)

Above a certain traffic threshold (≈ 30,000 page views / month), Behind the Lore will be able to enable sober ad placements via a network like Ezoic, Mediavine Journey or equivalent. Strict rules:

• Maximum 2 placements per entry.
• No ads on the home, editorial pages (manifesto, methodology), or short entries.
• No pop-ups, no autoplay, no fullscreen ads.
• Ads will not track your behavior cross-site (a network that allows this).

Our own editorial products

From ~50 published entries and a stabilized audience, Behind the Lore will offer a few of our own editorial products — no goodies derivative of the works:

• Printable PDFs: clean A4 or poster-sized version of an entry, sold at 3–5 € each.
• In-depth thematic dossiers as PDFs: "All the chemistry of Dr Stone", 30–50 pages, 9–15 €.
• Educational posters with our original diagrams, on print-on-demand.
• Long-term, a possible print book, self-published or with a publisher.

Publisher and brand partnerships (V2+)

Once Behind the Lore is established, partnerships with publishers (Pika, Ki-oon, VIZ, Kodansha) and educational brands (MEL Science, Snap Circuits, Lego Education) become relevant. Any sponsored article will be visibly labeled and won't compromise editorial quality.

What we won't do

• No goodie marketplace. No derivative product that exploits the works covered (mugs, character tees, wallpapers, etc.). See legal notices.
• No "Dr Stone fans" Patreon or equivalent that would make the site look like a fan shop.
• No paywall on the main content. Entries will stay free forever.
• No selling of personal data. Ever.

Questions

For any question about funding or a partnership, write via the contact page.