Join Our Team

OkButWhy is an open, volunteer-run platform, and we’re always glad to meet people who can’t leave a good question alone. If you’d like to write for us in science, art, or philosophy, here’s how it works and what we ask.

Originality & plagiarism

Plagiarism — using someone else’s ideas or words as your own without crediting the source — is a line we never cross. Copying a text, or lightly rewording one without citation, is the deepest kind of disrespect to both the reader and the original author. Every submission is checked by our editors, and anything that isn’t original won’t be published. Please make sure your work is genuinely your own, with sources shown.

Grammar & readability

We write in clear, fluent English for readers from every background. If your piece uses technical terms, explain them so anyone can follow. Everyone has their own voice, and ours leans conversational — accurate, but written as if we’re talking, not reciting an encyclopedia. A good test: read it aloud, or hand it to someone new to the topic. If it holds their attention, it’s ready. There’s no length limit — a piece should be exactly as long as it needs to be.

Sources & images

Cite the sources you used in a references section. For anything factual, we rely on at least two reliable sources — partly to confirm accuracy, partly to point curious readers further. Our articles aren’t academic papers, but we hold ourselves to academic honesty. The same rule covers images: use your own or royalty-free visuals, always credited, and check the licence before you add anything.

Authors & contributors

Once you’re publishing with us, there are two ways to be listed. Authors have published at least three articles and keep up roughly two a month. Contributors write with us now and then, without a fixed schedule — and move up to Authors once they meet that pace. If an Author’s output slows for a while, they simply move to Contributors until they’re back to a steady rhythm.

Volunteering & income

OkButWhy has no income of its own and runs entirely on volunteers, so we can’t pay writers or contributors. Everything here is published for the love of sharing something worth knowing.

Sharing permission

By submitting a piece, you confirm it’s your own and agree to have it published publicly under your name, which appears at the top of the article. You also allow our editors to make small edits for readability.

How to apply

To join as a writer, email us at okbutwhyorg@gmail.com with:

  • your article, its images, and your references (as a Microsoft Word file — attach the images to the email);
  • a short CV (optional — for your Author/Contributor profile);
  • a photo of you (optional — for your profile);
  • your social media accounts (optional — for your profile).

Would you rather help on the software or design side? Reach us through the Contact page or at okbutwhyorg@gmail.com. Welcome aboard.

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