How product submissions are reviewed

Overview

Anyone can submit a software product to be listed on Liners. Submissions go through a structured review flow before they are published, so the directory stays useful and avoids duplicate, low-quality, or misleading listings.

Step 1: Submit the Product

To submit a product, you visit our Submit page and provide:

• Product name: the official name.
• Website URL: the product's homepage.
• Description: a brief explanation of what the product does.

You need to be logged in to submit. This helps us track submissions and notify you about the status.

Step 2: Initial Processing

Once submitted, the product enters our pipeline:

1. Website check: We confirm the submitted URL appears to point to a real product.
2. Duplicate review: We compare the submission against existing listings so the same product is not published twice.
3. Listing setup: We prepare the basic listing data, including display assets where available.

Step 3: Research by DD Dave

DD Dave helps research submitted products using public information:

• Verifies the product is operational and legitimate.
• Gathers context about the company and product.
• Checks whether the listing fits the African software directory.
• Prepares useful context for the listing.

Not every product has the same amount of public information available. When evidence is limited, the listing stays more conservative.

Step 4: Content Generation

If a product needs clearer copy, AI may help draft:

• Description: A concise, factual description of what the product does.
• Tagline: A short, punchy line capturing the product's core value.
• FAQs: Common questions and answers based on reliable available information.

Generated copy is expected to stay factual, specific, and free of unsupported claims.

Step 5: Classification

AI may suggest classification metadata:

• Categories: Up to 3 categories are suggested based on what the product does.
• Tags: Up to 8 tags are suggested using our grouped tag taxonomy.
• Countries: Operating countries are identified based on the product's market and availability.

Step 6: Review Before Publication

QA Quinn helps check whether the listing is ready to publish. Review can include:

• Product identity and website fit.
• Basic listing completeness.
• Category, tag, country, and platform fit.
• Copy quality and factual consistency.
• Obvious duplicate or low-quality submission signals.

Step 7: Human Review Layer

Before a listing is published, a human reviewer can check the final version when the submission needs extra judgment. This is most likely when the product category is unclear, the source material is thin, the AI suggestions conflict with the evidence, or the listing makes claims that need careful wording.

The human review layer focuses on judgment rather than repeating every automated check. The reviewer can approve the listing, make changes, correct taxonomy, soften unsupported claims, or keep the product in draft until there is enough reliable information.

Step 8: Publishing

Products can be published in two ways:

• Immediate: We publish the product right away.
• Scheduled: The product is given a future publication date and a daily cron job publishes it automatically when the date arrives.

When a product is published:

1. It appears on our site immediately.
2. Alternatives are computed for it and related products.
3. The submitter receives a notification email from Touch Base Tony.

Step 9: Verification Outreach

After publishing, Touch Base Tony may reach out to the product owner to:

• Verify that all listing information is accurate.
• Invite them to claim their listing.
• Establish a relationship for future updates.

Submission Status

From your dashboard, you can track your submitted products and their status:

Summary

The submission pipeline is: Submit → Initial checks → Research → Content support → Classification → AI-assisted review → Human review where needed → Publication → Owner follow-up. The process is designed to move quickly while keeping the directory accurate and useful.