Editorial Policy & Methodology

Top Porn Sites runs on a straightforward premise: if millions of people use your directory to decide where to spend their time and money, they deserve to know exactly how those decisions are made. This page lays out the entire process — no shortcuts, no vague promises, no fine print.

Over a thousand adult platforms have gone through this process since 2014. Roughly half never made it to the other side. The ones that did are the directory you see today — and even they get re-examined on a rolling basis, because earning a position once does not guarantee keeping it.

For more on who we are, how the team works, and the story behind this directory, head over to Our Purpose on the homepage.

Numbers don't publish themselves. Behind every ranking position, every rejection, and every category update sits one person with the final call. No algorithm overrides him, and no partnership outweighs his judgment.

Mike Carvo

Lead Analyst & Editor-in-Chief

Mike designed the TPS Protocol — the six-phase evaluation system that determines which platforms appear in the directory and where they rank. He owns every scoring criterion, testing benchmark, and rejection threshold that the team operates by.

His day-to-day involves coordinating a 13-person team across platform testing, data collection, and content production. When AI tools are used to assist with drafting or formatting, his team runs the verification layer: checking every data point, rewriting where needed, and approving the final output. Nothing reaches the directory or the blog without clearing his desk first.

The operating principle is short: the data decides the ranking, the team collects the data, and Mike holds the team accountable. That chain has not been broken since the directory launched.

Every platform that appears in the directory — and every platform that gets rejected — goes through the same six phases. The process was built to produce consistent, comparable results regardless of who on the team runs the evaluation, and it has remained the operational backbone of Top Porn Sites since launch.

AI is part of our workflow. Pretending otherwise would be dishonest, so here is exactly where and how it fits in:

AI Is Used For

• Image creation: Blog illustrations, category visuals, and featured graphics are produced with AI generation tools. Every AI-created image is identified as such.
• Research acceleration: AI helps aggregate data, identify trends across large datasets, and produce structured first drafts during the research stage.
• Formatting and consistency: AI assists with maintaining a uniform structure, tone, and SEO formatting across the content library.

AI Does Not Touch

• Rankings and scores: Every position in the directory is determined by human evaluators who have personally tested the platform. AI plays no role in assigning scores or deciding rank.
• Rejection decisions: The decision to block, delist, or permanently ban a platform is always made by a human member of the editorial team.
• Editorial judgment: The nuanced calls that shape our brand — tone, perspective, how we frame a recommendation — are human decisions rooted in over a decade of accumulated hands-on experience.
• Commercial relationships: AI has zero involvement in partnership or affiliate decisions. Revenue operations and editorial operations run on separate tracks.

This policy is not static. As AI capabilities shift and industry norms develop, we will revise and update it accordingly.

This is the part people usually skip to, so we will keep it blunt:

Yes, we earn revenue through affiliate commissions — when a visitor clicks through to a platform and converts, we may receive a percentage. This model is standard across the entire review publishing industry. But the commercial side of the operation is structurally separated from the editorial side. Platforms with lucrative affiliate programs receive the same evaluation as platforms with none. Some of our top-ranked sites have no financial relationship with us at all. Some partners sit in the middle of the pack because that is where their score placed them.

How the Wall Is Built

• Operational separation: The people who manage commercial relationships are not the same people who run evaluations and assign scores. These roles do not overlap.
• No preview rights: No platform gets to see, comment on, or request changes to its assessment before publication.
• One process for everyone: The six-phase TPS Protocol documented on this page applies identically to every platform, regardless of category, size, or partnership status.

If a platform operator identifies a factual error in their assessment, they can contact us and we will investigate. Genuine mistakes get corrected. Disagreements with editorial judgment get acknowledged — but they do not move the needle on scores.

A directory that freezes is a directory that lies. Platforms change ownership, degrade their player, pile on new ads, or quietly stop uploading. A site that deserved its #3 spot eight months ago might barely hold #10 today. Our process accounts for that:

• Ongoing monitoring: The team tracks platform changes, downtime events, ownership shifts, and content policy updates as they happen.
• Periodic full re-evaluation: Every listed platform goes through a complete reassessment at least once per year. Categories with higher traffic and faster-moving platforms are revisited more often.