Content can be offered to audiences solely by the contributor, who takes full responsibility for the quality aspects. Contributions to discussion groups are an example of this. Blogs are another example as are many personal websites. The author of the content is responsible for the quality aspects and users trust the information based on their trust in that particular person. The extent to which the user knows the author in this case, including previous experiences with content from this author, determines the expectation of the user with respect to usability and reliability. Positive experiences add to the trustworthiness and will lead to more frequent use, whereas negative experiences will decrease this.

Alternatively, content can be offered to audiences after a careful editorial process, which safeguards the compliance with the quality aspects. Take for example a scientific journal or books. The initial author writes a piece of content, which is then peer-reviewed and formatted by others in order to address all quality aspects. This process is illustrated by the figure on the right hand side.

The editorial process consists of the following steps:

• An author creates a piece of content and contributes it to the editorial process
• The Process Expert or Editorial Manager receives the contribution and sends it to a Content Expert
• The Content Expert reviews the contribution and takes responsibility for the following quality aspects:
  • Accuracy
  • Completeness
  • Timeliness
  • Relevancy
  • To some extent accessibility
• After reviewing the content is sent back to the Editorial Manager who may send it to the Format Expert, also called Communications or Design Expert
• The Format Experts does not review the content but focuses primarily on the following quality aspects:
  • Readability
  • Accessibility
  • Appeal
• Finally, the Editorial Manager takes responsibility for the publication of the content item through the appropriate channels and also determines the timing of this

During each step of the review process the content item might be send back to the original author for adaptation or additions. After this the process might start anew or continue at the point where it was left. The process might also be extended by involving other experts when necessary or desirable. This all depends on the competency of the actors involved and the level of thoroughness demanded.