TSM™ Reader's Digest

How Reader's Digest stays honest

1. Relative ranks only. Reader's Digest never publishes absolute user counts, pageviews or session lengths. Only rank + trend chip (UP / DOWN / FLAT / NEW). If a page has zero readers this week, it disappears from the list — it does not get faked.
2. Anonymous, no cookies. The Digest uses TSM™'s own counter: no cookies, nothing stored in your browser, no personal data. Every read counts, including repeat reads. An outside analytics service is used only for general site statistics, and only if you accept its cookies.
3. Cross-site is funnel, not metric. The "Hot on Hub" card is a curated discovery shortcut — if you came to www and find Reader's Digest useful, the Hub probably has the metal page you want next. It is not a competitive ranking.
4. One counting rule, both sites. A reader of a topic is counted when they stay ten seconds and act on the page (scroll, click or tap), or when they follow a link to an original source. Leaving for the original source counts as success. The Hub and the main site are counted the same way and ranked separately.
5. Trend against last week. UP = climbed, DOWN = dropped, FLAT = same rank, NEW = not in last week's list.
6. No retroactive edits. Each weekly edition is kept as published.