If you feel like posting a link to an EVP, here are a few guideline ideas. They're not Official Policy. Following these guidelines won't mean that anyone proclaims your EVPs as proof of ghostly activities. It might make things more interesting for all concerned, though. As ever, I welcome discussion and may amend these as we come up with better ideas.

Proposed Skeptical Rules For Posting EVPs:

1. Don't tell us what you think it says– or tell us invisibly

This goes for the original poster and for subsequent commenters. The only measure I know for the quality of an EVP is the number of independent listeners who hear the same words. Most places that post EVPs tell you what you're supposed to hear before you get a chance to hear it. Doing that makes it impossible for me to try coming up with my own, independent interpretation of what the EVP is saying, if anything.

However, it's useful to record what you think an EVP says, either as an original poster or a later commenter. Formatting can come to the rescue here. As the forum is currently set up, you can change the color of a section of text by selecting it and clicking on the big letter "A" in the toolbar. If you choose the color white, then you can write a secret message that's only visible when someone selects the text.

SELECT BELOW HERE TO SEE THE SECRET MESSAGE

Listen to the Skeptical Viewer!

SELECT ABOVE HERE TO SEE THE SECRET MESSAGE

If you use this style, please ask commenters to do the same in your post.

2. Tell us what kind of recorder you used

All recorders aren't created equal. It's difficult to evaluate a recording without knowing the make and model of the recorder and the recording settings. I'd want to know the dynamic range of the device, what its recording sample rate is (for digital recordings– is it at 44.1 KHz? 22.1? 8? 4?), whether or not it uses some kind of vocal compression (most dictaphone/IC-style recorders do) and what kind of microphone it uses (dynamic? omnidirectional? cardioid?). Most of this information is available in the specification section of the recorder's instruction manual, and we can probably find ways of figuring it out if it isn't.

So please tell us the equipment used to make the recording, in as exact detail as possible.

3. Tell us the situation

Like any piece of evidence, EVPs are useless without context. Was this taken indoors or outdoors? How many people were in the room? How many people were on site? What was the time of recording? What was the recording location? What was the weather at the time? Were there any windows in the room? Were they open?

It's important not to bias the listener with facts that might sway them into a particular interpretation of the EVP– for example, don't mention that you suspect that the ghost's maiden name is "Chesney". If you have such facts, white-on-white them as described above.

4. Don't enhance your recording

It's easier than you might think to create voicelike sounds with a little enhancement. If you must enhance the EVP to make it audible, include a link to the unenhanced recording as well, and tell us EXACTLY what you did to enhance the recording. What software did you use? Which menu items or effects?

Updated: Removed some snarky comments and took out the backup recorder section, since that relates to recording, not posting, EVPs.