We believe that most (if not all) people, including the people employed at ProCon.org, have biases on many topics. However, ProCon.org as an organization is neither conservative nor liberal nor otherwise politically biased. We work hard to be nonpartisan and to ensure that an individual’s bias does not appear in or affect our organization’s work.

We have strict policies and procedures to prevent any bias from appearing in the sites. If you perceive bias on any of our sites, let us know and we will immediately address your concerns.

Some people may consider our graphic design decisions, such as pro v. con (instead of con v. pro), red v. green, left column v. right column, and other distinctions to suggest bias for one side or the other (for example, that a column on the left suggests the political "left"). Our graphic designs are meant to eliminate the perception of bias, and we realize that not everyone will agree. For example, we use the phrase "pro-con” because we find that more people use the phrase "pro-con” than "con-pro.”

Part of the reason ProCon.org exists at all is to bring neutrality and credible research to important social issues. Our stated mission is "Promoting critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan primarily pro-con format." and we are committed to fulfilling our mission as best we can.

ProCon.org does not take a position on any of the issues it explores. The world is full of organizations that give their opinions explicitly or reveal their opinions through bias. ProCon.org is different. We provide high quality and unbiased research so that our readers can make up their own minds.

No. ProCon.org is an independent nonprofit organization. We are not affiliated with any groups.

ProCon.org was initially funded primarily by its founder, Steve Markoff. Since our formation in July 2004, more and more of the organization’s revenue has come from third party sources including private companies, foundations, individual donors, and others. As a measure of our transparency, all ProCon.org donors for the last three years are listed on our Donors & Sponsors page. Funding prior to the last three years can be found in our Annual Reports, Audited Financial Statements, and 990 Forms – all of which we have made available online for review.

The information presented on our sites is intended for the public, policy makers, the media, scholars, scientists, judges, attorneys, librarians, teachers, and students. For more information about our audience, please visit our webpage "Who Uses ProCon.org?"

The number of ProCon.org website sessions is tracked on our Traffic page where you can see the breakdown by month, year, and website.

July 12, 2004. Steven C. Markoff, the Chairman of ProCon.org, has been active in trying to find pros and cons of various controversial issues since 1986. He created an organization to pursue this effort, and after going through several iterations, that organization became ProCon.org on July 12, 2004. Read a detailed personal statement from Mr. Markoff about the origins and background of ProCon.org.

Not normally. Usually one person leads the research process on an issue website, and it is common for several researchers to contribute by adding biographies, questions, pro and con responses, resources, etc. The researcher in charge of the website is acknowledged on the About Us page, and any researcher who contributed over 250 hours or 33% of an issue website (whichever is less) is acknowledged as a contributing researcher.

Perhaps. The primary focus of ProCon.org is to promote critical thinking and not necessarily to develop individual research skills. We conduct research so that our readers can more easily understand diverse perspectives on controversial issues.

Some teachers say that ProCon.org provides too much information and detracts from the development of student research skills. Other teachers say that ProCon.org provides sourced information in a relevant context that helps students to further their research skills by tracking down primary sources and pursuing new lines of inquiry.

Yes. When someone clicks on a ProCon.org link to a PDF file, third party website, or ProCon.org biography, the page will open (aka "pop up”) in a new Internet browser window.

Yes. Although ProCon.org is a US-based organization that tends to focus on issues important to Americans, much of our research has international relevance. For example, two of our websites, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the war in Iraq, are clearly international. Dozens of our questions and resources have an international focus (euthanasia laws in Holland and Belgium, doping in the Olympics, and abortion, prostitution, drinking age, and felon voting laws around the world, among others). In addition, many of our other topics are not restricted by geography (cell phone safety, healthfulness of milk, global climate change, the origins of sexual orientation, etc.).