Update README

Author: GKalliatakis

README.md

@@ -1,30 +1,37 @@
+
 <p align="center">
   <img src="assets/diffusion-lighthouse-logo.png" alt="Diffusion Lighthouse logo" width="420">
 </p>
 
-<h1 align="center">🌊 Diffusion Lighthouse</h1>
-
 <p align="center">
   A curated, dataset-first map of diffusion research — peer-reviewed first, with rare canonical preprint exceptions.
 </p>
 
 <p align="center">
-  <a href="https://github.com/GKalliatakis/diffusion-lighthouse">
-    <img src="https://img.shields.io/github/stars/GKalliatakis/diffusion-lighthouse?style=flat-square" alt="GitHub stars">
-  </a>
-  <a href="https://github.com/GKalliatakis/diffusion-lighthouse/issues">
-    <img src="https://img.shields.io/github/issues/GKalliatakis/diffusion-lighthouse?style=flat-square" alt="Issues">
+  <!-- GitHub Pages deployment status -->
+  <a href="https://github.com/GKalliatakis/diffusion-lighthouse/actions/workflows/pages.yml">
+    <img src="https://github.com/GKalliatakis/diffusion-lighthouse/actions/workflows/pages.yml/badge.svg" alt="Deploy to GitHub Pages">
   </a>
+
+  <!-- License -->
   <a href="LICENSE">
     <img src="https://img.shields.io/github/license/GKalliatakis/diffusion-lighthouse?style=flat-square" alt="License">
   </a>
-  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/focus-diffusion%20models-blue?style=flat-square" alt="Focus">
-  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/status-editorial%20curation-success?style=flat-square" alt="Status">
+
+  <!-- Conceptual / editorial badges -->
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/focus-diffusion%20models-blue?style=flat-square" alt="Focus: diffusion models">
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/index-dataset--first-informational?style=flat-square" alt="Dataset-first index">
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/status-editorial%20curation-success?style=flat-square" alt="Editorial curation">
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/policy-peer--reviewed--first-critical?style=flat-square" alt="Peer-reviewed-first policy">
 </p>
 
 ---
 
-**Diffusion Lighthouse** helps researchers, students, and practitioners orient themselves in fast-moving diffusion literature by highlighting work with **lasting conceptual signal**, grounded in **datasets**, with **explicit editorial judgment**.
+**Diffusion Lighthouse** helps researchers, students, and practitioners navigate the fast‑moving diffusion literature by surfacing work with **lasting conceptual signal**.
+
+It is **not** an exhaustive index and it does **not** rank papers by benchmark performance.
+Instead, it curates papers that shaped how diffusion models are **understood, trained, and applied** —
+grounded in datasets, with **explicit editorial judgment**.
 
 > Like a lighthouse, this project does not chart every wave —  
 > it helps you navigate toward the most important signals.
@@ -37,22 +44,88 @@
 
 The website is the **canonical index**.
 
-If it’s not on the website, it’s not included.
+- The repository supports the website.
+- The website defines inclusion.
+- If a paper is not on the website, it is **not included**.
 
 ---
 
-## 🔧 Maintenance
+## 🚫 What Diffusion Lighthouse is not
 
-For the exact, repeatable steps to update citations, rebuild `papers.json`, refresh the site, and troubleshoot common failures (Scholar blocks, stale build artifacts, README marker errors), see **[MAINTENANCE.md](MAINTENANCE.md)**.
+- Not a leaderboard  
+- Not an automatic crawler  
+- Not a complete bibliography  
+- Not a benchmark comparison site  
+
+Exclusion is intentional.
 
 ---
 
 ## 🗂️ Repository structure
 
-This repository powers the website. The README intentionally does **not** duplicate the paper list.
+This repository exists to **power the website**.
+
+- Paper metadata is curated in YAML
+- The site consumes a built `papers.json`
+- The README intentionally does **not** duplicate the paper list
+
+See the website for the actual index.
+
+---
+
+## 🧭 Editorial cadence
+
+Diffusion Lighthouse is curated through an **explicit editorial process**.
+
+Additions, revisions, and reclassifications take time by design.
+Papers are evaluated for **lasting conceptual, methodological, or dataset-level signal** —
+not for recency, popularity, or benchmark performance.
+
+As a result:
+- Not every notable paper is included
+- Some papers may appear only after their historical role becomes clear
+- Absence does not imply omission or oversight
+
+The index evolves deliberately. Speed is not the goal; clarity is.
+
+---
+
+## 🤝 Contributions
+
+Well-defined contributions are welcome.
+
+Because Diffusion Lighthouse is editorially curated, contributions are expected to be
+**specific, motivated, and grounded in the project’s criteria**.
+Examples of acceptable contributions include:
+
+- Proposing a paper with a clear editorial rationale
+  (why it delivers lasting conceptual, methodological, or dataset-level signal)
+- Suggesting a correction or clarification to an existing entry
+- Pointing out missing or incorrect canonical publication links
+- Identifying relation errors or misclassifications
+
+General paper lists, popularity-based suggestions, or benchmark-driven additions
+will not be considered.
+
+All contributions are reviewed editorially, and inclusion is discretionary.
+
+---
+
+## 🔧 Maintenance
+
+For the exact, repeatable steps to:
+
+- update citations  
+- rebuild `papers.json`  
+- refresh the site  
+- troubleshoot common failures (Scholar blocks, stale artifacts, build issues)
+
+see **[MAINTENANCE.md](MAINTENANCE.md)**.
 
 ---
 
 ## 📜 License
 
-MIT License.
+This project is released under the **MIT License**.  
+See [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details.
+