UPDATED 1 p.m. 7/18/2012

Oahu County Democrats don’t want their members to leak information to Civil Beat, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and the TV stations.

I know this because someone — sorry, can’t say who — leaked the information to me not long after the Democrats met last Saturday at party headquarters at Ward Warehouse.

Asked about the tip, Oahu County Chair Tony Gill said, “All organizations, whether they are public or private, corporate or otherwise, sooner or later have to choose between the vanity of individuals and the good of the whole. Not everybody gets to know everything all the time. That’s why there is a concept of fiduciary duty pertinent to all organizations.”

Translation: “I will neither confirm nor deny that information.”

Regardless of whether Democrats really have installed a cone of silence, I’d like for those tips to keep on coming, especially good ones that check out and help our readers better understand issues important to Hawaii.

To that end, I offer 10 tips on tipping to me.

Don’t Call the Star-Advertiser

No. 1 Call me first. Not Derrick DePledge or Rob Perez. Not Keoki Kerr or Gina Mangieri. Definitely not Jim Dooley. Call me. Use this number: 377-0245.

No. 2 Do not call another reporter until I have told you that I am no longer working on your tip.

No. 3 Do not expect me to answer or return your message right away. Do not leave a long message. Best to use a personal cell rather than a work line (duh). Texting is OK.

No. 4 Do not send email. One click of the “Reply All” button and it’s goodbye Deep Throat.

No. 5 Make copies of the emails, secret documents, incriminating photos and the like and give them to me. Manila envelope is best, unsealed.¹ Call me and I will drive to a secure, undisclosed location, making sure that I’m not tailed by Democratic Party Chair Dante Carpenter.

No. 6 Send me a fax (remember those?), and include your contact information. Attn: Chad Blair at 737-2310.

No. 7 Do not expect that your tip will immediately turn up in a Civil Beat article the very next day. Be patient; confirmation can take time. Your tip might also prove false.

No. 8 Do not expect that I will report on your tip in exactly the way you envision. I am the reporter, you are the source.

No. 9 Do not be disappointed if I pass your tip on to another reporter at Civil Beat. Trust me: Everyone in this office is a better reporter than me. Even Mike Levine.

No. 10 Do not tell me how much you liked that column I wrote about haoles in order to ingratiate yourself. I am only interested in you and your tip.