Nupedia's lead review process and policy is as follows.
The article author posts the article draft on the website, and the LR comments on it. For the basic mechanics of how to do this, please see our instructions for authors or our instructions for lead reviewers, as appropriate. In sum, the LR is tasked with providing feedback, via our private web-based discussion page, to the author; the author then responds to the comments and amends the article (or explains points of disagreement).
It is possible that, at some stage of this process (including the very beginning of the process), it will become clear to the LR and/or the editor that the submitted article is simply unacceptable. In that case, the editor should, with the LR's help, send a rejection note that is as tactful and sensitive as possible to the writer.
Only when the LR believes that the draft article is nearly satisfactory for inclusion in Nupedia is the article posted to the relevant review group(s). The LR should carefully consult our guidelines for writing and formatting articles in making this determination--particularly if the LR is new to the lead review process. The LR need not believe the article as it stands is flawless, but it must be clear to the LR that a version of the article fairly close to the present version will, very probably, be acceptable. As a rough rule of thumb, LRs might ask themselves, "If this draft of this article were to be published under my name, would I be embarrassed by it?" If the answer is yes, the article should probably not be approved.
It is at that time that the LR should locate the "go to form" link on his or her member area homepage (after logging in), to the right of the name of the article. This will bring up an approval button for the article; pressing the button will indicate the LR's approval of the article, and the article will then be posted for open review.
It is highly recommended that, during lead review or open review, the writer solicit feedback on the article from a non-Nupedia mailing list that specializes in the subject matter of the article. If appropriate, the writer should ask permission from the list owner or moderator before making such a post. This is an excellent way both to get expert help on the article as well as to interest more people in Nupedia.