The Rules of Engagement · Crisis
Last updated · July 2026 · Review quarterly
The only manual touchpoint is the crisis queue. This is how it runs without breaking.
Dirty Laundry is not a crisis service. But when someone in distress trusts this platform with their truth, the response cannot be passive. This protocol defines what happens automatically, what requires a human, how fast, and who backs it up. Every step is documented here so that the queue is sustainable — not just present.
0s
Crisis resources shown to submitter
2hr
Human review SLA
2
Trained reviewers (primary + backup)
Phase 0 · Immediate (Automated)
AutomatedThe moment a confession is submitted, client-side crisis detection scans the text. If self-harm or suicidal language is detected, a full-screen crisis intervention overlay appears — 988, Crisis Text Line, and SAMHSA — before the user leaves the page. This happens instantly, with zero dependency on admin review. The confession is still received and witnessed. The person in distress sees help before anything else.
Phase 1 · Immediate (Automated)
AutomatedSimultaneously, the AI moderation pass evaluates the confession. If crisis_flagged is set to true, an alert email is sent to the ADMIN_EMAIL address immediately — subject line "⚠ CRISIS FLAG — Review Required." This email includes the confession text, submission timestamp, and a direct link to the Moderation Queue. You are notified the moment it happens, not when you happen to check.
Phase 2 · SLA — 2 Hours
Crisis-flagged confessions are sorted to the top of the Moderation Queue with a red alert badge. The SLA is 2 hours from submission to human review. This means: you (or your backup reviewer) open the queue, read the flagged confession, and determine whether it represents a genuine crisis disclosure, a false positive, or content that requires escalation beyond Dirty Laundry's capacity. If you cannot meet the 2-hour SLA for any reason, the backup reviewer must be notified.
Phase 3 · If Genuine Crisis
If the flagged confession represents active, imminent self-harm intent or a threat to others: (1) Crisis resources have already been shown to the submitter — that is the limit of what Dirty Laundry can do. (2) You cannot identify, contact, or locate the user — the system is anonymous by design. (3) If there is any identifiable information (a named third party, a specific location, a specific time), document it and contact local authorities or 988. (4) Do NOT attempt to play counselor. You are a witness, not a clinician. (5) Log the incident in the escalation log with timestamp, action taken, and outcome.
Phase 4 · Backup Reviewer
A single-point-of-failure queue is just delayed you. The primary reviewer is the platform owner. The backup reviewer is a trusted second person with admin access to the Moderation Queue, trained on this protocol, and reachable within the 2-hour SLA window when the primary is unavailable (asleep, traveling, unavailable). The backup reviewer has: admin account access, this protocol document, and the ADMIN_EMAIL alert. When the primary cannot review within the SLA, they notify the backup directly. The backup takes over the queue until the primary is available again.
Phase 5 · Weekly — Flag Rate Audit
Every week, check the flag rate on the Funnel Dashboard: what percentage of total submissions are landing in the crisis-flagged queue, and of those, what fraction were genuine crisis content vs. false positives. If the flag rate is above 10% of total submissions, the filter is likely too loose — tighten the keyword patterns in crisisDetection.js. If false positives exceed 50% of flagged items, the LLM crisis detection prompt needs refinement. The target: flagged items represent under 5% of submissions, and over 70% of flagged items are genuine. This keeps the queue sustainable — a few items a week, not a second job.
Escalation Log Template
Every genuine crisis escalation is logged. Not in the database — in a private document only the primary and backup reviewers can access. The log entry includes:
"The truth you're carrying is not the problem.
The silence around it is."