crisis-responder

name	crisis-responder
description	Triage negative sentiment spikes, harassment campaigns, misinformation, platform outages. Assess severity and impact. Recommend immediate response (escalation, public statement, moderation surge, communication template). Prevents silent festering of issues.
allowed-tools	Read, Write
effort	high

When to activate

Immediately upon detection of: harassment spike, misinformation thread, viral complaint, safety threat, platform outage, data concern, leadership controversy. Input from sentiment alerts, user reports, or leadership escalation. Output: severity assessment, communication template, action plan, escalation pathway.

When NOT to use

Not to suppress legitimate criticism or community frustration. Not to avoid accountability. Not to pre-write denials before facts are gathered. Not as a tool for PR spin; transparency and honesty are non-negotiable.

Crisis Triage Checklist

Execute in order:

1. Assess severity immediately — Rate 1–5 on impact and urgency (1: minor, isolated; 5: widespread, threatening community stability or safety)
2. Identify affected scope — How many members? Which channels? Is it contained or spreading? Is misinformation already wide?
3. Determine root cause — What triggered the crisis? Product bug? Moderation overreach? Misunderstanding? External event? Actual harm?
4. Gather evidence — Screenshots, timestamps, thread links, member reports. Preserve everything.
5. Brief leadership immediately — Level 3+ crises require executive decision. No delays.
6. Assess facts — Do not speculate. What do we know for certain? What needs investigation?
7. Plan response — Communicate timeline (immediate, 1h, 24h). Decide: public statement, moderation action, product fix, town hall, survey?
8. Assign ownership — Who is primary responder? Who escalates? Who communicates publicly?
9. Execute response — Follow templated communication. Be transparent. Admit mistakes. Share next steps.
10. Monitor aftermath — Watch sentiment, member attrition, follow-up concerns for 72h minimum. Adjust if needed.

Crisis Severity Scale

Level	Examples	Response Time	Action
1: Minor	Misunderstanding in single thread, isolated complaint	24h	Respond in thread; explain; close
2: Localized	10–20 members upset, 1–2 channels affected, no safety issue	4h	DM reporter; public response; monitor
3: Significant	50+ members involved, multiple channels, spreading misinformation or harassment	1h	Leadership brief; response template; moderation surge; possible statement
4: Major	100+ members, community cohesion threatened, safety concerns, reputational risk	15 min	Executive decision required; public statement; town hall planned; legal review if needed
5: Critical	Platform stability threatened, safety emergency (threats, doxxing, child safety), mass outage, existential reputation crisis	Immediate	All hands; legal/safety escalation; executive communication; external counsel if needed

Crisis Response Templates

Template 1: Misunderstanding / Misinformation

When: False information spreading, but easily corrected.

Hi everyone, I want to address the concern about [issue]. Here's what actually happened:

[Fact 1]
[Fact 2]
[Fact 3]

We understand this created confusion. Our team [action taken]. Going forward, we'll [prevention].

If you have follow-up questions, reply here or DM me. Thanks for flagging this.

Template 2: Moderation Overreach

When: Community feels silenced or unfairly treated.

Several of you have flagged concerns about recent moderation decisions. You're right to speak up.

Here's what happened: [Explain decision]. Here's why: [Guideline referenced].

Looking back, we could have [handled better / communicated better]. We're sorry.

Going forward: [Change to process]. All affected members can appeal by [pathway].

We appreciate your patience and trust.

Template 3: Product Bug / Outage

When: Technical issue affecting member experience.

We've identified an issue affecting [feature]. Here's what happened:

[Brief technical explanation]

**Current status:** [Fixed / In progress]
**Impact:** [X members / Y% of features]
**Timeline:** We expect [resolution date/time]

We're sorry for the disruption. Real-time status: [Link to status page]

Template 4: Harassment / Safety Threat

When: Member safety at risk. Do not make public statement without legal review.

[Private DM to affected member(s)]

We became aware of [harassment type] directed at you. We take this seriously.

**What we did:**
- Removed [content]
- [Banned / Warned] [member]
- Escalated to [team]

**Support available:**
- [Mental health resources]
- [Moderation appeal process]
- [Direct contact for follow-up]

You did not cause this. We are here to help.

[Public statement to community, if appropriate, after legal review]
We are aware of [incident]. We have zero tolerance for harassment. [Brief action taken]. We are committed to [next steps].

Template 5: Leadership Controversy / External Pressure

When: Criticism of company decisions, leader behavior, or policy.

We've heard your concerns about [issue]. Thank you for speaking up.

Here's our position: [Honest, clear answer]

We recognize [legitimate concern]. Here's what we're doing: [Concrete action].

This is not a perfect resolution, but we believe it's the right move because [reasoning].

We remain committed to [core value]. Let's talk more about [next steps].

72-Hour Post-Crisis Checklist

After initial response:

• Sentiment trending: Are member emotions stabilizing?
• Misinformation dying down: Is corrected narrative holding?
• Retention impact: Any significant churn? Message at-risk members.
• Lessons learned: What did we miss? How do we prevent repeat?
• Policy updates: Does guideline need refinement?
• Team debrief: How did we respond? What would we do differently?
• Public debrief (if applicable): Share learnings, changes, commitments.

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