Engagement Service-Level Agreement
The We The People Platform is operated as a living public-facing site. This page documents the specific service-level commitments the platform makes to visitors who engage with it — for inquiries, error reports, content currency, and site reliability.
These commitments are intended to be transparent and verifiable. Each section below describes a specific commitment, the threshold that defines compliance, and how the commitment is monitored. If you observe a commitment not being met, the Contact page is the place to report it.
Inquiry Handling
When you reach out through the Contact page, the following response thresholds apply.
Automated acknowledgment
Every inquiry submitted through the Contact form receives an automated acknowledgment within five minutes confirming receipt. The acknowledgment includes a reference identifier so subsequent correspondence can be tied to the original message.
Substantive response
Substantive responses to visitor inquiries are provided within five business days. Business days are Monday through Friday, excluding U.S. federal holidays. A substantive response addresses the question, request, or comment with specific information — not a templated reply.
Time-sensitive inquiries
Inquiries flagged as time-sensitive — specifically media inquiries, policy professional consultations, and press requests — receive a substantive response within two business days. Time-sensitive flag should be indicated in the Contact form subject line or message body.
Uptime and Availability
The platform commits to a measurable uptime target with monitored compliance.
Uptime target
The public-facing site targets 99.5 percent uptime. Measured monthly. This allows for approximately 3.6 hours of unplanned downtime per month, or approximately 43.2 hours per year. Planned maintenance windows are announced in advance and counted separately from the uptime calculation.
Outage detection and response
The site is monitored by an automated uptime monitoring service. Unplanned outages trigger an alert to the platform maintainer within one hour of detection. Investigation begins immediately upon alert.
Planned maintenance
Planned maintenance windows are announced on the Contact page at least 48 hours in advance, scheduled during off-peak hours (typically weekends or late evenings, Eastern Time), and capped at four hours per occurrence.
Keeping the Data Current
The platform's substantiation depends on current federal data. The following commitments govern content currency.
Quarterly content review
Substantiation documents are reviewed quarterly to verify their underlying data remains current. Reviews check that BLS, IRS, SSA, CBO, and Federal Reserve citations still reference current releases. Stale citations are updated within the review cycle.
BLS data refresh
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its annual Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) data each spring. The platform commits to refreshing its BLS data archive within 30 days of each OEWS release. The catalog version log reflects each refresh.
Architecture changes
Changes to the platform's substantive architecture (pillar contribution rates, threshold definitions, funding mechanisms) require a documented review process. Each architectural change is recorded in the Open Issues Registry with rationale, supporting evidence, and the date of decision.
How Errors Are Handled
Visitors who observe errors — broken links, calculation issues, content problems — are partners in keeping the platform accurate.
Error triage
Visitor-reported errors are triaged within two business days of receipt. Triage assigns a severity classification: critical (data corruption, calculation error, broken substantiation), significant (broken link, formatting issue affecting comprehension), or minor (typo, stylistic issue).
Critical error fix
Critical errors are fixed within five business days of triage. Fixes are shipped in the next iteration of the platform package, with an explicit note in the version log explaining what was fixed.
Significant and minor errors
Significant errors are fixed within ten business days. Minor errors are batched into the next regular iteration. All fixes are tracked in the Open Issues Registry until closed.
Commitments at a Glance
A consolidated view of every commitment defined above.
| Commitment | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Automated inquiry acknowledgment | 5 minutes |
| Substantive response (standard) | 5 business days |
| Substantive response (time-sensitive) | 2 business days |
| Site uptime target | 99.5% |
| Outage alert to maintainer | Within 1 hour of detection |
| Planned maintenance notice | 48 hours advance |
| BLS data refresh after OEWS release | Within 30 days |
| Quarterly content review cadence | Every 3 months |
| Error triage | 2 business days |
| Critical error fix | 5 business days from triage |
| Significant error fix | 10 business days from triage |
If a Commitment Is Not Met
These commitments are operational, not aspirational. If you observe one not being met, please report it.
The Contact page is the place to report a missed commitment. Include the specific commitment, the date of the observation, and any reference identifier from prior correspondence. Reports of missed commitments are themselves treated as time-sensitive inquiries with a two-business-day substantive response threshold.
Quarterly transparency reports summarize platform performance against each commitment in this SLA. Reports are published on the Contact page.