Lesson 2: Triage flow

NeedsInfo → ReadyToMatch → Match → Close

The triage flow is the spine of NeighborNet. If this flow is clean, everything gets easier.

RoutingState definitions (use consistently)

• Draft: newly created, not triaged
• NeedsInfo: missing essentials, not matchable yet
• ReadyToMatch: clear enough to match now
• Matched: a match exists
• Completed: help happened and loop is closed
• Closed: ended cleanly without a match or without completion

Your job as a steward is to keep requests moving forward or ending cleanly. Stagnant requests create social weirdness.

Step 1: Triage new requests (Draft)

Open the request and check for the 5 essentials:

1. What is needed
2. Time window
3. Location
4. Scope size
5. Emotional load

Plus: What “done” looks like If anything is missing → set RoutingState = NeedsInfo.

Step 2: NeedsInfo (clarify, don’t judge)

NeedsInfo is not a rejection. It’s a clarity step. Steward script: “Thanks. To match this cleanly I need: time window, scope size, location, and what done looks like. Aim for something small enough to complete in one session.” Once clarified → RoutingState = ReadyToMatch.

Step 3: ReadyToMatch (match with boundaries)

Matching rules that keep the village safe:

• prefer small requests
• timebox everything
• avoid emotional load mismatch
• never match someone who is overloaded
• do not let urgency bypass clarity

Create the match:

• assign helper
• confirm schedule
• confirm scope
• confirm “done”

Then set:

• request RoutingState = Matched
• match Status = Confirmed

Step 4: Completion (close the loop)

When help is done:

• match Status = Completed
• request RoutingState = Completed
• mark CompletionLogged = checked (once ledger is handled)

Closure is not administrative. It is relational hygiene.

Step 5: Close cleanly (when it’s not happening)

Close requests when:

• there is no capacity this week
• the request is out of scope
• it needs professional support
• the requester is unresponsive after clarification attempts

Steward script: “I’m going to close this for now so it doesn’t hang in limbo. If you want to try again, repost with a smaller scope and a clear time window.” Closing cleanly protects the feed from emotional fog.