Methodology
Commons computes five coordination readings from campaign data for the organization running the campaign. These diagnostics measure whether participation is organic, diverse, and sustained — or manufactured, concentrated, and bursty. They are not included in the message a recipient receives, and no reading is self-reported.
These readings can invert: a machine-distributed campaign can score higher than an organic one. They are diagnostics for the organization running the campaign, not a measure of legitimacy. No action available. Both directions of this reading are ambiguous.
Measures how spread out participants are across legislative districts. Computed as 1 − HHI, where HHI is the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index — the sum of each district's share squared.
| Score | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| 0.90+ | Actions span many districts evenly |
| 0.50–0.89 | Actions span several districts, with some district clustering |
| < 0.50 | Concentrated in few districts |
Privacy: Computed from one-way district hashes, never addresses. No minimum-count floor is applied to districts, so a district with one action can appear. Neighborhood-level (H3 cell) counts are withheld below 5 actions.
Measures how many message hashes are distinct. Computed as the ratio of unique message hashes to total message hashes; repeated hashes lower the ratio.
| Score | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| 0.90+ | At least 90% as many distinct message hashes as messages |
| 0.50–0.89 | Between 50% and 89% as many distinct message hashes as messages |
| < 0.50 | Fewer than 50% as many distinct message hashes as messages |
Privacy: Only message hashes are compared, never content.
Measures how participation is distributed over time using Shannon entropy over hourly buckets.
| Normalized | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| 0.65+ | Actions are distributed across multiple hourly buckets |
| 0.33–0.64 | Actions have some temporal spread and some clustering |
| < 0.33 | Nearly all actions in a narrow time window |
The ratio of the peak hourly action count to the average count across hourly buckets that contain actions.
| Score | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| 1.0–2.0 | The peak hourly count is up to twice the active-hour average |
| 2.0–5.0 | The peak hourly count is between two and five times the active-hour average |
| 5.0+ | The peak hourly count is at least five times the active-hour average |
The ratio of actions from participants in the Veteran and Pillar tiers to actions from participants in the Active tier. It describes the participation-history mix recorded by Commons.
| Score | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| 0.50+ | Veteran- and Pillar-tier actions amount to at least half the Active-tier action count |
| 0.10–0.49 | Veteran- and Pillar-tier actions amount to between one tenth and just under half the Active-tier action count |
| < 0.10 | Veteran- and Pillar-tier actions amount to less than one tenth of the Active-tier action count |
Engagement tiers (0–4) measure platform participation history, not identity verification level.
Plain-language summary of how we collect, use, and retain personal data. Full Terms of Service and Privacy Policy documents are forthcoming; until they ship, this section is the canonical disclosure on the Commons domain. Companion technical detail lives in our security limitations doc.