Frequently asked.

Is Fault Line legal advice?

No. Fault Line is a self-help documentation tool. Demand letters and insurance evidence packages are generated for you to review and send yourself. Every generated letter carries a chain-of-custody disclaimer identifying the statute dataset version and its review status. For a live claim against a municipality, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Do I need an account to use Fault Line?

No account is required. You can report anonymously. Signed-in reports give you the ability to receive status updates and manage your report history, but anonymous reporting is a first-class citizen — the platform holds no personally identifying information for anonymous reports.

Who sees my reports?

Reports appear on the public Fault Line map so nearby residents can confirm the hazard. When a report or cluster is escalated to a municipal authority, the report data and photos are sent to the responsible department. For anonymous reports, no reporter identity is transmitted — authorities see the report, not the reporter.

How does escalation to authorities work?

When three independent community members report the same hazard at the same location, the cluster is community-verified. At ten reports, the app drafts a demand letter to the correct municipal authority for you to review and send yourself. The letter cites your state's specific defective-highway statute and tracks the statutory response deadline. Fault Line does not send letters on your behalf — you review, sign, and transmit.

What cities and states are covered?

Fault Line currently covers Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire with pre-configured authority routing across 795 US municipalities via Open311, SeeClickFix, Commonwealth Connect, and direct email fallback. The demand letter feature is drafted for MA / RI / NH. Reporting works anywhere — GPS and photo capture are universal — but authority auto-routing and state-specific letters are currently limited to those three states. Expansion to ME, VT, CT, NY, CO, OR, and NM is in progress — see the changelog.

How is my location data used?

GPS coordinates are captured when you submit a report so the hazard can be pinpointed on the map and routed to the correct authority. Fault Line does not track your location in the background without explicit opt-in for features like proximity alerts. Sensor data used for bump detection stays on your device and is never transmitted. See the privacy policy for the full data flow.

How does the Shame Index work? Can cities pay to hide their grade?

The Shame Index is a public A–F grade computed from a weighted combination of fix rate, response time, severity-weighted backlog, and recurrence, benchmarked against similar-sized peer municipalities. Full grading methodology is published, including weights, minimum-data thresholds, update cadence, and dispute process. Cities cannot pay to change, delay, or hide their grade — we deliberately do not offer a private-only tier. Cities can dispute inputs and get verified corrections applied. See the grading methodology.

What happens if a demand letter I sent gets ignored?

If the statutory response window passes without action, the app can generate a follow-up notice for you to send, and the ignored response is recorded in the city's public response record. This is the accountability layer — the Shame Index reflects response times, and repeated failure across a jurisdiction lowers the city's grade in the public methodology. Fault Line is a documentation aid, not a law firm; for a live damages claim, consult a licensed attorney.

Can I edit or delete a report I made?

Yes. Reports you filed while signed in can be edited or deleted from your profile. Anonymous reports cannot be identified back to you (that's the point), so anonymous-report deletion requires the specific report ID captured at submission time — save it if you plan to modify later.

Who runs Fault Line?

Fault Line is built and maintained by Michael Wylde at Moonlit Social Labs, an independent civic-tech studio. Contact: moonlit-social-labs@proton.me. This is a solo-maintainer project by design — low bureaucratic overhead, honest sustainability posture, no venture-backed pressure to monetize the resident product. See About.

How is Fault Line funded, and will it always be free?

The citizen app is free forever — this is a brand covenant, not a marketing line. Sustainability comes from three sources: (1) city-facing dashboards for public works departments (see /cities), (2) civic-tech grants supporting statute review and state expansion, and (3) direct support via Ko-fi. Banner ads help offset infrastructure costs but never appear on the escalation or letter-generation flow.

Is my city required to respond to a Fault Line report?

State law varies. In Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, municipal defective-highway statutes create liability when authorities have notice of a hazardous condition and fail to remedy it within the statutory window. Fault Line letters provide documented notice under those statutes. Whether any specific case succeeds depends on facts and jurisdiction — consult an attorney for live claims.