IT outage affecting log-ins to multiple services resolved

To check this alert, Claude Opus 5 (an AI) read it in full 25 separate times, independently. Each read decided whether the message answers each of the six questions and gave a short reason. A final reviewer then weighed all 25 and wrote the plain-English verdict you see when you open a row. The score (for example 22/25) is how many reads agreed; the 25 individual reads are tucked underneath if you want to check them.

• Sourcepresent25/25

  Final assessment

  Present, unanimous at 25 of 25. The notice is issued in the voice of a named campus unit, "UW-IT engineers are investigating an outage", with UW-IT later resolving it.

  Who is sending the alert and who is responding. People act faster on a message from a clearly identifiable, credible sender, such as a named department, the police, or a branded alert system, than on an anonymous notice. A branded signature counts.

  See all 25 individual reads

  1. present: "UW-IT" and its engineers are named as the organization reporting and fixing the problem.
  2. present: The sender is identified as "UW-IT", whose engineers are investigating the outage.
  3. present: "UW-IT engineers are investigating" names the responsible unit.
  4. present: "UW-IT" and its engineers are identified as the group investigating and resolving the outage.
  5. present: The sender is named as UW-IT, whose engineers are investigating the outage.
  6. present: UW-IT is identified as the group investigating and later resolving the outage.
  7. present: UW-IT is named as investigating and resolving the outage.
  8. present: "UW-IT engineers" and UW-IT are named as the investigating and reporting body.
  9. present: "UW-IT engineers" are named as investigating, identifying the university unit sending this.
  10. present: "UW-IT" is named as investigating and later resolving the outage.
  11. present: UW-IT is named as investigating and later resolving the outage.
  12. present: UW-IT is named as the unit investigating and later resolving the outage.
  13. present: The sender is named, "UW-IT engineers are investigating an outage".
  14. present: The issuing unit is named, "UW-IT engineers are investigating an outage".
  15. present: "UW-IT" is named as the group investigating and resolving the outage.
  16. present: UW-IT is named as the unit investigating and resolving the outage.
  17. present: "UW-IT engineers" identifies the university technology unit as the source.
  18. present: "UW-IT" is named as the group investigating and resolving the outage.
  19. present: "UW-IT engineers" and UW-IT are named as the responders and source of the outage report.
  20. present: UW-IT is named as the unit investigating and later resolving the outage.
  21. present: The message is issued in the voice of "UW-IT engineers", a named university unit.
  22. present: The sender is identified as "UW-IT engineers" resolving the outage.
  23. present: The sender is identified as UW-IT, whose engineers are investigating the outage.
  24. present: UW-IT is named as the unit investigating and resolving the outage.
  25. present: "UW-IT" and its engineers are named as investigating and resolving the outage.
• Hazardpresent25/25

  Final assessment

  Present, unanimous at 25 of 25. The problem is specific: an outage blocking "content on pages such as my.uw.edu" and "the UW Groups service", affecting MyUW, Canvas and Zoom logins.

  What the threat actually is. A complete warning names the specific danger, such as a shooter, a fire, a tornado, or a gas leak, rather than a vague emergency, because people decide what to do based on what they are facing.

  See all 25 individual reads

  1. present: The specific problem is an outage blocking logins and the UW Groups service.
  2. present: The problem is specified as an outage blocking log ins and the UW Groups service, not a vague incident.
  3. present: The hazard is an IT outage blocking logins to UW applications and the Groups service.
  4. present: The named problem is a service outage blocking log ins to UW applications.
  5. present: The problem is specific, an outage blocking log ins and the UW Groups service.
  6. present: The specific problem is an outage blocking logins and the UW Groups service.
  7. present: The problem is a specific IT outage blocking log ins to MyUW, Canvas, Zoom and UW Groups.
  8. present: The problem is specifically an IT outage blocking logins and the UW Groups service.
  9. present: It names an IT outage blocking logins and the UW Groups service.
  10. present: The problem is a specific IT outage blocking logins and the UW Groups service.
  11. present: The problem is specified as an outage blocking logins and the UW Groups service.
  12. present: The hazard is a specific IT outage blocking logins and the UW Groups service.
  13. present: The failure is specified, an outage blocking logins and "the UW Groups service".
  14. present: It names a specific IT outage blocking log ins to MyUW, Canvas, Zoom and the UW Groups service.
  15. present: It specifies an outage blocking access to MyUW, Canvas, Zoom, and the UW Groups service.
  16. present: The specific problem is an outage blocking logins to UW web applications and the UW Groups service.
  17. present: It names a specific outage affecting logins, UW Groups and applications like Canvas and Zoom.
  18. present: The hazard is a service outage blocking access to UW applications and the UW Groups service.
  19. present: It names a specific service outage blocking logins to MyUW, Canvas, Zoom and the UW Groups service.
  20. present: The specific problem is an IT outage blocking logins and the UW Groups service.
  21. present: The problem is specified as an outage blocking logins and the UW Groups service, not a vague issue.
  22. present: The specific failure is an outage blocking access to "my.uw.edu" and the UW Groups service.
  23. present: The specific failure is an outage blocking logins and the UW Groups service.
  24. present: The hazard is a specific IT outage blocking logins and the UW Groups service.
  25. present: It names an outage blocking access to my.uw.edu, UW Groups, Zoom, Canvas and MyUW.
• Locationabsent0/25

  Final assessment

  Absent, with 0 of 25 finding a place. Only web services are named, my.uw.edu, Canvas, Panopto, Zoom, and no building, street, campus or physical area appears.

  Where the threat is. Saying whether danger is in a specific building, a part of campus, or area-wide lets people judge their own proximity and choose a safe direction. Without a where, a warning is hard to act on precisely.

  See all 25 individual reads

  1. absent: No physical place is given: the outage is described only in terms of web applications.
  2. absent: No physical place is named; the text lists only affected web applications such as MyUW and Canvas.
  3. absent: No physical place is given: only web addresses and application names.
  4. absent: No physical place is given; the affected things are web services like MyUW and Canvas.
  5. absent: No physical place is given; only online services such as MyUW and Canvas are listed.
  6. absent: No building, street, campus or physical area is named, only web services and applications.
  7. absent: Only software services are named; no building, street, campus or area appears.
  8. absent: No physical place is given; only web applications such as my.uw.edu and Canvas are named.
  9. absent: No physical place is given; only web services such as my.uw.edu are named.
  10. absent: No physical place is given; only web applications such as MyUW and Canvas are listed.
  11. absent: No physical place is given; only online services such as my.uw.edu and Canvas are listed.
  12. absent: No physical place is named, only web applications such as MyUW and Canvas.
  13. absent: Only web services are named; no building, street, campus or area is identified.
  14. absent: Only online services are named: no building, street, campus or physical area appears.
  15. absent: No physical place is identified; the message concerns web applications rather than any campus location.
  16. absent: Only online services are named: no building, street or campus area is given.
  17. absent: Only online services are named; no building, street or campus area is given.
  18. absent: Only web services such as my.uw.edu are cited; no physical place or campus area is given.
  19. absent: No physical place is given; the message concerns web applications rather than any building, street or area.
  20. absent: Only online services are named, my.uw.edu, Canvas, Zoom, with no physical place given.
  21. absent: No physical place is given; the affected things are web applications rather than any campus location.
  22. absent: No physical place is given; the affected scope is web applications, not a building, street, or campus.
  23. absent: No physical place is named; the notice concerns online services rather than a location.
  24. absent: No physical place is given; only web applications such as MyUW and Canvas are named.
  25. absent: Only web services and applications are named; no building, street, area or campus is given.
• Guidancepresent22/25

  Final assessment

  Present on a 22 of 25 vote. Recipients are told they "may need to quit and restart your browser to refresh your session" and to sign up for eOutage; three held those are fixes, not protective actions.

  The protective action to take. A clear, specific instruction, such as shelter in place, evacuate, avoid the area, or run-hide-fight, drives faster and more correct protective behavior than describing the threat alone.

  See all 25 individual reads

  1. absent: Restarting a browser and joining a mailing list are remedies, not protective actions against a threat.
  2. present: Readers are told they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and invited to join the eOutage list.
  3. present: Readers are told they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and to join the eOutage list.
  4. present: Users are told they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and to sign up for eOutage.
  5. present: Users are told they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and to sign up for eOutage.
  6. present: Readers are told they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and to join the eOutage list.
  7. absent: Restarting a browser and joining a mailing list are remedies, not protective actions against a threat.
  8. present: Readers are told they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and invited to join the eOutage list.
  9. present: Readers are told they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and to sign up for eOutage.
  10. present: Readers are told they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and can join the eOutage list.
  11. present: Readers are told they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and to sign up for eOutage.
  12. present: It tells users to "quit and restart your browser" and to sign up for the eOutage list.
  13. present: It tells users "you may need to quit and restart your browser" and to sign up for the eOutage list.
  14. present: It tells users they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and to join the eOutage list.
  15. present: It tells users they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and to sign up for the eOutage list.
  16. present: Users are told to quit and restart the browser and to sign up for the eOutage list.
  17. present: It tells users they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and to join the eOutage list.
  18. present: Readers are told they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and to join the eOutage list.
  19. present: Readers are told they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and can sign up for the eOutage list.
  20. present: Readers are told they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and to sign up for the eOutage list.
  21. present: Readers are told they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and are urged to join the eOutage list.
  22. present: Users are told they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and to sign up for eOutage.
  23. present: It tells users they "may need to quit and restart your browser" and to sign up for eOutage.
  24. absent: It suggests restarting a browser and joining a mailing list, which are not protective actions against a hazard.
  25. present: It tells users to quit and restart the browser and to sign up for the eOutage mailing list.
• Timepresent25/25

  Final assessment

  Present, unanimous at 25 of 25. The resolution is stamped "UPDATE at 2:23 p.m. Tuesday", set against an "ORIGINAL POST" with updates promised "as they become available".

  When the message applies. A timestamp, the word now or immediately, or a phrase like until further notice tells the reader whether the danger is current and how quickly to act.

  See all 25 individual reads

  1. present: The resolution is stamped "2:23 p.m. Tuesday".
  2. present: It is stamped "UPDATE at 2:23 p.m. Tuesday".
  3. present: The resolution is stamped "2:23 p.m. Tuesday."
  4. present: The update is stamped "2:23 p.m. Tuesday."
  5. present: The update is stamped "2:23 p.m. Tuesday".
  6. present: The resolution is stamped "at 2:23 p.m. Tuesday".
  7. present: The resolution is stamped "2:23 p.m. Tuesday".
  8. present: It is stamped "UPDATE at 2:23 p.m. Tuesday".
  9. present: It is stamped "2:23 p.m. Tuesday" with updates promised as available.
  10. present: It is stamped "2:23 p.m. Tuesday" and describes an ongoing investigation.
  11. present: It carries "2:23 p.m. Tuesday" for the resolution update.
  12. present: The resolution is stamped "2:23 p.m. Tuesday".
  13. present: It is stamped "UPDATE at 2:23 p.m. Tuesday".
  14. present: It carries the stamp "2:23 p.m. Tuesday" for the resolution.
  15. present: It carries the timestamp "UPDATE at 2:23 p.m. Tuesday."
  16. present: The resolution is stamped "2:23 p.m. Tuesday".
  17. present: It is stamped "2:23 p.m. Tuesday".
  18. present: It is stamped "UPDATE at 2:23 p.m. Tuesday", establishing recency.
  19. present: It is stamped "2:23 p.m. Tuesday" and describes the outage as ongoing at posting.
  20. present: It is stamped "UPDATE at 2:23 p.m. Tuesday" and describes the outage as ongoing before then.
  21. present: It carries "UPDATE at 2:23 p.m. Tuesday" and refers to the duration of the outage.
  22. present: It carries "UPDATE at 2:23 p.m. Tuesday."
  23. present: The resolution update is stamped "2:23 p.m. Tuesday".
  24. present: The resolution is stamped "2:23 p.m. Tuesday".
  25. present: It carries "UPDATE at 2:23 p.m. Tuesday" and describes the outage period.
• Impactpresent22/25

  Final assessment

  Present on a 22 of 25 vote. Consequences are stated, the outage "could prevent users from accessing content" and "Requirements for two-factor authentication (2FA) with Duo were also not enforced"; three saw only a service list.

  What the hazard could do to the people in its path. Beyond naming the threat, a complete warning conveys its potential consequences or severity, such as that a tornado can level buildings or that a leak could be explosive, so recipients grasp how much danger they are in. Research on warning message content finds that a concrete impact statement helps people personalize their risk and act sooner.

  See all 25 individual reads

  1. absent: It lists affected applications but states no danger, loss or severity to people or property.
  2. absent: It lists affected services but states no harm, risk or severity resulting from the outage.
  3. present: It states the outage "could prevent users from accessing content" and that 2FA was not enforced.
  4. present: It describes real consequences: users blocked from content and "2FA with Duo were also not enforced."
  5. present: It notes two-factor authentication with Duo "were also not enforced during the outage", a security consequence.
  6. present: It notes users could not access services and that Duo two-factor "was also not enforced during the outage".
  7. absent: Affected applications are listed but no harm, risk or severity is asserted.
  8. present: Consequences are stated: users are prevented from accessing content, and Duo two factor "was not enforced during the outage".
  9. present: It states the outage could prevent access to Zoom, Canvas and MyUW, and that 2FA was not enforced.
  10. present: It says the outage "could prevent users from accessing content" and that 2FA "were also not enforced".
  11. present: It notes that two-factor authentication with Duo "was not enforced during the outage", a security consequence.
  12. present: It notes the outage could prevent access to applications and that Duo two-factor was not enforced.
  13. present: It states effects, users blocked from MyUW, Canvas and Zoom, and Duo two factor "not enforced during the outage".
  14. present: It discloses that "Requirements for two-factor authentication (2FA) with Duo were also not enforced", a security consequence.
  15. present: It discloses that "two-factor authentication (2FA) with Duo were also not enforced," a security consequence.
  16. present: It notes users could not reach MyUW, Canvas and Zoom, and Duo 2FA was not enforced.
  17. present: It states the outage "could prevent users from accessing content" and that Duo 2FA went unenforced.
  18. present: It notes 2FA with Duo "were also not enforced during the outage", a stated security consequence.
  19. present: It notes the outage "could prevent users from accessing content" and that Duo two-factor "was not enforced during the outage".
  20. present: It discloses a security consequence, two-factor Duo requirements "were also not enforced during the outage".
  21. present: It states the effect, an outage that "could prevent users from accessing content" and left 2FA unenforced.
  22. present: Stated effects include being prevented from accessing content and that Duo "2FA... were also not enforced during the outage."
  23. present: It notes two-factor authentication "was also not enforced during the outage", a stated security consequence.
  24. present: It notes the outage "could prevent users from accessing content" and that Duo two-factor "were also not enforced".
  25. present: It notes two-factor authentication with Duo "were also not enforced during the outage", a security consequence.