How stories are chosen

Members get 6 stories a day, each with something to do. Visitors who aren't signed in see three of the 6, the same three for everyone that day.

Some stories are a year or two old. We pick them for what they show, and we check that the paired action is still open.

Some stories come from the organizations behind the actions. We label those, check them like any other story, and are never paid to include them.

Each approved story gets three numbers: how often members who were asked “Did this move you?” under a story said yes; how often members who read it completed its action, leaving out those who said a week later that they were not glad they did it; and how often members answered yes when asked a week later, “Are you glad you saw it?” The three are averaged using weights set by the people who run the site. Today all three weigh the same (1 each). A story that few members have seen is scored close to the average until enough answers come in.

Only the two questions asked a week later count: “Are you glad you saw it?” about the story, and “Are you glad you did it?” for members who did its action. Answers to “Did this move you?”, given right after reading, are left out.

Stories drawn at random from everything approved, with no scores. The order is fixed for the day. The rules below still apply.

• No more than two stories from one cause area in a day's set.
• At least one piece about science or nature and one story written by a member, when there are any to choose from.
• No story you have seen in the last 21 days, and none of your own.
• Answers to the research check-ins are never used to choose stories, and thank-yous are never counted.
• You can narrow any option to one cause. If fewer stories match than a day's set needs, the set is filled from other causes and those stories are marked.
• An action you save comes back once, on a later day and at least twelve hours after you saved it.
• Each story has a “Why am I seeing this?” link that says which of these rules picked it.

Change this under Settings on your record page.

If a story was removed or not published and you think that was wrong, write to us through the contact page with a link to the story. A different moderator will review it, and we will reply within a week.