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On March 14, the platform announced the Channel Shutdown Notice, as the termination of validating and up-reporting channel's SOS messages.
As the decreasing number of published messages, the website goes into low maintainance mode. To show all messages more comprehensively, the site is revised with following updates:
1. No more random sorting. All SOS are sorted chronically.
2. Show total number of SOS per day in Date Menu at upper left corner.
3. Hide patient sensitive information like phone numbers and so.
People are facing death in Wuhan. They are screaming for right of life.
People desperately broad their SOS message on SNS for the very last change.
Started from Feb 3rd, Weibo (doubtably the largest sns in China) opened up Virus Patient SOS hashtag (yes, that needs platform authentication first), thousands of SOS messages flocked in from individuals trapped in Wuhan and other Hubei cities.
This website uses crawler to collect and archive those messages published in Weibo platform.
According to other weibo user's comment, ''the hashtag channel was created on Jan. 29, and was taken control by the government on Feb 3. On Feb 4, the number of weibo messages in the channel free-fall from over three thousands to a hundred and forty two.''
As shown above, the platform's Channel Shutdown Notice reveals the same timeline as previous user's statement.
As of now, the channel's earlier message traced back to Feb 3.
There is an index page and this about page. The index page is infinite scrollable, with google translate widget.
Messages are shown chronically, with small batch randomization, for presenting more of them. Select date on top left.
Click the title to the original post on the platform, if exists.
The website wish to inform more people about this on-going crisis, happening on individuals just like you and me. Grief and desperation overwhelmed short messages sent from them.
They do not deserve that. And all of us, are not innocent.
Based on Weibo manager (if not CEO), only 20% of messages posted in the hashtag went public. The platform also deletes messages day to day. Highest observed deletion number is about a hundred per day.
Plus, the platform regulates exposures of user's posts: the published posts are not deleted and exists on the posters' homepage, but it will not be included in other's timelines, including the hashtag channel. This means even people posted their SOS messages with SOS hashtag, their SOS will not appear in the SOS channel, or even their friends' timeline.
Account shown below is a local volunteer group that coordinates between untreated patients and hospitals. The account is also regulated, and even suspended for a short period.
On the other hand, with minimal attempt on the approach to search for posters of SOS messages and then crawl their posts, the number of valid SOS posts during the same time period exploded by nearly 5 times, from 7 to 32 SOS messages.
The screening process keeps secret, so it could be really filter out invalid message. Besides Weibo, People's Daily, China Central Televisionand other party media also sets up SOS reporting channel, however none of recieved or followup is disclosed.
Embarrassingly, the number of SOS messages collected by this site is way way less than the actual magnitude, due to factors like user demographics, local limitations, collecting methods, and censorship. Best effort is given to try for any insignificant help I can make.
As of now, the website keenly hopes to call for humanitarian help and respect to each and every individuals in this crisis. They are way way more than a statistical number.
Later, may be the Spring coming, every detail of those messages shall be roar out loadly yet reviewed carefully, for the remember, as for the future.