US Patent 11853932 Intermediated communication in a crowdsourced environment

Techniques for improving communication and expectation setting between various parties/communities of a crowdsourced platform are disclosed. The platform is used for reporting issues in a target system, program or product. A customer/subscriber entity enters a target brief in the platform. In response, a researcher enters a submission in the system. If the submission is valid, it is presented to the customer and a response-time or service level agreement (SLA) timer is started. If the customer agrees with the submission, it is marked as complete and the researcher is paid. If the customer disputes the submission, a third-party intervenes and the timer is paused until dispute resolution. If the submission requires more information the researcher is requested accordingly and the timer is reset. If at any point, the timer expires, the parties are notified and the submission is closed.