MuckRock’s legendary swag store shut down in 2021, but for one-month only, we’re bringing it back, with some caveats: You won’t know exactly what you’re getting until it arrives. On the upside, Pro and Org users can get free and deeply discounted transparency goodies, so order today!

We released the first in our MIT Press series, “Writers Under Surveillance,” two years ago today.

When we first started MuckRock, it was an experiment in building a better way to file, track, and share public records requests. Almost a decade later, we now have 20,000 completed requests to prove transparency still works.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been doing some one-on-one user testing to better understand what is most helpful for requesters when receiving an acknowledgement letter. Alongside those individual tests, we wanted broader feedback, including from both experienced and novice requesters. Help out by answering a few questions about a mix of federal and local acknowledgement letters.

In the only faceoff known to the field of FOIA, we pit 64 federal Freedom of Information Act offices against each other to win the ultimate prize in competitive records requesting, that most lofty label: Most Responsive Agency.