Community platform for "sharing"
November 10, 2022 3:56 PM Subscribe
My organization is looking to create some sort of online platform, something akin to a classified ad listing site, but with more of a community-minded focus; a way to seek/share items and skills without an expectation of payment. What sorts of platforms might we explore utilizing?
Posting this for a colleague, involved in a poverty reduction project in a small town of about 3000 to 4000 people, so it wouldn't be serving a huge population.
Wish list is as follows:
"We want to create and maintain a virtual space where people can connect on things they need and what people may have to offer. This would include opportunities to share skills, goods, communicate employment opportunities, borrowing tools, sharing garden space, ride sharing, volunteer or reduced costs for services, housing rental opportunities, sharing community spaces, etc.
Ideally there would be an option to post anonymously (especially if they feel stigmatized to ask for something they need) and would require minimal administration, maintenance or oversight."
While we realize some of these "wants" might be a bit incompatible, but are there any sort of "pre-packaged" software options or applications we might explore using?
Thanks!
Posting this for a colleague, involved in a poverty reduction project in a small town of about 3000 to 4000 people, so it wouldn't be serving a huge population.
Wish list is as follows:
"We want to create and maintain a virtual space where people can connect on things they need and what people may have to offer. This would include opportunities to share skills, goods, communicate employment opportunities, borrowing tools, sharing garden space, ride sharing, volunteer or reduced costs for services, housing rental opportunities, sharing community spaces, etc.
Ideally there would be an option to post anonymously (especially if they feel stigmatized to ask for something they need) and would require minimal administration, maintenance or oversight."
While we realize some of these "wants" might be a bit incompatible, but are there any sort of "pre-packaged" software options or applications we might explore using?
Thanks!
A specific Mastodon instance could work, except for the anonymity (you can use whatever username you want but there's no Anonymous option like you have on AskMefi). A workaround could be that any Anon posts will be posted via the mods - so users send anon posts to mods and mods post on their behalf. You'd have to spin up your own instance to keep it really specific, so it's up to you how comfortable you are with that.
I've seen Facebook groups used a lot like this and they now have an Anonymous posting feature.
posted by creatrixtiara at 4:34 PM on November 10, 2022
I've seen Facebook groups used a lot like this and they now have an Anonymous posting feature.
posted by creatrixtiara at 4:34 PM on November 10, 2022
If they are in regions with heavy mobile use for their primary Internet connection, i wouldn't suggest Mastodon yet because their usecase would likely be mobile-centric with little opportunity for desktop interface. The anonymous ask criteria isn't served by my suggestion but in general an Invite-only FB group would be the easiest to set up and scale up. What's their messaging app of choice for the region? Setting up a group in such a platform might work just as well.
posted by cendawanita at 1:40 AM on November 11, 2022
posted by cendawanita at 1:40 AM on November 11, 2022
Otherwise, if there's a local partner or budget support for site hosting, a WordPress site with a forum/bulletin board plugin might be ok... But if you're getting to that point, might as well set up a Fediverse/Mastodon instance per creatrixtiara's suggestion specific only for that community.
But I might prefer a bulletin board type solution considering the type of posts you're envisioning.
(ETA: rationale for FB - the most basic data package in many markets tend to count FB as one of 'free bandwith' options so usage doesn't count against their metered allowance)
posted by cendawanita at 1:44 AM on November 11, 2022
But I might prefer a bulletin board type solution considering the type of posts you're envisioning.
(ETA: rationale for FB - the most basic data package in many markets tend to count FB as one of 'free bandwith' options so usage doesn't count against their metered allowance)
posted by cendawanita at 1:44 AM on November 11, 2022
If you go the Facebook route, groups can be set to allow people to post anonymously, though I don't know if a moderator can see their identity.
posted by metasarah at 4:56 AM on November 11, 2022
posted by metasarah at 4:56 AM on November 11, 2022
A mailing list is a option to consider. Not sure what the best option for hosting that is, since it depends on the particular administrative capacity and needs of the group, but anonymous posting is a feature that a lot of mailing list software has.
posted by wesleyac at 9:29 AM on November 11, 2022
posted by wesleyac at 9:29 AM on November 11, 2022
I’m not sure how you get a Rooster group going in your town, but it could be a good option to look into.
posted by kiripin at 6:11 PM on November 11, 2022
posted by kiripin at 6:11 PM on November 11, 2022
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posted by aniola at 4:18 PM on November 10, 2022 [1 favorite]