Software systems
EAR members rely on software systems to share information and collaborate online. The software we choose to use day-to-day can impact our ability to collaborate effectively, who is enabled to participate, our operating budget, and switching costs.
Members can request software systems support in Zulip or via email.
Selecting software systems
Factors to consider when evaluating software that may be maintained by members of the EAR collective include:
Qualities we look for
- Data sovereignty — who owns and controls access to the data?
- Ease of migration — can we realistically move our data to a new provider?
- Usability — how flexible is the system in making the information legible to me?
- Digital accessibility — how inclusive is the tool to people with various levels of ability or disability?
- Attention — does the system respect my attention as a volunteer, or does it demand more of me than I have to give in order to get value from it?
- Justice — How does the company treat individuals and organizations with less resources? Do they care? Do they have programs to lift folks up? How does the organization treat its people?
- Ease of onboarding — Can someone with limited bandwidth start working in a reasonable amount of time?
- Pricing model — is the pricing model practical for the number of members who ought to have access?
- Labor practices
- Maintenance cost — Will the cost of this tool have a downstream influence on deciding who can contribute?
- Admin labor —
- Software maturity — (stable + supported?)
Things we weigh carefully:
- Per-user software costs
Internal coordination software
The software we use internally is documented in the internal software guide.