Karrot user call #1

Owned by Janina Abels
Last updated: Mar 11, 2018
5 min read

This is the copy of the pad used to prepare the first karrot user call held on March 5 2018.
The original can be found here but will be automatically deleted after 30 days of inactivity.

Welcome dear users of Karrot!

Please answer the following questions, so that our call on Monday the 5th will go as smoothly as possible:


  • What is your name?
  • Which group are you representing?
  • Is your group already using Karrot?
  • f yes, what are the problems and benefits of using this software for your foodsaving endeavors?
  • If no, what keeps you from using it?
  • What are the features of Karrot that you use most?
  • What are the features not yet implemented in Karrot that you miss most?


To answer, please copy&paste the paragraph containing the questions and fill in the answers directly underneath the respective question.
To give you an example, I answered them myself:
  • What is your name?
  • Janina
  • Which group are you representing?
  • Karrot team, communications department as well as foodsharing Wurzen
  • Is your group already using Karrot?
  • Well, yes! ^^ But with foodsharing Wurzen we recently switched to foodsharing.de because of PR reasons
  • f yes, what are the problems and benefits of using this software for your foodsaving endeavors?
  • Problems:
  • No way of connecting to the other existing groups in Germany
  • No chat (at that time there wasn't even the wall)
  • Benefits:
  • No strict hierarchies
  • No huge set of rules everyone has to follow
  • If no, what keeps you from using it?
  • -
  • What are the features of Karrot that you use most?
  • The pickups organization feature of course
  • The group description to convey info to the other members of the group
  • What are the features not yet implemented in Karrot that you miss most?
  • Wall in stores and on profiles
  • 1-on-1 conversations
  • A smart self-regulated hierarchy (we're on it but this will take some time...)


Please add your paragraph here!

  • What is your name?
  • Teddy
  • Which group are you representing?
  •  Foodsharing Östersund
  • Is your group already using Karrot?
  • No, although we have a group already on Karrot
  • f yes, what are the problems and benefits of using this software for your foodsaving endeavors?
  • If no, what keeps you from using it?
  • We don't have cooperations yet
  • What are the features of Karrot that you use most?
  • What are the features not yet implemented in Karrot that you miss most?


  • What is your name?
  • Tomasz
  • Which group are you representing?
  • Foodsharing Warszawa (Warsaw)
  • Is your group already using Karrot?
  • No. We use Google Spreadsheet and Facebook, but we would like to implement Karrot in the upcoming weeks.
  • If yes, what are the problems and benefits of using this software for your foodsaving endeavors?
  • If no, what keeps you from using it?
  • Some missing features that are crucial for us (notification system, store groups).
  • What are the features of Karrot that you use most?
  • -
  • What are the features not yet implemented in Karrot that you miss most?
  • Option to "follow" a store and to receive updates (preferably redirected to email) if nobody signed up for an upcoming pickup <24h.
  • Option to assign a user to be an admin of a store (making sure that the pickup list is full and communicating with the store owner).


  • What is your name?
  • Niki
  • Which group are you representing?
  • Foodsharing Maastricht
  • Is your group already using Karrot?
  • Yes since 1 week.
  • If yes, what are the problems and benefits of using this software for your foodsaving endeavors?
  • Problems: there is no overview of the pick ups of the day (a sort of table would be helpful to have better quick overview)
  • no direct messages possible 
  • design is a bit confusing 
  • Benefits:
  • more professional way to organize pick ups 
  • the map 
  • possibility to state how many foodsavers are needed for a pick up + to comment a pick up in the description 
  • If no, what keeps you from using it?
  • What are the features of Karrot that you use most?
  • scheduling pick ups 
  • What are the features not yet implemented in Karrot that you miss most?
  • direct communication with food savers 
  • is there an app for mobile phones? (notifications on the phone would be great)
  • possibility (as at foodsharing.de) to show all supermarkets on the map (also those we asked but denied cooperation) --> to keep overview of already asked shops that dont want to cooperate and those that weren't asked yet
  • What is your name?
  • Unai
  • Which group are you representing?
  • FS Bilbao
  • Is your group already using Karrot?
  • Yeah
  • f yes, what are the problems and benefits of using this software for your foodsaving endeavors?
  • Easy to use and perfect to orgainse the team
  • If no, what keeps you from using it?
  • What are the features of Karrot that you use most?
  • Sign up to pick ups 
  • What are the features not yet implemented in Karrot that you miss most?
  • Chat between members
  • It would be great if the liability contract could be signed online when you first sign up in Karrot :) 

Writeup of the main topics of the call on 2018-03-05

present:
teddy for östersund (just starting)
niki for maastricht (daily pickups, ~20 foodsavers, just introduced karrot)
fausto, chalo, xapeaz for quito (almost daily pickups, ~40 foodsavers, use karrot from the start)
nicco for gotenburg (daily pickups, ~60 foodsavers, use karrot since a year)
taras for stockholm (daily pickups, ~15 foodsavers, use olio)
tomasz for warsaw (almost daily pickups, ~40 foodsavers, want to use karrot)
isa for barcelona (just starting, encountered a lot of existing structures)
feature discussion:
notifications!!!
for what should be notified?
gotenburg: emergency pickups
quito: when a store is created, when someone cancels a pickup and needs someone else to do it
warsaw: when an empty pickup is approaching
maastricht: if a pickup is cancelled
how should be notified?
quito: emails are perfect for now
maastricht: push notifiations would be nice (yes there is an app! more info further down.)
gotenburg: sms would be great
when should be notified fpor empty pickups?
warsaw: pickups in the evening, notifications 24h before
who should be notified for empty pickups?
warsaw: people who subscribed to the store
quito: store subscriptions, yes!
hierarchies/permissions/admin roles
we are trying to go new ways in this regard and don't want to implement standard admin roles. we prefer progressive structures, which enable groups to act democratically and without the risk of an admin 'going mad' and all of a sudden acting against the interest of the group. that's why there's no admin roles yet. the password protection feature is only a temporary solution and we have many ideas for elaborate approval, voting and trust systems, which will also solve the problem which are normally solved by admin roles.
concrete ideas are:
- approval system for people who want to join a group
- voting system for the case of someone wanting to kick another member (my personal fave! ;))
- trust system to give out roles (which are socially viable but only badges in the software)
please refer to the linked issues on github for further reading:
- approval: https://github.com/yunity/karrot-frontend/issues/894
- voting: https://github.com/yunity/karrot-frontend/issues/853
- trust: https://github.com/yunity/karrot-frontend/issues/878
communication
we want to add walls to stores and pickups
there are also ideas to add threads to messages, which would already serve as a minimal version of a forum (https://github.com/yunity/karrot-frontend/issues/846)
1-on-1 conversations are also already worked on (https://github.com/yunity/karrot-frontend/issues/832)
mobile app
there is an app, but it's not in the play store because:
- it doesn't auto-update
- it's bleeding edge development
but is has push notifications for wall messages! ;)
if someone of you wants to test it I can send the apk file to you directly - but don't expect it to be perfectly usable, please!
networking talks:
after half an hour of technical problems the atmosphere was nice and collaborative!
it was definitely helpful talking to each other!
I really want to do this more often - also using a different service, I really don't mind.
you can set dates for calls as well, it doesn't have to depend on me! ;)
and I want to get your opinion on features more regularly, so I will probably ask more often in the future.


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