The following use cases (“user stories”) have been drafted (by Sarah, Oct 2025) to help us compare alternative platforms and understand how well they might need Merri-bek's needs for digital spaces.
Suggestion: select a couple of use cases, one simple and one more complex, and work through them while you try out a candidate platform. Make notes about how the use case is met, any limitations and challenges, any other notes. You can use the 3 questions to organise your notes, but you can also think more broadly.
Consider also: What additional use cases should we consider for emergencies, and for business-as-usual?
How might our digital spaces be used in the case of state-wide rolling blackouts, extreme floods that impact mainstream utilities and services, or other disaster scenarios?
Community emergency announcements.
As a SES representative, I want to post announcements highly visible to all users (e.g. a “pinned” / sticky post) so that everyone sees important safety information - e.g. “don’t drink the water”
Coordinating volunteers
As a coordinator of a community organisation, I want to be able to post jobs that I need volunteers to do, see their responses re. availability and assign jobs, so that I can coordinate volunteers for existing services (e.g. our food bank) and emergency response (e.g. distributing food and material aid)
Requesting and offering assistance
As a citizen, I want to be able to request or offer loans and donations of essential items, and help with e.g. repairs or transport in my local neighbourhood, (e.g. my street or <0.3km radius), so that I can be useful and get help that I need.
Being used regularly as part of everyday community activities will mean that the platform is familiar and useful to many in an emergency / blackout scenario.
Advertising community group activities
As leaders of a local community organisation, we want to be able to advertise our events, fundraisers and projects to the local community, to expand awareness and broaden participation beyond existing supporters.
Offering and requesting items per e.g. Freecycle / Hard Rubbish Groups
As a citizen, I want to be able to offer and request unwanted household items, (including e.g. food and clothes) so that useful items don’t go to waste and I can get things I need.
Sharing information with my neighbours and wider networks
As a citizen, I want to share important and interesting information with my neighbours, friends and community network, to contribute to success of activities and causes I support
Moderating and dealing with bad behaviour
As a citizen, I want online misinformation, trolling, scams and other bad actors to be minimised and removed, so that digital spaces are safe and trusted, and contribute to thriving communities
Facilitating and supporting volunteer engagement.
As leaders of a local community organisation, we want to enable discussion and information sharing between our members / volunteers (without other members of the public), to support engagement and social involvement.
Information for volunteers
As leaders of a local community organisation, we want to provide highly visible information-only posts to our volunteers, to share important information where discussion is not needed.
Moderating closed group conversations
As leaders of a local community organsiation, we want to moderate online conversations between our members / volunteers, to avoid inaccurate information and minimise tensions.
Moderating closed group conversations
As leaders of a local community organsiation, we want to be able to remove or permanently ban members who repeatedly misbehave, to ensure that our online group is safe for our members.
Requesting advice and recommendations per e.g. Good Karma Groups
As a citizen, I want to be able to request advice and recommendations regarding local businesses so that I can get the goods and services that meet my needs and preferences.
See also In an emergency - Requesting and offering assistance
Seeking social activities and connections
As a citizen, I want to be able to find others in my local neighbourhood with similar interests, so that I can build social connections and friendships.