Introducing Kourtra

The Tyranny of the Stream

Most modern collaboration tools are built on the metaphor of a stream. Slack, Discord, Telegram—they are infinite, scrolling rivers of context-free text.

Streams are great for "now." They are terrible for "forever."

When a community lives entirely in a stream, it develops amnesia. Decisions scroll off the screen. New members can't see why things are the way they are. The institution becomes fragile because its memory is ephemeral.

Introducing Kourtra

Kourtra is different. It is an Operating System for Communities.

We built Kourtra for groups that intend to last. We prioritize State over Streams.

• Foundations: Your constitution, your mission, your rules. These live in a permanent, versioned home.
• Choices: A formal record of decisions made. Not a thumbs-up in a chat, but a recorded Ledger entry.
• People: Clear roles and stewardship periods, so power is legible and transitions are safe.

Why "Legibility"?

James C. Scott uses the term "legibility" to describe how states organize societies to be governed. We use it to describe how communities organize themselves to be understood.

If a new member joins your group, can they see:

1. Who is in charge?
2. How decisions are made?
3. What the rules are?

If the answer is "ask in general chat," your community is illegible. Illegible communities rely on hidden hierarchies and implicit power structures. They are hard to join and hard to leave.

Kourtra makes community structure legible.

Join Us

We are just getting started. If you run a faith group, a housing coop, a student organization, or a non-profit, Kourtra is built for you.

Start your workspace today.