Shared document: agree what the working copy is for

Collaboration is the wider activity of working together. The document is one artifact used in that activity. A record of revisions is another question again. This page focuses on what participants agree to put in their working copy, not on automatic version history, permissions, or recovery features.

Worked example: a family lunch plan

In this fictional example, three relatives are arranging a family lunch. One begins a simple document with headings for timing, proposed food, and offers people have confirmed. They ask the others whether this is a workable place to coordinate before treating it as the group's record.

A grandparent offers to bring a loaf of bread. That offer goes in the confirmed section in wording they have checked. Someone else writes “Perhaps a fruit platter?” in the suggestions section. The document does not assign the platter to the person who typed the idea.

A teen wants to contribute a drawing for the table but does not want their separate personal notes included. The group agrees to keep the plan limited to the lunch. If someone cannot use the proposed document, they discuss another way to receive and check that person's contribution instead of calling them uncooperative.

Put an agreement at the top

This working document is for:
People who have agreed to use it:
Which copy or location we mean:
Suggestions belong under:
Confirmed choices belong under:
Questions still waiting for an answer belong under:
Who will check changes to a confirmed choice:
How someone can contribute another way:
What personal information we will leave out:
Actual access and editing arrangements still to verify:

The note describes the group's intentions. It does not configure a service or establish anyone's technical access rights. Check the actual arrangement before putting information in a document or inviting someone to use it. Do not use a visible name or a sent invitation as evidence that the person has read and accepted the plan.

Distinguish an edit from a decision

Suppose the lunch time is changed in the working copy. The person making the edit asks the affected relatives to confirm the proposed time. Until then, the note says “time change proposed,” not “everyone has agreed.” If someone spots an error in their offer, they can request a correction without reopening every part of the event.

One relative can maintain the wording while others check their own contributions. That role need not include chasing every reply or deciding disputes. A child can contribute their drawing without becoming the document's administrator.

Finish the working arrangement deliberately

When the lunch is over, ask whether anyone still needs the plan and who will handle the agreed next step. This exercise establishes no retention period, privacy guarantee, ownership claim, or automatic backup. If the group cannot identify which copy is current, pause the edits and clarify that particular question before treating any copy as settled.

Related guides

• Collaboration

  : distinguish the shared artifact from the wider activity.

• Task ownership

  : separate an idea from an accepted responsibility.

• Decision log

  : record confirmed choices and open questions.

• Personal privacy

  : choose what the working plan needs to contain.