Soft Launching:

Once a space has been set up, and is seemingly ready to be launched into the big wide world, it's best to test it thoroughly to ensure everything is in working order. This can include personal tests, or internal user testing with colleagues to spot any bugs, and to ensure data is being collected properly.

You can also release the invite code to a select, smaller group of your actual sample to see that they understand the ekota process and can engage with the platform correctly.

This also acts as a good time to see how many participants are submitting statements and to allow external (or internal) moderators a chance to evaluate if the statements being submitted are suitable, and to give some moderation practice ahead of time.

Hard Launching:

Once you’ve ensured the space is set up properly, participants understand how to use the platform, and that all data is being collected as desired, then you can hard launch space. This entails distributing the link to the space to all the potential participants in your sample.

At this point, its best to ensure all moderators understand that the space is launching so that they can be ready to allow (or reject) submitted statements soon after their submission.