Slot by AgEcon
Find a time that works for everyone.
Propose a few dates and times, share one link, and let everyone mark when they can. No account needed to answer — only to create.
Free, takes a minute, no password. Don’t have an ORCID iD? Get one here.
How it works
Propose
Drag across a weekly grid to mark the times that could work. One drag is one option: drag 9:00–11:00 for a two-hour meeting, or make two separate drags to offer two one-hour alternatives on the same day.
Share
You get a single link. Send it by email, paste it in a chat. Whoever opens it can answer straight away — no sign-in, no app, nothing to install.
Decide
Everyone marks available, if need be, or not available. The best option is highlighted as answers come in. When you’re done, close the slot on the chosen time — and everyone can then download it straight into their calendar.
What it does differently
Verified identities
People who sign in with ORCID answer under their real, verified name and carry a check mark. Everyone else types a name by hand — and the page says plainly that such a name is not verified, instead of letting you assume it is.
No email harvesting
Answering collects a name and nothing else. No email address, no phone number, no network address stored. There is nothing here to sell, and no list to end up on.
Free, and quietly so
No ads, no tracking for advertising, no premium tier that locks the useful half behind a payment. It is run as part of an academic project, for the community it belongs to.
Nothing to install
It is a web page. It works on a phone, and the grid responds to a finger as well as to a mouse. Participants need no account, and neither do their institutions.
Questions
Do participants need an account?
No. Anyone with the link can answer by typing a name. An account is needed only to create a slot, and that is what keeps this from becoming an open form on the internet.
Why ORCID?
Because it identifies a real researcher without asking for a password, and it takes a minute to obtain. It is the lightest barrier that still keeps out automated abuse.
Do I have to be an agricultural economist?
No. Slot is built and paid for within a project on Italian agricultural and food economics, and that is where its name comes from — but anyone with an ORCID iD can use it. Signing in here does not add you to the Observatory’s archive, does not create a public profile, and does not put you in any ranking.
Who can see the answers?
Anyone who has the link, which is how a scheduling poll works: you see who has already answered and where the group is converging. The page is not indexed by search engines, and the link cannot be guessed.
Can I add the agreed time to my calendar?
Yes. When the slot is closed on a chosen time, an Add to my calendar button appears on the
page for everyone — not just for whoever created it. It downloads a standard
.ics file that Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Thunderbird all open,
with the title, the place, the link and the list of who said they could make it.
Nothing is sent by email: sending it would mean asking for your address, and Slot doesn’t.
How long is my data kept?
Until whoever created the slot deletes it — which they can do at any moment, taking all the answers with it. Details are in the privacy notice.