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Ask locali

Ask a question in plain language — locali searches all imported hub content and shows you the answer along with where it comes from.

Before you start

  • You need a member account on the hub.
  • The feature must be enabled by the operator. If you don't see it, it has not yet been activated for this hub.

How to ask a question

1. Open "Ask locali"

Tap the search bar at the top of the app or select "Ask locali" in the menu. An input field opens.

2. Write your question

Just write what you want to know — in full sentences, the way you would explain it to another person.

Good questions:

  • "When do the road works on Hauptstraße start?"
  • "What did the town council decide about the station development in March?"
  • "Are there volunteers for the flea market this weekend?"
  • "What has been decided in the town centre over the last six months?"

Less suitable:

  • Single keywords without context ("road works") — use the regular search bar for those
  • Questions about topics that have not been published to your hub

3. Read the answer and check the sources

locali shows you:

  • The answer in plain language
  • The sources the answer is based on — with date and origin

Click a source to open the original post and read the full details.

4. When no answer is found

locali tells you clearly when no relevant content was found. This can mean:

  • The information has not yet been imported into the hub
  • The source is not yet connected
  • The topic is outside the scope of this hub

In that case, a regular web search or a direct look at the original source (municipal website, bulletin, club page) will help.

Privacy

By default, locali does not link your questions to your account. Depending on the operator's setup, technical logs or aggregated usage statistics may exist without creating a personal question profile.

AI configuration matters

Whether and how your questions are processed depends on the configured AI service. With Ollama, your hub processes everything locally — no content leaves the infrastructure. If a cloud provider such as OpenAI or Google is configured, your questions are processed on that provider's servers. Your operator can view and configure AI settings in the admin area.

What's next?

Common issues

Problem Solution
"Ask locali" is not visible The feature is not enabled for this hub — contact the operator
No answer found The information is not yet in the hub — try a regular search or web search
Answer does not match the question Make the question more specific, e.g. include a street name, date, or organisation name
Source does not open The original post may have been deleted or is only visible to certain members