At a recent “hackday” I was introduced to a lightweight collaboration tool called PiratePad.

PiratePad provides a publicly available document that can be read and modified by anyone with access to the URL. Creating a new pad is as each as visiting the site and clicking a button. You then just share the supplied URL with other members of your group and start collaborating.

Obviously there’s no security—apart from the random “slug” in the URL (e.g. http://piratepad.net/gyye8hTp59)—so be sure not to add anything sensitive to your pad.

But, if you need a quick way of creating a short-lived collaborative space for a small group, it’s ideal.