compatibility shouldnt be a factor, they will all work with all unless you are getting some jumped up snake oil apple-style vendor lock-in

In terms of talking, I think that one can forgo democracy and just take orders, but I also believe that people have a responsibility to not contribute to a labour pool ready to take orders because that leaves the system volatile to capture by a hierarchical current. But I guess you can be smart about where you take orders from and make sure you are taking them from a democratic body. And wishes of a council can be published in easily parsible formats.