Freecycle is it corrupt??

Sarahsaver

Re. Pianos several people have offered them but now I have given up asking for one. Someone even said yes I could have theirs but then let me down after giving me first refusal.

Noticed something else weird too.

Today on our local group email one post offers a kids basketball set (the net on a post)


Several posts down someone posts a 'wanted' for a basketball net.

This kind of thing happens too often for it to be a coincidence...

fiendishly

I got my bunny, who I love dearly, from a nice man on freecycle. It's what you make of it.
Sometimes, when people see an offered post, it makes them think "I really could use one of those" and if they're not successful they post a wanted, fair enough I think.
Someone on my local group today asked for a car, with tax and mot :rotfl:I'm surprised they didn't ask for someone to pay for their insurance too. :rolleyes:

gunslinger13401

RacyRed wrote: »

Each Freecycle group can adapt the rules as it sees fit, they are local organisations and have to adapt to fit their communities. No 2 groups are the same, and that is how it should be.

Re-selling is not against the rules on most groups, but members are expected to be honest about their intentions and say if they are planning to sell the item they have asked for, of course hardly anyone does.

As for moderators stopping inappropriate emails like the one about the Ann Summers parties, they can't! If you want to see if your mods are working the way they should be, go to your Freecycle home page and see if that message has been deleted, because that is all the mods can do. Mods cannot stop the emails from unmoderated members once the messages have been sent to the group, they cannot even stop them getting into the daily digests, Yahoo just doesn't work that way.

Do mods go for stuff first? How can they do that when usually the first time they see something is when the message goes out to everyone else in the group?

If mods are working on the group when they see something offered they would like then yes, they are in a position to send a quick response. It is still up to whoever made the offer to choose who they give it to, doesn't have to be the mod!

Last Saturday morning I spent literally hours helping to stop spammers/email harvesters getting onto our group. That involved having 8 or so tabs open so I could check with mods from other groups to see what new user name this particular pest was coming up with as fast as we banned the old one. I was also one of many trying to bombard Yahoo with enough emails to make them take notice quickly and block this person from Yahoo. This guy was hitting groups all over the UK and the USA!

In between doing all of this stuff our group members have no idea that we do, I was monitoring the group messages, Saturdays can be quite busy. From time to time (maybe once every few months) I see something offered that I could really put to good use so send off a polite request. I miss out far more often than I get offered the stuff and that is just as it should be.

But I really feel offended when people accuse volunteer moderators of taking advantage just because, while we are giving our free time to the groups, we happen to be online when something catches our eye. Look me in the eye and tell me that, in the same situation you would wait 24 hours before sending a response for something you really, really need? I know freecycle moderators who do exactly that.

If you really think your mods are dodgy, report them; if you think a fellow member is selling on without having owned up to it, report them; if someone doesn't turn up, use your email filters so they never bother you again. If you think a wanted message is OTT, delete it and filter that member out of your inbox; if you do not like the way someone asks for stuff you have offered, don't give it to them. If you live somewhere that isn't properly covered by a group, apply to start one.

Freecycle is YOURS, please use it responsibly.

I'll shut up now

MMMM doesnt seem quite right somehow. You say that the first opportunity the mod gets to see postings is when they are available to all. This is patently not true in fact every area I have looked at check each post before it is on list.Or have I got that wrong? If I have why can it take up to six hours after posting before its available for public view? This is definitely not down to Yahoo as it doesnt occur on other groups.
You state yourself that you were monitoring the group messages.How do you do this?

I am not saying that all Freecycle mods are corrupt just that the temptation could be there and if they are monitoring posts before members see them they would have opportunity to apply for item and as you say delete the post.
My original post was to question the many posts thanking various people for items that I have been unable to trace by going back several days on both "wanted" and "Offered" posts. And this came about because I saw thanks for an item that I had been looking for and could not believe that I had missed the post.I hadnt it just did not exist!
The question of re sellers is moral.
Most people giving things away expect them to be taken by others that either need or really want them. In a lot of cases items are given to people that want them but otherwise could not afford them.
This gives us all a warm glow and the feeling that we have helped someone(and I dont mean just to make a profit with minimal effort).
This is part of my perception of the Freecycle ethos.
The fact that certain members wish to profit from the goodwill and hide the fact infers that they may even feel some guilt or embarassment. But far more likely the dont want to be identified and removed for fear of losing their easy profit.
Unfortunately we live in a world of greed which corrupts all.
Sorry drifted of into political debate.
I look forward to your replies
Mike

GiraffePC

Just one point: unless a Mod. volunteers for the purpose of trading, there'd be far too many things for one person to take.

Peter.

gunslinger13401

GiraffePC wrote: »

Just one point: unless a Mod. volunteers for the purpose of trading, there'd be far too many things for one person to take.

Peter.

Sorry bout header couldnt resist.
But seriously I agree with your point but even a trader apllying for many items would be picky and only request items with max value or profit.
Thus eliminating the necessity to take every thing.
Mike

RacyRed

gunslinger13401 wrote: »

MMMM doesnt seem quite right somehow. You say that the first opportunity the mod gets to see postings is when they are available to all. This is patently not true in fact every area I have looked at check each post before it is on list.Or have I got that wrong? If I have why can it take up to six hours after posting before its available for public view? This is definitely not down to Yahoo as it doesnt occur on other groups.

Some groups are fully moderated, although this is discouraged. Some groups choose to do this because it works for the area they are in, usually there would be a team of mods in that situation so that messages do not sit around for very long. Sometimes it might be necessary to put the whole group on moderation if there is some sort of problem. And often the yahoo delays problem hits some groups and not others. I have no idea why but have seen a neighbouring group go silent for 36 hous when other groups around them were working fine.

Almost all groups put new members on moderation until they get the hang of things, It also helps with spam avoidance.

gunslinger13401 wrote: »

You state yourself that you were monitoring the group messages.How do you do this?

Messages from moderated members go into a separate box for release. Mods are meant to check ALL messages for inappropriate content etc. so monitoring the group messages can often be simply reading all of the messages already on the list from unmoderated members.

We also spend A LOT of time correcting subject lines. The advice in the etiquette file members are sent when they join and then every month after that is to put "Offer/Wanted - Item - location" but for some reason, people don't do that. Not getting the subject line right is the quickest way to pi$$ off your moderators.

Being really strict about wanted messages being formatted properly is also the quickest way to get rid of the greedy people who just want something without having bothered to read the very few instructions there are on Freecycle. And of course they are usually new members who are on moderation. A genuine new member will understand what is being said when a message is rejected and send the message again after it has been corrected. The really greedy/lazy ones tend to never be heard from again. And that suits me just fine. I told our members, via our cafe group, why I am so strict with header formatting and got a very positive response to that.

gunslinger13401 wrote: »

I am not saying that all Freecycle mods are corrupt just that the temptation could be there and if they are monitoring posts before members see them they would have opportunity to apply for item and as you say delete the post.

Yup, it can happen. But there is a log of moderator activities that makes all of our actions visible to other mods on the group and, I think, to our bosses if they want to look. So if members were to complain to Freecycle UK about a group, any wrong-doing would soon be spotted and that mod would be in deep trouble and could even have the group taken away from them.

gunslinger13401 wrote: »

My original post was to question the many posts thanking various people for items that I have been unable to trace by going back several days on both "wanted" and "Offered" posts. And this came about because I saw thanks for an item that I had been looking for and could not believe that I had missed the post.I hadnt it just did not exist!

Members are encouraged to delete their own offers and wanted messages when they have given away or received something, it's good housekeeping. Check your emails/daily digests for any messages you cannot find on the group list, if you have the email then the message went out to everyone and was deleted at a later date.

gunslinger13401 wrote: »

The question of re sellers is moral.
Most people giving things away expect them to be taken by others that either need or really want them. In a lot of cases items are given to people that want them but otherwise could not afford them.
This gives us all a warm glow and the feeling that we have helped someone(and I dont mean just to make a profit with minimal effort).
This is part of my perception of the Freecycle ethos.
The fact that certain members wish to profit from the goodwill and hide the fact infers that they may even feel some guilt or embarassment. But far more likely the dont want to be identified and removed for fear of losing their easy profit.
Unfortunately we live in a world of greed which corrupts all.
Sorry drifted of into political debate.
I look forward to your replies
Mike

It is easy to suspect someone is re-selling, proving it beyond doubt is a bit more difficult. If anyone has any suggestions about how that can be done, without it becoming a full time job or everyone being subjected to lie detector tests before bieng given a Freecycle gift, I'd be glad to hear it.

As for us living in a world in which greed corrupts all? No, sorry, I don't agree. Every day I'm in contact with honest, caring, people who chose to take part in Freecycle. Yes, of course there are a few people who think we are a source of easy pickings, but you know, my group members are not so daft, they spot those people and then enjoy the feeling they get when they hit the delete button.

Using the fair offer policy, basically waiting for a day or so before deciding who to give your stuff to, really would eliminate a lot of the problems people have discussed here. You can add it to your messages so that people know not to expect an immediate reply.

"Fair Offer Policy: I agree to take a period of time to see what
responses I get before deciding who to give item(s) to. This gives
members on Daily Digest, or those who don't have continual access to
the Internet a fair chance to reply."

Try it and see.

And if you think your mods are abusing the trust placed in them. report them.

Ken68

If I knew they were mods responding to an offer I would give them preference. They do a grand job on my local Freecycle all for no pay.

Katyag

What annoys me is the people who ask for your stuff and then ask for it to be delivered!!!

I recently put a load of unused baby bottles, teats and bibs as my new baby is fussy with his bottles.

One reply said 'can i have it as my pregnant 17 year old relative doesnt have any money and needs baby stuff, can you deliver it!' ermm NO and someone who literally lives around the corner who said 'can you drop it off next time you are out and about'!!!

I was gobsmacked, i had put in the offer about my baby being fussy so they knew i had a new baby so isnt easy getting out and i think personally if you are getting something for free the least you can do it pick it up!!!

duchy

I replied to an offer for a door on Freecycle but then my transport let me down so I emailed the guy and apologised and said although I wanted it-it wasn't fair to make him wait and as he had others interested I'd withdraw. He replied straightaway saying that as I obviously genuin ely needed it (I'd joked about the state of my door in my mail) he would deliver it. He wouldn't accept anything even for petrol. A true Freecycler in both name and spirit
There are many decent people on Freecycle still.

milkydrink

I just joined Freecycle to have a nose & see what its about. I've heard of it before.
There seemed to be seperate posts offering an item & then saying it was taken. Wouldn't it make more sense to edit the offered post? So people don't need to trawl through checking if its been taken.

Great idea though, I hate throwing things away that can be used. In the past month I have given my neighbour an old medium sized (fat) TV (& remote control) and a good PC with a minor fault (her hubby is a IT person). She is a childminder & so can make good use of these things.

If I have anything in the future I will put it on there.