title: Freecycle® U.K. Frequently Asked Questions Keywords: files member guidelines yahoogroups Freecycle® UK Moderating Freecycle Groups Frequently Asked Questions and Answers Version 1.00 June 2007 Contents 1. INTRODUCTION These FAQs are for the benefit of new and experienced moderators alike. They are not intended to replace the Freecycle Mod Manual but to complement it. The Freecycle Mod Manual can be found at: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/index_manual.htm These FAQs include some UK or Yahoo!-specific material which is not found in the Mod Manual. In addition, some answers clarify the guidelines, some briefly summarise them for quick reference and some expand on the existing information in the Mod Manual. Wherever possible, the answers link on to the relevant sections of the Mod Manual for further reading. Hopefully the combination of the Mod Manual and the UK Modsquad FAQs will be especially useful as a training tool for new owners and moderators. Please contact london@freecycle.org to report errors or inconsistencies. Feel free to contact us with any suggestions for new FAQs to be included in the next update (please feel welcome to include the Answer too!) Our thanks must be expressed to all the contributors who have made this document such an excellent resource. Freecycle UK 1.1 Thanks to all Contributors: Susan Anderson – Wellingborough Freecycle
Joanne Aspinall - Bolton Freecycle
Anna Beria – Bath Freecycle
Shirley Drabble – Dartford UK Freecycle
Louise Hamilton – Fenland Freecycle
Michael Hargreave Mawson - Bedford Freecycle
Edward Hibbert – Freecycle Edinburgh
Janice Hickman – Dudley UK Freecycle
Jacqui Houlding - Warrington Freecycle
Roger Houghton – Bath Freecycle
Colin Berry – Saddleworth Freecycle
Jenny Bunn – Freecycle Portsmouth
Maud Jamieson – Northampton West Freecycle
Jacqui Liveston – Bedford Freecycle
Neil Morris – Northampton North and Central Freecycle
Esther Reeves – Coventry Freecycle
Ems Wallman – Daventry Freecycle
Richard Wallman – Birmingham Freecycle
Ben Waymark - Bideford Freecycle
Ben Weaver – York Freecycle
2. ADMIN 2.1 As a moderator can I also make use of Freecycle®? Yes, you can make use of Freecycle yourself. You can save from landfill just as much as any 'ordinary' member. For members who are still moderated, make sure that you put their posts through to the list and wait several hours before responding to it yourself so that all members have a fair chance of receiving the item. You have the advantage of seeing moderated posts first; don't abuse it. Some groups have a rule that the moderator who approves an item cannot ask for the item. It’s good to have several moderators in a group so that the group moves rapidly and that no one moderator gets to see all the offers first. Some group owners create a second ID on their group so that they make Offers/Wanted posts from an address that is not associated with the group owner so that the member does not feel 'obliged' to deal with the owner. Back to list of Contents 2.2 Attribution statement - what is that? For the bottom or within the body of all official Freecycle® web sites, articles, press releases, automatic notices, emails and group home pages:

Copyright © 2003-2007 The Freecycle Network
http://www.freecycle.org All rights reserved.
Freecycle is a registered trademark of The Freecycle Network, CTM Reg No 4287553
Freecycle UK is a Registered Charity (No: 1118148) and is a Company Limited by Guarantee (No: 05945013)
Back to list of Contents 2.3 Automated Admins to the list - when are these advised? There are three required files used in Freecycle which are automated. These are: The Welcome/Etiquette file which goes out to new members and at least monthly.
The Disclaimer file which goes out to new members and at least monthly.
The Farewell file which goes out when members leave your group.
Other automated messages are useful for passing on information that changes infrequently. For example, you may have an automated message on how to change message delivery type, or local pet/animal sanctuaries. As the owner, you decide what additional automated files you want over and above the three required files. They have to be relevant to Freecycle and/or to the running of the group itself. Back to list of Contents 2.4 Changing mail settings by e-mail? How is this done? subscribe to list: GROUPNAMEHERE-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
unsubscribe from list: GROUPNAMEHERE-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
switch to normal (individual messages) mode: GROUPNAMEHERE-normal@yahoogroups.com
switch to digest mode: GROUPNAMEHERE-digest@yahoogroups.com
At the base of your emails from the group is a `Yahoo! Groups" section where you are given the chance to change your settings. There is a choice of changing the settings via the web OR via email (see above). You just have to click on the method you wish to subscribe to. Back to list of Contents 2.5 Filtering messages - how can I advise my members If you have to refer to this FAQ, the answer, probably, is "don't". As a Freecycle Moderator, you are not required to provide technical support for your members, except in the very limited sense of holding their hands through the complexities of membership of a Yahoo! Group. If, on the other hand, you are knowledgeable about and experienced in providing remote assistance for a variety of e-mail clients, and you wish to help, then by all means feel free to do so. It is your choice. Back to list of Contents 2.6 Full moderation: what, when & how? From the Mod Manual: *** DON'T FULLY MODERATE YOUR GROUP. Full moderation of all posts is not allowed. Moderation of new member posts is fine - just remember to take the folks off moderation once they post correctly. Important: The moderation of troublemakers is highly advised. Freecycle works best without full moderation. Empower your members to give directly to another biped without moderator intervention, quickly, easily and enjoyably. Trust and empower the members directly as much as humanly possible and it'll pay out (forgive the metaphor) in spades when your group gets really big. Why? Because when that time comes, all members will know how to use the rules correctly. You have taught them how to fish rather than giving them fish for a day, right? This is why we don't allow FULL moderation. It's like "Freecycle Lite." It tastes kind of like The Freecycle Network™, but doesn't pack that caffeinated punch, is slower, and more controlled. Be bold, trust, and educate members unless individuals give you a reason not to and moderate those individuals. Moderating new members' first post or two gives you a chance to: Weed out spammers.
Share a pointer or two about how to post, extravagant WANTEDs, etc.
Tell folks that there's a Freecycle group closer to where they live
. If choosing the New Member moderation, remember that when removing the 'moderated' status from your members to check 'Use Group Settings' This allows you to still resort to Full Moderation in case of an extreme situation. If you have checked 'unmoderated', then those members will still be able to post to the group even in the case of a required Full Moderation. In extreme cases where you need to place the whole membership on Full Moderation, (maybe to remove a spammer or to allow for emotions to die down), please restore the group to New Member Moderation as quickly as possible. Then check each new member who joined the short phase of Full Moderation and set them onto moderated, as due to a Yahoo! peculiarity, they will have slipped through the net and be ‘unmoderated’. Back to list of Contents 2.7 Group Settings - what is correct? Management/Web Tools These are the parts of the group that can only be accessed by members who have a Yahoo! ID. There is no fixed Freecycle® policy for these. They are: Files/Photos
Links
Database
Polls
Members
Calendar
Promote
There are various settings for these which, when you look at them are self-explanatory. You may want to limit access to the features to ensure that you don't get inappropriate links/ photos/polls being set by your members. One warning though: The Calendar feature should be limited to moderators. All entries on the calendar get sent to all members; and it has been known for members to receive notifications of 'Dinner with the Smith's' or 'Gynae Appt' as members think it's there just for them. Management/ Group Settings/Messages: These are the settings that the New Group Approver will have gone through with you. The settings should be: Posting Options
Who can post: Members
Reply-to: Sender
Moderation: New members
Attachments: Remove
Archive options Access: Members - It is set to members only posting so that you don't get non-members and spammers posting to your list.
- Reply to Sender so that all of the responses to Offers/Wanteds are not cluttering up your list.
- Set to moderate new members. This ensures that you can be sure they are genuine posters who format emails correctly.
- Remove attachments to ensure that no viruses get posted through to the list.
- Archives are set to members only so that the privacy of members is maintained.
Freecycle Group Check - from Start to Finish:
http://www.freecycle.org/manual/group_check.htm Back to list of Contents 2.8 How can I email from `admin' rather than my personal e-mail address? There are several ways. You could create a separate email account for Freecycle with an email address suitable for your group. However, if you set up a Google mail account you can choose which email address is shown as a from/reply to address, so you can add your group's owner address. Alternatively: Set up a Yahoo! ID such as "groupname_mod", then you will have the email address groupname_mod@whatever.co.uk. Make that ID a group member & moderator. Then you'll need to log in to your group with that ID. All emails will then look to come from the mod not your personal email. Back to list of Contents 2.9 How do I keep a copy of a letter sent via the web? It is not possible to send to the list and to another email address when posting from the web. If you wish to retain a copy for yourself, there are two ways you can do it. - After writing your email, copy and paste it into a document for yourself, then click Send Or - Wait for the message to appear on the group, and then go in to the message and click on Forward, and send it to yourself or another email address. Back to list of Contents 2.10 Message archiving – how can I do this? Yahoo! groups automatically archives all messages sent to a group. It is not a good idea to delete messages from this simply because they are old or the items have been taken. The archive serves as a valuable and unique record of what your group has achieved. In addition, in order to win the support of your local council you may need to provide evidence of the effectiveness of your group. Having the archive available is a great way of doing that. Back to list of Contents 2.11 Legal liability - is there an official disclaimer? This Disclaimer is a REQUIREMENT to be sent out to new members and as a monthly reminder. "FREECYCLE® NETWORK MEMBERS USE THE LIST AT THEIR OWN RISK. Please take reasonable measures to protect your safety and privacy when posting to the list or participating in an exchange. By joining the list, you agree to hold neither the list owners, moderators nor anyone affiliated with Freecycle.org responsible or liable for any circumstance resulting from a Freecycle-related exchange or communication. SAFETY. Be aware! It is up to each individual member of Freecycle when arranging for pickup of the item being given away to be appropriately aware of the potential risk of having "a stranger" come to your home to pick something up. Freecycle as an organization assumes no responsibility for this risk. If you, for example, are a single woman living alone, you may want to say that you'll leave the item on the front porch while you are not home or arrange for a drop-off in a public place etc."
=================================================
Copyright © 2003-2007 The Freecycle Network
http://www.freecycle.org All rights reserved.
Freecycle is a registered trademark of The Freecycle Network, CTM Reg No 4287553
Freecycle UK is a Registered Charity (No: 1118148) and is a Company Limited by Guarantee (No: 05945013)
================================================= Back to list of Contents 2.12 Moderation - when & how do we take a member off moderation? When someone posts something that is correct it means they should be taken off moderation (commonly when they have posted a correctly worded offer). Then follow these instructions BEFORE approving the post as it's easier than trying to find them again after approving the message. Click on message, check it has all the correct features.
Before you approve the message, click on `New messages posted by this member are moderated (Edit)' (top right of pending message);
In `Message Posting Privileges', change to `Use current group message posting setting' (**Never** change to `Messages posted by this member are not moderated');
Click on the `Save Changes' button
- Finally click on pending messages again and approve the message.
They can be set back to the option `Messages posted by this member are moderated' (or to group settings) as necessary by: Clicking on the edit membership icon under their name in the members section;
- In `membership privileges' click on the "edit' button beside their `posting messages' setting;
- Change to the required setting;
- Click on the `Save Changes' button We should always put people on group settings rather than unmoderated then we can easily change the whole groups setting if we need to, this should be done only in an emergency but say we need to moderate everyone for a day or two because of a flame war that got out of hand. The standard criteria for taking a member off moderation is they have posted a correctly worded Offer message including the correct header (and location if you insist on it). The standard 'offer item' or 'wanted item' header is a universal rule of Freecycle where as location is optional but many groups find it very useful to insist on both for member's information and to spot people posting from some distance away. As long as your rules for when someone comes off moderation are reasonable and result in regular, responsible members being unmoderated you are free to decide exactly how you do it. Please note full moderation (ie everyone on moderation) is against Freecycle rules. Back to list of Contents 2.13 Moderators - how many is the ideal number? There is no ideal member:mod ratio – it depends how much time your mods have to spare. However, even if the modding only takes a few minutes a day, it is really good to get as many volunteers on board as you can to share the growing load and cover for each other for holidays or for any other time off. This is particularly so if anyone has any unexpected time off, it is not a time when you want to be finding and training new mods. Having more moderators helps to get the group better known as they will each inform their own networks about the group. Sole owner-mods are not encouraged for these reasons. Back to list of Contents 2.14 Recruiting new mods - how do I go about it? You can either approach members that you have seen using your group effectively, politely and within the rules of your group, or you can post an Admin asking for volunteers. Ideas and letters for recruiting new Mods from the Mod Manual http://www.freecycle.org/manual/recruiting_mods.htm
Great advice in the UK MS here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/message/18739
If you are still unsure about how to recruit mods, what to say, how to spot the right applicant etc the Mentor Mod Team are there to help. Contact them at: ukmentor@freecycle.org Remember that you needn’t make a new co-mod a group owner. Start them off with a small task and limited privileges and increase their tasks and privileges as their role and your trust increases. Back to list of Contents 2.15 Rejecting a message - when & how? We are not the police, but we are moderators upholding the guidelines set forth by Freecycle®. We enforce our group only so far as to make sure the items changing hands are legal and age appropriate. You can have your personal feelings on whether or not things ought to be allowed to be posted - just don't be driven by them. Follow the Freecycle (International) guidelines and you can't go wrong - that's really the simple way to do it, as it takes out the need to judge items. Then you can get back to just keeping things out of the landfills. Examples of when a message needs to be rejected:
  1. Item/service etc saves nothing from landfill
  2. Subject line not correct with local policy and cannot be edited by mod
  3. Body of message not appropriate posting (guns, alcohol)
  4. Member attempting to place an Admin
  5. Taken message placed by recipient as well as offerer
  6. Message sent to group instead of an individual in reply to a post
  7. SPAM (reject and BAN)
  8. Messages offering items for money, swaps or other 'strings'
  9. Number of wanted messages exceeds local policy
  10. Chit chat
  11. A post which is antagonistic or inflammatory to other members, or those that may start a debate such as religious or political statements.
How to reject a message:
  1. Click on the pending message
  2. If the message cannot be satisfactorily edited and needs to be reposted,
  3. send a message to the member by clicking "Reject" and typing a short message to the sender.(This is made considerably easier with the Firefox Moderator Plug-in - see Firefox Moderation Plug-in). Where appropriate, redirect the poster to an appropriate forum, such as a cafe group (for items such as vouchers, tickets or information for example)
  4. Use the drop down menu to show "delete" and delete the message
  5. Don't forget to Save Changes
Back to list of Contents 2.16 Special notices - what are these used for? Special Notices are used to attract the message receiver to a notice or ADMIN that needs to be brought to their notice. From the Mod Manual: At a minimum, you MUST have Special Notices set to your account. This ensures that any ADMIN announcements are sent to you. Sometimes we have the need to make important announcements regarding the group so we have set this rule as a requirement. The XXX Freecycle Moderators reserve the right to make changes as necessary to enforce this rule. Or: As a minimum, we request that you at least keep the Special Notices option. This will give you no mail except for Special Notices initiated by the Owners and Mods. It's mostly to keep in touch about special issues. To get a condensed version of all daily posts, click on Daily Digest. As always, don't forget to click SAVE CHANGES at the bottom of the page. That does it! Back to list of Contents 2.17 Splitting groups – what, why, when and how? What: A split is when another official Freecycle® group is formed within the boundaries of an existing group with the agreement of the Group Outreach and Assistance volunteer for the area. Why:
  1. If split would benefit present group members, perhaps when members begin to leave the group because of too many daily messages to read, or they are travelling large distances to collect items;
  2. If group owners or moderators ask for a split, perhaps when a moderator becomes sufficiently versed in modding to desire their own group;
  3. If the growth of the original group is stagnant and will benefit from a split to rejuvenate membership;
  4. The group has grown to be a large group and there are opportunities to cover the area on a more local basis.
Back to list of Contents 2.18 Unsubscribed member still getting messages – why? It takes Yahoo! up to 3-4 days to change settings. If it carries on after 4 days (maybe with an extra day for time differences) ask the member to check they have unsubscribed the correct ID? Understand that each additional tweak adds on an additional 3-4 days of lag, so resist temptatation as much as possible. Back to list of Contents 3. MEMBERSHIP 3.1 Approving new members versus open membership - pros & cons Pro's of approving new members Con's of approving new members (Subject Access Requests: http://www.dca.gov.uk/foi/dpasaguide.htm ) Back to list of Contents 3.2 Bouncing members - what do we do with them? As a list owner, there is no need for you to do anything with bouncing members. Yahoo! automatically sends probes to the email addresses which are bouncing every couple of weeks or so. Theoretically, after six months, if the email address has not cleared, Yahoo! removes the address from the group automatically (in practice, I've not seen it happen - but if Yahoo! aren't worried, neither do group owners need to worry at this time.) For your information, there are two types of bouncing member: Soft Bouncing: This is when a message sent from Yahoo! to the member's email address cannot be delivered for a 'temporary' reason, e.g. the member's mail box is full. Hard Bouncing: This is when a message sent from Yahoo! to the member's email address cannot be delivered for a 'permanent' reason, e.g. the member has discontinued the email address. If a member informs you that they are bouncing...or asks you why they aren't receiving email, you can find out by: More detailed information can be found in the Mod Manual at: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/bouncing Back to list of Contents 3.3 Risqué Yahoo! ID or email addresses - are they acceptable? Freecycle® does not have a specific policy regarding profiles; however, group owners are expected to ensure that members’ profiles and email addresses are appropriate for all ages and are not likely to cause offence. This would include swear words, pornography or if it would be likely to offend a religious or any other section of the community. Should an owner wish to reject someone applying for membership, or advise someone who has joined (if the group has open membership), there are some example letters in the Admin Notices of the Mod Manual. Check 'Moderating Members' to find one which is suitable or adaptable for your needs. http://www.freecycle.org/manual/files_denied.htm http://www.freecycle.org/manual/admin_userid.htm Back to list of Contents 3.4 Should member lists be on view? There are mixed opinions on this issue and it is open to group owners to choose. It is impossible to stop email address harvesters getting into groups; if the member list is hidden then all the members who have not yet posted (often a large proportion of the group, as they wouldn't post if they only responded to offers and wants) would remain anonymous and fully protected. However, even if member lists are on view only part of their address is visible and the emails addresses are not able to be plucked off by spammers. Many members do not post to the list but may respond to offers purely so that even part of their email addresses and their Yahoo IDs do not become public knowledge. If the Member list is on view: Whatever settings you choose, any members who receive the Daily Digest (and people who get individual email addresses) will see the full email address of all members who have posted to the board. Member lists being on view is different from selecting 'Allow members to hide their email address'. You should never allow this because, if you do, people who do want privacy may well hide their email address and this means that no-one will be able to respond to their posts to the list without going online and posting from the web. Back to list of Contents 4. MESSAGE FORMAT 4.1 Can a message be edited once it has been posted? Only if the message is to be moderated. A moderator can edit a message where a member is still on moderation. Otherwise you have to delete it and the member submit a new message BUT If it has got to the list the message will still get sent to those who receive a Daily Digest or individual messages. It can only be deleted from the archives. Back to list of Contents 4.2 Editing a post - what is acceptable and necessary? Subject lines can be edited to include any of the missing items, e.g. OFFERED, the item or the LOCATION. It might be necessary to edit out a `sob story' as Freecycle is not about `need' but keeping stuff out of landfill! It might also be suitable to remove telephone numbers or other personal details. However, there are occasions when it might be necessary to include one e.g. moving house and computer being disconnected. Some moderators may prefer to reject the message to ask the member to amend their post instead. Back to list of Contents 4.3 Location on wanted posts - why is that necessary? Having a location on a Wanted post does help people to see if they are local, also for a small item it might not be worth the fuel to travel too far to collect it, though it is possible to use the postal system. Members make their own arrangements about this. Having a location also assists in spotting 'Cross posting' and any potential traders/resellers. It also serves to enable mods to inform members about their most local group, as appropriate. If all posts require a location, members seem to remember to do it! Back to list of Contents 4.4 Multiple items - how are these best managed? When offering multiple items PLEASE encourage members to include them in one email. However, WANTED and OFFERED items should be in separate emails. It can be helpful to state in the SUBJECT line: Various electrical or various garden items so that people reading it have an idea of what is on OFFER/WANTED. Hopefully the latter will not be long lists. Freecycle groups are not places to do Magic Catalogue shopping but if e.g. setting up a new garden then tools can be listed. Back to list of Contents 4.5 Recipient naming (taken by "So n So") - is this advised? It might be pleasant to say thanks to "first name" only or Yahoo! ID, but no more details than that. Some reasons include:
  1. a watch can be kept for those people who seem to vacuum up everything in sight, but rarely offer anything. Are they reselling and not stating that fact?
  2. It is nice to say thanks to someone for taking an item out of your cluttered space. :-)
  3. There may be a member who does not OFFER too much BUT constantly answers WANTED requests which is nice to know too as they are still being an important part of the organisation.
Back to list of Contents 5. PUBLICITY 5.1 Fund-raising - can we do it? As a registered charity there are a number of procedures that need to be followed when money is being raised in the name of Freecycle in the UK. If you are interested in raising money for Freecycle activities it is important that you contact Neil Morris, Director of Freecycle UK. His email address is uk@freecycle.org. Please note that local groups can not apply directly for funds or fundraise in their own name. Freecycle UK is working to develop a system where our local leaders/groups, as part of the overall organisation, can be empowered to gain funding with minimal bureaucracy. Please be aware, for now, that the infrastructure of Freecycle UK is still developing and is staffed by volunteers who are also running their local groups. Back to list of Contents 5.2 Inviting a member - how is it done? Go to the boxed list on the left-hand side of the website, and to Promote/Invite near the bottom of the list Follow the instructions. Don't forget to scroll to bottom and "Submit Invite." Note: need to limit to a few invites at a time, or Yahoo! has a problem. Also it is important to mention that only the person invited can use the invitation, because the new member will always be set up with the invited person's email address. Back to list of Contents 5.3 Posters, fliers, cards - anywhere I can get some? All kinds of example publicity materials are available at the UK Mod Squad: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/files/ If you decide to produce your own material be careful to use appropriate logos so that you do not risk damaging the Freecycle® logo. Information and what you have to do is available here: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/eu_trademark The graphics team may be able to help with designing these too: graphics Do share whatever you have done with the rest of the moderator community at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/ Back to list of Contents 5.4 Press release - how do I write one; are there any examples? Working with the press is difficult. Reporters as a breed are idle and shiftless. If you do their work for them you are more likely to get results. There are example press releases available in the UK mod squad files at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/files/ There is some good advice about what you can do and what works in the promotion and publicity files at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/files/ We have a group of volunteers who work on media issues who may be able to help you with publicity for your group. They can be contacted by emailing: ukmedia@freecycle.org If you are interested in joining this team of volunteers please email this address as well. Back to list of Contents 5.5 Promoting my new group - tips please? How much time you spend on promoting your group is entirely a personal decision. There are plenty of ways you can promote your group. For hints and tips, please follow the link below: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/files/ Many groups contact their local Council for support and get differing responses. Some Councils will welcome their local group with open arms and give free publicity in magazines, newsletters and their website; others show little interest. Although the Council is a good place to start, please don't get disheartened if you don't get the response you'd like. Your Council’s recycling officers are a great place to start. Back to list of Contents 5.6 Public liability insurance – do we need this for events? When promoting the group at a public event, it is your responsibility to ensure you are covered with public liability insurance. If on council ground, the council insurance should cover you but a risk assessment form may need to be completed prior to the day. Otherwise, please discuss prior to the event with the organizers exactly what you intend doing. Face painters need their own insurance and a Control of Substances Hazardous to Health - COSHH sheet. A Certificate in Food Hygiene is required where appropriate. Back to list of Contents 5.7 Publicity - how can I get this for my group? Publicity for your group is great but it's not easy. Speaking to the media is an important element of getting publicity. It often helps to send them a media release. Make sure you have a 'hook'. Be creative and have an environmental theme! Watch out for members who do interesting things with their Freecycle items, like making sculptures or house renovations; they may agree to be featured in a press article. Aim for Headline news and you're more likely to get good exposure for your group, even if it is on page 11. Some groups run events especially to give the media an opportunity to take photos. See: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/contact.htm?tpl=contact For more hints and tips, please follow the link below. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/files/ Back to list of Contents 5.8 Using the Freecycle logo in publicity – do we need permission? Yes, official permission is required for each individual instance of the logo about to be used by anyone other than ourselves. Whoever is proposing to use the logo -- the council, the reporter, etc needs to receive direct and specific permission from freecycle.org. In each and every instance that the logo is to be used, please ask the reporter (for example) to write in person to stephanie@freecycle.org, requesting permission to use the logo. Any subsequent use by the same person for the same purpose needs to be authorised once again. This may sound frightful, but is a formality with which they will be familiar and takes very little time. Back to list of Contents 6. RESOURCES - FOR MEMBERS 6.1 Animal rehoming links - is there a national list? Whether or not your group allows animal messages it is good to have somewhere to point members to if they are looking to rehome or acquire an animal. These sites cover the whole country and are a good starting place to find your local animal rehoming and rescue centres: http://www.animalrescuers.co.uk/index.html http://www.animalsanctuaries.co.uk/sanctuaries.asp?B=M Back to list of Contents 6.2 Café groups – what do I need to know to set one up? The way to set up a Café group is to simply set up another Yahoo! group where members can talk and get to know each other better. They can discuss Freecycle work, Pets, googlemail, services they can offer or need, community events, and so on. The main restriction is that you cannot allow any selling. The biggest advantage in having one is, that it is a place you can refer people to when local group policy does not allow their message to go through on the Freecycle board. Such things as chit-chat, needing a place to rent, a job, directions, recommendations for tradespeople and services and many other little things that crop up. Link to Freecycle Café guidelines: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/cafe Back to list of Contents 6.3 Recycling links - is there a list? Yes - please see: http://www.uk.freecycle.org/recycle-links.php Back to list of Contents 6.4 What is the link to all the UK Freecycle® groups? It can be found under the heading 'Your nearest UK group' on the left of the main UK Freecycle home page: http://uk.freecycle.org/ Direct link: http://freecycle.org/display.php?region=United%20Kingdom Back to list of Contents 6.5 Who can a member write to for advice about any aspect of Freecycle? Members also have resources at their fingertips. Their group owner/moderator email address is a good place to start: YOURGROUPNAME-owner@yahoogroups.com If a member is unable to resolve an issue with their local owner/mods, they should write to the Freecycle Head Office. This team will, in turn, drop a line to the appropriate person for resolution. The address that members should write to should be included on the main page of your Freecycle site: info@freecycle.org Back to list of Contents 6.6 Can I read the Freecycle rules in my own language? In case you are ever asked for it, the generic Farewell Letter, Group Description, Rules and Welcome letter are written in the following languages: Arabic | Bulgarian | Chinese | Dutch | English | French | German | Hebrew | Hindi | Italian | Japanese | Malay | Portuguese | Spanish | Swedish | Turkish Find them here: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/index_faq.htm Back to list of Contents 7. RESOURCES - FOR MODS 7.1 Back up co-owner – why do I need one? It is a requirement that you have some kind of back-up owner on your group. This is because then if anything happens to you they can get onto the group and run it in your absence. This back up owner must be someone who does not share the same net connection or computer as you, but lives in the group catchment area It can be a co-mod, or a close friend, etc. (basically someone you trust, ideally who holds a mod position somewhere. The Freecycle Network has set up a ‘neutral’ system where the larger organisation provides back up ownership facilities for those who choose to use it. Full details of this scheme can be found at: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/ersatzfriend Back to list of Contents 7.2 Firefox Moderation Plug-in – what is it? This extension works only with the Firefox web browser but allows moderators to manage most activity directly from the pending and main messages lists. You can see the full content of messages and a count of the poster's recent offers and wanteds etc. You can change the membership setting to "group settings" with one click and can create your own set of "reply buttons" complete with a standard text of your choice, and more. For further information on the many features available and a link to download and install this Firefox extension, please see this page:- http://www.squeaky.demon.co.uk/Freecycle/FreecycleModsExt/Help/extensionhelp.html Back to list of Contents 7.3 GOAs - Group Outreach and Assistance volunteers - who are they? The Freecycle® Group Outreach and Assistance (GOA) volunteers are available as a resource for mods, to offer support to groups and help them over any Freecycle issues (not just any difficulties) they may be facing. There are a number of GOAs for the UK, one for each region of the UK. If you are unsure of how to proceed with an issue, especially a delicate or confidential one that would be inappropriate to post on a modsquad, then your first port of call should be the GOA. Issues may be because of rival/rogue 'Freecycle' groups; misuse of the Freecycle name; questions about group splits, problems relating to relationship with local authorities, sensitive issues with fellow mods or neighbouring groups, or just to let them know about something good that has happened within your group etc They are also volunteers just like everyone else, and may be pushed for time with many complex and sensitive jobs on, so do be patient unless you are having a group emergency. They are all experienced moderators and also moderate their local groups. Regional GOA email addresses are: England:
For precise regional boundaries please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions_of_England
East of England: east@freecycle.org
East Midlands: eastmidlands@freecycle.org
London: london@freecycle.org
North East: northeast@freecycle.org
North West: northwest@freecycle.org
South East: southeast@freecycle.org
South West: southwest@freecycle.org
West Midlands: westmidlands@freecycle.org
Yorkshire and Humber: yorkshirehumber@freecycle.org Northern Ireland: northernireland@freecycle.org Scotland: scotland@freecycle.org Wales: wales@freecycle.org Current names of regional/county GOAs: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/goa_list.htm Back to list of Contents 7.4 Holiday and Emergency cover - how can I get help? We encourage you to recruit a team of moderators for your group as soon as possible to avoid the need to arrange cover for holidays and emergencies. With your own team in place it is much easier to run your group as it is no longer just dependent on your own efforts. It provides a natural way of having cover for holidays, emergencies and if you just want a day off! It also means there will be cover if you lose Internet connection or have some thing happen which means you have to be away for some time. If you don’t have a team in place yet the Freecycle Mentor Moderators provide a holiday and emergency cover service. They will arrange for a mentor moderator to join your group for the period of time you need cover. Mentor moderators are experienced moderators who give their assistance to less experienced moderators or to groups who need some short term emergency assistance. To contact the mentor moderators please contact the Mentor Moderators Team Leader at ukmentor@freecycle.org If at all possible give at a few days notice as it takes time to get set up. Sometimes a member will not show on the members list for a few days and you can't give them the necessary moderator access to run the group if they are not showing. If it is an emergency they will work with you to find a way. Please just contact them as soon as you know that you need cover. An alternative way is to ask on your local or the UK modsquad for someone to help. People are always very willing to help. Back to list of Contents 7.5 Job description for moderators - what is it? It is a small commitment which may take 15-45 minutes each day in a new group - a commitment you can share with others – the more of you there are the less time you'll need to spend individually. The groups largely run themselves - mods just deal with the moderating requirements of the group as and when we deal with our email. You should be well supported, have access to lots of resources to help you and have a mentor if you need one. The basics of the ‘job’ include: There is a mentor Mod Team who are able to help new mods and owners learn the job and help established groups recruit and train new mods if they wish. Back to list of Contents 7.6 Logos (graphics) – general, seasonal or personalised - how? The general Freecycle® logo may be found at: http://s77.photobucket.com/albums/j42/logosforfreecycle/UK%20TM%20and%20copyright/ Contact graphics for help from the Graphics Team if you would like a generic, seasonal or personalised graphic for your own group. In your initial email please try to give as much information as possible, your group address, a reply email address and specific information about your area or ideas you have for the graphic - please discuss these ideas with your co-mods before contacting the team. If you produce your own customised logo, please contact the team and check that it is compliant before using it as there are lots of rules relating to this. Your initial email may be answered from the Custom Graphics Team address but once your project has been assigned the emails will come from a member of the volunteer team. If you haven’t had a reply once you have been assigned a volunteer please check your spam folder for their reply! The requests are taken in date order and could take a few weeks if they are busy - but please email the Group if you haven't had a reply within two weeks. Back to list of Contents 7.7 Message Subject Maker - what is it? It's a web page which generates correctly formatted Freecycle® emails from a set of simple fields provided by the user. The user is prompted with a simple form that asks for an item name, their location, and a short description of their item. Having provided these responses, the user clicks a "Generate Email" button and an email is generated and loaded automatically into their standard system email software (e.g. Thunderbird or Outlook Express). The email address, subject, and message body are all filled in automatically, and so the user only has to hit the "Send" button. Each group that wants to use Message Maker must set up their own version of it because the group email address and formatting preferences are encoded in the web page. To set up your own version of Message Maker, download the current version from: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/files/ It is distributed as a "zip" file, and there are simple instructions for configuring your group name and particulars. Once you have set up the files correctly, you need to contact the UK web coordinator (ukweb@freecycle.org) who will (if asked nicely!) set up a web page on uk.freecycle.org especially for this purpose. You will then need to tell your group members the web address to go to. Message Maker does not work with most webmail applications (such as Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail), but there is an option to get Message Maker to display plain email text ready to copy into webmail applications. ***please note that at this stage (March 07) we are not aware if the message maker will work with the new Freecycle website which it comes online later in 2007*** Back to list of Contents 7.8 Mod Manual - where is it and can members see it? http://www.freecycle.org/manual/ - available to everyone from the main Freecycle® site Back to list of Contents 7.9 Modsquads - where is my local one? In addition to the UKMS, you will find that you fall within the catchment area of an Official Regional ModSquad, and/or of an area, district, or local one. Many individual Freecycle® groups with moderating teams also have their own group-based ModSquads for discussion of issues relevant only to that group. For details of current regional and country Mod Squads in the British Isles, see: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/files/ModSquads.html Important: All mods need to join the UK Modsquad and their Official Regional ModSquad with at least a "Special Notices" setting. This is in order to ensure that mods do not miss important announcements or the opportunity to take part in Freecycle polls. Back to list of Contents 7.10 Template Admin messages - where can I see some? There are plenty in the Mod Manual under "Section 4 - Admin Notices," and "Section 5 - Admin Notices Misc," here: http://freecycle.org/manual/ You will also find some UK-specific ADMINs in the Files section of the UK MS website, here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/files/Examples/ And in the message archives of the UK MS, here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/messages (search on "ADMIN") Back to list of Contents 7.11 Template replies to members - where can I see some? There are plenty in the Mod Manual under "Section 3 - The Files," here: http://freecycle.org/manual/ You will also find some UK-specific template letters in the Files section of the UKMS website, here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/files/Examples/ Back to list of Contents 7.12 Volunteering – how can I become more involved in Freecycle®? There certainly are plenty of opportunities. If you are committed to Freecycle and have a little extra time to spare, please send an email to your local GOA or uk@freecycle.org, mentioning your interests and strengths and to find out more about the various voluntary opportunities within Freecycle. See also: http://freecycle.org/volunteers/ Back to list of Contents 7.13 Where can I find a list of links and contact details for support and help? These are the links and contact details only; further information on these resources can be found in http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/files/ USEFUL LINKS & ADDRESSES Main Freecycle UK Email address for members/public: info@freecycle.org (for Mods please see GOA addresses below) FAQs (other than this one!): 1) http://www.freecycle.org/manual/index_faq.htm 2) http://www.freecycle.org/manual/faq.htm Freecycle Mod Manual – an essential resource http://www.freecycle.org/manual/site_map.htm Official Media link http://freecycle.org/aboutus.php?tpl=contact Development Blog for the new Freecycle website http://wallman.org.uk/blog/richard/Freecycle_Project Safety issues safety@freecycle.org Volunteering http://freecycle.org/volunteers/ (email: volunteers@freecycle.org) EMAIL SUPPORT & DISCUSSION LISTS UK Mod Squad (UKMS) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad UK Modsquad Café (UKMS Café) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKModsquadCafe Official Regional Freecycle Modsquads http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/database?method=reportRows&tbl=8 Organisational Issues Discussion Group (OIDG) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OIDG/ FORMAL UK FREECYCLE TEAMS Communications Team (CommTeam) CommCoord@freecycle.org Group Outreach Assistance (GOAs) Regional/country GOA email addresses are: east@freecycle.org
eastmidlands@freecycle.org
london@freecycle.org
northeast@freecycle.org
northwest@freecycle.org
northernireland@freecycle.org
scotland@freecycle.org
southeast@freecycle.org
southwest@freecycle.org
wales@freecycle.org
westmidlands@freecycle.org
yorkshirehumber@freecycle.org
Graphics (Logo) Team graphics@freecycle.org Interim Moderator (iMod) See above for GOA Email addresses (to request the iMod team) New Group Approvers (NGAs) nga_uk@freecycle.org Mentor Mods ukmentor@freecycle.org UK Freecycle Newswire Team newswire@freecycle.org Trademark Team trademark@freecycle.org UK Freecycle Website Team for http://uk.freecycle.org ukweb@freecycle.org Back to list of Contents 7.14 I’ve heard that Freecycle are building a new website and moving away from Yahoo. Is this true? Yes and no. It is certainly true that a new website is under construction to meet the particular needs of mods and members, but there will be no obligation to move to the new arrangements (although it is hoped that most groups will move). More information is available at: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/faq_new_site.htm Back to list of Contents 8. RULES 8.1 Advertising local events - is that ok? Generally speaking, no. Refer the poster to your Freecycle Café group, if you have one. However, we allow local free events, particularly environment-related, Earth Day, recycling education events, global warming info events, etc. Back to list of Contents 8.2 Age limit for members - is there one? No. However, Yahoo do require users under 13 to have parental consent and create a family account: http://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/utos-173.html Back to list of Contents 8.3 Borrowing and swapping - are they acceptable? No - refer the poster to your Freecycle Café group, if you have one. Back to list of Contents 8.4 Car seats - are they allowed? Car seats are allowed on Freecycle® groups. Ideally mods shouldn't be limiting what members offer over and above the basics within the main rule, but they have the right to, if they feel they need to for their own conscience. The general feeling on UKMS is to give the decision on whether to take a seat or not to the member wanting one. The more freedom we can give the members the better. When we start limiting things we potentially leave ourselves more open to legal issues as effectively if you say something can't go through because it is unsafe, then let something else through, by implication you are saying that item is safe. Once you start doing that where do you stop? You may however have strong personal feelings on the matter and want to ban them on your group. This is okay too, but we would prefer you to run a well balanced poll to allow the members to decide. You might want to send out the following link, or add it to your links page to refer people to. It details all the new elements of the car seat law in the UK: http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/ A draft Admin message on the subject can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/files/Admin? Please feel free to adapt it for use with your group. Back to list of Contents 8.5 Charities - are they allowed? Yes – local charities are especially welcomed. Charities need to follow the same rules as individual members. Back to list of Contents 8.6 Crash helmets & safety issues, do we get involved? Ideally mods shouldn't be limiting what members offer over and above the basics within the main rule, but they have the right to, if they feel they need to for their own conscience. The general feeling on UKMS is the more freedom we can give the members the better. When we start limiting things we potentially leave ourselves more open to legal issues as effectively if you say something can't go through because it is unsafe, then let something else through, by implication you are saying that item is safe. Once you start doing that where do you stop? You may however have strong personal feelings on the matter and want to ban them on your group. This is okay too, but we would prefer you to run a well-balanced poll to allow the members to decide. You may wish to inform members of the following link on Crash Helmet safety: http://www.dirtbikerider.co.uk/website_content/how_to/ride/safely_crash_helmet http://www.brake.org.uk/index.php?p=489 Back to list of Contents 8.7 Cross-posting - what is it and what can we do to reduce it? Cross-posting is sending your Offer or Wanted request to more than one group at the same time. It is very time consuming to monitor and unless all surrounding groups have a similar policy it can be very confusing to members where groups have different rules. Some groups send out an admin message to their group as a whole or to individual members along the lines of: WHEN YOU POST AN OFFER OR A WANTED, POST IT *ONLY* TO YOUR HOME GROUP (the one you are closest to). If you haven't received a response after 24-48 hours, then post it to the next nearest group and so on and so on. Some of your neighbouring groups would consider it courtesy to wait 24-48 hours between each posting. This simultaneous cross-posting is a problem for several reasons, most of which are contrary to the spirit of Freecycle: Back to list of Contents 8.8 Distance - how far away is it acceptable for a member to live? A member does not have to live anywhere near a particular Freecycle® group in order to be a member of that group: if, for example, they regularly work or visit family or friends in a town that is several hundred miles away from their home address, they can still participate fully in that town's group. Back to list of Contents 8.9 Firearms - what is the rule? Firearms are not permitted on Freecycle®. Firearms include shotguns, rifles, and pistols. All weapons are banned from Freecycle. When in doubt, the local moderator should feel empowered to not allow the post in order to be extra safe. Back to list of Contents 8.10 Food - is it allowed? There is no official policy on whether or not food can be offered on Freecycle®. It meets the requirements of being 'free, legal, and appropriate for all ages' so there is no obvious reason to ban it other than safety grounds. Each moderation team must decide what their local policy is going to be. Some moderator's believe that open foods are dangerous and could be tampered with. When people OFFER or WANTED food, the uses may not always be obvious and it may not be for human consumption. For example, people use baby formula as a fish or rat food, cola's can be used for removing lime scale and in a number of science projects, any organic matter can be used for composting. Various foodstuffs and their packaging could be used for craft projects or art installations. Another question that arises is whether food should be offered if it is beyond the BEST BY or the USE BEFORE dates. USE BEFORE dates are generally important dates after which there is a substantial risk of food poisoning, whereas BEST BY dates are suggestions and may not indicate an increased risk of food poisoning. Back to list of Contents 8.11 Fur – what are the guidelines? Occasional posts may come up offering fur. For some people this may be divisive and some members may have strong objections to the use of fur. However, there is no reason for a moderator to reject a post asking for, or offering, fur. A moderator's job is not to police a site nor is it to impose their views on their member. As a moderator your job is to make sure things are free, legal, and appropriate to all ages. If you have reason to believe that the fur being offered or asked for is endangered, you can check the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) website (http://www.cites.org/ ) or DEFRA (Department of the Environment, Fishing and Rural Affairs) website (http://www.defra.gov.uk/ ). Back to list of Contents 8.12 How do we use the ® mark? Local groups need to use the official Freecycle® logo, exactly as it appears on: http://uk.freecycle.org on your local Yahoo! group sites, in articles, press releases & automatic notices: The first "prominent display" or introduction of the mark (i.e., the first time you use the term Freecycle in a document) needs to be distinguished from other text with an (R) or ®. This is in addition to the attribution statement. The other instances of Freecycle can be without an (R) or ® marking, though it is still important to capitalize or colour them to show they are not just common words. Link to the relevant section of the Mod Manual: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/eu_trademark Back to list of Contents 8.13 Landfill test – what is this? Now this is one of the easiest things about Freecycle®. It's the moderators' mantra "Does it save anything from landfill?" If yes, allow, no, deny. However, some local groups choose to allow local free events and local free services to be posted, especially free recycling events, like Green Fairs and Earth Day events. If you can potentially save it from landfill, no matter how small it is and if it is also "free, legal and appropriate for all ages" and doesn't fall foul of any other rules or guidelines, it is allowed. Things like people asking for information, rooms to rent, advertising bands, wanting advice or tradesmen's numbers are all non-tangible, therefore do not save anything from landfill so are generally not posted on main Freecycle groups. They are ideal, however, on your nearest Freecycle cafe group, so do encourage them to be sent there! Borrowing and swapping similarly. However, a good community building option would be to encourage members decide where they would prefer such posts to be sent. Back to list of Contents 8.14 Personal details on the list - what are the rules? Keep them off the list if at all possible. There may be exceptional circumstances which would mean that you might chose to allow an individual to include a phone number in an OFFER posting, for example, but this should not be the norm. Link to the relevant section of the Mod Manual: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/admin_safety.htm Back to list of Contents 8.15 Petrol costs - is it ok to request this? By and large it is acceptable to offer to pay petrol costs if someone has offered to deliver an item to you, but it is unacceptable to attach any "strings" to a Freecycle® offer, so no, you cannot request them. Back to list of Contents 8.16 Pets & animals - offers, wanteds & pet mods - what is allowed? The question whether or not to allow pets and other animals to be offered on Freecycle® is controversial. Aside from pets, moderators may have to consider whether they are going to allow rodents (such as pet mice), feed animals (mice, rats, etc are often fed to snakes and other reptiles) and livestock (generally poultry of some sort). There is no uniform Freecycle Policy regarding the offering of or asking for pets and animals. Each group is free to form their own opinion based on local circumstances and perhaps a member vote. When deciding how to deal with animals a moderator should take into account their geographical area, the predominant views of the area they live in, and their own 'comfort zone'. Some groups have decided to allow people to OFFER pets, but not post WANTEDs as some people asking for pets could be looking for 'puppy mill' stock. Putting some links to local animal rescue centres in the links section is helpful. As a general rule, adverts for lost pets have no place on Freecycle, however, these types of posts can be appropriate on Café Groups. There is a 'pet moderator' handbook available at: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/petmod_handbook.htm Pet moderators can share and learn about available animal resources including shelters, rescues and other animal lover issues on the Pet Mods group To have your Pet Moderator invited to this invitation-only group, please submit the following information to: freecyclepetmods-owner@yahoogroups.com Back to list of Contents 8.17 Recommendations for services/tradespeople - is that ok? It is best to refer the poster to your Café group, if you have one. Back to list of Contents 8.18 Reselling – what are the guidelines? While claiming or asking for items in order to resell or redistribute them does not violate Freecycle® guidelines, some members prefer to give their items directly to the people who will use them personally. For this reason, members are entitled to ask responders if they intend to resell the item in question before agreeing to the transaction. Resellers MUST disclose their intention to resell/redistribute any item when accepting an offer and when making wanted posts. Members who fail to disclose this information when asked or when posting a wanted need to be issued a strike*, reminded of the rules and kept on moderation. A strike is warning for a serious misdemeanour; two strikes can lead to a member being unsubscribed – at the owner's discretion. Link to the relevant section of the Mod Manual: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/admin_reseller.htm Back to list of Contents 8.19 Sob stories - what constitutes one and why are they not recommended? A sob story is anything that might be considered to be designed to appeal to the sympathy of a reader. Actually although sometimes annoying, sob stories are not actually prohibited. Some stories are quite good; deciding which is sob and which is not is very subjective. However, they cannot be verified, and may simply be the attempts of unscrupulous people to gain personal advantage, although members are able to judge this for themselves Back to list of Contents 8.20 Tickets and vouchers - are they allowed? This is up to you. Often moderators refer messages for tickets and vouchers to café groups. Please see the answer to the question - What items are NOT allowed on Freecycle®? Back to list of Contents 8.21 “No Trading” – what does that mean in the rules - no selling or no swapping? This is a confusing rule for us Brits because the Americans mean something different when they say trading. They tend to mean swapping. In fact, members who are traders (i.e. sell items away from Freecycle) CAN be members and they CAN even get items with the intention of selling them on, although some groups choose to prohibit this. Members can't sell, buy or swap items ON a Freecycle group but they are allowed to do any of these things with the items afterward under the following conditions. If someone posts an WANTED planning to sell the item afterwards they must declare it up front.
If someone answers an OFFER posting planning to sell the item they must declare this if asked by the person offering the item.
If local group policy does not prohibit selling on. The following admin message is useful to explain this. http://www.freecycle.org/manual/admin_reseller.htm Back to list of Contents 8.22 What does misusing the word `Freecycle®' mean? The term "Freecycle" must be used as an adjective, never as a noun or verb. For example:
Please don't use the words `Freecycler', `Freecyclin', `Freecycling', `freecycles', `Freecycling group.'
Please don't say anything like `Please Freecycle your xxx.'
New groups may use the word Freecycle in their group name/title, but should not be approved with any variations of the word Freecycle in their name, title or description, like freecycler, freecycles. The term "Freecycle" in text must always be capitalized to set it off from the surrounding text. Example: Yes, Freecycle groups are great! Link to the relevant section of the Mod Manual: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/eu_trademark Back to list of Contents 8.23 What items are NOT allowed on Freecycle®? Please do not allow anything that: Deciding whether to accept vouchers and tickets is up to individual groups. Most UK groups choose to route them to Cafes. The acceptance of animal posts is also an individual group decision. Please see the answer to the question - Landfill test – what is this? Back to list of Contents 8.24 Which rules are down to individual groups to decide? Contrary to popular belief, most of them. The core rules that are mandatory for all groups are shown in BOLD in the Mod Manual at: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/guidelines.htm Everything else is at the discretion of individual group owners/moderators. It is entirely up to individual groups whether, for example, they have a "No Pets" rule, or a "must give location" rule, or rules restricting the number or frequency of WANTED postings that may be submitted by individual members. Back to list of Contents 8.25 Which rules are fixed and not negotiable? The core Freecycle® rules that are mandatory: Back to list of Contents 9. TROUBLE 9.1 Auto-responsers - what are they & what do we do about them? This is an automatic email that responds to certain key words in an offer. They will not usually mention the item by name (as they are just out to be the first to respond to get their hands on everything possible) and they will be sent out within seconds of the original message hitting the group (that's the "auto" part, see, they are that quick they are the first to respond). This, of course, is one reason why giving an item to the first person to reply is often a bad idea. Unfair on all the genuine members who may not be right at the pc at the time the offer comes in. Encourage your members to give to someone other than the first to respond unless they really want to, and preferably only if that first poster mentions the item by name. It is best to choose a recipient on some other criteria. If that means "I'll only give to the member with a 'z' in their email address", that's perfectly fine! It's their stuff, they can choose any way they please! Back to list of Contents 9.2 Banning vs. permanent moderation of a nuisance member – which is best? Banning members is rarely an advisable policy primarily because a banned member typically comes back under another pseudonym. If at all possible, it is best to put them on moderation. Then you at least know where they are and can moderate their posts carefully – and permanently. Back to list of Contents 9.3 `Difficult members' - how can I deal with them? Politely, and with consideration. As moderators, we are exhorted to "Be Nice!" Remember that members can appear "difficult" without meaning to be. Try to work with them to resolve the problems, but ensure that while you are doing so, they are not adversely affecting the Freecycle® experience of other members of your group. If your "difficult member" posts messages with incorrectly-formatted subject lines, or posts messages that do not belong on a Freecycle list, place them on moderation, allowing you to check and approve (or edit, or reject!) their messages before they are distributed to the rest of the group. If your "difficult member" is misbehaving off-list (perhaps by failing to show up at the agreed time to collect items, or by sending inappropriate e-mails to other members), then you must react appropriately to complaints made about him or her. Make sure you obtain and assess any evidence of the alleged wrong-doing before taking any action, but if, once you have done so, you believe the complaint to be valid, contact the "difficult member" by private e-mail, advise them that you have received a complaint and ask for their side of the situation. As necessary, explain that such behaviour is unacceptable, and that repeated occurrences will lead to their being banned from the group. If another member accuses your “difficult member” of a criminal offence, don't try to resolve the problem yourself. Refer the complainant to the Police, and let them know that you would be happy for your contact details to be passed on to the investigating officer. Remember too that if ever you feel out of your depth or in need of moral support or advice, you can always refer the question to your local, regional, country or UK ModSquad to obtain a multitude of different perspectives on the problem. And, of course, when all else fails, your regional GOA is there to help. See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/database for a list of the current members of the GOA team. Back to list of Contents 9.4 Emergencies - what do I do and how do I get help? If you are not sure where to get help the best person to contact is your regional GOA (Group Outreach and Assistance) whose contact details you can find here: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/goa_list.htm Failing that the main UK address is uk@freecycle.org . This includes needing to hand over the group because you can no longer run it. If you need emergency short term cover you can contact the mentor team leader (ukmentor@freecycle.org ) or ask for help on the UK modsquad. Whatever the problem please ask for help, there is someone who can help with almost every problem you will encounter running a group but if you don't ask we can't help. Back to list of Contents 9.5 My neighbouring group owner seems to have gone missing. What do I do? Contact your regional GOA whose contact details you can find here: http://www.freecycle.org/manual/goa_list.htm They will then check out if the owner is still about and if anyone is moderating the group. If not they will call in the Imod team who's job it is to get such groups up and running properly again. To avoid the above happening to your group, it is a requirement that you have some kind of back-up membership on your group. This must be someone who does not live in the same household as you so that they do not share the same net connection or pc, then if anything happens to yours they can get onto the group. It can be a co-mod, a neighbouring group owner (basically someone you trust, ideally who holds a mod position somewhere) or "ersatzfriend". (See http://www.freecycle.org/manual/ersatzfriend for more info on co-owners and ersatzfriend) This co-owner should have all the same privileges you do as owner, but set to "No Email" (unless it's a co-mod, of course!). It would be helpful if you can easily contact them by other means than the internet, for obvious reasons. Back to list of Contents 9.6 `Too many wanteds' - how can I explain this is ok to members? Freecycle groups accept wanted posts for specific items as these kind of posts may help jog the memories of people who have things no longer used, needed or wanted that are stored away in cupboards, attics or garages that people might be willing to give away for free. Wanted posts are also great for those who need throwaways for their job or hobby. The person who repairs old PC's and donates them to schools is doing something useful, and the person who makes paper and asks for cotton rags is lowering our landfill use. The 'Wanteds' keep stuff out of landfill just as much as the 'Offers'. Freecycle is not about trying to maintain a perfect balance Offers and Wanteds - it's about recycling consumer goods. There are many good discussions on the UK Modsquad about this: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/message/1731 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/message/21356 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodsquad/message/21362 Back to list of Contents 9.7 Spammers - what are they & what do we do about them? Spam is the Internet equivalent of junk mail - email you didn't ask for, and probably don't want. It's sent by spammers, usually using automated tools. Freecycle members will often have their own spam filters to detect and remove - that's up to them. This answer just talks about what you can do as a moderator to reduce the chance of your Freecycle group being used for spam. Spammers attack Freecycle groups in the following ways:
  1. Try to send spam to the group.
  2. Harvest member addresses and use them to send spam.
I'll discuss each of these in turn. For 1), there are two possible ways they do this:
  1. Join the group and send spam
  2. Impersonate ("spoof") an existing member, and send spam which appears to come from them.
There's basically nothing you can do about 1b) - it's quite easy to forge email and make it appear to come from a valid user (it doesn't require their Yahoo password). So if you see an existing user send spam, don't assume that they've turned evil and overreact - it may be that someone is impersonating them. Place the user on moderation for while, to allow you to catch any other such messages, and contact them gently to check. You can combat 1a) in the following ways:
    Approve new members. This means more work for you, but again, spammers generally aren't astute enough to provide a valid reason for joining.
  1. Keep an eye on the UK ModSquad - report spammers to it, and actively remove reported spammers from your list. This is quite labour intensive, and is of limited use when spammers make up a new Yahoo name for each attack, but it can help with some persistent offenders who target multiple groups.
Now for 2). The way this works is that a spammer joins the group, and then extracts email addresses from the message archive, or from mails that get sent to the group. They can then send spam directly to those addresses, without passing through your group. This requires quite a persistent spammer, so it's rare, but because it doesn't go via the group there's little you can do about it. The B and C approaches above can help identify culprits who might be doing this. Back to list of Contents