Handbook
What is Freegle?
Each Freegle group is an email list hosted on Yahoo Groups. When you have something you no longer have room for or no longer need, but it still has some usable life in it, your Freegle group helps you to give it away to someone who wants it, will come and collect it from you and will say "thank you".
Don't bin it or take it to the tip, Freegle it!
So for instance if you have a washing machine you no longer need, simply join your local group then post an 'offer' message accurately describing your washing machine.
Your message is sent out to group members and interested members reply to your message individually. You arrange a mutually convenient time for your fellow member to call round and pick the washing machine up. How easy is that!
To help you get the best out of your group please read the pointers below.
The dos and don'ts
Let's get the "please don't" stuff out of the way first. There aren't that many! They may vary a little from group to group.
Don't forget your moderating team is here to help. Send them an email if you would like help with anything or if you get stuck. You can find their address on the home page for your group, near the bottom – it'll be something like AmbridgeFreegle-owner@yahoogroups.com (just replace AmbridgeFreegle with the name of your group).
- Please do not ask for or offer money for stuff. All items must be completely free.
- Please don't ask to borrow or swap items. If your group has an associated cafe (chat) group, you may be able to ask on there.
- Respect any restrictions your group has on alcohol, tobacco, firearms or drugs, legal or otherwise.
- We ask that you keep politics, religion, rudeness or personal attacks on other members out of your Freegle messages.
- Please do not send spam; "referral links", "invitations to join" and so on are all viewed as spam. Respect the groups and your fellow members' email addresses, they are not there as a useful reference. Spam Freegle groups and you risk being instantly banned.
- Please do not ask for the same thing or offer it more often than your group allows.
- Cross-posting is offering or requesting an item on more than one group at once. Your group may ask you not to cross-post. If you are a member of more than one group, start with one group first (usually the one where you live). Post on there first. If you don't get any responses after a few days then try again on a neighbouring Freegle group.
- Please do not offer or request pets unless your group allows it.
See? Not so many. Now for the "please do" stuff: –
- Please do join your local cafe chat group if your group has one.
- Be polite in your messages to other group members. If something happens you object to, please email your group moderators.
- Don't forget that if you don't tell your group moderators that something is going wrong, then they'll find it hard to help.
- Please keep your message subject lines simple. Do you have something to OFFER or are you posting a WANTED? Say which it is, then what your item is (e.g clock, bike etc.) then please add your location or the first part of your postcode at the end of the subject line, even if you want something so badly that you are willing to travel miles to collect it. Other group members want to know where you are before they give you something for free. Tell them, it isn't a big ask. Remember: OFFER: Item (Location).
- Please turn up to collect when you say you will or call before the agreed time to re-arrange if you have to change your plans.
- Please think carefully before giving out personal information like your phone number or address on the group list. We ask this out of concern for your personal safety.
- If you have a few things to give away or want, please keep it all in one email and just number the items for your own clarity. This reduces the overall number of e-mails we all have to receive.
- Are you thinking of selling things obtained on the group? Our main objective is to keep things out of landfill. If you're planning to sell items you get on this group then that is fine as long as you are honest about it and mention in your emails and messages that you are planning to sell the items on. If you are discovered breaking this rule then you may be banned.
Useful tools
All Freegle groups have a Message Maker that helps you get your messages in the right format. Here's a list of all the Message Makers.
Here's Help on the Message Maker.
No installation necessary.
If you use Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox then if your group has chosen to use it, you can install a plug-in to help you format your messages correctly. This will also help you get your messages approved more rapidly. The plug-in lets you work easily with your posts, and much more.
Please go to http://wiki.memberplugin.org to find out what the members' plug-in can do and follow the instructions to download it.
If you don't want to download the plug-in there is often a really useful Message Maker form available from the group home page which helps you make sure that you don't miss the important bits.
Is your inbox being swamped with messages?
Don't Panic! And please don't leave your Freegle group because of it.
Try setting your group membership to Daily Digest and get one or two (long) emails a day containing several messages each. You can edit your membership by clicking on the Edit Membership link near the top left of the page, just above the thick bar with the group name in it. The Edit Membership link is very small and usually pale blue, so you might need to hunt for it a bit. The email selector is Step 2. Message Delivery on the Edit Membership page.
If you prefer to change your settings by email you could use either of the following:
- Single emails:GROUP_NAME-normal@yahoogroups.com
- Digest: GROUP_NAME-digest@yahoogroups.com
(Just replace GROUP_NAME with your group's actual name, e.g. AmbridgeFreegle_-normal@yahoogroups.com_.)
Most importantly, have lots of fun Freegling.
DISCLAIMER: Freegle puts people who have unwanted items in touch with people who want those items. Because of how it works, Freegle never sees or checks items and they may not be in working order. Posting an advert or responding to an advert does not guarantee you will be able to get rid of unwanted items or get the items you want. Any agreement you reach about any items will be between the person requesting or advertising items and you. It is your responsibility to ensure you are not breaking any laws in offering or getting goods through Freegle.
SAFETY NOTICE: Members of this group use it entirely at their own risk. Please take all reasonable measures to protect yourself and your family's safety and privacy when posting to the list or collecting an item.
