Yahoo! gets in on the Freecycle frenzy
In the interest of practicing what we preach, earlier today Yahoo! had a Free is Good Fair in honor of Earth Day.
Hopefully you saw the post last week encouraging users to participate in Freecycle and Reuse groups that enable people in local communities to give and receive “free” goods from their neighbors. Yahoo! gave employees a chance to do the same earlier today.
Staffers brought in personal items, as well as various Yahoo! gear to pass along to others. Perhaps I didn’t really need another Yahoo! coffee mug, but I wanted to do my part to help!
Ryan K.
Community Manager
Yahoo! Mail
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- 20 Comments
April 30th, 2008 at 2:10 am
Freecycle is nice. I joined the local group. Was a member for several months. Nothing to donate, nothing needed. The only time I really needed something and posted a want-ad, my post was denied by the mods who were heavy handed requiring first-posters to give rather than receive. Nice sentiments, but I’m sorry, I didn’t have any old childrens clothes and such to give away like most of the other posters. So I dropped out. Local mods will kill the spirit of Freecycle.
April 30th, 2008 at 2:35 am
Joined my local Freecycle group, and left in disgust after the wave of requests for Bosch (Bosch only, please!) washers and other really high-end stuff.
That completely defeats the entire idea of Freecycle. You don’t get to beg for expensive stuff…it’s the chance to give no-longer-used stuff another life for someone who needs it.
April 30th, 2008 at 2:35 am
I do use the free cycle, and think it is a great way to not only keep unwanted items out of our land fills, but to meet others who are interested in reusing and recycling.
April 30th, 2008 at 5:06 am
We use Freedcycle constantly and have recycled anything from pots and pans to kids clothes and even cars.
The principle of FREEcycling is amazing and should be encouraged, but pleasde do not give items to people whose sole purpose is to make money from recieving good which they then go on to sell on eBAy and boot sales.
April 30th, 2008 at 6:20 am
I have used Freecycle and I love it. The largest thing I gave away was a stack of bricks to a young girl who wanted to make flowers beds. The other option was to load them up and pay to dump them at the landfill . We loaded them in the back of her pick-up truck and we were both happy.
April 30th, 2008 at 6:37 am
Freecycle is great! I received many very useful items that people were discarding because of a sudden move, divorce or upgrade.
It is up to the moderators to exclude WANTED posts for high-end items. Yahoo may want to communicate to its group moderators. It is a rather unfortunate aspect of our society that some use this as a tool to seek out expensive items or stuff to then sell.
April 30th, 2008 at 8:53 am
well this is my first time going itnto this so maybe next time i’ll have nore to say.
April 30th, 2008 at 9:33 am
thanks for th update.
April 30th, 2008 at 10:16 am
well its like this; i haven’t made the decision yet as being an accumalator. MAYBE a class of sorts to instruct the teetering.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:58 am
I’ll take your coffee mug. I’ll take anything you want to Freecycle. Just email me for the address.
Thanks
CWR
May 1st, 2008 at 5:31 pm
LOVE my Seattle freecycle….moderators are very good about emphasizing that folks should only ask for items that might actually be available for free.
They’ve also experimented with easing up some restrictions, vigilant nevertheless of abuse.
I’ve done very well both giving and receiving…and I believe in the Freecycle way of thinking!! Before I throw something out that I know goodwill doesn’t want, I ask myself if someone else might…old tools that need some work, half full can of colman feul, moving boxes, etc. Nice to know it’s getting a second life rather than filling up our landfills.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Concept is great but Freecycle (TFN and Deal Beal) is too dominating and controlling. Let me run my own group based on my LOCAL member’s needs. I mean how hard is it to moniter a group of people offering/giving and receiving? Someone in AZ does not know the needs of a little town in MA, nor the geography. They denied my request to start a group. That’s right - denied my request to be part of freecycle? That sure isn’t the green way. Why any group would reject people that want to be part of it sure shines of a different agenda. I have heard many rumors of Deron Beals wanting to cash in on the idea. I suggest a search of recyle, reuse, and reduce before picking your group.
May 2nd, 2008 at 6:49 am
I love Freecycle! It is pretty easy to tune out or self moderate the posts that drive you crazy (like the Wanted: Nintendo Wii)! I just dug up my lawn to make a garden and was amazed at how easy it was to give away the sod. Not only did I not have to use my gas to haul it away - I didn’t even have to use my muscle to clean it up! Thanks Freecycle!
May 2nd, 2008 at 7:24 pm
I am one of the co-moderators on a freecycle(tm) group and we do have to make the decisions to deny or reject posts. I even rejected one wanted post from my mother-in-law (I’m still paying for that one). We don’t like to deny or reject, but if we let everything through then the members would get ovewhelmed and quit the group then what would be the point of having a local group. The Freecycle Network(tm) is not part of Yahoo, we just use Yahoo Groups as a way to get the word out. Check out http://www.freecycle.org/ to see what it’s all about and find a local group.
THANK YOU YAHOO!
Watcher111
Co-Moderator Ardmore Freecycle(tm)
August 19th, 2008 at 1:19 am
You sound like a more level headed moderator. The Largo moderator refused to send me the rule I was breaking - Rule #8. My son changed my operating system and I couldnt get back to the old mail. Im electronically challenged and requested the Moderator SEND ME the rule. He/she/it did not, nor did the group owner even bother to respond to my letter. After all of the negative comments I see hear, I no longer feel bad about being banned. I made some great contributions, but no more. Her ego is more important than the cause. That is a pity.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
We have been a freecycling group since May 6th of 2004, we celebrated our group’s 4th Birthday today!
Char Hess
Brevard Freecyclers
http://www.brevardfreecycle.org
Don’t throw it away, freecycle it
We don’t trademark giving here!
May 19th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
By the way,
If we use the yahoo chat inside the new yahoo mail, I imagine that it would be nice and also useful if the color of the tab in the internet browser is changed every time we get an IM. It will alert us while browsing in other tabs.
June 18th, 2008 at 5:22 am
I agree with the poster who say Local Freecycle Mods are ruining Freecycle. I was just banned from freecycle for “breaking the rules” The rules say that you must have a ratio of 2:1 wanted ads to offer ads. Meaning you must post one offer for every 2 wanted posts. My ratio was better than that, meaning I had offered enough things to be allowed to post a want. My ratio was 8 wants to 5 offers. 1.6 to 1, beating thier ratio by .4. The mod told me I needed to post more offers, I told him to learn math and proved to him that he was incorrect. I was promptly banned. Thanks Freecycle!
August 19th, 2008 at 1:09 am
I was banned because the moderator didnt like my post. Sometimes I asked for odd things and thought a bit of an explanation would help clarify the request. The Largo moderator kept telling me I was violating rule #8 but I couldnt find rule number 8 due to a new system my son installed on the computer. Instead of sending me the rule, the moderator banned me. Seems to me it was more important to her that she rule rather than continue to let me help save the environment. I wrote to the site owner and guess what? No reply. Seems like a dictator with a red pen. Sad…..especially after seeing some of the things she lets through. I guess personality style is more important than the cause.
September 2nd, 2008 at 6:15 am
well my request to join my local group was just denied-what’s that all about? what a joke of an organisation!!