Subject: redwoodcityfreecycle File - Freecycle Information

From: [email-masked]
Date: 1 Aug 2007 10:44:17 -0000

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Freecycle FAQDISCLAIMER:
FREECYCLE™ MEMBERS USE FREECYCLE GROUPS AT THEIR OWN RISK. Please take reasonable measures to protect your safety and privacy when posting to group lists or when completing a direct gifting with another member. By joining a Freecycle list, you agree to hold neither the list owners, moderators, nor anyone affiliated with The Freecycle Network responsible or liable for any circumstance resulting from a Freecycle-related gifting or communication. 

Using the Freecycle List
After joining your local group, to post a message, simply send an email to your local group’s yahoo address or click on "messages" at the local Freecycle group web site. You can find your local group by clicking here. 

UNSUBSCRIBING: To unsubscribe, send an email to the unsubscribe address noted at the bottom of each e-mail from your local group. It’ll look something like this [email-masked] (this of course is not an actual unsubscribe address) 

POSTING, READING, REPLYING & MANAGING YOUR MEMBERSHIP. To post, read or reply to messages or to manage your membership settings (including email delivery options), visit your local Freecycle groups site (find your local yahoo group here). To read list archives (especially helpful for new members who may find recent posts of interest there), visit your local Yahoo group main page and click on "messages" on the left.

NOTE TO GROUP MODERATORS:
All groups must have "[email-masked]" as a co-owner and full moderation of all posts is not allowed. See Required Stuff -- DOs and DON’Ts for Freecycle Moderators." Thanks!

FREECYCLE RULES & ETIQUETTE
While there will be slight variations from group to group, those rules in bold (in *this* section only of course) are required of all groups. 

1) KEEP IT FREE, LEGAL & APPROPRIATE FOR ALL AGES. This means, for example, no Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms or Drugs, legal or otherwise. Two strikes and you're outa the group. This is our main Freecycle rule to live by and it's a pretty easy one at that. No advertising your yard sale, though, as you're looking for money and that isn't free... 

2) SUBJECT LINE OF YOUR POSTS. Use these phrases to make it easy for others to delete or view. (There may be slight variations on these from group to group as well). 

OFFER: love seat, downtown. 
TAKEN: love seat
WANTED: love seat, any condition. [Please use this sparingly and don't offer money. And above all else, don't ask for an extravagant item like a diamond ring which we'd all like to have or the strike rule will kick in - see no. 1 above. ] 
ADMIN: new ideas, thoughts, etc. like can we get the guy with the couches to ease up?

3) PLEASE DO NOT POST THE SAME "WANTED" POSTING MORE THAN ONCE A MONTH. (here too there will be variations from group to group) 

4) NO POLITICS, NO SPAM, NO MONEY, NO PERSONAL ATTACKS/RUDENESS, NO PROSELYTIZING/RELIGION. It's all about R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Two strikes & you're out, i.e. you will be unsubscribed by the moderator after two inappropriate postings. 

5) YOUR APPROXIMATE LOCATION: Try to list this in the body of your e-mail as well as in the subject line. OFFER Couch (downtown). “I've got a couch and live downtown. Nearest intersection: Speedway and Stone.” 

6) KEEP IT ALL IN ONE E-MAIL. Got more than one thing to give away? Keep it all in one e-mail please and just number the items for your own clarity. This reduces the overall number of e-mails we all have to receive. Some groups don't do this rule. 

7) CAN WE USE FREECYCLE GROUPS TO FIND NEW HOMES FOR PETS? Some groups say yes, but keep it legal & be lovingly careful. Other groups say no, please refer to Petfinder to find a pet locally. It depends on what you and your fellow members have decided on locally. However, posts about pets for breeding purposes are not allowed in Freecycle groups. 

8) NO TRADING PLEASE. Go to your local trading organization for this. It can be quite fun. With Freecycle, though, there are no strings attached, just give it away now… 

9) RESPONSES GO ONLY TO OFFERER. It keeps down the sheer no. of e-mails. 

10) PICK UP. Arrange as you like. Generally, you'll wait until you get a handful of responses or maybe overnite, and then you can pick whomever you like! That's half the fun. I always ask that people consider giving your starving local charity preference if one should respond. Arrange pickup with one person only, rather than "it's on the porch, whoever gets here first gets it." Otherwise you'll become the boo man pretty fast with your fellow Freecycle group members... Also: only give your phone number to one person at a time or ask for the recipient's phone no. Otherwise you'll get swamped with phone calls. 

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 a listserv assumes no responsibility for this risk. You may want to arrange to meet in a public place or leave the item on the front porch without mentioning whether or not you will be home at the time of pickup. 

11) NO OFFERING YOURSELF OR YOUR CHILDREN. Posting oneself (or one's shy friends) is, I'm afraid, not allowed. There are many fine Internet dating sites better suited to this purpose, or you could try Craig's List or a Burning Man mixer (just kidding). Posting your kids is not on the menu either, no matter how crazy they make you sometimes. Try getting them involved in after-school band practice. 

12) A BRIEF NOTE ON FREECYCLE ETIQUETTE: "Be nice." We are all volunteers and we've got a great little community here so when you arrange to pick up an item from another Freecycle member, it is basic good manners to accommodate them as much as possible in terms of scheduling, and then be punctual; they are, after all, giving you something you need and asking nothing in return except that you will show up when you say you will. (Leaving someone hanging is never a nice thing.) Also, unless the giver tells you otherwise, assume that they would like you to come by as soon as you can to take away the item; no more than three days after the offer is made is usual. (Think of it as The Three-Day Rule.) 

Note: If you need help, please send an email to [email-masked]. 

TIPS TO ORGANIZE ALL OF THE NEW E-MAILS YOU ARE GETTING:
a) CREATE A SEPARATE E-MAIL FOLDER & AUTOMATICALLY HAVE FREECYCLE STUFF GO TO IT. Create a separate folder in your Outlook Express & have Freecycle™ stuff sent to it automatically with a new rule under tools/message rules/mail/ 

b) SET TO "DAILY DIGEST" OR "SPECIAL NOTICES" (which means you'll just browse the messages online). Realize that you can set your personal preferences on the main page (under "Edit My Membership" in the top right corner). 

IMPORTANT: THERE IS A TIME LAG FOR CHANGES: Whenever a user changes settings, there is an overlap from the time it takes for Yahoo to process the change, until emails in the queue waiting to go out to the users are delivered. In other words, in the six hours it takes for Yahoo to permanently stop the emails from coming, there are emails already set up to go out, and will continue to go out until the queue is emptied. (Some people have reported this taking up to three days.) So please don't email the moderators with comments like, 'I changed my settings/unsubscribed yesterday, why am I still getting emails?' Just be patient, and all should be well. Don't make more than one change at a time (each additional change adds on another day of wait). If you encounter further problems, you might want to consult the Yahoo! Groups help pages. 

DELETE YOUR OWN “OOPS” POSTS. Just so you know, you CAN delete your own posts for any reason (for example, if someone's taken the item you offered, or if you've received the item you wanted, or if you posted something by mistake). Go back to your original post and bring it into view on the screen. Right under the Messages bar, where it reads: 

Reply/Forward/View Source/Unwrap Lines/Delete 

Click on 'Delete.' That should do it. (Note, though, that deleting a post won't prevent it from showing up in the next digest for those with digest options.) 

Good luck & have fun keepin' good stuff out of landfills! 

Yours truly,
The geeky rules crew 

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/redwoodcityfreecycle/

<*> Your email settings:
    Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/redwoodcityfreecycle/join
    (Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
    mailto:[email-masked] 
    mailto:[email-masked]

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    [email-masked]

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/