The Freecycle idea is a wonderful concept - WHEN
IT'S OVERSEEN BY REASONABLE PEOPLE.
Unfortunately, more and more, Freecycle groups are becoming little feifdoms,
micro-managed by petty little dictators with serious control issues, fighting over territory and trying to think of ways to
make their list rules a longer read than "War and Peace."
Not all listmods are like this, but unfortunately a significant
number are. If your Freecycle listmod is making you wish you had a larger trashcan, there are some things you can do.
Hopefully, over time, the following strategies will help your overbearing Freecycle listmod see that they are only
hurting the freecycling movement with their behaviors:
Problem: Your listmod habitually edits your subject line. (ie. you post "Mickey Mouse T-shirt" but
your post appears as "Disney Themed T-shirt").
After the item is picked up, post your TAKEN notice with your ORIGINAL subject line. When your listmod rejects
the TAKEN post because it doesn't match the OFFER post that went to the list, reply that you have checked and the ORIGINAL
subject line is what you sent. Refuse to change it.
Problem: Your listmod edits your subject line in a manner that changes the nature of the offer
or misrepresents the item. Your listmod makes other material changes to your OFFER before
posting it even though you followed all the posting guidelines.
Response: Immediately withdraw the offer. Advise the listmod that they did not have your permission to materially
change your offer. Your listmod doesn't know more about your item than you do. Consider posting the item in another
venue instead unless your listmod backs down.
Problem: Your post is returned to you for re-editing. The mod thinks you need to write an extensive
description, or you need to separate your items and offer them separately in multiple offers even though you want them to
go together.
Solution: Advise your listmod that it is your policy to NEVER resubmit OFFERS that have been rejected for inane reasons.
If they won't back down, tell him/her you will repost the item to your local Craigslist (or other local alternative group)
instead.
Problem: Your local list is fully moderated, your OFFERs take forever to appear. (Full moderation is
prohibited by Freecycle however they do not enforce their own policies whatsoever, insofar as I can tell).
Solution: If your post takes longer than a day to appear, OFFER it on an alternative group such as Craigslist.
When the OFFER finally does appear, apologize to the respondents (since your item has probably already been claimed by now) and
suggest that they complain to the listmod about excessive delays in OFFERS posted.
Problem: Your listmod sends you abusive, threatening or harassing communications, including emails or phone
calls.
Solution: Document the incidents as completely as possible. Send a complaint letter to WASTE MANAGEMENT, with
a copy of your documentation. WASTE MANAGEMENT is the "sponsor" of Freecycle and essentially funded the network to get
it off the ground. They have a significant interest in ownership of the network. Email a copy to Freecycle.org,
but don't expect a response.
Problem: Your Freecycle group is shut down for days at a time, because the moderators (remember, Freecycle
lists are not suppose to be fully moderated) are "on vacation".
Solution: Email a complaint to FREECYCLE.ORG every day that the list is down. If they get enough complaints
maybe they'll actually start to notice. Remember to mention that Freecycle lists are not permitted to be fully moderated
and that if this list followed the rules, it would not be shut down. Consider sending a cc: to your listmod.
If you are having other problems with your listmod, with or without suggested solutions, feel free to send them to saddletramp626@yahoo.com and I'll try to add them here.
Remember, you are trying to change your listmod's behavior. The only way he/she will ever stop their
annoying behavior is to make it MORE INCONVENIENT FOR THEM THAN THEY ARE MAKING IT INCONVENIENT FOR YOU.
