Nassau Freecycle FAQ

The Nassau Freecycle FAQ:

Q: Can you stop sending me these messages? A: If you wish to leave Freecycle, sign on to my.freecycle.org with your username and password, then click on “My Groups”. Towards the bottom of the “Nassau County” section, you will see a green button labeled “Leave the Group”. Click it.

Q: I just want to read messages on the site, but don’t want to read them in my email. A: Sign on to my.freecycle.org with your username and password, then click on “My Groups”. Towards the middle-bottom of the “Nassau County” section, there is a line labeled “Email preference”. Change it to “No emails apart from ADMINs” and click “Change delivery option”.

Q: I don’t want to receive the ADMINs either. A: Sorry, but that’s a requirement of your group membership. ADMINs are sent infrequently, and are used for important information.

Q: How do I post an offer to the list? A: The best way is to use the “post generator” under the “My Posts” tab on My Freecycle. This will guarantee that the message is formatted properly. Alternatively, you can email your listing to NassauFreecycle@groups.freecycle.org.

Q: What do I do after my item is gone? A: Mark is TAKEN, under “My Posts” on My Freecycle.

Q: I responded to an offer on Nassau Freecycle, but the poster never emailed me back. A: Either the item is taken, or the poster is still going down his/her list of responses. Many offers generate many responses, and it’s unreasonable to expect an offerer to respond to each of them. Be patient; you may yet get a response.

Q: I responded to an offer on Nassau Freecycle, but my email was rejected/returned. A: This means the item is gone. Once an offer is marked as TAKEN, the Freecycle website invalidates the email address from which it was sent.

Q: Why don’t my posts show up? A: If you are a new user, your posts will be moderated for a short while. It may take several hours until one of our moderators can release it.

Q: What is moderation? A: Moderation is the status of users who have just joined the group, or who have broken the rules in some way. Moderated users must have all messages approved by a Nassau Freecycle moderator. To be removed from moderation, they must show that they can follow Freecycle etiquette by posting OFFERs correctly (WANTEDs will not get you off moderation, no matter how nicely they are worded). We prefer not to have to moderate users, as it is more work for the moderator team, but it is necessary in order to prevent spam.

Q: How many OFFERs can I post? A: As many as you like; however, to keep traffic on the list down, it’s preferable to combine like items in a single post. If an offered item is not taken, please wait two weeks before relisting it.

Q: How many WANTED items can I post? A: You can post one WANTED per day; however, if you are searching for several similar items (such as a collection of books from a particular author) you may combine them in a single post. You may not repeat the same WANTED more than once a month.

Q: Why was another use able to post more than one WANTED in a day? A: Because s/he wasn’t on moderation, which means the emails go out as soon as they are sent in. If we catch it, we delete the offending wanted from the site and put the user back on moderation, but email, having been sent out, cannot be removed (however, responses will be returned to the sender, since the email address has been invalidated).

Q: What can I post as an OFFER? A: Anything that you think anyone else can use; with certain exceptions: No firearms, used cosmetics, pornography, or anything illegal. Nothing emailed (such as savings codes or MP3s). No copies of copyrighted material (you can offer previously-used media, such as recordable tapes, but they should not be listed as containing such-and-such a movie or album). No services. No promotions (e.g. buy one, get one free). There are also probably better outlets for motor vehicles (since you can likely get a tax deduction for a donation), but they are not forbidden.

Special note on safety equipment (e.g. child car seats, boosters, bike helmets): Child seats and helmets more than ten years old should be discarded (and some are designed to be thrown away even earlier than that – check the manufacturer’s website). If there is no manufacture date, assume it’s too old. Newer seats have expiration dates. Google the model number to check for recalls. Check for any damages to the underlying structure; it’s OK if the pad or cover is torn, but if there any cracks, it should be discarded.

Q: What can I post as a WANTED? A: Same restrictions as for offers, with the addition of no coupons. We also want to discourage the requesting of high-priced items that can be easily sold, such as iPods and iPhones. You may also not offer something in exchange or request to borrow an item. There are other groups for this.

One thing you should NOT do is offer “pity” stories explaining why you need the item. Freecycle is not a charity; a simple explanation of what you are looking for is all we need to see. If you need to expand on it somewhat to help describe what you’re looking for (e.g. for my eight year old daughter), that’s fine, but adding hard-luck stories will get you put on moderation.

Q: Can I OFFER broken or non-working items? A: Sure, but be sure to list them as such. If you are have not tested an item recently (“recently” meaning within the last week), do not assume that it still works. Electronic items with moving parts (and I’m thinking specifically of printers, VCRs, tape decks, and CD and DVD players) can deteriorate even when they’re not being used. Inkjet printer heads, especially Epson, have a tendency to clog when they’re not used for even a few weeks. Rubber belts can stretch and dry out with age. If you have only tested certain functionality (such as power on), please mention so. While you may think you are being generous by giving an item away, even one that turns out to be non-working, this is actually worse then just throwing it away, since you’ve wasted someone else’s time and gas, and now it’s THEIR responsibility to get rid of it.

Q: I receive the digest, and by the time I respond to an offer, it’s already been taken. A: This is the nature of receiving posting by digest. If you want to receive postings in a more timely manner, but don’t want them to appear in your regular email, you may want to change your subscription to individual emails, and then set up an email filter. For instructions, see below under “Why do Freecycle messages end up in my Spam filter?”

Q: Can I post a curb alert or say “First come, first served”? A: Because curb alerts can be a waste of users’ time and resources (e.g. gasoline), we do not allow them on Freecycle.

Q: What if I see something on the street that would be better off than thrown away? A: If you can, take it with you and offer it. Otherwise, put it up on the Craigslist “Free stuff” site.

Q: I’m uncomfortable having people in my house to take items. A: You can always leave it on your porch or driveway; just put it in such a place that the general public will not be tempted to take it.

Q: Why do Freecycle messages end up in my Spam filter? A: Because your email provider or email client has mistakenly determined that our emails look like spam. This is out of our control; however, you can fix it by setting up an email filter. Instructions:

Yahoo: From the Yahoo mail main page, click on Options, then choose “Mail Options”. In the left column, click “Filters”, then on the right side click “Create or edit filters”. Click “Add” In the “Filter name” box, enter “My Freecycle” Next to “From header:”, choose “contains”, and enter “freecycle.org” in the box to the right. Make sure “match case” is not checked. Underneath, where it says “Then…move the message to” choose “Inbox” (or another folder if you prefer) and click “Add filter”

Gmail: From the Gmail main page, click “Settings”, then “Filters” At the bottom of the page, click “Create a new filter” At the top of the next page, in the box labeled “From:”, enter “freecycle.org” and click “Next Step” Check “Never send it to Spam” and click “Create Filter”

Microsoft Outlook: From the main screen, click Tools->Rules and Alerts Click “New rule” Choose “Start from a blank rule”, then “Check messages when they arrive” and click Next. Check “With specific words in the sender’s address” In the bottom part of the window, click the highlighted text “specific words”, enter “freecycle.org”, then Add and OK. Click Next. Check “Move it to the specified folder”. In the lower part of the window, click the highlighted text “specified”, then choose your Inbox (or another folder, if you prefer) and click OK. Click Next. Enter a name for your new rule, such as “My Freecycle” and click Finish.