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AIBU?

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Original poster

to be annoyed at freecycle admins

51 replies

tjacksonpfc · 14/09/2007 10:44

is it just me or am i actually being unresanoble ive been going on freecycle for about a year and ive got rid of loads of stuff on there including a £300 cot and £150 worth of cot bedding. this morning i put my washing machine on and it flooded my kitchen its been on its way out for a while so i thought i would put a wanted ad on freecycle to see if anyone has one that they no longer need. recently on freecycle there has been a lot of posts for laptops and they have put things like there kids need it for school or that they need a widescreen tv as theres is to small for them and they are claiming benefits so cant afford a huge telly.

i put on it that i urgently need a washing machine as mine had just flooded my kitchen ive got to dcs under 3 and cant afford to go out and buy a new one at the mo i dont care how old it is but i am willing to travel to get it. i have just had an email back from the admin say that she wouldnt approve my sob story post and the idea of freecycle is to offer stuff aswell. now i have never asked for things on freecycle before. when i told her i had offered things before she said it wasnt much as i was asking for a washing machine after all. her whole manor was degrading now is it just me being over sensitive or aibu.

sorry ive seen seen the length of the post

OP posts:
Lorayn · 14/09/2007 17:33

ha, just logged in to check my freecycle messages and someone is asking for a washing machine, not the OP is iit??
lac0911???

curiouscat · 14/09/2007 19:45

Hi Lorayn, I did approve a recent wanted post for a washing machine. I don't begrudge whoever gets one this way, I just feel it's a fine line between asking for reasonable things or not.

Freecycle rules say don't ask for something we'd all like, like a diamond ring. But where to draw the line? Our group had to have a moratorium on laptop requests because we got so many of them. What about mobiles? Ipods?

Regular members hate being scammed and we mods have to watch out for sellers on etc. We may not get it right all the time but we face this dilemma daily and one person's washing machine is another person's diamond ring perhaps.

I'd be interested to hear if any freecycle members would like to ban wanted posts or are happy to see them frequently or not. It's really up to local groups to decide their own policies.

Original poster
tjacksonpfc · 14/09/2007 20:57

loryan in south wilts

OP posts:
Original poster
tjacksonpfc · 14/09/2007 20:58

im sorry courous but its that type of atitude from the mods that makes people stop using freectcle to come on to a site and say something and be told to stop moaning not really helpful is it.

OP posts:
Bouncingturtle · 14/09/2007 21:04

Especially when you let through Wants such as colour laser printers and TFT monitors!! Both of these have been posted on my local Freecycle group,

3andnomore · 14/09/2007 21:07

that is disgusting treatment...grrrrrrrr.....try a near by freecycle....also, do complain to them and make sure you tell them what you told us...

3andnomore · 14/09/2007 21:08

Oh and we had things wanted things like flat screen HD TV. laptops, and such put through..

curiouscat · 14/09/2007 21:44

tjackson you're right of course I'm grateful for all members and they can moan about anything they want without me jumping down their throats. Sorry to the OP if it looked like that. I see some other posters agree with me that there are too many extravagant wanted posts which spoil the sites.

BUT there are hundreds of freecycle groups, tens of thousands of members, and just because the OP had a bad experience doesn't mean all moderators are control freaks etc. We're all on the same side, trying to reduce landfill at the end of the day.

I kept quiet when freecycle was slagged off on another thread this week but this time felt I should defend freecycle to restore some balance

MerlinsBeard · 14/09/2007 21:49

some of the wanted things look like a shopping list tbhough you have to agree.

tbh though it sounds as if its the fact you put so much story in your request not your request itself thats the problem.

From their POV anyone can make up a story - doesn't mean its true iyswim?

curiouscat · 14/09/2007 21:55

yes mumofm I agree. Worse than that we mods often see people who join a group and the same day post a load of wanteds. They often join several groups at once but we can usually suss them out and ban them.

3andnomore · 14/09/2007 22:09

Oh I like to point out that through freecycle I have received loads of useful items..but as not all people that posted a wated alsompost a received, and possisble give the name of...it could possibly look like some people just take, whielst thye are also giving, just not offering...

WendyWeber · 14/09/2007 22:29

curiouscat & Paddington, I recently tried to post a "Received - thanks" notice, for something I'd picked up from an Offer, and was ticked off and had the post removed because "Received is only for Wanted ads, when something's been taken from an Offer it's just up to the donor to post a Taken"

Well excuse me!

Now is it me or is that an utter jobsworth?

3andnomore · 14/09/2007 22:33

indeed, if it was an offer you bagged the person that offered it would place a taken, or shoud...only if you placed a wabnted and received should you put a received on

WendyWeber · 14/09/2007 23:36

Why? That's an etiquette step too far for me. It's just petty to say you're only allowed to post a thank you when it's something you've asked for.

Monkeytrousers · 14/09/2007 23:53

yes, you are being unreasonable. Freecycle is abotu making an effort about many things - you are felling back on the expectation that you won't be inconveniebced at all about anything. With respect - suck it up and get on with it.

Monkeytrousers · 14/09/2007 23:54

falling back

Original poster
tjacksonpfc · 15/09/2007 07:43

i was getting at you personally curious cat i know how hard it can be ive been involved in running and organising groups before myself (notfreecycle) and i no what a thankless job it can be what got to me is that they have put through request for widscreen hd tvs laptops things like that which i persoanlly consider luxory items and yet something which is a nessity especially when you have youg kids doesnt get put through i just cant see the justice in it.

OP posts:
Paddington64 · 15/09/2007 09:26

WW Received only being for wanted ads is a ridiculous rule. On my site we don't put 'received' on cos noone ever sends one in!! My members only seem to post 'taken' when they're still getting loads of emails after the item has already gone. Suits me cos I have less messages to trawl through and read. The only messages I reject are the ones that we get that could cause offence (and we get many of them). If I think there's a problem with a message I always contact the sender and we mutually agree what goes on the site. I have heard many 'horror' stories though about Owners and Mods, thus the only Moderator I have is my husband! Easier to control!!

Lorayn · 15/09/2007 11:18

I had a recent freecycler post a wanted 'help' ad. They thne went on to say they were an illegal immigrant and could not return to the country without a 'sponsor' ie fiancee or wife.
Surely that IS taking freecycle too far?
BTW curiouscat, I understand that you need to moderate posts, and think its good that people do this job, I'm just saying it seems some mods let through stupid requests when not letting through reasonable ones.

Boredveryverybored · 15/09/2007 11:23

It really is a shame that you're nowhere near me, I have a machine that works perfectly only a few years old but is no longer needed and I can't bloody well get rid if the thing!

3andnomore · 15/09/2007 19:39

well, tehre is no stopping you saying thank you to the person you got it from vial personal e-mail...it's because the groups are very busy often and it is to keep the volume free from unecessary posts, iykwim...

3andnomore · 15/09/2007 19:44

btw...I actually got cross wiht my freecycle mods at one point, I was posting a wanted message on my most local, but relatively unbusy site and the busier one whihc I originally joined , which had branched out, iykwim...and I was refused unless my request didn't get any replys, then I was allowed to post it on the other site too...the reason I got miffed was, that plenty of people do that, and can seemingly do it, whilest my request was rejected...
in the end it wasn't an issue...just annoyed me at the time...

Flamesparrow · 15/09/2007 20:01

Lots of people offer washing machines on ours.

I have had my messages "cut to remove chat" , surely that could have been done with yours to remove the "sob story".

I get really narked when "multiple messages combined" and it then says "Offered - Various" - I don't WANT to trawl through a list of things offered, I would rather have many more emails to look at and be able to see from the title what is on offer/wanted than have to open the bloody things each time.

(Best to ignore me tonight, I'm in a "whole world is shit" mood)

milliec · 15/09/2007 20:57

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