PhillyFreecycle
FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions)

If there’s a question we haven’t covered here, please send us, the moderators, an email.

Are there basic guidelines for posting to this group?

• Keep the posts free, legal and suitable for all ages
• No politics
• No spam
• No trading
• No advertisements
• No information requests
• No service requests

Begin SUBJECT with a heading (either OFFER, WANTED, TAKEN or FOUND) and a general location along with the item. Incorrectly formatted messages may be rejected by the moderators. PENDING is not a valid heading, please only post TAKEN. If the pickup falls through, you can offer it to others that contacted you, or you can post the OFFER again.

How do I offer something?

Specify your offer & location on the subject line. Elaborate, if needed, within the message body. Omit personal contact info from this message, as thousands of Philadelphians will see this!

OFFER: area rug / Mt Airy

How do I decide who to give to when I've got multiple responses?

1. keep a list of all interested parties
2. put up a TAKEN post - see below
3. email whichever one is your first choice. You might pick someone close by, a non-profit, someone you know, or any other criteria.
4. if arrangements with that person fall through, such as they're a no-show, offer it to the next person.
5. if all fails, repost.

How do I stop people from asking about something I've offered and already given away?

A quick post with 'TAKEN: area rug' on the Subject line. Note that this is only to be posted by the original OFFERer. If the pickup falls through, you can offer it to others that contacted you, or you can post the OFFER again. A 'PENDING: area rug' is NOT valid.

How do I respond to an offer?

Reply to the original post via private email to coordinate pickup time and location. You can send the email either thru the group's website, or your email client.

How do I ask for something?

Specify what you want and your location on the subject line
WANTED: old shoes / Mt Airy

And when I've got what I wanted?

A quick post with 'FOUND: old shoes' on the Subject line will suffice

Why should I list my location on a post?

Since PhillyFreecycle is primarily an environmental group, we'd like to promote less driving and more walking, especially for smaller items. Though you may be willing to drive, please keep in mind that in a city, not everyone needs or has access to a car. We've also noticed that people are more inclined to make contact if it's a neighbor or someone nearby. Giving directions is easier as well!

And when I've got ideas & comments to share?

An email titled 'ADMIN: new idea' on the Subject line, sent directly to the team of volunteer moderators (phillyfreecycle-owner@yahoogroups.com) standing by!

How can I manage all this mail I'm now getting?

• Create a separate email folder and automatically have [phillyfreecycle] messages go to it. See the next item for specific help with Yahoo Mail.
• Click on 'Edit My Membership' and set 'Message Delivery' to 'Daily Digest' or 'Web Only'

How can I create a folder in my Yahoo email to have responses sent directly there?

• Login to Yahoo! Mail. 
• On the left-hand side of the window, you will see a list of Folders -- Inbox, Draft, Sent, Bulk, Trash -- and any that you create. Next to 'Folder' it says 'Add - Edit' so you click on Add to create a Freecycle folder. When you click on Add, and a small window opens up asking you for a name for your folder -- you can name it whatever you want as appropriate for the filter you are creating, but I named mine PhillyFreecycle. It creates this new folder instantly and adds it below under 'My Folders' right below the list of standard folders. 
• Next, you go to 'Mail Options' in the upper right hand corner (it displays 'What's new - Mail Upgrades - Mail Options' right below the Search the web/ mail home/mail tutorials/help.) On the 'Mail Options' page you want to go to 'Filters' which is in the left hand column which lists 'Spam protection, anti-spam resource center, block addresses, Filters.' So you click 'Filters' it opens up a new page with two windows.. and buttons which say "Add, Edit, Delete" -- you, of course, click on Add which opens up another page asking for a filter name and sets up a few types of rules to help it filter. For mine, I called my filter name PhillyFreecycle and then where it says subject -- I put 'contains' then 'freecycle' in the blank box. Where it says 'Then... Move the message to:' you of course choose the PhillyFreecycle (or whatever you called it) folder that you created earlier. Once you are done, you click 'Add Filter' and it is done! Under this rule, any email with a subject line that has the word 'freecycle' in it, will be filtered to this folder. It might or might not capture any correspondence you have with people about a Freecycle item, depending upon how people edit their subject lines. It might also be different for other Freecycle lists, if they don't have Freecycle in the subject line. It appears that you are able to create up to 15 different filter rules on a free Yahoo! account.

Did you know you can search the message archives for a specific item or a post from a specific person?

From either the PhillyFreecycle Home page, or the Messages page, enter typewriter, then click on Search Archive. You may need to click on Next , but you'll see that there are two typewriters being offered... an electric one as well as a manual one!

Who is legally responsible if there's a problem during a transaction?

*** DISCLAIMER ***

FREECYCLE MEMBERS USE THE LIST AT THEIR OWN RISK. Please take reasonable measures to protect your safety &privacy when posting to the list, giving or receiving items. By joining and participating on this list, you agree to hold neither the list owners and moderators nor anyone affiliated with Freecycle.org responsible or liable for any circumstances resulting from a Freecycle-related exchange or communication.

SAFETY: Be aware! It is up to each individual member of Freecycle when arranging to give or receive an item, to be appropriately aware of the potential risk of having a stranger come to your home, or giving out personal contact information in a public setting. Freecycle as a listserve assumes no responsibility for this risk. It may be appropriate to leave an item outside for pickup or to meet a offerer/taker in a public location.

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Last modified: 4 Nov 2008