I just got banned from freecycle

[myntik1]

I'm not trying to start a war since I know a couple of people on here are freecycle mods.  Are the rules of freecycle so set in stone that they can only be changed by an act of god?  Since I moved I've used this new freecylcle group about 3 times in the last year.  The other group I was in seemed a bit more lax (see below). Obviously I can't conform to freecycle rules and it lead to a couple of harsh emails between me and one of the mods.

I originally thought that my ad was not approved because I used a dash (-) instead of a colon (, but I guess the egregious error involved not putting WANTED in capital letters. Using lowercase letters was my undoing.

My subject line was this:
wanted - 13 inch CRT monitor (E Fpk)

I questioned why my ad wasn't approved and I rec'd a harsh response -
SUBJECT HEADING MUST BE IN CAPS, READ OUR GUIDELINES, WHICH ARE SENT
TO YOU WHEN YOU BECAME A MEMBER OF THIS GROUP, AND ARE SENT OUT EVERY
2 WEEKS AND EVERY MONTH, AND FOLLOW THEM

I responded in kind and was told that I am lucky that I wasn't banned.  I know being a mod is a non-paying gig that isn't very rewarding, but does it give you a right to ish on people who question their supreme power.  After a vent session I do believe my name now appears on the banned list.

[DaveMMR]

Not defending the mods (I haven't heard both sides) but I'm sure part of their frustration is that they have to explain the whole "read the guidelines" spiel more than a few times a day when people ask why they're ad isn't approved.

[Ummon]

They're just nazi mods over there. I don't think I'd last long as a mod, but I'm not that (or that kind of) strict. Create another yahoo account and you're in.

[AtomSmasher]

I think the mod just really likes capital letters.  I mean, look at his email to you, all caps.  If your response to him wasn't in all caps, then you probably offended him.  It's capital letters or nothing in his world.   

seriously though, it sounds like you were asking to be banned if you replied angrily to the mod.  They may be pointless rules, but it would of been easy enough to follow them and resubmit your wanted request with the subject in all caps.

[Havok]

Freecycle is ghey anyways.

 

[Singapura]

WTF is freecycle? Do they gove away free bicycles?

[CheffoJeffo]

Stop your fretting -- it's not like he asked you to fill the subject line with asterisks ...

[ChadTower]

That person just did a poor job of communicating via email.  Freecycle mods are often people who aren't netiquette savvy and very easily get into arguments with users.  I wouldn't have had an issue at all with your original posting.  Could easily be that person doesn't understand what an email of all caps actually means.

DaveMMR's point is valid, that we do have to point out the rules nearly every freakin' day, but just because some users are dumb doesn't mean every user needs to be treated as such.  It's bad management to start right off the bat treating someone badly.  With a large group of nontechnical users you really have to use kid gloves on your wording and use lots of smileys.

Ummon's suggestion will work if you want back on.  There is no way for Freecycle mods to actually validate location or identity.

[TOK]

WTF is freecycle? Do they gove away free bicycles?

Its a place where you get suckers to take the trash the trashmen won't pick up, like old car tires.

[TOK]

Oh one other thing... I think the people that take the stuff get around the trashman part by actually eating the old tires, barbecue grills and half empty paint cans. Thats how it appeared in my short but frightening experience with Freecycle inhabitants/mutants. 

[Ginsu Victim]

I was banned pretty much the moment I signed up. As soon as I could post, I did. Right after I posted what I was looking for, I received the rules, sent to an email account I forgot I even had. I tried to log in a short while later and it said I was banned. (Obviously because I had no idea how strict their rules about posting were.)

Nazis.

[ChadTower]

That doesn't make sense.

1)  The rules are sent to the address from which you signed up... so if you forgot about that address it must have been immediately as they are sent out by the system when your membership is approved.

2)  You can't make postings from emails that aren't signed up, so either you were signed up multiple times, or it wasn't a different address.

3)  There is no logging in to Freecycle.  It uses Yahoo Groups.

[protokatie]

WANTED - 13 INCH CRT MONITOR (E FPK)

Would that have worked?

[myntik1]

I think it would have worked.

I can't believe I got into an e-beef with someone over something so stupid.  I just checked my old emails and I guess the others mods aren't as conforming to the rules as this mod was since they've accepted the following items

offered: assorted moving boxes (efpk)

offered: queen sized box spring (efpk/16acres)

offered: older working microwave (efpk)

offered: enormous workbench and (3) 4/8 pieces of masonite wood paneling (EFPK)

My main rant centered around my belief that the spirit of freecycle is often violated in my area.  I see people looking for video game systems, work vans, staging so a guy can start up his own painting business, etc.  These are things worth money if resold.  These aren't items that wouldn't normally wind up in a landfill.  And this is my opinion - the mods should probably spend more time feretting out those requests from people continually looking for a $ item than harassing a guy over a simple formatting issue who's looking for something with no real value that will take up space in a landfill.

If the mod came back and let me know that it was because WANTED wasn't in capital letters I would have thanked him and adjusted my message.  Because he replied like he did I let him know how I felt about my local freecycle.  It's a dead issue at this point.

[DrewKaree]

That was a crap reason to ban you, and IMO, from someone who enjoys lording their power over others.  I've denied posts from people.  I've deleted posts from people.  They could have easily just deleted your message, forcing you to repost, if they couldn't be bothered to deal with your original posting.

That's beside the point though.  That was a pedantic reason to deny your post, and following such idiotic "rules" doesn't add a THING to the group.  I've recently set up my group, and the only things I've denied postings for (and pointed out that I would allow if they were addressed) were exactly what you pointed out - just last week, I had some idiot post a "Wanted" for round-trip airline tickets to Seattle (from WI).  Really, idiot?  You expect there just might be someone who had round-trip to Seattle tickets, and just happened to not have a need for them, AND want to give them away for free? 

I've also denied the "begging" posts where the people want to give every reason under the sun that you should find it in your heart to help them (My kid is retarded, I'm a single mom with eleventy kids, incurable hangnails, my second car has tires that will only last another 12,000 miles, etc), and doing so to those few beggars seemed to stop the flow of items needed to police.

That doesn't make sense.

1)  The rules are sent to the address from which you signed up... so if you forgot about that address it must have been immediately as they are sent out by the system when your membership is approved.

In fact, I was forced to set it up to send out the rules when someone first applied, and again as a "welcome" package after someone's accepted. 

[ChadTower]

Pretty much the only items I reject are animals and stuff that would never end up in a landfill.  Stuff like Netflix promotional codes.  I have seen very few of the mega-sob story emails Drew is talking about though I have seen them on other lists.  By far the most consistent problem my list has is people trying to post animals and then getting obstinate when I won't allow it.  I think the only issue I've had in the past couple of months (and my list has over 1000 members) is one person who applied over a long weekend and started sending me angry emails when I didn't approve their membership within 24 hours.  I was in the mountains of NH.  Sorry, lady, we have lives too.

[Ginsu Victim]

That doesn't make sense.

1)  The rules are sent to the address from which you signed up... so if you forgot about that address it must have been immediately as they are sent out by the system when your membership is approved.

2)  You can't make postings from emails that aren't signed up, so either you were signed up multiple times, or it wasn't a different address.

3)  There is no logging in to Freecycle.  It uses Yahoo Groups.

Here's the deal. I used to have an SBC-Yahoo email address, and when I changed service providers, I lost access to the email account. However, I could still log onto Yahoo using the account name and pass, only I didn't have the email account. Well, somehow I had a new account without access to the old email, yet new email was going to it. (You should've seen the junk folder!) I wasn't expecting the email to go it, because I didn't think I had access. (Plus, I wasn't expecting a lengthy list of rules. I was able to post, so I posted. I didn't know the freecycle reputation at that point.)

[Ummon]

We get all kinds of people offering pets here. And we get the sob 'wanteds'. Whatever.

[myntik1]

I fully realize I'm being a little ---smurfette--- by reviving this age old thread but I was clearing out my mailbox that my freecycle messages got sent to.  I thought I would share a few from the Springfield, MA group

WANTED: Conversion Van w/ Wheelchair Lift; Springfield

I'd like to have a Conversion Van that has a Wheelchair Lift. Needs to
be in operable condition.

WANTED: (2) Electric Dryers - WL, CT
Looking for two electric dryers, one for a family member and the other for a friend of the family.

WANTED: Broken stamped 10K/14K gold for recycle SPRINGFIELD
I am looking for broken or useless 10k/14k stamped gold bracelets,
necklaces, rings, earrings etc. If they are just sitting around and
you don't want or need them I will recycle them. Thank you.

[ChadTower]

Oh man, I remember the arguments on the MA mod lists regarding Springfield... not only was the list full of problems but the mods were problematic too.  It was so bad I gave up on the mod list as a whole since it was all infighting and crap talking about members who could not see the list.  Springfield is definitely not representative of the average Freecycle list.

[SavannahLion]

I've also denied the "begging" posts where the people want to give every reason under the sun that you should find it in your heart to help them (My kid is retarded, I'm a single mom with eleventy kids, incurable hangnails, my second car has tires that will only last another 12,000 miles, etc), and doing so to those few beggars seemed to stop the flow of items needed to police.

That is the exact reason why I quit using FreeCycle (that and the damn system never seems to keep me logged in on the same PC). It it's bad enough when FC is flooded with "WANTED" or "NEED" postings but it's near intolerable when they're filled with postings like what myntik1 describes. Requests for big screen TVs, fully working cabinets, automobiles.

Problem is, Craigs is starting to get those idiots as well. Someone actually asked for a working Mustang... for free. 

[Ummon]

(that and the damn system never seems to keep me logged in on the same PC).

It's yahoo groups. They only log you in for two weeks at a time, and you have to make sure that option is checked...although that can also get bounced by your modem, for example if you turn it off for very long, as your IP address resets.