Chatham, UK

Welcome to Freecycle! (and Guidelines and Disclaimer)

Welcome to Freecycle! (and Guidelines & Disclaimer) This Freecycle.org Town group matches people who have things they need to get rid of with people who can use them. Our goal is to keep usable items out of the landfill. By using what we already have on this Earth, we reduce consumerism, manufacture fewer goods, and lessen the impact on the earth. Another benefit of using Freecycle.org is that it encourages us to get rid of junk that we no longer need and promotes community involvement in the process. Good luck, have fun & thank you for keeping good stuff out of the landfills! CHATHAM FREECYCLE GROUP GUIDELINES - THESE BUILD ON THE GENERAL FREECYCLE GUIDELINES ATTACHED BELOW GUIDELINES ON HOW TO USE CHATHAM FREECYCLE.ORG The aim of this group is to help people to safely give away objects they have no use of to others who would find them useful. The Moderators of the group use a “light touch” when approving posts but there have to be some rules so that it works safely and fairly for all. Please do read the notes below so that you are familiar with them and your posts – whether Offered or Wanted – go through quickly. Being Pleasant in Posts Please take a little time when composing your posts. They should be brief but not use all capital letters (some people view this as shouting). Being polite will make this site a positive, pleasant place for all. As it is an open “family-style” forum, people of all backgrounds, ages and opinions may read it so posts must be free of bad language and any opinions that might cause offence to others. The Moderators do reserve the right to refuse bad posts or ones that do not fit the ethos of Freecycle. You can find out more about this ethos on the “Etiquette / guidelines of Freecycle” page in our Admin area. Collecting Items If someone has been kind enough to offer you an item and to arrange and time and place for you to collect it, you should be polite about picking it up. A few members have felt very let down recently when they have waited for a collection, only for that person not to turn up and not make any contact. You should only reply to an Offer if you are sure that you want the item and that you can collect it as agreed. If, on the rare off-chance, there is a problem on your way to the collection point it is only polite to make contact to apologise. This will allow you to make alternative arrangements and get that item you desired. Wanted Posts Wanted posts can jog a memory of an abandoned item and allow it to be given a good home. However Freecycle is not a personal wish list to fully furnish a home at one swoop. Therefore we ask that Wanted Posts are kept to a minimum and that people do post Offers as well. This group limits WANTED posts to 2 per 7 day period (Monday – Sunday) with a limit of three items mentioned in each post. This count does include posts that are cancelled at some later point. Please do not provide a reason / hardship story with your wanted request because we like all our members to have an equal chance of getting the item that they require. Obviously if one member were to say “I am a single mum, short of cash, etc.”, this may be more appealing to someone with an item to donate than perhaps a member who simply requested an item. Sam Posts - Posts that Offer items if you pay Postage The vast majority of items offered are genuine items from generous people. However, on occasion there are scam offers that suggest that you will receive a high-quality item if you pay for the postage or courier costs. These are very likely to be bogus offers that will take your money and you will never receive anything. The Moderators do catch most of these but an occasional one might slip through. Please do not send any money for items - this is not what Freecycle is about. If it is not local enough to collect then the poster should not be offering it in our area. Freecycle never endorses other company so if you are offered a “good” rate from a courier to deliver something to you it is likely to be a scam artist who is only after your money. Please do not be taken in as Freecycle or the Moderators of this group can do nothing to help you get your money back. Email Addresses and Phone numbers For your own safety please do not include your phone number or your email address in your post. This is not necessary as members are able to get in touch with you using the "Reply to this post" link underneath your post. Moderators will remove any such personal information or may reject the post entirely. Animal Posts We do not allow post offering or wanting pets. This is because it is not possible to check the welfare of the animal properly and there are plenty of animal welfare charities and organizations available to offer help on this matter. Posts regarding frogspawn will not be accepted as this can cause disease. http://www.ypte.org.uk/animal/care-of-frogspawn-and-tadpoles/28 Car Boot Items,Bric-a-brac, Non-specific items We do not accept posts asking for non specific items, such as car boot items, bric a brac etc. as it is too general for people to respond to. Please make a post detailing the specific items that you are asking for. If you ask for a few things at a time in separate posts you have a better chance of receiving the items you are looking for. Please ensure that you make it clear that the items will be sold on for profit. You need to look at the guidance regarding Wanted posts. There is no difficulty for people offering items for ‘booting, bric-a-brac sales. Scrap Metal Posts This group does not accept wanted posts for scrap metal as we are not able to verify the legal registration status of members who request scrap metal. Medicines/ Food /Medical aids/Alcohol & Tobacco No drugs of any kind are to be posted on this site. This includes Prescription drugs and contact lenses. Food may be offered but please give use by/sell by date. If it is out of date you may still offer it to be used perhaps for something else other than human consumption. Alcohol and Tobacco products are not permitted. Fireworks /Gas Cylinders/ Weapons and other explosives Fireworks are not permitted as they are a restricted by law to adults over the age of 18. As Freecycle does not ask and cannot verify for its users to be over the age of 18, we cannot accept the risk of fireworks being requested by young people. Gas Cylinders (including Fire Extinguishers) containing compressed gases which may seem empty but may still contain some original content and therefore may be dangerous. And so Freecycle cannot allow them to be posted. Local Authorities and/or sellers of such gas cylinders will be able to advise where you can dispose of these safely. Soda Stream gas canisters are permitted. Petrol/Oil of any kind is not permitted. Weapons or knives cannot be offered for legal reasons and for safety concerns. This includes chef and kitchen knives as well as historical ornamental items e.g. samurai swords or WW1 bayonets or sports items such as Bows and arrows. Electronic Hardware / Software/ services Unlocked hardware such as games consoles and tv receivers are not allowed. Virgin Media Set Boxes Virgin Media Set Boxes always remain the property of Virgin Media so can not be offered. Unlocking software Software to help “unlock” any electrical items is not allowed. Copy DVDs /Videos are not permitted as films are copyrighted and this is illegal. Original DVDs/Videos can be offered. Thank you for helping us administer this site – saving the planet, one item at a time. The Chatham Moderating Team. Here are the basic Freecycle guidelines: 1. KEEP IT FREE, LEGAL & APPROPRIATE FOR ALL AGES. This means, for example: - No alcohol, tobacco, firearms or other weapons, profanity or sexual content, medications (of any kind, including over-the-counter supplements, vitamins, etc.); - Never send money for anything offered on Freecycle (this includes money for shipping/couriers); - All copyrighted material must be the original media; - In local Town groups that allow resale, full disclosure of intent to resell must be disclosed up front; - No unregistered waste carriers [UK only]. 2. WANTED POSTS ARE TO BE USED SPARINGLY. Numerical limits on Wanted posts vary by local Town group. 3. NO POLITICS, NO SPAM, NO MONEY, NO PERSONAL ATTACKS/RUDENESS OR PROSELYTIZING. 4. NO SWAPS/TRADING PLEASE. Go to your local swap/trading organization for this. It can be quite fun. 5. NO PERSONAL ADS. Posting oneself or another person from the human species is not allowed. There are many fine Internet dating sites better suited to this purpose. 6. NO POSTS ABOUT ANIMALS FOR BREEDING OR FOOD PURPOSES. Beyond this, some Town groups do allow non-breeding-related posts to find new homes for pets, but ask that it be kept legal and lovingly careful. Other Town groups prefer not to allow pet postings. 7. BE NICE. A brief note on Freecycle etiquette: we are all volunteers and we've got a great little community here so when you arrange to pick up an item from another Freecycle member, it is basic good manners to accommodate them as much as possible in terms of scheduling, and then be punctual; they are, after all, giving you something you need and asking nothing in return except that you will show up when you say you will. Also, unless the giver tells you otherwise, assume that they would like you to come by as soon as you can to take away the item. PICK UP. Arrange as you like. Generally, you'll wait until you get a handful of responses or maybe overnight, and then you can pick whomever you like! That's half the fun. Consider giving your starving local charity preference if one should respond. Arrange pickup with one person only, rather than "It's on the porch, whoever gets here first gets it." Otherwise you'll become unpopular pretty quickly with your fellow Freecycle members. Also, only give your phone number to one person at a time or ask for the recipient's phone number. Otherwise you'll get swamped with phone calls. DISCLAIMER. FREECYCLE(R) NETWORK MEMBERS USE THE LIST AT THEIR OWN RISK. Please take reasonable measures to protect your safety and privacy when posting to the list or participating in an exchange. By joining the list, you agree to hold neither the list owners, moderators nor anyone affiliated with Freecycle.org responsible or liable for any circumstance resulting from a Freecycle-related exchange or communication. SAFETY. Be aware! It is up to each individual member of Freecycle when arranging for pickup of the item being given away to be appropriately aware of the potential risk of having "a stranger" come to your home to pick something up. Freecycle as an organization assumes no responsibility for this risk. If you, for example, are living alone, you may want to say that you'll leave the item on the front porch while you are not home or arrange for a drop-off at a public place. That should just about do it. Thank you for being a part of The Freecycle Network! Regards, Your local Freecycle.org Moderators ------------------ Copyright ©2003 The Freecycle Network. All rights reserved. Freecycle and the Freecycle logo are trademarks of The Freecycle Network in various countries.