Best Practice Notes

This page gives further explanation and information about the agreed Best Practice we have for running Freegle communities.

Background

Freegle promotes reuse. In doing this we:

1. Keep goods that still have life in them out of the waste stream.
2. Promote community spirit by sharing between local people.
3. Provide people with an opportunity to help the environment.
4. Look after each other as volunteers by offering support if needed.

We want to do all this as well as we can, so we need to make sure that using Freegle is as quick, easy and enjoyable as possible for us and our members.

Many of us started our communities several years ago. Reuse was a brand new idea in 2003, and the rules and ways of working that evolved then were aimed at keeping communities safe from possible problems, at a time when we didn't know much about how people behaved online. Since then, internet use has increased substantially and we've learned a lot more about online behaviour. Members now expect to be able to do things very quickly, and there are many other ways to reuse items via the internet. We know that if a Freegler hits a barrier, they're likely to be put off using us, so we need to strike a balance between "protecting" and making our communities welcoming for members.

Experience shows that restrictive rules are a barrier to thriving, so all volunteers should think carefully about these best practice suggestions.

Our Aims outlines what Freegle and its volunteers can expect of each other. The intent is to support Freegle and members, and to safeguard our reputation. All the advice below sits within the context of the local rules communities are allowed to set.

Emergency arrangements

To safeguard your community and give you peace of mind, have backup arrangements in place.

• Make sure all of your volunteer team know they can contact Mentors to get some help - email mentors@ilovefreegle.org.
• Exchange contact information with your chosen other volunteers, locally and/or nationally, in case of crisis.

Consider:

• We don't want all your hard work to go to waste - maintaining service for your members is important for them and for you.
• Volunteers with moderator status don't all have to be active moderators (there's a ModTools setting for active or backup status), so having a team for your community is sensible.
• Making sure all volunteers know they can contact Mentors, or your chosen contacts, means there's somewhere to turn to in a difficult situation.
• All volunteers are encouraged to join Central and other national discussion groups, so please do! It's the easiest way to communicate with other volunteers around the UK and to ask for help.

First impressions

Home pages (Freegle website, Facebook etc.) should be welcoming and quick and easy to read. Every website homepage should have a logo or local picture, a tagline, a welcoming message and, optionally, local rules. To do this, go to Settings in ModTools (see ModTools#Getting_Set_Up for more).

Consider:

• Your homepage content is yours to design, to emphasise the local nature of your community and give it a personal feel.
• Keeping your homepages up to date keeps your current members interested, so review them regularly.
• The Mentors or Support team can help you update your homepage(s) - email mentors@ilovefreegle.org or support@ilovefreegle.org.

New Freeglers need an easy start

• Ensure all posts, especially first posts, are dealt with swiftly and sympathetically.
• Don't overwhelm members with lots of admin emails.

Consider:

• The less time and fewer hoops a new Freegler needs to use your community, the more likely they are to become a contributing member.
• New member moderation will pick up spammers and any misposts.
• No-one likes to be told off or have their first efforts fail, so avoid rejecting first posts. Advise kindly how to edit, amend the post to suit if possible, and only reject as a last resort, accompanied by a friendly email explaining why. See 'Avoid rejecting messages' below for more.
• If you must question new members (but please don't!), don't send long questionnaires or request personal information, as that can be very off-putting. See Data Protection Guidelines#Guidelines_for_Volunteer_Moderators for legal guidance on personal information.

Quick posting

Ideally, moderate messages at least every few hours. Put members who post correctly onto unmoderated status in Group Settings.

Consider:

• Messages posted promptly on your message board are good for the person posting and for those who respond.
• The fewer members on moderation, the less time you spend moderating.
• Moderating once a day is the absolute minimum for a community to thrive.
• You can trust your members - you can always put them back on moderation if they slip up.
• The fewer obstacles in the way of speedy messaging, the more reuse of items you'll enable.
• Your team can have confidence your community is efficient, with moderation happening throughout the day, which you can support with a rota or system.
• Help is available - Mentors are on hand for holiday and emergency help: mentors@ilovefreegle.org.

Simple and minimal rules

Keep rules short and to the point. Apply them fairly, always politely, and with flexibility where appropriate. Your community's rules are for your community only - it's not acceptable to try to enforce them on other communities, such as asking a member to leave another community.

ModTools has a place to record your rules (Settings > Community > Rules). This triggers reminders to members, as they fill in a posting form, of what your rules are, so they can amend the post themselves before publishing.

Consider:

• The fewer rules you impose, the less work it is for you to moderate.
• No-one is keen on reading or remembering lots of rules, so too many just means your members don't know what they are - unless you've listed them in ModTools (above).
• The Disclaimer statement covers legality and safety, so there's no need to duplicate that with a long list of items - but if there are particular items your community disallows (e.g. live creatures, weapons), include them in your rules.
• Review your rules regularly, to make sure members are being sent up-to-date information and your team is still in agreement with them.
• The fewer barriers in place for people to reuse items, the more effective we are.

Don't knock enthusiasm

It isn't an indication of ill intent if a member is a 'multi-joiner' or makes lots of requests. Freegle is about encouraging reuse, so people who are able to travel or need things aren't going against our aims. They don't need to be removed or restricted unless there's a very good reason to do so. Occasionally there will be people who exploit Freegle - but this is rare, and you should assume people are innocent and kind until proven guilty.

Consider:

• Keeping things local and helping those in need is great, but our main aim is saving resources by encouraging reuse without discrimination against those who are happy to do that.
• A lot of people travel widely in their usual pattern of work or socialising, so joining lots of communities isn't necessarily a sign of extra journeys.
• Asking for lots of things can mean someone is happy to reuse other people's items, not necessarily that they want to sell them.
• People with lots of thumbs up are offering a good service, not taking things away from others.
• Different areas might need different guidelines, but a relaxed approach can work better for getting freegling to happen, rather than restricting things too much.
• Look at the number and type of replies a member is making, rather than the number of communities they've joined, before making an assumption or decision about their intent.
• Members have their own idea of 'local', which probably doesn't match our Freegle areas.

'Wanted' posts are a good thing

Equally accept requests or offers as first and subsequent posts from members. Our primary purpose is to keep things in use, so members who reuse those items are essential for Freegle. Requests should be encouraged, with no restrictions on the number of wanted posts or number of items requested.

Consider:

For first posts, it's discriminatory to expect an offer first. For example, someone who has been homeless and has just got a flat has nothing to offer - would we want to exclude them?

• Extra hurdles, especially on a first post, can put a member off freegling altogether.
• It's very easy to fake an offer, or offer something silly, and get round an 'offer first' rule.
• It doesn't account for people who may have freegled elsewhere before moving to your area.
• It disregards new members who respond to other people's wanteds.

And generally:

• If someone occasionally gets a bit carried away with requests, that's better dealt with by a friendly quiet word than a rule.
• Some members prefer to answer a request for something rather than post it as an offer.
• Encouraging people to freegle can help them think about freegling in future when they have things to offer; receiving an item can be inspiring, and encourages subsequent offers.
• Wanted posts often remind people they have that item languishing unused, so they respond with an offer.
• People, including us, overestimate the number of Wanted posts. Most groups have more Offers than Wanteds - the ModTools dashboard gives up-to-date information on this.

Avoid rejecting messages

Avoid rejecting messages if possible. Members have made the effort to post a message, so unless it breaks a core rule (free and legal) or your group's rules, try not to reject it. Editing a message and, if needed, sending a friendly personal message to explain, works better in the long run.

Consider:

• Experience shows that members whose messages are rejected often don't post again. No-one likes being rejected, and some members will feel hurt at being told they haven't used the right words to offer their personal possessions. They may never consider freegling again.
• Personal, positive, friendly messages - thanking the poster and explaining exactly the issue and why your community has these guidelines - are more effective than sending out lists of rules.
• Editing messages, then sending a note afterwards to explain, helps the member get it right next time, and saves you time and your member hassle.

Impression of you and Freegle

We're providing a service that helps your members get in touch with each other to keep stuff out of the waste stream, so let's be good hosts.

Consider:

• Friendly, helpful messages are far more likely to get the response you want.
• No-one enjoys, or can be bothered, reading long messages, so keep things brief.
• English may not be the first language for some of your members, so clear, straightforward messages make it easier for them to understand.
• Members are freegling, which is what we want! Don't tell them off or make accusations - always explain any decisions or rules kindly.
• Switching on ChitChat notifications in ModTools > Settings > Personal, and responding to members who post on ChitChat, can encourage participation.
• Events and volunteer requests are a useful service that can help build community cohesion.
• Review your standard messages regularly, to check they still come across the way you intend and give out relevant information. It may help to ask someone neutral to look at them, or to look at other groups' standard messages in ModTools. Contact Mentors at mentors@ilovefreegle.org if you need help with this.
• Signing off as "Freegle Volunteer" is probably friendlier than "Group Owner" or "Moderator", and reminds members you're a volunteer, not being paid to do this!
• Don't be anonymous - let your members know your first name.

Use the member website when you want to be a member. Use ModTools when you want to be a volunteer. Never use your position to unfairly obtain items being freegled on your community. It's not acceptable to hold onto messages while you reply, or to say you're a moderator or owner to gain an advantage. See Can I make use of freegle for more.

Member problems

Handling problems and complaints from members is tricky. Finding the balance between running your community the way you'd like it run and the way members would like you to run it isn't always easy, but it's important to get right.

Consider:

• How problems are handled reflects on Freegle, locally and nationally.
• The adage "the customer is always right" has a lot of merit - try to see things from their perspective.
• Staying calm and polite is the most effective way to resolve situations. Wait a while and reread a message before pressing "send"!
• There's lots of advice in the wiki, compiled by experienced Freegle volunteers, on dealing with issues and complaints. See How To Deal With and Member Complaints.

Use tools/services to make it easier to run or use your community

Take up some or all of the helpful tools and services Freegle makes available to you and your members.

Consider:

• Switch Trash Nothing integration "on" (ModTools > Settings > Community > Status) to attract more members.
• A growing number of internet users browse via their phones - enabling and promoting the Freegle app will be appreciated by your members.
• Set moderator notifications as frequently as you can manage (ModTools > Settings > Personal), so work doesn't pile up.
• Polite and helpful responses from the volunteer team make your members feel valued - try to reply to emails to the volunteers address within 24 hours.

Ask for help

You're not alone. All Freegle volunteers are in this together - we have a shared mission, so take advantage of others' experience, friendship and advice.

Consider: experience shows that sharing a problem, solutions and ideas is good for you and for others. Consider consulting and contributing to the following national groups and helplines:

• Discourse

This is the platform used to host national discussion groups. All volunteers are strongly encouraged to get actively involved on Discourse. This is where you can read about things that concern other volunteers and pick up valuable knowledge for yourself. You can ask questions about anything you're not sure of or find confusing - there will nearly always be someone who can help, or point you towards where you can find help.

• Freegle Central

Sharing experience, information and helping each other on a range of issues - http://freegle.in/Central

• Tech and ModTools Group

Help with problems or questions - https://freegle.in/Tech

• Support mailbox

Help with general problems or questions, particularly techy stuff! Email support@ilovefreegle.org.

• Mentor Group

One-to-one help from experienced volunteers for new communities, and assistance for struggling communities and volunteers - email mentors@ilovefreegle.org.

• Info mailbox

info@ilovefreegle.org - staffed not by experts, but by friendly people who usually know who to ask!

• Freegle Wiki

Full of useful information on all aspects of running your community, publicity tips and how you can help Freegle nationally - http://wiki.ilovefreegle.org/

• Rock Cafe

A place to chat and share with other volunteers around the UK - http://freegle.in/Cafe

• Development Group

Join this group for discussions and to help put into place ideas on how we can grow, thrive and make a difference nationally - http://freegle.in/Development

• Funding Group

A place to ask for help and share experience of getting local and national funding - http://freegle.in/Funding

• Local Mods Group

If you have a local mods group, join it. If there isn't one, why not encourage your neighbouring volunteers to set one up, so you can work and share together?

Publicise your community

The more people who know about your community, the better it will be for freegling. Make use of national publicity tools to spread the word and get more members.

Consider:

• Use publicity features in ModTools to share posts on Facebook.
• Follow local reuse and environment sites, and other reuse/recycling sites, and share their posts on Facebook.
• Order and use Freegle Business Cards.
• Regularly read Central for ideas and information, and to share your own successes or suggestions.
• Check Promotion for ideas.

Supporting Freegle

Freegle is run collectively by all of us, so make sure you're involved and informed about Freegle nationally.

Consider:

• At least one volunteer for each community must be a member of Freegle Central, though preferably more than one (see Freegle Aims).
• All volunteers signed up to ModTools with Owner or Moderator status automatically get access to the Discourse platform, where all the central discussion groups are hosted - click "Us" in the top menu bar. All volunteers are strongly encouraged to get actively involved on Discourse: read, join in discussions, or ask for help on any of the groups. You can see some current discussion threads on the ModTools Dashboard page (click any of them to see the whole topic).
• Help make decisions about the future of Freegle by becoming a Member of Freegle - see the Invitation to Membership application form at http://freegle.it/JoinFreegleLtd. We're proud of our inclusive, open governance, and becoming a Member supports that ethos.
• Offer some time to help with the national work of running Freegle - email volunteers@ilovefreegle.org for information.

Get to know other Freegle volunteers

Chatting to other Freegle volunteers can help put a face to people, and helps establish better rapport for the good times and the bad.

Consider:

• All of us are jolly nice.
• It's more enjoyable than you might think.
• It's easier to relate to people online once you've met or chatted to them.
• There are easy ways to do this:
  • Freegle Rock, a social chat group for all national volunteers - http://discourse.ilovefreegle.org/c/cafe/
  • Freestock, an annual (except in lockdowns!) summer meet-up for Freegle volunteers, families and friends.
  • Attending, or even organising, a meet-up of your local communities and fellow volunteers - face to face or online, either is good.

Links

• Running Your Local Community
• Best Practice
• Our Aims