Best Practice Notes

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

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 were aimed at trying to keep communities safe from possible problems, and we didn't know much about how people behaved online. Since that time internet use has increased substantially and we have learned a lot more about online behaviour. There have been many developments which mean that members now expect to be able to do things very,very quickly. There are also many other ways now of reusing items via the internet. We now know that if a Freegler encounters barriers they are likely to be put off from 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.

The Freegle Volunteer Agreement outlines expectations of Freegle and Volunteers. The intent of this is to support Freegle and members, and to safeguard our reputation. All the advice below is within the context of the Basic Requirements of a Freegle Group#Local Rules.

Emergency arrangements

To safeguard your community, there needs to be back up arrangements in place, so

• Have at least two volunteers with owner status/full privileges.
• Make sure all of your Volunteer Team know they can contact Mentors to get some help - email mentors@ilovefreegle.org

Because:

• Having at least 2 volunteers with owner status/full privileges means if there is a problem with volunteer availability, all your hard work doesn’t goes to waste as service can be maintained for your members.
• Volunteers with owner status/full privileges don’t have to all be active moderators, they could be:
  • moderators
  • backup moderator - steps in and runs the community if there seems to be a problem
  • a volunteer who does other work in helping the community, eg publicity, tech etc.

• All the volunteer team should have the interests of the members as a priority, so should be competent enough to basically moderate messages and memberships, answer emails to the owner address and, most importantly, know who to contact in Freegle nationally if they need help.
• Making sure all volunteers know they can contact Mentors to get some help - email mentors@ilovefreegle.org - means you all know there is somewhere to turn in difficult situation. All volunteers can join Freegle Central so please come and join us! It is the easiest way to communicate with others around the UK and to ask for help.

First impressions

Your home pages (FD, Facebook etc.) should be welcoming, quick and easy to read and understand, Make sure you have set up the FD page with a logo, tagline, welcome message and local rules. To do this, go to Settings in FD.

Because:

• Your community is autonomous so your homepage content is your choice and helps to emphasise the community nature of your group by giving it a local feel.
• Keeping your home pages up to date also keeps your current members interested, so review regularly.
• There is help available:
  • 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

• Use open membership to keep your joining process as quick and simple as possible.
• Ensure all posts, especially first posts, are dealt with swiftly and sympathetically.
• Don’t overwhelm new members with lots of admin emails.

Because:

• The less time and work there is for a new Freegler to use your community, the more likely they will be a contributing member.
• Open membership with new members being moderated is an easier and more welcoming experience. Approving new members is an obstacle to participating - research by Freegle and elsewhere has proven that the more steps someone has to take to join and use a website the more likely they are to abandon doing it.
• New member moderation will pick up spammers, especially if you use ModTools.
• No-one likes to be told off or have their first efforts fail, so avoid rejecting first posts if you can, amend to suit if possible and only send them back as a last resort if accompanied by a kind and friendly email to say why.
• If you must approve members -- but please please don't! - do not send long questionnaires or request personal information as that can be very off-putting.

Quick posting

Ideally, moderation of messages needs to be at least every few hours . Put members who correctly format their messages on Group Settings (unmoderated) as soon as practicable for your team.

Because

• You will lessen the time you have to spend moderating.
• Messages will be posted more promptly on your message board, which is good for the person posting as well as those that respond.
• Moderating once a day is the absolute minimum for a community to survive.
• Members are adults, and you can always put them back on moderation if they slip up.
• The fewest obstacles put in the way of speedy messaging will enable the maximum items reused.
• Your team can have confidence that your community is efficient with moderation taking place throughout the day, which you can make happen by having a rota or system in place to support the aim to keep delays to a minimum.
• Help is available - Mentors are available for holiday/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 group rules are for your group only, it’s not acceptable to try to enforce your rules on other groups, such as asking your member to leave another group.

Because:

• 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 that your members don’t know what they are.
• The Disclaimer statement covers legality and safety, so there is no need to duplicate that with a long list of items, but if there are particular items your group disallows (eg. live creatures, weapons) then include them in your rules.
• Review your rules regularly to make sure that 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.

‘Wanted’ posts are a good thing

As long as the post is legal and free, equally accept a wanted or an offer as a first post from members. People that want other’s unwanted stuff are essential for Freegle to work. Wanted requests should be encouraged and not overly restricted.

Because: (for Offer First):

• It's discriminatory to expect an offer first. For example, someone who has been homeless and just got a flat has nothing to offer - would we want to exclude them?
• Extra hurdles - especially on a first post - potentially stop all freegling by a member.
• It's very easy to fake an offer, or offer something silly, and get round an 'offer first' rule.
• It doesn't take into account people who may have freegled elsewhere before moving to your area.
• It disregards new member responses to other people's wanteds.

and (generally):

• Some members prefer to answer a request for something rather than place it as an offer on the group.
• Encouraging people to freegle should help them consider freegling in the future when they have things to offer; it can be inspiring to receive an item, so encourages subsequent offers.
• Wanted posts often remind people that they have that item languishing unused so will respond with an offer.
• People - including us - overestimate the number of Wanted posts. Most groups have more Offers than Wanteds.

Avoid rejecting messages

Avoid rejecting messages if possible. Members have made the effort to post a message, so unless it contravenes core rules (free and legal), try not to reject it. Editing a message and, if needed, sending a friendly personal message to the member to explain the rules, will be more effective in the long run.

Because:

• Experience has shown that members who post messages that are rejected often do not post again. No one likes to be rejected and some members will feel hurt at being told they have not used the right words to offer their personal possessions. They may never consider freegling again.
• Personal, positive messages, thanking the poster, explaining exactly which rules a member has broken and why your community has these rules are more effective than sending out lists of rules.
• Editing subject lines of messages, then sending a note afterwards to help the member get it right next time, saves you time and your member hassle.

Impression of you and Freegle

You are providing a service which is helping your members get in touch with one another to keep stuff out of the waste stream, so be a good host.

Because:

• 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 will make it easier for them to understand.
• Members are freegling, which is what we want! Don’t tell them off or make accusations, explain any decisions or rules kindly.
• Reviewing your standard messages regularly to see how they come across will make sure you are giving out relevant information. It may help to ask someone neutral to help or look at other Standard Messages in Modtools. Contact Mentors mentors@ilovefreegle.org. if you need help with this.
• Signing off as “Freegle Volunteer” is nicer than “Group Owner” or “Moderator” and please don’t be anonymous – let your member know your first name.

Member problems

Handling problems and complaints from members can be one of the trickiest jobs for a moderator.
Finding the balance between running the group how you would like it to be run and how members would like you to run the group is not always easy but is important to do well.

Because:

How problems are handled is a reflection on Freegle locally and nationally. There is a wealth of advice in the Wiki that has been compiled by experienced Freegle moderators on dealing with issues and complaints. See How_To_Deal_With and Member Complaints.

Don’t lose potential Freeglers

Make it quick and easy for new members to join Freegle and start freegling. And make new members feel welcomed into your community.

Because

• People will abandon the joining process if they have to give too much information, tick too many boxes or have to read too much.
• Short and simple rules and guidelines are easier to read, follow and implement. Try to review them regularly.
• A growing number of internet users do so via their phones. Enabling and promoting the Freegle App will be appreciated by your members.
• Polite and helpful responses from the volunteer team will make your members feel valued; try to reply to emails to the owner address within 24 hours.
• Having open membership and no joining questionnaires make joining your Freegle faster, easier and simpler.

Use tools to make it easier to run or use your Group

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

Because: They allow Members to freegle in a way that suits them. They give extra publicity to your group.

Ask for help

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

Because:
Experience has shown that sharing a problem and solutions is good for you and others. Consider consulting and contributing on following national groups and helplines:

• Freegle Mentor Group

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

• Freegle Central

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

• Freegle Development

Join in with discussions and putting into place ideas on how we can help grow and thrive and make a difference nationally. - http://Freegle.in/Development

• Support helpline

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

• Tech and ModTools Group

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

• Freegle Funding

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

• This 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/

• Freegle Rock Cafe

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

• Local Mod Groups

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

• and lastly, Freegle Info Mailbox (info@ilovefreegle.org) - manned not by experts but by friendly people who usually know who to ask!

Publicise your group

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

Consider:

• Use publicity features on Modtools (to share posts on Facebook and Twitter).
• Order and use Freegle business cards.
• link to Twitter
• link to a Facebook Page

-*link to local Buy and Sell groups

• Regularly read Freegle News on Central for ideas and information.

Support Freegle

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

Consider:

• Freegle requires at least one of each community's volunteers must be a member of Freegle Central. Preferably more than one would be good, though. All volunteers that are signed up for Modtools with Owner or Moderator status will have automatic membership of the Discourse platform, where all the central discussion groups are hosted.
• Help make decisions on the future of Freegle by becoming a Member of Freegle Ltd - Invitation to Membership, application form [1]
• Offering some time to help with the national work of running Freegle. Email volunteers@ilovefreegle.org for information on vacancies.

Get to know other Freegle Volunteers

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

Consider:

• Pretty much all of us are very nice.
• It's more enjoyable than you might think.
• You'll be able to relate to people better online once you've met them.
• There are ways to do this easily -
  • Freegle Rock, online social chat group http://freegle.in/Cafe
  • Freestock, an annual summer meet up for Freegle volunteers and others http://wiki.ilovefreegle.org/Freestock
  • Attending - or even organising - a meet-up of your local communities and fellow volunteers. See Local Support Groups for more local socialising/support ideas.

Links

Running Your Group