Central UK Summary - November 2015

Freegle UK Central: Summary of items of interest
November 2015 (541 members, 456 posts)

New platform

Twelve valid responses were received to develop a new platform which would free us from dependence on yahoo. From a shortlist of three, the contract, which will run for a year from 1 December, was awarded to Edward Hibbert, the current Chair of the Board. (See message number 56611 for the announcement of the awarding of the contract, and 56613 for Edward’s response https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FreegleUK-Central/conversations/messages/56611 )

Change from Freegle UK to Freegle Ltd

Following a poll of the members at the end of 2013, it was agreed to establish Freegle Ltd as an Industrial and Provident Society for Community Benefit, which would entail the winding-up of Freegle UK and its assets being transferred to Freegle Ltd. The final report of Freegle UK can be found here Freegle UK Final Report.

Message Maker

As a result of changes brought in by yahoo, the message maker no longer works for groups that are not on Freegle Direct, nor for yahoo-only members. To avoid potential confusion, groups are therefore advised to remove the message maker from their homepage. Further info can be found in the latest Tech working group report Freegle Tech Report 15-11-30

Freegle mentors

The mentor team consists of experienced moderators who help new Group Owners to find their feet, help struggling groups and also care for groups that have been abandoned by their owners. The Sept/Oct 2015 report can be found at message number 56388.

Development Group news

During November the Development Group discussed a new procedure for group affiliation – name, area covered etc - and will bring their conclusions to Central once they have firmed up their ideas. And they are about to start reviewing the Best Practice guidelines http://wiki.ilovefreegle.org/Best_Practice . All members are welcome to join the group and join in the discussions http://freegle.in/development

Courier scam news

Some new scam offers turned up in November, to add to October’s list, so watch out for all of these:

• Tandem bike
• Electric bike
• Chainsaw
• Woodburner stove
• Piano
• Large TV - various
• Kitchen Aid mixer – various types!
• Sewing machine
• Electric wheelchair
• Kid’s electric car
• Thermomix
• Wii bundle
• and of course, our old friend – various laptops

Borrowing (see message number 56390ff)

There was considerable discussion about whether groups should allow borrowing, particularly the liability issue should anything go wrong, despite the disclaimer that groups have on their home page. Ultimately it is up to groups themselves to decide; some people remarked that a way round it is to suggest to members that they say they will re-offer items when they are finished with them.

Suggestions for Christmas

A sample admin to encourage freegling in December is at message number 56468 https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FreegleUK-Central/conversations/messages/56438 – feel free to use! And there are also Freegle Christmas Gift of Time vouchers. It’s a way of offering to help people de-clutter – a cheap and easy gift! You can download and print them from here http://shared.ilovefreegle.org/publicity/GiftVoucher-Christmas.pdf

Quick – vote for Cat and Edward!

Every year Resource magazine publishes a ‘Hot 100’ list of people in the UK making a difference in the world of waste, those who are having a positive influence. To her surprise and delight Cat Fletcher (our media superstar) was voted in at number 60 last year. You can vote for her again this year, and also for Edward. Go here http://hot100.resource.co/ to vote, but be quick as voting closes on 9 December.

Working group reports

Tech – Report Nov 2015 Freegle Tech Report 15-11-30

Development – Report Sept/Oct 2015 Development Group Report 2015 10

Other reports not referred to in the above

Freegle Board Minutes for 4 November - Freegle Board Minutes 4 November

Media – Report Nov 2014 to Nov 2015 https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FreegleUK-Central/conversations/messages/56438

Membership of Freegle UK Central: Anyone who is a moderator of a Freegle group is entitled to join Freegle UK Central. If you are not already a member and wish to join, send an email to freegleuk-central-subscribe@yahoogroups.com stating which group(s) you moderate on.

Liz S
December 2015