Re: Freecycling

I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU WOULD WANT TO BE INVOLVED WITH A CULT LIKE FREECYCLE?? YOU DO KNOW THEY ARE BEING SUED, DON'T YOU?

SthrnTami Wrote:

Hi Slinky, > > I think you misunderstand the purpose of Freecycling. It's not a > charity. The goal of Freecycling is to keep usable items out of the > landfill, while reducing consumerism at the same time. Folks post > items they no longer want, and others respond who can use them. > Everything is free, and anyone can respond, regardless of financial > circumstances (although members are encouraged to give charitible > organizations first dibs, if they respond). Is there a chance that > someone may resell items? I suppose so. But far more often it simply > allows your items to be USED instead of gathering dust in the closet > or basement, or even on the shelf at a thrift store. > > For those of you who are unfamiliar with Freecycling, I urge you to > check it out at
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You can follow the links there to > your local groups. It really is a worthwhile group. > > Tami > > I'm all for helping folks out when they're down, but "too much of a > good thing" comes to mind in my current situation. > > I'm cleaning house. This means I'm going through closets and > dressers > (mine, the boy's) and discarding outgrown, outworn or otherwise > unloved clothing items. "Grubby" kid clothes are going to the > community clothing chest at my boy's (former) preschoo. There's a > local freecycling list on which I've posted quite a few kid items > (shoes, winter coat, toys). > > In every case the same woman has been the first responder, playing up > how her asshole not-quite-ex-husband is being ****y about letting her > take the kid's stuff out of the house and how they're sleeping on the > floor at a friend's and have nowhere to keep anything if they had it > but she's happy to take this stuff off my hands. > > I haven't responded to any of her messages as of yet, nor to anyone > else who has emailed me to put dibs on stuff. Perhaps I'm being > overly cynical, but I smell a rat of some sort, possibly because a > guy > who claimed to be dirt-poor in his message claiming an item arrived > to > pick it up wearing a 3-piece Armani suit and driving a Lexus. > > What say you, RCTYers? Do I let her have some, none or all of the > kid > stuff I've posted to date?-
Reply to
Lisa_Girl
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Whoa... I totally missed any messages before this one. I have heard Freecycle mentioned before, but never visited the site. Why on earth would they be sued, and why are they being referred to as a *cult*? Aren't they (as mentioned in other parts of this message) just a place for people to pass on unwanted items to other people who may need them? What is wrong with that? It seems to me that passing unwanted items on to other people who can use them, is a lot better than throwing them away to end up in a landfill somewhere.

Personally when I find stuff in our house that we don't need or want anymore... if I think it is still good enough for someone else to use... I donate it to the St Vincent de Paul store in our town. However if I knew of someone who needed something that I had to give away, I would give it to them. *shrug* Just my opinion!

Gemini

Reply to
MRH

I'm wondering if this is a "burp" and we're getting something that's appeared before??? It all sounds familiar, even if it does have a current date.

Shelagh

I have heard

Reply to
Shillelagh

Please don't yell. It's not necessary.

Shelagh

Reply to
Shillelagh

shelagh I think you are right, it is an old post, I seem to recall it. Also Michelle has become Slinky again and is not called Wooly.

OLd hat I think

Els

Reply to
Els van Dam

It looks to me as though someone has a bone to pick with Freecycle, found an old post on rcty about it and took off with his or her rant.

Reply to
The Jonathan Lady

Hi,

According to google and the names and when it was posted this note started on Mar 31 2004 so it's been around a long time.

Hugs,

Nora

Reply to
norabalcer

Stop yelling! Freecycle is not being sued. I've run Freecycle groups for

3 years. All it is for is sharing stuff one person doesn't want with people who want the stuff. If there is any legal issues with Freecycle it is just that we are trying to make the Freecycle name trademarked.
Reply to
CHI-MUM

Maybe that's the objection....

sue

Reply to
suzee

Interesting, (maybe), that there may be objections to trademarking.

Here on the Island "Freecycle" works without problems. I do think that trademarking a name is not a bad idea, because, big corporations come along and steal a name or come up with the same name and make other groups who use this name before them, change their names. I know all about trademarking and holding on to a name. I can't think of a reason for a non profit group, to not protect their name. In this "Dollar signs in your eyes" world, you have to stand firm. The post was an old post though, and so maybe all this has been resolved.

Els

Reply to
Els van Dam

The trademarking of names can be a touchy issue. In the energy healing world, there's a group that wants to trademark the name of one system of healing, that only people trained in their particular method can use it. Since there are gazillions of people using this system who would be excluded from using it, as well as it being a fairly common Japanese word, there's a lot of opposition. Especially as the group wanting to `own' the trademark is very conservative, and in some cases, more money oriented.

sue

Reply to
suzee

Hi Sue,

Indeed trademarking can be tricky. Still one would hope that it all can be worked out peacefully. Also that a court case for a trademark does not mean that the group is dishonest. The two have nothing to do with one and other. I Hope that it get worked out so that everyone will be content.

Els

PS: Sue were you saying that "freecycling" Is an common Japanese word or did I misread that...??

Els

Reply to
Els van Dam

No, that was about the name of the healing system. Though `freecycle' might be in common usage, and it's difficult to trademark words which are used before being trademarked. Kleenex and Xerox, for example, only became commonly used after the trademark protection.

sue

Reply to
suzee

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