Dear Freecycle(TM); Member,

Thanks for being a part of The (ever-expanding) Freecycle Network. We're
changing the world one

gift at a time! This message is sent to all subscribers upon joining, and
periodically thereafter

to the entire list. If this message hasn't been updated since the last time you
read it, feel free

to move on to the next post. Date of last update: 03 January 2006.

If you're new to the group or want a quick refresher on making the most of our
Freecycle group,

please read on! This message contains essential knowledge for all Freecycle
members and will answer

MANY common new-user questions, so please take the time to read it through.

This Freecycle 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 is that it encourages us to get rid of junk that we
no longer need and

promote community involvement in the process. Free your inner pack rat!

Begun on January 3 2006, the

Ladysmith Freecycle group is a branch of an incredibly

fast-growing international Freecycle movement, which began in Tucson, AZ on May
1st, 2003 and now

boasts thousands of groups all over the world. Please help this group grow by
spreading the word!

We all personally know lots of great people in our community who would love this
idea. So, why not

"pay it forward" and tell 3 (or more) people how wonderful Freecycle is! You
tell your friends,

you family, your neighbors, your co-workers...and they tell theirs, and so on,
and so on...well,

you get the idea!

USING THE FREECYCLE LIST
To post a message, simply send an email to FreecycleLadysmith@yahoogroups.com or
click on

"messages" at the Ladysmith Freecycle group web site (see

link below).

To unsubscribe, send an email to

FreecycleLadysmith-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

To post, read or reply to messages or to manage your membership settings
(including email delivery

options), visit the group site (aka main page):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreecycleLadysmith

To read list archives (especially helpful for new members who may find recent
posts of interest

there), visit the main page and click on "messages" on the left.

For more information on Freecycle in general and a list of other approved
Freecycle groups, visit

http://freecycle.org/ (Highly recommended!) You can also find freecycle.org
along with other

related recycling-related sites by visiting the Ladysmith main page and

clicking on "links" on the left.

The following list rules have been adapted from the original Freecycle etiquette
sheet; For a

refresher, read on. A certain structure definitely makes the group run smoothly
and effectively for

everyone's benefit. Remember, the success of this group depends on all of us,
and that means each

of us need to do our best to keep on task and, well, be nice and patient. Good
Luck, Have Fun &

Dive on In!

FREECYCLE RULES & ETIQUETTE
1) KEEP IT FREE, LEGAL & APPROPRIATE FOR ALL AGES. This means, for example, no
Alcohol, Tobacco,

Firearms or Drugs, legal or otherwise. Two strikes and you're outta the group.
This is our main

Freecycle rule to live by and it's a pretty easy one at that. No advertising
your yard sale,

though, as you're looking for money and that isn't free...

2) SUBJECT LINE OF YOUR POSTS. Use these phrases to make it easy for others to
delete or view:

OFFER: loveseat, Ladysmith. [Offering more than 1 thing? Still keep it in 1
e-mail, please]
TAKEN: loveseat
WANTED: loveseat, any condition. [Please use this sparingly and don't offer
money. And above all

else, don't ask for an extravagant item like a DVD player which we'd all like to
have or the strike

rule will kick in - see #1 above. ]
ADMIN: new ideas, thoughts, etc. like can we get the guy with the couches to
ease up?

3) PLEASE DO NOT POST THE SAME "WANTED" POSTING MORE THAN ONCE A MONTH.

4) NO POLITICS, NO SPAM, NO MONEY, NO PERSONAL ATTACKS/RUDENESS, NO
PROSELYTIZING/RELIGION. It's

all about R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Two strikes & you're out, i.e. you will be unsubscribed
by the moderator

after two inappropriate postings.

5) YOUR APPROXIMATE LOCATION: Try to list this in the body of your e-mail as
well as in the subject

line. I've got a couch and live in Ladysmith. Nearest intersection: Speedway and
Stone.

6) KEEP IT ALL IN ONE E-MAIL. Got more than one thing to give away? Keep it all
in one e-mail

please and just number the items for your own clarity. This reduces the overall
number of e-mails

we all have to receive.

7) CAN WE USE FREECYCLE TO FIND NEW HOMES FOR PETS? Yes, keep it legal & be
lovingly careful.

Ladysmith also has a great network of nonprofit pet organizations such as The
Animal Anti Cruelty League. Please visit

http://www.petfinder.com/ to look up many other pet-related resources in this
area. However, posts about pets for breeding purposes are <i>not</i>

allowed in Freecycle groups.

8) NO TRADING PLEASE. Go to your local trading organization for this. It can be
quite fun.

9) RESPONSES GO ONLY TO OFFERER. It keeps down the sheer number of e-mails.

10) PICK UP. Arrange as you like. Generally, you'll wait until you get a handful
of responses or

maybe overnite, and then you can pick whomever you like! That's half the fun. I
always ask that

people 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 the boo man pretty fast with your fellow Freecycle Group
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.

11) DISCLAIMER: FREECYCLE 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 and
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 a listserv assumes no
responsibility for this risk.

If you, for example, are a single woman living alone, you may want to say that
you'll leave the

item on the front porch while you are not home.

12) NO OFFERING/POSTING YOURSELF OR YOUR CHILDREN. Posting oneself (or one's
shy friends) is, I'm

afraid, not allowed. There are many fine Internet dating sites better suited to
this purpose, or

you could try Craig's List or a Burning Man mixer (just kidding). Posting your
kids is not on the

menu either, no matter how crazy they make you sometimes. Try getting them
involved in after-school

activities.

13) A BRIEF NOTE ON FREECYCLE ETIQUETTE: "Be nice." 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. (Leaving someone hanging is never a nice thing.) 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; no

more than three days after the offer is made is usual. (Think of it as The
Three-Day Rule.)

TIPS TO ORGANIZE ALL OF THE NEW E-MAILS YOU ARE GETTING:

a) CREATE A SEPARATE E-MAIL FOLDER & AUTOMATICALLY HAVE FREECYCLE STUFF GO TO
IT. Create a separate

folder in your Outlook Express & have Freecycle stuff sent to it automatically
with a new rule

under tools/message rules/mail/

b) SET TO "DAILY DIGEST" OR "SPECIAL NOTICES" (which means you'll just browse
the messages online). Please realize that you can set your personal preferences
on the main page (under "Edit My Membership" in the top right corner).

IMPORTANT: THERE IS A TIME LAG FOR CHANGES: Whenever a user changes settings,
there is an overlap

from the time it takes for Yahoo to process the change, until emails in the
queue waiting to go out

to the users are delivered. In other words, in the six hours it takes for Yahoo
to permanently stop

the emails from coming, there are emails already set up to go out, and will
continue to go out

until the queue is emptied. (Some people have reported this taking up to three
days.) So please

don't email the moderators with comments like, 'I changed my
settings/unsubscribed yesterday, why

am I still getting emails?' Just be patient, and all should be well. Don't make
more than one

change at a time (each additional change adds on another day of wait).
If you encounter further problems, you might want to consult the Yahoo! Groups
help pages at:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/

Just so you know, you CAN delete your own posts for any reason (for example, if
someone's taken the

item you offered, or if you've received the item you wanted, or if you posted
something by

mistake). Go back to your original post and bring it into view on the screen.
Right under the

Messages bar, where it reads:
Reply/Forward/View Source/Unwrap Lines/Delete

Click on 'Delete.' That should do it. (Note, though, that deleting a post won't
prevent it from

showing up in the next digest for those with digest options.)

That should just about do it. Have fun keepin' good stuff out of landfills!

Your friendly neighborhood Freecycle moderator,

Joy Coetzee

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(http://www.Freecycle.org). All rights reserved.
Freecycle and the Freecycle logo are trademarks
of The Freecycle Network in the United States
and/or other countries.
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