freecycle: TM, and R.I.P.

Posted by David Roberts at 7:31 PM on 26 Jul 2006

I've got a funny story for you. Here's a preview of the punchline: freecycle, once a clever, idealistic way to prevent material from entering landfills, has been made by its leadership into a clown show.

Some background.

Way back in May 2004, we did a (glowing) story on the new freecycling movement, whereby people give stuff away rather than throwing it away, via internet-based networks.

Roughly a year later, in May 2005, we did a follow-up story about freecycle's growing pains. Freecycle founder and executive director Deron Beal had accepted corporate sponsorship, attempted to secure a trademark on the freecycle name, and started exercising what some group moderators saw as dictatorial control over regional and local freecycle networks.

In Gristmill, there was a looong and heated debate over the article. Looong. And heated.

Shortly thereafter, Grist received a letter from the freecycle media relations people, urging us in unctuous tones to always capitalize the word "freecycle," never use such bastardized constructions as "freecycler" or "freecycling," and always use the trademark symbol when referring to the entity as a whole: The Freecycle Network^TM. The letter deserved, and received, mockery.

But tinpot tycoons can never get enough mockery. Which brings us to the present.

Not long ago, we received a letter from freecycle's lawyers, saying this:

We represent The Freecycle Network, Inc. in the litigation matter between The Freecycle Network and Tim Oey, pending in District Court for the District of Arizona. On May 11, 2006, the Court issued a Preliminary Injunction requiring Tim Oey to "remove all postings from the internet and any other public forums that he has previously made that disparage Freecycle's possible trademark and logo." ...

In accordance with the Order, we request that you remove Tim Oey's postings located at http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2005/5/19/133334/517. In light of the Court's Order, we request that you remove the posting by no later than Friday, July 14, 2006.

Seems Oey -- a local freecycle moderator -- was encouraging people to disregard the trademark hoo-ha and just use the word "freecycle" as a plain ol' lower-case word.

Needless to say, we didn't remove any comments.

Group legal blog The Volokh Conspiracy has been following this closely. (Here's a link to all the Volokh posts on the subject on one page.) Here they introduce the case, here they note that the Ninth Circuit stayed the order, here they discuss the case as it relates to Grist, and here they mention some friend-of-the-court briefs filed by various free-speechers and intellectual-property types. This is a quote from one of them:

We cannot believe that the First Amendment tolerates such a restriction on the rights of academics, advocates, or public-minded citizens to express their opinions about the validity vel non of specific trademark claims. Trademark rights, of course, are public rights; they are granted by the people through our duly authorized representatives in the legislatures, courts, and administrative offices. Unfettered public discussion about those rights -- about how law is made and applied, in the abstract and in the particular, and about whether it is or is not being made and applied (in the speaker's opinion) correctly -- lies at the very heart of the First Amendment freedom of speech. It is difficult to imagine an Order more at odds with this principle than the one issued by the district court in this case, and we respectfully urge you to overturn it.

Anyway, the Ninth Circuit stayed the ridiculous order: you, me, and all god's children are free to discuss freecycle however we want -- including discussions of whether or not it's appropriate for Beal to copyright, and restrict the use of, the word "freecycle."

Big companies -- and small, unscrupulous companies -- often try to bully blogs and other websites into offering positive coverage, or at least avoiding negative coverage. Frequently such bullying comes in the form of threatening legal documents. It inevitably blows up in the face of the company doing it.

It's one thing for profit-seeking ventures to make that mistake. It's another for a non-profit entity, which exists purely by virtue of the good will and laudable impulses of its members, to blunder around stepping on rakes like this. It alienates the people who participate and pisses off all kinds of possible supporters.

For story: freecycle: TM, and R.I.P.
31 Comments | Post a Comment

Freedom Of Speech.

Journalistic Freedoms, and Freedom of Speech is something TFN will never get an understanding of.
TFN and Deron Beal are not a grass roots movement.

They are a ( in my opinion) circumventing a cause affect situation where they can control freedoms.
As far fetched as it seems.
TFN, continues to refer to FReecycling and to Freecycle as verbs and acts. Yet continue to harass those that have open thought and opinion regrading their " Alledged TM Rights" .

MR. Journalist, you have freedom to post stories as you come across them, a court order does not super-cede journalistic freedom to reports the news.

TFN must think this is East Germany or Russia in the 1970's. Where they can censor what we " feel" is an injustice. No proof of any wrong doing has been proven by TFN.

To remove comments or thoughts undermines the entire journalistic thought process and taints any past or future thoughts as removing a thought may affect the readers interpretation.

This is a Job for the ACLU, as its clear that TFN is setting up to remove thoughts and freedoms.

Basic rights that you, and I are entitled.
Unlike driving a car, YES... freedom to express, and saw allowed is our " RIGHT " and our Legal right that no court of this land should ever be allowed to censor.

Whether TFN wins a case or loses is of no consequences. As the biggest crime has already been committed in my opinion. That being to censor open mind and open thought.

CC

Keep Freecycling Free For Everyone.

by ClearCycle at 9:55 AM on 27 Jul 2006

Ditch Freecycle

Are all Freecycle chapters based on Yahoo groups? The real problem with Freecycle, at least the group that I belong to, is that it is hard to use effectively - one has to carefully scroll up the entire list of postings to see whether something has been taken, one can't view offer/wanted posts separately, etc. I inquired to my local moderator whether these things could be fixed and received an answer that it is all based on national rules. We need a Freecycle with an interface that actually makes sense (Freebay).

by TariffDude at 11:25 AM on 27 Jul 2006

Why use Freecycle when we have craigslist?

I have used craigslist to dispose of unwanted goods at no or little cost and found it to be a wonderful, non-commercial, locally oriented service. It even has a "free" section for those who wish to give away items. Why use Freecycle when we have craigslist?

by markalla at 12:40 PM on 27 Jul 2006

Free Ecycling!

Using Freecycling is slightly different then Craigs List in that items ( generally) are only of a free nature by locals.

And you dont have to be part of some organization like the The FreeCycle Network to Free-cycle.

The Free Cycle Network, whom this article is referring that uses a funded base to do their freecycling.
They dont really own anything, but try by assumption to make that arguments.
Anyways,
Freecycling, also know and Ecycling is a great way to give things away, There are litterelly hundreds of free recycling ppl whom are freecycling all sort of stuff.

I like Craigs for selling stuff though.

Keep E-cycling everyone. ;-P

CC

Keep Freecycling Free For Everyone.

by ClearCycle at 1:31 PM on 27 Jul 2006
[ Parent ]

Ecycle is another option

I belong to a group called Ecycle. All it takes is a couple of moderators to monitor the list and set up sensible rules (no flaming, no sales, etc.). It's easy!

A shame to let a good idea go corporate. Keep this practice in the hands of the people where it belongs!

by earthgirl at 1:50 PM on 27 Jul 2006

FreeSharing.org - A Sane Alternative

It is for the reasons stated in this article, and the previous Grist article on Freecycle that FreeSharing.org was created.
FreeSharing.org does not seek any trademarks or control over local groups. It acts simply as a directory of Free Recycling groups and any local group is welcome to be listed in the directory regardless of it's affiliation.
There are currently over 500 Free Recycling groups listed in the directory serving over 175,000 members around the world.
Please do not give up on the concept of Free Recycling just because TFN has left a bad taste in your mouth.
If you run a Free Recycling group that is not listed in the FreeSharing.org directory, please use the Submit A Site form and let me know so I can add it to the list. If there is no Free Recycling group listed for your area, please consider starting one up. It's easy to do and we'll help you out the best we can.

Best Regards,
Eric Burke
http://FreeSharing.org

by Razmear at 3:46 PM on 27 Jul 2006

Freecycle...without the "TM"

I have been a member of Freecycle since damn near the beginning. I joined it (as I am sure many people did) because I liked the SIMPLICITY of it.
What you originally saw as the "rules" when you started was "Keep it Free, Legal, and Appropriate for All Ages". Simple.

Now Freecycle has become a corporate MONSTER. And not just the people at "The Freecycle Organization" (say what ?) There are also group's of people with their own spin about how "Freecycle done me wrong". Jesus !

I honestly don't know which "organization" is worse. Mr Beal's wishy-washy ways of running Freecycle or the "done me wrong" groups.

For Mr. Beal (or anyone else that would care to answer) WHY a "Trademark"? WHAT is the reasoning for this ? Do ya really NEED a trademark for people to give things away on a yahoo group for free ?

And to the "done me wrongs", who, from what I have read, are almost ALL people that formerly were far up Mr Beal's ASS, (and WHAT is up with THAT ?) WHY do you spend your time fighting with Freecycle ? WHAT is the reasoning for this ? Do ya really NEED all these "bitching" groups ?

How about both "organizations" get back to the original concept ? Let's keep as much crap out of our landfills as we can and find a better way to spend your time and money ?

rene

by snorkie73 at 7:43 PM on 27 Jul 2006

Free Recycling without the pain.

I find it really hard to believe that such a good idea could be blown so resoundingly.

But at least there are alternatives now.

One of the ones that is starting to look really good to me is www.FreeMesa.org.

This is a site that was designed from the ground up to make Free Recycling as easy and painless as possible. It even self moderates without moderators! I think it is pretty incredible how they managed that.

The future of free recycling will be more with sites like this than with TFN. TFN has had its day.

-Steve

by seinnichts at 7:56 PM on 27 Jul 2006

TFN and our local groups

When I learned about Freecycle ^TM I looked for a group in our zip code and found none, so I created a group. I jumped through all the hoops, made the changes that the New Group Approver demanded and I thought I was approved.

I advertised the new group with groups in adjacent counties and lo and behold our county already has a Freecycle ^TM group that isn't officially registered.

The existing group got mad at me for invading "their" territory and accused me of email mining, etc. Freecycle ^TM declined to approve my group but also have done nothing to approve the existing group. They're cutting their nose off to spite their face!

I'm glad to learn about FreeSharing - I'm going to rename my yahoo group and register it with FreeSharing.

by henry0reilly at 6:52 AM on 28 Jul 2006

alternative to freecycle, yahoo groups and forums

Please check out http://free.LocalDataPlace.com for recycling on a hyper-local basis. It's easy to find current items in your local area. 'TAKEN' messages aren't mailed to everyone, so your email is cut in half!

It was built from the ground up for just this purpose and we'd love your feedback on how to make it even better.

http://free.LocalDataPlace.com

Thanks,

Lena.

by localdataplace at 11:28 AM on 28 Jul 2006

Freecycle - such fashionable cynicism

I thought this kind of juvenile behavior went out with the 80s... I am talking about the Freecycle bashing going on here. I joined Freecycle about two years ago. I started up two groups, gave one away, and still moderate the other. I am not crazy about rules, rules, rules but generally they are just common sense.

There are people who do and say thoughtless things, or take advantage of other people's trust, or the like, and that's generally what the "rules" are about. But even the rules aren't carved in stone. One rule is that Deron should be listed as an owner of your group. This is just so that when a moderator abandons a group -- which does happen -- or runs amuk and starts insulting members and acting like a little Hitler -- which does happen -- someone from Freecycle can step in and salvage things. Of course, the conspiracy-theory junkies think otherwise.

The main rule of Freecycle is that everything on Freecycle is free -- period -- and common sense, yes? Yet you do get people posting their tag sales, or just outright trying to sell something. Let them do that on some other site.

Another rule, or really guideline, is to do as little moderating as possible, so that the groups pretty much run themselves. That's hardly a dictatorial rule.

In fact, Deron mostly leaves it up to the moderator to set "rules" for his/her group. In my case, when an issue comes up, I create a poll and ask the group members what they think.

Right now, we have a poll about tag sales. It seems some of our members are trying to get around the no-tag-sale posting rule by saying there will be some free stuff at the sale, or that there will be stuff at the end of the sale. I have suggested to the group that members only post AFTER the tag sale, letting us know there is free stuff... BUT I am going to go with what the majority of the group decides.

As for the trademark business, shame on you for being so ignorant. The reason they are being sticklers about how Freecycle (TM) is used is because you can (1) lose your bid for a trademark or (2) lose your trademark if it becomes common usage. Maybe we should all start talking about Gristing, and being a Grister, etc. Someone had to go through some legal mumbojumbo to get your registration, yes?

AND the reason for getting a Freecycle trademark is so that you don't have a bunch of people calling themselves Freecycle and maybe trying to sell memberships to Freecycle for example, or otherwise bastardizing the way the thing works.

And by the way, it is my understanding that Freecycle pre-dates all these Other-cycle groups jumping on the bandwagon. So where do these unimaginative people get off bashing someone whose idea they stole?

Also, I don't know who these corporate sponsors are that Deron is "courting" -- but Freecycle is large enough now (more than 2 million members) that yes, it does take money to keep the whole thing from crashing and burning from lack of leadership. You will notice that people on this blog complain that "they" didn't fix this or that, as if they are dealing with Wal-Mart or the local bank -- when in fact it's a handful of volunteers... so, sh*t is going to happen now and then.

And finally, Deron is trying to move Freecycle out of the Yahoo groups, so that we have more control over the features (such as searching.

You know, I really like Grist magazine and I even get the digest in my email, but I am amazed at just how ignorant you folks have been on this subject. I would think you'd support something that has done nothing but good for its members... even the digruntled ones who are unhappy because they cannot do anything and everything they please with no regard to how it affects the rest of the group.

Let's see how long these other disgruntled, copycats and wannabes last without making any rules. -- Brenda

by brensullivan at 4:20 PM on 31 Jul 2006

Turf Wars - Green Side Down?

I don't want to seem a Groucho, but to quote Mr. Marx the eldest, I often feel 'I wouldn't want to join any club that would have me as a member'.

It's always sad when something so fundamentally `good', such as anything that's not just talking about trying to save the planet but actually doing something (I'm big on tangibles) gets compromised - to any degree - by... talking. But I guess we all can't resist having opinions. So I simply advocate the notion of `whatever works!', which does not exclude constructive criticism.

Freecycle is a true phenomenon, and certainly already has a firm foothold here in the UK. It is also about the only serious such initiative around that I'm aware of - not counting our little JunnkYard.

I'm pretty sure all the corporate, legalistic shenanigans would and possibly could not occur here, but we'll see. Academic anyway, as it hardly affects anything.

The issue seems to be cultural. Personally I had trouble (hey, ours is not perfect and we're always working on it... funds permitting) coping with the system Freecycle used/s and have given up with it. But a lot do. So if asked we will happily advocate trying JunkkYard AND Freecycle (and now a few others this post has made me aware of, if they are over here). Why not? They're both free, not exclusive and achieve the same result. And we gain from being helpful all round, so with luck will get revisited. So what is being defended here?

As a consumer you go where you feel comfortable. In the UK I sensed the same 'clique' tensions creeping in. When I could be bothered to read the vast numbers of daily emails, there'd often be sniping going on. Why so heavy? Who needs it?

For sure we're keen to create a community, and there is a Forum for people to engage, but mostly it's just a tool. Like some others mentioned, our model is much more Google or eBay. Donor/Beneficiary. Post/Surf. Offer/Collect. Beyond providing the matchmaking mechanism (and enjoying passive exposure to the traffic created) what other involvement is required?

We opened from day one with our hearts on our sleeves... well, our business model up there on our banners.

Much like Anita Roddick's sale of Body Shop, if you start as one thing, you can probably expect to cop some flak when you try and change the fundamentals. Especially having established with a super-ethical `no money involved' stance, to trying to turn a buck, even if it's just to keep funding the whole shebang. And moving from voluntary to sponsored will put a few supporters' noses out. Sadly the whole e-movement can be quite `purist' in approach when it comes to making green, and beyond grubby money, standards of hotly advocated 'best practice' (who decides?) can also often alienate those who are a lighter shade and lives to get on with.

Frankly I can't quite see what's the problem (being commercial that is). However, being uber-precious and especially getting the shark suits involved does not seem productive. I wonder who funds this aspect? And why? Does this suggest a another, possibly more financially-aspirational agenda?

If it is, consumer preferences and market forces will decide. Welcome to the club.

Junkk.com Discover - Share - Create with YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL MATES! Read the `Best of the World Blogs'-listed Junkk Male RE:View

by Junkk Male at 2:47 AM on 01 Aug 2006

freecycle?

freecycle. freecycle freecycle freecycle.

freecycler, freecycling. freecycled!

freecycle freecycle freecycle freecycle freecycle freecycle freecycle freecycle freecycle.

So there. Come and get me, The Freecycle Network (TM)!

by Truly Scrumptious at 10:38 AM on 01 Aug 2006

You missed the funny part

Thanks so much for this important story, but the truth is, David Roberts missed the funny part. (But he gets extra points for reminding me of one of the best scenes in A Thousand Clowns -- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059798/quotes -- my fav movie!)

Posts similar to the ones that the freecycle network (tfn) lawyer asked Grist to remove STILL remain in tfn's own just-for-tfn-moderators group sites!! To me, that's the funny ... as in ironic ... part.

That's even though Tim Oey, the former tfn leader who, with his wife, was sued by tfn for over $200,000 -- had to ask for them to be taken down. Tim had to, because tfn managed to get a local judge to enforce that crazy gag order.

It was very heartening to visit the Volokh conspiracy site -- http://www.volokh.com/posts/chain_1152914614.shtml -- to see the briefs submitted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, as well as many experts on free speech, all of whom have written against tfn's gag order.

Many of us who left the Freecycle Network (tfn) over the last two years are people who were in top positions in the organization. Why did we quit? Leadership ... or rather, the lack thereof. David Roberts sure got that right.

Tfn, founded in 2003, still has a three member starter board of directors -- the founder, his wife, and their friend -- yet the organization boasts 3,710 groups, each of which have at least a couple of leaders. Plus there are 2,497,613 members. Gotta be some excellent candidates in and amongst all those folks.

Sadly, this is just the latest chapter, as tfn continues to suffer the consequences of Deron's founderitis. I highly recommend this blog on BusinessWeek's site for further thoughts from many former tfn leaders, including me (I quit my job as tfn's Head Moderator and "Mother Hen" a year ago today.):
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2005/08/whats_up_at_...

Since the url so long, here's a tiny one: http://tinyurl.com/ad2lc

Nancy Castleman
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HudsonValleyEcycle
http://www.goodadvicepress.com

by Nancy Castleman at 12:01 PM on 01 Aug 2006

Hypogristy & Freecycle TM

So let's see. Grist (R) Registered Trademark is fine because the creator wants to protect his intellectual property. Even though it is is supposed to be a free, public forum. One wouldn't want a competing blog/zine to have a very similar/identical name and cause confusion among users, right? But for some reason it is morally wrong for the Freecycle inventor/organizer to trademark their group? Sounds like a major case of hypocrisy!

As for Deron Beal accepting a modest stipend from an environmentally related corporation- this man has put in full time hours for years, thousands of uncompensated hours, building Freecycle from nothing into the huge national org is is today. Don't you think most directors of large nonprofits accept a salary in the $40-50k range? (Or two, even three times that amount!) Where do you think THAT money comes from? Lots of grants from corporate foundations!

Next time you particpate in ANY nonprofit's event, check out all the corporate sponsors. Makeup companies like Avon and pharmaceutical companies like Glaxo Wellcome sponsoring breast cancer "walks" etc. Would it somehow have been considered more ethical for Deron to dissociate himself from Freecycle altoegther and then have the group spend a ton of money (that it doesn't have) to conduct a national search to hire and train a professional nonprofit director- who would be paid by the same corproate grant? And the point would be - what? Duh, why not give the job to the guy who created the job, and has been doing it for years for FREE!

As a Freecycle (TM) moderator of a 5000 member group (with 40-50 new members applying every week)I know there are darn good reasons for our "rules". We could not run the board without some fairly firm ground rules. Like 'no wildcat offers' (junk left on the street with a "come & get it" address posted to 5000 people) wastes gas & trash on the street like broken glass from monitors- that's bad for the environment; wastes time of multiple members since in our city, likely it'll be gone before the post even hits cyberspace). Like posts only for tangible items- not free concerts, barter of services,'coupons' that are really come-on advertisements, etc.

Just like the GRIST has its terms of service and RULES for use of the site, so does Freecycle. Have to agree to those terms in order to register & use the site. But, somehow if Freecycle requires members to abide by groundrules - well then, they are bad & wrong.

Uh-oh, there's that hypocrisy thing again!

And FYI all you Freecycle bashers- our large group DOES debate certain rules, like whether to allow postings re: pets (no, flunks "the landfill reduction test") and whether to allow signature lines that contain links to posters' businesses & websites (can get very spammy). We DO allow majority vote on certain issues.

If one doesn't like Freecycle rules- simply use craigslist, the free newspapers, the paperback book swap groups, or just leave the crap on the street. Or start your own group that has different rules.THAT is freedom of speech- not stealing and corrupting someone else's intellectual property.

by suzifreecycler at 4:52 PM on 01 Aug 2006

FreeSharing.org - A TFN Improvement, not a CopyCat

I often hear loyal TFN members refer to FreeSharing.org as a CopyCat of TFN.
This is not the case.

I was once a NGA for TFN for the state of South Carolina, and I will admit that I would have never created FreeSharing.org if I did not originally get involved with TFN. However this is not the same as stealing someones intelectual property or ideas.

FreeSharing.org is described on it's home page as: The Next Generation of Free Recycling, so obviously TFN was the previous generation, as there were many previous generations before that going back to the days of FIDO Net and beyond.

FreeSharing.org does have rules, however they are very simple and do not involve any TM or IP protections.
The entire site is public domain and any or all of it may be used by anyone provided it remains in the public domain.

I believe that FreeSharing.org is an improvement upon and a natural progression from it's TFN roots. The issues that plaqued TFN have been resolved in a far simpler and open source model, that has far fewer moving parts and therefore fewer potential points of failure.

I do always wish TFN moderators well and I hope that you all continue free recycling in your areas. The important issue is not which flag you fly over your group, but that you continue to save useful items from the landfills.

Best Regards,
Eric Burke
http://FreeSharing.org

by Razmear at 6:58 PM on 01 Aug 2006
[ Parent ]

more freecycle harrassment and threats.

What the hell is wrong with these people? Freecycle just wont stop until every free group on the internet is closed down so they can make every dam dime possible. My Albany Oregon Free Share group was started before freecycle corporation came to town and yet they have convinced Yahoo 3 times to close it (and dozens of others down 3 times). I got another cease and desist letter yesterday threatening our group once again. Freecycle never responds when we ask what specifically they are claiming. We aren't claiming to be them, we are not using their logo or documents. We even placed a disclaimer on the home page to make it perfectly clear we want nothing to do with freecycle and yet they are so dam greedy and ignorant they just keep attacking us. Any suggestions? Can you see anything we have done wrong?
The Group:
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlbanyOregonFreeSha...

THE LETTER:
Dear Owner of the Yahoo group "AlbanyOregonFreeShare",

I'm writing on behalf of The Freecycle Network(TM) to notify you that your group is not an official Freecycle group and therefore does not have permission to use the trademarked Freecycle name or logo or the copyrighted materials provided in the Start-a-Group process or the freecycle.org web site, or any confusingly similar derivations thereof. The list of all local groups is available on The Freecycle Network's web site at www.freecycle.org.

We appreciate your enthusiasm very much and hope that you will become an active member of your closest existing Freecycle group. We have invested considerable time and resources in insuring that our organization is associated with only appropriately moderated, legal, and totally free services that have a common source of origin from The Freecycle Network. This is why we only allow one group per community -- to avoid any confusion among the public as to with whom they are dealing when the Freecycle name is used. Accordingly, please consider this your official notice to stop using the trademark-protected Freecycle name and logo, as well as any and all copyrighted texts, graphics, rules, and guidelines, in any part of the group including the title, or its URL (Yahoo group name).

Please understand that our intent is not to stop your or your group from recycling or exchanging unwanted items with fellow users. Should you wish to remain independent of our organization, you are; of course, free to operate your own gifting-based site under a name that is not confusingly similar to Freecycle. However, if there is another group listed on www.freecycle.org that covers the area that your group hoped to serve, please consider offering your help to that group as a co-moderator instead. We can all use the help!

If you decide to join our organization instead of changing your group's name, you may wish to send a message to your group informing them of the existing Freecycle group(s) in your area (accessible via www.freecycle.org) and asking them to join the group nearest to their home or workplace.

If you decide instead to continue operating your own site outside of the Freecycle Network, it is important to provide a calm and smooth transition so that no members of either group are lost or become frustrated by the process. If the moderators of both groups are careful, this will not be a problem. Therefore, please let your users know that your group name will be changing and they will have a week to be sure that any and all use of any Freecycle materials, marks, and logo are completely removed from any sites affiliated with your group.

Thank you for all the good you have done and surely will continue to do. If you need any help in this process, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Jeanette
Freecycle(TM) Trademark Representative
trademark1@freecycle.org

_________________
Copyright © 2003-2006 The Freecycle Network
(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.
_________________

NEVER DOUBT THAT A SMALL GROUP OF THOUGHTFUL, COMMITTED CITIZENS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD. INDEED, IT IS THE ONLY THING THAT EVER HAS.

by Namenotreleased at 11:22 AM on 27 Sep 2006

Freecycle Alternative

Just wanted to inform you of a new site scheduled to launch 1/1/2007 called Gigoit they have a public beta testing site at http://beta.gigoit.org. Sounds to me like it might help with some of the discussion for a Freecycle Alternative. Has pretty much everything discussed here taken care of, as far as I could tell anyway.

- Peter

by GigoIt at 2:38 PM on 20 Nov 2006

FREECYCLING vs VOLUNTOURISM

Hey, I just stumbled across http://www.askoxford.com/pressroom/archive/Language_Repor... where it says:

"The influence of new lifestyle trends on the English language of 2006 is clear: SPEED-FRIENDING, SETJETTING, FREECYCLING, FLASHPACKING and VOLUNTOURISM are just some of the leisure choices currently available."

Googling SPEED-FRIENDING results in 2,740 hits, SETJETTING 65, FREECYCLING 131,000, FLASHPACKING 17,400, VOLUNTOURISM 117,000 -- FREECYCLING wins by a big margin.

Now compare VOLUNTOURISM to FREECYCLING, the people at voluntourism.org don't seem to have any problem sharing their new word whereas freecycle.org keeps throwing a fit about sharing FREECYCLING. It looks like voluntourism.org is more giving than freecycle.org is. Perhaps freecycle.org could learn a lesson or two about the real meaning of giving? Does anyone think it possible for freecycle.org to change it's tune and actually become generous?

by ersatzfend at 9:38 PM on 25 Jan 2007

TFN now attaching www.sharingisgiving.org

Now the wonderful TFN is attacking Sharing Is Giving an Alternative to TFN. What a shame that Mr. Beal speaks of harmony with other freecycling organizations but in the dark of night is threatening us. Attached is a copy of a 2nd notice to Sharing Is Giving. The 1st one was funnier because they TOLD me to turn my URL over to them. So Mr. Beal come out of the Dark and let the World know your true feeling about other freecycle organizations and people.
My Copy of C&D is what so many are receiving all over the USA and beyond!

Here is the true TFN's feeling for others that wish to help our environment.

Founder SiG http://www.sharingisgiving.org

by FreecycleRemoved at 6:54 PM on 30 Jan 2007

To bad it made for some funny stuff. Anyone interested can email me at
sharingisgiving_owner @ yahoo.com (omit the spaces) and I will gladly send you a copy.

http:www.sharingisgiving.org
The FREE Freecycle

by FreecycleRemoved at 5:22 PM on 31 Jan 2007
[ Parent ]

Another Freecycle Alternative

I also came across a new website that recently launched, called Listasaurus.com, that has free listings. Might also be a good alternative to freecycle, since it also allows photos to be uploaded and is pretty easy to navigate. Not as much spam as craig's either. I've actually gotten some responses on a couple of things I've listed.

by smokey216 at 1:39 PM on 15 Mar 2007

Grist Threads Apparently Never Die

I'm glad this controversy was brought to my attention. I was about to try to give away a scanner -- and perhaps some other useful items -- using FreeCycle(TM). Now I won't bother. But I will examine this thread for alternatives.

Perhaps there is a place that non-profits go to to find free office equipment?

It is interesting that this topic should show up again at the same time the Salvation Army is fighting for a larger windfall than they were already about to receive. Not very Christian of them. Volunteer organizations gone bad. Charities gone bad. Greedy SOBs.

I thought FreeCycle(TM) was actually a grass-roots effort staffed by volunteers that care about the planet and didn't want useful stuff to go to landfills or incinerators. Once things take off though, volunteers -- originally visionary people in this case -- turn into robber barons eager to secure their turf. Probably found out they could exploit the concept by publishing books, kits, or websites or something. Sad.

This doesn't bode well for the future. Universities conduct research using tax dollars -- research large companies did not consider worth investing in -- and then a corporation smells money and secures it for themselves. People volunteer to help organizations and then someone takes advantage of the "free" start-up opportunity and finds a way to secure future profits for themselves. Charities, rather than celebrating a windfall, fight to extract more than their share from a very generous donation.

The culture established by the necons is seeping deeper and deeper into our society. If this keeps up, people will not only be cynical about how their tax dollars are used, they won't even want to donate time or money to non-profit organizations. To use my favorite new phrase... we're effed.

by wiscidea at 2:06 PM on 15 Mar 2007

Throwplace

Wisc, we at Orion use the local freecycle list (volunteer run, methinks) to get and get rid of office equipment, and it's been perfectly satisfactory. But if you want to avoid freecycle, check out http://throwplace.com

Erik

The Orion Grassroots Network: supporting grassroots groups working for conservation, justice, & more

by Erik Hoffner at 2:49 PM on 15 Mar 2007
[ Parent ]

On Freecycle Cynicism

Dear Brenda (and any other interested party),

I was a member of Freecycle for some time, but due to my very busy schedule and lately chronic illness, I had not used it very much. Recently, however, I had some things to post, and some needs as well.

In summary, although there were some rules that had changed of which I was unaware (and were not mentioned on the Freecycle site), but corrected, I was banned from the group. Why? Because I expressed disagreement for some of these rules and chose an e-mail preference that was in accordance with those rules but which the moderators insisted was "not allowed" (the moderator even sent me a copy of the rules, and this allowance was IN that e-mail) and that they didn't like. In fact, they both changed my group preference without my permission, and refused to send anything to my specified e-mail account. Both of the moderators with whom I communicated were rude; one of them used personal attacks, and the other cursed at me. But yet they accused me of being "bullying" and "childish." No one who knows me would accuse me of either.

I know that this is probably a pretty extreme example of moderator abuse, and that it doesn't happen in every group or with every person. But I do know of several people who have had problems with Freecycle. And like the Grist article pointed out to begin with, it is not anyone else's place to tell us about whom we can talk or what we can discuss our opinions. You have the freedom to disagree and to continue with Freecycle; I trust that there have not been similar problems in your group. But belittling those who have when you have no firsthand knowledge of every group is uncalled-for.

It has been very constructive to me to read the suggestions of alternate groups; I joined one today. Thank you to all who posted this information. Whether these groups will last or not remains to be seen, but pronouncing their impending failure is at best premature. I personally plan to spread the word that there are more reasonable alternatives to Freecycle.

Kim T.

by mom6traceys at 12:25 PM on 19 Aug 2007

truequi socialweb

hi

http://truequi.com is an object exchange platform; we don't just barter, we bring the exchanged objects to life and we make socialising real.

Thanks ;)

by quasi at 11:56 AM on 24 Mar 2008

Scoodi

Scoodi is a rich web 2.0 based re-use platform that has no mail groups and no spam. Items are shown only to people who live local to the giver. The users decide how far local means for them. Anyone can use Scoodi for free and the platform is available for adoption by existing re-use groups that run not-for-profit operations.

by sweeno at 11:58 AM on 09 May 2008
[ Parent ]

Scoodi Link

Oops sorry I messed up the URL link for Scoodi which is
http://www.scoodi.com/.

by sweeno at 12:04 PM on 09 May 2008

GREAT NEWS! Tim and Sunnyvale won!

Here's the key portion of the ruling:
"Plaintiff FreecycleSunnyvale ("Sunnyvale") and Defendant The Freecycle Network, Inc., stipulate and agree that judgment be entered as follows:
(1) Final judgment is entered in Sunnyvale's favor on:
a. Sunnyvale's First Claim for Relief for Declaratory Judgment of Non-Infringement of Trademarks under 15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq.;
b. The Freecycle Network's Counterclaim for Trademark Infringement under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a);
c. The Freecycle Network's Counterclaim for Unfair Competition under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a) for the reasons set forth in the Order Granting in Part Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment and Denying It in Part and Granting
Defendant's Motion to Strike ("Order"). Dkt. no. 141."

A couple of minor claims on both sides were dropped, but tfn can appeal to the 9th Circuit. Yup, that's the same court that looked so
lovingly on the SLAPP suit and tfn's attempts to squelch Tim's right to free speech.

The judge's order is posted here:
http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/cali ...
00324/175584/146/

It should be interesting to see what the trademark people and Yahoo do now, huh? Methinks that trademark is toast.

Congrats and many thanks, Tim!

by Nancy Castleman at 12:19 PM on 10 Jun 2008

Whoops

The link didn't come through correctly. My apologies. Here's take two: <http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/california/candce/4:2006cv00324/175584/146>

by Nancy Castleman at 12:27 PM on 10 Jun 2008

lol///

so funny freecycle,,

mac dvd ripper

by yato at 7:21 PM on 13 Aug 2008

ADVERTISING POLICY

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