Freecycle is a worldwide network of local groups dedicated to saving usable items from landfill. Self-organised via the web it’s a community of the eco-minded and thrifty. But it’s always been more than a community of interest as it has always mapped to geographic communities too: if you live in postcode X and have a sofa to give, it links you to a person in postcode X that needs a sofa. As a result it’s been a poster child for making do, for the green movement, the free movement and enthusiasts of web based localism and collective action. So I was pretty surprised to learn that behind the scenes the whole thing has been slowly imploding.
The following email came in overnight from my local Freecycle moderator:
We Recycle with Freegle
=============================Hi everyone
You’ll notice that our group has changed our name, and this also means that our address has changed too.
It’s now:
Web: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BirminghamFreegle
Email: BirminghamFreegle@yahoogroups.com
What’s changed for you?
======================Nothing much. The home page looks a bit different, and the email address is new (and you have seen it at the top of this page) but other than that – all the rules are the same, all your moderators are the same, and our group is still GRASS ROOTS and LOCAL.
We’re still dedicated to keeping things out of land fill, and the same moderation team are still here beavering away in the background helping to keep the group running smoothly.
The main reason for our move is simple. While Freecycle is a GREAT idea, all our UK groups were basically forced to work under a system devised in and for the United States. Leaders of Freecycle in the UK spent more than two years talking with the main Freecycle Network trying to get the freedom to run things in a way more suited to our own country and our own laws. Nothing changed.
In July four leading members of our National UK Freecycle team resigned. Moderators around the country then formed an Independent Association of Freecycle Moderators and again tried talks with The Freecycle Network. But again to no avail.
Since then an increasing number of Group Owners and Moderators have been SUMMARILY DISMISSED from Freecycle including the former UK Director of Freecycle UK.
So we have decided to go our own way.
It seems nothing has changed for me in the big scheme of things as a Freecycle Freegle user, but it hints at a problem of scale: sure Freecycle was great because it was a collective that self-organised over the web, but this affair suggests that flexibility is needed to sustain glocal organisations.
The other thing that I’ve been reflecting on is the name “Freegle”. It doesn’t work as a verb so I guess people who used the service for a while will continue to see they are “going to freecycle the sofa”. It also seems to privilege the act of receiving over the act of giving. Linked to “frugal”, with the added emphasis of “free” this sounds more like a site to grab the ultimate bargain, not a site aimed at reducing landfill. Without the allusion to “recycle” where’s the incentive for the donor in the new freegle future?
#1 by jonhickman at September 17th, 2009
@homercreative http://bit.ly/GbdJb
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
#2 by Cat at September 17th, 2009
Read all about it…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2009/sep/10/uk-freecycle-us-network?commentpage=2
Have you freegled today?
#3 by Linguist at September 18th, 2009
Freegle does work as a verb – in the Urban Dictionary, it’s defined as:
freegle
1. (verb) To search for free goods on the internet.
2. (verb) To offer unwanted possessions on the internet for free, as opposed to selling them.
On the Freegle website – http://www.ilovefreegle.org/ – it is used as a verb in the sentence: “We hope you enjoy freegling with the freegle community!”
Cat above gave another good example – “Have you freegled today?”
I’ve also seen constructions such as “freegling is what freeglers do” and “don’t throw it away – freegle it!”.
None of these are any more far-fetched than “freecycling”, “to freecycle”, or “freecycler”. Incidentally, The Freecycle Network strongly objects to the use of these terms and calls them a trademark infringement. See this page: http://www.freecycle.org/faq/faq/faq_contrademark :
When using the term “Freecycle” please do the following:
1. While “The Freecycle Network” is a trade name, it also functions as a service mark — i.e., a source indicator — so it is okay to use a TM with it.
For example: The Freecycle Network(TM)
When used as a trade name (think proper name), the term “Freecycle” may be used in place of “The Freecycle Network” to allow sentences to be more concise.
For example: While The Freecycle Network has been growing by leaps and bounds, Freecycle also remains true to its core mission.
2. In all other cases, the term “Freecycle” must be used as an adjective, never as a noun or verb. For example:
Do not say “I’m a freecycler.”
Do say “I’m a Freecycle member.”
Do not say “Keep on freecyclin!”
Do say “Keep on recyclin’, my Freecycle friends!”
Do not say “Freecycling group.”
Do say “Freecycle group”
Do not say “Please Freecycle.”
Do say “Please join a Freecycle group.”
Do not say “There are 10 freecycles in this state.”
Do say “There are 10 Freecycle groups in this state.”
Do not say “freecycle’s membership.”
Do say “The Freecycle Network’s membership.”
3. The term “Freecycle” in text must always be capitalized to set it off from the surrounding text. Example: Freecycle groups are great!
—
!
Seeing how, apparently, the verb “to freecycle” is off-limits, freegling is a great alternative
#4 by Linguist at September 18th, 2009
I would also like to comment on the following: “It also seems to privilege the act of receiving over the act of giving. Linked to “frugal”, with the added emphasis of “free” this sounds more like a site to grab the ultimate bargain, not a site aimed at reducing landfill. Without the allusion to “recycle” where’s the incentive for the donor in the new freegle future?”
Having perused http://www.ilovefreegle.org, it looks as if Freegle stands for “FREEly Given, Locally, Easily”. This tagline places the emphasis on the giving aspects of freegling. While this is not immediately obvious from looking at the word “freegle” itself, it is likely that the use of such slogans will increase public recognition that Freegle is indeed about giving, rather than simply obtaining free goods. Also, people are now much more used to the whole concept of reusing, and realise that in order for these groups to exist, there must be givers as well as receivers. Finally, one of the main reasons people use these groups is to declutter and get rid of “junk”, and once the name Freegle gains recognition, people will know where to get rid of stuff they no longer want or need.
#5 by Jon Hickman at September 18th, 2009
@ Linguist
Are you a member / admin of Freegle? If you are can you be open about it please. Apologies if I have read this wrong and you’re just an innocent bystander but these comments do look like there’s some reputation management at hand.
In reply to both of your comments:
Hoover is a registered mark too, and no doubt the owner of the mark has a rigid set of terms of use of their name. That never stopped people talking about hoovering. Other brands come and go, but the colloquial use of hoover as a verb describing the use of a vacuum cleaner remains. Technology changes and some people do now say dyson in place of hoover, but most of the people I know say they are hoovering when they are, in fact, dysoning.
Companies own trademarks, but it’s hard to own language. Meaning is negotiated not dictated. This is perhaps a more acute issue with projects such as Freecycle & Freegle which are run as communities. In open communities, members will want to own their own terms and language. The trademark instructions you quote are probably indicative of the frustrating rules that have contributed to a split in the Freecycle community.
It’s a shame then that Freegle is making the same mistakes about dictating the use of language to the community, especially as its members will have to work so hard to find and understand the preferred meaning which is buried away on one page of the website ( http://www.ilovefreegle.org/about/ ).
#6 by Linguist at September 18th, 2009
Hi Jon, I’m not even a member (never mind an administrator) of Freegle (or Freecycle, for that matter). I found these quotes and examples doing a Google search.
I agree that on the Freegle website, the meaning is buried away (it’s not listed in the Q&A section). They should be a lot clearer about what freegle means, seeing how it is a neologism.
As far as I can see, there is no section on the Freegle website which dictates the use of language to the community (most of the examples I cited were taken from message boards/forums/other websites, and presumably invented by people other than Freegle administrators). Also, the term does not appear to be trademarked. But please let me know if I missed something!
#7 by Jon Hickman at September 18th, 2009
@ Linguist Thanks for clarifying. You should see if they’re hiring at Freegle, you’re doing good work for them
#8 by Andy Swarbrick at September 21st, 2009
Whilst freegle may or may not work for some people, I would question the title of this piece. A civil war is usually defined as a fight within a nation state, whereas if anything this is a fight between the US and the UK!
#9 by Jon Hickman at September 21st, 2009
Good point: I suppose I could have called it a “War of Independence”