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I’m extremely curious about Rule number two, so I have to ask if you would be willing to get the feedback on why there important and share it with us? I feel li

I’m extremely curious about Rule number two, so I have to ask if you would be willing to get the feedback on why there important and share it with us? I feel like there is a genuine insight with this rule that isn’t obvious to me and likely others

ip26 6y ago
Probably helps items go to people who really need them instead of scalpers, vultures, and hoarders who make a business of being ready to pounce on free items.
- TeMPOraL 6y ago
  And besides the vultures sniping everything, not everyone has enough free time to continuously monitor the group. Some people can spend their whole day with a Facebook tab open, others have one hour a day to catch up.
  - mc32 6y ago
    Can a small group establish a common post/publish window?
    - TeMPOraL 6y ago
      One thing I've learned from running a Hackerspace: no, it's not possible. There is no possible window that's relatively short (hours) and will fit everyone who wants to participate. For any day and hour you pick, someone will be permanently excluded (because of e.g. their job, studies), and other people will miss it regularly due to irregular life events. And ultimately, there's no point in doing that if the activity itself doesn't require for everyone to be doing something together. Such a posting isn't a team meeting; it can be done asynchronously.
    - alisonkisk 6y ago
      Why? That's more work than the obvious solution of just being chill about it.
- pessimizer 6y ago
  > scalpers, vultures, and hoarders But without the negative connotation, because the obligation to give the item away after waiting for an arbitrary period means that if you can't find anybody who wants it, at least somebody will get it who knows how to resell it better than you do, and will thereby deliver it to someone who will enjoy it. edit: the "I Haul Junk For Free" person serves a function.
jzwinck 6y ago
I've seen a similar group without the second rule. It's a mess because the instant anyone posts anything there are many users who reflexively post "Q" (as in queue for item). Then when you reply to give them the item, they say they decided they don't want it. This can all happen within minutes. Time delay is more fair and less anxiety inducing.
BurningFrog 6y ago
It disincentivizes looking at the site 24/7 to be the first claimer. You see similar proposals for stock markets to process all orders that come in within one second in arbitrary order, to disincentivize the insanely expensive chase for nanoseconds in high speed trading.
bombcar 6y ago
Part of it may be the “offer what you have mention what you want” - more time allows for more efficient allocation. It also allows you to select the most “deserving” though I’m more interested in how hard feelings are avoided.
- alisonkisk 6y ago
  Also, one wonders how racism and other biases are managed.
- lazyasciiart 6y ago
  I often see people saying they will use a random number generator to choose from commenters.
stopping 6y ago
My local group encourages a 24-hour waiting period to equalize the opportunity for group members to claim items. Generally, the people who really need a certain item don't have enough free time to constantly check the group, or are working the sorts of jobs where they're offline for long periods of time.
jayofdoom 6y ago
My wife has probably given away 50+ items of ours on buy nothing. Usually she appreciates being able to choose because some people develop a reputation for being unreliable to pick them up, so she can exclude them.
barnaclejive 6y ago
People have different schedules, the goal of giving away most items is to make sure it gets to the person who needs it most. Letting a post sit for 24hrs gives everyone a chance to see it. People comment about why they need it or will use it for in that time, then the poster can decide who to give it to after a fair amount of time.
huckleberries 6y ago
It is designed to be more inclusive that way -- otherwise, some people grab everything and others are discouraged and become disengaged. Also, a big mission of the Buy Nothing Project is to build a sense of community among the members and a lot of that plays out in the comment thread interactions. It's better for the community-building if people take the time to type out thoughtful comments and share a little about themselves, as opposed to race to be the first to type "Interested" or "me!"
- jonahx 6y ago
  Personally, the whole thing feels oppressive to me. I'd rather pay $30 on Amazon than explain to my "community" why I should be chosen to get X or Y. It reminds me Charlie Sheen's quip about prostitutes: "I don’t pay them for sex. I pay them to leave." Likewise, one of the primary benefits of ordinary money/stuff transactions is that it's not all tangled up with obligation or any other social baggage.
  - alanbernstein 6y ago
    Oppressive is kind of an absurd word to describe this. It's a friendly neighborhood organization that allows you to get and give junk for free. - Sometimes multiple people are interested in a give. - The giver needs to choose one somehow. - Random selection is as common as anything else in my group. - Some people like to give details, some people like to hear them, and some people like to use them to prioritize, because it fosters relationships with their close neighbors. It is by no means required. If you ever decide that perhaps buying another new plastic thing from China via Amazon is not the best solution to a problem in your life, consider trying it.
  - pessimizer 6y ago
    > Personally, the whole thing feels oppressive to me. To me, too. It reads like "In order to be considered for a gift, explain how you suck and can't provide, and how good you are at feeling generalized gratitude and appreciation. All of you will be judged, the least capable and most thankful will be chosen."
  - 6y ago

ip26 6y ago

Probably helps items go to people who really need them instead of scalpers, vultures, and hoarders who make a business of being ready to pounce on free items.

TeMPOraL 6y ago
And besides the vultures sniping everything, not everyone has enough free time to continuously monitor the group. Some people can spend their whole day with a Facebook tab open, others have one hour a day to catch up.
- mc32 6y ago
  Can a small group establish a common post/publish window?
  - TeMPOraL 6y ago
    One thing I've learned from running a Hackerspace: no, it's not possible. There is no possible window that's relatively short (hours) and will fit everyone who wants to participate. For any day and hour you pick, someone will be permanently excluded (because of e.g. their job, studies), and other people will miss it regularly due to irregular life events. And ultimately, there's no point in doing that if the activity itself doesn't require for everyone to be doing something together. Such a posting isn't a team meeting; it can be done asynchronously.
  - alisonkisk 6y ago
    Why? That's more work than the obvious solution of just being chill about it.
pessimizer 6y ago
> scalpers, vultures, and hoarders But without the negative connotation, because the obligation to give the item away after waiting for an arbitrary period means that if you can't find anybody who wants it, at least somebody will get it who knows how to resell it better than you do, and will thereby deliver it to someone who will enjoy it. edit: the "I Haul Junk For Free" person serves a function.

jzwinck 6y ago

I've seen a similar group without the second rule. It's a mess because the instant anyone posts anything there are many users who reflexively post "Q" (as in queue for item). Then when you reply to give them the item, they say they decided they don't want it. This can all happen within minutes. Time delay is more fair and less anxiety inducing.

BurningFrog 6y ago

It disincentivizes looking at the site 24/7 to be the first claimer. You see similar proposals for stock markets to process all orders that come in within one second in arbitrary order, to disincentivize the insanely expensive chase for nanoseconds in high speed trading.

bombcar 6y ago

Part of it may be the “offer what you have mention what you want” - more time allows for more efficient allocation. It also allows you to select the most “deserving” though I’m more interested in how hard feelings are avoided.

alisonkisk 6y ago
Also, one wonders how racism and other biases are managed.
lazyasciiart 6y ago
I often see people saying they will use a random number generator to choose from commenters.

stopping 6y ago

My local group encourages a 24-hour waiting period to equalize the opportunity for group members to claim items. Generally, the people who really need a certain item don't have enough free time to constantly check the group, or are working the sorts of jobs where they're offline for long periods of time.

jayofdoom 6y ago

My wife has probably given away 50+ items of ours on buy nothing. Usually she appreciates being able to choose because some people develop a reputation for being unreliable to pick them up, so she can exclude them.

barnaclejive 6y ago

People have different schedules, the goal of giving away most items is to make sure it gets to the person who needs it most. Letting a post sit for 24hrs gives everyone a chance to see it. People comment about why they need it or will use it for in that time, then the poster can decide who to give it to after a fair amount of time.

huckleberries 6y ago

It is designed to be more inclusive that way -- otherwise, some people grab everything and others are discouraged and become disengaged. Also, a big mission of the Buy Nothing Project is to build a sense of community among the members and a lot of that plays out in the comment thread interactions. It's better for the community-building if people take the time to type out thoughtful comments and share a little about themselves, as opposed to race to be the first to type "Interested" or "me!"

jonahx 6y ago
Personally, the whole thing feels oppressive to me. I'd rather pay $30 on Amazon than explain to my "community" why I should be chosen to get X or Y. It reminds me Charlie Sheen's quip about prostitutes: "I don’t pay them for sex. I pay them to leave." Likewise, one of the primary benefits of ordinary money/stuff transactions is that it's not all tangled up with obligation or any other social baggage.
- alanbernstein 6y ago
  Oppressive is kind of an absurd word to describe this. It's a friendly neighborhood organization that allows you to get and give junk for free. - Sometimes multiple people are interested in a give. - The giver needs to choose one somehow. - Random selection is as common as anything else in my group. - Some people like to give details, some people like to hear them, and some people like to use them to prioritize, because it fosters relationships with their close neighbors. It is by no means required. If you ever decide that perhaps buying another new plastic thing from China via Amazon is not the best solution to a problem in your life, consider trying it.
- pessimizer 6y ago
  > Personally, the whole thing feels oppressive to me. To me, too. It reads like "In order to be considered for a gift, explain how you suck and can't provide, and how good you are at feeling generalized gratitude and appreciation. All of you will be judged, the least capable and most thankful will be chosen."
- 6y ago