Just now getting back to this thread ... would like to add

> A friend of a friend gets "fantastic stuff(!)" from Freecycle,
> which she then sells on eBay. Many's the time I've been tempted to
> do that, but so far I haven't been able to make myself. It just
> doesn't feel right, although I know several of the printers I've given
> away have been resold, and I couldn't care less.

Although everyone knows that this is not in the spirit of Freecycle.org to do this, (against the guidelines and all that) I have absolutely no doubt that it's done all the time.

MaaMaw, I know exactly what you're talking about (regarding the rudeness issue), and I feel the same way. I actually hesitated to deal with freecycle.org because I was afraid it was going to be more of a hassle than it was worth, so initially I used it only for things that were too big for me to easily put in my car and bring elsewhere. But I had such a pleasant experience with it that I continued to use it.

My biggest fear was dealing with procrastinators...I really never thought about the rudeness factor. And I guess I've been lucky so far, but every single person that I've dealt with - both those who have taken my offers as well as those who were too late - have been polite and gracious. My general rule of thumb is "first come, first served" but I can assure you that that rule would be broken if they gave me sufficient reason. So far I've had no reason to do that.

I had one young gal who wanted a little vanity chair the worst way and was the first to respond. She had quite a bit of trouble getting to me simply because she worked three jobs, and her husband two. Never a word of complaint about that, just apologies for not picking it up the same day she asked for it. We made arrangements for me to put in on my porch so she could pick it up early in the morning after her newspaper delivery route (her first of three jobs) and she said she'd be there very early a.m. I left it on my porch with the light on and sure enough, I heard her drive up about 6:00 a.m. in the morning (I was already up and on my computer) and she emailed me - from her second job - to profusely thank me for the chair "It was JUST what I was looking for! Thank you sooo much!" etc, etc. And every other person who has picked up items from me have taken the time to email me again to thank me.

Even though I post on the group when something is picked up, I also email every single person who has emailed me to let them know it is no longer available. As MaaMaw would say, this is just common courtesy. And many of them email me back to thank me for doing so.

Now I've lived in the Deep South all of my life and don't get me wrong...we have our share of rude people here as well. :-) But I really do believe that as a general rule people really do work at being a bit more polite here. Ironically, I live in the Atlanta metro area and although many of the people in my area are not native Georgians, the general aura of "Southern Hospitality" still does permeate the area. And I've had too many people who've relocated here (and to my hometown area of the Mississippi gulf coast as well) who've told me as much, so I know it's true.

It's just a "southern thang," I guess :-)

Cathy