Freecycle is a site with a good idea. Rather than throw away things, adding to landfills and just making the trash situation worse, why not see if someone needs it first? Using a simple mailing list for each community, people who join can post things that they're giving away, and others can contact them directly about getting said item.

As a member of the Orlando Freecycle group, I typically received emails from people who were giving away things like strollers or packing boxes or old appliances. What started to happen, though, was that shady, greedy fuckers started joining the list. They started sending emails to the list looking for items that would never be thrown away. "Wanted: Flat Screen television". "Wanted: Laptop". "Wanted: Used Car". Stupid shit like that, which just ruined the whole concept of Freecycle and added a ton of clutter to a mailing list that should be relatively simple.

So I had an idea. Just to make a point, I'd offer something that nobody would ever actually offer for free, and just see what type of responses I got. It had to sound believable, though, so I created a separate email account with a separate persona. A barely computer literate, good God-fearing Christian mom named Jody who was sick of her son's bad grades:

Subject: [OrlandoFC] OFFER: PLAYSTATION 3

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOUR SON CAME HOME WITH ALL D'S AND F'S ON HIS REPORT CARD? I TOLD HIM THAT IF HE DIDNT GET AT LEAST C'S I WAS GOING TO GIVE AWAY HIS PLAYSTAION 3!!

IT HAS TWO CONTROLERS, GTA 4, AND ASSASIN'S CREED. I LIVE IN LONGWOOD BUT WORK FULL TIME AND CAN MEET YOU DURING MY SHIFT IF YOU WANT.

HAVE A BLESSED DAY!

—
Evan, Jody and JD
evjojd@gmail.com

Luke 12:15: "Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all
kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his
possessions.""

See the nice touches? I even added a subtle hint in the Bible quote that I used as a signature. (The rest of the post is posted below the fold.)
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