Freegle Reps Report 2011-02-19

Freegle Reps Report - December 15th 2010 to February 19th 2011

This Report is a summary of the Reps activities from 15th December 2010 until 19th February 2011. There were approximately 1440 posts on the Freegle Reps discussion group between the currently serving Reps.

Annual Reps Election

The annual Reps election was held over the course of January and February 2011, concluding on 12 February. Eight excellent candidates stood for election from which we are pleased to welcome Adam (Sheffield) and Saira (Oswestry) to the team. Paul (Ascot) was also re-elected to serve an additional term. The Reps Map has been updated and can be viewed at http://freegle.it/RepsMap.

We would like to thank everyone who voted, the candidates, and the Returning Officer.

Strategic Matters

The Reps discussed the pros and cons of organisational types and about Freegle having charitable status. This is tied in with discussing a future strategy for Freegle. Discussion has dovetailed more recently into questions regarding the future of Freegle. The plan is to consider various strategic options, and what would be required to achieve them. This work is ongoing and will be developed further so that realistic options can be brought to working groups and then Central for discussion.

Internal Organisational Matters

The Reps discussed the Working Group Coordinators role and decided to wait until the Reps elections were finished before discussing it further on Structure.

The Central Mods Team role and remit was discussed by the Reps, this was discussed in more detail on the Structure Working Group.

The Reps received requests for Rep Observers for the new Central Mods Team and the Geeks Team. This was polled on. Jane will be the observer on the Central Mods Team. Sian will be the observer on the Geeks Team. Rep Observers are included on Freegle Teams which must remain closed due to matters of confidentiality. The purpose of Rep Observers is to make sure these teams remain within their remit. Rep Observers also help to serve as a communication conduit between these Confidential Teams and the Reps.

The Reps were asked for advice by Richard (a moderator) about the Freegle Pet Mods group, because he had been unable to contact Carol Hutton (the sole group owner) for several months. We advised Richard that this wasn't a Reps matter and suggested that he appealed on Central, giving a week for any responses, before taking any further action. Richard proceeded along these lines. Carol could not be contacted, despite several attempts and different methods. A new Pet Mods group has now been set up by Richard.

Reps Matters

The Reps contributed to a thread on Structure on what it was like to be a Rep, to help people who were thinking of standing for election to decide if it was the role for them. The Reps answered some questions on Central to help inform candidates about the role of being a Rep.

Also, we are currently reviewing how we manage emails and the task list to improve our efficiency. For most of the last year, Jane has been serving as our coordinator and would like a break. It is likely this role will be filled on a rota basis. This discussion is ongoing.

The Reps were informed of the Adjudication Panel’s result regarding Carol Hutton being removed as a Rep. We are grateful to the Ombudsman and the Adjudication Panel for their efforts on this and relieved that this decision has been reached. The Reps have given feedback regarding the Adjudication process. Discussions have now begun on the Structure Working Group on how to make the process work better in the future.

Group Affiliation

The Reps were asked to find a replacement owner for a local Freegle group. The request was passed to the Group Affiliation Team.

The Reps were asked to ratify a decision to not approve a request to affiliate a new Freegle group on the grounds that the applicant was unsuitable. We voted and were in full agreement with the GAT's decision. This matter had also been previously brought to the Start Working Group, where members were also in agreement.

Policy and Procedure

Several issues arose regarding Child Protection, including the matter of a Freegle volunteer who may be on the Sex Offenders Register. It was discussed how Freegle should respond to situations in a way which is respectful of both the need to host safe Freegle groups, but also to protect individual Freegle volunteers and group autonomy.

The Reps discussed the possibility of a Child Protection Policy for Freegle. We believe this should be done by consulting organisations who specialise in keeping children and vulnerable individuals safe, and by consulting best practices in this area. This will be led by Saira who has experience with this as a Network Childminder and brought to the People Working Group for further consideration.

Media and External Links

The Reps were approached by an organisation called uShip, asking about a possible partnership between them and Freegle. We informed uShip that for the time being, Freegle won't be linking to or partnering with commercial enterprises. We told uShip that we may have discussions about transport and delivery options for local groups in the new year on our national forum (Freegle Central) and if we do, we will make information about uShip available to Freegle groups then.

The Reps were contacted by someone from Local Skillswap, discussions are ongoing. Additionally, Cat will be meeting someone shortly from the Netcycler organisation, to discuss cooperation between them and Freegle following contact from someone from the organisation.

Freegle was recently mentioned on the Money Saving Expert website, which resulted in lots of new members across the UK. The Reps sent a thank you email to a Money Saving Expert contact.

The Reps were invited to a Big Society Network event in London. Cat and Edward attended as representatives of Freegle. Although the opportunity to give a short presentation didn’t materialise, we did manage to talk to quite a lot of people and make some contacts which we shall be pursuing, and Cat picked up an interview for the Daily Express. We will be pursuing this more actively, including relevant working groups and Central.

Technical Matters

The Reps were contacted by someone who is doing a Masters degree in Software Engineering at Brighton University. He would like to design and build a website as a project for their Masters degree, with a view to managing the items posted on Freegle in a more efficient manner. Edward is discussing this with him, to see whether we can use this to drive development of a programming interface which would allow us host the data while other people integrate it with their sites.

We continue to check the UK IPO Database weekly. Nothing has been found so far.

Legal Matters

In December a local moderator named John Hopkins (glasshousejohn) approached Central with threats of legal action against Edward Hibbert in regards to the mass mailing of Freegle group moderators about national Freegle matters.John Hopkins moderates the Redbridge group. The Reps are not aware if he is involved with any other group.

The Reps agreed that there are no grounds for delisting any Freegle groups associated with John Hopkins and that his status as a moderator is a matter for local group autonomy. The Redbridge group Owner was contacted and advised.

There has been no legal correspondence with Edward Hibbert following the threat on Central and the Reps are assuming that this matter is not being pursued.


Back to Freegle Representative Group or Freegle Reps Report 2010-12-15. or forwards to Freegle Reps Report 2011-04-13