January 2007 | Letters to the Editor
Buying Out: The Compact
I really enjoyed the recent article on the Compacters. What a great idea that is!
— Pat Murphy, Oakland
Before you again recommend folks to freecycle, may I respectfully suggest that you do some further reading? The websites I’d suggest are:
gristmill.grist.org/story/2006/7/26/111526/801 and
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Freecycle_Network#Controversies.
Freecycling is a wonderful concept, but The Freecycle Network leaves a lot to be desired. If you’re looking for a truly grassroots organization without benefit of all the politics, I respectfully suggest freesharing.org or sharingisgiving.org.
— Judy, via email
Writer responds:
Freecycle was mentioned in the article (“Buying Out,” December) along with Craigslist and other sources as a place where Compacters sometimes get stuff. It’s a website where people post things they don’t need in an effort to give them away. I was simply reporting the facts, not endorsing Freecycle. (Although, as Stephen Colbert often reminds, the facts have known biases!)
—Nicole Achs Freeling
Editor responds:
When asked about freecycle.org, John Perry, founder of The Compact, had nothing but good things to say, including the somewhat telling, “I love freecycle.org!” Even though The Compacters are not “freecyclers,” per se, Perry recognizes that the movements are related. “We have no direct association with Freecycle, but we’re all connected. We’re all stopping shopping.” As for the links in the letter above that criticize The Freecycle Network for taking corporate money and making (indelicate?) efforts to protect its copyright, Perry says that his experience has been great. “It’s one of the finest uses of the web that I’ve seen. And what’s great about
freecycle.org versus the free section of Craigslist is that TFN urges users to wait for several offers to come in before deciding who needs it the most. Craigslist users,” he says, “are more likely to use the service to simply get rid of stuff quickly.” Perry’s favorite freecycle.org story is when he managed to give away a box of unused disposable diapers (when he switched to cloth) to a group that supported children’s visits to see their parents in San Quentin. Perry also thanked writer Nicole Achs Freeling and Common Ground for getting “the whole story” out there about The Compact, and credited the piece with a surge in new memberships on the local chapter of The Compact Yahoo! Group, groups.yahoo.com/group/thecompact
— Todd Spencer
December’s Cover
Regarding the December cover of Common Ground, what were you thinking? What does the blonde girl on the cover have to do with anything your magazine stands for? Is she representing yoga, whole health, green planet, conscious living, etc., etc. I just don’t get it.
— Linda Tomback, Sonoma
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