Chicago Freecycle FAQs and How To Guide

Hello All Chicago Freecycle(TM) Members!

Thanks to you and your great questions, we have now updated the FAQ and How To Guide File in the files section. We are also including a copy here for easy reference.

Chicago Freecycle FAQs and How To Guide

1. Help! I Signed Up for MF but Now I Can't Login?

First, be sure to enter your username as originally typed and the password exactly as it was received, as the characters are case sensitive. If you are still not able to log in, please retrieve your username by going to http://my.freecycle.org/forgottenusername, and then reset your password by going to http://my.freecycle.org /forgottenpassword and then log in with your username and the new password at: http://my.freecycle.org/login. Please be sure to enter your username and temporary password exactly as it were emailed to you, as the characters are case sensitive.

2. Help! I Signed Up for MF but I Didn't Receive a Password!

First, be sure to check your Spam folder to ensure that the email from support@my.freecycle.org did not land there. If you are unable to locate the email, reset your password and log in with the new password. To reset your password, go here: http://my.freecycle.org /forgottenpassword The new password will be sent to your email. Enter your username and your new password here: http://my.freecycle.org/login Be sure to enter your password exactly as it was emailed to you, as the characters are case sensitive.

3. How Do I Change My Email Preferences on the website?

To change your email preferences, please visit http://my.freecycle.org and login with your username and password. Click on the "My Groups" tab.

You will see your groups names and below them a drop down menu for delivery options for each group. Click the drop down menu to see the available email delivery options.

The options are: to receive all emails, no emails or the digest of 25 posts. Please note, if you choose to receive no emails, you will still receive Admin messages from the moderators with important information regarding your group. After choosing your option, please click: "Change delivery option".

Please allow 24-48 hours for the system to process any changes.

4. How do I change my email address for the group?

To change your email address, please log in to http://my.freecycle.org . From there, click on the "My Info" tab. Click the green box, "Change My Freecycle email address". Enter your new email address and click "Save new email address". Please allow 24-48 hours for the system to process any changes.

5. How do I Post On the Group?

You can post to the group either by sending an email to chicagofreecycle@groups.freecycle.org or directly on the site at: http://my.freecycle.org .

To post on the website, log-in at http://my.freecycle.org and then click the My Posts Tab. If you are at the group homepage and do not see this tab, you will need to first click on the My Freecycle link at the top right of the group home page. This will take you to your My Freecycle home and you can then click on the My Posts tab.

Once you click on the My Posts tab there is a button at the bottom of the screen titled Make A New Post. Click this and there is an easy to use form to make your post.

If you are posting via email, please be sure to use the correct subject heading when emailing your post or it may be rejected. OFFER: Item (your location) WANTED: Item (your location) TAKEN: Item (your location) RECEIVED: Item (your location)

Please note that posting on the site means you will be using the message maker feature, which helps to avoid mistakes (correct subject line, location, etc.). Marking the posts as Received and Taken in the website, rather than sending those messages via e-mail, will close the original post, which is preferable as the original post will no longer be available for others to see and make inquiries about

6. How do I Mark an Item as TAKEN on the website?

To mark your OFFER as TAKEN, please login to http://my.freecyle.org and click on "My Posts". You will see your open OFFERs there. There will be an option to click, "Mark as TAKEN".

After you click this, a TAKEN email will be sent to those who choose to receive emails, and the offer post will be removed from being sent out in digests as well as off of the board.

7. How do I Mark an Item as RECEIVED on the website?

To mark your WANTED as RECEIVED, please login to http://my.freecyle.org and click on "My Posts". You will see your open WANTEDs there. There will be an option to click, "Mark as RECEIVED". After you click this, a RECEIVED email will be sent to those who choose to receive emails, and the offer post will be removed from digests being sent out, as well as off of the board.

8. How do I access the ADMINs that the moderators sent to the group?

You can find the ADMIN posts at the top of the messages page for Chicago Freecycle. Log into the site and go to http://my.freecycle.org/home/groups. Click on Chicago and then you will see the Admins at the top of the page. Just click on the titles of the Admin notices you want to read.

9. How do I access the Files for the group?

You can find the Files of the group by logging into the site and then go to http://my.freecycle.org/home/groups. Click on Chicago and then once at the group homepage, click the Files section under the orange Group Info Tab. You can then either download the files to save on your computer or simply view them by clicking the link.

10. How do I remove myself from the group?

To remove yourself from the group, please visit http://my.freecycle.org and login with your username and password.

Click on the "My Groups" tab. You will see the groups you belong to and below them some menu options for each group. Click the "leave the group tab"and be sure to confirm your choice.

Please allow 24-48 hours for the system to process any changes.

11. What is the maximum file size for photos to be posted?

The maximum size of photos is 256 kb.

12. How do I read the posts on the group and reply to them?

To read the current messages on the group, after you log in click on the My Groups tab and then select the Chicago Freecycle group. There you can view All Posts, Offers or Wanteds by using those specific tabs on the site. When you see a post that you would like to reply to click the See Details link in the post and at the bottom is a place to fill in your reply and then send it to the member.

13. How do I search for an item on the group?

To search for a post, there are search boxes at the bottom of the 3 Tabs that show posts (All Items, Offers & Wanteds). If you are looking for a specific item that was offered, click on the Offers Tab once you are signed into the group and at the bottom, you can type in the item you are looking for in the box marked "Words to look for". Then select the "Include OFFER Posts?" box and hit the Search Posts button.



This should bring up the items you are looking for if they were offered on the group.

14. How do I post a photo and can I send it via email?

To post a photo or a picture with your Offer, you must be signed into the website and post directly there. When you select the type of post as being an Offer, there will be an option to upload a photo to the site. Photos cannot be sent via email as they will not be posted on the site, but the message of the post will go through.

15. Help! My Freecycle emails are going into my Spam/Bulk mail folder!

This can be resolved by adding the following to your address book *@mods.freecycle.org Please note you must include the asterisk in the address when adding it.

If you have any further questions not answered in the FAQs or the Etiquette File, please contact the volunteer moderators directly at chicagofreecycle@mods.freecycle.org.

Thank you for helping to save the planet!

The Chicago Freecycle Volunteer Moderators