Freecycle rant

[Missy]

As part of our homeschool program, we have to f igure out a few things for PE. When the weather is warm, no big deal we have plenty ideas. But for cold weather, we have indoor options...pool, bowling, um...Wii maybe... well, we were thinking that since we as a family enjoy bowling maybe that could be a regular thing. However the cost of that with three kids often...will rack up. To mitigate some of the cost I went on Freecycle for supplies (i expect no one will have all of what I am looking for, but maybe, ya never know. maybe someones kid joined a league and quit and they are stuck with barely used stuff. Here's my post:

Hi there! I am on the lookout for bowling balls and bowling shoes.

womans size 6, mens size 13 (12 might work too), boys size 11 (five year old) and 6 (11 year old) and girls size 2

Bowling balls any weight.

other accessories you might want to get rid of...bags, towels, etc would be fantastic!

Sounds alright yes?? No. I got an email back about how i have put my kids in danger by posting their ages and etc. I put their ages because a size 11 for my five year old is quite different than an 11 for my 10 year old.

here's the reply...

We do not allow addresses, phone numbers, or children's ages or personal information about our members personal lives, to be posted to the list. It is a safety issue, as anyone can read the archives and locate you or your family members. Think about how many people would then know where you live, how to get in touch with you and other personal information. For more info, please check out these web sites. Thank you.

1. National Sex Offender Registry - Family Watchdog
2. http://www.nsopr.gov/
3. Global Incident Map Displaying Events, Incidents And Other Suspicious Activity
4. NetSmartz Homepage - Resource has Moved

OK...so am I the only person in the city the size of 418,076 with three kids those genders and ages?? And how would they find the kids...you have to PICK up the items, people don't deliver...I wouldn't be sending my kids Hansel and Gretel style to someones door for bowling shoes.

Ok, so I was calmer and I emailed the mod asking her help with the wording. SO she deleted my post and sent me this...

Please remove the age and specify a size of bowling ball, ie weight or small and etc.

So, FV'ers...um...what??? Am I reading this all wrong?? How would you word it?? Any help would be appreciated. Am I totally trying to get my kids kidnapped?

[monkeywrangler71]

I think the smaller sizes are called "child's" and the larger sizes are called "youth's", so maybe you could distinguish that way. The 6 is probably the only one that they would get confused on, you will need to distinguish them from the small size 6. 'Boy's 11' is clearly for a child, as the next size 11 would be for a man, and anyone wearing a toddler size 2 probably isn't bowling.

How does the ball size relate to the security of your children

[Missy]

but even those signify that it's for children and therefore shares at least a reletive idea of the age of the children...she won't allow it. Because the person can guess the general age of the children form the shoe size.

See why I am frustrated?

[mndtrp]

I've never cared for Freecycle, and this seems to be a case of zero tolerance. It seems easy to get the post to go through, though, remove the ages.

[monkeywrangler71]

If that's the case then no one on that list is allowed to post a wanted or offer of baby clothes or items, children's clothes, toys, books, or any other item used by anyone under the age of 18. Your moderator is either insane or on a power trip. Find another list.