Reps Election 2012 - Candidate Questions

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J
1		Question 1: If you were elected and found that you were the only one agreeing with something which all the other Reps were against what would you do about it? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreegleUK-Central/message/33525	Question 2: As there are more candidates than the number of Reps that we are voting for in this election ... what would you do if you were one of the unlucky ones who didn't get enough votes? 1) would you say (or think) OK I tried by best or 2) would you think ... well, I tried that, haven't won & won't try that again or 3) OK I didn't win this time but I may try again later. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreegleUK-Central/message/33530	Question 3: With seven great people running for only 4 roles it will mean that 3 of you will not be asked to be reps this time! My thanks to all seven but especially to the ones not selected this time! Assuming that you are one of the selected one: Do you think the remaining candidates still have a role to play at a larger than local level? If yes, what should the reps do to make sure they feel comfortable in that role? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreegleUK-Central/message/33543	Question 4: As a Rep you will potentially have conflicts of interest (either with Freegle roles or externally). How do you see yourself dealing with this if it should occur? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreegleUK-Central/message/33546	Question 5: Getting volunteers to work with Freegle on both a local and national level is difficult. Recruiting volunteers who have the right mix of available time, interest and drive across the wide range of required areas (moderating, tech, publicity etc) is difficult. Yet it is also, undoubtedly integral to not only the running of local groups, but the organisation as a whole. My questions are:- What are your thoughts and ideas regarding increasing the range of volunteer activities both locally and nationally? How can we better support and engage with local groups who may be distanced from the Freegle organisation? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreegleUK-Central/message/33558	Question 6: What do you think will help Freegle grow over your term of office. And what are your views on the recent suggestions of a Trading Arm? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreegleUK-Central/message/33560	Question 7: There is a huge temptation for Reps to spread themselves thinly because so many interesting things happen and get discussed by the Reps. If elected, how will you make sure you don't get overburdened? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreegleUK-Central/message/33641	Question 8: If the workload of the Reps became too much would you consider asking: 1) for more Reps 2) for more help in any other way or don't you think it would be neccessary, if so what would you suggest? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreegleUK-Central/message/33696	Question 9: I would like to ask the candidates how they view the following two statements on Gifting and Decommodification and the statements relevance to Freegle. I copied them from the Burning Man site.I have seen a similar theme in Freecycle publicity and have felt that the ideas are one of the great things that have attracted people to to the Freegle and Freecycle movement. I hope the candidates tell us what or if they plan to do to advance these ideals. Gifting: Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value. Decommodification: In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience. With commercial sponsorship seen on freegle, * i.e servers * in the past seeking to have alliances with companies charging for their services, * letting people make money out of freegle i.e badgemaking *A trading arm probably being put in place and moderators accepting money for their services Apart from the occasional mention on freegle gifting and no discussion at depth about gifting. It seems the importance of these ideas are fading into the background and freegle is changing into something quite different.

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3	Sheila Little	I would make sure that my view was expressed and I would give my reasons why I was for something all the others were against. As with voting generally though, I would go with a majority decision. I would be happy that even though the decision was against me, that I had been able to give my own opinion.	I would definitely go with answer number three. Somebody has to lose the vote, if that happens to be me, then I know I will have tried my best, but I will be happy to stand again next year.	Thankyou for your support. Of course the candidates that are not selected have a role to play. There are many jobs that need doing and all moderators could try to help out. The main thing is that we help people find a role that suits them and their abilities. Something that only takes up as much time as they can spare and something they feel they can do. Of course reps can only try to encourage those who don't get voted in to take on a role, in the same way they try to encourage every moderator within Freegle to take a part. If they don't want to, we can't do anything to push a role upon them.	It depends on how serious the conflict is. If it is just a conflict of interest regarding a specific topic, then I would say so and withdraw from taking any further part in that discussion. If it was a serious conflict of interest regarding the Reps job as a whole, then I would have no choice but to stand down.	I think a lot of the problem with recruiting volunteers is that people either don't have the extra time needed to fulfil another job besides the moderating they already do, or that they don't feel they are up to the job. We can't make extra time for people, but there are many who would like to help if the right job came up. We need to try to make the work that needs doing sound a little less daunting. Some jobs need specific skills but there are many that any of us could do and we need to get that across when those sort of jobs are advertised on Central. It is difficult to engage with groups who don't really want to get involved. First we must attempt to find out why they don't want to engage with the organisation and see if there is any way we can improve or change things for the better, to make them more likely to take part. We need to be able to show them that by joining us on central, they will have lots of support from other moderators across the country who will always answer any questions they have, or give advice on any problems that crop up drawing on their own experiences with similar problems, but we can only do that once we figure out why they don't want to get involved in the first place	The main thing that will help Freegle grow is publicity. Cat has been working hard in this area, but we all need to do more to publicise our own groups and the Reps could come up with ideas of efficient ways to do that. We must also do more to show those groups who are not yet using the applications, that Facebook and Freegle Direct are not to be feared. It seems that almost everyone has a Facebook account these days and it is a very good method to get our name out there. Together with our Yahoo groups Facebook can help give all groups a good boost. I am all for a trading arm. Some people are putting in so many hours doing vital work that we are in danger of losing them. We need to be able to pay them, even if it is a small wage. We also need money to pay for travel and other expenses. We can't expect donations to pay for it all so I believe we need an income that is a little more reliable.	I think anyone who takes on a role of this sort will undoubtedly become overburdened at some point. If any of us feel overwhelmed by the workload, we should not be afraid to ask our fellow Reps for advice or even a little help. We will be a team working together for the good of Freegle. If I still felt overburdened or stressed by it all, I would just go for a walk with my dogs or spend a little time in the greenhouse pottering with my plants. That usually helps me relax and think things through so that I can tackle the tasks at hand with a fresh mind. I am already on the committee of a plant society helping to keep that running and introducing new ideas as well as, running their seed bank and general enquiries, so I have experienced similar workloads at times. I have always got through it and coped well and I know I would be able to cope with being a rep if I am lucky enough to be chosen.	I think we have enough reps. Any more would be too many. The best answer would be to get help in another way. Maybe sorting through the tasks at hand and see if any of them could be done by a volunteer outside of the reps. If all the work must be done by reps, then I would suggest dealing with the most important first and sorting out the remainder as soon as we are able.	I don't think Freegle is changing into something different. Gifting has always been at the heart of what we do. Not contemplating a return or exchange is in my mind exactly the same as our no strings attached rule. The only way to develop gifting further is to try to increase our membership overall so there are even more people gifting than before. That brings us to the second part of your question. I believe that Freegle needs an income. Not to make profit, but enough to cover our costs. We can't expect to be able to pay for servers, insurances and similar on donations made by moderators all the time. Cat travels to all sorts of meetings and works hard to get the Freegle name out there. Besides covering her travel expenses, we have to consider the hours being put in to attend these events. The time spent is above and beyond modding a group. Cat is not the only one putting in excessive hours. If There was a queue of volunteers helping to spread the load, things may be different, but there aren't, so should we lose any of these people because they do need to earn a living and are suffering burnout, then we are in trouble. So if we could also earn enough to pay these people a small wage for the hours invested above and beyond normal moderating, they are more likely to be in a position where they can afford to keep on doing what they do now, which is helping our groups to grow. If we need to take on some form of commercial sponsorship or advertising to make enough money to do that, then I am all for it so long as we are very careful about which companies we accept for sponsorship. We wouldn't want to allow any company known for vast amounts of waste to advertise on our webpage. It is also important that any advertising is not so prominent that it is more noticeable than Freegle itself.
4	Andy Ludlow	In answer to question 1..As I said in my statement, I am happy to take all comments into consideration, but the decision to be made must be in the best interests of Freegle and although I may not necessarily be in agreement with the decision, Freegle must go forwards to survive.	My answer to the second question would be OK I didn't win this time but I may try again later. I firmly believe that there is a need for new reps to help take the pressure off of those who have done so much thus far as well as working their day job.	Personally, having previously answered that I would apply again, I would volunteer for another role. We did have a request for volunteers a while back, which I was unable to do, but now things are slightly better I feel that I could re-volunteer if I was not successful this time. I am sure that the other candidates would also be thinking along the same lines. If other roles were filled then it would take pressure off of the more technical reps to enable them to have more time for those problems. I am sure that the more experienced reps would be able to help and advise when needed.	Thanks for the question. Any potential conflicts would have to be dealt with as they arise. If it was whilst I was representing Freegle, then Freegle takes priority. I would also declare any conflict of interest as soon as I was aware of it, and if necessary withdraw from any discussion. If the conflict could not be resolved then I would have to think what to do about carrying on as a Rep and resign if it was necessary.	I think we all need to involve more volunteers at local level first, so they can get involved with their local group(s) and find out what it's all about. This does two things. Firstly it introduces new volunteers into the system and secondly, once they have been involved for a reasonable time, it should allow those who have already been volunteering, the chance to move up and help take the pressure from those who are overburdened. As far as engaging local groups, it might help if there was a mentor who would be accessible for local groups who need encouragement or help,within a set distance of their own group, rather than approaching the Reps. This might cut down response times and take pressure from the Reps, but any requests should still be made through Central or another list, in order that all is seen to be following the rules. That would also allow somebody to pick up a request if the mentor was not able to answer due to other commitments. I know we have the 6 Area Groups, but they do cover a very large area. I also think we would lose a lot of local groups if the messages were not answered fairly quickly.	Good question David. I just wish I had a crystal ball to help me answer it. I can only say that if I am elected I will do as much as I can to promote Freegle's awareness wherever I go, in an effort to add members and posts to the group. If Freegle does decide to have a trading arm, then it will allow those who, like Edward, seem to spend all of their waking time doing work for Freegle, to back off a bit and leave the day to day stuff to others. They can then concentrate on keeping Freegle at the forefront of the recycling world. As has been said by others, I cannot see how Freegle will survive if we cannot move forward.	At this moment, I can see from what you say that this may become an issue for a Rep. I can only say that I must be aware of all things , at home, work ,leisure and Freegle time, and ensure that no one activity takes over. This would be enough for me to make sure I cannot over extend my commitment to Freegle. I would also have to remind myself that I cannot volunteer for everything, but must focus on getting things finished before I commit to taking anything else on.	Interesting question Joy. I think the number of Reps is probably enough, any more and it may be a bit cumbersome. Possibly, with agreement from the other Reps, see if someone could be co-opted from the Moderators or Membership, for a set period of time to help with a specific problem. Who knows, it may tap previously unknown sources and perhaps a slightly different perspective on a particular problem.	I will be honest and say that at this time I do not totally understand the question and in my opinion, there is not enough time for me to research these statements in order to understand them and still have time to reply. Anything this complex should have been asked earlier in the given time span and not 2 hours before the end of question time.
5	Edward Hibbert	First, we'd talk about it. I might change my mind, or they might change theirs. That often happens in discussions and is one of the reasons why it's good to have a number of Reps to discuss things and bounce ideas around. But let's presume we don't agree. Then we'd vote on it; we have procedures for decisions which mean that if we have 6 of 9 Reps in favour of something, then it is a Reps decision. It's not at all common for us to be split 6:3 like that, because we usually mostly agree after discussion, but we could do that. If we had a decision like that where I was in the minority then I'd support the decision unless I felt it was so very wrong that I really couldn't support it and would prefer to resign.	3). I'd focus on tech work and consider standing again later.	Do you think the remaining candidates still have a role to play at a larger than local level? Absolutely - we need more and more active national volunteers, and there's no shortage of stuff to do. If yes, what should the reps do to make sure they feel comfortable in that role? That's an interesting question. Mostly, it's continuing to be nice, I think. I am always surprised by how well we all get on, and that we rarely lose sight of the fact that we're all helping to creating a very strange and remarkable organisation. That's something which unites us all underneath. Beyond that: Actively looking for ways to involve people on specific tasks. Respecting the person. For example, if someone doesn't get elected as a Rep but does get elected to some other role, then they have as much legitimacy in that role as they would have done if they'd become a Rep.Not "lording it" over anyone, in a "I got more votes than you so you're wrong" kind of way. I can't really see anyone doing that, though.	This is something we should take seriously, because although we're all lovely and well-intentioned, it's quite easy for people to sometimes slip into doing things they shouldn't, especially if they have the familiarity of working together for a while. And if we go take up some of the options we have been discussing which involve money, then we need to make sure that the Reps don't have their own version of the MPs' expenses scandal. Even if it would raise our profile, not all publicity is good publicity... First, try to spot them. One trick I find useful is that if you find yourself going to a lot of effort to explain to yourself or to other people why you really don't think you have a conflict of interest, then that itself probably tells you that you do, otherwise you wouldn't be arguing about it :-). Second, be transparent and support transparent procedures. For example, Freegle's public accounts are far more open than any others I know, and part of that is because it makes it possible for other people to pick up on possible conflicts. Third, accept it if someone else thinks you do have a conflict - it's not a personal attack on your integrity if someone says that, it's about ensuring that Freegle is kept safe and healthy. To make it easy for people to raise such concerns, perhaps we should have a Reps working practice to allow people to anonymously register a concern about conflict of interest.	What are your thoughts and ideas regarding increasing the range of volunteer activities both locally and nationally? Nationally, we've tried a lot of ways of doing this, and we've not had a great deal of success increasingly our national volunteers. The Reps paper at the AGM talks about this. I don't think the problem here is that the national organisation doesn't allow people to contribute and needs to do more - it's that most people do not have the time, motivation or sometimes skills to contribute nationally. That's true in most organisations, and I think we need to recognise that it is true for us too. The main way I think we can help with this at the national level is (putting it bluntly) earn a bit of money so that we can help those people who are able to do national work to be able to without making daft levels of sacrifice. Doing that would make it less off-putting for other people. Locally, the bulk of the responsibility lies with local groups rather than the Reps. It's up to local groups to drive recruiting active local volunteers, and that applies even when the group thinks it's managing fine - because if you get more local volunteers who have spare time/skills, then they can do more nationally. Again, though, if we had a bit more cash we could support local groups a bit more with materials, travel expenses etc. How can we better support and engage with local groups who may be distanced from the Freegle organisation? By showing them what the national organisation does for them. For example, the recent drive to give groups business cards got a great response. That's only a small thing, but we could do much more in the area of helping local groups with publicity or materials - though that itself costs money and national time. Showing groups how they benefit from the national organisation is the first step in getting them more engaged - and, longer term, hopefully getting them to contribute more nationally to help out other groups.	What do you think will help Freegle grow over your term of office? Three things: 1) Getting a mobile app. This lets us reach people we wouldn't otherwise reach, and will make it easier for existing freeglers to freegle more often. 2) Getting more groups to add Freegle Direct or another modern platform (such as Norfolk). We have strong evidence that this helps groups, and much as I hate the prospect, I would expect groups which are only on Yahoo to continue a steep decline, and be effectively gone by the end of this term. I wish that wasn't the case, but I think it is. However Freegle Direct is and should remain optional - no matter how strongly I think people ought to add it. 3) Forming a national relationship which gives us publicity. We can never afford to run our own publicity campaign, so what we need is a national organisation that will promote us. And what are your views on the recent suggestions of a Trading Arm? I think it is critical. Without it I can't see how we can expect to survive.	Good question. I don't have a good answer; I do get overburdened from time to time. I try to recognise that and go off for a walk or cycle. But I can't say I've solved that problem.	I don't think more Reps would help - there's a point at which it stops helping and starts getting harder to reach decisions. I would ask for more non Rep volunteers to do non Reps work.	Apologies for any act of editing as I'm on my phone and the question period will end before I'm back at a computer. Responses below. Gifting: This is central to what Freegle is about from the member point of view. I am opposed to any attempt to make money out of members except for voluntary donations. Freegle should remain free at the point of use, and I am opposed to swaps or other exchanges - the no strings attached rule from Freecycle days is a very good one. Decommodification: The reality is that Freegle is free to use but not free to run. There are some services, such as hosting or printing, which require money. And where we rely on volunteers those volunteers are effectively using their income from other sources to subsidise the time they spend on Freegle. We have to be careful not to exploit our volunteers in this respect. The sentiment sounds laudable but I'm not sure Burning Man themselves have a completely coherent position. For example, Burning Man charges for tickets, roughly 300 dollars. That is a clear transaction - but that source of income allows them to do a good thing in a sustainable way. I think Freegle also needs to find a source of income which is sustainable to allow us to do what we do. I think it is preferable to do this in a way that does not charge members (the equivalent of ticket prices). Since we do not attract much in the way of donations, and do not seem able or likely to receive significant grants, charging organisation but not individuals seems the least bad feasible option to me. With commercial sponsorship seen on freegle, >* i.e servers: In exchange for a small badge we get half price hosting which saves hundreds of pounds a year. I think this is a good deal. * in the past seeking to have alliances with companies charging for their services: That is inevitable. If we boycotted such companies we would not use Yahoo. * letting people make money out of freegle i.e badgemaking: I'm not sure what this means. *A trading arm probably being put in placeand moderators accepting money for their services: Where we cannot obtain or sustain those services on a voluntary basis. Apart from the occasional mention on freegle gifting and no discussion at depth about gifting. It seems the importance of these ideas are fading into the background and freegle is changing into something quite different: The tone of what I've written above is a bit negative. Actually I think there is an interesting and useful discussion to be had about how to preserve the integrity of what we do. But I think we are kidding ourselves if we think that we can sustain or improve this with 'sullying' ourselves with some involvement of money.
6	Cat Fletcher	Hi everyone, sorry for belated response. I am not reading the other candidate's responses so apologies for any duplication. The Reps discuss matters and then vote to make decisions (a quorum is 6/9) It is healthy to have diverse opinions and we all have the chance to voice our own views. If mine was in the minority I would do my best to explain it well and evidence anything worthy especially if it was about a matter where I had expertise but I am always happy to accept that majority rules for any final decisions. I am open to changing my mind about things too, as are other reps and this frequently happens because we have robust discussions but listen to each other and maintain a calm environment to conduct Rep business in.	1 and 3 It's tricky election, it would be good to see some new faces as Reps but people may want to also support exiting reps to be re-elected....so gosh, anything could happen!	There is lots to be done locally and nationally so of course wherever possible any Freegle volunteer who would like to do more nationally should be encouraged and supported to do so. The 3 unsuccessful candidates could look at the volunteer task list (which needs a new coordinator itself!) and see where they might best pick up a role or lead a task.... There is no shame in not getting enough votes to be elected as a new Rep and like I said it is a tricky election :-) The Reps always try to make sure that a role being fulfilled by a volunteer is supported with correct information, necessary resources etc and I imagine this would hold for any role that an unsuccessful Reps candidate may fill in the future...I cannot imagine why someone would need to feel 'uncomfortable' in another role really. There is plenty of work to spread around! Having said that if I am not elected as a Rep then we will have to get some new avenues of communication to coordinate national media matters because currently this is done directly within the Reps group. I am confident that if I am not a Rep in the future then the Reps would ensure this happened and make me feel comfortable :-)	I imagine this may become more of an issue should we set up a trading arm. As a Rep or indeed as a Freegle volunteer I would be honest and open about roles I have outside of Freegle, within Freegle or for Freegle. Would be happy to have hearty discussions with other Reps (or a 'board' or comittee' or whatever may be set up in the future) to ensure that a conflict of interest is revealed and sorted out as best decided by the majority of Reps. I reckon transparency is probably the key and I am always happy to be open about what I am doing etc. I am thinking that as Reps we are very conscious of this anyway and am sure we would have things in place to ensure that any conflicts of interest were revealed and dealt with appropriately for whatever situations may arise.... I spend a fair amount of time wearing a few hats simultaneously anyway and give due consideration to how I present myself publicly and how that reflects on Freegle as a whole, even if I am not wearing a Freegle hat (so to speak).	I think we should accept that most Freegle volunteers are busy running their local groups (and with their own lives!). We could share more good mod/group experiences on Central and evidence successes so mods can understand and benefit from changes and hopefully adopt them. Reps I guess always try to lead by example and it'd be great if nationally we provided better and more publicity tools (templates, links etc) and resources (e.g:business cards) to local groups to help them a bit more and stop expecting a team of IT, publicity or funding experts to rise up from our volunteer base and rescue us-we have tried for years to unearth more of what we need and it simply doesn't exist - which is okay. Let's move on, be nice to and supportive of the volunteers we do have and share our successes so all groups can be as appealing as possible to as many people in those communities as possible. So we probably need to support those people creating those tools and resources better or get some money to do that. Sorry it's reality check time for me! communications idea below and I'll end my babbling there....it's not easy motivating anyone let alone volunteers but we are essentially pretty dynamic as a whole having come this far and just need to be nice to each other, trust good advice and be enthusiastic about what we are all doing and be flexible to move with the times. Sounds so easy! Lol Maybe a weekly, bi-monthly, monthly? Freegle simple email newsletter with a round up of latest Geek developments, current Structure tasks, Central streams of interest, Media matters and a with a current list of volunteer opportunities (tasks or roles). I am a member on zillions of organisations that I do not volunteer to run but I use and support and am interested in them-I rely on their weekly or monthly 'update email' to keep me abreast of what's going on, what I can do to help etc...I simply don't have time to trawl all the detail of those organisations or open up fancy documents or read forum threads but I will respond to an easy to access email newsletter with links to click on and simple quick actions I can act on right there and then; and I am sure Freegle is the same for many of our volunteers: they are happy to run their local group, happy some of us are doing stuff to keep it all going but without an easy to access quick and simple way for them to know what is going on or what they could quickly do to find out a bit of news or action something, they will drift away from us and be disconnected-expecting hundreds of volunteers to follow endless conversations on all our working groups and Central is a bit onerous I think. A simple wrap up email newsletter needs volunteers to action that though, so it is easy to suggest these things and another to make them happen :-)	I do think that Freegle needs to establish a way of self supporting so it can attract and keep the expertise it needs to operate and to grow. Without maintenance and development of technological framework our groups will not be able to offer a user-friendly service into the future that facilitates lots of reuse. I imagine that groups without better interfaces will decline and not be able to provide an appealing and community wide service. Currently we rely on Edward and a small team to provide these developments. Without publicity, promotion and cross-sector engagement we are unlikely to attract lots more people to the concept of reuse with Freegle because they simply will not know about us and there are a zillion alternatives these days. The geek team are responsible for developing features which achieve a lot of social media interaction and thus new members and I do a lot of the other media and engagement work. The Freegle tech and media work are really full time professional roles which understandably cannot continue voluntarily and endlessly into the future without better resources to support the people doing that work. It's ambitious but it is a bit 'do or die' if you ask me! So I would support the research and exploration of setting up a 'trading arm' for Freegle in the very near future but would expect a high level of transparency and proprietary in all that is done around this. Indeed the current Reps have already been discussing options, shared at recent AGM with all volunteers. I would welcome having a sustainable operating model to maintain our core requirements (especially for Tech/Media work-as they are constant requirements and expensive to outsource). This holds true whether or not I do the media work. Voluntarily or not it is a vast task that requires constant work, coordination, continuity and skills-and unlike modding or many other national tasks frequently has to be done in 'business hours' and often in person. Our robust infrastructure (intricately developed over 3 years!) makes me confident that we can set up a trading arm professionally and in a manner that does not risk our ethos nor support from Freegle volunteers.	This question is relevant to my whole life! so I guess it's just a matter of being real about what can and cannot be done, being organised and eeking out smart ways to achieve desired outcomes. Being resourceful! Not letting a failure or shortcoming kill one's spirit is key to keeping motivated. Mine has definitely been tested from time to time :-) Try to not let problems be barriers but instead springboards for new ideas and approaches. prioritising communicating with the team (the other Reps) being empathetic with each other taking a break sharing problems, issues, tasks don't waste time on things that you are no good at! trust and use other people's skills No easy answer, each person has their own coping mechanisms but being nice to each other and open is really important so we can be supportive of each other, cope individually and do our best as a team.	Thanks Joy, no to (1) and yes to (2) ask for help to delegate workload or outsource help for specific tasks I won't be around from now until midnight so I hope there's no more candidate questions this evening:-)	I've missed the 11:59pm answer curfew I'm afraid was working all evening so it's a no comment from me.
7	Stuart Fraser	Firstly I would try to get the other reps to reconsider but if that was not successful then I suppose I would stick to my own thoughts if it was 50/50 then I would have to go with the flow and agree with whatever the the others had decided.	I would return to my current position of Returning Officer until the next Reps election and stand again, if I was still not successful then perhaps I might consider the options of standing again or not. . .	As in the last reply I would return to my current role of returning officer. I will try to be more involved in the running of freegle particularly the iframe my bro in law and I have been working on.	I would do my best to resolve any conflicts and I can assure that Freegle stuff stays on Freegle and is not discussed elsewhere, regardless of who the others may be including family and friends.	This could be a difficult issue to deal with and would possibly be better to be dealt with at a local level, perhaps by giving limited moderator status to some members so that they can help out by posting messages to the group but not approve messages or add/remove members etc. These members could help by contacting local organisations and councils etc also download leaflets; I have a few leaflets on N.S.Freegle for download, these are available for anyone on the group to download and print off and hand them out to local businesses, colleges and schools etc. I suppose a good way to start would be posting a special notice to the group asking for volunteers, but that might not get a lot of responses as happened when I asked a while ago for new moderators as some of my moderators were no longer active. Another way might be to post on twitter and facebook and hope that might get a better response?	I do not think that a "Trading Arm" is a good idea in an organisation in which things are supposed to be given for free. . but I would ensure that Freegle continues to grow both in my term of office (if elected)and their after no matter which role I may hold in the future.	I would make sure if overburdened that I took a bit of time out either pop up the lake for a walk/fishing or potter around in the garden for a bit. I would hope that I would be able to make a difference and help the other reps to keep on track and deal with any problems or disagreements appropriately.		Freegle is a free service where items are passed form one member to another so over all I don't see the point of the question below. I have had further thoughts though on the trading arm and think that ultimately that might be a good idea as a way of getting funds but paying moderators is not something I would agree with. But I don't think that this is something that we should just jump into without consideration of all the consequences both good and bad. If we can continue to raise funds from the moderators, owners and other sources and this enough to keep us going then that would be OK for now and a trading arm, something that might be worth looking into at some time soon.
8	Tina Wilcox	Without a doubt I would have expressed my view when it was being discussed but if everyone else was against it I would be happy to go with the majority decision. This is something I'm used to anyway on GAT, once a decision is made we all happily work with it even if it was something we had really wanted but hadn't happened.It never alters how we work together, we get over it and move on!	Well I can tell you it definitely wouldn't be number 2! I'm not defeatist and I'm not a sore loser either! I'd say "I haven't won this time but I'd definitely consider standing again and I wish all the successful candidates well".	I think anyone, not just those standing, has a role to play at larger than local level if they want it. There is the facility for them to do this with the working groups and roles such as Returning Officer, Auditor and Mediation etc. and I'd love to see more people involved! So for sure I think those not successful can either be involved, or stay involved if they already are. I think the Reps can only continue to do what they already do, try and encourage involvement and be supportive to those who do, as I think they are now.	Sometimes on GAT we have had a conflict on interest, we state that and we take no part in that case. It doesn't happen a lot and I'm sure it won't happen a lot in a Rep role, but if it did I would think it could be dealt with in the same way. Similarly, if someone else was to point out a conflict on interest that maybe I hadn't considered, I'd be fine taking that on board and acting accordingly. I will say that I'd take a Rep role very seriously and if there was a conflict that caused me to have to choose it or being a Rep, it would have to be a very good reason for me to step down! I am the same about my position on GAT.	I agree, getting volunteers to help can be difficult. I wonder if people don't respond to requests to get involved as they don't think they will have the time or feel obligated to give more time than they can? This could happen locally as well as nationally. So I wonder if breaking tasks down into small manageable chunks would help. And we just need to reassure people that how much they give is up to them and that they can only give things a try. I know I keep mentioning GAT, but when I applied for that and got it, I was extremely daunted by what I would have to do, thought 'what have I let myself in for' but I pushed myself to do it and now, well it's second nature and I love it! We need to reassure people it's not as scary as it seems and I've definitely gained a lot from it, definitely grown in confidence which has filtered back to how I promote my own groups. Proof of this 'have I got time' I think was in the mentor group, not many people have applied to be a mentor mod but when help is asked for a local group, local owners to that group always seem willing to help out. They're mentoring, just not committing to mentoring as a whole, so it's about keeping it small and doable. I do also think getting more volunteers locally would have a very positive effect as it may help other owners/mods who didn't have the time, to have the time to get involved. I have a fab mod team and several wonderful back up mods and this definitely helps me to devote more time nationally, I know my groups are in safe hands and the day to day handling of posts will be covered. So I think a drive by local groups to recruit more mods would be a wonderful idea. I think we can only let local groups know what's on offer and support them in any way we can. Maybe a nice friendly email to our neighbours asking how their doing would help, I don't think it's necessarily a 'Rep' thing but something we could all help with.	I think the only way Freegle can grow is to keep up with the times. This means having a mobile app and Freegle Direct. Yahoo is antiquated and unfortunately puts so many people off. I would never want to force anything on a group, autonomy is what makes Freegle great, but there is no doubt in my mind that without these things Freegle will flounder. People now want one click joining and easy to use interface and if we don't give them that, they will go and join someone who does! I also believe the use of social media is critical, I know many people have reservations about using it but we need to reach people! Following and tweeting people has got me an excellent link with my Council, two radio interviews, 200 free promotional pens, 1000 free flyers and over 1,000 followers many of whom retweet my posts to their followers thus getting my group more well known. My view on the Trading Arm is that it is also probably essential for our survival, we have to consider all the options and do whatever is required to help Freegle survive and thrive!	I don't think there's a magic answer to this, but I am pretty good at recognising when things are maybe getting a bit much. I shut off the computer for a while, do something I like (making cards I find quite therapeutic or baking a cake or some bread) and come back to things later. As I haven't been a Rep before I don't really know what the workload will be like and I'm sure everyone who does a fair bit nationally is going to feel overburdened at some point, I guess it's just recognising that and taking a break. I will say though, that I wouldn't have agreed to stand when I was nominated if I didn't think I could do the role justice :o)	I'm not sure that more Reps would be the answer, too many cooks and all that! I could see more Reps making more work actually, by discussions taking longer etc. But definitely more non Rep help with tasks that don't need to be done by Reps would be advantageous. We need to find a way to encourage that.	Gifting certainly is the great thing that has attracted people to Freegle and nothing has or will change in that respect. To members, everything will always be free and that is something I would definitely make a stand for as a Rep if it ever came into question (I can't imagine it ever would though). But we cannot avoid the fact that Freegle costs money to run! I think the first year that Freegle existed, Edward paid the hosting costs (someone will correct me if I'm wrong I'm sure!)? I think he may have been reimbursed since, but why should he have been out if pocket for something that benefits all our groups? We cannot avoid some running costs and if having a small badge on the website means we save money on the hosting, I do not believe that is a big price to pay. Everything is open and transparent for all moderators to see and always will be. We also can't get by expecting moderators to pay for publicity materials, I'm sure that there is a largish percentage of moderators that just can't justify expenditure for that, especially in the current climate. Being able to send out business cards is wonderful and I'd like Freegle to be able to do more to help moderators, but the simple fact is, we can't do that without money! I don't believe Freegle has lost sight of its roots and that it's about anything other than gifting, but things do have to change in order for it to survive, I'd like to think its changing for the better and for the better of all groups. Sorry if that all seems a bit garbled or rushed, it's a Friday night, I've had a glass (or two maybe) of wine and there wasn't much time to answer the question!
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