huckleberries

5 years agodiscuss

Sure, it's not for everyone because there is social pressure to leave a kind word for others in your community, and there are other free exchange groups that may fit your style more. No one is required to explain why they need something, but a lot of people feel comfortable saying "my daughter would love this" instead of a lot of "me"s and "next"s. It's a weird vicarious dopamine hit for everyone else reading along; hard to explain if you haven't experienced it.

huckleberries

5 years agodiscuss

At one point recently, the founders tried to very mildly promote their book and all the admins of all the Buy Nothing chapters gave them a lot of backlash for trying to hawk stuff in the Admin Hub group.

huckleberries

5 years agodiscuss

It is designed to be more inclusive that way -- otherwise, some people grab everything and others are discouraged and become disengaged. Also, a big mission of the Buy Nothing Project is to build a sense of community among the members and a lot of that plays out in the comment thread interactions. It's better for the community-building if people take the time to type out thoughtful comments and share a little about themselves, as opposed to race to be the first to type "Interested" or "me!"