The idea of Olio is excellent, helping people to reduce food waste and reducing landfill in the community (Website: https://olioex.com/)
You list some spare food from your house or supermarket (as a Food Waste Volunteer) or a non food item and arrange for a member to pick it up at a suitable time. Someone picks it up from your door or public location. Hey presto all very convenient. I have picked up stuff or donated stuff for years.
However, there is a the dark side of Olio – occasional sexual harassment, threats of violence and members cyberbullying other members, sometimes vulnerable members, on the forum. People blocking members if they don’t turn up as they won’t want to have their 5* rating affected.
Several women have been pestered by some male members ‘asking for dates’ or ‘being suggestive’. Some men are preying on women on the site, particularly if they have a photo of themselves on their profile. Some women have said that when they had to turn down a man, when he was unable to get an item, he ‘threatened to smash her house up’. Some members, on asking for clothes have asked members to use their house as a changing room, as a rouse perhaps, to rob their house.
The Olio forum is like the wild west. It is often survival of the rudest. It has some safe headings like Recipes and I love Olio but other forums get hijacked by some rude members. Some members have been targeting and bullying members and it is a regular occurrence, regular sniping at each other regularly. Though there has been some improvement to the site, some members refuse to use the forum as it still has a toxic culture, but some remain on there battling away standing up to other members, . If one has sense, it is recommended not to use the forum at all. A friend of mine checked out a screenshot of some of the comments and he said ‘wow, they seem to be very bitchy’. It is supposed to be a community, but it does not have his feel at all on the forum sometimes.
Would I recommend Olio to friends and relatives? No I wouldn’t recommend it to my friends or relatives, mainly because of the safety and mental wellbeing elements. There needs to be far better security on member registration and moderation.
*Beaulieu* 