Buy Nothing exploded on Facebook ? now it wants a platform of its own

Thriving communities might feel threatened by yet another space with the same mission.“At times, people will feel that there’s only room for one group,” Clark says. Eddie Chang, a moderator of a Buy Nothing group on the Upper East Side in New York, says some administrators feel the addition of the app might unnecessarily complicate a system that was already working well. (In December, the Buy Nothing website for the first time featured a banner asking for supporters to consider chipping in.) The fine print currently allows for admins to have a “gratitude jar,” and Clark says she would like to see volunteers compensated for the time and skills they’ve already devoted to keeping groups afloat. “But it’s a labor of love.” The middle ground for communities has been to attempt to keep both the Facebook group and the app active, an option that Clark and other project co-founders encourage if it makes sense for the group. But within time, you probably are going to be comfortable enough to show all the sides of yourself you showed in your Facebook group.”A fresh platform owned and operated by people dedicated to Buy Nothing feels like a blank slate to build on, Clark says.