From medical supplies to half-eaten birthday cakes, Buy Nothing is cultivating a weird sense of community, which is mostly fun and occasionally annoying.

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David Stahl doesn't need the leftover kimchi juice, because no one really needs the brine that others have used. But a few months ago, he decided to ask some people to see if it was possible. He sent a request to the Super-local Facebook group Buy Nothing's Shangxi District Association.

It turns out that if you ask, people are willing to give up (and accept) anything. A week later, Mr. Starr walked 10 blocks to the lobby of a stranger's apartment, and took out a gallon-gallon Mt. Olive jar, which contained a light green liquid.

"The doorman thought I wanted a glass because it was too big. I thought,'No, I just really like kimchi juice,'" said Mr. Starr, a 30-year-old water resource engineer. He and a friend drank salt water and used it to chase the camera.

Welcome to the wild world of Buy Nothing, a social media group network mainly on Facebook, where people give and receive things, and treat the things that occupy the home space as gifts that can be shared and cherished. We also encourage members to contribute their time and talents, and lend some items that people may only need a few hours, such as cars or cake pans. It was founded in 2013 by two women in Bainbridge Island, Washington, and has grown to 6,700 independent Buy Nothing Facebook groups distributed in 44 countries. The Buy Nothing Project recently developed an app that will be released more widely in a few weeks.

Giving up what you no longer want is nothing new. Charities such as the Salvation Army and Goodwill rely on these donations. Social media makes it easier for people to find free content on sites such as Craigslist or through groups such as Trash Nothing. But buying nothing turns the act of tidying up into a way to meet neighbors and become friends. Because each group is geographically limited, sometimes only includes a few blocks, and members can only join one group, an active group can become a close trading station, and decorative birthday banners can be spread around there. It mysteriously disappeared after a few months of repeated sharing, as happened in a group in Brooklyn earlier this year.

"We have enough resources in every local community to sustain our lives," said Liesl B. Clark, one of the founders of the Buy Nothing project. In the language of not buying things, everything we have is valuable if you can find people who need it. "If we can reuse, refurbish, repair and repair, and then continue to recycle these items, we don't need to discard anything," Ms. Clark said.

The use of terms such as "containment alert" or "first come first served" is discouraged. You don't put your things on the street, hoping someone will claim it before the garbage truck comes. On the contrary, you are deliberately "giving away" your property. In this version of the gift economy, all items have the same value, and members are not allowed to trade or barter, because each item is considered a gift independent of everything else. For members who may want to exchange goods for services, such restrictions can be frustrating.

Encourage the provider to let the offer "grow" for a period of time, and for some reason, rather than the person who responds the fastest, choose the recipient. The member who raised his hand asked to be "considered" and might provide a compelling reason for wanting a lamp. Or they might be asked to tell a joke, or choose a number, and then choose a winner. If you are the lucky recipient of the above table lamp, you may be inspired to write a "grateful" post and share your joy and photos of the table lamp in your new home.

Panelists across the country said that the result was a sense of community, which was mostly interesting, sometimes weird, and sometimes annoying.

Starr, who has been a Facebook member since March, said that "buy nothing" is "the only reason I'm still on Facebook." "There is no community meeting place anymore," he added, except on Buy Nothing, his group members recently offered a half-eaten birthday cake-a gift that members are happy to accept.

People want more than just partially eaten food. Oh no. The list goes on.

There are standard fares: old furniture, clothing, baby products and household items. But the surprising thing is what makes it interesting. In a group in Los Angeles, cosmetics including lip gloss are often used. The income gap has also become the focus. In Silicon Valley, a team member gave away a piece of art that was apparently purchased for $10,000, while near Germania in Philadelphia, the members shared essential items such as canned food, cheese, milk, and medical supplies.

Living in the gift-giving economy requires a certain degree of patience, and it is difficult to find this virtue if you want to clean your closet quickly.

"You have to let things brew slowly. When you want something, it can be a little annoying, and you feel a little stressed because the group wants you to wait," said Janis Gross, 60, who teaches jewelry making , And is Gramercy Park covering Stuyvesant Town and Manhattan.

According to the group's requirements, let the project simmer slowly, and then you must finally choose one of the many recipients. But how do you decide which stranger is worthy of your old ice cube tray?

The troubled tech giant. An internal document leaked by a former Facebook employee gave people a closer look at the operation of the secret social media company and once again called for better supervision of the company’s wide-ranging impact on its users’ lives.

How it started. In September, the Wall Street Journal published a Facebook document, a series of reports based on leaked documents. The evidence disclosed in this series shows that Facebook used the company name Meta on October 28 to understand that one of its products is worsening the body image problem of teenagers.

informer. In the "60 Minutes" interview aired on October 3, Facebook product manager Frances Haugen, who left the company in May, revealed that she was responsible for the leakage of these internal documents.

Ms. Hogan’s testimony in Congress. On October 5, Ms. Haogen testified before the Senate Subcommittee, saying that Facebook was willing to use hateful and harmful content on its website to attract users back. Facebook executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, called her accusations false.

Facebook papers. Ms. Haugen also filed a complaint with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and provided the edited document to Congress. A congressional worker then provided these files (called Facebook files) to multiple news organizations, including the New York Times.

New revelation. The files in the Facebook file show how well Facebook understands the extremist groups on its website that try to divide American voters before the election. They also revealed that internal researchers have repeatedly determined how key Facebook functions amplify toxic content on the platform.

"It's like being selected by a basketball team-10 people answer, how do you choose?" Ms. Gross said. "I don't like the public nature of it. I don't want to say,'I'm sorry, Mary, I want to give it to Fred.'"

Sometimes people will not show up to pick up their items, or it may be difficult to arrange a pick-up time. Private messages may be lost in Facebook Messenger, causing confusion or disappointment. Some members seem to have more things than others claim, simply because they spend more time on Facebook. When you personally know another member (probably when everyone lives nearby), if you choose someone else to grab your loot, you may offend your friend.

But for Ms. Clark, the public nature of interaction is the point. Transparency allows members to monitor each other. "The gift-giving community is a window into human nature," she said, adding: "We must all get used to feeling uncomfortable in certain situations."

In a group covering a large area of ​​Brooklyn, including Boerum Hill, Gowanus, and Red Hook, a glass sex toy (unused according to the giver) has recently been particularly popular.

"A few days ago, someone posted dryer lint," said Susan Lightman, a member of the organization. She quickly learned that the dryer lint has many uses, including being used as bedding for hamsters. "What's amazing is its randomness."

Ms. Letterman, who works in advertising, also gave her quite a few random gifts, including fish tacos she ordered but did not eat, and dirty water in her 30-gallon fish tank. Her husband suspected that someone would want dirty fish and water. But soon he was proven wrong, because this nutritious beer can be made into an excellent fertilizer.

"A lot of people say,'Totally, I am very interested,'" Ms. Letterman said.

She put a bucket outside her building, so the members can come over and scoop it out. Dirty water is so popular that she began to provide it regularly, announcing regularly, "This is fish manure water time!"

Within a few hours, her neighbor would come over and take it all.