How to borrow something

Open the thing you want and press Ask to borrow. That is the whole of it — but here is what happens either side of that button.

Before you ask

Every item shows where it stands:

• available — nobody has it, ask away.
• due back Tue 9 Sep — someone has it until then. You can still ask for dates after that.
• overdue — it should be back and it isn't. Worth asking for later dates.
• out — spoken for, with no return date recorded.

Asking

You pick two dates, from and until. Days, not times — nobody borrowing a ladder cares about the hour, and the owner will tell you when to collect it.

The message box is optional and worth using. "For the patio on Saturday, I can collect any evening" gets a yes faster than silence does.

Nothing is reserved yet. Asking is asking. The owner sees your request and decides.

After you ask

The owner gets an email. When they answer, you get one — whatever your notification settings say, because that is a reply to something you did rather than general group chatter.

If they said yes, the email includes when to collect it.

Changing your mind

Your requests in the menu lists everything you have asked for. While a request is still pending you can withdraw it, and the owner will not be notified — the whole thing simply disappears.

If they say no

You get an email and the request is marked declined. It is not personal: usually the dates clash with something. Ask again for different ones.