Swappers Agreement/Pledge

I am not sure about time restriction to join but I really like the idea of not sending out if people don't response within 3 days of agreed completion.
There is one huge BUT to this for me.
Recently it has been really difficult to communicate with the community.Messages are not being sent by the system.It may take me 30 minutes to compose a message only to find it lost.
It is not always possible to swap addresses securely so I'm not sure I'll be doing anymore Vets v Newbie swaps.
Arty I'm sure some of your thoughts come from the second lack of success with the friendship book swap.I'm sure if we signed up to send them separately this may have helped.
I received packages recently with insufficient postage on them that have caused delay.
Swapping is complex-looking forward to hearing others ideas on this

Maybe after finishing a swap everyone should come here,copy paste and fill in these questions.This way everyone can check back and see what others said of their partners in other swaps.This is a good way to sort out flakers too.


Name of Swap:

Name of Partner:

Rate from 1 to 5:
(1 is dissatisfied,5 is awesome)

Extra Information:


(In extra information I mean your opinion on the items you received,on your partners,on communication and anything else you would like to share from the swap.)
What do you think?

I agree with Essex Debs on waiting for a response before mailing out your packages. I mailed on out recently, even though I hadn't heard from my partner. Now I'm finding out that this person may be a flaker and I'm really nervous. I didn't want to be the one who was late on sending out, so I just went ahead and mailed it.

Also, I think the host of a swap should be informed of this thread (or a similar one) so they can check for flakers before pairing people up. I'd hate to get a flaker's name and have to be embarrassed by saying, "I don't want to play with her". lol

And Violetta, I think the survey is a good idea. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with what happened on the swap boards because of the shear number of posts. Especially when swaps go into round 2 or 3.

Maybe the moderator of the survey thread could keep tabs with each new post and "edit" the first post you see when entering the thread. Every time a flaker is presented, they can be added to the first, or main post so it will be easier to see who's skipping out. And if that person makes things right, and their partner is satisfied, maybe they can be removed from the list and given another chance?

I don't know.

I agree with Deb, Dessah and Violetta- 1) do the Survey, 2)let the hostess know if there is a known flaker signing up 3) make sure your partner messages back before you send out... that way if you dont hear back your hostess can either pair you up with someone else(an Angel)Dessah and Debs- did you gals let your swap host know about this?
I will agree messaging is a little messed up lately but I check at least once a day and check the swap board too!

I dont know, i dont want to seem snotty but it hurts when you put so much work into something and the person totally flakes on you!

Debs I'm really sorry that the Friendship book swap hasn't gone well. People were meant to send out one at a time as they got them so postage shouldn't have been a problem. Unfortunately with a swap like that you only need someone to get behind and a blockage happens and several get bunched up together.

Melissa I agree it does hurt when you put the work in and get nothing. I've had it suggested before that I hold onto stuff I've made and use it for a second round but that can be tricky. I try to make stuff that fits with my partners likes and dislikes so transferring stuff over to another partner doesn't feel quite right.

Violetta I like the idea of the survey but am a bit worried about being rated. I always get a little edgy once I've sent off as I start to question was the stuff I made up to scratch. I have this awful vision of my partner opening their parcel and thinking 'was that it'.

You have nothing to worry about KitKat,you make awesome stuff. But if the rating bothers other people too,maybe we could leave out that step and just write the extra info.But I think the rating could be a good thing because that way everyone could see how their future partner did in previous swaps.

We should start a new topic on the swap board with the questions,so everyone who receives can post away.

ok I agree

I didn't tell the swap host about this past swap because I just sent it out. I haven't heard hide nor tail from her so I'm just assuming she's going to flake. (apparently she's flaked before)

So, before I add her to the list, I'll give her a bit more of a chance to make it right.

Girl, if you're reading this, you'd better do what's right and make good on your word. You know who you are....I don't want to be the person that has to say "DON'T PLAY WITH HER, SHE'S A FLAKE!"

I always send a gentle check in if partners don't declare for Inchies.Only had a problem once and it was quickly resolved (as far as I can remember)
This swap happens over vast air miles so we do sometimes have to be patience with the post.
Arty no worries about the friendship book swap-just trying to find a way to make it work as it's such a great idea.
Being rated is a challenge but I think declaring whether the swap occurred is useful.
It's really interesting to see how people develop over time too so I think tolerance and communication are key.

I'm not sure about the rating thing, as I remember briefly saying that I was cheated on a swap, but didn't really go into detail, and I didn't and still don't think I needed to as there were somewhat specifics referring to a list that we all made of our favorites. Anywho, the sender got upset with me because I didn't message her privately so her feelings were hurt though that wasn't my intention.

I swap on swap-bot too and I have no problem rating there because the site has it set up and encourages us to rate, but it's kinda touchy for me here I guess because there isn't a rating system set up by Cat and Tom. But then again, if others agree to have it set up some way then maybe I would feel comfortable with it.

Either way something has to be done, and it's not happening with just anxious newbies. I think that maybe 3 successful swaps would be good and have visited the boards at least 4 times a month (or some frequent visits) would be good for allowing members to join swaps and also agree to not send out until you've heard from your partner. I don't too much worry about the send out date; if I don't hear from my partner, I don't care how close the send out date is I'm not sending. It's not set in stone unless the host specifically says that is the deadline. When people stick to that, they may have the tendency to just throw anything together when they run out of time, then the recipient gets shotty work or cheated when the requirements of the swap aren't met. I have been late sending out swaps, but I have always kept my partners up to date.

Deb, don't even get me started on tolerance. I have let people continue to join my swaps, knowing they have flaked at least once, but me being nice and trying to let them redeem themselves only to have them cheat my faithful swappers who has never flaked. So tolerance only goes so far, but communication is mos def key.

Back to swap-bot, their rating system looks something like this:
* 5 - I got my stuff and it met posted swap requirements.
This was an extra special package. Give a heart!
* 3 - I got my stuff, but it didn't meet the posted swap requirements.
* 1 - I never got anything.
* I do not wish to rate my partner at this time.
(there is no 2 and 4 ratings, why they have it like this I have no idea)
I don't know if something like this will work to put on the swap thread itself or in a separate swap rating thread that also includes what swap that's be rated on. Just an idea.

I'm not sure about a time restriction of when they can start swapping, I think if I had to wait a long time before swapping I would have never started.

I agree with lots of the stuff that people have posted on here like contacting your partner when you are ready to send out and if you don't hear from them don't send out. I think having a certain number of board post is also a great idea as well. Also letting the host know of a known flaker would be very helpful.

I'm not too sure about rating the project of the swap. I think some people may try their hardest on something and then someone else may get it and think it is pretty bad, so I don't it would be very fair, cause people also like and dislike different things. But the rating system from swap-bot of the 5, 3, and 1 doesn't seem to be too bad.

I think another good idea is not to let someone join a swap until they have a certain name of projects up.

yeah, thats what I do when I host a swap. Make sure they have at least three swaps under them. I hate flakers

Among many reasons, including the one you mentioned Jeanette, I agree with you about the rating of projects especially if there are specifics involved. But like how many items are to be made and what exactly is supposed to made for a swap, then yeah that's like rating the project(s) if it met the requirements of the swap.

So now I have a question, LOL!!
How much longer are we gonna discuss this before somebody decides or gets elected to run this swapper rate thing? Swaps are constantly going on so I would love to see something put into place. Do we nominate and elect someone for the job or will they volunteer?

I'll volunteer I reckon. I'm a stay at home mom and I'm pretty much online all day anyways. I know I'm relatively new to this site though and I understand if there is someone better suited for it.

This is how I would run the thing:

The first post would be mine, of course, and I would keep it constantly updated with the list of known flakers.

After a swap is complete, the members of that swap have the option of filling out the survey if they wish. This is the survey:

Swap Name:
Partner:
Were requirements of the swap met?:
Did you communicate regularly?:

I don't think projects should be rated. That might make people not want to swap. If a flaker is presented I will add that person's name to the list and make a note of the swap they flaked on and the partner they offended.

When a member decides to host a swap, she will be able to check the list and determine for herself if she wants to partner the flaker with another person.

If the flaker makes good with the partner she has offended, and they come to an agreement on this, then the offended party can request through this thread that the flaker be removed. This is in case there are communication issues, internet issues, if the items got lost in the mail, etc.

How does this sound to you guys?