BookObsessed

*sigh* this is one of those things I've tried to stay away from because there is no one right way to play...

Not to mention when we start making a gazillion rules or guidelines, it kind of intimidates people and maybe keeps them from playing, if they have to make sure they folllow 10 pages of rules and ettiquette, I dunno.

I do agree there are things we'd all like understood by the people we swap with (don't look at reveals, don't look at moves, it's nice to offer another book if the one you offered didn't get stolen, don't offer relay killers, leave moves if you're going to be gone a long time, etc.) but at the same time we each have a different opinion on some of these less clear cut things so it's kind of hard to come up with rules that everyone is happy with. Maybe I'm just too much of a peacemaker, I don't know. It's just too hard to make everyone happy, so when this has come up in the past, I haven't really wanted to include some of it on the site because it was too... subjective I guess.

If you all want it up there, I'll put it up there, I've just avoided it up until now (oh yeah, and because I'm lazy and hadn't gotten around to it )

You're right, Shaunie. Plus, if we get too many things up there, it'll start to get overwhelming and it might scare people away from swapping!

I think really, once we get the basics and technical things hammered out, I think the one thing we all just need to keep in mind is be polite.

We may disagree, for example, if it's okay to ask for a different book if one isn't offered, but I doubt anyone will be offended by someone politely saying "Hey, do you mind... feel free to say no". It's if you said "I didn't like your offer, give me ___ instead" that people would get upset.

I agree with Shaunie that the question as to whether or not to offer a replacement for a book that isn't stolen at least once is probably too subjective to be included in the FAQ. I don't think it's really a requirement for people to know this before they start swapping... they'll kind of just get the feel one way or another what they should do.

But perhaps we'll leave this thread here even after I we get some of this added to the official FAQ. So newbies can review the entire thread if they want, while some of the more important things we brought up will be over at Shaunie's (which we'll point them to loud and clear in the first post.

I personally offer up a replacement if my book is never stolen but I would be offended if I was told to.

I am also one of those who don't leave moves but I try to tell people when I will be back so they are not panting over their computers. Sarradee, come play in the Historical Fiction swap. It is very easy going

AceofHearts wrote: I personally offer up a replacement if my book is never stolen but I would be offended if I was told to.

I think you hit the nail on the head there Ace!

I think it's just one of those things that many people probably do, I know I've done it in the past, but to be expected to have to do it as part of our etiquette just doesn't seem right.

TBRs are fine

If a book is going to take longer than 6 months, a PM might be nice just so the receiver knows you have not forgotten. Time isn't a concern as I think we all have enough books to read

I had been swapping for a while before I found out that some people only offer a different book if the book they chose hadn't been stolen at all. Even if someone ends up with a book from me that was stolen at some point, I usually offer the person a chance to look at my shelf and pick something they might enjoy more. My general feeling is I usually offer TBRs so it doesnt make any difference to me if I'm reading a book I chose or a book you chose.

I have in the past PM'd someone in a swap to say that I ended up with a book that I wasn't particularly interested in but instead of asking for a specific book , I'll ask them if they mind if I look at their shelf for something else. Mainly because that's the opportunity I offer someone else. I wouldn't be offended if someone did the same to me, but I do apologize if I offended someone. I pretty much stopped playing in the swaps that weren't genre specific because I have pretty particular reading tastes and I found I was most happy when it could be at least somewhat guaranteed that I'd be getting a book I was remotely interested in.

Leaving moves in your signature

If you will be away from your computer for awhile and unable to check in on the swap, it's good form to leave your desired moves with another player or in your signature.

To leave moves in your signature, you'll want to cloak them in WHITE TEXT so that they're only visible if someone drags their mouse over them. Here's how you do that.

1. Go to your Control Panel by clicking the My Controls link at the top of the page.

2. From the Menu on the left-hand side of the screen, click Edit Signature.

3. Note that you can use the buttons and dropdown boxes above the editing box to help you add bold, italics, change font size, etc. But you can also enter any of these codes manually. In addition to the colors listed in the dropdown box, you can use any valid HTML Color Name, i.e. darkcyan or even the color code like #6600CC

4. Below is an example from a past swap. I'm pasting it here so that you can see the actual code behind it, instead of the resulting output. Note that each Opening Tag must have a corresponding Closing Tag. In the example above, you'll notice TWO closing Color tags at the very end, i.e. Because we used 2 different colors, each color tag must be closed separately; the first one closes the WHITE text and the second closes the DEEPPINK text. If you're familiar with HTML coding, this will make perfect sense to you.

5. Speaking of HTML... in addition to the forum's BBCode, regular HTML can be used in signatures. Many players find it beneficial to use HTML table tags to line up multiple items in their signatures. A lesson in HTML tables is beyond the scope of this tutorial, but a Google search will turn up a number of useful resources.

I normally do offer something else if the book I offer doesn't get stolen. If I end up with a book I have no interest in, I either tell them not to send it, or ask them to send it to someone else who expressed an interest or had is on their wishlist. I used to just accecpt a book I didn't want figuring I would wild release it, but not anymore I'm trying not to let any books into the house unless I really want them. Sometimes people have offered me replacements, sometimes I take them up or it, sometimes not. I would never ask though.

As far as the leaving moves goes, this is a tricky one for me. I hate it when someone is gone for so long and doesn't check in at all. But I personally never leave moves, and I go missing for about 10 hours when I work and about 6 when I sleep. Maybe people get annoyed waiting for me? I think that I am a frequent checker though, I check first thing when I get up, right when I get home, every couple hours on my day off. I feel like a hypocrite saying all this, but sometimes I feel like we wait for the same people a lot, and not because of the time difference. I've been tempted to like to start an obsessive checker swap. Als are sometimes too constrictive for me but sometimes the 12 hours rule is too much.