I think a spectator mode would be an exciting new feature to see happen.

Maybe the need for it has passed, but I think there should be some recognized thread for suggestions and requests for new or changed swap features.

Primarily, there should be a way to steer potential new seed traders to one thread or article or tutorial to learn how to participate in a swap, and some other thread(s) to discuss/request new or changed features.

I think that speculative discussion can be almost scary if it goes far afield or is too abstract. Probably most people will just want to know where to find the swap's home page plus what they need to do as their next step.

I know I littered too many threads with rambling speculation.

Almost certainly every active swap should have its own Announcement thread. Everyone in the swap would be expected to "Watch" it.

But any given swap will probably tend to spawn many threads, perhaps so many it becomes hard to find them all.

Should "swap chat" threads be allowed in the "Group Seed Swap Forum"? That might become very crowded over time. It's valuable to keep related threads together, but it's also valuable to be able to find a thread easily without wading through hundreds of active but irrelevant threads.

Might there be one forum for "technical" swap discussions, announcements, and planning new swaps?
Plus a different forum to support specific active swaps and the chat threads they spawn?

Or might it be possible to apply a filter to all threads in the Group Seed Swap Forum, so you could show "only threads for the XYZ Swap"? Like the "show active threads only" filter.

Once there are recurring swaps, there might be an option for "show ALL XYZ Swap threads" as well as "show only threads related to the CURRENTLY ACTIVE instance of the recurring XYZ Swap".

Or at least an ability for the Host to mark threads "Closed" for a swap that is over, so we can hide all threads for non-active swaps (even if the thread still has a lot of ongoing post-swap-chat).

- - - - -
I think the following is a crazy idea, but Dave can judge that better than me. I was looking for ways to keep the "Group Seed Swap Forum" uncluttered after dozens of swaps and hundreds or thousands of active threads.

Suppose, shortly before each swap goes active, Dave created a temporary mini-forum for just that swap. The mini-forum might be locked when the swap was over, if it was a one-time-swap. If it was a recurring swap, the mini-forum might be allowed to stay active between repetitions of the swap.

The downside is the "Cubits phenomenon", where too many forums dilute the traffic until each forum is almost empty.

The upside is that once you find your swap, every thread for that swap is right in one place and easy to find, even years later.

RickCorey said:Suppose, shortly before each swap goes active, Dave created a temporary mini-forum for just that swap. The mini-forum might be locked when the swap was over, if it was a one-time-swap. If it was a recurring swap, the mini-forum might be allowed to stay active between repetitions of the swap.

I've thought about that, and it's certainly doable, and it's probably what I'll end up doing. And then when the swap is over, the forum (along with its threads) just kind of get archived into the attic.

Dave, I love your new avatar, made me smile, never give up being a kid!

Wow, cool! Thanks.

RickCorey said:

Should "swap chat" threads be allowed in the "Group Seed Swap Forum"? That might become very crowded over time. It's valuable to keep related threads together, but it's also valuable to be able to find a thread easily without wading through hundreds of active but irrelevant threads.

Suppose, shortly before each swap goes active, Dave created a temporary mini-forum for just that swap. The mini-forum might be locked when the swap was over, if it was a one-time-swap. If it was a recurring swap, the mini-forum might be allowed to stay active between repetitions of the swap.

@RickCorey , I have my swap set up and Dave has addressed this problem. The discussions will be contained on the main page of each swap. Each new thread will be automatically add to the watch list of each participant. You can see the first thread I started in this image.



To start a new thread scroll to the bottom of the page just like in a regular forum.

That seems like a great solution. The threads are "right there" on the swap home page.

And it's smart that Dave made those threads automatically watched by swap members. Now you can make an announcement in a new thread but be sure people will see it in their thread watcher.

And I see that non-members of the swap can read the threads! I bet that becomes a recruiting tool for swaps.

Best of luck with your swap!

I hope people will see this since I am just tacking this onto this thread instead of starting a new post.

I ended up using the swap as a perfect time to take photos of the seeds and upload them to the database for plants that didn't have any. I am asking those whose seeds I am getting, would you mind if I take pictures of your seeds to put them into the database. In the caption, I would make note about who gave me the seeds. Or would you like to do this?

When collecting seeds, I learned how important it was to be able to recognize the seed before going out, so I didn't accidentally pitch the good stuff. This is one example which doesn't look like seed at all but it was based on images of other penstemon seed.

I would rather do my own when I have time

Any photos you take would be welcome additions to the database. I will try to follow your example this coming year as I collect seed.

I don't mind at all. To me if someone gave you seeds, then they are now your seeds. You should be able to do whatever you want with them. You shouldn't have to ask permission.

Great attitude

I agree with Jay -- they're yours now, Kim (but I think it was really nice of you to ask!)

I agree with Jay, and you're totally welcome to post photos of any of my seeds. Great idea.

Sorry @Chillybean Kim I misunderstood...like Jay said they are your seeds...a nice addition to the data base

@Dave , could we change the verbiage on the send-in deadline for the swaps to say something more like "deadline for package to arrive to host"? I think the 'deadline to send package' verbiage might be confusing or even misleading, especially for new members.

Also, this may be my Internet somehow (we're having some Internet issues), but could you look into the update button in the host's control panel...particularly how it operates on Android phones? I've tried 3-4 times now to make an edit to one of my info boxes. At first, I thought it was just me failing to click the update button or something, but now I know that somehow it's truly not working. (I changed the "10" average packets to "20" and clicked update, but each time I go into my swap, it still says 10.) I'll try to make the change on my PC tomorrow evening, but this might indicate a small bug that needs fixed.

Thank you!

DogsNDaylilies said:@Dave , could we change the verbiage on the send-in deadline for the swaps to say something more like "deadline for package to arrive to host"? I think the 'deadline to send package' verbiage might be confusing or even misleading, especially for new members.

Thank you!

After one of the packages in the Beta was late we discussed this and it was change because we can't really control when the package arrives. Once someone mails it, it is in the control of the post office. Two packages mailed on the same day, one arrives two days later the other two weeks. Also if you put must arrive to host by .... then when to mail is up to interpretation of the sender. Some will send the next day others will wait until 3 day before it's due and send Priority thinking it will get there in time, but it won't always happen. Also I would suggest requiring tracking since that will give you confirmation that is has been mail and when to expect it.

DND, you must have missed it, but we had a bit of a discussion somewhere here about "deadline to arrive" vs deadline to send... lots of factors involved between sending and arriving, there was a general agreement that sending by a certain deadline was better than to receive.

Since there is no control over the post office being trustworthy. I think date to send to the host is enough.