dave said:

What kinds of details are you looking for, specifically?

Uh oh, I didn't think you'd ask me that...

Okay -- If a person wants to host a swap, where do they begin? (Is there some kind of "application" process, or ?)

I think you've said that the host will have control over the formula for the number of dibs that the members get per day; so apparently there will be a way to enter in some variables to the formula for determining that? What other super powers will the host have? Access to the nifty stats that you gave us for how many unique items are being offered, etc? And would the host be able to, say, suspend increases in the dibs after a certain amount of time, or maybe to change the number of dibs per day from the increasing number to a static number? (For instance, starting with 3 dibs - like in the present swap - increasing by 3 each day up to 12 dibs per day, and then staying at 12 for the remainder of the swap.)

I'm sure there are plenty of other things that other people are thinking about in this regard... truthfully, I don't think I'm even likely to host a swap myself, these are just some things I was thinking about during the course of the beta swap. I hope some members that really WOULD like to host their own swaps will step up and rescue me here

I am interested in seeing what the host dashboard will look like and what kind of control in info will will have. Also I am hoping there will be an after swap discussion on features we as potential host would like to see.

to most everything. I need to get familiar with the dashboard really quickly so I can get things set up for the Dec./Jan. Swap. Anything you can tell me about how to get it started would be greatly appreciated.

Weedwhacker said:If a person wants to host a swap, where do they begin?

Right now, the beta is pretty much finished and the swap system is complete. That means that from here out, my focus will be on improving the features we have and making it more reliable and perfect. I am also ready right now to let others host swaps. I would even love to see two swaps go on simultaneously to test that aspect of the system. But that's not necessary. Anyone who wants to host a swap will need to let me know they want to do it, and I'll give them access to it when the time is right. I know DnD is already planning to do one. @Horntoad has said he'd like to, as well. If they both wanted to do it at the same time, that'd be fantastic.

Weedwhacker said:I think you've said that the host will have control over the formula for the number of dibs that the members get per day

The only control a host has right now is how many initial dibs are given out. That was 3 for this beta. It's a multiplier so day one gets 3, day 2 days 6, and so on. You could suspend additional ticket giving later in the swap by going into the control panel and editing that number to 0. Then nobody would get any further tickets.

Weedwhacker said:What other super powers will the host have? Access to the nifty stats that you gave us for how many unique items are being offered, etc?

Yes, there is a full control panel where the host gets full access to everything. See screenshot:



I'll be making a "How to Host a Swap" tutorial at some point in the future, so that hosts can see how to do it.

I think the hosting tutorial would be really helpful, along with, perhaps, a "how to participate in a swap" tutorial. The system seemed very simple to use, but on the other hand our beta group had a lot of discussion going on about it, both before and during the swap; having a tutorial (and maybe a FAQ page, as well) would probably eliminate a LOT of repetitive questions and confusion.

One of the things on future swaps that I might recommend for future hosts is to have the swap end on a day where people can get the seeds sent out; sometime Sunday-Friday. It's not critical, of course, but I find myself disappointed that I can't send them out today.