Since nobody else did this, I will make some suggestions for the programmers. I know that some (many?) of these might not be possible due to the programming platform or simply would be too time consuming to program. Also know I am only modestly computer savvy so I might use the wrong words. Here goes:
1- A clickable link or maybe a countdown clock up in the corner of the main page for the swap. This would make much of our confusion go away about when the swap starts for anyone in any time zone, and remove my distress about daylight savings time and how it starts different days in different countries, which could affect the start time. Or maybe a link to a good timezone/time calculator. I was also confused about if "midnight" on Saturday means the moment it becomes Saturday, or Saturday night just before it becomes Sunday. When I say Saturday at Midnight I think of Saturday evening not morning, not sure which is actually correct. Anyway this is an area of confusion, and I think it is an area to improve somehow.
2- I would like to be able to choose if the lists are organized by common name or by scientific name. Especially as some common names I never heard of. I listed what I know as the "Suicide Lily" which is Gladiolus flanaganii, and it comes up as "Gladiola". Some are worse, my "Spanish Snapdragons" (Antirrhinum hispanicum) are listed as "Creeping snapdragons" which is another letter entirely. Actually, although I tend to go by scientific names, some names are in such a state of taxonomic flux and confusion (sedums, chrysanthemums) that we all mostly go by the common name which changes less. So it would be nice if the list could be ordered whichever way we choose, and even go back and forth.
3- It would be nice if there was some way to indicate if seeds are open pollinated or a controlled cross. We have some people who are offering controlled daylily crosses, it seems they type it in so there is not a link to the parents. This method of showing the cross is very clear to me, but the links to the database are lost. I love the links, they are one of the fabulous things in this software.
4- Related to #3, I want to indicate if seeds are the offspring of a named variety, but not that exact variety. I collect seeds from my named varieties, and so they are likely to be much closer to the named parent than ordinary seeds. But if I free type it in there is no link to the named variety. I have been putting them in as the named variety and putting O.P. for open pollinated, and sometimes a warning in the comment section. I don't want people to misunderstand what they are getting.
5- The initial part of joining a swap is pretty intimidating and seems complicated, until one does it. Then it seems straightforward. How about a little video or a general tutorial on how to do it? I think we lost a few potential traders who could not figure it out. I volunteered in one of the chat threads to get on the telephone with someone to talk them through the process. Nobody took me up on it but I think it might have helped.
6- How about allowing my Swap List to show just the ones I have not yet enabled for bidding. Then it would be easier to click on them to put them into the TradeList. Other database programs can do such a thing I think. Also the grey vs green is not very noticeable, and something with a bit more contrast would be good.
7- Lastly, How about a separate section for seeds that don't need bidding on, but will be sent free, as they are experimental. I collected some seeds (maybe they are seeds) from my Grevillea xgaudichaudii but I am unable to sprout them. I would give them to people but don't want them to use up their tickets. Then maybe somebody would do something different to them (heat? cold? smoke? fire? pass through a kangaroo gut?) and report back what works. I doubt this section would be used much, but might encourage some experimentation, and add to the fun. I like the idea of listing them in the swap so people would notice them, and it is super easy to toss a packet in someones baggie.
Well, I came up with a lot of ideas to get this started (no longer a Beta version since it works just fine, maybe a Gamma?). Let's hear from other users...
