Great proposal, DnD! You've obviously followed a lot of trains of thought far down the tracks. Thanks for doing all that work! I never gave any thought to the Swap-Start screens or any multi-swap dashboard / inventory system.
I collected some comments or questions ...
1.
>> 6) Seeds must be divided and labeled PRIOR to shipping
I'd suggest "Seeds must be divided and labeled PRIOR to OFFERING."
That's a mistake I plan NOT to make twice!
2.
>> (and packing list should be included)
What were you thinking of as a packing list? My past practice has been to put a detailed list in each baggie of what is going to that indivdual trade-receiver. Does the organizer really need an all-inclusive packing list, or is that unneeded overhead for traders?
3.
I agree that co-organizer(s) should be supported. In fully-manual swaps, multiple "helpers" can be invaluable. Or maybe with Dave's software, hosts won't need helpers.
I imagine that there will also evolve a group of "swap angels" who like to help out and answer questions in any swap. But will there be a thread for each swap limited to the members of that swap? I don't know. Except for a thread for Wish Lists, I don't think anyone has yet said there HAS TO be a thread associated with each swap. But that sounds familiar and comfortable. Otherwise, how will we pimp our seeds?
4.
Sometimes it seemed that your images were tracking total numbers of seeds, not total number of packets. That's a complexity I would be eager to avoid!
5.
In the home page for individual swaps, I'd hope for as many Search and Filter features as practical. And the abiltiy to request trades from within the search-results screen. Or at add checkmarks like "come back later and compare these selected ones".
Search by plant name.
Filter on:
- an individual trader-offerer or "all traders"
- year (fresher than or equal to "packed for 2013"
- type of seed (petunia, lettuce, maybe even "greens", "vines" or "perennials", some day, if Dave runs out of other features to add!
Ideally, in the search results screen, show whether or not I have already requested that seed in this swap!
Otherwise I constantly say "OH GREAT!! I've wanted that one for years!" ... request it ... add to my private paper list of incoming trades expected ... find that I ALREADY requested it ... un-request the second one. That could be called "the senility flag".
6.
The "low" indicator is an interesting idea for managing "inventory".
I just know that I want one screen (like MY list of all my seeds entered for swapping in any swap, with:
My Whole Stash:
- My total # of pkts remaining (including those made available to pending swaps)
- My total # pkts NOT committed to any swap
- # committed to EACH swap, as follows:
- for each swap:
- - - total # pkts commited to that swap
- - - # pkts already requested by that swap
- - - # pkts still available TO BE requested by that swap
That could change color when it got down to 1-3 pkts.
Or we might filter or sort on # remaining, to see the "skinny" ones.
7.
One of your images ("Offer a Trade"?) seemed to suggest that each trade would be negotiated one-on-one, with a member offering X and requesting Y, and the trade would only occur if they found a match or clicked on "freebie".
I'm hoping that was one of the early ideas, or a non-GROUP-swap idea. When I go into a group swap, I look forward with relief to skipping that almost-impossible step.
Maybe this is something that only some swaps would do. For example, people trading very rare or expensive seeds or plants, might want a more organized way to find and arrange one-on-one swaps, even if at the end of the month, everyone sent their trades to a central point where the host tosses one-on-one baggies into outgoing boxes.
8.
I agree with you that tracking numbers are good to have, but also agree they should be optional. If someone has to type accurately a (?) 20-digit number, please make it optional!
Or, maybe the Universal Rule should be that the organizer MAY require tracking numbers but may make them optional. (Some traders will appreciate that they can copy-paste it ONCE into Dave's Swap Dbf, and then know where to find the unwieldy number when the @#$%^& USPS loses the box in the Christmas rush).
