Is an etiquette poll allowed?

[enchantress41580]

Let the swap host know...they'll be willing to work with you.

[Tinker]

I prefer to talk directly to the swap partner. I try to encourage my partners to contact me if they're not satisfied. In one of my early swaps I sent out a custom that ended up sticking to its bubble wrap. (I thought the paint was fully dry when it wasn't) My partner was kind enough to send me a pm about it. Yes, I felt terrible, but I offered to fix it or send her a new one at my expense.      She didn't take me up on the offer and I always felt guilty that she didn't. I also learned to make sure my customs dry for at least 48 hrs before I pack them up. She left me appropriate feedback as well.

Now I've been immensely lucky to get such great swap customs in return. If chance should happen that I'm not happy with a custom, I'll let the swap partner know privately. That way we can reach a happy conclusion and that person will learn like I did. 

[BlackCurtains]

While I've never received a pony I didn't love, I have worried about ponies I've made. Not because I didn't put enough work into them, or did sloppy work or didn't try to make something within my partner's wishes, but just because I second guess myself constantly and generally feel nervous that they won't like it. I think that's pretty normal, but if I ever DID have an unhappy partner I would want to know. I'd want to know so that I could try to correct it and learn from it. Would it upset me? ...I don't know, maybe. But I'd still want them to be honest.

[Sarahlacewing]

Thank you everyone for your opinions!

My hope was that this thread would encourage thoughts about this topic.  I feel that appropriate feedback is very important as a learning experience and also to gauge ability for pairing.  But at the same time none of us want to hurt other ponies here.  We all love each other!

I will admit I have been on the bad end of a misunderstanding or two completely unintentionally.  Once I did a styling pony for a fashion style trade.  I offered to pay the difference but I felt like a total jerk.  There are innocent errors out there and I am thankful that most people are understanding. 

I am currently hosting my first swap ever and this thread has helped me greatly.

[wiccanpony1]

I personally would like to be told if my partner was unhappy with a pony i made them,I always put 101% into any pony i make but im always looking to improve so having a honest response would help me grow as a customizer,I would perfer they PM me themeself though and not go through the swap host:)

[LilSpark]

I never got a custom I wasn't happy with. But everytime I join a swap I am super worried my partner won't like the custom I make for them... I always feel like the least talented and unexperienced member of a swap and when I look at all the work of my partner I often get discouraged to make a custom for them because I know I can't keep their standards. I haven't done hundreds of customs yet and I am still learling. I am always trying to get more detailed in painting and I wanna start sculpting. But no matter how hard I try and like the result in the end I always have the feeling that the custom won't be good enough...
Believe me, I hate this feeling. So if any of  my partners should ever feel like my custom is poorly made and they are disappointed with it, please tell me how I can make it better next time. I need your feedback, espcially from experienced customizers. We all have started at some point

[Uninu]

What LilSpark said I too am just starting out in customs and my customs are not always as good as they could be. I have done two customs for swaps that I am sure the receivers haven't been completely satisfied with, but I haven't heard anything about them. I kind of wish I did, so I could have had an opportunity to make it better.

[pantherchild]

I just have to ask, seeing how many people are voting that the thing to do is involve the swap host... what on earth is a swap host supposed to do about this?  But I would have no idea whatsoever what to do if somebody came to me and said they felt their swap partner hadn't done a good enough job.

I think it's part of the swap organizer's role to make sure everyone is happy with the swap.  When my partner went missing my last swap, the organizer stepped up and made me a pony.  It seems to me that if I got a pony that had obvious flaws (and we're not talking skill things there--stuff like hair that was falling out or a shoddy paint job or something else that said 'this is not quality work'), then I'd want to organizer to at least be aware that my partner might not be a good candidate for future swaps.

You can usually tell a pony that's had care put into it and one that's just been thrown together.

Post Merge: February 13, 2012, 07:22:35 AM

I too am just starting out in customs and my customs are not always as good as they could be. I have done two customs for swaps that I am sure the receivers haven't been completely satisfied with, but I haven't heard anything about them. I kind of wish I did, so I could have had an opportunity to make it better.

I feel like you can't assume that, or you'll go crazy.  If you always assume your partners were not happy with your customs, then you may get discouraged!  If you put heart into them and did your best to follow what they said they liked, well, then good job!

You can always post your customs and ask for feedback from more experienced members.  That helped me a lot when I was first starting out--you can hardly even see my brush strokes now, haha.

[lilacamy931]

There are so many good comments in this thread, I would definitely want feedback to ensure can improve. I give a 110% on each one but sometimes there may be areas I just have not though logically, I did have some good feedback on one and now hopefully my customs have improved for the better. In terms of receiving, I have not had this issue myself but if I know what I am in for would give some gentle feedback depending on the situation. It is difficult as this community is so lovely and everyone seems to give their best.

[ZarineBashire]

I don't really bother giving my actual opinions on customs anymore. I don't really think "honesty" is a policy here simply because a lot of people get bent out of shape if you're even remotely critical of a piece. And then they don't even go directly to the source, they go whine about it to someone else.

Partner organization is up to the Swap Organizer and it's up to them to judge your work. If you think you're perhaps middle of the road but the organizer still thinks your work is a beginner you will get partnered with someone who is a beginner. This is where that whole honest feedback thing comes in. If you don't know how people truly see your work, then you might end up disappointed in a swap because you think you should get a better custom based on what other people have told you about your own.

I consider myself sort of in between medium and expert, but that's my own judging of my work. I have no clue what other people think of my work because no one has ever really given me criticism. I'm sure the same goes for a lot of people here. There are some people who ask for criticism, and those people are the ones who have an accurate representation of themselves and others when they enter a swap.

[ZennaBug]

When you enter a swap, you are taking a risk.  You may get something that's out of this world, or something you're disappointed in.  In my opinion, if someone does their best to make a custom for you and it's just not what you were expecting, I think it would be rude to complain.  If it's obviously something that they threw together with no thought, then talk to the swap host.  Otherwise, just keep it to yourself.  Because sometimes you are disappointed in swaps and it's a chance you took when you sent in your form.

[hannaliten]

FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCE:

I was unlucky enough to receive a 2.5 star feedback on a swap, without my swap partner even contacting me. According to my partner the pony was "below par" for me and since "I didn't post pictures of it anywhere must mean that I was not satisfied with the pony either". Well, this is simply not true, and if my partner had bothered to contact me, the truth would have been told. I got 1 picture of the pony and it's not a very good one. The rest simply didn't turn out. Also, "below par"? Well, this was a G3 pony and 95% of my work is G4. Also, it looked pretty much like the reference pic I used. If you put ugly things on your list, you'll end up with the same on a pony! It was not below par, I worked hard on it, but my partner felt it was only worth 2.5 stars and didn't bother to write me a quick PM to ask.

So please, if you're even considering less than 5 star feedback, contact your partner and try to work it out.

Sorry for the rant.

[Sarahlacewing]

Now this is precisely the niche of the problem.  If someone works hard on a pony, and really puts time and thought into it.  They read through the preferences.  And they do their best.  Then it would be cruel to judge their work so harshly.  Yes, critique will help them improve but they poured their heart into it so gently critique. 

We are talking about people who completely ignore prefs, don't bother to read prefs forms, make a box that is obviously sub par.  Like if I say I am allergic to mold and all my ponies have cancer and mold.  Or if they go significantly under the dollar value assigned for the swap.  Or they turn in a custom that is obviously not up to the quality of their other work. 

The problem is, how do you tell?  I have worked ridiculously hard on ponies that turned out so-so.  I have worked a few hours carelessly on ponies that came out great.  It's partly design/concept.  It's partly execution.  In some cases I'd rather a really adventurous pony design that wasn't perfect, rather than a simple design that looks great but played it safe.  On the other hand sometimes I wish for something more mainstream.  A tried and true classic look.

In the end, I feel like I can't really give honest feedback because I have no idea if the person tried or not.  It's nice to know others feel this way too.

[murbella64]

You know, I can honestly say I've never given a crap about building reputation with a swap for more than a minute really.  I do swaps fully knowing I might get something I hate.  That being said, it hasn't stopped me.  I've full-on gone against someone else's idea of what they want for a swap as well, you know who you  areXDDD  I have never fully hated anything I've ever gotten.  One of the most poorly executed ponies I've ever gotten was also one of the cutest ideas and now that customizer is someone who has pretty awesome execution and I'm happy to have one of the stones that pave the road to her success.  I work slow because I have medical issues.  I haven't even listed myself in the "for hire" section in customs because I know how unfair it would be to a customer.

The spirit of a swap is not one of getting the perfect pony, but seeing the workings of someone else's creativity.  I've been disapointed, but got over it because I grew to love what I have because I know what went into it.  Everyone experiances things differently, but thems my two bits. Feel as you will about something, but leave your expectations at the door when entering into a swap and you'll appreciate it more.

[LuvMyBoy]

I had this happen when I paid someone in advance for a pony and it wasn't what I was expecting... I talked with them and they said they would refund my money... although months later I've only gotten half of it back :/ If it's something you've paid for I don't think it's wrong to say if it's not what you asked for.