gauging interest- TRUE newbie swap

[TwistedRainbow]

i read the rules and guidelines for swaps and nothing says you HAVE to have feedback. i see newbies popping up everyday and i think it would only be fair to offer a TRUE newbie swap that requires NO feedback. i think it would be nice to give the newbies a real chance to prove them selves. what do you think?


if you would join the swap what theme would you like to see?


persona?
summer?
maybe since its a newbie thing we can create personas for each other. take a little survey about yourself and in the app and have your partner come up with a persona for you.


how would you like to swap?


OPTION 1
you ship to partner
partner ships to you


OPTION 2


person 1 ships person 2
person 2 ships person 3
person 3 ships person 1
get it? kind of like a circle


what type of time frame would you like to see?
1 month?
a few months?
longer?
shorter?


if you want to be in this swap you must be aware that you will be working with people who have NO feedback and it is possible that they will bail out. this is a big risk but i believe in the newbies and i know it can be done.

[Sarahlacewing]

Remember new ponies to keep your shipping receipts or tracking information so that if for some reason your custom gets lost you can show that you did your best. It's sad but it does happen.  I'm not a newbie but I would be happy to fill in if you run into some MIAs. Just let me know!


Also dont forget to sign your customs usually on the bottm foot and include a note so your partner will know who to thank.


Will this be skill based or random?

[rybett]

I kinda like the persona I created with Jazzycreation's help. 
No clues on a theme, maybe figure who is shipping to who and let each person's likes/dislikes dictate? 
Circle sounds interesting.  Never heard of that one. 
2-3 months total? 
Count me in!

[NoDivision]

I have to say I think it's a bit rude to try and run a "true" newbie swap when one of our amazing customs mods is ALREADY running a newbie swap. It's like a huge slap in the face. The newbie swap requires two feedback. Only one if you want to use ebay as well. I mean come on, ONE arena feedback. You have to prove one time on the arena that you are reliable. What is so hard about that?

[Ellis1342]

I really think the idea of a true newbie swap is wonderful, but there may be a concern if someone drops out or just refuses to respond. I would say if they can't offer feedback of some sort perhaps a sponsor. Someone who does have the feedback who will do the pony if the person they are vouching for backs out. That way no one ends up without a pony.

I would say the circle idea is the best. That way no one really knows who their partners are. Beyond that I would say use g3 ponies. While g4's are widely available in stores, they are very hard to work with.  As for a theme, perhaps ponies of the world. The participant provides 3 or 4 cultures they like and their partner creates a pony based on the culture they choose of the list. Japan could get a geisha custom, mexico could have a flamenco dancer. Its something that will allow creativity in a wide variety of ways, but also give them something solid to work from.

[TwistedRainbow]

I have to say I think it's a bit rude to try and run a "true" newbie swap when one of our amazing customs mods is ALREADY running a newbie swap. It's like a huge slap in the face. The newbie swap requires two feedback. Only one if you want to use ebay as well. I mean come on, ONE arena feedback. You have to prove one time on the arena that you are reliable. What is so hard about that?

ok thats totally not what i was trying to do. im not trying to stomp on the other swap. this doesnt have to be a big thing it can just be a few people that want to give it a try. i understand the other swap is for newbies but i saw someone without feedback asking to do a swap and a lot of people were interested so it gave me the circle idea. this can just be for people with 0 feedback. it doesn't matter. just a way to get a push.

[NoDivision]

Sorry, but I just think it's such a recipe for disaster. Yes it's possible for new members to be responsible, but I don't think they  need a big customs swap to "prove" themselves. They can prove themselves the same way everyone else always has, by practicing, sharing their customs with us, doing private swaps, building up feedback...

[Tiella]

When I first started customizing I simply put a thread here in the forum asking if anyone would be willing to do private swaps with me to get practice and build feedback, people were very nice and I quickly had many people volunteer.

[rybett]

But that's what TR is trying to assist with.  Several of us thought it might be fun.   

[NoDivision]

But this isn't a suggestion for private trades, this is a thread suggested an official customs swap. Swaps involve far more people and responsibility, which is why they are held to certain standards.

[Tiella]

Exactly, I meant one on one private trades. Both parties are responsible for their own ponies and less chances for problems to arise. Also doing it that way allows more flexibility like timeline and what kind of custom.

[Colorscapesart]

One thing to keep in mind with any swap is that unless the host is willing to step up and make replacement ponies, people can put a lot of work into a pony and get nothing in return.  To protect members, we ask a few small things, such as checking the hosts feedback for reliability and making sure they do not over commit themselves.

[brantwijn]

Well....  I really -am- a true newbie... as in, I signed up yesterday.  I'd love to be a part of the other swap but not only have I not had the chance to get any feedback, but by the time the signups close I won't have been a member long enough.

If this swap does end up happening, I'd LOVE to be involved.  I see there's a lot of questions about it, so if it turns out it doesn't work out that's all good... but if it does, sign me up.

If it happens, my vote is for a "persona" pony: everyone fills out a little personal survey and then create a pony based on their recipient's personal interests and likes.  I think that would work out well for folks, they could be really creative and would receive a really unique, personalized custom.

I also think the idea of a "sponsor" would be great.  That way if you -do- have a newbie who has to drop out for whatever reason, you have someone to step in.

I think 2-ish months sounds like a good time frame?

Anyway, those are my thoughts.  Let me know if it ends up happening!

[Sarahlacewing]

Kind of looks like this is not going to be approved. I guess I hadn't really thought that much about the potential dangers. I think everyone knows you are trying to help Twistedrainbow and I know it was hard for me when I started to get feedback and references partially because the feedback system was down (I was so happy when the temporary thread opened on old forum).

I wonder if there is some compromise like the sponsors or even just setting up private swaps between newbies and then helping both parties to work together satisfactorily. I don't really know. Everyone seems to have a good in theory bad in practice feeling a out it, there must be some way to aid groups of newer people without feedback who are having trouble or who are too timid to find swaps on their own.


Edit: I don't think anyone is saying feedbacks aren't important. I think we have all been on the bad end of a swap flake. I wasn't trying to say there we no opportunities out there I just mean it can be difficult when you are first starting because you see all these amazing things happening and you can't be involved and that is hard. So I think twisted just wanted to get some people together who were feeling that frustration so they could feel more like a part of the community. Even if it doesnt work out as group swap i hope that attitude encourages new people to hang in there while they build up feedback. And not to give up because they feel unwelcomed or they feel like we approach them with a guilty until proven innocent attitude. We were all new once. We all remember how sad it was when we couldnt be in that awesome swap because we were new. So if you are reading this and you are new we do want you here. We do want to help you build up your creds. And we understand it's frustrating, but one day soon youll have feedback and you can have your pick of whatever awesome swaps there are. You can even host one someday. Don't give up. Because you are innocent until proven guilty. You are a valued member of the community even if you have not yet had the chance to prove that you are through sales/trades/swaps. We once stood where you are, and some of us have been burned and that's why we are jaded. Myself included. Please understand those commenting on this thread are intending to illustrate a valid point of concern but that doesn't mean we don't love you newbies.


Long emotional rant over.

[NoDivision]

I think Tiella made the best suggestion in the most basic way - if you want to build up feedback, post  thread asking for private trades, or respond to someone who is looking for a trade partner. Then it's their responsibility to get through the trade positively and earn feedback.