-Firestar-'s Collection

[Shian]

Introduction, Notes and Musings

Hello! I've been a player since October 2008.
I used to be -Firestar- No, my name is not based on the Warriors Series, but my smuggler character in the Star Wars MMO.

I changed my name back to Shian so that it would show up on searches since special characters don't work. I was Shian in 2008, but I had to wait two years for a COPPA to get my PM so I could get my old name back

I completed my collection in 2010 and wrote a guide on how I did it. Trying to display my entire collection got too difficult to keep up, so I will just display the highlights or most interesting pets.

I also maintain the CS Hoard World Records.


Archer
Meet Archer, the reason I joined CS. While he was not my first pet, he will always feel like my first pet to me. This design was what attracted me to come sign up and adopt pets.

Archer got some fanart today! -By TavrosNitram 11/25/2012


I got a little Archer smoothie by KayAuss 2/22/2013


Archer by Lilwolfpard 5/6/2013

[Shian]

Hoards
In reverse order: new hoards are at the top If you're reading the stories, it's probably best to scroll all the way down and read up. Some hoards are deliberate, some I just couldn't bear to trade away once I had them because of a superawesomedesign.

Added March 28th
Rise of the Guardian
Current count: Click
The first pet I get out of the Easter box, I fall in love with it instantly. This is rare for me, but I love this guy's design and colors so I'll be hoarding him and his dark brown brother. His expression reminds me of Bunny from Rise of the Guardians. XD


Added March 14th
Spicy Chili
Current count: Click
My boyfriend's chili is one of my favorite things to eat. <3 My mother gets heartburn with ketchup, so I grew up never having any spicy foods ever. With a little bit of acclimation, spicy chili and tacos are now some of my favorite foods.
I don't eat beans though, and it's impossible to find chili in restaurants that don't have beans. Boyfriend makes me meat chili with the reasoning, "beans are a poor man's filler."


Added Dec 28th
Soda Pop!
Current count: 194
I'm ecstatic that CS finally got a soda pet after four years. It's not quite what I wanted, but it's pretty close! Maybe someday I'll see that orange soda dog come to CS. I hoard all outcomes of this litter.


Added October 22nd
In His Eyes
Current count: 89
I saw someone on the outcomes thread that said this was a "lazy" litter and looked just like the parents. First off, the tail stripes are way different and the eyes are gorgeous. This litter is so much better than either parent, that I made a hoard in partial defiance to the person that said this was a lazy litter. ^_^; Also because the song with this title from the Jekyll and Hyde musical.


Added October 22nd
Tiny Rats! Squeak! Squeak!
Current count: 69
Gosh, I feel like I'm adding hoards too fast, but the tiny rats on this dog are so adorable and rather detailed for their size. I just can't bear to trade my extra away ^_^;


Added October 1st
Knights, Kings and Ladies of Gradea
Current count: 100
Clicky!
Not finished yet, but as I've said, I absolutely adore the armor items. Maybe one day I'll get around to writing the story that's buzzing around in my head for these guys.


Added Sept 21st
Runic Dreams
Current count: 220
I wanted to hoard the owls and rats for a while, I just couldn't come up with a good enough reason or name for the hoard. When the September Owl grew, I decided hoarding these pets in the same folder as an offshoot of my "Fire and Brimstone" hoard was a good enough reason since all of them have qualities of the "Fire and Brimstone" hoard, but they don't quite fit with that theme



Added May 14th
Raised Roses
Current count: 8
I trained Guide Dogs for the blind since I was 10. Of course I couldn't get my own dog until I was 12, but every year after that up until I went into the military, I've had a dog each and every year.
Many of them ended up being breeders which are the best of the best, so the "top 10% of only a 15% graduation rate". This is not a numbers hoard, but a record of every dog I've had.


Added April 16th
Pastel Lilies
Current count: 121
Another one of those "This is a really pretty design and I can't trade them away." hoard


Added April 16th
Skeeter's Paddock
Current count: 45
My first horse was an Appaloosa that looked kinda like this horse. He was barn sour and taught me a lot about handling problem horses. R.I.P. Skeeter


Added Feb 22nd
More Stripes!
Current count: 110
Stripes are awesome but they also have to be 'just so' or they don't look right to me. These butterflies were gorgeous, so I started to hoard them.


Added Feb 22nd
Fuuuuuuu!
Current count: 10
Yes, that is misspelled on purpose XD Foo dogs are awesome. Red and gold is even more awesome, so this dog makes a hoard.


Added Dec 19 2011
Lightbulb Spiders
Current count: 12
Spiders are amazing creatures. Yes they are creepy, but they also eat bugs so that makes them okay in my book. I let them live whenever I see them because I hate bugs. We even had a bathroom spider for a time that would hang out in the bathroom. We'd feed him water off a Q-tip. When I was in Japan, I had a mukade climb up the drainpipe and crawl on my toe when I was in the shower. The stories about their painful poison are frightening. Soon after I killed the mukade with a broom handle, there was a clock spider living in the room adjacent to the shower room. At first I tried to shoo him out, but apparently the spider's defense is to play dead. After learning they eat mukade, I let it live in there for as long as it wanted despite being the size of my hand.
When I saw these lightbulb spiders I decided they were simply too adorable to trade off. I can imagine them all sitting on a light string: "Yes, we are bulbs. Pay no attention to us!" XD


Added Oct 21 2011
Cervidae
Current count: 49
So pretty. I guess the guys remind me of The Endless Forest? I'm not sure why, but I see these dogs as a very nicely patterned deer.


Added Aug 14 2011
Eyes of Telaria
Current count: 49
I remember seeing this guy as a puppy and thinking to myself, 'How gorgeous. I love the colors, but this is going to be one of those 'unloved litters' How sad.' I briefly thought about hoarding them, but I'm not hoarding just anything once a month all willy-nilly.
As luck turned out, I ended up getting three from being late to the pound. Hence, this mini-hoard was born.
Also, the sign on his leg as an adult reminds me of the sky rune in Rift:



Added July 22 2011
Smoking Awareness Hoard
Current count: 27
Our apartment building caught fire this date. Turns out it was started by a house guest on the floor above us smoking a cigarette inside. As the apartment was built in the 1920's, straw was often used as insulation and went up like a tinderbox. We got out in good time but I lost many one of a kind things and precious memories.
Despite it's name, this is not so much an 'awareness' hoard, (what does hoarding have to do with others awareness anyways?!) but a reminder to myself to be mindful of the things lost due to the mistakes of others and the damage smoking can cause to others.


Added June 30 2011
Fluffy Copper
Current count: 95
He looks so fluffy and soft...



OMG Quaggas! <3
Current count: 153
I've been wanting a quagga since the zebras came out. They came out on my birth month no less. I doubt it was intentional, but I get to pretend it was Thank you so much Tyr!
A little more back story: As a kid, I absorbed everything like a sponge. I got so bored with the puzzles I had that I did them upside down just to make them more interesting. Mom happened to get a national geographic fact file sample pack in the mail. Despite my insistence on wanting the whole set, I was left with the sampler pack of 20 cards. Sine I only had 20, I read them over and over until I could recite the entire card from memory. It included some mammals and many extinct animals. The quagga was my favorite.


Silent Night
Current count: 51
Breathtaking design. Based on the song my mom used to sing to me.


Quagga lookalike
Current count: 114
I've been wanting a quagga since the zebras came out. It was close enough for me to love it. Plus, STRIPES! <3


CAAAAAAKKKKEEE!!!
Current count: 101
I have a deep love for fresh velvet cake. Don't ever eat a whole one at once.
I lived alone for a while, so who's to say I couldn't eat a whole one? The next morning in the midst of panicking and thinking I needed to go to the hospital, it never occurred to me how much red dye is in that cake. >.< Thankfully I figured out what was going on before the guys at the hospital could laugh me out.
This is also my Tribute to Allie Brosh who's posts always always make me laugh.


Ricar's Wish
Current count: 244

Based on Ricar, My Istaria character. And... a ton of other characters that use the same color scheme. Like my avatar.


Sea of Wind
Current count: 12
My tribute to the Kirins in the anime The Twelve Kingdoms.


Sakura Season
Current count: 37
Clicky!
My hoard of Japanese themed pets- 5 of each color of butterfly and many different dressed up pets. If anyone has any suggestions for combination of kimonos and dog design, please PM me and I will add it


Call of the Wild
Current count: 24
My favorite book when I was a kid. I had Littlest Pet Shop dogs: one for each character in the book. I would play out the entire book for weeks at a time. I alternated between it and Bambi to keep it from getting old. I couldn't act out Bambi as often because it involved stealing my Dad's Christmas decorations which went perfect with the McDonalds toy Bambi. Boy was he mad when I snipped off the glittered antlers to make a mommy Bambi XD


Noble Guard of Koen
Current count: 27
This is one of those hoards where the design is so beautiful I just can't trade them away.


Griffins!
Current count: 32
So glad we finally got Griffin sets to flesh out the 4 main mythical creatures.


Ode to a Natural Color
Current count: 162
When I joined CS, I loved the 2nd gens. I preferred natural colored dogs over the 'funny' colors of pink and blue and green. Toxics were my least favorite. My opinion has changed since then, but this litter reminded me of my first days on CS. It is not often we get good natural colored dogs. Plus one of them have the awesome eye color of the UR cat.


Memories of School Days
Current count: 39
Growing up, I loved the fall because it made the walk home from school less boring. I tried to collect all colors of leaves before I got home. Mom would get mad if I tried to bring them in the house though. This hoard is an omage to that.


Yet another dragon hoard
Current count: 266
Like everyone else, I scrambled for these when they first came out. Such a wonderful lineart.


Wolves!
Current count: 90 and 10
Yup. Wolves. 'Bought time we finally got this design


Spots and Stripes
Current count: 67
My hoard of spots and stripes was created when pets were only 15 to a page or something like that, 5 to a line. We could also change the url so that as many pets as you wanted could be seen at a time. I may end up trading this hoard since the effect no longer works. Recently added: striped Thylacine horses.


Line of the Zodiac
Current count: 389
The eyes! They glow! What a wonderful litter!


Noble Heart Horse
Current count: 356
Yes, the name of the hoard is based on a Care Bear. While I don't like CS horses, this draft design makes it awesome.


Firestar Dogs <3
Current count: 370
Tess did an amazing job with this dog. I'm not creative enough to come up with my own fursona, but if I had one, this dog's pattern would be it I rabidly collect these guys.


Final Fantasy
Current count: 21
A deliberately small hoard, this is my tribute to the Final Fanstasy series. My favorites are still 8, 10 and 3.



Jade Dreams
Current count: 100
The colors on this dog are amazing. I whipped up 100 of them as my tribute to the design.


Goldeneye Pizzazs
Current count: 100
The colors on this dog are amazing. I whipped up 100 of them as my tribute to the design.


Of The Dead
Current count: 285
I started hoarding the rats, PPS puppies and the rabbits when I saw they all had the same design. At first it was just for a lack of nothing to do with my rare trade fodder, but they did grow on me. Being able to collect subsequent pets from this past Halloween to go with them was a treat.


Fennic Foxes
Current count: 156
These creatures were an absolute joy when Shima Luan presented us with a new lineart. I promptly collected 100 of them but added more when Valentine's came about.


Fire Owls!
Current count: 131
My online handle for years had the word 'Phoenix' in it. I like collecting fire and flame based animals as a tribute to my old handle, but I am picky and they have to look right. Malk did this owl justice.


Fire and Brimstone ^^
Current count: 330
Continuing with the fire theme, I collected animals that had a fire them with a bit of darkness in them. At first it was just the birthday dog, but as pets were released, I added more.



Rainbow's Bliss
Current count: 146
Only certain designs go in this hoard, but it was originally created for the Valentine 2nd gen horses.


Pocky
Current count: 60
Seemed fitting to hoard the first item on the site. Plus it looks cool as a wall


Archer's Family
Current count: 63
Archer has quite a large family. With seven brothers and sisters and they all have children and grandchildren of their own, I collect any of these pets


Fish Pond
Current count: 2737
My first true hoard. The old lineart looked like the top of a koi in a pond. I lived in Japan for most of the time and I adored this fish that reminded me of home. Many people didn't like these fish pets, so I took them in and traded happily for them.

[Shian]

Dressed Up Pets

I wanted armor for my pets so needless to say, I was very very ecstatic when we got some! Here are some of my favorite armored pets:
]


These three are all based on the original Lone Wolf series

Others:

[Shian]

Special ID number Pets

Meet Monochrome, Pet number 999999. CS's millionth pet is accountless.


My Sequence and Sparkly ID number- the only two UR pets in existence (that I know of) that are sequential. If you are familiar with UR pets, you have a chance to get one only on Dec 18th... along with every other pet in existence so having two right next to each other is pretty darn rare.


This is the first banana in existence


Pets 27 and 28 million respectively.


Kai. One of the oldest pets on the site with an ID number of 87


The Little Mathematician ID#1112233


No name, just 15555555 XD


10900000


Pet number 88,000,000 o.O


Spottedleaf here has an ID of 76 million something, but has a birthdate of 2008-08-02 which makes him sit in very odd places in the lineup XD

[Shian]

Really Awesome People

(So I never forget)

Tiffany
Too many to list.
Tiffany you have giving me many missed outcomes, rare pets and even helped me get the last true date I needed. Thank you so much. I don't have many people on here I would consider a friend, but you my dear are one.

Chry
Gave this to me for my birthday 2011:
http://www.chickensmoothie.com/trades/v ... 5vVB7vQElQ

Taj
We haven't spoken often and out of the blue, they give me their white July, a pet they had dedicated once to their grandfather. To give such a pet that has or had such personal value is very humbling, never mind the intense rarity of the pet.

ShadowRaichu454
I don't remember quite when this user PMed me or why, but we just started talking about our days on somewhat of a daily basis and even exchanged advice every once in a while. It's been nice to just talk with someone without worry that they're trying to butter me up for free pets. I've probably been a bad friend because it's mostly them who has to initiate the conversation and our lives have just gotten so busy that we don't keep in touch often any more. Thanks for being a good friend even if I don't deserve it.

Sunny Cupcake
She keeps sending me pets for no explainable reason. XD
There are many kind COPPA users but Sunny Cupcake sure takes the cake. She's sent me 51 pets- most to boost hoards along with a few rares and older or hard to find pets. Where or how she gets them I have no idea.
I miss you Sunny. You were well loved and admired here.

Vapor
Here's another awesome and generous COPPA user! Vapor has sent me countless missed outcomes and items I tried gifting them once and they just turned it around as another gift to me. I don't know where they keep getting pets or where on earth they got Malk Faries, but I'm glad they are a part of CS. I wish they took gifts though.

Why It Makes No Sense To Be An Anti-Hoarder

I see this all the time. People who decide that because I have whatever pet someone wants, I should just trade it to them because "I have an extra" yet they also have hundreds of extras and they aren't giving them out freely. What makes hoarding any different than trading other than somehow expecting players that have thousands of pets (over years mind you) to only have the same number of pets a person just starting has? Hmm... sorry, that's not how any world works- virtual or otherwise.

I often see: "I don't care about common hoards, I only care about the rare ones!"
Why does rarity make such a difference to anti-hoarders? A hoard is a hoard. I think the factor here is more if "I want it" than what the rarity tag is. Do anti-hoarders care about a hoard of rainbow drafts? Does a nick pet hoard bother anti-hoarders the same way as a wishlist pet does? I'm guessing not.
It's hypocritical in this fashion to care more about a hoard of sundogs than it does to care about a hoard of nick pets if rarity is the only factor.
If uncommon and commons are okay, what about those that put together a loving hoard but because of time they became rare and very rare? Are they now required to give them away JUST because of their rarity tag? I think not.

The other argument I've seen is "Give 20 of this pet away and there's 20 happier people. Haven't you ever given anything VR away before?"
So.... we're measuring happiness now? That's pretty petty.
There's also a chance that after giving 20 away, those people just up and quit taking them out of the economy forever.
We're talking about measuring a person's happiness? How do you do that anyways? So *I* have to be unhappy giving away years of effort and time so that a number of others can be happy?
Yeah, I did that already. I've had two giveaways to celebrate milestones in my collection and the ones who got the rarest pets haven't logged in in a year. I'm talking about a free yellow sorbet here and now it's out of the system. So trying to make others happy doesn't always work.
As for the question, yes. The first time I got all pets, I celebrated by giving away nearly everything in my trade section. 4 July 08s, 3 Augusts don't remember how many Sept 08s etc.
I held another a year later when I got frustrated and bored, again just giving out rare and old pets. I was even in people's sigs for a while "Thank you for my dreampet" etc. but that fades as the next challenge of finding a new dreampet ensues.
Can I afford to hold a give away all the time and give all my VRs away? No, I'd have nothing left very quickly.

"There is only a certain amount of each pet around on CS. Hoarders are taking them all!"
Believe me, I've tried For a brief period of time, I tried to hoard every single one of the "firestar dogs" so I could pretend it was a custom. Did it work? Nope. Hundreds of users still have this pet. Not only that but the pound gives out all kinds of pets. PLUS if there's any 'shortage' of pets, Dec 18th re-release gives out the pets needed to keep CS's economy stable, so there is no way for any one player to tale all the pets.
I don't see any difference between someone having a complete set of July dogs and someone having 17 moonswirls. Either way, it is technically standing in the way of other people's collections when you collect. Doesn't matter if it's hoarding or collecting, you're still making pets untradeable by keeping them. People can do whatever they want with the pets they have. If they want to trade fairly for 5 sun dogs instead of for 5 different Julys, it's their right.
I have over 2,000 pets in one of my hoards and I still have no problem finding more of any of my hoards. Hoarding has little effect on the economy or the availability of pets. CS is way too big for it to be so. If you look, you will find.
Even if someone tried hoarding every single of a certain pet there is always another out there. Such a thing is quite impossible.

"Well just don't hoard! It makes the game harder!"
Using that kind of logic people should stop trading. I mean if you have more than one of the same pet you're stealing from the economy!
But wait.... what if I get more than one of the same outcome in the litter? Am I required to get rid of it because I have two?
Of course not.
What if I like only one outcome and trade the other 5 in the litter for that same one so that all 6 pets are the same? It's the same as getting all the same outcome in the litter. That's the beauty of trading. Also, the beauty of hoarding. You alone dictate what your collection has in it.

Why hoard at all?
-It's easier than getting a full collection honestly. Far less stressful to set smaller goals either before or after tackling such a daunting task. Plus it makes pound openings great fun. I'm just as excited to get a common hoard pet as I am to get a rare pet I'm missing.
-It gives us older players that have the full collection a reason to keep playing.
-The added new dimension of playing the game can be fun too. Check out the hoard records and see if you can beat one.

As a final note though, I do off site trading. I play 12 other games so I can maximize my trading. This means that I usually buy off site currency and trade it for those VR pets so the pets I have are usually 12x games worth and/or bought with currency.

And don't worry, jealousy is just a natural part of the process. I get jealous too when I see a hoard of hundreds of pets I have a missed outcome on

[Shian]

Couples and Stories

Very simple story, but Lola is a very simple dog

Lola loved being on patrol duty. Getting to take a walk was something she rarely did now that she was old enough to go with the Hunting Party. I mean, who doesn't enjoy walk-*schreee*!
Lola stopped dead in her tracks.
What was that awful sound? It was unlike any bird she had ever heard. Looking around and seeing nothing, she started to wonder if she had imagined it. Was it a bear? Archer had told her of a bear once, and it sounded scary.
*schreee*!
The noise was louder that time and she knew exactly where it was coming from.
Racing towards the noise, Lola stopped short of it and hid behind a bush.
You know, in case it was a bear.
Peeking out of the bush, Lola saw that it wasn't a bear at all, but a strange metal animal that resembled a wolf. It was trying to turn its head but it kept getting stuck, making an awful metal grating noise.
*SCHREEE*!
Lola trotted up quickly to the animal. If she was to be killed, at least she wouldn't have to hear that awful noise again. She had to walk around it to face it properly.
"Umm.... excuse me..." It felt strange talking to an animal made out of the same material as a bucket. She certainly didn't talk to buckets. "You seem to be making an awful lot of noise. Could you stop?"
"Wheeeoooo!" it cried apologetically, but to Lola it was a most mournful noise.
"Oh. Oh," She spun around in circles, unsure what to do with this... dog? It was clearly sentient and seemed to understand her. She abruptly stopped spinning as an idea hit her. "Maybe I can help you!" She cried and made to run towards her pack's home. "Umm... stay there." She called over her shoulder.
"Oouuuoo," it hummed.

Within a few minutes, Lola had fetched a bucket, put some water in it from the stream and headed back to the creature.
The creature howled when it saw the bucket of water and shrunk back.
"Uuuurrrr!" it warbled in alarm. Lola dropped the bucket in front of her.
"Oh. Oh. It's okay! It’s useful for when our joints ache. You just soak it like this," She put her paw in the bucket.
"Uuuurrrr"! It replied and shook itself since it couldn't shake its head, trying desperately to convey how deadly water could be to it.
"No water? But it’s good for you..." Lola sat down, feeling a bit rejected and stared at the pail. "At least you can understand me..."
Suddenly, Lola jumped up and started spinning in circles again. Surely something would help this poor creature. She just needed to get her brain going some more.
"I’ve got it!" She exclaimed, stopping suddenly and knocking the bucket over.
She picked up the bucket and ran off again.

It took her an hour this time but she trotted over to the creature with many small fruits in the bucket.
"Jerro taught me this trick. It's for when water doesn't work".
The creature tilted its head slightly and made a series of small questioning beeps while it watched Lola step on the small fruits in the bucket.

It was dinnertime by the time Lola had finished squishing enough olives to make a very messy, slippery paste. The creature was apprehensive at first, but Lola managed to get it to agree to put some in its paw joint first. The paste worked well, and soon Lola was putting the small amount of paste she had into the thing's neck joint.
"Wheeeooo," It warbled, happily wagging its metal tail. Lola giggled.
"You sure act like one of us. Do you have a home?"
*beep*
"Uhh... I suppose that means no?"
"Wheeeooo,"
"And.. that means yes?"
"Wheeeooo,"
"Well... why don't you come home with me then?"
"Wheeeooo," it warbled happily.
A new friend might be fun.

[Shian]

Axel, one of the oldest dogs in the pack had been retired from hunting for a while and has for the longest time been taking care of the new arrivals until they grow enough to take on roles and duties of their own. While he prides himself in this charge of taking care of the young, he secretly fears that he will be viewed as unable to attend to his duties because his age is getting the better of him and even the guards have to help him chase down pups that wander off when their curiosity and desire to explore gets the better of them.

Sodai, one of the younger members didn't want to leave the nursery when the time came. She was a runt and therefore, not strong or fast enough to be hunter or a guard. The teachers soon lost patience with Sodai who often had to work twice as hard to do anything because of her stunted development. While she grasped concepts easily, her body just wouldn't keep up with even the slowest members of the pack.

Dejected as she wandered through the cave tunnels after yet another failed lesson, she caught sight of a very young pup running toward her.
Sodai caught it easily. She may not have been fast or strong, but she was agile and her small, delicate jaws were good for grasping the young pup. Axel soon showed up, having lost sight of the pup but was out of breath by the time he reached Sodai. Axel thanked her and they both walked back to the nursery.
On the way back, Axel was quiet and somber. He seemed just as disheartened as she was a moment ago when she failed her lesson, but she could hardly ask why with a pup in her mouth. After depositing the pup, Axel sat down, staring into nothing and said quietly, "So I suppose you'll be wanting my job soon. Seems I can't keep up with them any more."
Sodai smiled at him, knowing how it feels to not be able to keep up. "I know nothing about what to do with puppies. I'm barely an adult myself. I don't think I'd be able to take your job, but I could use your guidance. Maybe we could do it together?" she offered and tilted her head up at him. "We would make a great team."
Axel smiled at the wisdom she showed. "That, I believe, is a fantastic idea."

Okay, so not some love story, but Sodai has been hanging around my incubator a while and I thought the purple and gold eyes made an awesome match.

[Shian]

Dreamsicle looked out the window of his stall at the perfectly brushed Morigan in the distant paddock. She whinnied in greeting to the human that brought the jumper's saddle and a carrot.
He couldn't remember the last time he had been brought a carrot.
Shaking the dust from his coat from the day's work, he had been put away early. No more work today because she had training to do so the humans gave her their attention. Ah, but her voice was lovely.
Even her name, Hannah, sounded like some dreamer's sigh.
'How fitting,' he thought to himself, amused at the irony.
Not once had the show winner even glanced near his stall. He was invisible because he wasn't a part of her world.
Someday though, they would be in the same pasture together.

[Dalek]

That 'alt. account' is an interesting experiment! However, I don't think that it's completely equivalent to how a newbie would trade- you're more well-known as a good trader, and more people would be willing to work out trades with people who know their rarities. Although, it is a great experiment, and I can't wait to see the results!

[Shian]

That 'alt. account' is an interesting experiment! However, I don't think that it's completely equivalent to how a newbie would trade- you're more well-known as a good trader, and more people would be willing to work out trades with people who know their rarities. Although, it is a great experiment, and I can't wait to see the results!

That's right it would be!
I'm actually finding there's a lot of discrimination on these forums with regard to join date. People are expecting me to trade fairly so it makes it a real challenge to get ahead no matter how slightly. Even in the free adoption board where I traditionally go to get more trade fodder. Some have rules with regard to join date or how many pets you own. Since I am not a true newbie, I don't get to participate in those giveaways. For each advantage I have, there seems to also be a disadvantage, so I think it does roughly balance out in the end.
I'm learning a lot in this experiment simply by starting over and am adding some of my findings to my 'How to get a dreamie' guide.

I think the biggest obstacle in this experiment so far is to resist the temptation to cheat.
I have a goal pet just sitting in my accounts trades (or even more fun when I have 5 of them)! What harm would it do to just trade it to myself as a gift? XD
Or someone offers me a deal but wants a pet out of my account's trade fodder.
It's hard telling people 'no, that would ruin the experiment' as I think some people don't really understand what I'm trying to do.