Trade rules: Your opinion

[I♫dream♪in♬harmonies]

First, if there's a similar thread I apologize and this can be moved/deleted if necessary <3

So anyway, there's tons of arguments about trade rules- some people say they're necessary, others enjoy making scenes for others to 'walk through' for them, some think they're totally pointless- what's your opinion? What do you use? Are there phrases that lots of people use that annoy you?
This is a thread where you can discuss your thoughts about trade rules. Have fun!

[I♫dream♪in♬harmonies]

It drrives me crazy how people will say 'NO TEXT TALK' and then use acronyms like 'lf', 'w', 'h', 'CS', 'BMD', whatever. 'lol' Is just as much an acronym as any of those, and even if they're particular to the site, they're still acronyms or text talk if you prefer. If you're really that crazy about people spelling everything out, you should too.

I don't have many rules and it's optional to read mine. I think if you've read one, you've read them all because everyone says extremely similar things. People can also be really rude to newbies who don't understand what certain phrases mean (like hoard, trade-up, or even wishlist)

[I♫dream♪in♬harmonies]

up

[Feliks]

I just list my rules and its just normal rules I dunno if its the best kind probably not lol

I dont really like paragraph or story rules all that much, its just so much to read and reading online is a pain, if it was in a book it would be different but its not XD

I also think caps lock or yelling rules just make me backspace

thats my opinion on rules

[LostCure]

The shorter the better for me. I also don't care for a lot of gifs in one. My Kindle can't handle it too much at once.

If anything, I could add or clarify my rules, but I don't feel like it. I don't get much trades beyond monthly or event swaps.

[*JACKAL*]

I hate code words. If you know your own rules then you will know if someone has broken them.
Stories annoy me too, if there is a story, I just won't read them. I'm looking for the rules.
Putting a link to a trade thread and putting the rules in that instead - unnecessary, that's what the rule page is for.
And foeing straight away is unnecessary.

I like simply put rules, with pictures and gifs. Too many can be annoying but I do like to look at them.

[Kel Bel]

I don't really think that code words are needed. Sure, it's a way to see that you've read their post. But are you really going to reject an irresistible offer, just because someone forgot the code word? I sure as heck wouldn't!

Also, I don't really care for rules with a story set-up. Short ones are fine, though.

For me, I make my rules short, sweet, and to the point, and hope for the best. xD

[Atwood]

So far as codewords go, it might be worth pointing out that the human short term memory has an extremely limited capacity and can only store about seven pieces of immediate information at a time. If someone has less than seven (simple) rules, the average person should be able to remember those while trading with them and the rules are thus more likely to be followed. If the rules include a codeword though, you're making the person devote more memory to keeping that codeword in their mind than they do to remembering your other rules. If it's a multi-part codeword, there's very little chance of a person remembering both the codeword and the rules. For example, something like this:

Rule 3: The codeword is apple.
Rule 5: Ignore Rule 3 - the codeword is banana.
Rule 7: If you really read my rules, the real codeword is swordfish.

takes up pretty much all of the memory 'slots' because people can't just dump the previous codeword from the short term memory and each 'command' takes another slot, so in your memory it goes something like:

1. Type codeword
2. Codeword is apple
3. Ignore apple
4. Type banana
5. Ignore banana
6. Still ignore apple
7. Type swordfish

Your trading partner has now had every one of your real trade rules pushed out of their immediate memory and will only remember that they're supposed to type swordfish. The people who actually remember your rules will likely forget what codeword they're supposed to type or that there is one at all. I've done some experimentation with this and found that the people who put the codeword in were most likely to have missed some or all of the actual rules while those who missed the codeword were far more likely to actually be following the rules. ^^

The same kind of goes for stories in trade rules - you want people to remember that you don't want trades of VCs, not that they've seen a huge winged black wolf named Raven stepping out of a dark wood. :b Stories just make it harder for people to find and remember the relevant information. I always skip them and just pick out the rules around the story bits.

For me though, the biggest peeve is rude/mean/aggressive trade rules, like "I DON'T TRADE WITH COPPAS!!1!1 IF YOU'RE COPPA I CANCEL AND FOE!! " That sort of thing makes me nope right out of there. Especially if it's in neon colours, which it often is.

For my own trade rules, I'm always tweaking them here and there to make them clearer, but I still only get maybe one trade in 20 that actually follows them. Eh, c'est la vie. It's probably because I have more than 7 pieces of information in there.

[Syn]

I haven't really had much of a problem with rule-breaking trades. The two most commonly broken are my 'trade fair' rule (because 'fair' is subjective depending on different people's viewpoints), and my 'no blank suggestions' (because I guess sometimes people just aren't sure what I will offer or are comfortable adding things).

As for other people's rules, I do browse them for critical information (certain species they may not like, if they're trading items or not, if they accept C$) but I've discovered if you exercise common sense and civility you have far fewer people who are upset with you and you tend not to break the rules.

I don't use codewords, however. I find them aggravating. I realize why they're there, because you want to make sure your rules are read, but all that codeword makes me do is back out. In my mind extra steps make you a more difficult trade partner. You might be a very nice person with a lot of things I want, but I'd rather go to someone who doesn't have that extra step. The same is true for users with extreme amounts of gifs or a short novella in their trade rules. I love creativity, I'm a creative writer myself, but the trade rules section is not the place to express that. There's a whole creative board that is. Want me to read something, leave a little link below your rules. Same with gifts, a couple is tasteful...twenty before the text is laggy as heck.

Especially if I'm on my kindle and in a hurry. Ever tried to trade for a new not that common outcome using the swap thread? Sometimes the pet is gone before I've finished typing the word trade. If I'm having to enter a codeword or read a short story or wait for everything to load...I won't have the time.

[Kel Bel]

So far as codewords go, it might be worth pointing out that the human short term memory has an extremely limited capacity and can only store about seven pieces of immediate information at a time. If someone has less than seven (simple) rules, the average person should be able to remember those while trading with them and the rules are thus more likely to be followed. If the rules include a codeword though, you're making the person devote more memory to keeping that codeword in their mind than they do to remembering your other rules. If it's a multi-part codeword, there's very little chance of a person remembering both the codeword and the rules. For example, something like this:

Rule 3: The codeword is apple.
Rule 5: Ignore Rule 3 - the codeword is banana.
Rule 7: If you really read my rules, the real codeword is swordfish.

takes up pretty much all of the memory 'slots' because people can't just dump the previous codeword from the short term memory and each 'command' takes another slot, so in your memory it goes something like:

1. Type codeword
2. Codeword is apple
3. Ignore apple
4. Type banana
5. Ignore banana
6. Still ignore apple
7. Type swordfish

Your trading partner has now had every one of your real trade rules pushed out of their immediate memory and will only remember that they're supposed to type swordfish. The people who actually remember your rules will likely forget what codeword they're supposed to type or that there is one at all. I've done some experimentation with this and found that the people who put the codeword in were most likely to have missed some or all of the actual rules while those who missed the codeword were far more likely to actually be following the rules. ^^

The same kind of goes for stories in trade rules - you want people to remember that you don't want trades of VCs, not that they've seen a huge winged black wolf named Raven stepping out of a dark wood. :b Stories just make it harder for people to find and remember the relevant information. I always skip them and just pick out the rules around the story bits.

For me though, the biggest peeve is rude/mean/aggressive trade rules, like "I DON'T TRADE WITH COPPAS!!1!1 IF YOU'RE COPPA I CANCEL AND FOE!! " That sort of thing makes me nope right out of there. Especially if it's in neon colours, which it often is.

For my own trade rules, I'm always tweaking them here and there to make them clearer, but I still only get maybe one trade in 20 that actually follows them. Eh, c'est la vie. It's probably because I have more than 7 pieces of information in there.

^ This.
Very amazing post! I find it very interesting how people who put in the codeword will most likely forget some important rules. It actually would make sense, since they're wired to believe that a trade will only be considered if the codeword is in there. Personally, I don't bother when someone changes their codeword three different times. It's not really convenient, if you ask me.