I always read.
I kinda like a lot looking what people have sent/received/fav.I always try to send something they would enjoy,from what they have told or âwishlistâ. Not always possible but i do what i can. I just love picking up the right card!
It is part of the fun, reading carefully the profile and see if there is some specific theme they would love to read.
I guess reading profile is a must:)
I read the profile as long as it is not too long, once there is too much stuff in the requirements and especially stuff that normal people donât even have, I donât read any more. Iâve never photographed a page with text.
I read the profile, but that doesnât mean I follow all the requirements. Sometimes people ask for strange things. Sorry, but Iâm not going to take a photo of the text side (private swaps are different matter). Thatâs not what Postcrossing is about. Iâm also not going to draw because Iâm really bad at it. Today I got a profile where the recipient asks to draw a cat. Sorry, but I canât.
@hankadl I kept my comment brief because people here tend to read and speculate more into it. The fact is that some people who join PostCrossing want to do it on their terms.
I read all the profiles carefully and enjoy learning about membersâ lives, pets and interests, plus I try to find cards & stamps to match the wishlist. I look over their favorites and the most recently received cards from my country to avoid sending a duplicate. But I generally ignore the requests for a poem, drawing, date etc and usually write about whatâs happening in my own life at the moment
I see. I donât know if by some people you mean youself or others but itâs fine. As long as it works for you and brings you joy. I just looked to me that you felt pushed to do something you didnât like, which would be a shame.
I always read the profiles but I have to admit that I canât understand all of them.
I donât take any photos of text sides. Why should I?
Indeed, the message was put at the beginning, as an introduction (it was something like âSince I donât know if the Egyptian postal system is functional, could you, if you donât mind, take a picture of your card?â), but I removed it because none of the postcards I was supposed to receive reached me so far, and none (but one) of those I sent reached their destinationâŚ
It made me very sad, but I had to make the decision to take a Postcrossing break 
(and in consequence I deleted my message, as no one is going to send me a postcard now)
We generally read profiles.
No matter how long they are.
Because it tells me something about the person who is now connecting with me. And I read them carefully, sometimes I have them translated.
We always pay attention to wish lists. After all, why not make the recipient happy?
But if we donât have a card that fits the list - then we look at the gallery.
And if there is still no card in our box that you might like, we will send you a tourist card.
We do that even if the profile doesnât say anything.
Whether there are duplicates or not - we donât care. Because the text is crucial for us.
And for that we use the profile again.
We like to go into what is written. Maybe we share something in common?
We generally do not photograph texts. We also have a certain process to finish a card.
But if it is written directly as a wish then we would do it.
I always enjoy going through their profile and I try to meet their expectations. In fact, I go through their wall for their favourites and received cards to avoid duplications. With most of the postcrossers I am going to connect only once. So I want to make them happy.
I always use nice commemorative stamps on the card/envelope. Anyways we are going to spend the same amount for postage, so why not nice commemorative stamps? If my card doesnât, my stamp will make them happy.
I write at least 4 or 5 sentences about the card. Unfortunately, my PO always asks me to write my address. So I print my address to save more space for writing.
Happy Collecting.
Thank you @KAS for your answer! May I know why you wouldnât have taken a picture of it? I hope asking for this in my profile wasnât considered as rude⌠I did so because I personally always take a picture of the text side, in case it gets lost and to remember it.
I have never taken a text side photo either. Might start keeping notes of which stamps on cards, since I get âthanks for nice stampsâ feedback sometimes.
Indeed, I love this too! Thatâs why I always try to write something related to what is written in the profile, and if the profile is empty, I look for similarities between the city of the postcrosser and mineâŚ
Amazing! I am also running out of storage because of the pictures of the postcards I am sending, but donât know how to deal with the situation⌠How do you create such private online album?
In my opinion (and thatâs only my opinion), because a postcard isnât only about the picture, but also about the text.
I personally always take picture because I have the feeling that I am putting part of myself in my postcards; I always write drafts and around 12 sentences, and it always takes me around one hour to write a postcard completely (since I sometimes copy my sentences in the native language of the post-crosser). Thatâs the reason why I would find it sad if the postcard gets lost⌠So far, two of my postcards have been lost (or, at least, expired), and at least I can send the message I wrote to the postcrosser; I have thus the feeling that the postcard did not completely dieâŚ
But maybe Iâm taking things a little too seriously 
But according to the rules of Postcrossing, you shouldnât register postcards that you havenât actually received. 
I donât take pictures of the message side. There are addresses, and I donât feel comfortable storing others addresses in my phone.
Also, if my card is lost, it is. Itâs the risk in snail mail. If I had the image, I would not like sending the message side to them, and making sure not to register it. And, if someone sent a message of a lost card as an image, I know itâs meant well, still itâs not the same. I like the feel of postcard.
And thinking if I had the image, and someone asked to send it, I should find it, then find the member again, attach the photoâŚIâm not sure why but I feel these kind of tasks very energy consuming although I know it doesnât take much time. I get tired already thinking it 
I always read the profile as it gives me hints of what to send and what to write about.
I also answer to questiens when registrating the card and eben when someone askes me a question in their hooray message.
However, I think I would not have taken a picture of the written side because I would have not known a good place to keep it.
I donât think it was rude to ask for it. But I donât think I would have done it, because it would also have meant keeping track somehow of that one random âtext side pictureâ for months until you decided to ask for it. Which is too much to ask of me 
Also I think the text side is irrelevant if the card never arrives, otherwise we could just email each other.
Sorry to hear the mail is so unreliable! It sounds like taking a Postcrossing break is a sensible decision in that situation.