Hard to Please?

I just would like to mention one thing now and I am going to leave this thread.

If you mention castles as your preferences in your profile, for example, then that sounds more generic and I can understand. I would consider sending a castle card from my region in Japan. But when I see in a profile a very specific castle name only from a certain region in Japan that I do not have, I immediately have the impression that it will be difficult to please this member, especially when s/he also mentions lots of other specific themes as a wishlist. If this member mentions on the profile that s/he will be happy with other generic cards from Japan, then I will consider sending a maiko girl card from Kyoto, with Japanese traditional clothes on, as I happen to have many cards of them. That is it.

edited to add:
the original poster of this thread also mentions of one certain profile, not just me. also, most viewcards from japan that i have are related to temples and shrines. i just do not think this member will be happy with such cards as s/he only lists specific japanese themes. . . anyway, i have been off official postcrossing.

Now I say Sayonara to this thread as well.

If you are again going on about that one profile, I can’t believe. The “e.g.” before the castle name means same as for example. Did you not know it? I think that was already told here.

I like animals, for example wolverines. = I like animals e.g. wolverines.

It does not mean I only like wolverines.
Your English seems so good, feels really weird that you wouldn’t understand that, and to me seems you intentionally got stuck to this, so just send any card in situations like that if you don’t understand what is written. Of course it can be that this abbreviation is not familiar to you at all, but that’s why I wrote this :slight_smile: and now you know it. So you see there’s nothing hard to please there unless you decide to see it that way.

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I second S_Tuulia’s explanation about the “e.g.” despite me not a native English speaker. I also know that “e.g.” stands for example. Care to learn more about the meaning of “e.g.” on this Cambridge Dictionary webpage?

abbreviation for exempli gratia: a Latin phrase that means “for example”. It can be pronounced as “e.g.” or “for example”:

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I think the best thing you can do about profiles that seem hard to please, is to not worry too much! I think these people are most likely aware that their requests are very specific and that most likely not everyone has a card that might fit them.

Don’t forget that a postcard is not only about what is on the front but also about what you write. You can write something about one of the topics they mentioned or even add a doodle or stickers of it. I recently cut out a image of a kingfisher out of a magazine because someone mentioned they liked them on their profile. It was not a profile that was hard to please at all but I like trying make the postcards as personal as possible if possible. This way the person knows you considered their wishes, did the best you could and at the same time there’s no negativity or blame in it.

Most profiles I have come across also state that they will be happy about postcards from your city or country and even if they don’t state that they like that, it is still likely that they will be happy about it. After all this seems to be one of the most common types of postcards so they must be very popular. Since postcrossing is about connecting with people from all over the world I think these kinds of cards are very fitting.

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As far as I remember (at least in European countries) “e. g.” is still one of the first things children are taught in their early English lessons, so I can hardly believe that this is really the problem here…
But, who knows…“in dubio pro reo - in doubt, for the accused” 🤷

But even if a profile seems too hard to please (which is also always a matter of opinion) I wouldn’t think too long about it, just take a card I would receive myself if I can’t fulfil one of the wishes.

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A post was merged into an existing topic: Welcome to the Forum!

I was wondering maybe this was an honest mistake of mixing up e.g. (which means “for example” as stated already) and i.e. (which is meant to clarify and strengthen the prior statement). I went to academic writing course at Uni and though I have happily forgot most of it, I recall the e.g. and i.e. mix up mentioned as one of the most common mistakes in academic writing.

Anyhow, the life is too complicate and busy to be get all upset about a hobby. It is the best to just do the best you can and then move on. Also, take a break when the hobby starts to feel like having a job.

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It’s definitely used for stating examples because it is my wishlist. They are referring to my profile. :laughing: Ha Ha!

Some people are not satisfied with answers given by many people before you. And keep on asking the same questions… :expressionless:

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Your profile is really lovely :heart: I enjoyed reading about your talking cat. I’m sure she had many stories to tell :grin:

I think it is very clear that you mean it as an example because you write “scenery, cityview & amazing famous historical buildings sent from country of origin” and then add two examples to explain what you mean by what you previously wrote. :+1: Your other wishes might be difficult to fulfill but this one should be doable for most. Interesting that this one specifically has been picked as an example for a wish that is difficult to fulfill…

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Yesterday I got my first profile that I though was kind of hard to please. The list of things they like was very specific and I didn’t have anything from it, which usually means I send a card showing some buildings from my city but in the things they did not like was buildings :cry: I ended up getting a bit creative with another card I had to make it fitting and I decorated the back with stickers and wrote a long message but since it is the first where I couldn’t find a fitting card at all, I am a bit worried if they will like it.

I currently don’t have many cards because I have only recently started postcrossing. Most of the cards I have are touristic cards from my city or cards from a postcard calendar with optical illusions I had years ago. I’m thinking of getting one of these big postcard boxes but it’s so difficult to pick.

I’m just wondering…
Am I the only one who prefers people with long and specific wishlists over people who declare “send me whatever, single and multiple view cards are OK, but whatever”?:thinking:

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I got a quite cool postcard today but the person was quite unhappy with me and told me that I‘m too picky and how to behave. After registering it I could see his profile and it is almost a book. :rofl:
It made my day. Male and female Karens exist everywhere. :crazy_face:

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Me too, but I think that’s due to the fact that I have a very large stash and that I’m not afraid to send something that’s not on the list. :grin:

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for me it depends a bit on how it’s worded. if it’s a kind profile with a wishlist and i happen to have a card from the list that would make me very happy. but i love profiles where they just talk about themselves and tell what they like and i can pick a random card and talk about shared interests.

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Many of my university students got the two mixed up as well :joy:

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The profile is limited to 3000 characters only

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I’m with you in this boat! :blush:

That’s my problem all the time, there are so many things I want to say. :scream::joy:

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I feel like many people write it this way, but simpler and at the beginning. If someone writes:
I live in … with my dog. I love animals and long walks in the nature. In my free time I read many books. I watch a lot of TV series. I work as engineer and like technical stuff. I can’t imagine my life without coffee.
I wouldn’t be surprised, if their list looks like this:

  • trains, railway, ships,
  • dogs,
  • chimpanzees, deers, dolphins,
  • forests and trees,
  • books and libraries,
  • Dr. Who, Stranger Things, F.R.I.E.N.D.S.,
  • coffee,
  • Inge Löök,
  • Moomin,
  • Krtek.

And very often part of the list is self-explanatory - people just see postcards series somewhere else and simply like them (it’s my feeling) - there’s no big story behind it.:thinking:

I wrote my profile in this manner. Wishlist and questions (which in theory might help people without any ideas what to write) are after personal info. I assumed that not all people might be interested in these parts.

@nnniiina :raised_back_of_hand:

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Me too, I keep revising it to add things or rewording it to make sure I’m not being too pushy!

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