Oops @Xute, I’m sorry I totally missed it when I read it originally.
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That I didn’t notice, the suggestions there are quite nice.
I wonder would it be popular if any newbie could request an older member - mentor - who would help to write profile in better English etc., fix the rookie mistakes? (I mean besides wonderful thread we mention, there are majority who don’t use forum)
I find them very true too! Last one especially
@elanlei Were early postcrossing profiles more like that? Written to spark a connection between two random people?
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Does the official page’s blog ever discuss the form?
There was another post asking where all members were and why they didn’t use the form. Maybe we can combine the suggestion I had for that (highlight the forum on the main page) and your suggestion. There could be an article on common rookie mistakes, guidance from senior members, tips for newbies in addition to highlighting the forum to bring in more members that don’t use it and provide guidance to newer members.
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Now these rules keep me thinking. Aren’t people who write only strict wishlist and say they don’t register ‘not real postcards’ open and honest? Should be added something like ‘within Community guidelines’
I mentioned wishlist to feel like shopping lists. As far as I remember many people on dating sites have same problem - they make demands (even when formulated like preferences) right away to strangers who don’t know them and don’t connect with them (and frequently have a shopping list themselves).
Now I finally understand what postcrossers who are against wishlists mean. It’s like saying ‘I want a wedding in spring and we will have only dogs and no cats after marriage’ to a guy who just wrote ‘hey’ to you. After you know each other better (like during swap etc.) then demands become okay (this I reflect about how I felt about strict wishlist of my long-time penpal)
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This is from one of the early profiles I sent to. It reads well and it is enthusiastic and personal whilst still conveying a fairly specific wish list.
- I love nature!
- I’m interested in traditions of your country/region
- I like reading, handicrafts, hiking, singing, traditional folk dancing, meeting friends, coffee, writing and collecting postcards…COMMUNICATION!
- I like postcards with sheep, goats, vegetable & garden, old houses, ceramics/tiles/mosaik, bicycles, coffee, birches, mail-boxes…
- I’m a big fan of recycling and creativity…
- Carl Larsson, Marc Chagall, Paula Modersohn-Becker and Hundertwasser are my favorite artists …and through postcrossing: the nice illustrations from Victoria Kirdiy, Elina Moiseenko (Russia, Belarus…)and Siguté Ach/Lithuania
- I’m a capricorn who loves the mountains
- My favorite colour is BLUE
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Like real-time chat room full of very friendly postcrossers to help newbies? I remember many people said that compared to old forum on the new forum you feel more comfortable and accepted, I wish that feeling every newly registered person who impatiently waits for first postcards to arrive can share
Hmm, it’s very interesting!
Isn’t that the difference with modern profiles is positive formulation instead of negative formulation, and more descriptive language instead of cutting all the words trying to fit gargantuan list into letters limit?
I just moved the post about our Discord Channel from the old forum. Couple of people have joined. That’s pretty real time chat. And we can add a channel for newbie help.
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To me, it’s very interesting to see so many people wanting to rewrite their profiles to get the postcards they want. It’s sort of like gaming the system–writing a profile to influence the reader into sending you the “best” postcard. I’m not saying that this is bad or good–everyone has different reasons for doing Postcrossing–but to me it feels a little inauthentic. Perhaps I should start second guessing everyone’s profiles when I read them.
I do edit my own profile on occasion, but it’s only to make things more clear. I’m more interested in seeing what the sender will put in the mail for me, because their choices will reveal who they are. Some people, obviously, are going to be generous or people pleasers. Others may be careless or in a hurry or lazy or vindictive because they read more into my profile than what I had intended. It’s not going to tell me anything if everyone sends me the “perfect” postcard. The world is made of all sorts of people and I hope all of my received postcards reflect that diversity.
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Hmm, to be honest, I’m a firmly believer that you can’t hide what you are by writing better profile, I fully agree with one of the rules @PinkNoodle found ‘be honest about who you are and what you want’.
I didn’t start a topic to discuss how to trick people to send better postcards. But advices on how to write a nice structured one, advices on clear writing? (for me as I’m not native English-speaker clear writing is very tricky, my brains are used to completely different formulations, words, essays’ structures)
Even though one time after a postcrossing meeting one of the younger girls after we showed our recently received postcards to each other was very curious ‘what you write in your profile so you receive such postcards’. And sometimes I think that the only trick is to learn English better, sadly
No need of second guessing everyone’s profiles, but isn’t that obvious that any good presentation of yourself is showing your better more marketable sides?
You didn’t ask to look at your profile, sorry, if I bring it in conversation as an uncalled example. But I think your profile is written very nicely! Something ‘old times postcrosser’ would love - the short bio, how you feel about cards (‘a paper version of the cabinet of curiosities’ - very interesting view, I’d want to send you something to surprise you right away), and yet there are plenty easy suggestions what to send for users who like easy and wishlists.
I was a scientist once and I can’t deny that sometimes I put some phrases or wishes as sort of an social experiment - to see how my flow of postcards changes. Maybe it is a bit dishonest:)
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I have noticed that you are more likely to receive something that’s high on your wishlist, than something from the bottom of the list. And I do the same. When I get an address and I read the profile, I usually stop at the first thing of the list that I have a postcard for.
Let’s say that someone puts
cats
dogs
horses
Then I will send most likely a cat.
If they put
horses
dogs
cats.
Then I will send most likely a horse.
Does that make sense?
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for me it depends a bit. i believe i recently send someone their first alpaca card. it was at the bottom of their list and i saw she hadn’t received any so i felt that would be better than send something at the top of the list that she already has more cards of.
but sometimes profiles are pretty clear that their list has an order from most to least wanted (using caps, exclamation points or just by looking at someones favourites) so then i send what’s first on the list.
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I noticed that the order of wishes influences on probability of what you are getting a lot, but I’m not sure about the first to last order.
I think many people list wishes starting with very specific towards less specific, so I get most the first preference and two last (two last have words “any”, maybe that attracts attention)
Some people also state that order is random
I tend to read all the way through the list, forget what was higher up (even if I have a very appropriate card), choose something that I read near the bottom of the list, simply because I read it last and can still remember it! 
For my profile, I’ve never really had a list, more paragraphs of my interests. Though, come to think of it, one of those paragraphs is just a list really. I recently changed the order of the paragraphs to see if I could get fewer architectural cards and more people cards, and that seems to have worked. So I think most people do choose from near the top of a profile, rather than lower down.
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Out of curiosity, I checked my own profile to examine the order of the interests I listed.
I have “animals and plants” listed first, not necessarily because I want them the most, but because it’s a broad and generally accessible category. Animals and plants seem to be ubiquitous on all kinds of postcards–from “touristy” to fine art cards. My goal: start with an accessible theme to–I hope–make the sender feel confident that sending me a funny cat is a good choice. (Because it is, of course! 
)
After that, I have a few more specific categories. I’ve noticed that I really enjoy seeing very particular interests/wishes in profiles–even if I don’t have a matching card for it–because it helps me know more about the recipient. If you’re obsessed with building model railroads or calligraphy or bellydancing, yes, I absolutely want to know that! 
That said, I still haven’t added nudibranchs, diatoms, or slime molds to my list of interests, for fear that someone will go out of his/her way to find me a nudibranch card, or feel bad that they’re fresh out of diatoms. 
I want my senders to feel joy, not guilt!
I always end my interest/wish list with a general affirmation that any card will make me happy, and I wish I could properly convey that I really mean that. Writing that in all caps seems a bit extreme, so I am open to suggestions! 
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well now i wanna send you a funny cat card. those are my favourite to send out.
i did kinda the same. on the top of my list it says view cards or anything from your country. then it says disney and animals.
i don’t get that much country related postcards though, and quite a few unicorns, which are at the bottom of my list. so i guess people do read the whole thing through. but i do say my list is in no specific order. so maybe that has something to do with it.
i will never understand people who randomly type in capslock on their profile. feels like they’re yelling at me. i can understand it just the same without. i think if you sound kind and understanding in general people will understand you’re probably not disappointed by the card they send.
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I am more visualizing a drill sergeant like from Full Metal Jacket 
forcefully motivating me to be inspired
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Mentale note: get @PinkNoodle a nudi postcard when you are assigned her address as a next card!
What’s not to love about nudibranches? I just need an excuse to get postcards of them!
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[intense rage] ANY CARD YOU SEND WILL BE AN ABSOLUTE DELIGHT THANKS FOR YOUR TIME
“Send nudis” is a risky request
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I’m laughing out loud - would not be putting that on your profile very obvious a joke (and kind of funny one)?
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