So as I read this increasingly heated thread it looks like some folks in Europe think of greeting cards and postcards as being the same, which is very interesting. In the US we had a tradition of sending greeting cards for birthday & Christmas, but sending postcards from vacations & travels; I think we understand the difference. But perhaps Paulo needs to add a photo of a postcard (front & back) to the sign up page so new members will better understand that this is a postcard exchange site, not a greeting card or letter group. (There already is a picture of the back in the “how to write postcards” faq but maybe people dont read this). I dont think I have ever received a greeting card in my 10 years here so its not a common mistake, but this thread suggests it happens more than I know.
I don’t think anyone thinks they are the same, but due language differences the word “postcard” can be kind of an umbrella term for both postacards and all types of folded cards.
But yes I do see your point and I agree.
Okay wow some people sound really harsh here. I am quite new here (30 sent and 30 received) and now i feel very very bad for some folded cards that I have sent (not to people who wrote specifically on their profile ‘no folded cards’). I just thought the cards were lovely and postcrossing was about connecting and writing a short message. (My first mistake was a folded card with a long story written on it 
)
I just thouht about sending ‘a card’. I am sorry!
But then again, is it that horrific to receive a folded card?
Fwiw, many of us love long messages. I absolutely fill the cards that I send. And there are no rules against that.
It’s very simple, some people like folded cards, others don’t.
We don’t have to think the same about everything.
The endless discussions here on the forum only make me laugh.
Postcrossing is a great hobby for me and I also have plenty of other things in my life. Maybe others take it a little too seriously.
You don’t have to feel bad because others think you’re doing something wrong. Don’t let them spoil your fun in Postcrossing.
Do your own thing.
My first 2 postcards were folded. In my city, the post office, unfortunately, does not sell ordinary postcards. When I first signed up, I didn’t know all the nuances. Now I order postcards in online stores. Then I just didn’t know. I would be very sorry if my postcards were not registered. Many thanks to those people who supported me in my endeavor.
I’ve deleted a bunch of flagged posts on this topic, which were more like side conversations between a few people than constructive contributions to this conversation.
There are some good posts above that sum up the general idea, so I don’t think there’s a need to keep this conversation going in all directions. To wrap it up:
- It’s ok to remind people you don’t enjoy greeting or folded cards… but there should be no need to threaten that you won’t register something you’ve received.
- If you have doubts about something you got, talk to the team about it! We’ll have a look to understand what happened, and advise you and the sender accordingly. As we’ve seen here, there are many reasons why sometimes people send greeting cards (often language issues, the person is new and unfamiliar with Postcrossing, they can’t find postcards in the beginning, they found a greeting card that matches one of your wishes and thought you’d appreciate that more, etc)., so understanding what is happening helps to encourage members in the right direction. With some kindness, we can improve the community for everyone!