Today I received a PM from a FIFO person. 

Very polite telling me that she had the book I wanted but picked it up at a yard sale and wasn't sure of it's origins.  I have a RC for non-smoking.

Thankfully my allergies aren't as bad as others here on the site so if someone has a book I want, so long as it's currently in a non-smoking home I can accept it.

She had to accept the request before she could PM me.  I've recently read where someone else was disgruntled about that.  I've had the situation myself.

I just did a Contact Us saying that I thought it would be nice if someone has RC's you could contact them if necessary before accepting the swap.  In my PM I said that I thought it would be a good thing for people with RC's only.  Not every transaction.  If there are no RC's why should you contact someone before accepting?  It seems to me there are all types of ways to contact someone but not before you accept the book.  Then once you accept and PM one of you has to cancel and lose their place in line - not fair!  But, life isn't fair is it?

Just thought I'd throw this out and maybe you feel the same.  Do a small message in Contact Us and maybe something will be changed.

You can always add your contact information into your RCs so people can contact you.   Though this is frowned upon.  Personally, I don't like the idea of anyone PMing me re. my RCs or needing to PM anyone re. theirs.  The burden is on the requestor to have clear RCs that can be accepted without clarification, otherwise the request is declined.  JMHO. 

The PBS system is set up so that you shouldn't have to PM someone when accepting a request.  The only exception is Textbooks and Cookbooks where you have to get the requestor's agreement if there's any writing, highlighting, underlining, or stains.

If RCs aren't clear, I'm going to turn them down.

Well, I thought my RC was pretty clear but apparently not since someone did PM me about it. 

I just thought it would be nice if you could PM - not that you HAD to PM.

Hello Fellow PBS Member,

• Please wrap the book in plastic (any kind) before shipping to protect it from the elements
• Please, send books that are currently in a smoke free environment  

Thanks

i think in this situation, your RC is very clear and concise -- just the book wasn't.  the sender may have bought the book at the yard sale and then brought it home specifically to post it.  then, the book is "currently" in a non-smoking home, but not for very long (maybe a day, maybe a week) and that's where the grey area comes in.

i would say that, in the majority of cases, especially regarding the OP's RC, there would be no need to PM before accepting.  :)

I don't PM on RCS either they are clear and my book meets them or not.

I think your RCS are very clear.  I think Jessyka is on the money on this one in that the sender probably just purchased the book used to post right away here.  So it was technically currently in a non-smoking environment but possibly only had been for a short time.

You could put your name/nickname in the RC but don't make it sound like you expect a PM. Just put "if you have a question my nickname is geejay".  Just don't make the PM sound like a requirement. You could even just put "thanks for reading Geejay" and then your name is there but there's no request for a PM. 

Oh Mary, definately become a TG!  Thanks, I'm going to do that, geejay.

Belive it or not, I thought my RC was clear and concise -I had it the forum and got help with it.  I was wishy-washy trying to be overly polite.  Requested two books from diffeerent people and both wanted to ask about the RC's and couldn't unless they accepted.

I know the majority of people here don't want to PM, don't want to be bothered - that's not my favorite thing either.  Get a request say yes indeedy I can mail that book and get my credit. 

But, I've had a couple of instances where I wanted to PM about a book because I wasn't sure if the person would want it.  One was a person with severe allergies to smoke.  I accepted then PM'd because someone had given me the book to post.  I explained the circumstances, told her I couldn't smell smoke.  I also said if she wanted it I'd send it and if it was smoky I'd return her credit.  When she received the book she PM'd to say the book was great.