after a number (only known to TPTB) the account of those missing requests is put  on hold as far as I know...

If you know you can't check in at least every other day then why have a wishlist at all?

Or put your books on auto request and have enough credits on hand to cover a really, really good WL day.

For me, I don't think I've ever gotten more than three WL books in a few days. I don't think it'd take that many on hand to get through a normal week.

But if people aren't on-line and keeping an eye on their accounts, they may not even know they can do AR. So many people seem to use the site without reading any of the rules or keeping up with their accounts anyway.

I think the "magical" number should be disclosed to the members in the members' agreement. We have to accept that we will mail books when requested from us in postable condition and the number of "failed" transactions/non-responses either way whether sender or receiver should be made clear to those who sign up. I know this is probably a question for the TEAM but I'm just venting here...

You should always read, or at least glance at, the terms of use when you sign up for a site. If I remember correctly, they are one of the things you are asked to agree to and this is what they have to say on the matter:

"Service Termination

National Book Swap reserves the right to terminate service at any time without notice. In the event of service termination, Site members will not be entitled to any compensation for outstanding Book Credits, whether earned through book shipments or purchased."

They are in no way required to be more specific than that, but you could always ask. 

This is why the WL threads started in the various, active genre forums. Because people were tired of having WL books sitting unclaimed.  So maybe you could offer your WL books there first. 

Catherine, I feel your frustration! I had exactly that scenario play out for me last week! Went from 6 wishers to several copies in the system, including my unclaimed one. Yes, I am probably at the head of the FIFO line but it does make me want to scream. I have noticed that if a wishlist book is not "claimed" in the first 24 hours, it probably isn't going to be by that wisher -- not that I can do a darn thing about it.

This has been brought up a thousand times, but there are so many abandoned accounts, and wishlists, in the system clogging things up and I really wish they would institute a "sign in every 30/45/60 days to keep your account active" policy.

I sometimes (not always successfully!) will add my WL book to my TBR and post when I see the green W...I may not be first, but it does increase the odds of posting it for someone that has it on auto.   

I post a wishlisted book to member A and then it sits on a 48 hour hold and then moves onto the next in line after no response from requestor.

During this hold another member posts the same book. It goes to member B (the next in line) even though my transaction has not been accepted yet.

You are wrong here, Catherine. One member cannot have the same copy of the book (meaning, same ISBN, title, author, book type) posted to them twice at the same time.

In this case, let's say you post to Member 1 who doesn't respond in 48 hrs. Then your request moves onto Member 2.

If Sender X posts the same book, it will go to Member 3.

DG, I read Catherine's post to mean that the Poster 2 posts her book during the first hold (Requestor A's), which means that Sender 2 may be able to mail her book (to Requestor B) before Sender 1 does (since Sender 1 is now moved on to Requestor C). Which is true enough.

But of course, Sender 2 may run into the same problem that Sender 1 has - on average, Sender 1 will still finish first, even though it may not work that way in a given case.

No matter what, PBS is frustrating if you're in a hurry.

I like the fact that we don't know the exact situation which will lead to termination. There are people who would game the system, if we knew what was happening. And I like the fact that they retain the right to use their judgement in individual situations. I trust that they weed out inactive people eventually, but it does seem that there are a lot of inactives out there! I think I requested three books this week, and two of them timed out.

Oh I get it now, Elizabeth.

However, that's just the way it goes. If the system had to wait for the first poster to be accepted, printed and mailed before the second person is allow to post, the WL lines would stop in their tracks and make a lot more people unhappy.

Yes, there are a LOT of inactives. I wouldn't doubt if more than half the people that sign up for the site are actually active members...and we get dozens and dozens every day.

Sally W -I so agree, if a member hasn't signed in for a period of time, hey should get a notification email and the close their account. 

There should be some control on account activity. Maybe a stepped process.  No sign-in for a certain amount of time and the account goes on hold.  Still no activity than the account is suspended. Then still no activity the account is deleted.

-RD

If you feel very strongly about that, you should send in Feedback (the Team doesn't read the PMs in the forums.) Depending on the resources they have, the manpower they have and the implications for the workings of the site, the Team may be able to institute those changes.

D.G., This has been suggested by me and others to TPTB numerous times, but if others continue to suggest some sort of "no signin, no activity" policy perhaps it will come into play. The more of us that suggest this, the more likely it is to occur! If you feel frustrated by the inactive accounts, let TPTB know. I have sent in my suggestions several times...now it is others turns -- if you agree that we need a more active way to weed out the inactive accounts, let TPTB know!