I understand what s/he means but I had to chuckle at this one:

I would prefer books which do not smell of mold or cigarette smoke.

Thanks.

 

So, does that mean she isn't going to be upset, s/he would just prefer not to get them that way? Is there a way to accept the request as my book does not smell of mold or cigarettes and suggest that the RC be changed slightly?

"I prefer" is just a nicer way of writing "I will not accept" (which seems to get some people's panties in a twist over how "rude" RCs are).

It does not make following the RC optional, regardless of what some senders think.

I would just accept the RC if your book meets it .... and not worry about it. It is a very clear RC to me.

If you really want to, you could PM the sender after you accept the book request, and suggest different wording for her RC. But if it's another member who's been around a while, they may not see a need.

People aren't ever going to please everyone. "Prefer" is going to sound like it isn't a requirement to some, "Won't accept" is going to sound demanding and harsh to others. No one is ever going to get away with sending them a book that breaks their RC and win the argument the "prefer" meant they didn't require it so I'd just accept/deny and move on.

I get a kick out of the "prefer" ones too.  Like Susan, I know what they mean, and I appreciate that they're being polite, but in my head it sounds as if they are saying I have several copies of the book, and that they prefer the one that doesn't smell like mold/cigarettes to the other two stinky ones. :-)  Just my twisted sense of humor, I guess.  It never fails to tickle my funnybone.

Yeah, a not win situation there.  Prefer actually leaves some wiggle room, and must/will not accept offends some members.

Patty, that's just what I meant. The book went out in the mail this morning.

I got an RC that cracked me up the other day...it starts out saying "as long as it meets paperback swap guidelines it's ok!" and then goes on to list all these extra things they won't accept.  Ummm...so, it's not really ok if it meets PBS guidelines?

When I was a new member, my non-smoking RC used to say "I prefer". I wanted to be polite and thought that would get the thought across. But someone who should have known better sent me a bunch of books smelling like cigarette smoke. I was fairly new and let it go and changed it to the way PBS recommends. "I will not accept". Sounds kind of obnoxious, but at least nobody can say it's not clear.

If I had known then what I know now, I wouldn't have let it go. I was just too bashful to do a RWAP. I guess we all hate to do those,even when it's necessary.