Just curious but why would someone hide their profile on PBS? It seems odd to me one would join a book swap club but make it where no one could see their bookshelf or wishlist. I didnt even realize this was possible until I ordered a book from a PBS member (I found it by doing a random search) & it never arrived. I tried to PM the member but got no response. So, I thought I would look at the members bookshelf/wishlist/profile to see if they were still trading etc. but it says "profile not public" - Did I just get beat out of a credit ya think? Kinda hard to swap when no one can see what you want or what you are offering. If you want personal info. to be private I would think you would just not put anything personal in the profile. Any thoughts Anyone?

There are a few folks who participate regularly in the forums with no public profile.  I would make it mandatory if they want to participate, but that's just me.  I don't make the rules and I'm not trying to start an arguement, just saying what I would do, that's all.

However, to answer you, some folks are unaware that their entire profile, book shelf and all, is not visible.  You can hide your private info without hiding your bookshelf, but they don't all know that.  Sometimes people will come to the forums and ask why nobody has ordered from them and someone will point out it's because we can't see your bookshelf.  It's funny.  As for the ones who do it on purpose, I can only guess.............

I've always thought a profile  should be mandatory.  It can be short and sweet, but everyone should create one.

Why do you say it would be hard to swap if no-one can see what you want or are offering?  PBS mainly works on a FIFO basis, matching the latest request with the oldest posted copy available.  Actual person-to-person swaps can be done via the BOB interface, which does show the shelf.

The wishlist can reveal quite a lot about a person that they might not want public.  Prudish people, for instance, might not want it known that their wishlist is full of wild erotica.  People who are being stalked understandably won't want their name (even with just an initial for the last name) searchable under their home town.  etc.  Even the shelf can reveal a lot about a person (if they are mostly posting books they have read).  [My shelf mostly reflects that that I  buy and post lots of good books for cheap at the excellent local thrift stores]

I certainly don't think you were beat out of a credit.  Check your credit registry - your credit should have been returned to you automatically by the system when the book went lost.

as Bret said you can't be beat out of a credit, you may not get it back until the book goes lost, but you aren't out the credit.  And they don't actually receive the credit to use until you mark it as received.

I don't really get that either. And a lot of newer people come on here wondering why they aren't getting orders and don't realize their shelf isn't visible. But some people may not want to send out that many books and just wait for FIFO to catch up with them.  You'll get your credit back if the book goes lost.  PBS will cancel someone's membership if they constantly have "lost" books on their record.

Brett H.

I guess I would find it hard to swap without a public profile since I swap directly with several buddies on PBS and we check each others lists periodically to see if we want or have something the other wants. I do the majority of my swapping that way, so I was thinking along those lines. But, you are correct, as I obviously found & ordered a book from the person w/ the hidden profile. I just think if one doesnt want personal info. in a public forum like PBS one would not list anything personal in their profile. I dont think a stalker could find me by using my hometown and Kathy J as there are a million, but I could see that remote possibility if I had an unusual name, although I understand one can still show the bookshelf & wish list w/o showing profile. I just thought it was kinda wierd. I can see, from others perspectives, that maybe they are shy or something about the books they are swapping - never thought of that, but again, even if one was a shy person and had a bookshelf full of erotica - who would really know who that person is? And would anyone really care what kind of books they swap? I don't think anyone would care enough to look at my bookshelf & wishlist and then pass judgement on me based on the books listed there - and even if they did - why would I care? They have no idea who I am.  Thanks for all the thoughts - Its nice to have open discussions!!

Thanks - good to know I will get the credit returned in a couple days. I am fairly new on PBS and never had a book go missing until now! So, even if I was out a credit it wouldnt be like a regular occurance. :) I love PBS!!!