Posting a reference for a gift

[Garlicson2]

To get to the point,

A fellow bartertown member sent me some free bits without asking anything in return. Meaning, no trade or sale was made, but the guy was still nice enough because he believed that bits "should be shared by the community". I want to post him a good reference, but I don't know if I can it not. Any answers or advice to show him how I'm thankful is appreciated.

Thank you,

Johnny

[starslayer]

I do not know the official answer, but if you would leave such a reference, put an explanation that it was a gift of bits, not a sale/trade.

[MagickalMemories]

We frown on references in these cases, but do not rule them out, entirely.
It HAS happened in the past that a new member set out a bunch of meaningless bits to people for "just a positive reference," then used those built up references to scam people. It's been a number of years, but it's happened.
Maybe he just tried to, but was unsuccessful... the minutia are lost to me.

If you WANT to leave the guy a ref, it's up to you, but I'd advise you to use good judgement.

Eric

[3eland]

What if that member is actually a normal contributor to the site and just thinks bits should be shared amongst each other? Like if it was you MM and you sent me some much needed bits and didn't want anything in return I would want to leave you some sort of reference. There was still a trade agreement, no? You still were required to send me the bits and had you not, would it not warrant a backout?

But I agree, good judgement would be key when leaving references when no actual "trade value" was negotiated.

[MagickalMemories]

What if that member is actually a normal contributor to the site and just thinks bits should be shared amongst each other? Like if it was you MM and you sent me some much needed bits and didn't want anything in return I would want to leave you some sort of reference. There was still a trade agreement, no? You still were required to send me the bits and had you not, would it not warrant a backout?

But I agree, good judgement would be key when leaving references when no actual "trade value" was negotiated.

Good question/bad example.
When *I* gift bits, etc., I specifically request NOT to receive a reference.
Sometimes, they still leave one, though. LOL

Your example, though, is why I said to use your best judgement. Someone like yourself, for example, would be a no-brainer for me. I'd leave a ref. On the other hand, someone with no or very few ref's hasn't established himself and, while he's likely NOT a p.o.s. scammer, I won't take the risk.

I hope that clarifies.

Eric

[3eland]

What if that member is actually a normal contributor to the site and just thinks bits should be shared amongst each other? Like if it was you MM and you sent me some much needed bits and didn't want anything in return I would want to leave you some sort of reference. There was still a trade agreement, no? You still were required to send me the bits and had you not, would it not warrant a backout?

But I agree, good judgement would be key when leaving references when no actual "trade value" was negotiated.

Good question/bad example.
When *I* gift bits, etc., I specifically request NOT to receive a reference.
Sometimes, they still leave one, though. LOL

Your example, though, is why I said to use your best judgement. Someone like yourself, for example, would be a no-brainer for me. I'd leave a ref. On the other hand, someone with no or very few ref's hasn't established himself and, while he's likely NOT a p.o.s. scammer, I won't take the risk.

I hope that clarifies.

Eric

Very well said Patriarch Eric, there was a reason why I liked you.

[Garlicson2]

Alright, thanks for the clarification guys. I'm gonna go ahead and think it over before I decide to leave him a reference. Hopefully those who read this post also found this useful.

Happy Holiday everyone!

Johnny

[Imaginos]

Instead of a reference, you could always post in the good traders forum instead. This seems like a great time to use that subforum.