Seriously??

I can envision this ending in tears somehow.

This has been done before, I still find it sad. I also hope one of mine is not traded. I have not made any for a while so they are at least almost vintage. Or was that me?

I don't like this either. Maybe th person who made it did it to the best of their ability. I know one of first cards now make me feel guilty 'cos it just wasn't very good. The idea in my mind didn't come out the way I wantd i to. Might send this person another card one of these days just to make up fot it. But I would still hate to see it passed on as a horrible card. That is rude. :<( I'd rather it went in the bin than go with that label on it.

I gotta say... stuff like this is what scares me away from trying to make ATCs. It would genuinely upset me if I worked hard on something and it ended up getting traded in a swap like this.

But maybe someone else will love what the sender passes on!

I definately won't join this swap. I think it is a terrible swap. To call someone else's art crappy is wrong. For a group to get together and swap what they call horrible, crappy atc's tells me alot about the group who joins and I want no part of it. Even the pro atc makers have made some sad atc's in their time, we all have. I will not lower myself to these kind of standards by joining. Sorry if this makes people angry but think about it. Yes, I agree with Katica, tears will be shed over this swap and yes, LINDA50 it is very sad and as Gofeen said, rude and morwesong said, it will scare people who have started making ATC's because of the humility of having their art called crap and threw in the BOX of crappy cards. Have fun at the expense of others is not a motto I go by.

Well I find that these swaps are great fun. Not for the "sennnnnsitive". If you don't like it, don't join. Please whine somewhere else.

Well I find that these swaps are great fun. Not for the "sennnnnsitive". If you don't like it, don't join. Please whine somewhere else.

I understand some folks are easily offended by things like admitting some 'art' is crap. I doubt anyone will shed tears over this unless some scoundrel decides to send someone's cards back to the original artist, or some ashat receives cards from someone they know and can't wait to tell. I hope those ashats have the sense not to join. If anyone sheds tears, it'll probably be people who KNOW their art is crap and worry without even joining. Personally, I'm sure I've made cards that I thought were great that disappointed the recipient, because everyone has different taste. But I am of the belief that once it leaves my hands, it's up to the new 'owner' to do with it what they will. I of course hope to please people with what I make, but if I don't, you're free to send it elsewhere, rip it up for parts and make something better, burn it, toss it, line the birdcage with it, I don't care as long as you don't try to pass it off as your own. I'd bet a goodly number of these folks who are shocked by this concept "love everything they get' or are simply too nice to admit otherwise. The 'group that gets together' for this swap are people with a sense of humor and an honest approach to what comes along. To everyone else, my apologies that we don't all think alike.

The cards I'll be sending are not from Swapbot swaps, but from past group swaps from yahoo.

ah this looked like an awesome swap, until i saw it was USA only

This cracks me the heck up. I would join but honestly I just don't keep the ones that fit this description anymore. You know what I mean. ;o)

Yeah I don't like these kinds of swaps either and frankly don't see the point. Wouldn't you rather receive something the sender thinks you'd like in the mail. Well, perhaps someone will receive a "crappy" atc in the mail that will make them go "well, I don't see how that's crappy".

I only have one ATC, the only one I've ever gotten and ya know it looks like you should line the cage with it. Everyone that joins should try to post a pic of the ATC on flickr something. :]

I object to posting the pictures of the ATC's you send on flicker because you'd be offending the original artist, I'm definately joining this swap because the last set of cards I've received are dreadful... Slapped together pieces of sh*t that make me wonder if the stamp was even worth the send.

I personally don't enjoy someone p*ssing out a tube of glitter with a sticked on image and calling it an ATC. No excuses.

And this is a funny swap, if the artists that made the cards join this, I'm sure the swapper will have the decency to avoid sending you your own card. Everyone complaining, do you know your art sucks? Is that why you're acting so defensive when easily the coordinator and delete your posts? Really now, if you don't like it, don't join. For those that DO join, leave us alone about it. Another person's junk is someone else's treasures, you may LIKE the cards you receive and be grateful you traded them. This isn't the "BURN YOUR ATCS!" swap, they're trading the cards as ATC's are suppose to be. You really aren't suppose to keep the ATC's anyway, continuously trading them for other ones. :) So unless you get your own cards in the mail, yay, go you. I'd be happy to get my cards back, there are tons of paintings I've sent out that I didn't want to give up.

Everyone who calls themselves an "artist" should re-evaluate the phrase "your art sucks"

Just saying...

I was intrigued by this idea at first, but I've decided I probably lean a little too much into the "sennnnsitive" category to participate.

Also, I don't really have a large selection of "crappy cards" to choose from-- I've thrown away the few cards that really offended me (apparently some people have their own interpretation of the phrase "tasteful nudes"), or just didn't speak to me on any level and weren't worth the postage to pass along. (Alternating stripes of Sharpie colors, anyone?) I would hope that anyone out there who hasn't liked the cards they've received from me would do the same, or at the very least, throw them in an envelope with an unrelated swap as an "extra", rather than subject them to further humiliation in a swap like this. :) Having said all that, I can see how this swap might be fun if you have a strong enough constitution regarding your art... anyway, have fun, ya'll. :)

Neat idea...I don't think this swap is "mean," I certainly don't expect everyone to like everything I make. I only have 1 ATC I actively want to get rid of, so this is being watchlisted for now :)

I would laugh if an atc I made ended up here. But then, I'm pretty relaxed.

I think if the swap were not worded so harshly it wouldn't have had so much criticism. I know the first few atcs i made were not very good. Im sure anyone beginning a craft may not have been the best at it. So i think a lot of the atcs swapped in this swap will be beginners atcs. If mine is in there, I dont mind at all.

On the watchlist for now until I get caught up on swaps. But I think this is a great and hilarious idea.

I'm in. And I won't be offended if I get one of my own back. If I make something you think is crap, I'd prefer to know that. I'm not offended by "constructive criticism"

To make it less offensive, do this: paste a new back on it and put the name of the swap and for the maker's name just put a question mark. Then put a reason why you don't like it. I have a few that I felt the person did not take as much time as I did making mine. slapped some paint on it and called it done. This will take the hurt feelings out hopefully. Maybe the ATC doesn't fit into your collection , not because it's ugly, maybe it's the wrong color or scheme. I'm in.

I have ONE ATC that I looked at and said "Seriously"??? WTH were they thinking??? Did they send their child's ATC to me by mistake??? I wouldn't want to send it on, so it got "filed". (I feel bad as this may have been their best work and I didn't appreciate it.) Watching for now.

I don't think this is mean, I think it is humorous and really, you never know one person's crap may be another's treasure?!

I think this is terribly mean. Just because you don't like something or it doesn't fit in with your other items, that doesn't make it crap.

I was really excited and intimidated when I began making ATC's because the ones I'd received were so amazing and I feared mine wouldn't measure up! I immediately became addicted! However, my addiction has waned because the quality I have received has become so poor that it is pointless to keep swapping. I'm sure I've made ones that weren't amazing, it happens. I'm joining. I am actually hoping what I recieve in this swap is more HORRIBLE than anything I have received in the past...that way I can say, "DAMN!" when I give my partner a 5 heart rating for mailing me the worst thing they could possibly have received.

This swap is funny. Have fun everyone!

Some of the ATCs I got are not horrible and/or crap but just plain. I am a super embellisher. The post office loves to charge me extra because of the bumps in my letters!! LOL

i think if you don't "like this swap" you move on to one you "do like"

I work for a living as an Artist and artists are the worst about calling it like they see it- you can't get all in an uproar because someone thinks your art is crap because in my job, it happens on the regular. We're assuming here that the folks joining this swap will be discreet, so let them have fun on the downlow with this and move on to a 'fill in the blank" cozy swap if you want.

It's all relative.

This swap idea is fippin' hilarious!!! I'm in

quite mean-spirited this one. pretentious much?

Aaahaaahaa, I wish I had a collection so that I could join. I am blessed to be one of those people that can laugh at herself all day long and feel better for it. I hope that people who do not want to be part of this swap are able to move past it and not worry too much that other people have a different sense of humor and value...

I also think that this adds value to the crappy cards, and helps nudge them along into that "ironically horrible" genre that most of us can at least appreciate a little. These little lemons wouldn't get any love or travel otherwise, that's for sure!

@feedmeacat thank you for rationality! I so agree, it gives this group of cards their own reward of merit. There may be boring cards, offensive cards, lazily made cards and unoriginal cards, but it takes a special something to be noticed and stand out as crappy. :O)

Like this swap or not. People sure are thinking about it and stirring up controversy and communication. I say " to each his own." Live and let live. Come on folks. We all judge and not always fairly.

Ah this swap makes me chuckle. I appreciate so very, very much, the art and design teachers I've had who tell it like it is and give me honest constructive feedback. If my stuff looks like crap, I want to KNOW about it so that I can improve my skills, not stay stuck making stuff that looks like crap! (now if I thought my teacher's stuff looked like crap, I would disregard their critique of my own crap.)

There are certainly tactful and not so tactful ways to give a critique. There have been times when I have really loved something I designed and my teacher or client hated it. That did not stop me from still loving it.

Don't EVEN get me started on Picasso...if I got an ATC from him I would definitely trade it in this swap! "To each his own."

For those who are afraid that we would be calling something crap just because it it not to our taste, I for one would never do that. I have received ATCs that were obviously well thought out, and had a lot of effort put into them, that I just did not like because it was not my personal taste. Would I call that crap? No. And would I trade it here, no. My personal interpretation of this is for those ATCs where the person basically cut out a flimsy piece of cardstock and stuck one thing on it or barely doodled, and then called it an ATC. I don't see how anyone could possibly get honestly offended by finding out there are those out there who called that crap. It would not surprise me if a lot of the people who are getting on their high horse as a result of this swap are those who are sending out stuff that they KNOW was not worthy of calling it an ATC, and are offended that someone might actually call them out on it. No one, even a newbie, should be scared to start making ATCs if they do research about it, follow the guidelines, and make sure they put some effort into the cards. If they do that, then it will be sure to be a good ATC, whether the recipient likes it or not. The only people who would have anything to worry about are those who want to get real ATCs for their collection, but don't want to put the time and effort into making some to trade so they just churn out a bunch of crap and send it along. These people SHOULD be outraged at the fact that there are some willing to call it out and tell the truth. I have gotten to the point where I only host/participate in ATC swaps where it is clearly called out not to just slap a sticker or doodle on some carstcock and call it an ATC, but somehow I STILL end up getting ones where the person obviously didn't put any effort into it. These people are basically scamming the ATC system (the fact that they are never to be sold, only traded) and deserve to be called out.

Peacewytch, thanks for hosting this swap and sticking to your guns!

If you hate the swap, why are you commenting? @catcare :P