@Becca - we can vent all we like but nothing will change. As well as this thread there are 1250 comments on the ‘Conclusion of Pausing Applications Test’ thread which was closed some time ago.
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Perhaps the unpaid labour force should all go on strike. The legendary ‘Sitters’ Revolt’ of 2024!
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That’s very frustrating! Where are you looking? Edit: I can see from your linked profile that your very first sit was three weeks in Paris with a cat! That’s beyond lucky haha and I can see why it’s felt like a drag ever since trying to get a repeat of that.
Yes. My very first sit definitely set a high bar! That was before the five app rule.
I was lucky enough to get another sit in Milan last summer, which was wonderful. When I saw the post last March, I jumped on it, even though the sit wasn’t until August. I was afraid if I waited, I wouldn’t get another chance.
Jenny, one more thing. Well, 2 more:
The thread in question began in August 2023. That was over a year and a half ago. Surely 3 months is long enough to get enough feedback on a topic, and then allow another thread to begin on the same topic?
The new thread should include some reference to the previous thread(s) on the same topic, so people can review if they wish.
Thanks.
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Hi @Joaniest
I started working as a THS Community Manager at the end of October last year (here’s my intro if you’d like to know more about me), so I can’t really speak for how things were managed before I started.
There have also been a couple of changes to the team with Angela handing over the reins to focus on the many other THS hats she wears (goodbye post here!) and we also had a few changes within the moderation team!
All of this means we’ve had a bit of a transitional period here on the Forum, where changes were (and are!) being made to how we manage things.
What I’m proposing we do (and it’s what you’ve suggested too!) is what I did for this post where I closed it off, started a new one, but made sure that each post linked to the other.
I don’t want to hijack the thread any further as this is a wee bit off topic (but important!!) so if you want to share any more thoughts around how we handle long discussions, my inbox is always open.
I’ll follow up once I’ve had a chat with @Carla!
Jenny 
Sounds good, Jenny.
However, if you do combine a new thread with an older thread, perhaps make it so people can find previous comments, IF THEY SO CHOOSE, through a “clickable” link. But don’t actually make people scroll through the older comments to see and add to the newer ones.
Hope that makes sense?
Thanks again.
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A lot has been written about this, too much to read it all. So let me suggest a possible (partial) solution. What if when a HO publishes a sit option, this is visible in all its details, but you can only apply for it after 24 hours? That gives everyone the time to thoroughly read the sit’s requirement, check your availability, verify travel options and costs and have the time to write a complete and relevant application that you then only need to copy/paste. There should then be some system to indicate when the sit opens for application (countdown maybe?). It can then still be a mad race to be one of the five, but at least it avoids some issues with the current set up.
Another idea is maybe to have a reserve list. Smart home owners immediately decline some applications (blank, meaningless, etc), which means the sit then becomes available again but with currently the same mad race. What if this is filled from a reserve list? You see the limit of 5 is reached, but can apply on the reserve list. The HO does not see the reserve list but when HO declines an application, the first on the reserve list automatically takes its place.
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I have proposed a minimum time delay between opening the application window and when the button to send the application would become active. Already five or ten minutes would change behaviour, but it could be longer.
Advantages:
- Sitters write applications that were better written and more well-considered
- HOs with attractive listings would receive more than just five applications
Anyway, sitters should be told that there is no real hurry after the opened the application window. The new application and messaging interface should tell them that.
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i am not surprised someone else came up with a comparable idea. A delay is common sense.
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Yes! I love this idea. With perhaps 10-15 on the reserve list?
It’s crazy that there are almost 200,000 members and only 5 can apply at any one time. Really bonkers, IMHO!
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Good grief. Then there’s another rush that’s exactly the same as the one now, except you have to be hovering to make your application 24 hours later, and maybe it’s in the wrong time zone so are you going to get up at 4 a.m. so you can jump on the opening window?
Why in the flippin heck does TH not just allow HO’s to set how many applications they want?
Shouldn’t be a difficult programming change. Like it at 5? Fine. Put “5” in the little box. Want 25? Fine – select 25.
Come on, TH.
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@ABGM . But that means using common sense! Definitely won’t happen.
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Anyway, sitters should be told that there is no real hurry after the opened the application window. The new application and messaging interface should tell them that.
I am sorry to tell you that the new interface does not tell an applicant that
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Yes, I have seen that. The instruction text has been expanded a bit (and there is now a minimum of 50 characters so that sitters cannot submit a “Hi”), but THS did not take the chance to tell sitters that there is not hurry.
Anyway, that beta test was not ready for anything. At first one could only see 20 threads. There are still weird things like the “read” mark that seems completely random now. The only added feature was a picture of a rocket - it seems to have landed sideways too, just like that one on the moon.
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Hi @pietkuip
It’s important to remember that the point of the beta testing is to pick up and iron out any issues like the ones you’re describing. It wasn’t a preview of a finished feature - it was a chance to try out a work in progress and provide feedback daily with any thoughts or concerns. It was intended as a way for our members to try something ahead of release and have their voices heard, rather than a new update being released and members feeling concerned that they hadn’t been made aware of the changes.
As the beta test is going to last around six weeks, I’d imagine there will be more changes and updates to come, so what you’re seeing and mentioning now won’t be the finished item.
If you want to share any of the issues you’ve mentioned with the team, they’d be glad to hear your feedback, whether it’s on the dedicated thread about the beta test or the feedback form that testers fill out each day.
As this thread is for feedback on the five applications system, it’d be great to keep any further chat about the beta testing here.
Jenny 
Please, noooooo! The five applicant rule already makes it feel like some sort of hideous gameshow, and a countdown would make this even worse. Plus imagine the frustration of having spent time researching travel options and writing a detailed and tailored introductory message for a sit you’re not quick enough to even apply for. At least the current randomness of when popular listings appear limits the number of applicants to those who happen to be alerted to them/are online at the time.
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The problem is that we, as sitters have been too open about the way we have now changed how we apply for sits …they have read that many of us send short hold messages…and have created a new rule to stop that! Why? Its a method anyone can choose to take if they want to, no one is ‘cheating’ in any way.
I would advise sitters from now to be far more secretive . Not only have we been forced into a fastest finger first situation, now THS have added cat and mouse ‘catch me if you can’ into the equation!
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