That’s completely fair. Perhaps, reliability too. If you can’t rely on people reading and acting accordingly…
In a nutshell, self sufficiency is basically common sense and opens the door for everyone’s interpretation.
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Philosophy aside…see how easy it was just by asking??? Glad to hear it was simply a typo.
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Common sense is very much culturally determined and age is also a determinant variable, so it’s very different between say for example Canada and England. I’ve recently learnt that whereas in English schools it’s part of our curriculum to teach youngsters aged 7 how to read a bus/train timetable that this isn’t the case in parts of Canada where public transport isn’t common (fb group discussion). I’m not sure many English people have much experience with wild bears to base ‘bear’ based common sense on. Common sense in the South Pacific is based on knowledge/experience of reading the seas there… a kind of water surface ‘literacy’ in the Solomon Islands that we were shown by young men who were stunned we had no awareness of this ‘to them’ common sense basic knowledge.
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This is a category that is unique to sitters . THS has not provided a definition for what is being rated .
It is strange to me that sitters are not rated on communication- which is vital to a good sit and a category that owners are rated on .
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@Silversitters
My sister is great at communicating 
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Mine too - thanks for pointing out my typo - 
(have corrected It )
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I’ve only just started sitting via THS and also wondered about this category. What I’ve done on the two sits so far is to leave a detailed note at the end to let them know what I’ve done whilst there have been away in accordance with their instructions but also things that show I have initiative and common sense without having to contact to check everything with them. My updates during the sit are solely about the animals rather than day to day stuff which I leave to the end.
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Exactly! And HOs should be rated for reliability and organization, too. This is mutual trust, both parties have to be reliable, organized and communicate effectively and in a timely manner.
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I think you might just initiate the conversation at the chat. Ask the homeowners what “self-sufficiency” means to them.