Hearts

I'm a little frustrated with a situation on swap-bot, so I am going to have a little rant.

When I rate someone, I give a 5 if they complete the task at hand. That's what we are asked to do. If they make what the swap calls for, they get a 5. If they go over and above what is being asked for, then we have the option to give a heart. If the item they made was super-extra-special, we have a way of showing this. Or if they send you some pertinent goodies and extras along with their proper swap craft, we can say "Hey that's awesome" and give a heart.

So, I got a swap that had a lovely swap item in it, and some bits of papers as extras. Nothing really special, but it wasn't bad either. I believe she hit the nail on the head and made a lovely little item according to the rules of her swap. I rated her a 5 as it met swap requirements and was very nice to boot! And in response, she is whining about not getting a heart to go along with it - how tacky! I did look at her page and she has gotten hearts for 95% of her swaps if not more, so not getting a heart does stand out to her - but I think hearts are for EXTRA SPECIAL swap items that go the extra mile. And hers was lovely, met the requirements, but I didn't go "damn that is AMAZING" when I saw it. Not that I haven't made the same type of ATC's but it was just 3 bits of paper put on a pretty background. Maybe I'm spoiled but I've gotten some truly beautiful ATC's from people in the past and I always rate what I receive against the best I've gotten - such as hand painted works of art, or very special collages with lots of layers. Maybe I just don't like the theme she sent?

Am I wrong for not giving her a heart? Opinions? Am I being too harsh? I explained to her on her page why I didn't give her a heart and she seems satisfied, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Are people giving hearts just to go along with 5's if they like what they received? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of having hearts? Would love to hear from you.