So I think we've all been in this position, but I have an etiquette question that I don't think I've ever addressed fully in my own mind, so I figured I'd put it to mass input and see what you guys thought.

Suppose somebody is out there with the perfect name for your pet. Their pet was created, say, three years ago -- not legacy old, but not in any way new. No profile text, no items, no stat gains, no biography. No link to the pet on their homepage. No sign of life from their account that you can see. But the account's not been idle long enough to be cleared, so there's no chance of getting the thing yourself in the near future.

Is it in bad taste to pop them a message, on- or off-site, and be like "yo, I noticed you have a pet with this name I really want, could I persuade you to part with them?" Like, if someone did that to you, would you be offended/put off? Or would you rather see your pet go to someone who'll make full use of them?

Personally, when I like a pet enough to want to hang on to them, I pile them high with items and give them minions and God knows what else, so I'm leaning toward option two, but I wasn't sure whether or not this was in some way in poor taste. Feel free to weigh in!

I've been asked before and it doesn't offend me at all. I'm pretty sure I've adopted out a pet or two before to someone that did ask about them. I also pestered asked for Chaos for over a year, but I wouldn't do that with any other user.

That being said, I have names that even though they lack compared to other pets, I wouldn't adopt out to someone even if they could do more with them. My pet Kali doesn't have a story and her TC is on the smaller side, but I couldn't adopt her out because her name means a lot to me.

To me, if I was to ask someone, I wouldn't just ask to have the pet and/or say I could do more for the pet. More so just ask if they ever put the pet UFA if they would let me know.

Ah, that's such a good, tactful way to approach it! Thank you -- I'll keep that in mind in future.

It's reassuring to hear I'm not the only one who's asked folks for this kinda thing before, haha. I was worried my greed for delicious names was blinding me. :P

People do this all the time. It’s pretty accepted as long as it’s asked in a respectful way and you aren’t just ‘hey I want this pet’.

People usually say something like ‘Hey I saw you had the name XYZ. It’s a name I have been after for a long time. If you ever think of adopting this name out/don’t use it, could you let me know?’ It’s not straight out asking for the pet, and it’s more polite then to just say ‘hey I see you are not using XYZ up to my standard could you adopt them out to me’

Also make sure nothing is said on the user or pet profile stating their pets are not UFA!

Ah awesome! Thanks for weighing in! Yeah, I think I should be okay, since the person doesn't say anything like that here. u.u Whew!

(Also, gosh, Pollack is beautiful! What a great design. :D)

Personally, I don't mind if people ask me to keep them in mind should I ever decide to give up a pet. I have had it happen on a couple occasions, and I would be happy to let these people know should I ever decide to put the pet they wanted UFA.

As long as it's respectful, it doesn't bother me. I've done it once or twice before, but I don't do it now because I have my own pets to work on and am not sure I could make a convincing case as to why I deserve another pet!

I have gotten these questions and I don't personally mind. I got one once about a finished pet which was a little weird lol, but I honestly didn't feel offended or anything! Many of my pets have blank profiles but they're all linked to on my page and I have plans for all of them usually.

I did actually ask Girouette's old owner if they would possibly part with him, since I had been pining for him since I joined the site in 2007 (AAHHH). To my absolute joy they agreed to part with him! :D So sometimes it can work out in your favor.

Some people get annoyed by this and will ignore you (though if the account doesn't seem terribly active, you might be waiting a while for a response either way) but I'm 100% okay with this and have adopted out pets to people who have asked before. Years ago I also got two of my favorite characters here by approaching their previous owners, so yeah! Just be respectful, no matter their decision, and try to avoid guilt-tripping, since that can also be a bit rude.

I personally prefer if you don't ask me for my pets. Even if I have nothing done, because well, they're my pets.

I've never had anyone inquire about my pets, so I don't know what its liked to be asked. However, I've inquired about two pets before. One individual reacted very badly, and the other allowed me to adopt the pet I inquired about.

I don't mind if someone comes and says to me "Hi I really like _____, if you ever decide to adopt them out could you keep me in mind?" ...I've actually adopted out a pet that way before LOL. But if someone said "You aren't doing anything with ____ Will you give them to me?" I wouldn't really like that? So it all depends on how it's worded for me!

I don't mind it. I think it's kind of flattering actually.

I personally don't mind people asking for my pets in a respectful way (like 's example). I actually will jot down their username and keep them in mind for future references. I prefer adopting pets out like this since I don't like the hassle of making public adoption threads. What do bother me a bit are sob stories or users being passive aggressive.

Also please keep in mind that having blank profiles doesn't mean that user doesn't deserve or love the pet. We all have very different ways to "spoil" our pets :)!

I've never had anyone ask me but if they asked politely I'd decline politely as well. There are maybe two pets I've personally ever inquired about and I didn't hear anything from the first person who seems to only log in once a year. The second I only asked because they were going on hiatus and adopting out their pets.. Except for the one I asked about -(of course haha), and a few others. They acknowledged me which was nice but they kept the pet.

Editing because I totally agree on that a blank profile doesn't mean the pet isn't loved! I have a few that I'm still working on and figuring out. Doesn't mean I don't care about them :)

I totally don't mind at all! Shoot, I've been asked for pets before (tastefully of course) and I've adopted them out to that said person. I get nervous about asking, but I think it's fair to be. c:

I've never asked anyone, though I wouldn't mind if someone asked me for a pet. There are a few I have currently that I wouldn't mind adopting out to someone if they really wanted the name, and it would make me more eager to adopt out if someone wanted that name enough to message me about it. My current pet name collecting obsession has given me a really high turnover rate this year while I "perfect" my family and I've become super flexible about names, I'm sure there's plenty of people who feel more strongly about people not asking them tho.

Honestly if they get upset over "If you ever adopt this pet out, can I know?" or something equally chill (and not passive aggressive since that's not chill) then they're just gonna be upset and that's fine. It happens, there's no 100% guarantee. I vote you go for it.

If someone asks me politely (like in 's example) I have absolutely no issue with it, in fact I adopted a handful of Pets out that way and did so myself as well what got me Haldir back. ❤️

HOWEVER, over the years, I also received two utterly pushy comments concerning my Pets, one being nothing but a big sob story and the other one clearly saying "Well, the work you put into your Pet is crap and you should be embarrassed. I have a much better idea because I'm such an awesome person so hand him over now." - I think I don't have to add that these approaches are not going to make me throw my Pets at you, not even if I had them since day one as Common Kumi with empty profiles. OuO

It really depends on how people ask for me personally. I've had people mention my names, rare though they are and usually I don't mind. Usually, if someone asks nicely then I don't really mind. It's when people are rude about it and get kind of pushy that I tend to mind though.

I haven't been approached myself, but I don't ask for pets outright. I tend to just compliment the name and tell them how I came across it; and if they offer it, that's really nice and cool of them. But if not that's fine too, because I made a friend :)

I don't mind it. I have been approached a few times and people asking nicely who where the ones I kept in mind when I have put them UFA and I have adopted a few out that way. But the last two times two people were quite rude to me which I really dislike.

A blank profile doesn't say anything. Mostly people I know do and myself too the story for their pets on another site.