Rules

Rules for the Observer

1. The observer must observe recommendations in the order they are received.  Exception: one may delay recommendations from the same recommender by as many as five.
2. If a someone known to the observer gives him or her a recommendation without request, that person becomes a recommender and it must be added to the list.  One cannot choose amongst recommendations.
3. The observer may not leave any recommendation unfinished.
4. Recommendations must be finished within the week they are started (Monday to Sunday) but may be blogged the following the week.
5. The observer cannot observe anything that has already been observed prior to the 156 Recommendations beginning date (for me, the Ides of March, 2009).
6. The observer does not need to pay for any item to be observed.  If the item cannot be acquired for free in a timely manner, it may be passed until such free acquisition becomes possible.
7. The observer is not allowed to get mad at the recommendations of the recommender, except in a jokingly sarcastic manner.

Rules for Recommenders

1. The observer must know the recommender, but the recommender doesn’t necessarily need to know the observer (but we’re talking the Forrest Gump level of knowing (as in their name), not the Biblical way of knowing).  This will allow for celebrity recommendations (note: I want John Green and Julian Velard to give me recommendations).
2. No recommender may suggest more than three items in any one category.
3. Recommendations that appear serially should either be capable of all being observed in one week or potentially be able to stand on its own, in order to not take over the life of the observer.
4. The recommender is by no means obligated to provide a lendable copy of the item, but it certainly is helpful.
5. The recommender is not allowed to get angry at the reviews of the observer, except in a jokingly sarcastic manner.