it's not having your hat out any more than brides registering at Lord & Taylor or Bed, Bath & Beyond.  or new parents registering for a baby shower.  it's just letting people know what you want so they don't feel bad when you go, "oh.  oh, THANK you for the...." when you get something you'd never want in a million years as a gift.  and also so they don't drive all over and go crazy shopping for the "perfect" gift.    you're not asking the world to give you something.  you're letting the world know what you want, and maybe the people who are close to you will get something on it.

i wish my dad had a wishlist somewhere.  every father's day, birthday and christmas i wrack my brains for what to get him.  he has obvious likes: sf and fantasy novels, technology and running.  but he only buys running shoes when he wants (and i certainly couldn't determine what fits best for him), he buys just about every book he wants as it comes out (book storage is a sore point with both my parents), and he buys just about every piece of technology he wants as he becomes interested in it and budgets for it.  this father's day i gave up and gave him a gift certificate from Newegg.com. 

while my granddad was alive he was even worse.  i don't think i managed to get him one gift that quite suited him, though he always seemed to appreciate it. 

conversely, i find my boyfriend easy to buy for,  but he needs... guidance when it comes to gifts for me.  i find it strange because he knows my tastes well.  he's actually the only one for whom i have a public wishlist here.

i'm betting there's a lot of girlfriends and wives who point their significant others here, or to daz gift certificates.

vilian, you're one of the more popular denizens in poserverse.   you're always nice and sweet, and you come up with great artwork wicked fast.  and you seem (to my observations at least) to make friends very easily.   i'm not a bit surprised that you receive gifts from friends.