newbie- about your last question.
33girl explain it this way earlier in this thread- "Why would a group do this? The only reason I can think of is to try to cut their losses. They may not be sure if they want her, but they don't want her to go elsewhere in case they need her to fill quota/total. 75% of the time they don't need her and she gets dumped on her head."
hope that helps
Heidi