Personally I don't see the problem with checking out what is available in open time and making the swap. But, I guess the reason Uncle Ed doesn't want open time swaps is not so much that the crew scheduling guys are "overworked", it's that he wants us to fly for FREE on OFF DAYS and in doing so he preserves the reserve lines. This in turn makes the crew numbers picture pretty.
Flying on DAYS OFF for FREE - DREAM ON! 
Also, I find it VERY interesting that some guys complain about our T & C's to their mates and then when I check on the portal I see that these same guys are the open time volunteers.
