Hmm, your answers make sense. I agree with the Creature Swap ruling (mostly because it's in my favour, hehe), but I don't agree with the graveyard-only ruling. I'll explain why.

Pheonix's effect states nothing about the RFP pile. Most monsters that have activatable effects there will specifically state so (such as DD monsters). Phoenix mentions nothing about the RFP area, so it would have no effect there. That seems to be a basic Yugioh rule, (that seemed to come into effect around FET for some coincidence)

The Forgiving Maiden, however, states nothing about the graveyard, and nothing about the RFP area. She doesn't specify either way, BUT her effect activates in the graveyard, where effects normally can activate. She was released AFTER the elemental searchers (Mystic Tomato, Shining Angel, etc...), and they all state graveyard, so why wouldn't they put in on The Forgiving Maiden unless they never planned to?

Another note, The Forgiving Maiden was released in LON, which was when alot of Elemental Spirits were released (Aqua The Water Spirit, The Rock Spirit, Garuda The Wind Spirit, Soul of Purity and Light), which remove monsters from play in order to special summon. It would make sense to have a way to get those RFP monsters back, using cards in the same set, right? You mange to keep a your Forgiving Maiden in f/d DEF position. Your opponent summons a huge 1800 beatstick. you slam your little monster into, special summon a big elemental spirit monster, then tribute Maiden to get the RFP monster back again. You could even use Ultimate Offering, which was in the starter decks, and use it to summon The Forgiving Maiden or resummon the now-back-in-your-hand monster. Sounds like a combo in LON. In fact, this WAS my combo when I played back then. I hated how she needed to be there on the field first, though.

what do the elemental searchers have to do with her effect? nothing. they mention the graveyard because they specifically need to go to the graveyard in order to activate.

also the forgiving maiden doesn't activate in the graveyard. she activates the same way as exiled force. she doesn't even have to go the graveyard when tributed (just like exiled).

as for why didn't they put that she only gets cards from the graveyard in her text, uhh because it was LON they also left the word "Monster" out of skull lair, bazoo, and kycoo. LON was still in the era of badly worded card text. they fixed most of it when they were reprinted, but this wasn't a widely used card, and likely wasn't seen as needing its text fixed.

and as you said, things like phoenix that don't say graveyard, but still only apply to the graveyard, would make it seem more likely that this is the same.

now as masterwoo0 and I have said, we may be wrong, but you still need applicable evidence to show that.

but were not arguing about where she activates were arguing about if her effect extends to characters that are removed from play, which i doubt it usually being removed from play means you can't bring the card back to your hand or the feild whithout a card that says specifically that it returns something that has been removed from play

But now you're talking about a default, and no ruling exist that says "when cards have no clear indication of what area they affect, they will always default to the Graveyard."

By speculation, most of us have arrived at the conclusion that the Graveyard will be a type of Default, but clearly, there is nothing that would hold that as a hard and fast rule.

It's USUALLY safe to assume that since if a card were to extend anywhere else, it would specifically be stated on the card itself...just like when it says "from the Graveyard", it is usually assumed to be your own Graveyard unless the card effect specifies otherwise.

masterwoo0, there's also no ruling that specifically states that you can only special summon a monster from your hand unless it specifies otherwise. but we all know that to be true.

in fact, i think the best argument so far is that the RFP pile is out of reach unless the card specifically says otherwise. (which also even makes phoenix make more sense) even ha des's negating effect doesn't extend to the RFP zone.

That's also true...since, also, nothing ever goes there unless an effect makes it otherwise.