I don't like puddled drapes anywhere, and especially NOT covering sliding doors.

My suggestion after dealing with several sliding doors over the course of years, in a variety of houses is to get the rod in place first.
Then measure and buy your draperies. Don't forget to leave room for pulling them aside. IMHO rods with rings work the best with sliders because as you said you have to be able to move them about easily.
And you are right puddling them is a huge waste of time if you are actively using the slider to go in and out. You really want them to just barely touch the floor.

In my more formal rooms, I have drapes that just barely rest on the floor (maybe 1/2" on the floor). For my sliding door, I swapped out vertical blinds for grommet drapes. In this case, I installed the drapes so they just skim over the floor. I find them easier to open. It also may depend on how much you open and close the drapes. We like to keep them closed at night and in the winter, but the sliding door is also used a lot to let the dog outside and back in. So there is a lot of opening and closing of the grommet drapes and I would not want them puddling.

Thanks for your responses. I was figuring it wouldn't be practical to puddle drapes that I would be opening and closing daily.

It's not only a matter of bother re arranging them....but of looks....the appropriateness of puddled drapery in anything but a very formal room....and made from anything but velvet or silk is questionable. Puddled draperies look foolish in a small or less formal room.\
Yes I know "people do that"....but people do a lot of other things in poor taste too....if you don't believe me go to The People of Wal-mart and see how some dress.

The puddling sure didn't work for me! The one time I tried it, one of my cats must have liked the look so much he/she(never did find out which one!)started 'marking' them. ;o)