As some of you are aware, we did a gift exchange event amongst the community last years, in part to foster better relationships with users and in part to celebrate the holidays. This year, we're looking to do the same, but we'd like to up the ante a bit.
Amongst the moderators, we've decided on a theme for this year. The theme being, "Conspiracy Santa." What is "Conspiracy Santa" you ask?
In @Madara-sama's own words:
The original Secret Santa is an event that involves pairing of gifter and giftee, and normally, at the end of which, giftees need to guess who their gifter was.
Conspiracy Santa is a step above that, a bot creates mailing lists for each of the participants, which include every other participant, except for the intended giftee
This way, everyone are involved in the gifting of everyone.
To participate, you will need a minimum of 200 reputation excluding the association bonus (at least 300 with the association bonus) and have an account age of at least 1 month by Sunday, October 11th. The elevated barrier of entry is present to ensure that those participating have what it takes to follow through with their commitment.
Here's how the event will go down:
First you sign up by submit some basic information through this form. You'll be asked for the following:
- Your Anime.SE username
- An email where you wish to be contacted
- The city/country/providence you are located in
- If you are willing ship your gift far away? (If not we'll try to match you with someone close by)
- Acknowledge the terms of use (read: keiyaku)
- And a few other things...
The deadline to sign up is Saturday, October 10th. You will be assigned a conspirator group number (along with a Giftee) by Monday, October 12th at the latest. Mailing lists will be generated by group numbers (feel free to give your committee/group a name), where members will be given a
victimGiftee, a main conspirator (the Gifter, chosen based on geographical proximity to that committee's Giftee, so as to minimise shipping expenses, etc.), and their preferences. It's up to you and your fellow conspirators to find a good present for thisunfortunate Giftee fellow.- It's up to you, as the main conspirator and Gifter, to contact your
victimGiftee, to get their shipping and contact information (some parcel services require you to include a phone number).
- It's up to you, as the main conspirator and Gifter, to contact your
We recommend that you format your shipping information like so (include their Anime.SE username as a c/o, so the Giftee knows that the parcel is related to the Exchange):
Asami Sanada
411 Gamers Rd
Apt. 723, c/o Dejiko
Winter Garden, DG
Broccoli Country
The Gifter does not have to reveal themselves to the Giftee, nor do they have to pick anything listed on a Giftee's suggested wishlist.
- The soft requirement for the gift is for it to be somewhat anime- and manga-related (handmade goods are always welcome and encouraged!).
- The suggested value of you present should be around $20 USD or the economic equivalent in your country (use the Big Mac Index to determine the equivalent value to $20)
- Contact a moderator if you are unsure about any aspect (including economic conversion).
- Gifts can be digital if you do not have the means of sending a physical parcel at a reasonable rate, but do try to leverage the help from your fellow conspirators to research and ensure that the Giftee won't have trouble getting access to it in their respective country (i.e. customs).
Note that as with last year, your Gifter won't be your Giftee, and vice versa. The pairings will happen something like this, assuming there are 5 participants:
#1 -- conspires and gifts --> #2 -- conspires and gifts --> #3 -- conspires and gifts --> #4 -- conspires and gifts --> #5 -- conspires and gifts --> #1
During your conspiracy planning, the main conspirator has the right to veto any suggestions proposed by the committee, given a valid reason. While the conspiracy end deadline is set for Wednesday, October 28th, the main conspirator may end their conspiracy session early and start shipping, if an unanimous decision is made.
All conspiracy committees will have at least one moderators attached to the conspiracy mailing list to address any question or concerns. Moderators who are participating will not be assigned to the committee conspiring against them (i.e. a Giftee who is also a moderator will not have access to the list where other users conspire a gift for them).
Conspirators are free to use other means of communication in addition to the mailing list for ease of use. Possible means can (but are not limited) to include the following:
- Slack
- Discord
- Skype (web app)
- Private SE chatrooms
- Other method of communication of your choosing
The deadline to ship your gift is by November 4th. If for some reason you cannot make the deadline or run into delays in shipping, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR GIFTEE to let them know.
- Additionally, be sure to send an email informing your Giftee that their gift has been sent, if possible, include a tracking number (if you can afford it) and/or a teaser image of what to expect.
- Additionally, be sure to send an email informing your Giftee that their gift has been sent, if possible, include a tracking number (if you can afford it) and/or a teaser image of what to expect.
When you get your gift, be sure let your Gifter know you have. Afterwards, post it for other people to see (so they can be jolly) on this meta (A separate meta question will be posted).
- You may use Imgur to create an album if you so choose. Be sure to post your reactions as well. Feel free to post links to it in your preferred social network(s).
If, for whatever reason, you haven't had any contact from your Gifter by the shipping deadline, please email a moderator and we'll work on getting you rematched ASAP.
Contact a moderator via chat or by email at [email protected] if you have any issues, questions, or need help on anything related to this event.
In celebration of our site graduation and our new fellow moderator (mostly the latter), "Tomato" will be a featured catchphrase for this Exchange. Use it however you prefer, as a password, greeting and farewell (like "ciao"), etc.
Let's all have fun and play together!
Without further ado, the OPT-IN: >> HERE <<
Sign up ends: Saturday, October 10thSIGN UPS HAVE ENDED!The conspiring begins on: Monday, October 12th
The conspiring ends on: Wednesday, October 28th
You should ship by Wednesday, November 4th to ensure that it arrives at your Giftee by Dec. 20.
Please use this meta for any questions you may have about the event. The rules and procedures for conspiring will be announced as we approach the opt-in deadline.
May the best conspiracy prevail!
Tomato!