The 2008 CS Christmas Card List - Discussion

[AdminAssistant]

Yeah, my "post count" isn't very high, but I've made quite a few posts - just in Off Topic. (I don't have time to even begin to keep up with the main board! )

[BookstoreEscapee]

Wait, I've made that many posts in the main forums? Wow. I spend more time in OT than elsewhere...huh.

(Why don't OT posts count, anyway? 4500+ posts and I never realized that?)

[Rapscallion]

(Why don't OT posts count, anyway? 4500+ posts and I never realized that?)

As per the names of the sections, we decided that posts should only count in the 'heart of the site' areas. For some reason, a minority of people feel that their post count is a matter of ... importance, really, whereas its actually the quality of a person's posts that truly counts.

Rapscallion

[One-Fang]

Hmmm, I guess the only really fair way is for a panel of a couple of mods to look through all the applicants to the list and approve or disapprove of their listing. You'll know most of the names, and the ones that you don't know offhand you can check on the site what their activity is and make a judgment call.

Of course, that would imply that such a tactic would have worked this time. Sigh. I dunno. Maybe apply any tactic you can come up with, to 2008's list, and see if it weeds out those that ended up not contributing. If it doesn't, it's probably not a reliable method to weed them out for 2009.

[JuniorMintz]

LOL, yea, I'm pretty sure the only truly fail safe way to ensure 100 percent participation is for me to go to everyone's homes and mail them out myself.

So next year if a five foot something brunette with thick ass glasses and a big ass stick shows up at your door, you'd better hope you have a receipt from the post office lying handy!

[SteverinoNY]

Christmas Cards!

JM,

Altho I am sure we don't need to you come walking around with your big stick to ensure that we mail out our Christmas Cards on time next year, I know I would definitely be ok with you showing up at my door in February (if you can handle the winters in delightful New York!)

Again, thanks for all you do in taking on this monumental task of running the list each year and tsk tsk on those who cant be bothered to read signs or follow directions.

[JuniorMintz]

JM,

Altho I am sure we don't need to you come walking around with your big stick to ensure that we mail out our Christmas Cards on time next year, I know I would definitely be ok with you showing up at my door in February (if you can handle the winters in delightful New York!)

That was sweet. Especially because I'm seriously pouty that what was supposed to be my snow day (ice skating in Yosemite, yaaaay!) turned into a EpicSnowSuperFail Day and I'm stuck at home instead.

Damnit, I should be drinking hot chocolate and bitching about the cold right now!

[Ree]

OK...of the 14 who didn't get their cards out only 2 never bothered to either PM Juniormintz or post in the thread to say why.

There were 12 people who posted and said they were having problems, but of those 12, I think there was only 1 person who actually said that finances were going to prevent any cards from going out. Another 10 all posted and promised their cards would be going in the mail that week. There was 1 person who said they had gone out, but because nobody seemed to have received them, they were going to try sending them again.

It is now almost the end of February and there has been no sign of any of the cards from any of them.

There was one person who sent out all but 12 cards due to personal and financial issues.

[Kiwi]

While I think the post count thing is problematic, I think it could one of several layers of protections (this is so sad, that we even have to discuss this) that could be added to the conditions of getting on the list. I certainly do not want to blame newbies or label them as irresponsible, but out of the people who don't follow through, the vast majority have very low post counts (not even 100 posts for most non senders).

Another suggestion could be limiting the number of people on the list and the people who have been on the list before and have followed through get first dibs for places. That way we could limit our "exposure" to a big group of new and unknowns sending cards. Ive been on the site almost 8 years now and Im not an old member by other peoples standards. There are people we have all known for years and have proved themselves reliable.

Again, I'm not slamming newbies, what I am saying is this. Our CS card list is supposed to be a very special, happy event and some of that joy has been marred by people not living up to their word. Maybe the best way to protect something that we all hold dear is to put limits on it. To make people aware that behavior will not be tolerated.

I'm not trying to shame those who ran into difficulty financially or otherwise, but the fact remains we had a 75% success rate this year, every other year its been well over 90%.

Every other year the list has been open to anyone who wants to sign up, maybe we could look at having a list of criteria to be met to make the list as it were. Not every criteria needs to be made public (for instance the post limit being set, but to prevent post padding the number isn't announced) then if someone signs up who does not meet the exact criteria but is a member of good standing who regularly contributes to the forum and is known and trusted then they are allowed onto the list anyway.

Just some thoughts. Yes they are not the most "fair" suggestions, but neither is people saying they will participate and not doing what they said they would.

[Ree]

Actually, Kiwi, what shows as the post count for many of those members isn't the actual count when you do a post search.

There was only one one member with less than 100 posts.

All the others showed as less than 100, but when one does a post search, the number is significantly higher, as it takes into account all the posts in the Off Topic or no post count areas.

I do know that of some of the cards I did receive, those members had low post counts or had not been members of the site for all that long.

It's always been the rule that you sign up, you send cards, and if you don't send them without very good reason, then you're blacklisted the next year.
There has always been the risk that one will send out cards, but others may not reciprocate. The exchange has been going on for a lot of years, and the participants have always had to have a bit of blind faith in each other.

Usually, that isn't a problem, but for some reason, in recent years, we've had a few people who have bailed.
It could be that the list has been getting bigger and bigger, and postage rates are climbing.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe that last year we had a fairly poor ratio as well.

I really don't know what the answer is.
I would just hate to alienate new people who come here and want to get involved, and are serious about participating in the card exchange.

I had wondered about giving the members a grace period of a week after the list comes out. If the list is huge, and the member simply doesn't have enough in the budget, or if personal issues have come up during that time that will make it impossible for them to send cards, they would have one week to back out.
By the end of that week, they must PM the list organizer (which I hope will be Juniormintz for a very long time) and give their apologies that they won't be participating.

Juniormintz would then send out the list of names to be crossed off the list.

It was just a thought.

[Kiwi]

The post count was just one suggestion, my point was more about having a way to determine a reliable forum member from someone who joins the site a couple of months before hand. To have some sort of vetting process rather than just let anyone and everyone sign up.
I certainly don't want to alienate people either, but to me the most special cards were from people I have known through the site, read their stories etc I don't know, I guess I'm just upset because the cards meant so much to me my first Christmas in Canada when I was so lonely and it was something that was just mine!

Last year I had a success rate of 86%, the year before it was 94% I believe (I do have the results buried on my laptop somewhere) . I do think that the list this year was large, almost too large for me, I personally paid over $150 on postage and cards and I buy my cards during the post Christmas sales to keep costs down. I don't think I could afford that again this year.

I like the idea of a grace period though!

Sigh, I wish I had the right answer.

[Ree]

I guess I'm just upset because the cards meant so much to me my first Christmas in Canada when I was so lonely and it was something that was just mine! ...

...I do think that the list this year was large, almost too large for me, I personally paid over $150 on postage and cards and I buy my cards during the post Christmas sales to keep costs down. I don't think I could afford that again this year.

And I think that's why a lot of people are upset. The cards mean a lot to all of us who participate. (They certainly helped lift my spirits this year, and I still feel so guilty that I was so long at getting my own out. That will never happen again.)

It certainly was not cheap for anyone this year, and it seems unfair that it was close to $20 or more wasted on sending cards to people who did not reciprocate. if these people backed out due to financial issues, then it seems very tacky of them to have taken advantage of the generosity of others.

Instead of posting excuses and claiming that cards were going out or were in the mail, the decent thing would have been to just come clean and apologize via PM to Juniormintz.

[JuniorMintz]

Instead of posting excuses and claiming that cards were going out or were in the mail, the decent thing would have been to just come clean and apologize via PM to Juniormintz.

Which is what pisses me off the most, quite honestly.

We're nice people, and I know that no one would take offense if a genuine emergency came up and someone had to drop out. Shit happens, as we all know.

But freaking TELL ME. That's all I've ever asked, yet people still continue to flake.

And you know what else bums me out? Knowing that there are several members on here who I *personally* consider friends who have needed to drop and done so properly. If anyone was going to still receive cards, I wish they could have gone to those members. At least they'd deserve and appreciate them...

[iradney]

Funny thing is, I'm in South Africa - taking into account the rand dollar exchange I spent between $60 - $70 sending out cards for the Christmas card exchange. If I, who live in a third world country with the most unreliable, thieving post office I've ever heard of, can send out my cards, I don't see why other people can't...

[One-Fang]

Late is fine. Ree was my last card received. Do I care that it was late? Hell no!

I find it interesting that most of the no-shows actually said they were having trouble, but promised to get them out. At least they did actually post about the trouble in the first place, but it isn't very nice that they didn't feel they could come back and say "Sorry guys, it's not going to happen at all". I wonder if they just didn't bother, or they were too ashamed or afraid to front up...

I think the former. I'm pretty sure I saw Ree post at least once that she might not make it at all and a chorus of support from everyone saying it was okay, we'd all understand. I think we're a pretty friendly and supportive group, and if anyone really explained why they thought they could make it but suddenly couldn't, most people would completely understand.