2009 Christmas Card List-Tally Up!

[JoitheArtist]

I'm so excited!! I LOVE getting Christmas cards! Well..any kind of personal mail, really.

I think I'm going to do one painting and see if I can get it printed out on blank card stock (hey, that "the Artist" isn't in my name for nothing!) and send that out. I hate buying prepackaged cards. Not getting them, just buying them.

[Pedersen]

I'll put in a "me too" type post to echo JM: Sign up. The whole list runs slightly differently this time around. If you've looked, you'll have seen that there is a "sign ups close" date and an "opt out" date. They're set for a week between them.

Basically, once the sign ups close, there's a week in which anybody can opt out without any issue or work on anybody's part. You've opted out, and your information never made it to anybody's inbox.

But, once that sign up period close, there is no way to add yourself in. Period. Cannot happen.

Far better to opt out, than to want to join up and be unable to, I think.

[technical.angel]

Pederson,

YOU ROCK!

37 sign up so far!

[ArcticChicken]

For what it's worth, I hate having to crack down and be the Christmas Card Bitch.

Thank you for doing it anyway.

[Aethian]

Thank you for doing it anyway.

Ditto.


I just realized I have no idea where I put the cards I bought last year.

[taxguykarl]

How do we locate the addresses? Or will they be unlocked after to closing deadline? I see the countries and screen names, but that's it.

[Pedersen]

Only the name and country is shown on the signups page.

However, when the opt out period is closed, you will be emailed a PDF containing the addresses. The PDF will be formatted in such a way that you can print directly to Avery 8160 labels, and stick them on the envelope.

You're still required to put something in the envelopes, and attach signatures/etc to that stuff. But at least the envelopes will be easier to deal with

[Broomjockey]

I just realized I have no idea where I put the cards I bought last year.

Under the bed. It's ALWAYS under the bed.

Unless you don't have an under the bed. Then it's the back of the closet.

[ArcticChicken]

Under the bed. It's ALWAYS under the bed.

That's where mine are.

[taxguykarl]

However, when the opt out period is closed, you will be emailed a PDF containing the addresses. The PDF will be formatted in such a way that you can print directly to Avery 8160 labels, and stick them on the envelope.

Thank you for your prompt reply. That will make it much easier.

[technical.angel]

I know I'll enjoy not copy and pasting everything this year!!

Aethian, you reminded me that I don't remember where I put mine... The hunt will be on!

[MystyGlyttyr]

Mysty- I would recommend joining while you're thinking of it, then if needed, opting out before the deadline. Gives a more accurate idea overall of how many people to expect, plus you don't want to forget to join until after the deadline has passed. This year is different, once the sign ups shut down the list will go out automatically and we will be unable to make *any* changes to add or remove people.

I do hope to see your drawings, one way or the other... they were quite a laugh last year!

Believe me, it stays in my mind. I'm going to give it a bit more time before deciding, kind of weigh the money against the desire to do so against having to buy presents for a buncha other people. If I miss it, oh well, it's my bad and there's always next year.

And thanks, heh. My art style leaves a lot to be desired but I still like to do the comedy potential.

[Pedersen]

I just wanted to share some thoughts I had on the whole signup process, and what I'm sure some folks are thinking.

I'm sure that people are looking at this and saying some nasty things about the signups. After all, it looks like there's a whole lot more strictness in the process.

I have to admit you're right. It is more strict. As to why, I invite you to look at this thread: 2008 Christmas Card List. Go ahead and look.

It's a huge thread. And there's plenty of posts in there that show what a huge issue it is. Manually compiling the list, trying to coordinate individual PMs from everybody who sent, making sure that the list is complete and contains all the information needed to get a card to someone, and then the confusion of trying to figure out who sent cards and who didn't; all of these things made this a lot more stressful than it needed to be.

I was on the sidelines watching, and I could see the frustration. It's not hard to find. And then the idea hit me that we have this server that we already use. Why not write a small program to help manage the list, and do all the stupid parts that make the whole thing so stressful?

I proposed the idea to JM, Raps, and Ree. They liked it, so I went to work. In order to remove the stress from the organizer (Hi JM!), the tool has to ensure that everything is done properly. This means that, in order for you to sign up, it has to verify your email address (hence the activation code. If you can receive that email, you'll receive the list, and if you can't receive that email you won't receive the list. Basically, troubleshoot the problem as early as possible, rather than later), and you have to fill in sufficient information that a label can be printed and stuck on an envelope, addressed to you (hence why every field is a requirement, including real name, since some post offices might have issues with screen names going to an address).

But that wasn't all. I specifically did not put some items in to the program: The only person who can add you to the list is you, and that's deliberate. Once the sign up period closes, it is closed. JM can't add you to the list at that point, so there's no point in asking. If you miss the deadline, tough. You missed it (oh, and the program is timezone aware, so it won't close until midnight Oct 18 has passed all around the world). So, why include this, one of the harshest features? It avoids anybody who misses being able to put a guilt trip onto JM. It's not possible for her to add anybody regardless of how much begging gets done.

I added in a place to tally up, so everybody can see who's getting what cards. You'll be able to tell if you're having problems in your Post Office, or if the problem exists elsewhere. This also means that if someone signs up and sends out no cards, everybody who participates will be able to see that 0 cards were received from that person. I would hope that would be an additional bit of social pressure to improve the actual send rate. From what I hear, it seems like the percentage of people sending out cards has gone down, and that's just sucky behavior. With a little bit of luck, everybody will record here who they got their cards from, and everybody will see pretty plainly the results.

All of which comes down to the ban list. Yes, that list was put in place, and done so deliberately. It sucks if you've been banned and wish to participate, but it didn't happen without a reason. And no one was added to that list lightly.

The tool was built to help make the list significantly easier to manage. This also means that it enforces the rules of the list more easily. I hope you'll understand why it was built that way now. And I hope you'll agree that it makes organizing and managing this whole process much easier. Is it flawless? Of course not. But, for a version 1.0 product, it seems to be doing pretty well, I think.

Thank you for your patience in reading these random ramblings.

[Bella_Vixen]

I just tried again and it still says invalid. I am soooooooooooooo confused!

[Pedersen]

Bella: Contact me via an IM service. any of the ones on my profile page, or mjpederATgmailDOTcom.

We'll work through it.