Giveaway ideas - have your say in how we run them

[low_tar_neil]

Hi everybody, I thought I'd put this out in the open and encourage some ideas around how we keep these threads fun and give everyone a fair shot at winning.

Lots of people have contacted me asking me to look at how we run things because not everyone has all day to spend on their post count, and it does end up with a lot of the same faces winning each time in the current format.

If someone posts a great idea please like it so I can get an overview of everyone's opinions.

Remember there's no such thing as a bad idea, we just need some fresh inspiration, because there are lots of vendors waiting to do these.

We could do these completely randomly, not weighted by post count, but that doesn't encourage a fun giveaway thread - which is really what makes the manufacturers want to come here and get their products in front of you all.

Thanks for your help!

LTN

 

[dcfluegel]

Thanks, Neil! Part of the challenge is that we are always going to get some sour grapes regardless of methodology - eeyorin is kind of a universal constant, lol - a mix of methods, both weighted and unweighted, for the draws seems a reasonable approach, especially if noted in first announcement post, so folks know how it will work... If weighted draws are used, what about a daily cap on maximum number of entries to help rein in posterbatin for posterbatin's sake - don't get me wrong, I am a HUGE fan of the conversatin' and shenaniganery, but - in my opinion - too much static for static's sake can drown out the conversation

I think one of keys here is perspective - vendors do this to create visibility for products and goodwill with consumers - and it's a contest, ultimately... Participation is not mandatory - if we're going to play, we need to be good sports, have some fun, respect each other, and act like adults (I know - crazy talk)...

Really appreciate the work and time team ECF puts into supporting and organizing these contents for the good of the community and vaping as a whole

Thank you!

Sent from Tapavapatalk

 

[Canadian_Vaper]

Hmmm that's a tough one...

Quizzes never really worked, people with slow internet/devices were kind of left out even though they wanted to participate..

Weighted kind of works maybe separate them into categories, would mean a little more work for you though. Lets say the draw was 10 items.

2x 1-5 posts
2x 6-25 posts
2x 26-50 etc
2x 51-100 etc
2x 100+ etc..

 

[kakawlala]

"Upvir.al" system should be a fair system. When you want to get a prize, you will have to pay hard. I try to share the link and get 4002 points, and finally I get "movkin" prize

 

[Canadian_Vaper]

"Upvir.al" system should be a fair system. When you want to get a prize, you will have to pay hard. I try to share the link and get 4002 points, and finally I get "movkin" prize View attachment 535768

Problem is a lot of us forum goers don't use social media, it would just pass the advantage on to another group, I have 10 points.. It's the reason why a lot of the regulars try hard in the forum posts since it's a good chance at winning as well.

 

[kakawlala]

This is the way vendors with gifts, in exchange for commodity exposure.

 

[rocketman29]

Sp people got one entry per post? I did not know that. I thought if you posted in the thread you had the same odds as everyone else.

Maybe limit it to one entry per day if you post. Gets people involved but reduces the spam.

 

[VapingTurtle]

Inform the vendors that huge spam threads do not increase product visibility. Many members will ignore these contests (and therefore never take notice of the product) because of the post spamming.

One entry per member assures that the member takes notice of the product and evens the playing field for the contest. Allow members to post as much as they want, but encourage discussion of the product. There are plenty of other places on ECF for social interaction. Draw winners randomly from the list of posters, one entry per member, not by post count.

Contest wins often lead to product discussions in other threads, which lead to sales for the vendors.

Big thanks to you for getting the vendors to participate and donate to the community, @low_tar_neil, @SmokeyJoe, and ECF staff.

 

[ufosnowcat]

although i just got lucky myself i would say keep in mind winners from the previous couple of draws:
won last draw chance/4 won 2 draws ago chance/2

this would still have everyone join but should end up with more different people winning once in a while

 

[Clydde26]

What it all boils down to is some get lucky and some don't... The members who support the site automatically get entered into the drawings....9/10 the ones you see constantly winning are the ones keeping the community going one way or another whether it be through tech help... Advice...friendship...etc...and hell of they have been here and active on this site for months I think they deserve some of the spoils that they helped grow into the huge following that is ecf... Your not going to make everyone happy no matter the rules... You can say it's rng... Its specific posts.... Its whatever and people will still question the outcome. Yall keep doing what your doing have funny memes...stimulate how we would use the product if we win it... Or have us say I'm game and hang on every update hoping we see our name.... Free bread crumbs bring out the pigeons and unfortunately your still gonna have those few that like to run through just to watch them fly away...little do they know pigeons will always come right back for them crumbs lol....i have enjoyed all of the contests and experienced 3 to 4 different formats all of which I'm only disappointed because my name wasn't highlighted... But no I haven't ever felt cheated... How can you be cheated out of something you didn't have in the first place.

Keep up the good work ecf I'm off my soap box lol

 

[VapingTurtle]

Smaller Upviral contests to advertise larger contests on ECF lead to increased membership.

 

[Canadian_Vaper]

What it all boils down to is some get lucky and some don't... The members who support the site automatically get entered into the drawings....9/10 the ones you see constantly winning are the ones keeping the community going one way or another whether it be through tech help... Advice...friendship...etc...and hell of they have been here and active on this site for months I think they deserve some of the spoils that they helped grow into the huge following that is ecf... Your not going to make everyone happy no matter the rules... You can say it's rng... Its specific posts.... Its whatever and people will still question the outcome. Yall keep doing what your doing have funny memes...stimulate how we would use the product if we win it... Or have us say I'm game and hang on every update hoping we see our name.... Free bread crumbs bring out the pigeons and unfortunately your still gonna have those few that like to run through just to watch them fly away...little do they know pigeons will always come right back for them crumbs lol....i have enjoyed all of the contests and experienced 3 to 4 different formats all of which I'm only disappointed because my name wasn't highlighted... But no I haven't ever felt cheated... How can you be cheated out of something you didn't have in the first place.

Keep up the good work ecf I'm off my soap box lol

I'd really have to agree, how many times have they helped me? A bunch! them helping me has lead to me helping others

 

[low_tar_neil]

They way we do it right now is that all vendors have to commit a certain amount to be given away on the forum only - so you guys stand a better chance away from the main draw, which has had as many as 75k entries before.

 

[dcfluegel]

This is the way vendors with gifts, in exchange for commodity exposure.

Isn't that how other half of all these contests is already run? Would kind of completely defeat the purpose of having it on ECF if it requires external competition... I think that OP was referring to contests being run ON ECF...

Sent from Tapavapatalk

 

[Marina2]

I agree with DC, you will always have someone complaining no matter how you do it. Also, many of those who complain about not having time to do a contest thread have no trouble posting a whole lot in other threads. I think you should do what most benefits the vendors/manufacturers. After all, that's why we have these contests. No one here is owed a prize.

I never win the lottery. I also don't have the money to buy 50 tickets a week. Not fair? Sure it is. If it weren't for those who do have the money we wouldn't have a lottery in this state. And I would have no chance, however small, of ever winning one.

There are a lot of contests here with challenges other than posting, ie poems, favorite post, best piece of computer art, etc. Some of those I have no chance in but I don't complain. Just move on to one that I do. No one owes me a prize here or even a fair chance.

Thanks ECF and low_tar_neil for all the work you do to get us these contests. And, for any vendors reading here, thanks to those who bring numerous contests to ECF. There are many, many chances to win in this forum so that no one should complain.

 

[Ms.Sue]

Ok, some people aren't going to like what I'm about to say but hey......

In the competition threads I've entered I've seen quite a few members have said the same thing in each competition that they think the competition is fixed as it's always the same people who win it.

I've always defended this forum by saying that it isn't a fix but now I'm started to doubt that.
I'm not going to name names but when it's the same people who keep winning, I now can see why other members are saying that.

In the competitions before Christmas SJ said that the competitions were not based on post counts and that they use a randomizer to pick names.
Now, If it's the same people who win EVERY competition then they are either bloody lucky or that the randomizer is biased and only has the forum 'favourites' . Lol.

Also I've noticed Neil and SJ change the rules whenever they feel like it.
One example is that they said no spamming but they still allowed members to post 46897543789434 pictures.
Sorry but in my eyes that is spamming.


Feel free to call me bitter or whatever but I've stopped caring and I don't bother posting in the competition thread.

 

[mudmanc4]

I don't believe anything is fixed, considering I understand the odds.

This is good, if we focus on making the competition more than a post count / time block equation it would raise the refresh rates and keep user / continuity alive.

That said, could we look at what has been done in the past, such as live events, where a question was asked and the first to come up with said question is it. Yes that poses other complexities. Which could be cured by coordination, which takes man hours.

Considering people mentioned not knowing there would be an in thread live contest, announce them well before it occurs.
Use the voting system of the underlying software in some fashion. Where as soon as the correct wording or word sequence is caught, it triggers a stop. No more entries. Try integrating this with the forum search engine.

 

[low_tar_neil]

Ok, some people aren't going to like what I'm about to say but hey......

In the competition threads I've entered I've seen quite a few members have said the same thing in each competition that they think the competition is fixed as it's always the same people who win it.

I've always defended this forum by saying that it isn't a fix but now I'm started to doubt that.
I'm not going to name names but when it's the same people who keep winning, I now can see why other members are saying that.

In the competitions before Christmas SJ said that the competitions were not based on post counts and that they use a randomizer to pick names.
Now, If it's the same people who win EVERY competition then they are either bloody lucky or that the randomizer is biased and only has the forum 'favourites' . Lol.

Also I've noticed Neil and SJ change the rules whenever they feel like it.
One example is that they said no spamming but they still allowed members to post 46897543789434 pictures.
Sorry but in my eyes that is spamming.


Feel free to call me bitter or whatever but I've stopped caring and I don't bother posting in the competition thread.

Thanks for your post, that's why I wanted to have this discussion so we can come to a consensus with clear rules going forward. I appreciate we've changed the rules a lot from competition to competition, and I'm sorry if it's not always been clear - we always use random.org, and recently we've done mixture of weighted by post count, and each individual user who posts getting a single entry, so there are two types of draw. But I really want us to see if there is a better way of doing things, and if there isn't then we're just going to have the rules set in stone and prominent so everyone knows what they are.

 

[Marina2]

Ok, some people aren't going to like what I'm about to say but hey......

In the competition threads I've entered I've seen quite a few members have said the same thing in each competition that they think the competition is fixed as it's always the same people who win it.

I've always defended this forum by saying that it isn't a fix but now I'm started to doubt that.
I'm not going to name names but when it's the same people who keep winning, I now can see why other members are saying that.

In the competitions before Christmas SJ said that the competitions were not based on post counts and that they use a randomizer to pick names.
Now, If it's the same people who win EVERY competition then they are either bloody lucky or that the randomizer is biased and only has the forum 'favourites' . Lol.

Also I've noticed Neil and SJ change the rules whenever they feel like it.
One example is that they said no spamming but they still allowed members to post 46897543789434 pictures.
Sorry but in my eyes that is spamming.

Feel free to call me bitter or whatever but I've stopped caring and I don't bother posting in the competition thread.

I don't think that the ECF contests are rigged nor would they cheat for "forum favorites". I've heard that in all the contests here, lol.

And that's what I do if I don't like a contest. Move on without complaining and enter one that I do. I enter the ECF competitions because they are a lot of fun and excitement.

 

[Daddy]

@low_tar_neil

Please decide how to do the giveaways amongst the admins of ECF yourself and don't tell anyone how you draw. Opening up for discussion is a bad idea in my opinion. You are likely to receive a thousand different ways of running a competition and 999 people who end up upset because you didn't pick their way.

The forum is much more then the competitions and giveaways and it should stay that way. Quite frankly people should be thankful that the forum and manufactures are even doing these massive giveaways - instead we often see people scrambling like little children after candy has been tossed at a 4th of July parade.

If you really wanted to spice it up and make it random, go outside of this "competition and giveaway" forum and randomly select people who post substance in other areas of the forum and reward them. But whatever you do, I think opening it up for public debate will likely end in arguments and unhappy people, which is exactly what you are trying to avoid.

My 2 cents.

Thank you for the informative forum, it has literally changed my life.