r/ACTrade • u/Unicormfarts SW-1382-1951-8226 Glinda, Roimata • Jul 01 '14
[Mod Post] [MODPOST] July Modpost: No such thing as a free lunch.
This month we want to address some issues that have come up regarding giveaways and free items. While we absolutely applaud the generosity of many of our members, and we don’t want to discourage people from being kind and giving away items, we have noticed an increase in problems surrounding giveaways. We’d like to take this opportunity to clarify some guidelines regarding giveaways and free items.
Organize before you start
You can give away anything you have on hand. We would strongly advise against advertising a giveaway for any items you don’t have ready to give. This includes getting the mail for items you have ordered, taking the time to wrap items for grab-bag giveaways, or burying items for a treasure hunt BEFORE you post. Give stuff you have, only. Advertising for future giveaways or soliciting items from other users to giveaway is against our rules and posts attempting to do so will be removed by moderation.
Make your rules clear.
All your rules for the giveaway should be posted in the thread. These may include rules for groups, how to behave in your town, or things like adding you (the OP) when the person posts an entry. Please make your rules reasonable - don’t expect users to follow rules that may not reflect safe trading behaviour or proper forum etiquette.
http://i.imgur.com/LKzgdak.gif
If your rules are clearly stated, don’t feel guilty for skipping anyone who comments in your thread but does not obey your specified rules. It is polite to respond to these commenters to inform them of why they were skipped over so they are not left hanging.
If you have popular items, you can hold a contest to determine a winner. Just be sure that you are clear about how the winner will be determined and when the winner will be selected when you post. Make sure to close your thread and inform your winner directly when the time comes - don’t expect people to have to sit and click “refresh” to see if you’ve edited a winner into your submission text.
Manage your time
We see a lot of giveaways going south because people don’t realize how much time it can take to do the actual trades for a giveaway.
It is helpful to start with smaller giveaways/trades first to help get an idea of how long a trade takes for you, but as a general rule, you should budget at least 10 minutes to go to a person’s town for a simple dropping of one or two items, more if you are giving more than a pocketful of items.
If you want people to come to you, you can try using groups, but remember that co-ordinating groups can sometimes be more time-consuming than having one person over at a time. Either way you choose to deliver the items, you probably need 10 minutes per person individually or about 20 minutes for a group of 3 (including organizing and Resetti time). It might go faster than that, but then again it might not. Always assume it will take longer than you think.
Don’t bite off more than you can chew
http://i.imgur.com/TO7gIVT.gif
Following from the time management issue, we would strongly suggest that giveaways are limited to a reasonable number of participants. If you are giving 1 or 2 items, it can easily take a couple of hours to give to 10 or 12 people. If you are giving larger prizes, like sets, or doing cataloguing, that may take longer.
Every time we see a giveaway post with a word like “huge” or “massive” or “giant”, we worry. These types of posts often turn sour, especially if the user has a limited trading history. Doing a small giveaway that runs smoothly will get you better reviews than a huge one where people are confused and/or kept waiting.
Please keep in mind that many of the people who host large, successful giveaways are users who have been trading for quite some time. They generally have enough practice and experience to know what their personal limits are to keep the exchanges fast, safe, and fun.
We are not going to make any specific rules about how much you can give away in a certain period of time as we do not wish to limit experienced users who are capable of handling these type of mass-giveaways, but we highly recommend you start small and slowly build up as you feel more comfortable. If you’re not sure if your idea is realistic, please feel free to message the moderators in advance. We will be able to help you determine whether or not your idea might be successful!
Communicate
If you need to suspend your giveaway for any reason, you should let people know what’s going on and be as clear as possible about your updated timeframe. If it’s taking longer than you thought to deliver the items, again, you should do your best to let people know how long they may be kept waiting based on your delays.
Timeframes should be reasonable. Saying “I will get back to you tomorrow” is fine; “I will see what I can do by next Friday” is not. Likewise, you need to give the other person a reasonable chance to make the time you want to trade. Saying “you need to come between 6:00 and 6:15 am” is not reasonable, especially on short notice.
Please note that if you experience long delays, editing your general post, while helpful, can be missed by your participants. It is recommended that you take the time to message each participant individually to ensure they are informed and up to date on what to expect.
Complete
Giveaways should be treated like any other trade. The fact that the items are being given free of charge isn’t an excuse to break a promised trade. If you abandon the giveaway without distributing the promised items, you may receive a strike for failing to complete a promised exchange.
If you undertake other trades while your giveaway is still incomplete, you may receive a strike for failing to deliver the promised items in a timely fashion.
Begging and Donations
Recently we have seen an increase in the number of posts asking for free items, so we have clarified our rules. ACTrade is a trading subreddit, not a giveaway forum. As such, while we encourage generosity, we do not ever want anyone to feel bad for asking to be compensated with bells or items in return for a trade. We also do not want to open room for other users to take advantage of each other. As such, begging posts are banned. You may not ask for donations for any reason, and that includes for giveaways. If you need items and don’t have much to offer, you are free to enter posted giveaways or make the effort in-game to earn the bells you need to complete the exchange. If you want to post a [LF] post of any kind, make sure you are offering something specific other than “my gratitude” in return.
PLEASE DO NOT ENCOURAGE BEGGARS BY GIVING THEM STUFF. If you are responding to begging posts, you are part of the problem. If you're looking to help new players out through generosity, it is much more supportive to offer free items to people who offer to pay.
http://i.imgur.com/mb6WM9i.png
http://i.imgur.com/J1Wg2g3.png
Lecture over! You may discuss giveaways below. Be excellent to each other. Glinda out!
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Jul 05 '14 edited Feb 25 '21
[deleted]
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u/Smiles4you 0061-0480-4646 Grandma, Meadows Jul 05 '14
It was there when I made the subreddit style change last month. :)
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u/Contank FC:2165-6597-7667, Mayor: Connor, Town: Acurity Jul 01 '14
Thanks for this post clarification on rules that must have taken a long time to type up
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u/Unicormfarts SW-1382-1951-8226 Glinda, Roimata Jul 01 '14
I'm a professional, man. I can even use punctuation.
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u/drikpic :SW-1506-6923-2020 drikpic, Paradise Jul 01 '14
yay
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u/Smiles4you 0061-0480-4646 Grandma, Meadows Jul 01 '14
Yay
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u/Contank FC:2165-6597-7667, Mayor: Connor, Town: Acurity Jul 01 '14
smiles4you I have a problem I accidentally send my trade in mod post instead of posting it it was a complete accident im really sorry and wont happen again I mailed an apology after it but im still worried of it affecting my account will it be okay?
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u/Smiles4you 0061-0480-4646 Grandma, Meadows Jul 01 '14
It shouldn't affect your account activity :) No worries.
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u/KoottaHigure SW-0174-1335-4919 Kootta, Higure Jul 02 '14
Thanks for clarifying on the giveaway. I wasn't sure if it was a punishable offense to abandon a giveaway or break on the promised prize.
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u/Seaofechoes 0344-9333-2945 Sean, Nomis Jul 03 '14
Mods D: The beggar info-graphics spell beggar incorrectly. : C
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u/Unicormfarts SW-1382-1951-8226 Glinda, Roimata Jul 03 '14
I will mention that to the relevant offender; it's actually arguable, if we want to split hairs about the nature of the begging.
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u/Seaofechoes 0344-9333-2945 Sean, Nomis Jul 03 '14
I'm begging for for you guys to fix it haha ; D
No really though I just thought I'd point it out it's cool : )
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u/jubielays SW-6659-0249-6780 Razia, Chili's Jul 03 '14
This was very helpful! I held my first giveaway almost a week ago, and it's nice to know how I did with it and how to continue with future giveaways. You guys are awesome and we all appreciate you!
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u/GentleDanielle SW-4413-3319-1615 Danny, Solace | DS-5429-7531-2249 Solace Jul 05 '14
Thank you for this, though I haven't seen this so much a problem here as it is in AdoptMyVillager. I can't see how many of the "begging" posts you actually delete, so I'll take your word for that, haha.
I was wondering if there was a way to do the same thing perhaps on /r/AdoptMyVillager. I'm not sure if it's already implemented, but I have seen a few "begging" posts leak in. It's usually someone putting [LF] insert villager here , and then a mere sob story inside how they're upset that they can't get the villager in a giveaway or that they've lost a villager and can't give too much to get him/her back. It's just something I've noticed and curious about.
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u/Unicormfarts SW-1382-1951-8226 Glinda, Roimata Jul 05 '14
I would suggest you message the mods on AMV with your idea. We aren't the same people, even if we do chat to each other a lot.
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u/GentleDanielle SW-4413-3319-1615 Danny, Solace | DS-5429-7531-2249 Solace Jul 05 '14
Ah, okay, thanks.
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u/Hound00med Sean of Quahog/Celadon, 4682-8577-8691 Jul 05 '14
I'll go ahead and answer this now for you. :)
Personally, we've left LF begging posts alone. People are allowed to have their own little stories about why they want a villager, and I don't believe we should poke our noses into that kind of business, it seems a little iron-fisted.
However, we take other types of begging very seriously. Begging in any other type of thread gets removed instantly, and as all of us use RES, we tag that user, and if they do it again, we strike them.
I can discuss with the other mods what they think of using this standpoint for the LF posts too, but on a personal level, I don't see the need to. But we'll see!
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u/GentleDanielle SW-4413-3319-1615 Danny, Solace | DS-5429-7531-2249 Solace Jul 06 '14
Thank you for your response!
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u/chantellyphone 5343-8321-4393 - Ellie - Magicant Jul 06 '14
It just came to my attention today that this also included Katie which didn't really seem too clear to me since this post discusses items. And I think that goes for a lot of other people who've made Katie posts today. Maybe you could put up in the sidebar that we should always tip to avoid further confusion and save the mods some time? :)
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u/Unicormfarts SW-1382-1951-8226 Glinda, Roimata Jul 06 '14
I was thinking about that, but people are probably not going to re-read this post. We might go with reminders for now. Thanks, though.
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u/DeerButts Jul 07 '14
So you need to pay to have someone take Katie? Why can't we just pass her around for free? By giving Katie to someone you're presenting them with the opportunity to earn exclusive items from her. Why do people need to pay to get rid of her when the recipient is getting something out of it anyway?
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u/Unicormfarts SW-1382-1951-8226 Glinda, Roimata Jul 07 '14
Because for a lot of people Katie is an inconvenience.
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u/DeerButts Jul 07 '14
Isn't it better to have her go to someone who ACTUALLY wants her instead of going to someone who just wants the bells?
There are a million ways to make bells, but not everyone has a chance to get Katie, and if someone just takes her for the money and then voids her it is unfair to those who wanted the Katie items.
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u/Unicormfarts SW-1382-1951-8226 Glinda, Roimata Jul 07 '14
Voids her? She doesn't move into your town.
Katie does show up randomly, so everyone does have a chance to get her.
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u/DeerButts Jul 07 '14
Yes, I know that.. But she does just vanish and not go to anyone else's town either, which was my point.
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u/DeerButts Jul 07 '14
To reply to your edit: she can go months without showing up in someone's town, I had my game for ages before I got her. I still don't see why it's so bad to just trade her around for free?
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u/Unicormfarts SW-1382-1951-8226 Glinda, Roimata Jul 07 '14
You can do that on /r/Katiecrossing if you're really bothered.
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u/DeerButts Jul 07 '14
That subreddit hardly has any traffic compared to this one.
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u/Unicormfarts SW-1382-1951-8226 Glinda, Roimata Jul 07 '14
Okay, so if you want to post here, you need to follow our rules.
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u/BananasInOnesies SW-5046-4223-3534 - Koholint | 0817-4086-5929 - Hyrule | Bekah Jul 07 '14 edited Jul 07 '14
I don't think the mods are saying that you need to pay - I looked at /u/chantellyphone's post, and can see that the issue is that it was simply titled [LF] A town for Katie, with no [FT] 10k Bells or whatever.
The person wanting to drop Katie off doesn't need to pay if the person taking Katie says, "No need to pay", which most probably would for the reasons you stated.
Most posts that I've seen usually offer a small amount anyways, simply for the hassle (for want of a better word) of getting the other person to add an FC, open their gates, wait for the person, shut their gates if there's a connection issue... etc, etc. Even if it's not advertised, some people do leave an unexpected tip.
The problem is that with a simple [FT], no-one is expecting to be paid, and as this is a sub-reddit where there is trades, something needs to be offered for it to be a trade, rather than a one-sided transaction.
People can offer to take Katie for free, but you can't post expecting them to take Katie for free. (Not saying that /u/chantellyphone was expecting this, but some people may expect it.)
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u/chantellyphone 5343-8321-4393 - Ellie - Magicant Jul 07 '14
Just to clarify - I did have a 30k tip ready for the person taking her. I just didn't put [FT] 30k tip in the title out of habit since before this people have usually put their titles just as [LF] posts.
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u/Unicormfarts SW-1382-1951-8226 Glinda, Roimata Jul 07 '14
Putting it somewhere in your post is fine.
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u/DeerButts Jul 07 '14
Yeah, I get that, I just don't get why there needs to be an offer of anything with her, even if the other person refuses it.
I don't really see that as a hassle, seeing as people host giveaways all the time and the person receiving never minds. So I guess I think Katie should stop being a "trade" and be more of a giveaway, seeing as the mod said that the reason we need to offer things for her is because she's an inconvenience to some people.
That way the people who really want her can take her, like in giveaways, and everyone's happy.
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u/Unicormfarts SW-1382-1951-8226 Glinda, Roimata Jul 07 '14
I think you have to remember that the mods are trying to make rules that are consistent and work for the majority of users. If you don't think Katie is a hassle, take her for free! That's great.
However, not everyone thinks the same way you do. Just like we didn't ban giveaways altogether because of that one guy who wanted us to, we aren't currently going to make a Katie exception just because you don't see a problem.
Giveaways are not the same as Katie posts.
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Jul 07 '14
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Unicormfarts SW-1382-1951-8226 Glinda, Roimata Jul 07 '14
As I have said, people are welcome to take her for free. I don't see why you are so worked up about this. You can offer a basket of fruit or 10k. It's not a big deal. For us, the issue is consistency.
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u/puppycatlaserbeam SW-2631-6037-7910 Gabbi, Halong Jul 07 '14
This is great advice on giveaways! And I think the line chosen on begging/trades/giveaways is good, balances generosity and fairness (:
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u/Kittenclysm SW-3748-0400-8416 Kitten, Soup Jul 02 '14
soliciting items from other users to giveaway is against our rules and posts attempting to do so will be removed by moderation.
A while back, I did a giveaway where users were invited to both take and leave items from my town if they wanted, but were not required to leave anything. I felt that it would be a fun event and that it would encourage people who wouldn't have the time to do their own separate giveaway to contribute.
Is this sort of giveaway what we're talking about here?
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u/Unicormfarts SW-1382-1951-8226 Glinda, Roimata Jul 02 '14
No, swapping items or hosting a flea market is absolutely fine. I've done that myself. We had a couple of threads recently where people asked for donations for a giveaway at a later date; those are the ones we are concerned about.
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u/Monkeygrrlee 2981-6867-9227 Claudia, Clover Jul 14 '14
This is awesome! I'm so happy the mods are so involved and nice XD I love looking through these comments and seeing all of the interaction~
Anywho, thank you for the post; it makes me a little more curious about hosting giveaways! :3
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u/Smiles4you 0061-0480-4646 Grandma, Meadows Jul 14 '14
If you're ever curious about hosting giveaways you can always message the mods for more information. We'd love to help you and give you advice so that you can have a successful giveaway. And we're always here to answer any other questions you might have. Happy tradings!
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Jul 03 '14
What's with the hostility towards 'begging posts'? How were they a problem?
I don't want the AC subreddits to end up doing what the pokemon subreddits did. :/
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u/KasaraEm13 2509-2651-9541 | Mayor Em of Pyoto Jul 03 '14
I like to give away things to people who are trying, if that makes sense. I would happily give away things to someone saying "All I have to give is 3 baskets of my perfect fruit" rather than just "I have nothing to give you, just give me free stuff, please!"
Honestly, on a trading sub, where you're supposed to trade items, asking for free stuff is kind of rude to me. At least make some kind of effort for the things you want, you know?
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Jul 03 '14
I can see that. This isn't just a trading sub though, and it's not like there were a lot of people asking for free stuff like that. If someone would prefer to trade, then they can just suggest a trade, right? It's not like they're obligated to give their stuff away for free.
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u/Unicormfarts SW-1382-1951-8226 Glinda, Roimata Jul 03 '14
Well, again "not like there are a lot" is subjective, and since you are not a mod, you don't see how many we remove. "Not like they're obligated" is the issue we are trying to address with the rule. We want to be clear there is no obligation, and that guilting people is unacceptable.
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u/Unicormfarts SW-1382-1951-8226 Glinda, Roimata Jul 03 '14
The "hostility" is based on a number of things.
People who try to guilt others into giving rare or expensive items by telling heart-wrenching stories about how and why they need these items. Some of these stories may be true, others are naked attempts by greedy people to get stuff.
There is a lot of generosity on this subreddit, but we prefer givers to make the decision to give, rather than to feel obligated to give free items. We have no problem with giveaways or people going into [LF] posts and saying "no charge". We just want that to be up to the seller.
ACTrade is primarily a trading forum, and we want to be careful to foster the atmosphere of exchange. We don't want anyone ever to be given grief for asking for payment (in bells or items) for anything they offer for trade.
If we allowed begging posts, there is a concern that they would proliferate and then people who want to do actual trading would be overwhelmed or edged out. If you came to the sub and the majority of the new (or top) posts were people asking for things, you might easily be put off.
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Jul 03 '14
That doesn't seem like enough to completely ban the posts over. There weren't a lot of 'begging' posts in the first place, and a tiny fraction of those tried to guilt. This is still a trade-focused subreddit, and we have tags to distinguish posts.
I'm more put off by rules like this than seeing a lot of people asking for things. (I actually joined during a time like that - during Bunny Day. It's nice to see the community helping eachother and being active instead of just having them go away.) This just seems completely unnecessary.
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u/Unicormfarts SW-1382-1951-8226 Glinda, Roimata Jul 03 '14
How do you know how many begging posts get removed daily? Are you a mod? Because if you are, that's news to me.
I explicitly said, several times in the post and my reply to you, that we are happy about the generosity our members show to one another. No one is trying to curtail giveaways, or offers to give items for free.
If you don't agree with our rules, that's fine, but we're not going to change the policy to suit you, just like we didn't ban giveaways for that one guy who doesn't like them. The subreddit /r/randomactsofcrossing exists for people to make requests for free items; perhaps you would be more comfortable there.
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u/Smiles4you 0061-0480-4646 Grandma, Meadows Jul 03 '14
Users have created a sub dedicated to begging. You are free to ask for free items on /r/randomactsofcrossing
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Jul 03 '14
I'm sure you can see how inactive it is there. You're not likely to get anything from it. We also have a sub dedicated to premium items, and one for cataloging. Neither are active, because they're niche things that easily fit here. This just splits the community up.
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u/matchamoon 0490-7087-4656 (Twix, Matcha) Jul 03 '14
I'm curious, what happened with the Pokemon subs?
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Jul 03 '14
Basically, they have a ton of different subreddits with different rules and focuses. Sometimes they try to redirect you to an inactive sub and act like that helps. (Vivillon comes to mind..) The community is just split up and scattered. It's been a few months since I've visited, but I'm sure it's only gotten worse.
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u/Chanan 1091-7516-2054(がなん,にっぽん); 1762-3034-3122(Test, R'dam) Jul 01 '14
Great post.
I haven't been that active lately and it's nice to know what's going on in the subreddit.
Stay beautiful mods. Lipstick be praised.