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The Glittering Gold Giveaway is open for entries for another raffle of amazing eggs! If you want to keep up with the schedule of this ongoing Raffle (for both entering & donations), DragonMistress has also created a calendar for the rest of the year so it is easier to keep track! You can also sign up for PM reminders when it is open for entries. Open until evening of Fri 3/3/17 - See Thread for Details! Edited by natayah

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I look forward to donating to several of the threads listed (especially GGG, as their requirements of giftees mirror my own). I like giving away Spriter's Alt babies for people to enjoy (especially as my own collection of them grows) and I'm glad to have other outlets than my normal Sunday/Monday handouts.

 

Also, thanks nat for the info about the Description Force. I'll have to go check that out and help!

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The Glittering Gold Giveaway is open for entries for another raffle of amazing eggs! If you want to keep up with the schedule of this ongoing Raffle (for both entering & donations), DragonMistress has also created a calendar for the rest of the year so it is easier to keep track! You can also sign up for PM reminders when it is open for entries. Open until evening of Fri 3/3/17 - See Thread for Details!

I accidentally linked the wrong thread and have fixed it. Additionally, I hope everyone takes the time to look at the past page or two for posts to check out some really awesome Events & Fun going on.

 

 

And then, please take a look at the first page. I have updated a lot of info with new links and newly organized, and I think you would find that quite helpful for yourself & to share with others. I remember as a newer player I was really lost, and I tend to find a lot of newer and growing players best benefit from this info. So don't be afraid to share if you run across someone!

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If anyone has an interest in photography maybe you should check out the Photography contest in Multimedia. smile.gif This round Lagie is the host and the subject is mammals. So if you have taken any great mammal pictures, go check it out here and consider entering.

 

Oops! Forgot to mention that the deadline is tomorrow, March 7!

Edited by purplehaze

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There are a few really awesome threads we dont usually link to in this thread cuz everytime they start a new round they start a new thread. But they are worth following and knowing where located as they are a ton of fun. One is the Photo Contest thread Purplehaze mentioned. This is always a lot of fun and ongoing with new themes all the time and lots of chances to win (you dont have to be some skilled Nat Geo camera person).

 

Also, the Bingo Game in the Forum Games threads is really super cool. You earn points/bingos based on dragons on your scrolls and sometimes other things working with others. I just know it is a lot of fun and always very different and interesting. Watch one and I bet you would like to try it on the next round. When you win then you get to host the next round. So tons of fun and lots that changes and adds to keep it interesting.

 

Finally, Im in hospital with relative and will be for next few days then back off to work next week. Not sure how often I will or wont be on forumsor anywhere DC related. Mostly Im still reviewing descrips when Im here because that is quick and easy and lets me pick it up and stop with ease on a tablet. So Since Im not sure how much updating of the first page/posts I can do in the net 4-10 days, if you could be really sweet to post info about any upcoming events,games, FYIs, ads, new opportunities,etc whatever, I would greatly appreciate that. People come here to check stuff out, so if they know at least people are posting about stuff on the newest posts, theyll know where to go.

 

Thanks all and hope you are having fun and getting ready for the next upcoming more stuff!

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Glittery Gold Giveaways is Taking Donations with a Spring Theme HERE - This post for Details , but the Google doc to submit are on the FIRST page within the first few posts.

 

Accepting until 11 PM tonight and then it is generally open for free entries shortly thereafter, I linked the thread and the calendar for both donation periods & giveaway dates on the first few posts, but it is also in the first post on the thread. And you can get free reminders to ENTER the giveaways all the time. Just go to the thread for info!

 

 

And while I'll try to get some other things updated here over the weekends, please feel free to always post anything you'd like to advertise or share!

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Hi everyone! I was thinking of starting of a raffle/giveaway thread (or perhaps just a massbreeding event, though I like the thought of a raffle/giveaway more) that focused specifically on giving away Spriter's Alt offspring. I think it would be fun to do (I always love breeding my SA babies for others), and I think people would be interested in/happy to receive SA babies.

 

Do you guys think that would be something you'd be interested in either donating to or receiving dragons from?

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Hi everyone! I was thinking of starting of a raffle/giveaway thread (or perhaps just a massbreeding event, though I like the thought of a raffle/giveaway more) that focused specifically on giving away Spriter's Alt offspring. I think it would be fun to do (I always love breeding my SA babies for others), and I think people would be interested in/happy to receive SA babies.

 

Do you guys think that would be something you'd be interested in either donating to or receiving dragons from?

Absolutely. I know a lot of fans of spriter's alts lineages who'd probably love them.

 

Also, it's April, so Birthday Gifting is celebrating April birthdays all month.

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Hi everyone! I was thinking of starting of a raffle/giveaway thread (or perhaps just a massbreeding event, though I like the thought of a raffle/giveaway more) that focused specifically on giving away Spriter's Alt offspring. I think it would be fun to do (I always love breeding my SA babies for others), and I think people would be interested in/happy to receive SA babies.

 

Do you guys think that would be something you'd be interested in either donating to or receiving dragons from?

I have lots of low gen SA love to share. Sometimes I keep lists when I have the energy, sometimes I post in departures, and sometimes I love the good' ol fashion AP'ing. I'd definitely donate to a raffle every now and then. =3

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Hi everyone! I was thinking of starting of a raffle/giveaway thread (or perhaps just a massbreeding event, though I like the thought of a raffle/giveaway more) that focused specifically on giving away Spriter's Alt offspring. I think it would be fun to do (I always love breeding my SA babies for others), and I think people would be interested in/happy to receive SA babies.

 

Do you guys think that would be something you'd be interested in either donating to or receiving dragons from?

I'd love that! Both donating and (luckily) receiving smile.gif Those are my favourite lineages, being able to exchange them with other players would be amazing biggrin.gif I am really shy and my English isn't good enough to request breedings from others, raffles make it all much easier smile.gif

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I'm glad to hear there are people on board with the idea :33 I have a general idea as to how I want to handle it (I'm probably going to go in the raffle direction), but I have another question for you guys:

 

How strict would you want rules to be on what constitutes an SA offsping? I personally feel that as long as you can easily see the SA progenitor within the lineage, and the line isn't too messy, it should be all right. I also feel that even a 5EG dragon with only one SA progenitor should have as much right to be in there as a 3EG purebred. But that's just me. I'm curious as to your opinions and other ideas that might be good for such a raffle.

 

Thanks so much for the input guys. I'm super excited to make this a thing, but I'm always happy for input!

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I think as long as the lineage has a discernible shape (heart-shaped, spiral, etc.) and one alt, someone would love it. I mean... a 15-generation messy dragon with Hershel appearing thrice is a spriter's alt lineage, but it isn't that special.

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Hello, everyone!

 

My name is Shokomon, and I was told I should post here to get some help with the Dark Lumina Breeding Theories Thread.

 

You see, we've been trying to figure out how the Luminae and Dark Luminae Breed, and we think we've got enough data to have a base theory going.

- But we need more breeders, catchers, and spotters, as interest in the topic waned as we moved farther away from the release.

- We have a spreadsheet here that we are using to keep track of eggs, though posting has gone down.

 

We would like people to start breeding/catching/spotting Dark Luminae and especially Luminae eggs during the upcoming Cirion Lunar Cycle starting on the Full Moon at 8:00 PM EDT/DC on Friday, April 7, 2017, and ending on the next Full Moon at 8:00 PM EDT/DC on Sunday, April 23, 2017.

 

If we could get a minimum of 10 eggs a day for this period that would be great!

- We especially need more Bred Egg data.

 

Here is a calendar for the upcoming Valkemarean Lunar Cycle:

user posted image

- The Cirion Cycle is in blue.

 

If you guys could breed eggs during this time, it would be a great help!

 

Thank you all so much!

 

(I hope this was the right place to post this. I apologize if it was not.)

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Alternate Lives Raffles thread is now live!

The Alternate Lives Raffles thread is now live! This is a raffle thread that focuses on distributing Spriter's Alt lineages (more info on which can be found here). I'm very excited for this raffle, as I hope other will be too!

 

The first round of donations will open up on April 4th @ 9PM DC Time and go for 24 hours, with the first raffle starting at April 5 @ 10PM DC Time! I hope to see lots of you there :33

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Greetings to Everyone, Happy Almost Post Mint Drama April Fools Day -

 

Thank you for continuing to post your events and thoughts here. I hope to kick up the conversation and keep things more regularly updated in the next 2-3 weeks. I finish my crazy training schedule this week, and go back to my beloved normal schedule the week after. So Yay! I will be doing stuff here again.

 

In the meantime, we've had a couple of questions and issues arise:

 

- There has been someone that seems to have been giving some trouble to some of our player events & activities groups. Make sure you are supportive of our groups and if you see someone posting about having trouble and they haven't found an easier way to fix the issue, maybe share some thoughts or advice here, or PM them, post in their thread if they've brought it up or whatever else. Or just show support in general!

 

- Lots of New Events going On, more events still continuing. Could you post a few of your favorites here you want to share or highlight?

 

- There has been a lot of April Fools Mint Drama. Let's not discuss that here. Let's discuss new exciting things coming in the near future and some fun stuff WE could do to shift the focus to something positive. Like breeding some lovely stuff to the AP or other ideas?

 

- Would you want a thread dedicated to talk about, organize small breeding events or things you are doing on your own, and possibly encourage others or offer others to get involved? So you wouldn't have to start your own thread each time? Or how about for smaller raffles/giveaways? One thread where you could post your giveaway when you want, but not have to create an entire thread? Any interest in these ideas?

 

- What else has been going on with you lately? All you lovely kind people, we need to hear your voices!

 

- And what other threads or "other" types of activities that may not seem like direct "events and projects" do you think keep this forum & game a lot more fun and alive? Share them! They count too! What are your favorite "other" types of threads? General Discussion stuffs? Arts? Forum Games? Tell us so we know where all the "gems" are hidden! And you can always share those too! Even if it is your own!

 

- Got an idea you want some feedback on? Consider posting it here!

 

Can't wait until I have my split days off again. Thank goodness! Gonna go breed a few things to the AP over the next week for fun! If you do this weekly, bi weekly, monthly, whenever, why not mention it just so other people can be reminded to breed their fun and pretty and useful stuff to the AP as well. We know the big names who are always being mentioned, but EVERYONE should feel free to mention their involvement in keeping the AP fun to hunt and AP time low, whether they do it BIG and often or just now and again! Take your credit and inspire others!

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I'm glad to hear there are people on board with the idea :33 I have a general idea as to how I want to handle it (I'm probably going to go in the raffle direction), but I have another question for you guys:

 

How strict would you want rules to be on what constitutes an SA offsping? I personally feel that as long as you can easily see the SA progenitor within the lineage, and the line isn't too messy, it should be all right. I also feel that even a 5EG dragon with only one SA progenitor should have as much right to be in there as a 3EG purebred. But that's just me. I'm curious as to your opinions and other ideas that might be good for such a raffle.

 

Thanks so much for the input guys. I'm super excited to make this a thing, but I'm always happy for input!

@ladyinpink - Sorry to be a bit behind on the feedback, work has been work. But very excited to almost be back to a "normal schedule" (at least for me)! I see you've got a great thread set up, but I wanted to toss back a few thoughts of my own:

 

1. "Breeding Coupons/Future Redemptions" - Will you allow people to Gift a "Future Breeding of a particularly well loved line or pair with Spriters Alts? This is something I've really tried to get some Giveaways/Raffles to consider, and I think yours is the perfect place for it. It doesn't count as an IOU because it is a Gift and nothing is being done in return for it. Basically it would be for a "Future Sibling of XYZ". Many players want to gift a particular dragon that is generally pretty decently good at giving an egg, but may not have been on the week of the Raffle. OR maybe they have a lot of people always asking for it, and don't really feel like keeping lists, but would rather let people "win" something they often get requests for. OR maybe they offer to breed any particular amount of breedings from a particular list or "almost anything on my scroll." I think these could go over really well and I know, even with as much stuff as I have and I don't always go super crazy like I used to, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to win this prize a LOT. That way I could choose what I want to win instead of what they randomly bred that week. Within reason of course. And sometimes on things like these, a Spriters Alt owner might also throw one of these offers into the donation. It does happen. Or something they bred and know your raffle highlights this so it is the perfect place for them to "donate".

 

2. I have to agree that when it comes to Spriters Alts, their should be a "pattern" even if the Spriters Alts themselves do not form a pattern. For example, A Perfect Checker Spriter Alt is different than an Even Gen Full of various Spriters Alts in the Base, but they are both still "patterned" lineages. Some people like to donate "messy" lineages. For this kind of giveaway/raffle event, I tend to find that leaving the Donator feeling dejected because almost no one wants to enter to "win" their prize with a few exceptions:

1. It is a BSA (a more useful one vs something less likely to be used).

2. It is a hatchling already and the member is ok with it being frozen

3. It is a vampire/ND/etc with messy lineage but Spriters Alt in Lineage because well - vampire and/or ND, especially of it was "bitten" by an "original" vampire (vampires with no "prior" bitten by links)'

4. Super awesome code.

 

You will save yourself a lot of heartache by imposing some sort of pattern lineage requirement. With the exception of you accepting general hatchie/BSA packs. Or some sort of really cool code or something. Just tell them that if they "really" want to help out they could instead "co-op" a gift with another breeder. Like many breeders want to donate but run out of room to "hold" the donations. The newer players could partner with the Breeder and they could "hold" the egg (obviously the two would need to agree with this and you wouldn't be responsible for "stolen" donations) and the younger player would then "hold" the egg during the Raffle. And both people could get credit. That would be my biggest suggestion for people who are really upset they can't "give" more. I'd also "refer" them to various gifting threads where they can "request" certain Spriters Alts Line Pairs so they can then "breed" their own future babies for the lottos.

 

3. Since it is the "Alternative Lifestyle" Raffle, you will need to make the decision (which I'm not sure if you have or haven't yet) if that is also meant to be a symbol of those who are "Alternative Lifestyles" (Sexuality, Disorders, whatever) and want to include that by also allowing certain dragons that might represent such things, or dragons from breeding lines that represent such things. It can TOTALLY be just Spriters Alt Lines, but ... you need to make that clear up front. Of course, you can post that you are cool with "combo" lines that are like, with Spriters Alts but also support Alternative Lifestyles or Have a Special meaning beyond the Spriters Alt that people want to share (as long as it is within the ToS, I mean, while B&D or various sexual preferences may be an Alternative Lifestyle, I don't know that a Breeding Lineage specifically meant to "promote" that fits the PG13 requirement of this game. Think that kinda pushes the line a little too much, despite how people may debate - just as an example).

A good example might be Spriters Alts with the Colors of the Pride Flag as well.

Just something you need to consider with the title.

 

4. Do you *only* accept Spriters Alt lines, or will you also allow prize/donations if they are like super awesome semi to decently rare/uncommon things. Like 2G Alts, CB Metals, 2-3G Prize Lines, NDs, Hard to Find really wanted Dragons, 2G from Thuweds/HMs/CB Alts, Really Awesome Dragon Packs (Like a bunch of CB BSAs, Pack of CB Elemental Trios, Pack of all 4 Nebula Colors as Hatchies, etc.). It might sound unreal, but people do donate stuff like that sometimes. Or you never know. So just be very clear on what exceptions you will or won't make. I imagine you would accept an ND at any point in time, but just so you are upfront so in case if it comes down to someone choosing to donate to you (if it isn't clear) vs someone else (where it is clear), I wouldn't want you to miss out on an awesome donation.

 

5. Will you sometimes "theme" your Spriters Alt Donations (not required, just to spice it up and make people use their thinking caps, although usually most giveaways/raffles will take anything that fits within the Overall Guidelines, just something to try and bring some variety to the mix)? One theme that might be fun for you to do once in awhile is the "Mystery" theme. Because with YOUR thread, if it is Spriters Alt Themed, the person knows they are at LEAST getting a spriters alt line that is probably at least decently pretty, if not super fantastic. I think there would be a lot more excitement for YOUR mystery Raffles than it might be in some other ones when almost anything can be donated. (Not knocking at all those who do it, I think Mystery is a very fun treat!).

 

6. Be aware there has been a goofball person or people who I have noticed over the past few months, although it seems to be mostly handled now, that have been spamming and abusing the donations and/or entries process for various Giveaway/Raffle Events. I have no idea why someone would be a jerk, but just keep in mind that people sometimes like to try and troll/abuse really nice things, and/or sometimes organizing stuff on a larger scale as they grow can get super crazy. If you ever want to get advice or feedback on how others deal with it, from needing to take time off to dealing with issues to whatever, remember there are MANY people who do this and love to share advice and lessons and suggestions and whatever.

 

I hope in time some of those "best of tips" or "what I've learned" I can poke people to post a bit about as writing about your growth and learning process really is helpful and inspiring to others. So they don't just see the work of someone who has been steadily at it for over a year and has tons of free time on their hand and is afraid they just can't compete.

 

And I hope you consider throwing in your feedback, be it in your own thread, here or elsewhere, so people can learn and be inspired and find ways to help you out in any way they can even if it is just thanks and encouragement.

 

Hope that helps. I'd have sent it as a PM, but I feel the info is probably good for other people in the future for ideas for them to consider.

 

 

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@ladyinpink - Sorry to be a bit behind on the feedback, work has been work. But very excited to almost be back to a "normal schedule" (at least for me)! I see you've got a great thread set up, but I wanted to toss back a few thoughts of my own:

Thanks so much for the feedback and suggestions! I had to take my time with it, but I gave everything you said thought. (I'm not gonna quote all of it because no one deserves to be subjected to TWO walls of text, lawl).

 

General Thoughts:

The major thing I want to do with my raffle is to give people a place to give and receive wonderful Spriter's Alt lineages. I personally have a passion for SA dragons, and I want to be able to share that passion with others. During my own quests to get these dragons, I've had to hunt pretty hard to find certain dragons, and I want to make it easier for others to connect with the myriad of wonderful SA breeders on the site.

 

Whether bringing new SA enthusiasts into the fold, or giving old hands a new place to share their babies, I want people to spread the love and enjoy themselves, first and foremost!

 

Point 1:

While I'm not adverse to the idea of 'Future Gift Coupons', I feel it would be a tad over my head at this point. I'm at the "Keep It Simple, Stupid" point in my raffle, and I want to get a handle for running the raffle in general (as this is my first) before doing anything more than "here's the donations, here's the winners". It is, however, an idea I will keep in mind for the future.

 

However, I did come up with another thought. If the idea of these coupons is to make it easier for people to approach SA breeders and ask for specific dragons, I think keeping a running list of willing breeders would be doable at this stage. That way, SA breeders who are happy to breed for others would be more accessible to people who want more SA babies, and they'd be in one place to make them easier to locate.

 

As for "popular pairs" that a breeder might own, I have a feeling that at least some SA breeders would have a good idea as to what pairs are popular (I personally have a couple of pairs that consistently have breeding requests/go quickly when I put them up in Community Notice). However, I may be able to keep a list somewhere of how many people enter for what dragons in case a breeder is curious to see which of their dragons are in demand.

 

Point 2:

At the moment, the only lines I'm considering are Evengens (including Faux Checker, Pure Checker, and Mixed), Stairsteps, and Spirals. I'm not taking Unbreedables (Vampires and Neglecteds) currently either, though they may be considered in the future. I am also considering noting particular codes, though I want to see how this first raffle goes first. Another consideration I'm thinking about is having a donation section for "messy" lines that would be acceptable as Freeze/Vamp/ND fodder, with the forewarning to donators that their dragons may fall to those conditions. Again, that would be after a few raffles have gone by.

 

As for the "co-op" thing: I understand what you mean, and I see the benefits, but I'd like to be more established before I even try that kind of thing. I'd also want the viewbombing shenanigans to cool off first so a closer eye can be kept if necessary. This is another thing that may come in to play later down the line, but it's a bit complicated to implement at the moment.

 

And in the case of referring people to possible breeders, I'd be more than happy to do so! That's in part what I would want to set up the breeder's list for, though if you have suggestions as to other places I could send people that would be really helpful, as I've mostly found breeders through sheer dumb luck.

 

Point 3:

I don't want to make any sort of social statement with these raffles, personally. I just want a place where people can offer and receive SA dragons, as I personally love the lineages and I want others to enjoy them too.

 

That said, I won't stop a donator if they want to breed a Spriter's Alt dragon with a pride/disorder theme or lineage (so long as it adheres to the ToS, of course), but it still needs to fit within the other lineage and breed guidelines imposed by the raffle.

 

The reason I chose the name I did is because I thought it worked well and because my first choice, SAturday Giveaways, would have locked me into a raffle schedule I would not have been able to keep. I'm happy with the title chosen, but if I have to be concerned about it being turned into a social justice thing, I will readily consider changing the name.

 

Point 4:

Yes, I will only be accepting SA lines. If they so happen to be a mix of SA/Thuwed/Dorkface/Whatever, that's fine, but SA is a must. For people really wanting to donate other dragons, I will happily point them to this thread, or to any of the other fine raffles available. After all, there are plenty of wonderful places for non-SA dragons, and I don't want to steal their thunder!

 

Point 5:

I'm very open to themed raffles, though I'll admit I haven't been able to come up with any myself. I will probably do a mystery raffle when I'm a little more established, because I think my raffle would be an amazing place for it. I'll probably have a place for theme suggestions in the raffle entry form, so that others can get what they'd like out of it and expand the fun for all.

 

Point 6:

Oh yes, I've seen the shenanigans going around, and I'm trying to hit the ground running in terms of prevention with lessons and ideas I've picked up from other threads. I know not everything is fool proof, but I've been watching and have a couple of tricks up my sleeve to avoid too much disaster! And of course, I'm always open to suggestions and ideas in general. This isn't a solo project after all, and I want as many people as possible to enjoy.

 

Other Ideas:

I was considering putting an 'Affiliates' or 'Other Raffles' section in the opening posts of my raffle, to give people a ready place to find other raffle threads, or even to find this thread. Though I'm not sure if that is considered spam, I have the sneaking suspicion it would be. I'll have to do a bit of reading up first (and I might just ask a mod). I would want to do this because of the restricting nature of what dragons will and won't be accepted, so I could give people an easy out if I don't accept their dragons.

 

I may, at a later point if the raffle gets big enough, consider taking on one or two mods to help with the raffle in case I'm not able to make it to the thread on time. Has that worked well for others in the past? Are there any suggestions you might have for me when asking others to help moderate and run the raffle?

 

Closing Thoughts:

This has been quite helpful in giving me things to consider moving forward. There are several suggestions you've made that I may or may not implement in the future, depending no how things turn out. At this point, I want to see how my first raffle goes, and tweak from there. If all goes well, I hope to get my raffle to the point where lots of people are enjoying themselves, and that everyone who wants can get dragons they enjoy, as well as meet others who share their enthusiasm for these wonderful dragons!

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Alternate Lives Raffles is currently accepting donations, and will continue to do so until tomorrow at 9PM DC Time. If Spriter's Alt offspring are your thing, or you're interested in maybe picking up one or two, feel free to give us a look-see!

 

(Sorry for double posts! I can delete if needed!)

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I don't consider it spam since they are unrelated topics for those typesbof double posts otherwise I'd havevto ban myself. Also listing otherbthreads in your own thread isn't spam, I'm fine with it but it never hurts to PM the coordinator if you want to double check. Also so if they get more traffic they might know why or if someone references you to them.

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Hello, everyone!

 

My name is Shokomon, and I was told I should post here to get some help with the Dark Lumina Breeding Theories Thread.

 

You see, we've been trying to figure out how the Luminae and Dark Luminae Breed, and we think we've got enough data to have a base theory going.

- But we need more breeders, catchers, and spotters, as interest in the topic waned as we moved farther away from the release.

- We have a spreadsheet here that we are using to keep track of eggs, though posting has gone down.

 

We would like people to start breeding/catching/spotting Dark Luminae and especially Luminae eggs during the upcoming Cirion Lunar Cycle starting on the Full Moon at 8:00 PM EDT/DC on Friday, April 7, 2017, and ending on the next Full Moon at 8:00 PM EDT/DC on Sunday, April 23, 2017.

 

If we could get a minimum of 10 eggs a day for this period that would be great!

- We especially need more Bred Egg data.

 

Here is a calendar for the upcoming Valkemarean Lunar Cycle:

user posted image

- The Cirion Cycle is in blue.

 

If you guys could breed eggs during this time, it would be a great help!

 

Thank you all so much!

 

(I hope this was the right place to post this. I apologize if it was not.)

Just wanted to say this is coming up!

 

The Dark Mystery of Luminae-Dark Luminae Breeding Still Remains Unsolved!

 

Come help us out!

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I hope in time some of those "best of tips" or "what I've learned" I can poke people to post a bit about as writing about your growth and learning process really is helpful and inspiring to others. So they don't just see the work of someone who has been steadily at it for over a year and has tons of free time on their hand and is afraid they just can't compete.

 

And I hope you consider throwing in your feedback, be it in your own thread, here or elsewhere, so people can learn and be inspired and find ways to help you out in any way they can even if it is just thanks and encouragement.

 

I'm going to apologize in advance for the incoming wall of text. Sorry not sorry tongue.gif

 

So. For all intents and purposes, I feel my first raffle was a success. Lots of people donated, lots of people entered for prizes, and everyone, from what I can tell, had a good time. Mission accomplished!

 

However, I had a few hiccups mostly behind the scenes, that made the raffle run a little less smoothly than I would have liked. However, I've been thinking of solutions to help with these problems, which I'll be listing below. I've had this in a document that I've been slowly adding to throughout the course of the last few days, and I think the information may be helpful to others looking to start their own raffles.

 

Things that worked

Google Forms made everything easy and convenient, especially the "View Responses in Sheets" option. The use of the Google Form went amazingly. Now I see why other raffle hosts use it! Not only does it clear up my inbox for other things, it makes gathering the information easy. Another wonderful thing about the Forms is that they have an option to export the information to a Google Spreadsheet, which, for me, makes things run a lot more smoothly when I can see that information laid out. Ultimately, it made the technical aspects of the raffle, from gathering donations to getting everyones' entries to sending out prizes super easy for me.

 

I had ready-made PM and post skeletons well in advance of the raffle. These skeletons included: Donation opening/closing posts; raffle opening/closing posts; raffle winners post; and prize distribution PMs. While I can alter these things as needed, having them ready to go ahead of time definitely trimmed down my time needed to send out this information.

 

I feel making people aware ahead of time helped boost the turnout of my first raffle. The reason I say so is that many of the people who responded positively to the idea of my raffle were also participants in said first raffle. I reached out in a couple of different ways. First, I posted here to see if there would be general interest in my raffle, and it seemed that there was. Afterwards, I PMed a few specific people that I figured not only would be interested, but also who I've interacted with on a regular basis before. I figured people didn't want random PMs from someone they've never spoken with before. Beyond that, it was suggested to me that I get a banner made for my raffle to put in people's signatures, as that raises visibility around the forums. Finally, I made sure to launch my raffle thread a day or so in advance of my first raffle. Not only does that allow people to get familiar with your rules, but it also gives them a place to get pumped for your raffle! (At least, that's what I was seeing in my own thread).

 

I went into this first raffle with the assumption I would receive no donations, and I had a backup plan in case that happened. My plan was that if no one donated, I would provide all of the prizes from my own dragons. While this ultimately ended up not being the case, I still feel it's a healthy attitude to keep for any and all raffles. Donators may be busy, or their dragons may not breed true this week, or maybe they just forgot about the raffle because life. Nothing is wrong with these things, but don't assume donations will always be there.

 

Things that didn't work

I didn't have a particularly good idea of how a Google Form would translate to a Google Sheet, which ultimately slowed everything down. Getting all of the donations looked through took longer than I hoped it would, but it was mostly okay. However, when it came time to going through the entry forms and pulling out the winners, that took a couple of hours.

 

Requiring a PM alongside Form donations gave me way too much repeat information. I figured ahead of time that this would happen, but I did it anyway for the first raffle to try and discourage saboteurs. Ultimately, I ended up with a headache and lost time because there was a lot of repeat information to slog through.

 

I did not consolidate my PMed donations/entries with the spreadsheets, which had me all over the place looking for information. This also slowed me down, as it had me flipping through different tabs and required me to have more tabs open. Clutter + tiredness = disaster in waiting!

 

I did not make sure all of my prize lists were in the same order across the board, which again had me all over the place. Again, more slowing me down when I'm trying to get this information out quick. This was especially obnoxious when I was trying to keep track of what users won what prizes, as my Google Form prize list was in a significantly different order than my "keep track of everything" document.

 

Solutions

I need to change how the Google Forms are set up. Currently on the entry forms, each set of donations is one question with multiple checkboxes. However, how this translates a spreadsheet is that it's all in one cell with all of the 'answers' separated by commas, which took me forever to slog through. Instead, I'm going to make each checkbox a different 'question'. That way, each one gets its own cell, and I should be able to more easily see who put in for what. My main concern with that is that it will make it take longer to create the entry form from the list of donations, but I feel that the time it would save me when deciding winners would more than make up for it.

 

I need to cut down on repeat information. For both donations and entries, I'm going to require only one send-in, whether it be a PM or a Google Form. The Form will be preferred, but will also require a Google login in order to keep shenanigans to a minimum. For those that cannot login to Google, a PM "form" will be available in the first few posts.

 

I need to make it easy for non-Google Form entrants to know what dragons are available. And honestly, for everyone else, too. To do so, I'll be keeping a Google spreadsheet with all of the pertinent information on each donation for easy access to all. That way, non-Google users don't have to PM me about available prizes, and can just send in their entry forms via PM.

 

I need to make sure to consolidate prize lists and make sure they're all in the same order. That way I can flip back and forth between different lists and still know where I am in each list.

 

Other General Thoughts and Suggestions

Keep a running document with all pertinent information on each donation. For me, this is a pretty massive (and private!) Google Sheet with: Lineage Type, Dragon Description, Winner, Lineage, Transfer Link, Status (for checking up on them after they've been won), and Notes. From each of these sections, I can create my entry form, my winners form, my prize distribution PMs, and even keep tabs on these dragons as they grow (as I require dragons to grow, unharmed, to adulthood on each winner's scroll). If you're not a big fan of spreadsheets, find something that works for you!

 

Seriously, I can't stress how useful it is to have pre-made PM/post skeletons waiting in the wings. Beyond the ones I've listed above, I'm also going to make ones for rules issues that may arise (particularly: reminders to pick up prizes on time, prize death, and prize regifting, all of which are strictly enforced). I also have a pre-made art permission request document for any sprites I may use for banners.

 

Also, for the sake of your donators, which are also likely your participants, have a prize pickup time limit. You may notice a lot of raffles around here have these, and it's plain to see why. Prize pickup can get congested if a donator has to wait for others to clear up their scroll before picking up their own prizes. A little less obvious is that some of these eggs may have been bred a couple of days in advance of the raffle, or they may be hatchlings nearing adulthood, and it's a little sad as a donator to put something up to raffle only to have it grow up on your scroll because someone was taking their sweet time.

 

If you’re planning on both donating and entering, leave yourself a slot or two open. Eagerness to donate is nice, but being scroll locked when time to pick up your prizes comes around messes everybody up. I’ve had this happen to me a couple of times, where I’ve had a couple of prizes waiting in the wings for me, but I was unable to grab them because I was waiting for others to grab the prizes I’d donated.

 

Closing thoughts

I had a lot of fun running this first raffle, and I look forward to more in the future. Despite the issues that arose during this first time through, I was super happy to see everyone's positive comments. That communal enjoyment is the reason I want to keep going with my raffle, despite the hiccups. I have a sneaking suspicion that other raffle hosts feel the same way. So I guess my final suggestion is that you let your hosts know how much you like and appreciate their raffles. I know I certainly do so for the raffles I participate in.

 

Either way, thanks everyone for making this game fun to play and I hope to hear from you guys whenever.

 

~Pink

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@ladyinpink - I super appreciate the post about your giveaway/raffle/etc event experience - If any others who have run them wish to share I would love to hear about your own experiences as more and more people are interested in doing them. And while seeing your threads provides some great guidelines, hearing your internal workings and thought process and personal experiences and growth and adaptation isn't something they can always see in a thread.

 

So please share if you are willing as you inspire so many others. OR if you would rather not publically post stuff but are willing to offer people privately your info, would you be willing to make a post to say so?

 

Finally, my first day off is TOMORROW, Tuesday. So plan to see some updates on stuff til then.

 

In the meantime, we have Socks Breeding Event coming up, we have bunches of games and raffles and giveaways to win amazing prizes and things to donate to, if anything is coming up or going on NOW and you would be willing to post a link I would be most grateful as I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to post much of anything but this until tomorrow.

 

Also.. as for "other fun threads" you really love and enjoy, I'd love to have those shared here as well. To share one of my personal favorites which I think many readers here have probably found the joys of finding but just in case not:

Tabs Amazing Dragon Art Comics Too Funny For Words Or One Reading But You Will Probably Read it all in one Reading.

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I'm pretty shy so I usually just try to guess what other people might like and abandon it. Then in 2 days when it finally reaches the front of an AP someone will be wowed.

 

My absolute favorite is filling requests, usually by thread, that's what I voted for. I haven't gotten many PMs. Biggest reason so much of what I breed (even for myself... shame on me) goes to the AP is because I hate being locked. If one way transfers didn't hold up a slot I'd be a machine.

 

I really like the take an egg leave an egg page too, and wish it was more active. Most of my less conventionally pretty lineaged metals end up there because people take them faster.

 

Do you guys think it would be awkward if I looked through the wishlist thread and PMed someone out of the blue?

Edited by scratcher_cat

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