Alternate Lives Raffles : Raffle Closed!

[Lagie]

Thank you so much, Rosa and breeder!

*huggles her hatchie and leaves brownies for everyone*

[Justie]

OMG! I am so happy!! I got my favourite! I was dreaming of getting it, as it is an almost perfect code of my name!

 

Thank you so much anonymous person!

 

And thank you @Starfyre for that magic Gold and Heatseeker. So very beautiful and a mate of my non-Alt lineage.

 

How could I be any luckier? With an Andromen voucher! Thank you!!! And what a lovely group you have. 

 

Thank you all and thank you Rosastrasza for your work putting this altogether.

 

Congrats to all the other winners as well. What a wonderful way to start the day. 

[-FireClaw-]

I was having a horrible day/week and I entered this raffle (my first) not expecting to win anything - and to my surprise, I won 2 eggs and a voucher! Thank you to the breeders, Rosa, for running this raffle, and to all who participate to make this possible.

 

 

 

 

[TerraAnne]

6 hours ago, Dracaena said:

I'm not in a rush with the white egg (2 more days before it becomes uninfluencable).  If it turns out there isn't anyone else who entered for it I can drop a free for all link in thread.

 

I seem to be the focus for confusion today.  I really did get the blue stripe hatching, no need for the sibling egg. 

I really need to look at the codes on my eggs more, like I mentioned in my pms. Lol So the extra egg I bred will be up for grabs once it's no longer sick. Someone's viewbombing me right now. So so sorry for the confusion. You can thank the adult unnamed blue stripe on my scroll from the same lineage that I thought was the one I donated. I usually name everything I keep.

[Andromen]

aaa I forgot to enter the raffle itself and only donated, whoops

 

congrats to all the winners! @Justie I'll get to you in a moment, I first need to deal with some irl stuff before then

[Nokturna]

What a nice raffle, I won something that I like very much! Thanks for organising and next time I'll make sure to also be able to donate ^^

[Fuzzbucket]

What do we do if an egg isn't being picked up ? I have one sitting here and I do not want it hatching...

Edited March 8, 2019 by Fuzzbucket

[Tigerkralle]

Hi!

Sorry that was me not checking in on the forums. I am very happy!

I apologize.

[Astiana]

Hiya! I'm having the same thing - I'm pretty sure someone won my donation, but it's not been picked up yet. Any suggestions, please?

[Fuzzbucket]

I PMd. It worked. @Tigerkralle - glad you like each other

[Dracaena]

On 3/7/2019 at 12:22 PM, Dracaena said:

Thanks for the raffle!  Thank you donor (TerraAnne?) for the blue stripe hatching!  

 

The second link in my PM was a surprise.  I seem to have won my own donation that I didn't enter for?  I checked my entry pm to make sure I hadn't been too sleepy and made a typo when I put line numbers down.  I did enter for line 59 and guess things slipped and I won line 60 (my own donation).  Rosa want to redraw the raffle for that one (line 60) and send it to whoever you draw?

 

On 3/7/2019 at 2:40 PM, Rosastrasza said:

@Dracaena I can do that (later tonight) or You may gift it out. I leave that up to you, so long as whoever grabs it gives a heads up.

@TerraAnne if you would like to directly send the new link to it’s recipient, go for it, as i will be preoccupied for a few more hours.

 

On 3/7/2019 at 3:28 PM, Dracaena said:

I'm not in a rush with the white egg (2 more days before it becomes uninfluencable).  If it turns out there isn't anyone else who entered for it I can drop a free for all link in thread.

 

I seem to be the focus for confusion today.  I really did get the blue stripe hatching, no need for the sibling egg. 

 

It's been a couple days with no word from Rosa if there were other eligible entrants for the white egg on line 60 for a redraw.  I understand mistakes happen with an event of this size and people get busy to follow up with damage control.  So I guess by default I'll leave the egg here as there are only 5 hours left for it to be influenced.  Please be kind, it's the first baby from these parents.

[Fuzzbucket]

Thanks, Dracaena - I will influence and hatch it - and if the rightful owner turns up, I will gladly return it.

[Estellux]

It’s cool, I goofed so do with it as you will. I have been busy with work and other, personal, pre-planned things. 

[Astiana]

Hiya! My recipient hasn't been in touch - I DMed, but as yet, no response. I'll hatch the egglet and reset the teleport, if that's OK?

[Justie]

Hmm, I haven't heard back from my voucher breeder. Should I nudge?

[Natayah]

4 hours ago, Astiana2011 said:

Hiya! My recipient hasn't been in touch - I DMed, but as yet, no response. I'll hatch the egglet and reset the teleport, if that's OK?

After 24 hours, you do not need to hold it any longer, per rules, unless you choose to do so. If you don't get any response, especially beyond the 24 hours, what you do after you do after that is your choice without any fault or judgement. So you can take that how you choose to do it. Some people post links in this thread, or ask if anyone else wants to send PMs, or end up regifting other ways if it comes down to that. it is the winner's responsibility, not yours.

[-FireClaw-]

Not sure how to claim the voucher I won? Help please.

[Whirlaway]

6 minutes ago, -FireClaw- said:

Not sure how to claim the voucher I won? Help please.

 

PM the person who you won the voucher for.

[-FireClaw-]

1 minute ago, Whirlaway said:

 

PM the person who you won the voucher for.

Thanks. I wasn't sure if I had to wait and didn't want to rush anyone. Thank you.

[Estellux]

News!

Hello everyone! As I'm sure many of you have noticed, this last raffle did not run particularly smoothly, and for that I am extremely sorry. There are a couple of reasons for that (which I will address in a moment), but for now I give my deepest apologies. However, the difficulties I've had with the previous few raffles have led me to reconsider how I run ALR, and there will be a bit of an overhaul here. But more than just that, I'd like to talk to you folks about my processes and thoughts so you all know where I'm coming from. I'd appreciate it if you read everything, but I understand that's asking a lot of strangers on the internet, so important stuff will be in bold for those of you on the go.

 

Firstly, as I'm certain you've all guessed, I run this thing myself. Front end and back, everything you see here in ALR is run by yours truly. It is also worth noting that this was all built from the ground up, with me vaguely emulating some of the other raffles around here. And now this raffle has been going (on and...mostly off) for...jeez, almost two years now. In that time, the raffle has grown from having weeks where the only SAltkin involved were my own to having weeks where I don't have to put *anything* in, and there's still a massive amount of donations. I've been humbled by how much the community is willing to help out and join in, and even when I've gone mostly on hiatus from Dragon Cave, even when I get frustrated with the workload I find myself with while running this thing, I am still very happy to run this raffle. I don't plan on stopping any time soon, as getting to see everyone's enthusiasm and happiness makes me happy too!

 

But here's the deal. Obviously, this is all voluntary on my part. I ultimately get nothing for it, nor do I need to receive anything necessarily, but it's starting to weigh on me. These raffles run late at night for me, and when they take so long that they run well into the wee hours of the morning and I'm running on fumes, everything starts to collapse. Not only do I start making mistakes, but folks start getting confused by things that shouldn't be confusing, and then I get frustrated with that confusion because, to me, everything should be crystal clear. And maybe it is, and folks aren't reading, but there's a chance my addled brain isn't processing things well. Maybe it's both.

 

So over the last week or so, I've been thinking of what's been giving me the most trouble with this raffle, and how can I fix it. Ultimately, it came down to a few things: 1) Setting up the raffle document was taking too long. 2) Drawing the raffle was taking too long. 3) This was all going too late into the night and I was getting exhausted. These problems stem from a few places, with the biggest problem being that there were some things that, honestly, next to no one wanted. However, here's how we're going to fix this:

 

Firstly, donations will now be opening on Monday mornings, at approximately 10am Cave Time. They will still run for a full 24 hours, and the raffle will then open Tuesday mornings, at approximately 11am Cave Time and also run for 24 hours. This runs better with my work schedule, as I generally close. This will also set the end of the raffle to Wednesday, which is my day off and would allow me ample time to draw, post winners, and distribute prizes when I'm refreshed and rested.

 

Secondly, restrictions on donations will be tightening again. Stairstep lineages will now cap at 3rd Gen, and must be the correct breed to properly continue the stair. Evengen lineages will now cap at 4th Gen, and must contain at least one Spriter's Alt in half of the base pairs. For 3rd Gens, this means that there must be at least 1 Alt progenitor. For 4th Gens, this means two of the base pairs must have an alt in them. This does not include 4th Gens where there are 2 Alts in one base pair and that's it. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I've had lineages where there was only one alt in a 4th or 5th Gen line, and almost no one put in for it. When that happens, it forces me to draw out of order (because of the prize limit) and wastes my time and yours. I want to cut that out. It isn't fun, it isn't fair, and ultimately it's just a massive headache.

 

Thirdly, there will be a cap on how many donations you can put in each week. Moving forward, donors will only be allowed to donate four (4) eggs/hatchlings and one (1) breeding voucher per raffle. The only exception to this is 2nd Gens. Like I have said, time and again, there is no pressure to donate. It isn't required to participate. While I appreciate people's enthusiasm to give to the raffle, I would prefer quality over quantity. Please, give me a little of your best instead of lots of lesser things. If your dragons don't cooperate this time, that's fine. There's always next time.

 

Fourthly, if a sheet asks for a link, please provide a link. This is mostly an issue with scroll links. I will start omitting people from the raffle if they don't. I know it seems rather small, but it makes it easier for me to just click a link in my little excel spreadsheet instead of having to copy-paste someone's scroll name and put it into the bar.

 

Fifthly, please directly copy and paste the PM forms into the PM you send to me, and use the proper PM title when donating and entering for the raffle. I will not accept PMs with improper titles, and will omit people who do not contact me properly. I have a lot of PMs to get through because of this raffle, and I do not have the time or energy to spend slogging through PMs titled all sorts of random things. If you need to get ahold of me for something Alternate Lives related, please put ALR in the title at the very least.

Donations should be ALR Donation

Entries for raffle should be ALR Entry

Completed Breeding Vouchers should be ALR Voucher Redemption

Direct questions for me about the raffle should be ALR Question

 

Finally, I will likely be grabbing assistance for certain aspects of the raffle, especially if the volume continues to be as high as it has been. For the most part, this will not affect those of you participating in the raffle. However, I will be transparent about the help I have received so that there is no concern about shady shenanigans. I am considering recruiting assistance with describing prizes once donations have closed, as well as assistance drawing prizes from people who do not play Dragon Cave (so, my WoW guildmates) should it come to that. That said, this would only be 'as-needed', and would be a position of extreme trust. DO NOT ask if you can help--I will ask you if I trust you and you're available at the time.

 

If you really want to help the raffle, let folks know about it. Don't be pushy, or mean, or break the site ToS, obviously. But there's nothing wrong with having a link to the thread in your signature. I know I certainly do (although I think mine is broken so I'll have to fix that.) If you want to make a banner or something, go for it--though I request if you use someone else's art, ask permission first. I am particularly bad at advertising, and just running this thing takes up most of my attention. Helping me get the word out is, honestly, the biggest help you could give.

 

I want it to be absolutely clear, I enjoy running this raffle. Despite any grumblings to the contrary--my guildmates have suggested I quit on a couple of occasions--I like doing this. However, I can't keep going if it's running me into the ground. These restrictions are being put into place in order to help make running this thing easier. Honestly, if you think I'm being too strict, don't forget you can always run flash raffles yourself in the Trade Hub or in the Giveaway Thread. That's where I started out, after all.

 

If you read through all of this, thank you. Honestly and truly from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. This is something that I do because I'm passionate about it. I don't get paid, I don't often receive gifts (and I'm not requesting them), and I don't want to stop because I got burnt out and resentful. I've established something here that I'm quite proud of, and it brings a big ol' grin to my face when people associate me with Spriter's Alts. It means I've become infamous for something I enjoy. However, beyond all of this, at the end of the day, I'm just a single person with a life outside of these little pixel dragons. I can't neglect my well-being for this. I can't sacrifice hours of my day, or keep myself up til 3am dealing with this anymore. If I can't find a way to make running this easier on myself, then I'll have to stop. I'd rather not throw away all this hard work, and I'd really appreciate all of you guys' help on this.

 

Ultimately, this is a team effort. Thank you all for your enthusiasm and time. Without you all, this raffle has no point or meaning. Without all of us, ALR doesn't exist. So thank you.

 

I feel like there was probably more I wanted to say that I forgot about, but that's okay. For now, this is enough.

 

Thanks again,

~Rosastrasza

[Ruby Eyes]

17 minutes ago, Rosastrasza said:

For 4th Gens, this means two of the base pairs must have an alt in them.

So basically, siblings to this: https://dragcave.net/lineage/QWFTQ would be excluded from the raffle? Would they still be allowed in the voucher group though?

 

Wow, looking at what I can breed, I'll save a lot of egg slots in future raffles ... most I can breed is 4th+ gen checkers with 1 SA ...

Sorry, I didn't think my stuff would be so undesirable

Edited March 20, 2019 by Ruby Eyes

[MaeTM]

11 minutes ago, Ruby Eyes said:

So basically, siblings to this: https://dragcave.net/lineage/QWFTQ would be excluded from the raffle? Would they still be allowed in the voucher group though?

 

Wow, looking at what I can breed, I'll save a lot of egg slots in future raffles ... most I can breed is 4th+ gen checkers with 1 SA ...

Sorry, I didn't think my stuff would be so undesirable

I don't think there is any issue with keeping it in the voucher group. And I wouldn't really take what Rosa wrote as a "your stuff ain't good".

Since the workload has been massive lately, she's just trying to cut it down to what people like the most. Those kind of entry that really gets most users on their tiptoes. 

 

 

Rosa, I adore you and I know the kind of effort and passion you always put into this. I'm with ya all the way down and I appreciate you taking even more time to put down all your thoughts and ideas❤️

 

[solairehighwind]

14 minutes ago, Ruby Eyes said:

So basically, siblings to this: https://dragcave.net/lineage/QWFTQ would be excluded from the raffle? Would they still be allowed in the voucher group though?

 

Wow, looking at what I can breed, I'll save a lot of egg slots in future raffles ... most I can breed is 4th+ gen checkers with 1 SA ...

Sorry, I didn't think my stuff would be so undesirable

 

I'd imagine the voucher group is fine, since it's people getting to choose whichever one they want.

The restrictions are based on stuff that doesn't get as many entries, rather than being 'undesirable'; there's plenty of gorgeous stuff (like your Monarch line) that doesn't fit the bill, but it's kinda hard to make rules about how "pretty" or "nice" something is.

[purplehaze]

@Ruby Eyes I don't think Rosa is saying your stuff is undesirable, just that she has such an abundance of donations that she is overwhelmed and has to put stricter limits in place. I'm sure the lower gens with more Alts in the base get more entries. If people know they can only win 2, they will enter for the ones they want most. I know that is what I do.

 

Rosa, I am amazed that you do all that you do! It's no wonder that you have to limit things. The number of donations in that last raffle was enormous.

[BlueLatios]

To be honest, if nobody pointed this to me, I would never understand what SAltkins are. I see that getting one makes people happy, and I am very pleased to be able to make someone else happy if I am able to breed them, despite the imperfect or not-so-beautiful lineages made! You've done a lot of work (two years!) and for once, take a Rosa appreciation moment from us