Joined Jul 2004
Slickdeals Moderator
travel promotions & deals
Forum Thread
Contest & Sweepstakes Forum Guide - Please Read
May 19, 2007 at
03:39 PM
Thread Details
Last Edited by serra | Staff February 5, 2016 at 11:21 AMThe Official SlickDeals Rules
COPY & PASTE is our FRIEND
Thanks, javaflower
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Quote
from Registration Process
:
"By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-orientated, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws."
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COPY & PASTE is our FRIEND
Thanks, javaflower
- start with searches of key words in the new sweeps name to be sure the sweeps/contest isn't already posted
- THREAD TITLE: enter sponsor, sweep's official name as the thread title, then the age requirement (examples 6-16 YOs or 18+ ) followed by end date (this makes searches more efficient and the end date allows us to see when bumping of the thread is most likely about the offer because it is still active or about the prizing because the sweeps has ended)
- include in the title if there is some extra requirement like a photo, essay, limited age range, limited states and social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)...this allows us to not even have to open the thread if it won't pertain to us
- in the MESSAGE include:
- link to entry page
- link to Official Rules (this has saved me many times when after the sweeps is over the entry page takes away the rules link - we still have it posted here for reference) many Official Rules are in pop-ups - to find a pop-ps URL, right click on it and then scroll down to "view page info" copy and paste page URL listed in the page info box
- beginning and end dates and times
- eligibility requirements: age, country, states, and for contests: essays, photos, social media such as Facebook/Twitter/Instagram, etc too - again this allows us to see at a glance if I am old enough to enter, live in a country that is allowed to enter etc.)
- Limit to entries from the original rules - (even though the new flags show us this info in a basic form - some sweeps only allow one entry per household, etc...it helps to have that info in the basic info page)
- PRIZES and limitation to how many can be won, if that applies (IWGs especially)
- any other information that may be helpful to know
- if after submitting, the alert shows up that this may be a repost, please, check it out to be sure it is NOT a repost, before hitting post it anyway.
THANK YOU for considering this when posting new sweeps/contests!
Referrals/Self Promotion
Referrals are not allowed. This includes posting of referral links, asking for a referral, PMing referrals, having a referral link in your signature, or linking to any & all sites that contain referrals.
If you think it's a referral, get a Mods OK first!
Reposts
A repost is a duplicate post of an offer that has already be posted here within the last 6 months!* if the same poster reposts the same exact with in or to the day of 6 months, the Moderators can merge those posts together!
* if the Moderators notice a post has been edited the same day/time that a similar post was made in order to still be the OP, the Moderators will not merge the offers!
There are 3 different ways to make sure that your post/offer hasn't been mentioned before:
This search function searches the entire site.
2) The Contest & Sweepstakes Search button.
3) The URL Checker.
Mr. SlickDeals was nice enough to make a program that checks the URL of each link in a new post, before it's posted.
-The URL checker works in Freebies, Magazines, and Contests & Sweepstakes.
- It will not work if the original post (OP) has more than 1 link in the post!
A message will appear when the URL checker has detected the same link in another post:
It is possible that this freebie/deal is a repost. The URL in your post has already been posted in the following Insert Thread Title Here abroad thread. Please verify that your deal is not a repost. If it is not, please submit again.
If you see that warning, please DO NOT ignore it! It's there for a reason.
Personal Contests
A personal contest in our definition is a contest where you are giving away an item that you have in your possession at the time of the post. A personal blog-run contest is not "personal contest" and should not be promoted via SlickDeals.net.Please make sure any contest that you plan to run has been OK'ed by the Moderators, and mention the approval in the post. Any contests that have not be OK'ed by a Contest & Sweepstakes Mod will be deleted.
-Contests requiring any monetary transactions what so ever (charity, paypal, referral, etc.) is not allowed!
-Contests requiring rep points and/or certain number of posts is also not allowed. If post count is a restriction, then screen at your own discretion. No not do it publicly.
Cross Posting
Cross posting a offer between 2 forums is allowed here. If there is a Freebie that has a separate Contest/Sweepstakes, it can be posted in both forums. If the free sample requires an entry into a Contest/Sweepstakes, it should be posted in the Contest & Sweepstakes forum
Thank you,
The Moderating Team
Mod Alerting Reposts
- Find the original post
- Go back to the repost and click on the "Mod Alert" icon
- In the text box, please write something to the effect of "Repost� followed by a copy of the original thread URL
- Submit the report and move to the next post
"REPOST" or posting the link to the original post.
That doesn't help the Mods, and it makes you look very lazy.
Providing Answers
Do not promote lying in order to enter for a contest. That includes, but not limited to, posting answers, coaching others on how to answer, admitting to giving false information, etc. This is a violation of Slickdeals.net TOS as well as the TOS for the contests. If you are found promoting or providing information to falsify a survey, you will be warned. Consider this your first friendly warning!- SlickDeals FAQ
- Posting Guidelines | Image Guidelines
- Warning System & Points Once you reach warning level 10, you will be banned for 7 days
- Common abbreviations Thanks arjunsr
- AutoForms & Email Addresses Thanks gleed
- ePrize - The Interactive Promotion Agency [eprize.com] Thanks mdowney80
- Official Discussion of Contests/Sweepstakes I have Won!Thanks kel_be
- New User Moderation Period
Community Wiki
Last Edited by YARDEE
October 8, 2018
at
12:10 PM
*this content moved*
This post can be edited by most users to provide up-to-date information about developments of this thread based on user responses, and user findings. Feel free to add, change or remove information shown here as it becomes available. This includes new coupons, rebates, ideas, thread summary, and similar items.
Once a Thread Wiki is added to a thread, "Create Wiki" button will disappear. If you would like to learn more about Thread Wiki feature, click here.
The C&S Forum Guide is long past due for an important rule clarification.
For years, most experienced OPs in the forum have been including the name of the sponsor as the first item in each thread title, even though this is not specifically mentioned in the forum rules. There are a couple of very important reasons for doing this other than just reader convenience.
Personal Information
Some people are only comfortable entering promotions sponsored by well known companies. If the thread title reads "Huge Amazon $1,000 Gift Card Giveaway" users might click through to the entry form on the assumption they will be giving their personal info to Amazon. But what if those people knew that the full sweeps title with sponsor was "Joe Blow's Huge Amazon $1,000 Gift Card Giveaway." They might not be comfortable giving their info to Joe Blow.
Avoiding Reposts
Think back to the holiday season when every sponsor and his brother had a "Thanksgiving Giveaway" or a "12 Days of _____ Sweepstakes" going on. Without the sponsors in thread titles, OPs would've had a helluva time figuring out if a specific sweeps was already posted.
Real Examples
Here are 14 actual sweepstakes that have been posted over the last 3 days. I've dropped the sponsor names, leaving just the official giveaway titles, as per the existing forum rules. Chaos!
2016 Valentine's Day Sweepstakes
Valentine's Day Sweepstakes
Valentine's Day Sweepstakes
Valentine's Day Giveaway
A Valentine's Surprise
February 2016 Drawing
Promotion
Giveaway
Sweepstakes
Sweepstakes
Sweepstakes
Kitchen Sweepstakes
Bakery Sweepstakes
The Sweepstakes
In conclusion, I suggest updating the Thread Title rule from the current "Enter sweep's official name as the thread title..." to "Enter sponsor's name, followed by sweep's official name..."
*REMINDER: Sweeps posts on SD (or any other sweeps listing sites) are a basic recap of the rules. It is the responsibility of each individual to READ THE RULES on every sweeps they enter.
This post can be edited by most users to provide up-to-date information about developments of this thread based on user responses, and user findings. Feel free to add, change or remove information shown here as it becomes available. This includes new coupons, rebates, ideas, thread summary, and similar items.
Once a Thread Wiki is added to a thread, "Create Wiki" button will disappear. If you would like to learn more about Thread Wiki feature, click here.
The C&S Forum Guide is long past due for an important rule clarification.
For years, most experienced OPs in the forum have been including the name of the sponsor as the first item in each thread title, even though this is not specifically mentioned in the forum rules. There are a couple of very important reasons for doing this other than just reader convenience.
Personal Information
Some people are only comfortable entering promotions sponsored by well known companies. If the thread title reads "Huge Amazon $1,000 Gift Card Giveaway" users might click through to the entry form on the assumption they will be giving their personal info to Amazon. But what if those people knew that the full sweeps title with sponsor was "Joe Blow's Huge Amazon $1,000 Gift Card Giveaway." They might not be comfortable giving their info to Joe Blow.
Avoiding Reposts
Think back to the holiday season when every sponsor and his brother had a "Thanksgiving Giveaway" or a "12 Days of _____ Sweepstakes" going on. Without the sponsors in thread titles, OPs would've had a helluva time figuring out if a specific sweeps was already posted.
Real Examples
Here are 14 actual sweepstakes that have been posted over the last 3 days. I've dropped the sponsor names, leaving just the official giveaway titles, as per the existing forum rules. Chaos!
2016 Valentine's Day Sweepstakes
Valentine's Day Sweepstakes
Valentine's Day Sweepstakes
Valentine's Day Giveaway
A Valentine's Surprise
February 2016 Drawing
Promotion
Giveaway
Sweepstakes
Sweepstakes
Sweepstakes
Kitchen Sweepstakes
Bakery Sweepstakes
The Sweepstakes
In conclusion, I suggest updating the Thread Title rule from the current "Enter sweep's official name as the thread title..." to "Enter sponsor's name, followed by sweep's official name..."
*REMINDER: Sweeps posts on SD (or any other sweeps listing sites) are a basic recap of the rules. It is the responsibility of each individual to READ THE RULES on every sweeps they enter.
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ETA: it's no longer doing it this morning.
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edit: While I wasn't able to right click to open in new tab, CTRL click did work.