The Official SlickDeals Rules
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"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:
1) The
Global Search.
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.
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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 "Repostďż˝ followed by a copy of the original thread URL
- Submit the report and move to the next post
Do not Reply to the thread:
"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!
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123 Comments
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(Please excuse the first version of this post. The two threads that I thought were unchanged by the mod had been fixed.)
No it just means it's best to ask the OP first. If you get no response then you can MA.
If we regular members "help" another member who didn't follow the rules but they ignore/refuse that help, should we then alert the mods about the problem? Or should we "help" multiple times? How long should we allow for the offending member to correct their error before moving to the next step, whatever that step might be? Could you please explain the proper protocol for handling the following situations?
Reposts
Referral Links
Self-promotion
Scammy Websites
Thread Title Problems
TIA for taking time out from your busy schedule to provide clarification.
As mentioned, please ask the OP first, if they don't add the information in the rules/guideline if they aren't on please give them a day to edit the title. if they still haven't or if they refuse then MA it so the mods can add.
One of the instances you are referring to was a mistake. In another, the new guideline wasn't in effect yet.
All of the mods know about the new guideline. It's been relayed among the team.
For the ...
Referral Links
Self-promotion
Scammy Websites
You should MA them immediately as we do want to keep the site clean from those nasty threads.
One of the instances you are referring to was a mistake. In another, the new guideline wasn't in effect yet.
All of the mods know about the new guideline. It's been relayed among the team.
For the ...
Referral Links
Self-promotion
Scammy Websites
You should MA them immediately as we do want to keep the site clean from those nasty threads.
The Rules/Guidelines/Suggestions or whatever SD staff wants to call them today were originally posted in 2007. I don't know how few or many people were involved then in deciding what should or shouldn't be included in thread titles. However, the sponsor's name is wanted by the vast majority of OPs. I say this with confidence based on the fact that OPs have been consistently adding it to their titles for nearly a decade. The forum posts are proof it's not some new, outlandish idea. I'm guessing oversight was to blame for it not having been included in the 2007 version of the rules.
The official promotion name and the end date are the other items that the overwhelming majority of OPs include in their titles. There seems to be less agreement on other items. For instance, age requirement is no longer as much the fashion it once was and perhaps should be modified or dropped from title rules altogether.
The ultimate goal should be a set of rules that are as clear and simple as possible. To that end, it would be helpful and interesting to see opinions from the C&S community on what should or shouldn't be included in the rules and why. Polling for opinions didn't work/wasn't allowed, so a discussion thread would be lovely. However, I don't foresee that happening, based on... well, I won't go into that now. But SD staff could easily prove me wrong by allowing a civil discussion here or in its own thread.
Last year, I was informed by SD staff that there are rules regarding what should be included in thread TITLES. You said in a post above "As mentioned, please ask the OP first, if they don't add the information in the rules/guideline if they aren't on please give them a day to edit the title. if they still haven't or if they refuse then MA it so the mods can add." The inference here too is that there are indeed rules regarding thread TITLES. But then you go on to say "Please keep in mind that all of the bits of info that a few of you want in the titles are a guideline more so than a hard and fast rule. So asking them is fine... but we're not going to insist on those." So which "bits of info" in TITLES are guidelines that won't be insisted on and which are rules that mods will add?
SD staff also said last year that if a post does not follow The Guide in terms of what should appear in the thread MESSAGE, then members should feel free to add to the Wiki. The inference here is that the following section of The Guide is just a very detailed suggestion.
I'm not trying to
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=
This was the only time I ever saw an OP openly called out in the thread by SD staff. When other experienced users knowingly left out important info, mods quietly fixed the titles for them. And, apparently, there are secret rules that don't even appear in the guide. A few years ago, I got this PM from a mod:
hi, several users would like you to remove the start date in contests that have begun. to do this, please go advanced in your edit. thanks!
There are a number of different reasons I stopped sharing and none of them had to do with the fact there are rules. Uneven enforcement of rules, yes. The rules themselves, no.
I sure wish Schooby would elaborate on her last comment. I think it muddied the status of the rules/guidelines/suggestions even further.
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http://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=
- Last year you informed me that there were indeed "rules" about what should be included in thread titles.
- On 2/6, Schooby referred to "guidelines/rules" with a new twist: members should first ask OPs to fix their own titles before asking mods to do it.
- On 2/11, Schooby stated "Please keep in mind that all of the bits of info that a few of you want in the titles are a guideline more so than a hard and fast rule. So asking them is fine... but we're not going to insist on those."
So what's the current status on formatting of titles? Rules or just guidelines? Fixable by mods or not?And what about the message portion of a post? If I understood you correctly last year, the Wiki should be used to correct or make additions to the message. So is the corresponding section of the guide just a list of suggestions rather than rules?
Do you agree with Schooby that Referral Links, Self-promotion and Scammy Websites should be mod-alerted immediately? I'm assuming Reposts are included in this list too.
The guide also says it's against the rules to provide answers to contests. This doesn't apply to sweepstakes, does it?
TIA for your answers.
sponsor(s), promotion name from the official rules, other pertinent info, end date.
For the body, I always included 6 main headings in the following order:
I'd be interested in hearing more about your ideas for templates/formatting.
Schooby has done nothing of the sort. She is preparing to have major surgery. Which, I am sure we can all agree, is more important.
I said it appeared that Schooby had jumped ship to fry bigger fish. That statement was based on the following:
- 2/15/16 - I quoted Schooby to ask for clarification.
- 2/18/16 - No response from Schooby. Quoted again to get her attention.
- 2/19/16 - Still no response, but she did post the following: http://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=
So, as of two days ago, she was most definitely frying bigger fish in this thread with members threatening to sue over SlickDeals' denial of $50 rebates: http://slickdeals.net/f/8452539-hp-750se-980ti-rebateIn any case, I wish her well and hope for her speedy recovery.
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As to templates/formatting, you could have a few checkboxes for things like photo required or add some deal tags. I know I was confused the first time I posted in C&S since it is designed for deal posting instead of sweeps.
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