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Contest & Sweepstakes Forum Guide - Please Read

85,473 32,242 May 19, 2007 at 03:39 PM
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Last Edited by serra | Staff February 5, 2016 at 11:21 AM
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The Official SlickDeals Rules

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."


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:
    1. link to entry page
    2. 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
    3. beginning and end dates and times
    4. 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.)
    5. 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)
    6. PRIZES and limitation to how many can be won, if that applies (IWGs especially)
    7. 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.
- 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
  1. Find the original post
  2. Go back to the repost and click on the "Mod Alert" icon
  3. In the text box, please write something to the effect of "Repost� followed by a copy of the original thread URL
  4. 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!

Good Deal?
About the OP
serra | Staff Pro Deal Hunter
[email protected] Joined Jul 2004 Slickdeals Moderator travel promotions & deals
32,242 Reputation Points
15,515 Deals Posted
8,061 Votes Submitted
85,473 Comments Posted

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.

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Joined Mar 2006
Warn Level: Badass
> bubble2 58,150 Posts
56,135 Reputation
FreebiesRGreat
08-23-2007 at 05:49 AM.
08-23-2007 at 05:49 AM.
I'm posting this here because it seems appropriate.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE check the end dates in the subject lines! A lot of dead posts (expired) have been bumped lately. It looks like people are still entering. They're over! If anything has a date earlier than whatever the date is, don't waste your time entering.

Thank you.
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Joined Dec 2005
Ex-Isis
> bubble2 7,976 Posts
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SweetestChana
03-07-2008 at 08:19 AM.
03-07-2008 at 08:19 AM.
I just posted a constest from KIWI magazine. I did search and there were several that used the same link. There was one with a similar title that the post said ended 7/31 so I figured it ended 7.31.2007. But, turns out it ended 7.31.2008. It would really be helpful if people would put the year in the date they post in the title. I am not trying to pick on this particular person, because I think she is very nice. But, as an example here is the link and title:

Kiwi Magazine - Pet Promise Sweepstakes 7/31 18+

https://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?p=10387815#post10387815
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Joined Nov 2007
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withoutadoubt
03-07-2008 at 08:34 AM.
03-07-2008 at 08:34 AM.
If people could read the forum rules they would know this! Smilie
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Joined Dec 2005
living on the edge
> bubble2 25,256 Posts
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javaFlower
03-07-2008 at 08:36 AM.
03-07-2008 at 08:36 AM.
since this is here...please include the end date with year in your thread title.

If it is not there, someone else has to find it...
then Mod Alert it,
then a Mod adds it.

C&S posting guidelines
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Joined Jul 2003
Help Is On The Way :)
> bubble2 15,853 Posts
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Admin
redsolar | Staff
03-07-2008 at 08:51 AM.
03-07-2008 at 08:51 AM.
Remember to check thread start dates when/if you search. If there is no year in the end date. It's unlikely that a contest posted as a thread dated in March of 2008 would have expired in July of 2007.
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> bubble2 4,088 Posts
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Guillotine
03-13-2009 at 09:55 AM.
03-13-2009 at 09:55 AM.
Seems appropriate to put this here...

Since we now archive threads that are old, a regular search won't produce a repost warning. Recently, many OLD and archived sweeps that are already posted have been reposted and people are DQ'ng themselves by re-entering.

For all you wonderful people who are posting sweeps, PLEASE check the rules of the sweep. If it started a LONG time ago, chances are that it has already been posted here. Then you can search the archives to see if it's been posted. Make a LARGE note at the top of your post that it is a repost and include the link to the archived thread. Many people keep track of which sweeps they have entered by commenting in the thread. With the included link, they can then easily check to see if they already entered. THANK YOU! Hug2
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rehan.shawn
04-21-2009 at 02:13 PM.
04-21-2009 at 02:13 PM.
peoples should read forum rules.
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Joined Jul 2007
I tawt I taw a puddy tat
> bubble2 15,563 Posts
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tatzgrrly
04-21-2009 at 06:24 PM.
04-21-2009 at 06:24 PM.
Quote from rehan.shawn :
peoples should read forum rules.
agreed...you as well Rolleyes
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BelAirBelle
11-04-2011 at 02:38 PM.
11-04-2011 at 02:38 PM.
Quote from FreebiesRGreat :
I'm posting this here because it seems appropriate.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE check the end dates in the subject lines! A lot of dead posts (expired) have been bumped lately. It looks like people are still entering. They're over! If anything has a date earlier than whatever the date is, don't waste your time entering.

Thank you.
If you see an expired contest should we do a mod alert or just leave it alone??
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javaFlower
11-04-2011 at 05:31 PM.
11-04-2011 at 05:31 PM.
Quote from BelAirBelle :
If you see an expired contest should we do a mod alert or just leave it alone??
An expired contest in the forum is not generally a reason to Mod Alert,
unless it has alot of discussion long after the end date, then it can be MAd to be moved to Deal Discussion.
Some SDers don't really like that to happen, tho'.

Otherwise, a sweeps with an expired date will eventually fall off the back page and then into archives, as long as no one else posts to the thread. They age out naturally, when there is no activity in the thread.
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BelAirBelle
11-04-2011 at 05:33 PM.
11-04-2011 at 05:33 PM.
Quote from javaFlower :
An expired contest in the forum is not generally a reason to Mod Alert,
unless it has alot of discussion long after the end date, then it can be MAd to be moved to Deal Discussion.
Some SDers don't really like that to happen, tho'.

Otherwise, a sweeps with an expired date will eventually fall off the back page and then into archives, as long as no one else posts to the thread. They age out naturally, when there is no activity in the thread.
Thanks. It all makes sense now.
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KattyW
12-01-2011 at 12:44 PM.
12-01-2011 at 12:44 PM.
Thanks People should read it before posting
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> bubble2 920 Posts
Gourmetfoodie
01-03-2012 at 06:28 AM.
01-03-2012 at 06:28 AM.
Hello,

I wanted to post an update to a contest, (I know where the contest link is) and I understand the format it needs to be in, but I can't find where to click to do the actual update. Please help! Confused

Am I supposed to post contests here? I read the rules for posting and it jumps from "check search box" to "put the title of your contest/sweepstakes in the threadbox". I don't know how to get to the threadbox unless the title box on this page is it!

Quote from kel_be :
The Official SlickDeals Rules





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 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...this allows us to not even have to open the thread if it won't pertain to us
  • in the MESSAGE include:
    1. link to entry page
    2. 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
    3. beginning and end dates and times
    4. eligibility requirements: age, country, states, and for contests: essays, photos, 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.)
    5. 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)
    6. PRIZES and limitation to how many can be won, if that applies (IWGs especially)
    7. 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.
- 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
  1. Find the original post
  2. Go back to the repost and click on the "Mod Alert" icon
  3. In the text box, please write something to the effect of "Repost� followed by a copy of the original thread URL
  4. 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.

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