has the climate here gotten to the point where no one has even thought about doing our yearly gift exchange?
Who has organized it in the past? Has it been one person or a new volunteer each year?
And do we still have time to organize it this year?
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Different people have run it over the years, but for the last several years breyerchic's been in charge of it. It doesn't really feel like the sort of place where people do gift exchanges anymore, does it? In any case, I don't expect that there's time to get something going this year.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
yeah, you're probably right, at least if it was actually going to be a "holiday" gift exchange. I guess we can technically do a gift exchange whenever we feel like it.
Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :
We could do a President's Day exchange.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
Yeah, i'm running gift exchanges for a couple other places. It's too late to start a program, plus there's no way to set up an enforcement program.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
Enforcement?
Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :
To make sure people who sign up actually end up giving a present. Since Hatrackers are from all over the place, there's no way to enforce that. In previous years there were volunteers who sent presents if a giftee was neglected.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote:Originally posted by Strider: Enforcement?
there have to be consequences to flaking out on the giving of gifts part if you become part of the swap.
generally, indefinite ban till you cough up a gift plus ip/hostname vigilance to ensure no alts.
One alternative is to have one person be the gift hub ... they receive all the gifts then send out gifts only to those who participated appropriately. Usually involves a bunch of pita paypal account stuff though (so the hub isn't paying zillions on shipping) and increases overall costs, so
Posted by Hank (Member # 8916) on :
I thought last year we preempted the enforcement part by not allowing anyone to participate unless that had a certain post count, or had participated previously, or someone who had participated previously agreed to be their second and send a gift if they failed to.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
have we had a problem with people flaking in the past?
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
don't matter, usually. people will flake, guaranteed. even in cozy tight-knit communities. so you are best served by stating that exchanges are an obligation and there's penalties, so don't sign up if you're waffly.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Strider: have we had a problem with people flaking in the past?
Not much of one, but it was a significant issue last year.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
that's a shame. Do you think it's people deliberately being jerks or people legitimately wanting to be involved and then not having the motivation to follow through?
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
No idea.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
I would definitely think it's one of those things like it sounded like a great idea at the time but later on people got busy and forgot. That happened with the cookie chains as well when I ran them. It's easy to do that, I think. I don't think anybody deliberately decided not to send cookies.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Sam, we've had flakes, but one of the nice things about Hatrack is that we haven't had malicious flakes.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I was flaked on last year, but I got a nice apology. The fun was always in the shopping/making more than the recieving, for me. Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote:Originally posted by Strider: that's a shame. Do you think it's people deliberately being jerks or people legitimately wanting to be involved and then not having the motivation to follow through?
Deliberate jerks are rare instances anywhere. We've never had a purposeful scammer.
It's just that people are flakes in these programs, pure and simple. ALL secret santa/gift exchange programs HAVE to have a backup gift program installed from day one and you want a very serious incentive to perform if you commit to the program.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote:ALL secret santa/gift exchange programs HAVE to have a backup gift program
Or people have to be okay with getting gifts late or not at all, which is also an option.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
A program that just lets users hang if they don't get a gift after contributing into it is a great candidate for not being around after a couple of years.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
ehh, I think there was at least one malicious flake.
I'm really not up for it, nor were quite a few of the people I talked to. I'm sorry it's not happening for this year but hope with some volunteers it will next year.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
no worries breyerchic, it's not on you to apologize for the lack of a gift exchange!
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
There was a malicious one, breyer? There were a few flakes when I ran it, and I thought nasty things about them, but I didn't have enough information to know why they flaked, only that they did.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
Come to think of it, there was one person who swore up and down that he'd mailed it, but nothing every materialized and he never provided a tracking number. I can see that one being deliberate.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
It's very hard for one person to do the entire gift exchange. Perhaps next year, with more preemptive planning, one can be arranged. If it is ever setup I'm happy to help in whatever capacity I can.
It wouldn't be the first time we skipped a year on the gift exchange, but all the same I'd love to see the tradition be observed in the future.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Yeah Kat, there was one person who claimed they mailed it two years in a row. Swore up and down, said it should have arrived, gave excuses for the post office.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: A program that just lets users hang if they don't get a gift after contributing into it is a great candidate for not being around after a couple of years.
And yet this one lasted, IIRC, more than five. And its demise has more to do with the current environment at Hatrack than your theory.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote:Originally posted by rivka:
quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: A program that just lets users hang if they don't get a gift after contributing into it is a great candidate for not being around after a couple of years.
And yet this one lasted, IIRC, more than five. And its demise has more to do with the current environment at Hatrack than your theory.
My theory is merely that gift exchanges should not leave contributors out in the cold.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
On that I agree.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
I participate in my local group of friends gift exchange. Fun fun, I got headphones last year, in fact its a running gag that my lists are full of overly expensive requests to the point that the first year my friend got me a office chair! as it was the least expensive, the year after it was headphones. Speaking of I need to email my other friend/organizer of it to see if there's one this year. Usuually he should've sent an email by now so either I'm being left out which would... be depressing. Or our group of friends has fragmented and disintegrated when I wasn't looking.
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