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Post by Huntress on Nov 17, 2018 7:37:29 GMT -5
MORE EDIT: signups closed! The general procedure for the swap is still in this here post.---- This is an idea that I got too late last year, held in reserve for this year and then almost didn't get around to putting it on the table, as usual. But since I've already told a few people about it, I can't flake out any more either :'D Everyone likes Christmas cards, right? Particularly receiving Christmas cards. Particularly from exciting faraway places. A lot of people use them to decorate the house for the holidays, they're a cheap and easy enough thing to send and don't take up much space. Which is how I got the idea to propose/introduce/put-on-the-table: The NTWF Christmas Card Swap!All the usual caveats apply - you must be this tall to ride an established member of the NTWF to participate (because nobody should disclose their real-life address to people they barely know, although I can't well imagine why people who've only just joined this place would even want to swap christmas cards with a bunch of internet strangers. Still. Necessary caveat.) and also have all necessary authorizations to hand out your real-life address (which is to say, make sure your parents/roomies/SOs/pets are okay with it, if applicable). Also, don't post your address in public, all coordination will be done in private. Basically, use common sense. I translate powers of attorney for a living, I can make this section much longer and more complicated if need be, but I'm rather hoping I don't need to xP But unlike the various swaps we've done on the past, I have a very specific... well, specificity in mind for this one: namely, it'd be a mass swap, where every participant sends cards to every other participant, Warm Fuzzies style.As such, this is something that needs a bit of discussion before (if) it even takes off. If you're interested, here's what I'd like to hash out in a nice civil debate: 1. How many people would be your limit for sending cards to?Which is to say, money is money and different people have different income levels as well as expenses during the holiday period. So I encourage you to look up international postage fees for your location before answering. I know that a standard letter from the US gets here with a single Forever stamp and we send ours back for €1.50 apiece, so in our book that's variations of fairly cheap, but again - differences in income, local fees and holiday expenses so we'd need a reasonable middle ground that works for everyone. (Which of course depends on how many people join and where they're all from. Right now there are rather a lot of variables.) 2. Are you okay with receiving Christmas cards in particular?Which is to say, not everyone celebrates Christmas but that can translate to cardsending and -receiving in individual ways. Personally, while our rendition of Christmas is heavily secular, I would be all sorts of excited to receive cards that reflect the sender's form of celebration, be it nativity scenes, Hanukkah cards or Yuletide. But I know that it's not everyone's preference. 3. When should this be done?Which is to say *brick'd for repetition* - cultural differences at work. In places like Britain, holiday cards are sent pretty early and used to decorate the house at the start of December. Here, they're more likely to be sent around Christmas itself and become part of this "ooooh, the holidays are well and truly upon us now" feeling (and the enormous clog in the postal system, obviously). Plus there's stuff like people being potentially busier around the end of December. Basically, your thoughts? --- I also have a wee FAQ (without the F and the A) because I'm the type to think about loopholes a lot. What if I want to send cards to some of the participants but not everyone?If you sign up, you sign up to send cards to all other participants because it'd really just be mean to cut someone out of the card-receiving goodness. HowEVER - it'd be awesome if this event prompted people to get together with their closer forum friends in private and have smaller card swaps. Heck, I'd be 100% happy if nobody joined this event but it inspires a lot of cardsending between forum friends this year. More cards = more yay. Just remember the usual: common sense, don't flaunt your address in shady parts of the internet to shady people, etc etc. What if I joined just to get a bunch of awesome cards but never actually send any myself?Well, then you'd be a big bad meaniepants. What if the number of people who join is juuuust above what I can reasonably manage, money-wise?Mmm, I figure that if people end up beating down the doors to join this swap, it might become necessary to split the participants into smaller swap groups. But the specifics depend so heavily on who joins and what their individual stance is on the matter that my best shot is to just put this whole idea out there, see how it shapes up, and hope that we can pull it off to everyone's best benefit so that nobody gets hurt. TLDR: do you want to join up to send and receive a bunch of nonspecific winter holiday cards this year and also build a snowman? ---- List of Participants1. Huntress and Fraze 2. Celestial 3. Ginz ❤ 4. Twillie 5. Birdy 6. Thundy 7. @natthewriter 8. Allison 9. Thorn 10. Liou
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Post by Celestial on Nov 17, 2018 7:50:28 GMT -5
Ooh, I like this idea. =D I would definitely be up for sending cards to forumfolks, especially since family is leaving me alone here to go off to Australia.
Since I used to be an avid Postcrosser back in the day (my last year of school/first year of university) even without a job, money should not be too much of an issue. I got a whole bunch of Christmas cards lying around that I can use. So no issues with finances, unless like...a hundred or so people join. xD Which is unlikely.
I like all sorts of cards! Not fussed if they're specifically Christmas-themed but I am also happy with Hannukah or anything else you celebrate. I'm very secular in my holidaying and generally use it as an excuse to party and have fun.
As for when it should be done...month of December, before Christmas, but otherwise not fussed. I would rather do it early to avoid hiccups with the postal system and to not strain our poor, underpaid postal workers too much. So, like, first/second week of December for sending?
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Post by Ginz ❤ on Nov 17, 2018 12:49:13 GMT -5
Me me me me me, I want to build ALL the snowpeople!!
I love this idea, so definitely count me in! Sending Christmas cards isn't really A Thing here (or at least it isn't for my family?), so I'm very excited to participate!
My first thought when hearing 'Card Swap' was my art side getting excited about going all out with something handmade, but seeing how it's gonna be a mass swap, I'm probably gonna have to be a lot less ambitious. XD I think for me how many people participate will be more about whether my cards are handmade or bought, but sending a bunch shouldn't be an issue, so I don't want to establish a limit
I celebrate Christmas in a pretty secular way as well, so I don't particularly care or mind if cards are themed for any holidays or even if they're just like "Happy Winter!" (how cool would it be to get HAPPY SUMMER from the southern hemisphere, though?!) And I also don't mind if people express a preference not to get a Christmas-themed card if they don't celebrate it, I think that's totally fair!
Are cards in other languages allowed? (I'm guessing yes, because we don't all live in English-speaking places, and personally, I think getting a card in a foreign language is pretty cool and special) but I wanted to ask anyway, cause I'm sure I can easily find cards in English if I look, if that's preferred.
As for when this should be done, I'm torn between "as soon as possible!!" because our post can honestly be very slow, and I'm worried about all my cards arriving late, and "as late as possible!!" because, you know, that'd give me time to handmake cards, which I'd love to do, but also gaaahh would that be biting off more than I can chew?
So uh, I'll just adjust to whatever is decided! XD
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Post by Huntress on Nov 17, 2018 13:32:08 GMT -5
Fun fact, the Estonian word for snowman translates as snowgranny. I think it's because tying a scarf around its head was always one of the easiest ways to decorate it. Are cards in other languages allowed? (I'm guessing yes, because we don't all live in English-speaking places, and personally, I think getting a card in a foreign language is pretty cool and special) but I wanted to ask anyway, cause I'm sure I can easily find cards in English if I look, if that's preferred. Strongly encouraged, as far as I'm concerned =D I'm also in the "foreign language cards are cool and special" camp, and if I'm going to get a card from a faraway place, it's nice for it to carry the feeling of that place. Although I'm not very fussed either way and if anyone prefers cards in English (or just with no text at all, cos I'm not convinced I can find cards in English either) don't hesitate to speak up ^^ As a fellow undertaker-of-ambitious-art-projects, what I usually do when sending letters and cards is buy a regular one but then doodle on it. Strikes this good middle ground between personal touch and reasonably fast cardsending.
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Post by Twillie on Nov 17, 2018 14:08:42 GMT -5
Ooh, this intrigues me =o Count me as interested too! :3
I've always been secular in my Christmas celebrations as well, so I don't mind at all the kind of cards I'd get, whether they be holiday specific or more general! (And other languages also sounds really cool!!)
Also, due to recent soul searching and other such rambles I may dump in my diary some day, this year also marks the first time that I'll be celebrating the winter solstice! Currently I don't know anyone irl who also celebrates pagan holidays, and I'm still pretty new to what traditions or practices there are (neopaganism is pretty darn open ended, which on the one hand is great in that you can celebrate how you want, but on the other it can be difficult pinpointing any possible do's and don't's xD). So, this could also be a good way for me to share celebrations with others! :3 Aka, for those alright with it, I can send holiday or winter cards with some special drawings or items inside themed to the solstice celebration xD
Of course, I'm also happy to prep cards according to any preferences one may have of what to include or not ^^
I'd probably use pre-made cards and then decorate them from there, so I don't imagine I'd need too much time prepping everything. May take an afternoon or two, depending on how many participate. But I personally don't have a limit on how many I'd be willing to send :3 (Lol wow, how did I write this without reading first that Hunty had the same idea? xD Ninja'd by a post from forty minutes ago.)
As for when to send them, I basically consider the whole time of December into early January as general celebration season, so whether it's before or after Christmas I personally don't mind. If we want to do it earlier rather than later to avoid any issues/clogging of postal systems, I may request the second week of December, as by then I'll be back home for winter break and much more familiar with the post system in the area xD
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Post by Gelquie on Nov 17, 2018 17:16:31 GMT -5
This sounds like a really cool idea!
I hesitate on joining because depending on how many people do, I'm not sure about sending my essentially real life name to everyone. Plus, I can't guarantee exactly where I'd be during December-time, so there's a chance there'd be a gap of time where I couldn't receive my mail until January. (Not too concerned about the posting address because I have a temp box anyway.) Me not getting cards till later in January honestly doesn't bother me, but it might bother others.
So for now, I'm not signing up, but cheer others on!
I initially interpreted this as something else, though, that I thought might be a neat idea. I thought of maybe getting one card, and then people pass it on and around to each other? Then everyone takes a turn signing it, then passes it on to the next person. In this case, each person would only get one or two addresses. And then if no one uses their real names in signing the card, then perhaps some snapshots of the card could be posted to the forum. Plus whatever people may have thought to send along, if the postage calls for it. (Though nothing huge. I was thinking of art or photos, whatever people are comfortable with. If any.) (Though there would be the question of who does the final work. I have a few ideas in mind of who would be good to keep the card. (Don't pick me.)) Up to you/others, of course! Just an idea I had. (Maybe it could be done in addition to this.)
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Post by Thorn on Nov 17, 2018 17:26:27 GMT -5
I feel like ~mid December would be a good time to send them. I'm also...unsure about sending a big mass of cards, because money will be a Tricky Thing in December and I already need to send a bunch of actual parcel-sized presents back to NZ, which would be a buttload of moneez. So my max might be ugggggghhhh....six? Hard limit would be eight. Maybe. I'll need to think about it.
As somebody who can't draw, I would probably write a little ficlet to go in each card. That could be fun! And I could cover it in all the beautiful stickers I've been amassing faster than I actually use them.
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Post by Ian Wolf-Park on Nov 17, 2018 18:26:08 GMT -5
I'm currently on the fence, mainly due to the fact that our postal workers here in Canada are currently on strike, so I'm certain that mail (and packages) sent out or received will be delayed. I have no idea when it will end, but it will certainly be a drag with the holiday season coming up if it continues.
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Post by Moni on Nov 17, 2018 21:02:06 GMT -5
This is honestly a really cool idea! I think it's best to kind of make it toward the end of december but before the holidays start, just because of the various exams and holidays and such that participants can be mired in!
other than that, i have no input, mostly because i'm not close enough to the various members of the forum to be comfortable sharing my address. but have fun guys!
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Post by Birdy on Nov 18, 2018 1:54:23 GMT -5
MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! Memememememememememmememe I want do this meeeeeeeeeeeeee 8DDDD
...
*coughs* Ahem, I mean, yes, this is definitely a Thing that I am interested in doing! =3
I don't think I'd really have a limit on how many cards I can send out, really? ...I mean, I'd have to see how many people sign up and all, buuuut I think/hope I'd be good for postage and all, so no worries there. x3; (What's kinda funny is after Christmas last year, I bought a toooooon of boxed cards on sale/clearance, with an express purpose of thinking "Wouldn't it be neat to send these out to NTWFers next year? =D". xD So yeah, I'm all for it! ^^ )
I'm totally okay with receiving Christmas (or any kind of) card (in any language!) as well! ^^ Like has been said, it'd be neat to get any kind of card, to reflect the sender's way of celebrating. =3 (Though that said, yeah; I think it may also be a good idea to list a receiver's preference? so say, if some wouldn't want/be comfortable with a more "religious" theme to the card or such, then a more secular one can be chosen to send, etc.)
As for when, uhhhh... I thiiiink I'd be okay for any time? I mean, personally, for me, I tend to start my own personal Christmas-y things right after Thanksgiving when possible (just to give Thanksgiving it's own time), but yeah, really, I'm flexible and can start whenever. ^^
Also yes I would love to build a snowman
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Post by Thundy on Nov 18, 2018 7:08:43 GMT -5
Ahhh I remember this being discussed! Count me in, a bunch of you guys have been to my house already so you all know where I live -anyway-
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Post by Liou on Nov 18, 2018 8:39:00 GMT -5
I am Intrigued! Winter holidays are not my thing at all and I've been striving to avoid them, but forum cards might actually make me look forward to that season!
I'd be ready to pull out if sending to my area is too expensive, and giving your offline address takes a higher level of trust than sending Warm Fuzzies online of course. It'd be good if those were shared as privately as possible.
Am 100% secular, and likelier to find nonspecific whatever-holiday-you-do cards in my part of the world. Would definitely appreciate more secular or nonspecific cards for my sanity. But I do love getting Foreign Things in Foreign Languages and can contribute to sharing Foreign Language cards. Would have a harder time finding cards in English, tbh.
On when to send: I haven't used snail mail in years and have no idea when is best. First half of December sounds good, but then again, if everyone is choosing that time to avoid clogging the post... Cap on number of cards to send: uuuh, eight, ten? I have no sense of quantities, halp.
Either way, whether or not I'm in, I'll be cheering for this event.~
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2018 14:08:00 GMT -5
I'm interested! That said, I don't celebrate Christmas, so something secular and just winter-themed would be fab.
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Post by Thorn on Nov 18, 2018 14:20:15 GMT -5
Oh yeah forgot to add: I don't mind at all r.e. holidays/languages/whatever is on these cards.
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Post by Huntress on Nov 18, 2018 16:11:38 GMT -5
*insert undignified squeaky noises of excitement about the general sense of excitement on this thread* I'ma need to cook up a list of participants soon - the workweek is kicking off and my posting frequency gets famously chunky during the workweek, but it looks like the general consensus leans towards some middle-ish part of December so we don't and shouldn't have to rush it. Our general experience with regular letters is that they take a week travelling to and from the US and three days to and from the UK. Times will of course vary depending on the countries, but, y'know, as this very general ballpark of intercontinental and transatlantic mail transport. Plus the Christmas clog, but that's pretty much inevitably written into this format, ssso at worst some people might get a nice little reminder of holiday cheer in January when things are hitting the slump between holiday distraction and spring? (I may be channeling a lot of my inner Pinkie Pie into this :'D) This sounds like a really cool idea! I hesitate on joining because depending on how many people do, I'm not sure about sending my essentially real life name to everyone. While I'm in no shape or form urging you to join if you're not 100% comfortable with it, I should point out that your real life name shouldn't actually be needed for this. Real life address, yes, by necessity, but names aren't really needed to move regular unregistered mail. When we hand out our address, the first line is generally just our last name, and cards sent to you should get there fine even if they were literally addressed to GLQ. Main question is whether it'd cause any unwanted hassle with whoever else lives at the address. Your card chain idea actually reminds me of similar things done on the forum in the past; we had Patjade's sketchbook swap in... around 2006ish, I believe? and the real-life White Weewoo pass-it-on not too long afterwards. The main problem is that they're a chain of bottlenecks and at some point the item just doesn't get passed on any more. I was signed up for both of those events and neither the sketchbook nor the Weewoo ever reached me :'D Of course, that format might actually be easier to revive now, what with more streamlined access to other forumers via Discord, Facebook and whichever other channels that make prodding the bottlenecks potentially easier. Back in those chain swap days, the forum was the only venue of communication and if people dropped off the face of the forum while being part of the chain, that was pretty much it. I am Intrigued! I'd be ready to pull out if sending to my area is too expensive, and giving your offline address takes a higher level of trust than sending Warm Fuzzies online of course. It'd be good if those were shared as privately as possible. I'll be distributing the addresses via PM once we get to that point, and will be very quick to kersplode any public posts with people's addresses because hey, this is a public forum and spreading personal data is Not Cool (I also work with the GDPR and the recent data protection update-related issues a lot. Surprisingly cynicism-inducing field, translation.) But since I'm not really controlling who enters this event beyond the abovementioned established-member caveat and also can't really control what people do with the addresses once they get them, I would also urge you to only join if you're 100% comfortable with your address going out there in this mostly-pinkie-promise-controlled-manner. I think very highly of this community and the trustworthiness of its members and I've seen enough of these swaps pulled off in the past to even attempt something like this on a larger scale, but in the end we're all responsible for our own online safety. Receiver's preference list sounds like a neat idea :3 Any excuse to make a spreadsheet.
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