Gaining Required Approval for Member-run Contests

[SingleDaddyof2]

If you wish to run a contest in the "Games, Contests and Tournaments" forum or one of the other contest subforums, you must PM (Private Message) the SCF General Manager to gain approval prior to posting the contest. PMs must include a draft of the initial contest post and the contest answer (for example, a scan of serial #).

New! Your PM to the GM must state where on SCF you desire to post the contest. It must also state whether the contest is only for SCF members or if people outside of SCF may participate in the contest.

Some things to keep in mind when creating contests:

1. Post a detailed description of the prize(s). Scans of prizes increase contest participation.

2. It is highly recommended that contest creators give a detailed limit of how many guesses per member per time period. Usually, a member is given x number of guesses per calendar day. State that a calendar day starts at 12:00 am midnight (your time zone) and ends at 11:59 pm. I also suggest that maybe a 4-hour span separate guesses from one day to the next. For instance, a member can guess at 10:00 pm one day and may not guess again for the next calendar day until 4 hours later. That will help you keep track of guesses per day. Keep in mind that many people live in different time zones, so it could get a bit confusing if it looks like people may be posting more guesses than allowed. State that members may not edit their guesses and the consequences if they do. PM me if it appears someone is violating any rule so that I can assist you.

3. Don't change any rules or add hints in the middle of the contest. This makes you and SCF appear amateurish. Besides, many people don't read every post and will not be aware of changes/hints. Approval for future contests may be withheld. Keep in mind that "Guess the Serial Number" type contests can take weeks before someone wins.

4. Anticipate ties. Create tiebreaking rules and post them at the beginning of the contest.

5. State whether SCF staff is eligible to participate.

6. Contest proposals that require/request members to send money/cc/SASE/other goods will not be approved.

7. It is also highly recommended that you promote your contest by adding an image link or text link in your signature. This will increase the # of views and contest participants. I can help you with this if you need assistance.

Note on giveaways: Just to be clear, threads publicizing card giveaways (where SCF members are NOT competing with each other for cards) do not need approval. I don't think any member needs my approval for a simple giveaway of his/her cards. A 'simple' card giveaway is one where the OP posts that he is giving away cards to anyone who posts a desire for free card(s) on that thread. In a 'simple' giveaway, members are not required to guess at anything or compete with members in any other way. Of course, the OP may limit the # of cards given to each member who posts in the giveaway thread.

However, in threads where members are encouraged to compete with each other, that constitutes a contest, which does require approval of the SCF General Manager.