It's coming close to being the most wonderful time of year again, ladies and gents; Christmastime! And with the holiday season comes the EoFF Christmas Card Exchange! Now I have no idea the history of this exchange, but I participated in it last year and it was so much fun to make cards, but even more fun to receive them from many EoFFers.
I'll be managing the exchange this year, because I'm probably the most trustworthy of you vandals and because I said so.
Here are the guidelines and rules for this year's exchange. If you have any suggestions, PM them to me or mention them in thread.
1) If you add yourself to the list, make sure you're able to send a card to everyone who is on the list. Even a scrap of paper with "Merry Christmas!" on it is a great card. If your financial situation limits you from sending cards to a large number of EoFFers, PM me and we will work something out. However, I strongly urge everyone to try and send each member on the willing list something. No one wants to feel like Ralph Wiggum on Valentine's Day.
2) The deadline for having your addresses PMed to me is November 27, (the first Monday AFTER U.S. Thanksgiving) by 12:00AM EST. I will be sending out the addresses the next afternoon. (Tuesday, November 28). Any addresses PMed to me after the deadline are going to sit in my PM box all alone and be sad.
3) Do not send your address to anyone else but me. I am not having crazy PM spam happening all over this board as a result of me. They'd beat me up in the Staff forum.
4) As soon as the addresses are sent out and the cards are received, it is up to everyone who has the mailing list to delete them in a proper manner (there should be no reason to keep them after getting the cards). This is to ensure the safety and well-being of all those involved. Also note that I cannot be held accountable for what type of person ends up getting your address as a result of this. Please understand that you are putting a lot of trust in your fellow members when you decide to do this.
5) You do not have to give your real name or a permanent street address. PO Boxes or dorm addresses are perfectly fine to use, just as long as it is a real address that you maintain. You are more than welcome to use your EoFF name as the name on your envelope. Your mailman will just look at you funny.
6) Please do not send small objects inside envelopes. The envelope will be opened by workers at the U.S.P.S to ensure there are no hazardous materials inside, and the object will be removed anyways. Glitter has, in my experience, not been subject to this removal.
7) Do not, under any circumstances, send rude or threatening messages to anyone through the Christmas Card exchange. If I find out about it, I will ban you from the exchange until I am dead, and I will urge those you offended to press charges, or seek legal recourse myself. It is against US Federal Law to abuse or threaten someone through the postal service. And you'll just be showing a lot of people what a jerk you really are.
8) The most important rule, have a great time with this. This is one of the few times you can step outside of your EoFF identity and reach out to your online friends through real life communications. And it is a small, but incredibly powerful way to make a difference in someone's holiday season. There is no reason on earth this shouldn't be happy fun goodtimes.
Yay Christmas!