Plane of Giving: Follow up and feedback

So our first Plane of Giving was kinda rocky... I definitely learned a lot in running something like this, and in managing. If you have thoughts on it, please feel free to post here. First and foremost, I will be more particular on filtering next year, so we don't get so many false matches. I also don't know how so many people who didn't sign up got signed up, and I'll make sure the code in place avoids that happening again. We'll have a dedicated page with more details, easier to follow and read, etc.

Second, if you still have a problem with your gift/giftee, including but not limited to the following, please post here (even if you've posted elsewhere, it'll be easier for me to track):
- Can't fill out a part of the form, either for that you sent a gift or got a gift
- Your giftee is inactive and you need another giftee
- You sent a gift but didn't get one

Likely, we'll create a chain with those who had invalid giftees, and if someone sent a gift but didn't get one, I will make sure you get something!

Thank you for organising and running this!

I have the problem that on my page "Have you recieved your gift?" does not remain ticked when I save it, although "Have you sent your gift?" does remain ticked.

I didn't receive a gift, but I really don't mind 😊. Please prioritize others over me, for sure!

Just wanted to mention it here in case the gift was sent but got lost along the way. Might still be recoverable.

First: Thank you for setting it up, and giving it a go. Lets do it again next chrismas

I did get my gift and I'll properly run a game based on it sometime in the spring

My giftee is new to the sight, did not fill out any interest and has only made 4 posts. This influenced how much I wanted to spend (went with a D&D5e adventure) I feel a little bad about this, but then again.

I did not sign up (at least not intentionally) and received a gift. Let me know if I can help with anything that might identify how some people were unintentionally signed up .

I'd liketo give a gift in return, but so far my giftee has not returned any messages. I'd like to give a gift to one of the fine people who gave but did not receive, if that works?

I think that, despite some issues, it went well overall. I both gave and received a gift (and hope the giftee enjoys it).

I also enjoyed the Plane of Giving. I got a gift and gave a gift, I interacted with new people on the site, and it was honestly fun and rewarding, both in the joy of giving and receiving.

The forum was good for resolving issues. I think having some Santa's helpers do a pre-check on the list to check for missing matches and minimal participation were good suggestions. I bet checking a list by hand wouldn't be that hard for a small team of volunteers.

<waves at @len who was the person who sent me a gift>

It was fun to interact with new people - in my case you, Len - and it was a nice surprise to be matched with someone running one of the games I'm in as my person to send a gift to :)

This was an awesome idea and I look forward to next year.


I sent a gift but didn't receive one.

I enjoyed my part in it, and it's a great idea, but as of yet I have received no gift, but I think it was a DTRPG glitch, so I am waiting to hear back from the sender so we can chat and maybe they can contact DTRPG.

Same here for me. Thank you for doing this!! It really was a nice thing that contributes to Gamer Plane's feeling of a community. I'm sure you will work out the bugs for next year.

I sent a present, and heard from the receiver that they got it.
I haven't received one.

A fun social event!

I think opening it up to everyone and anyone on the internet was a fatal flaw. It might demonstrate a generous heart and kind community, but $25 is $25 and quickly snowballs into 100s of dollars blown on people with no reciprocation. That actually ends up hurting long time users who are more likely to fulfill their end, while the new sign ups get a gift and send nothing.

Bowl, Windy, Dr_B, the Librarian, Nezz (?), The Generator. These are all known personalities who got the shaft on this. (My words, not theirs!)

I’d limit it to 20 known elements, like what you’d imagine at an office workplace. In pursuit of that, I’d set the bar for entry way, way higher. Maybe a year, or two: depending on how active and quickly the participants jumped fully into the GP community. Then you know who you’re dealing with.

I also don’t think you need to re-invent the wheel with code and all that. Less participants equals less work matching them. Then it’s simply a matter of spending 20 minutes sending out a few notes in the thread letting people know who they got!

I think this was a good idea and hope to do it next year. The first time with something new is always rough so I'm sure there will be good fixes to make next year even better. I gave a gift but have not received one or heard from whoever I got matched with.

I enjoyed it, and I hope it wasn't too much work for the people that ran it. That's the main thing for me, I don't want Keleth or anyone spending too much time on this.

The only thing I would add is maybe a checkbox if you're okay getting something in the mail, and/or interested in sending something in the mail. That way those people can be matched up. But again if that's too much work scrap it.
Also, maybe people should also add things they don't like ( or have enough of) in their interest.

I disagree with that. I would set the bar a bit higher, but not nearly this high. I appreciated it being open to the general public, so maybe a limit of having been on the site for a month and having at least ten posts or something would be doable. That should keep the people out who just signed up to GP and realized it's not for them while still allowing almost everyone to participate who has shown some interest in sticking around the site for at least another month.

Can I add the word "recent" to that? :D (between "ten" and "posts")

At least a month of being signed up and at least ten posts in the last month? 🤔

Thank you for organising!

For tracking purposes, since you're counting, I sent one, and included a followup message to check that my recipient got it. And I also received one, but I don't know from whom.

My experience was great. The person assigned to me reached out and confirmed some options, then choose an excellent one. I reached out to my giftee and confirmed their interests then sent them one. So not really secret, but it was still nice.

Thanks for organizing it Keleth, I would definitely participate again.

I prefer a minimum of three months and 100 posts. It's too easy to spit out ten posts in the general forums.

There goes my plan to make 10 dummy accounts in October :( :P

I'm sure there's some kind of reasonable amount we can set it to next year. :)

I'm leaning to 1-3 months, a # of posts > 20, and at least 1 game, GMed or played. Thoughts?

I wouldn't insist on GMing as a prerequisite. Newcomers might not want to GM early in their time at GP or even at all.

Sorry @TheGenerator. 😂

No, not requiring GMing. Just saying one game, whether it's as a player or GM.

Another note from the admins: allowing someone to enter the email address at which they'd like to receive their gift, in case it's different from their GP address.

I have an email people can use if they don't want to use theirs, lol

The event was fun, I think the mistake was including people automatically instead of letting them apply for it.

Also, I got a present and it would feel like cheating if can't gift back someone with a active account.

I received a gift (it was awesome) but the person I have been assigned to gift has an empty profile and has been inactive since shortly after their account was created. Maybe if there’s someone who didn’t get a gift, I could be reassigned to make up the difference?

I did give a gift, but unfortunately did not receive one (to the best of my knowledge).

I'm not overly concerned about it, but for the sake of bettering the system for next year, I figured I'd mention it.

I did not sign up for the gift exchange, and my profile automatically checked off the box saying I had sent a gift when I did not. I'm not able to unclick that box.