Posted: 11/14/2018 10:53:00 PM EDT
[Last Edit: leafinthewind][Edited]
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2018 Survival Forum Gift Exchange
It’s my goal as the quasi-ringmaster of another year’s survival forum gift exchange to do everything within my very limited power to ensure that this runs smoothly. We have been blessed with a community of generally like minded, generally upstanding, and generally honorable members. I hope that the results of this year’s gift exchange will confirm that. This year's time frame is a little bit tighter than previous exchanges, so pay close attention to the dates and make sure you can work with them before signing up. The rules are below. Read them. Learn them. Know them. Then read them again. Rule one- this is a gift exchange. It’s not a trade, it doesn’t follow the rules of the equipment exchange, and you basically have no say in what comes your way from your partner. Nor do they have any say in what they get from you. I have personally been very fortunate in getting hooked up with extremely generous and thoughtful people through the years, and I have tried to operate under the same guidelines with the gifts I’ve sent. Others have not been as lucky. It is my opinion that the joy should be in giving. You may disagree. Rule two- previous years have set a suggested precedent for a dollar amount of +/- $50.00 . . . (not including shipping) . . . But understand that some people might honestly not be able to afford that amount. Others spend substantially more on their partner. Both are OK, but if you fall into the category where spending $50.00 puts an unbearable strain on your finances or prevents you from eating, it’s best to bow out. Be smart. Talk to your exchange partner. Come up with a mutually acceptable amount, and then have fun with it. Rule three- this is not a dirty Santa type of exchange. If your only purpose in joining is to get rid of a .99 cent Mylar space blanked that you can't refold into its factory package, don't sign up. Gift exchanging will not be enforced by the moderators, staff, or me. I’ll do my best to politely and honorably assist in any SNAFU’s, but at the end of the day, it will come down to each participant’s personal integrity. Rule four- this thread will follow all of this site’s COC rules. Name calling, trash talking or other violation will not be tolerated. If there’s a problem, contact me via e-mail or IM, and I'll do my best to get it sorted out. Rule five- if you have previously signed up for the gift exchange, and then not held up your end of the exchange, you will not be permitted to participate this year. Yes, we know who you are. Enough said. Rule six- once matches are made, you will have ONE WEEK to make contact with your partner, and to confirm that contact by posting again in this thread. (see below) Rule seven- well, not really rules, but some guidelines. **It is highly advisable that everybody participating in this year’s gift exchange sends out their packages by some means, UPS or USPS, where a tracking number is involved. Read the forums through the years—you’ll see that a lot of grief could have been averted with a tracking number. **It is entirely up to you and your partner as to when you open your gifts. I personally prefer to wait until Christmas Eve, but that’s a call that you’ll have to make on your own. ** Posting pictures of gifts that you receive is highly encouraged, as well as being entertaining for others who view this thread. Share the joy, people. If for some reason you can’t seem to figure out how to post a picture, e-mail it to me and I’ll post it for you. ** Many people in the past have included ammo as part of their gift. Nothing wrong with that, just make sure that you ship it correctly. Dates: Sign up closes at midnight on Friday, November 30th. You must post an “I’m in” reply in this thread to be included. Selections will be posted by Sunday, December 2nd. Once partners are assigned, they will not be changed. If we end up with an odd number of participants, I’ll see if anybody wants to double up. You must establish contact with your partner by Sunday, December 9th, and at least one of the partners from each match must post a "contact made" in this thread. DON'T DO THIS JUST BECAUSE YOU SENT AN IM OR EMAIL...ONLY DO THIS ONCE CONTACT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED. Remember, you only have until Sunday, December 9th to establish a working contact with your partner and post such in this thread. Seriously guys...this is where a lot of issues have come up through the years, so contact your match and post it in this thread. If you are getting close to the deadline and ...after repeated attempts on your part, have not been able to establish contact, please PM me. REMEMBER...you and your match will be trying to contact each other via ARFCOM's email or message feature, so make sure you understand how it works and that your inbox is able to receive new messages...and that you check it. 
Gifts should be mailed no later than Monday, December 17. Be safe, be smart, wear protection, have fun, and make 2018’s survival forum gift exchange the best ever. Leafinthewind. OFFICIALLY IN (so far) 1-Leafinthewind 2-Rudison 3-nickds 4-TAP 5-BrowardMason 6-JimPope 7-Dace 8-thatwasthenthisisnow 9-gettingstarted 10-ruffhowzer 11-fsjdw2 12-motown_steve 13-POG926 14-Mazawakhan 15-Donith 16-mustangracer 17-protus |
OK, the time is now here. We've had a great turnout for the 2018 Survival Forum Gift Exchange...a lot of familiar names  . Just like last year, I wrote everybody's name on giant tennis balls, then threw them out in the yard and ordered the dag to fetch. Each pair he brought back was a match.So what do you do next? *Find your name, and your partner's name below. **Note that this year Thatwasthenthisisnow adopted two exchange partners due to an odd # of participants...  LEAFINTHEWIND++++++++++++DACE RUDISON++++++++++++++++FSJDW2 NICKDS++++++++++++++++++BROWARDMASON (LOL...this should be interesting  )
TAP++++++++++++++++++++MUSTANGRACER JIMPOPE+++++++++++++++++PROTUS THATWASTHENTHISISNOW+++++MOTOWN_STEVE THATWASTHENTHISISNOW+++++DONITH GETTINGSTARTED+++++++++++RUFFHOWZER POG926+++++++++++++++++MAZAWAKHAN *Establish contact with your partner...both of you...do it now, don't wait. Send them an IM or e-mail and introduce yourself. You should also have one from them. You know what I'm saying. You must establish contact with your partner by Sunday, December 9th, and at least one of the partners from each match must post a "contact made" in this thread. Some of you may feel comfortable exchanging phone numbers, others may prefer to maintain communication through instant messaging or e-mail. l'll leave the details up to you, but whatever the case, ESTABLISH CONTACT! * * anyone who has made several attempts to contact their exchange partner and has NOT been able to establish a line of communication, please IM me with the details.** Once you establish contact, here's the bare minimum of what you and your partner need to go over. 1- Mailing addresses. 2- Primary means of getting in contact with the other person. ASK THEM if they actually check their e-mail or IM box regularly. Figure out a way to communicate, because this is where most of the issues in the past have fallen. 3- Decide, and agree upon a dollar amount for gifts. The suggested minimum is $50.00. Keep in mind that shipping is not included in this amount. 4- Decide, and agree upon when you get to open your gift. Some do it immediately, others wait for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. If you know that you're going to be gone the entire month of December visiting family, or out of the country whacking bad guys for Uncle Sam, let your partner know and agree upon acceptable shipping arrangements. Remember, the last day to ship your gift to your partner is Monday, December 17. THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THEN TO SHIP YOUR GIFT. Many of you already have the item or items purchased. If so, box 'em up and send them out. Now, some final words of advice, take it FWIW... Have fun with this. Get to know your partner. Ask them what they're in to. Their answer may guide you if you're having problems deciding what to shop for. I'm more of a "generalist" myself, and happily accept any gift, whether or not I already have a dozen of them. If you experience any issues or problems, contact me by IM or email instead of posting in the thread. I'll try to get it sorted out and running smoothly to the best of my ability. Lastly, Merry Christmas to all participants!  Leafinthewind
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Where There Are Sheep, Wolves Will Always Thrive
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| I am wondering if this shouldn't be tacked at the top. I would think more people would see it in the floating threads and it would naturally get bumped. |
So you are saying God hates these endangered ducks?
No, I am just saying that if God liked ducks they wouldn't be endangered.
No, I am just saying that if God liked ducks they wouldn't be endangered.
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Originally Posted By Dace:
I am wondering if this shouldn't be tacked at the top. I would think more people would see it in the floating threads and it would naturally get bumped.
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Originally Posted By nickds:
@leafinthewind I’ve got your membership again for putting this together. I won't turn it down, but it's not necessary. FWIW to all who read this......, this is the kind of attitude and integrity that makes ARFCOM's SF the best on the net.
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Indelible in the hippocampus...is the MAGA!
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Originally Posted By nickds:
Where is @protus ? Dont have much to offer this year. Besides autographed pictures of me in multicam banana hammocks 
But throw me in.... Ill figure something out...... Now wheres my razor... 
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i dont want my final jig in the belly of a squid....
www.survivalandpreparednessforum.com
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Originally Posted By protus:
Im here. Dont have much to offer this year. Besides autographed pictures of me in multicam banana hammocks
But throw me in.... Ill figure something out...... Now wheres my razor... |
Wake up Every Day and Try Harder.
Indelible in the hippocampus...is the MAGA!
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Where There Are Sheep, Wolves Will Always Thrive
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Leaf, do you have the link to last years thread? It might help folks to see ideas of what was previously gifted. |
Where There Are Sheep, Wolves Will Always Thrive
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Originally Posted By JimPope:
PM contact established Text Message contact established Official telephone contact planned Originally Posted By JimPope:
Originally Posted By protus:
Stalker IM sent Text Message contact established Official telephone contact planned 
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i dont want my final jig in the belly of a squid....
www.survivalandpreparednessforum.com
www.survivalandpreparednessforum.com
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Originally Posted By gettingstarted:
Initial contact made :) I think . I kept getting a error message ... > Image Code Verification Failed. Please Try Again. let me know if you did get my nice reply message or my TEST message |
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Originally Posted By JimPope:
Depends if you think the sounds of pneumonia is sexy 
Wife finally made me go to doctor this morning because I was coughing up blood... I'll call ASAP. Originally Posted By JimPope:
Originally Posted By protus:
I hope you sound sexy...
Wife finally made me go to doctor this morning because I was coughing up blood... I'll call ASAP. But what size are you 
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i dont want my final jig in the belly of a squid....
www.survivalandpreparednessforum.com
www.survivalandpreparednessforum.com