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To celebrate our first graduated Christmas (and because we feel like it), some regulars in The 2nd Monitor thought it would be a good idea to make a Secret Santa between members of Code Review!

The rules are quite simple :

  • You will send an email to [email protected] to register. Please include a link to your Code Review's profile in the subject of the message! :)
  • Using a super name drawing web tool, you'll receive a mail that tells you who is your recipient. Don't spoil it, it's secret! ;)
  • Someone will also draw your name, don't worry!
  • On the website linked above, you can anonymously chat with your recipient, this way you'll be able to ask for a physical address if you want to ship something.
  • To price limit is around 15$ US though if you find something that is purely awesome and costs less than that, well go with the flow!
  • Don't forget that your recipient might live oversea so think about the shipping fees! Gifting an eBook or something like that is a good way to deal with overpriced shipping.

You have until December 11th to register (That's in ONE week!), after this date we'll draw names from a hat and start the gift exchange process. Then we gotta hand the hat over to SE for .

Because we live in a sad world, there's no guarantee you'll receive a gift. :/ This is Internet, we can't verify if the person at the end of the line is an honest person or not. We're hoping for people to be as honest as possible and to send their gifts if they participate. This is a great opportunity to tie bonds between users of Code Review and make our community even better than it already is!

There is also a chat room if you ever have any questions/suggestions/problems etc.

Thank you, and have fun!

Let's make this a memorable Christmas for Code Review Stack Gift Exchange! :)

Notes:

  • The mail server is hosted by @DanPantry. Only he and I will have access to the email account, so all your email are belong to us your emails are safe with us! (or, feel free to create a dedicated email address) :)
  • If you're worried about shipping fees, consider ordering online (e.g. Amazon) and using that service's free shipping to send your gift directly to the recipient.
  • Dan is actually working on a web app that'll give you the opportunity to authenticate yourself, using the SE's OAuth, to make sure you're really the user that's linked to the profile in your email!
  • I send confirmations when I receive an email. If you didn't receive an e-mail one day after sending, come on chat and ping me!

December 14th : The deadline has passed. It is too late to send me an email to register. Though, for members who did register, you now need to log on your email to accept to join the group. Otherwise the names will not be drawn. Please hurry! :)

Here's how it goes now that everyone answered to the mail :

  1. Your Secret Santa may or may not send a message to you
  2. If they do, they can only send 1 message until you respond to that message via the link emailed to you
  3. Once you respond, then they may send another message
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    \$\begingroup\$ What happens if an odd number of people register? \$\endgroup\$
    – Mathieu Guindon
    Dec 2, 2015 at 17:03
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Mat'sMug aren't all the people odd? \$\endgroup\$
    – Raystafarian
    Dec 2, 2015 at 17:04
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Mat'sMug Well, if for example 11 people would register, then 11 people send gifts to 11 other people. It's not "pairing". A can send to B that can send to C that can send to A. It's not A and B sends to each other and C is left alone. \$\endgroup\$
    – Simon Forsberg
    Dec 2, 2015 at 17:06
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    \$\begingroup\$ Would ordering from Amazon and changing the ShipTo address to the recipient be a way to avoid shipping fees (using their free shipping)? \$\endgroup\$
    – Mathieu Guindon
    Dec 2, 2015 at 18:47
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Mat'sMug That is exactly what I was thinking about. I'll add it to the post! \$\endgroup\$
    – IEatBagels
    Dec 2, 2015 at 18:55
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    \$\begingroup\$ If you're concerned about people being who they say they are, you could set up a quick web app that verifies their account through OAuth. That might help with honesty too, if people know it's really hard to play the "Huh what wasn't me" card. \$\endgroup\$
    – Undo
    Dec 3, 2015 at 5:13
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Undo Considering that in Chat at the moment \$\endgroup\$
    – Dan
    Dec 3, 2015 at 8:53
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    \$\begingroup\$ Nitpick: Mail server is hosted by gandi.net (I am not affliated with them); I just own the domain name lambdaexpression.io, which is my professional handle. \$\endgroup\$
    – Dan
    Dec 3, 2015 at 8:53
  • \$\begingroup\$ I missed sign up :c \$\endgroup\$
    – 13aal
    Dec 14, 2015 at 14:42

2 Answers 2

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I like the idea very much! There are a number of things to consider though:

  • This relies very much on people's honesty. Please, don't enter the exchange if you're not going to send a gift.
  • Honesty again: Topin and Dan have no secure way of validating that the entry email effectively came from the claimed CR user. Please, only enter the exchange with a link to your profile. You have nothing to gain by linking to someone else's profile.

Be nice™, and happy gift-giving!

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I'd like to congratuate you on a well run process which I enjoyed thoroughly. It was much like a great "Stephen King" novel - a good idea with a well structured introduction, a suspenseful build up with a few twists as new players enter the story. Your heart races when the mailman knocks, and finally, the ending is unexpected, and a good book - literally.

Thank you so much for the thoughts from everyone, for the efforts of Toppin Frassi, Dan Pantry, and others. And, whomever my secret Santa is, thank you too, it's been a treat.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Thanks, that's very appreciated. I felt like a child on Christmas's day when I went to the post office to get my package! :p \$\endgroup\$
    – IEatBagels
    Jan 17, 2016 at 17:37

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