Advent Competitions 2013 - Chat

starrybee

Luckyone wrote: »

Is there a Popchip advent? I've just go a email saying there is one & it won't load. Just sits & spins.

I've searched online & can't find it & search here & can't find it

Lo scratches head

I had the email too, the link goes to facebook but the door opens advertising a version of popchips that is only available to buy in the US? :huh:

mansey

Slow down!!!

:rotfl:

I have loads of emails today companies advertising advent calendars, not sure if they are on here, I don't know how to post them, but I bet you have most of them

weeowens

mansey wrote: »

Slow down!!!

:rotfl:

I have loads of emails today companies advertising advent calendars, not sure if they are on here, I don't know how to post them, but I bet you have most of them

Hi,I'd just have a crack at posting in your place.You will soon get the hang of it.A
bit of info here:

6 How do I post a comp on here?
Firstly, do a thorough search (see above) to ensure the comp is not already on MSE.

Check you are in the Competitions Time Forum & then click ‘New Thread’, from the link at the top or the bottom of any main forum page.

A new page is displayed for you to fill information about the comp you want to post.

1. Put the date at the beginning of the title box, & please use the Forum standard, below.
   
   E: XX/XX, For Example, E: 02/04 Win a .....
   
   This makes things a lot easier for the BGs & Compers (like you) to find comps that are ending. If the comp ends within 12 months then it is fine to put the dd/mm date as explained above. If you have a rare comp that has more than a year to the end date then please stick to the posting convention above then put a space & put the year in brackets - but only if it is MORE THAN 12 months ahead.
   E: 02/04 (2018) Win....... <-Only if comp is more than 12 months away from ending.
   
   If you can’t see the closing date for a comp in the T & C or on the webpage then please estimate an end date. Without an end date on the thread title it will be moved into the Game Over sub forum prematurely, which would be a bit of a waste of your effort in posting it for us. If you had to estimate the end date then pop that into your post so that if, later on, the website add an end date another member can highlight the new information.
   
   E: 30/06 (?)
   
   The Thread Title then needs a short description of the prize that can be won, For Example, Holiday to Tenerife.
   
   If you are posting the answers to a mag with multiple comps & answers then put the mag name & issue in the thread title, eg, That’s Life Magazine Issue 10
   
   If the comp is entered by email or there is an age / location restriction then it is helpful to put that in the title in brackets, For Example, (U16)
   
   If a comp has a particular end time it is useful if it is posted in the thread title too, For Example, 5pm.
   
   So a few examples to sum it up:
   E: 28/12 Trip to New York (email)
   E: 15/09 Bee movie DVD (U16)
   E: 05/03 3pm Indiana Jones Goody Bag
   E: 07/01 £50 ToysRUs vouchers (email)(Oxford)
2. In the main body of the post, you can type in the link to the page & whether it is a comp where you need to login / register. (I’ll go through neat link or clickies in just a moment). Do be aware when you are posting a comp that you should be using excerpts & links rather than copying long text.

You can ‘Preview Post’ to see how it will look, if you want, before you click to ‘Submit New Thread’. Please remember that if a site URL appears as !!!!!! in the preview then it is a site which has been banned on MSE & shouldn't be posted.

weeowens

2 How do I search to see if a comp has been posted?
The Forum Search is not foolproof although if you take a couple of easy steps then it can help you not to post duplicate comps.

On any Forum page, just above where the threads are listed you will see the option to ‘Search this Forum’, click this & then select ‘Advanced Search’.

A new screen will open, which is the Advanced Search screen & seems to be more responsive to searches.

Please refer to the image below for numbered steps.

1. Key Words.
   Take the main part of a comp page address (URL) & type / paste it here.
   For Example, if http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/competitions/show/id/2704 is the comp page, use keyword: goodtoknow.co.uk
   Also, for the radio comps, try searching for the part of the url that starts '/Article...' it should bring up the other stations if they have been posted.
   
   I recommend you only use the main part of the comp URL as sometimes comps change location on a site.
   
   If that search brings back too many results, then try using a word from the comp which will have been used if it was posted on MSE to narrow it down slightly.
   For Example, goodtoknow.co.uk watch
   
   You could also use the answer to search again, just to ensure you aren’t about to post a comp that is already on here.
2. Search Forums.
   If Competitions Time is not already highlighted in the list, simply scroll down the list & click on it to highlight.
3. Also search in child forums.
   Ensure this box is ticked, it means the search will also check in Competitions Time sub forums (the I won! Forum, the Game Over Forum & the Regular Competitions Forum).

Click on the 'Search Now' button & it will bring back a list of results. Read through the list carefully to see if the comp has already been posted. Repeat the search a couple of times with different search criteria to be more certain that the comp is a new one.

Something else to be aware of is that it can take a couple of hours for the forum software to include new threads into the search function. If you take a quick glance down the last couple of pages of threads to check for comps that sound similar to the one you are about to post & don’t see anything then you are about ready to post a new comp!

Another way some MSE Compers use to search for specific comps is to use the Google Search Engine. If you wanted to search for, say, Kung Fu Panda comps in the forum then you would type:
"Kung Fu Panda" "competition" site:forums.moneysavingexpert.com
(Please note the placement of the speech marks as that is very important!)
This would then return results relating to your search request.

Nod_Off

Struggling so badly! 11 hours in and all I have achieved are comps ending tomorrow and trawling through the advents to see if the prize is worth entering for (usually NO). My internet is running so slow and I now need to summon up the motivation to crack on with the mag dailies and click to wins :eek:

Blulu

Well, I am soooooo cream-crackered! I've been comping for most of today, just doing the advents, and I have only just got to the end of OYL's list. Now I can start doing my dailies and perhaps even doing some of the normal main board ones :eek:

I'm sure the first day is the worst, as we register, sort out niggles, decide on lots not to bother with, and just get used to them. So hopefully tomorrow will be easier.

Thanks again Our Lass for organising them so efficiently. That really helped :T:T:T

GL folks - keep calm and keep drinking!

Blu X

cagsd

Phew, it looks like I've survived day one relatively unscathed!! The first day is always the worst as 1) you have to look at each one to figure out what sort of stuff's on offer, and 2) there's more added each time you look!! I have managed to do not only all the advents I wanted to but also the dailies!! go me!!

The main board is going to have to wait till i get some breathing space though!!

OneYorkshireLass

djc58 wrote: »

I saw the advent under photographyblog, check by using advanced search and it is not there at all?

Possible MSErs recognised it open to USA only, not UK and not bother to post it to here? (I cannot see the T&Cs)

http://spyder.datacolor.com/holidaygiveaway/

So I put it here instead, to see if anyone know about that? Also whether it is should forward to the advent thread or not?

Thanks

Checked this, I think it's for US residents only, but if anyone finds otherwise pls post it

Marg2k8

This is my first year of trying to do the advents properly, rather than just when I stumbled across them. I have been doing folders of bookmarks, I was wondering if the more experienced of you bookmark the thread on MSE for those you are interested in, or if you bookmark the actual competition page.

Fortunately, I don't have facebook, so this means that I am probably only doing half of what some of you are doing.

Good luck everyone.

OneYorkshireLass

I bookmark MSE if there are questions to be answered or the comp link changes. I bookmark the actual comp if it's just a case of clicking on the numbered door, or something self explanatory