heidi8
in
help_haiti
Update on the Auction Closing Procedures
We haven't figured them all out yet - and nothing below applies to the Lightning Round. We are still testing some processes and procedures but we do know a few things:
1. Donations to any national or local Red Cross, Red Crescent, Red Magen David, OXFAM, UNICEF and/or Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres, as well as any donations made to Yéle Haiti, or by purchasing the Help Haiti virtual gift sold by LiveJournal will be Confirmable, or made at Starbucks in North America (Starbucks takes cash for donations, and no purchase is necessary).
2. Donations to certain other entities/charities/organizations will also be accepted, but we have not yet finalized the list of said entities/charities/organizations.
3. Any entities/charities/organizations requested by the Offeror whose item(s) for which you are the Winning Bidder will be Confirmable by the Offeror, even if said entities/charities/organizations are not listed on the comm's Confirmable list. In other words, if the Offeror has asked for donations to a specific charity, the Winning Bidder can donate to that charity, or to any of the Listed entities/charities/organizations.
4. You will be able to confirm your bid to the help_haiti mods if you donate to one of the Confirmable entities/charities/organizations. You can also confirm to the Offeror if the Offeror is okay with that, and we will ask that you confirm to the Offeror if you donate to an entity/charity/organization that is not on the Confirmable list.
5. We will have instructions tomorrow on how to mask your personally identifying information. We ask that if you confirm a donation made online to the help_haiti mods, you not mask your country, your email address or LJ username/OpenID, and either (a) the first letter of your first and last name or (b) your entire first name. Please do not use the "blur" feature, as it reportedly can be un-blurred; striking through your information with a rectangle or pen tool is not as reversible.
5b. We note that Starbucks in North America is facilitating donations to Yele and the American Red Cross; donations can be made in cash. To confirm donations via Starbucks, all you'll need is a scan or photo of your receipt with your email address written on it in ink.
6. Please do not list new offers after midnight Eastern Standard Time (US) on Wednesday, January 20. We understand that we initially said that we would not accept new threads after 6 AM that day and we will not block new offers made in that six hour period, but it would be a lot easier on us if people did not post new offers then. We will be hosting another auction in February, so if you didn't get to Offer something this time, you definitely can then! Plus, our UNICEF page will be open for donations at least through the spring.
7. [Added at 5:00 PM EST on January 18, 2010] If you've won multiple auctions, you will be able to donate in one lump sum to one charity/organization/entity if you want to; you will be able to confirm your donation by notifying the Comm Mods who will then notify the Offerors, or you will be able to confirm your donation by notifying all of the Offerors whose items are covered by the donation in one email that is cc-ed to each of the relevant Offerors, or via a GoogleWave that is visible by each of the relevant Offerors.
We know that many of you will probably have questions about the auction closing/bid confirmation procedures, so please feel free to ask them here! We are still working out the details and testing some technical things, though, so not every answer is, as yet, known.
Also, please note that winning bidders will be notified on January 20 and 21 - we have to do this manually, so it is going to take some time. If you haven't been notified by 8:00 AM Greenwich Mean Time on January 22, you can let us know, but please do not ask if you're the winner before that time.
1. Donations to any national or local Red Cross, Red Crescent, Red Magen David, OXFAM, UNICEF and/or Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres, as well as any donations made to Yéle Haiti, or by purchasing the Help Haiti virtual gift sold by LiveJournal will be Confirmable, or made at Starbucks in North America (Starbucks takes cash for donations, and no purchase is necessary).
2. Donations to certain other entities/charities/organizations will also be accepted, but we have not yet finalized the list of said entities/charities/organizations.
3. Any entities/charities/organizations requested by the Offeror whose item(s) for which you are the Winning Bidder will be Confirmable by the Offeror, even if said entities/charities/organizations are not listed on the comm's Confirmable list. In other words, if the Offeror has asked for donations to a specific charity, the Winning Bidder can donate to that charity, or to any of the Listed entities/charities/organizations.
4. You will be able to confirm your bid to the help_haiti mods if you donate to one of the Confirmable entities/charities/organizations. You can also confirm to the Offeror if the Offeror is okay with that, and we will ask that you confirm to the Offeror if you donate to an entity/charity/organization that is not on the Confirmable list.
5. We will have instructions tomorrow on how to mask your personally identifying information. We ask that if you confirm a donation made online to the help_haiti mods, you not mask your country, your email address or LJ username/OpenID, and either (a) the first letter of your first and last name or (b) your entire first name. Please do not use the "blur" feature, as it reportedly can be un-blurred; striking through your information with a rectangle or pen tool is not as reversible.
5b. We note that Starbucks in North America is facilitating donations to Yele and the American Red Cross; donations can be made in cash. To confirm donations via Starbucks, all you'll need is a scan or photo of your receipt with your email address written on it in ink.
6. Please do not list new offers after midnight Eastern Standard Time (US) on Wednesday, January 20. We understand that we initially said that we would not accept new threads after 6 AM that day and we will not block new offers made in that six hour period, but it would be a lot easier on us if people did not post new offers then. We will be hosting another auction in February, so if you didn't get to Offer something this time, you definitely can then! Plus, our UNICEF page will be open for donations at least through the spring.
7. [Added at 5:00 PM EST on January 18, 2010] If you've won multiple auctions, you will be able to donate in one lump sum to one charity/organization/entity if you want to; you will be able to confirm your donation by notifying the Comm Mods who will then notify the Offerors, or you will be able to confirm your donation by notifying all of the Offerors whose items are covered by the donation in one email that is cc-ed to each of the relevant Offerors, or via a GoogleWave that is visible by each of the relevant Offerors.
We know that many of you will probably have questions about the auction closing/bid confirmation procedures, so please feel free to ask them here! We are still working out the details and testing some technical things, though, so not every answer is, as yet, known.
Also, please note that winning bidders will be notified on January 20 and 21 - we have to do this manually, so it is going to take some time. If you haven't been notified by 8:00 AM Greenwich Mean Time on January 22, you can let us know, but please do not ask if you're the winner before that time.