Yuleswaps 2016: Swap Wars! SIGN-UPS ARE OPEN.
Greetings, beloved swappers! Many apologies if you had started to fear that Yuletide Swaps would not be happening this year. Due to a combination of Real Life and mild shell-shock (in the best possible, most deeply impressed, slightly envious way) from the early and extremely efficient kick-off of Yuletide proper, sleepfighter and I failed to write our usual heads-up post at an appropriate time this year. BUT IT'S ALL OKAY NOW, SWAPS IS HAPPENING, ETC. Special thanks to those #yuletide chatters who helped me to brainstorm this year's swaps theme, and to katayla, who proofread the sign-up forms when I simply could not look at them any longer. <3
If you are new to swaps, or to Yuletide, and curious about what this all is: please check out our lengthy FAQ, which I just edited for the first time in three years! After reading the FAQ, if you are interested in signing up but have some additional questions, please feel free to comment here, or email us at yuleswaps at gmail dot com!
And now... This year's schedule, your typical batch of friendly pre-sign-up reminders, and sign-up links!
THIS YEAR'S SCHEDULE:
+ Sign-up forms are open now and will close on Thursday, October 20, 2016 at 9:00 PM PDT. Click here for a countdown, as always! Extensions will be unlikely this year overall, because matching will probably commence as soon as the forms close. Please alert your friends that sign-ups are open, and please sign up on time yourself!
+ Match-ups will go out between the 24th and 26th of October (we hope).
+ Our SENDING DEADLINE this year is THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2016. (It was going to be that Friday, but then we realized that was Veteran's Day in the US -- post offices closed, alas.)
OTHER REMINDERS AND NOTICES:
Please at least skim, even if you are an old hand. :|
+ SWAPS CENTRAL: our all-in-one check-in form! You remember it, right? Please do not forget that you must check in here at several points during the swapping process, and that the VERY FIRST CHECK-IN will be to alert us that you did, indeed, receive your match-up email!
+ If you check in at Swaps Central with a time-sensitive concern and do not receive a response within 48 hours, please email us at yuleswaps at gmail to let us know. Communication is key to us helping you out, finding back-up senders, and generally not worrying that somehow only half of you received your match-up emails (or, worse, packages)!
+ The sign-up forms allow you to tell us, in a general way, that you may have allergies/dietary restrictions, because, especially with candyswap, we like to take these things into account when we match. However, please tell your candyswap/drinkswap sender DIRECTLY as well! (Note for certain countries with strict customs restrictions, e.g. Australia: please also directly remind your -- probably American -- sender that nuts/spices/fruits/eggs/seeds will not be allowed to enter the country. This list is not comprehensive/may or may not be strictly accurate. Please research the rules for your particular situation.)
+ DON'T GIVE US YOUR STREET ADDRESS; DO GIVE US YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS! Your exact mailing address does not belong in the swaps sign-up form; it belongs in an email to your sender, down the line. Also, after signing up, please keep an eye on the email you used, INCLUDING SPAM/PROMOTIONS FOLDERS! We'll be sending everything to that email when the time comes, and may even contact you sooner, if there is a problem with your sign-up.
+ If something terrible and/or wildly unexpected happens, PLEASE DO NOT DISAPPEAR IN SHAME. Just email us. We will take care of it. Everything will be okay. Please communicate.
+ At least one LJ post will appear under the requisite tags as soon as match-up emails have begun to go out -- please keep an eye out, in case your email is lost, and contact us if yours does not appear within a day of that post.
+ If you are interested in ONLY pinch-hitting for any swaps: ideally, just sign up the regular way and not in the free-response box at the end of each form that you would like to only pinch-hit for that swap. (To be extra safe, you may want to also email us at yuleswaps at gmail with your AO3 username, the specific swap you want to only pinch-hit for, and any other relevant information.)
+ If you're on your phone, you may experience some glitchery: it may be worth switching to a computer if you can't submit the forms without error. If you experience glitching on a desktop browser, we advise turning off any ad-block or scripting things, refreshing the page or opening a new tab with the form, or clearing your cache, or trying a different browser. Although we do find, in recent years, that mobile seems to mostly work these days (hooray/knock on wood)!
+ Lastly, before signing up, we encourage every swapper to sit down with their budget and calendar and do a reality check to consider whether you can financially AND time-wise afford to build and mail 1-3 packages between late October and Thursday, November 10, 2016.
AND NOW...SIGN-UPS FOR SWAP WARS 2016:
A New Candy! The Empire Strikes Book(s)! Return of the Drinks!
Other important swaps links:
Our FAQ!
Swaps Central 2016! (LINK COMING SOON)
Sending Resources (accepting updates, suggestions, and revisions!)
Candyswap Tag, Bookswap Tag, Drinkswap Tag!
If you have any questions, comments, et al. -- please comment below or shoot us an email at yuleswaps at gmail, and sleepfighter and I will try to respond to you ASAP. Possibly aided by care_says and any number of other highly capable and experienced swappers. :)
...May the swaps be with you!
If you are new to swaps, or to Yuletide, and curious about what this all is: please check out our lengthy FAQ, which I just edited for the first time in three years! After reading the FAQ, if you are interested in signing up but have some additional questions, please feel free to comment here, or email us at yuleswaps at gmail dot com!
And now... This year's schedule, your typical batch of friendly pre-sign-up reminders, and sign-up links!
THIS YEAR'S SCHEDULE:
+ Sign-up forms are open now and will close on Thursday, October 20, 2016 at 9:00 PM PDT. Click here for a countdown, as always! Extensions will be unlikely this year overall, because matching will probably commence as soon as the forms close. Please alert your friends that sign-ups are open, and please sign up on time yourself!
+ Match-ups will go out between the 24th and 26th of October (we hope).
+ Our SENDING DEADLINE this year is THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2016. (It was going to be that Friday, but then we realized that was Veteran's Day in the US -- post offices closed, alas.)
OTHER REMINDERS AND NOTICES:
Please at least skim, even if you are an old hand. :|
+ SWAPS CENTRAL: our all-in-one check-in form! You remember it, right? Please do not forget that you must check in here at several points during the swapping process, and that the VERY FIRST CHECK-IN will be to alert us that you did, indeed, receive your match-up email!
+ If you check in at Swaps Central with a time-sensitive concern and do not receive a response within 48 hours, please email us at yuleswaps at gmail to let us know. Communication is key to us helping you out, finding back-up senders, and generally not worrying that somehow only half of you received your match-up emails (or, worse, packages)!
+ The sign-up forms allow you to tell us, in a general way, that you may have allergies/dietary restrictions, because, especially with candyswap, we like to take these things into account when we match. However, please tell your candyswap/drinkswap sender DIRECTLY as well! (Note for certain countries with strict customs restrictions, e.g. Australia: please also directly remind your -- probably American -- sender that nuts/spices/fruits/eggs/seeds will not be allowed to enter the country. This list is not comprehensive/may or may not be strictly accurate. Please research the rules for your particular situation.)
+ DON'T GIVE US YOUR STREET ADDRESS; DO GIVE US YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS! Your exact mailing address does not belong in the swaps sign-up form; it belongs in an email to your sender, down the line. Also, after signing up, please keep an eye on the email you used, INCLUDING SPAM/PROMOTIONS FOLDERS! We'll be sending everything to that email when the time comes, and may even contact you sooner, if there is a problem with your sign-up.
+ If something terrible and/or wildly unexpected happens, PLEASE DO NOT DISAPPEAR IN SHAME. Just email us. We will take care of it. Everything will be okay. Please communicate.
+ At least one LJ post will appear under the requisite tags as soon as match-up emails have begun to go out -- please keep an eye out, in case your email is lost, and contact us if yours does not appear within a day of that post.
+ If you are interested in ONLY pinch-hitting for any swaps: ideally, just sign up the regular way and not in the free-response box at the end of each form that you would like to only pinch-hit for that swap. (To be extra safe, you may want to also email us at yuleswaps at gmail with your AO3 username, the specific swap you want to only pinch-hit for, and any other relevant information.)
+ If you're on your phone, you may experience some glitchery: it may be worth switching to a computer if you can't submit the forms without error. If you experience glitching on a desktop browser, we advise turning off any ad-block or scripting things, refreshing the page or opening a new tab with the form, or clearing your cache, or trying a different browser. Although we do find, in recent years, that mobile seems to mostly work these days (hooray/knock on wood)!
+ Lastly, before signing up, we encourage every swapper to sit down with their budget and calendar and do a reality check to consider whether you can financially AND time-wise afford to build and mail 1-3 packages between late October and Thursday, November 10, 2016.
AND NOW...SIGN-UPS FOR SWAP WARS 2016:
A New Candy! The Empire Strikes Book(s)! Return of the Drinks!
Other important swaps links:
Our FAQ!
Swaps Central 2016! (LINK COMING SOON)
Sending Resources (accepting updates, suggestions, and revisions!)
Candyswap Tag, Bookswap Tag, Drinkswap Tag!
If you have any questions, comments, et al. -- please comment below or shoot us an email at yuleswaps at gmail, and sleepfighter and I will try to respond to you ASAP. Possibly aided by care_says and any number of other highly capable and experienced swappers. :)
...May the swaps be with you!