Send A Card, Give A Child A Toy! [PLEASE READ!]

[onions]

Sorry, I guess I didn't read it that well, but it must have been updated because it mentions the 3 email limit that seems to be one of the new complications our efforts. It made the front page of the website however, which is why I mentioned it...

huh, interesting. they must have updated the article then, to spread the word about the updated requirements. thanks for sharing that.

[buriedbybricks]

Sorry, I guess I didn't read it that well, but it must have been updated because it mentions the 3 email limit that seems to be one of the new complications our efforts. It made the front page of the website however, which is why I mentioned it...

It doesn't mention a 3 message limit, it only says there are 3 different messages to choose from.

[buriedbybricks]

Had you sent any previously Chief?

[Chief]

Yes, with no problem. I hadn't mass emailed anyone, so I haven't been blocked as far as I know.
I sent out about a dozen tonight, to an assortment of legit email addresses: only 3 eventually arrived to their intended destinations. I guess that means you can only send 3 per IP and not 3 per email? :\

[volumex]

I knew something wasnt right here, I' think they blocked my IP address on monday already, and my service provider flagged my account. I feel Lego didnt really want to give a million toys away in the first place.
What rub's my back is we are all just trying to do good here, so why let a technology freeze stand in the way. I've not thrown in the towel, all they've done is create a more determined 'clicker'!
Guy's lets show them we can achieve the goal! cos we just want to 'give' the gift that keeps giving! LEGO.

[onions]

chief's theory does sound quite plausible. and if it's true, I can't imagine that this is how LEGO wanted to spread holiday cheer, limited to three greetings per IP address.

[darth_fett]

I hope the 3 per ip that Chief suggested is incorrect b/c i sent about a dozen today to various family/friends. 3 were returned undeliverable but 1 was typed incorrectly. The other 2 i suspect are old addresses i never updated & have since forgotten the new ones. People get on your Facebook, Myspace, google+ and hell, local news stations and beg support. My email is edanlong@yahoo.com if anyone wants to send me greetings, promise i'll send em right back. Btw, if we do get on local news, do we mention TLG's gestapo tactics? Or do we let it slide because of xmas spirit?

[onions]

i'd like to put a stop this right here and now: there's no need to talk badly about lego. i genuinely believe that they are willing to donate the million toys. i believe that their back end support team is resolving issues in a haphazard patchwork fashion without looking at the larger picture at how their actions are affecting the goal of the site. i realize the situation is a little frustrating, please have a little patience. my contact wants us to succeed just as much as we do. at this point, i can only trust that she is on my side and will be doing what she can to alleviate the situation.

[GroudonMan]

I agree that we should not feel ill toward LEGO. While our actions are meant to spread goodwill by helping to reach the goal of 1 million toys donated, I'm sure it is not exactly what LEGO had intended when coming up with the promotion. They surely meant for the cards to go to friends and relatives, who then continue the chain by sending it on. However, this method wasn't spreading quickly enough to get anywhere near the 1 million point, and I am quite happy to find a group of people willing to dedicate themselves to see it happen.

[legomason]

Just wanted to point out that those 4 polybags combined have 55 less parts than the Star Wars Advent Calendar: 95+52+17+47=211 vs 266!

[onions]

not sure what your point is.

[Mofo Jones]

Just wanted to point out that those 4 polybags combined have 55 less parts than the Star Wars Advent Calendar: 95+52+17+47=211 vs 266!

And if you won either prize, you'd gain at least 211 pieces of free LEGO. If your point is that somehow the polybags are a lesser prize, you're missing the point. Do this FOR THE TOTS! not because you might win a prize.

[Stardusty]

LEGO just had to ruin the fun...

Just wanted to point out that those 4 polybags combined have 55 less parts than the Star Wars Advent Calendar: 95+52+17+47=211 vs 266!

There's at least 500 people who will win nothing (266 pieces less than SW Advent Calendar), so I really
don't get your point. If you would win any of the prizes, you would get some free bricks.
What's wrong with that?

Besides, two of those polybags are hard to get.

[Robzula]

I thought he was taking a dig against the Advent Calendar, saying how meager it is when just these four polybags contain almost as many pieces as that $40 set.

[legomason]

I thought he was taking a dig against the Advent Calendar, saying how meager it is when just these four polybags contain almost as many pieces as that $40 set.

Bingo! I'm really surprised they aren't on clearance at Target yet considering...

[deco_droid]

i think lego's intent was to donate the toys based on a large group of fans participating -- not based on a few afol's uber-spamming tactics.

follow the rules and be happy with the results.

[goshe7]

i think lego's intent was to donate the toys based on a large group of fans participating -- not based on a few afol's uber-spamming tactics.

follow the rules and be happy with the results.

This isn't spamming. This is intentionally sending a high volume of email to a recipient who has specifically opted to receive them to maximize the charitable contribution from LEGO. The comments on the posts and this thread would indicate that LEGO at least had an awareness that some of the cards would be sent with the intent of maximizing the donations to Toys for Tots, incentivized by contest giveaways.

So maybe LEGO didn't anticipate it happening to the extent that it has and are trying to determine a better approach of meeting their intents. I would be happy to work within the confines of whatever rules they have in place.

What about a proactive adjustment of the contest rules from FBTB (perhaps in conjunction with LEGO)?
1. Eliminate the prize for "most cards sent" and just make it a raffle winner as well
2. Cap the number of entries per person in the raffle at some number (10?, 100? 1000? 10,000?)

#2 would need some work to ensure people didn't just hit the cap with multiple alternate email addresses and raise their personal number of entries over the limit.

[onions]

Don't mind deco droid. The majority of his posts never contribute anything positive.

[onions]

So that we're all on the same page: if they are indeed limiting the number of greetings sent per ip address, then there is no way that a sender is going to know this. There is no error message, no notification whatsoever. If you are reading this and are still sending multiple messages, please stop until further notice. I really don't want anyone to waste their time if unnecessarily.

[Gooker1]

And just for fun, I wanted to see if my IP address is still blocked...and it is.