I am happy to announce a new feature that will be taking place on codex. Competitions / Lucky Member Draws that will allow the users of the site to win real prizes. Rather than making a large body post I am just going to create a Q & A style layout and let you find the questions you might have about the system.
Q: How often will the contests run?
A: The contests will run once every 2 or 3 months.
Q: How do I enter these contests?
A: An advanced membership or higher (including subscribed advanced) will be a requirement.
These contests are also designed to encourage activity from both new accounts and older members so continued activity on the boards will ensure your eligibility.
The entry method itself will vary from contest to contest. It may be as simple as posting in the thread, or as complex as digging up something in a members past and messaging it to one of the contest runners. All requirements (activity, entry etc) will be noted in each competition announcement.
Q: What are the prizes?
A: There will be 3 different prizes chosen. The grand prize will be an item worth somewhere between 75$ and 100$ (USD). Then 2 lower grade prizes which will usually be NeoCash cards valued at 25$ and 10$. For the grand prize, we will need you to supply us with your real name and address so we can have the prize delivered to you!
Q: What if I dont want a NeoCash prize?
A: In the event that you do not wish to have the NeoCash card you can trade in the 25$ card for 3 entries in the next contest and the 10$ card for 1 entry.
Q: Where is the money for these items coming from?
A: Neocodex receives a little more money from advanced subscription then what is needed to physically run the site. Part of this funding goes into hosting, part goes into paying for the forum software and modifications and other various costs associated with running the site. Some is also put away for a rainy day (not every months subscriptions are the same). Because we do receive a little more then we use, we've decided to give some of what we receive back to you, the members!
Q: Can we suggest possible prizes for the next contest?
A: Sure you can, send either soul__stealer or myself your proposal and we will consider it. If possible, add both of us to the PM and we will discuss discuss it form there.
Q: How long will the contests run for after they are announced?
A: Depending on the contest, they may run from one (1) to three (3) weeks after they are announced. The competition notice will announce the time-frame for each one. After this time the contest thread will be closed and the winner picked.
Q: How will the winners be chosen?
A: We wanted to keep the community involved when it came to the "randomness" of picking the winners (also to prevent any claims of cheating or favouritism from the staff). So what we will do is shuffle all of the entrants and then assign them each a number. After this we will ask one of the members from the site to pick a number from 1 to n (where n = total number of entrants). Only soul__stealer and myself will know which numbers correspond with which users.
Q: Are we allowed to have multiple accounts in-order to gain multiple entries?
A: What do you think the answer to this is? Of course not. This is actually against the Neocodex rules and offenders may be banned from the site. For the initial competition, only 1 entry per person will be allowed, however future competions may have methods of earning bonus entries.
Q: How will cheating be dealt with?
A: If we catch anyone cheating with this contest (by sharing the answers to questions via pm for example), all involved parties will have their entries removed from the contest and will be unable to participate for a minimum of 4 months.
Q: I have more questions D:
A: Ask them here and they will be added to this list.
With all of this said I would like to direct you to the very first contest
Good luck to you all
~Cody Woolaver, Neocodex.us Administrator
