Confusion regarding the Scrap.tf Secret Santa Event

[Conceptual Quote]

I have been a user of Scrap.tf for awhile now, not too long, but long enough that I check on here every so often for TF2 items and have found many a great deal.

I like this website, and the interface is user-friendly, very much indeed!

Though, that is not the reason I am posting something in this forum.

I am here because I decided to be a Secret Santa for Scrap.tf, because who doesn't like giving gifts to people, right?

I believe it was about 2-3 weeks ago that I wanted to join the Secret Santa, and right off the bat, I had issues with the Secret Santa interface, there are/were two Chat windows that were used for contacting your gift recipient, and your giftee, anonymously. Seemed simple enough, leave a message, wait, and hope for a reply, get to know their class preferences, and then you buy a gift.

To be quite honest, this was a bit more confusing than necessary, because there's no actual way to tell if the person you're messaging is even receiving these messages, and if they are, it doesn't seem they're replying. (At least for some people.)

This was the case with me, my recipient, nor my giftee replied to either of my messages through Scrap.tf.

Later on, after checking back on Scrap.tf in hopes of getting a message, I stumbled upon a page that directed me to a post in which it said I needed to comment on HarryG's profile to be added to the list, in which I did. I wasn't sure if there was extra confirmation needed, or secondary confirmation because of something going awry with the Secret Santa's Even Anonymous Chat.

Like a majority of people, I had a job, and I had obligations, but every night I'd check back on the Secret Santa Event page and I'd have nary a reply from either person. It seemed my match didn't care too much about the event, or something else was going on outside of Steam that they were handling, either way, I had no replies from either person.

Around December 11th, a Monday, I had a bad Muffin and came down with food poisoning, and it had me out of commission until December 14th, Thursday. I took the day to get some good sleep and rejuvenate, and when Friday came, I finally logged back into Steam to find a comment left on my profile from someone named ForteSP (Image provided below of the comment)

I had done a quick skim, (Little had I failed noticed the 'backpack.tf' in this person's comment) and promptly added the person linked on my profile.

After having him accept my request, I began to ask him questions about the Secret Santa, and made notice of how in the description, this was a new approach from prior year's events. So I asked him how many people were actively participating in 'Chaperoning' the event and making matches, gift acceptance and distribution, etcetera. And he told me how he was the sole person in charge of gifts, and how matches were made by other people and he gathered the information to help with choosing gifts for people's matches.

After talking with HarryG, I was paired with a different match for the Secret Santa, and after looking over their profile, I had picked out gifts I found to be suitable.

 

I had relayed to Harry that the items would be un-tradable until Thursday, December 21st, and asked if that would mean I'm still a participant in the event, to which he replied, yes, It would be fine, so long as I got the gifts to him before the 24th.

Now, at this point, I was under the impression that I was in the clear, and I could just do whatever during the next week until the items became tradable, and then my recipient would have some new stuff to play around with.

But come December 19th, I logged onto Scrap.tf to look for a Bushi-Dou, and noticed I had a message in my inbox, informing me that I had been dropped from the event for failing to give a gift before the deadline.

I was incredibly confused, as I was aware that everything had been taken care of by my talking to HarryG and setting things straight. 

At the end of the night before I logged off Steam, I shot a message to HarryG explaining my confusion on the matter, and if there was something that happened, either an automated removal, or someone else removing me, and waited for the next morning for a response.

When I woke up this morning, I had a message from him saying that the Secret Santa he was part of wasn't the Scrap.tf, and that he was part of the backpack.tf Secret Santa.

I was even more puzzled than I was last night, because I was unaware that backpack.tf had a Secret Santa going on, (Well, in retrospect, it's huge, so of course there'd be one) either way, I hadn't asked to join, I was wanting to be a part of the scrap.tf Secret Santa. And to my knowledge, he was the person I was to go to for Scrap.tf.

After telling him on my predicament, he simply told me that I was indeed on the list of people to match with.

 

At this point, I'm sure there's a lot to blame on my part, a lot of assuming, and very little clarification that should have been made.

But regarding the Scrap.tf Secret Santa, does this mean I am forever banned from the event for getting mixed up with another Event I had unknowingly participated in, thinking I was part of this event?

I'm hoping that I'm not the only person who got confused by this, as this is my first year I decided to join an event, simply to be kicked out of it for (seemingly) no reason.

In other words, if I'm now a part of the Backpack.tf Secret Santa, guess I'll make someone happy at least.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this through, and if there's anything that can be done, or someone that can answer any of my questions, please let me know! :3

 

 

 

[The Mann Himself]

Unfortunately, you are indeed banned from the Scrap.tf Secret Santa. You had to contact HarryG for the entrance to the bp.tf secret santa, while the scrap.tf secret santa was fully automated and you didn't have to confirm your entry with anyone after December 1st. It really is a shame such a mix-up banned you from the scrap.tf one, but oh well.

[DochThor Sechsus 1000]

The predicament I got myself in was similar,as in the "confirmation" way similar. So basically i joined the event as soon as I could,and then life just went on for several days. On December 1st I was at the birthday party of my school buddy in a pizzeria,and we were actually having lotsa fun (to clarify,it was NOT a "FNAF" type pizzeria,so doN't even ask)

Either way,that day I got home late,so I just went to sleep straight ahead. The next morning I realized what happened. I FORGOT TO CHECK ON S.S. ON DEC. 1st!!

 

I was so pissed,I got no feedback from the site telling me I was a grinch (idk why I was expecting it,maybe I thought not being there on time would cause me to be automatically be tagged as grinch etc.) ,but to me the event just disappeared in itself,without a trace! This is a serious issue that had better be fixed next year,or preferably THIS year,so that users can't only participate until a given deadline,because i personally think thats just stupid,dagnabbit! Instead,users should be able to participate during any day between the day of gift giving,and the day of the launch of the event. Last year I had so much fun with SS,and got me a good friend too! The fact I missed the event is so depressing...

 

Please fix it so that late-comers can join too,and not be left out of the whole holiday cheer the others got to have!

 

Thanks,and have a good day/night/pingas/spaghetti/3 R R 0 R

[MIKEW]

ohh

[Experience Master]

I've had similar issues with mine, I checked S.S when I could talking to my giftee and reciepient, then Scarp.tf went down and I assumed it would be down for a while, I checked back today and I had been kicked from the event, would've been nice to have been given a bit more heads up to the deadlines, I had been reading the rules and guidelines for S.S since it's announcement and yet it was all so sudden, you'd think there would at least be a blog post going "To all our members taking part in this year's secret santa, be sure to trade your gift in before

1. otherwise you will be removed from the list.

 

But instead it was just You have been removed. Not everyone can jump onto the net 24/7, I have had work for the past week, my net had cut and been down for 2 days after the bill was paid then the site went down it just didn't seem fair on a group of people

[Skycania]

wow

[✪ MaskedMan]

I’ve had something simulará happened before I confirmed everything and putted in two times to send by when I checked on Thursday to make sure verything was good it said I was kicked out of the event and that I hadnt put in anything I don’t I ow if that made me a grinch but I hope It didn’t because I lost those twos hat and never got them back so yh

[DR. BEES]

That's a bummer dude.

Personally, I found the automation / messages to not be an issue. They said to deposit by the 18th, but after that point we were still allowed to change the gift.

What I would have done if my gift was untradable, would have been to deposit a filler gift then swap the gifts once they became tradable. 

Maybe the staff will have mercy on you; you could always try the support section for help with that.