Promo Code Giveaways Forum

Cool. That was quick

 

Oh Crap. Now it`s even more easier for lurkers to grab the codes. Promo codes now show up gloriously on the front page with big bold title Promo Code Giveaway

 

Thanks Arn! It's much more organized now!

 

Ahem... I was just kidding over there. No real need to move promo codes to GD forum. The forums look really organized now. Thanx for that again.

 

Fantastic idea!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks a lot to the whole toucharcade team!!!!!

 

It should be possible. MR already has the Promo Code sub forum viewable to members only.

 

make the promo code area non viewable for people that arnt logged in/lurkers. That would solve the problem.

 

Yes!
Thats a great idea.
Make the promo code giveaway section not viewable by people not logged in/lurkers

 

Thanks!

Or you can make it hidden but once you log in it's not hidden. But then again the promo code giveaways in the front page will have links to the forum...

 

Arn, from a dev perspective, this takes away a lot of the exposure a contest is designed to provide. If a contest is done well, it will generate hours of top level exposure, provide excellent feedback, create a closer relationship between dev and player, and generate buzz. As I'm sure you may have guessed by now, some of the people at Apple who choose the featured apps do visit your site regularly. The number of games that have gotten featured after prolonged forum discussion, or brief mentions on the front page, is pretty large, and includes a fair number of smaller devs, not just the obvious big guns. Will they go explore the contest section?

I think hiding away the contests will limit exposure to just those people interested in getting free stuff. Yeah, we might get a couple reviews out of it, but in reality, almost nobody ever leaves a review. The exposure to the general population, who may check out a contest thread that has several hundred responses, is gone.

Yes, I agree that contest threads muck up the system when the contest is over. Maybe they could be deleted after a day, as they serve no purpose after that.

But, your site, your rules. Just adding what I think other devs may be thinking. We make contests to generate buzz. I don't know that there's much buzz in a sub forum.

 

@Little White Bear Studios
They aren't forcing you to put your thread in that category.
You could just make you thread in the game releases and it would be fine.
But a mod might move it

 

I was under the impression that they would belong in the promo forum, and would immediately be moved when found. I have no desire to go around the rules, just expressing my concern.

 

Okay, maybe hiding isn't the proper term. But the result is the same: only those who are looking for free games will see it. It's perfectly fine if that's the rules, but it tends to take away the point of having contests in the first place.

 

I understand what you're saying, but honestly, I really think contest threads are mostly full of code grubbers, and a lot of the "discussion" that goes on during a 2 hour contest is just spam. A lot of "TanZen rocks!" or "Cool!" and "Damn, missed that one!" For a developer, it's nice to have a big bolded link at the very top of the forum for a couple hours, but for readers who are looking for discussions, it's just clutter.

I imagine that people will still keep their eyes out for contests, and you'll get roughly the same audience. Why not bump up your release thread with a note that a contest is about to begin in the promo code section? Anyone interested will know to head over or keep an eye out, and everyone else can go about their business.

I really welcome this change. So many times, I go into a new release thread looking for information and opinions about the game, only to be assaulted by 40 "I'd like a code!" "All gone." "Damn lurkers!" posts. I have no problem with developers trying their best to promote their apps, but I'd rather not encourage spamming, which unfortunately, promo code giveaways and contests can't help but do.

Also, I wouldn't say that moving contests to a separate thread makes having contests worthless. They might not have the same effect, but I would bet that they will have a bigger impact than doing nothing at all. You're very good at creating interesting contests that are fun to participate in. I can't see why you couldn't have similar success in another section.

 

Can't argue with that. Contests mean exposure for devs. Contests can also mean clutter for some viewers. They're not unlike commercials.

I think bumping the release thread may be even more clutter than the contest, as the title is misleading, since the game hasn't just been released. If the goal is a clutter free forum, then yes, moving everything somewhere else is a solution.

I'm all for separating info threads from contest threads. [edit: By this I mean a thread about info, and a thread about a contest, not a different forum for each] If a thread says it's a contest, one should expect such terms (not in my contests, but in many, yes). A thread about the game should be about info, not codes. But that's just my opinion.

Noy worthless, just less effective. I've given away hundreds of codes in the last year. The review return can be counted on two hands. The true value of contests is advertising to the general gaming public. In a contest forum, you're advertising to a smaller audience, one which is looking for free stuff, thus making it less effective. Why does the advertising on the front page of Touch Arcade cost so much more than an ad on a sub page? Because the front page gets more eyes, and is much more effective. Same thing with contests.

As I said, I have no problem following the new rules. I just don't expect my contests to have nearly the impact they used to. Members want cleaner forums, and I can respect that.