I've been thinking about how birthdays are a big deal to most people but around here it's mostly just or .  With the over-the-top generosity around here that just doesn't seem right somehow.

So, what if we tried basically a year long Secret Birthday Bomber Exchange?  I'd be willing to facilitate it.  It would run similar to Rebecca's Secret Santa exchange:  everyone throw their hat in initially who is interested (with similar limitations on tenure and activity to qualify) and I will scramble names to identify who bombs who, then let it run for a year.  I will let you know initially who it is you're gifting and then give you a reminder when the person's birthday is approaching.  Then you get to help make someone's birthday all the more special and someone makes your birthday more special as well, win win!  We can have a running thread where the opened brithday gifts are posted, you can exclaim how it's exactly what you always wanted and we can all ooh and aah at the birthday haul.

For right now just let me know here or via PM if you're interested.  If there are enough people wanting to do it then I'll set up more thorough guidelines to make sure it's a quality experience for all and pick a start and end date, thinking maybe follow the fiscal year given we just hit March.

If any of the seasoned vets see major flaws in the idea feel free to speak up here.

I am intrigued...

I'm in!

I think you addressed a couple of minor concerns I would have voiced above. This sounds like a cool idea to me, and I'd be in.

I would be interested

I would play as well.

Absolutely!

I would get in on this. I'm having 365 birthdays this year so this would be a good year for me.

I'm in
Can we start it before next week  

Ha ha, a very happy unbirthday to you Brian!

I quit having birthdays years ago.......

I'm in!

E

Interesting, will need some monitoring.  Also need some rules much like passes.
I would suggest there be a member level minimum but there also needs to be a level of ongoing participation.  Someone could have left the sight a year ago and still be on the list.
How about a birthday PIF and people could pick up as people's BD's become available?

But great idea, I would be in for sure

Chuck,

I've thought about that very issue as I've seen those flash in the pan members that get into the forums and then fade to the sidelines after a few months, or there's people who seem to have been around in the past but are no longer very active in the forums.  That's where the rules will come into play; I'd make sure there's enough tenure and enough prolonged recent presence on the site to where I'm comfortable they'll still be around in a year barring some type of happenstance.  Ultimately I'm the bouncer on anyone that expresses interest; if I haven't seen them around long enough or recently enough they won't get to play.  And as moderator I'm willing to own it if my judgement proves wrong and someone flakes, I can send the gift.

I thought about a Birthday PIF as well, but the timing of people's birthdays is the difficulty there, it wouldn't really be a PIF.  But maybe instead of randomizing who gifts who I sequence it so that it effectively is a PIF.  That way if you fail on gifting someone there is no PIF back to you?

Sounds like a good idea I'm in.

Good idea, count me in as well.

I expect MANY members to send me cigars on my birthday whether this idea takes off or not. (It's Oct 3, BTW.)  

But I agree with Chuck that the wrinkle will be that even longtime, active members disappear occasionally, and regularly enough where it will most certainly happen within the next year.  So they might get their Bday gift, and then 6 months later they are no longer on the site.  The PIF sequencing idea might work better because the member is currently active.

But overall, a great new idea to bring to CG!

Love the idea! Definitely in! Here's a solution to mitigate the long term risk:

What you could do is group people by birthdays that fall in the same month and arrange it so that they bomb each other anonymously. That way, you can even add and drop people throughout the year. It's a lot of coordinating from your end, but I think it could work. You can even sort of time it like Geek Critiques and say "Mid-November" post a thread asking who's interested to participate in the "December bombing," get the bombing list out by the end of Nov and sit back and watch it unveil during Dec. Just a thought, hope you go through with it!

P.S. If you do like the idea, here's a few proposed rules. To make it even more anonymous, discourage ppl from posting in the thread and have them PM you instead, while you keep posting in the thread of how many slots have been filled for that month. I think anonymity just adds to the fun imo. Also, to limit you having to work endlessly, maybe have a limit of 10 slots per month. That could serve 2 other purposes, keep it enticing and also garner only the very interested folks who are responsive and reliable. And lastly, if the bomb photos are posted in that month's thread, that'll make for a very clean and organized system. Btw, sorry for rambling, the idea just sparked my interest and got me thinking.

I could see that making a lot of sense if this really catches on someday, but in looking at the spread of birthdays from those interested so far I don't see it working.  Kent would have to bomb himself and there are other months with only 2 birthdays, and there are no birthdays from April thru June.  But I can still keep it anonymous if only I know the order and I PM assignments.

 I'll kick this thing off officially by week's end to see if we can't sneak Kent in before the 3 month birthday drought.

Should be fun!

This is a great idea and you have a number of options.  My only recommendation is using the KISS (keep it simple stupid!) principle