Over the last few weeks the Porch has been blessed to be able to host several different contests.  We hope to have many, many more!  Contests for all sorts of different wonderful items that can help enrich your homeschool. 

In each of these contests, rules have to be put in place, in part to follow the laws that regulate contests, and in part to track entries.  It all depends on the contest what will be asked.  We always need to know who you are so that we can contact you if you win!  That is why I am posting this, I want ALL of you to have a chance to win and a chance to be contacted.

Recently one of the sponsors for a past contest asked to use several of the comments as testimonials.  I wasn't able to contact everyone that the sponsor had asked for because they were either not logged in or had not left  a URL to their blog.  I know that sometimes you can forget!  I have forgotten to log in several times.  Still, for contests I can't choose your entry as a winner if there is no way to contact you or you have not complied with ALL of the contest rules. 

If a contest asks for the FULL URL (permalink) then that is what you need to give.  I don't check to see if you have followed all the contest rules until the day I randomly draw the winner.  If you have been asked to post something on your blog and leave the URL in a comment I have to go see if you actually did post the paragraph.  Not because I don't trust you, but if for some reason you didn't and I chose you as a winner without checking, someone else could then file a complaint that you did not follow all the contest rules.  Once a comment is drawn as a winner I then go check the blog and if you have posted several entries since the contest paragraph that had to be posted, I can't go looking for it.  That is why we ask for the full URL.   

Please, follow all the contest rules.  I WANT you to win!

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB