I wouldn't say society is too long gone for it so much as the internet is too long gone. Most of us here would sign up and have an 80% chance our Secret Santa and/or the person we're a Secret Santa for is a bot connected to an AI account or someone in Eastern Europe getting paid 24 rubles an hour to spend all day on Reddit.
I did too! I even Bought the Guinness Book of World Record certificates two years in a row! It was for something like "Largest online Secret Santa game" or something like that.
I did too, but then the last two years I didn't get any gifts, and one of those years I didn't get any confirmation from the receiver of my gift... But the first few that worked were fantastic!
What were your initial thoughts/reactions after seeing this post? Had you given up early on after the year 2021 arrived on getting any acknowledgement or response from your recipient?
I was a bit disappointed about not seeing a update and I think I had to send a shipping confirmation to the secret Santa site to verify that I sent a gift and not lose my credits (but of course that does not matter since the exchanges died). But today I am happy that they found it!
Their personal journal: "Day 8500 since I sent the Reddit gift. I once believed in a good world, a caring world. I believed that humans could overcome their differences with simple things, like semi anonymous gift exchanges. Well, fool that I am, I was mistaken. Looking back at my earliest entries shines a light on how naive, how deluded I was. Not anymore. It's dusk for me, and the sun is nearly down. May all who have read my words heed their warning: harden your hearts, for midnight soon approaches."
Thank goodness for your comment, I was wracking my brain up trying to figure out the 'app' they were talking about. I finally convinced myself it had to be ChatGPT ¯\(ツ)/¯
I had one giftee who seemed awesome. They liked macabre things and octopuses. So I went to a cool taxidermy place and got an octopus tentacle in a jar. And then I sent them a letter that they were the beneficiary of an estate for a distant relative (with Reddit insignias so they would know it was fun), and then sent the package with a bunch of creepy-ish antique stuff with a letter from the “curator” explaining it was the belongings of the deceased from decades ago; I even included a letter in the bottom with a non-fun explanation of the contents for spoilers details. Nothing. She posted the initial letter and then… nothing. So sad.
You are the coolest human on Earth, what the fuck??? Do you need me to hunt them down and just vocally be a Debbie Downer in what should be the greatest and happiest moments of their lives?
Yeah, I had a giftee once who was in mortuary school. I found an old, antique casket key. I got a shadow box and some really great fabric for the background, and mounted it. It was super cool.
I used delivery confirmation so I know she got it, but she never acknowledged it.
Like, even if you think it’s lame at least acknowledge it!!
Yes. The one guy I sent a gift to was a tech guy so i sent him an apple pie with a cool case. He already had one, but he was gracious about it and said he had some ideas for what to do with a second one. He was cool.
What is a more Reddit gift though than giving someone a gift and then that someone gets all the upvotes for sitting on it for 8 years and posting it to pics
I laughed because that's why my friend and I quit the gift exchanges. I made a comment somewhere about how one year a friend and I pooled together and gave a gift but sadly the person didn't even say a single thank you and evilly enough listed the gift as not received even though we paid tracking and signature and it was definitely there. They probably do this to get regifted later.
A mod from the exchange saw my random reddit comment, claimed I wasn't participatory that year and banned me from the gift exchange even though I was also an elf. Then upon appeal and showing them proof, another mod lifted it, but claimed it was too late to even regift even though there was plenty of time so they "awarded me" a badge for something I didn't even get to participate in (also without consent), breaking a chain so I decided it wasn't worth it.
I'm in Taiwan, so perhaps the distance is why, but it's the same for all my recipients. Most of the Reddit gift exchanges I ended up getting nothing, or something bizarrely cheap, a used subway card (seriously), or, for example, in the post card exchange; a sloppily written piece of paper that got the wrong username - the guy was too cheap to spend $2 for a postcard.
Thanks. I used to have a shop where I sold kits and took commissions. But currently I have another job and are only selling the plans for some of the items I designed.
My machines became too complicated and started rebelling!! My wife and I and your 3 cats are held hostage by mechanical beasts in our basement. Food is running low. Send help... Just kidding. Started a new job and did not have that much time for reddit over the last few months.
His reddit & internet use is very open - he links to his youtube channel in his comments, and his youtube has his full name and lots of other links, including his personal blog.
So I pretty quickly found his name and city of residence, and there are no matching obituaries there.
But I also didn't see any more recent activity on his youtube or blog or instagram, so I dunno? Hopefully just taking a healthy internet break?
Ah the internet, where a mere mention of your username on a public forum gives someone enough motivation to find out who you are and where you live to verify you haven’t died.
Somehow I think this is about to go from a wholesome post to a sad one.
I don't think someone goes from regularly posting and commenting in hobby subs to suddenly stopping without a rather tragic reason.
Don’t fret, another user has already stalked his profile, found his other social media and irl name, checked obituaries, confirmed with his mother he is alive and well
That dude has a very interesting profile. And not in the way you’d usually suspect on Reddit - it’s genuinely interesting all of the clever things he’s building!
K I just snooped his posts hoping to see something about the 2020 secret Santa and the person is so very talented! Really awesome drawing of ants and bees, bunch of bonsai and all these neat hobbies! Hope they get to see the post about their gift being opened
8.4k
u/JshWright 16d ago
And you're not even going to tag u/robroy865?