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I did but it was a telco

Told them I only use fone for everything ... The girl wa trying to convince me to sign up with them for net . Told her don't need it, she became a tad forcefull. Told her I'll call when I have money

Then she wanted to know if I'm blowing out my allowance...

Offshore call centres have no idea about customer service

dont know what happened. think its stuff from here , they are always after hours, i have message bank and they dont leave message i block number

Calls were after 8pm Sydney time & they never left a message... One day I decide to answer @MammaPigga84

@Annaar I call back private no, and it either goes to voice mail or number cant be reached. then i block them on the iphone. if its calls after business hours usually sales calls or scams

No point blocking private numbers as you aren't really blocking the number... If it's a scam then they use hundreds of numbers that get disconnected as they move on.... I've blocked a few people who obtained my number by asking others when I said I'll not give it to them ... People who disclosed it got blocked as well :-)

The trust is gone ...

@MammaPigga84

you cant block private numbers! its other number

@MammaPigga84 If it is on your mobile you can get an app from the playstore called True Caller ... it blocks unwanted spam calls and also will show who is calling and if it is a constant number that keeps calling you can choose to personally block that number. I hope this helps. It has been a Godsend for me. May you have peace!!!

@WildAngel777 awesome ill check it out

I received a txt msg from HK in the middle of the night with some offers of business dealings.. blocked them asap

@Annaar I have had werid numbers call me all sorts of time in morning i just block them spamers

@MammaPigga84 Any details for what competitions/promoters you suspect result in these type of calls?

@Lemond Welcome back!!

@MammaPigga84 So have I!! The one from HK was blocked

@Lemond Just logged in (at almost 3pm and my daily score is 2) lol

@Annaar lol. Well 50 daily points today and logged in about 11:30pm left it a bit late. Thanks, I'm a recovering comperacholic. I took a few weeks siesta from doing competitions. Argh gained 3000+ over the last three weeks and hit the 10,000 emails to be sorted and cleaned up. I hope there wasn't any competitions wins I missed. lol

I've been busy with cricket umpiring and have got semi finals this week and looks to be a hot long weekend ahead.

@MammaPigga84 I would suggest get a separate email for entering competitions as the main priority.

Don't think the time matters. Logged in after 3pm &received 2 points ... Still awake at 1am & received 40 ...@Lemond

Between all the comp emails & job rejection spam emails I am still awake ...

its all good i check email daily . and im usubscribing to alot of things too

Not sure if I have just been lucky, but I use my normal mobile phone number and only get a couple of calls here and there - mostly from companies I contacted to enquire about them rather than from competitions

Generally the cold calls are few and far between. I quote my mobile phone number and it really hasn't impacted me at all. You can always block them (at least after initial / attempted contact). You'll probably find you're ok, @kateonlineconnect. If providing your phone number is optional, you can always enter with the mandatory personal information 'required' of you, and no more that that. Best of luck.

Ones that I think will cold call I use my home ph number as I don't answer that unless they start to leave a message.
Mobile I always let it go to voicemail , they'll leave a message if it's a win😉

I use my own. Pretty good mostly. Odd marketing call here and there. I politely say no. If they petsist i just block them lol

I downloaded the free app "should I answer" if its a known spam caller it blocks the call going through , I still get notified they tried to ring & I can google the number & call back if I like .

Thank you for your answers. Ive used my home phone which I never answer. Ill just have to set up the voicemail on it in case i do win something.

@crankymum that golden advice right there, doing that straight away,cheers!!!

If you have an iPhone you can Block the number. Normally they call from the same number as it's an Australia but they are actually calling from overseas. If they call more than once on the same number then I block the number!

Been there done that, you will find as you go along you learn what to look out for, although I guess some things you simply don't see coming, for that reason I don't do surveys,it's a real let down hey, good luck,keep comping :)

And "You're a winner of a buy-one-get-one-free movie voucher". Yeah, thanks.

@JoLee From now I'll do my homework before doing surveys. The voucher if ever arrives will go to waste.

Hope it's a good comping year for you :-)

Oh yea !! Love those :-) lol. @Jrob71

@Alittlebitoffun, I might have some information that might assist here. FB message...just saying.... :)

Hope it works out for you :(

@toxicgherkin how do I fid you FB?? would love some information if you have any

@Alittlebitoffun, check your FB messages - I'm unsure if there still is an 'Other' message folder but you should see a message from 'me'. Just to be sure, I've sent you an FB Friends Request. :)

Hi @Alittlebitoffun, I've just Googled "Oz Mates Rates Facebook" and it has come up ok last post 14/02 complete with competition announcements the but it is coming up as a Facebook App Page. Was able to open up the PM box which means you should be able to PM them. Hope this helps.... (I'm on a Galaxy Tab at the moment using WiFi) :) :) I'm not sure who they are though....

Thanks all!! They messaged me and said they are back on line but will back down again tonight before launching their actual site. They assure me my prize will be delivered but I guess it's one of those things that I won't believe it until I see it. But for now I'll just have to hope that they mean what they say :) thank you all again for your help and support, I know when you win a competition it's something for nothing, but it still upset me to think that someone might actually have been scamming me. Keep your fingers crossed for me and thanks again all

@Alittlebitoffun Sounds positive, and the horse is back on the track!!! Giddy up!!!!

Just an update - the Facebook page is gone again and I'm blocked from sending the messages - looks like it was too good to be true :(

@Alittlebitoffun how friggen wrong is that, nothing worse than getting bucked off the horse( twice). :(

@joLee I just wish there was actually something you could do about it - but its not a registered company, their 'office' is a virtual office, the phone number gets answered by a paid message service and the email that I have is a Gmail account. The only thing (other than not getting the TV obviously) that bothers me is I cant work out the WHY. Other than my address, they got no details off me, so it cant be identity theft, I didn't pay them anything, so they got no money. The only thing I can think of is they just couldn't get their company off the ground and couldn't afford to come good on the prize. think I might take a bit of a break for a while, its just too hard to select the good from the bad :(

@Alittlebitoffun hey,don't give up! It's a lesson for us all but you might have the big one just around the corner, keep it fun( bit hard after this) but just plug away and your turn will come, I know it.....:) it's the bad times that make the good times good!!! Jo-Lee

Hey. Hang in there. Your the next winner!!!

I keep a list of every comp I've entered starting with Jan 2015. So far I've only won movie tix both years... (one movie last year. One this year)

I keep a list. It serves as incentive when I'm having a slow patch and to show people when they ask "Are those things legit?". Favourite wins are things I can share with the family - movie passes, event tickets, entries to attractions. Most recent wins are gift cards and skincare.

I won a trip to New York to meet Beyonce worth $50.000. It was a pepsi comp in dec 2013 just after i joined this site! I have won like over 100 prizes from half here elswhere once i got the bug. I won shannon noll tix yesterday but its been a while between drinks but thats how it is. You just simply never know so keep at it......u have to be in it to win it.Good luck. I know toxic gherkin my ol mate is a winner and his wit is his ace card. !! Trevsta

@Trevsta, kind of you to say, mate.

@Sellwood92, though I've been 'comping' for around four years now, I've had my fair share of wins, for which I am thankful. Like jrob71, I do like to spread the love around family and friends. Recently I won two laptops (awaiting receipt of #2), the second of which comes with a customised suit - with fabric selections today! That one will be my biggest win to date. I started to keep lists but it was all too overwhelming. I enter close/draw dates as calendar entries on my smartphone - very useful for those entries placed via social media where you may be published as a winner but not tagged and not notified (even though most have your email detail too!). I have 'found' some wins, by chance, and been notified of others by peeps here on this site. Eager to hear of your wins, @Sellwood92!

I take a photo of each prize I win and then I have a folder on the puter filled with wonderful prizes each year, nice to look back on what I've won. I love winning prizes that I can give to family and friends as it's usually something unique or much more expensive than I can ever afford. I really enjoy comping and I only enter comps that I really want to win or if it's a prize I really want to win for family. I've won hampers, tons of skin products, plenty of giftcards, some holiday vouchers for $500 which I gave to my parents as I am disabled and can't travel and wanted them to be able to get some wonderful accommodation when they travelled around Australia. The biggest prize I won was this Christmas just gone which was the "Ultimate Christmas" prize which was a $500 wish giftcard, $500 online shopping voucher for personalised xmas gifts with the Christmas Cart and a 6ft xmas tree and 2 books and 2 cds which was supposed to be another $500. I would love to win a big ticket item that I read so many people have won like a car or fridge but I am so grateful for all my wins, big or small, that whenever I see someone from here win I also get so excited. Good Luck to ev1 and Happy Happy Comping xxxxxx

@bops18 you have the most impressive attitude hey!! That inspires me :) Good luck mate :)

@Trevsta how you feeling?

@Annaar wish i could say really good but its a long slow process. I am in my third week of radiotherapy(7 weeks..5 days p/w) 10 down& 25 more sessions
Had one chemotherapy 2 weeks ago((smashed me) & 2 more to go(3 weeks apart).so i guess it will get worse b4 it gets better. I am however responding to the treatment, which is better than winning any comp lol. I am positive and in my heart, i know ive won!!!! Allgood my comping friend. Good luck to you Annar!!!! Regards trevsta

Your a winner Trev,hang in there!!!!!

@Trevsta you are already winning ! Stay strong, will be over soon & start entering holiday comps... Will be a great reward:-)

:) thankyou all..... :)

@Trevsta You're a winner in a big way and am sending you much luck, health and of course many competition wins. I am so glad that you are responding to treatment and wish you a super speedy treatment so that you overcome your health issues as soon as possible - nothing better than sticking it to the Demon Disease.

I've only used this site once before & I got an email the other day to say I'd won a $40 salad dressing pack hehe That made me realise that you have to be in it to win it. In the last 5 days I've entered 70+ comps. BUT in saying that I have entered random things over the last few years. I've won 3 nights accommodation, a kitchen pack, DVDs & some footy tickets. I am now addicted & I WILL WIN LOTS MORE!!!! Hoping for a few holidays as we are a travel obsessed couple :)

@CeCee14 Winners are grinners !! Congratulations!!

@bops18 thankyou soooooo much. You also Have an awesome attitude. You deserve much luck. Cheers...regards Trevsta

Awesome thank you so much everyone for sharing! I was entering a few comps here and there, but in the middle of last year I had to undergo an operation and haven't been able to work since (although I am happily starting a new job tomorrow YAY) so I had loads of time to enter competitions and I pretty much used all my winnings on Christmas and birth day gifts which was fantastic as I couldn't afford to buy anything.
I try and write down my wins in a book, it makes me feel good looking back and having achieved something positive :)
My most expensive win so far has been a stroller/pram and my favourite things to win are books because I love to read and I also share the books around with my family and friends too.
I am sending all my positive vibes out into the universe as I would LOVE to win a holiday this year. You guys are all fantastic and I'm glad to have found such a friendly page. Good luck to all and I hope 2016 is a dream year for all :)

@sellwood92. I've also been unwell & I'm always home so like you I've been going comp crazy over the last week. I even bought Take 5 & That's Life Magazines. Surprisingly I really enjoyed the puzzles & even my Hubby got into it haha

I've already decided that I'm going to win a big holiday, cash & vouches :)

Good luck everyone!

How sad it is to read the thread where all I see is ME ME ME... seasoned compers wish everyone to win, new compers just want it ALL..

You cannot have it ALL ...

@Sellwood92 Much good luck to you :)

Yeh seen that,thought I was losing reception..lol

good luck with that. i too hate paypal cause twice i had my acc hakt and i know admin would have got your email. Hope it works out for you @shaper

@Trevsta Thanks I too had my account hacked so I stopped using them and closed my account and ill not go back to them again. But so far no answer from admin??? I am not doing any more surveys unless they answer me...whats the point?

I have also noticed they didn't answer toxics requests earlier,it's pretty lame really. What's the whole point of it if they don't answer,don't want to sound like a winger but even a reply would be at the least warranted. I am saddened by this for you shaper! Toxic,did you get any personal reply? I suspect not! Keep us posted shaper,good luck!!

@JoLee, no reply received. :(

;(

Thanks guys but still no replies....well lesson learn' t...no more surveys for them from me..
even a " sorry we only use paypal" would do..

Yea!! I got a reply this morning and they are going to pay direct into my bank account...
perseverance pays off it seems. Thanks Competitions.com.au

Thats awesome . Faith restored. comp oz. we love you:)

@shaper, the first time I won directly from this site, @admin @zedmin requested my banking details. All good. The second (and most current) win, a while back now, they requested my PayPal account details, after which I paid their transaction fee...hmm...less value for the promoted win! I'm glad the website @admin @zedmin (and whomever is the virtual assistant in the Phillipines...) had capitulated, and agreed to pay your winnings by direct deposit. I don't think this will be true for the other monthly and sessional winners. Some food for thought, for what's it worth....

Awesome wins,great attitude,congratulations to you and your friend.....winners r grinners. :)

Congratulations, Alittlebitoffun. :)

I've won movie tix

Yep, in the last two weeks I've won double gold class tix, Hoyts tix, an Australian Open Blackmores pack, Jurlique body mist, my friend and I both won an awesome organic Valentine's day hamper (ain't she amazing for picking me lol) a Fitbit flex and the big one a 65inch 4K TV. Honestly i was sceptical at first but you can win, trust me!!

Hi there@victoriacross, yes people do win things. Have a scroll down and you'll see lots of winning announcements. Sometimes it can take a little time, just be persistant (or stubborn?)... :)

Hi, vc. I've been lucky enough to score well by entering comps and promos on this website. We're a friendly bunch too! I'm hopeful we'll soon be reading about your first win from one of your many entries. Cheers!

@toxicgherkin Have you ever had any luck with fb comps? I'm finally back and I know that my friends will unfollow me if I tag them hehe

I won a trip to New York to meet Beyonce(for two) dec 2013. in a pepsi comp for 9 days worth 50 grand and had just started also on this site prior to that. ive won atleast 35 comps here so thumbs up to that. Dont evergive up. gotta be in it to win it. been a while for me now but hey atleast someone else is having their turn. Good luck friend!!!! trevsta

@Annaar FB comps are the ones I personally seem to be more successful at. I have 2-3 friends who also enjoying comping so they are the ones I tag, I don't tag anyone that hasn't shown an interest. Most of the big companies that I have won from on FB have been 25 words or less not so much tagging (Ive won from good guys FB, appliances online, etc) It's more your smaller companies that seem to want the tags, at least that my experience.

@Alittlebitoffun Thank you! I've tried a few but with over a 1000 people entering every time the chances of winning a slim. Noticed as well that some enter every single competition no matter if they even want the item, it's all about winning as much as they can.

So far only a movie ticket this year, the best part was that the 'star' of the movie dropped in at the end for a brief chat.

As I'm out of work hoping to win a few DVDs, restaurant vouchers, outing etc... since it's not at the top of the must spend on list :-)

Most appliances are old as well, winning would be great, as they cost a bit & it cuts into the petty cash account ... lol

You can not limit yourself to just entering things you need, the saying goes enter as many as you can to increase your chances.
I have two small kids so I enter a lot of comps for kids stuff, and of course I enter for luxury items and things I'd like but probably not buy myself. I don't ever enter for things for the pure sake of selling items. I do get things to put aside for presents for family and friends. I don't think it's good to enter just to sell them. Keep at it and keep positive and you will see the prizes come in I hope.

@Alittlebitoffun .Awesome attitude mate. Good Khama for you!!

@Alittlebitoffun Thank you!! I'm keeping a tally this year, so far one movie ticket... Would have loved some things for gifts, & few luxury things for myself

Used to spend a small fortune on books for gifts.. then moved on to chocolates. Last Christmas everyone got home grown plants and to my surprise everyone was happy... expected a lot of upset people.

Hope you get to win plenty of things for kiddies, as they cost a fortune.... a friend was expecting and I tried to win few things for her, sadly I've won nothing....

@Di_D, that's cool! I've always wanted to try out for extras casting (or flash mob...hmmm?)

@toxicgherkin you mean like this? http://www.wimp.com/bestflashmob/

@Annaar, hehe.

And now for a sad case.....

Nah! The best I can do is my great great..( not sure how many)...grandfather was knighted by Queen Victoria for his work in helping to invent the Telegraph. Interesting enough there is so many articles on him in old national archives and newspapers and his own library named after him at Cambridge University but his name is no-where to be found whatsoever on the net! Looks like the Web is missing a few things when it was invented afterall!
(PS I have his nose!)

As for flash mobs, I kinda like this one in Sydney... (Maybe I should replay this one again on St Patrick's Day!) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jxEB48jY3F8

@fourleaf if you are in Sydney, St Paddy's day was cancelled

Hi, Trevsta. Hoping everything is alright there...?

As for expired comp (re-)viewing, I had experienced this quite a while back though not recently. I thought @admin @zedmin had rectified / removed this action.

Trevsta... Sending positive thoughts your way, hope all is well..

I've noticed that I've entered about 20 or so less comps last month then some of the others .. keeping an eye on it. Thank you for the heads up and all the best

Thanks Trevsta, also noticed last month that the leaderboard can't add up 3316 + 12 does not equal 3327. Hope all's well.

Get well trevsta,I know your havin a big battle right now,the big C is gonna be kicked to the gutter, I noticed your FB acc was closed,obviously too much with the amount of friends u have,thinking of you friend from Newcastle!!!

cheers guys. 33 more radiation treatments to go and two more chemos. Only started this week...so faf so good but the Mater Calvary Hospital is fantastic. good luck guys and positive vibes all round. !!!

@Trevsta, thinking of you mate. Sending positive vibes. I had no idea.. :(

@toxicgherkin cheers my good friend. Found out before xmas. got onto it quite quick after my left lymph node swelled up and i just knew it was not right. Good thing i did,so i closed my fb down as you can well imagine the influx.i just need to concentrate on winning(comps and cancer) he he . All the best buddy and i love your witty humourous style. It does make me laugh. trev

Trevsta, your positivity is inspiring!!! Bless you!!!! :)

Trevsta, your positivity is inspiring!!! Bless you!!!! :)

@Trevsta Glad to see that you didn't ignore it and that you have a good doctor as well ... not do as you are told, ask questions and stay strong ...

@Slouise cheers mate. all the best luck to you!!!

@Annaar cheers annaar. will do. i know that ive won the biggest thing i possibly can once ive .....well won!!! good vibes and luck to you. life is short but great. bless you all here!! my true regards trevsta!!!!

@Trevsta thank you! For NOW you first... argue if you think you want something else done, doesn't hurt LOL

I had a Dr who had the attitude 'she'll be right mate! see you next year' After 5 years I got second opinion.. was on operating table for my thyroid within weeks. When my new Dr asked me if I let the old one know, I told him that better that he does it as my comment would be 'thank you for letting me go on for years with the thyroid issues, and thank your for missing the obvious' (cannot expect me to be diplomatic, right? LOL)

I email my new doc if I have questions... poor guy was emailing me and calling pre and post surgeries to answer all my questions... he is pure Gold

cherrs mate. i have drs on my family with vast knowedge who are all of the same opinion and i am on the best hospital in oz without a doubt. ive done lots of research and am comfortable and thanks for your advice. its always good to know any and every little thing. regards my friend!!!

So sorry to hear of your recent illness, hope you continue with your positive attitude and good luck and best wishes p, from JulieD@Trevsta

@JulieD thanks my comping friend. that means alot. I reckon attitude is everything and that is more than positive right now. thanks again. Good luck to you with everything too!!! @trevsta

Just keep thinking about your fabulous Beyoncé win, which I can tell you, kept me going whenever the wins were drying up. You are always a super positive person. Good luck@Trevsta

@JulieD thanks again julie. That was definately a trip of a lifetime and hard to top. I reckon @surferboy is by far the luckiest with his 3 or 4 overseas holidays. Talk about luck and good wiitty 25wol. Your a gem!!!!

yeh ive been collecting them for ages as each label is equivilent to 50cents each when u work it out. just cashed all mine in for some nice gift cards. Good luck @Slouise with it all. regards....

Good Stuff Trevsta! Literally turning Trash into Treasure ;)

@Slouise Exactly. Spot on :)

@Slouise, I've stopped collecting labels. I tend not to drink soft drinks though the rest of the family does. I had a goodly number of points after a while so redeemed those for a watch (6-8 week delivery; this is week 7 now I think). I wish there was an option to transfer / gift points to other Coke Rewards accounts prior to closure. I have 55 points left... you could happily have mine.. :(

Thanks toxic!!

Toxic for President!!!my last 150 odd points I swapped for frisbees 50 pts each,lol

hey....i will keep an eye out for you my friend! u never know.I will put it out there and see how it goes. Good luck too!!

Thank you that would be awesome only need it for one day so would rather try to get a good deal lol cheers

@Iwanttowinit :)

Congrats Mr Gerkin, your a true crack up mate!!

Photos are mandatory

Congrats and looking forward to the photos

..and I am practising turning left on the catwalk. It's a challenge but I'll get there. Now to work on my world peace answer to the judges... ;)

Haha awesome! I agree photos are mandatory! Don't forget us when you are famous!

Congratulations!

Congrats!!

@Di_D, @kaybee72, @bj74, I gather images/footage will be in the social media 'ether' shortly. There's nothing I can do, it seems, to repress that! Filming is a condition of prize allocation - thinking I maybe should have read the T&C's a bit closer...lol. I'm touching base with the promoter next week to sort out details. Needless to say, I don't want to post my pre & gentlemanly makeover post-images or vid here in this forum. Too sh*t scared...lol. The documentary experience I was recently part of was awesome but I cringed when finally viewing the footage, and now, after signing more 'artist' releases, the student doco is being entered into film festivals as we speak. It even has me playing piano. Lol. I eschew red carpet and the paparazzi! All clashes with my skin tones! ;)

@toxicgherkin Fashion makeover? Tell them you are allergic to make up ;-)

Nice one tox. You never cease to amaze me. Congrats mate!!!

It was the Pitti Uomo promo.. (sounds like a Kath & Kim scene..lol...), run by ASUS Australia and New Zealand, through their fashion ambassador, Jared Acquaro, who travelled from Melbs to Florence to cover the fashion event. Entrants had to follow his Tweets, and answer various questions relating to his posts/Tweets. Some may call it stalking...? erhmm... ;)

@Trevsta, too kind. Hey, I won a recent indie-classic album on vinyl, and the person interviewed in the RSS feed had your name...but was a Yank....??? ;)

With two new laptops that means you can enter more comps!?!

@toxicgherkin too much work ... glad that you've won

@toxicgherkin ha...i actually have a yanky mate with my full name but he is an irishman...go figure!!!! Have fun Mr Model Man lol

lucky you, im in need of a new laptop :) my screen slowly dying . good wins

@MammaPigga84, thanks. My current laptop is my partner's. I destroyed mine. We share this one though it struggles everytime I do an OS update. It's definitely on its last legs ... lap? This is a timely win thankfully. Cheers.

this Gherkin not in a pickle! Congrats : )

@Goldmember yeh......too toxic to go there!!!! lol

@Goldmember @Trevsta hehe

...

@toxicgherkin Yet another classic....crack up :)

Cheers, @JoLee. :)

Great post! I always try and force myself to think of 25WOL as well. Congrats on the new job!

As a mum of two under 4 who works full time and is away from home 13 hours a day 5 days a week, I feel your pain. But I push myself to enter as many as I can, on the train, at lunch, instead of the gym lol it's a hobby I enjoy so just trying to squeeze everything in :) good luck in the new job

Congratulations on the new job it sounds fantastic!

Voted, very cute!

Done! Could you please vote for my photo please?
http://woobox.com/kd7im6/gallery/s_LXk2RiuME

:) Very cute. That's emotional blackmail. When I get the energy to get around to it. will look into it.

Done

voted xx @cheekz

done, good luck :)

Congratulations,nice to see a happy go lucky winner!!

Congratulations! That's a great win!

Woo hoo for sure. Congratulations.

Woo Hoo. :) What competition was that for @Alittlebitoffun ?

Thanks all, talk about making my weekend!! @Lemond it was on a site called Oz Mates Rates on Facebook. Still can't believe it!!

That's amazing! Congrats :)

@Alittlebitoffun lol Yeh OMG. Wait until it arrives, you can do all your comping on the big screen. :) Was it a WOL or random draw?

Congratulations :)

@lemond it was a random draw - am still in shock, biggest thing of won (both in size and value lol)

Thanks everyone and good luck to you all :)

Congratulations - that's a great prize

Awesome! Well done :)

Great win and congratulations

Ha,I live in Newcastle too

Great photo. :) Voted

THank you for the votes! Appreciate it :)

Voted.

@fourleaf thank you! :)

Done :)

Voted - fabulous picture and love your quote

thank you @Alittlebitoffun @Di_D

@Lemond, yes. I saw that email amongst the hundreds. More fool me for having one email account!

@toxicgherkin Verses having two with email accounts with twice the junk to sort through. At least I can easily spot when something is spam if it goes to both accounts. lol

@toxicgherkin You don't want many email accounts :-)

lol. :) Was thinking the same for some competitions I was going to ask @toxicgherkin a few times. Ended up not worrying about it.

I mainly use facebook to enter competitions.

Glad to help I don't mind tagging etc just hope doesn't become a full time job. lol
I
sent a request sorry think I forgot to put a message with it.

Least help someone win :)

Got it @Lemond, I think.

If you need another tag buddy, or if someone else is looking, I'll give it a go. ATM I skip over tag comps because I don't think my non-comper friends want to know.

@Di_D Good Luck. How do I know if I've been tagged etc out of curiosity. Never tried that to see the results. Does Facebook send a notification?

@lemond Facebook comes up with a notification. There weren't any in today's batch that I entered.
@jrob71 I was skipping them for the same reason. Happy for another tag buddy if you want to.

@Di_D Thanks least I know what to expect. Just something I haven't tested. :) Good Luck for the competitions.

@Di_D I just looked for you on Facebook, but couldn't find you.

Did you search for Dianne.dean.5 ?

@Di_D yeah...."We couldn't find anything for dianne.dean.5" - strange.

Have you tried typing it in as:
https://www.facebook.com/dianne.dean.5
?

@Di_D Good Luck for the hamper. Also entered via your facebook link for the Mazda I think. :) Was easier then trying to find my bookmark for it. Seemed to lost my Feb bookmarks

@Di_D Groovy Luxo Deluxe 3 Piece LED Bar Setting competition. Thanks for the tag. Was that a competition from here. I haven't check the competitions today yet.

If anyone needs someone to tag my FB is Mark Johnstone. No pics just you will just see various competitions etc etc

I think I picked it up from someone else's feed.

@Di_D Thanks. I've sent you a friend request. My profile pic is me in grey dress with floral print and my husband in a white shirt.

Hang in there @Mellyxo....good luck!!!

@Trevsta Thanks :)

@Mellyxo Good luck see how you go by the end of week 2. You will have a good idea if too far from the leaders. Still plenty of time of catch up. :)

@Mellyxo it's only the start.... good luck! :)

@fourleaf You should lend @Mellyxo your four leaf clover. You won't need it for a couple of days. :)

No problems! I think I'll give it a good buff and polish and hopefully we can all win holidays....lol :)

@fourleaf @Lemond I'll be happy to win something little, January was bleak as was December... So far I've managed to only enter 3 comps ...

@Annaar, is that because of facebook? There are so many different competitions out there and lots listed here.......often I find many just by opening my e-mail, (as painful as it is sometimes) or being a member of a blog site which have some great prizes for members. Sometimes as well as this site, Google can be your best friend. Cheer up and don't despair! Often Facebook tends to give away smallish prizes anyway...also check out local newspapers. Facebook is only one part of the picture.

@fourleaf might have to give in & let Facebook use my full name in profile ...

My online friends will UN friend me if I start tagging them lol

Haven't given up yet!! Not entering large prices, only small to medium..
Find that some places only give away to people with Angosexon names

Friend was having a baby & I entered countless baby giveaways & didn't win a thing ... Shame as those things a expensive, especially when it's not immediate family

@fourleaf Great advice. I find facebook competitions odds don't look good as well especially for larger organisations as you got there usual followers plus the comping crowd for a small prize. lol. Usually see 1000+ entries.

Thinking about FB Appliances online I think got a competition going for a washing machine for a guessing competition.

@Annaar

Finding more obscure competitions or ones that require a bit of effort your more likely to have a win.

Reminds me as a kid doing a find as many words using the letters of a given word. I went through the whole Websters Dictionary to win a massive Mothers day cake and photo with the Mayor etc. lol. Also a few hours keeping a hand on a car catching footballs etc to win Grand Final AFL tickets. Doh close got a cap. lol Was fun thou. :)

Yeh Facebook are cracking on the naming policy lately.

I wouldn't think judges for competitions would discriminate deliberately. Might be case judges are of a different age/culture/sex etc etc and have different opinion what they are looking for creative competitions.

@fourleaf @Lemond @Annaar Thanks :)
9 Points today!!! Im on a roll... :)

@Mellyxo lol. Ok will put up a post what I suspect could of been occurring. Could be wrong, hard to tell after the first day apart from quiet periods. Might as put it out in the open and if correct or a flaw in the daily random points system the @admin might investigate it.

@Lemond only received 15 points today and logged in after 8.30 ...

@Annaar At least your in double digits :) hopefully tomorrow that will be me.
@Lemond Thanks will keep an eye out for the responses :)

@Mellyxo Hopefully double digits for you tomorrow :-) I don't care about daily scores, just want to start winning LOL

Last year only won movie tix to see one movie ... since then nothing. The year before I only won tix to see one movie.

@Annaar No your score was added least by 1:00AM. I noticed it had been updated to 65 daily points. After the system was back. Which was weird as mine had as well and I hadn't specifically logged in. I knew what score I had got Something I need confirm tomorrow as the system issue last night. Definitely you had 15 points added least by 1:00 AM looked like was more towards 12:30AM I recorded it down. Did you visit the site of leave a page open on competitions.com.au. I got 25.

Your profile was the only one I could see that had changed but hadn't done the guessing game when I got back on.

I was hoping maybe the reason for the system being offline was a redo of the first day "random" points or some maintenance or new feature.

When I saw my profile had "extra points" and yours before I logged in officially, I was in hope. I soon realized when I logged in it was showing the points I got for today.

@Lemond Didn't log in after 12, I noticed that the site was down late in the evening. ... nice to be closer to the top, but I'd rather win a comp... and they are evading me

@Annaar Same. I need a win too. lol.

Only problem if I finally do win is finding the email among at least 200 emails coming in at least each day.

For the daily points I just expect at least an equal and fair chance of winning. With the improved odds of ticking off the competitions etc. :) The first day definitely defied probability. Not going to look at till next month if there's an issue. Bit hard to prove or disprove either way from my end. At least the admin might read it and look into it.

I see some sites doing things to help promote themselves and keep interest going. If not designed well or clear terms and conditions, which are followed through with, over zealous members take it to the extreme, abusing the "spirit" of the competition.

See FreeStuff.com over the last few months. They do a "random points hunt" and referral bonus points. It seemed a good idea, however some members took that to the extreme for a free for all. Lucky being in top 100 only gives you a chance only of winning their monthly draw and not being first. Least now they have got all the points required for eternity to enter all member only competitions. Pity I didn't take advantage and score enough to keep me going for a while. I just did enough to make sure in Top 100 for their monthly competition.

People are quick to sense when a system is broken or has weakness. Competitions having bonus referrals often look suspicious. We should all group together help each other with referral chains. Maybe nominate or cycle members to get the referrals. At least improve the odds for those type of competitions from about 1/3000 to under 1/500. Thought of that a few times. I was thinking for @toxicgherkin birthday get him to enter first and use their referral. Only problem I had already entered most I had found. lol.

There's an idea for birthdays to do that. A better chance of winning something :)

@Annaar Well your daily points for today were definitely showing before 1.00 AM. I knew before 1.00 AM what you had scored. The last couple of days I was observing if the 1st day issue was reoccurring. Maybe when you tried to log late its generated your daily score. Bit weird will test visiting my own profile tomorrow before login and see what happens. Thinking about it could be due to trying to log in when the system was offline at least seems the common connection offhand.

@Lemond May be all scores are allocated after midnight

@Lemond referral is great, but I'm off facebook, refuse to put up my full name ... security for one, then there is identity theft, bullies ( i was bullied and their response was' block them' ... that aggravates bullies more) ... stalkers. One informed me that he cannot find me on google.. YUP safe to have full name published ... .then my ex might find me, each time I let my guard down he finds me. They are suppose to be protecting women from such encounters .. haven't received an auto response email from them over the last 2 days .... guessing he bot is taking a break LOL

My online friends will wonder who I am if my FULL name goes up. I either know them or know who they are....

still annoyed lol

@Annaar I agree regarding taking precautions about security theft etc. I hope they don't crack down on birthdays. lol.

Sorry to hear that you've had a rough time. :( I guess there's lot more to it with an ex involved. No wonder your cautious regarding personal identity being displayed. If your having an issue of stalking etc looking into a protection order could be worth investigating.

There were a few comments I noticed on that site I posted regarding similar issues with display full names on Facebook. Have you argued your case with Facebook to keep your existing profile name? There might be a way to hide your last name on FB. Google that.

See:
http://thetechrism.com/use-single-name-on-facebook-hide-first-name-trick/

https://www.facebook.com/iFactOfficial/posts/522075221191141 regarding how to hide your last name on Facebook. I haven't read it yet, it might help.

Facebook or even the police can't do much without a protection order in place if another incident occurs.

If you've got an issue of stalking/harassment.
*Record all incidents, date time, description and how it effected you and if police called etc etc.
*Don't respond back to the other person or do anything that might complicate the case and give them an "excuse" for their actions.

If a protection order is taken out then the police can act quickly, if it is breached. Note it works both ways you can into serious legal complications, if you breach your own protection order. They shouldn't be abused for trivial situations then make up etc.

I can understand how it may effect you. The longer it goes on the worse it can effects you and can escalate depending on the person. The easy solution is just trying to ignore the issue try and move on. Depending on the situation it may go away. Still can't hurt to record any unwarranted incidents of harassment/stalking etc.

I've had extensive experience with a harassment/stalker from a neighbor in my previous place who was ex prison, two years back. It escalated from harassment, stalking to violence over a 6 month period. It ended in VCAT hearings to get them evicted and protection orders.

I extensively recorded every incident over that period and didn't respond back in any form to their harassment etc. Like you said "ignoring bullies aggravates them more". A no win scenario, best on keep ignoring them, then stoking the fire. They had no chance when it was proceeding finally to VCAT. In the end they were there own worse enemy as they resorted to violence. This sped up the whole processes and finally brought it to a conclusion excluding hearings. It was a very frightening and traumatic experience, I wouldn't put anyone through it.

At least now all away from that. I think the property manager felt partially responsible ie. They had supplied the person with the hammer for gardening purposes, which they used to attempt hammer down my door! There was a lot more I went through that was the just the icing on the cake. so to speak.

XMas a year ago I was offered a great modern place by the property manager. My best win :) Very close to shots trams etc., quiet, great neighbors I never see, large terrace and it even came with a lot of great stuff left in storage cage, from the previous tenant. Most which I gave to a good friend that helped me move like a dishwasher, pram , child car seat etc. Kept the microwave.

A previous neighbor knew someone with a washing machine throwing out close by and was a renovation and friend had a fridge. Being like Christmas morning and moving hard to find all that at the last moment. Was a sudden offer and move.

So you when you least expect it a win may pop up. Always find the harder I try nothing happens and when I least expect it all happens at once, ike mates dropping by. I swear they have ESP. lol

@Annaar I couldn't see any evidence of scores being added to everyone. . Excluding those that had just logged when the site came back online and had done the guessing game there were a few. If anything members had missed yesterdays points/guessing game. Which what I was troubleshooting with one member at the time. Appolizes @jessiebutcher being late night confused with jessiebutcher88 who had just logged in roughly at the same time. hmmmmm maybe related. :)

@Lemond Logged in after 8 to test your theory :-) Tried to guess the number at same time

@Lemond Sorry to hear about your experience... hope you are feeling better.

My ex gets verbally nasty, if he decides to go looking for me, he cannot find me.. easier then quitting, as blocking will do nothing.

When people don't see eye to eye with you and start searching for you online, it's scary... sadly fb protects them.

They are insisting I use my full name, so that people can find me... Haven't heard from them in 2days.

They are suggesting I block people, like that would help with the un know stalkers LOL

Will wait a few more days and then try searching again... they did same to a journalist in USA, she had a nice rant on a tech blog.

even though companies are using fb, it's not the end of the world if I'll not be... will miss some of my friends and the updates

@Lemond too much trouble to use just single name, as you have to change servers and log in from Indonesia.. not honest way of doing it either :-)

@Annaar All worked out in the end. You Just struck a nerve talking about stalkers.

My infinite patience got me through it just... Explains why I "enjoy" cricket and computing/programming/problem solving.

Online stalking is just the easy way to try and harass with not much effort. You should really worry if they are going out their way to cause grief.

To let a stalker dictate what you do, means they have won in a way. Not doing what you natural enjoy etc. Other social sites like google+ I don't think have that policy. About being not honest to use your full name etc. It's not like your deceiving anyone to take advantage. Lying/omitting some details can be way of saying politely it's none of your business. I don't find that dishonest.

Maybe try get the Facebook account back and mothball it for a while. What will happen if not resolved they will close the case, and you will have no option to get it back, if you change you mind later.


Good luck for comping.

@Lemond Apologies...

We never know who lurks in Facebook ... Difference of opinion & they start looking you up, then causing trouble if they don't find you.

I was still myself, just with altered name. Some of my fb friends know me. ... Told one Chef that u had problems booking in as I wanted to see him, few days later the restaurant called. Reservations parting words were 'will tell him you are coming in'

Geniuses never consider the fact that phone numbers if listed could be in partners or flat mates names.

Not having an account is not the end of the world!

Haven't heard from then in 4 or 5 days. Account is still open.

It's their way or the highway. Their new rule is 'message pops up, you submit docs, explain' old way was account is locked & you jump through hoops. Somehow I got the old treatment ... Feel so spesh lol

Will miss updates & expending my network of online friends

Good luck compung this month

@Lemond Apparently Google had the 'real' name policy & then dropped it.

Blogs from few journalists on this issue was interesting, both didn't use 'real' names as they didn't want to be harassed

One stuck to her guns, didn't submit anything & list account

One submitted docs, changed name as per their demand & was harassed by freaks

Fb are refusing to see the whole picture, they do cave into bad publicity but just

Last year they were in trouble for blocking native Americans for having unusual names

They are right when they say the early bird gets the worm... Or in my case the early bird gets single digit bonus daily points. Only 5 today!!!

@Mellyxo lol. Well if midnight counts 4. Doh was still logged in.

@Mellyxo

First day there definitely was an issue of 3 clear groups. Before approx 8.30AM (1-10), 8:30AM- approx 6:00pm( 40-50) then 6:00pm onwards only a small sample with no clear pattern. The 6:00PM is rough might of been about hour earlier.

For determining the login for Monday time, I was using the assumption of the first view competition as the approximate login time. Which seems to stand fairly well looking at data. I.e. The first day the points system kicks off when after you view the first competition. After the first day it's only a rough guide but not absolute as lot do the guessing game ASAP then view competitions later in the day etc.

From memory as I didn't record your time. etc on the first day I think I saw 8:29AM when it had recorded your first viewed competition the last of the (1-10) range. The first in the (40-50) range looked to be 8:27AM of 49 when I was determining when the range seemed to clearly change. The reason I recall as it was the only member to overlap and only by a minute or two. The last score using first competition viewed before the change. Thinking about why could of been that overlap my assumption you probably logged in early viewed the competition then reviewed at 8:29. Just tested that assumption looks like what probably occurred for that discrepancy.

Sadly I didn't officially record most of the "early birds" from Monday as they quickly fell off the leader board later. I observed all the "early birds" around 7:30 AM checked their scores and fell into (1-10) thought weird, at least all in the same boat. lol Only when I came back later around 9:00AM and could see a distinct grouping. And later in the day I started doing a detailed record by then most of early ones where dropping like fly's off the leader board to record.

It would of been interesting to get a more detailed analysis for the regular early birds ie before 8:00AM to see if it is a reoccurring distinct pattern. Most of those profiles are members I rarely see on the Leaderboard. I can't make any assumptions based on a couple of samples it could just be random variability and bad luck.

If I was being superstitious around midday has being looking good. lol

If there is "something" weird going on like Monday with a specific score range for a time period it could easily move about. It doesn't have to be on a 24 hour time period and would give the impression things look "random" by moving about or changing the base value of the range of scores. So jumping ship to a different time period you can't make any assumptions.

Some questions in general over a few months about why I see the same members consistently with the higher random daily points. Also the overall distribution of the total daily points at the end of the month, seems skewed consistently above average from observation. Is it within random variability? Is/was there a reoccurring issue? Unsure without a good reliable sample of daily points and log in times. The Admin could do that easily. After Monday definitely questioning the "random" generator.

It shouldn't be an issue with a pseudo-random number generator on the server. There are pseudo-random functions that should do a good enough job in most programming languages. Some technically better then others, it depends what your using it for like medical research or complex simulations. Genuine random numbers you would need an input source such as a particle decay source etc etc. I'm not expecting that. lol

For that It would still be the same for all and be random enough. Seems absurd to question a "random" generator. Most likely using a random function, but somehow the range of values got restricted for a period of time on Monday.

The system was offline Tuesday night so maybe they addressed Mondays issue. Who knows. Who knows......

@Mellyxo Is that 21 daily points in total for 5 days? Ouch

@Lemond there is another curve ball to the algorithm.... if you've won a guessing game you might not get as many points, giving others a chance to get to 2 guesses a day and win.. just a thought

I've entered 2 comps in 5 days .... lol (set myself a goal to enter 200 per months, last month I was 100 short, so now I need to catch up 100 for Jan and still enter 198 for this month)

@Annaar Sorry was missing notifications for last day or so. Issue with Chrome with not showing the post button and notifications. Think just a browser problem. Probably need to clean up the browser cache or reinstall it. Thought for a bit might of been silenced from posting lol. Switched to IE seems ok.

I wouldn't think so. Doesn't look that way as it hasn't obviously hasn't seemed to affect the Leaderboard over the last few months. Unless a vey recent change. Unlikely hasn't effect some members so not uniform that assumption. On Monday was time dependent. Ie was a distinct time periods for the (1-10) and (40-50) ranges.

I'm guessing quite a few might be avoiding the early period. lol.
Without conclusive proof of a large enough sample after Monday hard to tell. It gets lost that information just looking at the leaderboard. Members log in various times etc etc. I was keeping a rough eye on @Mellyxo score as seems they regularly login about that time. I'm not 100% sure if they had (1-10) every day or missed a daily score. Assuming as very very low total score most likely. After the 2nd day stopped checking it's too time consuming. lol. Easier to check 1st of next month early in the day before the leaderboard fills up.

Apparently a GPS satellite that was put out of commission the last few days caused all sorts of havoc around the world as it effected telcos timing, 13milliseconds out caused all sorts of issues. lol. I wouldn't think it's related to this issue.

@Annaar I been slack doing competitions. I should do a few today before my long weekend of umpiring.

@Lemond not many comps around today ... Would have thought with CNY & Chocolate Heart day there would be comps galore

@Lemond kill IE, use Firefox instead

@Annaar I got all of those installed and Opera. Nothing worse then trying to enter a competition at the last minute and can't submit the entry due to a web browser issue. Especially if it's a WOL and put some thought into it. lol

I mainly use Chrome. It's starting to play up. Problem is I keep all my competition bookmarks on it so I know what competitions I have entered. Helps if I accidently try to reenter and notice it's already bookmarked as entered. Also quick link for multiple daily entries.

I'm starting to like Facebook tagging easy way to get notified of FB competitions. I might ask for some people to tag as well.

@Lemond you might be able to import all your tags into all the other browsers from Chrome... I run a spreadsheet..

Have links galore & each time I get rid of 50,I add another 70 lol

@Annaar You can and import bookmarks passwords etc. I installed another relatively unknown browser this morning called Pale Moon. Seems ok at first glance. Thou the bookmarks need a good clean up. My first couple of months comping they got a bit disorganized.

@Lemond I keep on going one step forward 10 steps back with bookmarks lol... keep on finding things to bookmark... in few months I'll wonder why :-)

@Annaar lol. If you the bookmarks into folders it makes it easy to remember why. EG I do a Feb 2016 Entered, Feb Gleam (for all those daily/multiple entries etc gleam run type competitions), Feb 2016 Facebook, Feb 2016 WOL (Empty as been slack) lol, Feb 2016 To Enter Later, Feb To Share (Makes it easier if I get around posting to the forum).

A Lot of times I deliberately bookmark more then once if falls in multiple categories. It's Just remembering to enter the competition before it expires or checking up on results.

@Lemond I bookmark a lot of things eg companies I apply for work, opera, restaurants, gardening, geek stuff & the list goes on.

Some help sites end up with many links as different pages are bookmarked ... Need one HUGE tidy up!!

Btw, how did you go with the coffee / Tennis pro comp?

@toxicgherkin Have you noticed this before? The daily "random" points seems suspiciously having a pattern according to a time period logged in. Guessing as you haven't logged in yet I'm betting you got (40-50). Unless it changes every hour or so.

It's a sus pattern without a doubt and don't expect an answer either

@JoLee I see you logged in early today as well. I can tell just by the daily points. lol
Sus doesn't even come close. Flawed/broken

Unless a recent change has been made it explains why I've been suspicious about the random daily points for a while. If this is how the "random" daily points works you can imagine the rest. Maybe it's a one off being the first of the month. Hmmmm doubt it.

I thought comping was a bit of fun but lately people seem to be getting a bit serious and paranoid...

@Vicki668 all for an obvious reason,it's not paranoia but plain as day! Happy comping

@Vicki668 @JoLee lol. Yeh all fun when the system has integrity and fair.

Argh! Even thou I was suspicious over the last few months with the daily "random" points I still just passed it off as being within random variability without proof, until today.

I appoligize if it seems I'm taking the fun out of comping, my analytical side. lol. Too much time previously analyzing statistical abnormalities in a old job.

The daily "random" points appears broken, at least for today. The next few days of observation should confirm that.

@toxicgherkin I must have ESP like the mentalist going around on TV predicting the cricket scores last night. Woot Woot for 44 points today for you.

Ive got 1 point from yesterday and 1 point today... I think my score beats yours by miles!!!
Both my log ins were before 8.30am too

I log on between 7 and 8 most mornings and my scores vary. Today I got 17, logged on at 6:50am. Yesterday I go 2, logged in at 7ish am.

Mine were both around 7am (Brisbane time)

@Mellyxo lol I noticed. :( Was checking if a similar pattern of scores occurs this morning.

It's a lot harder to check after the first day as a lot of members don't do all the competitions etc and get lost off the leader board. Also you cant always easily see when members logged in for the daily points.

Yesterday was obvious as the start of the month and you need to click on a new competition to start off the points system. You can see all the scores as members log in.
It defied probability and was a definitely set pattern for most of day till about 5:00 PM and again 11 PM all with run of values within a range. Thou there was not many I could see that logged in at those times.

Most members got either (1-10) the early birds :( or (40-50) after about 8:30 am to 5ish PM excluding the very few that logged in later in the evening.

There seemed to be a run of low scores around 7AM from a few members below 10 this morning. The later looks like 30's after 8:00AM. Only looking at a small sample compared to yesterday morning as cant confirm if their is a possible issue with the implementation of the "random" daily points.

Possibly more "random" then yesterday. Unconfirmed without a bigger sample of points and approx log in times. Overall I questioning the implementation of the random daily points after yesterday. It pointed to some interesting things how it might be implemented.

One weird thing I noticed. How can someone have 100 points for the guessing game i.e. 2 days but only 1 daily point. lol Poor soul that logged in looks like before 8AM.

http://www.competitions.com.au/profiles/286752/

If there is an issue with the daily points I hope the @admin are aware.

I received 18 points this morning though I had forgotten to log off last night. I've never understood @admin's randomisation algorithm. Newcomers too see to do quite well on the Leaderboard. Hmm? By newcomers, I'm hoping they are bona fide entrants and not an alternate account. I suspect they were a few here a while back but hopefully these have been weeded out.

It is day 2 and someone has 100 daily points = 50 points, 2 days in a row! Meanwhile poor @Mellyxo has 2 daily points (1 point, 2 days in a row). What are the odds? Feels like those of us who login in early get penalised with low "random" points.

@bbjsr A couple have 100 points. lol.

50*50 is the odds of getting the same in a row 1/2500. Not impossible , improbable maybe.

First day it didn't look random, far from it. if first day 1/10 and then 1/50 odds 1/500. if counting the odds of being in the early batch or later as 1/2 then 1/1000. Assuming all random and fair.

Odds something suspicious about the "random" generator. lol

If looking at a small sample or one doesn't prove much. It's when you look at a larger sample can see if it doesn't confirm to normal random distribution. An absolute perfect distribution each month might raise questions as well.

I wouldn't assume it's going to be low every morning. The first day was an issue. I'm "predicting" (26-45) for the early morning. Thou some changes might of been made last night wonder why the site was down.

Looks like a few missed out yesterday on daily and guessing game points when the system was down till about least from 11:30PM to 12:30AM. :(

@toxicgherkin What I was suspecting from the "randomization" algorithm after looking at the first day of scores it wasn't random. Simply it appeared it could be an incremental score as each user logs in. The random part the order members logged in. Scores rolling from (1-50) and cycling back to 1, or could be reverse order.

Now people being creatures of habit I was proposing that similar log in times might result in similar daily scores in that cycle. So @Annaar the log in time each day wasn't what I was looking at to determine a score but using that as a starting point for the next.

Things to note during busy periods a lot of people might log in similar times, those members might not show up on the leader board, and viewing the first competition doesn't always suggest when they actually logged in. and the daily score generated. On the first day this was lot more obvious until the leader board filled up.

On the 1st it appeared ALL the scores before about 8:30 AM were (1-10). Then after approximately 8:3 0AM it appeared for ALL subsequent scores set to a range of (40-50).
Only till the evening approximate from 6:00 PM I see a change maybe back to more usual only got a small sample which all didn't fit into the above.

Out of about 40 samples looked at from about 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM all where in the range (40-50). I recorded only a small sample in the end of the early ones of about 10 all got (1-10). By the time I had thought to look into it I lost the profiles off the leader board. There were more profiles I noticed least 1/2 dozen all with low scores when I logged in about 7am. .

Also during what could be the quieter periods during the day it looked like descending score (50-40) . Which makes me suspect its not a random number for each user as they logged in but a increment from the previous log in score.

Notes: Not a complete examination of all scores on the 1st as once the leader board filled only those that had bonus points etc appear on the leaderboard. After the first day it's lot harder to spot the same abnormality due to competitions viewed etc affecting the score and don't see all most of the members not on the leader board.

Now it doesn't mean its not random since then. Definitely on the first day it defied probability. I still suspect an increment loop (1-50) could be used. Possibly resetting to a new range or value at a random time, if the first day is anything to go by.

Overall the confidence in the site for some aspects low. Especially from you comments @toxicgherkin regard maintenance etc for a period.

Now if what I'm suspect could be the case the implications for the monthly leaderboard would question it's integrity. Using alternative profiles could have "prior" knowledge of what daily score to expect or find same profiles grouped roughly on the leader board consistently if they logged in similar times daily.

@toxicgherkin Looks like could be some security measures in using alternative profiles to get "prior" knowledge etc if using the same IP etc. If it's not actually randomly generated. I had one interesting experience this morning using a new browser but same PC windows log in etc and showed my new daily score update before I officially logged in.

I was testing my suspicions out, and helping out another member who reported on facebook that the system was down from least 11:30PM to 12:30AM. Looks like they missed out on the daily points etc yesterday as the system was offline for a while.

To confirm the above would need a number of members log in at a very quiet period to see the results.

@JoLee lol The @Admin seem quiet. Nothing unusual there the most predictable thing can bet on. lol. I'm sure they keep an eye on the forum. :) Do they have an official profile to message? Apart from directly messaging them. If there's issue I rather put it out there for all to see. Plus my email is overwhelmed with junk.

@Lemond as I said, they never answer but do see all that's written,too sus lol

@Lemond, I just bite my lip and hope for the best 'random' outcome I can receive. That sentence is incongruous, which I suspect the random allocation of points to be - INCONGRUOUS!

@toxicgherkin lol. :)

The plot thickens.....

@JoLee The soup needs stirring. lol

@toxicgherkin Would make a great conspiracy plot for a X Files movie for your next episode. :) Throw in some atmospheric noise a particle decay source and got yourself a random action thriller. :)

@Lemond, well one of our cats IS called 'HalfLife'...LOL.....Partner was responsible for the naming- Schrödinger reference to quantum superposition if anyone is wondering... ;)

Entertainment at its best. Lovin it!!!

@toxicgherkin Can title the movie Quantum of Entanglement staring Halflife. :)

@Lemond, now to pick our stars.... ;)

@toxicgherkin :). Classic. At least you weren't thinking of another cat youtube video showing it's version of String theory. :)

@Lemond, hehe.

Bonus points? I'm still new LOL. I was hovering around 20 and now at 30 ... don't care so much as winning a comp this month would have been nice .... January result zero

@Annaar See http://www.competitions.com.au/leaderboard/ for the "bonus" points for profile etc. lol Yeh I had a shocker. I don't think there is anyone with a lower daily point score that log in every day. Most competitions viewed thou lol.

Looks like @jessiebutcher got robbed of a position somehow missing a guessing game a couple of days ago. Hmm the same three people top 3 spots again. What would be the odds of that? Think the last 3 months same names at the top. Makes me a touch suspicious about how random the daily points are.

Overall the daily points seem to be "above average" consistently. i.e. average is 25.5 (50+1)/2. Looks like about 40-50ish people log in daily the spread seems a bit high each month. Could be some logical reasons e.g. people getting low scores early give up and don't log in daily etc.

Assuming nothing breaching rules etc would be interesting to note what setup they have. PC or MAC and what browser they use. Will see how my first few days go I've hopefully "timed" each browser for a above average amount for its first login next month. Sounds a bit superstitious. Odds are thou next month should be better then this one. lol

@Lemond Do you think that OS and browser mater? I thought that if I remove image I lose points and get them back when I upload a new one ...

Had few good days daily points and had some shockers 2 or 5 , Made an appearance more days then I can remember :-)

Didn't matter that much, sadly I've won zilch this month ... hopefully February will be better and hopefully I'll be back on facey... they are being stubborn and so am I LOL

They want to use my full name, and I tell them that no one knows it... rules have changed and if you have a good reason and I do, they should listen... finally a person started answering and I called him a bot LOL

Each day he sends a reply pointing me to settings, privacy and name and kills the case.. I keep on telling him that the case cannot be closed till this issue is resolved... so tiring dealing with people who don't know their own rules and changes.

Full name published and I can be easily found by my abusive ex. some people commented on threads that I don't exist since I cannot be found via google.. YUP very safe medium... The bot advised me to block those people... VERY helpful ... NOT

I'm too old to play games ...

Given up on the leader board, there's no point hitting every link if you can't even make the top 20 in your birthday month ! Good luck all !

Everyone must be updating, as I'm going backwards lol

@Goldmember lol. No luck. Yeh I noticed you had a bad run. :( Good luck next month.

@Annaar Gee the joys of social media. About the browser and OS possibly you would need proper statistical analysis of that data. They should be able to track which OS etc people are using.

@Lemond Fb is an invasion of privacy ... Sadly fb is needed these days for networking

Numerous places know what IS, browser you are using, what versions etc

Congrats to this month's winners! Pipped at the post! I was number 1 or 2 pretty much every day this month but ultimately missed out. @Goldmember - yep I agree as I had birthday points too and didn't win. Although numbers 1 and 2 also had a birthday this month, so maybe it helps to a certain degree in some months. But daily points makes the most difference - a gap of 140+ more daily points seems impossible to make up even with a birthday bonus. @Annaar - yes I also had a bad run of daily points towards the end - three 3's, one 1, others below 10 etc. The number 3 is my most frequent random daily number. @Lemond - I would love to see a statistical analysis. Wow, same three winners two months in a row. I'd love to have that luck :) Congrats again!

Same! So far off.
Maybe time for a refreshing new idea.
Birthday month shouldn't count anyway, as immediately you are on the back foot 11 months of the year...

I've noticed that some people have seen more competitions then I have. How is that possible ??

Fb used to show some content hours or days after it was published ... Some saw it immediately, others didn't

@Annaar I've got 20 competitions listed for today so far. Check that your on page 1. Check no filters etc etc.

Probably what happened you logged in early as competitions were being posted. More competitions were posted after your early morning log in. Competitions seem to be post one at a time every few minutes when they are doing a batch. Sometimes at different times of the day. Usually early morning, evening and late evening/midnight.

Have you noticed the "random" daily points today and log in times of people. I noticed early this morning everyone had low daily points and thought very suspicious. Then after 8:30am all high scores. Now thinking back to last couple of weeks I think your log in times were roughly same as mine, same with bbjsr at least for the last week or so. I noticed all doing the "early" guessing game lol. No wonder we all got low scores at the same time. I'm questioning the integrity of the daily random points.

I've been online after midnight & received 40 points, other days at same time 3

This morning only 10

At the end of the month have a look at the total comps vievwd by you & 3 top winners

@Annaar Same it's not always low etc. What I'm saying people that log in in the same time period get similar scores looking at today as an example. Can you see any scores between 11 and 39 today? And if dig deeper those that got 1-10 logged in before 8:29 am and those after 40-50.

Can you recall the last few days. Think I got 13 yesterday. Probably logged in midnight to 6am. Weekend not sure what time. Just earlier in the week I recall you saying you got lows similar scores on the same days I was getting them.

Only the first time I'm directly noticed this. I have thought of mixing up times to see if makes a difference before.

Yeh I haven't missed many competitions. Usually I check @toxicgherkin and a couple others lol. Warning I may miss competitions on the weekend if exhausted from umpiring. Last weekend was a washout. :(

Thanks @Lemond, :) I really don't know how I did it. It is honestly a mystery to me. I received 1 log in point yesterday but caught up on some competitions I hadn't viewed due to work. I do work odd hours from time to time so as far as logging in goes, it could be any time of the day. (I don't log in in the early morning or late at night).
It's going into my freezer slush fund. It was one of the reasons I joined comping and I haven't seen a comp for one yet! Lol..... Although with your talent for finding comps, I'm sure you could ;)
@bbjsr, yes happened to me a couple of times last year. Went to sleep on first and ended up fourth and seventh when I woke up so I didn't expect this to happen at all! Ah those twilight hours! Good comping everyone, there's lots of great prizes out there....

@Lemond I couldn't sleep last night so checked the website and was given 10 points, I did log in around 3am

Will test your theory this week lol

On the 28th check the winners viewed comps scores and they would have viewed more comps then you

@bbjsr, I noticed you were to, sorry you weren't in the top 3

@fourleaf lol. Well a birthday and good daily points helps. Congrats

Probably the random log in times helped after looking at today's scores.

I wasn't too surprised thou the same three ended up towards the top of the leaderboard. Since September seems to be like a mixture of the same few towards the top of the leaderboard. Usually toxicgherkin in 4th lol.

Looking at last few months it seemed the averages are skewed a bit high to be truly random. I would expect if a random distribution a grouping either side of the average of 25.5 approx 790 daily points for 31 days and tapping off in both directions. I've noticed scores up to about 1000 but none less then 750 that logged in every day. It seems an average scores is about 28 each month.

Today definitely have noticed something not right with the random daily points distribution. Now thinking back with members that log in the same time as me and their scores recently.

I only suspected something wasn't quite right but with looking at randomness can be tricky to prove if looking at a small sample. There's definitely a very strong correlation "99.99%" today between "random" daily points and log in times. Way it looks for today anyone logging in from 8:30am will get 40-50 points and earlier got (1-10). Now if that is the case usually then that could have major issues.

@Annaar lol. Well bit more then a theory for this morning. I wouldn't make a claim without checking facts first. Could be a once off if some changes where made that effected the daily random points system.

I actually was up early doing some reading on random generators in reply to your question regarding browsers and random generation. Basically computers have difficulty generating random numbers. They try and simulate pseudo random numbers using clever algorithms. As previous daily random points seemed touch suspicious thou within random variability, I thought what variables influence it's generation. Different browsers/versions use different methods. Without knowing exactly how competitions.com.au generator is implemented it i.e. on the server or client browser side I was looking at the client side browser having an issue. Looks from today might be server side issue as all members had similar daily scores either (1-10) or (40-50) and dependent on time logged in. Too much of a coincidence!

See https://www.random.org/analysis/

Unlikely have many with more competitions viewed. lol

Depends how vigilant I'm checking off competitions. As I've noticed some irregularities with competitions "viewed" previously I do a rough check once in a while.

Strange I lot of people towards the top seemed to miss 1 competition last month at the same time. I wonder if it was the same competition. It appeared to happen at the time when I noticed one slip pass me and by luck found it toggling options. It was probably a delayed competition posted bit after doing a batch I missed, thou for me it already appeared "viewed". Hard to pinpoint what could be the reason.

@Lemond may be top 20 got 40-50 and the rest got 1-10... don't know how the random generator works... depends on the coding

I had a look and top 5 viewed more competitions then I did ... I double checked and apparently I have viewed all, but top 5 viewed at least 20 more.

Could be that some are shown to some but not others ... just like fb hides some posts from some but not others ... I remember reading a post that was more then 24hrs old but on my thread it appeared for the first time... even when I searched for it, never came up until it did 24hrs later.

Nice to be at the top, but as long as I start winning comps I don't care :-) For now January II've won zilch and entered about 150 comps

NOT a good way to start a year LOL