I don't think this really makes much sense, since most people will be offloading junk randomly to other people who probably don't want it either.

Ahhh.... Yeah. That would not be nice. Would it then?

I was more like, if I knew someone wanted something cool, like an Asus P2B-DS (have none, this is an example)
And I wanted to give it to someone like, say Phil, and shipped it. Then this would not be a viable suggestion
to an potential mysterie package kind of thing?

It's not the craziest idea I've ever heard, but it's close!

brostenen wrote:

like an Asus P2B-DS (have none, this is an example)
And I wanted to give it to someone like, say Phil, and shipped it.

I'd love that 😊 🤣

PhilsComputerLab wrote:

I'd love that 😊 🤣

Yeah.... Me too. Had one. It died...

Anyway....
Was just an example. Yet if people here are against making other people happy, then it's ok and understandable. 😀
Shall not ask something like this in the open again.

King_Corduroy wrote:

I don't think this really makes much sense, since most people will be offloading junk randomly to other people who probably don't want it either.

I like the intention, but this will be what it will probably end up in.

Same thing with giving stuff away, I ended up with someone who ended up just wanting to buy my rare stuff which was the exact opposite of what I had intended.

So...like...a Secret Santa? In January?

Fascinating.

brostenen wrote:

Yet if people here are against making other people happy, then it's ok and understandable. 😀

Aww 😢

I'm not against giving away retro hardware that I don't need - I do it regularly on a local (to me) forum which has a "free to a good home" thread.

Each to their own, but adding 'mystery' into the mix just seems like a recipe for confusion and wasted effort 🤣

Since it is unrealistic, and highly inadvisable, for people to give their mailing addresses to random strangers on the internet, you would firstly, have to get to know a fellow Vogons user well enough that they trust you with such information. In such case, you don't need a thread like this as you can do this at any time. Creating a thread like the one you suggested simply opens the way for leeches to get free stuff. /thread

Well...
The mysterie would be that you would not know if it was a voodoo or an awe32.
Again. This is only examples. What I was thinking was something like....

X know Y is in the search for something wich can not be found locally.
X packs the piece and ships it to Y at X's own expenses, with a little
"here you go my friend"-note. And Y will be one happy person.

That's what's the mysterie is all about.
Or....

You know you have a clean non bulging socket-a board.
With good caps, that supports 2400+ cpu's and you just give it to
someone that want to make a fast Win98 box....

It was not a tread about "I have this, who wants it", as you
actually know that person wich you are shipping to.

It was a tread like the "bought this" tread. Only"got this mysteri today".

I'll lettermail DDR 512 sticks or assorted SDRAM to whoever. I have far too much.

SRQ wrote:

I'll lettermail DDR 512 sticks or assorted SDRAM to whoever. I have far too much.

That's the spirit I am talking about.
Yet.... As said. You need to know him/her and vice versa.
Just make sure you do not tell them what it is and that they really are looking for it.

I think it's time to stop being so cynical. I believe in the good that is within all people. Anyone should be free to express their love in the way they want to. What it someone feels the urge to say "hey! here's a token of my friendship", shall that be wrong?
I think this is a marvelous idea in a world where materialistic concerns prevail, after all stuff is just stuff, but people and their relations are the most important. This very site is proof of it, can't you see? Wouldn't you be sadder if you had all your stuff, but no one to talk about it with?
Please give hope a chance, and let fellow vogoneers do the beautiful act of sharing.

Tee hee, and the first leech appears!

Mailing boxes of hardware to friends (and boxes of burps to enemies) is already happening - adding a convoluted processes of winks and nudges isn't required, that's all I'm saying!

badmojo wrote:

Tee hee, and the first leech appears!

Hillarious! 🤣!

It's a great idea but as with selling and trading, Vogons is not the place for it. The potential for people feeling they got cheated is too high. And that leads to people suing the platform they were cheated on -> Vogons.
And as you can see, people will register just to eventually receive a freebie. Vogons doesn't aim at getting the most users, it's aim is a community (or I think that's the aim 😉) and people just joining and posting to get a freebie doesn't help a community...

Dominus wrote:

It's a great idea but as with selling and trading, Vogons is not the place for it. The potential for people feeling they got cheated is too high. And that leads to people suing the platform they were cheated on -> Vogons.
And as you can see, people will register just to eventually receive a freebie. Vogons doesn't aim at getting the most users, it's aim is a community (or I think that's the aim 😉) and people just joining and posting to get a freebie doesn't help a community...

Fully agreed here.

It's this kind of threads that raises the question how many sardines a kitten would need to survive the shipping overseas in an economy class package.

There is another complication here: Vogons comunity is international, and international shipping can have its issues. Lost packages are a bad thing, but its customs that can really wreck havoc, as if brazilian customs, for example, decide to tax a package even when tagged as a gift (they can do that), I could end up paying more for the mistery package than I would buying the same thing locally.