[Updated] Player held contest rules
Player Contest Rules Clarification We’ve received feedback from Moderators and the communities on multiple Howrse games requesting clarification of the rules for player hosted contests and giveaways, specifically with offering horses as prizes. Addendum: We've reviewed the rule about offering horses as prizes and have decided to allow you to offer a horse as a prize again. Current rules We allow players to host contests and giveaways according to the following rules:
Review of rules Some players want to offer horses as prizes and would like to know if this is allowed. We reviewed contests held on each version, and we identified the following: On some versions, it has not been allowed for horses to be used as prizes; since the game does not include a tool for gifting horses. Selling a horse to a player costs them a fee to gain their prize. This falls within the Item and Pass Trafficking rules that are not allowed. As a compromise, we will allow players to offer horses as prizes so long as the cost of the horse is the minimum amount that can be set - 500e. Since this is also considered a private agreement between players, we will not support these transactions. Contests are entered at your own risk and it is up to the contest holders to deliver the promised prizes. In addition to the contest rules mentioned above, we have added the following: - You can offer a horse as a prize provided the cost does not exceed 500 Equus. - The horse offered as a prize can have Black Market items. - Contest holders can ask but not require that participants re-post their contest banners. Last Updated: January 31, 2024 Regards, The Howrse Team |
It is very easy to sell a unicorn or any other horse for 500e to a player you think is deserving of it. Just do it. No need to disguise it in a 'contest' or 'giveaway'. But that's not the point? Sometimes it's fun to host a giveaway with a random winner, or to have an avatar contest or drawing contest or something along those lines. We used to be able to offer horses as prizes for such contests, until Howrse revoked that compromise and made it against the rules. If we were allowed to offer horses as prizes with the specification that the horse cost 500 equus, that would be fine. That's exactly what we used to be allowed to do.
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The Howrse team responded to my message:
Click to display Hello Goat_Girl, Thank you for your message! We'll be happy to share your feedback with the team about the potential addition of a gifting option on the game. It's been a couple of years since this rule was brought onto the game but we're always looking for new ways to improve things. Please keep in mind that while we do like suggestions in general, we can not guarantee the implementation. But, anything can happen in the future! If you have another question, please don't hesitate to contact us again by writing a new ticket! Kind regards, The Howrse Team Hmm... Typical non-committal answer, which was expected. It's good they seem open to the idea of allowing a gifting feature or something along those lines. Please, everyone who thinks we should have this, send a message to Contact Us! The more people they hear from, the less likely they are to forget about it.
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It is very easy to sell a unicorn or any other horse for 500e to a player you think is deserving of it. Just do it. No need to disguise it in a 'contest' or 'giveaway'. What an answer! As if hosting giveaways to do something fun and generous for the community is somehow shady behaviour - 'disguise it in a "contest" or "giveaway", indeed! This would be funny if not for that fact that younger, less confident players might be intimidated into thinking that suggesting a simple improvement to the game is actually a fault in themselves. Is it really appropriate for a moderator to be making snide insinuations about players' intentions?
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By Retired breeder, 20th August 2020 15:59:02
If you make a competition or giveaway or something, would it still be against the rules to say that the prize comes with a small fee of 500e? I think we should be allowed to have horses as prizes, as long as it's only 500e, since there isn't a way to gift horses. I know it would make a lot of people happy. I don't really understand why we can't have horses as prizes, because they are the whole point of the game.
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If you make a competition or giveaway or something, would it still be against the rules to say that the prize comes with a small fee of 500e? I think we should be allowed to have horses as prizes, as long as it's only 500e, since there isn't a way to gift horses. I know it would make a lot of people happy. I don't really understand why we can't have horses as prizes, because they are the whole point of the game. I would think this falls under trafficking because it resembles an entry fee or a fee in order to win a prize? It's been a while since I read through the trafficking topic, but I'm fairly certain that it was explicitly stated that competitions and giveaways cannot require any sort of fee (equus or otherwise), not can players be asked/told that they have to pay or give something in order to receive prizes. Saying that they'd need to pay 500e to get the horse/unicorn/etc. would violate that rule. A mod might have a more confident answer, but if my memory serves me correctly, stating that they'd need to pay for the prize doesn't solve the issue and therefore isn't allowed.
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*Nor can players be asked/told, not 'not'.
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If you make a competition or giveaway or something, would it still be against the rules to say that the prize comes with a small fee of 500e? This used to be allowed, before Howrse made it against the rules, so /technically/, they don't want you to do this anymore. When they made it against the rules, many players found it extremely unfair. (You should go to Contact Us to let them know if you think this is unfair, or if you want a horse gifting feature! The more people who write to them, the better!) I always thought it odd that Howrse has never addressed giveaways that are hosted in private forums. Private forums can only be accessed by boarding a horse at that equestrian center - thus, does that technically count as a fee? But Howrse has never addressed this, and instead has made offering horses as prizes against the rules, despite the fact that participants of giveaways have two options to avoid paying equus if they don't want the horse prize - they can either a) not enter the giveaway if they're not interested in the prize, or b) if they win and don't want the prize, they can refuse to buy it.
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I always thought it odd that Howrse has never addressed giveaways that are hosted in private forums. Private forums can only be accessed by boarding a horse at that equestrian center - thus, does that technically count as a fee? Players can access any ec forum regardless of whether they have a horse boarded there or not unless the ec owner has selected the forum to only be open to those boarding. Paying for boarding would not be considered a fee regardless, you are paying to board your horse there, thats what the fee is for, it isn't to enter a contest.
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By Retired breeder, 21st August 2020 15:00:46
I would think this falls under trafficking because it resembles an entry fee or a fee in order to win a prize? It's been a while since I read through the trafficking topic, but I'm fairly certain that it was explicitly stated that competitions and giveaways cannot require any sort of fee (equus or otherwise), not can players be asked/told that they have to pay or give something in order to receive prizes. Saying that they'd need to pay 500e to get the horse/unicorn/etc. would violate that rule. This used to be allowed, before Howrse made it against the rules, so /technically/, they don't want you to do this anymore. When they made it against the rules, many players found it extremely unfair. (You should go to Contact Us to let them know if you think this is unfair, or if you want a horse gifting feature! The more people who write to them, the better!) Thank you for the very detailed answers, they helped me a lot! And I'll send a ticket to Howrse, because that sounds like a very beneficial feature to add. |
Paying for boarding would not be considered a fee regardless, you are paying to board your horse there, thats what the fee is for, it isn't to enter a contest. Ah, I guess that makes sense. Still, it seems to me that Howrse should allow people to offer horses/unicorns as prizes regardless. There's no "fee" to enter a giveaway with such a prize and like I said before, if the person who wins does not want to pay 500 equus to get the horse, they are by no means required to do so.
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Ah, I guess that makes sense. Still, it seems to me that Howrse should allow people to offer horses/unicorns as prizes regardless. There's no "fee" to enter a giveaway with such a prize and like I said before, if the person who wins does not want to pay 500 equus to get the horse, they are by no means required to do so. But if someone has to pay to win a prize, then it's not a prize, and if they don't want to pay to receive said 'prize', then that strikes me as false advertising. "Here, you've won something, but you need to pay me for it". I understand that 500e is not a lot for most players, but it's about the definition of prizes in giveaways. Howrse says they need to be free (as would most anyone else who heard the word 'giveaway', since giveaways are specifically meant for giving away things for free), and buying a horse for 500e is not considered free, ergo horses cannot be offered as prizes.
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Oh, and to reiterate what deimos said, there's nothing wrong with reserving a horse to a friend or random players for 500e. The fault comes in labeling it as a prize, since prizes are supposed to be free and having to pay for said horse eradicates that.
I see no reason why a horse gifting function should be added to the game. As of now, though, it doesn't exist.
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*Should not be added to the game.
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I understand that 500e is not a lot for most players, but it's about the definition of prizes in giveaways. I have contacted Howrse and tried so many different ways to word it to get them to agree. For instance, if it was the word "giveaway" they had issues with, I suggested: What about something called a "Surprise Sale?" You could have a horse that you're offering to sell for 500 equus, and a list of people could sign below saying that they would be interested in purchasing it, then you could randomly select one (or use whatever method you're determining to pick the purchaser) and that person would then have the option of purchasing the horse. Howrse /still/ said that this was considered a giveaway and against the rules, despite the fact that no where in my suggestion had I used the word giveaway. Again, if I had this option, I would be happy. But Howrse has not allowed it so far, despite the fact that it used to be allowed. I get what you're saying DisneyQueen, that people may not like having to pay equus for a prize. But to be honest, back when it was allowed, I never saw anybody have any issues with it. Most people could earn back whatever equus they paid by simply selling the horse if they chose, as most horses are worth more than 500 equus. But I'm glad you agree that a horse gifting feature is a good idea though! It would make the whole argument moot. (I hope you send a quick note to contact us - I would appreciate it!)
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Is that real I can't give horse as a prize?
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Is that real I can't give horse as a prize? That is correct. There is no game function that allows you to give a horse away.
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Is that real I can't give horse as a prize? Please send a note to contact us if you would like an option to give horses away! The more people who write requesting such an option, the better chance that they'll listen! (Also, you can give Love divines away during the month of February, so there is an option to give horses as prizes. It just only applies to Love divines at the moment.)
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These all seem like valid points.
Contests are so difficult, as we can only gift one BMI to a player (it would be great if we could give multiple BMIs within a weak to someone), and BMIs are the only things we can give away anymore... The ‘gift an item’ or ‘gift a BMI’ could be extended to horses as well. Or we could have the option to gift a horse for free rather than sell it. So we can’t say we are selling a horse for 500e as a prize, but can the prize be a ‘discount coupon’ for one of our horses? Which they could chose to use or not? This is not a fee whatsoever, it’s an offer, a discount.
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By Retired breeder, 18th September 2020 18:36:50
@Goat_Girl I've just messaged Contact Us! They do seem pretty frustrated with me so we'll see how they respond.
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I sent this message to contact us:
Click to display Hello there, Many members of the community are finding the ban on selling horses for 500e as a giveaway prize distressing, because with the other rules, one of the most enjoyable aspects of Howrse is being eliminated. I am inquiring as to whether it is allowed to offer a discount ‘coupon’ on a horse of their choice as a prize in a giveaway. This should not be an issue as these are the current list of rules: You cannot require entrance fees or donations -This would not be an entrance fee. There is not even a 500e fee to receive the prize. The prize itself is a discount on a horse, which a player could then use to purchase a horse from me for a reduced price, but they wouldn’t be required to. If they don’t want this prize, they can either not enter, or they could not use their prize. You can give in-game prizes (Only those which can be done via the gifting options already within the game) -This would be making use of the entirely legal horse reservation system. You cannot give Equus or passes as prizes -The discount cannot be ‘cashed in’ for equus, it can only be used to reduce the price of one of my horses. We no longer allow you to offer horses as prizes as there is no mechanism in the game to gift a horse to another player for free. -As mentioned above, the horse would not be given as a prize. The prize is the discount, which can be used to purchase a horse, if the receiver wishes to. I feel this is a very important matter, as there are very limited options for player held giveaways. At present, only one BMI can be donated to the same player per week, which severely limits prizes. Passes, Equus, and Horses have no legal option of transfer as prizes, so BMIs are the only prize which can be given, and this is limited to only one. If you could create a gifting system for horses (or even Equus and Passes), this would solve everyone’s problems, and would still keep to the rule changes Howrse has enforced. Please let me know whether we can offer a discount as a prize. I see no issue in this as it obeys all the rules, however I thought I would check just to be safe. Thank you. A discount as a prize would solve our problems, and I can’t see how it’s against the rules at all either...
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dααé and Wolf Spirit - thank you both so much!! I really appreciate you taking the time to message the Howrse team - you guys made my Friday!
  @Wolf Spirit, that is a lovely idea, and in theory, I see no reason why that wouldn't work. I've never specifically asked if a discount on a horse could be offered as a prize, especially since the horse itself is not the prize, only the discount. So perhaps it would be allowed. However, I must admit that I'm skeptical - the Howrse team may not see the difference. I'm curious to see how they respond to your message.
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@Goat_Girl
Yes, I’m curious also! Somehow I get the feeling they would refuse, I’m not sure why though... Maybe I shouldn’t have asked and just assumed it was ok since it’s not against the stated rules hehe. And I remember when I was last on, which was a few years ago, all the giveaways you used to do with horses, it made everyone’s day. It’s so sad to see that howrse has removed this, and not offered a replacement system, when everyone loved it. (Also, I changed my username from kittencat123 since returning  )
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Is there a public thread/topic of some kind where people can advertise their contests/giveaways?
I would like to advertise mine and see what giveaways others are hosting, but I find it very difficult for others to see that I am offering one or to find others who are hosting unless I randomly click through many people's pages in the hope of finding someone who is advertising on their page.
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By Retired breeder, 22nd September 2020 19:36:47
Is there a public thread/topic of some kind where people can advertise their contests/giveaways? I would like to advertise mine and see what giveaways others are hosting, but I find it very difficult for others to see that I am offering one or to find others who are hosting unless I randomly click through many people's pages in the hope of finding someone who is advertising on their page. Unfortunately, no. I believe there used to be one, but now you have to go through individual player's pages. |
Is there a public thread/topic of some kind where people can advertise their contests/giveaways? There is not, but I find it's very helpful to look through the personal forums of the most popular players. Often lots of people visit those forums, so you'll be able to see what people are advertising and advertise your own stuff, as long as it's allowed in that forum
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