how to give out software gifts

[mouser]

ok this might be a delicate question since people might have a conflict of interest
but..

when a company donates some copies of a program, what i think we'd like to do is, save some to give out as rewards for guest reviews or for programmers writing coding snacks.

but then i think we should give out one or two to members of the forum (ie donating members).

but how should we decide who to give to?
based on subjective view of their contributions on the forum (ie have they helped people etc?)  but this might hurt people's feelings who feel they are being over looked?
or totally at random?
or based on whether they have some need for the program in question?
or some probabilistic function based on all these things?
do we end up giving to someone who doesnt need it?

any thoughts? we don't want this to be a big thing, with people trying to make their case why they should get some piece of software, since it could create antagonism.  im just looking for innovative ideas on the matter.

[Jibz]

I guess it depends a bit on the software in question too.

For instance, it would be silly to choose members at random for a very specialized piece of software that would only be valuable to a small group.

I think it should be at your discretion, and with no 'begging' or similar from members. If you know that somebody has a special need for a piece of software, then it would be fair to give it to them. If there are no such special circumstances and you still want to give out a copy, you could pick at random.

I feel quite confident you will make the right choices .

[vegas]

How about just post a thread in members section; we have, say, 2 copies of VMWare available for giveaway to members (donators or whatever).  Please respond to this thread to enter your name in this drawing if this software would be useful to you.  Something simple like that. You can post who won a copy or not post, but at least you aren't giving software away to people who aren't interested and you aren't neglecting anyone . Say, maybe leave the thread open for a week to post & enter your name for the drawing. Sound fair?

[mouser]

thats not a bad idea at all vegas,
and would limit prizes to people who at least check the forum once per week, which seems a good idea.
also you would only be elligible for one gift, so
it would make people think twice about signing up for every offer, since once you get one you won't get another

[zridling]

I agree. As Jibz says, it may be great software, but whereas someone like me (a non-coding user) may not be able to use it, someone like you guys (coders) most likely could. Also, a targeted ad in certain blogs for a week at a time might help draw attention to some of the cool stuff happening here. For example, one of the things I look forward to most is reading the daily columns.

[Sentinel]

Great idea vegas!