My accolade journey
In June 2010, I joined RPR not quite knowing what to expect. I participated in what looked like a fun community and enjoyed the privilege of watching RPR not only grow, but develop from a baby-RPR to what we have now. I still remember what the site looked like before it had its current design. I never could have imagined how much the site and its community would come to mean to me over the years. I lost my best friend to sudden heart failure in early 2010, but I gained so many new ones on RPR that it eased the pain and made my life better bit by bit.
In August of 2010, Kim introduced accolades. I can't remember what my first accolade was, as I've rearranged my display case a few times and I'm sure I messed with the order, but I do remember my recoloration of the Green Arcana template being one of the first things I got an accolade for back then.
Very quickly, it became clear that my history with coding and a natural knack for pushing limits allowed me to be really, really good at finding things that were broken on the site. At first I was hesitant to 'bother' Kim with such reports, but she made it clear that she adored them. I made sure to be as thorough as I could be, retracing my steps and explaining to her where I did what to get the error messages or found the broken things. I provided screenshots whenever possible. The bulk of my accolades came from reporting bugs on the site that got fixed. To date, I probably have over 450 bug reports to my name (resolved, unresolved and non-bugs)!
Besides getting involved with super thorough testing, I also gained my fair share of accolades from particiating in events around the site (such as giving kudos for FOBETEO!). When I hit 100 accolades, I was invited to write an article on how to get accolades and provide detailed bug reports, which you can find here!
I was the first member on RPR to have gained 100 accolades on February 27th 2013. On March 16th 2015, I reached 200. And on December 3rd 2016 I reached 300!
Now what?
I'll be honest, I did not expect to have this many accolades so early on. I was hoping that perhaps I could start 2017 with 300, but I forgot FOBETEO was a thing and realized with the amount of kudos I will be writing, I would get there yesterday. The accolades by themselves are an impressive milestone, but for me they represent something special: the love and dedication I put into this site and got in return, and the knowledge that I contributed to make it just a little bit better for everyone, whether that is by reporting broken features early before they became a problem, to participating in Epic Week, to making someone feel warmer from a kudos in the holiday season. I hope that everyone else feels the same way and will be alongside me to continue making RPR better, warmer and more awesome all around. After all, I couldn't have done this without any of you!
I'm not sure what I could do to celebrate this milestone on RPR directly, but I want to pay it forward somehow. On behalf of RPR, I want to donate to a good charity for the holidays, but I don't quite know which one to pick. I'd like your help with that!
I've chosen a handful of reliable charities and I will donate money to one, based on the number of votes the charities get. I do have a couple of rules to make this manageable so please read them closely:
I pick charities based on how effectively they use donations through Charity Watch's top rated charities list analyzation. I highly encourage you and/or your family to donate as well! I know most charities are US based, so if you feel strongly about donating to a non-US charity I recommend you research them and give it a shot yourself.
If you have no money, you can consider volunteering locally or online for an organization of choice (for example, I knit breast prostheses for women who had breast cancer, and I volunteer my skills as website manager for the Dutch Diabetes Association - my time and efforts are just as valuable as the money I donate.). Every little bit helps and matters!
To participate:
Post a reply to this topic letting me know which of the following charities you'd like me to donate to. I will update the list with the vote count.
The due date to cast your vote by is 11:59PM PST, Christmas Eve December 24th
Charities to pick from:
If you have any questions about this please PM me!
Updates:
Dec 4: Mist has very generously offered to match my donation up to $100!
Dec 5: Novalyyn has contributed $20 to be donated along with what I'm donating!
In June 2010, I joined RPR not quite knowing what to expect. I participated in what looked like a fun community and enjoyed the privilege of watching RPR not only grow, but develop from a baby-RPR to what we have now. I still remember what the site looked like before it had its current design. I never could have imagined how much the site and its community would come to mean to me over the years. I lost my best friend to sudden heart failure in early 2010, but I gained so many new ones on RPR that it eased the pain and made my life better bit by bit.
In August of 2010, Kim introduced accolades. I can't remember what my first accolade was, as I've rearranged my display case a few times and I'm sure I messed with the order, but I do remember my recoloration of the Green Arcana template being one of the first things I got an accolade for back then.
Very quickly, it became clear that my history with coding and a natural knack for pushing limits allowed me to be really, really good at finding things that were broken on the site. At first I was hesitant to 'bother' Kim with such reports, but she made it clear that she adored them. I made sure to be as thorough as I could be, retracing my steps and explaining to her where I did what to get the error messages or found the broken things. I provided screenshots whenever possible. The bulk of my accolades came from reporting bugs on the site that got fixed. To date, I probably have over 450 bug reports to my name (resolved, unresolved and non-bugs)!
Besides getting involved with super thorough testing, I also gained my fair share of accolades from particiating in events around the site (such as giving kudos for FOBETEO!). When I hit 100 accolades, I was invited to write an article on how to get accolades and provide detailed bug reports, which you can find here!
I was the first member on RPR to have gained 100 accolades on February 27th 2013. On March 16th 2015, I reached 200. And on December 3rd 2016 I reached 300!
Now what?
I'll be honest, I did not expect to have this many accolades so early on. I was hoping that perhaps I could start 2017 with 300, but I forgot FOBETEO was a thing and realized with the amount of kudos I will be writing, I would get there yesterday. The accolades by themselves are an impressive milestone, but for me they represent something special: the love and dedication I put into this site and got in return, and the knowledge that I contributed to make it just a little bit better for everyone, whether that is by reporting broken features early before they became a problem, to participating in Epic Week, to making someone feel warmer from a kudos in the holiday season. I hope that everyone else feels the same way and will be alongside me to continue making RPR better, warmer and more awesome all around. After all, I couldn't have done this without any of you!
I'm not sure what I could do to celebrate this milestone on RPR directly, but I want to pay it forward somehow. On behalf of RPR, I want to donate to a good charity for the holidays, but I don't quite know which one to pick. I'd like your help with that!
I've chosen a handful of reliable charities and I will donate money to one, based on the number of votes the charities get. I do have a couple of rules to make this manageable so please read them closely:
- Every user gets 1 vote to put towards one of the charities on the list.
- Users only. (Anonymous) characters don't count, sorry.
- Every charity I listed is deserving of our support. Making a choice doesn't mean other charities matter less, but with limited funds we have to make choices. It's totally okay to choose a charity that you feel more connected with, it doesn't mean you don't value the others.
- If by the due date the votes are spread (almost) evenly across the charities, I will do my best to spread my donation across them all.
- The amount I donate will partially depend on my income at the time. I will be donating after Christmas, with the hopes of putting (most of) any potential Christmas money into the donation.
- Please no (political) discussions on the charities. Speak with your vote instead, please!
I pick charities based on how effectively they use donations through Charity Watch's top rated charities list analyzation. I highly encourage you and/or your family to donate as well! I know most charities are US based, so if you feel strongly about donating to a non-US charity I recommend you research them and give it a shot yourself.
If you have no money, you can consider volunteering locally or online for an organization of choice (for example, I knit breast prostheses for women who had breast cancer, and I volunteer my skills as website manager for the Dutch Diabetes Association - my time and efforts are just as valuable as the money I donate.
). Every little bit helps and matters!To participate:
Post a reply to this topic letting me know which of the following charities you'd like me to donate to. I will update the list with the vote count.
The due date to cast your vote by is 11:59PM PST, Christmas Eve December 24th
Charities to pick from:
- Planned Parenthood (Charity Watch) 4
- National Council on Aging (Charity Watch)
- Animal Welfare Institute (Charity Watch) 3
- Children's Defense Fund (Charity Watch) 4
- Breast Cancer Research Foundation (Charity Watch) 3
If you have any questions about this please PM me!
Updates:
Dec 4: Mist has very generously offered to match my donation up to $100!
Dec 5: Novalyyn has contributed $20 to be donated along with what I'm donating!
First of all
That is just amazing, that you can earn that many! Meanwhile I just hide under a rock like some sort of typing gremlin.
AAAA it's so hard to pick which one. All of those are really great!
I think since any one of those would work, I'll go with the middle choice, the animal one, for my vote.
That is just amazing, that you can earn that many! Meanwhile I just hide under a rock like some sort of typing gremlin.
AAAA it's so hard to pick which one. All of those are really great!
I think since any one of those would work, I'll go with the middle choice, the animal one, for my vote.
Thank you! I added your vote.
Edit: Added a vote for the Children's Defense Fund from EBG!
Edit: Added a vote for the Children's Defense Fund from EBG!
I vote for the animal one!
Also, good job for all of those accolades~
Also, good job for all of those accolades~
Children's Defense Fund gets my vote.
Thanks guys! 
Congrats on so many Accolades! O: That's amazing!!
I'm having trouble picking between the animal charity and the breast cancer one.
But I will pick to vote the Breast Cancer charity!
I'm having trouble picking between the animal charity and the breast cancer one.
But I will pick to vote the Breast Cancer charity!
Added your vote, thank you TC! 
Congratulations my friend!
Breast Cancer charity for me!
Breast Cancer charity for me!
I'm so not sure which one to choose... Uhm...
I'd have to say... Planned Parenthood gets my vote.
But 300 accolades?! That's incredible. Congratulations, Sanne!
I'd have to say... Planned Parenthood gets my vote.
But 300 accolades?! That's incredible. Congratulations, Sanne!
Sanne, you are truly devoted I cast my vote for Planned Parenthood!
I cast my vote for Planned Parenthood!
Thanks everyone. Updated.
Edit: Mist just generously offered to match my donation up to $100 for Christmas! Thank you Mist!
Updated.Edit: Mist just generously offered to match my donation up to $100 for Christmas! Thank you Mist!
I'm voting for Planned Parenthood as well. u 3 u~
Congrats on your many well-deserved accolades! It's always amazing to see people put so much love and dedication into their community, and the donations! Simply incredible.
It's very hard to pick one. They all are such great causes.
My vote will have to go to Breast Cancer. And may I say, you are such a noble person for doing this!
It's very hard to pick one. They all are such great causes.
My vote will have to go to Breast Cancer. And may I say, you are such a noble person for doing this!
HOORAY SANNE!
Er... could I do a .5 vote for both Animal Welfare Institute and Children's Defense Fund, or a floating vote to be applied to whichever of those ends up higher?
Er... could I do a .5 vote for both Animal Welfare Institute and Children's Defense Fund, or a floating vote to be applied to whichever of those ends up higher?
That is so amazing!
My vote goes to Children's Defense Fund.
Dang, Sanne. Good job!
All the contenders sound like great causes, but I'll put my vote down for Planned Parenthood.
All the contenders sound like great causes, but I'll put my vote down for Planned Parenthood.
Novalyyn wrote:
HOORAY SANNE!
Er... could I do a .5 vote for both Animal Welfare Institute and Children's Defense Fund, or a floating vote to be applied to whichever of those ends up higher?
Er... could I do a .5 vote for both Animal Welfare Institute and Children's Defense Fund, or a floating vote to be applied to whichever of those ends up higher?
Can I do the same?
Thank you so much for voting everyone.
Can I do the same?
Your votes basically come down to 1 each this way so that's what I did. For the sake of my sanity and avoiding people getting complicated with spreading their votes, I'm going to stick to whole ones.
Also many many many thanks to Novalyyn for donating some money as well!
Katia wrote:
Novalyyn wrote:
HOORAY SANNE!
Er... could I do a .5 vote for both Animal Welfare Institute and Children's Defense Fund, or a floating vote to be applied to whichever of those ends up higher?
Er... could I do a .5 vote for both Animal Welfare Institute and Children's Defense Fund, or a floating vote to be applied to whichever of those ends up higher?
Can I do the same?
Your votes basically come down to 1 each this way so that's what I did.
For the sake of my sanity and avoiding people getting complicated with spreading their votes, I'm going to stick to whole ones.Also many many many thanks to Novalyyn for donating some money as well!
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