Hello, pine cones and sweet berries! What a week it has been. Over 400 of you commented on the Tell Us Everything Week launch post declaring that you would converse and discuss your little hearts out over the next seven days, and boy did you ever! Our comment traffic has soared, as have our spirits and our hearts. You’ve made ASS friends (and tons of ASS jokes), had a lot of feelings about basically everything, been interviewed by our Senior Editors, and supported one another in doing ass-kicking good work around the world. We sang songs, read news, and lurked celebrities together.
It was f*cking awesome.
I know you all are valiant of heart and thus, participated in Tell Us Everything Week for purely altruistic reasons. You came to build community! You came to meet new friends! You came to welcome new queers into the fold, reintroduce yourselves to your fellow long-standing commenters, and otherwise love on one another.
But you also came for prizes.
And that’s where I come in — or, actually, my Dog / Assistant Eli and I. We come bearing the usernames of this week’s seven lucky prize winners who left 5, 10, and sometimes even 15 or more comments in the last week — ranging from postcards from our Senior Eds to sweet mercy and A+ memberships.
As a refresher, here’s what those seven lucky queermos are taking home with them from what I’m imagining to be going down right now in my head, which is all of us on set of a newer, queerer Price Is Right. SO COME ON DOWN!
TIER 1: Four Winners
The Tier 1 winners left 5 or more comments this week. Folks eligible for Tier 2 and 3 prizes were also entered in this drawing.
- Your choice of one of the following: Better Together Issue #1 (OMG I’m GAY), Better Together Issue #2 (I Broke Up Like This), Vapid Fluff Tote Bag, A-Camp hoodie, Liquor in the Front Flask, Safe Space Pencil Case, three Rory stickers or three You Do You stickers or a You Do You pin
- One-year A+ Bronze Membership (for you or a friend)
TIER 2: Two Winners
Tier 2 winners left 10 or more comments this week. Folks eligible for Tier 3 prizes were also entered in this drawing.
- Your choice of any of the merch listed in Tier 1 OR Better Together Issue #3 (Queer Sultry Summer), or any t-shirt or tank top in the Autostraddle store.
- One-year A+ Silver Membership (for you or a friend)
TIER 3: One Winner
The Tier 3 winner left 15 or more comments this week. They are a Golden God(dess).
A “Thank You” postcard from the Senior Editors and the following:
- Your choice of any merch item in the Autostraddle Store
- One-year A+ Gold Membership (for you or a friend)
Those of you who won can claim your prizes by messaging me on Autostraddle Social @carmenrios. I’ll collect your vital stats from there and ensure everything goes smoothly. Also, add me while you’re at it so I can fulfill my goal of being the Tom of ASS.
And to all of you who came out and supported each other, told jokes with each other, talked to each other, and just plain fell in love with each other this week: Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, from the bottom of everyone else’s heart, from the bottom of Eli’s heart, thank you. Everything we do here at Autostraddle is about y’all — the shiny faces and hilarious voices of our kickass community. We’ve always believed in you, and especially in your unique ability to be kind to one another, grow with one another, and extend empathy to one another. This week, you proved us right all over again.
Tell Us Everything Week is over, but the spirit of community and the buzzing electricity of our tiny little space in the universe coming to life doesn’t end here. Keep commenting. Keep adding each other on ASS. (Add me on ASS.) Keep talking, laughing, loving, breathing, fighting, fucking, crying, drinking, writing, winning, losing, cheating, kissing, thinking, dreaming, et cetera. Let’s live the dream! Let’s lift each other up, keep each other grounded, and show each other love for the rest of time.
Now, without further ado, here I am in a video I edited because it was 10 minutes long and desperately hope you find it maybe a little funny and overall pretty enjoyable announcing our contest winners! Wheeee! (Side Note: Not sure why I look like I may be animated in this video. Magic, I guess.)
Congratulations to the winners.
I’m pretty pleased with knowing so much more about how to navigate the comments than I did a week ago. Thanks for the week.
Oh my god, I just realized that I haven’t heard your voice since your raspy days from a few years back. I DIDN’T RECOGNIZE YOU.
Congrats everybuddy!
My hopes going forward are that:
1) People try to remember the ‘good faith’ idea of comments so we see fewer piling-on or assuming-the-worst type responses and more calm and kind comments.
2) One of the Tell Us Everything articles is pinned to the top of the A-camp unofficial fb group as a gentle reminder to keep growing our ASS.
3) AS lives forever and ever.
Congratulations to the winners!!! I haven’t watched the video yet because of external forces aka my boss, but you are all rockstars. I hope everyone keeps commenting because this space just gets better and better the more people get involved!
I didn’t win, but I also feel like we all won? Also, Carmen, I love listening to your voice.
Carmen, too cute
agreed
Wait…I…what? I won @carmenrios ‘s unending love and affection?! YEAH I/WE ALL WON THE BEST THING.
…except the username game. Those usernames are way way cooler and cleverer than mine. Not even mad.
So I watched this, then danced around my house, then flew into my roommate’s bedroom to share the good news. Only to realize he was having a serious phone conversation with the boyfriend. Ooops. He later asked me if something bad had happened because “I looked extremely distraught.” Again, ooops.
I am so bad at expressing joy as well so I totally feel you on that! And congrats!
YAAAY
@kranknomnom
Thanks, @carmenrios !
Congrats to winners
Also CARMEN YOU PERF CUPCAKE nice video
Autostraddle has the best community <3
congrats to all the winners!! (and i really loved how much everyone commented on everything this week please don’t stop please please please!)
OMG, it is so funny to watch/hear someone when you just read their stuff day after day. You are _ysterical @carmenrios–by the way that is a SILENT H, hence the underscore.
HMMM. I did the @carmenrios thingy, but it doesn’t show it as a link?
Oh I see, you have to actually click on the name when it pops up. GOT IT.
I wanna know if it’s Lieutenant Queermo or Lt. Queermo, how might I learn this?
Also Carmen you sound like the way you look you’d sound and holidays bells on dogs never not adorable.
It is Lieutenant Queermo! (but lieutenant-queermo as a username)
COOL.
Cause I feel like we live in a world of abbreviated words which makes me sad because some word are really pretty to read, like lieutenant. :P
omg so cute haha I love your voice! Congrats everyone! and the French name meant “of course my darling” .. I almost thought I won but it was another Sam haha.
Here I thought the name/Carmen saying it couldn’t get any better.
I was wrong.
Ahhh, I wasn’t going to watch the video because I thought I flaked and didn’t comment enough, so thank you for alerting me by translating my username!! What a pleasant surprise ^__^
Congrats to all the winners!!
lookin good, eli
Carmen, you and your dog are so cute. My cat enjoyed the video too, and was purring loudly throughout the whole 4 minutes, which you should take as a compliment. Congrats to the winners! I hope everyone continues to keep up all the commenting after this week. :D
Vaya, @carmenrios, I wasn’t expecting a video announcing the prize winners to be so hilarious. Actually, I’m not sure how your dog Eli managed to stay so calm throughout it all.
Congrats to the winners!
VOTE #1 FOR ELI
Congratulations to all the winners! The bell roll is awesome and Carmen, hearing your voice makes me really want to meet you.
Congrats to the winners!
Also, Carmen, you look completely different than I imagined you look based on your avatar! Still very cute, though. So, congrats on getting to look like that every day.
grats winners!
how many people in the contest ended up leaving 15+ comments this past week?
yeah, I want to know that breakdown too!
Oh my god OH MY GOD…dreams DO come true!!!!!!! My heart is full of warm, gooey Autostraddle love right now. <3
gooey makes me think of cookies which makes me think of autostraddle themed cookies…scissor cookies?!
And congrats!
WOOOO!
ELI!! So cute!!
PS @carmenrios I miss hearing your voice on the mountain first thing in the morning.
Wow! I can’t believe TUEW is over! Congrats to the winner and also, very nicely done AS community. I really hope this commenting trend can be maintained : )
Thank You Autostraddle, @carmenrios, and all of us for helping everyone live our dreams forever and ever, but also extra special thank you to Eli for being unendingly adorable all the damn time.
Congrats to all the winners!
I’ve had a great TUEW and definitely plan to keep on like it hasn’t ended. Thanks to everyone for being so great and lovely, too! There’s literally no other online community I feel this chill about commenting/adding people in so, AS is even more important to me now I’ve got over the hurdle of first comment nerves. :)
Also, Eli’s such a good boy! I know for a fact that neither of my dogs would sit with me through a whole video, or stick around to let me jingle their collars… They save that for waking me up at stupid o’clock in the morning in an attempt to get breakfast super early. Well done, Eli!
Congrats everyone! And holy crap Carmen you are frickin’ adorable!!
Well done everyone who won prizes or not! COMMENTS FOREVERRRR!
Wow my entire day/night/life has been made!!! @carmenrios, I’m so glad you approve of my username. My b-day is August 6th and being a leo is one of my favorite things about myself. Thanks for an awesome week, I’m definitely going to keep the commenting up!
Real talk: what kind of dog is Eli and where can I find one of his siblings?
@carmenrios hearing your sweet voice has increased my crush (Tina’s crush? Both our crushes) for you tenfold. Just so ya know.
Same. No one stood a chance!
Lol everyone’s so gracious! I’m like all mopey “I never win anything…” I really wanted that A+ membership ;-) Time to save my pennies!
OMG I won a thing! Yay! I was convinced it was another Sam so I had to listen repeatedly to check that the word ‘turtle’ was in there. Thanks Autostraddle and Carmen!
UNENDING LOVE AND AFFECTION YAAAASSSS
best thing I’ve ever won
@danser I HOPE I’M NOT SOUNDIN’ TOO DESPERATE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wh2w3KaYAw
@carmenrios knows how to save our days with witty articles and prizes…and she links awesome videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHozn0YXAeE
WAIT WHAT AHHH I won a thing? what? I never win things! Thanks Autostraddle and Carmen!!!! :D
it’s so true, @mkreidle!
awww that bell collar is adorbs!
Congrats to all the winners!
Congratulations to everyone!! This contest really was a great way for me to get more involved in the ASS community.
While I definitely can’t promise this many comments from myself when I start school in the fall, I will certainly try to keep it up for the summer! Autostraddle is literally my favorite website, and the main one I visit. It is also the only one I feel safe and loved enough to comment on! With that in mind, it was about time that I leveled up my commenting. ;)
Yay! Congrats to the winners!
I was gone and then spent a weekend holed up with my babefriend, and THATS ME!! I NEVER WIN ANYTHING OMG I’M SO FREAKING EXCITED!!