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Inviting Friends for More Points

Hey Everyone,

Since some of you longtimers (who totally rock BTW) have a glut of stamps with no one to send them to, I figured I'd post an unofficial guide to our referral system real quick. These are more or less undocumented features, but if you want to earn some points and get rid of stamps, I can give you a couple hints:

First, invite your friends to IconBuffet. There's a nifty form if you follow that link that makes it easy. For every friend who joins IconBuffet you get 50 points (woo hoo!). Also, friends who join by following the link in the email you sent are automatically added to your friends list so you can easily find them and send deliveries.

Second — and here's the gem — I'll show you how to create your own referrer link you can put on your website. Like friend invites, anyone who signs up using your referrer link will also net you 50 points. And give you someone else to spend your stamps on.

My referrer link looks like this:
http://www.iconbuffet.com/people/new?ref=josh

It's pretty easy to hook up. Just copy the link above exactly as it is, but replace the name at the very end with your username. For instance, if "iconmaster" wanted to create a referrer link, he could use the one above by repacing "josh" with "iconmaster". His would look like this:
http://www.iconbuffet.com/people/new?ref=iconmaster

Also, you can visit the Invite Friends form and simply send an invitation to yourself. You'll find your proper referrer link in there as well.

Put this link on your website, myspace, facebook, flickr, xanga, or whatever your choice of home on the internets is and start spreading the word. With a little help from everyone, we can grow this community in no time.

Soon we'll be adding some artwork you can use, as well as some code that will let you post your IconBuffet points and status on another website. In the meantime, using your referrer link will bring in new folks, earn you points, and give you a place to spend your stamps.

Let me know if you have questions. Now go invite your friends! : D

Posted by josh on Mar 17, 2007 in News | 85 comments

mhayes on Mar 17, 2007

And what are these points going to be good. Buying more stamps, icons .... ?

dyar on Mar 17, 2007

It seems to me that there are a small fraction of the people on the new site that were on the old one. I don't recall there being a formal announcement of the opening of the new site being sent out. Perhaps when the next Hookup goes out with the Grand Opening announcement we'll get some more folks from the old site back over here.

josh on Mar 17, 2007

Dyar, you are correct. There has still not been a formal announcement of the new launch. We're somewhat running in "soft-launch" mode. It's a nice way to kick out the cobwebs with a solid group of people while not overloading the system. We'll begin sending deliveries again shortly, and the Hookup will have a formal announcement after that.

Sly on Mar 17, 2007

/me is looking forward to that ... :-)

So what are the points for?

josh on Mar 17, 2007

Points are a secret. For now. But points are a good thing. I can tell you that much. : )

Sly on Mar 17, 2007

A secret eh? Hurrmmph! *Goes off to invite some more buddies*

woogychuck on Mar 18, 2007

Secret eh? Well, I'll just have to keep bugging people to join so I can get some of this secret stuff.

Finah on Mar 18, 2007

i just wish the pple i invite would actually read their emails.. :/

josh on Mar 21, 2007

Yeah, getting folks to actually read their email is the hard part. Inviting them to the Buffet is easy though.

turkeybutt on Mar 21, 2007

Hmmmph! Me knows you creative types! (Takes one to know one!) Me thinks anytime a really creative person has a really fabulous idea they can't keep it entirely secret for too long... it's just too exciting! Sooooo, perhaps the 'creative' team hasn't quite decided why we're "shooting" for these points!
Maybe WE could brainstorm and throw lots of confusing but fabulous ideas at you to weed through and make your lives even more difficult!!! ;o)

josh on Mar 21, 2007

Oh we have a pretty good idea of what points are for. What we're not sure are some of the technical issues surrounding the calculation of points. We want to make sure they're working before we tell you what they're for. But feel free to conjure up wonderful ideas!

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watehey on Mar 21, 2007

I thin they're like credit card "miles".

If you garner an insane enough amount - you'll be able to use trade for something.

Finah on Mar 21, 2007

Hey i think this referral link is a gr8 idea.. maybe if i linked it to an iconbuffet real icon... *goes off to edit websites*

josh on Mar 21, 2007

We're also working on a way for you to "publish" your IconBuffet score and stats on external websites as well. Look for that soon!

justG on Mar 21, 2007

Mmm... blog widget...

Sly on Mar 21, 2007

/me is not impressed by this idea. Why would I want everyone to know I have ... lots of points ??? If we knew what they were for, then it might be worthy information :D :D

justG on Mar 21, 2007

@ Sly: Agreed, sorta. I'm not interested in advertising the number of points I have, but I like the idea of being able to grab some data to display. I was imagining a better version of Flickr's badge in which I could rotate some icon sets, invite people to join and befriend me, etc. Not that any of this is in the works, of course, but I can dream. =)

Finah on Mar 21, 2007

Hey is that referral link case sensitive? I posted a bulletin on myspace and edit my page.. just wondering if it matters as i cant go back and edit the bulletin now.. but checked both version and it takes me to the same page.. ??? (er.. i hope that made sense)

Finah on Mar 21, 2007

@JustG -- i was just thinking about designing a widget too!! -- i think its a gr8 idea :D

josh on Mar 21, 2007

Hmm... I'm not actually sure. I'll need to check. It may be case agnostic, but I'd err on the side of safety if you're worried.

Finah on Mar 21, 2007

@watehey -- if they're like credit card miles.. do i want everyone to know what a big spender i can be... :? unless... this means more drinking buddies!! than yay!! *hic* :::lol:::

josh on Mar 21, 2007

@JustG -- but it might be in the works... ; )

Finah on Mar 21, 2007

@josh -- okay thanx for checking.. the one on my page has the capital version.. so hopefully more peeps will use that one :::pray::: -- oh well, otherwise i guess at least i'll have more friends here .. :^D

justG on Mar 21, 2007

@ josh: Well yes, I just didn't want to imply that I was speaking from a position of authority. It's all well 'n' good for you to wink wink nudge nudge, know wot I mean? =]

justG on Mar 21, 2007

@ josh: Well yes, I just didn't want to imply that I was speaking from a position of authority. It's all well 'n' good for you to wink wink nudge nudge, know wot I mean? =]

MrDee on Mar 21, 2007

on the previous site I have made over 150 deliveries. Any way these can be translated into points?

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watehey on Mar 21, 2007

Don't think so, but you did receive a larger allotment of stamps than people who only signed up recently. So now you have all those opportunities to earn more points by sending lots of deliveries.

KatieK on Mar 21, 2007

Thanks for the link. I was looking for something like that.

josh on Mar 21, 2007

MrDee - as watehey mentioned, there are no extra points, but certainly extra stamps (and thus the capability to earn more points).

cry187 on Mar 22, 2007

Yey, me wants iconbuffet banner that I could place in my website. That would be really cool!

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watehey on Mar 22, 2007

Yes cry187, an affiliate banner (and/or button) would be a great idea.

Finah on Mar 22, 2007

i used one of the easter eggs w/a note.. seemed fitting w/easter right around the corner :D

opello on Mar 22, 2007

I remember seeing someone with 3000+ points the first day I checked out the new site (19th I think...) and was pretty much amazed :) They must have delivered all of their stamps worth of the new set? (300 * 10 ...)

I still dig the idea of stamps, whatever their purpose. And a generated image that kicks out your badges, point count, or whatever would be pretty cool too.

Finah on Mar 22, 2007

*cough* watehey *cough, cough*

and yay!! found friends who actually read their email!! :^D

Finah on Mar 22, 2007

er.. all 2 of em :(((

Sly on Mar 22, 2007

Better than none ;o)

josh on Mar 22, 2007

Soon we'll add some badges so you can actually see how many friends you have officially invited. So much time, so little to do.

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Luckybeitia on Mar 22, 2007

Isn't it "co little time, so much to do"??
hehe

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watehey on Mar 22, 2007

That's a nasty cough you have there Finah.

Perhaps you should have it checked. :P

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watehey on Mar 22, 2007

@ Lucky - not in Josh's case.

kmfnj on Mar 22, 2007

@dyar: GREAT IDEA

josh on Mar 22, 2007

What else might you find interesting on a custom IconBuffet widget for your blog?

Sly on Mar 26, 2007

Umm I have an extra question about referring members:
Is

http://www.iconbuffet.com/people/new?ref=iconmaster

the same as

http://www.iconbuffet.com/people/new?ref=Iconmaster

Basically, is the system case sensitive?

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watehey on Mar 26, 2007

I don't think it matters.

http://www.iconbuffet.com/people/sly takes you to the same place as http://www.iconbuffet.com/people/Sly

Sly on Mar 26, 2007

That's ok then :D

josh on Mar 28, 2007

Capitalization doesn't matter. You can use either / or in your invites.

Finah on Mar 28, 2007

@ watehey - what happened to your avatar?? :((

@Josh-- as far as widgets.. a widget that tracks our deliveries, stamps quota friends etc would be nice.. I'm a clicker.. so i would still visit.. but i might be weird.. so maybe a widget that just keeps track of our stats?? and maybe a reminder of when we get new tokens? :D

Jen on Mar 28, 2007

And definitely one that when clicked, counts as a referral if they sign up. ;)

josh on Mar 28, 2007

Jen - of course. ; )

Jen on Mar 28, 2007

hmm, how about it featuring a random icon that changes on refresh?

sez666 on Mar 28, 2007

I thought if friend joined that I had invited then I will get points and they would be added to my friend list, well I have point but no additional friends that I recognise. Any ideas?

Jen on Mar 28, 2007

This idea of a blog widget really struck me, I just had to get in Photoshop and muck around with it. xD Mucho fun! I can send a copy to the chefs if ya want, just holler!

josh on Mar 28, 2007

sez666 -- hmm, we'll look into that. Maybe a bug there.

dyar on Mar 30, 2007

The OP needs to be modified to reflect the new deal where you get 15 Stamps instead of 50 Points for referrals.

iconmaster on Mar 30, 2007

dyar -- that's in addition to. You get both the 50 points and the 15 stamps. Not a bad deal, huh? :)

dyar on Mar 30, 2007

ah ha, an even better deal than I thought - Sweet!

josh on Apr 03, 2007

I'm bumping this one because of the excessive traffic today. Invite your friends and help us create more icons.

WebSiteGuru on Apr 03, 2007

I did, I did (invite), but how do I create icons? :?:

taario on Apr 03, 2007

I don't have any fwends. =(

josh on Apr 10, 2007

Bumping this one again. Someday we'll actually get this documented for real on your profile page.

tamashii on Apr 10, 2007

documented for real on your profile page

As in: we will see whom we’ve referred somewhere on our profile page?

josh on Apr 12, 2007

Bumpage.

tegning on Apr 17, 2007

I have been a member for a while now (before the "soft launch"), and have recently returned. Few quick questions:
1.) How do I add/invite people to be on my friends list?
2.) Can I invite people who are already members and what, if anything will this process do to their established icon collection?

Thanks.

opello on Apr 17, 2007

1: Just add them as a friend, and they'll get a box with a Yes/No if they want to reciprocate.

tegning on Apr 17, 2007

thanks

braadkris on Apr 17, 2007

My friends think I'm weird enough so sending them an invite might send them over the edge...I'll give it a go!

tylermenezes on Apr 18, 2007

Another nice idea in my opinion would be some sort of alias. I want to put this on MyWebs Free, but having it link to my account looks kind of bad (though MyWebs looks bad to begin with... =P). Also, an option for "Automatically add invited people to my friends." would be nice.

justG on Apr 19, 2007

People who sign up using your referral link *are* automatically added to your friends list, afaik.

Starwolf13 on Apr 19, 2007

AAAAKKKK. I have just added 0111earth as a friend, about a dozen times. I closed my browser, logged back in, and still keep seeing "00111earth has added you as a friend!
Would you like to add 0111earth as a friend? Yes / No". How many times do I have to have my friendship rejected before it sticks?????

hahaxo on Apr 20, 2007

Inviting Friends ：-）

justG on Apr 20, 2007

@ Starwolf13: Just click on the rubbish bin to the right of the notification to make it go away.

lparziale on Apr 20, 2007

So, my friend signed up - do the points just show up? Any where to see how may and who we referred? (probably under works I suspect) ANd badges of course??

justG on Apr 20, 2007

@lparziale: Yes, the points just show up. The detailed account info/transaction history you're asking about isn't currently available.

lparziale on Apr 20, 2007

gracias wise one - had I read the entire post, this has been answered... LOL ... my bad

JSun on Apr 22, 2007

Is it OK if we use an image of our own creation until official ones are created? I have a link system on my site that uses 88x31 buttons. I'd like to add Icon Buffet to that collection of links. I can show the image here first if preferred.

grantneufeld on Apr 27, 2007

A suggestion for the referral page: Display a note saying something like “You’ve been referred here by ReferringUser. By signing up here, they will receive stamps on this site that will enable them to send you or others icon sets.” along with the referring user’s avatar.

Thanks.

Baldwin on Apr 27, 2007

Thanks for the tip josh :)

Stratification on May 02, 2007

Any progress on official graphics, or official images we could use to link?

thedudedean on Oct 26, 2007

The badge link doesn't work for giving referrals. Can you guys change it so it does?

SawanM on Jun 16, 2008

Erm, sorry for the bump.

Is there any 88 by 31 Iconbuffet referral picture?

animuson on Jun 16, 2008

You should have just created a new topic. Yes there is.

http://www.iconbuffet.com/people/SawanM/ibid

tamashii on Jun 16, 2008

@animuson :: actually, SawanM did right by not creating another thread. This is the appropriate thread to ask such a question.

Despite there being no search capabilities of the site, I wish more people would take the time/effort to browse existing threads to post in rather than create new ones.

@SawanM :: you merely need the reference link (in your case: http://www.iconbuffet.com/people/new?ref=SawanM ) and link whatever image you want to use if IB doesn't have one specifically to your liking.

debbye on Jun 16, 2008

there is a search feature, although unofficial: IB Search by WhoisGregg!

SawanM on Jun 16, 2008

Thank you tamashii and debbye.

I got my referral link, and the 88 by 31 image, rather than the 80 by 30 image provided by Iconbuffet.

nickpixel on Jun 25, 2008

Will the referral querystring work on any page? Meaning, can I link to...

http://www.iconbuffet.com/freedelivery/packages?ref=nickpixel

...and still get credit for a referral?