Hi everyone,

I apologize for the delay in announcing the winner.
I recently received a message from Hive account@hivewatchers saying that the SpookyPops NFT giveaway was a fake charity/giveaway, vote-trading, gambling scheme.

If at any point I made my supporters feel the same way, I sincerely apologize. That was never my intention.

First, I didn’t realize that a giveaway is expected to be completely free. My posts don’t usually receive many votes, but if there were times when author rewards exceeded the giveaway amount, I can understand how that may have been seen as a problem. I’ve always powered up my rewards (including curation rewards), but I’ve also purchased HIVE each month to fund these events. I thought this was acceptable, but if that means it wasn’t truly free, then it was my mistake for not looking more carefully into the details.

I have never asked anyone to vote on my posts. Any votes I received, I believe, came from genuine support. I did ask for reposts, not to gain more votes, but to let more people know about the event. If this is considered vote-trading, then I don’t know what to say.

This giveaway has always been exclusive to SpookyPops NFT holders. HSBI is given at purchase of SpookyPops NFT, and the giveaway ticket is part of the NFT’s utility. If this is viewed as a gambling scheme then maybe I should have called it a raffle instead? My goal was never to mislead anyone. It was to add fun and value to collecting NFTs on HIVE.

I regret that my posts have been repetitive and lacked a personal touch. My family health issues have limited my time, and I relied on these posts as a way to stay present on HIVE. I don’t wish to leave completely, but maybe it’s time to take a break if this is starting to feel more like a task than fun.

I am not a native English speaker, just like many others on HIVE. The word “giveaway” sounded right to me for this event, but maybe it wasn’t. I recently learned that giveaways are free while raffles involve a purchase or requirement. Although, now I’m not even sure if raffles are welcome on HIVE… Either way, I would have appreciated simple advice on how to improve the way I host the event instead of an accusation.

While I understand the importance of fighting scams, I wish the communication could be more supportive rather than accusatory. Clear, respectful advice encourages people to improve and remain active, while harsh messages risk driving away not only scammers but also honest users and newcomers.

For now, the SpookyPops NFT Giveaway will take a break. I’ve learned a lot from this experience, and I hope to return with better ways to host these events.

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me and SpookyPops. If you have respectful feedback or advice, please feel free to share it in the comment, though I may not be able to reply.

Love,

Djynn