I got the email also, and it obviously worked, as I logged in for the first time in 6 months. Curiosity took hold, not to try and win a prize as much as to try and figure out what the "catch" is.
Jaded by the days of the Reader's Digest Sweepstakes sweeping up millions from retirees subscribing to stacks of unread books and magazines in the hopes of being eligible to claim the tens of thousands of dollars that they've already supposedly already won, but somehow never see... I was curious what clever trick got cooked up on the internet this time.
Please don't misunderstand... this isn't an accusation against this contest! This is simply an admission of how skeptical one can become about "prizes."
Now that I've logged in to see what is going on with this site (whoa...looks very different... didn't this site used to have a red SDD logo? now it is blue?), it occurred to me that the more important question regarding forum sustainability is not the number of future promised prizes that pull people in, it is the content and culture that makes people stay put.
And the natural microcosm to that question evolved to: Why did I leave?
That's the tough question. Especially when I still visited TDS, FTE, PSN, & PSO.
I'll have to give that question some thought. In the meantime, the names I recall very well from my earlier participation on this site include WD40 (Doug), DaveBen, Big Joe, Powerboatr, and Royboy. Lo and behold, I see that these guys are still keeping the torch lit over here. I hope these loyal members get the prizes, but I bet they will keep the flame lit anyway, with or without inducements.