Three Ways to Participate:



1. Create and send your own Sockonaut


  • This is the easiest way you can participate on Sockonauts.com, and probably the most fun!

    The Tutorial

    ... but if you want to wing it, that's totally fine, too. Just please keep in mind these 3 simple rules:

    1. Sockonauts don't have arms. One can't really explain why. They just don't.

    2. Sockonauts have buttons for eyes, but it doesn't particularly matter how many eyes they have.

    3. Sockonauts should remain small enough to fit in a standard padded C5 envelope (162 x 229 mm).

    Other than that, feel free to be as creative as you'd like! The great thing about crafts you make yourself: whatever you end up with, it's sure to be unique.

  • Once you have finished your Sockonaut and before you can send it out on its travels, you must register your Sockonaut with Sockonauts.com. Only when you register it your Sockonaut will receive a database entry with the all important key that is necessary for updating its travel log.

    Registration:

    Send an email to sockonauts@gmail.com with the following information:

    1. The name of your Sockonaut
    2. Place of Birth (City, Country)
    3. Describe your Sockonaut's Personality (this can be anything... just be creative!)
    4. a good quality photo of your Sockonaut -- preferably "landscape" with at least 638px width. It may be best to just send the original size.

    Don't worry, you can't do anything wrong here. If there are problems with your submission we will reply to your email and sort it all out. Each new Sockonaut will get a "Creator ID" which is based on your registration with Sockonauts.com. We do not keep any type of personal data in our database - no email addresses, home addresses, or even real names - we use Facebook Connect for registration purposes. That means you will first have to sign in to Sockonauts with your Facebook account if you want us to be able to assign your Sockonaut a creator id. You can choose to submit it entirely anonymously, but then you won't be able to login and track your Sockonauts progress as its creator on your personal page.

    As soon as your submission has been processed, you will receive an email with a unique 4-digit key for your Sockonaut. This key enables every future host to login and edit the Sockonaut's travel log. Only you and the past and future Sockonaut hosts should have access to this key, so please do not post it publicly anywhere.

    If you have registered your Sockonaut with your Creator ID, you can always login to Sockonauts.com to retrieve the keys for all your Sockonauts, just in case you have lost the email.

  • Now you are ready to send your Sockonaut out to its first host. All you need is the Sockonaut, its unique Welcome Letter and a sturdy envelope - we recommend air-cushion envelopes as those have a plastic inner wrapping that is less prone to damage in the mail.

    Welcome Letter:

    Enter your Sockonaut's key in the form at the top right of every page on Sockonauts.com to access its page. Then click on "Generate Welcome Letter" located at the very bottom of the page and print it out. Fold it and put it next to the Sockonaut in the envelope.

    To sum it up: the only but all-important items your letter must contain are the Sockonaut and the Welcome Letter. We recommend that you send it as a regular letter to save postage. Most national mail services will accept letter postage as the total weight of the shipment should be well within letter-range. If you send it to an international destination you might be forced to apply a customs declaration sticker to the envelope. Declare it as a "toy" and "gift" with very low or no value to avoid that the recepient has to pay any type of fee (some countries have rather weird import tax laws).



 

2. Request a Sockonaut to be sent to you


  • Since this site is still 100% in beta, we haven't exactly figured out how we want this to operate yet. One important thing: We absolutely do not want anyone posting their mailing address publicly. In fact, if you can at all manage it, we think the Sockonauts should generally be exchanged between two people who know each other. However, this isn't always possible and, in the end, we have very little control over it.

    So, if you want to receive a Sockonaut from someone (or if you have a Sockonaut with no one to send it to), please post saying so on this forum. Someone with a 'Naut can check out your post, click on your name, and reach your Facebook profile page. All the details can be worked out between the two of you. This is one of the reasons it's much easier when users sign in using their Facebook accounts: most people have one, it provides at least a little bit of accontability, and you're supposed to be 13 to have an account, anyway.

    Please keep in mind: This is the internet. Not everyone is who they say they are and not everyone has the best of intentions. And, please, if you're under 18, make sure your parents know what you're up to before you give out any sort of personal information to anyone.



 

3. Help out!


  • There are always loads of things you can do to help out! Maybe you have a great idea for a new Sockonaut theme or recommendations for the site -- if so, you can post about it in the forum.

    You can also:

    Like us on Facebook! - On our Facebook page, you'll be kept up to date with everything going on at Sockonauts.com -- it's where we'll be posting about developments, new themes, and even contests!

    Follow us on Twitter - Because everything in life that needs to be said can be done so in 140 characters or less, right?

    And the most important part: Help spread the word!