Calling All Cryptkeepers for 2015

It's that time of year again. The Countdown to Halloween is less than a month away. We have a new banner, and new badges are coming soon. I'd like to take this time to thank Shawn Robare for the years of dedication he's donated to this event, and this page. We have him to thank for getting this page up and running, centralizing everything, and all the great badges over the years. Sadly, Shawn has had his sanity restored to him, and has stepped down from his role as moderator here. I have no doubt he'll still be present as the man behind Branded in the 80s. Thank you Shawn. I could never have done all this without you. Having said that, please be patient with me as I'm about to do this this year without him.

Now for the official part that should make your life, and mine, easier, and insure that everyone wanting to participate is one the list with the launch at Midnight, October 1st. Please read the following. 

If you plan on participating in this year's Halloween Countdown, please read this post in its entirety in order to assure your place on the list of participants. 

So far, this year's Countdown has gone smoothly, as each year gets us closer to working out all of the bumps and obstacles revealed in year's past. 

Everyone that I have contact information for should have received an email from me by this time. If you've emailed me back already, you've been added to the list of cryptkeepers for this year. I thank all of you for your quick responses, and for providing links and so forth making this process easier than it has ever been. You are all excused from reading the rest of this email. 

If you haven't, please check your email. I did wind up with a few mailer demons infiltrating my inbox pertaining to old, outdated email addresses that could no longer have mail delivered to. If anything has changed, please let me know. 

IMPORTANT: 

If you haven't heard from me, that means I don't have a current email address for you. Please email me at universalrobots@aol.com. Put Halloween Countdown in the subject line. In the content of the letter please include a link to your blog(s) and the name you would like to see it listed under (since this is often different). You will not hear back from me unless there's a question I have. Once I receive an email from you I will automatically add you to this year's list. Also, inform me that you did not receive an email from me. Having an email from you also means I'll be contacting you directly next year, hopefully making the whole process even smoother.

If you are planning to participate as a cryptkeeper this year, DO NOT simply leave a message in the comments box. Please email me. There are so many participants now, that it's easy for someone to get overlooked in the comments box, especially when I am trying to keep everything up to speed, manage my own blogs, and my everyday life. There are occasions where we are unable to check the comments box for several days in a row. Neither of us want to keep anyone waiting, or put them through the stress of wondering why they haven't been added to the list yet. By emailing me directly, you can be certain that I'll get you added asap, probably within just a few hours.

Also, if you only contact us through the comment box, we have no way to reach you directly if there's an issue with your link, or any other matter.  As October proceeds, we will be posting other things at this site, and things get lost when left in the various comment boxes, especially when those boxes don't have anything to do with the participant list.

The goal here is to make everything run as smoothly as possible and for everyone to have fun.

Please use the comments box for any questions or comments you might have as to this year's countdown otherwise.

Finally, the Countdown to Halloween is not an invite only sort of thing. If you know of other blogs that might want to be part of this, please let them know, and direct them to this post. 

Now go feed your bats so they're ready to fly on October 1st.