#phsi 2023

[24-7-testing]

The end of the year can be tough for a lot of people. My goal? To make it a little bit brighter. That's why I'm pleased to once again announce the return of...

The Portal Holiday Spirit Initiative!

To help bring a smile to people's faces this year, I will be sending FREE Portal-Themed Holiday Cards to anyone who asks for one! There are a few changes to the cards this year because life has gotten very busy for me and I have less free time than in years past.

This year there will only be one card design, featuring artwork from one of the Portal Fandom's awesome artists! The cards will still be customizable to any Winter Holiday of your choosing, but you'll have to wait for your card to arrive in order to see how (the method takes cues from the Portal game's sense of humor, so it will very much be on-brand).

This year is also special because it is PHSI's 5th Anniversary! I can’t express the amount of thanks everyone who has participated over the years, whether you've reblogged and shared, requested cards, helped with artwork, or helped in other ways. You all deserve my recognition and thanks for volunteering your time, talents, and support! Thanks for helping to make PHSI a special fandom tradition!

If you would like to receive a Portal-Themed Holiday Card:

Visit bit.ly/PHSI-2023 ...

Answer the questions in the forms...

Wait for your card to be sent!

It's that easy! Card Requests are now open, and close on December 20th in order to give me enough time to make and send all the cards before the end of the year. Please submit sooner rather than later so I have time to finish them all!

Also, please don’t be afraid to request a physical card if you don’t live in the US! The card service I've chosen says they ship worldwide and, while it might take a bit longer for you to receive your card depending on what country you live in, the cards will get mailed to whatever address you provide, domestic or foreign. Last year I mailed/emailed a total of 164 cards to Italy, Canada, Germany, England, Poland, The US, The United Kingdom, Brazil, India, and Slovenia!

I’m happy to be a part of the Portal Fandom and hope to bring a smile to others in the Fandom this year! Making and emailing Holiday Cards takes time and effort, and sending physical cards is expensive. While it isn't a requirement to receive a card, I would greatly appreciate if you'd like to give $4 to cover the cost of your card or someone else's. Please visit ko-fi.com/247testing and click the Donate button if you want to help out. 

Also, feel free to DM me with any questions or comments. Thanks!

Answers for common questions and concerns under the cut:

Worried about providing a mailing address, for whatever reason?

PHSI has an eCard option! All you need to provide is a name for me to call you by and an email address to receive your card!

Worried about requesting a card because you don’t live in the US?

PHSI mails to any address provided, whether domestic or foreign! However, please wait patiently for your card, due to the current global rate of shipping.

Worried that you can’t give $4 to cover the cost of your card or someone else’s?

Requesting a card from PHSI has been and will always be FREE! However, giving $4 to the initiative helps me pay for the printing service and postage to mail physical cards (visit ko-fi.com/247testing if you’d like to contribute). I gratefully appreciate any contributions received, even if it’s just a comment saying thanks!

Worried because you don’t know how to support the artist of the card you received?

The artist’s social media is listed on the back of every card featuring their artwork. Look them up, commission them, reblog their art, and support them however you can!

Worried because you haven’t received your card yet?

Double check your email inbox and junk folders. I send everyone an email that either confirms your Holiday Card has shipped or includes your eCard! Physical cards take 1-2 weeks to arrive. If your physical card fails to show up after the first week of January, please reach out to me and I’ll send you a replacement eCard!

Worried because you received your card and don’t know what to do now?

Make a post about it! Include pictures, videos, or anything you’d like, and tag me in the post (@24-7-testing) so I can reblog it! If you don’t want to show your card off, that’s ok too!

[the-dangerous-mute-lunatic]

Wow a letter from Mr. Johnson himself? Better be those $60 he owes me.

(Thank you to @24-7-testing for the yearly holiday card and to @purrtal2 for the fabulous art on the card!! It's something I look forward to every year. )

Picture of the card underneath the read more (so folks who also requested a physical card can still have a chance to see the art in person first!)

[24-7-testing]

Ooo, look what came in the mail today!

A letter from Cave Johnson, Founder & CEO?

No, it's even better! It's my Holiday Card from Portal Holiday Spirit Initiative 2023!

I'm really happy with how these turned out and that it finally arrived! Hopefully other people are receiving their cards too.

If you've received your PHSI 2023 Holiday Card, feel free to post about it, @ me, or DM me and let me know. I'm happy to bring a smile to anyone who wants one this year! ☺️

If you would like to receive a Portal-Themed Holiday Card of your own:

Visit bit.ly/PHSI-2023...

Answer the questions in the forms...

Wait for your card to be sent!

It's that easy! Card Requests are now open, and close on December 20th in order to give me enough time to make and send all the cards before the end of the year. Please submit sooner rather than later so I have time to finish them all!

[24-7-testing]

URGENT! ARTWORK WANTED!

PHSI has an artist for 2023, but they aren't sure they'll be able to finish the artwork in time. I know this is short notice, but are there any Portal artists out there who want to create artwork to be featured on the Holiday Cards?

If this year's artist pulls through, your artwork will be saved and featured on the Holiday Cards in 2024! If they don't pull through, your artwork will go out on this year's Holiday Cards. There is no monetary compensation for helping with PHSI, just the knowledge that your artwork will be mailed/emailed all across the world (and a card of your own too)!

Here's what artwork PHSI needs:

Option 1: With Characters

Must contain the following characters: Chell, GLaDOS, Wheatley

May also include other characters from the games.

Characters must be drawn as they appear in the videogames. No humanizations, gender swaps, animal versions, etc.

Scene prompt: A snapshot from the company holiday party.

Option 2: Without Characters

A background, scene, or location somewhere inside Aperture that gives cozy Winter vibes.

Possible elements of the scene include: views of snow at night, warm lighting, fireplace, hot chocolate, and other cozy winter things.

Requirements for Both Options:

Must be Holiday/Religion neutral (based on Wintertime in general).

Must be high resolution.

Must be 7.25 x 5.25 inches, landscape/horizontal format.

Must be completed no later than November 24th 2023.

I will be circulating this post daily for the next week, or until suitable artwork is found. Please DM me if you are interested in helping, and don't be afraid to submit your artwork! If I get more than one backup artwork, they will be saved and featured in future PHSI events.

If you're not artistically talented, please reblog this post to boost it instead! Thank you everyone for your help!

- 24-7-testing

[24-7-testing]

It's getting closer to the end of the year, which means it's almost time for the Portal Holiday Spirit Initiative again!

[ If you don't know what PHSI is, see this post from last year's PHSI.]

Life has become busier for me recently, and I have less free time to devote to things like PHSI. However, I feel like I have found a good solution to still hold it this year despite my limited schedule.

This year the digital cards will still function as normal. However, I will be printing and mailing the physical Holiday Cards through an online card service (instead of making and mailing them all by hand). This changes and limits the features of the cards and PHSI as a whole, and I'd like to share those changes with you:

Address collection for physical cards will be handled through the card service's website (not through a Google form as in years past). I have written a Privacy Notice that you will read when you submit to receive a physical card.

For those of you with non-US-styled mailing address, you may have to get creative with how you format your address when you submit it in their collection form. As always, if your physical card fails to arrive, you will still be able to reach out to me and I'll email you a card as a replacement.

Because the physical cards will be printed through the card service, they will have a small amount of the service's branding on them. It's not very intrusive, but it's an extra cost to have it removed. The digital cards will not have the branding on them.

Since the card service will handle the printing and shipping of the physical cards, I have decided to only offer one card design this year. This is to reduce my PHSI workload and to simplify things with them. If all goes well, I may offer more choices next year.

Using the card service costs a bit more than making and sending the cards myself (I'm basically paying for professional printing and labor for assembling the cards). For those of you who help by graciously donating to PHSI through my Ko-Fi page, I have increased the base donation amount to $4 and changed the wording to indicate that your donation covers the cost of either your card or someone else's card (not both as in years past). Thank you again to everyone who donates!

Those are all of the major changes to be aware of for this year. I will keep everyone informed on any additional changes, as well as the future of PHSI as a whole.

Lastly, please take a minute and use this poll to tell me how you will participate with PHSI this year. Your feedback will help influence the future of PHSI!

Thanks again,

- 24-7-testing

Will you participate in PHSI this year?

Yes, I'll request a physical card!

Yes, I'll request a digital card!

I don't like these changes; I'll get a digital card instead of a physical one.

I don't like these changes; I won't request a card this year.

Voting ended onNov 8, 2023

[24-7-testing]

PHSI 2023 Is Officially Over!

I closed the submission form this morning and just mailed/emailed the fifth and final batch of cards! I sent everyone in the fifth batch an email today that either confirmed your Holiday Card has shipped or included your eCard, so double check your inbox and junk folders if you didn’t see anything come through. Please wait patiently for the delivery of your physical Holiday Cards; they can take up to 2 weeks to be delivered.

Also, thanks to everyone who has donated to my Ko-fi for this project so far! Your kindness has covered 61% of the postage and materials for everyone’s cards so far this year!

PHSI 2023 might be over, but not everyone's cards have been covered yet!

The percentage grew from last week again (thank you everyone who donated), however there's still a need to spread kindness and support PHSI by covering the cost of your card or someone else's! Over the course of PHSI this year I mailed almost $400 USD of Holiday Cards! As of today I have received just over $225 USD in donations. Ko-Fi doesn't take any fees out of donations, but PayPal does (about 20% on average), so the donated amount I receive to pay for the cards is even lower!

If you can help cover the cost of this wonderful fandom tradition, even in just a small amount, please consider donating so everyone’s cards can be covered this year. After all, doing something nice for others is what this initiative is all about! Please visit ko-fi.com/247testing and click the Donate button if you’d like to give $4 or more to cover the cost/postage of your card or someone else’s. There isn't a time limit, so you can donate at any time too; my Ko-Fi is always open!

Random Interesting PHSI 2023 Stats!

This year I mailed/emailed a total of 112 cards all over the world! These cards reached Portal Fans in lots of places, like the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Poland, India, the US, Romania, Italy, and New Zealand!

About 83% of people chose to receive a Physical Card this year, which is good feedback considering the change from making the cards myself to using an online service. While the cost per card ended up being a lot higher (just over 2x the cost of making them myself), it was definitely worth it to not have to print, cut, fold, type, label, and mail them all on my own!

I plan on running PHSI the same way next year, as well as looking for ways to bring the cost of the cards down while maintaining the same level of quality and novelty you're all used to! Thanks again to everyone who participated this year, and special thanks to @purrtal2 for providing the artwork for this year's cards!

This is 24-7-testing, wishing you all a wonderful end-of-year. Thanks everyone!

[24-7-testing]

The Third Batch of Cards Have Been Mailed/Emailed!

I sent everyone in the third batch an email today that either confirmed your Holiday Card has shipped or included your eCard, so double check your inbox and junk folders if you didn’t see anything come through. Please wait patiently for the delivery of your physical Holiday Cards; they can take up to 2 weeks to be delivered.

Also, thanks a ton to everyone who has donated to my Ko-fi for this project so far! Your kindness has covered 47% of the postage and materials for everyone’s cards so far this year!

The percentage fell from last week's 49%, so not a huge drop thankfully. This past week saw a high influx of card requests, but there were also a couple larger value donations that helped balance them out (thank you to those people!).

Hopefully people continue to donate so everyone’s postcards can be covered this year, because doing something nice for others is what this initiative is all about! Please visit ko-fi.com/247testing and click the Donate button if you’d like to give $4 to cover the cost/postage of your card or someone else’s.

If you’d like to know more about the Portal Holiday Spirit Initiative or request a Holiday Postcard, check my blog’s tags for #PHSI 2023!

Thanks again everyone!

[24-7-testing]

hey, i still havent received my card (i requested a physical one), what do i do?

Sorry your card hasn't made it to you yet! Please wait until January 6th to see if it shows up this week. If it doesn't, DM me and I'll send you a Digital one as a replacement.

This also goes for anyone else who hasn't received their Physical Holiday Cards yet. Please feel free to reach out!