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Actually Free Awards
Apply to display a free award on your site
and let your users know that you offer
something that is Actually Free!
Criteria for applying:
The site must offer something for free. The point scale below will be applied to determine which award will be granted: platinum, gold, silver or bronze.
The freebie(s) offered must be legal.
The freebie(s) offered cannot be offered for a limited time only. They must be offed on a regular basis. Once the freebie(s) are no longer offered then the award must be removed.
The site must be family friendly. Adult sites, pornographic sites or sites that promote hate or discrimination will be automatically disqualified. The site cannot link to other sites which are not family friendly.
The site must have a good report with siteadvisor.com. The site will not be analyzed or even visited if it does not have a good report.
The site must be in English.
The site cannot have excessive pop-ups, must be easy to read and navigate. This award was not created to judge website design, but if an introductory page is too long (with no option to skip), if there are "under construction" pages, if there is a horizontal scrolling bar, or if there are too many advertisements then the site may not be considered.
The key word is "freebies". You must mention that this is the keyword when applying. This will indicate that you have read all the criteria for applying.
The award must be displayed on either the home page or an awards page. An active hyperlink will be placed under "winners" on this page so others can verify that you've actually won the award.
If the site is not disqualified due to any of the criteria above, then the freebie may still be further assessed for safety. If any characteristic of the freebie causes it to be unsafe for a person or a person's computer then the site will not be granted an award.
When submitting the application please include a report of the freebies offered. Include the quantity of freebies offered and try to describe the quality of the freebies offered.
You will receive notification that your application was received within 1 day. If you do not receive this notification then you may resubmit. You will be notified within 1 month of your award status. If you do not win an award you may not reapply for at least 90 days. After 90 days of receiving an award, you may also reapply for a higher award.
The winners (below) are subject to re-evaluation at any time. If they fail to meet the same criteria then they will either be asked to remove the award or they will be given a different award.
Awards are given according to a points scale:
The site offers at least one freebie (any freebie): 10 points
The freebie offered is digital only: 1 point for each freebie (Max 100 points, If the site's only freebie is good information then that will be considered collectively as 1 point)
The value at least one digital freebie can be set at $10 or more. (If the freebie is a full-length ebook, 5 or more song downloads, software, or a service that may require more than a half hour of a person's time, etc.): 100 points
1 or 0 of the next 2 will be applied:
At least one freebie offered is tangible and has at least a $1 value: 50 points
At least one freebie offered is tangible and has at least a $10 value: 100 points
1 or 0 of the next three will be applied in addition to the points given above:
The site offers at least 10 freebies: 10 points
The site offers at least 50 freebies: 50 points
The site offers at least 100 freebies: 100 points
The site offers an exceptional service by which users can get tangible freebies on a regular basis: 500 points
The site has a high Google or Alexa rank. (This indicates that the freebies offered are shared with a lot of people): 500 points
The freebie offered shows exceptional creativity or demonstrates some act of selflessness: determined by judge.
The freebie requires the user to submit an email address in order to receive the freebie(s): -10 points
The freebie requires that the user submit friend referrals &/or complete
certain tasks in order to receive the freebie: -100 points
The freebie is unsafe: Subtract all points
Site eligibility: Offers at least one freebie
Bronze award: 12+ points
Silver award: 100+ points
Gold award: 500+ points
Platinum award: 1000+ points
Examples of sites and the awards they would win:
According to this criteria, ActuallyFree.info would currently have 136 points and be eligible for the Silver award.
TheFreeSite.com would receive either the Gold or Platinum awards
Mormon.org would receive either the Gold or Platinum awards
Craigslist.org and TotallyFreeStuff.com would receive Platinum awards
Winners