Here's the idea again:

1. MeCha folk sign up to do a mix -- that is, an actual physical mix CD with cover art. (Cover art should be made by the mixer, or by a chosen surrogate.)

2. Mixers submit a photo/scan of the cover artwork and a playlist. At the start of the auction, the covers are posted but the playlists are kept hidden until bidding is closed.

3. Bunnies bid on the mixes in the comments. The bidding is based solely on what the cover and mix title, and any knowledge one has about the mix's creator.

4. At a predetermined time, bidding closes , the playlists are posted and the winners are notified. Winners pay by PayPal and the money is passed on to the charity.

5. The mixers then send the CDs to the winners.

I based this idea on a silent auction run by Rock for Kids, which I participated in the past two years. Some of the participants were very famous (Johnny Marr of The Smiths, Ben Gibbard, Cynthia Plastercaster) and others were practical unknowns from the Chicago music scene -- all the mixes sold anyway, the famous ones just went for more money. So even if you're not an Internet Celebrity™ renowned for your musical prowess (we can't all be jonmc, and really, who'd want to be? {I keed}), if your mix looks cool, you will succeed.

As for beneficiaries, it was suggested that a musical organization would be a fitting choice. The aforementioned Rock for Kids would be an option, as would Sweet Relief. Another tack might be the Downhill Battle Peer-to-Peer Legal Defense fund.

I propose we start working on it now, with a plan of doing the silent auction the week of Nov. 14. I'm happy to run it, and Wolfdaddy has offered to help me organize, but I'd be happy for more volunteers.

What say you all?

Also, for your inspiration and stimulation, OutOf5 is all dancey this week.

I'm in, although I question how much this would really raise. It seems like you'd at least get a better dollar total raised if this were in a group as large as MeFi rather than the smaller MeCha.

I have a bad hunch that I'm going to end up feeling like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree when my mix sits there, unbid on until I create a second account just to bid on my own and save face. In advance, let me just say that Slack-a-gogo and Gack-a-sloslo are totally unrelated!

I'd be happy to create a mix, though my username shouldn't be expected to bring the bling.

One could always announce it at Mefi, even if you were organizing it here.

We would definitely promote this on MeFi, as well as Monkeyfilter, 9622, etc. And I imagine those of us with blogs would mention it on their own sites, too.

I think the silent auction would be best handled someplace where comments are open to anyone, not just registered members. That way we open up the bidder pool without bringing riff-raff into the bunny hutch.

I'm not too concerned with the amount of money raised, I'm doing it for fun. Anything is better than nothing, but if some feel it's an issue, start all bids at $3.00 or so.

I just got a decent freeware DJ app that works like a charm. I won't be messing inside the songs but I plan on putting some real effort into the between-song content including some of my original compositions (albe'em very short) and other 'found' sonic stuff.

"bringing riff-raff into the bunny hutch"

Too late, sweetie! I'm already here. ;-P

i'm all for sweet relief
and all in, as you well know

but what if we don't want our location disclosed?
do we have to go through the trouble to make that hard to track?
do i have to pay the shipping to the balkans just to get the cool stamps and have someone send it back for the cool stamps and anonymity?
can the bidding involve shipping and handling, especially if the bidder lives overseas, for example?