I realise I'm a bit late with this suggestion... It's too late to apply it to 2015, so treat it as a thought for 2016.
Most sites are very positive about the "Winter Bash" hat-related activity. Some sites have users voicing concerns that it doesn't fit the "serious professionals" brand they're trying to build, but the vast majority of sites don't opt out.
Currently, the choice is between:
- Everyone is opted-in by default. Individual users can choose to opt out, with an "I hate hats" button in the footer.
- Everyone is opted-out. No users can opt in.
Option 1 is obviously the fairer choice in most cases, and option 2 is chosen in rare cases (e.g. MathOverflow) where it's worried that the mere sight of hats will put off serious-minded users.
But even on sites like MO, looking at the meta threads, it looks like there are quite a few users who'd quite enjoy the opportunity.
Also, it looks like there are a few sites that are borderline - they are concerned about putting off serious-minded users, but they also don't want to prevent regular users from having fun.
Wouldn't it be better if the site-by-site choice was between:
- Everyone is opted-in by default. Individual users can choose to opt out, with an "I hate hats" button in the footer.
- Everyone is opted-out by default. Individual users can choose to opt in, with a discrete "Enable hats" button in the footer.
To be clear, opted-out users in both cases neither see the hats of others nor receive hats themselves.
This way:
- No users are prevented from joining in.
- On sites where there is a concern that hats will deter serious professionals, individual users choosing to opt in will in no way affect the experience of other users who don't opt in
- On sites where there is a real concern that it might be off-putting, it's possible to maintain the serious brand without dictating that users can't have hats