Monday, January 19, 2009

About those Darn Rules

I know there is some frustration over the timing of the fifth challenge posting and I do understand it. I know everyone has gotten pretty used to challenges being posted closer to the midnight Saturday going into Sunday time frame. I also know that everyone understands that the rules merely state that it will be posted on Sunday.

We really are a very international site. We have designers, creative team members, scrappers and customers from all over the world, in nearly every conceivable time zone. But, for the sake of OUR convenience, being a pacific coast time zone company, we based our official days on the eastern time zone of the United States. So Sunday officially begins and ends, for the purposes of this race, at 12:00 AM EST and 11:59 PM respectively.

That said, I know and get the frustration over the timing of the posting of this particular challenge. Because of our international presence, we have sites participating from other parts of the world too. And they are aware of the Sunday posting requirement. They were not contractually obligated to post at midnight eastern US time, just between the hours of 12:00 AM and 11:59 PM EST.

With an international presence, this likely can and will happen again; where the challenge isn't posted exactly at midnight, or even by noon. But it will always be posted on Sunday. Just as you must have your layouts in by Sunday before midnight, we promise we will give you the full 24 hours on Sunday to do so!

And, as long as we're talking about international time zones, I thought I'd throw in a little trivia... Did you know that Australia only has three official time zones, but those time zones are offset by only 30 minutes instead of an hour? So if it's noon in the west, it's 11:30 in the central and 11:00 in the east. They also have some unofficial timezones that are offset by 15 minutes. Talk about trying to figure out what time it is somewhere else!

Now that we have the pesky rules out of the way, I wanted to address something else. I know some people feel that our staff haven't addressed their concerns in the most polite manner possible. Our staff are volunteers and working their tails off to help everyone, but we're also cognizant that the apparent tone of the written word can and does come across more harsh sometimes than intended. So, we're reminding everyone to take deep breaths after reading and before answering posts. Stressed out racers who have been scrapping their little hearts out and meeting deadlines while changing diapers, working two jobs and dealing with sick family members need a little extra TLC and that's what we're here for.

So, know we've heard you and understand your frustrations and we'll do what we can, within the rules of course. We can always reevaluate our rules for next season. We always take your suggestions into consideration. It's really helped shape our race so far and made it the best little digi race on the net!

10 comments:

eph2810 said...

Again, I want to state this race is marvelous - awesome organization (my first time 'racing') Yes, it might be frustrating on not having an entire Sunday to think about a challenge and scrap it...I had some time yesterday to check out NDISB's site and participated in a challenge to get warmed up :)

I am just glad that I am part of this amazing race :) Thank you for putting it together...

Queen Pamedalah said...

You Guys ROCK! In the light of day (whatever time of day!), this race is AWESOME and everyone indeed, needs to say THANK YOU NDISB. This is FUN and it's all because of YOU GUYS!

Ramona said...

I thought it added to the anticipation of the race! No worries here! I'm having a blast and I thank you for all your hard work. Being a site owner myself, I know how hard it is to run things like this and keep everyone happy! You're doing a GREAT job!

Julie Southern (Studio Sherwood) said...

Awwww, That's too bad. i think it's going very well and everyone I've been in touch with has been very kind and helpful! Kudos to you.

Jen Crook said...

For what it's worth, I think you are ALL doing a fabulous job. Regardless of what "time" the challenges are posted we still have until the following Sunday to finish them...so what is the big deal? And most importantly, this isn't made to make us fail, but to be fun and help us grow in our abilities. Have fun everyone!

maz111 said...

This is my first time racing and I am having a blast. Our checker is amazing, and all I can say is all of you guys are doing a tremendous job.
On the time zone stuff.....I am an Aussie, and your Sunday midnight is approx mid afternoon Monday for us. I work full time so I don't get to start the challenges until around Tuesday night....MAYBE, depending on what is going on in my life. I still have to get my challenges done and uploaded by OUR Sunday (your Saturday morning) because I have to go back to work again on Monday. But I took on this challenge knowing all of this, and I just think if you take part in the ADSR, knowing that this is an INTERNATIONAL scrapping race, then you need to take the different time zones in your stride, realise that things can't always be done to satisfy everyone's timetables, and get on and have some serious FUN with this....thats what it is supposed to be about!
I think all at NDIS deserve a big pat on the back and heaps of praise for running this race, not a whole lot of flack.

Anonymous said...

I am having a great time! Yes, I spent a lot of Sunday scouting for the challenge, but that was my choice. I could just as well have checked in every couple of hours. But that is part of the suspense. (That said, I am a WAHM, so my time for scrapping is flexible.) But one thing is, you don't have to be the first or the best for this race, and that is something I find admirable in a world which is today so bent upon being the winner and often forgetting about those who don't have the resources to be competitive, for whatever reason.

Thanks to all who are making this a fun and enjoyable race. And that means not only the organizers, but also the racers. Have FUN, everyone!

KarenB said...

I think you are all doing a FAB job. Another Aussie here too, so I really do appreciate that it's an international undertaking. And another trivial note about time zones - Australia "usually" has three time zones but during daylight savings (being summer here the moment) there are actually 5 official time zones because Qld and NT don't participate in DLS and it really gets confusing, LOL.
The whole timezone thing just makes it more interesting and adds to the challenge :)

June F. said...

There were a lot of "where is it" posts and comments. So I'm glad for this opportunity to post and say, I wasn't worried, and I think it's a little unreasonable to ask anything more of the challenge hosts! You're doing an awesome job and I'm having a ton of fun. Keep up the good work!! :)

Sharon said...

I actually thought the challenges have been posted heaps earlier than years past. Could be TOTALLY wrong though. I just remember that I would hang around on a Sunday night but they were usually posted EARLY Monday morning (another Aussie here.)

LOVE this years race and it seems to be running soooo smoothly....from a racers point of view anyway :) Thanks again for all your hard work.