Scavenger Hunt (D-NLS)

[hodgepodgecollage]

Dec 22, 2021 10:26:52 GMT -8 Lynx said:

hodgepodgecollage and m2marsh ,

I recent discovery I made (read as 'just yesterday') is that you may want to look at their mini-profile. Stale data, or many users clicking at once, is known to affect the leaderboard scores. If you check their mini-profile, and it shows NaN for the count there, that is definitely a time to clear that person's data. If it shows a number there, the leaderboard should eventually catch up. This might be something to test, as my forums have a low enough member count to where I do not have the activity to see this happen much (very rare on my forums).

A 'null' on the leaderboard may just be indicative that the key had written someone else's data first and there's ended up with null.

This falls into place with what I’ve seen as well.

I was going to mention this the other day, but for some reason neglected to do so, I’ve never seen a null value on either of my test forums. And I’ve installed the scavenger hunt on both. It lead me to believe that a larger population of members playing was the null culprit.

Our next scavenger hunt will launch on Xmas, so there may be less activity on day one, but there should be enough to trigger the bug. I’ll see if not clearing their data will eventually result in a number on the leaderboard. I shall keep you updated.

Cheers and have a happy holiday!

[Lynx]

Dec 23, 2021 14:33:53 GMT -8 hodgepodgecollage said:

Dec 22, 2021 10:26:52 GMT -8 Lynx said:

hodgepodgecollage and m2marsh ,

I recent discovery I made (read as 'just yesterday') is that you may want to look at their mini-profile. Stale data, or many users clicking at once, is known to affect the leaderboard scores. If you check their mini-profile, and it shows NaN for the count there, that is definitely a time to clear that person's data. If it shows a number there, the leaderboard should eventually catch up. This might be something to test, as my forums have a low enough member count to where I do not have the activity to see this happen much (very rare on my forums).

A 'null' on the leaderboard may just be indicative that the key had written someone else's data first and there's ended up with null.

This falls into place with what I’ve seen as well.

I was going to mention this the other day, but for some reason neglected to do so, I’ve never seen a null value on either of my test forums. And I’ve installed the scavenger hunt on both. It lead me to believe that a larger population of members playing was the null culprit.

Our next scavenger hunt will launch on Xmas, so there may be less activity on day one, but there should be enough to trigger the bug. I’ll see if not clearing their data will eventually result in a number on the leaderboard. I shall keep you updated.

Cheers and have a happy holiday!

Keep in mind that I'm not saying that the null will go away on it's own (like with m2marsh's forums - she has to always clear their count) - only that it's now a possibility. Testing this would require someone of your forum (preferably when you're on for quickest communication) who is willing to:

1. get an item from a the start of a new hunt (which should put a 1 in their MP);
2. you check their MP for a 1 or NaN;
3. if NaN, you WILL have to clear their data (from their profile page);
4. if it's null, play the waiting game (including them NOT getting anymore items for the next few hours);
5. Either the leaderboard will update or have them get 1 more collection to see if it updates then;
6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 until leaderboard updates their score with a number instead of null.

Since this could be a time-consuming process, it might be best to see if someone who doesn't normally play, to play for the testing. They would only need to get 1 item every few hours, or whenever they're on. Of course, the possibility does exist that their entry will come out proper - to which point, the player can either stop playing or continue. As m2marsh said, once they've got a number, they shouldn't get the null again for that hunt.

[hodgepodgecollage]

Dec 24, 2021 7:18:52 GMT -8 Lynx said:

Dec 23, 2021 14:33:53 GMT -8 hodgepodgecollage said:

This falls into place with what I’ve seen as well.

I was going to mention this the other day, but for some reason neglected to do so, I’ve never seen a null value on either of my test forums. And I’ve installed the scavenger hunt on both. It lead me to believe that a larger population of members playing was the null culprit.

Our next scavenger hunt will launch on Xmas, so there may be less activity on day one, but there should be enough to trigger the bug. I’ll see if not clearing their data will eventually result in a number on the leaderboard. I shall keep you updated.

Cheers and have a happy holiday!

Keep in mind that I'm not saying that the null will go away on it's own (like with m2marsh 's forums - she has to always clear their count) - only that it's now a possibility. Testing this would require someone of your forum (preferably when you're on for quickest communication) who is willing to:

1. get an item from a the start of a new hunt (which should put a 1 in their MP);
2. you check their MP for a 1 or NaN;
3. if NaN, you WILL have to clear their data (from their profile page);
4. if it's null, play the waiting game (including them NOT getting anymore items for the next few hours);
5. Either the leaderboard will update or have them get 1 more collection to see if it updates then;
6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 until leaderboard updates their score with a number instead of null.

Since this could be a time-consuming process, it might be best to see if someone who doesn't normally play, to play for the testing. They would only need to get 1 item every few hours, or whenever they're on. Of course, the possibility does exist that their entry will come out proper - to which point, the player can either stop playing or continue. As m2marsh said, once they've got a number, they shouldn't get the null again for that hunt.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to test at that level of detail. The problem is I don’t know who will have a null value and who won’t, so I can’t ask them in advance to only collect one item and wait. I’d also feel a little bad about making someone sacrifice a day of collecting items, but maybe they wouldn’t mind.

The best I can do is not clear the data for someone who’s showing a null value and see if it corrects itself. (I’ve never seen the NaN error, but will clear the data if it shows.) I can also have some staff collect an item, wait a couple hours, then collect another, as you suggested. But the chance they’ll see null is fairly low, since staff didn’t have any null problems in the past.

There was another issue that I didn’t mention earlier (but has been reported in this thread). The last time we did a hunt, I noticed players who collected a fairly low number of items then didn’t collect anymore for a day or two, disappeared from the leaderboard. Players who collected a lot of candy, then stopped collecting for a day, didn’t have the issue. I’m not sure what the amount is that will allow someone to fall of the leaderboard, but the highest number I noticed was 24 items.

Also, members who didn’t collect for several hours saw a drop in their leaderboard number (which is normal), then after collecting more the leaderboard was correct. Then a couple hours later the leaderboard would show a lower number again (often times it was the same low number). I was never able to get my mini profile count to sync with the leaderboard, while other members had no problem. I know this has been reported before, but I don’t know if it’s been outlined or emphasised that for some members the leaderboard constantly falls back after a couple hours of inactivity. And those who have low candy counts, can fall off the leaderboard altogether with no activity.

[Lynx]

hodgepodgecollage,

The NaN should, I believe, only show on the mini-profile - if it shows up. If someone has null on the leaderboard, then check the MP for a NaN.

[hodgepodgecollage]

Dec 26, 2021 10:36:20 GMT -8 Lynx said:

hodgepodgecollage ,

The NaN should, I believe, only show on the mini-profile - if it shows up. If someone has null on the leaderboard, then check the MP for a NaN.

Yes, this is what I understood. Apologies if my last post didn’t reflect that.

• Null on leaderboard + NaN on mini profile = clear data

• Null on leaderboard + number on mini profile = let member collect more to see if a number shows on the leaderboard

So far, I haven’t seen NaN on our forum.

[hodgepodgecollage]

I hope everyone is having a jolly season! Here’s the latest update from our Holiday Scavenger Hunt. There will likely be more, as there’s still several days left in the hunt, and I’m currently looking at the screenshots and data I’ve collected over the week.


NULL VALUE

• There have been more members experiencing null. So far, 5 members: 1 was a repeat null; 2 were new to the scavenger hunt; and I believe the other 2 did not have null values last time (but I could’ve missed their null if they collected quickly and got on the leaderboard).

• I did not clear the data for any members and the null value went away for (almost) everyone after the member located between 3-10 items. (There is one member who had null and disappeared from the leaderboard shortly afterwards; I messaged them, but they haven’t returned to find more items.)

• It does appear collecting additional items resolves the null value (if NaN is not present on the mini profile). Last time, when I was clearing the data, it didn’t fix the null bug. The member kept receiving null, until I stopped clearing their data and they gathered more items.

• It looks like the 10th person (or 11th person) to get on the leaderboard will receive null, and that perhaps unleashes the null bug. Then, null seems to show up randomly. For this scavenger hunt and the last, the null value started with the 10th person (could’ve been the 11th, because the 10th and 11th showed around the same time). Before the 10th, there were no nulls. After the 10th, null values show somewhat regularly for the first couple days. Could be a coincidence that both hunts had null problems beginning with the 10th person on the leaderboard, but it does fall in line with the fact that forums, with a small number of members, don’t have null problems.


FALLING OFF THE LEADERBOARD

• We’ve had a lot more issues with players vanishing from the leaderboard. After the first day, 2/3 of our members disappeared. Some of them had collected almost 500 items. In the past, members with smaller amounts disappeared, usually if they were inactive for several hours or several days. For the members who remained on the leaderboard, many of them had significant drops in their collection amounts. One person found ~1000 items, but was now showing 60.

• Removal from the leaderboard will be a problem if it continues. It’s disheartening for members to be cleared from the board after days of work. Plus, no-one knows where their fellow members are in the standings, so they stop searching for items. It’ll also create a lot more work for staff when the hunt concludes. We won’t know who participated if members are missing. Since we have thousands of members, it’s not feasible for us to look at every mini profile.


LEADERBOARD DISCREPANCY

• The discrepancy in the leaderboard seems to be much greater than before. One of our staff members collected over 450 items, but her leaderboard amount was displaying 65 items for 12 hours. Her mini profile was correct, of course. She said she synced with the leaderboard several times with no problems. But I never saw her amount update even though I checked the leaderboard consistently when she was on the forum.


CONCLUSION

Several days into the hunt, the leaderboard calmed down and large numbers of members are no longer disappearing. I’m checking some of the data I collected over the week because I think I noticed a pattern. I’ll report back with my findings.

Regardless of any issues with the leaderboard, members are really thrilled about the return of the Scavenger Hunt. It is always a home run!

[hodgepodgecollage]

LEADERBOARD UPDATE

I’ve had a bit of a breakthrough with the scavenger hunt leaderboard. For the first two days of the hunt, we experienced a significant drop on the leaderboard for each day. On day one, we lost 2/3 of our members. On day two, we lost far more, all but 7 people. But... the new list of 7 looked very familiar… a lot like Xmas morning when the hunt began.

Since we’ve had troubles with the leaderboard before, I’ve been keeping close tabs on it with lots of screenshots. I found a screenshot of the leaderboard about 1.5 hours after the hunt started… And lo and behold, it is identical to the leaderboard with 7 members. Same members, same collection amounts.

Then, about an hour or so later, the leaderboard again changed and was listing 27 members (even though 20 members had not logged in to update their amounts and correct the leaderboard). Two of our members who had null values, then collected more items and no longer had null, were back on the leaderboard, and so were their null values. Therefore, it’s not entirely accurate to say the null value will not return after a member has a number on the board.

I looked at my history of leaderboard screenshots, and six hours into the hunt there were 27 members showing. It was the exact same 27 members with the same collection amounts, even the two null values were listed. So it appears the leaderboard is reverting to a previous state.

Earlier, it seemed like members were falling off the leaderboard and / or their collection totals were greatly reduced. But what’s actually happening is the leaderboard is reverting back anywhere from an hour to more than 48 hours. That’s why some players have greatly reduced amounts and others have accurate totals. If the member didn’t collect anything from the present time to the reverted time, their collection remained the same. If they did collect, there’s a discrepancy with the lower amount from the reverted time now showing on the leaderboard and the correct amount on the mini profile. If a member started playing after the reverted time, the leaderboard hasn’t recognised them yet, so they’re not listed, and it looks like they fell off the leaderboard.

Not sure what’s causing the leaderboard to do this, but when it’s occurred, there’s usually two or more members playing, so maybe their quick collection of items and updating the leaderboard is a bit too much for the ol’ board, and it gets frazzled into reversion.

The leaderboard does calm down. We haven’t had the board revert since day two, or at least not that much. It’s really noticeable when it falls back two days, but not so much when it’s several hours. Now that I know this is how the leaderboard is behaving, it’s clear this was also occurring with the previous hunt.

Aside from the leaderboard traveling back in time, there does seem to be problems with individuals not syncing with the leaderboard. But the discrepancy tends to be much less and it isn’t affecting all scavenger hunters at once.

[Lynx]

The first thing to check for is: stale data

Find out if your users are doing any of the following:

1. Are any of your users using their browser's back button at all? If so, that can be a cause for the leaderboard to mess up.

2. Are any of your users opening multiple tabs for the same forum? This is not recommended as this can create stale data on older tabs.

3. Are your users clicking the item right away, or are they letting it sit before clicking it? This is also a cause of stale data.


Any of these alone, or in any combination, can cause stale data and cause havoc with the leaderboard. The way the super forum key works presently, it's very difficult to alleviate this issue. To help cut down on the leaderboard's inaccuracy, insure your users ARE doing the following:

1. NOT using their browser's back button at all while a game is in progress (this only applies to pages on your forum, not while on other, non-PB, sites);

2. Insure that your users are NOT opening multiple tabs - especially if there is an item to be collected. If there is no item to collect on the current tab, they can open another tab on your forum - but this is not recommended. While a Hunt is in progress, users should use just 1 open tab for your forum.

3. Your users SHOULD click a collectible as soon as it's noticed. If the Prize Detector is showing there's an item on the page, they should find it, and click on it, as soon as possible. Leaving an item sitting can cause stale data to be written to the key.


For your "leaderboard travelling back in time" theory:
When a page loads, the user's personal count and their leaderboard data are both loaded. The personal count key is tied to the user, but the leaderboard key is global - meaning every user who clicks on an item is writing to that key. If someone lets an item sit on a page without clicking it, it's going to write the old, stale leaderboard data back into the key when they do click on the item. This will mess up multiple people's data on the leaderboard.

As a final note, no - your data pointing to the 10th or 11th person collecting before a null appears is very much inaccurate. I have a forum with just 4 people on it, I started a new hunt, and I got a null on the leaderboard - and I was the 1st person to show on the leaderboard. I am still working on that initial null issue to try and eliminate that.

[m2marsh]

Lynx,


3. Your users SHOULD click a collectible as soon as it's noticed. If the Prize Detector is showing there's an item on the page, they should find it, and click on it, as soon as possible. Leaving an item sitting can cause stale data to be written to the key.

This only applies if someone lets the indicator sit for a long period, and then clicks the image, correct? I mean I hardly ever click on the image. Just a little bit at the very start of the game. So I'm not causing any stale data by just ignoring the image completely am I?

[Lynx]

Jan 3, 2022 16:25:02 GMT -8 m2marsh said:

Lynx,


3. Your users SHOULD click a collectible as soon as it's noticed. If the Prize Detector is showing there's an item on the page, they should find it, and click on it, as soon as possible. Leaving an item sitting can cause stale data to be written to the key.

This only applies if someone lets the indicator sit for a long period, and then clicks the image, correct? I mean I hardly ever click on the image. Just a little bit at the very start of the game. So I'm not causing any stale data by just ignoring the image completely am I?

Correct. The keys only get written to when an item is clicked. Therefore, if you navigate away from a page with an item on it, you're fine - because you navigated away without clicking the image, nothing gets written to the keys, so that won't mess anything up. The problem happens when the keys get written to - basically, when an item is clicked. This is where the stale data comes into play.

I am working on a few options to add, mostly QOL - such as, being able to select members who don't want to play, but be able to see the leaderboard. Basically, it'll act like the plugin's Maintenance Mode, but just for select players. No ETA right now because of a currently busy schedule.

[hodgepodgecollage]

Jan 3, 2022 15:44:15 GMT -8 Lynx said:

The first thing to check for is: stale data

Find out if your users are doing any of the following:

1. Are any of your users using their browser's back button at all? If so, that can be a cause for the leaderboard to mess up.

2. Are any of your users opening multiple tabs for the same forum? This is not recommended as this can create stale data on older tabs.

3. Are your users clicking the item right away, or are they letting it sit before clicking it? This is also a cause of stale data.


Any of these alone, or in any combination, can cause stale data and cause havoc with the leaderboard. The way the super forum key works presently, it's very difficult to alleviate this issue. To help cut down on the leaderboard's inaccuracy, insure your users ARE doing the following:

1. NOT using their browser's back button at all while a game is in progress (this only applies to pages on your forum, not while on other, non-PB, sites);

2. Insure that your users are NOT opening multiple tabs - especially if there is an item to be collected. If there is no item to collect on the current tab, they can open another tab on your forum - but this is not recommended. While a Hunt is in progress, users should use just 1 open tab for your forum.

3. Your users SHOULD click a collectible as soon as it's noticed. If the Prize Detector is showing there's an item on the page, they should find it, and click on it, as soon as possible. Leaving an item sitting can cause stale data to be written to the key.

At the start of each hunt, I inform all our members to take these steps. So they are aware of stale data and how to prevent it.

Jan 3, 2022 15:44:15 GMT -8 Lynx said:

For your "leaderboard travelling back in time" theory:
When a page loads, the user's personal count and their leaderboard data are both loaded. The personal count key is tied to the user, but the leaderboard key is global - meaning every user who clicks on an item is writing to that key. If someone lets an item sit on a page without clicking it, it's going to write the old, stale leaderboard data back into the key when they do click on the item. This will mess up multiple people's data on the leaderboard.

The reversion of the leaderboard only seems to occur at the start of the hunt, during the first couple days. It seems if players are engaging in stale data, causing many players to have incorrect amounts, then they would still be engaging in the bad habits of stale data later in the hunt. And would be causing the leaderboard to revert, or changing others data, as it did in the first couple days.

Jan 3, 2022 15:44:15 GMT -8 Lynx said:

As a final note, no - your data pointing to the 10th or 11th person collecting before a null appears is very much inaccurate. I have a forum with just 4 people on it, I started a new hunt, and I got a null on the leaderboard - and I was the 1st person to show on the leaderboard. I am still working on that initial null issue to try and eliminate that.

Apologies, this was just something I noted that was similar with both hunts. I was by no means implying it was hard fact, just an observation.

[Lynx]

Jan 3, 2022 18:15:00 GMT -8 hodgepodgecollage said:

Jan 3, 2022 15:44:15 GMT -8 Lynx said:

For your "leaderboard travelling back in time" theory:
When a page loads, the user's personal count and their leaderboard data are both loaded. The personal count key is tied to the user, but the leaderboard key is global - meaning every user who clicks on an item is writing to that key. If someone lets an item sit on a page without clicking it, it's going to write the old, stale leaderboard data back into the key when they do click on the item. This will mess up multiple people's data on the leaderboard.

The reversion of the leaderboard only seems to occur at the start of the hunt, during the first couple days. It seems if players are engaging in stale data, causing many players to have incorrect amounts, then they would still be engaging in the bad habits of stale data later in the hunt. And would be causing the leaderboard to revert, or changing others data, as it did in the first couple days.

The one thing you're not taking into account is the number of people "hunting" at a time. It seems like (and I could be wrong on this) when members know a new hunt is beginning - that's the busiest activity. People like to get that "head start" as soon as the Hunt starts - especially if the forum owner has prizes for it. Remember, the keys only get updated when an item is clicked. The more people clicking at a time, the greater the chance for inaccuracies and nulls. If no one, or very few people, are clicking a lot, then issues with the leaderboard lessen. Unfortunately, as keys work now, that's just the nature of the beast. If V6 brings with it Dictionary Keys, this issue will be eliminated. Until then, it's something hat can't be fully eliminated. Personally, I use an opt-IN system, where members have to join an open group in order to play. This lets me know who actually wants to play versus people just clicking on items "because they're there".

Right now, there is no foolproof way to resolve this. If there was, I would have done it by now. This is NOT intended to sound snarky - merely a statement letting you know that I've looked at numerous ways to fix this already. I think I've gone cross-eyed at times from staring at the code.

[hodgepodgecollage]

Jan 3, 2022 19:27:05 GMT -8 Lynx said:

Jan 3, 2022 18:15:00 GMT -8 hodgepodgecollage said:

The reversion of the leaderboard only seems to occur at the start of the hunt, during the first couple days. It seems if players are engaging in stale data, causing many players to have incorrect amounts, then they would still be engaging in the bad habits of stale data later in the hunt. And would be causing the leaderboard to revert, or changing others data, as it did in the first couple days.

The one thing you're not taking into account is the number of people "hunting" at a time. It seems like (and I could be wrong on this) when members know a new hunt is beginning - that's the busiest activity. People like to get that "head start" as soon as the Hunt starts - especially if the forum owner has prizes for it. Remember, the keys only get updated when an item is clicked. The more people clicking at a time, the greater the chance for inaccuracies and nulls. If no one, or very few people, are clicking a lot, then issues with the leaderboard lessen. Unfortunately, as keys work now, that's just the nature of the beast. If V6 brings with it Dictionary Keys, this issue will be eliminated. Until then, it's something hat can't be fully eliminated. Personally, I use an opt-IN system, where members have to join an open group in order to play. This lets me know who actually wants to play versus people just clicking on items "because they're there".

Right now, there is no foolproof way to resolve this. If there was, I would have done it by now. This is NOT intended to sound snarky - merely a statement letting you know that I've looked at numerous ways to fix this already. I think I've gone cross-eyed at times from staring at the code.

Sorry for the delay, the beginning of the year is always super busy.

I like your opt-in suggestion; it’s an interesting approach. I’m not sure it’d work for our forum. It would definitely lower the number of participants. If our members can’t see the scavenger hunt content or the amazingly fun items to collect, they may not be curious enough to opt-in.

I definitely agree a large number of players at the start of the hunt can be a big part of the issue. And several players finding items simultaneously is problematic for the leaderboard. This clearly isn’t something that can be fixed. I’m not expected it to be resolved, rather I was sharing our forum’s results and experiences in the hopes it’d assist others who are looking to start a scavenger hunt. Our observations aren’t intended to provide fixes, but it could give insight for how forum admins can work around the problems. And I most certainly don’t think you’re being snarky. On the contrary, you are always very helpful and informative.

Our forum is a little different in that it supports a mobile game. So we have a noticeable rise in activity when scheduled new content is released. This always drives a lot of members to the forum and there’s an increase in scavenger hunt numbers, similar to the first days of the hunt’s launch. There’s also a surge at the end of the hunt when players are trying to catch each other. So drops in players’ collection amounts on the leaderboard continue and those with low numbers can disappear. But it’s not as bad as the early days of the hunt, when only 7 members were left on the leaderboard. Knowing the board can display an older version or show drastically reduced collection numbers is extremely helpful to our forum, and may be beneficial to others, because we can schedule the scavenger hunt to accommodate.

• If the scavenger hunt runs for at least 4 days and spans beyond the busy days of new content / high forum traffic, this will allow several days for players to find more items and correct the leaderboard.

• It’s best if forum staff inform members at the start of the hunt that the mini profile will determine the winner(s), not the leaderboard, so members are not mislead or heavily relying on the leaderboard.

• Staff should be checking the leaderboard frequently and taking screenshots if they need to know the standings or the number of participants. This way, they’ll know which mini profiles to check for the correct totals at the conclusion of the hunt.

I’m not suggesting that the leaderboard be changed. When the leaderboard jumps around at the start of the hunt, it is extremely alarming and concerning to admin, mods, and players. But it’s not an impossible problem, the hunt can be long enough to compensate. If the leaderboard has significant drops during the last days of the hunt, that’s more problematic, but it’s not the end of the world. As long as forums are aware this could occur and take measures so they’re prepared, it will make all the difference.

[m2marsh]

hodgepodge, I've been running this game in two forums for years. I can tell you I don't sweat the small stuff like that the leaderboard doesn't match the mini profile. I warn my members when I'm going to shut the game down and leave it up to them to make sure that their mini profile and the leaderboard match. They can fix that themselves by clicking another image or two. Most of my members aren't competitive enough to care. But the ones that do care know it's up to them.

My games usually run a couple of months at least. So I just let it be known that the winner will be taken from the leaderboard and not the mini profiles.

I will thank you for the one thing that I wasn't aware of that came to light during your discussion here. I always reset a member's data once null comes up on the leaderboard. And that only happens at the first of the game. This time I let it stand because you guys indicated it corrects itself at some point. And it did. So thank you for that.

[hodgepodgecollage]

Jan 18, 2022 8:49:52 GMT -8 m2marsh said:

hodgepodge, I've been running this game in two forums for years. I can tell you I don't sweat the small stuff like that the leaderboard doesn't match the mini profile. I warn my members when I'm going to shut the game down and leave it up to them to make sure that their mini profile and the leaderboard match. They can fix that themselves by clicking another image or two. Most of my members aren't competitive enough to care. But the ones that do care know it's up to them.

My games usually run a couple of months at least. So I just let it be known that the winner will be taken from the leaderboard and not the mini profiles.

I will thank you for the one thing that I wasn't aware of that came to light during your discussion here. I always reset a member's data once null comes up on the leaderboard. And that only happens at the first of the game. This time I let it stand because you guys indicated it corrects itself at some point. And it did. So thank you for that.

I’m glad to have been of help! It’s very interesting to hear how other forums are running the scavenger hunt and how it works best for their community. Our hunts don’t last nearly as long as yours. They have to fit the theme of the mobile game’s event, so the scavenger hunt runs around 4 - 12 days. 12 days is a little long for us. I think moving forward ~7 days will be ideal. So it’s very easy for us to keep a close eye on the leaderboard every day. But if the hunt lasted several months, that would be a bit much, indeed.