The Friday Fix: Deciphering Assignment Deadlines
Posted Jan 29th 2010 at 11:56AM
by Kristi Anderson (subscribe to Kristi Anderson's posts)
Filed Under: Process
The Friday Fix highlights tips, tricks and hacks for using the Seed platform. Have questions or want to see us cover a new tip? Drop us a line in the comments section.
We've heard a number of you ask what it really means when you see '3 hours left' or '5 days left' next to an assignment. We're working to change this to reflect actual due dates and times (all on Eastern Standard Time), but until then here are some helpful guidelines:
We've heard a number of you ask what it really means when you see '3 hours left' or '5 days left' next to an assignment. We're working to change this to reflect actual due dates and times (all on Eastern Standard Time), but until then here are some helpful guidelines:
- Hours: If it's 9:32am ET and the assignment indicates it is due in 3 hours, this doesn't literally mean 12:32pm ET. Instead, we round down, so the actual due time is 12 noon ET.
- Days: Example: It's Tuesday and there are five days left before the assignment is due. Do not include the current day when calculating the due date. So, in this case, the due date is Sunday. Once Sunday arrives, the deadline will switch over to hours left.
Reader Comments
(page 1 of 1)What happens if I miss a deadline by a day because I didn't understand your system of rounding down?
What happens if I claim an article with 7 hours left and unclaim it with 6 hours left when I found out I couldn't do the research required? Do I get a blackmark?
How many writers can claim an article? Is it one or more than one?
I have had articles pending approval for 10 days - anyone know what is going on with this? I was under the impression it was a 7 day or less process so I just want to make sure nothing went wrong.
I just had three assignments closed with the reason listed as being past the due date. My problem with this is that all three actually had several weeks before they were due and one of which I just claimed a couple of hours ago.
What's going on with that?
Also I see assignments which seem to be designated for specific people. Does this mean that no one else can claim them? Am I understanding this correctly? If so, what requirements must I meet to have assignments designated for me?
Thanks,
Eboni
The same thing happened to me. I had months left on an assignment--as of yesterday. Then I log on today and it's marked "closed." I had interviews lined up for next week on this story. This is an embarrassment now. What is going on?
I have been using the method you describe and am still getting the wrong deadlines and have even missed one. I don't want this to reflect poorly on me, so I was wondering when the dates will appear on the site.
The deadline for my first assignment was today. I logged on at 4:00 CST to post. Is it logical for me to postulate that all assignments need to be in by 5:00 EST the day they are due? If it is, then that needs to be posted on the details page please. I don't want this reflecting badly on my freelance photography.