Why are due dates for checked out batches not adjusted for local time zones,

Bruce Vivers

This is the second time that an almost complete batch was pulled from me before the deadline. I had been working on both for several days(city directories can have over 1000 names in a batch) and was about to complete on the last date due with several hours before midnight to find the batch was no longer on my reserved list. I live in Arizona where we do not observe Daylight Savings Time. Is the location of the indexer even considered when the deadline for submitting the batch enforced? Very frustrating to volunteer time and not enjoy the satisfaction of completing the batch.

DSIreland

Thank you both for your service indexing. When batches expire before we have completed them, it can be truly frustrating. The time used in Family Search indexing is not MST it is Greenwich Mean time. Thus, a batch can expire many hours before we think it ought to. I hope this is helpful.

John Empoliti

I agree with you, Bruce. I urge you to make a suggestion in the indexing Improvement Ideas section. I don't think I’ve done that yet. We had a discussion about this issue on the old Indexing Chat group. I’d like to see your idea plus the option to receive an email or text message notification warning me of impending expiration of a batch like my library gives me for my ebook (kindle) book loans. In connection with this, I’d also like the ability to request an extension (one time maybe) within 1 or 2 days of expiration for a few more days. In my library within 3 days you can request a renewal, and if no one else has reserved it, then you are granted the renewal.

I know that there are lots of requested improvements to the Indexing System (I've made many), so why do this particular one? And a response may be that for the sake of moving projects along we need to honor and enforce exporation times. But the other side of the Indexing System is the group of people who are willing to invest a lot of time and energy doing the indexing who sometimes may need a bit more time. It is frustrating and demoralizing to have a batch yanked that you've diligently worked on and have nearly completed. So I hope that these suggestions gets serious consideration.

Melissa S Himes

Hi Bruce. The batches expire all over the world at midnight GMT. Arizona is 7 hours behind GMT. So when it is midnight GMT your batches expire at 5 p.m. MST.