Looking Ahead ... Our Timeline

Greetings, everyone! We wanted to send out an update to let everyone know where we stand with the Hope Hunt + Race.

We are finalizing our testing on the new database design, which has been revamped to more efficiently handle the volume of traffic the the Hope Hunt + Race generated. Below is the "schedule" of what you should expect in the coming weeks.

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Friday, August 7 through Monday, August 10

We will conduct a "live" test of the new system--final testing before the Hope Hunt + Race resumes. If you would like to be a part of this test, please let Sidda Jubilee or Arete Diplomat know; we welcome your participation as we put the final "tweaks" in place.

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Saturday, August 15 through Friday, September 4

We will be re-registering all of the participating merchants. We will not use the parcel names (YAY!!!), but we do need to verify business names and landing points for each location. If your business has moved, you will be able to update your information at that time. Also, if you know of other merchants who would like to participate, have them contact Sidda Jubilee or Arete Diplomat.

You should receive, on August 15, a notecard containing the information that we have on file. We need that notecard returned. If the information is correct, return it unchanged; if anything needs to be corrected, return it with the correct information.

Note: No late registrations will be accepted. If the notecard is not returned by September 4, we will assume that you choose not to participate.

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Saturday, September 5 through Friday, September 25

On Saturday, September 5, you will receive your new Roses. You will have three weeks to place those Roses and register them in the database. The registration process will be different (and easier!), and instructions will be included.

Note: All Roses must be registered with the database by Friday, September 25. No late registrations will be allowed.

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Sunday, September 27 through Saturday, October 17

The Hope Hunt + Race will be conducted. This will be a 3-week Hunt.

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We do have some nice additions for the Hope Hunt + Race ... including a website (which will be updated daily) to provide merchants with information on the number of avatars who have found a Rose at your location (a "traffic report"). We hope that this will be beneficial to you, and will help to offset the inconvenience of having to postponse the Hunt while the database and communication issues were addressed.

Thank you, and please don't hesitate to ask Sidda or Arete if you have a question.