Sara! Sara! Sara!

[clevermanka]

Guardian/adjacent:
D-y-i-n-g at this progression of photos.
He knows what he did.
Guardian Week August 14-20. (is this info on Tumblr anywhere or should I make my own post?)
A (respectful) tribute to Zhu Yilong's mouth.
We need more Guardian memes.
KNIVES. (the replies are a treat)

Duolingo friends, does Duolingo occasionally miss your activity for the day? Yesterday I got a notification that said "Your streak freeze saved the day!" when I know for a fact I did one of the stories the previous day and yesterday I did a lesson. Do I need to make my daily goal for it to count? I didn't think it did, and I remember getting the screen that said "congratulations on day whatever!" so I don't know what's up but I gotta say it certainly disinclines me to push myself to do it every day if there's something fucked up with their tracking.

SARAZANMAI COMES OUT ON DVD TODAY.


No idea when it will arrive in my mailbox but I am ready for it.

Comments

[undeadrobins]

What are the stories? Are they only on certain languages?

[clevermanka]

I don't know if all the languages have them. wrote_and_writ clued me into them. On my screen (for Spanish) the link is at the top left, next to the "Learn" link with three colored circles. Reading/listening comprehension is so much easier on my brain than the lessons. Days I'm running on empty they're a great alternative.

[undeadrobins]

I've definitely never seen it in Chinese. I'll have a look though when I next use the website!

[clevermanka]

I hope they're an option for you. I only access the site on my laptop, so yeah they might only be available on the website version.

[undeadrobins]

Oh. It looks like they're only available in a few languages, none of which are Chinese! https://support.duolingo.com/hc/en-us/articles/360035934072-What-are-Duolingo-Stories-

[clevermanka]

Well, dang.

[starandrea]

For what it's worth, stories are also available from the mobile app! :) There aren't any Chinese stories, but if you "learn" a language that does have stories (like English or Spanish or French) in Chinese, you can at least get Duolingo to ask you questions about the story in Chinese, which is fun.

[moodsong]

Sara zanmai!

I'm not sure what home zone duolingo is on. I've noticed that the end of a "day" doesn't seem to line up perfectly with my location.

[clevermanka]

Huh. I always assumed it worked on a midnight to 11:59 clock, but maybe not.

Did you watch Sarazanmai?!!???!

[moodsong]

Yes I absolutely did on your recommendation... loved it.

[clevermanka]

I think I remember you mentioned that, now. YAY! All the love for this show!

[moodsong]

Haha

Was there only one season?

[clevermanka]

Yeah, it's a limited series. Which on one hand, too bad, but on the other it's just so perfect in its short, tidy delivery.

[starandrea]

Do you pay for a duolingo subscription at all? I only ask because that enables offline learning, and lessons done offline do NOT count toward your streak unless you sync your account (by opening the app or logging in on your computer while connected to the internet) before the end of the day. :(

But! Yes, any XP earned that day counts toward your streak now, no matter what your daily goal is, and I've found Duolingo to have a grace period of about ten minutes after midnight (when you start a lesson before midnight but don't complete it until a few minutes after). :)

ETA: Oh, I forgot! Your time zone is specific to your Duolingo account, not your device, as I found out the first time I traveled west for work and suddenly my end of the day was no longer local midnight. Bah! So definitely, it sounds like a good idea to check your account settings and see what time zone Duo thinks you're in. ♥

[clevermanka]

I couldn't tell where to adjust my time zone--not anywhere under Profile or Settings that I could see--but I did find where I can turn off the motivational messages so THANK YOU!

And I just use the free one, so no offline usage for me.

[starandrea]

\o/ Yay no motivational messages! :D

Also, I'm so sorry! It appears that Duolingo time zones are a source of endless frustration for almost everyone. (Or, as someone in the Duolingo forums remarked, "Come on, who would have guessed that people who are interested in learning other languages also like to travel?!")

So it looks like there's literally no way to know when Duolingo thinks you are unless you keep track of when it resets your daily XP (basically, when the flame goes out, that's your midnight). And for most people, the initial time zone is automatically set to wherever Duolingo thinks you are when you first create your account. (But no one seems sure what it's using to get that information, since it's not reliably correlated to device OR internet connection?!)

And sometimes, Duolingo DOES update your time zone when you travel (really??) but again, no one seems to know what it's based on. People report their time zone changing after hours or weeks in a new location, and sometimes changing back and sometimes not when they go home. Some people report their time zone changing when they DON'T travel, for no apparent reason. So that sucks.

Here are the only two strategies I've seen people report success with repeatedly, and even then, only a few people.

1 - Do you have an android device of any kind? Your phone, someone else's phone, a burner phone you can connect to the internet for a few minutes? I haven't tried this myself (although I do have the duolingo app on a tracfone, so I'll have to try it next time I go somewhere) but android users report that downloading the duolingo app from the Google Play store resets your time zone to wherever your phone is every time you open the app. Which is awesome! And logical! And apparently only happens with the android version of the app, not the iTunes version or the website.

2 - It might be worth changing your daily goal (and then changing it back if you want)? Some people have reported that when they change their daily goal on the website, their account resets to whatever time zone their internet connection is in (which causes problems for people using a remote VPN, apparently).

...um, all of this is of course predicated on the assumption that your Duo time zone might not be your local time zone, and that you care. Which is a big assumption, so I apologize for getting carried away (as usual). I got caught up in questions about the question and wandered pretty far afield (also as usual).

In conclusion, you're the best! And also good luck! ♥

[clevermanka]

This is actually really helpful, thank you!

who would have guessed that people who are interested in learning other languages also like to travel
LOL!

I wonder if I could tell "my" midnight by whatever time my reminder email comes through. I'll start paying attention, thanks! I'd at least like to have the information, you know?

[naye]

BUTT!! ♥

[clevermanka]

[nnozomi]

Duolingo hasn't done that to me yet...I think. I figure the people above have already covered the issue, but maybe it also has a bug about regarding stories as lessons? (I wish someone would come up with a bunch of Guardian-themed ones for Chinese, sigh.)
A (respectful) tribute to Zhu Yilong's mouth.
Now I keep wondering whether he does these things, like, on his own initiative as part of the role/image, or whether he's standing there looking serious and, well, butter-wouldn't-melt, while the director tells him "Do something sexy with your mouth at this point..."

[clevermanka]

the director tells him "Do something sexy with your mouth at this point..."
And he thinks "what would Bai Yu do..."