Currently, the Weekly Topic Challenge starts and ends on Wednesdays (usually). It seems to make more sense to have it from Sunday to Sunday, especially since each is titled "Weekly Topic Challenge ....(week of [Parsha])".
Thoughts?
asked Jan 31 '12 at 5:57
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4If I'm to continue being the one to post the challenge each week, then I need a little latitude: You may have noticed that it was sometimes posted Wednesday and sometimes Thursday, and that will need to continue. This is not an answer, as it's not a choice of day, but merely a comment that whatever day is chosen will need to be loosely scheduled. – msh210♦ Jan 31 '12 at 15:35
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@msh210. Not a problem. It doesn't have to be exact, but it should conform more closely to the Parsha, I think. – Hod - Monica's Army Jan 31 '12 at 16:02
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2@msh210, completely agreed that we need to be flexible -- people have lives, and for that matter sometimes holidays will push things. Thanks for doing this! – Monica Cellio Jan 31 '12 at 16:04
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2Isn't there something about how you can talk about this week's parasha through (or maybe until) Wednesday, related homiletically to the appearance of "lechu neranena" in that day's Shir? Anyway, the challenge is not (usually) about the parasha, so I don't see why there has to be a tight association. It's just a way of identifying the week on which the challenge was posted, and the Shabbat on which it would be nice to think about it. – Isaac Moses♦ Jan 31 '12 at 16:15
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Effected. – msh210♦ Jul 3 '12 at 16:42
The current timing feels a little "off" to me (I think I've posted "weekly topic" questions on Thursday, when it was technically late, twice now), but I think the "think about it over Shabbat" angle is important too. Would Friday to Friday be a better fit? (Then it would be the "week of" the following parsha, the one we read at mincha the day after the topic is announced.)
answered Jan 31 '12 at 14:51
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1One issue with Friday is that it tends to be a busier day in real life, on which people are less likely to visit the site. So, some of the "thinking about it on Shabbat" benefit goes away with the people who won't see the new challenge until after Shabbat. – Isaac Moses♦ Jan 31 '12 at 15:55
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2@HodofHod, at minimum, it's what you're forced to engage in when the sun sets on Friday :) – Isaac Moses♦ Jan 31 '12 at 16:11
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@IsaacMoses Well we could still make it Thursday/Friday instead of Wednesday/Thursday. Also, personally, I think most people do a get a chance to check the site even for a shorter time on Fridays. – Double AA♦ Jan 31 '12 at 16:18
The benefit of Wednesday, as Isaac Moses notes in a comment, is that it gives people a chance to see the topic before Shabas so that they can think about it over Shabas, even if the new topic gets posted a day late, on Thursday. That benefit is pretty much lost if the day is moved.
I'm not sure that that benefit outweighs the benefit of starting Sunday so the topic matches the calendar (and parasha) week, but I'm inclined to say it does.
