Second, and of much broader interest, here's brief update on the OS X 10.5 hints queue. As of today, the queue has grown to 463 potential hints (all hints, not just 10.5) -- that's not counting the 94 Leopard hints that we've already run. Obviously, if you're just submitting something, it's going to be a while before it shows on the site. However, there has been progress on this front that makes the large queue less daunting, even though it continues to grow...
As of Monday, we now have about 60ish Mac OS X Hints readers helping to review the queue! That's right, for the first time ever, it's not just my eyeballs on the prospective hints. These readers, who are volunteering their time, were asked to participate based on their long-term contributions to the site through hints, comments, or other involvement (such as behind the scenes technical support on Unix hints). They have access to the queue on a special site, and they help me check for duplicates, which is a great timesaver. More importantly, though, they're also sharing their opinions -- through comments and a voting system -- as to whether each hint should be published or not. I love the fact that no longer am I the sole reviewer for every potential hint. In the long run, this should improve the quality (and quantity, as hints can be processed more quickly) of hints here on the site.
What makes me feel really good about the macosxhints readers is that of the hints that have gone through this peer review system so far, only a handful have been rejected (usually for being too obvious or too well documented). The vast majority of the submissions have been of high quality, and the main reason a hint gets rejected now is that it's a duplicate of something we've already run. The readers here really dig into their OS to find all the nitty gritty details.
I'd just like to offer a big thank you to this team of volunteers who are already helping to make the hints here better than they've ever been before. (And no, you can't volunteer for the team at this point in time, sorry!)
So if you've submitted a hint, please be patient -- the 10.5 hints are flowing, and will continue to flow at a rate of 10 to 20 or more a day, at least through the contest period. We'll get to yours, I promise, and it will either run, or you'll get a message from me explaining why it didn't. (And I guarantee we'll get everything that's been submitted published prior to the close of the contest!)
-rob.

