How best times are ranked
As people paint, Potluck ranks the possible start times under Best times. The top one is the Best bet. The next few are Runners up.
The rules
Section titled “The rules”1. Everyone must be free for the whole thing. A start time only counts you in if you painted every cell from the start to the end of the event. If dinner is 2 hours and you are free for the first 90 minutes, that start time counts you out.
2. Free counts 1, Maybe counts half. If you painted the whole stretch Free, you add 1 to that time’s score. If any of it is Maybe (and the rest Free), you add a half.
3. Not enough people, no suggestion. Times where fewer people can come than the plan’s Minimum people are left out. Both Free and Maybe count toward the minimum.
4. Highest score wins, earliest breaks ties. When two times score the same, the earlier one ranks first.
A worked example
Section titled “A worked example”The screenshot above is a 2-hour dinner in a group of six, painted on a 30-minute grid.
| Start | Free | Maybe | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 13, 6:00 PM | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Sun, Nov 15, 5:00 PM | 3 | 1 | 3.5 |
| Fri, Nov 13, 6:30 PM | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Fri, Nov 13, 7:00 PM | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Sat, Nov 14, 6:00 PM | 2 | 1 | 2.5 |
Friday at 6:00 wins with four people free from 6:00 to 8:00. Sunday comes second: one fewer person is fully free, but a Maybe adds half a point. Friday at 6:30 and 7:00 tie at 3, so the earlier one is listed first.
Each suggestion says who would miss out, like Without Kai and Lena, or Everyone can make it.
Why is a time missing?
Section titled “Why is a time missing?”- Someone’s painting stops short. For a 2-hour event, a 7 PM start needs people free until 9 PM. Painting until 8:30 does not count.
- It falls under the minimum. Fewer people can make it than the plan’s Minimum people. Nudge the people who have not answered yet.
- Nobody painted it. Potluck only suggests start times that someone painted.
If no time works yet, the card says No time works for enough people yet. Nudge the stragglers or widen the window.
When you are ready, lock in a time.