Challenge Tracker — User Guide

A walk-through of everything you can do as a regular (non-admin) user. Visit locations, upload photo proof, climb the leaderboard, and vote for your favourite when you finish.

1. Creating an account

  1. From the home page, click Register.
  2. Fill in: - Username — how you'll appear on the leaderboard. - Email — used for password resets and notifications. - Password — at least 6 characters. - Registration Code (optional) — if an admin has given you one, paste it here for instant approval. Leave blank otherwise.
  3. Click Register.

What happens next?

  • With a valid code: your account is approved immediately and you can log in.
  • Without a code: your account is created but waits for an admin to approve it. You'll get an email once they do.

Tip: if you don't see a confirmation email, check your spam folder. Reset emails and admin replies come from the system mailbox configured by your administrator.

2. Logging in / Forgotten password

  • Login: click Login in the top nav, enter your username and password.
  • Forgot password: on the login page click Forgot Password, enter the email address on your account, and you'll be sent a reset link. The link expires after 1 hour.

If you stop receiving emails or want to update your address, see Profile below.

3. The dashboard

After logging in you land on the Dashboard. From top to bottom:

  • Progress ring — how many targets you've completed vs. the threshold needed to finish the challenge.
  • Challenge description banner — what this challenge is about.
  • Partner banner — link a partner to track visits together (see Profile).
  • Progress bar — visual % complete.
  • Target cards — every location in the challenge. Each card shows:
  • Name, description, address, website (if any).
  • Recommended items / category tags (if the admin set them).
  • Your current status with that target:
    • Not Visited — no submission yet.
    • Pending Review — uploaded, waiting for AI or admin decision.
    • Approved / AI Auto-Approved — counts toward your progress.
    • Rejected — admin notes will explain why; click Resubmit to try again with a better photo.
  • View Photo to see your last submission.

At the bottom of the dashboard you'll find shortcuts to the Map and the Leaderboard.

4. Submitting a photo

  1. From the dashboard, click Upload Photo on a target card.
  2. Click Choose a photo and select an image file. - Allowed: PNG, JPG, JPEG, HEIC, HEIF. - Max size: 16MB.
  3. If you have a partner linked, tick " was also present" when they were with you at the location.
  4. Click Upload Photo.

What happens to your photo

  1. The image is rotated and resized server-side (you don't need to do this).
  2. AI checks the photo against the target. - High confidence match → auto-approved instantly. - Uncertain → pending review by an admin. - Mismatch → rejected with a reason.
  3. You'll see the result on your dashboard, and (if you've opted in) by email.

If a submission is rejected, click Resubmit to upload a different photo for the same target.

5. The map

Click Map in the nav for an interactive map of every target. Markers are colour-coded:

Colour Meaning
Green You have an approved visit
Yellow You have a pending submission
Red Not visited (or last visit rejected)
Grey No coordinates — see the dashboard

Click any marker for the target details and a link to upload from there.

6. The leaderboard

Click Leaderboard to see how you stack up against other users. It shows approved-visit counts and highlights anyone who has finished the challenge. Partners who are linked together appear as a team.

7. Voting (after you finish)

When your approved-visit count reaches the challenge's completion threshold, the dashboard shows a green "Vote for Your Favourite" banner.

  1. Click the button — you'll see all the targets you had approved.
  2. Pick one and click Cast Your Vote.

You can only vote once per challenge, and only for targets you actually visited. Results are tallied by the admin team.

8. Your profile

Open the username menu in the top right and pick My Profile. From here you can:

Update email address

Type the new address and confirm with your current password.

Change password

Enter your current password, then the new one twice (min. 6 characters).

Partner linking

Two options:

  • Link to another user's account — enter their username. You'll appear as a team on the leaderboard, and either of you can mark the other as "present" when uploading.
  • Add a guest partner — just a name, no account needed. Useful if your partner doesn't want to register but you still want to credit them on each visit.

You can remove a partner at any time. Removing one doesn't delete past "partner present" flags on previous submissions.

Email notifications

Toggle whether you want to be emailed when: - a photo is auto-approved by AI, - a photo is rejected, - you have rejected photos waiting to be resubmitted (daily reminder).

You'll always get password reset emails and admin replies to your messages — those aren't optional.

Statistics sidebar

A quick look at your totals: submissions, approved, AI-approved, pending, rejected.

9. Contacting an admin

In the username menu, click Contact Admin.

  1. Enter a subject and a message.
  2. Click Send Message.

Your previous messages — and any admin replies — appear below the form. You'll also get an email when an admin replies.

Be specific: include the target name, the date of the submission, or any error you saw. It speeds up the response.

10. Logging out

Top right → username menu → Logout. That's it.

Troubleshooting

Problem Try this
Stuck on "pending approval" after register Without a registration code, an admin must approve you manually. Use Contact Admin if it's slow.
Reset email never arrives Check spam, then ask the admin to confirm the address on file.
Photo rejected and you don't know why Open the target on the dashboard — admin notes appear under the rejected badge.
Can't upload — "file too large" Max is 16MB. Resize on your phone or in any image editor.
HEIC photo from iPhone won't preview Upload anyway — the server converts it.
Partner field missing on upload Link a partner first under Profile → Partner.
"Too many requests" / 429 error The site rate-limits sensitive forms (login, password reset, contact, register) to deter spam. Wait a few minutes and try again.

Privacy & security notes

  • Your password is hashed — admins can't read it.
  • Reset links are single-use and expire after 1 hour.
  • The site never asks for your password by email. If you receive a message that does, ignore it and tell the admin.
  • Photos you upload are only visible to you and admins; they don't appear on any public page.