[chandler-users] Display of calender dates

[Keith Winsor]

Mimi,

I'm not Stuart, but comments inline :-)

Mimi Yin wrote:
> Hi Stuart,
>
> The thinking behind displaying custom alarm dates in the List View is 
> that generally speaking, they represent the next important date for 
> that event: e.g. I'm attending a wedding in August, but I set a Custom 
> Alarm set for when I need to RSVP for the wedding (June 10th). So the 
> wedding event represents 2 things to me:
>
> 1. Task to RSVP to wedding
> 2. Wedding event on my calendar
>
> And the next important thing to worry about is the RSVP date.
I agree that this is a typical use for a custom alarm. Other examples:
    - there's a gig in August - remind me in July to give me time to 
book tickets if my calendar is free by then
    - my credit card needs paying - remind me ten days before the 
payment has to arrive

I don't think the date of the alarm is significant enough to need 
displaying. It's not important that you RSVP/buy tickets/pay bill on the 
exact day of the alarm, just that you do it a good time ahead of the 
actual event. It's a 'pop to Now to remind me in advance to RSVP' kind 
of thing. The date of the event is what I need to see in the list - the 
mere fact it jumps to Now in advance is all I need to remind me of the 
task associated with it (which is recorded in the item note anyway), and 
the amount of 'advance' I set takes into account how long it's likely to 
take me to carry out the preparatory task.
> In my mind, this is different from alarms that are set for say 15 
> minutes before an event. Those aren't displayed in the List View 
> because they're simply a way to remind you of when the event starts.
Agreed.
>
> Can I ask what you set Custom Alarm dates for?
Anything that has a potential action that must be done before the event 
I'm creating:

    - buy worm tablet for cat, so that I can treat on the right day, 
three-monthly
    - monthly payment for 'something' is due: transfer funds from 
savings account to current account (um... checking account, over there? 
Don't get me started on mis-spelling 'cheque' ;-)
    - family birthdays, remember to buy/send card and gift
    - car insurance due, start getting quotes
    - car MoT due (statutory annual roadworthiness check), get car 
serviced in advance

In every example I can think of, the event date is important and the 
alarm date is merely when I want to be reminded that it's imminent. It 
really is the Chandler/GtD ethos of forgetting about it until I need to 
remember.

Looking forward to 1.0

Keith