Changes to the Elf Community

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In response to updates in Internet privacy protection laws, some communicated concerns by parents of minor users of SantaTrackers.net, and issues related to available resources, we announce the following changes to SantaTrackers.net:

The following site features will soon be deactivated and/or re-configured:

  • The Elf Wall
  • Elf Messaging
  • Elf Profiles
  • Elf Pages

Other features, such as file uploads relative images and videos, will likewise be adjusted and policies to the same will be amended.

I have instructed Elf Max to introduce new or replacement features that makes the website more compliant with this direction I have instructed Elf Moe to work on identifying under-age users so they can be classed at a better protective level.

Per policy, we continue to encourage parents and their children to use SantaTrackers.net together. In the case of any user under the age of 18, no matter where they are in the world, we require parental access to any accounts made and used on SantaTrackers.net and any and all communication sent to or from the site to be copied to parents. This is not a new policy.

Additional changes to the site, relative to tracking Santa for Santa, and training of elves for that purpose, will likewise be introduced in the coming months. It is anticipated that these site changes and upgrades will be completed on or before June 1, 2026. Changes to that timeline will be communicated in advance.

Based upon this direction from Santa Claus and the technical management of SantaTrackers.net a review of active accounts is currently underway. Accounts inactive over the past 30 days will be retired. Accounts inactive beyond 90 days will be eliminated.

If you have questions or concerns you are encouraged to reach out to me or to your Elf Supervisor.

Thank you.

Take the Elf Survey

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As you know, each January we review all parts of Operation Merry Christmas, including here at SantaTrackers.net.

Santa, Elf Crash, Elf Z and myself, as webmaster of SantaTrackers.net, want your review of our efforts. Please share your thoughts via the survey below. We will take your opinions into consideration as plans are made for the upcoming year.

Thank you!

Describe your website experience on SantaTrackers.net last year.
What is your favorite part of being an elf?
What is your LEAST favorite part of being an elf?

Elf Retirements

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Every month we review activity in the Elf Community and retire elves who have not been active in the past 90 days. I am doing that this weekend.

As part of this process, we also check with the Elf Supervisors about Junior Tracker Elves who can be promoted in to the North Pole Elf Community. This is the first month of eligibility for such promotions. I am uncertain if we have any Junior Trackers who qualify yet, but we’re very excited for this new process.

We make this effort every month to keep the community safe, current and fresh.

Those who have not been active for the past 90-days are put in “retired” status. That means their accounts are locked down but can be returned to active status by communicating via the site support link.

If another 90-day period passes without hearing from those elves it is assumed they are unable or unwilling to continue their elf career and we then delete their accounts and remove their names from the rolls of tracker elves.

Please be aware of the activity requirements to keep your status as an elf current. Please also review our community standards.

Thanks!

Changes to Elf Membership Levels

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We are pleased to announce some enhancements to the Tracker Elf program in advance of the Christmas 2025 tracking season. These enhancements have been included in a recent overhaul of the SantaTrackers.net website, which you have no doubt noticed.

After hours of discussion with Santa, and hearing your feedback as asked for in my last post on May 5th, we present the following changes:

1. New elf registrations at SantaTrackers.net will be set as “Junior Tracker Elf”. This will give new elves a chance to learn the art of Tracking Santa for Santa. If after six months at that level and successful in their efforts, their Elf Supervisor may extend to them an invite to join the Elf Community as a North Pole Tracker elf.

2. The existing community of tracker elves – now known as North Pole Tracker Elves – remains a small and dedicated group. All accounts previously inactive since January 1, 2025, have been removed. If you had an account used before that date, but not since, you will need to re-apply as an elf to begin again as a Junior Tracker Elf.

3. The freelance elf community remains unchanged. Freelancers who choose not to participate in the Elf Community or to become a North Pole Elf can continue to track Santa for Santa without having a login in for SantaTrackers.net. As with others who track Santa for Santa, they can read instruction from their Elf Supervisor and submit reports that aid Santa. But as before they will not be able to participate in the Elf Community or advance to a North Pole Elf experience.

Santa and the North Pole support team of SantaTrackers.net remain committed to providing a free and orderly community for believers out there with a desire to become an elf at the North Pole.

The Internet presents challenges in maintaining such an online experience. We believe these new changes will improve that experience to ensure our ongoing operation.

These changes, as well as other updates to the SantaTrackers.net website, are effective immediately. Having completed them we can now move forward with the business of tracking Santa for Santa 2025.

Elf Crash Murphy and the Elf Supervisors, as well as the North Pole News Department, will from this point forward, resume their duties at SantaTrackers.net.

We welcome your comments and questions below. Our thanks go out to you for your patience and to Elf Max and his team of web experts for their good work in implementing these changes.

Thank you.

Membership Update

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Here’s a little reminder that Membership routines continue even as Elf Max revamps the website.

We are at the time of the month where we give a cleaning to our membership roles, meaning those accounts who have not logged in for 90 days get deleted. This practice, while frustrating for some elves, is necessary to keep the most serious elves among us. So, as we frequently experience at this time of the year, you will see our numbers dwindle before they expand.

When will we open the gates of registration again for new elves? That is a topic of much discussion among elf leadership. Even Santa is weighing in on it. I have no news at this time to share but as soon as I do, I will let you know.

As always, we encourage every elf to have a complete elf profile. Elf Max assures me that the work is done on the new set up for profiles. He made an adjustment to elf names, leaving just one field to set up or edit in your profile. Where it says first name, just put in “Elf” and whatever your elf name is. You can look at my profile as an example. It says simply “Elf Moe”. That’s how we want every profile to look.

We remind you that you need a “cover” image and an “avatar”. There are many examples of elves who have done this correctly. I believe the new elf profile interface makes it clear and easy to do this. But if you need help, just let one of us know and we’ll assist.

We strongly encourage ALL active elves to update their profile with the new set up and freshen up the look you have for yourself.

Finally, as you work to get your profile the way you want it be sure to look at the little images to the right of your name. We want to get those right for every elf as well. If you are missing the red check of a verified elf or other designation please let me or Max know. Those images are pretty cool – if you hover your cursor over them a little text box pops up to explain what the image means. We want that for every everyone, so let us know what you’re missing and we’ll get it working.

While we anticipate a lot of adjustments to the website still in the coming weeks we anticipate more bugs and fixes. Please do not be shy in testing things out and sharing what you find. We want to fix everything and make it better and we believe it is going to take the efforts of everyone to get it right.

Thanks!

 

Elf Community Upgrades Begin

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The first in a series of Elf Community upgrades is in progress. As you login you might notice some new features while other regular site offerings are suspended.

The following are features not currently operational that will return very soon:

– Elf University
– Tracker Reports
– Elf Jobs
– Tracker Elf Registration
– Elf Points Summaries (points building has returned and is being renewed)
– Sector News Pages

The Elf Community software has been upgraded and these new features are now active:

  • All new Elf Wall
  • All new Elf Groups
  • All new Elf Events
  • New profile features and upgrades
  • New messaging system
  • New friends and followers features
  • New News Page
  • New Podcast Page
  • New emojis and elf role icons

Our desire right now is to continue working while the Elf Community is open. We have spent the past two days working to get to this point, but we know a lot of work remains to be done.

We encourage you to help with this project doing the following:

  1. Update your profile. There are many new items not previously available.
  2. Update your avatar. (Many have lost the avatar they were using)
  3. Update your profile cover image to something Christmasy.
  4. Try everything. Tell us what works and what doesn’t for you.
  5. Ask questions.

We greatly depend upon your feedback to test everything out as we go along. Don’t be shy in posting on the Elf Wall or sending me a message.

Thank you!

Stick to News and Reports

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Elves,

Please stick to using the site right now JUST for news and sending in reports. A LOT is going on and we need your cooperation.

Elf Max is working to restore a working Elf Wall and he’s attempting to do this while the site is “up”. If he closes it down, nobody gets the news. But, he’s working on live pages – things that some of you are accessing, such as the Elf Wall, which he’s working on.

It is creating issues.

Max says he can get things rolling if he just gets some time. But if we’re conflicting with his efforts by using the very features he’s working on. I do NOT want to shut the site down so Max can do this. This week is too important.

So please help and give Max room to do his job.

For now, please just check the news (you can comment on articles and ask questions there for now) and send in tracker reports. All the links you need are in the top menu.

Thanks,

Community Site Issues and What to Do About It

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Trackers, on Friday we experienced some technical issues with the website. A combination of events are responsible, namely:

  1.  The site has been under attack from hackers who are determined to interrupt Santa’s operations this year
  2.  Routine security updates, designed to thwart hackers, have interfered with certain site features.

Elf Max has been working with developers and programmers to address the issues and thanks to their good efforts the site has remained “up”.

However, there are still many problems to work through, especially with certain community functions such as loading posts on the Elf Wall. It’s a terrible time to have these kinds of issues, with Santa’s launch just a week away.

In order to keep our focus on the job at hand of tracking Santa for Santa, I have asked Elf Max to disable the community functions of the site. For now, access to the Elf Wall, Elf Groups, Elf profiles and Elf messaging has been suspended. 

This week is too important to implement changes that may take several days to work through and could interrupt with the business of tracking Santa for Santa. After all, this is by far our most critical week of the year.

We can still, without issue, do the following:

  1. The chat with Santa today is still scheduled and can be held in Elf Chat.
  2. Each Elf Supervisor, myself and Elf Max can still post news and updates.
  3. We can track Santa for Santa despite not having all community features on the site working.

Elf Max, Elf Moe, and all of the Elf Supervisors remain at their stations to answer your questions and deliver critical news.

PLEASE USE THE COMMENT BOXES BELOW THE POSTED NEWS TO COMMUNICATE FOR NOW. 

If you cannot read the news, send in reports, or otherwise follow along with what needs to be done, please use the site support page to communicate your needs to Elf Max and team.

Thanks!

Getting Your Elf Profile Right

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Fellow Elves in the Service of Santa,

We’re getting busier. With new elves comes a bit of chaos. There are questions and concerns. I appreciate the help of elves who have been here in years past to help bring the new elves up to speed.

As we work with new elves I’m asking ALL elves to please do the following:

1. Update your profile. To do that, go to “Elf Profile” under the login button at the top.

2. On the submenu bar click on the down arrow on the right and select “Profile Settings”:

Profile Settings

3. On that page select the green icon for “Profile Avatar”. This is the little picture that represents YOU. Every elf needs an avatar. If you can’t find one or don’t have one, please let me or Max or really anyone know, we’ll help you get one.

4. Once that is set up go to the pink icon on the Profile Settings page. This is the “cover” for your profile – the long horizontal picture that serves as the background on your profile header. That image needs to be larger than 1350 px wide and at least 350 px tall. Again, if you don’t have one, let me know and we’ll help you get one.

5. Then go into the Elf Info area and add the word “Elf” in front of your name. For example, my name is Moe so my elf info says “Elf Moe” in the name field. Every elf MUST have the word “Elf” in front of their name.

If your profile is not updated to these specs before Sunday October 22nd your account will default to “retired”, which limits your site access. You don’t want that if you want to be active tracking Santa for Santa in the months ahead.

Retired accounts CAN be restored within 90 days. But to restore it you need to be prepared to get your elf profile in line with the above.

Retired accounts are deleted after 90 days.

This is just elf business. It’s nothing personal. Santa likes a tidy house and this just helps keep things in order.

If you have any questions, please ask. We’re here to help.

Elf PIN Can Now Be Set

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An Elf Personal Identification Number can now be set for every account at SantaTrackers.net.

The Elf PIN is designed as a safety and security feature. Using an Elf PIN will be an added means of us knowing a submission actually comes from you. It will be added to job applications, tracker reports and other submission forms soon.

Fraud in the elf world is rare. But this added feature will ensure the North Pole gets the information that you intend. Going forward, new accounts, both for Freelance Elves and for North Pole Elves, will register with an Elf PIN.

Please set your Elf PIN. You can change your Elf Pin at any time.

For existing accounts, please see this page or fill out the form below.

Thank you and have a nice day.

[caldera_form id=”CF6235b64ce1d47″]

Solving Login Issues

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We have been receiving word that some elves are having issues logging in to SantaTrackers.net.

We are investigating why this might be the case. We suspect it may have something to do with some temporary changes we have recently made to registration settings. Early this week, the site fell under attack from hackers in Russia, which caused us to lock down registrations. This may have changed “cookie” settings for site users.

“Cookies” are small files placed on your computer that help SantaTrackers.net remember you. If those files become corrupt, logging in could suddenly become a problem. The way around it is to clear your cookies. If you do not know how to do this, we have set up this page that explains what is happening and how to resolve it. It includes a link to resources that will help you with any particular kind of browser or device.

If this continues to be an issue, please contact me via the site support link in the footer of every page.

 

Changes to Elf Groups

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Changes to Elf Groups have been happening since the first of the New Year.

It is likely you have seen some groups disappear while others have been consolidated or changed.

The decision to do this by Santa’s Council is based on the mandate given by Santa to focus the features of the elf community to be more mission centric.

Eliminated groups were those that lacked activity or support of their managers.

Modified groups are groups that were active but fell under various management entities or were designated as “private” or “hidden”. All groups, except for Santa’s Council, will be public going forward.

All groups now have centralized administrative control. Elf Max, under the direction of Santa’s Council, will administer the groups for uniformity and compliance.

Much discussion has been had over what constitutes “mission centric” topics of each group.

It was decided that elf discussion on things such as Christmas Baking is healthy for the community and should continue, even though not specifically relatable to Santa tracking.

Thus, if new groups are wanted for other Christmas topics – decorating, Christmas movies, Christmas music, etc – it will be possible to form them. Interested parties in forming new groups should contact Elf Max.

Going forward all groups will be monitored by Santa’s Council who will occasionally review group activity, relevancy and contribution to the Elf Community.

We expect the elf community to continue to grow. This change to elf groups is just one of many adjustments being made this year. Further detail of the formation, administration and future of Elf Groups will be included in a new feature called Elf University, to be released soon.

Feel free to add questions, comments or suggestions below.