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!

Bulgaria Wants to Interview Santa

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Bulgaria wants to interview Santa. On December 24th. On national television. At 7pm local time.

Can you see now why Santa needs elves all over the world?

No matter how much work the Public Relations Department at the North Pole puts into, well, publicizing, how Santa works they still don’t get it.

The media – and this is everywhere, not just Bulgaria – should know better than anyone that Santa is juuuuuuuuuuuuusssssst a little busy on Christmas Eve.

I am sure the News Department hates to turn down a media request in prime time.

But they didn’t even need to think about this one.

Bulgaria is in the center of the delivery schedule for Santa. That means he’s somewhere else just an hour – or 12 hours – before he gets to Bulgaria.

He’s up to his eyeballs in chimneys and reindeer then. There’s no WAY Santa has time to talk to anyone on Christmas Eve.

Elves, we need your help.

Wherever you are, whatever you do, TALK to people over the next week or so. TEACH them about how all this works.

Get them to understand that Santa is delivering to the WHOLE world between the hours of 10pm and 4am local time.

It takes him more of less 30 straight hours to do this – which is a miracle, if you think about it.

30 hours in and out of a sleigh starting in Sector 1 and going until the last porch light goes out in Sector 5.

That means Santa doesn’t have time for phone calls, visits or nationally televised interviews.

Look, you guys – tracker elves, pretty important people in the world of Santa Claus – have to meet with Santa this Saturday (the 16th) because Santa doesn’t have a hole in his schedule closer to Christmas.

If that’s true, and it is because I keep Santa’s calendar, what chance does Channel 4 in Bulgaria have?

Good grief.

Local Christmas Report Needed

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North Pole Flight Command has just informed me of some concerns in our sector that they are detecting. We need a Local Christmas Report.

While this is a general concern and we will accept reports from any area we are seeking reports specifically from the following localities:

New York City, NY USA
San Francisco, CA USA
Layton, UT USA
Preston, ID USA
Colorado Springs, CO USA
Snowflake, AZ USA
Moses Lake, WA USA
Battle Mountain, NV USA
Redding, CA USA
Everett, WA USA
Moore, OK USA
El Campo, TX USA
College Station TX USA
Monroe, LA USA
Midvale, UT USA
Eastman, GA USA
McMinnville, TN USA
Shippensburg, PA USA
Garden City, NY USA
Concord, NH USA
Glens Falls, NY USA

Blainville, Quebec CAN
Pembroke, Ontario CAN
Elliot Lake, Ontario CAN
Moak Lake, Manitoba CAN
Sandy Bay, Saskatchewan CAN
Manning, Alberta CAN
Campbell River, British Columbia CAN
Roy, British Columbia CAN

The Local Christmas Report can be found here

If you are out and about, please remember this report. Upload pictures of Christmas where you are if you can.

Thanks!

Secrets of Santa

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The real magic of Christmas is happening right now.

Everywhere people have decorated, they are singing songs and anticipation is building for the biggest day of the year – Christmas!

Santa is a very big part of it all.

He is a bringer of gifts, yes. But more importantly, he is a bringer of joy. People just feel good when they think about Santa.

How does that happen?

Lots of people think they know.

They think, “he sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake”.

If that’s true (surprise! It’s not), then Santa must know a lot about you, right?

The magic of Santa is not because he sees you, knows all your dark secrets such as being good or bad, or because for whatever reason there are people who think he can see you when you’re sleeping

(What a dumb idea that is! Who would ever want to watch anyone sleeping?).

If Santa knows you it is because you write him letters. If he knows you it is because when you see him, sit on his lap and talk to him you tell him things.

If Santa knows you it is because he asks about you from people you know – your parents, your family, your teachers and others you interact with.

Does Santa actually do that? Maybe, I don’t know, it could happen. Who cares? Is that really the point?

What is the point? Why is Santa so nice TO ME? Who am I to Santa?

These deep probing questions are at the heart of the real secrets of Santa.

There are secrets, you know.

How does Santa make reindeer fly? How is it possible for his sleigh to go so fast?

How can Santa get down a chimney – billions of times – and deliver Christmas to everyone before Christmas morning?

How is it possible to learn and know and speak so many languages?

Does he really make a list and check it twice? Can a reindeer really have a light at the end of his nose?

Santa must have a lot of secrets to pull this stuff off, right?

You’re a tracker. You already believe in Santa. That’s likely because you’ve seen the magic of Santa before.

And good for you. You’re a smart one to be where you are with all this Santa stuff.

Even still, wouldn’t it be nice to know…Santa’s secrets?

Being an elf means you’re on the path to getting those answers. In time, more and more will be revealed to you.

This is why as Elves we take oaths and have codes.

We have to prepare to be guardians of Santa’s secrets.

Why do we have to do this?

Well, it’s simple. It’s because we want Santa to forever continue being Santa.

So, here’s the poop: Santa’s secrets make it possible for him to be Santa.

The question now is, can you handle knowing the secrets of Santa?

Can you, just as a regular person, keep confidential the secrets Santa has?

This will be your big test as an elf. Knowledge is power and power needs to be used responsibly.

I’ve been an elf for nearly 90 years – yeah, I’m an old dude – and I believe after all this time I know maybe only 1% of the secrets of Santa.

If I told you that 1% it would really crack your candy cane. The stuff I know would blow you away.

So I’m telling you, right here, right now, one elf to another: brace yourself.

Knowing the secrets of Santa means having GREAT power. You have to be ready for that.

Why?

Because if you run around blabbing the secrets of Santa to everyone you’re going to ruin Christmas for people all over the place.

You don’t want to be a destroyer of Christmas, right? That would be very un-Santa like, right?

Now, I know when you saw the headline to this article about the Secrets of Santa you thought I was going to tell you something you didn’t already know about Santa.

You thought I’d tell you the power by which he makes a sleigh fly, or how he fills stockings, or what makes him get around the world so fast.

Well now…if you’re an elf and you’ve been here long you should already know the secrets to all that stuff.

But that’s not really the secret you’re looking for, is it?

No, you saw that headline about the Secrets of Santa and your heart skipped a beat because you thought I’d tell you the big one.

What is the big one? The big one is this: Is Santa real?

You know this question. It nags you. It came from countless kids at school who scoffed at you for believing in Santa. It came, maybe, from an older sibling who would say all that Santa talk was just silly stuff.

It came because of the Internet, which seems to be a fountain of continues lies, rumors and mean stuff.

The thing is, as we said at the top of this article, you cannot deny the magic. You’ve see it. You’ve felt it.

You know Santa is real.

And that’s the big one. That’s the secret of all secrets of Santa.

Enjoy the magic of these coming days, Elves.

Santa is going to do it again.

Iceland Back to Track Soon

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Just a heads up today, Sector 3.

The big cheeses at North Pole Flight Command today informed me that our temporary home here in Norway may soon close so we can move back to our original tracking location in Iceland.

Santa has authorized a team of engineers to confer again with Icelandic officials in making the move back. He wants to ensure it is safe.

Why do it?

There are contracts, plans and operational advantages to using Iceland as our Regional HQ in Sector 3. All of our plans all year long have centered on tracking Santa from Iceland. The conversion to another location, even one as close here in Norway, is complicated and problematic, especially with Santa’s flight now just a few weeks away.

While nothing definitive has been determined yet we wanted to let you know this could be happening and it could be soon.

I will try to keep you updated as I can.

Otherwise, there is not a lot of other news to report in Europe and Africa other than this: we are on track and reporting for Santa’s flight is going very well.

Home and Family Report

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It’s time. Let’s see a Home and Family Report from each of you.

This is a special report. It’s about you, and your family.

Santa like to take care of his elves. I can recall the debate several years ago when this report was set up. The argument was that it was TOO personal and that we needed to keep our reporting efforts here focused squarely on things like weather and neighborhood maps and such stuff.

They argued that if someone wanted or needed something special or personal from Santa that the messaging options via the North Pole Post Office at SantaUpdate.com would do the job. They didn’t want to see a special report for tracker elves.

But we fought for this.

You all track Santa for Santa year round. You help with the mission of Operation Merry Christmas. Things have only gotten better for Santa since the help of millions of elves around the world began. He’s been able to be more timely, more accurate and safer in his journey. That’s all thanks to you.

Don’t you think it’s appropriate that you’ve got a way to bypass all the usual process so that Santa can hear your personal concerns?

There are rules we need to follow as Elf Supervisors. One of those rules is to not allow abuse of this report. And we only ask for it when it is appropriate to do so.

It’s appropriate now. We’ve got a couple of weeks to go until Santa flies. Now is the time to let him know what’s on your mind.

Regardless of how you stand, please send in a Home and Family Report as soon as you can. These get handled carefully. Santa will have these reports in front of him as he delivers to where you are. So give it some thought and share with Santa how you feel.

Thank you.

Test Flights Cancelled in Sector 2

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Trackers of Sector 2, I was just notified by North Pole Flight Command that test flights will not be heading west from their present location in Sector 2. They will instead be headed in the opposite direction – EAST.

This is due in part to the lack of adverse weather conditions in our sector. That, as well as issues involving civil unrest and military priorities in some areas of our sector, Flight Command has determined a better and safer course of action will be to go in another direction.

I’ve also been told that the scope of the test flight plan has changed and this was also a factor in this decision. Please keep an eye on the North Pole Flight Command website for further information and announcements.

While we will not now have test flights over our sector any time soon we remain focused on Santa’s mission and gathering information for that flight some 20 days from now. Keep the reports coming, gang!

Public Observance Report Needed

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Hello Sector 3! We have a new request from North Pole Flight Command today for a Public Observance Report from all areas of our Sector.

Not stated reason has been provided for this request. They are asking that we get it in to them within the next week if that’s possible.

I did check with Elf Agent X in North Pole Security and he did confirm that his department is in part responsible for this request. They are mapping Santa’s flight and want to know “areas of concern” that might exist in certain major population centers.

As you know, tensions are running high, particular in Europe, so these reports are proving more necessary by the day.

By no means are you to put yourself in any danger or harm’s way to do this report. Just go about your regular business, observing what you can and reporting to the North Pole what you see and feel. The purpose of this report is safety and we cannot compromise your safety in the name of getting this report done! Be careful out there.

Thank you all for your efforts.

Weather Reports Needed

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Trackers of Sector 2, I send you greetings from Turkmenistan!

As noted by Elf Randi in Sector 1 earlier today North Pole Flight Command is asking for forecasts of bad weather. They have now extended that to our Sector.

If there is any adverse weather in your area of Sector 2 please send in a fresh forecast as soon as you can.

Also, if you have time and can give us a Local Christmas Report, that would be great too.

Thanks, elves!

Looking for Active Weather

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Greetings, Trackers!

The Sleigh Department at North Pole Flight Command has sent a request for active weather of any kind in our sector. They want storms, blizzards, tornados, volcanos, high winds – whatever we can throw at them.

Their purpose is to get the test flights of Santa’s sleigh – which is currently flying in our sector – a more thorough work-out.

With just a few weeks left until launch this is a critical need. Please check your local forecast and if we can direct them to any weather we will. Please send in a weather report for your area as soon as you can.

Thanks!

The Dumb of Fake Trackers

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A couple of weeks ago Elf Moe alerted me to the resignation of a new elf who had signed up just weeks before Halloween. This elf was leaving because “other Santa trackers are more fun”. She said she simply did not believe our merry little website and was leaving to a place where she could play games.

Honestly, I’m glad to be rid of her.

She dotted her i’s with little hearts, asked 9000 questions that have already been answered if she’d just go to Elf University, and she wanted special favors from Santa just because she was an elf who had not ever done anything.

We try real hard to find honest elves.

We teach them about the Elf Code and have them take the Elf Oath. We have elves who do chats and podcasts. And we supply news, direct from the North Pole, and get direction from Santa himself when it comes to our tracking duties.

But none of that was enough for this elf.

She left for the greener pastures of Norad or Google Santa Tracker.

Well, let me tell ya something: those green pastures are fake grass. Fake news. And at the end of it all our former elf friend will find a plastic taste in her mouth put there by people who don’t have a clue when it comes to tracking Santa.

I mean no disrespect to the good people at Norad or Google, or any other place that claims to track Santa.

But honestly, how dumb do you gotta be to go there?

Those guys follow Santa using the same technology that is used for the weather. You think tracking Santa is as simple as tracking a cloud? Have you ever seen how slowly a cloud moves?

But that’s all they have at Norad and Google.

Yeah, they try to make up for it by having fancy maps and flashy games and cartoonish graphics.

But at the end of it all, there’s a hollow empty feeling to everything with those guys.

It’s not really their fault.

Oh, they have money. Santa tracking with them is brought to you by big corporate sponsors who slap logos on everything. They call it all a “public service”.

But the heart and soul there is black, cold and, well, heartless and soulless.

What we do here is purpose-driven. We’re not just tracking Santa. We’re helping Santa to be Santa.

That means a lot more than just seeing all the whiz-bang by multi-national corporations or military units with nothing to do.

But to get to the heart of it all you gotta be an elf.

An elf!

Someone who works for Santa. Someone who knows what is going on at the North Pole. Someone educated in the art of Operation Merry Christmas. Someone who wants to help Santa help the world.

Why would you give that up to play games?

Not everyone is cut out to be an elf. And that’s okay. We don’t wish anything bad on old Elf Goofy Butt. May she get her jollies tracking Santa on fake trackers. At the end of the day, it changes nothing for us.

And it changes nothing for the world.

It does nothing to help Santa help others.

She’ll get her reward.

I personally hope she has a tiny stocking.

Let’s keep all expectations in line here.

Sector Update

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Hi Gang,

A little Sector Update for you, just in case you’re interested. As we head into December we have some things to both celebrate and to work on.

As of today, we’re sitting at about 36,719 North Pole Elves in the Sector versus 22,457,232 freelance elves.

That’s a huge different, probably the largest our history.

Do we want or need more North Pole elves? Hard for me to say right now. I’m just grateful for the ones we have, especially those who chose to be active in the Elf Community.

As of today, we have roughly 69 million reports submitted so far this year. That number will double in the next 3 weeks. And the reports we get in the next three weeks are the most important for the year.

North Pole Flight Command has developed a system that scores the information we send them. They are trying to give Santa one indicator about the quality of the reporting we have so far. We are rated at 91%, which doesn’t sound great but actually it’s the highest in the world.

To raise that score, and I think it will go up in the next few weeks as reporting increases, we need to be as detailed in our reports as possible.

The idea behind all of our efforts is to help Santa fly safely through each sector to help improve his accuracy in delivery and his efficiency in moving around.

With all the attention on the sleigh you know the expectation and biggest hope of tracking Santa this year will be the setting of an all time speed record. That record is for Santa to complete his mission in under 30 hours. That’s the goal. That’s the record.

The new sleigh is great and it will help Santa’s overall speed.

But honestly it is the information that will win this race. And it will be information that comes from us.

We need to be rock-solid in our reporting, as detailed as we can be. Santa needs to know about every obstacle, every cloud in the sky, every danger and every little thing that might possibly slow him down. He needs to know about people, traffic, weather, and buildings.

That’s all on us. Nobody is going to report that but us. Nobody is going to relay that information but us.

Many of you are wanting to know what to do right now to help. And that’s easy.

As of December first I want you to report when you see something. Use the right report – but persist in sending in reports without waiting for me to ask you.

By all means, if I get something from Flight Command that they want, I’ll relay that request to you. But right now we all need to be smart elves and just report something when we see it.

Is there a problem with a chimney? Report it.

Is the weather taking a bad turn? Report it.

Does a roof look damaged or changed in some way? Report it.

How’s the Christmas spirit where you are? Report it.

How’s the traffic? Report it.

Don’t wait for me to ask you for a report. When you see something, say something.