This is not how vacation mode should work.
Give me back my streak! 
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Were you studying whilst on vacation mode? I think it’s working as it should be.
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Developers have already acknowledged that this is not the intended behavior when someone else brought it up.
The only reason why I created this topic is to get my streak back. There isn’t much to discuss
So, I’m waiting for the reply from developers.
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Really? Because I think I’d have to agree with @rx7 here; the purpose of vacation mode is to prevent an avalanche of reviews when you return, by preserving the timing/interval spacing of all your reviews while you’re unable to do them.
Maybe there could at least be a note or something added near the “Vacation” button, or a confirmation window informing the user that their streak will break, though 
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Let’s just think logically - why there is a streak counter? Reason is - it is a good motivation factor to do your reviews every single day without skipping any. All good here.
Then there is a vacation mode. Why is it there? To take a break from the app when you have real life. For example, in my case I was away for a business trip for 3 days or so. Away from home, from computer and no spare time, etc. Pretty reasonable, right?
Now I’m I’m back and I have disabled the vacation mode to continue studying only to realize that my streak is broken. Despite me taking the necessary action to “pause” the application.
Conclusion? It goes against the idea of efficiency. It’s not a game, so there shouldn’t be some “fair rules” or something like that There is only one goal - to improve efficiency of your studies. And if you can’t study for a few days and enable a vacation mode it should not punish you for having real life
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I have to agree that losing a streak isn’t at all what I expect if I turn on vacation mode; when I think of it, I’m thinking along the same lines as Kuromaku, where no studying at all is expected of you. Who’s first thought when getting to the beach is, “better work on my grammar”?
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I think using vacation mode to also keep streak could be abused though. I could see someone using vacation mode every day or for months at a time and come back and still have a “streak” that’s not real. I think the threat of losing the streak is very motivating and if some people knew they could cheat and use vacation mode to hold onto it they would not get the benefit created by having a streak and actually learning every day.
I type this from my vacation cruise I’m on with the Wi-Fi I had to pay for so I didn’t lose my streak. 
The “streak” did its job and kept me motivated to keep studying everyday. Just like WaniKani says:
You just have to sit down and:
- Do your available Lessons.
- Do your Reviews.
- Do them every day, without fail, even on your birthday.
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You are missing the point here… This is not an MMORPG or any other game for that matter
It is a study application. If someone wants to do it - let them. No one else is affected.
It’s like cheating in Anki and pressing “know” on item you don’t actually know. It’s to your own detriment. But if you want to do it - no one else is affected, so it’s perfectly fine.
But people who use the application properly should not be punished for having real life. If I pause the application I expect it to be PAUSED in its entirety. I think it’s pretty logical. This is not about some kind of abstract “fairness” or something It’s about making the study application behave how you would expect and maximize the efficiency of studying.
So, @mrnoone, @Pushindawood give me back my streak! And make it so vacation mode doesn’t reset the streak
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They could always implement a limit on vacation mode - make it so you can’t maintain a streak for months, or you can’t just switch it on and off constantly. Think that might require more coding than it’s worth considering I can’t see many people wanting to cheat themselves like that.
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And yet they have experience points, levels, etc. They even have achievements for long streaks.
How would keeping a streak after a vacation maximize your efficiency? Also, I’d expect a streak to be broken when I’ve…broken my streak.
This like saying :
“Yeah I’ve run everyday for a year straight!”
“Wow really? Even during your honeymoon?”
“Well no, I was on vacation…”
I get having a kind of Streak Restoration button for the once-in-a-blue-moon broken streaks but this request seems pretty silly.
Also if you didn’t want anyone to comment on your request you should have sent them an email. Not post on the community forums.
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But then it’s that person’s loss. No one can see their streak but them, so it’s not like there’s major bragging rights. If that person feels fulfilled with nothing but a big number and no grammar, good for them; it doesn’t affect the rest of us.
I know I’m personally a person who’s also motivated by the thought that there will be times I can shut my brain off and not have to worry. If I’m constantly under the threat of losing my streak, especially the higher you go, it just adds more stress, however slight it may be, about keeping it. I’ve lost my streak a few times accidentally, usually due to being busy, and while the vacation mode I’m envisioning wouldn’t have saved it, the result is about the same: loss of motivation to start up my reviews/lessons. The streak represents my work, and if it’s all gone, then why bother jumping back in immediately? Might as well take a break for a while since I’ve already been “punished”, even if that punishment is only in my mind.
Again, I’m not saying vacation mode would have saved those streaks, but it’s a handy example if you were to substitute me actually being on vacation - a lost streak is very de-motivating in my case.
Isn’t there research showing that taking breaks increases recall and the info “settling” into your brain? Like the thought process behind SRS?
If someone’s judging you for, for all intents and purposes, not working during your vacation, why do you care what they have to say? Unless you told them beforehand you were going to jog on your honeymoon, there’s no reason to expect someone to maintain their daily schedule on special days. Some will maintain it, some won’t.
Anyhow, these are just my thoughts. I can definitely see where tedledbetter and lopicake are coming from, and I understand if that’s the rationale behind the Bunpro team’s implementation of vacation mode. I just happen to agree with Kuromaku about what I would think vacation mode would do; if nothing else the name should be changed, as it’s not fully representative of what clicking the button will do, otherwise this discussion wouldn’t be taking place.
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Yes and no. They do give badges which are displayed for everyone to see. If you can keep a streak without actually earning it then it kind of diminishes the value of those who did legitimately have to log in every day to earn it.
It’s super frustrating to lose your streak, I empathize with that, but If it’s truly about the studying though (and not a MMORPG) then forget the streak and keep learning!
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This part I do agree with! An asterisk next to vacation mode button that warns people that they will lose their streak or a more detailed explanation of how it will function 
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Thanks everyone for the insightful arguments both for and against vacation mode wrecking your streak.
We spent some time discussing it on our end and we decided vacation mode should NOT end your streak.
Some valid points about potential abuse were made, but at the end of the day we tend to lean toward positive reinforcement rather than negative reinforcement.
In this case, we would rather someone use vacation mode should they need it and be excited to get back to study to increase their streak (positive) rather than force them to log in and do the minimum to preserve their streak out of fear of losing it (negative), when they maybe have more important things to tend to in life.
@Kuromaku You should be good to go. Thanks for being somewhat of a guinea pig and sparking the great discussion.
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Awesome, can you also add some sort of “days visited” statistic or the like, just like this forum’s profiles?
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Why was my 3 day streak broken when I didn’t use the site for a week?? Give me back my streak! >>:OOO
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Personally, I think it would be better to just remove streaks entirely. They just serve to make things more unpleasant and frustrating by pressuring the users. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had a streak broken on one service or another and then quit completely because I felt like I was finally free.
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I see your point, but I think the incentive to build a habit is still worth having. At the same time though, what you’re saying is exactly why I think it’s a good thing that the streak badges stop at 100 200 days.
Edit: They go up to 200 days, which is maybe more than I’d like but I’m glad that they don’t go up to a year or more.
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