In this article we will present frequently asked questions about our Ducky Challenge.
Login
Q: What is my registration code?
Some Ducky Challenges requires a registration code. The registration code is a combination of numbers that should have been distributed to you by your team leader. The code is unique to your team. Please contact your team leader if you have not received it.
If you have joined the wrong team you have to delete your existing user, register a new account and join the right team.Q: I've joined the wrong team, what do I do now?
Please be aware that your user in the first team you joined will be shown as deleted (only in the left side bar dropdown). If the challenge has not started, the scores will not be affected.
Please find more information here.
Q: I get the following error message when I try to enter my email address: "Invalid email address". How can I solve this?
Please make sure that there are no space before or after the email address and try again.
If it still doesn't work then please fill out this form.
This might happen when clicking on the Ducky icon after registering an account. To solve this, reuse the login link that has been provided to you. This should redirect you to the right page where you can select your section and team.Q: Why am I asked to enter a code to join a challenge even though it is not required in the challenge I participate in. How can I solve this?
Registering Activities
Q: I have been without internet over the weekend and have not registered my activities or I forgot to register one day. Can I still register them?
It's best if you go in every day, to raise awareness of your own behavior during the challenge, but you can log in activities a few days back in time. The amount of days you can log back in time has been decided together with your organization. This is to encourage you to remember to enter the web app every day, but also to avoid someone registering everything on the final day and suddenly changing the leaderboards completely.
The challenge is to raise awareness of everyone on their own behavior. If you already do many of the activities, register them daily and save a lot for your team! Use the “ADD AS HABIT” feature to log your habits all in one click.Q: I already do many of the activities. Can't I contribute to my team?
Q: Why are the activities so restricted?
A key part of behavioral (or nudge) psychology is triggering habit change (https://www.toolshero.com/psychology/nudge-theory/). The most effective way to do this is by keeping the 'universe' of actions restricted and limited. It is difficult to engrain new habits if there are too many options to choose from. That is why the use of repetition each day is also useful as a learning tool. If your team complains about repetition, encourage them to engage in an external event or activity, such as a 'repair something' day or similar.
Q: Why are the challenges so short?
One of the principles of gamification is to create scarcity or a time limitation to increase engagement. Countdowns and other limitations motivates people. This is also the reason why Ducky Challenges are usually conducted between peer groups. Research shows that people compete more effectively when doing so against people they know or have a relationship with.
Please check your internet connection, refresh the page and try again. If it still doesn't work, then please fill out our support form.Q: The check icon is just loading when I try to log an activity. What can I do to solve this?
This is because the challenge you are participating in has been set up in a different time zone to you. It is the time each logging day starts for you, should you wish to keep aligned with everyone else.Q: Why do you show me the time next to each date?
Q: It's unclear to me when I can register an activity, how can I get this clarified?
In general, this is described under Read more on the activity itself. We recommend to focus on the main point with the activity rather than going into too much detail, since the activities are general. The saving shown, is for the average person that changes a habit and can be somewhat different than what you actually save. We suggest that you think through whether you have done the activity with reasonable efforts based on the activity description. That being said, our goal is that the descriptions are as clear as possible, and we have gathered some frequently asked questions around when to register certain activities below.
Q: Several of us are jogging/running as a leisure activity. If the leisure activity is jogging or running, can we register it as “I walked or biked to work today”?
Technically no, unless you are actually running instead of e.g. driving somewhere (like running errands or to the store).
Q: The climate activity “I ate vegetarian today” - Can we use this one if all meals are based on vegetables but includes dairy products? How about eggs?
Yes, vegetarian is not vegan, so we only assume that you didn’t eat fish or meat.
Q: The climate activity “I have not used any electronics tonight” - How about the use of cell phones? Does it have to be switched off, or is it enough that you haven’t used it (messages, phone calls)?
If you are watching TV shows on your phone instead of the TV, you are probably saving some electricity but you will still have to charge your phone. The main point is to reduce your use of large electric gadgets like the TV.
Q: The climate activity “I reused my clothes today” - It says “Registered every day you haven't washed clothes, or filled up the washing machine” and I find this a bit unclear. Is the criteria that you both reuse your clothes and that you either haven’t used the washing machine or have only used it once it is full?
In this activity we assume that your washing machine use is halved relative to the average person. So any action that reduces your need to wash clothes would contribute.
Q: I recycled all possible waste today. Does that mean that you haven’t thrown anything in residual waste? Or does it mean that you have recycled all waste that the municipality gives you the opportunity to?
This activity means that you recycle everything that can be recycled.
Q: If you both bike to an activity and then drive an electric car to another activity on the same day, should you log the least or the most eco friendly activity?
In our calculation we would assume that all of your recreational transport for the day would be with the selected mode (cycling or e-car) as opposed to a conventional car. The one alternative doesn't become more correct than the other. We therefore suggest that you think through what you have done the most during the day and register based on that.
Q: Why aren’t there activities about not doing a certain activity? For example, I didn’t buy anything today.
In principle we don’t create activities that is about not doing something. If you don’t buy clothes one day, you would still have the opportunity to spend more money on clothes the next day. Activities such as donating money or buy services instead of products is a smart way to use your money in a green way.
Calculations
Q: Why do the activities’ CO2 numbers change overtime and how accurate are they?
A climate footprint cannot be measured directly; it is calculated based on available information and a number of assumptions. For this reason climate footprinting is not an exact science and different methods will give different results. Therefore, some of our activities’ CO2 numbers may change overtime as we aim to adjust our calculations based on the most accurate and available data. But in practice, we also use the CO2 numbers as proxies for the real purpose of the challenge, which is to encourage increased awareness of the issues around consumption emissions.
Q: I live only 250m from my job, while my colleague has to commute 10km. Why do we get the same savings?
The activities have a fixed saving, calculated from an average citizen footprint. This means that the activities are independent of your starting point before the challenge. It provides equal competitive conditions for everyone who participates, and lower thresholds for more people to participate. The most important thing about the challenge is to create awareness of what you can do as an individual, what effect it has - and have fun with your team!
Q: My team has only 3 participants, while the others have over 15 participants. Do we have a chance to win then?
Departments and teams compete for accumulated average savings, so small and large groups have equal chances.
Q: What is accumulated average?
Normal averages are calculated by taking the total value and dividing it by the number of participants. If there are 4 people on your team and together you have saved 20kg Co2, the average saving per participant is 5kg Co2. Accumulated averages, as used in the platform, are a special case of averages.
They are designed in such a way that the score is always increasing. From the example above, if one more person were to join, the average would decrease to 4kg Co2. This means that more people joining has a negative impact on the teams score. To prevent this, rather than taking the total score and dividing it by the number of participants, for each new activity logged we take the individual saving and divide it by the current number of active participants in your team and add it to the previous accumulated average.
This way, any saving will make the accumulated average higher and people joining will not decrease the existing score. However, more active participants means that every individual saving counts less towards the total accumulated average score, which is fair as the team has more participants who can save.
Q: Why can I see two different scores for my organisation?
On the leaderboard you can see an accumulated average score. Elsewhere you can see a total score for your organisation.
Accumulated average savings are used in the leaderboards to give small and large groups equal chances in the competition. The total savings for your organisation help you and your organisation know how much Kg CO2e you have collectively saved in total so you can report this after the challenge.
Q: In the overview, my team has always a bit less/more points than what I have alone. Why are the points not summarized?
This is because the overview inside the challenge shows the total of points per user, and the accumulated average per team. This it to make sure that teams compete against each other on equal terms regardless of team size.
Cheating
The challenge is trust-based, but it is designed so everyone in a team can see what each one has done. This creates transparency, so participants have the opportunity to ask each other about the activities they have been completing. One measure could be to talk about cheating in general e.g. 'How do we experience cheating?' This way you can address the issue without accusing anyone.Q: I suspect that another team is cheating, what can I do about it?
Points
Q: How are points allocated to activities?
Points represent the impact of an activity. The more impact it has, the higher the points. So if you log something which just benefits yourself, the points will be lower than if you do something which benefits your social circle or the wider community.
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- 5 points - Individual Impact Generally given to activities that you can personally do yourself without any communication with or influencing of others.
- 10 points - Community Impact Generally given to handprint activities known to increase the likelihood that others (mostly in your social circle) will be more conscious of their own actions and their effect on the climate. For example complimenting, talking to, inspiring, encouraging friends, family, colleagues, local store etc.
- 15 points - Societal Impact Generally given to handprint activities known to increase the likelihood that others (higher bodies - outside your social circle) will be more conscious of their own actions and their effect on the climate. For example complimenting, talking to, inspiring, encouraging high level bodies such as organizations, politicians, municipalities etc.
Any questions?
- If you have any questions, please send us an email at support@ducky.eco.
- If you're facing a technical issue please fill out this form.
We will get back to you as soon as possible. Our office hours are all working days from Monday-Friday between 08.00-16.00 Oslo time.