Hosting & planning
The countdown that got everyone there on time
By the Afters team · Updated · 3 min read
My friends are the kindest people I know and the least punctual. A party at eight means a party at ten, with apologies arriving at nine-thirty.
I didn’t want to nag. I wanted the party to nag on my behalf.
I scheduled the roll on Monday
On Monday I created the Friday party as a scheduled roll: a start time, a close time, and the next morning for the photos to develop. The roll page showed a countdown from the moment people joined, and it turned the party into an event rather than a vague intention.
People who had notifications on got a reminder shortly before it started. The roll opened exactly at eight; no “are we starting?” from me, no host announcement. The camera simply appeared for everyone.
Moving it was painless
On Wednesday we had to push it back an hour. I changed the time in Roll settings, and everyone who had joined was told the new start. The countdown corrected itself. Nobody turned up at the old time, which in my friend group is a miracle with paperwork.
And when the room was ready early
By half past eight the flat was full, which had never happened before. I suspect the countdown created a little friendly pressure; nobody wanted to arrive after “00:00”. The first photo on the roll is of six people holding drinks and looking smug about being on time.
There’s also a Start now button for nights when the party begins before the plan does. I didn’t need it. I may never need it again.
Questions people ask
What happens before a scheduled roll starts?
The roll page shows a countdown, pinned notes and the party chat. The camera opens automatically at the start time.
Can I change the start time after inviting people?
Yes. Change it in Roll settings; people in the crew are told the new time.
Can I start early?
Yes. Start now opens the roll immediately and pings everyone.
Keep reading
I stopped running my birthday from a 60-person group chat
The group chat had 412 unread messages and nobody knew the address. So I tried one page instead.
How a shared disposable camera works: from first shot to reveal
Take a few pictures, come back to the party, and open the memory together afterward.
The morning the photos developed, our group chat exploded
Nobody saw a photo all night. At nine the next morning, we saw all of them.