HERE YOU GO!!! NvHunter is an "enterprising soul" according to the commission (see #3)!! LOL
This cover eMail will describe the nature of the problem and the solution.
1) We ran the draw on Monty’s machine yesterday. The draw concluded sometime around noon and then we started the first of many processes that we have to do post draw and pre-display of the HTML results that are searchable by the general public (and will be displayed late Friday afternoon). Namely, Monty restored the backup with the actual application records updated to our server sometime in the late afternoon yesterday. This server is the one that is accessed by the On line application process and by the Harvest Return Card process, etc.
2) We had long ago modified the Harvest Return Card web site (where you see your tags and the status of your harvest reports, whether filed or not, etc.) so that it WOULD NOT prematurely display your tags until the release date had passed. This was to prevent inadvertent discovery of draw results prior to the release date.
3) Apparently, while we DID NOT display actual tag/hunts successful for the new draw, a label at the bottom of the Return Cards tab on this site did count the number of tags you had on file and displayed this count (though we didn’t display the unripe tags from the latest draw). As such, if you had fourteen tags in your total experience with NDOW heretofore and you drew one this time, it would say “15 records found, Page 1 of 3”. Some enterprising soul (we can’t get these guys to apply on time or correctly apply, to heed the admonitions; but, they can comb through the web site ENDLESSLY afterword and dig this stuff up, AMAZING) discovered that if you counted the records and it MIGHT not match the count in “xx records found,” portion of the message. He then speculated (correctly) that this indicated the number of tags you drew in the latest draw.
4) Monty and Wayne met early at the office and applied a fix. We no longer paginate the Return Cards as we did previously. Instead, it is one continuous list (like we do with the Applications Tab). We also no longer tell you how many results were found. Effectively, this blocks anyone from seeing what they drew UNTIL the release date has passed. They can go tomorrow afternoon and see the draw results on the HTML site.
5) This will be something we report this year during our “State of the Draw” in the “mea culpa” section. While I don’t think the consequences were grave, and we fixed it quickly, it still is a reportable event in my estimation.