Notes & Hits FAQ

1. I added a few notes anonymously but now I'm a registered user. Can I get those notes attached to my account?
2. Can people see what notes I've entered?
3. How can I find out if any of my notes have had hits?
4. How can I increase my chances of getting hits?
5. Isn't it illegal to write on or otherwise deface currency?
6. What if I get a back a note that I've already entered?
7. I accidentally entered the same note twice. What do I do?
8. I got an old note but the series isn't listed on the add screen. What do I do?
9. I'm high up on the top users list because of all the notes I've entered, but I'm way down on the CMT Score. How come?
10. How is the CMT Score calculated?
11. I got a hit but it didn't seem to affect my CMT Score. How come?
12. What's an orphan?
13. What's a false hit?

1. I added a few notes anonymously but now I'm a registered user. Can I get those notes attached to my account?

   Yes, but there is no automatic way to do it at this point. Instead, it has to be done manually by the site administrator. In order to have those notes attached to your account, send an email to the site administrators along with the serial numbers of the notes you entered and we'll do our best to credit those notes to your account.

2. Can people see what notes I've entered?

   Yes and no. From the profile/preferences page you can set it so that only you can see the list of notes that you've entered. However, if you want, you can let others look at your notes.

3. How can I find out if any of my notes have had hits?

   You can go to the View Your Entries page to see a list of all the notes you entered and the number of hits each has. You can also update your login profile to allow us to notify you of any hits on your notes. If you do, each time there is a hit on a note that you've entered, you will receive an email notification.

4. How can I increase my chances of getting hits?

   You can neatly print the URL (www.cdn-money.ca) for this website on any notes that come into your possession.

5. Isn't it illegal to write on or otherwise deface currency?

   I had a lawyer check things out; keep in mind that this is in no way written in stone, and I am in no way telling you it's okay and that you should write on your notes. Like everything in life, you do so at your own risk... I write on my notes but that's me. Anyway... it seems in Canada that the law is a little outdated and deals more with coins. However, 'coin' can be applied to mean currency, as like most things with the law, there is some 'flex'. In a nutshell, the law states that scratching, marking or otherwise defacing coins such that it is unrecognizable, is illegal; so when you take a penny and put it in those tourist machines that squish the penny and mark it with a picture or something, that's breaking the law. As such, if you apply the law to notes, if you were to colour it completely black that would be breaking the law as well (of course, you'd also be a twit as you'd be out the face value of note).

   Now that you are completely scared of being arrested, I'll mention that there are no cases in Canada in recorded history of anyone being convicted or even being brought to trial for defacing money. But still, do so at your own risk; you can't live your life in a bubble, right? :)

   Finally, here is an official reply that Bishop got from The Bank of Canada on a question he asked them about the legality of stamping notes:
   
   

   Date: Tue October 29, 2002 11:04 AM To: Bishop From: Bank of Canada The Bank of Canada is aware that certain groups stamp Canadian bank notes in order to track their journey throughout Canada. While neither the Bank Act nor the Criminal Code deal with the mutilation or defacement of bank notes, the Bank of Canada strongly objects to any mutilation or defacement of bank notes including simple markings similar to your example. All writing on notes limits their life. Such instances of mutilation and defacement carry a cost associated with them due to accelerated requirements for note replacement. Further, the mutilation and defacement of notes is not condoned as Canadian currency is a symbol and source of national pride. Having said this, the bank note you possess remains legal tender and can be used in commercial transactions. I hope this information will be helpful and thank you for your interest in Canadian currency. Sylvie Dionne Bank Note Communication and Compliance Team Bank of Canada 1 888 513-8212

6. What if I get a back a note that I've already entered?

   With all the Canadian paper money in circulation, the chance of this happening seems rather unlikely. However, if you do get a same note back somehow, please e-mail the site administrators with the details. But don't pass the note back and forth between your friends and family to increase hits. Suspicious hits will be reviewed and removed from the database. Besides, that's just cheating and no fun at all.

7. I accidentally entered the same note twice. What do I do?

   If you hit reload (and selected Yes to the resubmit data question) then you may inadvertently enter the same note twice. This could also happen if you lost track of what you were doing and simply re-entered the note over again. If this happens, just send an e-mail to site administrators, explaining the problem and giving all the details (like serial number, and such).

8. I got an old note but the series isn't listed on the add screen. What do I do?

   It happens. The $20 note from 1979 has been out of circulation for over 10 years but they pop up occasionally, for example. No problem, though. If you get a note that isn't listed, simply e-mail the details to the site administrators and we'll add it manually.

9. I'm high up on the top users list because of all the notes I've entered, but I'm way down on the CMT Score. How come?

   The CMT Score is the most accurate way of measuring who the best users are. It's also the most fair as it rewards users who participate on all levels, that is, those users who enter notes on a regular basis and who help to generate hits, usually by writing (or stamping) the website URL on their notes.

10. How is the CMT Score calculated?

    The Canadian Money Tracker (CMT) Score is calculated based on the number of notes you've entered, the date of the last note entered and the number of hits you have.

11. I got a hit but it didn't seem to affect my CMT Score. How come?

    In the past, this was because the hit count for users was updated periodically. Then, in version 1.4.0, the CMT Score and hit lists were kept up to date at all times. However, as of version 2.0.0, the CMT Score list is only calculated twice per day; once just before noon and once just before midnight. The hit count is updated immediately. If, after an update, you feel that your score still hasn't been updated, and you're sure, please e-mail the site administrators and we'll check it as soon as possible.

12. What's an orphan?

    When you enter a note with the website stamped or written on it, and it's not in the database, this is an orphan. It may be that the original entry was keyed in wrong, or was not entered at all for some reason. This is sad, because the first leg of this notes journey is missing, and the original owner of the note has missed a hit.

13. What's a false hit?

    Any attempt to defeat the rules of the site will be declared a false hit. This may include entering a note twice, attempting to use different usernames to generate hits, etc. False hits are deleted from the database.