Foretoken when replacement finish tokens fail

In my last post I wrote about how less code is better. That still holds. I also still find software valuable, and enjoy creating it, when I cannot find an existing solution that meets my needs. It is especially rewarding when I see others find it useful too.

This week two parkrun Run Directors told me they have found Foretoken useful when replacement finish tokens do not scan.

When a finish token goes missing (usually because somebody has inadvertently taken it home), event teams print the finish token PDF, cut out the relevant barcode, and stick it onto a disused token. Those makeshift replacements usually work. Sometimes a wrinkle, moisture, or plain wear and tear means the barcode will not scan on the day. In that situation, a phone running Foretoken means the Virtual Volunteer app can still get a clean barcode.

I built Foretoken during my career break because I wanted a better answer than writing numbers on hands when an event runs out of tokens. Hearing that it also helps with this more ordinary problem makes me happy. That little side project was worthwhile.

I do not have analytics on this site, but I occasionally look at the various search consoles and webmaster tools. Foretoken is second only to the Countdown Numbers Game Solver I wrote last year.

I built that one for Summle: a friend and I play a home-brewed “hard mode” where each step’s result has to feed the next, and I wanted a way to know whether a neat solution existed without the solver spoiling it. The visitors who find it, though, mostly arrive looking for Countle solutions. Countle is another Countdown numbers-game daily, and not one I play. A useful nudge that one tool can have many uses, which sits comfortably alongside preferring less code: build something small that solves a real problem, and it may turn out to solve others you never had in mind.