right, something goes not as smooth as intendet as every year, BUT, a slight change is this year, halve a day into 1st of june was accepted, this is because the last time zone that enters 1st of june was relevant (and will be in the future ) but full days are too late, sry
On a related note, part of the problem is that the forum is running on an old version and upgrades would break a lot of plug-ins we use. Notably, the gallery.
We could end up archiving the existing site and starting a brand new forum with newer plug-ins and better functionality, but given that this site is based on "fractalforums.com/index.php" and not "fractalforums.com/forum" or some other directory, it makes redirecting complicated and there has been little motivation to work in that direction.
I hope you find a consistent line some day. All the years back, the end of submission period was announced to 1st of june and then the doors closed at the end of 31st of may. This year the end was announced 31st of may 11:59:59 pm CEST, but entries were accepted far into 1st of june. I would wish a clear deadline for everyone, 'cause I don't want to conduct a debate, when a sumission posted 1st of june 12:04pm wins the contest...
In a forum with a math topic we can await, that competitors are able to translate CEST to their local time.
It was made clear that entries could be up June 1st in many time zones (a concept I also disagree with, despite being one who posted at about 8:00 PM on May 31st my time, but 2 to 3 AM (on June 1st!) forum time).
There were no loud objections when the idea was proposed, so we felt it was OK with the community.
If this bothers people, I'll gladly disqualify my entries to keep the peace (I mean, it's not like I have a chance anyhow!) (I was just doing my usual throwing in of something different than the usual fare).
Even if one of them miraculously does win, there really is no debate as these entries (mine and the other few in this time range) were all within the allowed time stated.
To paraphrase your point ; In a forum with a math topic we can assume that competitors are able to abide by whatever the stated rules are for that particular situation.
In fact, there are changes and unique situations every year! I doubt that will go away. However a single deadline for all entries, regardless of geographical location, is something I can easily agree with as being best for everybody involved!