[kylegalbraith]

Excited to see AOC back and I think it was a solid idea to get rid of the global leaderboard.

We (Depot) are sponsoring this year and have a private leaderboard [0]. We’re donating $1k/each for the top five finishers to a charity of their choice.

[0] https://depot.dev/events/advent-of-code-2025

[Arainach]

Isn't a publicly advertised private leaderboard - especially with cash prizes - against the new guidance? Certainly the spirit of the guidance.

>What happened to the global leaderboard? The global leaderboard was one of the largest sources of stress for me, for the infrastructure, and for many users. People took things too seriously, going way outside the spirit of the contest; some people even resorted to things like DDoS attacks. Many people incorrectly concluded that they were somehow worse programmers because their own times didn't compare. What started as a fun feature in 2015 became an ever-growing problem, and so, after ten years of Advent of Code, I removed the global leaderboard. (However, I've made it so you can share a read-only view of your private leaderboard. *Please don't use this feature or data to create a "new" global leaderboard.*)

[stOneskull]

i don't think it should be a charity of their choice. i think it should have to be one of the top 5 most reputable charities in the world, like doctors without borders or salvation army.

[ahoka]

This kind of crap is the reason we can’t just enjoy an AoC anymore.

[codr7]

Agreed, reward participation, not results.