Understand Planned End, Grace Period, and Effective End

QCLF does not treat the scheduled end second as an unconditional hard stop. Each live session carries a planned scheduled_end and a working effective_end; when the effective end arrives, QCLF opens a bounded grace decision window before ending automatically.

The persisted server timestamps—not a browser countdown—are authoritative.

Scheduled End vs Effective End

At creation, effective_end starts equal to scheduled_end. The original scheduled end remains the planned time, while an authorized extension moves the effective end forward.

What Happens at Effective End

Lifecycle reconciliation checks active Live Chat, Watch Party, and Broadcast sessions. When server time reaches effective_end, QCLF creates grace_deadline and records an end_prompt_started event. The session remains live during this decision window.

Grace Window

The current grace setting defaults to 300 seconds (5 minutes) and is server-clamped to 30–3,600 seconds. Browser polling may nudge reconciliation, but Joomla Scheduled Tasks enforce the same persisted rule without requiring a page to stay open.

If Nobody Extends

When server time reaches the grace deadline, QCLF changes the session to ending, stamps actual_end, records the reason grace_expired, marks archive status pending, and moves the durable Topic to archiving.

Why the Three Times Matter

• scheduled_end: the originally planned end.
• effective_end: the current end target after any extensions.
• grace_deadline: the short decision deadline that exists only after effective end is reached.

Community Discussion

Want to compare forum workflows, share practical QCLF tips, or discuss how other Joomla site owners use this feature? Visit the QC Live Forum Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific entitlement problems, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.