I feel the need to point out that participation in the Vacation/CTO blog is voluntary, not mandatory. Officially, the unit manager is responsible for tracking staff vacations. Like other units on campus, we (HCMC, collectively) decided that individuals would track their own, then submit them upon request. I have to submit them once yearly. Furthermore, your vacation and CTO files were never intended to be shared with other members of your unit, and the university certainly does not require it of you. If you choose to use the blog as your official file, fine. However, it is not required.

Also, I feel the need to point out that posting preferred vacation times first on the blog does not constitute dibs on times. Our unit is small so staffing can become an issue (mainly in August) but vacation requests are not determined on a first-come, first-served basis. Supervisors have some discretion about vacation requests (see Collective Agreement). I mention this because staff members have brought up the topic on more than one occasion in the past. There has been concern about getting vacation slots during peak months such as July and August.