Seriously, is it on the cards that RRTY will become a mechanical "only what's in the results" type affair? I'll have to get my backlog of claims in before then, because I've got a few trans-month helpers' rides and a LEL to let you know about.
Yes it is on the cards (I have had that request), but it would be a fairly elaborate bit of engineering so I don't think it's coming any time soon.
A correctly redesigned results system (not sure how deep the proposed website redesign goes) would be able to take it into account (whilst also taking into account ECEs, etc) with separate "ride date" and "award claim ride date" fields, that would help automate much of the grunt work that needs to be done, but they'd still need someone to administer it (in terms of RRTY/AAARTY) and be the person who tweaks the date upon request (i.e. LEL should be claimed on this date, this rider on the calendar event actually did the ride 3 days before as a route check, etc).
The existing results system does already have two dates embedded in it, the 'event date' and a 'date ridden' with the latter (if it exists) trumping the former. So the capability is there and it is sometimes used, but often not because of the need for manual admin and no clear path for getting it done.
It means that in an event results list, the helper rider will be listed as though they took part in the event - and
this is a requirement of helper rides, laid down by ACP - but in the rider's personal rides list (which could be used when assembling a RRTY claim) the actual date ridden (not the event date) is shown.
Obviously, if you want the flexibility to claim either way, the 'date ridden' field can be massaged.