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Thanks a million for the clarification and also for not making me feel stupid.

So glad I didn't make you feel stupid! I often suck at that which makes me feel stupid. Human communication is hard, yo.

Your vote counts right as you cast it. There's a 30 minute window on a brand new post which will give some of the curation rewards to the author if voted on within 30 minutes. The 12 hr. lockout period just has to do with the end of the 7 day reward period (meaning, if you vote within 7 days, you should be fine). It's all quite confusing and changes often, so it takes a lot of digging and research to keep up with.