Too long inter-repetition intervals after using Mercy

Question

I used the function Mercy and, from that time on, I face a problem when memorizing new items. It was usual that the first repetition interval was set to 1 or 2 days, but now it is about 8 days. Thus when I memorize a new item, it takes about 8 days to the second repetition which is too long time… Can I set my SuperMemo back to the previous settings? (MK)

Answer

Mercy will update the current interval of rescheduled items. If an item was to be repeated after 3 days and is "mercied" (rescheduled) 8 days later, its current interval will stand at 3+8=11 days (or more, if scheduled into the future). SuperMemo uses "previous interval" to compute a new interval. Good grades after delayed repetitions will then produce longer intervals.

This will not affect newly memorized items though. Increase in the first interval can only be explained by a good performance in prior repetitions (i.e. failure rate less than the forgetting index)