Deadlines for appeals or motions to reconsider are complex enough for lawyers, so it should come as no shock that self-represented people have even more difficulty. Perhaps trial courts need to take advice from Judge Richard Posner:

“To avoid this result in future cases, consideration should be given to requiring district judges to accompany their judgments in pro se cases with a statement of the options and associated deadlines for reconsideration or appeal of the judgment.” Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner issued this decision recently on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in a case involving an imprisoned pro se appellant.