This thread has been closed to new replies by moderator Terry.
121 replies. On page 6 of 7 pages. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
121 replies. On page 6 of 7 pages. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Legal / Conditions of Use
Subject: Complain about questions in games here
Posted by: Terry
Date: Sep 03 23
I want to hear your whines here. My goal is to have question pools for each game that everyone can enjoy. I think most games we hit the sweet spot, but thought I’d check in to see if we have some room for improvement.
What games do the question pools leave you feeling frustrated or make you not want to return to?
What games have questions that are too difficult?
All gripes are invited, but please be as specific as possible. I need to know the exact game(s) that need question pool tweaks, and the specifics about what types of questions are problematic.
This thread will be locked once sufficient whining has been collected.
Thanks :)
Posted by: Terry
Date: Sep 03 23
I want to hear your whines here. My goal is to have question pools for each game that everyone can enjoy. I think most games we hit the sweet spot, but thought I’d check in to see if we have some room for improvement.
What games do the question pools leave you feeling frustrated or make you not want to return to?
What games have questions that are too difficult?
All gripes are invited, but please be as specific as possible. I need to know the exact game(s) that need question pool tweaks, and the specifics about what types of questions are problematic.
This thread will be locked once sufficient whining has been collected.
Thanks :)
121 replies. On page 6 of 7 pages. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
| Terry
Head Honcho 
|
Drew2hos: "All these new obscure words showing up has made the game even MORE difficult." Oh come on... These are just a sampling of the words YOU have won with from the old dictionary: katzenjammer,solitariness,nucleoplasm,vasectomize, gastroscope,handsbreadth,houselights,pickelhaube, dorsiflexion,haloperidol,femtosecond,scuppernong, sternwheeler,orphenadrine,pentazocine,antitussive, vasodilative,orchidalgia,trinucleate,phycomycosis, telerobotics,appurtenance,atrabilious,homomorphism, womanliness,perspicuity,hunchbacked,supervention, polycythemia,occultation,shirtwaister,phrontistery, vagabondage,ontogenesis,laminectomy,gemfibrozil, gradualness,palaeobotany,septicaemia,fidgetiness, hypovolaemia,agranulosis,chiaroscuro,pickelhaube, aponeurosis,heedfulness,epithelioma,dynamometer, curettement,epanorthosis,algarrobilla,wainscoting, algarobilla,symbololatry,abiogenetic,erythematous, melanoblast,odynophagia,electrometer,tetraskelion, anencephaly,syntactician,waggonwright,dorsiflexion, sempiternity,phrontistery,magistrature,housewifery, tittivation,ophthalmitis,clearcutness,nictitation, anemography,aneurismatic,housemother,thingumabob, opsonisation,katharometer,vesicopapule,actinomycin, lacrimatory,bourguignon,furunculosis,southernism, ethoxyethane,orthodonture,behaviourism,chyliferous, systematiser,abecedarius,wienerwurst,diverticulum, chromatinic,exenteration,quattrocento,anorchidism, piperocaine,zygomorphous,autochthony,circumvolute, herpetology,anorchidism,accelerando,dynamometer, archdeaconry,nucleoplasm,exteriorise,lipomatosis, cumulonimbus,arduousness,keratoiritis,nucleoplasm, mucopurulent,spinsterhood,wrinkleless,opsonization, greasepaint,implicitness,sacrificial,introvertive, fretfulness,buffalofish,peasanthood,officialese,ceftazidime, osmoreceptor,abocclusion,graniteware,churchwarden, pennoncelle,chiaroscuro,calcination,anencephalic, anathematise,manumission,excoriation,venesection, viatication,opisthotonos,algarrobilla,exculpatory, orchestrator,cholinergic,leptorrhine,paronomasia, biflagellate,marlinspike,mediateness,pantechnicon, satanophobia,orchidalgia,sledgehammer,opisthotonos, malversation,keratoscopy,blatherskite,gynaeolatry, fluvastatin,orphenadrine,obfuscation,novelization, benefactress,greenishness,keratoconus,sempiternity, spondylitis,somnambulism,rubefacient,ambiversive, kinaesthesis,dynamometer,instructress,chiaroscuro, snappishness,nutcrackers,glycerolise,rigorousness And that is just a sampling. Many of these, in my opinion, are not even remotely winnable unless you have reason to expect them to be in the potential pool of possibilities. Now maybe they did all come from within your mind, and if so, you are incredibly talented! Clearly if you have won with all of that stuff (some of which is eye-rollingly obtuse, near-nonsense, so medically-specific that no one would ever think of typing it into a dictionary game, and not found in most normal dictionaries) you either have a tremendous grasp of the English language, its history, and all of its creative, near slang-like variants (in which case you should be more than comfortable with the new dictionary)... or you cleverly found ways to predict what obscure words might appear from the old dictionary. And on that last possibility, since rumors of this have circulated: I will say that IF you did download the old dictionary or keep track of words used and use that knowledge to gain a sizable edge I don't hold it against you or anyone else. I appreciate and admire creativity! But you should realize that it is my equal responsibility to try to level the field and allow those who don't have familiarity with a certain dictionary’s obscure words to be competitive. Yes, some of the new words are stupidly obscure, but no more than the old dictionary. Consider it a new challenge. (BTW: the way the game is set up, words that don't get won are automatically and instantly REMOVED from the dictionary. So over time the obscure stuff will self-destruct on its own) Reply #101. Sep 14 23, 9:31 AM |
rossian
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I think I'd leave the champ idea as is, Terry. Previous winners still have the advantage of years of tactical play behind them and are still, I believe, more likely to win than newer players. Locking out other champs while leaving the game open for others seems to be working well and it's good to see some new names on the winners' lists. The new dictionaries have shaken the game up but I'm sure we'll all adjust soon enough. Reply #102. Sep 14 23, 10:23 AM |
nasty_liar 
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Well you DID ask for and encourage whining on this thread Terry! My gripe is this. I find Fill Me In difficult enough but quite regularly I will KNOW the answer but don’t quite spell it correctly! This is pretty frustrating, is there a way we can set it to accept variations in spelling? I realise this would probably have to be reported on a case by case basis. Perhaps the editors here could take this into account in future when quizzes are first made? I believe that all similar spellings should be set as correct answers at the creation point perhaps? Just throwing ideas around here but I know that when I used to play (and very occasionally still do play) chatroom based trivia the trivia bots were set to accept very close variations of spellings or with and without the ‘the’ or loads of other stuff to make sure people who know the answer don’t get penalised for just spelling variation or such. Reply #103. Sep 14 23, 11:21 AM |
| Terry
Head Honcho
|
"My gripe is this. I find Fill Me In difficult enough but quite regularly I will KNOW the answer but don’t quite spell it correctly! This is pretty frustrating, is there a way we can set it to accept variations in spelling? I realise this would probably have to be reported on a case by case basis." That is something we encourage (alternative, legitimate spellings) in the source quizzes for fill in the blank types. I'd sent a correction note and ask that an alternative be added. And yes, I asked for whining. Already I have made a number of tweaks to question pools based on feedback here. Whine away. ;) Reply #104. Sep 14 23, 11:29 AM |
agony
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We made a conscious decision when setting up FITB questions not to allow incorrect spelling. Mostly because an incorrectly spelled word is not that word. We do allow any legit spelling variation, and encourage you to send notes if you believe that, for instance, “the” should or should not be considered as part of a correct answer. We look at these in a case by case basis. And yes, this does mean that FMI is to a certain extent a spelling test, and also something of a typing test. I don’t really see how we can change that at this point even if Terry agrees with you, though - we’re talking thousands of questions that would have to be changed manually. My own feeling is that FMI is just one of those games where some of us will shine and others won’t (spelling is not my particularly strong point personally) it gives someone who is not super fast but is a good speller a chance to compete in ways they might not be able to in other games. Reply #105. Sep 14 23, 11:33 AM |
brm50diboll
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I agree with agony entirely. It is one thing to argue with evidence that an answer should be accepted because the spelling was an accepted variant spelling. It is quite another to argue that misspellings should be accepted. Such a position is unenforceable and would totally destroy the game. Accurate spelling is a *necessity* for Fill Me In. That requirement can't be relaxed. Reply #106. Sep 14 23, 12:43 PM |
| nasty_liar
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I disagree that it would "destroy" the game, but Agony has explained and that is fair enough. Reply #107. Sep 14 23, 12:52 PM |
| brm50diboll
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The very nature of any fill in the blank is that it is designed to only accept certain answers. There is no way to either anticipate or agree upon what particular misspelling is "close enough" to be accepted. Once *any* clear misspelling is accepted, an endless rain of complaints would follow. This is a path which cannot be followed down. I stand by my assertion that accepting misspellings would destroy the game. If a player does not have clear evidence they can cite that their particular spelling is an accepted variant spelling, their answer should be counted as wrong. Reply #108. Sep 14 23, 12:59 PM |
| Terry
Head Honcho
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"once misspelling is accepted" Yeah this isn't going to happen. Reply #109. Sep 14 23, 1:05 PM |
| nasty_liar
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No, seriously, in the game I just played I mispelled 'Delaware' as 'Ohio'. Very simple spelling mistake that anyone could make and I expect to be awarded it. :-D When I next find an example of the type of thing I mean I'll post it so that you can see what I mean. I actually think Fill Me In already does a pretty good job of making allowances for the type of things I mean it's only occasionally that I feel hard done by. Reply #110. Sep 14 23, 1:17 PM |
Edzell_Blue
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On Impossible today there is a question on Ashley Judd. The question asks "Which of the following statements about Ashley is true?" One of the options is she is a certain age. Nothing in the question indicates when the question was written so you have no way of knowing whether that is true or not. The question appears to be from the quiz "Life and Times of Ashley Judd". Reply #111. Sep 14 23, 7:42 PM |
runaway_drive
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You can report those types of questions directly through the answer screen and just say they don't belong in the game you played it in. I've done it a few times for questions that don't stand on their own (although technically it does make it Impossible!). Reply #112. Sep 14 23, 9:06 PM |
drewh2os
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As I understand, this thread was created for people to gripe about games. I never had a problem with how Crystal Ball operated until now, so I griped. Then I got insulted about my skill and experience, some responses coming just short of suggesting that I'm somehow dishonest about how I play. Let's do the math... I started winning words some time in 2011 so that's 12 years more or less. I currently have 2449 wins. That comes to 204 wins a year or 0.559 wins a day (I did say before this game was difficult). If I'm so dishonest and somehow gaming the system, how is less than a win per day evidence of that? Shouldn't I be winning multiple times a day and have way more wins if I have some kind of secret key to winning - some magic spreadsheet or devious methodology? I had no idea there was that much jealousy and hatred for me here. This has really been eye opening! I guess we're just supposed to ignore the fact I've been doing this every day for 12 years. As a result, I have lots of experience and have learned/been exposed to a lot of unusual words. I also have a reliable dictionary that has 99% of the winning words in it that I fall back on for help. Maybe just perhaps there's a legitimate reason why I have won so much that's based on time, word knowledge, and experience. No, let's just ignore the facts and assume the worst instead. Reply #113. Sep 14 23, 10:16 PM |
| Terry
Head Honcho
|
Please go back and reread my message. I said based on the large number of obscure words you have won with that either you were (a) exceptionally talented linguistically, and therefore more than capable of dealing with words equally obscure in any new dictionary, or (b) developed an edge in the game that disappeared when the dictionary was changed. Perhaps that edge was nothing more than having a great memory and remembering all the words that came up. But an edge nonetheless. Both of these possibilities were complimenting your ability. I have never once disparaged those who have won the game using any method whatsoever. My main point was that the new dictionary has some obscure stuff, but the old one also had heaps of obscure stuff, so I disagree with your assertion that the old dictionary was easier. The only reason it felt easier is that it had become exceptionally familiar to a small group of people. Reply #114. Sep 14 23, 10:30 PM |
rockstar51
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One topic in Duels devoted to Manga is bad enough, but TWO? On the same day? Well, that is a tragedy. Reply #115. Sep 14 23, 11:28 PM |
Gumby1967
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I didn't know we were allowed to use Dictionaries, as FunTrivia states: "All quiz submits must be based on knowledge in your head." It all makes sense to me now, and I will also use this information to gain any advantage I can. Reply #116. Sep 15 23, 4:23 AM |
| nasty_liar
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Where does it state that? Some games specifically expect research to be done like Obscurity Gold Member game. And my conversations with many, many players reveal that they routinely Google answers in most of the games that time allows that for, especially those with kind time penalties such as Knockout, Team Heroes, Pot of Gold to name a few. So using a dictionary for Crystal Ball seems entirely expected. Reply #117. Sep 15 23, 5:14 AM |
| Gumby1967
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Taken Directly from: "Most FunTrivia Points Today Page" "Cheating Warning for All Players: (BOLD RED) All quiz submits must be based on knowledge in your head. Players who use multiple browser windows, tabs, second accounts, other IP addresses, etc are considered to be cheating, and will have their accounts terminated. We have been lenient on quiz submits in the past, but are cracking down to ensure fair play. We have extensive server logs that can easily catch cheating. Please play fairly. Thank you." Surprise. Surprise! Now those who played by the Rules, know what they have been up against. I love that a Dictionary, Thesaurus, Anagrammer, Google etc. can now be used without being called a Cheat. Take the Warning down, and do what you want. Reply #118. Sep 15 23, 5:25 AM |
| nasty_liar
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I don’t do it personally Gumby, and I don’t like it either, but I’ve come to accept it as the norm. I don’t know how you could ever police it anyway. How do you know what somebody is looking at next to their device as they play the game? I am really surprised that warning still exists anywhere on site though. Reply #119. Sep 15 23, 5:40 AM |
| Gumby1967
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No offence intended to yourself nasty_liar. I'm just glad to know what others have been doing. I will now join them, as it cannot be stopped. Terry also knows, as he has accepted Researching. I have won Crystal Ball once, with "receipt". Looking at his winning word list, did I ever have another chance? I know maybe 25% of them, and could spell maybe 15% without help. All The Best! Reply #120. Sep 15 23, 5:52 AM |
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