Subject: Lack of Originality in QQ challenge
Posted by: supersal1
Date: Sep 17 13
I thought the idea of this was to inject some new and fresh questions into the database.
I've just had 3 questions in a Literary Quizbot quiz along the following lines:
Who wrote Romeo and Juliet
Who wrote Charlotte's Webb
What was Harper Lee's only published novel
How on earth do ones like this get through? It's almost impossible to take an hourly literature quiz without stumbing across similar questions!
I haven't submitted anything myself for ages but when I did, I put considerable thought and effort into asking something reasonably original, and I know a lot of other people do as well. They don't always work, but at least we're trying!
Posted by: supersal1
Date: Sep 17 13
I thought the idea of this was to inject some new and fresh questions into the database.
I've just had 3 questions in a Literary Quizbot quiz along the following lines:
Who wrote Romeo and Juliet
Who wrote Charlotte's Webb
What was Harper Lee's only published novel
How on earth do ones like this get through? It's almost impossible to take an hourly literature quiz without stumbing across similar questions!
I haven't submitted anything myself for ages but when I did, I put considerable thought and effort into asking something reasonably original, and I know a lot of other people do as well. They don't always work, but at least we're trying!
26 replies. On page 1 of 2 pages. 1 2
rossian 
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I'm not sure that the QuizBot just takes questions from the newer ones, especially for the lowest (easiest) level. The ones you quote have been seen numerous times, so I'd be surprised if editors accepted them as 'new'. Reply #1. Sep 17 13, 7:27 AM |
supersal1
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I appreciate that, but I wonder why they were submitted/accepted in the first place, however long ago. There are plenty of the same questions on FT that appear in the hourly games that are taken from quizzes. Reply #2. Sep 17 13, 7:46 AM |
guitargoddess
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They probably were early accepted ones and then 'rules' were refined. Lit doesn't even accept plain 'Who wrote...' in quizzes anymore. If they're being used though, it means enough people liked the questions well enough when they went through the new question game Reply #3. Sep 17 13, 8:21 AM |
JanIQ
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I'm afraid there's only one answer to such dull questions. That is writing a bunch of interesting questions ourselves. Reply #4. Sep 18 13, 1:42 AM |
Chavs
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I think there's nothing wrong with having simple as well as more creative questions. We need the variety, I think. Sometimes the last thing I want to do is face an 'interestingly worded' question only to find it boils down to 'Who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird' - sometimes I really appreciate a straightforward 'Who wrote...' quiz. Reply #5. Sep 26 13, 4:25 AM |
| supersal1
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I agree Chavs, I dislike those sort of questions as well. The point I was trying to make was that however the question is worded, surely there are enough questions on site regarding Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird, or who wrote Romeo and Juliet. Reply #6. Sep 26 13, 4:57 AM |
looney_tunes
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The Question Quest questions are written by authors trying to get over 50% correct answers. This is harder than you might think, and leads inevitably to a focus on common knowledge information, of which there is just so much. It's one of the reasons I much prefer writing full quizzes, where players know what they are getting into, and can be expected to enjoy learning new facts and interesting information with which they were not previously familiar. Reply #7. Sep 26 13, 5:58 AM |
| supersal1
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I know that only too well. I think that's what makes it so annoying. In the past I've spent out ages trying to dream up interesting questions that will appeal to a wide audience. Sometimes I've failed spectacularly, but at least I've put the time and effort in. I've probably made some of them too difficult, but at least I'm aiming for originality. When I'm playing the QQ game, I'd like two more buttons on the ratings. One at the top as 'beyond excellent', and the other at the bottom as 'what on earth were you thinking'! Reply #8. Sep 26 13, 7:14 AM |
nasty_liar
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It would be nice to see another option when rating. Or maybe I'm just too kind as I hardly ever give out a poor which almost means I've only got 2 ratings to give out! Reply #9. Sep 26 13, 9:06 AM |
daver852
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It is hard to think of questions that haven't already been asked that over half the people answering will get right. I also try to think of questions in categories that aren't used that often. Reply #10. Sep 26 13, 9:54 AM |
Creedy
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You sure do :) Reply #11. Oct 06 13, 7:44 PM |
habitsowner
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I enjoy writing single questions. It would be nice if over 55% (or whatever it is now) of the folks taking them get the answers correct, but I think what is more important is if they have learned something and have so shown. I'll live with a bit under 50% if the user rating is over 30%, albeit I know I've done something wrong when the difficulty level is down in the 20's or so. I've got a bit over 450 submitted so far and have many hundreds more scribbled out awaiting the time to work on the II. What I would like to see is a button "Save" on the template like is on the quiz template. There have been too many times I've accidentally, somehow, managed to throw the question out into the ether before I'm finished. It usually happens right before I'm finished with the II, naturally. Reply #12. Dec 15 13, 5:34 PM |
agony
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I wish people would rate a question as "poor" if they think it is poor. I put a lot of questions online that I'm not too thrilled at, because I don't think I should be the arbiter of what the players want. As long as the question meets the standards and guidelines, on it goes. And then it's up to you - if you come across something like that, your job is to rate it accordingly. Reply #13. Dec 15 13, 6:15 PM |
zippolover
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The trouble with the ratings is that it is so personal. I have a 17 y.o. daughter who is rather clever, but her breadth of knowledge is nowhere near as extensive as mine. I can dredge up trivia picked up over the last 50 plus years. There are huge gaps in my trivia bank though and I do hate those questions that get me guessing wrongly. I especially hate the questions where the II starts "Of course..." If it were that easy, why did I get it wrong and why did the editor let it through? Reply #14. Dec 15 13, 10:51 PM |
tazman6619
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Editors are not judges of whether a question is easy or hard or even good. If the question meets the criteria of FT then it gets through and it is the FT community that must police it. Hence Agony's request we judge them fairly and mark them poor if they are. I would think someone who started off their II stating how obvious the answer was would deserve to be judged as a poor question. Reply #15. Dec 16 13, 12:57 AM |
| Creedy
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Thank goodness for the easier questions I say. I've had a rough day :) Reply #16. Dec 16 13, 5:11 AM |
| habitsowner
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The "easy" questions may not be so easy for people who haven't been at FT long. Admittedly, Harper Lee and her book and other well-used topics do come up often and in many different ways. BUT, if you've never read the book, or not have had it in a quiz, that question is not "easy" for you. And, like Creedy, sometimes I breathe a sigh of relief when a question like that comes up. Every once in a while we need those "give-aways". Reply #17. Dec 16 13, 6:16 PM |
| agony
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Speaking completely personally - with my player hat on, and my editor and administrator hats hanging on the peg - I feel that once I have questions memorized in a game, that game is no longer for me, and it's time for me to play something else. Reply #18. Dec 17 13, 11:25 AM |
| habitsowner
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Agony, Why would you purposely be playing a game you'd already played, unless it was a requirement for a challenge or something of that sort? The places where I seem to see the "over-used" (for want of a better term) is in the quizbots or the personal game and so forth. Of course, the same question may be in a quiz, but the other ones would most likely be new to me. Reply #19. Dec 17 13, 9:25 PM |
| looney_tunes
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I think Agony was referring to the daily and hourly games - if you play one for long enough, you have seen most of the questions, sometimes to the point of boredom. And some of us do play them a lot, to get team points with a decent score, not just in pursuit of the badge or badges it can lead to. I found it refreshing when Terry changed the database for the Easy Game - the old one was so familiar that it was a test of reflexes and server speed, not of knowledge. Now that everyone has to do more than just se the shape of the question on their screen to know the answer, my scores are nowhere near as abysmal as they used to be. My times haven't changed much, and the speed demons slowed way down. :) Reply #20. Dec 18 13, 2:18 AM |
26 replies. On page 1 of 2 pages. 1 2
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