Hmm I haven't seen JMelston around here for a while. Does anyone know if he's still active?

"Last Seen: May 30 12"

This was on his profile. Of course, if he never signs out, then that date will always show as today, but he earned ~3000 points yesterday and about half of that today (so far).

As for being active on the forums or this thread, I don't know.

Danica Patrick - American IndyCar racer; spokeswoman; model

This should be updated, as now she is a former IndyCar racer and current NASCAR driver/racer

Honk Kong film actor; 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' (Chow Yun-Fat)

Should be Hong.

English-born American Oscar-winning film actress; married many times; 'BUtterfield 8' & 'Cleopatra' (Elizabeth Taylor)

Minor issue with Butterfield.

edit: didn't know that, never mind.

That's how it is written in the movie title, because it is part of a telephone number (dial BU8, or 288 to get the exchange serving the area featured in the film).

This was a list provided for one question today:

British-born New Zealand politician; eighth Premier of New Zealand = (Julius Vogel)
French fashion designer = (Yves Saint-Laurent)
Anglo-American poet = (W. H. Auden)
Dutch Baroque painter = (Jan Vermeer)
French fashion designer = (Pierre Cardin)
French writer; philosopher; essayist; 'Candide' = (Voltaire)

The name given in that question was Julius Vogel, but if it had been Yves St. Laurent or Pierre Cardin, one would only have had a 50-50 chance of picking the right "French fashion designer."

It has been discussed previously that if two answers are the same then they are definitely NOT the answer.

12. American painter; illustrator
Your answer: Henry Sandham

He's listed by wiki as Canadian, and I didn't see a place to submit a CR on the answer page. He did some of his work in the U.S., but he's generally considered to be Canadian. Thanks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Sandham

TODAYS WHO AM I:

"Austrian composer; father of Johann Strauss II

Your answer: Johann Strauss Sr."


This uses two different systems.

It is EITHER Johann Strauss I & II OR Johann Strauss Sr & Jr - you cant have both systems.

We're lucky there wasn't a callout for Johann Strauss 3rd.

Why can't it have both systems?

As a rule of thumb, if one single author intermixes two different styles, he or she makes the reader very confused.

In this particular instance, the two styles come probably from two different sources, so it might be acceptable. Nevertheless, such a mixture leaves the audience flabbergasted.

Thanks. I think it's okay here because of the quiz format - it's just an added part of the puzzle - but I like the high standards quizzers have here. I like that people are flabbergasted at the very sight of it!

Hey, I just like the word "flabbergasted" lol. Wondrous word. Oh sorry, this post probably more properly belongs in Word Wiz lol

Scotish novelist; poetess; feminist; good friend of J. R. R. Tolkien
Your answer: Naomi Mitchison

typo - should be Scottish

British female music hall entertainer; singer

Your answer: Lillie Langtry

Lillie Langtry was: British stage actress known as the 'Jersey Lily'

The correct answer was Gertie Gitana.

Both were Music hall singers.......

I resent that I was placed in the CHAMPION grouping for WAI.I play this game for relaxation not for competitive purposes....Please replace me in easy...I'm not familiar with Australian snooker players!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please place me in easy for every other game, I'm not familiar with American baseball players, basketball players, soap opera bit-part players, or state nicknames, state milkshakes, or state dirt. But I quite like WAI.

With unfamiliar names, I play 'Who Am I Not' in the hope of getting the right one. Does it work? Not always, but more often than not.

I am Australian, male, and like snooker, but I can only name ONE Australian player- Eddie Charlton, and he died in 2004.

I enjoy WAI, but it is quite frustrating at times- UK radio announcers vs US quiz show hosts can be annoying, as us poor people Down Under have never heard of any of them...

There are two databases that are used for the WAI? One is for tough competition (Difficult) and the other (Easier) has fewer (I think) entries in its database. Here is the blurb from below the game selection buttons:


I believe you must play the Difficult selection to earn points for your team, it's the Whozits point payout that is less for the Easier selection.

Either way, Robsen, your people will come from the same database as everyone else in your selection choice. Non-Champions get shown the same varied group of people as the Champs. As a non-champ who does like getting points for playing, I like that the champs are in a division of their own.
In other words, you would run into Australian Snooker players and British Train Engineers no matter whether you are a Champ or not. Enjoy the title, please.

Where does anyone get the authority to say "you must" do something on this ostensibly enjoyable, relaxing website. I really think I MUST throw the towel in and switch to triviaplaza.........................

I used the term must to indicate the vague reference to "points" in the Easier blurb. I do not believe you earn Team points by playing Easier mode. You earn whozits but no Team points. "You earn points in both Easier and Difficult but only from the Difficult are team points accrued", may have been a less imperative manner to have stated it.
It still is true that the Champs questions come from the same database as the non-Champ Difficult players so the challenge to you would be the same in Champs with possibly less chance of finishing on top because you are playing against minds with similar knowledge.
Does Easier have a Champs division? If not, maybe you could play there.


Edit to report further review of the game:
- A rollover of the 'Game Notes' at the top of the WAI? Game Home Page says champions play in their own division (now using sets 26-30). This, while also stating what entails the Easier mode, implies that Champions are restricted to play in their several divisions/sets.
- Underneath the Team V Team status links is a blurb that states that Easier mode does not generate points toward the monthly Team standing.
- A scan of the All sets results table shows some Champions are recording very large awards which benefit them and their Team. No Difficult players are listed in the top 100 results!

1. Fictional character; secret identity of Spiderman

typo - Spider-Man

see marvel.com and imdb.com

Bell hooks
Your answer: African-American female author; feminist; social activist; born Gloria Jean Watkins


Her adopted pseudonym is intentionally spelled with a lower case b: bell hooks.

Maybe the system uses a capital letter because bell is the first word of what is considered a sentence.

What would the result be if the "Who Am I" gave e.e. cummings as the person to identify?

It works for me. Also, if three names are quoted, go for the American!

I play this game in the Champions mode. Like Robsen above, I'm a bit frustrated with the content of the game. Not so much about the relative obscurity of many of the people listed but the fact that so many of them are from the U.K.

In the game I played today, of the 15 questions, 11 were British, 4 were European and only 1 was from North America. I find that this was only SLIGHTLY abnormal and generally the subjects chosen for the questions do punish players from N. America and reward players from the U.K. Robsen had difficulty with Aussie pool players. I know nothing about British TV presenters, whatever they do! Is it possible that the game could be more balanced?

It is "Euro-heavy" quite often. After advancing to the Champs division, personally, it has become the worst game on the site (right next to FMI). Take today for instance. 10 questions about Europeans, 3 from the USA, 1 Argentinian, and a dude from Africa. Quite frankly, I'd rather come across the first person I recognize, answer the question, press enter and walk away with my measly 30 points. If I had a choice, I'd love to revert back to the easier game simply because I have actually heard of most of those people. Alas, I guess I should not have won the monthly badge. I'll get to the 50,000 point club in precisely 793 days from now. Looking forward to March '15...