Subject: EDQ #6: The Guidelines
Posted by: eburge
Date: May 18 13
So, you think you've got your quiz exactly the way you want it to be: categorised appropriately, a good mix of questions, and ample information to support them. Your spelling and grammar is tippity-top and everything is written in your own words exactly as you want it. And you couldn't resist adding in that awful pun to Question 7's information about the anti-gravity book to give the players a good groan. You give it the final once over and submit it to the queue. The next day you find a correction notice in your mailbox from an editor, requesting changes that affect how your entire quiz is laid out. Alas, you should have checked the category guidelines first.
Hello everyone. I'm eburge, but you can call me Ethan, if you like. I'm here to discuss probably one of the most common causes of quiz rejection on the site: failure to follow the guidelines.
As you may or may not know, we have a few simple guidelines, common to all categories, to ensure that quiz submissions are the highest quality they can be. But as you delve deeper into each of the twenty main categories, you'll find more and more guidelines, some of which may even be specific to one, tiny, little subcategory buried in amongst the others. When it comes to writing a quiz, it's very important to read up on the guidelines first.
Some of you may be saying, "This all sounds well and good, Ethan, but where can I find these guidelines?" My answer to you, dear author, is this: navigate to the General Knowledge category, and find the folder marked 'Quiz Creation Guidelines'. From here, you can find almost everything you need to know when writing a quiz on FunTrivia.
"But Ethan, you said 'almost' everything. What else can there be?"
Well spotted, my friend. Sometimes, these guidelines won't be enough. You'll need to check if there are any guidelines specific to the category and, indeed, subcategory you are submitting to. Some categories will have a folder labelled 'QCNs' (Quiz Creation Notes). You'll find some information and tune-up quizzes in these folders. Perhaps the best repository of guidelines for each category resides in Author Central. On the left on the Author Central page, you'll find a link named 'Guidelines for Categories', which will provide you with further guidelines for each of the twenty categories all neatly arranged and ready for absorbing.
"Is that everything, Ethan?"
Well, no. Not exactly. You may also find some guidelines in the description for a subcategory when you navigate to it on the main site, or if you click the 'Special instructions for...' link at the top of the quiz template. If you're creating a quiz 'from scratch' (i.e., not navigating to your chosen category first and then selecting 'Create Quiz') you'll find additional guidelines displayed on the right of the screen when selecting a category or subcategory from the category tree.
"Anything else we should know?"
Sometimes you may come across some unwritten guidelines when an editor notes them in a correction message. One fairly frequent guideline regards the different play modes (HTML, Flash, Quiz Game). We must offer, at the very least, an HTML version of the quiz. No ifs, no buts. HTML is mandatory. You can, however, opt to have your quiz available in Flash and/or Quiz Game mode as well. Flash and Quiz Game mode presents one question at a time and scores them one at a time, while HTML mode displays all questions at once and players are free to flit back and forth between them until they are ready to submit. The effect these have on the quiz writing process is this: you must ensure that all questions stand alone. They mustn't reference one another or give away answers to other questions. In Flash and Quiz Game mode, this isn't too much of a problem, but because we require HTML mode as standard, you can't ask a question and then have the answer to that popping up in the question text of other questions. It's a dead giveaway and something we try to avoid. Additionally, hourly and daily games pull questions from all over the site, so it's important that your questions stand alone in case any of them suddenly end up in an hourly Piece of Cake game, for instance.
"Okay, Ethan. I think we've got the idea."
Of course, it might seem like this is all too much to take in at once, but believe me, you'll know them like the back of your hand soon enough. Things like time-stamping (making sure questions are still accurate in the future) or ensuring fill-in-the-blank questions have only one, unambiguous, punctuation-free answer will become second nature.
But, it's all well and good me sitting here rambling on about it. It's time for you to put it into practice. As ever, if you want advice or help with anything to do with your quiz, don't hesitate at all to send a message to one of the category's editors. We're here to help you, and we'll do what we can to ensure your questions are answered. Pun intended.
(Oh, and in case you're wondering, that anti-gravity book? It's impossible to put down.)
Posted by: eburge
Date: May 18 13
So, you think you've got your quiz exactly the way you want it to be: categorised appropriately, a good mix of questions, and ample information to support them. Your spelling and grammar is tippity-top and everything is written in your own words exactly as you want it. And you couldn't resist adding in that awful pun to Question 7's information about the anti-gravity book to give the players a good groan. You give it the final once over and submit it to the queue. The next day you find a correction notice in your mailbox from an editor, requesting changes that affect how your entire quiz is laid out. Alas, you should have checked the category guidelines first.
Hello everyone. I'm eburge, but you can call me Ethan, if you like. I'm here to discuss probably one of the most common causes of quiz rejection on the site: failure to follow the guidelines.
As you may or may not know, we have a few simple guidelines, common to all categories, to ensure that quiz submissions are the highest quality they can be. But as you delve deeper into each of the twenty main categories, you'll find more and more guidelines, some of which may even be specific to one, tiny, little subcategory buried in amongst the others. When it comes to writing a quiz, it's very important to read up on the guidelines first.
Some of you may be saying, "This all sounds well and good, Ethan, but where can I find these guidelines?" My answer to you, dear author, is this: navigate to the General Knowledge category, and find the folder marked 'Quiz Creation Guidelines'. From here, you can find almost everything you need to know when writing a quiz on FunTrivia.
"But Ethan, you said 'almost' everything. What else can there be?"
Well spotted, my friend. Sometimes, these guidelines won't be enough. You'll need to check if there are any guidelines specific to the category and, indeed, subcategory you are submitting to. Some categories will have a folder labelled 'QCNs' (Quiz Creation Notes). You'll find some information and tune-up quizzes in these folders. Perhaps the best repository of guidelines for each category resides in Author Central. On the left on the Author Central page, you'll find a link named 'Guidelines for Categories', which will provide you with further guidelines for each of the twenty categories all neatly arranged and ready for absorbing.
"Is that everything, Ethan?"
Well, no. Not exactly. You may also find some guidelines in the description for a subcategory when you navigate to it on the main site, or if you click the 'Special instructions for...' link at the top of the quiz template. If you're creating a quiz 'from scratch' (i.e., not navigating to your chosen category first and then selecting 'Create Quiz') you'll find additional guidelines displayed on the right of the screen when selecting a category or subcategory from the category tree.
"Anything else we should know?"
Sometimes you may come across some unwritten guidelines when an editor notes them in a correction message. One fairly frequent guideline regards the different play modes (HTML, Flash, Quiz Game). We must offer, at the very least, an HTML version of the quiz. No ifs, no buts. HTML is mandatory. You can, however, opt to have your quiz available in Flash and/or Quiz Game mode as well. Flash and Quiz Game mode presents one question at a time and scores them one at a time, while HTML mode displays all questions at once and players are free to flit back and forth between them until they are ready to submit. The effect these have on the quiz writing process is this: you must ensure that all questions stand alone. They mustn't reference one another or give away answers to other questions. In Flash and Quiz Game mode, this isn't too much of a problem, but because we require HTML mode as standard, you can't ask a question and then have the answer to that popping up in the question text of other questions. It's a dead giveaway and something we try to avoid. Additionally, hourly and daily games pull questions from all over the site, so it's important that your questions stand alone in case any of them suddenly end up in an hourly Piece of Cake game, for instance.
"Okay, Ethan. I think we've got the idea."
Of course, it might seem like this is all too much to take in at once, but believe me, you'll know them like the back of your hand soon enough. Things like time-stamping (making sure questions are still accurate in the future) or ensuring fill-in-the-blank questions have only one, unambiguous, punctuation-free answer will become second nature.
But, it's all well and good me sitting here rambling on about it. It's time for you to put it into practice. As ever, if you want advice or help with anything to do with your quiz, don't hesitate at all to send a message to one of the category's editors. We're here to help you, and we'll do what we can to ensure your questions are answered. Pun intended.
(Oh, and in case you're wondering, that anti-gravity book? It's impossible to put down.)
18 replies. On page 1 of 1 pages. 1
AlonsoKing 
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"you must ensure that all questions stand alone. They mustn't ... or give away answers to other questions." Interesting point. This is something I always try to avoid. Sometimes it means you have to completely rephrase the question to avoid the giveaway. However, I've seen this a lot in quizzes so I'm kind of surprised it is a reason for rejection. Reply #1. May 18 13, 2:27 PM |
guitargoddess
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Sometimes this is another thing that's a bit subjective. I'll let through one or two depending on how MUCH of a giveaway it is. If say in question 1 you ask "What city were Joe and Mary planning to visit?" and then in question 2 you ask "When Joe and Mary arrived in Paris...", well that's a dead giveaway. But there's also cases where say in question 2 you ask for the name of a minor character, and that character's name is mentioned later in question 8. Reading question 8 may help someone answer question 2 but it's not necessarily a total giveaway, depending on the phrasing. That's the kind of thing I'll let pass. Reply #2. May 18 13, 2:38 PM |
Lpez
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This is weird, but I just got inspiration for a quiz related to today's EDQ topic. You will see it soon, hopefully! Reply #3. May 18 13, 7:17 PM |
Aussiedrongo
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Who is this 'Ethan' bloke that Eric keeps referring to?? Reply #4. May 18 13, 9:29 PM |
| Jabberwok
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:D His alter ego. Soon they will morph to become one Gestalt and then Take Over The World. In a panda hat. Reply #5. May 19 13, 2:42 AM |
Oidioid32123
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(for editors) I'm just curious, how often do people fill the last few questions with stupid stuff like 'did you like my quiz' or 'what is my username' Reply #6. Mar 07 14, 9:25 PM |
kyleisalive
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Happens every once in a while. Rejected one this past week asking 'What would you grade this quiz?' The answer was, of course, '4'. The quiz was evidently out of four. Reply #7. Mar 07 14, 9:44 PM |
| Oidioid32123
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Are there quizzes floating around with "Who is the president of the USA" on it? Reply #8. Mar 07 14, 9:46 PM |
Buddy1
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Probably. Years ago, the rules weren't as strict as they are now--not sure if that includes not worrying about date-dependent questions. Reply #9. Mar 07 14, 10:09 PM |
agony
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Or worse "Who is the President?" not caring, apparently, that there is more than one President in the world..... Reply #10. Mar 08 14, 10:28 AM |
CmdrK
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Lately I've noticed recognizable people in photo quizzes. The guidelines for photo quizzes in the quiz creation guidelines of the General Knowledge category say "the images can not contain recognizable persons". Has that changed since the guidelines were formulated? Reply #11. Jun 15 14, 6:45 PM |
| kyleisalive
|
The guideline hasn't been loosened, but there is a difference (we've found) between 'recognizable people' with acceptable licensing and the like (as in public domain portraits, for instance) and 'recognizable people' as in, a picture of a family in front of a famous landmark. We've been working on them on a case-by-case basis and, if you have any concerns with pictures in your own photo quizzes, we'd be happy to straighten them out. :) Reply #12. Jun 15 14, 7:01 PM |
Christinap
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I've always assumed, perhaps wrongly, that public domain photos of public figures, like the Queen, or USA President, are acceptable in quizzes. Also dead people, Einstein, Martin Luther King, JFK etc. Reply #13. Jun 16 14, 5:56 AM |
| kyleisalive
|
After further discussion, there's been a consensus that there are too many grey areas in relation to 'recognizable persons' in photos-- public domain or not. Currently, the guidelines in the Photo Quiz template and the official guideline page for Photo Quizzes in the General category state that we will not accept photos of recognizable persons. We are still going to abide by that rule until further notice. Reply #14. Jun 17 14, 2:30 PM |
Catreona
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Does "recognizable persons" only include humans? I mean if, theoretically, I wanted to include pictures of Bernard and Miss Bianca, Duchess and Thomas O'Malley or Cinderella and her prince in a photo quiz, would that be permissible? Or would that get into another whole problem of licensed commercial material? Reply #15. Dec 22 18, 8:54 PM |
looney_tunes
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those sound like Disney characters to me, and they are notoriously on the ball about commercial copyright! If you use anything that looks like the image from a movie (or comic strip, animated TV show, etc.), it is infringing copyright. This also applies to pictures of them taken in costumed parades, etc. And it applies even if somebody posted the picture with a license attached saying that they released it into the public domain, or that it was CC. Reply #16. Dec 22 18, 10:56 PM |
| agony
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I see that we haven't updated, here, our stance on recignizable people. We are now allowing images of people long dead - if I'm not mistaken we're using 70 years after death as the marker. So no pics of the Queen, but if you want to include her great great grandmother, Victoria, go right ahead. Assuming all other guidelines are followed, of course. Reply #17. Dec 24 18, 7:46 AM |
spanishliz
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For example, in Movies we still ask for "no screenshots or recognizable faces", though it never hurts to ask. Reply #18. Dec 24 18, 9:15 AM |
18 replies. On page 1 of 1 pages. 1
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