(quogequox, we'll try to "audi et alteram partem" as we can And, yours was a reasonable request. Thanks for alerting us to something that might be helpful to other members of the site.)

I must sadly concur in the observation that subjects relating to a certain huge, powerful democracy have come to predominate here at FT. There is no sense denying it any more, and indeed, as I look back, I realize that I have been complicit in perpetuating this subtle and insidious cultural imperialism.

Of the quizzes I have on the site, the one that has been played far and away the most is one which concerns Apu Nahasapeemapetilon of "The Simpsons". I have started at least one forum thread about "the ineffable subcontinent." I have debated the particulars of the 1947 partition in the fora and put up many questions in other quizzes about certain prominent members of the Congress Party, and more recently, again tin the fora, discussed the BJP. And I have read, also in the fora, more about cricket than the human mind can comprehend.

FT is rampantly and undeniably Indocentric.

Western Civilization? "I think it would be a good idea."

Haay Ram.

May I present quiz number 169713 as an example of a mixed sport quiz which could snuggly fit under the umbrella US mixed sports. I doubt whether a quiz on sporting events of the Transvaal would find itself disguised as a mixed sport quiz.

The fact that there is a certain Americacentricity doesn`t bother me in the slightest. The daily quizz is a good example of my unbotheredness.Each time I play I find many USA questions that I wouldn`t have the foggiest about and score low and feel dumb .Then I recall which country wins the Olympics time after time when the scores are based per capita and realise that Australia is once again miles ahead of the pack . I believe that giving the yanks a few points headstart is only a leveling of the field afterall.

I think we've almost reached parity as I just got four, count em, four Aussie questions on the daily quiz.

4 questions on the daily quiz? Good. I'm from Australia, and even though I hardly ever do the daily quiz, I still think it is unfair that Australians like me have to battle 20 American questions!

Dont even bother mate
Consider it an opportunity to learn.

I just had a thought. One of my quizzes is on 80s cartoons, and I received some feedback on it from somebody who suggested I should mention in the description that it was not based on American cartoons. Personally I didn't think this was necessary because there is no reason for people to assume that a quiz on 80s cartoons should be based on American cartoons, but I did add this into the description.

Witht hings like this couldn't it work the other way as well, so if a quiz is on something like TV shows from a particular time period or something like that which people aren't necessarily going to assume wil be Americacentric there could maybe be some mention of it in the description.

Did that even make any sense??

As editors in different categories, we cannot apply one rule to satisfy another. I am a Brit, and while I have difficulty in other quizzes, I understand that a lot of people don't. Course we're gonna struggle, but at least we'll learn something.. maybe!

beee, we ceratinly encourage authors to include some mention of time periods, countries of origin, and so on in the introduction. An introduction like "This quiz is based on the cartoons that I grew up watching during the 80's in the UK" is so much better than "Do you know your cartoons?". Players from the UK who would maybe have assumed that your quiz was on American cartoons, (because so many of the quizzes are), and therefore wouldn't have bothered taking it, will give it a try - whereas players who wouldn't have a hope of knowing any of the answers will be warned of that going in.
One of my first quizzes was on cooking and baking, and I used the terms for baked goods that I am familiar with here in Canada. I quickly got notes from players in the UK and Australia, letting me know that 'biscuit' for example, is not universally a quickbread eaten with gravy! I put a little note in the intro, and have had no trouble since.

Sorry to ressurect this, but someone was looking at it and drew me towards it and I have something that irks me greatly. I have no problem with people writing quizzes based on the country they live in, were born in etc. That's only natural. The problem I have is the assumption that the whole world IS the USA. An example is a quiz that actually isn't specifically American, but will have questions like:
"Which east coast city........." or
"Which state capital............"
I hate to break it to these people, but other countries have east coasts and states.

When I edit quizzes like that I ask the quiz maker to clarify the questions and include the country they're talking about, because, like you say, there's more to the world than the USA. As far as I know the other editors do so as well. Of course we're only human, so there will always be the odd slip-up. And there are old(er) quizzes that don't follow the current guidelines. But in general, questions like that should be rare.

Like other editors, I make a point of asking quiz-makers to specificy the country or region and have in some cases altered the titles of quizzes to make this clear.

What's often more difficult is the kind of quiz on something like "Key Events in 1980" where there is a significant bias towards one country, but something like half the questions relate to other countries.

Moreover, there are some quizzes online dating from a time where people were less aware of or sensitive to such things.

I remember taking a quiz ages ago on "World History" in which all the questions except one were on American history. That quiz was taken offline.

FT Editor

If you see a question that's not clear, send a correction notice and/or bring it to an editor's attention so we can fix it.

I think that we need to take risks when we make our quizzes. I am from Canada, and I have made many quizzes on Canada so that others can learn about my vast, beautiful nation. It is with this in mind however, that I have also made quizzes on topics that I in fact knew little about. For example, I have made 5 quizzes so far in the religion category. I am not religious by any means and I actually know very little about the bible. These quizzes have given me the opportunity to read the bible and become more educated on the subject. I took a risk in making a quiz on a subject that I know little about and although these quizzes have not been rated in the "sunglasses", I have received good feedback from many quiz takers.

Also, I recently wrote a quiz on a Canadian television show called "Today's Special". I am not trying to advertise my quiz, but this is just to explain my reasoning, however, Today's Special is a tv show that for the most part, very few people from outside of Canada would know. Although I have only had about 20 people play my quiz, I have received positive feedback on this quiz because it was on a topic that was unusual or as a Canadian quiz taker told me "it brought back memories from the past".

I think that if you want to see more quizzes from your nation, take a risk and make one. It never hurts to try it. In the future, I intend to make other quizzes on regions of the world that do not normally get a lot of attention. The world fascinates me, the USA fascinates me, and I will make my best efforts in the future to even out the playing field for all areas of the world. Obviously this is just my opinion, however, I think that taking a risk may go a long way. The editors are quite helpful and I have found that many of the editors encourage creativity with quizzes, so with that in mind, it seems to me that many editors like it when a quiz maker takes a risk, as long as the quiz is approached thoughtfully, creatively, and most of all, includes the proper grammar, spelling, and reference tools that are necessary to make a fun quiz.

I am sorry that I have rambled on now, however, I like to take rare quizzes on topics that most quiz takers do not expect to show up on their screen. This makes for a fun, educational experience for all of us. There are only so many quizzes on "The Simpsons" you can take before they get redundant.

apathy100

I'm picky about this and work tirelessly to avoid them going online. Some things are really hidden however, unless you've been around and traveled or at the very least, been exposed to things from other countries.
For example, cooking quizzes are hard to edit or write because each country uses different systems of measurement and supplies! I know that Agony mentioned it earlier, but it takes a really keen editor to even glean out the obvious things that aren't the same in each country.

I closed the drinks section of Hobbies a long time ago because there were too many recipe quizzes and then, the problem was people fiercely debating their own recipes in correction notes.

I would agree in general terms that adding quizzes allows those of us who have never lived in the US to balance things a little. On the other hand, the more I get questions about Hotels in Disneyland in Global quizzes, the more likely I am to actually take the time to memorise what and where they are. How many of them can there be?

Most people participating regularly will have experience and knowledge far beyond their local history and culture. By the nature of the forum, if people don't enjoy it, they'll go elsewhere, that's part of having the ability to choose.

It does all come down to attitude and all credit to the editors for getting it right so often.

When creating a quiz it's worth bearing in mind that the materials used may be biased towards a particular country or continent. In my experience, the problem is particularly striking in materials on inventions and inventors.

I'm from South Africa and I'm doing my darndest to get my country on the Quizzyland map. I currently have 2 quizzes I'm anxiously waiting to submit - just as soon as my current submission has been approved. My quizz names are "Prominent South Africans" and "South African Slang", so there really should be no doubt about the type of questions (I hope).

I too feel overwhelmed when I encounter a quizz about sports and it's alllllll football, baseball and ice hockey (which I presume is American). All I CAN do is eeny-meeny-miny-mo my way through the quizz and hope I hit a few

Ice hockey - the unofficial Canadian sport! (Lacrosse is actually their official sport, if I remember correctly.)

Well, there you go! If I don't know something that's Official (probably well documented too ), how am I expected to know anything else about it?

cheekay,I'm an older Australian non-sporting female,and was dismayed at first by "Americacentricity".
But this is after all a site originating from America and if you really love Trivia, it's the only place to be.
You and others, by writing new quizzes will contribute to the pool of questions which will accelerate the site's increasing multi-culturalism, to the benefit of all.
I suggest you play existing quizzes slowly at first and take time to memorise the answers.
I'm sure it won't be long before we see

....moving right along now....
your name ranking highly in the Hourly
Competitions.
Good Luck.

People write quizzes about what they know. Your quiz on South African slang will be totally foreign to me, but that's okay!

Thanx auntie, I'm playing in hardcore mode and try not to memorise answers, so that whatever my ranking, it's a true reflection of what I've accomplished here (darn noble of me hey LOL) but some facts do stick, so I'll just keep chugging along.

skunkee, I know you won't understand the South African slang, however, in my additional information on the question, I try to truly familiarise the quizz taker by providing pronouncement of word(s) using english type of sounds. I was prompted to do something like it because of the South African movie "Tsotsi" that recently received an Oscor in the foreign film category.

And, let me categorically state that I am in no way complaining about the content of funtrivia - it is after all the best trivia site I've come along. Since setting up home here, I stopped looking for other trivia sites.

Thanx to Terry and all the volunteer editors for doing such an excellent job!!!