This probably has been explained before but I could not find it . First, Can someone please explain how quizzes are chosen for various recognition? For example a Cool Quiz or Editor's Choice have various different symbols. Are these based on different categories or some other distinction?

I don't understand how a quiz that was posted in the first two weeks could be overlooked when over 500 people played it and then when the ranking kicked in, it was lower. On the other hand, a quiz that hadn't been played as much as the other one, less than 100 times can be a cool quiz ? It just doesn't make sense to me. Can someone please help? Thanks!

>> For example a Cool Quiz or Editor's Choice have various different symbols. Are these based on different categories or some other distinction?

The sunglasses are the highest ranked quizzes, as rated by players. The thumbs up are ECs chosen by editors. The light bulb means that each Q has an explanation for the answer (interesting info). These yellow light bulbs are remnants of the old QL system, when quizzes without explanations were accepted and placed online.

>> I don't understand how a quiz that was posted in the first two weeks could be overlooked when over 500 people played it and then when the ranking kicked in, it was lower. On the other hand, a quiz that hadn't been played as much as the other one, less than 100 times can be a cool quiz ? It just doesn't make sense to me.

The number of times a quiz is played doesn't create/generate the quiz ranking; not everybody who plays a quiz will give it a rating. The quiz pages disclose the number of time a quiz is played, but they don't disclose how many players have rated the quiz.

Prior to ranking, quizzes aren't "ranked"; so I'm not sure what you mean by "when the ranking kicked in, it was lower" .. lower than what/where? Secondly, what do you mean by "overlooked"?

Quizzes rated with sunglasses ("cool" quizzes) have achieved this due to the ratings given to the quiz by players once they've finished playing (the "Excellent-Good-Average", etc line you see at the bottom of each quiz you play). Getting sunglasses on your quiz is in no way related to the number of times it is played. Players actually have to click on a rating that reflects how they feel about the quiz overall; simply playing the quiz does not do this.

Editor's Choice quizzes (the ones with a thumbs-up symbol next to them) have been selected by the editors as being outstanding in a number of areas such as originality in subject matter or construction. An editor will only select a quiz as being an Editor's Choice perhaps once out of every 100 quizzes he or she edits, and often a lot less frequently than that!

NatalieW
Editor

The fact that over 500 people have played a quiz doesn't necessarily mean that it's a good quiz. Neither does a quiz that's only had 40 plays have to be bad. All it means that quiz A had a more attractive introduction, or covered a more popular topic, than quiz B. What if all of those 500 people disliked the quiz, and all 40 loved the other one? That's what the sunglasses are for.

One other thing we've learned is that the 'difficulty rating' is determined by the people taking it, and if your questions are the type that people just say, 'ah, this one's not worth seeing through because it isn't fair' and quit, then it will be ranked difficult! And if that question isn't fair or isn't worded the right way, then your quiz will lose its appeal for many people. Your information might be fantastic, but if the question isn't conveying it the right way, it will fall flat on its face.

If I have an impossible FITB question that's full of punctuation (not allowed by anyone now, but in the earlier days, we did not realize this) and it would take a mind reader to figure out, my quiz will be rated difficult or impossible for the wrong reasons. And then, if someone finds this really a drag to do, they'll rate it poorly.
This is why we nag you without fail (har har) when you submit quizzes to us, even though it may not be apparent to you what we're asking beyond mere grammar and punctuation.
Editors are looking at it from several perspectives. We don't want you to waste your research on a question that's not looking at things from the player's standpoint.

An Editor's choice is only discerned when the quiz is really exceptionally good. It's got something truly exceptional about it. I give out a handful per year.

The player rankings of a quiz normally pan out over time so that they reflect not just the popularity of the quiz topic but the quality of the quiz. In the old days, you'd see a really popular topic rise to the top, yet the quiz wasn't the best in the world. Now we have the best of both worlds.

Bruyere
FT editor

After reading the responses, it is easier to understand info about quizzes. Thank you all for your response!

Gtho4: thank you for explaining about cool quizzes and Editor Choice. It makes more sense with this explanation. Until you explained, it didn't make sense to me but now it does.

Will try to explain. I am aware that new quizzes are not ranked but I thought if 500 people played the game during that time, it was considered to be a popular quiz. Once the quiz are "ranking" kicked in, I thought the quiz popularity changed. But now that I understand that just because a person takes a quiz does NOT affect its rank, but telling the Fun Trivia site what the quiz person thought of the quiz does . . . it now makes sense. I wasn't aware of this part until I asked this question. Thanks for making me understand this now!

NatalieW also made me understand quizzes better too. That's a great explanation!

What Leau78 says now makes sense too. Your info is appreciated as well.

Bruyere: I found your info also interesting in your mention about the difficult rating. I found this confusing also because depending upon where one looks on the site, it varies of rather it is average or easy, etc. When I see the menu of quizzes it says rather it is easy or not. But when I looked under another heading it was given a less difficult rating. Your suggestion of how a quiz may or may not be a good quiz is very interesting and your feedback is appreciated. I also have to agree with the punctuation matter in the FITB. Thanks for sharing your view! I am glad that Fun Trivia has changed with the times and gets better and better! Your view is appreciated also!


When I mentioned "lower," I was referring to the numbers that vary 3.75/5, 3.8/5, etc. with another number listed under Rank like 2249. Some numbers depending upon the category, I assume is larger quiz categories and they are larger. I don't understand these numbers and how they come to these totals. Some quiz categories don't have as many quizzes so wouldn't that make the ranking different?

I'm not sure if this last part makes sense but I hope it does. So much info to take in and understand . . . It's hard to explain in words somewhat.

I love it here and so glad that I have found friends here! It's a wonderful site and I hope to stay around a long time! You all are such terrific people! So glad to be here! A personal thanks to all the editors here for taking their free time to help quiz makers! You all do a great job and I bow before you all! Keep up the great work!

Thanks to everyone for their responses! It slowly is making sense about how things take shape on quizzes. I will be sure to rate the quizzes I take from now on! Thanks!!!

The numbers like 3.75/5 are the actually rating a quiz gets. If everyone would rate a quiz "excellent", it would have a 5/5, if everyone would rate it "very poor" it'd end up with a 1/5.

The other number you mention, like 2249, is the rank. A quiz's rank is a site-wide ranking, not within its category (although gold members have access to a list of category rankings) and is based on the rating. So 2249 means that there are 2248 quizzes that have a higher rating.

For example, my quiz at rank 26 has a rating of 4.61. Then my next quiz is ranked at 113 with a rating of 4.51. This means that all other quizzes with ratings from 4.52-4.60 will be ranked between 27-112.

I hope that cleared things up a bit.

Leau78: Thanks so much for your time and a really great explanation! It now makes sense to me about rank and ratings!!!!

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Live every day to the fullest. We don't know what tomorrow brings.

Also note that 3.8/5 is the default rating for quizzes until enough players have rated the quiz to give a real rating (and ranking).