Also, please remember the editors do not take quizzes offline for just any reason - if there are typos, we generally try to fix those rather than take the quiz offline. If it's something we can quickly find out is right/wrong, we may do that as well.

Here are some of the problems I've found in questions:

Some answers are regionalized, but posted as universal. Equine-related questions are good examples.

Choice of wording could be better. One recent question asked about marinade, but the "correct" answer was actually a dip.

Typographical errors change the meanings of the questions. In one question, typing "knees" vice "knee" made the correct answer physically impossible.

If you run across equine answers with such quizzes, please submit a correction notice! Such quizzes are usually old; I've been very strict for awhile that country-specific questions need to be indicated.

Maybe I've been lucky; with the exception of the feedback at submission stage from the editors (may their tribe increase) I have only received one correction notice; and the person querying it based their answer on what they had been told by a third party.

I tried to send a correction for a crossword but it came up as no quid chosen. Is there something I'm missing?

No, there's a problem there that Terry will need to fix. It's on his list.

Meantime, if you send a note to a crossword editor (being very specific about which puzzle and the nature of the error) we'll make sure any necessary change is made. You can send that note to me, if you like. If it isn't in my area, I'll pass it on to the correct person.

Thanks for the information.

I think that before sending a correction you should look it up on google to make sure that you're correction is in fact, correct.

I have just recently started submitting quizzes, and find that I quite enjoy writing them. I now have a few on-line and have received a couple of correction notices, and I imagine I will receive a few more. What I have noticed, on the first correction notice I responded right away to the sender. The next correction notice The sender of it was right so I made the corrections before responding to the sender. When I went back the next day to send them a note the notice was gone, so I could not reply. I think that if the note itself were to remain in your mail-box until you delete it, it would be much easier to respond.

The notes are cleared when the editor marks your quiz as corrected. We really don't have any way to leave them in your mailbox.

I have a file on my computer where I keep all FT correspondence that I may have a future need for. This is also a great way to keep your compliments, so they don't jam up the mailbox but you can remember who sent you a note on your last quiz, and keep and eye out for their next one.

That is such a great idea, thanks I'm going to try that.

I've been spending the morning checking correction notes, and found a few things reoccurring, that I'd like to remind everybody about.

First is - did you read the whole question, including the clue? For several of the correction notes I've seen today, the author clearly states an important aspect of the question in the clue. The players who sent off notes had plainly not read this, or they would not have made the mistakes that they did.

Second, and this is mostly relevant to tournament play - did you read the quiz title, and make note of which category the quiz was in? If the quiz is in the Literature category, then it just does not matter what happens in the movie. If the quiz is in Movies, then who cares what happened in the Broadway show? Be alert.

As for the quiz title, there is often very essential information there - you ignore it at your peril.

We endeavour to make sure all quizzes are fair and correct, but it's up to you to make use of all of the available information.

Interesting thread. Like HairyBear, I'm one of those annoying people who sends correction notices. Usually I can tell if they're simple typos or serious factual/stylistic errors. And I DO do my research first--anyone who's done a lot of research for anything knows that several different sources can provide just as many different facts. It can be confusing! (Especially when it comes to the Internet. Guess I'm still a 'find a traditionally published source' sorta person... ).

But I would expect the same courtesy (i.e., pointing out a correction) on any quiz I've written. Also, I don't mind discussions about them, if they're done in a friendly, rational way.

In fact, on a recent quiz I got a compliment with a correction included (spelling of an English city). Went to look for the error and couldn't find it. My husband couldn't find it. I emailed the 'corrector' of my dilemma and, sure enough, he couldn't fiind it again either. It's much funnier than it sounds, and we all laughed about it.

I always try to be polite and also compliment the quiz maker if I send a correction. I'm a born cynic, but in these cases, that will get you nowhere!

And, yes, thank you editors for your hard work. I've worked several times with one editor in particular that is very good, understanding and thorough. You probably know who you are (and NO, I'm not buttering anyone up! ). I didn't realize editors also reviewed corrections. Bravo!

Keep up the good work. Everyone. Oh, and sorry for being so long-winded!

Cheers!

woboogie

A pet peeve of mine is what ladymacb alluded to. People sending correction notes when the explanation for what they think is an error is clearly shown in the interesting info, if they read it.

I can understand that frustration. I think the interesting info is the best part of quizzes. But that's just me.

woboogie

As a general rule, I'll review any correction notice I get and, if the player is correct, I'll thank them for pointing out the error and for taking the quiz. If I feel the player is incorrect, I'll explain to them why I think that, cite any supporting materials to indicate my research, and thank them for taking the quiz.

Getting an inaccurate correction notice can be a pain if the other person insists, despite your best efforts, that you're wrong. But the way I look at it, if someone feels that I'm off base and can show me that, it makes me a better quiz writer.

cag1970, couldn't agree more. I had one today that both I and the editor missed. A couple of hundred players also either didn't spot it or couldn't be bothered to send a correction. I'd rather get one early than later.

I'm with you there mike - I once had a correction for a question that had been online over a year, played by over 200 people, and by myself about 6 times, and we still all missed an error! It was one of those "doh!" moments.

I have been guilty of ignoring a minor error on the grounds that it was petty, or that surely the writer would know about it by now? Not always! When I have done so, I've had replies that said "Oops... thank you ... didn't see that!"

At the other end of the scale, I had one correction notice for my one and only quiz, that said what I'd written was wrong, but didn't offer any information or resources to back it up, or suggest a better way of phrasing the question. Dealing with that was a bit like nailing a jelly to the wall.

If I send a correction notice, I will always back it up with what I think is the right phrase or spelling, and usually a reference of some sort to corroborate it. I don't think it's polite to tell a quiz author this is wrong but you need to work out why.

And now I shall be grateful for advice, please - I don't know the best place to post this.

I've just done today's brain twist:
http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/BrainTeasers/Anagram-Quiz-239192.html
Quiz - Anagram Quiz
There was no guide to the order required, so I put them in the same order as the clues, and got the words right, but marked wrong for being in the "wrong" order.

Then I checked back to the original quiz, and read the rubric. A whole chunk of it had been removed for the Brain Twist:
"Make sure that the answers are in the order that makes sense, which is not necessarily the order given."
What a difference that would have made if I'd seen it first!

So I missed out on today's Brain Twist points, and hope it's OK for me to express my disappointment here.

Lesley, I would suggest posting it as a new thread, and title it something like:

GC: Brain Twist: Suggested improvement

and suggest that the full rubic is included in the GC. However, the GC seems to be working off a very old database, so it's possible that it does include the full rubic from the time when the quiz was written

That happened to me too, Lesley. I wasn't very happy.

I agree with Lesley and Maggie - today's Twister was very confusing. First one I've missed this G/C, I suspect quite a few other people's jaws dropped when the answers page came up.