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Entry Qualification
Anybody can play, although I ask that all players be registered members of the Debate Unlimited Forum. This ensures that everybody has a simple name to play under that I don't have to choose for them. It also helps fulfill one of the main purposes of the quiz which is to provide a supply of bright people to the forum who have not come because they already either agree with everything I have ever written or want to see me burning in Hell. There is no pressure on anybody to take part in the debates, just sign up and secure your quiz identity on the forum, join in if you want to.
Although there is a quiz league each quiz is a stand-alone event with its own winner. Playing once is not a commitment to play every week.
As an entrance fee I ask for a question suggestion for a future quiz.
This is not strictly compulsory but I think it gives an extra edge of enjoyment to all the players and it certainly makes the job of coming up with 10 original and varied questions very much easier for me!
See Questions Please!
Feel free to use any reference materials you want, I can't stop you!
Most players like to run through the questions and answer as many as they can without research and then use books, CD ROMs, friends and the resources of the web to find and confirm the answers. There can be no special recognition for claiming to have done the quiz unaided, so I assume everybody has used all their common sense to find out the answers using whatever methods they can. Cheating would require you to hack into my computer or read my mind. However, whilst you are free to ask anybody the answers please ensure that you do not spoil the quiz for other people by causing the answer to be made public. Re-asking the question in any public forum is bad manners to the other contestants.
In order to ensure that a perfect score is not given away lightly I mark the questions with a logarithmic scale. If you have several wrong already I am more lenient with an imperfect answer. A score of ten out of ten requires ten fully satisfactory answers, while not exactly requiring superhuman perfection it will not be given lightly.
Marking and Appeals
I have discovered that the simplest way to mark the quiz is to reply to your email and show the answers I have allowed points for. If you think I have been too harsh with your answer email me back to explain why you think your answer deserves the point, I may relent if you have good evidence, but as with any appeal system in finely balanced cases the bias is against overruling a previous decision. It makes more sense to explain your answers well in the first place.
Any challenge to a marking decision must be received within twenty four hours of revealing the answers, after that time, even if I admit a mistake, the scores will stand. I generally mark quite generously.
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In the event of a tie I will decide the the placings according to the fine detail of correct answers, smartarse bonuses may decide the placings. > ( ! ) < Smartarse bonuses are offered for full detailed answers and extra information, they only count in the event of a tie. |
Tips:
I mark correct answers as correct, even if they are not the answers I am expecting. You increase your chances of getting the mark if you explain the answer you give. If I come across an answer that I don't recognize I will tend to mark it as incorrect but if you explain why you gave that answer I may give you the point if your answer seems sound. If I can't understand your answer I can't judge it to be correct.
When looking at picture questions always move your mouse over the image. Sometimes there are hotspots, sometimes there is a message revealed across the whole image. (Image map alt text or whole image alt text). The messages may contain clues, or jokes, or both.
Don't bother trying to look up the filenames of the images, I'm not that stupid.
I often tag the images to make them less appealing to people who might borrow them from the site, when I decide the colours and fonts to use I sometimes manage to include another subtle clue in the colour or font choice.
The question numbers sometimes are significant.
Feedback
It is also within the rules to contact me by email or personalmessage on the forum. This increases my enjoyment of the quiz. I may give a little hint of help with a question, even if it is just to tell you that you are barking up the wrong tree. I think I have a good sense of fairplay, I do not show favouritism, a small amount of clarification or confirmation is available to all players. The simplest way to get a bit of help is to submit a rough draft of answers part way through the quiz. I can then see which questions are working and in return I can offer help, usually in the form of telling you to think again on a particular question or to stop torturing yourself if you have a correct answer but are not sure about it. It may also mean that I have time to look into an unexpected answer and so find that although it was not what I was looking for it contains enough merit to deserve a point.