[plasmid]

I'll start the thread now and try to come back in an hour to put up a poll indicating that this thread has been solved. (It is important that the thread not be a poll when it is initially posted.)

[rookie1ja]

ok, let's see

[plasmid]

Not patient enough to wait a full hour. Hopefully this is a purple folder now.

If we do encourage people to flag when riddles are solved by turning them into polls with a pointer to the post with the answer, I suggest that we also ask them NOT to go through all their old riddles to flag them since that would bump a bunch of old riddles to the front. Just start flagging new riddles as they get solved. And it would be useful to have instructions somewhere saying that it's important to have something typed in both "Poll Content" and at least one "Poll Choice" added to make it turn into a poll -- that part wasn't initially obvious.

Edit: and also let people know to be careful when they turn the thread into a poll: there's no way to go back and change the poll once it's set up, even within the 10 minutes!

Edited June 16, 2009 by plasmid

[rookie1ja]

Can you write the guidelines for this? Short and clear.

And ask 1 more independent regular member to follow them and try to set up new topic just like you did in "Comments and Suggestions". Then he/she can wait 20 minutes and add the poll.

Thanks.

[plasmid]

Can you write the guidelines for this? Short and clear.

And ask 1 more independent regular member to follow them and try to set up new topic just like you did in "Comments and Suggestions". Then he/she can wait 20 minutes and add the poll.

Thanks.

Any volunteers? This could potentially go in the Important: READ BEFORE POSTING message.

Riddle authors may choose to show that a riddle has been solved by changing it from a regular thread into a poll. After an acceptable solution has been posted, when the riddle's author posts a reply to confirm that the answer is correct, click the option at the top of the editor: "Click here to manage this topic’s poll". The poll does not need to have a title, but the author will need to click "Add Poll Question" and type something in the box that appears (like Solved), and will need to click "Add Poll Choice" and type something in the box that appears (like which post number the solution is on). After the reply is posted, the riddle’s folder will be purple and the poll’s text will appear at the top of the window when people view the thread. Be aware that after the poll has been made it cannot be edited, and people may still post to the thread after it is converted to a poll.

[Guest]

Any volunteers? This could potentially go in the Important: READ BEFORE POSTING message.

Riddle authors may choose to show that a riddle has been solved by changing it from a regular thread into a poll. After an acceptable solution has been posted, when the riddle's author posts a reply to confirm that the answer is correct, click the option at the top of the editor: "Click here to manage this topic’s poll". The poll does not need to have a title, but the author will need to click "Add Poll Question" and type something in the box that appears (like Solved), and will need to click "Add Poll Choice" and type something in the box that appears (like which post number the solution is on). After the reply is posted, the riddle’s folder will be purple and the poll’s text will appear at the top of the window when people view the thread. Be aware that after the poll has been made it cannot be edited, and people may still post to the thread after it is converted to a poll.

Do you need someone to follow these instructions and try to do it? I would be happy to, but don't want to if I would just be getting in the way. If you would like me to try it - would you like me to do it in this forum as a test? Or to one of my recent riddles already going?

[Guest]

Any volunteers? This could potentially go in the Important: READ BEFORE POSTING message.

Riddle authors may choose to show that a riddle has been solved by changing it from a regular thread into a poll. After an acceptable solution has been posted, when the riddle's author posts a reply to confirm that the answer is correct, click the option at the top of the editor: "Click here to manage this topic’s poll". The poll does not need to have a title, but the author will need to click "Add Poll Question" and type something in the box that appears (like Solved), and will need to click "Add Poll Choice" and type something in the box that appears (like which post number the solution is on). After the reply is posted, the riddle’s folder will be purple and the poll’s text will appear at the top of the window when people view the thread. Be aware that after the poll has been made it cannot be edited, and people may still post to the thread after it is converted to a poll.

Something that may need to be added to your description is that you have to actually write something in your reply as well as in the poll area. This may be obvious for some people, but the first time I did it I was given an error. So I went back and started over, this time putting "Solved" in the reply section. So that would be where I would usually say my "Good job" or whatever along with my spoiler and answer. But otherwise, it was really easy to follow and understand. And your instructions were fabulous!

Edit: Something else I just thought of - what if someone actually has a poll? How are we to know if it is an actuall poll or a solved riddle. Sorry to put a damper on things, if this does, just want to think of everything though.

Edited June 16, 2009 by MrsP

[plasmid]

Thanks, MrsP! Can I go ahead and introduce this to the New Word Riddles forum when my next riddle is solved and see how it goes?

I'll include the following instructions:

Riddle authors may choose to show that a riddle has been solved by changing it from a regular thread into a poll. After an acceptable solution has been posted, when the riddle's author posts a reply to confirm that the answer is correct, click the option at the top of the editor: "Click here to manage this topic’s poll". The poll does not need to have a title, but the author will need to click "Add Poll Question" and type something in the box that appears (like Solved), and will need to click "Add Poll Choice" and type something in the box that appears (like which post number the solution is on), as well as the regular text for a reply posting. After the reply is posted, the riddle’s folder will be purple and the poll’s text will appear at the top of the window when people view the thread. Be aware that after the poll has been made it cannot be edited, and people may still post to the thread after it is converted to a poll.

And when I introduce it to the forum, I would also say:

While we introduce this to BrainDen, please DO NOT go back and mark all of your old riddles as solved – that would end up bumping all of the currently active riddles from the front of the forum's list! Just start marking the current and new riddles as they are solved.

[plainglazed]

Sounds like a good idea. Have never added a pole but sounds straightforward enough. It would be great to easily seperate solved riddles from the rest.

[rookie1ja]

A few notes:

1. I changed topic prefix from "Poll" to "Solved:" (so regular polls will be "Solved:" as well, but there is just a few polls)

2. tags are allowed in "Poll Choice" - so you can provide link to the post with solution

3. poll can be added by topic starter only for a limited time - 1 month for the time being ... we can agree on reasonable time period to keep the possibility for adding poll to own thread (how long it takes to solve most of the puzzles/riddles plus reserve time)

4. let me stress that after topic starter adds the "poll", it can not be edited later

Suggested guidelines for topic starters to mark their threads as solved:

Riddle/Puzzle authors (or generally topic starters) may choose to show that their riddle/puzzle has been solved by changing it from a regular thread into a poll.

1. After an acceptable solution has been posted, the topic starter posts a reply to confirm that the answer is correct (giving credits to solver/solvers, pointing to their posts and providing further explanation if needed).

2. When topic starter is writing reply ("Add reply"), he/she can click the option at the top of the editor: "Click here to manage this topic’s poll".

3. The poll does not need to have a title, but the topic starter will need to click "Add Poll Question" and type something in the box "Poll Content" (eg. "Solved").

4. Topic starter then needs to click "Add Poll Choice" and type something in the box that appears (like "Solved by plasmid in post #23" - tags can be used to point directly to the post with solution).

5. Topic starter needs to enter the regular text for a reply posting as well.

6. Click the button "Add Reply" in the full editor and that's it

After the reply is posted, the riddle’s folder will be purple and the poll’s text ("Solved:") will appear at the top of the window when people view the thread. Be aware that after the poll has been made it cannot be edited, and people may still post to the thread after it is converted to a poll.

Any suggestions? These guidelines will be added in the regular rules "Important: READ BEFORE POSTING".

[plasmid]

Any suggestions? These guidelines will be added in the regular rules "Important: READ BEFORE POSTING".

Neat trick with inserting the url link into the Poll Choice! I would recommend adding an explanation to step 4; otherwise people are likely to think that the post # within the thread is the one they should use in the url tag, not the internal post # kept by the forum, which would create problems since the poll isn't editable:

If you reply to the post containing the solution, you can find its post number within the bracketed text that will appear in the top line of the editor. You can create a link to that post by using that number in url tags: {post=178736}this post{/post}.

(Of course use square brackets in the explanation; I had to use curlys instead so it would show up as text in this reply)

Edit: I just noticed that you can click on the number of the post in the upper right when you're viewing the forum to get a direct link to that post. That would probably be easier to use as a way of setting up the link with regular sort of linkage instead of the that BB Code uses. Perhaps that's what should be pointed out in the instructions instead.

You can get a hyperlink address to the post with the correct answer by clicking its number in the upper right corner. Then use that hyperlink in url tags like so: {url=http://brainden.com/forum/index.php?s=&showtopic=9229&view=findpost&p=178721}this post{/url}

Edited June 17, 2009 by plasmid

[rookie1ja]

Good point with explaining URL of posts.

Revised guidelines for topic starters to mark their threads as solved:

Riddle/Puzzle authors (or generally topic starters) may choose to show that their riddle/puzzle has been solved by changing it from a regular thread into a poll.

1. After an acceptable solution has been posted, the topic starter posts a reply to confirm that the answer is correct (giving credits to solver/solvers, pointing to their posts and providing further explanation if needed). Before adding reply, the topic starter can first copy the hyperlink address - URL - to the post with the correct answer by clicking its number in the upper right corner of the post (eg. clicking on "#2" if that post includes the solution).

2. When topic starter is writing reply ("Add reply"), he/she can click the option at the top of the editor: "Click here to manage this topic’s poll".

3. The poll does not need to have a title, but the topic starter will need to click "Add Poll Question" and type something in the box "Poll Content" (eg. "Solved").

4. Topic starter then needs to click "Add Poll Choice" and type something in the box that appears (like "Solved by plasmid in post #23" - tags can be used to point directly to the post with solution.) You can get a hyperlink address - URL - to the post with the correct answer by clicking its number in the upper right corner. You might want to copy the URL before you "Add Reply" so that you just paste it in this step. Then use that hyperlink in url tags like so:

[url=http://brainden.com/forum/index.php?s=&showtopic=9215&view=findpost&p=178754]this post[/url]

5. Topic starter needs to enter the regular text for a reply posting as well.

6. Click the button "Add Reply" in the full editor and that's it

After the reply is posted, the riddle’s folder will be purple and the poll’s text ("Solved:") will appear at the top of the window when people view the thread. Be aware that after the poll has been made it cannot be edited, and people may still post to the thread after it is converted to a poll.

[Guest]

So, on step 4, you click on the number in the top right, then copy the highlighted URL, then go into the add reply? Sorry, I just want to make sure I understand it, and it's clear.

[rookie1ja]

So, on step 4, you click on the number in the top right, then copy the highlighted URL, then go into the add reply? Sorry, I just want to make sure I understand it, and it's clear.

I have amended the guidelines - first copy the URL and then add reply.

[Guest]

I have amended the guidelines, you can first copy the URL and then add reply.

Awesome. Way clearer. Thank you.

[plasmid]

Oddly, for these purple folders, I've noticed that they haven't always been changing from the light-colored purple to the deeper-colored purple to indicate that there's been a new post. (Maybe because I'm using Google Chrome? Is anyone else noticing the same thing?) A minor glitch compared to the overall usefulness of being able to indicate when a riddle is solved though.

Whenever you think it's ironed out enough to start implementing in the logic and word forums, give us the word.

[Guest]

Oddly, for these purple folders, I've noticed that they haven't always been changing from the light-colored purple to the deeper-colored purple to indicate that there's been a new post. (Maybe because I'm using Google Chrome? Is anyone else noticing the same thing?) A minor glitch compared to the overall usefulness of being able to indicate when a riddle is solved though.

Whenever you think it's ironed out enough to start implementing in the logic and word forums, give us the word.

I've noticed that, but just the oppoiste. I have noticed that even after I check it - and there is nothing new, it is still dark purple. But I agree with you - it is not a big enough problem compared to how great it will be to have this telling us it is solved.

[rookie1ja]

I have edited the registration rules, word riddles rules and logic puzzles rules - I included guidelines for marking threads solved at the bottom starting with big red NEW.

Feel free to start following the steps in your new threads.

Thanks for this great idea plasmid.

[Guest]

I have edited the registration rules, word riddles rules and logic puzzles rules - I included guidelines for marking threads solved at the bottom starting with big red NEW.

Feel free to start following the steps in your new threads.

Thanks for this great idea plasmid.

It says "NEWS" - do you want it to say that or "NEW"?

The rules look great. I can't wait until someone solves something so we can try it out!!

[Guest]

Ok, I did it - one of mine was solved so I did everything. And it worked - it shows that it's solved, but the URL to go to the number isn't a link. It can't be clicked on, to go there. It is just the URL. Did I do something wrong?

Edit: I know what I did wrong. I forgot the []....oh well. First time.

Edited June 17, 2009 by MrsP

[bonanova]

A few notes:

1. I changed topic prefix from "Poll" to "Solved:" (so regular polls will be "Solved:" as well, but there is just a few polls)

2. tags are allowed in "Poll Choice" - so you can provide link to the post with solution

3. poll can be added by topic starter only for a limited time - 1 month for the time being ... we can agree on reasonable time period to keep the possibility for adding poll to own thread (how long it takes to solve most of the puzzles/riddles plus reserve time)

4. let me stress that after topic starter adds the "poll", it can not be edited later

Suggested guidelines for topic starters to mark their threads as solved:

Any suggestions? These guidelines will be added in the regular rules "Important: READ BEFORE POSTING".

When an old riddle [hats on death row] is "solved" again, it gets bumped to the top.

In that case, would it be appropriate for the owner or a Mod to convert it to a poll?

Agree not to poll every solved puzzle; but if it gets a "new"solution, that bumps it.

Converting those solved puzzles to polls might be good idea.

- bn

[plasmid]

Ok, I did it - one of mine was solved so I did everything. And it worked - it shows that it's solved, but the URL to go to the number isn't a link. It can't be clicked on, to go there. It is just the URL. Did I do something wrong?

Edit: I know what I did wrong. I forgot the []....oh well. First time.

Also, in READ BEFORE POSTING it looks like the last [] is missing the slash to show that it's closing the url tag.

[Guest]

When an old riddle [hats on death row] is "solved" again, it gets bumped to the top.

In that case, would it be appropriate for the owner or a Mod to convert it to a poll?

Agree not to poll every solved puzzle; but if it gets a "new"solution, that bumps it.

Converting those solved puzzles to polls might be good idea.

- bn

I think it would be good to "poll" old riddles that have made it to the top by someone digging it back up(afterall it would already be at the top so why not). I have a question tho. When authors do change it to a poll, does it automatically only say "solved"? Or are they able to add additional text? Perhaps a riddle (mostly in logics forums) has more than one answer(deathrow problems), could the author write that at least one answer has been found? Or should they wait to change it to a poll, until after more people have the opportunity to try and solve it? Or maybe in their title, try to encourage authors to write something to the effect that there are more than one possible solution in the title description, I don't know. Either way it's a cool idea, I hope it works. I think the readers of the Riddles forum will benefit greatly from this. I'm not convinced it will work as well in the Logic/math forum, only because there may be more solutions to discuss and an author may choose not to make it a poll, because then it may die without exploring the other possibilities. But if anyone is like me, I read pretty much all the problems in that forum anyway. It's just the riddles forum where I would like to see it most.

[rookie1ja]

It says "NEWS" - do you want it to say that or "NEW"?

The rules look great. I can't wait until someone solves something so we can try it out!!

NEW

When an old riddle [hats on death row] is "solved" again, it gets bumped to the top.

In that case, would it be appropriate for the owner or a Mod to convert it to a poll?

Agree not to poll every solved puzzle; but if it gets a "new"solution, that bumps it.

Converting those solved puzzles to polls might be good idea.

- bn

Hats on death row can be converted to "poll" next time it's bumped. This thread is specific and most people get to the thread from non-forum page (Best Puzzles) directly so they don't see the label "Solved:" in forum topics list. This can be applied for all other threads that are constantly bumped and are solved long time ago - they can be marked as solved with link to the post with solution.

"New" solution is the risk that I realized as well - eg. after solution is provided someone comes up with more elegant solution, alternative solution, proving the first solution wrong etc. Only mods and me can help with those cases if topic starter asks for that.

Also, in READ BEFORE POSTING it looks like the last [] is missing the slash to show that it's closing the url tag.

Which rules in particular (their URL)? After which word?

I think it would be good to "poll" old riddles that have made it to the top by someone digging it back up(afterall it would already be at the top so why not). I have a question tho. When authors do change it to a poll, does it automatically only say "solved"? Or are they able to add additional text? Perhaps a riddle (mostly in logics forums) has more than one answer(deathrow problems), could the author write that at least one answer has been found? Or should they wait to change it to a poll, until after more people have the opportunity to try and solve it? Or maybe in their title, try to encourage authors to write something to the effect that there are more than one possible solution in the title description, I don't know. Either way it's a cool idea, I hope it works. I think the readers of the Riddles forum will benefit greatly from this. I'm not convinced it will work as well in the Logic/math forum, only because there may be more solutions to discuss and an author may choose not to make it a poll, because then it may die without exploring the other possibilities. But if anyone is like me, I read pretty much all the problems in that forum anyway. It's just the riddles forum where I would like to see it most.

I agree as written in reply to bn's comment - regular bump and consequent change to "poll" by topic starter is good. It says than "Solved: Topic Title" and I changed the prefix from the original "Poll: Topic Title" - only I can change the prefix (1 prefix for all poll threads). Additional comments on solution should be done by authors in "Poll Choice". I assume that readers would like to keep it simple - they read the puzzle/riddle and they want to have quick link to solution/explanation.

[plasmid]

Which rules in particular (their URL)? After which word?

Under READ BEFORE POSTING, the new part, step 4, should have {/url} at the end instead of just {url}

For both math/logic (http://brainden.com/forum/index.php?act=SR&f=7) and word riddles (http://brainden.com/forum/index.php?act=SR&f=35)

[Guest]

Clever workaround.

Regarding rating the riddle after it is solved (question raised by andromeda in the companion thread here that is locked):

Rating could be done in the poll as a second question, no? Just offer a set of choices from 1 to 5 or 1 to 10 and let the viewers vote. It would be up to the thread starters to offer a standardized rating system.