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12:19 AM
I just want to chime in here briefly to say
> (note to self: stop making ranty Twitter threads about SO, nobody reads them, you're not @gortok)
... wrong. :)
 
Ugh twitter rants
It's like the worst platform to rant on in the first place
 
@Rubio who are you quoting there?
 
The person being quoted will know. i'm not going to point them out unless they want to be pointed out hehe
 
Fair enough.
 
12:34 AM
codenames anyone? I haven't played a game since forever
 
 
1 hour later…
1:37 AM
0
Q: Riddle of the Black Knights

Earlien As per their long-time ritual The Black Knights sat in a circle. The captain sat at the head, and to his right the colonel. A runt sat left of the captain, half the size of the colonel. A bold accuser stood in the center, and quietly his votes were cast. When the captain was ac...

 
 
1 hour later…
2:44 AM
@msh210 Solution to your CCCC is BINGHAMTON, a city in New York state. (Chandler -> BING; starts of h... a... m... t... o...; casting "at sixth"; def is "city in the north".)
 
Nice. I was on entirely the wrong track.
well ok not entirely ... I was looking at Copenhagen though :)
 
 
3 hours later…
5:51 AM
@GarethMcCaughan yes, of course. Nicely found
 
 
1 hour later…
7:08 AM
@Rubio OMG I am George Stocker?? I had no idea
 
@Mithical Yes, clearly that was what I was getting at ;)
 
 
1 hour later…
8:26 AM
0
Q: Their mistake or mine?

ExalI've found Pepper's Puzzles to be a very nice introduction to picross puzzles, with a cute anime girl to boot. While I've steadily improved in my deductive powers and the logic inherent to nonograms, this puzzle, half-solved, has me stymied. After my normal minor temper tantrum, I took a brea...

 
8:46 AM
0
Q: My prefix gives a lesson; my infix makes a sound

Ébe Isaac My prefix gives a lesson My infix makes a sound My suffix is a tunnel to keep smoke off the ground For a kingdom that's worthy Though it stands tall If it does not heed this message It is sure to fall Who/what am I?

 
 
1 hour later…
10:07 AM
0
Q: The dimensional Portal

DudeWhoWantsToLearnWhat am I? I kinda look like a Gate, I can even act as a Gate between two worlds. The second world is mirrored to the first one, but I am not a Mirror

 
10:48 AM
1
Q: A very strange character

msh210 My mouth can kill, but my eyes can only damage. Religious people turn into atheists because of the offhand position my golf ball is in. I conceal what I wish to, as small people tend to do. I'm an air-traffic controller in Dallas, telling some planes to go and others not to. I sometimes want you...

 
11:09 AM
0
Q: A solvable Riley Riddle

Nobody My prefix is one that can be just plain rude, To get my infix, I you may need to brood. My suffix can be seen in the actions of angry dudes All in all, I am something that 'eats food'

0
Q: What was once thick and green

Ébe Isaac A is a friend and foe of the wind Without B, wheels will go astray C bears around it what all others of its kind conceal The answer is composed of First 4 letters of A Last 5 letters if B First 5 letters of C

 
 
1 hour later…
12:29 PM
@Rubio 'Twas clear to me who you were quoting just from the writing style.
@Avi No, just the most recent one of the (currently) four.
Although his gold tag badge doesn't do him much good as he has closehammer powers on everything anyway.
 
@Randal'Thor Just how many of my posts have you been reading if you can tell from that one line? ;)
 
in Spades, Mar 29 '16 at 17:12, by Shog9
I've been in some chatrooms here almost from the start, and yet of course there are still a few people who drop in now and then who were in the chat beta or wake up earlier than me. Meanwhile, the group of "regulars" who account for most of the conversation has changed numerous times. Folks reflecting on "the good ol' days" are talking about some undefined period right after they joined but before they got bored.
 
@Randal'Thor Note the winking face; was meant as a joke
 
@Mithical I know, but thought it was an interesting thing to quote anyway.
 
Although the chat room has quieted down noticeably since a couple years ago, not just changed regulars.
 
12:37 PM
@Mithical I'm not sure exactly what in the style is so distinctive. Maybe the being openly self-conscious (telling yourself aloud to stop rather than just stopping), but the "you're not @gortok" somehow sounds very Mith too.
I can usually tell a Journeyman Geek post from the first sentence too ;-)
 
The "its" usually gives that away...
 
Even without "its" or ";p"
His writing style is somehow distinctive.
@Mithical It's had a lot of ups and downs. I remember essentially reviving it to life from nothing when I came back to Puzzling in Sep '16, but there were very active periods before that as well (usually coinciding with some big drama on the site).
 
1:01 PM
@msh210 Is it possible that your recently posted 13-part riddle should have the [knowledge] tag or something similar? (I don't at all know what the answer is, but I have a half-baked theory about how it works.) This meta question discusses when [knowledge] is appropriate.
 
@GarethMcCaughan After reading that, I'm not sure it's necessary. But it's certainly applicable. I'll put it in to be fair.
Thanks for the reminder.
 
1:54 PM
CCCC: My second-class Englishman (6)
 
2:53 PM
0
Q: Identify me through my hobbies

George MenoutisRule: I will be posting one hobby per day (in no particular order)(was that a hint?) until the riddle is found. The riddle's answer is the name of either the real human or their persona. I like to virtually explore earth until lost

 
3:13 PM
1
Q: A series of fortunate transpositions

SlowMagicUsing only a sequence of transpositions, see if you can take this: to this: while maintaining English words on each of the three horizontals. At each step, you may transpose any two neighboring letters, either up-down or left-right. At each step, you must have three horizontal English w...

 
3:27 PM
Unsure avout closure for this question: puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/93003/…
I initially VTCed, and then realized the answer.
 
Hm! I agree that your answer seems very likely right and the question is at least amusing. I personally wouldn't close it, but I generally prefer to leave things around unless they're really bad.
 
@GarethMcCaughan that's approximately where I'm at right now - my initial close reason was "this puzzle is not solvable in its current state," but then I solved it.
and it was kind of fun.
 
I still think "I'll add to the puzzle each day until it gets solved" is a problem
 
4:33 PM
I left a more detailed note on the original post, but in the interest of transitioning the conversation over here, this was my main point.
 
there appears to be a difference there - Rubio's was intended to be solvable from the outset, and the updates were not a planned part of the puzzle (as far as I can tell). This one planned to be "interactive", responding to the answers it got
 
I for one am not opposed to the generic concept of interactive puzzles
 
Avi
I am opposed, but judging from the fact that somebody was able to identify it from one hobby
perhaps it wasn't a good riddle in the first place
just "can you remember an xkcd from long ago" instead of "here's my clever puzzle that will make you groan or delight as you understand the solution"
 
A major purpose of this site is to be an archive of high-quality puzzles -- puzzles should be solvable at any point. Interactive puzzles directly go against that. This isn't a forum, and it's not the place to run adventure games.
 
@Avi it may also be that I spend too much time reading XKCDs ;)
 
4:37 PM
(but yeah it also seems far too trivia-based, but that's another issue entirely)
 
it also appears to rely on a unique (off-site) source.
so yeah, I'm wrong already.
too many issues in general, ig.
 
not quite - it would still be findable from ExplainXKCD, and XKCD archive sites - but yeah it's a bit sketchy
 
heh - sketchy - a pun.
I think I was so proud of solving the puzzle that I irrationally defended the question in the interest of promoting my answer.
not a good motive.
 
Avi
Don't worry - I believe you can get the next puzzle :)
 
:) thx
 
Avi
4:42 PM
Oh, btw - shoutout to this answer for this question
 
I'll let him keep my upvote, though - I did have fun with it, and the community has made clear enough that the question wasn't ideal for the site. No need to pile it on, IMO.
@Avi lol wow
 
Avi
It's brilliant :D
90% correct, 200% humorous
 
shameless plug for one of my favorite answers (once I find the link)...
13
A: Is there a secret message in the first decimals of PI?

Brandon_JHere's my guess Take the first 100 digits of pi: 1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510 5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 3421170679 STEP 1: Based on whether a digit is odd and even, convert it to AB format. Result: ABAAA BBAAA BAAAA BABBB BBBAA BABAA ABBBB ...

I've never been prouder of a factually incorrect answer.
makes me happy just looking at it lol
 
Avi
blue ~ blew apparently
 
or maybe the nose is cold
and blue
 
Avi
4:50 PM
sold ~ soled too
 
wait...
 
Avi
I soled my soul
 
I'm not getting that one.
 
Avi
homophone
 
oh, lol
you point----------->*


my head------------>0
 
Avi
4:52 PM
sounds like a linked list gone wrong
 
Avi
0
A: Hands-on murderer

EMIIIYour a solution of some sort you solve also be hexes the define any specific

nani
Can somebody explain this to me? My English parser just crashed
 
it's NAA - not an answer
 
Avi
ahh
 
I suppose it's a permutation of a valid English sentence
 
4:54 PM
Yeah that's pretty clearly not an answer.
 
you suppose I right are @JohnDvorak
 
Same user has posted one other answer to a different question, which is a bad answer but still an answer. So it doesn't seem like this is a spammer or a robot or whatever. Presumably not a native English speaker. No idea what they're trying to say in this particular case...
 
Avi
not bad faith, but bad grammar
o the horror
proceeds to read MTL'd novels
 
Maybe this is a google translate error?
 
Not even Google Translate is this bad methinks
 
Avi
4:57 PM
My mouth outpours hypocrisy like translation software produces errors
 
@Brandon_J This puzzle was solvable from the outset. The narrative style was just to give me an opportunity to add hints via further developments.
 
@Rubio yeeeah Deus already set me straight on that.
 
We've had a lot of conversation on local Meta about interactive puzzles. The general consensus follows this answer here: Does this question seem appropriate for PSE?
My stock guidance snippets include one that reads, in relevant part,
[...] keep in mind that (at least here) puzzles are not interactive challenges—potential solutions should be testable by referring to *the puzzle*, not by needing a response from the setter as to whether they're right or not. If the puzzle lacks enough specificity to make that determination, then it's probably *too broad*, [...]
2
but I think we've always held that the puzzle should be solvable from its first incarnation, not only made solvable by incremental addition of "hints", as
[...] any "hints" added to fix that aren't really hints, they're a necessary part of the puzzle.
 
Avi
'tis me!
 
They even got your good side!
 
Avi
5:04 PM
except... is it also a rebus?
 
I dunno, you tell me.
;P
 
Avi
Hypocrisy's reflected near the speaker
so yes, kind of
 
14 mins ago, by Brandon_J
you point----------->*


my head------------>0
 
Avi
Do you get badge points for questions? Or answers only?
 
badge points?
You get reputation for both questions and answers (and edits for new accts)
and there are various that can be earned for questions, answers, comments, and moderation activites
*there are various badges that can be
forgot that important word
 
5:18 PM
sigh.
 
@Rubio did I say something depressing?
 
That was a pre-emptive sigh.
 
@F1Krazy and everyone in general: If you're thinking of editing a post that does not seem to meet site standards, and your edit won't actually make it meet site standards, please do not make that edit. Answers with no explanation, or which do not answer the question that was asked, need more than superficial edits to formatting or spelling to salvage, and you won't be able to provide those. Such posts are often seen during Review for the very deficiencies your edit cannot fix, but your edit often will cause the Review to pass inappropriately. So... if your edit won't fix it, don't edit! — Rubio ♦ 2 mins ago
Adding spoiler tagging to a nonsensical non-answer ... helps nobody. hehe
 
I see.
 
Avi
hmmm
 
5:24 PM
@Rubio should we rollback edits like these?
 
Avi
what if I have a tricky question that everybody will like
but nobody will be able to solve unless they're very clever
 
this is sounding like a YouTube clickbait title
 
@Brandon_J The harm is done in the making of the edit - depending on how it's done, it can evict them from the review queue as a unilateral Pass. rolling back the edit doesn't do anything to fix that.
 
ah. Understood.
 
Avi
@Brandon_J You've given me an idea for my next puzzle
CLI + ICK + BAIT
riley
except now I can't use it
 
5:27 PM
lol I feel like I'd have an advantage
what is "Cli", I wonder
 
Avi
command line interface
ick = expression of disgust
bait = drawer of fish
i was so close to making another vowelburger riddle
then i got another idea x.x
 
and then you have to make the title "ONLY THOSE WITH 547+ IQ CAN SOLVE THIS IMPOSSIBLE PUZZLE" so that the answer is in the title, too.
 
Avi
no stop
 
hehe.
 
Avi
It'll be too obvious
@Rubio I challenge you to make a riddle where the answer is CLICKBAIT
2
but the challenge is in the riddle itself :P
 
5:31 PM
I second the motion
We will refrain from solving.
 
hmmmhmm
 
Avi
We can solve - the idea is that the riddle be tricky enough to not directly reveal the answer
Similar to how everybody knew the rot13(Lnwvqbxh jnf n Lnwvqbxh), but a few days passed before anyone actually figured out how to derive the answer
 
maybe he posts a flurry of 2-3 puzzles, and in only ONE is the answer Clickbait
 
Avi
puzzle series :o
do whatever fits your fancy
 
but we're cleared to solve the clickbait puzzle, right?
 
Avi
5:34 PM
You're browsing the Internet, when suddenly, a window pops up: "HELLO! YOU ARE THE WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL RIDDLING COMPETITION! TO VERIFY, PLEASE CLICK THIS BUTTON!"
 
To cover the cost of sending you the $1,000,000 prize, please send us a paltry $1,000 dollars through Western Union.
 
Avi
You click the button, only for another window to pop up: "CONGRATULATIONS! YOUR IDENTITY HAS BEEN VERIFIED! SECURITY MEASURES REQUIRE THAT YOU SOLVE THIS PUZZLE AS A RE-CAPTCHA!"
You solve the puzzle, only to see: "SORRY, BUT YOU SOLVED THAT PUZZLE TOO FAST! PLEASE TRY AGAIN, ON THIS HARDER PUZZLE:"
... puzzle begins ...
 
The puzzle: "What are the first nine digits of your social security number?"
 
Avi
Snarkily, you enter: 123456789. Suddenly, the fire alarm in your apartment goes off, and you hear the sound of gunshots...
(to be continued, in the next episode of The Primordial Puzzler)
 
bold of you to assume I have an apartment.
Also - "snarkily" is a really fun word to say.
 
Avi
5:39 PM
p u z z l e
incoming after I get two more rhyming verses complete
 
CMC: create a Tom Swifty using the word "snarkily"
 
Avi
cmc?
In colloidal and surface chemistry, the critical micelle concentration (CMC) is defined as the concentration of surfactants above which micelles form and all additional surfactants added to the system go to micelles.The CMC is an important characteristic of a surfactant. Before reaching the CMC, the surface tension changes strongly with the concentration of the surfactant. After reaching the CMC, the surface tension remains relatively constant or changes with a lower slope. The value of the CMC for a given dispersant in a given medium depends on temperature, pressure, and (sometimes strongly) on...
 
chat mini-challenge
 
@JohnDvorak "I'm going hunting with Lewis," said Tom snarkily.
 
Avi
ayyyy
I didn't even know that poem existed
 
5:49 PM
Not a pure Swifty, but close:

"Is it too much to ask for both?" said Tony Snarkily.
like if you agree
oh wait, we're done with the clickbait jokes.
 
@GarethMcCaughan avpr hfr bs zl
 
hiya North
 
Avi
@Brandon_J Really?!
 
lol what's the picture go to?
 
Avi
nowhere
you got clickbaited already, it's too late
 
6:00 PM
I never clicked tho
I hovered.
 
Avi
oh ok D:
NOBODY WILL EVER KNOW THE SECRET IF THEY DON'T CLICK!
 
Oh, well.
I can live with it.
 
Avi
pulls out secret riddle
 
@Brandon_J hey
 
@Avi if I solve yours, you have to solve mine
Hi!
 
6:09 PM
i was just getting caught up on the conversation
 
Moving a bit woodenly these days?
 
Treet me with respect one of these days, huh?
 
It'll be hard if you keep barking at me like that
what type of tree did you say that you were? I'm afraid I've forgotten.
 
that's a secret
 
you know that I'm a human
 
6:11 PM
i also dont like to stick to one species of tree
 
it would only be fair
 
Avi
Perhaps you'll have to root out the answer
 
today i'm feeling very much like a mahogany
 
Heya, I know - pick a species, and make a puzzle that provides the answer!
BTW did you catch the shoutout I gave to you in Starry Knight?
 
yesterday i was feeling quite silver-lime
@Brandon_J no, i must've missed it!
lemme see again
 
6:13 PM
caps lock lol
 
ahh tree species
i appreciate it :)
 
:)
Didn't you use to be a compass?
 
yea
Well my profile was a compass
 
change of direction in life?
 
that was before I turned into a tree
@Brandon_J More like things were looking south
 
6:15 PM
ah.......ha ha ha ha ha
 
3
Q: Returning with solution in hand

AviMy beginning, as you may see, has a unit of account. That it does take first parts for me is clearly paramount. My middle, for writing refined, is a symbol for its correction. If you look, then you may just find something unwieldy on inspection. My ending, maybe drawn by horses, carries people ...

 
3 upvotes before Sphinx's post - congrats, Avi!
 
Avi
Thanks :)
 
You see I can change tree species at will
 
also an aesthetically pleasing riddle, of course.
 
Avi
6:17 PM
I'm pretty sure it's in meter too
 
@North what happens when will dies?
@Avi poetry was never my strong suit.
I enjoy it, but I'm not good at it.
 
Avi
I'm no Shakespeare but rhymezone.com saves me when my brain fails me
 
@Brandon_J But if you must know, I'm usually a California Black Walnut
 
ha!
@North I see.
 
It's native to my region
 
6:22 PM
.....lemme guess - California?
 
no way
 
darn
 
My natural form is the white forsythia, but it looks out of place in SoCal
also it's a shrub and i prefer to be a tree
 
[Insert conversation-continuing comment here]
 
Avi
I'm trying to make a CC for DETER
D + (TREE)*
Finally stopped evil tree + def
 
6:27 PM
"[something that stands for "D"] got lost in the tangled woods"?
I'm so bad with CCs
 
Avi
indirect anagrams aren't good
 
"a tangled tree"?
 
you know if you keep on making tree puns imma propose on meta for yall to stop
:P
 
you would dare test our METt(A)le in such a way?
 
Avi
isn't it mettle
 
6:30 PM
it is lol
my mistake
 
Avi
me tattle
 
that's a hard pun to write out well.
 
I'd oPINE there's nothing wrong with a good tree pun
 
Avi
Oak-ay
But if you keep doing it, I'll get Sycamore
 
@msh210 Thanks!
 
6:34 PM
@JohnDvorak Me neither, if they're good
 
yeah, he should really stop needling us about it and leaf us alone. If I told you that I was stumped for puns at this point, that be a mean twig because I have plenty more up my sleave. Still, perhaps we should consider branching out to a different pun topic - I wooden want to, but if North insists on barking at us, perhaps a treety could be reached (going out on a limb here).
 
Yew all suck
 
you're just enmapleing us.
 
That was so forced XD
Were you trying to say enabling?
 
I will tell acorny joke as often as I please; you can't XYL(ence)EM.
@North I was XD
I can go firther, if you wish.
 
6:44 PM
There's applace and a thyme for everything.
 
Hiya Mith
 
*waves*
 
*waves back*
 
Avi
7:06 PM
\[(*)]_[(*)]/ <-- I still didn't get an explanation for this beyond it being exorcist ready
 
What is that a depiction of?
And I'm fairly sure it was a hyphen not an underscore
If you can figure out what \[(*)-(*)]/ is, then you can figure out what (*) is, which will answer the question initially asked.
 
Avi
@Mithical That was my question
is (*) an eyeball looking upwards?
 
Well you're reading too much into it, but you're on the right track
...about twenty characters too much
 
7:21 PM
an eye?
`ball looking upwards?
1234567890123456`
ah, the tick-marks aren't working.
 
Avi
tragic
and here I thought somebody had solved my riddle already
 
@Brandon_J Exactly.
So my response to the original question was an eye.
 
@Avi It's a tomato
 
7:37 PM
hey if @Avi comes back we could play Contact
@Mithical @North you up for a game?
 
@Brandon_J Formatting in multi-line messages doesn't work
 
@Rubio thanks.
 
@Brandon_J sure, although prefer Codenames
 
Avi
@North I rage at a crooked tree
 
HTM
8:06 PM
@Brandon_J Try ```
 
If you want to have code formatting for multi-line messages, press the "fixed font" button that shows up when you create a multi-line message.
 
@Mithical how does Codenames work again?
@HTM *PiIsNot3 would you like to join?
 
@Brandon_J there's a link to the rules in the room description
 
@Mithical cool. Headed there now
 
HTM
I gotta go in like ten minutes, sorry
 
8:10 PM
also @North and @Avri still welcome
 
HTM
@Brandon_J I think you meant @Avi
 
I did
@Avi
 
no Avi is banned form Codenames, but Avri can play ;)
 
Avi
I am?
 
lol no
come play
 
HTM
8:14 PM
@Mithical I mean, at least Avi keeps things interesting
 
Avi
@Stiv Surprisingly low number of upvotes for a correct answer - that's unfortunate
 
9:01 PM
@Avi There's time! Great idea to use that idea for a riddle method - love a decent riddle with a twist (a very apt word here!). Especially as we've had a real slew of low-quality riddles lately... (in my opinion)
 
Avi
Thanks; I was inspired by the LIAR riddle from long ago
but it's obviously not feasible to alter the clues, so I altered the answer instead
 
 
2 hours later…
11:22 PM
0
Q: Complete the analogy with the right word

FIreCaseComplete this analogy. Jonathan (is to) shark (as) jellyfish (is to) ? Replace the question mark.

 
11:42 PM
0
Q: Calculators are bad at Arithmetic

ChipsterConsider the following fraction: 17/30 Punch this into a calculator and you'll get the following answer: 0.566666666666666666666666666667 However, I disagree. I say the answer is most certainly "0.6" I could be rounding (0.56 can round to 0.6), but I'm not. I could be saying that "0...

 

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