The Sphinx's Lair

Look at what the close reasons we have are: "...as the question is not fully defined. The validity of some answers may be based upon opinion." and "specific problem with enough detail to identify an adequate answer."

n_palum

The flag would be "Too broad"

Sconibulus

The solution is discovering the pattern, 'the set of elements such that s[i]'s bytecount is twice that of s[i-1]

but there is sufficient detail to identify an adequate answer

n_palum

"Each individual entry has multiple valid solution, this is just one such set."

Sconibulus

that answer just isn't unique

n_palum

5:30 PM

Don't things that invite many possible solutions usually get flagged as too broad?

Sconibulus

This only has one solution

dcfyj

@n_palum With how the question is phrased, no, because he's specifically saying there are multiple sets to this one rule. He just wants you to find the rule and add a possible entry.

Sconibulus

well, I mean, with pattern matching it probably has dozens of solutions because all patterns do

but only one really good solution

n_palum

@dcfyj Add any possible entry? So I guess the word isn't broad, but just that there is no unique solution

@Sconibulus How is there only one good solution?

dcfyj

I think he's referring to the rule

Sconibulus

5:34 PM

the solution is the function describing the set

there are multiple example answers you can give, which is what you are saying is too broad, but they're all umbrella'd under the single solution

n_palum

Hrmmm.. I guess I understand what you mean.. I just don't like it

dcfyj

That's alright, that's what down votes are for.

n_palum

I don't like downvoting a lot :/

Sconibulus

I don't particularly like the puzzle either, it's just on-topic :)

n_palum

Unless it's particularly bad

dcfyj

5:37 PM

I don't down vote very often either, but I do it where I think the question/answer is poorly done in some way.

n_palum

Side note - I lost 45 rep to (User removed) ?

dcfyj

Like wellyeah's answer earlier with the "I'm too lazy to do the rest" bits. That was downvote worthy.

@n_palum They upvoted things of yours.

n_palum

45 rep worth? I didn't earn that much recently

dcfyj

Go to your profile and check the rep tab

n_palum

I did - I earned 7 yesterday, it can't be WellYeah because they joined today and I didn't jump up 45

dcfyj

5:40 PM

The 45 gained may not have been done bulk. It could be done piecemeal

n_palum

Hmm idk - I don't recall going up 45, and it says -45 but my total number seems to be around what it has been

dcfyj

It's possible the +45 (bulk or piecemeal) was removed from the list?

n_palum

Although people are still bickering on that self referential test... one of them even went to PCG to try and prove a point

Not sure, everything looks the same to me

dcfyj

Not important then.

n_palum

Odd it happened on Arqade too

dcfyj

5:47 PM

45?

n_palum

No not quite 45

15

dcfyj

Probably a different user then

45 would've very odd lol

n_palum

I think I've found where the 45 was removed from PSE though.. Odd

dcfyj

?

n_palum

It wasn't someone who recently joined because the numbers where from a few days to a week ago

You had asked if I knew where the +45 worth was, or if all shown was the -45

I think I know what answers/questions the ups were removed from

Sconibulus

5:51 PM

eh, not every user that gets burninated is our friend with the socks

n_palum

That's what I figured

dcfyj

Of course not, I never said that was the case.

Sconibulus

I lose some rep probably about every other month on average for stuff like that

n_palum

Curious that's all

I hadn't seen it before

Sconibulus

6:24 PM

oh wow, Britain's voting again?

I thought that was usually every ~4-5 years

Gareth McCaughan

It's meant to be exactly every 5 years: a law to that effect was made quite recently. But that can be overridden if a large enough majority votes for it (which in this case it did) or if there's a vote of no confidence in the government.

If I'd been drafting the legislation I'd have made it say that if the same party is in government after the election as before, their new term of office lasts only until when the old one was due to finish -- so as to reduce the incentive for governments to pick favourable dates for elections. But of course that wasn't done, so when the Conservatives win again they'll get a fresh 5 years starting in 2017.

dcfyj

Couldn't an amendment be done to the law to add that?

Sconibulus

That rule would be awkward in the event of a coalition government, either before or after

Gareth McCaughan

@Sconibulus yes, that would be a drawback, but I'm sure some way to draft it could be found.

Techidiot

6:41 PM

@Gareth Did you gave any hints out? Also was I completely off track with that wordplay?

Gareth McCaughan

@humn Well, the metre is a common one in, e.g., hymn tunes. If you felt the urgent need of tetracrostic hymnody you could sing it to one of the tunes that commonly goes with the words "Love divine, all loves excelling".

@Techidiot I have not yet given out any hints. Let me remind myself what wordplay you proposed before commenting on that (or choosing not to).

@Techidiot Your wordplay is not terribly close, I'm afraid, though it has one element in common with the correct answer.

The following is probably not a very large hint for my CCCC clue, but I will give it anyway because I feel slightly guilty about it: The clue would be slightly more correct if the "It's" were removed from the front. (But the surface reading would be spoiled, of course.)

Techidiot

Oh, I won't consider it as a base in that case

Mithrandir

Can someone do me a favor real quick please?

Click and see if you have rep changes about a deleted user.

Techidiot

What the heck

-75 ?

Rosie F

@Mithrandir Yes, me, 10 points at 17:28.

Mithrandir

6:49 PM

It's all over the network.

Techidiot

I even have rep loss in AI SE

Gareth McCaughan

I do not appear to have any deleted-user rep losses recently.

n_palum

As I told dc before - I lost 45 here and 15 on Arqade

Techidiot

Possibly a ripple effect of something

dcfyj

@GarethMcCaughan same

GentlePurpleRain

7:32 PM

@Mithrandir I lost 25 rep. It must have been a network-wide deletion of a user. I don't know anything about it.

manshu

@GentlePurpleRain I lost my 5 rep. Does it mean that the upvotes on that question have also reduced?

GentlePurpleRain

@manshu I suspect so. The votes have been invalidated, so that means there will be less votes than there were before.

n_palum

@GentlePurpleRain It seems like it might have been a few users, unless one person literally cast out hundreds of votes

Techidiot

But it won't show up which posts were affected.

Sphinx

0

Q: King of Captures

The player's black King (above) is about to capture the remaining opponent pieces as continuation of his move and 10 white pieces have already been captured. What is the position before the move? How can the king captured all 12 pieces on a single move? Checkers Rules: King captures by jumping...

Techidiot

7:45 PM

@n_palum Could be an old user. Who decided to quit the n/w. Not sure if votes ate gone in that case

n_palum

Yeah but if you read the help center page when you click on the (user removed) link, it explains that older/high rep users leaving won't cause rep loss/vote removal, it has to have been someone or some, with lower rep/less influence

boboquack

I had -70 on puzzling :(

n_palum

Ouch

Techidiot

I can see quite good influence here ;)

manshu

there, there. You will gain more.

boboquack

7:55 PM

I had days where I would get lots of apparently 'drive-by' up votes, it's probably that.

And, interestingly, it came at 4-5 up votes per day, so it must have been purposely intended to evade the serial voting script

Deusovi

8:40 PM

I lost 5 rep from the removed user. Weird.

Mithrandir

9:05 PM

@Deusovi see TL. (cc @Gentle)

Rand al'Thor

9:29 PM

@dcfyj Nope, wrong. Mod chat flags are seen by all mods across the network, which is why people shouldn't be using chat flags for AK socks.

@GarethMcCaughan That's because you don't post questions. All of my 145 network-wide rep lost was from upvotes on questions.

Gareth McCaughan

9:44 PM

@Randal'Thor ah yes, that's plausible.

Sphinx

11:10 PM

0

Q: Want to go from MANILA to UGANDA

How do you get from the word MANILA to UGANDA in the shortest time? You can change up to 3 letters at a time to form a new 6 letter word which MUST be either a Country name or a Capital of a country. No rearranging of letters. Please no programming either

wordplay geography

Rubio

11:54 PM

I lost 50 to (removed user)

Also, this is amusing -

Deusovi

...How long have those tabs been open?

Rubio

Shorter than you'd think. :)

I'd guess 4 or 5 days

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