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12:43 AM
@Brandon_J I actually started to write a comment this morning to the effect of “invoking 169 on this question seems unwarranted”. There is a difference between misdirection, and actually giving wrong information or presenting it in a deliberately wrong way as the be-all of the puzzle’s gimmick. I think this puzzle stayed on the right side of the line.
 
@Rubio I love how in this community we can write just that number and (almost) everyone will know what it means :)
 
Having said that, Araucaria’s response is itself unwarranted. The “horrible taste” overstates things a bit, in my opinion. The feedback you gave would have been fine, I think, if it had applied, and I see no reason to suggest it be confined to a comment. Particularly where the setter requested feedback (though that didn’t happen here), I would expect feedback in the answer, not a comment
 
I agree with both points - that the question doesn't contain anything intentionally misleading, and that the comment could have been phrased better
Also in the future, if you want to provide feedback to the OP, I would recommend either writing it as a comment or, if you want to put it in your answer, unspoilering it to make it more visible
 
I actually have invoked 169 before. I tried to find it so I could point out an example where it was pretty clearly fitting. But I couldn’t find it, and then I had to leave, and ... well yeah. Here we are, hours later.
@PiIsNot3 In fairness, this feedback is spoilery, so that was the right choice here. In general, feedback can and probably should be unspoilered.
 
I guess that's true in this case, although I have seen commenters directly link to that comic in the comments, so I guess it depends on personal preference
 
 
1 hour later…
2:04 AM
0
Q: Diving a polygon into 6 equal regions

Dmitry KamenetskyYou are given a convex polygon, ie all its internal angles are less than 180 degrees. Prove that you can always draw three straight lines through a point inside this polygon, such that they divide it into 6 equal (by area) regions? Bonus questions: Can you prove that this can be achieved for no...

 
 
1 hour later…
3:26 AM
2
Q: The Digit Gambit

JensA puzzle in the spirit of the Density™ puzzle. Enjoy! Final answer: (3, 6)

 
 
1 hour later…
4:30 AM
@Rubio Ah.
I'm just going to leave this here. xkcd.com/169Rubio ♦ Sep 2 at 2:52
 
4:41 AM
Those were harder to find than I expected. hehe
 
 
1 hour later…
5:50 AM
0
Q: How many days before it's Tuesday two days from today?

Krishna If tomorrow is two days before Tuesday, how many days before it's Tuesday two days from today?

0
Q: Zed's Phone: Failure to Communicate

Omicron ZedMy friend Beto and I constantly buy things for one another. One day, he gave me a strange-looking phone and said it was my birthday gift (My birthday wouldn't be until 3 more months). He said he bought it from some weird store and it was made from some company called Jasoom; I, of course, never b...

 
 
1 hour later…
6:51 AM
0
Q: What's the number in the last cell according to the pattern?

Michael MayI came across a puzzle in an exercise booklet for selective high school enrolment tests in Australia. The puzzle is shown in the picture below. Please help me work out the number in the cell marked by the question mark. Thank you very much. I just have no clue how these numbers are related to eac...

 
7:32 AM
0
Q: I have another riddle from my friend wanna try to solve it?

The riddlahWrapped in starlight, ever verdant. What am I?

 
8:13 AM
1
Q: Ask, and you shall receive

interoperabilityRequest of me twenty, receive of me twenty. Request of me sixty, your behest will be fulfilled. Request of me eighty, you'll be given the same; but ask for one hundred, and you will get only sixty. What am I?

 
 
2 hours later…
10:36 AM
0
Q: Three different Jobs!

KrishnaThree people named Mary, Alice, and Steve. All have different jobs as either a nurse, an elementary school teacher, or a police officer. If Mary is afraid of blood, neither she nor Steve likes kids. What is Steve's job?

 
 
1 hour later…
11:57 AM
0
Q: SQUARE/CUBE - Problem. What am I?

Prim3numbah*) SQUARE. 4 SQUARES. **) CUBE. 2 SQUARES. Add, and almost a square I am. What am I?

 
 
2 hours later…
1:37 PM
CCCC hint: the 6th letter is T.
 
2:12 PM
@Rubio Sometimes I keep wondering whether you are the Senator Rubio.
 
Moderator ranks much higher than senator.
Or is it lower? I always forget.
 
First alphabetically, and that's what's important.
 
2:29 PM
Depends on the site :)
 
 
1 hour later…
3:41 PM
0
Q: Critique of a Riddle

Rand al'Thor Don't say one synonym's a type of fish: It's the same word, not the same meaning. Don't say one synonym's a type of bird: That's a different form of the word. Don't say one synonym's a type of drink: In fact the sound is the only real link. "Replace an approximation by a c...

 
4:02 PM
0
Q: Member most ancient

AviI'm in a devilish one, I'm in heaven's son; I'm in landowners' class, I'm in rule not by lass; I'm in wealth on top, I'm in a gum drop; I'm in a seeker's tool, I'm in a ruler cruel What am I?

 
@GarethMcCaughan I wonder if any site has a moderator room called "The Senate".
 
Avi
Forcibly remove right to clear need - I really feel like "forcibly remove" is "expel" but that might just be me
 
Maybe, though usually the place where a senate meets has some other name like "senate-house". (Is that ... an over-picky complaint? :-) )
 
Avi
4:17 PM
Senator receptacle
 
well, our mod room is called "Puzzling Overlords", which is not a location that people meet
 
Avi
Pinnacle treacle spectacle receptacle
puzzling overlords please solve my riddle, quick! :)
 
@Deusovi That just says something about the pro-tems' egos :-P
The SFF one has the most boring name ever: just "scifi moderators' lounge".
I keep wanting to rename it, but then the other mods might get lost.
 
Avi
Sci-Fi Laser Shootout Chamber?
pew pew
 
@GarethMcCaughan Don't cavil about metonyms ;-)
 
Avi
4:22 PM
How do you all have insane vocabularies
xd
 
Reading enough will do that to you. Contact will also, at a certain level ;)
 
i've learned many new words from cryptics and contact
 
I've learned new words from Gareth.
But yes, mostly from reading.
The Gormenghast series, for example. Now there was some fairly purple prose.
 
yeah, reading is the usual way. Higher-brow stuff more so than lower-brow, usually. (Though some "genre" authors have very large vocabularies and some of them like to use them.) Things like cryptic crosswords, other word puzzles, word games like Scrabble, etc., also help. General curiosity about language and etymology, too.
 
Avi
4:39 PM
ooh, carp is a synonym for cavil
that one I knew
Fish with botched gin complaining about trivial matters (7) - CARP + ING*
 
-1
Q: What is the name of the fourth son

Surb Someone’s mother has four sons: North, South, East and ... ? $$ \phantom{q312312312123213 sadlasjhdsajhdsak 213123123 asdojsdljdasj 12312312 }$$

 
Avi
oh, just saw the puzzle about carps + cavils
that makes my little CC an exercise in pointlessness, I guess
exercise in futility*
 
4:54 PM
@Avi That's why I was using the word to Gareth in here.
 
and of course why I remarked about "an over-picky complaint"
 
Avi
Yep
 
Ah, I didn't realise that remark was after your answer.
 
Avi
Now that you've finished that puzzle, you may want to check my new one or my old one out.
 
@Avi I've already got a partial answer typed to the new one, but it still feels a bit too partial to post.
 
Avi
5:00 PM
Coming up with the right descriptions is half the challenge - keep going if you think things are fitting
If not, you can post a partial and I'll confirm/deny
 
@Avi OK, giving it a go. Hoping I've at least understood the form correctly and just need to play with synonyms.
 
Avi
Yes
 
Avi
5:20 PM
I fixed a bad hint - maybe that'll be the flash of insight you need?
 
I just edited my answer to include a final solution (although haven't solved all the clues yet). Didn't even see your edit ... lemme check.
 
Avi
ok, you're on the right track - now all you have to do is find all the words
much closer - "I'm in landowners' class" will probably be the hardest one
 
Think I got that one.
 
Avi
yep
nicely done
 
Aaaand maybe the last one too.
 
Avi
5:25 PM
oligarchy is incorrect
i'll confirm it's an archy though
 
Can I give you some honest feedback?
It's a perfectly valid puzzle and does fit together, but it felt like a bit of a letdown.
 
Avi
okay, what gives you that feeling?
 
Almost all the words are in one of two forms, both of which actually use [the answer] as a morpheme rather than just a string of letters.
If I was making a puzzle like this, I would've included more words like starch and searchlight.
 
Avi
Archaeopteryx?
 
Parched. Archery. Research. Marching.
 
Avi
5:30 PM
first bird
 
Architect. Archipelago.
 
Avi
Wordsearch :)
oh, that's not a word ;(
 
I actually semi-dismissed this solution at some point. "It can't be just a lot of ARCHpeople and somethingARCHY words - surely if you were making a 'words containing arch' puzzle you'd include some more interesting stuff".
 
Avi
Fair enough
 
My pedantry is also bugged by the fact that you've included some ARCHthings clued in different ways from each other, and ditto with somethingARCHY words.
 
Avi
5:33 PM
The second one wasn't archangel - it was STARCHILD
 
When I see "devilish one" and "heaven's son", I'm expecting the choice of the word "son" in one clue but not the other to be significant.
@Avi Oh! Then my opinion of the puzzle has just gone up :-)
 
Avi
;)
unfortunately, there were 3 archy words in a row, which certainly puts a damper on things
Anyways, I've an idea for my next puzzle - coming right up
 
Fundamental » All languages » English » Terms by etymology » Words by suffix » -archy English words ending with the suffix -archy....
 
Avi
Same style
 
Unfortunately I'm almost repcapped for the day :-)
 
Avi
5:37 PM
You probably want to explain the title, but I'm giving you the green check now.
"Most" - ARCH "Ancient" - ARCHAIC "Member" - Arch (in architecture)
 
Ooh, that's kind of nice.
The problem is that just treating "most ancient member" as a phrase could also give a believable solution.
 
Avi
probably...?
 
Sorry if I'm being too negative.
 
Avi
all the other stuff I agree with
 
I really like this genre of puzzle; I just feel that this one, with this solution, could have been done a bit better.
You still have my upvote.
 
Avi
5:41 PM
true
arch is a pretty nice word for containment
 
FWIW I had the same sort of reaction as Rand.
 
(ditto)
 
Avi
time to make a puzzle that sounds like it's missing attribution
even though it isn't
 
 
2 hours later…
7:26 PM
0
Q: What is in those numbers?

DEEM" I am famous" declared Tom, flashing a newspaper. He showed me some scribbled numbers."Because of this, I made the papers" He said. 8 = 4 8 = 3 6 = 2 6 = 3 3 = -1 5 = 1 5 = 0 1 = -2 7 = 3 " I don't understand it but congratulations, Mr. Fa...

 
8:07 PM
-1
Q: Constantly Changing

PiIsNot3What? A negative sign? What? -264.66409225 -462.71021449 -20.60615236 -21.38877504 -92.13888121 -213.77948944 -58.14977536 -276.29420841 -242.07314569 -276.16789489 -373.92343641 Answer is a four word phrase.

 
Avi
9:05 PM
hehehe
hehe
hehehehehehe
 
...everything sane, @Avi?
 
Avi
Gonna be a tough one
 
0
Q: A shocking event

AviWhen I'm all over the place - give me a yelling When I need hair washing - give me a frightening When I need a clutch - give me soft singing When I need an aromatic - give me a whole county When I need a little taking - give me a carry When I'm just getting started - give me a finger When I want ...

 
Avi
oh noooo
it's broken
oh yes, it's not broken, thank goodness
 
9:46 PM
It looks similar to this puzzle of mine (though obviously with a different solution).
64
Q: You've Probably Seen Me Naked

GentlePurpleRain As an alphabet aficionado, I can make you laugh long into the night. As a make of Japanese vehicle, I can keep your surroundings clean and beautiful. As an execution apparatus, I make you laugh despite not maturing. As a mixed-up romance, I lead tens of millions. As a gardening tool, I...

 
Avi
how did you link the puzzle directly?
 
Just post the question URL
 
post the url on a separate line and magic happens
 
Avi
ah, ok.
Similar-sounding, but entirely different mechanics
 
 
1 hour later…
11:12 PM
1
Q: No spoiler alert - What am I?

AlexHere're some of my properties: 1. People usually put a hole in front of me, I do not know why. 2. Some refers me as Delend, but that's not my name. 3. Inverted, I might have shown myself. 4. I might be small, but once shifted, I became invisible. What am I?

 
11:41 PM
@Rubio forcibly removing SIDE (which right is one of) to clear the word DESIDERATUM (need) of it yields DERATUM. So this is obviously an &lit, and all I have to do is figure out how the entirety defines DERATUM as a straightforward definition, when DERATUM is not even a word. Other than that, I've got it made.
Oh no… wait, that can't be it, because you said "right", not "right, for one". Never mind, then.
Oh, and you said the sixth letter is T. Oops.
 
so close
 

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