Solutions

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Paradox
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Solutions

Post by Paradox » July 29th, 2011, 3:05 pm

Here's a controversial subject that I'd love to head other's opinions on:

Would you like to see puzzle clues and solutions added to the Wiki in some form or another?

They could be covered by spoiler boxes and the like (I imagine), but I just want to see how people would react to the idea of having them there at all.

allardwza
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Re: Solutions

Post by allardwza » July 29th, 2011, 3:52 pm

Excellent question Paradox-ical one!

I think it would be a good idea, as long as we can do it in such a way that the solutions don't leak out and present themselves where someone might not want to see them - e.g. can we make sure that the text doesn't get hoovered up by a search engine and presented when someone searches for the puzzle name... if we can avoid that, then I say it's a good idea!

allard

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AFKAN
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Re: Solutions

Post by AFKAN » July 29th, 2011, 3:58 pm

I think you'd need to be careful, so that if someone wanted a hint rather than the full solution that they don't suddenly "know all" and spoil their experience IYSWIM? :?
Graham:-)

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Re: Solutions

Post by TheJuggler » July 29th, 2011, 3:59 pm

For my 2-cents, no.

The problem with any sort of solution is that once it's online and available in a text form, a bot will get it, and it can be put anywhere, without any protection.

Once of the wonderful things about the puzzle community is that there are people who will help you if you are truly stuck, and want a hint, but few will solve the puzzle for you. After all, where's the fun in that? Sites like puzzle master which email you a link to a PDF at least have some protection that the spider can't directly access the page, so it's not just going to suck everything up.

If you wanted to add hints rather than full solutions, then maybe that's ok. But I think you have to be careful. Giving solutions is a file line to walk.

Kev1n
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Re: Solutions

Post by Kev1n » July 29th, 2011, 5:26 pm

I think maybe this should be in the forum section of PP and only open to registered members.
It would be good to have 2 sub-forums:
  • "Hints, tips and clues" this is for people who are stuck and want a little help (e.g. me with Cola bottle no. 1 and Aluminium dovetail)
  • "Solutions" would have full walk-throughs - probably best as downloadable pdfs like the Hanayama solutions
Having it in locked forums would prevent a huge number of freeloaders or people inadvertently being given a soultion when they were just surfing for info.

Just my 2p
-----------------
Kev

http://www.puzzlemad.co.uk

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bluesign2k
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Re: Solutions

Post by bluesign2k » July 29th, 2011, 8:59 pm

Woah! Such a quick response from everyone! Cheers guy!

There's a few good points and suggestions here. I, like others think we should be careful about putting complete solutions or even serious spoilers directly on the wiki. Unfortunately, it's tough to prevent Google caching them if they're on the puzzle pages which would make them all too easy to stumble on. As Kevin said, its also probably worth preventing "freeloaders" copy/pasting them solutions around the net ... a section in the forum for registered members to discuss hints/tips/solutions is easily doable though if people thinks it's a good idea :)

jerryloo71
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Re: Solutions

Post by jerryloo71 » July 30th, 2011, 2:48 pm

Personally I feel that every puzzle should be accompanied by a solution provided by the seller or manufacturer. Whether to look at the solution or not is a matter of personal choice (and entitlement) of the puzzle owner. However I do agree with the comments posted here that any solution posted must not be allowed to so easily slip into cyberspace where anyone can chance upon it unintentionally (especially puzzlers). Notwithstanding, I do think that a site like Puzzle Place would not be "complete" without a part devoted to solutions of various puzzles.

Someone suggested something like PuzzleMaster where one has to email for a solution; so that there would be some checks and controls, and there is no need to ask around on the forums. I think this is a great idea. But then administering this may involve too much work for those involved, since this is not a site for profit. Short of this, I would agree the next best alternative would be to have it as part of the forum, one specific area devoted only to solutions and only registered users can access. I would even suggest a further step, and that is to prior to entering the solutions forum, one agrees to abide by certain terms and conditions, like not posting any solution on the net (although this in practice would be difficult to prevent). Just my two cents worth!

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Paradox
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Re: Solutions

Post by Paradox » August 1st, 2011, 1:23 pm

Definitely some interesting points made here! I didn't realise that bots would be able to find the information however well hidden it was on the Wiki.

We'll have to have a ponder about what to do I reckon. I think it would be nice to have some kind of a solution 'database' but as everyone has pointed out it is so open to abuse that it'll definitely need some kind of moderation/protection.

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Pio2001
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Re: Solutions

Post by Pio2001 » August 11th, 2011, 12:25 pm

Hello,
I think that a "solution" subforum with restricted access would be a good idea.

Sometimes, solutions given by the seller are not optimal, or difficult to understand.

Vinco's Ocvalhedrons, for example, can be quite hard to open, even with the solution, while some tricks allow to open them without effort.

High level burrs, like Condor's Peeper, or even the Mega Six burr, just come with a copy of Burrtool's move sequence, that is often very difficult to perform in the assembling direction, unless you have several tens of hands to hold all pieces together.
Much easier ways of assembling them could be found and posted in that forum section.

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Pio2001
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Re: Solutions

Post by Pio2001 » August 11th, 2011, 12:58 pm

A potential problem comes to my mind. If we take the Mega Six for example, it appears in Ishino's site, but the detail is hidden.

The author may not be pleased if we publicly post the picture of the pieces. He might want to keep them secret in order to add to the commercial value of the puzzle.

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