David Shin
2005-01-21 15:27:58 |
"Unsolved" Problems
I know that many threads have gone on in the past concerning this issue, but I have what may be a new idea, so I'm throwing it out there:
The problem is that it is impossible to tell, without looking at the comments, whether a puzzle has no official solution because it genuinely is unsolved, or because the puzzle submitter did not put up the solution (either because he/she has not reached journeyman status or because he/she has not visited the site in a long time).
Why not make three categories: "new", "unsolved", and "solved"? A new puzzle will begin as "new" by default. Then, just as the puzzle submitter can change the status of the puzzle to "solved" (only if the person has journeyman status, mind you), he/she can change the status to "unsolved" if after a fair amount of time, the puzzle remains unsolved. (Maybe the ability to designate a puzzle as "unsolved" can also go to scholars?)
One system I have in mind is this: when a puzzle leaves the "front page" (the 15 latest problems), an email goes to the submitter of the last puzzle booted from the recent puzzles list. The email encourages the submitter to read the comments and to change its status from "new" to either "solved" or "unsolved".
Then, a new user can come to the site and check out the genuinely unsolved problems without having to sift through all the others. |
David Shin
2005-01-21 15:32:55 |
Re:
"Maybe the ability to designate a puzzle as "unsolved" can also go to scholars?"
What I meant there was, "Maybe scholars should also have the ability to designate puzzles not their own as "unsolved"?" |
Percy
2005-08-18 22:27:03 |
Re:
Yeh, I've been havin trouble with this.
What type of bird is that?
Can I have a cool little picture to represent me? |
brianjn
2005-08-19 00:29:23 |
Re:
There is a mechanism on the site to which a submitter of a puzzle can refer. This is the New Replies found just aboive the Chatterbox. If I click on it, and I have a submitted puzzle, no matter how old, I will see any new replies made about that puzzle going back over 7 days.
In fact, if I have made a comment about someone else's puzzle, and someone wants to address my comment, that also will appear as a New Reply to me.
Unsolved problems also have their category; the link is again just above the Chatterbox. However, I do take one of David's points, I believe that there are several puzzles which actually have been solved but the submitter has not yet signed them off.
It might be possible for Levik to make available a section where we might post titles of puzzles that we believe to have been solved, and then have an appropriate group of members adjudicate.
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