Author Topic: CHI  (Read 8415 times)

Les303

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CHI
« on: March 30, 2016, 06:29:33 PM »
Goodday Alan ,

As a newer player , i would just like to ask a question re the accepted etiquette of your game.
I get the impression that some players actually compile lists of rare words & probably common words as well, that they have missed from previous games & then , when they get stuck in a new game , they refer to those lists to quickly bolster their score.
I thought the object of the game was to challenge your own ability to recall these words from memory (or luck ) without any aides whether it be a dictionary , computer program or a list that you have compiled yourself.
Obviously compiling a list of previously missed words for reference in future games would be a logical & easy method to improve your scores.
So i will answer my own question here because whatever the etiquette is , it would be impossible to police , so i guess it's each to his own & to his own conscience.?

Les303

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Re: CHI
« Reply #1 on: March 30, 2016, 06:41:30 PM »
Also meant to ask you about the lack of recognition on the scoreboard when one achieves a MAVEN or a CHAM .
You have the star , rosette & trophy but nothing on the score board to indicate that a MAVEN OR CHAM has been achieved without reaching the trophy level. ?

cmh

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Re: CHI
« Reply #2 on: March 30, 2016, 08:41:11 PM »
You have cottoned on quicker than I did about the list compilers and computer programme users Les - I just thought they were brilliant and I was far less so!! I think you are right to say we all have to play Chi to our own standards both intellectually and morally. Personally I aim at getting "Best" and the big word and any more is a bonus. I often fail at the big word but my husband (Davmar) usually gets it early on in a game but I can sometimes find more words in total than him. He is not happy if he doesn't get the big word and that is his way of playing. Each to their own but I agree that the challenge of keeping a middle aged brain ticking over and learning a few computer skills is a key thing to me too.

yelnats

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Re: CHI
« Reply #3 on: March 30, 2016, 11:04:38 PM »
It's interesting to watch the score of the consistently high scorers. I once started a game on the hour it became available. At about 01, I was at the same score, by 07, I had got about 20 and the high scorer was over 100. I can't type that fast!

rogue_mother

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Re: CHI
« Reply #4 on: March 31, 2016, 03:41:45 AM »
Les, as far as etiquette goes, the principles are as follows: first, be polite at all times; second, do not bring up potential answers to current puzzles in Chinwag; third, do not put potential answers to active puzzles in the title of a forum post. The rules do not forbid or discourage the keeping of or resorting to lists during play.

I keep lists, but I don't typically refer to them during play. Other list keepers may or may not do the same. I keep the lists because the mere act of typing the words assists in fixing the words in my memory. I do this after the game is over. It's not one hundred percent effective, by any means, but worth the effort for me. Maybe if I did it every day (I don't), maybe my memory would get even better.

I am fine with reaching Maven or Cham not being recognized on the scoreboard. People who reach Good, Better and Best also don't get recognized. I think the scoreboard would get a little too cluttered if each level were recognized.

I mostly play for myself, but I freely admit to having some competitive spirit. Witness my daily contests with roberts. It is easy enough to write off those whom I suspect of using lists during play. Most people do indeed play the way we do, which is to draw on our own memories.
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cmh

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Re: CHI
« Reply #5 on: March 31, 2016, 06:14:10 AM »
I have been anonymous for a while but this post is interesting to me so here goes. With regard to etiquette on chi can I ask why some forum posts get helpful interactive replies and others get ignored? They have to pass the delay test so its not that they are unacceptable comments or questions is it?

rogue_mother

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Re: CHI
« Reply #6 on: March 31, 2016, 06:53:17 AM »
I have been anonymous for a while but this post is interesting to me so here goes. With regard to etiquette on chi can I ask why some forum posts get helpful interactive replies and others get ignored? They have to pass the delay test so its not that they are unacceptable comments or questions is it?

There is no delay test as far as I am aware of. Forum posts are not previewed or censored by anyone except the author of the post. If no one replies, I suspect the usual reasons for any given person not replying would be that that person is not interested in the topic, feels that someone else will answer it, is pressed for time, feels that nothing else needs to be said on the topic, or for some other reason that I can't think of just now.

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emiaco

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Re: CHI
« Reply #7 on: March 31, 2016, 09:39:09 AM »
cmh, I suspect the way the top 5 posts are displayed next to the CHI game has something to do with why some posts get replied to and others don't. If there are active conversations going on in some posts, perhaps others get bumped down the list and don't appear in the top 5. If people then don't go into the forum and open up the full list of posts (as I don't) then those posts may be getting missed. I hope that made sense!

As to word lists, I had thought to do that at one stage but a) I couldn't be bothered trawling through lists of words every time I play and b) I like the challenge of trying to remember the words myself. I even get cross if my husband walks past the computer while I'm playing and comes up with a word I haven't found yet. I also often find that the words I miss are common ones, particularly in the puzzles with larger numbers of words (I think Morbius discussed this recently in a post too).

rogue_mother

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Re: CHI
« Reply #8 on: March 31, 2016, 11:35:02 AM »
cmh, I suspect the way the top 5 posts are displayed next to the CHI game has something to do with why some posts get replied to and others don't. If there are active conversations going on in some posts, perhaps others get bumped down the list and don't appear in the top 5. If people then don't go into the forum and open up the full list of posts (as I don't) then those posts may be getting missed. I hope that made sense!


I think this is especially true for the Challenge and 10-Letter puzzles. Sometimes only two topics are shown in the Forum Latest box for these puzzles.
« Last Edit: March 31, 2016, 11:39:39 AM by rogue_mother »
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Alan W

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Re: CHI
« Reply #9 on: March 31, 2016, 12:08:27 PM »
Les, it's up to each player to decide how they want to play. I'm not sure that conscience enters into it.

The significant type of assistance that some players possibly use is to copy the words from a computer generated list. This is not hard to do, especially for nine-letter puzzles: there are plenty of websites and apps that allow you to create "Target" style puzzles using the letters you nominate, and then look at the solution.

Also, for the Standard Chihuahua daily puzzle, you can look at the solution on the Chihuahua site itself, using a different player ID.

I can't see the fun in using these techniques, especially day after day, if this is what some people do. But if it gives someone a sense of achievement, good luck to them!

I'm not sure how keeping a list of words will help someone to "quickly bolster their score". Most of us probably possess a big list of rare and common words, called a dictionary. But looking through the dictionary is not likely to be a very quick way of finding words that can be played. On the other hand, a shorter list, that can conveniently be read through completely each day, is not likely to contain any words using the letters available in the current puzzle.

In any case, each player will decide their own favourite way of playing. (When I play, I don't use lists or computerised aids, but I play with a partner, which some people might consider is a form of cheating - two against one!)

And I agree with rogue_mother that we shouldn't be too hasty in assuming that players who do very well are getting some kind of assistance. Skill at playing the puzzle varies from person to person, so among the multitudes of potential players it is to be expected that a few will be a LOT better than the average. And of course, people who are that good will tend to play regularly.
Alan Walker
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Alan W

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Re: CHI
« Reply #10 on: March 31, 2016, 01:33:53 PM »
Regarding scoreboard recognition for mavens and chams, I'm reluctant to further complicate the display. And a player's progress through the levels of good, better, best, maven, cham is already reflected in their position on the scoreboard. (Assuming the scoreboard is showing the scores including rare words, which I assume would be the option chosen by players interested in the maven and cham levels.)

It would be possible to place a narrow coloured band down the side of the scoreboard, with the colour changing according to the level achieved, using the same shades of gold as in the progress bar across the bottom of the screen. But I wonder if this would just add to the visual clutter as far as most players are concerned.
Alan Walker
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Re: CHI
« Reply #11 on: March 31, 2016, 04:21:16 PM »
With regard to etiquette on chi can I ask why some forum posts get helpful interactive replies and others get ignored? They have to pass the delay test so its not that they are unacceptable comments or questions is it?

Cmh, if you are thinking about "official" replies from the people running the website, there is only one such person: me. And sometimes it might be a day or two before I get a chance to reply to a post. Suggestions concerning the word list are subject to an enormous backlog (which you can see by going to the Word List Suggestions page and clicking on the "Open" button) and may not be replied to for years.

There's also the time zone issue. If a discussion starts up when it's 1 in the morning here in Australia, I probably won't be joining in right away.

If anyone has posted a question, suggestion or complaint and got no response after a few days, feel free to post again, or send me an email. Of course if the topic is not something specifically about the website, I'll be no more likely to respond than anyone else.

There is no advance moderation of posts in the forum. If something turns out to be unacceptable, I will delete it after the event. But I think that's happened only once or twice, when spam was posted on the forum.
Alan Walker
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HOD

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Re: CHI
« Reply #12 on: March 31, 2016, 04:29:33 PM »
 :laugh:I love playing my 3 games a day, I look forward to it very much, and also to seeing my familiar friends nearby on the scoreboard. Like so many of us, I just love the challenge and to keep the little grey cells ticking over. I was still a member of the "rat race" (work force) until the end of 2014, Chi was a little treat I discovered in 2012 (sadly it was not years before!) At the end of each day I would log on, but there was the usual after work chaos, I was often too tired or the brain was still overloaded. Now, as a retiree, I volunteer a few days a week, but there is no stress to bring home, thank goodness! It's great to relax, concentrate - and do the puzzles! Thank you Alan for providing so much fun and enjoyment for so many people. See you on the scoreboard!

Les303

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Re: CHI
« Reply #13 on: March 31, 2016, 06:44:27 PM »
Thanks for your response Alan , as always you've explained a complicated subject very well & as far as i'm concerned it's all fair enough!
I must say that i was delighted to see the posts by cmr ,rogue mother ,yelnats ,emiaco & HOD
( i had to make a list to recall all those names ) who seem to play the game in the same spirit as i & i suspect the majority of others do.

As far as extra shading on the scoreboard ,your the expert mate so whatever you reckon however i do suspect that those who have been playing the game for many years might get a bit upset if their scoreboard becomes to cluttered...Regards Les


mkenuk

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Re: CHI
« Reply #14 on: March 31, 2016, 10:44:22 PM »
Sometimes only two topics are shown in the Forum Latest box for these puzzles.

I've never seen this happen, I must say. As far as I can tell, there are always 5 topics displayed in the 'Forum Latest' box, unless I open 'Chinwag', in which case there are only 3.

Odd.

MK