All Questions
1,389
questions
2
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0
answers
23
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2022: a year in moderation
As we say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new one, we have a tradition of sharing moderation stats for the preceding calendar year.
As most of you here are aware, sites on the Stack Exchange ...
- 101
1
vote
1
answer
60
views
Which answer should be accepted if the first one (chronologically) takes the most important step, but the second is more complete?
Link to my puzzle.
The answer written by gsomani is in my opinion more important. The puzzle only has a single step pattern to discover, which they found, but fell short at the last step because they ...
- 370
5
votes
3
answers
239
views
Best puzzles of 2022 Q4 (October - December)?
This question is part of the best-puzzle award series
What are your nominations for the best puzzles, here on Puzzling.SE, of the fourth quarter ( October / November / December ) 2022?
Suggested ...
- 114k
7
votes
1
answer
392
views
Monthly Topic Challenge #6: Is it really that [time] again?
This is the sixth installment of the Monthly Topic Challenges with topics suggested and voted on here. This month's topic is "Is it really that time again?" (suggested by Auribouros) and ...
- 301
3
votes
0
answers
78
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What could we do about [cryptography]?
The cryptography tag has a clear tag wiki excerpt:
A puzzle concerning techniques for secure communication in the presence of (hostile) third parties. Do NOT use this for simple "crack the code&...
- 9,910
0
votes
2
answers
105
views
Why is my question so poorly received?
This question of mine was very poorly received, getting 5 downvotes. However, it is totally suited for this site, as evidenced by the fact that there are no close votes. Why was my question "...
- 363
1
vote
1
answer
253
views
Is ChatGPT allowed for solving puzzles?
My question got an answer that used ChatGPT but still got 2 (Edit: 21) upvotes. Is this usage allowed on Puzzling Stack Exchange?
- 363
0
votes
1
answer
48
views
I can't vote anymore today but I only voted 39 times
I can't vote anymore today, but I only voted 39 times. What is happening here?
- 363
13
votes
0
answers
239
views
A brief guide to MathJax for PSE users
[Context: as described at Where should we link for "MathJax help"?, in PSE's "editing help" page the section on LaTeX has a link labelled "MathJax help" that currently ...
- 114k
9
votes
1
answer
343
views
Would we want to allow ... or spaces before question marks at the end of titles?
As a question-quality measure, Stack Exchange automatically rewrites question titles which end with punctuation, following a couple of rules:
Multiple ? collapsed into one
Multiple . collapsed into ...
- 9,910
5
votes
1
answer
556
views
Monthly Topic Challenge #5: On-and-onograms
This is the fifth installment of the Monthly Topic Challenges with topics suggested and voted on here. This month's topic is "On-and-onograms" (suggested by Stiv) and will span from the 1st ...
- 301
17
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Puzzling Advent Calendar - 2022
We will continue this tradition from last year: A Christmas-themed puzzle every day between the 1st and 24th of December, where the accepted answer will be rewarded with a bounty. The bounties are ...
- 8,532
2
votes
1
answer
89
views
Are puzzles with the correct answer being "unknowable" allowed?
I once made a logical puzzle that deliberately had insufficient info to be answered directly. However, the insufficiency was sneaky and the puzzle misdirecting; that's what made it a clever puzzle in ...
- 101
8
votes
1
answer
313
views
Best puzzles of 2022 Q3 (July - September)
This question is part of the best-puzzle award series
What are your nominations for the best puzzles, here on Puzzling.SE, of the third quarter ( July / August / September ) 2022?
Suggested ...
- 6,515
7
votes
1
answer
758
views
Monthly Topic Challenge #4: Cross-*non*-words
This is the fourth installment of the Monthly Topic Challenges with topics suggested and voted on here. This month's topic is "Cross-non-words" (suggested by Stiv) and will span from the 1st ...
- 301
1
vote
1
answer
70
views
How to post an image with no text?
Some puzzles are self-explanatory and need only an image. For example, see the fish and the star.
However, the question review software insists that I include at least 30 characters of text. I've ...
- 12.5k
6
votes
4
answers
145
views
Where should we link for "MathJax help"?
If you are editing a question or answer on PSE, near the top of the editor is a link saying "More" that goes to https://puzzling.stackexchange.com/editing-help. This has a "LaTeX" ...
- 114k
7
votes
1
answer
148
views
Is there some etiquette on reverse image search?
There are some puzzles on this site that involve images and recognizing what is on the image is a significant part of the puzzle, for example here. One can start solving puzzles like this in two ways. ...
- 835
0
votes
1
answer
76
views
How to use a monospaced font in Puzzling questions?
What are the ways to use a monospaced font in a Puzzling StackExchange question? If there are multiple ways, is there a preferred way?
- 1,347
4
votes
1
answer
367
views
Hope I'm totally wrong
Apparently someone here banished me. I am the most enthusiastic puzzler around and haven't been on the attack since 1970. Hope I'm wrong but that's what someone said.
- 21.5k
6
votes
1
answer
615
views
Monthly Topic Challenge #3: Pencil and Paper Games
This is the third installment of the Monthly Topic Challenges with topics suggested and voted on here. This month's topic is "pencil-and-paper-games" (suggested by bobble) and will span from ...
- 301
1
vote
1
answer
102
views
Can I ask for feedback about a new kind of puzzle for kids?
Background:
Puzzles for kids such as you see in children magazines always seem to belong to a small set of predefined categories. There are shadow matching puzzles, mazes, spot 7 differences, etc. ...
- 106
5
votes
1
answer
85
views
How long should I wait for a flag to be reviewed?
I raised a flag on a question on the main Puzzling site on August 10th (2 weeks ago today). One of my subsequent flags has been marked as helpful, but the flag from 2 weeks ago has not yet been ...
- 9,277
0
votes
0
answers
113
views
Should I ask for the re-opening of this question?
This question has been closed an hour ago:
Reasoning game : The little piglet
Reason given:
Closed. This question is off-topic. It is not currently accepting answers.
This question may invite ...
- 106
2
votes
1
answer
66
views
Is posting puzzles from a book/magazine/newspaper a violation of PSE policy if attribution is given?
I ask because I don’t want to post puzzles here and have them subsequently closed or deleted.
- 1,347
10
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Monthly Topic Challenge #2: IQ Puzzle Parody
This is the second installment of the Monthly Topic Challenges with topics suggested and voted on here. This month's topic is "IQ Puzzle Parody" (suggested by Stiv) and will span from the ...
- 301
3
votes
1
answer
75
views
Can you post your puzzle on multiple puzzle sites?
I look at many different puzzle sites. Occasionally I find same exact puzzles on two different sites. Perhaps by the same OP. It is hard to tell since you can have a completely different user name on ...
- 38.9k
7
votes
2
answers
334
views
If a question asks about how to improve a puzzle, is an answer which only solves the puzzle acceptable?
The answer in question
The question asks, in short, "How can I improve the wording of this puzzle?". Most of the answers address this question by providing wording suggestions. This is on-...
- 9,910
0
votes
0
answers
72
views
How to deal with old unanswered puzzles?
I have a puzzle that was posted back on June 22nd of this year. The first partial answer was posted a day later (6/23), and was last edited the day after that (6/24). The last comment on that answer ...
- 1,258
1
vote
0
answers
85
views
Are puzzles with large audio files allowed?
I was planning on making a puzzle where an audio file (maybe 5-10 minutes or more) must be analyzed to solve the puzzle. Would something like this be allowed, and if so, how could I share the file? I ...
- 648
8
votes
1
answer
241
views
How does the bot for Monthly Topic Challenges work?
What tasks does the MTC Bot handle and how? What do we as participants of Monthly Topic Challenges have to do or keep in mind?
- 8,532
2
votes
0
answers
75
views
Where can I find puzzles of a certain type?
I would like to find more puzzles of this type. The quizzer describes some situation with minimal information, and the guesser has to find out the answer to some question (normally "why?")
...
- 723
1
vote
1
answer
77
views
What to do with unanswered questions that have an answer in their comments?
This site has hundreds of unanswered questions, and that doesn't look good.
It isn't hard to find unanswered questions that in fact do have an answer though, it's just that the answer is posted as a ...
- 269
6
votes
2
answers
146
views
Recurring posts about cryptic crosswords
I have a couple of books of cryptic crosswords from the Times (of London) that I've been working through. Unfortunately, I'm not terribly good at them, and I don't know a lot of UK-specific ...
- 1,619
8
votes
2
answers
267
views
Best puzzles of 2022 Q2 (April - June)
This question is part of the best-puzzle award series
What are your nominations for the best puzzles, here on Puzzling.SE, of the second quarter ( April / May / June ) 2022?
Suggested guidelines ...
- 6,515
15
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Monthly Topic Challenge #1: Restricted Title: xkcd 1xxx
This is the first installment of the Monthly Topic Challenges with topics suggested and voted on here. This month's topic is "Restricted Title: xkcd 1xxx" (suggested by Lukas Rotter) and ...
- 301
1
vote
1
answer
90
views
Can we get a Stack Exchange addition to Markdown to allow inline spoilers?
There are lots of questions in the Puzzling Meta about coded comments, suggesting that there's a demand for spoiler blocks within comments. The spoiler block is already a Stack Exchange addition to ...
- 111
6
votes
1
answer
156
views
General question: Is there a FAQ? Specific question: is it allowed that puzzles lead to other websites?
Like the title says; Is there a general FAQ for the Puzzling Stack Exchange? And where do I find it?
Specific question 1: I have a puzzle that leads to an external website (online escape room). Is ...
-1
votes
1
answer
93
views
Is password defense on-topic?
So there are those platforms where, if you forget your password, you can get sent a prerecorded hint.
Would it be off-topic to provide this hint in a question, as a means to ensure it can't be cracked ...
- 4,231
-5
votes
2
answers
335
views
Idea to Solve Question to Answer Upvote Disparity
Today I was given a link to an example of a good Affix riddle, and I agree that it is good. However, it was solved in 10 minutes, so maybe it is a bit easy?
But the puzzle's difficulty is not my point....
- 17.4k
-3
votes
1
answer
137
views
Reduce minimum bounty offer for the second or later bounties on the same question
I recently offered a bounty on my first question, but it didn't receive much attention, nor had it received any answers. The option to offer/start another bounty is now gone (the link-like button now ...
0
votes
1
answer
88
views
Why is "Just Some Lines To Me" closed?
Just Some Lines To Me
It says, the question does not appear to be about creation and solving of puzzles.
How? Why?
- 218
2
votes
1
answer
165
views
point of images when there is a "text version" that provides the same information?
I noticed that some posts have both a picture and a text version. One example is an ambiguous text from the oracle.
Why do people post both the image and the text version? Isn't the text version just ...
- 1,133
3
votes
0
answers
125
views
"You've Exceeded Your Question Limit" Comes Up Unexpectedly
Now, I understand that nobody here understands the algorithm as of how are timed question bans issued ("You've reached your question limit"), however, whatever the algorithm is, this doesn't ...
- 218
0
votes
1
answer
131
views
Are Bounty Reasons disparaging people as "poor" something we want to condone?
There's currently a question bountied with the reason given as:
i am very rich...giving away my points...to poor...
That wording, intent aside, seems like a very unkind way to oversee things.
Are we ...
- 2,169
2
votes
0
answers
124
views
Why was "Sum of digits of numbers" not well-received?
Sum of digits of numbers
I recently posted this puzzle, I'm not sure why it is not well received. How can I make sure that this does not happen next time?
- 1,240
0
votes
1
answer
116
views
Can someone explain why this account was merged with my main account?
So I registered this account about two months ago, after I deleted my previous account that was associated with my main login.
I registered this account using a different e-mail address, I made up a ...
- 481
1
vote
0
answers
75
views
How to add hints to cipher questions?
I have a question on puzzling.se. I have posted a couple of hints and I can't give any more hints without giving the answer because the cipher is pretty simple. I even set a bounty and there is very ...
- 1,133
6
votes
2
answers
279
views
Closing of questions seems very inconsistent
A latest question by @Amruth A brings up a bothersome question.
Is the "closing" of the questions on the PSE done inconsistently?
Some aspects of closing appear straightforward: No ...
- 38.9k
4
votes
2
answers
216
views
How do we prove that a math-based question has a clever solution?
One of my questions has been closed as being a math-textbook problem. However, this problem is not meant to (and in fact cannot) be answered through standard methods, and instead requires other ...
- 1,051