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I was browsing Gaming Stack Exchange (Arqade) when I realise that the "ask question" button is animated : when you hoover it there is a laser animation. This made me think "We should do something similar with Puzzling and use it to hide a puzzle !"

So I've created this meta post to discuss about the possibilities we have to hide the puzzle and to gather ideas so we can build a credible puzzle and ask for it to be implemented

EDIT :
There are two pages (the 404 and the oops page) that could be used to hide visual element :
- https://puzzling.stackexchange.com/error
- https://puzzling.stackexchange.com/404

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    $\begingroup$ When hovering the button it could be encrypted and its text be displayed as some weird code. $\endgroup$
    – Avigrail
    Commented Jul 27, 2016 at 13:42
  • $\begingroup$ There are those random shapes on the design. Maybe hide a puzzle there? $\endgroup$
    – Mithical
    Commented Jul 27, 2016 at 14:56
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    $\begingroup$ @Mithrandir Maybe those "random" shapes aren't so random... Maybe the designer is way ahead of us here. $\endgroup$
    – GentlePurpleRain Mod
    Commented Jul 27, 2016 at 15:50
  • $\begingroup$ I was active on Gaming about a month ago, used to hover a lot over that "spaceship" :) Maybe, the same(or something similar) can be implemented on the site's logo. $\endgroup$
    – ABcDexter
    Commented Jul 27, 2016 at 17:07
  • $\begingroup$ I am that dude on arquade who hates lasers and fun.. I vote for a very secret puzzle. Maybe steganography $\endgroup$
    – Frames Catherine White
    Commented Aug 1, 2016 at 15:25
  • $\begingroup$ I tried the links but they look invalid. I only get an error message. ;-) $\endgroup$
    – Florian F
    Commented Aug 10, 2016 at 12:38

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I think this is a good idea... as long as you don't make it intrusive.

This means that:

  • it should not change regular use of the site
  • it should not "stand out" in any way
  • it should be aesthetically pleasing, even if not viewed as a puzzle

Unfortunately, mods don't have absolute control of the site design. We'd have to appeal to the SE overlords for every new page, feature, or design change we might add, and judging from our past track record with asking for exceptions, it doesn't seem too promising.

If we could pull it off, it would be nice, but I think there are too many restrictions for it to be workable.

(If you did find some places where information could be hidden naturally, I'd be happy to design a puzzle around them. I don't think we have enough leeway though.)

And remember, any changes we make would be effectively permanent. We'd probably have to have a whole suite of puzzles, since changing the site design for just one would not be worth it, either for developers or for us.

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    $\begingroup$ Did it feel strange referring to mods as 'we'? ;) $\endgroup$
    – Mithical
    Commented Jul 27, 2016 at 15:59
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    $\begingroup$ @Mithrandir: Yes. I still keep having to do a double take every time I catch a glance of that diamond. $\endgroup$
    – Deusovi Mod
    Commented Jul 27, 2016 at 18:34

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