17
votes
Why are IQ test questions received so badly on this website?
There are two reasons your post was heavily downvoted:
Yes, this community generally dislikes progressive matrices. As you said, "it's similar to reading the author's mind" -- this is the mark of a ...
DeusoviMod
- 139k
14
votes
puzzles - Simple but tricky puzzles generating off-topic comments and answers, should I close?
The [lateral-thinking] tag was applied to this puzzle: "A puzzle solved through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be ...
- 12.7k
13
votes
Accepted
Why was this edit to clarify a chessboard rejected?
It's obviously impossible to comment on a specific user's reasons, but I think generally:
Conflicts with author's intent — On other sites in the network, this is purely about the core point of ...
- 36.4k
12
votes
I say that a maths puzzle is suitable for this site. The puzzle-setter disagrees. What do you say?
I think this challenge is a textbook example (put intended!) of a math problem that is not a math puzzle.
I spent a bit of time working on this challenge and got a solution much like f'''s now-...
- 23.7k
8
votes
Accepted
Should multiple-answer questions be marked as too broad?
Yes, this is the purpose of the "too broad" close reason here. We even have a custom close reason that may have fit better:
This question may invite speculative answers, as the question is not ...
DeusoviMod
- 139k
7
votes
Accepted
Did I do right by adding "bitcoin" as a new tag to this question?
I don't think there's anything wrong with it, but I wouldn't have added it. My guideline for when to add tags (which could be very different from other people's) is that they should be added when:
...
DeusoviMod
- 139k
7
votes
Is this puzzle a metapuzzle or not?
TL;DR: No.
Traditionally, a metapuzzle (or "meta") makes use of answers from a number of mostly separate puzzles, each with their own themes and mechanics, to give a final meta answer.
For ...
- 7,307
6
votes
Is this interactive puzzle appropriate on Puzzling.SE?
As you've already discovered, Snippets don't operate on Puzzling.
There's a strong preference to keep all puzzles self-contained on site. This is to keep content within the puzzle posting itself, so ...
RubioMod
- 40.2k
6
votes
Accepted
Is this puzzle a metapuzzle or not?
It's certainly a multi-stage puzzle: solve something, then the result is an essential component of another puzzle.
The boundary between multi-stage puzzles and metapuzzles is not perfectly clear (I ...
- 112k
6
votes
Accepted
Is this question I asked on Math.SE better suited for Puzzling.SE?
Until a solution is posted, it's hard for us to say.
The difference between a maths puzzle (suited for Puzzling.SE) and a maths problem (suited for Maths.SE) depends essentially on the way it needs ...
- 114k
6
votes
Please can "How to get to an island with a tree in the middle if all you have is rope" be undeleted and historically locked?
Moderators' final decision
We have had extensive discussion in our Secret Moderators' Cabal, and I'm afraid the overall sense of the mod team is that it isn't appropriate to undelete the island ...
- 112k
6
votes
Is it allowed to "insult yourself"?
It's quite common in everyday English (and many other languages/cultures) to do this (with some words, like 'idiot' and 'moron'; there are probably words which are off-limits even in this context).
I ...
- 27k
6
votes
What to do with "What is the best method of scrambling a rubik's cube?"
Leave it open.
I'm going to start this answer in a controversial way, by quoting part of the site tour which actually doesn't usually apply here on Puzzling:
Focus on questions about an actual ...
- 114k
5
votes
Is there something bad about this puzzle?
I don't think anything is wrong with this puzzle. As of now, it has 7 up-votes and 5 fav-markers, so it's doing good. Just don't be impatient. Good puzzles may take a while to be tackled and not ...
- 17.9k
5
votes
Accepted
Handling puzzles with multiple steps and the posting of partial answers
Another thing you can do is to post and accept your own answer which collates/quotes from each individual poster's partial answers. Something along the lines of
The correct answer is:
First, you do ...
- 1,228
5
votes
Is this question really too broad?
Your riddle, if I understand correctly, works on a simple principle, namely two different meanings of the same word. While this is a nice principle, the implementation is, IMHO, a bit weak: there are ...
- 17.8k
5
votes
Accepted
Unanswered puzzle - leave, self-answer or write a postmortem?
I'll echo what @GentlePurpleRain has already said, and will add -
I would be most in favor of your last option, though again any of the 3 GPR noted would be fine. I only have this preference ...
RubioMod
- 40.2k
5
votes
What can I do in this pressuring situation?
It seems that this particular situation has bothered you somewhat. If I understand it, you want to explain your side (including your reason for the accepted answer) clearly.
You can do this in ...
- 38.8k
5
votes
How to proceed with "Airline tickets puzzle strategy"
PSE gets an annoyingly large number of questions from people who are very clearly trying to cheat on aptitude tests. It is possible that I was too hasty in guessing that this was one of them. But ...
- 112k
4
votes
Can the question about a snail climbing out of a well please be undeleted and re-opened?
I wrote the answer you are looking to for your question's redemption. The comments that came from your question and its (self-)answer are still true and in my opinion fully justify the question being ...
RubioMod
- 40.2k
4
votes
Accepted
Can I repost the question I was suspended for?
Moderators won't undelete the original so you can edit.
Nor would they have to: even though it's deleted, it wasn't self-deleted, so you could still edit it to get it to a state where it was suitable ...
RubioMod
- 40.2k
4
votes
Unanswered puzzle - leave, self-answer or write a postmortem?
I think any of 1, 2, and 4 are acceptable.
You might want to think about what your goal is.
Is your goal
to have someone solve the puzzle?
to offer an explanation the puzzle and what you feel was ...
- 24.1k
4
votes
Why is this question considered a math problem?
Our site policy
You can find our site policy on maths problems vs maths puzzles at Are math-textbook-style problems on topic?
So, what makes something a math puzzle rather than math problem? I think ...
- 114k
3
votes
Accepted
Is this question really too broad?
That is the whole problem with riddles. You might have thought of a certain answer but you will find lots of different answers, many of which will make sense because riddles usually are "think out of ...
- 15.1k
3
votes
Accepted
Why is this not showing the linked question on the side?
If you look at the source of TVE II, it's linked as /q/40829 rather than the full question URL. That must be what causes it.
DeusoviMod
- 139k
3
votes
Handling puzzles with multiple steps and the posting of partial answers
You can give the tick to whoever you like. It doesn't have to be whoever got the complete solution first. The tick is for the "best" (in the opinion of the asker) answer - "the answer that helped you ...
- 5,417
3
votes
Would this potential post be a math puzzle or math problem?
Having confirmed the answer has made me see it as more of a math problem rather than a puzzle, even though it did not seem so from the question.
(Spoilered)
- 23.7k
3
votes
Accepted
What happened to the 'How to become the president?' question?
It got deleted last september, I believe for plagiarism with a few others of Gamow's.
- 50.8k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible