Poll in Q and P

[juliefer]

Your current poll in Q and P asks people to vote on whether there should be subsections in Q and P.

There already are subsections!

Are you actually trying to ask whether the Crosswords subsection should be further divided?

[THECORBYLOON]

How many subsections do you think we'll need in the Crosswords section? There are the daily national newspapers the Sunday titles and some have more than one type of crossword in each edition. Then there are the popular magazines and local newspapers...

If someone wants an answer to a crossword in The Ferret-Worriers' Weekly, will you set up another subsection for that one too?

[jno]

I think two subsections should suffice, TCL - across and down.

[shannee]

The 'Poll' Question was -

� Should the Q & P section be divided into sub categories in an attempt to make it easier to search for crossword clues? i.e. Telegraph, Sun, Daily Express, magazines etc. �

The Search facility sometimes struggles to find the previous posting (where there has been one, before), since there are so many ways to abbreviate the name of certain newspapers and their xword names .....

An improvement might be to 'focus' the Search Engine on the phrases/ words of the xword clue, and not try to target the name of the newspaper or xword ..... but, many Abers don't even type the clue out .... preferring just to put the clue number!

The Search facilty might be 'helped' if some consistency was brought in for the abbreviation of the names of national / sunday neswpapers etc ...

But ... how many Abers really want a search facility, and then want to spend time using it - harder clues in a popular puzzle are often repeatedly asked 'ad nauseam' .... is that because the current search facility is so bad OR just Abers 'saying' that they prefer to ask a question in their own words /style and do not want to bother with looking to see if the question has been asked before?

{the Poll and, more particularly, the minimal two answer options given,do not have a 'cat-in-hell's chance of providing AB HQ with the information upon which to review the ''effectiveness' of the Search facility}

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Another 'old chestnut':
Currently xword clues appear both under the subsection xword, and under the main Topic heading of Quizzes and Puzzles ......

..... Why are postings allowed to be made to the main Topic heading, as well as to subsections therein.... doesn't seem logical?

[gen2]

Think on this:

If you further subdivide Q&P then you will be dividing the team of dedicated people who answer questions. We already have to monitor two windows (Q&P and Crosswords) which I can just about fit on my screen but any more would be a struggle. In the interests of efficient answering - please keep it as it is.

I think the ability of users to get a fast accurate reply is more important than being able to search more efficiently (an exercise that few questioners attempt)

[Tallulah!]

I know I'll be the only one in favour of this suggestion BUT I should like to see the DIFFICULT quizzes excluded!
Quizmail, Dragonfly, Great Fun Quiz, Great Brain Quiz, PCP, Macmillan to name a few.
AB is great for completing the crosswords where any dictionary or encyclopaedia will give the answers and non prize crosswords or trivia, but the quizzes I have mentioned - and - there must be more - are ruined when answers are shown for all to copy. It isn't in the spirit of the contest. They are intended to be a challenge, not for the faint hearted.

[shaneystar2]

Then people wonder why people who used to be fairly regular in Q&P give it up as a bad job .
Too many self appointed policeman monitoring everyone's answers and giving innnocent questioners and answerers a hard time .
Sub sections on top of sub sections would only aggravate matters and it would make thread rakers who object to any little misdemeanour regarding their precious quizzes really confused . It would make people with multiple user names like athenae aka shannee aka shawnee aka yapisle aka ventpeg aka lector aka prospector aka godknowswho even more confused and allow them to spout even more hot air than they do now .

[sarumite]

My sentiments precisely shaneystar, and it is mainly for these reasons that I for one visit here less often than in the past!

To be criticised for assisting others is an anathema in my book, and does it really matter how many answers are given to these quizzes? How many people enter charity quizzes simply to reap the rewards of a winning entry? (S)

[gen2]

I see the poll is going in favour of extra sub-sections, probably reflecting the greater number of questioners as opposed to answerers. BUT, remember the purpose of this site is to get answers but how will we, the answerers, find them when they are scattered throughout multiple sub-sections?

There is an answer though, but it would need more programming to allow it. You could have as many subsections as you wish that people could post their questions in, but then offer the option of 'View all subsections at one'. I know this is possible because it is available on MSN Groups.

How about giving us that then ABEd and Techies?

[Christiana]

I think the �view all subsections at once � a great idea, but not sure the techies on the site are up to it. I am one, apparently of the few, who liked to use the search facility, but alas it has once more malfunctioned so what chance a �view all� option?

[baitress]

Why not have two separate topics.
one for quizzes and one for crosswords