The Listener

[AB Editor]

Hi,

I have received an email from a guy associated with The Listener crossword.

The email itself is in reference to the stats which I know most of you are well aware of as you have referred to your own individual positions in the past.

I am going to post the email here later this afternoon.

However, before I do I would like to know your opinion -

Do you feel there are any issues related to people posting answers for The Listener crossword before the submission deadline?

Let me know your thoughts.
Thanks,
AB Ed

[rabet]

Oi, Shaneystar! I'm one fo the "clever clogs" you are castigating! But I've never been to the dinner!

BTW, I'm a canary as well as a dumpling.

[rabet]

"of", not "fo" ~ dyslexia strikes anaig!

[shaneystar2]

You know what I mean !
Come on let's be 'aving you !!

[rabet]

She wasn't drunk, honest! (Or so she says.)

[shaneystar2]

Oh Lord ..we've gone " off topic " now ..watch out for recriminations .
Anyway to quote Saint Delia
"This is a message for possibly the best supporters in the world. We need a 12th man. Where are you? Where are you?"

Perhaps the Listenerites need a 12th man...ooooh.. hahaha ..

[Rollo]

This coterie of Listener solvers and their statistician is too elitist for me.

[rabet]

Rollo, that's just the way we like it, apparently.

[shaneystar2]

Quite right Rollo ..they seem to think they are above us lesser mortals .Anyone would think you have to know the secret handshake the way they carry on .
I'm afraid that if the internet gets in the way of their secret society then that's tough.
As has been said by numerous people numerous times before ....Nobody forces you to look at AB.

[Alibobs]

I don't wish to sound dismissive of the efforts of this man, indeed I applaud anyone with the patience and tenacity to do what he does - i don't have it.

However things are different nowadays and with the advent of the internet puzzles and crosswords solved differently to how they were even 10 years ago.

If the questions aren't asked on AB they will be asked elsewhere.

I think it may be more appropriate to make the appeal to the people who actually do this puzzle -otherwise it may, sadly, be time for this chap to hang up his pencil

[DrFilth]

i have seen some of the answers shaneystar2 and a couple of other aber's have given out and i bet shaneystar2
could do that listener crossword with a blindfold on

[shaneystar2]

Well..that's jolly nice of you to have so much confidence in my crossword solving abilities DrFilth,but I am afraid I am not a Listenerite .Yes I can solve it ( sometimes) but I don't feel the need to make a song and dance about it and I never send it in . Just something to pass the time for an old gal like me .
I don't really give a monkeys chuff about it or any crossword for that matter .It's all ephemera as far as I am concerned .If I can help someone I am more than willing to do so and will not be dictated to as to what I can and cannot answer on a website .
I won't be spoken to as if I am a schoolgirl either, by miserable old buffers who seem to think they have a monopoly on all things cruciverbalistical.
I like Q&P for the camaraderie ..but that seems a bit thin on the ground lately .
Crosswords are just an enjoyable pastime which I have partaken in for more years than I care to remember . I'm sure when I pass away I won't be remembered for solving a bl00dy crossword... let alone rate an obituary in the Times ..but the way some of 'em carry on you would think it's a matter of life or death :))

[Devalahan]

i have never been able to complete a listener puzzle and have now accepted my limitations and given up and i agree with quizmonkey and jimjools that discussions should be stopped until after closing date. I do hope you comply with this request.

[mazie]

"Idon't really give a monkeys chuff "

:o) I applaud you shaney xxx

[rogerr]

Well said Mazie lol !

[mazie]

I know rogerr. I'm printing shaney's reply and putting it on my office wall :o)

[DrFilth]

if they stop the listener ( i have never tried it ) will they then stop the mail on sunday
then the express
then ?
are there other sites that give out answers ?

[Christiana]

I don�t do the Listener but I do attempt the EV most weeks. My observations are that though hints are sometimes given it would be virtually impossible to complete that puzzle without having a good deal of expertise yourself. I have not observed the wholesale giving out of answers and only very occasionally an actual answer being given. I should imagine the Listener is much the same. The people who solve it do not give away answers wholesale and so I don�t see any need for you to intervene AB Editor. As for the rest of the discussion it�s about time the opposing factions accepted there will never be concensus and just agree to differ.

[boysinblue68]

I would like to remind everyone, especially shaneystar2 and squarebear that there are two schools of thought. Those who believe that answering any question on here does no harm whatsoever and those (often the quiz setter) who specifically request that the answers to their quizzes are not given away on here (or anywhere else). Too many really good quizzes are being ruined by lazy people. I also accept that there are one or two who voice their opinion in a somewhat more forthright manner (which is not so good).

When is someone going to realise that saying "you don't have to look on here" is completely missing the point? By posting an answer on here, it is in the public domain-everyone who uses google will see it and anyone who has done the hardwork themselves will feel cheated (and rightly so). These quizzes are not life threatening, so why can't people have a guess or leave blank spaces?

I have no wish to dictate to anyone, I am merely voicing an opinion (in a civil manner), but please, please let's be grown up about this - I presume we are all adults - so let's act like adults. If someone asks, politely, for answers not to be posted, let's respect that. Is there any harm caused by respecting those wishes?

As for The Listener, anyone who has the patience to complete such records-in any era-should not be vilified anywhere-it is a personal choice and the request for help from AB was polite. It is obvious from some comments above that others could do with a lesson in manners.

[Quizmonster]

Dear Ed,
You refer to "a guy associated with the Listener"...who, exactly? On that information, the e-mail could perfectly easily have been written by any one of the Listenerites who regularly appear here on AnswerBank...as illustrated above...to complain about hints/answers offered.
These same people are totally happy to provide answers to The Azed, Mephisto etc crosswords prior to their closing-dates, so they have absolutely no right to demand special treatment for their own crossword. That's a view I have put here on AnswerBank until I am blue in the face.
May I also refer you to AnswerBank's own stated raison d'�tre on the Home Page? It reads:

"Ask questions, get answers. No matter how outrageous..."

Are you going to change that to: "Ask questions, get answers...to anything but Listener clues" just because Listenerites find them 'outrageous'?
There are simply no grounds - including the statistics - which warrant unique privileges for them unless, of course, you ban EVERY variety of prize-crossword query...ie effectively abandon the Q & P category.

Don't do it!

[podger123]

As if anyone would consider banning answers for mos s/express, you etc. There's little chance of winning and it's easier to use google.
Just close the section then the 'cheats' would have to post in the appropriate topic which of course some do anyway.