Search found 1128 matches
- Thu Aug 12, 2021 6:21 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: Thoughts on Question Writing Theory for Harder Tournaments
- Replies: 4
- Views: 3173
Thoughts on Question Writing Theory for Harder Tournaments
I thought I'd split off a separate topic for thoughts related to question-writing theory (for both my thoughts and as a nesting ground for others thoughts on writing theory in harder quizbowl events, which do not have to be related to any of the points that I raise, but may perhaps be stimulated as ...
- Wed Aug 11, 2021 5:48 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: 2021 ACF Nationals: Specific Question Discussion
- Replies: 35
- Views: 8787
Re: 2021 ACF Nationals: Specific Question Discussion
I agree that both LBJ and Peterloo had way too much of a cliff in clue difficulty - LBJ on the Treatment, and Peterloo on the Six Acts. Those were two that really should've had a few more hard middle clues stuffed in the third to fifth lines. Also, that sans-culottes tossup was not very good, and wa...
- Wed Aug 11, 2021 4:32 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: 2021 ACF Nationals: Specific Question Discussion
- Replies: 35
- Views: 8787
Re: 2021 ACF Nationals: Specific Question Discussion
Thanks for that Daughters of Bilitis question, by the way. I really enjoyed that idea, and was determined to keep it in the set.
- Wed Aug 11, 2021 3:11 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: 2021 ACF Nationals: Thank Yous and Discussion
- Replies: 26
- Views: 9785
Re: 2021 ACF Nationals: Thank Yous and Discussion
Yeah, the good news may be that - whether you like, hate, or are indifferent to my writing philosophy - it's perfectly possible that you can hear a set like this and not even notice all that much of a difference. There's a practical dimension to writing questions, and oftentimes it doesn't really ma...
- Tue Aug 10, 2021 10:37 am
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: 2021 ACF Nationals: Thank Yous and Discussion
- Replies: 26
- Views: 9785
Re: 2021 ACF Nationals: Thank Yous and Discussion
I must admit I'm a bit confused by this. Why do you think quiz bowl should be a dispassionate, tertiary source? The most intriguing quiz bowl questions I have heard are ones that made connections and did not simply feel like you needed to have read paragraph six on page 325 of a textbook. (And, rea...
- Mon Aug 09, 2021 9:27 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: 2021 ACF Nationals: Thank Yous and Discussion
- Replies: 26
- Views: 9785
Re: 2021 ACF Nationals: Thank Yous and Discussion
Thanks to everyone involved in producing and playing this tournament. I will likely be making a few more posts in the coming days on post-mortem thoughts, but I wanted to get one out near the top of this thread. I'm not sure if this will be my final significant writing or editing exploit in quizbowl...
- Thu Apr 16, 2020 6:21 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: Punishment for cheating in online quizbowl
- Replies: 7
- Views: 3677
Re: Punishment for cheating in online quizbowl
I suppose my opinion is that online tournaments are currently just not valid quizbowl. Until we develop some sort of framework where people can compete long-distance with reasonable controls in place to prevent cheating (at least controls that make it very difficult to cheat - in the same way that i...
- Sat Oct 05, 2019 4:39 am
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: Penn Bowl at Michigan (19 Oct 2019; Ann Arbor, MI)
- Replies: 8
- Views: 5373
Re: Penn Bowl at Michigan (19 Oct 2019; Ann Arbor, MI)
If you guys need any help staffing for the tournament, I can swing over.
- Mon Mar 25, 2019 11:40 am
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: CO Matchmaking
- Replies: 16
- Views: 8079
Re: CO Matchmaking
Matt Lafer and I will be playing. We can sometimes get humanities questions if they drone on long enough to get to the one thing we still remember about the answer, provided that I don't neg it first by buzzing on a thing that I thought I remembered about the answer. Science, classical music, or any...
- Tue Apr 24, 2018 10:01 am
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: ACF Nationals discussion
- Replies: 121
- Views: 63473
Re: ACF Nationals discussion
In fairness to Andrew on that Elkhorn Tavern mixup, it was late in the game and he was trying to make my middle answer choice of Sterling Price easier. (probably not a bad idea)
- Mon Apr 23, 2018 10:10 am
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: ACF Nationals discussion
- Replies: 121
- Views: 63473
Re: ACF Nationals discussion
Yeah, pre-colonial African history is a quagmire. Different scholars disagree on what was or wasn't an empire, and there's so much intermingling and fluidity. I'm sympathetic to people who said Fulani, or even Sokoto.
- Mon Apr 23, 2018 9:58 am
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: Chicago Open 2019 - Weekend of August 3rd
- Replies: 98
- Views: 77925
Re: Chicago Open 2018 - July 21st weekend
If any teams out there still need teammates, feel free to hit me up.
- Fri Aug 04, 2017 2:26 am
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: TRICON 5: COMING SUMMER 2017
- Replies: 35
- Views: 18644
Re: TRICON 5: COMING SUMMER 2017
I just sent my packet in to Fred.
- Wed Aug 02, 2017 6:21 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: TRICON 5: COMING SUMMER 2017
- Replies: 35
- Views: 18644
Re: TRICON 5: COMING SUMMER 2017
I'll have a packet to you on 8/4 before that time, Fred.
- Wed Jul 26, 2017 6:34 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: Chicago Open Discussion
- Replies: 32
- Views: 22880
Re: Chicago Open Discussion
Jordan's post on cross-purposes is interesting, followed up by Bollinger's post looking at the same sort of dichotomy. As I read Bollinger's post, he's advocating more in favor of the "gradual canon expansion" model that I've always used as my baseline for writing (at least, as opposed to ...
- Tue Jul 25, 2017 6:33 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: Chicago Open Discussion
- Replies: 32
- Views: 22880
Re: Chicago Open Discussion
I don't have the time or desire to write a long post right now, but I may compose one later. Ike brought me onto this tournament explaining from the start that he wanted it to be his "final flourish," his goodbye manifesto to mainstream quizbowl writing, and that (because of Ike's interest...
- Mon Feb 27, 2017 9:32 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: State of tournament criticism
- Replies: 5
- Views: 4097
Re: State of tournament criticism
I think this has been a problem for years now. Basically, the only evaluation you see after a set nowadays is either: (1) arguments about clues in a handful of specific questions that a certain poster was nonplussed with (usually in predictable categories like classical music or science where there'...
- Mon Feb 27, 2017 8:55 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: 2017 (T)TIaC: Discussion of language and vulgarity
- Replies: 24
- Views: 5264
Re: 2017 (This) Tournament is a Crime General Discussion
Look, I'm not going to come close to agreeing with you namby-pamby PC millenials. (for those too young to know what I'm about, I have absolutely no patience for restricting or modifying speech based on people's feelings...which is, of course, what we're contemplating). And, at least once in a blue m...
- Sun Feb 26, 2017 11:19 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: 2017 (T)TIaC: Discussion of language and vulgarity
- Replies: 24
- Views: 5264
Re: 2017 (This) Tournament is a Crime General Discussion
We don't need censorship. Moderators were given a choice about what to say, which is the standard gesture. I'll go a step further on the Earl Butz quote and say that the clue is interesting precisely because of the quote itself and the context in which it occurred - changing the quote or paraphrasin...
- Tue Feb 14, 2017 8:43 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: (This) Tournament is a Crime weekend - 2/25-26/17 - Michigan
- Replies: 70
- Views: 42581
Re: (This) Tournament is a Crime weekend - 2/25-26/17 - Mich
Dylan and Mike Sorice have joined Lafer and myself on a team.
- Fri Dec 30, 2016 6:07 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: (This) Tournament is a Crime weekend - 2/25-26/17 - Michigan
- Replies: 70
- Views: 42581
Re: (This) Tournament is a Crime weekend - 2/25-26/17 - Mich
Matt Lafer and I have registered as a team. Please shoot one of us an email if anyone is looking for teammates.
- Tue Nov 08, 2016 7:02 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: The Brief Wondrous Tournament of WAO (January 21st-after)
- Replies: 35
- Views: 23989
Re: The Brief Wondrous Tournament of WAO (January 21st-after
I didn't get around to seeing and replying to the Facebook post, but I can probably offer you a packet for this.
- Thu Oct 27, 2016 7:05 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: Packet submission
- Replies: 15
- Views: 7498
Re: Packet submission
It may just be my particular approach to writing and editing, but I believe ACF Nats would be immensely more work for a team of editors if it were not packet submission...and would probably be lower quality overall as a result. I don't think that packet sub increases or warps difficulty at all - if ...
- Thu Oct 27, 2016 6:42 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: (This) Tournament is a Crime weekend - 2/25-26/17 - Michigan
- Replies: 70
- Views: 42581
Re: (This) Tournament is a Crime weekend - 2/25-26/17 - Mich
I'm in to play this. I fucking suck even more than all the other old people in this thread pointing out how much they suck.
I may have a hard side tournament for people to play at this event, if there's time in the schedule, and if I finish writing it.
I may have a hard side tournament for people to play at this event, if there's time in the schedule, and if I finish writing it.
- Thu Oct 27, 2016 6:41 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: Scattergories (February 2017)
- Replies: 20
- Views: 12402
Re: Scattergories (February 2017)
I'll happily play this tournament.
- Thu Sep 29, 2016 7:47 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: CO 2017 Team Formation
- Replies: 23
- Views: 15204
Re: CO 2017 Team Formation
Good lookin' out, Rob.
- Fri Sep 02, 2016 6:02 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: Packet Discount Policy for Chicago Open Discussion
- Replies: 57
- Views: 29638
Re: Packet Discount Policy for Chicago Open Discussion
I have no interest whatsoever in restricting the field size, especially not on the criterion of who is the best team. I'd like to see as many teams as possible play. I love the trend of seeing very young freshman/sophomore based teams willing to come out to CO (with no expectation of the tournament ...
- Thu Sep 01, 2016 10:10 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: Packet Discount Policy for Chicago Open Discussion
- Replies: 57
- Views: 29638
Re: Packet Discount Policy for Chicago Open Discussion
When I've done incentives like this in the past, I've tried to factor in the "experience of the team writing" into my holistic evaluation of the packet. Grade on a curve in some cases, essentially. But yeah, I'm pretty sympathetic to Eliza's viewpoint here. The number of people willing to ...
- Thu Sep 01, 2016 6:44 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: Packet Discount Policy for Chicago Open Discussion
- Replies: 57
- Views: 29638
Re: Packet Discount Policy for Chicago Open Discussion
Speaking as one of the two other co-editors of this CO (hope that's not a spoiler), my major concern is with the regressive nature of this scheme. I like the motivation behind the scheme (even if I share Jerry's skepticism about its efficacy). CO attendance is at an all-time high, and even when the ...
- Sat Jun 11, 2016 10:21 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: warning: limitless indalecio discussion
- Replies: 31
- Views: 15225
Re: warning: limitless indalecio discussion
Someday, I'm gonna get around to reading this thread.
Not today, but someday. I hope it's the same day I finish my JRPG tournament.
Not today, but someday. I hope it's the same day I finish my JRPG tournament.
- Fri Apr 29, 2016 7:19 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: The Second Summer Open
- Replies: 61
- Views: 38120
Re: The Second Summer Open
Sounds like Stephen Liu is asking for more contract law in quizbowl. Peppercorns for everyone!
- Wed Apr 27, 2016 9:41 pm
- Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
- Topic: 25 for 25: A Definitive List of the Greatest ACF Players
- Replies: 29
- Views: 28390
Re: 25 for 25: A Definitive List of the Greatest ACF Players
They existed, but I'd say they were much more rare. The thrust of my longer post above was that, back in the day, you could often sit around and wait until the last couple clues of a question - especially if it was a fairly hard question - because there weren't as many specialists around ("hype...
- Wed Apr 27, 2016 7:06 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: Make your questions interesting!
- Replies: 9
- Views: 5041
Re: Make your questions interesting!
Yeah, I support this post a lot. I'd also say that it's fine to joke around a little bit, which is something that seems like it's going out of style. I enjoy that Ike puts references to being "cuckoo for Okonkwo puffs," and throws out asides like mentioning the appearance of a quote in the...
- Wed Apr 27, 2016 6:36 pm
- Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
- Topic: 25 for 25: A Definitive List of the Greatest ACF Players
- Replies: 29
- Views: 28390
Re: 25 for 25: A Definitive List of the Greatest ACF Players
I agree with Andrew Hart, but let's not forget that we have much deeper fields at Nats now than we had from 2005-2010. It's not nearly as "top-heavy" as it used to be - there are lots of okay players who can make solid buzzes (again, no doubt due to the democratization effect of having all...
- Wed Apr 27, 2016 1:10 pm
- Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
- Topic: 25 for 25: A Definitive List of the Greatest ACF Players
- Replies: 29
- Views: 28390
Re: 25 for 25: A Definitive List of the Greatest ACF Players
A couple of things about this post strike me as amusing for discussion purposes. First, I love the line about old Michigan being a team full of players who would "be buzzing by the end of almost any question," because it reminds me that there used to be a certain type of player that really...
- Sat Apr 23, 2016 10:09 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: ACF Nationals 2016 Discussion
- Replies: 74
- Views: 31862
Re: ACF Nationals 2016 Discussion
You don't need to wait for the set to be posted to start writing your Chi Open tossups on PBS Pinchback.
- Thu Apr 21, 2016 6:24 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: ACF Nationals 2016 Discussion
- Replies: 74
- Views: 31862
Re: ACF Nationals 2016 Discussion
I called my tournament FIST for a reason.presented it in a way that wasn't so brutal on the players.
- Wed Apr 20, 2016 6:22 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: ACF Nationals 2016 Discussion
- Replies: 74
- Views: 31862
Re: ACF Nationals 2016 Discussion
The Anti-Canonist Movement wants to turn all question into audio/visual mosaics that speak in code to people who have taken the right class or read the right textbook, while excluding people who have learned clues on their filthy flashcards (at least until post-FTP - where those filthy dogs can have...
- Wed Apr 20, 2016 6:07 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: ACF Nationals 2016 Discussion
- Replies: 74
- Views: 31862
Re: ACF Nationals 2016 Discussion
I just wanna say that Punt tossup sucked balls. The whole thing was basically screaming "this sure sounds like a magical place where Egyptians went and got cool stuff!" - but that's because there really are not many other clues for Punt. The examples that people give are always funny to me...
- Tue Apr 19, 2016 11:19 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: ACF Nationals 2016 Discussion
- Replies: 74
- Views: 31862
Re: ACF Nationals 2016 Discussion
I'm sorry, I rather purposely derailed this thread by making a pointed ideological comment. I've always felt that quizbowl at its best is something sui generis - and that it doesn't need to rely upon, or have continual reference to, a concept of an academic curriculum in order to maintain a reasonab...
- Tue Apr 19, 2016 8:32 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: ACF Nationals 2016 Discussion
- Replies: 74
- Views: 31862
Re: ACF Nationals 2016 Discussion
Yeah, I'm a pretty big fan of asking about crusty old dudes like Lester Ward and Patrick Geddes who have very limited relevance to actual study in the modern sense (or easier examples like Henry George or William Graham Sumner). I realize that's not everybody's cup of tea. I think the "quizbowl...
- Tue Apr 19, 2016 6:11 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: ACF Nationals 2016 Discussion
- Replies: 74
- Views: 31862
Re: ACF Nationals 2016 Discussion
Ike's not kidding when he says this Nats was his baby. He put in such a massive amount of work all across the set, and was a fantastic editor to work with throughout. On social science, I'd say the amount of both anthro and econ was probably a bit on the low side - with a slightly heavier focus on p...
- Fri Apr 15, 2016 5:09 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: ACF Nationals - University of Michigan, 04.16-17.2016
- Replies: 104
- Views: 61114
Re: ACF Nationals - University of Michigan, 04.16-17.2016
It does, but you're still 9 karma points short, and thus will remain in the Bracket of Death
- Thu Apr 14, 2016 8:08 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: Chicago Open Team Formation
- Replies: 22
- Views: 15940
Re: Chicago Open Team Formation
Matt Lafer and I are seeking teammates for CO. Science and music players welcome.
- Thu Apr 07, 2016 5:25 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes (CO Sunday?)
- Replies: 29
- Views: 15934
Re: The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes (CO Sunday?)
I'd like to sign up for WANG, the visual porn event at this year's CO.
- Tue Dec 29, 2015 6:36 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: ACF Nationals - University of Michigan, 04.16-17.2016
- Replies: 104
- Views: 61114
Re: ACF Nationals - University of Michigan, 04.16-17.2016
This post is reserved for Ryan Westbrook to defend his AOL Mail account, and other forms of absurd Luddite behaviors.Rob Carson's acceptably 21st-century email address, [email protected].
- Sun Jul 05, 2015 8:59 am
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: Samuel L. Bronkowitz presents Chicago Open (07/18-19/15)
- Replies: 117
- Views: 62546
Re: Samuel L. Bronkowitz presents Chicago Open (07/18-19/15)
Eric's spreadsheet doesn't show that my packet has been received - but Jerry's post does and a couple editors have told me it has - so I assume it's typo
- Wed Jun 24, 2015 7:02 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: VCU Open at Michigan - August 8
- Replies: 122
- Views: 60898
Re: VCU Open at Michigan - August 8
I'll probably be around for this - anybody out there looking to form another team?
- Wed Jun 03, 2015 5:55 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: ACFNATIONALS - A JRPG tournament
- Replies: 99
- Views: 56108
Re: ACFNATIONALS - A JRPG tournament
Jake, I fully intend to write a fan sequel to this tournament (maybe I'll call it Crimson Echoes). For now, I think I'd like to take a try at just writing it myself - after spending a lot of time to play through the games I don't know very well. Perhaps we'll combine forces at some point, or perhaps...
- Sun May 31, 2015 8:23 pm
- Forum: College area archives
- Topic: ACFNATIONALS - A JRPG tournament
- Replies: 99
- Views: 56108
Re: ACFNATIONALS - A JRPG tournament
Just like Miranda and Alonso above, this tournament was fantastic. Thanks for putting it together, guys.