I will thank Leo for keeping my role in this anonymous. I was the moderator for this match.Leo Wolpert wrote: To clarify, my opponent didn't try to pass it off thusly, or offer any sort of explanation as to why "Scriblerist" was acceptable. I was offering "scriblerist may be a form of 'Scriblerus'" as a conjecture for why I was willing to let this slide at the time, even though I was pretty sure it was wrong (also, it was the one of the last games of the day, pretty much meaningless, and I was feeling surly and wanted to get the fuck out). Instead, I think they just kind of sat there not arguing with the moderator who was trying to give them the points. Here is how it went down, as I recall:
1) They get bonus. Last part is "Scriblerus" (perhaps not "Scriblerus club") and the captain says "Scriblerist."
2) The moderator accepts it and gives them 20 on the bonus, giving them the game.
3) I say "uhh, it's Scriblerus, not Scriblerist, I protest."
4) Moderator kind of waffles, then claims the answer was said correctly. Seeing as we had been through the exact same thing earlier in the day (how are we to know what he heard, maaaaaaaaannnnnnn?), and seeing the futility of the situation, I said "fuck it" and left.
Anyway, there was no attempt by the other team to claim that "scriblerist" was correct, nor was there a confirmation or denial that they said the right/wrong answer. They did what pretty much any team would do in that situation, that is, shut up and take their points and their win. Whatever, anyway, there's no need to call them liars, cheaters, or douchebags.
It is possible, maybe likely that I made an error in this match. I heard many team discussions going on in relation to this bonus. The team then gave their final answer. In my mind it was a correct answer.
When Leo raised the possibility of an inccorrect pronounciation, I gave the other team the opportunity to admit the correct answer as is custom in my experience (Leo called this "waffling"). They offered no such concesion.
Without this I had to go with my initial judgment.
Unfortunately, this did negatively impact Virginia. We'd all like to live in a mistake-free perfect world. I don't know what Leo's opponent truly said. I only know what my brain perceieved. I'm sorry.
And on another note:
I'm sorry. I must disagree with you Matt. I have two degrees from the University of Illinois College of Business. I think that qualifies as academic. I will gladly share my report analyzing Best Buy vs. Circuit City to further emphasize my point.Matt Weiner wrote: There's nothing similar about knowing what the president of Belarus has been up to lately or who the Secretary of Agriculture is, as compared to knowing the names of store brands sold by Best Buy. Nothing at all. They do not belong in the same category and the latter just is not academic.
My team didn't complain when a very similar clue at the 2006 ICT asking what company just bought Archipelago scored us 15 points. I will give you that this specific question was a difficulty-cliff. However, the answer and the Geek Squad clue were totaly appropriate.