Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

I’ll let you play at silly games in this thread as it’s Monday and past Listener peak time but can you please refrain from posting in this manner in the new thread on Friday.

Any such posts will be deleted😇

Norah - these aren't silly games - we were just trying out Pootle's suggestion at #99 for an easily encoded and decoded cypher to conceal possibly unwanted information - hints to the theme, for instance - from casual reading by those who choose not to. It works very simply and easily, as Jazzgirl, Buzzb, and I have demonstrated with trivial messages in the last few posts.

I can't think that you can possibly have any objection to a simple solution to the problem of 'spoilers' being visible to those who don't want to see them - if they're encoded one has to actively decode them to read them.

Please discuss with Jazzgirl and Buzzb if you have any doubts - here's a link to the decoder if you'd like to try it - just copy and paste the string of code in her (JG's) last posting into the window in the decoder and press the [Decode] button to see how it works: https://opinionatedgeek.com/Codecs/Base64Decoder

[ ENcoder is at https://opinionatedgeek.com/Codecs/Base64encoder ]

You could publish these links to the encoder and the decoder in the preamble to the HINTS thread each week, and instruct anyone wishing to refer to the theme, or give more than a 'gentle' clue hint, to encode their posting.

Norah - you could also stipulate that such encoded strong hints are preceded by a message in plain text saying what clue - or thematic bit - they refer to.

I really think that Pootle may have come up with the solution to many of our grouses, enabling those who want more explicit help to get it, while letting those who don't to avoid the spoilers, all on one thread.

I should have included Malone in those you could discuss it with.

I'd like to hear what other members of the group think, either pro or con.

Quixote, thanks for your input. I stand corrected regarding calling the encoder a 'silly game'.

I'm pondering the matter and consulting as you suggested, the fence I'm sat on gets more uncomfortable by the day😂

The major problem, as I see it, is that the majority of Users can’t (or won’t) read the simple preamble posts written in plain English so how will they cope with using an encoder?

Honestly, I really wasn't sure if you guys were serious about using the code. This thread is rapidly turning into Bletchley !

Since you invite opinion Quixote:

This coding idea may be a good idea if used extremely sparingly, for example when all possible hints have been exhausted and the only way to help a poster stuck with an element of the puzzle is to give more information than others might want to see. It's the same principle as using TinyURL to point to a helpful page I suppose, and that works well.

The problem with more than a small number of coded posts is we could end up with pages of gobbledegook. Even if there is a requirement to post some plain text and the decoder link with the coded post (which I think there should be), this could well be off-putting to newcomers and part-time posters.

The other danger is that this might offer carte blanche to give away entire themes which, coded or not, is surely against the spirit of this board.

I'm not dismissing it out of hand, but I wouldn't want to see more than a smattering of these coded posts, preferably towards the end of the thread when discussion of the puzzle has largely run its course.

Well, you did ask...

Just as I thought we were getting to some form of normality - the Listener getting the same treatment, amount and style of help as the other themed puzzles - the spectre of coding has arrived. If everyone else wants pages - or even just scattered posts - with apparent gobbledegook, I will have to leave you all to it.

PS JOB VACANCY

Thread starter... No connection with the textile industry, but linked to a crossword help site. Applicants must have strong shoulders, as the job carries a huge amount of responsibility. Mediation skills may also be a great asset as, sadly, there can be the odd bout of internal conflict.

Many years back, on this forum, members were disguising clues by typing upside down, or using Hungarian until someone (the voice of reason) said :
"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should"
and that put a stop to it . I feel the same principle applies to the code.
Please keep things simple. Have sent Norah a bigger cushion

I think the coding idea is a bad one, and not just because it opens a channel where key information can be divulged - what about malicious use? Offensive content, for example, or giving spammers an opportunity to flood the threads before anyone realises what's being posted.
Are we really going to consider such a risky solution simply to appease those contributors who are concerned about seeing spoilers? Because it only achieves its aim for those flicking through the threads - the spoilers are still there (and pooter tells us decryption takes just a few seconds!).
If we have two threads the die-hards can at least avoid one or the other of them, but short of having NO SPOILERS NO HELP on one and HELP POSSIBLE SPOILERS on the other there's little chance of nailing down exactly how they're to be used (because Listener crosswords present very different challenges week on week). As a last resort offending plain-text posts can be quickly spotted and removed and persistent offenders can be quickly spotted and removed too.

That's a good point, Drxx - the coded posts would be almost indistinguishable from some of the spam we get and it's unreasonable to expect Norah to have to decode it all.

I was prepared to entertain the idea reluctantly if it's what the majority want - I am only one voice on this forum, after all - but if the reactions from you, Malone and Jazzgirl are typical of the general feeling, then the coding is best scrapped.

That's more than fine by me!