MobileRead Spring Contest: Discussion

[GeoffC]

I always wondered why I don't read detective novels, though I enjoy Miss Marple drama series.


At the moment my head hurts and any deductions I can make may turn out to be red herrings laced with blue threads dyed yellow in order to reach a green conclusion.


otherwise on the 16th I'll make a wild (n) educated guess.

[ravenne]

Originally Posted by omk3

Ok, question time!

1) Is there only one possible solution, to which we can arrive purely by logic? (yeah right)

Yes.

2) Is all the relevant information contained inside the story, or will it be helpful, or even needed, to have some extra knowledge about the people involved and their life and interactions inside the forum?

You find all the info you need in the story.

3) Does the story follow the rules (any rules)? Apart from the time thingie, obviously. I mean, will it be an easily explainable in normal everyday terms solution, or something like "a pink flying llama did it", or "pshrynk actually had an evil twin".

No llamas, no twins, don't worry.

4) Is it even decided who the culprit is, or will you just look at our answers and pick the most convincing (or most outrageous) one?

there's an idea.....
Seriously, there's one culprit and we've decided who it is quite a while ago.

5) Can we trust this Lobster guy, at least now at the end, or is he deliberately trying to mislead us to get all the credit?

You can always trust a lobster.

6) Are we looking for one name out of 11 (or twelve), or is it possible that they all did it, or that a combination of them did it, or that the gray dog did it?

You're looking for one name.

That's all for the moment.

That was a LOT.

[GeoffC]

can we
a) phone a friend.
b) ask for 10 names to be removed from the list of possibilities.
c) ask the audience ....

?

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by ravenne

You're looking for one name.

Hey! No fair! You're helping all the "mass conspiracy" guys!

[omk3]

Thanks for the answers, Ravenne and Steve
Everything is so much clearer now!

[ravenne]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

can we
a) phone a friend.
b) ask for 10 names to be removed from the list of possibilities.
c) ask the audience ....

?

Isn't that what this thread is all about?

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Hey! No fair! You're helping all the "mass conspiracy" guys!

I wasn't telling any news , may I quote from the contest announcement:

Get the murderer's name and mail it to us to springcontest@mobileread.com by May 16th.

[GeoffC]

only the name, not the personna ....

[GeoffC]

is that a female or male tense for the noun "murderer"?

Can anyone confirm from the French threads ?

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

is that a female or male tense for the noun "murderer"?

Can anyone confirm from the French threads ?

Une fois identifié, vous n’avez qu’à nous envoyer son nom par courriel


Translated ... "Once identified, simply send us his name by email"

[mtravellerh]

No, that's perfectly neutral, sorry.

[ravenne]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Une fois identifié, vous n’avez qu’à nous envoyer son nom par courriel


Translated ... "Once identified, simply send us his name by email"

Nice try, GeoffC. BTW, the German word 'Mörder' is neutral too.

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by omk3

Ok, question time!

1) Is there only one possible solution, to which we can arrive purely by logic? (yeah right)

2) Is all the relevant information contained inside the story, or will it be helpful, or even needed, to have some extra knowledge about the people involved and their life and interactions inside the forum?

3) Does the story follow the rules (any rules)? Apart from the time thingie, obviously. I mean, will it be an easily explainable in normal everyday terms solution, or something like "a pink flying llama did it", or "pshrynk actually had an evil twin".

4) Is it even decided who the culprit is, or will you just look at our answers and pick the most convincing (or most outrageous) one?

5) Can we trust this Lobster guy, at least now at the end, or is he deliberately trying to mislead us to get all the credit?

6) Are we looking for one name out of 11 (or twelve), or is it possible that they all did it, or that a combination of them did it, or that the gray dog did it?

7) Why do all these smarty-pants detectives ask the minimum number of questions possible before making their wild guesses? (sorry, deductions)

That's all for the moment.

1. Yes for certain values of "logic."
2. Yes for certain values of "all."
3. Yes for certain values of "rules."
4. There is a culprit. (Not me, of course, since I am entirely innocent of all wrong doing.)
5. Yes for certain values of "trust."
6. There is no rule six!
7. 42.

[nikkie]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

1. Threads were only found on: zelda, neko, MTH, Ravenne, Veren, Patricia, and Nate. They began as "twine" and then became blue string.
AND - only blue threads were found, although pshrynk's coat was yellow & blue. Who has the yellow threads?

This jibes with my notes.

2. Some terms were conspicuously capitalized, leading one to wonder if the following letters can be rearranged to spell anything in any language:
MS K Q ST RT M FR YT HTC MTH PDF WDE

3. Rhymes: Netseeker confessed to poisoning a baker, Neko claimed to be a Quaker.

4. Space-time fluxes: zelda's trip, YlT's table, Nate's reference to a recursive story (along with his string theory connecting all threads).

I can also add to this:
5. Pilotbob's telling of the story makes at least two moderators liars, and himself by extension.
6. Anybody notice that the dog "slinks out of the room", and then is found in the room with no one mentioning his re-entrance?
7. Does knowing who the dog is help anyone? 'Cause I've got that one...
8. NatCh was sitting in broken glass, but I can't tell if they are trying to say his spleen is glass, or that it's a clue...
9. Any speculation on why Patricia was moving her chair about? I got nothin'.
10. Are we even convinced that it was Pshrynk that is dead? Other than the fact that everyone says it is him, what about this avatar stealing business and the coat?
11. Who does that nook belong to? I've got nothing on that from the story. Can we use other sources?
12. "y le te", other than indicating a certain non-moderator member, leaves me totally in the dark.

Illumination, anyone?

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by nikkie

This jibes with my notes.


Illumination, anyone?

Here ya go!

[GeoffC]

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