Ask HN: How would one receive assistance from any CS researcher?
I dont know what the rules, expectations, and limitations are in the academic / research world, so I need to correct that now.
I reached out to dozens of researchers asking them to review a one page summary document of an improved, generalized pathfinding algorithm I created. I did not offer anything in return because of the information I grew up with. Until today. I assume that in the post-critical mass internet (and the perhaps the ongoing administration apocalypse), their time has become a very valuable resource.
Anyways, a small handful of them agreed to take a look, but no one has responded. It's not a simple solution so I take it its not worth their _free_ time to poke into it.
I'm not sure what I should be offering in return for their time. Should I pay them? Offer them co-authorship if they want to work on it with me (for free?)?
I dont have an academic background so I need help putting together a white paper and probably need someone established to vouch for me to get it published, if successful. Plus I need someone experienced to poke holes in the algorithm.
I know the algorithm[1] has potential because it's functioning in the video game I was working on before I diverted my resources into the graph theory.
[1] I created an improved general solution to any pathfinding algorithm that searches for more than one path, e.g. All Pairs, k-Shortest Simple; for any type of graph (directed, undirected, +weighted, possibly +/- weighted). The All Pairs is functioning in my game, and I have a working paper solution to the k-Shortest Simple Paths problem.