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Comment by RiderOfGiraffes | Hacker News Reader

Problem with puzzles like this - if you see the answer quickly, what do you do? Any conversation fills up with uninformed, idle speculation, then someone kills it with the answer, then it's kind of all over.

What would be interesting would be to have a site that solved the problem of puzzle sharing and cooperation. Has anyone done that?

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You know, that would make an awesome riddle... How do you pose a riddle and only accept answers that won't stop the discussion about the riddle...

It's called "NoScript". I have yet to see the solution on the site :D

That riddle is NP-hard

Crowdsourced "spoiler" button that hides the answer to everyone unless they choose to reveal it ?

I think you are supposed to simply share it. It's the privilege you get for being the first to find the answer. At least that how it works in real life. However on the Internet I guess that mentality doesn't bind well. Hackers are not content with simply knowing the answer. They want of find it themselves. That's an awesome trait in a community.

One of the rules in the weekend event I run - the MathsJam - is that you are not allowed to stop people from enjoying themselves. This is not rigorously enforced, people just buy into it. A consequence is that if people are enjoying a puzzle, and you get the answer, you don't share it immediately.

If it really matters to you then you can write down the solution so others will know you got it first, but most people don't care about the credit, they just love the sharing of puzzles and other fun stuff.

It doesn't seem to work online - there are always those who insist on "sharing" just how clever they are.

>It doesn't seem to work online - there are always those who insist on "sharing" just how clever they are.

To be fair I always love when an "interview question" article shows up and we get 500 versions of fizzbuzz implemented in the most mind bending way possible.

Best I've seen is forums that support spoiler tags, and some heavy moderation to remove people who spoil the fun.

Then it's your turn to pose a riddle.

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