The error thread

[Stenhammar1]

Not that anyone will actually do anything about it, but it makes sense to have a thread where people can list errors in puzzles which someone might then fix. So here it is.

[Stenhammar1]

And to start it off, I will note an error I found in a puzzle (whose number I forgot to note, alas, so please list it when you post!).

The clue was Chadians neighbors, and the answer they put was Nigerians. While technically correct because Chad shares a tiny border across Lake Chad with Nigeria, I'd bet this isn't what the puzzle maker meant. Said person was no doubt thinking of residents of Niger. But, because Niger and Nigeria share similar names, the correct way to describe a resident of Niger is Nigerien. Niger was a French colony and many people there still speak French, so the French way of describing a resident was adopted to clarify it from residents of Nigeria, which was an English colony.

This has been your niggling history lesson for the day!

[hootmon]

If you want a clue corrected, you will have much better luck by clicking on the down arrow next to the clue than writing in the comments section.

[redpicker]

Not that anyone will actually do anything about it, but it makes sense to have a thread where people can list errors in puzzles which someone might then fix. So here it is.

I'm not so sure that if you comment on a error that nobody does anything about it. The other day, I solved a puzzle where a previous solver quoted a clue saying that it was incorrect. I forget the exact clue, but it was something like "Close to land" with the answer being "Shore", and the commenter said that the shore was land, not close to land. Well, the clue in the puzzle I worked, the clue was "Close to sea". The comment was made in 2019, so it was made and corrected recently. Somebody is watching.

I solved a puzzle today where the clue was "Second part of the Stone Age" and the answer was "Palaeolithic". Two problems, IMO. One Paleolithic is the preferred US spelling (this is a US site, correct?) so it should have been noted as a variant spelling. Second, the Paleolithic was the first part of the stone age . Perhaps a clue of "The early Stone Age in England" would be better.

ETA: I both commented on the puzzle and clicked the down arrow (thumbs down?), like hootman suggests.

[Guru]

Believed that "Comment" with specifics regarding clue would be more helpful than just a 'thumbs down'. After seeing the same clue problem (e.g., no clue shown) 2 years after reporting it in "Comment", maybe I'll add the thumb down next time...and hope someone actually notices. ;-)

[DogMa]

A while back I used the "Questions or comments" form at the bottom of the page to tell Admin that I wanted to pay for a subscription but didn't have a Paypal account (at the time, Paypal could only be used with a Paypal account). He answered. I wrote back suggesting that the price be lowered, because $40/year seems high to me. (I have a "Plus" account at Jigidi.com that cost me $9 for life. ) I pointed out that if the price were lower, more people would subscribe. He never answered and the prices have remained the same.

Many of us have been frustrated by Admin's failure to respond to questions on the Forum, questions posed via the "Questions or comments" form, and reports of errors. In my opinion, why pay for a subscription if Admin chooses to ignore us?

ADMIN, if you're listening, how about engaging in a conversation with us? And how about lowering the subscription price? If you do either of those things, I will pay for a subscription again. Others may feel the same.

[darleneve]

When there is an error by the one who put the puzzle in, in the first place, Ive had them fixed but I had one that ruined my scores because they had not fixed it - it was a matter where there were several letters misisng and though I contacted the people who should correct it, they din't - I even told them a second time. These people sometimes don't care if they messed someone up.

[bobthebald]

I'm having an issue lately, whereby when I solve a puzzle and click the 'submit' button' it tells me the puzzle is incorrect. Pressing 'hint' after searching fruitlessly for errors does nothing, no blue text appears indicating the puzzle is correct. The only way to 'solve' the puzzle is to clear the grid (sometimes more than once) and re-type the solution. It then allows me to submit.
I lose points because it registers I used a hint, even though I didn't really.

[PatienceCrabstick]

I’m more concerned with server issues, which seem to occur (for me, anyway) with some frequency. I correctly complete the acrostic, hit submit and then — nothing. Only an error message that the site’s server has stopped responding. So, doing the acrostic was a waste of time, I get no points for it (and therefore presumably my average score goes down), and the site records it as a failed attempt at solving, so there goes my solving % as well. Very, very annoying.