As most of you know, we have two Ruby Q. problems left
(http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.ruby/msg/6f46393932c22e49
).
I haven’t picked them yet, so now is a great time to send me any
terrific ideas you’ve been sitting on. I’m looking for a pair of
great little challenges to end on, so pull out all the stops and send
me the good stuff.
Thanks.
James Edward G. II
On Jan 28, 2008, at 11:59 AM, James G. wrote:
As most of you know, we have two Ruby Q. problems left (http://
groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.ruby/msg/6f46393932c22e49).I haven’t picked them yet, so now is a great time to send me any
terrific ideas you’ve been sitting on. I’m looking for a pair of
great little challenges to end on, so pull out all the stops and
send me the good stuff.
Once again, thank you for such an enjoyable time in Ruby Q. 
I’m
curious - have you found a replacement quizmaster?
Thanks,
Ari B.
On Jan 28, 2008, at 5:38 PM, fedzor wrote:
Once again, thank you for such an enjoyable time in Ruby Q.
I’m curious - have you found a replacement quizmaster?
You want the job? 
No one has yet mentioned to me the intention to take up the call when
I’m done, no. I sure hope they do though, because I’m ready for my
turn to play along!
James Edward G. II
On Jan 28, 2008, at 5:46 PM, James G. wrote:
send me the good stuff.
James Edward G. II
I don’t know if I want the job, but I have already registered the
domain rubyquiz2.com !
If anybody is interested in setting things up, i can certainly host
it on my dreamhost account…
On Jan 28, 2008, at 6:46 PM, James G. wrote:
send me the good stuff.
Once again, thank you for such an enjoyable time in Ruby Q.
I’m curious - have you found a replacement quizmaster?You want the job?
No one has yet mentioned to me the intention to take up the call
when I’m done, no. I sure hope they do though, because I’m ready
for my turn to play along!
No thank you School hogs my time, and besides, I can’t do half of
these.
But would I love to? God yes!
Thank you for the many quizzes. I came to Ruby through a blog entry
about Ruby’s open classes and ActiveSupport’s use of it, _why’s online
book and last but not least the Ruby Q… I just participated in one
and programmed a few, but not with much success. It showed me already
many new things
On Jan 29, 2008 3:51 PM, James G. [email protected] wrote:
I just want to make sure
anybody who’s reading this knows that if you are thinking, “Man, I
would love to run the Ruby Q. if I only knew enough Ruby,” you are
perfect for the job.
That part is really challenging. I am learning exclusively Ruby for
the last weeks and I am falling more and more in love with it. I’d do
it. For the challenge and keeping the fun going on.
Is anyone else interested in countinuing it?
On Jan 29, 2008, at 6:33 AM, fedzor wrote:
terrific ideas you’ve been sitting on. I’m looking for a pair of
when I’m done, no. I sure hope they do though, because I’m ready
for my turn to play along!No thank you
of these.But would I love to? God yes!
If you knew Ruby backwards and forwards, the quiz would be a lot less
fun. Running it is actually ideal for someone still learning.
It’s even fine if you make little mistakes (I’ve made a ton) or have
to ask for help from the community (I’ve done that too). It’s that
interaction and working together that made the quiz so valuable, in my
opinion. I’ve learned a whole lot of Ruby these last three years.
Anyway, I’m not trying to talk you into it. I just want to make sure
anybody who’s reading this knows that if you are thinking, “Man, I
would love to run the Ruby Q. if I only knew enough Ruby,” you are
perfect for the job.
James Edward G. II
On Jan 29, 2008, at 3:23 PM, Thomas W. wrote:
it. For the challenge and keeping the fun going on.
That almost exactly where I was when I started.
Think it over. You’ve got a couple of weeks to decide yet.
I’m glad to hear someone is interested though!
James Edward G. II
On [Wed, 30.01.2008 06:34], James G. wrote:
That part is really challenging. I am learning exclusively Ruby for
the last weeks and I am falling more and more in love with it. I’d do
it. For the challenge and keeping the fun going on.That almost exactly where I was when I started.
Think it over. You’ve got a couple of weeks to decide yet.
I’m glad to hear someone is interested though!
James Edward G. II
I really don’t want to be pessimistic nor do I want to put somebody off,
but I have to mention that, whoever wants to take the job, has to be
sure, what he has to do.
It’s not only a taking part (but of course it’s a great chance to learn
Ruby),
but also a lot of giving, meaning that it can be alot more work than you
may think in the first
moment.
Why I’m saying this? Just to be sure, that noone gets frustrated, and
that we don’t have
to search for someone else in just a few weeks.
However, if you are sure that you can stand the work and that you really
want to do it:
I’m sure that you are welcome to do it
(Why I’m posting this as a reply to James and not to Thomas is that
James shouldn’t be too
much like “It’s a great job” without mentioning the possible problems.
I’m not saying that you
didn’t mention the problems, but people are likely to forget them right
after reading,
so it could be important to post them more than one time. However, I
hope you don’t
see this in any offending way. I’m new to this quiz and I really like
it, so I just want
the best for it :))
Agreed on the potential difficulties/workload…
whoever does try to take over, and it could be a team effort with
more than one person, should be aware of the difficulties.
That said, I would urge everyone to accept a possible change in
format from whoever takes it over. It does not necessarily have to
remain exactly the same as before.
And again, I will reiterate, I already have rubyquiz2.com registered
(since the day James announced the end was coming) and I am willing
to host it, and even help out with site building/maintenance, for
whoever does take over rubyquiz!!!
On Jan 29, 2008 11:01 PM, Dominik H. [email protected] wrote:
Why I’m saying this? Just to be sure, that noone gets frustrated, and that we don’t have
to search for someone else in just a few weeks.
I agree. It is a great responsibility to take over. That’s why I am
thinking over it since James’ announced it and I am still not sure.
I am not that much concerned about keeping it running, I have the will
and time to do so, but I can’t really come up with new quizzes. I
think that you have to work on many different quizzes to choose the
right one which is not too complex and is fun to do.
whoever does try to take over, and it could be a team effort with
more than one person, should be aware of the difficulties.
I am also thinking about a small team of 2-3 people. Email and IM can
keep those people connected.
That said, I would urge everyone to accept a possible change in
format from whoever takes it over. It does not necessarily have to
remain exactly the same as before.
I thought about another way to submit code, perhaps over the
rubyquiz2.com site, but I also think that the discussions about each
should be kept on the mailing list. I am always happy to see a new
[QUIZ] mail in my folder.
On Jan 29, 2008, at 4:20 PM, John J. wrote:
whoever does try to take over, and it could be a team effort with
more than one person, should be aware of the difficulties.
I’m interested to see how a team would work in this instance. I
really want to believe it would lighten the load and make things
better, but I wonder if it will complicate management as well.
I’m pretty sure it’s my drive that got us this far. 
That said, I would urge everyone to accept a possible change in
format from whoever takes it over. It does not necessarily have to
remain exactly the same as before.
Oh yeah. I expect Ruby Q. 2.0 to be twice as good.
James Edward G. II
On Jan 29, 2008, at 4:01 PM, Dominik H. wrote:
I really don’t want to be pessimistic nor do I want to put somebody
off,
but I have to mention that, whoever wants to take the job, has to be
sure, what he has to do.
It’s not only a taking part (but of course it’s a great chance to
learn Ruby),
but also a lot of giving, meaning that it can be alot more work than
you may think in the first
moment.
Oh yeah, it’s a lot of work. I’m sure you can search the archives and
find me saying that, a lot.
Luckily, it is rewarding work. Well, at least for those who value the
same things I do.
(Why I’m posting this as a reply to James and not to Thomas is that
James shouldn’t be too
much like “It’s a great job” without mentioning the possible problems.
The time commitment is the biggest problem. I have it down to about
four or five hours of my time a week now (depending on how popular the
quiz was) and I have a hard time imagining someone doing it in less
time.
Well, unless you want to ditch the summary.
I’ve considered that. It’s hard to know how much the summary adds. I
don’t know if I write about the right stuff or show the right code.
I’m sure I don’t do all of that all the time.
The discussion for the good problems is usually very good. I bet
reading the emails is at least as helpful as reading my summaries.
That’s how I decide what to write about anyway.
That might be one option to reduce the time commitment.
However, I hope you don’t see this in any offending way.
No offense taken.
I’m new to this quiz and I really like it, so I just want the best
for it :))
Me too on all accounts except for being new to the quiz.
James Edward G. II
On Jan 30, 2008 12:04 AM, James G. [email protected] wrote:
Well, unless you want to ditch the summary.
I’ve considered that. It’s hard to know how much the summary adds. I
don’t know if I write about the right stuff or show the right code.
I’m sure I don’t do all of that all the time.
I’d like to see the summary in the end. It describes interesting
solutions and if I didn’t have time to read the mails, the summary is
a good overview.
On Jan 29, 2008, at 4:31 PM, Thomas W. wrote:
I am not that much concerned about keeping it running, I have the will
and time to do so,
That’s 98% of what it takes. Trust me. This is the hardest part. If
you have that, the rest is easy.
but I can’t really come up with new quizzes.
This part isn’t really that tough. Here are some of the tricks I’ve
used:
I think that you have to work on many different quizzes to choose the
right one which is not too complex and is fun to do.
When people send in an idea, ask them to solve it. I do. It shows
you how hard it is. (If they do it in three lines it’s a lot
different than if they send you over 200 lines.) Eventually you get a
good feel for what is just the right fit.
Another tip: always err on the side of too easy. The submissions get
way more creative for the easy problems.
I am always happy to see a new [QUIZ] mail in my folder.
Yeah, I would really miss the problem discussion if it went away from
this list. I’m speaking as a fan here, not the Ruby Q. guy.
James Edward G. II
On Jan 30, 4:46 am, Todd B. [email protected] wrote:
On Jan 29, 2008 5:49 PM, Thomas W. [email protected] wrote:
I agree that the summary is usually pretty good. James is very insightful.Nothing against rubyquiz2, but maybe the quiz could take on more of a
community effort? Like a project on rubyforge backed by a group of
people (not me, of course, mostly because I’m an idiotI feel like the quiz handling is too big for one person, unless, of
course, that person realizes that being timely is important, which
James was exceptional at.
I agree. I would love to be the next quizmaster, but I would be
affraid that I would run out of ideas and time pretty quickly. It
needs someone as dedicated as James was. Shame to see you going James,
them 3 years went quick. You done a great job.
Regards,
Lee
On Jan 29, 2008 5:49 PM, Thomas W. [email protected]
wrote:
solutions and if I didn’t have time to read the mails, the summary is
a good overview.
I agree that the summary is usually pretty good. James is very
insightful.
Nothing against rubyquiz2, but maybe the quiz could take on more of a
community effort? Like a project on rubyforge backed by a group of
people (not me, of course, mostly because I’m an idiot
I feel like the quiz handling is too big for one person, unless, of
course, that person realizes that being timely is important, which
James was exceptional at.
my little copper pieces,
Todd
Todd
No one has yet mentioned to me the intention to take up the call when
I’m done, no. I sure hope they do though, because I’m ready for my
turn to play along!
“You’re it until you’re dead or until I find someone better.”
I’d be willing to take over for James, with a little caveat. I’m
currently planning a move to take place sometime in March, so my brain
is a bit occupied with that, aside from work. So I might not be able
to really grab hold until after the move, but I can try a bit before
then.
If that’s fine with folks, I’ll have a talk with James and others who
might want to help. I have web space I can use, though not a
particular mind to put together a web page.
On Jan 30, 2008, at 1:01 PM, Matthew M. wrote:
If that’s fine with folks, I’ll have a talk with James and others who
might want to help.
Matthew, Ari, Thomas, and John all need to put their heads together.
Sounds like we have the makings of a team here…
James Edward G. II
On Jan 30, 2008, at 1:33 PM, James G. wrote:
Indeed, 3 heads are better than none. (I’m not counting mine)
First off, we need a logo contest…
or perhaps a weekend roundtable via chat or something?
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