Discussion: Do the Orienteering Today Quiz!

The Quiz for 10 FREE One-Year Subscriptions of the independent international magazine Orienteering Today will begin in two weeks on 15th November.

The rules
In 30 days Orienteering Today will ask on the website www.orienteeringtoday.com fifteen orienteering related questions and person with most correct answers will win.
However, just as in orienteering, it is not sufficient to go through the right controls to become a winner, as you also have to be the fastest, even in the OT Quiz the time will matter.
The fastest person to correctly reply to each of the questions will be awarded 20 points, the second fastest will be awarded 15 points, third fastest 10 points, 4th 8pts, 5th 5pts, 6th 4pts, 7th 3pts, 8th 2pts and 10th 1pts.

Questions
The questions will appear on the OT website at Orienteering Today as ordinary articles with titles as follows: “OT Quiz – Question X”, where X will represent relevant number for each of the questions. There will be no fixed time when the questions will appear at the website. The only fixed timing is the period between 15th November to 15th December. However, in those 30 days the questions may pop up on the website at any time, any day; there even may appear two or more questions in one day.

How to answer?
Answering to the questions is very easy. You will just send your replies via email to the address: contest@orienteeringtoday.com
Subject of the email shall always be identical with the title of the article: “OT Quiz – Question X”, where X will represent relevant number for each of the questions. You shall paste your replies in the body of the email.

Standings of the OT Quiz
Current standing of the OT Quiz will appear on the website of Orienteering Today by the end of each week.
The winners will be announced on 16th December. First ten people in the final overall standing (i.e. Top 10 scorers) will be awarded with FREE One-Year Subscription of Orienteering Today.

Good Luck!

Yours,

Jan

Let me get this straight. Basically, you have to visit the site every day between Nov. 15th & Dec. 15th(sometimes more than once?) to make sure you "get" all the questions (i.e., to maximize your score)?

Do you send e-mails each time you see a question (such that someone on the receiving has to compile all the e-mails from each person)? Or do you just record your answers in one e-mail that you send on Dec. 16th? "Fastest person to answer" seems to imply you need to respond as soon as you see the question. Doesn't this penalize entrants in other parts of the world?

Dear Janet,

1) You have to answer each time you see the question. It is: we will compile your answers and evaluate them. One by one. Every time you see there's a new question on, you send us your answer to it as fast as possible. Of course, to make sure you'll be among the best, you should visit our website often enough to keep your chances high.

2) I don't think it penalises people from the rest of the World. We are aware of the time zones and we will make sure the questions are posted in such a manner that it won't penalize people from certain regions of the World, neither Canadians or US citizens.

Jan

I think this is a great (but deviously diabolical) way to generate traffic. I intend to try, but expect will probably fall by the wayside. A month is a long time for rapt attention.

ARGH, just visited the site, here's the first thing I read:

"Orienteering Today
is a magazine covering orienteering in all it's forms"

A site promoting a magazine should use the language correctly!

You should cut them some slack with the language. The magazine is put together by people who aren't native English speakers. I think they do a very good job.

I'll second that - it's beyond a very good job. This magazine rocks!

I also think it great that Jan comes on attackpoint to tell us the latest news! Thanks Jan!

Many thanks for all the comments. Even for the one about the mistake. We'll correct it. Big thanks for cutting us some slack with the language, though this one is too obvious. ehh.

English is unnecessarily complicated. You get great credit just for making the effort, Jan!!!

Good grief--I doubt I get more than 3-4 words in a row right when I'm over in Sweden, and folks over there have always been so forgiving at how I mangle their language. So we can be a little tolerant here too. Actually, we should be especially forgiving here in America, given that so few of us even bother to try to learn a second language.

"Big thanks for cutting us some slack with the language, though this one is too obvious. eh."

Now you're sounding like a Canadian! Tell those Americans to take off you hosers!

I probably should not write here. I can not figure out what is wrong there ;[

About foreign languages. I am used write "på svenska" at Alternativet. Usually nobody can understand what I have written, not even I.

Swedes are used to organize perfect events, and one of the very best is Smålandskavlen (last weekend was again exellent).

They are even used to write most of the information also in Finnish! And I can tell you, that ain't easy. Our language is so difficult that our policemen here must work in pairs. The other one can write and the other one knows how to read.

Nothing in this world (or at leat in Europe) is perfect. Even Swedes can fail if the task is difficult enough. This year their Finnish was quite perfect, but few years ago they were trying to promote Smålandkavlen by using Finnish phrase "Taas tapamme!" (~ We'll kill you again). I think (or hope) they tried to write "Taas tapaamme!" (~ We'll meet again). Also there was a sign at the exchange area: "Växel - Valuutanvaihto".

Well, they may also just hate us a lot. And they want our money. But it does not matter, we love the event and will travel there as long as there is enough water in the Baltic Sea for those ferries.

I'm sorry, I misspoke. What I meant to say was:

"What an excellent site! From the looks of it, the magazine is well worth subscribing to.
Oh, by the way, you might want to fix a little problem with your English on the site..."

Swampfox wrote: "Actually, we should be especially forgiving here in America, given that so few of us even bother to try to learn a second language."

As an educator, I've often felt that few of my students bother to learn a first language either!

Well, when you live in Northern Minnesota, how can you blame them?

Oh, wait... Salmon Arm, Canada. Dude, I've lost track.

Even people who live in Wyoming and see only moose on occasion need to have some language facility.