LinearAverage puzzle scores (Problems)
Would it be possible to publish the average puzzle scores per set of 60 (or per 15) somewhere on the site? This would give us some guildline as to how difficult that particular puzzle set is.
The average could be calculated after a set has been released a month.
Once we know the averages it gives us a good way to determine how we are progressing from month to month indpendently of the difficulty of the puzzles.
Average puzzle scores
by Tony Kosten 
, France, Sunday, March 11, 2007, 23:11 (6854 days ago) @ markakeen
I could look into it, but I imagine it would take quite a lot of work. There would have to be a program scouring the database, calculating the scores and updating the puzzles, I suppose?! Sounds very tricky. 
Average puzzle scores
? I could look into it, but I imagine it would take quite a lot of work.
? There would have to be a program scouring the database, calculating the
? scores and updating the puzzles, I suppose?! Sounds very tricky.
Yes you would need a little program to scan the database and calculate the averages. However it doesn't need to update the puzzles. Just have a separate page listing monthly 60-set averages.
Sorry I kind of assumed you would be monitoring averages anyway to determine if your puzzles were getting harder or easier...
But it's not really important.
Average puzzle scores
by Tony Kosten , France, Tuesday, March 13, 2007, 09:33 (6853 days ago) @ markakeen
? Sorry I kind of assumed you would be monitoring averages anyway to
? determine if your puzzles were getting harder or easier...
No, we just use our judgement, and, as we assume you are all getting stronger all the time, even if the puzzles get harder your scores could still get better ... ! 
I could ask the programmer for something like this if there is sufficient interest?!
Average puzzle scores
I was pondering what we would get out of something like this, and I am not sure I quite get what the gain would be. An average doesn't mean much unless you know something about the population comprising the average. Being able to say the first set of April's Intermediate was solved by 73% and the first set of March's Intermediate was solved by 54% doesn't tell us anything. Not really anyway.
One might assume the problems in March were more difficult than the ones in April, but it might also mean that someone with more skill who did April's puzzles did not do the puzzles in March. I don't get the impression the number of active users per skill set is particularly high, and with a small sample set it is not possible to draw any statistical conclusions because the margin of error will be too high.
Since programmer time is likely set by a static budget, given the choice between something like this being developed vs new content, I would opt for new content.
Average puzzle scores
? I was pondering what we would get out of something like this, and I am not
? sure I quite get what the gain would be. An average doesn't mean much
? unless you know something about the population comprising the average.
? Being able to say the first set of April's Intermediate was solved by 73%
? and the first set of March's Intermediate was solved by 54% doesn't tell
? us anything. Not really anyway.
Well it does tell us something. If I get a personal 73% intermediate score one month and the next month I get an intermediate 48% score, it's not readily apparent to me if I had a dip in performance or whether they are genuinely harder. Looking at the 60-set average intermediate percentage score for each month would let me know.
In a sense it doesn't matter because I don't do the puzzles for the score I do them for the mental exercise.
About the population: yes is does seem very quiet on this forum. I hope it's just because most people don't bother with forums unless there is a problem. I do hope the site has lots of subscribers.
Average puzzle scores
? About the population: yes is does seem very quiet on this forum. I hope
? it's just because most people don't bother with forums unless there is a
? problem. I do hope the site has lots of subscribers.
From and end user perspective we don't really get more or less from the content with more subscribers, but I also hope the site has lots of subscribers. For Tony to want to continue putting the effort into this he does have to get enough back out of it to make it worth his time. A web presence itself is a pretty cheap thing to maintain these days, but content takes time to develop and deliver.
Average puzzle scores
by Tony Kosten , France, Monday, March 19, 2007, 12:59 (6846 days ago) @ Don Lester
The site is doing OK, and so will definitely be around a long time!
