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It is more or less traditional at this time for
Eric to post our Mystery Hunt team philosophy.
To be honest, I was going to make some changes to
it, but I really didn't feel right doing
so. Therefore, I've simply added a few
numbered notes to the passage, which are down at the bottom
of this e-mail, if you read all the way to the
end.
See you this weekend!
---Tom
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Our team has a philosophy. To remind oldcomers and inform newcomers,
here it is. Please feel free to send me any questions and comments.(1) TEAM PHILOSOPHY In four words: We Play For Fun. In many more words: The MIT Mystery Hunt is a rare opportunity for a group of people to work cooperatively while solving problems that are intellectually challenging and (once sleep deprivation kicks in) physically taxing. It is exhilarating to work flat out, with few rules and few road maps, in a friendly, supportive environment. This team is dedicated to that pleasure. This team is not dedicated to winning. For one thing, this is a completely open team. This means that *everyone* who wants to join us is welcome, even encouraged, to do so, with the only condition being that they abide by the team philosophy outlined in this message. "Everyone" means just that: spouses, paramours, children, pets, weak solvers, nonsolvers, complete strangers, even members of other teams (if their team dissolves). (2) Team members are strongly encouraged to cooperate and share information extensively with each other, Even If This Slows Down Solving. Team members are encouraged to eat well and sleep well, Even If This Slows Down Solving. If there's some particularly fun part of the hunt (a walk through a steam tunnel, say), team members are expected to let everyone know about it and to WAIT until everyone who wants to come along is ready, Even If This Slows Down Solving. And so on. Because there are no requirements for joining our team, there is always a wide range of solving abilities among members. Since we focus on having a good time, not on winning the hunt, *all* members are equally important and valuable to our team, and all are to be treated with equal respect. Team members are expected to be friendly, or at least polite, to *everybody* on the team. Rudeness or condescension is completely inappropriate. If a team member wants to know how you're doing on a puzzle, tell them. If they have trouble even understanding what kind of puzzle it is, enlighten them. If they then want to help you solve it, let them. Now, there are a few exceptions. If you've spent three hours getting your head around a tortuous logic puzzle, you're welcome to say, "It's too complicated to easily explain." If a problem requires fiendishly single-minded concentration, you can think it through on your own (though you'll probably want to go away to some quiet place for this, anyway). But realistically, if the thought of some clueless newbie walking up and horning in on your solving makes your skin crawl -- This Is Not The Team For You! [PLEASE see notes number (3) and
(4) concerning the following paragraph.]
Team members are expected to be friendly to everybody *off* the team, too. Under no circumstances should you do anything that would harm another team's enjoyment of the hunt. In particular, you may not hack puzzles so they become unsolvable, and you may not mislead (much less lie to) others about anything. You are allowed (though certainly not required) to swap answers with other teams (3) if you think it makes sense, but if you do, you must keep your side of the bargain in good faith and not cheat. You are even allowed to give away answers if you think it makes sense (for example, to a small team that is stuck and not having fun). (4) You don't have to be a goody-goody, or a pussycat, or perfect, to solve with us. By its very nature, our team always has a hodgepodge of personalities, some mild, some strong, some awkward, some smooth. These differences are often made even more prominent by fatigue and stress. There are bound to be some teammates that you're more comfortable with than others. You are not required to like every person on the team. But you do have to tolerate everybody. If someone (or something) is bugging you, do not lash out. Bring Your Complaint To Me. My primary job as captain is to keep morale up, and I take this responsibility very seriously. If you are not having fun -- SEE ME. I will do everything in my power to make things better.(1) I should make it clear that many members of our team enjoy winning. In fact, the teams I have captained have won more Mystery Hunts than any other team. On the other hand, we've probably lost a few hunts we could have won with a more gung-ho philosophy. (5) If you've read this far, you can probably guess that I don't care. I've talked with people on (other) winning teams over the years. Most didn't have half the fun that our team did. One winning team a bunch of years ago didn't seem to have had any fun at all. Imagine if they'd lost! Our team's approach is not for everybody, of course. Those who feel differently are in luck: many other Mystery Hunt teams are focused on winning, and you should be able to find one that can use an ultracompetitive solver. In fact, this would be an excellent time for such a solver to unsubscribe from this mailing list and find a more appropriate team. But this team is a home for people who prefer to focus on the friendly, cooperative aspects of group solving. I hope you'll make this team *your* home, both this year and in the years to come. Happy Hunting! -- Eric ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (1) In this case, "me" is Tom Weisswange, at
aldesuda puzzlers org.
(2) There have been a few, rare, exceptions
to this policy, not because we have anything against
anyone--our team is still open to everybody, it has
simply been the case a couple of times in the
past that our team has gotten too large to be
fair. Though I can't actually remember us turning
anyone away, I know we talked about restricting the
team size. Okay, so we have never actually
had an exception to this policy, but we might under
that one circumstance.
(3) This statement no longer
holds true. We do not trade answers with other
teams.
There was a
<understatement>wee bit of controversy</understatement> last year
about this
passage, as one of the hunt organizers got on the list and read this particular document, and
got a
<understatement>little
annoyed</understatement> about it. Of course, we didn't realize
that
they had designed their hunt so that rounds
wouldn't all be solved in the same order, so that could
be a major problem. And of course they
couldn't tell us that, so there was something of an
<grotesque
understatement>argument</grotesque understatement> between our team and
the
organizers. They didn't understand the spirit
of the statement, and we didn't understand their
objections. I think it's been cleared up
now.
(4) At the risk of sticking my neck out, this
statement *does* still hold true. If we feel a small team
is *way* behind, with no chance of winning, and
having no fun at all, and if we are sure that we actually
have the same puzzles they're having trouble with,
I have no problem with giving them answers, though
I much prefer giving them hints, even
clue-by-fours, that will help them solve. We Play For Everyone's
Fun.
Not just our own.
(5) This is a personal note. I like
winning. However, I agree with Eric on this one. Though
I
love the feeling of success, and yes, I actually do
LIKE to write Mystery Hunts, there have
been 2 hunts I have been to since the
(my) beginning that we have simply stopped working because
we were no longer having fun. Though this is
not how I'd like to end a Mystery Hunt, in both
cases I have agreed with the decision to
stop. We Play For Fun, Even If This Stops Solving
:-)
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