(I was going to post this in the Quiz thread itself, as an appendix to my last answer to a question, but I decided that it was too Meta for that, so here it is, on its own...)

It's fun and all to ask a really obscure, difficult-to-wiki question, but we have to acknowledge that traffic in this sub-forum isn't anything like what it used to be a couple of years ago. There are only a handful of regulars and/or TES triva buffs here right now, so if the Quiz Thread is to stay active, maybe we need to temper our desire to be cryptic, obscure or tricky just a bit...

I know, I just recently re-appeared out of nowhere a few weeks ago, and jumped back into the middle of it all. That's me, and I'll go POOF in a puff of smoke just as quickly at some point But the last time I was around here frequently, which was sometime in mid-late 2009, the traffic was pretty steady, and you'd see multiple guesses at difficult questions. Nowadays, they just sit unanswered for 12 hours until the asker concedes and tosses.

So... in the interest of making the thread more active and accessible, maybe we should all agree to tone down the obscurity a bit... I know it's not as much fun for vets, but there just aren't enough other vets around to keep things hopping. There's still a trickle of newcomers who are curious to learn, so let's try to use the thread to bolster enthusiasm and curiosity, rather than to stimy even the most world-weary.

Just my 2 Septims. Thanks for reading.

While I do see your point, I don't see the fun at all in asking questions which someone can get with the tap of a few keys. They've been questions in there that I can't answer (for example, your most recent one 'Where can you find Ganonah?' or something along those lines) and don't wiki, because I feel that it isn't an honest answer. I like thinking and like to make other people think as well. I don't like not feeling challenged.

I don't like the feeling of non-challenge either, and I never answer a question if I kinda know, but need to Wiki the answer, but in the case of your last question, I admit, I actually Googled it. "Oblivion Cherim". I answered because I felt that it was going to sit there for half a day with no one having even half of a clue, just like the most recent couple of questions.

I dunno. Traffic around these parts is only a fraction of what I remember it to be 18 months ago. Not many folks just want to "talk about" Oblivion, because it's become boring, and/or because Skyrim has been announced. They'd rather talk about that.

I'm just trying to think pragmatically. There have been plenty of relatively new, repeat visitors to the C/H/S forum recently, but I guess I'm just trying to think of ways to develop the participation and pace of discussion around here. Because I remember what it used to be like 'round here. Feels like a ghost town to me, right now.

My commentary on Thread 25 of the Oblivion Thread is this:

The fact that this can go on for 25 threads with 200 posts or so per thread, completely contradicts the "uninteresting", "coookie cutter", "bland', "lacking in lore", "randomly generated", "nothing to discover", "all dungeons are the same", "no special locations", "no unique NPC" etc, comments by oblivion-haters. This is clearly a very rich game.

I don't participate much. In part because I'd like to let other newer players get the answers, and also because I don't want the feeling that I have to stick around until someone answers correctly, which is why I tend to ask easier questions when I do participate.

I am one of the 'non-traditional' members of this forum in which I am 30, work full-time and don't check the forum at night. It's very hard for me to get excited about the Quiz thread. I have a passion for the TES series in general, but have only really played Morrowind and Oblivion to any great length. I don't consider myself a 'power-gamer', I play on Xbox 360 with the difficulty slider down and just play to enjoy the ambiance (sp?) of the Cyrodillic World. That being said, I enjoy reading some of the questions, but it has turned into a wiki-fest for the answer.

I spend most of my time here 'talking' about Oblivion, but agree that this forum is leveling out. When you see Skyrim hit 300,000 comments in a few months, kind of blows your mind.

I think I'm right in thinking (!) that when the quiz threads first appeared back in the day there wasn't a wiki, or at least it wasn't comprehensive - I remember coming on here to post questions because I couldn't figure out or find the answers, and all the members were super helpful and it made sense to return here.

So it's like in some ways the wiki has been a victim of it's own success - it's made it too easy to work out oblivion quests and questions thus rendering some of the functions of the board (maybe including the quiz threads) a bit redundant for those seeking pure info, rather than those who want to chat or regale with tales of what their char has been up to - things I really like to read for my RP. And interestingly, another post I read recently said about how the wiki spoiled their experience of the game because it answered so many questions and gave almost too much information, thus taking away some of the magic/mystery.

So where does this leave the quiz thread - well as a player of about 4 years, I find I can't answer many of the questions at all without the help of the wiki (which defeats the object) - I'm a vet oblivion player, but not a vet of quizzes - so I agree with OP, easier questions means everyone can play...! And maybe have a hardcoe quiz thread where seasoned vets can find the mostest obscurist cleverest questions ever....

dunno, just my 2 cents

Interesting read. At some point everything has played out its part, and maybe the quiz thread is there now. I too feel the difficulty in the questions but I like it.
When wiki is just around the corner it′s much more fun and keeps the quiz alive by being more obscure. I for one however have tried to balance it out with a hard question at one time and an easier one the next, with noobs in mind. Everyone should have a chance at the quiz (without the wiki), but maybe a general quiz and a hardcoe one is an idea? :shrug:

Hmmm....

I see the point here, but I'm not sure what the solution is.

I've always liked the quiz thread, though I only participate sometimes. That goes back to when I was first here though, and the way it worked then - I stopped participating because I tend to wander through here for a bit in the morning, then go off and do real world stuff, then wander back through a time or two in the evening. I quickly discovered that it potentially created problems if I left a question untended for even a few minutes, since there were a bunch of people playing, and everyone would be waiting on me to verify an answer so the thread could continue.

Maybe with fewer people involved and a slower pace, I should start checking out the thread again....

Beyond that - I can see how it could open it up to other people if the questions were simpler, but that would mean that the serious players (the few who are left) would have to deliberately not answer questions and leave them for the new players. If you ask, "What's the name of the paranoid Bosmer in Skingrad?" the relative newcomers would potentially be challenged, but everyone else would have to just not answer in order to give them a chance.

And even with that, you might end up having to settle for an answer like: "lol... um.. galther or sumthin liek that."

Well, when I posted this thread, I was kinda troubled by the recent slowness of the Quiz Thread, and decided to do some thinking out loud about it... but that led to some interesting commentary from the rest of you, and it was good to read, so thank you all for pitching in your 2 septims.

I guess what I'll personally do, is just use my own discretion. Traffic here seems to come in spurts. If things are kinda slow, I'll ask something that's not *too* excruciating so as not to stall the thread, but if there seems to be a good few folks around and about, I might throw something weird out there. You never know who might just have the answer fresh in their mind.

Thanks again, y'all. Carry on

So, just so i'm clear, what is the name of the paranoid guy in Skingrad.....???

Grass-ears (or something like that).

Unidentified mutton.

You saw nothing...