Stale Questions
Questions where the answer may change as time goes by are what Quizzyland labels as 'time based questions'. Quiz creators have been permitted to date stamp their question with as of September 2000, especially with questions written in the present tense, so that the answer is fixed and cannot change e.g. Who is the only player to have scored more than 50 goals in a season, as of September 2000? However, this date stamping creates questions which become stale as time goes by and, accordingly, date stamping of questions is no longer acceptable. The question must be reworded or completely rewritten so that it does not require a date stamp and, if it was written in the present tense, the tense may also need to be altered.
Example of a stale question
Who holds the HR single season record, as of September 2000?
One possible alternative
Whose record did Mark McGwire break in 1998 when he set the single season HR record?
Blurb in Interesting Information
Furthermore, the blurb in the field 'Interesting Information' would explain the answer to players by (for example) giving the number of HRs scored by McGwire, and the number scored by the previous record-holder, Roger Maris in 1961. The creators of higher-ranking quizzes would also add the date McGwire achieved this feat, and the ballpark. Do not write words like 'the current record is held by Billy Bonds' in your blurb as that phrase has now, again, date stamped the question.
Unacceptable Words or Phrases
Please avoid using the following words or phrases anywhere in your quiz: now, at the moment, this year, last year, next year, currently, next season, last season, will be, recently, latest etc. The use of any of these words or phrases (in the introduction, in a question or answer, or in a blurb) will, in all likelihood, make your quiz time-dependent.Use of the Future Tense
Finally, please note that the future tense is not allowed, it doesn't work in Quizzyland. All quizzes should be written in the past tense, wherever possible. Writing in the present tense may create a time-based question.
16-Aug-01