<h4>WikiQuiz.org - FAQ</h4>

<h4>For Players</h4>

What is WikiQuiz.org?

<h4>What is WikiQuiz.org?</h4>

<p>It\'s a website that allows anyone to upload their own quizzes and share them online for anyone to play. It\'s suitable for private quizzes you may want to run within your own social circle, or quizzes you want to make available to the wider public.</p>

What quizzes are available?

<h4>What quizzes are available?</h4>

<p>New quizzes are announced regularly on the Facebook group:</p>

<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/WikiQuiz.org">www.facebook.com/groups/WikiQuiz.org</a></p>

<p>Playable, upcoming and completed quizzes are listed at:</p>

<p><a href="https://wikiquiz.org/quizzes.php">wikiquiz.org/quizzes.php</a></p>

How do I register for a quiz?

<h4>How do I register for a quiz?</h4>

<p>Head to the registration link via either of the pages above and enter your Name, Country and Email address. New players will receive a dedicated link by email within a few minutes. If it does not arrive, try checking your Junk or Spam folder, and add the address mail@wikiquiz.org to your list of recognised emails. Clicking on the "My Page" link from within any quiz page will take you to a list of all quizzes thus enabling you to play any quiz without having to register.</p>

How do I play a quiz?

<h4>How do I play a quiz?</h4>

<p>When you open a quiz, simply type your answers into the long boxes below each question. To help us, please follow these simple rules:</p>

<p>1) Unless the question clearly requires it, only give ONE answer. If you submit two or more, the setter may disallow it even if your response contained the correct answer.</p>

<p>2) If you don\'t know a question, and don\'t want to guess, leave the box blank.</p>

<p>3) Avoid writing "???", "Don\'t know", "-" etc., as these will be submitted to a real person for marking.</p>

<p>4) Similarly, don\'t add "?" to the end of an answer. By the same token, quotation marks, diacritics (accents) and non-standard punctuation aren\'t necessary, and should be omitted - you\'ll just be creating more work for the marker.</p>

<p>5) Use best efforts to spell your answers correctly; however, markers will always try to give credit when they can.</p>

<p>6) Be sure you\'re entering your answer in the correct box.</p>

<p>7) If using a mobile, beware of autocorrect and that you\'re not not adding letters to the end of your previous answer.</p>

<p>When you\'ve completely finished, tick the three boxes at the bottom of the page and press the "Finish" button. Take care, as you can\'t change your answers after this point. Be aware that some quizzes are only available for a limited amount of time, and that the game stops as soon as the deadline passes. Usually, any answers you entered into your form will be recognised, even if you didn\'t press \'Save\' or \'Finish\' in time.</p>

Are you allowed to use a search engine etc.?

<h4>Are you allowed to use a search engine etc.?</h4>

<p>This is a strict "no-no", and the same goes for the use of any other external source (reference website, book, another person (when appearing as a solo player) etc.). Setters spend a long time offering up these quizzes for your enjoyment, and we play "on trust". Any form of research is forbidden until either you\'ve locked-in your answers or the quiz is over. They are many ways to spot cheaters, and offenders will be banned.</p>

I've finished the quiz, but I can't see the answers...

<h4>I\'ve finished the quiz, but I can\'t see the answers...</h4>

<p>Answers are only available when the setter releases them. Sometimes they are made available to people who have finished the quiz - in this case, try refreshing the question page or revisiting your registration link. For other quizzes (usually those with a short time limit), answers are only available when the setter has marked everything. Setters will usually publicise a separate \'Results\' link afterwards, which shows you the Leaderboard and (via the "Q&A" link at the top of the page) all the right answers.</p>

One of my answers has been unfairly marked wrong. How do I contact you?

<h4>One of my answers has been unfairly marked wrong. How do I contact you?</h4>

<p>You don\'t need to. At first, the website awards points for answers that exactly match the \'answer on the card\'. If you made a small spelling error or gave a valid alternative (e.g. "P. Diddy" instead of "Puff Daddy"), the person that set the quiz will re-mark it and update your score accordingly (and that ruling will apply for all those who subsequently do the quiz). An \'hourglass\' icon next to your answer means that it might be right or wrong, and the setter hasn\'t got around to marking it yet. Please be patient, as setters only do this when they have time. Most scores will be fully updated shortly after the quiz ends.</p>

How do the setters mark the answers for the Main Event General Knowledge quizzes so quickly?

<h4>How do the setters mark the answers for the Main Event General Knowledge quizzes so quickly?</h4>

<p>Provisional answers that you type into the answer form are sent to the setter as soon as you move onto another question. (If you change your mind later, don\'t worry - the system will cope.) This method allows potential answers to be marked before you\'ve even saved your answers, saving a lot of time. It also has the advantage of submitting your answers when the deadline elapses, even if you didn\'t manage to click \'Save\' or \'Finish\' in time. However, we suggest that you never type anything onto the web form that you\'re not happy for the marker to see.</p>

Can we play as a team?

<h4>Can we play as a team?</h4>

<p>Unless otherwise stated, teams are welcome but indicate that it is a team effort in your name when signing up, or state who is playing on the team when asked for your name.</p>

OK, that was fun. Now, I want to set a quiz!

<h4>OK, that was fun. Now, I want to set a quiz!</h4>

<p>Great, we love quizzes on all subjects here. See the next section for instructions on how to upload your questions. Then, you\'ll be emailed an Admin page which will allow you to mark the answers and tell people how they\'ve done.</p>

What are the guidelines for posting on the Facebook group?

<h4>What are the guidelines for posting on the Facebook group?</h4>

<p>If you\'re new to the group and want to introduce yourself, please search for the dedicated thread for new players. Please only start a new thread if you have a quiz to publicise, results to announce, or something substantive e.g. a poll or discussion.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/WikiQuiz.org">www.facebook.com/groups/WikiQuiz.org</a></p>

The quiz I am in is supposed to be live, but no questions are showing.

<h4>The quiz I am in is supposed to be live, but no questions are showing.</h4>

<p>This is probably because the setter enabled rounds, but has not selected any of them to show. Rounds are designed for live contests (e.g. webcasts and pub quizzes) where people hear what the host is saying, and can be told when to reload pages, the aim being for a periodic reveal of answers to previous rounds while the quiz is in progress. Some hosts also use rounds to lock questions, as the system rejects responses to questions where the answers are set to show, whether the player has reloaded the page or not.</p>

Why does my link to the quiz just take me to a blank page?

<h4>Why does my link to the quiz just take me to a blank page?</h4>

<p>This is likely to be because either the quiz was deactivated or you were deactivated by the setter or administrator. Player deactivation happens on request, or if there is a high probability of cheating in either the quiz concerned or by any other by a player with the same email address or IP address.</p>

For Setters

<h4>For Setters</h4>

How do I write for the 7 p.m. or 9 p.m. (UK time) General Knowledge quiz?

<h4>How do I write for the 7 p.m. or 9 p.m. (UK time) General Knowledge quiz?</h4>

<p>Thanks for offering to write one. There is a schedule for both timeslots, so please avoid uploading short, timed quizzes to be played around those times, as you will likely not get many players. Contact Will Jones on Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp to get added to the schedule:</p>

<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/willjonesuk">www.facebook.com/willjonesuk</a></p>

<p>These 50 question General Knowledge quizzes are \'ramped\' (ordered by question difficulty). Each setter has their own style, but - as a rough guide - the first 10 are very easy and gettable by nearly everyone, and go up a level every 10 questions. The last 10 can be extremely challenging and <20% of players might get them right.</p>

<p>Various quizzes are designated \'international\' where players should be able to score well regardless of which country they are from. Some quizzes have a bit of bias, usually towards the UK as that is where the website was started and is where most of the setters and players are from.</p>

<p>You should make yourself available to do the marking as soon as the quiz goes live, as many players will be online waiting for their final score. If you begin marking as soon as answers start coming in (i.e. at 7.01 p.m. / 9.01 p.m.), you should be able to confirm the final standings around 45 minutes later - many markers can finish marking within the minute the quiz closes . If you cannot do live marking for any reason, don\'t worry, just contact Will Jones (link above) as soon as you know, and we will make alternative arrangements.</p>

How exactly do I create a quiz spreadsheet for upload to the site?

<h4>How exactly do I create a quiz spreadsheet for upload to the site?</h4>

<h4>Quick:</h4><p>Go to:</p>

<p><a href="https://wikiquiz.org/ExampleEmpty.php">wikiquiz.org/ExampleEmpty.php</a></p>

<p>And select Make a copy</p>

<p>Then fill in your questions and answers in the columns Q and A - don\'t add formatting at this stage.</p>

<h4>Details:</h4><p>In any standard spreadsheet package (e.g. Excel, Google Sheets), make a sheet with Num, Q, A in the top row. Make sure there is no whitespace around any of the column headers.</p>

<p>Please don\'t include line-breaks within cells, and don\'t bother with formatting text as this happens after upload.</p>

<p>Then put the question numbers (1, 2, 3...) in column A, starting with cell A2 and continuing downwards. Put the questions in column B, and your model answers in column C. Then, when you\'ve finished, copy all the data cells and paste them into the "Your quiz" box, as mentioned above.</p>

How do I upload a quiz to the site after I have made a quiz spreadsheet?

<h4>How do I upload a quiz to the site after I have made a quiz spreadsheet?</h4>

<p>Make sure your spreadsheet is ready (instructions above).</p>

<p>There is a timeout 24 minutes after opening this page. Your upload will fail if the page is open for too long.</p>

<p><a href="https://wikiquiz.org/upload.php">wikiquiz.org/upload.php</a></p>

<p>Enter your name, country, email address and the name of the quiz. Name your quiz something obvious, so that people can clearly understand what it is about. Paste your quiz into the "Your quiz" box. For \'Visibility\', choose Public if you want the quiz listed on our main index page, or Private if you do not (be aware that you cannot change this later, presently). The \'Availability\' options allow you to limit the times when the quiz can be played (i.e. when people can actually answer questions). People can register before the Start time if you share the link beforehand, but the quiz will stop at the End time chosen, whether people have finished or not. Then press the Upload button.</p>

What start and finish times should I set?

<h4>What start and finish times should I set?</h4>

<p>This is optional, but most players prefer a known point at which a quiz will finish. You can edit this after you upload, but it is best done before. If you quiz requires editing, formatting or media to be added, it is a good idea to set a start point at some point in the future and make your edits and media additions before it goes live. There is no strict rule, but quizzes more than about three weeks old may be closed by a system administrator to keep the archives clean. Durations of quizzes can vary a lot. The evening 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. (UK time) General Knowledge sets are 30 minutes long, while others might be available for a day, weekend, or longer. It\'s totally up to the setter, but it\'s worth setting a finish time when you\'re able to complete the marking and share the leaderboard.</p>

I've received an email containing two links. What's the difference?

<h4>I\'ve received an email containing two links. What\'s the difference?</h4>

<p>The first \'Admin\' link is your private portal for all kinds of settings. You must ensure that you keep this link private. The second is the shareable link you can use to publicise the quiz to whoever you want.</p>

I've noticed a mistake after uploading. What do I do?

<h4>I\'ve noticed a mistake after uploading. What do I do?</h4>

<p>Questions, answers and even the question numbers are editable. Go to the \'Media\' tab on the Admin page. If you click on any of the elements, you can edit them directly and format with Bold, Italic and underlined text. Reload the browser page when done to ensure the changes have saved. Questions and answers can be changed while a quiz is running should you really need to, but only do this if it is fair to those who have already taken part. Questions can\'t be added to or removed from a set. If a question is discovered to be broken and irreparable after a quiz has started: (1) make the answer something nobody would ever guess; (2) edit the question to say "Question removed"; and (3) mark all the responses to the question as \'wrong\', including those already received before the error was discovered, so that it\'s fair for all.</p>

How do I start the quiz?

<h4>How do I start the quiz?</h4>

<p>If you set a start time when you uploaded the quiz, this is handled automatically. The "Settings" Admin page shows you when the quiz is scheduled to start and stop. (This time period is when answers are being accepted by the system.) If you have specified a START time, the system will automatically make the quiz available at that exact time and there is NO need to press anything. If there is no start or end time listed, you can press the buttons underneath whenever you want, or set up a start and finish time. Beware that stopping a quiz may reveal the the answers to players, if you have already enabled those options.</p>

What do I do if my quiz is about to start but is not ready e.g. in terms of formatting or media?

<h4>What do I do if my quiz is about to start but is not ready e.g. in terms of formatting or media?</h4>

<p>On the Admin pages, go to the \'Settings\' page and push back the start time if the quiz had one. Feel free to explain this change in the Facebook group. Do not press "Stop the quiz" as this is for when the quiz is finished. If a quiz is finished, the leaderboards and questions and answers will be released to everyone.</p>

How do I mark the quiz?

<h4>How do I mark the quiz?</h4>

<p>On the Admin pages, go to the \'Marking\' page. If players have started to enter their responses, you will see them in the middle of the page with "Y" or "N" buttons on either side. Press "Y" if you want to accept their answer, or "N" if you don\'t. These are responses that the players have submitted which do not 100% match an answer previously given (even if the punctuation is a tiny bit different). You need to refresh the page periodically to see any newly submitted answers. If you want to change your mind about a decision, all the previous answers have a button to make the answer \'switch sides\' (e.g. press "N" next to a green answer if you want to turn it from correct to wrong, and vice versa). You need to refresh the browser page to update the leaderboard to reflect any changes you made. If there are any responses left to mark, refreshing the Admin page will always take you to the Marking tab.</p>

How do I share the answers and results?

<h4>How do I share the answers and results?</h4>

<p>The buttons at the bottom of the \'Settings\' page will release answers to finishers or anyone who wants to see them. This can\'t be undone, so be careful. As a rule of thumb, we suggest you release answers to finishers if your quiz is available for several days, but only release answers after the event if it\'s a more serious "exam-type" quiz with a short time limit or at an even later stage if your quiz is live and you want to build tension! Once you\'ve completely finished marking and the quiz time limit is over, you can publicise the link shown on the \'Leaderboard\' tab.</p>