Repetitious Questions Idea

JTW2007 · Jun 4, 2009

The other day, my friend had an idea on how we could control the recent outbreak of threads in this format: Common question, "Use the search function," link to "let me google that for you," etc. that he wanted me to share with you all. What if we made a compilation of the answers to commonly asked questions and a collection of the most important tips on speedcubing and either stickied it in the Beginner's section, embedded it as part of the registration process, or left it in this section for reference. I know something like this exists in the Wiki, but no one reads the Wiki. This way, new members can get their questions answered and old members don't have to resort to overused, often derogatory responses. Maybe we could have people who specialize in various areas write different parts of the document, like in the registration video. Just an idea I'm throwing out there.

soccerking813 · Jun 4, 2009

Might be a good idea, but would it work? There is a thread stickied about different DIY types, but still lots of "What cube is best?" question.

And at first I thought the title of this thread was "Religious Questions Idea"

Lord Voldemort · Jun 4, 2009

If people can see that sticky, why can't they see this one?
That said, if people do think this can work, I can pitch in if you need help.

kjcellist · Jun 4, 2009

Yeah, it sounds like a good idea.

But it might be hard having lots of people contribute and staying organized.

shelley · Jun 4, 2009

The "Read Prior to Posting" sticky should probably also include a link to the wiki. It seems not a lot of people know that's there, and the search function does kind of suck.

byu · Jun 4, 2009

The welcome video should help a bit.

anythingtwisty · Jun 4, 2009

I think that threads by people with <20 posts should be reviewed by the moderator team before posting, and if it is a repeat, a kind but firm email should be sent to the person in the form of a PM.

JTW2007 · Jun 4, 2009

anythingtwisty said:
I think that threads by people with <20 posts should be reviewed by the moderator team before posting, and if it is a repeat, a kind but firm email should be sent to the person in the form of a PM.

Now THAT is a great idea.

byu · Jun 4, 2009

Maybe we should have some kind of voting system? Like, a button at the bottom of each thread that says "Vote Repetitious", and if it gets enough (15+ maybe) votes, then it is deleted.

JTW2007 · Jun 4, 2009

byu said:
Maybe we should have some kind of voting system? Like, a button at the bottom of each thread that says "Vote Repetitious", and if it gets enough (15+ maybe) votes, then it is deleted.

Yeah, also a good idea, though probably a bit harder to implement. I'm not sure if my friend's idea will work or not, I was just throwing it out there and if we decide to try it, I'd be more than happy to write some of it.

byu · Jun 4, 2009

If we made a Repetitious Questions thread (Or just a FAQ thread), we could just copy most of it directly from the wiki.

Wiki said:
What is the Rubik's Cube?
The Rubik's Cube is a puzzle, invented by Erno Rubik in 1974. In 1980, the Cube was marketed world-wide, and 200 million of them were sold. Here you can see what a Rubik's Cube looks like.
What is speedcubing?
Speedcubing is the art of solving Rubik's Cube (and other twisty puzzles) as fast as possible. I think most people would also say that speedcubing is more than that: Other disciplines, such as one handed cubing or blindfold cubing can also be called "speedcubing".
How can I solve the cube?
If your are a beginner, there are a lot of websites available that will explain how to solve the 3x3x3 cube in an easy way. (**Please note that there are many different ways to solve the cube. Some of these links will describe different methods**) Andy Camann Gilles Roux Joel van Noort Leyan Lo Patrick Kelly Mark Jeays
How does the notation system work?
The cube has six sides: Front, Back, Left, Right, Upper and Down (F, B, L, R U and D). A single letter represents a clockwise turn of that face. For this, imagine that every side has an image of a clock on it, and a 90 degree clockwise turn has to go in the same direction as that clock. It might take a while to get used to this, because for the B face, from the perspective of the person holding the cube, a clockwise turn looks like a counterclockwise turn in a way... But after using this system for a while, you will get used to it. A single letter followed by a ' represents a counterclockwise turn of that face. A single letter followed by a 2 represents a 180 degree turn of that face. In that case, the direction of the turn doesn't matter. Many cubers use other notation. Further explanation of symbols can be found on the notation page.
My cube is very stiff... What can I do to make it run smoother?
There are a lot of cubes out there that are recommended for speedcubing. However, most cubes will get looser by simply using them very often. Some cubes allow you to take off the center-caps and fine-tune the tension of the screws and springs. By turning the screws, you can make the cube a bit more loose, by turning the springs you can adjust tension with how each side turns. Another idea is to lube your cube with silicone spray. You should be careful with this, because some lubricants can be quite aggressive for your cube. If it say's "WD-40" anywhere on your lubricant, DONT use it to lube your cube. You can read more about Lubrication on the main article on it.
Making the cube physically smoother requires more effort. One popular method is to sand the pieces and internal mechanism. This can be done by putting the cube in sand, (thus letting multiple grains get trapped in the internal mechanism) and solving the cube multiple times therefore sanding the cube internally. Once the cube has been solved numerous times, the cube must be washed out and cleaned of all sand and cube dust the sand may have left behind.
How can I "open"/take apart my cube?
You can turn one of the faces 45 degrees, and try to POP out one of the edge pieces, as shown in this picture: http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/3x3x3_dis.JPG. You should be careful with this. With extremely stiff cubes this doesn?t work.
Where can I learn those fingertricks?
There aren't many websites that really have a section about finger tricks. On this page, I have one tutorial that explains the basic finger tricks, and gives a few examples. (click tutorials, and search for the "Fingertricks" tutorial). There are some websites with videos that show you how to perform algorithms. www.cubewhiz.com provides algorithms with videos. This can give you an idea about how to execute certain combinations of moves. www.strangepuzzle.com hosts a lot of speedcubing videos. These videos are really fast, but it can give you some inspiration. After watching all these videos for a while, you will probably start doing your own tricks.
What is the best method for speedsolving the Cube?
I honestly don't know... I wish I knew! I don't really think there is a "best method". I think you should just find a speedcubing method that feels right for you. Below this FAQ, you will find a list of links. Some of them link to popular speedcubing methods. However, before learning an extremely advanced method, I think it?s a good idea to first learn a beginners method!
Where can I buy puzzles?
http://www.rubiks.com sells a lot of twisty puzzles. I can highly recommmend the DIY kits for speedcubing.
http://www.mefferts.com also sells a lot of nice puzzles. Free shipping to anywhere in the world!
http://www.e-bay.com. Some cubers have luck with finding good puzzles on e-bay. I don't have any experience with this at all... So all I can say is: good luck with searching, and be careful with buying. Look at the sellers message, and other auctions, and try to estimate if he or she can be trusted.
The stickers of my cube are peeling/coming off, how can I solve this problem?
This is a well known problem. Most cubes don't have high quality stickers on them whether they be the wrong colors or the laminate peels off. The best solution to this, by far, is to buy new stickers; Vinyl (PVC) stickers are highly recommended, Cubesmith sells high quality stickers and is used by professional speedcubers worldwide. CubeSmith Making your own stickers takes a lot of time, and you probably won't make stickers as high of quality.
How can I solve higher order cubes? (4x4, 5x5)
You can find a method for the 4x4 here: http://www.speedcubing.com/chris/4-solution.html. The same ideas can be used for solving the 5x5. Another website that deals with higher order cubes can be found here: http://www.bigcubes.com.
How can I solve the F2L quickly with the Fridrich system/method?
The most common answer to this question is to "Slow down and look ahead" essentially that's all there is to it. For more on Fridrich F2L the links below can be especially helpful. Erik A. did a nice video on how he does the F2L slowly, check it out here, it should help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbKvOXE__CM
These two sites basically teach the same thing, but they use different algorithms. http://www.snkenjoi.com/wikicube/index.php...e=Intuitive_F2L http://dougreed.no-ip.org/~doug/f2l/f2l.htm
This site lists all 41 cases. http://www.cubestation.co.uk/cs2/index.php...x3/cfop/f2l/f2l
Where can I see all current official/unofficial records?
All official records (records that are done at an official competition) can be found here: http://www.worldcubeassociation.org/results/index.php
All unofficial records can be found here: http://www.speedcubing.com/records
Other Information
For more FAQ's, please visit this link (contains general usage FAQ of the forum itself): http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/faq.php
Some useful links
Speedcubing Tips Below is a page containing the most links relating to speedcubing more than any other pages.
http://speedcubing.com/links.html
Puzzle Shops
This is where you can find information on where to buy puzzles: http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?t=117
How-To Guides
Here is a link to the How-To section, which includes various tutorials and guides. Please check it out when you get the chance: http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=18

Stefan · Jun 4, 2009

The worst part are the debates that follow. If it always were just one post answering the question and mocking the asker, we could all save a lot of time and energy.

For that purpose, I suggest the introduction of a FAQ rule and tag. So I might write this:

[noparse][FAQ][/noparse] There is no best cube, different people like different cubes. Check out the hardware area for reviews and discussions.

And the system could display that something like this:

FAQ [size=-2](this is a frequently asked and answered question (click to see more) and this post should answer it and no annoying useless debate should follow.)[/size]

There is no best cube, different people like different cubes. Check out the hardware area for reviews and discussions.

byu · Jun 4, 2009

Could part of the problem be the announcement at the top?

If you are new and have a question to ask, please post it in the Beginners Central forum and someone here will help you. Also, please only reply to a speedsolving question/concern if you have something of value to add. If you notice a post that you think is inappropriate, please use the "Report" button below that post and one of the moderators will take care of it.

There's nothing that says to use the search function before posting.

Stefan · Jun 4, 2009

I actually doubt many people are reading that announcement. Or the rules. Or the stickies. I believe there will always be newbies asking FAQs, no matter what we do (though I hope our video will help). Hence my above suggestion to at least reduce the nuisance by having sort of an only-one-reply-until-further-question rule.

JTW2007 · Jun 4, 2009

That's a good idea Stefan. Perhaps all questions tagged as FAQ could be compiled in a Beginners Central sticky as well?

byu · Jun 4, 2009

That's kind of the problem. According to Stefan, no beginners READ the stickies.

Stefan · Jun 5, 2009

JTW2007 said:
That's a good idea Stefan. Perhaps all questions tagged as FAQ could be compiled in a Beginners Central sticky as well?

Someone would need to compile it, though. But yeah, good idea, the tag usage could be analyzed.

I only thought of it as a quick and standard way to get the message across. Typing the tag wouldn't take long. First I had thought about a keyword we could agree on to remind ourselves to not add useless debate, then I thought it'd better be self-descriptive, then I thought about the special tag that gets shown with explanation and link.

byu said:
According to Stefan, no beginners READ the stickies.

I didn't say that. I just think some don't.

Robert-Y · Jun 5, 2009

Sorry if this is a stupid idea but what if new members had to take an easy quiz on the rules and answer all of the questions right before they can post anything or create a new thread, in order to ensure that they know what the rules are and so it could reduce the number of repetitious question threads?

anythingtwisty · Jun 5, 2009

Robert-Y said:
Sorry if this is a stupid idea but what if new members had to take an easy quiz on the rules and answer all of the questions right before they can post anything or create a new thread, in order to ensure that they know what the rules are and so it could reduce the number of repetitious question threads?

No, that is a great idea. After reading this forum and the number of repetitive threads, I know not to start a repeat thread, but many (obviously) do not.

JTW2007 · Jun 5, 2009

Robert-Y said:
Sorry if this is a stupid idea but what if new members had to take an easy quiz on the rules and answer all of the questions right before they can post anything or create a new thread, in order to ensure that they know what the rules are and so it could reduce the number of repetitious question threads?

Wow, that's a really good idea. We could use questions like:

"You're DIY looses a center cap and you call the manufacturer asking for a new one. You get a shipping confirmation and one week later, it still hasn't come. Do you:

A. Post immediately and ask what's going on.
B. Search for past posts about this manufacturer and see what the reliability level is.
C. Wait. It'll come.
D. B and C."

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