Typing faster than the speed of light

Speed typing. Becki posted on this recently, bemoaning her 3MB connection, and how it handicaps competing at Buccaneer Bowl. I just checked my speed now which came in at 3.5MB, and I'm just a two fingered typist, but my Buccaneer Bowl record is respectable soooo I think I'll keep quiet on that subject...

First of all let me say right away that I think there's no avoiding it. If you give people enough time in SL trivia they will Google. You can ask people not to as much as you like, and most will play to the spirit of the game, but once someone starts Googling everyone else is at a big disadvantage. And in my opinion all efforts to kill speed typing founder on the rock of Google.

Tori, Sharon, Kiri, Polaris and Lotus are the naughty girls in the penalty box at Sharon's Diner

My own opinion is, if we can't eliminate Google, we may as well embrace it, and there are countless times when I'm hosting that I've been glad of someone Googling a question that has turned out to be too hard. Karmel says in an ideal event everyone would win once, and while I think this is right, I find it harder to do in practice. Some people are just very good, but here's my thoughts on how we hosts should think about it:

• Avoid themes unless they are very broad
• Do not run events about one country's popular culture
  
• Be generous with Pity Lindens (I love that phrase, was it Nelly who came up with it?)
• Try and find something that can involve everyone
• Try and make it fun! Don't be too serious!
  

I try to do this myself, and that's why I've run the Easter Eggs and money for typos. But no matter how hard I try, it tends to be the regular players who get the Easter Eggs, and my typos seem to be a major income stream for Sharon Scofield and Nelly Swindlehurst. Please, everyone, check my Lilly's and EyeQ notices for the Easter Egg links. It's money for jam, it really is. I want to give you the Lindens!

Glimmer Mattercaster wearing a Karmel and

Lotus shirt after she won the Challenge question at Lilly's.

The question was "In the Harry Potter books, who does Harry marry?"

I've rather strayed from the speed typing subject, but the reason why it's so prevalent is that all efforts to deal with it turn out unsatisfactory to my way of thinking, in one way or another.

Samantha Poindexter uses an innovative HUD system for her strip trivia event, where you have to choose one of four answers. The winner is chosen randomly from the correct answers, the losers remove an item of clothing and it's rather neat and fun. But for me it lacks something, because multiple choice questions are so hard to write. Either they are far too easy, or so hard it just seems like guessing, and I rather think this is intrinsic to the system, and not the fault of the question setter.

Tori Lok and Sweejen Stourmead at Lilly's

I wonder if this could be solved by removing the multiple choice element and the host marking free text answers right or wrong? I wouldn't like to have to mark 20answers for every question myself, though.

I've played games where players send answers in IM, but I don't much like this. Anyone who wants can Google answers, and it removes much of the social aspect of the game. I would far rather play a fun game for fewer Lindens than a boring one for lots of Lindens.

Personally I think we are stuck with speed typing, and it's the job of us trivia hosts to make it interesting for people without lightning fingers, but who know their trivia. And that brings me onto your lindeny questions, and those of you who come to my events might just be familiar with Dingbats. I've got five for you today, 20L for each first correct answer in comments, paid in world.