Check This Out!!! What Do the Other Goo Game Players Think?

Mike Eberhart | December 29, 2006
http://musicdistricts.com/boards/showthread.php?p=6397

David Mitzman | December 29, 2006
Someone's cheating. Definitley not cool.

Scott Hardie | December 29, 2006
Good find, Mike.

At first I was about to blast "Donna" for stealing my goo and posting it as her own, because I've come across that on plenty of other web forums before. It wasn't until I read all of Donna's comments that I realized she's a player in GOO and she just gave away the answer to what had been a challenging goo for most players. (I meant 0899 to be semi-easy and I didn't know why so many people were stumped by it, but then I can never predict the difficulty. Sorry I inadvertently gave you guys a hard time of it.)

Based on the time of Donna's comments and the time of certain players' guesses and a few other factors, I'm pretty sure who it is, but I'll give that player a chance to identify themselves. I don't mind so much that my goo was stolen and posted elsewhere – like I said, it happens a lot – but I do mind that a player revealed the answer while the goo is still active. That blows it for everybody else. This person probably meant it to go unnoticed here and I appreciate their discretion, but still, everyone, please wait until the goo is expired before sharing the answer anywhere.

Because anyone can guess it now, I have invalidated the two incorrect guesses and invited those two players to guess anew. The rest of you, have at it.

Larger question: Is it ok or not ok to seek answers in another forum? I know many players ask their spouses and close friends for help offline, but this is asking a forum full of music experts to identify a musical celebrity. Has this crossed a line we haven't discussed before?

I thought I'd heard of every research method possible...

David Mitzman | December 29, 2006
If the research for an answer makes it publicly available (a la the forum) I would say it's not OK.

Mike Eberhart | December 29, 2006
Actually, I didn't discover this. It was pointed out to me by a fellow player. We've been discussing if it's cheating or not also, but then I came to the same conclusion as you did Scott. Whoever "Donna" is, posted the answer to the goo before it expired. So, I don't know if it was blatant cheating, but just thinking that someone from here wouldn't find it. The only reason this was discovered was because if you put into Google the entire clue, this page comes up about #3 in the list.

I'm all for researching goos on the web, but going to a field of experts to figure out a goo, I'm not too sure about that. I would be interested in knowing who "Donna" is though.

Lori Lancaster | December 29, 2006
[hidden by request]

David Mitzman | December 29, 2006
I like Lori's idea. I think a 7day suspension should be handed out. It's not enough to knock them out of the game but could make or break their contention later in the round.

Steve Dunn | December 29, 2006
Wow, holy crap, Goo Game intrigue!!

My first reaction: that is clearly cheating and "Donna" should get the boot.

My follow-up reaction: whoa, what exactly constitutes cheating in this game?

I'll confess right now that I have asked my wife a few times to take a look at a goo with me. On those occasions, it's always just been a glance - she definitely hasn't/wouldn't spend any time working on it (she thinks the game is cool, but that I'm a bit crazy). Is that cheating? It never crossed my mind at the time, but now I can see how it might be. I would never do what "Donna" did, though, and I certainly wouldn't compare notes with another player.

Am I a cheater??

Adrianne Rodgers | December 29, 2006
Oooh, freebie.

David Mitzman | December 29, 2006
No Steve I wouldn't consider that cheating. I've occasionally inquired with someone from outside the game (and the site in general) if I'm stuck. I don't ask for direct answers but usually having someone else look at it helps in solving it.

Jackie Mason | December 30, 2006
[hidden by request]

Amy Austin | December 30, 2006
Whooooa, Donna, whooooa, Donna... I had a girl...

Geez... take more than a few hours away from the computer and all drama breaks loose! Shit, and here I was thinking I was all lucky getting my guess in before it was too late!!! I thought it was Common all along, but couldn't verify -- as it appears "Donna" could not -- but wanted to wait until the end to make my guess "just in case" (I really need to cut that shit out after what happened at the end of last round...). As I moseyed around on my laptop last night, my midnight show started, and I realized, "OH, SHIT -- I HAVEN'T MADE MY LAST GUESS YET!!!" Quickly, I checked out the new goo page and saw that -- thankfully -- it hadn't expired/renewed yet. Happily made my guess and thought that was that. Hmmph. Turns out I could've fiddle-farted around 'til midnight tonight! Oh, well -- serves me right.

I'm with you, Jackie -- I have my guess... although, I am clearly aiding others by posting this and revealing that it is NOT ME (in case any of you were suspecting so!), so...

Now that you're gone and I'm left all alone;
All by myself to wonder and groan
...Donna, oh, where can you be?

Russ Wilhelm | December 30, 2006
This early in the game, and this not being the elimination round, it doesn't bother me so much. I'd say it was poor judgement. But had this been a winning hand for someone, then I'd be pissed, even more so if it was my hand. Ask for a different perspective from someone outside the game, be it friend or family, I wouldn't have a problem with, so your OK Steve. Ask for the answer, no way.

I'd like to see this type of activity considered an unfair advantage, so that it doesn't become the norm. Scott, I know that you would like us to use our brains more than we use Google, but I think that this goes way beyond the search engine.

Since the forum apparently did not offer up the answer to the originator, I think the right call was made, but please, do your own research, don't have others do it for you. It's part of what makes the game fun to play.

I would not like to see "Donna" publicly identified. He/she (you never know) would probably get a terrible bashing here, and drop out forever. If they want to confess, let that be between themselves and Scott.

'Nuff said

Jerry Mathis | December 30, 2006
Ooohhh, drama!!

I don't know. If they fess up, I think I'd let it slide this time. My only real problem with it is posting the answer before the goo expired. I mean, asking for the answer on a music board is lame, but is it really against the rules?

Steve Dunn | December 30, 2006
Good question, Jerry. It could just be an extension of the game. On some level, you have to admire Donna for utilizing available resources. It's not like the game has a comprehensive set of strict rules.

Scott Hardie | December 30, 2006
Well, the rules are just a little more comprehensive now. I have explicitly stated that sharing an answer online, or seeking an answer in an online forum, can result in suspension and/or canceled guesses. It's disruptive to the game: Not only can anyone reading call out the answer, but imagine if every player did that for every hard goo. It would change the dynamic of the game for the worse.

I talked to a very apologetic Donna at length through email today, and we've arrived at a resolution that I think is fair. This player wishes to remain anonymous and I'm willing to grant them that courtesy as I've done for others in the past. Contrary to the apparent use of a pseudonym, this person says they didn't think they were doing anything wrong at the time, and based on their explanation I believe them.

In an ideal world, you wouldn't have any help at all – no Google, no friends, just your brain versus the goo on the screen. If this ever gets picked up for a TV game show, I suppose the conditions could be controlled on the set, but over the Internet I have no ability to police you and thus you have many "unfair" research advantages at your disposal. (I call them unfair because not everybody has every advantage. If your spouse is a scientist for instance, you have a big edge on Science goos.) That's why the rules have been so vague about cheating: Basically, if I catch you cheating in some kind of way, I'll enact some kind of judgment to restore fairness. It's the best I can offer under the circumstances.

Thanks everybody for some very thoughtful comments.

Amy Austin | December 30, 2006
That's fair.

On a side note: I didn't mean to appear in demand of the identity of "Donna"... merely, I was trying to humorously illustrate the same nagging curiosity that Jackie expressed. I don't really care all that much, because -- as Russ said -- it isn't the elimination round. However, I did find the loss of this guess point to the public mildly irritating and highly ironic, given the circumstances and in light of the end of the last round. As I already stated, though, serves me right. I've burned myself on more than one goo by similar idiocy, which always hurts *far* more than just plain not knowing the answer!

Scott Hardie | December 30, 2006
I would also like to mention regret that the two players who had guessed wrong, and who I gave a second chance with 14 hours left on the clock (email notice and all), apparently didn't make it to the site in time to guess again. I can only suppose how frustrated they must be right now.

Tony Peters | December 30, 2006
and then some like me were overseas and could not get a computer online in time to take advantage of this "situation"
Cyprus is nice, they drive on the left so I'm stuck driving everywhere, the food is awesome, too many people smoke though (says he who is 6 weeks into quitting)

Scott Horowitz | January 2, 2007
I don't think "googling" is cheating. In fact, I find that the fun part of the goo game. Using the clues to your advantage, shows if you can use the tools at your finger tips to get the goo. It's a GOOgle game now.