68
votes
Let's allow newer languages/versions for older challenges
Trust the community and add a standard loophole
I think the community can handle the add-a-builtin problem (I may be very wrong). I think that if someone adds a feature to their language that is ...
- 13.9k
42
votes
Loopholes that are forbidden by default
URL shorteners / shortened URLs
Every once in a while, we get a challenge that requires fetching some data from the internet. While some of them manage to ban URL shorteners in time, other don't. I ...
41
votes
Definite policy about duplicate answers
Allow duplicate answers
I think we shouldn't take action against duplicate submissions, even when the code is identical. We should assume good faith: the second submitter almost surely came up with ...
- 147k
38
votes
Loopholes that are forbidden by default
When consistent and distinct values are asked as input, you cannot input complete or partial functions
When I create a challenge and ask for a boolean or two '...
38
votes
Is a proof of impossibility allowed as an answer?
This is my opinion:
If the proof of impossibility is trivial, offer it as a comment and hope the OP revises their question or deletes it. If they don't, it should be closed as "unclear what you're ...
- 7,332
32
votes
Accepted
Multiple answers in a single post
No, this is not acceptable
xnor's proposal to combine equivalent trivial answers talks about solutions that are just a built-in. None of the answers in the post you mention are just rather; they all ...
- 211k
31
votes
Can serious contenders do more than the challenge asks for?
Serious contenders do not contain superfluous code
I propose the following:
If a part or multiple parts of the code can be deleted without affecting its functionality with regard to the challenge ...
- 211k
30
votes
Accepted
Is it permitted for a submission to terminate merely with probability 1?
Yes
Banning submissions that work with a probability of 1 removes the option of rejection sampling which is an approach that already has been used countless times.
- 43.9k
28
votes
Should we combine answers where the same code works in many different languages?
Combine equivalent trivial answers
I think the idea is right, but needs to specifically target the problem case of built-in-does-it answers.
Trivial challenges invite many trivial answers that are ...
- 147k
24
votes
Accepted
How to count bytes in languages with autoformatters
Count code size before autoformatting
Rationale: You can type or paste unformatted code into the interpreter, hit run, and it works. The fact that the interpreter adds whitespace or expands shortcuts ...
- 39.2k
23
votes
Loopholes that are forbidden by default
Using cryptographic functions in a cops and robbers challenge
Almost every cops and robbers challenge will have the following requirement:
Using cryptographic functions such as hashes or PRNGs is ...
22
votes
Loopholes that are forbidden by default
Using an inconsistent I/O format to encode information
For example, for a hypothetical challenge where the output could only ever be two or eleven, submitting the python program
...
21
votes
Accepted
Let's customise the "How to Answer" pop-up
This was recently changed to the text proposed by coredump. New users who enter the Your Answer box will see:
- 101
21
votes
Loopholes that are forbidden by default
Exactly duplicating another answer
This specifically came up for me in a king-of-the-hill contest. In particular, this contest had a random component, so replicating a submission could allow one to ...
21
votes
Should we combine answers where the same code works in many different languages?
No
The only value of extremely trivial tasks like adding/multiplying a pair of numbers is that the thread serves as a catalog repository of the shortest solution per language, which should be aided ...
- 211k
20
votes
Loopholes that are forbidden by default
Sidestepping in a theorem-proving challenge
A theorem-proving challenge is about proving a statement (= constructing a value of the given type) given in a specific host language (designed for theorem ...
19
votes
Loopholes that are forbidden by default
Storing information in platform specifications
We often allow people to require certain qualities of the machine their answer is run on, (for example Operating System). However we should disallow ...
19
votes
Why are some users so quick to jump on a bandwagon?
Conservation of nitpicking
I want to give a pragmatic answer on the need for nitpicking. By nitpicks, I mean tedious-seeming inquiries on minor points like "Can the list be empty?" or "...
- 147k
18
votes
Why aren't answers ordered by byte count for code golf challenges?
Sorting by code size has its own issues. Mainly, that we usually try to encourage people to golf in their choice of language, and not necessarily in golfing languages.
Sorting this way would give an ...
- 19.7k
17
votes
Accepted
Can interpreter flags causing major language differences be considered different versions of the language?
Answered in order
Yes
They are different versions.
Maybe
It would depend upon the challenge in question. Some specify that major versions (e.g., Python 2 vs Python 3) are considered the same ...
- 43.5k
17
votes
What should we do when a language cannot answer a given challenge?
Don't use that language for that challenge
I'm sure many users avoid challenges that are not suited to their language(s) of choice. I know I do.
If the challenge is actually impossible for a ...
- 4,314
17
votes
Accepted
what did I do wrong and how can I improve
At a brief glance, some potential reasons are:
This looks a lot like a homework question or a coding challenge taking from another site.
We don't help with homework
Using a challenge from another ...
- 53k
16
votes
What should be done about pre-posted Community Wiki answers that serve as a place for combining trivial answers?
Posting a community-wiki for the purpose of collecting trivial answers together is perfectly fine, but it was wrong in this case. For it to work,
It needs to only contain truly trivial answers. For ...
- 59.6k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible