The Intelli-Thread: <333

[The Intelli-Gent]

The Intelli-Thread
Want donation letters? Got a brain? Excellent.




Good day, night, morning or evening, ladies and gents. Allow me to welcome you to the humble abode from which I will conduct my personal quest - the Intelli-Quest, as I like to call it. My aim, ambition, aspiration, and raison d'être? To raise the level of intelligence on Gaia.

"What!? That's impossible!" I hear you cry. "You're insane!"

First of all, I prefer the term eccentric. Second of all, yes, I am quite. Third of all, I intend, nevertheless, to chip away at my goal in my own small way. All these envelopes in my coat pockets clash with my suit in quite an unsightly fashion, and as such, I intend to hand them out to those Gaians who most impress me with their wit, intelligence, or good manners.

This thread is, of course, designed to reward those willing to use the contents of their cranium with monthly collectibles, and some other special items too. All are welcome; please don't be shy, as we are a friendly bunch, and only toss people out of windows for posting spam or chatspeaking horrendously... but I do request that visitors read the Enquiries and Rules , so they have some idea of what's what!

The very best of luck to you.

Yours Sincerely,
The Intelli-Gent

Updates:

Thread still on hiatus, but I have plans for a magical metamorphosis later this year. heart

15/12/10
I will be away for the most part for a while (my job likes to gobble me up over the holiday period, you see); but fear not, I will be bouncing merrily back. heart

28/10/10
There will be a few special prizes during Gaia's Halloween event; see post 2 for details! heart

October 2010
I am happy to say that, for the moment, the thread hiatus is on hiatus. That is, we are, as it were, de-hiatus-ed. I will be asking intelliquestions in the thread from time to time, and some letter challenges will be showing up too, as well as some new intellipoint prizes. This will be the case for the foreseeable future, though puzzle activity is likely to be a little on-and-off due to my busy periods.

I would also like to wish the Intellithread a very happy fourth birthday! heart

March 2009
Hello, chaps. As I'm sure the regulars have noticed by now, puzzles and intelliquestions are currently on an indefinite hiatus! I love my thread, but unfortunately lack the time for puzzles these days. I will still be found pottering about the place.
In the meantime, I apologise profusely for any inconvenience. If anyone would like to submit their collected points for a prize, then provided you have five or more total points, you may round up your number of points to the next multiple of ten (for example, if you have 34 points, you may round up and collect a 40-point prize). This offer will last until such time as the hiatus ends, whenever that might be. Of course, you are also very welcome to hang onto them - they will always be viable for prize exchange and I hope there will be opportunities to collect more in the future. Thank you to everyone for sticking with us!

Yours affectionately,

Gent
---------------------------
Guild link, for anyone who needs it.

[The Intelli-Gent]

Happy Halloween!

Look out for some special Halloweenie goings-on in the thread!

Edit: Extended for another week or so. heart

Raffle
For the duration of Gaia's Halloween event, each intellipoint earned will also count as a raffle ticket. At the end of the event, I will generate a random number from the point numbers allocated, and the winner will receive their choice of a Lumiere Noire or an Apprentice Charm.

Trick or Treat!
All of the ghostly activity around Gaia seems to have prompted the appearance of an Intelli-Ghost! This cute little fellow is quite harmless - at least I think he is - so please refrain from attempts to maim, mutilate, or otherwise destroy him.

You might find him popping in and out of the thread. Watch out for him, because when you see him post this...



...The first person to shout, "Trick or Treat!" will win a random prize from his goodie-bag. While I don't know precisely what he keeps in it, I have seen him carrying some mysterious giftboxes about!

Good luck!



Hints:

LETTER CHALLENGE RULES
The first with a correct answer to the letter challenge will be rewarded with a thank you letter for the current month. A notice will be added to the top of this post when the prize for the current challenge has been claimed.
If you have any questions about the current challenge (other, of course, than, "what's the answer?"!), you may post them in this thread, though if you would like to make a guess at the answer, please send a PM.
Hints will be added in this post if a challenge proves tricky. Sometimes they won't be in the most obvious places... look out for hidden things in this post!

Archive of past letter challenges is on page 2!

[The Intelli-Gent]

Word of the Week

Current word is:
spindleshanks
noun; long thin legs, or a person possessing them.

How many words you can make using the letters from the current word? A prize of 2000 gold will be awarded for the most words. Entries should be PMed to Gwynnia (though entries PMed to me will also get through).

RULES:
Each letter in the word may only be used as many times as it appears.
Words must be AT LEAST four letters in length (no "a", "to", "and", etc).
Plurals are fine, but no names/proper nouns - only words in the dictionary!
When you're done, PM your list with the subject "word of the week".

Past winners:
FORTITUDINOUS - inili
ADAMANTINE - darkblazes991
OBFUSCATE - astroasis
VERIDICALITY - Gwynnia
OBLIQUITOUS - [tofu][rocket]
CIRCUMLOCUTORY - x.Masterpiece.x
MERITORIOUS - astroasis
COLLOQUIALISM - Lavariver
SCHADENFREUDE - True Myth
GRANDILOQUENCE - f** on a Stick
APOSIOPESIS - Izaea
CONCOMITANT - Guitared and Feathered
PULCHRITUDE - Keiara_Kairobi
MILQUETOAST - Lavariver
ULULATION - Flamarial
PERFIDIOUS - Suneagle
COPACETIC - 4wingedAngel
DIAPHANOUS - glass_magnolias
GALLIMAUFRY - Synthetic.Butterfly
PALAVEROUS - jkowl
SOPORIFIC - Shadow_Coon/Dilandra101
VICISSITUDE - Suneagle
FESCENNINE - Dilandra101
CONFABULATE - Prilandryn
OLEAGINOUS - Zoologist
CACHINNATE - | Mine |
FLAGELLATE - Bribble
GALUMPHING - Jade13
QUADRILLE - 4WingedAngel

Inspiration from BastettePixie.
Suggestions for future words of the week are quite welcome.

[The Intelli-Gent]

Enquiry Desk
(Originally Frequently Asked Questions, but I confess I have not been frequently asked any of them)

So what's this all about?
This is a charity of sorts. However, rather than filling in forms and whatnot, visitors will prove themselves worthy by exercising their grey matter a little - and, I hope, having fun.

The Gent - that is, myself - will update the second post with letter challenges. New challenges will appear at random intervals, heralded by a change in the thread title to announce a new challenge; the first with a correct answer to a letter challenge will immediately win a donation letter for the current month. Additionally, Intelli-Questions will be posted in the thread proper. Those first with answers to these questions will gain points to earn letters and donation items; bonus intelli-points may also be collected by solving puzzles in the puzzle archive or the current letter challenge after the letter has been won.

What kind of questions will be asked?
Letter Challenges will be puzzles of various kinds, generally word or maths puzzles of some variety. The subjects of Intelli-Questions may range from english and maths problems to history, geography, literature, music, general knowledge and so on.

How many letters are given away a month?
This will vary, I'm afraid, as The Gent does not have a bottomless wallet of either the real-life or Gaian variety (much as he would like this to be the case). I budget for ten letters a month for thread prizes, but as I am often kindly donated to and occasionally have extra, it can be more than this. When there are special events (eg Christmas, Easter, Halloween), there are in-thread events as well, along with a flurry of prizes.

How do I earn items?
Method 1: Solve the letter challenge in post #2. Should you be the first with a correct answer, you will win a donation letter immediately.
Method 2: Collect intelli-points by answering Intelli-Questions in the thread (see below), or by solving puzzles in the puzzle archive on page two, and exchange them for items.
Method 3: Get lucky! A letter is given away for every 100th intellipoint awarded, and also for the first post on every 500th page.

May I earn more than one item?
Certainly, although to make sure everyone has a chance, no one person may win more than two letters per month - this is not usually an issue, but if anyone does win more than two letter challenges in a month, they will earn extra intellipoints instead. I also request that people do not claim more than one letter per person per month with intellipoints. Other than this, you may try to earn as many intellipoint prizes as you wish.

May I use search engines to help me find the answers!?
For your information, Google will not help you with letter challenges; challenge puzzles are all personally designed by The Gent. He will not attempt to stop anyone looking up the answers to Intelli-Questions if they wish to do so, but as only the first person to post the answer gets credit, those who already know the answers have the advantage. Don't worry, most will be undemanding. There again, some won't. wink

How can I help?
Donations are gratefully accepted. Considering the nature of this thread, should one be lacking in the department of one's pockets, links from signatures or other threads are always appreciated. There is always conversation going on here, so bumps are not necessary (and, as the Intellithread tends to be a little cranky when bumped, may result in bumpers being tipped unceremoniously out of windows). Thank you anyway to all those charity bumpers out there. smile

If after reading the first page you have any further questions regarding this thread, please post them here, rather than PMing me (my inbox gets rather full at times). Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated.

Thread Moderators:

Kindly thread helper-outers are
Lavariver, Astroasis, Gwynnia and BastettePixie.

*(please note that page prizes are only available to people who have participated in the thread at some point, because attempting to "snipe" this prize is seen as being a bad sport!).

[The Intelli-Gent]

Intelli-Questions
Rules & Information

All kinds of questions are posted in this thread as it progresses. Intelliquestions are marked by Intelliquestion icons (sometimes affectionately referred to as intellibombs, possibly because they have the tendency to induce heart attacks). They look like this:
A regular question. First with a correct answer earns a point.
A red icon means double points (that is, a two-point question).
These are rarer and usually slightly more difficult.
Prize icon. These occur every hundred intellipoints,
and rarely at random. First to answer correctly wins an item
(usually a letter or past monthly collectible).

The first to post a correct answer to an Intelli-Question earns one of these : an intellipoint. Every intellipoint will have a number beside it. If you receive a point, please make a note of its number. I will require your point numbers when you wish to submit your points for a prize, so I can check them against my own list. If you don't have your answer numbers, you will have to look through your past posts to find them!

Only one other rule - editing of posts containing answers to intelliquestions is not allowed; you may change your answer, but please post again.

While questions may be posted at any time I am online, on some days there are specific times when there will be guaranteed questions. Timetable is as follows:

Please note that this timetable does NOT currently apply, though questions will be asked in the thread at random from time to time!

Sunday: GMT2am-4am : EST9pm-11pm : CST8pm-10pm : PST6pm-8pm
Monday: GMT1am-3am : EST8pm-10pm : CST7pm-9pm : PST5pm-7pm
Tuesday: GMT10pm-12am : EST5pm-7pm : CST4pm-6pm : PST2pm-4pm
Wednesday GMT11pm-1am : EST6pm-8pm : CST5pm-7pm : PST3pm-5pm
Thursday GMT12am-2am : EST7pm-9pm : CST6pm-8pm : PST4pm-6pm


Good luck, everyone!

[The Intelli-Gent]

Intellipoint Prizes

To earn a prize, you will submit your intellipoints thus far; the value of your prize will reflect your number of correct answers. Once you have submitted your points and claimed a prize, your points are "spent" and you must begin collecting points over from the beginning. So, keep this in mind when selecting your prize!

At the moment, prizes are as follows:

10 Points: Time Piece, Snow Witch, Enchanted Strings
20 points: Thank You Letter (current month), Whip of Fire, Mwee the Dragon
30 points: Silver Laurels, Angelic Lace, Gothic Butterfly
40 points: Nitemare Sash, Demonic Anklets, Uncanny Form
50 Points: Lumiere Noire, Apprentice Charm, Gimpi, Gravedigger


Please note: Other than letters, I usually only have one of each of the above listed prizes, so available prizes may change after they are claimed. If a prize is gone and will not be replaced it will be removed; if it is currently out of stock but will be restocked in the future, it will be in strikethrough text. Prize requests are welcome.
Unless otherwise specified, evolving item prizes will be of the generation currently sold in the cash shop (i.e., their evolution will be from the beginning).

"How do I submit my points?"
Send me a private message entitled, "Prize Submission". Please include your points numbers and prize choice.
heart

[The Intelli-Gent]

Weekly Quiz Night
(currently not active)

We have begun hosting a weekly quiz night every Friday on IRC. If you don't have an IRC client, the chat can easily be accessed online by directing your browser to mibbit.com and entering the following information:
Server: slashnet.org
Nick: (whatever you like)
Channel: #intelli

Everyone is welcome; exact starting time may vary, but will be indicated in the thread. Questions are asked by a chatbot, so while I am usually present, I am largely just... overseeing the proceedings (which are generally quite amusing). Points earned in the quiz can be converted to intellipoints; the rate is currently 10 quiz points = 1 intellipoint. Questions are mostly general knowledge, with a few anagrams thrown in for good measure. Be aware that, if the chat gets busy, the high speed can be a bit confusing - but that's all part of the fun.

I will use this post to keep track of the number of quiz points everyone currently has, and will add to the total each week. You may convert your points to intellipoints whenever you like - collecting the points this way just saves me going through everyone awarding intellipoints every week. If you want your points, just ask!

Current points totals:

1 Skizzors 92
2 Sumire-Nnia 77
3 Murderous Lemur 49
4 FyoraSilverwolf 45
5 Mariele47 38
6 fiarra 25
7 Teh K9 16
8 Lavariver 12
9 Shadow_Coon 11
10 Jade13 9
11 Sleepy_Shadow_Fox 7
12 BastettePixie 6
13 J4CK 1
14 canadian_trekkie 1

Thank you to Lemur for his assistance organising the questions and to Nnia for being backup chat host!

[The Intelli-Gent]

THREAD RULES

Patrons of this thread will be courteous and respectful with one another. Behave like ladies and gents, if you please!


No begging, or spamming, of any kind, at any time!


This is an Intelli-Thread! Visitors are expected to spell out their words, speak articulately, and use correct grammar and punctuation to the fullest possible extent. Any person caught deliberately dropping vowels or attempting to pass off the letter "u" as a pronoun will copiously squawked and flailed at, as The Gent has a delicate constitution. One does not have to be Oscar Wilde, but do please make the effort!


No bumping, please. The ongoing discussion in this thread negates any bumping requirement. Everyone is welcome to post, but please say hello, rather than "bump"!


The Intelli-Gent's decisions regarding answers and prizes are final. Please do not attempt to bribe him with chocolate hob-nobs.

[The Intelli-Gent]

Tips and Advice

Anagram Solving
I frequently use anagrams as intelli-questions, as I am rather fond of the things. Note that I will usually jumble the single-word solution into a two word phrase (for example, the solution to the anagram ominous tuna is mountainous). This is simply because I like making amusing phrases. Humour me. wink
If you always stumble on a jumble of letters, find a starting point you can try to build the rest of the word around.

For single-word anagrams:
The first thing you should do is look for sets of letters that are frequently found together. For example: -ing, -ion or -tion, un-, in-, ch, ph, th, qu, ex. While there's no guarantee that, if you find one, it is correct, there is a good likelihood of it, and you can increase your odds of solving anagrams by trying to fit the rest of the letters around one of these "stems". This is especially useful for long words, as long words very frequently have one of these common prefixes, suffixes or letter groupings.
For example: the anagram otnisulo has the common word ending "tion" in it, which leaves you with the letters SULO - much easier to switch those four around to read "solution".

If the anagram is a phrase or sentence:
Look for letters that can make particle words (to, and, the, is, if, in, for, a, than, etc); phrases generally have at least one, and this too makes a good point to try building other words around.

Some people find it helpful to seperate vowels and consonants and try to work it out that way. As for fast solving (such as for for intelli-questions) - ask yourself if the anagram reminds you of anything, and try moving the letters or sounds around in your head. You may just need a little practice; nothing improves your skill in something more than that, so if you want to get better at any kind of puzzle, practice a few!



Word Ladders
Note that for these, and other types of word-hunting puzzles, I have a couple of rules regarding obscure words. You are welcome to post word ladder solutions including words you're not sure about; I understand that posting answers quickly is important if you are after an intelli-point and I don't expect you to check dictionaries first. But, I will check them, so please don't be upset if I don't always accept your answer. As a general rule, I do not accept words solely because they appear on dictionary.com (this site includes all kinds of archaic words, proper nouns and obscure slang from "unabridged" dictionaries); they must appear in a reputable print-based dictionary such as Merriam-Webster or the Oxford English Dictionary. These rules are the same for everyone, so I consider them to be quite fair.

The Intelli-Gent

Re: letter challenges, this may be helpful.

Earlier I posted a number pattern with a simple solution, but Tieferrow was looking for a complicated one, and so he couldn't guess it. Similarly, in solving yesterday's challenge, inili tried all kinds of complicated letter and number patterns, and then happened to glance down at her keyboard, and guessed the solution at once.

Perhaps instead of looking for complicated solutions, you should try looking for some simpler ones that may not be immediately obvious.

I like trying to make you think around corners. wink

[The Intelli-Gent]

INTELLITHREAD ROLL OF HONOUR
Winners & Prizes


GRADE A

Huroggmeten : Kiki Kitty Plushie
(special prize for the first to reach 60 intellipoints)
Shadow Coon: Demonic Pendant
fiarra: CoCo Kitty Plushie


GRADE B

Suneagle: Coco Kitty Plushie
evangeline.dark: Guitar of Angellus
Teh K9: OMFG

GRADE C

Ookami_Asakura: Chyaku Norisu Scarf
[ Anthrax ]: Chyaku Norisu Scarf
Lavariver: Lunar Cowl
dilandra101: Dark Halo
Astroasis: Chyaku Norisu Scarf
Huroggmeten: Elegant Veil

GRADE D

sm00thie: G9 Laptop
BastettePixie: Mochi the Puppy

GRADE E

formerly_see: October 2006 Letter
BastettePixie: October 2006 Letter
Praedulcis Gustus: October 2006 Letter
weirdguy: November 2006 Letter
sm00thie: December 2006 Letter
Gwynnia: December 2006 Letter
Lab Nerd: December 2006 Letter
Dilandra101: March 2007 Letter
Wordplay Prae: March 2007 Letter
Lab Nerd III: June 2007 Letter
Jade13: July 2007 Letter
TMBergerson: August 2007 Letter
Jade13: August 2007 Letter
Gwynnia: August 2007 Letter
Caessa: August 2007 Letter


Letter Challenge Winners:
(list coming soon)

Misc Prizewinners
BastettePixie - First post on page 3 - September 2006 Letter
+[black-ice]+ - First post on page 4 - September 2006 Letter
Lil_JaLs - First post on page 5 - September 2006 Letter
Tieferrow - First post on page 10 - September 2006 Letter
darkblazes991 - First post on page 50 - October 2006 Letter
suuperblue - First post on page 100 - October 2006 Letter
sm00thie - First post on page 150 - October 2006 Letter
Odore - First post on page 210 - October 2006 Letter
sm00thie - First post on page 280 - October 2006 Letter
inili - First post on page 360 - October 2006 Letter
Lavariver - First post on page 441 - October 2006 Letter
[ anthrax ] - First post on page 542 - October 2006 Letter
Lavariver - First post on page 633 - October 2006 Letter
sm00thie - First post on page 1000 - October 2006 Letter
Huroggmeten - First post on page 2000 - November 2006 Letter
The Chicken Princess - First post on page 2500 - December 2006 Letter
Sila-chan - First post on page 3000 - January 2007 Letter
[Love~Like~Winter] - First post on page 3500 - January 2007 Letter

While this post is hopelessly out of date and it is also hopelessly unlikely that I will ever successfully calculate the true figure, I am proud to say that the value of all the items given out over the lifespan of this thread probably totals between 15-20 million gold. heart

[The Intelli-Gent]

Spin-off Threads

This thread has spawned a number of other threads for some slightly different purposes. Feel free to give them a visit!

The Intelli-Shoppe
Our little corner of the exchange, with mini-shops where intelli-regulars may buy and sell (and anyone else, too, of course).

The Intelli-Thread's Threads Thread
Izaea noticed that we intellithreaders are an uncommonly stylish and talented bunch, and decided to set up somewhere for us to display art and outfits. Should make a nice gallery in time.

The Intelli-Quest Intelli-Project
A lovely idea by Gwynnia; Intelli-thread members post the things they like about other members. Lots of fun. It has been aptly nicknamed "The Wibble-Thread".


Old/retired Threads
Guild Discussion thread
(Old event forums are now closed to posting, but still viewable, and these are archived here for posterity).
Halloween 2006 Shindig
Christmas 2006 Event thread
New Year 2007 Intelli-Ball
Valentine 2007 Event Thread
Gaia 4th Anniversary Ball
Summer Festival 2007
Halloween 2007
2008 Valentine event thread: here.
2008 Anniversary Ball event thread: here.
2008 Gaia Prom Crashers thread: here.

[The Intelli-Gent]

SUBMITTED PUZZLES

If you too like thinking up riddles and puzzles, or have some particular favourites, feel free to PM them to me and I'll add them here. There won't be prizes for these (if you want intellipoints, trot over to the puzzle archive on page 2) - so feel free to discuss them. Have fun!

Submitted by Lunaria Sangrael:
Riddle #1:
Buckets, barrels, baskets, cans.
What must you fill with empty hands?

Riddle #2:
The builder doesn't need me,
the buyer doesn't use me,
the user doesn't want me.
What am I?

Submitted by Bloo.Bunni:
How do you take 1 from 9 and get 10?

Submitted by inili:
When locks are picked with feathers;
And birds adorned in trees…
Forests sprout in Everglades;
Our planet grows on bees.
The universe is I.
The words all orbit me.
Insects circle, 'round and 'round-
What can I be?

Submitted by jharjen:
When I come forth from sea to shore,
You'll see ten paces, then no more.

Submitted by Shadora:
1
This is an unusual paragraph. I'm curious how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so plain you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is unusual though. Study it, and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out. Try to do so without any coaching!

2
A woman shot her husband, and then held him under water for five minutes. She then proceeded to hang him. Afterwards, about ten minutes later they went out for dinner. How is this possible?

Submitted by Mars Focks Rain:
What finishes with a W, but never ends?

[The Intelli-Gent]

Obligatory Mushy Thank You Post

A big thank you to everyone who has so far donated to help the upkeep of this thread:

Praedulcis Gustus
delislicemon
astroasis
M C Escher
Lavariver
sm00thie
Multicolored Stockings
la chatte Kiwi
Corporal_Pogo
[ Lab Nerd ]
Jenikyula
aredin
Gwynnia
Wizardshirosenshi
Syralei
Huroggmeten
mandabrox
prairieghost
Kittii
Kamni
cellobugkt
Heltarian
Suisheu
xyzse
Miserys Plaything
Jacara Larse
Saeric
Legion Horde
NightmareCasey
Allaire9
DemonicHarmonic
~Liquid.Moon~
Zoraida
Hawkaris

heart

Special thank yous, also, to those of you who raised gold for my Christmas and birthday gifts; they touched me greatly, and to Lab Nerd 2.0 who raised an inordinate amount of money to help me complete my Chain Wallet quest. heart

And of course, thank you to all the thread regulars who make this such a great place to be! *fuzzles*

[The Intelli-Gent]

Graphics

Want to keep track of your own Intelli-Quest? You can add these graphics to your sig followed by your number of Intelli-points, or your number of points/target points (if you are aiming for a particular prize).

[url=http://tinyurl.com/y637fx][img]http://tinyurl.com/qh9bx[/img][/url]

[url=http://tinyurl.com/y637fx][img]http://tinyurl.com/yltgw5[/img][/url]

Links to this thread from signatures, profiles, other threads etc., are very much appreciated. Thank you to everyone who supplied one of these spiffing banners!

[url=http://tinyurl.com/y637fx][img]http://tinyurl.com/pn393[/img][/url]

[url=http://tinyurl.com/y637fx][img]http://tinyurl.com/ynvkss[/img][/url]

[url=http://tinyurl.com/2hzpdo][img]http://tinyurl.com/28v9b6[/img]

(thanks to [ Anthrax ]!)

[url=http://tinyurl.com/y637fx][img]http://tinyurl.com/y37fjr[/img][/url]

(thanks to liquid.pearls!)

[url=http://tinyurl.com/y637fx][img]http://tinyurl.com/2cb2ot[/img][/url]

(thanks to [tofu][rocket]!)

[url=http://tinyurl.com/y637fx][img]http://tinyurl.com/y5n874[/img][/url]

(thanks to canadian_trekkie!)

[url=http://tinyurl.com/y637fx]
[IMG]http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j236/canadian_trekkie/untitled.jpg[/IMG][/url]

[The Intelli-Gent]

LINKS out

If you have a charity, quest thread etc, and would like to trade links, just drop me a PM. 3nodding





Solarn's Quest

In the hope that this thread might send a little more traffic its way:-
Please sign the petition for a History & Culture Subforum in Extended Discussion!






wall flower's 150 Million Gold Lotto

Sila's quest for an Angelic Pendant

la chatte Kiwi's French Connection Quest