response 801 of 1124:

Nov 21 06:27 UTC 2001

vitamin  0  (gelinas)
stadium  2  (blaise)

Re #800: No argument there.  Why did you lose interest?

response 803 of 1124:

Nov 21 14:35 UTC 2001

#801: I thought it was obvious. Certain players (such as you) dominate because
you're so good at it. I had this one, but I couldn't give it because I had
given the last incorrect response. I only pouted because it was taken by
someone who wins on a regular basis, and who then Ack!ed when they got it
right. I find games like this more enjoyable when the good players drop hints
so that the not-so-good players can have a turn now and then. OTOH, I realize
that others find that sort of "handicapping" to be condescending, and to ruin
the game (including some not-so-good players, who don't want to feel like
they're being "pitied"). I should think that situations like the one just now,
where there really was only one word that onelook found that matched the
possible pattern, would be a "baby mouse" situation (if there's a baby animal
prey to be hunted, adult cats will ignore it if there's a kitten in the
community, because the kitten's supposed to "practice" on it).

But I get frustrated easily, and I'm a pissy loser, and all the caveats about
how my guess *was* right, so I solved the problem, should all be inserted
here, and I need to stop logging on if I'm going to act like a three-year-old.
Which is all to apologize for pissing about it.

quality (being my random guess)

response 805 of 1124:

Nov 21 16:24 UTC 2001

stamped  0  (gelinas)
quality  0  (brighn)

I also wish more different people played and won - the game is more fun with
a diverse group.  I confess to an obsessive-compulsive impulse to do the
best I can to win at any one time, though, which may indeed be
counterproductive.  I also confess to using m-w to try out letter
combinations.  I could quit doing that, and lower my chances of winning by
a lot.  Kent, Joe, and Jim - do you use software to search for words
matching certain letter patterns?  If you do and we all quit, maybe it would
make it easier for new people to break in.

(On the other hand, when people pick obscure words that I don't know, I've
found that I have no hope of winning unless I use some "external aids".)

response 807 of 1124:

Nov 21 16:48 UTC 2001

I use "dict" to check words that seem possible; I used to use "webster", but
it was replaced by "dict" on the machines I use.  I keep a file with the
current guesses, to which I've now added a suitable number of copies of the
alphabet.  And that's it for "external aids."

On obscure words:  That's part of what makes the game worthwhile:  Y'all 
increase my vocabulary every round. :)

response 809 of 1124:

Nov 21 17:29 UTC 2001

~blaise/lm7 and ~blaise/wl7 are now updated to be used for the current game;
it's a better general example (lm6 was late in the game when I could condense
the information down extremely).  It already reduces it to less than 20
possibilities just with the five clues we have so far.

A guess to try to narrow things down, while not being an actual possibility:
studies

response 811 of 1124:

Nov 21 21:27 UTC 2001

Don't worry, Paul, I can handle it.  :)

studies  0  (blaise)
created  0  (brighn)

I didn't mean to object to expanding my vocabulary, just to point out that
escalation of obscurity begets escalation of technological aids, which
in turn makes it harder for new people to join the game.

Maybe whoever's "it" could, if he chooses, declare that his word is fairly
common and therefore no external aids are needed.  Then those who choose to
could forgo them.  (Compliance being voluntary, of course.)  That might make
some games more newbie-friendly.

As a matter of fact, I'll declare that right now about the current word - I
think it's one you all know, so you won't need to refer to a dictionary just
to have a chance.

response 813 of 1124:

Nov 22 03:18 UTC 2001

titmice  0  (blaise)

response 815 of 1124:

Nov 22 06:40 UTC 2001

bodices

response 817 of 1124:

Nov 23 20:07 UTC 2001

lumping

response 819 of 1124:

Nov 24 03:57 UTC 2001

You scored words you couldn't define?  Interesting.  For rostrum I was
thinking of a raised platform, but it is also the beak or head of a ship.
Pabulum is the means of nutriment to animals or plants; food.

It's not right, but maybe

        minimum

will help us get closer.

response 821 of 1124:

Nov 24 19:51 UTC 2001

I score words by people whom I know are careful without checking, but I
wouldn't do it for anyone.  What does alyssum mean?

minimum  2  (gelinas)
alyssum  4  (kentn)

response 823 of 1124:

Nov 25 05:06 UTC 2001

allergy  0  (gelinas)