Topic

Reading Notes for !Science!

There seems to be alot of confusion amongst the Glitchen community about the durability of Notes, and I was wondering if there are any experts about that could shed some light on the issue.  The two prevailing theories I have seen thus far are as follows:

1.  Notes are durable and last forever until someone picks them up and donates them to a shrine or sells them to a street spirit.
2.  Notes are NOT durable and last until they are read a certain number of times.

I have seen anecdotal evidence to support both theories:  Notes obviously removed from the ground or bulletin boards, and notes that seem to have disappeared before my very eyes when no one else was around. 

I even devised an experiment and attempted to read the same note until it disappeared.  I wrote a note, dropped it, and read it 120 times, and it remained.  However, I realized that the problem might be that 1) I wrote it, and 2) I was the only one reading it.  If the durability is dependent on the number of different readers and not actual reading actions, then that would prove my original premise false.

Has anyone else attempted any !science! on this matter and would like to weigh in?  I am truly at a loss at this point.

Posted 14 months ago by Grem Sketch Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • Grem, do you play Dwarf Fortress? Can't think of anyplace else where I've seen !science! as an endeavor. :P
    Posted 14 months ago by walls Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Hehehe, yes.  Yes I do. :)  If I could figure out how to drop Notes in magma, I feel that this question would be definitively answered. ;-)
    Posted 14 months ago by Grem Sketch Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It may be that it decomposes over a specific or variable amount of time (like the paper cups you can get water in) rather than the number of times you read it. How one would test this is left as an exercise for a patient reader.
    Posted 14 months ago by BarryW Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I know that notes *used* to decompose after a certain number of reads, and that at one point that was either changed or going to be changed: people were upset about an inability to do something because the notes kept disappearing.  It's on the forums somewhere, but I'm far too tired to formulate a decent search.  That may be the reason that you hear both frequently, though.
    Posted 14 months ago by Magic Monkey Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Yeah, that seems to be the problem.  They used to do this, and it seems that, in some instances, they still seem like they do.  And yet, notes still disappear, either through natural forces, or the overzealous/malicious cleaning actions of our fellow Glitchen... It is all very mysterious, and if there is one thing that begs for science, it is a mystery!

    Any suggestions on how to test the two alternative theories that have been put forth:

    2a.  Notes are NOT durable and last until they are read by a certain number of people.
    3.  Notes are NOT durable and last for a variable amount of time like paper cups.
    Posted 14 months ago by Grem Sketch Subscriber! | Permalink
  • You might try leaving a note on the floor of a friend's house.  If they are not durable, they will disappear at some point. 

    That won't test the "certain number of people" hypothesis.  For that, you might ask 25 Glitch scientists to meet you at a model home in Alakol.  You could drop the note on the floor and ask each of them to read it without picking it up. 

    If that didn't destroy it, you could ask each of them to pick it up, read it, and drop it again. 
    Posted 14 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Awesome ideas.  OK, to test the people hypothesis, I have placed a note in the foyer of the Model Home on Stora Rede, Alakol.  All those interested in participating in !Science!, stop by and we'll see if we can't make that note disappear. :)
    Posted 14 months ago by Grem Sketch Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Who keeps picking up other peoples notes? So rude!
    Posted 14 months ago by LųĉĩđεşşΨ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • *sigh*  Experiment is inconclusive.  Over the course of 10 game hours, about 33 individual users, including myself, read the note (based on first hand observations of individuals that stopped for a long time on top of the note, indicating reading).  However, the 33rd (a new player I have been chasing around for 10 minutes and who doesn't respond to IM) may or may not have picked it up and taken it with them.  Unless that player responds to me, I can't say for certain if we reached a threshold or not.
    Posted 14 months ago by Grem Sketch Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Update:  finally got a hold of the last person to see the note, and they claim they didn't take it.  So, the disappearance gives us three possible outcomes:

    1.  it takes 30+ different players to read a Note for it to disappear
    2.  it takes roughly 10 game hours for a Note to disappear on a public street
    3.  one of two last respondents fibbed and actually took the Note (either intentionally or not)

    Promising stuff!  The key, I feel, will be to replicate the experiment somewhere else.  Also, independent (or official) verification would be much appreciated.  Onwards, for !Science!
    Posted 14 months ago by Grem Sketch Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Excellent work, Grem. ^_^ I'm very interested in getting to the bottom of this... I wonder if we might get some official word on how they work? That would be fab, if so.

    I wish we had a better way to run these experiments in the meantime. Not enough controls! lol
    Posted 14 months ago by Sterling Writer Subscriber! | Permalink