April 1 is over (for almost all of our forum members) but we'll leave the extra icons a little longer so you can finish your work on the icon puzzle.
I've spent a few hours reviewing this thread and composing this post, to show you just how clever you all are and how much you accomplished today. I tried to give credit to the first person responsible for a useful observation.
Let's review. You were given a complicated puzzle involving 7 mysterious rules that determine a row of icons, knowing only that they are based on fixed rules and public forum information. You figured out that the particular icon graphics had little meaning.
r.j.s noticed that the icon filenames didn't mean much either. I'm rather surprised that there wasn't a lot more time expended by forum members looking for non-existent clues in the random icon filenames.
You have determined 4 of the 7 rules and have good clues to the other 3.
Rule A (solved)
icons: gavel or wrench with meaningless names
iBookG4user identified the rule: avatar (gavel) vs. no avatar (wrench).
Eanair identified the rule name: Rule A =
Avatars
Rule P
icons: random icons with meaningless names
bartelby identified the rule dependency on the date of last activity.
Abstract identified much of the mapping, but didn't explain how it applied outside March and April.
Nobody has figured out the rule name. Clue: It has the form
_____ in the forums, _____ last active
(The number of _ characters doesn't indicate the length of the word.) Clue: I purposely used both words in posts in this thread.
Rule R
icons: colored flags named after Mac models
bartelby noticed that the icons change over time
TuffLuffJimmy guessed that the rule had to do with post count, but didn't say how.
Abstract concluded that the rule was not based on posts made that day or posts made in the last hour. Admission of guilt: we found a bug in this rule and fixed it this evening after reviewing
Abstract's test results. Rule R wasn't always working for members with very high post counts! Please redo your tests if you want to study how the flag colors change.
imaketouchtheme studied the number of icon possibilities, but nobody has double-checked his conclusion.
techfreak85 asked an interesting question, and I hinted twice that people should pay attention to it.
Nobody has identified the rule, so further research is necessary. Clue: You've been looking mostly at your own posts in this thread. I suggest picking random threads in the forums and looking at the posts and posters you happen to find there.
Nobody has identified the rule name, but one forum member used the 'R' word in this thread.
Rule I (solved)
icons: random icons with colors for names
Peace correctly guessed the rule and then confirmed it: month the user joined
TwinCities Dan identified the rule name:
Initial join date. That's close enough; it's
Initial join month.
Rule L (solved)
icons: iPod models
Rt&Dzine identified the rule name format: Rule L =
Length of something, but didn't say what
Moi un Mouton identified the rule: number of letters in your user name
Moi un Mouton identified the mapping.
TwinCities Dan identified the rule name: Rule L =
Letters in username
Rule 1
icons: national flags with meaningless names
Moi un Mouton counted 31 possible icons. That's not the correct total.
Based on the number 31,
techfreak85 guessed that it's related to a date value (presumably thinking of the day of the month).
But
Moi un Mouton found that there are more than 31, scratching that theory.
Currently the consensus seems to be that there are 32, but that's still incorrect.
iMpathetic guessed that the rule might have something to do with user names.
Nobody has identified the rule yet.
Nobody has identified the rule name, but that's no surprise since it's so sneaky that we knew nobody could figure it out. That was our ace in the hole to prevent anyone from actually getting all of the answers right and winning the new top-of-the-line Mac Pro with dual 30" displays as grand prize. Therefore, I'll just blurt out the critical first word of the name of Rule 1, winning the grand prize for myself in the process, and making it safe for everyone else to continue the puzzle.
The first word of the name of Rule 1 is (drag to reveal):
7|-|1rD
Extra Icon Rule (solved)
icon:
saying "Have a nice day"
richthomas identified the rule: whether you are posting in the
Happy April Fools' Day: April 1, 2009 thread!
Those forum users at pcrumors.com are almost finished solving the puzzle, but I expect our macrumors.com forum users to beat them to the wire. And all before I'm back to check on you again!
Good luck!
