Crossword Help Forum
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Interesting discussion! There used to be a convention here of not giving actual answers if it was known to be a prize puzzle; for others it depended on what the poster asked for.
Is the Listener still accepting entries? The only prize one I attempt - THe Guardian - isn't.

Hi, ChrisE. I think there are now some 'conventions' on the Forum, but nothing hard and fast, nothing definitive. I think that's fair enough and it's also more welcoming to new members/users.

Like most people, I have my own standards of help, morality, what counts as cheating etc. I have never entered a prize puzzle if I have had any help, I am happy to use Chambers, Bradford's and even Google for thematic stuff (if i have to, there are huge gaps in my knowledge of many themes).

As the sign above this post says 'Crossword Help Forum', I know that all sorts of help, all levels of help will be given here. If I'm enjoying a tussle with a particular puzzle, I won't open any threads on it until I am really, totally stuck.

The Listener is still accepting entries, as are the other Times puzzles. The Sunday Telegraph puzzles are back to being 'prize' ones, electronic book tokens.

Prizes too for the Sat Telegraph puzzles and Mondays Herculis puzzle

Esther, I thought I made it quite plain that I did not want the friendly atmosphere of this Forum to be disrupted any further by your acrimonous posts.

I suggested in my email that we forget this little spat and move forward, I did not expect you to continue your argument on the Forum. You mention " there is no point causing people to make the same rants every week" but as far as I can see it is you who is ranting, not the other Users of the Forum.

You also say "We do remember that there used to be many other people who helped on this forum, but we don't see them anymore now. We think that they were eventually put off from helping." All I will say to that statement is balderdash.

The Listener thread is long established and, as such, the regulars do not take kindly to newcomers muscling in and trying to tell them how to conduct business on the thread. However, newcomers are more than welcome to join in with discussions in a friendly manner.

You say "Also I suggested that giving an e-mail address was our risk, to take or not to take. Really it should be our choice." It is NOT your choice, you do not run the Forum, that falls within my remit and I do not want personal email addresses posted in the Forum, end of story.

I will repeat what I said in my email "Can I respectfully suggest we start again with your membership of the Forum, try and forget this little spat and move forward. The regulars are a great bunch and are very helpful to anyone who asks a question, sometimes answers are provided if they are specifically asked for but mostly it is only help that is wanted"

A word from the Norfolk sandbank on the use of the Forum.

As I've barked before I am not of the first division as far as this level of Crossword is concerned. Nevertheless I a). thoroughly enjoy having a bash b). believe that I should take all sorts of exercise, physical and mental to manage the ageing process when I can..

Seen in this light this Forum is superb as it stands. I'll give the Listener a go on Sunday and Monday and if stuck go to the Forum. If I pick up enough I'll soldier on.

This week's puzzle has simply proved to be too difficult. I'll look at the Forum again on Friday to see if I can make sense of the theme. Mrs Seal is happy if I'm quietly content on my area of the sandbank, so thanks very much to all who assist. The more clever aquatic mammals among you don't have to look and surely can swim your own channels without assistance .

Interesting discussion. There has to be a happy medium between the other site's 'Oh I completed this in 25 minutes so booh rah for me, btw we don't give hints here don'tcha know' and 'Here's the answer to something IN CAPITALS to something you didn't ask.'
Cryptic crossword setting and solving is a dying art and printed newspapers are going the same way. Help and hints may keep people interested and learning the devious and enjoyable art. If help and hints keeps things going, I'm all for it.
The prize thing doesn't bother me as I never submit but can understand that it does others (even though they have all the prize books that some offer). BUT if it's only about prizes and kudos the decline will be terminal and then there won't be anything to argue about.
This site seems to be spot on. Help if you need it, more help if you start a thread that says 'Answers may be included' or similar.
This site has kept me interested and got me to Listener level (ish). If it ain't broke.....etc.

Someone posted a link to an online pdf of the ODQ, and searching for the thematic entries I already had figured out was the push I needed to finish. Here is the link if you want it:

oxforddictionaryofquotations-complimentsofcrti.pdf

From the perspective of both a Listener newbie and a lifelong educator, I would prefer the hints to be as subtle as possible. I am trying to learn to solve these, and I already see some progress. Certainly for the current puzzle, everyone needed to use the ODQ, and I presume the Chambers dictionary as well. If that is not enough, then maybe come here for that little extra bit of help. Definitely, don't post the entry, but I don't even want the full parsing unless I ask for that specifically in tying up loose ends for a full grid. Just a hint for a piece of the parsing please. If that turns out to not be enough, then I'm not so proud that I won't come back, hat in hand, to ask for a second hint. I thank all of you who are wanting to help us beginners.

Granama1, I agree with all you say but feel compelled to answer one point. It was me on AB who said that you were unlikely to receive answers to Listener puzzles there, and directed you to this forum. I tried to do it as politely as possible and present it merely as a statement of fact, but clearly I failed and it rankled. I therefore apologise.

Williamseal, granama, mathprof....

It's been really interesting to read everyone's comments, learn how others feel about Listener, the Forum, prize puzzles, cheating and so on. I'm sure we'd all want everyone here to be reasonably happy most of the time, with the level of help, nudges etc.

'May Contain Answers/Big Hints' may reappear soon. That might irritate some solvers, but irritation is surely better than spoiling someone's puzzle by giving away too much?