@BipolarArtist people are trying to solve a problem with code you haven't shared? That strikes me as above & beyond the call of being an internet commenter...
@rpardee I shared a code for free. Clues for solving it are in a book that’s for sale, if clues are wanted. But I assumed there were some crypto people who could do it without clues.
@BipolarArtist Ooooh--okay. That makes sense.
@BipolarArtist if people can't make quick or incremental progress and have some small success, typically they will give up and move on. If buying you book is required to solve, then it's likely a barrier to the whole thing. You have to give them something they can solve, that is smaller than the whole and at no cost.
The challenge I created for example, was not easy and hand multiple phases, but it was 100% free so people could make progress.
@bfgreen I can understand that. This was a passion project of mine that involved a tremendous amount of work, from creating a code, designing a font, writing two stories, paying to get it edited etc. I’m not just selling a puzzle, I’m selling two fun stories to read. I guess the target audience isn’t quite that broad though. People who are really into the puzzle might not care for paying for the story, and people who are into the story won’t necessarily be into solving the puzzle. Oh well.
@BipolarArtist dude, I am not saying you don't deserve to make money off your hard work - you do! I'm saying that the barrier to get drawn in may be too high for the first step. Is there a way to give people a small taste of what there is to solve without having to commit to purchasing? Generate excitement that will make them want to read/learn more?
@bfgreen here is a smaller clue from the book which I think is important to solve before tackling the big encryption. I am not sure what else I can do for this project but I will definitely consider this advice when creating a new puzzle. This is a tricky puzzle. Pay close attention to the clues. You will know when you have the answer.
@bfgreen thanks for checking it out either way!
@BipolarArtist I haven't given up. My suggestion would be to see if you can share a few smaller teaser puzzles that help people solve pieces and which get incrementally harder. It could be a lot of fun, without giving everything away for free. Here's one I did years ago...
@bfgreen I’m glad you haven’t given up! I shared another smaller puzzle which I think might help.
@BipolarArtist also, don't know if you go to such things, but I will be at the next #PhreakNIC conference and would be happy to meet up and chat in person.
@bfgreen I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it to tennessee in November but I’ll take it under consideration! That looks really cool. Thanks for the invite! Would be cool to chat at some point.
@bfgreen if you’re ever in the Boston area, hit me up.
@bfgreen I wish there was a way of proving it without actually sharing the Python code.