asciilifeform: there is no solution, however.

asciilifeform: certainly.

asciilifeform: at least, asciilifeform isn't

asciilifeform: cnomad: we ain't about to pay for 'tried'

asciilifeform: but possibly that one's nonrealtime

asciilifeform: he doesn't show up in the deedbot www yet

asciilifeform: cnomad: yes

asciilifeform: verily.

asciilifeform: but if one of the folx tuned in, knows how to make the binomial add up, plox to write in.

asciilifeform: if mircea_popescu doesn't see how the contest can be set up without creating a refereeing clusterfuck, or enriching alice_m, then i refuse to ask him to put any coin into any such thing.

asciilifeform: phf: no, again, 'bounty not accepted if he turns up alive within month of 'his' head being brought in'

asciilifeform: but if it can't be done to mircea_popescu's satisfaction, i'd rather not do it at all.

asciilifeform: phf: right, hence the '2nd half' clause.

asciilifeform: aha.

asciilifeform: phf: speaking of which, consider the easiest winner , if the anti-patch condition is absent -- a google shitmonkey who knows the hole already and 'wins' on the monday right prior to patch tuesday. ☟︎

asciilifeform: all in all, i'd rather not have the contest at all, than to chance to give coin to fucking alice_m to add coin cherry to the top of a google bounty cake.

asciilifeform: y'know, sorta like those italian all-plastic mines with three anti-handling detonators.

asciilifeform: on top of whatever massage already done ( and much as i hate to say it, it seems like a fairly high quality boobytrap )

asciilifeform: thing is more or less guaranteed to get some attention in enemy camp.

asciilifeform: what can i say.

asciilifeform: phf: also possible !

asciilifeform: i suppose we can revisit $thread if somebody l1 says 'i wanna referee'...

asciilifeform: because i trust heathens about as far as i can throw'em ?

asciilifeform: which is 1 reason why such contests are thin on the ground.

asciilifeform: player only trusts us ( well, referee in person ) in so far as he trusts.

asciilifeform: of course thought.

asciilifeform: who even believes that coin can be had.

asciilifeform: all contests promising coin sound like scam, neh

asciilifeform: what exactly is wrong with 'if, for any reason whatsoever, pill doesn't work in fw released on aug 1, the 2nd half of prize will be returned to the pot contributors' ?

asciilifeform: (i.e. 'what if enemy , on own power, finds the hole within $period' )

asciilifeform: well as i understand it , mircea_popescu dun like one of the proposed goals because it includes an element of chance

asciilifeform: mircea_popescu: naaa, moar like 'if you win and poor after 10y, we sell you into afghan goat slavery'

asciilifeform: thus far asciilifeform seems to be the only one among the thinking folx who thinks that this idea had any life in it. so i suppose i'll shelf it for nao..

asciilifeform: but if it dun get tried, than it won't have been tried. or sumthinglikethat.

asciilifeform: lol

asciilifeform: i mean, already ~all i expect from $contest is a slightly taller than usual pile of 'you suxxx!!' mail

asciilifeform: maybe!

asciilifeform: if iran can have 4hr marriages, why not this.

asciilifeform: we're contemplating a 4 wk marriage, of sorts, i guess.

asciilifeform: legendarily , in ming china, doctor was paid while patient was alive and healthy

asciilifeform: 'if they reappear in $period, obligated to rework for $0'

asciilifeform: actually plenty of biznis worx like this. i had a squirrel exterminator make precisely this guarantee, on paper.

asciilifeform: mircea_popescu: do they still have human referees at horse tracks ? i thought it was all laser nao..

asciilifeform: esp. given a politically reliable ( and why shouldn't he be ) referee.

asciilifeform: it isn't trivial. but i can only with difficulty picture a contest where it is easier than in this one.

asciilifeform: the 'whinners', if you will.

asciilifeform: what i would like to avoid, however, is the fucking trannies.

asciilifeform: quite likely there will not.

asciilifeform: i dun think i actually disagree with mircea_popescu , re: whether there will be a winner.

asciilifeform: likely not !

asciilifeform: hence idea, i put actual coin in.

asciilifeform: if were 'worldwide concern' problem'd be licked already, neh.

asciilifeform: lel

asciilifeform: formulated simply as 'to get other half of prize, it will be the case that vendor update month from submission day, does not contain patch for hole'

asciilifeform: i dun see what's wrong with a 'pill WILL work month later, even if you have to go and hbomb google hq' clause. )

asciilifeform: i dun swing that way..

asciilifeform: lol

asciilifeform: however there MUST be some incentive not to go straight to enemy.

asciilifeform: phf: it is impossible to make the receipt of the 2nd half of prize fully in the hands of the player, this is entirely correct.

asciilifeform: ( if 'he made this bizarre algo and i cannot make heads or tails of it' is the obstacle )

asciilifeform: phf: if you still feel like refereeing, feel free to propose own set of procedure , to asciilifeform .

asciilifeform: imho i have described enough of a mechanical litmus, that a referee can stand on solid ground.

asciilifeform: hence the role of referee.

asciilifeform: but the problem of making it impossible ~mechanically~ is unsolvable in the general case. and cannot be done in any contest, this or other.

asciilifeform: if phf can think of a way to 'game' the 'exam', i'm all ears.

asciilifeform: pretty simple test.

asciilifeform: meaningful. i either get a pile of c101pa with rewritable cr50 256kB firmwares, or not.

asciilifeform: imho it is as testable as 'factor this key'

asciilifeform: phf: i'm still waiting to hear why the test algo i proposed, somehow resolves to 'untestable'

asciilifeform: loper_os_cr50: hey

asciilifeform: lol

asciilifeform: !!up loper_os_cr50

asciilifeform recently set up a (rx-only , for nao ) shortwave thing

asciilifeform: ( it's a radio with air core transformer.. )

asciilifeform: worx great

asciilifeform: funnily enuff i got one of those right here

asciilifeform: i dun ask mircea_popescu to stroke my fur and say 'it will all surely work', the gods gave us mircea_popescu specifically to say 'eh this is dumb'

asciilifeform: if it's dead in the water, what fun.

asciilifeform: by this logic ( and i suspect that mircea_popescu is right , in earlier thread ) there's no point .

asciilifeform: but asciilifeform has NO desire to simply pile btc on top of google's 500k or whatver, bounty.

asciilifeform: if mircea_popescu can think of some kindler, gentler means of arranging this incentive, asciilifeform is all ears

asciilifeform: but in any case it must be in his interest to not immediately run to enemy.

asciilifeform: he does not, correct. therefore he is to be cognizant that he is taking a chance.

asciilifeform: sure

asciilifeform: at any rate currently i dun even have a referee. chances are that there will be no game.

asciilifeform: lol

asciilifeform: understand, i have no use whatsoever for a hole that gets sent to google immediately upon discovery. i would not only not pay a coin for ~that~, but would not pay a $1 bill.

asciilifeform: exactly. hence the mechanical cut.

asciilifeform: because player cannot prove that he did not sell it to google on the 5th.

asciilifeform: it literally does not matter to me ~why~ hole got closed on 27th.

asciilifeform: i do not see the injustice. contest can ~only~ operate on facts, not suppositions.

asciilifeform: player dun like it ? can stuff it.

asciilifeform: hole still worx after month ? 2nd half of prize. no worky ? no 2nd half.

asciilifeform: nope, i do not ask phf to decide. the condition is clean cut, like guillotine.

asciilifeform: what of it ?

asciilifeform: and if comes the hour that we need 500 clean boxes, for whatever, e.g. unattended shortwave relays, there they are.

asciilifeform: say.

asciilifeform: is all.

asciilifeform: it wasn't my doing , from that point.

asciilifeform: because i do not know how many mircea_popescu obtained via danielpbarron , lol