Out of character: This is a Winter Bash idea motivated by comments such as:
As an aside, I would love to hear suggestions from people that have nothing to do with hats. This was the 8th year we've done the same thing with different triggers and to be honest, I turned them off this year because I've gotten kind of bored with the idea. ...
animuson β¦, 2019
Here is a suggestion which has nothing to do with hats. Stack Exchange as a whole is now part of an interactive story (see below): comply to Sparky's demands, or earth is destroyed.
Sparky comes along each winter (say) with specific demands [replacing hat triggers], and will destroy earth if they are not met. Users of Stack Exchange need to work together (not individually, like for hats) to save earth. If Sparky leaves without destroying earth, Stack Exchange (as a whole) wins.
Question: Can the community satisfy Sparky's demands before the earth is destroyed?
It's indented for fun and to foster a team spirit (think: "yay! we joined forces and defeated Sparky!"). It also aims to have fresh and imaginative one-off "triggers" (many people complained about the repetitive hat triggers), with Sparky coming back sporadically to make alien demands.
(May I remind you of unicoins, time-travel-mode, isUserAGoat(), W, HTML+regex, etc.?)
(PS: I thought of this before The Mess got messier. Please don't downvote because of The Mess++.)
ππ©π° πͺπ΄ ππ±π’π³π¬πΊ? (non-story version)
For those who don't like stories... Sparky is a fictional entity who makes sporadic unorthodox "demands" (i.e., sets peculiar challenges for the community). The one I thought up is:
- Ask three questions by three different users on three different sites.
The title needs to contain the word "hippopotamus".
Each needs to reach the Hot Network Questions list.
This has to be done in January 2020.
The demands will change as the story progresses. Basically, we do what Sparky says and "we win" (for now), and the interactive story continues. Otherwise "we lose" (perhaps Sparky destroys earth).
It's intended to become part of an ongoing interactive story, with other quirky challenges. The community is part of the story.
(Relevant search: hippopotamus is:question created:01-2020.)
πππ ππ€ ππ‘ππ£ππͺ? (story version)
Captain! We've received a message from a "being" (for lack of a better word); we've been calling it Sparky. We believe we captured an image of Sparky below:
Sparky's language is unlike that on earth (it sounds something like dolphins communicating), but we believe we have translated a threatening message:
Greetings Farthlings!
[muffled sounds] ... I need to flick the switch on the side? ... Is it not recording? ... [redacted] ...
Greetings Farthlings!!
...
...
[approx. 30 seconds pass]
I greet you with awkward silence, as is customary in our culture. Please do so in kind.
I am informed you will perceive me as a kind of squiggle. Understand, I come from a universe which intersects yours. I too am from Farth, but in my dimension. Understand, I am mighty!! Do not call me unbefitting nicknames like "zip" or "ziggy". I shall be properly addressed as Admiral Flippy Floppy [ed: our best translation].
I find your planet quirky. I enjoy watching you squirm like how you enjoy watching "reality TV".
Of all that your species has "achieved" [muffled snickering], I'm fond of the word "hippopotamus". I thus assign you a task:
To save Farth (for now)... get the word "hippopotamus" thrice to the Hot Network Questions page. More specifically:
Ask three questions by three different users on three different sites.
The title needs to contain the word "hippopotamus".
Each needs to reach the Hot Network Questions list.
This has to be done in January 2020.
Do this or I'll... umm... oh, there's so many ways I could destroy Farth, how do I decide? Okay, I'll raise temperatures on your planet by 2 degrees. [muffled sounds] What do you mean they're already doing that themselves? Wow, these humans are [unintelligible]. Do this or I'll push Farth into the Sun! [ed: at this point, Sparky played a sound effect] How's that? Okay, good. I'll be back at the end of January to destroy Farth, or not.
...
...
[approx. 30 seconds pass]
Admiral Flippy Floppy out.
Captain, we don't really know if Sparky can destroy earth. We have not seen any being like this before. Maybe we should do what Sparky says, just in case.
