Why do puzzles "expire"?

Started by jsgarvin

jsgarvin Lv 1

I see that several of the puzzles I've been working on are due to "expire" today. Why? I'd like to keep working on them until I get a little better at figuring out what makes a good fold before being forced to go work on something else.

For example, my best score on #50 is 9187. I've got a different variation on it that only earns 9000 points, but as near as I can tell, it should be scoring much higher. I'd really like to learn more and understand why my lower scoring variation scores as it does before I abandon it… but as of tomorrow, I'll be forced to move on and never be allowed to come back. That's … annoying, to put it mildly.

I'd also like to experiment with proteins that have been featured in some video tutorials/examples I've seen online, but alas, they've expired and are therefore inaccessible to me.

I guess, to summarize, the whole "expiring" thing kinda tastes like DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) to me. How about letting me decide for myself which puzzles to work on, when, and for how long?

popandbob Lv 1

In some cases they are necessary because you don't want people working on the same puzzle for years when there are other ones to do which are more urgent/important. Don't know if your a Boinc'er or not but if you are then think about the deadlines and time limits of rosetta@home's wu's.

Maybe a better solution would be to have some learner's puzzles which have either a) extremely long expiry dates or b) no expiry date.

~BoB

Rusty Lv 1

Although the puzzles expire on the server ones that you have previously played can be played at any time. Just check the see old puzzles square.

feet1st Lv 1

You can still work on them after they expire. But at some point in time you have to cut things off and declare the high score. And if anyone can continue playing indefinately and possibly get a higher score, it would be impossible to really establish player ranks… which aren't locked until a puzzle "expires". No worries though, you can still play old puzzles and learn from them.