ADHD

When my team vetted these questions, we made the comment that "Some people think asking for a full acronym is a multi part answer and you should ask for just one word. Up to you!"

The Robin Hood chose to ignore this suggestion. That is their prerogative, even though the Guidance for Question Setters does say "All reasonable changes suggested by the vetters SHOULD be taken into effect." The getout clause is in the use of that word "reasonable" (and, to a lesser extent, the use of the word "should" as opposed to "must").

Many people believe that MQL has a rule saying that you cannot ask for the full expansion of an acronym. In fact – rightly or wrongly – there is no such rule, unless you count the one that says "Do not include questions with more than one, or indeed multiple, answers. Make sure each question you have written only has ONE correct answer." And even this is not a rule; like the comment about vetting, quoted above, it comes under Guidance for Question Setters (subsection Standards - not even Requirements).

I have been meaning to question this 'rule' for some time, as I believe it is ambiguous. Does it mean questions to which the answer has two parts – for example, the full expansion of an acronym – or does it mean questions that have two possible answers, either of which is correct?

An example of the latter would be "Who became Prime Minister of the UK for the first time in the year 1868?" Either "Gladstone" or "Disraeli" would be a correct answer to this question; it undeniably breaks the rule (or, to be more precise, goes against the guidance).

The way the 'rule' is worded, it seems to me that it's referring to the Prime Minister question, rather than the acronym question. And yet you could argue that as long as the setter is aware that there are two possible answers, and allows either, there shouldn't be a problem.

Also among the questions sent for vetting was one that asked for the two colours of the Ukrainian flag. We suggested that it should ask for only one of them; the Robin Hood chose to comply with this suggestion, and the question was changed. If it hadn't been, someone - probably lots of people - would have complained.

But does the Ukrainian flag question break the rule? I don't think it does. The only correct answer is "Yellow and blue". (I'm not going to get into any arguments about whether "Blue and yellow" is the same answer or a different one.) This question has only one correct answer; the issue (potentially) is that that answer has two parts.

I personally don't have a problem with questions like this. My argument is basically that you either know what the Ukrainian flag looks like, or you don't; if you answered "Yellow and red", you're more likely to be confusing it with the flag of Macedonia than confusing the blue on the Ukrainian flag with red. And how is the other team going to know if either of the colours you gave is right, or if they're both wrong? I think it's most unlikely that anyone would have said, before either team had answered, "Well, I know one of the two colours is blue, but I don't know what the other one is." And if they had, should they go for yellow as the other colour, or red?

At the end of the day, however, I would suggest that if you do ask this question, someone is bound to object. When setting questions (as with most other things in life, IMHO), it's best to avoid upsetting people; so just don't do it.

With an acronym question, there's even more to object to. For one thing there are probably more parts to the answer; with ADHD, for example, there are four.

On the other hand, "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder" is a recognised name, so why is there a problem in asking someone to state it in full?

Many works of art and/or entertainment have titles that include more than one word. Some of them were asked about later in this quiz: The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Eyes Wide Shut. Should questions about the last of those three, for example, be banned because of the possibility of someone answering "Eyes Wide Open"?

I think most people would agree that this would amount to overkill. And yet, I would suggest, the ADHD issue is the same issue – just a bit more extreme.

There is an additional issue with the ADHD question however. The answer on the question sheet was "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder"; and yet according to some sources – e.g. Young Minds ("the UK's leading charity committed to improving the wellbeing and mental health of children and young people"), ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. If someone had given this answer, what is the question reader supposed to do?

I don't think many people would object to being asked for the title of Stanley Kubrick's last film. But many people will object to being asked for both colours on the Ukrainian flag, or to expand ADHD in full. I personally do not think we need a blanket ban; but if you do set such questions you are likely to upset someone. Why would you want to do that? Just ask for one of the colours, or one of the words. Or ask a different question!