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I wrote another test!
My second OKC test Virtues of the Avatar is now published. Over 100 registered takers in the first few hours. Cool.
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More test text
New intro:
In this test, the four Elements (Earth, Air, Fire, and Water) are associated with aspects of who you are and what you are like. You'll be asked to rate the relative importance of various choices, which in turn will score you for each element. Based on the four elemental scores, you'll be grouped into one of 52 types.
I often get asked if this is a spiritual test or a personality test. That is like asking me whether these traits of yours come from psychological aspects of your mind versus spiritual aspects of your soul. I'll just measure the traits and let you decide where they come from.
In this test, the four Elements (Earth, Air, Fire, and Water) are associated with aspects of who you are and what you are like. You'll be asked to rate the relative importance of various choices, which in turn will score you for each element. Based on the four elemental scores, you'll be grouped into one of 52 types.
I often get asked if this is a spiritual test or a personality test. That is like asking me whether these traits of yours come from psychological aspects of your mind versus spiritual aspects of your soul. I'll just measure the traits and let you decide where they come from.
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New "negative" description
I finally rewrote the text for "negative" in my OKCupid test. I think this will be a lot more palatable than the old text.
Confused This is the middle category, and the most difficult to describe. After several hundred test takers, I found there were two main groups of people who fell into this category. The first group were people who skipped questions. The way the scoring works, you really need to answer all the questions and futhermore not choose the same choice twice in a group of four. To those people who filled out the test correctly and scored here "for real", let me apologise for having to wade through the comment about the incorrect testers. Unfortunately the "error group" seems to outnumber you by a considerable margin.
Among those people who score here for real, there is an overwhelming disproportion of young people. OKC divides the stats into the 19&under bucket, then 20-24, and so on. Well over 90% of the people who scored this category (other than those in the "error group") are under 24, and the proportion of 19&unders is even higher. This is the most common category with room to spare for those under 24, and the rarest category for those over 30. For you statistics geeks like me, this is two deviations above the mean(under 24), compared to one and a half below (30 and up). The most common job is "student" and the most common major among the students is "undeclared"
I also get lots of reports from the more eloquent members of this age group that they could easily have ordered their choices differently. My theory is that the questions I've asked are based on feelings of what is important, and that those feeling get reinforced by experience. Many of the younger test takers just haven't fixed their opinions and values on those subjects, so the test doesn't measure them.
As for the older test takers who score this category (without being in the error group), there just aren't enough of you to draw any conclusions. Sorry.
Confused This is the middle category, and the most difficult to describe. After several hundred test takers, I found there were two main groups of people who fell into this category. The first group were people who skipped questions. The way the scoring works, you really need to answer all the questions and futhermore not choose the same choice twice in a group of four. To those people who filled out the test correctly and scored here "for real", let me apologise for having to wade through the comment about the incorrect testers. Unfortunately the "error group" seems to outnumber you by a considerable margin.
Among those people who score here for real, there is an overwhelming disproportion of young people. OKC divides the stats into the 19&under bucket, then 20-24, and so on. Well over 90% of the people who scored this category (other than those in the "error group") are under 24, and the proportion of 19&unders is even higher. This is the most common category with room to spare for those under 24, and the rarest category for those over 30. For you statistics geeks like me, this is two deviations above the mean(under 24), compared to one and a half below (30 and up). The most common job is "student" and the most common major among the students is "undeclared"
I also get lots of reports from the more eloquent members of this age group that they could easily have ordered their choices differently. My theory is that the questions I've asked are based on feelings of what is important, and that those feeling get reinforced by experience. Many of the younger test takers just haven't fixed their opinions and values on those subjects, so the test doesn't measure them.
As for the older test takers who score this category (without being in the error group), there just aren't enough of you to draw any conclusions. Sorry.
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Meetintg People Safely
You can't find a match online without eventually going out and meeting someone new in person. Without the in-person meeting a dating site can't deliver more than penpal level relationships.
The news media blows the risk of "internet predators" completely out of proportion, and I'm hoping not to enhance that myth here. Instead, I'm going to put forward some sensible tips for how to protect yourself when you meet someone new from online. My hope is that with widespread adoption this will allow more people to safely meet.
Mel's FtF Safety Protocol
1) Give the person you are considering meeting a link to this post. The sort of person you want to meet won't have a problem with a few simple safety steps, and reading the advice from a third party can remove some of the awkwardness in broaching the topic.
2) In advance of the meeting, get the person's real name and DMV number (you will find this on your state-issued driver's lic or ID card).
3) Pick a safe place to meet. Public places like coffee shops and restaurants are good.
4) Put the information from steps #2 and #3 where it can be easily found. If you have a friend you can trust, that is ideal. They can more quickly alert the authorities in that rare case that something goes wrong. Put this information in several places, like a message on your own voice mail, an easily found piece of paper in your home, and so on. Don't tell the person you are meeting where the notes are and/or who you left the info with. Also bring this info with you so you can manage step #5.
5) When you meet, very early in the meeting, ask to see the person's ID. If the information doesn't PERFECTLY match what you were led to expect THEN DATE IS OVER --- CALL FOR HELP IMMEDIATELY. Don't be shy about this.
Those five steps are the basic plan. Here are some of the advantages.
* You know who you are dealing with. Your soulmate isn't going to be anonymous, so why should your date?
* Ladies: this exchange of information goes both ways. Some guys may be too egotistical to realize this, but they need the protection almost as much as you do. Show him you aren't being used as bait to lure the guy to where your five accomplices are going to mug him.
* Guys: this exchange of information goes both ways. If your date is remotely near the age of consent for your state, you can quietly check the date of birth. No judge is going to care that a teenager told you she or he was 24.
* The information is thoroughly useful for a large variety of problems other than the predator scenario. If you are your date get into a car crash and are in the hospital, the DMV number is going to be associated with the police reports and lead the people who care about you to the right hospital quicker.
Still not feeling safe? Here are some "advanced" safety practices that can be added to the basic steps.
The OK call Arrange one or more times during the date that a trusted friend expects a call to say that you are OK. Your friend will call the police with the information on your date if you DON'T call.
The hidden address Perhaps you aren't comfortable with the person you are meeting knowing your address or other information. Cover that part of your ID with masking tape in advance of the meeting. Don't cover the ID number, of course.
I hope this helps. Now go find what your are looking for.
The news media blows the risk of "internet predators" completely out of proportion, and I'm hoping not to enhance that myth here. Instead, I'm going to put forward some sensible tips for how to protect yourself when you meet someone new from online. My hope is that with widespread adoption this will allow more people to safely meet.
Mel's FtF Safety Protocol
1) Give the person you are considering meeting a link to this post. The sort of person you want to meet won't have a problem with a few simple safety steps, and reading the advice from a third party can remove some of the awkwardness in broaching the topic.
2) In advance of the meeting, get the person's real name and DMV number (you will find this on your state-issued driver's lic or ID card).
3) Pick a safe place to meet. Public places like coffee shops and restaurants are good.
4) Put the information from steps #2 and #3 where it can be easily found. If you have a friend you can trust, that is ideal. They can more quickly alert the authorities in that rare case that something goes wrong. Put this information in several places, like a message on your own voice mail, an easily found piece of paper in your home, and so on. Don't tell the person you are meeting where the notes are and/or who you left the info with. Also bring this info with you so you can manage step #5.
5) When you meet, very early in the meeting, ask to see the person's ID. If the information doesn't PERFECTLY match what you were led to expect THEN DATE IS OVER --- CALL FOR HELP IMMEDIATELY. Don't be shy about this.
Those five steps are the basic plan. Here are some of the advantages.
* You know who you are dealing with. Your soulmate isn't going to be anonymous, so why should your date?
* Ladies: this exchange of information goes both ways. Some guys may be too egotistical to realize this, but they need the protection almost as much as you do. Show him you aren't being used as bait to lure the guy to where your five accomplices are going to mug him.
* Guys: this exchange of information goes both ways. If your date is remotely near the age of consent for your state, you can quietly check the date of birth. No judge is going to care that a teenager told you she or he was 24.
* The information is thoroughly useful for a large variety of problems other than the predator scenario. If you are your date get into a car crash and are in the hospital, the DMV number is going to be associated with the police reports and lead the people who care about you to the right hospital quicker.
Still not feeling safe? Here are some "advanced" safety practices that can be added to the basic steps.
The OK call Arrange one or more times during the date that a trusted friend expects a call to say that you are OK. Your friend will call the police with the information on your date if you DON'T call.
The hidden address Perhaps you aren't comfortable with the person you are meeting knowing your address or other information. Cover that part of your ID with masking tape in advance of the meeting. Don't cover the ID number, of course.
I hope this helps. Now go find what your are looking for.
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Meming myself?
So Stoneself just memed my test, and I realized I hadn't posted about it in my own journal. So does that mean I'm meming him meming me, and transitively meming myself by posting this now?
http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=12857310393705810650
If you have an OKC account, please log in and rate the test. I'm only 8 or 9 points off the all-time best rated tests list.
The test was designed based on the Druidic version of the elements plus some very unreliable and reckless pigeon-holing I did based on the limited information I could collect in such a short test. Also, OKC forced rectangular categories on any scoring system, when I wanted circular/elliptical. C'est la vie.
http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=12857310393705810650
If you have an OKC account, please log in and rate the test. I'm only 8 or 9 points off the all-time best rated tests list.
The test was designed based on the Druidic version of the elements plus some very unreliable and reckless pigeon-holing I did based on the limited information I could collect in such a short test. Also, OKC forced rectangular categories on any scoring system, when I wanted circular/elliptical. C'est la vie.