Game Show: Syntax Error

by Adam Cuppy

Game Show: Adam Cuppy - Syntax Error is an engaging and interactive game show conducted by Adam Cuppy at the RailsConf 2021, centered around Ruby on Rails knowledge. The unique aspect of this game show, named after a popular quiz format, involves both expert panelists and contestants from the Rails community.

The session begins with Cuppy introducing two expert panelists, Penelope Fippin and Evan Phoenix, both of whom have significant experience within the Ruby on Rails community. They participate alongside contestant volunteers, highlighting their backgrounds and connections to programming and Rails.

The game’s structure mirrors that of tic-tac-toe, requiring contestants to achieve a winning pattern by correctly answering questions pertaining to Ruby on Rails. Here are the key points discussed throughout the game:

Introduction of Contestants: Miranda, a therapist turned software developer, and Christine, a boot camp graduate, volunteer to participate in the game. Their diverse backgrounds add to the community atmosphere.
Expert Panelists: Cuppy introduces Penelope Fippin, a respected figure in the community, and Evan Phoenix, who shares his long-standing involvement in Ruby Central.
Game Mechanics: Contestants choose squares on a tic-tac-toe board, each leading to a question posed to the expert panelists. The audience can engage as the contestants try to assemble a line of correct answers.
Questions and Answers: Questions range from history to technical knowledge about Rails, such as the initial commit dates for Rails and specific frameworks that were integrated over time.
Prizes: The winners receive unique prizes, which include care packages and signed portraits from notable figures in the community, enhancing motivation for participants.
Final Rounds and Contestants: As the game progresses through multiple rounds, new contestants like Ice and Aaron join the stage, and Cuppy maintains an energetic competition environment, further fostering community involvement.
Winning Moments: Miranda ultimately wins the first round, and Frederick sweeps the final round, emphasizing both knowledge of Rails and competitive spirit among community members.

In conclusion, the game show not only highlighted participants' knowledge of Ruby on Rails but also fostered a sense of community and competition among attendees of RailsConf 2021. It demonstrated the camaraderie and engagement present in programming communities, while offering prizes that celebrate contributions to the Rails framework. The event illustrates the significance of both learning and sharing knowledge within tech, especially in a conference setting.

Overall, Adam Cuppy's game show was a fun blend of trivia, interaction, and learning, aimed at celebrating Ruby on Rails enthusiasts and experts alike.

00:00:04.920 Hello, hello! I'm so excited to be running the greatest game show ever made for any RailsConf to date. This might be the only game show run at a RailsConf, specifically other than a few years ago.

00:00:12.480 Today, we are playing the game show 'Syntax Error,' which is a play on a very popular game show that has been produced many years–many, many years–here in the United States and around the world. But first, I want to start by bringing on our two expert panelists.

00:00:28.199 First, we have Penelope Fippin. Penelope has been a part of this community for a very long time. She has worked on RSpec, Rails, and has given plenty of talks over the years at both RubyConf and RailsConf. She is now not only a part of the program committee but also a part of Ruby Central itself. So, please join me in welcoming to the stage, Penelope.

00:00:50.100 Thank you so much for that wonderful intro, Adam! I'm doing good, very good! Now let's introduce our second panelist. Our second panelist is someone that you're probably quite familiar with. This individual has also been a part of Ruby Central for at least 25 years. Please welcome to the stage, Evan Phoenix.

00:01:15.540 Claps from the audience! It definitely feels like 25 years sometimes. I want to note that Evan's background makes him look really expert. Yes, really expert! So, he is destined for greatness here on our game show. It’s also authentic, I promise you.

00:01:44.340 So far, how do you feel like the last few days have gone at RailsConf? Has it been a good couple of days? We'll be talking about this more later in the closing, but Evan and I have been blown away by how well it has gone, given that we basically invented a conference format and then manifested it into reality. I'm really, really pleased with how this has gone.

00:02:15.060 Alright, let us start our game! Before we get going, we have to introduce our first two contestants. Our contestants were volunteers from the greater RailsConf community. These individuals volunteered to participate in the greatest game show ever produced for RailsConf. I want to first invite Miranda to the stage.

00:02:49.620 Well, hello Miranda, how are you? I'm great! How about you? I'm good! When I put out this poll for folks to volunteer, there was a field that asked for a little bit about yourself, and I just need to read a few snippets of what Miranda has said about her background.

00:03:15.540 She went to school to be a therapist and is now a software developer. Definitely combining the two together, through and through. She loves dogs and made a joke about not being able to make her thumbnails hitchhike. Can you please clarify that for us?

00:03:35.640 So, as a result, it's totally impossible for you to call a cab period or hitchhike down the road. You're just destined to stand on the side of the road without help forever, correct? Is this your first RailsConf? It is! Awesome, how long have you been writing Rails? Two to three years now. What kept you from attending the last three RailsComps? Well, I mean, I'm a newbie!

00:04:18.299 Well, welcome! Our next contestant for our first game is Christine. Christine, come on up to the stage.

00:04:31.500 Hi there, hello! I noted that when you filled out your profile, you mentioned that you are a 2020 boot camp grad, is that correct? I am! That's fantastic! Where did you go? I went to Flatiron School in Denver. Awesome! At the end of your profile, you said that you've always dreamed of being on Wheel of Fortune or The Price is Right?

00:05:04.080 Yes, those were my two favorite game shows growing up. I watched The Price is Right almost every single day when I was a kid! Here we are, I live down the street from The Price is Right filming studio, so I drive by it regularly. I am very qualified to be on this game show, is what I'm saying.

00:05:36.000 Well, Miranda and Christine, thank you so much for joining us as our first two contestants. Before we proceed, this game would not be complete without some legitimate prizes! That's right, contestant prizes! Can I hear from the crowd?

00:06:04.020 Today's prizes are going to be unlike any other prizes you’ve ever heard of in your entire life. The winner today will receive not only a care package from our sponsor, which coincidentally happens to be the company I work for, Zeal. It includes a bunch of remote and fun, very cool things.

00:06:22.979 But in addition, the pièce de résistance, the great prize for today, is a signed portrait of none other than Aaron Patterson, also known as Tender Love! Oh my God! We are currently on the hunt for velvet, oh yeah! We're going all out! It’s possible that I’m going to bankrupt my company by putting together the greatest possible signed Aaron Patterson framed headshot ever!

00:06:53.760 So that is what you're competing for today, Christine and Miranda. Let’s dive into our game! Applause from everybody, yeah! Let’s dive into our game! Here’s how our game works: each of our contestants will be working to build a tic-tac-toe pattern on our pseudo tic-tac-toe board.

00:07:20.220 Now notice that in each of these squares is one of our two panelists. Our panelists are our expert pseudo-experts. If you don't want to play, just kidding, our experts. Here’s how this is going to work: our first step is to randomize the board, putting in the different names and mixing them up as much as possible. We’ve already decided through a very magical twin coin toss, or I just picked somebody, that today, Miranda will be representing X and Christine will be representing O.

00:08:02.700 What they will do is pick a square. So we’ll start with Miranda; she will pick a square on the board. Then, depending on who that person is in that square, that individual will be asked a question and hopefully give the right answer. If Miranda believes that the panelist gave the right answer, she can either agree or disagree, and if they are correct, they get the square; if not, we move on to the next.

00:08:43.920 Whoever forms the tic-tac-toe pattern first wins the care package and the great signed headshot by the one and only Tender Love, also known as Aaron Patterson. Alright, Miranda, start us off! Where would you like to start on our board? I'm going to go A2. Classic programmer!

00:09:06.180 Penelope, here is your question: 'First commit rights were shared in what month and year?' First commit rights to Rails? No, I know you know this, right? But I have no idea! I’m going to guess February of 2002. Okay, Miranda, you believe it was in 2002? The answer is February of 2005.

00:09:29.880 All right, Christine, where do you want to start? I'm going to go with the very center. Here we go, Penelope, it's back to you: 'Username Exit 3 is the username of Ruby on Rails creator Chris Oliver. How did he come about that name?' Um, he made it up by picking a random word from the dictionary? What do you think, Christine? I'm going to disagree with Penelope. You are correct!

00:10:03.300 Wow, this is a lesson to all of you that you never know what you know! Penelope was correct, but unfortunately Christine, you were incorrect. Alright, we need to get some squares on the board here. Let's go back to Miranda. What’s your next move?

00:10:18.240 I’ll do bottom right. Here we go. Penelope, it's back to you: 'Tender Love, a.k.a. Aaron Patterson, has been closing RailsConf since when?' Well, suddenly before I started attending, I'm going to say 2010. Okay, Miranda, what do you think? I'm going to say incorrect. The answer is 2014.

00:10:46.680 Very good! Instead of the audience clapping, we have something on the board. Alright, Miranda, since you got the square correct, where would you like to go next? Top Center! Top center, right here? Yes! Evan, here we go! Your question is: 'Eileen, you should tell, found a bug in what Rails framework?' She spoke about it yesterday. I think it was Active Record. Miranda, what do you think?

00:11:11.399 I can't remember. Yes, I'm going to say yes! You are correct! Two in a row! Very good! From the audience cheers. Alright! Since you got this one right again, you get to pick the next square.

00:11:25.799 In hindsight, I don't know why I was wondering about that one. Top right! Top right makes a lot more sense! Okay, Evan Phoenix, your question is: 'Ruby on Rails 1.0 was released on which day?' Can I ask for clarification? Are you asking for a day of the year, a day on the calendar, or a day of the week? How do you want to answer it?

00:11:53.960 We’re going to say I'm going to say close enough to summer time is fine. I know everybody is watching and you're all like, but those aren’t the rules, but I make the rules! So, here we go. I counter with the date now, no. Agree or disagree with Evan? If you're right, you either agree or disagree, then you get the square; the answer is December 13, 2005.

00:12:15.700 Alright, Christine, okay, I'm going to go center again! Center again! Alright, Penelope, your question is: 'What year was Ruby on Rails first released?' I want to say December 2005. Christine, what do you think?

00:12:23.500 You all are confusing me, but I'm going to agree with that based on the last question. It was July 2004. You were right! Miranda, would you like to give it to Christine, or what do you think?

00:12:40.920 I want it! Okay, well, I'm sorry Christine, but it's Cutthroat Panda here on this game show for today. Alright, Miranda, I'm guessing you're going to want this square. Yes, I'll pick that one. Yes! Strategically, that’s smart since there are not a lot of other places you could pick. Next question: 'What Ruby framework was merged with the Rails 3.0 release?'

00:13:07.560 Oh, what other Ruby framework was merged with Rails 3.0 release? This one I really know, so why couldn't I get this one before? It’s the Yehuda framework! Is it Mocha? Hmm, sounds ish, yeah, I think. Miranda, what do you think?

00:13:31.799 Yeah, why not! You are correct! How did you possibly know this? Oh my God! I said it before you coughed. Alright, very good! So that is another win! Miranda, do you want to close this out? What are you thinking?

00:13:43.800 I want to know Evan's confidence levels and I want to know Penelope's confidence levels right now. Good strategic play! I'm feeling good! I'm also feeling good! Evan, I feel like you haven't had that many turns yet. Alright, I also feel like that. Here we are for the win!

00:14:18.700 In 2006, which version of macOS included Ruby on Rails? So, 2006. You're asking for the version of macOS? Okay, let's see. We were still under the cat names by then. So, let's see. We had Jaguar, Panther, and Lion. I will say Jaguar. Okay, perfect, Miranda, what do you think?

00:14:41.420 I have to say that one was like 10. Wait, I guess I could just do it that way, right? So, let me see… See, I only know the names, but I can’t remember how to work back from the timing. So, do you agree or disagree with Evan's answer?

00:15:06.940 I'll pick an animal. Jaguar. I'll pick an animal too! Jaguar. Then incorrect! Incorrect! That is correctly incorrect. It was Leopard. Very, very close! Okay well that concludes it! X wins, Miranda! Fantastic job! You have won the care package in addition to the one and only signed headshot by Mr. Aaron Patterson.

00:15:32.620 Well today, you've won a lot of things! Good for you! Christine, don’t you worry! You’re also going to receive a care package as well as some fun cool gifts, including some goodies from Rails. Chris Oliver at GoRails has also given three-month memberships to GoRails to all of those participating! So, if you're not familiar, it's for you to learn from.

00:15:57.780 Thank you so much Miranda and Christine. It's been our pleasure! Now we're going to take you off and introduce our next participants. But before we do that, Evan, what are you feeling? Are you feeling confident still? Yeah, I feel like I don’t know. I want to know about your randomization algorithm.

00:16:22.220 I feel like you've personally penalized all the prime squares. I’m feeling good! We went through a lot more questions than I anticipated this time, so we may see some repeats! Absolutely fine! Luck next time!

00:16:49.980 Right now, we’re hoping that our next couple of contestants haven’t seen any of this. Hopefully, they've been working on their email this whole time, because that way, it’s going to be a heck of a lot more fun! Alright, let’s introduce our next two contestants: Ice, come on up to the stage!

00:17:26.300 Hello, hello! How are you? Good! Well, Ice, can you hear us okay? We can't hear you, though. While we're working on that, let’s also bring up Aaron! Aaron, come on up to the stage!

00:17:36.780 Hi Aaron, how are you? Very well! Very, very well! I hope you got a lot of emails done and I assume you've been fully distracted! You haven’t seen any of this so far? So, good luck to you!