Some suggestions about editorials

Правка en3, от X-O__O-X, 2021-01-16 17:08:30

Hi Codeforces,

The issue is that , in my opinion, Codeforces editorials are often not-beginner-friendly and sometimes very disappointing.

Please don't misunderstand me. I appreciate all the effort made by all the amazing people who make contests but

I think people can enjoy and benefit from Codeforces rounds much more if some changes are made.

My suggestion is to impose a specific format/template/rules on editorials that guarantees a min quality.

Given the effort needed to conduct contests, making small additions to editorials are almost effortless but they will yield a huge benefit for a big group of contestants, I think.

My assumption is that a good editorial should help people improve their problem-solving skills and related-knowledge. not just some annoying final task of contest making that we should do it ASAP.

So consider the following format:

For each problem,

  • State prerequisites, I know about tags and that a problem may have a lot of solutions but this will still be useful in a lot of cases since tags are not really specific.

  • Provide hints, this is incredibly useful for me and I assume for most of people same my level

  • DON'T DESCRIBE IT FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE. a lot of problem setters are just very good for the very majority of contestants. so please, EXPLAIN the solution, not describe it. This criteria can be test by cyan or green volunteers.

  • The description of a solution should be like a story. the story of finding the solution. So, describe the process, at least one path, to the solution. This helps people learn how to think about the problem. Mention names of any problem-solving techniques used.

  • Provide clear code with comments when needed.

  • Optional: put a good comic after each problem.

As you can see, all these changes do not really require considerable time or effort. and with volunteers, no extra time is needed at all.

What do you think about all this? How does your ideal editorial looks like ?

История

 
 
 
 
Правки
 
 
  Rev. Язык Кто Когда Δ Комментарий
en4 Английский X-O__O-X 2021-01-16 17:09:36 86
en3 Английский X-O__O-X 2021-01-16 17:08:30 4 Tiny change: '\n- DON'T NOT DESCRIBE' -> '\n- DON'T DESCRIBE'
en2 Английский X-O__O-X 2021-01-16 16:33:56 40
en1 Английский X-O__O-X 2021-01-16 16:32:02 2023 Initial revision (published)