I do understand the desire to accommodate every potential answer. Having a short, but technically sufficient answer line such as "electrons [prompt on leptons or fermions]" might cause issues with less experienced mods receiving answers like "Is this a transition electron microscope?" It doesn't seem ideal to expect every moderator to know the rules around saying extra words in one's answer.2020 CALISTO wrote:A multiplicative term that corrects the magnetic moment of this particle is called the Landé g-factor. In one technique, these particles are fired through an ultrathin sample to form an image. Phonon-created lattice distortions cause these particles to form composite bosons called Cooper pairs. One of these particles will be ejected from a material if the energy of an incident photon is greater than the (*) work function. Tauons and muons are more massive counterparts of these charged leptons. These particles are ejected from metals in the photoelectric effect. For 10 points, name these negatively charged subatomic particles which make up atoms with protons and neutrons.
ANSWER: electrons [accept electron magnetic moment or electron magnetic dipole moment or electron microscopy or electron microscope or transmission electron microscopy or transmission electron microscope or scanning transmission electron microscopy or scanning transmission electron microscope or high-resolution transmission electron microscopy or high-resolution transmission electron microscope; prompt on leptons or fermions; prompt on TEM imaging or STEM imaging or HRTEM imaging or HREM imaging or the photoelectric effect with "what particle is involved in that process?"] {electron is underlined in each alternate answer}
On the other hand, having such a long of an answer line has the potential to distract the moderator, causing delays. It would also force them to spend longer searching through the answer line when a player gives one of the alternate answers. (Ironically, the above tossup does not have instructions for answers of "e-minus" – but moderators wouldn't know that until they read the entire thing.) Another factor that shouldn't be overlooked is the extra time and effort it takes for editors to craft such long answer lines.
Prompt instructions for indirect references like "TEM" are another issue. At what point do we just rule the player incorrect for answering to a completely different indicator? Should players who weren't paying attention and reflexively say "TEM" on a familiar clue be rewarded with a second chance? What happens when players give an incorrect answer but protest that they "should have been prompted" with an expectation of tangential answers having a directed prompt?
I think we as a community should establish some sort of norm with regards to these things. There should obviously be a balance between answer lines' conciseness and readability, and their accommodation of alternate answers, but (to me at least) it's hard to tell currently as a writer or editor what the best practice is.