# A Novel Feud by Barkis is Willin' \[Game Over\] **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 19, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-novel-feud-by-barkis-is-willin-game-over/578949 "2011-04-19T13:03:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-novel-feud-by-barkis-is-willin-game-over/578949/81 "2011-04-24T00:10:24Z")
I think #7 is the highest I’ve ever finished. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-novel-feud-by-barkis-is-willin-game-over/578949/82 "2011-04-24T01:08:02Z")
Wait, what exactly is a conch? I was under the impression that it was a question in which all 50 answers are the same (which wold put this one at ZERO conchs), but I suspect from context that the term has been relaxed to mean something more squishy, like “more than half.” ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-novel-feud-by-barkis-is-willin-game-over/578949/83 "2011-04-24T02:13:44Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Wait, what exactly is a conch? I was under the impression that it was a question in which all 50 answers are the same (which wold put this one at ZERO conchs), but I suspect from context that the term has been relaxed to mean something more squishy, like “more than half.” Almost all is todays conch. It is an answer that if you don’t have it, you will lose. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-novel-feud-by-barkis-is-willin-game-over/578949/84 "2011-04-24T02:27:57Z")
I’ll take top five, esp. since I gave a singleton answer for #1 (_Emma_, which is my current bedtime reading). ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-novel-feud-by-barkis-is-willin-game-over/578949/85 "2011-04-24T02:40:41Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Wait, what exactly is a conch? I was under the impression that it was a question in which all 50 answers are the same (which wold put this one at ZERO conchs), but I suspect from context that the term has been relaxed to mean something more squishy, like “more than half.” You have it right. It’s supposed to be a 50 match, but it has come to mean a lopsided majority. I like your adjective - squishy. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-novel-feud-by-barkis-is-willin-game-over/578949/86 "2011-04-24T03:02:12Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Just for curiosity, what are the elements that go into a well written feud? Obviously it has to be a topic popular enough that 50 people want to participate, but what else? Questions with many possible answers so that you have to second guess which answer most Dopers will go for? Many possible answers to avoid conchs is a great question. Questions that are finite, like an actor’s name or a TV show’s title are perfect. Questions that are “opinion”, like “what is the best episode of Seinfeld” suck. They are too specific, for one thing, because nobody describes them the same, and it makes it hard for me to score. And then you leave out all the non Seinfeld fans, and you don’t get a full Feud. I thought the recent Stephen King Feud was very good, but there weren’t enough fans to fill up the Feud. So generic subject, many possible answers, and no opinion-type answers. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-novel-feud-by-barkis-is-willin-game-over/578949/87 "2011-04-24T04:27:14Z")
Many thanks for that, and thank you for running the feuds - these are immensely fun! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-novel-feud-by-barkis-is-willin-game-over/578949/88 "2011-04-25T01:00:13Z")
I think even the original conch was only 42/50, or some such. [Ah, here we go:](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9783587&postcount=67) 40/50. We’ve had plenty of conchier answers than that, since then. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-novel-feud-by-barkis-is-willin-game-over/578949/89 "2011-04-25T01:19:21Z")
Well, I’m glad this feud was well received. Somehow it didn’t dawn on me that #9 would be problematic due to spoilers until I actually typed my answer for it. Oops. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-novel-feud-by-barkis-is-willin-game-over/578949/90 "2011-04-25T02:04:19Z")
This was a fun one! Thanks, **Rebo** and **Barkis**! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-novel-feud-by-barkis-is-willin-game-over/578949.md?page=4)