PLEASE NOTE!

[Traci]

Just a reminder - Exams this session run from October 31 - November 8.

This forum is a great place to get together after exams - HOWEVER -

PLEASE be careful about what you post while the exams are still taking place! To my knowledge, we have not had a security breech in this forum before, and I hope that it never happens. But I will turn over to the SoA the IP address and whatever other information I have about anyone who does breech the security of exams in this forum.

When in doubt - WAIT - until after the 8th.

[WQN]

I like your wisdom Traci!!

[Extreme Extremist]

Traci,

Can exam takers post about exams that have already taken place? Can people talk about Course 5, after 6 PM on the day that people sit for it?

[Traci]

I don't know where they draw the line. In the past, on the SoA boards, as Mardi pointed out, they banned ANY discussion until ALL exams were over.

It's not up to me - my message is just a reminder.

Please don't give the SoA ANY reason to ask me what your IP is.

[Actuary321]

Traci, I would not want to breech security.

[Double Down Trent]

Honestly Traci, I can't believe you would even consider giving the SoA someone's IP address, unless they provided you proof that the person was trying to cheat. The SoA has nothing to do with this board. They don't pay for it and posting here has nothing to do with membership in the SoA. As such, they have no right asking you for anyone's IP address and I would be extremely disappointed in you if I discovered that you supplied them with someone's IP address.

Personally, I don't see how discussing an exam 10 minutes after the last group to take it begins should be in violation of anything, whether or not it actually violates SoA rules. Why should someone taking an exam on 11/1 have to wait until 11/8 to discuss? The only possible reason for this that I can see is to allow a faulty question to slip through without protest because most people don't realize a question is faulty until theydiscuss the exam with someone.

For these reasons Traci, I sincerely hope you don't even consider supplying the SoA with the Ip address of someone who discusses exams the next day or even that night if the exam has at least already begun world wide.

How the hell can we call this the "REBEL" forum if IP addresses will be provided upon request? Maybe we should change the name of this forum to "Rebel (without a backbone) Forum"

[Dr T Non-Fan]

BB, mostly you can't trust them foreigners to stop blabbing once they're done.

Secondly, the lunch break allows for those who work in the same building to see if anyone has blabbed the second session's questions. (Courses 5 and 8.)

BB, you seem to be negotiating for a time such that it shouldn't make a difference.

I agree that there is a time.

I think it's 12 hours after the last exam finishes, unless it's determined that there have been circumstances forcing a delay in one exam center's end time. This could happen, and we should all be on the alert for such discrepancies.
We can all figure this out. Unless there's some island farther west in the Pacific holding exams, I'm guessing that Honolulu's exam center is the last. That's 2 hours west of Pacific Standard Time. An exam ends at 3:00, plus some straggling time, make it 3:30HST. That's 8:30PM EST, and 12 hours hence would be the next morning.
Is everyone OK with that?

Remember that for the MC exams, people are "memorizing" their answers and posting them here. I think that can be held off for 12 hours without succumbing to the urge.

If you're not OK with this, due to some principle thing, you can always form a chat room, on your own, away from the prying eyes here (and of the SOA -- yes, they will monitor this site during exams), on AOL or wherever. Or, post your e-mail and have a conversation that way.

Remember, it's Traci's forum, not yours. She'll do whatever she wants. Oh, you can try reasoning, but really, where has that gotten us?

[Epsilon Theta]

Maybe, Traci should just close down the forum every exam day(during the day) and re-open it in the evening like what the CAS forum does.

[anon789]

I think it's 12 hours after the last exam finishes, unless it's determined that there have been circumstances forcing a delay in one exam center's end time.

Administration will take this into consideration, along with all your other helpful suggestions.
Given the current board layout, an even worse problem is that if someone posts exam related material even those NOT writing that specific exam would be exposed to this material. I'm sure if we pull together we can find a way to minimize this risk.

[Traci]

"""How the hell can we call this the "REBEL" forum if IP addresses will be provided upon request? """

Calm down BB - take a nice bubble bath and reread your study notes.

When have I ever said that I would provide the SoA with your IP address upon request???

Ummm - never.

What I want to avoid is any post that would CAUSE them to request.

I don't want to have to debate with them over whether or not someone has actually compromised exam security.

I DON'T KNOW what they consider a security risk. This thread was simply a warning.

Last session, when people were posting their MC answers, NO ONE from the SoA ever contacted me and asked for information. (This session, I expect proctors to ask you to clear your calculator memory before leaving the exam center.)

BTW - I would NOT have been willing to give information about those posting MC answers. I did not see that as a security issue (unless they could have shown that a post occurred while the exam was still taking place).

What I HAVE said in the past - and what I am saying now - is that if there is a clear violation (I would have to be convinced) of exam security - I would turn over any information I had to the SoA.

Personally, I don't think they would bother to ask me unless it was a CLEAR violation.

Again - I just wanted to warn people - that this forum is not a free-for-all with respect to exams. And to ask that you not put ME in the position of having to argue with the SoA.

[WQN]

It seems clear to me that Traci puts quite a bit of time into monitoring this site so I think we all should show her some respect on this issue.

[Double Down Trent]

"I will turn over to the SoA the IP address and whatever other information I have about anyone who does breech the security of exams in this forum."

I believe you said the above in your post Traci. Look, I appreciate all of the work you do for this forum, though obviously the workload unforunately decreased alot after switching from eesite.

But if my exam is at 8:30 in the morning, everywhere in the world has begun the exam by 8:30 that evening. I see no problem with discussing the exam at this point, but the SoA does view this as a security breech. Hell, we are both taking 2A on Friday and according to the SoA, a security breech will have occurred if we discuss it before next Thursday.

I only hope that you use some common sense in any requests by the SoA for a person's information.

Personally, if I ran the site (which I would be willing to do, just don't know how), I would discourage people from discussing their exams until the evening. But even if someone logged on at 1:30 EST and asked a question about their exam, like "how did you calculate the OBRA Full Funding Credit for number 3?" , I would not relinquish any info to the SoA. They have no right to this info.

[Dr T Non-Fan]

The most Traci can do (on her own) is bar an IP address from posting for some indefinite period of time. She is likely to do this if it will keep her from being bothered by the SOA.
She takes a lot of guff from individuals, but I think she'd rather not deal with the SOA, who could (in my warped imagination) affect her exam scores.
Traci is also taking the EA exam, so she should be studying. I don't know when that is, but if she needed some monitors/moderators, perhaps some people can volunteer.

[ne11er]

BB...what is the big deal about when you post?? Respect Traci's request. It's that simple. If you think you'll forget your questions...write them down on paper. Talk with your co-workers if you're so antsy to talk about the exam. And I would think that not very many people are going to be able answer your questions by the evening since most of us would be at the bar already or in bed sleeping off the rest of the material we didn't use on the exam. It just doesn't seem to be like such a difficult issue.

[Traci]

"""if someone logged on at 1:30 EST and asked a question about their exam, like "how did you calculate the OBRA Full Funding Credit for number 3?" , I would not relinquish any info to the SoA. They have no right to this info. """

The above example would, IMO, be a CLEAR violation of exam integrity. at 1:30 EST, that exam has not even begun in say Hawaii.

In that case, I would give the info to the SoA if they asked for it. If it happened after say 6:00 for example, they would have to show me how/why it was a security breAch. If it happened the following day - I doubt they would even ask - and I would refuse.

To make my position stronger - if you post something that the SoA AND I believe to be a security breAch - I will help them identify you - and then YOU can argue with THEM as to your rights of free speech.

Again - I'm just warning people - don't make them come looking for you here!

That said - you can be sure I will use common sense - and I hope you do the same.

As a regular poster here myself, I see no problem talking about the exams - in general terms - after all sessions for the day have begun - and talking about specifics 24+ hours later. To be 100% safe, I would wait until after the 8th to discuss specifics - but then - we ARE rebels. :smile:

[Traci]

Just moving this up.

Good Luck to all on 1 - 4!

[Anonymous]

I agree with Traci, even though I hate to say it, although I don't see what the big deal is with the SOA here. If people were/are going to cheat they will get away with it somehow.

Theoretical circumstance - Someone in FL goes to the bathroom after starting their exam, calls someone in CA, or even LA for that matter, and gives them the answers/questions, or even calls someone.

I have heard people joke of bringing their lifelines to the exam center with them.
-cell phone
-note cards in pockets
-friend in the lobby