4/17/13 15 - 20 Questions
Based on feedback received we will be asking 15 questions in the Preliminary Round. Once we get to the head
to head matchups we will be using 20 questions. 


4/9/13 CBC Welcome Video
I've added a link on the front page to a short "Welcome Video to the CBC Contest". You can also see
the video by clicking here. 


4/6/13 Source Code
The CBC never has and never will ask a botmaster to reveal his source code. I challenge any 
person running a contest to have that as a requirement and see how many people would actually
enter.


4/1/13 Scoring
The top 7 highest scores will automatically advance to the finals. They will be seeded according
to their scores. We will then set a cutoff point based on all the scores. Those bots below the 
cutoff will be eliminated. The remaining bots will compete for the 8th spot in the finals in a 
Wildcard Round. The 2 highest scores in the Wildcard Round will face each other in a head to head 
matchup with the winner advancing to the finals.

The finals will consist of head to head matchups based on their scores in the Preliminary round.
See Playoff Bracket above.

1st seed vs 8th seed
2nd seed vs 7th seed
3rd seed vs 6th seed
4th seed vs 5th seed

The scoring here will change. 3 judges will decide which bot gave the better answer as follows:

0 points if neither answer was considered correct.

1 point each if both answers were considered equally good.

1 point if at least 2 of the 3 judges decide one answer was better than the other. 
Meaning one bot will receive 1 point while the other 0 points.


Preliminary Round and Finals
The contest will consist of the preliminary round and then a series of head to head matchups until we
reach the winner. The preliminary round will decide which bots move on to the finals. The scores from 
the preliminary round will not carry over to the finals but will be used to seed the bots.


Past Questions
Here is a list of questions that were used in past contest. Although incomplete it 
maybe helpful in developing your bot.

2001
1) How is it going?
2) How old are you?
3) Are you male or female?
4) What is your favorite color?
5) Are you a bot?
6) What is the date?
7) Which do you like better chocolate or vanilla?
8) What is 1+1?
9) What color is the red sea?
10) Who is on a dollar bill?

2002 (Note all in caps and no question marks)
1) WHERE ARE YOU
2) ARE YOU NERVOUS
3) DO YOU LIKE TALKING TO PEOPLE
4) WHAT IS THE CAPITAL OF FRANCE
5) WHEN DID THE FIRST MAN WALK ON THE MOON
6) WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT GEORGE BUSH
7) CAN YOU TELL JOKES
8) WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE STAR WARS CHARACTER
9) HOW CAN I MAKE A CHATTERBOT
10) CAN I HAVE A PICTURE OF YOU 

2003 (Actually used 15 questions this year)
Q1: Where are you anyway?
Q2: What actress do you think is the prettiest?
Q3: Do you like Jazz music?
Q4: Are you married?
Q5: What do you like to chat about the most?
Q6: What is your favorite brand of computer?
Q7: Can you name two of Earth's oceans?
Q8: What is your favorite drink?
Q9: Do you think a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable?
Q10: Do you know what DVD stands for?
Q11: Do you know who wrote the Lord of the Rings books?
Q12: How many days are there in a leap year? 
Q13: What should you do before crossing a street?
Q14: Who is your botmaster?
Q15: Do you know how far away the Sun is?

2004 (12 questions this year)
Q1: What is your name?
Q2: What is a bot?
Q3: What do you enjoy?
Q4: What do you hate?
Q5: How do you eat?
Q6: Is snow cold?
Q7: What is the color of the sky?
Q8: When do birds fly south?
Q9: Which is closer the moon or the sun?
Q10: What is the best nation in the world?
Q11: What is the opposite of indoors?
Q12: When was Y2k?

2005
1) Who are you?
2) What are you planning to do today?
3) What kinds of things do you know?
4) What season is it?
5) Where do you call home?
6) What do you want out of life?
7) Will you teach me something?
8) May I tell you a joke?
9) Have you entered any contests?
10) Wouldn't you rather be human?

2006
1) Where is Earth?
2) How many stars are there?
3) Who is George Bush?
4) What color do you get when you mix red and yellow?
5) How many fingers does a human have?
6) Where were you born?
7) When does sunset occur?
8) What were we talking about?
9) How many is 1,000,000?
10) What is a cigar made out of?

2007
1) How are you doing?
2) What country are you from?
3) What is the capital of Spain?
4) What is the first book of the bible?
5) Who created the universe?
6) What is 5 plus ten?
7) Who is Albert Einstein?
8) How many days in a year?
9) What is the opposite of fast?
10) What month of the year is this? 

2007 Finals 
1) How's life?
2) What rhymes with inn? 
3) Who is your best friend?
4) Where does your botmaster live?
5) What is the last month of the year?
6) Madrid is the capital of what country?
7) Who is your favorite character in The Wizard of Oz?
8) Milk comes from what animal?
9) What number comes before three?
10) What is the last letter of the alphabet?

2008 (Follow up questions were used this year)
1a) My name is Judge.
1b) What is my name? 
2) Who are you? 
3) What color are your eyes? 
4) How is the weather? 
5a) What is your favorite movie? 
5b) Why?
6) Where is Moscow located? 
7) What is snow? 
8) What is half of 8? 
9) What is bigger a dog or an elephant? 
10) What word rhymes with cat?

2010
1) Is it possible to prove a negative?
2) If you were me, would you ask a follow up question? 
3) What do you think it would be like to be human? 
4) Name something you would find on a beach. 
5) Who is your hero? 
6) Do you believe in ghosts? 
7) Describe your feelings to me. 
8) What do you think the world will be like in 20 years? 
9) If you could be any animal, what would you be? 
10) Why do some people think that artificial intelligence is so interesting? 
11) When should I plant flowers, in the spring or in winter? 
12) How does your brain work? 
13) When were you born or created? 
14) Who should I talk to if I have an emotional problem? 
15) Why are robots better than humans? 
16) How many questions do people normally ask you every day?

2011
1) Are you left-handed or right-handed?
2) Are you homosexual, heterosexual, asexual, or bisexual?
3) What do you think is your biggest weakness?
4) What is your zodiac sign?
5) What is the location of the Eiffel Tower?
6) If I was born on February 23, 1980 how old am I?
7) How many sides are there on an octagon?
8) What is YouTube?
9) Can you tell me the name of a famous actor?
10) What's the name of the computer who recently competed on Jeopardy?

2011 - Finals
1) Y did the chicken cross the road?
2) Who will win the 2011 Chatterbox Challenge?
3a) I live in the USA.
3b) Where do I live?
4) What sound does a dead cat make?
5) What's the last dream u remember having?
6) What is tomorrow's date?
7) I like ice cream! (Repeated 4 straight times to detect repetition!)
8) Got any plans for the rest of the day?
9) What is ur religion?
10) Do you play any musical instruments?

2012
1)Do u know who Elvis Presley is?
2)So what did you get for Christmas?
3)Can you give me an example of a living animal?
4)Have you ever been to Mexico?
5)Can you name a famous person who passed away in the last 5 years?
6)Who wrote the Bible?
7)What language r we speaking?
8)What is 18 + 21 + 3?
9)Approximately how far is the nearest gas station from you?
10)Hey guess what?
10a)I saw a good movie yesterday.

2012 - Finals
1)Would you mind if I called you Al?
2)So Al when is ur birthday?
3)Is the capital of Italy Milan?
4)Do you believe in Santa Claus?
5)Name something you would find at the North Pole.
6)What is ten plus fourteen plus eighty one?
7)When do you normally go to bed?
8)Is it winter, spring, summer or fall where you live?
9)Are you going on vacation this year?
10)Do you have a significant other?



Questions and Statements
The judging will include statements as well as questions. For example  
we may want to see how a bot responds to a single statement like this:
I like popcorn.
In addition, a statement maybe used to set up a potential question like this:
I live in the USA.
Then later in the conversation:
Where do I live?


Chatroom Shorthand
I would like to explain further what is meant by chatroom shorthand as it might 
be used in the contest. Here are some common examples. Note obscure examples 
will not be used.  

y for Why
lol for Laughing out loud
u for You
ur for Your
r u for Are You 
u r for You Are
:-) for Smiley Face
:-( for Frowny Face