Frequently Asked Questions?

You used to be Mr Hellam, didn't you?

I still am, last time I checked. Yes, ex-pupils do ask some odd questions from time to time. 

Will you do my math homework for me?

No.

Is this the correct formula for the frogs puzzle?

I usually try to answer questions like this one personally and as quickly as possible. If your message slips through the net, please accept my apologies. 

Can I link to your pages?

Actually, you will be only the 5th person to ever ask me this if you do send me a message like that. Most people just go ahead and link to the puzzles they like.

I only get annoyed at dodgy commercial portals who stick your work in their own framesets in order to dupe people into believing that my content is part of their tacky little enterprise.

Naturally, I have no problem at all with educational portals or individual teachers who want to link directly to my games. Please feel free to do so.

Would you consider a reciprocal link to my site?

I've had a number of requests for this now. Mostly from people whose content is not a natural match for my interactivities anyway. If you're working on interactive educational multimedia, you're likely to get referenced in one of my weblog entries at some point anyway. If you're not, don't even bother asking.

Would you consider a joint commercial venture?

I've already been approached by a couple of well-known organisations in the UK educational scene. Personally, I think my stuff would need reworking before I'd be happy about making any sort of arrangement with them. But, I'm willing to listen to any suggestions you might have.

I thought you were against ads on websites?

I won't be putting adverts on the games themselves. Neither will I allow others to do so. But, now that the dot-com economy is recovering, I have allowed a small amount of context-sensitive advertising on some of the index pages.

It's nice to be in a position where these sites are financially self-suporting. I am now working on a series of microenterprises whose profits can be directed to specific education and development projects. I'll post more about that when they are successfully implemented.

Your puzzle looks like a rip-off of...

True - some of my stuff is retro-rehashes of common themes. It is also obvious what I've been influenced by in educational terms too.

I thought you didn't include a copyright symbol on your work?

Obviously I don't need to. I do take steps to ensure that my intellectual property rights are not infringed, but I've started to add a copyright message to some of my pages as a link back to the main site. I've been too lazy to add one until now, and it's a bit embarrasing when I see one of my flash games showing up at the top in Google with no explanatory text.

Will you write a game for my site?

That's not how I work. If someone asks a question on one of the many teacher or web-design forums I inhabit, and it catches my imagination, then I produce something. So, ask me an interesting question, and I'll see what my imagination comes up with.

Will you send me the source code for...?

The source code for many of my interactivities is already freely available at the Interactivities Forum's resource site. However, I make it clear from the license agreement that it's only for non-commercial, educational use. If you don't like the terms of the agreement, don't download the software.

I disagree strongly with your opinion on...

Fine. But remember. Robust debate is an essential characteristic of online communities. I have no time for flames from people who lack the social and intellectual skills to conduct themselves properly in a forum. However, I do welcome thoughtful discussion from people who recognise that truth is often more important than a bruised ego.

You have too many domains, will you sell me one that you're not using?

I also have plans to develop every single one of them to offer a bona fide service. My time is limited though. I do listen to reasonable offers that take into account how much work I've put into acquiring a domain, and the difficulty I will have in replacing it in a reviving domain aftermarket.

Resources

The Interactivities Forum

Plus, source code for many of these interactivities to help you learn how to create your own interactive educational multimedia resources.

 To join, visit http://forum.interactivestuff.org

Math Games

My latest mathematical site is the math gamesproject. Feel free to visit any time from October 2004 onwards.