I have unconditionally general upper bound for n!, how many of you worked on this on the contest?
About banning, I don't think that there is any connection with the current ranking. I have leaded for several days not only for seconds,
I would be in 3rd place, only 4 operations shy from the 2nd place (what I sent to Al). What is really good, cosidering that I have stopped and the
first two are listed on the main page. Furthermore I don't think that the contest is decided in the middle and the final ranking is the same as the ranking in the middle.
It could be decided in the last minute just as the marathon run or the 50km walking (where you get warning for running instead of walking, after 3
the contest is over for you). Moreover it wasn't a time weighted contest, and I don't see why should I run to submit every new tiny improvement when
the time has no effect on the final ranking. Or you tink that I can reach the first place with 248 points in one week and in the next 4 weeks I can make zero progress? Probably an average contestant is out of run from ideas in 2-3 days and give up, but it is not true for me. Actually I have in my mind all of your posted ideas.
I still don't know why I haven't received any email/forum notification about my ban from Al/Dim. Both of them know about this forum, and Al also my email.
On an average forum, like this you get a warning then ban when you make out of forum posts in a row, and this is only a forum not a serious competition site.
He sent me on April 23 "As a practical matter, you are free to withdraw from AZsPCs anytime you like." when he decided to ban me, that is the rudeness.
I think that the message that worth a ban was nothing, probably critizing his work/website worth automatically a ban. Just see my
messages from April 20-23 (the contest started on 20):
the first one is the critical sent on April 21. 19:25, what he referred on April 23
http://www.tinyuploads.com/images/xCAdp0.png