THWACK Monthly Mission - March 2020

[yumdarling]

In a hybrid IT world, the time has come to control your environment with a platform supporting a powerful and integrated team of tools. Join forces with data, metrics, and cross-stack correlation to gain insights and fight today’s biggest monitoring challenges.

Start your mission

MARCH MISSION

Use the mission’s resources to complete the tasks and answer the questions for a chance to win!

Correctly answer each question during the week and you'll be entered for a chance to win the weekly prize.

Correctly answer all 20 questions over the course of the month and you'll be entered for a chance to win the grand prize.

150 points are being awarded for each correctly answered question. There are 20 questions, which means you can earn a maximum of 3,000 points for this mission.

Want to join the mission, but not a member? Sign up FREE now!

PRIZES

Weekly Prizes & Drawing Dates:
March 9, 2020:  Roku Express HD Streaming Media Player

March 16, 2020:  Rocketbook Smart Reusable Notebook

March 23, 2020:  Echo dot 3rd gen w Clock

March 30, 2020:  Ring Video Doorbell 2 with HD Video

Grand Prize:
March 30, 2020:  Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones

MISSION RULES

A new question will open every day (Monday - Friday) starting on March 2, 2020. Once a question has opened, it will remain open until March 29, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. CT. Check the schedule below for exact open/close times.

MISSION SHORTCUT

Complete the mission shortcut between March 2, 2020 and March 29, 2020 to be entered to win a Nintendo Switch with Neon Blue and Neon Red Joy-Con™!

Shortcut Steps:

    1. Submit a screenshot of your NetPath Environment

    2. Haven't set up a Netpath yet? Follow the instructions here.

    3. Not ready for an install or eval of NPM? Check out Netpath in our online demo.

SET UP NETPATH  SUBMIT SCREENSHOT

March Mission Terms & Conditions: US, UK, and Canada | Germany | Australia

March Mission Shortcut Terms & Conditions: US, UK, and Canada | Germany | Australia

[-_-]

First Mission, since the launch of the new Thwack.

The answers for today's question are:

Spoiler

provided in the hint of course!!.. If you click on this spoiler tag, you should get points deducted.. /s

[erdogan]

Prizeless first week.

Spoiler

Go 3-4 scroll up, you will be able to see it in the description section.

[dgsmith80]

Wow - First time I've entered the monthly mission in probably about 6 months - Be good to get back in the swing. Love the new format for the new Thwack 😉

[rob.collins]

Nice to be back, as real life interfered and meant I couldn't get any of last month's mission done. I'd also like to throw some love towards Rocketbook - it's a cracking prize - as I love my notebooks and the OCR tech they use is a darn sight more useful than whatever onenote pretends to implement (only downside is I now have a crippling addiction to Pilot Frixion pens) - though I've not yet tested out the "clean in the microwave" version they do.

[graeme.brown]

here we go! new month, new mission, NEW THWACK (ack ack)

[jeremymayfield]

New site, new mission, new month.   So many new things, and really good prizes.   I think someone is setting the bar really high.... 😉

[merissal]

Too afraid to hit submit, I don't want to get the first day of the new month with the new site wrong. 

[smttysmth02gt]

Are points being added when we answer the daily question correctly?

[sonofagum]

@smttysmth02gt  - Yes, you were awarded 150 Points on 03/02/2020 at 7:09am.  You may need to refresh the page after answering the question to see the points reflected.

[tomiannelli]

When I did the mission shortcut it said to hit the browse for files button again to upload multiple screenshots. However, that button disappeared the minute I hit OPEN and the file uploaded. Of course now I have completed that survey and can't upload another image.

P.S. I am using the Google Chrome browser.

[melonizame]

OK I got the dreaded RED X today. Was this "Select All that apply" didnt see that. Also I only saw one answer on the hint page. If I screwed up I screwed up. Todd AKA Melon

[the_ben_keen]

Liking the new layout!  

[the_ben_keen]

@melonizame - be careful with the select all...there was mention of SaaS in one of the answers that almost caught me up.  LOL

[smttysmth02gt]

@sonofagum Interesting.  I should've paid more attention I guess.  In the old site I'd go to my profile and could visibly see records of points being added.  I do not see that on this site anywhere.  

[jasonstak2079]

This new layout is much more spread out and taking up more browser real estate. Lots of white space.

I haven't check on mobile yet, I'm curious to see how it renders on the good old Android. 

[ndriven-admin]

@smttysmth02gt - Ya, the previous platform had very extensive native integration with the 3rd party gamification engine that handles points, challenges, the store, etc.  We're having to write all that from scratch now on the new platform using only the available REST API.  Just getting the points migrated was a major undertaking.  It may take a little while before we get some of those features back.  Sorry about that - but we're working on it! 🙂

[ferrashoo]

Missed you Yumdarling! Glad you are back...where's the cute girl pic 🙂

[bouchm]

It's good to be back.

[jfaldmo]

I'm glad the answer wasn't one of those "The option you selected is technically correct, but not verbatim on the page." 

[captain_hook]

Attention users:

square checkboxes = multiple answers

circle checkboxes = single answer

[melonizame]

@captian_hook yep figured that out afterwards.......

[joepoutre]

I answered the first two today using Safari browser which seems to have worked successfully.

[monitoringlife]

First mission on the new forum ❤️

[shanlon]

it's a trap 🙂

[ebradford]

I'm glad Thwack is back and we have a new mission. 

I think I like the old format better. This format looks (IMHO) too... sparse, lack of borders, colorless (too much white for these tired eyes).

[petergwilson]

Yes,

     Back in business with the questions.  I know everyone is busy but is there any chance we could get an e-mail alert when a new mission becomes available.  Found this by accident.

[Jfrazier]

@petergwilson At the top of the browser click on resources and then community announcements.  To the right you will see "actions", select tht and you will have an option to subscribe.  This should let you know when new annoucnements for the community come out not just missions.  If you want something more specific, you can subscribe in the same manner to the announcement blogs.

[captain_hook]

@petergwilson or simply open THWACK homepage every new month and you'll see it right there.

[petergwilson]

@captain_hook What do you think I did.

@Jfrazier Cheers for that.  Still finding my way around the new site.

[undesired_result]

@petergwilson do you not own a calendar?     

Pro Tip: When the Number under the Month = 1, there is a new mission available

[petergwilson]

@undesired_result Unfortunately that isn't true as not all missions start on the 1st.  Hope your monitoring is more accurate.    😡

Also, this is the first monthly mission since the new platform became available.  Some parts aren't up and running yet (not having a go at the great people at Solarwinds who do an amazing job) so it wasn't unreasonable to be unsure if there would be a monthly mission.

Real Pro Tip :  'Brain in gear before commenting' might be a good plan for you.    🤐

[undesired_result]

@petergwilson You are correct, they do not all start on the 1st, but one could reasonably deduce that the contest starts on the 1st under normal circumstances, or the first Monday following the 1st, should the 1st fall on a weekend or otherwise non-standard weekday (ie holiday)

Ultra Pro Tip: change your tone and you won't get treated like a runt.

Also, you found this by accident? Most of us intentionally navigated here I'm sure, so you must have some pretty random luck stumbling across the very location you were seeking. That's some next-level serendipity right there.

Cheers mate.

</responses>

[petergwilson]

@undesired_result Wind your neck in.  You were trying to be funny and failed miserably.  You were factually incorrect and now your are making wild and irrelevant statements.  My point was that I didn't know IF a mission was going to be run, NOT when.  

Yes.  I did find it by accident as I was looking for something else (therefore not actually finding what I was looking for).  I don't really care how you found it.  It isn't relevant.  

General Life Tip : When you are in the wrong, don't try to brazen it out.  Just stop.  It's called 'being an adult'.

[undesired_result]

@petergwilson ok boomer ... btw you dropped this: '

[rschroeder]

Let's not have Thwack degrade into what other forums have become--filled with sniping & unprofessional / unfriendly / unhelpful comments.  We have no place for flame wars here; we're here to learn and help and be helped.

Please use the T.H.I.N.K. policy before writing:

T:  Is what I'm considering writing True?

H:  Is it Helpful?

I:  Is it Inspiring?

N:  Is it Necessary?  (This one gets me frequently)

K:  Is it Kind?

If it didn't pass all five of those, please consider reworking the phrasing or content or intent it until it's something you'd want to receive from someone else.

Swift packets to you all, my friends!

Rick Schroeder

[jpfromit]

@rschroeder OMG! I loved you in Silver Spoons!! 😁

[superfly]

Hooray for new mission!

I still can't get used to not seeing who replied to who. It's just all listed down as it came in. Makes reading down the list confusing.

And people need to take a chill pill. No need for negativity. My mum always said, if you've got nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all.

[petergwilson]

@rschroeder Agree but this might have been better directed at the person who started it.

[petergwilson]

@undesired_result Well done.  Wrong again.  I'm not a boomer.

[jnewell]

Got to admit, the new forum looks pretty sleek... Although I do agree @superfly in terms of scrolling to see a reply chain, but it will take a little getting used to!

One thing I have noticed, and wonder if it is just me, but is anyone able to see the introduction line to the hints but no actual link? 
Probably a simple case of browser issue, but thought I'd throw it out there 🙂 

[kwimmer]

I have to hover over the sentences to see where the links are. There's no styling to indicate it's a link.

[captain_hook]

@petergwilson and that person is you, i can't believe you're not seeing it

[petergwilson]

@captain_hook Wrong.  Take another look.  Hope you are better at system monitoring.

[ecklerwr1]

Is it just me or does it feel like a scroll fest now?  I'll have to get on the Page Down more I think...  It's nice to see the missions get going again.  Change is always going to happen so we roll with it.

[petergwilson]

@ecklerwr1  missed opportunity for wordplay there.  Should have been "so we (sc)roll with it".   😀

Agree it is too geared up for phones / tablets yet most people on here would probably be at work using PCs or laptops at their desks.

plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

[rschroeder]

I suspect that the new forum's method of establishing pecking order via kudos received may cause some folks to decrease the amount of kudos they give out.  Where the previous forum used "likes" and did not count them towards the Leader Board.

I'm trying to offer Kudos everywhere now, in hopes that folks will be encouraged and become more likely to contribute and comment.

Don't be stingy, and don't be hung up on getting more while not giving out.  He who has shall more be given, so give as often as you can.

[ecklerwr1]

Those doorbell cameras seem pretty neat but a part of me feels weird about more cameras everywhere.  Ever since cellphone cameras got better I have to kinda feel it may not have been the best thing for society.

[jnewell]

Mmmm... Drone delivered breakfast tacos... 

Although, wouldn't the down draft cool them down a little? 

[petergwilson]

@jnewell   Stop talking about food.  I'm so hungry at the moment I'd probably eat the drone too.     😁

[jnewell]

@petergwilson, if only I had known before going to get something, I am only round the corner! 

I would say though, Drone chips are no where near as nice as normal one... Need a little more salt... 😄