I have a slightly different point of view.
First, it did get some people to read up, just knowing there was going to be a contest. When I first started on Monday, I read a good deal, but not much of it was really *learned.* But, knowing there was going to be a contest, I did re-read everything yesterday, and my fiance even took notes.
As for the question. It was the first question, and they did say that it would be riddles or trivia. I'm sure the following questions will be more involved.
As for the content of the question. Well, I don't know about you guys, but I've always been a believer that the subtle things make the big picture. And I, for one, enjoyed learning the subtle little fact.
There's a banner on my website that my lead artist made. When he first sent it to me, it felt incomplete. Something didn't seem quite "done" about it. He asked me if he could add the outlines of a city off on the cliffs. I said sure, why not. When I got the new version of the image, it felt complete, but I couldn't find this city outline. It took me a few days to notice exactly where it was. And when going back to compare it to the original, the original still felt empty. It was that little, subtle, touch, that completed it. That drew me in.
And the little, out of the way info, that we learned through the contest last night, helped to draw me in.
The contest doesn't have to be just about the lore that's already published. It can, and should include new lore for us to learn. Though, I agree that it should be done in such a way that the *answer* we give should be based on the written lore that's already available. I didn't study yesterday just to answer a generic riddle.
But I enjoyed it anyway.
If you're curious about the banner I went on about, you can see it at
http://www.tairisnadur.com
-Faileas