Simplify the following text for a Grade 11 native English-speaking person.
Original: , the panelists were not allowed to formally confer with each other , though later in the series , there was no chastising of the panelists for whispering ideas to each other .
Simplified: , the panelists were not allowed to try to figure out secrets together , but later in the series , no one bothered the panelists when they whispered ideas to each other .