12 ms·

No, because it got bought by NYT. It was absolutely glorious as an indie phenomenon but to see it fold into a giant media conglomerate so quickly is yawn The m

by ridaj 5y ago

No, because it got bought by NYT. It was absolutely glorious as an indie phenomenon but to see it fold into a giant media conglomerate so quickly is yawn The most epic move would have been to pull the plug on wordle right at its peak, which was about two weeks ago. Not sell out. Just rip it out clean and let a thousand sorry clones try to compete for crumbs. That would've been an awesome statement.

kshacker 5y ago
What did you lose? I started playing just before ir was bought and I still enjoy a game a day like I started.
- ridaj 5y ago
  The illusion of innocence? The perspective that it might still be possible, on a shoestring budget within reach of a modest person, to create a massive, worldwide collective experience, that is engaging and fun without having any commercial ulterior motive?
- Ansil849 5y ago
  > What did you lose? User privacy, for one. The wordle page is now full of trackers. Freedom from arbitrary corporate decisions about which words are acceptable or not ('slave' is no longer acceptable, while 'cunts' is, for example) is another loss.
  - travisgriggs 5y ago
    I use Brave Browser. I’m not an ad tech guru. I _feel_ that these various trackers you mention on this page shouldn’t have much (if any) purchase on my visits. But it could be a naive placebo effect. I’m curious from anyone who is more knowledgeable than me about whether what you mention is largely muted by using Brave, or if it’s just a feel good that actually does little?
  - not2b 5y ago
    I just checked; "slave" is an acceptable guess in Wordle, as is "cunts". And I don't understand complaints about trackers; don't you know how to filter them out? I personally use Privacy Badger but there are many other choices.
    - Ansil849 5y ago
      > I just checked; "slave" is an acceptable guess in Wordle, as is "cunts". Like I said in another comment: > Up until today 'slave' (and 'agora', and 'wench' and etc.) was removed. It seems like starting today NYT has reinstated the previously-removed words. Interesting. You can find plenty of news stories about it being removed in days before today, if you need a reference. And knowing how to filter out trackers is not relevant to critiquing the practice of putting trackers in in the first place.
- elefanten 5y ago
  In the game? We lost AGORA, FIBRE, LYNCH, PUPAL, SLAVE and WENCH. In our culture? We lost the spirit of prioritizing reasoned debate over “the narrative” and “the optics”. We lost the standards we had for challenging each other to grow and traded them in for incentives to solve problems with performative appeals or procedural machinations.
  - lostlogin 5y ago
    We lost a cultural icon? This is amazing. Or is the joke passing me by?
    - rchaud 5y ago
      I think just speaks to the age we live in now; everything has to be relentlessly analyzed. When Wolfenstein came out in the early 90s, nobody cared that the villains were Nazis. When a reboot came out some years ago, suddenly there's a need for 'discourse' about historical accuracy, and whether the Nazis deserve to be killed in a fictional game, and why there side of the story isn't emphasized.
      - rurp 5y ago
        Wait, there was really a "won't somebody think about the Nazis" movement? I'm curious to read more if you have a link, especially if this was more than a fringe group.
  - Tomte 5y ago
    I didn't, but I'm admittedly not the typical user. I right-clicked and saved the Wordle page some weeks ago and have enjoyed my ad-free and non-tracked Wordle with original word lists ever since. It's unusual that it is made this simple, and that's exactly because Wordle was conceived as a whimsical playful thing with viral potential (the creator had viral hits before), not as a money-making machine. I have nothing but thanks and high praise for Mr. Wardle.
  - unethical_ban 5y ago
    I mean this sincerely as a fellow HN user and human - stop looking at everything through a culture war lens. I'm sure you'll think my post is ironic, because you see the world at war with you. But take three minutes and meditate on the fact that maybe it isn't all evil, that not every little social adjustment you observe is part of a coordinated downward spiral.
drusepth 5y ago
Not to mention the fact that NYT will eventually paywall it.
soupfordummies 5y ago
Like Flappy bird?
- ridaj 5y ago
  Yes except wordle has been 10x / 20x more popular than flappy bird ever was
  - rchaud 5y ago
    Perhaps among adults in the English speaking west. Flappy Bird got an enormous amount of attention, especially considering that it was made by a Vietnamese person (I think) and had very little marketing.
datalopers 5y ago
It's amazing to me how HN nonstop celebrates everyone raising money on bullshit rehashed tech ideas but are shitting on this guy for selling to NYT. He built and sold something unlike the vast majority ever will.
- nerdponx 5y ago
  The people who show up in "tech person does a thing" threads to fawn over said tech person are probably not the same people who complain about ad surveillance by the NYT.
- ridaj 5y ago
  Oh I don't mean to shit on the creator. We all got bills to pay. Mad props to him for getting a great payout and moving on. But does the result count as a "nice thing on the Internet"? I can be the judge of that and IMO no at this point it's just one of a million free casual games awaiting some monetization bullshit.
  - foolfoolz 5y ago
    this comment is why we can’t have nice things on the internet
    - ridaj 5y ago
      I do think there's a ton of nice things on the Internet. The FOSS community as a whole and Wikipedia are astounding in their civilization-transforming, anti-capitalistic effect on society. 20 years ago people paid Microsoft for the only half-decent productivity software around, Internet Explorer and freaking Encarta, for crying out loud. I don't think wordle is nearly close to the same level especially after getting bought.
    - yjftsjthsd-h 5y ago
      Why? What does this comment have to do with it?
      - 5y ago
redisman 5y ago
Flappy Bird did exactly that many meme cycles ago and it wasn’t “awesome”. The fans were pissed off and everyone else just forgot about it in a week.
- ridaj 5y ago
  That meme cycle was ~20x smaller than wordle in magnitude. Most people only heard about flappy bird after it was announced that it would be retired.
  - WHA8m 5y ago
    If you call numbers I call for sources. If I'd give in to my subjective observations, I'd state the opposite. I have never played Wordle, nor did I talk with anyone about it, nor have I heard anyone talk about it (in person ofc). I don't use Twitter though... Maybe you're right, but I'd like to see proof of this. After a quick search I found than: - Flappy bird was downloaded 50M times [1] - The dev made 50k a day [1] which implies that those 50M were not all 'dead downloads' but actual users - About wordle, every article I find just states 'more than a million daily players' [2] So, to make this short, I think you're just picking random numbers that fit your subjective perception. If you can provide proof that says otherwise I'll gladly back off. In the meantime it'd be nice if you don't make any more comments about how many times wordle is bigger than flappy birds then you already did. Your turn. [1] https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/no-flappy-bird-developer-didnt-give-up-on-50000-a-day/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/no-flappy-bi... [2] https://www.statista.com/chart/26667/usage-of-wordle-and-other-online-games-in-the-us/ https://www.statista.com/chart/26667/usage-of-wordle-and-oth...
    - OrderlyTiamat 5y ago
      (not gp) Google trends favors wordle, with the peak being 5x as big for US and 3x worldwide [1]. Google trends is imperfect information, but it is evidence. I think the comparison you did is hard to evaluate. the dev of wordle made 0k a day until sell, so that is an awkward comparison. The 50M downloads is hard to compare to 'more than a million daily players'. Anyway, the difference between US and worldwide in google trends may point to some differences in experience, too. Wordle is quite big in the US, while flappy bird was bigger elsewhere. I'm not american and my experience matches yours, so just for fun I'm going to predict you are not american, but gp is, with 2:1 odds. Am I right? [1] https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=wordle,flappy%20bird https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=wordle,f...
hackernewds 5y ago
You say this with the sentiment assuming NYT did a hostile takeover. It was willfully sold by the creator after having amassed a following.
buggythebug 5y ago
Yawn for who? I'm sure Josh's bank account is not yawning - what have you produced?
- jallen_dot_dev 5y ago
  > yawn /yôn/ verb (of an opening or space) be very large and wide. Are you sure about that? /s
jgwil2 5y ago
> That would've been an awesome statement. Statement of what, exactly?
unethical_ban 5y ago
Let's say hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of people enjoy playing Wordle each day, and that they enjoy playing the "official" version for the sake of network effects. Let's say you wrote this game for fun in a few days, and within a month, a newspaper (one of the better ones, IMO) offers you life-changing money for it. You think it would be better somehow (morally? just to be "epic"?) that someone decline that money and tear the app to shreds so no-one can have a good time. I don't see how that route is positive for anyone, except in the Joker-esque "watch the world burn" itch to rebel against the Man.

by ridaj 5y ago

kshacker 5y ago

What did you lose? I started playing just before ir was bought and I still enjoy a game a day like I started.

ridaj 5y ago
The illusion of innocence? The perspective that it might still be possible, on a shoestring budget within reach of a modest person, to create a massive, worldwide collective experience, that is engaging and fun without having any commercial ulterior motive?
Ansil849 5y ago
> What did you lose? User privacy, for one. The wordle page is now full of trackers. Freedom from arbitrary corporate decisions about which words are acceptable or not ('slave' is no longer acceptable, while 'cunts' is, for example) is another loss.
- travisgriggs 5y ago
  I use Brave Browser. I’m not an ad tech guru. I _feel_ that these various trackers you mention on this page shouldn’t have much (if any) purchase on my visits. But it could be a naive placebo effect. I’m curious from anyone who is more knowledgeable than me about whether what you mention is largely muted by using Brave, or if it’s just a feel good that actually does little?
- not2b 5y ago
  I just checked; "slave" is an acceptable guess in Wordle, as is "cunts". And I don't understand complaints about trackers; don't you know how to filter them out? I personally use Privacy Badger but there are many other choices.
  - Ansil849 5y ago
    > I just checked; "slave" is an acceptable guess in Wordle, as is "cunts". Like I said in another comment: > Up until today 'slave' (and 'agora', and 'wench' and etc.) was removed. It seems like starting today NYT has reinstated the previously-removed words. Interesting. You can find plenty of news stories about it being removed in days before today, if you need a reference. And knowing how to filter out trackers is not relevant to critiquing the practice of putting trackers in in the first place.
elefanten 5y ago
In the game? We lost AGORA, FIBRE, LYNCH, PUPAL, SLAVE and WENCH. In our culture? We lost the spirit of prioritizing reasoned debate over “the narrative” and “the optics”. We lost the standards we had for challenging each other to grow and traded them in for incentives to solve problems with performative appeals or procedural machinations.
- lostlogin 5y ago
  We lost a cultural icon? This is amazing. Or is the joke passing me by?
  - rchaud 5y ago
    I think just speaks to the age we live in now; everything has to be relentlessly analyzed. When Wolfenstein came out in the early 90s, nobody cared that the villains were Nazis. When a reboot came out some years ago, suddenly there's a need for 'discourse' about historical accuracy, and whether the Nazis deserve to be killed in a fictional game, and why there side of the story isn't emphasized.
    - rurp 5y ago
      Wait, there was really a "won't somebody think about the Nazis" movement? I'm curious to read more if you have a link, especially if this was more than a fringe group.
- Tomte 5y ago
  I didn't, but I'm admittedly not the typical user. I right-clicked and saved the Wordle page some weeks ago and have enjoyed my ad-free and non-tracked Wordle with original word lists ever since. It's unusual that it is made this simple, and that's exactly because Wordle was conceived as a whimsical playful thing with viral potential (the creator had viral hits before), not as a money-making machine. I have nothing but thanks and high praise for Mr. Wardle.
- unethical_ban 5y ago
  I mean this sincerely as a fellow HN user and human - stop looking at everything through a culture war lens. I'm sure you'll think my post is ironic, because you see the world at war with you. But take three minutes and meditate on the fact that maybe it isn't all evil, that not every little social adjustment you observe is part of a coordinated downward spiral.

drusepth 5y ago

Not to mention the fact that NYT will eventually paywall it.

soupfordummies 5y ago

Like Flappy bird?

ridaj 5y ago
Yes except wordle has been 10x / 20x more popular than flappy bird ever was
- rchaud 5y ago
  Perhaps among adults in the English speaking west. Flappy Bird got an enormous amount of attention, especially considering that it was made by a Vietnamese person (I think) and had very little marketing.

datalopers 5y ago

It's amazing to me how HN nonstop celebrates everyone raising money on bullshit rehashed tech ideas but are shitting on this guy for selling to NYT. He built and sold something unlike the vast majority ever will.

nerdponx 5y ago
The people who show up in "tech person does a thing" threads to fawn over said tech person are probably not the same people who complain about ad surveillance by the NYT.
ridaj 5y ago
Oh I don't mean to shit on the creator. We all got bills to pay. Mad props to him for getting a great payout and moving on. But does the result count as a "nice thing on the Internet"? I can be the judge of that and IMO no at this point it's just one of a million free casual games awaiting some monetization bullshit.
- foolfoolz 5y ago
  this comment is why we can’t have nice things on the internet
  - ridaj 5y ago
    I do think there's a ton of nice things on the Internet. The FOSS community as a whole and Wikipedia are astounding in their civilization-transforming, anti-capitalistic effect on society. 20 years ago people paid Microsoft for the only half-decent productivity software around, Internet Explorer and freaking Encarta, for crying out loud. I don't think wordle is nearly close to the same level especially after getting bought.
  - yjftsjthsd-h 5y ago
    Why? What does this comment have to do with it?
    - 5y ago

redisman 5y ago

Flappy Bird did exactly that many meme cycles ago and it wasn’t “awesome”. The fans were pissed off and everyone else just forgot about it in a week.

ridaj 5y ago
That meme cycle was ~20x smaller than wordle in magnitude. Most people only heard about flappy bird after it was announced that it would be retired.
- WHA8m 5y ago
  If you call numbers I call for sources. If I'd give in to my subjective observations, I'd state the opposite. I have never played Wordle, nor did I talk with anyone about it, nor have I heard anyone talk about it (in person ofc). I don't use Twitter though... Maybe you're right, but I'd like to see proof of this. After a quick search I found than: - Flappy bird was downloaded 50M times [1] - The dev made 50k a day [1] which implies that those 50M were not all 'dead downloads' but actual users - About wordle, every article I find just states 'more than a million daily players' [2] So, to make this short, I think you're just picking random numbers that fit your subjective perception. If you can provide proof that says otherwise I'll gladly back off. In the meantime it'd be nice if you don't make any more comments about how many times wordle is bigger than flappy birds then you already did. Your turn. [1] https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/no-flappy-bird-developer-didnt-give-up-on-50000-a-day/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/no-flappy-bi... [2] https://www.statista.com/chart/26667/usage-of-wordle-and-other-online-games-in-the-us/ https://www.statista.com/chart/26667/usage-of-wordle-and-oth...
  - OrderlyTiamat 5y ago
    (not gp) Google trends favors wordle, with the peak being 5x as big for US and 3x worldwide [1]. Google trends is imperfect information, but it is evidence. I think the comparison you did is hard to evaluate. the dev of wordle made 0k a day until sell, so that is an awkward comparison. The 50M downloads is hard to compare to 'more than a million daily players'. Anyway, the difference between US and worldwide in google trends may point to some differences in experience, too. Wordle is quite big in the US, while flappy bird was bigger elsewhere. I'm not american and my experience matches yours, so just for fun I'm going to predict you are not american, but gp is, with 2:1 odds. Am I right? [1] https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=wordle,flappy%20bird https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=wordle,f...

hackernewds 5y ago

You say this with the sentiment assuming NYT did a hostile takeover. It was willfully sold by the creator after having amassed a following.

buggythebug 5y ago

Yawn for who? I'm sure Josh's bank account is not yawning - what have you produced?

jallen_dot_dev 5y ago
> yawn /yôn/ verb (of an opening or space) be very large and wide. Are you sure about that? /s

jgwil2 5y ago

> That would've been an awesome statement. Statement of what, exactly?

unethical_ban 5y ago

Let's say hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of people enjoy playing Wordle each day, and that they enjoy playing the "official" version for the sake of network effects. Let's say you wrote this game for fun in a few days, and within a month, a newspaper (one of the better ones, IMO) offers you life-changing money for it. You think it would be better somehow (morally? just to be "epic"?) that someone decline that money and tear the app to shreds so no-one can have a good time. I don't see how that route is positive for anyone, except in the Joker-esque "watch the world burn" itch to rebel against the Man.