7 ms·

If anything, Wordle is proof that we can't have nice things. It is now full of privacy-eroding trackers [1] and nonsensical, inconsistent, and seemingly arbitra

If anything, Wordle is proof that we can't have nice things. It is now full of privacy-eroding trackers [1] and nonsensical, inconsistent, and seemingly arbitrary word bans [2] -- wherein words like "agora" and "slave" have been removed, while words like "fucks" and "cunts" are apparently just fine. [1] https://gizmodo.com/wordle-ad-trackers-privacy-new-york-times-1848554549 https://gizmodo.com/wordle-ad-trackers-privacy-new-york-time... [2] https://nypost.com/2022/02/18/wordle-now-bans-offensive-words-but-not-all-of-them/ https://nypost.com/2022/02/18/wordle-now-bans-offensive-word... edit: it seems like sometime today, NYT re-added the previously-removed words like "slave" or "agora" or "wench" or any of the other words which up to today had been removed. That is interesting timing - did someone read this comment, or just coincidence?

3np 5y ago
Absence of proof is not proof of absence. We can have nice things on the internet. Even if Wordle got corrupted by spyware.
- Ansil849 5y ago
  'This is why we can't have nice things', which is what my comment (and likely the article title) was referencing, is an idiomatic, not a literal, expression [1]. [1] https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/this+is+why+we+can%27t+have+nice+things https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/this+is+why+we+can%27t+...
  - 3np 5y ago
    Sure, I'm aware. "Proof" is a too strong assertion either way.
onion2k 5y ago
"slave" wasn't removed. It's still a valid guess word, as are both "fucks" and "cunts" (I just checked, and still got today's word in 4). All the NYT did is 'demote' it from the special list of daily words because, fairly obviously, the NYT belive the optics of using the word as a way to make money is a bit complicated. There's no good reason why the NYT shouldn't have full control over an app they paid upwards of a million dollars for...
- Ansil849 5y ago
  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.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - canjobear 5y ago
    They were re-added at least by Tuesday.
    - lotsofpulp 5y ago
      I just tested slave at 10:38AM pacific time Mar 17, 2022, and slave was not a valid guess. “Not in word list” is the exact message. https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html
  - kevinwang 5y ago
    I hadn't tested myself, but I heard that they were only removed from being The Word Of The Day, not removed from the dictionary.
    - warp 5y ago
      I think the issue was that words in the 'word-of-the-day' list are not repeated in the dictionary, so removing them from the 'word-of-the-day' list meant they were also no longer valid guesses. Presumably this was pointed out to the NYT, and at some point they fixed the bug by adding any words removed from the 'word-of-the-day' list back into the valid guesses dictionary.
      - bcrosby95 5y ago
        Yep. I definitely tried "slave" sometime in the past couple of months and it told me it wasn't a valid word.
Kliment 5y ago
Wordle, as we loved it, tracker-free and entirely non-evil, is still available to this day at https://web.archive.org/web/20220209234643id_/https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/ https://web.archive.org/web/20220209234643id_/https://www.po...
- cinntaile 5y ago
  What does evil in English mean nowadays?
- yupper32 5y ago
  I guess the google tracker on archive.org doesn't count for you?
jaspax 5y ago
Can anyone explain why "agora" (a Greek word meaning "market") was removed? I can at least perceive the motive, as silly as it is, behind the other two, but this one has me stumped.
- strken 5y ago
  Used to be the name of a large darknet market[0]. It's possibly on whatever list of naughty language they used to demote words. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agora_(online_marketplace) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agora_(online_marketplace)
  - gilbertbw 5y ago
    I think AGORA was removed as an answer, as it's too obscure. Not as a guess word. https://twitter.com/MikeySlezak/status/1493344574260924420 https://twitter.com/MikeySlezak/status/1493344574260924420
- aaronax 5y ago
  It is too obscure. Source: I am a fairly smart and well-read person and do not know the meaning of the word. You can't have a word that difficult in a game that has a win streak...it is like a reverse deus ex machina or something. Bam! You lose your streak for no reason!!!!
  - draw_down 5y ago
  - xerox13ster 5y ago
    Counterpoint: You break your streak on a word you don't know. You get upset and look it up to see if it's even a real word. You discover that it means a Greek market, and start learning about that culture, maybe a little history. Maybe you're pushed to learn other 5 letter words, to prevent yourself from losing your streak again. Maybe you start reading more because you want to expand your vocabulary. All because you lost a precious game streak because you were pushed out of your comfort zone.
BrandoElFollito 5y ago
While the idiocy of removing words is beyond me, I am curious about agora. What's wrong with that word? (I am a French, non native speaker of English)
- imglorp 5y ago
  There don't seem to be any offensive uses for agora. Check the Urban Dictionary if there's ever a doubt. So that one might not have been pulled for PC reasons. Maybe they thought it was too archaic.
  - BrandoElFollito 5y ago
    Well, a 3000 years old word is indeed quite archaic - but it is routinely taught in schools in France so that's the reason I may have not seen it as such. Good idea with the Urban Dictionary, thanks.
- boredumb 5y ago
  Some users may be agora-phobic
- jffry 5y ago
  My guess is that they deemed it a little bit too obscure, but I don't know that and can't imagine the process used and there are probably plenty of words in the list to point at and quibble over. One of the things about Wordle is that it can give you a good shot at a feeling of success. Having something that feels like an "obscure" word which causes you to fail, lessens that positive feeling that could keep players returning every day.
  - canjobear 5y ago
    The list of possible solution words is different from the list of words you can input as a guess. “Agora” and “slave” were removed from the input list (they’re back now).
    - 5y ago
paulcole 5y ago
I think it’s proof that you can’t have a thing exactly as you want it forever for no cost. And if that’s something a person needs proven to them, better learn the lesson through Wordle than something that really matters.
jdrc 5y ago
If anything, people are proof that we can't have nice things.
tqi 5y ago
Actually what you can't have is your own personal, idiosyncratic sense of right / wrong dictated on everyone else.

3np 5y ago

Absence of proof is not proof of absence. We can have nice things on the internet. Even if Wordle got corrupted by spyware.

Ansil849 5y ago
'This is why we can't have nice things', which is what my comment (and likely the article title) was referencing, is an idiomatic, not a literal, expression [1]. [1] https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/this+is+why+we+can%27t+have+nice+things https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/this+is+why+we+can%27t+...
- 3np 5y ago
  Sure, I'm aware. "Proof" is a too strong assertion either way.

onion2k 5y ago

"slave" wasn't removed. It's still a valid guess word, as are both "fucks" and "cunts" (I just checked, and still got today's word in 4). All the NYT did is 'demote' it from the special list of daily words because, fairly obviously, the NYT belive the optics of using the word as a way to make money is a bit complicated. There's no good reason why the NYT shouldn't have full control over an app they paid upwards of a million dollars for...

Ansil849 5y ago
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.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- canjobear 5y ago
  They were re-added at least by Tuesday.
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    I just tested slave at 10:38AM pacific time Mar 17, 2022, and slave was not a valid guess. “Not in word list” is the exact message. https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html
- kevinwang 5y ago
  I hadn't tested myself, but I heard that they were only removed from being The Word Of The Day, not removed from the dictionary.
  - warp 5y ago
    I think the issue was that words in the 'word-of-the-day' list are not repeated in the dictionary, so removing them from the 'word-of-the-day' list meant they were also no longer valid guesses. Presumably this was pointed out to the NYT, and at some point they fixed the bug by adding any words removed from the 'word-of-the-day' list back into the valid guesses dictionary.
    - bcrosby95 5y ago
      Yep. I definitely tried "slave" sometime in the past couple of months and it told me it wasn't a valid word.

Kliment 5y ago

Wordle, as we loved it, tracker-free and entirely non-evil, is still available to this day at https://web.archive.org/web/20220209234643id_/https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/ https://web.archive.org/web/20220209234643id_/https://www.po...

cinntaile 5y ago
What does evil in English mean nowadays?
yupper32 5y ago
I guess the google tracker on archive.org doesn't count for you?

jaspax 5y ago

Can anyone explain why "agora" (a Greek word meaning "market") was removed? I can at least perceive the motive, as silly as it is, behind the other two, but this one has me stumped.

strken 5y ago
Used to be the name of a large darknet market[0]. It's possibly on whatever list of naughty language they used to demote words. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agora_(online_marketplace) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agora_(online_marketplace)
- gilbertbw 5y ago
  I think AGORA was removed as an answer, as it's too obscure. Not as a guess word. https://twitter.com/MikeySlezak/status/1493344574260924420 https://twitter.com/MikeySlezak/status/1493344574260924420
aaronax 5y ago
It is too obscure. Source: I am a fairly smart and well-read person and do not know the meaning of the word. You can't have a word that difficult in a game that has a win streak...it is like a reverse deus ex machina or something. Bam! You lose your streak for no reason!!!!
- draw_down 5y ago
- xerox13ster 5y ago
  Counterpoint: You break your streak on a word you don't know. You get upset and look it up to see if it's even a real word. You discover that it means a Greek market, and start learning about that culture, maybe a little history. Maybe you're pushed to learn other 5 letter words, to prevent yourself from losing your streak again. Maybe you start reading more because you want to expand your vocabulary. All because you lost a precious game streak because you were pushed out of your comfort zone.

BrandoElFollito 5y ago

While the idiocy of removing words is beyond me, I am curious about agora. What's wrong with that word? (I am a French, non native speaker of English)

imglorp 5y ago
There don't seem to be any offensive uses for agora. Check the Urban Dictionary if there's ever a doubt. So that one might not have been pulled for PC reasons. Maybe they thought it was too archaic.
- BrandoElFollito 5y ago
  Well, a 3000 years old word is indeed quite archaic - but it is routinely taught in schools in France so that's the reason I may have not seen it as such. Good idea with the Urban Dictionary, thanks.
boredumb 5y ago
Some users may be agora-phobic
jffry 5y ago
My guess is that they deemed it a little bit too obscure, but I don't know that and can't imagine the process used and there are probably plenty of words in the list to point at and quibble over. One of the things about Wordle is that it can give you a good shot at a feeling of success. Having something that feels like an "obscure" word which causes you to fail, lessens that positive feeling that could keep players returning every day.
- canjobear 5y ago
  The list of possible solution words is different from the list of words you can input as a guess. “Agora” and “slave” were removed from the input list (they’re back now).
  - 5y ago

paulcole 5y ago

I think it’s proof that you can’t have a thing exactly as you want it forever for no cost. And if that’s something a person needs proven to them, better learn the lesson through Wordle than something that really matters.

jdrc 5y ago

If anything, people are proof that we can't have nice things.

tqi 5y ago

Actually what you can't have is your own personal, idiosyncratic sense of right / wrong dictated on everyone else.