Matt

@Barry Ancona The frequent condescension on here directed at people for not liking a puzzle is very strange.

@zhousephine What a wonderful cause! All of our pets are from shelters. They've brought so much to our lives. ❤️

@Anna Rush to the comments section to post your solve time, apparently.

@Julia As soon as I read the clue, I knew someone would be offended by it.

@Mike The other day I went to Red Robin and got the Slider Towers. It was quite a tall order. (By the way, Mike, I love that you do these every day, and they make me smile.)

@Gavin I thought someone had a great point recently when they said that if someone finds the puzzles are too easy, they can try to solve using only the across clues. But it's always easier to suggest that someone else do something different, than to do something different yourself. I see the "too easy" complaints all the time, and it comes across like the "No True Scotsman" fallacy -- i.e. "no *true* puzzle solver would enjoy this puzzle, or find it challenging." But I doubt the people making these comments are considering anyone past their own noses. It also comes across like gatekeeping, because new people proud of themselves for their best Thursday time or whatever get welcomed in the comments with "this puzzle basically filled itself" or other comments suggesting that anyone over the age of 2 could complete the puzzle in 5 minutes. Gatekeeping is pretty popular among the most condescending in this space, though.

@Cory That IS what FWIW means. It doesn't mean, "Just so you know" unless a few qualifiers are attached.

@Chungclan On the other hand, we have not lost the common theme of older people complaining that things used to be better.

@Times Rita I have no idea, and neither do you. The past is seductive, because we don't have to live in it and can leave anytime we want. I don't want to go back to the Vietnam War, or "whites only" bathrooms, or pay toilets, or dial-up internet, or $2 minimum wage, or cars that don't protect you from accidents. In any generation, we take the good with the bad, and some people make themselves angry by focusing only on the bad.

@Barry Ancona I counted six comments before yours stating how easy the puzzle is. One of them called it a Tuesday puzzle and asked for recommendations for more challenging puzzles.

@Andrzej I definitely see a pattern in your posts on here, yes.

@Stefan In a somewhat similar vein, the lyrics for "Amazing Grace" match up perfectly with the theme song for "Gilligan's Island."

@SP I did see it. I just hadn't had a chance to respond as it had been only a few hours since you posted. Some people think certain puzzles are too easy, and others think the puzzles are too hard. That's inevitable. I have a lot of experience with submitting a different kind of product for the public, and one thing you learn almost immediately is that not everyone thinks you are as great at it as you and your friends do, and then most people learn to accept that, because pleasing everyone is impossible. (Some people don't like Vin Scully, for crying out loud, so why would everyone like Jack's puzzle?) I don't terribly mind the comments saying someone should never submit another puzzle. I have been told worse, and I've seen worse in the comments directed at people who criticize the constructors. I'm a little swayed because I follow sports, and it's harrowingly normal for players to get death threats or death wishes because they made an error, or because they scored 15 points and their over/under was 17.5. So saying a puzzle is awful and the constructor should retire is pretty tame -- which doesn't make it right or even acceptable, but like I said, I've seen much worse on this forum that went unchallenged.

@Chris I don't see how someone could interpret "Didn't enjoy this puzzle" as speaking for anyone but themselves.

@Cat Lady Margaret These were cute, and made me smile. Well done.

@sotto voce I am certain it won't sound this way, but I mean this as a serious question: What is the appeal in doing what your boyfriend did? It reminds me of those people who post videos pranking their child by giving them a big present and saying "Remember how you wanted a bike?" and it turns out to be a rock and they post the video so everyone can laugh at their child's disappointment. (Of course, I'm also a bleeding heart who can picture that poor nervous kid on the other side of the fun you and your boyfriend had at his expense.)

@Matt Please stop interacting with me on here.

@Josh I mentioned the other day that the overall vibe is much more negative than 5 years ago. It's definitely not just the comments about constructors.

@Wyra I don't think that's a completely accurate account. Andrjez posted on several different days that he didn't like the American phrases in the puzzles, and called it tiresome. Another commenter said that Andrjez posting the same thing every day is getting tiresome and pointed out that he didn't complain about Amuse-Bouche. That comment got 66 recommendations. Andrjez accused the commenter of obsessing over him, and mentioned that he has a doctorate. The commenter said that you don't have to be obsessed to know Andrjez style. I posted that Andrjez saying the same thing every day is getting tiresome, and another commenter criticized Andrjez for saying that someone who points out that he says the same thing every day must be obsessed with him. I think a lot of people were rude there, but -- like pretty much everywhere else on the internet -- the way the commenters as a whole see the difference between "nasty" and "funny" comes down to who they agree with and/or how they feel about the participants.

@Francis Very true. One day we will argue about the Oxford comma, and it will end up like the original Atari football game, where my brother figured out you could run off the left side of the screen and immediately re-appear on the right side to make the tackle.

@Captain Quahog My experience is that it is like pretty much every internet forum I have been on, with the same groups of people: -- The defenders, who think anything that the company/overseer does is wonderful, and can't understand why anyone would disagree with them about anything. They also associate seniority on the forum with value. -- The contrarians, who have questions/comments about everything and annoy many people (this group always clashes with the defenders). -- The ones who have the innate ability to make everything about themselves in some way. -- The ones who like to drop politics into the forum discussion, and almost always react with confusion when these are deleted or challenged. -- The self-appointed "elder statesmen" who revel in their status on the board. -- The miserable ones, who are always rude and complaining, and posters are apparently supposed to just accept that as "Jamie being Jamie." -- The ones who frequently complain that they hate what the board has become, but never actually change their behavior or leave the board. -- The ones who are just joining to comment about something. Their posts are relatively uneventful.

@Jack McCullough Ah! You got the point that some commenters will complain about anything, and that no matter what the level of the puzzle is, a good number of people will be upset. Nice job! The people who feel the need to overexplain everything as some kind of public service didn't get it, so thank you.

@D That was what I noticed as well. The gatekeeping is pretty strong here.

@HeathieJ I think your comment is fair, and there is definitely the possibility that I am focusing too much on a few miserables. As I alluded to below, I am pushing back against the overexplaining/piling on/frequently condescending comments. I believe it does change the vibe by people seeing that these things are accepted.

@Al in Pittsburgh That's not what constructive criticism is.

@Francis You said, "the fact that Pablo Escobar the Columbian soccer player was killed for a self goal, does not make any of the insults here any more defensible. Is that the standard you want to live by? That we just ignore anything other than actual murder?" I never said anything even remotely like this, and I am baffled at how you got that from what I wrote. I literally said that fans making death threats toward athletes does not make the comments here right or acceptable. This is the very definition of commenting in bad faith, and I don't appreciate you twisting my words to make yourself look better. You also said, "I can be nice if they can be nicer." This is the same logic used by abusers, terrible bosses, bad friends, and anyone else who wants to blame others for their own actions. What other people do does not give you a free pass to do the same thing. A 5-year-old will say, "He started it!" I thought you were better than that.

@kkseattle I've seen other people use the term "crunchy." What does that mean, in the context of a crossword puzzle? And what's a Q?

@Chris I liked it, but the stats page said 20% solved much slowed than their Wednesday average. So it's not like you're wildly out of line for expressing your opinion.

@Steve L Bless your heart if you think only one side does this.

@Steve L Well, I realize that the extremists on both sides are alarmingly out of touch with reality. But I'm sure the anecdote about your brother is more telling.

@Steve L The "No True Scotsman" theory in action!

@Barry Ancona Do you get a notification on your phone whenever someone criticizes a puzzle or something?

@Andrzej Wouldn't your statement apply to your post as well?

@Nancy J. I'll agree to disagree with you on that. Feel free to explain why you think I'm wrong; I just won't read it. Feel free to speculate on why I won't read it, as well.

@Barry Ancona Stones, glass houses, and all that.

@Barry Ancona You're projecting again.

@SP To the first point of the issue, why not let the new people express their opinions .... themselves? You're far from the worst offender with this, but this is exactly what I'm talking about. Who appointed anyone here to decide what is too easy/too hard for someone who is just starting? All that does is shout down the new voices, which -- whether or not you think it was intentional -- has the same effect as what D described. However it came about (I think the Barrys and Steve L's of this forum know exactly what they're doing; YMMV), the message of all their condescending comments is, "We are better than you because we are more experienced solvers, so get lost."

@Captain Quahog It's nice when someone assumes that someone votes differently than they do. This always leads to a respectful and productive exchange of ideas.

@Xword Junkie i find it more effective to ask people what they need and want from something than to tell them what they want and need.

@Mike The other day I went to Red Robin and got the Slider Towers. It was quite a tall order. (By the way, Mike, I love that you do these every day, and they make me smile.)