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RockGolf 
"1500+ reviews. 1 joke."
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 Posted - 04/11/2011 : 12:10:15
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Meanwhile, back at the puzzle...
The guy who wrote the puzzle is a Math Professor at Trent University in Peterborough.
As it happens, I know a world-class crossword-puzzler/ constructor who's also a college professor. I asked him his opinion, after linking him to both a copy the puzzle and the FWFR top 100 list.
Here's his opinion:
quote:
This looks pretty wonky. Clearly this supposed email was cripped from that great website. A very witty site overall. However, if this person (who I don't know) is a CS professor, he would have typed in anything he found into a search engine right away, because we all do that with everything. I mean the fact that he got the first two from a list, means he probably searched for the source of that list. And finding things of the right length would take forever. And having a pre-done list would make it awesome to fine ones of the proper symmetry lengths. So I think the guy didn't think anyone would notice, because the odds of him coming up with any two of those independently is pretty sllim.
It is bad editorial work by the NYTimes who doesn't really check and which is why their puzzles aren't as good as many others nowadays.
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RockGolf
"1500+ reviews. 1 joke."
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Posted - 04/11/2011 : 12:13:22
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What bothers me the most about the whole situation is not the borrowing / plagiarizing from FWFR, but the claim made by the puzzle's author that he came up with two of these himself.
It's like he's telling us, oh, you guys took 11 years to write these? Well, I just pulled two of the best out of my ass.
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randall 
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 04/11/2011 : 14:01:26
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I don't believe him either, Rocky. But it isn't the Times's fault for taking him at his word. Imagine if Will Shortz had to Google every bit of wordplay!
Although there's no law, I too assume the wordplay in a crossword comes from the constructor, and I think this amounts to, if not plagiarism, at least cheating, because he's implicitly taking the credit for creating the puns. Yet all he ever had to do was to include a clue on the order of, "Source of these movie puns, with '.com.'" The answer? FWFR. |
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MguyXXV 
"X marks the spot"
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Posted - 04/11/2011 : 17:30:35
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True dat.  |
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benj clews 
"...."
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Posted - 04/11/2011 : 17:41:23
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
I think this is great and hang those who find "Icy Dead People" is in bad taste!
Is it really "too soon" to be making this pun?  |
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MguyXXV
"X marks the spot"
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Posted - 04/11/2011 : 21:04:47
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Benj:  |
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NYT Times crossword copies FWFR!
