Striking New York Times Technicians have created a custom Connections Puzzle so fans can find their daily solution without crossing the digital picket line.
“We saw an outpouring of support from subscribers who proudly tweeted that they intentionally broke their streak to support our forwards,” said Jen Sheehan, a spokeswoman for the NewsGuild of New York.
The guild did not create the website itself; The website was created by Anthony Salazar, a freelance web developer who runs a creative studio called Swellgarfo. Salazar tells The edge that he created the app afterwards Connections started last summer. “My friends couldn’t get enough and started making their own grids and texting group chats with 4×4 word squares,” he says. The site took about two hours to program. He didn't expect anyone but his friends to use it, but the Creator tool has now been used seven million times.
“I didn’t know the Tech Guild was using my app, but I’m honored,” says Salazar.
There are aspects of the site that are easy to imagine The New York Times could have problems with it though. In addition to custom puzzles, the site also offers a recreation of them NYT Connections Archive, which is free to play and provides a way to get around NYTs own Connections Archive, which it just launched as a feature for paying subscribers.
Salazar says he would be “happy to delete the archive” if asked. He also says that the website uses that NYTs Publicly available API to create the archive, so “there would be lots of easy ways to completely dismantle that part of my app without even talking to me.” However, Salazar says he wouldn't turn off the puzzle creator because “it's no gives NYT intellectual property contained therein.”
The guild, whose members help develop these games, ultimately sees this as a form of support. “What we posted today and will post during our strike are fun ways people can support us,” said Sheehan, the NewsGuild spokesman. “In general, we hope so The times is more focused on getting back to the negotiating table than coming to our games.”
The New York Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment.