The Wordlinator account tweeted rude messages with spoilers at people posting results.
Twitter has banned @wordlinator, a bot that replied to peopleโs Wordle posts with rude messages that include spoilers for the next dayโs game. The accountโs spoilers appeared to be accurate (the key is easily accessible in the gameโs code, so itโs not necessarily a surprise), which could end up ruining the game for anyone who sees them.
For anyone whoโs managed to avoid it, Wordle is a game where you get six chances to guess a five-letter word โ if youโre interested, you can learn how to play it here. The answer is the same for everyone playing, and it only changes once a day. The game also has an interesting sharing mechanic, where you can copy and paste a series of emoji to let people know how easy or hard it was for you to guess the word of the day. If youโve seen a ton of yellow, gray, and green squares on Twitter, theyโre probably either Wordle results or a joke about Wordle.
Note: if you like tweeting your wordIe scores, someoneโs made a bot you should block as it auto-responds with tomorrows answer pic.twitter.com/u62kBaTivn
โ dan nguyen (@dancow) January 24, 2022
The bot wasnโt well-received by Wordle fans.
Given that the game is about guessing a word, knowing what the next one will be can ruin the entire point. Itโs also one of those things thatโs almost impossible to put out of your head โ when youโve seen what the next word is, you probably wonโt be able to forget it no matter how hard you try.
While this particular bot is gone, Twitter could become a dangerous place for people who want to post their Wordle results โ the internet has already figured out how to predict what the next word will be, and someone else could make another bot to do the same thing as Wordlinator. (If you do end up seeing a new version of the bot, itโs best to block it to keep it from spoiling you and your followers.)
Before Wordlinator was banned, The Verge reached out to Twitter to ask if it was in violation of the platformโs rules. The company didnโt immediately reply, but the bot seemed to break at least one of the standards laid out on Twitterโs Automation Rules page. Under the word โDonโt!โ it lists โspam or bother users, or otherwise send them unsolicited messages.โ
If youโre tired of seeing Wordle tweets and want to know how to mute them, weโve got a how-to for that as well. I recommend taking that route over trying to make people feel bad for enjoying things.