A File Format Led to a Crossword Scandal (2019) [video]
> Despite Parker’s denial, many in the crossword world see willful plagiarism in Parker’s puzzles, and they see the database that revealed the repetition as a tool of justice. “It’s like a murder mystery solved 50 years later with DNA evidence,” Matt Gaffney, a professional crossword constructor, told me.<p>There's a response to postmodernism that says "reality is that which, when you ignore it, doesn't go away".<p>I have a hard time seeing this as a "scandal"; it's firmly in the class of things that aren't a problem unless someone tells you you have a problem. A murder has victims. But if you're unhappy that the crossword puzzle you solved last week was secretly a rerun from 10 years ago, it's not obvious whether the blame for your unhappiness should go to the guy who reran the puzzle, or the guy who told you it was a rerun.