History: Photos in the Spelling Bee Forum
The online Spelling Bee began in May 2018. When the present Spelling Bee Forum was established on July 26, 2021, the photos featured with the daily articles were stock photos. It was not until much later, in May 2022, that the games team invited photo submissions from readers. Here's the history.
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2018-05-09 The online Spelling Bee was launched on May 9, 2018. The Spelling Bee Forum would not be established until more than three years later, and until that happened, Bee solvers camped out in the comments attached to the crossword column Wordplay.
2021-07-26 The Spelling Bee Forum was opened on July 26, 2021, and the featured photos of bees and flowers were stock photos from Getty Images.
2022-05-05 On May 5, 2022, the New York Times invited Bee solvers to submit photos for the daily Spelling Bee Forum page.
2022-06-20 The first reader-submitted photo graced the Spelling Bee Forum on June 20, 2022.
2023-01-03 In an article published just six months later, the New York Times said that they had already received more than 6,000 photo submissions.
2023-05-05 On May 5, 2023, a very public gaffe occurred. The published photo had clearly been generated by or manipulated with AI, and very poorly so. The Hive noticed, and there was quite a foofaraw. Later that night, the photo was replaced with a stock photo, and the photo submission guidelines were revised that day to specifically prohibit images that had been generated or manipulated with AI.
2024-04-18 In a social media post on April 18, 2024, the New York Times reported that it had received more than 17,000 photo submissions for the Spelling Bee forum, and invited readers to keep submitting them.
The daily photos have inspired much comment and have inspired some solvers to write poetry about the images, and others to provide detailed and often beautiful reports on the flora and fauna we see.
The New York Times’ brilliant idea to invite and publish reader photos has yielded a beauteous bounty for solvers’ daily enjoyment. The photos have invited much comment in the Forum, including series of poems by a few of the “Hive poets,” as well as informative and often beautifully written reports about the insects and plants shown in the photos.
All the photos may be seen here, by scrolling down a gazillion times: https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/spelling-bee-forum
2021-07-26 The Spelling Bee Forum was opened on July 26, 2021, and the featured photos of bees and flowers were stock photos from Getty Images.
2022-05-05 On May 5, 2022, the New York Times invited Bee solvers to submit photos for the daily Spelling Bee Forum page.
2022-06-20 The first reader-submitted photo graced the Spelling Bee Forum on June 20, 2022.
2023-01-03 In an article published just six months later, the New York Times said that they had already received more than 6,000 photo submissions.
2023-05-05 On May 5, 2023, a very public gaffe occurred. The published photo had clearly been generated by or manipulated with AI, and very poorly so. The Hive noticed, and there was quite a foofaraw. Later that night, the photo was replaced with a stock photo, and the photo submission guidelines were revised that day to specifically prohibit images that had been generated or manipulated with AI.
2024-04-18 In a social media post on April 18, 2024, the New York Times reported that it had received more than 17,000 photo submissions for the Spelling Bee forum, and invited readers to keep submitting them.
The daily photos have inspired much comment and have inspired some solvers to write poetry about the images, and others to provide detailed and often beautiful reports on the flora and fauna we see.
The New York Times’ brilliant idea to invite and publish reader photos has yielded a beauteous bounty for solvers’ daily enjoyment. The photos have invited much comment in the Forum, including series of poems by a few of the “Hive poets,” as well as informative and often beautifully written reports about the insects and plants shown in the photos.
All the photos may be seen here, by scrolling down a gazillion times: https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/spelling-bee-forum
SOURCES
2021-07-26First Spelling Bee Forum:https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/crosswords/spelling-bee-2021-07-26.html
2022-05-23The invitation to readers to submit photos was issued an article published May 23, 2022: Submit Your Own Photo for the Spelling Bee ForumNew York Times, May 23, 2022, Updated May 5, 2023 [as reflected in the URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/23/crosswords/bee-forum-photo-submissions.html
2022-06-20 First reader-submitted photo is publishedhttps://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/20/crosswords/spelling-bee-forum.html
2023-01-03Update from the New York Times about photo submissions Every Single Pangram of 2022: A recap of all the Spelling Bee puzzles from the last yearNew York Times, January 03, 2023https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/03/crosswords/all-spelling-bee-pangrams.html
2023-05-05LexiConnexxions records andSubmit Your Own Photo for the Spelling Bee ForumNew York Times, May 23, 2022, Updated May 5, 2023https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/23/crosswords/bee-forum-photo-submissions.html
2024-04-18Got bee photos? Send ‘em over and they may be featured one day!New York Times, TikTok, April 18 2024https://www.tiktok.com/@thegamesteam/video/7359296616844545323
2021-07-26First Spelling Bee Forum:https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/crosswords/spelling-bee-2021-07-26.html
2022-05-23The invitation to readers to submit photos was issued an article published May 23, 2022: Submit Your Own Photo for the Spelling Bee ForumNew York Times, May 23, 2022, Updated May 5, 2023 [as reflected in the URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/23/crosswords/bee-forum-photo-submissions.html
2022-06-20 First reader-submitted photo is publishedhttps://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/20/crosswords/spelling-bee-forum.html
2023-01-03Update from the New York Times about photo submissions Every Single Pangram of 2022: A recap of all the Spelling Bee puzzles from the last yearNew York Times, January 03, 2023https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/03/crosswords/all-spelling-bee-pangrams.html
2023-05-05LexiConnexxions records andSubmit Your Own Photo for the Spelling Bee ForumNew York Times, May 23, 2022, Updated May 5, 2023https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/23/crosswords/bee-forum-photo-submissions.html
2024-04-18Got bee photos? Send ‘em over and they may be featured one day!New York Times, TikTok, April 18 2024https://www.tiktok.com/@thegamesteam/video/7359296616844545323