Technology

Looking for spoiler-free NYT Connections hints or just wondering why Connections is trending today? We've got what you need to understand the clues for today's puzzle without spoiling any of the answers.

Of course, Mashable has also provided daily hints and answers for Connections, Wordle, and Strands for years, so we can help you if that's also what you need.

While we are focused more on meanings than hints in this story, sometimes learning that many of the words have completely unrelated meanings is a clue in and of itself. Connections frequently includes clues that involve words within words and other visual clues.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for October 17, 2026 Alert meaning

A warning signal about danger or important information.

Chime meaning

To make a clear ringing sound.

Ding meaning

A short, sharp metallic ringing sound like a bell, timer or doorbell.

Ping meaning

A quick electronic message/signal sent to check someone's status.

Boheme meaning

"The bohemian" or "the bohemian life" in French.

Brea meaning

A thick, black, sticky substance used for waterproofing and roadmaking.

Paz meaning

The word for peace in Spanish.

Scala meaning

A Latin/Italian word for ladder or staircase.

Print meaning

Physical publications like books, newspapers and magazines.

Shot meaning

A single photographic exposure (snapshot) or an uninterrupted sequence of film/video captured by one camera.

Snap meaning

To break something thin or brittle with a sharp, cracking sound.

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Still meaning

A single, unmoving snapshot or film frame.

Fiddler meaning

A musician who plays the fiddle.

Hermit meaning

A person who lives in deliberate solitude and avoids human society.

King meaning

A male ruler or emperor.

Snow meaning

A white, crystallized precipitation that forms in colder temperatures.

Have you learned the meanings and still want the things? Check out the hints and answers for today's NYT Connections puzzle.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you're glued ot your phone.

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for October 17, 2026 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: "You've got mail!"

• Green: Take a pic

• Blue: Sea creatures

• Purple: Spanish article

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Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Digital notifications

• Green: Photo

• Blue: Kinds of crabs

• Purple: La __

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #1224 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Digital notifications: ALERT, CHIME, DING, PING

• Photo: PRINT, SHOT, SNAP, STILL

• Kinds of crabs: FIDDLER, HERMIT, KING, SNOW

• La __: BOHEME, BREA, PAZ, SCALA

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

Today's NYT Strands hints will be easy if you catch feelings easily.

Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for October 17, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Quite the crush

The words are related to feelings.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe developing feelings for someone.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

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NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Fall in Love.

NYT Strands word list for October 17

• Stumble

• Giggle

• Babgle

• Fidget

• Fall in Love

• Perspire

• Blush

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you tend to slip up.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for October 17, 2026 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Blunder.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter F appears twice.

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Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter G.

The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

GAFFE

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Wordle.

Fedora has a reputation as the Linux distribution that gets things right first. A lot of people like it, and I get why. Spend some real time with it, though, and a different picture appears: a fast, modern base system wrapped in a desktop that still expects you to finish the job yourself. I tried it out, and honestly, I don't get the hype.

The Google Pixel Watch is wonderful. It's not only the 'official' smartwatch for Android users, but it also stands on its own with a distinctive look, timely software updates, and long battery life.

According to Jeff Goldblum, life finds a way, but a more accurate take is that life gets in the way. I have so many hobbies that I struggle to find time for, as so much of my day is taken up with work, parenting, and general life admin. While tech is often seen as the villain, there are some ways that tech has finally helped me to do more of the hobbies I love.

When Ukraine struck Russian data centers earlier this week, it was a stark reminder that the massive buildings are becoming a target in warfare. In March, the Iranian military struck Amazon data centers in the United Arab Emirates, which remained out of service several months later.

While warfare attacks on data centers may seem like a distant threat for Americans, a cybersecurity expert tells Mashable that they remain a valuable target for physical and digital breaches, even in the U.S.

SEE ALSO: Did Ukraine’s strikes on data centers really silence Russian bots?

"Everything you do online goes to a data center," says Charles Brooks, an adjunct lecturer in cybersecurity at Georgetown University.

The average person's Netflix viewing, Google Doc usage, and personal online banking, for example, typically rely on the servers housed in data centers.

Additionally, cloud computing services used by the government, healthcare systems, financial institutions, and businesses need data centers. They're also vital for Earth-to-space communications, Brooks says.

That's why stealing sensitive information from data center servers or disrupting their operations altogether has become alluring for state-backed criminal hackers and operatives.

Brooks says the 20-year-old adage of "data is the new oil" feels particularly true today. Just as oil supply and revenue have long been targets of war and government pressure campaigns, data has become immensely valuable and part of critical infrastructure.

"If something does happen it could be catastrophic," Brooks says of a potential data center breach in the U.S.

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3 threats to U.S. data centers

While a foreign drone-powered attack on an American data center is highly unlikely, Brooks says one could become the target of a physical breach with explosives. Though the damage might be limited, such an attack would be a symbolic victory for terrorists, or violent groups opposed to AI and its infrastructure.

Physical security vulnerabilities

Brooks says data centers must be fortified with more than surveillance cameras, alarms, and barbed-wire fences. He recommends electrified perimeters, security guards, and defensive spaces around the control center and water-cooling systems.

The inside job

The most likely source of a breach is the insider who can access servers, data, and infrastructure because they have permission to be in the building, Brooks says. Whether this person is disgruntled, on an adversary's payroll, or makes a costly mistake, they can still provide valuable information to bad actors, share security vulnerabilities, or interfere with a data center's critical operations.

Brooks suggests using AI surveillance to detect unusual behavior and guard against malicious insiders. He believes the trade-off of potential false positives, in which a worker is falsely flagged as acting suspiciously, would be worth it given the types of vital information stored at data centers.

Brooks also supports rigorous background checks similar to the kind staff in hospitals and power plants undergo.

"Who you hire has a responsibility that that may go beyond a normal security job," Brooks says.

AI-powered hacking

AI tools allow bad actors to rapidly scale their hacking efforts, including those against data centers.

For example, Anthropic recently released a security report detailing how individuals, including those backed by foreign governments, have used AI to automate cyber spying operations and conduct espionage.

Brooks says AI makes it easier for criminal hacker groups to efficiently "pan" the internet for clues about how to digitally infiltrate an AI data center. That might mean phishing an employee to access and use their system credentials.

"They're scaling these attacks [with] much greater capacity, and they're using AI software to find vulnerabilities that they didn't know were there before," Brooks says.

Why Americans should care about U.S. data center security

Brooks argues that data center security is a national security issue, given that the facilities have become critical infrastructure.

Even if a digital breach in an American data center feels invisible, it would likely have a ripple effect on ordinary people's lives. People might be unable to work or conduct business or become the victims of a ransomware attack that includes their personal and sensitive data.

Brooks said that data center security should be guided by partnerships between the government and private companies that own them.

Fortifying U.S. facilities, he added, is essential because they're "really the repository of all key data."

With Halloween just two weeks out, Netflix is stocking its shelves with scream-inducing things to watch. Josh Hartnett's and his Newfie accent are making waves with the sea-creature thriller Below, and the Filipino horror series Balaraw: Blood Island is set to arrive on October 29.

You Can See Everything, comedian Nathan Fielder's documentary about Elizabeth Holmes' last days of freedom before being sent to prison for fraud, is now in theaters. So, now audiences curious and dubious can see for themselves if it lives up to the hype.

From the moment the internet got a glimpse of You Can See Everything, people have been obsessed. Rumors about what the movie contained sparked out of its Telluride Film Festival premiere, and grew more intense at its New York Film Festival debut.

That's where this critic saw the film. And in the span of its nearly three-hour runtime, I went from dubious about its conceit to a believer in its brilliance.

SEE ALSO: Does 'You Can See Everything' live up to the hype?

In my review, I wrote: "The project seemed preposterous, like something born from MadLibs or a brain-rot meme."

But whether you want to know more before you purchase a ticket or want to make sense of what you've just seen or just want to be up on the discourse, we're now going into spoilers for You Can See Everything.

Is this a real documentary? 

Yes. Co-directed by Nathan Fielder and filmmaker Lance Oppenheim (Primetime), You Can See Everything documents the 34 days of Holmes' life ahead of her incarceration for fraud.

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The film employs fly-on-the-wall footage around the home she shares with her partner, Billy Evans, and their children. It also includes interviews conducted by Fielder with Holmes, Evans, and her parents, as well as re-enactment sequences.

Why is You Can See Everything rated R? 

Mainly because the film includes full frontal nudity.

Who is naked in You Can See Everything? 

Billy Evans is filmed in the shower of the rental home that he and Holmes share ahead of her incarceration. 

What's the context of the teaser, where Holmes stares? 

Days before her incarceration, Fielder speaks with her without Evans around to get a sense of what she might be hiding. It plays out in the movie as it does in the teaser. 

Is Nathan Fielder playing a character or himself? 

This will be a matter debated by his fans. Compared to Nathan for You or The Rehearsal, Fielder is less comedically wooden in You Can See Everything. He more often cracks a smile or is openly incredulous or challenging. However, there are scenes of deep social discomfort that play well to his style of comedy. 

Does the doc go up to the present day?

No. The film ends around the winter of 2025.

In a Q&A following the New York Film Festival premiere of You Can See Everything, Fielder and Oppenheim revealed that communication with the couple broke down from there. 

Has Elizabeth Holmes seen You Can See Everything? 

In the NYFF Q&A, Fielder confirmed she had not. 

Has Billy Evans seen You Can See Everything? 

In the NYFF Q&A, Fielder confirmed he had not. 

Nathan Fielder lives with Elizabeth Holmes, Billy Evans, and their children in "You Can See Everything." Credit: A24 Who's running Elizabeth Holmes' social media accounts?  SEE ALSO: What's going on with Elizabeth Holmes' X account? ' Is Amanda Seyfried in You Can See Everything? 

Yes. Among some of the more mind-bending elements of this documentary, Fielder urges Holmes to watch The Dropout with him while cameras roll. The Dropout was a critically acclaimed Hulu mini-series in which Amanda Seyfried played Holmes; she later won an Emmy for her performance.

Ahead of You Can See Everything's theatrical release, Seyfried seemed to deny any knowledge of the documentary.

Asked about her rumored involvement in the doc while on the red carpet for the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd, Seyfried told Entertainment Tonight, "It's Nathan Fielder, and I know what he does. It's wild. And everybody's saying it's wild. So, I don't know. I want to know more."

Seyfried is in You Can See Everything, and in more than just clips from The Dropout. 

Fielder reached out to Seyfried because of her Emmy–winning turn in The Dropout to dissect some of his interactions with Holmes. Then, he invited her to re-enact other interactions, with Seyfried in the Holmes role. Christopher Abbott also appears, playing Billy Evans.

Is Elizabeth Holmes lying to Nathan Fielder?

This is the biggest question presented by You Can See Everything. The film leaves it up to the viewer to decide who to trust. The final act even calls Fielder's perspective into question, as he reflects on his feelings about "Liz" and how that impacts whether or not he can believe her.

At the NYFF Q&A, Fielder and Oppenheim said the crew was often divided on what a scene or moment meant. And the film's tight aspect ratio, which offers a close look at its subjects' micro-expressions, urges viewers to look close and decide for themselves. So, who do you believe?

Who's on first?

Who.

You Can See Everything Is Now playing in theaters.

SAVE $152: As of Oct. 16, you can get the 75-inch Toshiba Z670 Series Mini-LED 4K UHD Smart Fire TV (75Z670R, 2026) for $847.99, down from $999.99, at Amazon. That's a 15% discount, or $152 in savings.

75-inch Toshiba Z670 Series Mini-LED 4K UHD Smart Fire TV (75Z670R, 2026) $847.99 at Amazon
$999.99 Save $152   Get Deal at Amazon

If you're in the market for a large living room upgrade that won't totally drain your bank account, this Toshiba TV deal is worth a look. (And with the big football game inevitably coming up again this winter, you might want a larger-than-life screen, depending on the type of person you are.)

Right now, you can get the 75-inch Toshiba Z670 Series Mini-LED 4K UHD Smart Fire TV (75Z670R, 2026) for $847.99, down from $999.99, at Amazon. That's a 15% discount, or $152 in savings. This is the lowest price we've seen on this model to date.

SEE ALSO: What's the best time to buy a TV? The 4 optimal sale windows, including Black Friday.

The Z670 Series features a Mini-LED display with full-array local dimming and QLED color technology. That combo gives you precise control over the backlighting for deeper blacks, brighter highlights, and vibrant colors. It also has a built-in bass woofer, so you get room-shaking audio without necessarily needing to buy a separate soundbar right away. (Though you definitely can.)

For anyone connecting a PS5 or Xbox Series X, this model is specifically equipped to handle next-gen consoles. It features a native 144Hz refresh rate and a Game Mode Pro that supports VRR, ALLM, and AMD FreeSync Premium for smooth, tear-free gameplay (great news for anyone planning to play GTA 6). Bonus: It's a Fire TV, so you'll also get access to all your streaming apps, plus built-in Alexa for voice commands.

I recently rebuilt my NAS around an Intel N100 motherboard. I also have a DAS and another NAS for storing my files. Despite having several storage options, I found that accessing my most frequently used files over the network wasn’t as fast as I wanted. Instead of upgrading everything or replacing my existing storage hardware, I started looking at how I could organize my files differently.

One moment, you believe that Jon Bon Jovi might be your boyfriend, and the next minute, you're sending him thousands of dollars only to find out it's all a scam. Award-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller sets out to uncover the truth behind romance scammers in Super Scam Me, a documentary special coming to National Geographic, Hulu, and Disney+.

VLC has been around since 1996, when Google and YouTube didn’t exist. For nearly three decades now, the orange traffic cone has remained a familiar sight on computers. Several media players and file formats have come and gone, but VLC quietly keeps doing what it does best: playing media without asking you to pay. That longevity isn’t about nostalgia. VLC began as a student project before becoming open-source software that now works across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. Beyond just handling audio and video formats, it also bundles a collection of built-in tools that don’t require separate plugins or apps.

The dragons haven't even taken flight, and Fourth Wing fans are already breathing fire.

Prime Video has reportedly found its Violet Sorrengail and Xaden Riorson for the upcoming adaptation of Rebecca Yarros's bestselling romantasy series, with Esther McGregor and Emilio Sakraya set to play the enemies-turned-lovers at the center of the story. And naturally, people online have thoughts.

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For years, readers have imagined what the dragon riders of Basgiath War College might look like in real life, sharing fancasts, character edits, and fan art across social media. But now that two of the series' most beloved characters have actual faces, not everyone is ready to embrace the casting.

According to Deadline, Sakraya was already a popular choice among fans to play the shadow-wielding Xaden, and early reactions suggest that plenty of readers are happy to see the German actor land the role.

McGregor's casting as Violet, meanwhile, has sparked a more contentious conversation, with some fans questioning whether she fits their vision of the character, while others urge readers to reserve judgment until they see her in costume.

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But some fans can already see the vision. "Just picture Esther brunette. That's a perfect Violet. She looks like she has bird bones. I can see it. I can see her dislocating things. It makes sense to me," TikToker @kittykiju said, referencing Violet's physical fragility, which plays a significant role in the books.

Others are praising McGregor's acting skills. "I dont go here but Fourth Wing fans i am so jealous you got the amazing Esther McGregor as a lead because shes just fantastic," one person posted on X.

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Of course, some fans have already turned to AI to visualize McGregor as Violet, which raises its own questions about how much AI-generated character art has shaped readers' expectations of what these fictional characters should look like. After all, there's a difference between imagining a character and expecting a real person to look exactly like that imagined version.

Previously, McGregor starred in the Prime Video teen thriller We Were Liars, and Sakraya's English-language credits include Netflix's Warrior Nun and the Peacock series Those About to Die.

The debate has gotten so lively that the Fourth Wing subreddit had to create a second casting megathread after the first surpassed 1,000 comments.

Welcome to the parapet, Esther and Emilio. It's going to be a bumpy ride — but I, personally, can't wait.

Those About to Die airs on Peacock in the U.S.; Prime Video distributes it in some international markets.

RCS was supposed to fix texting. I personally held out hope for it, a lot. Yet, years after Google began pushing it, the experience still feels inconsistent and incomplete. What went wrong?

Teachers have a lot to get off their chests. Helping a classroom full of students learn to read, write, and work on their own is already a big job. Add chatbots that can do the homework — or create the lesson it’s based on — and there’s even more to work through.

Some are taking those frustrations to TikTok and Reddit, and finding plenty of people to commiserate with. Self-described teachers share accounts of students who need help getting through a sentence, or who hand in assignments they can’t explain. Some teachers for advice, others just need to vent.

SEE ALSO: Trump signs AI education order to train K-12 students amidst competition from China

In the replies, fellow educators recognize their own school days, while parents weigh in with concerns about their children’s education. The discussions can get heated, but some of the posts drawing attention are more personal — teachers admitting how hard their jobs have become.

In a TikTok posted a week ago, first-grade teacher Carol Fernandez broke down in tears as she talks about her students' struggles — along with her own.

"Clearly theyre not studying at home. Theyre failing." She gave an example of an exam, stating that only 1 student passed out of 34, and also telling a story about how they can't write words correctly, even when copying them from a board.

"It's exhausting," she says. "Its almost scary. And then you start questioning yourself, thinking, is it me?"

Teachers and parents in the comments tell her she isn’t alone, sharing their own concerns about students and their children falling behind.

"It's not you. These kids are DIFFERENT nowadays," wrote one commenter. "I had to quit. I ended up in an in-patient unit in September due to poor mental health. 30 beds...5 of us were teachers. This is nuts," wrote another. One commenter had her own theory: "It's the iPads. Now they have shorter attention spans so it's harder to teach them and it's harder for them to learn."

The frustration in those comments shows up in the research, too. In a Pew Research Center report published in 2024, 77 percent of U.S. public K–12 teachers said their jobs were frequently stressful, and 68 percent said they were frequently overwhelming. Most said they couldn’t get everything done during regular work hours. And students are having a hard time, too: On the 2024 Nation’s Report Card, 40 percent of fourth graders scored below the test’s Basic level in reading, with average scores falling from 2022.

Then there’s the challenge of getting students to focus long enough to learn. In a federal survey, about a quarter of public school leaders said student inattention severely hurt learning at their schools. The same share said it severely hurt staff morale. Many also share that commenter’s concerns about screens: In Feb. 2025, 73 percent said cellphone use had negatively affected students' attention spans. Apparently, "eyes on the board" has become a pretty big ask.

SEE ALSO: Kids don't need chatbots. Teach them this about AI instead.

Over on Reddit’s r/Teachers, users express the same exhaustion — and can sound considerably angrier. In a thread titled "I do not know how to teach kids this low," a user identifying themselves as a high school teacher writes: "They do not know how to write words and I have to stand over them and give them each letter. This is HIGH SCHOOL."

In one viral screenshot titled "My 8th graders are absolutely helpless," the user writes, "Independent work doesn't exist anymore because if I'm not right by their side holding their hand then nothing will get done," adding, "Maybe this isn't the right career for me." Another poster directs their anger at districts allowing students to advance without catching up: "Why are you okay with these students not getting appropriate help?" they ask. "I'm horrified at how our districts baby these parents."

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Now add in a chatbot that can fill in the answers before class even starts, and teaching becomes harder than ever. In another r/Teachers thread, "Student 'finishing' the activities in seconds," a user describes a student who repeatedly announced she was finished with textbook exercises almost immediately. The giveaway came when she claimed to have completed an activity requiring a video the teacher hadn’t played yet. Asked to put her answers on the board, the student struggled. "Half of them were completely wrong, and the other half were barely intelligible," the poster writes. As another user added, "That's what you get for trusting ChatGPT."

In the replies, users debated extra assignments, consequences, and moving more work into the classroom. One suggested having students watch recorded lessons at home and complete assignments in class, using pencil and paper, saying it's best if "students don't see the assignment until they get to class." Another questioned why suspected cheating should create yet another task for the teacher: "Oh, so the student who cheats through everything gets to have their teacher create more work for them to cheat through?" "The kid needs a detention and a call home lol," she adds.

Using a chatbot for schoolwork doesn’t automatically mean cheating. But teachers are navigating a classroom where those tools are already common: A Pew Research Center report published in February found that 54 percent of U.S. teens had used chatbots for help with schoolwork, and one in 10 said they did all or most of their schoolwork with chatbot assistance. For teachers already worried about students working independently, a completed assignment doesn't even give any sense of comfort.

SEE ALSO: I'm a college writing professor. Here's what AI still can't do

Of course, students aren’t the only people hoping AI can make the school day more manageable. As Mashable reported in July 2025, the American Federation of Teachers announced an AI training academy backed by Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic. That means teachers are being encouraged to embrace AI to ease their workloads, even as figuring out how students use it adds more to their plates.

Even figuring out whether a student used AI can become a project of its own. In a 2025 essay for Mashable, college writing professor Jonathan D. Fitzgerald discussed tools including GPTZero, ZeroGPT, and TurnItIn, describing how AI detectors could give conflicting verdicts on the same text. "How can a teacher approach a student with an accusation of AI plagiarism without concrete evidence, or really any way to get that evidence?" he wrote.

Interestingly, as per the Reddit threads, some students have questions about the teacher’s work, too. In another post, a student reportedly recognizes a teacher’s assignment formatting because it resembles the study guides they make with ChatGPT and reported it to the co-teacher. "It’s literally the meme of two AIs just communicating with each other," the poster writes.

Separate images circulating as alleged examples of classroom handouts show counting hands with six digits apiece, a fraction diagram with more sections than its label calls for, and a population map containing garbled place names.

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Some school systems are putting limits on how far this AI experiment can go. On Sept. 2, New York City announced a one-year moratorium on student-facing generative AI from pre-K through eighth grade, with exceptions including assistive uses. The policy allows limited, supervised high school pilots and lets teachers continue using approved tools for planning and operational tasks.

"There are a lot of holes in the policy, if we are being honest," Liat Olenick, AIM Coalition and Climate Families NYC organizer, told Mashable. "But Kindergartners will not be talking to chatbots this fall, and that is huge progress. We made that change this year."

As we move into the next phase of AI in schools, more policies like this will be needed. As generative AI becomes part of everyday life, the goal should be to make the most of what it has to offer while making sure neither students nor teachers take shortcuts that leave students unprepared for what comes after graduation. How well schools strike that balance is something teachers — and the rest of us — will be watching.

Red Hat gutted CentOS in 2020, and after CentOS 7 reached its final EOL in June 2024, countless servers lost their free, stable foundation. Three distributions, depending on who you ask, are filling that gap right now, each with a slightly different philosophy. Here is how CentOS Stream, Rocky Linux, and AlmaLinux compare, and what each means for administrators today.

MapQuest will not go gentle into that good night.

The navigation software — which debuted in 1996 and was later eclipsed by competitor Google Maps — is currying favor with new users by taking a hard line against Flock cameras.

Users can now track nearby Flock cameras and other surveillance systems using the platform's new Surveillance Layer, released yesterday to its mobile app. The layer includes location data for automatic license plate readers (APLRs) and other public cameras from almost a dozen companies: Flock, Motorola Solutions (Vigilant), Genetec, Axis Communications, Axon, Leonardo (ELSAG), Neology, Rekor, PlateSmart, Ubicquia, and Verkada.

According to MapQuest's terms, the data is sourced from Open Street Map contributors. Open Street Map is an open source, community-created mapping database.

SEE ALSO: Flock CEO says it won't work with clients who abuse its surveillance, but claims none have

Crowdsourced Flock maps have risen in popularity over the last year as communities fight back against the "public security" company. A nationwide backlash to ALPRs has resulted in intense scrutiny on Flock, including a recent Senate inquiry. Flock's CEO has doubled down on the company's partnerships with law enforcement and city governments, recently stating that only a small number of bad actors have abused its technology.

MapQuest shows nearby license plate readers as well as general surveillance cameras. Credit: MapQuest Credit: MapQuest

Flock partners have faced multiple accusations of misusing the surveillance system to stalk, harass, and profile individuals.

MapQuest saw an influx of new users in September, after the website announced it wouldn't honor President Donald Trump's executive order to rename Lake Ontario to "Lake America." Last year, the platform also debuted a customizable map feature that let users rename the Gulf of Mexico, following the Trump administration's announcement it was changing the geographical area's name to "Gulf of America."

The Roads Have Eyes! 👁️ Turn on the Surveillance Layer in Map Options to see known license plate readers from Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions (Vigilant), Genetec, Axis Communications, Axon, Leonardo (ELSAG), Neology, Rekor, PlateSmart, Ubicquia, Verkada, and other outdoor surveillance cameras.

[image or embed]

— MapQuest (@mapquest.com) October 15, 2026 at 3:49 PM How to turn on MapQuest's surveillance layer Total Time

• 5 min.

What You Need

• MapQuest app

Step 1: Download the MapQuest App.

Step 2: Tap the "layers" icon on the bottom right corner of the map.

Step 3: Toggle on "Surveillance."

Step 4: Look for the "eyes" to spot nearby surveillance cameras.

Credit: MapQuest Credit: MapQuest

Keeping on top of NFL scores can feel like a full-time job. If you're in a fantasy league, it can be hard to know how well you're doing without constantly checking your phone. I decided to build a scoreboard using a cheap ESP32 board to keep me informed while I'm at my desk.