Our crossword fans have spoken, and decisively — don’t change the daily crossword puzzle!

Three weeks ago, we asked your opinion of the daily puzzle. We had received scattered complaints since the beginning of the year that the puzzle had changed, and not for the better.

So, we contacted our puzzle supplier, United Media, who told us the whole sordid tale.

Several newspapers had received complaints from their readers that the puzzle was too predictable. So, they asked United Media to spiff it up with more modern words and references.

In January, the new puzzle appeared. Soon, the syndicate was inundated with complaints from newspapers that readers were finding the new puzzle too difficult.

So, the puzzle master was asked to dial back the changes, which he did in March. After that, the complaints to the syndicate tapered off.

The puzzle we’re running today is a little tougher than the old one, but not as tough as it was from January through March.

The results of our recent survey were overwhelming. About 10 percent felt the puzzle was still too difficult. About 10 percent felt it was still too easy, and about 80 percent thought it was about right.

So, the puzzle stays.

However, we did get two requests from readers that we hope to accommodate.

We run the United Media puzzle during the week and the New York Times puzzle on Sundays. A number of readers say they don’t even attempt the Times puzzle, which has a well-deserved reputation for difficulty.

Many said they missed not having a Sunday puzzle. So, we plan to begin running a less complex puzzle in the Sunday Perspective section beginning in July.

Several puzzle users also asked us to begin running a daily cryptogram. This is another sort of word puzzle that requires users to do some code-breaking to uncover a saying or quip.

We hope to also begin offering that on the daily comic page in July.

Many of the respondents to the survey pointed out that users have different expectations of their puzzles.

Some set a goal of solving it in less than 10 minutes, and were displeased with themselves (or the puzzle) when they did not.

Others fill in what they can, then “chew” on the unsolved clues throughout the day, like a dog chewing on an “intellectual bone.”

Others do what they can, and are content to wait until the next day’s answers arrive, happy to be building their vocabulary for future puzzles.

Many said they were doing the old puzzle, but found it dull and repetitious, and were pleased when it became tougher in January.

All of which proved again the old maxim that you can’t please all of the people all of the time.

With so much variation in age groups, ability levels and expectations among our users, there is no puzzle that is going to precisely fit everyone’s needs.

Despite complaints, this one seems to be doing pretty well.

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