Disputing earlier reports by the BBC and others, the U.S. news site CNET is quoting the head of the American Scrabble Association as saying that Scrabble is not changing its rules to allow the liberal use of proper nouns: names, places and brands. The report, which appeared on the BBC news site, has been repeated by a number of news outlets.

I don't play Scrabble, but that's very good news. House rules that include proper names, nouns and stuff are fine, but that should never be part of official gameplay. Aside from the Free Parking Jackpot, I'm extremely hardline when it comes to playing Monopoly.