Unless you’re competing with other people, the rules are whatever you decide they are. In a forum such as this, where people are comparing their results, saying what tools you use is a good thing: that way people aren’t comparing apples to oranges without realizing it.
But there’s no reason why you shouldn’t play the game the way it’s most enjoyable for you.
EPOXY → Can I think of something with P & non-terminal Y but also I & A? No, so…
SYRUP → Y in second? Ooh, boy. P as first letter could yield PYGMY, but might not be PC enough for NYT. Might be LYMPH or…
NYMPH
Tough just thinking of any word after two, here. There was about a 15-minute gap.
Wordle 281 4/6
STONE
HAIRY
WHUMP
NYMPH
I usually use CLUMP third, but i knew i had an H and wanted both to place it and to check the W. Turns out the MP was the valuable part. But i did also get info on where to place that H.
I stared at those letters for a while, not believing i could permute them into a word. 
I agree. I don’t “get” hard mode, but lots of people like it. Do what you enjoy.
Wordle 281 3/6
RATIO
BEGUN
NYMPH
You’d think this would be a tougher word than it was. After eliminating all five regular vowels, and with the consonants I had left and knowing there was an N, NYMPH fell in pretty easily.
I mean, it just seems like the most optimal way to play. Otherwise you’re just wasting a guess. But if you find it fun that way, play how you want.
Wordle 281 3/6
LEACH
MOUTH
NYMPH
Tricky, but once I knew M had to be in the 2nd or 3rd spot there weren’t many other possibilities it could have been. Just had to run through the combos in my head til one fit.
Wordle 281 5/6
HEART
CHILD
BLUSH
OOMPH
NYMPH
OK so none of the full-time vowels. Good challenge today.
Naw, you are investing in information.
I used to play a lot of Mastermind as a kid. Most kids naturally play Mastermind in “hard mode”. But i realized fairly early that well-chosen combinations that can’t possible be right lead to faster solves overall.
Of course, Wordle is different, because there are more “colors” and they are constrained to form a real(ish) word. So it might be that on average, hard mode gets you faster solves.
But, what if your first guess is “might”
How do you choose among bight, fight, light, night, right, sight, and tight? If you guess “finer” (and it suspect there are better options) you get a lot of information, and either get it right on the third guess, or can choose light, sight, and tight on 3, 4, and 5 (and even have a sixth guess left if it proves to be bight.)
Wordle 281 3/6*
A good day for me.
ADMIT
GUMBO
NYMPH
You might enjoy this video on optimal Mastermind strategy which itself was inspired by Wordle
OK that’s a good point. Yeah in that situation it probably does make sense to play that way.
Wordle 281 4/6*
IRATE
CLOUD
PSYCH
NYMPH
I don’t know if it would have made a difference, but I kicked myself when I pooched my guess #3 using a letter I already knew was disqualified (‘C’). Still, happy to get it in 4 today.
I don’t think BIGHT will be an answer, but EIGHT for sure will be. FINER is good but wastes a position on I. Better would be something like STERN.
Wow. A fortuitous first two guesses
Wordle 281 3/6
CRAPS
MONTH
NYMPH
I don’t see why you would think that. It’s the way to play where you’re more likely to get quick answers through sheer luck, but when you end up in a trap where there’s too many combinations to logically deduce, you’ll end up with longer guesses to balance out the ones you get quicker because you guessed MIGHT correctly over LIGHT or FIGHT or SIGHT or NIGHT or RIGHT or TIGHT whereas someone playing another stratetgy may be able to eliminate most of those with a play like SLANT that is a “wasted” guess but provides lots of info of what word left is right.
That’s similar to something Will Shortz, editor of the NYT crossword once said. He was asked if it’s cheating to use tools to help solve the puzzles. He said however you solve it that makes it fun for you, that’s fine.
Meanwhile, here’s tomorrow’s.
Wordle 282 X/6
Wordle 281 4/6*
BEARD
QUILT
SHOCK
NYMPH
Wordle 281 3/6
Fast today, due to lucky first guesses:
TRAIN
NOVEL
NYMPH
I was luckier than you.
Wordle 282 4/6