diff --git a/cruciverb-core/src/export/pdf.rs b/cruciverb-core/src/export/pdf.rs
index bc6b6ec..0c81b5e 100644
--- a/cruciverb-core/src/export/pdf.rs
+++ b/cruciverb-core/src/export/pdf.rs
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ pub fn to_pdf(puzzle: &Puzzle, title: &str, variant: &str) -> Vec<u8> {
 
     c.push_str(&format!("BT /F2 6 Tf 0.6 0.55 0.5 rg {} {} Td (cruciverb) Tj ET\n", margin, margin - 10.0));
 
-    build_pdf_with_fonts(&c, pw, ph, bold_font.as_deref(), regular_font.as_deref())
+    build_pdf_clean(&c, pw, ph, regular_font.as_deref(), bold_font.as_deref())
 }
 
 fn esc(s: &str) -> String {
@@ -130,100 +130,16 @@ fn esc(s: &str) -> String {
 }
 
 fn truncate(s: &str, max: usize) -> String {
-    if s.len() <= max { s.to_string() } else { format!("{}...", &s[..max - 3]) }
+    if s.chars().count() <= max {
+        s.to_string()
+    } else {
+        let keep = max.saturating_sub(3);
+        let cut: String = s.chars().take(keep).collect();
+        format!("{}...", cut)
+    }
 }
 
-fn build_pdf_with_fonts(content: &str, pw: f64, ph: f64, bold_ttf: Option<&[u8]>, regular_ttf: Option<&[u8]>) -> Vec<u8> {
-    let mut pdf = Vec::new();
-    let mut offsets = Vec::new();
-    let mut obj_count = 0;
 
-    pdf.extend_from_slice(b"%PDF-1.4\n%\xe2\xe3\xcf\xd3\n");
-
-    macro_rules! obj {
-        ($data:expr) => {{
-            obj_count += 1;
-            offsets.push(pdf.len());
-            pdf.extend_from_slice(format!("{} 0 obj\n", obj_count).as_bytes());
-            pdf.extend_from_slice($data);
-            pdf.extend_from_slice(b"\nendobj\n");
-            obj_count
-        }};
-    }
-
-    // obj 1: catalog
-    obj!(b"<< /Type /Catalog /Pages 2 0 R >>");
-
-    // obj 2: pages
-    obj!(b"<< /Type /Pages /Kids [3 0 R] /Count 1 >>");
-
-    // build font objects
-    let (f1_ref, f2_ref);
-
-    if let Some(reg_data) = regular_ttf {
-        // embedded TrueType font for F1 (regular/body)
-        let stream_id = {
-            obj_count += 1;
-            offsets.push(pdf.len());
-            pdf.extend_from_slice(format!("{} 0 obj\n", obj_count).as_bytes());
-            pdf.extend_from_slice(format!("<< /Length {} /Length1 {} >>\nstream\n", reg_data.len(), reg_data.len()).as_bytes());
-            pdf.extend_from_slice(reg_data);
-            pdf.extend_from_slice(b"\nendstream\nendobj\n");
-            obj_count
-        };
-        let desc_id = obj!(format!("<< /Type /FontDescriptor /FontName /DMSans /Flags 32 /FontFile2 {} 0 R /ItalicAngle 0 /Ascent 1000 /Descent -200 /CapHeight 700 /StemV 80 >>", stream_id).as_bytes());
-        f1_ref = obj!(format!("<< /Type /Font /Subtype /TrueType /BaseFont /DMSans /FirstChar 32 /LastChar 255 /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding /FontDescriptor {} 0 R >>", desc_id).as_bytes());
-    } else {
-        f1_ref = obj!(b"<< /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >>");
-    }
-
-    if let Some(bold_data) = bold_ttf {
-        let stream_id = {
-            obj_count += 1;
-            offsets.push(pdf.len());
-            pdf.extend_from_slice(format!("{} 0 obj\n", obj_count).as_bytes());
-            pdf.extend_from_slice(format!("<< /Length {} /Length1 {} >>\nstream\n", bold_data.len(), bold_data.len()).as_bytes());
-            pdf.extend_from_slice(bold_data);
-            pdf.extend_from_slice(b"\nendstream\nendobj\n");
-            obj_count
-        };
-        let desc_id = obj!(format!("<< /Type /FontDescriptor /FontName /PlayfairDisplay-Bold /Flags 32 /FontFile2 {} 0 R /ItalicAngle 0 /Ascent 1000 /Descent -200 /CapHeight 700 /StemV 120 >>", stream_id).as_bytes());
-        f2_ref = obj!(format!("<< /Type /Font /Subtype /TrueType /BaseFont /PlayfairDisplay-Bold /FirstChar 32 /LastChar 255 /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding /FontDescriptor {} 0 R >>", desc_id).as_bytes());
-    } else {
-        f2_ref = obj!(b"<< /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >>");
-    }
-
-    // obj: content stream
-    let content_id = {
-        obj_count += 1;
-        offsets.push(pdf.len());
-        pdf.extend_from_slice(format!("{} 0 obj\n", obj_count).as_bytes());
-        pdf.extend_from_slice(format!("<< /Length {} >>\nstream\n", content.len()).as_bytes());
-        pdf.extend_from_slice(content.as_bytes());
-        pdf.extend_from_slice(b"\nendstream\nendobj\n");
-        obj_count
-    };
-
-    // obj 3: page (deferred - write now)
-    let page_data = format!(
-        "<< /Type /Page /Parent 2 0 R /MediaBox [0 0 {} {}] /Contents {} 0 R /Resources << /Font << /F1 {} 0 R /F2 {} 0 R >> >> >>",
-        pw, ph, content_id, f1_ref, f2_ref
-    );
-    // we need to insert page as obj 3, but we already wrote objects 1,2 then font objects
-    // so obj 3 wasn't written yet. let's write it now
-    obj_count += 1;
-    offsets.push(pdf.len());
-    pdf.extend_from_slice(format!("{} 0 obj\n{}\nendobj\n", obj_count, page_data).as_bytes());
-    let _page_obj = obj_count;
-
-    // fix pages to reference our page object
-    // this is hacky but works - we'll just rebuild the whole thing properly
-
-    // actually let's just rebuild cleanly
-    drop(pdf);
-    drop(offsets);
-    build_pdf_clean(content, pw, ph, regular_ttf, bold_ttf)
-}
 
 fn build_pdf_clean(content: &str, pw: f64, ph: f64, regular_ttf: Option<&[u8]>, bold_ttf: Option<&[u8]>) -> Vec<u8> {
     // collect all objects first, then serialize
diff --git a/cruciverb-core/src/solver/candidate.rs b/cruciverb-core/src/solver/candidate.rs
index f5e6c67..f35a32b 100644
--- a/cruciverb-core/src/solver/candidate.rs
+++ b/cruciverb-core/src/solver/candidate.rs
@@ -1,49 +1,3 @@
-use crate::dict::Dictionary;
-
-pub fn score_candidate(
-    word_idx: usize,
-    dict: &Dictionary,
-    used_words: &[bool],
-    placed_texts: &[String],
-) -> f64 {
-    if used_words[word_idx] {
-        return -1.0;
-    }
-
-    let word = dict.get(word_idx);
-    let text = &word.text;
-    let mut score = word.frequency;
-
-    // reject words that are too similar to already-placed words
-    for placed in placed_texts {
-        if is_related(text, placed) {
-            return -1.0;
-        }
-    }
-
-    // bonus for letter variety
-    let bytes = text.as_bytes();
-    let mut seen = [false; 26];
-    let mut unique = 0;
-    for &b in bytes {
-        let idx = (b - b'A') as usize;
-        if !seen[idx] {
-            seen[idx] = true;
-            unique += 1;
-        }
-    }
-    let variety = unique as f64 / bytes.len() as f64;
-    score += variety * 0.1;
-
-    // bonus for common letters
-    let common = b"ETAOINSHRDLU";
-    let common_count = bytes.iter().filter(|b| common.contains(b)).count();
-    let common_ratio = common_count as f64 / bytes.len() as f64;
-    score += common_ratio * 0.05;
-
-    score
-}
-
 pub fn is_related(a: &str, b: &str) -> bool {
     // one is a prefix of the other (SEAL / SEALS, RUN / RUNNING)
     if a.len() >= 3 && b.len() >= 3 {
diff --git a/cruciverb-server/src/activitypub/inbox.rs b/cruciverb-server/src/activitypub/inbox.rs
index 31054fc..093e201 100644
--- a/cruciverb-server/src/activitypub/inbox.rs
+++ b/cruciverb-server/src/activitypub/inbox.rs
@@ -890,7 +890,7 @@ async fn handle_leaderboard(state: &Arc<AppState>, activity: &serde_json::Value,
 
     // check instance reputation
     let reputation: f64 = dbi.db.query_row(
-        "SELECT reputation FROM ap_instance_reputation WHERE domain = ?1",
+        "SELECT score FROM ap_instance_reputation WHERE domain = ?1",
         [origin], |row| row.get(0),
     ).unwrap_or(100.0);
     if reputation < 30.0 {