explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

513: Friends

2015-04-21T18:59:15Z

108.162.230.107: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 513
| date = December 5, 2008
| title = Friends
| image = friends.png
| titletext = Friends with detriments.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is talking apparently to [[Megan]]. He confesses that he has a crush on her. Usually the next step, when a boy likes a girl (or a girl likes a boy, boy likes a boy, etc.), is to ask the other person out. But Cueball takes a different route and in the comic he explains his thought process. Presumably he does not actually explain this to Megan.

He explains that he is afraid of rejection, and so instead of asking her out directly, promises to be her "best friend" and someone who is always "there for you", in the hopes that this will eventually lead to Megan developing an attraction for him. This way, Cueball does not have to risk Megan saying 'No' to him, as she will be led to make the first move instead. Cueball is aware that this may not be an ideal situation for Megan, conceding that she may end up changing her definition of happiness to make her feel more comfortable in the relationship, while she is conscious of the fact that she doesn't really love Cueball. Cueball recognises that if Megan fell for him this way, she would probably have this fact at the back of her mind forever.

And so, after painting this elaborate - but troubling - future, Cueball asks ''sound good''? Megan, however, is not won over by Cueball's plan, and tells him that she is going to date "this ''jerk''" instead (she could have said any name here - to Cueball it will always sound like ''jerk''!) This suggests that she would much rather date someone else rather than date Cueball whom she - as he correctly implies - does not love.

Cueball declares that the other suitor ''doesn't respect you'', an absurdly hypocritical comment given his manipulative plan. He explained earlier that he would ''tear down the jerks you date'', this last line could also be him actually executing on the plan he just detailed.

The title text is a play on the concept of ''friends with benefits'', wherein two friends have casual sex without entering a committed relationship. ''Friends with detriments'' suggests that having Cueball as her "friend" damages Megan's chances of getting a relationship (and sex) with anyone else, since Cueball will tear any candidate down. Also, despite Cueball claiming to be Megan's friend (and appearing to value this friendship), his plans are rather selfish and manipulative, making him a "friend" who is in fact detrimental.

The "There, There" at panel #6 or the title text may be references to the sitcom "the BIG BANG THEORY".

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is talking to a girl.]
:Cueball: I have a crush on you.

:[Cueball is shown alone.]
:Cueball: I could ask you out, and move on with my life if you said no.

:Cueball: Or, WE COULD BE FRIENDS!

:Cueball: See, I don't want to consider that you might not be attracted to me. I'm scared of rejection, so I've decided relationships should grow :smoothly out of friendships.

:[Megan is shown sitting at her computer.]
:Cueball: When you have problems, I'll be there for you, night after night.
:Cueball: Selflessly.
:Computer (Instant message from boy): *hug*

:[Megan is shown slamming door and walking to Cueball to get a hug.]
:Cueball: I'll tear down the jerks you date, and wait for you to realize how good I am for you. That only <u>I</u> will ever understand you.
:''SLAM''
:Megan: ''Sniff''
:Cueball: There there

:[Cueball is shown alone again.]
:Cueball: You don't want to hurt my feelings, and I won't ever force the issue. I'll tell myself it's because I "Value our friendship."

:Cueball: Bit by bit, I'll make you depend on me.

:[Cueball and girl are shown sitting on a rock in a park, reading a book together.]
:Cueball: You'll think about how long it would take to build this kind of connection again.

:[Cueball and girl are shown sitting on a couch drinking, getting closer, and kissing.]
:Cueball: And in a moment of weakness
:Cueball: and loneliness
:Cueball: you'll give in.

:[Megan is shown sitting at the computer with Cueball behind her facing the other way washing dishes.]
:Cueball: It'll feel comfortable and natural. You'll quietly revise your definition of love and try to be happy. And sometimes you will be.

:[Megan is shown sitting at the computer.]
:Cueball: Only the wistfulness in your gaze and the tiny pause before you say "I love you" will hint that this wasn't the ending you'd hoped for.
:Cueball: Sound good?

:[Megan is holding hands with another boy, talking to Cueball.]
:Megan: ...I'm going to date this jerk.
:Cueball: But he doesn't respect you!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Sarcasm]]

Talk:887: Future Timeline

2015-01-23T11:18:40Z

108.162.230.107: GNU/Linux

This one slipped under the transcripting radar. I may do it. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 20:52, 17 August 2013 (UTC)
:Do not talk about radars, just do it. The transcript is done right now, but the explain section still does need a big radar!--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:20, 18 August 2013 (UTC)

Find the song! I have no idea so far but the repeating phrase "Social security trust fund exhausted" should match a refrain.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:20, 18 August 2013 (UTC)

They now have the dogs driving cars... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWAK0J8Uhzk Let's not wait for 2053.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.90|173.245.54.90]] 21:01, 20 March 2014 (UTC)

Out of curiosity (I'm new to the standards of explainxkcd), are out of date pages considered incomplete? Or is it up to editors to chose when to update a pages explination. I would assume the former, except that would make maintaining the pages significantly more difficult. Also, referencing the Linux takes over. Since Android is now a part of the libux kernel,should thia be changed? It would definently put linux over the 50% mark. [[User:Mrmakeit|Mrmakeit]] ([[User talk:Mrmakeit|talk]]) 05:03, 4 April 2014 (UTC)
:Pages can not become out of date, as they refrence the meening of the comic at the time of creation. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.209|108.162.216.209]] 15:24, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

I would change the 2nd paragraph to say that the entirety of the search results are a super long set-up and "All your base..." is the punch-line. [[User:Smperron|Smperron]] ([[User talk:Smperron|talk]]) 08:46, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

I would correct the entry in 2014 that says that the Taliban are the organisation responsible for the September 11th attacks. The more accurate explanation would be that The US believed Al Qaeda (the real organisation responsible) were hiding out in Afghanistan and that defeating the Taliban, and bringing stability to the country was an important stepping stone towards finding Osama Bin Laden. Of course we now know he was in Pakistan all along, but still that was the original rationale for invading Afghanistan.--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 15:27, 15 December 2014 (UTC)

This further details stuff is wrong about the comic. The lines are just random answers to Google searches. There is no explanation. I move to remove this table, or convert it into links or summaries of the articles in the links. This sucks. It is good enough as it is now without the table (as the table is random and the explanations on the table are incorrect. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.209|108.162.216.209]] 22:12, 15 December 2014 (UTC)
:Let's get to work on the table then. I'm adding suitable references to incomplete sections to aid as jumping off points, from where further expansion can be done on a case-by-case basis. Can you provide some inspiration as to which explanations are most egregiously in need of correction? [[User:Pmw57|Pmw57]] ([[User talk:Pmw57|talk]]) 01:44, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

As of 2014 I have noticed that a lot of US sites are moving from html to closed sources such as Adobe so the quote: "The prediction about GNU/Linux Operating Systems is ambiguous" is now fighting through government agencies. Users of Linux trying to access the volcano archive (once supplied by listserv using linux) now have to get access via Windows machines. This has to be the saddest computing news in a long time. [[User:Weatherlawyer|Weatherlawyer]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 08:19, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

“The prediction about GNU/Linux Operating Systems is ambiguous, as Android (based on Linux) constitutes nearly 50% of the mobile OS market” — GNU/Linux refers to an operating system consisting of the GNU userland toolchain over the Linux kernel. Android is based on Linux but not GNU, therefore, it is irrelevant in GNU/Linux context. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.230.107|108.162.230.107]] 11:18, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1438: Houston

2014-10-24T10:31:53Z

108.162.230.107: Replied.

A commentary on the nature of outsourced helpdesks, perhaps? Although, IME, the problems are more due to 'sticking to a script' (which would have given an entirely different exchange) rather than an unknowledgable and casually uninterested 'service'-person. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 05:15, 24 October 2014 (UTC)
:I think this is the idea behind the comic too. Kind of like a "What if it had happened today?" It sure sounds like the kind of hotline support we get today. [[User:Deantwo|Deantwo]] ([[User talk:Deantwo|talk]]) 10:29, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

What is going on is this strip? Usually it's a reference to something or a commentary, but I don't get it at all. [[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 05:32, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

I think I figured out enough of it to remove the "incomplete" tag. This is definitely one of the weird ones. [[User:Shachar|Shachar]] ([[User talk:Shachar|talk]]) 06:02, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Reference to Continuum? (Canadian sci-fi show)
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.106|199.27.133.106]] 06:41, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Ebola? Really? Where is that..what? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.79|173.245.49.79]] 09:34, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

I agree, there is no evidence to back up the ebola reference. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 09:36, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Also, I took it to refer to people being distracted on the phone in general (hence the title text) or generally not taking their jobs serious. Maybe the idea that for NASA, space travel has become so routine that mission control is no longer as engaged in the missions. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 09:38, 24 October 2014 (UTC)