explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1460: SMFW

2014-12-15T06:30:00Z

108.162.249.204: /* Explanation */ ftw

{{comic
| number = 1460
| date = December 15, 2014
| title = SMFW
| image = smfw.png
| titletext = wtfw it's like smho tbfh, imdb.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|Little to no peer revision.}}

On various forums on the internet, people will use acronyms for common phrases as opposed to the common phrases themselves (e.g. "LOL" as opposed to "laughing out loud"). As the comic suggests, SMFW is a plausible acronym, but does not have any potential phrases to represent. The acronym itself is eerily close to a number of other acronyms commonly used, including: "SFW" (meaning "safe for work", denoting that something does not have suggestive content), "MFW" (meaning "my face when...", setting up for a user's reaction to something: possibly the intended replacement for the caption at the bottom of the comic), and "SMF" (meaning "so much fun"). Because "SMFW" is so familiar to these other acronyms, for some it would intuitively feel like "SMFW" has its own meaning. The title text contains more examples of imaginary acronyms of similar nature:

* "WTFW" is a combination of "WTF" ("What the fuck?") and "TFW" ("That feel when...", used in a similar nature to "MFW"), and possibly "FTW" ("For The Win")
* "SMHO" is a combination of "SMH" ("shake my head") and "IMHO" ("In my humble opinion...")
* "TBFH" is a combination of "TBF" ("to be fair") and "TBH" ("to be honest")
* "IMDB" is, of course, [http://www.imdb.com/ the Internet Movie Database], but also resembles abbreviations such as "IMHO" ("in my humble opinion") and "IDK" ("I don't know")

Below are possible examples of potential representations for each acronym, according to [http://www.urbandictionary.com/ Urban Dictionary]:

SMFW is an acronym for "Smoke more fucking weed".

WTFW is an acronym for "What the fuck, what?".

SMHO is an acronym for "Shaking my head off".

TBFH is an acronym for "To be fucking honest".

==Transcript==

[Cueball is sitting at a desk, crouched over a laptop]

Caption: SMFW an acronym ''almost'' makes sense

{{comic discussion}}

1088: Five Years

2014-07-17T04:56:44Z

108.162.249.204: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1088
| date = July 30, 2012
| title = Five Years
| image = five_years.png
| titletext = 'Well, no further questions. You're hired!' 'Oh, sorry! I'm no longer interested. There's a bunch of future I gotta go check out!'
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a take on the common and cliched job interview question "Where do you see yourself in 5 years." The interviewer is attempting to see where the job seeker would like to take their career and also what their hopes and dreams are etc.

In the comic, instead of explaining where he would like to be in 5 years, [[Beret Guy]] and the interviewer wait around for 5 years without moving to find out.

The title text is a continuation of their conversation in which Beret Guy turns down the job because he wants to find out what happened the last 5 years while they were both sitting in that room.

Given Beret Guy's ability to manipulate reality ([[1099: Tuesdays]]), it's possible he froze himself and the interviewer for 5 years.

==Transcript==
:[A Woman and Beret Guy sit across from each other at a desk. The woman has a bun.]
:Woman: Where do you see yourself in five years?
:Beret Guy: Oh man, I don't know! Let's find out!
:[The characters stare at one another.]
:[Cobwebs and hair grow; the desk and chairs fall into disrepair.]
:[Five years pass.]
:Beret Guy: Hah—
:Beret Guy: I ''thought'' so!

{{Comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]

Talk:1337: Hack

2014-03-04T00:28:29Z

108.162.249.204:

Taking the number with the title, we have a 1337 Hack. Has to be related. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.64|108.162.237.64]] 08:28, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
:: I concur, I don't think 1337 and Hack are just a coincidence [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.223|108.162.250.223]] 10:36, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

.... ok ... I bet that if the probe destroyed {{w|Star_Trek:_The_Motion_Picture|three of the Klingons' new K't'inga-class warships and the monitoring station en route}}, they would rethink the "we can no longer communicate with it" ... (seriously, probe from time of Voyagers returns to Earth and we are not able to communicate to it ... Roddenberry got surprisingly close). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:42, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

I wonder if it comes close enough to Earth so that it has enough delta-v left to deorbit like that, and where it would end up. Maybe someone could model it in KSP or something... [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.84|173.245.48.84]] 11:37, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

:It's not orbiting the Earth, so it doesn't need any delta-V to de-orbit. Consider: meteors hit the atmosphere (or the ground) all the time with no delta-V at all. All it needs is enough delta-V to re-aim so that it hits the planet, which if you start far enough away is probably very very little. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.61|173.245.48.61]] 18:00, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

Thank you, Randall, for making this possible. I will now forever lay claim to this comic as per this log: http://pastebin.com/bpexL7zL

You rock, dude. Keep on it. :) {{unsigned ip|108.162.218.5}}

I added the transcription - feel free to adjust the names of "Guy", "Girl1", and "Girl2" as I can't recall any "Randall appropriate" names. I've grouped all panel elements into groups, which I believe is correct. It's my first transcript. ;) [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:00, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
:Wow, um, and if someone could "pretty" up the transcript so it shows a bit more nicely on the "front" page, it would be appreciated. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:07, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
::Hmmm, I ''did'' have the explanation broken up by panel, which I thought made it more readable, no? [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 22:01, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
When I first saw the explanation, I thought the move "Hackers" was the subject of [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/130:_Julia_Stiles comic 130], rather than "Ghostwriters". Has anyone actually seen both? I get the impression Ghostwriters falls under the category of "so bad it's good", whereas Hackers is more of a cult classic. Maybe it's worth mentioning this emerging xkcd theme somewhere in the explanation. Thoughts? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.16|108.162.219.16]] 14:43, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

"Hackers" is so bad it is good. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.117|108.162.246.117]] 17:10, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

What, no rooftop pool comments? {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.33}}

I was going to make a comment about the pool on the roof. I couldn't remember if they ended up in a roof pool later on in the movie, or if i'm thinking of another movie. I haven't seen Hackers in so long. [[User:Andyd273|Andyd273]] ([[User talk:Andyd273|talk]]) 17:46, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
: They do. Crash and Burn's (Dade and Kate's) first interaction is her showing him around the school, which ends with her (somewhat reluctantly) telling him there's a pool on the roof of the school. He goes up and the door locks behind him; several other students are already up there, suggesting this is a standard hazing ritual. (side note: according to IMDB, this was a common prank at the school where they filmed.) Dade retaliates by, among other things, causing the school's sprinklers to go off during class; when she tries to confront him, he responds, "Pool on the roof must have a leak." The final scene shows the two conversing in a rooftop pool, which turns into frolicking as the credits roll. [[User:Fryhole|Fryhole]] ([[User talk:Fryhole|talk]]) 19:29, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

Regarding the pool:
IIRC, the movie ends with the two main characters (who use the aliases "Acid Burn" and "Crash Override") going on a date at a swimming pool on a roof (the scene shot as in frame 13). Meanwhile, their friends hack the lights on some office buildings so that they display the words "CRASH AND BURN". The shot showing this is also very similar to the last three frames. [[User:Cactus|Cactus]] ([[User talk:Cactus|talk]]) 18:09, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

I added an explanation for the storyline. It's probably not the only way you could understand this comic, but this one seems most plausible to me. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.123|108.162.231.123]] 20:18, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

The explanation states that Crash is the one who did the hack and tells Burn to make a wish at the appropriate time, but the conversation between the two in the comic shows the reverse.