explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2363: Message Boards

2020-09-24T16:12:22Z

141.101.98.98: /* Too dumb for this one */

Randall stimulates people doing this to their parents? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.234|108.162.219.234]] 01:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:He doesn't necessarily think it's likely. But as the caption says, he's amused by the fact that it's possible because the Internet and message boards have been around long enough. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

It would be interesting to know how many online message boards have actually been in continuous operation for 20 years. The original Usenet newsgroups are actually twice that old, but what about Internet boards? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Reddit is starting to get there, being 15 years old now. I also do know some forums that started in 2003~2004 and are still active (mostly ones tied to still-updating webcomics). So not quite 20 years, but close. --[[User:Elifia|Elifia]] ([[User talk:Elifia|talk]]) 03:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
::There'll be BBSes (one I once used is still going, last I checked, well over 30 years old, pre-Web, not sure how many old-guard are there, as I've not for 25 years) and that would rival even pre-split Usenet. A MUD I know (all my characters long timed-out) is still going strong since pre-Web times, too. IRC isn't exactly persistent (and has changed a lot) but still exists. Even if the likes of anon.penet.fi have been closed, there'll be mailer-gateways/request-by-mail things (I used to ask one for Freeware!) on obscure servers. Perhaps Wollongong University still has a Gopher server (one memorable 'place' I visited on a link-to-link round the world trip, back just before I heard of the Berners-Lee thing). I have a habit of forgetting webforums (earliest currently used one was signed into only back in 2008) and a late-'90s one I recall fondly got so spammed (despite whatever passed for CAPTCHA in those days) that the webmaster Read-Onlied it, and domain is now expired. If I was a better person at staying in touch, I'm sure I could have been continuously active for sufficient time on a single platform (I fell off a Usenet group when I lost a newsfeed and refused to use the then-new-fangled Google Groups interface, just the latest insult since WebTV, the push from AOL and the whole Eternal September thing). So, anecdotally, I know there's a good chance. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.34|162.158.159.34]] 03:42, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:I have been an active member at GameFAQs.com for longer than 20 years. The message boards there opened in 1999.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.169|173.245.52.169]] 04:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

With a name like NIN85, I bet Mom is a Nine Inch Nails fan. ❤️ [[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.61|172.69.35.61]]

== Too dumb for this one ==

Is it just me or was the detail the whole joke hinged on a bit more subtle than usual here? Sure, sometimes it's arcane, but I feel like you don't usually need to read between the lines so much to even get the backstory for the joke.

On first read, obviously the two characters know each other, and the fact that a real life acquaintance would reply to a 20yo thread was clearly part of the joke. But essentially I read this as two people complaining about the same thing, as one often does on message boards. By the time I put it together that "NIN85 must be older now" + "new user from context is a teenager" + "most adults don't know many teenagers" + "except they do know their kids" = "she's talking to her kid", it was far too late for me to get the laugh. In retrospect "we talked about this" is a classic parenting line, but given that one tends to talk to many people about many things, it didn't really point me in that direction the way it was probably intended.

Maybe, not being a parent myself, my instincts also led me to assume that an older person would still sympathize and support a young person in search of totally rad transportation, rather than shooting them down like her mother before her :P So the assumption that "we talked about this" = "I, Vespa fan, have already denied you the same privilege" seemed like an especially great leap!

So, probably just having a slow brain day, but is there anything else to it I'm missing? Also, does Randall have kids? [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 04:55, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Not just you. It took me a while before I noticed the dates on the posts, but then I put it all together. Maybe a better title for the comic would have helped, something including "necro". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 05:54, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Reconstructing my own first reading of this (before I slept last night so imperfect) it seems I read the post-text first, worked out it was a mom/son relationship, 'confirmed' by finally reading the posting dates (the point at which I probably belly-laughed for 'getting it'), spotted the "New User" subtly there in the side-profile and then (after noting the forum name, subtitlr, title-text, etc) wondered about the Profile Pic.
:Mom seems to have kept (or deliberately retroed) an image from her youth, even if not the original (if there was any, for the v1.0 forum layout to show) pic uploaded in 2000. This was pre smart-phone/selfies, to any reasonable degree. Is this a scan of of an old emulsion photo? (It also has possible photoshopping artefacts of portrait over new background, by one reading of it.) Would a more worldwise 25yo scan in and upload a pic of her 15yo self? Maybe in a "see, I ''was'' there at Woodstock" way (though not actual Woodstock, unless that's the photoshopped background - or something like that - but maybe still not with a 15yo 'selfie' shot, but something from a later age). It's at this point I'm thinking I'm overthinking this (especially given how much 'exposure' many people still give in the profiles and avatars, even 35yo moms), especially given I've never used a selfie-avatar at all. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.116|162.158.159.116]] 12:14, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
::If you change your profile picture it will change for any post made. That's at least true for all fora I'm member of. Why would each individual post contain the information of which profile picture was active at the time the post was made (plus the actual picture data)? So there's no indication if the picture shown here is "teen mom" or "adult mom" (or "mom" at all). [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:31, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:::I know that, and it was on this basis that I presumed its likely a later (though who knows how recent) scan of an earlier physical photo. (Because that clearly looks more like a Randall-girl than a Randall-mom, in Cueball-People style, notwithstanding how in RL™ younger people often attempt to look older and vice-versa.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.98|141.101.98.98]] 15:06, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:::: In that case, how do you come to the conclusion that the profile picture shown there is a "young" person? By the hairstyle or what? I don't get it. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 15:18, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:::::Yes. Young hair (as opposed to young-adult hair, then eventually the tied-up bun look that can also mean 'serious' but with ornamentation). It's just my impression. Also note that Julz seems to favour the 'studio background' look (maybe filter-cropped down to just the head and shoulders) while NIN85 favours the more passive "visit to a place" photo that is ''not'' obviously a selfie, a height-shot, a posed sunrise/set one, which (the possibilities of photoshopping apart, due to the hint-of-border actually probably only there to maintain contrast between hair and the darker bit of the background) puts it in an early age of photography tropes. In my mind, but obviously not yours.
:::::But on the basis that every drawn feature is deliberately put there (rather than various accidents of setting in actual images of real life) [[1401|I like to think]] it's deliberately setting up the trope of a historic photo of young-millenial (''meant'' to be from roughly the time of the opening post, but probably uploaded much later) vs a more current pose by a young-post-millenial. YMMV.
:::::And none of this is a complaint, just a recollection of what I was originally pondering, as I appreciated the comic. Probably taking up no more than a minute of my time, last night, and now I'm surprised it's taking up this much more of it for both of us... ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.98|141.101.98.98]] 16:09, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

Another in-joke is that Vespa is a scooter and there is an electric model [https://elettrica.vespa.com/en/index.php] that require either a moped license or a full motorcycle license, depending on the engine power, that is a premium model, Peugeot electric scooter cost 40% less, for instance.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.200|162.158.94.200]] 07:13, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2363: Message Boards

2020-09-24T16:09:49Z

141.101.98.98: /* Too dumb for this one */

Randall stimulates people doing this to their parents? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.234|108.162.219.234]] 01:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:He doesn't necessarily think it's likely. But as the caption says, he's amused by the fact that it's possible because the Internet and message boards have been around long enough. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

It would be interesting to know how many online message boards have actually been in continuous operation for 20 years. The original Usenet newsgroups are actually twice that old, but what about Internet boards? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Reddit is starting to get there, being 15 years old now. I also do know some forums that started in 2003~2004 and are still active (mostly ones tied to still-updating webcomics). So not quite 20 years, but close. --[[User:Elifia|Elifia]] ([[User talk:Elifia|talk]]) 03:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
::There'll be BBSes (one I once used is still going, last I checked, well over 30 years old, pre-Web, not sure how many old-guard are there, as I've not for 25 years) and that would rival even pre-split Usenet. A MUD I know (all my characters long timed-out) is still going strong since pre-Web times, too. IRC isn't exactly persistent (and has changed a lot) but still exists. Even if the likes of anon.penet.fi have been closed, there'll be mailer-gateways/request-by-mail things (I used to ask one for Freeware!) on obscure servers. Perhaps Wollongong University still has a Gopher server (one memorable 'place' I visited on a link-to-link round the world trip, back just before I heard of the Berners-Lee thing). I have a habit of forgetting webforums (earliest currently used one was signed into only back in 2008) and a late-'90s one I recall fondly got so spammed (despite whatever passed for CAPTCHA in those days) that the webmaster Read-Onlied it, and domain is now expired. If I was a better person at staying in touch, I'm sure I could have been continuously active for sufficient time on a single platform (I fell off a Usenet group when I lost a newsfeed and refused to use the then-new-fangled Google Groups interface, just the latest insult since WebTV, the push from AOL and the whole Eternal September thing). So, anecdotally, I know there's a good chance. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.34|162.158.159.34]] 03:42, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:I have been an active member at GameFAQs.com for longer than 20 years. The message boards there opened in 1999.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.169|173.245.52.169]] 04:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

With a name like NIN85, I bet Mom is a Nine Inch Nails fan. ❤️ [[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.61|172.69.35.61]]

== Too dumb for this one ==

Is it just me or was the detail the whole joke hinged on a bit more subtle than usual here? Sure, sometimes it's arcane, but I feel like you don't usually need to read between the lines so much to even get the backstory for the joke.

On first read, obviously the two characters know each other, and the fact that a real life acquaintance would reply to a 20yo thread was clearly part of the joke. But essentially I read this as two people complaining about the same thing, as one often does on message boards. By the time I put it together that "NIN85 must be older now" + "new user from context is a teenager" + "most adults don't know many teenagers" + "except they do know their kids" = "she's talking to her kid", it was far too late for me to get the laugh. In retrospect "we talked about this" is a classic parenting line, but given that one tends to talk to many people about many things, it didn't really point me in that direction the way it was probably intended.

Maybe, not being a parent myself, my instincts also led me to assume that an older person would still sympathize and support a young person in search of totally rad transportation, rather than shooting them down like her mother before her :P So the assumption that "we talked about this" = "I, Vespa fan, have already denied you the same privilege" seemed like an especially great leap!

So, probably just having a slow brain day, but is there anything else to it I'm missing? Also, does Randall have kids? [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 04:55, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Not just you. It took me a while before I noticed the dates on the posts, but then I put it all together. Maybe a better title for the comic would have helped, something including "necro". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 05:54, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Reconstructing my own first reading of this (before I slept last night so imperfect) it seems I read the post-text first, worked out it was a mom/son relationship, 'confirmed' by finally reading the posting dates (the point at which I probably belly-laughed for 'getting it'), spotted the "New User" subtly there in the side-profile and then (after noting the forum name, subtitlr, title-text, etc) wondered about the Profile Pic.
:Mom seems to have kept (or deliberately retroed) an image from her youth, even if not the original (if there was any, for the v1.0 forum layout to show) pic uploaded in 2000. This was pre smart-phone/selfies, to any reasonable degree. Is this a scan of of an old emulsion photo? (It also has possible photoshopping artefacts of portrait over new background, by one reading of it.) Would a more worldwise 25yo scan in and upload a pic of her 15yo self? Maybe in a "see, I ''was'' there at Woodstock" way (though not actual Woodstock, unless that's the photoshopped background - or something like that - but maybe still not with a 15yo 'selfie' shot, but something from a later age). It's at this point I'm thinking I'm overthinking this (especially given how much 'exposure' many people still give in the profiles and avatars, even 35yo moms), especially given I've never used a selfie-avatar at all. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.116|162.158.159.116]] 12:14, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
::If you change your profile picture it will change for any post made. That's at least true for all fora I'm member of. Why would each individual post contain the information of which profile picture was active at the time the post was made (plus the actual picture data)? So there's no indication if the picture shown here is "teen mom" or "adult mom" (or "mom" at all). [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:31, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:::I know that, and it was on this basis that I presumed its likely a later (though who knows how recent) scan of an earlier physical photo. (Because that clearly looks more like a Randall-girl than a Randall-mom, in Cueball-People style, notwithstanding how in RL™ younger people often attempt to look older and vice-versa.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.98|141.101.98.98]] 15:06, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:::: In that case, how do you come to the conclusion that the profile picture shown there is a "young" person? By the hairstyle or what? I don't get it. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 15:18, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:::::Yes. Young hair (as opposed to young-adult hair, then eventually the tied-up bun look that can also mean 'serious' but with ornamentation. It's just my impression. Also note that Julz seems to favour the 'studio background' look (maybe filter-cropped down to just the head and shoulders) while NIN85 favours the more passive "visit to a place" photo that is ''not'' obviously a selfie, a height-shot, a posed sunrise/set one, which (the possibilities of photoshopping apart, due to the hint-of-border actually probably only there to maintain contrast between hair and the darker bit of the background) puts it in an early age of photography tropes. In my mind, but obviously not mine. But on the basis that every drawn feature is deliberately put there (rather than various accidents of setting in actual images of real life) [[1401|I like to think]] it's deliberately setting up the trope of a historic photo of young-millenial (''meant'' to be from roughly the time of the opening post, but probably uploaded much later) vs a more current pose by a young-post-millenial. YMMV. And none of this is a complaint, just a recollection of what I was originally pondering, as I appreciated the comic. Probably taking up no more than a minute of my time, last night, and now I'm surprised it's taking up this much more of it for both of us... ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.98|141.101.98.98]] 16:09, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

Another in-joke is that Vespa is a scooter and there is an electric model [https://elettrica.vespa.com/en/index.php] that require either a moped license or a full motorcycle license, depending on the engine power, that is a premium model, Peugeot electric scooter cost 40% less, for instance.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.200|162.158.94.200]] 07:13, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2363: Message Boards

2020-09-24T15:07:26Z

141.101.98.98: /* Too dumb for this one */ (insert linefeed)

Randall stimulates people doing this to their parents? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.234|108.162.219.234]] 01:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:He doesn't necessarily think it's likely. But as the caption says, he's amused by the fact that it's possible because the Internet and message boards have been around long enough. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

It would be interesting to know how many online message boards have actually been in continuous operation for 20 years. The original Usenet newsgroups are actually twice that old, but what about Internet boards? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Reddit is starting to get there, being 15 years old now. I also do know some forums that started in 2003~2004 and are still active (mostly ones tied to still-updating webcomics). So not quite 20 years, but close. --[[User:Elifia|Elifia]] ([[User talk:Elifia|talk]]) 03:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
::There'll be BBSes (one I once used is still going, last I checked, well over 30 years old, pre-Web, not sure how many old-guard are there, as I've not for 25 years) and that would rival even pre-split Usenet. A MUD I know (all my characters long timed-out) is still going strong since pre-Web times, too. IRC isn't exactly persistent (and has changed a lot) but still exists. Even if the likes of anon.penet.fi have been closed, there'll be mailer-gateways/request-by-mail things (I used to ask one for Freeware!) on obscure servers. Perhaps Wollongong University still has a Gopher server (one memorable 'place' I visited on a link-to-link round the world trip, back just before I heard of the Berners-Lee thing). I have a habit of forgetting webforums (earliest currently used one was signed into only back in 2008) and a late-'90s one I recall fondly got so spammed (despite whatever passed for CAPTCHA in those days) that the webmaster Read-Onlied it, and domain is now expired. If I was a better person at staying in touch, I'm sure I could have been continuously active for sufficient time on a single platform (I fell off a Usenet group when I lost a newsfeed and refused to use the then-new-fangled Google Groups interface, just the latest insult since WebTV, the push from AOL and the whole Eternal September thing). So, anecdotally, I know there's a good chance. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.34|162.158.159.34]] 03:42, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:I have been an active member at GameFAQs.com for longer than 20 years. The message boards there opened in 1999.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.169|173.245.52.169]] 04:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

== Too dumb for this one ==

Is it just me or was the detail the whole joke hinged on a bit more subtle than usual here? Sure, sometimes it's arcane, but I feel like you don't usually need to read between the lines so much to even get the backstory for the joke.

On first read, obviously the two characters know each other, and the fact that a real life acquaintance would reply to a 20yo thread was clearly part of the joke. But essentially I read this as two people complaining about the same thing, as one often does on message boards. By the time I put it together that "NIN85 must be older now" + "new user from context is a teenager" + "most adults don't know many teenagers" + "except they do know their kids" = "she's talking to her kid", it was far too late for me to get the laugh. In retrospect "we talked about this" is a classic parenting line, but given that one tends to talk to many people about many things, it didn't really point me in that direction the way it was probably intended.

Maybe, not being a parent myself, my instincts also led me to assume that an older person would still sympathize and support a young person in search of totally rad transportation, rather than shooting them down like her mother before her :P So the assumption that "we talked about this" = "I, Vespa fan, have already denied you the same privilege" seemed like an especially great leap!

So, probably just having a slow brain day, but is there anything else to it I'm missing? Also, does Randall have kids? [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 04:55, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Not just you. It took me a while before I noticed the dates on the posts, but then I put it all together. Maybe a better title for the comic would have helped, something including "necro". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 05:54, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Reconstructing my own first reading of this (before I slept last night so imperfect) it seems I read the post-text first, worked out it was a mom/son relationship, 'confirmed' by finally reading the posting dates (the point at which I probably belly-laughed for 'getting it'), spotted the "New User" subtly there in the side-profile and then (after noting the forum name, subtitlr, title-text, etc) wondered about the Profile Pic.
:Mom seems to have kept (or deliberately retroed) an image from her youth, even if not the original (if there was any, for the v1.0 forum layout to show) pic uploaded in 2000. This was pre smart-phone/selfies, to any reasonable degree. Is this a scan of of an old emulsion photo? (It also has possible photoshopping artefacts of portrait over new background, by one reading of it.) Would a more worldwise 25yo scan in and upload a pic of her 15yo self? Maybe in a "see, I ''was'' there at Woodstock" way (though not actual Woodstock, unless that's the photoshopped background - or something like that - but maybe still not with a 15yo 'selfie' shot, but something from a later age). It's at this point I'm thinking I'm overthinking this (especially given how much 'exposure' many people still give in the profiles and avatars, even 35yo moms), especially given I've never used a selfie-avatar at all. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.116|162.158.159.116]] 12:14, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
::If you change your profile picture it will change for any post made. That's at least true for all fora I'm member of. Why would each individual post contain the information of which profile picture was active at the time the post was made (plus the actual picture data)? So there's no indication if the picture shown here is "teen mom" or "adult mom" (or "mom" at all). [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:31, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:::I know that, and it was on this basis that I presumed its likely a later (though who knows how recent) scan of an earlier physical photo. (Because that clearly looks more like a Randall-girl than a Randall-mom, in Cueball-People style, notwithstanding how in RL™ younger people often attempt to look older and vice-versa.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.98|141.101.98.98]] 15:06, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

Another in-joke is that Vespa is a scooter and there is an electric model [https://elettrica.vespa.com/en/index.php] that require either a moped license or a full motorcycle license, depending on the engine power, that is a premium model, Peugeot electric scooter cost 40% less, for instance.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.200|162.158.94.200]] 07:13, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2363: Message Boards

2020-09-24T15:06:29Z

141.101.98.98: /* Too dumb for this one */

Randall stimulates people doing this to their parents? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.234|108.162.219.234]] 01:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:He doesn't necessarily think it's likely. But as the caption says, he's amused by the fact that it's possible because the Internet and message boards have been around long enough. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

It would be interesting to know how many online message boards have actually been in continuous operation for 20 years. The original Usenet newsgroups are actually twice that old, but what about Internet boards? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Reddit is starting to get there, being 15 years old now. I also do know some forums that started in 2003~2004 and are still active (mostly ones tied to still-updating webcomics). So not quite 20 years, but close. --[[User:Elifia|Elifia]] ([[User talk:Elifia|talk]]) 03:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
::There'll be BBSes (one I once used is still going, last I checked, well over 30 years old, pre-Web, not sure how many old-guard are there, as I've not for 25 years) and that would rival even pre-split Usenet. A MUD I know (all my characters long timed-out) is still going strong since pre-Web times, too. IRC isn't exactly persistent (and has changed a lot) but still exists. Even if the likes of anon.penet.fi have been closed, there'll be mailer-gateways/request-by-mail things (I used to ask one for Freeware!) on obscure servers. Perhaps Wollongong University still has a Gopher server (one memorable 'place' I visited on a link-to-link round the world trip, back just before I heard of the Berners-Lee thing). I have a habit of forgetting webforums (earliest currently used one was signed into only back in 2008) and a late-'90s one I recall fondly got so spammed (despite whatever passed for CAPTCHA in those days) that the webmaster Read-Onlied it, and domain is now expired. If I was a better person at staying in touch, I'm sure I could have been continuously active for sufficient time on a single platform (I fell off a Usenet group when I lost a newsfeed and refused to use the then-new-fangled Google Groups interface, just the latest insult since WebTV, the push from AOL and the whole Eternal September thing). So, anecdotally, I know there's a good chance. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.34|162.158.159.34]] 03:42, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:I have been an active member at GameFAQs.com for longer than 20 years. The message boards there opened in 1999.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.169|173.245.52.169]] 04:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

== Too dumb for this one ==

Is it just me or was the detail the whole joke hinged on a bit more subtle than usual here? Sure, sometimes it's arcane, but I feel like you don't usually need to read between the lines so much to even get the backstory for the joke.

On first read, obviously the two characters know each other, and the fact that a real life acquaintance would reply to a 20yo thread was clearly part of the joke. But essentially I read this as two people complaining about the same thing, as one often does on message boards. By the time I put it together that "NIN85 must be older now" + "new user from context is a teenager" + "most adults don't know many teenagers" + "except they do know their kids" = "she's talking to her kid", it was far too late for me to get the laugh. In retrospect "we talked about this" is a classic parenting line, but given that one tends to talk to many people about many things, it didn't really point me in that direction the way it was probably intended.

Maybe, not being a parent myself, my instincts also led me to assume that an older person would still sympathize and support a young person in search of totally rad transportation, rather than shooting them down like her mother before her :P So the assumption that "we talked about this" = "I, Vespa fan, have already denied you the same privilege" seemed like an especially great leap!

So, probably just having a slow brain day, but is there anything else to it I'm missing? Also, does Randall have kids? [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 04:55, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Not just you. It took me a while before I noticed the dates on the posts, but then I put it all together. Maybe a better title for the comic would have helped, something including "necro". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 05:54, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Reconstructing my own first reading of this (before I slept last night so imperfect) it seems I read the post-text first, worked out it was a mom/son relationship, 'confirmed' by finally reading the posting dates (the point at which I probably belly-laughed for 'getting it'), spotted the "New User" subtly there in the side-profile and then (after noting the forum name, subtitlr, title-text, etc) wondered about the Profile Pic.
:Mom seems to have kept (or deliberately retroed) an image from her youth, even if not the original (if there was any, for the v1.0 forum layout to show) pic uploaded in 2000. This was pre smart-phone/selfies, to any reasonable degree. Is this a scan of of an old emulsion photo? (It also has possible photoshopping artefacts of portrait over new background, by one reading of it.) Would a more worldwise 25yo scan in and upload a pic of her 15yo self? Maybe in a "see, I ''was'' there at Woodstock" way (though not actual Woodstock, unless that's the photoshopped background - or something like that - but maybe still not with a 15yo 'selfie' shot, but something from a later age). It's at this point I'm thinking I'm overthinking this (especially given how much 'exposure' many people still give in the profiles and avatars, even 35yo moms), especially given I've never used a selfie-avatar at all. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.116|162.158.159.116]] 12:14, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
::If you change your profile picture it will change for any post made. That's at least true for all fora I'm member of. Why would each individual post contain the information of which profile picture was active at the time the post was made (plus the actual picture data)? So there's no indication if the picture shown here is "teen mom" or "adult mom" (or "mom" at all). [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:31, 24 September 2020 (UTC):::I know that, and it was on this basis that I presumed its likely a later (though who knows how recent) scan of an earlier physical photo. (Because that clearly looks more like a Randall-girl than a Randall-mom, in Cueball-People style, notwithstanding how in RL™ younger people often attempt to look older and vice-versa.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.98|141.101.98.98]] 15:06, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

Another in-joke is that Vespa is a scooter and there is an electric model [https://elettrica.vespa.com/en/index.php] that require either a moped license or a full motorcycle license, depending on the engine power, that is a premium model, Peugeot electric scooter cost 40% less, for instance.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.200|162.158.94.200]] 07:13, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

370: Redwall

2020-09-21T19:11:11Z

141.101.98.98: /* Explanation */ contrary to popular misconception (and the movies) Tolkien never settled on an origin for the orcs in his published work

{{comic
| number = 370
| date = January 14, 2008
| title = Redwall
| image = redwall.png
| titletext = My Redwall/Jurassic Park crossover fanfic is almost complete!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references {{w|Brian Jacques|Brian Jacques'}} series of books, ''{{w|Redwall}}'', which star sapient woodland animals in various high fantasy adventures.

The first panel shows the similarity between the story of Martin the Warrior (from the book ''{{w|Mossflower}}'') and {{w|Aragorn}} from ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'' by {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}}. The joke is that while Martin and Aragorn introduce themselves separately, they then go on to describe their particular story, which turns out to be exactly the same for both of them. Subsequently Martin jinxes Aragorn. {{w|Jinx (children's game)|Jinx}} is a common children's game, which is initiated by shouting "Jinx" after somebody speaks the same word or sentence at the same time as you. That person is then jinxed, with one form of the rules dictating that they are then not permitted to speak until unjinxed by some specific action (usually somebody saying their name), or more commonly someone would say “Jinx! You owe me a soda,” and then the other person would owe them a soda. For a similar children’s game, see [[392: Making Rules]].

In LOTR, orcs are unequivocally and without exception the bad guys, capable only of hate and violence (although to be fair, in some of Tolkien's unpublished writing orcs are corrupted elves, so it is clear that they are not intrinsically bad). Similarly, Redwall's rats, foxes, ferrets, ermine, and weasels are mostly evil manipulators while mice, rabbits, squirrels, hedgehogs, and badgers are always the good guys. On several occasions, characters explicitly state that "vermin stays vermin." This is the overarching rule, notwithstanding the rare exception (e.g. Grubbage from {{w|Triss}}. Conversely, one of the so-called "good species" has never become evil in this book series. It is somewhat extreme to call the simplistic distinctions in these books "racist undertones," being more an expression of the {{w|Nature versus nurture|nature versus nurture}} debate, but at the very least they vaguely resemble the racist attitudes of Tolkien's 1950s America (kindly bear in mind that Tolkien was British.)

The second panel deals with the fact that ''Redwall'' mentions the name of {{w|Satan}} or {{w|The Devil}} 4 times, while it never mentions {{w|God}} or {{w|Jesus}}--somewhat surprisingly, given that the book is set in an abbey, and many of the inhabitants are religious brothers and sisters. [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] then points out that people who {{w|Religious debates over the Harry Potter series|protest against Harry Potter because of the series' witchcraft}}, should take note that Redwall explicitly mentions Satan, although it has had little to no negative feedback from more conservative readers.

In the third panel, Randall comments on ''Redwall'''s often-used theme of critical messages being left in riddles throughout the Abbey for the occupants to find when they are in need. Randall suggests that he would use {{w|Public-key cryptography|public-key cryptography}} to encode the messages, instead of the elaborate riddles used in the books (some of which are ridiculously easy, which doesn't exactly make for good security when dealing with sensitive information).

In the title text, Randall jokes that he is making a crossover {{w|Fan fiction|fan-fiction}} with ''Redwall'' and ''{{w|Jurassic Park}}''.

Redwall was also referenced in [[1688: Map Age Guide]] and [[1722: Debugging]].

==Transcript==
:Notes from reading Redwall books for the first time since childhood.

:Some of this feels familiar.
:Aragorn: Hi, I'm Aragorn.
:Martin: I'm Martin.
:Aragorn and Martin: I'm here to reforge my broken sword so I can lead an army against the tyrant threatening my people. I live in a world of moral absolutes and racist undertones.
:Martin: Jinx!

:It startled me when characters mentioned Satan.
:Redwall: "By Satan's whiskers..."
:Redwall mentions God/Jesus 0 times.
:Redwall mentions Satan/The Devil 4 times.
:(Harry Potter protesters, take note.)

:Even as a kid this bothered me: Why does everyone leave critical secret messages as simple riddles? It's silly to assume the intended recipient will be the only one to find and solve them. I would do things differently.
:Matthias: The inscription is a message from Martin!
:Brother Methuselah: What does it say?
:Matthias: Hang on, it's encrypted with my public key.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Harry Potter]]

2360: Common Star Types

2020-09-17T19:32:09Z

141.101.98.98: /* Explanation */ Better landings

{{comic
| number = 2360
| date = September 16, 2020
| title = Common Star Types
| image = common_star_types.png
| titletext = This article is about Eta Carinae, a luminous blue hypergiant with anomalous Fe[ii] emission spectra. For the 1998 Brad Bird film, see The Iron Giant (film).
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an INDIGO BANSHEE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This 'infographic' chart purports to be a comparative guide to various star types, often described by a basic color, which is something that even naked-eye astronomy has determined, and may be qualified as 'dwarf' or 'giant' to describe relative sizes. An idea of the true size of a star has only really been possible since the development of modern instrumental astronomy, which can also determine the different conditions that make a red dwarf or a red giant 'red' and other key aspects of their nature that are summarised for each example.

In true xkcd tradition, this is taken beyond reality. The pantheon of stars illustrated extend the use of 'dwarf' and 'giant' as if describing mythical or fictional beings, drawing upon others from the fantasy ilk with hues and shades that may not be typically described, or even encountered, by astronomers. The aspect information provided for these 'star' types is based upon the respective mythologies.

{| class="wikitable"
!Star !! Description
|-
| {{w|Yellow dwarf star|Yellow Dwarf}} || A real star type. This is the type of star that {{w|Sun|our sun}} is, with a lifespan measured in billions of years. The title "dwarf" is a misnomer, as the Sun is actually larger than most stars, but it was once thought to be smaller than average as larger stars turn out to be more visible than smaller stars over a given distance.
|-
| {{w|Red giant|Red Giant}} || A real star type. When stars at about the Sun's size begin to run out of fusion fuel, they expand to become red giants, and the outer shells expand and cool. When our sun enters this phase in a few billion years, it will consume Mercury, Venus, and possibly the Earth.
|-
| {{w|White dwarf|White Dwarf}} || Not a true star, but a remnant of one. These are formed when stars at about the Sun's size finally die. They are extremely dense and no longer undergo nuclear fusion. They are responsible for type 1A supernovae, a {{w|Cosmic Distance Ladder|standard candle}} of astronomy.
|-
| {{w|Red dwarf|Red Dwarf}} || A real star type. The most common, smallest, and coolest type of true star in the universe. ({{w|Brown dwarf|Brown dwarfs}} are smaller and cooler, but do not undergo hydrogen-hydrogen fusion.) These can live for trillions of years; the first red dwarfs to form in the universe are still alive today and will be alive long after the Sun reaches its end.
|-
| Green Elf || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to the elves of {{w|Tolkien's legendarium}}. Tolkien's elves are immortal but slowly diminish over time, and leave Middle Earth (where ''The Lord of the Rings'' is set) as magic fades to the West.
|-
| {{w|Blue giant|Blue Giant}} || A real star type. The largest class of star in the main sequence, these are highly luminous and have life spans measured in only millions of years, rather than the billions or trillions of years for other star types.
|-
| Teal Sphynx || An invention of Randall's; likely a form of the Greek {{w|Sphinx#Riddle_of_the_Sphinx|sphinx}}, which presents riddles to hapless travelers. One can only imagine what stellar riddles would be like. {{Original research}} May be a reference to {{w|Teal Swan}}.
|-
| Gray Wizard || An invention of Randall's, and also a reference to ''Lord of the Rings''. {{w|Gandalf the Grey}}, a wizard, is a protagonist and the main mentor figure in ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings'', guiding and assisting the journeys within the books, often in mysterious ways that could be described as "{{wiktionary|mercurial#Adjective|mercurial}}". Interestingly, the Elvish word for "wizard" is ''istar'' (plural: ''istari'').
|-
| Indigo Banshee || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to {{w|banshees}}, a type of Irish spirit or ghost which wails loudly at a person's death. {{w|Indigo}} may also be considered a particularly {{wiktionary|loud#Adjective|loud colour}}.
|-
| Beige Gorgon || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to {{w|Gorgons}} in {{w|Greek Mythology}}. "Dangerous to observe at optical wavelengths" refers to the property of a Gorgon in which anyone who gazes upon her face will turn to stone. However, seeing a Gorgon's reflection is safe, so [[1791: Telescopes: Refractor vs Reflector|most astronomers should be fine.]] The choice of the color "beige" for this kind of "star" may be a reference to {{w|cosmic latte}}, the "average color" of the universe.

In reality, the star {{w|Algol}} and other nearby stars in the constellation of Perseus were historically referred to as the "Gorgonea", representing Medusa's head after Perseus cut it off. Medusa is also the namesake of {{w|Medusa Nebula|a nebula}}, {{w|NGC 4194|a pair of colliding galaxies}}, and {{w|149 Medusa|an asteroid}}. No observers of any of these celestial bodies have been petrified.{{Citation needed}}
|}

The title text is in the style of a Wikipedia page's hatnote / reference note. A page might have a title that is too easily landed upon by a search term that might also be expected to lead to one under a quite different subject, such as the {{w|Red Dwarf|case-sensitive example}} of "This article is about the British comedy franchise. For the type of star, see {{w|Red dwarf}}." In this case, it was written as if the page {{w|Iron Giant}} redirected to {{w|Eta Carinae}}, a large {{w|luminous blue variable}} star which has a relatively high level of {{w|Iron(II)|ferrous ions}}. Although there is a vaguely plausible reason for the star to to be called an "iron giant", astronomers do not commonly use that particular name (the alternative of "{{w|iron star}}" is used for an article about hypothesised class of stellar-mass object, though the description allows that there is a separate usage that relates to Eta Carinae) and you are currently only redirected straight upon ''{{w|The Iron Giant}}'', that first movie directed by Brad Bird. This note [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eta_Carinae&oldid=978789727 was added] to Wikipedia, but quickly removed.

==Transcript==
[A chart, with circles representing stars of different colors and sizes. At the top:]
:Common star types

[A small yellow star.]
:Yellow dwarf
:Warm, stable, slowly-growing

[An even smaller white star.]
:White dwarf
:Small, hot, dim

[A very large red-orange star squishing the previous two stars into the corners of the chart.]
:Red giant
:Huge, cool, luminous

[A small red star.]
:Red dwarf
:Small, cool, ancient, dim

[An olive green, medium-sized star.]
:Green elf
:Old, diminishes into the west

[A fairly large pale blue star.]
:Blue giant
:Large, hot, short-lived

[A blue-green, medium-sized star.]
:Teal sphynx
:Cryptic, eternal

[A small silver-colored star.]
:Gray wizard
:Wise, powerful, mercurial

[A tiny blue star.]
:Indigo banshee
:Bright, portentous, extremely loud

[A beige, medium-sized star.]
:Beige gorgon
:Dangerous to observe at optical wavelengths.
 
 
Title text: This article is about Eta Carinae, a luminous blue hypergiant with anomalous Fe[ii] emission spectra. For the 1998 Brad Bird film, see The Iron Giant (film).

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

2360: Common Star Types

2020-09-17T19:28:04Z

141.101.98.98: /* Explanation */ Tyop

{{comic
| number = 2360
| date = September 16, 2020
| title = Common Star Types
| image = common_star_types.png
| titletext = This article is about Eta Carinae, a luminous blue hypergiant with anomalous Fe[ii] emission spectra. For the 1998 Brad Bird film, see The Iron Giant (film).
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an INDIGO BANSHEE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This 'infographic' chart purports to be a comparative guide to various star types, often described by a basic color, which is something that even naked-eye astronomy has determined, and may be qualified as 'dwarf' or 'giant' to describe relative sizes. An idea of the true size of a star has only really been possible since the development of modern instrumental astronomy, which can also determine the different conditions that make a red dwarf or a red giant 'red' and other key aspects of their nature that are summarised for each example.

In true xkcd tradition, this is taken beyond reality. The pantheon of stars illustrated extend the use of 'dwarf' and 'giant' as if describing mythical or fictional beings, drawing upon others from the fantasy ilk with hues and shades that may not be typically described, or even encountered, by astronomers. The aspect information provided for these 'star' types is based upon the respective mythologies.

{| class="wikitable"
!Star !! Description
|-
| {{w|Yellow dwarf star|Yellow Dwarf}} || A real star type. This is the type of star that {{w|Sun|our sun}} is, with a lifespan measured in billions of years. The title "dwarf" is a misnomer, as the Sun is actually larger than most stars, but it was once thought to be smaller than average as larger stars turn out to be more visible than smaller stars over a given distance.
|-
| {{w|Red giant|Red Giant}} || A real star type. When stars at about the Sun's size begin to run out of fusion fuel, they expand to become red giants, and the outer shells expand and cool. When our sun enters this phase in a few billion years, it will consume Mercury, Venus, and possibly the Earth.
|-
| {{w|White dwarf|White Dwarf}} || Not a true star, but a remnant of one. These are formed when stars at about the Sun's size finally die. They are extremely dense and no longer undergo nuclear fusion. They are responsible for type 1A supernovae, a {{w|Cosmic Distance Ladder|standard candle}} of astronomy.
|-
| {{w|Red dwarf|Red Dwarf}} || A real star type. The most common, smallest, and coolest type of true star in the universe. ({{w|Brown dwarf|Brown dwarfs}} are smaller and cooler, but do not undergo hydrogen-hydrogen fusion.) These can live for trillions of years; the first red dwarfs to form in the universe are still alive today and will be alive long after the Sun reaches its end.
|-
| Green Elf || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to the elves of {{w|Tolkien's legendarium}}. Tolkien's elves are immortal but slowly diminish over time, and leave Middle Earth (where ''The Lord of the Rings'' is set) as magic fades to the West.
|-
| {{w|Blue giant|Blue Giant}} || A real star type. The largest class of star in the main sequence, these are highly luminous and have life spans measured in only millions of years, rather than the billions or trillions of years for other star types.
|-
| Teal Sphynx || An invention of Randall's; likely a form of the Greek {{w|Sphinx#Riddle_of_the_Sphinx|sphinx}}, which presents riddles to hapless travelers. One can only imagine what stellar riddles would be like. {{Original research}} May be a reference to {{w|Teal Swan}}.
|-
| Gray Wizard || An invention of Randall's, and also a reference to ''Lord of the Rings''. {{w|Gandalf the Grey}}, a wizard, is a protagonist and the main mentor figure in ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings'', guiding and assisting the journeys within the books, often in mysterious ways that could be described as "{{wiktionary|mercurial}}" Interestingly, the Elvish word for "wizard" is ''istar'' (plural: ''istari'').
|-
| Indigo Banshee || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to {{w|banshees}}, a type of Irish spirit or ghost which wails loudly at a person's death. {{w|Indigo}} may also be considered a particularly {{wiktionary|loud#Adjective|loud colour}}.
|-
| Beige Gorgon || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to {{w|Gorgons}} in {{w|Greek Mythology}}. "Dangerous to observe at optical wavelengths" refers to the property of a Gorgon in which anyone who gazes upon her face will turn to stone. However, seeing a Gorgon's reflection is safe, so [[1791: Telescopes: Refractor vs Reflector|most astronomers should be fine.]] The choice of the color "beige" for this kind of "star" may be a reference to {{w|cosmic latte}}, the "average color" of the universe.

In reality, the star {{w|Algol}} and other nearby stars in the constellation of Perseus were historically referred to as the "Gorgonea", representing Medusa's head after Perseus cut it off. Medusa is also the namesake of {{w|Medusa Nebula|a nebula}}, {{w|NGC 4194|a pair of colliding galaxies}}, and {{w|149 Medusa|an asteroid}}. No observers of any of these celestial bodies have been petrified.{{Citation needed}}
|}

The title text is in the style of a Wikipedia page's hatnote / reference note. A page might have a title that is too easily landed upon by a search term that might also be expected to lead to one under a quite different subject, such as the {{w|Red Dwarf|case-sensitive example}} of "This article is about the British comedy franchise. For the type of star, see {{w|Red dwarf}}." In this case, it was written as if the page {{w|Iron Giant}} redirected to {{w|Eta Carinae}}, a large {{w|luminous blue variable}} star which has a relatively high level of {{w|Iron(II)|ferrous ions}}. Although there is a vaguely plausible reason for the star to to be called an "iron giant", astronomers do not commonly use that particular name (the alternative of "{{w|iron star}}" is used for an article about hypothesised class of stellar-mass object, though the description allows that there is a separate usage that relates to Eta Carinae) and you are currently only redirected straight upon ''{{w|The Iron Giant}}'', that first movie directed by Brad Bird. This note [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eta_Carinae&oldid=978789727 was added] to Wikipedia, but quickly removed.

==Transcript==
[A chart, with circles representing stars of different colors and sizes. At the top:]
:Common star types

[A small yellow star.]
:Yellow dwarf
:Warm, stable, slowly-growing

[An even smaller white star.]
:White dwarf
:Small, hot, dim

[A very large red-orange star squishing the previous two stars into the corners of the chart.]
:Red giant
:Huge, cool, luminous

[A small red star.]
:Red dwarf
:Small, cool, ancient, dim

[An olive green, medium-sized star.]
:Green elf
:Old, diminishes into the west

[A fairly large pale blue star.]
:Blue giant
:Large, hot, short-lived

[A blue-green, medium-sized star.]
:Teal sphynx
:Cryptic, eternal

[A small silver-colored star.]
:Gray wizard
:Wise, powerful, mercurial

[A tiny blue star.]
:Indigo banshee
:Bright, portentous, extremely loud

[A beige, medium-sized star.]
:Beige gorgon
:Dangerous to observe at optical wavelengths.
 
 
Title text: This article is about Eta Carinae, a luminous blue hypergiant with anomalous Fe[ii] emission spectra. For the 1998 Brad Bird film, see The Iron Giant (film).

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

2360: Common Star Types

2020-09-17T19:26:42Z

141.101.98.98: /* Explanation */ ~ ~

{{comic
| number = 2360
| date = September 16, 2020
| title = Common Star Types
| image = common_star_types.png
| titletext = This article is about Eta Carinae, a luminous blue hypergiant with anomalous Fe[ii] emission spectra. For the 1998 Brad Bird film, see The Iron Giant (film).
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an INDIGO BANSHEE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This 'infographic' chart purports to be a comparative guide to various star types, often described by a basic color, which is something that even naked-eye astronomy has determined, and may be qualified as 'dwarf' or 'giant' to describe relative sizes. An idea of the true size of a star has only really been possible since the development of modern instrumental astronomy, which can also determine the different conditions that make a red dwarf or a red giant 'red' and other key aspects of their nature that are summarised for each example.

In true xkcd tradition, this is taken beyond reality. The pantheon of stars illustrated extend the use of 'dwarf' and 'giant' as if describing mythical or fictional beings, drawing upon others from the fantasy ilk with hues and shades that may not be typically described, or even encountered, by astronomers. The aspsct information provided for these 'star' types is based upon the respective mythologies.

{| class="wikitable"
!Star !! Description
|-
| {{w|Yellow dwarf star|Yellow Dwarf}} || A real star type. This is the type of star that {{w|Sun|our sun}} is, with a lifespan measured in billions of years. The title "dwarf" is a misnomer, as the Sun is actually larger than most stars, but it was once thought to be smaller than average as larger stars turn out to be more visible than smaller stars over a given distance.
|-
| {{w|Red giant|Red Giant}} || A real star type. When stars at about the Sun's size begin to run out of fusion fuel, they expand to become red giants, and the outer shells expand and cool. When our sun enters this phase in a few billion years, it will consume Mercury, Venus, and possibly the Earth.
|-
| {{w|White dwarf|White Dwarf}} || Not a true star, but a remnant of one. These are formed when stars at about the Sun's size finally die. They are extremely dense and no longer undergo nuclear fusion. They are responsible for type 1A supernovae, a {{w|Cosmic Distance Ladder|standard candle}} of astronomy.
|-
| {{w|Red dwarf|Red Dwarf}} || A real star type. The most common, smallest, and coolest type of true star in the universe. ({{w|Brown dwarf|Brown dwarfs}} are smaller and cooler, but do not undergo hydrogen-hydrogen fusion.) These can live for trillions of years; the first red dwarfs to form in the universe are still alive today and will be alive long after the Sun reaches its end.
|-
| Green Elf || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to the elves of {{w|Tolkien's legendarium}}. Tolkien's elves are immortal but slowly diminish over time, and leave Middle Earth (where ''The Lord of the Rings'' is set) as magic fades to the West.
|-
| {{w|Blue giant|Blue Giant}} || A real star type. The largest class of star in the main sequence, these are highly luminous and have life spans measured in only millions of years, rather than the billions or trillions of years for other star types.
|-
| Teal Sphynx || An invention of Randall's; likely a form of the Greek {{w|Sphinx#Riddle_of_the_Sphinx|sphinx}}, which presents riddles to hapless travelers. One can only imagine what stellar riddles would be like. {{Original research}} May be a reference to {{w|Teal Swan}}.
|-
| Gray Wizard || An invention of Randall's, and also a reference to ''Lord of the Rings''. {{w|Gandalf the Grey}}, a wizard, is a protagonist and the main mentor figure in ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings'', guiding and assisting the journeys within the books, often in mysterious ways that could be described as "{{wiktionary|mercurial}}" Interestingly, the Elvish word for "wizard" is ''istar'' (plural: ''istari'').
|-
| Indigo Banshee || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to {{w|banshees}}, a type of Irish spirit or ghost which wails loudly at a person's death. {{w|Indigo}} may also be considered a particularly {{wiktionary|loud#Adjective|loud colour}}.
|-
| Beige Gorgon || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to {{w|Gorgons}} in {{w|Greek Mythology}}. "Dangerous to observe at optical wavelengths" refers to the property of a Gorgon in which anyone who gazes upon her face will turn to stone. However, seeing a Gorgon's reflection is safe, so [[1791: Telescopes: Refractor vs Reflector|most astronomers should be fine.]] The choice of the color "beige" for this kind of "star" may be a reference to {{w|cosmic latte}}, the "average color" of the universe.

In reality, the star {{w|Algol}} and other nearby stars in the constellation of Perseus were historically referred to as the "Gorgonea", representing Medusa's head after Perseus cut it off. Medusa is also the namesake of {{w|Medusa Nebula|a nebula}}, {{w|NGC 4194|a pair of colliding galaxies}}, and {{w|149 Medusa|an asteroid}}. No observers of any of these celestial bodies have been petrified.{{Citation needed}}
|}

The title text is in the style of a Wikipedia page's hatnote / reference note. A page might have a title that is too easily landed upon by a search term that might also be expected to lead to one under a quite different subject, such as the {{w|Red Dwarf|case-sensitive example}} of "This article is about the British comedy franchise. For the type of star, see {{w|Red dwarf}}." In this case, it was written as if the page {{w|Iron Giant}} redirected to {{w|Eta Carinae}}, a large {{w|luminous blue variable}} star which has a relatively high level of {{w|Iron(II)|ferrous ions}}. Although there is a vaguely plausible reason for the star to to be called an "iron giant", astronomers do not commonly use that particular name (the alternative of "{{w|iron star}}" is used for an article about hypothesised class of stellar-mass object, though the description allows that there is a separate usage that relates to Eta Carinae) and you are currently only redirected straight upon ''{{w|The Iron Giant}}'', that first movie directed by Brad Bird. This note [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eta_Carinae&oldid=978789727 was added] to Wikipedia, but quickly removed.

==Transcript==
[A chart, with circles representing stars of different colors and sizes. At the top:]
:Common star types

[A small yellow star.]
:Yellow dwarf
:Warm, stable, slowly-growing

[An even smaller white star.]
:White dwarf
:Small, hot, dim

[A very large red-orange star squishing the previous two stars into the corners of the chart.]
:Red giant
:Huge, cool, luminous

[A small red star.]
:Red dwarf
:Small, cool, ancient, dim

[An olive green, medium-sized star.]
:Green elf
:Old, diminishes into the west

[A fairly large pale blue star.]
:Blue giant
:Large, hot, short-lived

[A blue-green, medium-sized star.]
:Teal sphynx
:Cryptic, eternal

[A small silver-colored star.]
:Gray wizard
:Wise, powerful, mercurial

[A tiny blue star.]
:Indigo banshee
:Bright, portentous, extremely loud

[A beige, medium-sized star.]
:Beige gorgon
:Dangerous to observe at optical wavelengths.
 
 
Title text: This article is about Eta Carinae, a luminous blue hypergiant with anomalous Fe[ii] emission spectra. For the 1998 Brad Bird film, see The Iron Giant (film).

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

977: Map Projections

2015-08-30T11:42:23Z

141.101.98.98: /* Dymaxion */

{{comic
| number = 977
| date = November 14, 2011
| title = Map Projections
| image = map_projections.png
| titletext = What's that? You think I don't like the Peters map because I'm uncomfortable with having my cultural assumptions challenged? Are you sure you're not... ::puts on sunglasses:: ...projecting?
}}
__TOC__
==Explanation==
{{w|Map projection}}, or how to represent the spherical Earth surface onto a flat support (paper, screen...) to have a usable map, is a long-time issue with very practical aspects (navigation, geographical shapes and masses visualization, etc.) as well as very scientific/mathematical ones, involving geometry or even abstract algebra among other things. There is no universal solution to this problem: Any 2D map projection will always distort in a way the spherical reality. Many projections have been proposed in various contexts, each intending to minimize distortions for specific uses (for nautical navigation, for aerial navigation, for landmass size comparisons, etc.) but having drawbacks from other points of view. Some of them are more frequently used than others in mass media and therefore more well-known than others, some are purely historical and now deprecated, some are very obscure, etc.

[[Randall]] suggests here the idea that someone's "favorite" map projection can reveal aspects of their personality, then goes through a series of them to show what they can mean:

===Mercator===
[[File:MercatorProjection.jpg|frame|The Mercator projection]]
The {{w|Mercator projection}} was introduced by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. The main purpose of this map is that at any point the vertical and horizontal scales are the same, so locally i.e. considering only a small part of the map, geographical features (shapes, angles) are well represented, which helps a lot in recognizing them on-the-field, or for local navigation in that small part only. For this reason, that projection (or a close variant) is used in several online mapping services, such as Google Maps, which means that it is frequently encountered by the general public. No angle distortion also means that a straight line on the map corresponds to a course of constant bearing (direction), which was very useful for nautical navigation in the past (and thus made that projection very well-known).

However, from a global point of view, this projection is radically incorrect in how it shows the size of landmasses (for instance Antarctica or Greenland seem gigantic), and furthermore, it always excludes a small region around each pole (otherwise the map would be of infinite height), so it doesn't provide a complete solution for the problem of map projection. The comic implies that people who like that projection aren't very interested with map issues, and typically use what they are offered without thinking much about it.

{{clear}}

===Van der Grinten===
[[File:VanDerGrintenProjection.jpg|frame|The Van der Grinten projection]]
The {{w|Van der Grinten projection}} is not much better than the Mercator. It was adopted by {{w|National Geographic}} in 1922 and was used until they updated to the Robinson projection in 1988.

The Van der Grinten projection is circular as opposed to the Mercator projection. The fictional person also believes that a good projection of a three-dimensional sphere is a two-dimensional circle, which, though superficially similar, causes a vast distortion of space and area, much as the Mercator projection does. Because of this, Randall implies the Van der Grinten enthusiast to be optimistic and childishly simple-minded (e.g. "you like circles").

{{clear}}

===Robinson===
[[File:RobinsonProjection.jpg|frame|The Robinson projection]]
The {{w|Robinson projection}} was developed by {{w|Arthur H. Robinson}} as a map that was supposed to look nice and is often used for classroom maps. National Geographic switched to this projection in 1988, and used it for ten years, switching to the Winkel-Tripel in 1998.

{{w|The Beatles}} was a rock band that enjoyed great commercial success in the 1960s. The Beatles, coffee, and running shoes suggest an ordinary, easygoing lifestyle paralleled by the projection.

{{clear}}

===Dymaxion===
[[File:DymaxionProjection.jpg|frame|The Dymaxion projection]]
Also called the Fuller Map, the {{w|Dymaxion map}} takes a sphere and projects it onto an icosahedron, that is a polyhedron with 20 triangular faces. It is far easier to unwrap an icosahedron than it is to unwrap a sphere into a 2D object and has very little skewing of the poles. {{w|Buckminster Fuller}} was an eccentric futurist, and saw the aim to have a rectangular map and a conception of "up" and "down" as a large compromise. He was therefore more than happy to challenge expectations in the pursuit of mathematical accuracy.

Randall associates the projection to geek subculture and niche markets:
*{{w|Isaac Asimov}} was an American science-fiction writer, that (as well as publishing many textbooks) is considered the father of the modern concept of robots. He invented the {{w|Three Laws of Robotics}}. He also worked on more than 500 books throughout his career.
*{{w|XML}} is the eXtensible Markup Language. It is used to represent data in a format that machines can read and understand, as well as being human-readable. In practice, XML is cumbersome to read.
*{{w|Vibram FiveFingers|Toed shoes}} are a [[1065: Shoes|favorite]] of Randall's to pick on. In society they are seen as a {{w|geek}} clothing item.
*Brought to the world by {{w|Dean Kamen}}, the {{w|Segway PT}} was supposed to be a device that changed the way cities were built. In reality, most principalities have put in place rules specifically against Segways, making them a frustration to own and use within the law (in some states in Australia, it is illegal to use them on public footpaths or roads). Also, the former owner of {{w|Segway Inc.}}, the late {{w|Jimi Heselden}}, accidentally rode his Segway off a cliff in 2010.
*{{w|Virtual reality|3D goggles}} are a very niche market only pursued by enthusiasts. In the 1990s the promise of virtual realities was very tantalizing; many companies attempted to perfect it, but fell short of the mark. Also, the phrase "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" is relevant.
*{{w|Dvorak Simplified Keyboard|Dvorak}} is an alternate keyboard layout to {{w|QWERTY}}. According to legend, QWERTY was invented to help keep manual typewriters from jamming (by placing the most used keys far from each other) but Dr. {{w|August Dvorak}} performed many studies and found the mathematically optimal keyboard layout to reduce finger travel for right handed typists. While some claim Dvorak is technically better than QWERTY, QWERTY had become the standard. All the keyboards were laid out in QWERTY format, and retraining the brain after becoming a touch typist is extremely difficult.

{{clear}}

===Winkel-Tripel===
[[File:Winkel-TripelProjection.jpg|frame|The Winkel Tripel projection]]
Proposed by Oswald Winkel in 1921, the {{w|Winkel tripel projection}} tried to reduce a set of three (German: Tripel) main problems with map projections: area, direction, and distance. The {{w|Kavrayskiy VII projection|Kavrayskiy projection}} is very similar to the Winkel Tripel and was used by the USSR, but very few in the Western world know of it.

The comic links this projection to {{w|hipster}} subculture. The hipster stereotype is to avoid conforming to mainstream fashions. "Post-" refers to a variety of musical genres such as {{w|post-punk}}, {{w|post-grunge}}, {{w|post-minimalism}}, etc. that branch off of other genres.

;Trivia
In German "Winkel-Tripel-Projektion" means Winkel's triple projection, and therefore the hyphen shouldn't be there: "Winkel Tripel" or "Winkel tripel".

{{clear}}

===Goode Homolosine===
[[File:GoodeHomolosineProjection.jpg|frame|The Goode Homolosine projection]]
The {{w|Goode homolosine projection}} takes a different approach to skewing a sphere into a roughly circular surface. An orange peel can be taken from an orange and flattened with fair success; this is roughly the procedure that {{w|John Paule Goode}} followed in creating this projection. Randall is suggesting that people who like this map also prefer relatively easy solutions to other things in life, despite those solutions having nuanced problems that are more difficult to address.

Common people make arguments that if normal people would run the United States, then the US wouldn't be in the trouble it is. This is from the belief that career politicians are simply out to make money and will only act in the interest of their constituency when their continued easy life is threatened (usually around election time).

Airline food is another, much maligned, problem. How do you store enough food to feed people on long airplane trips? The common solution is to use some kind of sub-standard microwaveable dinner. Randall is saying that the people in favor of the Goode Homolosine wonder why the airlines don't simply order meals from the restaurants in the airport, store that food, and serve it, rather than using frozen and microwaved food.

Older cars burned oil like mad fiends, and oil back then would become corrosive to the innards of an engine, so oil had to be changed often. But, with the introduction of synthetic motor oil and better designed engines, new cars only need their oil changed about every 10,000 to 15,000 miles. A common conspiracy theory is that modern automobile oil manufacturers still recommend that car owners change their oil every 3,000-5,000 miles to "drum" up more business, even though that frequency is unnecessary.

All of these references suggest that people who like the Goode Homolosine projection are fans of easy solutions to problems. However, the solutions would not necessarily work in practice. For instance, the restaurants might have trouble making enough food for the whole plane, and it could get cold before being served. Also, the air conditions [http://www.nbcnews.com/health/one-reason-airline-food-so-bad-your-own-tastebuds-6C10823522 aboard planes] can affect taste, so airlines say they optimize for this. And there is no such thing as a "normal" person, and if there were, he/she would have virtually no chance at actually getting into government office.

{{clear}}

===Hobo-Dyer===
[[File:Hobo-DyerProjection.jpg|frame|The Hobo-Dyer projection]]
The {{w|Hobo–Dyer projection}} was commissioned by Bob Abramms and Howard Bronstein and was drafted by Mick Dyer in 2002. It is a modified {{w|Behrmann projection}}. The goal was to be a more visually pleasing version of the Gall-Peters.

As is discussed in the Gall-Peters explanation, the Gall-Peters was developed to be equal area, so that economically disadvantaged areas can at least take comfort in the fact that their country is represented correctly by area on maps.

Randall associates the Hobo-Dyer projection to "crunchy granola" — a stereotype associated with vegetarianism, environmental activism, anti-war activism, liberal political leanings, and some traces of {{w|hippie}} culture.

With the new general acceptance of homosexual, bisexual, and transgender persons, some have begun to invent gender-neutral pronouns so that when referring to a person whose gender is not known they cannot be offended by being referred to by the wrong pronouns. In {{w|Middle English}} 'they' and 'their' were accepted gender-less pronouns that could replace 'he', 'she' as well as be used to represent a crowd, but this usage is considered by some to be grammatically incorrect because of the plural/singular debate ([http://www.merriam-webster.com/video/0033-hisher.htm stupid Victorian Grammarians!]). None of the {{w|gender-neutral pronoun#Invented_pronouns|many attempts at popularizing gender-neutral pronouns}} have achieved any degree of success in the mainstream.

Randall seems to associate the Hobo-Dyer projection with the Social Justice movements on social media sites such as Tumblr.

{{clear}}

===Plate Carrée===
[[File:PlateCarreeProjection.jpg|frame|The Plate Carrée projection]]
Also known as the {{w|Equirectangular projection}} has been in use since, apparently, 100 AD. The benefit of this projection is that latitude and longitude can be used as x,y coordinates. This makes it especially easy for computers to graph data on top of it.

According to the comic, the projection appeals to people who find much beauty in simplicity.

{{clear}}

===A Globe!===
[[File:GlobeProjection.jpg|frame|The Globe "projection"]]
In any good discussion there has to be at least one smart-ass. This is a comic about map projections, that is, the science of taking a sphere and flattening it into 2 dimensions. The smart-ass believes that we shouldn't even try: a sphere is, tautologically, the perfect representation of a sphere.

To quote ''{{w|The Princess Bride}}'': "Yes, you're very smart. Shut up."

{{clear}}

===Waterman Butterfly===
[[File:WatermanButterflyProjection.jpg|frame|The Waterman Butterfly projection]]
Similar to the Dymaxion, the {{w|Waterman butterfly projection}} turns a sphere into an octahedron, and then unfolds the net of the octahedron, which was devised by mathematician {{w|Waterman polyhedron|Steve Waterman}} based upon the work of {{w|Bernard J.S. Cahill}}

Bernard Cahill published a [http://www.genekeyes.com/B.J.S._CAHILL_RESOURCE.html butterfly map] in 1909. Steve Waterman probably has the only extant "ready to go" map following the same general principles, though Gene Keys may not be far behind. Waterman has a poem with graphics in a similar vein to this xkcd comic that is worth reading.[http://watermanpolyhedron.com/worldmap.html]

[http://www.progonos.com/furuti/MapProj/Normal/ProjPoly/projPoly2.html Polyhedral projections] like Cahill, Dymaxion or Waterman typically offer better accuracy of size, shape and area than flat projections, at the expense of compass directionality, connectedness, and other complications.

The joke is that the person responding deeply understands map projections; anyone who knows of this projection is a person that Randall would like to get to know.

{{clear}}

===Peirce Quincuncial===
[[File:PeirceQuincuncialProjection.jpg|frame|The Peirce Quincuncial projection]]
The {{w|Pierce quincuncial projection}} was devised by {{w|Charles Sanders Peirce}} in 1879 and uses {{w|complex analysis}} to make a {{w|conformal mapping}} of the Earth, that conforms except for four points which would make up the south pole.

{{w|Inception}} was a 2010 movie about {{w|meta}} {{w|lucid dream}}ing. It has a complex story that is difficult to follow and leaves the viewer with many questions at the end, and almost needs to be watched multiple times to be understood.

The human brain is not well developed to deal with oddly obvious things. One example is that everyone has a skeleton, but everyone is surprised to see a part of their body represented by an X-Ray. Another is the fascinating complexity of the human hand, a machine which is amazingly complex, driven by a complex interplay of electrical and chemical signals; yet is the size of the hand and so useful.

{{clear}}

===Gall-Peters===
[[File:Gall-PetersProjection.jpg|frame|The Gall-Peters projection]]
The {{w|Gall-Peters projection}} is mired in controversy, surprising for a map. {{w|James Gall}} a 19th century clergyman presented this projection in 1855 before the {{w|British Association for the Advancement of Science}}. In 1967, the filmmaker {{w|Arno Peters}} created the same projection and presented it to the world as a "new invention" that put poorer, less powerful countries into their rightful proportions (as opposed to the Mercator). Peters played the marketing game and got quite a few followers of his map by saying it had "absolute angle conformality," "no extreme distortions of form," and was "totally distance-factual" in an age when society was very concerned about social justice. All of these claims were in fact false. The polar regions are horribly distorted, and south of the Mediterranean Sea is "taller" than it should be.

Anyone who loves such a politically charged map that has become popular by way of marketing stunts, Randall would rather not have anything to do with.

{{clear}}

===Title text===
The title text makes a joke that goes to the familiar meme from ''{{w|CSI: Miami}}'', in which the star, David Caruso starts a sentence, then [[:Category:Puts on sunglasses|puts on his sunglasses]] and ends the sentence with a corny pun. In this case, the pun is on {{w|map projection}} and {{w|projection (psychology)|projection}} in Psychology. Psychologic projection is an immature defense mechanism wherein a person who is uncomfortable with their own thoughts and/or actions assumes that another also shares this thought or action and blames that person for thinking/behaving that way, removing some of the negative feelings they have towards themselves. The Sunglasses internet meme has been mentioned previously by xkcd in comics [[626]], [[524]] and possibly others.

==Transcript==
:What your favorite
:'''Map Projection'''
:says about you
:[All of these are organized as Title, a copy of the particular projection underneath, and what it says about you under that.]

:*Mercator
:**You're not really into maps.
:*Van der Grinten
:**You're not a complicated person. You love the Mercator projection; you just wish it weren't square. The Earth's not a square, it's a circle. You like circles. Today is gonna be a good day!
:*Robinson
:**You have a comfortable pair of running shoes that you wear everywhere. You like coffee and enjoy The Beatles. You think the Robinson is the best-looking projection, hands down.
:*Dymaxion
:**You like Isaac Asimov, XML, and shoes with toes. You think the Segway got a bad rap. You own 3D goggles, which you use to view rotating models of better 3D goggles. You type in Dvorak.
:*Winkel-Tripel
:**National Geographic adopted the Winkel-Tripel in 1998, but you've been a W-T fan since ''long'' before "Nat Geo" showed up. You're worried it's getting played out, and are thinking of switching to the Kavrayskiy. You once left a party in disgust when a guest showed up wearing shoes with toes. Your favorite musical genre is "Post–".
:*Goode Homolosine
:**They say mapping the Earth on a 2D surface is like flattening an orange peel, which seems enough to you. You like easy solutions.You think we wouldn't have so many problems if we'd just elect ''normal'' people to Congress instead of Politicians. You think airlines should just buy food from the restaurants near the gates and serve ''that'' on board. You change your car's oil, but secretly wonder if you really ''need'' to.
:*Hobo-Dyer
:**You want to avoid cultural imperialism, but you've heard bad things about Gall-Peters. You're conflict-averse and buy organic. You use a recently-invented set of gender-neutral pronouns and think that what the world needs is a revolution in consciousness.
:*Plate Carrée (Equirectangular)
:**You think this one is fine. You like how X and Y map to latitude and longitude. The other projections overcomplicate things. You want me to stop asking about maps so you can enjoy dinner.
:*A Globe!
:**Yes, you're very clever.
:*Waterman Butterfly
:**Really? You know the Waterman? Have you seen the 1909 Cahill Map it's based— ...You have a framed reproduction at home?! Whoa. ...Listen, forget these questions. Are you doing anything tonight?
:*Peirce Quincuncial
:**You think that when we look at a map, what we really see is ourselves. After you first saw ''Inception'', you sat silent in the theater for six hours. It freaks you out to realize that everyone around you has a skeleton inside them. You ''have'' really looked at your hands.
:*Gall-Peters
:**I ''hate'' you.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Maps‏‎]]
[[Category:Puts on sunglasses]]

Talk:1303: Profile Info

2013-12-16T12:46:49Z

141.101.98.98:

You think no company would use that name? Seriously? The point of using name like this is that companies harvesting profiles will not be checking the profiles manually, they would have automatic software doing that, and unlike human, this software would not be able to recognize anything weird on name like this. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:18, 13 December 2013 (UTC)
+1 informative [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.8|108.162.250.8]] 11:21, 13 December 2013 (UTC)
I think that it generally goes that the automatic name-searcher things (or whatever the hell it is they're called) have some sort of rudimentary filtering system to avoid picking up spam accounts and the like, but I wouldn't know that much. Besides, if these ads are going to be designed by humans (we haven't made ad-designing robots yet, I hope), then there's going to be at least one person in the loop to check this sort of stuff.[[User:CrizBN|CrizBN]] ([[User talk:CrizBN|talk]]) 12:02, 13 December 2013 (UTC)
: A human would design the advertisement and leave a place for the software to put the elements (name/picture/etc). The software would later present the add putting in account info either at random or of people believed to be connected to the viewer. The human designing the ad would likely run through a number of test cases, but in a large data set may never notice 'poisoned' credentials. HTH. See comment below from Spongebog. [[User:JChrisCompton|JChrisCompton]] ([[User talk:JChrisCompton|talk]]) 16:42, 13 December 2013 (UTC)

To be honest, you technically can opt out of YouTube real names by linking to a Google+ Page, which does not require a legal name. However, the G+ link UI is intentionally designed to make this option difficult to find. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.216|108.162.219.216]] 13:58, 13 December 2013 (UTC)

Interestingly Enough, there's been a court case about this kind of Thing, Lane v. Facebook Resulted in the Termination of Facebook's "Beacon" program, which was similair. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.7|108.162.237.7]] 14:43, 13 December 2013 (UTC)

Havesting and using Peoples information -- whether names, emails content, email addresses or viewing habits is entirely automated, and hence very clever software is needed to filter out "commentary names" -- no advertiser are reviewing the actual content used gained from these harvesting processes. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]])

I'm absolutely positive this would work, because I've done it. I entered "Fake Guy" as my name on some website (I can no longer remember which one) and now I regularly get spam e-mail exhortations addressed to Fake. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.33|108.162.221.33]] 15:36, 13 December 2013 (UTC)
:As far as spam is concerned, owning my own domain (more than one!) is a godsend. It lets me register under different <blah>@mydomain.foo for each outlet I 'need' to register with. Alongside a "Fake Guy" type personal name thing, where relevent, each place's emails is essentially marked for life (and obviously any sold-on/stolen-by database beneficiaries). Which is useful, as it allows auto-filing the more annoying circulars in their own folders, ''as well as'' the more urgent ones in places that make it obvious I should ''read straight away''! (I could also set it up to /dev/nul or forward elsewhere.) In a previous incarnation (an account, and domain, I used in my Usenet post headers) I also got a lot of "<randomtext>@domain.foo" 'hits', speculatively trying mail addresses I'd ''never'' given forth (mostly for 419 mails). Also easy to deal with. Which is not ''quite'' the target of the cartoon, but related. And (unless you're welded to the idea of multiple throwaway Hotmail/etc accounts, instead, for a no-cost version of this) you might find to be an additional layer in your anti-harvesting weaponry. (Note: a semi-throwaway "just for registering the domain" mail address might be initially needed. But still keep an eye on it or alter to something like "dns@yourdomain.foo" so you don't miss the domain-renewal alerts... which could be awkward if there's anything ''else'' potentially important coming in via that route.) But FYI, for those that don't already do something similar. Oh, and also if any mails might need replying-to (not usually necessary with registrations, these days, with at most a confirmation URI to be clicked on), check out your webmail (or standalone/portable mail app) to see what "identity management" features it has, so you can easily reply from the 'correct' personalised address. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.98|141.101.98.98]] 12:46, 16 December 2013 (UTC)