explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:384: The Drake Equation

2019-03-13T17:03:16Z

162.158.79.185:

Looks like someone mixed up {{w|Frank Drake}} and {{w|Sir Francis Drake|Francis Drake}} --[[User:Btx40|Btx40]] ([[User talk:Btx40|talk]]) 14:32, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

Bs looks more like B6 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 17:03, 13 March 2019 (UTC)

Talk:330: Indecision

2019-03-13T16:52:37Z

162.158.79.185:

- I think it went along the lines "if two persons share an eye contact longer than X seconds they are either going to fight or fuck." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.67|108.162.231.67]] 16:30, 15 December 2014 (UTC)

- The author of this "explanation" is clearly heterosexual and not particularly kinky. Crisco is COMMONLY used as a sexual lubricant for the act of anal fisting, particularly in the gay community. ~ Remy

: - Perhaps we could replace "is not commonly used as a sexual lubricant" with "is not intended for use as a sexual lubricant". --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.203|198.41.235.203]] 15:56, 21 July 2015 (UTC)

: - Commercial lubricants are still more common. The fact that you refer to something as both kinky and common makes little sense.{{unsigned|Flewk}}

:Why is everyone adding a dash before their comment[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 16:52, 13 March 2019 (UTC)

I think it's an allusion to ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rules The Rules: Time-tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right]'' book. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.102.150|162.158.102.150]] 08:03, 23 February 2016 (UTC)

Talk:2122: Size Venn Diagram

2019-03-11T22:01:49Z

162.158.79.185: Small Wonder: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Wonder_(TV_series)

I think Randall kind of missed an opportunity with the title text: he should have used the new terms as a way to fill the blank areas in the diagram, for instance 'Great Emerald' for the currently empty set Great+Small+Little+Large.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.221|141.101.99.221]] 14:31, 11 March 2019 (UTC)
:No, I think the diagram itself is meant to be completely correct. But I didn't check all 100+ combinations. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 14:57, 11 March 2019 (UTC)
::Yes, I believe the diagram is correct now, but as per the title text Randall will start using new combinations of terms, probably to get their usage mainstream and move the location of the words in the diagram. I'm saying he should have created terms that would fill some blank areas. For instance, his Large Dipper would make Dipper appear in the Big+Little+Large area where we already have League.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.95|141.101.99.95]] 15:16, 11 March 2019 (UTC)
:::I understood what you said (the first time around) and agree. Randall's title text is to acknowledge or engage the patterns he's discovered in the comic (as usual), and he could do that more thoroughly by making up words that would make the chart more balanced. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.100|162.158.78.100]] 16:27, 11 March 2019 (UTC)
:He could also have placed “man” between “little” and “big” just to reference the movie ☺

Any such diagram will inevitably have small lacunae. But "Friendly Giant" is a particularly large one. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.172|162.158.63.172]] 15:21, 11 March 2019 (UTC)

Endian? Scott? Tits?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.112|108.162.219.112]] 15:23, 11 March 2019 (UTC)
:Yeah, what about Little Endian? It's missing! [[Special:Contributions/172.68.143.156|172.68.143.156]] 19:28, 11 March 2019 (UT

Besides the transcript of what's in each category, what about a table to explain ''why'' the items categorized as they are, like:
{| class="wikitable"
!Item
!Big
!Great
!Large
!Little
!Small
|-
|Island
|Hawaii
|Cork Harbor, Ireland
|Antilles
|movie
|novel, movie
|-
|Pox
|n/a
|syphilis
|n/a
|n/a
|disease
|-
|White
|BC ski resort
|shark
|pig
|n/a
|butterfly
|}
{Unsigned|172.69.62.160}
:Yeah, it seems reasonable, I like it. Add it [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 15:57, 11 March 2019 (UTC)
::Second but leave the unused cells blank dont put N/A in the cell. [[User:M|M]] ([[User talk:M|talk]]) 16:15, 11 March 2019 (UTC)

I don't know why, but the shape of this diagram feels really satisfying to me. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 16:29, 11 March 2019 (UTC)
:For me it’s just hard to look at. [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 16:41, 11 March 2019 (UTC)
:Came here to say exactly that. The symmetry is really pleasing. I've been considering how effective adding colours would be as well. [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 17:55, 11 March 2019 (UTC)
::It looks like these style Venn diagrams are generated by http://bioinformatics.psb.ugent.be/webtools/Venn/ ... haven't tried it myself. Don't know if they invented it or took it from elsewhere. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.149|162.158.79.149]] 21:17, 11 March 2019 (UTC)

Again I wonder if he does these sorts of comics just to see how far we'll take it [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 16:51, 11 March 2019 (UTC)

Uhhh...isn’t the bottom part just the transcript?[[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 17:08, 11 March 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2121: Light Pollution

2019-03-08T17:34:13Z

162.158.79.185:

Small error in this comic. It's not possible to tile a sphere with just hexagons. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/749264/covering-earth-with-hexagonal-map-tiles
[[User:AlanKilian|AlanKilian]] ([[User talk:AlanKilian|talk]]) 16:03, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
:Six triangles form a hexagon - just an explanation for people with less mathematical or geometric knowledge. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:17, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
::but a indefinite large group of triangles doesn't automatically transform to hexagons, since it could be overlapping hexagons, or hexagons with their interim spaces filled up by triangles?--[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 16:29, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
:::Look at that hexagons (consisting of six triangles), each fitting to the next, and you will understand that this is only possible in a plane but not in a sphere. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:37, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
::::Yes, but if the triangles are not actually equilateral then they could form a sphere. And if the sphere is big enough (I think solar-system-surrouding or bigger counts) then you probably wouldn't be able to see it with the naked eye. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 17:08, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
:::::But can it form a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1365:_Inflation basketball?] [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 17:24, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
:Your eyes are making the hexagons up. Some triangles would be left over if you tried to make every group of 6 triangles a hexagon. Triangle arrays like this are commonly used in computer graphics, as they are the closest approximation to a sphere: https://mft-dev.dk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/icosahedron_frame_sub3.gif [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 17:25, 8 March 2019 (UTC)

Oh man where are the conspiracy nuts from a few weeks ago ;-) [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 17:03, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
:Hey, I think this works like Beetlejuice. Shush. Don’t jinx it. [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 17:24, 8 March 2019 (UTC)

Ok, I know most of the discussion is focused on the lattice, but are the ships a reference to something? LOTR maybe? Also there’s nothing about the title text at all, and the (more probable than LOTR) Lovecraft reference, considering the mentions of insanity, cosmic horror, and color. (I believe the book was Cool Air?) [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 17:24, 8 March 2019 (UTC)

I think it's notable that the world actually works this way. The sky is full of drones, satellites, {{w|Mesosphere#Exploration_and_uses|nearcraft}}, and we basically can't see them, but they can freely observe us, transmit things to us, and drop things on us. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 17:34, 8 March 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2121: Light Pollution

2019-03-08T17:25:56Z

162.158.79.185:

Small error in this comic. It's not possible to tile a sphere with just hexagons. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/749264/covering-earth-with-hexagonal-map-tiles
[[User:AlanKilian|AlanKilian]] ([[User talk:AlanKilian|talk]]) 16:03, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
:Six triangles form a hexagon - just an explanation for people with less mathematical or geometric knowledge. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:17, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
::but a indefinite large group of triangles doesn't automatically transform to hexagons, since it could be overlapping hexagons, or hexagons with their interim spaces filled up by triangles?--[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 16:29, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
:::Look at that hexagons (consisting of six triangles), each fitting to the next, and you will understand that this is only possible in a plane but not in a sphere. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:37, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
::::Yes, but if the triangles are not actually equilateral then they could form a sphere. And if the sphere is big enough (I think solar-system-surrouding or bigger counts) then you probably wouldn't be able to see it with the naked eye. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 17:08, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
:::::But can it form a basketball?[[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 17:24, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
:Your eyes are making the hexagons up. Some triangles would be left over if you tried to make every group of 6 triangles a hexagon. Triangle arrays like this are commonly used in computer graphics, as they are the closest approximation to a sphere: https://mft-dev.dk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/icosahedron_frame_sub3.gif [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 17:25, 8 March 2019 (UTC)

Oh man where are the conspiracy nuts from a few weeks ago ;-) [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 17:03, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
:Hey, I think this works like Beetlejuice. Shush. Don’t jinx it. [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 17:24, 8 March 2019 (UTC)

Ok, I know most of the discussion is focused on the lattice, but are the ships a reference to something? LOTR maybe? Also there’s nothing about the title text at all, and the (more probable than LOTR) Lovecraft reference, considering the mentions of insanity, cosmic horror, and color. [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 17:24, 8 March 2019 (UTC)

2121: Light Pollution

2019-03-08T17:21:11Z

162.158.79.185: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2121
| date = March 8, 2019
| title = Light Pollution
| image = light_pollution.png
| titletext = It's so sad how almost no one alive today can remember seeing the galactic rainbow, the insanity nebula, or the skull and glowing eyes of the Destroyer of Sagittarius.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by the DESTROYER OF SAGITTARIUS. Needs flushing out and reference to light pollution with regard to astronomy. Could use list of actual things that are no longer visible in the sky anywhere due to industrialization. Please mention here why else this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows how {{w|Light pollution|light pollution}} in cities affect what you can see from the night sky. The first three panels are real-life examples of what you could see from the sky inside a large city, in the suburbs and far away from night pollution.

The last panel contrasts these for comedic effect with fake things in the sky that are not actually present in the night sky.

The title text further adds on to this by describing non-existent features.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Light Pollution and the Disappearing Night Sky

[Four panels showing roughly the same area of the night sky]

[Only a few bright starts visible on a fairly light gray-brownish background]

High Light Pollution
(Cities)

[More stars and a faint image of the Milky Way on a dark-gray background]

Moderate Light Pollution
(Suburbs)

[A lot of stars and partly coloured, clear image of the Milky Way on a dark background]

Low Light Pollution
(Very remote areas)

[Same image as above but with a faint lattice of triangles overimposed on it and three ghastly silhouettes of sailships]

No Light Pollution
(How the sky should look)

Lattice of the crystal spheres

Ships of the Sky King

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

Talk:2120: Brain Hemispheres

2019-03-07T19:03:19Z

162.158.79.185:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_hemisphere#Hemisphere_lateralization
If the left side controls the top half of the body, wouldn't that mean it also controls the right half? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.248|108.162.241.248]] 20:04, 6 March 2019 (UTC)
: It is uncontroversial that many senses and motoric functions are swapped between the right and left side. The anatomy of the nerve swaps can also be shown. But it is still under discussion, why evolution led to this swap (source: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contralateral_brain Contralateral brain] and the even better organized German version [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kontralateralit%C3%A4t_des_Vorderhirns Kontralateralität des Vorderhirns]) Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.46|172.68.110.46]] 08:41, 7 March 2019 (UTC)
: I'm referring exclusively to the hypothetical model posed by the comic; rather than the reality.

I don't think the sentence "all 3 claims are false" is accurate. I think the claim that the right side of your brain controls the left side of your body is accurate. It says so on the Wikipedia article mentioned and in several other sources. What the Wikipedia article disputes is whether or not "higher-level" functions are partitioned to one side of the brain. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.42.64|172.69.42.64]] 20:29, 6 March 2019 (UTC) Harrison
: With regard to the retina, the right half of the brain processes what the right half of each retina receives, and the left half processes what the left half of each retina receives (see e.g. [https://nba.uth.tmc.edu/neuroscience/m/s2/chapter15.html optic nerve]), but because our retina is behind the focal point of our lens so all the lightbeams cross and images hit the back of the eyeball upside-down and backwards, that means the halves of our brain process the opposite halves of what we see. But it's the same side of our body! I stopped learning neuroscience after we got to the optic nerve ;p [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.95|108.162.221.95]] 21:48, 6 March 2019 (UTC)
: You must've stopped in the middle of the lesson, because the optic nerves split so that both brain halves get a copy of each eye. Your own link points it out in the figure as the "Optic chiasm".--[[User:Henke37|Henke37]] ([[User talk:Henke37|talk]]) 13:09, 7 March 2019 (UTC)
:: If you look closer, you can see how the left half of each eye (retina) goes only to the left half of the brain, and same for the right, even though both eyes do go to both sides. The split is by what is seen, not which eye sees it, which specially maps to the left side or right side of the eyeball. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 19:03, 7 March 2019 (UTC)

:I think the "right side of your brain controls the left side of your body" is NOT accurate, it's just closer to truth than the reverse. Some parts of perception and motor control are divided that way, but unless you have corpus callosotomy the high-level control is centralized and/or distributed regardless the side. Would be hard to synchronize both hands if not. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 02:05, 7 March 2019 (UTC)

Having survived an ischemic stroke on the left side of my brain, which temporarily paralyzed the right side of my body, this comic speaks to me like none other.

2063: Carnot Cycle

2018-10-24T17:08:20Z

162.158.79.185: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2063
| date = October 24, 2018
| title = Carnot Cycle
| image = carnot_cycle.png
| titletext = The Carnot cycle is more properly known by its full title, the "Carnot-Tolkien-Wagner Ring Cycle."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The {{w|Carnot cycle}} is a theoretical thermodynamic cycle and is covered in most thermodynamics classes which looks very much like the figure drawn.

However in this case, Randall has replaced the labels of the 4 stages of the real Carnot cycle with new ones.

Each step is explained below

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Step in Comic
!Step in the real Carnot Cycle
!Explanation
|-
|1. Isometric expansion. When heated, the gas becomes larger due to increasing volume
|Reversible isothermal expansion of the gas at the "hot" temperature, Th (isothermal heat addition or absorption).
|The comic text uses a circular argument.
|-
|2. Isotonic expansion. The gas expands further due to dark energy while percent milkfat remains constant.
|Isentropic (reversible adiabatic) expansion of the gas (isentropic work output).
|Isotonic is commonly associated with sports drink (and not thermodynamics). Dark energy is hypothesized to be a cause for the expansion of the universe.
|-
|3. Isopropyl compression. While inflation is held constant, the gas contracts due to tightening interest rates.
|Reversible isothermal compression of the gas at the "cold" temperature, Tc. (isothermal heat rejection)
|Isopropyl alcohol is commonly used for cleaning.
|-
|4. Decline and fall. The gas diminishes and goes into the West while remaining Galadriel, completing the cycle.
|Isentropic compression of the gas (isentropic work input).
|{{w|Galadriel}} is a character in {{w|The Lord of the Rings}}. She is one of the leading {{w|Elf (Middle-earth)|elves}}, a race that in the time of the book is said to be dwindling (in number and importance) in {{w|Middle Earth}} and migrating westward to {{w|Valinor}}. Galadriel is one of the last elves to leave, after successfully resisting temptation to take the One Ring and become an all-powerful queen who dominates Middle-earth, instead saying "I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel."
|}

Alt text: Richard Wagner's Ring cycle consists of four operas. J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings. Their works are known as {{w|Literary cycle}}s.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}

2052: Stanislav Petrov Day

2018-09-28T18:04:49Z

162.158.79.185: Added "History of Petrov Day as a holiday" section

{{comic
| number = 2052
| date = September 28, 2018
| title = Stanislav Petrov Day
| image = stanislav_petrov_day.png
| titletext = I was going to get you an alarm clock that occasionally goes off randomly in the middle of the night, but you can ignore it and go back to sleep and it's fine.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Stanislav Petrov|Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov}} was a lieutenant colonel of the {{w|Soviet Air Defence Forces}} who became known as "the man who single-handedly saved the world from nuclear war" for his role in the {{w|1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident}}. An incident unknown to the public until it was revealed shortly before the {{w|Dissolution of the Soviet Union|dissolution of the Soviet Union}} in 1991.

On 26 September 1983, during the {{w|Cold War}}, the satellite-based early-warning system of the {{w|Soviet Union}} reported the launch of multiple {{w|Intercontinental ballistic missile|intercontinental ballistic missiles}} from the {{w|United States}}. At the time, tensions with the U.S. were on edge, and high officials of the Soviet Union, including General Secretary {{w|Yuri Andropov}}, were thought to be highly suspicious of a U.S. attack.

Petrov checked ground-based radars that indicated the report was a false alarm, noted that the warning system had detected only 1-5 missiles instead of the hundreds that would have been expected in the event of a {{w|pre-emptive nuclear strike|first strike}}, and chose to ignore it. This decision is seen as having prevented a retaliatory nuclear attack, which would have probably resulted in immediate escalation of the Cold War stalemate to a full-scale nuclear war and the deaths of tens to hundreds of millions of people. Investigation of the satellite warning system later confirmed that the system had indeed malfunctioned.

While it's highly probable that if Petrov had reported this incident to his superiors they would have come to the same conclusion the year 1983 was a time when many people feared that the Cold War may become hot. Andropov as the new soviet leader was considered weak by the US president {{w|Ronald Reagan}} and the western counties were starting up new missiles in Europe against existing missiles in the eastern hemisphere. And because of that by that time the {{w|Peace movement|peace movement}} in most western countries reached one of its highest levels.

The title text presents a much less important false alarm when [[Cueball]] made a gift to [[Megan]] in which the donated alarm clock alerts randomly in the middle of the night. After that alarm she just can breathe a sigh of relief and go back to sleep because it's still not early in the morning.

====History of Petrov Day as a holiday====

The events of September 26 1983 were not made public until much later,{{Citation needed}} so it wasn't originally a holiday.

However, on the 2007 anniversary, {{w|Eliezer Yudkowsky}} wrote a [https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/QtyKq4BDyuJ3tysoK/9-26-is-petrov-day blog post] for {{w|LessWrong}} suggesting that "Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, take a minute to not destroy the world.".

Not destroying the world has since evolved into an annual tradition. There is a [http://petrovday.com/ website] for the holiday, with several variations of a ritual involving lighting and snuffing candles. The intended mood is that of a somber holiday, somewhere between {{w|Thanksgiving}} and a funeral.

However, there are also [https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/XJxwFMSL5TPN2usC6/modes-of-petrov-day more lighthearted takes]. A "hardcore mode" would be just like the normal holiday, but "During said ceremony, unveil a large red button. If anybody presses the button, the ceremony is over. Go home. Do not speak." Alternatively, "you use a website connected to *another* house where people are also celebrating Petrov Day. If anyone in one house presses the button, the other house receives a launch alarm. They have 60 seconds to respond. At the end of 60 seconds, their party is over, and they must go home silently. The website has some chance of giving you a false alarm." As of Petrov Day 2018, the website appears to be a work in progress.

Stanislav Petrov himself died in 2017, but in 2018 the {{w|Future of Life Institute}} decided to [https://futureoflife.org/2018/09/26/50000-award-to-stanislav-petrov-for-helping-avert-wwiii-but-us-denies-visa/ award] his surviving family a $50,000 prize for his contributions. However, Petrov's son couldn't "get a visa to visit the city his dad saved from nuclear annihilation is emblematic of how frosty US-Russian relations have gotten, which increases the risk of accidental nuclear war.”

==Transcript==

:[Megan is looking at her phone while Cueball stands in front of her]
:Megan: Hey, Wednesday was Stanislav Petrov day. We missed it.
:Cueball: Oh, shoot! I got a calendar alert for it, but I assumed it was a false alarm.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2051: Bad Opinions

2018-09-26T15:13:17Z

162.158.79.185: Fixed Transcript again

{{comic
| number = 2051
| date = September 26, 2018
| title = Bad Opinions
| image = bad_opinions.png
| titletext = I thought of another bad opinion! I couldn't find anyone who expressed it specifically, but still, the fact that I can so easily imagine it is infuriating! I'm gonna tell everyone about it!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Cueball]], as a form of catharsis, narcissism, and addiction, is imagining bad opinions, searching them up on the Internet, and excoriating the opinion givers. In an immediate new low, he imagines another hitherto unexpressed opinion, and promptly makes it a problem and false self-esteem booster for the Internet to bask in.

The use of the [[181: Interblag|Interblag]] by smart and idiotic alike to [[1974: Conversational Dynamics|violently express their opinions]] has been a regular theme in xkcd.

In title text he goes to a new level, where he can't find an opinion he imagined on the internet, but still wants to discredit it, just because he is so infuriated by just being able to imagine it.

This demonstrates a "strawman argument", where someone refutes an argument that wasn't actually made by anyone. (Ironically, the comic itself could be considered an example of this behavior. Randall imagines the absurd person and behavior depicted in the comic, and wrote a comic satirizing it, without knowing if such a person actually exists.)

This is a rather obvious callback to one of the most popular XKCD comics, [[Duty Calls]], wherein Cueball is actively seeking to discredit and correct people who are "wrong" on the internet.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[Cueball sits at a computer]

Offscreen: What are you doing?

Cueball: I just thought of a bad opinion someone could have, and now i'm searching to see if anyone does so I can be mad at them.

offscreen: Sounds like you have a healthy relationship with the internet.

Cueball: Hey, at least i'm not ''this'' guy i found
{{comic discussion}}

168: Reverse Euphemisms

2018-09-18T14:23:48Z

162.158.79.185: Added the bit about "This is the 7th comic in the My Hobby series"

{{comic
| number = 168
| date = October 9, 2006
| title = Reverse Euphemisms
| image = reverse euphemisms.png
| titletext = I'm still waiting for a chance to use 'I have to see a man about a horse'.
}}

This is the 7th comic in the My Hobby series

==Explanation==
{{w|Euphemisms}} are figures of speech used in place of more offensive terms. In this comic, [[Cueball]] uses swear words in the place of benign terms, inverting the typical usage of euphemisms. To "drop the kids off at the pool" is a euphemism meaning to "go take a shit." In this case, however, Cueball actually has to drop kids off at the pool but instead uses "go take a shit." Cueball is {{tvtropes|UnusualEuphemism|using the euphemism in reverse}}, hence the title.

In the title text, the figure is waiting for a situation in which he has to see a man concerning a horse, as this relates to another euphemism meaning to urinate. It can be assumed that, when telling someone about seeing the man about the horse, he would say "...then I had to go take a piss."

This is not to be confused with the opposite of a euphemism called a {{w|dysphemism}}.

==Transcript==
:My Hobby: Reverse Euphemisms
:[Two people talking.]
:Cueball: Oh, hey, school just let out and it's YMCA night, so I've gotta go take a shit.
:Friend: What?
:Cueball: I mean I actually have to drop the kids off at the pool.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

2046: Trum-

2018-09-15T04:48:16Z

162.158.79.185: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2046
| date = September 14, 2018
| title = Trum-
| image = trum.png
| titletext = Excited to vote for future presidents Bill Eisenhamper, Amy Forb, Ethan Obample, and Abigail Washingtoast.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The {{w|President of the United States}}, at the time when this comic was published, is {{w|Donald Trump}} and he shares the first letters of his surname with {{w|Harry S. Truman}}, who was US President between 1945 and 1953. [[Megan]] notes that both of these presidents' last names start with "T-R-U-M", but she also states that they are not much related.

There were several presidents of the US who even have the exact same last name, for example, {{w|John Adams}} and {{w|John Quincy Adams}} (5 letters) and the more recent father and son {{w|George H. W. Bush}} and {{w|George W. Bush}} (4 letters). Similarly {{w|Theodore Roosevelt}} and {{w|Franklin Delano Roosevelt}} are 5th cousins (9 letters). Grandfather and grandson {{w|William Henry Harrison}} and {{w|Benjamin Harrison}} share the same 8 letters. And there are the two [https://www.geni.com/path/Lyndon-B-Johnson-36th-President-of-the-United-States+is+related+to+Andrew-Johnson-17th-President-of-the-USA?from=6000000002045454764&to=361204095530004567| most distantly related] presidents with the same surname, both {{w|Andrew Johnson}} and {{w|Lyndon B. Johnson}} have the last name of Johnson (7 letters), though they do not share any relatives on their father's side.

Besides Trump, the closest unrelated pair(s) of presidents that share a common surname prefix would be William Henry H-A-R-rison (or, equivalently, Benjamin Harrison) and Warren H-A-R-ding (3 letters).

The longest common suffix (not counting identical names) is also 4 for I-S-O-N for {{w|James Madison}} and the two Harrison presidents.

The joke is, that the matching of those few letters is the least weird thing because Trump's presidency has been plagued with many {{w|Presidency of Donald Trump#Ethics|various scandals}}.

The title text lists "absurd" last names that could start with the same letters as other presidents: Bill Eisenhamper, Amy Forb, Ethan Obample, and Abigail Washingtoast. These would refer to {{w|Dwight D. Eisenhower|Dwight D. '''Eisenh'''ower}}, {{w|Gerald Ford|Gerald '''For'''d}}, {{w|Barack Obama|Barack '''Obam'''a}}, and {{w|George Washington|George '''Washingto'''n}}.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan walking together while talking.]
:Megan: It's pretty weird that we've had two totally unrelated presidents whose last names start with '''''"T-R-U-M-"'''''.
:Cueball: Oh, sure, that's ''definitely'' the weirdest thing about the presidency right now.
:Megan: It's less weird than '''''every other fact'''''. But still weird.
:Cueball: True.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Politics]]

Talk:492: Scrabble

2018-01-16T04:19:50Z

162.158.79.185:

Does anyone know the points for "Ostrich", "Historic", and "Coistril"? I know the game but I don't have it at home.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:25, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

:Not sure what double word type modifiers they have but here are the base scores:

clitoris 10 + 50
coistril 10
ostrich 12
historic 13

:Choosing '''historic''' would be the best family friendly option, but is a far less desirable choice. [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 05:43, 7 July 2013 (UTC)

:: The only placement for ''historic'' would get it onto the triple word score with one doubled letter, making 42. Still nowhere near ''coistril'' or ''clitoris'', though (which can both get the 50 point bonus and the double letter score for the C). [[Special:Contributions/94.13.166.227|94.13.166.227]] 21:25, 9 July 2013 (UTC)

Please do a separate post and do not destroy the former discussions.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:49, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

Update by ‎67.0.215.76:
clitoris 60
coistril 60
ostrich 12
historic 42
:{{unsigned ip|‎67.0.215.76}}

:The best option would be ''lictors'' and ''hic'', scoring 71 points. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.85|108.162.254.85]] 14:48, 12 May 2014 (UTC)
::Any prove? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:19, 12 May 2014 (UTC)

Randall uses the word "Ostrich" as an alternate word, but "Historic" or "[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coistril Coistril]" would gain more points. {{unsigned|Matchup}}

Top 17 Options taking into account what of the board opens up.
[Hic/Lictors 71points], [Lictors/Chi, 69 points], [Hit/Lictors, 69 points], [His/Lictors, 69 points],
[Lictors/Sh, 69 points], [Lictors/Li, 69points], [Trochils, 64 points], [Clitoris, 63 points]x2,
[Coistril, 63]x2, [Historic, 42], [Col/Oh/Li, 17 points], [Hic/Col, 15 points], [Hit/Lotic, 21 points],
[Chi/Col, 14 points], [Li, 3 points]
Top 14 Scoring words
[Lictors, 64-69]x6, [Trochils, 64], [Clitoris, 63]x2, [Coistril, 63]x2, [Historic, 42], [Lotic,21],
[Lictor,18-20]x3, [Colts,19], [Cots,18]x2, [Cost,18]x2, [Colt,18], [Cols,18], [Cist,18], [Scot,18]
Ostrich is a bad plan either way. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.99|141.101.98.99]]

---
How can you get "historic" from the tiles shown? The player doesn't have an "h" and has only one "i." [[User:Jelsemium|Jelsemium]] ([[User talk:Jelsemium|talk]]) Jelsemium

:Because 'Historic' starts with 'Hi', which has already been played. He can place 'storic' on the end of the existing 'Hi'. -Graptor [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 04:19, 16 January 2018 (UTC)

Talk:151: Mario

2017-09-27T19:07:09Z

162.158.79.185:

Mario is not the star, Mario's the plumber. Muahaha. --[[User:Kronf|Kronf]] ([[User talk:Kronf|talk]]) 12:24, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

Am I the only person intrigued by the fact that he used European quotes («»)?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 22:21, 2 February 2017 (UTC)

Those aren't European; they're French. And I don't think he meant them to be quotation marks, they remind me of how the work "1-up" flashes on the screen in early mario games. That's a hard thing to
represent with text, so maybe that's what he was going for. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 19:07, 27 September 2017 (UTC)

1845: State Word Map

2017-06-02T14:51:18Z

162.158.79.185: /* Explanation */ The states do say these words, just not nearly as often as implied. So I wrote a more accurate sentence. Also moved the period outside of the parenthesis in the same section

{{comic
| number = 1845
| date = June 2, 2017
| title = State Word Map
| image = state_word_map.png
| titletext = The top search for every state is PORN, except Florida, where it's SEX PORN.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Almost there...}}

This is another of the many comics where [[Randall]] used a map of America for his joke (see below for examples).

Similar in spirit to [[1138: Heatmap]], this comic pokes fun at many maps that attempt to use data to discern unique characteristics about various sub-regions, in this case {{w|U.S. state|American states}}. This map may have been inspired by [https://twitter.com/GoogleTrends/status/869624196921303040 this map] posted on Twitter by Google Trends the day before the comic was posted. Many web companies use maps like this in viral marketing, but the methodology behind them is pretty weak. The random noise in the data will mean that there will be variations between states even if there is no underlying pattern - and this can be further boosted by statistical tricks. A common one is to show the "most characteristic" or "most distinctive" term for each state. For instance, [http://www.businessinsider.com/most-common-causes-of-death-in-each-state-2014-6?IR=T the most common cause of death is heart disease or cancer] in every US state, but this makes for a boring map. Looking at the [https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2015/14_0395.htm most distinctive cause of death] produces a more interesting map, but it highlights very minor trends - Lousiana is marked as having syphilis as its most distinctive cause of death, even though [https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/stateprofiles/pdf/louisiana_profile.pdf only 15 Louisianans in every 100,000 have the disease] and there were only 22 syphilis deaths in the state over a whole decade. These maps can give a misleading impression of huge variation between states that doesn't really exist.

This map does not say anything real, but says:
:You can make these maps say whatever you want by adjusting the methodology. Half of the time you're just amplifying random noise because the underlying data doesn't change that much from one state to another. But whatever. Nobody checks this stuff. Just pick whatever normalization lets you make fun of Florida.

The primary joke is that the likelihood of these being the words used most often by the inhabitants of each state is low, rather than accurately representing the most used words Randall has just done exactly what he says he can do (make fun of Florida by putting whatever he wants). He also has not obtained the data from anywhere, just 'Something Something'.

The joke about Florida is that the words most search for in Florida is "Florida", which would make people in Florida very self-centered.

The comic continues to make fun of Florida in the title text by saying that Florida searches for ''sex porn'' instead of ''porn'', which is not needed since porn means images and film of people having sex. This is also probably a reference to PornHub's [https://www.pornhub.com/insights/united-states-top-searches data-farming] exercises, where they have periodically released the most frequently searched term by state.

{{w|Florida}} is often the butt of many jokes, including the {{w|Florida Man}} meme and many mocking jibes regarding its {{w|2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida|historically-messy electoral history}}. {{tvtropes|OnlyInFlorida|"Only in Florida" phenomenon}}

Randall previously used a map of the United States as the basis for his comics in [[1767: US State Names]], [[1653: United States Map]], [[1509: Scenery Cheat Sheet]] and in [[1079: United Shapes]].

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the map, with sub caption:]
:<big>Most-Used Word in Each State</big>
:Based on Something Something Search Data

:[Beneath the captions are a colorful map of the United States of America. Each state has one color, but the colors do not change from state to state, but rather between rows of states. The top "row" is purple, the second row is gray-blue, but only goes half across. Where it stops a pink row of states begins. Beneath this runs a yellow row, except it does not take California with it, since it belongs to the next purple line beneath this yellow line. Finally the two states not in the contiguous states as well as the southern states from Texas to Florida are again pink. Inside each state is written one, and only one word (or for small states the word is outside and if needed a line indicates which state it belongs to). The words size depends on the size of the state and the word. If it can fit inside the state it will be written in a font large enough to fill the entire state if possible (in one case a hyphen is used). So a short word, like "lets" in huge Texas becomes huge, but a word like "noise" which has been fitted inside small Massachusets becomes small.]

:[Here is the 50 words written in lines resembling the colors on the map (from left to right). Purple, gray-blue, pink, yellow, purple and pink:]
:You can make these maps say whatever you want
:by adjusting the methodology.
:Half the time you're just amplifying random noise.
:Because the underlying data doesn't vary that much from one state to another.
:But whatever. Nobody checks this stuff. Just pick
:whatever normal-ization lets you make fun of Florida.

==Trivia==
*The state line between New Hampshire and Maine is missing in the map, but each state has a word assigned, so it is only the line that has been left out.
**Thus there are indeed 50 single words on the map.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Geography]]

Talk:1825: 7 Eleven

2017-04-18T01:28:07Z

162.158.79.185:

I don't think the title-text references leap seconds, as it says that "many" are wrong, not "all". It seems more likely it refers to stores that claim to be open 365 days per year, and are hence wrong in leap years.
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.42|141.101.105.42]] 20:12, 17 April 2017 (UTC)

I agree that it would be closed for 39 (and a bit) minutes a day if it was open for exactly 24 hours. I think Randall made a mistake. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.40|198.41.238.40]] 21:30, 17 April 2017 (UTC)

The parts in the description that talk about mixing "Earth and Mars time units" and "Mars-hours" don't make sense; I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as a Mars-hour. Despite the classical definition of an hour (which has since been replaced), an hour is defined as a number of seconds, and seconds are an SI unit based on the characteristics of Caesium-133 atoms...NOT defined as being a fixed fraction of a day. Even the unit "day" is often used to refer to a fixed unit of time nowadays (defined by the SI to be 86 401 s)...I believe this is one of the reasons why the solar day on Mars is referred to as a "sol" instead of a "day". [[Special:Contributions/172.68.133.192|172.68.133.192]] 22:15, 17 April 2017 (UTC)
:Nitpicking a bit, but the day is usually only 86400 seconds long (see [[1481]]).

Fun fact that might be interesting to add to the note about Arizona and DST. As stated already, the Navajo reservation observes DST, since it extends into Utah and New Mexico. However, the Hopi reservation, which is entirely enclosed by the Navajo reservation, does NOT follow DST. So in the one state in the Mountain Time Zone that does not observe DST, there is a region that follows DST, and inside that is another region that does not follow DST. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 01:28, 18 April 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1815: Flag

2017-04-08T18:04:42Z

162.158.79.185:

Makes me wonder why he was doing this at 5:48 pm.
--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.190|108.162.249.190]] 20:56, 25 March 2017 (UTC)

A vote for me is a vote for bread on every table and a [https://smile.amazon.com/Off-Be-Wizard-Magic-2-0/dp/1612184715/ 73% battery level] until the end of time! [[User:Jameslucas|jameslucas]] ([[User talk:Jameslucas|" "]] / [[Special:Contributions/Jameslucas|+]]) 14:02, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

Given that the design is a screenshot, the flag could be part of an existing logo, e.g. of a U.S. sport association.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.82|162.158.150.82]] 14:15, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

The comic states "our NEW country" so I removed the theory it could be a new US flag.
The most recent sovereign state, according to Wikipedia, is South Sudan created in 2011 so we could assume Randall never intended to talk about a real-life country [[Special:Contributions/162.158.234.28|162.158.234.28]] 14:25, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

:It could be referring to new country proposals by techno-libertarians and the like? [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasteading] -[[User:Jules.LT|Jules.LT]] ([[User talk:Jules.LT|talk]]) 14:32, 24 March 2017 (UTC)
:: for instance https://www.cnet.com/news/asgardia-will-be-a-new-nation-in-space-and-you-can-be-a-citizen/ [[User:WhiteDragon|WhiteDragon]] ([[User talk:WhiteDragon|talk]]) 14:44, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

Note that official flags have an aspect ratio of 3:2 (with a few exceptions, like Switzerland and Nepal). The proposed flag including the notification bar measures 474 x 316 pixels (3*158 x 2*158 pixels), following the standard. If one removes the notification bar the resulting flag is somewhat wider than the standard. [[Special:Contributions/188.114.110.250|188.114.110.250]] 15:06, 24 March 2017 (UTC)
:Those "few" exceptions include 106 of the 189 or so sovereign states. Even that overstates the popularity of 3:2 since some nations have multiple different official flag specifications for different uses or users. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.21|162.158.62.21]] 15:29, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

:When I measured it, I found it to be 314 pixels tall - about pi * 100, which I feel is no mistake. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 18:04, 8 April 2017 (UTC)

According to [https://developer.apple.com/ios/human-interface-guidelines/ui-bars/status-bars/ Apple's own documentation], this kind of bar is referred to as a "status bar", and not a "notification bar". --[[User:Jonhaugen|Jonhaugen]] ([[User talk:Jonhaugen|talk]]) 15:28, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

:Key word: Apple. Notification bar is a term used more commonly in Android, largely from the time Android had a pull down notification tray and iOS didn't. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.28|162.158.34.28]] 02:02, 25 March 2017 (UTC)

Since the screenshot is part of the editing process, I don't think this can be interpreted as a mistake. It probably is entirely deliberate. The joke relies on the fact that most of the times when this bar appears, it is a side effect of the way the relevant data (the rest of the image) has been obtained, rather than part of the information itself. Actually, not only can the bar be ignored most of the time, but this is so often true that some people may not pay any attention to it at all. The committee's mistake might not have been that they failed to understand that Randall actually meant for the bar to be there, they might have not noticed it at all (even more likely if they looked at the image in full screen on a similar device). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.184|141.101.88.184]] 16:08, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

The real reason for firing him would most probably be that he made the committee and any decision making bodies up the chain look unprofessional. He may have missed it or intentionally trolled them, but it seems the status bar made it through the committee and all the way to becoming official without getting noticed. That sort of publicity will result in heads rolling, starting with the easiest target, the designer (depending on the state maybe literally, but if he was just fired it's probably not that type of system).--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.102.76|162.158.102.76]] 18:07, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

What kind of barbaric country still relies on 3G? It's like we're going back to the stone age!

I think this new flag represents a part of USA (3 states) that has either split with the rest due to the current president or are the three states that was left after the other 47 left. This makes sense with Randall's views of Trump and the colour stars and stripes is so clearly a reference to the Stars and Stripes also given Randall is from the states and as he was asked to make the flag. Maybe it is Massechusets, Conneticut and New York that had formed an independent country? ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:30, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

:The United States of Macutny had better be prepared for a long war with the remaining USA over access to Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. - [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 20:28, 25 March 2017 (UTC)

::I sure hope those are the states he picked! But also, Connecticut annexes Rhode Island. - Lieutenant Zipp

Is the notification bar a standard one for some OS or common system, or has Randall invented it? Probably not an interesting comment, but I'm curious if that layout actually exists. Would seem an awful waste of screen real-estate devoting a third of the bar to an almost meaningless "signal strength" metric -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.109|162.158.154.109]] 20:29, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

:The bar is the one redesigned in iOS 7. The off-white coloration, layout, and even the specific icons beside the battery display are taken from that interface. The issue with the wasted space of the cellular strength meter is even worse on an actual device, where the name of your service provider (or the word "iPad" on, well, an iPad) is also displayed at all times. [[User talk:AgentMuffin|~AgentMuffin]]

[https://o.lgm.cl/xkcd1815/ A construction sheet for the XKCD 1815 flag] (excluding notification bar)[[User:Locoluis|Locoluis]] ([[User talk:Locoluis|talk]]) 22:32, 25 March 2017 (UTC)

Has anybody noticed that the flag perfectly represents the overall politican division of the current US with the blue states on the coast, and the red states in the middle? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.38|162.158.155.38]] 08:59, 27 March 2017 (UTC)

Is it just me but the 39% could be a take on the current approval rating of the US president and the 3G to the 3 branches of government?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.52|162.158.126.52]] 10:16, 27 March 2017 (UTC)

Could this also not be a dig at the hopelessly tech illiterate (mostly, in my humble experience iPhone users) who habitually take screenshots rather than saving an image to disk? And continue to do so even after it's pointed out to them that they don't need all that cruft. That saving to disk is so simple makes it doubly hilarious and vexing. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.18|141.101.107.18]] 12:24, 27 March 2017 (UTC)

If the Netherlands (or insert country or state known for their "relaxedness" here) were to update their flags with a status bar they would 'obviously' choose 4:20 as their time ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.144|162.158.90.144]] 13:53, 29 March 2017 (UTC)cdm

Talk:1800: Chess Notation

2017-02-17T20:17:08Z

162.158.79.185: I forgot the ~~~~

How did the conversation end in a draw? Was it by agreement? Was it actually "drawn" as mentioned below?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 20:17, 17 February 2017 (UTC)

The move to score conversations itself was probably a blunder, but it seems that, since the sentence is copied verbatim, that the move to declare your scoring of conversations to somebody else is a blunder. Because that's weird and nobody wants to hear about it. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.72|173.245.50.72]] 18:35, 17 February 2017 (UTC)

So... This is just a really excellent pun? "Drawn" conversation?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.22|162.158.75.22]] 15:59, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
:The pun gets better when you think about drawn '''and''' stalemated conversations, both of which will be scored 0.5 - 0.5. A stalemate occurs when no legal moves are possible, but the opponent isn't in check.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.82|162.158.150.82]] 16:26, 17 February 2017 (UTC)

I have 2 questions does Randall know about this wiki and if there is an "incomplete" comic and I complete the explanation or other issue can I delete the incomplete notification thingy or does an admin have to do that?[[User:XFez|XFez]] ([[User talk:XFez|talk]]) 17:45, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
:Anyone can remove the incomplete tag. Likewise, anyone can add it back again if they feel the explanation can be improved. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.225|162.158.62.225]] 18:37, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
::My answer at the last comic:
::Hi [[User:XFez|XFez]], sorry for the late reply but this was hard to find. I don't know if Randall knows..., but maybe he does. But he does NOT support this wiki in any way -- like he does not here: [http://forums.xkcd.com http://forums.xkcd.com] (while everything is now on https that board isn't ;) ). So there is no final explanation and he says 100 points! To your second question: You are allowed to remove the "incomplete tag". But the given criteria is not enough, often that simple text covers not all. Please check also the discussion page. So, when you are not sure just change the criteria text and mention it at the discussion page. And for older comics you probably should talk to someone else here because nobody checks every comic every day.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:19, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
:::Randall knows of this page for sure. How often he goes here for a laugh is hard to say, but I would guess he would never comment on anything. But who knows if he checks here to see if has made a mistake. Sometimes errors are corrected after they get mentioned here. Often very early in Randall's time zone. Who knows if he sees this here. He has given a 100 % proof that he knows about this page in his official transcript. He actually made a direct link to Explain xkcd for a better transcript than his own. Alas there was not transcript until this year, where I made it: See this [[Payloads#Trivia|trivia]] under [[Payloads]], that I added earlier in 2017. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:45, 17 February 2017 (UTC)

Isn't the mouseover text saying that it was a blunder to tell white hat that he is scoring it because that will cause white hat to actively compete, instead of simply losing because he didn't know there was a game? [a guest and fan]{{unsigned ip|141.101.107.12}}

Talk:1800: Chess Notation

2017-02-17T20:16:19Z

162.158.79.185:

How did the conversation end in a draw? Was it by agreement? Was it actually "drawn" as mentioned below?

The move to score conversations itself was probably a blunder, but it seems that, since the sentence is copied verbatim, that the move to declare your scoring of conversations to somebody else is a blunder. Because that's weird and nobody wants to hear about it. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.72|173.245.50.72]] 18:35, 17 February 2017 (UTC)

So... This is just a really excellent pun? "Drawn" conversation?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.22|162.158.75.22]] 15:59, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
:The pun gets better when you think about drawn '''and''' stalemated conversations, both of which will be scored 0.5 - 0.5. A stalemate occurs when no legal moves are possible, but the opponent isn't in check.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.82|162.158.150.82]] 16:26, 17 February 2017 (UTC)

I have 2 questions does Randall know about this wiki and if there is an "incomplete" comic and I complete the explanation or other issue can I delete the incomplete notification thingy or does an admin have to do that?[[User:XFez|XFez]] ([[User talk:XFez|talk]]) 17:45, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
:Anyone can remove the incomplete tag. Likewise, anyone can add it back again if they feel the explanation can be improved. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.225|162.158.62.225]] 18:37, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
::My answer at the last comic:
::Hi [[User:XFez|XFez]], sorry for the late reply but this was hard to find. I don't know if Randall knows..., but maybe he does. But he does NOT support this wiki in any way -- like he does not here: [http://forums.xkcd.com http://forums.xkcd.com] (while everything is now on https that board isn't ;) ). So there is no final explanation and he says 100 points! To your second question: You are allowed to remove the "incomplete tag". But the given criteria is not enough, often that simple text covers not all. Please check also the discussion page. So, when you are not sure just change the criteria text and mention it at the discussion page. And for older comics you probably should talk to someone else here because nobody checks every comic every day.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:19, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
:::Randall knows of this page for sure. How often he goes here for a laugh is hard to say, but I would guess he would never comment on anything. But who knows if he checks here to see if has made a mistake. Sometimes errors are corrected after they get mentioned here. Often very early in Randall's time zone. Who knows if he sees this here. He has given a 100 % proof that he knows about this page in his official transcript. He actually made a direct link to Explain xkcd for a better transcript than his own. Alas there was not transcript until this year, where I made it: See this [[Payloads#Trivia|trivia]] under [[Payloads]], that I added earlier in 2017. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:45, 17 February 2017 (UTC)

Isn't the mouseover text saying that it was a blunder to tell white hat that he is scoring it because that will cause white hat to actively compete, instead of simply losing because he didn't know there was a game? [a guest and fan]{{unsigned ip|141.101.107.12}}

Talk:151: Mario

2017-02-02T22:21:14Z

162.158.79.185:

Am I the only person intrigued by the fact that he used European quotes («»)?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 22:21, 2 February 2017 (UTC)

Mario is not the star, Mario's the plumber. Muahaha. --[[User:Kronf|Kronf]] ([[User talk:Kronf|talk]]) 12:24, 29 August 2012 (UTC)