explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1357: Free Speech

2020-03-30T03:21:00Z

172.68.46.155: ISPs are common carriers. Social media sites are not.

I think the last frame should be interpreted as whoever Cueball is preaching to getting tired of his drivel and showing him the door [[User:BarnZarn|BarnZarn]] ([[User talk:BarnZarn|talk]]) 05:02, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

This comic is terribly outdated now.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.57|162.158.158.57]] 07:38, 3 April 2019 (UTC)

It would be nice to mention how this applies only to the Federal government; discussions of how it is enforced on the states may be beyond the scope of this wiki. In addition, it might be amusing to note that freedom of association and other freedoms specified in the Bill of Rights have the same scope. That is, there are very few enumerated powers given to the Federal government, the Bill of Rights specifies some limitations on the Congress - but in general, the restriction on Congress was to the enumerated powers, a concept that made the Bill of Rights redundant - and the Bill of Rights does not apply (as written) to anyone but the Federal government. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.40|173.245.54.40]] 20:08, 18 April 2014 (UTC)

: The First Amendment also applies to the various State governments (including their subsidiaries, such as local governments) through the {{w|Incorporation Doctrine}}, which is based on the Fourteenth Amendment (which is about the States). To be sure, the text of the Fourteenth Amendment doesn't spell out this doctrine, so the whole thing is a bit of a stretch, but it's how the courts interpret it now. This (along with the courts' broad interpretation of the enumerated powers) makes the Bill of Rights far from redundant (and I for one am happy to have it applied as broadly as possible). —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 23:55, 18 April 2014 (UTC)

:I have attempted to address some of the concerns you raised by editing the first paragraph. Please feel free to edit/improve my work. [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 11:42, 7 October 2014 (UTC)

I've clarified the sentence about the Constitution being a legal document. Legal documents are not necessarily limited to government activity (for example, an apartment lease is a legal document but says nothing about what the government can or cannot do). I added the phrase "that defines the structure and powers of the government" to the end of the sentence. [[User:Elsbree|Elsbree]] ([[User talk:Elsbree|talk]]) 04:55, 18 April 2014 (UTC)

Another recent event (within the past couple of weeks) was a campaign against Stephen Colbert for an out-of-context quote taken from a bit on his show. It was hash-tagged under "CancelColbert". Interestingly, people from Fox News that had supported the Duck Dynasty guy were completely against Colbert. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.218|108.162.237.218]] 05:09, 18 April 2014 (UTC)

That door in the last frame is a backdoor to fascism. --[[User:Mus|Mus]] ([[User talk:Mus|talk]]) 06:27, 18 April 2014 (UTC)
: Are you [http://gawker.com/5951080/vp-debate-attendee-tells-chris-matthews-obama-is-a-communist-but-cant-explain-what-a-communist-is related to this woman?] LOL.
: Nevertheless, I agree the comic would be stronger and more accurate if it didn't have that last panel. Disagreeing with someone's speech doesn't mean you get to throw them out. Places of public accommodation, such as most businesses, are required to be non-discriminatory. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 11:59, 18 April 2014 (UTC)
:: Reading-comprehension fail. Read the '''entire''' bottom row; it is a complete sentence. Removing the last clause negates the first. — [[User:Fluffy Buzzard|Fluffy Buzzard]] ([[User talk:Fluffy Buzzard|talk]]) 14:38, 18 April 2014 (UTC)
::Businesses are allowed to throw people out for almost any reason. The non-discriminatory clause has nothing to do with what people say, and isn't even tangential to the First Amendment. And yes. Disagreeing with someone in your domain does mean you get to throw them out. In fact, you can throw them out if you do agree with them. Or don't know them. Or if they're your brother. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.218|108.162.237.218]] 21:25, 18 April 2014 (UTC)

Can someone add something saying that other countries also have similar laws on free speech? I would do it myself, but I'm new to editing the wiki and I wouldn't know how to word it. [[User:Cheeselord99|Cheeselord99]] ([[User talk:Cheeselord99|talk]]) 07:19, 18 April 2014 (UTC)
:I would if there was some sort of summary of them available. Though there's the {{w|Universal Declaration of Human Rights}} from the UN, I don't think it specifically requires any entity (such as a government body) to do (or not do) anything, just like I understand most anything U.N. related to be. I believe it's a guide/declaration/definition/resolution/statement of belief, and it would then be up to any soverienty to actually enforce or comply with it. [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 12:08, 18 April 2014 (UTC)
::"Can someone add something saying that other countries also have similar laws on free speech?" Are you implying that you think ALL other countries have similar laws, or SOME other countries have similaar laws? Saying that the local dictator sucks, or that the local religion is bullshit is certainly not protected free speech in many, many countries. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 23:07, 21 April 2014 (UTC)

This is going to be one of those XKCDs everyone is linking to, to make a point.[[User:Jkrstrt|Jkrstrt]] ([[User talk:Jkrstrt|talk]]) 08:27, 18 April 2014 (UTC)

Though, I will say, I'm a bit concerned that the point people may be making is that "Argumentum ad Populum" is totally legit, as there is a suggestion one could infer that if a bunch of people are mad at you for something you say you deserve to be shown the door. And I'm not sure that's the intended message, and even if it is, I'm not sure it's a good one. Speaking an uncomfortable or undesired truth to a community (Which will almost certainly anger them, and make them think you're an asshole, let's say) doesn't mean the door is an appropriate response. On the other hand, when speaking such truths, one probably has a better justification than "Because Free Speech," just hopefully the disgruntled masses will actually listen to it.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.46|108.162.216.46]] 10:49, 18 April 2014 (UTC)
: That's the point, if your only defense is "Free Speech" - you should be shown the door. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 15:05, 18 April 2014 (UTC)
:: Obviously, no one making an argument personally thinks the only defense is "it is not illegal for me to say this". Other people, defending him afterwards, do not agree with the argument but are offended by censorship of his argument. Democrats think there are no merit to Republican arguments, and most Republicans think there are no merit to Democrat arguments; by your logic, a Democrat defending a Republican's right to hold a job, attend college, go to grocery stores, and generally be tolerated, is being hypocritical and should actually believe Republicans should be shown the door. Imagine what a shit world we'd live in if everyone wanted to show the door to people they disagreed with. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.197|108.162.218.197]] 00:57, 12 June 2015 (UTC)
::: That's not obvious at all, actually. I believe the English language has a noun for the specific kind of person who, making an argument, personally thinks the only defense is "it is not illegal for me to say this": troll. And in any case, imagine what a shit world we'd live in if sincerity of belief were considered to mitigate the legal import of direct incitement to violence. "Yes, your honor, I did tell that man that the owners of that pizza place deserved to have their place shot up in retaliation for their crimes, for which I had no evidence, and which turned out not to exist; but in my defense, I believed it so sincerely that I wanted to shoot it up myself." [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.76|162.158.214.76]] 20:06, 9 August 2018 (UTC)

Both Jeff and 108.162.216.46 are accurate. 108.162.216.46's example of an uncomfortable or undesired truth causing anger is possible. It's up the the messenger to make sure that they frame the point properly and use appropriate supporting materials to justify their claims. A messenger with bad news won't say "free speech," they will say "this is the evidence" if they want to avoid being shown the door. {{unsigned ip|173.245.55.85}}
: The issue, of course, is that a lot of people aren't willing to listen to evidence when told things they don't want to hear. Say, I dunno, if you're hanging out on a particularly conservative forum where people are taking turns bashing "Obamacare," even if you have a perfectly rational, backed up by numbers, etc. reason to say it may not be all bad, or may even be good, there's a decent chance that you could get shown the door simply because that's an unpopular opinion no matter how good your reasons are. And it's the sort of person who wants to punish someone simply for saying something unpopular on a forum, simply because it's unpopular (Or, in the case of some admins/mods, something they just don't personally like), who I'm concerned about using this comic as rhetorical backup. For the message of this comic to work, the community/etc. has to be willing to listen to rational evidence and they frequently aren't. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.46|108.162.216.46]] 22:55, 18 April 2014 (UTC)
:: Frankly, it would be entirely appropriate for all those sorts of people to use this comic as rhetorical backup. Your "right" to say what you think, free from interference, applies only in public spaces and on your own property. You certainly do not have the right to use other people's media as vehicles for your thoughts. So yes, it is perfectly right (and, incidentally, the only workable solution) for the person who controls the medium to decide what is said on that medium. And it is perfectly right and just for even the most woefully misguided, closed-minded, power-hungry, dogmatic or extremist admin to point to this comic and say: "I'm not willing to broadcast your opinions". That is the whole point. The freedom NOT to disseminate ideas you disagree with is just as fundamental and suffers very few exceptions. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.122|108.162.229.122]] 00:32, 22 August 2014 (UTC)

Just happened to see this today, thought it was relevant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJMqYcRgf-A&t=51s [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.60|173.245.54.60]] 16:56, 18 April 2014 (UTC)

This comic has it <s>completely</s> backwards! There are people who say "You're violating the First Amendment." when they're being censored by somebody who's not the government; they are mistaken, and this comic would be absolutely correct if it were addressing them. But it's not. In fact, it doesn't talk about the First Amendment (or similar provisions in other constitutions or other laws) at all; it talks only about freedom of speech. [ETA April 19: Whoops, that's wrong! The first panel has it backwards, but the third panel is perfectly correct. So my complaint is that the comic ''conflates'' freedom of speech and the First Amendment, not that it addresses ''only'' freedom of speech.] And if you're being censored on Facebook, or in the privately-owned shopping mall, or wherever, then yes, your freedom of speech is being violated.

It's not illegal, and it may not even be wrong (why should my blog have to display your speech, after all?), but it's still a limitation on your freedom to speak. And if you want to argue that Facebook or the shopping mall (or even my blog) should not do that, then that's a perfectly legitimate position to take. As long as you say nothing about the First Amendment or the like, but instead complain about freedom of speech, then my only response (if I want to respond) is to explain why you shouldn't have free speech on that forum, not some irrelevant blather about the government. —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 23:41, 18 April 2014 (UTC)

: The comic does not address the concept of free speech itself; it addresses the *right* to free speech. Sure, your speech might be restricted on certain forums or in certain communities, but you generally have no actual *right* to free speech there. It's simply that the forum or community does not want to support your ideas. --[[User:V2Blast|V2Blast]] ([[User talk:V2Blast|talk]]) 02:37, 19 April 2014 (UTC)

:: Who decides whether that is a right or not? {{unsigned ip|108.162.217.47}}

:: Rights aren't just for governments. Any entity can grant you rights and then uphold or violate them. (Facebook actually calls its terms of service a "Statement of Rights and Responsibilities", which it is, even though it's primarily their rights and our responsibilities.) So one might argue that Facebook (as a public forum intended for everybody and everything) ought to grant freedom of speech (which it kind of does, with a few exceptions, but only implicitly), while a personal blog should not (and then there are also forums that should maybe grant freedom of on-topic speech or something like that). People also consider natural rights (which is how the Declaration of Independence treats them, although free speech is not on its list), but personally I think that it's clearer to discuss what rights ''should'' be rather than what natural rights ''are''. So if somebody claims that FB (eg) is violating their right to free speech, then at best you have them on a technicality (because that is not a natural right and also not a right explicitly granted by FB), but their real point is that FB is violating their freedom of speech (which FB sometimes really does, including in ways that its terms of service does not authorize, hence various complaints from time to time like [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/18/breastfeeding-photos-facebook-respect-the-breast_n_1285264.html this one]). —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 17:30, 19 April 2014 (UTC)

I see 2 ironies:
1. Those from the BGLT+ side tend to use the 'Free Speech' argument, too.
2. This was posted in Good Friday.
[[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 23:52, 18 April 2014 (UTC)

:: On the first irony, I think this article rather misrepresents the uproar around the Duck Dynasty incident (which is mentioned in the article explanation). It wasn't just that people felt the guy's rights were violated (the merits of which argument I am not commenting on), but that A&E essentially ambushed him after he gave an opinion, in an interview, that no one should expect he didn't have. It's essentially the same issue with the Chik-fil-a incident, where people became extremely angry over an open Christian donating money to anti-gay groups, even though he was doing so for several years previously. It's not just the first amendment rights, it's that A&E, a company who is so prideful about being open minded and tolerant with the BGLT community, would drop the hammer so hard on someone who was already well-known for having opposite opinions. The point is, while A&E does technically have the right to show the Duck Dynasty guy the door, they cannot seriously do so without seriously undermining their own reasons for firing him. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.45|173.245.54.45]] 18:49, 19 April 2014 (UTC)

I've had the situation where I express disagreement with someone and they accuse me of violating their right of free speech. A possible response to this, which I wouldn't actually use, is "I absolutely defend your First Amendment right to behave like a jerk." [[User:Mark314159|Mark314159]] ([[User talk:Mark314159|talk]]) 15:14, 19 April 2014 (UTC)

Well, while it is correct to say that the kind of actions talked about in this comic don't violate the ''First Amendment'', it's not at all beside the point to point out that there are problems with the ''free speech'' involved. Basically, Randall Munroe is repeating a popular line of argument these days, and one that unfortunately sidesteps the entire issue of whether non-state entities can be censors. If you think the issue through for more than two seconds, it's pretty clear that they can be. Take for example some group of armed thugs physically threatening a journalist. (Hardly a hypothetical - there's a lot of that going on in the world today.) If they don't represent a government, according to a strict interpretation of the argument just made in the above ''xkcd'', they're just providing consequences and "showing the door" to someone who's speech they don't like. So, obviously, there are very clearly non-state actions that amount to censorship.

OK, what about non-violent actions? That still can run into a lot of grey areas. Most certainly, nobody owes anybody else the use of their venue or platform for someone else to make their point - *that* would be a violation of free speech rights to be compelled to do so. And certainly, boycotts of those who's views one disagrees with in order to influence public opinion have a solid history in democratic societies. What is problematic, however, and crosses the line into a kind of privatized censorship is the kind of "no platform" activism that seems to be in fashion these days, that seeks to deny *any* venue to those who are deemed to have unacceptable views or are practicing "hate speech" - slippery and ever-expanding concepts, it seems to me. Who is it that should have the power to "show the door" into outright silencing? BTW, a recent blog post raises these concerns in response to the above cartoon [http://blog.erratasec.com/2014/04/xkcd-is-wrong-about-free-speech.html here], and I blogged about this at length last year [http://www.skepticink.com/skepticallyleft/2013/04/07/sunday-sinner-guest-post-iamcuriousblue/ here] in regards to some of the more censorious actions of Ada Initiative. [[User:Iamcuriousblue|Iamcuriousblue]] ([[User talk:Iamcuriousblue|talk]]) 04:17, 20 April 2014 (UTC)

:Look, the two concepts you raise are different things. And it's not a government's job to determine which point of view is valid or best, or even to protect or promote that PoV. The point is that the U.S. government (in this case) must remain un-hostile (if that's a word) to dissenting points of view. In fact, ''especially'' towards dissenting points of view. Thugs threatening journalists? I agree that's a problem. And the state/local government (in most cases) should do its best to prevent this kind of coercion. The overarching principle is that within the U.S. is that we want to create as open a marketplace for ideas as possible. That marketplace structure does not determine the value of a speech's content. It simply allows it to exist.

:So the USG can't prevent others from not listening, or even from telling a speaker to shut up. You must see that this ''cannot'' be the role of a government that is seeking to promote open and constructive discourse. Because once the government starts favoring one PoV or providing "more favored treatment" for, let's say, your coerced journalist, then it is condoning or supporting that particular speech over others. And that, if you think about it for more than two seconds, is in itself infringing on the very same free speech guarantee. [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 11:42, 7 October 2014 (UTC)

In fact, there are (admittedly rare) situations in which the "right to free speech" can require a private entity to host a speaker. Marsh v. Alabama involved a Jehovah's Witness handing out literature in a company town completely owned by a corporation. The Supreme Court held that because the admittedly private spaces in a company town were akin to public spaces, the company could not enforce a trespassing law against the Jehovah's Witness without violating the First Amendment. So long as one is talking about the "right to free speech" (which goes beyond the First Amendment), the Pruneyard Shopping Center case, in which a mall owner was forced to allow participation by a speaker due to a California law expanding free speech rights in commercial areas, serves as another example of where a private entity can be forced to accommodate another's speech. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.13|173.245.54.13]] 10:25, 21 April 2014 (UTC)

'''TL;DR''' --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:52, 21 April 2014 (UTC)

A very recent article that pretty much shreds this comic. XKCD is usually on point, but this one goes a bit too far. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/04/22/freedom_to_marry_freedom_to_dissent_why_we_must_have_both_122376.html {{unsigned ip|173.245.56.86}}

I find it very disturbing that one of the most popular science-themed comics on the Internet gives a free pass to the Catholic church like this. The Catholic church is not a government, it is an international cultural institution, therefore, if the Catholic church bans people, ideas, speech, and behavior from all domains of its organizational influence, this comic clearly supports such a move. (I doubt the author needs a primer on that part of history.) The stated position that free speech only means that government can't come after you, but cultural institutions can and you just need to be quiet and leave if you disagree with that. {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.85}}
:As an atheist, the Catholic church's policies have no relevance to me. I do not visit Catholic churches, I do not attend Catholic schools, and I do not use Catholic businesses. If anyone doesn't like what they do, they -can- just leave. When enough people are fed up, they'll be a cultural institution of zero. Or one, or whatever. A number too small to have any bearing on society at large. Unless you're suggesting that people somehow have a right to impose things on someone else's property, which is false. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.218|108.162.237.218]] 09:54, 1 May 2014 (UTC)
:: I believe that Randall made this comic without fully thinking of the implications of the stance it takes. I mean, it certainly is a backlash against currently so-called homophobic (I have problems with this word) community, but it also essentially justifies a whole lot of other stuff this society wouldn't deem right. {{unsigned ip|173.245.56.86}}

:: I'd like to explain all the ways I think this comic is ridiculous- if, indeed, he;s talking about what everyone thinks he's talking about:

::1. His casual and condescending dismissal of actual, seriously held points of view as mere trolling.

::2. His pretending that all these debates are about is so much trolling, akin to a website choosing to remove someone disruptive.

::3. Every who's protested this has stressed that they have no argument that Mozilla had a legal right to do as they please; they are making a more moral argument. To many, alas, *anything* is government action or it's nothing at all, so moral arguments, interestingly, end up having no weight.

::4. Many on the "other side" have had no problem calling "Freedom of Speech!" with little to no actual legal basis. Turnabout is...

::5. Those same people have often had no issue with actual repression even when government (e.g., a state university) is involved. One wonders what the argument would be like if, say, Woolworth's refused to serve blacks at their lunch counters. Oh wait. Well, turnabout again.

::That's most of what I can think of off the top of my head.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.224|141.101.88.224]] 20:52, 23 April 2014 (UTC)

HAAY GUISE I HAS A OPINON AND YOU ALL MUST LISTEN TO ME OKAY HERE GOES WAIT DON'T DELETE ME WAAAGH!!! [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.71|199.27.128.71]] 06:16, 26 April 2014 (UTC)

How recent was the Clippers scandal in relation to this comic? I just saw on Facebook's trending bar that sponsors are pulling away so they won't be associated with racism, and people are crying about the First Amendment. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.218|108.162.237.218]] 05:03, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

;Off topic — Free Speech Schtonk!
At {{w|The Great Dictator}}, the greatest movie Charlie Chaplin ever did, the Führer shouts: "Demokratsie Schtonk! Liberty Schtonk! Free Sprekken Schtonk!“ The word {{w|Schtonk!}} was also used as the title of a satirical German movie, retelling the hoax of the {{w|Hitler Diaries}}.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:59, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

"The 1st amendment doesn't shield you from criticism or consequences." - Of course it doesn't, I live in the UK --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.10|141.101.99.10]] 18:41, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

Little disturbed that nobody else has called out the specious defense that [http://popehat.com/2012/09/19/three-generations-of-a-hackneyed-apologia-for-censorship-are-enough/ shouting fire in a crowded theatre] actually is. If you want to use something like '''that''' to prove that not all speech is free, go for it, but it's a pretty weak argument, especially considering the very judge that ruled on it recanted several years later in a later decision. Protesters got the right to protest, yo. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.129|108.162.219.129]] 23:53, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Conversation on a mincraft server:
Moderator: Please stop
Idiot: No, I have the right to free speech!
Moderator: And we have the right to ban you
*Idiot left the game {{unsigned ip|173.245.56.180}}

Ironically, the title text also applies in the other direction. "If I don't like your speech, I can respond by unfriending you, boycotting you, etc. The First Amendment only limits government action; what I'm doing *isn't illegal*! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.117|162.158.85.117]] 12:06, 27 September 2016 (UTC)

The reference to Schenck completely mischaracterizes it. The defendants were convicted of urging draft resistance, and their conviction had nothing to do with allegations that they were lying. They were convicted of opposing Wilson's war and the laws that forced people to fight in it. The expression "shouting fire in a crowded theater" has since then been a popular way for censorship advocates to justify all sorts of prohibitions on speech.

Munroe is wrong. The right to free speech means a lot more than "the government can't arrest you for what you say." It means the government can't discriminate against people based on their views. It can't deny them jobs, block them from using a public forum, or punish students of government-run universities on the basis of what they say. If the only thing the First Amendment only stopped the government from arresting dissidents, we'd have all kinds of censorship.

Munroe's suggestion that views which provoke yelling or boycotting are "bullshit" is also disturbing. [[User:Gmcgath|Gmcgath]] ([[User talk:Gmcgath|talk]]) 11:58, 6 December 2016 (UTC)

This comic shows that Munroe, at the time at least, fell for the common error of confusing an objection about human rights with an objection about legal rights. Anybody who spends time saying unpopular things will realize that it is most often the community, not the government, that moves to restrict your freedoms when you have an unpopular position. This sounds perfectly acceptable and even just to people holding the majority position, but it displays a certain naivety that they don't consider what it would be like if they found themselves in the minority. Freedom of Speech does not originate from the First Amendment; it is a universal ideal that was incorporated into the First Amendment, as it was realized that the government is an organization with sufficient power to oppress people with minority views. Similarly, any other organization with the power to oppress those with minority views is morally obligated to adopt similar policies of open discourse, just as the government was. The Title text is the most egregious part, in that it gets the situation completely bass-ackwards. Contrary to what he was once told - that citing freedom of speech when told to shut up is the ultimate concession that you don't have a good argument - it is the person attempting to silence you that has admitted they have no good argument. To delete, silence, or ban someone is to admit that you cannot address their words with words of your own. It's frankly baffling that Munroe would express this view when it is quite contrary to the views expressed in pretty much everything else he produces. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.214|108.162.219.214]] 17:16, 23 April 2017 (UTC)

In the 19th century, Western Union routinely engaged in discrimination by preventing certain people of a particular political viewpoint from sending telegrams. One of the eventual consequences of this was the common carrier rule, which required telegraph companies, and later phone companies, to accept communications from all people on all topics. These platforms were deemed so important to the functioning of society that censoring speech was against the interest of the public. If the phone company or telegram company doesn't like what you're saying on their platform, they can't just show you the door. Today, social media companies routinely discriminate against political viewpoints by censoring speech they don't agree with. Surely social media is a platform just as, if not more important to the functioning of society than the telegram and phone was in the 19th and 20th centuries. [185.181.9.120] 21:19, June 32rd 2018 (UTC)

:Social media sites are not common carriers. Internet service providers (ISPs) are. If all ISPs (and telegraph and phone companies and the post office) block you, then you can't send a message to your friend. If all social media sites block you, then you can still call/text/email your friend, even if you have to get their IP address manually and use a peer-to-peer protocol. If anything, being banned from a social media site is like being banned from taking out ads in a newspaper. It's their right to decide how to use their speech. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.155|172.68.46.155]] 03:21, 30 March 2020 (UTC)

729: Laser Pointer

2020-03-25T20:44:28Z

172.68.46.155: /* Transcript */ more categories

{{comic
| number = 729
| date = April 19, 2010
| title = Laser Pointer
| image = laser_pointer.png
| titletext = It's a lasing cat-vity!
}}

==Explanation==
It is common to use a {{w|laser pointer}} as a cat toy because cats are attracted to the dot and attempt in vain to catch it in their paws. They will chase the dot as it moves around, sometimes pouncing on it or swiping at it with its claws, however they will never be able to catch it. This is very frustrating for cats (and dogs), because it triggers a hunting instinct, but removes the satisfaction of actually catching their prey.{{Citation needed}}

Cueball is messing with his cat with a laser pointer, however, he is unprepared when his cat pounces and successfully grabs the laser dot. As Cueball looks around and tries to figure out what happened to the laser, his cat licks it, before eating it and starting to glow with a red light.

By this point, the best choice would be to run away screaming, as normal cats cannot eat lasers and start to glow.{{Citation needed}} However, before he can run, the cat shoots lasers from its eyes and disintegrates a surprised Cueball on the spot.

It is then revealed that everything that happened was just a cat's dream. Only in its dreams can a cat successfully catch and consume the dot. Also, it is only in a dream that this will give it power to shoot laser light from its eyes, and vaporize the human in revenge for taunting it with the laser pointer.{{Citation needed}}

The title text makes a pun on the chamber in which lasers are formed, known as a {{w|laser cavity}}.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball points a laser pointer at the floor. A black cat crouches, staring at the red dot.]

:[The cat pounces.]

:[The cat lands with its paw on the dot, claws out.]

:[The cat tugs on the dot.]
:''tug tug''

:[Cueball tries to use the laser pointer, which is no longer emitting a beam.]
:Cueball: ??? ''click click''

:[The cat nibbles on the red laser dot.]
:Cat: ''lick? nom nom''

:[The cat arches, emitting red shock lines.]

:[The cat shoots lasers out of its eyes at Cueball, who is covered in a bright red glow.]
:''FWOOSH''
:Cueball: AUGH!
:[The right side of the panel is the end of a thought bubble.]

:[The black cat, sleeping, has dreamed the entire strip.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category: Dreams]]

729: Laser Pointer

2020-03-25T20:42:08Z

172.68.46.155: /* Explanation */ ce

Category:COVID-19

2020-03-25T20:35:46Z

172.68.46.155: Nine

*These comics are inspired by the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus pandemic|2019-20 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}} which results in the {{w|Coronavirus disease 2019}}, COVID-19 for short.
*[[Randall]] has made nine comics so far alluding to the outbreak.
**The fourth of these, [[2279: Symptoms]], came out on March 11, 2020, the day when the outbreak was declared a world wide {{w|pandemic}}.

[[Category:Comics by topic]]

2285: Recurring Nightmare

2020-03-25T20:35:00Z

172.68.46.155: Tv trope template

{{comic
| number = 2285
| date = March 25, 2020
| title = Recurring Nightmare
| image = recurring_nightmare.png
| titletext = Oh thank goodness, I forgot my clothes, so now everyone's looking embarrassed and backing away.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created IN ISOLATION. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
It is an allegedly {{tvtropes|NotWearingPantsDream|frequent dream-trope}} to be in a situation of otherwise polite company and discover oneself naked in the midst of the crowd. This can be added to something such as a general "forgotten to revise for the exam you're sitting" to build upon various levels of worst-case scenario anxieties amongst your peers, parents or other persons who ''will'' judge you badly for your ''faux pas''.

In light of the current [[:Category: COVID-19|Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic]], the stated problem here is actually that of being in a crowd. {{w|Social distancing}} has been widely practiced around the world as a way to slow the spread of the virus. In fact the nudity, perhaps similar to the actual real-life 'health tip' of eating excessive garlic, has the unintentional but beneficial effect of having neighbouring crowd-members stand back and out of your personal space out of shock and/or mutual embarrassment - which may somewhat mitigate ''some'' of the issues of viral transmission, if not others.

==Transcript==
:[Megan, standing next to Cueball, is gesturing with her arms wide.]
:Megan: I keep having nightmares that I show up at school, and then suddenly panic as I realize–

:Cueball: –That you're naked?

:Megan: '''''That I'm in a crowded room!'''''
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Dreams]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

2285: Recurring Nightmare

2020-03-25T20:33:01Z

172.68.46.155: /* Explanation */ more

{{comic
| number = 2285
| date = March 25, 2020
| title = Recurring Nightmare
| image = recurring_nightmare.png
| titletext = Oh thank goodness, I forgot my clothes, so now everyone's looking embarrassed and backing away.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created IN ISOLATION. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
It is an allegedly [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NotWearingPantsDream frequent dream-trope] to be in a situation of otherwise polite company and discover oneself naked in the midst of the crowd. This can be added to something such as a general "forgotten to revise for the exam you're sitting" to build upon various levels of worst-case scenario anxieties amongst your peers, parents or other persons who ''will'' judge you badly for your ''faux pas''.

In light of the current [[:Category: COVID-19|Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic]], the stated problem here is actually that of being in a crowd. {{w|Social distancing}} has been widely practiced around the world as a way to slow the spread of the virus. In fact the nudity, perhaps similar to the actual real-life 'health tip' of eating excessive garlic, has the unintentional but beneficial effect of having neighbouring crowd-members stand back and out of your personal space out of shock and/or mutual embarrassment - which may somewhat mitigate ''some'' of the issues of viral transmission, if not others.

==Transcript==
:[Megan, standing next to Cueball, is gesturing with her arms wide.]
:Megan: I keep having nightmares that I show up at school, and then suddenly panic as I realize–

:Cueball: –That you're naked?

:Megan: '''''That I'm in a crowded room!'''''
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Dreams]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

2285: Recurring Nightmare

2020-03-25T18:52:17Z

172.68.46.155: /* Transcript */ bold, more

{{comic
| number = 2285
| date = March 25, 2020
| title = Recurring Nightmare
| image = recurring_nightmare.png
| titletext = Oh thank goodness, I forgot my clothes, so now everyone's looking embarrassed and backing away.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created IN ISOLATION. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
It is an allegedly frequent dream-trope to be in a situation of otherwise polite company and discover oneself naked  in the midst of the crowd. This can added to something such as a general "forgotten to revise for the exam you're sitting" to build upon various levels of worst-case scenario anxieties amongst your peers, parents or other persons who ''will'' judge you badly for your ''faux pas''.

In light of the current Coronavirus/COVID-19 scare, the stated problem here is actually that of being in a crowd. In fact the nudity, perhaps similar to the actual real-life 'health tip' of eating excessive garlic, has the unintentional but beneficial effect of having neighbouring crowd-members stand back and out of your personal space out of shock and/or mutual embarrassment - which may somewhat mitigate ''some'' of the issues of viral transmission, if not others.

==Transcript==
[Megan, standing next to Cueball, is gesturing with her arms wide.]
:Megan: I keep having nightmares that I show up at school, and then suddenly panic as I realize–

:Cueball: –That you're naked?

:Megan: '''''That I'm in a crowded room!'''''
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Dreams]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

2285: Recurring Nightmare

2020-03-25T18:51:03Z

172.68.46.155: /* Transcript */ missing discussion section

{{comic
| number = 2285
| date = March 25, 2020
| title = Recurring Nightmare
| image = recurring_nightmare.png
| titletext = Oh thank goodness, I forgot my clothes, so now everyone's looking embarrassed and backing away.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created IN ISOLATION. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
It is an allegedly frequent dream-trope to be in a situation of otherwise polite company and discover oneself naked  in the midst of the crowd. This can added to something such as a general "forgotten to revise for the exam you're sitting" to build upon various levels of worst-case scenario anxieties amongst your peers, parents or other persons who ''will'' judge you badly for your ''faux pas''.

In light of the current Coronavirus/COVID-19 scare, the stated problem here is actually that of being in a crowd. In fact the nudity, perhaps similar to the actual real-life 'health tip' of eating excessive garlic, has the unintentional but beneficial effect of having neighbouring crowd-members stand back and out of your personal space out of shock and/or mutual embarrassment - which may somewhat mitigate ''some'' of the issues of viral transmission, if not others.

==Transcript==
[Megan is gesturing with her arms wide.]
:Megan: I keep having nightmares that I show up at school, and then suddenly panic as I realize–

:Cueball: –That you're naked?

:Megan: ''That I'm in a crowded room!''
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Dreams]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

2223: Screen Time

2019-11-04T22:59:27Z

172.68.46.155: /* Explanation */ wlink

{{comic
| number = 2223
| date = November 1, 2019
| title = Screen Time
| image = screen_time.png
| titletext = These new Bluetooth socks are great, but it's troubling to learn that I average almost 14 hours of Shoe Time a day.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BLUETOOTH-ENABLED SOCK. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Cueball]] is reading the weekly report from an app on his smartphone that reports the average time each day that he has NOT looked at his phone during the hours he was awake this last week. This is a reversal of the more expected behavior for a {{w|screen time|screen-time}} app, which would normally report the amount of time spent looking at the screen. The point made by the comic is that mobile phone usage has become so prevalent in modern society that we are now actually spending more time staring at screens than not, and so we might as well just track the non-screen time instead.

In Cueball's particular case, if we assume that he is awake 16 hours a day (the average for most people), then his non-screen time average of 2 hours 48 minutes means that he spent more than 80% of his awake time last week looking at a screen. This means that while his 6% improvement is positive, he still has quite a bad habit. His previous non-screen-time would have been 2 hours 38 minutes, so he has managed to shave 10 minutes off.

Ironically, in order for Cueball to use the app, he has to be looking at his mobile screen. The increasing use of mobile devices in modern society has been a cause for concern, with many people arguing this leads to addiction, other health risks, or people simply not talking to each other.

The title text parodies the idea of a screen time app by describing a "shoe time" app, which would track the amount of time a person spends wearing shoes. It's unclear what the practical use for this would be, as there is little controversy about the prevalence of shoes in our society{{Citation needed}}. Possibly an app that tracks the amount of time wearing ''specific'' shoes could be useful; for example, a person suffering medical problems from wearing the wrong footwear could track the amount of time they spend wearing particular shoes, and correlate this with their health to figure out which ones are causing problems.

Possibly, the point being made is that use of phones have become so constant in our lives that using them for many hours a day is as unremarkable as using shoes for many hours a day. Or, since it's the socks that are Bluetooth-enabled, they may be reporting negatively about almost constant obstruction by shoes, whereas the socks would prefer to report a much lower "Shoe Time" score.

Some cultures have the custom of taking shoes off when in the house, so those people would boast lower (and presumably more favorable) "Shoe Time" scores. It may also be a reference to the "{{w|shoe phone}}" on the television show ''{{w|Get Smart}}''. (If {{w|Maxwell Smart}} wore these socks, they could track his phone usage, because his phone was in his shoe).

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is looking down at his phone. The text is what he reads on the screen, as shown by a zigzag line emanating from a starburst at the top of the phone.]
:Phone: Screen time report:
:Phone: While awake, you averaged 2H 48M per day looking at things other than your phone. That's up 6% from last week!

:[Caption below the panel]
:At some point, it starts making more sense to track '''''non'''''-screen time.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]

21: Kepler

2019-11-02T07:31:53Z

172.68.46.155: /* Trivia */ astronomy more than physics

{{comic
| number = 21
| date = October 17, 2005
| title = Kepler
| image = kepler.jpg
| titletext = Science joke. You should probably move along.
}}

==Explanation==
A Cueball-like guy asks [[Cueball]], the store manager, how they keep the store so clean, and he is told that they have hired Kepler, a hard worker who doesn't mind the monotony and sweeps out the same area every night.

{{w|Johannes Kepler}} was a German mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer, best known for his laws of planetary motion. By using {{w|Tycho Brahe}}'s observations of our solar system (Brahe gave Kepler the job of observing and explaining the motion of the planet Mars), Kepler was able to deduce that planets in the system do not move in a circular orbit around the Sun, but rather in an elliptical one.
In doing so, he directly contradicted Brahe's own conviction that the Earth was the centre of the universe.

According to {{w|Kepler's_laws_of_planetary_motion#Second_law|Kepler's Second Law}}, "A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time." This looks like sweeping a broom over the floor.

In the comic, the janitor Kepler also sweeps the same area, although in this case, "area" is used in the sense of "surface" (of floor) rather than in the purely mathematical sense. It is also very monotonous, like a planet's set orbit, but Kepler doesn't mind this.

The comic could also be seen as a subtle reference to the Kepler space telescope that was searching for exoplanets (planets outside the Solar system) from March 2009 to August 2013, by looking at exactly the same spot in the night sky over and over again. Even though the telescope was not launched until 4 years after this comic was published, the details of Project Kepler had been disclosed by NASA press releases as early as 2001. [https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2001/01_107AR.html]

==Transcript==
:[Two Cueball-like guys stand in an aisle in a store.]
:Cueball-like guy: Nice store. How do you keep the floors so clean?
:Cueball the store manager: Oh, we hired this dude named Kepler, he's really good. Hard worker. Doesn't mind the monotony. Sweeps out the same area every night.

==Trivia==
*This was the 20th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous was [[20: Ferret]].
**The next was [[44: Love]].
*Original title: "Monday's drawing"
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "Another one which, if you don't get, you're probably better off."
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
**This is the same day that NASA announced the delay of Project Kepler due to budget cuts.
*One of the original drawings drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 20]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Checkered paper]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

16: Monty Python -- Enough

2019-11-02T07:29:33Z

172.68.46.155: /* Trivia */ add category

{{comic
| number = 16
| date = October 4, 2005
| title = Monty Python -- Enough
| image = monty python.jpg
| titletext = I went to a dinner where there was a full 10 minutes of Holy Grail quotes exchanged, with no context, in lieu of conversation. It depressed me badly.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to the classic British sketch comedy group {{w|Monty Python}}, active primarily during the 1970s and early 1980s but also {{w|Monty Python Live (Mostly)|partly reunified in 2014}}, whose humor style was frequently based on surreal jokes that subverted sense and logic. Their sketches are so popular that, as noted in the comic, many fans can repeat the dialog word-for-word, and often do. This comic points out the inherent irony of repeating a surrealist sketch, as surrealist humor primarily depends on presenting something the audience does not expect. By repeating the sketch verbatim among those who have already seen it, the listeners know and expect the punchlines and jokes. This is akin to a common ironic concept of a teenager who wants to rebel against conformity by doing all the things his friends are also doing.

The sketch in question here is the "{{w|Knights who say Ni}}" sketch from the film ''{{w|Monty Python and the Holy Grail}}'', about a group of knights who protect certain sacred words, including the word "Ni" (pronounced like "knee", but shortened and with more staccato).

The comic suggests that readers continue in the surreal traditions of Monty Python, and provides an example: The character in panels 3-6 interrupts his retelling of the sketch with what appears to be a traumatic recalling of the time he saw someone run a woman over with his car and kill her, before returning to the sketch. The surreal humor is that the character dismisses the significant and serious comment he has just made by returning to the sketch as if nothing happened.

The title text refers to how fans of Monty Python can go for long periods of time simply quoting the sketches, as one person quotes a sketch, another recognizes it and says another quote without context, assuming everyone will recognize it. Perhaps a more contemporary version of this might be ''{{w|The Simpsons}}'' or ''{{w|Family Guy}}'' quote frenzies.

==Transcript==
:[The comic is drawn on blue-ruled graph paper.]
:[Cueball with raised hands talks to two other Cueball-like characters and one Megan]
:Cueball: We are the Knights who say... Ni!!
:Two guys and Megan: hahaha
:[There is only text in the second panel]
:Does anyone else find it funny that decades later, people are still quoting --word-for-word-- a group loved for their mastery of shock, the unexpected, and defiance of convention?
:[Two Cueball guys looking at a third hairy guy.]
:Hairy guy: We are the Knights who... oh, God, I'm so sorry
:[Close up off hairy guy's face.]
:Hairy guy: So sorry, the car just came too fast and
:[Words crumpled inside the panel, there's barely enough space for the hairy guy to the right and below the text. The last two words need to be to the right of him.]
:Hairy guy:
::She was right there and
::I saw her and then it
::was a blur and so much
::I ran to
::help didn't
::know what
::she wasn't
::moving I'm
::so sorry
:
::...
:::so
:::sorry
:[Same two guys looking again at the hairy guy.]
:Hairy guy: Anyway, yeah, Knights who say "Ni."
:[Last panel is also almost only text written centered, in marquee format. Below is a drawing that could look like a flat infinity sign with two small lines at the center.]
:Honor
:Monty Python:
:promote surreal humor.

==Trivia==
*This was the 15th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous was [[15: Just Alerting You]].
**The next was [[17: What If]].
*Original title: "Support Surreal Humor"
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "Just sayin'. It's been 30 years now."
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
*This is a Wednesday comic posted on a Tuesday, but only 2 minutes before midnight at 11:58 pm.
**It is the first Tuesday release, although [[5: Blown apart]] is also listed as a Tuesday release. But its release day is set 3 weeks later. The mismatch comes from the xkcd release mentioned above.
*One of the original drawings drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].
*This could be a first version of [[Hairy]]. But it is still some way of the one listed as the first Hairy appearance 45 comics later in [[61: Stacey's Dad]].
**However, that "first" version is also far from what he looks like in the picture shown on the Hairy page.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 15]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Checkered paper]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Fiction]]

1707: xkcd Phone 4

2019-10-31T01:58:27Z

172.68.46.155: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1707
| date = July 15, 2016
| title = xkcd Phone 4
| image = xkcd_phone_4.png
| titletext = The SpaceX system carefully guides falling phones down to the surface, a process which the phones increasingly often survive without exploding.
}}

==Explanation==
This is the fourth entry in the ongoing [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd Phone series]], and once again, the comic plays with many standard tech buzzwords to create a phone that sounds impressive but would actually be very impractical. The previous comic in the series [[1549: xkcd Phone 3]] was released just over a year before this one and the next [[1809: xkcd Phone 5]] was released almost 8 months later.

From the top-left, going clockwise:
*'''18,000 μAh (micro-Ampere hours) nickel-lithium-iron battery (non-rechargeable)''' Phone battery capacity is measured in {{w|ampere-hour}}s (which thanks to the magic of {{w|dimensional analysis}}, is just an unusual way of denoting electric charge, which equals 3600 Coulombs). Usually, the capacity is quoted in milliampere-hours (one-thousandth, or 10-3, of an ampere hour); however, this one is quoted in ''micro''ampere-hours (one-millionth, or 10-6, of an ampere-hour), presumably as a marketing ploy to give a more impressive-looking number. Quoted in more standard terms, this phone's battery capacity is 18 mAh. In comparison, an iPhone 6+ has a battery capacity of 2,750 mAh. This phone's battery is dreadful (under a typical current draw of 0.1A, it would power the phone for about 11 minutes). There is nothing normally called a "nickel-lithium-iron battery" - rather, this seems to be a [[739|malamanteau]] of the experimental {{w|nickel–lithium battery}} and the common {{w|lithium ion battery}} (which does not contain any iron) or the lithium-iron-phosphate battery, often called lithium-iron, but more often called the LiFePO battery. The {{w|nickel–iron battery}} may contain {{w|lithium hydroxide}}, but it's ''terrible'' for most applications. Worse, this battery is non-rechargeable, meaning that it would have to be replaced to use the phone again after it is exhausted (every 11 minutes, at that!).
**[[XKCD Phone 3]] was powered by two {{w|AA battery|AA batteries}} (not included), which have an energy capacity roughly 100 times larger.
**Many devices have a small second battery which is only used for keeping the clock time. This could be such a battery.
*'''Subwoofer''' - A {{w|subwoofer}} is a large bass speaker, which this is not. Some phones do have high-quality speakers for playing music, but these are not placed right next to the earpiece - this would be a surefire way to deafen your users. When put next to Dog Whistle, this is probably a pun, since both relate to dogs; the English onomatopoeia for the sound a dog makes is "Woof".
*'''"Dog whistle"''' - A {{w|dog whistle}} is a high-pitched whistle that humans cannot hear, but dogs can. In speaker terminology, a bass speaker is called a {{w|woofer}} because it could reproduce the low pitch of a dog bark. A treble speaker is a {{w|tweeter}}; if this "whistle" is actually a speaker, it might be termed a ''supertweeter''. The scare quotes may be a reference to "{{w|dog-whistle politics}}", in which certain phrases have a particular meaning to a segment of the audience that passes unnoticed by the rest. This allows a candidate to surreptitiously signal agreement with that group, without alienating the rest of the audience, among whom the ideas might be unpopular if plainly stated.
**[[xkcd Phone 2]] contained a "dog noticer".
*'''Non-porous, washable''' - On the one hand, it's rare for a phone to be made of porous materials. On the other, there are legitimately waterproof phones that seal the speakers and ports with rubber.
**[[xkcd Phone 2]] was also washable (though only once).
*'''''WebMD'' partnership: cough-activated feature reads aloud a random diagnosis for "coughing"''' - {{w|WebMD}} is a website to help people diagnose themselves. For the vast majority of people, a cough just means an irritated throat or maybe a cold, but selecting randomly from all WebMD diagnoses gives some much more ominous - if very unlikely - ones, including {{w|ricin}} poisoning, {{w|plague}}, {{w|lung cancer}} and {{w|radiation poisoning}}.
*'''Wings''' - These {{w|wings}} resemble the ones found on {{w|sanitary towel}}s (usually called "pads", making this a possible iPad pun) which attach the pad to the {{w|gusset}} and keep it in place between the woman's legs during her period ({{w|Menstruation}} cycle). If actually functional as {{w|aerodynamic}} wings, they would likely come into play when the "SpaceX" impact protection feature becomes engaged, and would likely make holding the phone awkward if rigid.
**[[XKCD Phone 3]] had a similarly positioned wristband.
*'''Beveled bezel''' - The ''bezel'' is the ring around the edge of watches and screens. This one's {{w|bevel}}ed, which means it's cut at an angle.
*'''Bezeled bevel''' - Punning on the above. Doesn't make much sense, but could mean that it features a beveled edge which is surrounded by a bezel.
*'''Seedless''' - Fruit such as grapes can be "seedless", which means that they're grown from a special {{w|cultivar}} that doesn't grow seeds in the normal way. Making a phone seedless probably won't do anything, but {{w|Random seed|it might hurt}} its {{w|random number generator}}.
**[[XKCD Phone 3]] was boneless.
*'''Water resistant down to 30 meters and below 50''' - {{w|Water resistance}} is often measured in terms of how deep an object can be submerged, since pressure increases with depth. In this case, the phone can be submerged to almost any depth, but there's an odd lacuna between 30 meters and 50 meters. It also plays with the confusion in describing depths greater than 50m as "below 50". Alternatively, this might indicate the phone must remain dry above 50 meters altitude.
**[[xkcd Phone]] and [[XKCD Phone 3]] could drown. The latter was otherwise waterproof. [[xkcd Phone 2]] was only waterproof internally.
**In a previous comic, [[870: Advertising]], a similarly absurd range was used: "Up to 15% or more!"
**This could be mocking the "donut hole" in American Medicare drugs insurance, where people are insured up to a certain amount, then not insured, then insured again. This doesn't appear to make sense to anyone.
*'''Turing-complete''' - A computer is {{w|Turing completeness|Turing complete}} if it can perform all the operations needed to simulate a {{w|Turing machine}}. All modern computers are usually described as Turing complete, which would make this not very impressive, but no computer can ever be Turing complete in the truest sense (since they can only ever have a finite amount of memory) - if the xkcd Phone 4 is truly a universal computer, it's ''very'' impressive indeed.
*'''Gregorian/Julian calendar date switch''' - The {{w|Julian calendar}} is the predecessor to the modern {{w|Gregorian calendar}} - the difference is that the two calendars calculate leap years differently. The current difference between the calenders is 13 days, which will remain unchanged until February 2100. The Julian calendar is still used occasionally--mainly by Eastern Orthodox Christians--but it's not something so vital that it needs a hardwired switch on the front of the phone. This may be a play on the ability to switch the time display between a 12-hour clock and a 24-hour clock. It could also be plying with the ability to switch between Daylight Savings Time and Standard, or change time zones.
*'''''SpaceX'' impact protection: when dropped, phone lands on barge''' - The rocket company {{w|SpaceX}} recently trialed a {{w|SpaceX reusable launch system development program|reusable rocket stage}} which after separating from the launch vehicle, lands on a {{w|Autonomous spaceport drone ship|drone barge}} to be reused.
**The title text pokes fun at the number of SpaceX rockets that [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3wZRdg-Tmo crashed and exploded] before they got the landing gear right.
*'''Parallel port''' - A {{w|parallel port}} is a type of interface which transfers high-volume simultaneous data. It was often used to connect printers and other devices to computers, but was generally considered obsolete by the time smartphones began to appear on the market, and would be very bulky and slow compared to the USB ports generally used in phones. It was commonly found together with {{w|serial port}}s, which are used for low-volume sequential data such as [[485: Depth|mouse]] [[1110: Click and Drag|movements]]. Here it is paired with a serial interface for analog data with parallel outputs for several people.
*'''12 headphone jacks''' - Headphone jacks are circular ports in a phone that allow audio to be played through headphones connected to the jack. There were [http://www.businessinsider.com.au/apple-headphone-jack-iphone-side-effects-2016-7#/#smaller-headphone-makers-would-be-at-a-disadvantage-4 constant rumours] that Apple's next iPhone would not have any headphone jacks (which eventually proved true for the iPhone 7 announcement two months after this comic). Also, [http://www.google.com Google] was developing a module for the now-cancelled [https://atap.google.com/ara/ Project Ara], a modular smartphone. This module allows the device to have [http://www.overclock3d.net/news/audio/sennheiser_shows_audio_module_concepts_for_project_ara/1 Four headphone jacks], which would allow audio to be shared among 4 people, each occupying one port. The xkcd phone takes this too far when they install a whopping TWELVE of them, which is completely overkill because almost nobody needs to connect to 12 headphones at once. 12 headphones will also drain the battery, like the wireless discharging in the [[XKCD Phone 3]], because playing audio through 24 speakers, two for each pair of headphones, is very power-consuming.
*'''Onboard cloud''' - The "cloud" is a catch-all term for the use of remote computers to store data, providing a backup if all local copies are lost and allowing the data to be accessed from a broad network. An "onboard cloud" would thus be a contradiction in terms, and appears to be a marketing ploy to use the "cloud" buzzword to describe the device's onboard storage capacity.
*'''New BrightGloTM display incorporates genetically spliced jellyfish protein (should have used the glowing genes, not the stinging ones)''' - {{w|Aequorea victoria}} is a species of jellyfish that contains {{w|green fluorescent protein}}, a gene that is bioluminescent and gives off light. This protein was supposed to be used to light the phone's screen. Unfortunately, the developers messed up, and accidentally took the [http://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-015-1568-3 stinging kind], which means that touching the phone screen will be as painful as a jellyfish sting i.e. very painful.
*'''✓ Certified''' - Twitter certifies accounts related to music producers, government, journalism, business, sports, and other more "official" types of accounts with a blue checkmark besides the twitter handle (besides the @whomever). It's of course nonsense for a phone to be twitter verified. Alternatively, it might be a reference to [[1096: Clinically Studied Ingredient]], in which buzzwords such as "tested" and "certified" are intended to make a given product sound more legitimate.
*'''Software-defined''' - {{w|Software-defined radio}}s are quite popular in some areas, meaning the radio hardware is quite universal and can be adapted to different radio protocols just by changing software. SDR would actually be quite a nice feature for a cellphone. Of course it doesn't specify if it's the radio that is software defined.
*'''Exposed ductwork''' - A phone shouldn't even have ductwork, unless it has a very sophisticated cooling system, but this could supply air to the dog whistle. Exposed ductwork is a trademark of {{w|Bowellism|Bowellist}} architecture such as the {{w|Lloyd's Building}} in London and the {{w|Pompidou Centre}} in Paris. Exposed ductwork is also considered a crucial flaw in a death star. May also refer to a transparent window in the side of the phone allowing the user to see the circuitry inside, similar to computer cases with transparent side panels popular among DIY computing enthusiasts.
*'''Voice interaction: {{w|Siri (software)|Siri}}, {{w|Cortana (software)|Cortana}}, {{w|Google Now}} and {{w|Amazon Echo|Alexa}} respond simultaneously''' - These are all {{w|intelligent personal assistant software}} (from Apple, Microsoft, Google and Amazon respectively) and all do the same thing: control your phone and answer questions using speech recognition. Having all four talk at once would mean you'd have a total cacophony while gaining nothing.
**[[XKCD Phone 3]] might have included Siri.

*'''Did you know "4" is "IV" in Roman numerals?®©™''' - the tenth version of Apple's {{w|operating system}} for its {{w|Macintosh computer}} was labeled {{w|OS X}}, which was intended to be read as "oh ess ten". {{w|Steve Jobs}} was irritated that everyone else preferred "oh ess ecks". This phrase is labeled with trademark and copyright symbols, as if someone desires it to be the product's {{w|tagline}} but has poor understanding of relevant laws. In particular, "<big>{{w|™}}</big>" is a symbol for {{w|unregistered trademark}}s while "<big>{{w|®}}</big>" is a symbol for {{w|registered trademark}}s. If the phrase were an unregistered trademark, the owner would be prohibited from using "<big>{{w|®}}</big>".

==Transcript==
:[An image of a smartphone featuring wings is shown. Clockwise from the top left the labels read:]
:18,000 μAh nickel-lithium-iron battery (non-rechargeable)
:Subwoofer
:"Dog whistle"
:Non-porous, washable
:''WebMD'' partnership: Cough-activated feature reads aloud a random diagnosis for "coughing"
:Wings
:Beveled bezel
:Bezeled bevel
:Seedless
:Water resistant down to 30 meters and below 50
:Turing-complete
:Gregorian/Julian calendar switch
:''SpaceX'' impact protection: When dropped, phone lands on barge
:Parallel port
:12 headphone jacks
:Onboard cloud
:New BrightGloTM display incorporates genetically spliced jellyfish protein (should have used the glowing genes, not the stinging ones)
:✓ Certified
:Software-defined
:Exposed ductwork
:Voice interaction: Siri, Cortana, Google Now and Alexa respond simultaneously

:[Below the phone:]
:Introducing
:<big><big>The xkcd Phone 4</big></big>
:Did you know "4" is "IV" in Roman numerals?®©™

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:xkcd Phones]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|xkcd Phones]]
[[Category:Animals]] 
[[Category:Virtual Assistants]]

1916: Temperature Preferences

2017-11-17T00:19:20Z

172.68.46.155:

{{comic
| number = 1916
| date = November 15, 2017
| title = Temperature Preferences
| image = temperature_preferences.png
| titletext = There's a supposed Mark Twain quote, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." It isn't really by Mark Twain, but I don't know who said it—I just know they've never been to McMurdo Station.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Fill in the table using data from [http://weatherbase.com weatherbase.com] (Randall's source!). Also add a title text explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is a chart of major (and not-so-major) populated areas showing seasonal temperature patterns. The chart is a guide to where one might like to live depending on how much summer heat and winter cold they enjoy. There are four focused zones:

* Hate both cold and heat (eg. Quito, Addis Ababa)--Neither summers nor winters are too extreme; Typical in higher elevations tropical regions
* Hate cold but love heat (eg. Rio, Bangkok, Manila)--Very hot in the summer; typically tropical regions
* Hate heat but love cold (eg. Moscow, Oslo)--Very cold in the winter; typically high latitudes
* Love both heat and cold (eg. Seoul, Beijing)--Both summers and winters are extreme

The summer heat axis is determined by {{w|humidex}}, a system that combines heat and humidity to generate an estimate of perceived "summer discomfort".

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! City
! Country
! Continent
! Preference Type
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Average low in coldest month (°C)
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Average high in hottest month (°C)
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Highest monthly average dew point (°C)
! Humidex
! Latitude
! Elevation (m)
|-
| {{w|Abakan}} || Russia || Asia || || -22 || 26 || 13 || 28.8 || 53° 43′ N || 248
|-
| {{w|Addis Ababa}} || Ethiopia || Africa || Hate Both || 10 || 22 || 11 || 23.8 || 9° 1′ N || 2355
|-
| {{w|Altay City|Altay}} || China || Asia || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -22 || 27 || 8 || 27.4 || 47° 52′ N || 887
|-
| {{w|Athens}} || Greece || Europe || || 7 || 31.8 || 14 || 35.2 || 37° 59′ N || 70
|-
| {{w|Atlanta}} || United States || North America || || 1.3 || 31.7 || 20.1 || 39.4 || 33° 45′ N || 225
|-
| {{w|Baghdad}} || Iraq || Asia || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 3 || 43 || 8 || 43.4 || 33° 20′ N || 34
|-
| {{w|Bangkok}} || Thailand || Asia || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 21 || 34 || 24 || 45.3 || 13° 45′ N || 1.5
|-
| {{w|Barcelona}} || Spain || Europe || || 4.4 || 28 || 18 || 34 || 41° 23′ N || 12
|-
| {{w|Beijing}} || China || Asia || Love Both || -8 || 30 || 20 || 37.6 || 39° 55′ N || 43.5
|-
| {{w|Berlin}} || Germany || Europe || || -3 || 22 || 11 || 23.8 || 53° 31′ N || 34
|-
| {{w|Blagoveshchensk}} || Russia || Asia || || -26.2 || 27.3 || 16 || 31.9 || 50° 15′ N || 133
|-
| {{w|Bogotá}} || Colombia || South America || Hate Both || 6 || 19 || 10 || 20.3 || 4° 42′ N || 2640
|-
| {{w|Boston}} || United States || North America || || -5.4 || 27.6 || 16.3 || 32.4 || 42° 21′ N || 43
|-
| {{w|Brisbane}} || Australia || Oceania || || 9 || 28 || 18 || 34 || 27° 28′ S || 28
|-
| {{w|Budapest}} || Hungary || Europe || || -3 || 26 || 12 || 28.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Buenos Aires}} || Argentina || South America || || 7.4 || 30.4 || 16 || 35 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Cairo}} || Egypt || Africa || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 9 || 33 || 18 || 39 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Calgary}} || Canada || North America || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -13.2 || 23.2 || 7 || 23.2 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Cape Town}} || South Africa || Africa || || 8 || 25 || 15 || 29 || 33° 59′ S || 42
|-
| {{w|Casper, Wyoming|Casper}} || United States || North America || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -10.3 || 31.2 || 6.8 || 31.1 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Chengdu}} || China || Asia || || 2 || 28 || 22 || 37.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Dallas}} || United States || North America || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 3 || 36 || 19.4 || 43.1 || 32°46'N || 131
|-
| {{w|Da Qaidam}} || China || Asia || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -23 || 22 || -6 || 18.6 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Dar es Salaam}} || Tanzania || Africa || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 19 || 31 || 23 || 41.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Washington, D.C.|DC}} || United States || North America || || -1.9 || 31.3 || 19.1 || 38.1 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Delhi}} || India || Asia || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 7.8 || 39.8 || 24 || 51.1 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Dhaka}} || Bangladesh || Asia || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 12.7 || 33.7 || 25 || 46 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Dubai}} || United Arab Emirates || Asia || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 14 || 39 || 23 || 49.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Dublin}} || Ireland || Europe || || 2.3 || 19.5 || 11 || 21.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Duluth}} || United States || North America || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -16.1 || 23.4 || 13.3 || 26.4 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Edinburgh}} || United Kingdom || Europe || || 1.1 || 19.2 || 10 || 20.5 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|El Paso}} || United States || North America || || -0.3 || 35.6 || 12.8 || 38.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Fairbanks}} || United States || North America || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -27.2 || 22.6 || 9.8 || 23.8 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Fargo, North Dakota|Fargo}} || United States || North America || || -17.7 || 28.1 || 15.1 || 32.1 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Flagstaff, Arizona|Flagstaff}} || United States || North America || || -7.3 || 30.9 || 8.2 || 31.4 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Geneva}} || Switzerland || Europe || || -1.3 || 26.5 || 12 || 28.8 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Guangzhou}} || China || Asia || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 10 || 32 || 25 || 44.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Hailar District|Hailar}} || China || Asia || || -32 || 25 || 13 || 27.8 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax}} || Canada || North America || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -10 || 22 || 13 || 24.8 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Ho Chi Minh City}} || Vietnam || Asia || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 22 || 33 || 23 || 43.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Hong Kong}} || Hong Kong || Asia || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 14 || 31 || 24 || 42.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Honolulu}} || United States || North America || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 18.9 || 31.1 || 20.1 || 38.8 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Houston}} || United States || North America || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 6.2 || 34.7 || 22.7 || 44.7 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Irkutsk}} || Russia || Asia || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -22 || 24.8 || 12 || 27.1 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Istanbul}} || Turkey || Europe* || || 2 || 27 || 16 || 31.6 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Jakarta}} || Indonesia || Asia || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 23 || 31 || 23 || 41.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Jerusalem}} || Israel || Asia || || 6.4 || 29.4 || 15 || 33.4 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Jinzhou}} || China || Asia || Love Both || -12 || 27 || 20 || 34.6 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Kabul}} || Afghanistan || Asia || || -5 || 31 || 8 || 31.4 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Kansas City}} || United States || North America || Love Both || -6.9 || 31.3 || 19.6 || 38.5 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Karachi}} || Pakistan || Asia || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 12 || 33 || 25 || 45.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Kiev}} || Ukraine || Europe || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -9 || 23 || 12 || 25.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Kinshasa}} || Democratic Republic of Congo || Africa || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 20 || 30 || 21 || 38.4 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Lagos}} || Nigeria || Africa || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 23 || 30 || 23 || 40.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Lahore}} || Pakistan || Asia || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 8|| 38 || 24 || 49.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|London}} || United Kingdom || Europe || || 1 || 22.9 || 12 || 25.2 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Los Angeles}} || United States || North America || || 13 || 22 || 16.2 || 26.7 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Lubbock}} || United States || North America || || -3.6 || 33.8 || 15.9 || 38.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Madrid}} || Spain || Europe || || 2.6 || 31.2 || 11 || 33 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Manila}} || Philippines || Asia || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 21 || 33 || 23 || 43.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|McMurdo Station|McMurdo}} || || Antarctica || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -31 || -1 || -8 || -4.7 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Melbourne}} || Australia || Oceania || || 5 || 26 || 12 || 28.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Mexico City}} || Mexico || North America || || 7 || 26 || 11 || 27.8 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Miami}} || United States || North America || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 15.5 || 32.8 || 23.4 || 43.5 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Minneapolis}} || United States || North America || Love Both || -13.6 || 28.6 || 15.8 || 33.1 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Moscow}} || Russia || Europe || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -11 || 21 || 12 || 23.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Mumbai}} || India || Asia || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 16.7 || 33.5 || 25 || 45.8 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Nairobi}} || Kenya || Africa || || 12 || 26 || 15 || 30 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Needles, California|Needles}} || United States || North America || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 4 || 39 || 11 || 40.8 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Omaha}} || United States || North America || || -10.2 || 30.7 || 18.6 || 37.2 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Oslo}} || Norway || Europe || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -7 || 21 || 10 || 22.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Ottawa}} || Canada || North America || || -14.4 || 26.6 || 13 || 29.4 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Paris}} || France || Europe || || 2.7 || 25.2 || 12 || 27.5 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Perth}} || Australia || Oceania || || 7 || 31 || 12 || 33.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Portland, Oregon|Portland}} || United States || North America || || 1.8 || 27.3 || 12.4 || 29.8 || 45° 36′ N || 6
|-
| {{w|Pyongyang}} || North Korea || Asia || Love Both || -10 || 28 || 20 || 35.6 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Qiqihar}} || China || Asia || || -23 || 27 || 17 || 32.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Quito}} || Ecuador || South America || Hate Both || 9 || 19 || 9 || 19.9 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Raleigh}} || United States || North America || || -0.6 || 32.3 || 20.3 || 20.8 || 35° 47′ N || 119
|-
| {{w|Regina, Saskatchewan|Regina}} || Canada || North America || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -23 || 26 || 12 || 28.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Reykjavik}} || Iceland || Europe || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -2 || 12 || 7 || 12 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Richmond, Virginia|Richmond}} || United States || North America || || -2.1 || 32.1 || 19.8 || 39.5 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Rio de Janeiro|Rio}} || Brazil || South America || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 16.9 || 32.9 || 21 || 48 || 22° 49′ S || 6
|-
| {{w|Riyadh}} || Saudi Arabia || Asia || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 8 || 42 || 4 || 41 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Rome}} || Italy || Europe || || 3.7 || 28.7 || 4 || 27.7 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Sabha, Libya|Sabha}} || Libya || Africa || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 5 || 40 || 11 || 41.8 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|St. Louis|Saint Louis}} || United States || North America || Love Both || -4.6 || 31.7 || 19.4 || 38.8 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Salt Lake City}} || United States || North America || Love Both || -5.8 || 33.7 || 7.7 || 38 || 40° 47′ N || 1286
|-
| {{w|San Francisco}} || United States || North America || Hate Both || 7.6 || 20.6 || N/A || || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe}} || United States || North America || || -8 || 32.3 || 10 || 33.6 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Santiago}} || Chile || South America || || 2 || 29 || 11 || 30.1 || 33°27′S || 521
|-
| {{w|Sao Paulo}} || Brazil || South America || || 12 || 28 || 18 || 39 || 23° 37′ S || 802
|-
| {{w|Sapporo}} || Japan || Asia || || -7 || 26.4 || 18 || 32.4 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Seoul}} || South Korea || Asia || Love Both || -6 || 28 || 20 || 35.6 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Shanghai}} || China || Asia || || 1 || 31 || 24 || 42.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Shenyang}} || China || Asia || Love Both || -15 || 28 || 20 || 35.6 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Singapore}} || Singapore || Asia || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 23 || 31 || 25 || 43.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Sioux Falls}} || United States || North America || Love Both || -13.9 || 28.9 || 16.8 || 34 || 43° 34′ N || 432
|-
| {{w|St Petersburg}} || Russia || Europe || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -9 || 21 || 12 || 23.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Stockholm}} || Sweden || Europe || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -6 || 21 || 10 || 22.3 || 59° 39′ N || 60
|-
| {{w|Sydney}} || Australia || Oceania || || 6 || 26 || 16 || 30.6 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Tashkent}} || Uzbekistan || Asia || || -1.5 || 35.7 || 12 || 38 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Tehran}} || Iran || Asia || || -1 || 36 || 6 || 35.6 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Thunder Bay}} || Canada || North America || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -20 || 23 || 13 || 25.8 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Tokyo}} || Japan || Asia || || 2.5 || 29.4 || 22 || 38.7 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Tongliao}} || China || Asia || Love Both || -20 || 29 || 18 || 35 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Toronto}} || Canada || North America || || -10.2 || 27.1 || 14 || 30.4 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Turpan}} || China || Asia || Love Both || -15 || 39 || 11 || 40.8 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Ulaanbaatar}} || Mongolia || Asia || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -25 || 21 || 8 || 21.4 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Urumqi}} || China || Asia || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -15 || 28 || 8 || 28.4 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Vancouver}} || Canada || North America || || 0.3 || 26.2 || N/A || || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Vladivostok}} || Russia || Asia || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -15.3 || 23.3 || 17 || 28.6 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Volgograd}} || Russia || Europe || || -9.2 || 29.3 || N/A || || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Wellington}} || New Zealand || Oceania || Hate Both || 6.3 || 20.6 || 12 || 22.9 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Wuhan}} || China || Asia || || 2 || 32 || 24 || 43.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Xi'an}} || China || Asia || Love Both || -4 || 31 || N/A || || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Yellowknife}} || Canada || North America || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -29.5 || 21.3 || 7 || 21.3 || ° ′ N ||
|-
| {{w|Yumen City|Yumen}} || China || Asia || || -15 || 28 || 7 || 28 || ° ′ N ||
|-
|}
*Istanbul spans both Europe and Asia but its city center is located in Europe.

==Transcript==
:[A chart labeled:]
:<big>Where to live</big>
:based on your temperature preferences
:[In gray, the data source is mentioned below:]
:Climate data from [http://weatherbase.com weatherbase.com]

:[A chart with two lines with single arrows. Each arrow is labeled:]
:Y axis bottom: Cold winters
:X axis right: Hot/humid summers (measured via Humidex, which combines heat and dew point)

:[Near each of the corners of the chart there is a gray blob, labeled:]
:Top left: If you hate cold and heat
:Top right: If you hate cold and love heat
:Bottom left: If you love cold and hate heat
:Bottom right: If you love cold and heat

:[The following city names intersect with the top left blob [hate cold and heat] (in reading order):]
:Mexico City
:Quito
:Addis Ababa
:Bogotá
:San Francisco
:Wellington

:[The following city names intersect with the top right blob [hate cold and love heat] (in reading order):]
:Bangkok
:Ho Chi Minh City
:Manila
:Singapore
:Mumbai
:Jakarta
:Dar Es Salaam
:Honolulu
:Lagos
:Rio [de Janeiro]
:Dhaka
:Kinhasa
:Miami
:Karachi
:Dubai
:Cairo
:Hong Kong
:Delhi
:Riyadh
:Guangzhou
:Lahore
:Sabha
:Houston
:Needles
:El Paso
:Baghdad
:Dallas

:[The following city names intersect with the bottom left blob [love cold and hate heat] (in reading order):]
:Reykjavik (with arrow pointing left)
:Berlin
:Stockholm
:Oslo
:Calgary
:Halifax
:Daqaidam
:Kiev
:Casper
:Yumen
:St Petersburg
:Volgograd
:Moscow
:Ottawa
:Vladivostok
:Thunder Bay
:Duluth
:Urumqi
:Altay
:Regina
:Irkutsk
:Abakan
:Ulaanbaatar
:Blagoveshchensk (also on bottom right blob)
:Fairbanks
:McMurdo (with arrow pointing down-left)
:Yellowknife (with arrow pointing down)
:Hailar

:[The following city names intersect with the bottom right blob [love cold and heat] (in reading order):]
:[Washington] DC
:Shanghai
:Tehran
:Saint Louis
:New York
:Xi'An
:Salt Lake City
:Kansas City
:Beijing
:Seoul
:Sapporo
:Pyongyang
:Sioux Falls
:Turpan
:Jinzhou
:Minneapolis
:Shenyang
:Fargo
:Tongliao
:Qiqihar
:Blagoveshchensk (also on bottom left blob)

:[The following city names do not intersect with any blob (in reading order):]
:Nairobi
:São Paulo
:Brisbane
:Los Angeles
:Perth
:Cape Town
:Sydney
:Athens
:Santiago
:Barcelona
:Melbourne
:Rome
:Buenos Aires
:Jerusalem
:Atlanta
:Raleigh
:Madrid
:Chengdu
:Tokyo
:Dublin
:Portland
:Richmond
:London
:Istanbul
:Edinburgh
:Vancouver
:Paris
:Flagstaff
:Santa Fe
:Tashkent
:Wuhan
:Geneva
:Lubbock
:Boston
:Budapest
:Kabul
:Toronto
:Omaha

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scatter plots]]