explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2865: The Wrong Stuff

2023-12-08T21:48:46Z

172.71.254.32:

the design is very timeghost-esque [[Special:Contributions/172.71.167.165|172.71.167.165]] 21:42, 8 December 2023 (UTC)Bumpf

# personal similarity

I made a post to the derelict cypherpunks list right before this about ghost visits. It’s notable because I used to post to the same derelict list about making a spaceship out of tissue paper. I’m planning to edit this comment with my posts. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.254.32|172.71.254.32]] 21:48, 8 December 2023 (UTC)

Talk:1893: Thread

2023-09-21T19:49:05Z

172.71.254.32:

Threadfall on Twitter beginning 2016? I'm not sure to what that refers. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.29|172.68.58.29]] 15:19, 22 September 2017 (UTC)
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.29|172.68.58.29]] 15:19, 22 September 2017 (UTC)
: Maybe it's referring to increased use of threaded tweets? I too have noticed an increase around that time; it was mostly screenshots of note-apps before.
:: Maybe it's a reference to Twitter stock price falling [http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/twtr here] [[Special:Contributions/198.41.226.136|198.41.226.136]] 17:44, 22 September 2017 (UTC)
:"Greatest threat" on Twitter beginning 2016 - I think that's a fairly obvious @RealDonaldTrump reference. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.28|172.68.34.28]] 20:15, 22 September 2017 (UTC)
::I think you're correct and this is absolutely an @RealDonaldTrump reference - especially due to the threats to North Korea's President Kim Jong Un. Nuclear annihilation due to tweetstorm is a real possibility. I feel a reference to that effect should be included in the explanation. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.112|162.158.214.112]] 20:34, 22 September 2017 (UTC)
: It refers to the falling numbers of tweets on Twitter, which was reported in February 2016: http://www.businessinsider.com/tweets-on-twitter-is-in-serious-decline-2016-2?r=UK&IR=T&IR=T [[Special:Contributions/162.158.182.58|162.158.182.58]] 22:33, 23 September 2017 (UTC)

I loved the Dragonriders of Pern series, but I'm a little bit mystified where this came from out of the blue. It's hardly a new series. Did he just start reading it and is all excited about it? Usually it's tied to some current event or topic, rather than just an excuse to make a pun about a character from an old book... Anyone know of any relevant current events that prompted this? [[User:DevAudio|DevAudio]] ([[User talk:DevAudio|talk]]) 15:39, 22 September 2017 (UTC)

: I wondered the same things. It was a great series, so hopefully we get some more cartoons which will help answer those questions. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.16|198.41.238.16]] 02:22, 23 September 2017 (UTC)

I'm not sure why he is suddenly referencing dragonriders, but I think the twitter 'threadfall' could connect to Donald Trump on twitter? But the timing is not right... I mean I guess he was elected in ''late'' 2016 so that could count. And 2016 was when he became really seriously engaged in politics and twitter in connection to that... not very strong evidence though. I could also be convinced that the date is arbitrary [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.22|162.158.146.22]] 16:32, 22 September 2017 (UTC)

Was this comic posted late? I could have sworn they are usually up before 0930EDT at least I am used to seeing them in the morning but maybe I was online earlier then usual today. [[User:Wjbodin3|WJBodin3]] ([[User talk:Wjbodin3|talk]]) 20:15, 22 September 2017 (UTC)

Note: Dragonflight, Dragonquest and The White Dragon totally used to be fantasy until Dragonsdawn retroactively turned them sci-fi. Best counterexample to any person who believes you can divide literature to genres. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 03:18, 23 September 2017 (UTC)
:The first novella, "Weyr Search", was essentially fantasy. By the time it was revised to form the initial portion of ''Dragonflight'', McCaffrey had decided on and incorporated the sci-fi basis of her "lost colony" setting. ''The White Dragon'' specifically introduces the colony ships (still in geosynchronous orbit) and shuttlecraft landers in terms that make it evident that Pern was colonized by space-farers, not wizards. McCaffrey was outspoken in defining her work as sci-fi, not fantasy,[[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.40|172.69.62.40]] 08:24, 19 May 2019 (UTC)

One of the few XKCDs where I understood essentially nothing of the joke... I caught the mention of "Pern", and realized it was because I've never read any Pern books. :) Thanks ExplainXKCD! And hey, Randall will be in London? Even farther from me than where he lives! LOL! Oh well. Colour me envious of anyone who can take advantage of the opportunity. As for the incomplete explanation of "Needs more", does it? I feel like every element is explained just fine, and as someone nearly completely unfamiliar with the series and who doesn't use Twitter, I have trouble imagining anyone needing more explanation than I do. LOL! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:47, 26 September 2017 (UTC)

I feel like the citation needed here doesn't make much sense, maybe it's just me but I've never heard of these books, so saying that it should be obvious to everyone that they are popular feels kind of silly.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.254.32|172.71.254.32]]

2708: Mystery Asterisk Destination

2022-12-08T14:56:07Z

172.71.254.32: Added more humor to the incomplete text

{{comic
| number = 2708
| date = December 7, 2022
| title = Mystery Asterisk Destination
| image = mystery_asterisk_destination_2x.png
| imagesize = 288x248px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If you ever see the † dagger symbol with no unmatched footnote, it means the writer is saying the phrase while threatening you with a dagger.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT*<sup>†</sup>. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.<sup>†</sup>}}

This comic is a reference to the use of asterisks and other symbols for footnotes or endnotes. It indicates that when asterisks appear after words without corresponding footnotes, they are in fact referring to this comic.

It offers closure for missing footnotes (not entirely dissimilar to [[391: Anti-Mindvirus]]), and so has an effect opposite of the unmatched parenthesis in [[859: (]].

Some terms, like {{w|A* search}} and {{w|C* algebra}}, contain asterisks that are not meant to be matched by footnotes. Instead, they are just there as a name, and read out verbally as "star". Programming languages and math use asterisks regularly for various reasons other than footnotes, such as for the multiplication operator. In these cases a single asterisk consequently constitutes no mystery asterisk.

The title text reveals that unmatched instances of † (a dagger; a symbol for a secondary footnote) are threats being made by the author to the reader with a physical dagger. As of this writing, it states "If you ever see the † dagger symbol with no '''''un'''''matched footnote…", forming a double negative. This is likely a typo. A likely reading appears to be “…dagger symbol with no matching footnote…”.

An asterisk and a dagger next to dates indicates, particularly in some European countries, the date of birth and the date of death of a person, see {{w|Dagger_(mark)#Modern_usage|Dagger usage}}*. In this case neither are meant as a reference to a footnote. When a dagger is placed following a person's name, it may indicate that this person is deceased.

I suspect that in the cases described in the sentence above, the sign is actually a cross, instead of a dagger. (Yes, the dagger came to represent death because it resembles a cross. However, in these cases it is still the same typographical symbol. See the Wikipedia article.)

==Transcript==
:[A blank panel with text at the bottom.]
:'''*'''Whenever you see a mystery asterisk that doesn't have a matching footnote, it points here.

{{comic discussion}}

Main Page/sandbox

2022-12-01T16:47:20Z

172.71.254.32:

If you get to this sandbox page, say hi! —[[User:EnderPlays|EnderPlays]] October 11, 2022
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:hi! [[User:JLZ0kTC5|JLZ0kTC5]] ([[User talk:JLZ0kTC5|talk]]) {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (UTC)
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:Hi again? Random is [[Special:Random|weird]]. {{User:PoolloverNathan/Signature}} 14:24, 14 November 2022 (UTC)
:Yea, random brought me back here too lol. {{User:EnderPlays}} 01:43, 17 November 2022 (UTC)
Hi [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.159|172.70.230.159]] {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (UTC)
Hi!
:Hi, random is fun. --RandomInternetViewer {{CURRENTTIME}}, {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} (UTC)