explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1742: Will It Work

2016-10-05T13:20:23Z

Beret Guy: /* Explanation */ Removed an E

{{comic
| number = 1742
| date = October 5, 2016
| title = Will It Work
| image = will_it_work.png
| titletext = 'Copy and paste from a random thread on a website' is the hardest to predict, and depends on the specific website, programming language, tone of the description, and current phase of the moon.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Should include a description of each source mentioned in the comic, and why it is in the order it is. Does anyone have an example of a paper with code in an appendix?}}

This comic humorously lists how likely computer code is to function on the user's computer based on the source of the code.

'''App store or package manager:''' Most likely referring to the {{w|Mac App Store|Mac}} or {{w|App Store (iOS)|iOS}} {{w|App Store}}, {{w|Google Play}} or {{w|package manager|package managers}} such as {{w|Debian|Debian's}} {{w|Advanced Packaging Tool}} (APT). Programs in the App Store are already compiled from raw code into executable files that have been tested on a Mac computer or iOS device, and so should be expected to run with no effort from the user. Similarly, a package manager for a Linux OS handles downloading and installing the program requested, as well as installing any dependencies (other programs or libraries needed by the desired program) automatically.

'''GitHub Link:''' {{w|GitHub}} is a website where people can host {{w|Git}} repositories of code that they are working on. Since Git is built to track changes in code for an entire project, it is likely that all of the code needed to run the project is included in the download. One reason it may be less reliable than the previous entry is that it may not include external libraries expected to already be on the user's computer.

'''SourceForge Link:''' {{w|SourceForge}} is similar in scope to GitHub : hosting source code repositories but also binary packages. But it is older and dwindling in popularity. As a results, a project hosted on SourceForge is more likely to be abandoned.

'''Geocities/Tripod Link:''' {{w|Geocities}} is a now defunct free website host. The fact that the software comes from there means that nobody has paid attention to the project since Geocities shut down. Which could mean that code rot has begun to take effect, with various dependencies being less and less likely to work over time.

'''Copy-and-paste example from paper's appendix:''' Some academic papers publish code or {{w|Pseudocode}} in order to illustrate their concepts, strategies or algorithms. Often this code is not meant to be compiled because it is thought to illustrate ideas rather than be used in an actual working piece of software. Copying and pasting this code and trying to compile it will rarely give a satisfactory results and that is why it is this point in the comic's spectrum.

'''Anything that "requires only minimal configuration and tweaking":''' Usually means that the code was tested and works with minimal configuration and tweaking on the system it was developed on but the
experience might vary wildly for anybody else trying to get it to work. It's also often used by technically advanced people who are not aware how difficult even minimal configuration and tweaking can be for beginners.

The title text refers to websites such as {{w|Stack Overflow}} that allow users to post questions about their code and other users answer. Websites like StackOverflow usually generate [http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6827834/how-to-filter-a-dict-to-contain-only-keys-in-a-given-list?noredirect=1&lq=1 useful answers] but the quality may be lower if the conversation is disgruntled (i.e. if the asker has put in very little effort to solve the problem themselves) or if the language is less commonly used. The title text of [[1185: Ineffective Sorts]] also references executing arbitrary code from StackOverflow.

Saying that something "depends on the phase of the moon" usually means that there is some apparently random component to the problem, as neither the performance of a program nor the quality of answers on websites should depend on the position of the moon in its orbit. However, there was [http://www.hacker-dictionary.com/terms/phase-of-the-moon at least one case] where the phase of the moon did, in fact, cause a bug in code.

The shape of the moon was the subject of [[1738: Moon Shapes]] released during the week before this comic was released.

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the panel:]
:Likelihood you will get code working based on how you're supposed to install it:

:[A chart with a double arrow going from the top to the bottom. Both arrows are labeled. Along the arrow six labels follows from top to bottom. The first five take up different amount of space, but the space between them (bottom of one to top of the next) are the same, and resembles a typical line shift between paragraphs. The space, however, to the last label is more than three times as wide.]

:[Top arrow:]
:Very likely

::App store
::or package
::manager
<br>
::GitHub Link
<br>
::SourceForge Link
<br>
::Geocities/Tripod Link
<br>
::Copy-and-paste
::example from
::paper's appendix
<br>
<br>
<br>
::Anything that "requires
::only minimal configuration
::and tweaking"

:[Bottom arrow:]
:Unlikely

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Rankings]]

1504: Opportunity

2016-10-01T00:33:23Z

Beret Guy: /* Explanation */ Pretty Sure 'girl version of Ponytail is redundant'

{{comic
| number = 1504
| date = March 27, 2015
| title = Opportunity
| image = opportunity.png
| titletext = We all remember those famous first words spoken by an astronaut on the surface of Mars: "That's one small step fo- HOLY SHIT LOOK OUT IT'S GOT SOME KIND OF DRILL! Get back to the ... [unintelligible] ... [signal lost]"
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is talking about the robotic science platform {{w|Opportunity (rover)|''Opportunity''}}. On January 25, 2004, the Opportunity rover landed on the surface of {{w|Mars}} for the purpose of gathering data about the surface of Mars. Opportunity has proven remarkably robust, and the comic extrapolates the rover's resilience to absurdity for comedic effect. As of the release date of this comic in 2015, the Opportunity rover {{w|Opportunity mission timeline|is still alive and moving}}.

The comic depicts the two scientists [[Ponytail]] and [[Hairbun]] at ground control being amazed at this fact already in 2010, and (maybe the same two) scientists continue to debate this at present day in the second panel.

They mention another Martian rover, {{w|Spirit (rover)|''Spirit''}} that was also sent to Mars on the same date as Opportunity. Unfortunately, it became stuck and a sand storm covered its solar panels. On March 22, 2010, it was thought that Spirit's batteries finally ran out, marking the end of its mission. This was covered in [[695: Spirit]], in which the Spirit rover is also portrayed with an anthropomorphic personality.

However, in 2023, Opportunity has apparently become so powerful that it has become dangerous, presumably cannibalizing or destroying the {{w|Mars 2020|rover sent in 2020}}. [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] note it even continues to operate without its original battery, suggesting it has developed a new power source. This evolution is similar to the stories of {{w|HAL 9000}} (from {{w|2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|''2001: A Space Odyssey''}}) and {{w|List of Star Trek characters (T–Z)#V'Ger|V'Ger}} (from ''{{w|Star Trek: The Motion Picture}}''), both of which became dangerous to human beings.

By 2450, humans have colonized and {{w|terraformed}} Mars. Maybe it is the 2023 Cueball and Megan's descendants that are looking out over their huge "kingdom" from the capital on Mars. However ''Opportunity'' is by now dominating half of the planet and will not allow humans to enter its dark reign.

"Everything the light touches" is a reference to a line by {{w|List of The Lion King characters#Mufasa|Mufasa}} in ''{{w|The Lion King}}''. Mufasa's son {{w|List of The Lion King characters#Simba|Simba}} then asks "What about that shadowy place?" and Mufasa tells him "That is beyond our borders. You must never go there". This was used again in [[1608: Hoverboard]], where [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a0/1608_0986x1076y_Our_kingdom_from_a_cliff.png Cueball tells the same line] to Ponytail in the left part of the world.

The title text forecasts the first words of the first astronauts on the surface of Mars. At first, the astronaut copies the first words of {{w|Neil Armstrong}} on the Moon ("That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind") but it is interrupted by the ''Opportunity'' rover. On board the rover is a drill used for sampling rocks, but here it is heavily suggested that Opportunity uses the drill to attack the astronaut.

==Transcript==
:[The year (or year and first sentence) for each panel is written in a small frame at the top of each panel. It breaks the top frame of the panels.]

:[Ponytail is sitting at a computer, facing left. Hairbun stands behind her.]
:2010:
:Ponytail: After six years, ''Spirit'' is down, but ''Opportunity'' is still going strong.
:Hairbun: Tough little rover!

:[Opportunity traveling on Mars. Text is written in frames with zigzag lines]
:2015:
:Off-screen: Eleven years, wow.
:Off-screen 2: Wasn't the original mission 90 days?
:Off-screen: This is starting to get weird.

:[Cueball and Megan sitting at a computer, facing right.]
:2023:
:Cueball: The battery is totally disconnected. How can it still be moving??
:Megan: Given what it did to the Mars 2020 rover, we may never know.

:[Two Martian inhabitants looking like Cueball and Megan stands on a cliff edge pointing towards a dark, mountainous region. Behind them are a tower and a hover car]
:2450, terraformed Mars, Martian imperial capital:
:Martian Cueball: Everything the light touches is our kingdom.
:Martian Megan: What's that dark area?
:Martian Cueball: That is ''Opportunity's'' half of the planet. We must never go there.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Mars rovers]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]
[[Category:The Lion King]]

Talk:1740: Rosetta

2016-10-01T00:20:34Z

Beret Guy:

:Hairy's Woooo has four o's but Cueball's Wooo has only three o's. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 14:41, 30 September 2016 (UTC)
:Armegeddon actually had no kinetic impact. The plot device was a bomb drilled into the surface and detonated. This did deflect the comet by splitting it on half along a fault, causing the two pieces to miss Earth.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.100|162.158.75.100]] 17:04, 30 September 2016 (UTC)
:: Agreed, and edited. [[User:Beret Guy|Beret Guy]] ([[User talk:Beret Guy|talk]]) 20:54, 30 September 2016 (UTC)Beret Guy

Hasn't the fact of simply being in orbit already caused a change in the trajectory? Does impact make any difference?

Talk:1740: Rosetta

2016-10-01T00:19:32Z

Beret Guy:

:Hairy's Woooo has four o's but Cueball's Wooo has only three o's. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 14:41, 30 September 2016 (UTC)
:Armegeddon actually had no kinetic impact. The plot device was a bomb drilled into the surface and detonated. This did deflect the comet by splitting it on half along a fault, causing the two pieces to miss Earth.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.100|162.158.75.100]] 17:04, 30 September 2016 (UTC)
: Agreed, and edited. [[User:Beret Guy|Beret Guy]] ([[User talk:Beret Guy|talk]]) 20:54, 30 September 2016 (UTC)Beret Guy

Hasn't the fact of simply being in orbit already caused a change in the trajectory? Does impact make any difference?

Talk:1740: Rosetta

2016-09-30T20:54:58Z

Beret Guy:

:Hairy's Woooo has four o's but Cueball's Wooo has only three o's. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 14:41, 30 September 2016 (UTC)
:Armegeddon actually had no kinetic impact. The plot device was a bomb drilled into the surface and detonated. This did deflect the comet by splitting it on half along a fault, causing the two pieces to miss Earth.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.100|162.158.75.100]] 17:04, 30 September 2016 (UTC)
Agreed, and edited. [[User:Beret Guy|Beret Guy]] ([[User talk:Beret Guy|talk]]) 20:54, 30 September 2016 (UTC)Beret Guy

Talk:1740: Rosetta

2016-09-30T20:53:04Z

Beret Guy:

1740: Rosetta

2016-09-30T20:51:16Z

Beret Guy: /* Explanation */ Fixed the part about the Armageddon movie

{{comic
| number = 1740
| date = September 30, 2016
| title = Rosetta
| image = rosetta.png
| titletext = I WONDERED why he kept asking whether we thought the impact speed was too low.
}}

==Explanation==
On the day this comic was posted (September 30th 2016), the ''{{w|Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta}}'' mission ended with the final descent of ''Rosetta'' onto the comet {{w|67P}}. Landing Rosetta on the comet gave the scientists a chance to collect extra data from very close to the comet, using the spacecraft's powerful sensors. [[Cueball]] however assumed that the landing was a "{{w|Asteroid_impact_avoidance#Kinetic_impact|kinetic impact}}" mission to deflect a comet that was a collision course with Earth. A similar scenario (using a nuclear weapon implanted inside of the asteroid) was depicted in the 1998 film ''{{w|Armageddon (1998 film)|Armageddon}}'', of which Cueball is apparently a fan.

In reality, at the time ''Rosetta'' landed, 67P was already leaving the inner solar system and was [http://sci.esa.int/where_is_rosetta/ a long way past Earth]. It will return to the inner solar system in around 5 years time, but its orbit is not expected to pose any threat to Earth any time soon. Plus, as the alt text hints, Rosetta's speed was only [https://astronomynow.com/2016/09/30/rosettas-final-hours/ 90 cm per second] relative to the surface at the moment of impact (or about 2 mph/3.25 kph; the speed of a slow walk), while the comet was travelling at 14.39 km/s. Given that Rosetta only weighs a couple of tons (or [[1461: Payloads|six horses]]), and 67P weighs nearly 10 billion tons (or [[1461: Payloads| 22,200,624,370 horses]]), Rosetta's landing will have no actual measurable effect on the comet's momentum.

''Rosetta'' (and its lander, ''Philae'') were previously the subject of the comics [[1402: Harpoons]] and [[1446: Landing]], and were mentioned in [[1461: Payloads]], [[1547: Solar System Questions]] and possibly [[1621: Fixion]].

==Transcript==
:[A control room: Megan and Hairy are at computers, Ponytail is directing, and Cueball is watching]
:Megan: Signal lost.
:Megan: ''Rosetta'' has impacted the comet.
:Ponytail: Good work everyone.
:Hairy: Woooo!

:[Zoom on Ponytail and Cueball]
:Cueball: So.
:Cueball: You think we deflected it?

:[Ponytail, Cueball and Hairy are now visible. Hairy looks away from his computer in surprise]
:Ponytail: Huh?
:Cueball: Did we hit the comet hard enough to deflect it away from Earth?

:[Back to Ponytail and Cueball]
:Ponytail: That... Is that what you thought we were doing?
:Cueball: I just assumed...

:[Megan enters. Cueball has his arms up in celebration]
:Megan: He's a huge ''Armageddon'' fan. Let him have this.
:Ponytail: Okay, fine.
:Ponytail: Yes! We did it! The Earth is saved!
:Cueball: Wooo!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Space probes]]

554: Not Enough Work

2016-09-30T20:38:08Z

Beret Guy: Undo revision 128042 by Beret Guy (talk)

{{comic
| number = 554
| date = March 11, 2009
| title = Not Enough Work
| image = not_enough_work.png
| titletext = It's even harder if you're an asshole who pronounces <> brackets.
}}

==Explanation==
In some companies, programmers can find themselves under-employed. This may be because these companies have little programming work until something breaks or needs upgrading, or perhaps they are between projects, or simply waiting for a go-ahead. Coders still need to make themselves available to perform emergency fixes, but they may have no other assigned work. This requires them to find constructive ways to spend their time. Or unconstructive, if that is more fun.

{{w|Dvorak Simplified Keyboard|Dvorak}} is a keyboard layout that was proposed in 1936 as an alternative to the existing, entrenched {{w|Qwerty keyboard|QWERTY}} layout, developed in the 1870s. The QWERTY keyboard is the standard in the US, but some features in its layout are based on mechanical considerations rather than the optimum placement for typing speed. For example, common letter combinations such as 'st' and 'th' had to be arranged so that their operating levers were separated from each other, lest they cause jams and slow down the typist. More than sixty years later, such mechanical considerations could be overcome, and Dvorak designed his keyboard layout with typing efficiency in mind.

The Dvorak keyboard was ultimately unsuccessful. It still persists today, but has never threatened the dominance of the QWERTY keyboard. Even if the Dvorak layout is more efficient (which is still a matter for debate, see the uncomfortable truth in [[561: Well]]), QWERTY was and is the standard. This means that every keyboard user has to learn QWERTY anyway, and there is insufficient benefit in spending the time to learn a new layout, especially when you would have to switch back and forth between Dvorak and QWERTY as the situation demands.

Therefore, even seriously considering the switch is a sign that you really have nothing better to do. Another joke is that even though the coder has plenty of spare time on his hands to practice on Dvorak, he has only been able to 'almost' match his old typing speed.

Dvorak has been referenced a few times later also after the Well comic (see above). For instance in [[977: Map Projections]], it was stated that those who preferred the {{w|Dymaxion map|Dymaxion projection}} would write in Dvorak. And another comic, (also about efficiency), [[1445: Efficiency]] mentions, in the title text, how [[Randall]] used lots of time testing to see if DVORAK is faster.

{{w|Gopher (protocol)|Gopher}} is a defunct internet protocol, which has been completely superseded by {{w|HTTP}}. It's a perfect example of the kind of thing a programmer might implement in the absence of other, more useful work. (As an aside, the protocol is named for the mascot of the University of Minnesota, where it was developed.)

{{w|HTML}} and {{w|XHTML}} are markup languages used to describe web documents. XHTML-strict is a more restricted version of XHTML that excludes certain redundant tags like <nowiki><center></nowiki>, which is theoretically no longer necessary now that <nowiki><div> and <span></nowiki> exist. {{w|Haiku}}, on the other hand, is a kind of Japanese poetry. Rather than having a rhyming meter like Western poetry, Japanese poetry has strict restrictions on {{w|syllable}} count; a haiku must contain three lines, containing 5, 7, and 5 syllables, respectively. The section of code given is HTML markup, and would be read by a web developer like this:

:Div class equals Main
:Span ID equals Marquee
:Blog! end span end div (or alternatively slash span slash div)

Which can be [http://www.syllablecount.com/ divided in syllables] like this:

:Div - class - e - quals - Main
:Span - I - D - e - quals - Mar - quee
:Blog! - end - span - end - div

This meets the syllable requirements. Restricting yourself to writing markup in this form would be extremely challenging and time-consuming and pointless, so it, too, is a good sign that coders need more real work to do. The title text notes that if you are one of those assholes that are actually pronouncing the angle-brackets, then it would be even harder to write HTML in Haiku format. "Left angle bracket" and "right angle bracket" take up five syllables each on their own. (The asshole part is Randall's opinion about those who do pronounce <>). Haiku was mentioned later in [[622: Haiku Proof]].

Finally, the last panel mentions the biggest timesink of them all: {{w|webcomics}}! (Or, even worse, [[Main Page|wikis devoted to explaining the jokes in webcomics]].)

==Trivia==
A haiku-compliant programming language does in fact exist: David Morgan-Mar (a creator of many esoteric and parodic languages) invented [http://www.dangermouse.net/esoteric/haifu.html Haifu], a language that will only compile if it is arranged into subsets of 5 + 7 + 5 syllables. Unlike the HTML example in the comic, Haifu derives its functions and syntax from concepts in {{w|Eastern philosophy}} (such as naming its variable types after the {{w|five elements}}, replacing true and false with {{w|yin and yang}}, and defining arithmetic in terms of creation and destruction).

==Transcript==
:[Above the first two panels there is a caption:]
:Signs your coders don't have enough work to do:

:[Cueball sitting in an office chair at his workstation, with Ponytail standing behind him.]
:Cueball: I'm almost up to my old typing speed in Dvorak

:[Cueball is standing next to a server rack pointing at it while looking the other way at a Cueball-like guy. There are three sections filled with servers, two of them together, and space for several more above and below and betwen those two and the one at the bottom. Behind the rack wires comes down tot he floor from all three servers together and the wires then exits the panel to he right along the floor.]
:Cueball: Our servers now support Gopher.
:Cueball: Just in case.

:[In a frame-less panel Megan is standing near her workstation to the right speaking to Cueball to the left.]
:Megan: Our pages are now HTML, XHTML-Strict, and Haiku-compliant.
:Cueball: Haiku?
:Megan:
::<nowiki><div class="Main"></nowiki>
::<nowiki><span ID="Marquee"></nowiki>
::<nowiki>Blog!</span></div></nowiki>

:[Ponytail sitting in an office chair at her workstation.]
:Ponytail: Hey!
:Ponytail: Have you guys seen this webcomic?

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Programming]]

554: Not Enough Work

2016-09-30T20:37:22Z

Beret Guy: /* Explanation */ Presumably XHTML cannot be a more restricted version of itself

{{comic
| number = 554
| date = March 11, 2009
| title = Not Enough Work
| image = not_enough_work.png
| titletext = It's even harder if you're an asshole who pronounces <> brackets.
}}

==Explanation==
In some companies, programmers can find themselves under-employed. This may be because these companies have little programming work until something breaks or needs upgrading, or perhaps they are between projects, or simply waiting for a go-ahead. Coders still need to make themselves available to perform emergency fixes, but they may have no other assigned work. This requires them to find constructive ways to spend their time. Or unconstructive, if that is more fun.

{{w|Dvorak Simplified Keyboard|Dvorak}} is a keyboard layout that was proposed in 1936 as an alternative to the existing, entrenched {{w|Qwerty keyboard|QWERTY}} layout, developed in the 1870s. The QWERTY keyboard is the standard in the US, but some features in its layout are based on mechanical considerations rather than the optimum placement for typing speed. For example, common letter combinations such as 'st' and 'th' had to be arranged so that their operating levers were separated from each other, lest they cause jams and slow down the typist. More than sixty years later, such mechanical considerations could be overcome, and Dvorak designed his keyboard layout with typing efficiency in mind.

The Dvorak keyboard was ultimately unsuccessful. It still persists today, but has never threatened the dominance of the QWERTY keyboard. Even if the Dvorak layout is more efficient (which is still a matter for debate, see the uncomfortable truth in [[561: Well]]), QWERTY was and is the standard. This means that every keyboard user has to learn QWERTY anyway, and there is insufficient benefit in spending the time to learn a new layout, especially when you would have to switch back and forth between Dvorak and QWERTY as the situation demands.

Therefore, even seriously considering the switch is a sign that you really have nothing better to do. Another joke is that even though the coder has plenty of spare time on his hands to practice on Dvorak, he has only been able to 'almost' match his old typing speed.

Dvorak has been referenced a few times later also after the Well comic (see above). For instance in [[977: Map Projections]], it was stated that those who preferred the {{w|Dymaxion map|Dymaxion projection}} would write in Dvorak. And another comic, (also about efficiency), [[1445: Efficiency]] mentions, in the title text, how [[Randall]] used lots of time testing to see if DVORAK is faster.

{{w|Gopher (protocol)|Gopher}} is a defunct internet protocol, which has been completely superseded by {{w|HTTP}}. It's a perfect example of the kind of thing a programmer might implement in the absence of other, more useful work. (As an aside, the protocol is named for the mascot of the University of Minnesota, where it was developed.)

{{w|HTML}} and {{w|XHTML}} are markup languages used to describe web documents. XHTML-strict is a more restricted version of HTML that excludes certain redundant tags like <nowiki><center></nowiki>, which is theoretically no longer necessary now that <nowiki><div> and <span></nowiki> exist. {{w|Haiku}}, on the other hand, is a kind of Japanese poetry. Rather than having a rhyming meter like Western poetry, Japanese poetry has strict restrictions on {{w|syllable}} count; a haiku must contain three lines, containing 5, 7, and 5 syllables, respectively. The section of code given is HTML markup, and would be read by a web developer like this:

:Div class equals Main
:Span ID equals Marquee
:Blog! end span end div (or alternatively slash span slash div)

Which can be [http://www.syllablecount.com/ divided in syllables] like this:

:Div - class - e - quals - Main
:Span - I - D - e - quals - Mar - quee
:Blog! - end - span - end - div

This meets the syllable requirements. Restricting yourself to writing markup in this form would be extremely challenging and time-consuming and pointless, so it, too, is a good sign that coders need more real work to do. The title text notes that if you are one of those assholes that are actually pronouncing the angle-brackets, then it would be even harder to write HTML in Haiku format. "Left angle bracket" and "right angle bracket" take up five syllables each on their own. (The asshole part is Randall's opinion about those who do pronounce <>). Haiku was mentioned later in [[622: Haiku Proof]].

Finally, the last panel mentions the biggest timesink of them all: {{w|webcomics}}! (Or, even worse, [[Main Page|wikis devoted to explaining the jokes in webcomics]].)

==Trivia==
A haiku-compliant programming language does in fact exist: David Morgan-Mar (a creator of many esoteric and parodic languages) invented [http://www.dangermouse.net/esoteric/haifu.html Haifu], a language that will only compile if it is arranged into subsets of 5 + 7 + 5 syllables. Unlike the HTML example in the comic, Haifu derives its functions and syntax from concepts in {{w|Eastern philosophy}} (such as naming its variable types after the {{w|five elements}}, replacing true and false with {{w|yin and yang}}, and defining arithmetic in terms of creation and destruction).

==Transcript==
:[Above the first two panels there is a caption:]
:Signs your coders don't have enough work to do:

:[Cueball sitting in an office chair at his workstation, with Ponytail standing behind him.]
:Cueball: I'm almost up to my old typing speed in Dvorak

:[Cueball is standing next to a server rack pointing at it while looking the other way at a Cueball-like guy. There are three sections filled with servers, two of them together, and space for several more above and below and betwen those two and the one at the bottom. Behind the rack wires comes down tot he floor from all three servers together and the wires then exits the panel to he right along the floor.]
:Cueball: Our servers now support Gopher.
:Cueball: Just in case.

:[In a frame-less panel Megan is standing near her workstation to the right speaking to Cueball to the left.]
:Megan: Our pages are now HTML, XHTML-Strict, and Haiku-compliant.
:Cueball: Haiku?
:Megan:
::<nowiki><div class="Main"></nowiki>
::<nowiki><span ID="Marquee"></nowiki>
::<nowiki>Blog!</span></div></nowiki>

:[Ponytail sitting in an office chair at her workstation.]
:Ponytail: Hey!
:Ponytail: Have you guys seen this webcomic?

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Programming]]

623: Oregon

2016-09-30T19:48:28Z

Beret Guy: /* Explanation */ Removed unnecessary detail

{{comic
| number = 623
| date = August 14, 2009
| title = Oregon
| image = oregon.png
| titletext = A century later, the harrowing flight of the survivors from Oregon was dramatized in a popular video game.
}}

==Explanation==

''{{w|The Oregon Trail (video game)|The Oregon Trail}}'' was an early educational video game that was designed to teach children about the trials and hardships faced by pioneering settlers. The actual {{w|Oregon Trail}} was an overland track leading from Missouri to Oregon, and in the video game, the player started his or her journey in 1848.

Most players were grade-school students. The game was very popular, and thousands of players played it monthly. In their youthful wisdom, most players brought the minimum amount of food and planned to hunt for their meals. Large animals (bison, bears, etc.) were very easy and rewarding targets, while smaller prey (rabbits, squirrels, etc.) were harder to obtain and provided less food.

The comic tries to document, as though in a historical fashion, what would have been the result if all the players had been real settlers who really had prepared for their journey on the Oregon Trail in that way. With an unbelievably large influx of people all arriving in exactly the same year, and all with no other supplies or sources of food, the land would soon have been stripped bare, all large game slaughtered for meat, with hunger, starvation and disease soon to follow. {{w|Dysentery}} in particular was very common in the original game and perhaps the most infamous way to die, hence its listing as the most prominent epidemic.

The title text makes things rather recursive. In this alternate reality, thousands upon thousands of people fleeing ''from'' the overpopulated, devastated Oregon becomes the focus of another video game, much like ''The Oregon Trail'' in our universe.

==Transcript==
:History of 19th-century Oregon

:[Timeline, with relevant images next to various dates.]

:1805
::[Two men stand at the edge of a cliff. One has a walking staff.]
::Arrival of Lewis & Clark

:1825
::Early settlers arrive

:1841
::Oregon Trail established

:1843
::Larger western migration begins

:1848
::[A horse is pulling a covered wagon. A gun peeks out the back.]
::Huge wave of 500,000+ settlers arrives from Missouri. Largely children and adolescents, most bring nothing but cartloads of bullets for hunting.

:1849
::[Cueball and Megan with rifles aim at something.]
::Overhunting begins to devastate ecosystem
::Dysentery epidemic.

:1850
::[Tombstones and bodies.]
::Shooting deaths skyrocket
::Typhoid epidemic
::Measles epidemic
::Cholera epidemic

:1851
::All mammals larger than squirrels wiped out by overhunting
::Massive famine

:1852
::[Sun low over a land, devoid of life. Scattered remains of corpses and skeletons.]
::Last survivors flee
::Oregon territory abandoned

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Video games]]