explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1886: Typing Notifications

2017-11-14T11:42:30Z

Cos: mentioned another webcomic with the same kind of joke

Sorry for the double explanation, if there was any notification that someone else had added an explanation before I was done editing (I saw an empty explanation when I started editing) I missed it. I went (mostly) back to the first explanation. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.172|141.101.88.172]] 17:19, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

I believe that in some instant messaging systems just by clicking in the text box or just by changing focus to the text box causes a notification to the other person that you are typing. So, if I click into the text box and then go to another application and come back and resume focus, multiple notifications are sent, and there is an expectation that a message is coming that never comes. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 17:23, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

'''Hey, WhatsUp???''' --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:24, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

I miss ytalk {{unsigned ip|162.158.182.22}}

[[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.47|172.68.58.47]] 02:03, 7 September 2017 (UTC) Wouldn't this comic make more sense if Randall were the person REPLYING to the chat message, not the person who originally sent it? although that would probably mean that we were seeing the chat window from the perspective of the anonymous second user...

"''In the title text, Randall expresses that he likes to watch when the recipient reacts but he's also happy not to receive that attempt as an empty reply.''" It's not what I understood. I understood that the recipient could open a blank note on another application, type a reply taking all the time he needs, then copy-paste it on the messaging system. This is exactly what I do when I don't want to trigger typing notifications, and Randall writes that he prefers not to know that. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.148|108.162.229.148]] 07:55, 7 September 2017 (UTC)
: "Typing notifications" means NOT Randall is typing notifications. He is watching a notification showing someone is typing/working on an answer to a message Randall has sent. And there is no "another application" in the comic at all. And your idea even doesn't match the rest of the explanation. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:16, 7 September 2017 (UTC)
::Well it says open a note - which might be an application, especially for mobile systems there are applications with names like that. And a new document in a writing application was my first interpretation too... I found the interpretation that 108.162.229.148 quoted quite unlikely too, as Randall (if this is about Randall at all) said he likes having it on. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.5|198.41.242.5]]
:::Cmon, that extra app is sending notifications through the messenger app?
:::This "typing awareness indicator" is typical for messenger applications, not only on smartphones. When the reader of the message presses something like the reply-button a ''note'' is opened and this action is visualized to the sender. But anything what the reader is typing is not visible until the send-button is pressed. The point is, you can see that the recipient is working on a reply, how often they start again from the beginning, and even when you got no reply you can be sure your text was read and your partner has tried to send an answer. And besides of that, why using an extra app for typing when features like autocomplete belong to the keyboard app?--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:51, 7 September 2017 (UTC)
::::Actually, I agree with ol' 108 162 here. I interpreted that it's not RANDALL'S show, but that it's Randall who is having trouble composing a reply, but this notification has revealed this trouble. He's been discovered! Otherwise this person would have no idea of Randall's struggle, this way he/she still gets some of the hurt that Randall was trying to save them from with "It was great!". "Opening a blank note" is unquestionably another app on the same device, the words "open" and "blank" indicates this must be digital. It's not an "extra" app per se, every iDevice I've seen has an app called Notes, and my Android phone has a similar app for typing up notes, both part of the device's OS. I do such things all the time (the only ExplainXKCD explanation I've written is still sitting in an electronic note, where I composed it in the first place in order not to keep a browser window open that long and to avoit edit conflicts). Randall is saying that he uses a Note application to avoid the situation depicted in the comic, to avoid showing a typing notification when he wants to give his reply some serious consideration before comitting to it, so he dreads the day that devices add to the typing notification with a Typing In The Note App Notification (which would be a joke, since this IS a comic, and that's impossible). Randall might be inclined to think typing notifications should be discontinued, to go back to hiding what he's doing until he's ready, but for what he says in the title text as to why he wants it to stick around and why he keeps it on. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:43, 8 September 2017 (UTC)
:::::Again: "Typing notifications" means NOT Randall is typing notifications, he gets notified that someone else is typing. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:50, 8 September 2017 (UTC)
::::::There's nothing that says Randall is the one receiving the typing notifications. I contend that NOT Randall is the one receiving the typing notifications, and Randall is cursing the existence of typing notifications because they are ruining his attempts to be tactful. After all, why would he be talking about avoiding them by using a Notes app if it wasn't him triggering the typing notification? RANDALL is the one saying "It was great!", I'm telling you. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:39, 9 September 2017 (UTC)
::::::Let me try it this way: Let's call the other person Megan. I think we're looking at Megan's phone or message app. She asks Randall what he thought of her show, and says "Be honest!". Randall at first decides to be honest and starts typing, which Megan sees that he's typing. Then he deletes that and probably tries to be more tactfully honest, and Megan again sees that he was typing. Then he deletes that and just types and sends "It was great!". After this conversation Megan confronts Randall about it, asking why he hesitated, what was he going to say, etc. and Randall realizes that without Megan receiving these typing notifications from him, she never would have known he struggled over what to write, and saying "It was great!" would have worked. Then in the title text he explains how he can't completely hate typing notifications, because he keeps them on himself. So as a compromise he avoids this by typing replies in a separate Note app, but he fears the day that it sends notifications about that as well (which is a joke, since it seems impossible that the text or message app would monitor the usage of a separate Note app). [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:03, 9 September 2017 (UTC)
:::::::So, why just read the comic pictures and let's assume Megan got the message and hesitates to answer. At the second attempt she types more but then she cancels again, then no action, and finally just a kind response. ALL THIS is shown in the comic, but maybe it's not Megan. And I recall: "Typing notifications" means NOT Randall is typing notifications, he gets notified that someone else is typing. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:00, 9 September 2017 (UTC)
::::::::It doesn't matter which person in the comic is Randall. The situation is bad for both of them. It is very, very clear that, as the others have suggested, "opened a blank note to compose a reply" means someone is writing a reply in another application to prevent typing notifications. It is an anti-notification technique, and notifications for an anti-notification technique would be completely counterproductive. That's the logic behind the title text - Randall is glad this imaginary, counterproductive, and terrible feature doesn't exist. Again: it doesn't matter, ''at all'', who is typing. The grammar basically makes any other interpretation impossible - he's definitely saying, "I can tolerate ''normal'' typing notifications, but I'm glad these silly hypothetical notifications aren't real."--[[User:Mythnut|Mythnut]] ([[User talk:Mythnut|talk]]) 17:18, 11 September 2017 (UTC)
::::::::I'm not sure why you think "typing notifications" means it's NOT Randall typing (Megan typing, to use my example). Other people can get typing notifications as well, like from Randall typing. I see it that this comic is called "Typing Notifications" because he's complaining that his friends are getting Notified when he's Typing. Yes, it's possible that this is Randall's phone (or messenger app), but it makes less sense that way. It makes so much less sense that I feel 100% sure that Randall didn't mean it that way. The technique he describes in the title text is about HIM avoiding sending typing notifications, it only makes sense if the comic's typing notifications are also Randall typing. This technique is about the typist keeping a secret from the recipient, he wouldn't be promoting people keeping secrets from him (in fact, saying he likes to keep notifications on means he likes it NOT to be secret). Though, as Mythnutl says, it doesn't matter much who is who, in this situation both people suffer from the typing notifications. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:12, 12 September 2017 (UTC)

With some of these (Atleast with Skype) the indicator only shows from a keypress for 5 seconds then stops it it could be that the person was very disinterested in the conversation and simply was not typing for a bit [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.66|141.101.107.66]] 12:17, 8 September 2017 (UTC)
:Indeed, the inherent ambiguity is almost as frustrating when you're on the other end, sending a reply. Just yesterday a colleague interrupted me as I was typing a crucial reply over IM, and I'm sure it must have looked like I was indecisive when I wasn't. I would prefer the option to turn them off as a sender, as a matter of privacy. I suppose I should start opening new notes to compose replies. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.101|172.68.142.101]] 01:32, 9 September 2017 (UTC)
::It seems only two people here understand ''Instant Messengers''. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:00, 9 September 2017 (UTC)
:::Here's how the Note thing works. We type in the Note App (or Notepad on a computer) in order to take advantage of a larger typing space, to not keep something open, or (like in this comic) to avoid letting the recipient know we're typing. After we've typed our response, and acted as our own editor checking it over, we Copy & Paste into the INSTANT MESSENGER and send it instantly. This way we're only "typing" in the instant messenger for a moment. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:12, 12 September 2017 (UTC)

»''In the caption below the screens Randall reveals that the three-dotted(-animation) is his preferred version to get be informed that someone else is working on a reply to him.''« Huh? Surely, the comic doesn't say that? It says that Randall prefers to having a typing notification over not having it. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.182.154|162.158.182.154]] 15:11, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

I also very much disagree with the title text. He just says he'd rather have notifications than not. But he's glad that opening up a separate note to compose the reply doesn't also have a notification. Nothing about getting blank messages or preferring the "..." style notification. I'm sure "____ is typing" has all the same characteristics given in the comic.

[Hmmm, previous person forgot to sign] About the title text, "he's also happy to not receive notifications that the texter is composing a response in a blank note file.", this is absolutely unquesionably the incorrect interpretation. No matter which side of the comic's conversation is Randall, this must be the other way around. Since Randall prefers knowing when the other person is writing back to him - as stated in the title text - he most definitely would also prefer to receive Writing-In-A-Note notifications. His objection could only be that he's glad that using a Note keeps HIS activity secret, that they don't know he's doing it. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:12, 12 September 2017 (UTC)

This reminds me of the same kind of joke on another webcomic: [http://thedoghousediaries.com/3316 “Jim is typing”, on The Doghouse Diaries] (from late 2011). - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 11:42, 14 November 2017 (UTC)

1446: Landing

2014-11-12T22:55:20Z

Cos: /* Explanation */ additional minor rewording to my previous edit

{{comic
| number = 1446
| date = November 12, 2014
| title = Landing
| image = landingAnimated.gif
| titletext = [LIVE]
}}
Frames of the comic began appearing at midnight ({{w|Eastern Time Zone|EST}}) on November 12, 2014 and updated every five minutes. Together, the images form a {{w|flip book}} which is shown here above. You can find the individual images by cliking on the latest image of the comic on xkcd (go to that by clicking the date above or find it directly at [http://xkcd1446.org xkcd1446.org]).

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Buckle up, boys and girls.}}
This comic changes over time, tracking the progress of the {{w|Philae (spacecraft)|Philae}} lander separating from the {{w|European Space Agency}}'s {{w|Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta}} probe to land on a comet. More info about it at [http://rosetta.esa.int rosetta.esa.int].

The comic presents the imagined anthropomorphic "thoughts" of the Rosetta spacecraft and the Philae lander (and occasionally other parties) during the hours approaching separation from each other, approach to the comet, and (so far) initial analysis of data after the apparent successful landing on the comet. Beginning at [[Media:???65.png|11:05:00]], the comic includes a "Status Report" in the lower right corner which summarizes the status of various interested parties and accomplishments, beginning with "Rosetta", "Philae lander", "Mission Control", "Comet 67P", and "Have we landed on a comet?". As events occur in the comic, more status summaries are added to keep track of the changes to the situation and the supposed emotions behind them.

In many pictures a whale can be seen on the surface of the comet - often marked with a "?" as are almost all other parts of the unknown surface. There is also drawn a [[Cueball]] on the surface... Whales are also mentioned in the "Status Report" where they for instance may be listed as "calm" or "(probably) not in space". Dolphins and fish are later also mentioned there, commenting about the whales. The reference to whales comes from the fact that Philae brings along three harpoons, which on Earth have mainly been used to hunt whales; Randall previously brought up that comparison in [[1402: Harpoons]], suggesting that Philae was programmed to believe it was sent to kill the comet. It could at the same time be a reference to ''{{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}'', where a whale suddenly appears over an alien planet, only to fall to its surface.

The comic title was originally "???" and the title text "..." (probably not to give away too early what the comic was about), but changed to "Landing" and "[LIVE]" part of the way through (somewhere around 5:00 in the morning EST, maybe at the same time than the timestamp timezone switch). At 5:00 AM (EST) the timestamp in the image naming scheme switched from EST to {{w|Coordinated Universal Time|UTC}} as used in ESA's time keeping, resulting in a jump from [[Media:???53.png|04:55]] to [[Media:???54.png|10:00]] without actually any such delay between the two pictures. There were however a few pictures with more than 5 minutes of delay (about 12 times five minutes without an update in total). The update seems to have stopped after 136 pictures at 17:15 UTC, 12 hours and 15 minutes after the first picture.

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==Transcript==
00:35:00
:Rosetta: Three hours to separation
00:45:00
:Philae: Has anyone ever tried this before?
00:50:00
:Rosetta: I don't think so.
01:25:00
:Rosetta: Ready to begin pre-delivery burn.
02:20:00
:Rosetta: We are ''go'' for separation!
02:25:00
:Rosetta: We are ''go'' for separation!
:Philae: ''Yessss!''
03:05:00
:Philae: Can I just go now?
03:25:00
:Rosetta: Well it's been a fun 10 years together.
03:35:00
:Rosetta: Well it's been a fun 10 years together.
:Philae: Yeah! ... a little boring maybe.
03:50:00
:Rosetta: Ok, turning on ''concert''. I'll send you signals through the comet, once you're down there, so we can measure what's inside it.
:Philae: Assuming comets even ''have'' insides!
:Rosetta: I'm, uh, pretty sure they do.
04:10:00
:Philae: ''Wheee!''
04:15:00
:Rosetta: Quick, take a picture of me!
:Philae: Just take a selfie
:Rosetta: Can't. No front-facing camera
10:00:00
:Rosetta: Bye
10:15:00
:Philae: Spaaaaaaaace
10:25:00
:Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt.
10:30:00
:Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt. Let's see, where is it...
10:35:00
:Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt. Let's see, where is it... Aha!
10:40:00
:Rosetta: Hey! Earth!
10:45:00
:Rosetta: Hey! Earth! Check out these pics!
10:55:00
:Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet.
11:00:00
:Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet. This is so cool.
11:05:00
:Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet. This is so cool.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
11:10:00
:Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet. This is so cool. ... I hope harpoons ''work'' on comets.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
11:15:00
:Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet. This is so cool. ... I hope harpoons ''work'' on comets.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:20:00
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:25:00
:Philae: Hey Rosetta - you in touch with Earth?
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:30:00
:Philae: Hey Rosetta - you in touch with Earth?
:Rosetta: Yes!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:35:00
:Philae: Hey Rosetta - you in touch with Earth?
:Rosetta: Yes! ... They're a little worried about your top thruster.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:40:00
:Rosetta: ... They're a little worried about your top thruster.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:45:00
:Rosetta: ... They're a little worried about your top thruster. There's a chance you might have to hang on to the surface without it.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:50:00
:Rosetta: ... They're a little worried about your top thruster. There's a chance you might have to hang on to the surface without it.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:55:00
:Rosetta: ... They're a little worried about your top thruster. There's a chance you might have to hang on to the surface without it.
:Philae: I ''really'' hope harpoons work on comets.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:05:00
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:10:00
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:15:00
:Philae: Harpoons work on whales, right?
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:20:00
:Philae: Harpoons work on whales, right?
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::'''Whales: Not in space'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:25:00
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:30:00
:['''Whale appears inside the comet''']
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: '''''Probably''''' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:35:00
:['''Whale marked "Probably not"''']
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
12:40:00
:[Whale '''and stick figure''' on comet marked "Probably not"]
:Rosetta: They should be getting the pictures back on earth about now.
:Philae: The 28-minute delay is weird.
:Rosetta: I'm watching for the ✔ seen 12:41 pm message.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::'''Has anybody tried this before: Nope'''
12:45:00
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
12:50:00
:Philae lander: Not to obsess, but what do I do of I touch down on a big slab of rock? Pretty sure harpoons don't work on rock.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Worried'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
12:55:00
:Philae lander: Not to obsess, but what do I do of I touch down on a big slab of rock? Pretty sure harpoons don't work on rock.
:'''Rosetta: Don't worry - the rocks should be full of pockets where ice used to be. Your harpoons will crunch right through.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Brave'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope

13:00:00
:Philae lander: Not to obsess, but what do I do of I touch down on a big slab of rock? Pretty sure harpoons don't work on rock.
:Rosetta: Don't worry - the rocks should be full of pockets where ice used to be. Your harpoons will crunch right through. '''We think, anyway.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Worried'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:10:00
:Philae lander: [thinks] I mean, when I think about it, it's hard to believe harpoons even work on ''whales''.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:15:00
:Rosetta: Are you thinking about whales?
:Philae lander: No.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:20:00
:Rosetta: Are you thinking about whales?
:Philae lander: No.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Thinking about whales'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:25:00
:['''More whales appear above the comet surface''']
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Thinking about whales
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:30:00
:['''Whales and stick figure disappear''']
:['''Slab of rock appears near the target''']
:['''Whale hides behind rock''']
:Rosetta: ✔ seen 1:02 pm Hooray!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Thinking about '''rocks'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:35:00
:Rosetta: Oh, they wanted me to mention -
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Worried'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:40:00
:Rosetta: Oh, they wanted me to mention - When you touch down, try not to accidentally balance on one foot. If you do, your harpoons won't fire.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::'''U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:45:00
:Rosetta: Oh, they wanted me to mention - When you touch down, try not to accidentally balance on one foot. If you do, your harpoons won't fire.
:'''Philae lander: I've got a gyroscope. I'm pretty good at balancing.'''
:'''Rosetta: Yeah, well, try not to do that.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:50:00
:Rosetta: Oh, they wanted me to mention - When you touch down, try not to accidentally balance on one foot. If you do, your harpoons won't fire.
:Philae lander: I've got a gyroscope. I'm pretty good at balancing.
:Rosetta: Yeah, well, try not to do that.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''WORRIED'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:55:00:
:'''Philae lander: Can't a pilot on earth help me land?'''
:'''Rosetta: Sorry. They're so far away their signals take half an hour to get here.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Worried'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: '''Hopefully'''
::'''Earth: Far away'''
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:00:00:
:Philae lander: Can't a pilot on earth help me land?
:Rosetta: Sorry. They're so far away their signals take half an hour to get here. '''You're gonna have to do it on your own.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:05:00:
:Rosetta: Sorry. They're so far away their signals take half an hour to get here. You're gonna have to do it on your own.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Brave'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:10:00:
:Philae lander: I can do this.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:15:00:
:Philae lander: I can do this.
:Rosetta: '''Well, and if you don't it's really the fault of the people back home who programmed you. None of whom were tough enough to come themselves.'''
:Philae lander: '''Haha, yeah!'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:20:00:
['''Slab of rock disappears''']
:Philae lander: I can do this.
:Rosetta: Well, and if you don't it's really the fault of the people back home who programmed you. None of whom were tough enough to come themselves.
:Philae lander: Haha, yeah! '''Enjoy being stuck on your planet, suckers!'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: '''Stuck on earth'''
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:25:00:
:Philae lander: All right! Time to turn on my landing cameras...
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:30:00:
:Philae lander: All right! Time to turn on my landing cameras... '''...Annnnd arm my ''harpoons!'''''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:35:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:40:00:
:Rosetta: Can you see it? Can you see the landing site?
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:45:00:
:Rosetta: Can you see it? Can you see the landing site?
:Philae lander: '''WOW.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:50:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''WOW.'''
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:00:00:
:Philae lander: Hi, comet. I'm Philae. We caught you.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: WOW.
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: '''Near'''
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''Not yet...'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:10:00:
:Rosetta: Looking good. You're right on target. Spinning a little.
:Philae lander: WHEEEE!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''WHEEEE!'''
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Near
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:15:00:
:Rosetta: Looking good. You're right on target. Spinning a little. '''They're loving your pictures back home!'''
:Philae lander: WHEEEE!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: WHEEEE!
::Mission control: '''Nervous'''
::Comet 67P: Near
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:20:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''WOW.'''
::Mission control: Nervous
::Comet 67P: Near
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:25:00:
:Rosetta: Hey, Philae- Do you see anything that might explain how to levitate and destroy rocks with your minds? People back home keep asking.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Wow.
::Mission control: Nervous
::Comet 67P: Near
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: '''Anxious'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:30:00:
:Rosetta: Philae?
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''...'''
::Mission control: '''Anxious'''
::Comet 67P: Near
::Whales: '''Anxious'''
::U.S. Scientists: '''Nervous'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''...'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:35:00:
:Time until news of landing: 30 minutes
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ...
::Mission control: Anxious
::Comet 67P: '''Far away'''
::Whales: '''Calm'''
::U.S. Scientists: Nervous
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''???'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: '''Hopefully'''
::Earth: '''Near'''
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:40:00:
:Prime Minister: I hope we succeeded. That awful comet must be destroyed.
:Aide: ...Mr. Prime Minister, no one is trying to destroy the comet.
:Prime Minister: What?! But I secured you all this funding. I just assumed...
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ...
::Mission control: '''Nervous'''
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''Anxious'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: ???
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:45:00:
:This picture of Philae falling away is beautiful.
:Its kind of blurry and washed out.
:There will be a lot more soon. But this was the first.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ...
::Mission control: Nervous
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: Anxious
::Have we landed on a comet?: ???
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:50:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''???'''
::Mission control: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''???'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:55:00:
:AAAA! I can't take it - this is too stressful!
:You're just looking at Twitter.
:I should probably never ''actually'' go to space.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''???'''
::Mission control: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''???'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:00:00:
:AAAAAAAAAAA
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''???'''
::Mission control: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: '''AAAAAAA'''
::U.S. Scientists: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Dolphins and Fish: Um, are those whales screaming?
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''???'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:15:00:
:Time until news of landing: [now]
:Philae lander: Hey, Earth!
:Philae lander: It's Philae.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander:
::Mission control: '''[...]'''
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: '''Calm'''
::U.S. Scientists: '''[...]'''
::Dolphins and Fish: '''OK'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''???'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: '''[...]'''
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:20:00:
:Philae lander: Hi, Earth! It's Philae.
:Philae lander: I got you a comet.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Landed'''
::Mission control: [...]
::Comet 67P: '''Here.'''
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: [...]
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''YES.'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: '''YES.'''
::Earth: '''Far Away'''
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:25:00:
:Philae lander: Hi, Earth! It's Philae.
:Philae lander: I got you a comet.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Landed
::Mission control: '''Proud'''
::Comet 67P: Here.
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''Proud'''
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
::Do harpoons work on comets: YES.
::Earth: '''Proud'''
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:30:00:
:Philae lander: I'm taking pictures and sending them as fast as I can.
:Philae lander: It's a long way home but they should get there soon!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Landed
::Mission control: Proud
::Comet 67P: '''Harpooned'''
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: Proud
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
::Do harpoons work on comets: YES.
::Earth: Proud
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:35:00:
:Philae lander: I'm taking pictures and sending them as fast as I can.
:Philae lander: It's a long way home but they should get there soon!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Landed
::Mission control: Proud
::Comet 67P: '''Landed on'''
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: Proud
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
::Do harpoons work on comets: '''Don't know'''
::Earth: Proud
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:40:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''???'''
::Mission control: '''Nervous'''
::Comet 67P: Landed on
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''Anxious'''
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
::Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
::Earth: Proud
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:45:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ???
::Mission control: '''Anxious'''
::Comet 67P: '''???'''
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''Nervous'''
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
::Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
::Earth: '''Confused'''
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:50:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ???
::Mission control: Anxious
::Comet 67P: ???
::Whales: Calm
::'''Scientists''': Nervous
::'''Harpoons: Tricky'''
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''Yes, at least once'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
::Earth: Confused
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:55:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ???
::Mission control: Anxious
::Comet 67P: ???
::Whales: Calm
::Scientists: Nervous
::Harpoons: Tricky
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: Yes, at least once
::Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
::Earth: Confused
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]

1446: Landing

2014-11-12T22:53:41Z

Cos: /* Explanation */ reworded and regrouped paragraphs about whales, and mentioned 1402: Harpoons; the reference to dolphins and fish seems highly dubious to me

{{comic
| number = 1446
| date = November 12, 2014
| title = Landing
| image = landingAnimated.gif
| titletext = [LIVE]
}}
Frames of the comic began appearing at midnight ({{w|Eastern Time Zone|EST}}) on November 12, 2014 and updated every five minutes. Together, the images form a {{w|flip book}} which is shown here above. You can find the individual images by cliking on the latest image of the comic on xkcd (go to that by clicking the date above or find it directly at [http://xkcd1446.org xkcd1446.org]).

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Buckle up, boys and girls.}}
This comic changes over time, tracking the progress of the {{w|Philae (spacecraft)|Philae}} lander separating from the {{w|European Space Agency}}'s {{w|Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta}} probe to land on a comet. More info about it at [http://rosetta.esa.int rosetta.esa.int].

The comic presents the imagined anthropomorphic "thoughts" of the Rosetta spacecraft and the Philae lander (and occasionally other parties) during the hours approaching separation from each other, approach to the comet, and (so far) initial analysis of data after the apparent successful landing on the comet. Beginning at [[Media:???65.png|11:05:00]], the comic includes a "Status Report" in the lower right corner which summarizes the status of various interested parties and accomplishments, beginning with "Rosetta", "Philae lander", "Mission Control", "Comet 67P", and "Have we landed on a comet?". As events occur in the comic, more status summaries are added to keep track of the changes to the situation and the supposed emotions behind them.

In many pictures a whale can be seen on the surface of the comet - often marked with a "?" as are almost all other parts of the unknown surface. There is also drawn a [[Cueball]] on the surface... Whales are also mentioned in the "Status Report" where they for instance may be listed as "calm" or "(probably) not in space". Dolphins and fish are later also mentioned there, commenting about the whales. The reference to whales comes from the fact that Philae brings along three harpoons, which on Earth have mainly been used to hunt whales; Randall previously brought up that comparison in [[1402: Harpoons]], suggesting that Philae was programmed to believe it was sent to kill the comet. It could at the same time be a reference to ''{{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}'', where a whale suddenly appears over an alien planet, only to fall to the ground.

The comic title was originally "???" and the title text "..." (probably not to give away too early what the comic was about), but changed to "Landing" and "[LIVE]" part of the way through (somewhere around 5:00 in the morning EST, maybe at the same time than the timestamp timezone switch). At 5:00 AM (EST) the timestamp in the image naming scheme switched from EST to {{w|Coordinated Universal Time|UTC}} as used in ESA's time keeping, resulting in a jump from [[Media:???53.png|04:55]] to [[Media:???54.png|10:00]] without actually any such delay between the two pictures. There were however a few pictures with more than 5 minutes of delay (about 12 times five minutes without an update in total). The update seems to have stopped after 136 pictures at 17:15 UTC, 12 hours and 15 minutes after the first picture.

==Frame by Frame Breakdown==
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|}

==Transcript==
00:35:00
:Rosetta: Three hours to separation
00:45:00
:Philae: Has anyone ever tried this before?
00:50:00
:Rosetta: I don't think so.
01:25:00
:Rosetta: Ready to begin pre-delivery burn.
02:20:00
:Rosetta: We are ''go'' for separation!
02:25:00
:Rosetta: We are ''go'' for separation!
:Philae: ''Yessss!''
03:05:00
:Philae: Can I just go now?
03:25:00
:Rosetta: Well it's been a fun 10 years together.
03:35:00
:Rosetta: Well it's been a fun 10 years together.
:Philae: Yeah! ... a little boring maybe.
03:50:00
:Rosetta: Ok, turning on ''concert''. I'll send you signals through the comet, once you're down there, so we can measure what's inside it.
:Philae: Assuming comets even ''have'' insides!
:Rosetta: I'm, uh, pretty sure they do.
04:10:00
:Philae: ''Wheee!''
04:15:00
:Rosetta: Quick, take a picture of me!
:Philae: Just take a selfie
:Rosetta: Can't. No front-facing camera
10:00:00
:Rosetta: Bye
10:15:00
:Philae: Spaaaaaaaace
10:25:00
:Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt.
10:30:00
:Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt. Let's see, where is it...
10:35:00
:Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt. Let's see, where is it... Aha!
10:40:00
:Rosetta: Hey! Earth!
10:45:00
:Rosetta: Hey! Earth! Check out these pics!
10:55:00
:Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet.
11:00:00
:Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet. This is so cool.
11:05:00
:Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet. This is so cool.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
11:10:00
:Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet. This is so cool. ... I hope harpoons ''work'' on comets.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
11:15:00
:Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet. This is so cool. ... I hope harpoons ''work'' on comets.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:20:00
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:25:00
:Philae: Hey Rosetta - you in touch with Earth?
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:30:00
:Philae: Hey Rosetta - you in touch with Earth?
:Rosetta: Yes!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:35:00
:Philae: Hey Rosetta - you in touch with Earth?
:Rosetta: Yes! ... They're a little worried about your top thruster.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:40:00
:Rosetta: ... They're a little worried about your top thruster.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:45:00
:Rosetta: ... They're a little worried about your top thruster. There's a chance you might have to hang on to the surface without it.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:50:00
:Rosetta: ... They're a little worried about your top thruster. There's a chance you might have to hang on to the surface without it.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:55:00
:Rosetta: ... They're a little worried about your top thruster. There's a chance you might have to hang on to the surface without it.
:Philae: I ''really'' hope harpoons work on comets.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:05:00
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:10:00
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:15:00
:Philae: Harpoons work on whales, right?
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:20:00
:Philae: Harpoons work on whales, right?
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::'''Whales: Not in space'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:25:00
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:30:00
:['''Whale appears inside the comet''']
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: '''''Probably''''' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:35:00
:['''Whale marked "Probably not"''']
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
12:40:00
:[Whale '''and stick figure''' on comet marked "Probably not"]
:Rosetta: They should be getting the pictures back on earth about now.
:Philae: The 28-minute delay is weird.
:Rosetta: I'm watching for the ✔ seen 12:41 pm message.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::'''Has anybody tried this before: Nope'''
12:45:00
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
12:50:00
:Philae lander: Not to obsess, but what do I do of I touch down on a big slab of rock? Pretty sure harpoons don't work on rock.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Worried'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
12:55:00
:Philae lander: Not to obsess, but what do I do of I touch down on a big slab of rock? Pretty sure harpoons don't work on rock.
:'''Rosetta: Don't worry - the rocks should be full of pockets where ice used to be. Your harpoons will crunch right through.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Brave'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope

13:00:00
:Philae lander: Not to obsess, but what do I do of I touch down on a big slab of rock? Pretty sure harpoons don't work on rock.
:Rosetta: Don't worry - the rocks should be full of pockets where ice used to be. Your harpoons will crunch right through. '''We think, anyway.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Worried'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:10:00
:Philae lander: [thinks] I mean, when I think about it, it's hard to believe harpoons even work on ''whales''.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:15:00
:Rosetta: Are you thinking about whales?
:Philae lander: No.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:20:00
:Rosetta: Are you thinking about whales?
:Philae lander: No.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Thinking about whales'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:25:00
:['''More whales appear above the comet surface''']
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Thinking about whales
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:30:00
:['''Whales and stick figure disappear''']
:['''Slab of rock appears near the target''']
:['''Whale hides behind rock''']
:Rosetta: ✔ seen 1:02 pm Hooray!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Thinking about '''rocks'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:35:00
:Rosetta: Oh, they wanted me to mention -
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Worried'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:40:00
:Rosetta: Oh, they wanted me to mention - When you touch down, try not to accidentally balance on one foot. If you do, your harpoons won't fire.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::'''U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:45:00
:Rosetta: Oh, they wanted me to mention - When you touch down, try not to accidentally balance on one foot. If you do, your harpoons won't fire.
:'''Philae lander: I've got a gyroscope. I'm pretty good at balancing.'''
:'''Rosetta: Yeah, well, try not to do that.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:50:00
:Rosetta: Oh, they wanted me to mention - When you touch down, try not to accidentally balance on one foot. If you do, your harpoons won't fire.
:Philae lander: I've got a gyroscope. I'm pretty good at balancing.
:Rosetta: Yeah, well, try not to do that.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''WORRIED'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:55:00:
:'''Philae lander: Can't a pilot on earth help me land?'''
:'''Rosetta: Sorry. They're so far away their signals take half an hour to get here.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Worried'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: '''Hopefully'''
::'''Earth: Far away'''
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:00:00:
:Philae lander: Can't a pilot on earth help me land?
:Rosetta: Sorry. They're so far away their signals take half an hour to get here. '''You're gonna have to do it on your own.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:05:00:
:Rosetta: Sorry. They're so far away their signals take half an hour to get here. You're gonna have to do it on your own.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Brave'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:10:00:
:Philae lander: I can do this.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:15:00:
:Philae lander: I can do this.
:Rosetta: '''Well, and if you don't it's really the fault of the people back home who programmed you. None of whom were tough enough to come themselves.'''
:Philae lander: '''Haha, yeah!'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:20:00:
['''Slab of rock disappears''']
:Philae lander: I can do this.
:Rosetta: Well, and if you don't it's really the fault of the people back home who programmed you. None of whom were tough enough to come themselves.
:Philae lander: Haha, yeah! '''Enjoy being stuck on your planet, suckers!'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: '''Stuck on earth'''
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:25:00:
:Philae lander: All right! Time to turn on my landing cameras...
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:30:00:
:Philae lander: All right! Time to turn on my landing cameras... '''...Annnnd arm my ''harpoons!'''''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:35:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:40:00:
:Rosetta: Can you see it? Can you see the landing site?
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:45:00:
:Rosetta: Can you see it? Can you see the landing site?
:Philae lander: '''WOW.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:50:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''WOW.'''
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:00:00:
:Philae lander: Hi, comet. I'm Philae. We caught you.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: WOW.
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: '''Near'''
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''Not yet...'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:10:00:
:Rosetta: Looking good. You're right on target. Spinning a little.
:Philae lander: WHEEEE!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''WHEEEE!'''
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Near
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:15:00:
:Rosetta: Looking good. You're right on target. Spinning a little. '''They're loving your pictures back home!'''
:Philae lander: WHEEEE!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: WHEEEE!
::Mission control: '''Nervous'''
::Comet 67P: Near
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:20:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''WOW.'''
::Mission control: Nervous
::Comet 67P: Near
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:25:00:
:Rosetta: Hey, Philae- Do you see anything that might explain how to levitate and destroy rocks with your minds? People back home keep asking.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Wow.
::Mission control: Nervous
::Comet 67P: Near
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: '''Anxious'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:30:00:
:Rosetta: Philae?
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''...'''
::Mission control: '''Anxious'''
::Comet 67P: Near
::Whales: '''Anxious'''
::U.S. Scientists: '''Nervous'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''...'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:35:00:
:Time until news of landing: 30 minutes
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ...
::Mission control: Anxious
::Comet 67P: '''Far away'''
::Whales: '''Calm'''
::U.S. Scientists: Nervous
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''???'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: '''Hopefully'''
::Earth: '''Near'''
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:40:00:
:Prime Minister: I hope we succeeded. That awful comet must be destroyed.
:Aide: ...Mr. Prime Minister, no one is trying to destroy the comet.
:Prime Minister: What?! But I secured you all this funding. I just assumed...
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ...
::Mission control: '''Nervous'''
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''Anxious'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: ???
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:45:00:
:This picture of Philae falling away is beautiful.
:Its kind of blurry and washed out.
:There will be a lot more soon. But this was the first.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ...
::Mission control: Nervous
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: Anxious
::Have we landed on a comet?: ???
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:50:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''???'''
::Mission control: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''???'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:55:00:
:AAAA! I can't take it - this is too stressful!
:You're just looking at Twitter.
:I should probably never ''actually'' go to space.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''???'''
::Mission control: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''???'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:00:00:
:AAAAAAAAAAA
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''???'''
::Mission control: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: '''AAAAAAA'''
::U.S. Scientists: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Dolphins and Fish: Um, are those whales screaming?
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''???'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:15:00:
:Time until news of landing: [now]
:Philae lander: Hey, Earth!
:Philae lander: It's Philae.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander:
::Mission control: '''[...]'''
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: '''Calm'''
::U.S. Scientists: '''[...]'''
::Dolphins and Fish: '''OK'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''???'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: '''[...]'''
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:20:00:
:Philae lander: Hi, Earth! It's Philae.
:Philae lander: I got you a comet.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Landed'''
::Mission control: [...]
::Comet 67P: '''Here.'''
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: [...]
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''YES.'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: '''YES.'''
::Earth: '''Far Away'''
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:25:00:
:Philae lander: Hi, Earth! It's Philae.
:Philae lander: I got you a comet.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Landed
::Mission control: '''Proud'''
::Comet 67P: Here.
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''Proud'''
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
::Do harpoons work on comets: YES.
::Earth: '''Proud'''
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:30:00:
:Philae lander: I'm taking pictures and sending them as fast as I can.
:Philae lander: It's a long way home but they should get there soon!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Landed
::Mission control: Proud
::Comet 67P: '''Harpooned'''
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: Proud
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
::Do harpoons work on comets: YES.
::Earth: Proud
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:35:00:
:Philae lander: I'm taking pictures and sending them as fast as I can.
:Philae lander: It's a long way home but they should get there soon!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Landed
::Mission control: Proud
::Comet 67P: '''Landed on'''
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: Proud
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
::Do harpoons work on comets: '''Don't know'''
::Earth: Proud
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:40:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''???'''
::Mission control: '''Nervous'''
::Comet 67P: Landed on
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''Anxious'''
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
::Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
::Earth: Proud
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:45:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ???
::Mission control: '''Anxious'''
::Comet 67P: '''???'''
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''Nervous'''
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
::Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
::Earth: '''Confused'''
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:50:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ???
::Mission control: Anxious
::Comet 67P: ???
::Whales: Calm
::'''Scientists''': Nervous
::'''Harpoons: Tricky'''
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''Yes, at least once'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
::Earth: Confused
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:55:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ???
::Mission control: Anxious
::Comet 67P: ???
::Whales: Calm
::Scientists: Nervous
::Harpoons: Tricky
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: Yes, at least once
::Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
::Earth: Confused
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]

1446: Landing

2014-11-12T22:48:20Z

Cos: /* Explanation */ [edit conflict] title and title text changed way before Philae touched down; + other rewording of the last paragraphs

{{comic
| number = 1446
| date = November 12, 2014
| title = Landing
| image = landingAnimated.gif
| titletext = [LIVE]
}}
Frames of the comic began appearing at midnight ({{w|Eastern Time Zone|EST}}) on November 12, 2014 and updated every five minutes. Together, the images form a {{w|flip book}} which is shown here above. You can find the individual images by cliking on the latest image of the comic on xkcd (go to that by clicking the date above or find it directly at [http://xkcd1446.org xkcd1446.org]).

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Buckle up, boys and girls.}}
This comic changes over time, tracking the progress of the {{w|Philae (spacecraft)|Philae}} lander separating from the {{w|European Space Agency}}'s {{w|Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta}} probe to land on a comet. More info about it at [http://rosetta.esa.int rosetta.esa.int].

The comic presents the imagined anthropomorphic "thoughts" of the Rosetta spacecraft and the Philae lander (and occasionally other parties) during the hours approaching separation from each other, approach to the comet, and (so far) initial analysis of data after the apparent successful landing on the comet. Beginning at [[Media:???65.png|11:05:00]], the comic includes a "Status Report" in the lower right corner which summarizes the status of various interested parties and accomplishments, beginning with "Rosetta", "Philae lander", "Mission Control", "Comet 67P", and "Have we landed on a comet?". As events occur in the comic, more status summaries are added to keep track of the changes to the situation and the supposed emotions behind them.

In many pictures a whale can be seen on the surface of the comet - often marked with a "?" as are almost all other parts of the unknown surface. There is also drawn a [[Cueball]] on the surface... Whales are also mentioned in the "Status Report" where they for instance may be listed as "calm" or "(probably) not in space". Also Dolphins and fish are mentioned here.

The reference to whales comes from the fact that Philae brings along three harpoons - and on earth these have mainly been used to hunt Whales.

It could at the same time be a reference to ''{{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}'' where a whale suddenly appears over a planet - only to fall to the ground. One of the books in the same series is titled ''So long and thanks for all the Fish'', which is also a message from the Dolphins when they all leave the doomed earth - hence the reference to all three sea dwelling species.

The comic title was originally "???" and the title text "..." (probably not to give away too early what the comic was about), but changed to "Landing" and "[LIVE]" part of the way through (somewhere around 5:00 in the morning EST, maybe at the same time than the timestamp timezone switch). At 5:00 AM (EST) the timestamp in the image naming scheme switched from EST to {{w|Coordinated Universal Time|UTC}} as used in ESA's time keeping, resulting in a jump from [[Media:???53.png|04:55]] to [[Media:???54.png|10:00]] without actually any such delay between the two pictures. There were however a few pictures with more than 5 minutes of delay (about 12 times five minutes without an update in total). The update seems to have stopped after 136 pictures at 17:15 UTC, 12 hours and 15 minutes after the first picture.

==Frame by Frame Breakdown==
{| class="wikitable plainlinks table-padding"
|-
!Image
!Day/Time
|-
|[[Media:???.png|00:00:00]]||1/00:00:00
|-
|[[Media:???2.png|00:05:00]]||1/00:05:00
|-
|[[Media:???3.png|00:10:00]]||1/00:10:00
|-
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==Transcript==
00:35:00
:Rosetta: Three hours to separation
00:45:00
:Philae: Has anyone ever tried this before?
00:50:00
:Rosetta: I don't think so.
01:25:00
:Rosetta: Ready to begin pre-delivery burn.
02:20:00
:Rosetta: We are ''go'' for separation!
02:25:00
:Rosetta: We are ''go'' for separation!
:Philae: ''Yessss!''
03:05:00
:Philae: Can I just go now?
03:25:00
:Rosetta: Well it's been a fun 10 years together.
03:35:00
:Rosetta: Well it's been a fun 10 years together.
:Philae: Yeah! ... a little boring maybe.
03:50:00
:Rosetta: Ok, turning on ''concert''. I'll send you signals through the comet, once you're down there, so we can measure what's inside it.
:Philae: Assuming comets even ''have'' insides!
:Rosetta: I'm, uh, pretty sure they do.
04:10:00
:Philae: ''Wheee!''
04:15:00
:Rosetta: Quick, take a picture of me!
:Philae: Just take a selfie
:Rosetta: Can't. No front-facing camera
10:00:00
:Rosetta: Bye
10:15:00
:Philae: Spaaaaaaaace
10:25:00
:Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt.
10:30:00
:Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt. Let's see, where is it...
10:35:00
:Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt. Let's see, where is it... Aha!
10:40:00
:Rosetta: Hey! Earth!
10:45:00
:Rosetta: Hey! Earth! Check out these pics!
10:55:00
:Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet.
11:00:00
:Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet. This is so cool.
11:05:00
:Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet. This is so cool.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
11:10:00
:Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet. This is so cool. ... I hope harpoons ''work'' on comets.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
11:15:00
:Philae: Gonna harpoon a comet. This is so cool. ... I hope harpoons ''work'' on comets.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:20:00
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:25:00
:Philae: Hey Rosetta - you in touch with Earth?
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:30:00
:Philae: Hey Rosetta - you in touch with Earth?
:Rosetta: Yes!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:35:00
:Philae: Hey Rosetta - you in touch with Earth?
:Rosetta: Yes! ... They're a little worried about your top thruster.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Not in space
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:40:00
:Rosetta: ... They're a little worried about your top thruster.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:45:00
:Rosetta: ... They're a little worried about your top thruster. There's a chance you might have to hang on to the surface without it.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:50:00
:Rosetta: ... They're a little worried about your top thruster. There's a chance you might have to hang on to the surface without it.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: In space
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
11:55:00
:Rosetta: ... They're a little worried about your top thruster. There's a chance you might have to hang on to the surface without it.
:Philae: I ''really'' hope harpoons work on comets.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:05:00
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:10:00
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:15:00
:Philae: Harpoons work on whales, right?
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:20:00
:Philae: Harpoons work on whales, right?
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::'''Whales: Not in space'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:25:00
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:30:00
:['''Whale appears inside the comet''']
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: '''''Probably''''' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
12:35:00
:['''Whale marked "Probably not"''']
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
12:40:00
:[Whale '''and stick figure''' on comet marked "Probably not"]
:Rosetta: They should be getting the pictures back on earth about now.
:Philae: The 28-minute delay is weird.
:Rosetta: I'm watching for the ✔ seen 12:41 pm message.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::'''Has anybody tried this before: Nope'''
12:45:00
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
12:50:00
:Philae lander: Not to obsess, but what do I do of I touch down on a big slab of rock? Pretty sure harpoons don't work on rock.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Worried'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
12:55:00
:Philae lander: Not to obsess, but what do I do of I touch down on a big slab of rock? Pretty sure harpoons don't work on rock.
:'''Rosetta: Don't worry - the rocks should be full of pockets where ice used to be. Your harpoons will crunch right through.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Brave'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope

13:00:00
:Philae lander: Not to obsess, but what do I do of I touch down on a big slab of rock? Pretty sure harpoons don't work on rock.
:Rosetta: Don't worry - the rocks should be full of pockets where ice used to be. Your harpoons will crunch right through. '''We think, anyway.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Worried'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:10:00
:Philae lander: [thinks] I mean, when I think about it, it's hard to believe harpoons even work on ''whales''.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:15:00
:Rosetta: Are you thinking about whales?
:Philae lander: No.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:20:00
:Rosetta: Are you thinking about whales?
:Philae lander: No.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Thinking about whales'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:25:00
:['''More whales appear above the comet surface''']
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Thinking about whales
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:30:00
:['''Whales and stick figure disappear''']
:['''Slab of rock appears near the target''']
:['''Whale hides behind rock''']
:Rosetta: ✔ seen 1:02 pm Hooray!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Thinking about '''rocks'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:35:00
:Rosetta: Oh, they wanted me to mention -
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Worried'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:40:00
:Rosetta: Oh, they wanted me to mention - When you touch down, try not to accidentally balance on one foot. If you do, your harpoons won't fire.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::'''U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:45:00
:Rosetta: Oh, they wanted me to mention - When you touch down, try not to accidentally balance on one foot. If you do, your harpoons won't fire.
:'''Philae lander: I've got a gyroscope. I'm pretty good at balancing.'''
:'''Rosetta: Yeah, well, try not to do that.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:50:00
:Rosetta: Oh, they wanted me to mention - When you touch down, try not to accidentally balance on one foot. If you do, your harpoons won't fire.
:Philae lander: I've got a gyroscope. I'm pretty good at balancing.
:Rosetta: Yeah, well, try not to do that.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''WORRIED'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
13:55:00:
:'''Philae lander: Can't a pilot on earth help me land?'''
:'''Rosetta: Sorry. They're so far away their signals take half an hour to get here.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Worried'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: '''Hopefully'''
::'''Earth: Far away'''
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:00:00:
:Philae lander: Can't a pilot on earth help me land?
:Rosetta: Sorry. They're so far away their signals take half an hour to get here. '''You're gonna have to do it on your own.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Worried
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:05:00:
:Rosetta: Sorry. They're so far away their signals take half an hour to get here. You're gonna have to do it on your own.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Brave'''
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:10:00:
:Philae lander: I can do this.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:15:00:
:Philae lander: I can do this.
:Rosetta: '''Well, and if you don't it's really the fault of the people back home who programmed you. None of whom were tough enough to come themselves.'''
:Philae lander: '''Haha, yeah!'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Worried
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:20:00:
['''Slab of rock disappears''']
:Philae lander: I can do this.
:Rosetta: Well, and if you don't it's really the fault of the people back home who programmed you. None of whom were tough enough to come themselves.
:Philae lander: Haha, yeah! '''Enjoy being stuck on your planet, suckers!'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: '''Stuck on earth'''
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:25:00:
:Philae lander: All right! Time to turn on my landing cameras...
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:30:00:
:Philae lander: All right! Time to turn on my landing cameras... '''...Annnnd arm my ''harpoons!'''''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:35:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:40:00:
:Rosetta: Can you see it? Can you see the landing site?
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:45:00:
:Rosetta: Can you see it? Can you see the landing site?
:Philae lander: '''WOW.'''
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Brave
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
14:50:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''WOW.'''
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Big
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:00:00:
:Philae lander: Hi, comet. I'm Philae. We caught you.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: WOW.
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: '''Near'''
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''Not yet...'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:10:00:
:Rosetta: Looking good. You're right on target. Spinning a little.
:Philae lander: WHEEEE!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''WHEEEE!'''
::Mission control: Stuck on earth
::Comet 67P: Near
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:15:00:
:Rosetta: Looking good. You're right on target. Spinning a little. '''They're loving your pictures back home!'''
:Philae lander: WHEEEE!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: WHEEEE!
::Mission control: '''Nervous'''
::Comet 67P: Near
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:20:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''WOW.'''
::Mission control: Nervous
::Comet 67P: Near
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: "Bluuurghhh. What ''time'' is it?"
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:25:00:
:Rosetta: Hey, Philae- Do you see anything that might explain how to levitate and destroy rocks with your minds? People back home keep asking.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Wow.
::Mission control: Nervous
::Comet 67P: Near
::Whales: ''Probably'' Not in space
::U.S. Scientists: '''Anxious'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: Not yet...
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:30:00:
:Rosetta: Philae?
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''...'''
::Mission control: '''Anxious'''
::Comet 67P: Near
::Whales: '''Anxious'''
::U.S. Scientists: '''Nervous'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''...'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Far away
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:35:00:
:Time until news of landing: 30 minutes
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ...
::Mission control: Anxious
::Comet 67P: '''Far away'''
::Whales: '''Calm'''
::U.S. Scientists: Nervous
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''???'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: '''Hopefully'''
::Earth: '''Near'''
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:40:00:
:Prime Minister: I hope we succeeded. That awful comet must be destroyed.
:Aide: ...Mr. Prime Minister, no one is trying to destroy the comet.
:Prime Minister: What?! But I secured you all this funding. I just assumed...
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ...
::Mission control: '''Nervous'''
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''Anxious'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: ???
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:45:00:
:This picture of Philae falling away is beautiful.
:Its kind of blurry and washed out.
:There will be a lot more soon. But this was the first.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ...
::Mission control: Nervous
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: Anxious
::Have we landed on a comet?: ???
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:50:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''???'''
::Mission control: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''???'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
15:55:00:
:AAAA! I can't take it - this is too stressful!
:You're just looking at Twitter.
:I should probably never ''actually'' go to space.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''???'''
::Mission control: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''???'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:00:00:
:AAAAAAAAAAA
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''???'''
::Mission control: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: '''AAAAAAA'''
::U.S. Scientists: '''AAAAAAA'''
::Dolphins and Fish: Um, are those whales screaming?
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''???'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Hopefully
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:15:00:
:Time until news of landing: [now]
:Philae lander: Hey, Earth!
:Philae lander: It's Philae.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander:
::Mission control: '''[...]'''
::Comet 67P: Far away
::Whales: '''Calm'''
::U.S. Scientists: '''[...]'''
::Dolphins and Fish: '''OK'''
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''???'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: '''[...]'''
::Earth: Near
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:20:00:
:Philae lander: Hi, Earth! It's Philae.
:Philae lander: I got you a comet.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''Landed'''
::Mission control: [...]
::Comet 67P: '''Here.'''
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: [...]
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''YES.'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: '''YES.'''
::Earth: '''Far Away'''
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:25:00:
:Philae lander: Hi, Earth! It's Philae.
:Philae lander: I got you a comet.
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Landed
::Mission control: '''Proud'''
::Comet 67P: Here.
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''Proud'''
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
::Do harpoons work on comets: YES.
::Earth: '''Proud'''
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:30:00:
:Philae lander: I'm taking pictures and sending them as fast as I can.
:Philae lander: It's a long way home but they should get there soon!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Landed
::Mission control: Proud
::Comet 67P: '''Harpooned'''
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: Proud
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
::Do harpoons work on comets: YES.
::Earth: Proud
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:35:00:
:Philae lander: I'm taking pictures and sending them as fast as I can.
:Philae lander: It's a long way home but they should get there soon!
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: Landed
::Mission control: Proud
::Comet 67P: '''Landed on'''
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: Proud
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
::Do harpoons work on comets: '''Don't know'''
::Earth: Proud
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:40:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: '''???'''
::Mission control: '''Nervous'''
::Comet 67P: Landed on
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''Anxious'''
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
::Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
::Earth: Proud
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:45:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ???
::Mission control: '''Anxious'''
::Comet 67P: '''???'''
::Whales: Calm
::U.S. Scientists: '''Nervous'''
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: YES.
::Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
::Earth: '''Confused'''
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:50:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ???
::Mission control: Anxious
::Comet 67P: ???
::Whales: Calm
::'''Scientists''': Nervous
::'''Harpoons: Tricky'''
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''Yes, at least once'''
::Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
::Earth: Confused
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
16:55:00:
:Status report:
::Rosetta: In space
::Philae lander: ???
::Mission control: Anxious
::Comet 67P: ???
::Whales: Calm
::Scientists: Nervous
::Harpoons: Tricky
::Dolphins and Fish: OK
::Have we landed on a comet?: Yes, at least once
::Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know
::Earth: Confused
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]

1446: Landing

2014-11-12T10:51:48Z

Cos: added link to xkcd1446.org

{{comic
| number = 1446
| date = November 12, 2014
| title = Landing
| image = ???.png
| titletext = [LIVE]
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Buckle up, boys.}}
This comic changes over time, tracking the progress of the {{w|Philae (spacecraft)|Philae}} lander separating from the {{w|European Space Agency}}'s {{w|Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta}} probe to land on a comet. More info about it at [http://rosetta.esa.int rosetta.esa.int].

Frames of the comic began appearing at midnight (EST) on November 12, 2014 and updated every five minutes. Together, the images form a {{w|flip book}}, which you can view at [http://xkcd1446.org xkcd1446.org].

==Frame by Frame Breakdown==
{| class="wikitable plainlinks table-padding"
|-
!Image
!Day/Time
|-
|[[Media:???.png|00:00:00]]||1/00:00:00
|-
|[[Media:???2.png|00:05:00]]||1/00:05:00
|-
|[[Media:???3.png|00:10:00]]||1/00:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???4.png|00:15:00]]||1/00:15:00
|-
|[[Media:???5.png|00:20:00]]||1/00:20:00
|-
|[[Media:???6.png|00:25:00]]||1/00:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???7.png|00:30:00]]||1/00:30:00
|-
|[[Media:???8.png|00:35:00]]||1/00:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???9.png|00:40:00]]||1/00:40:00
|-
|[[Media:???10.png|00:45:00]]||1/00:45:00
|-
|[[Media:???11.png|00:50:00]]||1/00:50:00
|-
|[[Media:???12.png|00:55:00]]||1/00:55:00
|-
|[[Media:???13.png|01:00:00]]||1/01:00:00
|-
|[[Media:???14.png|01:05:00]]||1/01:05:00
|-
|[[Media:???15.png|01:10:00]]||1/01:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???16.png|01:15:00]]||1/01:15:00
|-
|[[Media:???17.png|01:20:00]]||1/01:20:00
|-
|[[Media:???18.png|01:25:00]]||1/01:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???19.png|01:30:00]]||1/01:30:00
|-
|[[Media:???20.png|01:35:00]]||1/01:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???21.png|01:40:00]]||1/01:40:00
|-
|[[Media:???22.png|01:45:00]]||1/01:45:00
|-
|[[Media:???23.png|01:50:00]]||1/01:50:00
|-
|[[Media:???24.png|01:55:00]]||1/01:55:00
|-
|[[Media:???25.png|02:00:00]]||1/02:00:00
|-
|[[Media:???26.png|02:05:00]]||1/02:05:00
|-
|[[Media:???27.png|02:10:00]]||1/02:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???28.png|02:15:00]]||1/02:15:00
|-
|[[Media:???29.png|02:20:00]]||1/02:20:00
|-
|[[Media:???30.png|02:25:00]]||1/02:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???31.png|02:30:00]]||1/02:30:00
|-
|[[Media:???32.png|02:35:00]]||1/02:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???33.png|02:40:00]]||1/02:40:00
|-
|[[Media:???34.png|02:45:00]]||1/02:45:00
|-
|[[Media:???35.png|02:50:00]]||1/02:50:00
|-
|[[Media:???36.png|02:55:00]]||1/02:55:00
|-
|[[Media:???37.png|03:00:00]]||1/03:00:00
|-
|[[Media:???38.png|03:05:00]]||1/03:05:00
|-
|[[Media:???39.png|03:10:00]]||1/03:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???40.png|03:25:00]]||1/03:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???41.png|03:35:00]]||1/03:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???42.png|03:40:00]]||1/03:40:00
|-
|[[Media:???43.png|03:50:00]]||1/03:50:00
|-
|[[Media:???44.png|04:10:00]]||1/04:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???45.png|04:15:00]]||1/04:15:00
|-
|[[Media:???46.png|04:20:00]]||1/04:20:00
|-
|[[Media:???47.png|04:25:00]]||1/04:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???48.png|04:30:00]]||1/04:30:00
|-
|[[Media:???49.png|04:35:00]]||1/04:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???50.png|04:40:00]]||1/04:40:00
|-
|[[Media:???51.png|04:45:00]]||1/04:45:00
|-
|[[Media:???52.png|04:50:00]]||1/04:50:00
|-
|[[Media:???53.png|04:55:00]]||1/04:55:00
|-
|[[Media:???54.png|10:00:00]]||1/10:00:00
|-
|[[Media:???55.png|10:10:00]]||1/10:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???56.png|10:15:00]]||1/10:15:00
|-
|[[Media:???57.png|10:25:00]]||1/10:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???58.png|10:30:00]]||1/10:30:00
|-
|[[Media:???59.png|10:35:00]]||1/10:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???60.png|10:40:00]]||1/10:40:00
|-
|[[Media:???61.png|10:45:00]]||1/10:45:00
|-
|[[Media:???62.png|10:50:00]]||1/10:50:00
|-
|[[Media:???63.png|10:55:00]]||1/10:55:00
|-
|[[Media:???64.png|11:00:00]]||1/11:00:00
|}

==Transcript==
00:35:00
:Rosetta: Three hours to separation
00:45:00
:Philae: Has anyone ever tried this before?
00:50:00
:Rosetta: I don't think so.
01:25:00
:Rosetta: Ready to begin pre-delivery burn.
02:20:00
:Rosetta: We are ''go'' for separation!
02:25:00
:Rosetta: We are ''go'' for separation!
:Philae: ''Yessss!''
03:05:00
:Philae: Can I just go now?
03:25:00
:Rosetta: Well it's been a fun 10 years together.
03:35:00
:Rosetta: Well it's been a fun 10 years together.
:Philae: Yeah! ... a little boring maybe.
03:50:00
:Rosetta: Ok, turning on ''concert''. I'll send you signals through the comet, once you're down there, so we can measure what's inside it.
:Philae: Assuming comets even ''have'' insides!
:Rosetta: I'm, uh, pretty sure they do.
04:10:00
:Philae: ''Wheee!''
04:15:00
:Rosetta: Quick, take a picture of me!
:Philae: Just take a selfie
:Rosetta: Can't. No front-facing camera
10:00:00
:Rosetta: Bye
10:15:00
:Philae: Spaaaaaaaace
10:25:00
:Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt.
10:30:00
:Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt. Let's see, where is it...
10:35:00
:Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt. Let's see, where is it... Aha!
10:40:00
:Rosetta: Hey! Earth!
10:45:00
:Rosetta: Hey! Earth! Check out these pics!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]

1446: Landing

2014-11-12T10:37:28Z

Cos: Added comic title ("Landing") & alt-text ("[LIVE]"), and a few links in description

{{comic
| number = 1446
| date = November 12, 2014
| title = Landing
| image = ???.png
| titletext = [LIVE]
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Buckle up, boys.}}
This comic changes over time, tracking the progress of the {{w|Philae (spacecraft)|Philae}} lander separating from the {{w|European Space Agency}}'s {{w|Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta}} probe to land on a comet. More info about it at [http://rosetta.esa.int rosetta.esa.int].

Frames of the comic began appearing at midnight (EST) on November 12, 2014 and updated every five minutes. Together, the images form a {{w|flip book}}.

==Frame by Frame Breakdown==
{| class="wikitable plainlinks table-padding"
|-
!Image
!Day/Time
|-
|[[Media:???.png|00:00:00]]||1/00:00:00
|-
|[[Media:???2.png|00:05:00]]||1/00:05:00
|-
|[[Media:???3.png|00:10:00]]||1/00:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???4.png|00:15:00]]||1/00:15:00
|-
|[[Media:???5.png|00:20:00]]||1/00:20:00
|-
|[[Media:???6.png|00:25:00]]||1/00:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???7.png|00:30:00]]||1/00:30:00
|-
|[[Media:???8.png|00:35:00]]||1/00:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???9.png|00:40:00]]||1/00:40:00
|-
|[[Media:???10.png|00:45:00]]||1/00:45:00
|-
|[[Media:???11.png|00:50:00]]||1/00:50:00
|-
|[[Media:???12.png|00:55:00]]||1/00:55:00
|-
|[[Media:???13.png|01:00:00]]||1/01:00:00
|-
|[[Media:???14.png|01:05:00]]||1/01:05:00
|-
|[[Media:???15.png|01:10:00]]||1/01:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???16.png|01:15:00]]||1/01:15:00
|-
|[[Media:???17.png|01:20:00]]||1/01:20:00
|-
|[[Media:???18.png|01:25:00]]||1/01:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???19.png|01:30:00]]||1/01:30:00
|-
|[[Media:???20.png|01:35:00]]||1/01:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???21.png|01:40:00]]||1/01:40:00
|-
|[[Media:???22.png|01:45:00]]||1/01:45:00
|-
|[[Media:???23.png|01:50:00]]||1/01:50:00
|-
|[[Media:???24.png|01:55:00]]||1/01:55:00
|-
|[[Media:???25.png|02:00:00]]||1/02:00:00
|-
|[[Media:???26.png|02:05:00]]||1/02:05:00
|-
|[[Media:???27.png|02:10:00]]||1/02:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???28.png|02:15:00]]||1/02:15:00
|-
|[[Media:???29.png|02:20:00]]||1/02:20:00
|-
|[[Media:???30.png|02:25:00]]||1/02:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???31.png|02:30:00]]||1/02:30:00
|-
|[[Media:???32.png|02:35:00]]||1/02:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???33.png|02:40:00]]||1/02:40:00
|-
|[[Media:???34.png|02:45:00]]||1/02:45:00
|-
|[[Media:???35.png|02:50:00]]||1/02:50:00
|-
|[[Media:???36.png|02:55:00]]||1/02:55:00
|-
|[[Media:???37.png|03:00:00]]||1/03:00:00
|-
|[[Media:???38.png|03:05:00]]||1/03:05:00
|-
|[[Media:???39.png|03:10:00]]||1/03:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???40.png|03:25:00]]||1/03:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???41.png|03:35:00]]||1/03:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???42.png|03:40:00]]||1/03:40:00
|-
|[[Media:???43.png|03:50:00]]||1/03:50:00
|-
|[[Media:???44.png|04:10:00]]||1/04:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???45.png|04:15:00]]||1/04:15:00
|-
|[[Media:???46.png|04:20:00]]||1/04:20:00
|-
|[[Media:???47.png|04:25:00]]||1/04:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???48.png|04:30:00]]||1/04:30:00
|-
|[[Media:???49.png|04:35:00]]||1/04:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???50.png|04:40:00]]||1/04:40:00
|-
|[[Media:???51.png|04:45:00]]||1/04:45:00
|-
|[[Media:???52.png|04:50:00]]||1/04:50:00
|-
|[[Media:???53.png|04:55:00]]||1/04:55:00
|-
|[[Media:???54.png|10:00:00]]||1/10:00:00
|-
|[[Media:???55.png|10:10:00]]||1/10:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???56.png|10:15:00]]||1/10:15:00
|-
|[[Media:???57.png|10:25:00]]||1/10:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???58.png|10:30:00]]||1/10:30:00
|-
|[[Media:???59.png|10:35:00]]||1/10:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???60.png|10:40:00]]||1/10:40:00
|}

==Transcript==
00:35:00
:Rosetta: Three hours to separation
00:45:00
:Philae: Has anyone ever tried this before?
00:50:00
:Rosetta: I don't think so.
01:25:00
:Rosetta: Ready to begin pre-delivery burn.
02:20:00
:Rosetta: We are ''go'' for separation!
02:25:00
:Rosetta: We are ''go'' for separation!
:Philae: ''Yessss!''
03:05:00
:Philae: Can I just go now?
03:25:00
:Rosetta: Well it's been a fun 10 years together.
03:35:00
:Rosetta: Well it's been a fun 10 years together.
:Philae: Yeah! ... a little boring maybe.
03:50:00
:Rosetta: Ok, turning on ''concert''. I'll send you signals through the comet, once you're down there, so we can measure what's inside it.
:Philae: Assuming comets even ''have'' insides!
:Rosetta: I'm, uh, pretty sure they do.
04:10:00
:Philae: ''Wheee!''
04:15:00
:Rosetta: Quick, take a picture of me!
:Philae: Just take a selfie
:Rosetta: Can't. No front-facing camera
10:00:00
:Rosetta: Bye
10:15:00
:Philae: Spaaaaaaaace
10:25:00
:Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt.
10:30:00
:Rosetta: Lost track of earth thanks to that jolt. Let's see, where is it...

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]

1446

2014-11-12T10:28:41Z

Cos: redirect to 1446: Landing (fixed double redirect)

#REDIRECT [[1446: Landing]]

Talk:1446: Landing

2014-11-12T10:27:46Z

Cos: Cos moved page Talk:1446: ??? to Talk:1446: Landing: Comic title currently used on xkcd.com.

I would bet money that this comic will have to do with the Rosetta Lander that will be landing on a comet for the first time in history this morning. Info about it at Rosetta.esa.int

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.173|108.162.237.173]] 05:37, 12 November 2014 (UTC)pH

Almost definitely. The URL for the image (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-40-00_wmf0bPtxDN.png) contains 'landing'.

[[User:DeedleFake|DeedleFake]] ([[User talk:DeedleFake|talk]]) 05:44, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

The image changes every five minutes. (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-35-00_lVC98SMY1X.png) followed by (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-40-00_wmf0bPtxDN.png) followed by (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-45-00_MZprhbADHL.png) then (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-50-00_Z63bWhoaxd.png) (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-55-00_2wCeCFN0R1.png) (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-00-00_FRnIhqA5IZ.png) (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-05-00_Os6SVGalch.png) (http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-10-00_xn4nUL9lry.png) http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-15-00_soIuPGfUYh.png , also I'm sorry about deleting other people's comments - firefox decided to not show the "other people have edited this" page :(. If anyone's interested, here's the command I'm using to grab the urls:
while :; do http --stream --body http://c0.xkcd.com/stream/comic/landing\?method\=EventSource | awk '/png/ { print $2 }' | perl -ne '/(r_.+png)/; print "$1\n";' ; done
where the 'http' command is from http://httpie.org - not the neatest way to do it, but it works ;)
[[User:Forkbomb|Forkbomb]] ([[User talk:Forkbomb|talk]]) 05:47, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

Forkbomb, you are not supposed to delete other's comments...
Yes. It is definitely about Rosetta. The image changed at 9.35 pm PST and it says "Three hours to separation", i.e. 12.35am PST, which is exactly the time at which PHILAE is going to separate...
[http://imgur.com/fK9Ddrx image_seen]
[http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2014/11/07/rosetta-and-philae-landing-timeline/ rosetta timeline]

[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.237|199.27.128.237]] 05:50, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

Is anyone collecting URLs? I assume there's an easy automated way to do this that was used for Time. If not...

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! URLs
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-05-00_Os6SVGalch.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-10-00_fUWUYNkxwp.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-15-00_74eSd3x7BQ.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-20-00_UT4FKycrmC.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-25-00_FX6hlfSQHR.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-30-00_FjnXADopvO.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-35-00_lVC98SMY1X.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-40-00_wmf0bPtxDN.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-45-00_MZprhbADHL.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-50-00_Z63bWhoaxd.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-55-00_2wCeCFN0R1.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-00-00_FRnIhqA5IZ.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-05-00_Os6SVGalch.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-10-00_xn4nUL9lry.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-15-00_soIuPGfUYh.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-20-00_jwkPNMaOSf.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-25-00_ADajYkIBoR.png
|-
|http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-30-00_w819mZAIhE.png
|-
|https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-35-00_LoEc4Q8fJF.png
|-
|https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-40-00_YLKE5WV8Jw.png
|-
|https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-45-00_QRP5ndlY4A.png
|-
|https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-50-00_OAOxgR9UUR.png
|-
|https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_01-55-00_KGFuQYeX1i.png
|-
|https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_02-00-00_ov37tpe8BX.png
|-
|https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_02-05-00_VwL8mLbfmW.png
|-
|https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_02-10-00_GCNRyInxWI.png
|-
|https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_02-15-00_CQwEg4oyk3.png
|-
|https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_02-20-00_jkbJbYkLeP.png
|-
|https://sslimgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_02-25-00_Pxh3HKgWnT.png
|}

Randall switched to SSL after 1:30 but you can of course use either server.

- Marcustyphoon/[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.244|108.162.219.244]] 07:37, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/landing/r_00-45-00_MZprhbADHL.png) "Has anyone ever tried this before?" "No but fetishes have to start somewhere, right?" [[User:Nexxuz|Nexxuz]] ([[User talk:Nexxuz|talk]])

Probably just a mistake, but the transcript in the html source of 1446 is from 1445. --[[User:Pascal|Pascal]] ([[User talk:Pascal|talk]]) 05:58, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

It fetches things using this javascript tag..
<script type="text/javascript" src="/s/c3b919.js"></script>
I've pasted it in pastebin, can we get zealous and fetch the images before they actually show up ? :P
[http://pastebin.com/MwsahkyE link_to_javascript]
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.237|199.27.128.237]] 06:04, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

By the way, the current explanation says it's pinging c4.xkcd for updates.
From the javascript source, it looks like there's more than one server for this:
var SERVERS = ["http://c0.xkcd.com", "http://c1.xkcd.com", "http://c2.xkcd.com", "http://c3.xkcd.com", "http://c4.xkcd.com", "http://c5.xkcd.com", "http://c6.xkcd.com", "http://c7.xkcd.com"];
So that would be c0 to c7

Unfortuantely, as I had suggested, it seems that we cannot grab all the images beforehand :(
The javascript only fetches a json, which actually gives image name. So there's a server side script running which generates the paths to actual images. The javascript just shows it..
You can see the json [http://c4.xkcd.com/stream/comic/landing?method=EventSource here].
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.237|199.27.128.237]] 06:23, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

Attempting to load the URL directly in Firefox results in unreadable results, but it's something like
id: acae0462-6a34-11e4-8001-002590720087
event: comic/landing
data: {"image":"r_01-25-00_ADajYkIBoR.png","spread":1}
There are several other events as well, such as 'reload' and 'heartbeat'.
[[User:DeedleFake|DeedleFake]] ([[User talk:DeedleFake|talk]]) 06:32, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

By the way, that UUID (i.e. acae0462-6a34-11e4-8001-002590720087) seems to encode the time the image was uploaded as a v1 UUID.
[[User:Maths22|Maths22]] ([[User talk:Maths22|talk]]) 06:58, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

The best part of this is ninja-ing the image uploads. The xkcd servers seem to be off atomic time by around 45 seconds. [[User:Skylarmt|Skylarmt]] ([[User talk:Skylarmt|talk]]) 06:45, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

What are people's thoughts on changing the image label to an image number? It seems redundant to use the timestamp twice, but I copied it over from time. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:06, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

A lovely explanation. Itaigreif (talk) 07:45, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

Why is the comic titled "???" and not "Rosetta" or something? [[User:Smperron|Smperron]] ([[User talk:Smperron|talk]]) 08:02, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

:"Rosetta" would have given the game away in the first few minutes before we could figure it out. "???" is a strange choice, though. [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.157|103.22.201.157]] 09:20, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

The page has changed name from "???" to "Landing" about 5AM, and title text changed from "..." to "[LIVE]". Not sure about actual times, and don't know how to rename page. Can someone else handle this? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.217|141.101.89.217]] 10:12, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1446: ???

2014-11-12T10:27:46Z

Cos: Cos moved page Talk:1446: ??? to Talk:1446: Landing: Comic title currently used on xkcd.com.

#REDIRECT [[Talk:1446: Landing]]

1446: ???

2014-11-12T10:27:46Z

Cos: Cos moved page 1446: ??? to 1446: Landing: Comic title currently used on xkcd.com.

#REDIRECT [[1446: Landing]]

1446: Landing

2014-11-12T10:27:43Z

Cos: Cos moved page 1446: ??? to 1446: Landing: Comic title currently used on xkcd.com.

{{comic
| number = 1446
| date = November 12, 2014
| title = ???
| image = ???.png
| titletext = ...
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Buckle up, boys.}}
This comic changes over time, tracking the progress of The [http://www.esa.int European Space Agency's] Rosetta Spacecraft Lander. Frames of the comic began appearing at midnight (EST) on November 12, 2014 and updated every five minutes. Together, the images form a [http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_book flip book].

==Frame by Frame Breakdown==
{| class="wikitable plainlinks table-padding"
|-
!Image
!Day/Time
|-
|[[Media:???.png|00:00:00]]||1/00:00:00
|-
|[[Media:???2.png|00:05:00]]||1/00:05:00
|-
|[[Media:???3.png|00:10:00]]||1/00:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???4.png|00:15:00]]||1/00:15:00
|-
|[[Media:???5.png|00:20:00]]||1/00:20:00
|-
|[[Media:???6.png|00:25:00]]||1/00:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???7.png|00:30:00]]||1/00:30:00
|-
|[[Media:???8.png|00:35:00]]||1/00:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???9.png|00:40:00]]||1/00:40:00
|-
|[[Media:???10.png|00:45:00]]||1/00:45:00
|-
|[[Media:???11.png|00:50:00]]||1/00:50:00
|-
|[[Media:???12.png|00:55:00]]||1/00:55:00
|-
|[[Media:???13.png|01:00:00]]||1/01:00:00
|-
|[[Media:???14.png|01:05:00]]||1/01:05:00
|-
|[[Media:???15.png|01:10:00]]||1/01:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???16.png|01:15:00]]||1/01:15:00
|-
|[[Media:???17.png|01:20:00]]||1/01:20:00
|-
|[[Media:???18.png|01:25:00]]||1/01:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???19.png|01:30:00]]||1/01:30:00
|-
|[[Media:???20.png|01:35:00]]||1/01:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???21.png|01:40:00]]||1/01:40:00
|-
|[[Media:???22.png|01:45:00]]||1/01:45:00
|-
|[[Media:???23.png|01:50:00]]||1/01:50:00
|-
|[[Media:???24.png|01:55:00]]||1/01:55:00
|-
|[[Media:???25.png|02:00:00]]||1/02:00:00
|-
|[[Media:???26.png|02:05:00]]||1/02:05:00
|-
|[[Media:???27.png|02:10:00]]||1/02:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???28.png|02:15:00]]||1/02:15:00
|-
|[[Media:???29.png|02:20:00]]||1/02:20:00
|-
|[[Media:???30.png|02:25:00]]||1/02:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???31.png|02:30:00]]||1/02:30:00
|-
|[[Media:???32.png|02:35:00]]||1/02:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???33.png|02:40:00]]||1/02:40:00
|-
|[[Media:???34.png|02:45:00]]||1/02:45:00
|-
|[[Media:???35.png|02:50:00]]||1/02:50:00
|-
|[[Media:???36.png|02:55:00]]||1/02:55:00
|-
|[[Media:???37.png|03:00:00]]||1/03:00:00
|-
|[[Media:???38.png|03:05:00]]||1/03:05:00
|-
|[[Media:???39.png|03:10:00]]||1/03:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???40.png|03:25:00]]||1/03:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???41.png|03:35:00]]||1/03:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???42.png|03:40:00]]||1/03:40:00
|-
|[[Media:???43.png|03:50:00]]||1/03:50:00
|-
|[[Media:???44.png|04:10:00]]||1/04:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???45.png|04:15:00]]||1/04:15:00
|-
|[[Media:???46.png|04:20:00]]||1/04:20:00
|-
|[[Media:???47.png|04:25:00]]||1/04:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???48.png|04:30:00]]||1/04:30:00
|-
|[[Media:???49.png|04:35:00]]||1/04:35:00
|-
|[[Media:???50.png|04:40:00]]||1/04:40:00
|-
|[[Media:???51.png|04:45:00]]||1/04:45:00
|-
|[[Media:???52.png|04:50:00]]||1/04:50:00
|-
|[[Media:???53.png|04:55:00]]||1/04:55:00
|-
|[[Media:???54.png|10:00:00]]||1/10:00:00
|-
|[[Media:???55.png|10:10:00]]||1/10:10:00
|-
|[[Media:???56.png|10:15:00]]||1/10:15:00
|-
|[[Media:???57.png|10:20:00]]||1/10:20:00
|-
|[[Media:???58.png|10:25:00]]||1/10:25:00
|-
|[[Media:???59.png|10:30:00]]||1/10:30:00
|-
|[[Media:???60.png|10:35:00]]||1/10:35:00
|}

==Transcript==
00:35:00
:Rosetta: Three hours to separation
00:45:00
:Philae: Has anyone ever tried this before?
00:50:00
:Rosetta: I don't think so.
01:25:00
:Rosetta: Ready to begin pre-delivery burn.
02:20:00
:Rosetta: We are ''go'' for separation!
02:25:00
:Rosetta: We are ''go'' for separation!
:Philae: ''Yessss!''
03:05:00
:Philae: Can I just go now?
03:25:00
:Rosetta: Well it's been a fun 10 years together.
03:35:00
:Rosetta: Well it's been a fun 10 years together.
:Philae: Yeah! ... a little boring maybe.
03:50:00
:Rosetta: Ok, turning on ''concert''. I'll send you signals through the comet, once you're down there, so we can measure what's inside it.
:Philae: Assuming comets even ''have'' insides!
:Rosetta: I'm, uh, pretty sure they do.
04:10:00
:Philae: ''Wheee!''
04:15:00
:Rosetta: Quick, take a picture of me!
:Philae: Just take a selfie
:Rosetta: Can't. No front-facing camera
10:00:00
:Rosetta: Bye

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]

978: Citogenesis

2014-10-13T21:19:57Z

Cos: /* Explanation */ mentioned author, place & date of the citation I introduced earlier; removed final part about plagiarism, which in my opinion is not relevant to the comic (using facts without checking their reliability is different from plagiarism)

{{comic
| number = 978
| date = November 16, 2011
| title = Citogenesis
| image = citogenesis.png
| titletext = I just read a pop-science book by a respected author. One chapter, and much of the thesis, was based around wildly inaccurate data which traced back to... Wikipedia. To encourage people to be on their toes, I'm not going to say what book or author.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is calling into question the {{w|reliability of Wikipedia}}. This is a favorite pastime of librarians and professional researchers, and not usually one of [[Randall]]'s. But, to take it seriously for a moment: People, Wikipedia is editable by anyone. If you are doing serious work, follow through the citations, and decide which are from upstanding sources, and which are just people writing on their blog, and which are people writing on their blog who know what they are talking about.

The title of the comic is a play on the word [http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/cytogenesis cytogenesis]. Cytogenesis is the formation of cells and their development. Citogenesis, on the other hand is a [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/portmanteau portmanteau] of 'Citation' and 'Genesis'. [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/citation Citation] meaning quoting a source. [http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genesis?show=1&t=1346949206 Genesis] being the origin of something. So, citogenesis would be the creation of a quote that can be used to back-up a fact or statement.

The comic is discussing citogenesis occurring on {{w|Wikipedia}}, a free and freely editable encyclopedia that aims to become the most complete and correct knowledge base available. Four years before, Randall [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Xkcd&diff=162077300 commented on Wikipedia] about that process happening to him (on a minor detail), which probably indicates the inception of this comic:
<blockquote>''I've never referred to the [[1: Barrel - Part 1|boy in the barrel]] as "Barrel Lad" -- that seems to have started in this [Wikipedia] article. I've called him "Barrel boy" or "The boy in the barrel". Minor detail, but it's funny how sometimes something can appear on Wikipedia, get referenced in other places, and then Wikipedia cites those other places as supporting references. Hooray {{w|Wikipedia in culture#Wikiality|Wikiality}}!'' — Randall Munroe as user "xkcd", [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Xkcd/Archive_2#Notes_from_the_author en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Xkcd#Notes_from_the_author], 3 October 2007</blockquote>

Following this comic, the actual {{w|Scroll lock}} and {{w|Steven Chu}} articles {{w|Talk:Scroll_lock#Thanks_Randall|were both}} {{w|Talk:Steven_Chu#Scroll_lock_key|wiki-bombed}} by "helpful" editors trying to enforce Randall's reality on the Internet. The Wikipedia article on {{w|Citogenesis}} redirects to the {{w|Reliability of Wikipedia#Information loop|information loop}} section on the article "Reliability of Wikipedia". That section ends with crediting the term to "citogenesis" to "webcomic artist Randall Munroe", with a link to this comic.

We will probably never know the book or author Randall mentions in the title text, but there is a nice similar story about the former German minister {{w|Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg}}. His complete name contains fifteen names/words and reads: Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg. An anonymous user added one more ("Wilhelm") to the German Wikipedia, just the evening before Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg was presented as the new Federal Minister of Economics and Technology on February 10, 2009. The next day many major German newspapers published this wrong name ([http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bildblog.de%2F5704%2Fwie-ich-freiherr-von-guttenberg-zu-wilhelm-machte%2F translation of bildblog.de]).

==Transcript==
:Where Citations Come From:
:Citogenesis Step #1
:Through a convoluted process, a user's brain generates facts. These are typed into Wikipedia.
:[A guy with short hair sits at a desk, typing on a laptop.]
:Guy: (typing) The "scroll lock" key was was designed by future Energy Secretary Steven Chu in a college project.

:A rushed writer checks Wikipedia for a summary of their subject.
:[Ponytail sits at a desk, typing on a desktop.]
:Ponytail: (typing) US Energy Secretary Steven Chu, (Nobel Prizewinner and creator of the ubiquitous "scroll lock" key) testified before Congress today...
:Step #2

:Surprised readers check Wikipedia, see the claim, and flag it for review. A passing editor finds the piece and adds it as a citation.
:[Cueball sits on a couch with a laptop in his lap, typing.]
:Cueball: Google is your friend, people. (typing) <nowiki><ref>{{cite web|url=</nowiki>
:Step #3

:Step #4
:Now that other writers have a real source, they repeat the fact.
:[A flow chart, with "Wikipedia citation" in the center. The word "Wikipedia" is in black, the word "citations" is white with a red background.
:A black arrow leads from "brain" to "Wikipedia."
:A black arrow labeled "words" leads from "Wikipedia" to "careless writers," and a red arrow labeled "citations" leads back to "Wikipedia citations."
:A black & red arrow leads from "Wikipedia" to "cited facts" which leads to "slightly more careful writers," which leads to "more citations," which leads back to :"Wikipedia" (all black & red arrows).]
:References proliferate, completing the citogenesis process.

==Trivia==
* The word "was" occurs twice consecutively in the first panel.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

978: Citogenesis

2014-10-13T13:23:12Z

Cos: /* Explanation */ removed unnecessary part about Wikimedia, MediaWiki and the fact that explain xkcd uses it; added a mention of a 2007 comment by Randall that indicates an inception for this comic

{{comic
| number = 978
| date = November 16, 2011
| title = Citogenesis
| image = citogenesis.png
| titletext = I just read a pop-science book by a respected author. One chapter, and much of the thesis, was based around wildly inaccurate data which traced back to... Wikipedia. To encourage people to be on their toes, I'm not going to say what book or author.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is calling into question the {{w|reliability of Wikipedia}}. This is a favorite pastime of librarians and professional researchers, and not usually one of [[Randall]]'s. But, to take it seriously for a moment: People, Wikipedia is editable by anyone. If you are doing serious work, follow through the citations, and decide which are from upstanding sources, and which are just people writing on their blog, and which are people writing on their blog who know what they are talking about.

The title of the comic is a play on the word [http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/cytogenesis cytogenesis]. Cytogenesis is the formation of cells and their development. Citogenesis, on the other hand is a [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/portmanteau portmanteau] of 'Citation' and 'Genesis'. [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/citation Citation] meaning quoting a source. [http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genesis?show=1&t=1346949206 Genesis] being the origin of something. So, citogenesis would be the creation of a quote that can be used to back-up a fact or statement.

The comic is discussing citogenesis occurring on {{w|Wikipedia}}, a free and freely editable encyclopedia that aims to become the most complete and correct knowledge base available. Four years before, Randall [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Xkcd&diff=162077300 commented on Wikipedia] about that process happening to him (on a minor detail), which probably indicates the inception of this comic:
<blockquote>I've never referred to the [[1: Barrel - Part 1|boy in the barrel]] as "Barrel Lad" -- that seems to have started in this [Wikipedia] article. I've called him "Barrel boy" or "The boy in the barrel". Minor detail, but it's funny how sometimes something can appear on Wikipedia, get referenced in other places, and then Wikipedia cites those other places as supporting references. Hooray {{w|Wikipedia in culture#Wikiality|Wikiality}}!</blockquote>

Following this comic, the actual {{w|Scroll lock}} and {{w|Steven Chu}} articles {{w|Talk:Scroll_lock#Thanks_Randall|were both}} {{w|Talk:Steven_Chu#Scroll_lock_key|wiki-bombed}} by "helpful" editors trying to enforce Randall's reality on the Internet. The Wikipedia article on {{w|Citogenesis}} redirects to the {{w|Reliability of Wikipedia#Information loop|information loop}} section on the article "Reliability of Wikipedia". That section ends with crediting the term to "citogenesis" to "webcomic artist Randall Munroe", with a link to this comic.

We will probably never know the book or author Randall mentions in the title text, but there is a nice similar story about the former German minister {{w|Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg}}. His complete name contains fifteen names/words and reads: '''Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg'''. An anonymous user added one more ('''Wilhelm''') to the German Wikipedia, just the evening before Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg was presented as the new Federal Minister of Economics and Technology on February 10, 2009. The next day many major German newspapers published this wrong name ([http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bildblog.de%2F5704%2Fwie-ich-freiherr-von-guttenberg-zu-wilhelm-machte%2F translation of bildblog.de]). But the joke doesn't stop there, because that minister was later found guilty of plagiarism, which resulted in the revocation of his doctorate and eventually his resignation as Minister of Defence, on March 1, 2011.

==Transcript==
:Where Citations Come From:
:Citogenesis Step #1
:Through a convoluted process, a user's brain generates facts. These are typed into Wikipedia.
:[A guy with short hair sits at a desk, typing on a laptop.]
:Guy: (typing) The "scroll lock" key was was designed by future Energy Secretary Steven Chu in a college project.

:A rushed writer checks Wikipedia for a summary of their subject.
:[Ponytail sits at a desk, typing on a desktop.]
:Ponytail: (typing) US Energy Secretary Steven Chu, (Nobel Prizewinner and creator of the ubiquitous "scroll lock" key) testified before Congress today...
:Step #2

:Surprised readers check Wikipedia, see the claim, and flag it for review. A passing editor finds the piece and adds it as a citation.
:[Cueball sits on a couch with a laptop in his lap, typing.]
:Cueball: Google is your friend, people. (typing) <nowiki><ref>{{cite web|url=</nowiki>
:Step #3

:Step #4
:Now that other writers have a real source, they repeat the fact.
:[A flow chart, with "Wikipedia citation" in the center. The word "Wikipedia" is in black, the word "citations" is white with a red background.
:A black arrow leads from "brain" to "Wikipedia."
:A black arrow labeled "words" leads from "Wikipedia" to "careless writers," and a red arrow labeled "citations" leads back to "Wikipedia citations."
:A black & red arrow leads from "Wikipedia" to "cited facts" which leads to "slightly more careful writers," which leads to "more citations," which leads back to :"Wikipedia" (all black & red arrows).]
:References proliferate, completing the citogenesis process.

==Trivia==
* The word "was" occurs twice consecutively in the first panel.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

1378: Turbine

2014-06-12T11:00:55Z

Cos: /* Explanation */ simplified things and rewrote the explanation

{{comic
| number = 1378
| date = June 6, 2014
| title = Turbine
| image = turbine.png
| titletext = Ok, plan B: Fly a kite into the blades, with a rock in a sling dangling below it, and create the world's largest trebuchet.
}}

==Explanation==
A {{w|wind turbine}} ''uses wind to rotate its blades in order to generate electricity''. It is visually very similar to an (electric) {{w|Mechanical fan|fan}} which however does the exact opposite: it ''uses electricity to rotate its blades in order to generate wind''. This opposition was previously highlighted in [[1119: Undoing]].

The punchline of this comic is a {{w|pun}} on the other meaning of the word "{{w|wiktionary:fan|fan}}" which qualifies someone as liking or supporting something (here, an idea). [[Megan]] suggests to have the turbine blow air at her so she could lift of with a kite, something which would be conceivable with a huge fan, but is impossible here precisely because the turbine is not a fan and therefore can't generate wind. So the ({{w|Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphically}}-speaking) turbine's response is twofold: 1/ it's a turbine and not a huge fan, which makes the idea impossible, and 2/ for this very reason it doesn't like the idea.

The title text alternatively suggests building a makeshift {{w|trebuchet}}, a type of catapult. The idea is that when the kite's string gets tangled in the turbine's blades, the kite will be spun around and it will fling the attached rock (this setup is more similar to a {{w|Trebuchet#Traction trebuchet|traction trebuchet}} than to the more common counterweight trebuchet).

==Transcript==
:[Megan is talking to a wind turbine.]
:Megan: I'll hold up a big kite, and you blow air at me until I lift off!
:Megan: What do you think of that idea?
:Wind turbine: I'm not a huge fan.

==Trivia==
*Wind turbines have been used in earlier comics:
*In [[556: Alternative Energy Revolution]] the wind turbines are also alive, but somewhat more dangerous than just being ironic.
*In [[1119: Undoing]], Cueball highlights the differences between a wind turbine and a fan.

*Trebuchets has been the subject of the comics [[382: Trebuchet]] and [[1160: Drop Those Pounds]], and they were also part of the story in [[1190: Time]].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Trebuchet]]
[[Category:Windmills]]

316: Loud Sex

2014-05-15T13:26:03Z

Cos: /* Explanation */ minor rewording

{{comic
| number = 316
| date = September 14, 2007
| title = Loud Sex
| image = loud_sex.png
| titletext = Spherical or parabolic reflectors would of course lead to aberrant behavior.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]]'s neighbor likes to engage in loud sex, which keeps Cueball awake at night, and she pretends to apologize for it as a way of bragging, so Cueball wants to get revenge. A simple way would be to inflict the same to her in retaliation by having loud sex when she is not. But Cueball adds a science nerd's touch to it, with an elliptical reflector dish. As shown on the schema, such a dish reflects the sound waves in a way that all waves originating from a specific point (the first focus of the ellipse the dish's shape is based on) converge after reflection to a specific other point (the second focus of the same ellipse).[1] Cueball calibrates and installs his elliptical dish in such a way that all the sound coming from his loud girlfriend's head during sex, is concentrated after reflection to his neighbor's head in her bed. This makes his loud sex far louder to her, than hers was to him.

The title text makes a {{w|double entendre}}, where a spherical or parabolic reflector would cause different behaviors for the sound waves, but the play on words leads the reader to believe that aberrant sexual behavior would occur.

This comic is referred to in [[368: Bass]], where [[Black Hat]] mentions in the title text he is annoyed by "the guy upstairs with the loud girlfriend and the elliptical dish".

[1]: Note: that is actually the behaviour of an ''{{w|ellipsoid}}al'' reflector dish, or an elliptic one in two dimensions; but in 3D an elliptic one works similarly, only converging waves from a line to another line, instead of points.

==Transcript==
:My neighbor has loud sex.
:[Cueball in bed, covering his head with pillow. There is sound coming from outside.]
:''OHHHHH''
:''GASP''
:''AAAAAAA''
:Good for her and all, but it keeps me up at night.

:And she's so smug about it.
:[Cueball and neighbor coming out of their apartments.]
:Neighbor: Sorry, could you hear us last night? Oh, you know how it gets sometimes.
:Cueball: Not really...

:But tonight I finally get my revenge. Because now I have a loud girlfriend too.
:[Megan with "LOUD" and an arrow pointing to her.]

:And an elliptical reflector dish.
:[Diagram of an elliptical reflector dish.]

:[Cueball and Megan having sex, with dish behind them reflecting the sex sound effects, in a way that they focus, through walls, on his neighbor sitting up in bed while holding her head in pain.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Physics]]

316: Loud Sex

2014-05-15T13:24:24Z

Cos: /* Explanation */ removed the threshold of pain reference, per User:Someone Else 37's comment; and other minor rewordings or improvements

{{comic
| number = 316
| date = September 14, 2007
| title = Loud Sex
| image = loud_sex.png
| titletext = Spherical or parabolic reflectors would of course lead to aberrant behavior.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]]'s neighbor likes to engage in loud sex, which keeps Cueball awake at night, and she pretends to apologize for it as a way of bragging, so Cueball wants to get revenge. A simple way would be to inflict the same to her in retaliation by having loud sex when she is not. But Cueball adds a science nerd's touch to it, with an elliptical reflector dish. As shown on the schema, such a dish reflects the sound waves in a way that all waves originating from a specific point (the first focus of the ellipse the dish's shape is based on) converge after reflection to a specific other point (the second focus of the same ellipse).[1] Cueball calibrates and installs his elliptical dish in a way that all the sound coming from his loud girlfriend's head during sex, converge after reflection to his neighbor's head in her bed. This makes his loud sex far louder to her, than hers was to him.

The title text makes a {{w|double entendre}}, where a spherical or parabolic reflector would cause different behaviors for the sound waves, but the play on words leads the reader to believe that aberrant sexual behavior would occur.

This comic is referred to in [[368: Bass]], where [[Black Hat]] mentions in the title text he is annoyed by "the guy upstairs with the loud girlfriend and the elliptical dish".

[1]: Note: that is actually the behaviour of an ''{{w|ellipsoid}}al'' reflector dish, or an elliptic one in two dimensions; but in 3D an elliptic one works similarly, only converging waves from a line to another line, instead of points.

==Transcript==
:My neighbor has loud sex.
:[Cueball in bed, covering his head with pillow. There is sound coming from outside.]
:''OHHHHH''
:''GASP''
:''AAAAAAA''
:Good for her and all, but it keeps me up at night.

:And she's so smug about it.
:[Cueball and neighbor coming out of their apartments.]
:Neighbor: Sorry, could you hear us last night? Oh, you know how it gets sometimes.
:Cueball: Not really...

:But tonight I finally get my revenge. Because now I have a loud girlfriend too.
:[Megan with "LOUD" and an arrow pointing to her.]

:And an elliptical reflector dish.
:[Diagram of an elliptical reflector dish.]

:[Cueball and Megan having sex, with dish behind them reflecting the sex sound effects, in a way that they focus, through walls, on his neighbor sitting up in bed while holding her head in pain.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Physics]]

1359: Phone Alarm

2014-04-23T10:09:41Z

Cos: +Category:Flowcharts

{{comic
| number = 1359
| date = April 23, 2014
| title = Phone Alarm
| image = phone_alarm.png
| titletext = Who's calling me?? WHY IS THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD CALLING ME!?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|needs title text explained - i m not sure how to relate the title text.}}

The flowchart seems to show a problem Randall has with using alarms built into phones. Notably, that the sound is similar to a normal ring tone (probably related to [[479: Tones]]), making it sound like someone is calling him, and not waking him up. This translates to him answering the phone in the dream, talking, and eventually hanging up. Of course this doesn't stop the phone from ringing, and he ends up answering the phone again. The looping arrow around the "beep beep" box could refer to this - the phone continues ringing while pretending to answer it - or that the phone keeps ringing until he pretends to answer it.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
A flowchart:

[alarm goes off]
: → [beep beep beep beep!]
:: ↺ back to [beep beep beep beep!]
:: → ["???"]
::: → [answer phone in dream] → [talk] → [hang up]
:::: → back to [beep beep beep beep!]

"My problem with phone alarms"

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Flowcharts]]

File:explain xkcd blog header image.png

2014-04-16T10:33:26Z

Cos: Header image for the original blog on explainxkcd.com (see explain xkcd's history). Recovered from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, specifically at http://wayback.archive.org/web/20110202213753im_/http://www.explainxkcd.com/wp-...

== Summary ==
Header image for the original blog on explainxkcd.com (see [[explain xkcd|explain xkcd's history]]).

Recovered from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, specifically at http://wayback.archive.org/web/20110202213753im_/http://www.explainxkcd.com/wp-content/themes/lightword/images/header-image.png .

Content from xkcd.com, and most probably the blog's authors Mike or [[User:Jeff|Jeff]] or maybe others.
== Licensing ==
{{XKCD file derived}}

1326: Sharks

2014-02-06T18:06:37Z

Cos: /* Explanation */ rewording into a more coherent explanation; there might also be a "Doom Island" reference which I didn't get

{{comic
| number = 1326
| date = February 5, 2014
| title = Sharks
| image = sharks.png
| titletext = 'Now, minions, I'm off to inspect our shark cages.' 'Do you really need to inspect them this often?' 'PRISONERS MUST NEVER ESCAPE.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First draft, needs more detail.}}
[[Cueball]] is an evil villain who rules over a "Doom Island", where in addition to commanding minions and detaining prisoners, he keeps sharks to threaten said prisoners, his enemies, and the world with. When a prisoner escapes the island, he orders to "release the sharks" after him, much like one would send dogs if the prison was on land. However this does not work at all, since the sharks are simply too happy to be free, and are not at all attached to their master (or to any kind of mission) as dogs can be.

This comic plays with the "[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SharkPool Shark Pool]" action movie trope from the 70s and 80s, where evil villains use sharks to kill off enemies (e.g. in ''[[wikipedia:The Spy Who Loved Me (film)|The Spy Who Loved Me]]'' or ''[[wikipedia:Thunderball (film)|Thunderball]]''), a somewhat unpractical idea; this was also reprised in 2010 with ''[[wikipedia:Despicable Me|Despicable Me]]'', where the (comical) villain has a shark in his lair that unrealistically acts as a guard dog. Since the very idea of a guard shark is not really practical, [[Randall]] suggests here that the real reason the villain raises sharks is simply that he likes them, and sending them after a fugitive is a pretense to actually help with declining shark populations in the oceans (effectively turning Doom Island into a marine biology center, as the minion suspects). He maintains the whole "guard sharks" idea as a cover-up, to avoid damaging his villainous image with a soft side for animals. The title text also plays on the idea that he can't go pet his sharks openly, and therefore pretends to "inspect [the] shark cages" again, as well as dismissing his minion's doubts by yelling at them, as does any typical villain.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting in a throne.]
:Offscreen: The prisoner escaped and is swimming toward the mainland!
:Cueball: ''Release the sharks.''
:Offscreen: Yes, sir.

:Offscreen: The sharks are swimming away.
:Cueball: They're escaping, too? Send sharks after them!

:Offscreen: Now ''those'' sharks are swimming away.
:Cueball: '''''More sharks.'''''
:Offscreen: ...Sir, what's going on?
:Cueball: Prisoners, of course! Can't let 'em escape!

:Offscreen: Sir, are you trying to turn Doom Island into a marine biology center?
:Cueball: ''Shark populations are in decline—'' *ahem* I mean, the world must fear us!
:Offscreen: Right...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1249: Meteor Showers

2013-08-19T22:33:34Z

Cos: /* Explanation */ added details about the velociraptors being fast, highly intelligent and able to open doors; used direct links to wikipedia, and italics to emphasize citations from the comic; and other minor changes

{{comic
| number = 1249
| date = August 9, 2013
| title = Meteor Showers
| image = meteor showers.png
| titletext = Remember, meteors always hit the tallest object around.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic spoofs the way that astronomical events are often reported in the mass media — events are often tagged with undeserved superlatives or described as being more dramatic than they actually are. In some cases, outright misinformation is spread. This phenomenon occurs in part by the result of over-eager scientists, but mostly because of journalists with no deeper knowledge on the subject they write about.

Meteor showers typically occur regularly each year. It always happens at the same days because the Earth is crossing the dust path of a particular {{w|Comet|comet}}. Sometimes meteor showers are in fact likely to be relatively spectacular when the peak of the shower occurs while your part of the world is in darkness and there is little moonlight. However, even in these cases it must be understood that there is nothing unusual about the meteor shower itself. The shower just consist of small particles at a size about roughly one millimeter, only the high speed is the reason that is can be seen from Earth's surface. The names of the showers refer to the star {{w|constellation}} where they visually belong to.

Most of the meteor showers listed in the comic are real, but some are made up (and indicated as such below).

*''{{w|Quadrantids}} - January 4th - Bring pets inside during peak activity''
:Keeping pets inside may be reasonable on days when fireworks are let off in the beginning of a new year, no regular meteor shower poses much danger to pets.
*(made-up) ''Tricuspids - January 21st - Not viewable in region 2 countries''
:Apparently a play on the {{w|tricuspid valve}} in mammalian hearts, or possibly on bicuspid teeth. The mention of "Region 2" is a reference to {{w|region locking}}, a digital rights management (DRM) scheme intended to restrict media to certain areas. DRM of course does not apply to natural events. But ironically, meteor showers are also geographically restricted, and the visible area might roughly coincide with a DRM region. Further irony is that "Region 2" is actually Europe, Middle East, Egypt, Japan, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Greenland, French Overseas departments and territories, meaning that it's not strictly geographical.
*({{w|Alpha Centaurids|Alpha}} / {{w|Theta Centaurids|Theta}}) ''Centaurids - February 6th - Too faint to see without going outside''
:Since indoor lights and window glass make them harder to see, it would take a ''very'' bright meteor to be visible without going outside.
*(made-up) ''Beta Aquariids - February 10th - Inverted shower converges toward Aquarius instead of radiating away''
:This fictional shower would collect shooting stars into the origin to prepare for the real {{w|Eta Aquariids}} meteor shower associated with Haley's comet and ''diverging'' from {{w|Eta Aquarii}} in Aquarius; the real shower peaks around May 6th.
:Due to perspective, meteor showers appear to radiate outwards from a certain point in the sky. Meteor showers may be seen to converge on a point on the opposite side of the sky, but with the earth in the way there would only be a few visible going past the edge, seen as nearly parallel streaks overhead, so the convergence point would hardly be notable.
*(made-up) ''Chelyabids - February 15th - Only one meteor per shower, but it's big.''
:A reference to the February 15, 2013, {{w|Chelyabinsk meteor}} whose explosion shattered windows within a large radius.
*''{{w|Lyrids}} - April 22nd - Meteors sometimes scream''
:A meteor large enough to reach the lower atmosphere could produce sound audible to observers on the ground, but this is very unusual.
*''Daytime {{w|Zeta Perseids}} - June 9th - Likely a NASA hoax''
:This shower is mostly observed via its effects on radio and TV signals, and therefore a good target for conspiracy theorists responding to [http://science1.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2000/ast06jun_1m/ June's Invisible Meteors - NASA Science]
*''{{w|June Bootids|June Boötids}} - June 27th - 50/50 mix of meteors and shooting stars''
:The "50/50 mix of meteors and shooting stars" is a joke, as "meteor" and "shooting star" are synonymous.
*''{{w|Southern Delta Aquariids}} - July 19th - Meteors very bright, but stationary''
:This is saying that they are indistinguishable from stars, or that the stars themselves are actually meteors.
*(made-up) ''Dromaeosaurids - July 22nd - Fast, highly intelligent, can open doors''
:{{w|Dromaeosauridae|Dromaeosaurids}} are a family of dinosaurs containing the genus ''Velociraptor'', well-known from the movie Jurassic Park in which they are presented as a deadly menace, fast and especially intelligent to the point of understanding how to open a door; this representation of Velociraptors is a [[:Category:Velociraptors|recurrent topic in xkcd]]. When the comic was originally published, the date listed for this shower was June 12th, the date of the velociraptor attacks in the movie.
*''{{w|Perseids}} - August 12th - Instead of falling from sky, meteors erupt from ground''
:??? (apart from the fact that erupting from the ground is the funny inverse of falling from the sky, what meteor always do)
*(made-up) ''Tau Pyramids - August 15th - Visible even when eyes are closed''
:Probably a reference to {{w|Pyramidal cells}}, a type of neuron in the brain that is linked to cognition. The "tau" reference has two possibilities. The "visible even when eyes are closed" could refer to the Tau particle, a heavy sibling of the electron. When they traveled outside of Earth's magnetosphere on their way to the Moon, Apollo astronauts saw flashes of light about every three minutes even with their eyes closed; these were caused by high energy particles (cosmic rays) penetrating their eyes and brain. The other possibility is that it refers to {{w|Tau protein}}, a normal structural protein within brain neurons. In Alzheimer's Disease, abnormal Tau proteins can aggregate within pyramidal cells to form insoluble skeins. The number of these "{{w|Neurofibrillary tangle|neurofibrillary tangles}}" roughly correlate with the severity of cognitive impairment.
*''{{w|Draconids}} - October 8th - Very slow, but follow you if you run''
:??? (maybe something to do with the fact that "draconids" etymologically means "of the dragon", which could make for a fearsome meteor shower)
*''{{w|Orionids}} - October 21st - Entire shower happens at once''
:As noted in [[1020|comic 1020]], the Orion constellation (in which the Orionids are located) has a 'dong'. Possibly a joke about a {{w|Golden shower|"golden" shower}}. Maybe.
*''{{w|Leonids}} - November 17th - In 1966, unusually active Leonid shower killed God''
:There ''was'' a very active Leonid shower (a "meteor storm") in 1966, and a precursor to it in 1965. The article ''{{w|Is God Dead?}}'' was published in ''Time Magazine'' on April 8 of 1966. Perhaps this suggests that the meteors killed God earlier in the year when they and He were further out in the solar system?
*''{{w|Geminids}} - December 13th - Can be deflected with tennis rackets''
:??? (apart from the simple funny idea of deflecting a meteor with a tennis racket)

The title text refers to the folk wisdom that ''lightning'' strikes the tallest thing around. [[Randall]] expressed frustration over how "maddeningly inexact" that statement is, and elaborated on the problem mathematically, on his ''[[what if?]]'' [http://what-if.xkcd.com/16/ blog post on lightning].

==Transcript==
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="wikitable" style="width: 60%; text-align: left;"
!colspan="3"|The xkcd guide to meteor showers
|-
|'''Name'''
|'''Peak'''
|'''Notes'''
|-
|Quadrantids
|January 4th
|Bring pets inside during peak activity
|-
|Tricuspids
|January 21st
|Not viewable in region 2 countries
|-
|Centaurids
|February 6th
|Too faint to see without going outside
|-
|Beta Aquariids
|February 10th
|Inverted shower converges toward Aquarius instead of radiating away
|-
|Chelyabids
|February 15th
|Only one meteor per shower, but it's big.
|-
|Lyrids
|April 22nd
|Meteors sometimes scream
|-
|Daytime Zeta Perseids
|June 9th
|Likely a NASA hoax
|-
|June Boötids
|June 27th
|50/50 mix of meteors and shooting stars
|-
|Southern Delta Aquariids
|July 19th
|Meteors very bright, but stationary
|-
|Dromaeosaurids
|July 22th
|Fast, highly intelligent, can open doors
|-
|Perseids
|August 12th
|Instead of falling from sky, meteors erupt from ground
|-
|Tau Pyramids
|August 15th
|Visible even when eyes are closed
|-
|Draconids
|October 8th
|Very slow, but follow you if you run
|-
|Orionids
|October 21st
|Entire shower happens at once
|-
|Leonids
|November 17th
|In 1966, unusually active Leonid shower killed God
|-
|Geminids
|December 13th
|Can be deflected with tennis rackets
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Jurassic Park]]

316: Loud Sex

2013-06-24T13:36:51Z

Cos: added explanation about the elliptical reflector dish; removed "incomplete" tag; fixed transcript (a line was missing, and some lines weren't in order)

{{comic
| number = 316
| date = September 14, 2007
| title = Loud Sex
| image = loud_sex.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = Spherical or parabolic reflectors would of course lead to aberrant behavior.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]]'s neighbor likes to engage in loud sex, which keeps Cueball awake at night, and she knows it but isn't sorry at all for him, so Cueball wants to get revenge. A usual way to do it is to retaliate by also having loud sex when the neighbor is not, thus inflicting the same to her as she did. But Cueball adds a science nerd's touch to it, by using an elliptical reflector dish. As shown on the schema, such a dish reflects the sound waves in a way that all waves originating from a specific point (the first focus of the ellipse the dish's shape is based on) converge after reflection to a specific other point (the second focus of the same ellipse).[1] Cueball calibrates and installs his elliptical dish in a way that all the sound coming from his loud gilrfriend's head during sex, converge after reflection to his neighbor's head in her bed. This makes his loud sex far louder to her, than hers was to him (the concentrated noise seems loud enough to exceed the {{w|threshold of pain}}).

The title text makes a {{w|double entendre}} on the word "aberrant", where a spherical or parabolic reflector would cause distortion, but the play on words leads the reader to believe that aberrant sexual behavior would occur.

[1]: Note: that is actually the behaviour of an ''ellipsoidal'' reflector dish, or an elliptic one in two dimensions; but in 3D an elliptic one works similarly, only converging waves from a line to another line, instead of points.

==Transcript==
:Narrator: My neighbor has loud sex.
:[Man in bed, covering his head with pillow. There is sound coming from outside.]
:<<OHHHHH>>
:<<GASP>>
:<<AAAAAAA>>
:Narrator: Good for her and all, but it keeps me up at night.

:Narrator: And she's so smug about it.
:[Man and neighbor coming out of their apartments.]
:Neighbor: Sorry, could you hear us last night? Oh, you know how it gets sometimes.
:Man: (small) Not really...

:Narrator: But tonight I finally get my revenge. Because now I have a loud girlfriend too.
:[Girl with "LOUD" and an arrow pointing to her.]

:Narrator: And an elliptical reflector dish.
:[Diagram of an elliptical reflector dish.]

:[Man and his girlfriend having sex, with dish behind them reflecting the sex sound effects, in a way that they focus, through walls, on his neighbor sitting up in bed while holding her head in pain.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

Talk:1229: Screensaver

2013-06-24T12:50:20Z

Cos: thank you, James Chin!

This is my first time contributing to the site and my first time posting a comic up. If I've missed something, then please let me know. Thanks. --[[User:James Chin|James Chin]] ([[User talk:James Chin|talk]]) 07:02, 24 June 2013 (UTC)
:Thanks for your contribution. You did forget to add the comic at the [List of all comics] and the redirect for the title was missing. I've done this right now.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 10:18, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

:Yeah, thanks a lot! Everything is always perfectible (as is my rewording of your explanation), but your explanation was quite complete on the first shot, and that's the main added value here. So you got the essentials right [[File:Face-smile.svg|18px]] (and you're welcome to do it again on new comics or [[:Category:Incomplete articles|incomplete ones]]). - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 12:50, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

I can't stop thinking that the last panel is not "noise" but a binary coded message/file. It seems just enough compressed/unsharp to make it possible to read out every pixel as a bit, and perhaps there is some kind of "datafile" with error correction? Anybody tought about that? --[[Special:Contributions/217.253.152.222|217.253.152.222]] 07:22, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

How do you know it is Cueball who tries to shoot the flying toasters?{{unsigned|87.238.84.65}}

Why StarTrek? In my experience, in StarTrek the stars are lines instead of dots, therefore the look is different. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:43, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

1229: Screensaver

2013-06-24T12:36:03Z

Cos: rewording, simplified a few things and added some other ones

{{comic
| number = 1229
| date = June 24, 2013
| title = Screensaver
| image = screensaver.png
| titletext = I'm entering my 24th year of spending eight hours a day firing the Duck Hunt gun at the flying toasters. I'm sure I'll hit one soon.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
This comic features the "Starfield" {{w|screensaver}}, a popular Windows screensaver of the 1990s, which presents a moving starfield, like what would see an observer moving past stars at {{w|superluminal}} speeds (see [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3wV33rfbwE#t=15s a video example]). This illusion is generally created by drawing white dots on the computer screen, and then moving these dots outwards towards the edge of the screen before disappearing. Some of the "stars" appear to pass closer to the viewing point than others, resulting in movements of visually greater speeds, and more excitement; one can also fixate the center of the screen, hoping to see the appearance of a star as close as possible to it, which would later on pass very close to the viewpoint. This comic extends it to the situation where the observer actually collides with one of these stars (something that never happens with screensavers of this type). The "signal lost" error message appears because the source of the signal is no longer transmitting, since it was destroyed by colliding with said star.

The "Duck Hunt gun" is a reference to the {{w|NES Zapper}} used with the {{w|Nintendo Entertainment System}} game {{w|Duck Hunt}}, originally published in 1984. The user would point the Zapper at the connected television screen while playing Duck Hunt, and the NES would recognize whether or not the zapper was pointed at an appropriate target or not. "Flying Toasters" is another old screensaver (in the {{w|After Dark (software)|After Dark}} package, made for computers but not for the NES). In the title text, [[Randall]] states that he is trying to use the NES Zapper to shoot down flying toasters. However, the Flying Toaster screensaver and the NES Zapper are two separate things that were never meant to be used together, so the flying toasters will never react to being "shot" at by the NES Zapper.

==Transcript==
:I've been staring at the screen every night for twenty years, and it finally happened.

:[An image of a starfield; a set of white dots irregularly spaced on a black background.]

:[An image similar to the previous, but most of the dots have shifted apparent position; one central dot is noticeably larger than the rest, and actually appears like a star, with a glow.]

:[Similar image, but the central star is even larger.]

:[What used to be the central star now dominates the entire field of view.]

:[The final panel is a black-and-white static screen overlaid with the words "signal lost".]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Computers]]

266: Choices: Part 3

2013-06-03T11:02:48Z

Cos: /* Explanation */ removed the paragraph: this doesn't explain *anything*, it's a pure description for blind people (and more boring to read than the comic itself)... not what explain xkcd is meant for, better leaving a clearly empty section than this

{{comic
| number = 266
| date = May 23, 2007
| title = Choices: Part 3
| image = choices_part_3.jpg
| titletext = Wait, this is space -- how are you talking to me? And, as an afterthought, what's up with the hole in reality?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}

All parts of "[[:Category:Choices|Choices]]":
*[[264: Choices: Part 1]]
*[[265: Choices: Part 2]]
*[[266: Choices: Part 3]]
*[[267: Choices: Part 4]]
*[[268: Choices: Part 5]]

==Transcript==
:[Megan floats in a bubble against a space backdrop.]
:Megan: I should feel scared.
:But I don't.
:Maybe this is a dream
:but it doesn't feel like one.
:Disembodied voice: Okay, found you.
:Megan: Who are you?
:Voice: Er, hang on. This next part might be a little weird.
:[No dialogue.]
:[Many copies of Megan whirl around her bubble; a lightning bolt appears in the background.]
:[All the copies have disappeared except for one.]
:Copy: Sorry -- Hi, me.
:Megan: ...Hi.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Choices]]
[[Category:Physics]]

308

2013-06-03T10:49:44Z

Cos: converting page into a real redirect

#REDIRECT [[308: Interesting Life]]

Interesting Life

2013-06-03T10:49:35Z

Cos: converting page into a real redirect

#REDIRECT [[308: Interesting Life]]

311

2013-06-03T10:49:26Z

Cos: converting page into a real redirect

#REDIRECT [[311: Action Movies]]

Action Movies

2013-06-03T10:49:19Z

Cos: converting page into a real redirect

#REDIRECT [[311: Action Movies]]

332

2013-06-03T10:49:10Z

Cos: converting page into a real redirect

#REDIRECT [[332: Gyroscopes]]

Gyroscopes

2013-06-03T10:48:55Z

Cos: converting page into a real redirect

#REDIRECT [[332: Gyroscopes]]

User talk:Dgbrt

2013-06-03T10:45:10Z

Cos: /* Redirections, and incomplete explanations */ new section

== [[1190: Time]] ==

It's fine that you're helping with updating [[1190: Time]]. I'm trying to write a script that automatically updates the hashes and uploads the images. In order to test the script, could you, at least for the next image, refrain from doing that? I can then test the script and if it works, you can continue if you want to, but least I know that my script does work.

Updating the transcript and anything else from the page is still absolutely fine, I cannot do this. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 15:56, 2 May 2013 (UTC)
: Ok, seems to work. If you want, you can continue updating, but my script should do this automatically within ~1 minute while I'm online. And if I'm not, it should catch up later. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 16:09, 2 May 2013 (UTC)

:: GREAT, it's really working. My computer is online 24/7 (but not me). Since updates should be done in time maybe my computer is the better machine for your script. I am on Linux and a cron job is downloading at 00,05,20,35,50 each hour, just in case the update frequency will change again. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:31, 2 May 2013 (UTC)

::: Might be, but I have a folder full of scripting stuff, and I would have to tidy up all that to get the important lines. And I'm not really in the mood for that. ;-) Maybe I will come back to this later. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 16:52, 2 May 2013 (UTC)

Thank you for your comment. The reason I said "another" river is because "another" is referencing Megan's quote that "yes. there are other rivers" - implying they have arrived at "another" river, not the one they already knew about. I put quotes because as you point out, we haven't exactly seen them come across the first river. As to the water bottle, if you want to change it to "drinking bottle", I'm fine with that. The contents being water is an assumption based on what you might expect someone to do going on a long journey. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 20:18, 2 May 2013 (UTC)

: I am not a native English speaker - so thanks for help - but I just want to be correct. And I did edit your edit...

== Redirections, and incomplete explanations ==

Hello there, and thank you for your work! :-)

One technical thing that you should note, when you create pages that should redirect directly to a newly created explanation page (for example [[332]] to redirect to [[332: Gyroscopes]]), use the redirection syntax which goes like this: <code><nowiki>#REDIRECT [[332: Gyroscopes]]</nowiki></code>

You've done it right for [[447]] / [[Too Old For This Shit]] or [[531]] / [[Friends]] for instance, so try to do it all the time, instead of leaving pages with only a link in it, like {{diff|39258|332}} / {{diff|39259|Gyroscopes}} or {{diff|39251|311}} / {{diff|39252|Action Movies}}. Thanks :-)

Another thing, not from me, and about content this time: [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] left you a couple of message in the changes he made to the pages you created, but it's fairly possible that you didn't get them, so here they are:
* (in response to your comment ''"I am still trying to give every comic a page here. Help me to complete it!"''): {{diff|39262|''"I'd really rather leave those links red for someone to write a proper explanation. With explanations that read like second transcripts, all we really do is take traffic away from xkcd.com without adding value."''}}
* {{diff|39263|''"Also, incomplete articles are harder to track than nonexistent articles, so I'd rather we just focus on making explanations well instead of making an unsatisfactory shell for every comic. Incomplete explanations make us look kinda bad too."''}}
* {{diff|39265|''"People on other sites often comment on how our explanations are a wildly mixed bag of quality. I'd rather you put your effort into making a few good substantial explanations instead of loads of summaries and rehashes of the transcript."''}}

Try to take that into account also...

Cheers, [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 10:45, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

1218: Doors of Durin

2013-05-29T10:37:07Z

Cos: fixed section title syntax

{{comic
| number = 1218
| date = May 29, 2013
| title = Doors of Durin
| image = doors of durin.png
| titletext = If we get the doors open and plug up the dam on the Sirannon so the water rises a little, the pool will start draining into Moria. How do you think the Watcher would fare against a drenched Balrog?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
Based on the Lord of the Rings: An incident in 'The Fellowship of the Ring' where the titular fellowship is trapped outside the door to the Mines of Moria. There's a spoken password to open the doors, an elvish inscription on them provides a clue: "Speak friend, and enter". The party leader (Gandalf), initially interprets this to mean that a friend could speak the password and enter. One of the party members realizes it's actually a very simple riddle: The password is the Elvish word for 'Friend' ('Mellon'), and the inscription should in fact be interpreted as "Say "friend", and enter".

In this comic, Cueball, White Hat, and Megan reenact the scene, with Cueball taking the role of 'Gandalf'. The doors apparently open off-panel when the password is spoken. White Hat then wonders aloud what the elvish word for 'frenemy' is, and Cueball postulates 'Mellogoth'. (A portmanteau of 'Mellon' and 'Morgoth'; much like how 'Frenemy' is a Portmanteau of 'Friend' and 'Enemy'. Morgoth being essentially the Middle-Earth version of Satan, taken from the Silmarillion: Morgoth is often referred to as 'The Enemy' rather than by name. Sauron, known as 'The Enemy' later on, was Morgoth's Second in Command before Morgoth was banished from the world.) The doors apparently immediately slam shut the moment Cueball says 'Mellogoth', suggesting he may be correct.

The title text ponders what would occur if the Sirannon, a stream running adjacent to the path leading to the doors, were to be completely blocked with the doors left open. The already partially blocked Sirannon had formed a pool before the doors; which contained some sort of monstrous horror from the depths of the Earth, referred to as 'the watcher in the water' for lack of a proper name(it 'watches' the doors). Randall seems to think that the pond draining into the mines would anger another horror within: The Balrog (A high-level servant of Morgoth) living within the depths of the mines(Balrogs being primarily creatures of fire and shadow, having a bunch of water dumped on it is unlikely to please it). He then goes on to wonder how long the Watcher could last in a battle with the angry (but wet) Balrog.

==Transcript==
:Megan: I've got it!
:Megan: What's the elvish word for friend?
:Cueball: ''Mellon.''

:''RUMBLE''

:White Hat: So what's the elvish word for "frenemy"?
:Cueball: ''...Mellogoth?''
:'''SLAM!!'''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:LOTR]]

1205: Is It Worth the Time?

2013-04-29T11:26:13Z

Cos: /* Explanation */ mentioned the fact that computer scientists frequently try to optimize their tasks, and referenced related 974: The General Problem

{{comic
| number = 1205
| date = April 29, 2013
| title = Is It Worth the Time?
| image = is it worth the time.png
| titletext = Don't forget the time you spend finding the chart to look up what you save. And the time spent reading this reminder about the time spent. And the time trying to figure out if either of those actually make sense. Remember, every second counts toward your life total, including these right now.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic is a straightforward chart showing the amount of work (time) one can dedicate to making a task more efficient, in order not to spend more time optimizing the task than the total time saved. This may illustrate the fact that computer scientists often try to optimize tasks they are likely to perform again in the future (since this is a common goal in their work), even though the work needed for that optimization can itself prove much longer than the time saved when doing the task again ; this was previously referenced in [[974: The General Problem]].

E.g. if you do some task every week once, and you are able to save 1 minute off it by doing some preparatory work (e.g. build or buy a tool), you can spend 4 hours doing this preparatory work, and you will, across five-years time, come even. (Any less time spent doing the preparatory work, and you will profit from it.)

The calculation on which the chart is based, for this example:

: 5 years / 1 week = 260 occurrences of the task
: 260 occurrences × 1 saved minute = 260 saved minutes = 4.3 hours

Therefore, 1 minute saved every week would, across five years, save over 4 hours of your time.

Or, in algebraic form:

: Total time shaved off across 5 years = 5 × “How often you do the task every year” × “How much time you shave off”

The blacked out areas represent times which are impossible to save (e.g. it is impossible to shave 1 hour off a task if you perform 50 times a day – the total time shaved off per day would amount to 50 hours, far more than the 24 hours a day).

The comic derives humor from the absurd conclusions of hyper-efficiency, which have been examined in http://what-if.xkcd.com/22/. The title text points out the time you spend studying this comic detracts from your overall efficiency, and concludes that maximizing efficiency would require optimal use of every second.

==Transcript==
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
! colspan="6" | How often you do the task
|-
! 50/day !! 5/day !! Daily !! Weekly !! Monthly !! Yearly
|-
!rowspan="9" width="10" | How much time you shave off
! 1 second
| 1 day || 2 hours || 30 minutes || 4 minutes || 1 minute || 5 seconds
|-
! 5 seconds
| 5 days || 12 hours || 2 hours || 21 minutes || 5 minutes || 25 seconds
|-
! 30 seconds
| 4 weeks || 3 days || 12 hours || 2 hours || 30 minutes || 2 minutes
|-
! 1 minute
| 8 weeks || 6 days || 1 day || 4 hours || 1 hour || 5 minutes
|-
! 5 minutes
| 9 months || 4 week || 6 days || 21 hours || 5 hour || 25 minutes
|-
! 30 minutes
| — || 6 months || 5 weeks || 5 days || 1 day || 2 hours
|-
! 1 hour
| — || 10 months || 2 months || 10 days || 2 days || 5 hours
|-
! 6 hours
| — || — || — || 2 months || 2 weeks || 1 day
|-
! 1 day
| — || — || — || — || 8 weeks || 5 days
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Math]]

explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals

2013-04-05T12:28:54Z

Cos: /* Category: Flowcharts */ OK, done.

<noinclude>{{Community portal}}</noinclude>

== Spampage Rampage ==
Hail fellow admins, Jeff, distinguished editors all,

We've just been through a second spike of spam, (the first being around the 1110 Click and Drag comic) so as your friendly Angel of Death to such spammery, I'd like to open the floor to discussion on strategies to deal with the issue.

Personally, I don't mind the role of grim reaper for these miscreants, but I'd also prefer that it doesn't grow in magnitude; of late, I find myself almost exclusively dealing with the matter, leaving little enough time to enjoy the site, let alone contributing to it. Anything we can do to keep things under control would be appreciated.

So far, the spam comes in these flavors:
* One-timers. New users that create their own user page, oddly alike (couldn't be a spam-bot, eh?) always linking to "their" website. By far the biggest percentage of time the scythe falls, it falls on these.
** Two-timers. A variant of above, except they create one or two additional pages, typically the user's talk page, or a page same as the username, but not in the user namespace. Here too, quickly dispatched across the Styx.
* IPersonators: IP users that create faux user (and other) pages. Second largest group, though this trend has been growing, especially during this recent onslaught.
** A particularly insidious variant: IPersonators creating or modifying a real users' page. I've been pretty careful, so far, to track down the author, and block ''them'' (as opposed to assuming author = user) but I can see how this flavor of spam risks accidental blocking of legit contributors, which would be doubleplusungood.
* Jibberish vandal: Somebody creating content that isn't spam, but just repeated ''asdf'' or ''ghjkl'' content. Treated as above, though I don't call this spam in the logs. My guess is that this is a spam-bot under development. Fairly infrequent, and addressed using techniques as for above.

There are a few other one-off types, too, which I won't bother elaborating here.

So, the open-ended question stands: What do we do?

# There has been a suggestion to block IP-only contributors (ie must log in) ... perhaps only on an as-needed basis.
# Another thought would be to (by some as-yet unspecified means) prevent the creation, or cause the timely deletion, of user pages by other than said user.)
# Restricting external links (by a similarly as-yet-unspecified means) either to a specified approved white-list, or by a specified set of contributors (must have made more than n edits, for example.)
# Other thoughts? Let the discussion unfold...

No solution is likely to be perfect; this is a matter of raising the bar to where whatever processed meat can crest over it can be most easily managed... all without being so draconian that we compromise the appeal of the site.

All said, I have no problems with the grim reaper enterprise, but would like to spend more time in the [[User:IronyChef/TestKitchen|kitchen]], and less in the [[Special:Log/block|dumpster]].

A little postscript to put the issue into perspective: the ''top four contributors'', (as per Active Users as I write this) are as follows:
* Lcarsos [169 edits in the last 30 days]
* Davidy22 [282 edits in the last 30 days]
* Bpothier [298 edits in the last 30 days]
* IronyChef [433 edits in the last 30 days]
I can tell you that of my four-hundred plus edits, only about a dozen have not been spam related. Lcarsos and Davidy22 are two ace spam-seeking deputies, so a large part of their edits involve tagging pages with the spam template, not (as I'm sure they'd prefer) actually chiming in on matters xkcd. The rest of the field: not even close in terms of edit magnitude. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 15:30, 20 October 2012 (UTC)

:I was going to suggest a range block, but the IP addresses com from everywhere. The only pattern I can see is in the 83.<25 range. We could also change the captcha to cut into the bots for a little while. Another suggestion would be to create every explanation page, then mark the unfinished ones with the <nowiki>{{stub}}</nowiki> template, if that exists in this wiki. Then we can block anonymous page creation without having to worry about stopping anonymous users from creating new explanations. We'll have to make a few modifications to the site, to instruct users on how to find pages in need of explanations, but it'll kill all the userpage and self-help spambots. We can figure out how to deal with vandalism later - I would recommend implementing wikipedia's cluebot to automagically roll back page clearing and the like. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 23:16, 20 October 2012 (UTC)

:Also, we can semi-protect important pages like categories and templates. Chances are, anonymous users aren't familiar enough with wikis to be handling those anyways, and wiki veteran anonymous users will probably make an account. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 09:30, 21 October 2012 (UTC)

... ''Madame la Guillotine'' has been busy, dealing with no less than four dozen spammified pages and their attendant contributors in the last hour, to address a third spike in spam. Our hyper-contributing editors have been helping identify these malefactors, so the process has been fairly straight-forward on my part, but it's awfully quiet here....

The top five contributors, as of this writing, are:
* Divad27182 [133 edits in the last 30 days]
* Davidy22 [202 edits in the last 30 days]
* Lcarsos [207 edits in the last 30 days]
* Bpothier [267 edits in the last 30 days]
* IronyChef [537 edits in the last 30 days]

Number six is comes in at less than half of Divad's, and the curve decays precipitiously from there... so this is becoming a call to arms for admins to convene and discuss, ''or'' Jeff to anoint other, more active contributors, admin status.

Thoughts?

-- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 06:02, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

:Would it be possible to volunteer to be another admin to move some of the load off of IronyChef? It feels slightly cruel and unusual for him to be the only active admin, and thus ad-hoc in charge of keeping the engines running. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:16, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

::Another admin is definitely needed, given the volume of spam. It'd be nice if we could [[Special:UnusedTemplates|clean]] [[Special:UnusedFiles|out]] the attic too. Shall we hold a vote? [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 06:41, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

::I only have sporadic time to do edits, so I'd likely not be an ideal choice if there can be only 1 more... --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 07:19, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

::: This is yet again great. I'm researching SPAM prevention tools in use on other wikis. Let me know if you have something you think will work. Also, Lcarsos, you are up. Best new admin I can think of. I'm not afraid to add other admins if some (including myself) are less active. Other candidates can be submitted here. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 17:53, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

::::I'm immensely honored that you trust me that much. Thank you, I'll work hard to better the wiki. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:00, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

== Redirect main-page of explainxkcd.com ==

I mentioned this on the old site, but I guess this is a better place. The first page most people will get to is still the main explainxkcd.com page. With no more updates there it looks at first glance like a dead place, and when I out of habit go there, I still get an instinctive feeling that the site is dead because the first place I am send is a dead place. PLEASE redirect the main-page to this wiki, since this is the place that is still alive. [[User:Carewolf|Carewolf]] ([[User talk:Carewolf|talk]]) 14:40, 22 September 2012 (UTC)
: Good idea. Will work on that soon. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 17:49, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

== Tagline ==

I haven't created [[MediaWiki:Tagline]] yet, but we need to think about what to put there. That's the familiar "From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." over at Wikipedia - it appears right under the title of each page. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 10:39, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
 Moved from [[Explain XKCD:Community portal]] --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:09, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

:I think it's pretty obvious we should keep the "It's cause you're dumb." :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 13:20, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:: Well, since there haven't been any objections, I went ahead and added it: [[Mediawiki:Tagline]]. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 18:46, 11 August 2012 (UTC)

== Separate discussion page(s) ==

I think we should create a separate Discuss the wiki page, so that each discussion can go under its own header. I'd suggest setting up a todo list where people can help out. I'd start with a suggestion:
: We should be using [[mw:Manual:Short URL|cleaner urls]]. Maybe [http://shorturls.redwerks.org/ this tool] can help setting that up. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 05:46, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
:: Whatever we do decide, I've created <nowiki>{{xkcd}}</nowiki> and <nowiki>{{explain}}</nowiki> templates to create links to the xkcd site and other explanations here on this site; that should factor at least those sites (nice central administration) as well as helping us categorize pages that use them. Was thinking of also <nowiki>{{wiki}}</nowiki> for the same benefit, even if there's already a prefix built into mediawiki... the only drawback is the bias toward the en side... [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 10:31, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
:::I'm liking the idea of creating a Discuss the wiki page - I'll start one if someone doesn't/hasn't beat me to it and add it to the sidebar. I'd asked for better URLs at [[User talk:Jeff#Robots.txt]], though I didn't know what they were called. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 17:17, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
::::I also like the idea of the {{tl|xkcd}} tags. On a related note, I've [[Special:Import|imported]] {{tl|tl}}. :-) <s> I also realize we don't have a secure server here, but I'd support the best practice of beginning URLs with protocol-relative links ( // instead of http:// or https:// ) anyway, especially since the xkcd website ''itself'' appears to be https-compatible.</s>Nevermind, it doesn't seem to be. So I guess it doesn't matter. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 22:40, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
::: Maybe we can create a subpage of the community portal for the wiki discussion. What do you think? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 04:32, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
:::: Also one for editing coordination (see [[User:SurturZ/sandbox]] for instance), another for mediawiki assistance (requests to admins perhaps on the same page, or on a separate one). Any other ideas? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 04:41, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
Moved from [[Explain XKCD:Community portal]], may need to be broken out into new headers or sub-headers. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:12, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

Great job on creating the subpages! I think the subpages can be made more intuitive for newcomers, though. Here are my subbestions:
* merge "/Design" and "/Proposals" into '''"/Discuss the wiki"''' or "/Improve the wiki" or something to that effect.
* rename "/Technical" into '''"/Tecnical assistance"''' so it is clear that it should be used for one-off issues rather than coordination of wiki-wide changes (which should go in the section above)
* merge the "/Administrator's noticeboard" above? That would reinforce that adminship is nothing but a set of technical tools to assist the wiki
* New '''"/Editing coordination"''' subpage for organizing what to do, maintenance, keeping a TODO list for newcomers to tackle, etc -- essentially like WikiProjects work at Wikipedia.
--[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 04:35, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

:As I see this, it would involve mostly just renaming pages. I don't particularly care what the names are, so I won't comment on that.
:*I'd like to keep /Administrator's noticeboard for the time being. The primary advantage of this is that administrators can watchlist this and things which need the tools are less likely to get lost in discussion. It can always be deprecated afterwards if it isn't being used enough.
:*I'd sort of seen /Design as doing what you're proposing for /Editing coordination, though I didn't explain it as well.
:--''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 18:43, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:: Ok, I get what you mean with the Admin page. I don't think this wiki is going to be that busy to warrant a separate page, though. But for now, let's at least simplify the name? "Admin requests", for instance :)
:: And yeah, Design isn't really a good name for content-related coordination. What I'm suggesting here is to have one page for meta (wiki-related) discussion, and another for content-related discussion. Does that make sense? And what name do you think would be good for the former rather than the current, too generic imo, "Proposals"? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:20, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

:::"Discuss the wiki" sounds good to me, as does "Admin requests." Or whatever, I guess. ;-) I may not be online much for the next few days (or much this evening), so go ahead and change it how you think it should be, I guess. Having stable discussion pages sooner than later would be good. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 01:48, 6 August 2012 (EDT)

:::: Ok I changed the admin page name, and merged "design" and "proposals", but for now I left it named "Proposals". I'm not quite confident about the clarity of "Discuss the wiki"... I'll wait until others comment here. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 14:06, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

::::: I'm not seeing any further discussion and it's been a few days since the move, so I'm clearing the sitenotice. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 02:38, 11 August 2012 (UTC)

== Automatic Import ==

Hi

I created a draft for the comic pages. It's still work in progress, but I'd like to retrieve feedback.

Also, maybe we could autmatically import comics using the JSON data Randall gives us ([http://xkcd.com/614/info.0.json]). This way, we could also include transcripts. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 15:23, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
: Hm, I should add a link to my draft: [[User:SlashMe/Testpage]] ;-) --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 06:54, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

I updated the page, including links to the next/previous comic similar to [[Template:ComicHeader]]. I used comic 472, because it has a lot of metadata (link, news, HTML title, etc.). --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 07:32, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

Just to remind everyone, I'd be ready to import the comics, but I don't want to until I got more feedback. Please have a look at [[User:SlashMe/Testpage]] and tell me your opinion. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 06:02, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
: I think your test page looks great. I'm a big fan of it. Any way to fit the text in the text box rather than having it run all the way to the right? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:19, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
:: I just made a change concerning line breaks, at least it works in Firefox and Chrome. Could somebody please test it in different versions of Internet Explorer?
:: If you agree, I would start uploading tomorrow. I'll send you a mail. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 18:31, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Moved from [[User talk:Jeff]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:38, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

The discussion is now at [[Explain XKCD:Community_portal/Design#Header template]]. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 04:20, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== "Random comic?" ==

Not to clutter the sidebar, but what would you say to adding a "Random comic" right under "Random page", linking to [//dynamic.xkcd.com/random/comic/ //dynamic.xkcd.com/random/comic/] ? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 01:46, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:Naw, xkcd already has a random comic. I think we should have a ''random explanation''. ;-) All kidding aside, I was wondering: generating a random member of a category...? Has that improved since the early days when I tried to do something like that. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 03:19, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
::Hi. For how to do this, we could install the [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Random_In_Category Random In Category] Mediawiki extension, which would allow us to use <nowiki>[[Special:RandomInCategory/Comics]]</nowiki> to point to any random explanation. {{User:Omega/sig}} 22:42, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
::: Or we could move the comics into a Comic namespace, and use Special:Random/comic (See for instance [[Special:Random/template]]). This doesn't require any server-side changes. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 23:58, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

== Header template ==

Hi, I've created a template called [[Template:ComicHeader]], which might make things easier when creating comic pages (and also provide better consistency between the pages). I've used it on the [[Internal monologue]] page, to display the comic number and the date it was published. The template also adds the page to the [[:Category:Comics|Comics]] category.

You just need to add:
<pre>{{ComicHeader|1089|August 1, 2012}}</pre>
…to the start of the page (replacing the comic number and date).

I'll try to make the template look a bit nicer, but the great thing about templates of course, is that once they're updated, the changes are reflected on all the pages that include that template. --[[User:Yirba|Yirba]] ([[User talk:Yirba|talk]]) 18:46, 1 August 2012 (EDT)

:By the way, I'm thinking of maybe programming something that would allow you to easily import the comic image and alt text from xkcd without having to upload the images manually and the like. You'd just have to host a single PHP file on your server and make a few changes to the MediaWiki configuration. Of course, you'd be able to see source code and everything to make sure I'm not trying to do something fishy. :-P Let me know what you think. :-) --[[User:Yirba|Yirba]] ([[User talk:Yirba|talk]]) 18:54, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::Yirba - I like the idea. My email is explain@explainxkcd.com - send me what you put together and we can sort it out. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 19:37, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::Ditto on the Template. Up-vote. Any thought on harvesting the pre-wiki content from ExplainXKCD with some sort of a Python, Perl, or PHP script? (That sounds more like a 'bot than something that would have to be hosted, though.) [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 01:52, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

::: I was thinking of putting it into a infobox, please [[#Idea|see above]]. I also intended to automatically extract data from xkcd, which would lack descriptions, but at least we would have data like title, image and transcripts. Also, there are some other data like links (e.g. 832), news (which are displayed in xkcd's header, e.g. 739) and titles which contain HTML (259 and 472). I also extracted all those data. When we agree on a page layout, I could begin programming a bot. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 06:54, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

::::Hmmm… an infobox may be a good idea. And a bot that imports data from xkcd might be handy. Anyway, here's something I programmed that would allow for access to the xkcd API from the wiki itself. Essentially, you'd put this xkcdinfo.php ([http://gist.github.com/3239432 source], [http://github.com/downloads/Yirba/yirba.github.com/xkcdinfo.php download]) file somewhere on the server (e.g. at http://www.explainxkcd.com/xkcdinfo.php) and [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Interwiki#Adding_a_new_website_for_interwiki_linking include it in MediaWiki's interwiki table] (ensuring iw_trans == 1):
<pre>INSERT INTO interwiki (iw_prefix, iw_url, iw_local, iw_trans) VALUES ('xkcdinfo', 'http://www.explainxkcd.com/xkcdinfo.php?input=$1', 0, 1);</pre>
::::After [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:$wgEnableScaryTranscluding enabling scary transclusion] in LocalSettings.php, you'd then be able to send queries to the xkcd JSON API via this file. In other words, <code><nowiki>{{xkcdinfo:32-title}}</nowiki></code> would make comic 32's title appear. <code><nowiki>{{xkcdinfo:55-alt}}</nowiki></code> would make comic 55's image text appear. I've also set it so you could enter <code><nowiki>{{xkcdinfo:100-embed}}</nowiki></code>, and it would make the comic 100 image appear on the wiki page. Feel free to use it however you want (if at all), and modify the code should you wish. (Hint: Using the number 0 for the comic number will query the most recent comic, so <code><nowiki>{{xkcdinfo:0-num}}</nowiki></code> will return the current comic number. Also, adding "raw:" before "xkcdinfo:" might be more useful in some instances. E.g.: <code><nowiki>{{raw:xkcdinfo:555-title}}</nowiki></code>)--[[User:Yirba|Yirba]] ([[User talk:Yirba|talk]]) 14:50, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

::::: Nice idea, altough this would mean to load all data from xkcd whenever a page is <del>viewed</del><ins>edited</ins> (I think this is the way MediaWiki caches the data). This is a lot of traffic for little data. I'd say to include the metadata statically, but linking the external image seems a good thing to me. Again, it'd be great if you gave me feedback for [[User:SlashMe/Testpage|my idea]]. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 15:54, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

::::::Yes, the data would be loaded from xkcd for each edit. You can, however, substitute (subst) the template for data that is unlikely to change. And therefore the data would indeed be stored statically. I like the layout you've come up with. It could perhaps do with a bit of tweaking here and there, but the general idea is good. --[[User:Yirba|Yirba]] ([[User talk:Yirba|talk]]) 17:16, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

::::::: What kind of tweaking do you mean? I know the code is a bit messy, if you have a better idea, please tell me (or do it yourself - hey, it's a wiki!). The CSS should be placed in an external file, but for now, it's ok. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 17:51, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

Looks like there is another/newer template called [[Template:Comic]] that includes prev/next buttons as well.
You add it with:
<pre>{{comic
| number = 1
| date = September 30, 2005
| title = {{PAGENAME}}
| image = barrel_cropped_(1).jpg
| imagesize =
| alttext = Don't we all.
}}

Moved from [[User talk:Jeff]]. --~~~~
==Description==
xxxxxxxxxxx
</pre>
No need to include the alt text separately, as the template does it for you. It also includes the comic category, but only if the first 4 fields are filled out.
--[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 18:47, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

: Yes, but that is not necessarily an advantage. My template only creates the infobox, so you are still able to create an introductory text or other sections, for special comics that need a more detailed description. I can also add categories if needed. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 19:02, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

::I think it is a major advantage to make the thing easier to use and more consistant site-wide.

::As the creator of the new one, I'm obviously biased, but I created it because I think it's better. Not putting your work down, it was a great piece of code that I put to work in my template. But I think if there's need for pre-text of any kind (not sure there is, as the articles probably should all open with the comic itself as presented on XKCD), a pre-comment can be added into the template, but I'm not sure what that would be. Perhaps there would be a requirement for special circumstances like the comic a few weeks ago where there were a million iterations depending on locality, browser, etc. But that's the rarity. I think the new one simplifies it for users. They need only one template to post the comic, alt text title and nav buttons. What could be easier? [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:08, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

::: As the creator of the other one, I'm equally biased. What about a "main template", which then calls one or two other templates (e.g. one for the infobox, another for image and alt text? For most comics, this main template could be used, but if absolutely needed, it would still be possible to use the underlying templates with custom sections/text. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 19:15, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

::::I just now saw your request for feedback on your new comic page with the sidebar. I honestly am not sure which format is better. I kind of like my format for the fact that it basically presents the comic as it was originally posted, but your infobox does provide some additional stuff like 3D link (not sure what "news" is, of where the "link" comes from but...) Perhaps we could integrate the two. I like that the comic is visble right away on my template, but on your page it's down below the first header. I don't think the comic itself needs an "image" heading. No disrespect, but I think your sidebar, esp. because of the "news" field is a bit chunky - too wide for most of its content.

::::I think we could easily add things like a "3d" link into {{tl|comic}} as part of the next/prev bar where a "3D" field in the template is non-blank. Similarly, original title could read something like (Originally titled: xxxxx) below the primary title in a smaller font. Other than the "link" and "news" fields (which again, I'm not sure what they are), I think that would inclde all the same info as your infobox into my template. Thoughts?

::::As to your other comment about compartmentalizing the template, I have nothing against that, but which parts of the template would you want to be able to use separately (and can you suggest an example where that might be necessary?) Subdividing the template can always be done later if it becomes needed; just trying to get an idea of what you have in mind by compartmentalizing it. Cheers [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:43, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Moved from [[User talk:Jeff]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:37, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

{{outdent|::::}}

''Suggestion:''

* I will start by uploading all images. This will take some time and has no points to discuss. (If it has, tell me.) At a later point, maybe we could link them directly from xkcd.com.
* For the comic pages: Let's say we'll use {{tl|Comic}}. I'll change the arguments of the template to be more like my {{tl|Infobox comic}}, see [[Template:Infobox comic#Arguments|documentation]]. I'll keep the ''alttext'' argument, but make ''image'' optional (file name should be guessed from the title). Do we really need ''imagesize''?
* {{tl|Comic}} would then call some further templates, passing the appropriate arguments. This way, we are able to use custom sections/text if needed for special comics (like [http://xkcd.com/1037/ Umwelt]) by using these templates instead of the all-in-one {{tl|Comic}}.
* Since we have one template doing all the work, we can easily change the page layout even after the import. (We should only keep track of the pages that don't use {{tl|Comic}}, using a hidden category)
* For consistency, I would move all existing pages out of the way and re-create them. The moved pages could be collected by adding them to a category like [[:Category:legacy pages]], so they should easily be found. Descriptions should be moved to the new pages, afterwards the legacy pages can be deleted.

This way, I can import all comics, but we would still be able to change the layout afterwards. My 2ct concerning page layout:
* <del>'''Use comic titles as page names.'''</del><ins>(See below)</ins> The title should be prominent, the number will be in the infobox.
* I'll remove ''Original title'', ''news'' and ''link'' from the infobox and move them to a section after the description. (For details, see [[Template:Infobox_comic#Documentation|here]])
* suggested layout:
<pre>
=====page title=====
+--------------------+ +---------+
| | | infobox |
| image | | text |
|(no section heading)| | |
| | | |
| | +---------+
+--------------------+
==alt==
text
==description==
text
==transcript==
text
==original title, news and link== (if available)
text
</pre>

Still open for opinions.--[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 04:13, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

:It might make more sense to use the comic number as the page title, and then use [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:$wgAllowDisplayTitle DISPLAYTITLE] to make the comic title appear in place of the number. Just putting that out as another possibility. --[[User:Yirba|Yirba]] ([[User talk:Yirba|talk]]) 09:49, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
::Good point, I agree. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 09:54, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

If anyone wants to use it, I've written a bot [http://pastebin.com/5F877BHE] that can upload images, create redirect pages, and create comic pages. You can change the format it uses for the comic page if you have some knowledge of python. To use it, look at [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Pywikipediabot/Quick_Start_Guide]. --[[User:Cyanfish|Cyanfish]] ([[User talk:Cyanfish|talk]]) 10:56, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:Sorry, I was faster. I'm using [http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/mwclient/ mwclient], and I already uploaded all images. I could also create pages and redirects, but I'm waiting until we have a consent. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 11:02, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

::A few thoughts: if you start uploading images, but don't create the comic pages with them, a user going to create a new comic page isn't going to know whether or not the comic image has already been uploaded. This could be confusing. Hopefully the uploads are going to be named the same as the original images? (when I do upload, I actually just paste the URL in my "browse" box and upload directly from my browsers cache that way so it works out), but I just want to avoid duplicating images on the server as well as wasting time by trying to upload something that's already there.

::As to the page layout, I'm still of the view that the transcript should be in a collapsed frame so that it doesn't take up half the article. I don't honestly think that most people are coming to read the transcript. I could be wrong tho. Open to opinions on that. Otherwise, I do like transcript AFTER The explanation (also, the heading "explanation" vs. "description" as mentioned in another discussion in the portal. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:09, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

:::PS: We definately need imagesize. It defaults to full size, but I think we definately need the optional argument for large comics. Remembering that this is a wiki to explain the comics, there are many large comics that ought to be restricted to a smaller size for the page (they can be clicked to enlarge - the template automatically creates a "click to enlarge" link if imagesize is used). I have generally been using a 375 or 400px size for keeping larger comics managable, but sometimes it's a comic-dependant decision. Also, notwithstanding my comment on another thread, even though I agree that the xkcd commentary is actually "title text", just as a side note, I've just noticed that the transcripts for older comics actually do call it "alt text") [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:40, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::: As long as no one has any objections, this header looks awesome (with ImageSize as TheHYPO suggested), so feel free to work on the importation functionality. Let me know if you need anything from me in order to import from the Wordpress side of things. If we start talking importation, lets move that conversation under a different header. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 15:56, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

=== Date format ===

I suggest to enter the date as YYYY-MM-DD and using <nowiki>{{#dateformat: {{date}}}</nowiki> in {{tl|comic}}. This way, the date should be displayed using the personal preferences (see [[Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-datetime]]). Does anyone disagree? --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 20:42, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

== Displaying Comics {{done|Closed}}==

For the home page, I think the comic and explanation should be displayed instead of a link to the comic.

For reasons unknown to me, I decided to create [[Template:Comicbox]] and [[Template:Comicbox2]]. Looks nice, as long as you use the correct one for the comic.

Go to [[User:Grep/comicbox]] and [[User:Grep/comicbox2]] for examples. --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]
:Those're wonderful! And should probably be on the main page. If you wanted, we could probably incorporate them (and maybe a third?) into a single template with a "square/vertical or horizontal" switch. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 21:36, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
::Also, you used "comicbox" for the class. Is that a class that's defined somewhere? (And if so, where?) --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 21:36, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
:::Good point. Removed. And merging them sounds wonderful. --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]
::::Maybe merging them into [[Template:comicbox]]? --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]
:::::I think classes are defined at [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so if you really wanted to define the class.... And [[Template:Comicbox]] would probably be best. Did you want to merge them or should I take a look at it? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 22:25, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
::::::ParserFunctions and any sort of non-XMLish markup is weird. I would rather you look at it. --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]
:::::::Okay, I've moved your templates to {{tl|Comicbox square or vertical}} and {{tl|Comicbox horizontal}} so I can work on {{tl|Comicbox}} as the main one. It may take a while - I like to think of myself as a "[[wikipedia:Category:User template coder|master of all known wikimarkup]]," but I don't actually use those skills that often. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 23:08, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
::::::::Thanks. --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]
:::::::::I've made it at {{tl|Comicbox}}. This actually leaves {{tl|Comicbox square or vertical}} and {{tl|Comicbox horizontal}} unused, though I credited you (and them) in a comment at the top of the template. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:21, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
::::::::::I think that the explanation should be on the right because it just looks weird as is... --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]
{{outdent}} Sure. But right now they both look like they're on the bottom? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 20:02, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
:{{done|Fixed}} --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]

===Sans-serif typeface {{done|Closed}}===
::::::::I like these, too, but the roman typeface... how do folks feel about sticking with a sans-serif typeface throughout the site? [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 00:13, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
:::::::::We should be able to change that wiki-wide through [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], I think. Unfortunately, I don't know enough CSS to do it. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:23, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
:::::::::: I believe sans serif is already the default wiki-wide. Those specific instances were deliberately coded to use a serif font. It's just a matter of removing <code>font-family: 'Times New Roman';</code> from the template. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:01, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
::::::::::: Oh, I'd missed that. I removed it. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 22:14, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Moved from [[User talk:Jeff]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:37, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== comic header ==

Jeff, further to your previous conversation on the comic header, I've significantly rewritten Yirba's template (thanks to Yirba for the hard work. His navigation bar was very useful) and I've created a new template of {{tl|comic}}. An example of the comic in use can be seen at [[T-shirts]]. I started a discussion on the main page discussion board, but I thought if I pointed it out to you and you like it, it can start going in the rotation for new comics.

I actually now see that Grep did a template up with intent (I think) to use for the main page. Had I known that when I started, I would have probably based my template off of his, because it looks nice, but either way, mine is intended for the actual articles. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:46, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

:Again, may I link to <del>[[User talk:Jeff#Automatic Import|my request for feedback]]</del>? --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 15:52, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

The discussion is now at [[Explain XKCD:Community_portal/Design#Header template]]. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 04:17, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

Moved from [[User talk:Jeff]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:37, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Bylines ==
In the migration from blog to wiki, I noticed a few things:
# Visitors still seem to assume there's a single, ''invisible other'' that provides the explanations; this might be a carryover from the blog days when Jeff was the author of that content, or it may be newcomers not familiar with the license-to-create a wiki offers. You see it in comments that call out corrections, without the corrections actually being made to the explanations. Usually a more savvy editor swings in, makes the fix, and chimes in on the comments.
# There's no visual cue on the page itself to disabuse a novice of that fact. Sure, wikiphiles will check the history; but aside from that the novice has is left in the dark, and certainly isn't led to the conclusion that they, too, can contribute to the explanation.
To that end, I was wondering: why not put a {{tl|byline}} on each explanation, and give credit where credit is due? I know Waldir wanted to "gamify" the wiki a bit. I don't know that I'd go ''that'' far, but putting bylines does kill a few birds by raising awareness of the democratic approach to explanations, and giving kudos to the contributor(s). I've prototyped it (and of course, it's subject to revision) but here's how it would work:
* '''<nowiki>{{byline|you}}</nowiki>''' produces {{byline|you}}
* '''<nowiki>{{byline|you|me}}</nowiki>''' produces {{byline|you|me}}
* '''<nowiki>{{byline|you|me|someone else}}</nowiki>''' produces {{byline|you|me|someone else}}
* More concretely, '''<nowiki>{{byline|Jeff|Waldir|IronyChef|Blaisepascal}}</nowiki>''' produces {{byline|Jeff|Waldir|IronyChef|Blaisepascal}}
(in general, the parameters are the usernames, up to about 5 or six contributors, for now.) Was thinking about having the content be automatically turned into wiki-links, but left that out while we think it over. Thotz? -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 04:22, 17 August 2012 (UTC)
:: How would we indicate who is in the byline? The person who created the page? The person who edited the most characters? Would it be a combination of all the names? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 14:32, 17 August 2012 (UTC)
:::I have to say, it sounds contrary to the whole wiki premise. I agree with you that there does seem to be a bit of a learning curve here, but I don't know if "crediting" the explanations is the right solution. How much editing does one have to do to get credit on an article? You might get people who want to edit just to get credits, and credits over time could get relatively lengthy. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:41, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

== Template improvement suggestion ==

Can I suggest that we work on improving {{tl|ComicHeader}} - I wish I had time to do it myself and then edit all the comic pages, but I would suggest the best way might be to start a new template (perhaps design it a bit more like an infobox) and start converting the old pages over to new ones.

The feature I think should be added is that, where the template currently includes teh comic number and date, and creates the nav header, the template really ought to include the image name, and the alt text. In that way, the template can produce the entire part of the article that displays the comic and its alt text (and the alt text, as mentioned, could be more like a caption, instead of just looking like a generic section of the article - it's part of the comic, it shouldn't look like part of the article on this site (no offence, Jeff, but that's one thing I always didn't like about explain XKCD - the image text should be bold or underlined or italics or something to signify that it's part of the comic and not the explanation.

I'll see if I can work on a prototype. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 12:29, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

:What does everyone thing of this as a better layout? [[Blown Apart]] [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 13:09, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

::May I link to <del>[[User talk:Jeff#Automatic Import|my request for feedback]]</del>? --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 15:52, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Moved from [[Talk:Main Page]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:44, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

The discussion is now at [[#Header template]]. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 04:17, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Transcripts ==

Do we need to add a whole section on "Transcript" for each comic? That could get very long for some comics, and basically pushes the explanations down further (which is what people generally come to explainxkcd for). If anything, perhaps the transcripts could be in a minimizable box like some navboxes do on wikipedia? I don't see a majority of users coming to read the transcripts... [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:15, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

: What about putting the transcripts at the bottom of the page?
: BTW: If you agree, this discussion should be moved to [[Explain XKCD:Community portal]], as [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] suggested. At least for new discussions. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 19:19, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

::No problem there. Feel free to move it. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:29, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

:::How about having it be collapsed, with the option to expand it (TOC-like)? -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 04:25, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

Moved from [[Talk:Main Page]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:47, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

The discussion is now at [[#Header template]]. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 04:18, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Adding a new comic ==

This is the process I use to add a new comic. YMMV... Feel free to update this as/if needed to provide some consistency...--[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 19:22, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

I start by uploading the image using the name from [[XKCD]]'s page.

I create the new page using the comic number(not the name), e.g. "http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1"

I (currently) insert using the "Comic" template:
<pre>
{{comic
| number = 1
| date = September 30, 2005
| title = {{PAGENAME}}
| image = barrel_cropped_(1).jpg
| imagesize =
| alttext = Don't we all.
}}
==Transcript==
This is the transcript from xkcd
==Description==
Wow what a cool comic!
</pre>

I "Show preview" to ensure the image shows up and everything looks good.

I "Save page".

I click the "move" link on the down-arrow drop-down menu to the right of "View history" (at top of page).

I rename the page from "1" to the page title from [[XKCD]].

This will automatically create a redirect from "1" to the correct page name without having to do it manually.
--[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 19:22, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

:Please, have a break here. When we agree on a page layout, I can do this automatically. I repeat, when we agree on the layout (which should also include the direction of the redirects) --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 19:25, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Moved from [[Talk:Main Page]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:47, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

The discussion concerning the layout is at [[Explain XKCD:Community_portal/Design#Header template]]. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 04:18, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== styling of xkcd links ==

I added code to the end of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]] to style links to the xkcd website as http://xkcd.com rather than the regular external link format, http://example.com. What do you guys think? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 05:06, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:I like it generally. Is there a way to force it to not display on individual pages, though? I don't think we should have it at [[Explain XKCD:Copyrights]], {{tl|XKCD file}}, or {{tl|XKCD file derived}}, as they are more serious. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 16:27, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
::Sure. I've disabled it on those pages, feel free to add more as you see fit. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:22, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:::Thanks! --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 18:34, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:I like the idea of the graphic, too, but wonder if it could be muted a bit (medium gray vs black) so it recedes a bit into the background; the classic graphic is a very light blue for that reason, too. (Oh, and a minor quibble... overheard: "who is that short, bearded dude?" "Oh! That's megan?") ... I don't know how we could update it, and maybe it'll be less of an issue when muted... Thotz? -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:16, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
::The image can be updated by uploading new versions of [[File:xkcd favicon.png]]. It doesn't need to be the xkcd.com favicon; in fact, it would be good if we could make it even smaller (e.g. just cueball's head, or simply "xkcd" in the typical handwritten font, etc). Making it dimmer also seems like a good idea, btw. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:38, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

== 'Explanation' rather than 'Description' ==

Can I suggest we use the heading "Explanation" rather than "Description" on the comic pages, since that fits with the name of the wiki? --[[User:SurturZ|SurturZ]] ([[User talk:SurturZ|talk]]) 09:20, 5 August 2012 (EDT)
:Agreed. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 14:27, 5 August 2012 (EDT)
::Seconded [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:04, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

== Allow external inline images ==

Hi. I'd like to propose that we set [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:$wgAllowExternalImages $wgAllowExternalImages] to true '''or''' add <tt>xkcd.com</tt> and some image hosting sites (such as <tt>imgur.com</tt>) to [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:$wgAllowExternalImagesFrom $wgAllowExternalImagesFrom]. If the former is set to true, external images will be allowed from any host, whereas if the former is kept as false but we add some sites to the latter (obviously adding xkcd's site itself seems to be the logical choice), then only images that are from whitelisted sites can appear as inline images. What this does is it allows external images to be displayed as an actual image, rather than just a link (note that sites not in the whitelist will still appear as just the link). Why? Because there's no way to display images without uploading them. Obviously some editors may wish to use images for non-wiki purposes, such as proposing alternative logos or for their userspace, in which case uploading the images to this site isn't entirely practical. Allowing externally hosted images to be displayed will alleviate that problem.

Yes, there is the risk of... less appropriate images being displayed, however, I consider that being a null argument, as editors could just as easily upload the image here and link it as an internal image. As well, using the whitelist alternative would limit the image to being posted from a trusted site, such as imgur. Finally, if worries about nude photos being posted is really a concern (seriously, what's stopping an editor from just uploading said image here? Nothing.), it's possible to only whitelist sites which don't permit nude images from being hosted on their site (such as <tt>imageshack.us</tt>), although I think that's a bit extreme (especially considering that imgur is hands down the most popular image host these days). {{User:Omega/sig}} 07:52, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

:I really don't see a compelling reason to have this. It's not about improper images or anything. (Note that we already have access to all images in [[commons:|Wikimedia Commons]], by the way, which has a large variety of images and other media, with the added benefit that we're sure they can be reused without licensing concerns). A specific whitelist could be interesting (e.g. we could hotlink the images from xkcd), but having the images here allows us to do neat things like categorizing them by topic, size, etc. Also, images like logo proposals, etc. do benefit from being uploaded here (for historical interest, for a guarantee that they won't be deleted wherever they're hosted, for better control regarding how they're displayed, etc.) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:27, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

== Latest comic handling ==

Currently the latest comic is handled automatically by the {{tl|LATESTCOMIC}} template, which tests the existence of pages like 1092, 1093 (supposed to be redirects to the corresponding comics), to see which is the highest-number existing page, and consider it the latest comic.

That way we can have the latest comic automatically transcluded on the main page.

But we cannot have, with that system, an automatic "Edit" link (to edit the latest comic) on the main page, nor can we have automatically the comments associated with that latest comic. The former was {{diff|5587|changed to a "Go to this comic" link}}, and the latter was {{diff|4940|removed}}. I think both of them are really useful things to have on the main page.

I've been thinking a little bit about this, and in the end I suggest that we handle manually the latest comic :
* There would be a single {{tl|latest comic}} template, which would have to be updated manually to return the full title of the latest comic's page (such as "1092: Michael Phelps").
* Next to the "Latest comic" header, on the front page, would be appended a "[update]" link, to a page explaining that to insert the new latest comic in the wiki: one needs to 1/ create a page titled "<number>: <title>" and 2/ update the {{tl|latest comic}} template with the new title.
* The "Edit this explanation" link could be put back on the main page, using something like <code><nowiki>[{{fullurl:{{latest comic}}|action=edit}} '''Edit this explanation''']</nowiki></code>. And I firmly believe that link is important. ({{diff|5598|*this*}} for instance is exactly what I'm talking about)
* The comments to the latest comic could be appended under the latest comic's transclusion, with something like <code><nowiki>{{ {{TALKPAGENAME: {{latest comic}} }} }}</nowiki></code>. They could be in a collapsible area if they take too much space. Same here than about the edit link, I believe that's really important to impel/motivate readers to leave their comments as well.
* Finally, when only the number is needed (such as in the computation of the number of missing explanations), this could be done via another template (for instance {{tl|latest comic number}}), automatic this time, which would replace the current {{tl|LATESTCOMIC}} by extracting the value out of {{tl|latest comic}} (with something like <code><nowiki>{{#explode:{{latest comic}}|:}}</nowiki></code>).

So, yes there would be a value to update manually, but that's not really much and if it's part of a process I don't think that would be a big drawback, and on the other hand I think it would be less error-prone than an automatic calculation, and allow more useful things. And make less use of redirects as well. Furthermore, the current {{tl|LATESTCOMIC}}, used quite a lot (in the sidebar, so in every page actually), makes heavy use of the <code><nowiki>{{#ifexist:...}}</nowiki></code> parser function, [[mw:Help:Extension:ParserFunctions##ifexist|qualified as "expensive"]], so even though it may not be a big deal it could be a better option to try to avoid that...

What do you think?

[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 16:53, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
:Quick interjection in the middle of this larger posting, but I've been playing around with a template that should radically simplify the exhaustive and expensive logic used by {{tl|LATESTCOMIC}} by using date math. It's been simmering in my test kitchen, and I'm fairly sure it's robust enough to roll out... just one thing: it would be much more efficient if we had the Variables extension (ie, ADMIN REQUEST) else there would be a lot of duplicate recalculation of the date. Not terrible, but not as good as it could be. See {{tl|LatestComicOnDate}} and the associated talk page for the guts of it. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 04:14, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

:A few considerations:
:* We can instead add the edit link directly to the comic page. It could be generated by the {{tl|comic}} template, which already has to be provided with both the number and the title of the comic (in fact those could even be automatically extracted from the page title with some [[mw:Extension:StringFunctions|string parsing functions]] or {{w|Template:Str number/trim|clever}} {{w|Template:Remove first word|templates}}). This should solve the "edit this comic" link issue.
:* Actually, the discussion part was hidden from the main page on purpose (although for a different reason: it was transcluding the main page's own talk page instead). I am not sure it's a good idea to include it in the main page as it could clutter it, but I can understand the point of putting it there. I would suggest perhaps including it directly rather than inside the {{tl|comic discussion}} box, as that would create a box on a box layout that I don't think would look too good. Note that there is no problem with needing the pagename here, since we can transclude a redirect (the same way the actual comic page is transcluded using only the number, which is a redirect).
:* I did see that edit and was thinking that we could probably display a custom info message whenever someone attempts to edit main page, so they'll know they ''can'' edit the actual comic page. I'll add that to my todo list.
:* Mediawiki itself will tell us when a potentially expensive parser function is being used too much, by placing the corresponding page in [[:Category:Pages with too many expensive parser function calls]]. So we don't need to be concerned with {{w|premature optimization}} :)
:--[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:16, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

::The edit link can be displayed, specifically on the main page, by the {{tl|comic}} template, that is true; it just seems wrong to me however, it's not his job to do so...
::As for the comments, they cannot be displayed by the template (unless we put them before the explanation), so we still don't have a solution for them; and I still believe they would be very useful on the main page, very appealing for readers to come and comment as well.
::So, problem still not solved I would say... - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 16:27, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

::: I don't see the problem with {{tl|comic}} displaying the edit link on the main page, especially since you consider using it to display the discussion as well (which, I agree, unfortunately isn't possible)
::: I added the discussion to the main page. It will depend on a redirect being created for the talk page as well every time a new comic is released, but it doesn't make it any harder. Compare:
:::# Create comic page at <nowiki>[[123: title]]</nowiki>
:::# Update <nowiki>{{latest comic}}</nowiki>
:::# Redirect <nowiki>[[123]] to [[123: title]]</nowiki> (it's necessary to allow people to get to the comic with only the number)
:::with:
:::# Create comic page at <nowiki>[[123: title]]</nowiki>
:::# Redirect <nowiki>[[123]] to [[123: title]]</nowiki>
:::# Redirect <nowiki>[[Talk:123]] to [[Talk:123: title]]</nowiki>
:::Therefore, I don't see a strong case for creating the <nowiki>{{latest comic}}</nowiki> template. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 20:31, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
:::
::::You're right, the two systems are equivalent in use; but then is there a strong case to keep the current one against using the one I suggested?
::::Currently we cannot get an "add a comment" link on the main page, and to put the "edit this explanation" banner below the explanation one has to put it on the comic page (and manually remove it once the comic is not the latest any more). And when there is no comments yet, the main page displays a weird red link (transclusion of the redirect page to a non-existant page) instead of displaying (for instance) a nice "''No comments yet''".
::::True, the {{tl|comic}} template could be used to, specifically on the main page, display something like "view page - edit - add a comment" on top-right, but that doesn't solve all these issues, and then the links wouldn't be at their ideal place. And one could argue that all the features I'm speaking about are not absolutely necessary, but I still think it would be better at least.
::::All in all, I can live with the current system, but I still believe a manually updated <nowiki>{{latest comic}}</nowiki> would allow, without cost, to set a better layout of content, navigation links and edit/comment links.
::::[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 16:46, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
::::
:::*I am in agreement that the goal should be to have the ability to comment directly onto the main page for the current comic.
::::Can all pages be formatted to look like the main page (ie header with number of comics explained/remaining and the 3 paragraphs at the end describing the site).
::::If this could be done (I don't think it would clutter the site as these take up very little space even on the main page), then could we just redirect the main page to the comic with the highest number? The function of the main page would not change as a new user would still see all information currently available on the main page, but it would have the added benefit of sending visitors to the desired location (the fully functional current comic page).
::::[[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 17:23, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

== How to reference strips? ==

I think we need to agree on a citation style for strips in plain prose. I.e. If the [[Black Hat]] article says "Black Hat first appears in ________", how are we filling that blank? In this case, the blank is [[29: Hitler]]. As I understand it, proper style for an "episode" name typically is quotes, so the stip is "Hitler". But there's still various options:

# "[[29: Hitler|Hitler]]" [quotes not linked]
# [[29: Hitler|"Hitler"]] [quotes linked]
# [[29: Hitler|Comic #29]]
# [[29: Hitler|#29]]
# [[29: Hitler]]
# "[[29: Hitler|Hitler]]" (29)
# "[[29: Hitler|Hitler]]" (#29)

etc.

Anyone have any opinions? [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 21:38, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

: Option 5. above seems the simplest, yet readable and informative. At most I'd prepend a # sign, like so: #[[29: Hitler]]. Being a link should be enough to differentiate it from the rest of the text (without needing quote signs). Alternatively, #7 also may be an acceptable option, but we'd need a template to make sure the formatting is maintained in all such references... I don't think it's worth the extra complexity. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 23:54, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
:: Whatever we decide, let's encode it into the <nowiki>{{xkcd}}</nowiki> and/or <nowiki>{{explain}}</nowiki> templates, and just agree to use those templates. That allows central administration of the stylistic issues and gives editors a simple rule to follow. Minor tweaks to either would afford that flexibility. Right now, they generate the links {{xkcd|29}} and {{explain|29}} respectively, though the latter can be {{explain|29: Hitler}} without much fuss. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 05:58, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
::: I support modifying the <nowiki>{{explain}}</nowiki> template to be along the lines of proposal number five. {{User:Omega/sig}} 09:20, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
:::: Five. yes. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:15, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

== Sidebar icons ==

Hi all. I hope you'll forgive my enthusiasm but I went ahead and implemented an icon theme for the sidebar (as well as more spacing between the links, for extra breathing room). What do you guys think of it? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 21:45, 11 August 2012 (UTC)
:I like it, but I'm not sure where you added them. Was that on a MediaWiki: page or one of the .css pages? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 01:39, 12 August 2012 (UTC)
::Both :) [[Mediawiki:Common.css]] --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 09:07, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

== Cueball/Rob ==

I noticed someone edited the character template to add an article for "[[Rob]]". I thought this might have just been a vandal edit, but I googled 'xkcd Rob' and discovered that indeed, a Cueball chracter has been referenced as Rob in several strips. Is there a reason Cueball hasn't been designated officially "Rob" just as [[Megan]] has been designated Megan by being named in a few strips? Do we have reason to believe that other Cueballs are non-Rob characters? PS: this might not be the right place for this discussion, but I'm not sure if anyone is reading article discussion pages at this point yet, and I thought that the name of the primary character might be a notable issue of discussion [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:07, 13 August 2012 (UTC)
:: I'm unclear on this as well. Cueball was just a name made up (I think here on this site) for the main character of the comic. Are there separate characters for Cueball and Rob? I'm not sure. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 15:52, 13 August 2012 (UTC)
:::I know that "Cueball" has now been severely grandfathered in, but I think we have to consider moving [[Cueball]] over to [[Rob]] and basically considering the Cueball character to be "Rob", in the same way as Megan, unless it's clear that the character isn't Rob, since Cueball, as noted, is not an official title. I'm somewhat leaning in this direction.

:::I do see some leakage of the term "Cueball" into other sites via a google search including xkcd forums. In the alternatively, I would suggest mentioning in the Cueball article that he has been referred to as "Rod" in some comics, but due to his lack of distinguishing physical traits, it is not always clear if a comic is depicting Rod, or a different character. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]])
::::I have to agree with this. When I first heard about the page on "Rob", I was a bit skeptical, as I couldn't recall hearing the name before and the page was ridiculous at the time. However, after looking him up to try and verify the page, I found a number of "Cueball" characters that were referred to as "Rob", officially (and even an instance where the transcript referred to the character as "Rob" when the comic didn't mention a name). TL; DR: The character we've all called "Cueball" seems to be more properly known as "Rob". {{User:Omega/sig}} 22:46, 14 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::{{explain|285|Citation needed...}} I, for one, would oppose the migration away from Cueball.
:::::# {{w|xkcd|Wikipedia}} has been silent on the matter, giving no more credibility to the apellation than Cueball.
:::::# Transcripts in xkcd typically (granted, with a few exceptions) refer to the various stick figures as Person 1, etc. Frequently, there are several stick figures, all essentially the same generic stick-figure shape. Rob is a specific proper noun, and it would be silly to suggest that each stick figure is named Rob. Cueball, on the other hand, while filling the role of a proper noun, is still generic enough to suggest the any-man nature of the figures. It is descriptive more than nominative.
:::::# Local color. That's part of what distinguishes this site from others, and part of why I've been coming back. I for one would be sad to see that replaced with MacDonalds-like sameness. I ''might'' reconsider if RM's About page definitively said "his name is Rob"... but only reluctantly.
:::::So -1 on the proposition to migrate away from Cueball. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 04:55, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

::::::To respond to your points, #1, Wikipedia is not official or a primary source; it's a community edit encyclopedia like this one. If you'd like me to go over there and reference "Rob", then all of a sudden Wikipedia will say Rob. Wikipedia isn't the source of credibility for xkcd imo. #2 is interesting, and I take it as a fair point (I'm not suggesting that in every case we see a Cueball it is the same character) but my interest here is consistency. Megan appears in many comic strips where she is listed as "person 2" in the transcript, such as [[1084]]. Should she be given a generic name other than where she is named (Cuebelle?) Similarly for #3, Megan is not refernced on the xkcd About page; it's about consistency. I understand color and such, but to an extent, when you take something that's a blog and turn it into a wiki style pseudo-encyclopedia, one of the casualties sometimes is color. It became inappropriate to use phrases like "I think" in explanations just because of the way the articles are perceived. In the same way, consistency is something that I think is important when going to this style format. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:26, 15 August 2012 (UTC)
::::::::::Just want to insert here that I laughed at "Cubelle" above, but though I enjoyed it, I'd have to say the visual similarity to Cueball would likely cause confusion. Props for the suggestion, though.--[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 18:51, 30 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::::* Agreed that Wikipedia is not official or primary, but it is ''de-facto'' (it's likely more linked-to than even xkcd.com is on this site, for some reason.) That standing gives it a level of authority no other site has except the source itself. And agreed, one could very easily go and add Rob, or Cueball, or some other designation to the character(s). But nobody to date has (or, if they have, it may very likely have been reverted, being subject to that evolutionary force Wikipedia in aggregate exerts on subjects there, on needing to be noteworthy.) So while not an absolute authority, it caries a gravitas that other than xkcd itself, no other site really posesses on the matter, and so far, it (the collective body of contributors) has not deemed it important to settle the matter.
:::::::* I'm also not altogether convinced that, in transmogrification from blog to wiki, it necessarily follows that we must become more Wiki''pedia''-like. The medium has afforded a democratization of information here, but not a requirement that information lose its local flavor to become some dessicated academic dissertation. "I think" is, in my opinion, as valid here as it always was, and mediawiki doesn't necessarily impose otherwise.
:::::::* As for consistency, it serves its purpose, but generally I'm not one to be ruled by hobgoblins.
:::::::Anyway, the foregoing being only my opinion, and having express it, I leave it at that. Other minds may differ. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 02:30, 16 August 2012 (UTC)
::::::::It seems to me that this discussion has moved away from Cueball/Rob, and perhaps is deserving of it's own section now. When this site was a blog, and not a wiki, there was a clear separation between Jeff's explanations in the main body of the post, and the comments below. For the most part, Jeff wrote in an "editorial voice", and I don't recall a lot of "I think", "In my opinion", etc in the main posting (there was an occasional "I don't get this, can anyone explain it?", but that's clearly different). I know, at least, I've tried to maintain that color here: in the main page, editorial voice; in the discussion section (included at the bottom of every page, usually), personal voice. I think that works well. In my opinion, I think that "I think" and "In my opinion" have no place where it's not clear who the speaker is. The main pages are group edited, and have no identified speaker, so I wouldn't put it there. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 02:53, 16 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::::::I concur that Wikipedia has ''some'' gravitas over any other site, and there is a reason it has links here (it is easier to link to an existing encyclopedia article on {{w|quantum physics}} than to start from scratch explaining it here. But in the same way that this may soon be a "wikipedia" for all things xkcd, that still doesn't make explainxkcd official. It may be considered a more reliable source of information than some random blogger, but that doesn't make it an official source. Wikipedia, notably, doesn't call Cueball anything. If it called him Cueball, that would be one thing - the name would have pervaded culture outside this website; but Wikipedia takes no position; I don't see how we can take Wikipedia's failure to reference the character at all and use this as a rationale to make any decision on this site one way or another.
:::::::::I will respond to BlaisePascal's editorial voice comment in a new section [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:40, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

== Default color? ==

Frankly, I'm not even sure this is an issue on the wiki's end vs. the browser's default, but I've noticed this with other wiki-based software. With the default of Blue links and Purple visited links, I've been noticing a lot lately that the Purple visited links are not really standing out from the otherwise black text. Not sure why this is. Is anyone else noticing this? I'm having a hard time finding wikilinks in text that I've already visited. Perhaps it's just me. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:37, 13 August 2012 (UTC)

: As a color blind user of explainxkcd, I'd like to put in a vote to up the contrast between visited and not links on the wiki. It doesn't need to be much, but more than it is now would be infinitely helpful. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:21, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

::Has this gone anywhere? I still find it hard to see the visited links (they now simply look like the rest of the text). And the unvisited links are hard to focus on. I'm not sure I can explain it any better. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:25, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

== Comments ==

Please let me know where the comments are for the latest comic. If
I'm not the only one who can't find them, can there be a link next to the comic?

== Editorial Voice ==

:''This section is split off in response to a comment by [[user:Blaisepascal]] in the Cueball/Rob discussion above.
I concur with Blaisepascal on the editorial voice issue. "first person" has no place in a wiki, as there is no single editor to be "I". I have a recollection that when the wiki started, Jeff said something about how in moving to a wiki, he had attempted to edit most of the explanations that has been moved over to remove most of the first-person references, but he invited others to continue this where he missed them. I can't, however, find this reference anywhere anymore. Assuming I am not making this up in my own mind, it's Jeff's site, so I think his style wishes are paramount.

I agree that most of the personal references on explainxkcd are things like "let's see if I get this right" or "Did I miss something?" or general bloggish comments like sorry I'm late to post; but there are other posts such as [http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/10/18/connected/ this one] in which part of Jeff's post was: "''This is another one of those xkcd's that I classify as "emo". [...] Since there is nothing to explain here, [...] I'll wait for the next comic that makes a joke about Lord of the Rings and wormholes or something''" when moved over here.

The wiki format changes the nature of the explanations. It makes them no longer one person's opinion on the meaning of a comic. It is now a wiki where members of the public will aim to have a complete and accurate explanation built from many editors' thoughts and corrections. I don't think the articles need have encyclopedic definity. I have no issue with phrases like "it appears" or "it may be" where something is ambiguous, but "I think" or "I did a Google search" are not wikipropriate. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:44, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

:For the most part I completely agree. But I think that the explanations should not be boring. Even without personal pronouns, many of them have a congenial tone, not an overbearing one.

:For example, when I brought over [[1030: Keyed]], I took out the personal pronouns, but I left in the comment "Oh Beret Guy, never change." I started coming to the site, in part, because of the tone. I think that that should be preserved despite the inherent non-oneness of the wiki. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:08, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

:: But the tone should not reflect individuals' tastes. Let the reader decide. --[[User:Smartin|Smartin]] ([[User talk:Smartin|talk]]) 04:47, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

== Discussion comments link? ==

*Does anyone else think that the {{tl|comic discussion}} template should have an argument added for some way to display a link to the comments section of the original blog posts for older comics? [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:48, 16 August 2012 (UTC)
**I'm not sure that it would always be clear what the comments are referring to since the explanation may differ from the original.-[[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 21:21, 20 August 2012 (UTC)
***I hear you, and that's a valid point; but it seems a shame to just discard the upwards of a hundred comments that sometimes took place on the old blog. I guess it also matters whether [[User:Jeff]] intends to delete the blog version at some point given the wiki. If it is going to stay up, why not link to the archived comments? The original blog post would be viewable there as well, if there were any differences relevant to those comments. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:03, 21 August 2012 (UTC)
*I would, however, like something to be done about the issue of new users finding the discussion section from the explain wiki main page. A suggestion I saw recently on the old site by rewq^ suggesting changing 'go to this comic' to 'comments' would solve the problem. I think it could also be changed to 'go to comments' - [[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 21:21, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

That's an inventive answer to an intesreting question

== LiveJournal content ==

I've noticed that people are putting content from Randall's LiveJournal account into comic articles here, which I think is good. But I'd like to make some style suggestions around that.

Let's look at {{explain|42}}. Now, until someone explicitly pointed it out, I had no idea xkcd started on a LiveJournal account, so comments like "Original quote" or "Original comment" or "Original title" were confusing to me. I had no idea the source of this information. Now that I know better, my suggestions are as follows:

# These shouldn't be listed as "trivia". This is official content. I would suggest perhaps this be included in a "Background" section with any other background info on the comic (e.g. for some recent comics, it might reference Randall's fiancée's health issues for relevant comics).
# This "Background" section contains official content and more official than the "Explanation". The Background section should therefore go first.
# The section should be written in prose, not point form. My sample replacement for the above article would be "this comic was originally posted on Randall's LiveJournal account with the comment "''No laughing, 'less you want some of this too! *hefts golf club menacingly*''". Randall listed his mood at the time as "sick". The comic was actually the Xth comic posted on the LiveJournal account, and was included out-of-order when it was numbered as part of ''xkcd''.
# I think [[LiveJournal]] should have a brief article about the original LJ account.
# I note that on other wiki's including, for example [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Family_(episode) Memory alpha (example)] and on Wikipedia, they often have boxes showing the 'previous'/'next' things on a list (prev/next songs to hit #1 on different music charts, or prev/next tv episodes produced vs. aired). Should we give thought to creating a short sub-list of the Order comics were actually posted on the Livejournal so you can prev/next through that list?

Thoughts? [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 22:17, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

:I added most of the LJ related "Trivia" just to get it into the wiki. I think expanding it would be nice, but I'm a bit lazy :) I did add a new category for the LJ posts, so they should be easier to find. There are still a few that do not (that I can find) appear in LJ, so I left as "undated" - but added the undated category that someone else had created. I was also considering creating a list ordered by LJ posting order on the LJ category page (to be created) to at least preserve some of the nostalgia. Is there another pre-xkcd site besides LJ that posts might have appeared in? Or are these "undated" posts possibly others that were just lumped into the "early posts" on xkcd? --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 21:05, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

::There are three undated comics that I found (and I noted them on the "big board" of all comics at [[list of all comics]]. If no one disagrees, I will start moving sections when I have time and creating any new sections as "Background" rather than "Trivia" where the sections relate to the history or backstory of the comic itself. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 16:04, 20 August 2012 (UTC)
:::The three undated comics do not appear on LiveJournal, just on the xkcd.com site. Given that (a) all of the comics on LJ from before 2006-1-1 are dated 2006-1-1 on xkcd, (b) all the ones after are dated with the same dates as on LJ, and (c) the three undated comics appear in the middle of the pre-2006 comics on LJ, I suspect that [[Randall]] posted them to the xkcd site first, and as part of a batch of comics he posted to bootstrap the site. So it's entirely likely that the 2006-1-1 date is accurate. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 16:18, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

I added, in the "Trivia" section, a "thread" tying all the LJ comics together, in order. In doing so, I also added the half-dozen or so LJ comics not yet added. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 16:18, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

== Programmatically Accessing Comics ==

I think there should be a way for other websites to view* explanations, (discussions?), etc programmatically.

This could be used for the [http://explainxkcd.com front page], or a website wanting to show an explanation of a comic that is always up-to-date and correct, etc.

<nowiki>*</nowiki> I wrote view, but it could also be edit.

--[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]

:This could be done with json responses to individual pages including the current explanation for that comic. Similar to how the xkcd json api works now. I don't know if that is feasible in php though. I'm currently on a RoR craze though, so maybe there's an easier and less over-engineered solution I don't know about. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:18, 20 August 2012 (UTC)
::A cheap way out would be to have PHP page access the SQL DB and yank the necessary text from there. This could be useful for a naitive mobile app. Also, this site needs a mobile version. --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]

== New Edit Explanation Image/Link (Introduced 9/22/12) ==

Some initial thoughts.
*Will this be a permanent part of each comic? I would not be in favor of each comic in the archives having this disclaimer/large repetitive image as part of the explanation. Instead, can this just be part of the most recent comic?
*The other issue I have is that main page now has one direct link to editing the explanation (the thing least done by users) and none to editing discussion/adding comments (the thing most done by users). I see that the talk page is now displayed on the main page, which I think is a good thing, but I hope that someone can also get the 'add a comment' link on the main page as well.
*In the end I feel there should be links for editing the explanation and adding comments/discussion on the main page and that these links should be proportional in size to their traffic by users (re the link for adding to the discussion should be equal to or larger than the link for the explanation).
--[[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 14:26, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

:A few pointers about that:
:* I introduced the "edit explanation" image/link below the explanation I gave for today's comic, mainly because I felt what I had written ''was'' indeed incomplete (I was lacking an explanation for the "[has only one review]" part and for the title text). So in a way that was some sort of calling for help with the explanation. And once done I thought it was a good idea to have a highly visible "edit" link for the latest comic explanation on the main page (''"so that people seeing something they could add would feel invited to do so (wiki style). In my opinion this would be a good way to improve the quality of the user-generated explanations"'', as I said [[Talk:Main Page#Direct link to latest comic|here]]).
:* Later on, I added the "may be incorrect" notion in the banner, because I saw that people having different explanations only mentioned them in the comments, instead of editing my explanation (which after all could be wrong). So I fear there's some sort of "we don't touch what has been done" effect, where the first explanation given will be more likely to stick and not be corrected by readers who are not used to the idea that they can edit it (actually, if someone has a better explanation than the one I put, I'd be happy to see it corrected!).
:* That edit banner should not be a permanent part of each comic. My opinion is that it should stay on the latest comic's page (even when the explanation could be considered complete) until there is a new comic, in order to invite as much people as possible to share their explanation; and it should also, of course, be on the comic pages for which the explanation is considered incomplete, for instance [[51: Malaria|this]] (empty) or [[46: Secrets|that]] (partial only).
:* It would be nice indeed to have also, on the main page, a direct link to add a comment (exactly like the one on [[1098: Star Ratings|the comic page]]), but that is currently not feasible automatically. This is one of the reasons why I suggested an other way to handle the latest comic (see [[#Latest comic handling]] above), which I actually still think would be better, and in particular which would allow to do all that (including the edit banner) nicely automatically from the main page.
:[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 15:20, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

==Notice templates==
I would like to suggest a template for a notice saying "this page requires copy editing," and one saying "this page may be unclear in its meaning," or something of the sort for each. the comic posted on 8/22/12 could use both of these. (unsigned comment by [[User:Dave|Dave]] 19:11, 23 August 2012‎ )

:I agree. I discussed this matter with [[User:Blaisepascal]] in respect of his template {{tl|Incomplete}} on its talk page. I have updated that template to {{tl|Incomplete/beta1}} and created {{tl|ambox}} as a generic message box ''xkcd''-style where other message templates can be created and color coded like on wikipedia, such as the ones you suggest.

:Unfortunately, because of the image scaling issues, the ambox template displays two broken images at the moment which we agreed shouldn't replace the existing template until the images are unbroken. I'm not sure anyone is working on the image scaling problem, is one of the issues. In any event, I also don't see the point in creating other notice templates until the issue is fixed and we can use the standardized template. I'm really hoping someone is working on the image scaling problem... [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 16:36, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

:: I changed the template to use the {{tl|notice}} template that is already being used in several places. I'll delete {{tl|ambox}} as it's redundant, but the styling of {{tl|notice}} can be changed if such is desired. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 02:40, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

== Denoting comic "series" ==

There are several "series" of comics. Is there a better/prefered way of notating these? Currently I have been creating a "Category:Series Name", e.g. (not all of these exist yet)
* [Category:Comics featuring Barrel Boy](1-5) (Should this be just "Barrel Boy"?)
* [Category:Journal](1-5)
* [Category:The Race](1-5)
* [Category:My Hobby](random)
* [Category:1337](1-5)
* [Category:Choices](1-5)
* [Category:Parody Week](5 in this "series", but others fit the genre)
* [Category:Red Spiders](4 in this "genre", 2 explicitly numbered)
* [Category:Secretary](1-5)
* [Category:Five-Minute Comics](1-3)
* [Category: Guest Week](5 comics, but not exactly a "series").

I usually also create a REDIRECT of "Series Name" to "Category: Series Name"(breaks for "Journal", as it is also a comic title.
Should we have another meta-category for series comics? What about a [Series:Series Name] "category"? or does that break wiki? --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 23:33, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

== Categories for Proposals Page ==

Maybe just simply two categories, resolved and unresolved? --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]

Or stickers that say Open/Closed. --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]

== Moving the Wiki {{done|Closed}}==

What if explainxkcd.com/wiki was move to explainxkcd.com and explainxkcd.com would be moved to explainxkcd.com/blog? --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]

+1 (44)

-1 (0)

: That's my plan long term. That might make a lot of things like shortURL possible. Just have to get some time to get it sorted out. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 19:58, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
<hr />
Sorry if your votes don't appear immediately. I will have them update automatically soon. Hopefully. And if you clicked my signature wanting to +1 this page, sorry for the confusion. DanB and Lcarsos, your +1's have been added to the count. --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]
:+1 from me. --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 14:36, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
:+1 as well. I keep hitting the blog when I mean to go to the wiki. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 15:00, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

== Chart type comics ==

Some comics (circuit diagram, US states,eyes sights, among others) are in a characteristic chart format- where it is all based around a chart of some kind or the other. Should we have a separate template for them, for the type of comics?

And somebody should actually create all the pages in the required format without explanations, so that other users can fill on the explanation. I can give explanations, but need somebody to make the pages first

[[User:TheOriginalSoni|TheOriginalSoni]] ([[User talk:TheOriginalSoni|talk]]) 17:05, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

:All the images have been uploaded, and a template exists at [[User:Blaisepascal/newcomictemplate]] that can be copied/pasted into a new comic page that just needs to be filled in. [[User:Lcarsos]] has written a [[User:Lcarsos#Ruby_importer_script|Ruby importer script]] that will create an almost-ready-to-upload page for you. All you need to do is fill in the explanation, proof-read, and add useful Wiki links. You don't need special privileges to create new pages.
:Personally, I find comic pages devoid of explanation counter to the intent of this site, and I try not to create them. If I put up a page, I try to make sure it has an explanation. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 18:22, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

:I agree with Blaisepascal. If a comic does not have an explanation its page should not exist so that it is easy to tell how much work there is left to be done. If suddenly all the pages are created, but none of them have explanations, a passing user won't know that there is still work to be done, and potentially won't pitch in to help complete the site.
:As far as charts go, be sure to tag them with [[:Category:Charts]] and I like to change the transcript into a wiki table format. Of course, if the page doesn't have a transcript section then be sure you get the transcript from xkcd's json api (There is information about how to work it in [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Coordination#Issue dates]], as well as my [[User:Lcarsos#Ruby Importer scipt|Ruby script]] pulls in the transcript if it exists. You're still on your own to get the explanation from the blog (I'm working on that)).
:[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:57, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

== New Categories ==
(cut from Chart Type Comics section above, as seems new topic) [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 00:14, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

Ok. Also, add a new section for proposing templates. We can have a very varied range of templates, like 'Comics with Black Hat', 'Comics with Raptor reference' etc... That will provide a useful ground for comparision of the most common themes [[User:TheOriginalSoni|TheOriginalSoni]] ([[User talk:TheOriginalSoni|talk]]) 16:44, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
:From context, I assume that by "templates", you mean "categories"? [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 18:00, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

:I think you'd benefit from taking a gander at [[:Category:Comics by featured characters]] and [[:Category:Comics by topic]]. I think we're still debating what to do about comics with actual people in them. But that will get you a good start. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:55, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

:: I'd be okay with creating a [[:Category:Comics featuring real people]] and including sub-categories for Cory Doctorow, the Firefly cast, RMS, Ron Paul, and other recurring real-life people.
:: But then, my general philosophy is more links, more pages, more explanation the better. One-shot fictional characters (like ponytail-Sarah in [[84: National Language]]) probably don't need their own category/page, though.[[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 02:06, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

:::I really like that idea. I too am of the more categories tribe, but I prefer them to be properly nested. I want to try my hand at creating categories let me see if I can do this. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 00:54, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

::::Okay, the beginnings are in place. Though I used [[:Category:Comics featuring real people]] as most comics that reference these people, in fact, feature them. I've also created a [[Playpen balls]] category under [[:Category:Comics by topic]] as it seems to me that it's referenced enough that it's necessary.

::::Question: Should we mirror Featured Characters by also having a page for each character and a Category:Real people, or will the Category pages be good enough?

::::The categories are going to get/are getting crowded with all the categories, is there a better way to represent them rather than a list? I'm thinking something that looks like [[:Template:navbox-characters]] except it needs to maintain the link on highlighted items, and it needs to be capable of multiple highlights. I think it would need sections for Featured Characters, Real people, Series (Barrel boy, Secretary, The Race), and Recurring Topics. What I mean by multiple highlights is, if they exist in that comic, i.e. if a comic features Black Hat, Cueball, Cory Doctorow, and Playpen balls, all of those should be highlighted.

::::[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 02:37, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

It looks like a good time to resurrect this topic. So, If you are going to categorize pages into a category that doesn't exist yet. MAKE SURE that you create the category page, don't just let it be a red link. That looks so sloppy. While on the subject of sloppy, Alphabetize by type the categories on the comic page. I go: Main characters, minor characters, real people, topics, series.

My personal requirements for making a category:
*For new topics
**For new topics, must be the central topic of ''at least'' two comics, with a few more tangentially related.
**It should be something that someone reads and goes "I wonder if there are more comics about this?" It is not simply creating a tag cloud for a post on a blog. That metaphor is gone. These are categories, like sections in an index to a book, or rather an ''encyclopedia''.
**A perfect example of this is [[User:Bpothier|Bpothier]]'s introduction of [[:Category:Comics with color]]. I've often wanted a list of all xkcds to date that have color on them. You'll know you've hit on something when another editor starts going through the pages and adding them to the new category.
*For new recurring characters
**They must recur. This seems obvious, but Adrian Lamo (for example, {{Wiktionary|AFAIK}}), only appears in [[1337: Part 3]]. This is a useless category if there are no other comics he appears in. It only goes to clutter up other, well populated categories.
*For other new categories
**You better have a damn solid case for why you have added a category that wasn't a sub-category of [[:Category:Comics by topic]] or [[:Category:Comic series]]. ''And if you do'', '''be polite''' and present it on the community portal so that the circling editors don't come in like brain-dead vultures to tear apart and re-parent your new category.

It is brain dead easy to create a page (spam bots do it all the time). It is much more complicated to get a page deleted by an admin once it has been created. You can tag it [[:Category:Pages to delete]], but non-spam pages marked this aren't often cleaned out. What I'm trying to say here is, be judicious in picking the names of pages you want to create. It's a pain to have to move Comics featuring Barrel Boy into a [[Barrel]] category.

Also, categorizing a page as something because of the explanation is not ok. These categories are here to group comics together, not as a general tag cloud for the wiki.

'''TL;DR:''' When creating a new category, create the goddamn category page (red links icky) and have ''at least'' 2 pages in the category. For big changes come here and ask first. [http://dontbeadickday.com/ Wil Wheaton says: "Don't be a dick!"]

Questions, comments, improvements, pies to the face accepted. Being-non-useful/criticism-with-intent-to-destroy is rude.

[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:28, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

:No, Lcarsos, don't hold back; please tell us what you really think! ;-) All kidding aside, these suggestions seem really pretty good. There may be some subjectivity in terms of what constitutes contributing to a tag cloud vs the categorization you mention here. But as you point out, that understanding is likely to evolve: if one creates a category that somebody else runs with it, that's a pretty good indicator. I'm glad this categorization has been going on as it has; were it not for my ''de facto'' role as ''Grim Spammer-Reaper'' I'd be in there helping sort and categorize 'em all, too. So huge thanks! -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 05:45, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

::Just to clarify, I assume what you mean by "''Alphabetize by type the categories on the comic page. I go: Main characters, minor characters, real people, topics, series.''" is that one should ''group'' categories by type, and then alphabetize within them? If that's the case, I don't see any major issue with that; that said, I tend to add categories by deemed 'importance', i.e. I would add comics featuring Cueball before comics featuring Black Hat or Beret Guy just because Cueball is the central character in the series. Similarly, I would also reorder so that "series" comes before topic, if not before characters as well. The first category a "My Hobby" comic comes into, in my mind, is the "My Hobby" category. Only then is it a comic that happens to feature Cueball, or happens to be on the topic of computers. That's my personal view of it. The only reason I would keep characters first is because it's the most common category type a comic will fall into. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:26, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

== Randall in Comics ==

In comic 541 (TED Talk), Randall uses a Cueball character to refer to himself. How should this be included in the Wiki? Cited: http://xkcd.com/541/ AWiseGuy (talk) 21:50, 1 September 2012 (UTC)

:I think, since he also seems to appear as himself in [[1057: Klout]] it would be appropriate to create a [[:Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]] and parent it to [[:Category:Comics featuring real people]]. I'll let you do that. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:51, 1 September 2012 (UTC)

== Characters appearing only by name. ==

I've noticed that in several comics, known and named characters appear by name only without any physical appearance. Off the top of my head, I can think of Miss Lenhart (who actually appears twice by name before making her first real appearance: http://xkcd.com/135/ and in http://xkcd.com/416/) and Rob in comic 1102. I think these should be included as appearances, or under some other related but separate category, because they do provide character development. Thoughts on this? [[User:AWiseGuy|AWiseGuy]] ([[User talk:AWiseGuy|talk]]) 19:51, 2 September 2012 (UTC)

:I consider references to be apperances. Anyone interested in reading all comics relating to that character or looking for a specific comic featuring that character might be remmebering one where it was a mention by name, not by apperance, and they should be included in the categories for ease of reference, IMO. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 20:13, 4 September 2012 (UTC)

There's also Cory Doctorow, and I personally would like to know more about him. I came to explainxkcd to find out who he is, and he's not even mentioned. So he should be added to this list of characters by name.{{unsigned|‎205.189.255.122}}

== Also explain cartoons from the XKCD book? ==

Hi!
As many of you surely know, many comics from the main site were featured in the book xkcd: volume 0. Some of them where altered or had extra explanations. Moreover, there where quite a few riddles and new comics in the book, which should be explained here, too. The forums did a great job on solving the great big riddles which lead to the legendary "official" XKCD-meetup with Randall. --[[Special:Contributions/137.193.213.160|137.193.213.160]] 09:37, 3 September 2012 (UTC)
:Oops, for got to log in, this suggestion came from me: [[User:Gefrierbrand|Gefrierbrand]] ([[User talk:Gefrierbrand|talk]]) 09:48, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

== Just add 'explain' before the 'xkcd.com' ==

You know how you there are services like [http://www.youtuberepeat.com YouTube Repeat] which let you go to the corresponding part of their site by just adding `repeat` before the `.com` of the YouTube video URL?

Likewise, let us just add `explain` before the `xkcd.com` part in any comic URL and let it redirect us to the appropriate wiki post. For example: `explainxkcd.com/1000` would redirect to `http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1000`. I think since the site is based on PHP, it'd be very easy to just send a 301 Redirect header along.

This will be of immense comfort and will probably see me and others using ExplainXKCD.com a lot mre ! Happy reading :)

{{unsigned|YatharthROCK|15:17, 16 September 2012}}

:In a way, that's the plan... per [[#Moving the Wiki ✓ Closed|#Moving the Wiki]] above, the `/wiki` part would disappear, and with shortURL at the same time (mentioned there and at other places as well), the `index.php?title=` would disappear as well. Therefore, explainxkcd.com/1000 would get you the [[1000]] page, which itself redirects to the explanation of the comic ([[1000: 1000 Comics]]). So I guess the only issue is: when will this be done?... - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 10:38, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
:: I'd LOVE this working. I've worked on this a bunch and only succeeded in bricking the site. If anyone has any advice, I'd love the help. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:04, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

:::I don't think that there is a wiki way to do this, as I've never set up mediawiki before (I should get around to it though). But from 10,000 feet it appears to me that all of the wiki software lives inside a /wiki/ directory on the server, and the blog lives in the root directory. Currently, all of mediawiki's pages are being generated by being passed GET variables, and all of WordPress' pages are being generated by its use of mod_rewrite (why the difference, I don't know. I've never set up mediawiki, and thus never had to try to get mod_rewrite working for it). This is a problem, because any url sent to the server such as explainxkcd.com/1000 is causing the server to look for a directory named 1000, and when it doesn't find it, it invokes mod_rewrite and passes 1000 to the index.php of the root directory as a search term, which activates WordPress which searches for any entries dated in the year 1000 (Wordpress treats the first "directory" as the year), naturally none exist so WordPress generates a 404 error.

:::While the blog exists, I think the only way to do this would be to write a .htaccess that conditionally reroutes directory misses to /wiki/ so something like explainxkcd.com/1000 would be sent to explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1000 but explainxkcd.com/2012/04 would still be sent to WordPress to find entries posted in April 2012.

:::As soon as we can get rid of the blog (which is not yet, because there are a lot of explanations still there that haven't been migrated over) the logic that has to be in the .htaccess becomes much simpler. Anything gets redirected to explainxkcd.com/wiki/. I say anything, and I mean anything because URI requests for anything under explainxkcd.com/wiki/ apache will find the /wiki/ directory and pass everything into there (mod_rewrite or as it currently is) and anything not matchin the /wiki/ directory can be 302'd into /wiki/ for the wiki to find it.

:::I hope that makes sense. If that's too long, let me sum up. '''TL;DR:''' Not very feasible until all explanations in the blog are in the wiki and we can get rid of WordPress.

:::--[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:52, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
::: Yup - I certainly would be using htaccess file and that's the approach that has NOT worked in the past. It is possible it needs some tweaking so that it works for the wiki. I'm not sure. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 19:09, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
:::: What if you had a script to make a redirect file to the wiki with that comic. So it would make a file 1, 2, ..., 473, ..., etc. Each file (eg 1111) would redirect to /wiki/index.php?title=1111. Then when a better solution is invented, a simple regex ([0-9]+\.php or [0-9]+\.html) would remove all the unnecessary files. --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]] 15:04, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Hi, joining the conversation: Could we perhaps also ask the original administrator of explainxkcd to redirect the address of his site here? It'll be easier to get here and it might generate more traffic as well. --[[User:Castriff|Jimmy C]] ([[User talk:Castriff|talk]]) 01:48, 18 December 2012 (UTC)

:The person you would want to talk about that is Jeff. The very same Jeff that started, and is bureaucrat of this wiki. So, read the conversation that happened above, and you'll see some of the technical reasons why this hasn't happened yet. And again, I ask that you please comment in chronological order, and that you don't add your comment in a place that it disrupts all of the nested conversation that's already happened. There was an entire comment thread that you put your new comment in the middle of. It was hard to tell if you wanted to reply to this section's OP or anyone else in that thread. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 08:22, 18 December 2012 (UTC)

== Add explanations for what-if.xkcd.com ==
A new [http://what-if.xkcd.com sub-site] from Randall calls for new explanations.
This might not need quite as much explaining, but it is worthy of reference anyway.
--[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 16:01, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

:I think Randall actually does quite a good job of explaining everything in what-if. If we had a go at it, it would pretty much just be a page with a link to general and special relativity pages of wikipedia. Other than that, he provides links for almost everything he discusses. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:21, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

:But we may want to discuss his topics among ourselves. I am reading the lightning topic today, and wishing I could comment on it or add fragments of my own experience to it.[[User:Noni Mausa|Noni Mausa]] ([[User talk:Noni Mausa|talk]]) 11:32, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
:
::...then you have http://forums.xkcd.com, made exactly for that purpose; in particular: [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=94449 xkcd • View topic - What-if 0016: Lightning].
::Don't want to seem unfriendly here, I'm not trying to "get you out of here", it's just that if you want to ''discuss his topics'', ''comment on it or add fragments of your own experience to it'', then I believe that would be the best place for you to do so; and where you could find other people to share it, as well.
::[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 17:38, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
:: Thanks, I will go have a look. I'm somewhat of a newbie, quod erat demonstrandum.[[User:Noni Mausa|Noni Mausa]] ([[User talk:Noni Mausa|talk]]) 02:37, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

== News Links ==
Certain pages have custom news links.
Many use the generic news link, which these days refers to what-if.xkcd.com.
Template "comic" should probably explcitly support and display custom news.
(An effort should be made at times to scan for updated news.)
--[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 16:01, 5 October 2012 (UTC)
: And, of course, there should be a category for anything with custom news. --[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 16:05, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

== New List requests ==

List of comics related to cancer -
(Umwelt, 818,828,836,925,931,933)

[Keep on adding new requests below this]
[[User:TheOriginalSoni|TheOriginalSoni]] ([[User talk:TheOriginalSoni|talk]]) 18:24, 21 October 2012 (UTC)
: Good suggestion. One observation... this is essentially a democratic institution, so feel free to put the catagory tags on each of these pages and get those editorial props due to you for recommending the category. I'm guessing <nowiki>[[Category:Cancer]]</nowiki> should be a good start. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 23:06, 21 October 2012 (UTC)

== Disambiguation ==

Ok, I think we need to start considering disambiguation pages.

Off the top of my head there's
*[[17: What If]] and [[what if?]]
*[[786: Exoplanets]] and [[1071: Exoplanets]]

If you search "what if" the redirect takes you to the [[17: What If]]. I've added a note to that page that links to [[what if?]].

[[Exoplanets]] (the title redirect) is an informal disambiguation page. But, neither comic links to the other one in case someone clicks links and gets to the wrong page.

In terms of notes on pages that there is a disambiguation page that they might be looking for, I think that the note should be made under the comic template so that people clicking the next/previous links don't have to move their cursor (I find nothing more infuriating than having a next/previous link move around as I'm browsing a website).

Anyone else? Thoughts? [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 15:42, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

== RSS Feed ==

We need a new RSS feed so people using news readers can easily be notified of new comics. {{unsigned|67.186.234.12}}

:First and foremost, a disambiguation: '''We are not xkcd'''. We are a group of people who love xkcd and sometimes a joke goes over our head, and we'd go into fits of OCD rage if we don't understand every joke in xkcd.

:If you want to read xkcd, subscribe to the RSS feed that [[Randall]] provides. [http://xkcd.com/rss.xml here's a link] A new xkcd is posted at midnight eastern (US East coast) of every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

:We are just here for the explanation, which is community based. It takes quite a few edits from many people before an explanation is really explained-to-death and every joke found and beaten with a club to extract maximum joke-explanation value. But there's usually a fairly substantial effort at an explanation by noon eastern. That's about the best we can offer you.

:--[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:19, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

== Comic Difficulty score ==

We should add a difficulty score to each page. Each XKCD comic could be awarded a score based on the number of people that have to visit explainxkcd.com on the day a comic is posted and a couple days after. Inspired by comic: http://www.xkcd.com/1137/

Jim

:That is a cool idea! --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 22:06, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

== Contributions and revert buttons ==

The main vandalism comes from IP adresses, and one IP may attack more than one page when it logs on. So its best to have a contributions link show up beside user page and talk page for every page history and signature; and wherever else it is used that way.

Also a quick way to deal with vandalism is to have two buttons on the show history page-
1. Revert this edit [undo] (for all, including IP users, not just normal users)
2. Revert to this edit (Just beside every edit on the edit history)

These two buttons (links, whatever u call them) will make it much more efficient for vandal-reverters to tackle them down.

[[User:TheOriginalSoni|TheOriginalSoni]] ([[User talk:TheOriginalSoni|talk]]) 20:08, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

Oh and an easy template to keep tagging vandals, and vandalism affected articles, as well as a quick way to say that whatever we are doing is editing vandalism. I truly would not want to press any more than 4 buttons/clicks ideally on one page when I am trying to revert edits.

The tagging vandals and vandalism affected pages will help admins keep fast track of whos the worst vandal and block that range of IPs from editing (except to submit edit request to admins) and which are worst affected pages (to protect them) [[User:TheOriginalSoni|TheOriginalSoni]] ([[User talk:TheOriginalSoni|talk]]) 20:15, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

== Subsection for title text explanation ==

Hey! On trial I created subsections for some longer explanations of the title text on some pages, like this: [[804: Pumpkin Carving#Explanation]]. Do you think that is helpful? – [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 22:22, 23 November 2012 (UTC)
:Good idea. In some cases it might be the best choice. I just did that on [[1074: Moon Landing]] too :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:01, 26 November 2012 (UTC)

:Making a special sub-section for the title text only makes sense for large explanations. Explanations that are maybe only 2-3 scrappy paragraphs, and then an explanation of the title text, is not so dense that it is hard to find it. I like this as an idea, but I think that only the really large explanations should have the subsection. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:34, 17 December 2012 (UTC)

== Explain other webcomics too? ==

How about we explain other webcomics too, e.g. Penny Arcade? --[[User:SurturZ|SurturZ]] ([[User talk:SurturZ|talk]]) 02:36, 3 December 2012 (UTC)
:Good god, no. We've barely even finished xkcd. All these explanations pages still need a lick of polish, and there's still heaps of red links in the list of all comics page. Also, the wiki's called explainxkcd. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:38, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

== Whatever Happened to the Template? & Transcript Redirect ==

I've been using the template whenever I make a new page for an explanation, but I think it's been gone for a couple of weeks now. Does anyone think they could possibly resurrect it? I'm just here to explain, I'm really not a pro with the technical details, so please bear with me.

Also, I got to thinking: In the List of All Comics, there are redirects for the Number, the Title, and the Talk pages, but has anyone thought about making a redirect for the transcript? I'm pushing for transcript help in a bunch of different areas mostly because I think people have been filling it in themselves without going to the site.
--[[User:Castriff|Jimmy C]] ([[User talk:Castriff|talk]]) 02:07, 18 December 2012 (UTC)

== Add unexplained strips ==

At the moment, browsing through the explanations using the previous and next buttons is interrupted whenever there's an explanation missing.

I think adding a page with the strip fr all of those with a short message like "no one has explained this yet, want to give it a shot?" would make the wiki easier to browse through and will get more strips explained faster.

:I don't think that would happen. If suddenly it was much easier for people to skip over pages that had no explanation, I think they would do exactly that, skip right over it. On the same side of that coin, If suddenly there are no longer any red links on the [[List of all comics]] then everyone perusing that page assumes that all the comics have been explained and don't need to contribute any more. It's astonishing how quickly an [[589: Designated Drivers|embedded]] red link gets an explanation page created simply to get rid of the red link.

:Secondarily, ''many'' of the pages created recently aren't being created with their numerical and titular redirects. Without the numerical redirect, the comic template can't find that there is a previous/next comic to link to. Every once in a while somebody will go through and try to notice all the pages that don't have their redirects created but it's an unscientific process that only happens occasionally. If we could get every joe blow that comes in and vomits up a poorly done explanation to create the redirects I wouldn't be quite as annoyed at their lack of show-don't-tell-manship. But, since they can't be bothered to put the date in the comic template, I doubt we'll ever get people to create the redirects.

:'''TL;DR:''' No more red links, no more work gets done on the back catalog.

:--[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 14:28, 21 December 2012 (UTC)

== xplainkcd.com ==

When I first saw this site I thought it should definitely be at xplainkcd.com or at least redirect from that url {{unsigned|115.166.22.158|12:45, 3 January 2013 (UTC)}}

: I like that idea! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 13:28, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

:Yeah! If it's possible, it would be cool! At least as a redirect. -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 15:46, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

== Section style and usage ==

I am new here and I'm trying to get up to speed with the culture. I have a few questions about how and where to use sections (== this ==). I am more willing to go with (and enforce) whatever norms there are here, but I have not seen them actually discussed.

# '''Is it OK to create sections in Discussion pages?''' I have been told no, but there are many examples extant of this usage in this Wiki and indeed in Wikipedia.
# '''Section title case''' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Capital_letters#Acronyms Wikipedia's style guide] recommends sentence case, not title case. There are many title cased section headers here.
# '''Links''' I do not have a reference for this but it seems to me putting links in section code (== [[<nowiki>this</nowiki>]] == ) is bad form.

Last note -- it's understood if these bylaws have not yet been written. I can see that a few of you have made a huge personal investment to make this Wiki what it is today, and that is a credit to you all -- this is awesome! As a long-time aficionado of xkcd I applaud your work and look forward to further collaboration.
--[[User:Smartin|Smartin]] ([[User talk:Smartin|talk]]) 04:15, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

:As a general rule, we stick to the standard format that existing pages follow, with an optional trivia section below the transcript. Some zealous editors like to add other sections though, which tend to be for the most part unneeded or redundant. If something you want to add doesn't help to explain the comic in some way, but the inclusion of which would somehow still add to the page, *and* it doesn't fall under the trivia category, a new section is warranted. This isn't the case most of the time though, so editors usually fold the content of extraneous sections into "Explanation" or "Trivia." We have no policy on links in titles, and they're allowed so long as they are appropriate; the link is useful and can't be folded into the section itself. And we use title case for titles cuz it just makes sense. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:08, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

:We generally do not (or at least, discourage) use sections on the talk/discussion pages for explanation pages. This is purely for looks. The comic discussion section of the explanation page looks/feels wrong if there are level 2 section breaks in the transclusion. Also, if the [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Table_of_contents Table of Contents] starts showing up on a page, such as on [[Click and Drag]] the sections created on the talk page also show up in the TOC. This gets confusing, and this is why we prefer not to use them on explanation talk pages. Everywhere else we follow standard wiki format and do use sections on the discussion pages.

:Personally, I think that links in section titles looks wrong, but I choose not to be the dictator of style in this matter. :p

:Please feel free to make edits. The worst that happens is someone reverts your edit. If it's a big enough issue and/or you don't seem to be learning from what people are fixing about your edits someone will leave a comment on your talk page. That's it. We might leave a nasty-gram in the edit summary, but oh well. We only ban for malicious intent. Honestly working to better the wiki is good, even if sometimes we grumble about it.

:--[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 07:00, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

::Oh, I just looked at your talk page. I completely forgot that that happened. Don't worry about it. Learning the ropes is part of the experience. Do make edits, and if they're wrong, we'll nudge you in the right direction. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 07:18, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

I have been moving some trivia sections to directly below the explanation, in order to make it more consistent, and easier to survey and maintain. Often the dividing line between trivia and explanation is not entirely clear, and in articles without a trivia section the end of the explanation very often contains trivia-like information. (e.g. [[1155: Kolmogorov Directions]]) -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 10:13, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

== Protip ==

Anyone for adding ''Protip'' as a [[:Category:Comic series|Comic series]]. I have found five so far: [[653]], [[711]], [[1022]], [[1047]] and [[1156]]. (There are also a few comics with a protip title text.) -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 10:25, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

:I think that qualifies as a recurring topic (thus worthy of a category), but not as a series, where you can see a clear sequence. In fact, [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby]] has the same limitation, for what I suggest it to be removed from [[:Category:Comic series]]. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 11:42, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

::Seconded. Looks general and common enough to be a category. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:57, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

:::Okay, great! Do you think that the ones with a "protip:" title text should be included? Besides, I think I might be the one responsiple for moving My Hobby from [[:Category:Comics by topic|Comics by topic]] to Comic series. I felt that all the My Hobby comics were about different topics, but maybe i've got to narrow an interpretation of the word "topic". -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 15:31, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

:::: Can you link to the protip-in-title-text comics?
:::: As for My Hobby, note that categories aren't mutually exclusive. They can be in the "my hobby" topic, and each of them further categorized as appropriate: music, math, etc. Makes sense? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:45, 5 January 2013 (UTC)
:::: I just searched for protip in the xkcd search bar. Here: [[1084]], [[427]]. And yes, makes sense. I've moved My Hobby back to "by topic". -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 12:06, 5 January 2013 (UTC)

== Category: Sports ==

How about creating a new "Sports" category? [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 15:31, 28 January 2013 (UTC)
:Well, maybe. Everyone aren't so keen on new categories here. Which comics are you thinking of, for a start? –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 20:32, 28 January 2013 (UTC)
::We definitely need to reach an agreement as a community on when to create new categories. Something simple like a minimum of 3 (or, say, 5) existing comics. Since we're already at the proposals' portal... what do you guys think about that? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 21:44, 28 January 2013 (UTC)
:::My opinion: Five would be enough to qualify. [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 09:31, 29 January 2013 (UTC)
::::I vote for four. But it should also be a reasonable thing to categorize, like sports, not like "sports with Cueball containing at least three anagram words". Wich sholdn't be a problem. :) But the best name choice could be tricky sometimes. e.g. "Film & television", Film & TV", "Film", "Films", or "Movies"? –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 12:59, 29 January 2013 (UTC)
:::
::::Agreed, five should be enough to create the category without having to discuss it. - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 00:50, 26 February 2013 (UTC)
: OK, let's start with [[588: Pep Rally|588]], [[1092: Michael Phelps|1092]], [[904: Sports|904]] and [[1107: Sports Cheat Sheet|1107]]. Should be able to find a few more. [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 05:00, 29 January 2013 (UTC)
::Yeah, it's a broad subject so there are probably several more. -[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 12:59, 29 January 2013 (UTC)
:::I found another one, sort of, in [[929:Speculation|929]] (although it hasn't been explained yet). Should I get the ball rolling (no pun intended) on setting up the category? Don't wanna do it unilaterally and get yelled at. ;) [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 06:18, 30 January 2013 (UTC)
::::I think you should. On a wiki, getting stuck in discussions which die without a conclusion, to the point that motivated people give up without having done anything, is definitely counter-productive, and phrases like [[wikipedia:Wikipedia:Be bold|Wikipedia:Be bold]] are here to remind us of that. Seems like people agreed that you ''could'', and after a while nobody said that you ''shouldn't'', so I'd say do it. - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 00:50, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

== Category: Sex ==

I think we should also create a Sex category. There's no ''doubt'' we can find more than three examples. I'll start looking for them and post the ones I find in here; again, I don't wanna create a large category by myself without community consent. [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 09:20, 2 February 2013 (UTC)
*OK, the ones for Category: Sex that I've found so far are [[443]], [[219]], [[550]], [[1026]], [[575]], [[468]], [[592]], [[320]], [[1101]], [[417]], [[713]], [[672]], [[230]], [[436]], [[940]], [[532]], [[649]], [[176]], [[1006]], [[596]] and [[717]], and I'm sure there are many more. Should we create this category? [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 23:17, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

:Same as [[#Category: Sports|above]], do it. Oh, already did; well, all the better. - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 00:53, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

==New character==
As per [[Talk:1178: Pickup Artists]], the character with hair has appeared in quite a few comics now, and he's starting to become a recurring character. Shall we go ahead with inaugurating him into our list of regular characters, and what name shall we assign him? Current candidate names include Hairy and Harry. Anyone? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:07, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

: I like Harry :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 01:04, 26 February 2013 (UTC)
::Cos made a point in the discussion on [[Talk:1178: Pickup Artists]] that Hairy is directly descriptive, whereas Harry is not obvious to visitors. On the other hand, not all names are descriptive ([[Danish]]) and I think this wiki is entitled to create some xkcd-in-culture, and not just describe. And Harry is quite funny.
::I wonder: has [[Randall]] ever called him anything at all in the transcript? –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 21:52, 26 February 2013 (UTC)
:::Well, he's not named in a any official transcripts, but he's already called Harry in quite a few comic explanations. Then again, I do like having a more descriptive name for him. Shall we hold this up to a vote? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:29, 26 February 2013 (UTC)
::::I think we should wait a little for a few more viewpoints to crop up. Also, can someone link to some more comics he's been featured in? I've got [[1028: Communication]], [[1027: Pickup Artist]] and [[1178: Pickup Artists]]. –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 23:41, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
:::::I actually like what that anon said: ''Curly''. Second choice: Hairy (being descriptive, a la Black Hat, Beret, Cueball, etc.) While there's talk about in-culture, we've done that with the names Cueball, Beret, etc. It's my opinion that the only names that should be "real" proper names are those that are named in the comic. Megan, Miss Lenhart, etc. Danish (as is discussed below) isn't truly a proper name, but you could argue it's a meta-description (one attributed by Black hat.) So that's my vote: yes for '''Curly''' or '''Hairy''', no for Harry. [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 05:21, 2 March 2013 (UTC)
:::That's right, [[Danish]] is not descriptive, but 1/ that name was suggested because the character [[515: No One Must Know|was called that way in the comic]], which is a tiny bit like a name given by the author (at least more than Harry which we have completely made up), and 2/ in that case it's hard to find a descriptive term: use something that revolves around her black hair (her only descriptive feature), and you easily mix up with [[Megan]]; the only graphical difference is that her hair is ''long'', but what kind of name can you make out of that?
:::For this new character, I suggest Hairy because it comes as the easy solution with every advantage: descriptive, easy to understand, and it's not ugly... I actually see no reason to resort to a made-up name like Harry.
:::[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 22:29, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

: '''Alright. So the discussion's been had, and the most oft recommended name appears to be Hairy. All in favor, say aye. If more than 1/3 of editors agree and we have more than 6 votes, Hairy it is.''' '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:58, 2 March 2013 (UTC)
:# '''Aye''' '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:58, 2 March 2013 (UTC)
:# '''Aye''' [[User:Guru-45|Guru-45]] ([[User talk:Guru-45|talk]]) 06:14, 2 March 2013 (UTC)
:# '''Aye''' to Hairy. [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 15:43, 2 March 2013 (UTC)
:# '''Aye'''. Harry would be a nice nod to the fact that he's actually hairy, but indeed it's better to avoid inside jokes. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:05, 2 March 2013 (UTC)
:# '''Aye'''. I'm convinced! –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 17:52, 3 March 2013 (UTC)
:# '''Aye'''. Hairy. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:52, 3 March 2013 (UTC)
::Hooray! We now have a [[:Category:Comics featuring Hairy]], with four pages already! Does anyone feel compelled to create "[[Hairy]]", with a brief description and a nice profile pic like the other characters? –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 22:58, 3 March 2013 (UTC)

== Ambiguous characters ==

I've been thinking about the problem of the ambiguity of characters. "Is this really Cueball even though he has an eye and half a nose?", "This is very likely ''not'' x." "Darnit, these arn't Cueballs, these are Randall and his friends!", and so on. The character ambiguity is standard for xkcd (not less so in the early ones), and comes from the very loose or "free" way Randall uses his characters to be whatever he needs at the moment. It's simply often impossible for us to know whether he had e.g. "Cueball" or himself in mind, when drawing a particular comic (and I'd say: probably often both).

I want to suggest that we in general have a likewise rather loose policy towards including characters in the categories for the comics. So that reasonably ambiguous cases should be included in e.g. [[Category: Comics featuring Ponytail]] (does she have a ponytail?) This is not because I believe this or that to really be this or that; I just don't believe in objective truth (here!). I feel that when doing research :) on a character, the borderline cases are often the most interesting ones, and you want to be able to find them through the "Comics featuring miss x"!

I came to think this through now, when I wanted to (and did) list two comics with [[Miss Lenhart]] (?) where she was drawn but not named. Any thoughts on this in general? Other case studies? –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 21:17, 5 March 2013 (UTC)
:My take has always been that [[Cueball]], for example, has not been a specific character. There is not ''a'' cueball, per se, distinct from any other cueball... indeed, there are several comics with several cueballs in-frame, and that is the point. I see the cueball character as a wildcard character (pun intended) ready to stand in for anybody (and ''not'' necessarily just Randall; I think those readers who suggest "this ''is'' Randall" are missing the point; he's way more META than that...) [[Megan]], while slightly less generic, still remains the female wild-card significant-other, while Curls seems to be a not-significant-other female used to illustrate a relationship that is transient. Other characters come and go, and when it's important to visually distinguish them from others in the frame, they're given additional characteristics, to wit [[Hairy]], [[Ponytail]], etc.
:Unfortunately, that viewpoint is not commonly held, so I daresay I'm in the minority here.
:-- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:18, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

== Note at the top, about the server error ==

:''This thread was moved to [[MediaWiki talk:Sitenotice]]''

== Category: Flowcharts ==

Hello, the line "Randall has made use of flowcharts before." in today's comic explanation made me want a [[:Category:Flowcharts|flowcharts category]] to navigate into...

As it didn't exist, I proceeded to create it, but as the log says, [[User:lcarsos|lcarsos]] deleted such a category in November, saying ''"Insufficient differentiation from Category:Comics with charts, diluting the depth of comics tagged charts"''.

I don't agree with that, and I think we could profit from such a subcategory. I found those pages fitting it:
* [[94: Profile Creation Flowchart]]
* [[210: 90's Flowchart]]
* [[488: Steal This Comic]]
* [[627: Tech Support Cheat Sheet]]
* [[844: Good Code]]
* [[851: Na]]
* [[854: Learning to Cook]]
* [[1195: Flowchart]]

So? - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 10:59, 5 April 2013 (UTC)
:Weell if you're willing to take charge of the category and personally make sure it's added to all relevant comic explanations, go ahead. The usual objection to making new categories is that we admins can't remember all the categories when we're reviewing new explanations, but it's K if you're willing to take up that responsibility yourself. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 11:17, 5 April 2013 (UTC)
:
:: OK. I did it without waiting for further replies, because I think it will be especially profitable today (to viewers).
:: It doesn't seem a big issue to me if the correct category is not added when a new explanation is made: a passing editor will do it later on... But hey, I'm OK with taking special care of adding pages to this category.
:: [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 12:28, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

854: Learning to Cook

2013-04-05T12:20:57Z

Cos: Corrected changes 31583 by 75.60.27.102 (talk): "unsubst" of template {{comic discussion}} (with correct closing double brackets)

1195: Flowchart

2013-04-05T12:16:59Z

Cos: precised Category:Charts into Category:Flowcharts (+ added link to category in explanation)

{{comic
| number = 1195
| date = April 5, 2013
| title = Flowchart
| image = flowchart.png
| titletext = The way out is to use the marker you have to add a box that says 'get a marker' to the line between you and 'start', then add a 'no' line from the trap box to 'end'.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Wikipedia:Flowchart|Flowcharts]] are diagrams used to show the logical flow of an algorithm or program. In this comic, Randall uses the fact that flowcharts can indeed be used to show a loop in the procedure: in this case, the reader will theoretically become trapped in a loop of reading the text in the diamond, following the line marked "YES," and ending back up in the diamond. Those familiar with flowcharts will notice though that, while diamonds usually contain decision questions (which can be answered multiple ways), the diamond here actually includes a statement instead.

The title text suggests that the only way to escape the loop is to add to the flowchart: between "START" and "HEY, WAIT, THIS FLOWCHART IS A TRAP!", place a rectangle containing "GET A MARKER," and then add another line marked "NO" proceeding from the diamond to a rounded box labeled "END." Of course, this changes the algorithm completely, but it releases the reader from the infinite loop by creating a paradox.

Randall has made use of [[:Category:Flowcharts|flowcharts]] before.

==Transcript==

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Flowcharts]]

854: Learning to Cook

2013-04-05T12:16:26Z

Cos: precised Category:Charts into Category:Flowcharts

{{comic
| number = 854
| date = January 31, 2011
| title = Learning to Cook
| image = learning to cook.png
| titletext = And yet I never stop thinking, 'sure, these ingredients cost more than a restaurant meal, but think how many meals I'll get out of them! Especially since each one will have leftovers!'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
This comic shows the plight of a person who cannot cook and can't quite find the time to learn, but still wants to learn.

==Transcript==
:[A flowchart.]

:I should cook more! -> Buy ingredients -> Put some in a pan -> Cook -> Does it taste good? -> (arrows marked "Kinda" and "No" both lead to) Put leftovers in fridge -> (hours pass) -> Order pizza -> (days pass) -> Throw away leftovers -> (weeks pass) -> Throw away remaining ingredients as they go bad -> (months pass) -> (arrow leads back to beginning)

{{#ifeq:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{MediaWiki:mainpage}}|
|<h2>[[File:Comment.png|link=]] [{{fullurl:{{TALKPAGENAME}}|action=edit}} '''add a comment!''']Discussion</h2><div style="border:1px solid grey; background:#eee; padding:1em;">{{#ifexist:{{TALKPAGENAME}}
|{{:{{TALKPAGENAME}}}}
|''No comments yet.''}}</div>__NOTOC__}}

[[Category:Flowcharts]]

851: Na

2013-04-05T12:16:04Z

Cos: precised Category:Charts into Category:Flowcharts

{{comic
| number = 851
| date = January 24, 2011
| title = Na
| image = na.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = I hear that there are actual lyrics later on in Land of 1,000 Dances, but other than the occasional 'I said,' I've never listened long enough to hear any of them.
}}

==Explanation==
This xkcd is interesting because the image at the main xkcd site is the one you see above, but if you click on the image, you get a slightly different comic, that includes the Paul McCartney song "Hey Jude".

The top song is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsaTElBljOE Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye] by recorded by studio musicians Garrett Scott, Dale Frashuer, and producer/writer Paul Leka that has become very popular for home fans in sporting events in America taunting the losing away team.

The Batman entry is from the 60's TV show "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qP-NglUeZU Batman]".

The next is the theme song to the game "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpFFzWPzA2c Katamari Damacy]".

The last song is "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fa4BfPQiKs The Land of 1000 Dances]" by Wilson Pickett.

==Transcript==
:[A flowchart.]
:Na->Na->Na->Na->Na->Na->Na->Na (branches to ->Hey->Hey->Goodbye and ->Batman!) ->Na->Na (branches to Katamari Damacy!) ->Na (arrow labeled "Land of 1,000 Dances) loops around to the last Na again)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Flowcharts]]

844: Good Code

2013-04-05T12:15:56Z

Cos: precised Category:Charts into Category:Flowcharts

{{comic
| number = 844
| date = January 7, 2011
| title = Good Code
| image = good_code.png
| titletext = You can either hang out in the Android Loop or the HURD loop.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic references the common meme of programmers that one can't actually write good code. Either the code is done quickly with shoddy "code style", weak logical structure, or any number of other kludges and hacks (which causes maintenance of the code to be a programmer's nightmare)... or else it is written well and beautifully structured, but can never be completed before changes in the situation cause the original code design to be insufficient for one or multiple reasons.

Either situation eventually leads to the need to completely start from scratch, designing and writing the program's code all over again. Of course, the writing of this new program is also locked in the perpetual cycle of choosing between ugly/bad code that works marginally well, or good/pretty code that never gets completed before being obsolete.

Additionally, the humorous point is being further emphasized for the primary target audience, programmers, by using an {{w|infinite loop}} (or more precisely, 2 possible loops and 1 forced loop) in the flowchart itself.

Also, of particular note, is the fact that Randall (the author) drives home the point of the inescapability of the infinite loop(s) by the use of the additional, disconnected, and logically unreachable portion of the flowchart. This disconnect points out that the only way to actually get to "Good Code" using the flow chart would be to follow a path of actions -- which does '''not''' start at the proscribed place -- for which there is only an unknown ''(and possibly unknowable)'' starting action ("?") which no one has ever discovered previously.

The image title text, "You can either hang out in the Android Loop or the HURD loop," makes a further dig at each community, claiming that Android developers are always choosing fast, ugly code, while HURD developers are always choosing to "do things right" but can therefore never finish their project at all. (The [http://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/ GNU Hurd project], which aims to create the kernel (i.e. lower-level portions) of the "GNU operating system," while building on a number of fundamentally "beautiful" concepts, has nonetheless been in development for many years with little forward motion towards actual usability by anyone except the developers themselves.)

Finally, the transcript of this comic is itself somewhat humorous (an additional {{w|In-joke|inside joke}}, if you will) in that it converts the flowchart into a simple list of instructions (aka pseudo-code) using numbered lines as reference points for identifying which instruction to read and follow next. This process is basically identical to the oft-maligned programming technique of using so-called "{{w|Goto|goto loops}}." -- Furthermore, there is also a slight cross-reference between infinite loops and goto loops which is probably being referenced, in that goto loops are often criticized (whether accurately or not) as being more likely to create unintended infinite loops in code... primarily because of the difficulty inherent in keeping track of possible entry and exit paths, especially when making edits to the code at a later time.

==Transcript==
:[The comic is a flowchart In order to explain this in text, follow the line numbers. Options follow on new lines without numbers.]
:How to write good code.
:[10.] Start Project. [Go to 20.]

:[20.] Do things right or do them fast?
:Fast [Go to 30.]
:Right [Go to 40.]

:[30.] Code fast. [Go to 35.]

:[35.] Does it work yet?
:No [Go to 30.]
:Almost, but it's become a mass of kludges and spaghetti code. [Go to 50.]

:[40.] Code well. [Go to 45.]

:[45.] Are you done yet?
:No. [Go to 40.]
:No, and the requirements have changed. [Go to 50.]

:[50.] Throw it all out and start over. [Go to 10.]

:[60.] ? [Go to 70.]

:[70.] Good code.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Flowcharts]]
[[Category:Programming]]

627: Tech Support Cheat Sheet

2013-04-05T12:15:41Z

Cos: precised Category:Charts into Category:Flowcharts

{{comic
| number = 627
| date = August 24, 2009
| title = Tech Support Cheat Sheet
| image = tech_support_cheat_sheet.png
| titletext = 'Hey Megan, it's your father. How do I print off a flowchart?'
}}

==Explanation==
It is impossible to support all things for all people. That should be a maxim posted in every IT office. There is a belief that because someone is good with computers that they have used all software and know all of its intricacies. This is not true. In the case of the support person not knowing the exact answer, which is most of the time, they begin to follow a set of rules that they have developed for finding the answer to the problem. This is what [[Randall]] has given us. A generalized form for how to find the solution for almost anything.

A {{w|flowchart}} is an organizational tool for showing process flow. A box is informational, a diamond indicates a decision, and the arrows control the flow from one symbol to another.

The title text is a sad admission that even knowing the procedure for how to fix the problem, many people will not follow it and still call tech support.

==Transcript==
:Narrator: Dear various parents, grandparents, co-workers, and other "not computer people."
:Narrator: We don't magically know how to do everything in every program. When we help you, we're usually just doing this:

:[There is a flowchart there. Numbers are included to improve clarity, and do not appear in the original.]

:Rectangle: Start.
:[go to 1]

:{1. Diamond} Find a menu item or button which looks related to what you want to do.
:[I can't find one - go to 2]
:[ok - go to 3]

:{2. Diamond} Pick one at random.
:[I've tried them all - go to 4]
:[Ok - go to 3]

:{3. Rectangle} Click it.
:[go to 5]

:{4. Rectangle} Google the name of the program plus a few words related to what you want to do. Follow any instructions.
:[go to 5]

:{5. Diamond} Did it work?
:[Yes - go to 8]
:[No - go to 6]

:{6. Diamond} Have you been trying this for over half an hour?
:[Yes - go to 7]
:[No - go to 1]

:{7. Rectangle} Ask someone for help or give up.
:[End of flowchart]

:{8. Rectangle} You're done!
:[End of flowchart]

:Narrator: Please print this flowchart out and tape it near your screen. Congratulations; you're now the local computer expert!
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Flowcharts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

488: Steal This Comic

2013-04-05T12:15:35Z

Cos: precised Category:Charts into Category:Flowcharts

{{comic
| number = 488
| date = October 13, 2008
| title = Steal This Comic
| image = steal_this_comic.png
| titletext = I spent more time trying to get an audible.com audiobook playing than it took to listen to the book. I have lost every other piece of DRM-locked music that I ever paid for.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|DRM}}, that is, "Digital Rights Management," is a recent (to this day) anti-piracy mechanism that is used to prevent unapproved or unintended use of the program. An example would be a requirement to play the game while online (where the servers can validate the game), or again, allowing only a limited amount of installs. The problem is that there are ways that DRM can be restrictive even upon legal situations. (To derivate from the aforementioned examples, someone may simply want to play the game in an area where there is no Internet connection, or again, someone may had exceeded the amount of allowed installs due to installation problems or hardware malfunctions requiring the purchase of new hardware.) In the situation placed in the above comic, one can not, say, transfer the audiobook or song from an iPod to a Blackberry phone, even if the song was only to share between family, or again, to have a backup. For this reason, DRM has gotten another (rather-accurate) name: [http://www.defectivebydesign.org/ "Digital Restrictions Management."]

Here, [[Black Hat]] proposes two paths:
::If you pirate the audio (that is, download them through other sites), you would not only be breaking the law (more specifically, copyright laws), but neither the publisher nor the performer nor the composer get any money from your gain. However, not only you would have gotten the audio for free (or at least at a substantial discount, since you may have to pay a third-party site for access to the pirated audio), but all DRM would have been broken or simply not present (since defeating the DRM is required to acquire the audio in the first place), so you can use the songs in whatever way you would like.

::If you buy the DRM-locked audio, you would be complying with the law, plus the publisher, performer, and composer would get money for their work. However, suppose that your computer got lost, broken or stolen. Or again, you could be switching to an operating system or upgrade to a new computer that does not support iTunes. In this case, you would not be able to access your collection due to the new hardware/software. If you try to recover your collection by breaking the DRM, you would be violating the law, albeit a different one, even if the reason you want to break the DRM is to recover the collection for which you paid, thus therefore legally own.

Since both situations have you end up being a criminal, Black Hat proposes taking the pirate path, which leaves you with a collection of dependable audio for (almost?) free.

Of course, there are at least a couple of alternatives to the situations that Black Hat proposes.

::You can simply re-buy the DRM-locked audio when unfortunate things do happen. That way, you would always be complying with the law. However, not only you would be required to pay multiple times for the same audio you legally own, but there is no guarantee that the audio you want is available the next time you need to make the purchase. In fact, [http://www.naturalnews.com/026675_Amazon_DRM_Big_Brother.html there is always the possibility of the service that provided you with the audio in the first place withdrawing the item you legally bought.]

::You can simply avoid buying the audio, but, if you are inclined towards audio plus there is no other legal way to buy the song, this would not be a pleasant solution (especially if you really like the song).

In light of this, [[Randall]] proposes a 5th option: demanding DRM-free files.

The title is a reference both to Black Hat's suggestion to pirate the audio and the [http://web.archive.org/web/20080913131048/http://www.piracyisacrime.com/ "Piracy is a Crime"] ad campaign, as well as a 1970 pro-anarchy book called ''{{w|Steal This Book}}''. There is also some underlying humour: since xkcd [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ is under a Creative Commons license], you can not "steal" the comic, since Randall specifically allowed the comic to be shared.

A note on the site says that [http://www.amazon.com| Amazon] sells DRM-free music files.

==Transcript==
:Black Hat: Thinking of buying from audible.com or iTunes?
:Black Hat: Remember, if you pirate something, it's yours for life. You can take it anywhere and it will always work.
:[There is a flowchart whose paths are (You're a Criminal)<-Pirate<-(Buy or Pirate)->Buy->(Things Change)->(You Try to Recover Your Collection)->(You're a Criminal)]
:Black Hat: But if you buy DRM-locked media, and you ever switch operating systems or new technology comes along, your collection could be lost.
:Black Hat: And if you try to keep it, you'll be a criminal (DMCA 1201).
:Black Hat: So remember: if you want a collection you can count on, PIRATE IT.
:Black Hat: Hey, you'll be a criminal either way.
:(If you don't like this, demand DRM-free files)

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category: Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Flowcharts]]

210: 90's Flowchart

2013-04-05T12:15:25Z

Cos: precised Category:Charts into Category:Flowcharts

{{comic
| number = 210
| date = January 15, 2007
| title = 90's Flowchart
| image = 90s_flowchart.png
| titletext = Freestyle rapping is basically applied Markov chains.
}}

== Explanation ==
"Stop. Hammertime" is a line in {{w|MC Hammer}}'s "{{w|U Can't Touch This}}". "Stop, collaborate and listen" is a line in {{w|Vanilla Ice}}'s "{{w|Ice Ice Baby}}". Both are hit rap songs from the 1990's. The flowchart gives you a good start if you want to sing a 90's rap hit.

== Transcript ==
:(A flowchart asking if it's the '90s. The no branch says "stop", while the yes branch says "stop", then "hammertime", with a subbranch reading "collaborate" and "listen")

{{Comic discussion}}
[[Category:Flowcharts]]

94: Profile Creation Flowchart

2013-04-05T12:14:55Z

Cos: precised Category:Charts into Category:Flowcharts

{{comic
| number = 94
| date = April 26, 2006
| title = Profile Creation Flowchart
| image = profile_flowchart.jpg
| titletext = This one goes out to xxCrazyPixie1987xx
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
AIM (short for AOL Instant Messenger) offered its users profile pages to share info about themselves or their friends. Randall notes that these pages fall into one of three categories:

*People without friends or significant others linked to their LiveJournal;
*People with friends and significant others would celebrate it all over their page;
*Sometimes people with friends would fill their profile with inside jokes only their friends could understand.

Both AIM and LiveJournal were known for their teenage user base, as shown by the title text's fictional AIM screen name.

==Transcript==
:[A flowchart is shown.]
:Have Friends? - No - Link to your LiveJournal
:Have Friends? - Yes, and want to alienate everyone else - INSIDE JOKES!
:Have Friends? - Yes - Have Boyfriend/ Girlfriend? - No - Angsty about it? - Yes - Link to your LiveJournal
:Angsty about it? - No - Yes you are - Angsty about it?
:Have Boyfriend/Girlfriend? - Yes - A profile tribute is the greatest possible expression of love.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Flowcharts]]
[[Category:Internet]]

Category:Flowcharts

2013-04-05T12:14:24Z

Cos: Created page with "Comics with {{w|flowchart}}s. Category:Charts"

Comics with {{w|flowchart}}s.

[[Category:Charts]]

explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals

2013-04-05T10:59:23Z

Cos: /* Category: Flowcharts */ new section

Talk:690: Semicontrolled Demolition

2013-04-05T10:37:38Z

Cos: removed thread header (I forgot that discussions appear on the explanation page and shouldn't have headers)

Sorry haven't posted before so probably doing this in the wrong way. The description says there's no video footage of the first plane, but there's a video taken of firefighters checking man hole covers who caught it. It's on you tube, but I didn't think it was right to post the link.

Edit: on second look I see a link has been put to second impact, so no reason not to post link to first:

[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g6V8KZE3GA]]

[[Special:Contributions/86.150.177.79|86.150.177.79]] 09:58, 5 April 2013 (UTC) Bob

: Thanks for your input, and you're right! I corrected that in the explanation.
: You only "did this in the wrong way" in that you should have edited directly the explanation [[File:Face-wink.svg|20px]]. As on most wikis, the general motto here is ''[[wikipedia:Wikipedia:Be bold|Be bold]]'': don't hesitate, just do it!
: Thanks again - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 10:30, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

690: Semicontrolled Demolition

2013-04-05T10:36:30Z

Cos: /* Explanation */ also reworded in the second paragraph the mention of "no video" for the first crash (did it too quickly in my previous edit). Explanation seems rather feeble, added {{incomplete}} banner

{{comic
| number = 690
| date = January 18, 2010
| title = Semicontrolled Demolition
| image = semicontrolled_demolition.png
| titletext = I believe the truth always lies halfway between the most extreme claims.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}

The {{w|World Trade Center}} towers were destroyed on September 11, 2001 (Using American date notation that's 9/11). The attack allegedly was supposed to be two simultaneous planes colliding with both the north and south towers. What ended up happening was [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g6V8KZE3GA&t=35s plane 1 hit the north tower at 8:46 am], and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KYE4zViAAg&t=11m44s the second plane hit the south tower a little less than 20 minutes later]. In the investigation following many questions were raised that didn't seem to get a satisfactory answer. Many people, calling themselves {{w|9/11 Truthers}} began to claim that the whole thing was a government conspiracy.

[[Randall]] proposes a compromise theory to make all people happy. Since we don't have good video shots of a plane manned by terrorists flewing into the north tower (as this surprised everyone), that was a government conspiracy. It just so happened that the government decided to demolish the north tower on the same day that terrorists had set to demolish the south tower.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is holding up a pointer to a screen with an image of the World Trade Center towers mid-disaster.]
:Cueball: Based on my analysis, I believe the government faked the plane crash and demolished the WTC north tower with explosives.
:Cueball: The south tower, in a simultaneous but unrelated plot, was brought down by actual terrorists.

:The 9/11 truthers responded poorly to my compromise theory.

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

Talk:690: Semicontrolled Demolition

2013-04-05T10:30:42Z

Cos: /* Video footage of first crash */ thanks, corrected, just do it

== Video footage of first crash ==

Sorry haven't posted before so probably doing this in the wrong way. The description says there's no video footage of the first plane, but there's a video taken of firefighters checking man hole covers who caught it. It's on you tube, but I didn't think it was right to post the link.

Edit: on second look I see a link has been put to second impact, so no reason not to post link to first:

[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g6V8KZE3GA]]

[[Special:Contributions/86.150.177.79|86.150.177.79]] 09:58, 5 April 2013 (UTC) Bob

: Thanks for your input, and you're right! I corrected that in the explanation.
: You only "did this in the wrong way" in that you should have edited directly the explanation [[File:Face-wink.svg|20px]]. As on most wikis, the general motto here is ''[[wikipedia:Wikipedia:Be bold|Be bold]]'': don't hesitate, just do it!
: Thanks again - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 10:30, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

690: Semicontrolled Demolition

2013-04-05T10:24:53Z

Cos: /* Explanation */ there *is* video footage of the first crash: added link (following comment on talk page)

{{comic
| number = 690
| date = January 18, 2010
| title = Semicontrolled Demolition
| image = semicontrolled_demolition.png
| titletext = I believe the truth always lies halfway between the most extreme claims.
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|World Trade Center}} towers were destroyed on September 11, 2001 (Using American date notation that's 9/11). The attack allegedly was supposed to be two simultaneous planes colliding with both the north and south towers. What ended up happening was [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g6V8KZE3GA&t=35s plane 1 hit the north tower at 8:46 am], and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KYE4zViAAg&t=11m44s the second plane hit the south tower a little less than 20 minutes later]. In the investigation following many questions were raised that didn't seem to get a satisfactory answer. Many people, calling themselves {{w|9/11 Truthers}} began to claim that the whole thing was a government conspiracy.

[[Randall]] proposes a compromise theory to make all people happy. Since we have no video proof that a plane manned by terrorists flew into the north tower, that was a government conspiracy. It just so happened that the government decided to demolish the north tower on the same day that terrorists had set to demolish the south tower.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is holding up a pointer to a screen with an image of the World Trade Center towers mid-disaster.]
:Cueball: Based on my analysis, I believe the government faked the plane crash and demolished the WTC north tower with explosives.
:Cueball: The south tower, in a simultaneous but unrelated plot, was brought down by actual terrorists.

:The 9/11 truthers responded poorly to my compromise theory.

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

MediaWiki talk:Sitenotice

2013-04-04T12:27:16Z

Cos: /* Note at the top, about the server error */ I think the message is now getting completely obsolete, and should be removed.

== "get a coffee" -> "sit by a lake" ==

The (admin-editable only) sitenotice currently suggests to go "get a coffee" while things stabilize about the heavy server load. I'd say it would be much more appropriate to suggest instead to go "[http://xkcd.com/1024/ sit by a lake]" [[File:Face-smile.svg|20px]] (with the appropriate link to xkcd.com, not here...). - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 23:14, 26 March 2013 (UTC)

: Great idea! {{done}} :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:26, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

== Note at the top, about the server error ==

The message is a little out-dated, as the comic ([[1190: Time]]) is not the latest anymore. I propose that the second sentence be changed to say "... in light of [[1190: Time]] ..."
Also, it would provide a quick, easy link to 1190: Time.
Just a thought.

: Good point, I'll change it :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 11:58, 30 March 2013 (UTC)
: '''update''': Davidy22 [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/?diff=31807 beat me to the punch], although he didn't tell anyone ;) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:01, 30 March 2013 (UTC)

:Well, I think the message is now getting completely obsolete, things seem to have returned to a normal enough state to remove it, no? - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 12:27, 4 April 2013 (UTC)