explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3122: Bad Map Projection: Interrupted Spheres

2026-03-29T12:06:42Z

Promethean:

Where's Greenland? [[User:SubtrEM|SubtrEM]] ([[User talk:SubtrEM|talk]]) 20:00, 30 July 2025 (UTC)
:It is on the backside of North America globe of course. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:49, 31 July 2025 (UTC)
:: So then New Zealand must be on the back of the Australia globe. But where's Hawaii? [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 12:06, 29 March 2026 (UTC)
My first edit! Hope it's ok! [[User:Jkusa.jr| Jkusa.jr]] 08:12, 30 July 2025 (UTC)

Wait, maybe I'm crazy, but I feel like there's actually a good map idea here? If you made proper globes centered on each continent.... Does this exist? [[Special:Contributions/2601:241:8002:3E0:CE5:D9D:CF64:76FD|2601:241:8002:3E0:CE5:D9D:CF64:76FD]] 21:36, 30 July 2025 (UTC)
:Well... that is what a globe is. You just turn it until it is on the continent you wish and look from the right angel ;-) Drawing a globe on a paper does nothing to remove the distortion from normal flat maps. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:49, 31 July 2025 (UTC)
:Google "globus polski", somebody already came up with this kind of joke in the communist Poland [[Special:Contributions/2A00:F41:80A5:A62:0:59:BA67:7B01|2A00:F41:80A5:A62:0:59:BA67:7B01]] 02:43, 4 August 2025 (UTC)

Not sure what the joke is! Another dis of the concept of continents? [[Special:Contributions/2A09:BAC3:9C1B:1955:0:0:286:B1|2A09:BAC3:9C1B:1955:0:0:286:B1]] 22:01, 30 July 2025 (UTC)
:It is a bad map projection. That is a joke in it self. Another way to badly draw a map, that is the ongoing joke. Of course there is also the silly joke in the title text like the Earth is actually spread over 7 spheres. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:50, 31 July 2025 (UTC)
::The thing is, attempts to translate a full sphere to a flat map requires various compromises (e.g. points that are close in real life may appear far apart on the map). Translating subsets of a full sphere out onto their own complete spheres technically requires the ''opposite'' type of compromises (e.g. points that are far apart in real life are now very close...). And add to that inevitable choice of angular and area distortions. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.235|82.132.244.235]] 10:12, 31 July 2025 (UTC)
:::It sometimes ''does'' feel as if a lot of people around the world were living on different planets, so we might as well go all out with the concept. Makes sense to me. [[User:PaulEberhardt|PaulEberhardt]] ([[User talk:PaulEberhardt|talk]]) 11:59, 31 July 2025 (UTC)

Yet another map that ignores/erases New Zeeland. {{unsigned|ProfKrueger|01:28, 31 July 2025}}
:No it doesn't ignore it. Just like Greenland is on the other side of the globe in North America so is NZ on the other side of Australias globe. You cannot either see Sydney or Tasmania or LA or other Western states in the US. In Europe you cannot see most of Scandinavia (although the important part is there ... Denmark ;-) and Madagascar is also left our near Africa as is the entire middle east and most of Russia. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:49, 31 July 2025 (UTC)

Thought Randall was becoming political leaving out N.Korea, Middle east, and Russia; then noticed the colossal China...--[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 09:42, 31 July 2025 (UTC)
:He also shows, the soon to be dictator ruled country, US, so he is not having any problems showing those kind of countries :-p --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:49, 31 July 2025 (UTC)

What are those islands that I see in the center of the Antarctica globe? [[Special:Contributions/67.82.132.47|67.82.132.47]] 13:15, 31 July 2025 (UTC)
:The largest is {{w|Berkner Island}}. Mostly trapped in the RF-Ice Shelf, under normal viewing conditions and even many maps, but here represented with the whole of the Weddel Sea as if 'open' all the way through it, and not just featureless ice-sheet over both 'land' and watee. Over on the other side of Palmer's Land, as another notable feature (the characteristic long peninsula), is Alexander Island, and other semi-ilsand masses; up-of-centre on the left, as we see the Antarctic-Globe view. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.245.41|82.132.245.41]] 14:12, 31 July 2025 (UTC)

I love this! Bad Map Projection returns, now with all 7 continents on 7 globes. Still better than the Gall-Peters Projection! [[User:Strontium|Strontium]] ([[User talk:Strontium|talk]]) 19:45, 31 July 2025 (UTC)

It seems as if the continents aren't centered on their individual globes. Should they be? [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 01:57, 3 August 2025 (UTC)
:Can anything ever be centred on a globe? To my mind, though, the visible bit of the continent is (at least in the centre of the view, before the spherical distortion and wrapping over the 'horizon' of each) positioned as taken from a flat projection (no idea which, without drilling into centre-to-centre distances and angles). Perhaps Randall went for artfully-placed spheres, ''roughly'' aligned to his source flat-projection of choice, then 'wrapped them around from where the actual sphere-nearpoint landed.
:Also, estimations of where the flat-map centre of the continent lies can be difficult to agree. The exact mid-latitude and mid-longitide between its extremes, or a geometric 'weighted' average (of either the spherical-segment or flat map)? Is that of just the 'mainland' continent, or including all the way out to the remotest islands off the edge of an extended contintal shelf? Or just so that there is roughly equal expectations of land (major island chains counting more than minor peninsulae) hidden behind the western/northern limbs of the sphere as with the counterpart eastern/southern ones. Or just how it's placed so that it's a more aesthetic+recognisable view of the continent than if it ''was'' any given mathematically determined geographical centre at the face-on centre of the sphere? So many design/layout choices, and I'm not sure which one I'd choose if I came to doing it myself. I'd probably be more 'logical' than artistic, perhaps find the centre-of-gravity of the mass, but it might not look as good as just 'rolling the marbles around' until it looked neat. Or a bit of dry and precise analysis ''with'' artful adjustment, which is what Randall's style seems to be. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.237.7|82.132.237.7]] 15:51, 3 August 2025 (UTC)

What does "smartass response" mean? This is a confusing explanation. [[Special:Contributions/2603:800C:1200:596A:AB18:B71B:2BC5:5651|2603:800C:1200:596A:AB18:B71B:2BC5:5651]] 03:34, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
:As per the linked previous comic, "A Globe / Yes, you're very clever"... Not how I'd word it, but I can't see how it's not plain enough.
:Is this the sole point of your confusion, or is that a more general observation that you tacked on to your initial question? Help us to help you. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.247.119|82.132.247.119]] 13:09, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
:I made sure to replace it with "wisecrack" since the incomplete description notice called for more formal writing. [[Special:Contributions/2601:300:4083:1C70:F1B:D867:C7C7:F254|2601:300:4083:1C70:F1B:D867:C7C7:F254]] 06:43, 12 August 2025 (UTC)

The "landbridge" text leads to questions of America being one or two continents, or for that matter Europe, Asia, and Eurasia, as well as Asia/Africa. {{unsigned ip|88.129.22.189|07:57, 1 September 2025}}
:Overall, that would be a matter of using the Afro-Eurasia/America/Australasia/Antactica version of the map. [[Special:Contributions/92.17.62.87|92.17.62.87]] 20:35, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

3222: Star Formation

2026-03-20T20:21:21Z

Promethean:

{{comic
| number = 3222
| date = March 20, 2026
| title = Star Formation
| image = star_formation_2x.png
| imagesize = 676x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's ok, I still have some nice, cool gas clouds that aren't collapsing. As long as nothing ionizes them, I can continue to enjoy their ... HEY! NO!!!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a BOT RUNNING IN A CLOUD THAT BECAME PART OF THE SUN. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

:A black dot is in a field of clouds.
:"I think I did a good job with this universe."
:"Pressure waves dance through gas clouds."
:"They clump together and then pressure pushes them apart."

:In the next panel, the black dot approaches a more dense field of clouds.
:"Oh weird, that big clump of clouds is staying together."
:"Their gravity is overcoming the pressure and more gas is falling in."

:In the next panel, more of the clouds start to fall into the soon-to-be born star.
:"It's not stopping!"
:"The heat is rising but the collapse is only accelerating!"
:"I messed up bad. I messed up '''bad.'''"

:In the next panel, there is a star in place of the dense field of clouds.
:"NOOOOOOOO!!!"
:"My beautiful clouds!"
:"Ruined! It's all ruined!"

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

Talk:3218: Subduction Retrieval

2026-03-13T06:30:37Z

Promethean:

I win. {{unsigned ip|2603:7080:5240:fa00:f571:792f:a287:3b07|03:21, 12 March 2026 (UTC)}}
:I lost {{w|The Game (mind game)|The Game}}. [[Special:Contributions/2A04:4E41:320E:C27C:0:0:885F:A27C|2A04:4E41:320E:C27C:0:0:885F:A27C]] 04:47, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
:: @&$! [[Special:Contributions/47.146.30.92|47.146.30.92]] 05:33, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
: Nope - you are disqualified for not signing your post. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:14, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

By some coincidence this article https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy03jw0pwx1o was on the BBC news website Wed 11th March (UK)- the evening before (9pm local time) this was added [[Special:Contributions/2A00:23C7:B524:F801:4041:29F9:A548:6CDE|2A00:23C7:B524:F801:4041:29F9:A548:6CDE]] 06:08, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

I added my first explanation on this website! Please feel free to correct/improve it. [[Special:Contributions/2401:D002:8404:C900:E8CD:26D1:3D16:F675|2401:D002:8404:C900:E8CD:26D1:3D16:F675]] 06:33, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

A rough estimate of how fresh this news is would be 200 years: size of people allows to estimate ring has been carried down 12 m, and then I used 6 cm/year subduction rate. [[Special:Contributions/152.77.153.162|152.77.153.162]] 08:04, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
: This underestimates the time span IMO. Considering the folds in the crust below the crane, work obviously has been going on for quite some time already. The actual time of the ring going underground must be at least one order of magnitude higher, i.e., *ages* ago. Wait a minute ... the guy who claims to have lost the ring, does he go by the name of Sauron, by any chance? [[Special:Contributions/2.201.115.145|2.201.115.145]] 10:28, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
:: Can't be: the PSA is for today only, so maybe they've taken time to set up their stuff but they only started pulling a few hours ago. Now possibly they've actually already ripped out a length of the same order as the distance to the ring, but then it's not sure the ring has been dragged up very efficiently, since it looks like it is sticking out above the plate surface. So I'd stand with my 12m guess, but I expect they'll need to extract much more to get to the ring. [[Special:Contributions/152.77.153.162|152.77.153.162]] 14:29, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

Chances are that the ring melted being down that far. [[User:Dogman15|Dogman15]] ([[User talk:Dogman15|talk]]) 08:58, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
:Depending upon the (unreliable, but article-assumed) scale, not really.
:Gold melts at ~1000°C (any diamond in it would melt at ~4000°C, though any solder/etc used in its construction would presumably do so at lower temperatures). At least before the effects of pressure modify that.
:At a subduction zone, the rock is relatively cool further down, as the 'surface' plate being subducted starts of cool and can soak up a lot of the heat from the 'hot cushion' it's being drawn down into. Even if we assume the humans aren't to scale, the junction should be no more than a few hundred degrees C (an additional 10C° per km of depth is one estimate, with some variation and a lot of unknowns that apply in an active subduction zone).
:Presuming the ring landed in oceanic silt that is 'immediately' inexorably dragged down under the lip of the overlying plate, the effects of temperature would be minimal compared to a mid-plate depth (where it gets uncomfortable for miners). In addition, the water in the sediment would eat up the heat energy, given its extremely high enthalpy of vaporisation, up until the pressure drives that higher than the mineral/metal melting points (if indeed it does), further keeping the ring's neighbourhood cooler than it should be.
:Pressure might be the big thing, depending on if the sediment layer that it lies in acts as a constant matrix to spread the load (i.e. not crush the ring), although you'd expect a mudstone-like process of compression (then metamorphic transition, once enough heat passed into it, probably before the gold suffered from pure temperature effects), so it might he distorted. But if it found itself being dragged through a thin enough faultline that the underlying and overlying bedrock were essentially rubbing together (the soft-stuff significantly squeezed out, but for some reason not the ring), then it'd be more like putting the ring between two millstones (but more so?), and it'd fragment and/or smear the gold ring. Any diamond might last longer before being shattered, however much it might gouge the passing rock away whenever it jammed, depending on how it was actually encased in other material. But various types of granite (as examples of the rock) melt at far less than half the temperature of diamond, lower still in the presence of water and pressure (possibly below gold, in those conditions?), so if a diamond (or even its ring) mechanically survives the process, it's probably going to still last a bit longer than the rock that's clearly still present and solid in the comic.
:But it probably needs the attention of a good jeweler/repairer, at the very least.[[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.116|82.132.238.116]] 13:11, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

Given the vast forces at play here, standing on the section that's being drawn out seems... particularly inadvisable. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 10:59, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
:"I rode a Ferrari last night." "Oh yeah?" ''puts on black glasses'' {{unsigned ip|89.92.228.34|17:56, 12 March 2026}}

There's a wedding ring in this cOmment. All comments above are one tectonic plate. and all the ones below are in another. [[Special:Contributions/45.178.0.43|45.178.0.43]] 12:09, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

I thought throwing a ring in a geologically active high-pressure high-temperature structure was the only way to irreversibly lose it? [[Special:Contributions/89.233.195.138|89.233.195.138]]
We’re coming upon the April fools comic soon[[User:Commercialegg|Commercialegg]] ([[User talk:Commercialegg|talk]]) 16:30, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

yet another subduction comic [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 18:27, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

"Not safe for ever... There are many things in the deep waters and seasoned lands may change. And it is not our part here to take thought only for a season or for a few lives of men or for a passing age of the world." When he's right, he's right. {{unsigned ip|192.5.18.7|18:59, 12 March 2026]}

So how long until someone mining a piece of kimberlite from the mantle wonders why the diamond embedded in it looks like it's already been cut? I guess that must be the only way to tell one that's already been to the surface and back from one that's reaching it for the first time. [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 06:28, 13 March 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3218: Subduction Retrieval

2026-03-13T06:28:33Z

Promethean:

I win. {{unsigned ip|2603:7080:5240:fa00:f571:792f:a287:3b07|03:21, 12 March 2026 (UTC)}}
:I lost {{w|The Game (mind game)|The Game}}. [[Special:Contributions/2A04:4E41:320E:C27C:0:0:885F:A27C|2A04:4E41:320E:C27C:0:0:885F:A27C]] 04:47, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
:: @&$! [[Special:Contributions/47.146.30.92|47.146.30.92]] 05:33, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
: Nope - you are disqualified for not signing your post. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:14, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

By some coincidence this article https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy03jw0pwx1o was on the BBC news website Wed 11th March (UK)- the evening before (9pm local time) this was added [[Special:Contributions/2A00:23C7:B524:F801:4041:29F9:A548:6CDE|2A00:23C7:B524:F801:4041:29F9:A548:6CDE]] 06:08, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

I added my first explanation on this website! Please feel free to correct/improve it. [[Special:Contributions/2401:D002:8404:C900:E8CD:26D1:3D16:F675|2401:D002:8404:C900:E8CD:26D1:3D16:F675]] 06:33, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

A rough estimate of how fresh this news is would be 200 years: size of people allows to estimate ring has been carried down 12 m, and then I used 6 cm/year subduction rate. [[Special:Contributions/152.77.153.162|152.77.153.162]] 08:04, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
: This underestimates the time span IMO. Considering the folds in the crust below the crane, work obviously has been going on for quite some time already. The actual time of the ring going underground must be at least one order of magnitude higher, i.e., *ages* ago. Wait a minute ... the guy who claims to have lost the ring, does he go by the name of Sauron, by any chance? [[Special:Contributions/2.201.115.145|2.201.115.145]] 10:28, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
:: Can't be: the PSA is for today only, so maybe they've taken time to set up their stuff but they only started pulling a few hours ago. Now possibly they've actually already ripped out a length of the same order as the distance to the ring, but then it's not sure the ring has been dragged up very efficiently, since it looks like it is sticking out above the plate surface. So I'd stand with my 12m guess, but I expect they'll need to extract much more to get to the ring. [[Special:Contributions/152.77.153.162|152.77.153.162]] 14:29, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

Chances are that the ring melted being down that far. [[User:Dogman15|Dogman15]] ([[User talk:Dogman15|talk]]) 08:58, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
:Depending upon the (unreliable, but article-assumed) scale, not really.
:Gold melts at ~1000°C (any diamond in it would melt at ~4000°C, though any solder/etc used in its construction would presumably do so at lower temperatures). At least before the effects of pressure modify that.
:At a subduction zone, the rock is relatively cool further down, as the 'surface' plate being subducted starts of cool and can soak up a lot of the heat from the 'hot cushion' it's being drawn down into. Even if we assume the humans aren't to scale, the junction should be no more than a few hundred degrees C (an additional 10C° per km of depth is one estimate, with some variation and a lot of unknowns that apply in an active subduction zone).
:Presuming the ring landed in oceanic silt that is 'immediately' inexorably dragged down under the lip of the overlying plate, the effects of temperature would be minimal compared to a mid-plate depth (where it gets uncomfortable for miners). In addition, the water in the sediment would eat up the heat energy, given its extremely high enthalpy of vaporisation, up until the pressure drives that higher than the mineral/metal melting points (if indeed it does), further keeping the ring's neighbourhood cooler than it should be.
:Pressure might be the big thing, depending on if the sediment layer that it lies in acts as a constant matrix to spread the load (i.e. not crush the ring), although you'd expect a mudstone-like process of compression (then metamorphic transition, once enough heat passed into it, probably before the gold suffered from pure temperature effects), so it might he distorted. But if it found itself being dragged through a thin enough faultline that the underlying and overlying bedrock were essentially rubbing together (the soft-stuff significantly squeezed out, but for some reason not the ring), then it'd be more like putting the ring between two millstones (but more so?), and it'd fragment and/or smear the gold ring. Any diamond might last longer before being shattered, however much it might gouge the passing rock away whenever it jammed, depending on how it was actually encased in other material. But various types of granite (as examples of the rock) melt at far less than half the temperature of diamond, lower still in the presence of water and pressure (possibly below gold, in those conditions?), so if a diamond (or even its ring) mechanically survives the process, it's probably going to still last a bit longer than the rock that's clearly still present and solid in the comic.
:But it probably needs the attention of a good jeweler/repairer, at the very least.[[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.116|82.132.238.116]] 13:11, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

Given the vast forces at play here, standing on the section that's being drawn out seems... particularly inadvisable. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 10:59, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
:"I rode a Ferrari last night." "Oh yeah?" ''puts on black glasses'' {{unsigned ip|89.92.228.34|17:56, 12 March 2026}}

There's a wedding ring in this cOmment. All comments above are one tectonic plate. and all the ones below are in another. [[Special:Contributions/45.178.0.43|45.178.0.43]] 12:09, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

I thought throwing a ring in a geologically active high-pressure high-temperature structure was the only way to irreversibly lose it? [[Special:Contributions/89.233.195.138|89.233.195.138]]
We’re coming upon the April fools comic soon[[User:Commercialegg|Commercialegg]] ([[User talk:Commercialegg|talk]]) 16:30, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

yet another subduction comic [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 18:27, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

"Not safe for ever... There are many things in the deep waters and seasoned lands may change. And it is not our part here to take thought only for a season or for a few lives of men or for a passing age of the world." When he's right, he's right. {{unsigned ip|192.5.18.7|18:59, 12 March 2026]}

So how long until someone mining a piece of kimberlite from the mantle wonders why the diamond embedded in it looks like it's already been cut? [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 06:28, 13 March 2026 (UTC)

explain xkcd:Community portal/Miscellaneous

2026-02-27T02:08:36Z

Promethean: /* Random Explanation Button bias towards newer articles */

<noinclude>{{Community links}}

{|-
|valign="top" width="100%"|[[File:Internet-group-chat.svg|left|120px]] <big><big>Miscellaneous</big></big>

This is a place for general chit-chat about virtually anything that doesn't fit anywhere else. {{AddNewSection|Page=Explain XKCD:Community portal/Miscellaneous|Text=(+post)}}
|}</noinclude>

__TOC__
==ARCHIVED DISCUSSIONS==
<div class="plainlinks" style="background:#edf6ff; border:1px solid #a7d7f9; margin:1em auto 1em auto; width:100%; font-size: 120%; padding: 0.5ex; text-align: center;">The discussion of the now-deleted page "Advertise here" has been archived. The archive is available at '''[[explain xkcd talk:Community portal/Miscellaneous]]'''.</div>

== The Community Portal's design ==

{{tl|Community portal}} looks too Wikipedia-ish (because that's where I got it). Someone who can design things should probably fix that. It isn't protected for the time being, though it probably will be in the future (high-visibility template). --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:54, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Common mistake ==

This affects all pages that ever say "alt text" in reference to the TITLE text on xkcd images. "Alt text" is incorrect; Alt text refers to the text that is shown as an alternative when images are not displayed. Title text is what xkcd uses and is shown as a tool tip-like bubble when images are hovered over.

I would correct this myself but I saw no way to edit the main page. --[[User:Jillysky|Jillysky]] ([[User talk:Jillysky|talk]]) 14:21, 6 August 2012‎ (UTC)

:You actually don't need to edit the main page to fix it, as what's there is just a mirror (transclusion) of the actual content from the comic page, at [[Curiosity]], which is open for editing by anyone. Then again, the "alt-text" in that case is generated by a template, {{tl|comic}}, so that's where we should fix this. The template's code, however, is currently a terrible mess (sorry!), so I went ahead and took care of it. Thanks for catching that! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:24, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:Ah? So it's wrong, for instance, on http://m.xkcd.com? because of that I took it for granted that we could call it the alt-text... - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 17:38, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:: Yes. If you look at the page's html source, you'll see:
<nowiki><img
id="comic"
src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/curiosity.png"
title="As of this writing the NASA/JPL websites are still overloaded. Trying CURIOSITY-REAR-CAM_[256px_x_256px].torrent.SwEsUb.DVDRip.XviD-aXXo.jpg instead."
alt="Curiosity"></nowiki>
::(line breaks added for clarity) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 23:54, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:::That was my error in the template. I knew "image text" that has been commonly used by Jeff was not techically correct, but I didn't actually go back and confirm it was alt text before I included that tag in the template. That's to Waldir (I believe?) for correcting the template. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:14, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

== When the "official" transcript is wrong? ==
I did [[903: Extended Mind]]. Interestingly, the transcript on xkcd.com is missing the bottom line "When Wikipedia has a server outage, my apparent IQ drops by 30 points." I assume we want a complete transcript, rather than whatever xkcd.com says it is...? [[User:Stevage|Stevage]] ([[User talk:Stevage|talk]]) 04:10, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

:We're focusing on the actual transcript of the comic, not the xkcd.com transcript. The official transcript is usually right, but even Randall makes mistakes sometimes. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 04:24, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

== Milestone: half the comics explained!! ==

Hi all! I'm pleased to announce that we have just broke the 50% mark for xkcd explanations! The page that balanced the count (568 explained, 568 to go, at the time) was [[877: Beauty]], created 01:31 UTC, 21 November 2012 by [[User:Davidy22]]. Congratulations!! :D --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:10, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

:The caterer's been called! The punch will be arriving soon! Go [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]! [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:53, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

::[[File:freedom.png]] Punch is served! [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 07:11, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

But the Main page says 407 explanations, 731 to go! What's up with that? --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 21:00, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

== Reverse? ==

Why in the Archive why are all the thing up until "Heatmap" in Reverse? Can someone please answer? [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)
:Archive? Can you provide a link or screenshot? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:43, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

http://xkcd.com/archive/ [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

::Ah, that's because the comic right after that, rtl, has a right-to-left character in it that flips all the proceeding text. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:13, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

Ah, ok, i see that now. When I 1st saw that RTL I just thought that it was random letters, thankyou for explaining it for me. [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

It also depends on what browser you are on because on Google Chrome it was normal. [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 09:08, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

== Do you think this question was asked by one of the xkcd people? ==

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090301060752AAtYugc [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:38, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

== Matthew Reilly ==

I would just like to tell everyone that I asked Matthew Reilly (the author) if he is ever scared that a velociraptor is going to attack him, and he said NO! He clearly needs to start worrying about them! [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 10:45, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

== What can we learn section ==
First of all I love your work. I believe deeper understanding of each XKCD can make a world a better place and I thank you sincerely for starting this webpage. I wanted to ask what you think about "What can we learn?" section I've been adding to some of the pages. Thank you - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:27, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

:This site is actually the work of multiple editors working slowly and steadily to fill in explanations for all the old comics. Some of the xkcd comics are incredibly deep - comic [[956]] is such a poignant comic that digs into the DRM issue on so many levels. Your reflections on many of the comics are very much warranted and you're helping us create talk pages with high-quality opening posts, which is great for future discussion on this wiki. It'd be nice if you could refrain from putting headers in talk pages, technical limitations of the wiki make long explanation pages choke when headings are in the discussion page. Other than that, keep up the good work! '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:42, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

::I've put in my 2 cents to comic [[956]], and thank you for teaching me how to comment and link to other comics - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:58, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

::: FYI, you can always make pseudo-headings using a horizontal rule and a bold "header", but honestly I think a simple standard opening sentence would suffice. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:14, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

:Oh, and the guy who draws xkcd is called {{w|Randall Munroe}}. So many glowing things to be said about him. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:44, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

::Yes, I can't thank him enough for simplifying complex issues to funny stories, I think it's exactly what our generation needs - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:58, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

:I'm in favor of a Mr. Rogers style of 'what lesson can be learned' on the talk page, but make sure your comments don't come across as sanctimonious and holier-than-thou as that can be really off-putting. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 19:06, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

:: You are absolutely correct, I have not thought of that, please trust me I did not do it on purpose. Thank you Mr. Lcarsos - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 19:55, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Thank you David, and I apologize that I've not made it clear that by your work, I do mean your collective work (the wiki is only as good as all the people behind it). I was trying to put the headers to allow others to find the section easier in case they start looking for it, perhaps I could make a suggestion to make it a standalone section so that others would be encouraged to contribute their own understanding of lessons they have noticed from each comic. I know the lessons I've seen, but I would love to learn from others as much as I hope they can learn from me and Mr. XKCD, thank you. - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:48, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

== DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD ==

Hello fellow editors. Do you remember the last time we were hit by a surge of automated spam? Neither do I. ConfirmEdit has really done a number on the volume of spam that we're eating - one spam account has been created since we finished configuring confirmEdit, and zero anon edits have been spam. Zero. Can you say happiness? Can you say party? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:41, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

:Hehe, I'm glad! Thanks for being so relentless on the spam-fighting all this time! Maybe we should make up a new reason to make Jeff remove the /wiki/ in the URL? ;) –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 18:11, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

:: Awesome news! Finally the patrolling feature will be usable: [{{fullurl:Special:RecentChanges|hideanons=1&hidepatrolled=1&from=20121204025000&days=365&limit=1000}} Unpatrolled changes by registered users] / [{{fullurl:Special:RecentChanges|hideliu=1&hidepatrolled=1&from=20121204025000&days=365&limit=1000}} Unpatrolled changes by anonymous users] :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:27, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

== 1000th comic explanation!! ==

Hi all! It apparently went unnoticed that '''we have recently surpassed the mark of 1000 comic explanations!''' Some calculations based on [[:Category:Comics]] and [[Special:NewPages]] led me to the conclusion that the 1000th explanation was [[681: Gravity Wells]], created by [[User:AlexRNL]] just yesterday! Yay! This calls for a celebration, no? Congrats to [[Special:ContributionScores|everyone]] who made this happen! I'll edit [[Mediawiki:Sitenotice]] with a congratulatory message. Way to go, guys! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:04, 10 April 2013 (UTC)
:ps - I also took the opportunity to flesh out our [[explain xkcd|about/history page]]. Please take a look and fix/add any details I might have missed. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:06, 10 April 2013 (UTC)

== Style guide ==
Is there a style guide for this wiki? --[[User:PeterMortensen|PeterMortensen]] ([[User talk:PeterMortensen|talk]]) 20:14, 10 August 2013 (UTC)
:Oh, sorry, I did forget to answer here. A guide on this is not easy, many individual comics do need special layouts because they have content never can match to a style guide. But I will give a try [[Help:Style Guide]].--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:18, 15 August 2013 (UTC)

== Adblock ==

I've whitelisted the site in adblock, but the ads are still blocked.
Anyone know what' going on here and how I can fix it?--[[User:ParadoX|ParadoX]] ([[User talk:ParadoX|talk]]) 04:34, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
:Huh. I was wondering why our impression counts weren't rising. I thought it was just because this site had high turnover. I've changed the webpage that the word whitelisting links to, try the instructions there instead. Project wonderful is our ad provider, and they've been pretty good to us so far. Also, thanks for helping to support the site! '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:40, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
::Great! I don't really mid ads as long as they aren't intrusive. Works now, Hope everyone else does it as well.--[[User:ParadoX|ParadoX]] ([[User talk:ParadoX|talk]]) 05:16, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
::I saw you wrote "the webpage that the word whitelisting links to" so I went to the search box and typed whitelisting. My search didn't yield anything useful: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?search=whitelisting&go=Go&title=Special%3ASearch]. I don't know how to create the missing page but there oughta be a link for someone like me who searches for whitelist or whitelisting, to take them to the instructions you refer to. [[User:SaxTeacher|SaxTeacher]] ([[User talk:SaxTeacher|talk]]) 10:59, 17 May 2014 (UTC)
:::We already have this linked somewhere, but [https://www.projectwonderful.com/adblock.php this] is the link you want. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:41, 17 May 2014 (UTC)

I normally access this site through the android app "xkcd browser". That app only links to the content part of the site and doesn't show the side bar, so the adds aren't shown either. Might be worth discussing it with the author. [[Special:Contributions/109.158.126.139|109.158.126.139]] 08:06, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

:We support those avenues completely, you don't need to feel bad if you use an app to browse this site. We're only really concerned when we put up ads and our impressions are less than half our page hits, because that essentially means more than half our readers aren't contributing to server costs. That's really hard to deal with. We have enough daily page hits to qualify as web publishers at very big ad agencies, but we've had to settle for relatively low rates at the smaller Project Wonderful because 60% of our users were using adblock, so the agencies rejected us because our valuable "paying" audience was too low for them to consider us. That's been the difference between us using dedicated servers to host the site and hiring a contractor to set it up, and the (admittedly somewhat decent) shared hosting plan that we have to settle for now. We can only afford the shared hosting, because the small-scale advertisers at Project Wonderful don't even pay for full days of advertising; most of the time, we make less per day than the posted $3.90 price. That said, we're grateful that Project Wonderful would take us as a publisher when no one else would, but it really feels like the difference between being accepted to community college and being accepted to an ivy league school. For a similar reason, the Google ads route was not sufficient to satisfy our needs; not a large enough proportion of our users were looking at ads, so we either needed to spam them and degrade the site, or we needed to make them refresh, which makes pages slow and causes needlessly high traffic for a lot of users. We didn't want our ads to make the site worse, because that would drive away users and defeat the purpose of us being a public resource for xkcd readers. We actually decided to go the agency route pretty early, because adsense takes a massive cut of revenues and gives us little control over what ads or advertisers actually showed, which was not okay with us. Whoah, I wrote a lot. I hope it was coherent. Maybe someday I'll collect my thoughts and write a proper summary on how and why we advertise. Also, if you have any questions about anything ad-related, you can always ask us at [[explain xkcd talk:Advertise Here]]. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 11:15, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

== Feynman? ==

Feynman (both in [[182: Nash|living]] and [[397: Unscientific|zombie]] form) probably deserves an entry in the [[Template:Navbox characters|character navbox]] template doesn't he? [[Special:Contributions/128.250.152.198|128.250.152.198]] 02:21, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
:That's two comics out of 1200+. Three if you count the song. Not quite enough yet. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:27, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
:: If that's the criterion, then we need to get rid of [[Brown Hat]]. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 19:30, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
:::Potentially, we could create a very minor character category with these two, and other characters with less than 10 appearances. [[User:tplaza64]]

== Job Interview (Atomic Soup) ==

The soup is clearly being poured out of an atomic socket. This "atomic soup" is probably not a reference to the alcoholic brew favoured by Scottish tramps, but more likely to the virtual nature of the company. {{unsigned|Sulis|12:49, 20 November 2013 (UTC)}}
:Hey, go here [[Talk:1293: Job Interview‎]] for discussions. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:58, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

== Is there a similar, transcripted service for The Oatmeal? ==

Hi everyone - this site is a real gem, I've sent it to a friend of mine who can't read XKCD because she's blind. The transcripts on this site are a real boon!

Does anyone know if there is a similar service for The Oatmeal? I've searched and searched, but found nothing so far.

Thanks :)

Jeff

:As far as I know we are kind of unique in the web comics world. I think we get away with it because Randall publishes all his comics as Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial. We liberally link back to xkcd, and we don't make a penny (The ads are just to cover server expenses, because wikis and the databases that support them get big when you're covering a body of work like xkcd). I haven't looked into the copyright Matt uses for the Oatmeal, but he seems like a cool enough guy to not kill a community transcripting effort of his comics. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:32, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

== what if 103: Vanishing Water - comics ==

Please explain the 2nd and the 4th comics from http://what-if.xkcd.com/103/

"Just tried to sail my boat over land, because I didn't learn from that kid in the Zephyr." (who's the kid from Zephyr?)

"A third time?" (maybe whales were dropped twice before in other what-ifs?) [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 21:57, 9 July 2014 (UTC)

:"A third time?" is a reference to a whale falling twice in "Hitchiker's guide to the Galaxy". Been a while, so I don't remember the details of how this fit in, but the second time it happened to the whale, he thought "Not again" or something along those lines. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 18:49, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

::Actually, it was the bowl of petunias that thought to itself "Oh, no, not again." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.73|108.162.216.73]] 00:48, 5 April 2016 (UTC)

Raises the question of if we should explain jokes imbedded in What If comics. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 18:49, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

== Discussion usage ==

Am I being a killjoy in feeling that the discussion section should be mainly limited to discussion on improving the explanation, gathering consensus and that type of thing.
Specifically, the discussion for [[1418: Horse]] is quickly turning into every man and his dog posting a sentence in the style of the comic, which doesn't really add anything to the page other than clutter.

Personally, I'd just delete most of them, but I think I might be turning into a grumpy old bugger... --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 20:32, 10 September 2014 (UTC)
:The discussion is also there for just talking about the comic. Those guys aren't wildly off-topic, there's no need to clamp down on what they get to talk about. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 17:44, 10 September 2014 (UTC)

::Yep, I must just be grumpy and draconian! Lesson learned --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 20:32, 10 September 2014 (UTC)

== 2014 Christmas header ==

Since the header for the site current contains a [http://imgs.xkcd.com/store/store_default.png graphic link to the store] that promises that Randall probably won't ship you a [[:Category:Bobcats|bobcat]], it seems to me that probably ought to be preserved and explained somewhere. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.189|173.245.56.189]] 17:45, 3 December 2014 (UTC)

== XKCD at LanguageLog ==

Arnold Zwicky (of the well-known linguistics blog Language Log) has put together a list of linguistics-related XKCD strips, here: http://arnoldzwicky.org/the-language-of-comics/comics-lists/xkcd-cartoons/ I thought it might be appropriate for a copy of the list (maybe a category) to be created from it. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.79|199.27.133.79]] 03:48, 28 December 2014 (UTC)
:[[:Category:Language]] '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:39, 28 December 2014 (UTC)

== Bookmarklet ==

Hello there, I've created a little bookmarklet (https://ginkobox.fr/shaarli/?a77vQw) and I thought it might be useful for someone out there.

When launched, it adds the 'explain' before xkcd.com and the browser loads the explainxkcd page. I've tested it only on Firefox.

(Contact @ https://ginkobox.fr/wiki/doku.php?id=about) {{unsigned ip|‎108.162.229.100|14:12, 2 January 2015 (UTC)}}

:Thanks 108.162.229.100! I've started collecting these helpful tools on a [[Browser helpers|new page]], to hopefully make them easier for others to find. – [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 01:36, 29 September 2020 (UTC)

== Is there a RSS feed for What If? ==

Is there a RSS feed for What If?--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 11:59, 29 March 2015 (UTC)
:No, because we cover the comics. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 18:57, 29 March 2015 (UTC)

== My User Page ==

Can someone help me with [[user:17jiangz1|my user page]]? I can't seem to remove the large spaaaaaace on top.--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 07:43, 9 April 2015 (UTC)
: The only solution I've found is to remove the contribution scores (data6=...). Not sure what exactly is triggering this bug. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 21:02, 9 April 2015 (UTC)
I am receiving "Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ""." for <code><pre>{{#expr: {{formatnum:{{#cscore:17jiangz1|pages}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NUMBEROFARTICLES}}|R}}*100 round 5 }}</pre></code>--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 05:46, 10 April 2015 (UTC)
:Bump?--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 06:48, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

== What-If ==

In What-If 150, "Tatoonie Rainbow", http://what-if.xkcd.com/150/ the first image title-text says: "Vowing not to reference that video any further anywhere in this article, on principle.". What video is he talking about? [[User:5mi11er|slmiller]] ([[User talk:5mi11er|talk]]) 14:29, 27 May 2016 (UTC)

It hasn't updated for 2 weeks. why?--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 06:50, 25 April 2015 (UTC)
:Looks like they're on hold for a few months (Until July 14th). Too bad, I enjoyed them. ([http://what-if.xkcd.com/ Look at the top of the What-If page]) --[[User:Zman9600|Zman9600]] ([[User talk:Zman9600|talk]]) 20:24, 6 May 2015 (UTC)
:What is so special about the date and time? Seems very specific: ''July 14th, 2015 at 7:49:59 AM EDT.'' --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.99|141.101.98.99]] 12:48, 28 May 2015 (UTC)
Looks like it's set for the 40th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz mission launch. {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.158|12:58, 5 June 2015 (UTC)}}

What If updates will resume on July 14th, 2015 at 7:49:59 AM EDT. By that time {{w|New Horizons}} will have it's closest approach to {{w|Pluto}}. See here: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/ --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:34, 5 June 2015 (UTC)

== thanks for having a working website ==

the search function on xkcd.com was taken off, and now the random function seems to be having issues, but it's nice that here both work [[Special:Contributions/188.114.97.114|188.114.97.114]] 19:09, 9 June 2015 (UTC)
:We do our best. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 22:27, 9 June 2015 (UTC)

== Ada Munroe ==

The latest [[what if?]] number 139 has a question by "Ada Munroe". Is she related to [[Randall]] in any way? --{{User:17jiangz1/signature|06:57, 09 August 2015}}

== Out of curiosity ==

I notice that whenever someone links to tvtropes.org in an explanation, someone changes the link to the matching page on allthetropes.org. I'm curious as to why that is. Is there some kind of terms of use conflict at play here that an editor should be keeping in mind? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.156|199.27.128.156]] 06:33, 26 October 2015 (UTC)
:TVtropes does not restrict links to their site, and if this has been happening there are some time-outs that I need to be handing out. Can you point me to some of the edits where this is happening? '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:24, 26 October 2015 (UTC)
::The specific example I had was, um, [[1468: Worrying]]. On Jan 3rd the links went to tvtropes.org, and on March 18th they were all changed over to allthetropes.orain.org. I just found it curious, I wasn't sure what the reason for it was [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.47|162.158.255.47]] 10:32, 29 October 2015 (UTC)
:::Reverted. Typically, the reason people change perfectly good links to specific, obscure links in wikis is usually self-advertising. I'll be watching that guy's edits in the future. Thanks for the heads up. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 18:00, 29 October 2015 (UTC)

== Sightless readers offended by the "It's 'cause you're dumb" tagline. ==

I'll admit, every now and again the comic is over my head. ...because I'm dumb in that particular field. However, blind users who enjoy xkcd must do so through explainxkcd. They are NOT dumb. They are *blind*. Without explainxkcd, they would have no idea what is in the comics panels.

Explainxkcd is a great site. There is no question it provides a service to the internet community.

Please see this thread (last paragraph) on Userfriendly.org. Keep in mind, the end user is sightless and explainxkcd is "viewed" through a screen reader. http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/read.cgi?id=20160207&tid=3930989 (Anonymous)

: The guy on that other site is complaining about that XKCD does not work well in a screen reader -- that is not our problem, but a problem for Randall to solve on his own site. We cannot be the catch all for everything on the internet that Randall broke [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:37, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
:: Agreed --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

Honestly, I never even noticed the tagline in question. Humorous to sighted folks, sure. ...but obviously offensive to those who have no choice but to access xkcd through explainxkcd.

I'll leave it to the administrators or the community to figure something out, if anything at all. Maybe no one cares? I didn't come here to make any suggestions, only to point out how offensive those 4 words are to some users of the website. {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.88|04:50, 8 February 2016 (UTC)}}

:Alright, put a link here in the site notice. What does everyone else think? I'm open to changing it, it's something people complain about fairly periodically and our identity isn't completely tied to the tagline, I feel. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:16, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

::Well, we definitely shouldn't change anything because that particular guy is upset. It's one thing to be offended, but he's also attacking both this site and Randal Monroe. I don't think that sort of behavior should be rewarded. I actually have a rule online where, if someone acts like a jerk to me, I will be kind, but I won't give them what they want. I think a lot of the problems with people being jerks to others is that they still get what they want, so what reason do they have to stop? If he wants us to change it, he should address us like an adult and ask us himself.

::But you claim this is a common complaint. Then I would say we need more info. My instinct would be that people don't understand that it's a joke. But then my solution would be to do what the site is designed to do and explain the joke, rather than take it down. If there's actually something about it that's offensive to an entire class of people, that's different. I am unaware of a stereotype that blind people are stupid, but I'm open to the idea that I don't know.

::I'm not particularly married to the tag line. I actually didn't even notice it was there. But I'm loathe to take it down over a misunderstanding. I can't think of a similarly humorous replacement that would not be offensive, but I can at least suggest "Because nobody knows everything." --[[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 09:42, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
:::I've gotten these before. There's a [[Talk:Main_Page#Header_message|slowly growing]] section in the main page discussion page and a complaint buried somewhere in my talk page and they're usually quite unhappy. I pegged it up this time round because there's special needs involved, and a good part of our intended appeal is the transcripts for the blind. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 10:45, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
:::I like your reasoning, what if "It's 'cause you're dumb" was follow by "[citation needed]" and make the whole thing a link to a page explaining the header. It would be in character of the page, and xkcd. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.34|108.162.221.34]] 00:28, 13 February 2016 (UTC) Sam
::::Great idea, Sam! That's the funniest suggestion ever [citation needed]. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.141.4|172.68.141.4]] 19:29, 29 August 2018 (UTC)

::Is he one of those people who are so self-centered and 'entitled' that just because they have a disability they assume that everyone is constantly trying to offend them, even in the most unlikeliest of cases? Does he actually believe that the tag line was written with the intention of offending blind people? This is ridiculous. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.71|141.101.106.71]] 11:04, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

"Just in case you feel dumb"? "Some comics may be funnier than they appear"?[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.198|199.27.130.198]] 09:55, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

How about simply removing it? At least until we find something that isn't offensive to anyone - which might be very hard to obtain. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:34, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

Because you're crippled... That's worse I guess. 
But before considering the "you're dumb" tagline, one must think about the name of this wiki. It is called '''Explain''' xkcd, not read xkcd, and explaining is for dumb people, not blind people. 
Maybe one thing we can do is add a "(unless you are just here for the transcript)" subtext, with a link to the transcript section, which has the advantage of both taming offended blind readers (maybe) and provide a direct, "spoilerless" link. --[[User:GuB|GuB]] ([[User talk:GuB|talk]]) 10:40, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

I need explainxkcd for two reasons: being visually impaired, although I can see most of the comics I often miss crucial details that I find only in the transcript; and as a non-American, I lack many cultural references (books, movies, songs, sayings...) that are given in the explanations.
I don't think either of these reasons makes me "dumb". However, I never found the tagline offensive. It was immediately obvious to me that it was meant as humor. Who could seriously think that someone is dumb just because they haven't read the specific book that Randall is parodying in a given comic? Or because they're not familiar with a specific programming language or Unix command? IMHO the tagline *is* funny precisely because very few people can actually "get" all the comics without an explanation. Suggesting that anyone who isn't part of the 0.1% of the population who share all of Randall's abilities and references, is dumb, can't be anything but a joke. Adding to the lot those who can't get the comics because they're blind doesn't make the joke more offensive. It's a sad world where political correctness kills all forms of humor.

On the other hand, the tagline is not an essential part of the site and if a significant number want it removed, so be it.
Zetfr 10:46, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

:Well not everybody's mind works the same way, and some people legitimately cannot grasp humor very easily. They may come to read the explanations precisely because they can't recognize what about a given comic is supposed to be humorous, and they likewise may not be able to tell that the tagline is just a joke. Besides, the tagline is equating a lack of knowledge with a lack of intelligence, which also makes it inaccurate and kind of kills the humor for those who stop and think about it.

:I personally agree with the above "Because nobody knows everything." approach. I would suggest something along the lines of "Because you won't always get the joke." --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.134|108.162.242.134]] 11:06, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

:: This sounds like a bunch of dumb people coming together and suggesting that the rest of people should be more like them (joke intended) [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:33, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

: +1 on this. '''Keep'''. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 20:15, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''removal''' [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 11:01, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

Mostly agree with Zetfr, it is a rather obvious joke, and this is a website about a webcomic which is mostly about fun, it would be different if this was some serious news portal, but it isn't, and in my humble opinion people who can't take a joke shouldn't even be here. There will always be ranters and people who get offended, we should not let them make decisions for us. I sincerely believe vast majority of people, blind or otherwise, understand it. [[User:Jaalenja|Jaalenja]] ([[User talk:Jaalenja|talk]])

:I agree with Zetfr. If a user doesn't understand that it is a joke, then he won't understand XKCD's jokes, either, no matter how much explaination he can get.
:--[[User:Lou Crazy|Lou Crazy]] ([[User talk:Lou Crazy|talk]]) 12:12, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
::I also agree with the above, and like the part of Zetfr about because you need a reader to use the page you do not need to be offended by an obvious joke --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

if i had a vote i'd say change the "because you're dumb" from text to a picture with alt text of something slightly less rude. "because you're using a screenreader," perhaps. although that would show up on mouseover. meh. whatever. --13:01, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
:and someone isn't "entitled" because they get annoyed about something that doesn't annoy you. as a sighted person i don't even look at the headers on the page. i would imagine that since the text in question is at the top of the page he has to listen to it every single time the page is refreshed. which is annoying enough if it's not insulting. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.161|141.101.106.161]] 13:06, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
:It is bad to have the alt-text saying something differently, but since the current tagline is not offensive to non-blind people then why would it be offensive to a blind person. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:24, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''keep''' -- Blind people do not have to come to this site, they can just use xkcd.com directly and if that is not working for blind people then that is Randall's problem not ours. The tag line has been there for years while I have noticed it before and used the site and I have never been offended, if a blind person is offended maybe they should stop using the internet. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.109|162.158.255.109]] 15:18, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
: I second that -- the tag line does not appear to offend non-blind people, it should not offend blind people either [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:24, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

Voting '''KEEP''' -- the tag line is a joke, and who is to say that blind people cannot be dumb [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:24, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''keep''' as well. I don't see any reason to change it; it's not a jab at disabled people, blind or otherwise. The site is called '''explain'''xkcd, and everything here centers around explaining the comic, not being a transcription service. (If that's not the case, then maybe other things need changing too.) I always thought the tagline fit nicely with the "sarcasm" part of xkcd's own tagline. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.26|108.162.216.26]] 15:26, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''KEEP and satisfy both sides'''. If you examine the HTML, or use [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/fangs-screen-reader-emulator/ Fangs] (free screen reader), you may notice there is a jump-to-nav div element that lets people with screen readers jump to various parts of the page. The jump-to-nav div is only a few HTML lines below the tagline. I'd recommend:
# Moving the jump-to-nav div to '''before''' the tagline
# Adding a "Jump to Transcript" link in the jump-to-nav div.
# Test it with [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/fangs-screen-reader-emulator/ Fangs] in Firefox to simulate a screen reader.
This way, screen-reader users can jump to the transcript and don't have to hear the tagline every time they visit an explainxkcd.com page.
-- [[User:Hat|Hat]] ([[User talk:Hat|talk]]) 15:44, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

Consider "Do you get it now?" [[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.11|198.41.235.11]] 16:09, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''keep''': it's reasonable and no change is warranted

I like the suggestion of '''keeping''' the current tagline, but changing it to an '''image with alttext''' saying something like "because you're using a screenreader". I also vote to move the link to the transcript to above the tagline. [[User:Rileysci|Rileysci]] ([[User talk:Rileysci|talk]]) 17:32, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

: Great idea, but here's an even better one: '''Keep''' the tagline for visual browsers, but '''add code''' such as [http://stackoverflow.com/questions/672156/is-there-a-way-to-write-content-that-screen-readers-will-ignore <code> CSS { speak: none; } and aria-hidden="true"</code>] that prevents it from being spoken by screen readers. -- [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 15:31, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

I get the joke and I'm not offended by it, but it seems to me that it really sticks out on this site and it doesn't seem consistent with Randall's sense of humor. Everyone on this site is very inclusive and eager to share all perspectives and points of view. I come here both to see the humor that I have the knowledge to understand and to learn more about the world the way Randall sees it. In short, I come here to be one of the lucky 10,000. In fact, I would suggest that as the tag line, "Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000!". Inside joke that can link to the comic (http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1053:_Ten_Thousand) and it is welcoming. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.170|108.162.245.170]] 18:44, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
: +1 on this. '''Change''' [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 03:45, 9 February 2016 (UTC)
: +1 on this. '''Change'''

I vote '''keep'''. In case it is not kept then it should be changed to something completely different. Te idea of making a title text to an image I really dislike, although I even more dislike adding anything to the existing one to either refer to people coming for the transcript or making excuses for the obvious joke. This has been a part of the page forever, I have seen it almost every time I come here. To begin with I did feel dumb sometimes, but I was never offended by it, just amused. But of course an explain page is for those who did not get the joke. And there are other pages that explains the comic. I do not know if they have a transcript? But I'm happy to know that some people must really enjoy the detailed transcripts that I usually try to provide. I had just not though about the blind perspective. I more use the transcript to make sure every one agrees on what is seen in the images of the comic. Having said all this, I must admit that the best suggestion for a change so far is the one posted above my post (about the lucky 10,000). :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote keep, for exactly the reasons explained by Zeftr above. Changing it to an image with alt text would be OK also. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 20:45, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

:I vote '''Change''' it because it is too easily mistaken as an insult instead of a joke. At least change it to ''Because you are stupid''.... Ah, maybe instead ''Because xkcd is far beyond common knowledge'' or ''Because hardly anyone gets everything'' or ''Because it is usually nerdly esoteric even for geeks''. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.46|108.162.221.46]] 21:39, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

:I vote '''Change'''. I have never been a big fan of the tagline. I don't know everything, but I am certainly not dumb. Also, I echo the reference to (http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1053:_Ten_Thousand). This comic has always been about expanding knowledge, not making you feel guilty for not knowing something.

:'''Change''': I realize the "It's because you're dumb" tagline follows the sarcastic nature of Randall's humor, but there are enough people who don't get or appreciate that sort of humor and are likely to be more offended by it, special needs or no. Here's my suggestion: "For those of us who don't get it." [[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]] ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) 21:59, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

At what point is "enough" people offended? I've only seen evidence of several (https://xkcd.com/1070/) visually impaired users actually offended by the site, along with a couple people who didn't specify their visual ability. I don't know the traffic on this site, but I would expect it to be on the order of 10^4 or higher. So is this discussion about changing something that a handful of people find offensive? Or is there an actual problem of something inappropriate on the site. If this is all about a couple people finding something offensive, I imagine a few christians might take issue with (https://xkcd.com/709/). Should we start another discussion about accommodating them? Or add a disclaimer that the views expressed by Randall Munroe are his own and do not reflect those of this site? [[User:Beardmcbeardson|Beardmcbeardson]] ([[User talk:Beardmcbeardson|talk]]) 01:25, 9 February 2016 (UTC)
: So you vote to '''keep''' -- right? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 04:30, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Slightly Change'''-- make it more obviously tongue in cheek. "It's cause we're dumb" or "For those of us who need it" I agree with the point about not complying with people on the internet who can't behave like adults, however I've never found the line particularly funny. Also change the jump-to-nav, as that would just get annoying to hear it every time you open up the site. I am not recommending changing it based on the imagined offenses of others. I just think it could be funnier.[[User:NotLock|NotLock]] ([[User talk:NotLock|talk]]) 06:29, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

I like changing to "For those of us who need it"

'''Keep''' Trying to satisfy everyone is like trying to understand every comic. It probably won't happen. As an example, using the 'one of 10 000' example provided above can insult a bunch of people that are not from the States simply because the comic (and the reference to the comic for that matter) will make them feel left out. My other reasons for voting keep have all been mentioned already. People get insulted so easily, let's try not to encourage this behavior by rewarding it. [[User:Bon|Bon]] ([[User talk:Bon|talk]]) 07:16, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''Change''' because I find it slightly offensive myself. If we change it, we should replace it with something that everybody would interpret as humorous, e.g. "Because we can't all be rocket scientists". [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 08:25, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep'''. Next thing we know, liberal arts majors will complain about xkcd science being offensive. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.91.229|141.101.91.229]] 10:12, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote for '''change''' or '''remove'''. Regarding the former, while I know it's supposed to be a joke, I never found it humorous myself and, unlike others that wrote before me, I don't think it relates to the humor or sarcasm used by Randall. It being offensive is not part of my motivation for my vote. I agree with some of the suggestions written up to now. Regarding the latter, I don't really think it's existence is necessary. Regardless, changing the div things is a must. [[User:GuiRitter|GuiRitter]] ([[User talk:GuiRitter|talk]]) 16:25, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote for '''change'''. You could keep much of the humour by changing it to something like "because ignorance '''can''' be cured". [[User:Farnz|Farnz]] ([[User talk:Farnz|talk]])

If I may vote (as a happy international user of this site, but not yet a contributor), one more vote for '''Keep''' - at least as "don't change now, because of this specific request, because of perceived offensiveness". For several reasons, which have been mentioned already:

a) I think it's funny. It also fits perfectly with the overall XKCD humor. And the same line of thinking as the book "You are now less dumb" from "YouAreNotSoSmart.com".

b) It's so obviously generic (directed at everyone reading it) I fail to understand how it can be interpreted as insult instead of irony. Even worse: I fail to understand why it should be _especially_ insulting to blind people. Having a transcript for them to use is nice, but it's merely one of the aspects this site provides (and it's not even at the top nor are there pages "transcript only", so blind are no primary audience)

c) If this site decides to actually help blind people more, how about: putting the tagline in the image (so it's not "read every time"), put the transcript at the top / provide pages with only transcripts, so that the original XKCD can be consumed prior to the explanations here (just as non-blind users would see it)

d) this request follows the current Outragism trend, so I do suspect that it's not actually blind people feeling offended, but privileged SJWs thinking about who might possibly feel offended, bringing change to the world where it's not beneficial even for those they claim to support. Comparable to PETA.

While I'm at it - THANK YOU for this site. Most XKCD I mostly understand. But due to being an international reader, some aspects of American Culture I need explainXKCD to grasp, and other aspects it's just nice to see more details, cross-references with other comics, and hidden gems.
[[User:Zefiro|Zefiro]] ([[User talk:Zefiro|talk]]) 18:46, 9 February 2016 (UTC)
:I'm an "international user", too, and I suppose a lot of users of this site are international users who need to be explained some xkcd jokes that would be obvious to any native English speaker living in the US. I don't have an opinion about changing the tagline or keeping it, but I would like to notice that "Because you are dumb" is the kind of joke that would need an explanation - it would be hard for me to tell if it's a joke or an insult. Therefore, an easier joke could have some advantage.--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 22:16, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote for '''change.''' I know it's a joke, but it's not particularly funny, and can easily be mistaken for an insult. [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 20:13, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

I agree with Trlkly (and Isaac(https://xkcd.com/1448/)), more information is needed. The purpose of this site is to explain xkcd (obviously, from the name) so people come here primarily to seek knowledge or a better understanding about xkcd. As long as the explanations or the explainers don't act like white hat (https://xkcd.com/1386/), there should be no reason to take the tagline seriously.--[[User:Beardmcbeardson|Beardmcbeardson]] ([[User talk:Beardmcbeardson|talk]]) 01:20, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote KEEP, but I do support the idea of moving the jump-to to above the tagline. I believe that the tagline is obviously a joke, and that pleaing everyone is nigh impossible. I also strongly oppose the proposal to change it to an image with an alt-text of "because you're using a screen reader." Finally, I do not believe we should change the tagline. We should, if anything, remove it altogether. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.20|173.245.54.20]] 03:33, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Slightly Change''' - I like 199.27.130.198's idea, "Just in case you feel dumb." [[User:Mateussf|Mateussf]] ([[User talk:Mateussf|talk]]) 04:44, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''Change''', preferably to something like "The ''Anti'' Thing Explainer; Simple Stuff in Complicated Words!" Only, you know, more complicated to improve the joke. [[User:KitsunePhoenix|Amaroq (KitsunePhoenix)]] ([[User talk:KitsunePhoenix|talk]]) 05:01, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

What about: it's cause you need more context. I also don't like the current tagline, because dumbness would be more the inability to understand than a lack of knowledge.

'''Change''' - First thing first, as suggested, move the jump-to-nav div to before the tagline and add a "Jump to Transcript" link in the jump-to-nav div.

Then also change the tagline: it's not that good, and not that in line with the xkcd humor - it's actually ''directly opposed'' to the spirit of [[1053]]. Some better ones have already been suggested:
*"Some comics may be funnier than they appear"
*"Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000!"
*"because sometimes we all need a little help"
''Or'' we could even have a bunch of good ones like that out of which one is selected at random when the page is loaded --[[User:Jules.LT|Jules.LT]] ([[User talk:Jules.LT|talk]]) 09:17, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

I like the joke in the tag line (some of us come here because they are to stupid or to lazy to lookup all the information xkcd is joking about)
but I also find it to direct to the user. I want to add some suggestions to Jules.LT [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 10:01, 10 February 2016 (UTC)
* "Error loading tagline, click here to retry."
* "Because it is Monday morning."
* "Because you like explaining jokes."

I think people coming here and complaining because "dumb" appears to be aimed at insulting the blind are hilarious, because another meaning for "dumb" is "unable to speak." If people who were "dumb" in this way were complaining because we are using the other meaning of "dumb" it would be awkward, but degree of visual acuity is not open for the same misinterpretation. [[User:Swordsmith|Swordsmith]] ([[User talk:Swordsmith|talk]])

'''KEEP''' for the same reasons as [[User:Zefiro|Zefiro]]. If change is necessary, fix it so the screen reader doesnt say it aloud. (This ensures the change is propagated to those who have no other recourse for sightless XKCD enjoyment, and is not a ploy by SJWs who can't take sarcastic humor (why are they reading XKCD in the first place?) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.40|108.162.221.40]] 14:06, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

It is super obviously not intended seriously, because xkcd is a technical comic that nobody will understand entirely on the first pass. If it's true, then everybody is dumb. Boo hoo.

The guy in question is under the mistaken impression that Randall runs this site and maliciously hides his transcripts under the tagline. He's also very angry about a lot of things. Sighted people have to look at the tagline every time it loads too, it's at the top of the page.

I vote '''Keep''' because I hate negotiating with terrorists. If it has the effect of filtering out people who enjoy being outraged, then it's doing a service. Image search "stephen fry offensive".

I'd be fine with moving the jump-to-nav div. I'm absolutely against making it an image with a different tagline, because then we would be depriving blind people of the joke. I'm absolutely against changing it to something less offensive. I would settle for removing it entirely, or changing it to something more offensive, such as "It's 'cause you're dumb, and get offended over dumb shit."

Or, you know, make a transcribexkcd.com site. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.203|108.162.217.203]] 16:39, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Change''' to one of the cool new suggestions I've seen. I've always been sad about this tagline, and while I love XKCD humor, I just don't think the tagline is funny. It makes me hesitate and sometimes decide not to share this site with others who I think would love the humor, but not the tagline. The issue keeps coming up, and this is just one more way that it irritates people and causes hassle. It's obvious to me that we should find a new tagline, or just drop it for the time being. [[User:Nealmcb|Nealmcb]] ([[User talk:Nealmcb|talk]]) 17:39, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Change''' The word "dumb" used as slang for "unintelligent" or "uneducated" is offensive and many better suggestions have been proposed, which retain the wry humor without the offense. Hiding behind "it's just a joke" is beneath the standards of this site. {{unsigned ip|108.162.245.134|18:12, 10 February 2016 (UTC)}}
:It's not hiding behind "just a joke", it IS the joke. It's tongue-in-cheek. It's so obviously false that you have to intentionally ignore the joke and manufacture offense about something benign. I'll give you that it's not that funny. It's also not that offensive. Why are we talking about something so petty. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.11|108.162.221.11]] 21:11, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep'''. I feel like a blind person being insulted by the implication that being sightless somehow makes them unintelligent is a pretty far leap of logic. Not being able to see has no bearing whatsoever on your actual mental acuity. How many actual complaints have there been? One, a few, lots? I don't know, but if it was a significant number I might change my mind. As it stands, though, I think it's pretty clear in the site description that this site is meant for people who don't understand the comic due to its focus on obscure topics and use of technical jargon, being written by a former NASA robot technician with a bent for Linux. Using disabilities as an insult is something I don't condone, but in this case I think it's a case of certain individuals being overly sensitive. Thinking a word as mild as "dumb" is offensive is a bit much, especially since it's often used in contexts other than "uneducated" or "stupid" - I use it to describe myself all the time when I can't word proper-like. I think of it more as "scatter-brained". --[[User:KingStarscream|KingStarscream]] ([[User talk:KingStarscream|talk]]) 18:55, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Change''' I feel like the "Because we can't all be rocket scientists" tagline suggested above is great; I always found the tagline to be a bit annoying because I often know all of a comic except a small part, and I come here for that. It's just unnecessarily confrontational and Randall himself has expressed in https://xkcd.com/1386/ and https://xkcd.com/1053/ that he doesn't agree with insulting ignorance. {{unsigned ip|198.41.235.179|19:06, 10 February 2016 (UTC)}}

'''Change AND Keep''' I get the original joke, but I love some of the new ones too. Randomly rotating tag line appear is my vote, BUT let's make the tag line clickable so that we can explain the tag line .... for those of us who don't get the joke! {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.10|19:12, 10 February 2016 (UTC)}}

'''Keep''', but change the jump-to-nav, and maybe make the tagline clickable. I like the tagline. Someone already said this, but this is explainxkcd, not readxkcd. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.63|108.162.216.63]] 19:37, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''Keep''', because it's been there for so long! I remember coming here years ago and looking for the references I didn't get, and the tagline was already there. It's a legacy thing, the one thing remaining from the old website in the new fancy wiki format. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.226.204|198.41.226.204]] 20:47, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

For all you people being offended and claiming that the tagline is contrary to the spirit of xkcd, I give you [https://xkcd.com/386/ xkcd.com/386]. This entire argument is offensive to me, can we remove it? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.11|108.162.221.11]] 21:20, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep''' The referenced posting is obviously a troll. And xkcd has transcripts so the story of the self proclaimed blind person with diabetes does not make sense. --23:43, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

Rather than "cuz you're dumb" which both asserts a trait and uses what might not be the best word choice, why not something like "Because you might be ignorant"? Dumb, after all, isn't remediable, though ignorance is. (Also, a consideration, "dumb" can mean "mute," so if there's something with screenreading for blindness, that could be read as assuming more than one disability? ("blind and dumb" akin to "deaf and dumb"?) // Possibly do something akin to the warning on the comic's site itself: "Because you might be a liberal arts major." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.61|108.162.221.61]] 00:22, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep''' because risk of accidental offence is never a good reason to rewrite comedy. If community wants to change suggest "Explaining Xtremely Klever Comedic Drawings"; if only to troll those who insist that the letters XKCD must stand for something (which it doesn't) [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 00:37, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

−
The issue seems to boil down to:

−
Is it funny?

−
Is it overly offensive?

−
And therefore:

−
Is it worth it?

−
Throwing in my opinion, however small:
+

It's amusing to me.
The joke is clear, and universal. Offence may be taken equally by anyone reading.
It fits well.
Possibly have a hidden link for those offended. A rotating tag line could include more jokes, but...
By all means move the navigation.

An explain explainxkcd page that is linked to might work, in the spirit of metahumour.

However, it may not be as serious an issue, as the tag line is easy to ignore. Just moving HTML a bit seems like a logical, cheap and easy solution, and then we can test it. Please note that this has no technical knowledge behind it, just a reading of the above.

So, my vote goes to '''keep''', and shuffle HTML or, in order, link, replace with rotating, modify, remove.
Harmless fun. Possibly have a cookie-based option to permanently hide the tag line.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.160|108.162.250.160]] 00:56, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

Apologies, I have broken formatting in the last few edits, trying to fix it...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.160|108.162.250.160]] 00:57, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

: My vote is '''change''', and it's not because of blind people. Let me run you through a very common scenario for new users:
:* You have a person who generally thinks of themselves as quite smart.
:* They read the comics and find most of them extremely funny.
:* They come across a comic they just can't understand.
:* They stare at it for minutes, wondering why they just can't get the joke.
:* Pride already bruised, they eventually give up and turn to Google.
:* "Explain xkcd! That's exactly what I'm looking for!"
:* Click the link.
:* "Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb"
:* Gee, what a lovely welcome. Not.

: Insulting your users the first time you meet them is '''''terrible''''' practice. You're pointing at them and laughing that they didn't understand the joke. You're kicking somebody when they're already down. OK, that is exaggeration, but when you look at the line as a new user, it's not friendly and welcoming; it doesn't encourage you to return. It's just bad UX.

: Now, we could overlook the directed insult if it was indeed funny, but it really isn't. There's nothing witty about it, nothing punny about it, no double-entendres or sly references. It's just an insult.

: Legacy is no reason to keep something that doesn't work. Just because something wasn't picked up as bad practice 5 years ago doesn't mean that it isn't bad practice. Can you imagine if Microsoft kept Clippy around for "legacy reasons"?

: It would be one thing if it were kept because there were no other options, but ''so many'' fantastic alternatives have been suggested:
:* '''It's 'cause we're dumb''' -- Changes it from an insult directed at one person to a statement with an inclusive sense of community. It saying that, hey, you may not understand all the comics, but neither do we! Let's learn together!
:* '''Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000!''' -- Direct reference to comic which celebrates filling gaps in one's knowledge. Also, as a comic reference, most people won't get it the first time, so make it a link and use it to draw people further in to this wiki!
:* '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear''' -- Actually humorous, containing reference to a very common message we're all familiar with (objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear). Also alludes to the hidden depths to many of the comics, where additional levels of meaning are revealed the more about the subject one knows, which is what this wiki is trying to reveal.
:* '''Error loading tagline, click here to retry.''' -- Looks like the kind of joke you'd actually find in the comments. Clicking the tagline should then do something completely unrelated to reloading the tagline (I dunno, set off some cool JS magic).
:* '''Because it is Monday morning.''' -- Should only be shown on Mondays. Can easily be implemented with parser functions.
:* '''Because sometimes we all need a little help''' -- Gives an understanding tone that's comforting to new users.

: '''TL;DR''': The current tagline is unnecessarily confrontational and projects a bad welcome to new users, and there is nothing particularly clever/funny/important about the current tag line to recommend keeping it, especially with ''so many'' better suggestions on offer. Put it this way, if you were seeing "It's 'cause you're dumb" tag as a suggestion to add to this wiki today, would you choose it over the other options? No? Then make like an old meme and "Let It Go!" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.157|108.162.249.157]] 05:49, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

: I think the above comment is a perfect example of different mindsets. I discovered this wiki in exactly the way you described. But I was not offended in anyway when seeing the tagline, which I did almost immediately. Rather, it got a little chuckle out of me along with a thought along the lines of "Haha, yeah, maybe I am dumb." If you get offended by such a tagline, it suggests to me that you are not all that certain about your own intelligence in the first place. It's a static bit of text. It was not aimed at the person reading it, it was aimed at EVERYONE reading it. EDIT-I realize this post could be seen as offensive or a personal attack, which it's not, please read the "you" not as the poster of the above mentioned comment, but as a generic for any person reading the comment. [[User:Bon|Bon]] ([[User talk:Bon|talk]]) 07:11, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

: If I remember correctly I've heard it origonally was a pic of Blackhat saying it. Would it be possible to use that on this site. It seems like a decent solution? (I haven't read all of this so I don't know if this has been suggested sorry if it has). Like people have said no one gets all of xkcd, as a nonAmerican there is also a lot of references I don't get. Getting offenend over this does seems pretty pathetic to me. I also use this site for non explanation reasons, that is it often links together comics which is handy, and people often post cool links. But as others have pointed out this site isn't transcriptxkcd or linkxkcd it's explainxkcd, so that's what it should be meant for. Claiming i's offensive o the visually impaired seems pretty silly. All in all, maybe it could do with tweaking to make it more obvious but IMO it's a solid '''keep''' [[User:Halfhat|Halfhat]] ([[User talk:Halfhat|talk]]) 11:22, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

::I vote '''change''', for the reasons the Halfhat above listed. I also never thought "It's 'cause you're dumb." really fit with this wiki. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.33|141.101.104.33]] 12:57, 11 February 2016 (UTC)
:::I can't believe we've become such a limp-wristed baby society that we can't even have a joke like "It's 'cause you're dumb" as the tagline. Nobody would reasonably get offended at it. '''Keep.''' [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.33|108.162.221.33]] 13:35, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''keep'''. Blind people have to realize they're not the only ones reading this site. This site was created to explain the comic, not purely to provide a transcript of the comic - that's just icing. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:27, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

If there ever really was a single person who took the tag line seriously, then it was just telling them the truth. I vote '''keep'''. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.90|162.158.255.90]] 19:15, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''Keep, or otherwise, Change'''. My opinion: It is not offensive, and I find it humourous. As I am very interested in the maths and the sciences, and I am very nerdy, I do often understand the jokes in each comic. However, sometimes I don't quite get it. This wiki is very good for that, because it collates many people's views and expertise on the comic. If the vote is overall to change, I am a fan of "Because sometimes we all need a little help." [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.29|173.245.54.29]] 21:18, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''change''': I've always been a bit unsettled by it myself. Some deaf readers may be more insulted by it than blind ones. vote for "'''Cause you're #dumb''" (or perhaps another NOT symbol... so only people that don't understand are insulted... and the tagline can be linked to a page that explains why it isn't an insult) [[User:Edo|Edo]] ([[User talk:Edo|talk]]) 23:16, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''KEEP'''. I actually had the feeling the fellow who complained may not understand sarcasm very well. Regardless, the tagline to me is remarkably funny and one of the things I always point out to folks when I first turn them on to XKCD. I worry they will stop following XKCD if they don't understand a post, which is why I am especially glad your site exists. There are many types of humor that will be lost on folks. Myself, for example. I was just railing to my friends about how much I did not like a recent popular vine which showed a guy, kinda probably the father, scaring a very young child strapped in a cat seat, by yelling in horror as the cats convertible roof was closed. Because I did not grow up watching laugh-tracked America's Funniest (sic) Home Video segments, I am not conditioned for casual schadenfreude-driven videos. But I know that's just me. I don't want to limit free-speech merely because it is not for me. Regardless, I really just want you to '''KEEP''' it because to me it is darn funny and just the sort of humor most of the folks who enjoy XKCD appreciate. --[[User:Hugo|Hugo]] ([[User talk:Hugo|talk]]) 23:25, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

I will also vote '''keep'''. While it ''might'' be considered offensive, it's really no more "offensive" than XKCD itself. Lest we forget the line at the bottom of every comic page:
:Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and '''advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)'''.
I don't see how "It's 'cause you're dumb." is any worse. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 23:52, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

:: I don't think it's offensive, it's more childish, which may be off-putting for first time readers. Hence I vote for '''change'''. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 01:12, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''Keep''', per the reasoning of, among other people, Zefiro. I like the tagline a lot and don't see much at all, if anything, that's wrong with it. Like Hugo, I feel like it's a bit of ''entirely'' appropriate humor. [[User:APerson|APerson]] ([[User talk:APerson|talk!]]) 00:36, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''change'''. I know it's supposed to be a joke, but it seems out of place and not particularly funny, and it could discourage potential readers. I don't have an idea for a new tagline, but plenty of good ones have been suggested here. [[User:Cheese Lord Eggplant|Cheese Lord Eggplant]] ([[User talk:Cheese Lord Eggplant|talk]]) 03:13, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep''' better sums up my vote, and I wish to explain why. I understand the views (as stated above) that it might discourage potential viewers, but I have seen enough well-put arguments that point out why it should not be removed for the arguments on the other side of the debate. However, I do understand that sightless users would get pretty pissed off at being told that they're dumb over and over. Is there perhaps a way to hide the text from programs designed to assisted the disabled? I have a couple of suggestions.

Perhaps it can instead simply be an image, and can even be done in a more stylized text that hints at the humour behind it (no, I have no specific suggestions). This image should not have the words it says in the meta-text within it. I just think it's not worth removing it over, it's kind of funny (or very funny, depending who you ask), replacement suggestions kinda make it bland, and this is a way to avoid having sightless people get told they're dumb over and over. The stylization is just a suggestion, because most alternative taglines I've heard don't sound up to par compared to it. Just anything to point out the sarcastic and purely humorous intentions.

I'd like to enforce my suggestion of having an image with no meta-text that can be read by bringing up that explainxkcd.com can hardly ''lose'' popularity if for the sensitive minority they don't have a tagline (especially if this tagline they are not aware of could be construed as offensive). 'Cause seriously, who's going to go tell a blind person "hey man the tagline for this site is insulting to you want to hear it?" so they'll just not learn of its existence and go on peacefully. So: Image, stylized to clearly express humour, with no program-interpretable meta-text for the blind to hear. I'd like this opinion to be closely considered, and I'd love to hear intelligent replies. ''For all intents and purposes,'' I vote '''Keep''', but to address the issue proactively and adaptively to get the best for both worlds.

I would like to point out one change I would definitely agree with, however. The commenter at 108.162.249.157 not far up suggests "It's 'cause we're dumb", and I would totally back that. That one change could make a world of difference for some people. --[[User:Znayx|Znayx]] ([[User talk:Znayx|talk]]) 09:15, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

: "It's cause we're dumb" is actually a pretty acceptable change in my opinion. I still vote keep, but wouldn't mind seeing that one. Right now the no tagline version looks lonely. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.40|108.162.221.40]] 14:56, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

::For the record, I would oppose a change of "It's cause we're dumb" because it's simply not as funny (the joke benefits from it sounding like it's a mock insult) and for the reasons in my main post right below this one that I see no reason to change the tagline which should not offend or be taken personally by someone who has enough sense of humour and intelligence to enjoy xkcd. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 17:25, 12 February 2016 (UTC)
::This brings up the point that it is indeed a mock insult, and one that everyone gets when they visit the site, those with perfect vision are insulted just as much as the blind, or white, or black, etc... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.34|108.162.221.34]] 00:34, 13 February 2016 (UTC) Sam

I would vote '''keep''' as it is. I am mindful of offensive content, but context is key. This is a website whose primary purpose is explaining a humour-based webcomic that touches on topics that require some intelligence to really enjoy. The tagline is obviously (I hope) tongue-in-cheek. "if you need explanation of this sometimes very technical and specialized and sometimes ambiguous webcomic, you're clearly a moron". I think that most people on this site and elsewhere would consider those who enjoy xkcd (a webcomic that often concerns itself with science, history, technology, etc.) to be relatively intelligent. Just perhaps not in every particular area (as noted right at the top of this discussion). I also think it is clear that this is a wiki an thus the tagline is directed to everyone, even the people who wrote the tagline. We're all here because we're "dumb" in the sense of occasionally needing (or at least enjoying) a deeper explanation for the comics. If someone who is blind is using the site other than for its originally intended purpose, and it helps them, that's awesome. But that doesn't mean the tagline must acknowledge all possible uses of the site. Just the thesis statement of the site, which is "this site is for explaining something you might not understand". If there are blind people who use this site just to read the comic and never to need or enjoy the explanations, then I guess they are smarter than me. I do not personally believe in changing the tagline of the entire community because it doesn't apply to one small group that is using the site for a different purpose than its intentions (again, not knocking them for using the site at all, but seriously, don't walk into McDonalds and go "''I eat here because my doctor says I need more sodium, and I actually hate the food. I'm offended by your "I'm loving it" tagline. Change it!''". Or complain about Disneyland's slogan because you suffer from depression.). I would also have expected anyone who reads xkcd often enough to bother coming to this site just to do so because of their blindness would have a sense of humour and would understand the context in which the tagline was intended, and not take it personally. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 17:25, 12 February 2016 (UTC)
:I really agree with basically everything TheHypo writes, both here and his above comment on the reason "we're dumb" would not work at all. The idea with keeping the text but only as an image could be used, but I just do not like that we change this because someone made a ''troll complaint'' somewhere, regardless of him being blind or not; that is just one more good reason to keep it. Then again if we really wish to make it better for blind people, then by all means use an image. But keep the text in the image then! If you do enjoy xkcd then you should be able to spot the humor, and with the way Randall himself keep on mocking people on his own page, and in his comics, then why should this not fit well in with this explain page, and why should we not keep on doing what we have been doing so far? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:19, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

How about '''Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're ''dumb*''.''' (''*Or don't get the joke because it is either outside your area of expertise or in a format that isn't accessible to you'') - [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.23|141.101.70.23]] 04:48, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Change'''. I've always realized it was a joke, but I think we could do a bit better. How about, "Some comics may be funnier than they appear" as suggested by 199.27.130.198? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.42|173.245.54.42]] 19:35, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Change'''. When I first started reading this wiki and noticed the tagline, I wasn't offended, and I realized it was a joke. But it also gave me an impression that this wiki is run by immature people as this is a childish insult, used as joke. Naturally, I wasn't too keen on following thissite closely and would only visit here when there's a comic that I don't understand at all. Thankfully, after reading through multiple explanations, I no longer think that the writers are immature and as I started reading other explanations, I started coming here even for the comics that I understand. My point is, it took me couple of months to warm towards explainxkcd and most people aren't that persistent/ give the chance to prove. So we are making lot of people to alienate with the site just at the tagline, even before they get to the content. I vote for '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear'''. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 01:07, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep''' would be my vote. Today's society puts too much emphasis on protecting people's feelings, to the point that some people have onion-paper-thin skins, too thin to operate effectively when out in public! I feel this complaint falls under this category. Such over sensitivity shouldn't seriously be catered to. Politely listened to and considered, at most. Bending to such things just encourages people to be more sensitive.

The way I see it, you CANNOT enjoy xkcd without being smarter than average, or you'd have to turn to xkcd Explain for every single comic! It cannot be fun to require being walked through every single one. Conversely, I doubt there's very many of these smart people who are smart enough to get every joke (and every nuance) without assistance. Therefore it should be clear that is is a simple tongue-in-cheek joke, you don't really mean it seriously. It should be taken in the tone that it's meant, and it offends me when people don't.

For example, right now I'm at a bar at a Valentine's Day event. As I'm hopelessly single, this day is problematic for me, especially to be in public. I COULD ask that people refrain from love stuff, from flaunting their relationship, etc., that I'm here for other reasons. But as an intelligent adult I realize this would be unreasonable, that many people, especially most here tonight, enjoy the love stuff, enjoy Valentine's Day. It is certainly not their fault I don't, not directly, and they should not be held responsible for my discomfort.

If the final vote is for Change, I like "It's because '''we're''' dumb", or "we're all dumb", be inclusive to reduce how derogatory it sounds. Remember, while sightless people might find this site useful, the primary reason for it IS because we're dumb, i.e. we need help getting the joke. - NiceGuy1[[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.215|198.41.235.215]] 04:53, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

Wait, so they think they're smarter than me? I'm offended! ;-)
Okay so I'm not. I almost voted keep because the primary raison d'être of exkcd is not for blind people. It was created specifically for people who need help understanding some of the science, math, and arcana behind the humor.
But you know what? "It's 'cause you're dumb" is not that funny. Some of the suggestions are better. So I vote "'''CHANGE'''". [[User:Saspic45|Saspic45]] ([[User talk:Saspic45|talk]]) 07:30, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

How about "Explain xkcd: It's 'cause we're dumb."? This has more of a feeling of inclusiveness and camaraderie to me, as in we're all equals more-or-less in the face of RM's brilliance and having a good time enjoying the material together. Came up with it about a year ago, because as it is the tagline struck me as a bit harsh, and have said it that way in my mind ever since.
Edit: Ok, I see this has been suggested, so +1 for that minor change.

'''Change.''' While I didn't notice it at first, I was pretty offput when I did. As someone who has some trouble catching sarcasm all the time, I was excited when I found this site -- it helps me with not only things outside my knowledge, but also lets me check when something ''is'' being sarcastic. And when I finally noticed that tagline, even though I knew it couldn't be directed straight at me, it still sort of felt like it. I've been called dumb nearly throughout my life for not catching sarcasm which others seem to understand immediately, and it doesn't exactly feel nice (or in the spirit of XKCD!) to have that little reminder floating there. It's not even worded to be funny, either, just sorta cold. Sarcastically saying someone is dumb for not getting sarcasm... it's a vicious loop. And when there are so many other options -- many of which have fun puns or a much more friendly feel -- why are people so attached to this one? And from what it seems, a lot of people seem attached to it purely for the purpose of being stubborn against people who don't like it. Plus, why is it such an awful thing to try to make people feel more welcome? Jeez, guys. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.11|108.162.216.11]] 21:57, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

Change it please. I see it all the time, and it feels SO condescending. I often check out the site to get more information about a topic in the scope of a given strip, or to see if there's any subtext outside of the primary joke, and it ALWAYS feels like the site is insulting my ability to understand "simple humor". I understand that it's supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek joke, but I hate it. I think it should either be changed to one of the previous suggestions, or use a rotating set of taglines, or it should just be removed completely, because I utterly dislike the way it currently is. [[Special:Contributions/130.215.123.52|130.215.123.52]] 12:27, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Definitely '''change''' - I'm surprised what it was doing there in the first place - but I do not like the "we're dumb" version either. My current favorite is "Because we all need a little help", as it is equally directed at both the non-joke-understanding audience and the screenreading audience; but I definitely like "Some comics may be funnier than they appear" and, to a lesser extent, "You're one of today's lucky 10,000" (not sure, actually, whether that one would benefit from a link to the relevant comic). Incidentally, how did the previous guy manage to post four hours in the future? Or is the AM/PM to 24h conversion broken? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.88|141.101.81.88]] 08:39, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Wow, this blew up... I never found the tagline particularly funny, but I honestly can't believe so many people appear to be offended by it. If someone is dumb enough to believe it is specifically aimed at them, not realise that it is humor, and think it is actually worth getting upset about, then the tagline is perfectly justified. Should be changed to "Please click here if you are easily offended", with a link to Disney.com, (or 4chan/b/...) --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 12:09, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''change'''. Even smart humans need positive words. Many of the proposed alternative with only positive words suits me fine. [[User:MGitsfullofsheep|MGitsfullofsheep]] ([[User talk:MGitsfullofsheep|talk]]) 13:25, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''keep''', but modify the Skip to Content tags to bypass it. It's humorous, and there's no such thing as a humorous tag line that won't offend '''someone'''. Can pretty much guarantee that if it's changed to something else, some wag will start a discussion about how that new subtitle offends them... {{unsigned|Danemcg|13:39, 15 February 2016 (UTC)}}

If it's not too late, I vote '''keep''', I regularly view the site for detailed information about comic topics and am always amused to read the tag line. I hope the poor fellow who tallies our votes here will mind that we're likely an unrepresentative group - if you're offended, you're likely to turn out, where a contented user (nearly myself) might just pass by. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.36|108.162.216.36]] 14:34, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''keep'''. Anyone who's actually offended by this is way to sensitive...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.11|108.162.216.11]] 15:09, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Change'''. Never found it funny. We can do better. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 16:12, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Change'''. It offends too many people (myself included, although more at first than now) to be kept. [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 16:57, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

I too vote '''change''' if it's not too late. Not because it's particularly offensive but more because it's not funny or xkcd-ish enough to justify any offence it may or may not cause. I prefer some of the suggestions we've had:
* Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000! (with, of course, a link to the relevant comic)
* '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear.''' This one is my favourite and I feel it captures very well my main reason for using explainxkcd
::[[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.149|141.101.106.149]] 21:12, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''Keep'''. If we legitimately had a large group of blind people who were offended at this tagline, I would be in support of changing it. However, the only supposedly blind person who we know of that takes offense was obviously a belligerent individual. Do we really want to take a guy who says "I've found more intelligent, compassionate, humane, wise, sympathetic, inclusive, and infinitely funnier *dingleberries* than [Randall Munroe].*Rude gesture*" seriously? do we really want some ranting asshole somewhere to dictate what our site does or does not do? seriously? [[User:VfiftyV|VfiftyV]] ([[User talk:VfiftyV|talk]]) 00:11, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''change'''. I've always disliked the tagline, it's a bland and obvious "joke" that's at odds with the friendly, clever tone of both the comics and the rest of this site. Even if it's clear we don't mean it, calling every visitor to this site dumb, with no further context, just isn't setting a good example for the kind of *clever* sarcasm that Randall uses. We can do better. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.32|108.162.221.32]] 01:12, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep''' because it's clearly meant as a joke. It makes no sense to change this site over one person's "offense" that the unaffiliated xkcd site isn't blind-friendly enough.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.142.217|162.158.142.217]] 02:31, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep'''. Anyone with a sense of humor can understand that it's at least humorous. And, the primary purpose of the site ''is'' to... explain the comics, mainly to those who don't understand them. If it does get read out loud to every blind person who visits, then please, by all means, '''Change''' the layout at least to keep that from happening. But it shouldn't be removed due to half-baked complaints. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.168|108.162.245.168]] 02:57, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

I've already voted above, but I would like to call out the sightlessness issue as a red herring. One of the premises of accessible design is that all users get the same content, although perhaps in different ways, so I think we're going in the wrong direction in proposing to change or hide the text for blind users but not for everyone else. If we're to keep it, then let us keep it for all. If we're to change it, then let us change it (to the same thing) for all. If we're to remove it, then let us remove it for all. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:22, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Alright, I've tallied up the votes twice and counted 36-31 the first time, and 39-32 the second time. Both times were majority keep, though there was still a strong showing for people wanting to change it. I've fixed and restored the black hat figure who was supposed to be speaking the tagline back in the old blog days, and I turned the tagline off for screen readers since the blind may only need us for the transcript, and accessibility for the blind is a big part of why we had a transcript to begin with. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:44, 16 February 2016 (UTC)
:I think this is a great compromise. And cool that it is Black Hat's line. I did not know this used to be the case. Is it correct that the font color has also been turned gray so it is not so prominent? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:45, 16 February 2016 (UTC)
::Yeah, back when this site was a blog, [https://web.archive.org/web/20130118141641/http://www.explainxkcd.com/ the tagline was Black Hat's line.] [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=MediaWiki:Tagline&action=history looking at the edit history for the tagline], it looks like we've made some vague attempts to restore black hat's face next to the tagline before, but mediawiki doesn't process markup in that area. I did a little bit of CSS magic this time round to fix it properly this time. He's a little fuzzy though, could be better. The tagline's always been gray though. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:57, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

: Just before I start, since I'm an IP user and therefore hard to identify (should probably make an account one of these days, but oh well), I just want to quickly mention that I am the same person as [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.157|108.162.249.157]] who posted on the 11 Feb.

: Now that's out of the way, I want to say that I disagree with the outcome decided for this post. While I appreciate the attempt to compromise by having it look a bit more like Black Hat is saying the line, I still think that the substance of the arguments against the current tag line are much stronger than the arguments for keeping it. The arguments for keeping it all basically boil down to "It's a joke and it's been there forever so there is no need to change and anyone who suggests otherwise should just man the f*** up." Nowhere have I seen anyone in the keep-camp argue as to why none of the alternatives are just as good or better than the current line. Pretty much, the only reason ever given to stick to the current tag line is that it's the status quo.

: On the other hand, you have many, many people pointing out that the tagline is offensive and that, even if the reader does understand it to be a joke, it's not a particularly clever one and provides a rather unwelcoming atmosphere. What many of the people in the keep-camp are ignoring is the fact that not everybody has a high level of self-confidence, and that being called dumb, even if the intention is tongue-in-cheek, just comes off as hostile and drives people away. It is also true that all tone of voice suggesting sarcasm is completely lost in text, which is why over at the [http://doctorwho.answers.wikia.com/wiki/Doctor_Who_Answers:Policies#Additional Doctor Who Answers Wiki] we specifically point this out in our policy of civility towards fellow users. This wiki is very different from that one in many ways, but I don't think it would be dumb to look at what others have noticed and learn from their mistakes, especially since that particular wording was added due to a bad misunderstanding leading from lost sarcasm. There has already been somebody here who admits they find understanding sarcasm to be difficult. Should we really be calling them dumb? Furthermore, the quote seems to directly contradict Randall's attitude towards ignorance, summed up so perfectly in [[1053: Ten Thousand]]. We should be welcoming ignorant, or "dumb", people in the hopes of enlightening them with the wisdom of the community here. Singling them out as dumb isn't going to help them.

: Finally, I fear the reason there aren't more change votes are because many of the people who were put off by the tagline simply never came back to this wiki after their first visit. I wouldn't be surprised if reader retention rates increased if you changed the tagline, and if the number of readers who convert to users also increases if the community provided a more friendly first-impression.

: Now, I know that I have raised this all before, along with many of the other people who voted for change, and it still doesn't seem to have made an impact of the people who try to insist that an insult with no wit or humour is "just a joke". I think the best way for us to prove that the tagline needs to change is to conduct a little experiment. Let's look at a list of commonly supported alternatives:

:# '''It's 'cause we're dumb'''
:# '''Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000!'''
:# '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear'''
:# '''Because sometimes we all need a little help'''

: Explanations for why these taglines are better than the current have already been provided. I challenge anyone reading this post from the keep-camp to explain why "It's 'cause you're dumb" is better than each of those taglines individually, without falling back on arguments of legacy or that the people reading the line are thin-skinned wusses. If reasonable counter-arguments can be made against each of those lines in favour of the current one, then I will back down. Until then, I cannot accept that the battle of ideas has chosen the current tagline. There are just so many better alternatives that are funnier, more in-line with the xkcd spirit, and above all, are welcoming to new readers into the community instead of turning them away the moment they reach the front door. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.157|108.162.250.157]] 11:28, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

:: Dude, you are not getting how voting and democracy works. The people who are proposing a change, are the equivalent of lobbyist --having lots of lobbyist does not equate to "strong support". None of these lobbyist have been able to agree on a single rewording, so they are not arguing for the same cause. On the the other hand there are thousands of of visitors (voters), of those who actually voted, voted to keep and not go with the suggestions of the lobbyists. Had there on the other-hand been a majority for change, the what would the change be? At best we would have to consolidate the suggestions (candidates), and since there is no term limit on tag-lines, the existing one should be a running candidate as well, and then make an eating contest between all the possible candidates [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.109|162.158.255.109]] 19:50, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

OK, I'll take a stab at it. "It's 'cause you're dumb" is better than any of these because it is funnier than any of these. It's funny for the same reason that the titles of numerous books, "XXX for Dummies" are funny. In fact, if it weren't such an obvious rip-off, the tag line could be "xkcd for Dummies", which would be the same joke.

:# '''It's 'cause we're dumb''' is sort of awkward, and why would I want an explanation for something I didn't understand from a bunch of dummies, anyway? I want somebody smart to explain it to the dummy - me - who didn't get the joke.
:# '''Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000!''' is meaningless, and therefore not funny, unless you click on it and then let Randall tell you the joke behind that punch line. I do love the sentiment now that I've seen that comic, and somehow linking to that comic as an explanation of what explainxkcd.com is all about is a great idea, but as a tag line, by itself, it just isn't funny.
:# '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear''' is sort of cute, as it relates to the warning in rear-view mirrors, but it is so actually true in the case of xkcd that it loses some of its funniness by being a serious explanation of why the explainxkcd.com site is valuable.
:# '''Because sometimes we all need a little help''' - is sweet, sympathetic, and inclusive; it's just not very funny.

By contrast, "It's 'cause you're dumb" grabbed me the first time I saw it as being relevant to why explainxkcd.com is a great site, and equally importantly, it made me laugh. Maybe it is to be expected that among the viewers of a site dedicated to explaining jokes there will be a reasonable percentage that don't get this particular joke, either. Maybe the solution is a link on that line to a page that explains the "It's 'cause you're dumb" joke in the way xkcd jokes are explained: "It's funny because you are not really dumb, you just maybe didn't get some very esoteric reference, and you'll enjoy the humor of xkcd more when that reference is explained. But, when jokes need to be explained, it is common for people to feel like they must be stupid, so we make a joke about that feeling. It's not really pointed at you in particular; after all, this is a published web-site - the folks who wrote it probably don't even know you." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.41|108.162.221.41]] 18:44, 16 February 2016‎

'''Change''', kind of. How about this: "Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're <strike>dumb</strike> of average intelligence." Maybe even include a (hidden) link to [[1386: People are Stupid]]. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.220.17|108.162.220.17]] 23:42, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

: (I landed in an edit conflict with the person above, so my comments do not take their response into account.)

: Thank you 108. You actually provided a decent rebuttal against the counterproposal, which has been lacking until this time. While I do not agree with all your points, I can actually see your point-of-view. Personally, I think that if we're going to use it as a reference to the "___ for Dummies" books, it needs to be clearer so people don't take it as an insult, but otherwise I understand your points.

: @162: As my friend, one of the greatest admins on one of the biggest non-Wikipedia wikis, says, wikis are not democracies. It is the idea with the best supporting arguments that wins, not the idea with the most votes, as many people support certain ideas for superficial reasons that are not aligned with the overall aim of improving the wiki to attract more readers/editors and improve content. Especially with such a close vote, I would put more emphasis on the quality of the arguments than the pure numbers of supports/opposes.

: Looking at the proper counter-arguments finally provided, I would shift the counter-proposal for a new tagline to tagline 3 suggested above: '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear'''. From above, I can see the argument against 1 being that people don't want help from dummies, 2 will probably be obscure for new users and may alienate them upon entry, and 4 is just too soppy. 3 however is funny, it's accessible, and it's actually funnier in my opinion because it actually ''does'' describe exactly what we do here. To the new user, it will at first just be a mildly amusing reference (still funnier than the current line in my opinion) but it will take on a new meaning and relevance as people use this wiki more, and the gradual realisation of relevance will make the tagline even more appropriate and amusing. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.163|108.162.250.163]] 23:59, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

I’m the lurker who suggested “Some comics are funnier than they appear.” I was bemused to see it get any traction at all, since it’s not that hysterically funny, and perhaps incomprehensible outside the US where convex car mirrors aren’t etched “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”

Wow, am I glad I didn’t create an account here when posting it!

I expected to see more spit-balling in kind, not an outpouring of orneriness from a majority of this obviously intelligent community who are apparently too stubborn to admit that there could possibly be anything wrong with greeting newcomers, “It’s ‘cause you’re dumb.” I took the starting point of the thread to be the obviousness that ANYTHING ELSE would be better than that.

I also expected the admin to deliberate a little harder, showing how he evaluated arguments and suggestions and tried to do the right thing, rather than just counting votes. Notwithstanding the facade of democracy in his benevolent dictatorship, he also doesn’t seem to have taken into account that the effect of NOT changing the tagline—-thus continuing to alienate a lot of users and potential contributors like me-—far, FAR outweighs any potential backlash from the old guard who are married to it. What are they going to do, rage-quit because they didn’t get their way? Because something on their favorite wiki got **gasp!** CHANGED?

Boo hoo, I didn’t get my way on a small thing which doesn’t really matter. At all. I only followed up here because I noticed the banner soliciting user input had changed. However, the ugly tone of this little tempest in a teapot has certainly convinced me that this community isn’t worth joining or contributing to. I reserve the right to continue lurking, but I’m sure as hell turning my AdBlock back on.[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.198|199.27.130.198]] 07:10, 17 February 2016 (UTC)

Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) said "We're all idiots 99% of the time about 99% of things. It's the 1% that makes up for all the rest." Learning begins by owning your dumb. [[User:Bob Stein - VisiBone|Bob Stein - VisiBone]] ([[User talk:Bob Stein - VisiBone|talk]]) 16:12, 17 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep'''. I felt offended -- but -- so what. It is true. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.91.169|141.101.91.169]] 21:20, 17 February 2016 (UTC) Martin

* '''Keep''' It is funny. People are not made of glass, not even dumb ones. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.172|108.162.245.172]] 23:15, 17 February 2016 (UTC)

: ''199 wrote:"I was bemused to see it get any traction at all, since it’s [...] perhaps incomprehensible outside the US where convex car mirrors aren’t etched “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”"''
: You don't need to worry about that. American culture has spread throughout the world so thoroughly that I assume most English speakers will understand it. I myself am an Aussie, who spent most of her childhood living in Europe, and I understood the reference perfectly. And while it might not be "hysterically funny", it is certainly more universally funny than the insult.

: Admins, please heed what 199 said in the rest of his/her message. You have yet another example in a long line of people being turned off from this wiki community because they don't like the attitude of this statement, nor the stubborn adherence to it despite so many people pointing out how wrong it is. You are aware that "It was just a joke" is a common defence bullies make, right? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.157|108.162.250.157]] 00:53, 18 February 2016 (UTC)

So, @Davidy22, can you add a "Jump to Transcript" link in the jump-to-nav div, and move the jump-to-nav div to before the tagline in the HTML? Thank you! [[User:Hat|Hat]] ([[User talk:Hat|talk]]) 08:58, 18 February 2016 (UTC)

At 12,000 words this discussion has beaten the H0/HO discussion on wikipedia... How long until we beat Star Trek Into Darkness??? --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 12:10, 18 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep'''. I like the humour in it. 18.February 2016 12:40 (UTC) Fabian

XKCD provides transcripts about a week after a new comic comes out, so saying that blind readers require explainxkcd is a bit of an overstatement (although to be honest the official transcripts are somewhat vague). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.217|141.101.70.217]] 19:45, 18 February 2016 (UTC)

: Generally most transcripts gets completed within hours of the comics being posted. More complex ones can take longer, and there is sometimes a bit of back and forth as far as layout is concerned, but the content tends to be there pretty quickly. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 09:35, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

"Explain xkcd: extra knowledge, see discussions." I wish I'd thought of that one a week ago. And Randall says it's not an acronym, eh? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.198|199.27.130.198]] 09:21, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

:Ah crap... that's actually really good. I'd have supported this had it been mentioned earlier, even though I voted to keep the current. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 02:39, 20 February 2016 (UTC)

For what it's worth, if the matter is ever re-opened, I'd vote to '''change''' to one of the alternate suggestions -- I quite like "extra knowledge, see discussions" but many others would be fine. The current one is a poor way to greet newcomers; it certainly gave ''me'' pause. Perhaps I've been sensitized by the general uptick in incivility in many places in recent years, but I'm actively avoiding forums and sites that appear to be encouraging rudeness. If one disregards that header, it becomes clear that this site isn't like that, but one has to get past that header first. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 17:32, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

'''Change''' because the only justification to keep it seems to be "It's just a joke why are people always so offended at everything" [[User:256.256.256.256|256.256.256.256]] ([[User talk:256.256.256.256|talk about me behind my]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ/ back]) 12:55, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

I’d say '''change''' it. It’s not funny, it’s never been funny and it never will be funny. Why does a tag line have to be funny any way? All it needs to be is memorable and eye catching. I personally like “congratulations you’re one of today’s lucky 10,000” it’s a direct reference to an existing comic and encourages learning more.
:I agree, so '''change''' from me. —[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User:While False/explain xkcd museum|'''museum''']] | [[User talk:While False|talk]] | [[special:Contributions/While_False|contributions]] | [[special:Log/While_False|logs]] | [[Special:UserRights/While_False|rights]] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:While_False&printable=yes printable version] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:While_False&action=info page information] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere/User:While_False what links there] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:RecentChangesLinked&days=30&from=&target=User%3AWhile_False related changes] | [https://www.google.com Google search] | current time: {{CURRENTTIME}}) 18:27, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

== Concerning recent spam ==

In light of the recent and large amount of spam that we've been seeing, I've revoked new users of the right to create and move pages, as well as access to the write api. If your account is three days old and has 10 or more edits under it, you will still be allowed to create and move pages. This will end when the spambots decide to leave. To the person who's doing this, don't ruin this for the other people who use this site. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 19:36, 11 February 2016 (UTC)
:In light of the recent burst of spam, creation of talk pages will also be shut off for new users. We will create an empty talk page for new comics in place of this feature. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 06:47, 16 February 2016 (UTC)
: So what will you do in three days when the spambot can create new pages again? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 07:58, 16 February 2016 (UTC)
::They have to hit both criteria. The flaw there is that spambots have also demonstrated themselves to be capable of editing pages, but I'm not sure what to do for that aside from look for a better captcha. If it comes to it, I'll write my own. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:05, 16 February 2016 (UTC)
aw man. tfw another troll already beat me to the punch {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.62|20:02, 12 February 2016 (UTC)}}

@Davidy22: Maybe we should use something like [[MW:Extension:TitleBlacklist]] or [[MW:Manual:Combating spam#.24wgSpamRegex]]. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 14:25, 16 February 2016 (UTC)
:Hum. I'll take a look when I get home. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:02, 17 February 2016 (UTC)
:: Sigh, it's getting out of hand again... --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 15:19, 18 February 2016 (UTC)
:::Alright, I'm not sure what's happening here. This is what's in the localsettings file:

$wgGroupPermissions['user']['createtalk'] = false;
$wgGroupPermissions['autoconfirmed']['createtalk'] = false;

:::I don't know why this doesn't work. Probably well overdue for a mediawiki upgrade, but I have midterms and papers coming up. This timing is inconvenient. The title blacklist is for a newer mediawiki version, I'll lock and upgrade this weekend. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 16:07, 18 February 2016 (UTC)
:::For now, I'll try removing talk page creation rights from all non-admin users. I'll make the talk pages for new explanations. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 16:09, 18 February 2016 (UTC)
:::Alright, I made a test account and I realised I'm very dumb. I forgot to turn off createtalk for all, so people could still make talk pages. I've also added mandatory email verification. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:34, 18 February 2016 (UTC)
::::See tagline ;-) --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 01:51, 19 February 2016 (UTC)
:::::I do want to find/write a better CAPTCHA though, none of these measures I've taken stop account creation, so the spammers might try just shoving a million accounts at us. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 03:03, 19 February 2016 (UTC)
:::Oooh nevermind forcing email verification turns off anonymous editing. Don't want to go that far, and it didn't stop that one spammer anyways. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:17, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

== Will verifying my email turn off the CAPTCHA ==

Pretty much what the section title says. I find the way the captcha works here kinda annoying, since I submit and then get the CAPTCHA. I'd be willing to put in my email address if it would stop the CAPTCHA, but, otherwise, I don't see any point in doing so.

If it does stop the CAPTCHA, I would suggest mentioning this in the preferences as one of the benefits of adding an email, and perhaps point it out on the page when the CAPTCHA appears.

IF not, then will I just have the CAPTCHA forever? Or will it go away once I put in enough edits? Or do I need to do something else?

[[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 00:10, 1 March 2016 (UTC)

:The email address is optional, we have it set up so that users less than 3 days old with less than 10 edits will have to fill in a CAPTCHA when they edit. It's set up that way to limit and make the damage that spambots can inflict much easier to fix. You appear to have cleared the 10 edit boundery today, so you should be able to start editing CAPTCHA free now. Giving people a way to bypass the anti spam window by providing an email address is an idea though, I'll see if I can't write a plugin for that after I'm done with finals. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:24, 1 March 2016 (UTC)

== Why does Mediawiki look so "old" all of a sudden? ==

Screendhots: [http://i.imgur.com/smN1a45.png][http://i.imgur.com/qdpxhdY.png]

I've tried this in three browsers, and they all look the same. [[User:KangaroOS|Kangaro]][[User talk:KangaroOS|OS]] 12:56, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
:High traffic, high load, everything is on fire. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 16:28, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
:: Man ! The fire started by Randall is out of control.. It has been so long, and this is looking very ugly. Did wiki go in "printer-friendly version only" mode ? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.56|162.158.255.56]] 04:10, 5 April 2016 (UTC)

(H'rm - realized I posted this in the wrong place - further discussion should go [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Technical#Stylesheets not working?|here]].) [[User:KangaroOS|Kangaro]][[User talk:KangaroOS|OS]] 15:20, 5 April 2016 (UTC)

== Annoying ad ==

From the anti-noscript text shown when an ad is blocked by noscript: "our ads are restricted to unobtrusive images and slow animated GIFs."

Yet the ad blocked features a drawing of a woman in her underwear. I find this very obtrusive.

Also, can you get rid of the captcha needed to even view content on this site using Tor? https://support.cloudflare.com/hc/en-us/articles/203306930-Does-CloudFlare-block-Tor- {{unsigned ip|162.158.17.66|02:15, 8 August 2016 (UTC)}}
:Looked through our bids, a guy who was auto approved used the privelidge to put that ad up. I cancelled the ad, if he puts it up again he's getting banned. I'll get on the tor options in cloudflare. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:41, 10 August 2016 (UTC)

== Random Question ==
Since this is the miscellaneous section, I assume I can ask a question based on anything, even if it's not XKCD or wiki-related. Am I correct? Or is there another place to do that? --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 16:21, 9 November 2016 (UTC)
:Nothing expressly forbids it, but do remember the purpose of the site. If you want to ask a question not related to xkcd or the site, there is likely another, better outlet for your question on the internet. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 17:14, 9 November 2016 (UTC)
:Ah. Okay. Just making sure. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 17:47, 9 November 2016 (UTC)

== "What if: Hide the Atmosphere" question ==

At the end, Randall notes one "may not want to" dig out Texas, and the guy in the illustration mentions "specifically requesting" something. As someone not from the USA, I don't know what he's referring to. Could someone please explain it? {{unsigned ip|172.68.51.28|20:00, 8 February 2017 (UTC)}}
:It's a reference to {{w|Don't Mess with Texas}}. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 20:52, 9 February 2017 (UTC)

== Blinking advert ==

There's an ad for something called Goliath Fallen that blinks occasionally. A static picture would be fine but the blinking is distracting --[[User:Figvh|Figvh]] ([[User talk:Figvh|talk]]) 04:22, 27 September 2017 (UTC)

== What is Randall Munroe's wife's name? ==
I am curious--haven't been able to find it. {{unsigned ip|162.158.62.141|05:51, 27 October 2017 (UTC)}}
:We accept privacy. Ask Randall himself. [[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:21, 19 May 2018 (UTC)
:We could refer to her as Megan, based on the character even despite its' "everywoman" stance. Megan is represented as Randall's wife in the ''_ Years'' comic series (with Randall being the supportive main Cueball character), as well as in other comics where Randall is represented as a Cueball in a comic with a Megan. {{unsigned ip|172.70.130.6|18:56, 26 July 2021 (UTC)}} 18:52, 26 Jul 2021 (UTC)
::Also, broken signing because I forgot that <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> was a thing. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.6|172.70.130.6]] 18:56, 26 July 2021 (UTC)

== 5 bucks that most of these are spambots. ==

[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Log&offset=20180212191150&limit=20&type=newusers&user=&page=&tagfilter=&subtype=]

🤔

[[User:DPS2004|DPS2004'); DROP TABLE users;--]] ([[User talk:DPS2004|talk]]) 19:07, 12 February 2018 (UTC)
:I tried "DROP TABLE users;" but then I lost my login... ;)
:The more serious thing is that when the Captcha was broken (after 31 March) that bots were too dumb but with the new reCaptcha V2 this happens again.
:But since those users take no further actions and IPs also can edit here it doesn't seem to be a problem. Nevertheless old users with zero edits may be purged in the future.
:[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:17, 19 May 2018 (UTC)

== Header pointing to FAQ implies content that doesn't exist ==

"All explain xkcd editors should check the latest update at the Editor FAQ. We now support LaTeX..."

Strangely, the FAQ doesn't mention LaTex once.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.210.34|172.69.210.34]] 15:06, 8 June 2018 (UTC)
:You're right but the (yet last) question "How do I enter mathematical or chemical formulas?" belongs to this. The Math functionality uses LaTeX syntax and I will mention this. I thought people who know the markup <code><nowiki><math>...</math></nowiki></code> do know that it's based on LaTeX. Nevertheless reading this {{w|Help:Displaying a formula|manual}} is mandatory. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:08, 8 June 2018 (UTC)

== Unable to create own user page? ==

Hi, I'm a new user here. When I try to put info on my user page it says I don't have permission to create it. Same applies for my talk page. Please help.[[User:VannaWho|VannaWho]] ([[User talk:VannaWho|talk]]) 07:18, 13 June 2018 (UTC)
:I've clarified the corresponding section in the [[explain xkcd:Editor FAQ|Editor FAQ]]. You will become a trusted user after a few more edits, but right now I've created your user and talk page. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:57, 13 June 2018 (UTC)
:Thanks. I'm looking forwards to becoming an active member of the community here.[[User:VannaWho|VannaWho]] ([[User talk:VannaWho|talk]]) 13:09, 13 June 2018 (UTC)
Thank You for the info!
[[User:GetPunnedOn]]
::Extra info, for GetPunnedOn (and others, but you're needing to he told this a lot, GPO...). Please use the full signature (those four tildes: <code><nowiki>~~~~</nowiki></code>), to let us know that, in this case, you posted your reply at 23:30, 21 May 2023 UTC, as we knew what date and times in 2018 the prior users posted. Not even sure you'll read this/etc, so leaving it as an open message to anyone else who stumbles this way without otherwise picking up on the other hints to do so. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.206|172.71.178.206]] 08:52, 22 May 2023 (UTC)

== 2018 ==

This probably only means something to me, but has anyone else noted that we are approaching comic 2018 in 2018? I don't think any other comic has been posted in in the year its number represents. Maybe the sign of the apocalypse? Or like all the other signs of the apocalypse, just a random occurrence. I am interested in seeing if it is memorialized in some way. {{unsigned ip|172.69.33.239|20:44, 22 June 2018 (UTC)}}
:Please do not forget to sign your comments. Nevertheless the apocalypse was already here: [[998: 2012]]. And a comic with the name 2018 was published last December ([[1935: 2018]]). The comic number 2018 will probably happen on July 11 and the number 2019 will be two days later on July 13 (ohhh, it's a Friday...). --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 08:41, 23 June 2018 (UTC)

== Random Kettle ==

Hello, so I had https://xk3d.xkcd.com/880/ open for an extended amount of time. When I came back to it today, I had a random blue kettle that was not on any other of my xkcd pages, and it would change locations every time i refreshed. (I have several screenshots, just not sure how to upload here.)

It went away when the back page button was pressed, but does anybody know what or WHY this kettle was there? {{unsigned|DeathFox4|00:08, 11 October 2018 (UTC)}}
:Please do not forget to sign your comments. You probably want to talk about this matter here: [[Talk:880: Headache]]. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:44, 11 October 2018 (UTC)

== Where to ask questions to find a specific comic? ==

Hello,

Someone searching for a specific comic has gotten me to try to find a place to ask the community, but haven't found any?

[https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/9uzvqv/help_me_find_the_one_where/]

kind regards,
Dodo --[[User:Dodo|Dodo]]
:Please sign your posts with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> because then we also see a timestamp of your comment. That's important because we could see that your question from reddit was solved there slightly after your post here. It's from SMBC and not xkcd. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:55, 8 November 2018 (UTC)

== Incomplete "Created by a _" Tag Jokes ==

I'm not lobbying for their return or anything, I'm just curious why they were removed. Or rather, why the incomplete tag was rewritten to discourage them. It was a good bit of comedy, and their removal makes it seem like this wiki is trying to be more serious than it really needs to be, IMO. [[User:CJB42|CJB42]] ([[User talk:CJB42|talk]]) 19:18, 9 November 2018 (UTC)
:I'm the creator of the BOT which initially presented a new page by honestly mentioning it was NOT created by a human. Years later, people started to make that joke. Sometimes it was really funny, but you can't repeat a joke for over hundreds of times, not funny and stupid attempts to reach that first jokes. And that incomplete tag is meant to be there for mentioning what's wrong or missing, sadly most editors don't use it for this reason. Nonetheless a nice joke is still welcome there, but it should be funny and not just an urge to present a "joke." --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:51, 9 November 2018 (UTC)

== xkcd.wtf ==

Hi everyone, I've recently made this small project http://xkcd.wtf/ . It's not yet finished, but somehow Big Goog' picked it up, so I thought I'll go live. It is important to me to announce it here first, since it uses explainxkcd's API and wouldn't be possible without all of you.

Originally, this was meant to be a Uni project, but the course was cancelled and the already purchased domain sat dormant for many months. Just recently, I picked it up and made a first prototype in Perl, then I undertook the painful process of rewriting it as a buzzword-compliant Javascript Single Page Application (so my server doesn't have to proxy everything). It sometimes craps out, because xkcd's API is awful (the 'real' one doesn't have CORS, the c.xkcd.com one is often offline) [[User:Gir|//gir.st/]] ([[User talk:Gir|talk]]) 22:19, 12 November 2018 (UTC)
:Nice, I know you have many skills in programming. What's the purpose of this project?
:Funny findings: The TLD isn't welcome always like here "In June 2012, Ryan Singel of Wired predicted that the .wtf domain would not be applied by anyone." and my own first investigation:
:<code>[root@localhost ~]# whois xkcd.wtf</code>
:<code>No whois server is known for this kind of object.</code>
:I'm running CentOS with no pending updates...
:Besides kidding, it works great and could be a good presentation on pages using a bad layout here. My goal is still to get this site much more mobile compliant, but there are still also issues on parts you don't use. Nonetheless let me know if you need help, hoping you will help here in the future too. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:49, 13 November 2018 (UTC)
::hi, sorry I missed your post! The purpose was to do this as a university project, but the course was cancelled after I bought the domain in anticipation of it. not wanting it to go to waste, I've implemented it in my spare time. the whois error is strange; it works on Fedora (which queries whois.donuts.co (no m)). I may come back to your offer for help (thanks) and definitely won't be leaving explainxkcd.com (my expertise lies with computer topics, and there weren't many comics about that recently. that's why I've quieted down a bit) [[User:Gir|//gir.st/]] ([[User talk:Gir|talk]]) 17:03, 18 November 2018 (UTC)

== xkcd Sorting Options ==
Is there any way to sort xkcd comics by size? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.80|141.101.77.80]] 04:37, 4 February 2019 (UTC)
:What size? The pictures, the explanation, or what? Explanations are changed every day. So, for what purpose is this idea? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:21, 15 February 2019 (UTC)
::I can see some benefit in being able to sort explanations by size as some of the earlier comics have fairly short explanations that could be expanded, but I'm not sure this is worth the effort of setting up a sort function. I don't know why you would want to sort the images by size other than perhaps for general interest. [[User:A(l)Chemist|AlChemist]] ([[User talk:A(l)Chemist|talk]]) 10:55, 16 February 2019 (UTC)
:::A small sized explanation doesn't say anything about it's quality. IMHO in contrast there are many overwhelming explanations which are far too long, TL;DR... --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:32, 16 February 2019 (UTC)
::::I agree. Most of the early explanations are just fine. I was just trying to guess why they were suggesting a sort function. [[User:A(l)Chemist|AlChemist]] ([[User talk:A(l)Chemist|talk]]) 14:15, 16 February 2019 (UTC)

== 1204: Detail has the incorrect picture ==

Not sure where to put this but just look at the title. Not sure how one changes it, but a typo was fixed and usually the newest picture is used. [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 14:15, 19 March 2019 (UTC)

== Regarding the alt-right trolls ==
Safe to say everything they leave is deletable, ''including'' the little "jew reverted my edits, help!" complaint they almost always leave on the discussion pages? --[[User:Youforgotthisthing|Youforgotthisthing]] ([[User talk:Youforgotthisthing|talk]]) 00:53, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

== Is the "It's 'cause you're dumb" tagline a relic of the past? ==

Yes, I'm going there, because this issue isn't going away.

I read through the entirety of the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous#Sightless_readers_offended_by_the_.22It.27s_.27cause_you.27re_dumb.22_tagline. Explain XKCD tagline debate from 2016], and I have to admit, I was surprised. I had not considered that there would be so many people in support of this tagline, nor that the debate had been going on this long. I was actually sure that most people were in agreement with me that it's unnecessarily insulting and demeaning. It seems that isn't the case.

The main argument from the Keep side appears to be that "it's just a joke". Here are some examples of that sentiment:

* "Suggesting that anyone who isn't part of the 0.1% of the population who share all of Randall's abilities and references, is dumb, can't be anything but a joke."
* "it is a rather obvious joke"
* "If a user doesn't understand that it is a joke, then he won't understand XKCD's jokes, either, no matter how much explaination he can get."
* "I always thought the tagline fit nicely with the "sarcasm" part of xkcd's own tagline."
* "It's not hiding behind "just a joke", it IS the joke. It's tongue-in-cheek. It's so obviously false that you have to intentionally ignore the joke and manufacture offense about something benign."
* "It's amusing to me. The joke is clear, and universal. Offence may be taken equally by anyone reading. It fits well."
* "Looks like the kind of joke you'd actually find in the comments."
* "I can't believe we've become such a limp-wristed baby society that we can't even have a joke like "It's 'cause you're dumb" as the tagline. Nobody would reasonably get offended at it."
* "If there ever really was a single person who took the tag line seriously, then it was just telling them the truth."
* "the joke benefits from it sounding like it's a mock insult"
* "I doubt there's very many of these smart people who are smart enough to get every joke (and every nuance) without assistance. Therefore it should be clear that is is a simple tongue-in-cheek joke, you don't really mean it seriously. It should be taken in the tone that it's meant, and it offends me when people don't."
* "It's 'cause you're dumb" grabbed me the first time I saw it as being relevant to why explainxkcd.com is a great site, and equally importantly, it made me laugh."

I like to think that I do understand xkcd's humor very well - even the more subtle aspects of it, like Randall's perpetual social paranoia, his sarcasm at common failings of societies and organizations, his absurdism, his childlike wonder at the things we don't know. I love it, it makes me laugh and it makes me happy.

I am not a delicate snowflake, and I believe firmly that we should not allow people to use "being offended" as a weapon of control to take away freedoms or to force their agenda on others. That kind of behavior should rightfully be challenged and resisted.

However, I am not arguing on the basis of offense. I believe that I actually have a solid, reasonable foundation for my case for change that can be accepted by all, if I can argue it effectively enough. Because you see... I never got the joke.

When I came to Explain XKCD for the first time, and saw the "It's 'cause you're dumb" tagline, my reaction was "Well, that isn't true, and it's a bit childish." It didn't come across as sarcasm to me; it comes across more like the kind of boorish flippancy expected of an anonymous imageboard, where being crude is the local currency. Mentally, I just couldn't fit it with what I saw as an otherwise fine mission of collaboratively explaining a very clever webcomic as a service to readers all over the world. And I didn't like it. It's not the kind of tone that I enjoy in a community.

"I don't like it" is not, of course, an argument, and would be a poor foundation from which to make my case - particularly as I am up against people who insist that the tagline ''is'' xkcd's humor and tone. So instead, I would like to argue this case: '''I think that this is what xkcd's tone ''used to be'', and that it isn't what xkcd's tone is ''now'''''.

The "It's 'cause you're dumb" tagline is actually ''ten years old''. It originally appeared in a different context; it was in the header image for the Explain XKCD blog.

[[File:explain xkcd blog header image.png|center]]

The image of Black Hat insulting Cueball is subtly different to what the tagline is now, and so I think some of the nuance - that might soften the joke or make it less antagonistic - has been lost. I have a theory that this is part of the reason why people are so polarized on whether the tagline is insulting or not, because I suspect that some people are remembering this older version. However, that's away from the point.

My point is this: it is no longer 2009 and things have changed.

xkcd, and Randall himself, have changed - Randall has published more than 1500 comics in that time, as well as books dedicated to explaining science and technology in his unique, witty style. He loves knowledge and discovery and celebrates the little things that people find interesting, often standing up to defend such pursuits against those who might otherwise dismiss them. That is xkcd to me. And I submit that Explain XKCD has, in those ten years, outgrown the tagline as well, We are, I think, more encyclopedists than agitators. If most people on this wiki are like me, they find pleasure in carefully unraveling the mystery of an xkcd comic and creating a resource that's as useful as can be. The tagline serves no purpose, in that case, other than to drive away contributors.

We shouldn't be afraid to offend. But I don't think we should offend needlessly. I think we're better than that.

[[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 21:29, 15 July 2019 (UTC)

:I really like the old banner, and think that the tone fits well with many of the older comics. But I agree with you that most of the newer comics have a less childish tone to them, where it is not as fitting. Also having it as a tagline instead of a banner makes it less obvious to be a character-statement. It is not an important issue to me, but I agree with you. After all explainxkcd is a site, for the lucky [[Ten Thousand]] each day. [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:36, 16 July 2019 (UTC)

== Pageviews? ==

Any idea how many pageviews, on average, this wiki gets? I'm not looking for any detailed breakdown or historical stats, just a rough average for the main page each day. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.23.57|172.69.23.57]] 02:21, 8 August 2019 (UTC)

I'd be really curious to know which pages are the most viewed on this website. Which comics are the most unintelligible to people? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.201|173.245.54.201]] 23:01, 15 March 2020 (UTC)

== xkcd site's fine print ==

I just noticed the fine print on the xkcd site, under the comics list: "xkcd.com is best viewed with Netscape Navigator 4.0 or below on a Pentium 3±1 emulated in Javascript on an Apple IIGS at a screen resolution of 1024x1. Please enable your ad blockers, disable high-heat drying, and remove your device from Airplane Mode and set it to Boat Mode. For security reasons, please leave caps lock on while browsing."

Is there an explanation for the above? (copied from xkcd's homepage on 8/8/19)

My first thought was "Those are low requirements". Then the "on an Apple IIGS" tripped me up. (I know so little of Apple software use that I can't say that portion is incorrect.) I like the humor of the screen resolution (although I think only computers could read it) and the suggested mode.

M.Striker
(didn't realize that this was an edit and not a message; deleted my included e-mail)

:The text you mentioned is explained at [[footnote]]. I guess you are new to this wiki/project? Feel free to improve any of the sites you find (many can be found by using the search function), or to comment/discuss the pages in the discussion section. If you want to sign your comments on here or in a comment section (with or without an existing account), you can use four "~"-symbols. (Do not wory, it will not show you actual IP adress). [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:18, 9 August 2019 (UTC)

== Randall NYT excerpt from "How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems" ==

FYI, Randall has an article in Tuesday's ''New York Times'': [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/13/science/what-makes-a-red-sky-at-night-and-at-morning.html "What Makes a Red Sky at Night (and at Morning)"]. It's an excerpt from "How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems." [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 03:34, 15 August 2019 (UTC)

== More ads? ==

Is it me, or are there now a ton of extra advertisements on this site? There is one between every paragraph of explanation. At least, when viewed with a mobile browser. It's a huge distraction, so I'm going to be enabling an adblocker.

: I would also like to file a complaint. [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 03:10, 9 April 2020 (UTC)

:: [[user:Davidy22]] If hosting expense is the problem, would it be possible to move to miraheze? [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 11:54, 19 May 2020 (UTC)

::: Hello? Anyone there? [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 06:55, 8 July 2020 (UTC)

== Should we* reference xkcd.com "black lives matter" banner ==

I consume almost all my xkcd directly from explain xkcd. So i only visit xkcd.com rarely.

I had been wondering why Randall was avoiding referencing the black lives matter movement which is clearly topical.

But i note that xkcd.com has a banner featuring Cueball saying "black lives matter".

Should we do the same?

* my apologies if we already do

[[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 06:01, 11 June 2020 (UTC)

:I'm not entirely sure if I understand the question. We list most (all?) the variants of Randall's banners on the [[:xkcd Header text]] page, and as of Tuesday (a bit late), that includes the Black Lives Matter banner. We also acknowledge it in [[2315: Eventual Consistency#Trivia]] as the first comic that ran after the banner went up. There's reason to ask if this wiki should give banners in general more prominent treatment, and question is raised on [[:Talk:xkcd Header text]].
:But are you asking if ExplainXKCD should adopt its own editorial position and feature a banner? I think it's really hard for wikis to make high-level editorial decisions like that. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 06:28, 11 June 2020 (UTC)
:: this was the question. And I hadn't looked hard enough. Thank you
:: no, not suggesting we do editorial, but glad we recognise what Randall has done. Cheers [[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 12:30, 11 June 2020 (UTC)

== is scraping this site ok? ==

Hi everyone! Some days ago I scraped explainxkcd to get the webcomics' content, and created an interactive network chart where nodes are comics and two nodes share a link if they have words in common. (It's here: https://www.fluentdata.tech/visualizing-the-xkcd-comics-network-using-google-vision-spacy-and-d3/)

However, looking back I don't know if I had permission to actually scrape this site. Where can I get this information? Is scraping OK?
:From [[explain xkcd:Copyrights]], "The Explain XKCD wiki is generally licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license (CC-BY-SA-3.0). This means that you can freely reuse our content, but you have to say where you got it — if you're sharing on the internet, a link back to the article is appropriate." So yes, scraping this site is allowed, but you should credit the site. — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 03:43, 5 March 2021 (UTC)

== So what happened to the site? ==
Just curious, but it was down last night (June 14, Eastern Daylight time's night) and this morning has reverted to February. This is not a complaint, it's curiosity and a willingness to help out. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 15:41, 15 June 2021 (UTC)
:I'm curious too. It was down on the morning of Friday the 11th & is currently back up showing last Wednesday the 9th's comic. A post asking about it on [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/nxrm65 r/xkcd] got over 140 upvotes in 3 days. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 16:30, 15 June 2021 (UTC)
::The page was down for more than four days. Problem is there seem to be no administrators attached to explain xkcd anymore, so no one who actually knows anything replies to these posts... :-/ So if the page goes down permanently there seems to be no one who still uses this page, who knows what to do... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:03, 16 June 2021 (UTC)
:::That would be a shame since a ton of good content would be lost. Somebody somewhere needs to be paying the bills for the site to be hosted though. Don't they know what happens to the product they're paying for? [[User:Bischoff|Bischoff]] ([[User talk:Bischoff|talk]]) 13:01, 16 June 2021 (UTC)
::::Indeed, is there anyway we can contribute to the upkeep of the site? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.182|141.101.76.182]]

== Stuck? ==
So, nothing yet for the August 7, 2021 comic? I normally see the main page update within an hour of the new xkcd appearing. Not complaining, just hoping nothing is wrong. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 20:43, 7 August 2021 (UTC)

== Help finding a specific comic. ==

I've been trying to find this specific comic but I can not find it anywhere. It's the one where a character suggests going to another building to avoid companies like Google and Facebook and tries to leave only to find the doors (and windows?) replaced with walls. Turns out Google and Facebook bought all the buildings and removed all doors so people can only use their services.
: (Above unsigned post by [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.65|108.162.245.65]] 04:38, 28 October 2021‎ (UTC).)
: 99% sure that's not an xkcd (though it does sound entertaining). You might try asking on r/xkcd, they can often ID even non-xkcd comics.
: Please sign your posts. [[User:Esogalt|Esogalt]] ([[User talk:Esogalt|talk]]) 05:32, 28 October 2021 (UTC)

== Update/further correct the Bots pages? ==

Seeing an edit to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Bots the site's meta-page on Bots] (and making a minor grammatical edit myself), the current and seemingly unfixable inactivity of DgbrtBOT and its replacement by Theusaof... (though not, yet, as an officially recognised member of the Bots group?) makes the statement "There are 3 bots" dubiously correct, depending upon how you count them. As a humble IP unconnected to any 'bot, I am neither confident enough in the facts to revise all the relevent details nor able to do much about it (not even create the above page's Talk-space) but maybe someone else here can muster up both qualities. So over to you..? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.36|172.70.91.36]] 11:48, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

== Countdown Timer ==

Does anyone know what the timer in the upper right corner of the website is? As of writing, it's around "20D 20H 20M" (ha ha). Is this for some kind of event I don't know about (I mean, I don't keep track of that sort of thing, so I wouldn't usually know anyway, but still), or is this just something weird Randall's doing that we're all going to find out together?

Just curious.
(Tidal Rose)

:Yes, I've been wondering, too. I can't find any good explanation anywhere for it -- I looked on Reddit, etc. I guess he really is keeping it a secret -- perhaps a book announcement. -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.253|162.158.255.253]] 00:51, 11 January 2022 (UTC)

It appears that the accompanying image may also be updating (not minute to minute at the moment). Curious to see what this little black line does! (My bet is that it's a new book as well)

:My first thought was counting down to Webb reaching L2, but it's a couple days late for that... looks to be approximately 10AM Eastern on January 31, though my datemath is probably not too good when the local hour is <6. [[User:Davidhbrown|Davidhbrown]] ([[User talk:Davidhbrown|talk]]) 05:49, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

The image has definitely updated!

Is there a place where the progressive images are archived? [[User:Fuzzymo|Fuzzymo]] ([[User talk:Fuzzymo|talk]]) 01:00, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
:There is a [[Countdown_in_header_text|page structure]] now created for it. Go directly to [[Countdown_in_header_text/images|the /images sub-page]] for the captured series-so-far. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.43|162.158.159.43]] 04:37, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

The exact time it's counting down to is Monday, January 31, 2022 at 10 AM EST (Munroe's time zone) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.165|108.162.229.165]] 23:55, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

Could it be for [https://www.nationaldaystoday.com/national-backward-day/ National Backward Day?]
:Already mentioned (and mostly rejected?) in the ''real'' conversation about this. (See the [[Countdown in header text]] page, etc, if you haven't already.) Not sure what the plane would have to do with it, unless it turns out to be flying backwards when we see movement lines. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.155|172.70.162.155]] 17:53, 25 January 2022 (UTC)

== What if 103 ==

Why is it "not quite a coincidence" that the titanic was traveling at about the same speed when it hit bottom as when it hit the iceberg?
: 1. please sign your posts! 2. im guessing the joke is that it wasnt moving [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 17:09, 25 August 2022 (UTC)Bumpf
:: What are you talking about? Its speed was around 20.5 kts at the time of impact.

== Syndication comic: uploaded with no number, link to xkcd doesn't work? ==

https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Syndication

In the title, the page is very broken and there's no evidence Randall Munroe ever uploaded this. Someone in the comments theorises it's a fan uploaded comic pretending to be official. Any way to find out? [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 08:08, 14 October 2022 (UTC)

== Concerning a certain editor ==

I'm puzzled and slightly worried as to the motives of [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?limit=50&title=Special%3AContributions&contribs=user&target=Gadget-HotCat&namespace=&tagfilter=&start=&end= a given named editor]. Having made direct comments myself (and seen others do so), albeit only as an IP, I'm concerned as to their potentially reckless nature. As messages to(/in reply to) them have done very little to get a valid explanation, I thought I should note the case slightly more formally. They seemed quite helpful when they started to post (at a time of notable vandalism, and I'm reluctant to jump to any adverse conclusion about that) and I obviously cannot speak of their time beyond this submission, but I find an overwhelming amount of their most recent interactions to be (to put it charitably) naive, despite clearly the intelligence to use advanced Wiki markup/etc.

I welcome a ready and willing editor. Moreover one who has bothered to get an accountable account, more than I have ever done! I would be happy to see them usefully contribute further, but could they perhaps realise (or accept, if they already know) that the drive to submit random and (pretty much always) unexplanatory content is not useful to anyone. And that's all I wish to say, right now. As much of a nudge as I want to make for the moment. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.64|141.101.99.64]] 14:45, 28 November 2022 (UTC)

== xkcd Volume 0 ==
xkcd Volume 0 is a collection of chosen comic strips - but there's also red-text found scattered though pages, usually as some type of cypher or code. Because of that, can an authorized user create a stub for [[xkcd Volume 0]] so that the codes can be documented, or does that risk too much of a copyright violation? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.56|108.162.241.56]] 00:10, 29 January 2023 (UTC)

== Russia ==
Is there a comic that mentions Russia? Omg Omg Omg {{unsigned|Omg omg omg Бельков|23:02, 19 March 2023 (UTC)}}
:@[[User:Omg omg omg Бельков|Omg omg omg Бельков]]: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?search=russia&title=Special%3ASearch&go=Go Let me use the search bar]. ~ [[user:megan|Megan]] she/her [[user talk:megan|talk]]/[[special:contribs/megan|contribs]] 23:25, 19 March 2023 (UTC)
:Might be a good idea if the mods had a look at the following accounts, BTW:
:"Omg сайт вместо гидры", "Omg omg omg Бельков", "Omgomg", "Площадка omg", "Darknet omg omg", "Ссылка на omgomg", "Омгомгомг магазин", "Омгомгомг сайт", "Омгомгомг ссылка", "Омг сайт магазин", "Омг ссылка", "Омг тор ссылка", "Площадка omg ссылка", "Сайт омг омг ссылка", "Сайт omg onion", "Сайт omg shop", "Сайт omgomg", "Omgomgomg ссылка", "Omg omg market onion", "Omg onion", "Omg online", "Omg shop ссылка", "Omg web net", "Omgomg гидра", "Omgomg замена гидре", "Omgomg market", "Omgomg tor", "Omgomgomg магазин", "Omgomgomg сайт", "Omg omg сайт зеркало", "Omg omg ссылка онион", "Omg omg сайт аналог гидры", "Omg зеркало", "Omg аналог гидры", "Omg вместо гидры", "Omg даркнет", "Omg дарк", "Omg маркет", "Omg omg площадка тор", "Omg онион", "Omg площадка даркнета", "Omg площадка новая", "Omg площадка торговая", "Omg ссылка", "Omg dark", "Omg darknet", "Omg market", "Omg omg даркнет", "Omg omg магазин ссылка", "Omg omg площадка отзывы", "Omg omg площадка сайт", "Зеркало ссылка омг"
:Wasn't particularly concerned, but then one decided to have a go at posting. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.185|172.69.79.185]] 23:51, 19 March 2023 (UTC)

== Edit War ==
An edit war has occurred on this page. Three topics were added and then removed. One user got banned. It seemed that the "Miscellaneous" is not actually miscellaneous. I can't create any talk pages, either. [[User:ClassicalGames|ClassicalGames]] ([[User talk:ClassicalGames|talk]]) 03:40, 31 March 2023 (UTC)

:Spammers are being impersonated. [[User:ClassicalGames|Clas]]rch 2023 (UTC)

== Connect spam ==
It seems that the pages with "Connect" in their titles tend to receive spam posts. [[User:Memo Spike Connector|2503: Memo Spike Connector]] ([[User talk:Memo Spike Connector|talk]]) 08:05, 31 March 2023 (UTC)

Did this happen on Wikipedia too? [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 10:40, 31 March 2023 (UTC)

Note for spammers: Do not rely on our group or others such as [[User:Memo Spike Connector]] to revert your edits. [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 10:46, 31 March 2023 (UTC)

== April fools day ==
April fools day is coming. Let's predict what [[Randall]] will post for the day. [[User:Memo Spike Connector|2503: Memo Spike Connector]] ([[User talk:Memo Spike Connector|talk]]) 08:05, 31 March 2023 (UTC)

: Uh, oh, April Fool's Day has already passed and there doesn't seem to be any related comics this year. [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 20:14, 2 April 2023 (UTC)

:: Seems like they've seen our trying to predict the April Fools comic. [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 23:35, 3 April 2023 (UTC)

== Public sandbox ==

What are the public sandbox pages used for? The "Main Page sandbox" was originally intended for testing the main page features, but then it received a lot of off-topic comments. [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 20:24, 2 April 2023 (UTC)

:The [[:Template:sandbox]] page received spam posts recently, with some user repeatedly trying to put words under another person's pen. I'm afraid someone will start using chatbots to spam in the future. [[User:ClassicalGames|ClassicalGames]] ([[User talk:ClassicalGames|talk]]) 07:03, 4 April 2023 (UTC)

:The above issue seems to have been resolved. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.135.43|172.69.135.43]] 02:07, 10 May 2023 (UTC)

::And then a mysterious "fanmade comic" appeared. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.174|172.69.22.174]] 02:08, 10 May 2023 (UTC)

::For the record, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous&diff=prev&oldid=312713 massive editing has occured] here, which is clearly debatable. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.35|172.70.90.35]] 08:33, 10 May 2023 (UTC)

== Editor guide for specific category ==

Could you add an editor guide on how to add this category to pages? Some user did it wrongly a while ago. https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Comics_sharing_name

I can't create talk pages. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.230|162.158.166.230]] 09:30, 6 April 2023 (UTC)

==Vector images don't work==
The vector images don't show up on my browser. [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 22:59, 8 April 2023 (UTC)
:Which vector images, and which bowser? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.184|172.69.79.184]] 23:29, 8 April 2023 (UTC)

::There is supposed to be a vector image on the top of this page, just above the "Contents" block. It seems to be that none of the vector images show up normally on this computer. [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 23:48, 8 April 2023 (UTC)

:::I used a new browser and it failed again. [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 08:06, 9 April 2023 (UTC)
::::But ''which'' browser(s)? I mean, if you're using Lynx, then you probably won't get native inline SVG rendering support, ever. If you're using NCSA Mosaic then you definitely need to change to something a bit newer ''anyway''. If you're using the latest Chrome/Firefox/Edge/whatever then I'd be surprised if it doesn't work. And if it's ''only on this site'' (i.e. that similarly embedded graphics work elsewhere), then that's a whole other line of enquiry.
::::Help us to help you, if you have indeed got a problem (and perhaps explain how you found the problem, too, to know how you detected the anomaly). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.9|141.101.98.9]] 12:29, 9 April 2023 (UTC)

== Solar system category ==

Could the category for the solar system be possibly created? There are several comics related. [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 07:13, 11 April 2023 (UTC)
:Hey! You don't need to make an admin request. In proposals 1.49 there's where you can propose categories, and if you think it's a good idea/get support you can just go ahead and make it. [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 09:44, 18 April 2023 (UTC)

== Categorization problem ==

Just now, I found two user pages lying in the [[:Category:Internet]] category. Could we possibly create a categorization template so that user pages that transcluded a comic page will not be categorized? We can also solve the problem that puts the Main Page in various theme categories. [[User:CategoryGeneral|CategoryGeneral]] ([[User talk:CategoryGeneral|talk]]) 03:38, 14 April 2023 (UTC)
:I've blanked one of the sandboxes. The other one doesn't belong to our group. [[User:ClassicalGames|ClassicalGames]] ([[User talk:ClassicalGames|talk]]) 03:46, 14 April 2023 (UTC)
::Nice sentiments, but please stop feigning talking to yourself or using [[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2293:_RIP_John_Conway&diff=prev&oldid=310329 your own edits to justify your various unnecessary aliases]]...
::There really do not need to be 'personal sandboxes', and the use made of the sandboxes is not useful. Many things that a Sandbox is used for could be done simply by the "Show preview", and certainly it isn't supposed to be a notepad for unrelated junk. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.67|172.70.85.67]] 08:11, 14 April 2023 (UTC)

== Help with Creating a User Page ==

I'm a relatively new user, and I decided "I should probably make a user page," but for some reason it says that I "do not have permission to create this page" even though it's my page. [[User:Trogdor147|Trogdor147]] ([[User talk:Trogdor147|talk]]) 03:08, 7 June 2023 (UTC)
:Check the user page now! [[User:Z1mp0st0rz|Z1mp0st0rz]] ([[User talk:Z1mp0st0rz|talk]]) 15:24, 24 April 2024 (UTC)
::Thanks! To everyone redirected here via my previous comments, click here -> [[User:Trogdor147|Trogdor147]] ([[User_talk:Trogdor147|talk]]) 00:17, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

== Versailles-Rose-style cultural export ==

America has already banned cultural export from several places, but this happened again in [[Talk:2781: The Six Platonic Solids]]. That is illegal. It should be taken seriously. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.71|172.69.134.71]] 23:55, 2 July 2023 (UTC)
:Presuming you're refering to that thing edited out in [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2781:_The_Six_Platonic_Solids&diff=prev&oldid=316742 this edit], if I thought I understood the original comment, then I'm darned if I can work out what your official objection to it is.
:If I thought the original wasn't just CG being CG, I'd revert that removal for being nonsensical. No "inciting illegality", so far as I can see, so no need to remove the comment or complain about it.
:You're not CG (or an off-site ally) wearing an IP cloak to do other typical CG-like things, such as we've seen many times before, are you? Don't do that, if so. I won't be restoring the original, but you need to establish better reasons for editorialising a Talk page's contributions.
:...but, if anyone is going to edit things around again, I hope they also put a suitably attributed {{template|unsigned ip}} on the other most recent appended line, ok? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.16|172.70.86.16]] 10:11, 3 July 2023 (UTC)
: He restored that offensive line. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.17|172.69.22.17]] 23:49, 7 July 2023 (UTC)
: Not sure what's going on here, but the nonsense language makes me suspect bots, in which case maybe just ban the IP. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 23:43, 9 July 2023 (UTC)
:: Difficult, with IPs. I'm one but not the type you want to ban, if you can take my word on that. It all depends on which Cloudflare gateway(s) you get routed through, and then which 'local' IP you happen to get assigned as from interaction to interaction.
:: Personally I suspect an idiot (a human, but an idiot. Or maybe an entire off-site group of idiots who are playing some sort of group game using our site as the playing-board. If it's automated (which is more difficult to do reliably than direct human trolling, realistically) then it's still an idiotically set up auto-trolling with no clear usefulness beyond 'because we can'. Nobody bothered to answer me as to why, but that just reinforces my feeling that there's no legitimate reasons behind any of it. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.97|172.71.242.97]] 09:10, 10 July 2023 (UTC)

::That post appeared back again. That's kind of hidden cultural reference. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.17|172.71.154.17]] 23:46, 9 July 2023 (UTC)
::Too hidden. As I asked before (but it was deleted) explain it to us. Or me, at least. If tou actually have a point, we can help you. But you don't, I suspect. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.97|172.71.242.97]] 09:10, 10 July 2023 (UTC)

There is a hidden reference to another country's culture. Many Americans hate that country. We do not allow such countries' culture to invade our website. Our website is American. EDIT: Those captchas are way too hard. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.156|172.71.154.156]] 23:42, 10 July 2023 (UTC)
:Still obtuse. And, I suspect, also incorrect. Which country? China ? North Korea? Canada? You can say, you know... Free speech exists, with no overriding legal prohibition against even mentioning whatever enemy nation you consider as beyond the pale for 'many'. Perhaps you aren't allowed to incite hatred (not sure if it's a legal thing, but it would be a generally established forum policy) but merely mentioning a general emnitity arising from the distrust of all things mapleleafian can be done without fear or favo(u)r. Educate us. Make us understand the issue, that we might never again fall into the trap of razy lacism or accidentally mention beavers in polite company... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.130|172.70.85.130]] 08:23, 11 July 2023 (UTC)
:: Click the "edit" button and you'll see that. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.204|162.158.166.204]] 23:02, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

== Twix re-referencing ==

Nearly put this as an HTML comment in the Social Media category (it has no Talk). Not sure if this should be under Proposals/Maintenance/Co-ordination in here (please move there, if you feel strongly it does belong in any of these). But probably needs saying.

Just seen one (out of many!) Twitter-referencing articles entirely rebranded to say "X" instead (and "x" for "tweet", etc). Which I felt a mistake. Reverted and added a single "now rebranded as..." caveat to the original mention, given the comic concerned was clearly Twitter-branded (older look, too), and this seemed a better solution.

I just want to express my opinion (and thus ask if I'm truly rolling with the consensus) that "now known as "X" is perhaps the besr direction to go. As and when, not necessarily as a splurge of appended edits to ''every'' Twitter-referencing page right this minute. (For one thing, it could so easily be rebranded/retrobranded/debranded altogether in the near future if either sanity prevails or greater insanity piles upon that already seen.)

Clear Twitter-era comics certainly don't need "tweets" changed to... whatever gets settled on as the proper term for post-Twitter tweets. "Twixes"? Yeah, nobody really knows that, yet, anyway. When (inevitably) a comic arises referencing "X (formerly known as Twitter)" then the referencing can be reversed. If/when Wikipedia renames/redirects accordingly then maybe that'll be a cue to (as we editors come across them in other edit contexts) change <code><nowiki>{{w|Twitter}}</nowiki></code> to something like <code><nowiki>{{w|X (Social media)|Twitter}}</nowiki></code> to avoid hitting the redirect, or whatever makes sense by then. But I would resist big changes to legacy references (i.e. pre-July 2023) and imagine that well-meaning editors that do try to help by almost 'keyboard/leopard' mass changing be discouraged/pre-empted.

But that's IMHO. I think it should potentially be a conversation, here, rather than me being a full on vigilante-reverter (and others having their own ideas) just because *I* have a particular impression of what's suitable to maintain site style. For the present. And potentially in years to come when the fate of The Media Formerly Known As Twitter might have transformed yet again and Randall's œuvre (perhaps still being drawn, thrice Earth-weekly, from his Lunar south-pole penthouse 'retirement' suite, or else from his official AI mind-mapped legal successor-entity!) continues to attract new readers for whom this "Twitter" thing needs actual explaining, even though they've used MuskMedia's 'æMotifier' quantum-netlink ever since they got their first cranial emotion-transceiver implant inserted and become a fully accredited voting Martian Citizen! (Or, alternatively, it's become as unknown to most people as AskJeeves/Geocities/Fidonet because it's a sidelined or even completely defunkt thing.)

So, yeah, ''waaay'' too early to do crazy site-wide edits, but perhaps agree on what we might do right now on a throttled back basis. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.197|141.101.98.197]] 09:46, 2 August 2023 (UTC)

== wait what? (is this "view a bunch of html" thing intentional?) ==

so i was trying to see the rss feed because i was curious and ended up with the page showing me a bunch of html code for some reason. what is going on???

also just realized half of the "[something][/something]" thing you use in forums to, for example, post something as a spoiler is basically html but with square brackets instead of whatever these are called (the ones that look like this: "<>") [[User:An user who has no account yet|An user who has no account yet]] ([[User talk:An user who has no account yet|talk]]) 18:30, 5 September 2023 (UTC)
:{{w|RSS}} is, or should be, based upon XML (eXtensible Markup Language). Which is basically the 'core' of many common markup languages, especially HTML (or XHTML, as it has been standardised). You're really supposed to use an RSS ''reader'' utility to parse the 'html code' and present it in a more human-readable way. (Although it's also fairly easy to human-read the RSS and scan for details of interest, so long as you have at least an inkling of what you're looking at and for.)
:Regarding the forum <code>[code]...[/code]</code> stuff, I ''think'' you're speaking of {{w|BBCode}}, which I think is intended to be a handy solution to allowing only ''sanitised'' markup to be posted by any given forum's random, rambling and potentially rabid users with something to say. If you're happy to allow a contributor to render a <code><nowiki></nowiki></code> tag (or with <code><nowiki></nowiki></code>, or via a CSS property, etc), your forum back-end translates the allowable <code>[b]...[/b]</code> into that mandated browser-friendly form.
:But if anyone tried to use any actual <X>-tag directly, then it gets sanitised into <code>&lt;X&gt;</code>. This means that ''unless the forum explicitly allows it'' (and in a form that the browser understands, might need a .js/.css extension to execute it in modern browsers) one couldn't <code><blink><marquee>Blink A Marquee</marquee></blink></code> within any arbitrary post text...
:And also, with such lightweight "Bulletin Board Code" and neutralised 'original raw HTML', you can also stop many of the possible techniques for someone trying direct script-injection or even just rendering follow-up messages liable to inheriting an opened (but not closed) formatting from more freely used HTML.
:(I'm not entirely sure if 'markup security' is the prime reason for using it, and I know some weird and disruptive loopholes have occasionally still had to be closed in the parsing/conversion rules, but it seems to me as good an impetus as any.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.8|172.71.242.8]]

== Is it possible to add a feature that keeps track of all viewed comics so that you specifically view unseen comics only? ==

I'm trying to read every xkcd comic, and I believe I have done so, but I still have a small doubt in my head. Would it be possible, even if only on explainxkcd to keep track of comics viewed? If not, is it possible to create a program that can do this locally or would I just need to go back through all of them? {{unsigned|SteveTheNoob|10:40, 12 October 2023 (UTC)}}

: I'm not aware of anything simple that might (say) work as a <nowiki>{{Special:RandomUnreadOnly}}</nowiki> restriction, if that's what you're looking for. You(/everyone with a named account) probably need a "read list" page off your userspace that gets updated by a bit of "Visited!" embedded template/code/scripting attached to every relevent page (probably limited by being 'noinclude'd) and can be checked before it suggests your next landing spot (Random or otherwise). It would be a bit contrived. Even more so if you store page details ''with'' a last-viewed timestamp (either to allow you to revisit upon an update or to just allow pages seen early on to be occasionally revisited), which I'd suggest would be useful. But if it's an internal wiki page (rather than browser-side) it would probably be visible to anyone (write-restricted, I imagine) and I'm not sure that's a wise move.
: Too late to necessarily help you, but the aspiring completist could simply progress logically (not 'Special:Random'ly) from Comic 1 on up (or the current latest on down, with future 'latest's being a different progression to track) and keep a note of where you've got to after each binge-session of Next/Previous following. That'd catch most of the comics, less those that are unnumbered for various reasons. It could be done wikiwise with a variation on the 'Latest Comic' (global) tracker, but again with a Userspace page. Or just a browser extention, updating a Bookmark/Favourites link or just jot it down on a bit of paper. Some of these would take far less effort than trying to a implement per-user shared-but-private wikimedia solution bespoke to the exacting needs of this particular Wiki. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.205|172.70.91.205]] 13:28, 12 October 2023 (UTC)

== While False ==

There’s now over a year ago since [[user:While False|While False]] contributed for the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:While_False&diff=303753&oldid=301370|Barry-Larry-very last time]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.5|162.158.222.5]]

:While False’s “Explain xkcd museum” can be found [[User:While False/explain xkcd museum|here]]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.44|162.158.222.44]]

== Furries ==

Someone has been adding vaguely-relaged pages to [[:Category:Furries]]. Is this okay? This person's criteria seem to be that anything related to anthropomorphic animals (including anything related to Narnia) is "furry"; they also consider anything pertaining to knots or cheese graters to be furry-related. (The knot and grater things are NSFW inside jokes within the furry fandom.)

My opinion is that anything with anthropomorphic animals is close enough to fall under the furry category (after all, anthropomorphic animals are basically what define the furry fandom), but individual Narnia-related pages don't need to be tagged as furry. [[:Category:Chronicles of Narnia]] being a subcat of Furries is enough IMO. As for knots and graters, I don't think those also should be enough to tag someone.

What do you all think? {{unsigned ip|172.71.146.55|04:38, 1 February 2024 (UTC)}}

:My opinion: that it must depict furries subculture or its ''unambiguous'' inspirations.
:I see that [[:Category:Chronicles of Narnia]] has been labeled such, but this implies that [[969: Delta-P]] (amongst others) includes furries.
:I'd also argue that merely 'talking animals' aren't sufficient to be "furrie". [[1503: Squirrel Plan]] (not catted... yet!) are still ultimately scuiromorphic squirrels. 'Intelligent' animals, and 'translator-microbed' for our benefit, but barely different in depiction from any [[635: Locke and Demosthenes|other typical appearance]]. YMMV.
:And if a long-standing comic has not been given a long-standing category ''until you 'spot' the connection'', then it might be obscure and need (in-line) justification. See the markup (and edit-history) of the Lowercase in [[739: Malamanteau]] as an example of perhaps why and how.
:...in particular, when someone made [[1762: Moving Boxes]] an example of "Furries", someone else thought it was (improperly) due to the word "Hooves", when it was really due to "Knots". Equally improperly, IMO, given that various types of knot were mentioned in the Explanation, but certainly no references there to Furries (or even to more 'obvious' kinks than furry-fandom, with or without extant categories or obvious interest by Randall). Personally, I thought it had been about the word "Kits" (c.f. "cubs"), not that I agreed with that assertion either. So do add an in-line comment, and it ''might'' help justify it to future editors who don't see what you see. Still arguable, but at least avoids arguing cross-purposes.
:''To summarise'', unless you consider everything with Animals in it (or at least every one with animals being [[928: Mimic Octopus|'odd' in any human-relatable way]]) as potential Furries-fodder, it really must be obviously referencing Furrie-subculture. Enough to be considered worthy a mention in the Explanation as well, not just because of a tenuous word-association or imagery inadvertently triggering an obscure personal interests. (There's a comic that specifically makes me think "Caramel", but it has nothing intrinsically to do with (e.g.) [[:Category:Food]]. I know why it makes me think that, but wouldn't consider it meaningful to ''anyone'' else. Even if it might for a small subculture, however, it still wouldn't actually be a valid category to apply if there was no reason for Randall to have had that same association in mind.)
:Categories should not include much more true material than they reasonably need to, just on the offchance that there's a totally unintended link. (And if ''all'' the Narnia references need cat:Furries, they also need cat:Animals. I might argue that cat:Religion is at least as necessary, just for every mention/hint of Aslan. But I wouldn't actually flood that option, either.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.207|172.71.242.207]] 10:49, 1 February 2024 (UTC)
::I think there are enough pages in the category as of right now (22:16, 9 March 2024 (UTC)), but seeing as I don't know all the references (what's so funny about knots and cheese graters?) it's obvious that I'm just William Shatner's generation 💅 descendant who pretends to be a furry for clout online. So I'm not sure whether you should trust me. --[[User:AndroidTheLucario|Your favorite aura doggo]] ([[User talk:AndroidTheLucario|talk]]) 22:16, 9 March 2024 (UTC)

== What is the significance of the word "crap" here? ==

I often see vague references to "crap" in discussions on this wiki, but I don't understand the meaning. Of course, I *do* know what the literal definition of "crap" is; I just don't know the significance here. It doesn't seem to be a word used particularly often in xkcd, so what is the significance here? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.49|108.162.245.49]] 02:28, 7 February 2024 (UTC)
:I think you're refering to the escapades of a particular idiot (and possibly copycats). The actions conducted might well be refered to by various verb forms/etc of the word.
:Though there are 'legitimate' uses of the word in comics, in context, I don't think there is any particular Randallesque significance that you need to worry about. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.55|172.71.178.55]] 04:55, 7 February 2024 (UTC)
::Thank you! What did the particular idiot do? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.150.62|172.71.150.62]] 22:46, 8 February 2024 (UTC)
:::Just particularly low-vocabulary/high-volume/zero-creativity nuisance editing Probably doesn't need dignifying by further explanation, and really not worth dwelling on. But this was just one particular type of nuisance, dealt with just as many other nuisances (by whatever hand) also were/will be. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.212|172.70.91.212]] 02:05, 9 February 2024 (UTC)

== Is ReCAPTCHA really necessary? ==

I worry that I might be opening up a can of worms here, but here goes. For various personal reasons I don't like setting up accounts with things unless I really, really need to. I'm sure I'm not the only one. There are also people who can't set up accounts because they don't have an email address. Because we're not logged in, every time we want to make any edit or post any comment on any part of this Wiki, we have to go through multiple laborious ReCAPTCHAs. I'm sure the irony isn't lost on the rest of you that CAPTCHA/ReCAPTCHA is the butt of more than a few jokes on various XKCD comics, which imply that they are disingenuous processes whose real purpose is to farm out stultifyingly mundane computing tasks to a captive audience. Furthermore, I am editing on mobile, which can present formatting problems, rendering the ReCAPTCHA (and, by extension, my editing) impossible to complete. I know there are other ways in which this Wiki combats spam, so do we really need ReCAPTCHAs? Removing them would make this site considerably more accessible to eccentrics and Luddites such as myself. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.13|172.70.85.13]] 18:23, 17 April 2024 (UTC)
:I'm guessing you weren't here for the crap incident? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.41.120|162.158.41.120]] 23:22, 17 April 2024 (UTC)
:Speaking as an accountless luddite (long term active and non-lurking contributor; I ''choose'' not to clutter myself with yet another account, inventing yet another apt username when I don't actually have to), it ''can'' be annoying to have to do a round or two of Traffic Light or Tractor identification. But, given the number of obvious fake accounts, it may be that removing the control would release a deluge of one-shot spams that are currently caught.
:It's less trouble than the extra issue of having done a CAPTCHA successfully, submitting a ticked contribution, the explainxkcd server complaining of overload/whatever (error 503, I think) and then the necessary refresh-submit moans that I ''didn't'' give a CAPTCHA (logical enough... the side-server confirmation data probably loses synchronicity against the 'new' POST submission). And not even sure whether an other-than-CAPTCHA solution could handle that type of fail-over any better. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 10:52, 18 April 2024 (UTC)

== Why do all the comic updates feel late to me? I only ever see them on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and weekends. ==

I'm in the same time zone as Randall, so it could just be a sleep schedule thing tbh. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 21:29, 13 May 2024 (UTC)
:Quick poll of server-times for explainxkcd's BOT back to mid-February suggests that significantly more than half were before midnight Randall Mean Time (or Randall Daylight Time). That said, a long long experience has taught me not to fret the "only see it the next morning" ones (my time). They keep coming. 2916 was an outlier (almost 29 hours longer to arrive than 2910 did, assuming that wasn't a BOT delay that I'm not aware of).
:In this sample, it went from an earliest time of 11:37 (servertime, remember), Q1 at 18:12, Q2 at 22:03, Q3 at 03:11 (still pre-midnight, for you and him), and the latest was 16:31 the day after. Mondays seem to be a bit lagged over Wednesdays and Fridays but, outliers apart, there doesn't seem to be much in it.
:I could do a far longer sampling (I can recall of a couple-of-days-delayed ones that arrived ''eventually'', but at least officially kept the MWF cycles going. not counting delayed-specials/etc), but there's not much to be seen recently to concern me. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.190|172.69.79.190]] 23:32, 13 May 2024 (UTC)

== New users can't create pages ==

Hey, you know how new users can't create their own user pages? Well, it turns out that new users can't create ''any'' pages. Could this be the autoconfirm thing? {{unsigned|PDesbeginner|14:56, 20 June 2024 (UTC)}}
:If you think about it, you'll realise that it's probable that new users can't create user pages '''exactly because''' they can't create ''any'' pages... ;) But that state of affairs won't last long, if you're patient.
:...Until then, petitioning for (say) a new Category (with sufficient examples to provide a reason for it) might get you helped out by a sympathetic existing page-creator. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.90|172.70.91.90]] 19:45, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

== Minor edit/Watch this page ==

Before I save an edit, how do I decide which checkbox to select? [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 14:57, 21 June 2024 (UTC)
:I use the "minor edit" for fixing (my own) typos and when adding links or such to the(my) text. I never used the "watch" option but I guess you can use it to receive mail notifications if someone changes the page [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:57, 2 July 2024 (UTC)
:I did a test and it turns out that the "Watch this page" box makes the page get automatically added to your watchlist when you save the edit. Thanks for the help with when to select the minor edit box, but does anyone know what it actually does? [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 20:07, 6 November 2024 (UTC)
::From my experience of other wiki sites (where I have an account, thus get to see such options), it's not much more than a bit of administrivia, to allow you to mark anything that you consider not bothersome in any way (de-doubling unnecessary whitespace, trivial typo-correction, etc.) and thus letting others selectively ignore such tweaks (at least until they start to wonder why an article has gained/lost several paragraphs as part of an apparently "minor edit").
::If it has any functional utility beyond just a handy user-flag, I haven't seen it. And no doubt there are those who would ''especially'' check (or have 'Bots check) so-called-minor edits, just to make sure they really are. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.203|172.70.162.203]] 23:07, 6 November 2024 (UTC)
::Thanks! [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 16:58, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

== Hi! ==

How are all you beautiful people doing? I'm quite alright myself. [[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 03:03, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

== Red text ==
I found red text in the "Flowchart" comic explanation. Could you deal with it? [[User:CategoryGeneral|CategoryGeneral]] ([[User talk:CategoryGeneral|talk]]) 08:58, 30 July 2024 (UTC)
:In [[1195: Flowchart]]? I don't see any there.
:There are similarly named comics, and plenty of furtyer comics "that have a flowchart" so perhaps try at least telling us the number of the one you mean. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.145|172.70.86.145]] 18:44, 30 July 2024 (UTC)

== The future ==

You know, we're not too far from a future where each and every edit to this website will have paragraphs of critical commentary. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.210|108.162.245.210]] 23:49, 19 August 2024 (UTC)

== Comic # 2974 explanation ==

Someone please hug the editor of the explanation of comic #2974. They seem a little depressed. I noticed your nitpickyness and I cared. Thank you. Also you made me laugh a bunch. {{unsigned ip|172.70.111.167|13:28, 21 August 2024 (UTC)}}
:I don't see that myself (though there will be a number of editors, maybe the bits you mean are less obvious now) although hugs are rarely a bad idea (being careful in cases of sunburn, dermititis, excessive blisters or bubonic infections of various kinds) so free (but entirely optional!) hugs all round. Just because not all symptoms of depression are particularly obvious anyway. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.17|172.70.162.17]] 14:37, 21 August 2024 (UTC)

== Comic #3000 ==
Y’all, we’re getting scarily close to comic 3000. Any bets on what it’ll be about? [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 02:17, 23 August 2024 (UTC)
:I'll get back to you on that in a couple of months... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.164|172.70.162.164]] 04:39, 23 August 2024 (UTC)
::I myself think that it’s going to be a continuation of the <code><nowiki>[[Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd phones]]</nowiki></code> series. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 20:49, 26 August 2024 (UTC)
:::(You probably meant to use something like <code><nowiki>[[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd phones]]</nowiki></code>, which appears as the now clickable: [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd phones]] ...or something similar. FYI.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.62|141.101.98.62]] 20:36, 26 September 2024 (UTC)
nothing, you get nothing >:[ [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 07:06, 24 October 2024 (UTC)
It was SOOO disappointing and just a regular comic :( [[User:Thehydraclone|Thehydraclone]] ([[User talk:Thehydraclone|talk]]) 22:23, 2 February 2025 (UTC)

== Trouble finding comic about how kids read too many comics ==

Iirc, it was a comic that had newspaper quotes from various times in history. One was that kids read too many comics, one was that kids look out the window too much. Maybe one on too many video games, and/or too much tv. And maybe one on reading. Anyway, I'm having trouble finding it because the keywords are too vague. And "xkcd comic" just brings me to the homepage. Any help would be appreciated 🙏 [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.6|172.70.131.6]] 04:30, 13 September 2024 (UTC)
:[[1601|1601: Isolation]] [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 15:33, 13 September 2024 (UTC)

== Correct name ==

What’s the correct name for this wiki? ExplainXKCD is what I use, but there’s also Explainxkcd or explainxkcd or explain xkcd. Please advise for all of us pedantic editors. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 00:55, 22 September 2024 (UTC)
:A question for the ages. The case of "xkcd" itself is officially all lowered, and all domain names are inherently caseless, whilst xkcd's (usual) comic-text is sᴍᴀʟʟᴄᴀᴘs (or, rather, partly camel-cased SᴍᴀʟʟCᴀᴘs). If I don't use "explainxkcd" I might go for "ExplainXkcd" or "explainXkcd" (the latter two probably wrong, but at least adds degrees of parsability, maybe with some cringing). There's even a [[:File:Logo.png|case]] (NPI!) to call it "EXPLAINxkcd", but I wouldn't. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.138|172.71.26.138]] 10:15, 22 September 2024 (UTC)
::I’ve also noticed that if you substitute x for 23, k for 11, c for 3, and d for 4, as that is the order that they appear in the English alphabet, those four numbers add up to 42, or the answer to life, the universe and everything else. Is this intentional? Has anybody else noticed this? [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 21:41, 14 October 2024 (UTC)
:::[[xkcd#Meaning of xkcd|Yes]] [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.150|172.68.205.150]] 22:36, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

== Coincidence ==

I just used the random page feature and got comic [[498: Secretary: Part 5]] twice in a row and got [[496: Secretary: Part 3]] on the third!
Its not important but I just think its neat[[User:Pego|Pego]] ([[User talk:Pego|talk]])

== Horrendously Cursed numbers ==

I need them. Currently, my favorite (which I found by a whole lot of guesswork) is 2^2.321928094886. It equals 5. -[[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 23:35, 28 October 2024 (UTC)

It happened to bring a typo on page [[1506: xkcloud]] to my attention. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 04:02, 3 November 2024 (UTC)

== 2024 Harris banner ==

Will there be an article archiving and explaining the Harris banner on xkcd.com as of my typing this? https://imgs.xkcd.com/news/harris_news@2x.png [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 01:51, 4 November 2024 (UTC)
:Check [[Header text]]. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 03:36, 4 November 2024 (UTC)
::Thanks. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 04:29, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

== IP Editing Doesn’t Make Sense ==

I've read various arguments for why IP editing is allowed, or even a 'good idea'. I've read none that was compelling. Here are my reasons why I think it's not a good idea, and why it should be banned:

Per {{w|WP:ISU}}, user names that imply shared use are not allowed, so why is editing using an IP address allowed, given that IP addresses usually are shared? If the logic behind this policy is that an edit must be traceable to an individual editor, not a collective entity, then allowing anonymous editing from an IP address flies squarely in the face of that.
IP editing accounts for a large chunk of vandalism, disruptive editing, BLP violations, etc., and stopping it would reduce the cleanup workload for other editors.
Using multiple IP addresses, either intentionally or unintentionally, fragments a user's edit history, and makes it difficult, in some cases virtually impossible, to detect editing patterns and decipher intentions.
The 'hassle' of registering really is not great, and therefore I don't buy the argument that mandatory registration would make it difficult to recruit new editors.
It's too easy for a registered editor to get around certain rules (such as creators not being allowed to remove speedy tags from their own articles) by logging out and editing under IP.
The whole malarkey about hiding IP addresses, allegedly for privacy reasons (!), would go away if IP editing weren't an option.
To be clear, I think everyone should be able to access the site without registering, and anyone should be allowed to edit, just not edit without registering. In that sense it's not that different from using a public library: you're welcome to browse the collection, access the reference section, etc. without anyone asking you any questions, but if you want to take a book home, you need to get a library card from the nice librarian first.

And a further clarification: I've nothing against users who edit under IP; my issue is with the system which allows this. As long as it is allowed, users are of course welcome to make use of this. I just think it shouldn't be allowed {{unsigned|IP Addresses Don’t Make Sense|23:25, 14 November 2024 (UTC)}}
:As an habitual IP, far for it for me to get involved in the argument. I will say that sometimes think it'd be nice to have a "history" that proves my actual involvement (the other day I came across a contribution from 2013 that was clearly mine), but those moments pass when I see how easy (too easy) it is to have gotten myself an account. Witness the various accounts that get conjoured up on a whim, 'yourself' included... You're not helping the cause by doing this.
:If you're a named user, normally, then you're just giving more reasons for locking everyone into far more restrictions than your nominal argument suggests, and forgetting how much non-disrupting (indeed, fixing) behaviour is also done by everyone. The perfect situation? Maybe not. But there are worse ones, for anyone who has thought about it for any time. Do you want ''my'' suggestions? I've got a whole shopping list of them, but you won't want to hear about them. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.227|172.69.194.227]] 03:38, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

== when did xkcd jump the shark ==
like, when exactly do you feel xkcd jumped the shark (if at all)? [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 12:45, 28 November 2024 (UTC)
:If it has, than put me down as "likes shark-jumping". I've been directly enjoying (if not always as caught up with as I am these days) xkcd since before [[195: Map of the Internet]] (quite possibly back into only double-figures, but hard to know what I later rewound back to; or quite how far back I subsequently joined the fora and/or started explainxkcding, as both histories are shrouded behind data that's either now lost or inconveniently anonymised).
:Not everything is as geeky as that, but it doesn't have to be. Horses for courses, naturally. (Perhaps lasagna?) If ''everyone'' who had such a moment actually decides to tell you their answer, probably could be up to 3000 or so distinct replies. ("It was the flying ferret" "Those spiders always did it for me" ...) ''To clarify, there may be many valid answers, but the people who would give them are far more likely not to be here to answer your question. If anybody ''does'' hover around here and want to give a definite answer of why they no longer like xkcd, then bear in mind that they're more the exception than the rule. Twice-over!'' [[Special:Contributions/172.71.122.102|172.71.122.102]] 14:22, 28 November 2024 (UTC)
::Hi, 42.book.addict here to put in my own two cents (check my user page on why I’m an IP). I would like to comment that I have noticed that I very much enjoy the older (albeit lower quality and resolution) comics than before. I think that I like the old xkcd strips more because they were much more geeky and nerdy than now, as well as more funny and witty. I feel like Randall has adapted the strip to appeal to a larger audience, which in turn lowered how much I enjoyed it (as I’m a massive nerd/geek). I can’t give an exact number, because the Covid-19 comics were highly enjoyable and are more of an outlier. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.117|162.158.167.117]] 17:33, 28 November 2024 (UTC)

== How do I add userboxes to my page? ==
I saw a user with userboxes and I want to be able to continue developing my personal page. Can anyone tell my how? [[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]] ([[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al|talk]]) 19:51, 25 February 2025 (UTC)
:Probably the easiest thing is to look at the source of any page that has something you want to use. 'Edit', the page. You can just copy what's there, if you understand all the {{}} stuff, or even just remember what to put in those {{}}s, etc. Perhaps you could try a bit of in-situ exiting (Preview if you want modify to understand, but ''don't'' fully Save... at least not until you're working back in your own userspace).
:Not knowing how much you know about wikisyntax/markup, I could be either overexplaining or explaining entirely over your head by saying something like the following, but ''if'' it's useful (now, or once you've started), then you're welcome:
:*You can use templates by editing in the {{template|template}} text, with the appropriate name there.
:*Some of them accept/need parameters, which you use by adding a "|" symbol after the name and then a parameter. Add more parameters by adding further "|", for first(, second, third, etc) parameters, as necessary, if that's how the template concerned works.
:*Some templates accept/need "|paramName=paramData" for certain things that can control control (look at any comic page, and how the {{template|comic}} is used, and note that "whitespace is (relatively) free"!), so look out for that.
:*Templates can nest... A {{template|notice}} might have a {{template|w}}(ikipedia link) within it. And there's a whole flow-control 'language' of making complex branching decisions so don't be surprised to see loads of {s and }s (usually doubled, ''perhaps'' tripled, and singly in 'wikitable' markup) in things you're trying to use.
:*Then there's the rest of the wikimarkup... Simple formatting to linking (external website, page on this wiki, interwiki formats (though some of those have templates ready to simplify!), etc). There's some things (handy relevent shortcuts) unique to this site, other things fairly universal. The ''general'' userbox format isn't that different from many other wikiprojects, but you may find something or other a bit more 'tuned' to our needs.
:*Try things out. Remember: "Show Preview" is your friend. (There's also the Sandboxes, but you usually don't need to fully save something, leaving its remnants in a page history, to learn thst it works... Or, more usefully, that it doesn't (or not as you expect).
:...any use? Could be telling you things you actually know, or you're about to ask about the {}s again. But at least look at the userbox markup, that you want to emulate, and then apply what you already can deduce to some testing to see what the bits you ''can't'' deduce actually do. Then you may have nice questions which are more straightforward (or at least direct!) for us to answer. ;)
:And this is my general advice to anyone (where I'm unsure what level of experience they're thrning up with). If it becomes clear that more technical replies are needed (assuming I can give them!), or if we need to go back to more basic principles, then I would adjust. But you have at least been able to do ''some'' edits, so probably don't need module 1 part 1 of Wiki 101. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.4|172.70.85.4]] 22:38, 25 February 2025 (UTC)
: My advice? Copy a box from the source of a user page that has them (copy the text within the braces, including the braces), and mess with some of the parameters until you get what you want. If you feel like you can understand it, you can also look at the {{template|userbox}} template and try to see what the possible parameters are, but the template is pretty complicated. I'm pretty sure that all of the parameters are named, so the order shouldn't matter. [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 03:55, 26 February 2025 (UTC)

== Who is this? ==
what is [[User:Lettherebedarklight]]?
:They're a user of this wiki, just like you. They might have caught your attention because they're currently [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:Lettherebedarklight&oldid=367915 edit warring with an admin] and seem to be resolutely [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:Lettherebedarklight&action=history against the idea of having a normal signature or talk page]. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 20:57, 8 March 2025 (UTC)
::no, I mean his user page just redirects to his user talk - [[User:Bb777|Bb777]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]]) 23:47, 9 March 2025 (UTC)
:::Exactly! See the second and third links in my message --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:45, 10 March 2025 (UTC)

== Visual editing ==

why is the visual editor not here yet? - [[User:Bb777|Bb777]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]]) 23:23, 15 March 2025 (UTC)

:Because the only person who has access to the backend has gone dark and nobody else has access (which is also why the site is collapsing). You can read more about this in the Technical and Admin requests portals. At this point, we're lucky the wiki hasn't completely broken down already. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 08:59, 16 March 2025 (UTC)

::Noting that the visual editor gives a chance of ''really'' weird markup (WYSIWYG, yes... probably, but there's plenty of chance to do [[2109: Invisible Formatting|silly''' '''things]] that you'd never do if you actually saw the code).
::Though the site isn't actually collapsing. It always has a chance ''of'' collapsing, of course, just like any site (fully maintained or not). but the running issues with it are either non-serious things that updating won't help (continual 'spam attack' attempts, though it can be shown that it's already set up to be pretty proofed against most of them and most attacks continue to be dumber than the age-old system set up to prevent them from doing too much, with a high proportuon of the rest still dumber than the 'Bot that currently adds even more protection, and ultimately even those that get past that get handled by the existing userbase) or easily avoided issues (you can't use MathML like you used to be able to, but there's alternatives to that in most circumstances). [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.92|172.68.205.92]] 16:13, 16 March 2025 (UTC)
:by owner of the wiki, you mean (the mysterious) [[User:Jeff]]? - [[User:Bb777|Bb777]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]]) 00:29, 17 March 2025 (UTC)
::Precisely --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:36, 17 March 2025 (UTC)

== soup ==

what is [[Template:soup]] for? - [[User:Bb777|Bb777]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]]) 00:44, 17 March 2025 (UTC)
:I guess it's a userbox, [[User:Certified_nqh/userbox|see some examples here]]. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:36, 17 March 2025 (UTC)

== deleting pages ==

does anyone here know how to delete pages? {{unsigned|Bb777|16:10, 25 March 2025 (UTC)}}
:You add "<nowiki>[[Category: Pages to delete]]</nowiki>" and hope an admin eventually deletes it. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:46, 25 March 2025 (UTC)

== Google Chrome is now (again) truncating TITLE TEXT in webpages incl. XKCD ==

Greetings,
As of early April 2025, we’ve noticed that Google Chrome is no longer displaying to us the complete TITLE TEXT when we mouseover an XKCD image. This appears to be a regression of earlier-reported issues, going back 12 years or more.

We’ve been using m.xkcd.com on my mobile devices, and we may begin to prefer it on desktop as well, since the mobile rendering is the best way we’ve found to access the complete Title Text without browser interference.

Coming here because, perhaps, many readers of ExplainXKCD might need explained why the Title Text no longer makes a lot of sense with the ellipses, and also, we’ve no idea how to access the remainder of the text from the browser UI, without going into DevTools or something.

'''Note: This also affects images and Title Text here on Explainxkcd itself!!!'''

We’re using a ChromeOS Chromebook, Stable channel:
Version 134.0.6998.183 (Official Build) (64-bit)

[[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 22:28, 4 April 2025 (UTC)
:In my experience with Chrome for Android, it just doesn't have the space to display the text in the window that it gives. (Latest comic ends with "an emitted SIm card hitting...") That also happens with (my prefered choice of browser) Firefox for Android. (''That'' ends with "a emitted SIM card hitting the side ...", for reference.) It's just a function of the screen-real-estate and the fitting it in with all the "Copy link / Share link / Share image / [etc]" options that this interface needs.
:Don't know about ChromeOS and Chromebook, all that much, but I get the impression it works more with the tablet paradigm rather than a normal laptop one (like the one I'm usong here, which gives a nice hover-text rendition of the whole job), and assumes and/or is a lower resolution so subject to such pixelated real-estate issues as I mention.
:That applies to the xkcd.com site. Here on explainxkcd.com it displays as (the beginning, and then) "and you listen very carefully..." on one line and then the URL of "explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:decay_chain_2x.png" on the next, above the various "click options". I ''believe'' that's to do with the fact that the explainxkcd image is an href (which gets represented in that space too), whereas the xkcd.com one is perfectly happy to just give me (as much as it can of) the "title=..." parameter of the img-tag.
:...and I've learnt not to worry about that. It's a technical limit that isn't any website's fault (well, maybe it's the fault of ''having'' too long a title-text), and the best that any browser under the circumstances can do.
:There's two ''or three'' main ways of seeing the whole thing though:
:#Go and edit the URL to add "view-source:" in front of it, and look at the source (that's how it works for Android Chrome, I imagine it's how it works in ChromeOS Chrome, it also works in both Windows and Android Firefox, and seems to be industry standard). Awkward, perhaps, to narrow down the appropriate length of markup tagging and read it straight, but it's there.
:#*Noting that a recent update of the Android Chrome started to make the ''default'' action of a URL of "view-soirce:<validURL>" to open a search up on the "view-soirce:<validURL>" line. One has to be careful to eschew using the enter/return key as that makes use of the "magnifying glass" option, you have to choose the second (non-default) "globe-like thing" option which depicts "yes, use this exact 'address'". No, I don't know what they messed with, and why they messed with it, and it's not the only thing that has changed recently with the UI that I really rather they hadn't changed, but took a while for me to dig up an answer about that so I freely share it in anticipation of it being important to someone else who remains similarly confused.
:#Easiest thing is to come here to explainxkcd, and don't bother with the hover-over (or whatever-you-do-to-get-the-title-text) text, at all. It's written beneath all (or nearly all?) Explanation Page images in plain sight. No hovering needed. Should be complete, unless the BOT (or someone who later comes along) has managed to mess it up, but then somebody (else) will probably fix it to how it really should be, and any remaining pecularities gets documented in the Explanation and/or its Talk.
:#There's also maybe dedicated xkcd viewers (I've got three installed from the Android store, just because I haven't yet decided that any one does everything I want it to do: "xkcd", "xkcd Browser" and "XKCDroid") that do at least try to be more hassle-free with their presentation of the hover-over title text. Don't know if you have such options under the ChromeOS system, but with even Windows going for 'app store' functionality behind it (not that I use it, save for very particular elements) I would rather hope that there'd be ports/clones of similar functionality that you can look at.
:I can easily imagine that the crew behind Chrome have indeed been messing around with your particular build. Like I said, things keep changing to my own instance, althugh the biggest problem I have is often that when editing it doesn't recognise the need to pop up the on-screen keyboard until I've changed tabs away from the editing page and back again, then I can actually do something (beyond cut/copy/paste actions, which sometimes is enough). But that's probably not going to affect you like it does me.
:And I don't use any "m.site.url" version of anything, if I can help it. Most mobile-site implementations tend to assume that I'm viewing in extreme portrait mode (which I'm not) and rearrange themselves in a way that really doesn't work in my prefered landscape orienttion, and that's just the start. As I don't do this, the above testing/examples I give was all done on "(explain)xkcd.com", not "m.xkcd.com" or whatever. But I don't see that it'll make a material difference to my checks and enumerations I've just done on your behalf. And still, hopefully, helps you understand my conclusion that... well, use one or other of my 'get arounds' (number 2?) and let Chromebook Chrome go and do whatever it feels like with hovertexts, 'cos you're not too bothered about it. Sound good? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.58.5|172.70.58.5]] 23:46, 4 April 2025 (UTC)

== An apology ==

Hello. I am a former vandal; I am the one who ran the "crap" bot and posted the Soviet flags; I also did smaller-scale vandalism several times. I'm not sure exactly when I quit, but it's been a year or two. I'm sorry for the trouble I caused, and I won't do it again. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.116|172.71.158.116]] 16:10, 5 April 2025 (UTC)

:Care to explain what your reasoning was? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 17:25, 5 April 2025 (UTC)

::I didn't really have any reasoning; I just (stupidly) thought it was funny. I don't want to reveal my exact age, but I was in my early-to-mid teen years then; it was just immature "humor." [[Special:Contributions/172.69.23.125|172.69.23.125]] 21:58, 5 April 2025 (UTC)

== is this HTML?==
I wonder if this is HTML. <nowiki><h1> Is this h1? </h1></nowiki> [note by [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:26, 2 October 2025 (UTC): nowikied because breaks toc] [[User:Aprilfoolsupdate!|Aprilfoolsupdate!]] ([[User talk:Aprilfoolsupdate!|talk]]) 04:43, 15 May 2025 (UTC)
:turns out h1 is the same as == [[User:Aprilfoolsupdate!|Aprilfoolsupdate!]] ([[User talk:Aprilfoolsupdate!|talk]]) 04:43, 15 May 2025 (UTC)
:Actually, it's not, if you check.
:Wiki ==ed header is:
::<code><nowiki><h2>is this HTML?</nowiki></code> (+ the thing that gives you the "[edit]" link, etc, to the end of the h2-entity)
:Wiki 'forced' H1 is:
::<code><nowiki><h1>Is this h1?</h1></nowiki></code> (and nothing else)
:It's not ''very'' obvious, but H1/= and H2/== are actually ''slightly'' different.
<nowiki><H1>H1 text...</H1></nowiki> [note by [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:26, 2 October 2025 (UTC): nowikied because breaks toc]
<H2>H2 text...</H2>
<H3>For contrast, this is H3</H3>
:Let's just say that the full range from = to ====== match H1 to H6 (give or take other differences, and I haven't checked what even greater "="-strings might or might not do), but mixing established wikimarkup and XML-family markup is best done with care and with good reason (e.g. to deliberately not invoke Table Of Contents-type sectioning? ...no, apparently not even that!).
:And you know that there's always the Sandbox pages (or, even better, edit something, Preview it, view the Preview's source and then ''don't "Save Changes"'' ...unless you still need to for some other reason) as a better alternative to 'asking' ultimately rhetorical questions in here. (And inviting potentially rhetorical answers, like this one.)
:You seem to have an enquiring mind, which is good. But remember that "a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing". I'm only giving you a bit of ''extra'' knowledge here, but also adding about the caution you should take. Please don't be a nuisance with it, unintentionally or otherwise. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.216.104|162.158.216.104]] 06:53, 15 May 2025 (UTC)

== How do I create a user page for myself? ==

I do not know how to create a user page for myself {{unsigned|Log of n|15:50, 16 May 2025 (UTC)}}
:It helps if you remember to sign things. But it looks like you ''might'' be able to create it (account old enough and contributed enough).
:If you see the redlinked links to your (non-existing, at first) "User:" and "User talk:" pages, in your usual signature (or the one I gave you, just above), you should be able to click on them and get the option to create them to put things in. Other places you can find those redlinks is in page-histories, your user-contributions and the RecentChanges list, in various slightly different ways. Or, having created User: space, click on the (redlinked) Discussion tab, or vice-versa.
:Try it, see if it works. If it doesn't, then ''anyone'' can create those pages for you (who can create any), but I don't think that's necessary for you. If you get rebuffed, let us know and someone will either give you better instructions or help you out directly.
:(The reverse is true, too: if you can create your own User: pages, you can create ''anybody else's'' who needs them, and more besides. But probably best if you don't just go finding redlinks and making them non-red, just because you can. Hold off on that, as it's too easy to create pages for long-idle accounts, spam-accounts or even regular editors who ''don't want'' their pages (yet?). If a very new account asks, maybe ''they'' need help, not yet having reached the threshold, but more experienced people often oblige after not too long. Follow their lead, learn from them before going mad with power... ;)
:...should this be in the FAQ? Isn't it already? Without getting exact about the thresholds needed (in case they're adjusted, if nothing else), I'm sure this could be written there. I'd check, but it's not like I can edit it (or create pages) as I currently am. Nor do I feel the need to. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.182|172.70.91.182]] 17:31, 16 May 2025 (UTC)

== I found a comic site. ==

It's called euge.ca and it's a lot inspired by XKCD. Could we explain it together? [[User:ExplainEuge.ca|ExplainEuge.ca]] ([[User talk:ExplainEuge.ca|talk]]) 08:42, 12 June 2025 (UTC)

:Could we do that in my user page? [[User:ExplainEuge.ca|ExplainEuge.ca]] ([[User talk:ExplainEuge.ca|talk]]) 08:43, 12 June 2025 (UTC)

::But your user page isn’t created... there, now it is [[User:Aprilfoolsupdate!| Aprilfoolsupdate!]]([[User talk:Aprilfoolsupdate!|talk]]) 12:37, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

:How's that related to xkcd? We don't explain things "inspired by" xkcd... --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:02, 12 June 2025 (UTC)

== Lonely Comic explanations ==

It’s kinda strange to see some of the earlier comics have just a few paragraphs and minimal discussions while others have dozens of paragraphs (ok, maybe not that much, but you get the idea) and hundreds of discussions. I felt lonely when visiting those lonely explanations [[User:Aprilfoolsupdate!|Aprilfoolsupdate!]] ([[User talk:Aprilfoolsupdate!|talk]]) 02:35, 1 July 2025 (UTC)

:Feel free to mark them as incomplete if they don't explain the comic enough! However, most of the early xkcd comics were simple drawings or simple jokes that didn't need a long explanation. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 17:15, 19 July 2025 (UTC)

== Leaderboard score ==

What does the score on the leaderboard mean? What are the rules of score? [[User:Aprilfoolsupdate!| Aprilfoolsupdate!]]([[User talk:Aprilfoolsupdate!|talk]]) 07:03, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

== User box ==

{{Userbox | border-c = #033 | border-s = 1 | info-s = 9 | id = ?| info = Can someone tell me what’s a userbox?| float = right}} [[User:Aprilfoolsupdate!| Aprilfoolsupdate!]]([[User talk:Aprilfoolsupdate!|talk]]) 12:31, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

:You'll find a lot more answers if you type the same thing on google and add "Wikipedia" at the end: https://www.google.com/search?q=Can+someone+tell+me+what%E2%80%99s+a+userbox%3F+wikiepdia&num=10&newwindow=1&udm=14&sxsrf=AE3TifO4CvTB3NGTONgx7ci3eXPbJh2B1g%3A1754574833361&uact=5 --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:54, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

== [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence]] ==

We have a category titled "Artificial Intelligence" ([[:Category:Artificial Intelligence]]). Shouldn't that be [[:Category:Artificial intelligence]] with a lower-case "i"? --[[Special:Contributions/208.59.176.206|208.59.176.206]] 01:02, 10 August 2025 (UTC)
:Tricky. Wikipedia has it as {{w|Artificial intelligence}}, and use it as the mid-sentence "artificial intelligence", but also have {{w|Wikipedia:WikiProject Artificial Intelligence}}. It's something that ''can'' be used as a compound-noun title (thus deserves full title-case), unless you're wondering "if, one day, perhaps, we will truly encounter an artificial intelligence of some kind", in unironic use of the original words.
:For most purposes, I think, in the comics "AI" (the abbreviated title of the subject) is used/meant, so I suspect that it'd be the more titular umbrella of things (including, or at least aspiring to, AGI, etc) that applies.
:I don't see any obvious wikipedia discussions about whether or not to (have) capitalise(d) the term. I suspect that it just was assumed as default and everyone understands that a discussion of "artificial intelligence" can be refered to as "AI", there, but wouldn't complain about any variation other than "ai". ;) Whether umbrella title or 'just words' is used here... I don't think it matters (i.e. no change needed, meaning least fuss in not 'correctiny' it in all the places it would need to be). But a question could still be asked, in case there's a different consensus from my own 'feeling' about this. [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.228|92.23.2.228]] 10:14, 10 August 2025 (UTC)

== What if pic explain ==

Can someone explain to me what is {{brda}}? [[User:Aprilfoolsupdate!| Aprilfoolsupdate!]]([[User talk:Aprilfoolsupdate!|talk]]) 13:58, 10 August 2025 (UTC)
:That'd depend upon what the person who created {{template|brda}} meant it to be, and I'd ask them, not the community. (I've just asked them, myself, for my own curiosity. Or, rather if I can help them do what they thought they wanted to do.) Probably just an experiment. Maybe one that didn't work, because of not knowing how to do what they wanted to do. Or possibly even why they wanted it in the first place.
:As has been said, before, it's very easy to create site pages (if you can at all), though it might be best to ask others first for advice, if you're fairly new to the whole concept. [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.228|92.23.2.228]] 17:33, 10 August 2025 (UTC)
:Ah, that was you...
:So... I guess you're asking what the actual picture is, then? (And is that reason why you created the template, or something else?)
:It's an image that's present (in 'footnote-3') in that particular What-If article, which says ">Here's an image which is great for annoying a few specific groups of people:", and following the appearance of the "'''Br'''eaking '''Ba'''d" logo (using the chemical symbols for Bromine and Barium, as a stylistic choice). And I'd say that it probably annoys (amongst other people):
:*Chemists, who might or might not know of {{w|Davyum}}, but either way know that it doesn't mean anything.
:*Fans of Breaking Bad
:*Fans of Twilight (perhaps, though why this and not the non-footnote "Twilight: Breaking Dawn" 'poster' below?
:*People who think that images shouldn't appear in popover 'footnotes'
:*People whose browsers ''can't show'' images in such footnotes (or even show the popover footnotes themselves)...
:I'm sure you could think of a few others, perhaps even something that you yourself are. Were you possibly annoyed for not knowing what the image was? ;) [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.228|92.23.2.228]] 17:47, 10 August 2025 (UTC)

== store ==

the store is back online wtf: https://store.xkcd.com/ (wikilink: [[Store]]) [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:09, 31 August 2025 (UTC)
: "Opening soon"... -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 16:40, 31 August 2025 (UTC)
::Yup" [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:08, 1 September 2025 (UTC)
:The [https://uni.xkcd.com/ Unixkcd] command "buy stuff" also works again now. [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 04:17, 11 September 2025 (UTC)
::What happened when it didn't work? It could be added to [[unixkcd]]. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 11:20, 13 September 2025 (UTC)

== Random Explanation Button bias towards newer articles ==

I've consistently noticed that the Random Explanation button below the comic is more likely to give newer explanation pages. I clicked the button 10 times and 8 of the resulting pages had an index above 3000. Is this an intentional part of the feature, or is this an issue? {{unsigned ip|169.199.168.188|21:12, 1 October 2025 (UTC)}}
:I don't know if there's a bias been built in, it would need some active effort to have made it so. (Like I think it was the early iPod shuffle that was truly as (pseudo-)random as it could be, but this could result in an immediate repeat, or consecutive tracks being 'randomly consecutive', which was interpreted as a pattern - i.s. not just an occasional coincidence. They rewrote the algorithm to make it actually ''less'' fair, random-wise, but increase the ''perceived randomness''.)
:I believe the Random Page In Category page is being used to implement a comics-only (plus certain others?) 'landing' for the Random button. Unless there's either an inherent bias towards (say) newer articles in the backend-code, could it be signs of the list of possible comics being truncated?
:I just tried it myself. Decided in advance to commit to three sets of "ten random pages", to avoid a gambler's fallacy of stopping early or continuing too long, based upon the ravages/rewards of luck. But three lots (30 in total) should even out 'statistical blips' to a large degree. Interesting results:
:*First ten= [[verizon]] (yes, one of those 'non-comic comics'), 2974, [[ngram charts]] (!), 3112, 1086, 3094, 1039, 3089, 3113, 111
:**...well, high-biases, so far. And the two non-numeric ones are fairly recentlyadded pages, but on the last 'roll of the dice' it proves it ''does'' have access to historic ones, so not likely an accidental "only choose from the 1024 most recent pages" error, or some other value (though 1086 is also just before even a 2048-most-recent cutoff, too).
:*Second ten= 3120, 3106, 270, 3120 (again!), 510, 2726, 3142, 3133, 3112, 1000
:**...still a 3000+ bias, but still no obvious absolute reason for it.
:*Third ten= 3125, 3136, [[verizon]] (again!), 3109, 3141, 3124, 3146, 515, 3123, 3095
:**...just as strange. Makes me wonder if I should have aimed for ten 'tens', but not as a post-facto decision.
:Median number (excluding the no-number comics) is 3109, mean is 2459ish. Two numbers seen twice (3112 and 3120, plus [[verizon]] reappeared), perhaps more than expected through chance, and both in the 3000+ range (though counting them only singly doesn't 'unskew' the averages much). Unlikely results?
:Of course, someone who tries the same test for themself ''could'' end up with an equal sub-1000 apparent bias, from a reversion to the mean. Or, if it's truly a fair random result, a perfectly sane-looking evenish distribution. Still, on the above results, I'd dig into the fairness of the category-chooser, but that code is beyond my sight. Or double-check that the particular composite Category being chosen from doesn't (for example) include 3000+ comic numbers multiple times, making their choosing a significantly more significant chance than otherwise.
:I'll leave that to those that last edited the sidebar (which I used) or Comic template (which has its own call-out 'Random' button, which may or may not be the same thing). [[Special:Contributions/82.132.215.9|82.132.215.9]] 01:51, 2 October 2025 (UTC)
::Hi, yes they are the same thing, and I have no idea why this is happening. All pages are correctly included in the list, you can check at [[:Category:All pages]]. Any help would be appreciated!!! [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:24, 2 October 2025 (UTC)
:::it's because the random button [https://colinmorris.github.io/blog/unpopular-wiki-articles isn't random]. see also [https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T200703 T200703]. [[user:lett‪herebedarklight|raeb]] 05:34, 9 October 2025 (UTC)
:::: :( ㅤ [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:48, 9 October 2025 (UTC)
:::::I think this would need Jeff to go in and tweak the button to make it truly random, although that might make it seem less so... --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 16:39, 30 October 2025 (UTC)
::::::As it is right now, the random button feels very much not random, so I think any change would help loads. [[User:Willintendo|Willintendo]] ([[User talk:Willintendo|talk]]) 20:26, 23 January 2026 (UTC)
:: I feel that we need to address the {{w|XY problem}} present here. What is the Random button for? Who uses the Random button? Why do they use it? Is it an important and indispensable tool, or just a toy? Personally, I see no utility in it; simply a novelty or something to fall back on when we are bored of aimless doomscrolls. The interesting part is that “fixing” or adjusting the distribution is more or less a straightforward database issue and not one of coding. But, is there some reason here on this wiki for anyone to expend the labor and time for such a task? Surely we have bigger fish to fry? [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 22:28, 23 January 2026 (UTC)
:::If people want to jump to a random comic, they can have the explanation ready if they don't understand it, so it's better than using Randall's "Random" button on xkcd. When it works, at least... [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 07:54, 1 February 2026 (UTC)
::::That is a complete tautology. In no way does that get to the root question here: why would anyone want a "random comic"? [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 10:44, 1 February 2026 (UTC)
:::::Because they want to browse xkcd comics in a random order, as they are used to doing on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com]. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:55, 3 February 2026 (UTC)
:::::The random comic utility allows users to peruse the wiki in a fashion that shows them 'fresh' content. Searching sequentially (or via chaining links) often runs into 'runs' of comics that have already been (or recently been) read. This is likely why the site 'xkcd.com' has a random button in the centre of its navigation controls. However, the button there actually provides random content - while on this wiki, a strong bias for the 3000+ comics makes it show you the same ~200 comics around 25% of the time (from 250 samples I did, see [https://imgur.com/a/NFvUP9G graph]). This does noticeably impact the experience of random comics, though whether that is worth the effort fixing is another question. [[User:Sameldacamel34|Sameldacamel34]] ([[User talk:Sameldacamel34|talk]]) 08:19, 4 February 2026 (UTC)
::::::You see, it is quite instructive that all replies must resort to tautologies and circular reasoning in order to justify this flawed feature. Do we need to engage in “The {{w|Five whys}}” to drill down to the root of what we’re after here? Because if we have nothing but a superficial justification, then this feature is really, really unnecessary after all. [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 11:19, 4 February 2026 (UTC)
::::::If someone really did seek “fresh content” here on this particular wiki, all you need to do is run a normal RNG, because literally all of our articles are sequentially numbered according to xkcd publication. Just run your RNG and put a random number, and there is your fresh article content. I know it’s not “built in”... but who is really bothered? [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 11:36, 4 February 2026 (UTC)
:::::::The situation is that the "Random" button was always assumed to operate as truly biasless PRNG, and may well have been in the past. It was news to everyone to learn that (after much effort of making the Random Button randomly select only upon comics ''and'' comic-like-pages, but still specifically ''not'' Talk-pages for the same, Community Portal, Categories, etc, all of which may be intetresting but not a "Random comic") we ended up with a now drastically obvious update-time biased version, or however one might better briefly describe it.
:::::::There's no superficial tautology in that the Random Comic button would be used by anyone wishing to see a Random Comic. It was probably the original main justifiction, even before it was made to be so comic-specific, and it remains the current justification. Regardless of whether it now (or even earlier, before it was noticed) didn't necessarily work as flawlessly as assumed once {{diff|377541|this particular change}} was made in all good faith.
:::::::Please do not insult people about something that you clearly did not understand, or pay attention to on the previous occasions when both this problem and the actual proposed/implemented MediaWiki navbar changes were being discussed at length. If you have a ''solution'' to this, however, I'm sure those that can implement said solution would be happy to listen to your greater wisdom in this matter. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 15:30, 4 February 2026 (UTC)
::::::::It is by no means a personal insult to tell y'all that you are relying on a tautology, but it does indeed insult my intelligence, and that of onlookers, to insist that it is somehow not a tautology that “the Random button is used to see a random explanation”. Get real. [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 01:04, 5 February 2026 (UTC)
:::::::::[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVMgtv9oIM4 Ok, friend...] [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 12:03, 5 February 2026 (UTC)
:::::::::The 'previous' button allows the user to view the previous comic. This, combined with the 'next', 'skip to first', and 'skip to end buttons', give the ability to browse sequentially - both to navigate back and forth among recent comics and to view the whole archive in chronological order. The 'random' button permits non-sequential navigation - to jump to fresh content (much like a shuffle feature on a playlist). While I agree that it serves a more novel purpose than the other navigation buttons, it is still used and found useful by many here on this wiki. Of course, I could manually do RNG (as I did in my testing) but it is a common enough thing to warrant a button - hence why the button exists. The issue is that the button is decidedly not random - enough for people to notice.
:::::::::Also, please point out where in this reply and my above reply where I used "X implies X therefore X is true" as an argument. I believe I provided an explanation on why people want a 'random comic' per your question. Functional random button. Why? People want random comics. Why? Because other methods of browsing show repetitive and recently seen content. Why? Overly familiar content is less engaging and doesn't prompt any new lines of thought. Why? Because people want to continue engaging in Randall's content and how the community interacts and interprets his art. Why? (I'm sure you can figure this last one out) [[User:Sameldacamel34|Sameldacamel34]] ([[User talk:Sameldacamel34|talk]]) 16:04, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure the "Random comic" button in the sidebar is also biased; even when it picks an older comic, it seems to pick the same one or two dozen older comics every time. Are we using RANDU, or some other PRNG that's only marginally better than the one in [[221]]? [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 02:08, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

== I need to find this specific comic or I will explode ==

I FORGET WHICH ONE IT IS BUT THERE'S A COMIC THAT HAS AIRBRUSHIGN PAINT SLITS... I KNOW THAT PHRASE IS USED BUT I CAN'TT FIND IT ANYWEHRWE HGELP -[[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 16:21, 20 November 2025 (UTC)
:Assuming you mean "Airbrushing paint slits"... Nothing comes to my mind, ''or'' to the obvious searches (sub-searches/variations/etc). One of the 5-Minute Copies has "Airbrush" as a label of the not-so-hot 'cover girl' image, but that's not really matching anything else. Then there's [[967: Prairie]] which plays on the twin-slit experiment. And plenty of even less relevent ones. Always possible it's somewhere outside of 'regular' xkcd.com (or what-ifs) that isn't really mentioned here ''or'' on via a more general internet search, so is it one of those things that might be semi-paywalled?
:Perhaps something more about it (and better typed?) would be useful. [[Special:Contributions/2.98.65.8|2.98.65.8]] 23:20, 20 November 2025 (UTC)
::what exactly do you mean by "semi-paywalled"? i don't know of anything that Randall makes us pay for aside from the books, and i've got all of those save for ''What If? 10th Anniversary''. again, i can't find it anywhere. even on page 2 of google. [shudder] -[[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 17:51, 24 November 2025 (UTC)
:::There were some items, in particular the [[New York Times: Good Question]] items, that aren't ''totally'' open-access.
:::As you don't realise this, I'm guessing there's no reason why your 'missing' comic might have been there. But, like the prior respondant, I can't recall anything else that sounds like what you describe. That wasn't already mentioned. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.245.209|82.132.245.209]] 06:13, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

== bakeries? ==
nevermind I found one {{unsigned|Headphones the stickman|19:36, 5 December 2025 (UTC)}}

== how to add a comic to a category? ==
I don't know how to add a comic to a catergory, how do I do this? [[User:Qwertyuiopfromdefly|Qwertyuiopfromdefly]] ([[User talk:Qwertyuiopfromdefly|talk]]) 03:19, 24 January 2026 (UTC)
:If you edit a page and scroll down to the bottom, you may see how it is in the existing categories it is in. That does not apply to things that get added due to templates (e.g. the current latest comic has: Comics from 2026, Comics from January, Friday comics, Incomplete explanations, Incomplete transcripts), but many(/most?) comics have directly added ones (for the same example, currently: Comics featuring Cueball, Comics featuring Ponytail, Physics, Chemistry).
:Just copy the format for one of those (latter), from either the current comic or another (if the one you're intending has nothing in already). Or copy the exact Category tag from another comic already with that tag (easily found through the given Category index).
:It doesn't really matter ''where'' you put the Category tag, in the page, but it is considered best practice to put it at the bottom, below the "Discussion insertion" 'code'. Hint: if you edit the Transcript section, or instead the Trivia/last non-Discussion subsection, that makes for less scrolling down to find that, even on long Explanation pages... ;)
:BTW, you can practically add ''any'' category name you like, but I'd suggest not making a new one up (to become red-text category link, until created). If you think there's a need for a new category, suggest it (in the Discussion for the page you started thinking of it in, at a bare minimum, and mention/link all the other candidates you'll have in mind), and let there be a discussion. That lets other voices address possible issues of format/wording (like "Comics featuring Cueball" is how we do that kind of thing, not "Comics with Cueball in") or even spelling. Or if you had an idea for a "Paperclips" category, thinking of two suitably 'linked' comics (...I'm talking hypothetical, here!), but someone else can point out that "Office Supplies" (I'd say "Stationary", but that'snprobably not as common a US term) will cover the countless comics with rubber bands, drawing pins, etc (US: elastic bands/pushpins, yes?) and be even more useful. At least until there's enough paperclip/etc parodies to make a new sub-/super-category relationships between Paperclip and Office Supplies.
:But don't worry too much about that, this is where the initial discussion with people who've seen it before, here and elsewhere, may be useful, It saves anyone having to add an unwise new category to the "to be deleted" category.
:It's also why I didn't just say "type <code><nowiki>[[this]]</nowiki></code>" as a direct answer. If you look at what's done, and understand the principles, it's better than just being handheld through it then having to guess what to do when something different is needed. (Also learning oddities, like linking pages to categories without ''adding'' them to it, or non-default orderings on the Category index.)
:Hope that helps. Although there are probably more than enough "just do this, this and this" wiki-tutorials out there, as well. Maybe not exactly tuned to the this site's practices, but they might give you useful information that I've forgotten to. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.236.44|82.132.236.44]] 13:02, 24 January 2026 (UTC)

:: thank you!!! [[User:Qwertyuiopfromdefly|Qwertyuiopfromdefly]] ([[User talk:Qwertyuiopfromdefly|talk]]) 04:21, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

== Wikidata ==

Wikidata has items for pretty much every strip of xkcd, so I have a couple of things to say. Firstly, it might be helpful to have each explanation include a link to the corresponding Wikidata item. Secondly, if anyone wants to help flesh out the Wikidata items, for example by adding links to this site, that would be really helpful. In particular, 2193 and on need a fair bit of work, adding titles, links to explainxkcd, and so on. [[User:lp0 on fire|lp0 on fire]] [[User talk:lp0 on fire|()]] 16:36, 30 January 2026 (UTC)
:So, there's Wikidata pages that link to the comics. And you're suggesting that our pages (that link to the comics) should link to the Wikidata pages that link to the comics? And that the we take information already on here and put them on there?
:That's how I read it, but something tells me that I've not understood it all correctly. (Or even most?) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 20:54, 30 January 2026 (UTC)
::Yes, that's about right (the Wikidata pages also link to explainxkcd). Wikidata is a database that stores structured information, rather than prose like we have here, and copying some information there can help with making the information more widely accessible. [[User:lp0 on fire|lp0 on fire]] [[User talk:lp0 on fire|()]] 10:55, 31 January 2026 (UTC)
:In terms of Wikidata and other WMF projects, it is generally frowned-upon to try and use "off-wiki" spaces to coordinate "on-wiki" activity. (This forum would be considered "off-wiki" from that perspective.) This may be considered "meat puppetry" and grounds for blocks or bans.
:However, it seems that any systematic linking from explainxkcd into Wikidata would be a great idea. There should be a template and a field for it so that we can treat each comic equally, because it would mean adding a lot of links, and linking nearly every single comic to be released in the future. [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 20:52, 31 January 2026 (UTC)
::I suggest a trivial insert into [[Template:comic]] the ''option'' of a "wikidata=" field, to give a suitable onward hyperlink, if and only if given. (Although, to be fancy, one could even make the null/blank case of the input create somethng like a "<nowiki>[[Category:Comic lacks wikidata information]]</nowiki>" membership.) Then let people add this as and when (and perhaps get theusaf to change theusafBOT to prefill it as a blank). Or, in all likelihood, someone will go on a binge to do as many of them as they find time.
::But I'd give the regulars (Kynde, Favifake, etc) an opportunity to discuss the details first, before actually messing with that. Or indeed creating a brand new template, as the alternate standalone method. Just to make sure it's not treading on any other toes. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:30, 31 January 2026 (UTC)
:::I'm not too understanding about why to link Wikidata onto this wiki. It says on the Wikidata Introduction page that it is {{quote|"a free, collaborative, multilingual, secondary knowledge base, collecting structured data to provide support for ''[...]'' the other wikis of the Wikimedia movement"}} and so on. Unless we ''need'' this data for botting purposes, I don't really see how it would be helpful. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 01:30, 1 February 2026 (UTC)
:I'm not sure I understand the purpose of adding this? Why would a reader want to open the Wikidata item for a comic, what can they find on Wikidata that they can't find here? [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 07:52, 1 February 2026 (UTC)

== Suggestions for Randall ==

Below are some things that I feel can be improved on the xkcd website
These things would improve it (at least for me) greatly, and would also make a lot of sense to add just because

1.Links to the other xkcd websites
2.Favorited or saved comics
3.A little text bar where you can type in the number of a comic and it'll show it
4.At the top of the website, there is a little box with the title and a sign showing when it updates. There's a lot of white space there. It doesn't really need to get fixed, but I just think it looks weird
5.Individual comic explanations (or a link to the explainxkcd page of that comic)
6.On the 'push notifications' one, there is a way you can install xkcd as an app into your computer. It would be nice if you could download it from anywhere on the website

These are just suggestions, and I recognize that they would be hard to do. But it would be super cool if they were added. {{unsigned|Haddoniscool|23:49, 24 February 2026 (UTC)}}
:Unfortunately, we cannot make Randall do anything. He might read this message, but there is no guarantee. You could reach out to him at contact@xkcd.com, email the website's sysop at davean@xkcd.com, or ask [[User:FaviFake]] to email him for you, as he got Randall's personal email address. Hope this helps! [[User:42.book.addict|tori :3]][[User talk:42.book.addict|talk to me!]] 00:29, 25 February 2026 (UTC)
:My own replies to this:
:#There have been links to the officially sanctioned fora/forums (until after they got broken), shop, etc, on xkcd.com, and currently the mass of links is the "Archive / What If? / About / Feed•Email / TW•FB•IG / -Books- / What If? 2 / WI?•TE•HT" text, which ''seems'' to already be what you're asking for,
:#A lot of work to get right... it'd require something akin to a login (which doesn't exist, currently), or at least a pseudo-login via a cookie-drop you have to configure, for something that you can do at least as well through your own browser's Bookmarksz
:#...like the address bar of your browser sort of works? (Just do "xkcd.com/'''whatever number'''" in that, or edit/add the number, as you're already on that site.) I think I must not understand your request, though.
:#Sometimes it has more things in it, right now it doesn't.
:#Randall doesn't 'explain' his comics (usually!) he just puts them out there and ''we'' then try to work out what the (sometimes non-obvious) reasons are behind various bits in them. But, to follow up with the browser address-bar trick, when on a comic (say "xkcd.com/'''4321'''", except for a number that e ists), try putting "exp" in front of that (i.e. "expxkcd.com/'''4321'''")... Someone set that up to get you to the relevent page ''here'' in as simple a way (3rd-party, because we're not part of Randall's official domain) as possible. Going to "expxkcd.com" ''without'' a number (e.g. modifying the official "latest comic" page of just "xkcd.com") brings you to the latest explainxkcd.com comic page, too.
:#That was a 'special' comic thing... I'm half surprised he left it all working (without, as you suggest, adding a perpetual link to the "any old comic" page-surround) rather than prune it back once it wasn't the current easteregg that it originally was...
:But, as basically already said, none of us here (that any of us admit to) are either collaborating directly with Randall or Randall himself. We're 'just' a hobbyist-community of (somewhat) like-minded fans of his work, and very little chance that any suggestions here will get implemented. (On how to change xkcd.com, at least. You ''might'' get lucky if you have an explainxkcd.com change that you want to suggest. Unless it's "upgrade it to the latest mediawiki version", or similar... ;) ) [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.95|82.132.238.95]] 03:26, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3210: Eliminating the Impossible

2026-02-21T00:39:53Z

Promethean:

I’ve found that when looking for an item, I’ll search harder and more thoroughly in the places where the item is supposed to be, which is just frustrating and usually unsuccessful.
Then I realized that if the item isn’t where it’s supposed to be, then it’s somewhere ''it isn’t supposed to be'' - so I start looking in those places.
[[Special:Contributions/170.64.111.76|170.64.111.76]] 20:51, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

It also assumes exclusion of the middle.
[[User:MithicSpirit|MithicSpirit]] ([[User talk:MithicSpirit|talk]]) 20:59, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

These guys sure are some professors of logic (I'm not sure if they own any doghouses, is what I mean). [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 21:07, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

As and when the Explanation gets written (I imagine that someone's right in the middle of that now), it must be noted that Sherlock Holmes's self-proclaimed "Deductive reasoning" is really {{w|Abductive reasoning}}. (I actually blame Sir Arthur, rather than Sherlock (or 'narrator' Watson), for that error... But then he also believed in fairies, so obviously he's less than perfectly rational.) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:17, 20 February 2026 (UTC)
:Well, nobody did do anything with it, in the last hour or so, so I scrawled something pretty basic for others to ruthlessly dismember and 'remember' in their own prefered fashion. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 22:27, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

I think its pretty nice how this comics number is a countdown from 3. [[User:Xkdvd|Xkdvd]] ([[User talk:Xkdvd|talk]]) 22:57, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

By the way, meant to say earlier... just today (well, the day just before the midnight just gone), I spent a few moments trying to help someone find a single glove. They'd looked various places, and I ''went out to look in the car'' (twice, actually, because first I just checked the 'normal' places, footwells, door-pockets... then realised I hadn't actually checked the glove-compartment itself (which I don't think I've ever used to store gloves, of course, but I'd have looked silly if I hadn't gone back and checked it once it had occured to me) so out I went again) in order to ''not'' find the glove. Cue, later, the revelation that it had been in a bag (in the house) all along. And this was all mere hours ''before'' Randall published this comic. So, as we all used to say on the now defunct Fora, "<abbr title="Get Out Of My Head, Randall">GOOMHR</abbr>!" [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 00:24, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

It's also possible to miss an item in a space you've searched. For instance, as a 12- or 13-year-old I once concluded that something (I forget what it was) must not be in my room, because I'd partitioned the rectangular box defined by the walls, floor and ceiling and searched each of the partitions. It turned out to be outside that box but still inside my room, because it was on the windowsill. [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 00:39, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3210: Eliminating the Impossible

2026-02-21T00:39:09Z

Promethean:

I’ve found that when looking for an item, I’ll search harder and more thoroughly in the places where the item is supposed to be, which is just frustrating and usually unsuccessful.
Then I realized that if the item isn’t where it’s supposed to be, then it’s somewhere ''it isn’t supposed to be'' - so I start looking in those places.
[[Special:Contributions/170.64.111.76|170.64.111.76]] 20:51, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

It also assumes exclusion of the middle.
[[User:MithicSpirit|MithicSpirit]] ([[User talk:MithicSpirit|talk]]) 20:59, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

These guys sure are some professors of logic (I'm not sure if they own any doghouses, is what I mean). [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 21:07, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

As and when the Explanation gets written (I imagine that someone's right in the middle of that now), it must be noted that Sherlock Holmes's self-proclaimed "Deductive reasoning" is really {{w|Abductive reasoning}}. (I actually blame Sir Arthur, rather than Sherlock (or 'narrator' Watson), for that error... But then he also believed in fairies, so obviously he's less than perfectly rational.) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:17, 20 February 2026 (UTC)
:Well, nobody did do anything with it, in the last hour or so, so I scrawled something pretty basic for others to ruthlessly dismember and 'remember' in their own prefered fashion. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 22:27, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

I think its pretty nice how this comics number is a countdown from 3. [[User:Xkdvd|Xkdvd]] ([[User talk:Xkdvd|talk]]) 22:57, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

By the way, meant to say earlier... just today (well, the day just before the midnight just gone), I spent a few moments trying to help someone find a single glove. They'd looked various places, and I ''went out to look in the car'' (twice, actually, because first I just checked the 'normal' places, footwells, door-pockets... then realised I hadn't actually checked the glove-compartment itself (which I don't think I've ever used to store gloves, of course, but I'd have looked silly if I hadn't gone back and checked it once it had occured to me) so out I went again) in order to ''not'' find the glove. Cue, later, the revelation that it had been in a bag (in the house) all along. And this was all mere hours ''before'' Randall published this comic. So, as we all used to say on the now defunct Fora, "<abbr title="Get Out Of My Head, Randall">GOOMHR</abbr>!" [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 00:24, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

It's also possible to miss an item in a space you've searched. For instance, as a 12- or 13-year-old I once concluded that something (I forget what it was) must not be in my room, because I'd partitioned the rectangular box defined by the walls, floor and ceiling and searched each of the partitions. It turned out to be on the windowsill. [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 00:39, 21 February 2026 (UTC)

3171: Geologic Core Sample

2025-11-22T00:44:23Z

Promethean: /* Transcript */ fix typo: wig→wing

{{comic
| number = 3171
| date = November 21, 2025
| title = Geologic Core Sample
| image = geologic_core_sample_2x.png
| imagesize = 493x789px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If you drill at the right angle and time things perfectly, your core sample can include a section of a rival team's coring equipment.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created BY A RIVAL GEOLOGY TEAM. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This image presents a core sample taken by a slightly chaotic team of geologists. Contained within it are fairly normal ground matter such as "topsoil" and "granite" but also such things as "bottomsoil", which has no IRL parallel, parts of subway cars, arms of a spelunker most likely amputated by the sample, netherrack (a dark red stone appearing in the Nether in {{w|Minecraft}}), a "balrog" wing (referencing a fictional animal from {{w|Lord of the Rings}} which first made an appearance in xkcd in [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/730:_Circuit_Diagram]) and after diving through the core of the earth, the home of someone else. It first starts with cement, the foundation, floorboards and carpet (either a carpeted floor or a decorated floor), and then the posessions. It also mentions other rocks that are "basically granite" in that many rocks are similar, but are called "{{w|diorite}}" or "andalite". Diorite is a real rock, but an Andalite is an alien from the Animorphs book series, which Randall enjoys and has referenced before.

The title text humorously refers to a "rival team" and their coring equipment - implying that with the correct angle you can muddle with their own coring experiment, which, outside of cold war-type pettiness, is not considered a constructive approach to science.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
[This shows a drill sample with various labels]

Topsoil

Till

Granite Bedrock

Bottomsoil

Roof of Subway Car

Floor of Subway Car

More Granite

Municipal water main

Slightly different granite

Piece of screaming spelunker's arm

Cool Crystals with no resale value

Mangled Fragments of drillbit from previous attempt

Some boring intrusive rock that's basically granite but has a name like "diorite" or "andalite" that you always have to look up

Netherrack

Balrog wing

Granite

Topsoil

Cement

Floorboards

Carpet

Possesions of a confused and angry homeowner in the other hemisphere

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Animorphs]]
[[Category:Minecraft]]

Talk:2957: A Crossword Puzzle

2025-10-22T00:34:28Z

Promethean:

compare https://www.buttersafe.com/2011/02/17/crosswords/ --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.236|162.158.158.236]] 20:50, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
:randall has now updated the header for this comic to "Today's comic accidentally inspired by this Buttersafe comic from 2011!" and i feel bad for having spotted the similarity and commented on it within 1 minute of this page's creation --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.248|162.158.62.248]] 03:48, 11 July 2024 (UTC) (same anon as above)
::I have made this [[2957:_A_Crossword_Puzzle#Trivia|trivia]] about it and updated the [[Header text]] with this comics new one. This will ave to be updated after Fridays comic comes out. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:06, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

it's *A* crossword puzzle for a reason ;) -- 21:05, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
:I suspect that that reason is that someone will inevitably compare the information content of solving this crossword puzzle to the information content of narrating 1190. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.35.21|172.70.35.21]] 01:25, 11 July 2024 (UTC) I didn't sign. Was that rude? I'm new here, is it ok if I just ask questions?

i’m trying to table-ify it but i keep getting edit conflicted. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.30.93|172.71.30.93]] 21:24, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

Surprised something like "Jagged and loose Hawaiian lava flow (2)" couldn't be fit in (unless I've missed it). Maybe because there were no two-letter answers at all, of course. (I think... Again, maybe I'm missing them.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.38|172.70.86.38]] 21:30, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
:In most standard American crossword puzzles, two-letter answers are not allowed; the minimum answer length is 3. However, judging from the quality of the fill in this grid, Randall might have considered an answer such as "Two jagged and loose Hawaiian lava flows next to each other (4)" for AAAA. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.58.128|172.69.58.128]] 03:04, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

unfortunate that [https://tmbw.net/wiki/Aaa "antepenultimate track of They Might Be Giants' ''Glean''"] did not make it in --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.200|172.70.230.200]] 21:35, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
:And where is "Fonzie's catch-phrase"? Or does that end with a Y? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:02, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

Did I use the calculator wrong, or 12356631 in base 26 equals 111111, not AAAAAA? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.90.180|172.69.90.180]] 22:33, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
:anyone using base 26 is probably likely to be using all 26 letters, instead of ten numbers and sixteen letters. contextless, i would usually assume any base has standard decimal digits, but liberties have already been taken here so why not (please sign)
::I wasn’t sure enough to comment, but it looks like he miscalculated. 26^5 + 26^4 + 26^3 + 26^2 + 26^1 + 26^0 = 12355631 = 111111 in base 26. To be AAAAAA it would have to be 123556310. Of course, maybe he’s using A through Z instead of the expected 0 through 9 followed by letters A through P, the way hexadecimal is. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.52|172.70.210.52]] 23:16, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
:::If he’s using the letters A through Z as the ‘digits’ for base 26, then he’s still wrong, because A would be 0, Z would be 25 and 12355631 decimal would be BBBBBB in that base 26. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.235|172.70.210.235]] 00:54, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
:::: I've often seen the digits for base 10 expressed as 1234567890 - perhaps he did similar in his system and Z is 0. {{unsigned ip|172.71.194.44|17:27, 15 July 2024}}
:::It's possibly just a typo and the clue was meant to be 123556310. [[User:TimeLurker|TimeLurker]] ([[User talk:TimeLurker|talk]]) 15:21, 13 July 2024 (UTC)
:The "Qalculate" program has a number base setting called "Bijective base 26", which outputs the answer as "AAAAAAB26. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 01:23, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

I'm surprised he didn't make this interactive, so you could type into all the cells to fill out the crossword. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:02, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

I made and discarded various theories what the joke might be while I read through the questions, including all numbers, at least two possible solutions for the entire puzzle (I think that happened once in a newspaper), unknowable answers, … Only when I got to the "disregard for gravity" thing did I suspect the right answer and only because I once saw a meta gaming Stack exchange question about its tag. Otherwise it might have taken me until the Morse code question. This was really well hidden! [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 01:23, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

i dare not think about how long this took to make. [[user talk:lettherebedarklight|youtu.be/miLcaqq2Zpk]] 01:31, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

:In all honesty, this is probably easier to make than a regular crossword puzzle. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.3.146|172.69.3.146]] 05:48, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

https://crosshare.org/crosswords/2YcIAgtQCMBK6clsrNK4/mini-39-literally-screaming [[Special:Contributions/172.71.146.4|172.71.146.4]] 02:29, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

It's traditionally doctors that ask you to "say AAAAAAA" when they examine your throat. I'm pretty sure 36 across is supposed to be a joke about how dentists make smalltalk with their fingers in your mouth. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.10|172.70.126.10]] 04:24, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

I filled in the answers. Can someone add the solved image? I don't have file upload permissions. https://i.imgur.com/AlDIT1p.png --[[User:Elfakyn|Elfakyn]] ([[User talk:Elfakyn|talk]]) 06:47, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
:We need someone to make a picture where it has been solved... :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:15, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
::It seems useful (and funny) to supply the answer(s). Should we show the completed puzzle (which raises questions of font choice) or add a column to the table? My preference would be adding the column. -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 11:01, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
:::The two above comments was made after Elfakyn's post. I have moved them both here. And then I have downloaded the image and added it to the trivia segment of the explanation. Thanks Elfakyn. I will credit you, please change the credit if you wish to be credited otherwise or not at all. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:13, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

bro tried to nerd-snipe us 😭 [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.96|172.69.194.96]] 07:30, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

People without aphantasia can visualize words in front of them to solve puzzles like 18-across? That's quite impressive, I have to painstakingly count the letters in my head! [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 08:05, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
: ''Some'' people. It's not an all-or-nothing - you can have access to some sorts of visualisation but not others, and it may be clearer or vaguer from person to person.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.118|141.101.98.118]] 07:45, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

Every third letter in 'aphantasia' is 'hti'.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.18|172.70.162.18]] 08:17, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
:The clue is written like '''E'''ve'''R'''... to give that hint, that it starts on the first letter. Also if you need 4 letters startign on the first and ending on the last is the only way to get a 4 letter answer out of it. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 12:12, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
::What?[[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.230|172.69.195.230]] 15:02, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
::Oh - now I'm looking at the comic itself I see what you mean. I was just looking at the explanation before, which was lacking the emphasis - I've put it in now. Still a bit lame as a clue IMO though.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.120|172.70.163.120]] 15:08, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

The Ruby Rhod one is misleading; his ''actual'' catchphrase in the movie is "green", which fits perfectly in the given space. -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 09:22, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

SHA256 can be cracked much faster than 100 tries/sec. See [https://john-users.openwall.narkive.com/d9vvJ59x/hashcat-cpu-vs-jtr this performance discussion] from 10 years ago, which found that a single thread could do 9068K hashes per second. Recalculating the time for [A-Z]{8}, we find that it would take around 6.4 hours to crack. Still a while, but a far cry from 66 years. Using any form of parallelism (GPU, multicore CPU) would reduce the time further. --[[Special:Contributions/199.111.224.109|199.111.224.109]] 16:37, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
:As nobody is doing it this, it's an entirely theoretical speed. And you can rather envisage something happening at a rate of "a hundred a second" for years better than "more than nine million a second" for hours, and thus what it would mean to do something at this rate for this long (or as long as necessary). Though, traditionally, it would perhaps be "one a second" for approximately 6,600 years, I think I rather like the '66 years' value, aesthetically, so one full test every hundredth of a second seems to be nicely demonstrative.
:And going, needlessly, through them at the rate which 'solves' the problem in 6.5 hours doesn't so much impress upon you the difficulty of the task as much as it does the speed one can attempt such a classicly time-consuming problem. Even if you then add the overhead needed to check/collate all the collisions you get along the way. Every time you hit a 'possible', you'd probably do at least a disk-IO to keep a record of it, as you couldn't be sure that you won't have untold number of right-looking but incorrect results and at some poine you probably need to sanity-check and rank what you have in order of most to least likely. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.122|172.70.90.122]] 17:34, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

I haven't thought about Dejobaan Games in a very, ''very'' long time. Such a shame Drop That Beat Like an Ugly Baby never finished, the whole "play rhythm games to your own music" niche never seemed to have gotten off the ground. Still, what a throwback. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.57|172.69.22.57]] 19:32, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

Randall should know that a 1.5V storage device is a cell, not a battery. [[User:HughNo|HughNo]] ([[User talk:HughNo|talk]]) 19:46, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
:It's a battery consisting of a single cell.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.225|141.101.98.225]] 07:50, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

There are multiple opportunities for a rebus in here. Are we sure the answers are correct? I believe the first cell of 8D could be a rebus of great length...--[[Special:Contributions/172.70.100.92|172.70.100.92]] 21:35, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

I'm [[356|really tempted]] to write a program to find out if there's another answer to "string whose SHA-256 hash ends '…689510285e212385'". —megan [[user talk:megan|talk]]/[[special:contribs/megan|contribs]] 03:36, 12 July 2024 (UTC)
:For bonus nerd-points, also find out all the ''other'' alternate answers that slot across that different answer (and down over the alternate acrosses, and...). For all we know, the ''whole grid'' might have a valid entirely different solution, but we're feeling so smug for solving it all the 'wrong' way, diverted by fiendishly multivalent clues... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.98|172.70.90.98]] 11:03, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

Eh? {{unsigned ip|172.70.90.129|07:37, 12 July 2024}}

I wonder if the black squares could be a pattern for Conway's Game of life... —Potiron[[user talk:Potiron|talk]] 08:58, 12 July 2024(UTC)

:[http://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=3316&p=189641#p189641 It doesn't look interesting.] [http://catagolue.hatsya.com/object/xp140_gggw8w78gzy2248zy012sw2w111/ -] [[User:CipherGuide|CipherGuide]] ([[User talk:CipherGuide|talk]]) 12:38, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

There are exactly 60 clues, by the way, although I’m not sure where it would be useful to include that information. [[User:Usb-rave|Usb-rave]] ([[User talk:Usb-rave|talk]]) 14:53, 12 July 2024 (UTC)
:If there had been 65 (or U+0041) clues, that would have been worth mentioning it. Do you know any character encoding where A is encoded as the number 60? {{unsigned ip|162.158.203.68|20:30, 23 July 2024}}

Spoiler alert: The title of [[1001]] already hints to this comic. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.172|172.68.110.172]] 18:00, 6 December 2024 (UTC)

there been an edit war here [[User:Translated ORK|Translated ORK]] ([[User talk:Translated ORK|talk]]) 09:39, 22 April 2025 (UTC)
:Always a possibility, no big deal. I'm torn, but only because "AAAA" isn't something I'd normally use.
:For my part, in case anyone wants my subset of English english usage, an "AA" <s>battery</s> ''cell'' would be either 'double-ay' (three syllables) or 'ay-ay' (two, easiest to say, ''could'' be misheard as 'ay-ay-ay' if garbled). "AAA" either 'triple-ay' or a clear 'ay-ay-ay' (both three syllables, as likely to say either). "AAAA"..? Rarely mentioned. And both 'quadruple-ay' and 'ay-ay-ay-ay' are four syllables, so a tossup. Never considered '[two|three|four]-ay' for batteries, unlike '[<number>|(h)aich]-[(h)aich|bee]' for pencils. Though that confuses us further (and possibly not relevently to this discussion!) with 'an aich-bee' vs. 'a haich-bee', depending in if I aspirate accordingly. Yes, it's "a European", because "Europe/European/Euro" doesn't start with a (vocal) vowel in English (German, at least originally in the bit of Germany I was in at the time the currency was adopted, pronounced the currency "oy-ro", and it seems that pretty much ''every'' European country had a slightly different take on the same four letters, ironically for a currency meant to unite (most of!) them. :) )
:For writing, I think I'd "an" any A-string like this, unless I was quoting actual speech where (in whatever manner) it was "a <consonant-starting term>", when I'd probably render that consonant-starting term in the manner said ''as well'', to no overall ambiguity. Is that clear? Possibly I could find others in England with different takes (more Home Counties use, or those from Norn Irn, or just someone who does far more electrical component usage who has picked up the 'official' proffessional terminology). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.216.179|162.158.216.179]] 11:38, 22 April 2025 (UTC)
::Alright so there are two proponents of "a" and two of "an" so far. Anyone else want to chime in?
::I know this is far from how consensus is built on Wikipedia but I don't think we have enough people for a discussion worthy of a Wikipedia RfC. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 12:56, 22 April 2025 (UTC)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA [[User:An user who has no account yet|An user who has no account yet]] ([[User talk:An user who has no account yet|talk]]) 15:53, 21 July 2025 (UTC)

If you look very closely, you might discover that in this very puzzle, a clue is hidden to the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlIz0q8aWpA location of the Holy Grail]. --[[Special:Contributions/2001:A62:587:B01:1A48:F98F:61B:99D3|2001:A62:587:B01:1A48:F98F:61B:99D3]] 07:41, 14 August 2025 (UTC)

Randall missed a big opportunity to play to cryptic-crossword fans by not making the title text "If you ever encounter this puzzle in a crossword app, just have a competitive and high-achieving personality like I hear an Asian capital has (4, 1)." [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 00:34, 22 October 2025 (UTC)

Talk:956: Sharing

2025-10-09T06:34:39Z

Promethean:

- What can we learn from this? -
I've learned that DRM does not work (Thank you Mr. XKCD for reminding us). As with Creative Commons used by Mr. XKCD each idea should be shared as freely as possible, if it is thought out well and proves helpful to others, we will reward the author of such a great idea with riches beyond their wildest dreams (such as through Movie and Marketing rights owned by madam J.K. Rowling to got our children to read again). - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:55, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

What is it about the digital medium that makes people feel that the hard work of others should be available to them for free? We all agree that it is wrong to steal a (physical) book from a bookstore. However, now that the tablet has been invented, authors should give away their hard work for free and write on a volunteer basis as a public service? Certainly there are problems to be resolved when Apple and Amazon are profiting disproportionately from digital sales (as compared to authors and artists), however exploitation of artists by publishers is not a new phenomenon and was never an issue for the hacker set until entertainment went digital and they had access to free stuff. There are those on-line who think that the internet should offer-up everything for free but this attitude forgets that there is a cost to creating art and if that price is not paid, far fewer art will be created.. JB. [[Special:Contributions/74.213.186.41|74.213.186.41]] 12:21, 28 March 2013 (UTC)
:You cannot compare digital copies with physical goods, they are two completely different things! "there is a cost to creating art and if that price is not paid, far fewer art will be created"; That is just so wrong I don't know where to start with a rebuttal. So you are saying the only reason people create is in order to get paid? That is complete nonsense! Humans have created art for millennia without expecting to get paid for it. You are just exhibiting a massive sense of self-entitlement. Copyright is what is stifling art and creativity. Copyright has engendered that sense of self-entitlement you are showing here. Not one single work has entered the public domain in the last thirty years! How is that encouraging creativity? [[User:The Cat Lady|-- The Cat Lady]] ([[User talk:The Cat Lady|talk]]) 12:58, 23 August 2021 (UTC)
::Whoever said it's the ''only'' reason? It's ''a'' reason. Pursue your passions all you want, but you'll probably wanna find a way to not starve. The problem here is not inherently that artists simply want to get paid for the work they do; the problem is the specific mechanisms by which that occurs, and the greed that causes artists to be treated unfairly.
::By the way, you got enough exclamation marks? I've seen other comments of yours, and a lot of them seem to amount to a lot of shouting. Trust me, it's not gonna make people on the internet reading text from a screen hear you better; either they're literate, or they're not. [[User:ISaveXKCDpapers|ISaveXKCDpapers]] ([[User talk:ISaveXKCDpapers|talk]]) 12:21, 22 March 2025 (UTC)

To JB.: I think the real problem here is not the question weather or not you have to pay something in the first place, but the fact that even if you bought an e-book you are forced to read it with the Kindle. It's not like stealing a book, it's like wanting to put it on another bookshelf, read it in another room or with a new set of glasses. If you own a printed copy you can carry it around, take it on vacation, copy your favorite page and hang it on the wall, resell it at a garage sale or yes, lend it to a friend. Here the tree is prevented from doing so by DRM, even though it owns the book. (note that it says "lending is not enabled" not "copying")
Like in comic #488 which is about the disadvantages of legally buying digital music, it shows that often with these kind of digital media you have not the same possibilities and rights you are used to from "real" books and CDs, but actually less.
[[Special:Contributions/84.137.246.233|84.137.246.233]] 13:27, 6 April 2013 (UTC)

A question: Who is Randall referring to by naming "Mike" in the fifth panel? I thought it alluded to Mike the sentient super computer from Robert Heinlein's ''The Moon is a Harsh Mistress'', but I'm curious as to other interpretations. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.214.83|108.162.214.83]] 09:26, 22 November 2013 (UTC)
:I'm assuming it is some kid they know called 'Mike', but perhaps my powers of deduction aren't as fearsome as I think. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 23:17, 9 January 2014 (UTC)

A tree with a USB port? Maybe we should mention [http://deaddrops.com/ dead drops] somewhere? Wow, and I just found this: [http://deadtreedrop.derhess.de/index_en.html Dead Tree Drop], I don't know if it's inspired by xkcd, but it's an awesome idea :D [[User:Klamann|Klamann]] ([[User talk:Klamann|talk]]) 12:42, 9 February 2014 (UTC)

I can see what the strip is trying to do, but [http://www.teleread.com/drm/xkcd-giving-tree-strip-misses-drm-point/ the comparison to the original book really kind of misses the point]. The tree in Silverstein's book gave ''of itself'' to the kid. Unless the tree is also Shel Silverstein, that book doesn't belong to it to give ''or'' lend. (And what's more, the book was not even ''available'' for Kindle until Feb 18, 2014, two and a half years after the strip was posted!) —[[User:Robotech|Robotech]] ([[User talk:Robotech|talk]]) 03:27, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

:If you'll pardon the pun, I think that by taking this strip so literally you are missing the forest for the trees. [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 07:22, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

It seems like this "Mike" is from Well 2. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.14|108.162.216.14]] 20:09, 15 November 2014 (UTC)

the piracy tree [[Special:Contributions/188.114.99.41|188.114.99.41]] 17:26, 22 December 2014 (UTC)

: You wouldn't download a tree! [[User:Wilh3lm|Wilh3lm]] ([[User talk:Wilh3lm|talk]]) 15:13, 11 December 2023 (UTC)
::But, if you did, there could be logs... [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.138|172.69.43.138]] 15:16, 11 December 2023 (UTC)

How do I grow a flash drive in *my* tree? All the ones I've planted turned out to have more bark than bytes. [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 06:34, 9 October 2025 (UTC)

Talk:1814: Color Pattern

2025-09-17T02:57:32Z

Promethean: /* Other parodies */

This link, note 1, may help whomever is going to be editing the comic explanation, I don't have time this morning. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moir%C3%A9_pattern] [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 13:40, 22 March 2017 (UTC)

May help '''''whoever is going to be editing ...'''''

Did a quick google and copy/pasted from the Wikipedia page on Moiré patterns. [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 13:51, 22 March 2017 (UTC)
:This is a copyright infringement. The contents of Wikipedia are not in the {{w|public domain}}. When using text from Wikipedia anywhere, you must indicate the license (CC-BY-SA 3.0).--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.82|162.158.150.82]] 13:58, 22 March 2017 (UTC)
::This is fine. Wikipedia text is licensed for re-use by anybody, provided the original is referenced; Xseo referenced the source material in his comment above, and an explicit link is given in the article; furthermore, this entire website is CC-BY-SA 3.0, as indicated in the footer on every page. [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 15:16, 22 March 2017 (UTC)

I can't be the only one for whom the note emoji are not showing up.
:I don't see them either. I'm running Chrome 48 Portable. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.225|162.158.62.225]] 14:18, 22 March 2017 (UTC)
::Running Chrome 57, Chromium 53, and Firefox 52; the note emoji doesn't work on any of these (Linux Mint 17.3 64-bit). I wonder why? [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 15:19, 22 March 2017 (UTC)
::: Works for me, Firefox 52. Bring up the menu bar (Alt or F10), "View > Text Encoding > Unicode". If you still don't see the notes, it may be an issue with the font settings. You could try to fiddle with "Tools > Options > Content > Default Font". Instead of using the menu, you can bring up "Options" by entering "about:preferences" in the address bar. If that doesn't work, you need professional help. ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.106|162.158.114.106]] 06:23, 23 March 2017 (UTC)
::: Firefox 71 on macOS and they still don't show up. Instead of the music notes, it says <code>"â™« When the spacing is tight / And the difference is slight / That's a moirÃ© â™«"</code>, with completely [[1683|broken symbols]] at the start and end. [[User:Numbermaniac|Numbermaniac]] ([[User talk:Numbermaniac|talk]]) 05:07, 4 January 2020 (UTC)
::Chrome 56 for Android, they display for me. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 10:24, 23 March 2017 (UTC)

AFAIK moiree patterns would not show up on an image that have been *properly* sampled, such moiree patterns are IIRC a byproduct of poorly sampled digital images. See WP for "aliasing" and "digital sampling" for reference. My two cents... [[User:Todor|Todor]] ([[User talk:Todor|talk]]) 14:31, 22 March 2017 (UTC)
:Good Lord. 24 hours! If any of you guys are actual engineers you should be ashamed of yourselves! I am not an engineer, but I do know a a tiny bit about signal theory, hence the tip. But then again this just shows how cheap shit chinese gizmos proliferate. Quality just cost too much, haha! Just need the looks, not the brainz! Only the zombies loves them BRAINZZZZZ! hurr hurr. [[User:Todor|Todor]] ([[User talk:Todor|talk]]) 19:17, 22 March 2017 (UTC)
::What are you trying to say with 24 hours. At this moment the comic has been up for 6 hours... If you think the explanation could be improved this is luckily a wiki, so you could just improve instead of rant ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:55, 22 March 2017 (UTC)
:::Did I say that too early? Well it certainly is 24+ hours now and you guys still don't know where the dart target is. :D The comic suggests some matches of geometry in the digital age are highly prone to distortions. That's interesting in it's own, but feel free to ignore it. As I hinted the real issue here relates to digital sampling and aliasing problems related to this. There are more than one way to fix artifacts in images, but one method involves oversampling at about twice the nyquist frequency and running the signal through a band-pass filter. That's fairly common, but I think that will only solve aliasing related to sampling not moiree patterns occurring naturally due to geometry. I suspect a digital photo of a digital screen might be one such case, of "naturally" occurring distortion patterns. [[User:Todor|Todor]] ([[User talk:Todor|talk]]) 18:08, 23 March 2017 (UTC)
::::I cannot see this has anything to do with the explanation. Cueball has a moiré pattern on his picture of his lap top screen as taken by the phone, which obviously do not sample properly. I have seen the same using my phone and camera. This comic explains in a song why a moiré patterns forms, and the explanation above explains why such a pattern occurs. I cannot see any connection with what you write. But if you think it is relevant feel free to try and include a paragraph on the subject, it is a wiki. In case it does make sense, then it is probably just me that do not understand what you write, but hey I'm not an engineer so... ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:51, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

The Dean Martin version, which likely is the only version anyone younger than I has heard goes like this- When the moon hits your eye -
like a bigga pizza pie -
That's amore - -
When the world seems to shine -
like you've had too much wine -
That's amore [[User:ExternalMonolog|ExternalMonolog]] ([[User talk:ExternalMonolog|talk]]) 04:25, 23 March 2017 (UTC)
: At first I thought Russell was alluding to [[wikipedia:Tom Lehrer|Tom Lehrer's]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7VQFfusQJk "That's Mathematics"]. :D [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.106|162.158.114.106]] 06:23, 23 March 2017 (UTC)

"Amore" is pronounces as /aˈmɔːrɛ/ in Italian. The initial vowel is a clean open "a" and there's no final "ei" but rather a clean open "e". Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Italian (Not counting I am Italian myself!)

Sorry, I can't help myself, but... If it's swimming in the sea and it's long and slippery, that's a moray [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.150|141.101.107.150]] 07:54, 23 March 2017 (UTC)

: "When you try write a song, but the rhythm is wrong, that's a pity... (but still witty)" ^_^ [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.180|141.101.107.180]] 10:28, 23 March 2017 (UTC)

: When it's sometimes quite slow but on average it goes, that's amor...tized
: If your alphabet soup is tied up like a sloop, that's a mored A
: (This nonsense definitely not by [[User:Quantum7|Quantum7]] ([[User talk:Quantum7|talk]]) 10:23, 23 March 2017 (UTC))
: If a diet's your wish, but you can't avoid the dish, that's a moreish [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.150|141.101.107.150]] 12:10, 23 March 2017 (UTC)

Is it bad I came to the talk page specifically for more song lyrics? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.30|172.68.65.30]] 05:29, 24 March 2017 (UTC)
: Then you'll be happy to hear that Jamie Zawinski and Michael Bayne wrote another verse for their [https://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/screenshots/ Moiré screensaver]:
:: ''When the lines on the screen''
:: ''Make more lines in between,''
:: ''That's a moiré!'' [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.167|162.158.91.167]] 07:18, 24 March 2017 (UTC)
:::Now I'm happy ;-) I have also added this to the list of songs that precedes Randall's. Wonder if he knew about this, or got the idea by himself independently? I think (and hope) he did. He has before [[1723:_Meteorite_Identification#Trivia|given credit]] on xkcd to one that had made a similar joke to his before him. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:51, 24 March 2017 (UTC)
:"When you've stopped for the night,"
: "and the dock's not in sight,"
: "That's a mooring!"
:"When the anchor's in view"
: "And there's nothing to do"
: "That's a mooring!"
:--[[User:Mlv|Mlv]] ([[User talk:Mlv|talk]]) 19:18, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

Does anybody else think that the title text may just as well refer to "amore" as to "a moire"? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.209|162.158.91.209]] 15:40, 23 March 2017 (UTC)
:Yes I think that is relevant. Have added it to the title text explanation. Thanks. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:51, 24 March 2017 (UTC)
::Hmmm... the explanation would also be valid the other way round. Cause (amore) and effect (tight spacing) ... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.209|162.158.91.209]] 11:15, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

"When an eel bites your toe, and he just won't let go, that's a moray..." [[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]] ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) 01:21, 25 March 2017 (UTC)

Spider Robinson either invented most of this or at least used it in The Callahan Touch (1993)

Referring to the fabric weave, but still:

:"When two patterns combine
:In a way serpentine
:That's a moiré"

== Other parodies ==

When you download a song

And the format seems wrong

That's .m4a.
[[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 02:50, 17 September 2025 (UTC)

Talk:1814: Color Pattern

2025-09-17T02:50:15Z

Promethean: /* Other parodies */ new section

This link, note 1, may help whomever is going to be editing the comic explanation, I don't have time this morning. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moir%C3%A9_pattern] [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 13:40, 22 March 2017 (UTC)

May help '''''whoever is going to be editing ...'''''

Did a quick google and copy/pasted from the Wikipedia page on Moiré patterns. [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 13:51, 22 March 2017 (UTC)
:This is a copyright infringement. The contents of Wikipedia are not in the {{w|public domain}}. When using text from Wikipedia anywhere, you must indicate the license (CC-BY-SA 3.0).--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.82|162.158.150.82]] 13:58, 22 March 2017 (UTC)
::This is fine. Wikipedia text is licensed for re-use by anybody, provided the original is referenced; Xseo referenced the source material in his comment above, and an explicit link is given in the article; furthermore, this entire website is CC-BY-SA 3.0, as indicated in the footer on every page. [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 15:16, 22 March 2017 (UTC)

I can't be the only one for whom the note emoji are not showing up.
:I don't see them either. I'm running Chrome 48 Portable. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.225|162.158.62.225]] 14:18, 22 March 2017 (UTC)
::Running Chrome 57, Chromium 53, and Firefox 52; the note emoji doesn't work on any of these (Linux Mint 17.3 64-bit). I wonder why? [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 15:19, 22 March 2017 (UTC)
::: Works for me, Firefox 52. Bring up the menu bar (Alt or F10), "View > Text Encoding > Unicode". If you still don't see the notes, it may be an issue with the font settings. You could try to fiddle with "Tools > Options > Content > Default Font". Instead of using the menu, you can bring up "Options" by entering "about:preferences" in the address bar. If that doesn't work, you need professional help. ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.106|162.158.114.106]] 06:23, 23 March 2017 (UTC)
::: Firefox 71 on macOS and they still don't show up. Instead of the music notes, it says <code>"â™« When the spacing is tight / And the difference is slight / That's a moirÃ© â™«"</code>, with completely [[1683|broken symbols]] at the start and end. [[User:Numbermaniac|Numbermaniac]] ([[User talk:Numbermaniac|talk]]) 05:07, 4 January 2020 (UTC)
::Chrome 56 for Android, they display for me. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 10:24, 23 March 2017 (UTC)

AFAIK moiree patterns would not show up on an image that have been *properly* sampled, such moiree patterns are IIRC a byproduct of poorly sampled digital images. See WP for "aliasing" and "digital sampling" for reference. My two cents... [[User:Todor|Todor]] ([[User talk:Todor|talk]]) 14:31, 22 March 2017 (UTC)
:Good Lord. 24 hours! If any of you guys are actual engineers you should be ashamed of yourselves! I am not an engineer, but I do know a a tiny bit about signal theory, hence the tip. But then again this just shows how cheap shit chinese gizmos proliferate. Quality just cost too much, haha! Just need the looks, not the brainz! Only the zombies loves them BRAINZZZZZ! hurr hurr. [[User:Todor|Todor]] ([[User talk:Todor|talk]]) 19:17, 22 March 2017 (UTC)
::What are you trying to say with 24 hours. At this moment the comic has been up for 6 hours... If you think the explanation could be improved this is luckily a wiki, so you could just improve instead of rant ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:55, 22 March 2017 (UTC)
:::Did I say that too early? Well it certainly is 24+ hours now and you guys still don't know where the dart target is. :D The comic suggests some matches of geometry in the digital age are highly prone to distortions. That's interesting in it's own, but feel free to ignore it. As I hinted the real issue here relates to digital sampling and aliasing problems related to this. There are more than one way to fix artifacts in images, but one method involves oversampling at about twice the nyquist frequency and running the signal through a band-pass filter. That's fairly common, but I think that will only solve aliasing related to sampling not moiree patterns occurring naturally due to geometry. I suspect a digital photo of a digital screen might be one such case, of "naturally" occurring distortion patterns. [[User:Todor|Todor]] ([[User talk:Todor|talk]]) 18:08, 23 March 2017 (UTC)
::::I cannot see this has anything to do with the explanation. Cueball has a moiré pattern on his picture of his lap top screen as taken by the phone, which obviously do not sample properly. I have seen the same using my phone and camera. This comic explains in a song why a moiré patterns forms, and the explanation above explains why such a pattern occurs. I cannot see any connection with what you write. But if you think it is relevant feel free to try and include a paragraph on the subject, it is a wiki. In case it does make sense, then it is probably just me that do not understand what you write, but hey I'm not an engineer so... ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:51, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

The Dean Martin version, which likely is the only version anyone younger than I has heard goes like this- When the moon hits your eye -
like a bigga pizza pie -
That's amore - -
When the world seems to shine -
like you've had too much wine -
That's amore [[User:ExternalMonolog|ExternalMonolog]] ([[User talk:ExternalMonolog|talk]]) 04:25, 23 March 2017 (UTC)
: At first I thought Russell was alluding to [[wikipedia:Tom Lehrer|Tom Lehrer's]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7VQFfusQJk "That's Mathematics"]. :D [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.106|162.158.114.106]] 06:23, 23 March 2017 (UTC)

"Amore" is pronounces as /aˈmɔːrɛ/ in Italian. The initial vowel is a clean open "a" and there's no final "ei" but rather a clean open "e". Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Italian (Not counting I am Italian myself!)

Sorry, I can't help myself, but... If it's swimming in the sea and it's long and slippery, that's a moray [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.150|141.101.107.150]] 07:54, 23 March 2017 (UTC)

: "When you try write a song, but the rhythm is wrong, that's a pity... (but still witty)" ^_^ [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.180|141.101.107.180]] 10:28, 23 March 2017 (UTC)

: When it's sometimes quite slow but on average it goes, that's amor...tized
: If your alphabet soup is tied up like a sloop, that's a mored A
: (This nonsense definitely not by [[User:Quantum7|Quantum7]] ([[User talk:Quantum7|talk]]) 10:23, 23 March 2017 (UTC))
: If a diet's your wish, but you can't avoid the dish, that's a moreish [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.150|141.101.107.150]] 12:10, 23 March 2017 (UTC)

Is it bad I came to the talk page specifically for more song lyrics? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.30|172.68.65.30]] 05:29, 24 March 2017 (UTC)
: Then you'll be happy to hear that Jamie Zawinski and Michael Bayne wrote another verse for their [https://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/screenshots/ Moiré screensaver]:
:: ''When the lines on the screen''
:: ''Make more lines in between,''
:: ''That's a moiré!'' [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.167|162.158.91.167]] 07:18, 24 March 2017 (UTC)
:::Now I'm happy ;-) I have also added this to the list of songs that precedes Randall's. Wonder if he knew about this, or got the idea by himself independently? I think (and hope) he did. He has before [[1723:_Meteorite_Identification#Trivia|given credit]] on xkcd to one that had made a similar joke to his before him. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:51, 24 March 2017 (UTC)
:"When you've stopped for the night,"
: "and the dock's not in sight,"
: "That's a mooring!"
:"When the anchor's in view"
: "And there's nothing to do"
: "That's a mooring!"
:--[[User:Mlv|Mlv]] ([[User talk:Mlv|talk]]) 19:18, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

Does anybody else think that the title text may just as well refer to "amore" as to "a moire"? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.209|162.158.91.209]] 15:40, 23 March 2017 (UTC)
:Yes I think that is relevant. Have added it to the title text explanation. Thanks. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:51, 24 March 2017 (UTC)
::Hmmm... the explanation would also be valid the other way round. Cause (amore) and effect (tight spacing) ... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.209|162.158.91.209]] 11:15, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

"When an eel bites your toe, and he just won't let go, that's a moray..." [[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]] ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) 01:21, 25 March 2017 (UTC)

Spider Robinson either invented most of this or at least used it in The Callahan Touch (1993)

Referring to the fabric weave, but still:

:"When two patterns combine
:In a way serpentine
:That's a moiré"

== Other parodies ==

When you download a song
And the format seems wrong
That's .m4a.
[[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 02:50, 17 September 2025 (UTC)

1758: Astrophysics

2025-09-15T00:17:07Z

Promethean: /* Explanation */ Link relevant comic 1206 for "prove Einstein wrong"

{{comic
| number = 1758
| date = November 11, 2016
| title = Astrophysics
| image = astrophysics.png
| titletext = DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSCIENCE / Motto: "If I hear the phrase 'mirror neurons' I swear to God I will flip this table."
}}

==Explanation==
In physics, the theory of gravity produced by {{w|general relativity}} combined with {{w|dark matter}} are our current best model for explaining the behavior of gravity and galaxies. The evidence supporting this model is extensive. General relativity accurately predicts the orbit of planets, even precise details like the {{w|Two-body problem in general relativity#Anomalous precession of Mercury|precession of Mercury}} which Newtonian gravity couldn't fully explain. Dark matter, in turn, explains behaviors of galaxies such as their {{w|Galaxy rotation curve|rotation rates}} that were not correctly predicted with general relativity alone. Most astrophysicists believe dark matter exists, either in the form of {{w|Massive compact halo object|an unknown type of star that is too dim to see}}, or {{w|Weakly interacting massive particles|an undiscovered subatomic particle}}.

However, because the concept of dark matter posits something so pervasive yet unknown and so far undetected, it can be difficult to accept, since typically inability to detect something tends to mean non-existence of that thing. One might be reminded of {{w|Aether_(classical_element)|Aether}}, a similar theory that an undetectable substance exists in space to allow light and gravity to travel, although unlike dark matter that has been debunked. Thus, it is common to hear objections to dark matter, with a popular alternative idea being that dark matter can be explained away by a modified theory of gravity.

One such alternative theory which gets proposed regularly is {{w|modified Newtonian dynamics}} (MOND). In MOND, gravity doesn't simply follow the {{w|inverse square law}} but has more complicated behavior. Usually, the extra behavior is either to say that gravitational force can be affected by the acceleration of the particle, or that it goes from inverse-square to just inverse at large distances. It can be appealing because it's relatively simple and seemingly more logical — it just changes our understanding of Newton's law of gravitation, rather than requiring entirely new forms of matter or unknown stars to exist — and because it has some nice side-effects, such as explaining why there seems to be a limit on the density of galaxies. Unfortunately, physicists have explored this avenue and cannot reconcile it with all existing data. One famous counterexample is the {{w|Bullet Cluster}}, where two colliding galaxy clusters are ripping through each other. The mass distribution within the cluster can be inferred through gravitational lensing, and appears to show dark matter and ordinary matter being separated to a certain extent which cannot be explained with MOND. Another counterexample is MOND's incompatibility with observations of the motion of galaxies in galaxy clusters. More generally, MOND isn't compatible with general relativity — which has a huge amount of experimental data in its favor — and a MOND-compatible general relativity would be very complicated and ugly.

This comic illustrates physicists' exasperation for people who constantly try to challenge the existence of dark matter without considering all the evidence and theoretical foundation that support it. Apparently members of this department are so tired of hearing the same old ideas being repeated to them, that they have adopted a motto and even erected a sign in an attempt to clear the dissuasion. The specific impetus for this comic may be the press coverage around [https://arxiv.org/abs/1611.02269 this publication] by {{w|Erik Verlinde}} (see popular description of the paper [http://phys.org/news/2016-11-theory-gravity-dark.html here]). It was released online three days before the release of this comic and got a lot of coverage exclaiming "this will [[1206|prove Einstein wrong]]". While Verlinde's work on {{w|entropic gravity}} is a serious theory derived from {{w|thermodynamics}} and {{w|quantum information theory}}, it is important to keep in mind that it's just a {{w|pre-print}} and hasn't been peer-reviewed or experimentally verified yet. Verlinde's theory also doesn't match all available data - it [https://web.archive.org/web/20170115045049/http://motls.blogspot.de/2010/01/erik-verlinde-why-gravity-cant-be.html disagrees with experimental results showing how particles interact with gravity]. Thus, it is still a far cry from being a contender for replacing dark matter.

The title text alludes to a similar issue faced by the Department of {{w|Neuroscience}} from popular misconceptions of {{w|Mirror neurons}}. Mirror neurons are brain cells which trigger when watching someone else do something. Experiments claim to have found mirror neurons in humans and apes, and there are theories that make mirror neurons the foundation of learning, empathy, language and consciousness itself. However, {{w|mirror neurons#Doubts concerning mirror neurons|the evidence for mirror neurons is still patchy}}, and even if they exist, it's very simplistic to try to attribute so much of human behavior to a single type of relatively simple cell. In light of this, the motto of the neuroscientists at the department rightfully reflect their frustration. [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/flipping-tables Flipping tables] is a common depiction for expressing extreme outrage. It is used here also as a pun because mirrors flip the image in front of them.

Another story of similar press coverage questioning the current established scientific theory was also mentioned two days before the release of this comic, on the YouTube channel Space Time from PBS Digital Studios in their video titled [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UNLgPIiWAg Did Dark Energy Just Disappear?]. This one was regarding the paper [http://www.nature.com/articles/srep35596 Marginal evidence for cosmic acceleration from Type Ia supernovae]. The video concluded that dark energy is still the best explanation. Note this is about the existence of dark energy rather than dark matter. The two are very distinct concepts.

Science papers with results that supposedly disprove solidly founded theories have been the subject before in [[955: Neutrinos]].

==Transcript==
:[A sign on two posts, in the grass in front of a building with windows and double doors, a window on each door, and bars facing outwards. There is a cement walk leading to the doors. On the sign is the text:]
:<big>'''Department of Astrophysics'''</big>
:'''Motto:'''
:''Yes, everybody has already had the idea, "Maybe there's no dark matter—Gravity just works differently on large scales!" It sounds good but doesn't really fit the data.''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Biology]]

3138: Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure

2025-09-15T00:07:39Z

Promethean: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3138
| date = September 5, 2025
| title = Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure
| image = dimensional_lumber_tape_measure_2x.png
| imagesize = 532x478px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = A person with two watches is never sure what time it is, especially if I got them one of the watches.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by AN ARMY OF TWO INCH BY FOUR INCH LUMBERS THAT SAW FIVE CM BY TEN CM LUMBERS. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
A 2×4 is a type of dimensional lumber, meaning it is cut to a specified cross-section. In the case of a 2×4, despite implicitly specifying dimensions of 2 inches by 4 inches, its actual dimensions are 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches. The Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure "fixes" this inaccuracy by changing the length of some of its indicated inches so that a 2×4 is measured as 2 inches by 4 inches. On the dimensional tape the 1st, 2nd, and 8th division are made shorter than on the standard tape. Note that the comic states 7.125 inches as the width of a 1×8, when in reality the width is 7.25 inches.

As explained {{w|Lumber#Dimensional lumber|on Wikipedia}}, the nominal dimensions of a piece of dimensional lumber (US)/timber (UK) are those to which, in history, the wood was cut from green logs. Over time, the wood would shrink from loss of water. Consequently, a board cut to 2×4 inches would shrink to some fraction of those dimensions. The nominal dimensions also refer to the rough cut lumber — the final product is typically planed smooth, which further reduces its dimensions. The actual final dimensions would vary based on the type of wood, the amount of water lost and other such factors, with a greater or lesser amount of predictability. Over time, the actual dimensions of the wood became standardized at some regularly-achievable value less than the nominal dimensions. Different types of construction material sometimes use different measures, for instance, "1 inch" plywood is typically not 1 inch thick, but it is also not 3/4 inches thick (the thickness of a 1-inch board).

A person not familiar with this history may be puzzled at the disconnect between the nominal and actual dimensions of lumber/timber, perhaps to the point of thinking that some underhanded short-measure had gone on. To such persons, the comic's Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure makes sense, or at least addresses the disconnect. It would not, however, have any practical use, and attempts to employ it would likely lead to constructions going dangerously awry. Necessary lengths of timber, as well as other cuts that fine-tuned a supplied timber to fill a space, would be intrinsically inconsistent with the gaps they were intended to tightly fit within. At best, ''every single'' component of a construction would be measured and cut according to this particular measure and the resulting structure would be self-consistent but subtly undersized compared to the original plan.

Additionally, leaving it in someone else's toolbox without informing them would likely lead to them incorrectly measuring things, as the Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure appears visually similar to a standard tape measure and has similar enough units that it is plausible someone could use the Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure and assume it indicated full inches.

Intentionally-inaccurate measuring devices do exist in the real world, but for the opposite reason (converting size ''before'' natural shrinkage to size ''after'' shrinkage rather than vice-versa). When casting articles out of molten metal or clay, the final product can shrink significantly as it cools or dries. Workers therefore use a ''{{w|Metal casting#shrink rule|shrink ruler}}'' with deliberately ''over''size units, calibrated to the shrinkage percentage of the particular material in use. Using a shrink ruler to measure the patterns and molds used in metal casting, or the wet product in pottery, ensures that the final product will be the desired size.

Another common intentionally-accurate measuring device is a joke "fish ruler", such as [https://www.zazzle.com/fishermans_joke_ruler-256090065798791155?srsltid=AfmBOorHYyY2_fJSCZsZ1B7fKjkLbKDEyCfbfI5w-MDe83neA51yT8Uc this example], which like the comic feature undersized units. Fishermen typically measure the length of their catches, with catching a longer fish being more prestigious. The joke fish ruler will be marked as if it is 12 inches long like a common ruler, but is only 6 or 8 inches long. Thus a fisherman could catch a 5 inch fish, but report it as 10 inches after "measuring" it with the joke fish ruler.

The title text is a play on the adage "A man with two watches is never sure what time it is". That adage is a rephrasing of {{w|Segal's law}}. It expands on the theme of inaccurate measuring devices by stating the person with two watches will definitely not know what time it is if Randall gave him one of the watches, implying that in addition to making tape measures with non-standard units he also makes watches that do not keep or report time in a regular manner.

==Transcript==
:[Header:] Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure

:[Paragraph to the left:] Dimensional lumber sizes are tricky. A “2×4” is actually 1½″ by 3½″, and a “1×8” is ¾″ by 7⅛″.
:[To its right, a drawing of a rectangular wooden block labelled “2×4”, with notes indicating the length of the height and width being 1½″ and 3½″]

:[To the left, two drawings of tape measures seen from the side. One is labeled <code>12′</code>, and the other is labeled <code>12′*</code>]
:[Paragraph to the right:] If you know someone into carpentry or woodworking, get them our [in italics:]''dimensional lumber tape measure''.

:[Two drawings viewing the extended tapes, with titles, one above the other; The double-riveted 'hook end' fitting is at tape's left-hand 'zero' mark, and they extend off beyond the right edge of the panel featuring digits marking full height "inch" division-lines, with decreasingly partial-height lines indicating half-, quarter-, eighth- and sixteenth-inch sub-divisions from the lower edge, though either measure explicitly indicates the unit being used]
:[Title one:] Normal tape measure:
:[The measure is divided into inches evenly, the rightmost visible measure being a '9', and slightly further than the next half-inch division being visible at the edge of frame]
:[Title two:] Dimensional lumber tape measure:
:[The measure is divided unevenly, such that 1st and 2nd marked 'inches' are each equal to a ¾-inch increment on the above drawing, but the 3rd to 7th marks each equate to a 1-inch progression, shifted. The 8th mark is once again ¾-inch after the 7th, and then roughly inch again for the fully visible '9' and '10' numbers and similarly proportional to just beyond the rightmost quarter-inch division visible]

:[Slightly bold:]'''Don’t tell them you got it'''[Normal weighting:]—just leave it in their toolbox. They’ll appreciate the surprise when all their measurements work out!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Tape measures]]

3138: Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure

2025-09-15T00:04:38Z

Promethean: Explain why shrink ruler is the opposite

{{comic
| number = 3138
| date = September 5, 2025
| title = Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure
| image = dimensional_lumber_tape_measure_2x.png
| imagesize = 532x478px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = A person with two watches is never sure what time it is, especially if I got them one of the watches.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by AN ARMY OF TWO INCH BY FOUR INCH LUMBERS THAT SAW FIVE CM BY TEN CM LUMBERS. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
A 2×4 is a type of dimensional lumber, meaning it is cut to a specified cross-section. In the case of a 2×4, despite implicitly specifying dimensions of 2 inches by 4 inches, its actual dimensions are 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches. The Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure "fixes" this inaccuracy by changing the length of some of its indicated inches so that a 2×4 is measured as 2 inches by 4 inches. On the dimensional tape the 1st, 2nd, and 8th division are made shorter than on the standard tape. Note that the comic states 7.125 inches as the width of a 1×8, when in reality the width is 7.25 inches.

As explained {{w|Lumber#Dimensional lumber|on Wikipedia}}, the nominal dimensions of a piece of dimensional lumber (US)/timber (UK) are those to which, in history, the wood was cut from green logs. Over time, the wood would shrink from loss of water. Consequently, a board cut to 2×4 inches would shrink to some fraction of those dimensions. The nominal dimensions also refer to the rough cut lumber — the final product is typically planed smooth, which further reduces its dimensions. The actual final dimensions would vary based on the type of wood, the amount of water lost and other such factors, with a greater or lesser amount of predictability. Over time, the actual dimensions of the wood became standardized at some regularly-achievable value less than the nominal dimensions. Different types of construction material sometimes use different measures, for instance, "1 inch" plywood is typically not 1 inch thick, but it is also not 3/4 inches thick (the thickness of a 1-inch board).

A person not familiar with this history may be puzzled at the disconnect between the nominal and actual dimensions of lumber/timber, perhaps to the point of thinking that some underhanded short-measure had gone on. To such persons, the comic's Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure makes sense, or at least addresses the disconnect. It would not, however, have any practical use, and attempts to employ it would likely lead to constructions going dangerously awry. Necessary lengths of timber, as well as other cuts that fine-tuned a supplied timber to fill a space, would be intrinsically inconsistent with the gaps they were intended to tightly fit within. At best, ''every single'' component of a construction would be measured and cut according to this particular measure and the resulting structure would be self-consistent but subtly undersized compared to the original plan.

Additionally, leaving it in someone else's toolbox without informing them would likely lead to them incorrectly measuring things, as the Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure appears visually similar to a standard tape measure and has similar enough units that it is plausible someone could use the Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure and assume it indicated full inches.

Intentionally-inaccurate measuring devices do exist in the real world, but for the opposite reason (converting size *before* shrinkage to size *after* shrinkage rather than vice-versa). When casting articles out of molten metal or clay, the final product can shrink significantly as it cools or dries. Workers therefore use a ''{{w|Metal casting#shrink rule|shrink ruler}}'' with deliberately ''over''size units, calibrated to the shrinkage percentage of the particular material in use. Using a shrink ruler to measure the patterns and molds used in metal casting, or the wet product in pottery, ensures that the final product will be the desired size.

Another common intentionally-accurate measuring device is a joke "fish ruler", such as [https://www.zazzle.com/fishermans_joke_ruler-256090065798791155?srsltid=AfmBOorHYyY2_fJSCZsZ1B7fKjkLbKDEyCfbfI5w-MDe83neA51yT8Uc this example], which like the comic feature undersized units. Fishermen typically measure the length of their catches, with catching a longer fish being more prestigious. The joke fish ruler will be marked as if it is 12 inches long like a common ruler, but is only 6 or 8 inches long. Thus a fisherman could catch a 5 inch fish, but report it as 10 inches after "measuring" it with the joke fish ruler.

The title text is a play on the adage "A man with two watches is never sure what time it is". That adage is a rephrasing of {{w|Segal's law}}. It expands on the theme of inaccurate measuring devices by stating the person with two watches will definitely not know what time it is if Randall gave him one of the watches, implying that in addition to making tape measures with non-standard units he also makes watches that do not keep or report time in a regular manner.

==Transcript==
:[Header:] Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure

:[Paragraph to the left:] Dimensional lumber sizes are tricky. A “2×4” is actually 1½″ by 3½″, and a “1×8” is ¾″ by 7⅛″.
:[To its right, a drawing of a rectangular wooden block labelled “2×4”, with notes indicating the length of the height and width being 1½″ and 3½″]

:[To the left, two drawings of tape measures seen from the side. One is labeled <code>12′</code>, and the other is labeled <code>12′*</code>]
:[Paragraph to the right:] If you know someone into carpentry or woodworking, get them our [in italics:]''dimensional lumber tape measure''.

:[Two drawings viewing the extended tapes, with titles, one above the other; The double-riveted 'hook end' fitting is at tape's left-hand 'zero' mark, and they extend off beyond the right edge of the panel featuring digits marking full height "inch" division-lines, with decreasingly partial-height lines indicating half-, quarter-, eighth- and sixteenth-inch sub-divisions from the lower edge, though either measure explicitly indicates the unit being used]
:[Title one:] Normal tape measure:
:[The measure is divided into inches evenly, the rightmost visible measure being a '9', and slightly further than the next half-inch division being visible at the edge of frame]
:[Title two:] Dimensional lumber tape measure:
:[The measure is divided unevenly, such that 1st and 2nd marked 'inches' are each equal to a ¾-inch increment on the above drawing, but the 3rd to 7th marks each equate to a 1-inch progression, shifted. The 8th mark is once again ¾-inch after the 7th, and then roughly inch again for the fully visible '9' and '10' numbers and similarly proportional to just beyond the rightmost quarter-inch division visible]

:[Slightly bold:]'''Don’t tell them you got it'''[Normal weighting:]—just leave it in their toolbox. They’ll appreciate the surprise when all their measurements work out!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Tape measures]]

Talk:2060: Hygrometer

2025-07-07T06:18:07Z

Promethean:

Interestingly, Google search for ometerometer returns porn results. If there is an xkcd comic about rule 34 (if it exists, there is porn about it), it could be linked here.--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 15:48, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:Yeah, and now xkcd is prominently displayed. Good for you! - Who? {{unsigned ip|162.158.165.238}}
:Should have taken a screenshot: The link provided under Trivia returns no porn results whatsoever now (yes I have SafeSearch turned off). I'm pretty sure almost any search for a seldom used word or phrase returns a high number of porn results, but '''I seriously doubt''' any of the porn was actually ''about'' ometerometers, or even featured that word on the page. I think you just got unrelated results. I'm gonna have to say "citation needed" on that one, because the citation given yields no such results. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:19, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
::[https://i.imgur.com/5VOBPMJ.png Here's your citation.] Needless to say, the term doesn't appear anywhere on those pages outside the search box, but ''something'' must've put it in that box in the first place—"ameterometer" and "emeterometer" and various other misspellings don't return any search results like this. [[User:Trambelus|Trambelus]] ([[User talk:Trambelus|talk]]) 21:57, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:::We can just do a search for '"ometerometer" -xkcd' (without single quotes). This search yields 13 results, 4 of which are not porn, and 3 of which genuinely contain "ometerometer" in their content and not as part of SEO. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.220|108.162.241.220]] 12:40, 18 October 2018 (UTC)
::::I've changed my Google preferences to English and US; still not that much porn. Unless this is obvious to everyone your findings are not relevant here. Google shows links also based on former searches, just saying... --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:46, 19 October 2018 (UTC)
:::::I looked up "shearing bit" the other day (a lathe tool) and misspelled it as "shearing bi" and got porn results. I don't think I would want to see any porn related to shearing. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.150.40|172.68.150.40]] 22:54, 19 October 2018 (UTC)
:As of May 6, 2023, the top result for "ometerometer" is this page.

Which meters do you enjoy?
I'm a particular fan of the Crookes radiometer [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.116|141.101.77.116]] 16:33, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
: Based almost solely on the exotic name, I'm a particular fan of the {{w|sphygmomanometer}} (blood pressure cuff), and I'm disappointed that Randall didn't take the opportunity to mention it anywhere. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.41|172.68.46.41]] 16:44, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:: My laser power meter is pretty bad-assed - but the measurement tool I'm most impressed by isn't a "ometer", it's a "mechanics level" - which is basically just an incredibly accurate spirit level - it can measure a tilt angle equal to the thickness of a single sheet of paper over a distance of two meters - which is pretty astounding considering how crude it is. You can tell that you have a cool -ometer if it comes in a nice wooden box - and a seriously cool one if the box has brass hinges and is lined with velvet...it's kindof a rule for us ometerometrists. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.227|172.69.70.227]] 18:27, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
::: I remember in 7th grade learning how to use a sling psychrometer to measure relative humidity. It involved two thermometers at the end of a string that you swung around (watch out!) to cool the wet bulb thermometer and then measuring the difference. --[[User:Gkhanna9|Gkhanna9]] ([[User talk:Gkhanna9|talk]]) 02:12, 19 October 2018 (UTC)

Here's the Rule 34 comic: https://xkcd.com/305/ {{unsigned ip|172.68.65.6}}
:Thank you. I added it to the description.--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 16:52, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

But no mention of an alethiometer. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.113|172.68.58.113]] 16:59, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

Let's all remember that there are some measurement devices that do not end in -ometer but rather simply in -meter, for example "multimeter", "ohmmeter", "ammeter", etc. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.77}}
: So does a micrometer end in ometer? Tough call! [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.227|172.69.70.227]] 18:29, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:: Micro-meter, not micr-ometer. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.59.12|172.68.59.12]] 20:05, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:::You're absolutely right, the ''O'' always belongs to the first term. I will change the explanation accordingly. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:49, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
::::Oh - so Cueball wants an o-metero-meter? OK now I'm confused! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.77|108.162.221.77]] 21:59, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

I'm certainly not an expert on Google and how search results are generated, but I think it's at least highly likely that search results can be impacted by a user's previous searches and/or clicked results. While it might be interesting or even amusing, I don't think it's appropriate to include anything in the explanation of this comic about Rule 34 because it has absolutely nothing to do with the content of the comic itself! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 18:12, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

There's also metrometer (measures the size of the womb), and a kilometerometer (this is what some Americans call odometers in foreign cars). --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.136|172.68.54.136]] 22:19, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

I prefer ohmmeter since I am in an electronics course in my local college and I use it quite often. (^o^)Boeing-787lover 09:13, 18 October 2018 (UTC) {{unsigned|Xkcdreader52}}

I still think the title text means that he's trying to make something out of all those measurement devices for a cohesive purpose. The only thing I could think of was a device that monitored the baking of bread at all stages, using the various devices to determine how "ready" it is. Any other ideas? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.4|108.162.219.4]] 00:37, 19 October 2018 (UTC)
: Agreed, I've modified the title text description with your suggestion.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.226.89|172.69.226.89]] 16:58, 19 October 2018 (UTC)
:: I don't agree until all devices are mapped to a "baking of bread" process. And if this really matches please write that as a possible explanation, out of probably much more... (Making steel,...). AND please take care of the layout. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:23, 19 October 2018 (UTC)
::: Oh, I didn't think it actually was relating to the baking of bread, that was just what I came up with for that combination of meters. But I was hoping to spark ideas/discussion that might lead to someone coming up with an actually feasible idea. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.88|162.158.63.88]] 00:30, 20 October 2018 (UTC)
::: If the layout is so important, then the "ometerometer" should *not* be included in the itemized list, since it's not part of Cueball's combination of meters.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.226.41|172.69.226.41]] 14:06, 22 October 2018 (UTC)
::::It's part of the title text, but I've changed the layout. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:51, 22 October 2018 (UTC)

"... old Greek words like thermo-meter". Old Greek is the version of Greek used between about 500 and 1500 CE. I'm pretty sure thermometer is not old Greek since old Greek was a dead language before thermometers were invented. The author probably didn't mean "old Greek" in that sense, but as written it grates and should be recast. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.99|162.158.74.99]] 01:51, 20 October 2018 (UTC)

'''Trivia was nonsense'''

At this link [https://www.google.es/search?rlz=1C1NHXL_caES708ES708&ei=EEHHW-DWBJ2vgAbZyrSQAw&q=ometerometer&oq=ometerometer&gs_l=psy-ab.3...1876.4215.0.4448.12.10.0.0.0.0.376.1163.0j3j1j1.5.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..7.4.786...0j0i131k1j0i67k1j0i131i67k1j0i10k1j0i19k1j0i10i19k1.0.iW8nv_ipPpQ Google search for ometerometer] I can't see any porn. AND only 9 results at Google! The Rule 34 doesn't apply right now and so I've removed it completely. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:17, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:If the ometerometer search term is in double-quotes, you'll get the porn. (Apologies if I did something wrong with this comment... Is my first here.) --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.88|162.158.63.88]] 04:47, 18 October 2018 (UTC)
::The interest of the fact in relation to the comic may be debatable, but even now four out of the first ten Google results linked to pornhub, and yesterday when the comic appeared and it still didn't show on Google, pornhub results made the whole first page.--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 19:47, 18 October 2018 (UTC)

This comic came out on Randall's birthday [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.90|162.158.186.90]] 11:28, 18 October 2018 (UTC)

How does Randall get his ometerometer to show him the rate at which he's getting more ometers? I can only get my ometerometer to show me how many ometers I have, but I think that only works by integration. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.209|141.101.104.209]] 21:40, 18 October 2018 (UTC)
: Well, yes - and there is always the off-by-one error on the cheaper models that fail to add themselves into the count. [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 16:31, 19 October 2018 (UTC)

'''Viscosity'''

Absolute novice, not sure which part is wrong, but: "A viscometer is an instrument to test the viscosity (ease of pouring) of a liquid. For example, honey has higher viscosity than water" seems wrong. Honey is harder to pour than water, so if it has a higher viscosity, doesn't that mean viscosity is the difficulty of pouring, not ease? {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.136}}
:It's the same thing, just as resistance and conductivity are the same thing. One is just the other inverted (if one is higher, the other is lower). [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 23:51, 6 May 2023 (UTC)

How confident can Cueball possibly be that his ometerometer is accurate, when he hasn't bothered to measure its accuracy with an ometerometerometer? [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 06:18, 7 July 2025 (UTC)

3045: AlphaMove

2025-02-03T05:08:04Z

Promethean: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3045
| date = January 31, 2025
| title = AlphaMove
| image = alphamove_2x.png
| imagesize = 500x526px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It struggles a little with complex positions, like when there are an even number of moves and it has to round down, but when run against itself it's capable of finding some novelties. At one point I saw six knights on the board at once; Stockfish rarely exceeds four.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE SEVENTH KNIGHT, WAITING IN ANTICIPATION. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic shows a new {{w|chess engine}}, presumably created by [[Randall]], which takes a list of all legal moves (in {{w|Algebraic notation (chess)|algebraic notation}}) in alphabetical order and chooses the median.

A playable implementation of this game can be found here: [https://enn-nafnlaus.github.io/AlphaMove/alphamove.html AlphaMove].

Algebraic notation begins with a symbol for which piece is being moved, which is always the first letter of the piece name except for knights (N) and pawns (nothing). This is then followed by the square that the piece is being moved to. (Rc4 would indicate a move that moved a rook to c4.) Other symbols include a lowercase x before the destination, indicating that the move is a capture; a plus sign (+) after the destination, indicating that the move places the opposing king in check; and a hash sign (#) after the destination, indicating that the move places the opposing king in checkmate, thus winning the game. There is also O-O and O-O-O, which indicate that a player is castling kingside or queenside, respectively.

In practice, this algorithm runs into a few issues. As seen in the comic, the algorithm rarely moves bishops and rooks due to their relative lack of moves in the early game, and their tendency to inhabit the edges of any list when they do have sortable moves. Among basic moves, only pawns destined to move in the first two files of a board can ever sort higher than bishops, and nothing other than another rook can be closer to the far end than a rook. AlphaMove can never {{w|Castling|castle}} due to the notation for it (0-0 or 0-0-0) being the only one to start with a number, and thus (if ever possible) always being the first in the list. (It's also not possible to create a board state where it's the only legal move, both because the king or rook moving without castling is a legal move, and because castling cannot be done while in check.) The algorithm instead favors knight and king moves, with entries starting with the most alphabetically middling "K" and "N" list entries, and (to a lesser extent) pawns destined to move up the right side of the board, the "h"-file pawn generally having the greatest statistical chance. The shortcomings of AlphaMove are instantly apparent from looking at the game board presented in the comic; roughly ten moves into the game, White has lost three pawns, captured nothing, and advanced their king into the open rather than developing any pieces, while Black (presumably being played by a 'stronger' conventional chess engine) has taken control of the center with a knight and two pawns, developed a bishop, and advanced their queen to f2.

The ''actual'' middle of the list might vary away from the usual alphabetic median if the moves (and the pieces removed by the opponent) are heavily biased to a particular subset of player-pieces. It is conceivable that an opponent could identify the AlphaMove strategy as being used, and then use their foreknowledge of the algorithm's 'developing game' to strategically make (normally non-optimal?) moves designed explicitly to force the algorithm down their own choice of paths, such as targeting undefended rooks and queens (either capturing them with impunity, or just strategically restricting their movements by moving into contact with them in such a way as to normally be a suicidal sacrifice), in order to make certain other pieces take their own moves. Although, given the established failings of uncritically sticking to the algorithmic plan, it is probably ''vastly'' more effort to precisely engineer a given game-state than to merely play properly, and respond with half-decent responses to the overwhelmingly sub-optimal series of moves. For example, setting Stockfish (black) against AlphaMove (white) results in the following fifteen-move victory for black:
# f3 e5
# e4 Bc5
# d4 Bxd4
# f4 d5
# g4 Qh4+
# Ke2 Qf2+
# Kd3 dxe4+
# Kxe4 Nf6+
# Kd3 e4+
# Kc4 Be6+
# Kb5 a6+
# Ka5 Bc3+
# Ka4 b5+
# Ka3 Qc5+
# b4 Qxb4#
On the other hand, a person playing black who knew that white was using AlphaMove could win in seven moves (possibly fewer):
# f3 d5
# e4 d5xe4
# f4 e5
# g3 Bg4
# d4 Qxd4
# f5 e3
# f6 Qxd1#
However, chess tournaments do not award more points for quicker victories, and playing like this would be risky because if white initially uses AlphaMove and black goes for the seven-move checkmate, white could capture black's undefended bishop on move five, revealing the AlphaMove emulation to just be a rouse to get black to hang a bishop, then white would be in a winning position after 5. Qxg4 and could play smartly for the rest of the game and would likely win, so going for the fifteen-move mate would likely be safer.

Even if AlphaMove ever found one or more of its potential moves to be one that happens to result in checkmate, it has no reason to do anything other than choose its "mid-list move", as described, and the chances are high that such a mate would never be invoked. Along those lines, Qa4+ is a relatively safe move to create a short-term check, to put immediate pressure upon the black king, and potentially a longer term inconvenience with 'only' a predictable response preventing it from developing into a mate. But it is not in the right list position to attempt, anyway, never mind whether it would then be correctly followed up.

This engine may be named for and inspired by the real chess engine, {{w|AlphaZero}}. Another real name, mentioned in the title text, is {{w|Stockfish (chess)|Stockfish}}, a widely used (and powerful) chess engine.

On this board, Black can win the game instantly with ...Bb4{{w|Checkmate|#}}. Rather than do anything to defend against this, White just moves an unrelated piece, almost certainly losing right afterward. Randall has also chosen a setup where the King is placed in a position where it cannot make any legal moves, thus removing it from the list of pieces that can perform any moves. Almost certainly this was a choice, both to make the list without the Kings moves and also to make it pretty easy to see how one more move would mate the king.

The title of the comic is a play on words. As the name of the chess engine, it refers to the strategy of choosing moves based on alphabetical ordering, while in popular usage, an "alpha move" is an action that would assert dominance over someone else. This makes it an ironic name for the chess engine; rather than asserting dominance, it loses quickly.

The title text mentions games with "six knights", which implies that two pawns have been promoted to knights. Pawns can promote to bishop, knight, queen or rook, so the middle of this list is tied between knight or queen. It is rare that a pawn promotes to knights, when in most normal situations a Queen would be preferred. (The exceptions, where promoting to queen would cause a. immediate stalemate in a winnable position or let the king survive on a square that's a knight's move away from the newly-promoted queen) are common in contrived chess puzzles but rare in actual gameplay. However, when AlphaMove plays itself, the pawns move up opposing sides of the board and thus it is not unrealistic that a pawn would promote to a knight.

See also [[3036: Chess Zoo]], another recent comic about chess, which is a [[:Category:Chess|recurring theme]] on xkcd.

==Transcript==
:[A standard chessboard is shown with Black at the top. The boards "black squares" are light gray. Black (which is drawn as dark gray) has made moves resulting in Qf2, Nd4, e4, a5, Bc5, e5 and Ne7 while other black pieces are in starting positions. White has made moves resulting in c4, f4, h4, Kc3, Ne2 and three white pawns are removed from the board while other white pieces including a- and b-pawns are in starting positions. Two squares associated with white's move Ne2 are highlighted in yellow, it has moved there from its starting position g1.]

:[To the right of the chess board is a vertical list of possible moves listed in alphabetical order. The text is in light gray, except the move Ne2 in the middle which is black and highlighted in yellow. Two light gray double arrows with a line at the end of each arrow head goes from the top to just above the yellow move, and from just below this to the bottom. A short but thick black arrow points in between the space between the two gray arrows pointing at the yellow move.]
:a3
:a4
:b3
:b4
:Bd2
:Bd3
:Be2
:Be3
:Bg2
:Bh3
:f5
:fxe5
:h5
:Na3
:Nd2
: '''Ne2'''
:Nf3
:Nh3
:Qa4+
:Qb3
:Qc2
:Qd2
:Qd3
:Qe1
:Qe2
:Qf3
:Qg4
:Qh5
:Qxd4
:Rh2
:Rh3

:[Caption below the panel:]
:My new AlphaMove chess engine, which sorts the list of legal moves alphabetically and picks the middle one, was quickly defeated by stronger engines.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]
[[Category:Chess]]

3027: Exclusion Principle

2024-12-30T05:47:16Z

Promethean: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3027
| date = December 20, 2024
| title = Exclusion Principle
| image = exclusion_principle_2x.png
| imagesize = 264x336px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Fermions are weird about each other in a standoffish way. Integer-spin particles are weird about each other in a 'stand uncomfortably close while talking' kind of way.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a COLLIDING ATOM. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[Randall]] lists the four {{w|fundamental forces}} of physics—{{w|gravity}}, {{w|electromagnetism}}, the {{w|weak interaction}}, and the {{w|strong interaction}}—then humorously adds a fifth force called "Electrons are weird about each other." This is a nod to how electrons cannot occupy exactly the same quantum state. The principle that underlies this is the {{w|Pauli exclusion principle}} (also covered in [[658: Orbitals]], [[1862: Particle Properties]], and [[2351: Standard Model Changes]]), which says that no two electrons at the same position (within their {{w|Matter wave|de Broglie wavelength}}s) can have the same set of quantum numbers. The idea behind Pauli exclusion isn't really a conventional "force" like gravity or electromagnetism. Instead, it's a result of the fundamental quantum mechanical rules governing {{w|fermions}}, a class of particles that includes electrons. When combined with electromagnetism, it makes electrons repel each other more than mere electric charge would predict on its own.

This phenomenon is sometimes described via the {{w|exchange interaction}}, which can be tricky to explain to non-experts. Randall's joke is that physicists, frustrated with explaining the subtleties of quantum mechanics, have simply decided to create a "fifth force" to cover the weirdness of electrons. In reality, inventing a fifth force to patch up confusing behavior doesn't improve the accuracy of physicists' predictions of how real-world matter and energy behave; they strive for increasingly accurate descriptions of how nature behaves, rather than rewriting the rules in ways that compromise their accuracy in predicting physical systems' behavior in favor of simplicity.

In the title text, Randall expands the idea from electrons to all fermions, which have half-integer {{w|Spin (physics)|quantum spin}} and obey the Pauli exclusion principle, and contrasts them with {{w|bosons}}, which have integer spin and can share the same space. He humorously likens fermions to people standing standoffishly far apart, while bosons are like those who stand uncomfortably close while talking—an imaginative analogy for the fundamental differences in their behaviors.

==Transcript==
:[Inside the panel, there is an underlined header and a numbered list, with the fifth and last item in red:]
:Fundamental Forces
:1. Gravity 
:2. Electromagnetism 
:3. The Weak Interaction 
:4. The Strong Interaction 
:''5. Electrons are weird about each other''

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Big news: Physicists have finally given up trying to explain about the "exchange interaction" and agreed to just make the exclusion principle a force.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with red annotations]]
[[Category:Physics]]

3027: Exclusion Principle

2024-12-30T05:46:19Z

Promethean: Fifth force isn't false because it's "made up" but because it doesn't improve the model's accuracy

{{comic
| number = 3027
| date = December 20, 2024
| title = Exclusion Principle
| image = exclusion_principle_2x.png
| imagesize = 264x336px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Fermions are weird about each other in a standoffish way. Integer-spin particles are weird about each other in a 'stand uncomfortably close while talking' kind of way.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a COLLIDING ATOM. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[Randall]] lists the four {{w|fundamental forces}} of physics—{{w|gravity}}, {{w|electromagnetism}}, the {{w|weak interaction}}, and the {{w|strong interaction}}—then humorously adds a fifth force called "Electrons are weird about each other." This is a nod to how electrons cannot occupy exactly the same quantum state. The principle that underlies this is the {{w|Pauli exclusion principle}} (also covered in [[658: Orbitals]], [[1862: Particle Properties]], and [[2351: Standard Model Changes]]), which says that no two electrons at the same position (within their {{w|Matter wave|de Broglie wavelength}}s) can have the same set of quantum numbers. The idea behind Pauli exclusion isn't really a conventional "force" like gravity or electromagnetism. Instead, it's a result of the fundamental quantum mechanical rules governing {{w|fermions}}, a class of particles that includes electrons. When combined with electromagnetism, it makes electrons repel each other more than mere electric charge would predict on its own.

This phenomenon is sometimes described via the {{w|exchange interaction}}, which can be tricky to explain to non-experts. Randall's joke is that physicists, frustrated with explaining the subtleties of quantum mechanics, have simply decided to create a "fifth force" to cover the weirdness of electrons. In reality, inventing a fifth force to patch up confusing behavior doesn't improve the accuracy of physicists' predictions of how real-world matter and energy behave; they strive for increasingly accurate descriptions of how nature behaves, rather than rewriting the rules in ways that compromise their accuracy in predicting physical systems' behavior.

In the title text, Randall expands the idea from electrons to all fermions, which have half-integer {{w|Spin (physics)|quantum spin}} and obey the Pauli exclusion principle, and contrasts them with {{w|bosons}}, which have integer spin and can share the same space. He humorously likens fermions to people standing standoffishly far apart, while bosons are like those who stand uncomfortably close while talking—an imaginative analogy for the fundamental differences in their behaviors.

==Transcript==
:[Inside the panel, there is an underlined header and a numbered list, with the fifth and last item in red:]
:Fundamental Forces
:1. Gravity 
:2. Electromagnetism 
:3. The Weak Interaction 
:4. The Strong Interaction 
:''5. Electrons are weird about each other''

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Big news: Physicists have finally given up trying to explain about the "exchange interaction" and agreed to just make the exclusion principle a force.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with red annotations]]
[[Category:Physics]]

Talk:3020: Infinite Armada Chess

2024-12-05T15:37:16Z

Promethean:

Did I do well? Added a very very basic explanation. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.147.132|172.68.147.132]] 04:25, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

Well, yes but I wonder if just one tiny fix is needed. If you replace the white side with a simplyfied artillery tower, you reinvented space invaders.{{unsigned ip|172.71.160.70|04:57, 5 December 2024 (UTC)}}

I was personally hoping for an explanation of the Infinite Armada thing, and I feel like a link to the TV Tropes page doesn't really. Explain that at all. So I would love a bit of an expansion on that part! Just want to be sure I didn't miss some reference or something. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.23.91|172.68.23.91]] 05:48, 5 December 2024 (UTC)
: Likewise. I get the comic, but I assumed the 'armada' part was a reference that I just did not get. But it seems it is just a word choice. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.102.105|172.71.102.105]] 09:39, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

I think that since the error was "out of bounds", not "out of memory", it's referring to indexing outside of the region of memory that the program allocated to deal with the board. This would happen since instead of addressing rank 1..8, you could address rank 9, 10, 0, or -1. Unless bounds checking is performed when converting the board coordinates into linear array indices, you'd get an out-of-bounds error (or worse, succeed in reading or modifying memory that you weren't intending to). --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.30.253|172.71.30.253]] 05:45, 5 December 2024 (UTC)
:It was "Out of Bounds memory access". That means it was trying to access a memory address that was out of the bounds of the computer, as if it were trying to access the ω-th index of the board array, which would put it out of the memory range of any computer [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you want to]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 06:15, 5 December 2024 (UTC)
:: There is no hint that the bounds are those of the computer, the simplest explanation really is that the bounds are those of an array. The error message does come up. In addition, to try to access the memory at the ω-th index, you would need to construct the ω-th index itself first (which would fail or not terminate) [[User:Jmm|Jmm]] ([[User talk:Jmm|talk]]) 07:01, 5 December 2024 (UTC)
::: The specific message, "RuntimeError: Out of bounds memory access", is a WebGL error issuing from its WASM cross-platform browser implementation. This implies to me that an attempt to render an infinite chessboard failed in a fairly trivial way, because of a poor implementation. It's very unlikely that there had been a problem with the [https://github.com/official-stockfish/Stockfish/tree/master/src Stockfish playing algorithm] yet, which would have failed with a different message if it ran out of memory, such as "Killed", which is all that shells like Bash print when one of their job processes is killed by the kernel's OOM killer, or by anything else for that matter. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.215.21|172.70.215.21]] 12:58, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

Is this a reference to [https://youtu.be/rav29N0-h2c infinite chess by Naviary?] [[User:HaruruChanDesu|HaruruChanDesu]] ([[User talk:HaruruChanDesu|talk]]) 11:21, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

"it does not really need to consider the infinitely many pieces" => a chess Engine would need to consider the infinitely many pieces (or have a way to abstract them), even if some pieces are currently stuck because the engine recursively evaluates moves and counter-moves (i.e. evaluates the game up to some depth).

== Hit me up when this becomes real. ==

I would like to try this out. [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 12:29, 5 December 2024 (UTC)
:It should be easy enough. You will rarely get the queens out in play from deep in the array. So maybe just put two chess boars together and put some placeholder in for queens in the extra fields. If ever a queen in the bottom row is moved, place extra queens that can now be moved into the 2-3 squares that would be outside the board...--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:39, 5 December 2024 (UTC)
:It might be something one could set up in Infinite Chess, although having limits on the chessboard may be difficult. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.150.67|172.68.150.67]] 14:01, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

: Here's a finite approximation in ChessCraft: https://www.chesscraft.ca/design?id=5KM4 [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 15:37, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

While I understand how to play chess, I don't get the bit about "having a bunch of queens doesn't go very well". At first glance, the linked chess layout looks pretty solid. Can someone please enlighten me? Also, what does the TV Tropes link about Title Drop have to do with Infinite Armada, aside from that being the title of the comic? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.77|172.70.230.77]] 13:10, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

:: ... Nd6. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.246|172.70.91.246]] 13:31, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

::: Ah, thanks. Moving the knight there puts the king in check, and moving either queen to take it exposes the king to the bishop or rook, so checkmate. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.38|162.158.63.38]] 15:05, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

Could this be a reference to the meme about "eating an infinite armada of pizza"? The wording seems too similar to be a coincidence. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.46|172.70.114.46]] 14:46, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

Talk:1515: Basketball Earth

2024-10-18T04:50:58Z

Promethean: /* Moon's orbit vs 3-point line */

Apologies to the first editor, who made a snappier version of what I wrote. For the record, whilst fighting a dodgy internet connection I eventually ended up replacing the following...
Cueball is seen trying to explain the relative sizes of the earth and moon by comparing the earth to a basketball and the moon to what looks like a golf ball. This explanation is constantly thwarted by passerby interacting with the basketball while Cueball is explaining it.
For the title text, the answer is zero, since it is against basketball rules.
...with what I tried to keep short during my own writing from scratch. I also ommited several other concepts of my own thought: The fact that Blackhat must have used a very light-touch to ''only'' generate a megatsunami (albeit already unimaginably large, at Earthball's scale); The possibility of recursion (including something like the Men In Black 'cat collar' allusion); and that in the universe of the comic strip there is only ''one'' actual basketball (the Earthball itsself), although I like how we ''both'' had the idea that the basketballs upon Earthball would not have counted in a game of basketball with an Earthball-scaled hoop, due to quite obvious interpretations of the sport's regulations. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.67|141.101.98.67]] 05:11, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
:Oh yeah, and reversion is invited, if deemed preferable. As is amalgamation, and refinement and re-replacement by something even better, of course. As per the standard Wiki creed. Much as I am cringing at having upset the original contributor, I'm quite happy to be gazumped in turn. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.67|141.101.98.67]] 05:14, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
If you look at the third frame of the Blackhat sequence and compare it to the frames underneath, you can see that he didn't just touch the Earth or an ocean--he actually rotated it 90 degrees.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.115|108.162.221.115]] 09:38, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
:Well spotted! Edit that in! (Do it quickly with a pre-prepared edit. I kept getting hit by edit-conflicts, which I set about to resolve amicably without reversing anybody else's input; only to get hit by further edit-conflicts by the next person to come along and improve overlapping pieces, whom I also strived not to disregard.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.67|141.101.98.67]] 09:57, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
::No he didn't. the Earth always rotates from the first panel to the next. So that it is in a different position when Black Hat touches it, to where it was the panel before does not imply that he rotated the Earth. If anything he only rotated it a few degrees, as it had already rotated most of those 90 degree from panel 1 to panel 2 before Black Hat reaches the Earth. As far as I can see there has not been any change to include this yet. So that is good. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:41, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

I really love this comic. It is great fun. Thanks Randall, happy Earth day. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:42, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

... a tennis ball an average 7.2 metres away, while the Sun would be 26 metres across and 2.8 km away. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.165|108.162.250.165]] 13:25, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

It's 13:23 right now, but the clock of explainxkcd.com says it's 13:37. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 13:37, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

If we assume 9,000,000 basketballs sold every year ([http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=82227 bbs.ClutchFans.net]), one basketball lasts about 10,000 bounces ([http://www.sotruefacts.com/rule/770 SoTrueFacts.com]), and there's between 2,500 and 3,000 bounces per game ([http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_average_lifespan_of_a_basketball_in_bounces_in_National_Basketball_Association_play Answers.com]) we can extrapolate that on average a basketball doesn't live for more than a year, and the number of basketballs sold replace those which have lifed-out. Let's build in a 10% slush factor and say there 10m basketballs produced in the world last year. Let's further say that there's an extra 1m basketballs sold every year which don't get regular use and are in some kid's room and those have been accumulating for about ten years (different kids get basketballs every year which end up in their bedrooms). Dunking a basketball gives two points, and at 20 million basketballs, that gives 40 million points – and a safe bet you're going to make it to the playoffs that year. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:51, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Is it possible that the megatsunami is actually caused by the gravity of the scale Moon (it being way too close to the scale Earth)? This is a major problem that most children's books (or adult's books or websites) have. They scale the planets/moons/stars but not the distance. As the comment above, to get normal tides, the tennis ball should be 7.2m away at this scale. --[[User:Gravitron|Gravitron]] ([[User talk:Gravitron|talk]]) 14:06, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

I find it interesting that Randall makes the same mistake a lot of people make reguarding the distance between the earth and moon at that scale. I was watching Veritasium (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz9D6xba9Og) on Youtube a while back and the guy there was asking people how far away a tennis ball sized moon would be from a basketball sized Earth. Most people made the distance way too small, very similar to how far away they appear in the comic. In reality they would be something like 10 times that distance. Usually Randall is more accurate than this. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.171|108.162.221.171]] 14:09, 22 April 2015 (UTC)Agent0013
:Unless he was simply trying to compare the relative sizes. It's possible after that he would get in to the relative distance between the two - but good point. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:12, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
::It seemingly got lost when trying to resolve edits, but I'd calculated and intended to add that (for the size of a baseball, so a tennis ball would slightly different) 110 Moonball diameters separation between the two. Of course no human has (personally) seen that from a proper perspective, i.e. far enough away to get both bodies in the same convenient vision at the same time whilst off to the side. (Even the Apollo astronauts only got to look at one over the top of the other, at various times, or by panning between the two whilst in the midst of their trans-lunar trajectories.) But there's surely been a space probe or two with a suitable imager been tasked towards such a shot whilst off mostly perpendicular to the Earth-Moon and a decent distance away to get both in the same shot without distortion... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.67|141.101.98.67]] 17:52, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

I don't agree with the claim (at a couple points in the article) that *all* life would be extinguished by any of these manipulations. 2-4 may kill off most or all macroscopic life, but microbes would survive all of them (unless Megan has bleach in that sports bottle). If 3 or 4 shattered the earth, that might extinguish all microbes, but even that I doubt. The only case I can imagine would be if 3 or 4 caused it to spiral into the sun. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 14:10, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Title text might be reference to HHGTG: “
Ford Prefect: I read of one planet in the seventh dimension got used as a ball in a game of intergalactic bar billiards. Got potted straight into a black hole, killed ten billion people.
Arthur Dent: Madness. Total madness.
Ford Prefect: Yeah. Only scored thirty points too. ”[[Special:Contributions/198.41.241.91|198.41.241.91]] 14:23, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

-----

I admit that I'm super-confused by the structure of the comic. The explanation here describes possible consequences for the actions, but as depicted, only the first has any "real world" effect. I too would expect the water bottle to cause a deluge, but it doesn't seem to. What's going on? [[User:Mattdm|Mattdm]] ([[User talk:Mattdm|talk]]) 15:40, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

-----

The hoop in panel 16 seems too high, unless both Cueball and Megan are under 5 feet tall. --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 17:11, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
:It could be perspective...[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 12:58, 23 April 2015 (UTC)

Happy Earth Day everyone. Today is the day we regret everything we do to the earth, and the next is the day we forget all that. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 17:59, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
:I just noticed that if [[1511]] (Spice Girl) had had been released on the following Friday, i.e. the slot actually given to comic 1513 (Code Quality), it would have coincided with Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham's 41st birthday. So, that would probably not have been an intentional direct reference, but ''soooo'' close to ending up being an accidental one. While I'm happy to go along with Earth Day as a deliberate reference... it makes you think, eh? (Although I'd be happy if people thought about Earth Day itself more than the synchronicity. It's a good cause, and pause for thought.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.67|141.101.98.67]] 19:55, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Why the whole paragraph about it being a baseball? We have no indication of what it is, so why not just say "if it's a tennis ball..." [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.107|173.245.50.107]] 18:35, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
:Might be my fault. I assumed it was a basketball/baseball comparison in my original endeavour, and this has persisted through other edits, even after the rather logical "...a tennis ball's proportions". Over-compensated for Randall being Leftpondian, probably, even though I've never played Baseball myself (only Rounders). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.67|141.101.98.67]] 19:55, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

The title is almost certainly a reference to the movie "Battlefield Earth" [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.109|199.27.133.109]] 23:57, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

The points acquired for simultaneously dunking all basketballs in existence, or further out -- EVER made, would be at most 2 points (0 if any of the Referees deemed this an illegal/foreign object or an attempt at cheating). Introducing more basketballs onto the court would not result in more points being scored. Furthermore, the basketball earth, while 'containing' all other basketballs, is still itself a single object.{{unsigned|Dulock}}

Does anybody else find it odd that black hat is actually the one causing the LEAST destruction?[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.228|199.27.130.228]] 03:09, 23 April 2015 (UTC)
:Except, in a way, he is causing the most harm. Scenario 2, 3, and 4 do cause everyone to die, but they would be relatively quick, and what black hat does has painful consequences. The megatsunami would cause huge-scale devastation, worst near the sea he poked, but still bad. This would, among other things, require major rebuilding efforts and include crop failures, leading to famines and the like. In addition, it would have scientists trying to explain it, which would lead to confusion, something black hat likes causing. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.138|162.158.2.138]] 07:04, 25 March 2016 (UTC)

A useful comparison from the Canadian comedy troupe, "The Frantics": "If we could shrink the sun to the size of a basketball, and the earth to the size of a pea . . . ''we'd be magic!''" {{unsigned ip|173.245.56.173}}

Just re-reading old pages...this discussion reminds me of one of my favourite pieces of public art. In Melbourne Australia, there's a scale model of the solar system along the beach. The sun is a ball around 2m across, mercury is pea sized and around 50m away (dimensions approx, long time since I've visited) and the rest scaled to match. Pluto (old sculpture) is around 5kms away, and a tiny speck on its plinth. And not far away from the sun is Alpha Centauri, apparently to scale if you walk the other way around the earth...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.35|108.162.250.35]] 14:41, 19 June 2018 (UTC)

It looks like in the Black Hat part, the Earth is actually skewing in its rotation (it starts out in the first panel with the Americas and Africa, the second panel looks like it's skewed about 45 degrees counter-clockwise, and the third panel definitely looks like Earth has rotated on what would be its side to our standard North Pole-oriented map a whole 90 degrees and therefore, Black Hat's hand (or the tip of his arm as stick figures are often thus undetailed) has landed on Antarctica. Of course, the physical damage to the polar ice cap and its subsequent dispersal into the Southern Ocean would definitely affect sea levels, but a tsunami striking any heavily-populated coastal town is out of the question.

== Moon's orbit vs 3-point line ==

Has anyone else noticed that if the earth were a basketball, then when it was on the floor right under the net, the Moon's orbit would be really close to (and, by my calculations, outside) the 3-point line? [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 04:49, 18 October 2024 (UTC)

Talk:1515: Basketball Earth

2024-10-18T04:49:44Z

Promethean: Moon's orbit vs 3-point line

Apologies to the first editor, who made a snappier version of what I wrote. For the record, whilst fighting a dodgy internet connection I eventually ended up replacing the following...
Cueball is seen trying to explain the relative sizes of the earth and moon by comparing the earth to a basketball and the moon to what looks like a golf ball. This explanation is constantly thwarted by passerby interacting with the basketball while Cueball is explaining it.
For the title text, the answer is zero, since it is against basketball rules.
...with what I tried to keep short during my own writing from scratch. I also ommited several other concepts of my own thought: The fact that Blackhat must have used a very light-touch to ''only'' generate a megatsunami (albeit already unimaginably large, at Earthball's scale); The possibility of recursion (including something like the Men In Black 'cat collar' allusion); and that in the universe of the comic strip there is only ''one'' actual basketball (the Earthball itsself), although I like how we ''both'' had the idea that the basketballs upon Earthball would not have counted in a game of basketball with an Earthball-scaled hoop, due to quite obvious interpretations of the sport's regulations. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.67|141.101.98.67]] 05:11, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
:Oh yeah, and reversion is invited, if deemed preferable. As is amalgamation, and refinement and re-replacement by something even better, of course. As per the standard Wiki creed. Much as I am cringing at having upset the original contributor, I'm quite happy to be gazumped in turn. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.67|141.101.98.67]] 05:14, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
If you look at the third frame of the Blackhat sequence and compare it to the frames underneath, you can see that he didn't just touch the Earth or an ocean--he actually rotated it 90 degrees.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.115|108.162.221.115]] 09:38, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
:Well spotted! Edit that in! (Do it quickly with a pre-prepared edit. I kept getting hit by edit-conflicts, which I set about to resolve amicably without reversing anybody else's input; only to get hit by further edit-conflicts by the next person to come along and improve overlapping pieces, whom I also strived not to disregard.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.67|141.101.98.67]] 09:57, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
::No he didn't. the Earth always rotates from the first panel to the next. So that it is in a different position when Black Hat touches it, to where it was the panel before does not imply that he rotated the Earth. If anything he only rotated it a few degrees, as it had already rotated most of those 90 degree from panel 1 to panel 2 before Black Hat reaches the Earth. As far as I can see there has not been any change to include this yet. So that is good. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:41, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

I really love this comic. It is great fun. Thanks Randall, happy Earth day. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:42, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

... a tennis ball an average 7.2 metres away, while the Sun would be 26 metres across and 2.8 km away. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.165|108.162.250.165]] 13:25, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

It's 13:23 right now, but the clock of explainxkcd.com says it's 13:37. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 13:37, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

If we assume 9,000,000 basketballs sold every year ([http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=82227 bbs.ClutchFans.net]), one basketball lasts about 10,000 bounces ([http://www.sotruefacts.com/rule/770 SoTrueFacts.com]), and there's between 2,500 and 3,000 bounces per game ([http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_average_lifespan_of_a_basketball_in_bounces_in_National_Basketball_Association_play Answers.com]) we can extrapolate that on average a basketball doesn't live for more than a year, and the number of basketballs sold replace those which have lifed-out. Let's build in a 10% slush factor and say there 10m basketballs produced in the world last year. Let's further say that there's an extra 1m basketballs sold every year which don't get regular use and are in some kid's room and those have been accumulating for about ten years (different kids get basketballs every year which end up in their bedrooms). Dunking a basketball gives two points, and at 20 million basketballs, that gives 40 million points – and a safe bet you're going to make it to the playoffs that year. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:51, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Is it possible that the megatsunami is actually caused by the gravity of the scale Moon (it being way too close to the scale Earth)? This is a major problem that most children's books (or adult's books or websites) have. They scale the planets/moons/stars but not the distance. As the comment above, to get normal tides, the tennis ball should be 7.2m away at this scale. --[[User:Gravitron|Gravitron]] ([[User talk:Gravitron|talk]]) 14:06, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

I find it interesting that Randall makes the same mistake a lot of people make reguarding the distance between the earth and moon at that scale. I was watching Veritasium (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz9D6xba9Og) on Youtube a while back and the guy there was asking people how far away a tennis ball sized moon would be from a basketball sized Earth. Most people made the distance way too small, very similar to how far away they appear in the comic. In reality they would be something like 10 times that distance. Usually Randall is more accurate than this. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.171|108.162.221.171]] 14:09, 22 April 2015 (UTC)Agent0013
:Unless he was simply trying to compare the relative sizes. It's possible after that he would get in to the relative distance between the two - but good point. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:12, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
::It seemingly got lost when trying to resolve edits, but I'd calculated and intended to add that (for the size of a baseball, so a tennis ball would slightly different) 110 Moonball diameters separation between the two. Of course no human has (personally) seen that from a proper perspective, i.e. far enough away to get both bodies in the same convenient vision at the same time whilst off to the side. (Even the Apollo astronauts only got to look at one over the top of the other, at various times, or by panning between the two whilst in the midst of their trans-lunar trajectories.) But there's surely been a space probe or two with a suitable imager been tasked towards such a shot whilst off mostly perpendicular to the Earth-Moon and a decent distance away to get both in the same shot without distortion... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.67|141.101.98.67]] 17:52, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

I don't agree with the claim (at a couple points in the article) that *all* life would be extinguished by any of these manipulations. 2-4 may kill off most or all macroscopic life, but microbes would survive all of them (unless Megan has bleach in that sports bottle). If 3 or 4 shattered the earth, that might extinguish all microbes, but even that I doubt. The only case I can imagine would be if 3 or 4 caused it to spiral into the sun. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 14:10, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Title text might be reference to HHGTG: “
Ford Prefect: I read of one planet in the seventh dimension got used as a ball in a game of intergalactic bar billiards. Got potted straight into a black hole, killed ten billion people.
Arthur Dent: Madness. Total madness.
Ford Prefect: Yeah. Only scored thirty points too. ”[[Special:Contributions/198.41.241.91|198.41.241.91]] 14:23, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

-----

I admit that I'm super-confused by the structure of the comic. The explanation here describes possible consequences for the actions, but as depicted, only the first has any "real world" effect. I too would expect the water bottle to cause a deluge, but it doesn't seem to. What's going on? [[User:Mattdm|Mattdm]] ([[User talk:Mattdm|talk]]) 15:40, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

-----

The hoop in panel 16 seems too high, unless both Cueball and Megan are under 5 feet tall. --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 17:11, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
:It could be perspective...[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 12:58, 23 April 2015 (UTC)

Happy Earth Day everyone. Today is the day we regret everything we do to the earth, and the next is the day we forget all that. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 17:59, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
:I just noticed that if [[1511]] (Spice Girl) had had been released on the following Friday, i.e. the slot actually given to comic 1513 (Code Quality), it would have coincided with Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham's 41st birthday. So, that would probably not have been an intentional direct reference, but ''soooo'' close to ending up being an accidental one. While I'm happy to go along with Earth Day as a deliberate reference... it makes you think, eh? (Although I'd be happy if people thought about Earth Day itself more than the synchronicity. It's a good cause, and pause for thought.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.67|141.101.98.67]] 19:55, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Why the whole paragraph about it being a baseball? We have no indication of what it is, so why not just say "if it's a tennis ball..." [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.107|173.245.50.107]] 18:35, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
:Might be my fault. I assumed it was a basketball/baseball comparison in my original endeavour, and this has persisted through other edits, even after the rather logical "...a tennis ball's proportions". Over-compensated for Randall being Leftpondian, probably, even though I've never played Baseball myself (only Rounders). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.67|141.101.98.67]] 19:55, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

The title is almost certainly a reference to the movie "Battlefield Earth" [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.109|199.27.133.109]] 23:57, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

The points acquired for simultaneously dunking all basketballs in existence, or further out -- EVER made, would be at most 2 points (0 if any of the Referees deemed this an illegal/foreign object or an attempt at cheating). Introducing more basketballs onto the court would not result in more points being scored. Furthermore, the basketball earth, while 'containing' all other basketballs, is still itself a single object.{{unsigned|Dulock}}

Does anybody else find it odd that black hat is actually the one causing the LEAST destruction?[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.228|199.27.130.228]] 03:09, 23 April 2015 (UTC)
:Except, in a way, he is causing the most harm. Scenario 2, 3, and 4 do cause everyone to die, but they would be relatively quick, and what black hat does has painful consequences. The megatsunami would cause huge-scale devastation, worst near the sea he poked, but still bad. This would, among other things, require major rebuilding efforts and include crop failures, leading to famines and the like. In addition, it would have scientists trying to explain it, which would lead to confusion, something black hat likes causing. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.138|162.158.2.138]] 07:04, 25 March 2016 (UTC)

A useful comparison from the Canadian comedy troupe, "The Frantics": "If we could shrink the sun to the size of a basketball, and the earth to the size of a pea . . . ''we'd be magic!''" {{unsigned ip|173.245.56.173}}

Just re-reading old pages...this discussion reminds me of one of my favourite pieces of public art. In Melbourne Australia, there's a scale model of the solar system along the beach. The sun is a ball around 2m across, mercury is pea sized and around 50m away (dimensions approx, long time since I've visited) and the rest scaled to match. Pluto (old sculpture) is around 5kms away, and a tiny speck on its plinth. And not far away from the sun is Alpha Centauri, apparently to scale if you walk the other way around the earth...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.35|108.162.250.35]] 14:41, 19 June 2018 (UTC)

It looks like in the Black Hat part, the Earth is actually skewing in its rotation (it starts out in the first panel with the Americas and Africa, the second panel looks like it's skewed about 45 degrees counter-clockwise, and the third panel definitely looks like Earth has rotated on what would be its side to our standard North Pole-oriented map a whole 90 degrees and therefore, Black Hat's hand (or the tip of his arm as stick figures are often thus undetailed) has landed on Antarctica. Of course, the physical damage to the polar ice cap and its subsequent dispersal into the Southern Ocean would definitely affect sea levels, but a tsunami striking any heavily-populated coastal town is out of the question.

== Moon's orbit vs 3-point line ==

Has anyone else noticed that if the earth were a basketball, then when it was on the floor right under the net, the Moon's orbit would be just outside the 3-point line? [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 04:49, 18 October 2024 (UTC)

Talk:1747: Spider Paleontology

2024-10-10T04:02:38Z

Promethean: /* Spider-Man */ new section

I think it the first XKCD I don't get :P [[Special:Contributions/162.158.50.34|162.158.50.34]] 13:02, 17 October 2016 (UTC)
* I don't believe you, no-one except Randall Himself is that smart ;-) Anyways, hope the explanation I added helps some [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.191|162.158.92.191]] 13:40, 17 October 2016 (UTC)

I like how the 6th panel has no borders. To me it signifies the broadening of her horizons, the going beyond her previous limits, as the realisation sinks in. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.191|162.158.92.191]] 14:14, 17 October 2016 (UTC)

I remember reading about a fossil of a spider with its web, but I don't remember where I read about it. I don't suppose anyone else has heard the same? (Ideally someone who remembers the source?) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.45|108.162.238.45]] 15:27, 17 October 2016 (UTC)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/6467024/Fossil-hunter-finds-140-million-year-old-spiders-web.html [[User:Mwburden|mwburden]] ([[User talk:Mwburden|talk]]) 16:44, 17 October 2016 (UTC)
:Although, with no prior knowledge of webs, that fossil would not have been much help! [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 03:42, 18 October 2016 (UTC)

Other fossil spiderwebs:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/08/0807_030807_spiderweb.html
http://www.amnh.org/our-research/science-news/2006/110-million-year-old-spider-web-with-insect-prey-found-preserved-in-amber/

Randall is simply mistaken here. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.47|162.158.2.47]] 13:43, 18 October 2016 (UTC)

Actually not all spiders spin webs, Wolf spiders chase their prey. So 'Future Guy' could get equally confused but limited observations of just one type. [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 17:45, 17 October 2016 (UTC)
:Lots of spiders do not spin webs, but they do all use silk for something. I'm pretty sure the Sphere would have been equally freaked out by a bolas spider (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolas_spider). [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 03:20, 18 October 2022 (UTC)

Anyone think this is the character from the Steroids comic? Looks fairly similar. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.88|108.162.237.88]] 16:08, 17 October 2016 (UTC)
:It does seem to be the same basic design, but not identical. Of course, the whatever-it-is seen here is not even depicted consistently from panel to panel, so the differences from #1173 don't mean it's a different character, either. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.53|162.158.74.53]] 19:22, 17 October 2016 (UTC)
::No I do not. I have moved ref to other energy spheres into the new series category for these comics: [[:Category:Time traveling Sphere]]. I also went through all series and then made a detailed list of all types of series on the [[:Category:Comic series]] page. All "real" series are listed chronologically there and the type (five in one week/two over long time) are mentioned and specified. There is also know a detailed discussion on how strange this comic series release schedule is. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:46, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

Possibly related: Where do Dinosaurs go when it rains? - https://xkcd.com/1434/ [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.134|108.162.242.134]] 17:48, 17 October 2016 (UTC)

Good as a joke, but note that the visitor from future is speaking English. The idea that English will remain but knowledge about webs vanishes ... seriously? Did no one though about spiders used to download parts of world wide web in future? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:47, 18 October 2016 (UTC)
:We already have floating energy spheres and time travel. A universal translator is universally likely. — --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.10|108.162.229.10]] 19:33, 27 June 2018 (UTC)
:Considering this comic is about time travel, I somehow doubt Randall was setting out to be scientifically accurate [[Special:Contributions/162.158.142.219|162.158.142.219]] 16:17, 18 October 2016 (UTC)
::He's Randall, isn't he? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:42, 18 October 2016 (UTC)

did anyone notice that the time traveller says "your planet's spiders". It's possible that a far distant future human is living on a different planet, but it's odd phrasing. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.124|108.162.241.124]] 20:03, 18 October 2016 (UTC)
:What makes you think the time traveller is human? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:42, 18 October 2016 (UTC)

Within a few weeks before this comic, ''Nature'' published a study claiming that rather than roaring, many dinosaurs may have cooed and/or quacked. I wonder if this sort of new information inspired Randall to wonder what other facts about dinosaurs we don't yet know. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.64|173.245.48.64]] 21:56, 18 October 2016 (UTC)

== Spider-Man ==

If the future ball doesn't have even a ''concept'' of spiderwebs even as something that's probably a myth, then this suggests that not only have no large pieces of one been preserved from our time, but neither has a #1 issue of Spider-Man. How long would it take for the ravages of time to defeat the ingenuity of collectors and the investment market? [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 04:02, 10 October 2024 (UTC)

2259: Networking Problems

2024-10-09T21:35:18Z

Promethean: /* Explanation */ Scheduled process daily at noon might do jt

{{comic
| number = 2259
| date = January 24, 2020
| title = Networking Problems
| image = networking_problems.png
| titletext = LOOK, THE LATENCY FALLS EVERY TIME YOU CLAP YOUR HANDS AND SAY YOU BELIEVE
}}

==Explanation==
Computer problems are frequent and can be difficult to solve.{{Citation needed}} Networking problems in particular can puzzle even seasoned people and sometimes seem to have arbitrary issues causing them. {{w|Network packet|Packets}} are units of data transfer used in computer networking. One measure of network performance is ''lag'', or the more technical term of {{w|Latency (engineering)|''latency''}}, which describes the amount of time it takes for data to travel from one point to another (and perhaps back); saying a packet's transmission is 'laggy' means it is unacceptably delayed. Suffering from lag means that you're likely exhibiting various knock-on effects, from intolerable online gaming experiences to difficulties streaming multimedia resources, with or without the simultaneous issue of having ''low {{w|Bandwidth (computing)|bandwidth}}''.

Lag in packet transmission and other network performance measures can appear quite random. Just to start with, your ISP may be engaged in traffic shaping, which can do very weird things indeed to your packets (making the first megabyte of a transfer faster than any other, for example); now imagine that your ISP's ISP (usually known as an "Upstream Provider") is engaged in something similar, and you begin to see the scale of the problem. Wireless latency can relate to things as unexpected as where people are standing, what they are touching, the weather, viruses and other system compromises, network activity by other unseen users, and so on. Because humans are wired to perceive patterns, they will {{w|Apophenia|find them even in random data}}, a fallacy that Cueball is probably suffering from here. He variously attributes the network behavior he sees to the packet number being even vs. odd, packet arrival time being before vs. after noon, and packet arrival day being today vs. yesterday. Such a pattern would make sense if it were merely "every other packet" regardless of odd or evenness, but that still leaves unexplained the other "patterns" Cueball is seeing (for which the explanation may involve a scheduled process that runs daily at noon and transmits or receives an odd number of errant packets).

These non-existent patterns that Cueball is 'finding' are driving him mad, so much so that he says he believes in ghosts now. The statement of belief in ghosts may be a reference to the intermittent or fluctuating nature of the network issues being caused by mischievous or malevolent spirits. Ghosts generally are not concerned with expressions of belief, but there are some religious traditions that include group clapping and chanting. Many works of fiction depict a future or alternate history where {{tvtropes|MachineWorship|machines are worshiped as gods or spirits}}, such as the Adeptus Mechanicus of ''{{w|Warhammer 40,000}}''. Some of this terminology can be found in present-day IT and other support personnel, including references to "{{w|Daemon (computing)|daemons}}" and "[http://catb.org/jargon/html/B/black-magic.html black magic]". Another possible reference Randall may be making is to the {{w|Ghost_in_the_machine|Ghost in the machine}}, a term describing AI. A third possibility is that Cueball's brain had stopped working, as Randall had suggested in his chart. it may also be a reference to [[1316: Inexplicable]], in which Megan concludes Cueball's computer is haunted.

The title text continues Cueball's maniacal attempts at self-assurance, with him alluding to J.M. Barrie's play ''{{w|Peter Pan}}'' by saying that latency falls every time you "CLAP YOUR HANDS AND SAY YOU BELIEVE". In the play, Peter Pan says, [https://classic-literature.co.uk/j-m-barrie-peter-pan-play/|"Say quick that you believe! If you believe, clap your hands!"] A more mundane explanation of the network behavior Cueball is experiencing might be that it is random but he's seeing a pattern anyway, or that there is a loose connection or trace and the vibration of clapping and speaking in the vicinity of the equipment in question closes the connection.

Similar superstition regarding computer devices was used previously in [[1457: Feedback]].

==Transcript==
:[A chart is shown with one horizontal line with 13 ticks (the first larger) and ending in an arrow. There are three labels along the line, at the start in the middle an towards the end before the arrow. Below are two clouds in gray with labels. The first cloud is long and it is getting thinner towards the right. It goes between the first and second label above the chart. The second blob is smaller and of equal thickness and it goes from the last label towards right. Above the chart is a heading and a subheading:]
:<big>Types of Computer Problems</big>
:By how much debugging them makes your brain stop working

:[The three labels above and the two in the clouds:]
:None
:Some
:A lot
:Normal problems
:Networking problems

:[Below the chart, only in the right part of the comic is a comic drawing. Cueball is kneeling before a rack of servers. One of the server blades is extended and connected by a cable to a laptop sitting on a box, which Cueball is using. Behind Cueball, there is a wireless router sitting on a stool, which is connected by a cable to another wireless router sitting on the floor, which is connected to another laptop. From behind him to the right an off-panel voice emanates from a starburst at the edge of the panel.]
:Cueball: '''''Before''''' noon, '''''odd'''''-numbered packets were laggy, but ''after'' noon, '''''even'''''-numbered ones are! It's the '''''opposite''''' of yesterday!
:Off-panel voice: Are you sure you're okay?
:Cueball: '''''I'm fine and I believe in ghosts now!'''''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]

2989: Physics Lab Thermostat

2024-09-24T05:44:48Z

Promethean:

{{comic
| number = 2989
| date = September 23, 2024
| title = Physics Lab Thermostat
| image = physics_lab_thermostat_2x.png
| imagesize = 264x296px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Hopefully the HVAC people set it to only affect the AIR in the room.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOLTZMANN BRAIN - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is about the {{w|Boltzmann constant}}, which relates the average kinetic energy of a particle in a gas with the temperature of the gas. The Boltzmann constant is defined as 1.380649 × 10^-23 J/K (joules per kelvin).

Randall imagines a physics lab having a dial that can alter the constant between 1.418 x 10^-23 J/K and 1.351 x 10^-23 J/K. Changing one of the fundamental constants of thermodynamics would have dangerous effects.{{acn}}

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

:[A black circular dial is shown with a white indicator line at the upper right. The label above the dial, enclosed in a rectangular box, says:]
:Local Boltzmann Constant
:[The two extremes of the dial are labeled as follows, the first value on the left and the second value on the right:]
:1.418 x 10-23 J/K
:1.351 x 10-23 J/K
:[The indicator line is pointing to a position on the dial somewhere around 1.375 x 10-23 J/K.]
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Physics Lab Thermostat

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

2960: Organ Meanings

2024-07-18T05:09:48Z

Promethean: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2960
| date = July 17, 2024
| title = Organ Meanings
| image = organ_meanings_2x.png
| imagesize = 407x346px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = IMO the thymus is one of the coolest organs and we should really use it in metaphors more.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT'S PINEAL GLAND - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

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

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2750: Flatten the Planets

2023-03-16T18:28:38Z

Promethean:

I have to wonder, would you slide down to the sun, or be flung outwards? [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 19:39, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
: The discs are centered on the orbit of the parent planet, and presumably rotating at the same frequency as the parent planet's orbit. That means the inner edge of each disc is going slower than you'd need to orbit the Sun at that distance, and the outer edge faster. If you moved inward from the original planet's orbit, the Sun's gravity would pull you in, but when you crossed the boundary to the next disc, you'd get flung back outward.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.61|162.158.62.61]] 19:58, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::No Each planet fills out the space within their orbit into the next planet. Easy to see as the outer edge of Neptune's orbit is the same as with the planet flattened. There is a distance from Mercury to the Sun indicated. Maybe because it would melt if it got any closer? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:03, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:::First, they're rings not discs, but I'm skeptical of the math. And it looks to me like the ring's edges are halfway between the orbits, with Neptune extended outwards the same distance as halfway to Uranus's orbit. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.4|172.69.22.4]] 20:08, 15 March 2023 (UTC)

{{cot|My mistake, Randall's math is correct, sorry.}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right;"
|-
! Planet !! Volume (109 km3) !! Orbital radius (106 km) || halfway to prior || halfway to next || Annulus area (10<s>9</s> ''12'' OOPS! km2) || Thickness (<s>cm</s> ''10s of microns'')
|-
| Mercury || 61 || 58 || 29 (to 0) || 83 || 19,000 || 321
|-
| Venus || 928 || 108 || 83 || 129 || 30,637 || 3,029
|-
| Earth || 1,083 || 150 || 129 || 189 || 59,942 || 1,802
|-
| Mars || 163 || 228 || 189 || 504 || 685,794 || 24
|-
| Jupiter || 1,4310,00 || 779 || 504 || 1,107 || 3,051,847 || 46,890
|-
| Saturn || 827,130 || 1,434 || 1,107 || 2,154 || 10,726,236 || 7,711
|-
| Uranus || 68,340 || 2,873 || 2,154 || 3,684 || 28,061,145 || 244
|-
| Neptune || 62,540 || 4,495 || 3,684 || 5,304 (symmetry) || 45,743,348 || 137
|}

:::: The volumes in this table are at 2 different scales. Only the Mercury to Mars volumes are at 1010 km3. Jupiter to Neptune are at 1012 km3 [[User:Sandor|Sandor]] ([[User talk:Sandor|talk]]) 21:01, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::: Thanks, fixed; I had the scale wrong for the radii too. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.231|172.71.158.231]] 21:16, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:::Someone please double-check this, I think Randall is off by a factor of 1000. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.229|172.71.154.229]] 21:37, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:::: I did my own spreadsheet, and my figures agree with Randall's (roughly). I think your thinkness figures are mostly out by 1000, and a few of your volume figures also have the wrong scale (Mercury is smaller than Mars, and the giants are too big by a factor of 10). [[User:Sandor|Sandor]] ([[User talk:Sandor|talk]]) 22:07, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::: 61 * 10^9 km^3 is [https://www.google.com/search?q=61+*+10%5E9+km%5E3+in+cm%5E3 6.1 × 10^25 cm^3], 19000 * 10^9 km^2 is [https://www.google.com/search?q=19000+*+10%5E9+km%5E2+in+cm%5E2 1.9 × 10^23 cm^2], and (6.1 × 10^25 cm^3) / (1.9 × 10^23 cm^2) is [https://www.google.com/search?q=%286.1+%C3%97+10%5E25+cm%5E3%29+%2F+%281.9+%C3%97+10%5E23+cm%5E2%29 3.2 meters]. I'm afraid I'm correct. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.145|172.69.22.145]] 22:31, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::: According to {{w|List_of_Solar_System_objects_by_size#Objects_with_radius_over_400_km}} yes I had Mars wrong (corrected) but the others are roughly correct. I stand by my claim that Randall is in error. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.86|172.71.154.86]] 22:39, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:::::: Mercury's orbital radius is about 58 * 106 km, not 58 * 109 km, which makes the annulus' area 19000 1012 km2. [[User:Sandor|Sandor]] ([[User talk:Sandor|talk]]) 23:20, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::::: I fixed that label, hold on... [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.86|172.71.154.86]] 23:30, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::::: You're right. Thanks. Sorry. Reverted on main. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.215|172.71.154.215]] 23:39, 15 March 2023 (UTC)

|} 

This makes about as much sense as other Flat Earth theories. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.200.137|172.70.200.137]] 20:00, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:But this would actually be a flat Earth. Albeit with a rather larger surface area ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:03, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:And..the Earth-ring is not a disc and it's also in the same plane as the sun. Meaning If you were to stand on the surface of this ring earth , there would be a perpetual sunrise / sunset... And similar for everything else in the plane of the ecliptic. [[User:Iggynelix|Iggynelix]] ([[User talk:Iggynelix|talk]]) 12:36, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

But what does the plot of surface gravity vs distance from the Sun look like? Gravity of an infinite plane and all that?--[[User:Brossa|Brossa]] ([[User talk:Brossa|talk]]) 00:01, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

The explanation currently says that it would require "several solar system's worth" of matter, but isn't there enough matter in the actual solar system? --[[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 00:49, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
:That was said in reference to the Alderson Disk, which requires 1000km or so of thickness. Clearly more than the proposal here that gives a minute thickness (relatively) from the ''actual'' planetary mass in the solar system. Even if you reduced its extent (smaller outer, bigger hole for the Sun) it wouldn't thicken up enough. The prior (non-xkcd) version would require a mass of material rivaling, if not exceeding, that of the Sun itself. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.222|172.70.162.222]] 02:07, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

One of the reasons NASA rejected this could've been the use of inches. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.102.13|172.71.102.13]] 02:26, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
: Except for Mars. I can only imagine that use of the metric system for the Mars ring is a reference to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter#Cause_of_failure Mars Climate Orbiter] fiasco, which certainly would not endear Randall, or his proposal, to a NASA granting agency program officer. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.150|172.70.214.150]] 02:45, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
:: I assume the use of microns there is simply because 5/512 is a really awkward fraction. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.223.25|172.71.223.25]] 05:48, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
::: Awkward? Its vulgar! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.56|172.70.162.56]] 08:05, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
:: Oh right, the Mars Climate Orbiter reference makes sense! I was wondering why Randall would mix imperial and metric units like that. No sane physicist would do that, especially not Randall. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.250.88|172.71.250.88]] 12:52, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
::: And Randall rubs more salt into the wound by using "micron", when the formal/correct SI unit name is "micrometer".[[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.187|172.70.206.187]] 17:13, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

If the planets of the solar system were to become disks centered on the respective planet's current orbit, how do we deal with the different orbital eccentricities? For example, per That Other Wiki, Venus has an orbital eccentricity of 0.006772, Earth has 0.0167086, and Mars has 0.0934. Not to mention Neptune's 0.008678 and Pluto's 0.2488; Pluto's orbit actually crosses Neptune's. Surely that would cause issues with the disks? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.98.5|172.71.98.5]] 08:33, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
:Pluto isn't involved, so at least that difficulty doesn't have to be dealt with. Maybe Pluto and other dwarf planets could be used to supplement the asteroid ball bearings.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.63|172.71.242.63]] 10:55, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

It appears that there is enough material in the asteroid belt to do this, since a ring of asteroid ball bearings with a 1 trillion kilometer diameter where each ball bearing was a cube 1 meter by 1 meter (clearly more than enough!) would be less than 10 trillion cubic meters. Since the total mass of the asteroid belt is 10^21 kg, and the average density is around 2 g/cm^3, = 2000 kg/m^3, then the amount of matter required is 2,000*10 trillion = 2 quadrillion which is much less than 10^21. (Not sure if this is actually correct) --[[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 12:17, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
:Ahh yes, the classic cubic-bearing. Just what we need in this planetary ring system we've created. Since Randall elects to eschew spheres for the planets, let's go all in and refuse them for the bearings as well. Bravo. ;-) [[User:Iggynelix|Iggynelix]] ([[User talk:Iggynelix|talk]]) 12:40-12:47, 16 March 2023 (UTC) 
::''I just want to say that this line of logic ''really'' tickled my funnybone. Well done! ...I've got no other valid contribution at this time, just that.'' [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.101|172.70.90.101]] 13:11, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
::That was to further overestimate the material needed, since a cube is more mass than a sphere. --[[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 15:09, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
Did anyone notice that this came out just after pi-day? [[User:Iggynelix|Iggynelix]] ([[User talk:Iggynelix|talk]]) 12:40, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
: That's really crusty of Randall. It does explain the rolling pin. He probably also knows, and chooses (for cause) not to disclose, that pronunciation of the Greek letter as "pie" [https://www.dude-n-dude.com/2023/03/14/amoebas-lorica-14-march-icymi/ doesn't conform to modern language usage]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.232|162.158.90.232]] 17:01, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

== Death's End ==

I don't know if there's a non spoilery-way to mention that there are similar ideas explored in the novel ''Death's End'' by Liu Cixin. [[User:Nedlum|Nedlum]] ([[User talk:Nedlum|talk]]) 13:22, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

What would even happen here? Would the rings collapse into planets again? Where will the atmospheres go? Are the rings a uniform material like rock or many small pebbles? What happens at the borders? Would i be squished or will all life still be intact? If i a squished, do i have to put up with my worst enemy next to me? Will it be like the flat skins from //All Tomorrows//? Will i die? I expect to see this in «What If 2» coming out 13th october. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.134.38|172.68.134.38]] 14:31, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

Presumably for the gas giants to hold a disc shape, the gas would have to be encased in hollow discs made out of the solid cores. How thick would the walls be? What if we used thinner cavities to store the inner planets' atmospheres as well? And how much would the core material decompress as a result of not being a core? [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 18:18, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2750: Flatten the Planets

2023-03-16T18:21:51Z

Promethean:

I have to wonder, would you slide down to the sun, or be flung outwards? [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 19:39, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
: The discs are centered on the orbit of the parent planet, and presumably rotating at the same frequency as the parent planet's orbit. That means the inner edge of each disc is going slower than you'd need to orbit the Sun at that distance, and the outer edge faster. If you moved inward from the original planet's orbit, the Sun's gravity would pull you in, but when you crossed the boundary to the next disc, you'd get flung back outward.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.61|162.158.62.61]] 19:58, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::No Each planet fills out the space within their orbit into the next planet. Easy to see as the outer edge of Neptune's orbit is the same as with the planet flattened. There is a distance from Mercury to the Sun indicated. Maybe because it would melt if it got any closer? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:03, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:::First, they're rings not discs, but I'm skeptical of the math. And it looks to me like the ring's edges are halfway between the orbits, with Neptune extended outwards the same distance as halfway to Uranus's orbit. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.4|172.69.22.4]] 20:08, 15 March 2023 (UTC)

{{cot|My mistake, Randall's math is correct, sorry.}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right;"
|-
! Planet !! Volume (109 km3) !! Orbital radius (106 km) || halfway to prior || halfway to next || Annulus area (10<s>9</s> ''12'' OOPS! km2) || Thickness (<s>cm</s> ''10s of microns'')
|-
| Mercury || 61 || 58 || 29 (to 0) || 83 || 19,000 || 321
|-
| Venus || 928 || 108 || 83 || 129 || 30,637 || 3,029
|-
| Earth || 1,083 || 150 || 129 || 189 || 59,942 || 1,802
|-
| Mars || 163 || 228 || 189 || 504 || 685,794 || 24
|-
| Jupiter || 1,4310,00 || 779 || 504 || 1,107 || 3,051,847 || 46,890
|-
| Saturn || 827,130 || 1,434 || 1,107 || 2,154 || 10,726,236 || 7,711
|-
| Uranus || 68,340 || 2,873 || 2,154 || 3,684 || 28,061,145 || 244
|-
| Neptune || 62,540 || 4,495 || 3,684 || 5,304 (symmetry) || 45,743,348 || 137
|}

:::: The volumes in this table are at 2 different scales. Only the Mercury to Mars volumes are at 1010 km3. Jupiter to Neptune are at 1012 km3 [[User:Sandor|Sandor]] ([[User talk:Sandor|talk]]) 21:01, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::: Thanks, fixed; I had the scale wrong for the radii too. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.231|172.71.158.231]] 21:16, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:::Someone please double-check this, I think Randall is off by a factor of 1000. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.229|172.71.154.229]] 21:37, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:::: I did my own spreadsheet, and my figures agree with Randall's (roughly). I think your thinkness figures are mostly out by 1000, and a few of your volume figures also have the wrong scale (Mercury is smaller than Mars, and the giants are too big by a factor of 10). [[User:Sandor|Sandor]] ([[User talk:Sandor|talk]]) 22:07, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::: 61 * 10^9 km^3 is [https://www.google.com/search?q=61+*+10%5E9+km%5E3+in+cm%5E3 6.1 × 10^25 cm^3], 19000 * 10^9 km^2 is [https://www.google.com/search?q=19000+*+10%5E9+km%5E2+in+cm%5E2 1.9 × 10^23 cm^2], and (6.1 × 10^25 cm^3) / (1.9 × 10^23 cm^2) is [https://www.google.com/search?q=%286.1+%C3%97+10%5E25+cm%5E3%29+%2F+%281.9+%C3%97+10%5E23+cm%5E2%29 3.2 meters]. I'm afraid I'm correct. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.145|172.69.22.145]] 22:31, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::: According to {{w|List_of_Solar_System_objects_by_size#Objects_with_radius_over_400_km}} yes I had Mars wrong (corrected) but the others are roughly correct. I stand by my claim that Randall is in error. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.86|172.71.154.86]] 22:39, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:::::: Mercury's orbital radius is about 58 * 106 km, not 58 * 109 km, which makes the annulus' area 19000 1012 km2. [[User:Sandor|Sandor]] ([[User talk:Sandor|talk]]) 23:20, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::::: I fixed that label, hold on... [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.86|172.71.154.86]] 23:30, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::::: You're right. Thanks. Sorry. Reverted on main. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.215|172.71.154.215]] 23:39, 15 March 2023 (UTC)

|} 

This makes about as much sense as other Flat Earth theories. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.200.137|172.70.200.137]] 20:00, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:But this would actually be a flat Earth. Albeit with a rather larger surface area ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:03, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:And..the Earth-ring is not a disc and it's also in the same plane as the sun. Meaning If you were to stand on the surface of this ring earth , there would be a perpetual sunrise / sunset... And similar for everything else in the plane of the ecliptic. [[User:Iggynelix|Iggynelix]] ([[User talk:Iggynelix|talk]]) 12:36, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

But what does the plot of surface gravity vs distance from the Sun look like? Gravity of an infinite plane and all that?--[[User:Brossa|Brossa]] ([[User talk:Brossa|talk]]) 00:01, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

The explanation currently says that it would require "several solar system's worth" of matter, but isn't there enough matter in the actual solar system? --[[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 00:49, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
:That was said in reference to the Alderson Disk, which requires 1000km or so of thickness. Clearly more than the proposal here that gives a minute thickness (relatively) from the ''actual'' planetary mass in the solar system. Even if you reduced its extent (smaller outer, bigger hole for the Sun) it wouldn't thicken up enough. The prior (non-xkcd) version would require a mass of material rivaling, if not exceeding, that of the Sun itself. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.222|172.70.162.222]] 02:07, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

One of the reasons NASA rejected this could've been the use of inches. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.102.13|172.71.102.13]] 02:26, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
: Except for Mars. I can only imagine that use of the metric system for the Mars ring is a reference to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter#Cause_of_failure Mars Climate Orbiter] fiasco, which certainly would not endear Randall, or his proposal, to a NASA granting agency program officer. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.150|172.70.214.150]] 02:45, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
:: I assume the use of microns there is simply because 5/512 is a really awkward fraction. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.223.25|172.71.223.25]] 05:48, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
::: Awkward? Its vulgar! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.56|172.70.162.56]] 08:05, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
:: Oh right, the Mars Climate Orbiter reference makes sense! I was wondering why Randall would mix imperial and metric units like that. No sane physicist would do that, especially not Randall. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.250.88|172.71.250.88]] 12:52, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
::: And Randall rubs more salt into the wound by using "micron", when the formal/correct SI unit name is "micrometer".[[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.187|172.70.206.187]] 17:13, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

If the planets of the solar system were to become disks centered on the respective planet's current orbit, how do we deal with the different orbital eccentricities? For example, per That Other Wiki, Venus has an orbital eccentricity of 0.006772, Earth has 0.0167086, and Mars has 0.0934. Not to mention Neptune's 0.008678 and Pluto's 0.2488; Pluto's orbit actually crosses Neptune's. Surely that would cause issues with the disks? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.98.5|172.71.98.5]] 08:33, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
:Pluto isn't involved, so at least that difficulty doesn't have to be dealt with. Maybe Pluto and other dwarf planets could be used to supplement the asteroid ball bearings.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.63|172.71.242.63]] 10:55, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

It appears that there is enough material in the asteroid belt to do this, since a ring of asteroid ball bearings with a 1 trillion kilometer diameter where each ball bearing was a cube 1 meter by 1 meter (clearly more than enough!) would be less than 10 trillion cubic meters. Since the total mass of the asteroid belt is 10^21 kg, and the average density is around 2 g/cm^3, = 2000 kg/m^3, then the amount of matter required is 2,000*10 trillion = 2 quadrillion which is much less than 10^21. (Not sure if this is actually correct) --[[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 12:17, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
:Ahh yes, the classic cubic-bearing. Just what we need in this planetary ring system we've created. Since Randall elects to eschew spheres for the planets, let's go all in and refuse them for the bearings as well. Bravo. ;-) [[User:Iggynelix|Iggynelix]] ([[User talk:Iggynelix|talk]]) 12:40-12:47, 16 March 2023 (UTC) 
::''I just want to say that this line of logic ''really'' tickled my funnybone. Well done! ...I've got no other valid contribution at this time, just that.'' [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.101|172.70.90.101]] 13:11, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
::That was to further overestimate the material needed, since a cube is more mass than a sphere. --[[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 15:09, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
Did anyone notice that this came out just after pi-day? [[User:Iggynelix|Iggynelix]] ([[User talk:Iggynelix|talk]]) 12:40, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
: That's really crusty of Randall. It does explain the rolling pin. He probably also knows, and chooses (for cause) not to disclose, that pronunciation of the Greek letter as "pie" [https://www.dude-n-dude.com/2023/03/14/amoebas-lorica-14-march-icymi/ doesn't conform to modern language usage]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.232|162.158.90.232]] 17:01, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

== Death's End ==

I don't know if there's a non spoilery-way to mention that there are similar ideas explored in the novel ''Death's End'' by Liu Cixin. [[User:Nedlum|Nedlum]] ([[User talk:Nedlum|talk]]) 13:22, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

What would even happen here? Would the rings collapse into planets again? Where will the atmospheres go? Are the rings a uniform material like rock or many small pebbles? What happens at the borders? Would i be squished or will all life still be intact? If i a squished, do i have to put up with my worst enemy next to me? Will it be like the flat skins from //All Tomorrows//? Will i die? I expect to see this in «What If 2» coming out 13th october. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.134.38|172.68.134.38]] 14:31, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

Presumably for the gas giants to hold a disc shape, the gas would have to be encased in hollow discs made out of the solid cores. How thick would the walls be? What if we used thinner cavities to store the inner planets' atmospheres as well? [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 18:18, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2750: Flatten the Planets

2023-03-16T18:18:50Z

Promethean: Gas giants in hollow discs?

I have to wonder, would you slide down to the sun, or be flung outwards? [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 19:39, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
: The discs are centered on the orbit of the parent planet, and presumably rotating at the same frequency as the parent planet's orbit. That means the inner edge of each disc is going slower than you'd need to orbit the Sun at that distance, and the outer edge faster. If you moved inward from the original planet's orbit, the Sun's gravity would pull you in, but when you crossed the boundary to the next disc, you'd get flung back outward.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.61|162.158.62.61]] 19:58, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::No Each planet fills out the space within their orbit into the next planet. Easy to see as the outer edge of Neptune's orbit is the same as with the planet flattened. There is a distance from Mercury to the Sun indicated. Maybe because it would melt if it got any closer? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:03, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:::First, they're rings not discs, but I'm skeptical of the math. And it looks to me like the ring's edges are halfway between the orbits, with Neptune extended outwards the same distance as halfway to Uranus's orbit. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.4|172.69.22.4]] 20:08, 15 March 2023 (UTC)

{{cot|My mistake, Randall's math is correct, sorry.}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right;"
|-
! Planet !! Volume (109 km3) !! Orbital radius (106 km) || halfway to prior || halfway to next || Annulus area (10<s>9</s> ''12'' OOPS! km2) || Thickness (<s>cm</s> ''10s of microns'')
|-
| Mercury || 61 || 58 || 29 (to 0) || 83 || 19,000 || 321
|-
| Venus || 928 || 108 || 83 || 129 || 30,637 || 3,029
|-
| Earth || 1,083 || 150 || 129 || 189 || 59,942 || 1,802
|-
| Mars || 163 || 228 || 189 || 504 || 685,794 || 24
|-
| Jupiter || 1,4310,00 || 779 || 504 || 1,107 || 3,051,847 || 46,890
|-
| Saturn || 827,130 || 1,434 || 1,107 || 2,154 || 10,726,236 || 7,711
|-
| Uranus || 68,340 || 2,873 || 2,154 || 3,684 || 28,061,145 || 244
|-
| Neptune || 62,540 || 4,495 || 3,684 || 5,304 (symmetry) || 45,743,348 || 137
|}

:::: The volumes in this table are at 2 different scales. Only the Mercury to Mars volumes are at 1010 km3. Jupiter to Neptune are at 1012 km3 [[User:Sandor|Sandor]] ([[User talk:Sandor|talk]]) 21:01, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::: Thanks, fixed; I had the scale wrong for the radii too. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.231|172.71.158.231]] 21:16, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:::Someone please double-check this, I think Randall is off by a factor of 1000. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.229|172.71.154.229]] 21:37, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:::: I did my own spreadsheet, and my figures agree with Randall's (roughly). I think your thinkness figures are mostly out by 1000, and a few of your volume figures also have the wrong scale (Mercury is smaller than Mars, and the giants are too big by a factor of 10). [[User:Sandor|Sandor]] ([[User talk:Sandor|talk]]) 22:07, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::: 61 * 10^9 km^3 is [https://www.google.com/search?q=61+*+10%5E9+km%5E3+in+cm%5E3 6.1 × 10^25 cm^3], 19000 * 10^9 km^2 is [https://www.google.com/search?q=19000+*+10%5E9+km%5E2+in+cm%5E2 1.9 × 10^23 cm^2], and (6.1 × 10^25 cm^3) / (1.9 × 10^23 cm^2) is [https://www.google.com/search?q=%286.1+%C3%97+10%5E25+cm%5E3%29+%2F+%281.9+%C3%97+10%5E23+cm%5E2%29 3.2 meters]. I'm afraid I'm correct. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.145|172.69.22.145]] 22:31, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::: According to {{w|List_of_Solar_System_objects_by_size#Objects_with_radius_over_400_km}} yes I had Mars wrong (corrected) but the others are roughly correct. I stand by my claim that Randall is in error. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.86|172.71.154.86]] 22:39, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:::::: Mercury's orbital radius is about 58 * 106 km, not 58 * 109 km, which makes the annulus' area 19000 1012 km2. [[User:Sandor|Sandor]] ([[User talk:Sandor|talk]]) 23:20, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::::: I fixed that label, hold on... [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.86|172.71.154.86]] 23:30, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
::::::: You're right. Thanks. Sorry. Reverted on main. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.215|172.71.154.215]] 23:39, 15 March 2023 (UTC)

|} 

This makes about as much sense as other Flat Earth theories. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.200.137|172.70.200.137]] 20:00, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:But this would actually be a flat Earth. Albeit with a rather larger surface area ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:03, 15 March 2023 (UTC)
:And..the Earth-ring is not a disc and it's also in the same plane as the sun. Meaning If you were to stand on the surface of this ring earth , there would be a perpetual sunrise / sunset... And similar for everything else in the plane of the ecliptic. [[User:Iggynelix|Iggynelix]] ([[User talk:Iggynelix|talk]]) 12:36, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

But what does the plot of surface gravity vs distance from the Sun look like? Gravity of an infinite plane and all that?--[[User:Brossa|Brossa]] ([[User talk:Brossa|talk]]) 00:01, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

The explanation currently says that it would require "several solar system's worth" of matter, but isn't there enough matter in the actual solar system? --[[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 00:49, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
:That was said in reference to the Alderson Disk, which requires 1000km or so of thickness. Clearly more than the proposal here that gives a minute thickness (relatively) from the ''actual'' planetary mass in the solar system. Even if you reduced its extent (smaller outer, bigger hole for the Sun) it wouldn't thicken up enough. The prior (non-xkcd) version would require a mass of material rivaling, if not exceeding, that of the Sun itself. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.222|172.70.162.222]] 02:07, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

One of the reasons NASA rejected this could've been the use of inches. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.102.13|172.71.102.13]] 02:26, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
: Except for Mars. I can only imagine that use of the metric system for the Mars ring is a reference to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter#Cause_of_failure Mars Climate Orbiter] fiasco, which certainly would not endear Randall, or his proposal, to a NASA granting agency program officer. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.150|172.70.214.150]] 02:45, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
:: I assume the use of microns there is simply because 5/512 is a really awkward fraction. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.223.25|172.71.223.25]] 05:48, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
::: Awkward? Its vulgar! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.56|172.70.162.56]] 08:05, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
:: Oh right, the Mars Climate Orbiter reference makes sense! I was wondering why Randall would mix imperial and metric units like that. No sane physicist would do that, especially not Randall. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.250.88|172.71.250.88]] 12:52, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
::: And Randall rubs more salt into the wound by using "micron", when the formal/correct SI unit name is "micrometer".[[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.187|172.70.206.187]] 17:13, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

If the planets of the solar system were to become disks centered on the respective planet's current orbit, how do we deal with the different orbital eccentricities? For example, per That Other Wiki, Venus has an orbital eccentricity of 0.006772, Earth has 0.0167086, and Mars has 0.0934. Not to mention Neptune's 0.008678 and Pluto's 0.2488; Pluto's orbit actually crosses Neptune's. Surely that would cause issues with the disks? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.98.5|172.71.98.5]] 08:33, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
:Pluto isn't involved, so at least that difficulty doesn't have to be dealt with. Maybe Pluto and other dwarf planets could be used to supplement the asteroid ball bearings.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.63|172.71.242.63]] 10:55, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

It appears that there is enough material in the asteroid belt to do this, since a ring of asteroid ball bearings with a 1 trillion kilometer diameter where each ball bearing was a cube 1 meter by 1 meter (clearly more than enough!) would be less than 10 trillion cubic meters. Since the total mass of the asteroid belt is 10^21 kg, and the average density is around 2 g/cm^3, = 2000 kg/m^3, then the amount of matter required is 2,000*10 trillion = 2 quadrillion which is much less than 10^21. (Not sure if this is actually correct) --[[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 12:17, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
:Ahh yes, the classic cubic-bearing. Just what we need in this planetary ring system we've created. Since Randall elects to eschew spheres for the planets, let's go all in and refuse them for the bearings as well. Bravo. ;-) [[User:Iggynelix|Iggynelix]] ([[User talk:Iggynelix|talk]]) 12:40-12:47, 16 March 2023 (UTC) 
::''I just want to say that this line of logic ''really'' tickled my funnybone. Well done! ...I've got no other valid contribution at this time, just that.'' [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.101|172.70.90.101]] 13:11, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
::That was to further overestimate the material needed, since a cube is more mass than a sphere. --[[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 15:09, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
Did anyone notice that this came out just after pi-day? [[User:Iggynelix|Iggynelix]] ([[User talk:Iggynelix|talk]]) 12:40, 16 March 2023 (UTC)
: That's really crusty of Randall. It does explain the rolling pin. He probably also knows, and chooses (for cause) not to disclose, that pronunciation of the Greek letter as "pie" [https://www.dude-n-dude.com/2023/03/14/amoebas-lorica-14-march-icymi/ doesn't conform to modern language usage]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.232|162.158.90.232]] 17:01, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

== Death's End ==

I don't know if there's a non spoilery-way to mention that there are similar ideas explored in the novel ''Death's End'' by Liu Cixin. [[User:Nedlum|Nedlum]] ([[User talk:Nedlum|talk]]) 13:22, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

What would even happen here? Would the rings collapse into planets again? Where will the atmospheres go? Are the rings a uniform material like rock or many small pebbles? What happens at the borders? Would i be squished or will all life still be intact? If i a squished, do i have to put up with my worst enemy next to me? Will it be like the flat skins from //All Tomorrows//? Will i die? I expect to see this in «What If 2» coming out 13th october. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.134.38|172.68.134.38]] 14:31, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

Presumably for the gas giants to hold a disc shape, the gas would have to be encased in hollow discs made out of the solid cores. How thick would the walls be? [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 18:18, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

1713: 50 ccs

2021-04-28T02:49:08Z

Promethean: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1713
| date = July 29, 2016
| title = 50 ccs
| image = 50_ccs.png
| titletext = There's been a raccoon accident at an accordion bacchanalia! Double doses!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic presents a busy day in the clinic for doctor [[Ponytail]], who orders 50 ccs from a nurse (probably [[Megan]] who walks in front of her rather than [[Cueball]] walking away behind her), all the while everyone is hurrying along the hall. This could be a typical scenario in a busy hospital. However the pun is that the 50 ccs are not medicine but should be used to write "hiccup vaccine" 25 times.

In medicine, "cc" usually means "{{w|cubic centimeter}}", and is often called that by medical personnel. A cubic centimeter is equal to 1 ml (milliliter), so "50 ccs" usually means 50 ml of a certain medicine. In this case however, the doctor has not told the nurse to bring 50 ccs of any given medicine; instead, she needs to write "hi'''cc'''up va'''cc'''ine" 25 times, with both words containing the letter combination "cc", so she needs to write that combination 50 times.

That is the joke, that the 50 ccs literally means the two-lettered 'cc' fifty times.
*50 cc would be
**cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc
** just enough 'cc's to spell ''hiccup vaccine'' 25 times.

There's no conventional {{w|vaccine}} against {{w|hiccup}}s. However, performing tasks meant to distract one's self is a method to stop hiccups. Therefore the act of writing "hiccup vaccine" 25 times would itself comprise one more of those hiccup cures that never seems to work. What these techniques all rely on is that they all force one to hold one's breath, thus resetting the diaphragm from its out of sync spasms. But if Ponytail has discovered a vaccine that ''does'' somehow cure or prevent hiccups, then this unexpected result is worth reporting in medical journals and seeking grants for further study. Thus, wanting to write about it 25 times is understandable!

The title text text refers to a fictional event with four words containing "cc" (ra'''cc'''oon, a'''cc'''ident, a'''cc'''ordion, ba'''cc'''hanalia), which means she needs to write "cc" 100 times. Referring to the 50 ccs from above, this would be a double dosage.

Although the words of the sentence has been chosen based on their cc's the sentence is quite interesting in itself:
*An {{w|accordion}} is a box-shaped musical instrument with tangents like on a piano. The instrument is played by compressing or expanding the bellows. It has sometimes been accused of being a [http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/ZenLunatic82/FarSide-Accordion.jpg hellish instrument]. It has not been used in xkcd before.
*The ''{{w|Bacchanalia}}'' were Roman festivals of {{w|Bacchus}} (Roman name for the equivalent Greek wine God Dionysus). The festivals were based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek {{w|Dionysia}}.
*The animal {{w|raccoon}}, has begun to appear in {{w|Raccoon#Urban_raccoons|urban areas}} which has given rises to increasing {{w|Raccoon#Conflicts|conflicts with humans}}. A dead raccoon had thus found its way into Cueball's car in [[1565: Back Seat]] and already back in [[1025: Tumblr]] Megan has a raccoon sex dungeon in her attic!

So here there is talk of a wine festival with music played on accordions that has had an accident involving raccoons, in addition to the need for vaccine against the hiccups.

A similar doctor Ponytail is shown in [[883: Pain Rating]] also along with Cueball and Megan and just with Megan in [[996: Making Things Difficult]].

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail in a doctor's coat, walks right while reading from a clipboard, passing Cueball walking the other way while she talks to Megan walking in front of her.]
:Ponytail: Nurse, bring me 50 ccs!
:Ponytail: I need to write "hiccup vaccine" 25 times!

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

1713: 50 ccs

2021-04-28T02:47:36Z

Promethean: An actual "hiccup vaccine" would be worth writing 25 times about!

{{comic
| number = 1713
| date = July 29, 2016
| title = 50 ccs
| image = 50_ccs.png
| titletext = There's been a raccoon accident at an accordion bacchanalia! Double doses!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic presents a busy day in the clinic for doctor [[Ponytail]], who orders 50 ccs from a nurse (probably [[Megan]] who walks in front of her rather than [[Cueball]] walking away behind her), all the while everyone is hurrying along the hall. This could be a typical scenario in a busy hospital. However the pun is that the 50 ccs are not medicine but should be used to write "hiccup vaccine" 25 times.

In medicine, "cc" usually means "{{w|cubic centimeter}}", and is often called that by medical personnel. A cubic centimeter is equal to 1 ml (milliliter), so "50 ccs" usually means 50 ml of a certain medicine. In this case however, the doctor has not told the nurse to bring 50 ccs of any given medicine; instead, she needs to write "hi'''cc'''up va'''cc'''ine" 25 times, with both words containing the letter combination "cc", so she needs to write that combination 50 times.

That is the joke, that the 50 ccs literally means the two-lettered 'cc' fifty times.
*50 cc would be
**cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc
** just enough 'cc's to spell ''hiccup vaccine'' 25 times.

There's no conventional {{w|vaccine}} against {{w|hiccup}}s. However, performing tasks meant to distract one's self is a method to stop hiccups. Therefore the act of writing "hiccup vaccine" 25 times would itself comprise one more of those hiccup cures that never seems to work. What these techniques all rely on is that they all force one to hold one's breath, thus resetting the diaphragm from its out of sync spasms. But if Ponytail has discovered a vaccine that ''does'' cure or prevent hiccups, then it's a discovery worth reporting in medical journals and seeking grants for further study. Thus, wanting to write about it 25 times is understandable!

The title text text refers to a fictional event with four words containing "cc" (ra'''cc'''oon, a'''cc'''ident, a'''cc'''ordion, ba'''cc'''hanalia), which means she needs to write "cc" 100 times. Referring to the 50 ccs from above, this would be a double dosage.

Although the words of the sentence has been chosen based on their cc's the sentence is quite interesting in itself:
*An {{w|accordion}} is a box-shaped musical instrument with tangents like on a piano. The instrument is played by compressing or expanding the bellows. It has sometimes been accused of being a [http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/ZenLunatic82/FarSide-Accordion.jpg hellish instrument]. It has not been used in xkcd before.
*The ''{{w|Bacchanalia}}'' were Roman festivals of {{w|Bacchus}} (Roman name for the equivalent Greek wine God Dionysus). The festivals were based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek {{w|Dionysia}}.
*The animal {{w|raccoon}}, has begun to appear in {{w|Raccoon#Urban_raccoons|urban areas}} which has given rises to increasing {{w|Raccoon#Conflicts|conflicts with humans}}. A dead raccoon had thus found its way into Cueball's car in [[1565: Back Seat]] and already back in [[1025: Tumblr]] Megan has a raccoon sex dungeon in her attic!

So here there is talk of a wine festival with music played on accordions that has had an accident involving raccoons, in addition to the need for vaccine against the hiccups.

A similar doctor Ponytail is shown in [[883: Pain Rating]] also along with Cueball and Megan and just with Megan in [[996: Making Things Difficult]].

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail in a doctor's coat, walks right while reading from a clipboard, passing Cueball walking the other way while she talks to Megan walking in front of her.]
:Ponytail: Nurse, bring me 50 ccs!
:Ponytail: I need to write "hiccup vaccine" 25 times!

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

2379: Probability Comparisons

2020-11-01T00:24:01Z

Promethean: /* Explanation */ Move list to footnote

{{comic
| number = 2379
| date = October 30, 2020
| title = Probability Comparisons
| image = probability comparisons new.png
| titletext = Call me, MAYBE.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by LEBRON JAMES THROWING M&Ms AT A KEYBOARD. The table for the explanations of the chances isn't complete, nor is the transcript. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is a list of probabilities for different events. There are numerous recurring themes, of which the most common are free throws (13 entries), birthdays (12), dice (12, split about evenly between d6 and d20 types), M&M candies (11), playing cards (9), NBA basketball mid-game victory predictions (9), Scrabble tiles (7), coins (7), white Christmases (7), and the NBA players Stephen Curry and LeBron James (7 each).

Themes are variously repeated and combined, for humorous effect. For instance, there are entries for both the probability that St. Louis will have a white Christmas (21%) and that it will not (79%). Also given is the 40% probability that a random Scrabble tile will contain a letter from the name "Steph Curry".

There are 80 items in the list, the last two of which devolve into absurdity - perhaps from the stress of preparing the other 78 entries.

The list may be an attempt to better understand probabilistic election forecasts for the {{w|2020 United States presidential election}} which was less than a week away at the time this comic was published, and had also been aluded to in [[2370: Prediction]] and [[2371: Election Screen Time]]. Statistician and psephologist {{w|Nate Silver}} is referenced in one of the list items. On the date this cartoon was published, Nate Silver's website FiveThirtyEight.com was publishing forecast probabilities of Donald Trump and Joe Biden winning the US Presidential election. [[https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-election-forecast/]]. On 31 October 2020, the forecast described the chances of Donald Trump winning as "roughly the same as the chance that it’s raining in downtown Los Angeles. It does rain there. (Downtown L.A. has about 36 rainy days per year, or about a 1-in-10 shot of a rainy day.)" A day previously, when the chances were 12%, the website had also described Trump's chances of winning as "slightly less than a six sided die rolling a 1".

The probabilities are calculated from [https://xkcd.com/2379/sources/ these sources], as mentioned in the bottom left corner.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Odds
! Text
! Explanation
|-
| 0.01%
| You guess the last four digits of someone's {{w|Social Security Number}} on the first try
| There are 10 digits in a Social Security Number. (1/10)4 = 0.0001, or 0.01%
|-
| 0.1%
| Three randomly chosen people are all left-handed
| The chances of being left handed is about 10%, and 10%3 = 0.1%.
|-
| rowspan="2" | 0.2%
| You draw 2 random {{w|Scrabble}} tiles and get M and M
| This appears to be an error. Under standard English {{w|Scrabble letter distribution}} there are 100 tiles of which 2 are M. This would give a probability of randomly drawing M and M as 2/100 × 1/99 ≈ 0.02%. However, other language editions of Scrabble have different letter distributions, some of which could allow this to be true.
|-
| You draw 3 random {{w|M&Ms}} and they're all red
| Depending on the source of one's M&Ms in the U.S., the proportion of reds is either 0.131 or 0.125 . 0.131^3 ≈ 0.225%; 0.125^3 ≈ 0.177% .
|-
| 0.3%
| You guess someone's birthday in one try.
| 1/365 ≈ 0.27%.
|-
| rowspan="2" | 0.5%
| An {{w|NBA}} team down by 30 at halftime wins
|
|-
| You get 4 M&Ms and they're all brown or yellow
| Depending on the source of one's M&Ms in the U.S., the proportion of them that is brown or yellow is either 0.25 or 0.259 . 0.25^4≈ 0.39%; 0.259^4 ≈ 0.45% .
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1%
| {{w|Steph Curry}} gets two free throws and misses both
|
|-
|{{w|LeBron James}} guesses your birthday, if each guess costs one free throw and he loses if he misses
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1.5%
| You get two M&Ms and they're both red
| Depending on the source of one's M&Ms in the U.S., the proportion of reds is either 0.131 or 0.125 . 0.131^2 ≈ 1.7%; 0.125^2 ≈ 1.6% .
|-
| You share a birthday with a {{w|Backstreet Boys|Backstreet Boy}}
|Each of the five Backstreet Boys has a different birthday, so the odds that you share a birthday with one is 5/365.25 ≈ 1.3% .
|-
| 2%
| You guess someone's card on the first try
| There are 52 cards in a normal deck of cards (excluding jokers), which is approximately 0.019 (2%).
|-
| rowspan="2"| 3%
| You guess 5 coin tosses and get them all right
| The chance of correctly predicting a coin toss is 0.5. The chance of predicting 5 in a row is 0.5^5, or 3.125%.
|
|-
| Steph Curry wins that birthday free throw game
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| 4%
| You sweep a 3-game {{w|rock paper scissors}} series
| Picking randomly, you have a 1 in 3 chance of beating an opponent on the first try. (1/3)3 = 1/27 ≈ 4% .
|-
| {{w|Portland, Oregon}} has a {{w|White Christmas (weather)|white Christmas}}
|
|-
| You share a birthday with two {{w|US Senator}}s
| At the time this comic was published, 9 days were birthdays for more than one Senator.<ref>Rand Paul (R-KY) and John Thune (R-SD) were both born January 7. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Angus King (I-MN) were both born March 31. Jim Risch (R-ID), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and David Vitter (R-LA) were all born May 3. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) were both born June 22. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) were both born August 24. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Joe Donnelly (D-IA) were both born September 29. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) were both born October 24. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK) were both born November 17. John Boozman (R-AR) and David Perdue (R-GA) were both born December 10.</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2"| 5%
| An NBA team down 20 at halftime wins
|
|-
| You roll a natural 20
| A natural 20 indicates a critical hit in the {{w|Dungeons & Dragons}} role playing game. "Natural" means that it is the number showing when rolling a d20 (a 20-sided die), as opposed to an overall total of 20 when counting the die roll plus modifiers. There are twenty sides to a d20 die. 1/20 = 0.05 = 5%
|
|-
| 6%
| You correctly guess someone's card given 3 tries
| Picking a random card within 3 times gives 1 - (51/52)(50/51)(49/50) ≈ 6% .
|
|-
| 7%
| LeBron James gets two free throws and misses both
|
|-
| 8%
| You correctly guess someone's card given 4 tries
| Assuming you guess four different cards, 4/52 = 0.0769 ≈ 8% .
|
|-
| 9%
| Steph Curry misses a free throw
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|10%
| You draw 5 cards and get the Ace of Spades
| There are 52 cards in a normal deck of cards (excluding jokers), and the Ace of Spades is one of them. The chances of getting the card is 1 - 51/52 * 50/51 * 49/50 * 48/49 * 47/48 which is approximately 0.096, which rounds to the given 10%. 
|-
| There's a {{w|Moment magnitude scale|magnitude}} 8+ earthquake in the next month
|
|-
| 11%
| You sweep a 2-game rock paper scissors series
| You have a 1/3 chance of winning the first comparison, and a 1/3 chance of winning the second. (1/3) * (1/3) = 1/9 ~ 0.11 = 11% .
|
|-
| rowspan="3"|12%
| A randomly-chosen American lives in {{w|California}}
| California is the most populous state in the U.S.A. Out of the approximately 328.2 million Americans (as of 2019), 39.51 million live in California. This means that a randomly chosen American has about a 39.51/328.2 ≈ 10.33% of being in California. Due to population change and rounding based on different sources, this could be pushed to 12%.
|
|-
| You correctly guess someone's card given 6 tries
|
|-
| You share a birthday with a {{w|US President}}
| Presidents {{w|James Polk}} and {{w|Warren Harding}} share a birthday, and are the only presidents so far (in 2020) to do so, giving the odds of sharing a birthday as 44/365 ≈ 12% .
|-
| rowspan="3"|13%
| A {{w|Dice#Polyhedral_dice|d6}} beats a {{w|Dice#Polyhedral_dice|d20}}
| The odds of a d6 beating a d20 are (0 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5)/(120) = 0.125 ≈ 13% .
|-
| An NBA team down 10 going into the 4th quarter wins
|
|-
| You pull one M&M from a bag and it's red
| Depending on the source of one's M&Ms in the U.S., the proportion of reds is either 0.131 or 0.125 .
|-
| 14%
| A randomly drawn scrabble tile beats a D6 die roll
| {{w|Scrabble}} is a game in which you place lettered tiles to form words. Most of the scores per letter are 1, making it rare to beat a d6. The odds are (70/100)(0) + (7/100)(1/6) + (8/100)(2/6) + (10/100)(3/6) + (1/100)(4/6) + (4/100)(6/6) ≈ 14% .
|-
| 15%
| You roll a D20 and get at least 18
| The set of "at least 18" on a d20 is 18, 19, and 20. The odds of rolling one of these is 3/20 = 15% .
|-
| 16%
| Steph Curry gets two free throws but makes only one
|
|-
| 17%
| You roll a D6 die and get a 6
| The odds are 1/6 ≈ 17% .
|-
| 18%
| A D6 beats or ties a D20
| The odds are (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6)/(120) ≈ 18% .
|-
| 19%
| At least one person in a random pair is left-handed
| The chances of being left handed is about 10%, so the probability of both people in the pair not being left-handed is 0.92=0.81, and 1-0.81=0.19.
|-
| 20%
| You get a dozen M&Ms and none of them are brown
|
|-
| 21%
| {{w|St. Louis}} has a white Christmas
|
|-
| 22%
| An NBA team wins when they're down 10 at halftime
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 23%
| You get an M&M and it's blue
|
|-
| You share a birthday with a US senator
|
|-
| 24%
| You correctly guess that someone was born in the winter
| The winter lasts ~24% of the year, so ~24% of birthdays are in the winter.
|-
| rowspan="2"| 25%
| You correctly guess that someone was born in the fall
| The fall lasts ~25% of the year, so ~25% of birthdays are in the fall. This statement would also have been true for spring.
|-
| You roll two plain M&Ms and get M and M.
| An M&M can land on one of two sides, one with an M and one without. The odds of "rolling" two Ms is 1/4 = 25%. The term "rolling" is used jokingly in reference to the d6s and d20s above, suggesting that an M&M is a standard d2; this becomes especially true once you consider that a more accurate reference would have been two a coin, not a die.
|-
| 26%
| You correctly guess someone was born in the summer
| The summer lasts ~26% of the year, so ~26% of birthdays are in the summer.
|-
| 27%
| LeBron James misses a free throw
|
|-
| 32%
| {{w|Pittsburgh}} has a white Christmas
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| 33%
| A randomly chosen Star Wars movie (Episodes I-IX) has "of the" in the title
| Episodes II (Attack of the Clones), III (Revenge of the Sith), and VI (Return of the Jedi) are the movies. This gives the odds of 3/9 ≈ 33% .
|-
| You win the Monty Hall sports car by picking a door and refusing to switch
| The {{w|Monty Hall problem}} is a counterintuitive logic problem, in which you pick one of three doors at random. One of the doors has a car behind it, so the odds that you picked the door are 1/3 ≈ 33%. Thus, by not switching doors, your odds remain the same. The Monty Hall problem has previously appeared in [[1282: Monty Hall]] and [[1492: Dress Color]].
|-
| You win rock paper scissors by picking randomly
| The odds of beating an opponent on the first try by picking randomly is 1/3 ≈ 33% .
|-
| 34%
| You draw five cards and get an ace
| The odds are 1 - (48/52)(47/51)(46/50)(45/49)(44/48) ≈ 34% .
|-
| 35%
| A random Scrabble tile is one of the letters in "random"
| The odds of drawing a letter in "random" are (6 + 9 + 6 + 4 + 8 + 2)/100 = 35% .
|-
| 39%
| LeBron James gets two free throws but misses one
|
|-
| 40%
| A random Scrabble tile is a letter in "Steph Curry"
| The odds of drawing a letter in "Steph Curry" are (4 + 6 + 12 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 6 + 2)/100 = 40% .
|-
| 46%
| There's a magnitude 7 quake in LA within 30 years
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|48%
| {{w|Milwaukee}} has a white Christmas
|
|-
| A random Scrabble tile is a letter in Carly Rae Jepsen
| The odds of a Scrabble tile being in her name are (2 + 9 + 6 + 4 + 2 + 12 + 1 + 2 + 4 + 6)/100 = 48% .
|-
| 50%
| You get heads in a coin toss
| There are two options in a coin toss, heads or tails, so the odds of getting heads is 50% (1/2).
|-
| 53%
| {{w|Salt Lake City}} has a white Christmas
|
|-
| 54%
| LeBron James gets two free throws and makes both
|
|-
| 58%
| A random Scrabble tile is a letter in "Nate Silver"
| {{w|Nate Silver}} is a recurring person on xkcd. The odds of a Scrabble tile being in his name are (6 + 9 + 6 + 12 + 4 + 9 + 4 + 2 + 6)/100 = 58% .
|-
| 60%
| You get two M&Ms and neither is blue
|
|-
| 65%
| {{w|Burlington, Vermont}} has a white Christmas
|
|-
| 66%
| A randomly chosen movie from the main Lord of the Rings trilogy has “of the” in the title twice
| The titles are:
* ''The Lord '''of the''' Rings: The Fellowship '''of the''' Ring''
* ''The Lord '''of the''' Rings: The Two Towers''
* ''The Lord '''of the''' Rings: The Return '''of the''' King''
All of them have “of the” at least once, in “The Lord of the Rings”, but only the first and third have it twice, and 2/3 ≈ 66%. This number typically rounds up to 67% , however, and it is unclear why it is not, given that the same reduced fraction is written in the 67% category below.
|-
| 67%
| You roll at least a 3 with a d6
| The set of "at least 3" on a d6 refers to 3, 4, 5, and 6. The odds are 4/6 ≈ 67%.
|-
| 71%
| A random Scrabble tile beats a random dice roll
| This is a typo, as the correct probability is at the 14% entry. A random (d6) die roll beats a random Scrabble tile 71% of the time. [[Randall]] probably meant to write '''A random d6 dice roll''' beats '''a random Scrabble tile'''.
|-
| 73%
| LeBron James makes a free throw
|
|-
| 75%
| You drop two M&Ms and one of them ends with the "M" up so it's clear they're not Skittles
| The odds of at least one 'M' showing up is 1 - (1/4) = 75% . The reference to {{w|Skittles}} is that the two candies look similar to one another, and Randall has probably bit into a Skittle thinking it was an M&M, or vice versa. This trick might prevent that from happening in the future.
|-
| 76%
| You get two M&Ms and neither is red
|
|-
| 77%
| You get an an M&M and it's not blue
|
|-
| 78%
| An NBA team wins when they're up 10 at halftime
|
|-
| 79%
| St. Louis doesn't have a white Christmas
|
|-
| 81%
| Two random people are both right-handed
|
|-
| 83%
| Steph Curry gets two free throws and makes both
|
|-
| 85%
| You roll a d20 and get at least a 4
| The set "at least 4" on a d20 refers to 4, 5, 6... 18, 19, 20. The odds of this are 17/20 = 85% .
|-
| rowspan="2"| 87%
| An NBA team up by 10 going into the 4th quarter wins
|-
| Someone fails to guess your card given 7 tries
|
|-
| 88%
| A randomly chosen American lives outside California
|
|-
| 89%
| You roll a 3 or higher given two tries
|
|-
| 90%
| Someone fails to guess your card given 5 tries
| Assuming they guess five different cards, there are 47 unguessed cards left. 47/52 = 0.90385 ~ 90%
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 91%
| You incorrectly guess that someone was born in August
| The odds of someone being born in August are ~9% , so the odds that a person was not born in August is ~91% .
|-
| Steph Curry makes a free throw
|
|-
| 92%
| You guess someone's birth month at random and are wrong
| On average, a month lasts ~8% of the year. Thus, if you were to guess someone's birth month at random, you would be wrong ~92% of the time.
|-
| 93%
| Lebron James makes a free throw given two tries
|
|-
| 94%
| Someone fails to guess your card given 3 tries
| The odds of this happening are (51/52)(50/51)(49/50) ≈ 94% .
|-
| 95%
| An NBA team wins when they're up 20 at halftime
|
|-
| 96%
| Someone fails to guess your card given 2 tries
| The odds of this happening are (51/52)(50/51) ≈ 96% .
|-
| 97%
| You try to guess 5 coin tosses and fail
| The odds of this happening are 1 - (1/2)5 ≈ 97% .
|-
| 98%
| You incorrectly guess someone's birthday is this week
| The odds of this happening are about 51.14/52.14 ≈ 98% .
|-
| 98.5%
| An NBA team up 15 points with 8 minutes left wins
|
|-
| 99%
| Steph Curry makes a free throw given two tries
|
|-
| 99.5%
| An NBA team that's up by 30 points at halftime wins
|
|-
| 99.7%
| You guess someone's birthday at random and are wrong
| The odds of this are 364.25/365.25 ≈ 99.7% .
|-
| 99.8%
| There's not a {{w|Moment magnitude scale|magnitude}} 8 quake in {{w|California}} next year
|
|-
| 99.9%
| A random group of three people contains a right-hander
|
|-
| 99.99%
| You incorrectly guess the last four digits of someone's social security number
| The odds of this are 1 - (1/10)4 = 99.99% .
|-
| 99.9999999999999995%
| You pick up a phone, dial a random 10-digit number, and say 'Hello Barack Obama, there's just been a {{w|Moment magnitude scale|magnitude}} 8 earthquake in {{w|California}}!" and are wrong
|
|-
| 0.00000001%
| You add "Hang on, this is big — I'm going to loop in Carly Rae Jepsen", dial another random 10-digit number, and she picks up
| The odds of this are 1 - (1/10)10 = 0.00000001% .
|}

The title text refers to the song {{w|Call Me Maybe}} by Carly Rae Jepsen (cited twice in the list). "MAYBE" is emphasized perhaps because the probability of getting her phone number correct, as in the last item in the list, is very low. The capitalization could also be a reference to Scrabble tiles as was previously mentioned in association with Carly Rae Jepsen.

==Trivia==
In the original comic, "outside" in the 88% probability section is spelled incorrectly as "outide". In addition, the 39% section had "two free throw" instead of "throws".

The (seemingly unimportant) odds of LeBron James' versus Stephen Curry's free throws and names in Scrabble refer to [[2002: LeBron James and Stephen Curry]].

==Transcript==
Probability Comparisons

0.01% You guess the last four digits of someone's social security number on the first try

0.1% Three randomly chosen people are all left-handed

0.2% You draw 2 random Scrabble tiles and get M and M

You draw 3 random M&Ms and they're all red

0.3% You guess someone's birthday in one try.

0.5% An NBA team down by 30 at halftime wins

You get 4 M&Ms and they're all brown or yellow

1% Steph Curry gets two free throws and misses both

LeBron James guesses your birthday, if each guess costs one free throw and he loses if he misses

1.5% You get two M&Ms and they're both red

You share a birthday with a Backstreet Boy

2% You guess someone's card on the first try

3% You guess 5 coin tosses and get them all right

Steph Curry wins that birthday free throw game

4% You sweep a 3-game rock paper scissors series

Portland, Oregon has a white Christmas

You share a birthday with two US Senators

5% An NBA team down 20 at halftime wins

You roll a natural 20

6% You correctly guess someone's card given 3 tries

7% LeBron James gets two free throws and misses both

8% You correctly guess someone's card given 4 tries

9% Steph Curry misses a free throw

10% You draw 5 cards and get the Ace of Spades

There's a magnitude 8+ earthquake in the next month

11% You sweep a 2-game rock paper scissors series

12% A randomly-chosen American lives in California

You correctly guess someone's card given 6 tries

You share a birthday with a US President

13% A d6 beats a d20

An NBA team down 10 going into the 4th quarter wins

You pull one M&M from a bag and it's red

14% A randomly drawn scrabble tile beats a d6 die roll

15% You roll a d20 and get at least 18

16% Steph Curry gets two free throws but makes only one

17% You roll a d6 die and get a 6

18% A d6 beats or ties a d20

19% At least one person in a random pair is left-handed

20% You get a dozen M&Ms and none of them are brown

21% St. Louis has a white Christmas

22% An NBA team wins when they're down 10 at halftime

23% You get an M&M and it's blue

You share a birthday with a US senator

24% You correctly guess that someone was born in the winter

25% You correctly guess that someone was born in the fall

You roll two plain M&Ms and get M and M.

26% You correctly guess someone was born in the summer

27% LeBron James misses a free throw

32% Pittsburgh has a white Christmas

33% A randomly chosen Star Wars movie (Episodes I-IX) has "of the" in the title

You win the Monty Hall sports car by picking a door and refusing to switch

You win rock paper scissors by picking randomly

34% You draw five cards and get an ace

35% A random Scrabble tile is one of the letters in "random"

39% LeBron James gets two free throws but misses one

40% A random Scrabble tile is a letter in "Steph Curry"

46% There's a magnitude 7 quake in LA within 30 years

48% Milwaukee has a white Christmas

A random Scrabble tile is a letter in Carly Rae Jepsen

50% You get heads in a coin toss

53% Salt Lake City has a white Christmas

54% LeBron James gets two free throws and makes both

58% A random Scrabble tile is a letter in "Nate Silver"

60% You get two M&Ms and neither is blue

65% Burlington, Vermont has a white Christmas

66% A randomly chosen movie from the main Lord of the Rings trilogy has “of the” in the title twice

67% You roll at least a 3 with a d6

71% A random Scrabble tile beats a random dice roll

73% LeBron James makes a free throw

75% You drop two M&Ms and one of them ends with the "M" up so it's clear they're not Skittles

76% You get two M&Ms and neither is red

77% You get an an M&M and it's not blue

78% An NBA team wins when they're up 10 at halftime

79% St. Louis doesn't have a white Christmas

81% Two random people are both right-handed

83% Steph Curry gets two free throws and makes both

85% You roll a d20 and get at least a 4

87% An NBA team up by 10 going into the 4th quarter wins

Someone fails to guess your card given 7 tries

88% A randomly chosen American lives outside California

89% You roll a 3 or higher given two tries

90% Someone fails to guess your card given 5 tries

91% You incorrectly guess that someone was born in August

Steph Curry makes a free throw

92% You guess someone's birth month at random and are wrong

93% Lebron James makes a free throw given two tries

94% Someone fails to guess your card given 3 tries

95% An NBA team wins when they're up 20 at halftime

96% Someone fails to guess your card given 2 tries

97% You try to guess 5 coin tosses and fail

98% You incorrectly guess someone's birthday is this week

98.5% An NBA team up 15 points with 8 minutes left wins

99% Steph Curry makes a free throw given two tries

99.5% An NBA team that's up by 30 points at halftime wins

99.7% You guess someone's birthday at random and are wrong

99.8% There's not a magnitude 8 quake in California next year

99.9% A random group of three people contains a right-hander

99.99% You incorrectly guess the last four digits of someone's social security number

99.9999999999999995% You pick up a phone, dial a random 10-digit number, and say 'Hello Barack Obama, there's just been a magnitude 8 earthquake in California!" and are wrong

0.00000001% You add "Hang on, this is big — I'm going to loop in Carly Rae Jepsen", dial another random 10-digit number, and she picks up

'''PROBABILITY COMPARISONS'''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2379: Probability Comparisons

2020-11-01T00:23:31Z

Promethean: /* Explanation */ Move list to footnote

{{comic
| number = 2379
| date = October 30, 2020
| title = Probability Comparisons
| image = probability comparisons new.png
| titletext = Call me, MAYBE.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by LEBRON JAMES THROWING M&Ms AT A KEYBOARD. The table for the explanations of the chances isn't complete, nor is the transcript. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is a list of probabilities for different events. There are numerous recurring themes, of which the most common are free throws (13 entries), birthdays (12), dice (12, split about evenly between d6 and d20 types), M&M candies (11), playing cards (9), NBA basketball mid-game victory predictions (9), Scrabble tiles (7), coins (7), white Christmases (7), and the NBA players Stephen Curry and LeBron James (7 each).

Themes are variously repeated and combined, for humorous effect. For instance, there are entries for both the probability that St. Louis will have a white Christmas (21%) and that it will not (79%). Also given is the 40% probability that a random Scrabble tile will contain a letter from the name "Steph Curry".

There are 80 items in the list, the last two of which devolve into absurdity - perhaps from the stress of preparing the other 78 entries.

The list may be an attempt to better understand probabilistic election forecasts for the {{w|2020 United States presidential election}} which was less than a week away at the time this comic was published, and had also been aluded to in [[2370: Prediction]] and [[2371: Election Screen Time]]. Statistician and psephologist {{w|Nate Silver}} is referenced in one of the list items. On the date this cartoon was published, Nate Silver's website FiveThirtyEight.com was publishing forecast probabilities of Donald Trump and Joe Biden winning the US Presidential election. [[https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-election-forecast/]]. On 31 October 2020, the forecast described the chances of Donald Trump winning as "roughly the same as the chance that it’s raining in downtown Los Angeles. It does rain there. (Downtown L.A. has about 36 rainy days per year, or about a 1-in-10 shot of a rainy day.)" A day previously, when the chances were 12%, the website had also described Trump's chances of winning as "slightly less than a six sided die rolling a 1".

The probabilities are calculated from [https://xkcd.com/2379/sources/ these sources], as mentioned in the bottom left corner.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Odds
! Text
! Explanation
|-
| 0.01%
| You guess the last four digits of someone's {{w|Social Security Number}} on the first try
| There are 10 digits in a Social Security Number. (1/10)4 = 0.0001, or 0.01%
|-
| 0.1%
| Three randomly chosen people are all left-handed
| The chances of being left handed is about 10%, and 10%3 = 0.1%.
|-
| rowspan="2" | 0.2%
| You draw 2 random {{w|Scrabble}} tiles and get M and M
| This appears to be an error. Under standard English {{w|Scrabble letter distribution}} there are 100 tiles of which 2 are M. This would give a probability of randomly drawing M and M as 2/100 × 1/99 ≈ 0.02%. However, other language editions of Scrabble have different letter distributions, some of which could allow this to be true.
|-
| You draw 3 random {{w|M&Ms}} and they're all red
| Depending on the source of one's M&Ms in the U.S., the proportion of reds is either 0.131 or 0.125 . 0.131^3 ≈ 0.225%; 0.125^3 ≈ 0.177% .
|-
| 0.3%
| You guess someone's birthday in one try.
| 1/365 ≈ 0.27%.
|-
| rowspan="2" | 0.5%
| An {{w|NBA}} team down by 30 at halftime wins
|
|-
| You get 4 M&Ms and they're all brown or yellow
| Depending on the source of one's M&Ms in the U.S., the proportion of them that is brown or yellow is either 0.25 or 0.259 . 0.25^4≈ 0.39%; 0.259^4 ≈ 0.45% .
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1%
| {{w|Steph Curry}} gets two free throws and misses both
|
|-
|{{w|LeBron James}} guesses your birthday, if each guess costs one free throw and he loses if he misses
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1.5%
| You get two M&Ms and they're both red
| Depending on the source of one's M&Ms in the U.S., the proportion of reds is either 0.131 or 0.125 . 0.131^2 ≈ 1.7%; 0.125^2 ≈ 1.6% .
|-
| You share a birthday with a {{w|Backstreet Boys|Backstreet Boy}}
|Each of the five Backstreet Boys has a different birthday, so the odds that you share a birthday with one is 5/365.25 ≈ 1.3% .
|-
| 2%
| You guess someone's card on the first try
| There are 52 cards in a normal deck of cards (excluding jokers), which is approximately 0.019 (2%).
|-
| rowspan="2"| 3%
| You guess 5 coin tosses and get them all right
| The chance of correctly predicting a coin toss is 0.5. The chance of predicting 5 in a row is 0.5^5, or 3.125%.
|
|-
| Steph Curry wins that birthday free throw game
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| 4%
| You sweep a 3-game {{w|rock paper scissors}} series
| Picking randomly, you have a 1 in 3 chance of beating an opponent on the first try. (1/3)3 = 1/27 ≈ 4% .
|-
| {{w|Portland, Oregon}} has a {{w|White Christmas (weather)|white Christmas}}
|
|-
| You share a birthday with two {{w|US Senator}}s
| At the time this comic was published, 9 days were birthdays for more than one Senator.<note>Rand Paul (R-KY) and John Thune (R-SD) were both born January 7. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Angus King (I-MN) were both born March 31. Jim Risch (R-ID), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and David Vitter (R-LA) were all born May 3. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) were both born June 22. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) were both born August 24. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Joe Donnelly (D-IA) were both born September 29. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) were both born October 24. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK) were both born November 17. John Boozman (R-AR) and David Perdue (R-GA) were both born December 10.</note>
|-
| rowspan="2"| 5%
| An NBA team down 20 at halftime wins
|
|-
| You roll a natural 20
| A natural 20 indicates a critical hit in the {{w|Dungeons & Dragons}} role playing game. "Natural" means that it is the number showing when rolling a d20 (a 20-sided die), as opposed to an overall total of 20 when counting the die roll plus modifiers. There are twenty sides to a d20 die. 1/20 = 0.05 = 5%
|
|-
| 6%
| You correctly guess someone's card given 3 tries
| Picking a random card within 3 times gives 1 - (51/52)(50/51)(49/50) ≈ 6% .
|
|-
| 7%
| LeBron James gets two free throws and misses both
|
|-
| 8%
| You correctly guess someone's card given 4 tries
| Assuming you guess four different cards, 4/52 = 0.0769 ≈ 8% .
|
|-
| 9%
| Steph Curry misses a free throw
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|10%
| You draw 5 cards and get the Ace of Spades
| There are 52 cards in a normal deck of cards (excluding jokers), and the Ace of Spades is one of them. The chances of getting the card is 1 - 51/52 * 50/51 * 49/50 * 48/49 * 47/48 which is approximately 0.096, which rounds to the given 10%. 
|-
| There's a {{w|Moment magnitude scale|magnitude}} 8+ earthquake in the next month
|
|-
| 11%
| You sweep a 2-game rock paper scissors series
| You have a 1/3 chance of winning the first comparison, and a 1/3 chance of winning the second. (1/3) * (1/3) = 1/9 ~ 0.11 = 11% .
|
|-
| rowspan="3"|12%
| A randomly-chosen American lives in {{w|California}}
| California is the most populous state in the U.S.A. Out of the approximately 328.2 million Americans (as of 2019), 39.51 million live in California. This means that a randomly chosen American has about a 39.51/328.2 ≈ 10.33% of being in California. Due to population change and rounding based on different sources, this could be pushed to 12%.
|
|-
| You correctly guess someone's card given 6 tries
|
|-
| You share a birthday with a {{w|US President}}
| Presidents {{w|James Polk}} and {{w|Warren Harding}} share a birthday, and are the only presidents so far (in 2020) to do so, giving the odds of sharing a birthday as 44/365 ≈ 12% .
|-
| rowspan="3"|13%
| A {{w|Dice#Polyhedral_dice|d6}} beats a {{w|Dice#Polyhedral_dice|d20}}
| The odds of a d6 beating a d20 are (0 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5)/(120) = 0.125 ≈ 13% .
|-
| An NBA team down 10 going into the 4th quarter wins
|
|-
| You pull one M&M from a bag and it's red
| Depending on the source of one's M&Ms in the U.S., the proportion of reds is either 0.131 or 0.125 .
|-
| 14%
| A randomly drawn scrabble tile beats a D6 die roll
| {{w|Scrabble}} is a game in which you place lettered tiles to form words. Most of the scores per letter are 1, making it rare to beat a d6. The odds are (70/100)(0) + (7/100)(1/6) + (8/100)(2/6) + (10/100)(3/6) + (1/100)(4/6) + (4/100)(6/6) ≈ 14% .
|-
| 15%
| You roll a D20 and get at least 18
| The set of "at least 18" on a d20 is 18, 19, and 20. The odds of rolling one of these is 3/20 = 15% .
|-
| 16%
| Steph Curry gets two free throws but makes only one
|
|-
| 17%
| You roll a D6 die and get a 6
| The odds are 1/6 ≈ 17% .
|-
| 18%
| A D6 beats or ties a D20
| The odds are (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6)/(120) ≈ 18% .
|-
| 19%
| At least one person in a random pair is left-handed
| The chances of being left handed is about 10%, so the probability of both people in the pair not being left-handed is 0.92=0.81, and 1-0.81=0.19.
|-
| 20%
| You get a dozen M&Ms and none of them are brown
|
|-
| 21%
| {{w|St. Louis}} has a white Christmas
|
|-
| 22%
| An NBA team wins when they're down 10 at halftime
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 23%
| You get an M&M and it's blue
|
|-
| You share a birthday with a US senator
|
|-
| 24%
| You correctly guess that someone was born in the winter
| The winter lasts ~24% of the year, so ~24% of birthdays are in the winter.
|-
| rowspan="2"| 25%
| You correctly guess that someone was born in the fall
| The fall lasts ~25% of the year, so ~25% of birthdays are in the fall. This statement would also have been true for spring.
|-
| You roll two plain M&Ms and get M and M.
| An M&M can land on one of two sides, one with an M and one without. The odds of "rolling" two Ms is 1/4 = 25%. The term "rolling" is used jokingly in reference to the d6s and d20s above, suggesting that an M&M is a standard d2; this becomes especially true once you consider that a more accurate reference would have been two a coin, not a die.
|-
| 26%
| You correctly guess someone was born in the summer
| The summer lasts ~26% of the year, so ~26% of birthdays are in the summer.
|-
| 27%
| LeBron James misses a free throw
|
|-
| 32%
| {{w|Pittsburgh}} has a white Christmas
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| 33%
| A randomly chosen Star Wars movie (Episodes I-IX) has "of the" in the title
| Episodes II (Attack of the Clones), III (Revenge of the Sith), and VI (Return of the Jedi) are the movies. This gives the odds of 3/9 ≈ 33% .
|-
| You win the Monty Hall sports car by picking a door and refusing to switch
| The {{w|Monty Hall problem}} is a counterintuitive logic problem, in which you pick one of three doors at random. One of the doors has a car behind it, so the odds that you picked the door are 1/3 ≈ 33%. Thus, by not switching doors, your odds remain the same. The Monty Hall problem has previously appeared in [[1282: Monty Hall]] and [[1492: Dress Color]].
|-
| You win rock paper scissors by picking randomly
| The odds of beating an opponent on the first try by picking randomly is 1/3 ≈ 33% .
|-
| 34%
| You draw five cards and get an ace
| The odds are 1 - (48/52)(47/51)(46/50)(45/49)(44/48) ≈ 34% .
|-
| 35%
| A random Scrabble tile is one of the letters in "random"
| The odds of drawing a letter in "random" are (6 + 9 + 6 + 4 + 8 + 2)/100 = 35% .
|-
| 39%
| LeBron James gets two free throws but misses one
|
|-
| 40%
| A random Scrabble tile is a letter in "Steph Curry"
| The odds of drawing a letter in "Steph Curry" are (4 + 6 + 12 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 6 + 2)/100 = 40% .
|-
| 46%
| There's a magnitude 7 quake in LA within 30 years
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|48%
| {{w|Milwaukee}} has a white Christmas
|
|-
| A random Scrabble tile is a letter in Carly Rae Jepsen
| The odds of a Scrabble tile being in her name are (2 + 9 + 6 + 4 + 2 + 12 + 1 + 2 + 4 + 6)/100 = 48% .
|-
| 50%
| You get heads in a coin toss
| There are two options in a coin toss, heads or tails, so the odds of getting heads is 50% (1/2).
|-
| 53%
| {{w|Salt Lake City}} has a white Christmas
|
|-
| 54%
| LeBron James gets two free throws and makes both
|
|-
| 58%
| A random Scrabble tile is a letter in "Nate Silver"
| {{w|Nate Silver}} is a recurring person on xkcd. The odds of a Scrabble tile being in his name are (6 + 9 + 6 + 12 + 4 + 9 + 4 + 2 + 6)/100 = 58% .
|-
| 60%
| You get two M&Ms and neither is blue
|
|-
| 65%
| {{w|Burlington, Vermont}} has a white Christmas
|
|-
| 66%
| A randomly chosen movie from the main Lord of the Rings trilogy has “of the” in the title twice
| The titles are:
* ''The Lord '''of the''' Rings: The Fellowship '''of the''' Ring''
* ''The Lord '''of the''' Rings: The Two Towers''
* ''The Lord '''of the''' Rings: The Return '''of the''' King''
All of them have “of the” at least once, in “The Lord of the Rings”, but only the first and third have it twice, and 2/3 ≈ 66%. This number typically rounds up to 67% , however, and it is unclear why it is not, given that the same reduced fraction is written in the 67% category below.
|-
| 67%
| You roll at least a 3 with a d6
| The set of "at least 3" on a d6 refers to 3, 4, 5, and 6. The odds are 4/6 ≈ 67%.
|-
| 71%
| A random Scrabble tile beats a random dice roll
| This is a typo, as the correct probability is at the 14% entry. A random (d6) die roll beats a random Scrabble tile 71% of the time. [[Randall]] probably meant to write '''A random d6 dice roll''' beats '''a random Scrabble tile'''.
|-
| 73%
| LeBron James makes a free throw
|
|-
| 75%
| You drop two M&Ms and one of them ends with the "M" up so it's clear they're not Skittles
| The odds of at least one 'M' showing up is 1 - (1/4) = 75% . The reference to {{w|Skittles}} is that the two candies look similar to one another, and Randall has probably bit into a Skittle thinking it was an M&M, or vice versa. This trick might prevent that from happening in the future.
|-
| 76%
| You get two M&Ms and neither is red
|
|-
| 77%
| You get an an M&M and it's not blue
|
|-
| 78%
| An NBA team wins when they're up 10 at halftime
|
|-
| 79%
| St. Louis doesn't have a white Christmas
|
|-
| 81%
| Two random people are both right-handed
|
|-
| 83%
| Steph Curry gets two free throws and makes both
|
|-
| 85%
| You roll a d20 and get at least a 4
| The set "at least 4" on a d20 refers to 4, 5, 6... 18, 19, 20. The odds of this are 17/20 = 85% .
|-
| rowspan="2"| 87%
| An NBA team up by 10 going into the 4th quarter wins
|-
| Someone fails to guess your card given 7 tries
|
|-
| 88%
| A randomly chosen American lives outside California
|
|-
| 89%
| You roll a 3 or higher given two tries
|
|-
| 90%
| Someone fails to guess your card given 5 tries
| Assuming they guess five different cards, there are 47 unguessed cards left. 47/52 = 0.90385 ~ 90%
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 91%
| You incorrectly guess that someone was born in August
| The odds of someone being born in August are ~9% , so the odds that a person was not born in August is ~91% .
|-
| Steph Curry makes a free throw
|
|-
| 92%
| You guess someone's birth month at random and are wrong
| On average, a month lasts ~8% of the year. Thus, if you were to guess someone's birth month at random, you would be wrong ~92% of the time.
|-
| 93%
| Lebron James makes a free throw given two tries
|
|-
| 94%
| Someone fails to guess your card given 3 tries
| The odds of this happening are (51/52)(50/51)(49/50) ≈ 94% .
|-
| 95%
| An NBA team wins when they're up 20 at halftime
|
|-
| 96%
| Someone fails to guess your card given 2 tries
| The odds of this happening are (51/52)(50/51) ≈ 96% .
|-
| 97%
| You try to guess 5 coin tosses and fail
| The odds of this happening are 1 - (1/2)5 ≈ 97% .
|-
| 98%
| You incorrectly guess someone's birthday is this week
| The odds of this happening are about 51.14/52.14 ≈ 98% .
|-
| 98.5%
| An NBA team up 15 points with 8 minutes left wins
|
|-
| 99%
| Steph Curry makes a free throw given two tries
|
|-
| 99.5%
| An NBA team that's up by 30 points at halftime wins
|
|-
| 99.7%
| You guess someone's birthday at random and are wrong
| The odds of this are 364.25/365.25 ≈ 99.7% .
|-
| 99.8%
| There's not a {{w|Moment magnitude scale|magnitude}} 8 quake in {{w|California}} next year
|
|-
| 99.9%
| A random group of three people contains a right-hander
|
|-
| 99.99%
| You incorrectly guess the last four digits of someone's social security number
| The odds of this are 1 - (1/10)4 = 99.99% .
|-
| 99.9999999999999995%
| You pick up a phone, dial a random 10-digit number, and say 'Hello Barack Obama, there's just been a {{w|Moment magnitude scale|magnitude}} 8 earthquake in {{w|California}}!" and are wrong
|
|-
| 0.00000001%
| You add "Hang on, this is big — I'm going to loop in Carly Rae Jepsen", dial another random 10-digit number, and she picks up
| The odds of this are 1 - (1/10)10 = 0.00000001% .
|}

The title text refers to the song {{w|Call Me Maybe}} by Carly Rae Jepsen (cited twice in the list). "MAYBE" is emphasized perhaps because the probability of getting her phone number correct, as in the last item in the list, is very low. The capitalization could also be a reference to Scrabble tiles as was previously mentioned in association with Carly Rae Jepsen.

==Trivia==
In the original comic, "outside" in the 88% probability section is spelled incorrectly as "outide". In addition, the 39% section had "two free throw" instead of "throws".

The (seemingly unimportant) odds of LeBron James' versus Stephen Curry's free throws and names in Scrabble refer to [[2002: LeBron James and Stephen Curry]].

==Transcript==
Probability Comparisons

0.01% You guess the last four digits of someone's social security number on the first try

0.1% Three randomly chosen people are all left-handed

0.2% You draw 2 random Scrabble tiles and get M and M

You draw 3 random M&Ms and they're all red

0.3% You guess someone's birthday in one try.

0.5% An NBA team down by 30 at halftime wins

You get 4 M&Ms and they're all brown or yellow

1% Steph Curry gets two free throws and misses both

LeBron James guesses your birthday, if each guess costs one free throw and he loses if he misses

1.5% You get two M&Ms and they're both red

You share a birthday with a Backstreet Boy

2% You guess someone's card on the first try

3% You guess 5 coin tosses and get them all right

Steph Curry wins that birthday free throw game

4% You sweep a 3-game rock paper scissors series

Portland, Oregon has a white Christmas

You share a birthday with two US Senators

5% An NBA team down 20 at halftime wins

You roll a natural 20

6% You correctly guess someone's card given 3 tries

7% LeBron James gets two free throws and misses both

8% You correctly guess someone's card given 4 tries

9% Steph Curry misses a free throw

10% You draw 5 cards and get the Ace of Spades

There's a magnitude 8+ earthquake in the next month

11% You sweep a 2-game rock paper scissors series

12% A randomly-chosen American lives in California

You correctly guess someone's card given 6 tries

You share a birthday with a US President

13% A d6 beats a d20

An NBA team down 10 going into the 4th quarter wins

You pull one M&M from a bag and it's red

14% A randomly drawn scrabble tile beats a d6 die roll

15% You roll a d20 and get at least 18

16% Steph Curry gets two free throws but makes only one

17% You roll a d6 die and get a 6

18% A d6 beats or ties a d20

19% At least one person in a random pair is left-handed

20% You get a dozen M&Ms and none of them are brown

21% St. Louis has a white Christmas

22% An NBA team wins when they're down 10 at halftime

23% You get an M&M and it's blue

You share a birthday with a US senator

24% You correctly guess that someone was born in the winter

25% You correctly guess that someone was born in the fall

You roll two plain M&Ms and get M and M.

26% You correctly guess someone was born in the summer

27% LeBron James misses a free throw

32% Pittsburgh has a white Christmas

33% A randomly chosen Star Wars movie (Episodes I-IX) has "of the" in the title

You win the Monty Hall sports car by picking a door and refusing to switch

You win rock paper scissors by picking randomly

34% You draw five cards and get an ace

35% A random Scrabble tile is one of the letters in "random"

39% LeBron James gets two free throws but misses one

40% A random Scrabble tile is a letter in "Steph Curry"

46% There's a magnitude 7 quake in LA within 30 years

48% Milwaukee has a white Christmas

A random Scrabble tile is a letter in Carly Rae Jepsen

50% You get heads in a coin toss

53% Salt Lake City has a white Christmas

54% LeBron James gets two free throws and makes both

58% A random Scrabble tile is a letter in "Nate Silver"

60% You get two M&Ms and neither is blue

65% Burlington, Vermont has a white Christmas

66% A randomly chosen movie from the main Lord of the Rings trilogy has “of the” in the title twice

67% You roll at least a 3 with a d6

71% A random Scrabble tile beats a random dice roll

73% LeBron James makes a free throw

75% You drop two M&Ms and one of them ends with the "M" up so it's clear they're not Skittles

76% You get two M&Ms and neither is red

77% You get an an M&M and it's not blue

78% An NBA team wins when they're up 10 at halftime

79% St. Louis doesn't have a white Christmas

81% Two random people are both right-handed

83% Steph Curry gets two free throws and makes both

85% You roll a d20 and get at least a 4

87% An NBA team up by 10 going into the 4th quarter wins

Someone fails to guess your card given 7 tries

88% A randomly chosen American lives outside California

89% You roll a 3 or higher given two tries

90% Someone fails to guess your card given 5 tries

91% You incorrectly guess that someone was born in August

Steph Curry makes a free throw

92% You guess someone's birth month at random and are wrong

93% Lebron James makes a free throw given two tries

94% Someone fails to guess your card given 3 tries

95% An NBA team wins when they're up 20 at halftime

96% Someone fails to guess your card given 2 tries

97% You try to guess 5 coin tosses and fail

98% You incorrectly guess someone's birthday is this week

98.5% An NBA team up 15 points with 8 minutes left wins

99% Steph Curry makes a free throw given two tries

99.5% An NBA team that's up by 30 points at halftime wins

99.7% You guess someone's birthday at random and are wrong

99.8% There's not a magnitude 8 quake in California next year

99.9% A random group of three people contains a right-hander

99.99% You incorrectly guess the last four digits of someone's social security number

99.9999999999999995% You pick up a phone, dial a random 10-digit number, and say 'Hello Barack Obama, there's just been a magnitude 8 earthquake in California!" and are wrong

0.00000001% You add "Hang on, this is big — I'm going to loop in Carly Rae Jepsen", dial another random 10-digit number, and she picks up

'''PROBABILITY COMPARISONS'''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2379: Probability Comparisons

2020-10-31T23:01:25Z

Promethean: /* Explanation */ Sens who share birthday

2379: Probability Comparisons

2020-10-31T19:58:53Z

Promethean: /* Explanation */ Sens who share birthday

2359: Evidence of Alien Life

2020-09-15T00:47:46Z

Promethean: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2359
| date = September 14, 2020
| title = Evidence of Alien Life
| image = evidence_of_alien_life.png
| titletext = Both too cautious AND not cautious enough: "I'm skeptical that those are aliens, so I'm going to try pulling off their masks."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an APPROPRIATELY CAUTIOUS ALIEN BOT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic depicts a table of possible responses to new information on the possibility of alien life. It is presented in table form, with the columns representing three categories of reaction to new evidence, and the rows representing the strength of new evidence, increasing down the table. Each intersection then shows a small scenario of what the response would be. The left and right hand column's scenarios are hyperbolic in either their acceptance or denial. The center column represents a reasonable course of action.

The title text refers to an action which is simultaneously too cautious and not cautious enough: the speaker is skeptical that aliens exist, which is usually an appropriate belief, except that presumably Megan and Cueball are in the situation presented in the bottom row, where aliens have landed right in front of them. Rather than modifying his belief (presumably it's Cueball, who was the one to approach the aliens in the other panels), he expresses an intention to approach the alleged aliens and attempt to remove their masks. He believes that he will expose a human wearing a costume, perpetrating a {{tvtropes|ScoobyDooHoax|"Scooby-Doo"-style hoax}}, but no matter what the outcome is, he's acting rashly. If the beings before him are aliens, he will be initiating a very aggressive first contact and will likely receive a violent response, and even if the alien is not violent, Cueball might end up removing an environmental apparatus that is protecting it from Earth's environment (or vice versa). On the other hand, even if the "aliens" really are fakes, Cueball might end up injuring someone who is just playing a harmless joke (and who'd want to keep ''some'' kind of mask on to reduce the spread of [[COVID-19]]).

This comic was a reaction to [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/science/venus-life-clouds.html the discovery of phosphine gas on Venus]. Phosphine is a molecule with no known abiotic way of being produced in the quantities observed and within the environment of Venus, meaning that its discovery could be a potential sign of life on Venus.

The "alien probe" asteroid might refer to {{w|Oumuamua}}.

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

The comic is laid out like a grid, with implements down the left-hand side (Weak Evidence of Alien Life/ Promising Evidence/ Definite Evidence) and the type of "reaction" across the top (Not Cautious Enough / Appropriately Cautious/ Too Cautious). The grid illustrates the "match-ups".

From the top left corner, going from left to right, top to bottom, with each first item being on its own line in the grid, the squares are as follows:

Weak Evidence of Alien Life/Not Cautious Enough: Cueball - "That asteroid is probably an alien probe"
 
Weak Evidence of Alien Life/Appropriately Cautious: Cueball - "This asteroid is weird and we should take a closer look; It's not aliens"
 
Weak Evidence of Alien Life/Too Cautious: Cueball - "This asteroid appears to be far away, but it could also be nearby and just very small"
 
Promising Evidence/Not Cautious Enough: Ponytail to Cueball - "They found life on Venus!"
 
Promising Evidence/Appropriately Cautious: Ponytail to Cueball - "Theses molecules might be produced by life or by weird high-heat chemistry"
 
Promising Evidence/Too Cautious: Ponytail to Cueball - "There is growing evidence that the atmosphere on Venus contains molecules"
 
Definite Evidence/Not Cautious Enough: Cueball - "I'm going to go give those aliens a hug!"
 
Definite Evidence/Appropriately Cautious: Cueball - "Oh wow, aliens! Should we try to communicate?"
 
Definite Evidence/Too Cautious: Megan - "The energy beams vaporizing the United Nations could be a possible biosignature"
 
 
 
Title text: Both too cautious AND not cautious enough: "I'm skeptical that those are aliens, so I'm going to try pulling off their masks"

{{comic discussion}}

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

1513: Code Quality

2020-09-06T02:53:12Z

Promethean: /* Emoji */ +🥵

{{comic
| number = 1513
| date = April 17, 2015
| title = Code Quality
| image = code quality.png
| titletext = I honestly didn't think you could even USE emoji in variable names. Or that there were so many different crying ones.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is the first in the [[:Category:Code Quality|Code Quality]] series:
* [[1513: Code Quality]]
* [[1695: Code Quality 2]]
* [[1833: Code Quality 3]]
* [[1926: Bad Code]]
* [[2138: Wanna See the Code?]]

It is about the apprehension of asking for help from an expert who is a friend. Often we fear that we will be judged and they will think less of us, which is what occurs in this comic.

[[Ponytail]] is about to look at some {{w|source code}} [[Cueball]] has written, and he is warning her that he is self-taught so his code probably won't be written the way she is used to. In spite of Ponytail's initial (polite) optimism, she comments in three increasingly harsh similes (and a fourth in the title text).

First, she suggests that reading his code is like being in a house built by a child, using a hatchet (a small ax) to put together what he thought was a house based on a picture. She is saying that the code shows a lack of command of the language being programmed. This is like the common expression "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." New programmers make use of the same techniques repeatedly, using them for situations that they are not intended for.

Second, she suggests that it looks like a salad recipe, written by a corporate lawyer on a phone with auto-correct that only corrected things to formulas from Microsoft Excel. She is saying that the code is verbose and the corrections that were done are illogical. This presumably relates to the developer not being an expert in their craft, and fixing the problems as they come up instead of reexamining the problem and solving it in a better way.

Third, she describes it as a transcript of a couple arguing at a branch of the Swedish retail chain {{w|IKEA}}, which was then randomly edited until the computer compiled it with no errors. She is saying that the intent of the code is unclear due to the seemingly random use of the language. This is very similar to an infinite amount of monkeys bashing away on typewriters for an infinite amount of time eventually producing the complete works of Shakespeare. (A couple's argument may be even less coherent at IKEA than at the average store, since IKEA products always have idiosyncratic names and many of them are difficult to pronounce or transcribe for anyone who doesn't speak Swedish.) This might happen if the code was written so bad that it does not compile, and people edited the code until it compiles so they can see what the code accomplishes. That Cueball's code is in this bad a shape indicates he really hasn't learned the programming language; he just happens to have a program that works in some shape or fashion.

Finally, Cueball makes the rather weak assurance that he will read "a style guide", which articulates the intended use of the language. It seems clear from Ponytail's commentary that his {{w|Software quality|code quality}} would benefit from far more training in computer programming.

The title text refers to {{w|emoji}}. Ponytail's comment implies that some of Cueball's variables contained emoji, perhaps in an effort to capture the emotional content of the arguments which show through the requirements document. Emoji has become a [[:Category:Emoji|recurrent theme]] on xkcd, but this may have been the first comic to use them for a pun.

===Emoji===
Many crying-face emoji are possible if variables can include full Unicode (e.g., 😢,😭,😂,😿,😹), as well as faces with sweat drops that are often mistaken for tears (😪,😥,😰,🥵). In some programming languages it would be impossible to use them in variable names, as the symbols would break the language's syntax rules. Exceptions to this include {{w|Swift (programming language)|Swift}} and {{w|Perl|Perl}} ([http://perldoc.perl.org/5.24.0/perlunicode.html]), but most languages with compilers that support Unicode characters can include this kind of emoji, even for languages that predate Unicode like {{w|C++}} and {{w|Lisp_(programming_language)|Lisp}}.

In any event, Cueball's code may best be represented by a bunch of people crying, as that is the only proper response to it.

===Programming Style===
Although few programming languages require a perfectly rigid style, so long as the code is syntactically accurate, most programmers follow some sort of {{w|Programming style|style}} to make the code easier to read. This includes indenting lines to show levels and using descriptive variable identifiers with special capitalization, (e.g., {{w|camelCase}}, capitalizing each word except for the first in a sentence, or {{w|snake_case}}, separating lowercase words with underscores).

==Transcript==
:[Cueball showing Ponytail his laptop.]
:Cueball: Keep in mind that I'm self-taught, so my code may be a little messy.
:Ponytail: Lemme see - I'm sure it's fine.

:[Ponytail sits at desk, Cueball stand behind her.]
:Ponytail: ...Wow. This is like being in a house built by a child using nothing but a hatchet and a picture of a house.

:[Ponytail sits at desk, Cueball stand behind her.]
:Ponytail: It's like a salad recipe written by a corporate lawyer using a phone autocorrect that only knew Excel formulas.

:[Ponytail sits at desk, Cueball stand behind her.]
:Ponytail: It's like someone took a transcript of a couple arguing at IKEA and made random edits until it compiled without errors.
:Cueball: '''''Okay,''''' I'll read a style guide.

==Trivia==
*Emoji can be simulated using {{w|ASCII}} characters, but their roots are mostly separate from ASCII {{w|emoticon}}s. Most languages will allow variable names to include underscores, so some sad face ASCII emoticon will be legal variable names, such as <code>T_T</code>, <code>p_q</code>, <code>ioi</code> etc., but such things rarely show up in software variables. Many more can be made possible using [http://hexascii.com/sad-emoticons/ UTF-8 characters].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Code Quality]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Code Quality 01]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Emoji]]
[[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]

Talk:2349: Rabbit Introduction

2020-08-26T00:42:04Z

Promethean:

Comic posted shortly after this made national news in the USA:
https://www.newsweek.com/why-hundreds-millions-genetically-engineered-mosquitoes-will-soon-released-florida-1526375
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.56|172.69.34.56]] 05:06, 21 August 2020 (UTC)

This comic was posted incredibly early compared to the other recent comics [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.232|172.69.34.232]] 07:22, 21 August 2020 (UTC)

Yeah wtf it's so early [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.25|172.69.33.25]] 07:50, 21 August 2020 (UTC)

There's a twitter thread at @xkcd, one word every few days, from 2020-05-15 until 2020-06-01, reading "How's it going I saw a small bun (picture)", continuing the sentence until 2020-06-25, "and an airplane crossing the moon (picture)" [[User:Chrullrich|Chrullrich]] ([[User talk:Chrullrich|talk]]) 07:53, 21 August 2020 (UTC)

I recognise that 'bun-gap' looks like a pun, but what's it punning about? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.131|162.158.154.131]] 10:14, 21 August 2020 (UTC)
:I don't think it's really a pun, just an instance of the general X-gap pattern, meaning a significant difference in the amount or rate of X between two entities (e.g. the "wealth gap" between countries). [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 17:47, 21 August 2020 (UTC)
::Bun-gap having nothing to do with thigh-gap in this case.
::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:04, 21 August 2020 (UTC)

Former POTUS Jimmy Carter is unapologetically completely oppposed to the spread of any species of bunny. [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 12:33, 21 August 2020 (UTC)

The explanation should probably distinguish between the {{w|pygmy rabbit}} which is not at all endangered and the {{w|Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit}} which is an isolated population that the US government (but not the IUCN) treats as endangered independently from the species as a whole. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 12:57, 21 August 2020 (UTC)

:So would it be impossible to introduce an isolated population into another location and have it count as the same population? Which would make this proposal impossible in addition to silly... I feel like that increases the humor, although I'm not sure if there's any specific term for why [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.60|162.158.63.60]] 14:12, 24 August 2020 (UTC)

Captain Video, if you can cull speculation here, then shouldn't you be culling a lot of speculation in 1417? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.61|162.158.74.61]] 22:53, 23 August 2020 (UTC)

Note how carefully (brilliantly) Randall uses objective wording in panel #3, consistent with a scientific discussion or proposal, when the meaning is clearly "but it's so CUTE!". [[Special:Contributions/172.69.42.50|172.69.42.50]] 15:10, 25 August 2020 (UTC)

[[:Category:Buns]] sent me down the bun hole. [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 00:42, 26 August 2020 (UTC)

2311: Confidence Interval

2020-05-26T02:43:15Z

Promethean: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2311
| date = May 25, 2020
| title = Confidence Interval
| image = confidence_interval.png
| titletext = The worst part is that's the millisigma interval.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TERRIBLE MODEL. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Graphs of continuous functions' predicted values often show confidence intervals, a region (either shaded or marked with dotted lines, the latter used here) that indicates the margin of error for the prediction at any point. The joke in this comic is that the estimate has so much uncertainty that the confidence interval extends off the top and bottom of the chart, which in a real report would usually prevent it from being printed and require a rescaled chart to show it.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:(A curved graph. Two gray lines outside of the chart.)
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Science tip: If your model is bad enough, the confidence intervals will fall outside the printable area.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Tips]]
[[Category: Statistics]]

2311: Confidence Interval

2020-05-26T02:41:42Z

Promethean: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2311
| date = May 25, 2020
| title = Confidence Interval
| image = confidence_interval.png
| titletext = The worst part is that's the millisigma interval.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TERRIBLE MODEL. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Graphs of continuous functions' predicted values often show confidence intervals, a region (either shaded or marked with dotted lines, the latter used here) that indicates the margin of error for the prediction at any point.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:(A curved graph. Two gray lines outside of the chart.)
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Science tip: If your model is bad enough, the confidence intervals will fall outside the printable area.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Tips]]
[[Category: Statistics]]

2162: Literary Opinions

2020-01-14T01:41:16Z

Promethean:

{{comic
| number = 2162
| date = June 12, 2019
| title = Literary Opinions
| image = literary_opinions.png
| titletext = If I really focus, I can distinguish between John Steinbeck and John Updike, or between Gore Vidal and Vidal Sassoon, but not both at once.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Megan]] is telling [[Cueball]] about some of her literary opinions: She believes that {{w|William S. Burroughs}}, {{w|Hunter S. Thompson}}, {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}, and {{w|David Foster Wallace}} are different names for the same person. Many authors write under {{w|pen name|pen names}} for some of their works, or even several different pen names. Sometimes people come to believe that different people are actually a same person, which is known as the {{w|Fregoli delusion}}; the person is usually believed to change appearance.

She then says that ''{{w|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas}}'' (by Thompson) and ''{{w|Fight Club (novel)|Fight Club}}'' (by Palahniuk) are the same book with different covers, probably because the title and promotional images for both hint at fighting taking place in a big city (i.e., she is literally {{w|Don't judge a book by its cover|judging the books by their covers}}), when in reality the books are vastly different. Books sometimes have [https://www.rifflebooks.com/list/170553 different covers and titles in different regions].

Cueball's attempt at a reality check (proposing to actually open the books she is talking about) is met with disinterest. It becomes clear that Megan just wants to share her weird beliefs and does not care if they can be proven false - a theme that previously appeared in [[1717: Pyramid Honey]].

As a last resort, Cueball humorously proposes she should start a {{w|Book discussion club|book club}} to discuss the books she has not read. This may be to congregate all people who criticize books without reading them, or in hopes that it will be attended by people who have read the book and can prove to Megan her opinions are baseless.

Megan finishes telling him her opinion anyway, which is that {{w|E.B. White}} and {{w|T.H. White}} are the same person. This is apparently an opinion that Cueball can agree with, as he tells her that he believes it. This is likely a joke that the two names are hard to distinguish due to the having the same last name with only initials instead of a first name. In reality, the books they authored are very different, with E.B. White writing children's books (''{{w|Charlotte's Web}}'', ''{{w|Stuart Little}}'', etc.) and T.H. White writing adult books about King Arthur (''{{w|The Sword in the Stone}}'' and its sequels), although his works ''were'' adapted into a {{w|The Sword in the Stone (1963 film)|Disney movie}} so they could, to some degree, be considered children's books.

The title text continues with this, with Megan saying that she can distinguish between {{w|John Steinbeck}} and {{w|John Updike}}, or between {{w|Gore Vidal}} and {{w|Vidal Sassoon}}, but she can't do so simultaneously. Again this is likely due to the similarities in their names. However, John Steinbeck and John Updike are also easy to confuse because they are both giants of 20th century American literature, whereas Gore Vidal has almost nothing in common with Vidal Sassoon (see chart below).

Additionally, the mention of simultaneity could be a nod to the {{w|Heisenberg uncertainty principle}}, which states that there is a trade-off in precision when simultaneously measuring position and momentum. It could also be a nod to how the brain cannot simultaneously interpret two different things at once, similar to looking at the {{w|Rabbit-duck illusion}}; at any moment, one can only see a duck or a rabbit in the image, but not both at exactly the same time.

===Explanation of people mentioned===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Description
|-
| {{w|William S. Burroughs}}
| (1914–1997), American writer and visual artist. Wrote many semi-autobiographical works, best known for ''{{w|Naked Lunch}}'' and ''{{w|Junkie (novel)|Junkie}}''.
|-
| {{w|Hunter S. Thompson}}
| (1937–2005), American journalist and author. Founder of the {{w|Gonzo journalism}} movement. Best known for his novel ''{{w|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas}}''.
|-
| {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}
| Born 1962, American novelist and freelance journalist from Pasco, Washington. Best known for his novel ''{{w|Fight Club (novel)|Fight Club}}''.
|-
| {{w|David Foster Wallace}}
| (1962–2008), American writer and university professor for English and creative writing. Best known for his novel ''{{w|Infinite Jest}}''.
|-
| {{w|E.B. White}}
| (1899–1985), American writer. Co-author of the English language style guide ''{{w|The Elements of Style}}''. Also known for his children's books, including ''{{w|Stuart Little}}'', ''{{w|Charlotte's Web}}'', and ''{{w|The Trumpet of the Swan}}''.
|-
| {{w|T.H. White}}
| (1906–1964), English author. Known for his Arthurian novel series, ''{{w|The Once and Future King}}''.
|-
| {{w|John Steinbeck}}
| (1902–1968), American novelist. Known for his novels set in Central California, including ''{{w|Tortilla Flat}}'', ''{{w|Cannery Row (novel)|Cannery Row}}'', ''{{w|East of Eden (novel)|East of Eden}}'', ''{{w|Of Mice and Men}}'', and ''{{w|The Grapes of Wrath}}''.
|-
| {{w|John Updike}}
| (1932–2009), American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. Known for his prolific career and for his "Rabbit" series, chronicling the life of {{w|Rabbit Angstrom}}.
|-
| {{w|Gore Vidal}}
| (1925–2012), American writer and public intellectual. A political commentator and essayist, as well as a novelist.
|-
| {{w|Vidal Sassoon}}
| (1928–2012), British-American hairstylist, businessman, and fashion icon. Founded a worldwide chain of hairstyling salons as well as a line of hair treatment products. A philanthropist later in life.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Megan is walking with a finger raised toward Cueball, who is seated in a chair with a book.]
:Megan: Literary opinion:
:Megan: I firmly believe that William S. Burroughs, Hunter S. Thompson, Chuck Palahniuk, and David Foster Wallace are different names for the same person.
:Cueball: ...I see.

:[Megan puts down her hand.]
:Megan: ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' and ''Fight Club''? Same book with different covers, I bet.
:Cueball: I have both. Want to open them and check?
:Megan: I do not.

:[Cueball turns back to his book.]
:Megan: Moving on: my next opinion--
:Cueball: You should start a book club for discussing the books you refuse to read.
:Megan: --is that E.B. White and T.H. White are the same person.
:Cueball: Ok, ''that'' I believe.

==Trivia==
*The much earlier comic [[923: Strunk and White]] from 2011 also mentions E.B. White and ''The Elements of Style'' writing style guide.
*Also the earlier comic [[1087: Cirith Ungol]] references Charlotte's Web by E.B. White in the title text.
*The title text of the earlier comic [[1277: Ayn Random]] plays with several people with similar names.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:The Fight Club]]

1360: Old Files

2020-01-14T01:40:50Z

Promethean:

{{comic
| number = 1360
| date = April 25, 2014
| title = Old Files
| image = old_files.png
| titletext = Wow, ANIMORPHS-NOVEL.RTF? Just gonna, uh, go through and delete that from all my archives real quick.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic came out the day after [http://news.sky.com/story/1248397/andy-warhol-originals-found-on-floppy-disk Sky News published the story] of original {{w|Andy Warhol}} artwork, created in 1985 on an {{w|Amiga 1000}}, which was recovered from recently found floppy disks.

[[Cueball]] is shown literally digging through a pile of old files; which is a metaphor for looking through old files on his computer. The layers of the pile are arranged much like geological rock formations where older strata are deeper down than younger layers. The files are in concentric layers because each directory is imbedded in the previous directory. Therefore, the "Documents" folder contains an "Old Desktop" folder, which contains a folder with files recovered from an older system, which itself contains a "My Documents" folder, which contains a folder with files copied from a {{w|Zip Disk}} from high school. The result is that files from high school have survived in his present-day machine. These older folders serve as a time capsule of sorts, storing old files from {{w|AOL}}, NYET, and {{w|Kazaa}}. These files are meant to be analogous to the fossils and artifacts found in lower, older rock layers.

The sizes of the files decrease as Cueball goes deeper, since data storage has gotten cheaper over time. When the Zip Drive first came out, it cost $200 USD (plus $20 per 100 MB floppy). As of 2019, $200 could buy you at least an 8 TB portable external hard drive. In the 1990s, during AOL's heyday, 10+ GB hard drives were prohibitively expensive and a terabyte of data was unimaginable to most users.

Deep down, Cueball discovers several files he is surprised about, including a poetry file which embarrasses him as he does not remember writing poetry.

In the title text, he mentions also finding an "{{w|Animorphs}} Novel", which may be a text copy of one of the original books or a fan fiction of the ''Animorphs'' series (his reaction of quickly eradicating it may either be to prevent him being caught with a presumably-illegal copy of a Animorphs book or as a result of embarrassment at his fan fiction - the former is less likely than the latter considering some of the other files mentioned, so it is most likely a fan fiction). The series was released between 1996 and 2001, consistent with the fact that these files were created during Cueball/[[Randall|Randall's]] high school years. The series was extremely popular at the time. Animorphs has already been mentioned in the title text of [[1187: Aspect Ratio]], and later it was the main joke in [[1380: Manual for Civilization]] and [[1817: Incognito Mode]].

===Files and Folders===
The folders and files in detail:

'''Documents''' (47 GB): A large folder containing many of [[Cueball]]'s personal files.
*''misc.txt'': A miscellaneous {{w|text file}}, which could contain anything; possibly just various notes that Cueball is keeping.

*''Video projects'': As video files can take up a lot of space and video projects tend to use a lot of them, this likely makes up a considerable portion of the 47 GB.

'''Old desktop''' (12 GB): A backup from a former computer.
*''{{w|Facebook}} pics'': Pictures that were intended to be added to Facebook (and/or ones which were downloaded *from* Facebook).
*''Pics from other camera'': Unknown pictures from a second camera.
*''Temp'': Temporary folders generally contain cached files and files that are used temporarily to install programs.
*''Misc {{w|Portable Document Format|PDF}}s'': PDFs are often used for documentation, but could be any collection of digitized books or other documents.
*''{{w|MP3}}'': MP3 is a widely used format for digital audio files.

'''Recovered from drive crash''' (4 GB): When a {{w|Hard disk drive|hard drive}} crashes, some or all data may be recovered.
*''Temp'': Temporary files.
*''Work misc'': Unknown work related projects.
*''{{w|Audiobook|Audio books}}'': Recordings of books being read out loud.

'''My Documents''' (570 MB): {{w|Windows XP}} user accounts came with a "My Documents" folder that was widely used for storing personal files. The items in this archive came from the era when {{w|Windows XP}} was popular.
*''Downloads'': The default download folder for most browsers of the time.
*''{{w|Kazaa}} shared'': Kazaa is a defunct peer-to-peer file sharing program. The "shared" folder is shared with other members.
*''AYB'': {{w|All your base are belong to us|ALL YOUR BASE are belong to us}} is an internet {{w|Meme|meme}} inspired by a bad translation from ''{{w|Zero Wing}}''. Also referenced in [[286: All Your Base]].
*''{{w|Escape Velocity Override|EV Override}}'': An {{w|Apple Macintosh}} video game, released in 1998.
*''[http://rephial.org/ Angband]'': A game named after a fictional stronghold created by {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}}.
*''{{w|GIF}}s'': An image format widely used for transparent or animated images.
*''{{w|Fight Club}}.wmv'': A movie. As feature movies are typically compressed to 700 megabytes, and this folder only contains 570 MB, it must be of low quality or a small screen size.
*''{{w|Elasto Mania}}'': A physics-simulation game that claims to show real physics.
*''{{w|AOL Instant Messenger|AIM}} Direct Connect files'': Files transferred via AOL Instant Messenger.
*''{{w|4chan}}'': An image-board where users can upload pictures anonymously. Randall impulsively saves pictures from there. This entry is something of an anomaly, the rest of the files at this level were most notable around 1998 to 2001 while 4chan was only launched at the end of 2003. Since this board frequently contains images you wouldn't want to be caught looking at, this folder may be buried to hide it.
*''{{w|ICQ}} logs'': Logs from an instant messaging program introduced in 1996 and no longer commonly used in North America.

'''High school {{w|Zip drive|Zip disk}}''' (94 MB): The most popular form of {{w|superfloppy}}, introduced in 1994 with a capacity of 100 MB.
*''{{w|Korn}} MIDI'': Korn is an American {{w|nu metal}} band formed in 1993. {{w|MIDI}} is a protocol for communication with electronic musical instruments. The result tends to be sounds of low quality.
*''Photos3'': This is a folder of old photos.
**''{{w|Prom}}'': Pictures taken at prom.
*''lovenote.txt'': An old text file of a {{w|love letter}}, probably to a classmate in high school. Possibly referencing [[340: Fight]].
*''{{w|Gorillas (video game)|Gorillas}}.bas'': A game written in {{w|BASIC}}, to be run on {{w|QBasic}}, and supplied with MS-DOS.
*''Dream.txt'': Some private dreams.
*''James.txt'': Perhaps [[James]] is a friend of Randall, and the same as the one who came up with [[107|xkcd #107]].
*''{{w|AOL}}'': An early online and internet service, founded in 1985 and popular in the 1990s.
**''{{w|Citadel (software)|Citadel}}'' - A {{w|BBS}} and email platform that was widely used in the 1980s and early '90s.
*''{{w|QBasic}}'': An {{w|Integrated development environment|IDE}} released by {{w|Microsoft}} in 1991, which was used to write and run computer programs in the BASIC language.
*''NYET'': ''NYET'' was a {{w|Tetris}}-like game for MS-DOS, released in 1988.
*''Jokes.txt'': An old text file of jokes.

'''AAAFILES''' (9.4 MB): Some of [[Cueball]]'s oldest documents, likely prefixed with "AAA" to put the folder at the top of an alphabetically-sorted list.

'''TXT''' (850 K): Old text files, which include poetry he didn't remember writing.

==Transcript==
:Megan (on top of stack of files): You OK down there?

:'''Documents''' (47 GB)
::misc.txt
::Video projects
:'''Old desktop''' (12 GB)
::Facebook pics
::Pics from other camera
::Temp
::Misc PDFs
::MP3
:'''Recovered from drive crash''' (4 GB)
::Temp
::Work misc
::Audio books
:'''My Documents''' (570 MB)
::Downloads
::Kazaa shared
::AYB
::EV Override
::Angband
::GIFs
::FIGHT CLUB.wmv
::Elasto Mania
::AIM Direct Connect files
::4chan
::ICQ logs
:'''High school Zip disk''' (94 MB)
::Korn MIDI
::Photos3 (Prom)
::lovenote.txt
::Gorilla.bas
::Dream.txt
::James.txt
::AOL (Citadel)
::QBasic
::NYET
::Jokes.txt
:'''AAAFILES''' (9.4 MB)
:'''TXT''' (850 K)
:Cueball (deep inside the AAAFILES section looking at his txt files): Oh my god. I wrote '''poetry'''.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Animorphs]]
[[Category:Comics featuring James]]
[[Category:The Fight Club]]

703: Honor Societies

2020-01-14T01:40:00Z

Promethean: +Category:The Fight Club

{{comic
| number = 703
| date = February 17, 2010
| title = Honor Societies
| image = honor_societies.png
| titletext = Hey, why do YOU get to be the president of Tautology Clu-- wait, I can guess.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] has apparently been invited to join an {{w|Honor society|honor society}}, but he considers the reason he should join to be a circular argument: because honorable people are in honor societies and people who are in honor societies are supposedly honorable. He objects that this is a {{w|tautology}}: a claim that something is true because it is true (and thus a meaningless claim). From this he concludes that he might as well be in a "tautology club" and then starts one. Thus [[Randall]] mocks honor society clubs for being pointless.

In the final panel where Cueball has formed the club, [[Ponytail]] asks a new member (a Cueball-like guy) how he found out about them and he tells about their Facebook page. The reference to {{w|Facebook}} mocks {{w|Facebook groups}} whose names refer to a number of members they hope to attract (such as [https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Bet-I-Can-Find-1000000-People-Who-Dislike-Romanian-Dog-Abusers/109442262492204 I Bet I Can Find 1,000,000 People Who Dislike Romanian Dog Abusers]), usually ostensibly to raise awareness for some issue, but perhaps in fact just for the ego-stroking pleasure of amassing a large number of followers. Tautology Club employs this tactic only for the sake of creating yet another tautology.

Cueball is listing the rules of the club from a podium. The phrase "The first rule of _______ Club" is a reference to the 1999 movie ''{{w|Fight Club}}'' (see also [[922: Fight Club]]), which contains the famous line "The first rule of Fight Club is 'You do not talk about Fight Club,'" a reference to the club's intended secrecy. This phrase has been appropriated for myriad other varieties and parodies, such as the one mentioned in the comic.

The short guy with glasses could be {{w|List of FoxTrot characters#Jason Fox|Jason Fox}} from the {{w|FoxTrot}} comic (see the first two frames of [[824: Guest Week: Bill Amend (FoxTrot)]].) Although it takes a little imagination to see, the hair, the height, the glasses, and the geek factor fits. Three of the other characters from the audience looks like regular character but also with slightly different hairstyle that the usual. There is a buzz cut version of [[Hairy]], a curly haired version of [[Hairbun]] with a ponytail (also seen later on) and [[Megan]] is drawn with an uncharacteristically white stripe in her hair.

The answer to the title text would also be a tautology: he gets to be the president because he is the president.

Tautologies were mentioned again in [[1310: Goldbach Conjectures]]. Tautology Club was mentioned in [[1602: Linguistics Club]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits at a desk, while some one off-screen answers his question.]
:Cueball: Wait. I should join this honor society to show colleges I'm honorable, and I'm honorable because I'm in an honor society?
:Off-screen voice: Basically, yes.

:[Close up of Cueball.]
:Cueball: Sounds like I could save time by joining the Tautology Club directly.
:Off-screen voice: That's not a real club.
:Cueball: Then I'm starting it.

:[Inserted in a frame crossing the top of the third panels frame is a caption. Cueball is standing on a podium in the right part of the panel speaking. From left to right we find Ponytail, a Cueball-like guy, a short guy with glasses, a buzz cut version of Hairy, a curly haired version of Hairbun with a ponytail and to the right of Cueball, a woman that looks like Megan although with a uncharacteristically white stripe in her hair.]
:Caption: Tautology Club:
:Ponytail: So how'd you learn about us?
:Cueball-like guy: From your Facebook group, "If 1,000,000 People Join This Group, It Will Have 1,000,000 People In It."
:Cueball: ''Listen up!'' The first rule of Tautology Club is the first rule of Tautology Club.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Logic]]
[[Category:The Fight Club]]

Category:Fight Club

2020-01-14T01:39:16Z

Promethean:

The first rule of ''{{w|Fight Club}}'', a 1999 movie based on a 1996 novel, is "You do not talk about Fight Club." XKCD has broken this rule several times.
[[Category:Fiction]]

878: Model Rail

2020-01-14T01:38:25Z

Promethean: +Category:The Fight Club

{{comic
| number = 878
| date = March 28, 2011
| title = Model Rail
| image = model rail.png
| titletext = I don't know what's more telling--the number of pages in the Wikipedia talk page argument over whether the 1/87.0857143 scale is called "HO" or "H0", or the fact that within minutes of first hearing of it I had developed an extremely strong opinion on the issue.
}}

==Explanation==
In model rail construction, the {{w|HO scale}} refers to the most popular scale for modeling railroads, in which 3.5 millimeters in the model corresponds to 1 real-world Imperial foot. As the comic suggests, it works out to a ratio of about 1:87.1. In Europe, the scale is defined as exactly 1:87 instead, to avoid references to non-metric measurements.

This comic features [[:Category:Multiple Cueballs|two Cueballs]] conversing; we'll refer to them as Lefty and Righty to avoid confusion. The conversation takes place in Lefty's basement. Lefty is apparently a less-experienced train modeler, and he tells Righty that he wants to make an HO model layout of his town. However, the more-experienced Righty points out that this is a bad idea, due to nesting. To make it a perfectly accurate model, Lefty would have to include a model of his house, which includes his basement, which includes the model. So, he would have to make a model of the model, which will include a smaller model of the model, and so forth. This is illustrated in the comic.

At the end of these six nested models ''The Matryoshka limit'' is stated: "It is impossible to nest more than six HO layouts". {{w|Matryoshka doll|Matryoshka dolls}} are toys of Russian origin that can be stacked inside one another. Here, the "Matryoshka limit" is the hard barrier that follows as a result of the nesting. Matter is not infinitely divisible; once one gets to the level of atoms, it is impossibly difficult to go any smaller. The unit shown in the last diagram is the {{w|Angstrom|ångström}}, a very small unit of measurement (1/10000th of a {{w|micrometre}}, 1/10 of a {{w|nanometre}}, 100 {{w|picometre}}s or 10−10 m) which was created when humans started discovering objects on an atomic scale, such as crystal structures or wavelengths. The last nested model looks like the atoms on a surface as seen using a {{w|scanning tunneling microscope}} (STM).

The rules of model train layouts reference the 1999 cult classic ''{{w|Fight Club}}'', where the first rule of Fight Club is "do not talk about Fight Club." However, while the club instituted the rule because their activities were morally and legally questionable, the rule in the comic was instituted by friends and family members who were apparently sick of hearing the train enthusiasts talk about model train layouts all the time.

The "Philistines" comment is not referring to citizens of ancient Palestine (at least not directly), but rather the philosophy of {{w|Philistinism}}. {{w|Friedrich Nietzsche}} defined a Philistine as someone who is purely negative in how they define style, i.e. they know exactly what they hate and don't really have anything they like. A common stereotype for artists is to refer to anyone who dislikes their work as "Philistines," thus dismissing their criticism as being part of a larger personality defect on the critic's part rather than any particular failing of the artwork in question.

The title text references {{w|HO scale}} and, more specifically, whether it should be spelled with the letter "O" or the number zero (0). Such debates often seem petty to the "layman", yet the people involved in the debates can form ''very'' strong feelings for their side. Randall recognizes "nerdy tendencies" almost immediately when he gets the urge to take a side.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball to the left and his friend, who also looks like Cueball, are standing in the friend's rather large basement, where the celling is held up by six thin columns, and the walls are shown angling in towards a point of perspective, to display how big the room is.]
:Friend: I want to build a perfect HO-scale (~1/87) model train layout of my town.
:Cueball: In your basement? Bad idea. Never make a layout of the area you're in.

:[Zoom in on the two friends without the basement visualized.]
:Friend: Why not?
:Cueball: Because it'd include a little 10" replica of your house.

:[Zoom in Cueball's friend who takes his hand to his chin.]
:Friend: So? That's be cool! I'd make tiny replicas of my rooms, my furniture—
:Cueball (off-screen)l: —And your train layout?

:[Beneath this first row of the comic is the zoom-out of how the full model would look in the basement. The town lies beneath some small mountains. There is some water with a bridge over it continuing to the roads going through the city. There is no frame around this section, but instead there follows five zoom-outs, each one going from the friend's house, that proceeds to a circular frame. Within each of these is shown a nested model. Starting to the right of the main model, and then moving down, then left, and then down and right. Each layer has a broken arrow above the model between two vertical lines to indicate the scale, the length being written between the two parts of the arrow. Some foreign objects are also labeled to help understand the scale.]

:[Layer 1, the model with the two friends standing to the left of it.]
:18 m

:[Layer 2, looks exactly as the model, but without the friends.]
:21 cm

:[Layer 3, with a mosquito shown for comparison. It stands over half the model covering the mountains.]
:2.4 mm

:[Layer 4, with a strand of spider silk (labeled) shown for comparison. The silk is much thicker than the roads, almost as thick as the mountains and much longer than the model. But the model still looks fairly much like the original one.]
:28 μm
:Spider web

:[Layer 5, with a cold virus (labeled) shown for comparison. It covers roughly a quarter of the model, taking up the water part of the model. At this level the whole model becomes notably "fuzzy" as individual atoms are discernible, and most of the features apart from the mountain is indiscernible. There may be two viruses. The other would then be to the right of the one in the water but above the model. The label stands between them.]
:320 nm
:Cold virus

:[Layer 6, is simply spheres (atoms) at this point. The mountain near the back is the only noticeable feature, consisting of five atoms jutting out from the surface of atoms, which is by no mean flat.]
:37 Å

:[Beneath these six versions of the model is a caption:]
:The Matryoshka limit:
:It is impossible to nest
:more than six HO layouts

:[Back to the two friends in the basement, still not showing the basement.]
:Friend: My God.
:Cueball: Yeah. It's the second rule of model train layouts: No nesting.

:[Zoom in on the heads of the two friends.]
:Friend: ...What's the first rule?
:Cueball: "Do ''not'' talk about model train layouts." That rule was actually voted in by our friends and families.
:Friend: Philistines.

==Trivia==
* The city of Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England actually contains such a model. Although, it only has 4 nestings, and is built at a larger scale.
* The {{w|Miniatur Wunderland|Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg (Germany)}}, the biggest model rail construction in the world, contains a 1:7500 version of the Miniatur Wunderland with movable vehicles.
* It should be noted that the day this comic went up, it was then repeatedly referenced in the HO talk page by several people commenting on the arguable triviality of the edit war.
* The comic [[1167: Star Trek into Darkness]] is about a similar debate on Wikipedia.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Recursion]]
[[Category:The Fight Club]]

343: 1337: Part 3

2020-01-14T01:37:47Z

Promethean: +Category:The Fight Club

{{comic
| number = 343
| date = November 14, 2007
| title = 1337: Part 3
| image = 1337 part 3.png
| titletext = I once asked an NSA guy whether they'd broken RSA. And I know I can trust him, because I asked if he was lying to me and he said no.
}}

==Explanation==
This is the third part of five in the "[[:Category:1337|1337]]" series. The title 1337 is "L-eet", or "elite", using the {{w|Leet}} alphabet, a coding system used primarily on the internet (and on early text messaging system), meant to provide a bit of {{w|obfuscation}} to plain text both to make it harder to read, and to show off in a creative way using in-group jargon.

All comics in the series:
*[[341: 1337: Part 1]]
*[[342: 1337: Part 2]]
*[[343: 1337: Part 3]]
*[[344: 1337: Part 4]]
*[[345: 1337: Part 5]]
This series was released on 5 consecutive days (Monday-Friday) and not over the usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.

The comic is narrated by [[Cueball]] as seen in the previous comic, but that Cueball is not shown here, where the man drawn as Cueball is a real person:

{{w|Adrian Lamo}} is a hacker known for being a threat analyst and has penetrated many corporate networks. As far as we know, he has not penetrated any government networks, so helping Elaine physically break into the {{w|NSA}} would probably inspire second thoughts. The use of a rug to cross the barbed wire fence is likely a reference to a scene in ''{{w|Fight Club}}'', where the same method is used to break into a {{w|liposuction}} clinic.

{{w|RSA (algorithm)|RSA}} is an encryption algorithm that allows decryption using {{w|Public-key cryptography|public keys}}. No efficient method to {{w|RSA problem|break RSA}} is known. But if the NSA knew any such method, it would be unlikely for them to admit that.
However, the NSA have paid RSA to put a [http://theverge.com/2013/12/20/5231006/nsa-paid-10-million-for-a-back-door-into-rsa-encryption-according-to backdoor] into one of their encryption schemes.

{{w|Lawrence Lessig}} is a political activist focusing on copyright law and intellectual property, as well as a founding board member of {{w|Creative Commons}}.

{{w|Steve Jobs}} was the two-time {{w|CEO}} of {{w|Apple Inc.}} In partnership with {{w|Steve Wozniak}}, he founded Apple. He oversaw Apple's return from near bankruptcy, the introduction of the original Macintosh, the {{w|iPod}}, the {{w|iPhone}}, and the {{w|iPad}}. But in the '90s, most of this had not happened yet. The comic is implying that it was Elaine, in fact, who planted those ideas in Jobs' mind (while perching on his bedpost, a nearly-impossible physical task for even a relatively small and light human being - such a stance is often depicted for gargoyles or fictional vampires, the latter of which are associated with nocturnal bedroom-invasions like this).

The final panel is a pun on the Riot grrrls - {{w|Riot grrrl}} is an underground feminist punk rock movement. This metamorphosizes in the hands of Randall into Riot Prrl - who presumably prefer to code in {{w|Perl}}. The [https://www.facebook.com/Riot-Prrl-219590338058369/ real Riot Prrl] is from {{w|Northampton}} and is into {{w|Yarn bombing|guerilla knitting}}.

The title text may refer to the {{w|urban legend}} that leads petty criminals to ask each other [http://www.snopes.com/risque/hookers/cop.asp "Are you a cop?"]. The bottom line is that anyone who is capable of lying about breaking the RSA encryption algorithm, possibly including the "NSA guy," would be equally capable of lying about whether or not he is lying.

==Transcript==
:[Outside, Adrian Lamo is helping Elaine Roberts over a barbed wire fence.]
:It was the late 90's. Elaine crisscrossed the country with Adrian Lamo, the 'Homeless Hacker', learning to gain entry into systems both virtual and physical.
:Adrian Lamo: So you just throw a rug over the fence and... say, what ''is'' this place anyway?
:Roberts: Nowhere special.
:Lamo: ...Elaine, is this NSA Headquarters?
:Roberts: ...Look, I just want to see if they've broken RSA.

:[Inside, Lawrence Lessig is sitting at a table, Roberts is standing across the table swinging a knife.]
:She learned, from Lawrence Lessig, about the monstrosity that is U.S. Copyright Law.
:Roberts: So, how do we fix the system? Stab bad guys?
:Lessig: I'm starting something called "Creative Commons"
:''Shink''
:Elaine Roberts: I think we should stab bad guys...

:[Steve Jobs is lying up in his bed, Roberts is balancing while crouched on the foot of Jobs' bed.]
:She met with Steve Jobs to discuss the future of Apple.
:Roberts: Compression and bandwidth are changing everything.
:Jobs: Who are you? It's 3:00AM!
:Roberts: Apple should make a portable music player.
:Jobs: I'm calling the police.
:Roberts: Hey, idea — integrate it with a cell phone!

:[Scene has two of Elaine's activities. In one she is drumming, in the other she has an electric guitar on her shoulders, one hand on the frets. The other hand is holding a laptop by the touchpad.]
:She even, for a time, took up drumming, and helped start a movement among teen girls, a culture of self-taught female programmers and musicians, coding by day and rocking out by night—
:Roberts: Riot Prrl.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:1337|03]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|1337]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Elaine Roberts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Steve Jobs]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Puns]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:The Fight Club]]
[[Category:CC-BY-SA comics]]

109: Spoiler Alert

2020-01-14T01:36:45Z

Promethean: +Category:The Fight Club

{{comic
| number = 109
| date = May 31, 2006
| title = Spoiler Alert
| image = spoiler_alert.png
| titletext = And then it turns out they're both Tyler Durden.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic refers to several unexpected plot twists from various Hollywood movies and combines them into one giant twist invented by [[Randall Munroe|Randall]]. A "{{w|spoiler (media)|spoiler}}" is a term used to describe information about the plot of any media that could spoil the media for someone who has not viewed it. The term "spoiler alert" has become popularized as a warning to potential readers used to precede such spoilers, particularly in online posting. It is also a phrase often used ironically or angrily to suggest that something someone has just said is a spoiler. It is also used jokingly to suggest that something just said (or is about to be said) was a spoiler so long ago that "everyone" should have heard of it by now (e.g. "Spoiler alert, Vader is Luke's father").

{{w|Severus Snape}} is a character from J.K. Rowling's ''{{w|Harry Potter}}'' series of books.

{{w|Trinity (The Matrix)|Trinity}} is a character from ''{{w|The Matrix (franchise)|The Matrix}}'' trilogy of movies.

Rosebud is from the 1941 film ''{{w|Citizen Kane}}''.

From the title text, {{w|Fight Club (novel)#Tyler Durden|Tyler Durden}} is a character from the {{w|Fight Club (novel)|novel}} and movie ''{{w|Fight Club}}''.

All four references share the common ground that they are all involved in significant events or ideas in their respective movies that have been often spoiled by careless viewers for those who have not yet seen the movies. Here, the relevant events are mashed together into one and spoiled in one go.

=== Spoilers ===
In this comic, Snape is depicted knocking Trinity off a high place with a wooden sled named Rosebud.

* Snape kills someone important, by knocking them off a building.

* Trinity dies

* Rosebud is a sled

* Tyler Durden is both characters

The event depicted in the comic did not actually occur in any movie{{Citation needed}}.

Trinity (the female protagonist in {{w|The Matrix (franchise)|''The Matrix'' series}}) is killed in the third film, ''{{w|The Matrix Revolutions}}''. The central mystery of the classic film ''{{w|Citizen Kane}}'' is the meaning of "Rosebud" (the title character's last word), which is revealed at the end of the film to be the name of his childhood sled. In {{w|Harry Potter}}, Snape (a professor at the Hogwarts school) kills Dumbledore (the headmaster) at the top of the Astronomy Tower in the penultimate book of the series, "{{w|Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince}}" (in the final book, we learn that it was part of Dumbledore's plan).

The title text refers to the film ''{{w|Fight Club}}'', at the end of which it is revealed that the character played by {{w|Edward Norton}} is actually Tyler Durden (the name {{w|Brad Pitt}}'s character goes by); and Pitt's character is really just a figment of the Norton character's imagination; and that the viewer has been watching from Norton's point of view, seeing Pitt doing things Norton did not want to admit to himself he was capable of. In other words, the two roles are one and the same character, implied to be suffering from a {{w|split personality}}.
And near the end of the movie Edward Norton kills Tyler Durden (his split personality) at the top of a skyscraper.

==Transcript==
:[At the tope of the panel there is a large heading:]
:'''Spoiler Alert!'''

:[Below that Severus Snape with long black hair is smacking a trenchcoat-clad Trinity off the top of a building with a brown sled. Below them is the following caption:]
:Snape kills Trinity with Rosebud!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:The Matrix]]
[[Category:Harry Potter]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:The Fight Club]]

922: Fight Club

2020-01-14T01:36:17Z

Promethean: +Category:The Fight Club

{{comic
| number = 922
| date = July 8, 2011
| title = Fight Club
| image = fight_club.png
| titletext = I'm not saying it's all bad, but that movie has not aged as well as my teenage self in 2000 was confident it would.
}}

==Explanation==
''{{w|Fight Club}}'' is a movie starring {{w|Brad Pitt}} and {{w|Edward Norton}} that was released in 1999, based on the novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. It included this oft-quoted and parodied line: "The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club."

The movie has been fiercely debated by critics, primarily regarding whether it makes a sophisticated philosophical statement about society and consumerism or whether it is {{tvtropes|FightClubbing|just a movie with lots of fighting and mischief}}. Randall explains his position in the title text, claiming that he lies somewhere in-between.

"This conversation is over" is also a line from the movie, in the scene where the Narrator (Edward Norton) is arguing with Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter) while Tyler (Brad Pitt) tells the Narrator what to say from the bottom of the basement stairs.

==Transcript==
:Friend: But ''Fight Club'' isn't really about fighting. It's about the way society—
:Cueball: Nope, don't wanna hear it.
:Friend: But it says consumers are—
:Cueball: This conversation is over.

:The first rule of talking to me about movies is do ''NOT'' talk about Fight Club.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:The Fight Club]]

Category:Fight Club

2020-01-14T01:35:43Z

Promethean: Created page with "The first rule of ''{{w|The Fight Club}}'', a 1999 movie, is "You do not talk about Fight Club." XKCD has broken this rule several times. Category:Fiction"

The first rule of ''{{w|The Fight Club}}'', a 1999 movie, is "You do not talk about Fight Club." XKCD has broken this rule several times.
[[Category:Fiction]]

2235: Group Chat Rules

2020-01-14T01:33:05Z

Promethean: +Category:The Fight Club

{{comic
| number = 2235
| date = November 29, 2019
| title = Group Chat Rules
| image = group_chat_rules.png
| titletext = There's no group chat member more enigmatic than the cool person who you all assume has the chat on mute, but who then instantly chimes in with no delay the moment something relevant to them is mentioned.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic Randall is outlining the rules of a group chat, such as {{w|Internet Relay Chat}} (IRC), {{w|Slack (software)|Slack}}, {{w|Discord (software)|Discord}}, {{w|WeChat}}, {{w|Discourse (software)|Discourse}}, and the like.

1. '''Once you've sent a typing notification, you have to say ''something,'' c'mon.'''

Typing notification, often called a "typing awareness indicator," is a feature of some instant messaging systems, showing a message such as "Typing..." with the typer's name to the other participants, causing them in many cases to wait to receive the message before typing something of their own. When the typer stops without sending anything, this can seem anticlimactic and potentially disruptive if it recurs. Randall's rule is that you must say something once you've started typing, to avoid the awkwardness of awaiting a person's reply. See also [[1886: Typing Notifications]].

2. '''Show you care by trimming the tracking junk off links you paste.'''

Some URL links may have tracking information attached to the end of them, to show the origin of the URL and other information. {{w|UTM parameters}} are an example of URL parameters (the part of a URL starting with a question mark) which are used to track utilization of the URL from one user to another. Many news and marketing-related websites include such tracking codes with any visit to one of their web pages in an attempt to see the source of the URL for subsequent visits. Many people consider this a violation of privacy as well as a source of clutter, and make an effort to remove the parameters from URLs when they are not necessary for obtaining the requested content. For example, [https://www.dyson.com/sticks/dyson-v8-absolute-nickel-iron.html?ranMID=36310&ranEAID=lw9MynSeamY&ranSiteID=lw9MynSeamY-w42lWd1QYp3RrUefCg_osA&siteID=lw9MynSeamY-w42lWd1QYp3RrUefCg_osA&utm_source=Slickdeals+LLC&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=us_en__na__na__na__purchase&utm_term=&utm_content=rakuten_1&dclid=CjkKEQiAt_PuBRC2vOSG5pnYqN0BEiQATx34W-U3rsbKLg-BO9ep4IJKz6JxmZrHTqS7JKmZqSrWmKLw_wcB&ranMID=36310&ranEAID=lw9MynSeamY&ranSiteID=lw9MynSeamY-z5miuzSsmyWevVXB._R14g&siteID=lw9MynSeamY-z5miuzSsmyWevVXB._R14g&utm_source=Slickdeals+LLC&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=us_en__na__na__na__purchase&utm_term=&utm_content=rakuten_1 this url] has a lot of tracking information to show that it was originally accessed from Slickdeals, which can be removed to produce [https://www.dyson.com/sticks/dyson-v8-absolute-nickel-iron.html a much shorter URL] for the same web page. Randall asks the users of group chat to politely remove the tracking code, though other parameters may be involved in an important non-tracking way (such as the lat, lon and zoom level giving the focus of a Google Map link) and it isn't always obvious which parts are which - or both tied together!

3. '''Do not talk about ''Fight Club'' (1999).'''

This is a reference to the 1999 film ''{{w|Fight Club}}'', where the main character forms an eponymous "Fight Club," an underground club for men to fight recreationally. In [http://www.diggingforfire.net/FightClub/ the rules for Fight Club] the first and second "rules" are "You do not talk about FIGHT CLUB.", which Randall parodies in this comic, by making a rule to not talk about the film ''Fight Club'' and placing this rule third in the list. See also [[922: Fight Club]] and [[109: Spoiler Alert]].

4. '''There are two types of chats: those with a relevant group name, and those where the name is random nonsense that changes regularly. Only the second kind are good.'''

Some group chats frequently change the name of their title or the names of their channels, for example to reference upcoming events or inside jokes, or to reflect the topic of the current conversation. Often, these names do not get changed back until someone decides to change it to a new inside joke/etc. Randall claims that those are the only good kind, compared to those that never change group names, perhaps implying a singular focus is less interesting than a dynamic chat that often changes names.

5. '''When mentioning it elsewhere, always just refer to it as "the group chat" to create an aura of exclusive mystery.'''

Many people have to deal with several kinds of group chat in the same organization, so referring to "the group chat" within such an organization may be confusingly ambiguous. Also, calling a chat "the group chat" can serve to exclude those who don't already know about it.

6. '''Robert's Rules of Order are optional but encouraged.'''

''{{w|Robert's Rules of Order}}'' are one of the authoritative codifications of {{w|parliamentary procedure}} used to formalize decision-making in organizations required to document their activities such as governments and sometimes civic organizations and corporations. While people required to use ''Robert's Rules'' might use group chat to plan their {{w|Agenda (meeting)|agenda}} — even going so far as to prepare a {{w|pro forma}} script for a meeting in accordance with parliamentary procedure which represents their positions and deliberations in advance — and to compose, revise, and approve their {{w|minutes}}, it is unlikely that group chat participants would follow ''Robert's Rules'' prior to their formal meeting.

7. '''Periodically part of the group will split off to form a new chat with everyone minus one person. This is how group chats reproduce; don't draw attention to it.'''

Some people who use group chat too frequently or for unimportant messages or both will cause their colleagues to attempt to achieve greater productivity by excluding them from an alternate chat, from which notifications, for example, are less annoying and more useful. Alternatively, a person could be excluded from a chat to hide things from them, such as to plan a surprise for them, or because that one person has been disruptive or annoying to the point that everyone else wants to continue the conversation without their continued input. It appears that the chat is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarming_(honey_bee) honey bee hive reproducing by swarming]. When purposely excluding someone by creating a new group, you would probably not want them to know you have done so as they might otherwise attempt to re-join in the new chat; that's likely the real reason one should not talk about or draw attention to the fact that it happened.

8. '''Since there's no algorithmic feed, the responsibility for injecting lots of garbage no one asked for falls on you.'''

Tools such as {{w|IFTTT}} and {{w|IRC bot}}s (or "bots" in this context) are used to provide group chat channels with information automatically taken from external sources of various sorts, such as emails to a support address or commits to source code control systems. Randall suggests that when such algorithmically-provided information is not available, it is incumbent upon chat participants to provide sufficiently verbose replacements. The "algorithmic feed" may also refer to the newsfeed type of systems that Facebook or other social networking sites use, to order posts for a user to view.

9. '''The enumeration, in these rules, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.'''

This is a reference to the {{w|Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution}}, which reserves the various [[Wikipedia:natural rights|natural rights]] not specifically mentioned in the Constitution. Per Wikipedia, this right was included because "future generations might argue that, because a certain right was not listed in the Bill of Rights, it did not exist." The Ninth Amendment was also referenced in [[1998: GDPR]].

10. '''Sorry about all the notifications.'''

Here, Randall apologizes for all the notifications for the messages sent in group chat. Group chat features often result in more notifications than designers of notification systems anticipated or intended. If each of these ten rules were sent as a separate message in group chat, they might likely end with such an apology.

The title text expresses appreciation (and perhaps amazement) for group chat participants who remain silent except for promptly replying on topics pertinent to them.

==Transcript==
:[Title at the top of the comic]:
: Rules for this group chat

:[A numbered list of 10 rules]:

# Once you've sent a typing notification, you have to say ''something,'' c'mon.
# Show you care by trimming the tracking junk off links you paste.
# Do not talk about ''Fight Club'' (1999).
# There are two types of chats: those with a relevant group name, and those where the name is random nonsense that changes regularly. Only the second kind are good.
# When mentioning it elsewhere, always just refer to it as "the group chat" to create an aura of exclusive mystery.
# Robert's Rules of Order are optional but encouraged.
# Periodically part of the group will split off to form a new chat with everyone minus one person. This is how group chats reproduce; don't draw attention to it.
# Since there's no algorithmic feed, the responsibility for injecting lots of garbage no one asked for falls on you.
# The enumeration, in these rules, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
# Sorry about all the notifications.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Social interactions]]
[[Category:Social networking]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:The Fight Club]]