explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2536: Wirecutter

2021-11-01T20:10:36Z

Samfun123:

{{comic
| number = 2536
| date = November 1, 2021
| title = Wirecutter
| image = wirecutter.png
| titletext = This was always going to be a controversial Wirecutter post, but what really got them in trouble were their 'budget' and 'upgrade' picks.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a RELIGION REVIEWER - 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.}}
:[A New York Times Wirecutter article titled:]
:The Best Religion
:By Wirecutter Staff
:[The article's picture depicts Cueball shrugging in the center of the picture with many question marks floating above him. The content of the article follows:]
:What does it all mean? Our reviewers tried out over 70 of the most popular belief systems. Here's what they found...

{{comic discussion}}

2314: Carcinization

2020-06-01T23:16:43Z

Samfun123: Undo revision 192755 by Samfun123 (talk)

2314: Carcinization

2020-06-01T23:16:10Z

Samfun123: Initial transcript

{{comic
| number = 2314
| date = June 2, 2020
| title = Carcinization
| image = carcinization.png
| titletext = Nature abhors a vacuum and also anything that's not a crab.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CRAB. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[Cueball and Megan are walking next to each other towards the left.]

Megan: Have you heard of "Carcinization"?

Megan: The tendency of nature to evolve things into crabs.

Cueball: Oh?

[Same scene]

Megan: Yeah, the basic "crab" design has evolved separately a number of times.

Cueball: Evolution just loves making crabs, I guess!

[Narrower panel - Only Megan is seen, still walking, and appearing to shrug.]

Megan: Apparently!

[Two smaller panels, one above the other. The first panel shows Megan continuing to walk along. The second shows Megan turning and looking back to see where Cueball has gone.]

[Megan has stopped walking and is looking at a small crab scuttling along on the ground, which Cueball apparently evolved into.]

Megan: Oh no

[Megan and Cueball are walking and talking. Megan is turned towards Cueball.]
:Megan: Have you heard of "carcinization"?
:Megan: The tendency of nature to evolve things into crabs.
:Cueball: Oh?

[Megan turns forward.]
:Megan: Yeah, the basic "crab" design has evolved separately a number of times.
:Cueball: Evolution just loves making crabs, I guess!

[Megan is shown alone in the frame.]
:Megan: Apparently!

[Megan starts slowing down.]

[Megan stops and turns around.]

[Megan is looking back at a crab.]
:Megan: Oh no.

{{comic discussion}}

2012: Thorough Analysis

2018-06-27T18:38:06Z

Samfun123: Added transcript

{{comic
| number = 2012
| date = June 27, 2018
| title = Thorough Analysis
| image = thorough_analysis.png
| titletext = The likely shape of the bells was determined through consultation with several bellringing experts at the Tower of London. Transcripts of those interviews are available in Appendix VII.
}}

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

This comic remarks on how obsessively some scientific papers investigate some insignificant, obscure things. It give the example of an investigation into whether an earthquake in 1811 caused church bells 600 miles away to ring, which, although mildly interesting, is not of any scientific importance today.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
: [The comic mainly consists of a research paper:]
: 1. Introduction
: The December 1811 earthquake near New Madrid, Missouri reportedly caused church bells to ring in Charleston, South Carolina.
: But did it?
: The original bell tower has been lost, but a computer model of the church building was created from archival plans and forensic masonry analysis. Genetic testing of the timber from local trees related to those used in the bell tower shows a weakness in the
: [Caption below the panel:]
: My favorite genre of scientific papers are exhaustive 100-page treatises that answer some minor question with the obsessive thoroughness of the 9/11 commission report.

{{comic discussion}}

1998: GDPR

2018-05-25T21:03:15Z

Samfun123: Minor errors in transcript

{{comic
| number = 1998
| date = May 25, 2018
| title = GDPR
| image = gdpr.png
| titletext = By clicking anywhere, scrolling, or closing this notification, you agree to be legally bound by the witch Sycorax within a cloven pine.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by the EUROPEAN UNION - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic was released on the date on which the {{w|General Data Protection Regulation|General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)}} law went into effect. Most people will have already seen a large number of updated privacy policies in the week or two leading up to this law going active. And while [[xkcd]] would likely be outside of the jurisdiction that the law can enforce, it technically does fall within the scope of the law (as certainly EU citizens visit xkcd).

There are several references made to this law, but also several jokes are included about the way people treat privacy policies specifically, and user agreements in general.

The comic is a joke privacy policy, with terms that no one would agree to under normal circumstances. In most cases, website users will use websites without reading the policies, potentially "agreeing" to something unexpected.

The phrase "quartering troops in your home" is likely a reference to the {{w|Third Amendment to the United States Constitution}}, which explicitly forbids this practice during peacetime. Refusing to quarter troops in one's home was previously referenced in [[496: Secretary: Part 3]].

The [http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Warning_beacons_of_Gondor Warning beacons of Gondor] were a system to call for aid used by {{w|Gondor}} in ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}''. They were used before the [http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Siege_of_Gondor Battle of the Pelennor Fields] to request the aid of the {{w|Rohan (Middle-earth)|Rohirrim}}. The use of the Beacons has previously been mentioned in [[921: Delivery Notification]].

{{w|3rd Party}} was a three-member dance-pop group that released one album in 1997, "Alive". In software, "third-party extensions" are small programs that plug into a larger program to modify its behavior, and are created neither by the maker of the larger program nor the user.

The title text is a reference to Shakespeare's "{{w|The Tempest}}", in which the witch {{w|Sycorax}} imprisoned the sprite Ariel in a cloven pine prior to Ariel's rescue by Prospero.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[The picture shows a long text:]
:'''Privacy policy'''
:We've updated our privacy policy. This is purely out of the goodness of our hearts, and has nothing to do with any hypothetical unions on any particular continents. Please read every part of this policy carefully, and don't just skip ahead looking for sex scenes.
:This policy governs your interactions with this website, herein referred to as "The Service", "The Website", "The Internet", or "Facebook", and with all other websites and organizations of any kind. The enumeration in this policy, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the users. By using this service, you opt in to quartering troops in your home.

:'''Your personal information'''
:Please don't send us your personal information. We do not want your personal information. We have a hard enough time keeping track of our ''own'' personal information, let alone yours.
:If you tell us your name, or any identifying information, we will forget it immediately. The next time we see you, we'll struggle to remember who you are, and try desperately to get through the conversation so we can go online and hopefully figure it out.

:'''Tracking pixels, cookies, and beacons'''
:This website places pixels on your screen in order to form text and images, some of which may remain in your memory after you close the page. We use cookies to enhance your performance. Our website may use local storage on your device if we run low on space on our end. We may use beacons to call Rohan for aid.

:'''3rd party extension'''
:This service may utilize 3rd party extensions in order to play the song '''''Can U Feel It''''' from their debut album '''''Alive'''''.

:'''Permission'''
:For users who are citizens of the European Union, we will now be requesting permission before initiating organ harvesting.

:'''Scope and limitations'''
:This policy supersedes any application federal, state, and local laws, regulations and ordinances, international treaties, and legal agreements that would otherwise apply. If any provision of this policy is found by a court to be unenforceable, it nevertheless remains in force.
:This organization is not liable and this agreement shall not be construed. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This website is intended to treat, cure and prevent any disease.
:If you know anyone in Europe, please tell them we're cool.

{{comic discussion}}

1998: GDPR

2018-05-25T19:44:44Z

Samfun123: Added transcript

{{comic
| number = 1998
| date = May 25, 2018
| title = GDPR
| image = gdpr.png
| titletext = By clicking anywhere, scrolling, or closing this notification, you agree to be legally bound by the witch Sycorax within a cloven pine.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by the EUROPEAN UNION - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic was released on the date on which the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation General Data Protection Regulation] law went into effect. Most people will have already seen a large number of updated privacy policies in the week or two leading up to this law going active. And while XKCD would likely be outside of the jurisdiction that the law can enforce, it technically does fall within the scope of the law (as certainly EU citizens visit xkcd).

There are several references made to this law, but also several jokes are included about the way people treat privacy policies specifically, and user agreements in general.

The title text is a reference to Shakespeare's "The Tempest," in which the witch Sycorax imprisoned the sprite Ariel in a cloven pine prior to Ariel's rescue by Prospero.

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

We've updated our privacy policy. This is purely out of the goodness of our hearts, and has nothing to do with any hypothetical unions on any particular continents. Please read every part of this policy carefully, and don't just skip ahead looking for sex scenes.

This policy governs your interactions with this website, herein referred to as "The Service", "The Website", "The Internet", or "Facebook", and with all other websites and organizations of any kind. The Enumeration in this policy, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage other retained by the users. By using this service, you opt in to quartering troops in your home.

'''YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION'''

Please don't end us your personal information. We do not want your personal information. We have a hard enough time keeping track of our ''own'' personal information, let alone yours.

If you tell us your name, or any identifying information, we will forget it immediately. The next time we see you we'll struggle to remember who you are, and try desperately to get through the conversation so we can go online and hopefully figure it out.

'''TRACKING PIXELS, COOKIES, AND BEACONS'''

This website places pixels on your screen in order to form text and images, some of which may remain in your memory after you close the page. We use cookies to enhance your performance. Our website may use local storage on your device if we run low on space on our end. We may use beacons to call Rohan for aid.

'''3RD PARTY EXTENSIONS'''

This service may utilize 3rd party extensions in order to play the song '''''CAN U FEEL IT''''' from their debut album '''''ALIVE'''''.

'''PERMISSION'''

For users who are citizens of the European Union, we will now be requesting permission before initiating organ harvesting.

'''SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS'''

This policy supersedes any application federal, state, and local laws, regulations and ordinances, international treaties, and legal agreements that would otherwise apply. If any provision of this policy is found by a court to be unenforceable, it nevertheless remains in force.

This organization is not liable and this agreement shall not be construed. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This website is intended to treat, cure and prevent any disease.

If you know anyone in Europe, please tell them we're cool.

{{comic discussion}}