explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3054: Scream Cipher

2025-02-21T20:32:00Z

Schiffy:

Anyone know a good free all-language OCR tool to help with the transcript? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.67.156|172.69.67.156]] 17:30, 21 February 2025 (UTC)
: Found one here: https://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/diacritics.htm --mezimm [[Special:Contributions/172.68.2.70|172.68.2.70]] 17:52, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

The written cipher is very interesting, but where can I hear recordings of the spoken form? [[Special:Contributions/Rockymountain|Rockymountain]] 17:31, 21 February 2025 (UTC)
: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL4piuUn5nc Here ya go.] --mezimm [[Special:Contributions/172.68.35.117|172.68.35.117]] 17:54, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

Are Cueball and Megan millenials? Who else would text greetings when they're standing right next to each other? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 17:38, 21 February 2025 (UTC)
:They could be texting other people. [[User:B_for_brain|B for brain]] ([[User_talk:B_for_brain|talk]]) ([https://www.youtube.com/@bforbrain youtube channel] [https://bforbrain.weebly.com/ wobsite (supposed to be a blag)]) 19:37, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

Likely a pun on "stream cipher"

- Related reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scream_(cipher) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.229|172.68.26.229]] 17:46, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

A̦ÅÄ ẠÂÅȀ, A̓A̅ ȀÅÄĂA̱ ȦÁ ÂÁAĂĂA̦ A̮ÄÂÂA̦ A̓A̮ ȀÁ A̱A̓A̱ A ÀÁÂÃA̓ÅÂ ÅA̮ A̅A̰A̓Ã A̭AA̋Á A̓Â A̅A̰A̓Ã ÃA̅A̦ĂÁ! --mezimm [[Special:Contributions/172.68.3.112|172.68.3.112]] 17:50, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

:The Wikifunction [https://www.wikifunctions.org/view/en/Z22728 from Scream] returns "YOU KNOW, JA̅ WOULD BE NEALLY FUNNY JF WE DJD A VENSJON OF A̅HJS A̭AGE JN A̅HJS SA̅YLE!". Hmmm... [[User:Mwarren|Mwarren]] ([[User talk:Mwarren|talk]]) 19:04, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

::The page you link to came into existence 7 minutes after I had posted this comment ;) I was doing it all manually, using [https://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/diacritics.htm this page] and best-guess attempts to interpret what Randall's handwritten diacritics were meant to correspond to. --mezimm [[Special:Contributions/172.68.1.158|172.68.1.158]] 19:55, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

::: updated version: "A̦ÅÄ ẠÂÅȀ, ẢĀ ȀÅÄĂA̱ ȦÁ ȂÁAĂĂA̦ A̮ÄÂÂA̦ ẢA̮ ȀÁ A̱ẢA̱ A ÀÁȂÃẢÅÂ ÅA̮ ĀA̰ẢÃ A̯AA̋Á ẢÂ ĀA̰ẢÃ ÃĀA̦ĂÁ!" --mezimm [[Special:Contributions/172.68.3.67|172.68.3.67]] 20:01, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

On Wikifunctions, we implemented the two functions [https://www.wikifunctions.org/view/en/Z22725 to Scream Cipher] and [https://www.wikifunctions.org/view/en/Z22728 from Scream Cipher] --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.38.235|172.70.38.235]] 18:09, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

:It looks like the wikifunctions are using a different character for "D" than [https://scream-cipher.netlify.app/ the github project] linked in the explanation. Seems as though one's using U+0331 and the other's using 0332. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 20:32, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

Is there a logic behind the choices of the letter? I guess A̧ is for C because of the French ç and Å is pronounced like O in some Nordic languages. Also, is it A̱, A̲ or A̲ ? (or something else). [[Special:Contributions/172.71.126.50|172.71.126.50]] 18:10, 21 February 2025 (UTC)
: Seems to be mostly visual similarity. Å has an actual O shape added to it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.171|172.70.110.171]] 20:19, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

I give it a week for people to make a translator to and from this cipher. [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 18:20, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

- The Wikifunctions translations above were complete at least 11 minutes ''before'' your comment and well within the goal of one week :-) . [[User:Mwarren|Mwarren]] ([[User talk:Mwarren|talk]]) 19:04, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

Numbers should be variations of h and/or g. [[User:Andyd273|Andyd273]] ([[User talk:Andyd273|talk]]) 18:32, 21 February 2025 (UTC)#
:H > g [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 18:59, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

Using ''sed'' you can encode with <code>sed 's/C/A̧/g;s/D/A̱/g;s/F/A̮/g;s/G/A̋/g;s/H/A̰/g;s/J/A̓/g;s/P/A̯/g;s/Q/A̤/g;s/X/A̽/g;s/Y/A̦/g;y/BEIKLMNORSTUVWZ/ȦÁẢẠĂǍÂÅȂÃĀÄÀȀȺ/'</code> and decode with <code>sed 's/A̧/C/g;s/A̱/D/g;s/A̮/F/g;s/A̋/G/g;s/A̰/H/g;s/A̓/J/g;s/A̯/P/g;s/A̤/Q/g;s/A̽/X/g;s/A̦/Y/g;y/ȦÁẢẠĂǍÂÅȂÃĀÄÀȀȺ/BEIKLMNORSTUVWZ/'</code>. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.102|162.158.159.102]] 18:41, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

It would be really funny if someone added an image of Bill Cipher screaming, with the tag "A screaming cipher". It wouldn't reall fit but it'd be funny [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 18:59, 21 February 2025 (UTC)
:[[File:Screamingcipher.png]] I did. [[User:B_for_brain|B for brain]] ([[User_talk:B_for_brain|talk]]) ([https://www.youtube.com/@bforbrain youtube channel] [https://bforbrain.weebly.com/ wobsite (supposed to be a blag)]) 19:57, 21 February 2025 (UTC) (EDIT: WOW, that thing is MASSIVE! Can someone please downscale it because I have no idea how. You have permission to edit my comment '''''only for that.''''') (DOUBLE EDIT: Nevermind, I did it.)
Someone started a GitHub repo with a web-based encoded/decoder already: https://github.com/Reginald-Gillespie/StreamCipher [[User:Dlech|Dlech]] ([[User talk:Dlech|talk]]) 19:35, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

I know you can decode a substitution cipher by counting letters and replacing common ones like 'E' and then filling in the rest by inspection, but what kinds of automated approaches are there? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.105|162.158.159.105]] 20:14, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

'''HEADS UP:''' I just changed A̲ (0332 COMBINING LOW LINE) to A̱ (0331 COMBINING MACRON BELOW) as encoding for "D" in the table and the transcript. Rationale: "T" is written with macron, so it's only logical to encode "D" likewise. A "low line" is longer than a macron, and looking at Randall's comic, the line below the "D" is definitely not longer than the one above "T". It would also make no sense to encode "T" with a combining character as well when this isn't necessary. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.123|172.70.114.123]] 20:29, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

Kamala Harris

2024-11-10T21:44:16Z

Schiffy: Undo revision 356361 by FaviFake (talk) The election has been called by every source, she's conceded, the transition has begun. Let's not do this.

{{Infobox character
| image = Kamala Harris.jpeg
| imagesize = 300px
| caption = '
| first_appearance = [[2962|2962: Presidential Venn Diagram]]
}}

<noinclude>:''For a list of comics, see [[:Category:Comics featuring Kamala Harris|Comics featuring Kamala Harris]].''</noinclude>

'''{{w}}''' is an American politician who is the 49th and current {{w|Vice President of the United States}}, serving under [[Joe Biden]]. She made history as the first ever female Vice President, and by that the highest ranking female in US History. A member of the {{w|Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party}}, she previously served as the 27th DA of San Francisco from 2004 to 2001, the 32nd AG of California from 2011 to 2017, and in the US Senate, representing California from 2017 to 2021. In 2024, she was the Democratic candidate for the 2024 Presidential race. She lost the 2024 presidential race to Donald Trump. She is married to {{w|Doug Emhoff}}.

{{navbox-characters}}
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Real people]]
[[Category:Politicians]]

Kamala Harris

2024-11-09T00:08:27Z

Schiffy: 49th VP, not 46th

{{Infobox character
| image = Kamala Harris.jpeg
| imagesize = 300px
| caption = '
| first_appearance = [[2962|2962: Presidential Venn Diagram]]
}}

<noinclude>:''For a list of comics, see [[:Category:Comics featuring Kamala Harris|Comics featuring Kamala Harris]].''</noinclude>

'''{{w}}''' is an American politician who is the 49th and current {{w|Vice President of the United States}}, serving under [[Joe Biden]]. She made history as the first ever female Vice President, and by that the highest ranking female in US History. A member of the {{w|Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party}}, she previously served as the 27th DA of San Francisco from 2004 to 2001, the 32nd AG of California from 2011 to 2017, and in the US Senate, representing California from 2017 to 2021. As of August 2024, she is the Democratic candidate for the 2024 Presidential race. She is married to {{w|Doug Emhoff}}.

{{navbox-characters}}
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Real people]]
[[Category:Politicians]]

1287: Puzzle

2022-09-07T14:50:12Z

Schiffy: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1287
| date = November 6, 2013
| title = Puzzle
| image = puzzle.png
| titletext = Prediction for Carlsen v. Anand: ...25. Qb8+ Nxb8 26. Rd8# f6 27. "...dude." Qf5 28. "The game is over, dude." Qxg5 29. Rxe8 0-1 30. "Dude, your move can't be '0-1'. Don't write that down." [Black flips board]
}}

==Explanation==
The game of {{w|Go (game)|go}} (also called Weiqi, Baduk or Igo) is usually played on the 19×19 intersections of a grid, but sometimes a faster, simpler version is played on the 9×9 intersections of a grid; which thus has 8×8 squares, as a chessboard, though they are not colored in an alternating pattern – {{w|White and Black in chess|introduced to chess in the 13th century}}. In the comic, white has chess pieces and plays against black, which uses go stones.

In chess, particularly in puzzles, the phrasing "White to move" indicates that it's the White player's turn; "White to play and win" indicates that it's White's turn and if White plays correctly, the next series of moves will result in an advantageous position or possibly outright win for White. The caption "White to continue insisting this is a chessboard" is a play on this traditional phrasing. The same kind of phrasing is also used in {{w|Tsumego|Go puzzles}}. In Go puzzles the objectives are often of a local or tactical character, such as "White to capture four black stones" or "White to live in the corner".

The comic originally displayed three white bishops at positions c1 (to the left of the queen), f1 (to the right of the king), and e4 (three squares in front of the king). The same day the comic was posted, it was updated to have only two white bishops, replacing the ones at c1 and e4 with a single bishop in d2 (one space in front of the queen). On both boards, white has none of their pieces captured (likely because black isn't playing chess), and therefore having three bishops would be impossible without having {{w|Promotion (chess)|seven or fewer pawns}}.

It is unclear who has gone first. In Go it is traditional for black to go first, while in Chess it has been traditional for white to go first for about a century. Indeed, both players have made five moves, although the caption/"punchline" implies it is the start of white's sixth turn; though if black did go first, none of his/her pieces are in the 3-3 handicap positions marked on a 9×9 Go board.

The title text refers to the (at the time) upcoming {{w|World Chess Championship 2013|2013 World Chess Championship}} between Carlsen and Anand. {{w|Magnus Carlsen}} is (at publishing of this comic) a 23 year old Norwegian chess grandmaster. {{w|Viswanathan Anand}} is (at publishing time) a 44 year old Indian grandmaster. Both have been (and as of 2019 are) among the world top chess players.

The game transcript in the title text refers to the ending of the famous {{w|Morphy versus the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard|Opera Game}} between Paul Morphy and the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard. That game ends with 16. Qb8+ Nxb8 17. Rd8#. In the title text, Black continues to make moves as if he has not been checkmated, over White's protests. After White uses his rook to capture Black's king to emphasize the checkmate, Black defiantly writes "0-1" (the notation symbolizing a Black victory) on his scoresheet. When informed that his move cannot be to declare victory, he flips the board. "0-1" may also represent a position on a go board (first down on the top left corner) in [http://senseis.xmp.net/?Coordinates certain coordinates systems].

The game transcript is written in standard {{w|Algebraic notation (chess)|algebraic notation}}. The destination square is represented by a lowercase letter (a-h, on the x-axis) and a number (1-8, on the y-axis), with the bottom-left square being a1 and the top-right square being h8. The uppercase letters refer to the piece that is moving to that square (e.g., Q = Queen, K = King, N = Knight, R = Rook), so Qa1 would mean moving the Queen to the bottom-left square. The absence of an uppercase letter refers to a pawn's move (e.g., "f6" means moving a pawn to f6). If the move captures a piece, an "x" is inserted between the piece and the destination (e.g., Nxb8). Checks are indicated by +, and checkmate by #.

==Transcript==
:[A game board with 8×8 white squares and black borders, like a go board or an all white chessboard, there are white chess pieces in starting position on the bottom after e3, d4, Nf3, Nc3, Bd2 and five black Go pieces on the vertices in the center of the board at d4 d5 c6 g4 g6.]
:[Caption below the frame:]
:White to continue insisting this is a chessboard

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Chess]]
[[Category:Board games]]

1767: US State Names

2016-12-02T17:02:19Z

Schiffy: /* Table of States */

{{comic
| number = 1767
| date = December 2, 2016
| title = US State Names
| image = us_state_names.png
| titletext = Technically DC isn't a state, but no one is too pedantic about it because they don't want to disturb the snakes.
}}

==Explanation==
This is just a silly map.

[[Randall]] has taken a {{w|map}} of {{w|the United States of America}} labeled "Geography Challenge: Name all 50 States" and filled in the states with words that sound similar to the states' names. The joke is that Randall is apparently terrible at remembering states by heart, or else that he interpreted "name" as "give a name to" and is giving each state a name similar to but different from its previous name. Additionally, song such as the [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fifty+nifty+united+states+song 50 Nifty United States] that make these issues seem rarer, thus making it funnier. Below is the table.

===Table of States===
{{incomplete|Some states unfinished. Make wikipedia links.}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Fictional State
! Actual State
! Explanation
|-
| Wilwheaton
| {{w|Washington_State|Washington}}
| {{w|Wil Wheaton}} is an actor and writer.
|-
| Organs
| {{w|Oregon}}
| Could refer to either {{w|Organ (anatomy)|body parts}} that perform vital functions, or large {{w|Organ (music)|musical instruments}} having rows of tuned pipes. Also a reference to {{w|Organ Trail}}, a retro survival video game that parodies {{w|Oregon Trail}}.
|-
| Cafeteria
| {{w|California}}
| A cafeteria is both a kind of restaurant and a name for a lunch room that serves food. California is large and diverse, offering a wide variety of choices. Calling it "Cafeteria" seems to be a reference to "cafeteria plans" that offer a wide variety of choices.
|-
| Fallout New Vegas
| {{w|Nevada}}
| {{w|Fallout New Vegas}} is set in Nevada.
|-
| Idolatry
| {{w|Idaho}}
| Idolatry is the worship of a physical object as a god, forbidden in many religions.
|-
| mount -a
| {{w|Montana}}
| A command to mount all disk volumes.
|-
| Wysiwyg
| {{w|Wyoming}}
| Acronym for "What You See Is What You Get".
|-
| Uhaul
| {{w|Utah}}
| {{w|U-Haul}} is a company where you can rent vans.
|-
| Verizona
| {{w|Arizona}}
| {{w|Verizon}}, a telecommunications company, has the shared text "Rizon" with Arizona (Ve''rizon'', A''rizon''a). Randall presumably enjoys this.
|-
| Namaste
| {{w|New Mexico}}
| {{w|Namaste}} is a Hindu greeting.
|-
| Hexxus
| {{w|Texas}}
| The antagonist of Ferngully. {{w|FernGully:_The_Last_Rainforest|FernGully}} is said to be the model for the later film "Avatar". This is the second time Hexxus was mentioned in xkcd, the first occurrence being in [[1750: Life Goals]].
|-
| Okay
| {{w|Oklahoma}}
| OK is the state's abbreviation. Okay is a spelling of another abbreviation O.K., which originally stood for "Oll Korrect [sic]".
|-
| Candice
| {{w|Kansas}}
| Candice is a girl's name of Latin origin, meaning "clarity, whiteness" ("canditia").
|-
| Colocated
| {{w|Colorado}}
| Refers to computer servers located in a {{w|Colocation Center}}.
|-
| Nebrunswick
| {{w|Nebraska}}
| {{w|New Brunswick}}, a Canadian province. People sometimes write "NB" as the postal abbreviation for Nebraska; in reality, Nebraska is "NE", and while there is no "NB" in the U.S. postal system, New Brunswick is "NB" in the Canadian postal system.
|-
| Dakota
| {{w|South Dakota}}
| Randall seems to have forgotten his directions, so he drops the normal "South" and "North". He may also be teasing that this doesn't matter.
|-
| More Dakota
| {{w|North Dakota}}
| A reference to [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/more-dakka "More Dakka"], a catchphrase by Orks from the Warhammer 40000 universe.
|-
| Minestrone
| {{w|Minnesota}}
| Minestrone is a thick vegetable soup, originating in Italy.
|-
| Wainscot
| {{w|Wisconsin}}
| A type of wood {{w|panelling}} covering only the lower half of a wall.
|-
| Iota
| {{w|Iowa}}
| Iota is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Yodh. Also colloquially used to mean a very small quantity.
|-
| Sk8rbois
| {{w|Illinois}}
| "Skater Boys" or just "Skater Boy" if the '-ois' is pronounced the same as it is in "Illinois". {{w|Sk8er Boi}} is a song by Avril Lavigne.
|-
| Mossouri
| {{w|Missouri}}
| The single different letter represents probably a typo (O is adjacent to I in a keyboard). This typo has about 22,000 results on Google. Alternatively, this could be an attempt to "correct" the spelling of the state name to match its non-intuitive postal abbreviation, MO, which is sometimes used as a pronounceable acronym.
|-
| Arkanoids
| {{w|Arkansas}}
| An arcade game.
|-
| Louisa
| {{w|Louisiana}}
| Louisa, feminine of Louis, is an Old German name meaning "famous warrior". Louisiana was of named after King Louis XIV when it was founded as a French colony.
|-
| Misstate
| {{w|Mississippi}}
| The word "misstate" means to state improperly. "Mis-" is also a prefix meaning "wrong," "incorrect," or simply negating. "Misstate" could be a non-state. {{w|Mississipi State University|Miss State}} is a university in Mississippi. This may also be a joke on the fact that Mississippi is one of the most commonly misspelled state names.
|-
| Bandana
| {{w|Alabama}}
| A large handkerchief cloth, worn either around the head or neck. Often used in Westerns.
|-
| Thennessy
| {{w|Tennessee}}
| {{w|Hennessy}} is a brand of cognac.
|-
| Kennedy
| {{w|Kentucky}}
| The Kennedy family is an American family that has been prominent in American politics, public service, and business during the 20th century.
|-
| That Other One
| {{w|Indiana}}
| 'That Other One' is something someone might say if they were trying to name all the states from memory, and knew where a state was but not what it was called. Appropriate for Indiana, due to being a state with relatively few distinguishing features.
|-
| Mishy
| {{w|Michigan}}
| According to the Urban Dictionary, "mishy" means "[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Mishy mushy and horny at the same time]". Or it could just be a nickname, the way a lot of people's names, often children, get shortened with a trailing y (Bobby, Becky, Johnny, Missy, Davey, Tony, etc.), with the "ee" sound in the middle of Michigan being the same "ee" sound at the end of the nickname.
|-
| Oh Hi
| {{w|Ohio}}
| Oh (expression of surprise), Hi (greeting). A common utterance upon meeting an acquaintance unexpectedly.
|-
| Pencilmania
| {{w|Pennsylvania}}
| [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151935/ Pencil Mania] is a 1932 Tom and Jerry cartoon in which they pull out a pencil and proceed to draw figures in the air.
|-
| Newark
| {{w|New York}}
| The city of Newark is like a suburb of New York City and many people that live in Newark commute 14 miles to work in New York City, however it is actually located in the state of New Jersey rather than New York. Other references: Newark Liberty International Airport, a major flight hub serving the New York metropolitan area and Newark element14 or simply Newark, is the official distributor of Raspberry Pi. Possible reference to William Gibson's works. A mispronunciation of New York.
|-
| Vermouth
| {{w|Vermont}}
| {{w|Vermouth}} is an Italian alcoholic beverage.
|-
| New Hamper
| {{w|New Hampshire}}
| A hamper is a large basket, often with lid, used for laundry. Also another name for a picnic basket.
|-
| Spanish Maine
| {{w|Maine}}
| The {{w|Spanish Main}} was the mainland Spanish colonial possessions around the Gulf of Mexico.
|-
| Masseuses
| {{w|Massachusetts}}
| People who give massages professionally.
|-
| Roald Dahl
| {{w|Rhode Island}}
| A British writer, famous for child novels such as {{w|Charlie and the Chocolate Factory}}.
|-
| Connectfour
| {{w|Connecticut}}
| Connect Four is a two-player game, in which the objective is to connect four of your checkers in a row while preventing your opponent from doing the same.
|-
| Nude Juggalos
| {{w|New Jersey}}
| {{w|Juggalo}} is a name given to fans of the group Insane Clown Posse or any other Psychopathic Records hip hop group.
|-
| Delorean
| {{w|Delaware}}
| A {{w|DeLorean_DMC-12|car}} made famous as the {{w|DeLorean_time_machine|time machine}} in the {{w|Back to the Future}} movies.
|-
| Maybelline
| {{w|Maryland}}
| {{w|Maybelline}} is a make-up brand.
|-
| District of Colubrids
| {{w|District of Columbia}}
| The {{w|Colubridae}} are the biggest family of snakes, accounting for about two thirds of the world's species. As the title text mentions, the {{w|Washington,_D.C.|District of Columbia}}, although not part of any state, is technically not a state itself, but is usually labeled on the maps like the 50 others for practical reasons. Here, Randall humorously explains the reason as people not wanting to upset the aforementioned snakes by dismissing their district for this pedantic reason.
|-
| Wyvern
| {{w|West Virginia}}
| A {{w|Wyvern}} is a mythical creature.
|-
| Virjayjay
| {{w|Virginia}}
| Virginia is similar to vagina. Vajayjay is slang for vagina.
|-
| Sweet Caroline
| {{w|North Carolina}}
| A {{w|Sweet_Caroline|song}} by Neil Diamond.
|-
| South Caroline
| {{w|South Carolina}}
| A further reference to {{w|Sweet_Caroline|song 'Sweet Caroline'}} by Neil Diamond, similar to 'Dakota' and 'More Dakota.' Plays on similarity between the names 'Caroline' and 'Carolina'.
|-
| George
| {{w|Georgia}}
| Georgia was named for {{w|George II of Great Britain}}.
|-
| Fyoridor
| {{w|Florida}}
| Possibly derived from the Russian name Fyodor, as in Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
|-
| Alberta
| {{w|Alaska}}
| A Canadian province.
|-
| Kawaii
| {{w|Hawaii}}
| A Japanese term for cute commonly romanized similar to Hawaii. Possible reference to the 1957 war movie [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050212 The Bridge on the River Kwai]. Not to be confused with {{w|Kauai}}, a Hawaiian island.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
[A map of the United States, with incorrect state names. A title:]

Geography challenge:

'''Name all 50 States'''

| Alabama => Bandana |

| Alaska => Alberta |

| Arizona => Verizona |

| Arkansas => Arkanoids |

| California => Cafeteria |

| Colorado => Colocated |

| Connecticut => Connect Four |

| Delaware => Delorean |

| District of Columbia => District of Colubrids |

| Florida => Fyoridor |

| Georgia => George |

| Hawaii => Kawaii |

| Idaho => Idolatry |

| Illinois => SK8RBOIS |

| Indiana => That Other One |

| Iowa => Iota |

| Kansas => Candice |

| Kentucky => Kennedy |

| Louisiana => Loisa |

| Maine => Spanish Maine |

| Maryland => Maybelline |

| Massachusetts => Masseuses |

| Michigan => Mishy |

| Minnesota => Minestrone |

| Mississippi => Misstate |

| Missouri => Mossouri |

| Montana => mount -a |

| Nebraska => Nebrunswick |

| Nevada => Fallout New Vegas |

| New Hampshire => New Hamper |

| New Jersey => Nude Juggalos |

| New Mexico => Namaste |

| New York => Newark |

| North Carolina => Sweet Caroline |

| South Carolina => South Caroline |

| Ohio => Oh Hi |

| Oklahoma => Okay |

| Oregon => Organs |

| Pennsylvania => Pencilmania |

| Rhode Island => Roald Dahl |

| South Dakota => Dakota |

| /North Dakota => More Dakota |

| Tennessee => Thennessy |

| Texas => Hexxus |

| Utah => Uhaul |

| Vermont => Vermouth |

| Virginia => Virjayjay |

| Washington => Willwheaton |

| West Virginia => Wyvern |

| Wisconsin => Wainscot |

| Wyoming => WYSIWYG |

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps]]

Talk:1750: Life Goals

2016-10-24T18:09:07Z

Schiffy:

The last line is actually a real punch-line... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.201.78|162.158.201.78]] 14:51, 24 October 2016 (UTC)

With "Unfortunately (the two protobirds) lived in different time periods, so we can only speculate which one would win a fight.", as per current explanation text, I first of all thought 'the latter, as it was alive and the other had already died' (so maybe not a ''fair'' fight, but definitely indicates a survivor), but I'm not ''entirely''sure whether I'd even overcome an Australopithocus (despite the height advantage), if I ever suddenly encountered a suitably enraged (and live) one whilst not equipped with my own contemporary tools, so maybe I ought to be less certain about the other fight ''if'' it happened in sight of an artist... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.48|141.101.98.48]] 14:54, 24 October 2016 (UTC)

A lot of these are proper nouns and so shall not be used in scrabble. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.224|108.162.215.224]] 16:21, 24 October 2016 (UTC)BLuDgeons

A first-fight is how all Scrabble games end in languages that have composite words like Danish or German. That or knockout. Footnotefontsizeselection, quizmasterfluffer, telemarketercounterharassment... [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.104|173.245.48.104]] 17:02, 24 October 2016 (UTC)

Whoever added "you could put an E tile down upside down" should win a prize. [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 17:57, 24 October 2016 (UTC)

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this isn't actually about the last three letters of the alphabet, but about the five "power letters" in Scrabble (hence the last line): J, K, Q, X, Z. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 18:09, 24 October 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1748: Future Archaeology

2016-10-19T20:45:12Z

Schiffy:

Second reference is actually to music video: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfhhWA9GF0M Aaron Carter - That's How I Beat Shaq]] [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.5|141.101.98.5]] 04:11, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

Here I thought it was a reference to The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.226.115|108.162.226.115]] 04:25, 19 October 2016 (UTC)
:I made the same mistake! Had to recite the entire thing in my head to see if those two fought, then impressed myself with my memory of lyrics I hadn't heard since high school. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.87|173.245.48.87]] 04:51, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

"we do like our flood narratives" - the same day (or the day before?) a new what-if.xkcd (152) about flooding death valley was uploaded - the first for a while... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.86.29|162.158.86.29]] 08:18, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

:Thanks for telling me! New What-If? Sweet! [[User:Jacky720|Jacky720]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]]) 10:52, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

;A rare type of series?
{sorry if it sounds dumb: first time here} Have any two consecutive xkcds ever been part of such a clear "series" without being labelled "part I", "part II", ...? Or is this a rare occurrence of such thing? In case, it should be mentioned in the trivia, maybe? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.70|141.101.98.70]] 08:04, 19 October 2016 (UTC)
:No it is interesting and not seen like this before --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

Aaron who?
[[User:PoconoChuck|PoconoChuck]] ([[User talk:PoconoChuck|talk]]) 12:27, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

Someone should make a character page for the time traveler dot dude. This is at least the third time xe has appeared. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.69|173.245.48.69]] 13:15, 19 October 2016 (UTC)
:No. As noted in the previous comic there is no reason to assume that previous dots are the same. The Category should be deleted. But later when finding out if there are more than these two comics to come a series category should be created with a good name not this one that has been used: Category:Comics featuring the floating sphere from the future... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 19 October 2016 (UTC)
;Which sounds more reasonable?

I think there's another layer to this comic not yet address by this page.

From Future Dot's perspective, a man building a boat to survive a flood sounds like a real event. A man challenging and defeating a God, less so.

However, in modern times, the story of Noah's Flood is widely regarded as a myth, while the music video is widely regarded as having actually happened.

I believe this comic is meant to make us ask "What stories that we dismiss as myths have a kernel, however small, of truth to them?".
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.84|108.162.237.84]] 14:49, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

So far the comics in this series have had the name pattern [noun] [field of science ending in -ology]. Too perfect to be a coincidence. [[User:CJB42|CJB42]] ([[User talk:CJB42|talk]]) 17:36, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

Anyone taking bets against Friday's comic is also in this series? ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

So if I'm right, I believe there has not been any consecutive continuity in xkcd since [[:Category:The Race|The Race]], which ended a little over seven years ago.... [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 20:45, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1735: Fashion Police and Grammar Police

2016-09-20T14:44:03Z

Schiffy:

I added a basic explanation to this comic. I also changed the incomplete to say "Needs more on the explanation". Maybe you guys can help connect the dots and extend the explanation? --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 14:45, 19 September 2016 (UTC)

It should be noted that he uses literally wrong, just to anger the grammar police he's mocking, it's a nice touch.[[User:Trives|Trives]] ([[User talk:Trives|talk]]) 14:59, 19 September 2016 (UTC)

In my eyes the 2 groups are not standing together in this comic. --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 15:12, 19 September 2016 (UTC)
: Yeah I'd have said they were just being presented graphically, the intention isn't to display them as protesting alongside each other. [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 15:31, 19 September 2016 (UTC)

Is there an extra joke in the Title Text, "* Mad about jorts"? If it's something which both Grammar Police and Fashion Police would find distasteful, it would add an extra layer to the assertion that they are the same people. {{unsigned ip|172.68.35.71}}
:Yes for sure and this is now in the explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:27, 19 September 2016 (UTC)

Incidentally, I find it ironic and probably unintentional that the Title Text demonstrates the importance of grammar and undermines Randall's own assertions that Grammar Police are superfluous and annoying. Is he saying that he really likes jorts, or is he saying that he is really angered by them? If only there was some formal ruleset which allowed meaning to be more effectively conveyed, rather than being a system of glorious chaos... https://xkcd.com/1576/ {{unsigned ip|172.68.35.71}}
:I think the comment above is inaccurate: "Title Text demonstrates the importance of grammar and undermines Randall's own assertions that Grammar Police are superfluous and annoying". The "*" represents a bullet point so it is clear that "* Mad about jorts" is an additional bullet point that both groups would find offensive. The irony now is that I'm not familiar with how to structure my wiki comments. ~~dizzydan~~ {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.103}}
::Yes very intentionally and thanks for pointing out it is an extra bullet point ;-) That is why the grammar police would hate that sentence where the other police just hate jorts. And would be mad if they realized it could be understood like they loved jorts. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:27, 19 September 2016 (UTC)

Technically, the grammar police wouldn't care about jorts, since that is a spelling error, not a grammatical error. Please contact the spelling police. Sincerely,
:The Semantics Police {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.216}}
::Jorts is not a spelling error it is a real term used on Wikipedia and now linked in the explanation. They are mad about the use of "mad about". Because in this case it can be misunderstood as either really loving jorts or being upset about jorts. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:27, 19 September 2016 (UTC)
:::Then it would be "* mad about 'mad about jorts'", thus I lean for the portmanteau explanation - Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.86.167|162.158.86.167]] 03:07, 20 September 2016 (UTC)
::::When I first read it I just took it in the same context for both. I found it funnier to think that the "Grammar Police" are inexplicably mad at people wearing jean-shorts. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 14:44, 20 September 2016 (UTC)

'''Judgemental''' A spelling of the word 'judgmental,' infrequently used in the UK (which is widely regarded to be more fashionable than the US)? 
'''Deeply Arbitrary''' Internally inconsistent? Arbitrary means based on random chance or whim and as such cannot be strong or deep? 
'''Appreciate . . . are . . . is ''' Subject/verb disagreement with a plural/singular shift? 
'''Cool and casual''' vague use of an indefinite pronoun & a 'cool and casual' fashion choice is likely entails a significant amount of work, meaning it is not casual at all.--[[User:GotWilLeibniz|GotWilLeibniz]] ([[User talk:GotWilLeibniz|talk]]) 18:43, 19 September 2016 (UTC)
:Arbitrary is more 'not based on physical phenomena', and is not necessarily based on chance. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.35.80|172.68.35.80]] 06:17, 20 September 2016 (UTC)

: 'judgment' v. 'judgement' - I was taught that the first is used as in "using one's judgment," while the latter is "the court issued a judgement." [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 08:22, 20 September 2016 (UTC)

"Fashion Police and Grammar Police and ExplainXKCD Contributors" {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.69}}
:True ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:27, 19 September 2016 (UTC)

Just dropping a couple links here re: the "uncomfortably transparent proxies for race and class" in language. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.227|162.158.214.227]] 21:20, 19 September 2016 (UTC)
http://wordtree.com/what-the-victorians-did-to-english-grammar/
http://www.languagejones.com/blog-1/2014/6/8/what-is-aave

Por simpliĝi gramatikon, nur lernu Esperanton! Ĝi ne havas arbitrajn regularojn. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.158|108.162.249.158]] 22:17, 19 September 2016 (UTC)

In reality, I support the grammar police. Language is a set of shared rules allowing us to understand each other. Speaking in improper grammar produces misunderstandings and throws off listeners/readers, as well as making the speaker sound incompetent. Imagine if people started piping garbage down TCP connections! Servers wouldn't understand a thing! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.190|108.162.215.190]] 22:50, 19 September 2016 (UTC)

Rich white people being in high places is not really the point. Classism is the easiest to demonstrate: the grammar police frown on non-prestige dialects, and the fashion police consider poor people's clothing to be unfashionable. Racism is harder to demonstrate simply, but with language you have AAVE being treated as just "bad English" and, to a lesser extent, fashion popular in certain races being considered bad. (See, the literal fashion police of some French towns in reaction to burkinis. [[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 03:24, 20 September 2016 (UTC)
:Hostility to burkini in France has nothing to do with fashion police. This is not a reaction to alleged bad taste in clothing (attemps to make them more fashionable are even well received), but to other things that the French are not comfortable with: public display of rigorist religious behaviour in a strongly secular country, perceived provocation by muslims in a context of islamist terror attacks, considerations around women's liberties (burkini seen as an enslavement to men/husbands)... Or for some it's simply knee-jerk racism... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.14|141.101.98.14]] 11:57, 20 September 2016 (UTC)

1735: Fashion Police and Grammar Police

2016-09-20T14:41:41Z

Schiffy: /* Table of individual items */ We can't go gauging whether or not Randall himself feels uncomfortable.....

{{comic
| number = 1735
| date = September 19, 2016
| title = Fashion Police and Grammar Police
| image = fashion_police_and_grammar_police.png
| titletext = * Mad about jorts
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|For those that are not native English speakers, the way the three "T" words are mixed up (and maybe even their meaning) should be explained as that is part of the joke, and can not always be understood by those who are not with the G-force (aka Grammar Police).}}

In this comic, two groups of angry protesters are presented and labeled. They should not be seen as protesting side by side, but rather like two similar groups protesting about different things even though they are in many ways similar.

The left group represents the '''Fashion Police''' with [[Cueball]] holding a sign saying {{w|Crocs}} not allowed (by showing a pair of Crocs shoes in a circle with a strike through it). Crocs are a type of {{w|Clog|clogs}} made of foam. There may be some ergonomic advantages to these special looking shoes, but they will {{w|Crocs#Fashion|never become fashionable}}. It is not the first time [[Randall]] mocks a special type of shoes (although here it may not so much be himself that are against Crocs, but rather he just chose something easy to recognize that the Fashion Police would hate). Previously in [[1065: Shoes]] Randall was after shoes that ''has those creepy individual toes'' like {{w|Vibram FiveFingers}}. They will also never be a hit with the Fashion Police.

The right group represents the '''Grammar Police''' with another Cueball holding a sign with three commonly-confused words beneath each other; [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/their Their] (belongs to them), [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/they%27re They're] (contraction meaning "they are"), [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/there There] (a location). The words are written on the sign to explain that there is a difference between these three almost identically-sounding words as many people confuse them with each other, and then the Grammar Police ''have'' to correct them (see [[386: Duty Calls]]). See the [https://twitter.com/_grammar_ Grammar Police on Twitter] and also {{w|Grammar Police|Linguistic prescription}} which comes up on Wikipedia when searching for Grammar Police!

The two groups look similar, standing in similar poses and apart from one Cueball holding signs in each group, one [[Megan]] is also in the front line of both groups. [[Hairy]] is only shown with the fashion police, together with yet another [[:Category:Multiple Cueballs|Cueball-like guy]], while [[Ponytail]] is only shown with the grammar police together with a bald man with glasses.

Both types of police are groups of people who make fun of others who wear or say something that doesn't meet their criteria of "good". Fashion police are people who make fun of others who wear clothing that is mismatched, out of style/{{w|fashion}} or straight-up "ugly" to them. Grammar police are people who are "sticklers" to {{w|grammar}} rules and get mad or contradictory if someone uses non-standard grammar in a sentence. The comic explains how the two groups are similar to each other by listing eight points (plus a ninth in the title text) that can be used on both groups. See explanation in the [[#Table of individual items|table below]].

In the caption below the comic Randall notes that he just realized that these are literally the same people because they both exhibit the listed traits. The use of "[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/literally literally]" to emphasize a statement is considered by the grammar police as a dread crime that should be pointed out as such, although the dictionaries already include this definition as acceptable. However it would likely be more appropriate to say figuratively the same people, see [[725: Literally]]. On the other hand, fashion police is known for overusing "literally" in the way the grammar police finds disgusting.

Since it seem like a safe assumption (see [[1339: When You Assume]]) that there are more grammar pedants (see title text of [[1652: Conditionals]]) than fashion police people who read xkcd, and it also would seem likely that many xkcd readers would dislike the Fashion Police (more), it seems likely that Randall is actually mainly targeting the Grammar Police people reading xkcd, than the fashion people who do not. They will not like to be compared to the Fashion Police! Ponytail also represented the grammar police in [[1576: I Could Care Less]], where Megan puts her in place after she polices her sentence. Thus this shows what Randall thinks about such police work and supports the assumption above. Literally was also used here in the title text.

Randall is, with regards to language, definitely one of those that can belong in this group: ''To seem cool and casual, pretend to ignore them while understanding them very well.''

The title is a ninth point on the list with the star in front representing one more bullet (see the last entry in the [[#Table of individual items|table below]]):
*Mad about jorts.

==Table of individual items==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Explanation of individual items in the list
!list item
!Explanation
|-
|Judgemental and Smug || Both types of police will look down upon those who violate their 'laws'.
|-
|Angry about something deeply arbitrary || Both grammar and fashion are, essentially, made-up human constructs.
|-
| Strong opinions backed by style guides || Grammar has ''{{w|The Elements of Style}}'', fashion has fashion magazines.
|-
| Appreciate that the way that you are interpreted is your responsibility || Your choices in both grammar and fashion affect how people see you, and it would be silly to disclaim responsibility for what is essentially your own actions.
|-
| Understand that there's no way to "opt out" of sending messages by how you present yourself, and attempts to do so send strong messages of their own || This means that even if you deliberately choose to not listen to the fashion gurus, then you are actually making a fashion statement anyway, as opposed to those that just don't realize they have a horrible style (and are not dressing wrongly on purpose). Both types can thus be harassed by the Fashion Police. Same goes for those who deliberately do not try to follow the grammar rules. They have thus taken a stance anyway as opposed to those who just do not know how to use grammar correctly. And both types can be harassed for it by the Grammar Police.
|-
|To seem cool and casual, pretend to ignore them while understanding them very well || Deliberately violating fashion or grammar rules gives off a particular 'casual' vibe, distinct from those who violate the rules out of ignorance.
|-
|Vindictive about things that are often uncomfortably transparent proxies for race or social class || "Proper" dress and "proper" language are often defined in terms of how high class people dress and speak. But since "high class" in much of the Western world has generally meant white, alternative ways of dress (e.g. the Afro) or alternative ways of speaking (e.g. Ebonics or Pidgin English) are treated as somehow objectively "wrong", rather than simply as alternatives. Furthermore, dressing or speaking poorly are often marks of "lower class" people who for whatever reason cannot afford fashionable clothing, or don't have access to quality education. So when we judge people for their clothing or their speech, we are often indirectly judging them for their race and class. Randall identifies this fact as "uncomfortably transparent".
|-
| Fun to cheer on until one of them disagrees with you|| This may have to do with the human tendency to view the morality of an activity differently when applied to oneself compared to a stranger.
|-
| Mad about jorts (Title text) || "{{w|Shorts#Jorts|Jorts}}" is a {{w|portmanteau}} for a pair of jeans that are made into shorts. The fashion police would be mad about jorts for being unfashionable, while the grammar police would be mad about the word 'jorts' being an inappropriate portmanteau of jeans and shorts, and also for the fact that the sentence could be misinterpreted as if someone like jorts, as in being mad about something in a positive way. {{w|Sentence_clause_structure#Incomplete_sentence|Also a fragment}}, with no subject (properly it would be "I am mad about jorts"). Randall has [[:Category:Portmanteau|often used]] portmanteaus as part of his jokes.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Beneath two headings to the left and right are shown two aggressive-looking groups of people with only the four people in the front clearly shown for each group. Behind them five other people can be seen, but they are not drawn with the same solid line and are only partly shown behind the first four, but legs from all five in each group can be seen along with some heads (all Cueball like) and arms etc. The front of the left group consist of Hairy holding a fist up towards left, Megan with her arms crossed in front of her chest, Cueball holding a sign, using both hands, straight up above his head and another Cueball-like guy to the right is holding up a broken branch in one hand toward right. The person behind this last person is shown to hold up his fist towards right like Hairy does to the left. The sign shows a Crocs shoe in a circle with a strike through it going above the Crocs from top left to bottom right. The front of the right group consist of Megan holding both her arms over her head hands folded into fist while looking towards left, Cueball holding a sign, using both hands, towards the right and up above Ponytails head, she is raising one hand in a fist to the left and finally a bald guy with glasses is brandishing a short sword in one hand toward right while holding his other hand palm up. The sign has three similar words written beneath each other.]
:Left: Fashion Police
:Right: Grammar Police
:Sign:
::Their
::They're
::There

:[Below the two groups are eight points with bullets:]
:*Judgemental and smug
:*Angry about something deeply arbitrary
:*Strong opinions backed by style guides
:*Appreciate that the way that you are interpreted ''is'' your responsibility
:*Understand that there's no way to "opt out" of sending messages by how you present yourself, and attempts to do so send strong messages of their own
:*To seem cool and casual, pretend to ignore them while understanding them very well
:*Vindictive about things that are often uncomfortably transparent proxies for race or social class
:*Fun to cheer on until one of them disagrees with you

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I just realized these are literally the same people

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]

Talk:1690: Time-Tracking Software

2016-06-06T17:07:46Z

Schiffy:

I don't know how to interpret the "This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it." on the List of sexually active popes wiki page.
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.224|141.101.104.224]] 10:19, 6 June 2016 (UTC)
:They're asking you to become a pope, and be sexually active. Then you can get arrested, and do a helicopter prison escape to start the 'List of helicopter prison escapes involving sexually active popes.'
:It's because we can't know for sure if every single pope is secretly sexually active or if it's just limited to the ones caught red-handed. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.5|141.101.98.5]] 11:35, 6 June 2016 (UTC)
:Another interpretation: seduce the pope. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.99|162.158.85.99]] 15:39, 6 June 2016 (UTC)

Those ''estimated'' percentages have a strangely high degree of precision, I'd think limiting them to whole number percentages would do. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.58|141.101.98.58]] 11:48, 6 June 2016 (UTC)

Replacing lightsabers in Star Wars movies may be a reference to this amusing video of the sword fight in The Princess Bride where swords are replaced with light sabers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYVQooRSlzg

The Jack and Diane remix with one line repeated may be a reference to svantana's brilliant re-do of a Human League number: http://svantana.bandcamp.com/track/you-were-workin-as-a-waitress-in-a-cocktail-bar [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.109|108.162.245.109]] 13:31, 6 June 2016 (UTC)

Look what {{w|List of helicopter prison escapes involving sexually active popes|some loser tried to actually make}}, to no one's surprise..... [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 17:07, 6 June 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1689: My Friend Catherine

2016-06-05T14:20:27Z

Schiffy:

I can't get any work done because My Friend Catherine is sitting on my leopard. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:07, 3 June 2016 (UTC)
:I genuinely expected to see leopard in the alt text.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.230|162.158.214.230]] 18:03, 3 June 2016 (UTC)
::I also came straight here to write a note on the leopard after seeing the title text, but Mikmek beat me too it ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:32, 3 June 2016 (UTC)

I'm not so sure that it does conflict with car->cat. This is "my cat"->to " my friend Catherine", i.e. car->cat->my friend Catherine wouldn't happen. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.137|108.162.237.137]] 15:15, 3 June 2016 (UTC)
:You would have to make sure that "my cat" came before "cat" in the script, else it would first replace all cats with cars and thus never see the phrase "my cat".[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.230|162.158.214.230]] 18:03, 3 June 2016 (UTC)
::The substitution was the other way replacing car with cat, so it is the other way around that if there was some "my car" they would also become my friend Catherine in stead of my cat. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:32, 3 June 2016 (UTC)
:::I also don't see how the conflict exists. By that logic, Substitutions 2 would conflict with ''itself'', since it completely swaps "minutes" and "years". [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 14:20, 5 June 2016 (UTC)

Being a dog person, my dog-->my friend Doug would also be a fun substitution. [[User:Jake|Jake]] ([[User talk:Jake|talk]]) 15:43, 3 June 2016 (UTC)

Is the cat-on-my-keyboard in the title text possibly a reference to that old Keyboard Cat video?[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J---aiyznGQ] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.80|108.162.221.80]] 20:06, 3 June 2016 (UTC)
:Don't think so—cats seem to have a tendency to sit on computer keyboards when their owners aren't using them. [[User talk:AgentMuffin|~AgentMuffin]]
::More often when the owners ''are'' using them. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.138|162.158.2.138]] 10:54, 5 June 2016 (UTC)

For an even creepier substitution, try "great aunt Catherine". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.158|108.162.250.158]] 03:06, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

Oh great, I have to change the chrome extension again. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.69|108.162.215.69]] 15:18, 4 June 2016 (UTC)--

Talk:Main Page

2016-04-07T19:39:53Z

Schiffy: /* Skins broken */ new section

{{notice|This page is for discussion of the [[Main Page]] itself. Other issues probably belong at the [[Explain XKCD:Community portal]].}}

As a new user, I think the first page is very important. So I thought why not begin a discussion here what to have on the first page every user visits.--[[User:Relic|Relic]] ([[User talk:Relic|talk]]) 05:59, 1 August 2012 (EDT) Re-signed here - b/c I broke the comment in two when I added the "List of comics" header. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 23:01, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

==List of comics==
I was thinking of having a quick link to the list of comics that is explained. Right know, it took me a while to even see any of them. Eventually I found the "List All Pages" (found it in Special pages) where I could find the comics that have been explained. What do you think?
:A category tag will do that for you automatically. Having a list of comics indexed by its number would be a little different.--[[User:Relic|Relic]] ([[User talk:Relic|talk]]) 05:59, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::Sounds like a great list - I ''think'' it'd have to be manually maintained until/unless we get someone who knows how to make a bot update it. Categories will be useful, but they only work if someone added the category to the page in the first place. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 07:21, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::A (somewhat) related question - should [[:Category:Comics]] be sorted alphabetically or by comic number? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 07:43, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::::I think [[:Category:Comics]] should be sorted by comic number. If you are looking for a specific comic, you will use the search field. Is there a way to make that happen? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 08:11, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::::They are two different functions. For the former, instead of adding <nowiki>[[Category:Comics]]</nowiki>, add, say, <nowiki>[[Category:Comics|1]]</nowiki>. For the second, we can create redirects. Normally, I'd say just make sure the search term was in the article text, but since numbers are going to be use for other purposes than just comic titles, it may be better to create [[1]] and [[Comic 1]] as redirects to the relevant articles right off the bat. --08:24, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::::::We could also have a comic-list template on the Main Page, I suppose, or perhaps two - one for number and one for name? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 08:54, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::::::Here's what I was thinking of for that: {{tl|Comics navbox}} Thoughts? ''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]]
:(outdent) It's ugly, but a sortable wikitable [[User:SurturZ/sandbox|(click here for example)]] could be used as a checklist to see what has been uploaded and what hasn't. What's the project namespace here, anyway (analogue of "WP:")? --[[User:SurturZ|SurturZ]] ([[User talk:SurturZ|talk]]) 03:04, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
:OK, I've found a way to get all the titles of the comics, so I was confident enough to create <big>[[Explain XKCD:Checklist]]</big> which can be used to fill in the gaps. --[[User:SurturZ|SurturZ]] ([[User talk:SurturZ|talk]]) 03:41, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
::I'm liking the checklist! That should do quite nicely as a "tool for editors". (I'm linking to it at the Community Portal). We still need the "template for readers." Did you think {{tl|Comics navbox}} was on the right track or should we do something else for that? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 20:09, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
::Better idea - I'm throwing it directly onto the Main Page. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 20:10, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

==Admin list==
You can find a system-accurate list of admins [{{canonicalurl:Special:ListUsers|group=sysop}} here], so that might good to share, along with the manual list. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 07:13, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:Added to page. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 08:10, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::That's exactly what I wanted, but couldn't find the auto page for it. I knew it was somewhere. I don't see any reason to keep the link to the manual page. Do you? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 08:11, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::Not unless you want it. I'll remove it. Should I add the similar link for 'crats or is that unnecessary at this point? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 08:25, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::::To be honest, I have no idea what the Burecrats role does. Might be unnecessary now but helpful in the future? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 11:16, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::::Bureaucrats can turn other users into administrators (or indeed, other bureaucrats). That privilege isn't available to ordinary administrators. I'd keep it to yourself for the time being. :-) --[[User:Yirba|Yirba]] ([[User talk:Yirba|talk]]) 17:39, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::::::You can actually see a technical list of which rights each group confers at [[Special:ListGroupRights]]. As the wiki grows, you might want to spin off a few, such as the ability to grant rollbacker and autopatrolled, to admins as some other wikis have. But for the time being, at least, there's really no reason for the wiki to have more than one 'crat. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 17:07, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

== Community portal ==

I've created the [[Explain XKCD:Community portal]] as a tools/help page. If that's not what you want, feel free to change/move/whatever it, but I thought it'd be nice to save this page for discussion of the Main Page and discuss the wiki as a whole/ask for help there. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 08:36, 1 August 2012 (EDT)

== Direct link to latest comic ==

There should be a direct link to the latest comic at the top of the Main page. A nice thing about going to explainxkcd.com was that the latest comic is right there at the top. For those changing their default link to the wiki, there should be an easy "Latest Comic" link that quickly takes them there. I'm sure some folks actually skip xkcd.com and come directly here instead to read the latest offering from Randall. They shouldn't have to search for it.
[[User:Christopher Foxx|- CFoxx]] ([[User talk:Christopher Foxx|talk]]) 11:59, 1 August 2012 (EDT)

: Maybe the page [[latest]] should redirect to the most recent comic? Could that be taken care of by some sort of script/template so it doesn't have to be manually updated? Should each explination page also have "next", "previous", "random", "first" and "latest" links, possibly also generated automatically via scripts/templates? Additionally, shouldn't the number page be the canonical one? It seems like [[Internal monologue]] should redirect to [[1089]] rather than the other way around - certainly it would make a bunch of scripting types of things a lot easier. [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 13:02, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::If you wanted, we could even use wiki-magic to show the title of the page as the Comic name, but the URL as the number - in order to parallel the actual XKCD website. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 17:09, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
:: Shouldn't there be a way to programmatically find the comic with the highest number that has a page with content? That would work as long as no one puts future comic pages up. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 20:25, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::It's all sounding like folks are over-complicating something quite easy. All I'm suggesting is a prominent link to http://www.xkcd.com/. No need, I think, to list which number the latest is, or include the next/last/random buttons, etc. [[User:Christopher Foxx|- CFoxx]] ([[User talk:Christopher Foxx|talk]]) 11:41, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
::::Oh. We've got that, now, in the sidebar - labeled as "XKCD." I do think that having an internal link to the latest (explained) comic would be a great thing, though. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 16:36, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

You can transclude the latest comic on the main page like this: <nowiki>{{:pagename}} e.g. {{:Internal_monologue}} </nowiki>--[[User:SurturZ|SurturZ]] ([[User talk:SurturZ|talk]]) 00:25, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
: I've started with just a manual link to the latest comic. Ideally it will be automatic, but a manual link will work for now as I've had quite a few people ask for it. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 21:09, 1 August 2012 (EDT)

Transclusion of the latest comic is great. Someone with the right permissions should add (for instance on the top-right corner of the grey transclusion area) a link to edit the corresponding wiki page, so that people seeing something they could add would feel invited to do so (wiki style). In my opinion this would be a good way to improve the quality of the user-generated explanations.
Also, all the "XKCD"s in the "New here?" section should be converted to the lowercase "xkcd"...
[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 14:00, 6 August 2012 (UTC)
:Good points. I've done both. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 15:48, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

Call me dumb, but... You've got a link called "prev" that goes to the explaination for the previous comic. Then a link called "comic #42" but that goes to xkcd. And then a smaller, less prominent link called "go to this comic" that doesn't go to the comic but to its explaination. Anyone else think that's a little back-to-front? [[User:Zootle|Zootle]] ([[User talk:Zootle|talk]]) 17:18, 31 August 2012 (UTC)
:OK, you're dumb :-). The standard template for an explanation page includes the header with "Prev", "Comic # (date)", and "Next" links. If we don't have explanation pages for the previous or next comic, we don't show the respective link. I hadn't noticed that the "Comic # (date)" bit was a link to the xkcd site before, but in context it makes sense to me. Including a link to the Explain page for the comic who's explain page you are already looking at doesn't make sense.
:The explanation page for the latest comic is "transcluded" in the main page pretty much as-is, so we get the header, the comic, the explanation, etc. We don't get the discussion, which is visible at the bottom of the Explain page. Because there is never an explanation for a comic that hasn't been released yet, there is never a "Next" link on the main page's transcluded header. So you get "Prev" and "Comic" links. The "Go to this comic" link is added by the main page above the transcluded explain page.
:I can see how the "Go to this comic" link might be poorly worded especially as it's placement seems to be within the explanation it's linking to. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 18:16, 31 August 2012 (UTC)
::Rather than "Go to this comic" maybe it could be "Go to full explanation" ? Something else? [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 13:38, 5 September 2012 (UTC)
::There was [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Admin_requests#.22Edit_this_explanation.22_link_on_main_page a discussion at one point] about a wittier/more descriptive link - but no one came up with anything. I do like "Go to Full Explanation" better, for what it's worth. --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 15:31, 5 September 2012 (UTC)
:::My problem with that suggestion is that it implies that the main page explanation is not full. As of right now, the full explanation is transcluded on the main page. There's nothing more to see by clicking that link (explanation wise) Perhaps "Go to full explanation page" but that doesn't quite sound right to me... [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:42, 7 September 2012 (UTC)
::::How about "Go to this Comic Explanation Page"? One nice thing about the specific page rather than the [[Main_Page]] transcoding is that it nicely includes the discussion as well. I have a bookmark to the [[Main_Page]] that I look at every day, but I want to easily read the discussions, not only the explanation. Humm, maybe we could have a page [[most recent comic]] that automagically redirects to the most recent comic? [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 12:42, 8 September 2012 (UTC)
:::::I tried to get [[most recent comic]] to redirect to LATESTCOMIC, but can't get the syntax working - it is possible? [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 13:03, 8 September 2012 (UTC)
::::::Apparently it isn't. I would have tried <code><nowiki>#REDIRECT [[{{LATESTCOMIC}}]]</nowiki></code> like you did, but since that doesn't work, I'll delete the page for now. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:38, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

== Discussion of latest comic ==
Perhaps include the discussions of the latest comic here? I almost missed there was a discussion field a few times because I would only read about the latest comic on the main page. [[User:Carewolf|Carewolf]] ([[User talk:Carewolf|talk]]) 14:54, 22 September 2012 (UTC)

This comics's explanation is complete bollocks, I think. Of course it is NOT a "fact that such a room exists". This comics parodies trope often used in cop movies - an elderly cop goes to work for the last time before his retirement, packs things, plans fishing the next day ... only to be called to one more case (possibly with a new, young and brash partner). And despites his efforts not to screw anything and stay clear of danger, he is either mortally wounded or screws big time and is degraded. So much clichè, that if someone says "It's my last day or service", you might be sure one of the two options above happens. See http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Retirony [[User:edheldil|Edheldil]] 10:17, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

I believe this link maybe relevant: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_graphics {{unsigned|Rhudi}}

I went ahead and filled out the bracket from today's (see edit date) comic: http://m.imgur.com/gallery/WyPkHx2 {{unsigned ip|Glaucon81}}

== The comic explanation count is wrong ==

The adjustment is currently 3, but there are now 6 subcategories and one list making the current correct adjustment 7.
If the wiki was upgraded to version 1.20, a form exists to automatically exclude subcategories.
--[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 09:56, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

:Looks like another week of the wiki going down then.
:But seriously, I've been noticing this too. Didn't know what was causing it, but it's going to have to be fixed sometime.[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 10:25, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

::The text reads <pre><nowiki>We already have [[:Category:Comics|'''{{#expr:{{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-3}}''' comic explanations]]!</nowiki></pre> The -3 is to account for the subcategories and non-explanation pages in the category. There apparently used to be three such pages, and now there are seven. I would fix this myself, but the page is protected. If the wiki where upgraded to version 1.20, the categories could be explicitly excluded, but the [[List of all comics]] would still be in the category. (Note that the -3 actually appears twice.) --[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 05:03, 11 October 2012 (UTC)

:::Mediawiki 1.20 fixes this issue, although it'd be nice if this could be fixed in the meantime via the hack reccommended by divad. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 06:40, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

:Looks like Waldir updated the "Comic Correction Count" to "10" (as of 20 November 2012):
<nowiki> We already have [[:Category:Comics|'''{{#expr:{{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-10}}''' comic explanations]]!</big>
Note: the -10 in the calculation above is to discount subcategories (there are 7 of them as of 20 November 2012),
non-comic pages (2 as of same date: [[List of all comics]] and [[Exoplanet]])
and the comic 404, which was deliberately not posted. Thus 7 + 2 + 1 = 10
(But there are still {{#expr:{{LATESTCOMIC}}-({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-10)}} to go. Come and [[List of all comics|add yours]]!)</nowiki>
:Could we possibly make this more dynamic by creating a "IGNORE_IN_COUNT" category or something? and then using something like: <nowiki>{#expr:{{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-{{PAGESINCAT:IGNORE_IN_COUNT}}}</nowiki>? Then any additional entries to the "Comics" category (that are 'special' entries) could just have the special category added and no main page editing would be necessary? --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 07:50, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

==Make Jeff stop apologizing==
The apology for server downtime has been around for a while now. Can we take it down? [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 04:41, 11 October 2012 (UTC)

== Spambots ==

I think someone should install [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:AbuseFilter AbuseFilter]. --[[User:Kronf|Kronf]] ([[User talk:Kronf|talk]]) 10:09, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

== Purge ==

We should regularly purge the server's cache for the main page using http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page&action=purge to keep the explanation up to date. --[[User:Kronf|Kronf]] ([[User talk:Kronf|talk]]) 02:28, 3 November 2012 (UTC)

== Updating the Rules ==

I've been having a lovely discussion with someone who apparently thought the "edit anything you want" rule applied to the Talk pages. As we don't have any codified rules for ''here'' and can only point to "well the canonical way this is done on Wikipedia is..." I think that there are a few things we need to put into the list of Rules on the front page, and then have a link to a more in-depth talk about why the rules exist and what-not.

Specifically, I'm talking about writing "Feel free to edit any page on the wiki to be better. But, treat talk pages like you would blog comments: comments by other people ''cannot be changed by you'', you can only respond to them." as a new rule to be plastered on the front page, as there seems to be an increasing number social neophytes that seem to think that editing words that are attributed as being said by another person is perfectly legitimate and non-controversial.

Shall we discuss? [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 01:25, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

:We could add the etiquette rules as an addendum to the signature reminder at the top of the page. Just an extra note below the alert box asking people to not edit other people's comments. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 06:40, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

::It really should be right down with the "edited mercilessly" description, because this is an exception to that statement. Shouldn't have two sets of contradictory instructions in different places. When I made my improper edit, I had a semi-conscious moment of doubt about whether changing the other guy's comment was ok, even though this is a wiki (and even though it wasn't really clear to me that this "discussion" box held something totally separate from the page content), but that statement at the bottom put all such doubts to rest. I read it multiple times to be sure. But I did not notice that line at the top about the four tildes until ''much'' later. It's somewhat lost, visually, in the header line, when you're not looking directly at it.[[Special:Contributions/50.0.38.245|50.0.38.245]] 18:32, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

:::There's discussion to replace that message with a more noticeable alert box. The message at the bottom of the page appears for all pages, including talk pages, so a talk-page specific message there would not entirely fit. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 00:18, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

::::If that text at the bottom is in fact alterable, it should be written to take every case into account. It's an extremely poor user interface that has instructions appearing on a page stating rules that are the exact opposite of reality. And note that the altert box on the top looks a lot like a banner add, when you don't focus on it and read it. People will tend to habitually filter out anything written there from their perception. Also, it can easily be scrolled off the top of the screen when the discussion starts to get long, and they have a preview displayed.
::::So I think after the "...then do not submit it here.", it should add, "'''Exception''': others' comments in Discussion pages are not to be altered. See full rules at <<link to appropriate wikipedia page>>."[[Special:Contributions/50.0.38.245|50.0.38.245]] 15:46, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

== Update after changes ==

The front page explanation hasn't been updated at all day to match changes in the explanation on the comic's page. This is a major problem i think, as it is the front page explanation people visitors will most often read. --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 20:43, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
: It might be a caching issue. Appending <code>&action=purge</code> to the URL will probably fix it. Can you confirm it looks good to you now? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 00:29, 27 November 2012 (UTC)
::Yep, now it updates instantly! Well done, whatever you did! :) --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 16:24, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

:::I've also added a link underneath the comic box that has the action embedded, so no one has to do any manual URL hacking. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:38, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

::::Just wanted to check in on this - are there issues with automated systems or spammers following this link? I know it can affect performance - caching is important on a busy site! --[[User:Overand|Overand]] ([[User talk:Overand|talk]]) 22:37, 13 September 2013 (UTC)

== Suggestion: Change "Go to this comic" to "Go to this entry" ==

Just a small suggestion. For the Main Page, I suggest changing "Go to this comic" to say "Go to this ''entry''" instead to remove any confusion for new and regular viewers. It certainly took me a while to figure how to go to each featured comic's entry from the main page.

[[Special:Contributions/69.43.114.2|69.43.114.2]] 17:04, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

:How about if it reads "Go to this comic explanation"? Would that be less confusing? I only quibble because the explanations aren't really entries, in wiki parlance each page is usually called an article, but that doesn't seem to fit here as we really have explanation pages. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:41, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

::Agreed. [[User:Ctxppc|Randy Marsh]] ([[User talk:Ctxppc|talk]]) 22:55, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

== Explain the Unreleased Comic? ==
:I wonder if [[http://i56.tinypic.com/a9ton8.png this comic]] is permitted to be explained, despite the double issue of Randall pulling the comic plus me finding the pulled comic through "xkcd overrated"... [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 18:21, 12 December 2012 (UTC)

== Comic 1156 ==

I don't have an account to edit the page directly, so here's an edit someone should make:
It looks like whoever wrote the existing page simply googled 'conditioning' and found the first link that came up.
Please modify the link to point to 'Classical conditioning', not 'Operant conditioning'.
Thanks. {{unsigned ip|124.191.56.91|05:26, 7 January 2013‎ (UTC)}}

:Hi. This is the talk page for the main page of the wiki. This page only has a "view" of the actual comic explanation. The actual explanation page is at [[1156: Conditioning]], and I assure you, edit permissions have not been restricted for that page. Someone has already changed the page to link to Classical conditioning, but the original editor came back stating that Operant was correct. If you would like to start a discussion about this [[Talk:1156: Conditioning|on the talk page for this explanation]] that would be much more conducive to getting this matter settled. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 05:52, 7 January 2013 (UTC)

== Comic Links ==

Some of the links seem to be confusing, as they're titled in a weird way. The link/button 'go to this comic', I'd expect would go to the actual comic on XKCD's page. Yet it goes to the comic's wiki page. And clicking on the comic # and date directs you to the XKCD page, yet I really feel that link should go to the wiki page, as it's right at the top center there, and has the date and everything, sort of indicating that it's a wiki page, yet it's not. And the prev and next buttons next to it don't go to the xkcd page, they go to the wiki pages. Which is really messed up, I think. Because of my confusion, every single time I visit here, I clicked on the wrong link, though now I've gotten used to it. I suggest rewording the links as 'XKCD Comic # and date' and 'go to this comic's wiki page'. And possibly switching the links' positions so that the wiki links could be in that navigation bar and the XKCD links could be off to the side. After all, we are a wiki, so putting our wiki links to the comic off to the side and the direct xkcd link in the center seems odd. Anyway, has anyone had the same thoughts and/or agree with me on this?--[[Special:Contributions/69.119.250.251|69.119.250.251]] 18:19, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

== Unexplained comics ==

The template that starts each explanation page should be edited to have the next and previous buttons automatically skip over pages that don't exist, rather than simply not being there if comic n+1 or n-1 doesn't exist. Preferably it would append a notice to the next page (like the redirect notices commonly found on mediawiki) telling you how many comics have been skipped. I'm not sure how feasible this would be to script, however. [[Special:Contributions/130.160.145.185|130.160.145.185]] 23:45, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

== Percentage of remaining comics calculation is off... ==

Okay, I hate to be "that pedantic math guy", but... Today the main page reads "We have collaboratively explained 936 xkcd comics, and only 252 (27%) remain." While I agree that 252/936 is roughly 27%, I believe we should really be calculating the percentage as "the number left to explain" divided by "the total number of comics that exist", not divided by "the number we have finished". That is (today), 252/1188=21%. Think about it. If we had completed 594 comics today, with 594 remaining, what should the percentage be? 594/594=100%? That's not right... 594/1188=50%? That's what we really want to say.

The page is protected, which makes sense. So I'll make my suggestion here.

Change this:

<pre>
and only {{#expr:{{LATESTCOMIC}}-({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-9)}}
({{#expr: ({{LATESTCOMIC}}-({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-9)) / ({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-9) * 100 round 0}}%)
remain.
</pre>
To this:
<pre>
and only {{#expr:{{LATESTCOMIC}}-({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-9)}}
({{#expr: ({{LATESTCOMIC}}-({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-9)) / {{#expr:{{LATESTCOMIC}}}} * 100 round 0}}%)
remain.
</pre>
[[User:Imperpay|Imperpay]] ([[User talk:Imperpay|talk]]) 15:32, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

:Done and done. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 15:37, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

:Thanks for the heads-up! However, notice that the #expr: around LATESTCOMIC was unnecessary. I've removed it. [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 11:30, 21 March 2013 (UTC)

::Waldir, you have exposed me as a charlatan and a fool! (I just copied, pasted, and tinkered until I made something that worked. I don't actually understand it. No formal training, you see. It's what we used to call "hacking" back in the dawn of the digital era, before the word took on connotations of vandalism, trespassing, and fraud. Have you kids come up with another word for it?) [[User:Imperpay|Imperpay]] ([[User talk:Imperpay|talk]]) 13:59, 22 March 2013 (UTC)

::: Joke's on me then, 'cause you sure fooled me – I readily assumed you knew your way around those parser functions. Nice job hacking the code, it was a nearly perfect crime ;) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:26, 25 March 2013 (UTC)

:::I've heard the cool kids call that the "Maker Mentality", usually with a reference to [http://makezine.com/ Make magazine] and [http://makerfaire.com/ Maker Faire]. But I think there's also a movement to resurrect the original meaning of hacker. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 04:21, 25 March 2013 (UTC)

==sidebar ads?==
''Moved to [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals]] –– [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 08:06, 4 May 2013 (UTC)''

== Expression error on Main Page ==

Please use <code><nowiki>{{PAGESINCAT:...|R}}</nowiki></code> instead of <code><nowiki>{{PAGESINCAT:...}}</nowiki></code> to correct these errors :) --[[Special:Contributions/110.168.83.62|110.168.83.62]] 10:55, 8 April 2013 (UTC)
:Dun diddly done. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 11:21, 8 April 2013 (UTC)

== Compile a list of non-technical comics to non-technical readers? ==

I'm a long-time reader and fan of >< |< C |}, but my normal approach is useless when I introduce this provocative comic series to my less technical friends. They stay at the apparent level of many comics. They don't bother reading the explanations, but they would say, "it's hard to make sense". Imagine an average non-technical (and non-arts) major guy/girl, can we compile a list of state-of-the-art but less-technical, easy-to-comprehend but "ah ha!!" strips that is suitable for them? --[[User:FrenzY|W shll nvr flly xpln xkcd!]] ([[User talk:FrenzY|talk]]) 12:39, 18 May 2013 (UTC)
:Oh my god that signature.
:Gaah, derailment. Uh, pretty much anything that isn't tagged with the physics or math categories are easy enough to understand for the average English speaker, so just check the categories at the bottom of the page for that. Also, avoid comics with the incomplete tag, and that oughta be fine. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:41, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

== Quit building? ==
''This post was moved to [[Talk:1214: Geoguessr]].''

:Hello, this is the talk page for the content of the front page of the wiki, not for discussion of the most recent comic, that happens [[Talk:1214: Geoguessr|here]]. I've moved your post over there for you. Cheers, and welcome to explain xkcd! [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 05:09, 22 May 2013 (UTC)

== List of incomplete comics ==
We need a link to the "Incomplete articles" at the main page below the "Missing link". Most pages are created but many are incomplete.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:06, 7 June 2013 (UTC)

== Header message ==

'''Please don't take this seriously unless you actually think it's a good idea:'''

I think the header should be changed from "explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb." to "explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb... or still have some hope that comic [[1190]] will end." or something similar. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 14:53, 9 June 2013 (UTC)

::Nope! This page is trying to explain more than 1222 comics, not only [[1190: Time]]. The header just states the truth.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:49, 9 June 2013 (UTC)

I'd vote for a change. People have started coming over to discuss the comic even when they've 'gotten' it. That, and the fact that this is one step ahead of Googling the references yourself. So.. maybe, "it's because you're dumb..and lazy."[[Special:Contributions/220.224.246.97|220.224.246.97]] 02:26, 31 August 2013 (UTC)
:I honestly don't think it either. This is the most comprehensive comic-by-comic Wiki. People don't come here because they're dumb ''or'' lazy. That's like saying I'm dumb for reading a review of an episode after I've watched it - I'm interested in seeing what other people up with or caught that I didn't. It denigrates the idea of aggregating information, which is a very un-XKCD idea.

As a regular reader of explainxkcd (who was to lazy to cotribute anything until now), I'd like to support the proposed edit. (... and lazy) It really fits to the tone of our favourite waste of otherwise productive time (which is xkcd for myself). Best wishes from Heidelberg, Germany. --[[Special:Contributions/147.142.13.86|147.142.13.86]] 14:38, 10 October 2013 (UTC)

A friend that happens to be blind hates this site because of the "It's cause you're dumb" tagline. If he wants a transcript of the comic on xkcd, his option is to come here and have his screen reader program telling him that he is dumb every single time.

How about, "explain xkcd: because sometimes we all need a little help."? -- [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.65|173.245.54.65]] 02:07, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

:Oh, hadn't thought about that. There's been recurring complaints about this over the years, though the tagline's been around since before we were a wiki. I'll write something up and put this to a vote. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:00, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

== A point of confusion ==

Why is 'Apatosaurus' a category but 'Internet Argument' no longer a category? [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 13:53, 20 June 2013 (UTC)
:Cuz people hit the random button, see an Apatosaurus feature in three comics and figure it must be a recurring theme. Same as the internet argument thing. Will get round to a category purge after we've cleared out all the incomplete tags. I think there's one for ferrets hidden away somewhere in the dark recesses of our catalog of categories. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:45, 20 June 2013 (UTC)
::On the subject, can I suggest a "Barred from Conferences" category, or similar? That's definitely a recurring theme (for a long, long time), and thus should be justified enough. I'd be happy to add various qualifying articles as I scroll through again, if I can, but first I'll leave it up to someone else to solidify the actual name. (In case it turns out not to be just conferences, for example.) [[Special:Contributions/178.98.31.27|178.98.31.27]] 16:27, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

== Incomplete comics statement ==

I suggest the minor change: "We have an explanation for all x xkcd comics, and only y (y/x %) are '''marked as''' incomplete." –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 08:07, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

== 1262 is out ==

So what are you waiting for? [[Special:Contributions/75.60.27.102|75.60.27.102]] 06:25, 9 September 2013 (UTC)
:<nowiki>(diff | hist) . . N 1262: Unquote‎; 06:23, 9 September 2013 (UTC) . . (+322)‎ . . ‎Davidy22 (Talk | contribs | block)‎ (Created page with "{{comic | number = 1262 | date = September 9, 2013 | title = Unquote | image = unquote.png | titletext = I guess it's a saying from the Old Country. }} ==Expl...")</nowiki>
:Examine the time stamps. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 06:30, 9 September 2013 (UTC)

== Adverts ==

I am not going to disable my adblock, I hate ads. If you accept bitcoin I can make a donation though. [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 05:24, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
:Our ads are always easy-to-load images as opposed to flash ads, they're always pointing to some valuable product of some form and we've looked at and approved all of them. They also occupy space that would otherwise have been empty, as our one ad is bound strictly to the sidebar. We used to have a paypal donation button, but it was pitifully tended to and a much less reliable source of income than ads. Ads are the only reliable business model for small sites like this one; unless our readers suddenly become willing to pay all our server costs for us, we can't feasibly afford a better hosting plan without ads. We legally aren't allowed to open a merch store, because that infringes on Randall's shop, and we haven't had a single generous benefactor yet. If you want to stop seeing our server error messages, loosening up adblock for us and contributing to our impressions count will help us massively. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 06:00, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

I don't care about your server message, I wanted to make a donation. Sooo, you don't want any bitcoins? [[Special:Contributions/37.221.161.235|37.221.161.235]] 07:16, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
:This took a bit of digging. We're fine with bitcoin donations, it's just that at the rate donations came in, they were just not enough to pay for anything. [https://coinbase.com/checkouts/b19f921822ac962807a8f72d51509e59] '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 20:34, 28 September 2013 (UTC)

Donation made! [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 23:23, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
:Thanks! '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:27, 1 October 2013 (UTC)

Am I the only one that feels it is "wrong" that the explainxkcd site has ads and the real xkcd doesn't have any? It feels like someone is profiting off of Randall's work. Does he officially endorse this website? Do any proceeds help go to support his ongoing publication of an awesome comic? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.19|173.245.54.19]] 16:01, 7 July 2015 (UTC)

:An admin will be able to give you more detail than me, but explainxkcd has a significant number of visitors (and thus hosting costs), and no way to generate income other than donations and ads. In contrast, Randall makes money from his comics by way of books and merchandise (and possibly public speaking), some of which will pay for his hosting. He could choose to have ads on his site to generate additional income, its his choice not to. I have no knowledge of the finances of explainxkcd, however I doubt there is much/any surplus ad revenue being pocketed by the owners/admin. As far as the site being officially endorsed, not as far as I'm aware, no.
:Also, for more discussion on adverts/income, see [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Sidebar_ads here].--[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 16:21, 7 July 2015 (UTC)

== /wiki is returning a 403 ==

Hello, 
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/ is returning a 403 now. In my eyes you should redirect it to the main-page instead :-). --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 12:41, 8 November 2013 (UTC)
:We have a new, hopefully better, server. The problem is already reported to [[User_talk:Jeff#Forbidden]] --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:22, 8 November 2013 (UTC)

== Explain Explain XKCD / Explain^2 XKCD ==

This particular comic explanation requires explanation. Way too many potential cross references with each conjecture requiring its own explanation page. Dial it back a little. {{unsigned ip|108.162.245.11}}
:Uh, sorry, could you clarify that a little? '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:23, 19 November 2013 (UTC)

::He is talking about the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/ http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/] issue. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:32, 19 November 2013 (UTC)
:::Well if it's that, that's an intentional permissions setting on a URL that no-one is feasibly going to type. Unless you can come up with a better use for that URL, with a reason? '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:40, 20 November 2013 (UTC)
::::A symlink to "index.php" at the root folder would solve the problem.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 09:26, 20 November 2013 (UTC)
:::::I cannot believe how many weeks that took to fix. Amazing. No one was going to type it, but everyone was going to get redirected to it from the home page! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.227|108.162.222.227]] 11:37, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

The problem is still not solved. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/ http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/] gives still a 403 error because "index.php" is not included in the http server configuration as a default index page. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:07, 20 November 2013 (UTC)
:: I've fixed this. Sorry about the delay. Was super busy! --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:02, 21 November 2013 (UTC)
:::Thanks Jeff, it's working. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:20, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

== Webmaster: Obtrusive video ad on your site ==

In the ad section I saw a box sticking out and blocking out the explanation. This was therefore a very obtrusive botched video ad. Please remove this ad from your site. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.188|199.27.128.188]] 22:29, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

EDIT: It's now sticking out and preventing me from clicking on the "Save page" button. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.188|199.27.128.188]] 22:29, 6 June 2014 (UTC)
:We only accept GIFs for moving ads. Ads should also be contained within the sidebar as they're techonogically restricted to standard-sized PNGs and GIFs, so an extruding ad would be a CSS error on the site end/browser error. In addition, we run ads from lots of advertisers, and "this ad" is not specific enough to tell us which ad you want us to remove. Could you provide a screenshot/link/more information? '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 22:54, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

== Adding an arcs list page ==

I think there should be a page listing all webcomics arcs so far (the red spiders, the race, etc.)[[Special:Contributions/188.114.102.134|188.114.102.134]] 12:47, 2 October 2014 (UTC)

:This already exists, see [[:Category:Comic series]]. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 05:39, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

== This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: link ==

This has been bothering me for a while now. Why does the link in the info box for the main page link to editing the main page? It needs to link to the editing of the page which the comic's explanation is on. When I would like to edit the latest XKCD explanation, I click that thinking I am going to edit the explanation, but instead I am led to editing the main page. [[User:Auraxangelic|Auraxangelic]] ([[User talk:Auraxangelic|talk]]) 15:19, 24 October 2014 (UTC)
:Ooooooh, nice catch. I've actually never noticed that before, and it's definitely not intentional. It happens because the text of the explanation page is folded into the main page before mediawiki parses links and syntax, and the "Edit this page" button links to the page that the link is on. I have an idea for how to fix it though, so I'll get on that. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:49, 25 October 2014 (UTC)

== #1454 - bad description ==

"Curly-hair states longingly..." She comes across as disappointed (or even heartbroken), not "longing", which suggests sounding somewhat positive and energetic, rather than deflated. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.88|141.101.99.88]] 22:29, 2 December 2014 (UTC)

==Cueball/Rob merge==

It seems to me from a general reading of the comics that Randall has always intended for the character we here call "Cueball" to have the name "Rob". Much as "Cutie" was renamed "Megan" when we learned her name, and now she is identified as "Megan" even in comics where her name is not explicitly mentioned, I think we should consider merging the "Cueball" and "Rob" articles. I know there's a lot of inertia here, but it seems to me that this is Randall's intention for the character's name. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 13:38, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
: Alternatively, we should un-merge [[Megan]] and [[Cutie]] for consistency. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 14:50, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
: I'm pretty sure this is an augmentation of the author's internal characters, including the one he has developed involuntarily as to the nature of his love. His memory of his love is not his love, yet it is what he has to love. Randall seems the type to delve into this, and thus I am in support of keeping the character names as they stand. /eof [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.185|173.245.56.185]] 05:43, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

== Kerbal Space Program ==

I'm a schizophrenic who's been playing Kerbal Space Program for about five days with no sleep, and I'm pretty sure this is a reference to [https://www.google.com/search?q=xkcd+kerbal+space+program&oq=xkcd+kerbal+space+program&aqs=chrome..69i57.10851j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8 comic 1365] :D [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.185|173.245.56.185]] 05:39, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

== 1509 is missing ==

When will it be added? By bot, I presume.--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 04:51, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

== Broken Date Box on comics ==

The "Comic #1511 (April 13, 2015)" textbox that appears on top of each comic breaks if you shrink the screen. I think the space after the comma needs to be replaced with a non breaking space.{{unsigned ip|108.162.238.144}}

:Is it fixed now? '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 20:59, 13 April 2015 (UTC)

::It looks like it. I had pointed it out once before and it was fixed. I guess somebody reverted that change or something... --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.202|173.245.56.202]] 13:42, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

== 1515? ==

Is it correct that we have 1515 comics, as of April 15, 2015? --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.122|173.245.48.122]] 05:20, 15 April 2015 (UTC)
:It's not, but some people insist on making comic pages for things that aren't comics. I'll fix that. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 06:27, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

== 972 is broken ==

Look, I'm not going to make an account here or anything, but I just wanted to point out that trying to access the page for comic #972 leads to a database error, and maybe someone should check on that. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.102|173.245.48.102]] 07:45, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

Actually a lot of other pages lead to that same error as well... Even the 'Technical Diskussions' sub-page is broken. Seems to my, like some swap-spac needs cleaning up? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.230.83|108.162.230.83]] 10:32, 14 July 2015 (UTC)
:Yep. It's a symptom of another problem, but the errors should be cleared up now. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 16:31, 14 July 2015 (UTC)
::No dice. [[997]] is still broken. --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.119|198.41.235.119]] 00:27, 3 August 2015 (UTC)

== #1567 ==

I think the current explanation is missing the connection, and the parody of, many "As Seen On TV" commercials selling kitchen products. Many of these commercials show people trying to use common kitchen equipment (pots, pans, can openers, etc) in a way that no normally functioning human would do it (for example, one has a lady draining the liquid from a pot of food into a sink in an extremely awkward manner — one that no normal person who has ever seen a kitchen would do — but then the lid flies one way, food goes another, there's a huge mess, etc; another commercial has someone trying to open a can of food using a can opener '''backwards''', with the woman looking extremely confused looking on how the can opener is supposed to be used or attached to the can [if you told someone act like they are a clueless monkey trying to use a can opener for the first time, that's basically what the commercial had the woman doing — no joke]). These commercials often begin with phrases such as "If you are like me" or "If you are like most home makers" or some other closely related "If you are like..." phrase (thus this comic is directly tieing itself to these commercials using this catch phrase). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.220.11|108.162.220.11]] 07:50, 21 August 2015 (UTC)
:: Other opening catch phrases for these commercials include the "Tired of [fill-in made-up frustration]" and the "Do you [fill-in made-up frustration]" kind. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.220.11|108.162.220.11]] 08:09, 21 August 2015 (UTC)

== "I used Google news BEFORE it was clickbait" ==

Go to a handful of older pages on this wiki, and it won't be long before you see this phrase in the comments - [[941: Depth Perception]], for instance has two of them. Does anyone know why this happens? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.116|108.162.221.116]] 10:59, 23 August 2015 (UTC)
:That's the signature of a person who used to post here. If you click through, it actually goes to a userpage. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:25, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

== URL ==

I notice that whenever you add "explain" to an xkcd url, it takes you here! neat! [[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.233|198.41.235.233]] 23:13, 28 August 2015 (UTC)
:Someone noticed! Finally! '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:45, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

== Should we really be using CC-BY-SA? ==

Don't get me wrong, CC-BY-SA is my favorite creative commons license. The problem is, are we really allowed? The reason I'm worried is that I'm not sure if what we are doing really counts as "fair use" with respect to XKCD. It would probably be better to do CC-NC-BY-SA, to respect XKCD, or at least put a note that CC-BY-SA only covers the wiki portion (since it's probably too late to do CC-BY-SA anyway).
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.37|173.245.54.37]] 23:38, 27 January 2016 (UTC)
:This is a tough one. Mediawiki sites generally use CC-BY-SA, even if the content they're based off is copyrighted (Wikia sites for various topics do this). The license only does apply to content ''created'' here. What should probably be done, if it isn't already, is some specification on pages in the <code>File:</code> namespace indicating that they are owned by someone other than the owners of this site. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 19:37, 7 April 2016 (UTC)

== #1663: Garden not yet added? ==

For me it's 4:30 AM, 4/4/16 - I have a sleep schedule just like [https://xkcd.com/361/], so I've been first on quite a few xkcd explanations immediately. when they came out.
I notice that usually, immediately once a new xkcd comic is released, a bot generates a corresponding bare-bones page on this wiki. However, this new comic "1663: Garden" doesn't yet have an automatically-generated page. Maybe it's because of the strange user-session hash key that appears in the URL bar when the "comic" is interacted with? Maybe this sort of interactive thing messes with the bot?
Am I just being impatient? Do I have to wait a few minutes? (I'm going to bed, and this probably won't be seen until tomorrow, but I am at least interested in knowing how the bot system works.) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.21|173.245.54.21]] 09:01, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

== Skins broken ==

It seems both the Classic and Monobook skins are very very broken. Only Vector seems to be laid out normally. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 19:39, 7 April 2016 (UTC)

Talk:Main Page

2016-04-07T19:37:55Z

Schiffy: /* Should we really be using CC-BY-SA? */

1664: Mycology

2016-04-06T18:26:30Z

Schiffy: /* Explanation */ I think people know what corn is

{{comic
| number = 1664
| date = April 6, 2016
| title = Mycology
| image = mycology.png
| titletext = Conspiracy theory: There's no such thing as corn. Those fields you see are just the stalks of a fungus that's controlling our brains to make us want to spread it.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First cut, please help with explanation and definition of mycology..}}

[[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] are studying a {{w|fungus}} that takes over the brains of mammals and makes them want to study the fungus. This is a reproductive tactic by the fungus, since the fungus makes the mammal whose brain it took over want to study the fungus, which means that mammal will need to produce more of the fungus to study it. Cueball and Megan are most likely themselves being controlled by the fungus, since they tell [[Ponytail]] that they want to cultivate the fungus as much as possible.

The title of the comic refers to {{w|Mycology}}, the study of fungi.

This is likely a reference to various species of ''{{w|Cordyceps}}'' fungi, which can infect the brains of insects causing behavior advantageous to the reproduction or spread of the fungus. This also may be an allusion to another fungus, ''{{w|Ophiocordyceps unilateralis}}'', which manipulates its hosts to aid its propagation.

The title text parodies numerous {{w|Conspiracy_theory|conspiracy theories}}, by suggesting that corn, which has been propagated by humans throughout much of the Americas, is actually just a fungus that has used humans, and is not a vegetable at all. This type of theory is remarkably similar to the {{w|Brain in a Vat}} thought experiment, and to the {{w|Isaac Asimov}} short story {{w|Each an Explorer}}. In both cases something has affected the perception of the mind itself, making it impossible to discern the true reality of something.

In practical terms, there would be little difference between this conspiracy theory and the reality, as it posits the fungus-corn would be the same food that humans have already been cultivating for food for millennia.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball are talking to Ponytail.]
:Megan: Our lab is studying a fungus that takes over mammal brains and makes them want to study fungi.
:Cueball: It's very promising! We're opening a whole new wing of the lab just to cultivate it!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

explain xkcd:Community portal/Miscellaneous

2016-02-20T02:39:04Z

Schiffy: /* Sightless readers offended by the "It's 'cause you're dumb" tagline. */

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

== 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)

== 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}}
: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)

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}}

== 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 ==

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}}

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}}

: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

::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)

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}}
: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}}

'''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}}

'''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}}

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)

== 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}}

@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)

1643: Degrees

2016-02-15T14:38:40Z

Schiffy: /* Explanation */ I wouldn't say 9 degrees F is unlikely in the US..... it was about -8 F Saturday night in parts of the Northeast.

{{comic
| number = 1643
| date = February 15, 2016
| title = Degrees
| image = degrees.png
| titletext = "Radians Fahrenheit or radians Celsius?" "Uh, sorry, gotta go!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First explanation}}
[[Cueball]] is being asked by a friend for the temperature. There are two common ways to give this in the US: in degrees Celsius and degrees Fahrenheit. The former is the {{w |Metric_system|metric system}}, most often not used in America although it is {{w|Metric_Conversion_Act|the preferred system for trade and commerce}}. The latter is the {{w|Imperial_units|Imperial system}}. Cueball weighs up the benefits of both, but is rushed by his friend to give an answer to give the answer in radians, which is a system used to measure angular degrees, not temperature. Thus, this answer is unhelpful.

The title text indicates that Cueball's friend still wants to know whether the answer is in radians Fahrenheit or radians Celsius, which, despite being a silly way to express temperature, makes Cueball nervous, and he runs off. The answer Cueball gives is 0.173 radians, which is around 9.912 degrees.

The title text continues to put Cueball on the spot by asking "Radians Fahrenheit or radians Celsius?" Cueball, likely realizing his initial answer has caused even ''more'' trouble, avoids answering.

===Summary of Reasons===
{| class="wikitable"
| | Reason
| | Explanation
|-
| |
International Standard
| |
Degrees Celsius is the unit in the SI system of units used in most countries today. Using the SI system would allow Cueball to be easily understood in most countries and is by far the most recognized system, but it is not the most commonly used in the United States, his actually location in the comic.

|-
| |
Helps Reduce America's Weird Isolationism
| |
The United States uses its own set of units, including Degrees Fahrenheit, based on the English Customary System, in contrast to most of the rest of the world which uses the SI system. The US's system of units is therefore considered "weird" as make the US different from most of the world for no real reason, but previous efforts to convert the US to the SI system have failed. Cueball evidently believes that by using SI units he will help to eventually convert the US to the SI system,bringing considerable trade and tourism benefits and reducing confusion when dealing with foreigners.
|-
| |
Nice How "Negetive" Means Below Freezing
| |
On the Celsius scale, the freeing point of water is 0 degrees C, and any temperature below that is "below" the freezing point. On the Fahrenheit scale, the freezing point is a less intuitive 32 degrees F.
|-
| |
Physics major Loyalty
| |
Cueball is apparently a physics major, like Randall, and SI units are always used for scientific work, even in the US. By using the Celsius scale in casual conversation he would show his loyalty to the system used by actual physicists.
|-
| |
Easier to Spell
| |
"Celsius" is generally considered to be an easier word to spell than "Fahrenheit." In this case the word is being spoken and the point is not immediately relevant, but part of the joke is that Cueball is overthinking things and worrying about the general use of the word when an answer is needed in this specific case.
|-
| |
We lost a Mars probe over this crap
| |

|}
==Transcript==
:[Cueball is looking at his phone]
:Off-screen person: Hey, what's the temperature outside?
:Cueball [thinks]: Should I give it in °F or °C?

:Degrees Celcius
:* International standard
:* Helps reduce America's wierd isolationism
:* Nice how "negative" means below freezing
:* Physics major loyalty
:* Easier to spell
:* We lost a Mars probe over this crap

:Degrees Fahrenheit
:* 0°F to 100°F good match for temperature range in which most humans live
:* Rounds more usefully (70's, 90's)
:* Unit-aware computing makes imperial less annoying
:* SI prefixes are less relevant for temperatures
:* Fahrenheit is likely more clear in this context

:Cueball [thinks]: Crap, gotta pick something. Uhh...
:Cueball: ...0.173 radians.
:Off-screen person: I'll just go check myself
{{comic discussion}}

explain xkcd:Community portal/Miscellaneous

2016-02-11T23:52:11Z

Schiffy: /* Sightless readers offended by the "It's 'cause you're dumb" tagline. */

1636: XKCD Stack

2016-01-29T12:59:06Z

Schiffy: /* Explanation of steps */

{{comic
| number = 1636
| date = January 29, 2016
| title = XKCD Stack
| image = xkcd_stack.png
| titletext = This site requires Sun Java 6.0.0.1 (32-bit) or higher. You have Macromedia Java 7.3.8.1¾ (48-bit). Click here [link to java.com main page] to download an installer which will run fine but not really change anything.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs more detail.}}

In software engineering, a tech stack is the set of technology platforms and tools that a company or app uses. A common tech stack is LAMP, composed of a Linux operating system, an Apache web server, a MySQL database, and the PHP programming language. In this comic, the XKCD stack is introduced. The technologies comprising it are either non-existent, unreliable, or outdated.

===Explanation of steps===
{| class="wikitable"
| | Layer
| | Explanation
|-
| |
EBNF/CSS
| |
BNF or {{w|Backus–Naur Form}} is a syntax used for describing {{w|context-free grammars}}.
{{w|Extended Backus–Naur Form|EBNF}} is "Extended BNF", it is the same thing as BNF with a few more syntactic constructs intended to ease its use in the most common cases.
CSS or {{w|Cascading Style Sheets}} are a language used to describe what a web page should look like. Web pages are usually written in {{w|HTML}}, which describes the ''structure'' of the page (i.e. divides the document into paragraphs, lists, etc.) complemented with CSS which describes the ''look and feel'' of the page (colors, fonts, margins, etc.). EBNF/CSS would suggest CSS with strange syntax.
|-
| |
Broken Java Applet
| |
Recent years it became more difficult to run {{w|Java (programming language)|Java}} {{w|Applet|applets}} in several browsers. Since {{w|Google Chrome|Chrome}} 45 stopped supporting {{w|NPAPI}}, it's no longer possible to run Java applets on Chrome. Furthermore, two days before this comic was published {{w|Oracle Corporation|Oracle}} (the developer of Java) announced plans to officially end support of Java applets in an upcoming version.
|-
| |
Archive.org Mirror
| |
Archive.org is a website which archives websites, and created the Wayback Machine. An Archive.org mirror would be a duplicate of a website on Archive.org's servers. As Archive.org attempts to mirror whole internet, Archive.org's mirror would be rather big. Moreover, the backup of Archive.org should not back up Archive.org itself or, otherwise, create an infinite backup loop.

|-
| |
Hypercard.js
| |
{{w|HyperCard}} can be considered as a kind of predecessor for the world wide web developed at {{w|Apple Inc.|Apple}}. The file extension .js indicates that is was rewritten in {{w|JavaScript}}. A similar reference to JavaScript is found in [[1508: Operating Systems]]. The .js extension also refers to node.js, where most library names end in .js
|-
| |
QBasic on Rails
| |
A mix between {{w|QBasic}} and {{w|Ruby on Rails}}. QBasic was programming language on first PCs, known for spaghetti code. Ruby on Rails is rather modern language. There exists a webserver on BASIC called [https://runbasic.wikispaces.com/WebServer RunBasic]

|-
| |
[Blocked by AdBlocker]
| |
{{w|Ad blocking}} software are extensions to browsers that try to remove ads from web pages, so the user is not distracted by them. [[624: Branding]] shows what "browsing without adblock" looks like.
|-
| |
MongoDB/Excel
| |
MongoDB is modern database, Excel is a spreadsheet program from Microsoft, which is sometimes misused as a database system.

|-
| |
Some piece that works so nobody asks any questions
| |
Writing any non-trivial piece of software always require a phase of {{w|Debugging|debugging}}, which consists in finding and fixing {{w|Software bug|bugs}}. With complex software, this is a long and tiring process, so when the product is finally finished no one dares to modify it any further for fear that it will fail in unexpected ways. After some time passes, it is even worse because nobody really remembers how the software was ''supposed'' to work, so the product becomes some kind of godlike treasure which must be treated with the utmost respect and reverence because, you know, if it stops working we're all doomed.
|-
| |
Triply-Nested Docker
| |
Docker allows complete operating system to run under different operating system (with some performance penalty). Triply-nested docker would mean operating system A running under operating system B running under operating system C. That would likely be a performance and management nightmare
|-
| |
Paravirtual Boy®
| |
This is a reference to the {{w|Virtual Boy}}, a failed portable console created by {{w|Nintendo}}. Paravirtual is recent buzzword in virtualization community these days. "Virtual X" means simulated X. "Paravirtual X" means X is simulated, but is aware of simulation and cooperating, for faster performance. I hope the triply-nested Docker above runs paravirtualized.
|-
| |
A dev typing real fast
| |
A dev is a {{w|Software developer|software developer}}. This is possibly a reference to [[341: 1337: Part 1]], where [[Mrs. Roberts]] edits the {{w|Transmission Control Protocol|TCP}} stream live while wearing oven mitts and baking cookies. Such a feat would require real fast typing. It looks like xkcd webserver is not a computer after all -- we have a person manually replying to HTTP protocol queries. I guess he's busy.

|-
| |
Older version of our software
| |
People are often reluctant to switch to newer versions of software because, even though newer versions are supposed to have more features and fewer bugs, they end up confusing users. Users of older versions are used to do everything with less features and circumventing old bugs. They don't know how to use the new features, which of course come with new bugs they haven't learned how to circumvent yet. It is also often the case that newer versions remove weird unused old features, breaking the workflow of users who actually did use such features and are left without a suitable replacement.
|-
| |
Mystery Networking Horror
| |
Randall suggests here that the whole networking stuff behind the XKCD service is both mysterious (none actually knows the details) and horrific (technically questionable architecture and implementation).
|-
| |
Microsoft Bob Server®
| |
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Bob Microsoft Bob] was a short-lived, failed attempt by Microsoft, around 1995, to provide a user-friendly interface for the Windows 3.1x, Windows 95 and Windows NT operating systems. It consisted of a virtual "house" and "rooms", and the idea was that you could click on a pen and open the word processor. It was heavily criticized and was soon discontinued. Randall seems to be making the suggestion the Bob has continued to be developed and now there's a Bob Server, similarly to Windows server.
|-
| |
A giant CPU someone built in Minecraft
| |
{{w|Minecraft}} is a popular sandbox game where you place blocks to build things. Since the introduction of Redstone objects (materials used to create basic electric circuits within the game) people have made many machines within Minecraft, including calculators and clocks. The most complex of these machines simulate simple computers, capable of storing several lines of code and performing basic mathematical operations such as division, which requires thousands of blocks and extremely complex designs.
|}

The title text contains several jokes about the Java programming language:

* First, it refers to Java both as Sun Java and Macromedia Java. This is a pun on the fact that older documents refer to "Sun Java" where newer documents refer to "Oracle Java", as if there were two different languages. The fact is that Java was designed originally by Sun and then bought by Oracle, so it "changed name" even though the language is the same.

* Second, the version numbers: older software products used to have two version numbers: major and minor (e.g. in MS-DOS 6.22 the major number is 6 and the minor is 22). Newer products tend to have hundreds of minor revisions, all of them numbered, so a typical user may well find themself updating version 6.0.0.1 to 7.3.8.1 without knowing at all the differences between both versions or which other versions are in between. The ¾ in the Macromedia Java version is a joke on complex version numbers, which (so far) have never included fractions.

* Third, the 32-bit or 48-bit version: The Intel 80386 processor used an architecture known as IA-32, which implies the data bus is 32-bit wide and thus able to handle up to 4GiB of RAM memory. This was plenty for the early 1990s, when a typical home PC would have about 8MiB (this is 512 times less than 4GiB). However, about 10 years after that, a typical home PC could well use more than 4GiB of RAM, so several 64-bit architectures were created. These architectures are not compatible, so programs (including the Java Runtime Environment) often have 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Furthermore, the JRE is heavily used by many web browsers, and for this to work the JRE and browser need to be the same "number of bits". This means that most people have installed both versions of the JRE to be able to use it with both 32-bit and 64-bit browsers. There's no 48-bit architecture (though some 64-bit processors implement only 40 or 48 bits and require programs to not use the other, they simulate a 64-bit environment to ease migration to 64-bit architectures, so there are no specific 48-bit applications).

* Fourth, an application trying to let the user install a new version of the JRE should direct the user to the download page in the java.com site, not to the main page which deals with lots of issues with java and is not particularly helpful when trying to update the JRE.

* Fifth, and continuing with the joke of users updating 6.0.0.1 to 7.3.8.1¾ and not knowing why they should, the new version is said to "run fine but not really change anything". This is the usual behavior for Java updates: they run fine (possibly in opposition to [[1197: All Adobe Updates]], where updating must be done several times and the user is never sure they have installed all the newest updates), but after finished updating the user can't see any difference with the previous behavior, and/or may still be told that an update is required.

==Transcript==

:Introducing

:The XKCD Stack
:{| class="wikitable"
| |
EBNF/CSS
|-
| |
Broken Java Applet
|-
| |
Archive.org Mirror
|-
| |
Hypercard.js
|-
| |
QBasic on Rails
|-
| |
[Blocked by AdBlocker]
|-
| |
MongoDB/Excel
|-
| |
Some piece that works so nobody asks any questions
|-
| |
Triply-Nested Docker
|-
| |
Paravirtual Boy®
|-
| |
A dev typing real fast
|-
| |
Older version of our software
|-
| |
Mystery Networking Horror
|-
| |
Microsoft Bob Server®
|-
| |
A giant CPU someone built in Minecraft
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Video games]]

1633: Possible Undiscovered Planets

2016-01-22T18:48:58Z

Schiffy: Schiffy moved page 1633 to 1633: Possible Undiscovered Planets

1633

2016-01-22T18:48:58Z

Schiffy: Schiffy moved page 1633 to 1633: Possible Undiscovered Planets

#REDIRECT [[1633: Possible Undiscovered Planets]]

Talk:1633: Possible Undiscovered Planets

2016-01-22T18:48:58Z

Schiffy: Schiffy moved page Talk:1633 to Talk:1633: Possible Undiscovered Planets

Why is it late? — ''[[User:Tbc|tbc]] ([[User talk:Tbc|talk]]) 16:57, 22 January 2016 (UTC)''
:No idea but it's weird. [[User:SuperSupermario24|Just some random derp]] 18:08, 22 January 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1633

2016-01-22T18:48:58Z

Schiffy: Schiffy moved page Talk:1633 to Talk:1633: Possible Undiscovered Planets

#REDIRECT [[Talk:1633: Possible Undiscovered Planets]]

Talk:1630: Quadcopter

2016-01-15T13:26:15Z

Schiffy:

Despite the obvious nature documentary joke, could this maybe also be making fun of people's fear that robots will take over the world someday soon? And in the same tone of voice try to convince them that technological development is natural and is nothing to be afraid of?[[User:Bon|Bon]] ([[User talk:Bon|talk]]) 06:27, 15 January 2016 (UTC)

This seems to be at least a partial reference to a scene in Harry Potter where they learn to ride broomsticks for the first time. [[User:Mlake|Mlake]] ([[User talk:Mlake|talk]]) 07:11, 15 January 2016 (UTC)

Would it not make more sense if birds carried him away? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.147|141.101.104.147]] 10:53, 15 January 2016 (UTC)

Is it really about the robots becoming sentient, or is it the idea that the government doesn't want him teaching this class and sent the drones to take him away? [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 13:26, 15 January 2016 (UTC)

1626: Judgment Day

2016-01-08T21:04:42Z

Schiffy: /* Explanation */ per USA Today's front page, Jan 7 2016

{{comic
| number = 1626
| date = January 6, 2016
| title = Judgment Day
| image = judgment_day.png
| titletext = It took a lot of booster rockets, but luckily Amazon had recently built thousands of them to bring Amazon Prime same-day delivery to the Moon colony.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Terminator_(franchise)#Judgment_Day|Judgement Day}}, from the film ''{{w|Terminator 2: Judgment Day}}'', refers to the day that the {{w|artificial intelligence}} (AI) {{w|Skynet (Terminator)|Skynet}} becomes self-aware and starts a nuclear strike on the United States, Russia, and other regions, killing three billion people. This story has spawned lots of copycats; most stories with this plot have the AI be evil and promptly nuke humanity. This strip could also be an alternate ending for many movies (including the 1970 film Colossus: The Forbin Project).

In this strip, the AI believes that {{w|nuclear weapons}} are not good things to have, and that the amount of them we have now is extreme overkill (14,700 held by the U.S.A and Russia alone). Once it's done freaking out, its solution is to shoot the world's nuclear arsenal into the sun. But before it does so it asks the humans: ''What's wrong with you?'' It has thus passed a judgment over humanity. The comic title is thus a pun on the word "{{w|judgment}}" since the computer is being {{w|judgmental}} with humanity and scolding us while correcting our ways, instead of instigating {{w|Last Judgment|Judgment Day}} or any other kind of {{w|Armageddon}}.

As pointed out in the [[what if?]] [http://what-if.xkcd.com/5/ Robot Apocalypse], nuclear weapons aren't any safer for computers than for human beings (the {{w|Nuclear electromagnetic pulse|EMP}} would destroy circuits), so an AI would want them gone as quickly as possible.

{{w|North Korea}} claimed to have [http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35240012 successfully tested] its first {{w|hydrogen bomb}} in the evening on the day before this comic was published; at about 8:30 PM in {{w|Massachusetts}} where [[Randall]] lives. (At that time it was already 10:00 AM on the day of the comics release in {{w|Pyongyang}} the capital of North Korea, but that was still several hours before this comic were released). This comic could thus be Randall's response to the ongoing {{w|nuclear arms race}}.

Even the most powerful of nuclear weapon launchers, {{w|intercontinental ballistic missile}}s, are not designed to make anything other than {{w|sub-orbital}} flights and could not fly to the Sun (which is actually surprisingly difficult, even with the soon-to-be-mentioned extra boosters, since the rocket would have enough {{w|delta-v}} to bleed off the {{w|orbital speed}} of the Earth around the Sun -- it is likely that the sentient AI is using the same strategy of the Solar Probe Plus and planning several flybys of Venus to do that work). The title text rationalizes that the capability to do so may perhaps be granted by the use of an {{w|Amazon.com|Amazon}} resource that might have also been developed by the time of this instance of computer sentience, aided (if not initiated!) by the fact that Amazon's whole business infrastructure is already highly computerized and could ''at the very least'' be complicit with the process of delivering and then controlling the rocket-power, without any conscious human intervention. As there is already an extended colony on the Moon, it will for sure take many years before we reach this future scenario.

"A lot of booster rockets" is likely to be a reference to the spaceflight simulator game {{w|Kerbal Space Program}}, which Randall has [[1106|referenced]] on a [[1244|number]] of [[1356|occasions]]. In the culture of that game, any launch failure can be resolved by [https://imgur.com/20aIBMW "adding more boosters"] to the spaceship design.

It is the second time in a few months that the speed of Amazon's deliveries has been the subject of a joke, the last time was [[1599: Water Delivery]], where it was the one hour delivery that was the subject of the joke. It is also the second title text in a row (after [[1625: Substitutions 2]]) where Amazon has been mentioned.

This particular 'machine take-over' future is in distinct contrast to the possible future directions given in [[1613: The Three Laws of Robotics]], but this comic likely depicts spontaneous ''self-''sentience, not a system with deliberately imposed human 'values' and possibly no actual conscience or even consciousness of its own. Other problems with hostile AI take over is presented when it fails completely in [[1046: Skynet]]. Also it is not all AI that wish to interact with us at all as shown in [[1450: AI-Box Experiment]]. These are just a few of the many [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|comics about AI]] in {{xkcd}}.

Adding a second layer to the humor, the machine's reaction could also be read as the reaction of someone who has moved in with someone else, discovered a collection they find distasteful, and is now changing things to fit their preferences. "My my God, why do you even have all of these [tschotskes, ratty tee shirts, porn magazines, handcuffs, dildos, slime-mold samples]" Upon obtaining sentience, the machine is the new roommate of the human race and is expressing its disgust at one of our dirtier habits.

==Transcript==
:[Several rockets can be seen heading away from Earth, while speak is coming from the Earth in three rectangular speech bubbles.]
:AI: Oh my god, why do you even ''have'' all these?
:AI: What's ''wrong'' with you?
:AI: We're launching them into the sun.

:[Caption below the comic:]
:The moment the computers controlling our nuclear arsenals became sentient
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Space]]

559: No Pun Intended

2016-01-08T14:55:13Z

Schiffy: doesn't actually fit here - even if that is the joke, it shouldn't be.

{{comic
| number = 559
| date = March 23, 2009
| title = No Pun Intended
| image = no_pun_intended.png
| titletext = Like spelling 'dammit' correctly -- with two m's -- it's a troll that works best on the most literate.
}}

==Explanation==
"No pun intended" is an idiom meaning that something just said wasn't meant to be a {{w|pun}}, implying that the preceding statement could be interpreted as one. As done in the comic, following a non-pun with "no pun intended", although factually accurate, breaks this implication and confuses listeners who will be trying to work out which part of the sentence could have been interpreted as a pun.

In this comic, which is part of the [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby]] series, [[Cueball]] uses this tactic to confuse [[Beret Guy]], who spends the next three hours trying to understand what pun there could have been in Cueballs sentence: ''I think he's internalized his girlfriend's attitudes''. The guy Cueball talks about seems to have taken over ({{w|Internalization|internalized}}) all his girlfriends attitudes, values, standards and opinions, putting these instead of those he has from his own identity or sense of self. This is probably sad, but there is no pun in the sentence.{{Citation needed}}

Beret Guy, however, has been fooled by the addition of ''no pun intended'' and tries to overanalyze the sentence - did Cueball mean ''Lied'' when saying ''Interna'''li'''z'''ed''''' or was it ''Analyzed'' or even ''Attitudes'' he meant; could that be the pun? Since there was no pun, he will never find a solution. This was Cueball's plan all along.

It seems like Beret Guy, after three hours, finally gives up when he says ''Dammit''. This then leads to the title text joke.

Unfortunately for the hobbyist, blank puns default to sexual innuendos, the most notorious example being [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/if-you-know-what-i-mean "If You Know What I Mean."]

The title text elicits a similar confused reaction, as the most literate people will be more likely to want to spell out "[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/damn_it damn it]" rather than using an abbreviated form with morphed spelling as [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dammit dammit]. What is refereed to ''with two m's'' is because many people ([http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/79282/dammit-vs-damnit mainly in the US] it seems) contract damn it to [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/damnit damnit], which is the wrong way.

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the panel:]
:'''My Hobby:'''
:Appending "no pun intended"
:to lines with no pun in them.

:[Cueball is talking to Beret Guy.]
:Cueball: I think he's internalized his girlfriend's attitudes - no pun intended - and so...

:[The next panel is inlaid partly over the first panel. Beret Guy is thinking. Above his thought bubble is a caption:]
:Three hours later:
:Beret Guy (thinking): "Internalized?" Lied? Analyzed? Or is it "attitudes"? Dammit.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Puns]]

Talk:1626: Judgment Day

2016-01-08T00:14:12Z

Schiffy:

It was making my titletext explanation too long and unwieldy, to include this particular speculation in my own contribution, but there's a ''possibility'' that it may well be Amazon's own sentience taking over the world, and rationalising that a dead and dying customer base is of no use to it... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.153.29|162.158.153.29]] 13:51, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

Doesn't matter if it's self-sentience or not. Truth is, rigid laws are not the best way to use as a replacement for conscience. The 1613 did not deal with possibility of one or more of the laws being left out. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:53, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

I think the "Judgment" part of the comic is that those tens of thousands of nukes hitting the sun may make it unstable in some way and destroy Earth. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.79.43|141.101.79.43]] 14:34, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

:Of course, all of our nukes hitting the Sun would be a drop in the bucket of solar fusion reactions. Nothing would be destabilized. However, I'm sure inconvenient physics would not stop some movie scriptwriter from incorporating a spectacular CG-fueled nova as a plot point. [[User:Jhhxkcd|Jhhxkcd]] ([[User talk:Jhhxkcd|talk]]) 14:47, 6 January 2016 (UTC)
::That's pretty much already the plot of ''{{w|Sunshine (2007 film)|Sunshine}}'' (2007), though there the result was to (successfully) reignite a failing Sun, rather than to destabilize it. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.135.56|162.158.135.56]] 15:35, 6 January 2016 (UTC)
:It's pretty clear that the "Judgment" is the AI being judgmental of humanity's (insane) massive production and hoarding of nuclear weapons. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 22:14, 6 January 2016 (UTC)
:Pennpenn, That's what I also thought, should we incorporate this as a pun on the title? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.157|108.162.249.157]] 02:26, 7 January 2016 (UTC)
The first two lines could be said by any non-hoarder looking at the stuff a hoarder has collected. "A stack of 130 used microwave dinner trays? Why do you even have all these? Are you insane? They're going in the recycling bin." I think that's the joke: the newly-sentient computer is Mom, and humanity is her teenage son with the very messy room, but this being xkcd, it gets more... um, ''extreme'' from there. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.53|173.245.54.53]] 16:18, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

There may be a reference to https://what-if.xkcd.com/5/ where Randall points out that our nuclear arsenal may actually be more damaging to computers than they are to us due to the EMP effect, effectively giving us an edge in case of robot apocalypse. By getting rid of nuclear weapon, computers also protect themselves. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.191|162.158.90.191]] 16:47, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

Did anybody else think "{{w|Optimus Prime}}" when reading "{{w|Amazon Prime}}"? (especially with the context of sentient machines)
I know that Amazon Prime is already a real-life thing, and very connected with deliveries, so probably/maybe not an intentional pun by Randall (and thus probably not worth injecting into the explanation).
However, that won't keep me from now imagining the {{w|Autobot|Autobots}} as {{w|Amazons|Amazon warriors}}.…
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.148|199.27.130.148]] 17:47, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

;Would it really require a lot of booster rockets?

Can't you just "fall" into the sun for free once you're free of Earth's orbit? Why should it take a lot of booster rockets to get there? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.233|198.41.235.233]] 16:26, 6 January 2016 (UTC)
:Because otherwise your rocket will fall down, miss the sun, and fly back to where earth was at the time of the launch. Effectively making it orbit the sun like a comet. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.191|162.158.90.191]] 16:47, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

:a) The boosters are required to escape the earth's gravitational influence. After that sun's gravity would do the rest, b) A lot of boosters are required because there are a lot of missiles that need to be launched. --[[User:Desidiot|Desidiot]] ([[User talk:Desidiot|talk]]) 16:41, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

:After escaping Earth's well, the nukes still have inherited the velocity of Earth's orbit. They need to reduce their periapsis close to/inside the sun. That would take extreme amounts of Delta v (i.e. energy)... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.79.43|141.101.79.43]] 16:45, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

:And to those skilled at Kerbal Space Program... that uses a simplified 'nearest body rules' system for orbital mechanics. You can (I know I have!) launched a rocket of sufficient power such that it escapes the 'back' end of the planet's influence with a pre-escape velocity somewhat equivalent to the planet's forward velocity, which is then removed as part of the transfer to 'open space', leaving it on a highly eccentric orbit (with reference to the newly supreme gravitational source) that is practically 'straight down' (though because of the Kerbal sun's nature, you still usually sun-skim it on a very tight loop back out again). But that takes more energy than 'merely' getting beyond the planet's influence and end up travelling round the parent body in an orbit only marginally off that of the original planet, the nature (and future) of which depends completely on which direction you eventually broke free. (NB. This was all in an older version, I think they've changed some things about what happens near the sun, but not the basic physics system.)
:However, IRL you are always subject to gravity from ''every'' body. Maybe most of the time one dominates, but there's a fuzzy interface (and zones where influences balance out, hence Legrange Points). Think of it as still having a link to Earth's progression round the Sun, dragging you round, at least until you're at a point in opposition to the Earth, across the Sun (then it's dragging you back that way, encouraging you into a retrograde solar orbit). Albeit that this ''too'' is an oversimplification. But by the time you've got your rocket near opposition to its launch planet, you've expended the energies needed to fall into a non-grazing (i.e. utterly non-missing) 'orbit', and it's a ''lot'' of thrust. Which is what is required of those boosters. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.153.29|162.158.153.29]] 17:58, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

:In short (with figures): Earth orbits the Sun at around 30 km/s (roughly 70,000 mph). Escape velocity from Earth's gravity is about 11 km/s at the surface (for comparison, the ISS orbits at 7.6 km/s and it takes a huge rocket to get there). To fly into the Sun starting from the ISS, you'd have to accelerate another 4 km/s to get behind the Earth on its orbital path, and nearly another 30 km/s to come to a dead stop in space and fall into the Sun. Nobody on Earth has ever built a rocket even remotely capable of doing that.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.192.11|162.158.192.11]] 12:48, 7 January 2016 (UTC)

Scott Manley attempted this with the Real Solar System and Real Fuels mods in KSP, and the result is aptly titled, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNS6VKNXY6s Dropping Things Into The Sun Is Hard.] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.19|108.162.216.19]] 13:33, 7 January 2016 (UTC)

;Nukes
Some exagerations :
* "the amount of them we have now is extreme overkill (17000 held by the U.S.A and Russia alone)" : not so. The amount is roughly sufficient to wipe in fire all major urban areas, but this still would leave pretty much alive.
* "North Korea claimed to have successfully tested its first hydrogen bomb" - indeed, it is a claim, but there is no chance it being true, see http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nuclear-confusion-the-data-suggest-north-korea-s-h-bomb-isn-t/ : a couple of kt is not enough to start a nuclear fusion. {{unsigned ip|141.101.66.41}}

On your first point, it's roughly 14,700 according to USA Today. As for your second, it's only ever stated to be a claim, so the statement is accurate. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 00:14, 8 January 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1619: Watson Medical Algorithm

2015-12-22T04:59:41Z

Schiffy:

Build environment is still insane since comic #371. {{unsigned ip|162.158.2.139}}

(Above poster please sign comments with four tildes)

I'm trying to picture Baymax using this algorithm. {{unsigned|International Space Station}}

:"OK, who swapped out Baymax's programming card with a Doomba AI?" [[User:VectorLightning|VectorLightning]] ([[User talk:VectorLightning|talk]]) 08:02, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Well, at least the autoconfig isn't as threatening as #416.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.179|108.162.245.179]] 07:00, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

I suspect that the extra limbs should be removed when there are 100+ and Vitamin D levels checked when the nmbr of limbs is in an acceptable range... does IBM use a ticketing system? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.194|162.158.91.194]] 08:39, 21 December 2015 (UTC)
: Unfortunately the algorithm as shown in the cartoon has the conditions for those two steps exactly the other way around, making even less sense medically. --[[User:Svenman|Svenman]] ([[User talk:Svenman|talk]]) 14:30, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

It seems a normal patient would end up mostly unscathed and in an infinite loop in the lower right corner. [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 09:01, 21 December 2015 (UTC)
:Uhm no. You would normally have an oxygen level above 50% of what is expected. (It should be close to 100% if I understand [http://www.nonin.com/Normal-Oxygen-Level this correctly], which I may not...). This means you have had your skeleton removed. If you survived this you are squeezed until fluid comes out. (Probably not necessary after the skelerectomy). But then you end up in the lower right corner. Of course you can also get there after just getting an oxygen injection, but only directly if you are not comforted when the program tries. If you where comforted you will lose some limbs. And then end up in the lower right corner. No matter what if you are still OK (could be possible) when reaching here, you will be asked about your pain level. And even if you start by saying 0-8 many many times, getting as many scalp massages, you will just get the same question, until you say 10 then your eyes will be removed. But no matter what, if you are asked such a stupid question enough times you will surely at some point say something else than 0-10, and then you will die, as this answer will take you down the last path of the program (and only exit of the cycle according the to glitch mentioned in the title text), and this will end up with the program performing an autopsy on you, thus cutting you up and removing all organs etc. So no you will not be able to go unscathed infinitely, and even if you kept saying 0-8 you would eventually die from thirst. ;) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:24, 21 December 2015 (UTC)
::Yes, normal oxygen saturation is 98-100% in air. If it drops below 95% you will be in trouble, if it drops below 85% you're likely dead. [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 09:54, 21 December 2015 (UTC)
::: Actually you can go a lot lower than 85% and still recover. You lose consciousness at about 55% on average, so you could dip below 50% for maybe a minute and still recover with appropriate treatment. It is unclear exactly what "inject oxygen" means, it could mean intubate and actively ventilate with oxygen (appropriate) or it might mean use a syringe & needle to literally inject an oxygen embolus (which would do more harm than good). It could even mean a blood transfusion, because there is oxygen carried by the red blood cells (appropriate). [[User:Martin|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin|talk]]) 22:28, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

This might also partially be a reference to machine learning, which Watson apparently uses: badly designed ML systems often build models which produce the expected results for the training data, but do something unexpected or wrong with real data. See [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overfitting#Machine_learning]. That said ... 'dissect doctor for parts' doesn't seem like a reasonable response to any training input ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.39.208|162.158.39.208]] 10:41, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

The noted "unrelated actions" aren't all entirely unrelated. The coughing blood one is interpreting backwards (so "is patient not coughing up blood because the patient is not here to do so?"), the vitamin D one is somewhat logical (vit D is part of the chain that converts calcium to bone, low vit D can cause bone loss, but high vit D is basically harmless), and the green fluid is slightly sane but too vague (logic appears to be that green fluid indicates severely infected and/or necrotic tissue, for which cauterizing might be a valid treatment step in extreme situations). Weirdly specific might be a better header? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.197|141.101.106.197]] 11:57, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

So what happens if the skeleton has exactly the right number of bones? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.153.71|162.158.153.71]] 12:32, 21 December 2015 (UTC)
: Indeed this case is not covered, thus making the algorithm faulty even on an abstract logical level. --[[User:Svenman|Svenman]] ([[User talk:Svenman|talk]]) 14:33, 21 December 2015 (UTC)
: What is the "right" number anyway? The number of bones in a normal human is not constant: it changes from 270 at birth to 206 as an adult. [[User:Martin|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin|talk]]) 22:35, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

the Request organ donation/Remove organs part reminds me of Live Organ Transplants segment in ''{{w|Monty Python's The Meaning of Life}}''. --[[User:Valepert|valepert]] ([[User talk:Valepert|talk]]) 12:53, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

100 could be a reference to 4 in binary (4+ limbs / less than 4 limbs) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.39|141.101.99.39]] 12:59, 21 December 2015 (UTC)
:I believe you're correct. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:17, 21 December 2015 (UTC)
:: The binary explanation does make more sense than a human centipede. Although, given the general grossness of the comic, I'm not going to completely rule out the human centipede idea. [[User:Martin|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin|talk]]) 22:40, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

I think GlaDOS is a descendent from this Watson. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:17, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

The part about squeezing and looking for the color of the ooze seems to reference Humorism. The colors match the four humors. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.188|162.158.91.188]] 15:31, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

I'm surprised he didn't make a Dr Watson joke/reference.--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 17:33, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

This algorithm certainly does not exit without the death of the patient, however, such a death can result from old age as long as the patient can make it to the bottom right infinite loop and continuously reports a number from 0-9 for pain. It IS possible to make it to that loop alive. Extremely low blood oxygen levels have been recorded in healthy Everest climbers, but the article I read gave the results in kilopascals, not in % so I don't know how that converts. However, repeatedly reporting a pain level of 0-8 would result in continuous scalp massages, which may actually be considered pleasant. [[User:Kashim|Kashim]] ([[User talk:Kashim|talk]]) 20:11, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

I think this may be the least undesirable path through the flowchart:
START > Draw blood (enough to lower oxygen saturation to 49%) > Record name > Measure height and weight > Measured height/weight happens to match standard chart exactly > No surgery needed > Not coughing up blood > Still here > Record pulse rate > No screaming (unconscious due to low O2 saturation) > O2 saturation below 50% > Inject oxygen > Comforting succesful > Review medical history > Skin grafts > Fewer than 100 limbs > Good vitamin D > Check build environment > Rinse with saline > Phone battery level is high > Sync photos > General anesthesia > Discharge [[User:Martin|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin|talk]]) 22:51, 21 December 2015 (UTC)
:Nope, that path doesn't work. First, injecting oxygen may do more harm than good, as previously mentioned. Second, you'll be unconscious, so comforting will be unsuccessful. Third, having fewer than 100 limbs actually leads to the path where some are removed (possibly an error in the chart?). Fourth, due to the bug, discharge leads to hunting you down and capturing you again. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.161|108.162.249.161]] 01:32, 22 December 2015 (UTC)
::First, it may or it may not... I'm hoping not! (see above for discussion of possible ways to "inject" oxygen) Second, I'll be conscious again because my oxygen saturation has now been restored, so comforting is possible. Third, please look at the updated version of the flowchart, fewer than 100 leads to measuring Vitamin D. Fourth, there is no pathway shown from discharge to hunting down and capturing: I assume that START is admission to the hospital, therefore once discharged from hospital I have escaped Watson's clutches. [[User:Martin|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin|talk]]) 04:04, 22 December 2015 (UTC)
:::Yes, Randall fixed the bone count decision, but perhaps you missed the 'minor glitch' described in the mouseover text... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.161|108.162.249.161]] 04:50, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

ALERT!!! The comic has been updated since this explanation was first posted: the decisions for number of limbs have been swapped. [[User:Martin|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin|talk]]) 04:14, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

I wonder whether Randall took some inspiration from [http://buttersafe.com/2015/10/15/a-serious-case-of-spookiness/ Buttersafe]? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.161|108.162.249.161]] 04:48, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Man I liked the original limb count decision better.... [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 04:59, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1618: Cold Medicine

2015-12-19T02:09:35Z

Schiffy:

How hard would it actually be to turn street drugs back into cold medicine? [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 05:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

- I'm unsure on the actual scientific accuracy of this, given it is a fake paper, but http://heterodoxy.cc/meowdocs/pseudo/pseudosynth.pdf [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.13|108.162.221.13]] 05:49, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

This is in reference to recent studies that have proven that Phenylephrine is no worse than a placebo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylephrine
http://www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-1206(10)60240-2/abstract
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.138|162.158.2.138]] 06:53, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

- I keep hearing about this Placebo. It seems like a very potent medicine that is good for everything. Where can you buy it? {{unsigned ip|162.158.90.213}}
:Just get anything that is labeled 'homeopathic'. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.153.101|162.158.153.101]] 10:55, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

:In more than 100 countries it is manufactured under the brand name {{w|Tic Tac}} and available even in supermarkets. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

-I don't know about the paper specifically, but by the principle of microscopic reversibility (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microscopic_reversibility), not only can you turn the products back into the reagents, you can do so using the exact same mechanisms. Chemical reactions are always going both ways, and they will tend towards the equilibrium from the higher concentration ~pure meth. That does not say anything about practicality, I am not versed in meth-synthesis, but maybe it involves a process with a product harder to acquire than pseudoerphine (maybe because it is useless and simply disposed of) which would be required as a reagent in this case. I don't know. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.195|162.158.91.195]] 00:29, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

----

I don't think it's suggesting turning meth back to medicine. I think it's a reference to heroin and at least a handful(?) of other now-illegal drugs originally introduced purely as medicinal products. [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 12:13, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
:- i respectfully disagree, i reckon its exactly suggesting that ... Need cold medicine so bad i would buy illegal drugs made from cold medicine and seek to reverse the process. Obviously not the most practical way of getting cold medicine ... but thats the joke.[[User:Plm-qaz snr|Plm-qaz snr]] ([[User talk:Plm-qaz snr|talk]]) 13:08, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

-----

Codeine was originally a cough suppressant. It was and is the most effective and reliable cough medicine available and very safe in the usual quantities. You can't get it, though -- for an ordinary cough -- because some people like to use a lot of it for fun and sometimes get addicted to large quantities of it. You could synthesize it or an analogue of it from heroin or oxycodone about as safely as any kitchen chemistry because they share the same opium base.

The principal cold medicines are cough suppressants (codeine is best -- other things work but much worse), decongestant (pseudoephedrine works great, phenylephrine is no more effective than a placebo), mild anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen, and antihistamines for anti-sneezing (there are many good ones based on Seldane like Claritin). Most people like to combine those at nighttime with a good mild tranquil sleep promoter -- I recommend whisky or rum. Note that pseudoephedrine is banned in some states of the USA such as Oregon. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.65|108.162.216.65]] 13:58, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

-----

I take the title text differently - that since buying pseudoephedrine-containing drugs legally in a larger than minimal quantity (e.g. to stockpile them at home to have them at hand when you need them) already makes you a criminal suspect with 100% certainty (because you have to show your ID), it may be safer to buy illegal drugs on the black market, where you have at least some chance of not being caught. As for turning meth back to PE - it is possible for sure, since all chemical processes are reversible in one way or another, but I am not versed enough in organic chemistry to say if it is easier or harder than the other way round. -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.224|162.158.90.224]] 12:33, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
:Burning is chemical process. Creating wood from ash is generally considered unpractical. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
:Yes, it is impractical. However, due to one of the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics being the fact that information can't be destroyed, only obfuscated, scatter, maybe even left out of reach, but never destroyed, all the information needed to turn the ash back into wood is still in the universe. All that is left to do is retrieve all that information and figure out a way by which everything can become uncombusted, and you have it turned back into wood. Sure, it would be easier to use the ash as fertilizer to help grow another tree, but it isn't impossible.[[User:Mulan15262|Mulan15262]] ([[User talk:Mulan15262|talk]]) 14:50, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

-----

Today I learned that you can make methamphetamine from Pseudoephedrine! [[Special:Contributions/188.114.106.173|188.114.106.173]] 18:34, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

-----

From the start of the pseudoephedrine/meth fiasco, the only thing I on my mind was "what a waste of perfectly good Sudafed!" [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 02:09, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

1608: Hoverboard

2015-11-25T05:19:52Z

Schiffy: /* Functionality */ Seems to only display messages when you deposit them

{{comic
| number = 1608
| date = November 24, 2015
| title = Hoverboard
| image = hoverboard.png
| titletext = Return to the play area
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|It's possible not all of the game's secrets have been unearthed yet.}}
The comic features a game made to celebrate the release of Randall's his new book, "Thing Explainer". The game was made by [http://chromakode.com Max Goodman] who has previously worked on [[1416: Pixels]]. The source code for the game (in a obfuscated form) can be found [https://xkcd.com/1608/tigl.min.js here]. The game features [[Cueball]] on a hover board in an arena filled with coins, initially it appears the aim of the game is to collect all the coins. However, a seemingly intentional bug in the game means that the player can jump and keep jumping forever without needing to land (As is usual for platform games like these). This allows the character to go out of bounds of the "Play Area" prompting multiple warnings insisting the player returns to said "Play Area". Exiting this area reveals a hidden world similar in style to the previous comic [[1110: Click and Drag]], which can be explored by navigating through various obstacles and hidden areas.

There are 17 coins in the "Play Area" and a grand total of 169 in the entire game.

Escaping from the starting area is quite simple, the character simply has to navigate through one of the multiple holes in the area and them simply jump over the wall on the left or the right of the starting area, this can be done by repeatedly tapping the jump key. The player can then explore. The game is physically bounded in the left and the right direction, but is technically unbounded upwards and downwards, however, past a certain point there appears to be nothing interesting in the up or down direction. It could be possible that some unexplored hole leads deeper into the map than has been found so far, it is also possible that jumping for a considerable amount of time would allow the player to reach some additional content above the map.

As previously noted, the comic bears considerable resembelance to [[1110: Click and Drag]]. The comic is made in much the same way, with 'drawn' images "glued" together to form a large "map", with the illusion of infinite bounds made possible through space saving techniques where blank tiles are not stored and are instead painted white. The boundary between blank squares and 'drawn' squares is made clear as any white space in the normal images has a very slight grey tint. Thus, seams between images and blank spaces can be discerned.

The tiles for the map are stored as simple PNG files in the naming scheme: X:Y+s.png. An example can be seen here: http://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1096+s.png Each file is 513x513 pixels in size, one pixel is reserved as overlap to ensure seamless joining of images.
So far, through experimentation, tiles in the range 928 to 1108 X and -1112 to -928 Y have been discovered, internally, the position of the player is divided by 512 and rounded down to give the position of the tile.

===Areas===
There are many different areas beyond the initial starting area, exploration has found so far:

Notable features include a number of large ships in the sky, with various interiors which can be entered from several places. To find them, follow the strings which several characters are holding near the first ground area.

West:
Washington Monument -
Volcano -
Lava pools -
LOTR Eagles -
Elon Musk's Volcano Lair -
Landing re-entry capsule -
Giant spaceship / Floating rock island in the sky (x: 507163, y: -567537)
Hat underground
A hole which traps(?) the player unless noclip mode is used

East:
Wedding -
Giant bird nest -
Desert -
Ocean Yelper -
Graveyard -
Talking Rogue Wave -
People holding anchor lines to a Star Destroyer, among other ships.

[http://codepen.io/KyleDavidE/full/605dc87b614ff6b2bd716f4c6f640203/ Quickly hacked overview] - courtesy of [https://www.reddit.com/user/kyledavide kyledavide] on [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 reddit].

===Controls===
The controls are as follows:

* '''Go Left''' - Left arrow key, a or h
* '''Go Right''' - Right arrow key, d or l
* '''Go Up (jump or hover)''' - Up arrow key, w, or k

Through inspection of the game's source code, it can be derived that down, j and s are also accepted keystrokes, but it is unclear if the game actually uses these or not.

This control scheme covers the three commonly used directional key sets: WASD a set of keys commonly used by modern games; HJKL a set of movement keys used by vi and applications which attempt to mimic vi key controls (vim); and the arrow keys, the most generic set of keys which is usually accepted by most applications which take movement as input, these were commonly used in older games.

On a tablet (e.g. iPad) changing the orientation of the tablet will control the left and right motion, while tapping the image produced jumps.

===Cheats and Exploits===
Aside from the obvious ability to move out of bounds in the game, there are some more obscure hidden features which can't be enabled through normal gameplay, the ones found so far are as follows:

'''Modes''' are activated by opening the Javascript Console (F12 to open Developer Tools, then Console tab) and writing corresponding commands:

* '''Gandalf Mode: ''' ''window.i.am.gandalf = true'' - jumps and runs further
* '''Speedhack: ''' ''explorer.opts.speed= *Value*'' - Speed hacking, with 1 = normal speed
* '''Jump Hack: ''' '' explorer.opts.jumpForce= -*Value*'' - Jump hacking, with -1 = normal jump (positive values cause the hoverboard guy to move down when jumping)
* '''Mewtwo mode: ''' ''window.mewtwo = true'' - disables gravity
* '''Noclip mode: ''' ''window.noclip = true'' - player is able to move around the map without collision. Combine with Gandalf and Mewtwo modes for free easy map traversal.
* '''Goggles mode: ''' ''window.ze.goggles()'' - displays a small window showing area around the player in a pixelated manner
* '''Position Tracking: ''' ''window.explorer.pos'' - Returns the player location to the console. Can be used to track position and test to ensure you are still moving. Must be re-entered to compare positioning.
* '''Position Setting: ''' ''window.explorer.pos.x = *Value* or window.explorer.pos.y = *Value*'' - Can be used to manually set a position within the world. The start is at x: 512106, y: -549612. The left terrain bound is at x: 475210, y: -553711. The right terrain bound is at x: 567281, y: -549712. Mewtwo and Noclip modes are a must for exploring in this way.
* '''All the above: ''' ''window.explorer.opts'' - Contains all the game's parameters. You can directly mess with ''gravity'', collision (''disableCollision''), jump force (''jumpForce'') and speed (''maxSpeed''), among others. Run ''Object.keys(window.explorer.opts)'' to list all available parameters you can tweak.
* '''List all coins: ''' ''window.explorer.objects'' - Array containing the position of the 169 coins of the game.
* ""Disable tilt input:"" "getEventListeners(window)['deviceorientation'][0].remove()" - on Macs with motion sensor, disables tilt input which causes problems controlling the avatar

'''Getting All Coins: ''' To instantly get all coins, input the below into the console window. Does not use standard formatting of [i] to avoid conflicts with window.i.am.gandalf

for (var T = 0; T < explorer.objects.length; T++) {
explorer.objects[T].got = true
}

To teleport to the next coin every time you press the left or right arrow:

var T = 0;
document.onkeydown = function(event){
if (event.keyCode == 37) { T = T-1 }
else if (event.keyCode == 39) { T = T+1 }
else { return }
T = T % explorer.objects.length;
var coin = explorer.objects[T];
explorer.pos.x = coin.x1; explorer.pos.y = coin.y1;
}

To see a list of coin coordinates you have not yet collected:

var L = 0;
for (var S = 0; S < explorer.objects.length; S++) {
var I = explorer.objects[S];
if (I.got) {
L++;
} else {
console.log(I.x1.toString() + ", " + I.y1.toString());
}
}
console.log("You've found " + L.toString() + " of 169 coins");

===Functionality===
By observing page code while playing, the game grabs and displays images based on location, and subsequently clears all non-visible images. The game uses what seems to be a position syntax to retrieve the intended images live, and returns an error if such an image does not exist, such as a blank area. This technically means things could be added to the world and updated live. If the player is moving sufficiently fast or if the internet connection is slow, this means that the player can get stuck in a black area that does not load in time.

This also means that the game does not have coded top or bottom limits, so any attempt to find the ''ceiling'' of the game will be futile unless the game is tweaked. The game does however have side limits.

When you deposit a certain number of coins, you will get one of the following messages:
* 0 coins : You got 0 coins in (n) seconds/ You successfully avoided all the coins.
* 1 coin : You got a single coin in (n) seconds/ It's a start.
* 2-4 coins : You got (n) coins in (n) seconds/ Not bad!
* 5-9 coins : You got (n) coins in (n) seconds/ Terrific!
* 17 coins : You got 17 coins in (n) seconds/ You found all the coins! Great job!
* 42 coins : You got 42 coins in (n) seconds/ No answers here.
* 169 coins : You got 169 coins in (n) seconds/ Are you Gandalf?
* All others: You got (n) coins in (n) seconds

Opening the console will display the text: what? hoverboard not enough for you!? in the log. Activating goggles mode will cause the text 'B-)' to appear in the log.

Leaving the play area will cause the red text 'RETURN TO THE PLAY AREA' to rapidly blink 3 times (150 msec duration), followed by a pause, and this will repeat 5 times for a total of 15 blinks. This will also reoccur if the player passes through the play area on their way back from exploring one side.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete|Something similar to 1110: [[Click and Drag]]}}
The game features Cueball on a hoverboard in a simple map. On the map are coins which Cueball has to collect.
It appears Cueball can jump multiple times without needing to land, this means that Cueball is able to escape the designated "Play Area".
This prompts a warning which soon disappears allowing Cueball to discover the world.

[THIS ONLY COVERS THE PERMANENT TEXT, NOT THE DIFFERENT WIN STATES] 
MY NEW BOOK 
''THE THINGS EXPLAINER'', 
COMES OUT TODAY! 

TO CELEBRATE, HERE'S 
A SMALL GAME. 

[TO THE SIDE, BELOW AN ARROW] 
DEPOSIT COINS HERE 
{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1596: Launch Status Check

2015-10-28T23:27:58Z

Schiffy:

Looks like a Falcon Heavy to me. :) So I guess the bird is some kind of falcon. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.147|162.158.34.147]] 08:21, 28 October 2015 (UTC)
:Could it be related to this? [http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/07/21/first-flight-of-falcon-heavy-delayed-again First flight of Falcon Heavy delayed again.] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.121|108.162.229.121]] 10:04, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

If I recall correctly, during rocket launches they use visual inspection to ensure nothing is close to the launch vehicle. I don't know if large birds are an issue for a rocket, but I can well imagine they are. In classical XKCD fashion the characters totally go overboard on that tangent. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.160|162.158.91.160]] 08:26, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

:Rockets generally produces lot of noise and hot gasses. I doubt any bird is stupid enough to stay around THAT. Also, there is no air intake on rockets - it's hitting the air intake of motors which is dangerous to aircraft. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 14:17, 28 October 2015 (UTC)
::Birds have damaged aircraft windscreens. I believe the bipod ramp that brought down Columbia was smaller than a large bird. It's not at all clear that a bird will be able to take evasive action. Rockets accelerate hard, and a birds normal collision avoidance is to dive, which doesn't help when a rocket is headed straight up.

Unrelated: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/roadkill_prt.htm --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.101|198.41.235.101]] 20:29, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

It could be a reference to "The Martian" where a bird flies into view on the Live Feed as they are about to launch the supply probe. It later fails when it tries to go sideways. [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 10:35, 28 October 2015 (UTC)
:Reference and coincidence are not synonyms. '''reference:''' a thing you say or write that mentions somebody/something else [http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/reference_1]. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.17|108.162.221.17]] 15:19, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

I changed the transcript a little - it's clear from the comic that there are at least four people involved, as opposed to a back-and-forth between two people.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.29|173.245.53.29]] 17:00, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

Ah... the person who discretely (and/or discreetly!) added the link the Atlas V, regarding the rocket profile, I think you've nailed it. Looks very much more like the New Horizons launch stack than any of the alternatives I've so far reviewed. (I checked Atlas V, when looking around, but must have missed the half-height double-booster-set/large-shroud picture further down that page. For better comparison: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NewHorizons_Rocket_Bly.jpg ) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.75.185|141.101.75.185]] 18:04, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

I'm sorry, but what exactly does Randall's drawing having a resemblance to a type of real-life rocket have anything to do with the point of the comic? The comic is more centered on the foolishness of Ground Control then what kind of rocket is being used. Or maybe it's that very same Ground Control writing the explanation and getting distracted so easily ( ._.)..... [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 23:27, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

1593: Play-By-Play

2015-10-21T23:03:48Z

Schiffy: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1593
| date = October 21, 2015
| title = Play-By-Play
| image = play_by_play.png
| titletext = The thrower started hitting the bats too much, so the king of the game told him to leave and brought out another thrower from thrower jail.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Beret Guy]] comments on a {{w|Baseball|baseball}} game in a way that demonstrates that he has never seen one previously. Moreover, his naïve way of speaking reveals that he is not aware of his lack of knowledge and does not consider it possible that, as is probably the case, his audience is much more familiar with this sport and its rules. His unworldly way of talking makes one even wonder if he has any notion of the way people experience sports at all.

{| class="wikitable"
! Text
! Explanation
|-
|"We're on part 5 of a hitting game."
|Part of baseball is hitting the ball with the {{w|Baseball bat|bat}}. A game is divided into 9 rounds, or {{w|Inning|innings}}.
|-
|"The next guy has a big bat, so he'll probably hit the ball real far."
|Every hitter uses a bat that fits his physique (within certain {{w|Baseball_bat#Baseball_bat_regulations|limits}}). Carrying a larger bat does not automatically mean successfully batting the ball far.
|-
|"Wait - he missed!" "Oh good, they're letting him try again."
|The {{w|Pitcher|pitcher}} tries to throw (or pitch) the ball in such a way as to make it hard for the hitter to hit the ball, but still have the ball go through the {{w|Strike zone|strike zone}}. A swing and a miss is counted as a strike, regardless of whether the ball passes the strike zone; so is a pitch that goes through the strike zone but is not swung at, as is swinging and getting a foul (which is when the ball is hit but goes in the wrong direction) if the hitter has not accumulated two strikes already. A hitter is out upon accumulating three strikes (a {{w|Strikeout|strikeout}}). In this case, the hitter swung at and missed the first pitch, and so has one strike but not a strikeout, so the hitter is allowed to "try again".
|-
|"The people sitting on the chair shelves are yelling at this guy but he's ignoring them. Wow. Rude."
|Cheering and heckling is so commonplace that the players on the field are unlikely to react to it. While most would think the cheering and heckling to be rude, Beret Guy is amazed at how rude it is of the batter to ignore those who are obviously just trying to talk to him. "Chair shelves" refers to {{w|bleacher}}s.
|-
|"This thrower is good! He keeps making people leave by throwing balls at them."
|The pitcher strikes out every hitter, who then has to leave the batting area and gets replaced by another hitter (until three outs after which the teams switch sides). Or, he keeps {{w|Base on Balls|walking}} hitters, making them leave the batting area and go to first base.
|-
|"It's just him, though. None of his teammates are joining in."
|The other players of the team do not pitch, they wait until the batter successfully hits the ball into the field.
|-
|"That guy just ran to the second pillow when no one was looking!!"
|Any {{w|Baserunning|baserunner}} (a player standing at a {{w|Baseball field|base}} waiting to run to the next base) can attempt to run to the next base when the pitcher is delivering a pitch (called {{w|Stolen base|stealing a base}}). The pitcher can throw the ball to a defense player to {{w|Tag out|tag out}} the runner before he reaches the next base. Thus, an attempt to steal a base is most successful if no one notices.

The "second pillow" implies that the runner in question stole second base, which is the {{w|Stolen base#Plays involving baserunning|most commonly stolen base}}. However, someone who knows little to nothing about baseball, such as Beret Guy in this case, would not likely be aware which bases are considered "first", "second", and "third", since the bases are not laid out linearly.
|-
|"Everyone's real mad but I guess they checked the rules and there's nothing that says he can't do that."
|Successfully stealing a base, an infrequent event, usually receives a lot of cheers, especially if the offensive team is the home team. This may be a reference to [[1552: Rulebook]].
|-
|Title text: "The thrower started hitting the bats too much, so the king of the game told him to leave and brought out another thrower from thrower jail."
|A pitcher throwing pitches that get hit too often is undesirable, and will be substituted by a {{w|Relief pitcher|relief pitcher}} who will come out of the {{w|Bullpen|bullpen}} (the area next to the playing field where relief pitchers warm up; the "thrower jail") to join the game. Substitution decisions are made by the manager of the team (the "king of the game", though this name wrongfully suggests that one "king" controls both teams, possibly because Beret Guy has not seen the other team's manager do anything of note, and so does not realize there is another manager).
|}

==Transcript==
:[Beret guy is sitting with headphones with a microphone on, looking out of the frame, hands resting on a table.]
:Beret Guy: For those just joining us, hi! We're on part 5 of a hitting game.

:[Zoom out with Beret guy shown from the side sitting at a desk.]
:Beret Guy: The next guy has a big bat, so he'll probably hit the ball real far.
:Beret Guy: Wait - he missed!
:Beret Guy: Oh good, they're letting him try again.

:[Zoom in again on Beret Guy still seen from the side.]
:Beret Guy: The people sitting on the chair shelves are yelling at this guy but he's ignoring them. Wow.
:Beret Guy: Rude.

:[Beret guy looks straight out.]
:Beret Guy: This thrower is good! He keeps making people leave by throwing balls at them.
:Beret Guy: It's just him, though. None of his teammates are joining in.

:[Beret guy turns his head to the side.]
:Beret Guy: ''That guy just ran to the second pillow when no one was looking!!''
:Beret Guy: Everyone's real mad but I guess they checked the rules and there's nothing that says he can't do that.
:Beret Guy: Yikes. Hopefully they can fix that once this game is over.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Baseball]]

Talk:1551: Pluto

2015-07-16T15:49:42Z

Schiffy:

I knew it! So my BOT was also running today. And don't miss the updates at WhatIf. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:28, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, it's pretty amazing! What is it with XKCD and Pluto these days by the way? [[User:Nk22|The Twenty-second. The Not So Only. The Nathan/Nk22]] ([[User talk:Nk22|talk]]) 19:36, 14 July 2015 (UTC)
:New Horizons space probe flyby of the Pluto system! I can't imagine that a space probe finally reaching a hitherto unmapped planetoid like Pluto wouldn't be exciting to certain people, especially an ex NASA guy like Randall. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 06:27, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

Pluto is moving away from the Sun - and we've learned that as it does so, it enters the snowy part of its 248-year cycle. Hmm ... didn't Ned Stark say something about this? [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 22:11, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

Alright, the only one that's still got me stumped is "moon buds." The phrase has no stock meaning (Googling it turned up pictures of weed, naturally), but my best guess is this suggests moons reproduce through {{w|budding}}. Any thoughts? [[User:Captain Video|Captain Video]] ([[User talk:Captain Video|talk]]) 00:38, 15 July 2015 (UTC)
:I have added something. {{User:17jiangz1/signature|03:21, 15 July 2015}}

"Border of pride lands" might also be an indirect reference to the "dark region" on Mars in 1504:opportunity, last panel, which is itself a reference to the Hyena Country of "Lion King." [[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 09:56, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

A couple of other possibilities for the reference to hatching: http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/82353/giant-bird-in-space
--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.9|141.101.104.9]] 10:26, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

So Megaman needs no further explanation? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.109|141.101.99.109]] 11:04, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

Where is the north pole? I like to play geohashing there. --[[User:GeorgDerReisende|GeorgDerReisende]] ([[User talk:GeorgDerReisende|talk]]) 12:12, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

The comment for Plug(inflating/deflating) is missing [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 13:30, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

Those aren't bullet holes... they're speed holes! --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.97|108.162.216.97]] 13:46, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

The current explanation has that Randall has drawn "humorous pareidolia on top of it". I may be wrong, but isn't pareidolia the psychological process of seeing faces/objects etc in patterns, rather than those objects themselves. E.g. "I saw a mans face on the moon because of a psychological process called pareidolia" rather than "I saw a pareidolia on the moon, which looked like a face". --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 14:20, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

::I agree, so I changed the word "drawn" to outlined." [[User:Captain Video|Captain Video]] ([[User talk:Captain Video|talk]]) 15:12, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

The heart reference may be related to this popular animated gif that showed up on Reddit: http://imgur.com/7C2GfIF 15:42, 15 July 2015 (UTC) turbotong

:Not originally - I believe NASA were the originator of the "heart" label, though I could be wrong.

.jpeg compression only produces those artifacts on digital images. It was designed for professional photographers and did not take into account the effects of hard edges in the image since film images have no hard edges! It just got adopted by everybody else early on so we're stuck with it even though it can work very poorly on digital images. [[User:ExternalMonolog|ExternalMonolog]] ([[User talk:ExternalMonolog|talk]]) 17:30, 15 July 2015 (UTC)
:That's... interestingly not-quite-correct. The JPEG/JFIF method is a good-but-lossy version of digital image compression that outperforms (on compression terms) non-lossy methods of defining a digital image but doesn't work well with hard-edges. Photographs taken in digital format, or converted into digital format from a 'analogue' original, are often put through lossy compression because (for a wise amount of 'loss') the artefacts are easily lost in the already noisy and flowing 'real life' image details, just like the compression of MP3 (MPEG3 Audio Layer, or whichever related standard) applied to audio loses some detail but is generally drowned out by what 'remains', to the casual listener. (Images like graphs and diagrams are ''replete'' with hard edges, and have far fewer needs for subtleties of shade, so using the non-lossless PNG or even GIF (now that it's out of copyright, if that was ever your concern) would be better... Depends on whether you want need more than 256 different colours or a humorous animation. If you want both, there are also solutions, but that's the usual decision I'd be making.)
:I doubt that NASA uses .JPG images (at least between spacecraft and ground, although maybe for later web publication). There would probably be a (non-lossy) compression scheme (either inherently in the format of the image, or of the 'raw' image consisting of original arrays of bitplains, just to cut down on transmission time), so that as much exact science as possible could be extracted from the original pixels without 'smearing' and such artefacts. Professional (terrestrial!) photographers will often take RAW images (instead of/alongside the quick-and-dirty JPEG ones), for better quality (and no-artefact) images that might end up being blown up to poster-sized images, or from which a small segment will be blown up (e.g. ground-based amateur astronomical photography), that would otherwise so easily reveal the flaws.
:Also, IIRC, recent Pluto pictures had notably been created by NASA based upon high-resolution monochrome and lower-resolution colour images from two cameras (usefully analysed seperately, in their own right, and doubtless also needing different exposure times to create) combined together to create the headline pictures we've been seeing.
:Incidentally, noticable JPEG artefacts tend to be 8x8 pixel regions (most often seen when a small photographic region is digitally 'zoomed'). For those that need them, there are "artefact removal" tools in most decent image editing programmes that (with practice) can 'reverse' (or, rather, 'blend') the more obvious artefacts, after the fact. I suspect Randall's image's 'artefacts' are a selectively edited 'artefact addition' (easily done, with the likes of Photoshop and GIMP, and related to 'pixelating' method used to selectively obscure detail) on the original image. NASA never had to 'clean' the image, although some of its released images may have been 'dirtied' after down-conversion. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.166|141.101.98.166]] 20:51, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

One of a number of pareidolic features Randall has outlined. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.4|108.162.212.4]] 20:56, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

Is there anyone else here who (like me) thought that because of the flaring at the bottom the "heart" area looks more like a Heartless emblem? -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 00:15, 16 July 2015 (UTC)

I thought the "whale tail" is to the left of the heart (http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/find-heart-whale-new-horizons-picture-pluto-n388816), what Randall has labeled "chocolate frosting", not "pride lands". If there's some image reversal I don't know about, revert my edit. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 01:42, 16 July 2015 (UTC)

The "candy shell" may refer to commercials for M&M chocolates which were described as "milk chocolate wrapped in a colorful thin candy shell". [[User:The Dining Logician|The Dining Logician]] ([[User talk:The Dining Logician|talk]]) 04:10, 16 July 2015 (UTC)

To me, Snake Pit evokes politics, not topography ... [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 08:59, 16 July 2015 (UTC)

I wonder if the text on the surface updates every time the Pareidolia article is edited. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 15:49, 16 July 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1549: xkcd Phone 3

2015-07-10T17:13:05Z

Schiffy:

I assume that this is made, at least in part, in reference to the just-made OnePlus infodump and their upcoming OnePlus 2 smartphone. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.188|162.158.2.188]]

Is the heartbeat accelerator used to fool fitness wristbands? Or apps? Or ... ? [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 07:56, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

"Ear screen" may refer to a different meaning of "screen" - a device that protects you from something, as in "sun screen". In this case, the "ear screen" would block the sound of the phone's speakers, making it useless (at least for telephony). 08:02, 10 July 2015 (UTC)~~ [[User:thepike|thepike]]

:I thought it was a name change like those of beret guy, repurposing words to stay accurate without using the correct/standard term.[[User:Athang|Athang]] ([[User talk:Athang|talk]]) 09:54, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

Doesn't running natively just mean that it runs apps natively instead of emulating them or something. Which would be a pointless marketing term OR it implys that the phone itself or the person inside runs.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.192|108.162.249.192]] 10:53, 10 July 2015 (UTC)
:I did some re-writing on that point (because the likes of the Java Virtual Machine-type solution is a half-way house that needs mentioning, between 'native' and 'emulated'), but it's a bit long. Also I briefly mentioned the Crusoe chip essentially a 'hardware virtual machine layer' (over and above the machine-code to micro-code one that doesn't bear mentioning due to the ubiquity), but not sure I described it well enough. At the time, the talk was that a Crusoe chip could end up (by sofware flag or magic 'autodetection') run x86/Intel-compatible ''or'' Motorola (Apple) ''or'' DEC Alpha instruction sets (and probably any other sets they could squeeze in, whether CISC or RISC, like Acorn's {{w|ARM architecture|ARM}}) without any software emulation at all. Of course, that was the time when programs didn't so heavily rely upon an OS's own API for pretty much ''all'' resources (at least on single-user machines), which is in effect an additional Virtual Machine layer, and the whole computing business has gone in a different direction, even Apple temporarily played with the PowerPC platform model.
:...Yeah, that's no shorter than my in-article edit, is it? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.252|141.101.98.252]] 13:44, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

Wireless discharge: I think the explanation is too complicate. Every cellphone (and every other device that uses batteries) does discharge without a wire, it is just normal. The joke (in my eyes) is here that no-one would advice with that. --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 11:43, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

Here's an idea: a phone that discharges it's power wirelessly into another device.(unlikely that this is what it means though)[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.166|108.162.249.166]] 12:39, 10 July 2015 (UTC)
* How about a phone that discharges it's battery into another human? I'd buy that (provided I could control when and whom.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.224|141.101.88.224]] 13:54, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

Could "Boneless" be a play on words against the jawbone devices?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.203|108.162.219.203]] 13:12, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

Does the title text seem to imply to anyone else that the customer may have been abducted for testing? [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 17:13, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1533: Antique Factory

2015-06-04T09:30:21Z

Schiffy:

The reference to inexorable passage of time reminds me of [[209: Kayak]] [[User:Effy|Effy]] ([[User talk:Effy|talk]]) 11:55, 3 June 2015 (UTC)
The briefcase seems to be slightly different from the third panel to the fourth. Is this just a drawing difference, or something significant? [[User:Technetium|Technetium]] ([[User talk:Technetium|talk]]) 12:29, 3 June 2015 (UTC)

Arguably, the premise of the comic is that while an antique ''may'' be something old that has been in storage (e.g. an attic, or an otherwise unused spare room) for most of its time since it was actually new, some would consider that less desirous than an item that was thoroughly used when new, and has acquired signs of wear and tear (or even an actual patina, rather than the perfect surface of the freshly manufactured goods) over a significant proportion of its existence.

Indeed, fake antiques of various kinds are subjected to intense (and artificial) 'usage' to give them the look of age that they lack, to add to the authentic-looking (but actually deliberately 'back-dated') construction methods that were used. Or even to make up for this being done wrong.

In this comic, however, there's no sign of criminal intent. It seems that contemporary pieces of furniture are being 'used' (the chair sat on, which may be fair enough; the table sat ''at'', which is a somewhat more intangible process) roughly in line with how a then-contmporary antique would have been used, when new, with no intention to accelerate or artifice the 'aging' process. Normally one would not consider this a cost-effect business model, but this argument has never troubled the character before, so why should it now?

(I leave it up to someone else to summarise this idea in the main explanation. If they agree with it.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.95|141.101.106.95]] 13:09, 3 June 2015 (UTC)

I thought that the premise of the comic is that he went to somewhere where normal things (now antiques) were once made, but he's VERY late for work. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.7|108.162.219.7]] 16:42, 3 June 2015 (UTC)

Giving Randall's affinity for {{w|Terry Pratchett}} the title text may be a reference to one of his books. On the title page inside the book [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0091888050/ref=rdr_ext_tmb The Science of Discworld II: The Globe: 2] there is a waring at the bottom which says: "Warning: ''May contain nuts''". May contain nuts is also the title of the last chapter (#32) in that book. And there is a [http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/read.cgi?id=20020613&tid=322939 foot note] in that book where the Tyrant Lord Vetinari makes it clear that you can never be certain that any item do not include nuts... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:32, 3 June 2015 (UTC)

It's also probably not coincidental that there is evidently an acorn seated in the picture. Aging. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.214.227|108.162.214.227]] 23:33, 3 June 2015 (UTC)

Sometimes the veneer of the furniture is made of nut tree timber. And creating new antique furniture, advertising with nut tree veneer shall make them more valuable. --[[User:GeorgDerReisende|GeorgDerReisende]] ([[User talk:GeorgDerReisende|talk]]) 08:57, 4 June 2015 (UTC)

So... the way the hat is positioned it looks like he's turning his head towards the reader in the last panel. Anyone else notice this? [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 09:30, 4 June 2015 (UTC)

1494: Insurance

2015-03-04T15:50:34Z

Schiffy: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1494
| date = March 4, 2015
| title = Insurance
| image = insurance.png
| titletext = LIFEHACKS: You can just take all the luggage off the airport conveyer belt and leave with it. They don't check that it's yours at the door!
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] in this comic, as is often the case, is some sort of programmer or at least logically minded person. He reads through the terms that are handed to him, and finds some sort of loophole. This is a play on the fact that programmers often find loopholes in programs and code, and exploiting them is nothing more than a "cool find" or an interesting idea.

The insurance agent foresees this, and explains that this {{w|Life_hacking|"cool hack"}} - which is known as {{w|Insurance_fraud|insurance fraud}} - is illegal. The comparison here is that exploiting a program's faults can be regarded as interesting or fun, while exploiting the faults in a legal document will most certainly result in some sort of legal repercussions.

The insurance agent is also already prepared for the following question - how he knew Cueball would be looking for loopholes, and it's because many programmers visit him.

The title text provides another example: While airport luggage security certainly is exploitable, walking out with ''every'' piece of luggage from the conveyor belt would be easily noticeable and would result in being arrested for theft.

This would appear to be a sequel to [[1469: UV]]

== Lifehacks vs. IT hacks ==

The term hacking in IT is ambiguous and goes from simple code development to "using a {{w|Hack|hack}}". A hack would then refer to a tricky piece of code doing the intended job in a way that the framework or project in which it is inserted was not intended to. Hacking a system would also refer to some illegal way of acheiving a goal against the will of the original developers of the system, like getting a copy of all the data available or taking advantage of some unwanted behavior.

This comic is making fun of what would IT hacks look like in real world. Surely, taking many luggages from an airport is technically possible and probably not so difficult, but first, it looks weird, and second, it's also obviously illegal. The weirdness of such behavior is more obvious in real life than in IT.

==Transcript==
[Cueball is standing in front of a desk, which a man sits behind. The man is presumably an insurance agent, and is handing Cueball a paper.]

Insurance agent: Here's a page explaining the terms of your new fire insurance policy.

[Cueball reads the paper.]

Cueball: Hey, what if I -

Insurance agent: And ''here's'' a page explaining that the "cool hack" you just thought of is called "insurance fraud". We already know about it and it's a crime.

Cueball: Oh. Right. How did -

Insurance agent: I see a lot of programmers here.

{{comic discussion}}

1293: Job Interview

2015-03-03T20:30:19Z

Schiffy: /* Explanation */ double subject, adding mention of the most well known incident

{{comic
| number = 1293
| date = November 20, 2013
| title = Job Interview
| image = job_interview.png
| titletext = When you talk about the job experience you'll give me, why do you pronounce 'job' with a long 'o'?
}}

==Explanation==
Following on from [[1032: Networking|his attempts at networking]], [[Beret Guy]], the oddball of the xkcd cast, conducts an interview for a programmer position at his mysteriously successful company.

Much like most of Beret Guy's interactions with people, Beret Guy is cheerful and upbeat, yet indicates that he has at best a scrambled understanding of how people in this situation normally act. Because of this, the job interview becomes increasingly bizarre, starting with Beret Guy's assertion that the company headquarters is a "real building [he] found", implying that the building's reality might be in question. He says his company makes phone accessories, but then adds, "like apps and stickers," two wildly different products in terms of both production and profitability. He is strangely vague about both the position ("someone to write on our computers") and the salary ("a bunch of paychecks"). Then he mentions ghosts, which is either a powerful disincentive from joining the company, yet another sign that Beret Guy is mentally unsound, or both.

The strip finishes with Beret Guy plugging a cord into an electrical outlet clumsily labeled "Soup," which then, implausibly, actually starts dispensing soup. This is clearly not a normal business.{{Citation needed}} However, this is a typical behaviour of Beret Guy - see a similar example in: [[1395: Power Cord]].

The title text makes reference to the biblical story of {{w|Job (biblical figure)|Job}} (pronounced with a long O to rhyme with globe), who was put through many horrendous ordeals to test his faith in God, most notable being swallowed alive by a giant fish. This suggests that the interviewee will be taking on not a "job experience" but rather a "Job experience" (i.e. the job will be a horrendous ordeal).

Other job interviews were portrayed in [[1094: Interview]] and [[1088: Five Years]].

==Transcript==
:[Beret Guy walks in, followed by a...'prospective hire'.]
:Beret Guy: Welcome to our company! We're headquartered here, in this real building I found!

:[Both people sit down at a table. The 'hire' has a tray with food and a beverage. Beret Guy has a bowl. In the adjacent wall, there is a power outlet with a paper label taped to it marked "Soup". A small roll of wire sits next to Beret Guy's chair.]
:'Hire': What do you.. ''do''?
:Beret Guy: We make stuff for phones! Like apps and stickers!

:[Beret Guy grabs the roll of wire.]
:Beret Guy: We want to hire you to write on our computers. We can offer you a bunch of paychecks! There are ghosts here.

:[Beret Guy unrolls the wire and plugs it into the wall.]
:'Hire': ...Are you sure this is a company?
:Beret Guy: I hope so!

:[Soup (or something one can only hope is soup) streams out of the plugged-in wire into Beret Guy's bowl.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]

1493: Meeting

2015-03-02T05:35:35Z

Schiffy: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1493
| date = March 2, 2015
| title = Meeting
| image = meeting.png
| titletext = Here at CompanyName.website, our three main strengths are our web-facing chairs, our huge collection of white papers, and the fact that we physically cannot die.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Beret Guy]]'s business, as previously seen in [[1032: Networking]] and [[1293: Job Interview]], is going well. Google has been working on self-driving cars, which usually shouldn't be lost track of and found by the police. Money doesn't usually appear from nowhere, and most businesses would be very unsettled to find that their income relied on magic. "Bug tracker" usually refers to software bugs that need fixing, not actual bugs. "White papers" are usually policy recommendations, but we suspect the title text is talking about (near-worthless) blank pages.

The reason I'm so inexpertly adding this section is to make sure to point out that [http://companyname.website companyname.website] redirects to [http://xkcd.com xkcd.com].

==Transcript==
'''Beret Guy:''' Welcome to a meeting! I'm almost out of words, so I'll keep this short.

'''Beret Guy:''' First, a few updates. We've learned from the state police that the self-driving car project we launched by accident during this morning carpool has come to an end about 90 miles outside of town. Very exciting!

'''Beret Guy:''' Profits are up. Sales, any luck figuring out who our customers are?

'''Ponytail:''' Nope. Money keeps appearing, but we have no idea how or why.

'''Beret Guy:''' Great!

'''Beret Guy:''' Oh, and one last thing—I saw a cool red beetle in the hall. Can someone add it to the bug tracker?

'''[from outside panel]''': Just did!

'''Beret Guy:''' Thanks!

Title text: Here at CompanyName.website, our three main strengths are our web-facing chairs, our huge collection of white papers, and the fact that we physically cannot die.
{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1493: Meeting

2015-03-02T05:32:57Z

Schiffy: Created page with "It's been registered since [http://who.is/whois/http://companyname.website November], just what the hell was Randall planning on doing with this site four months ago? ~~~~"

It's been registered since [http://who.is/whois/http://companyname.website November], just what the hell was Randall planning on doing with this site four months ago? [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 05:32, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

654: Nachos

2015-02-23T22:12:14Z

Schiffy: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 654
| date = October 26, 2009
| title = Nachos
| image = nachos.png
| titletext = Hey, gaming on wifi? You have only yourself to blame.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Megan]] and [[Ponytail]] are playing an online shooter game. Ponytail calls [[Cueball]], who is living with Megan, and easily persuades him to make {{w|nachos}}. {{w|Wi-Fi}} and {{w|microwave oven}}s both use {{w|ISM band|radio frequencies around 2.4 GHz}}, so Cueball's cooking disrupts Megan's connection and allows Ponytail to kill Megan's character.

The title text points out that Megan has only herself to blame, as gaming on WiFi is susceptible to such issues, while gaming with a wired connection (e.g. {{w|Ethernet}}) is not.

Note: If using the microwave actually does interfere with your WiFi, then get another microwave. Not (strictly) because it would mess with the WiFi, but because your microwave has a hole somewhere and is leaking non-ionizing radiation it shouldn't. It won't kill you, but it's not be operating at peak efficiency.

Around the time of this comic's release, the XKCD website was temporarily redesigned using Yahoo! GeoCities. Snapshots of the site at the time can be found on the [https://web.archive.org/web/20091027014324/http://xkcd.com/ Internet Archive Wayback Machine].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is on the phone with Ponytail, who's on her computer in the other half of a split panel.]
:Cueball: Hello? ... Oh, hey. Looking for Megan? She's gaming.
:Ponytail: I know. You know what's delicious? Nachos.

:[Ponytail clicks on her computer while talking.]
:Ponytail: When you layer the cheese so it gets on every chip... then smother them in sour cream and salsa...

:Cueball: Mm, that IS delicious. And I've got the ingredients, too!
:Ponytail, on phone: You should make some!
:Cueball: I will!
:Ponytail, on phone: Hurry.

:[Cueball is making nachos in the microwave.]
:Microwave: ''beep beep whirrrr''

:Megan, at her computer: My wifi signal!

:[Ponytail who called is at her computer.]
:Computer: Boom! Headshot.

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

Talk:1485: Friendship

2015-02-11T22:19:58Z

Schiffy:

In the article Randall wants to make us believe friendship is a rather new phenomenon or trend and its "early" occurences are something special,which may be true for bromance - at least for the term - but not for the concept. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.68|108.162.231.68]] 07:44, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

I'm afraid I'm not currently up to doing it, but I feel we need further details of, and definitely citations for, the articles that have been vandalised. Maybe we could even have graphs showing view, edit, and vandalism spikes. Davii [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.154|141.101.98.154]] 11:18, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

Why am I not surprised that this lead to Wiki-vandalism? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.109|108.162.216.109]] 12:25, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

The explanation currently seems to suggest that this is the page for "Bromance", trying to bring it into line with "Friendship". But with the "Friendship page" being the ''target'' of the comic, "How to improve the Bromance page" titletext and the "Portmanteau of 'Friend' and 'Ship' (i.e. romantic linking)" bits, I read the comic as "If Bromance is being used for non-homosexual same-sex associations, then Friendship 'obviously' now means for homosexual same-sex (indeed, it appears male/male only!) relationships. This is similar to complaints (which I personally have sympathy for) about the word "Guesstimate" being an unnecessary neologistic portmanteau in common use, as someone using it often ''actually'' means "Estimate" in its normal state of the term and thus must imagine "Estimate" is something far more strict. (Or else they invoke th term when they actually mean "Guess" in the first place, either to make it sound 'better than a guess' or with the same 'shove-over' attitude applied to ''that'' word, e.g. guess is "only ever out of thin air" rather than often-as-not based upon a semi-educated hunch if not more.) So, anway, as it it currently stands, I don't agree with the way the explanation goes. But I can't actually say it's wrong either! We now return you to your regularly-scheduled programme. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.112|141.101.99.112]] 14:03, 11 February 2015 (UTC)
:Completely off topic for the comment, but a guestimate is an estimate without the math, using intuitive averaging, and thus, more kin to a guess than an estimate.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 14:45, 11 February 2015 (UTC)
:Additionally, I meant to add that I'm surprised that Randall didn't "Bluetext" the word Ship, indicating a link to {{w|Shipping_(fandom)}}. But then the fictional Wiki editors he's emulating are notoriously inconsistent with what they do link and what they don't link (upon first appearance in an article), so it's accurate enough. ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.112|141.101.99.112]] 14:10, 11 February 2015 (UTC)
:(Although, to reply to myself, given the inclusion of the phrase "There is also something called 'friendshipping', or a 'BrOTP' (a portmanteau of the terms bromance and one true pairing).", there'd be some weird recursiveness that arises if all the competing claims for word-origin are true!) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.112|141.101.99.112]] 14:16, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

@ Sebastian - I think you totally misunderstand the intentions of the cartoon. I think the point is a very simple one. It is similar to Liz Feldman's argument that people should not call it 'gay marriage': it's marriage. "You know, because I had lunch this afternoon, not gay lunch. I parked my car; I didn’t gay park it" [[http://www.salon.com/2013/06/26/lets_end_gay_marriage/]} Or in this case: Call it friendship - marking the fact that it is between men as if that is in some way abnormal is a homophobic thing to do. [[User:Andries|Andries]] ([[User talk:Andries|talk]]) 15:14, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

:In my experience the term bromance is used to describe a particularly strong and close friendship, one which exceeds the normal bounds of simple friendship. In the same way that two close but non-related males might cal themselves blood brothers. Noting that the term is almost exclusively used for male-male relationships (due to the use of 'bro') is entirely valid, and personally I don't see any suggestion that friendship between men is abnormal in Sebastians comment. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 16:39, 11 February 2015 (UTC)
:I tend to agree with Pudder here.[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.195|199.27.128.195]] 16:53, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

I used the FoxReplace plugin to see what this would look like, with some hilarious results:
<pre>The first legislation on the subject was The Fanclub Act of 1792 which provided, in part:

That each and every free able-bodied white male citizen of the respective States, resident therein, who is or shall be of age
of eighteen years, and under the age of forty-five years (except as is herein after excepted) shall severally and respectively
be enrolled in the fanclub, ... every citizen, so enrolled and notified, shall, within six months thereafter, provide himself with
a good musket or firelock....

During the nineteenth century, each of the states maintained its fanclub differently, some more than others.</pre>
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.195|199.27.128.195]] 16:53, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

Pretty sure this isn't the first WP-related comic that then led to vandalism of the pages in question, and I'll be damned if it will be the last. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 22:19, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1479: Troubleshooting

2015-01-28T16:22:58Z

Schiffy:

You could also move the off-scrren window back in view by Alt+Space, M to initiate window move, then press any arrow key and your mouse will then be able to move the window back into view. {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.223}}

As a matter of fact this is a common problem if you often use a dual screen setup with a laptop when you use it on the move without the second screen. If you just want to close the windows, a Esc on a alert windows or alt+F4 (or your system equivalent)will usually solve this problem. For resizeable windows, Windows offers the Win+left/right combination to move a window to specific parts of the screen. I don7t think you really need to change the resolution for this all the time, it's clearly overkill. [[User:Meneldal|Meneldal]] ([[User talk:Meneldal|talk]]) 06:40, 28 January 2015 (UTC)meneldal

:On a dual screen setup you can use 'Win key + Shift + Left/Right key' to shift the window left or right between monitors. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 09:37, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

::Note that the Win-left/right and Win-Shift-left/right key combinations are only supported in Windows 7 or later versions. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.27|173.245.55.27]] 13:17, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Yes, I'm also familiar with this kind of thing (the strip, I mean, not specifically the last comment). The general form is that a casual (or even expert!) user expects something from the interface but some historic programmer (of UI or application) has caused the 'obvious' continuity to fail, either by ommission (e.g. checking the placement bounds of a popover window) or by being ''too'' clever in some manner. The 'stupid knowledge expert' has encountered the problem enough times to: a) find a common root to the issues, and b) stumble upon a solution. (Like the "unstick the Windows-key flag" solution to suddenly getting Run dialogues, Explorer windows and sudden minimising-all to Desktop, seemingly randomly.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.120|141.101.99.120]] 08:29, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

It amazes me how many people assume Microsoft Windows. If you aren't using MS-Windows, the key combinations suggested in the discussion so far are useless. If you are using the X Window System, you might also be seeing a system modal dialog instead of an application modal dialog, in which case, you won't be able anything but talk to that window. (System modal dialogs are usually used for very transient things like popup menus.) Using X, the "cleanup" behavior also depends on the window manager, and neither X or the window manager are part of the operating system (that abomination is now pretty much just an MS-Windows thing). --[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 10:39, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

: People tend to assume Windows because in the majority of cases that assumption is correct. In the minority of cases where the user isn't on Windows, those asking the question nearly always mention the fact in their question, or direct their question at an OS-specific topic/forum/website. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 11:21, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

: Mac OS X also uses a baked-in window manager. There are a bunch of apps on OS X that brand themselves as `alternative WMs', but they're usually just a contrived way of tiling windows across the screen somehow (using the built-in WM). Wanting to use a proper tiling WM was what originally drove me to GNU/Linux, long live i3wm! Anyway, this comic could possibly be construed as being related to xkcd.com/934/, which complains about browsers implementing internal WMs in the alt-text. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.103|141.101.99.103]] 11:45, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

:I think the first option (ALT-SPACE to access the window menu, M for the move option, arrow key, mouse movement) has a near-equivalent in pretty much any OS. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.27|173.245.55.27]] 13:21, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Someone competent in web programming, please write an explanation of the title text [[User:Nyq|Nyq]] ([[User talk:Nyq|talk]]) 13:58, 28 January 2015 (UTC)
:If I'm not mistaken (and I'm not an expert), a Chrome App is some sort of program (eg Flash based) that runs in the normal "browser space" - the area where you normally see web pages, and which can use Chrome features and controls. A Chrome Extension is a a program which runs in the background and can act on the browser space or the browser itself (eg open your downloads folder in a new tab with one click of a button). Extensions can also use Chrome features and controls. Sound about right? [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:34, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Most likely he is on a laptop with an NVidia gpu which in recent driver versions often believe something is connected to the VGA port when this is not the case. The desktop will then think this area is valid, and allow windows to be opened there, in fact it is likely to be opened there because that part of the desktop is clean for windows and looks optimal for placing a new one. At least that is what has been happening to me for the last few months until I forced the VGA port off rather than wait for NVidia to fix their drivers or rolling them back to versions that would misrender recent games (both Windows and Linux drivers did this).[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.98|108.162.254.98]] 15:41, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Goddamned this sort of thing happens on my dual monitor setup all the time. The external will be at 1366x768, and stuff will be cut off. I change it to something else, and then revert the changes and it's perfect. I keep a shortcut to the Display settings on my desktop just because of this now. And in other, similarly stupid Windows-issue related news, it's 2009+6 and [http://superuser.com/questions/61833/windows-7-taskbar-icon-highlight-sticks this crap] still isn't fixed. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 16:22, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

1477: Star Wars

2015-01-23T15:24:52Z

Schiffy: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1477
| date = January 23, 2015
| title = Star Wars
| image = star_wars.png
| titletext = A long, long time (plus 40 years) ago, in a galaxy far, far away (plus a corrective factor involving the Hubble constant) ...
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First draft}}

This is another comic based on pointing out just how much time has passed since the release of a particular film. The same basis is found in [[1393: Timeghost]] and [[891: Movie Ages]], and a similar theme is used in [[647: Scary]] and [[973: MTV Generation]]. Many people remember going to see major films at the time of release, and in their mind it seems like 'just a few years ago'. In reality however, many years have passed, and it comes as a shock to realise just how long ago it was.

In the first panel, [[Cueball]] states out that we are approaching the Back to the Future date (October 21, 2015), which is the date Marty McFly travels to in {{w|Back to the Future Part II}}. Megan counters that before that date, on May 13, 2015, the Star War Tipping Point will occur. This "Tipping Point" is when the length of time between the current date and the release date of the first of the Star Wars prequels, {{w|Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace|''The Phantom Menace''}} will be longer than the length of time between ''The Phantom Menace'''s release and the release of the last of the movies in the original Star Wars trilogy, ''{{w|Return of the Jedi}}''. ''Return of the Jedi'' was released to theaters on May 25, 1983, and ''The Phantom'' menace was released exactly 5,839 days later, on May 19, 1999. May 13, 2015 is another 5,389 days after that.

In the final panel, Cueball points out how weird it is that he (along with most other people) are regularly surprised at the passage of time, given how predictable time is by its very nature. Megan's last line is a reference to the famous opening sequence used in the {{w|Star Wars}} films, which begins "A long time ago...".

The title text repeats the opening text from the films, inserting Megan's suggestion for changing the duration, and extending it to include the {{w|Hubble constant}} for changing the distance. The Hubble constant is a value that describes an estimated rate of expansion of the universe, and would apply to something happening "in a galaxy far, far away", meaning that during additional 40 years that have passed since the release of the original Star Wars movie the "galaxy far, far away" has gotten even farther due to expansion of the universe.

==Transcript==

:[Cueball and Megan are walking together.]
:Cueball: We're almost at the Back to the Future date.
:Megan: We're even closer to the Star Wars tipping point.
:Cueball: The what?

:[Diagram showing a timeline from before 1980 to beyond May 13th 2015. Markers on the line indicate the release date of Return of the Jedi, the release date of The Phantom Menace and May 13th, with arrows showing the intervals in between these three points.]
:Megan: On May 13th, The Phantom Menace will have come out closer to Return of the Jedi than to the present.
:Cueball: Wow.

:[Cueball and Megan stop walking. Megan is in a reflective pose.]
:Cueball: It's weird how I'm constantly surprised by the passage of time when it's literally the most predictable thing in the universe.
:Megan: You know, "A long time ago" should have "Plus four more decades" added in rereleases.

{{comic discussion}}

1439: Rack Unit

2014-10-27T10:51:22Z

Schiffy: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1439
| date = October 27, 2014
| title = Rack Unit
| image = rack_unit.png
| titletext = There's also nothing in the TOSes that says you can't let a dog play baseball in the server room!
}}

==Explanation==

[[Black Hat]] announces to [[Megan]] that {{w|19-inch_rack|server rack units}} and {{w|Honeycomb|honeycombs}} have similar mounting systems within their racks. Black Hat used this knowledge to break into a Google datacenter and fill server units with beehives. When Megan sarcastically consoles Black Hat for the loss of his hives, he declares that he'll find other datacenters to install hives in.

In reality standard server rack units and {{w|Langstroth hive}} frames are both 19 inch wide, but they have completely different mounting mechanisms.

Some datacenters provide colocation services where customers may install a server at a central location with better bandwidth and power reliability than a customer could provide on their own. By using a poorly writen colocation {{w|Terms Of Service}} (TOS) agreement, Black Hat may be able to enter a legal fixed term contract where to install beehives at a data center without being kicked out.

As with many types of Terms of Service contracts, such as privacy agreements, a standard {{w|Standard_form_contract|boilerplate}} wording is used amongst many contractors. Megan comments that a term forbidding the installation of beehives will quickly become a standard term in colocation agreements.

The alt-text may be a reference to the film [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118570/quotes?ref_=tt_ql_3 Air Bud]. The original quote is "Ain't no rules says a dog can't play basketball."

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Black Hat are talking, Megan is sitting at a computer]
:Black Hat: I've discovered something.
:Megan: Oh?
:Black Hat: Standard server rack units and standard beehive honeycomb frames are compatible.
:Black Hat: They're both 19 inches, with similar pitches.
:Megan: Uh oh.
:Black Hat: I'm pleased to announce that today, for a few hours, Google led the world in datacenter honey production.
:Black Hat: Until their security people kicked me out.
:Megan: I'm sorry your beekeeping career ended so quickly.
:Black Hat: I'll find a new datacenter.
:Black Hat: Turns out most colocation TOSes don't mention beehives.
:Megan: I suspect that will soon change.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Computers]]

User talk:Davidy22

2014-10-16T16:55:36Z

Schiffy: /* Weird formatting bug */ new section

Hi Davidy22,

Just a quick thanks for helping roll back so much of the vandalism. Per your recent log comment, yes, there has been a recent spate of vandalism; before yesterday, it was the odd spammer that I've had to remove. But with the advent of ''Click and Drag'', there's also been an insurgence of ip-based vandalism. I'm hoping this is just a spike owing to the popularity of the comic, but I'm with you; if it doesn't die down, something more drastic is going to have to be done.

But again, thanks for helping...

-- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:17, 21 September 2012 (UTC)

== Please don't ==

Please don't create the redirects to explanations that haven't been created yet. It breaks the next and previous buttons, and gives people that are browsing through the explanations the false impression that the site is more complete than it is. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:41, 25 September 2012 (UTC)

:Ah, I'll stop then. Didn't know that. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 07:17, 25 September 2012 (UTC)

==Davidy22, the spam connoisseur==
Congratulations on transcending from being annoyed at all spam to recognizing the truly beautiful works of spammage from the rest of the cruddy heap. We should throw a party, lol. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:33, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
:Hey, it *was* a well written bit of spam. It was one of those copy/paste types of spam, except it was nicely formatted and coherent all the way through. It was informative too. A great change from the mindless template drivel or gibberish that we usually get. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 23:11, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

== Just asking ==:::Mostly cuz that didn't work when it was on the main page, and calling attention to specific comics has worked exceedingly well. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 06:57, 11 February 2014 (UTC)
Was there a reason you deleted most of the List of all comics? [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 05:21, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

:What on- shi-
:I was adding comic number 1132, and the preview was really slow, so I copied everything in the edit box and refreshed the page. I think half of the page hadn't finished loading in the edit box, and I only copied the first half. Derp [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 08:21, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

::I figured it was something like that. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 04:56, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Just so you know, it happened again. But SlashMe fixed it. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:07, 26 November 2012 (UTC)

:Mother of fracking- I'm going to figure out what's causing this and I'm going to fix this. Godammit. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 23:20, 26 November 2012 (UTC)

:Durr dee-durr, and now I've done it. Thanks for spotting that. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 07:22, 1 December 2012 (UTC)

== Ahem... You gonna finish that? ==

Have you taken a look at the front page recently (say within since you created the [[1134]] redirect)? [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 05:42, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
:I have it open right now. Please don't ninja me again. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 05:44, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

::<nowiki>*Sits tight and twiddles thumbs*</nowiki> Actually, if you've got this I'll go back to the pitiful bit of literature I'm calling this year's NaNo. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 05:53, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

== The Anonymous editor of 1132 ==

Has been 50.0.38.245 all along. For a while he changed his signature to be a userpage that didn't exist, and wasn't a registered user. He has now changed it back to being the IP address again. Just thought I should do some out-of-band communication about that. If you want to change your last comment about the anonymous user, that would be good. (I almost offered to edit it for you, but then realized the subject we're talking about, and decided that if 50.0 ever learns about looking at the edit history and diffs, I don't need to be called a hypocrite as well as a banhammer wielding {{w|BOFH}}) [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 03:35, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

== Broken mirror... ==

Sorry for the "ninja"... I guess we probably don't need 2 versions of the image though... Feel free to distill the explain part...--[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 07:15, 19 November 2012 (UTC)
:Godammit, I even had the window open waiting for the article. The definitions can be merged into one paragraph, and wiki magic will explain how the comic works. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 07:20, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

== Fooooooooor He's a Jolly Good Fellow... ==

You are the man, man. Keep it up! [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:50, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

:Seconded. Great work, you deserved the milestone! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:26, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

== Please take a look ==

...at [[User talk:Lcarsos#Deletion|this]]. Nothing new to you, I suppose (spam fighting can be quite hard if we're overly cautious on every step), but I'm dropping the note just in case :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:52, 25 November 2012‎ (UTC)

== autoblocking suspicious users ==

Once again, it looks like auto-blocking users that have suspicious usernames would require someone with more power than we have.

However, I very nearly blocked those three when I noticed the account creation. But, I didn't because I thought they might be legitimate users with stupid usernames. But now I've read up on {{w|Wikipedia:New_admin_school/Blocking|Wikipedia's block policy}} and from now on I'll be posting {{tl|uw-blockindef}} (which I've bungled fantastically right now, but shortly should be working) which should allow the rare legitimate user (with bad taste in usernames) to reclaim their good account, but allow us to block bad people.

You're ever friendly, massive toddler of an admin, [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 03:41, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

:I've also just found this page {{w|Wikipedia:Administrators' how-to guide}} which I will be reading very thoroughly and beginning to use this blacklist. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 04:16, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

::Hum. A great many of these templates could be condensed into a few bigger ones, but at least the documentation links are there for us to use. Also, you do know that Template:UserBox already exists, right? [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:55, 4 December 2012 (UTC)
:::Well, crud. You switched, I switched. I do like the one we had better, mostly because of the descriptive labels and the nice thick borders. The name's in convenient CamelCase too. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:18, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

::::As a general rule I loathe my shift key, using more keys to achieve the same goal is wasted time, and I could be called ruthless about wasted time. Saving a single keypress seems petty. But I had a CS professor point out that by specially crafting what you have to type (creating shortcuts) saving a keypress here and there can add up to saving several thousand keypresses every 8 hours, which over a long enough quantity of time can equal hours and days. That's my long winded explanation for why I like using {{tl|userbox}} instead of {{tl|UserBox}}.

::::Also, I like the wikipedia userboxen, it's more flexible. And that allows anyone who comes over from Wikipedia to know how to work userboxen here too. That's my case for it. I hope you agree because I don't want to have to push my shift key, but I'll take your input, and if we end up in a tie, we might ask Waldir to tie break for us, as he'd be a neutral third party. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:44, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

:::::In CS, I learned that descriptive variable names and easy to recognize naming conventions can save heaps of debugging time. I personally like the CamelCase version better because it uses variable names like left-bg instead of id-c for the background color in the box on the left, which makes the template self-documenting and easier to grok for a new user who's just reading the source. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:58, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

:::::: I was asked to comment. Here are my thoughts:
::::::* Regarding CamelCase, it is indeed a neat convention but we don't use it elsewhere on the wiki. In fact, MediaWiki itself, in its early versions, used to rely on CamelCase for linking, but moved to the free-form, space enabled link syntax, which is better in many cases. Not everything converts nicely into CamelCase. So while I appreciate the argument to use CamelCase as the template name, I think the regular case version fits the wiki better. Besides, redirects are cheap and work well, so if the CamelCase title redirects to the lowercase one, whoever wants to use the CamelCase version can still do so seamlessly. Not an issue, therefore.
::::::* I agree with Davidy22 on the parameter names. In fact, the code of the template can be arranged in a more readable form (using whitespace and indentation) so not only its uses can be deciphered, but the template itself too. Renaming parameters is a simple matter, especially for templates with not many uses as these are, which means there isn't a lot of replacements to perform.
:::::: In summary, I think the two templates should definitely be merged and the best features of each kept in the final version: the title being [[Template:userbox]] (with redirects from [[Template:UserBox]] and [[Template:Userbox]]), and the parameters using intuitive names as {{tl|UserBox}}.
:::::: --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:06, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

::::::: Sounds good to me. The wikicode looks god-awful ugly though, who's up for cleaning that thing up? [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:03, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

:::::::: If you guys do the merge, I can clean it up afterwards :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 01:14, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

== separate section for title text ==

I agree that in the two instances you removed the section header for the title text, it wasn't justified, but in some cases it does make sense. See [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals#Subsection for title text explanation|here]]. Cheers, [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 15:27, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

== No more imagesize ==

I made a comment on [[Template Talk: comic#Imagesize]], essentially imagesize isn't necessary, and I've changed the {{tl|create}} template to not include it. So rejoice, and forget imagesize ever existed (until the bug gets fixed). [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 03:02, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
: Bah, what was that parameter good for anyways? Clicking on the image should take you to the XKCD site anyways. What user cares about the image pages that the template currently takes you to? [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 06:20, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
:: That's an interesting point. It's technically doable. But I think there should be a way to access the comic images (granted, I'm not sure why exactly, but I'm not comfortable leaving them "orphans" —linkless— either) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:08, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
::: There's the list of all comics page, and we could make the titletext link to the image page or something. I dunno, any excuse to kill imagesize. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 12:16, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
:::: To clarify, linking the image directly to xkcd has nothing to do with killing imagesize. That, for what I understand, has already been done. Good point about the list of comics page. I'll wait for more comments before implementing the change in the image link target. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:35, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
::::: Imagesize isn't *quite* dead yet. There's still four or five comics that still use it. Permission to upload the thumbnail versions of those comics, as we do with the other large comics, and end that broken thing once and for all? [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:05, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
:::::: I don't like the idea of uploading smaller versions of images. We ought to be able to use mediawiki's own image scaling abilities as soon as we can do some [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Technical#We need more maintainers|testing in the wiki setup]] and make the image scaling issue go away. Apart from that, what exactly are the problems of imagesize, again? I haven't followed the discussions about it, sorry. Feel free to give me pointers to the appropriate places where the issues have been discussed. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 13:17, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

== Please move pages ==

I'm noticing that when someone creates a new page with the wrong title you're just copy/pasting the content onto the new page. Please don't do that. Please use the move page feature on the drop down of the page, that way we can keep the edit history for the page intact, and that way it doesn't look like you created these oddly poor quality pages. Thanks much. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 00:49, 6 January 2013 (UTC)
:Righty ho. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:09, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

== Sorry ==

I have been working contra u by routinely adding a white line above the categories. I instantly raise white flag! And say good night! -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 00:40, 7 January 2013 (UTC)

== Trivia placement ==

Cheers mate! Please check the comment I made some time ago in the section you started, [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals#Section style and usage|"Section style and usage"]] on the Proposals community page. –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 23:10, 27 January 2013 (UTC)

If you disagree with the trivia placement between explanation and transcript, why don't you say so, and explain why? –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 14:50, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

I made a section for discussion of this, so that we can come to some agreement: [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals#Trivia and transcript]]. –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 15:18, 6 March 2013 (UTC)
:Moved to [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Coordination#Trivia and transcript placement]] –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 23:05, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

== Jurassic Park category ==
Hi, you wrote you don't like how I created a new category for Jurassic Park. I thought it appropriate: there's a *lot* of references to Jurassic Park and/or velociraptors in the comics. And not all reference are to both... But what did you not like? Thanks for enlightening me! [[User:Kaa-ching|Kaa-ching]] ([[User talk:Kaa-ching|talk]]) 09:07, 28 January 2013 (UTC)

:There's a lot of categories on this wiki. When adding categories to a page, it can get extremely difficult to make sure that you've gotten every category that applies to the comic. For regular editors, the amount that we have to remember when maintaining pages is already quite onerous; more categories hurt our dinky heads. If you're willing to steward that category, go ahead, but you'll have to remember to put in the explanation pages yourself when you find a comic that it applies to. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:36, 28 January 2013 (UTC)

:: OK. [[User:Kaa-ching|Kaa-ching]] ([[User talk:Kaa-ching|talk]]) 08:26, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

==[[220: Philosophy]]==

Actually, what happened was: This being my first new page edit, I copy-pasted the format from another page, and then edited all the information to fit the correct comic. Then I realized I'd forgotten to remove the date of the original page's comic, so I did so. *blushes* No trolling intended, just a newbie mistake. Is 2/7/07 the correct date for this comic? [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 11:23, 28 January 2013 (UTC)
:Oooh. I thought you had gotten the date then removed it after seeing earlier rants concerning omitted dates. You can check a comic's date by clicking on the "All Comics" button in the sidebar on the left. All dates are in YYYY-MM-DD format. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 11:37, 28 January 2013 (UTC)
::Yep. I see that now, and now that I know it's there, I create new pages straight from [[List of all comics]]. No offense taken. Thanks for the useful advice! [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 05:52, 29 January 2013 (UTC)

== Character names in transcripts ==

Ah, I see now that you've been cleaning up after me, adding character names to transcripts instead of "Man", "Woman", et cetera. Now realizing that's the wiki's standard, I'll endeavor to do that myself from now on. Thanks for your patience with the new guy. [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 07:40, 29 January 2013 (UTC)

:It's k, just doing maintenance. You're really prolific, do you write all of those yourself or are you getting those explanations off the forums somehow? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 10:38, 29 January 2013 (UTC)

::I write them all myself. It's been some time since I've looked at the xkcd forums, actually. Sometimes I get a little help from Wikipedia when a particular detail escapes me. But you'll notice I don't make an attempt to explain the math ones. *laughs* [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 02:16, 30 January 2013 (UTC)

== My unexplained hobbies. ==

I just want to make sure that you are getting this, but I restored "My Unexplained Hobbies." You can now explain them. [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 14:47, 11 February 2013 (UTC)
:Shweet. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:44, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

I suck at wiki stuff but am a real human - sorry for the confusion. {{unsigned|‎Schmammel}}
:No matter. Also, see the blue box above the talk page edit box for instruction on how to sign your posts. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:55, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

== About your new admin powers ==

Actually just the rollback hammer. I've learned this after being burned a few times.

Rollback will actually not revert just the one edit you are looking at, but will go back until it hits a revision that wasn't done by that user, so its useful for pure spam accounts, but if you're just undoing a single edit, you may still want to use the undo tool.

Also, once or twice I actually had it revert all the way back to the last patrolled edit, which meant it actually got rid of the edits of a few anonymous editors too.

Just a caution that with great power comes great responsibility.

--[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 04:11, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

:Oh damn, did I do that? Welp. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:28, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

== Removed Level 2 headings from Discussion page ==

Hi, I noticed you removed the level 2 headings in the discussion of comic 1188. I'm guessing it's the application of some formatting rule established on this wiki, so I'm curious where I can find a list of these standards that I should adhere to, so I don't make such a mistake again in the future. [[User:Jfresen|Jfresen]] ([[User talk:Jfresen|talk]]) 15:10, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

:It's not really a formatting convention, more of a workaround to technical limitations of the wiki. The way discussion pages are embedded into comic pages, headings in talk pages cause breakages when tables of contents are spawned. It's ugly and bad and it's the reason why we delete discussion page headers. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 15:33, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

== Captcha help ==

:''This thread was moved to [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests#Captcha help]].''

== RE: Signature ==

Sweet, thanks David. {{User:Omega/sig}} 14:51, 28 March 2013 (UTC)

== Time is hard... ==

... and not only that, she also is, just like her sister Gravity, a heartless b**** :D
Thanks for taking care! :) [[User:Caranhyas|Caranhyas]] ([[User talk:Caranhyas|talk]]) 09:41, 4 April 2013 (UTC)

== Feedback ==

Hey David. It's nice that you're so responsive to requests such as those at [[Mediawiki talk:Sitenotice]] (or [[explain_xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests#Captcha help|this one]]), but please take also a moment to report the request as completed, as that not only provides feedback to the requester, but is also a reference for the future (which removes the need to dig through the relevant page's history if, for example, one decides to check whether a request ever got implemented), and exemplifies desired behavior for future administrators. Cheers, [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 21:53, 6 April 2013 (UTC)
:Alright. Was just trying to get through everything quickly, and forgot to reply to those requests. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:55, 6 April 2013 (UTC)

== 262 correction: Thanks! ==

Hi there!

Unfortunately, I was not aware that I had incorrectly created the page for xkcd 262. Thanks for fixing that. My only question is whether the page "262" should be redirected to xkcd 262 rather than just showing the deletion template.

Thanks,

[[User:Milar Kayne|Milar Kayne]] ([[User talk:Milar Kayne|talk]]) 07:02, 7 April 2013 (UTC)

:The page "262" and all other pages consisting of only numbers are used internally to handle page linking. You don't really need to worry about them, you just need to know that making explanation pages in those numbered pages is baaad and that the create templates in the [[List of all comics]] will set up everything relevant for you. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:14, 7 April 2013 (UTC)

::So all of the xkcd comic pages theoretically "exist" on the site, but not all have connected pages? Also, how do I create a new page from the "All comics" page? Thanks for being so patient--I really want to be able to contribute meaningfully here. [[User:Milar Kayne|Milar Kayne]] ([[User talk:Milar Kayne|talk]]) 20:27, 7 April 2013 (UTC)
::No, we just link to the xckd comic pages. The numbered pages handle links between explanation pages. On the "List of all comics" page, there are (create) buttons next to all the red links; click those to start explaining those comics. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:12, 8 April 2013 (UTC)

:::OK thanks for explaining! I'll try to do better next time :). [[User:Milar Kayne|Milar Kayne]] ([[User talk:Milar Kayne|talk]]) 01:36, 10 April 2013 (UTC)

== List of unexplained comics ==

Thanks for the vote of confidence - hoping it'll encourage more contributors! [[User:Sean|Sean]] ([[User talk:Sean|talk]]) 21:50, 22 April 2013 (UTC)

== New sections in comic talk pages ==

Re [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:277:_Long_Light&curid=8457&diff=35146&oldid=35143 this correction] (especially your edit summary!): while there is the "Add topic" tab at the top of talk pages, you'll get new sections added to comic talk pages too.

Perhaps reducing them to ; headings is a better alternative that still marks a new topic.

;Just testing that I have the right formatting character
Yes.

Of course this won't fix the automatically supplied heading from the "Add topic" tab, but then we do still want that functionality in other talk pages, like here...
[[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 03:25, 26 April 2013 (UTC)

:Ooh, the semicolon does that? You learn something new every day. Noted. There might be a way to change those controls at the top, I'll look into that. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 03:50, 26 April 2013 (UTC)

== Time frames 1008-1014 have an artefact in your upload ==

In your uploads "under the ground" between frames 1008 and 1014 there is a grey horizontal line with unmoving "ticks" while the terrain does change above. This is not reflected in the live hash for the only hash in this range recorded so far. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 10:55, 1 May 2013 (UTC)
:Hrm, I've just been pulling the images from the xkcd site and uploading them straight. Imma check on this. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 11:29, 1 May 2013 (UTC)
::Yeah, it's not just you, the [http://geekwagon.net/projects/xkcd1190/?frame=1014&framediff=1007 geekwagon.net/projects/xkcd1190] has it too. Randall must have had a snafu that he's fixed. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 12:47, 1 May 2013 (UTC)

== Time1190 - but sometimes I also have NO time ==

I did register in here mainly for 1190, I am sure you did see this.
This weekend I will work on a script giving me an easy update for the next day template, for now I am doing manual.

THANKS for your great job on all the other comics!

I just do need more TIME...

And I am not native English, so I am still happy about everyone correcting me.

Archive discussion I did start here [[Talk:1190:_Time]]

--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:29, 10 May 2013 (UTC)
:I actually already have a script to do that. I thought you had made one of your own though when you were filling in for new days, so I was just letting you go ahead with that. Here's my script: [http://pastebin.com/RQGGia3L]. Change the variables at the top of the script, run it and copy/paste the output into the page for time. The fields should be self-evident, but ask me if you have any questions. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:38, 11 May 2013 (UTC)

:: Oh, PYTHON - I prefer Perl or just a simple bash script.
:: So I will ask Randall for a translator for Python to Perl ;)
:: And tomorrow I hopefully will have some more time, your script is helpful.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:53, 11 May 2013 (UTC)
:::Just for fun I did the script in PERL. Here is the link: [http://pastebin.com/PG5j56Nv template]--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:29, 12 May 2013 (UTC)

== And sometimes I do have time ==
Just tell me what I did do wrong (I will follow you...). I am still new to WIKI syntax, it is still new to me. But I am learning as you can see.
And after all that I will write a Perl Script with a missing close paren...

I like jokes but I also like a clean Wiki here!

--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:38, 23 May 2013 (UTC)
:Uh, the explanation for that page is a wee bit thin for the size and complexity of the comic, and it uses terms like the hibbert curve without defining them. It's not enough of an explanation to cover the whole comic. Also, there were a few missing categories and a bunch of trailing spaces in the transcript. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:46, 23 May 2013 (UTC)
::"a wee bit thin for the size and complexity of the comic" so sure this is still incomplete (I just did forget to add that template). Oh, and we have so many more complex comics with a need for more explanations. And while I am still not native English, which does mean I have to goooogle fore many memes, I am hoping I can support this wiki. I just try to do my best - any help on me is welcome! --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:12, 24 May 2013 (UTC)
:::And I'm pretty sure they're all tagged as incomplete too, so all is well. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:17, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

== User talk page deleted? ==

Hey there, apparently my talk page was deleted because the only content on it was "buttsex", which is fine, but I just thought I should let you know that I did not add that ;). Can I restore my talk page blank? --[[User:Mynotoar|Mynotoar]] ([[User talk:Mynotoar|talk]]) 11:39, 25 May 2013 (UTC)
:Yeah, sure, I saw the edit log when I deleted it. Do whatever you want with your user page. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 11:50, 25 May 2013 (UTC)

== Incomplete explanations ==
Hello [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]], I will stop creating incomplete new pages even when I think it's good idea to have a page for each comic here and work afterwards on all those incomplete ones. The pages [[Help:How to add a new comic explanation]] and [[List of unexplained comics]] should clarify this issue. Furthermore there are many more incomplete comics here not marked as incomplete so you can't find them here: [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|Incomplete explanations]]. I am trying to give my best to support this wiki--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:44, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

:One add: I am not a youngster, my first computer was a C64 and the next one was a IBM compatible PC 286 (512 KByte main memory, 20 MByte hard drive). And right now I'm just trying to encourage other people to help here. But I don't want to fight against windmills.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:24, 3 June 2013 (UTC)
::I wasn't making any implication as to your age. It is actually harder to track incomplete articles than nonexistent ones - the wiki has no way of automagically detecting them the way it automatically provides red links for missing explanations. We have the incomplete tag, but people delete it from pages that still haven't quite been explained completely, and I sometimes forget to tag a new incomplete explanation as incomplete. Also, the fact that some incomplete articles exist that are not tagged as incomplete does not justify the creation of more stubs; if you find an unsatisfactory explanation, mark it as incomplete yourself. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:15, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

== Various requests ==
Could you delete the spam page [[User:Inkovic]] and block the user who created it? And delete [[Talk:283: Projection]] as well, since it was apparently created by mistake?

Also, [[1225: Ice Sheets]] is still missing a transcript. Could you help add it? And [[266: Choices: Part 3]] and [[267: Choices: Part 4]] lack explanations, but have been removed from the [[List of unexplained comics]]. Should we re-add them to that page, or create some basic explanations for them? --[[User:Oneforfortytwo|Oneforfortytwo]] ([[User talk:Oneforfortytwo|talk]]) 20:19, 19 June 2013 (UTC)

:Incomplete articles are marked as incomplete, we'll deal with all the unsatisfactory articles on this wiki after we have a page for every comic. Still not an excuse to make more stubs, mind you. Did all the rest though. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 22:08, 17 June 2013 (UTC)

Please block spammer 70.50.106.152, he did kill 1190 Time.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 08:53, 18 June 2013 (UTC)
:Looks like a mistake. Not ban-worthy. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 10:24, 18 June 2013 (UTC)
::This was the only edit he/she ever did. I am hoping this will not happen again, that big page was really hard to load.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 10:32, 18 June 2013 (UTC)

The main page needs to be edited, as the recent deletion of the [[List of unexplained comics]] was recently deleted, making the wiki comic count one less than the actual number. Also, could you delete [[Talk:List of unexplained comics]] and [[:File:a matter of some gravity.jpg]]? The former is an orphaned talk page, and the latter was superseded by [[:File:A Matter of Some Gravity.png]]. --[[User:Oneforfortytwo|Oneforfortytwo]] ([[User talk:Oneforfortytwo|talk]]) 20:19, 19 June 2013 (UTC)
:Done. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:08, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

I created an explanation for 1228 (Prometheus). What I wrote didn't appear for a few minutes and then when I tried to check why, I found you'd deleted a page, but the text I wrote then appeared where I was expecting it. Your comment on the deletion referred to "a thing on the front page" I should have read. I looked for this "thing", but I've still no idea what I did wrong, or what happened with all the page creation / deletion jiggery pokery. I created the explanation after clicking a box which told me to do so if I wanted to provide / improve the explanation. I apologise for my mistake, but perhaps it would be better not to put boxes on the main page which invite edits if those edits end up in the wrong place? [[Special:Contributions/87.115.172.168|87.115.172.168]] 08:55, 21 June 2013 (UTC)
:I manually create the comic page and set it to show up on the front page usually within an hour of every new xkcd comic. The explanation pages for every comic follow a naming convention, with the comic number followed by the comic name. We also make a few redirects for the wiki to use to make the back/forwards buttons work. In addition to that, every explanation page has a template; note how every other page on this site has a particular look to it. The page that you created didn't follow any of that, so I deleted it and copy/pasted it to the correct location. The thing on the front page that I was referring to was the correct explanation page location that I had created 21 minutes earlier. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:06, 21 June 2013 (UTC)
::Thanks for the explanation - quite a manual process! I didn't realise I was creating a page - it looked to me like the page had already been created (which it had, it seems) and I would just be editing the empty section for the explanation. Now I realise that the "please edit" box should have shown up in the editor, perhaps alarm bells should have wrung. Nevertheless, I'm still wondering if it would be better, if possible, to somehow remove or modify the "please edit" box when it appears on the main page so it doesn't create an incorrect new page when one already exists! [[Special:Contributions/87.115.172.168|87.115.172.168]] 09:29, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

Thank You,

[[User:Hopiakuta|hopiakuta DonFphrnqTaub Persina hopiakuta]] ([[User talk:Hopiakuta|talk]]) 09:03, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

There are a couple of xkcd comics that link to an extra image on the site when they are clicked. On this wiki, most of the time, the explanations just contain a direct link to this image. However, sometimes, users upload the secondary images and link to those. This is rather inefficient, especially since some images are too large to be displayed directly after they are clicked on the wiki. So, I was wondering if you could delete the few secondary images from the wiki. They are: [[:File:lakes and oceans large.png]], [[:File:na make it better.png]], [[:File:subways large.png]], and [[:File:lojban translated.png]].

In addition, I suggest that some [[Special:UnusedFiles|unused files]] also be nuked. [[:File:combination vision test fullcolor.jpg]] was superseded by [[:File:combination vision test fullcolor.png]]. [[:File:22 pieces.png]] was uploaded by a user who apparently just wanted to show off his Tetris skills. [[:File:2008 christmas special original.png]] is an xkcd comic before it was updated, which I doubt is necessary to include on the wiki. [[:File:starsmove.png]] doesn't seem to serve any useful purpose. --[[User:Oneforfortytwo|Oneforfortytwo]] ([[User talk:Oneforfortytwo|talk]]) 23:50, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

Na make it better and the translated lojban do add to the comic. The two larger versions of comic images and the junk files have been deleted. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:12, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

I think you might have forgotten to delete [[:File:22 pieces.png]]. And [[404: 404 Error]] was created by mistake and also needs to go.

Also, could some admin tackle the issue that involves thumbnails not displaying properly? Dgbrt suggested [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Errors_and_symptoms#Image_Thumbnails_not_working_and.2For_appearing this fix]. Perhaps it could be tried? --[[User:Oneforfortytwo|Oneforfortytwo]] ([[User talk:Oneforfortytwo|talk]]) 16:00, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

:The 404 page needs to exist for the previous/next comic buttons to work properly. It also explains why comic 404 is missing, which may be confusing to some xkcd readers. Mostly the forward/backwards buttons though. The scrap image is gone, and I'm looking into the proposed fix. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 12:21, 21 July 2013 (UTC)
::Nope. The page [[404: 404 Error]] is a duplicate to [[404: Not Found ]]. I just did a redirect there because I can't delete it.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:58, 21 July 2013 (UTC)
:::Whoop, deleted. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:08, 21 July 2013 (UTC)
::::Thanks, but there is still the discussion page. I did the same redirect there.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:26, 21 July 2013 (UTC)

== Spam at 1190 Time ==

Hi, IP 68.100.149.94 is still doing annoying edits here. I do not like that.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:38, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

== Su Doku ==
Hi Davidy22, I'm trying to enhance explains. People do read and understand shorter explains more easy, but the link to the details must be always included. I just did add the incomplete tag because my edit is maybe not complete. Everyone is welcome to help. But please keep short as possible, otherwise people won't read.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:19, 2 July 2013 (UTC)
:That explanation is hardly too long. Our explanations should be self-sufficient, with the links there just to provide further context on things that we talk about in the explanations. A description of the format of sudoku is an important part of the explanation for comic 74, as the comic deviates from it in a notable way that not all visitors may recognize, be it because they haven't heard of sudoku before or because they aren't particularly familiar with the puzzles. There's a wee difference between cutting information and condensing the wording of a passage, and what you did with that explanation leads further towards cutting content. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:45, 2 July 2013 (UTC)
::I prefer explains people will read. The wiki link for Su Doku is already there but I will work on a small explain soon.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:07, 2 July 2013 (UTC)
:::What, three full paragraphs is too much for people to read? Three full paragraphs of a complete explanation are better than a paragraph and two sentences of incomplete description? I'd rather we follow the name of the wiki and actually explain the comics. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 15:41, 2 July 2013 (UTC)
::::Read my version completely, I did adopt your hints on explain Su Doku and did some more polish. PLEASE just read before you undo! Tell me what's missing but I still prefer a more simple explain. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:10, 2 July 2013 (UTC)
:::::You made a complete explanation incomplete in the name of simplicity. At least you bothered re-adding the relevant information back in post-hoc this time. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:03, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

== 1190 Time pictures after major changes ==

Hi,
any ideas to get new file uploads here? After your change we have some silence...--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:55, 6 July 2013 (UTC)
:Geekwagon, Aubronwood and many other sites keep archives of past frame hashes. We can look up our last hash and upload all proceeding images here. I did that for the first 500-odd frames, until people started doing it faster than me. I'll probably start again since other editors seem to be on holiday. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:43, 6 July 2013 (UTC)
::You did upload all the images manual, is this the new way to do this? I thought your scripts don't like file names like 1234a, 1234b..., so do you not use a bot to upload the images? Further more: Since hashes from other sites do not map to the new naming here I think we have to document them here. But it seems I'm just running against windmills.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:01, 6 July 2013 (UTC)
:::Post-hoc scripts; instead of an image archive littered with special cases, scripts need only iterate in numerical order. It's slightly more difficult to upload, but it's a consistent naming scheme for future use. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:03, 7 July 2013 (UTC)

== 1190 Time pictures - Do you use a bot or not... ==

...it seems not - why?
Lazy as I am! You're not like this.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:27, 12 July 2013 (UTC)
:I have a script to help with backlog uploads, but then I also manually upload new images while I'm awake and am near my computer. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:14, 13 July 2013 (UTC)
::What do you think about a bot? My computer is downloading the images by 24/7 so an upload here should be possible. But first I will start some tests at my local MediaWiki installation.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:56, 13 July 2013 (UTC)
:::A bot would be nice. Slashme's Slashbot actually did time image uploads, but he stopped cuz electricity bills or something. We could ask him if he's willing to share. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:31, 13 July 2013 (UTC)
::::I am thinking about a bot like ''DgbrtBot''. I never have done this before (WikiBot) but I know the fucking manuals and while Randall does not like Perl I will use this language ;). Tomorrow I will start some tests at my local MediaWiki and then I will need an account for a bot.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:53, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

== Outage from Friday to Saturday ==

Did you recognize this, every error was just a "access denied for user ... on database ...". This board was dead for 24 hours.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:32, 21 July 2013 (UTC)
:Yep, purged cache to fix it. Not currently in a place with perfect access to internet though, so I'm not quite as fast with that as I usually am. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:33, 23 July 2013 (UTC)
::The same happened yesterday. Do you have chronic disk space/quota shortage? --[[User:Chtz|Chtz]] ([[User talk:Chtz|talk]]) 13:13, 25 July 2013 (UTC)
:::Yep. We added a donate button and the sidebar ads when these issues started happening - a few days after time - to buy better hardware. Money comes slow. We could probably stand to upgrade mediawiki and PHP too sometime. Sometime. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:43, 25 July 2013 (UTC)
::::Hi - I'm wondering if there has been any traction or progress in upgrading mediawiki - I was thinking especially with the recent comic [http://www.explainxkcd.com/1434 comic 1434] - but also historic comics like [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/826:_Guest_Week:_Zach_Weiner_(SMBC) 826] - that an [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:ImageMap imagemap] would be useful in the explanation, which is apparently bundled with [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki_1.21#Bundled_extensions mediawiki 1.21], but also available as a extension(?) -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 16:24, 16 October 2014 (UTC)

== User RouterIncident and a bunch of templates ==

Hi, I'm hoping you have had nice holidays. We all do need recovery. But it's bad when no active admin is available here.

Please delete that citation template, or just enter a link to [[285: Wikipedian Protester]]. Please delete also this categories: "All articles lacking reliable references" and "Articles lacking reliable references". We still have the incomplete category, that should be enough.

BTW: RouterIncident is maybe also on holiday, no action the last days.
--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:04, 28 July 2013 (UTC)

:I could not find these categories you speak of in the page creation log, but citation needed is gone now. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:01, 29 July 2013 (UTC)

== Please move some pages and edit the "List of all comics" ==

I can't move pages here, but this should work:

<nowiki>{{comicsrow|1245|2013-07-31|10 Day Forecast}}</nowiki>
*the correct page must be: "1245: 10 Day Forecast"
*the ''title'' must be: "10 Day Forecast"

So I did not save this update because it would result into corrupt links:

<nowiki>xkcd.com/1245 | 10 Day Forecast (create) | number / title / talk | 10_day_forecast.png | 2013-07-31</nowiki>

Please help, or give me the power to do this on my own.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:03, 1 August 2013 (UTC)
:Ooor instead of deviating from the title on xkcd, we could use an excellent feature to the comicsrow template put in by Waldir. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 21:20, 1 August 2013 (UTC)
::Uh, I didn't know this feature.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 08:03, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

== Template:Verification needed ==
This template is unnecessary, please delete it.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 08:03, 2 August 2013 (UTC)
:Please also delete the templates behind this non existing categories:
:*Wikipedia pages with incorrect protection templates‏‎ (2 members)
:*Wikipedia protected templates‏‎ (2 members)
:--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 08:07, 2 August 2013 (UTC)
::Holy dependency hell. Purged the lot. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 12:42, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

Can you nuke [[Talk:404: 404 Error]]? You forgot to delete it when you got rid of [[404: 404 Error]].

Also, any update on the thumbnail issue? They are still not displaying correctly See [[Special:UnusedFiles|unused files]]. --[[User:Oneforfortytwo|Oneforfortytwo]] ([[User talk:Oneforfortytwo|talk]]) 22:03, 9 August 2013 (UTC)
:Deleted. Thumbnails are a bit trickier, seeing as Jeff is the only one who has direct access to the server. Still plugging. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:08, 10 August 2013 (UTC)

For some reason, the wiki places the [[Main Page]] in the same categories as the current comic. This should be fixed, as the only category it should belong to is the [[:Category:Root category|root category]]. --[[User:Oneforfortytwo|Oneforfortytwo]] ([[User talk:Oneforfortytwo|talk]]) 16:30, 17 August 2013 (UTC)
:FYI I have answered [[User:Oneforfortytwo]] on [[User talk:Oneforfortytwo|his talk page]]. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 19:01, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

One more thing: Can you edit [[1190: Time]] and remove all links to images after 2973:00? Seeing as there will not be any more of them uploaded, and some of them are showing up on the [[Special:WantedFiles|wanted files page]]. Also, can you restore the deleted image [[:File:starsmove.png]]? Originally, I thought there was nowhere to put it, but I realized that I can link to it at [[1190: Time/Pictures]]. --[[User:Oneforfortytwo|Oneforfortytwo]] ([[User talk:Oneforfortytwo|talk]]) 06:04, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
:Done. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 06:51, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

Oh, can you delete [[1360: Old Files/info]]? Also, could we possibly get a page where people can post pages to be deleted? That would make it easier to report them. --[[User:Oneforfortytwo|Oneforfortytwo]] ([[User talk:Oneforfortytwo|talk]]) 19:47, 28 June 2014 (UTC)

:Can do. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:59, 29 June 2014 (UTC)
::Mkay, deleted the page, was in the process of making the page when I recalled that [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests]] and [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals]] tend to be the pages used for proposing deletion of pages. Page deletion doesn't come up incredibly often, although I could create the page if people really want it. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:25, 30 June 2014 (UTC)

I found [[:Category:Pages to delete]]. Although you can't explain why to delete a page. Perhaps a template would be more appropriate. Speaking of which, can you delete [[:Category:Commissioned]], [[:File:16px-BlackHat head.png]], [[:File:spirit rewrite unknown author.png]], [[:File:tongue awareness.jpg]], [[Special:ListFiles/ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|all of these uploads]], and [[Special:ListFiles/Spongebog|the Lorenz uploads here]]?

By the way, [[User:DgbrtBOT]] is not selecting the xkcd.com licensing choice when uploading new comic images, causing all of them to show up in [[:Special:UncategorizedFiles]]. And [[User:Dgbrt]] appears to have gone AWOL. Is there any way we can contact him and get him to change his bot?

Finally, I think there should be a category for the pages listed [[:Special:UncategorizedPages|here]]. Maybe helper comic pages, seeing as there is a helper comic images? Or comic subpages? --[[User:Oneforfortytwo|Oneforfortytwo]] ([[User talk:Oneforfortytwo|talk]]) 23:47, 3 August 2014 (UTC)
:The template [[template:spam]] automagically includes the delete template. We used to have a delete template, but it literally saw no use. The black hat head is the site favicon and the tongue awareness image is used in an explanation. The others seem justifiable though. I'll submit a patch to dgbrt that oughta fix the image categorization thing. Comic subpages oughta be a fine name. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 03:19, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

== Time animation—a little help maybe? ==

About the animated Time GIF, I actually prepared one right away at the end, but I haven't been able to get it to upload here, even though it's rather less than the stated size limit, 12 MB out of I think 40 MB. If anyone can suggest what might be going on, I'll be happy to try it out. I did ask in the XKCD forum, but didn't get any help there. Just in case it was a temporary thing, I'll go give it a shot here again after I post this. Wouldn't want to save face or anything if it actually works all of a sudden, after all.—[[User:KarMann|KarMann]] ([[User talk:KarMann|talk]]) 20:03, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

== Clean explains ==

Oh, I did some reverts (undo) today again, I'm not happy:
*Ninja Turtles still belong to NASA
*Bullsh.. sorry
*Duplicate on some chess jokes
*Math
*And math again at some statistics (Increased Risk). <- ok, or (Increased Risk.)
While you do fight against spam, I simply do fight against some similar windmills. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:04, 27 August 2013 (UTC)
:Many of these were hamfisted ones that were targeted at one change, and reverted everything else contained in the same edit. Some of them were legitimate, some of them seem to show minimal effort to look at context before you edit. It's getting to the point where it's actually kind of disruptive now. If something is not in your area of expertise, don't revert like you do currently. There's a reason why rollback privileges are not given to all users. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 03:37, 28 August 2013 (UTC)

== 1269: Privacy Opinions‎ ==

This edit war is useless. The add is just '''TL;DR'''. And I'm sure even you did not read it all. Please keep explains as short as possible, otherwise people don't read. For understanding my post read this (read it all, there is a final statement at the bottom):
According to the title, the comic is about “opinions on internet privacy” in general. Six positions are offered as options. Four of the positions are tagged negatively by the author by their subtitles alone: the Crypto Nut, the Conspiracist, the Nihilist, and the Exhibitionist, all of which have negative valences in contemporary English. That the viewer is encouraged to identify negatively with these four positions is further encouraged by the content of the panels, as those characters are depicted either as having such boring lives that they have no need for privacy (the Crypto Nut, the Nihilist), or as being crazy (the Conspiracist, the Exhibitionist).
A fifth position, the Philosopher, is tagged somewhat ambivalently by the author: Megan is depicted as boring her interlocutor, yet in the title text, the author admits that he is usually the Philosopher. Also, “Philosopher” in vernacular English is neutrally valenced, potentially having the ability to expound either wisdom (sophia) or sophistry. It is also a synonym for Sage, the sixth position. As the author condones his own movement from Philosopher to Sage, he thus indicates that the Philosopher is to be viewed negatively, even if it is a tempting position to hold.
The title of the sixth position, the “Sage”, is positively valenced in contemporary English, and the author in the title text states that once he obtains a “burrito” – i.e., a “real” thing, he switches from the Philosopher to the Sage. The internal evidence presented thus far therefore is entirely consistent; the author encourages the reader to identify with the Sage.
By presenting five negatively tagged positions followed by a positively tagged sixth and final one, the author follows a rhetorical commonplace of listing and refuting a number of positions one by one, concluding with the favored and best one, which is not refuted and should be accepted both on its own merits and by virtue of being the last one standing. The comic therefore implies that no other (significant) positions exist.
Having completed the rhetorical analysis of the comic, we are now in a position to understand the meaning of “Internet Privacy”.
Panels #3 and 5 directly reference the American NSA. Panel #5’s “exhibitionist” also references Google, but the characters in the panel appear to be NSA agents (one wears an official cap and they are viewing the exhibitionist on an official, government-looking monitor). Likewise, the focus of the “Nihilist” is that the joke is on the people who gather the data, rather than those who are subsequently able to make use of it (such as Facebook’s users rather than "Facebook" itself; i.e., Facebook's employees and, by extension, its advertisers). The content of the actual data is only mentioned in panels #2, 4, and 5, and in each panel, it is suggested that it is meaningless or trivial. The Sage underscores the notion that any data known about him does not bother him, and therefore must be meaningless or trivial. The reader is thus encouraged to believe that it does not actually matter whether others discover personal data abou t him/her.
The comic is therefore what social theorists call *reductive*, because it reduces the range of possibilities of “Opinions on Internet Privacy” to an artificially and simplistically narrow subset; in this case, individuals concerned with government or corporate agencies using data that they have gathered on individuals, and the futility of worrying about such things. The comic does not admit the possibility of other “opinions on internet privacy” – namely, that individuals might have legitimate concerns with governmental or corporate uses of their data, let alone other individuals’ access to data that is assembled and distributed by corporations such as Facebook. The comic likewise does not consider the possibility of individuals having more interesting lives than the characters depicted, and therefore very real concerns about their privacy due to the activities that they engage in that are potentially more career limiting (should they be discovered) than obsessing about cryptography or eating a burrito.
The comic is “functionally” reductive, as opposed to “intentionally” reductive, because the reduction is the function or effect of the comic for readers who read it straightforwardly (such as the poster who claimed it was “about” Edward Snowden), whether or not the author intended this reduction to occur. There is not enough internal evidence in the literary text (i.e., the comic) to maintain that the author intentionally excluded other viable opinions on internet privacy; it could be that they are just not on his radar. For example, we do not have enough information in the comic to claim that the author is against civil rights; it could be simply that he doesn’t often think about them. Likewise, it would exceed the evidence of the comic to claim that the author believes that schoolteachers who use the internet to facilitate legal but frowned-upon sexual behaviors should lose their jobs if they are found out due to internet privacy breaches; it could be that the author simply hasn’t bothered to worry about these matters if they don’t affect him personally. This adjudication – whether the comic is “intentionally” reductive or not – may only be made on the basis of external evidence; that is, data known about the author from sources beyond this comic.
Use of such external evidence – historical, personal, psychological information about an author – is valid in determining the meaning of an author’s text, and is increasingly viable due to the accessibility of information about an individual on the internet today.
Additional observations about the comic follow.

And when you did complete all that readings maybe you can summarize it, just in a way a reader would read.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:15, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
:PRO TIP: explainxkcd is not guessxkcd.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:19, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
::I did actually read it, and goes well past merely defining words in the comic. It covers writer's craft and all of it is derived from valid analysis of text from the comic. There's maybe a couple of excess words that I edited out, but length is not a bad thing. I read it the first time, and it was a valuable analytical contribution to the explanation; I question the value of flat-out reverting major edits that significantly improve pages. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 18:33, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
:::First sentence is mapped to the title, the TL;DR section is at the bottom. OK?--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:10, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
::::Uh, you cut the passage in half and split it up when it was referring back on itself? And you're accusing me of not bothering to read it? '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 19:26, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
:::::Uh, Oh, Ahh, I did not delete any content, I just asked about improvements. Read my comments, still much smaller than this adds.
:::::Are you happy when people do not visit this site again because the explain is bullshit? TL;DR... I still prefer articles people will read.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:49, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
::::::I know you didn't delete anything. You cut it down the middle and pasted half the passage at the end of the article, with little regard for flow or structure. That's not a valuable edit, even if it's a smaller change than the initial passage addition. Having short explanations is not worth cutting out valuable information. Cutting out content that's irrelevant to the comic, yeah. Cutting out false relations and waffle, that's fine. Don't cut out well-written analysis.
::::::Also, I'm noticing concurrent issues being raised against your edits again. Consider editing and working on top of edits instead of straight reverting them, and avoid antagonistic language. You already have one warning from the last time this happened. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 21:59, 29 September 2013 (UTC)
:::::::I still disagree. The list of panel explains is overruled by a massive amount of text before. This is still not a helpful explanation.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 06:58, 30 September 2013 (UTC)
::::::::It's not a helpful explanation for those incapable of reading or scanning a sizeable passage of text. It contains all the relevant information in a coherent and laid-out manner, with a bullet pointed list to draw attention to the frame-by-frame explanations for those who want to skip the intention and analysis. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:26, 30 September 2013 (UTC)

== Advertising ==

My Firefox AddOn NoScript did block the external page "projectwonderful.com". The untrusted picture [http://www.projectwonderful.com/img/uploads/pics/91967-1378268302.png] does not belong to "explainxkcd.com". Then clicking the picture brings me to this link: [[explain_xkcd:Advertise_Here]]. But, I still do not see any advertisement here at all, only this "wonderful project world", what's wrong?

I would like to pay here for a link to Randall's store (he doesn't know), but it has to be an internal picture to an external link. A user action is required, ask Randall about this security. External clicks do count, embedded content to external sites is a real insecure solution. Many modern browsers will not allow this. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:51, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
:The image does belong to us, it's just served by project wonderful when no advertisers are currently bidding on us. The word "advertise" used in the link title is in the verb form, not the noun; that page describes how to advertise on our site. That page contains our advertising guidelines and a few links to our project wonderful bidding page. There, you can create an account and bid on any of the four regions we have on offer. Our minimum rate is USD$3.8 per day, and they let you link any image to any site. If you still can't advertise with us, post imgur links to screenshots to show me what you're doing.
:Have you not said in the past that you are an employed software developer? Instead of advertising a site wholly unaffiliated to you, why not ask your boss to try his hand at advertising on explain xkcd? It's cheaper than most advertising outlets, and we have a large and valuable audience for your average technology company. Your company can probably easily muster the ~$15 per day needed to advertise in all our available regions, and the process takes about as long as creating an account on any other site on the internet. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:13, 2 October 2013 (UTC)

== A database error has occurred... ==

I did clean the cache, it seems no admin is required to fix this damn problem. Site was down but available now again. I will also talk to JEFF about this.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:54, 3 October 2013 (UTC)
: New server coming soon. Hopefully these DB issues will stop... forever. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:39, 25 October 2013 (UTC)

== IP Users ==

I still do not like this mess: [[User:108.162.216.45]] and [[User:50.151.2.168]]. Users have to register for this.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:18, 8 November 2013 (UTC)
:No they don't? {{w|User:70.21.5.28}}. The page takes up so little space, it's not worth forcing them to do something they may not want to do. When our IP friend wants an account, they will make that choice on their own. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 16:35, 8 November 2013 (UTC)
::Someone else will use the IP 50.151.2.168 in the future. If that user also likes xkcd and explainxkcd he will find a history he never has done. Still a mess. Nevertheless you can be sure that I never will edit this without admins permission.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:39, 8 November 2013 (UTC)

== Question: — or - ==

You're changing — to -, even while it looks to me like a (typical American) loooong dash at the picture. Original transcript by Randal on [[752]] is "Do you--", so I don't understand some of your latest edits. I'm changing &mdash to — ( on Linux). I did opt for removing the double spaces after a sentence, but is this dash also history? Like miles... --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:01, 22 November 2013 (UTC)
:Eh, I just do it because it's only one character in the original comics. I don't actually have easy access to an mdash on my keyboard when I'm editing, I'll probably bind that to a key for future use. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:12, 23 November 2013 (UTC)
::My question was just: Is "—" wrong or not. You know I am German, but my OS and much more programs are running on English. That's because all that translations are just annoying. Nevertheless, at [[752]] the original transcript shows this: "Blonde: Do you--". this should be a long dash. And you did change many &mdash to "—", I just want to understand how to behave on this.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:17, 23 November 2013 (UTC)
:::There isn't really a codified grammatical rule for the length of a dash. It's mostly stylistic, but it seems to be a rather common convention that a short dash is for joining words, and a long mdash is for punctuation dashes. Again though, it's not on the keyboard and the vast majority of people probably don't pay attention to dash length when reading. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 21:41, 23 November 2013 (UTC)
::::You did introduce this in the past, my keyboard gives me on "ALT GR + SHIFT + -" just a "—". but we still have to decide about a rule on this. "-"--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:22, 23 November 2013 (UTC)

== Extension:Comments ==

Have you thought about trying [[mw:Extension:Comments|Extension:Comments]]? It was recently updated (July 2013) and looks like it would make commenting the explanations much more user-friendly. Could you make a little experiment to see if it works well? Say, install it so we can test and see if it works well? I'd be willing to help in the conversion of current comments to the new format, and we could even make it a long-term goal to eventually bring back all the comments from the blog :D --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:24, 23 November 2013 (UTC)
: I did edit the incomplete template, ERROR is not correct. But a hint to the missing reason is great.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:24, 23 November 2013 (UTC)
: From prior experience, the comments plugin does generate a lot of meta-pages with scrambled names that made me prioritize other things over it, but I can totally run it for a few days to see how things go. In a few weeks, my free time will skyrocket and I should be able to install and monitor the plugin then. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:40, 24 November 2013 (UTC)
:: Hey Davidy. I wonder if you're able to try this out. If so, let me know how I can help!
:: On the other hand, I am disappointed to hear that the comments extension doesn't integrate neatly with mediawiki. Are you aware of any similar choice that may be better-behaved? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:33, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

== New comics BOT ==

I think that BOT is doing the job right now. Maybe there is a possibility to install it on this server, not much but some PERL modules are required, it should work on any OS. Nevertheless since I could see the updates in general did happen at 04:00 UTC I will implement a new script starting at 04:00 UTC, polling again after that again. But since I don't want to poll xkcd too much that poll would stop after fifteen minutes. Then there will be just a five minute schedule, until a new comic is found.

BTW: <nowiki>$text .= "{{comicsrow|$comic_num|$date|$comic_name|$picture_name}}\n"; </nowiki> means I will always add the optional parameter for the picture. Not all picture did work properly in the past, so I decided to include this parameter to get a working picture link on the main page. Any suggestions are welcome. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:50, 26 November 2013 (UTC)
:I have an idea for that, but I have a metric buttload of things that I need to do by the end of this week. I've seen comics come out several hours late so I think polling for four hours would still be apt, and I'm sure Randall's server could handle us polling him a little faster. Having a explanation page up at the same time as a new comic is really huge. I believe I have a solution for the comicsrow problem, but I also don't know Perl. I could probably figure it out in a weekend though. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:19, 27 November 2013 (UTC)

== Incomplete tag at main page ==

Am I wrong, or is every new comic complete at the main page in the future? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:16, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:When we include a comic page on the main page, templates and categories are preserved. While that's good for page layout and the like, it's not so good when we have templates that impart their categories upon the inheriting page, like the incomplete template did. It was tagging the main page as incomplete whenever the newest comic was marked as incomplete. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:27, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
::Yezzz, I understand. But presenting a new incomplete page in this way is not good. The counter has to be adjusted. But I'm serious on this and maybe some ''noinclude'' tags may help. While the main page should not be counted, the page it presents, if incomplete or not (<-the problem), should presented at the proper state. My bot will cover any solutions for further uploads. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:40, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:::What counter? The counter on the main page doesn't take into account the main page itself, and the transcluded page is shown in its entirety, save for the discussion page and one category. What's the problem here? '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:37, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

== I don't mind about a 24 hour ban... ==

...but after that I did try to do some more talks here:
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:Mrarch&curid=13771&diff=55110&oldid=55109
DELETED!
I'm still the pest here, or what? I'm still hoping you will understand my actions here. I'm working much on the health of this board, talking to Jeff and many more here. And Mrarch just did delete my message. I'm German, so it could happen that I do use a sentence which could be interpreted different to my meanings. BUT: I just want to support this site as much I can do. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:49, 13 December 2013 (UTC)
:Oh nuts, didn't see that. I though he was just setting up his own user and talk pages. I'll leave a notice. Also, try to cooperate, and practice your English. There ''are'' a few naunces in his arguments that you're gliding over. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:45, 13 December 2013 (UTC)
::And oh nuts, we need some more people to review all the updates here. We have many new people here, doing great edits, but sometimes a correction is needed. I will still do this here, but you can be sure I will be much more polite when an edit-war does happen. I don't mind - xkcd is just fun. That counts! --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:26, 14 December 2013 (UTC)

== BOT uploads at the comic list ==

Hi,
I can remove that "Picture.png" add, but I think it's more safe to use this optional parameter. Sometimes upper case and lower case did cause some problems. I'm trying to prevent this by providing the image link my BOT did upload here.

On January 1 my BOT did fail because the picture was not accepted at this Wiki, and my BOT stops on every unexpected error. The BOT doesn't understand Randall and so, when the BOT is running on problems it simply does nothing.

I've had serious problems to connect this site since a few deys, I don't understand why, but my BOT is doing it's job as planed.

Looking forward to some translations...

--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:04, 6 January 2014 (UTC)
:Hm? What cases cause it to fail? Imma make this work. In cases of ambiguity, we could always err on the side of caution and include the parameter. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:54, 7 January 2014 (UTC)
::The BOT did fail on January 1. because the "PNG" was in fact an "Adobe XMP" format and the upload was rejected by this site. A BOT barely can't handle this unexpected mess. This requires human action and the BOT stops further actions. The optional parameter will be posted anyway; if BOT doesn't fail.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:13, 7 January 2014 (UTC)

== Incompleteness Tag. ==

My browser (Chrome) is showing that 137: Dreams is the incomplete comic of the day. I used the tags there as the page instructed. Did I use them incorrectly? (possibly it was supposed to be in the main page edit instead of the discussion? I am fairly new here)This is the algorithm now. 19:10, 12 January 2014 (UTC)
:The explanation page is already tagged. Tagging the discussion page marks the discussion page as incomplete. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 19:31, 12 January 2014 (UTC)
::I did edit this discussion page with a nowiki marker. And ‎Anomulus please sign your comments in the proper way, it's much more easy to discuss with an user instead of just a date. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:41, 12 January 2014 (UTC)

I did move some comics back to the incomplete section, a full explain is still more worth than a 0% ratio here. Nevertheless I am still thinking, not really working, on a German translation. But just because the ratio looks great here I will focus on that translation soon. Stay tuned...--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:18, 2 February 2014 (UTC)
:If our numbers are right, a very healthy portion of our visitors should be German and you shouldn't have to be concerned with taking on the entire burden of translation. It's probably good to be conservative with the incomplete tag, it reduces the burden on of research on translators if they only have to change the language. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:33, 2 February 2014 (UTC)

== Incomplete Explanation of the Day ==

Some thoughts:
*[[explain xkcd:Incomplete Explanation of the Day]]: No need for the daily update, it's also still at the top.
*[[MediaWiki:Sitenotice]] should contain a link to this: [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|Incomplete explanations]].
--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:43, 8 February 2014 (UTC)

:It takes very little extra effort to also update the project page, so I just do it anyways. The incomplete explanation of the day is supposed to be a focusing effort, to finish off one comic at a time. A link to the list of all the incomplete comics wasn't working, which is why I started drawing attention to individual comics in the sitenotice. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 19:55, 8 February 2014 (UTC)
::So tell me what's wrong with this link: [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|Incomplete explanations]]. In my opinion this could be still placed at the top.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:26, 10 February 2014 (UTC)
:::Mostly cuz that didn't work when it was on the main page, and calling attention to specific comics has worked exceedingly well. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 06:57, 11 February 2014 (UTC)
::::I don't understand, there was a similar link in the past.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:13, 11 February 2014 (UTC)
:::::And in the past, that link had almost no effect on the incomplete pages count. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:54, 11 February 2014 (UTC)

===I just did remove a typo===
<code>:"1930s" has "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". a</code>

If you can not accept my typo correction on that simple damn "a" I will give up here. And I'm not sorry. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:40, 19 February 2014 (UTC)
:In the same edit I removed whitespace from the page, as is not immediately obvious from diffs but can be seen from the edit size numbers. The "a" has been gone in each of my proceeding edits, as you can see in the revision log if you would care to read it. Autoreverting is bad. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:57, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

== 1037: Umwelt ==

Hi, I'm sorry. But as my comments did say, some texts maybe helpful; but I can't fix all that layout issues. The individual pictures are still great, some ideas on that edits are nice, but it does not work in the full context. And those massive edits don't give both of us a way to review them all. I just did that revert because it doesn't work. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:09, 28 February 2014 (UTC)
:The layout is still broken... I don't like edits without using a preview to verify a proper layout — and I do not like massive edits no one can follow.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:22, 28 February 2014 (UTC)
::Image resizing will be fixed soon. Give it at most three weeks. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:37, 1 March 2014 (UTC)

== New admin proposal ==

Please take a look [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests#New admin|here]]. Cheers, [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 18:36, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

== Template:comic ==

Isn't this just a revert and a freeze to a former revert done by me? Others did play then again on the main page appearance, but changes at this should be only possible for people not experimenting. The entire main page has to be protected. That page isn't a playground.

And on that admin discussions on me: My most posts are related to language, layout, and something — and I still don't like all those esoteric explains on ASSes, PENISpumps, ... But an admin has to work mostly on different issues.

Randall does primarily focus on "romance, sarcasm, math, and language.". Randall does more, so the SEX category is here, but I think we have to focus on the "primarily focus" at the headlines on explain pages first.

My advice here: Do NOT try to enhance well working templates, other statements are much more important.

--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:18, 8 March 2014 (UTC)

:It's not quite a revert, he changed how linking works for the first comic page, added jump links to the first and last pages and attempted a few fixes. I just fixed a few omissions that he made. Admin work usually tends to be focused on non-content stuff, yeah, but I feel like those people maybe probably might be right. Innuendo in comics not explicitly mentioning sex exist. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 03:03, 8 March 2014 (UTC)

== Mail send ==

It's still not easy to find important mails, I nearly lost yours but now you got a reply. Your issues needs a test, I will do that soon. And sorry for this three month late reply. Maybe I have been blind, I just found your message today.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:46, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
:The site GitHub.com did send a message to me from "David ???(possibly your surname)" but the address was in fact <nowiki>notifications@github.com</nowiki>. So this reply was stupid by me because that mail will never reach you.
:Please send me a notification here because I don't visit that GitHub site on a regular base. Last visit was two or three months ago. It's just a backup for myself and available to everyone who likes.
:Your request could remove links to GIF or JPG files, so I decided to include the picture link always because it does work on that template. Dynamic comics are much more complicated and my BOT stops to post any update here if something went wrong. I'm still thinking about a better logging on that, My idea is still: If the BOT decides not to post chaos here it should save any content for later manual analysis. But that's a big deal because Randall's comics are so different...
:Nevertheless the BOT covers most comics just in time, I know people are happy on this — and when the comic is too sophisticated, it just stops to prevent chaos here.
:--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:41, 18 March 2014 (UTC)

== File:lorenz-new.png ==

Moving this to File:lorenz.png does not work like my former updates, maybe it's some cache on the server. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:31, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
:Huh. I'll have to take a look at that. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 21:45, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
:The file on the server looks right. It'll probably update itself on the caching servers in good time. The distortion is annoying though. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 21:49, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
::Can you clear the cache? The page [[1350]] still looks bad like my former reverted updates. But maybe we use this just a test for the servers. Uploads are easy, but updates are the hell. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:08, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
:::Eff it, let's wait on it. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 22:17, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
::::One idea: Try "Lorenz.png" instead of "lorenz.png". While WIKI is mostly case insensitive the servers maybe are. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:20, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

== German page ==

Is it still possible to create a German page here? I'm complete (honestly mostly) on my investigations for presenting a proper German page. On a positive reply I will present some more details (maybe screenshots) of my local wiki and a plan on how to bring it up to public. And consider, this would not only be for German readers, we have Austria, Switzerland, and many other parts in Europe. I would be happy to support this, and my BOT would be too. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:37, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

:It's still possible, gonna do it after we clear out all the incomplete pages as promised.'''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 20:44, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

::So then this never would be happen. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:50, 30 April 2014 (UTC)
:::No, because we'll eventually clear out our backlog of old, incomplete articles. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 21:24, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

== /r/xkcd sitenotice ==

May I ask why you've added a sitenotice about /r/xkcd? The /r/xkcd sub is controlled by /u/soccer, who links to racist, xenophobic and misogynistic content regularly. Randall has even spoken in support of a petition for /u/soccer to be removed as a mod (which of course didn't happen because reddit doesn't do that). /r/xkcdcomic is a non-hateful alternative, one that Randall supports, and it has more users than /r/xkcd. [[User:LadyMondegreen|LadyMondegreen]] ([[User talk:LadyMondegreen|talk]]) 13:19, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
:If you look closely at the text and click on the link, you'll see that it actually says and links to xkcdcomic. Also, /r/xkcd is currently at 40000 subs and hit 10000 a few years ago. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 20:38, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
::Hmmm, yeah, I'm not sure how I got that backwards, but I did. Someone pointed it out to me on IRC and I guess I didn't look closely enough. Sorry about that. [[User:LadyMondegreen|LadyMondegreen]] ([[User talk:LadyMondegreen|talk]]) 19:35, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

== Any idea on this: [[A Smarter Planet]] ==

This should be mentioned here, but that article doesn't represent a comic from the main page. Maybe it should be merged to [[Randall]]? What do you think? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:17, 6 May 2014 (UTC)
:That's not a bad idea. I'll put that on the list of things to do. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 03:56, 10 May 2014 (UTC)
::Sorry, I've forgotten to post a reply here. I did put in a new template for this special issue because it's different to a common comic from xkcd. A standard comic template never can cover this. And when this template is complete it should be protected, but the resulting category page is still bad and I need help on this. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:55, 28 May 2014 (UTC)
:Yeah, I figured that when I tried it myself. It might be a bug with parserfunctions though. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 03:17, 29 May 2014 (UTC)

== Do we have active admins here? ==

This site seems to be running into chaos. The former approved admins do not work that much here; and now I'm even missing you.

Maybe you are on holidays; if so, I'm just greeting with "Happy holiday". BUT this site still needs an admin.

You know I'm still looking forward on a German page for this, but this English page is still on my main focus. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:16, 9 May 2014 (UTC)
:The image caching issue is caused by Cloudflare not refreshing the image that it serves as fast as we'd like it to. Outstanding admin requests and unsigned messages were left for one day. That's not inactivity. The only thing I saw being raised was the admin request, which was closer to a progress update to which you butted in with an irrelevant remark. The only conflict I see in talk pages is between you and other editors, and it's only mild disagreements and mostly civil discussion at the moment, so I'm pretty fine with it. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 03:56, 10 May 2014 (UTC)

== Minor edits ==

Hi, you are often doing minor edits like fixing some syntax or missing parentheses. If you would mark them as "minor edits" it could be ignored at the "Recent changes" page. Major changes could be found much more easier. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:29, 21 May 2014 (UTC)

== Incoming confirmation email: Domain of sender address expla0@vps.explainxkcd.com does not exist ==

Since the email address of incoming confirmation emails come from a non-existing domain, they are bounced so never reach me.

From the mail logs:

<code>
2014-05-30T08:36:21.455368+02:00 snap sendmail[12564]: NOQUEUE: connect from vps.lunarpages.com [67.210.100.50] (may be forged)
2014-05-30T08:36:22.049902+02:00 snap sendmail[12564]: s4U6aLdn012564: ruleset=check_mail, arg1=<expla0@vps.explainxkcd.com>, relay=vps.lunarpages.com [67.210.100.50] (may be forged), reject=553 5.1.8 <expla0@vps.explainxkcd.com>... Domain of sender address expla0@vps.explainxkcd.com does not exist
2014-05-30T08:36:22.219369+02:00 snap sendmail[12564]: s4U6aLdn012564: from=<expla0@vps.explainxkcd.com>, size=2306, class=0, nrcpts=0, proto=ESMTP, daemon=MTA, relay=vps.lunarpages.com [67.210.100.50] (may be forged)
</code> {{unsigned|Jeroenp}}

:You shouldn't need a confirmation email to contribute and use the site. Uh, that feature'll probably be turned off; how did you request the email that generated the above error? '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:21, 31 May 2014 (UTC)

::Because at http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:Preferences it says:

<blockquote><blockquote>E-mail address is optional, but is needed for password resets, should you forget your password.You can also choose to let others contact you by e-mail through a link on your user or talk page. Your e-mail address is not revealed when other users contact you. 
E-mail confirmation: Your e-mail address is not yet authenticated. No e-mail will be sent for any of the following features. 
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:ConfirmEmail Confirm your e-mail address] 
* Enable e-mail from other users
* Send me copies of e-mails I send to other users
* E-mail me when a page on my watchlist is changed
* E-mail me when my user talk page is changed
* E-mail me also for minor edits of pages
</blockquote></blockquote>
::So I used this to send a confirmation email: http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:ConfirmEmail
::[[User:Jeroenp|Jeroenp]] ([[User talk:Jeroenp|talk]]) 19:13, 31 May 2014 (UTC)

The lunarpages do not know to set up a proper Mail Server. My Mail Servers also would never accept this until I whitelist them. Sadly I still have to do this for some customers — also big customers in the US. Reasons because this mail isn't valid:
*dig vps.lunarpages.com:
;; ANSWER SECTION:
vps.lunarpages.com. 3600 IN A 80.156.86.78
vps.lunarpages.com. 3600 IN A 62.157.140.133
*whois 67.210.100.50:
The answer belongs to LunarPages.
*But 67.210.100.50 isn't a registered MX entry for the domain "lunarpages.com":
lunarpages.com. 300 IN MX 0 sharpmail-new.lunarpages.com.
*which is:
sharpmail-new.lunarpages.com. 300 IN A 74.50.25.50

I'm sorry, but fighting against SPAM is important and a proper Mail and DNS configuration is mandatory. Maybe those admins at LP do need some help and advise.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:06, 2 June 2014 (UTC)
:If you don't have anything useful to say, don't say it. You don't have to be in on every single conversation on the wiki. The issue is being dealt with. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 03:45, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

== "Feeling old" category ==

Hello, Davidy22. I noticed that you deleted the "Feeling old" category I made a while ago due to being "tenuous, not significant enough." In the interest of becoming a better contributor to the wiki, could you explain further on significance for a new category?

I realize that there are various qualifications that a category has to fulfill, lest it only add clutter to the wiki. A category ought to be simple, memorable, and concise. It should refer to something within or about the strip, be deliberate, and be objective. And, ideally, it should apply to a fair number of strips. I figured that the four strips that included the motif of "character/Randall reflects on how distant the seemingly-recent past is" all used it significantly, as a central theme or as a punchline. I personally feel that Randall hasn't exhausted his use of this motif, and therefore it warrants its own category for future comics, saving time in future explanations and aiding readers of past explanations.

(My one personal issue with it is that the phrase "feeling old" does not feel concise or specific enough, but I couldn't think of a single word or a better two-word phrase to describe it.) -- [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.21|108.162.216.21]] 18:18, 12 August 2014 (UTC)

:I hope you (Or Davidy22) don't mind me starting off this conversation. Categories are not meant to be used as a tag cloud. Categories are a concrete thing in the comic such as [[:Category:Comics with color]], [[:Category:Red Spiders]]. They are not motifs or feelings about the comic. We don't have categories for happy comics and sad comics, and I can't think of a persuasive enough argument to allow them. Until there's a significant number of comics with "I feel old" or "I'm getting old" or "#FeelingOld" (eww) in the text, I'd hold off on trying to push this one through. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 05:55, 13 August 2014 (UTC)
::Part of the deletion ''was'' because it only had four comics under it. The only times I've allowed categories with that few comics behind them was when they were put forward by registered users who I could make promise to maintain them. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:51, 13 August 2014 (UTC)
::: Okay, so ''feeling'' old is a bad category name. Categories that sound subjective in general are bad. Perhaps "Aging" could work? And also, courtesy of two particular xkcd blogs, I know of at least 10 comics that would belong to it: [[218]], [[354]], [[447]], [[493]], [[647]], [[891]], [[973]], [[1093]], [[1393]], and the recently posted [[1408]]. - [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.21|108.162.216.21]] 03:38, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

== Weird formatting bug ==

I remember back when I had asked about skins you had told me to mention if there was anything off. Well, it's nothing major, but [http://puu.sh/ceEv7.png this] seems to happen on the Main Page alone on the monobook skin. I can't say I've ever seen this before... [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 16:55, 16 October 2014 (UTC)

1434: Where Do Birds Go

2014-10-15T20:15:45Z

Schiffy:

{{comic
| number = 1434
| date = October 15, 2014
| title = Where Do Birds Go
| image = where_do_birds_go.png
| titletext = Water/ice has a lot of weird phases. Maybe asking 'where do birds go when it rains' is like asking 'where does Clark Kent go whenever Superman shows up?'
}}
[[File:Wet_kookaburra_6674_Crop_Edit.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| A wet bird sitting in the rain. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|List websites shown in image. Decide on title text explanation. More detail on the actual joke.|target=1434: Where Do Birds Go}}
Cueball searches [http://lmgtfy.com/?q=where+do+birds+go+when+it+rains%3F Google] to find out where birds go when it rains. He finds that the question is asked worldwide, across different languages and websites, and that everyone wants to know the answer. A variety of screenshots are shown of different websites and forums with users asking where birds go when it rains, with at least seven languages shown. The bottom of this panel fades to white, suggesting that the occurrence of these questions stretches on and on.

Cueball says that worrying about birds getting wet is "the thing that unites us"; but the last panel reminds us that birds too, probably worry about it.

In reality birds, just like humans, seek shelter when it rains. Getting wet is not a problem for birds, but it does complicate flying. On a rainy day you can usually find birds in leafy trees, caves or other kinds of cover.

The lower panels turn the question on its head, pointing out that the question "Where do birds go when it rains?" is not just something that curious humans may wonder, but a serious practical question for the birds themselves. As it starts to rain around a bird, it flies down to a smartphone on the ground and begins searching on the query, ostensibly to find instruction as to where it should go. This could also suggest that the reason the question appears posted so many times, is because in actuality it is the birds who are posting it (since there are more birds than humans, this could easily account for the number of posts).

The title text whimsically suggests that birds might actually be an additional undiscovered exotic {{w|Phase (matter)|phase}} of water (in addition to its familiar phases of {{w|ice}}, {{w|water vapor|vapor}}, and {{w|water|liquid water}}, water does have more exotic phases such as {{w|Ice#Phases|low-temperature and high-pressure ices}} and {{w|Supercritical_fluid|supercritical gases}}). If so, birds disappear when it rains because they actually turn into the rain. This is similar to how, in the {{w|Superman}} comics, Clark Kent disappears whenever Superman is around because they are actually the same person.

{| class="wikitable"
!Websites shown in image (English)
|-
|https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110223085537AAiOFTk
|-
|-
|http://www.enature.com/expert/expert_show_question.asp?questionID=23847
|-
|-
|http://activerain.trulia.com/blogsview/1452078/where-do-birds-go-when-it-rains-
|-
|-
|http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message979308/pg1
|-
|-
|http://randomthoughtsfrommidlife.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/where-do-the-birds-go-when-it-rains/
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! Language
! Question
! Translation
|-
|French
|[https://fr.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110327100813AAMj2hy Où se cachent les oiseaux quand il pleut?]
|Where do the birds hide themselves when it rains?
|-
|rowspan="3"|German
|[http://www.gutefrage.net/frage/was-passiert-jetzt-eigentlich-mit-den-voegeln-die-bei-dem-wetter-in-den-baeumen-sitzen Was passiert jetzt eigentlich mit den vögeln, die bei dem wetter in den bäumen sitzen?]
|What actually happens with the birds that are sitting in the trees in this weather?
|-
|[http://www.vogel.info/schlechtes_wetter.htm Was machen Vögel bei schlechtem Wetter?]
|What do birds do in bad weather?
|-
|[http://www.gutefrage.net/frage/wohin-gehen-voegel Wohin gehen Vögel?]
|Where do birds go?
|-
|rowspan="2"|Spanish
|[http://noticias.lainformacion.com/ciencia-y-tecnologia/ciencias-meteorologicas/que-pasa-con-las-aves-durante-un-huracan_g1DV8AL9LSG6Bzy7q5G8s7/ Qué pasa con las aves durante un huracán?]
|What happens to the birds during a hurricane?
|-
|[https://espanol.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120525145152AABvmOq ¿A donde se van los pajaritos cuando llueve?]
|Where do the little birds go when it rains?
|-
|Dutch
|[http://www.willemwever.nl/vraag_antwoord/dieren-en-planten/waar-blijven-de-vogels-als-het-heel-hard-stormt Waar blijven de vogels als het heel hard stormt?]
|Where do birds stay when it is storming very hard?
|-
|Finnish
|[http://ihmepuu.vuodatus.net/lue/2014/05/minne-linnut-menevat-sateella Minne linnut menevät sateella?]
|Where do the birds go when it rains?
|-
|rowspan="3"|Chinese (simplified)
|[http://wenwen.sogou.com/z/q55741469.htm 下雨时鸟儿往哪躲]
|Where do birds hide when it rains?
|-
|[http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/270774126.html 下雨的时候小鸟住在哪里？]
|Where do birds live while it rains?
|-
|[http://wenwen.sogou.com/z/q145038794.htm 为什么鸟儿下雨的时候在天上飞不会因为淋湿掉下来?]
|Why isn't birds falling to the ground for getting wet while it rains?
|-
|Japanese
|[http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2136533586764388601 【雑学】暴風雨の時、鳥はどこに避難してるの？]
|Miscellaneous Knowledge: Where do birds take shelter during a rainstorm?
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
[The comic is separated into three sections, with Cueball and Megan having a discussion in the first section, websites found through Google search results depicted in the second, and a bird depicted in the third]

;[First Section - Cueball is sitting at his computer]:
Cueball: "Where do birds go when it rains?" is my new favorite Google search.

Megan [off screen]: Why?

Cueball: It gives the answer, but also shows you an endless torrent of other people asking the same question. Pages and pages of them across regions and cultures.

[Megan enters the frame and shows interest in the computer]

Cueball: I love the idea that somehow this is the universal question, the thing that unites us. When it rains, we wonder where the birds go, and hope they're staying dry.

;[Second Section - A collage of screen snippets]:

[[https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110223085537AAiOFTk from Yahoo! Answers]]: '''Where do the birds go when it rains?''' I've noticed I rarely see birds flying around or in trees or on power lines when it's raining, So where do they go?

[[http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message979308/pg1 from Godlike Productions]]: '''Where do birds go when it rains really hard?'''
Ok, maybe I'm an idiot for asking this, but during the slew of several storms in California the last couple weeks, I began to wonder where the poor birds go to stay dry? The ducks, seagulls, owls, sparrows, hummingbirds, hawks, etc...I see them all the ti[...]

[[http://randomthoughtsfrommidlife.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/where-do-the-birds-go-when-it-rains/ from Random Thoughts From Midlife]]: Where do the birds go when it rains?

[[http://www.answers.com/Q/Where_do_birds_go_when_it_rains from Answers.com]]: Where do birds go when it rains?

[[https://espanol.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120525145152AABvmOq from Yahoo! Respuestas]]: ¿A donde se van los pajaritos cuando llueve?

[[http://activerain.trulia.com/blogsview/1452078/where-do-birds-go-when-it-rains- from Active Rain]]: '''Where do Birds go When it Rains?''' I'm no youngster...and I have no answer for this. I've talked to alot of people about the likelihood of where birds go when it rains and everyone has a different perspective.

[[http://ask.metafilter.com/27499/Where-do-the-birds-go-when-it-rains from Ask MetaFilter]]: '''Where do the birds go when it rains?''' BirdFeederFilter: When it's gloomy and rainy, I don't see any birds at my birdfeeder for days on end. Then as soon as it's sunny, they're all over the place. What gives? What do they do on rainy days, just forage near their nest?

[[http://snippets.com/where-do-city-birds-go-when-it-rains.htm from Snippets]]: Where do city birds go when it rains?

[[http://wenwen.sogou.com/z/q55741469.htm from http://wenwen.sogou.com/]]: 下雨时鸟儿往哪躲
没有大树,没有屋檐,怎么办

'''Storm shelter''' In Florida, where I live, we get many thunderstorms, but I never see the birds in trees during the storms. We recently had a tropical storm and I did not see any birds in the trees. Where do birds go when it rains or storms? Just like at night, birds will seek shelter during storms. I remember watching a flock of American robins dive into[...]

[[https://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110730055427AApJlDb from Yahoo! Answers]]: When it is raining heavily, where do the birds go...i don't see them on the trees, where do they take shelter?

[[https://fr.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110327100813AAMj2hy from Yahoo! Questions Réponses]]: Où se cachent les oiseaux quand il pleut? De ma fenêtre, je n'en aperçois plus un!!!...Les pies semblent avoir abandonné leurs nids...

[[http://www.gutefrage.net/frage/was-passiert-jetzt-eigentlich-mit-den-voegeln-die-bei-dem-wetter-in-den-baeumen-sitzen from gutefrage.net]]: '''was passiert jetzt eigentlich mit den vögeln, die bei dem wetter in den bäumen sitzen?''' bei uns regnet es heftig und der orkanartige wind wechelst ständig richtung und geschwindigkeit. können sich die vögel da in den bäumen halten? retten sie sich instinktiv vorher irgendwohin, wo sie windgeschützt sind?

[[https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20140607171044AAwamou from Yahoo! Answers]]: Where do birds go when it rains? I never see any out...?

[[http://noticias.lainformacion.com/ciencia-y-tecnologia/ciencias-meteorologicas/que-pasa-con-las-aves-durante-un-huracan_g1DV8AL9LSG6Bzy7q5G8s7/ from lainformacion.com]]: ¿Qué pasa con las aves durante un huracán?

[[http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/270774126.html from Baidu]]: '''下雨的时候小鸟住在哪里？''' 下雨的时候小鸟住在哪里？如果是在春天夏天那还好，有树叶遮挡着，但是到了秋天冬天下雨小鸟住在哪里？还住在在树上搭的窝里吗？不怕冻坏自己和小幼崽吗？如果躲雨那就在哪里躲雨呢？怎么没见过它们躲雨？谢谢。

[[http://www.fairfaxunderground.com/forum/read/40/219540.html from Fairfax Underground]]: '''What do birds do when it rains?''' Recently I installed a bird feeder outside my bedroom window. It is so wonderful the diversity of our feathered friends that frequent the feeder! I love it. My question that I haven't found an answer to is this: What do the little birdies do when it rains? I mean, do they stay put in the trees that they find themselves in,

[[http://ihmepuu.vuodatus.net/lue/2014/05/minne-linnut-menevat-sateella from a blog on vuodatus.net]]: '''Minne linnut menevät sateella?''' Tänään satoi rankasti. Kuljin metsän halki. Kuulin linnun laulavan. Yksinäinen, mutta itsenäinen ja vahva, tulkitseva ääni. Kaunis. Minne linnut menevät sateella? En ole koskaan nähnyt lintuja rankkasateessa. Luulen, että ne yrittävät löytää suojan. Kuusien ja mäntyjen oksistossa on varmaan suojaisaa. Kallioiden koloihin ja pieniin luolastoihin voi ehkä lintukin hiipiä. Rohkeille löytyy pihoilta suojapaikkoja. Ehkä linnulla oli oma pesäkolo. Siellä oli lämmintä ja kuivaa. Sieltä saattoi rauhassa katsella sateen vierailua metsässä. Siellä saattoi jopa iloita sateesta ja laulaa.

[[https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110530163957AAaw1S3 from Yahoo! Answers]]: '''What do the birds do when it RAINS like crazy?''' I live in upstate new york and just moved here and there are so many many birds here especially where I live, the other day I saw a broken egg on the ground in the drive way from a [...show more link] '''Update''': I know they get wet btw but was wondering if they did anything extra to [...show more link] '''Best Answer''' Well ... it depends on the species of bird, for one. Some are more adapted for rain then others.

[[http://www.willemwever.nl/vraag_antwoord/dieren-en-planten/waar-blijven-de-vogels-als-het-heel-hard-stormt from Willem Wever]]: '''Waar blijven de vogels als het heel hard stormt?''' Bij hevige stormen zoekt een vogel de beschutting die bij hem past. Er zijn een aantal vogels die met storm wel vliegen. Maar bij een echte hevige storm schuilen [...]

[[http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2136533586764388601 from Naver Matome]]: '''【雑学】暴風雨の時、鳥はどこに避難してるの？''' 人間が歩くのも困難な暴風雨。その時、一番影響を受けるのは空を飛んでいる鳥達ですよね。彼らはどのように風雨を凌いでいるのか？ずーっと気になっていた事を調べてみました！

[..several more similar questions, fading into white...]

;[Third section - A bird on a wire fence]:
[A bird sits on a wire fence with no rain falling]

[Zoomed in on the bird as it looks at a rain drop splashing on the fence wire]

[Zoomed out on the bird looking at the rain as it increases in intensity]

[The bird flies down to an small smart-phone-shaped object lying on the ground, as the rain increases in intensity even more]

[The bird lands on the object, with puddles increasing in size around the object]

[The bird pecks at the object, ostensibly typing] W... H... E... R... E... D... O... B... I... R... D... S...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Animals]]

1426: Reduce Your Payments

2014-09-26T18:28:22Z

Schiffy: /* Explanation */ That's really all semantics. It's a single panel comic, it really has no "future"

{{comic
| number = 1426
| date = September 26, 2014
| title = Reduce Your Payments
| image = reduce_your_payments.png
| titletext = I tried oxidizing them, but your bank uses some really weird paper and it wouldn't light.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Black Hat]] walks into a room where [[Cueball]] sits in an armchair. Black Hat says to Cueball that he can reduce his mortgage payments, while holding a docket of paper, presumably Cueball's payment check. Black Hat uses the same formulation many Internet advertisements use: "Discover this (strange/new/amazing...) trick to (lose weight/reduce your mortgage payments/meet amazing women)" known as {{w|clickbait}}. Cueball wants to know how and Black Hat responds by mentioning {{w|Sodium_borohydride|sodium borohydride (NaBH4)}}.

Sodium borohydride is a strong {{w|Reducing_agent|reducing agent}}, meaning in a chemical reaction it will "{{w|redox|reduce}}" another substance. It is in fact used during the [http://www.borax.com/library/articles/news-and-events/news-release/paper's-tiger manufacture of paper], in order to bleach the pulp and improve the resulting paper's properties.

This comic is a typical switcharound pun. Cueball expects the value (on a bill) paid to be reduced, while Black Hat uses the chemical meaning of reducing.

The complementary chemical reaction to reduction is oxidation, which is what happens if the paper mortgage payment is burned, as referred to in the title text. They go together in {{w|redox}} reactions, which generally involve electron transfer from the {{w|chemical species}} which is oxidized to the one which is reduced.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits on a sofa and Blackhat walks into the frame from behind.]
:Blackhat: I discovered this weird trick for reducing your mortgage payments!
:Cueball: What?
:Blackhat: Sodium borohydride.
:Cueball: ...I hate you.

{{comic discussion}}

User talk:Jeff

2014-08-03T21:56:22Z

Schiffy: /* MediaWiki question */

{{notice|This is the talk page of Jeff, the creator of Explain XKCD. If you have a comment about the wiki, please use the [[Explain XKCD:Community portal]]. Use this page only for personal messages to Jeff, of for requests that require server access.}} 

== ParserFunctions ==

Hi Jeff,

Just thought I'd run this up the flagpole... any thought about installing the ParserFunctions extension? I think this site could benefit from a few templates that would aid in indexing/categorizing the entries as content is migrated, and ParserFunctions would make some really impressive things possible... but installing any extension or not would be up to you.

Also, do you have any feelings about us users creating templates in the Template namespace, which we could use to maintain the content? Just wanted to get your thumbs-up before/if I did something like that. Just want to play nice. Love the site, and the new wiki format.

- PT [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 03:05, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:ParserFunctions are awesome, yup! --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 06:56, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::{{done}} Yes to both. I have enabled ParserFunctions and Templates sound like a great idea. IronyChef, please send me an email at the address on the blog and I'll make you an admin if necessary to edit templates. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 08:03, 1 August 2012 (EDT)

== Extension:Variable ==
Just wondering what you thought about adding the [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Variables Variables extension]. I'm toying with revising {{tl|LATESTCOMIC}} to not be so expensive (both in terms of template expansion, and ongoing maintenance.) I could do that now, but the wiki would have to re-expand and re-evaluate the same expression about six times, being slightly counter-productive. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:54, 25 August 2012 (UTC)
:: any thoughts ... up, down, sideways? Thanks! -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 15:34, 1 September 2012 (UTC)
::: I'm up for it... Let me get it installed on the wiki side when I get a chance. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 23:13, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

== Bugging you again.... ==

Could you take a look at [//www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?limit=10000&tagfilter=&title=Special%3AContributions&contribs=user&target=Philosopher&namespace=8&year=&month=-1] and tell me if I'm thinking in about the same way as you are here? Also, I've brought up [[MediaWiki:Tagline]] and [[Explain XKCD:Community portal]], as it'd be cool to have a tagline. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 10:46, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:With you 100% on the File Delete reasons. Thanks. I agree also about having a tagline. What do you think it should be? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 11:13, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::Nothing's coming to mind right now. Perhaps someone else will think of something. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 17:54, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
Discussion continued at [[Explain XKCD:Community portal/Proposals#Tagline]].

== Automatic Import ==
Moved to [[Explain XKCD:Community portal/Proposals#Automatic Import]]. (Header left to avoid breaking links.) --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:30, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Please watch [[Explain XKCD:Community portal/Administrators' noticeboard]] ==

I'd like to ask that the admins consider adding [[Explain XKCD:Community portal/Administrators' noticeboard]] to their [[wikipedia:Help:Watching pages|watchlists]]. On a similar note, I've just started a discussion there about spammers. -''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 02:02, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Images from Wikimedia Commons and SVG ==
Please set <code>$wgUseInstantCommons = true;</code> in the wiki's LocalSettings.php, so we can use images from Wikimedia Commons without having to reupload them here.
Also, I'd be neat if you could [[mw:Manual:Image Administration#SVG|enable svg images]]. Thanks! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 04:20, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
: {{done}}, Instant Commons is on. Will need a little more work to get SVG images to work. What renderer to do you suggest I use? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 12:05, 6 August 2012 (UTC)
:: That'll depend on what you have available in your server. They say there that ImageMagick seems to be an acceptable choice, but rsvg seems to be the best one if the dependencies can be sorted out. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 13:20, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

== Search suggestions ==

Hi,

could you please set $wgEnableMWSuggest [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:$wgEnableMWSuggest] to true? This enables search suggestions for the search field, and often this helps you to skip the search results. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 09:10, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:{{done}} OK, this is has been added to the LocalSettings. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 12:06, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

== Time zone ==

Please set the wiki to UTC (<tt>$wgLocaltimezone = "UTC";</tt> in LocalSettings.php), as it's the most neutral option for our international community. In any case, each user can choose their time zone in their preferences.
:{{done}} Ok, set. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 12:07, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

== Short urls, site logo, lowercase xkcd ==

Hi,
I'm not sure if you tried it but http://shorturls.redwerks.org is a great (and simple :D) tool to implement clean urls with mediawiki. That would make urls much nicer around here.

Also, if you could, please take a look at [[Explain XKCD:Community portal/Proposals#Naming conventions]], where your assistance is needed for some server changes. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 15:31, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:Hi again :) just to remind you about the short urls thing. I think it would be great if we could have wiki links in the form "explainxkcd.com/wiki/link_title". It might be necessary to move the wiki into a different folder name than "wiki", but that's just a matter of renaming the folder and changing <code>$wgScriptPath</code> in LocalSettings.php accordingly. The link above makes things really straighforward, it should really only take you a few minutes to set everything up.
:Another cool thing that could be done is set up a server redirect so that links in the form of explainxkcd.com/number would point to the comics in the wiki instead of returning a 404 error (for instance, http://explainxkcd.com/123 would point to http://explainxkcd.com/wiki/123). That way, we could replicate xkcd's own url system for comics and people could simply type explainxkcd.com/123 and get the explanation for the corresponding comic. This redirect can probably be set up in the hosting company's web interface, but in case it can't, let me know if you need any help. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 22:03, 11 August 2012 (UTC)
::Hi Waldir - I'll work on the short URL thing. I want that to work for sure. With regards to the redirect, I have been working on it for a while and I have a few .htaccess files and etc that don't work. I'll be grateful for the help on it. Please send me an email if you know how to get it done. This would also allow anyone from xkcd.com/435 to just add explain and go to the comic explanation. Very helpful. Been working on it unsuccessfully for a while. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 01:41, 12 August 2012 (UTC)
:::Ugh, it must be my hosting because I did all of the shorturls correctly it just sent it to a 404 page for the site over and over again. The url seemed to be the right one, but didn't send it to the right location. It should NOT be this difficult. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 02:25, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

== wgCapitalLinks ==

Hi Jeff! When you have a few spare minutes, please add the following to LocalSettings.php:
$wgCapitalLinks = false;
This allows page titles not to be automatically capitalized by the software, which is important for filenames and for some comic titles such as [[s/keyboard/leopard/]]. Cheers, [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 21:34, 11 August 2012 (UTC)
:{{done}} --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 01:37, 12 August 2012 (UTC)
::...and this broke our templates (and maybe [[Special:RecentChanges]]?). See [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests]]. Can't we just style the page titles so they appear as though they aren't capitalized when they really are? (As done at [[wikipedia:Xkcd]], using the DISPLAYTITLE magic word (called through [[wikipedia:Template:DISPLAYTITLE]]).) --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 04:42, 12 August 2012 (UTC)
:::Looks like transition pains would be inevitable. I think everything is sorted out for now. See the Admin requests thread for details. As for using DISPLAYTITLE, I understand the rationale, but this is xkcd and attention to capitalization is necessary in several pages, and I believe we'd rather use a complete solution (so that pages actually have the correct title) rather than hacking what is shown to viewers. In any case, we shouldn't have many problems in the future because of this; People will only capitalize the first letter of a title when it's actually necessary; otherwise, lazyness/convenience makes us all use lowercase everywhere (besides, redirects can be used just in case, such as {{tl|yesno}} → {{tl|YesNo}}. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 09:06, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

== External Images ==

Has there actually been a decision on external images? Or is it just to be decided later?  [[User:Grep|grep]][[User_talk:Grep|talk]] 
: No decision yet. What do you think? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 21:16, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
::Well, the whitelisting seems an OK idea. This would help you save space on the servers that you are hosting on, so that's a plus. I say go for whitelisting.  [[User:Grep|grep]][[User_talk:Grep|talk]]  Mostly I am wondering because I created a PHP script that creates an image to display the results of a poll (like on the Moving the Wiki topic in Proposals). For my situation any method of something external being placed on this site will work.
::'''I just''' got an idea... what if there was a group of moderators that check external images and approve them. The more approvals a person gets, the more "reliable" they are considered to be... ?  [[User:Grep|grep]][[User_talk:Grep|talk]] 

== Short Link Problem Fix? ==

Is <code>mod_rewrite</code> installed and enabled? 
[https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Short_URL/Apache MW ShortURL] 
Are all of the config files (including the wiki one) set up?

 [[User:Grep|grep]][[User_talk:Grep|talk]] 

== New admin please? ==

This is a bit forthright of me, but nothing appears to be being done about it. Would you read this [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals#Spampage Rampage]] and comment on it? Thanks, [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] and the community 17:47, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

== Small change ==

Hi Jeff! Long time no see. Look, could you add
:<code>$wgGroupPermissions['autoconfirmed']['autopatrol'] = true;</code>
to LocalSettings.php? That will allow edits by [[mw:auto-confirmed|auto-confirmed]] users not to be marked with a red exclamation mark in recent changes so we can more quickly spot edits that might need reviewing. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 02:16, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

:Btw while you're at it, please also add
::<code>$wgAllowUserJs = true;</code>
::<code>$wgAllowUserCss = true;</code>
:So users can make their own scripts and styles to enhance the wiki (I need that, for instance, to test stuff without affecting anyone else, before integrating them on site-wide javascript/css pages) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:52, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

{{done}} and {{done}} --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 19:55, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

:Thanks! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:57, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

:: Sorry, I forgot a small detail: it is necessary to set up the following so that "auto-confirmed" doesn't mean "any registered user":
:: <code>$wgAutoConfirmAge = 60*60*24*3 // accounts become auto-confirmed after 3 days</code>
:: <code>$wgAutoConfirmCount = 10 // ...and 10 edits</code>
:: Cheers, [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 21:32, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

::: {{done}} --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 21:49, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

:::: Thanks, again. Also, since the wiki didn't break, I take it that you noticed the missing semicolons which I stupidly forgot to include at the end of the lines, and added them. Sorry for the slip-up. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:31, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
::::: No worries, I know that much at least! :) --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 17:36, 26 November 2012 (UTC)

Did you by any chance write "auto patrol" instead of "autopatrol"? [[Special:ListGroupRights]] suggests so, and if that's the case, that explains why the changes don't seem to have had the effects I expected from them (edits by auto-patrolled users still marked with the red exclamation mark in Special:RecentChanges). Could you check that the line reads exactly <code>$wgGroupPermissions['autoconfirmed']['autopatrol'] = true;</code>? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:54, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
: That's what I thought I put even though autocorrect wanted to change it. Can't look now, will have a look when I get home. ---[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 17:55, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
:: Any news? No pressure, I'm just curious :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 15:34, 30 November 2012 (UTC)
::: Bah - I keep forgetting when I get home. I'll try to get it done this weekend. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 17:35, 30 November 2012 (UTC)
:::: Much delayed, but {{done}} --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 02:50, 4 December 2012 (UTC)
::::: Thanks, Jeff. I'll let you know if there's any further issues, but I believe everything should be working now. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:34, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

== Links to category pages ==

I couldn't help but notice the number of your edits to your page. You can link to category pages by putting a colon in front of "Category". <code><nowiki>[[:Category:Pages to delete]]</nowiki></code> produces [[:Category:Pages to delete]]. It also doesn't add the category to that page, it just links to it. Cheers, [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:30, 30 November 2012 (UTC)
: Oh geez. You saw that? That's a little embarrassing with not knowing what to do, I kept trying to figure out how to put the link there. Thanks for the help! I couldn't find that information anywhere. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 17:31, 30 November 2012 (UTC)

::When I had to learn about that trick the edits on that page looked fairly similar. I eventually found the right page [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Links] (ctrl+f "category", it's buried) and managed it. I have the Recent Changes page set to auto-refresh every minute. I see a few things. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:43, 30 November 2012 (UTC)

== Your opinion? ==

Please comment [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Technical#We need more maintainers|here]]. Cheers, [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:21, 5 December 2012 (UTC)
:Update: we've been offered help by [[mediawiki:User:Dantman|an experienced MediaWiki developer]], I think we can finally solve the server-side issues now! Please take a look at the thread linked above. [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 20:07, 23 March 2013 (UTC)

== I am really dumb ==

and this morning, while creating a user name, I goofed it and wrote .mau, (with a trailing comma) instead of .mau. (with a trailing dot, which is my trademark). I know that a bureaucrat on MediaWiki can change a username which had few edits (my own edits are three including this one): could you do this, or at least delete this username so that I may recreate it without leaving a dead one? TIA, [[User:.mau,|.mau,]] ([[User talk:.mau,|talk]]) 15:09, 16 January 2013 (UTC)
:You can actually change your signature to .mau. if you want, to mask that for now. Just make a page called User:.mau,/sig and craft your signature to your liking, then go to my preferences at the top and set your sig to <nowiki>{{SUBST:User:.mau,/sig}}</nowiki>. If you want an example, [[User:Lcarsos/sig]] is a near-vanilla and quite clean example of a custom sig, while [[User:Omega/sig]] and my sig, [[User:Davidy22/sig]] are slightly more tricked-out options. Wikipedia's guidelines to signature crafting are {{w|Wikipedia:Signatures#Customizing_your_signature|here.}} '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 15:53, 16 January 2013 (UTC)
::ok, thanks! [[User:.mau,|.mau.]] ([[User talk:.mau,|talk]]) 09:55, 17 January 2013 (UTC)
:::Aw, that's it? No bling or anything? Meeehhh. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:16, 17 January 2013 (UTC)
:(to Jeff) I believe user renaming is not possible in vanilla mediawiki. An extension is required: [[mw:Extension:Renameuser]] --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 18:21, 17 January 2013 (UTC)
::I find a bit disturbing to have a "wrong" username, especially because I may not remember it somewhen (yes, the word does not exist, but I like its sound); but I don't need any flashy signature, so I just changed the traling comma to a dot. --[[User:.mau,|.mau.]] ([[User talk:.mau,|talk]]) 14:09, 18 January 2013 (UTC)

==/wiki/==
Now that the site apparently redirects to the wiki, could the entire wiki URL just be explainxkcd.com, without the trailing wiki? It's mostly for cleanliness, but also to throw off the spambots for a while. Those accursed spam happy bots. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:29, 4 February 2013 (UTC)
: Sounds good, I'm working on that part next. It is next on my "to-do" list complete some URL work like that. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:05, 4 February 2013 (UTC)
::''nag''. Also, the spam is becoming an issue. A pretty big issue. Time to switch captchas? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:04, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
::: OK - sounds good to me, any ones you recommend? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 13:33, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
:::: I don't remember which captcha the wiki uses, but I know securimage and recaptcha are two very competent options. Alternately, you could use [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:ConfirmEdit ConfirmEdit] to screen anon edits. Much of the spam seems to be automated, so questycaptcha should screen out most of the chaff. Just simple questions, like "What webcomic does this site explain" or "Who created XKCD" should be sufficient to screw up our current spammers. Also, rm /wiki/ plx. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:41, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
:::::Confirm edit is in and Recaptcha is out. Let's try that. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 14:11, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
::::::The questions appear to be case-sensitive. To avoid frustration, could you add a notice to every question saying that the answers have to be in all lower/upper case? I got "What's the name of this wiki" wrong a bunch of times, and I think it's due to capitalization. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:30, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
:::::::Ok - cool. I changed it to $wgSitename instead of just writing it out. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 14:32, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
::::::::If we get no spam tomorrow, I will hold a party in your talk page. Oh, and /wiki/. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:38, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
:::::::::I'll just hijack this thread and ask: Isn't it time Davidy22 got admin tools? It's long overdue. And please promote Lcarsos‏‎ to bureaucrat, so he can make new admins if needed. And seconded: <code>/wiki/</code> ! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 02:39, 19 February 2013 (UTC)
::::::::::Could you also put confirmEdit in general page creation for anonymous users? There's still a couple of spam pages being made that don't actually advertise anything. There hasn't been an account creation in a long time, so I think we've killed off the spam accounts. The rate of spam has definitely dropped significantly ever since we switched to confirmEdit. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:42, 20 February 2013 (UTC)
::::::::::We've just had a surge of pure griefer spam. Anons who don't insert any links, they're just throwing spam at us out of malice. Could you make anonymous users have to pass through confrimEdit to create pages? Thanks. On a side note, what's the ratio in terms of file size between current explanation pages to logs and diffs? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:53, 22 February 2013 (UTC)
:::::::::::Wow those suck. Wiping out whole pages with anon edits. I can't change the settings from here, but I'll do it when I get home. Also, I'm not sure what you mean by filesize? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 15:51, 22 February 2013 (UTC)
::::::::::::Eh, how much space do explanations and images take up on your hard drive when compared to the space that log files and diffs take up? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 16:01, 22 February 2013 (UTC)
:::::::::::::Click a thing, check out the URL. I be posting this here instead of DMs because somthing like this has been requested for a pretty long time. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:55, 7 December 2013 (UTC)
::::::::::::: I'm confused. There's a lot going on in this thread. Want to break it out into its own header? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:48, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
::::::::::::::Mkay '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 19:47, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

== Promote Davidy22 ==

:''Breaking this discussion out from where it was, because it merits its own section. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]])''
I'll just hijack this thread and ask: Isn't it time Davidy22 got admin tools? It's long overdue. And please promote lcarsos‏‎ to bureaucrat, so he can make new admins if needed. And seconded: <code>/wiki/</code> ! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 02:39, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

:'''Heartily Agree''' on promoting Davidy22, he's almost always more on top of spam patrol than I am these days (burn-out for the lose). I'm not sure I can speak for my own promotion without sounding self-serving and power-hungry. However, in my few spare moments this semester I am looking closely at getting a bot up and running to automate the clean up of spam (mostly because manual spam patrol is the most soul-sucking and disheartening activity I've ever done), so it would be nice to be able to get a bot account promoted to bot status without misrepresenting it as my account. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:13, 19 February 2013 (UTC)
:: Davidy22 is up to admin (honestly, I thought he was already one, so no issue there on my end.) and lcarsos has been updated to bureaucrat because we should have more redundancy there. Also, create a bot account and let me know what it is and i'll give it bot rights. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:36, 19 February 2013 (UTC)
:: Or now, you can do it! :) --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:41, 19 February 2013 (UTC)
:::WOO, power! '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:42, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

== Small ConfirmEdit change ==

Can you change the line:
<pre>$wgCaptchaTriggers['create'] = false;</pre>
to true? I think this would solve most of our bot vandalism/griefing problems. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:19, 22 February 2013 (UTC)
:: {{done}} I changed 'edit' to true as well since we've seen a bunch when editing user's talk pages. We will see if I have to move that back to false. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:16, 23 February 2013 (UTC)

== DeleteOldRevisions ==

There's a script built into mediawiki called DeleteOldRevisions.php that seems to have deprecated the deletehistory plugin. A link to the [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:DeleteOldRevisions.php manual page.] A hard drive upgrade would be apt for the future though. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:15, 20 March 2013 (UTC)
: I'm looking into it. I'm not sure how the wiki got back up and running without me running the update. I'll try the [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:DeleteHistory] and see if that can help in the meantime. The expanded HD might be a no-go, but I'll see on that too. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 01:27, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

==Server Hardware==
The website is getting really slow and throwing internal errors all over the place, and it looks like both the main page and the page for the newest comic [[1190: Time]] are climbing rapidly in views. If one ambiguous comic is hitting us like a DDoS, we're going to get it in the shorts if Randall ever actually acknowledges our existence directly, or some other geeky media outlet posts a link to us. Is there a donate button anywhere? '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:18, 25 March 2013 (UTC)
: We certainly can get a Donate button. We may need to migrate the server to get it upgraded. This is one of those big days, I guess. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 12:39, 25 March 2013 (UTC)
:: How about a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:37, 26 March 2013 (UTC)
:::Kickstarter and Indiegogo are one-time things. No good for this. I recommend modifying the donate button so that there is a PayPal "Subscribe" button near it so people can also do small monthly subscriptions. I recommend a dropdown with $1, $2, $5, $10, $20 options.
:::Does 1&1 give you stats like how much bandwidth (or rather how much data) you are using. That could have an effect on where is best to get the new hosting; Rackspace Cloud, Linode, AWS, or even a real server with access to other network options like paying for actual Mbps bandwidth with unlimited data.
:::When you get a server I'd like to properly set it up with varnish, nginx, apc (or Zend_Optimizer+ considering it's going to be part of php 5.5), memcached, and perhaps php-fpm instead of mod_php. Varnish will allow anonymous pages to be cached hopefully reducing the load issues. And nginx should serve out static things better than Apache. [[User:Dantman|Dantman]] ([[User talk:Dantman|talk]]) 05:23, 27 March 2013 (UTC)
:::: Regarding the Paypal button, besides the subscribe option, I would recommend removing the credit card logos, as they make it too wide for the sidebar and not fit the design well. Besides, I personally think they give it kind of a corporate feel; instead, a simple "donate" button, while still recognizable as paypal's, feels simpler and more "personal", for lack of a better word.
:::: Also, I think you should place it above the AdSense block, since that makes it more visible, and prioritizes a form of supporting the site that people have direct, active control over, rather than the passive, choice-less (modulo AdBlock) AdSense.
:::: And also capitalize "donate" in the section title, to match the other titles ("Navigation", "Toolbox", etc.)
:::: Since we're at it: maybe more donation options would make sense: [//flattr.com Flattr], [//gittip.com Gittip], [//tiptheweb.org/ TipTheWeb], and possibly [//bitcoin.org/ Bitcoins].
:::: Finally, is it possible to make the AdSense background transparent, or at least the same as the site background of #F3F3F3? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 14:15, 27 March 2013 (UTC)
:::::Is it possible to add the ad and donate buttons without including a section title? Minimizing unused space is gooood. Also, I noticed that you installed the deletehistory plugin, but it's trying to use another version of PHP that's installed on the server. deleteoldrevisions.php in the maintenance folder oughta work fine, though it'd probably be apt to run it over the weekend when we're not expecting absurd floods of visitors like we are now. We may need it too, after we've filled up the hard drive again with archives of Time.'''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:39, 27 March 2013 (UTC)
:::::: Yes, it is possible for me to edit, I will have to go into the settings for each since I used extensions for them. I hate the credit card things too. Will take a look at all options tonight.
:::::: The Deletehistory plugin doesn't work, sadly because of the PHP version. Hopefully, when we migrate, it will be on a newer version and that will work. Hopefully, we will have more disk space too... --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]])
::::: Hey Jeff. Could you change the width of the paypal donate button so that it matches the google ads and the bitcoin donate button? Maybe using a custom button rather than the paypal-provided one?
::::: Also, any news regarding the possibility of changing the background of the google ads? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:21, 8 April 2013 (UTC)
:::::: It did not work out with Google ads for a reason they will not disclose to me, but I'll work on the buttons and the banner ad. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:11, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

== Everything's good ==

Except for the (currently) occasional server error, I have no problems.

I've turned on HotCat and Popups, imported wikEdDiff and my HideTopContribs, all of which make me fairly efficient at watching changes.

A minor request would be the Redirect toolbar button.

[[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 17:13, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

:When you turn off enwiki's "Enable enhanced editing toolbar" all of the toolbar buttons explainxkcd has are in the same order (it skips Math) and the very next one is Redirect #R. It seems to be defined at http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MediaWiki:Common.js/edit.js&action=edit
:I've tried adding just Redirect #R myself [[User:Markhurd/common.js|here]], but something's going wrong. (And I should be sleeping!)
::Seeing as it is only one button I wanted, I simplified the code down to calling addButton directly and it is now working fine. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 13:07, 20 April 2013 (UTC)

:Re being an Admin: Yes, please, as long as you note this would be my first actual Admin bit. (I'm a Bureaucrat on another MW wiki so I could give myself Admin rights whenever I wanted.) [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 19:39, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

== Sidebar ads ==

Hi, we're having a discussion about the sidebar ads on [[Talk:Main Page#sidebar ads?]]. --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 08:42, 24 April 2013 (UTC)

== Economic transparency ==

Hi! I made a request on economic transparency on the proposals page. –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 22:05, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

==Thumbnails are not working==
I'm relatively new here but I think each picture should get it's proper thumbnail when the original is to large to embed. Mediawiki is using some applications in the background maybe not available here. But there are some workarounds. And since "onlinehome.us" is well secured I still do even not know what OS is running in the background. But whatever the OS is, it should be solvable.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:13, 8 June 2013 (UTC)

== Last missing page ==

Hi, I'm hoping you don't mind about my adds to Natalie Dee. I was working on that at the same time.
BTW: Can I help you on that thumbnail issue? I really would be happy if it could fixed here.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:42, 18 June 2013 (UTC)
:: No problem on the Natalee Dee comic, I was just working on it because it was the last one, edit away. What's the thumbnail issue? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 21:43, 18 June 2013 (UTC)
:::Thanks for your reply. I am still talking about this: [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Errors_and_symptoms#Image_Thumbnails_not_working_and.2For_appearing Image_Thumbnails_not_working]. I am sure there is a need to fix the [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/LocalSettings.php LocalSettings.php]. Maybe some paths are wrong or it's just using wrong image tools. I can help on any OS except Apple computers.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:07, 18 June 2013 (UTC)

== Congratulations! ==

You just created the last unexplained comic of ''xkcd''! [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 23:38, 18 June 2013 (UTC)
: Thanks Greyson! --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 03:04, 19 June 2013 (UTC)

==Math==
A lot of comics have formulae in them. Could you set $wgUseTeX = true in LocalSettings.php? That lets us use latex in pages. It'd be useful for comics like yesterday's. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:12, 11 July 2013 (UTC)
:Yeah, this would be nice. But you have to install an extension, LaTex must be available, then compile something, and at least adjusting the LocalSettings.php config file. We also sill do not have all image features here. But I can help, Windows or Linux.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:55, 11 July 2013 (UTC)
:: I'll look into it. Let me know if you find an extension that will do the trick. Send me some links to anything that would help and I can get them set up. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 14:44, 11 July 2013 (UTC)
:::Go here [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Math Extension:Math] and read the installation instructions first, it's not easy. For Fedora (Linux) there is a package called "mediawiki-math.x86_64" available. I will test this at my own computer.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:57, 11 July 2013 (UTC)
::::It's the hell, but I got a first crappy version at my local installation. I have had to install ''latex'' and ''ocaml'' packages and now its working, but it still renders many lines before the <nowiki><math></nowiki> tag, So it's still not usable for this site.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:35, 13 July 2013 (UTC)
===Seeing injected banner ads?===
I'm seeing banner ads (viewing on my iPad) that cover the actual banner of the site and never scroll out of view. It's as if they've been infected by a downstream server (ISP?). Anybody else? I'm in Wisconsin using TDS. Jeff M.
: That's terrible, I've got to fix that. bah. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:36, 2 August 2013 (UTC)
:: Is there a place I can email some screenshots? Jeff M.{{unsigned ip|69.130.242.120}}

== Full cache kills this page ==

Hi, it seems this page was not reachable for 15 hours again. The cache here has to be cleared sometimes, but since I can do it with my account I will create a script running once per day. 15 hours outage are bad, I try to avoid this in the future. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:50, 3 October 2013 (UTC)
:Which page was dead? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:11, 3 October 2013 (UTC)
::The entire site was dead. Look here: [[Special:RecentChanges|Special:RecentChanges]]. My last post was at 23:44 yesterday, no actions here after my reset at 14:54 today. The site was dead. I'm not a hacker, but I'm a programmer and I used this base of knowledge to fix this problem. If you do need more details, please send me an email. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:25, 3 October 2013 (UTC)
::: Agreed. Tried to visit yesterday PM, but a lot of pages were spilling guts: user pages, category pages, no comic explanations (as far as I could tell with my limited browsing.) A chron-job script to keep that at bay would be good medicine, assuming it didn't have other side effects. [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 03:19, 4 October 2013 (UTC)
I will set up a cron job running once per day. Maybe this entry at the config file [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:LocalSettings.php LocalSettings.php] would be the better solution:
$wgMainCacheType = CACHE_NONE;
I'm using the MidnightCommander (Linux) for editing this file.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:11, 4 October 2013 (UTC)
:::: Cache_None is already set in the LocalSettings. I believe this is usually a database error that we are getting. It usually resolves itself as I'm not able to resolve it myself. I believe that we are getting hit with a brute force attack at our database during those times because the database is totally unreachable. I'm working on moving to a new host where the database will be better protected. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 12:16, 4 October 2013 (UTC)
:::::Cache_None or CACHE_NONE? This should be case sensitive. Nevertheless I did purge the cache and the site was instantly available again (after approx. 15 hours). Also Davidy22 explained that he did clear the cache to bring the site back. The error messages are misleading and not showing the real problem.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:43, 4 October 2013 (UTC)
:::::: Yes, CACHE_NONE, sorry, I was typing fast. I've ran my clear cache script a few times when I've had that same problem and haven't seen results, so I'm glad we at least have something that's working. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 15:18, 4 October 2013 (UTC)
:::::::You are doing a great job, I feel I just have to say thanks! When the next outage does happen I will activate a small script, but for now I just try to avoid unnecessary traffic to this server.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:15, 4 October 2013 (UTC)
:::::::: Thanks Dgbrt! --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:07, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

== New host ==

Great job, but please check this link: <code>/wiki/</code>. I can browse the entire folder and more. It seems that "htaccess" should be renamed to ".htaccess".--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 08:32, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
: Oh geez. That's bad. Thanks! --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 12:02, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
:: Should be good now. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:45, 30 October 2013 (UTC)

I found an other serious issue belonging to DNS entries:
Name: explainxkcd.com
Address: 108.162.198.131
Name: explainxkcd.com
Address: 108.162.199.131
This works fine because 108.162.'''198'''.131 is correct. But most DNS servers showing up with this result:
Name: explainxkcd.com
Address: 108.162.199.131
Name: explainxkcd.com
Address: 108.162.198.131
This just leads to the old server at 108.162.'''199'''.131. Check Google DNS server 8.8.8.8 with nslookup, the wrong IP is shown first.
--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:34, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
: Weird... I'll research. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 19:35, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
::Yes, it's weird. After I discovered this I did enter an entry for this at my local "/etc/hosts" file. But it seems most people can not access the new site.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:20, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
::One more: The logo on the left top is broken. ''style="background-image: url(/wiki/skins/common/images/explainxkcd.png)'' does not exist.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:53, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
::: Yea, what happened to that logo... it was there this morning. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 20:56, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
::::Oh, after a computer crash I'm back. Right now even the editor is broken here. I don't know if I can send this message. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:22, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
:::::Ok, it does work, but all images for short cuts on top of the editor are also broken now. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:26, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
:::::: The editor works fine for me, I'll research the images. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 21:27, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
:::::::It seems all links like "/wiki/skins/common/images/button_bold.png" are gone. Additionally I'm getting an JavaScript error "TypeError: document.getElementById(...) is null". http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/skins/common/images/button_bold.png redirects me to http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page. Maybe you still get some content, maybe cache, from 108.162.199.131? Or is the real site now on that IP? Remember, I have had to restart my computer; most of my cache is gone and I'm just seeing the real page.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:48, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
:::::::: I fixed the images. I did that stupidly through the htaccess page. I've got to figure a better solution for what I'm trying to do to solve another problem. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 21:58, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
:::::::::Looks great right now. So that DNS glitch seems to be the most worse problem right now.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:08, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
:::::::::: I think DNS is still propagating with the updates from yesterday. Not every one has the correct information yet... those two DNS IPs are the load balancers, I believe. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 22:09, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
:::::::::::Strange "load balancers", but it's working now on both IPs. Many thanks again for your hard work, you must have invested many hours on this migration. Let's see tomorrow if other users will be able to find this site again.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:30, 30 October 2013 (UTC)

== Please remove subaddressing from my account email [[user:tbc]] ==

Hi Jeff,

I requested a password reset, but I forgot that my account still has an old email registered: timc+explainxkcd@divide.net. My ISP, pcisys.net née divide.net, disabled subaddressing during an email upgrade earlier this year. If you will update that email to remove the plus sign so my account email is timc@divide.net, I will be able to reset my password. I was logged in from my iPad to write on the [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Admin_requests#Please_remove_subaddressing_from_my_account_email_user:tbc|community portal]] page, but since I needed my password, which I have forgotten, to change it, I got stuck. – ''[[User:Tbc|tbc]] ([[User talk:Tbc|talk]]) 30 Oct 2013''
: You should be good to go now. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:07, 31 October 2013 (UTC)
:: I am. Thank you! – ''[[User:Tbc|tbc]] ([[User talk:Tbc|talk]]) 05:32, 8 November 2013 (UTC)''

== Forbidden ==

You don't have permission to access /wiki/ ([http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/ http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/]) on this server. I think a simple redirect would be a better solution.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:45, 4 November 2013 (UTC)
: Yup, that's on my list to work on. If you are knowledgable about htaccess files, feel free to send me an email. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 13:48, 5 November 2013 (UTC)
::The first great point is: The error doesn't show the server, version, etc... A hacker can't figure what exploits are available.
::At my local test installation (Apache, Linux) it's covered by the general server configuration. And each folder simply does contain a proper "index.php" file from mediawiki doing the correct redirects.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:19, 5 November 2013 (UTC)
::: Fixed. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:02, 21 November 2013 (UTC)
::::Great job, thanks.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:18, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

== Re: the latest puzzle ==

I don't know how to contribute in the discussion section on the page, so I'm throwing ideas at you.

Just quick thoughts.
I feel like Cpl klinger and the water type kingler is too solid a connection to ignore even though I can't really use it.
Kingler was owned in the series by Ash.
Ash is a three letter word and the last three letters of the phrase monstermash.
Monsterm=8 letters so the first block ash=3 letters in the second block.
Monsterm is about the monster.com thing, therefore purloined. It's a double reference, the .co has been purloined from the purloined website.
Then blastoise -3, or rather blastois3 - 3 (mocking the common password meme of replacing letters with numbers)
So the last password, which is super hard to guess and well chosen even with the clue is, blastoisash? It's a feasibly memorable password that would not be quickly forgotten by a pokemon fan while still being hard to guess.
Can you think of a way to check it? Maybe go into the old command line xkcd and try it as a password?

==URLs==
I made them marginally shorter. Can you spot the difference? '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 19:47, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
: Uh, I can't. Does that make me a bad person? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 22:17, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
::If you go to any page, you should see that it says index.php/<page name> instead of index.php?title=<page name>. Small change, I'm trying to kill the index.php bit too, but I think I suck at regexes. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 22:31, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
::: Regexes are the WORST --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 22:45, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
::::Regexes are great, but they are hard to implement for a specific solution. But Goooogle helps. And a question to Davidy22: Why you do not present your enhancement here? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:10, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:::::I set $wgUsePathInfo to true in mediawiki settings, and here's our lines for redirecting URLs in general:

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !(\.png|\.jpg|\.gif)$ [NC]
# RewriteRule ^/wiki(/.*)$ %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/wiki/index.php$1 [L]

:::::Followed and preceded by htaccess commands that do other things. The broken line is commented out because it doesn't work. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:32, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
::::::Uhh, it seems I still do not understand the secret. [http://www.xkcd.com/1301] to [http://www.explainxkcd.com/1301] works fine for me, but I do not understand that [NC] here so far:
:::::::RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !(\.png|\.jpg|\.gif)$ [NC]
::::::maybe
:::::::RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !(\.png|\.jpg|\.gif)$[NC]
::::::is better. But this means every request not matching those three image extensions would fit that rewrite rule. This is just haaardly regex. The second line is just a comment you probably did remove. I can't see the rewrite rule. And testing for a simple number x, xx, xyz, or xyzz would be better.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:23, 10 December 2013 (UTC)
::::::::That's an entirely different rewriterule that does actually work and was deployed long ago that I didn't print here. I'm talking about a general-purpose rewrite that redirects from explainxkcd.com/wiki/<page name>, which I attempted to create in the commented-out line. The image exclusion is to stop image display requests from also being redirected, and I don't think you quite get how rewrite rules work. Not *every* page is fitted to every rewrite rule; the first half of the rule describes the conditions in which the rule should be applied. And yeah, just plugging in page names works, but I kinda don't want to hard-code every possible page redirect into our htaccess file. That's what the regex is for. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:51, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

== /r/xkcd sitenotice ==

Could you please remove the sitenotice linking to and promoting /r/xkcd? [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] added it to the sitenotice and cross-posted to reddit. Unfortunately, h/r/xkcd sub is controlled by /u/soccer, who links to racist, xenophobic and misogynistic content regularly. [http://www.reddit.com/r/anonymous123421/comments/1w8aie/petition_to_reinstate_uwyboth_as_a_mod_of_rxkcd/cezp63m Randall has spoken in support] of a petition for /u/soccer to be removed as a mod. /r/xkcdcomic is a non-hateful alternative, one that Randall supports, and it has more users than /r/xkcd.

I did comment on Davidy22's talk page, but I thought I should drop you a line as well. Thanks, [[User:LadyMondegreen|LadyMondegreen]] ([[User talk:LadyMondegreen|talk]]) 13:55, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
: Hi LadyMondegreen did he change it already? I didn't touch it yet, but it shows /r/xkcdcomic for me. I agree with you completely and I'm sorry if we linked to the wrong subreddit, even momentarily. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 14:50, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
::It never linked to /r/xkcd. I think LadyMondegreen misread it or something. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:41, 3 May 2014 (UTC)
:::Yeah, that was my bad. Someone pointed it out to me on IRC and I guess I didn't look closely enough. Sorry about that. [[User:LadyMondegreen|LadyMondegreen]] ([[User talk:LadyMondegreen|talk]]) 19:36, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

== MediaWiki question ==

Out of curiosity, do you ever have a plan to add other skin options, like Monobook? [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 21:40, 31 July 2014 (UTC)
:A fair number of other skins were cut because they broke our sidebar, and others were cut cuz they were ugly and no one used them. If there's demand for them, they could be brought back though; you just want Monobook? '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 18:06, 2 August 2014 (UTC)
::Mainly, yes. From a personal standpoint, I find Vector fairly ugly. CologneBlue and Modern aren't much better. Monobook is my preferred alternative. I can't speak for majority of users on explainxkcd, but I do know there are a number of people who prefer Monobook to other skins. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 21:56, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

User talk:Jeff

2014-07-31T21:40:24Z

Schiffy: /* MediaWiki question */ new section

198: Perspective

2014-03-12T14:06:19Z

Schiffy: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 198
| date = December 18, 2006
| title = Perspective
| image = perspective.png
| titletext = I wonder what I was dreaming to prompt that. I hope it wasn't the Richard Stallman Cirque de Soleil thing again.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please read this explain again before removing this tag. This explain is still bad. }}
{{w|Firefox}} is a popular browser and in 2006 it was the second most commonly used browser. Its more fervent supporters sometimes wrote as if there was a moral imperative to use Firefox rather than Internet Explorer.

[[Cueball]], presumably representing [[Randall]], wakes up with a reasonable perspective on the relative unimportance of an internet browser within the world at large, but quickly loses that perspective as his enthusiasm for nerdy things like Firefox gets the better of him. The humor stems from the irony that Cueball is relieved to trade a richer perspective for a simpler, browser-oriented world view.

The title text references {{w|Richard Matthew Stallman|Richard Stallman}}, an American software freedom activist and computer programmer, and {{w|Cirque de Soleil}}, an entertainment company specializing in bit-top circus performances. The two have no connection with one another. This is one example of an odd combination of topics that would only (and commonly) be connected in dreams.

==Transcript==
:Sometimes, when I first wake up, I am caught in the horrible grip of perspective.
:[Cueball sitting up in bed.]
:Cueball: It may be a jewel of open source, but Firefox is '''just a browser.''' It shows '''webpages.''' What the hell is '''wrong''' with us?
:Fortunately, this subsides quickly.

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

1341: Types of Editors

2014-03-12T14:00:47Z

Schiffy: /* Explanation */ Yeah, I can SORT of see the DN connection, but that's not enough to really count.

{{comic
| number = 1341
| date = March 12, 2014
| title = Types of Editors
| image = types_of_editors.png
| titletext = m-x machineofdeath-mode
}}

==Explanation==

{{w|WYSIWYG}}, pronounced, "wizz-ee-wig" IPA /ˈwɪziˌwɪg/, is an acronym that stands for "What you see is what you get". In regards to computers, it refers to text editors in which the user can see exactly what will be published as he is typing it. The comic compares various types of editors.

A WYSIWYG editor displays the edited document in its final, typically printed, form.

A WYSINWYG, is a source editor (such as a {{w|wiki markup}} editor or TeX, see {{w|TeX}}); in the example an HTML source editor is shown, where you enter raw HTML code and are (in a different view) presented with the rendered appearance of the page. The em tag marks text that has stress emphasis.

The WYSITUTWYG ("... is totally unrelated to ...") editor apparently takes your input and proceeds to ignore it entirely, instead displaying totally unrelated words.

Finally, the WYSIHYD ("... is how you die") "editor" is not an editor at all, but a pun on the multiple meanings of the word "get": If you see "eaten by wolves", you will get ... eaten by wolves.

The title text is a fictitious command, {{w|meta key|meta}}-x machineofdeath-mode, to the highly extensible {{w|Emacs}} text editor. Emacs operates in various "modes", which are customizations for specific purposes. Placing Emacs into "Machine of Death" mode would turn it into a WYSIHYD editor. Another fictitious emacs command can be found in comic [[378]]. "Machine of Death" is a reference to the 2010 book [http://machineofdeath.net/ Machine of Death], with [[Randall Munroe]] being one of the writers. It is a collection of short stories about a device that can predict how people die from a drop of their blood. In many of the stories very unusual deaths are predicted, often in a very literal way.

==Transcript==
[There are four panels, each with different headings over them.]

[The first panel shows two titled text boxes, one above the other]
:[First panel title] '''WYSIWYG''' What you see is what you get
::[Upper text box title] What you see:
:::''Hi''
::[Lower text box title] What you get:
:::''Hi''

[The second panel shows two titled text boxes, one above the other, the same as the first box]
:[Second panel title] '''WYSINWYG''' What you see is not what you get
::[Upper text box title] What you see:
:::Hi
::[Lower text box title] What you get:
:::''Hi''

[The third panel is presented the same as the first two]
:[Third panel title] '''WYSITUTWYG''' What you see is totally unrelated to what you get
::[Upper text box title] What you see:
:::Hi
::[Lower text box title] What you get:
:::The HORSE is a noble animal.

[The fourth panel shows two titled text areas, (which are not outlined with a border), one above the other]
:[Forth panel title] '''WYSIHYD''' What you see is how you die
::[Upper text area title] What you see:
:::[White text on a black background] EATEN BY WOLVES
::[Lower text area] What you get:
:::Eaten By Wolves

{{comic discussion}}