explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1357: Free Speech

2014-04-20T06:17:42Z

Totlmstr:

{{comic
| number = 1357
| date = April 18, 2014
| title = Free Speech
| image = free_speech.png
| titletext = I can't remember where I heard this, but someone once said that defending a position by citing free speech is sort of the ultimate concession; you're saying that the most compelling thing you can say for your position is that it's not literally illegal to express.
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|First Amendment to the United States Constitution}} provides for {{w|freedom of speech}} for United States citizens, saying that "Congress shall make no law [...] abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press". This concerns only government activities, as the Constitution is a legal document that defines the structure and powers of the government. However, many times, both on the Internet and off, people with unpopular (or arguably just plain stupid) opinions will complain that their freedom of speech is being restricted when others make it clear that they don't want to hear those opinions.

An example of this is the incident involving the TV program ''{{w|Duck Dynasty}}'', in which television network {{w|A+E Networks}} [http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/12/18/duck-dynasty-robertson-phil/?hpt=hp_t2 suspended the host after he made homophobic remarks], causing some to comment that his rights had been infringed upon. Similarly, [http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-26895858 controversy erupted when Brendan Eich was forced to resign] as CEO of {{w|Mozilla Corporation|Mozilla}} because it was revealed he had donated money to anti-gay marriage efforts in California. In actuality, the First Amendment was never meant to provide immunity from any and all consequences.

[[Cueball]] is addressing anyone who has used this argument. As the comic says, just because you're legally allowed to say something doesn't mean that everyone is legally required to listen. It also does not mean that a commercial or social entity — such as a TV network, a website, or its community — is legally required to support you in spreading your message, even if it had supported you in the past. If someone says something stupid or offensive, he or she should be ready to accept the consequences. One of the most famous examples of this is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenck_v._United_States Schenck v. United States], where the expression "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_fire_in_a_crowded_theater shouting 'fire' in a crowded theater]" gave rise: just because a person can say anything they want, doesn't mean that they are protected from ''everything'', even if they are lying.

The title text points out the irony of anyone appealing to free speech as a defense for their argument or opinion. If the only thing that someone can say in support of an argument is effectively that it is not ''illegal'', then they are severely undermining it by essentially admitting that they don't have any better defense for it.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: Public Service Announcement: The '''Right to Free Speech''' means the government can't arrest you for what you say.

:Cueball: It doesn't mean that anyone '''''else''''' has to listen to your bullshit, or host you while you share it.

:Cueball: The 1st amendment doesn't shield you from criticism or consequences.

:Cueball: If you're yelled at, boycotted, have your show canceled, or get banned from an Internet community, your free speech rights aren't being violated.

:Cueball: It's just that the people listening think you're an asshole,

:[A picture of an open door is displayed.]
:Cueball: And they're showing you the door.

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

1333: First Date

2014-02-21T06:12:22Z

Totlmstr: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1333
| date = February 21, 2014
| title = First Date
| image = first_date.png
| titletext = I sympathize with the TPP protagonist because I, too, have progressed through a surprising number of stages of life despite spending entire days stuck against simple obstacles.
}}

==Explanation==
The title text and the words spoken here refer to multiple aspects of [http://www.twitch.tv/twitchplayspokemon Twitch Plays Pokemon] (TPP). In TPP, tens of thousands of players (at one point, more than 110,000 players) control. What's unique is that the system uses fed commands from Twitch's own IRC and makes them valid commands in the game proper (such as "A", "B", "Start", etc.). The chat commands are all given very randomly due to the system used and to a delay in the Twitch system to the game itself. Here, "anarchy", the system where the most recent and logical input to be given to Red in TPP, is assumed to be used in the comic proper.

In order:
* Saying "I love you!" may have been the first choice. One common error posted by many people is "A" when selecting a choice, when they meant to select a completely different one.
* Asking to "order everything in the menu" refers to how in shops, the randomness of the inputs may lead to Red asking to buy 99 items, even though he usually doesn't that much money to buy all and only wants one or two.
* "Being stuck" refers to the multiple move commands given. For example, falling off a ledge accidentally, cutting a tree (which is done by going into the menu and selecting a Pokemon who can cut and then selecting cut, all of this in front of said tree), an underground maze, and the Pokemon shop in many hilarous cases have all been areas that Red have been stuck to progress, even though these should have been passed easily.
* "AAAOOGAOGAG" refers to the weird and funny naming of the Pokemon. While the chat feeds commands, many of them are usually "A" and "Down", and as such pick letters from the far left of the name input.
* The movement in random directions and attempting to come back refer to how the move commands in TPP, and connects with the "Being stuck" situation. See that for more info.
* "Spiral" refers to the "Helix Fossil", a memetically popular item that has no uses until much later in the game. However, the Helix Fossil is usually the first or second item to be selected, and it met with the response "Red! You shouldn't be using that right now!". It has been considered memetically as a god by players.
* "Saving" refers to the multiple times Red has accessed the menu and saved the game, despite having no use for it. The number of times the game has been saved it is practically countless due the sheer number of random commands.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

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

1333: First Date

2014-02-21T06:09:34Z

Totlmstr: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1333
| date = February 21, 2014
| title = First Date
| image = first_date.png
| titletext = I sympathize with the TPP protagonist because I, too, have progressed through a surprising number of stages of life despite spending entire days stuck against simple obstacles.
}}

==Explanation==
The title text and the words spoken here refer to multiple aspects of [http://www.twitch.tv/twitchplayspokemon Twitch Plays Pokemon] (TPP). In TPP, tens of thousands of players (at one point, more than 110,000 players) control. What's unique is that the system uses fed commands from Twitch's own IRC and makes them valid commands in the game proper (such as "A", "B", "Start", etc.). The chat commands are all given very randomly due to the system used and to a delay in the Twitch system to the game itself. Here, "anarchy", the system where the most recent and logical input to be given to Red in TPP, is assumed to be used in the comic proper.

In order:
* Saying "I love you!" may have been the first choice. One common error posted by many people is "A" when selecting a choice, when they meant to select a completely different one.
* Asking to "order everything in the menu" refers to how in shops, the randomness of the inputs may lead to Red asking to buy 99 items, even though he usually doesn't that much money to buy all and only wants one or two.
* "Being stuck" refers to the multiple move commands given. For example, falling off a ledge accidentally, cutting a tree (which is done by going into the menu and selecting a Pokemon who can cut and then selecting cut, all of this in front of said tree), an underground maze, and the Pokemon shop in many hilarous cases have all been areas that Red have been stuck to progress, even though these should have been passed easily.
* "AAAOOGAOGAG" refers to the weird and funny naming of the Pokemon. While the chat feeds commands, many of them are usually "A" and "Down", and as such pick letters from the far left of the name input.
* "Spiral" refers to the "Helix Fossil", a memetically popular item that has no uses until much later in the game. However, the Helix Fossil is usually the first or second item to be selected, and it met with the response "Red! You shouldn't be using that right now!". It has been considered memetically as a god by players.
* "Saving" refers to the multiple times Red has accessed the menu and saved the game, despite having no use for it. The number of times the game has been saved it is practically countless due the sheer number of random commands.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

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

1333: First Date

2014-02-21T06:07:57Z

Totlmstr: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1333
| date = February 21, 2014
| title = First Date
| image = first_date.png
| titletext = I sympathize with the TPP protagonist because I, too, have progressed through a surprising number of stages of life despite spending entire days stuck against simple obstacles.
}}

==Explanation==
The title text and the words spoken here refer to multiple aspects of [http://www.twitch.tv/twitchplayspokemon Twitch Plays Pokemon] (TPP). In TPP, tens of thousands of players (at one point, more than 110,000 players) control. What's unique is that the system uses fed commands from Twitch's own IRC and makes them valid commands in the game proper (such as "A", "B", "Start", etc.). The chat commands are all given very randomly due to the system used and to a delay in the Twitch system to the game itself. Here, "anarchy", the system where the most recent and logical input to be given to Red in TPP, is assumed to be used in the comic proper.

In order:
* Saying "I love you!" may have been the first choice. One common error posted by many people is "A" when selecting a choice, when they meant to select a completely different one.
* Asking to "order everything in the menu" refers to how in shops, the randomness of the inputs may lead to Red asking to buy 99 items, even though he usually doesn't that much money to buy all and only wants one or two.
* "Being stuck" refers to the multiple move commands given. For example, falling off a ledge accidentally, cutting a tree (which is done by going into the menu and selecting a Pokemon who can cut and then selecting cut, all of this in front of said tree), an underground maze, and the Pokemon shop when between a girl and three walls have all been areas that Red have been stuck to progress, even though these should have been passed easily.
* "AAAOOGAOGAG" refers to the weird and funny naming of the Pokemon. While the chat feeds commands, many of them are usually "A" and "Down", and as such pick letters from the far left of the name input.
* "Spiral" refers to the "Helix Fossil", a memetically popular item that has no uses until much later in the game. However, the Helix Fossil is usually the first or second item to be selected, and it met with the response "Red! You shouldn't be using that right now!". It has been considered memetically as a god by players.
* "Saving" refers to the multiple times Red has accessed the menu and saved the game, despite having no use for it. The number of times the game has been saved it is practically countless due the sheer number of random commands.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

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

1333: First Date

2014-02-21T06:00:13Z

Totlmstr: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1333
| date = February 21, 2014
| title = First Date
| image = first_date.png
| titletext = I sympathize with the TPP protagonist because I, too, have progressed through a surprising number of stages of life despite spending entire days stuck against simple obstacles.
}}

==Explanation==
The title text and the words spoken here refer to multiple aspects of [http://www.twitch.tv/twitchplayspokemon Twitch Plays Pokemon] (TPP). In TPP, tens of thousands of players (at one point, more than 110,000 players) control Red (the protagonist of Pokemon Red) and aim to play through the entire game to be a master.

The chat commands are all given very randomly due to the system used. Here, "anarchy", the system where the most recent and logical input to be given to Red, is assumed to be used in the comic proper.

In order:
* Saying "I love you!" may have been the first choice. One common error posted by many people is "A" when selecting a choice.
* Asking to "order everything in the menu" refers to how in shops, the randomness of the inputs may lead to Red asking to buy 99 items, even though he usually doesn't that much money to buy all and only wants one or two.
* "Being stuck" refers to the multiple move commands given. For example, falling off a ledge, cutting a tree, Giovanni's underground maze, and the Pokemon shop when between a girl and three walls have all been areas that Red have been stuck to progress, even though these should have been passed easily.
* "AAAOOGAOGAG" refers to the weird and funny naming of the Pokemon. While the chat feeds commands, many of them are usually "A" and "Down", and as such pick letters from the far left of the name input.
* "Spiral" refers to the "Helix Fossil", a memetically popular item that has no uses until much later in the game. However, the Helix Fossil is usually the first or second item to be selected, and it met with the response "Red! You shouldn't be using that right now!". It has been considered memetically as a god by players.
* "Saving" refers to the multiple times Red has accessed the menu and saved the game, despite having no use for it. The number of times the game has been saved it is practically countless due the sheer number of random commands.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

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

1333: First Date

2014-02-21T05:56:15Z

Totlmstr: major explanation, but with no links; will link later; lol helix fossil

{{comic
| number = 1333
| date = February 21, 2014
| title = First Date
| image = first_date.png
| titletext = I sympathize with the TPP protagonist because I, too, have progressed through a surprising number of stages of life despite spending entire days stuck against simple obstacles.
}}

==Explanation==
The title text and the words spoken here refer to multiple aspects of [[http://www.twitch.tv/twitchplayspokemon Twitch Plays Pokemon]] (TPP). In TPP, tens of thousands of players (at one point, more than 110,000 players) control Red (the protagonist of Pokemon Red) and aim to play through the entire game to be a master.

The chat commands are all given very randomly due to the system used. Here, "anarchy", the system where the most recent and logical input, is assumed to be used in the comic proper.

In order:
* Saying "I love you!" may have been the first choice. One common error posted by many people is "A" when selecting a choice.
* Asking to "order everything in the menu" refers to how in shops, the randomness of the inputs may lead to Red asking to buy 99 items, even though he usually doesn't that much money to buy all and only wants one or two.
* "Being stuck" refers to the multiple move commands given. For example, falling off a ledge, cutting a tree, Giovanni's underground maze, and the Pokemon shop when between a girl and three walls have all been areas that Red have been stuck to progress, even though these should have been passed easily.
* "Spiral" refers to the "Helix Fossil", a memetically popular item that has no uses until much later in the game. However, the Helix Fossil is usually the first or second item to be selected, and it met with the response "Red! You shouldn't be using that right now!". It has been considered memetically as a god by players.
* "Saving" refers to the multiple times Red has accessed the menu and saved the game, despite having no use for it. The number of times the game has been saved it is practically countless due the sheer number of random commands.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

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