explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1144: Tags

2026-03-25T01:19:12Z

Treeplate: 1. it's not actually called XHTML anymore

{{comic
| number = 1144
| date = December 7, 2012
| title = Tags
| image = tags.png
| titletext = <A>: Like </a>this.&nbsp;
}}

==Explanation==
First of all, this comic clearly annoyed enough web developers to get them to write this long explanation about this comic.

{{w|HTML}} is a markup language used in the development of websites, and is the subject of this comic. Most distinct elements of a webpage – like this paragraph of text, the title of this section, or the logo in the top-left of this page – are enclosed in HTML tags which describe the type of object they are. The comic employs multiple poor HTML practices while asking the rhetorical question of how best to annoy web developers, effectively answering the question that it poses.

In HTML, all elements (except self-closing elements like <code><img></code>) should consist of an open and close tag of the same type <code><div>Like this</div></code>.

HTML (except in its formulation as an XML language—formerly called XHTML) has never been case-sensitive, but the practice of using uppercase tags for readability is long outmoded, and the mixing of cases in this example would definitely annoy a developer.

Another basic idea of HTML is that all elements should be properly nested. That is, any element whose open tag occurs inside a div must be closed before the div is closed.

NB: In practice, web browsers will error-correct nearly all these problems. In this case, browsers will ignore the meaningless <code></span></code> and interpret both the question and some of the html after this section as being inside a div.

{| class="wikitable" |
! Correct
! Incorrect
|-
|
<div>
<ol>
<li>Correctly nested</li>
</ol>
</div>
|
<div>
<ol>
<li>Incorrectly nested</li>
</div>
</ol>
|-
|}
The rules of proper nesting also put restrictions on which tags can be placed where — "block" elements, such as <code><div></code> cannot be placed inside "inline" elements, such as <code><span></code>, and inline elements must be placed inside a block element of some kind. Thus, <code><span><div></code> is forbidden, even if the tags are closed in the proper order.

Further, web developers make a distinction between ''semantic'' and ''structural'' elements. Semantic elements contain a clue in their name as to what kind of an element they are — for example, an <code><article></code> tag contains an article, such as a blog post or news article, while an <code><ol></code> tag contains an '''o'''rdered '''l'''ist. (It's wise to note that this is not an absolute rule; it's ''possible'' to put non-article content in an <code><article></code>, it's just not recommended.) Semantic tags do not, however, indicate how their contents are to be displayed; your browser might display an <code><article></code> in the default font, layout, and placement, while mine, a {{w|screen reader}}, might ignore everything on the page except <code><article></code>s.

Structural tags, on the other hand, give no clues as to what they contain; they just indicate how a web page is to be laid out. <code><span></code> and <code><div></code> are structural tags; they can contain anything. Their definitions in HTML simply indicate that <code><div></code> is a block tag (it can affect both what the text looks like and where it is on the page; by default, it is displayed in a separate block from the rest of the text in the page, and has at least one line break before and after its display) and <code><span></code> is an inline tag: it affects what its text looks like, but not where it is on the page. Without additional attributes, it's impossible for a browser to tell what's supposed to be inside a <code><div></code> or a <code><span></code>, which means that my screen reader can't just pluck out the blog posts and read those.

Currently, the standard of usage is shifting toward using semantic tags over structural tags, since they provide more information to browsers and people reading the source code of web pages. HTML5, the most recent version of the standard web development markup language, is introducing many semantically meaningful tags that can be styled using {{w|Cascading Style Sheets|CSS}} to follow the same behavior as a div or span, but that are easier to understand when reading the markup or parsing it with a non-standard browser. For example, <span style="background: #eeeeee;">this is in a span</span> and <div style="background: #eeeeee;">this is in a div.</div>

The title text makes reference to <code>&nbsp;</code>, which is the {{w|HTML#Character and entity references|HTML escape code}} for {{w|non-breaking space}} which is a type of space that will keep two words together, and will not allow word wrapping to separate them. If the words come at the end of a displayed line, how this is handled depends on the browser and on the element's styling; some browsers and styles will force the connected words onto a new line, while others will "overflow" the edge of the container to accommodate the linked words. This is useful, for example, for keeping units with a number so it is easy to spot 100 km instead of needing to hunt for 100<br/>km. Using a non-breaking space at the end of a line, without another word on its trailing end, is only useful in extremely rare and limited circumstances, and does not generally have a purpose.

The title text also uses an <code><A></code> tag, seemingly to indicate an answer. In fact, <code><A></code> is an anchor tag, which creates {{w|hyperlink}}s. It is not an answer tag. This tag is generally used with either the <code>href=</code> (which creates a link to another URL) or <code>name=</code> (which creates a named anchor on the page that can be linked to with <code>href=#</code>) attribute (but not generally both at once). In addition, the placement of <code><A></code> and <code></a></code> (the capitalization here is also irritating to a web developer who values consistency) indicates that ": Like " should be a link or named anchor, but "this." should not. Whether or not to include punctuation in an anchor is a matter of some debate among developers, but including excessive whitespace is generally frowned upon, and the anchor ''should'' include all of the relevant text. It's also recommend that the text of links [https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10-HTML-TECHS/#link-text shouldn't be overly general], avoiding "click here", and little can be more general than a link saying ": Like ".

==Transcript==
:[The two tags are colored in grey.]
:<code><div>Q: How do you annoy a web developer?</span></code>

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:How to annoy]]

3188: Anyone Else Here

2026-01-01T03:27:23Z

Treeplate: yeah upon further investigation it was all ai generated

{{comic
| number = 3188
| date = December 31, 2025
| title = Anyone Else Here
| image = anyone_else_here_2x.png
| imagesize = 285x350px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Anyone else watching this Youtube video in 1954? If so, my last trip definitely messed with the timeline.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a youTuber without internet Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

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

:[The bottom of a YouTube video is shown, with the play and volume icons visible.]
:[There are two lines of illegible text below the videos.]
:564 Comments
:[To the right of "564 Comments" are three parallel lines of different lengths representing YouTube's "sort by" function. A long horizontal line is below.]
:[Three YouTube comments are shown. Each one has an avatar to the left, an @ sign before an illegible name, with smaller illegible text next to it. Below each comment are the YouTube thumbs-up icon, illegible text, the YouTube thumbs-down icon, and more illegible text.]
:[Avatar: A Cueball-like person seen from the chest up, but with a wider torso than usual.] Who else is here in 2023?
:[Avatar: A double chevron.] Is anyone else watching this in 2017?
:[Avatar: A Megan-like person standing.] Anyone else here in 2025??

:[Text below the panel:]
:For some reason, confused time travelers always try to find each other using YouTube comments.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:YouTube]]
[[Category:Time travel]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

3188: Anyone Else Here

2025-12-31T23:02:57Z

Treeplate: removing likely ai generated part of expl.

{{comic
| number = 3188
| date = December 31, 2025
| title = Anyone Else Here
| image = anyone_else_here_2x.png
| imagesize = 285x350px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Anyone else watching this Youtube video in 1954? If so, my last trip definitely messed with the timeline.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a youTuber without internet Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic jokes about a familiar pattern in YouTube comment sections: people often leave comments announcing the year they are watching a video. These comments serve no practical purpose, but are nonetheless a harmless compliment implying the video is "timeless" and a memory worth revisiting.

The comic reframes this behavior as the actions of confused time travelers. Since YouTube comments frequently include statements like “Anyone else here in 2017?” or “Watching this in 2025,” the strip humorously suggests that people displaced in time use comment sections to confirm what year they’ve landed in.

The title text escalates the joke by placing a commenter in 1954, decades before YouTube existed. This absurd anachronism implies that the time traveler’s last jump went so badly that it altered the timeline enough for YouTube to exist in the mid-20th century. Rather than questioning the impossibility of the situation, the time traveler treats it casually, blaming themself for breaking history.

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

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

Talk:3188: Anyone Else Here

2025-12-31T22:22:04Z

Treeplate: add <br>

Anyone here in 2050? [[User:King Pando|King Pando]] ([[User talk:King Pando|talk]]) 22:20, 31 December 2025 (UTC)<br>
oh that's what that type of comment's about [[User:Treeplate|Treeplate]] ([[User talk:Treeplate|talk]])

Talk:3188: Anyone Else Here

2025-12-31T22:21:52Z

Treeplate: add comment

Anyone here in 2050? [[User:King Pando|King Pando]] ([[User talk:King Pando|talk]]) 22:20, 31 December 2025 (UTC)
oh that's what that type of comment's about [[User:Treeplate|Treeplate]] ([[User talk:Treeplate|talk]])

3179: Fishing

2025-12-11T03:15:03Z

Treeplate: correct transcript

{{comic
| number = 3179
| date = December 10, 2025
| title = Fishing
| image = fishing_2x.png
| imagesize = 317x500px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'That's definitely above the catch-and-release size minimum for planetesimals.' 'I'm going to throw it back anyway.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created BY A FISH WITH THE MASS OF THE SUN. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
[ [[Megan]] and [[Beret Guy]] are sitting on a boat in the ocean. Fish are seen swimming in the water. Megan has a fishing rod that is about halfway down to the ocean floor. Beret Guy's fishing hook is hooked onto the sea floor. ]

Beret Guy: It feels like a big one! At least 10^24 kilograms!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3179: Fishing

2025-12-11T03:11:39Z

Treeplate: fix link

{{comic
| number = 3179
| date = December 10, 2025
| title = Fishing
| image = fishing_2x.png
| imagesize = 317x500px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'That's definitely above the catch-and-release size minimum for planetesimals.' 'I'm going to throw it back anyway.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created BY A FISH WITH THE MASS OF THE SUN. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
[ [[Megan]] and [[Beret Guy]] are sitting on a boat in the ocean. Fish are seen swimming in the water. Megan has a fishing rod that is about halfway down to the ocean floor. Beret Guy's fishing hook is hooked onto a rock. ]

Beret Guy: It feels like a big one! At least 10^24 kilograms!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3179: Fishing

2025-12-11T03:10:31Z

Treeplate: he's called beret guy

{{comic
| number = 3179
| date = December 10, 2025
| title = Fishing
| image = fishing_2x.png
| imagesize = 317x500px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'That's definitely above the catch-and-release size minimum for planetesimals.' 'I'm going to throw it back anyway.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created BY A FISH WITH THE MASS OF THE SUN. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
[[[Megan]] and [[Beret Guy]] are sitting on a boat in the ocean. Fish are seen swimming in the water. Megan has a fishing rod that is about halfway down to the ocean floor. Barrett Hat's fishing hook is hooked onto a rock]

Beret Guy: It feels like a big one! At least 10^24 kilograms!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

Simple Writer

2025-11-19T00:39:00Z

Treeplate: make it simple writing

{{comic
| title = Simple Writer
| image = SimpleWriterExample.jpeg
| lappend = simplewriter
| extra = yes
| imagesize = 800px
}}

To experience the interactivity of the page, visit the {{xkcd|simplewriter|original comic}}.
==Explanation==
{{misc page}}

This is a page in which one can check to see if all the words in a given piece of writing fits within the "ten hundred" most often used words. "thousand" isn't one of those, but "ten" and "hundred" are, so to talk about that number, one would have to use simple words that mean the same thing.

Other than "xkcd", all the words on the page are part of the "ten hundred" most often used words.

The page helps create the same kind of writing shown first in [[1133: Up Goer Five]] and then in the ''[[Thing Explainer]]'' book. It is mentioned at the end of ''Thing Explainer'', as a way to create writing like it.

Simple Writer

2025-11-19T00:34:25Z

Treeplate:

{{comic
| title = Simple Writer
| image = SimpleWriterExample.jpeg
| lappend = simplewriter
| extra = yes
| imagesize = 800px
}}

To experience the interactivity of the page, visit the {{xkcd|simplewriter|original comic}}.
==Explanation==
{{misc page}}
This is a page in which one can check to see if all the words in a given piece of text fits within the "ten hundred" most often used words. For example, "thousand" isn't one of those, but "ten" and "hundred" are, so to convey the concept of a numeric thousand, one would have to use a combination of valid words that mean the same thing.

Apart from "xkcd", all the words on the page are part of the "ten hundred" most often used words.

The page therefore helps create the style of writing featured first in comic [[1133: Up Goer Five]] and then in the ''[[Thing Explainer]]'' book. It is directly mentioned, at the end of ''Thing Explainer'', as a way to create similar text.

Talk:492: Scrabble

2025-11-06T01:33:18Z

Treeplate: sign

Does anyone know the points for "Ostrich", "Historic", and "Coistril"? I know the game but I don't have it at home.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:25, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

:Not sure what double word type modifiers they have but here are the base scores:

clitoris 10 + 50
coistril 10
ostrich 12
historic 13

:Choosing '''historic''' would be the best family friendly option, but is a far less desirable choice. [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 05:43, 7 July 2013 (UTC)

:: The only placement for ''historic'' would get it onto the triple word score with one doubled letter, making 42. Still nowhere near ''coistril'' or ''clitoris'', though (which can both get the 50 point bonus and the double letter score for the C). [[Special:Contributions/94.13.166.227|94.13.166.227]] 21:25, 9 July 2013 (UTC)

Please do a separate post and do not destroy the former discussions.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:49, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

Update by ‎67.0.215.76:
clitoris 60
coistril 60
ostrich 12
historic 42
:{{unsigned ip|‎67.0.215.76}}

:The best option would be ''lictors'' and ''hic'', scoring 71 points. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.85|108.162.254.85]] 14:48, 12 May 2014 (UTC)
::Any prove? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:19, 12 May 2014 (UTC)

Randall uses the word "Ostrich" as an alternate word, but "Historic" or "[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coistril Coistril]" would gain more points. {{unsigned|Matchup}}

Top 17 Options taking into account what of the board opens up.
[Hic/Lictors 71points], [Lictors/Chi, 69 points], [Hit/Lictors, 69 points], [His/Lictors, 69 points],
[Lictors/Sh, 69 points], [Lictors/Li, 69points], [Trochils, 64 points], [Clitoris, 63 points]x2,
[Coistril, 63]x2, [Historic, 42], [Col/Oh/Li, 17 points], [Hic/Col, 15 points], [Hit/Lotic, 21 points],
[Chi/Col, 14 points], [Li, 3 points]
Top 14 Scoring words
[Lictors, 64-69]x6, [Trochils, 64], [Clitoris, 63]x2, [Coistril, 63]x2, [Historic, 42], [Lotic,21],
[Lictor,18-20]x3, [Colts,19], [Cots,18]x2, [Cost,18]x2, [Colt,18], [Cols,18], [Cist,18], [Scot,18]
Ostrich is a bad plan either way. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.99|141.101.98.99]]

---
How can you get "historic" from the tiles shown? The player doesn't have an "h" and has only one "i." [[User:Jelsemium|Jelsemium]] ([[User talk:Jelsemium|talk]]) Jelsemium

:Because 'Historic' starts with 'Hi', which has already been played. He can place 'storic' on the end of the existing 'Hi'. -Graptor [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 04:19, 16 January 2018 (UTC)

How on earth can "clitoris" ever be an inappropriate word? That is so sexist! [[User:The Cat Lady|-- The Cat Lady]] ([[User talk:The Cat Lady|talk]]) 15:51, 15 August 2021 (UTC)
:If you really don't think the word is EVER inappropriate, consider randomly saying it at your next business meeting loudly enough to be heard, and seeing what kinds of reactions you get. [[User:MeZimm|MeZimm]] ([[User talk:MeZimm|talk]]) 23:22, 18 June 2025 (UTC)
:"penis" is also an inappropriate word sometimes, so it's not sexist. 01:33, 6 November 2025 (UTC)[[User:Treeplate|Treeplate]] ([[User talk:Treeplate|talk]])

Can't believe nobody mentioned the smaller size of lefthand Cueball. Neither the granny (presumably) nor the other grown woman (Mother? Older sister?) there might be too bothered personally (depends on the individuals concerned), but with an adolescent child (a boy in particular) it would greatly add to the issues in most family circumstances. Added to the transcript, accordingly. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 19:02, 4 February 2022 (UTC)

Talk:492: Scrabble

2025-11-06T01:32:59Z

Treeplate:

Does anyone know the points for "Ostrich", "Historic", and "Coistril"? I know the game but I don't have it at home.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:25, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

:Not sure what double word type modifiers they have but here are the base scores:

clitoris 10 + 50
coistril 10
ostrich 12
historic 13

:Choosing '''historic''' would be the best family friendly option, but is a far less desirable choice. [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 05:43, 7 July 2013 (UTC)

:: The only placement for ''historic'' would get it onto the triple word score with one doubled letter, making 42. Still nowhere near ''coistril'' or ''clitoris'', though (which can both get the 50 point bonus and the double letter score for the C). [[Special:Contributions/94.13.166.227|94.13.166.227]] 21:25, 9 July 2013 (UTC)

Please do a separate post and do not destroy the former discussions.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:49, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

Update by ‎67.0.215.76:
clitoris 60
coistril 60
ostrich 12
historic 42
:{{unsigned ip|‎67.0.215.76}}

:The best option would be ''lictors'' and ''hic'', scoring 71 points. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.85|108.162.254.85]] 14:48, 12 May 2014 (UTC)
::Any prove? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:19, 12 May 2014 (UTC)

Randall uses the word "Ostrich" as an alternate word, but "Historic" or "[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coistril Coistril]" would gain more points. {{unsigned|Matchup}}

Top 17 Options taking into account what of the board opens up.
[Hic/Lictors 71points], [Lictors/Chi, 69 points], [Hit/Lictors, 69 points], [His/Lictors, 69 points],
[Lictors/Sh, 69 points], [Lictors/Li, 69points], [Trochils, 64 points], [Clitoris, 63 points]x2,
[Coistril, 63]x2, [Historic, 42], [Col/Oh/Li, 17 points], [Hic/Col, 15 points], [Hit/Lotic, 21 points],
[Chi/Col, 14 points], [Li, 3 points]
Top 14 Scoring words
[Lictors, 64-69]x6, [Trochils, 64], [Clitoris, 63]x2, [Coistril, 63]x2, [Historic, 42], [Lotic,21],
[Lictor,18-20]x3, [Colts,19], [Cots,18]x2, [Cost,18]x2, [Colt,18], [Cols,18], [Cist,18], [Scot,18]
Ostrich is a bad plan either way. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.99|141.101.98.99]]

---
How can you get "historic" from the tiles shown? The player doesn't have an "h" and has only one "i." [[User:Jelsemium|Jelsemium]] ([[User talk:Jelsemium|talk]]) Jelsemium

:Because 'Historic' starts with 'Hi', which has already been played. He can place 'storic' on the end of the existing 'Hi'. -Graptor [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 04:19, 16 January 2018 (UTC)

How on earth can "clitoris" ever be an inappropriate word? That is so sexist! [[User:The Cat Lady|-- The Cat Lady]] ([[User talk:The Cat Lady|talk]]) 15:51, 15 August 2021 (UTC)
:If you really don't think the word is EVER inappropriate, consider randomly saying it at your next business meeting loudly enough to be heard, and seeing what kinds of reactions you get. [[User:MeZimm|MeZimm]] ([[User talk:MeZimm|talk]]) 23:22, 18 June 2025 (UTC)
:"penis" is also an inappropriate word sometimes, so it's not sexist. 01:32, 6 November 2025 (UTC)

Can't believe nobody mentioned the smaller size of lefthand Cueball. Neither the granny (presumably) nor the other grown woman (Mother? Older sister?) there might be too bothered personally (depends on the individuals concerned), but with an adolescent child (a boy in particular) it would greatly add to the issues in most family circumstances. Added to the transcript, accordingly. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 19:02, 4 February 2022 (UTC)

Talk:492: Scrabble

2025-11-06T01:32:41Z

Treeplate: add comment

Does anyone know the points for "Ostrich", "Historic", and "Coistril"? I know the game but I don't have it at home.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:25, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

:Not sure what double word type modifiers they have but here are the base scores:

clitoris 10 + 50
coistril 10
ostrich 12
historic 13

:Choosing '''historic''' would be the best family friendly option, but is a far less desirable choice. [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 05:43, 7 July 2013 (UTC)

:: The only placement for ''historic'' would get it onto the triple word score with one doubled letter, making 42. Still nowhere near ''coistril'' or ''clitoris'', though (which can both get the 50 point bonus and the double letter score for the C). [[Special:Contributions/94.13.166.227|94.13.166.227]] 21:25, 9 July 2013 (UTC)

Please do a separate post and do not destroy the former discussions.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:49, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

Update by ‎67.0.215.76:
clitoris 60
coistril 60
ostrich 12
historic 42
:{{unsigned ip|‎67.0.215.76}}

:The best option would be ''lictors'' and ''hic'', scoring 71 points. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.85|108.162.254.85]] 14:48, 12 May 2014 (UTC)
::Any prove? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:19, 12 May 2014 (UTC)

Randall uses the word "Ostrich" as an alternate word, but "Historic" or "[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coistril Coistril]" would gain more points. {{unsigned|Matchup}}

Top 17 Options taking into account what of the board opens up.
[Hic/Lictors 71points], [Lictors/Chi, 69 points], [Hit/Lictors, 69 points], [His/Lictors, 69 points],
[Lictors/Sh, 69 points], [Lictors/Li, 69points], [Trochils, 64 points], [Clitoris, 63 points]x2,
[Coistril, 63]x2, [Historic, 42], [Col/Oh/Li, 17 points], [Hic/Col, 15 points], [Hit/Lotic, 21 points],
[Chi/Col, 14 points], [Li, 3 points]
Top 14 Scoring words
[Lictors, 64-69]x6, [Trochils, 64], [Clitoris, 63]x2, [Coistril, 63]x2, [Historic, 42], [Lotic,21],
[Lictor,18-20]x3, [Colts,19], [Cots,18]x2, [Cost,18]x2, [Colt,18], [Cols,18], [Cist,18], [Scot,18]
Ostrich is a bad plan either way. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.99|141.101.98.99]]

---
How can you get "historic" from the tiles shown? The player doesn't have an "h" and has only one "i." [[User:Jelsemium|Jelsemium]] ([[User talk:Jelsemium|talk]]) Jelsemium

:Because 'Historic' starts with 'Hi', which has already been played. He can place 'storic' on the end of the existing 'Hi'. -Graptor [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.185|162.158.79.185]] 04:19, 16 January 2018 (UTC)

How on earth can "clitoris" ever be an inappropriate word? That is so sexist! [[User:The Cat Lady|-- The Cat Lady]] ([[User talk:The Cat Lady|talk]]) 15:51, 15 August 2021 (UTC)
:If you really don't think the word is EVER inappropriate, consider randomly saying it at your next business meeting loudly enough to be heard, and seeing what kinds of reactions you get. [[User:MeZimm|MeZimm]] ([[User talk:MeZimm|talk]]) 23:22, 18 June 2025 (UTC)
:"penis" is also an inappropriate word sometimes, so it's not sexist.

Can't believe nobody mentioned the smaller size of lefthand Cueball. Neither the granny (presumably) nor the other grown woman (Mother? Older sister?) there might be too bothered personally (depends on the individuals concerned), but with an adolescent child (a boy in particular) it would greatly add to the issues in most family circumstances. Added to the transcript, accordingly. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 19:02, 4 February 2022 (UTC)

3106: Farads

2025-11-06T01:26:53Z

Treeplate: make it slightly more clear

{{comic
| number = 3106
| date = June 23, 2025
| title = Farads
| image = farads_2x.png
| imagesize = 677x253px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'This HAZMAT container contains radioactive material with activity of one becquerel.' 'So, like, a single banana slice?'
}}

==Explanation==

In the comic, [[Cueball]] shows off several items that comprise approximately one of a given unit to [[Megan]] and [[White Hat]]. The first three — {{w|Metre|meter}}s, {{w|Pound (mass)|pound}}s and {{w|volt}}s — are all units of which "1" is a not extraordinary amount for an item that can be easily held in the hand. As such, they elicit minimal reaction from Megan and White Hat. A meter (a unit of length) is visually verifiable; a pound (a unit of weight) is easy to hold in the hand; and a volt (V, a unit of electric potential) would cause minimal harm even if discharged. White Hat's remark that the battery "might need a recharge" refers to the fact that 1 V batteries are somewhat uncommon, but a battery with a larger voltage like an {{w|AA battery|AA}}, {{w|C battery|C}} or {{w|D battery|D}} cell (typically up to 1.5 V) might read as 1 V if significantly depleted, which is likely to make most electrical devices stop working or have performance decline.

In contrast, 1 {{w|farad}} is an unusually large amount of capacitance. Capacitance is the ability to store charge, a large amount of which could be dangerous. In common use, most consumer electronics use capacitors in the picofarad to millifarad range, and 1 millifarad is already considered a "large" capacitor. A 1-farad capacitor is considered a supercapacitor (and some of which are pseudocapacitors, not strictly capacitors). Cueball claiming to have a 1 farad capacitor elicits panic from Megan and White Hat, who fear that {{w|Capacitor#Hazards and safety|it could be very dangerous}}.

For the same charging voltage and load/resistance, a larger capacitor won't deliver greater current or instantaneous power than a smaller one, but the total amount of energy and duration of discharge would be proportionally longer. If the capacitor's wires accidentally touch each other or a third piece of metal, an accidental "short circuit" is created, and all of the capacitor's stored energy discharges very quickly. For example, a 1 farad capacitor charged to 10 volts stores 50 joules of energy, and discharging all of that into a copper wire could cause the wire to heat up by a few dozen degrees Celsius faster than the blink of an eye and cause serious burns (see the [https://old.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/1ljxvdo/do_i_not_understand_what_a_capacitor_is/mzqg7ug/ calculation]). Large capacitors are often associated with larger voltages and heavy machinery, which can contribute to the feeling of caution around large capacitances.

The title text explores the inverse situation, where “1” of a unit is a very <b>small</b> amount. A {{w|becquerel}} (Bq) amounts to one radioactive atomic decay per second, which is a really low level of radioactivity. As observed, the material in question could be a single slice of a banana (primarily due to the decay of trace {{w|potassium-40}} in the total potassium it contains, a natural proportion of 117 parts per million). Hence, it is both impractical and unnecessary to contain it inside a container for hazardous materials unless the material is dangerous for other reasons (such as corrosiveness, flammability, or overripeness). For comparison, a 70 kg human body itself [https://web.archive.org/web/20200220103556/https://radioactivity.eu.com/site/pages/Activity_Doses.htm has an activity of 8000 Bq], and the {{w|Chernobyl disaster|1986 meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant}} (better known as the time "[[2163: Chernobyl|we banged some rocks together too hard]]") released [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10628087/ 2×10<sup>18</sup> (which is 2,000,000,000,000,000,000) Bq]. The earlier common unit for radioactivity is the {{w|Curie (unit)|curie}}, originally defined as the decay rate of 1 gram of radium. It has since been redefined to be 3.7×10<sup>10</sup> decays/second, i.e., 37 GBq. Radioactive material emitting 1 curie that is small enough to fit into a container for hazardous materials is dangerous enough that it probably ''should'' be in one. Bananas as a unit of measurement for radiation exposure are also discussed in the [[Radiation]] chart.

==Transcript==
: [Cueball holds a stick while talking with Megan and White Hat.]
: Cueball: This stick is one meter long.
: Megan: Cool.
: White Hat: That's a nice stick.

: [Cueball holds a smallish rock.]
: Cueball: This rock weighs one pound.
: Megan: I'd believe it.
: White Hat: Looks like a normal rock.

: [Cueball holds a small battery.]
: Cueball: This battery is one volt.
: Megan: Seems fine.
: White Hat: Might need a recharge.

: [Cueball holds a capacitor while Megan and White Hat panic.]
: Cueball: This capacitor is one farad.
: Megan: <b><em>Aaaaa! Be careful!!</em></b>
: White Hat: Put it down!!

==Trivia==
Of the three 'normal' unit quantities, the battery gets a comment that it might not necessarily be one. Common household versions of {{w|electrochemical cell}} will normally be designed to produce around 1.5 volts (though some fairly common other versions go as low as 1.2 V or as high as 2.1 V), with single-/multi-cell {{w|List of battery sizes|batteries in general}} often being rated at a simple multiple of that (e.g. 1.5 V, 4.5 V, 9 V, ...). A cell producing nearer just a single volt, as is pointed out, might be significantly discharged and need recharging. If not replacing entirely, having aged due to too many recharges, as it also definitely would if it is a {{w|primary cell}}.

Also, of all four measures, the {{w|Pound (mass)|pound}} is the only non-SI unit given. A mass of 1 {{w|kilogram}} would also not be too odd a weight to have quoted here, being about 2.2 lb, but may not have been chosen due to its relative unfamiliarity to everyday US readers (even compared to the meter), or else because of its {{w|metric prefix}} (the only one of the {{w|SI base unit}}s, even including the {{w|SI derived unit|derived ones}}, to not be a bare unit) and the gram itself perhaps being even less relatable.

This comic was uploaded very late. Despite the normal three-a-week comic schedule having it come out on Monday, June 23, and being listed on [https://xkcd.com/archive/ xkcd's archive list] for that day, it was actually released well into the next day. This is one of very few times other than [[:Category:April Fools' Day comics|April Fools' comics]] that Randall was so late. The next comic, [[3107]], came out well within its nominal day (Wednesday, and not just by US time zones), such that possibly this comic, of all comics in the usual three-a-week cycle, spent the least time as the "latest" comic before being replaced by the next in its cycle.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category: Physics]]

2476: Base Rate

2025-11-02T21:29:31Z

Treeplate: rephrase for clarity

{{comic
| number = 2476
| date = June 14, 2021
| title = Base Rate
| image = base_rate.png
| titletext = Sure, you can talk about per-capita adjustment, but if you want to solve the problem, it's obvious that this is the group you need to focus on.
}}

==Explanation==

The "{{w|base rate}}" is a type of base probability, which a statistical probability can be based on. The {{w|base rate fallacy}} is a type of error in which people are presented with the rate at which something occurs throughout an entire population along with more specific information about a subset of that population, and tend to ignore the whole-population information in favor of the specific information.

In this case, the joke is that 90% of people are right-handed, so if there is no connection between handedness and making base rate errors, then 90% of these errors would be made by right handers. Thus while [[Cueball|Cueball's]] claim that right-handers commit 90% of base-rate errors is technically true, taking that as reason to believe that "making base-rate errors" is somehow specially associated with right-handed-ness -- as would be implied by an intervention effort specific to right-handed-people -- is itself a base-rate error.

Cueball may be holding the pointer in his right hand, suggesting he might be right-handed (as 90% of stick figures are). Since Cueball has no facial features it is impossible to tell if he faces the audience, or looking at his graph. However, it seems most likely that he is looking at his audience while delivering the take home message and thus points at the graph behind him. Thus he likely belongs to the category of people that make 90% of the base-rate errors, one of those he is just committing.

In the title text, Cueball dismisses the idea of adjusting his graph to account for the difference in numbers of left-handed versus right-handed members of the population. He suggests focusing efforts on the right-handed majority to resolve that 90% of base rate errors. This is a somewhat common counterargument to statistical arguments of this stripe (often as justification for racial profiling, for example); it fails because if the target group is not in fact somehow special with regard to the issue at hand, there is generally "nothing to fix" and no special approach to discover that cannot be just as easily applied to the population of the whole.

Something similar occurs in [[1138: Heatmap]], where Cueball makes inferences simply based on a population map of the US, instead of statistical evidence.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing in front of a screen that shows a bar graph with 2 bars with labels beneath. The right bar is significantly higher than the left. Cueball is holding a pointer which he points at the label of the highest bar, which has been encircled.]
:Cueball: Remember, right-handed people commit 90% of all base rate errors.
:Label: L R

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Cognitive Bias]]

Talk:252: Escalators

2025-09-24T14:16:39Z

Treeplate: forgot ~~~~~

I just wanted to point out that I think it's funny how in-depth some of these wiki's are and how others aren't. In this one we have good hearted contributors explaining what an escalator is, while in [[Appropriate Term|the last article I read]] the author uses NSFW as if it's common parlance. My rhetorical question is this: who, reading this article, immediately recognizes the acronym NSFW yet has no previous knowledge of escalators? Although not an Explain XKCD reader, my kindergartener has less knowledge of work ethics (let alone Internet slang regarding work ethics) yet has a basic understanding of escalators in popular culture, including the phenomenon of "running up the down". That is all ;) [[Special:Contributions/71.154.215.156|71.154.215.156]] 17:51, 10 May 2013 (UTC)
:Welcome to public wiki's ;-) You get what people are willing to write. Both articles could do with some wikilinks. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 18:37, 10 May 2013 (UTC)
:Haha! I suppose someone who spends all his time indoors on the internet would understand NSFW but not an escalator. Maybe that's who I was writing for. And maybe that says too much about my life. ;) --[[User:Druid816|Druid816]] ([[User talk:Druid816|talk]]) 21:54, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
----
I've confirmed "tangent graph" is from the official transcript, but it doesn't look like a tangent graph, except perhaps on its side. It looks more like a bell curve to me. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 10:18, 26 May 2013 (UTC)
:I have to assume by "tangent graph" he doesn't literally mean a graph of the trigonometric tangent function, but a graph that shows an asymptotic approach to a particular value (in this case, probably zero). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 19:14, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

I changed the explanation to make it less about what an escalator is, and more about the intent behind the joke. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 19:14, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

It depends on what kind of escalators it is. If you are running up the 70-meter-long down escalator which has a [[Chin-Up Bar]] at the end of it, you should feel like what you was supposed to feel.--[[User:Handbug|Handbug]] ([[User talk:Handbug|talk]]) 04:19, 11 September 2014 (UTC)

It also depends on whether you have need of doing this, for example if you are rushing to the metro station finding an overcrowded upward escalator and a sparsely crowded downward escalator every day, then you will have much strong urge to put in that chart.--[[User:Handbug|Handbug]] ([[User talk:Handbug|talk]]) 04:23, 11 September 2014 (UTC)

I've actually run up a down escalator. It was: 1) exciting, and 2) actually pretty hard to do. [[User:Leafy Greens|Leafy Greens]] ([[User talk:Leafy Greens|talk]]) 02:40, 16 November 2014 (UTC)

One could also interpret the graph as the y axis as the altitude on an escalator and the x axis as time. If someone started running up the down elevator as soon as they got on, their altitude would remain at the top, whereas if someone rode the elevator down, their altitude would go down as shown in the graph. [[User:Phlaxyr|Phlaxyr]] ([[User talk:Phlaxyr|talk]]) 20:47, 21 July 2016 (UTC)

Sometimes when I'm going up an escalator and there are lots of people behind me, when I get to the top, instead of walking off I just stop and stand there, forcing everyone behind me to start walking backwards :) [[User:The Cat Lady|--The Cat Lady]] ([[User talk:The Cat Lady|talk]]) 11:32, 13 August 2021 (UTC)

It should probably also be mentioned that the downwards graph looks like an escalator and there's a person at the bottom looking up, as if to contemplate running up it. 14:16, 24 September 2025 (UTC)

2024-07-12T21:28:29Z

Treeplate: add transcript

{{comic
| number = 2958
| date = July 12, 2024
| title = Hatchery
| image = hatchery_2x.png
| imagesize = 239x336px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Anadromous fish are more vulnerable in rivers, since the lack of salt means you can quickly crack passwords using rainbow trout tables.
}}

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

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is sitting at a computer desk, with Cueball behind him.]
:Black Hat: Shooting fish in a barrel.
:Computer: Blam!
:A new fish hatchery exploit allows remote cod execution.
{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1597: Git

2024-05-01T16:22:25Z

Treeplate:

If someone is interested, the best book I've read on it is [http://www.git-scm.com/book/en/v2 Pro Git]. The chapters 2 and 3 explain pretty well this mess of branching and merging. But it's true that it takes a bit of patience to go over it all. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.228.35|108.162.228.35]] 08:47, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

Also take a look at [http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/ GitFlow: A Successful Git Branching Model]. Though Randall is correct there usually comes a time when it is easier to give up and "start again". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.147|162.158.34.147]] 08:53, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

I never liked the name of this piece of software; in British English, the name "git" is mildly rude :-)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(slang) . [[User:Gearoid|Gearóid]] ([[User talk:Gearoid|talk]]) 09:20, 30 October 2015 (UTC)
:According to word of god it was on purpose: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(software)#History [[Special:Contributions/162.158.22.46|162.158.22.46]] 11:41, 30 October 2015 (UTC)
:He also designed it in such a way that people often run into problems with commitment to detached heads, and typically deal with this by reflogging... {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.161}}

'Internally, Git works by saving the differences between various versions of the files, rather than creating a new copy each time the user "commits" the current version of the code.' - It is exactly the opposite. It stores whole files, or rather all committed pieces of data (blobs). See http://gitready.com/beginner/2009/02/17/how-git-stores-your-data.html [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.202|141.101.88.202]] 09:38, 30 October 2015 (UTC)TK

: It is stored as diffs in pack file. Whole file (loose object) are packed automatically by default.
:
: See https://schacon.github.io/gitbook/7_the_packfile.html and https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-pack-objects.html
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.177.59|162.158.177.59]] 10:15, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

::Not sure what pack files are used for, but data is stored as is and named by the SHA-1 of its contents. See [https://schacon.github.io/gitbook/1_the_git_object_model.html object model] in the same reference. [[User:Walenc|Walenc]] ([[User talk:Walenc|talk]]) 16:02, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

I think you guys need to differentiate between the underlying data scheme, and the command line. The way git stores underlying data is indeed beautiful, but the command-line is the worst UI ever. You know how you switch to working on a different branch? "git checkout". You know how you revert the changes you've made to a file? "git checkout". You know how you make a new branch? "git checkout -b". If you're used to other systems, you'll find nearly every operations - even common ones - counterintuitively named. I work at Google and even here, every week someone near me screws up their respository enough that they have to save their work, nuke their repo, reapply their changes, and try moving forward again. I don't know why anyone puts up with this! (Actually I do - it's because if you're collaborating between companies, git does it better than anything else.) [[Special:Contributions/199.27.129.107|199.27.129.107]] 18:46, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

: That's not actually true. git checkout takes you to a node of development, as a convenience that can be either the entire code base (a branch) or a single file. You could remove the file you want to 'revert', stash all other changes, checkout HEAD and then pop the stash...or use the git checkout FILE shortcut. git checkout -b is just a shortcut so you don't have to do git branch; git checkout. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.220.239|108.162.220.239]] 06:00, 7 November 2015 (UTC)

I feel like this article should end with a quick guide to git commands. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.27}}

Well, I feel this article focuses on explaning git too much that it loses the point of the joke. We have Wikipedia to refer readers to ... The thing is, not just users who are unable to use git beyond a few basic commands, but also those who understand git often use some sort of "start over" method because an action looking perfectly legit got the repository into unusable state, where recovery is much more difficult than reapplying patches. For one of the most common, search for "detached head", for example - especially funny when git insists on falling into that state after checking out master which is in direct contradiction to what docs say when it happens. But I don't feel like rewriting that, sorry :-/ --kavol, [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.206|141.101.96.206]] 16:04, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

I feel you've all been nerd-sniped. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.8|108.162.216.8]] 19:33, 30 October 2015 (UTC)Pat

The problem is not about the working copy and about the branching tree structure and some git internals that is quite confusing.
This 4 years old reddit post can be used as a funny reference: https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/embdf/git_complicated_of_course_not_commits_map_to/

http://tartley.com/?p=1267
"One of the things that tripped me up as a novice user was the way Git handles branches. Unlike more primitive version control systems, git repositories are not linear, they support branching, and are thus best visualised as trees, upon the nodes of which your current commit may add new leaf nodes. To visualise this, it’s simplest to think of the state of your repository as a point in a high-dimensional ‘code-space’, in which branches are represented as n-dimensional membranes, mapping the spatial loci of successive commits onto the projected manifold of each cloned repository." {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.212}}

Should someone mention how git is by default used through a terminal - which is often more confusing than a GUI for most people - and that while there are graphical shells for git, some people refuse to use them because they're not fully-featured? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.36|108.162.221.36]] 11:43, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

The really sad part of all this is that if you work in a multi-dev environment and <i>anyone</i> on the team is doing what Cueball suggests, it negates every other user's ability to use the main trunk properly. [[User:Ericm301|Ericm301]] ([[User talk:Ericm301|talk]]) 02:26, 31 October 2015 (UTC)

Hasn't it got too extensive about git? I've never used git but quite understood the comedy. I just visited this page to know about git.txt and there's nothing about it but just long text that doesn't help whatsoever to understand the comic. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.84.125|141.101.84.125]] 08:45, 31 October 2015 (UTC)

:I agree completely! I've stripped out the overlong discussion of git's features. --[[User:Slashme|Slashme]] ([[User talk:Slashme|talk]]) 00:12, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

AFAIK, the git.txt is not the part of the Git itself. I just added it to explanation. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.231|162.158.114.231]] 20:21, 31 October 2015 (UTC)

:"This comic is a play on how git, a popular version control system, is misused by people who have a very poor understanding of its inner workings."

Comically missing the point. That is NOT what the comic is about, that is a poor excuse from a fanboy. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.159|162.158.90.159]] 12:00, 1 November 2015 (UTC)
: I agree the verbose "explanation" misses the point. The reality is that git is a confusing mess from a user's point of view. It's a very nice and powerful design from a technical point of view yet one that will mostly confuse anyone who encounters it at first; most people are afraid of admitting it because they don't want to look dumb. There's beauty in a design that is user-friendly at its core, and git misses that mark. [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 17:38, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

: The same can be said of Linux. It seems to be a common theme in Linus Torvalds' work. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.163|108.162.249.163]] 23:52, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

In pretty much every team I've worked I found there ends up being one "git expert" that raises above the rest and people continuously go see that person with "I don't know how to do X", to which the expert will often reply with a magic unheard-of-before git command line that looks pretty much like perl line noise. [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 17:38, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

In what world are telephones not an electronic mean of communication ? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.75.245|141.101.75.245]] 10:56, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

That's not the point. The distinction was being made (ambiguously, perhaps) between electronic and vocal communication. We might naturally turn to telephones for the latter.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.227|162.158.2.227]] 12:16, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

ExplainXKCD is usually amazing, but the explanation above is really "comically missing the point".

:Git has a very cool distributed architecture, but the user experience is much more complex than other revision control systems. TFS and subversion can be taught to junior developers in about 20 minutes, but it takes much longer to learn how to use Git’s basic features. It is very easy for Git to become deadlocked, which requires some obscure commands to fix. Unless you are an expert at Git, it is sometimes easier to delete your project and try again.

:There are things that Git does that other RCS don’t do. (I am not entirely sure what they are, to be totally honest. When the question is asked, the responses usually just talk about the architecture.) Git experts tend to like that the software is more powerful than other RCS systems, and some tend to be dismissive of how difficult other people find it to use. Many people (such as myself and Cueball) find the architecture cool, but are not Git experts.

:So this is the joke. There is a conflict between how experts typically TALK about Git, and how most users actually USE Git. The humor comes from having a character say things that many people think, but wouldn’t say out loud for fear of looking stupid.

Would it be worth polishing the above and adding it to the description, or would that just be flamebait?
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.86|108.162.246.86]] 16:08, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

The title text may be referring to the famous saying: "Git is really pretty simple, just think of branches as homeomorphic endofunctors mapping submanifolds of a Hilbert space." [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.40|162.158.255.40]] 23:23, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

The current explanation is wrong [not anymore, it's excellent now!]. As others have stated, the comic is clearly making fun of git itself, NOT of its users. [[User:Daskas|Daskas]] ([[User talk:Daskas|talk]]) 13:44, 3 November 2015 (UTC)

Wow, it's amazing how there are comments above defending git: those commentators lost the fact that XDCD is making fun of git because of it's idealistic view of source control doesn't map at all to reality, which in many cases, leads to user frustration and... dare I say it, lost data and lost productivity. Git is a joke and XKCD highlighted that well :) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.60.5|162.158.60.5]] 20:35, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Someone made a [http://ohshitgit.com/ website] to be that "smart guy on the other end of the phone." The final entry on the page is this comic for sure.--[[User:Draco18s|Draco18s]] ([[User talk:Draco18s|talk]]) 16:17, 12 September 2016 (UTC)

I'd like to recommend a [http://learngitbranching.js.org/ site I found] on a recent (at the time of this comment) [https://cseducators.stackexchange.com/a/2921 CS Educator stackexchange post.] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.106|108.162.216.106]] 05:33, 25 July 2017 (UTC)

Git lets you have one account for repos connected via SSH, and another account for repos connected via HTTPS. Who thought this was a good idea? [[User:Treeplate|Treeplate]] ([[User talk:Treeplate|talk]]) 16:22, 1 May 2024 (UTC)

2589: Outlet Denier

2022-12-27T18:49:49Z

Treeplate: fix typos

{{comic
| number = 2589
| date = March 4, 2022
| title = Outlet Denier
| image = outlet_denier.png
| titletext = There are regularly placed bumps on the underside just the right size to press the rocker switch on the power strip.
}}

==Explanation==
This is the fifth installment in the series of [[:Category:Cursed Connectors|Cursed Connectors]] and presents Cursed Connectors #78: The Outlet Denier.

The outlet denier connector in this comic is the large connector to the right. It has a plug on the downward side that is supposed to go into a {{w|power strip}} or other type of outlet. It has two long bars extending up and down off the plug, as well as a D shape on one side with another, slightly less long bar on the other side of the D, that has the cord connected to it. The purpose of the outlet denier is to block access to as many other ports on a power strip as possible, hence the name. It is designed to work with many different types of power strips, such as the standard one displayed in the comic, as well as ones with the sockets rotated 90 degrees (the long bar extending to the cord) and other types of outlets like the triple outlet on the end of many extension cords and two dimensional power strips that extend a couple of outlets left and right as well as up and down (the D shape on the side). The extreme bars to each side may also prevent plugging the Denier into an outlet close to the floor, forcing the user to use a power strip or similar item for it.

There is an example power strip displayed to the left of the outlet denier, used to help explain that the outlet denier is designed to block as many other sockets on a power strip as possible. The power strip is presumably of the type with a {{w|Light_switch#Rocker|rocker switch}} that can turn the entire power bar off. This power bar has five outlets.

Many appliances require transformers or other large components on their power cord. Sometimes these "power bricks" are built around the plug. The comic is making fun of these types of power bricks, as they often block access to other sockets on a power strip or wall outlet. This can be really annoying when you want to plug in many different appliances into a power strip.

Other plugs are deliberately designed to block the other half of a duplex outlet, preventing users from plugging anything else in that could overload the circuit. The comic could be depicting an extreme case of a cumbersome connector shape designed to block an entire power strip, as the appliance connected to it uses so much power that a single extra item plugged into the power strip would cause problems.

The title text says that the outlet denier has bumps on the underside of the long bar that would match up with the location of the rocker switch no matter which outlet of the strip it is plugged into. It's not clear whether this will turn the power switch off or force it always on. But either way, it gets in the way of the user being able to control the power themselves.

If it forces it off, then the Outlet Denier cannot even be used. So to at least assume someone might actually use it, it must force it on. Since there are nothing else that can go into the power strip, it is not that important whether it is possible to switch it off though.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Needs clarification}}
:[To the left is a power strip with a rocker switch at the top and five outlets, and a connected wire goes from the top off to the left. To the right is the plug that should go into one of the outlets. A curved wire comes from the right and connects to the end of the connector, which is longer than a normal plug. The prongs are visible underneath where the box ends. But instead of ending there, there is a bar horizontal to the first part, which is longer than the power strip itself. There is a D shaped bar attached to this long bar, centered on the middle of the bar. If it was plugged in, the long bar would cover all the other outlets of the power strip.]

:[Text above the image:] Cursed Connectors #78
:[Text below the image:] The outlet denier

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category: Cursed Connectors]]