explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1174: App

2021-06-02T21:52:05Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Explanation */ Minor grammar fixes and rewrites for clarity

{{comic
| number = 1174
| date = February 15, 2013
| title = App
| image = app.png
| titletext = If I click 'no', I've probably given up on everything, so don't bother taking me to the page I was trying to go to. Just drop me on the homepage. Thanks.
}}

==Explanation==
Some websites have a {{w|mobile app}} designed for use on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. In theory this is because the main website will be more difficult to navigate on the small screen of a mobile, or some features won't work. In practice, this alternative is frequently worse than simply viewing the standard web page, for reasons offered in the comic:

*You cannot zoom or change the text size in most of these apps, a feature available on mobile browsers.
*The app is often of poor quality and is incomplete, lacks part of the content, or lacks features available on the standard website.

The comic offers a brutally honest version of such a promotional popup. Alternatively to an app, some sites have a mobile version that is still an HTML-based website — just one designed for mobile. These mobile versions (often denoted by being in an "m." subdomain) often have the same issues as above, or worse, because the sites do not have the benefit of the programmability of an app.

Compounding the frustration is that some sites aggressively promote their app/mobile version with a popup message that repeats the suggestion on every visit to the site, and as the title text notes, if you reject the popup, you end up on the site's homepage, rather than the subpage you may have been trying to reach via a web search. A similar effect (where the mobile version will only load the site's main page) is described in more detail in [[869: Server Attention Span]].

==Transcript==
:[A popup window on top of a webpage displayed in a smartphone browser that looks like Safari.]
:Want to visit an incomplete version of our website where you '''can't zoom?'''
:'''Download our app!'''
:[OK] [No, but ask me again every time]


{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Computers]]

Talk:1506: xkcloud

2021-05-13T20:47:35Z

Unpopular Opinions:

The lack of a hover text breaks all sorts of things :) e.g. Floern's unofficial xkcd browser linked here via the hover text but it won't display the link or the lack of give text if there's no hover text! We may get a few less visitors for this comic as a result...

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.115|108.162.229.115]] 08:42, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
:Still getting swamped, it's business as usual for April 1st. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:06, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

Why is "literally on fire" a question? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.163|108.162.249.163]] 09:52, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

:It indicates uncertainty. He's not really asking a question, but making a statement hesitantly. {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.22}}

::Indeed, see also {{w|uptalk}}. [[User:Pesthouse|Pesthouse]] ([[User talk:Pesthouse|talk]]) 10:03, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

How does i work? Does it work? When i click the "Help us"-Button i just get a blank comic with "..." written at the top :( [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.148|108.162.254.148]] 10:14, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
:same here. any hint? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.82|141.101.92.82]] 22:58, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

Oh boy, time to find out if mediawiki does imagemaps.--[[User:Henke37|Henke37]] ([[User talk:Henke37|talk]]) 10:31, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

The image was updated on xkcd.com the button now reads "Click here to help us recover user data before facebook & ca notice we lost it [[User:ẞ qwertz|ẞ qwertz]] ([[User talk:ẞ qwertz|talk]]) 10:48, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
:Can someone update the picture without just making a screen shoot? It is not like you can save it the normal way. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:39, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
::I have never understood how this works. I did try to change to the new version, but it somehow keeps loading the old version, even though I know that I did load a new version up. Even on the file page my file loads as the wrong one. I have tried this more than once... Previously the image has updates to the new version later without a new upload appearing. But I have no idea why...? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:39, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

I decided to '''man up''', get the train rolling and submitted the '''first revision''' of the explanation. Do expand, retouch, overwrite, format and correct my simple explanation. I didn't know if the 3 already existing posts, the ambiguous text posts or the drawings are user-based, so I avoided saying so in the explanation. I'll just add something about the covet/thirst/hanker/crave in a moment, and I'm done. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.151|173.245.53.151]] 11:11, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

This comic has an empty alt text. See http://m.xkcd.com/1506/. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 13:50, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

* There's a silent character limit (no error message, just non-acceptance; You can still comment the image again, but the text is lost unless you copied it first) somewhere between 222 and 298 chars. I tried to make a start at playing Identik with an image, but only came half way through. Guess, I have to write shorter...
* Someone figured out, how to copy&paste some grayscale image.
* I managed to submit a color image, but haven't seen it coming back yet. Tell me when you find a red one.
* There is at least one image that is too fine to have been drawn in that minimal editor (squirrel+football). I guess, it's one of the initial images that Randall provided. -- [[User:Xorg|Xorg]] ([[User talk:Xorg|talk]]) 14:00, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
** There's also an image of Buzz Lightyear that appears to be copy-pasted in. I'm not sure how someone would have accomplished that. How did you mange to get color, user 2 above me? If anyone seems a stick-figure comic titled 2006 in which one character says to the other "You're never going to achieve anything if you spend all your time on that web comic ... Now back to my Zune research", that's mine. Post here and let me know! [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:33, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
:::Here is the Buzz lightyear permalink http://xkcd.com/1506/#post/c5e85bbb-6757-5912-91d1-b51e2703144d Below is a description on how to "copy paste" a picture in. Although it has nothing to do with copy. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:17, 2 April 2015 (UTC)
*** I used the web console to get a drawing context on the canvas object. After submission the image was actually transferred to the lower area, but now, I suspect that it wasn't really the data that got uploaded... -- [[User:Xorg|Xorg]] ([[User talk:Xorg|talk]]) 15:00, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
**** I used a similar method (injecting modified base64 directly into the stream) to submit goatse :) --[[User:Okofish|Okofish]] ([[User talk:Okofish|talk]]) 22:41, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
:Yes although I'm certain that most of the images are from users, it would be nice to hear from someone who can confirm that one of their images has been spotted {{unsigned|Kynde}}
::I can at least confirm that one of my texts has been spottet by someone else. I got the black image and wrote "I finally managed to disable the flashlight of my camera". Later I saw an image combining a hammer, a nail and a camera to depict my description. -- [[User:Xorg|Xorg]] ([[User talk:Xorg|talk]]) 15:00, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
::(I'm not sure if I'm doing this commenting thing right, but) on the "Pictures posted by users" page here I saw a drawing I did in response to text along the lines of "Sauron, stop staring."[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.160|173.245.50.160]] 21:02, 3 April 2015 (UTC)
::The last computer device at the far right is a first generation SNES. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.193|173.245.56.193]] 15:12, 1 April 2015 (UTC)X
:::I keep reading the unidentified computer (second to rightmost) as a SunSPARC (that could kinda be the Sun logo) or a NEXT cube (right shape but no match to the logo) or something. Not sure where someone got 'radio transmitter'. [[User:Ijkcomputer|Ijkcomputer]] ([[User talk:Ijkcomputer|talk]]) 19:56, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
:::My first reaction to the second-to-rightmost was some kind of homebrew like an S-100 CP/M system with open-air cards in slots and a cased power supply or maybe a storage device, and a CRT with a graphic shown on it.[[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 04:45, 2 April 2015 (UTC)
*I think the general idea is based on a game that I think is called the fax machine game? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.5|198.41.242.5]] 15:29, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

I really, really, hope that some people have seen my contributions. They're pretty damn funny. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 17:20, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

There's a link(Don't contact us) at the bottom of the list on the left that leads to a chatroom.[[User:Foldark|Foldark]] ([[User talk:Foldark|talk]]) 22:29, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

Seems like the comic stopped working right now? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:46, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
:It is also not working for me. I had assumed I was personally blocked for polling the server too often... but maybe we DDOSed it. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 22:55, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
:It's working for me again. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 22:56, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

I believe the 'Don't contact us' button is slowly fading away. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.137|173.245.50.137]] 02:18, 2 April 2015 (UTC)
:I believe the chat has been removed, I just got booted with a "This room requires a passcode", and now it won't load: https://euphoria.io/room/xkcd/ -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 02:33, 2 April 2015 (UTC)
::The contact is fading, but I can still see the text by tilting my screen. The link is still there. Maybe this is for the reason mentioned above in the explain. So only those who keeps coming back will remember eventually... And they can have the kind of chat forum that Randal talks about in [[1305]]. I have just been at the chat. Maybe "452" just tried at a time when there were to many users on-line`--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:17, 2 April 2015 (UTC)
:::Since being disconnected from the caht with the "This room requires a passcode", I have tried multiple times to rejoin, and it never connects. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 13:01, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

Looks like something Randall drew originally... https://xkcd.com/1506/#post/d6e6524c-80a5-5672-a539-8076c5c0342f
--[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.172|199.27.128.172]] 06:01, 2 April 2015 (UTC)
:Yes it sure does. Of course if someone used the method mentioned below they cold draw better than most can on the xkloud app. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:17, 2 April 2015 (UTC)

For people who wonder how to insert a picture that is not mouse-drawn. Follow these steps:
: Find the picture you like.
: In a grapical editor (such as GIMP) on your computer, make sure that the image only has two colours: black and white. in GIMP this is the 'posterize' option under the 'colors' menu. Save and export the image.
: Go to http://base64online.org/encode/ and upload your image there. Tick the 'format as Data URL' checkbox.
: In the following script, replace the 'BASE_64_ENCODED_IMAGE_HERE' for the dataURL you've made in the previous step. Copy this to your clipboard.

function draw_custom_image(){
context = $('canvas')[0].getContext('2d');
context.clearRect(0,0,100000,10000);
base_image = new Image();
base_image.src = 'BASE_64_ENCODED_IMAGE_HERE';
base_image.onload = function(){
context.drawImage(base_image, 0, 0);
}
}
draw_custom_image();

: In Chrome or FireFox (open on the xcloud page where you can draw an image), press Ctrl+Shift+I to open the Developer Panel.
: Go to the 'Console' and paste the script from step 4 here. Press Enter.
: If all went well, you'll see the image appear on the canvas, and you can submit it by clicking 'Upload Image' on the xkcloud page.
For the best results, ensure that your images are 451x338 pixels in size (as this is the size of the canvas).
Good luck!
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.64.83|141.101.64.83]] 13:27, 2 April 2015 (UTC)

Does clicking the "want" ("hanker", etc.) button do anything? Like, increase the chance that the picture/caption pair will be reused for other viewers? [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 20:18, 2 April 2015 (UTC)
:Clicking the "want" button first requests a token from http://c0.xkcd.com/xb/csrf/token then sends a POST request to "http://c0.xkcd.com/xb/praise/c794eb88-5cde-5024-8301-c7e261b3ae11" where the final segment is the comic ID, and the token is send as x-csrf-token in the request. Response from server is "Good taste!" on success. Whether or not this makes the post more popular is unclear. But Randall does appear to be recording the button presses. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 21:57, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

I have created a [[1506:_xkcloud/Transcript#User_names|table out of the names]] listed in the extended transcript. I have started explaining the more obvious names. Maybe someone can have a look at some of the others. I'm sure many of the names I haven't touched yet have an obvious explanation. Good luck ;-) By the way at this moment 205 different names are listed... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:26, 4 April 2015 (UTC)

The eraser does not actually erase, it paints over it in white. The PNG is saved with a transparent background, so the erased portions can be clearly seen when displayed over a non-white background. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 03:31, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

Look at the main image for xkcloud. Up in the top right corner.... is that... what I think it is? http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x0ybZk68wk0/ULgs9fEPRKI/AAAAAAAAHP4/WsZx6N0euxY/s1600/TeleGames+Pong+Console.jpg.. A pong console? --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 16:20, 26 September 2016 (UTC)

It's broken for me. I get the three dots right now. Does this happen to anyone else? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.229|172.68.189.229]] 23:01, 18 December 2019 (UTC)

Also broken for me, same three dots. Persisting for every refresh after pressing the red button on the first panel. Comic now broken? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.119|162.158.187.119]] 19:44, 21 April 2020 (UTC)

The page is working, but none of the images load. Help. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.221|172.68.189.221]] 03:12, 8 December 2020 (UTC)

: That's happening for me as well. [[User:Unpopular Opinions|Goodbye, world!]] ([[User talk:Unpopular Opinions|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Unpopular Opinions|contributions]]|[[wikipedia:{{#if:Special:Random|{{ucfirst:Special:Random}}{{!}}wikilink of the day]]|{{ucfirst:{{PAGENAME}}}}{{!}}{{PAGENAME}}]] at [[wikipedia:|Wikipedia]]}}) 20:47, 13 May 2021 (UTC)

827: My Business Idea

2021-05-13T18:58:12Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Explanation */ Removed vandalism and rephrased some sentences for clarity

{{comic
| number = 827
| date = November 29, 2010
| title = My Business Idea
| image = my_business_idea.png
| titletext = We didn't believe you at first, but we asked like three people who were at that party. They not only corroborated your story, but even said you totally mentioned wanting to start a company someday. Sorry! If this isn't enough money, let us know.
}}

==Explanation==
Many people have shared [[Cueball]]'s experience of seeing someone else make a profit from an idea that they themselves had. This comic plays with the thought of what would happen if {{w|intellectual property}} thinking was taken to an extreme, and if companies or people were keener on "setting things right" than money. The title text is an extension of the comic with increasingly extreme thinking.

In reality, having a great idea alone, of course, does not create a profitable business; there must generally be an enormous amount of effort put in to create a business from scratch, popularize it, and keep it standing. Having done none of this, Cueball would probably not deserve close to the "30% cut" he claims even if intellectual property did work the way it is presented here.

This comic originally was shared with the name [[1721: Business Idea]], but then this comic was renamed. There were no other relations between the ideas for the two comics, see the trivia section below.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at his desk, pointing at his laptop.]
:Cueball: Dude! I had this idea like five years ago, and some company just got rich doing it! - I want my cut.

:[Cueball starts typing.]
:Person off-screen: That's not how it works.
:Cueball: Sure it is. I'm applying for my share now.
:Person: Wait, what?

:[A browser window with the title 'Department of Ideas'. It has a series of text boxes.]
:Date you had the idea:
::Like five years ago.
:Proof you had it:
::I told my friend Mike - you can ask him! I was all "you know what would make a great business idea?" and he was all...
:Their profit so far:
::$20,000,000
:Share you deserve (be fair!):
::[Drop-down.]
:::25%
:::'''30%'''
:::35%
:Mailing address:
::137 Ash Tree Ln

:[Cueball still at the laptop, above him is a SUBMIT button, and it shows a pointing hand cursor.]
:CLICK

:[Last panel set slightly lower than the rest.]
:[Cueball is in front of an open box full of cash, with cash in his hand. A FedEx delivery guy is on the other side of the box with his PDA and pen.]

==Trivia==
*This comic was originally called "Business Idea" but Randall renamed it to fix a conflict on xkcd when he released [[1721: Business Idea]] about five years later (as in the comic).
**This comic was thus also renamed on this page.
**It gave quite some turbulence on the release day as can be seen in the [[1721: Business Idea#Trivia|trivia section]] of the new comic.
*The delivery address is to Ash Tree Lane, and as shown in [[472: House of Pancakes]], Randall knows how to mess with people who've read House of Leaves.
*20,000,000$ x 30% = 6,000,000$- a lot of cash for doing nothing but having an idea.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Business Idea]]

2454: Fully Vaccinated

2021-04-23T23:24:41Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Explanation */ typo fixes

{{comic
| number = 2454
| date = April 23, 2021
| title = Fully Vaccinated
| image = fully_vaccinated.png
| titletext = "You still can't walk into someone's house without being invited!" "What? Oh, I see your confusion. No, this vaccine is for a bat VIRUS. I'm fine with doorways and garlic and stuff."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a FULLY VACCINATED VAMPIRE, which wants to know more about the vampire lore invoked in the title text, and who and how it is misunderstood and who says what...}}
This comic is another in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}, which causes {{w|COVID-19}}, specifically regarding the [[:Category:COVID-19 vaccine|COVID-19 vaccine]].

The {{w|Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}} (CDC) has stated that once people are fully vaccinated, they are able to visit other people's houses (and not risk spreading/catching coronavirus). The implication, of course, is that you can visit people that you would also have visited before the outbreak. The humor in this comic comes from [[Megan]] who is just going to visit a random stranger's house. She explains this is okay because she is fully vaccinated, telling the person in the house that she is two weeks past her second dose. This was part of the topic of the last vaccine comic [[2450: Post Vaccine Social Scheduling]].

Restrictions to socializing, brought in as various governments reacted to the emergent COVID-19 pandemic, often disallowed or discouraged visiting family, friends, etc, beyond a mutually isolating 'support bubble', which meant that many house visits that might have occurred beforehand were no longer advisable. With the development and distribution of vaccines, and the eventual receiving of a second dose as applicable, the rules have been modified to allow those vaccinated to once again resume some degree of their prior outgoing behavior where the risks have been mitigated.

In this instance, though, Megan has taken the advice even further. Rather than opening back up to a situation closer to the 'old normal', she has taken it as an official sanction to ''exceed'' the old social limits and pester complete strangers. Alternately, this ''is'' what she always used to do, and only stopped 'for the duration', this unlucky householder being (one of) the first to be subjected to this 'guerilla visiting' now that there seems to be no reason not to continue.

In the title text, the owner of the house explains to Megan that just because she has been vaccinated she just can't enter into someone's house without being invited - a commonly understood form of property law. {{Citation needed}}

But due to the vaccine type Megan thinks the owner has mixed this up with a commonly understood element of vampire lore, that vampires must be {{tvtropes|MustBeInvited|invited into a home}} before they can pass through the doorway.
In vampire lore, vampires are often able to transform into bats, and these two are thematically associated with each other. Since the coronavirus is likely a {{w|bat virome}} that has entered into humans, Megan misunderstands the owner's objection to her entry, believing that the homeowner thinks that the vaccine has made her a vampire. (The virus may have either gone directly to a human from a bat, or it could have come to humans through another animal, see {{w|Bat virome#Coronaviruses|this section}} on the bat virome page).

Megan thus begins to explain that the vaccine works on a bat virus and has nothing to do with bats. And since she is thus not a vampire she has no problems entering a doorway uninvited, and further explains she also tells that she is also not repelled by garlic or other classic weakness of vampires. Vampire lore states that they are [https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2010/02/22/six-ways-to-stop-a-vampire/ repelled by garlic], crosses, holy water, sunlight and wooden stakes through the heart (the last is a problem for humans in general, vampiric or otherwise).

The owner is attempting to explain that Megan does not have the legal or moral right to enter simply because she is vaccinated, but this seems to not register with Megan.

Doing ridiculous things that were never allowed, even normally, after being vaccinated of low-risk, was also the theme of [[2434: Vaccine Guidance]].

==Transcript==
:[Megan is standing in front of a three-step stair leading up to an open door. She has one hand in the air while talking to someone inside the house, who replies. The ground outside has small tufts of grass.]
:Megan: Hi, I'm here to visit!
:Voice, from inside the house: Do I know you?
:Megan: No, it's cool, I'm two weeks past my second dose.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Remember, once you're fully vaccinated, the CDC says you're free to visit other people's houses.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:COVID-19 vaccine]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Social interactions]]

2397: I Just Don't Trust Them

2021-03-26T17:28:53Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Explanation */ Replaced instances of "Healthful" with "Healthy"

{{comic
| number = 2397
| date = December 11, 2020
| title = I Just Don't Trust Them
| image = i_just_dont_trust_them.png
| titletext = I believe in getting immunity the old-fashioned way: By letting a bat virus take control of my lungs and turn my face into a disgusting plague fountain while my immune system desperately Googles 'how to make spike protein antibodies'.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is another comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}, which causes {{w|COVID-19}}.

[[Cueball]] partially echoes a statement made by {{w|Vaccine hesitancy|anti-vaccination}} activists about "{{w|Big_Pharma_conspiracy theory|Big Pharma}}" (the powerful and profit-driven companies which develop pharmaceutical drugs such as {{w|vaccines}}). Anti-vaccine protesters falsely believe that vaccines contain harmful toxins (such as HIV proteins, {{rw|Anti-vaccination_movement#Aluminum|aluminum salts}}, formaldehyde, {{rw|Thiomersal|mercury}}, and nanoparticles) that cause ill effects on the human body, that just because there has never been a licensed mRNA vaccine before that these new vaccines are not safe in the long term, and that the corporations that make them are not to be trusted because they are exploiting a captive public for profit while disregarding public health. The joke is that Cueball is revealed to be not talking about Big Pharma but, instead, bats.

According to the WHO, COVID-19 has an ecological origin in bat populations. Hence, Cueball sees the virus as something developed by bats, and the ambiguity by which he expresses his desire to not be infected adds to the joke.

The comic could simply be seen to serve as a compelling argument against the anti-vaccine movement, which is often criticized for spreading misinformation and increasing rates of disease, especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This comic comes shortly after the news of the development of several COVID-19 vaccines with high rates of success; there are concerns that herd immunity may be delayed if people refuse to take the vaccine.

The title text refers to getting immunity the old-fashioned way, i.e. catching the disease and waiting for your immune system to build up a response. This is usually considered healthy when immunity to minor diseases is common, and can avoid the sudden forced evolution of new diseases among extensively hypercareful communities, but developing natural immunity is certainly incredibly dangerous during a pandemic of a serious illness. One joke here is that many anti-vaxxers claim that it is more natural to not take a vaccine. Because many people conflate "natural" with "healthy", the assumption underlying the claim "it is more natural to not take a vaccine" is that it is therefore more healthy. Such arguments are an example of the {{rw|fallacy|logical fallacy}} known as {{rw|Appeal_to_nature|Appeal to nature}}. Thus, the title text is apparently written from a pro-vaxxer's take on the stance of an anti-vaxxer.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball stands with his arms to his sides, facing Megan.]
:Cueball: I just don't trust them, and I don't want to put something they developed into my body.

:[Caption below the panel]:
:How I feel about bats

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

1578: Squirrelphone

2021-03-24T20:21:52Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Explanation */ Made the what if? link work

{{comic
| number = 1578
| date = September 16, 2015
| title = Squirrelphone
| image = squirrelphone.png
| titletext = After a while, the squirrel starts making that beeping noise and doesn't stop until it hops back up onto the stump.
}}

==Explanation==
"Squirrelphone" is a {{w|Compound (linguistics)|compound word}} combining "{{w|squirrel}}" and "{{w|phone}}".

In this comic, we see a squirrel pretend to be a telephone, only to bite [[Cueball]] who tries to pick it up and use it as one. This is humorous because a living squirrel is not an appropriate creature to maintain a phone call{{Citation needed}}. This could be seen as an example of {{w|mimicry}} in nature, or parasitism where one creature gains a benefit from another.

It may be an allusion to the {{w|Tufted ground squirrel|vampire squirrel}} which was [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/09/11/vampire-squirrel-caught-on-camera-for-the-first-time-ever/ documented recently] that allegedly 'attacks and kills' deer. The comic follows the absurd conclusion that the squirrel uses mimicry to 'attack and kill' humans. Cueball may be lucky to still be alive{{Citation needed}}.

The sounds the squirrel makes correspond to the tones that the terminals make when you use the POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) in the US:
*When someone else calls you and the receiver of your phone is on the hook, the phone makes loud and long "riiing riiiing" tones. This is the case in the first frame of the comic.
*When you pick the receiver up, the phone call is established and no extra noises are made.
*When no phone call is established and you pick up, a continuous humming tone is heard, meaning the service is up and you can dial someone else's number (A {{w|dial tone}}).
*If a phone is left off hook for too long, a loud {{w|Off-hook tone|howler-tone}} is played. This is to alert anyone present that the phone is off-hook. In this case, you should hang up so that you can receive calls. Once on-hook, the receiver can be picked up again to dial. Many cordless phones will also beep if left off their cradles for too long, to warn that their rechargeable batteries are getting drained.

[[:Category:Squirrels|Squirrels]] have been used frequently in xkcd, also in [[what if]], where it has for instance been used as a cute animal to replace a drawing of something scary or unpleasant like in [http://what-if.xkcd.com/98/ Blood Alcohol] or [http://what-if.xkcd.com/105/ Cannibalism]. So this is some twist for the cuteness factor of squirrels in xkcd.

It may also be the case that "squirrelphone" is a reference to the popular web-mail software [http://squirrelmail.org/ SquirrelMail].

The title text takes the joke further by showing the squirrel possesses another phone feature: that cordless phones need to recharge frequently, either by setting them at their cradles or by connecting them to a charger, in the case of mobile phones. When they sense the battery is low, they emit a beeping noise every few minutes. In this case, the stump is the squirrel's cradle.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is approaching a stump with a squirrel perched on it. A ringing noise is coming from the squirrel's back.]
:Squirrel: Riiiiing
:Squirrel: Riiiiiing

:[Cueball has picked up the squirrel and is holding it to his left ear.]
:Cueball: Hello?

:[The squirrel bites Cueball's head.]
:Squirrel: Chomp!
:Cueball: Ow!

:[Cueball holds his hand to his cheek while the squirrel leaps away, fleeing.]
:Cueball: ???

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Phones]]

797: debian-main

2021-03-24T19:56:45Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Transcript */ Minor improvement

{{comic
| number = 797
| date = September 24, 2010
| title = debian-main
| image = debian_main.png
| titletext = dpkg: error processing package (--purge): subprocess pre-removal script returned error exit 163: OH_GOD_THEYRE_INSIDE_MY_CLOTHES
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Debian}} is a Linux distribution most notable for introducing {{w|Advanced Packaging Tool|APT}} (Advanced Packaging Tool). APT is a tool that functions as an automated general software installer for Linux systems; all one has to do is tell it what software package they would like to install, and the program will automatically fetch the software and all of its dependencies (other packages that a program relies on, such as a library for processing ZIP archives) from a central ''repository''. It will also automatically handle upgrades by automatically checking if the repository version of a package is higher than the currently installed version, and it can even handle the use of multiple repositories and linking between them; for example, if a piece of software is deemed worthy of inclusion in Debian's main repository, but as a stable release, the software developers can provide their own repository to provide a more experimental version for users who want it, and once that repository is added to APT's source list, APT will automatically realize that it should use the experimental version, since it has a higher version than that of the main repository. Although this wasn't the first package management system for easy Linux installation (that honor goes to {{w|RPM Package Manager|RPM}}), it is the first one that seamlessly integrated online installation and upgrades into the mix.

Debian's main repository, debian-main, is included by default in all Debian installations. It's what you might call the "canon" of Debian, containing only those packages that have been approved by official Debian developers. Thus, getting a package on debian-main means that it, theoretically, conforms to a standard of quality.

In this case, however, the Debian developers seem to have not noticed that one of the dependencies for the package is "locusts." {{w|Locust}}s are real insects, the migratory forms of several grasshopper species, that are best known for breeding extremely quickly, swarming, and devouring all green plant matter they come across, resulting in crop devastation (some consider this a plague). In some parts of the world they are also considered a delicacy. [[Cueball]] probably does not appreciate this as they crawl over his body searching for food, apparently spontaneously generated by APT as it saw that it needed "locusts" to install the package.

The title text is an error line from <code>dpkg</code>, the program used to install/remove APT packages. Every package contains several scripts (although some of them may be empty) that are run on various events related to that package; these are used to perform any setup/cleanup tasks the package needs. This line is an error line indicating that one of those scripts has failed. The relevant portions are:

*<code>error processing package (--purge)</code>: --purge is the option to purge a package completely from the system. This means that the program itself, all related data files, and all configuration files are removed from the system. So, the user was attempting to completely remove the locusts from the system without leaving a trace.
*<code>subprocess pre-removal script</code>: The pre-removal script is the code run before actually removing a piece of software. Mostly, this allows long-running software (such as webservers) to stop themselves before removing anything, to avoid corrupting the hard disk. That means the error came while the computer was preparing to get rid of the locusts.
*<code>returned error exit 163</code>: "Returned error" means just what it says, the script returned an error. "Exit" means that the error was a result of calling the <code>exit()</code> function with a non-zero value, specifically the value 163. The exact value has no real significance other than signifying to a user or other application that understands what the code means; neither <code>dpkg</code> nor the Linux kernel itself treat any exit value specially, apart from checking whether the value is 0 (which means no error).
*<code>OH_GOD_THEYRE_INSIDE_MY_CLOTHES</code>: This is the message returned along with the error. This seems to be a message from the programmer, somewhat like the apocryphal "Help! I'm trapped in ... factory" [[10|urban myth]]. The programmer has failed to write a functioning pre-removal script, due to locusts and is calling for help via an error message.

==Transcript==
:[A swarm of insects cover Cueball and his computer. They are leaning back on their chair, flailing to get away.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAA

:Caption below comic: My package made it into debian-main because it looked innocuous enough; no one noticed "locusts" in the dependency list.

==Trivia==
*This is fixed in [http://packages.debian.org/changelogs/pool/main/m/mingetty/current/changelog#versionversion1.07-2 Debian's mingetty 1.07-2] and above.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Linux]]

2268: Further Research is Needed

2021-02-22T02:58:19Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Transcript */ Removed some parts of the transcript that do not describe the comic.

{{comic
| number = 2268
| date = February 14, 2020
| title = Further Research is Needed
| image = further_research_is_needed.png
| titletext = Further research is needed to fully understand how we managed to do such a good job.
}}

==Explanation==

In most scientific fields, it's very common to end research papers with the caveat that "more research is needed", or words to that effect. This is particularly true when reporting results on a topic that's not well studied, and in which there's not enough literature to form a broad consensus. This is a very reasonable suggestion, an individual research project may produce results that suggest a certain conclusion, but it would be foolhardy to take something as established fact based on a single study. Individual studies may produce misleading information, they may have flaws that don't become evident until later, they may be based on assumptions that don't hold up, or the results may end up having an alternate explanation (as when a correlation is found, but does not establish specific causation). It's all too common for science reporters, particularly in low-quality outlets, to draw broad and bold conclusions from a single study, but actual scientists quickly learn to be more cautious. Peer-reviewed papers will generally make clear that conclusions are tentative, and may be modified or even overturned by future research.

This comic's fictional paper, however, ends with a statement that the paper has resolved all the problems about its topic, and that no more research is necessary. Humorously, the authors are so confident in their research skills that they believe that they have solved all the problems in that particular topic that can be solved. Munroe jokes that he'd like to see researchers with "the guts" to make such a proclamation. In real life, doing so would likely damage the reputation of the study's authors, because it would belie both a breathtaking arrogance and a lack of understanding of the research process. If nothing else, studies need to be replicated, to establish that the initial data gathering was accurate. In addition, no single study could realistically address every aspect, variation and complication in a given topic. It's simply not feasible that a single paper could "[resolve] all remaining questions" on any given topic, and making such a ridiculous claim would badly damage a researcher's credibility. At the same time, if no further research were necessary, every researcher in the field, including the author who wrote the study, would need to either change fields or change careers. The title text ironically states that "further research" ''is'' indeed needed to understand how the researchers who wrote the paper were able to resolve all the problems in that topic or field, thus allowing the researchers to justify future funding for their research.

Perhaps the statement most like this made by a real scientist was by {{w|Albert A. Michelson}}, at the 1894 dedication of the University of Chicago's Reyerson Physical Laboratory: "[I]t seems probable that most of the grand underlying principles have been firmly established and that further advances are to be sought chiefly in the rigorous application of these principles to all the phenomena which come under our notice." (Variants of this statement are sometimes misattributed to {{w|William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin}}.) Even this statement is couched in much less certainty than the concluding statement presented in this comic strip, and sure enough, just eleven years later, {{w|Albert Einstein}} wrote his {{w|Annus Mirabilis papers}}. These four papers explained the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity, and mass-energy equivalence, turning established physics on its head. Ironically, Michelson made this statement despite the fact that he himself had upset a major of notion of established physics just seven years before, when the {{w|Michelson-Morley experiment}} demonstrated that the speed of light was constant, disproving the {{w|Aether theories}} then prevalent in physics. This result in turn was part of the inspiration for Einstein's theory of special relativity.

==Trivia==

* The mentioned closure of scientific papers seems to be iconic enough to have an Wikipedia article of its own: {{w|Further research is needed}}
* There was a scientific paper by James C. Coyne and Eric van Sonderen from University of Groningen, titled ''[https://www.rug.nl/research/portal/files/6774405/Coyne_2012_J_Psychosom_Res.pdf No further research needed]'', on the necessity of abandoning the Hospital and Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS).
* In 2020, a study titled "Effect of hydroxychloroquine with or without azithromycin on the mortality of COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis" included the text "Our results suggest that there is no need for further studies evaluating these molecules".
* We believe this resolves all remaining questions on this comic. No further explanation is needed.

==Transcript==
:[A panel, representing an excerpt from a scholarly journal, with two sentences clearly visible. Below the text is one more readable word, with a horizontal line below it, and then four numbered lines with unreadable text. The text is written with normal capitalization rather than in all caps.]
:We believe this resolves all remaining questions on this topic. No further research is needed.
:References
:1.
:2.
:3.
:4.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Just once, I want to see a research paper with the guts to end this way.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Research Papers]]

2427: Perseverance Microphones

2021-02-19T20:58:58Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Explanation */ general cleaning up

{{comic
| number = 2427
| date = February 19, 2021
| title = Perseverance Microphones
| image = perseverance_microphones.png
| titletext = If the first audio they downlink is from the descent, we probably won't be able to hear anything over the sound of the rover screaming.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MARS ROVER. Explanation of the title text is missing. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A pun. NASA had landed a new rover, {{w|Perseverance (rover)|''Perseverance''}}, on Mars the previous day; part of its mission is to collect scientific samples which will hopefully eventually be returned to Earth. “Samples” can also refer to short snippets of music, as well as individual packets from data logs.

[https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-perseverance-rover-sends-sneak-peek-of-mars-landing/ You can view the landing here.]

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

: [Megan is sitting at a desk, typing on her laptop, which is connected to a box on the floor.]
: Megan: Perseverance's microphones are active! Downlinking audio!
: [Cueball is standing on the other side of the box, holding an electric guitar, which is plugged into the box, and standing with one foot on a small box on the floor, which is also connected.]
: Cueball: I'm ready with the looper pedal.
: [Caption below the panel:]
: The first Mars sample return

{{comic discussion}}

User:Unpopular Opinions

2021-01-21T23:42:26Z

Unpopular Opinions:

If you need to talk to me, you can do that [[User_talk:Unpopular_Opinions|here]] or {{w|User_talk:Literally every other username I could think of was taken|here}}.
If you need to see my editing history, you can do that [[Special:Contributions/Unpopular_Opinions|here]].
If you need to procrastinate, you can do that [https://www.tvtropes.org here].

User:Unpopular Opinions

2021-01-21T23:12:06Z

Unpopular Opinions:

Haven't done anything important, so there's nothing to put here...

----

447: Too Old For This Shit

2021-01-21T23:10:37Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Explanation */ Added a period to the end of a sentence

{{comic
| number = 447
| date = July 9, 2008
| title = Too Old For This Shit
| image = too_old_for_this_shit.png
| titletext = They say if a mathematician doesn't do their great work by age eleven, they never will.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic makes fun of the fact that most mathematical geniuses have done their exceptional work (for which they eventually become famous) in their early years by exaggerating it, particularly given that "too old for this shit" is a phrase more appropriately used by people later in age. At the age of thirteen, even precocious mathematicians would not be pushing the frontier of mathematical knowledge, let alone to the point where they would be "too old for it." As such, this is more a joke about a young boy attempting to dismiss the world around him. It also plays on the fact that in xkcd comics, it is often difficult to tell age because of lack of detail, which is necessary to set up the final punchline.

A striking example is {{w|Carl Friedrich Gauss}}, the famous mathematician, who wrote his exceptional masterpiece ''{{w|Disquisitiones Arithmeticae}}'' at the early age of 21. This idea was for instance used in the fictional biography of Gauss, ''{{w|Measuring the World}}'', where he admits to having trouble understanding his own work when he got older because of his age.

The "age theory'" applies to physics as well. {{w|Albert Einstein}} was also very young (26) when he published his {{w|Annus Mirabilis papers|four groundbreaking papers}} in the same year (his {{w|Annus Mirabilis}} in 1905) including the one that eventually gave him the {{w|Nobel Prize}}. Later in life, for instance, he never accepted the theory of {{w|quantum physics}} - which is now a very well established theory.

The title of the comic, "Too Old For This Shit", is also likely a reference to the ''{{w|Lethal Weapon}}'' series, in which one of the main characters (Roger Murtaugh, played by Danny Glover) is repeatedly quoted as saying things along the line of "I'm too old for this shit."

The title text asserts that thirteen is way too old as it claims that mathematicians should do their '''great work''' at the age of eleven! If not - they will never do anything great.

==Transcript==
:[Two Cueballs are standing in front of a whiteboard covered with equations.]
:Cueball 1: I wish I could do math like when i was young.
:Cueball 2: Huh?
:Cueball 1: It doesn't come easy like it once did.
:Cueball 2: Uh huh.
:Cueball 1: Math is a game for the young. I need to sit back and let the future happen.
:Cueball 2: You're thirteen.
:Cueball 1: Yes, and it's time I accept that.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Math]]

2414: Solar System Compression Artifacts

2021-01-21T21:03:14Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Explanation */ Cleaning up some things in the two opening paragraphs

{{comic
| number = 2414
| date = January 20, 2021
| title = Solar System Compression Artifacts
| image = solar_system_compression_artifacts.png
| titletext = Most of our universe consists of dark matter rendered completely undetectable by our spacetime codec's dynamic range issues.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MISSING PHYSICAL PHENOMENON LOST DUE TO HIGH COMPRESSION. More on the title text - Dark matter and dynamic range issues need to be explained in more detail. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

''{{w|Voyager 1}}'' is a [[:Category:Space probes|space probe]] launched by the United States in 1977. Originally designed to study the outer planets of the {{w|Solar System}}, it is now several decades into an extended mission beyond Neptune. The Voyager probe has made history for passing many milestones of our solar system.

When images are compressed by a {{w|lossy compression}} format (e.g. {{w|JPEG}}), visual artifacts are created. Randall here is suggesting that the probe has passed the artifacts as if the artifacts were an actual feature of the solar system rather than a consequence of our technology. However, the slightly discolored regions often created by compression could also be a metaphor for the region of space that that solar radiation prevents from being a complete vacuum. Voyager 1 has passed through numerous such boundaries, as mentioned previously in [[1189: Voyager 1]].

Compression artifacts are often caused by large changes in coloration over a short distance, and Randall could feel that the drastic change in coloration from bright sun to dark vacuum could be creating a compression artifact around the Sun, somewhat like the Sun looking blurry due to low video quality. However, there is no definite region where solar radiation stops, only a boundary where it fades to a level lower than that of radiation from other sources. Some compression methods result in compression artifacts that behave in the same way, fading as the distance from the color boundary increases but never completely disappearing.

The 'solar system' in the snapshot appears to be a 4-bit greyscale-plane at a more pixelated level than the image given. It can be picked out as being in 16 'banded' levels from the brightest (closest zones, within this image, to the Sun) to darkest (the furthest illustrated expanses, heading into interstellar space), with irregular or non-trivial transitional edges but no obvious or dominant dithering/speckling or 'noise'. The Voyager image (and track) is overlaid at finer resolution in the white 'line drawing' format.

The 'apparent pixels' seem to be at a resolution close to the order of 1AU². A rough count of the pixelation boundaries from the craft to the leftmost edge, plus an additional allowance for the likely radius of the 'sun' (or, rather, its solar wind density, or similarly represented measure) still beyond the edge, is surprisingly close to to the 150 AU or so of distance that Voyager 1 is at, currently.

For perspective, the Earth is then ''by definition'' within/adjacent to the single lower-resolution 'pixel' that holds the Sun, and currently over on its far side. But the Sun itself is not even visible. It would be a dot so far beyond the left boundary of the image that Neptune, at around 30 'pixels' distance, may only ''just'' be placeable within the leftmost extreme of this view at its own rightmost point in its orbit. - The overlaid Voyager 'sketch' (in its more native resolution/bit-depth and antialiasing) stretches out over maybe a dozen such low-res pixels/AUs, which is equivalent to slightly more than the radius of Saturn's orbit or the entire diameter of Jupiter's!

In the title text the mystery of the undetectable {{w|Dark Matter}}, which current mainstream physics supposes makes up most of the mass in the universe, is explained since this dark matter is rendered completely undetectable by our spacetime codec's {{w|dynamic range}} issues (thus brushing against the theme of a simulated universe).

Artifacts are evident in [[1683: Digital Data]], and mentioned in the title text of [[331: Photoshops]].

==Transcript==
:[Irregular bands of gray are shown, shading from a white circular segment on the lower left side of the panel to completely black on the right. The bands have pixelated edges. A small white space probe is shown just outside the last dark gray band, in the completely black area. A dotted line starting from inside the dark gray area and ending at the space probe indicates that it is moving to the right, out of the gray area. Close to the white area, there are many bands packed closely together and with hard to define edges. But there are five gray areas clearly separated from the white, with a tendency to be elongated in the space probe's direction.]

:[Caption below the panel]: Milestone: ''Voyager'' has passed through the streaming video compression artifacts that mark the edge of the solar system

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Space probes]]

2412: 1/100,000th Scale World

2021-01-15T18:56:46Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2412
| date = January 15, 2021
| title = 1/100,000th Scale World
| image = 1_100000th_scale_world.png
| titletext = The floor should be slightly curved, but we haven't figured out artificial gravity yet, so for now we just added a trace intoxicating gas to the air that messes with your inner ear and gives you a sense that the ground is tilting away from you.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TOXIC AURORA. The explanation needs to explain the comic. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a sequel to the previous comic. There is a 1/100,000th scale world in this comic.

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

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Illustrations of scale]]

2400: Statistics

2020-12-21T05:36:42Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Explanation */ Requested explanation of the title text, which I lack the knowledge to add

{{comic
| number = 2400
| date = December 18, 2020
| title = Statistics
| image = statistics.png
| titletext = We reject the null hypothesis based on the 'hot damn, check out this chart' test.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PLACEBO GROUP. Needs an explanation of the title text. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is another comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}, which causes {{w|COVID-19}}.

The main focus of the comic is a graph showing cases of COVID-19 versus time for two groups: one group was vaccinated and the other group was not. Graphs are ways to visualize data, and almost always indicate specific values. This graph does not; it simply has two lines, and no indication of any of the scale values involved. The higher line ("placebo group") rises in a steep curve. The lower line ("vaccine group") follows the first for a bit but then levels out to a much slower rate of climb. The caption eschews statistical analysis in favor of a holistic assessment: the vaccine is clearly working; just look how much those lines diverge.

This comic was released one day after the [https://www.fda.gov/media/144434/download FDA's Dec 17th briefing document] for the {{w|mRNA-1273|Moderna COVID-19 vaccine}} was released. The document includes the following [https://www.zq1.de/~bernhard/images/share/mRNA-1273-trial.png chart]: [[File:FDA_Modena_Dec17.png]]. The charts draw the integral of the incidence data rather than the data itself ("cumulative" rather than "rate"): this results in changes in disease rate towards the left side of the chart, being added into the data on the right side, amplifying their difference. This technique for emphasizing the data is valid: the spread between the lines only continues to increase if the effect continues happening, such that the total spread at the right is proportional to the total effect the vaccine had. The charts do not show any information on other possible variables. Randall has described previously in his webcomics how very clear charts can be made to hide misleading data. The linked graph does not leave the numbers out, and the numbers indicate the vaccine is 91% effective at preventing the disease (and a 95% chance of being between 85 and 95% efficient).

The advice here could be seen as the inverse of the "science tip" in [[2311: Confidence Interval]], in which the data was so ''bad'' that its error bars fell outside of the graph and were not shown. Also there's some association with [[1725: Linear_Regression]] where the data is not so good that you don't need to perform linear anlysis

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Shown is a graph with the x-axis labeled "time" and the y-axis labeled "COVID cases." There is a black line on the graph labeled "placebo group", which has a roughly linear slope moving toward the top right corner. There is a red line labeled "vaccine group", which follows the black line for about an eighth of the width of the graph before leveling off.]
:[Caption beneath the graph]:
:Statistics tip: Always try to get data that's good enough that you don't need to do statistics on it

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Tips]]

2367: Masks

2020-11-18T23:19:40Z

Unpopular Opinions: Removed an inappropriate placement of {{fact}}.

{{comic
| number = 2367
| date = October 2, 2020
| title = Masks
| image = masks.png
| titletext = Haunted Halloween masks from a mysterious costume shop that turn you evil and grow into your skin score a surprisingly high 80% filtration efficiency in R. L. Stine-sponsored NIOSH tests.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a line from top to bottom explaining how good different types of masks are at preventing respiratory virus transmission. As with many comics in 2020, it is a reference to the [[:Category:COVID-19|2020 pandemic]] of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, a virus that primarily transmits through air droplets expelled from the human nose and mouth. This comic may have been inspired from [https://www.polygon.com/entertainment/2020/5/15/21259215/how-to-wear-masks-superhero-costumes-coronavirus-effectiveness a Polygon article published on May 15th].

===Types of masks===
*'''{{w|Zorro}}'''/'''{{w|Lone Ranger}}''': A strip of cloth around the eye-level. Since it does not cover the mouth and nose, the main ways the virus leaves the body to infect others, or the mouth, nose and eyes, the main ways it enters the body, it is ineffective and no better than wearing no mask at all.
*'''{{w|Batman}}''': Batman's iconic headgear has gone through many revisions, and consists either of a simple cloth cowl or a helmet and visor. Does not cover the mouth, but may cover the nose. However, the mask only covers the top part of the face, i.e., not the nostrils. This mask might be slightly more effective than the Lone Ranger style mask due to the intimidation effect keeping other people back.
*'''Theater masks''' ({{w|Sock and buskin}}): Traditionally used as a symbol of performance theater since ancient Greece. The eye and mouth holes are often open, thus exposing the wearer.
*'''Skincare''' ({{w|facial mask}}): A layer of mud or moisturizer. By nature, it does not cover the mouth or nostrils, but it may keep the wearer from touching their face and is usually worn by someone sitting in a chair or lying back on a bed, not out getting in other people's personal space.
*'''Scarecrow''': A burlap sack. While it provides some cover to the mouth and nose, it is heavily porous. This could also refer to the {{w|Scarecrow (DC Comics)|Scarecrow}}, a DC Comics villain. If so, the mask would probably be extremely effective, as that character uses airborne drugs as weapons, and would have to have very good filter ability.
*'''{{w|Guy Fawkes mask}}''': A plastic mask that is a stylized depiction of {{w|Guy Fawkes}} (designed by David Lloyd for the comic book ''{{w|V for Vendetta}}'' and made popular by {{w|V for Vendetta (film)|its movie adaptation}} and subsequent adoption by the {{w|Anonymous (group)|Anonymous}} movement). Most Guy Fawkes masks provide small holes in the front for comfort, thus facilitating spread of the virus.
*'''{{w|Cloth face mask|Cloth}}''': A cloth mask that blocks most large particles, like virus-laden saliva. To be most effective, it must cover nose as well as the mouth. These are much cheaper than N95 masks, and can be reused by washing. Not all cloth masks are created equal, some designs and materials are more effective than others at holding back contagious particles, but Randall lists them under "Effective" on the whole. They are relatively effective at preventing the wearer from infecting others, but are less effective at protecting the wearer from being infected by others, because droplets leaving the body are large enough to block, but small enough to get through cloth after evaporation. The felt-like nonwoven fabric of surgical masks blocks more droplets and aerosols than the same thickness of knit or woven fabric.
*'''{{w|Spider-Man|SpiderMan}}'''''[sic]'': A full face covering of spandex-like material (Spider-Man comics rarely if ever specify what material Spider-Man makes his costume from). Would block most virus particles. (The correct spelling is "Spider-Man", with a hyphen, and "Man" capitalized.)
*'''{{w|N95 mask|N95}}''': A standard air filtration mask, commonly used in industry but also used in healthcare. The name "N95" signals that it is not resistant to oil, but successfully filters 95% of airborne particles. It has proven to be one of the more successful masks during the 2020 pandemic. N95 masks usually include non-woven filtration material, which while often stiff like cardstock, is more similar to the felt-like fabric of surgical masks than to woven cloth. N95 masks can [https://youtu.be/eAdanPfQdCA filter particles much smaller] than the gaps between layers and strands in the fabric.
*'''{{w|scuba set|SCUBA}}''': A '''S'''elf-'''C'''ontained '''U'''nderwater '''B'''reathing '''A'''pparatus. Most SCUBA equipment used an open-circuit design allowing exhaled air to vent to the atmosphere. Underwater, this would not be a threat to other divers who would also be breathing air from their tanks. However, on land a typical SCUBA regulator would expose others to virus particles. Closed-circuit SCUBA equipment recirculates the user’s gas supply but they still contain a means of venting extra gas into the atmosphere. Neither system contains expiratory HEPA filters making both ineffective at preventing virus transmission. That all said, SCUBA equipment still covers the face and nose, rather than directly exposing others to unshielded breathing and coughing.
*'''{{w|Darth Vader|Vader}}''': Reference to one of the main antagonists in {{w|''Star Wars''}}, in which he wears a suit of armor with a built-in rebreather. Similar to SCUBA gear, it circulates air back to the user, in order to defend against the spread of the virus to the wearer.
*'''{{w|Mysterio}}''': Reference to one of the antagonists in ''{{w|Marvel Comics}}''’ {{w|Spider-Man}} as part of the {{w|Sinister Six}}. He wears a glass helmet. In the comics Mysterio often uses mind-altering chemicals, and his suit is designed to shield himself from his own weapons. By the same design, it would shield himself and others from the spread of viral infection.

'''Haunted Halloween Masks''': The [[title text]] is a reference to ''{{w|The Haunted Mask}}'' by {{w|R. L. Stine}}, a book in the {{w|Goosebumps (original series)|''Goosebumps'' series}}. The mask transforms the wearer into a monster, with an open (uncovered) nose and mouth. The test results claim that the wearer is still somehow substantially protected against inhaling virus particles, but this may be a fraudulent test result due to pressure from the sponsor of the test, R. L. Stine, to get more people to wear such masks; it is also possible that the supernatural effects somehow include blocking virus particles, as parasites generally benefit from keeping their hosts alive and healthy, at least in the short term. NIOSH refers to the ''{{w|National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health}}''.

==Position on chart==
*[With 0% at the top position of the top arrow and 100% effective at the position of the bottom arrow the masks effectiveness would be approximately as follows:]
:[02%] Zorro/Lone Ranger
:[03%] Batman
:[07%] Theater
:[10%] Skincare
:[15%] Scarecrow
:[18%] Guy Fawkes
:[48%] Cloth
:[52%] Spider-Man
:[68%] N95
:[71%] Scuba
:[80%] Vader
:[90%] Mysterio

==Transcript==
:[A chart is shown with a title and explanation at the top:]
:<big>'''Masks'''</big>
:By effectiveness at preventing respiratory virus transmission

:[The chart consist of a vertical line going top to bottom with arrows at both ends. There are labels at the top, aorund the middle and at the bottom:]
:Not effective.
:Effective
:Extremely Effective

:[Along the line there are 12 bullets. From each bullet there goes a line (often with one or two turns) to a depiction of a type of mask. Each mask type is labeled. The first six masks are all close to the top, the last only halfway down to the middle of the line. The next two are right around the middle, then two are halfway towards the bottom from there and the final two are close to the bottom, with the last very close to the botom. From top to bottom:]
:Zorro/Lone Ranger
:Batman
:Theater
:Skincare
:Scarecrow
:Guy Fawkes
:Cloth
:SpiderMan
:N95
:Scuba
:Vader
:Mysterio

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring face masks]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]

User:Unpopular Opinions

2020-11-12T14:24:14Z

Unpopular Opinions:

Haven't done anything important, so there's nothing to put here...

----
Previous signatures:

[[User:Unpopular Opinions|Unpopular Opinions]] ([[User talk:Unpopular Opinions|talk]])

[[User:Unpopular Opinions|Goodbye, world!]] ([[User talk:Unpopular Opinions|talk]])

[[User:Unpopular Opinions|Goodbye, world!]] ([[User talk:Unpopular Opinions|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Unpopular Opinions|contributions]]|[[wikipedia:{{#if:Special:Random|Special:Random{{!}}wikilink of the day]]|{{PAGENAME}}{{!}}{{PAGENAME}}]] at [[wikipedia:|Wikipedia]]}}) ('''current''')

User:Unpopular Opinions

2020-11-12T14:19:36Z

Unpopular Opinions:

User:Unpopular Opinions

2020-11-12T14:19:21Z

Unpopular Opinions:

explain xkcd:Sandbox

2020-11-12T14:14:06Z

Unpopular Opinions:

__NOINDEX__
Make changes, try things out, or just have fun with the wiki here! Just leave everything above the line alone, please.
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Sandbox&action=edit&oldid=91667 clear sandbox]
------
{{Community links}}

{|-
|valign="top" width="80%"|[[File:Crystal Clear app ktip.png|left|120px]] <big><big>Proposals</big></big>

Ideas to improve the wiki's design and organization.

{{AddNewSection|Page=Explain XKCD:Community portal/Proposals|Text=(+post)}}
|}

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

==
== Headline text ==

== Headline text ==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
==
ThAt wEnT WeLl [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.21|162.158.166.21]] 15:11, 20 October 2020 (UTC)

[[File:no.gif]], it did not. {w|scone|Goodbye, world!} ([[User talk:Unpopular Opinions|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Unpopular Opinions|contributions]]|[[User: Unpopular Opinions|userpage]]) 14:14, 12 November 2020 (UTC)

User:Unpopular Opinions

2020-11-12T14:08:09Z

Unpopular Opinions:

Haven't done anything important, so there's nothing to put here...

2384: Set in the Present

2020-11-12T13:58:29Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Transcript */ Made things a bit more accurate, fixed some typos

{{comic
| number = 2384
| date = November 11, 2020
| title = Set in the Present
| image = set_in_the_present.png
| titletext = She referenced Billie Eilish, so this must be getting pretty close to the pandemic. But we've seen the last two years in-universe, so if it's set in the future, they must be in at least 2023 by now. [*adds thumbtacks and string to wall*]
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an ALTERNATE NO-COVID TIMELINE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Cueball]] is watching a wall-mounted television set that's showing either a movie or a TV program. On-screen, people are talking face-to-face without face masks, and other maskless people mingle in the background. Although he's not engaged with the plot, Cueball has picked up enough setting clues to know that the story is set in or near the present day. However, the actual present day includes a raging pandemic ({{w|COVID-19 pandemic|COVID-19}}), the likes of which have not been seen in a century. The program doesn't reflect this, and Cueball is driven to distraction by the mismatch between his world and its.

In a generic setting, stories can date themselves through the appearance of era-specific technology (such as cell phone models, which Cueball notes) or pop culture references ({{w|Billie Eilish}} is mentioned in the title text). These clues support the idea that the story is current, but the story's world is still fundamentally different without the pandemic. Attempting to resolve the question, Cueball considers the possibility that the story is set in 2019 (COVID-19 did not emerge until late that year and did not become a pandemic until 2020); a vaccinated future where COVID-19 has been cured; or that it is 2020, but the characters are simply being reckless with their own (and each others') health. Alternatively, this story could occur in an {{w|alternate timeline}} with no COVID. In the realm of books, writers in at least one subgenre within romance fiction have adopted the 'alternate timeline' approach, on the argument that COVID-19 is an element of the real world from which their readership is trying to escape.

Movies and television productions are enormously complex, and months, if not years, can pass between when a screenplay is written and the finished product finishes filming. There is often an additional gap between the end of production and a program's release. Together, these delays mean that most movies and TV shows still coming out in the pandemic reflect the world as it was before COVID hit. Even if produced after COVID-19 had already began, many movies and TV shows may not reference COVID or mask-wearing, leading to Cueball's confusion/distraction.

The idea of using thumbtacks and strings (usually accompanied by newspaper clippings and photographs) to study a problem is pop-culture shorthand for a conspiracy theory. Randall has previously mentioned this in [[2244: Thumbtacks And String]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing and watching a wall-mounted flat-screen television (everything else is just white, no indication of the wall other than the screen hanging there). On the screen, Megan and Ponytail are seen talking face to face gesturing at each other. Their faces are close together and there are no masks present. In the background behind them, a couple holding hands can be seen to the left and at least two people walking close to each other to the right. They all look like Cueball. Cueball is thinking while watching this, and his thoughts are shown in one large thought bubble above him:]
:Cueball: Okay, they're hugging, and no one has masks, but she has a modern phone. Is this story set in 2019?
:Cueball: Or is this a post-vaccine future? Or an alternate no-Covid timeline?
:Cueball: Or are we supposed to think these characters are irresponsible?

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Movies and shows that are vaguely set in "The Present" will be awkward for a while.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

1519: Venus

2020-11-09T02:37:21Z

Unpopular Opinions: Explained what the runaway greenhouse effect is supposed to be

{{comic
| number = 1519
| date = May 1, 2015
| title = Venus
| image = venus.png
| titletext = The sudden introduction of Venusian flowers led to an explosive growth of unusual Earth pollinators, which became known as the "butterfly effect."
}}

==Explanation==
[[Miss Lenhart]] is [[#Trivia|teaching]] a class on science about the planet {{w|Venus}}.

In the first panel, we see her teaching the history of Venus. Venus may have had water on its surface billions of years ago, but if that's true all hydrogen since then was eventually lost due to dissociation. However, there is no evidence that Venus ever had fields of flowers, or Venusians, or any other form of life.

The {{w|runaway greenhouse effect}} on the second panel is a play on words. While the term normally refers to a rapid rise in temperature caused by greenhouse gases, Miss Lenhart uses the term literally and claims the existence of sentient greenhouses that actually ran away. In reality, the effect caused Venus to develop a thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide, which raised its temperature above to approx. 460 °C (860 °F), hotter than daytime on Mercury. This eventually destroyed all evidence of anything that had been on the surface of Venus billions of years ago.

The third panel ties the previous distortion of Miss Lenhart into the very real {{w|Tulip mania|historic reputation}} of the Netherlands as {{w|Netherlands#Agriculture|flower growers}} and as a further fabrication by Miss Lenhart the Dutch flower industry was in fact started by the Venusians.

In the final panel we learn that she is a month away from retirement and doesn't care about relaying accurate information anymore. She just wants to have a laugh at the expense of the naive school children. Although it is clear that [[Science Girl]] in the front row was not fooled.

The title text jokes about the {{w|butterfly effect}}, the idea that a butterfly flapping its wings in Japan can cause a Tornado in the U.S.. In this case the {{w|Butterfly|butterflies}} would just help pollinate the flowers. The butterfly effect is a term coined by {{w|Edward Norton Lorenz}} who had the comic [[1350: Lorenz]] named after him due to its chaotic nature.

Although Miss Lenhart was supposed to retire a month after this comic she seems to return a year later for a math course at university level, in [[1724: Proofs]], where she continues the trend from this class.

==Transcript==
:[Miss Lenhart is standing in front of an image depicting a section of a temperate Venus' surface, with greenhouses, grass, flowers and a river flowing into a sea.]
:Miss Lenhart: Venus was once temperate. It had seas and rivers, and Venusians cultivated vast fields of beautiful flowers.

:[The image now shows the entirety of Venus, with continents and oceans. The greenhouses appear to be fleeing from Venus.]
:Miss Lenhart: Until their greenhouses fled the planet due to the runaway greenhouse effect.

:[Miss Lenhart is shown to be standing in front of a classroom. Science Girl is sitting in the front row.]
:Miss Lenhart: The Venusians pursued their greenhouses to Earth, settling in the Netherlands and kickstarting the Dutch floral industry. Any questions?

:Off-panel student (presumably Science Girl): Because you're retiring in a month, do you just not care what you say anymore?
:Miss Lenhart: ''What?!'' I '''''ride the skies''''' atop a screaming bird of truth! Also, yes, I do not.

==Trivia==
*It is not directly mentioned that it is Miss Lenhart teaching, but her looks and profession fits this character well enough to make this deduction.
*Similarly, the girl knowing she is being cheated fits the description of [[Science Girl]].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Space]]

explain xkcd:Sandbox

2020-11-09T02:29:57Z

Unpopular Opinions:

explain xkcd:Sandbox

2020-11-09T02:28:29Z

Unpopular Opinions:

Talk:2377: xkcd Phone 12

2020-10-27T03:49:31Z

Unpopular Opinions: comment

Is there any way to install the Vengaboys feature on my own phone? It's pure genius

If it's coated for easy swallowing, perhaps it's actually a tablet... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.54|162.158.155.54]] 22:50, 26 October 2020 (UTC)

Perhaps by taking data from infrared sensors and microphones, an app could automatically start the song? Might have some interesting copyright issues, tho idk how those things work … [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.124|162.158.63.124]] 23:57, 26 October 2020 (UTC)

Disabling the screen is a real feature (though it's called screen curtain on iOS https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT201443). {{unsigned|108.162.241.70}}

The 600LB magnet doesn't weigh 600 pounds, it's strong enough to hold 600 pounds. And if you used the interlocking feature, and it doesn't explode, you'd never be able to pull the phones apart. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 01:42, 27 October 2020 (UTC)

I would actually buy something with Game Boy Printer compatibility. [[User:Unpopular Opinions|Goodbye, world!]] ([[User talk:Unpopular Opinions|talk]]) 03:49, 27 October 2020 (UTC)

2377: xkcd Phone 12

2020-10-27T03:45:13Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Explanation */ Updated incomplete tag

{{comic
| number = 2377
| date = October 26, 2020
| title = xkcd Phone 12
| image = xkcd_phone_12.png
| titletext = New phone OS features: Infinite customization (home screen icons no longer snap to grid), dark mode (disables screen), screaming mode (self-explanatory), and coherent ultracapacitor-pumped emission (please let us know what this setting does; we've been afraid to try it).
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PERSON NAMED MAX. Closed timelike curves need more explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is the "12th" in the ongoing xkcd Phone series in which Randall explains his new joke phone designs with many strange and useless features. It is also a reference to the recently released {{w|iPhone 12}}. However, there have only been 9 comics released, with the previous two being [[2000: xkcd Phone 2000]] and [[1889: xkcd Phone 6]].

The note about the xkcd Phone 12 and the xkcd Phone 12 Max (only for people named Max) is a joke about the different models of iPhone 12: iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. The xkcd Phone 12 Max would be expected to have a larger screen, but it seems that this phone is also only for people with the name Max.

* '''Full drivetrain warranty''' - A common warranty feature for automobiles--see {{w|drivetrain}}. As a side note, the phone here would be cheaping out on the warranty if it were a car; a "drivetrain" warranty covers everything ''except'' the engine; only if it was a "{{w|powertrain}}" warranty would it cover the engine. A phone typically has none of these things, although this one seemingly does.
* '''Coated for easy swallowing''' - A common feature on solid medicines meant to be taken orally. Phones do not belong in the set of edible objects, much less orally-taken medicines{{Citation needed}}.
* '''Surgical-grade apps''' - "Surgical-grade steel" is sometime used as a selling point indicating quality materials. This feature suggests that the apps themselves are made from high-quality material, although this is absurd because an app is (as the name suggests) a software application, not any physical object that could be reasonably defined as 'surgical-grade' or not.
* '''Built-in 600 lb magnet for magnet fishing''' - {{w|Magnet fishing}} is an activity for searching for objects that can be pulled in by a strong magnet. A 600 pound magnet can lift a 600 pound object (at Earth's surface). This would tend to make the phone stick to any iron or steel objects (such as refrigerators) and be impossible to remove with human strength, and only the strongest humans could pick up the phone even if it were properly insulated.
* '''Oral-B partnership: hold phone against teeth to ultrasonically remove plaque''' - This is a reference to {{w|ultrasonic toothbrush}}es. {{w|Oral-B}} does not produce any ultrasonic toothbrushes, but does produce ''{{w|sonic toothbrush}}es.'' There is a logical connection between electric toothbrushes and smartphones, namely they are both electronic and both vibrate; however, most phones cannot perform dentistry autonomously{{Citation needed}}.
* '''40 mL emergency water supply''' - Many phones are now water-resistant to some degree; this phone ships with water included. Furthermore, {{w|survival kits}} often come with pouches that can hold several litres of water, in case of emergency. This would be a silly feature, and it is unclear what emergencies would be solved by having such a small amount of water.
* '''Security feature: unmarked side buttons''' - Some modern phones have unmarked side buttons, so the secureness of this feature is doubtful. This phone is likely to have trillions of buttons though, just to confuse the user. No buttons are visible which could indicate the side of the phone functions is touch sensitive and the buttons are not only unlabeled but not visible.
* '''3,000,000-volt arc allows wireless charging from a range of up to 36 inches''' - Possibly from a Tesla coil. 3,000,000 volts is very lethal{{Citation needed}}, and would make using the phone impossible due to the high voltage emitted. 36 inches (91 cm), however, is within reach of a simple extension cord.
* '''99.9% BPA- and hands- free''' - {{w|Bisphenol A}} (or BPA) is a compound that is used in making plastics. BPA has been found to exhibit hormone-like properties, so there is a movement to produce BPA-free plastics using alternative bisphenols. {{w|Hands-free}} describes using the device "without hands", e.g. using voice commands. This is important when using a device while driving. These are 2 unrelated ideas, but both have the suffix -free.
* '''Extended release charge cable''' - Electronics manufacturers support standards to reduce time to fully recharge, e.g. Qualcomm {{w|Quick Charge}} standard. This is a reference to "extended release" medication. It's unclear what purpose would be served by charging a phone slower than normal.
* '''Closed timelike curves''' - Given that {{w|Closed timelike curves}} are usually associated with solutions to general relativity that allow for time travel...
* '''Fits in standard shipping container''' - An {{w|intermodal shipping container}} is large enough to fit automobiles, raising the question of just how big this xkcd phone is.
* '''Interlocking, stackable''' - A quality of, among other things, LEGO bricks. Probably a bad idea to use this feature, given how close the phone is to critical mass.
* '''Nintendo partnership: GameBoy Printer compatibility''' - The {{w|Game Boy Printer}} was a thermal paper printer originally paired with the Game Boy Camera. This device was released in 1998 and discontinued in 2003, so this partnership would be obsolete.
* '''Sustain pedal''' - A {{w|sustain pedal}} is commonly associated with a digital keyboard or piano; it lets the note continue sounding when the key is released. It's unclear what purpose it would serve in a phone.
* '''CDC partnership: when in an indoor space with too many people, phone begins playing "We Like To Party! (The Vengabus)" at slowly increasing volume until everyone leaves''' - An allusion to the COVID-19 pandemic. "{{w|We Like to Party! (Vengaboys song)|We Like To Party! (The Vengabus)}}" is a 1998 Eurodance/techno hit by the Vengaboys, and is perhaps most familiar to Americans from a series of Six Flags ads.
* '''Sacrificial anode''' - Useful if something metal (like, say, a boat) will be in a wet environment for a long time. The {{w|sacrificial anode}} is made of a material with higher redox potential (typically zinc), and will corrode faster than the (more valuable) metal object it's attached to. It's unclear if the phone HAS a sacrificial anode or IS a sacrificial anode.
* '''Tactical helium reserve''' - Since 1925, the United States has had a {{w|National Helium Reserve|strategic helium reserve}}. Helium is very rare on earth and has important scientific and military uses, so it’s important to have a supply in case supplies disappear. But here we have a tactical helium reserve, which suggests it's smaller and focused on shorter-term goals. Compare {{w|strategic bombing}} focused on destroying entire cities or countries and {{w|tactical bombing}} aimed at destroying individual targets or military units.
* '''50% below critical mass (2x safety factor)''' - Indicates the phone contains fissile material. This "2x safety factor" means that if you put 2 phones next to each other, or put one phone next to a {{w|neutron reflector}}, you would have a {{w|criticality accident}}, which may explain why you would not own another phone after this one. A phone with this much fissile material would pose a radiation hazard. The "2x safety factor" claim may be related to physicist {{w|Richard Feynman|Richard Feynman's}} famous criticism of NASA in the {{w|Rogers Commission}} report on the space shuttle Challenger disaster. Feynman found that when he confronted NASA engineers with a part worn one third of the way through, which was not supposed to be worn through at all, the engineers claimed that this demonstrated a 3x safety factor rather than a failure of the part.
* '''Shake for factory reset''' - A {{w|factory reset}} is often possible on electronic devices, and is usually accomplished either by pressing a button or closing an electrical bridge. This one works like an Etch-a-Sketch. This would not be preferred, as slight disturbances could easily cause massive losses of data. This would not be possible to shake anyway, given the 600-pound magnet stuck inside, so it would probably have to be extremely sensitive, which is not in any way a plus.
* '''Norton MacAfee protection: if you're ever attacked by John MacAfee, Peter Norton will come out of retirement to defend you'''. {{w|Norton (software)|Norton}} and {{w|MacAfee}} are competing software security companies. This "protection" combines the two of them and claims that Norton (the person) will defend you if MacAfee (the person) attacks you.

The title text mentions xkcd phone OS updates, including:
* '''Infinite customization (home screen icons no longer snap to grid)''' - Whether on-screen icons snap to a grid is a very minor aspect of customization. Not having it would be the ultimate bane of anyone with {{w|obsessive-compulsive disorder}}, as it would make it very difficult to get icons exactly lined up vertically and horizontally.
* '''Dark mode (disables screen)''' - Dark mode is a popular feature on websites/apps with light backgrounds like Twitter and Reddit, changing the background to a dark color to help late-night users sleep better. Disabling the screen would not be a pleasant surprise when a user goes to turn on beloved dark mode. May be impossible to turn off if the screen is no longer touch sensitive when darkened unless the unmarked buttons can be used to disable it. Also a possible reason to want to use the shake-activated factory reset.
* '''Screaming mode (self-explanatory)''' - The phone screams. Reference to the screaming-while-falling [[1363: xkcd Phone|xkcd Phone 1]].
* '''Coherent ultracapacitor-pumped emission (please let us know what this setting does; we've been afraid to try it)''' - This mysterious feature has a terrifying name, with even the developers refusing to test it out. This option would probably be very easy to accidentally tap, given the style of every xkcd Phone ever. Possibly activated with one of the unlabeled buttons making it even more dangerous. Coherent and Emission are associated with laser devices and the use of a laser could justify the helium reserve. Raises the question of who designs the phone if the people marketing it don't know what it does.

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

* Full drivetrain warranty
* Coated for easy swallowing
* Surgical-grade apps
* Built-in 600 lb magnet for magnet fishing
* Oral-B partnership: hold phone against teeth to ultrasonically remove plaque
* 40 mL emergency water supply
* Security feature: unmarked side buttons
* 3,000,000-volt arc allows wireless charging from a range of up to 36 inches
* 99.9% BPA- and hands- free
* Extended release charge cable
* Closed timelike curves
* Fits in standard shipping container
* Interlocking, stackable
* Nintendo partnership: GameBoy Printer compatibility
* Sustain Pedal
* CDC partnership: when in an indoor space with too many people, phone begins playing "We Like To Party! (The Vengabus)" at slowly increasing volume until everyone leaves
* Sacrificial anode
* Tactical helium reserve
* 50% below critical mass (2x safety factor)
* Shake for factory reset
* Norton MacAfee protection: if you're ever attacked by John MacAfee, Peter Norton will come out of retirement to defend you

The xkcd Phone 12* and 12 Max**

<nowiki>*Standard</nowiki> **For people named Max

"The only phone you'll ever own"®™

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:xkcd Phones]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|xkcd Phones]]

User talk:Unpopular Opinions

2020-10-15T01:54:08Z

Unpopular Opinions: Remembered that people have epilepsy

Hi. {{w|Scone|Unpopular Opinions}} ([[User talk:Unpopular Opinions|talk]]) 20:23 6 February 2020 (UTC)
{{kick}}

User talk:Unpopular Opinions

2020-10-15T01:51:23Z

Unpopular Opinions:

Hi. {{w|Scone|Unpopular Opinions}} ([[User talk:Unpopular Opinions|talk]]) 20:23 6 February 2020 (UTC)
{{kick}}

:{{no}}[[User:Unpopular Opinions|Goodbye, world!]] ([[User talk:Unpopular Opinions|talk]]) 01:51, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

Template talk:LATESTCOMIC

2020-10-15T01:32:33Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Remove brackets */

==Use in REDIRECT? ==

I tried using this at [[most recent comic]] to redirect to the most recent comic explanation, but it doesn't work. Is there any way to do so? [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 13:13, 8 September 2012 (UTC)

: Looks like in mediawiki, templates can't be used as redirect contents. I assume that it's because the redirect markup is processed at an earlier stage than template expansion (which makes sense, I guess). I'll delete that page, since it's useless without this feature. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:41, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

:: I think I fixed it, but it is <nowiki>{{most recent comic}}</nowiki>, as in {{most recent comic}} [[User:Jacky720|Jacky720]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]]) 21:13, 20 November 2016 (UTC)

== Page unprotected ==

FYI, this important template is not protected, and can be edited by anonymous users. {{unsigned|174.100.112.95}}

:Well, at least we have logs and the recent changes page. Also, sign your comments, anon user. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:38, 28 October 2012 (UTC)

== Remove brackets ==

The wikilink brackets are breaking the navigation bars on comic articles. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.231|162.158.62.231]] 23:32, 14 October 2020 (UTC)

:Done. [[User:Unpopular Opinions|Goodbye, world!]] ([[User talk:Unpopular Opinions|talk]]) 01:32, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

Template:LATESTCOMIC

2020-10-15T01:31:13Z

Unpopular Opinions: Trying to fix the navigation bar by removing the brackets

<noinclude>The latest [[xkcd]] comic is number:</noinclude> 2372

explain xkcd:Sandbox

2020-10-14T20:58:38Z

Unpopular Opinions:

File:no.gif

2020-10-14T20:55:58Z

Unpopular Opinions: Making the page not look awful

Description: The word no flashing on a black background

Source: https://billwurtz.com/no.mp4 (converted to a .gif file)

Date of creation: July 7th, 2013

Author: Bill Wurtz

This file is in the public domain.

File:no.gif

2020-10-14T20:55:12Z

Unpopular Opinions: Description: The word no flashing on a black background Source: https://billwurtz.com/no.mp4 (converted to a .gif file) Date of creation: July 7th, 2013 Author: Bill Wurtz This file is in the public domain.

Description: The word no flashing on a black background
Source: https://billwurtz.com/no.mp4 (converted to a .gif file)
Date of creation: July 7th, 2013
Author: Bill Wurtz
This file is in the public domain.

explain xkcd:Sandbox

2020-10-14T20:36:14Z

Unpopular Opinions: Trying something out

User talk:Unpopular Opinions

2020-10-14T20:33:20Z

Unpopular Opinions:

Hi. {{w|Scone|Unpopular Opinions}} ([[User talk:Unpopular Opinions|talk]]) 20:23 6 February 2020 (UTC)
{{kick}}

ferret

2020-10-09T02:11:51Z

Unpopular Opinions: Redirected page to 20: Ferret

#REDIRECT [[20: Ferret]]

ferret

2020-10-09T02:11:16Z

Unpopular Opinions: Changed redirect to something more people would look for

#REDIRECT [[Ferret]]

2368: Bigger Problem

2020-10-09T02:07:28Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Explanation */ general cleaning up

{{comic
| number = 2368
| date = October 5, 2020
| title = Bigger Problem
| image = bigger_problem.png
| titletext = Your point that the world contains multiple problems is a real slam-dunk argument against fixing any of them.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a <SOLUTION>. Please mention here why this world still has problems. Do NOT give up hope too soon (unless it's for another reason you will think of later).}}

[[Cueball]] is asking [[White Hat]] to help fix an unspecified problem with the world. Presumably, he is working for some form of charity and perhaps asking for donations or signatures. White Hat responds by saying that Cueball doesn't care about the issue and that he would be working to fix an unspecified larger issue if he ''really'' cared. Cueball then asks if White Hat would rather be working to solve that problem. However, White Hat says that he doesn't want to, but that he also hasn't come up with an excuse not to yet. White Hat seems as if he couldn't be bothered, and wants to go on with his life.

The claim that someone is not working towards an important issue, [https://what-if.xkcd.com/imgs/a/146/dontcare.png while not always completely invalid], is commonly used as a cheap tactic to ignore a solution to a problem, even when the person using it does want to help out with either cause and is also a {{rw|logical_fallacy|logical fallacy}} known as the "{{rw|Not_as_bad_as|Not as bad as}}" fallacy, [https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Relative-Privation Fallacy of Relative Privation], or {{tvtropes|AppealToWorseProblems|Appeal to Worse Problems}}. In the last panel of this comic, White Hat reveals that he isn't sufficiently devoted to either cause to act on them, so that his bringing up the larger issue appears less like interest in the larger issue than an excuse to not support Cueball's cause.

The title text furthers this point. While the argument used by White Hat is supposed to imply that the person giving the argument cares about an issue that matters more (to the exclusion of the other issue), it's often used, as seen in this comic, as an excuse to not work to fix any problem, making it "a real slam-dunk argument against fixing any of them."

Both causes in the comic are referred to ambiguously and surrounded with angle brackets to imply that they can be filled it with any two problems, as the comic is supposed to depict a common situation that happens during discussions of many different causes.

This comic is quite similar to [[871: Charity]] because both have a character that responds to people trying to help "by figuring out a reason that they're not really as good as they seem". Additionally, it seems to relate to [[1447: Meta-Analysis]] on being very meta.

People sometimes use similar fallacious reasoning against ''themselves,'' thinking that they shouldn't tackle "simple" "unimportant" problems when there are "important" problems outstanding, even if the former are within their ability to handle but the latter aren't. This can be a form of self-sabotaging behavior.

In essence, this may be an example of the principle "The perfect is the enemy of the good." That is, it is better to make a small advance which does some good. If you insist on doing nothing until you cure everything to perfection, nothing will be done.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball, holding a clipboard next to his body in his left hand, holds his right hand palm up towards White Hat.]
:Cueball: I'm trying to fix <problem with the world>. Can you help?

:[Cueball stands with both arms down while white Hat lift one hand up toward Cueball.]
:White Hat: It's obvious you don't actually care. If you did, you'd be trying to fix <bigger problem> instead.

:[Same setting as the first picture, wit Cueball's hand a bit further out towards White Hat.]
:Cueball: Okay, want to help fix <bigger problem>?
:White Hat: No, for another reason I'll think of later.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]

Talk:2369: All-in-One

2020-10-09T02:02:40Z

Unpopular Opinions:

Is the title text a reference the Librareome project in Rainbow's End (Vernor Vinge)?

See, e.g., [http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=1856]

--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.124|162.158.79.124]] 18:06, 7 October 2020 (UTC)

I wonder if Randall took inspiration from [this Dilbert](https://dilbert.com/strip/1994-04-25). [[User:Moosenonny10|Moosenonny10]] ([[User talk:Moosenonny10|talk]]) 18:52, 7 October 2020 (UTC)

I don't think "eat" and "corrugate" are intended as malfunctions. People sometimes eat paper -- it's a common trope in spy parodies where someone will eat a document to prevent someone from getting access to it. And corrugate just sounds like it's making corrugated cardboard from the input paper. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 19:22, 7 October 2020 (UTC)
:I changed it. What do you think? ''welp, i'' [[User:Donthaveusername|Donthaveusername]] ([[User talk:Donthaveusername|talk]]) 19:37, 7 October 2020 (UTC)

Seems like plagiarize would be somehow related to scan and copy.
: I imagine the internal sub-functions would be: Scan (or read from prepocessed page data from an original document 'sent to printer'), OCR (as necessary - implied in Translate but not mentioned as a function, despite being an actually popular 'one touch' function with appropriate desktop software involved), Comprehend (natural-language processing), De-Source (remove references that indicate the true source, including headers, watermarks, logos), Re-Arrange (optional shuffling/re-wording in places, maybe even synonyms), Re-Source (personalise back up again, for the plagiarist's benefit), then Print (if scan-for-copy/printed) or Save (if scan-for-storage, maybe even 'print'-to-storage via the device). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.52|141.101.98.52]] 00:21, 8 October 2020 (UTC)

shred and scan (or scanf) are also unix and C functions. Shred overwrites a file on disk, deleting it and preventing any subsequent recovery of the lost data. scan reads input according to a format string. Should one take a standard file and scan a string per the format '%s', the program will read in the variable until an end-of-line character is encountered. If the file were shredded first, resulting in a random set of bits, this end of line character might never be read. This seems to be more of a memory problem than a CPU problem, thus might not be the full explanation of the alt-text. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.126|162.158.126.126]] 21:10, 7 October 2020 (UTC)

Potentially related fun fact: in the olden days when copiers are slow and generates a lot of heat (the copies would actually be warm to touch), the "copy" function is often referred to as "burn". This is why making CD copies etc. later also used the term "burn". I read somewhere about an IBM intern setting an important document on fire when he was asked to "burn a copy", but can't find the source anymore. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.171|172.68.142.171]] 22:45, 8 October 2020 (UTC)

The incomplete template mentions that there might be a reason for Randall making this topic, but I don't think there is other than just making a funny joke. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.146|172.69.34.146]] 22:42, 7 October 2020 (UTC)

What, it can fold but not spindle or mutilate? :( [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.114|162.158.75.114]] 23:14, 7 October 2020 (UTC)

Is staple removal a real printer feature? [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 23:17, 7 October 2020 (UTC)
:Doubt it. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.243|172.68.132.243]] 23:39, 7 October 2020 (UTC)
::Staple-detection is (fairly) trivial, but consistently extracting them 'nicely' while preserving the paper as much as possible might be beyond a device (it's tricky enough for a person, sometimes). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.211|141.101.99.211]] 23:51, 7 October 2020 (UTC)
:::It's not beyond a staple remover. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.59|172.69.35.59]] 00:52, 8 October 2020 (UTC)
::::Even for a staple remover, it's sometimes not a trivial task, sometimes requiring some "intelligence". I don't think this feature is available in off-the-shelf tech. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 01:25, 8 October 2020 (UTC)
:::::Back in the 1990s you could buy industrial staple removers which sensed and cut parallel to the paper face, with cutting surfaces that open and move up under the first ten pages or so. Maybe one in 20 times they would mangle the paper. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.56|162.158.255.56]] 13:33, 8 October 2020 (UTC)

I'm disappointed there's no "jam for no particular reason in the most difficult place to access" option. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.184|108.162.216.184]] 23:18, 7 October 2020 (UTC)
: I thought there should be Paper Cranes in the right-hand column... But your suggestion is also an obvious omission. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.211|141.101.99.211]] 23:51, 7 October 2020 (UTC)

Regarding the "possibility that this printer is a complex computer": most printers are. Any printer which can process postscript OR is connected to network obviously contains computer more powerful than first {{w|IBM Personal Computer|IBM PCs}}, not speaking about the computer used in {{w|Apollo Guidance Computer|Apollo}}. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:35, 8 October 2020 (UTC)
:Well, it's ''more'' complex now. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.59|172.69.35.59]] 00:53, 8 October 2020 (UTC)

Is it just me or is this printer not as absurd as the normal XKCD devices (like the phone)? I mean, this printer has no _really_ absurd features... You could say that this printer is almost sane. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:48, 8 October 2020 (UTC)
:Agreed. The most questionable "Crumple and throw at trash like a basketball" feature, while making no sense in a printing context, is perfectly sensible in a scan or feed-through mode and may be useful for those with with bad aim, a distant trash can, and a close printer. Staple removal can probably be done reliably with AI these days. Origami features could be useful in party context. Plagiarism and summarization are 100% useful and doable by GPT-3, even better than an average human would do. Translate would be wonderful, but needs a year or 2 more before we can automate it well. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.148|162.158.186.148]]

I wonder what would happen if you used the Paper Airplane and Origami Flower settings together. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.13|172.69.33.13]] 17:26, 8 October 2020 (UTC)

== Multi-function machines in pairs ==

I used to work for a temporary services company. At a tech-company, I noticed several instances where there were two multi-function machines close to each other. I asked about that. I was told company security policy forbade having a copier connected to a communications line. So, one machine was used only for copying. The other machine was used as a fax machine. The security police came about because, in the past, some people trying to copy company confidential pages sometimes mistakenly faxed them. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.194|162.158.75.194]] 01:00, 8 October 2020 (UTC)

== Accessibility adjustment ==

I added "(selected)" to all items that are highlighted in green, for the benefit of readers who can't see the green highlight. While one may argue that such readers could refer to the transcript, which has the text "(lit green)," there is no reason to force readers to scroll back and forth between the explanation and transcript sections to discover this, and it would be onerous for those using a screen reader to listen to the page multiple times. [[User:Thisisnotatest|Thisisnotatest]] ([[User talk:Thisisnotatest|talk]]) 08:29, 8 October 2020 (UTC)
:I like that. It was neither green nor annotated when I was last here and I think both elements are nice touches, I'd like you and the greening editor to each know. (I changed "lighted" to "lit" in the transcript version, and it seems nobody has reverted that yet, which was always possible. I'd considered "illuminated", but "selected" is a good one if there remain any future objections.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.225|162.158.158.225]] 09:15, 8 October 2020 (UTC)
Does "fold paper airplane" really need 2 links to the same thing? I think the first link should be removed <shruggie>--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.136|173.245.54.136]] 13:02, 8 October 2020 (UTC)Bumpf

Done. [[User:Unpopular Opinions|Goodbye, world!]] ([[User talk:Unpopular Opinions|talk]]) 02:02, 9 October 2020 (UTC)

2369: All-in-One

2020-10-09T02:01:55Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Paper Functions Completely Unrelated to Printing */ Removed first link to paper airplane, two links to the same thing aren't necessary and the second link is more clear anyway

{{comic
| number = 2369
| date = October 7, 2020
| title = All-in-One
| image = all_in_one.png
| titletext = Changes with this update: If you use the combined scan-shred function, it now performs them in that order instead of the reverse, saving a HUGE amount of CPU time.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THOSE PERFORATED EDGE STRIPS THAT ARE SO FUN TO TEAR. Needs an explanation of what all the functions do. Maybe give possible reasons to why Randall created this comic? Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is an xkcd-style parody of an {{w|all-in-one printer}}, a printer which typically can perform several functions, usually printing, scanning, copying, and faxing. This machine starts off with fairly standard printer functions but quickly becomes absurd. The machine is accordingly oversized, making room for all the status indicators and (presumably) the extra internal parts required to accomplish the uncommon functions.

The title text says that if both the scan and shred options are selected, it now scans things ''before'' trying to destroy them. Previously the machine destroyed documents and then scanned the pieces and tried to reconstruct them, which takes a large amount of processing power, as the attempts to recover the german Stasi Documents has shown, in addition to the fact that it is extremely hard to correctly scan shredded and crumpled documents. The possibility of doing so raises the possibility that this printer itself is a even more complex computer than one would expect a multi-function printer to be, or that its driver can monopolize a host computer. It is also worth noting that if one selects "copy and shred" one could also just do nothing with the same effect.

===List of functions===
Selected ones are highlighted with green (selected).

====''Functions that most all-in-one printers do''====
*'''{{w|Print}}''' (selected): The most common function that a printer needs to do. A digital document or graphic exists on a computer, is sent to the printer and the printer transfers the document onto paper using ink or toner.
*'''{{w|Photocopier|Copy}}''': A copy function allows a user to place a document on the integrated/linked scanning bed and the printer will immediately make a copy of the document as if a traditional 'analogue' photocopier.
*'''{{w|Fax}}''' (selected): A fax function sends a scanned document by telephone to another telephone number. The receiver fax machine will reconstruct the document and print it. A machine that has this function is usually also able to act as a receiver for faxes sent from elsewhere, though that setting wouldn't be visible in this configuration group.
*'''{{w|Image scanner|Scan}}''': A scan function is used to optically scan images or documents into digital forms so that they can be used by computers. It can be seen as the reverse operation of the printer function.
*'''{{w|Collate}}''' (selected): To sort multiple copies of printed documents into sequences of individual page order, usually across multiple output trays having one sequence for each copy, especially before binding.
*'''{{w|Staple (fastener)|Staple}}''' (selected): To staple together multipage documents, especially for each collated copy. This function is usually found only in high-end printers.

====''Functions that relate to printers, that most printers cannot do.''====
*'''Staple Removal''': Although mechanical removal of staples can be done by various devices, it's often not a ''simple'' task. Staples can be bent and mangled in many ways, and detaching them from paper without causing damage can require fairly complex intelligence.
*'''{{w|Paper shredder|Shred}}''': A shredder function is used to destroy paper for privacy or security by cutting it into strips or fine particles. Normally this task is handled by another specialised machine called a shredder, but this time it is already inbuilt into the printer.
*'''{{w|Translate}}''': If the paper text is in another language, this would presumably translate it for you — after scanning and {{w|Optical character recognition|OCRing}}. This would actually be a helpful function and may be available on recent scanner-printers, although usually in the software that comes with the printer, on the host computer, rather than inside the printer itself.
*'''Add those {{w|Perforation|perforated}} edge strips that are so fun to tear''': In an earlier era, {{w|dot matrix printers}} were the common standard, and used a type of {{w|continuous stationery}}, which was manufactured with perforated strips along each side, with regularly spaced holes which allowed spiked wheels to advance the paper through the printer. Tearing these strips off after printing was once a standard task when using a printer. This type of stationery is now obsolete, but many people of Randall's generation become oddly nostalgic about removing the strips from the old style of paper -- the strips are kind of fun to play with. Note that the old stationery was designed such that the remaining page typically had a "standard" paper width, with the strips adding additional width. It's unclear if this function is adding ''perforations'' to standard paper, which would leave it too narrow once the resulting edge strips were removed, or is somehow adding perforated ''strips'' to it.

====''Paper Functions Completely Unrelated to Printing''====
*'''Summarize''': Presumably this function would summarize a printed material for the user. Similar to the translate function, a document would need to be scanned and OCRed first. Then a machine learning algorithm would comprehend the text and reduce it in length while keeping the important points. {{w|Automatic_summarization|Automatic text summarization}} does exist, although the technology is not as widely used as automatic translation.
*'''{{w|plagiarism|Plagiarize}}''': This function is unclear. Maybe it would plagiarize a paper for a certain subject? It would also be legally questionable.
*'''Roll''': This function is unclear. Perhaps it would roll up paper into a roll, like how the newspaper is rolled up for distribution by paperboys.
*'''Burn''': Perhaps the printer has this function for greater assurance that sensitive information will be irretrievably destroyed. Historically, some printers could be at risk of catching fire if they jammed in a particular way, and so the "{{w|lp0 on fire}}" error code was created to signal that it should be investigated urgently.
*'''Eat''': A printer is often said to "eat" paper by mangling either the input or output. Printer failure is also the modern descendant of the classic excuse for late homework, "{{w|the dog ate my homework}}".
*'''Fold airplane''': This function makes {{w|paper airplane}}s out of paper stored in the printer, or documents being printed.
*'''{{w|Origami}} flower''': Similar to the previous one, this function makes flowers using the {{w|origami}} paper folding process.
*'''{{w|Corrugate}}''': {{w|Corrugated fiberboard}} or cardboard is a kind of crinkled paper sandwiched between two sheets. This provides structural strength for low weight. Printers that jam can produce a paper that looks corrugated, but this is not an intended function, and corrugated fiberboard is not made with printers.
*'''{{w|Papier-mâché}}''': (Literally "chewed paper") is a composite construction material consisting of paper pieces, bound with an adhesive, often a flour paste. The printer could use its "shred" and "eat" functions to produce the necessary materials, and any leftovers could be composted with the "biodegrade" function.
*'''{{w|Découpage}}''': An art form where paper printed with decorative images is glued onto an object (typically boxes, but also furniture) and covered with many layers of varnish so that the images appear painted onto the object.
*'''Notarize''' (selected): A {{w|notary public}} is a person certified by a government to attest that certain kinds of legal documentation are legitimate and executed. All-in-one printers and scanners may be able to recognize certain signs of legitimacy (e.g. the {{w|EURion constellation}}), but unless this printer has some tactile sensation, it cannot certify the identity of the person who signed the document as a human can.
*'''{{w|Biodegrade}}''': This would biodegrade the paper. Whether this would send this to an organic waste plant (which would be helpful) or actually house a composter inside the printer (which would be gross{{Citation needed}}) is unknown.
*'''Crumple and throw at trash like basketball''' (selected): Many people, when done with a piece of paper, will crumple it up and throw it into a trash can from a distance as if playing basketball. This wouldn't be a very useful feature in a printer, especially relative to its complexity. For one thing, it would prevent the person who printed the document from using it (even if the user intends to throw away the paper eventually, presumably they need to use it at least once or they wouldn't print it), and it would also deny the user one of the few pleasures available in the office environment.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A large printer-like machine, with the label All-in-One Paper Processor on the top left of it. There are three columns of functions, with a few of them having a green light. At the top of the machine is a "paper feed" tray. At the bottom of the machine, is a large hole, for outputting the paper.]

:'''Column 1'''
:*Print (lit green)
:*Copy
:*Fax (lit green)
:*Shred
:*Scan
:*Translate
:*Summarize
:*Plagiarize
:*Collate (lit green)

:'''Column 2'''
:*Staple (lit green)
:*Remove staples
:*Add those perforated edge strips that are so fun to tear
:*Roll
:*Burn
:*Eat

:'''Column 3'''
:*Fold airplane
:*Origami flower
:*Corrugate
:*Paper-mâché
:*Découpage
:*Notarize (lit green)
:*Biodegrade
:*Crumple and throw at trash like a basketball (lit green)

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]

User:Unpopular Opinions

2020-09-27T21:38:11Z

Unpopular Opinions: Nice try, 162.158.166.37

User:Unpopular Opinions

2020-09-15T15:16:24Z

Unpopular Opinions: Replaced content with " Hello! This is my user page, which will periodically be filled with random nonsense. If you want to tell me my edit was terrible and needs to be reverted, tell me on the..."

User:Unpopular Opinions

2020-09-15T15:04:25Z

Unpopular Opinions: Cleaning up my user page

Hello! This is my user page, which will periodically be filled with random nonsense. If you want to tell me my edit was terrible and needs to be reverted, tell me on the talk page. I'm a relatively new user, so any help would be appreciated.

Oh, you're still here?

I admire your dedication.

FIRST P0ST!!1!!!!

Thanks for reading this far.

Okay, you can stop now. This is getting weird.

All intellectual properties discussed herein are under license from Steve. Thanks, Steve!

[[1350]]

(Insert vuvuzela here)

[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:Unpopular_Opinions Example of recursion]

Sponsored by Squarespace

A thousand may cry the mountains a fiction, but it need not trouble you as you stand atop them.

[[1337]]

{{w|Person|My}} {{w|environment|external}} {{w|OSI model|links}} {{w|R|are}} {{w|congruence|unparalleled!}}

Remember, be '''BOLD'''.

2359: Evidence of Alien Life

2020-09-15T02:39:16Z

Unpopular Opinions: /* Explanation */ grammar fixes and removing a random statement about US-centrism.

{{comic
| number = 2359
| date = September 14, 2020
| title = Evidence of Alien Life
| image = evidence_of_alien_life.png
| titletext = Both too cautious AND not cautious enough: "I'm skeptical that those are aliens, so I'm going to try pulling off their masks."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an APPROPRIATELY CAUTIOUS ALIEN BOT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic depicts a table of possible responses to new information on the possibility of alien life. It is presented in table form, with the columns representing three categories of reaction to new evidence, and the rows representing the strength of new evidence, increasing down the table. Each intersection then shows a small scenario of what the response would be. The left and right-hand column scenarios are hyperbolic in either their acceptance or denial. The center column represents a reasonable course of action.

This comic was a reaction to [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/science/venus-life-clouds.html the discovery of phosphine gas on Venus]. {{w|Phosphine}} is a molecule whose presence in the Venusian atmosphere came as a surprise. Light breaks phosphine down, meaning something must be producing it. However, there is no known abiotic mechanism on Venus that would produce the gas in the quantities observed. The phosphine could therefore be a sign of life on Venus, but more evidence is needed. Venus was also an unexpected place to find a possible sign of life - although it was {{w|Venus in fiction|a common pulp fiction setting in the early 20th-century }}, the arrival of the space probe era dashed hopes that the hidden surface might be, say, an exotic jungle. More recent efforts at finding life in the Solar System have mostly focused on Mars and various ice moons with suspected {{w|Ocean#Natural_satellites|subsurface oceans}}.

The title text refers to an action which is simultaneously too cautious and not cautious enough: the speaker is skeptical that aliens exist, which is usually an appropriate belief, except that presumably Megan and Cueball are in the situation presented in the bottom row, where aliens have landed right in front of them. Rather than modifying his belief (presumably it's Cueball, who was the one to approach the aliens in the other panels), he expresses an intention to approach the alleged aliens and attempt to remove their masks. He believes that he will expose a human wearing a costume, perpetrating a {{tvtropes|ScoobyDooHoax|"Scooby-Doo"-style hoax}}, but no matter what the outcome is, he's acting rashly. If the beings before him are aliens, he will be initiating a very aggressive first contact and will likely receive a violent response, and even if the alien is not violent, Cueball might end up removing an environmental apparatus that is protecting it from Earth's environment (or vice versa). On the other hand, even if the "aliens" really are fakes, Cueball might end up injuring someone who is just playing a harmless joke (and who'd want to keep ''some'' kind of mask on to reduce the spread of {{w|COVID-19}}.

The destruction of human governmental buildings is a common trope in science fiction films, as a way of aliens removing the ability of humanity to co-ordinate a response to an attack. The United Nations building is [https://nypost.com/2017/12/11/former-uk-official-reveals-plan-in-case-of-alien-invasion/ allegedly] the co-ordination centre for a worldwide response to an extraterrestrial incursion. However, given the lack of interest in the USA currently for the United Nations, it is more commonly the White House that gets blown up by aliens in American movies.

The "alien probe" asteroid might refer to {{w|'Oumuamua}}, which passed through the Solar System in 2017. 'Omuamua's {{w|trajectory|hyperbolic trajectory}} indicated interstellar origin. Because of the unusual elongated shape suggested by its {{w|albedo}} (the object was never visualized as more than a point source of light) and indications of a slight non-gravity related acceleration, there were many wild speculations about 'Omuamua's origin, including it being an alien probe similar to the one presented in the science fiction classic {{w|Rendezvous_with_Rama|Rendezvous with Rama}}.

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

The comic is laid out like a grid, with implements down the left-hand side (Weak Evidence of Alien Life/ Promising Evidence/ Definite Evidence) and the type of "reaction" across the top (Not Cautious Enough / Appropriately Cautious/ Too Cautious). The grid illustrates the "match-ups".

From the top left corner, going from left to right, top to bottom, with each first item being on its own line in the grid, the squares are as follows:

Row 1: Cueball, looking through a telescope

Weak Evidence of Alien Life/Not Cautious Enough: Cueball - "That asteroid is probably an alien probe"
 
Weak Evidence of Alien Life/Appropriately Cautious: Cueball - "This asteroid is weird and we should take a closer look; It's not aliens"
 
Weak Evidence of Alien Life/Too Cautious: Cueball - "This asteroid appears to be far away, but it could also be nearby and just very small"

Row 2: Ponytail, holding a tablet or pad with "V" on it, approaches Cueball

Promising Evidence/Not Cautious Enough: Ponytail to Cueball - "They found life on Venus!"
 
Promising Evidence/Appropriately Cautious: Ponytail to Cueball - "Theses molecules might be produced by life or by weird high-heat chemistry"
 
Promising Evidence/Too Cautious: Ponytail to Cueball - "There is growing evidence that the atmosphere on Venus contains molecules"

Row 3: Flying saucers descend on Earth

Definite Evidence/Not Cautious Enough: Cueball - "I'm going to go give those aliens a hug!"
 
Definite Evidence/Appropriately Cautious: Cueball - "Oh wow, aliens! Should we try to communicate?"
 
Definite Evidence/Too Cautious: Megan - "The energy beams vaporizing the United Nations could be a possible biosignature"
 
 
 
Title text: Both too cautious AND not cautious enough: "I'm skeptical that those are aliens, so I'm going to try pulling off their masks"

{{comic discussion}}

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

evidence of alien life

2020-09-15T02:33:03Z

Unpopular Opinions: Actually truly fixing my redirect

#REDIRECT [[2359: Evidence of Alien Life]]

evidence of alien life

2020-09-15T02:32:18Z

Unpopular Opinions: Truly fixing my redirect

#REDIRECT [[2359: Evidence Of Alien Life]]

evidence of alien life

2020-09-15T02:31:18Z

Unpopular Opinions: Fixing redirect

#REDIRECT [[2259: Evidence Of Alien Life]]

evidence of alien life

2020-09-15T02:30:54Z

Unpopular Opinions: Creating redirect

#REDIRECT [[2259: Evidence of Alien Life]]

Talk:166: Misusing Slang

2020-09-09T16:45:23Z

Unpopular Opinions: comment

This comment is so 1337! [[User:Unpopular Opinions|Goodbye, world!]] ([[User talk:Unpopular Opinions|talk]]) 16:45, 9 September 2020 (UTC)