explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

505: A Bunch of Rocks

2014-11-09T20:59:05Z

WardXmodem: Undo revision 78560 by WardXmodem (talk)

{{comic
| number = 505
| date = November 17, 2008
| title = A Bunch of Rocks
| image = a_bunch_of_rocks.png
| titletext = I call Rule 34 on Wolfram's Rule 34.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|What is the diagram to the right of the Epitaph of Stevinus? Many items are not well explained.}}

[[Cueball]] awakens to find himself trapped for eternity in an endless expanse of sand and rocks. At first, he uses this time to derive all of mathematics and physics, including {{w|quantum mechanics}} and {{w|general relativity}}. Next Cueball creates a computer that can process any possible function, out of rocks and rules for the interaction between rocks. He then simulates a particle followed by the interactions between particles, followed by the entire universe. The amount of time it takes to simulate the change in the universe from one instant to the next ({{w|Planck time}}) takes an extremely long time as the time it takes to update just one row of rocks can be measured in eons.

Cueball then apologizes for any flaws we see in the simulation. This implies that the audience is living in Cueball's simulation, making Cueball essentially God.

The final frame cuts to a classroom where a bored student stares at his hands waiting for class to end. Cueball admonishes the student for thinking that class is lasting forever. The joke being that the boredom felt in a classroom is nothing compared to the boredom that inspires Cueball to spend his time toiling to keep the universe moving.

The title text suggests that {{w|Rule 34 (Internet meme)|Rule 34}} should be called on {{w|Elementary cellular automaton#Random initial state|Wolfram's Rule 34}}. Rule 34 (see [[305: Rule 34]]) is a humorous rule of the Internet which states "If you can imagine it, there is porn of it. No exceptions." Wolfram's Rule 34 is a cellular automaton. Therefore the title text says that someone should make pornography featuring the cellular automaton in question.

===Notes===
The diagrams in the "Physics, too. I worked out the kinks..." panel are, from left to right: A {{w|Gaussian function}} (probably the {{w|Normal distribution}}); the {{w|Inclined plane#History|Epitaph of Stevinus}}; a weird diagram with lines in it (something to do with thermodynamic cycles?).

The Swiss patent office line refers to {{w|Albert Einstein}}, who was employed as a Swiss patent clerk while coming up with his theory of general relativity. Also there is a standing joke that very few important inventions have come from Switzerland, since the country hadn't been involved in the world wars, and thus has not been part of the weapons race, nor was it a driving force in the preceding Industrial Revolution.

Cueball mentions that if we see an artifact flutter in and out of reality he must have made a mistake in the last "billions of billions of millennia." This implies the small period of time artifact is present in his time is longer than our universe has existed. This is a ''very'' long time.

===Cellular Automaton===
Cueball uses the rocks to build a {{w|cellular automaton}}, a computational model based on simple rules to advance from one state to the next. Certain cellular automata are {{w|Turing-complete}}, which means that they can be used to represent any conceivable algorithm if expanded infinitely. He specifically seems to be running Wolfram's {{w|Rule 110}}, which is capable of universal computation.
When using Rule 110 for universal computation, one builds a background pattern, which can be seen in the comic as the pattern of smaller triangles, and then performs computation by sending out "rockets" to collide and interact with each other.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is walking alone in a desert, narrating his own situation.]
:So I'm stuck in this desert for eternity.
:I don't know why. I just woke up here one day.

:I never feel hungry or thirsty.

:I just walk.

:Sand and rocks

:stretch to infinity.
:As best as I can tell.

:[Cueball is sitting in the desert, in a contemplative position.]
:There's plenty of time for thinking out here.
:An eternity really.

:[Cueball is sketching stuff in the sand.]
:I've rederived modern math in the sand
:and then some.

:[Different graph types are depicted.]
:Physics too. I worked out the kinks in quantum mechanics and relativity.
:Took a lot of thinking, but this place has fewer distractions than a Swiss patent office.

:[Cueball is walking along the desert, laying out rocks.]
:One day I started laying down rows of rocks.

:[Cueball continues to deploy rocks.]
:Each new row followed from the last in a simple pattern.

:[Image continues to zoom out showing laid out rocks.]
:With the right set of rules and enough space,

:I was able to build a computer.
:Each new row of stones is the next iteration of the computation.

:Sure it's rocks instead of electricity, but it's the same* thing.
:Just slower.
:<nowiki>*Turing-complete</nowiki>

:[Cueball in contemplative pose.]
:After a while, I programmed it to be a physics simulator.

:[A particle labeled by binary strings.]
:Every piece of information about a particle was encoded as a string of bits written in the stones.

:[A {{w|Feynman diagram}} showing two particles interacting.]
:With enough time and space, I could fully simulate two particles interacting.

:[Cueball standing before the vastness of the desert.]
:But I have ''infinite'' time and space.

:[Depiction of various galaxies and other systems.]
:So I decided to simulate a universe.

:[Cueball is walking about his rocks, moving them around.]
:The eons blur past as I walk down a single row.

:[Zoom out of the rows of rocks.]
:The rows blur past to compute a single step.

:[Shows placement of two particles.]
:And in the simulation...

:[The two particles have moved; an after-image of their previous placement is present.]
:...another instant ticks by.

:[A person observes a mote of dust vanish.]
:So if you see a mote of dust vanish from your vision in a little flash or something

:[Cueball is holding two rocks, rearranging them.]
:I'm sorry. I must have misplaced a rock
:sometime in the last few billions and billions of millennia.

:[Cueball in front of the vastness of his infinite desert.]
:Oh and...

:[Cueball in a classroom setting with head in hands, girl and professor are present; there are apparently less than five minutes left in the class.]
:If you think the minutes in your morning lecture are taking a long time to pass for ''you''...

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

505: A Bunch of Rocks

2014-11-09T20:56:33Z

WardXmodem: Changed guessed description on frame 16 diagram to Feynman Diagram with link to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

{{comic
| number = 505
| date = November 17, 2008
| title = A Bunch of Rocks
| image = a_bunch_of_rocks.png
| titletext = I call Rule 34 on Wolfram's Rule 34.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|What is the diagram to the right of the Epitaph of Stevinus? Many items are not well explained.}}

[[Cueball]] awakens to find himself trapped for eternity in an endless expanse of sand and rocks. At first, he uses this time to derive all of mathematics and physics, including {{w|quantum mechanics}} and {{w|general relativity}}. Next Cueball creates a computer that can process any possible function, out of rocks and rules for the interaction between rocks. He then simulates a particle followed by the interactions between particles, followed by the entire universe. The amount of time it takes to simulate the change in the universe from one instant to the next ({{w|Planck time}}) takes an extremely long time as the time it takes to update just one row of rocks can be measured in eons.

Cueball then apologizes for any flaws we see in the simulation. This implies that the audience is living in Cueball's simulation, making Cueball essentially God.

The final frame cuts to a classroom where a bored student stares at his hands waiting for class to end. Cueball admonishes the student for thinking that class is lasting forever. The joke being that the boredom felt in a classroom is nothing compared to the boredom that inspires Cueball to spend his time toiling to keep the universe moving.

The title text suggests that {{w|Rule 34 (Internet meme)|Rule 34}} should be called on {{w|Elementary cellular automaton#Random initial state|Wolfram's Rule 34}}. Rule 34 (see [[305: Rule 34]]) is a humorous rule of the Internet which states "If you can imagine it, there is porn of it. No exceptions." Wolfram's Rule 34 is a cellular automaton. Therefore the title text says that someone should make pornography featuring the cellular automaton in question.

===Notes===
The diagrams in the "Physics, too. I worked out the kinks..." panel are, from left to right: A {{w|Gaussian function}} (probably the {{w|Normal distribution}}); the {{w|Inclined plane#History|Epitaph of Stevinus}}; a {{w|Feynman Diagram}} showing the interaction of subatomic particles - the slope of the middle line indicating a solution only when particles move backwards in time.

The Swiss patent office line refers to {{w|Albert Einstein}}, who was employed as a Swiss patent clerk while coming up with his theory of general relativity. Also there is a standing joke that very few important inventions have come from Switzerland, since the country hadn't been involved in the world wars, and thus has not been part of the weapons race, nor was it a driving force in the preceding Industrial Revolution.

Cueball mentions that if we see an artifact flutter in and out of reality he must have made a mistake in the last "billions of billions of millennia." This implies the small period of time artifact is present in his time is longer than our universe has existed. This is a ''very'' long time.

===Cellular Automaton===
Cueball uses the rocks to build a {{w|cellular automaton}}, a computational model based on simple rules to advance from one state to the next. Certain cellular automata are {{w|Turing-complete}}, which means that they can be used to represent any conceivable algorithm if expanded infinitely. He specifically seems to be running Wolfram's {{w|Rule 110}}, which is capable of universal computation.
When using Rule 110 for universal computation, one builds a background pattern, which can be seen in the comic as the pattern of smaller triangles, and then performs computation by sending out "rockets" to collide and interact with each other.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is walking alone in a desert, narrating his own situation.]
:So I'm stuck in this desert for eternity.
:I don't know why. I just woke up here one day.

:I never feel hungry or thirsty.

:I just walk.

:Sand and rocks

:stretch to infinity.
:As best as I can tell.

:[Cueball is sitting in the desert, in a contemplative position.]
:There's plenty of time for thinking out here.
:An eternity really.

:[Cueball is sketching stuff in the sand.]
:I've rederived modern math in the sand
:and then some.

:[Different graph types are depicted.]
:Physics too. I worked out the kinks in quantum mechanics and relativity.
:Took a lot of thinking, but this place has fewer distractions than a Swiss patent office.

:[Cueball is walking along the desert, laying out rocks.]
:One day I started laying down rows of rocks.

:[Cueball continues to deploy rocks.]
:Each new row followed from the last in a simple pattern.

:[Image continues to zoom out showing laid out rocks.]
:With the right set of rules and enough space,

:I was able to build a computer.
:Each new row of stones is the next iteration of the computation.

:Sure it's rocks instead of electricity, but it's the same* thing.
:Just slower.
:<nowiki>*Turing-complete</nowiki>

:[Cueball in contemplative pose.]
:After a while, I programmed it to be a physics simulator.

:[A particle labeled by binary strings.]
:Every piece of information about a particle was encoded as a string of bits written in the stones.

:[A {{w|Feynman diagram}} showing two particles interacting.]
:With enough time and space, I could fully simulate two particles interacting.

:[Cueball standing before the vastness of the desert.]
:But I have ''infinite'' time and space.

:[Depiction of various galaxies and other systems.]
:So I decided to simulate a universe.

:[Cueball is walking about his rocks, moving them around.]
:The eons blur past as I walk down a single row.

:[Zoom out of the rows of rocks.]
:The rows blur past to compute a single step.

:[Shows placement of two particles.]
:And in the simulation...

:[The two particles have moved; an after-image of their previous placement is present.]
:...another instant ticks by.

:[A person observes a mote of dust vanish.]
:So if you see a mote of dust vanish from your vision in a little flash or something

:[Cueball is holding two rocks, rearranging them.]
:I'm sorry. I must have misplaced a rock
:sometime in the last few billions and billions of millennia.

:[Cueball in front of the vastness of his infinite desert.]
:Oh and...

:[Cueball in a classroom setting with head in hands, girl and professor are present; there are apparently less than five minutes left in the class.]
:If you think the minutes in your morning lecture are taking a long time to pass for ''you''...

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

1360: Old Files

2014-10-27T23:41:46Z

WardXmodem: c /a image/an image/

{{comic
| number = 1360
| date = April 25, 2014
| title = Old Files
| image = old_files.png
| titletext = Wow, ANIMORPHS-NOVEL.RTF? Just gonna, uh, go through and delete that from all my archives real quick.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Still need work, grammar. Other comics being referenced need to be included.}}
This comic came out the day after [http://news.sky.com/story/1248397/andy-warhol-originals-found-on-floppy-disk Sky News published the story] of original {{w|Andy Warhol}} artwork, created in 1985 on an {{w|Amiga 1000}}, was recovered from recently found floppy disks.

[[Cueball]] is shown literally digging through a pile of old files; which is a metaphor for looking through old files on his computer. The layers of the pile are arranged much like geological rock formations where older strata are deeper down than younger layers. The files are in concentric layers because each directory is imbedded in the previous directory. Therefore the "Documents" folder contains an "Old Desktop" folder which contains a folder with files recovered from an older system, which contains a "My Documents" folder, which contains a folder with files copied from a {{w|Zip Disk}} from high school. The result is that files from high school have survived in his present-day machine. These older folders serve as a time capsule of sorts, storing old files from {{w|AOL}}, NYET, and {{w|Kazaa}}. These files are meant to be analogous to the fossils and artifacts found in lower, older rock layers.

The sizes of the files decrease as Cueball goes deeper, since data storage has gotten cheaper over time. When the Zip Drive first came out, it cost $200 USD (plus $20 per 100 MB floppy). Today, $200 could buy you a 2 TB portable external hard drive. In the 1990's, during AOL's heyday, 10+ GB hard drives were prohibitively expensive and a terabyte of data was unimaginable to most users.

Deep down, Cueball discovers several files he is embarrassed about, including a poetry file which surprises him since he does not remember writing poetry. He also finds an "{{w|Animorphs}} Novel" mentioned in the title text, most likely a fan fiction of the Animorphs series (indicated by his embarrassment). However, it could be a copy of one of the original books.

The {{w|Animorphs}} at the title text refers to a fiction series released between 1996 and 2001. This is also content more than ten years old.

See also [[1380: Manual for Civilization]] for other references to Animorphs.

See also [[286: All Your Base]] for other references to AYB.

See also [[512: Alternate Currency]] for references to 4 chan.

See also [[107: Snakes on a Plane! 2]] for references to James.

===Files and Folders===
The folders and files in detail:

'''Documents''' (47 GB): A large folder containing many of [[Cueball]]'s personal files.
*''misc.txt'': A miscellaneous {{w|text file}} of unknown and unknowable content. It appears unreasonably large for a txt file, so it may be a large {{w|encryption|encrypted}} volume with an intentionally misleading name. It is only the only non-video file in the topmost layer - the implication is that Cueball encrypts all his current documents.
*''Video projects'': As video files can take up a lot of space, this likely makes up a considerable portion of the 47 GB.

'''Old desktop''' (12 GB): A backup from a former computer.
*''{{w|Facebook}} pics'': Pictures that were intended to be added to Facebook.
*''Pics from other camera'': Unknown pictures from a second camera.
*''Temp'': Temporary folders generally contain cashed files and files that are used temporarily to install programs.
*''Misc {{w|Portable Document Format|PDF}}s'': PDFs are often used for documentation, but could be any collection of digitized books or other documents.
*''{{w|MP3}}'': MP3 is a widely-used format for digital audio files.

'''Recovered from drive crash''' (4 GB): When a {{w|Hard disk drive|hard drive}} crashes, some or all data may be recovered.
*''Temp'': Temporary files.
*''Work misc'': Unknown work related projects.
*''{{w|Audiobook|Audio books}}'': Recordings of books being read out loud.

'''My Documents''' (570 MB): {{w|Microsoft Windows}} typically creates a folder named "My Documents" for personal documents.
*''Downloads'': A default location for downloaded files in the Windows OS.
*''{{w|Kazaa}} shared'': Kazaa is a defunct peer-to-peer file sharing program. The "shared" folder is shared with other members.
*''AYB'': {{w|All your base are belong to us|ALL YOUR BASE are belong to us}} is an internet {{w|Meme|meme}} inspired by a bad translation from ''{{w|Zero Wing}}''.
*''{{w|Escape Velocity Override|EV Override}}'': An {{w|Apple Macintosh}} video game, released in 1998.
*''[http://rephial.org/ Angband]'': A game named after a fictional stronghold created by {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}}.
*''{{w|GIF}}s'': An image format widely used for transparent or animated images.
*''{{w|Fight Club}}.wmv'': A movie. As feature movies are typically compressed to 700 megabytes, and this folder only contains 570 MB, it must be of low quality or a small screen size.
*''{{w|Elasto Mania}}'': A physics-simulation game that claims to show real physics.
*''{{w|AOL Instant Messenger|AIM}} Direct Connect files'': Files transferred via AOL Instant Messenger.
*''{{w|4chan}}'': An image-board where users can upload pictures anonymously. Randall impulsively saves pictures from there.
*''{{w|ICQ}} logs'': Logs from an instant messaging program introduced in 1996 and no longer commonly used in North America.

'''High school {{w|Zip drive|Zip disk}}''' (94 MB): The most popular form of {{w|superfloppy}}, introduced in 1994 with a capacity of 100 MB.
*''{{w|Korn}} MIDI'': Korn is an American {{w|nu metal}} band formed in 1993. {{w|MIDI}} is a protocol for communication with electronic musical instruments. The result tends to be sounds of low quality.
*''Photos3'': This is a folder of old photos.
**''{{w|Prom}}'': Pictures taken at prom.
*''lovenote.txt'': An old text file of a {{w|love letter}}, probably to a classmate in high school.
*''{{w|Gorillas (video game)|Gorillas}}.bas'': A game written in {{w|BASIC}}, to be run on {{w|QBasic}}, and supplied with MS-DOS.
*''Dream.txt'': Some private dreams.
*''James.txt'': Perhaps [[James]] is a friend of Randall, and the same as the one who came up with [[107|xkcd #107]].
*''{{w|AOL}}'': A early online and internet service, founded in 1985 and popular in the 1990s.
**''{{w|Citadel (software)|Citadel}}'' - A {{w|BBS}} and email platform that was widely used in the 1980s and early '90s.
*''{{w|QBasic}}'': An {{w|Integrated development environment|IDE}} released by {{w|Microsoft}} in 1991, which was used to write and run computer programs in the BASIC language.
*''NYET'': ''NYET'' was a {{w|Tetris}}-like game for MS-DOS, released in 1988.
*''Jokes.txt'': An old text file of jokes.

'''AAAFILES''' (9.4 MB): Some of [[Cueball]]'s oldest documents, likely prefixed with "AAA" to put the folder at the top of an alphabetically-sorted list.

'''TXT''' (850 K): Old text files, which include poetry he didn't remember writing.

==Transcript==
:Megan (on top of stack of files): You OK down there?

:'''Documents''' (47 GB)
::misc.txt
::Video projects
:'''Old desktop''' (12 GB)
::Facebook pics
::Pics from other camera
::Temp
::Misc PDFs
::MP3
:'''Recovered from drive crash''' (4 GB)
::Temp
::Work misc
::Audio books
:'''My Documents''' (570 MB)
::Downloads
::Kazaa shared
::AYB
::EV Override
::Angband
::GIFs
::FIGHT CLUB.wmv
::Elasto Mania
::AIM Direct Connect files
::4chan
::ICQ logs
:'''High school Zip disk''' (94 MB)
::Korn MIDI
::Photos3 (Prom)
::lovenote.txt
::Gorilla.bas
::Dream.txt
::James.txt
::AOL (Citadel)
::QBasic
::NYET
::Jokes.txt
:'''AAAFILES''' (9.4 MB)
:'''TXT''' (850 K)
:Cueball (deep inside the AAAFILES section looking at his txt files): Oh my god. I wrote '''poetry'''.

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

Talk:1360: Old Files

2014-10-27T23:38:39Z

WardXmodem: /* Grammar? */ new section

I notice backup and recovery files. I once had a folder on my father's computer that housed everything I did. When the drive crashed, I managed to recover it and store it to a CD-ROM (this was before thumb drives). I copied everything onto my first computer within my main folder (I don't use My Documents), and I continue to move my main folder into a new main folder each time I migrate between computers. I have so many nested memories. I, too, have incomplete fan-fiction and instant message logs. Oh, and a dream.txt. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.218|108.162.237.218]] 04:47, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

I don't have as much of a problem with the "old files room", because I keep nearly all of my files on my laptop, but my hard drive is almost full. Another hard drive replace the CD drive, but this computer won't last much longer (bye cd drive workaround). I'll have to build an "old files room" sooner or later. [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 05:07, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

Back in the... early '90s, I think it was... I recall there being someone like a buddhist monk (or someone ''claiming'' to be someone like a buddhist monk, and the religion could have been something else) who set up an internet site (not necessarily a website) as a temple for "all lost data". The files you had accidentally deleted, the floppies that got damaged or otherwise corrupted, forgotten formats on old drives that you'd lost the wherewithall to access them. Between this and the "hoarder" behaviour exhibitted in the above XKCD folder we encompass ''all'' long-term computer users. At the same time. I know I regret the dead USB sticks (with irreplacable content) and yet I stare in hopelessness at the folders "GStick" and "FStick" within My Documents, that really need looking at again. (No, they don't contain the lost material. Datestamped at 2009.) But they're two of fifty-three separate subfolders (and a helluva lot of loose files) in that level. "WebRedo"? I remember that. That site hasn't even been ''active'' for about a decade. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.224|141.101.89.224]] 06:50, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

;Explanation
I think the point of the comic doesn't come across in the explanation. It's not just that he's sifting through files, but that he's finding files nested deeply in his folder structure that just came to pass because he always copied contents of an old computer to some folder on the next computer and then ignored its contents.

I.e. in his "Documents" folder, there is the "Old Desktop" folder from a previous computer, which contains the "Recovered from drive crash" folder from another previous system, which has another "Mu Documents" folder within, ... etc. The nesting aspect should somehow be integrated into the explanation.
--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.57|108.162.229.57]] 09:59, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

The shape of the panel is vaguely reminiscent of a hard drive, this may be intentional, being emphasized by the increasing size of the individual layers. In which case there might be some metaphor construed by the placement of the two characters based on their location in the structure of the hard-drive perhaps involving the catalog index. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.35}}

It should be pointed out that the AYB folder is directly referencing https://xkcd.com/286/ {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.211}}

I have done this before on my hard drive(s) and I always find my old qbasic programs. Anyone knows of an emulator for qbasic so I could see my old programs running again? [[User:Bigfatbernie|Bigfatbernie]] ([[User talk:Bigfatbernie|talk]]) 13:56, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

:DOSBox will run QBasic programs if you grab the QBasic 1.1 interpreter from either an old copy of Windows 98 that still has it in its dos utilities folder, or just download it from here: http://www.qbasic.net/en/qbasic-downloads/compiler/qbasic-interpreter.htm [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.42|108.162.219.42]] 17:01, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

:Also, there's this: http://www.qb64.net/ [[User:Runefurb|Runefurb]] ([[User talk:Runefurb|talk]]) 06:14, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

Qbasic was "hardwired" in IBM PC's and/or PC/AT's. If the PC did not find some bootable device,
it would start Qbasic from a chip. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.55}}

:Close but not quite correct. You're thinking of IBM / Microsoft BASIC, which was only really part of the BIOS on the original "5150" PCs (and possibly XTs), whose memory size and processing power was rather more akin to that of mid-to-high-end 8-bit systems than anything we'd recognise as a "PC" today, and indeed whose data storage options were limited to 5.25" single-density floppy drives ... or audio cassettes, which are a media far more suited to ROM BASIC than most others, and vice versa. All later models had a more simplistic boot ROM - along the lines of the Amiga Kickstart - that just looked for a floppy or HDD bootsector (e.g. for CP/M or the rapidly ubiquitous MS-DOS) and threw an error if they couldn't find one. Later BASICs like QBASIC or the intermediate GWBASIC were all disc based, running as programs under DOS. Heck, without the DOS command interpreter and file handling system running in the background, you've got no hope of loading anything into or saving anything from QBASIC, other than maybe a write-only Quine that outputs to a serial port... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.150|141.101.98.150]] 13:19, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

Anybody know what Citadel is? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.42|108.162.219.42]] 16:58, 25 April 2014 (UTC)
Citadel is historically a BBS package. Today it is an open source groupware system, but some people are still using it as a BBS. Google "Uncensored! BBS" to find a well known one. [[User:IGnatius T Foobar|IGnatius T Foobar]] ([[User talk:IGnatius T Foobar|talk]]) 03:19, 26 April 2014 (UTC)

;Can we get some instructions on how to edit the page?

It makes no sense to me whatsoever, and it's unlike every other page on the wiki. I can find the list we use in the transcript, but I can't figure out how to add the explainations [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.204|199.27.130.204]] 18:19, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

:I did remove that templates from this page, the explain is still very bad — but now you should be able to post your adds. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:23, 25 April 2014 (UTC)
: I am the person who added the templates. I figured that on a xkcd wiki of all wikis one should feel free to use some more advanced Mediawiki features, to keep from redundancy (here, repetition of data between the explanation and the transcript)... Oh well. Apparently the definition of "to make sense" is "to make sense to others". Also, semicolons are used for definition lists, not for headers. {{unsigned ip|141.101.89.217}}
:: By the way, the current transcript is wrong. The items listed under "No header" headers belong to the "named" headers on the parallel side. There is no dichotomy like that. If you insist on reflecting the visual layout of the comic in the transcript, I suggest something like this (uncapitalised, unsorted, and unformatted, because it is just a quick illustration):

<table class='wikitable'>
<tr>
<td>
 
<th>
documents <hr>
Megan: "You OK down there?"
<td>
 

<tr>
<td>
* misc.txt
<th>
old desktop
<td>
* video projects

<tr>
<td>
* facebook pics
<th>
recovered from drive flash
<td>
* pics from other camera
* temp
* misc pdfs
* mp3

<tr>
<td>
* temp
<th>
my documents
<td>
* work misc
* audiobooks

<tr>
<td>
* downloads
* ayb
* ev override
* angband
* kazaa shared
* gigs
<th>
high school zip disk
<td>
* fight club.wmv
* aim direct connect files
* elasto mania
* 4chan
* icq logs

<tr>
<td>
* lovenote.txt
* gorilla.bas
* aol
** citadel
* nyet
* jokes.txt
<th>
aaafiles
<td>
* korn midi
* photos3
** prom
* dream.txt
* james.txt
* qbasic

<tr>
<td>
 
<th>
txt <hr>
Cueball: "Oh my God. I wrote poetry."
<td>
 
</table>
:{{unsigned ip|141.101.89.217}}
:Done '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 21:07, 25 April 2014 (UTC)
:: Thank you! In fact, I just noticed that rows didn't reflect one filesystem level! They should be moved one level up. I will fix that (and capitalise and sort the labels.) {{unsigned ip|‎141.101.89.212}}
::: Done. {{unsigned ip|‎141.101.89.212, too--I really don't like this insistence on signing}}
::::The unsigned template contains instructions on how to properly sign your posts. If you are against signing for privacy reasons, at least use five tildes (<nowiki>~~~~~</nowiki>) to mark off each of your messages as distinct comments. Your IP is logged anyways by Mediawiki, but casual observers will not see your IP. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 21:41, 25 April 2014 (UTC)
::::Uh, little question. I just read the source, and the html for your table contains no closing tags. Do you have something against them or something? Also, I removed the bullet points when I added the table to the transcript because strictly speaking, the comic doesn't actually contain any bullet points, so we're adding punctuation that isn't present in the comic. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 21:54, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

;Unsigned IP's producing a great chaos here. No READER does UNDERSTAND. Please keep it simple as possible, NO new template for a single comic. I will bring back some edits I've done, respecting edits have done later. But right now I can't see there is any proper attempt to do an explain other could understand.
:Please focus FIRST on the readers here, then focus on possible editors (don't understand), and then tell a new IP how to behave here. It's not my invention, but please try to keep this page at a basis on some standards. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:22, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

Actually, the "AIM Direct Connect" is in reference to the file sharing system that the AOL Instant Messenger used to use. A quick Google would have found that. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.32|108.162.221.32]] 22:20, 26 April 2014 (UTC)Slacker

:First thanks for your hint, but please add comments at the bottom here. I did update many items and I'm not perfect. I will enhance this after this post. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:34, 26 April 2014 (UTC)
::I can't figure it out, maybe you have a better hint. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:42, 26 April 2014 (UTC)
:::Whup, sorry about that! I'll remember that in the future. For better reference on AIM Direct Connect: https://adium.im/help/pgs/AdvancedFeatures-AIM-DirectConnect.html I'll see if I can add a better explanation to that above! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.32|108.162.221.32]] 00:05, 27 April 2014 (UTC)Slacker

Gorilla.bas is a qbasic game distributed with DOS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorillas_(video_game)
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.129|173.245.53.129]] 22:29, 26 April 2014 (UTC)

:Thanks for your hint, why do you not add this by yourself? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:34, 26 April 2014 (UTC)
::Done. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:42, 26 April 2014 (UTC)

I would like to know more as to why it would be awkward to find ANIMORPHS-NOVEL.txt, and why you would delete that from the archives... I was not alive during that time so i dont have a clue as to what it is... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.212|108.162.250.212]] 12:55, 10 May 2014 (UTC)
:''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animorphs Animorphs]'' was a series of young adult books whose publication was apparently contemporary with Cueball's high school years. Many people later find the interests, opinions, etc that they had as teenagers to be embarrassing. This is especially true of fanfiction, which combines the above (in all its earnest, blind infatuation with the subject) with early, inexperienced attempts at writing. As with the poetry found in the very bottom layer, Cueball would probably prefer to pretend he was never so invested in (''Animorphs'') fandom, never wrote something so juvenile/amateurish/terrible, and almost certainly would not wish to share it with any of his adult friends. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.202|108.162.246.202]] 06:28, 20 August 2014 (UTC)

Last night I added the comments about geological rock strata & how files are buried in the way sedimentary layers are. It was my first contribution to explain xkcd so I wasn't sure what the protocol was but adding a comment here. - J. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.44|173.245.54.44]] 03:08, 31 May 2014 (UTC)

This is a perfect example of why *nix filesystems are superior to DOS filesystems. {{unsigned ip|108.162.212.200}}
:Why would that be? Do they somehow magically prevent cascading, decades-long file hoarding as you move from system to system? Or is it that the continual recompiling of the kernel dissuades you from regarding any data store or its content as a permanent entity?[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.150|141.101.98.150]] 13:19, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

Are the concentric circles to scale? The 94MB looks roughing 10x bigger than the 9.4MB, but after that the bubbles start going off the panel and I'm not sure. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.179|173.245.54.179]] 20:38, 7 August 2014 (UTC)
:Doubt it, unless it's logarithmic - it might just be a concept-only "this thing is bigger than the other thing, and also contains it entirely". Then again, as it's an area rather than a line, it miiiiight be possible. If the outer segment was 10x taller and 10x wider than the inner one, then that would suggest it's about 9.4GB (vs 94mb for the zipdisk). Is the 9.4mb "AAAFILES" folder about 3.2x smaller in each dimension than the zipdisk? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.150|141.101.98.150]] 13:19, 29 September 2014 (UTC)
:: (UPDATE: the outer circle says "47GB", ie it's from a storage volume 500x larger than that original Zipdisk, although it is itself not that large a space any more and may well be a USB thumbdrive, microSD card, or the internal storage on a smartphone/tablet/ultraportable laptop with a 64 or 128GB SSD as its primary "disc" drive... or an old rediscovered pocket hard disc or dusty old desktop PC. Even so, the square root of 500 is approx 22.4 ... and it just doesn't look 22x bigger to my eyes, so I'm going to go with "nonlinear, unless the parts hidden off-frame extend a lot further below and to the side than you'd otherwise expect") [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.150|141.101.98.150]] 13:26, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

== Grammar? ==

"Still need work, grammar."

The grammar looks very good to me, and I'm pretty fussy. Maybe it has been taken care of, but not removed from the needs list?

I will go back and correct "a image" to "an image";

The first sentence ''...original Andy Warhol artwork, created in 1985 on an Amiga 1000, was recovered from recently found floppy disks''

"might" be improved by removing "was" or add "which" so it reads "which was"

Your thoughts on Grammar?

[[User:WardXmodem|WardXmodem]] ([[User talk:WardXmodem|talk]]) 23:38, 27 October 2014 (UTC)