explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2066: Ballot Selfies

2018-11-04T08:17:23Z

Xkcdreader52:

What harm do laws banning ballot selfies do? [[User:Ryanker|Ryanker]] ([[User talk:Ryanker|talk]]) 15:51, 31 October 2018 (UTC)ryanker
: After reading the Wikipedia article on this, I've realized that, similar to jaywalking and loitering laws, ballot selfies are so common that they cannot be effectively restricted. The result appears to be that enforcement only happens when there is some additional reason for it, reinforcing and strengthening existing oppressions and power dynamics. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.162|162.158.186.162]] 00:23, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
: You're coming at it from exactly the wrong direction. What harm does taking a ballot selfie do? {{unsigned ip|40.57.163.322}}
:: I'm against anyone who is holding up the line for the rest of us who are trying to vote, especially those egotistical who think anyone wants to see their stupid pictures. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.123.127|162.158.123.127]] 05:24, 1 November 2018 (UTC)
::: Photos are pretty quick. I'm against those who are making oil paintings of their voting. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 13:13, 1 November 2018 (UTC)
: I'm thinking the flavor text is talking as if from the point of view of someone who has grown used to sharing photos of themselves with others, to communicate, encourage, feel connected. Depicting their own behavior so directly might even seem a valid way to sway someone's opinion to such a person. I guess when thinking about it, it would support democracy better to share the act of voting rather than the actual vote made. Curious regarding other opinions. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.83|162.158.91.83]] 16:09, 31 October 2018 (UTC)
:: yes, fully agree with this. Just take all the selfies you want on the way there, in front of the place where you vote, on the way back. Just not during that one minute you spend inside the booth, and not showing your actual ballot. If you absolutely want to disclose what you actually voted for, you can still do so by writing a caption. It's that simple, and probably legal in most places around the world.--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.140|141.101.77.140]] 16:22, 31 October 2018 (UTC)
: Thought of another reason: if the government were to hack or misrepresent the vote, the people could use proof of voting to prove the fraud. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.136|172.68.50.136]] 16:12, 31 October 2018 (UTC)
:: If a government can hack your vote, couldn't they hack your phone? ;-) [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 16:28, 31 October 2018 (UTC)
::: But you could just print out the photo, and it becomes physical, unhackable proof. {{unsigned ip|162.158.79.101}}
::: Additionally, to fake your vote, all they need to do is lie. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.27|162.158.93.27]] 00:55, 1 November 2018 (UTC)
: Banning photos in polling stations is sensible. If I offered you $1,000 to vote for Trump you would be mad not to agree - you could vote how you wanted, and tell me you voted for Trump and get your money. If photos were allowed, to get your money I could request a photo of you with your ballot paper. If people can take photos of their vote, people can buy votes. If they can't, it's much more difficult to do that. [[User:DrDave|DrDave]] ([[User talk:DrDave|talk]]) 12:44, 1 November 2018 (UTC)
::Not just positive coercion but also negative - spouses, religious leaders, or whomever demanding proof that you'd voted the way they told you to "or else." [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.113|172.68.58.113]] 12:57, 1 November 2018 (UTC)
:::This is EXACTLY my point. My concern would be employers (e.g. Hobby Lobby) making voting for or against a specific candidate or issue a condition of employment. If ballot selfies are allowed, then there is no way to stop this. I don't mind selfies of people going into the polling place. However, there should be no (legal) way to take a picture of your ballot and make it public, including another voter, accidentally or not, capturing you and your ballot in the background of their selfie. {{unsigned ip|162.158.75.196}}
In the United kingdom it is illegal to take a phtograph of the ballot paper even if no vote is recorded - as such an image could reveal the mark used to authenticate the ballot paper.
Until recently this was a pattern of holed stamped into the paper as it is issued, though now printed bar codes are used. Theoretically if you know the mark, you could then stuff a ballot box. Although if the number of papers does not match that recorded by the returning clerk then the entire box would be declared invalid and the election rerun. [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 16:45, 31 October 2018 (UTC)
: I think you're saying that in states where vote selfies are legal, somebody might be able to use such a selfie to produce counterfeit ballots, and submit them. Also that the ballots are counted and a vote is rerun whenever the count is wrong, to additionally deter this. It's hard to believe that count is always correct for such huge numbers of physical objects each handled by a human being: does this rerun happen commonly? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.27|162.158.93.27]] 00:55, 1 November 2018 (UTC)
:: Why would someone need to look at someone else's selfie to produce counterfeit ballots? Seems like a very round about way when it's easy enough to get an actual ballot yourself. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.58|108.162.245.58]] 01:40, 1 November 2018 (UTC)
:::It's not about counterfeits - it's about The Secrecy Of The Ballot. It is essential to a free and fair election that the voter can vote in complete secrecy AND that they be completely unable to prove how they voted (or indeed, if they voted at all). In the UK, the way you voted (or IF you voted at all) is intended to be completely secret - only you know - and you have NO WAY to prove it. But selfies, printed paper receipts from eletronic voting machines and online or postal voting all circumvent that concept. The concept is important because if someone tries to coerce you to voting in a way you do not wish to - then that coercion will be ineffective if they cannot confirm that you did as they wanted you do to. I've updated the explain to try to cover this point more carefully. However, this alone is not enough - an evil-doer can instead find people who are demographically-likely to vote against their preferred candidate and instead coerce them to not vote at all - which isn't as effective as forcing them to vote the opposite way - but is still enough to flip the election. Some laws (such as in Texas) that make it increasingly hard for poorer people to vote by demanding proof-of-identity in ways they cannot manage is a classic example of that. Even a homeless person has a right to vote - but without papers that establish that they are who they claim to be - they are effectively disenfranchised - which is unconstitutional. [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 13:25, 1 November 2018 (UTC)
::::Hey SteveBaker; I really agree with your views here. I notice you removed the phrase "violent coercion" which I added when you made your edits. I have a smidge of experience with being violently coerced to do things, and how crowds of people who are for example addicted to the products of a drug lord can be forced to behave as he or she wishes in order to continue their lives. I feel it's really valuable to use the word "violent" here to bring people's minds into how intense this could become, or could be already in areas where votes are provable. I'll try a little to add it back, but if I disrupt the new flow I'm sorry, I do not mean to. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.226|172.69.62.226]] 18:33, 1 November 2018 (UTC)

I have a question with this, what if you don't post your ballot selfies anywhere on social media platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, Imgur or Twitter and keeping the picture on your phone? Will they still be able to arrest you and find you guilty?Boeing-787lover 08:17, 4 November 2018 (UTC)

Talk:2060: Hygrometer

2018-10-18T09:13:09Z

Xkcdreader52:

Interestingly, Google search for ometerometer returns porn results. If there is an xkcd comic about rule 34 (if it exists, there is porn about it), it could be linked here.--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 15:48, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:Yeah, and now xkcd is prominently displayed. Good for you! - Who? {{unsigned ip|162.158.165.238}}
:Should have taken a screenshot: The link provided under Trivia returns no porn results whatsoever now (yes I have SafeSearch turned off). I'm pretty sure almost any search for a seldom used word or phrase returns a high number of porn results, but '''I seriously doubt''' any of the porn was actually ''about'' ometerometers, or even featured that word on the page. I think you just got unrelated results. I'm gonna have to say "citation needed" on that one, because the citation given yields no such results. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:19, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
::[https://i.imgur.com/5VOBPMJ.png Here's your citation.] Needless to say, the term doesn't appear anywhere on those pages outside the search box, but ''something'' must've put it in that box in the first place—"ameterometer" and "emeterometer" and various other misspellings don't return any search results like this. [[User:Trambelus|Trambelus]] ([[User talk:Trambelus|talk]]) 21:57, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

Which meters do you enjoy?
I'm a particular fan of the Crookes radiometer [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.116|141.101.77.116]] 16:33, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
: Based almost solely on the exotic name, I'm a particular fan of the {{w|sphygmomanometer}} (blood pressure cuff), and I'm disappointed that Randall didn't take the opportunity to mention it anywhere. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.41|172.68.46.41]] 16:44, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:: My laser power meter is pretty bad-assed - but the measurement tool I'm most impressed by isn't a "ometer", it's a "mechanics level" - which is basically just an incredibly accurate spirit level - it can measure a tilt angle equal to the thickness of a single sheet of paper over a distance of two meters - which is pretty astounding considering how crude it is. You can tell that you have a cool -ometer if it comes in a nice wooden box - and a seriously cool one if the box has brass hinges and is lined with velvet...it's kindof a rule for us ometerometrists. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.227|172.69.70.227]] 18:27, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

Here's the Rule 34 comic: https://xkcd.com/305/ {{unsigned ip|172.68.65.6}}
:Thank you. I added it to the description.--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 16:52, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

But no mention of an alethiometer. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.113|172.68.58.113]] 16:59, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

Let's all remember that there are some measurement devices that do not end in -ometer but rather simply in -meter, for example "multimeter", "ohmmeter", "ammeter", etc. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.77}}
: So does a micrometer end in ometer? Tough call! [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.227|172.69.70.227]] 18:29, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:: Micro-meter, not micr-ometer. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.59.12|172.68.59.12]] 20:05, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:::You're absolutely right, the ''O'' always belongs to the first term. I will change the explanation accordingly. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:49, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
::::Oh - so Cueball wants an o-metero-meter? OK now I'm confused! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.77|108.162.221.77]] 21:59, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

I'm certainly not an expert on Google and how search results are generated, but I think it's at least highly likely that search results can be impacted by a user's previous searches and/or clicked results. While it might be interesting or even amusing, I don't think it's appropriate to include anything in the explanation of this comic about Rule 34 because it has absolutely nothing to do with the content of the comic itself! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 18:12, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

There's also metrometer (measures the size of the womb), and a kilometerometer (this is what some Americans call odometers in foreign cars). --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.136|172.68.54.136]] 22:19, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

I prefer ohmmeter since I am in an electronics course in my local college and I use it quite often. (^o^)Boeing-787lover 09:13, 18 October 2018 (UTC)

'''Trivia was nonsense'''

At this link [https://www.google.es/search?rlz=1C1NHXL_caES708ES708&ei=EEHHW-DWBJ2vgAbZyrSQAw&q=ometerometer&oq=ometerometer&gs_l=psy-ab.3...1876.4215.0.4448.12.10.0.0.0.0.376.1163.0j3j1j1.5.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..7.4.786...0j0i131k1j0i67k1j0i131i67k1j0i10k1j0i19k1j0i10i19k1.0.iW8nv_ipPpQ Google search for ometerometer] I can't see any porn. AND only 9 results at Google! The Rule 34 doesn't apply right now and so I've removed it completely. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:17, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:If the ometerometer search term is in double-quotes, you'll get the porn. (Apologies if I did something wrong with this comment... Is my first here.) --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.88|162.158.63.88]] 04:47, 18 October 2018 (UTC)

Talk:2053: Incoming Calls

2018-10-06T07:30:34Z

Xkcdreader52:

The "other scammers" section is far too small. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.166|108.162.216.166]] 16:54, 1 October 2018 (UTC)

We have two title texts explanations. With slightly conflicting information. Combine and brush up or should we just do one or the other for now? I like the CBS source in the first so I think we should absolutely preserve that at least. [[User:Lukeskylicker|Lukeskylicker]] ([[User talk:Lukeskylicker|talk]]) 17:15, 1 October 2018 (UTC)

: Supposing that you are correct, I have to add that I have never heard of the headset trick being used to buy time to connect you to a real scammer. But then again, I don't get scammed that often. [[User:Kwonunn|Kwonunn]] ([[User talk:Kwonunn|talk]]) 17:44, 2 October 2018 (UTC)

He forgot bill collectors. {{unsigned ip|162.158.63.52}}

As the link from the first title text explanation points out, they don't *need* your credit card or social security number as many phone companies, especially mobile companies, will allow a third party to add charges to your phone bill if you've agreed to pay the money. With that in mind, I don't think the second explanation flies. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.90|162.158.186.90]] 17:42, 1 October 2018 (UTC)

This only makes sense if it’s proportional or percentage based. But then that makes one wonder if some of this might be because the number of calls dropped over time. {{unsigned|Mr.Dude}}

There's a contradiction between "it's safe to assume that calls from his family didn't decrease over the years", and "Over time, Randall's friends and family have been less likely to make phone calls to him, likely due to the use of text messages and other messaging apps.". I'd suggest rephrasing the first part to say "it's possible the calls from family didn't decrease over the years, in which case they only make up a smaller fraction as the number of total calls increases since 1990.", or simply "some of the categories like family calls appear to be occurring less often but may only be decreasing in frequency in proportion to total calls" [[Special:Contributions/162.158.142.28|162.158.142.28]] 21:10, 1 October 2018 (UTC)
:I know for me personally family calls have decreased as texting and other messaging apps have become more common, and the same might have happened for him. It is clear that this graph excludes texting as by the present the only friend calling is that one friend that hates texting. That person may be the best way to figure out if the absolute volume of calls has increased...it appears the volume of total calls has increased, at least recently, as that one friend originally took up a larger proportion of the vertical space (of course the frequency of correspondence with that friend may also have changed).[[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.5|172.68.46.5]] 16:51, 2 October 2018 (UTC)
::Thanks for your written thoughts. You also can enhance the explanation. But for now I've added a new paragraph about texting, just because it's not part of the comic. And, sorry I missed it, I also hate tex...ng ;) --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:29, 2 October 2018 (UTC)

At least not being British he missed the PPI calls. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.235|162.158.154.235]] 21:16, 1 October 2018 (UTC)
:Along with the current spate of automated calls telling me that my IP address needs to be changed as it has been "compromised in multiple countries". [[User:Gearoid|Gearóid]] ([[User talk:Gearoid|talk]]) 06:44, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

The trick is not always just to get you thinking you're talking to a real person. More likely it is to get a recording of you saying "yes", which can be used maliciously.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.20|162.158.94.20]] 08:19, 2 October 2018 (UTC)

AFAIK, that has only been done once, there is a question on it here: https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/42050/have-phone-scammers-recorded-yes-statements-to-fraudulently-authorise-payments (I was going to say that it was probably a myth, but the accepted answer had not been written when I last read that page. Pays to check sources I guess, be it for updated webpages, or to counter scammers [[User:Baldrickk|Baldrickk]] ([[User talk:Baldrickk|talk]]) 12:57, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

Referencing "the famous WhatsApp" seems unnecessary. It could be replaced with something like "various mobile messaging apps" [[Special:Contributions/172.68.133.168|172.68.133.168]] anonanon

Could someone please provide more information about that "auto insurance scammer" part? From my foreign perspective, this means nothing at all and it seems odd that Randall's scammer calls were so numerous and so single-minded in their focus for such a long time. Were these calls really the only scams during that time? Did other scammers then copy their methods? It may seem obvious to you but it certainly isn't for me.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.196|141.101.88.196]] 09:30, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

: I don't specifically know what that scam is; maybe that was just a scam that Randall personally got a lot of calls about and/or has an especially vivid memory about? [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 14:06, 3 October 2018 (UTC)
:: I can provide some anecdotal context, because we (my fiancee and I) still receive this particular type of scam call, to the exclusion of any other type for some reason. Basically, they call and say that they are calling about your car insurance bill and that it's a critical issue. I don't know exactly how it proceeds from there because we don't have a car and well, that's our response to the call. My assumption here is, with Randall iirc living quite near where I live (eastern US), he received much the same call for a long time. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.108|162.158.186.108]] 23:55, 3 October 2018 (UTC)
::: Cool, thanks for the info! [[Special:Contributions/172.69.226.89|172.69.226.89]] 15:59, 4 October 2018 (UTC)
:::: Perhaps this is an age based thing? At that time Randall was in early 20's, finished university, might even have recently got an automobile.
:::: My parents (in their 80's) get a lot of calls from Microsoft "Vindose" technical support, health scams (braces, pain help), "Rachel" from card services, air duct cleaning. Never gotten any from auto insurers. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.191|108.162.246.191]] 07:08, 5 October 2018 (UTC)

"Rachel" from credit card services deserves her own category. Whenever I have a few minutes to kill, I wait for a "representative" and then keep asking WHICH of my cards he's calling about and torment them with stupid questions until they hang up (or ask for the person in charge of office supplies and try to sell them toner). Also deserving of their own category are the scammers who call about changing my energy supplier and those offering solar panels. To these I usually tell that I like paying higher rates to my electric company, that we have a nuclear reactor in the basement, or that we steal our electricity from our neighbors. - alex
: Honestly the card services scams are particularly toxic because some banks use a very similarly named department to report potentially fraudulent charges and attempt to confirm with you whether or not they were authorized. I have had a few legitimate card services calls in my life. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.192|162.158.186.192]] 23:57, 3 October 2018 (UTC)
::Personally I can't say I've ever received a scam card services call, but I have received legitimate ones. Like when they found it suspicious I bought gas two days in a row, which I had never done (looks like the attendant when I bought gas grabbed my card info, because I still had my card. Pretty sloppy to buy gas when he GOT IT from someone buying gas!). Also never heard of that headset thing, that seems like a bit of a leap, but I guess it makes sense that Randall meant that if he included it this way. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:45, 5 October 2018 (UTC)

My incoming calls are 80% scammers from India and 20% are from my parents :( Boeing-787lover 07:30, 6 October 2018 (UTC)

Talk:2036: Edgelord

2018-10-06T07:28:22Z

Xkcdreader52:

Presumably has something to do with https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=edgelord
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.129|173.245.48.129]] 04:37, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

What is up with the wolverine? Am I missing a joke here? Possibly a reference somewhere else? {{unsigned ip|172.68.34.106}}
: That is a reference to Wolverine, the Marvel Comics character, who has retractable "claws" stowed in his forearms and come out the back of his hands. The claws of an actual wolverine, like others in the family Mustelidae, are permanently extended. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 12:41, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
: It seems to me like the Wolverine thing is almost a non sequitur. I think a better comparison would be "like calling an engineering student a 'forcelord'" or "calling an astronomy PhD a 'Starlord'", or a pharmacologist a 'Druglord'. -- [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 13:02, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
:: Agree. Update made.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.90|172.68.65.90]] 13:19, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
::: Aww... You guys made a better comparison than me. I put in the wolverine thing just to make a point that it was silly yet technically (by the loosest definition) accurate. I'm sorry it confused you. [[User:V|V]] ([[User talk:V|talk]]) 22:25, 23 August 2018 (UTC) ~
:: And someone studying military theory would be a Warlord? Or Lord of War? [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 06:53, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
::: There is an academic title called Master of War https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/master-war-studies-8571 {{unsigned ip|172.68.51.160}}

If you are actually an "edgelord", wouldn't you answer "no" anyway to provoke once again? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 08:40, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

I feel like there should be some discussion of what an edge (or hyper-edge) is in graph theory. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.22|162.158.165.22]] 10:20, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

Good that he doesn't call his plumber a shitlord. Might need one again. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.75|172.69.54.75]] 11:54, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

So... is the joke just a half-working pun on "edge", or am I missing something? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.226.119|172.69.226.119]] 14:28, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
:Yes <[[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.120|162.158.167.120]] 15:29, 22 August 2018 (UTC)>

So… Does this mean that white hat has a PhD in Graph Theory? {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.214}}
:It seems so. But please sign your comments. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:54, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
::Well, the White Hat in ''this'' comic has one. Doesn't necessarily imply the same thing about White Hats in any other comics. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.154|162.158.238.154]] 08:19, 23 August 2018 (UTC)

Nothing to do with the Doctor who is a Time Lord? --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.94|172.68.34.94]] 20:16, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
:That's where my mind went as well, but I have no way to make that connection. (P.S. I love Alton Brown's description of himself on Twitter as a "Thyme Lord". I almost wanted to add that as a "calling a chef" example above!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.124|162.158.63.124]] 14:41, 23 August 2018 (UTC)

Hehe "Starlord"--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.123|173.245.48.123]] 03:52, 24 August 2018 (UTC)

About a week before this comic, SlackWyrm posted this one: http://www.joshuawright.net/slack-wyrm-329.html Does that help? {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.244}}
:Nice comics and the edgelord theme runs until #335. Not sure if Randall knows this because he mentions many others at xkcd but not Joshua Wright. Nevertheless it's funny and maybe worth for a trivia section. Opinions? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:18, 25 August 2018 (UTC)

I trolled my friends with this comic, saying that they are a hyper-edgelord. I had a lot of giggles from that.Boeing-787lover 07:28, 6 October 2018 (UTC)

Talk:2040: Sibling-in-Law

2018-10-06T07:25:36Z

Xkcdreader52:

Unless you want to go completely nuts on this topic, avoid reading Jane Austen, where the the term "X-in-law" is used to mean, roughly, "someone to whom you are related for legal reasons". It can be used to refer to, for example, what we today might refer to as step/half-siblings, adopted siblings, etc. [[User:Arcanechili|Arcanechili]] ([[User talk:Arcanechili|talk]]) 15:51, 31 August 2018 (UTC)

> The title text refers to incestual relationships, which are generally frowned upon in Western culture.
How on earth this refers to incest if persons are only legally, not genetically related??? It's just that Randall doesn't know how to call new relatives but cannot stop their arrival. {{unsigned ip|162.158.91.251}}

Yes, I also don't think it refers to incest. {{unsigned ip|172.68.94.40}}

Sometimes (or to some people), marital relationships are relevant to incest. Marrying your brother's widow can be forbidden, acceptable, or required. Or, is it acceptable to marry your ex-wife's adopted child? {{unsigned ip|172.68.54.160}}

:I'm not sure if that is right or not, but that was my interpretation of that text, based on the "a reason why these two should not be wed." Unless there is a different issue with this, also involving marriage? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.59.190|162.158.59.190]] 16:44, 31 August 2018 (UTC)

::I read the title text as... the reason he is objecting has nothing to do with the couple getting married, it's simply the selfish reason that Randall doesn't want the confusion of having to figure out what to call the new extended-family members. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 17:37, 31 August 2018 (UTC)
::Note that he states this reason ISN'T acceptable, in other words nobody else finds it's sufficient reason to stop the marriage. If there was some incest aspect, anybody would accept it as a reason. The objection as stated is simply out of (in)convenience to Cueball/Randall. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 12:58, 4 September 2018 (UTC)

Somehow I don't have this problem whatsoever...as I'm a single child who married a single child. I have zero siblings-in-law. In fact, my future kids won't even have (regular) cousins... {{unsigned ip|162.158.74.231}}

Am I the only one that thinks there's an error in this comic? Shouldn't spouse's sibling be the sibling-in-law of Cueball's *sibling*? But then, maybe I'm also making Randall's point... [[User:Sspenser|Sspenser]] ([[User talk:Sspenser|talk]]) 18:28, 31 August 2018 (UTC)

^ Sspenser I honestly think this is a poorly constructed diagram because it invites this type of confusion -- I was also tripped up at first, but I think all relationships are meant to be labeled *with respect to "Me"/cueball*. My initial assumption was that each double-headed arrow was intending to label *pairs* of siblings-in-law; in fact I think it is trying to label individuals who are each independently siblings-in-law of cueball's (or assumed siblings-in-law of cueball's). The different double-headed arrows represent different levels of confidence in claiming this relationship between Cueball and the individuals in that "layer." I think it would have been more clear if he kept the arrows basically the same, but labeled as "*My* Siblings-in-law"/"Also *My* Siblings-in-law, I think?"/etc. ~clukes [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.238|162.158.63.238]] 00:28, 1 September 2018 (UTC)
:'''''I''''' was initially confused by the black border surrounding the image, which connects the heredity lines of ''all'' the people in the chart as if they shared a parent by different matings. This image really ought not to have a border the same color as the chart lines... [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 01:21, 1 September 2018 (UTC)

The Russian language actually has different words for both "types" of brothers in-law (spouse's brother vs. sister's husband), also for parents and children in-law on either side: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Свойство_(родство) .
But all these in-law distinctions are based on the respective spouse's sex, so it won't work for same-sex marriages. {{unsigned ip|162.158.234.58}}

:In German, they even have a word for "spouse of sibling in-law" and similar situations: "Schwippschwager" https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwippschwager [[User:Polyfier|Polyfier]] ([[User talk:Polyfier|talk]]) 23:41, 31 August 2018 (UTC)

The way this is defined, you and your spouse both have the same set of siblings and siblings-in-law. In other words, if someone is your spouse's sibling or sibling in law then that person is your sibling in law if that person is not your sibling. The relationship chains across a maximum of one sibling relationship. [[User:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|Probably not Douglas Hofstadter]] ([[User talk:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|talk]]) 18:56, 31 August 2018 (UTC)

Off topic but I can't resist:
:DARK HELMET: I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former room-mate.
:LONE STARR: What's that make us?
:DARK HELMET: Absolutely nothing....
Spaceballs (1987) parody Star Wars --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:51, 31 August 2018 (UTC)
:Thank you for writing it out, I keep meaning to check what he says, to track the relationship, but whenever I'm watching I'm too busy enjoying the movie, LOL! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 12:58, 4 September 2018 (UTC)
::Check for example this: [https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Spaceballs#Dialogue Spaceballs Dialogue]. And Mel Brooks really thinks about a sequel after thirty years: ''Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money''. Which will bring more "Moichandising! Moichandising! Where the ''real'' money from the movie is made." --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:15, 4 September 2018 (UTC)

Anyone else think this comic is a form of "Wedding Gift" Randal is giving to a sibling who's getting married (presumably today)? {{unsigned|JamesCurran}}

People actually complain cousins removed is hard to understand? When I first learned about it, my thought was actually: Wow, that is so much clearer than what we use in Dutch. In Dutch we use a prefix for each step its is removed so it can get wordy. A cousin would be "neef" a cousin once removed would be "achterneef" a 2nd cousin "achterachterneef". I think a 2nd cousin removed would then be "achterachterachterneef" and third cousins "achterachterachterachterneef". I'm not even sure that's how confusing it is. The English system is easy. Simply count up to the common ancestor (A), then down to the relative (R). Then you're (R-2)th cousins (A-R) times removed. Fun fact, your siblings are your zeroth cousins and you are your own negative first cousin. [[User:Tharkon|Tharkon]] ([[User talk:Tharkon|talk]]) 22:32, 31 August 2018 (UTC)
:That is awesome & I'm totally using it from now on; except I'm going to call anyone 2nd cousin or beyond "altachterneef" & see how long it takes for a Dutch-speaker to give me a quizzical look. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 01:21, 1 September 2018 (UTC)
:'''''I''''' find what's weird about Dutch is that "nephew" and "male cousin" are the same word (and the same with females). I'm pretty sure that's why my mother sometimes mixes up whether to use "cousin" or "nephew" in English. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 12:58, 4 September 2018 (UTC)
::Many Dutch speakers would probably find it weird that English uses the same word for female and male cousins. But yeah it is a little odd that in one case, you are the "neef" (cousin) of your "neef" (cousin) but in another case you are the "oom" (uncle) of your "neef" (nephew). Also, we don't have a word for sibling. [[User:Tharkon|Tharkon]] ([[User talk:Tharkon|talk]]) 12:25, 8 September 2018 (UTC)

Sooo... Maybe you can help me with this:
My half-sister from my Mother's first marriage has 3 half-sisters from her Father's second marriage. My half-sister adopted her youngest half-sister, becoming her legal guardian or "parent". So is that person my niece? Half-sister? Half-sister in-law? Sister? Half-sister's half-sister? Half-sister's daughter in-law? Niece in-law once removed? None? [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 01:21, 1 September 2018 (UTC)
:She's your adopted half-niece. She had no named relationship to you prior to adoption. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] ([[User talk:LtPowers|talk]]) 12:49, 1 September 2018 (UTC)
::That sounds about right! We all refer to each other as brother & sisters though. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:35, 2 September 2018 (UTC)

I've never heard of a spouse's sibling's spouse being called your sibling-in-law before. That usage seems weird to me. But then, none of my siblings or siblings-in-law are married. [[User:LtPowers|LtPowers]] ([[User talk:LtPowers|talk]]) 12:50, 1 September 2018 (UTC)

;Ray Steven's song
If he thinks that's confusing, he should follow Ray Steven's ''I'm My Own Grandpa'' song. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.150.76|172.68.150.76]] 14:12, 1 September 2018 (UTC)
::Actually by Oscar and Lonzo. Ray Stevens just covered it. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 14:32, 4 September 2018 (UTC)
:When I was growing up, I did know some kids where the younger one was claimed as the other's uncle... [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:35, 2 September 2018 (UTC)
:: It is pretty common in large families where the aunt/uncle is younger than the nephew/niece. A person (P1) gets married at 18 and has a child (C1) the next year who also gets married at 18 and has a child (C2) the next year. P1 is only 40 years old and now has a child (C3). C3 is the aunt/uncle of C2 even though C2 is older. C1 and C3 are siblings 22 years apart. Definitely happens. In fact, my oldest brother's daughter is only 5 years younger than my youngest brother. Even I am closer in age to that niece than I am to her father, my brother. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 17:03, 4 September 2018 (UTC)
:I sing that at karaoke sometimes, I think I was introduced to it from The Muppet Show. What bugs me about that song is that the title is explained in the first few lines, the rest is just other weird stuff about the whole relationship. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 12:58, 4 September 2018 (UTC)

;Zaphod Beeblebrox character
Zaphod is described as a "semi-half-cousin" of Ford Prefect, with whom he "shares three of the same mothers". Because of "an accident with a contraceptive and a time machine", his direct ancestors from his father are also his direct descendants. He has referred to himself as Zaphod Beeblebrox the First, but is called Zaphod Beeblebrox the Nothingth by his great-grandfather.
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:35, 2 September 2018 (UTC)

Accidentally deleted yesterday, sorry for that: --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:11, 1 September 2018 (UTC)
:The Merriam-Webster and Oxford dictionaries both give a simple list of people who can be considered a sibling-in-law. Your sibling's spouse, your spouse's sibling, and your spouse's sibling's spouse. It does not include your sibling's spouse's siblings. So the questionable "sibling-in-law" on the left is not a sibling-in-law, while the one on the right is. Why does two marriage and a sibling relationship count for more than two sibling and a marriage relationship? Because married people generally spend a lot of adult time together, while siblings gradually drift apart. A cause to gather siblings can easily sweep multiple spouses into the gathering, while a cause to gather one side of the family only rarely gathers the other side. These differences become more pronounced in with large numbers of siblings.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.12|162.158.186.12]]

I'm just noting, I looked at Wikipedia, and the best I can find as a solution to it, starting at "Also siblings-in-law, I think?" are "First Cousins-in-law", and the numbers increase as they radiate out. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.89|172.68.58.89]] 07:33, 2 September 2018 (UTC)

Um, the description of the title text seems to have a lot of supposition in it. All it really says is that the reason isn't good enough - not that anyone actually tried it, was shot down etc, or even that it refers to banns. My reading of it before I came here was actually similar to the incest train of thought, where not having that relationship clarified could cause issues down the road in regards to inheritance, future marriages etc.
Also, 'traditional wedding in most English-speaking regions' isn't entirely accurate - banns are generally a Christian thing, sure, but Christianity extends to non-English-speaking areas as well and has done for quite some time, and a requirement for notice and swearing that no legal impediments to the marriage exist are now part of many secular, legal processes for marriage (e.g. part of the process of obtaining a licence, or via registration of intent). I'd recommend this be changed to something a little less interpretative. e.g:
"The title text states that not knowing whether a marriage would create an in-law relationship between one of the parties and a third person doesn't constitute an objection to a marriage significant enough to stop it from happening. The phrase "reason why these two should not be wed" comes from the historical practice of announcing a marriage in advance so that people could raise any objections - such as one of the parties already being married - prior to the wedding. This process is now often handled by notice requirements or a signed declaration by the parties that no impediment exists." {{unsigned ip|172.68.254.247}}
: I don't know if the objection part of the wedding ceremony exists only in christian rites -I doubt it-, but in christianity it's quite specific to the anglican rite (never heard of it anywhere else) so I would say that "English-speaking" is quite accurate here.
:In-law are awefully (intended) simple : exactly one marital and one blood link. I fail to understand how anyone could possibly be confused by that. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.87|141.101.69.87]] 13:34, 3 September 2018 (UTC)
:Sorry, the title text IS essentially saying that Randall / Cueball tried this objection, that trying it is how he found out the reason is unacceptable. It's not really interpretive, it's implied so strongly it's just about declared outright. It's a standard method of comedy in the English language, painting a humourous scene by describing the result. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 12:58, 4 September 2018 (UTC)

I always use the term "out-laws" for a connection that would be defined by multiple in-law relationships. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.60|162.158.186.60]] 12:10, 4 September 2018 (UTC)

I am born with 3 countries, and that is scary because my relatives count could easily reach to around 1k to even 10k. My relatives count is even the highest in my college course that I am in. It is hard to even remember their names and faces, I tell you that.Boeing-787lover 07:25, 6 October 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1014: Car Problems

2018-08-18T10:55:32Z

Xkcdreader52:

From what I can see of the picture, it ''is'' a little over-saturated. The colors look a little too pastelly too. At least decent cameras are cheaper than they used to be. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:11, 18 February 2013 (UTC)

Does this seem like it might be political commentary? A subtle dig at certain legislative bodies which, when confronted with an urgent problem like "the economy is burning," choose to dicker about the quality of the photograph? Just a thought... [[Special:Contributions/174.253.193.137|174.253.193.137]] 05:10, 13 September 2013 (UTC)

I disagree with the apparent majority view that the critics are disingenuous. This might be a satire on camera nerds in particular but also on overspecialized individuals in general. What if the critics are sincere, but just... overfocussed on picture issues, and simply see the world through that lens at all times? Isn't that consistent with the general themes of xkcd? {{unsigned ip|173.245.56.77}}

I feel like the explanation is incomplete, but I don't know what the standard is here. What is "chromatic aberration", "white balance", and what is the significance of "the most megapixels"? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.64|108.162.237.64]] 04:54, 8 February 2014 (UTC)
:Also. "The title text reveals what she was looking for; one of them really did set her car on fire." How? It seems ambiguous. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.64|108.162.237.64]] 14:53, 8 February 2014 (UTC)
::'chromatic aberration' is when different colors in the source are mapped to slightly different locations in the image. A bright white point of light like a star might show up in a photo as a slightly smeared point with a rainbow-like quality in the smearing. Refractive lenses nowadays have coatings to reduce this effect, but they don't eliminate it altogether; there is a similar small effect due to diffraction as well. 'white balance' refers to adjusting the overall color spectrum of the image to compensate for not-perfectly-white source light; imagine if you looked at the same person in 'warm' candlelight versus 'cold, harsh' hospital flourescents. If you are there in person, your eyes quite brilliantly do a little computation to compensate for the difference in source light so that they look human; if you just have a little unbalanced photo in your hand and don't /see/ a roomful of source light for your eye to use as reference background, one of the pictures looks like a zombie and the other might look like your friend is quite flushed. You can use various forms of processing to adjust the 'color temperature' and other details to make the picture look natural, this is white balancing. Note that you might not want to white-balance all photographs, for example you might want to capture the orangey quality of a candlelit scene.

:'the most megapixels' refers to the size of the camera's images in megapixels. More megapixels is in some sense good, it means the camera is commiting more details to memory; the accusation here is that the photographer bought the camera on the basis of the easily-advertised number of pixels instead of a sensible balance of many important qualities. It is relatively easily to make a camera that has "lots of megapixels" and it looks good in ads, but without a good lens, for example, those extra megapixels are just recording lots and lots of blur. Buying on 'number of megapixels' alone is considered naive, it would be like looking at computer ads and buying a system on "how many gigabytes does it have" without looking at any other quality.{{unsigned ip|173.245.56.77}}

:
::Thanks for your statements here. This comic is marked as incomplete and a first attempt on the details is done.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:48, 8 February 2014 (UTC)

The title text is written as if from the point of view of somebody who was there watching the presentation, since they're talking about getting the shot, and "we'll set your car on fire AGAIN" implies that they did it the first time. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.216|141.101.81.216]] 09:51, 25 February 2014 (UTC)

: I am not convinced. "again" might simply mean 'for a second time, regardless of who did it the first time' - that is, the event they are offering to make happen again is 'the car being on fire' not 'us setting the car on fire' {{unsigned ip|173.245.56.77}}

I think the three of them might be genuinely raising the photographic concerns, possibly out of ignorance of the problem of a car being on fire or lack of concern for Megan's (possibly) "trivial matter". This wouldn't be the first time xkcd characters have [[Mission|strange]] [[Priorities|priorities]]. '''''[[User:LockmanCapulet|LockmanCapulet]][[User talk:LockmanCapulet| I plead the third!]]''''' 19:07, 26 March 2014 (UTC)

This seems to be a tribute to Magritte's 'Ceci n'est pas un pipe' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Treachery_of_Images). It is reminiscent of the unfortunate triumph of appearance over reality (as in TornadoGuard - http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/937:_TornadoGuard) [[ophiochos]]

The issue with this photo is that the car is ON FIRE!Boeing-787lover 10:55, 18 August 2018 (UTC)

Talk:2016: OEIS Submissions

2018-07-06T18:10:48Z

Xkcdreader52:

"All integers which do not appear in the example terms of another OEIS sequence" there is no paradox: it's pecified *another* sequence
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.133|162.158.154.133]] 17:52, 6 July 2018 (UTC)

I am so sorry that this comment is not related to the strip, but is the scaling for the explanation way off? Previously the scaling of the whole website was stretched, but now it is a bit too cramped for me. It happens to the previous strips too.Boeing-787lover 18:10, 6 July 2018 (UTC)

Talk:632: Suspicion

2018-07-01T15:21:53Z

Xkcdreader52:

"I'm more than a spambot! Our love was real!" might suggest that the spambot has actually more self-awareness/feelings than you might expect. -- [[Special:Contributions/145.7.91.126|Arjen]] 10:35, 28 December 2012 (UTC)

:Or an extremely well designed spambot. ;) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.67|173.245.55.67]] 20:43, 18 April 2014 (UTC)BK201

Couples wanting to check themselves can try an implementation of this test at http://vk-couples-testing.appspot.com/ :-) --[[User:Mormegil|Mormegil]] ([[User talk:Mormegil|talk]]) 15:10, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

Should we consider the name "Lisa" to be important? One of the very first chat-bots was called Eliza. [[Special:Contributions/91.183.95.109|91.183.95.109]] 15:13, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

::Don't forget that Apple's first GUI was the Lisa system.{{unsigned ip|24.207.62.236}}

I would be happy to see a reference to Philip K. Dick's Voigt-Kampff from his book 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' Since it was written in 1968 and Scott used it as an inspiration to write Blade Runner. Original source and stuff. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.55|108.162.231.55]] 22:31, 31 October 2013 (UTC)

Considering what's on panel #2 and #3, I thought that "getting tested" meant those ads that asks to insert your name and your partner's name to check if it's a good relationship. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.196|108.162.212.196]] 14:00, 4 January 2014 (UTC)

I thought VK stood for the Russian social network. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.153|108.162.221.153]] 15:57, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

I landed on this page on xkcd using the random button. Then when I hit the random button again, I was on the exact same page. That happen to anyone? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.10|108.162.215.10]] 09:47, 30 September 2015 (UTC)

[[http://dilbert.com/strip/2001-10-25| Dilbert (October 25, 2001)]] discusses this (30 September 2015's comment). [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.72|199.27.133.72]] 19:05, 22 October 2015 (UTC)

I'm offering the alternative interpretation that perhaps she *isn't* a spambot, but is pissed off at being given a spambot test, thus refuses to answer, leading to cueball ending the relationship. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.36|141.101.99.36]] 18:28, 7 January 2016 (UTC)
:Except she admits to being a spambot in the last panel. And the fact that she's a spambot is the basis for the whole joke of the comic. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 03:13, 11 January 2016 (UTC)

Does anyone else think Lisa is a reference to the Apple computer? [[User:Dontknow|Dontknow]] ([[User talk:Dontknow|talk]]) 21:18, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

Okay, for some apparent reason, I found the 2nd panel that 'Lisa' was saying Honey..., I found it sweet. 'she' feels sad too that Rob doesn't trust her.Boeing-787lover 15:21, 1 July 2018 (UTC)

Talk:627: Tech Support Cheat Sheet

2018-07-01T14:59:19Z

Xkcdreader52:

I think he forgot one: "Use the built-in help, it's magic!" [[User:Zilti|Zilti]] ([[User talk:Zilti|talk]]) 19:48, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

Most people I know that have to ask for computer help couldn't read a flowchart in the first place. This may be the problem. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.103|173.245.52.103]] 23:01, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

This comic is so true, I just printed it out for my mom (though I doubt it will help much). She always asks questions like “how do I change the language?”, “where did my song/book/website/photo/document/tab/window go?”, or “how do I log in?”, providing no context whatsoever. I tell her to show me her screen (often AirPlayed to the TV (which she forgets how to do every other time)), and often immediately see a button doing exactly what she wants (or she closed her browser window, thinking it was a tab again 😑).

A slight complaint with the explanation, it states that tech-savvy people don’t know much about computers, which isn’t necessarily true, I could tell you how your computer works from the UI level, down to the components, and logic gates in the CPU. What I don’t necessarily know is how the designers of every single program in the universe laid out their user interface, which is when I use the method depicted in the comic. [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 17:10, 17 December 2017 (UTC)

This issue doesn't apply to me since my parents and I are quite tech-savvy, meaning we don't need any help.Boeing-787lover 14:59, 1 July 2018 (UTC)

Talk:163: Donald Knuth

2018-06-29T15:25:36Z

Xkcdreader52:

In Pascal you define the lower and upper bounds of an array when you declare it, e.g.,

anArray[-5 .. 5] OF integer

which has always struck me as a much better idea than having arrays always starting at 0.
[[User:Jstout|Jstout]] ([[User talk:Jstout|talk]]) 20:41, 18 February 2014 (UTC)

Why the swipe at Ada? I don't know about "the programming language of the future", but it's not a historical footnote either. It's used in many safety critical systems such as flight control, trains, even banking, and not just because that's what was used in the past. This language is still heavily used in these areas and is still being updated under MIL-STD and ISO.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.185|108.162.217.185]] 15:33, 18 January 2015 (UTC)
:Wikipedia verifies your claims. Removed. [[User:Suspender guy|Suspender guy]] ([[User talk:Suspender guy|talk]]) 20:28, 9 October 2015 (UTC)
:Same is true of BASIC; you can specify any range, including negative numbers (I have used this). I program in C as well though --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.140|108.162.245.140]] 03:29, 24 December 2015 (UTC)

Not related to the comic, but I think this is where the comic begins to look more detailed compared to the last 161 strips. I am talking about the art style. It is starting to look like the more familiar 400-current strips.Boeing-787lover 15:25, 29 June 2018 (UTC)

Talk:99: Binary Heart

2018-06-29T07:36:40Z

Xkcdreader52:

The l's and 0's in the binary translation make the code: 10101010011010010, which if you remove either the first or the last digit and convert to text make either, ªi OR TÒ which isn't very helpful. {{unsigned|‎LostFire}}

10101010011010010 in hexadecimal is 154D2 which could mean "I'm sad too". [[User:Noit|Noit]] ([[User talk:Noit|talk]]) 00:34, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

I wondered why he didn't include space characters, but then I realized that ASCII 32 makes for too much white space (only one bit is set) which might spoil the random appearance of the background. Also, shouldn't there be a Doctor Who reference in there somewhere? Just saying... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 18:28, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

This may be part of the reason for 'O' as well; 'o' only has 2 unset bits. ('O' is '01001111', 'o' is '01101111'). [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.181|199.27.128.181]] 23:55, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Maybe the mixture of o's and O's is only there so that the sequence of bits doesn't contain a single repeating sequence.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.84|108.162.216.84]] 20:47, 8 March 2014 (UTC)

On the 'o's and 'O's - Converting 011001110010111 from binary to decimal gives 13207. Googling that number only gives hits about Syracuse. Does anyone know if there's a connection there? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.205|141.101.89.205]] 01:04, 18 May 2014 (UTC)

This [http://www.binaryhexconverter.com/binary-to-ascii-text-converter Binary-to-Ascii converter] tool can be used to decode the sequence to a string. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 12:23, 18 December 2014 (UTC)

Some of the o's in love are capitalized and some of the o's in you are capitalized but no other letter in any other position has mixed capitalization. If you take a lower case o to be a 0 and a capital o to be a 1, that gives you the string of binary digits: 011001110010111. Unfortunately that is 15 bits, not 16 so not quite enough for two letters, but apparently the first 8 bits are "g". If we append a 0 to the last 7 bits, it becomes "g.", if we use a 1 it becomes "g/". Neither seems likely to be anything that i can tell. in hex, those 15 digits become 0x3397. Appending a 0 it's 0x672E and appending a 1 it's 0x672F. Negating the bits (in case 1's and 0's were reversed) didn't seem to help either unfortunately. I think there is more to the o and O's but not sure what it is :P
[[User:Atrix256|Atrix256]] ([[User talk:Atrix256|talk]]) 02:30, 25 January 2015 (UTC)
: It could be the start of 'g*d'... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.16|141.101.76.16]] 16:46, 17 January 2018 (UTC)

The heart pattern isn't symmetric, could the masked-out bits make a message? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.64.29|141.101.64.29]] 17:11, 2 February 2015 (UTC)
:The binary of the heart only is 1111101001011111101111010011101100110111011001100111100101001111011101101001011011001110111011001100111001010011110011010010110110111011001001011011010010011100101. I tried entering it into the converter linked to above, and got "�_�;7fyOv��S�-�%��". [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 21:58, 7 February 2016 (UTC)

Somehow despite the comments above, I found this one sweet that Randall drew this. i<3u.Boeing-787lover 07:36, 29 June 2018 (UTC)

Talk:383: Helping

2018-06-26T10:08:27Z

Xkcdreader52:

Most depressing XKCD ever? [[Special:Contributions/71.201.53.130|71.201.53.130]] 14:24, 22 August 2013 (UTC)
:Every time when I see this comic I'm close before some tear drops running out of my eyes ;( --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:42, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

Waitwaitwait. So the guy was in the building all along, witnessing the suicide/self-harm, and he failed to stop a woman from apparently successfully knocking herself out? 16:19, 24 May 2014 (UTC) {{unsigned ip|141.101.88.205}}

I thought Cueball was choking her![[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.169|108.162.238.169]]

I thought maybe it was about Randall's wife. Just like some of the comics feature her implicitly, I thought maybe this one did. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.20}}

I think the explanation is a bit off. Sometimes getting someone into a hospital is helping. I've had to call 911 to get friends help. Things usually got bad for a while after that. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.124|108.162.216.124]] 21:46, 26 April 2015 (UTC)

The first time I saw this one, it was some 2 or 3 days after I had to call the police for a friend who was attempting suicide. It hit way, way too close to home, to the point where I wanted to cry. I ended up just getting up right then and going for a long walk in the woods to clear my head. 7:24, 2 July 2015 (UTC) {{unsigned ip|173.59.1.79}}

To 108.162.216.20, he married in 2011... this comic was made in 2008. Unfortunately, we may never know who he is referring to. {{unsigned ip|141.101.84.114}}

Am I the only one who feels that the point is he tried to talk to someone to cheer them up, but the woman was so distraught by what cueball said, it lead to self harm? {{unsigned ip|107.136.89.38}}
:I think the text is rather confusing: If you take responsibility for somebody's sadness, as in "I'm sorry. This was my fault." it may help. But saying "I made you feel this good" seems like bragging and does not help. But she was apparently already sad, so, yeah, kinda confused. Isn't that what explainxkcd is for? [[User:Jacky720|That's right, Jacky720 just signed this]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|contribs]]) 22:52, 24 June 2017 (UTC)

When you care for someone, especially a significant other, your natural instinct as a decent human being is to provide help and support when they are in distress or upset. But with issues like depression, tendencies toward self-harm, or even general anxiety, your attempt to help provides no benefit or much more likely makes things worse. You being so close to that person makes it that much harder for them to be helped by you, and it often isn't your place to assume the role of therapist or counselor no matter how much you want to. No matter how much you think that person should be happy, you can't assume responsibility for it and no amount of convincing or reassuring is going to help that. When things get really bad, professional medical help and distance are the only thing that will keep that person safe. I cry when I read this. I've sat and held the hand of a close friend while he was handcuffed by campus police for his own safety and was escorted to a hospital for treatment. It takes a long time to heal that divide - and its the most frustrating thing in the world to know the best thing you can do is step away for a while. If you ever feel the need to comfort a spouse, a child, a friend who is so overwhelmed with existence that they aren't sure they want to live anymore, you'll understand this panel. {{unsigned ip|172.68.141.172}}

First time I read this comic, I didnt think much of it.
Rereading it years later, after I lived with a loved one struggling with depression, made me cry so much. It is exactly what I feel.

Does anyone else feel like the comic is actually saying that sometimes, bad things will happen no matter whether or not you try to help?

Okay, this almost happened to my classmate's friend like around 3 month plus ago, she was struggling with a case of suicide due to depression. When I see this, it reminds me of her friend a lot, and I wonder how is her friend doing. This is actually quite a tear-jerker if you are having a depression or your loved ones having it. Please, get some form of help if you need it...Boeing-787lover 10:08, 26 June 2018 (UTC)

Talk:284: Tape Measure

2018-06-26T08:02:46Z

Xkcdreader52:

I think it should be mentioned that Randall uses the unit Foot instead of Meter.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 10:28, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

: All of the tape measures of the given type that I've used are in feet because I, like Randall, am in the US! (I've seen metric ones, but not used them). It seems entirely natural, although if you really feel it's relevant... --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 18:41, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

:I wonder why they don't make the tapes with metric on one edge, and imperial on the other. Some rulers and most vernier calipers do that. [[User:BK201|BK201]] ([[User talk:BK201|talk]]) 17:35, 12 December 2013 (UTC)BK201

I have seen them with both units, but unless you're switching between them, it's better to have the same on both edges, since you can then make your pencil marks accurately on whichever side is more convenient. (For household use, though, my favorite shows inches on one edge and half that on the other, for centering.) {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.64}}

:They do in some countries. I can confirm that it's a standard in New Zealand, at the very least. Apparently that's just not the case in America. [[User:Daniel|Daniel]] 02:16, 20 February 2014 (UTC)
:Or in Denmark - here we only have the metric tape measures.[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:33, 7 March 2014 (UTC)

:In china we use meteric units and traditional units like Chi(1/3 m from the last century till now) and Zhang(10 Chi's as far as I know). I think only some clothes-making rulers use traditional units because people are used to them. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.134|173.245.48.134]] 10:39, 7 July 2014 (UTC) Not registered

:UK here, and pretty much any tape measure I've ever encountered has both metric & imperial. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 16:08, 7 October 2014 (UTC)

:In Germany they're metric in most cases. But I found some with both scales. And I got excited since some tabletops (such as Warhammer) use imperial units, whiles others (Battlefleet Gothic - at least in the German rules) us metric units. And some (Flames of War) provide rules for using both. Now I can play all of them with only ohne tape measure :) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:19, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

Stanley Fat Max tapes have this measurement as a selling point: http://www.stanleytools.com/default.asp?CATEGORY=HT_TAPES_FATMAX&TYPE=PRODUCT&PARTNUMBER=33-716&SDesc=16%27+x+1-1%2F4%26quot%3B+FATMAX%26reg%3B+Tape+Rule First one on the list. {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.82}}

As a very serious professional carpenter I can confirm that, indoors to avoid wind, one can with patience achieve at least 25’6”. My longer tapes lack enough of a cup to support much length. I mean extending vertically of course, if done at an extreme angle as shown the comic I am unable to get more than 6’ based on rigorous trials performed just now.

I tried how long my tape measure could go, the maximum length when I held the measuring tape was 9'9, which is around 2.98m. Guess this can really be an Olympic Sport when done correctly.Boeing-787lover 08:02, 26 June 2018 (UTC)

Talk:335: Mattress

2018-06-23T08:30:36Z

Xkcdreader52:

I've *so* wanted such a mattress ever since experiencing the joy of cuddling with a loved one. {{unsigned ip|‎141.101.92.93}}
:Especially when it also allows for a fun late-night game of Rock 'em-Sock 'em robots with your significant other! --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 16:10, 14 September 2016 (UTC)
It's probably worth noting that something similar to this now exists. [http://www.cuddle-mattress.com/ The cuddle mattress] {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.46}}

Trust me, I wasn't kidding, I laughed at this particular strip every single time I see it.Boeing-787lover 08:30, 23 June 2018 (UTC)

Talk:308: Interesting Life

2018-06-23T08:12:48Z

Xkcdreader52:

The "interesting life" is a reference to a purported Chinese curse, "{{w|May you live in interesting times}}." There is no such curse recorded in Chinese -- it's apocryphal.

The adventure is being contrasted with working a 9-5 job in a {{w|cubicle}} farm, considered a boring and safe occupation. [[Special:Contributions/66.202.132.250|66.202.132.250]] 18:36, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

This makes me think of the early scene in the Matrix, where Morpheus tries to convince Mr. Anderson (Neo) to escape his office through the window. {{unsigned ip|173.245.52.204}}

Sorry, being a Chinese, I have never heard of this particular curse, not even my grandmother or parents has mentioned this to me. I can safely assume this curse doesn't exist.Boeing-787lover 08:12, 23 June 2018 (UTC)

== Could Cueball be held? ==

Someone should actually perform the tensile test on the cat6 cables. Does anyone have access to such equipment? It is very likely that it varies highly across different brands. If anyone does have access, I can provide samples of different brands for testing. [[User:BK201|BK201]] ([[User talk:BK201|talk]]) 17:15, 12 December 2013 (UTC)BK201

:Check the box of cable next time you get a shipment. The tensile strength is shown as a "do not exceed" weight. The one in our data closet says "Do not exceed 30lb/13.6kg pull". Beyond that, the cable will be damaged. Assume the company is cutting the tensile strength in half to avoid lawsuits, the tensile strength would be 60lb - less than an average adult. Further, if you are just holding onto the cable and you didn't fashion a harness, the insulation around the outside of the cable has a far lower tensile strength than the metal wiring. It is designed to easily separate when pulled. So, you'd quickly end up holding a strip of insulation as it slides off the internal wires. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.161|108.162.237.161]] 15:11, 7 July 2014 (UTC)

: I looked it up, and tensile strength aside, Cat-6 cables only go up to 100 meters in length. This is about 10 storys, minus some for the harness and latching into the inside of the building, but plus some for jumping down at the bottom. I think Cueball would need to escape back through his office from under the eleventh floor. I've added that.

:: Usually a storey is about 3 metres, so 100m means 33 storeys :-)
::--[[User:Lou Crazy|Lou Crazy]] ([[User talk:Lou Crazy|talk]]) 16:38, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

A minor point, but Megan appears to have come to the end of her rope, could this be another hidden metaphor? {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.194}}

Cat-5/6 cable can be damaged at a tension much lower than its tensile strength. Most ethernet cable is twisted-pair, that is two wires that are literally twisted around each other. Given the high frequencies used in networking, this twisting has to be extremely precise; any stretching or extreme bending will create noise (EMI) problems which will destroy the cable's ability to carry digital packets. Cat-5 is never used where its tensile strength is an issue. Going from specs, Cat-5 usually uses 24AWG copper which, according to spec, has a minimum tensile strengh of 10lbs. Given 8 wires, the minimum strength would be 80 lbs due to copper alone. The sheath and insulation provide additional strength. So long as the office guy is in the 150lb range using Cat-5 would likely work. However, that cable would likely never carry another packet. {{unsigned ip|70.167.40.88}}

I'm not an expert but ... wouldn't the climbing person hang on cable-isolation only? Because he would have a grip on the synthetic material, which is not connected in the length to the metal inside. So the isolation would tear and he would have to get a better grip on the metal and hurt his stick fingers ...
And another question is: where is the upper end of the cable plugged into? A computer? ... {{unsigned ip|162.158.90.192}}

Talk:294: Bookstore

2018-06-23T07:55:28Z

Xkcdreader52:

I didn't catch any joke about digital copyright. Could you guys just be overthinking it? I mean, all it is as I read it is a joke that they can't catch you if your brain contains the book, only if you possess a copy (physical ''or'' digital alike). [[User:Hppavilion1|Hppavilion1]] ([[User talk:Hppavilion1|talk]]) 17:27, 28 July 2014 (UTC)
:One could consider your memory of the book in your mind's synapses to be an electronic copy (of sorts). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.179|162.158.152.179]] 16:30, 11 November 2015 (UTC)
The first half of this has happened to me at the library a lot. Like, a LOT.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.81|141.101.98.81]] 17:13, 3 July 2016 (UTC)

This might become a thing in libraries, and if that happens, I am not going to step into the library again since that I read books and store the storyline and plot in my mind. I might set off the alarm like what Cueball did here.Boeing-787lover 07:55, 23 June 2018 (UTC)

Talk:294: Bookstore

2018-06-23T07:55:06Z

Xkcdreader52:

I didn't catch any joke about digital copyright. Could you guys just be overthinking it? I mean, all it is as I read it is a joke that they can't catch you if your brain contains the book, only if you possess a copy (physical ''or'' digital alike). [[User:Hppavilion1|Hppavilion1]] ([[User talk:Hppavilion1|talk]]) 17:27, 28 July 2014 (UTC)
:One could consider your memory of the book in your mind's synapses to be an electronic copy (of sorts). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.179|162.158.152.179]] 16:30, 11 November 2015 (UTC)
The first half of this has happened to me at the library a lot. Like, a LOT.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.81|141.101.98.81]] 17:13, 3 July 2016 (UTC)
This might become a thing in libraries, and if that happens, I am not going to step into the library again since that I read books and store the storyline and plot in my mind. I might set off the alarm like what Cueball did here.Boeing-787lover 07:55, 23 June 2018 (UTC)

Talk:280: Librarians

2018-06-23T07:44:01Z

Xkcdreader52: Created page with "Berserk Button: <<ON>>~~~~"

Berserk Button: <<ON>>Boeing-787lover 07:44, 23 June 2018 (UTC)

Talk:2000: xkcd Phone 2000

2018-05-31T04:59:53Z

Xkcdreader52:

Huh, it's not a milestone comic like 1000 was. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.191|172.68.58.191]] 16:16, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

:Yeah, I'm slightly disappointed honestly [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.46|172.68.54.46]] 16:22, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

:Gotta wait for an actual round number, like 0b100000000000 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.127|162.158.111.127]] 16:38, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

:Well it is the phone 2000 and he does mention in passing asking if 2000 is a good number to choose [[User:Zachweix|Zachweix]] ([[User talk:Zachweix|talk]]) 16:39, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

:What am I waiting for more: 2018 or 2048? [[User:SilverMagpie|SilverMagpie]] ([[User talk:SilverMagpie|talk]]) 16:53, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

:Waiting for 2018 personally. A comic that has looked at the calendar so many times should be able to see the comic number match the year. [[User:Lukeskylicker|Lukeskylicker]] ([[User talk:Lukeskylicker|talk]]) 17:36, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

: I think it is pretty clearly a milestone comic. Previous xkcd Phones were timed near iPhone releases. This is very specifically for the 2000th comic. I think it no coincidence that the xkcd Phone 2000 was released for the 2000th one, and think it should be mentioned. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.28|162.158.63.28]] 18:04, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

:I was disappointed, was expecting a 1000-style comic. [[User:JayPlaysBeamNG|JayPlaysBeamNG]] ([[User talk:JayPlaysBeamNG|talk]]) 19:43, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

:That's just the exact same thing as 1000, which IMHO I don't really want. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.41|172.68.46.41]] 20:08, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

It might be worth noting, that mouse cursors were a thing on BlackBerry smartphones. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.100|162.158.202.100]] 17:00, 30 May 2018 (UTC)
:Those had the weird double-screens, where you could lightly drag your finger around and the cursor would follow, and if you pushed hard it would click. Most people found it to be annoying at best, IIRC. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.165|162.158.74.165]] 18:38, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

They actually still work on Android if you pair a mouse with the phone (at least, last I tried it). This was actually annoying - my Apple Magic Mouse prefers to pair to my Android Phone than to my Macbook Pro! [[User:Fluppeteer|Fluppeteer]] ([[User talk:Fluppeteer|talk]]) 17:59, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

I would buy it just to be able to plug a keyboard into the type A port. I hate the USB host-peripheral thing... My phone is more than capable of handling external devices. [[User:Linker|Linker]] ([[User talk:Linker|talk]])

Don't you like USB OTG or type C adaptors? Bluetooth keyboards should actually work with many Android (or Windows Mobile) devices. [[User:Fluppeteer|Fluppeteer]] ([[User talk:Fluppeteer|talk]]) 17:59, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

I think PCB refers to Printed Circuit Board which I assume naturally doesn't contain BPA. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.28|172.68.174.28]] 18:54, 30 May 2018 (UTC)
: I edited the explanation to include Printed Circuit Board. I didn't go as far as to remove the alternate explanation, but I think you are correct [[User:Itijara|Itijara]] ([[User talk:Itijara|talk]]) 19:57, 30 May 2018 (UTC) Itijara

The charging area looks an awful lot like the suggestive violin plots of [[1967:_Violin_Plots]] {{unsigned ip|162.158.186.42 }}

Is that even a "standard" USB port? it looks like it has one too many pins to me, although i guess maybe it could be a 3.0 port. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.219|172.69.68.219]] 21:58, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

;Title text - Our retina display features hundreds of pixels per inch in the central fovea region.
There is so much language in this and a big error not covered here:
*''Our'' isn't them, it's us! We all (mostly) have two eyes and the retina collects visual information in pixels.
*But hundreds of pixels is far too low. The Wiki article {{w|Fovea centralis}} tells me "50 per 100 micrometres in the most central fovea". This is approximately 12,700 per inch. This would lead to roughly 162 GigaPixels.
*And then the human eye isn't large as an inch, and the "most central fovea" is much smaller. Maybe Randall will correct the "hundreds of pixels per inch"...
Nevertheless the word ''retina'' is focusing on people who know the ''Apple Retina Display'' but don't know where it comes from. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:06, 30 May 2018 (UTC)

No comment on "®®™®©™®"?? {{unsigned ip|162.158.74.147}}

I honestly hope comic 2001 has a reference to ''2001: A Space Odyssey''.

Why '''Maggie Haberman'''? Is it just because of her prolific Twitter usage? I'm not aware how that relates to captioning photos, am I missing a reference?

If comic #404 wasn't counted due to Comic Not Found, it means that this comic is not really #2000, but rather #1999. Probably on Wednesday it will be truly comic #2000.

Talk:695: Spirit

2018-05-19T16:36:58Z

Xkcdreader52:

Uhh, I'm laughing on this comic for almost three , but this explain is still not complete:
:- the mission was not only 90 days
:- Spirit did many great investigations
:- that "Free Spirit" campaign should be mentioned after it did stuck in the deep sand in early 2010
:- and Opportunity is a still operating companion on Mars in 2013
:- there is much more..., ask Randall!--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:19, 10 June 2013 (UTC)

Do you guys really not see all the typos in this? not even the one in the first comment?{{unsigned|180.94.92.234}}
:You see a problem? '''Fix it.''' Click "Edit" at the top and help improve the article! There is nothing you can do that can't be reversed with a few mouse clicks, so don't worry about messing things up. [[User:NealCruco|NealCruco]] ([[User talk:NealCruco|talk]]) 02:49, 10 August 2014 (UTC)

I just feel :'( [[User:SilverMagpie|SilverMagpie]] ([[User talk:SilverMagpie|talk]]) 03:38, 4 April 2017 (UTC)

I have no idea, but this particular comic makes me sad. Truly a tearjerker...Boeing-787lover 16:36, 19 May 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1977: Paperwork

2018-04-07T16:05:46Z

Xkcdreader52:

Someone please reword my explanation... I put the basic structure up, but I think it has very poor flow, especially the title text[[User:Linker|Linker]] ([[User talk:Linker|talk]]) 16:37, 6 April 2018 (UTC)

I thought this was like 1566, where he has found a clever (if somewhat devious) way to get other people to do his tax paperwork for him. In this case, people online will see the picture and volunteer to help complete the paperwork for him, possibly replying to his post with some or all of the information that he needs to fill in. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.95|141.101.99.95]] 16:40, 6 April 2018 (UTC)

Anybody know Randall's twitter?

Is this more efficient than Scott C. Taylor putting his SSN on the side of a truck? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.90.52|172.69.90.52]] 19:01, 6 April 2018 (UTC)

Why would you be doing your tax paperwork ''naked???'' [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 10:53, 7 April 2018 (UTC)

I am so sorry to be a douchebag, but I have seen the comic for around 3 times today, and from my perspective, I saw Cueball, possibly even Randall, is just facing his phone down on the taxes and not facing the laptop screen. It seems like it from the way I see it and the phone is not even facing the laptop, just slanted at a slight angle, but not towards the screen. It was more towards the papers on the keyboard. It just seemed a bit weird since the title text states that he could see his naked self being reflected off the dark side of the laptop screen, and was included inside the photo.Boeing-787lover 16:02, 7 April 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1977: Paperwork

2018-04-07T16:02:59Z

Xkcdreader52:

Someone please reword my explanation... I put the basic structure up, but I think it has very poor flow, especially the title text[[User:Linker|Linker]] ([[User talk:Linker|talk]]) 16:37, 6 April 2018 (UTC)

I thought this was like 1566, where he has found a clever (if somewhat devious) way to get other people to do his tax paperwork for him. In this case, people online will see the picture and volunteer to help complete the paperwork for him, possibly replying to his post with some or all of the information that he needs to fill in. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.95|141.101.99.95]] 16:40, 6 April 2018 (UTC)

Anybody know Randall's twitter?

Is this more efficient than Scott C. Taylor putting his SSN on the side of a truck? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.90.52|172.69.90.52]] 19:01, 6 April 2018 (UTC)

Why would you be doing your tax paperwork ''naked???'' [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 10:53, 7 April 2018 (UTC)

I am so sorry to be a douchebag, but I have seen the comic for around 3 times today, and from my perspective, I saw Cueball, possibly even Randall, is just facing his phone down on the taxes and not facing the laptop screen. It seems like it from the way I see it and the phone is not even facing the laptop, just slanted at a slight angle, but not towards the screen. It just seemed a bit weird since the title text states that he could see his naked self being reflected off the dark side of the laptop screen, and was included inside the photo.Boeing-787lover 16:02, 7 April 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1969: Not Available

2018-03-19T18:19:25Z

Xkcdreader52:

[http://blacksilver.xyz/notapage I think I'm the first to implement this?] [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 17:12, 19 March 2018 (UTC)

This comment is not available in your country. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.107|141.101.99.107]] 15:31, 19 March 2018 (UTC)

This is probably related to some websites adding this type of banner to support Net Neutrality. [https://miguelpiedrafita.com/ Miguel Piedrafita] 15:35, 19 March 2018 (UTC)

Not sure about the green, but old versions of macOS (and possibly other systems?) showed inproperly/nonexistent embedded images in websites as a blue puzzle piece with a “?” in it. I think this is what Randall’s referencing in the title text. Oddly a google image search is not finding any examples, so I may be misremembering the details somewhat. [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 16:22, 19 March 2018 (UTC)

I honestly thought for a moment that this comic is actually not available in my country, then I laughed.Boeing-787lover 18:19, 19 March 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1963: Namespace Land Rush

2018-03-13T09:02:45Z

Xkcdreader52:

* Ahh, he left off '''root''' under Causing More Trouble. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 05:41, 5 March 2018 (UTC)
** Also "'''null'''"... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.237|162.158.62.237]] 21:09, 5 March 2018 (UTC)
* I'm very disappointed he left out dotnotreplay@... --05:43, 5 March 2018 (UTC)~
* Is "gibberish name no one can pronounce" a reference to xkcd? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.64|108.162.215.64]] 05:56, 5 March 2018 (UTC)
* No '''test''' included. Frankly speaking I have seen people using '''testtest''','''testtesttesttest''', and so on, up to the maxiumn allowed character limit. [[User:Jackomatt|Jackomatt]] ([[User talk:Jackomatt|talk]]) 06:35, 5 March 2018 (UTC)
* Took me some time to type the transcript. Randall made it quite hard. [[User:QATEKLYXM|Klyxm]] ([[User talk:QATEKLYXM|talk]]) 06:38, 5 March 2018
:* I came here just to see if the transcript had "..." or "…" in the last one -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.133|162.158.154.133]] 17:01, 7 March 2018 (UTC)
* The thing at the bottom-right, he wrote "forward slash" but used a backslash. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.76|162.158.126.76]] 08:35, 5 March 2018 (UTC)
:*It's just to mess with you. [[User:QATEKLYXM|Klyxm]] ([[User talk:QATEKLYXM|talk]]) 08:49, 5 March 2018
* Null! Where's null? [[User:PenguinF|PenguinF]] ([[User talk:PenguinF|talk]]) 09:14, 5 March 2018 (UTC)
* I think this whole comic is a reference to the video Worst Wifi Password Ever [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLE7zsJk4AI] --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.76|162.158.238.76]] 11:13, 5 March 2018 (UTC)
This is analogous to the way that land was distributed in America
There is so much wrong with that sentence. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.25|162.158.154.25]] 12:26, 5 March 2018 (UTC)
* I think is what he means by rtl override: https://krebsonsecurity.com/2011/09/right-to-left-override-aids-email-attacks/ and I agree surprised he didn’t include the null character; maybe because it’s so hard to get it to actually reach the service? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.136|172.68.54.136]] 15:24, 5 March 2018 (UTC)
* Emojis don't work in databases? They should be treated no differently from any other UNICODE characters. They would be hard to type if you're using an OS/browser that doesn't have a convenient Emoji-picker, but I would think that they should work as long as the server isn't filtering them out. But I've never deployed a service like this so there may be something important I'm missing here. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 17:53, 5 March 2018 (UTC)
:: The "emoji not work" refers specifically to emojis requiring four characters when encoded in UTF-8, as many programs including databases like MySQL [https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/charset-unicode-utf8mb4.html used to only support three-byte UTF-8 characters]. There are emoji which fits into three bytes and non-emoji characters requiring four bytes, but for most people, support for four-byte UTF-8 is equivalent to support of (new) emoji. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:56, 6 March 2018 (UTC)
:: (Obviously, when you want to test database, you should be creative and instead of "any" emoji try something like "fairy girl with dark skin tone" [https://emojipedia.org/woman-fairy-dark-skin-tone/ 🧚🏿‍♀️] - that's five UTF characters, 18 bytes total, and is supposed to render as single character) -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 01:08, 6 March 2018 (UTC)
::: Whether it renders as a single character is only relevant if you're trying to render it. The database only cares about a name as a sequence of characters, it shouldn't care how many glyphs they correspond to. (And almost related: I vaguely recall the guys behind emoj.li saying that the most common complaint they got was that the most obvious single-character usernames were already taken) -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.133|162.158.154.133]] 17:01, 7 March 2018 (UTC)
:::: Most databases support sorting 😊. Also, attempts to store four-byte character into three-byte UTF column really damaged it - although, obviously, storing it to binary column would not, it's just that username is rarely binary column. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:41, 7 March 2018 (UTC)

Someone once told me that on old email databases, you could send a message to "*@example.com" and it would send the message to everyone with an account on that domain. No idea if its true or not, but it seems like the username "*" could cause problems. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.16|162.158.75.16]] 19:56, 5 March 2018 (UTC)

So '''OkThisIsKindOfConfusingButIt's <LessThan\ForwardSlashHTML GreaterThanActualGreaterThan Symbol>Yes,ThatWasAllPartOfThe Name,ButSoIs...Ok,LetMeStartOver''' actually is "<<\/HTML>> or is it just supposed to be </HTML>? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.180|141.101.105.180]] 13:46, 6 March 2018 (UTC)
:: Do you really think there's a definitely correct answer to that question? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.38|162.158.155.38]] 14:25, 7 March 2018 (UTC)

* I am not confident enough about this to make the edit myself, but wouldn't the names listed in '''Causing Trouble (Usernames that might cause errors when mixed with the service's back-end code)''' (user, guest, etc) be used not so much to trying to fool other people, but because those names are often used as placeholders when the site is in development, and may therefore still have odd/altered permissions, allowing potential malicious access assuming the devs were lazy? [[User:Snowblinded|Snowblinded]] ([[User talk:Snowblinded|talk]]) 18:04, 6 March 2018 (UTC)

* Also '''true'''. And '''false'''. And '''Schrödinger'sCat'''.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.41|172.69.70.41]] 21:15, 8 March 2018 (UTC)

;I still try Alt-codes
I can remember ¥ [alt-157] off the top of my head from high school (circa i286), and I'm trying to figure out how to keyboard 乜 [U+4E5C], it doesn't quite map to [alt-20060].
As for '''Causing More Trouble''' anybody try Hastur? I wonder if there will ever be a Unicode Symbol for "The Yellow Sign."[[User:Cutech|Cutech]] ([[User talk:Cutech|talk]]) 08:54, 11 March 2018 (UTC)

I saw a username that uses hashtag and asterisk symbols before on a website I usually frequent, are they even allowed?Boeing-787lover 09:02, 13 March 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1959: The Simpsons

2018-02-24T04:13:19Z

Xkcdreader52:

Provided an explanation, feels short but I really cant think of any more to say! :) As a Simpsons fan / Harry Potter fan / night owl who's reading this "fresh off the presses", as it were, I felt obligated, LOL! I can't think of any reason / explanation why Bart being born the same year as Harry Potter means he'd automatically be in the HP universe, or automatically magical and accepted to Hogwarts (especially seeing as, as an American, presumably he'd go to some American magic school instead). Going to workup the transcript now. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:49, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

Provided the transcript. Even figured out how to do the gray text, LOL! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 07:25, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

The U.S.A school is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Places_in_Harry_Potter#Ilvermorny Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]. [[User:Andcoz|Andcoz]] ([[User talk:Andcoz|talk]]) 08:09, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

The modern seasons have 22 episodes, they're currently in season 29. The episodes are usually longer than 20 minutes. That means that there about 9 days of Simpsons so far, little enough to not completely disprove the timeline. If just two episodes on average depict one day, it's reasonable that the characters stay the same age, they would just have an extremely busy year. Yes, many episodes depict multiple days, but nobody said that one episode has to start after the previous one ended. And the other ones could fit more into one day. So Randall's spell theory could be right, but doesn't have to. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 08:22, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

Kinda funny he posted this in the wake of the whole Ted Cruz saying all the Simpsons except Lisa are Republicans. -[[User:Sensorfire|Sensorfire]] ([[User talk:Sensorfire|talk]]) 14:11, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

It doesn't actually make me feel that old because I remember the Simpsons on the Tracey Ullman Show, which ended in 1990. (And I cannot believe that Tracey Ullman isn't mentioned already.) [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.70|198.41.238.70]] 00:10, 24 February 2018 (UTC)

Not related to the Simpsons or Harry Potter, but what the Simpsons underwent was Comic Book Time where the characters, even after a span of years, they will always be as the same age as where they started from. Comics like Foxtrot and Garfield are the best examples of that, since they are still the same age where they debuted from.Boeing-787lover 04:13, 24 February 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1959: The Simpsons

2018-02-24T04:12:13Z

Xkcdreader52:

Provided an explanation, feels short but I really cant think of any more to say! :) As a Simpsons fan / Harry Potter fan / night owl who's reading this "fresh off the presses", as it were, I felt obligated, LOL! I can't think of any reason / explanation why Bart being born the same year as Harry Potter means he'd automatically be in the HP universe, or automatically magical and accepted to Hogwarts (especially seeing as, as an American, presumably he'd go to some American magic school instead). Going to workup the transcript now. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:49, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

Provided the transcript. Even figured out how to do the gray text, LOL! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 07:25, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

The U.S.A school is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Places_in_Harry_Potter#Ilvermorny Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]. [[User:Andcoz|Andcoz]] ([[User talk:Andcoz|talk]]) 08:09, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

The modern seasons have 22 episodes, they're currently in season 29. The episodes are usually longer than 20 minutes. That means that there about 9 days of Simpsons so far, little enough to not completely disprove the timeline. If just two episodes on average depict one day, it's reasonable that the characters stay the same age, they would just have an extremely busy year. Yes, many episodes depict multiple days, but nobody said that one episode has to start after the previous one ended. And the other ones could fit more into one day. So Randall's spell theory could be right, but doesn't have to. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 08:22, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

Kinda funny he posted this in the wake of the whole Ted Cruz saying all the Simpsons except Lisa are Republicans. -[[User:Sensorfire|Sensorfire]] ([[User talk:Sensorfire|talk]]) 14:11, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

Not related to the Simpsons or Harry Potter, but what the Simpsons underwent was Comic Book Time where the characters, even after a span of years, they will always be as the same age as where they started from. Comics like Foxtrot and Garfield are the best examples of that, since they are still the same age where they debuted from.

It doesn't actually make me feel that old because I remember the Simpsons on the Tracey Ullman Show, which ended in 1990. (And I cannot believe that Tracey Ullman isn't mentioned already.) [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.70|198.41.238.70]] 00:10, 24 February 2018 (UTC)

1957: 2018 CVE List

2018-02-19T14:25:29Z

Xkcdreader52: /* Explanation */ Changed "his sockets" to "its socket."

{{comic
| number = 1957
| date = February 19, 2018
| title = 2018 CVE List
| image = 2018_cve_list.png
| titletext = CVE-2018-?????: It turns out Bruce Schneier is just two mischevious kids in a trenchcoat.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by HACKING THIS WIKI VIA THE EDIT BOX - The explanation looks like a list. Explain the comic and put the security vulnerabilities in a table. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures|CVE}} (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) is a standardized format for assigning an identity to a cybersecurity vulnerability (similar to the way that astronomical bodies are assigned unique identifiers by committees). Giving vulnerabilities a unique identifier makes them easier to talk about and helps in keeping track of the progress made toward resolving them. The typical format of a CVE identifier is '''CVE-[YEAR]-[NUMBER]'''. For example, the CVE identifier for 2017's widespread {{w|Meltdown (security vulnerability|Meltdown vulnerability}} is [https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2017-5754 CVE-2017-5754]. CVEs also contain a short description of the issue.

In this comic (released in February 2018), Randall presents a number of spurious predicted CVEs for later in 2018. Each CVE identifier is given as "CVE-2018-?????", reflecting the fact that they have not yet happened so we don't know exactly what their CVE identifier will be.

{|class="wikitable"
! style="width: 30%;" | Security Vulnerability
! style="width: 70%;" | Notes
|-
|Apple products crash when displaying certain Telugu or Bengali letter combinations.
|This refers to a real vulnerability in iOS and MacOS publicized a few days before the comic released <ref>https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/15/iphone-text-bomb-ios-mac-crash-apple/</ref>.
|-
|An attacker can use a timing attack to extploit[sic] a race condition in garbage collection to extract a limited number of bits from the Wikipedia article on Claude Shannon.
|Timing Attack to exploit a race condition in garbage collection refers to Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaws that can be exploited in cloud server like the ones in Wikipedia. Claude Shannon was an early and highly influential information scientist whose work underlies compression, encryption, security, and the theory behind how information is encoded into binary digits - hence the pertinence of extracting just some of the bits from his Wikipedia entry.
|-
|At the cafe on third street, the post-it note with the wifi password is visible from the sidewalk.
|Writing passwords in a visible place is a major security flaw. For instance, following the [[wikipedia:2018 Hawaii false missile alert|2018 Hawaii false missile alert]] the agency received criticism for a press photo showing a password written on a sticky note attached to a monitor.<ref>http://uk.businessinsider.com/hawaii-emergency-agency-password-discovered-in-photo-sparks-security-criticism-2018-1?r=US&IR=T</ref> However, if a cafe posts their wifi password for customers then having it visible through the window as well presents a very minor reduction in security.
|-
|A remote attacker can inject arbitrary text into public-facing pages via the comments box.
|Describes a common feature on news sites or social media sites like Facebook. The possibility for users to "inject" text into the page is by design. This is a humorous reference to the relatively common security vulnerability "[[Wikipedia:Cross-site_scripting|persistent cross-site scripting]]", where input provided by the user is displayed to other users in a dangerous fashion that allows attackers to inject arbitrary HTML or Javascript code into e.g. a comment section. It might also be a humorous reference to the events before, during and after the 2016 US Presidential elections where Internet Research Agency employees based remotely in St. Petersburg, Russia, but disguised as US citizens, "injected" arbitrary text in the form of political propaganda into comments on multiple web sites, according to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on February 16, 2018.
|-
|MySQL server 5.5.45 secretly runs two parallel databases for people who say "S-Q-L" and "sequel."
|Some people pronounce "SQL" like "sequel", after SQL's predecessor "SEQUEL (Structured English Query Language)". The standard for SQL suggests that it should be pronounced as separate letters; however, the author of SQL pronounces it "sequel", so the debate is persisting (with even more justification than arguments about how to pronounce "GIF"). MySQL is an open-source relational database management system, the latest GA version (at the time of writing) is MySQL 5.7.
|-
|A flaw in some x86 CPUs could allow a root user to de-escalate to normal account privileges.
|{{w|Privilege escalation}} refers to any illegitimate means of giving a system user greater privilege than they are supposed to have, and most hackers will seek to achieve this if they can. The most highly-sought privilege is that of the root user, which allows complete access to an entire system.

This CVE, however, presents the reverse situation; that a flaw can allow a root user to ''de-escalate'', the exact opposite of what a hacker would want to achieve. (In any case, the root user can always de-escalate manually if they so choose, as they have complete control).
|-
|Apple products catch fire when displaying emoji with diacritics.
|Diacritics are the accents found on letters in some languages (eg. č, ģ ķ, ļ, ņ, š, ž). These would not be found on emojis. It is also a reference to a common problem of modern gadgets catching fire (usually related to flaws in Lithium-Ion batteries).
|-
|An oversight in the rules allows a dog to join a basketball team.
|This likely refers to the movie {{w|Air Bud}}. It is a movie about a dog playing basketball. This has been a common theme in xkcd comics, see [[115: Meerkat]], [[1439: Rack Unit]], [[1819: Sweet 16]], [[1552: Rulebook]]
|-
|Haskell isn't side-effect-free after all; the effects are all just concentrated in this one. Computer in Missouri that no one's checked on in a while.
|Haskell is a functional programming language, functional programming is characterized by using functions that don't have side effects in other parts of the program. The joke here is discovering that indeed it does have side-effects, but for some unknown (and highly absurd) reason they only manifest on a specific computer in a nondescript location, but no one has noticed.
|-
|Nobody really knows how hypervisors work.
|[[wikipedia:Hypervisor|"Hypervisors"]] are a tool for computer virtualization. Virtualization is an extremely complex topic, as it requires a computer to completely emulate a different computer with its own unique hardware and software. Many IT professionals and businesses rely heavily on various forms of virtualization, but the individual employees would be hard-pressed to explain how it works. Meltdown and Specter are related to this.
|-
|CRITICAL: Under Linux 3.14.8 on System/390 in a UTC+14 time zone, a local user could potentially use a buffer overflow to change another user's default system clock from 12-hour to 24-hour.
|This joke is about arcane systems that are running Linux in exceedingly unique situations, such that reproducing the error would be incredibly difficult or inconvenient, and would only affect a very tiny user base (if any at all). Other xkcd comics make references to such obscure computer-time issues relating to time zones and time conversions, and how many programmers find these issues frustrating or even traumatizing. UTC+14 is a time zone used only on some islands in the Pacific Ocean, i.e., [[Wikipedia:Line_Islands|the Line Islands]], and is also the earliest time zone on earth.
|-
|x86 has way too many instructions.
|The x86 architecture is considered "CISC" (a "complex instruction set computer"), having many instructions originally provided to make programming by a human simpler; other examples include the 68000 series used in the first Apple Mac. In the 1980s, this design philosophy was countered by the "RISC" ("reduced instruction set computer") design movement exemplified by SPARC, MIPS, PowerPC (previously used by Apple) and the ARM chips common in mobile phones - based on the observation that computer programs were increasingly generated by compilers (which only used a few instructions) rather than directly by people, and that the chip area dedicated to extra instructions could be better dedicated to, for example, cache. At the time, there was an internet war about the merits of each approach (with the Mac and PC being on different sides, at one time; owners of other competing systems such as the Archimedes and Amiga had similar arguments on usenet in the early 1990s); this "issue" may be posted by someone who still recalls these debates. Technically, the extra instructions do slightly complicate the task of validating correct chip behaviour and complicate the tool chains that manage software, which could be seen as a minor security risk; however, the 64-bit architecture introduced by AMD and since adopted by Intel does rationalise things somewhat, and all recent x86 chips break down instructions into RISC-like micro-operations, so the complication from a hardware perspective is localised. Recent security issues such as the speculative cache load issue in Meltdown and Spectre depend more on details of implementation rather than instruction set, and have been exhibited both by x86 (CISC) and ARM (RISC) processors.
|-
|NumPy 1.8.0 can factor primes in O(log n) time and must be quietly deprecated before anyone notices.
|NumPy is the fundamental package for scientific computing with Python. If something can find the prime factors of a number this quickly, there are attacks to break many crypto functions used in internet security. However, prime numbers have only a single factor, and "factoring primes" quickly is a simpler problem.
|-
|Apple products grant remote access if you send them words that break the "I before E" rule.
|Another joke on the first CVE and a common English writing rule of thumb, which fails almost as often as it succeeds. Possibly a jab at Apple's image, portraying their software as unable to handle improper grammar or spelling.
|-
|Skylake x86 chips can be pried from their sockets using certain flathead screwdrivers.
|Skylake x86 chips are a line of microprocessors. Yes, you can forcefully remove any processor from its socket with a screwdriver. There are many reports from people not using common sense.
|-
|Apparently Linus Torvalds can be bribed pretty easily.
|Linus Torvalds is the benevolent dictator of the Linux kernel codebase. Normally it is hard to pass a change because he has the last word about what merge to the code base because that code is replicated in all Linux installations, but apparently he is easy to bribe, which would be a severe critical vulnerability to all Linux servers and machines.
|-
|An attacker can execute malicious code on their own machine and no one can stop them.
|The point of an attack is to make someone else's machine perform actions against the owner's will. Anyone can make their own machine execute any code, but this would usually not be described as an attack.
|-
|Apple products execute any code printed over a photo of a dog with a saddle and a baby riding it.
|This could refer to a CVE vulnerability of JPG files where javascript embedded within the image file is executed by some application, only this time is in a printed photo instead of encoded into the image itself.
|-
|Under rare circumstances, a flaw in some versions of Windows could allow Flash to be installed.
|Flash was discontinued because of its notoriously abysmal security record. All security experts advise against install. The joke here relates to the perceived difficulty with keeping Flash up to date or even installed properly to begin with. A common user experience which is the subject of numerous jokes and memes is the constant nagging notification to install or update Flash in order for web pages to display properly. While anecdotal, many IT professionals will bemoan the trouble that Flash has given them in the workplace due to these notifications and problems related to them.
|-
|Turns out the cloud is just other people's computers.
|This refers to a computer meme where replace "cloud" with "other people's computers" must be used in all marketing presentation to CEOs and not computer literate persons to evaluate the security impact of using "Cloud services". Part of the humor here is that "the cloud", in actuality, it simply a term for hosted services, i.e., computers being run by other people (typically businesses that specialize in this type of "Platform As A Service" or "PAAS" service model). Calling "the cloud" as "other people's computers" is, at its core, entirely accurate, though it takes away the business jargon and simplifies the situation in such a way that it might cast doubt on the security, reliability, and general effectiveness of using "cloud" solutions.
|-
|A flaw in Mitre's CVE database allows arbitrary code insertion.[~~CLICK HERE FOR CHEAP VIAGRA~~]
|Mitre's CVE database is the database where all CVE are stored. This is a joke relating to the 4th CVE in this list, pointing out that the CVE site is also vulnerable.
|-
|It turns out Bruce Schneier is just two mischievous[sp?] kids in a trenchcoat. (title text)
|Bruce Schneier is security researcher and blogger. He was mentioned in the title texts of [[748: Worst-Case Scenario]] and [[1039: RuBisCO]]. The "two kids in a trenchcoat" is a reference to the Totem Pole Trench trope.<ref>[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TotemPoleTrench TV Tropes:Totem Pole Trench trope]</ref>
|}

== References ==
<references/>

==Transcript==
LEAKED LIST OF MAJOR 2018 SECURITY VULNERABILITIES

CVE-2018-????? Apple products crash when displaying certain Telugu or Bengali letter combinations.

CVE-2018-????? An attacker can use a timing attack to extploit[sic] a race condition in garbage collection to extract a limited number of bits from the Wikipedia article on Claude Shannon.

CVE-2018-????? At the cafe on third street, the post-it note with the wifi password is visible from the sidewalk.

CVE-2018-????? A remote attacker can inject arbitrary text into public-facing pages via the comments box.

CVE-2018-????? MySQL server 55.45 secretly runs two parallel databases for people who say "S-Q-L" and "sequel."

CVE-2018-????? A flaw in some x86 CPUs could allow a root user to de-escalate to normal account privileges.

CVE-2018-????? Apple products catch fire when displaying emoji with diacritics.

CVE-2018-????? An oversight in the rules allows a dog to join a basketball team.

CUE-2018-????? Haskell isn't side-effect-free after all; the effects are all just concentrated in this one. Computer in Missouri that no one's checked on in a while.

CVE-2018-????? Nobody really knows how hypervisors work.

CVE-2018-????? CRITICAL: Under Linux 3.14.8 on System/390 in a UTC+14 time zone, a local user could potentially use a buffer overflow to change another user's default system clock from 12-hour to 24-hour.

CVE-2018-????? x86 has way too many instructions.

CVE-2018-????? NumPy 1.8.0 can factor primes in O(log n) time and must be quietly deprecated before anyone notices.

CVE-2018-????? Apple products grant remote access if you send them words that break the "I before E" rule.

CVE-2018-????? Skylake x86 chips can be pried from their sockets using certain flathead screwdrivers.

CVE-2018-????? Apparently Linus Torvalds can be bribed pretty easily.

CVE-2018-????? An attacker can execute malicious code on their own machine and no one can stop them.

CVE-2018-????? Apple products execute any code printed over a photo of a dog with a saddle and a baby riding it.

CVE-2018-????? Under rare circumstances, a flaw in some versions of Windows could allow Flash to be installed.

CVE-2018-????? Turns out the cloud is just other people's computers.

CVE-2018-????? A flaw in Mitre's CVE database allows arbitrary code insertion.[~~CLICK HERE FOR CHEAP VIAGRA~~]

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1957: 2018 CVE List

2018-02-19T10:19:55Z

Xkcdreader52:

[[First]] post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, the explanation looks like a train wreck, and I'm not sure if a rearranging it into a table or just adding bullet points to everything is better. I'm guessing that a table would be better, but I don't know how I can rearrange it. Can somebody help? [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 06:35, 19 February 2018 (UTC)
: Added a table layout to the [[explain_xkcd:Sandbox|sandbox]]. Might be of some use to another editor. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.45|162.158.74.45]] 07:32, 19 February 2018 (UTC)
:: Thanks, I think a table is a good way to go. I'm adding it to the article as a place to start. Rather than format the original explanation into the table, I'm leaving the cells blank. The original poorly formatted text can be a starting point, but isn't directly adaptable. --[[User:Quantum7|Quantum7]] ([[User talk:Quantum7|talk]]) 09:55, 19 February 2018 (UTC)
Never ever have I heard anyone pronounce SQL as "sequel" - Is that a reqional dialect? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.15|162.158.93.15]] 07:41, 19 February 2018 (UTC)
: I heard it's common among MS-SQL users.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.137|162.158.91.137]] 08:02, 19 February 2018 (UTC)
:: Oh BTW, look at our IPs. Are you an easybell customer? :-) --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.137|162.158.91.137]] 08:09, 19 February 2018 (UTC)
: Some people pronounce it that way, yes. Don't know if it is "common among MS-SQL users", though. The only person I encountered saying "sequel" never used MS-SQL. [[User:LordHorst|LordHorst]] ([[User talk:LordHorst|talk]]) 09:54, 19 February 2018 (UTC)

I want to take a moment to congratulate the dedication of whomever wrote the original explanation. Second languages are hard, bro. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.10|108.162.215.10]] 07:48, 19 February 2018 (UTC)

Has someone tried contacting Randall about "extploit"? If not, what would be the best way? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 08:22, 19 February 2018 (UTC)
:Hack his computer to display a message demanding he fix it if he wants his hard drive decrypted.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.26|162.158.155.26]] 09:24, 19 February 2018 (UTC)
::Thanks, will do.

::how to hack complooter
::why does google not work
::how to delete text
::[[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 09:44, 19 February 2018 (UTC)

Regarding "Factor a prime": Factoring a prime is easy: The prime itself is the only factor, so it's sufficient to use [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AKS_primality_test AKS] or whatever to check that. Public-key encryption relies on how hard it is to factor the product of two primes, which is a much harder problem. Maybe this is a typo in the comic?
--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.214|162.158.134.214]] 10:09, 19 February 2018 (UTC)

Can I edit some spelling errors? There seems to be some spelling errors here and there.Boeing-787lover 10:19, 19 February 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1952: Backpack Decisions

2018-02-09T16:57:15Z

Xkcdreader52:

Great, now I can't decide how to write the transcript [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.40|108.162.216.40]] 15:00, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

And I now want a new backpack. I'm fine with the one I have, but *I want a new one dammit!* But I can't decide which one [[User:Jdluk|Jdluk]] ([[User talk:Jdluk|talk]]) 15:08, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

The knapsack optimization problem is famous for being NP-hard ([[wikipedia:Knapsack problem|Knapsack problem]]). Seems to be an allusion to it. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.191|162.158.91.191]] 15:53, 7 February 2018 (UTC)
: Nope, see below. The knapsack problem is about optimizing the amount of stuff put into something, while Cueball goes through a [[wikipedia:buying decision process|buying decision process]]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.100|162.158.114.100]] 17:49, 7 February 2018 (UTC)
:: But the buying decision process could be solved by a variation of the knapsack optimation problem: You can choose several features, but cannot combine all of them. The difficulty would be linear in the number of available backpacks (but this would/could be a very large number - for all the other listed items like car, phone, college, appartment, laptop there is less choice available and the decision can be made way faster) and nonlinear in the number of criteria. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.191|162.158.91.191]] 10:18, 8 February 2018 (UTC)

This comic is an illustration of the [[wikipedia:law of triviality|law of triviality]] aka the bike-shed effect. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.100|162.158.114.100]] 17:42, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

: I don't believe the bike-shed effect is related, since that would imply that he is focusing on unimportant issues instead of important ones. In this case, the problem is trying to satisfy a number of important needs that are not fully met by any one backpack, forcing him to decide which can be left unsatisfied by any particular backpack. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 18:59, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

:: Yes, you are right. I had the comparison chart in mind and incorrectly connected the dots here. The correct description of the situation is of course [[wikipedia:analysis paralysis|analysis paralysis]]. Snap decisions apparently aren't infallible, either. :P [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.100|162.158.114.100]] 19:38, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

:: Now that you point out your reasoning, I can see where someone might think deciding on a backpack is less important than buying a car or picking a college, which is consistent with the bike-shed effect. You deserve points for thinking of it, even though I think it really is more important to Cueball in this case. In fact, I'm surprised that Cueball didn't have a laptop in hand, calculating a composite feature weighted score per backpack to totally geek things up! ;-) [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 22:05, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

The description completely identifies the author with his figure. Mixes them up. That's very bad form and impolite. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.236|162.158.88.236]] 21:39, 7 February 2018 (UTC)
:: On top of that, it makes no sense. Nothing in this comic says anything about laptop choices. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.178.111|162.158.178.111]] 03:08, 8 February 2018 (UTC)
:::Agree. Removed that part and marked it as incomplete, again. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:03, 8 February 2018 (UTC)
:::I'm confused by this series of comments. I thought the first one was talking about mixing up references to Cueball and Randall. Then the next comment mentions the lack of content related to laptop choices. First of all, I don't understand how laptop choices are related to the Randall vs Cueball issue (if I interpreted it correctly), and furthermore the bar graph specifically includes a bar for choosing a laptop - that means laptop choices in my book! What am I missing here? [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 14:59, 8 February 2018 (UTC)
::::I'm too lazy to figure out what you're missing, but if I were to do so, I'd start by checking the edit history to see what the description was like at the time(stamp) of those comments, as maybe it focused too much on laptops or whatever. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.143|172.68.26.143]] 15:17, 8 February 2018 (UTC)
::::: It gave lengthy consideration to the difference in length of bars between 'car' and 'laptop', which was probably rather missing the point, which is more that they're all pretty short in comparison to 'backpack'. I'm not sure that does relate to the original point in this thread, hence why the second commenter said "On top of that...". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.26|162.158.155.26]] 15:46, 8 February 2018 (UTC)

Do we really need a Wikipedia link to explain what 'yelling' is? Really? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.26|162.158.155.26]] 11:50, 8 February 2018 (UTC)
:Unless we want to have a link for every word I don't think so. I removed it. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:22, 8 February 2018 (UTC)
:Do we really need one for 'all caps'? [[User:Linker|Linker]] ([[User talk:Linker|talk]]) 14:04, 8 February 2018 (UTC)
::The all caps article explains not only what all caps is, but also its connotation to mean shouting. So I think it's a good inclusion. (Maybe the one for yelling was too much though.) [[Special:Contributions/198.41.230.82|198.41.230.82]] 15:10, 8 February 2018 (UTC)

It is so wonderful to have so many choices. Well, no, not especially. After a point, there is so much to wade through, and the additional does not help much with making a better decision. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.220|108.162.216.220]] 02:13, 9 February 2018 (UTC) Gene Wirchenko genew@telus.net

The 'citation needed' is hilarious to me for some reasons. Whoever added that one needs a gold medal.Boeing-787lover 16:57, 9 February 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1953: The History of Unicode

2018-02-09T16:55:00Z

Xkcdreader52:

Is it me or my laptop isn't rendering the Unicode in the title text well? My laptop uses UTF-8. Boeing-787lover 16:55, 9 February 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1951: Super Bowl Watch Party

2018-02-06T15:08:47Z

Xkcdreader52:

Which one is Megan? The description refers to Megan coming in but also Megan predicting the cut, but the comic clearly shows two different people.L
:There is not way of telling who is who as Megan is not a name used for the generic woman with long black hair used by Randall. But in the context of this explanation side, then Cueball and Megan are together so the pair on the couch are Cueball and Megan for the comic explanations sake. The Woman walking in doesn't have long enough hair to be [[Danish]] and also [[Black Hat]] is missing, so this in another of the very few cases with more than one [[Megan]] (see her page, there are now five as opposed to the more than 170 comics with [[:Category:Multiple Cueballs|Multiple Cueballs]]). I have corrected the transcript to make this distinction. The Guy on the floor is the Multiple Cueball ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:10, 6 February 2018 (UTC)

soooo 17776 but on the viewer’s end
(The above comment was unsigned)

Now I want to see this! Could someone set up an Internet livestream? (For some definitions of “live” anyway) ;) [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 22:25, 5 February 2018 (UTC)
: Working on it ;)
: EDIT: Done, check it out! https://yearlongsuperbowl.com/ [[User:Okofish|Okofish]] ([[User talk:Okofish|talk]]) 00:10, 6 February 2018 (UTC)
Love it!! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.82|162.158.114.82]] 08:41, 6 February 2018 (UTC)

What gluttons for punishment. Professional sports games with all that commentary, colour, etc. is long as it is.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.220|108.162.216.220]] 06:19, 6 February 2018 (UTC) Gene Wirchenkogenew@telus.net

29.97 fps is only normal in the Americas; most of the rest of the world uses 25 fps. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.124|141.101.98.124]] 10:42, 6 February 2018 (UTC)

I am a Singaporean here and is there anyway that I can watch the matches through a legal website? I want to get into the fad of the season.Boeing-787lover 15:08, 6 February 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1948: Campaign Fundraising Emails

2018-01-30T13:24:36Z

Xkcdreader52:

can someone make a table with all the emails and an explanation column? I'm shit at formatting. [[User:DPS2004|DPS2004'); DROP TABLE users;--]] ([[User talk:DPS2004|talk]]) 16:38, 29 January 2018 (UTC)
: Relevant username? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.83|172.68.58.83]] 17:42, 29 January 2018 (UTC)
ActBlue is a political action committee aimed at helping people on the internet raise money for the Democratic party - there is no Jennifer ActBlue Heir to the ActBlue fortune. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.40|172.68.174.40]] 17:14, 29 January 2018 (UTC)Daniel Macintyre
*That's what Jennifer wants you to think.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.122.12|162.158.122.12]] 17:23, 29 January 2018 (UTC)

It's interesting to note that for three of the emails, the subject isn't bolded, indicating that those emails were read. All three refer to female candidates [[User:JamesCurran|JamesCurran]] ([[User talk:JamesCurran|talk]]) 17:20, 29 January 2018 (UTC)
: Are we sure those are subject lines? I don't usually write or get emails where the subject line flows seamlessly into the contents like this. (Not sure what else they could be, of course.) Also, the lack of bold text could indicate an email without a subject line. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.220|162.158.78.220]] 18:54, 29 January 2018 (UTC)
:: I had actually initially taken the bold text as having being tweaked to emphasize those words, or that they were bold in the email, and that the emails which didn't were actual interesting and legitimate messages. :) Of course that would leave these emails without subjects, so the bold text being subjects makes more sense, and the lack of bold is just without a subject. As for part of the email starting after the subject, I think I've seen that. I know different email providers and programs show things differently. I have my email setup to only show subjects when I'm in my Inbox like this, but I've also seen ones where there's a couple of lines of preview. Perhaps Randall just has his to show only 1 line of subject and preview. If I cared about having a preview in my Inbox I'd set it that way, to save space. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:20, 30 January 2018 (UTC)

I'm guessing the $35.57 may have been related to a recent Jimquisition episode focusing on this ad: https://youtu.be/Tu3rwf27VRE [[User:Odysseus654|Odysseus654]] ([[User talk:Odysseus654|talk]]) 21:13, 29 January 2018 (UTC)

Some of these scenarios are especially hilarious to me!
:1) When Amy decided to run for Congress, I was like "Huh?" but I checked Wikipedia, and apparently it's a branch of...
:Who needs to know anything when we have Wikipedia?
:2) I will lead the fight against the big banks, special interests, the Earth's climate, and our children. I...
:Won't someone please think of the children? (Those little !#$!%#^$^s!) [Edited slightly, because they are really horrid when they have at-signs in their expletives.]
:3) Whoops. Due to a typo, we spent months running attack ads against Tom Hanks. Now, we need to make up for...
:Yay, automation!
:4) Our campaign's only chance is to seduce Jennifer Actblue, heir to the Actblue fortune. For that, we need a fancy...
:That is just what we need: a candidate with a fresh approach. Will he get slapped?
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.154|108.162.216.154]] 21:30, 29 January 2018 (UTC) Gene Wirchenko genew@telus.net
: The wiki screwed up your nice legible formatting, LOL! Looks great in the edit box, a little confusing once submitted (I've noticed the wiki ignores a single New Line, unless followed by a colon) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:20, 30 January 2018 (UTC)
:: I have just repaired the formatting. The wiki had also interpreted my faux expletive as an E-mail address (and protected it). Mr. Munroe needs to do a strip on how computers "help" us like this.
:: [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.154|108.162.216.154]] 06:23, 30 January 2018 (UTC) Gene Wirchenko genew@telus.net
Is it just me, or does anyone else think that the wording of the message starting "Hopeless" is deliberately written in the style of Donald Trump's tweets? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.41|108.162.250.41]] 02:01, 30 January 2018 (UTC)

Right now there's a double Incomplete message, with one asking for contact information in case someone wants to actually donate to one of these campaigns... Is it just me, or does this in fact NOT IDENTIFY ANYBODY? As in, there's nobody to donate TO! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:20, 30 January 2018 (UTC)

Note that the "Doom" email says "Where is the horse and the rider" not "Where now the horse and the rider," and also skips several lines in the middle of the poem. It's quoting the Peter Jackson movie, not the book. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.185|172.69.70.185]] 05:43, 30 January 2018 (UTC)

I know what Ford's controversial comment was: it was characterised by The New York Times as "FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.190|162.158.165.190]] 07:09, 30 January 2018 (UTC)

The comment about the establishment not taking Hitler seriously might be referring to that "the powers that be" in pre-Nazi Germany thought they could control Hitler and use his popularity to their advantage. We all know how this plan worked out. --[[User:LordHorst|LordHorst]] ([[User talk:LordHorst|talk]]) 10:16, 30 January 2018 (UTC)

Having read it before, I still laughed more at the linked "Bushism" Wikipedia page than at today's comic. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.25.208|172.68.25.208]] 12:29, 30 January 2018 (UTC)

Having that my college does some fund-raising events, I have seen some of the mails like this being displayed on my lecturer's laptop, so I find it relatable.Boeing-787lover 13:24, 30 January 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1946: Hawaii

2018-01-24T15:02:49Z

Xkcdreader52:

OMG - so funny, so timely, so close to home. One of our modern fears, in a crisis what would happen if I forgot the password! [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 14:02, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

"Created by a TWITTER" [[User:Halo422|Halo422]] ([[User talk:Halo422|talk]]) 14:28, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

Based on the situation that xkcd is offering, it makes me look like I can't be any governor or an official, since I tend to forget my password very easily, especially my social media ones. RIP me.15:02, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

Talk:859: (

2018-01-16T13:46:03Z

Xkcdreader52:

) Here you go, you're free now. --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.150|199.27.128.150]] 01:55, 3 January 2014 (UTC)
:Thanks but I will need some more: ))))) ooohh! ))))))) aaahh!!

In saying: "The programming language Lisp (also featured in 224: Lisp is known for large numbers...", a closing parenthesis was omitted. Was this intentional?

:Maybe. >.> <.< [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 03:21, 9 October 2012 (UTC)

:You would need to check the source to be sure... --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 19:08, 9 October 2012 (UTC)

:(Muahahahahahahahaha! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.8|108.162.245.8]] 02:04, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

If this comic bothers you, [[312: With Apologies to Robert Frost|#312]] can help. [[User:Joey|Joey]] ([[User talk:Joey|talk]]) 03:07, 20 December 2012 (UTC)

I do not think it's productive to explain the joke using the joke itself without clearly indicating that such is happening. So, ''It also refers to this awkward feeling when you see something (like an unmatched parentheses, speling error or a randomly-placed, comma.'' does not explicitly indicate the reflexive usage of the joke. I hope I'm not being overly pedantic, but my first instinct was to correct the spelling error. An an example the passage is fine, but it should be made to stand apart from the "real explanation" in some way, maybe in a callout or italicized as I have it here --[[User:Smartin|Smartin]] ([[User talk:Smartin|talk]]) 03:36, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
:"I hope I'm not being overly pedantic [...] An an example the passage is..." Perhaps you meant "As". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.161|108.162.237.161]] 04:41, 24 May 2015 (UTC)

This reminds me of when I used to program the TI-83. It would automatically close any parentheses at the end of a line, and all the programming guides told me not to close them, since it would save a tiny bit of memory. I must have annoyed my teachers a lot when this bled over into my homework. I know I've gotten graded down for it. [[Special:Contributions/70.102.89.181|70.102.89.181]] 04:17, 28 June 2013 (UTC)
:This happens to me too!! Sometimes when I'm writing something, I don't put the closing ), though, I think this happens to most people sometimes. anyway, here's some TI-BASIC code:
:-1→Xmin:1→Xmax
:-1→Ymin:1→Ymax
:AxesOff
:Degrees
:While 1
:For(X,0,359,5
:sin(X-120→A
:sin(X→B
:sin(X+120→C
:Line(0,1,A,.3
:Line(0,1,B,.3
:Line(0,1,C,.3
:Line(0,-1,-A,-.3
:Line(0,-1,-B,-.3
:Line(0,-1,-C,-.3
:Line(.3,A,-.3,-B
:Line(.3,A,-.3,-C
:Line(.3,B,-.3,-A
:Line(.3,B,-.3,-C
:Line(.3,C,-.3,-A
:Line(.3,C,-.3,-B
:End
:End

:('s: 16
:)'s: 0
:(However, technically there are no ('s, because they are actually part of the For(, sin(, and Line( tokens, not the separate symbol.

:I '''still''' get syntax errors when programming in other languages! {{unsigned ip|173.245.56.180}}

))))))))) aaaahhhh [[User:Plm-qaz snr|Plm-qaz snr]] ([[User talk:Plm-qaz snr|talk]]) 12:39, 27 August 2014 (UTC)

My hobby is (not really an hobby but a life's work (or calling)) (is explaining in detail (especially detail allowing me to indulge my hobby (not really an hobby but a life's work (or calling) where did this come from>)?

Damn!

[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 14:44, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

I know lisp and see the connection, but where in the comic does it actually mention programming? Parentheses are used in ordinary English too, and they also have to be paired with each other. I think this comic is actually about lack of closure in a much more general way. Only the title text brings up programming, but only in the context of parsing strings. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.180|108.162.219.180]] 23:12, 3 May 2015 (UTC)
:Parsing strings is part of programming. The title text is part of the comic. What is the problem? \[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.58|173.245.54.58]] 16:53, 29 July 2015 (UTC)

I'd like to mention that Google's result page shows the title of this comic differently from the other xkcd comics. I think Randall broke it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.161|108.162.237.161]] 04:41, 24 May 2015 (UTC)

You know what's evil? Combining this comic with the substitution list comics! That is, changing an empty character to the place of the ')'. [[User:Zorlax the Mighty|Zorlax the Mighty'); DROP TABLE users;--]] ([[User talk:Zorlax the Mighty|talk]]) 11:48, 2 August 2016 (UTC)

Only just need ')' to complete, there you go! Boeing-787lover 13:46, 16 January 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1937: IATA Airport Abbreviations

2018-01-05T05:28:21Z

Xkcdreader52:

CLT is Charlotte Douglass International, but maybe the [censored] tag is referring to what this acronym sounds like when it's pronounced phonetically? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.219|172.69.68.219]] 16:01, 3 January 2018 (UTC)

IATA actually stands for [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Air_Transport_Association|International Air Transport Association]]. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 16:12, 3 January 2018 (UTC)

Ankh-Morpork is from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Hogsmeade is from Harry Potter. Kingdom of Loathing is a web-based multiplayer game. Sunnydale is from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BUF). fhqwhgads is from a Strong Bad email (Homestar Runner). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.35|108.162.238.35]] 16:15, 3 January 2018 (UTC)

The Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (Downtown Toronto) actually uses the call sign YTZ, not YYY. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 16:18, 3 January 2018 (UTC)

;List of the codes and airport names
AMD Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport
BAE Barcelonnette – Saint-Pons Airport
ORD O'Hare International Airport
IAD Washington Dulles International Airport
JFC -
IUD -
FYI -
LOL Derby Field
ATL Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport
HGM -
OMW -
ANC Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
HSV Huntsville International Airport (Carl T. Jones Field)
SAN San Diego International Airport
DWI -
DFW Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
DTW Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
TMI Tumlingtar Airport
LAX Los Angeles International Airport
EWR Newark Liberty International Airport
PHL Philadelphia International Airport
SWF Stewart International Airport
KUL Kuala Lumpur International Airport
STL Lambert–St. Louis International Airport
BUF Buffalo Niagara International Airport
TBA Tabibuga Airport
SMH Sapmanga Airport
BLT Blackwater Airport
YYY Mont-Joli Airport
YYZ Toronto Pearson International Airport
MIA Miami International Airport
CLT Charlotte Douglas International Airport
FHQ -
FFS -
DTF -
MDW Midway International Airport
PDX Portland International Airport
SEA Seattle–Tacoma International Airport

[[User:Jefe9247|Jefe9247]] ([[User talk:Jefe9247|talk]]) 16:33, 3 January 2018 (UTC)

Could "Las Angalas" be the way Tommy Wiseau pronounces it? [[User:Tait marconi|Tait marconi]] ([[User talk:Tait marconi|talk]]) 20:17, 3 January 2018 (UTC)

Re SWF being Sherwood Forest. Robin Hood airport, nearish to the historic location of Sherwood Forest actually exists. Sadly the IATA code is DSA (Doncaster Sheffield airport) - Putters {{unsigned| Putters}}

I think that substituting PHL for Pittsburgh's airport might also be a jab at how Facebook got confused a few months ago, labeling posts from Pittsburgh as originating in Philadelphia. {{unsigned| FuzzyBoots}}

Possibly also relevant that quite a few of these are common abbreviations used in text-based communication (e.g. LOL, FYI, FFS, TMI, etc.). I wonder if it's something like https://xkcd.com/1015/, where once you've memorised these abbreviations you can't help but think of the (annoying and incorrect) airports that they stand for when reading text messages from others. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.31|162.158.89.31]] 23:00, 3 January 2018 (UTC)

I think KIX should be added as well, it stands for Kansai International Airport. Boeing-787lover 05:28, 5 January 2018 (UTC)

== Major Omission ==

i'd like to add BHD -- Baggage Handlers' Decision. [[User:MCMXLVII|MCMXLVII]] ([[User talk:MCMXLVII|talk]]) 02:34, 4 January 2018 (UTC)

:Also: HIJ - hijacking; ISS - self-explanatory[[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.16|141.101.76.16]] 09:50, 4 January 2018 (UTC)

==A Question ==

The page has the line "Randall notes in the what if? book that Delaware has no airports. This entry is also a play on the nearby real airport BWI, Baltimore-Washington International." Which what-if is this from?

--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.151|173.245.52.151]] 16:49, 4 January 2018 (UTC)
: The chapter in the book is "Flyover States: Which US state is actually flown over the most?" [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 18:16, 4 January 2018 (UTC)
== Observation ==

SeaTac isn't esp close to water (closest is >1 mile, perpendicular to runway orientation), although some of the flight patterns have segments over Puget Sound [[https://www.portseattle.org/Environmental/Noise/Noise-Abatement/Pages/Flight-Patterns.aspx|SeaTac Flight Patterns]]. Still, nothing like LGA or SFO where a short/long can put the plane in the water.

== Another Missing Airport ==

What about FUK? The first time I saw this one, I checked with my boss. It is for Fukuoka, Japan.

Talk:1936: Desert Golfing

2018-01-01T07:20:52Z

Xkcdreader52:

FIRST
05:11, 1 January 2018 (UTC)

Desert golf! It's an actual event! From the top of Socorro Peak it's 3 miles and 2500 vertical feet to the hole.
It's the Elfego Baca Golf Shootout in New Mexico.

[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.76|172.68.54.76]] 05:46, 1 January 2018 (UTC)

Finished first draft, need some help to complete it. Oh, and Desert Golfing is an app developed by Blinkbat Games. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 06:10, 1 January 2018 (UTC)

Probably have to play this game!Boeing-787lover 07:20, 1 January 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1935: 2018

2017-12-31T19:10:10Z

Xkcdreader52:

This is easy! Don't factor it - just multiply by 25 and if that ends in two zeros, but not four zeros then it's a leap year, at least most of the time.....17:25, 29 December 2017 (UTC) {{unsigned ip|162.158.126.112}}

This is easy! Don’t factor it - just convert it into a binary and look at the 2 least significant bits. If they are 00 the number is multiple of four. —[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.35|172.69.33.35]] 17:37, 29 December 2017 (UTC)

This is easy! Don't factor it - just subtract 4 repeatedly. If you end up at 0, it's divisible. If you end up at 1, 2, or 3, it's not. -- 17:55, 29 December 2017 (UTC){{unsigned ip|172.68.58.167}}

This ''is'' easy! Sums of numbers that have 4 as a factor are all divisible by four. (I'll leave the proof of that as an exercise for the reader, but it's really trivial, though possibly non-intuitive.) This means that one can take a number apart and check the individual pieces. Now, any number that's a multiple of 100 is divisible by four (10 * 10 = 5² * 2²,) so one can essentially cut away the higher digits of a number, as they do not influence its divisibility with regard to 4. Now look at the first of the remaining digits. If that's odd, add 2 to the last digit. If the last digit is now divisible by four, the original number is divisble by four. [[User:Tibfulv|Tibfulv]] ([[User talk:Tibfulv|talk]]) 00:38, 30 December 2017 (UTC)

The calculation of Christmas is trivial{{Citation needed}} it's December 25th. Where as the calculation of Easter is complex ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computus]). [[Special:Contributions/172.68.133.18|172.68.133.18]] 18:03, 29 December 2017 (UTC)

Calulsting the date of Christmas is actually non-trivial. It depends on your location. For example if you are in the US it's in December. If you are in Russia it's in January. If you are in Ukraine it's sortof both but not really. And if you are in Crimea, well, see one of the 2 previous sentences. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.238.172|172.68.238.172]] 15:22, 30 December 2017 (UTC)

:Actually, it's December 25 on the old Julian calendar in Russia. It's just that Russia uses the Julian calendar for liturgical purposes and the Gregorian calendar for secular purposes. It's a bit schizophrenic. [[User:Billjefferys|Billjefferys]] ([[User talk:Billjefferys|talk]]) 19:40, 30 December 2017 (UTC)
::I've moved some content to the trivia section and added this Julian calendar issue for the Eastern church.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:42, 30 December 2017 (UTC)

FYI, Christmas in 2018 falls on a Tuesday. I just did a quick research on my laptop's calendar, it is an answer to the title text.Boeing-787lover 19:10, 31 December 2017 (UTC)

;Title text explanation mis-read
Explanation of title text is incorrect: "The title text refers to calculating the date of Christmas; again, this is a trivial exercise, because Christmas is always December 25." Title text states 'day of Christmas', not 'date...'. The day changes each year and so does require calculation. {{unsigned ip|162.158.111.73}}

Oops, my bad. Fixed. [[User:FlyingPiMonster|FlyingPiMonster]] ([[User talk:FlyingPiMonster|talk]]) 18:08, 29 December 2017 (UTC)
* I think you have it backwards. The title text is a reference to calculating the day (as in "date", not "day of week") of Easter. This is a non-trivial calculation (though one that modern computers can perform easily). On the other hand, the Christmas day is fixed. (There's no reason to believe that the joke was anything else.) - [[User:Mike Rosoft|Mike Rosoft]] ([[User talk:Mike Rosoft|talk]]) 19:13, 29 December 2017 (UTC)

I don't know who wrote the explanation, but... Are they having a bad day? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.205|162.158.111.205]] 18:44, 29 December 2017 (UTC)
:That was vandalism. I did a revert. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:06, 29 December 2017 (UTC)
::Ah, no, I was asking because the explanation sounds so angry. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.17|141.101.104.17]] 22:48, 29 December 2017 (UTC)

:Also, Megan understands that checking if a number divisible by 2 is easy [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.50|141.101.77.50]] 19:32, 29 December 2017 (UTC)

;Theory for possible explanation
Didn't want to edit this in because I'm not sure- but the motivation for this uncharacteristic lack of mathematical rigor could have to do with the current trend of people being dismissive of science being able to predict things. Something that seems pretty obvious is made to look like a chance event that nobody can really predict ahead of time. {{unsigned|Sirpent}}

::This is easy! Don't factor it - just subtract 2000. Is 18 divisible by 4? If so, you're an idiot. {{unsigned ip| 172.68.143.156}}

::The nonsense does look to me like a political discussion where one person uses "alternative facts". But in real life people get leap years "amusingly" wrong. Computer system designers for instance... one software tool I used passed into the year 2000 working correctly, but then it broke 2 months later because it thought 2000 wasn't a Gregorian calendar leap year, I guess because every 4th year is but every 100th year isn't. Every 400th year is, but, if the programmer just stopped at "every 4th is a leap year" then they'd have been fine until 2100. Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@excite.com [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.102|141.101.105.102]] 22:06, 29 December 2017 (UTC)

The joke in this might be that it might take some time to brute-force the prime factorisation of 2018 with a calculator as it’s 2*1009. Same holds true for 2017 which is prime. Therefore on might come to the conclusion that factorisation is hard already at this scale. (flx) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.253.71|172.68.253.71]] 22:24, 29 December 2017 (UTC)

;Odd/even is another joke
Cueball: No, it's definitely not. Leap years are divisible by 4.
Megan: Right, and for odd numbers, that's easy.
Megan: But 2018 is even.

She can see that finding out if a number is divisible by 2 is easy, but for dividing by 4 it's a "50/50 chance", and really hard to calculate. IMHO the best joke in the comic but missing from the explanation. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.50|141.101.77.50]] 23:59, 29 December 2017 (UTC)

I think it's interesting that 2018 only has two factors, 2 and 1009. Maybe a trivia?
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.107|162.158.238.107]] 17:40, 30 December 2017 (UTC)

I think there should be a mention of leap year rules in general, since they are nontrivial (divisble by 4, except not multiples of 100, except yes to multiples of 400)? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.233|172.68.142.233]] 18:43, 30 December 2017 (UTC)

I think the joke in the title text is a play on the old joke that even though we know every year when Christmas falls, and every year we always say that we are going to begin saving or shopping in the months preceding Christmas we always get to December and are "surprised" that Christmas happens to be in December. Effectively Randall is suggesting that the reason we are surprised Christmas is in December is not due to forgetting but rather that we are "calculating" when the day is. Also related are Jokes about American Tax day (April 15th) or pretty much anything to do with procrastination. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.107|172.69.70.107]] 01:06, 31 December 2017 (UTC) Sam

Talk:1892: USB Cables

2017-12-15T15:56:09Z

Xkcdreader52:

> Carries data but not power - Not typically done, but it could happen if the wires or pins get damaged.

> Charges phone slowly - More likely a problem with the charger than the cable, but may happen if the wires are damaged.

Some manufactures limits charging / fast charging to approved devices only, and this can also be done by some non-standard trick within cable connectors, so non-OEM cable do no charge or charge slower

>Plug doesn't fit through case - There's no standard for what the plastic housing around the USB connector should look like, and sometimes these are moulded so they don't quite fit in the phone socket or through the charging port of an external case.

There is standard defining clearances for plastic housing of connectors, but not all manufactures care

/mhcmega
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.10|162.158.202.10]] 15:52, 20 September 2017 (UTC)

:Not just an OEM-being-dicks thing. USB type C specification requires a smart chip inside the connector that communicates with the devices on each side and contains information about what protocols that cable is capable of, which pins are connected through, thunderbolt support, etc. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.22|162.158.63.22]] 16:17, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

I think Weird shape has to do with mould doing a 90 degree turn.
[[User:Trimutius|Trimutius]] ([[User talk:Trimutius|talk]]) 15:55, 20 September 2017 (UTC)

:Agreed. You can see the 90 degree turn in the silhouette. The plug isn't big enough to be Type B. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 13:01, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

I honestly think this entire comic is a protracted anatomy joke. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 00:54, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

: At a first glance I thought the pictures on the left side were sperm. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.40|162.158.34.40]] 20:24, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

And then there are all those cables I've saved in case I get a new device with that particular connector on the other end.

>Needs to be twisted to keep working. Might have to do with the wire, but most likely (our case for the 12-footers) is that a dropped phone messed up the plug, that then will charge only if the wire and the phone are set "just so". We keep those wires because they *are* 12-footers, natch.

Referring to title text, I am 'too short', as my charging cable is short.Boeing-787lover 15:56, 15 December 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1928: Seven Years

2017-12-14T08:10:03Z

Xkcdreader52:

no... I'm not crying... [[User:Zazathebot|Zazathebot]] ([[User talk:Zazathebot|talk]])

Liar [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.34|172.68.34.34]] 20:13, 13 December 2017 (UTC)

:([[Special:Contributions/162.158.58.105|162.158.58.105]] 23:04, 13 December 2017 (UTC)

Do we know her name? [[User:Dogman15|Dogman15]] ([[User talk:Dogman15|talk]]) 00:34, 14 December 2017 (UTC)

Should we remove the transcript incomplete mark? I know it's early, but I don't think it can be any better. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.233|162.158.166.233]] 02:25, 14 December 2017 (UTC)

Is someone cutting onions here? I am almost close to tears soon.Boeing-787lover 08:10, 14 December 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1681: Laser Products

2017-12-09T07:03:08Z

Xkcdreader52:

Laser jet surgery might be a reference to [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThisAintRocketSurgery rocket surgery]? {{unsigned ip|141.101.80.25}}

What is a laser eye printer and why is it eww ? {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.29}}

:It prints eyes... that should be self explanatory.{{unsigned ip|141.101.98.42}}

:Could also mean printing on the eye with a laser. Sounds possible but odd. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.28}}
::People buy colored and patterned contact lenses today, I think a laser eye printer would be used to print those patterns directly onto the eyeball. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 15:53, 16 May 2016 (UTC)

:Laser eye printer sounds like the type of thing edgy people want. Imagine printing a pentagram on your pupil or sclera {{unsigned ip|162.158.26.140}}

:: Some people have their {{w|Scleral tattooing|sclera}} or ''{{w|Corneal tattooing|cornea}}'' tattooed. The right kind of laser could burn an attractive pattern onto the surface less invasively. Wrong kinds of lasers will perform retinal tattooing. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 07:07, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

The first laser was fired 56 years ago, on 16 May 1960 by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Harold_Maiman Theodore Harold Maiman]. Maybe this comic is a reference? [[Special:Contributions/188.114.109.103|188.114.109.103]] 15:45, 16 May 2016 (UTC)

You don't need to describe how any of these work in detail, just provide a quick description and link them to wikipedia. [[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 16:50, 16 May 2016 (UTC)

Laserjet is a trademarked brand of printers from HP. Does it have any meaning beyond the trademark. I know "Inkjet" is a type of printer that sprays a jet of ink onto the paper, but normally one would just say "laser printer" if one isn't referring to an Epson model [[User:Zeimusu|Zeimusu]] ([[User talk:Zeimusu|talk]]) 19:15, 16 May 2016 (UTC)

"Laser-mounted jet aircraft"... surely you meant jet aircraft-mounted laser? I'll leave this how it is for a day or two in case I'm missing something. [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 19:58, 16 May 2016 (UTC)

I found this comic to be funnier than it was intended to be, especially "laser jet removal" because I'm an astronomy nerd and we (at least everyone I've stargazed with) always talk about how we shouldn't point the laser pointers at the bright, moving, blinking stars because that would be very bad and turn it into a shooting star.

On a side note, I wonder if Arctic Blues are powerful enough to be spotted by people on the ISS, and theoretically how much power and how focused a laser would have to be to blind someone in the cupola. Also how powerful it would need to be to burn a hole through its outside, assuming you had an ultra stable tracking mount. I need to know by Tuesday.

(Hi NSA, I know I'm on your watchlists for being the atheistic daughter of "Hassan" Muslim immigrants, a communist, and a tinkerer of really dangerous science, but this is xkcd and I am sure this is the least sketchy "what if" that has ever been asked on this site.)
[[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 10:30, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

:The first part of that question was tested in 2012. http://www.universetoday.com/93987/amateur-astronomers-flash-the-space-station/. The article mentions that the 800 million lumen (dubious) searchlights came in brighter than magnitude 0 but the 1 MW blue laser was "also visible". From the picture it looks to be about magnitude 2 or 3. To match the sun's brightness (for blinding purposes) you'd need to get that up to about -26.5. Making up a 29 magnitude difference means you'd need to make your laser about 400 billion times brighter, or about 400 petawatts. You can probably bring that power draw down significantly by focusing the beam more, but since the Earth's power consumption is only about 2.5 petawatts (per Randall), you're already pretty far outside the realm of possibility. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.220|108.162.237.220]] 13:41, 18 May 2016 (UTC)
When I say blind, I mean "blind" in the same sense of "I accidentally flashed my green laser pointer in my eye via my mirror." So that would be just 35mW at 20ft. Couldn't you develop an ultra-focused laser (atmospheric distortion aside) that was able to focus all that energy onto an astronaut's eye from the ground?
[[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 05:53, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

: {{w|Laser guide star}}s are impressively bright at a quarter of the distance to your orbit. 5 kW {{w|laser broom}}s have been proposed for laser satellite removal. The main problem with laser astronaut surgery is probably your huge relative velocity; they won't be visible through your windows long enough to be targeted. You might be more successful powering a {{w|space weapon|laser cannon}} from your solar array and trying to strike Baikonur. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 06:43, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

An inkjet printer is very definitely ''not'' xerographic printing, which refers to a dry printing process. A better term would be "raster" rather than "xerographic" although the former still does not imply converting the image to pixels, which appears to be the point the sentence is trying to make. At least "raster" means the image is converted to scan lines...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.123|108.162.241.123]] 02:31, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

I think that it means that you are strapping jets oflasers to your eyeballs and using them to peform surgery.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.97|108.162.221.97]] 21:22, 24 May 2016 (UTC)

"PC LOAD HAIR"? What the fuck does ''that'' mean? [[User:Jevicci|Jevicci]] ([[User talk:Jevicci|talk]]) 22:20, 25 May 2016 (UTC)

: Based on {{w|PC LOAD LETTER}}, an error message in some old printers. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.58|162.158.92.58]] 15:09, 29 March 2017 (UTC)

I think Laser Eyes Printer could refer to current technology of 3D printing, which is processes used to create a three-dimensional object in which material is joined or solidified under computer control to create an object, with material being added together (such as liquid molecules or powder grains being fused together). Albeit that it uses laser to print out the 3D representation of the eyes.Boeing-787lover 07:03, 9 December 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1923: Felsius

2017-12-03T06:33:06Z

Xkcdreader52:

Thanks who, at the same time as I, wrote the better explanation with formulae; you're welcome for the table (which, for my first attempt at a MediaWiki table, and in a big hurry to be first*, I think came out all right). ((*Go ahead and edit at will!)) --'''BigMal''' // [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.184|108.162.216.184]] 16:44, 1 December 2017 (UTC)

Seems like this is awfully relevant: https://xkcd.com/927/ -- '''Derek Antrican''' [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.23|108.162.246.23]] 16:54, 1 December 2017 (UTC)

You can't write formulas like that! °C is degree(s) Celsius, not the value of some temperature as measured in degrees Celsius. You should write something like [°C] or °C-1 instead (if we treat °C as an affine function mapping dimensionless values to temperatures). Or you can be explicit and say something like "x°F = ((x − 32) * 5 / 9)°C". --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.22|172.68.54.22]] 19:59, 1 December 2017 (UTC)

Fahrenheit contribution to the name is disproportionately small for an average of two scales. It should have been at least Falsius, with added punniness, or Fahlsius, to be more unique. -- '''Average Alex'''

: It should be ‘Fahlsius’, or even ‘Fählsius’, but notice that the pronunciation will still be more or less like ‘Felsius’ and not like ‘Fall-sius’ (for the same reason that ‘Fahrenheit’ or ‘Fährenheit’ is pronounced more or less like ‘Fair-enheit’ and not like ‘Far-enheit’. —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 04:58, 3 December 2017 (UTC)

I'm obliged to share https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=227Hdz8VFKo. As a pedant, I have to point out that water's melting and boiling point aren't quite at 0 °C and 100 °C (and that Celsius originally had it backwards). And I *do* like "Falsius". [[User:Fluppeteer|Fluppeteer]] ([[User talk:Fluppeteer|talk]]) 21:19, 1 December 2017 (UTC)

Watchout for Felsius/Celsius or Felsius/Fahrenheit hybrids: https://xkcd.com/419/ [[User:WhiteDragon|WhiteDragon]] ([[User talk:WhiteDragon|talk]]) 22:20, 1 December 2017 (UTC)

What is an "epislon"?
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.170|162.158.88.170]] 23:02, 1 December 2017 (UTC)

: A Greek letter; follow the link where the word first appears in the explanation. —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 04:58, 3 December 2017 (UTC)

I think the Ukranian Ye (Є) would be closer, visually speaking.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.42|162.158.186.42]] 23:40, 1 December 2017 (UTC)
* Or the mathematical symbol ⋲ (ELEMENT OF WITH LONG HORIZONTAL STROKE) or C̶ (LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C + COMBINING LONG STROKE OVERLAY)? Or ℃̶ (DEGREE CELSIUS + COMBINING LONG STROKE OVERLAY)? [[User:Sabik|Sabik]] ([[User talk:Sabik|talk]]) 11:36, 2 December 2017 (UTC)
*: Yes, ELEMENT OF WITH LONG HORIZONTAL STROKE seems exactly right (not only by look, but also since ELEMENT OF is basically a lunate Epsilon already and changing the HORIZONTAL STROKE so that it is LONG is precisely the modification WITH which it needs to be equipped), and I think that we should switch to this immediately! —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 04:58, 3 December 2017 (UTC)

Apparantly someone needs to be taught about the Rømer scale that is the ancestor of both Celcius and Fahrenhet. It has fixed constants for all three of water boiling, freezing and the temperature of brine.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.226|162.158.202.226]] 23:06, 2 December 2017 (UTC)

I remove the reference to ammonium chloride from the temperature table because, while it is cool (both figuratively and literally), it's also obsolete: in the modern Fahrenheit scale, this happens at 4°F, not at 0°F. (See the table at {{w|Frigorific mixture}}.) —[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 04:58, 3 December 2017 (UTC)

If the creator of the website that was inspired by the comic created one that was based on SE Asian countries, I would like to know the felsius of that. I am curious as heck.Boeing-787lover 06:33, 3 December 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1512: Horoscopes

2017-11-30T13:56:06Z

Xkcdreader52:

So funny - especially the title text made me laugh :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:05, 15 April 2015 (UTC)
:Nine months later, it would certainly eliminate the stress of wondering if you were gonna "get lucky" that night. - Equinox [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.120|199.27.128.120]] 16:13, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

The "coriolis effect" in the title text refers to the spin direction of vortices (rotating currents such as cyclones, whirlpools, and water draining from a basin), which is counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. The title text is a joke extending the reversal to the flow of time.
: The spin direction of whirlpools and basins is 'not' determined by the coriolis effect, on this scale its impact is way too small to make a difference. The title text refers to how the coriolis effect is often used to explain phenomena (especially with relation to the hemispheres), even when its wrong. --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.5|198.41.242.5]] 08:23, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

If the baby is born 9 months BEFORE they're conceived, would that account for the shift in seasons for the southern hemisphere? Born in March: Northern hemisphere -> conceived in June; Southern hemisphere -> conceived in December. June and December being summer respectively. If that's right, could someone add that to the wiki? [[User:none]]

The events described during which the conception of a person with a given birth month occurred assumes that the parents were in the United States at that time. The seasons would be shifted by six months in the southern hemisphere, and the holidays of the 4th of July (Independence Day -- Aries), Halloween (Cancer, conception in October), Thanksgiving (Leo, conception in November), Mother's Day (Aquarius, conception in May), and the NCAA (college) basketball playoffs ("March Madness" -- Sagittarius) , might either not be celebrated or celebrated on a different day. [[User:The Dining Logician|The Dining Logician]] ([[User talk:The Dining Logician|talk]]) 08:11, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

:Halloween is starting to become common in Brazil, including the "Trick or Treat" stuff. Mother's Day is also celebrated at the same date. And I wouldn't be surprised if Thanksgiving became common here too, if not only for the sales... [[Special:Contributions/188.114.97.151|188.114.97.151]] 19:47, 17 December 2015 (UTC)

"Today, horoscopes are admitted to be pseudoscience." Citation needed. But what rubbish. Horoscopes are not even pseudoscience, so who is it "admitting" they are? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.187|108.162.250.187]] 08:36, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

:Agree, I would like the citation for "today", as there were experiments disproving horoscopes in ancient Rome already (involving two babies born in same time, one rich, one slave). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:48, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

The general trick to horoscopes is make them vague enough that anyone can think they're true, regardless of their sign. --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 10:34, 15 April 2015 (UTC)
:"You will have an opportunity today, meet someone new and should take care of your finances. Family matters will continue as per the last few days." [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 13:41, 15 April 2015 (UTC)
: It's the {{w|Forer effect}}. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.134|108.162.249.134]] 21:55, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

I propose an addition to the "conceived during someone's wedding" -- it's more common that the conception is actually after the wedding, during the (somewhat expected) consummation by the actual married couple. Thus, "honeymoon babies"! --BigMal // [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.181|108.162.221.181]] 12:53, 15 April 2015 (UTC)
:I read this as being conceived at someone else's wedding - attending weddings often being a trigger for romantic thoughts. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.162|108.162.249.162]] 03:25, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

Wait, I though Superman goes back in time not by "going against earths rotation, but simply by going faster than light?[[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.209|141.101.88.209]] 19:53, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

The expected conception column is off, therefore the explanations may be off. Length of a human pregnancy is 38 weeks after conception, or 9 1/2 months, not the 9 months that is commonly portrayed. I'm not sure if Randall took this into account or not. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.121|199.27.133.121]] 20:40, 15 April 2015 (UTC)
:This is true, except you must have meant 8½ month not 9½ since 38 weeks is less than 9 month. Actually it is very close to 8,75 month. But anyway you are correct, that all the dates should be fixed to go 38 weeks back, not 9 months!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:54, 15 April 2015 (UTC)
::Yep, that is what I meant, sorry [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.121|199.27.133.121]] 05:26, 16 April 2015 (UTC)
::Updated with the correct dates, but the explanations haven't been proofread to conform with the dates [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.121|199.27.133.121]] 05:34, 16 April 2015 (UTC)
:::Fixed explanations, then realized you went for 40 weeks, not 38, so changed them to 38 weeks and fixed explanations again ;) [[User:Nealmcb|Nealmcb]] ([[User talk:Nealmcb|talk]]) 17:58, 16 April 2015 (UTC)
::::Even 38 weeks is idealised - I have a niece and nephew who were born 22 weeks after conception (4 years old now and doing well!) And term isn't until 41 weeks (from last menstruation) in France. 38 weeks happens to be a useful average in many parts of the world, but even healthy term pregnancies in USA/UK/Australia(/others?) covers the range of 35-40 weeks from conception. Also, with the rise of babies conceived by IVF, it's no longer quite so obvious what was happening 38-ish weeks before birth! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.162|108.162.249.162]] 03:30, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

No reference to the fact that November babies might be conceived on V day? [[User:Vkapadia|Vkapadia]] ([[User talk:Vkapadia|talk]]) 21:10, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

The real secret behind horoscopes and Nostradamus, is "vague shift"[[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 01:36, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

In the second paragraph of the explanation, can we use either "i.e." or "for example," but not both? I don't have a particular preference for one or another; anyone who does is encouraged to make the correction. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.125|173.245.50.125]] 06:32, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

I feel like there was a missed opportunity for Scorpio. Could have mentioned Valentines Day. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.102}}

Aquarius could also, perhaps sadly/strangely, be prom babies. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.7|108.162.215.7]] 22:29, 22 May 2016 (UTC)

Regarding about Gemini, which coincidentally I am one, doesn't apply to South-East Asian countries like Singapore(where I am born in), where the leaves doesn't change colors the whole year round. Same goes to the rest of the horoscopes as well. Boeing-787lover 13:56, 30 November 2017 (UTC)

Talk:968: Everything

2017-11-23T03:49:55Z

Xkcdreader52:

this is the sweetest comic - one of my favorites. {{unsigned ip|68.50.245.55}}

The first four statements are reminiscent of Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 (my mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun).[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.202|108.162.219.202]] 04:12, 3 January 2014 (UTC)

I smiled at the SWEETNESS, one of the best XKCD comics.Boeing-787lover 03:49, 23 November 2017 (UTC)

Talk:484: Flash Games

2017-11-22T14:08:43Z

Xkcdreader52:

http://reddawn.net/quilt/games/QCon/QCon.html {{unsigned ip|‎173.245.55.222}}

The explanation needs to explain the title text. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.45|108.162.216.45]] 23:25, 11 November 2013 (UTC)
:Yes, you are right. No time for me so far, maybe this comic should be on top at the "Today's incomplete explanation of the day" for one day more... --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:37, 12 November 2013 (UTC)
:Already got it for you guys [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.66|199.27.128.66]] 07:33, 12 November 2013 (UTC)

Am I missing something or are you looking too hard for an explanation? To me, it seems as simple as what it says. There are amazing gaming systems, but a lot of flash games are way more addictive. So the character (Cueball I guess he's been called here) simply is telling himself that he'll only play for one more hour before playing with his new console. The joke being that in an hour, he will say the same thing again. And again. And so on. That's all there is to this. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.63.180|173.245.63.180]] 07:32, 12 November 2013 (UTC)
:Games are what happens to nerds while they are waiting for their lives.
:Comics are what happen to me when I am waiting to be right again.
:My most tiresome trait is my effort to be correct.
:One day I will run out of comics.

[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 00:37, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Note the Wiimote blutacked to the television. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.222|162.158.2.222]] 02:26, 2 April 2016 (UTC)

This is as true today as it was in 2008. I spend more hours on little flash games than I do actual video games.
[[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 05:20, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

IMO, Flash games are more fun than current games, I literally spend a few hours playing Flash games while I only play a good 20 minutes on console games. Boeing-787lover 14:08, 22 November 2017 (UTC)

;Game Examples

Hey, anyone have any good games? Link below. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.119|108.162.246.119]] 04:14, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1031: s/keyboard/leopard/

2017-11-22T14:03:26Z

Xkcdreader52:

My mechanical leopard's been working out for me, just the feeling of my fingers hitting it is amazing. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:35, 21 January 2013 (UTC)

Why does it say "s/leopard/leopard/" in the url of this page, but title of this comic is "s/leopard/leopard/"?[[User:DiEvAl|DiEvAl]] ([[User talk:DiEvAl|talk]]) 17:57, 15 April 2013 (UTC)
:Now I see "s/leopard/leopard/" twice in my previous comment. I forgot that I have an extension installed that was inspired by this comic. :) [[User:DiEvAl|DiEvAl]] ([[User talk:DiEvAl|talk]]) 18:00, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

I swear I read every instance of leopard as leopard. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.89|173.245.54.89]] 23:33, 14 November 2013 (UTC)

Shouldn't the title of the comic end in "g" since it's a global replace, like "s/leopard/leopard/g"? [[User:Kroq-gar78|Kroq-gar78]] ([[User talk:Kroq-gar78|talk]]) 18:56, 23 November 2013 (UTC)
:I have no idea, but I do know that the current title matches the one on xkcd. We're not changing it, even if there was an error. [[User:NealCruco|NealCruco]] ([[User talk:NealCruco|talk]]) 03:50, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

:I just bought my new leopard today! It's working great, but it's a bit hard to use. Is there such a thing as a leopard-repair shop? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.47|108.162.219.47]] 21:03, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
some[http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-leopards-keypads] leopards even have touch screens[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.45|108.162.216.45]] 05:58, 8 March 2014 (UTC)

You sure it's not a sed command? Regexps just matches! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.97|108.162.215.97]] 13:44, 8 September 2014 (UTC)
:actually, it's an ed command.[[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 12:10, 12 February 2015 (UTC)

If the first user's leopard now produces language in Chinese, why is the message in English? {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.155}}

The first add-on looks like google translate. {{unsigned ip|108.162.222.159}}

KEYBOARD. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 06:58, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

I have an extension that does quite this, so I have no idea who is actually saying "leopard". [[User:Cody Hackins|Cody Hackins]] ([[User talk:Cody Hackins|talk]]) 01:37, 9 March 2016 (UTC)
: Everyone except the person right above you (in allcaps) is just saying leopard. Here. Does this work? K E Y B O A R D?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.115|108.162.245.115]] 21:55, 3 June 2016 (UTC)

The first extension is Translate; the third is Wolfram|Alpha. [[User:Papayaman1000|Papayaman1000]] ([[User talk:Papayaman1000|talk]]) 07:15, 5 June 2016 (UTC)

As far as I know, 's/old/new/' only replaces the first instance of 'old' with 'new'. One would gace to use the g flag after the last slash to enable replacement of all instances of 'old'
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.91.223|141.101.91.223]] 23:42, 28 June 2016 (UTC)

My leopard doesn't seems to be working well since I didn't insert my leopard's USB port into my computer.Boeing-787lover 14:03, 22 November 2017 (UTC)

Talk:499: Scantron

2017-11-22T13:45:54Z

Xkcdreader52:

I used a 2B pencil for the SAT. Hope I didn't kill anyone. --[[User:Troy0|Troy0]] ([[User talk:Troy0|talk]]) 09:30, 25 September 2014 (UTC)
:I see your dilemma. The test starts and you only have a 2B pencil. Take the risk or fail the test? 2B or not 2B?--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.86.71|162.158.86.71]] 12:20, 6 October 2016 (UTC)

It always bugged me how strictly my teachers would enforce this--[[User:Potato Gunman3|Potato Gunman3]] ([[User talk:Potato Gunman3|talk]]) 02:01, 1 May 2015 (UTC)

I find it weird that they point out how an imperfect mark will not register, but they warn against any stray marks or an incompletely erased bubble will. Which is it, one or the other? [[User:RedHatGuy68|RedHatGuy68]] ([[User talk:RedHatGuy68|talk]]) 01:48, 29 October 2015 (UTC)

I always thought it strange they always told you to use a #2 pencil even though anything but a #2 pencil is pretty rare for a student to even find.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.10|108.162.221.10]] 22:41, 2 March 2016 (UTC)

"that most modern students have heard" Not true. First of all, I've never even heard of this "Scantron" thing, and second of all, I've never had tests with only multiple choice things. In fact, multiple choice things are very rare, I think I could count all the times I've had a test involving them with only one hand. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.166|162.158.238.166]] 14:35, 21 February 2017 (UTC)

:Same here. Although I am in England: maybe this is an American thing (i.e. should be "most modern US students")? Particularly considering the use of #2 vs #3 (which I've never encountered) as opposed to HB vs H. -- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.179|141.101.99.179]] 20:47, 30 March 2017 (UTC)

My country uses 2B pencils/mechanical pencils for shading, if we used a different shade, for example, 3B, the machine will not be able to detect the darker/lighter shade. Boeing-787lover 13:45, 22 November 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1865: Wifi vs Cellular

2017-08-28T16:46:07Z

Xkcdreader52:

I'm not sure it applies in my country. While I have access to cellular internet that is somewhat faster than my home wifi, it is not nearly as reliable for important downloads and definitely several magnitudes costlier when it comes to, say, a Gigabyte of data. [[User:Xenos|Xenos]] ([[User talk:Xenos|talk]]) 05:39, 19 July 2017 (UTC)

Heck, it doesn't even apply in my area of the US (rural Maine). We have no cellular connection at all (well, if you stand at a window at the farthest end of the house, sometimes you can make a call), and the Internet connection for our computers is so slow that upgrading a new-to-me laptop to Windows 10 last week took 36 hours. Now I'm trying to add several thousand jpg images to my Google Drive; that takes about 75 minutes per 100 photos. While they're uploading I don't dare visit any other website. Something about keepalive pings not being able to get to the modem, which then shuts down the link altogether. [[User:MaineGrammy|MaineGrammy]] ([[User talk:MaineGrammy|talk]]) 08:59, 19 July 2017 (UTC)

Panamax is probably a reference to [[1632]]. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.88|172.68.10.88]] 09:51, 19 July 2017 (UTC)

I'm not sure that home wifi was even a thing that could be used widely by the public in the early 2000s. [[User:OldCorps|OldCorps]] ([[User talk:OldCorps|talk]]) 15:06, 19 July 2017 (UTC)

Apple's AirPort was introduced in 1999. So while it may not have been used widely, it was in use at my house. The graph mentions reliability, not ubiquity. [[User:Neopanamax|Neopanamax]] ([[User talk:Neopanamax|talk]]) 15:27, 19 July 2017 (UTC)
:Fair enough. I wasn't talking at all about reliability, I genuinely didn't know home wifi was available that early. [[User:OldCorps|OldCorps]] ([[User talk:OldCorps|talk]]) 17:18, 19 July 2017 (UTC)

The explanation says something about ubiquity, which seems odd in relation to HOME wifi - either you have it or you don't. The performance issue Randall mentions might be the WiFi itself, or might be down to the network; it's common for broadband solutions to be marketed as "up to", while never achieving close to the advertised speed (either through sharing the connection or range-related drop-off). Case in point, I have an ancient (~2004) ADSL connection that was supposed to be 8Mbit/s, and barely reaches 2; my home wifi (which as it happens I've just updated) isn't the sticking point - the upstream connection is. At some point I'll go optical and fix this, but my ADSL router is currently doing complicated things with IP translation and a fix isn't a trivial drop-in. I can't be the only one with iffy home data. Meanwhile, my cell phone's connection has healthily outperformed my ADSL from the moment it went 4G; I'm actively annoyed that my cell provider recently added a 12GB cap on tethered data, because operating system updates are appreciably faster if I link to my phone. Cellphone connections do have to share the available bandwidth across more users, but on the other hand they're less likely to suffer interference and poorly-implemented devices. [[User:Fluppeteer|Fluppeteer]] ([[User talk:Fluppeteer|talk]]) 18:43, 19 July 2017 (UTC)
:ADSL is often limited by physical quality and length of the cable. Most other connections are limited by ISP's price and sharing strategy. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 21:44, 19 July 2017 (UTC)
:Re: Ubiquity, when I'm at home, I connect to my home wi-fi. When I visit my mother, I connect to her home wi-fi. At my brother's, his home wi-fi. At my cousin's, his home wi-fi. At my buddy's place, HIS home wi-fi. Every bar I go to - like right this second as I post this - THEIR wi-fi. In this day and age everybody I know has internet-enabled wi-fi in their home, as do many businesses. So, that's what I understand by Randall's use of "ubiquity" here. :) Most places we go (at least in big cities like mine) there's some wi-fi available to connect to. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:30, 21 July 2017 (UTC)

802.11n can go up to 600 Mbps, and the routers and cards that support it are very reasonably priced with the advent of 802.11ac. That's not to say that LTE isn't sometimes faster, but it's disingenuous to suggest that WiFi is always slower now. [[User:Stephonovich|Stephonovich]] ([[User talk:Stephonovich|talk]]) 18:57, 19 July 2017 (UTC)
:802.11n and 802.11ac are mostly not fully supported, manufacturers use them only as quasi standards for their own solutions often not compatible to others. But modern LTE is faster than 802.11b/g and the real 802.11n standard.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:16, 19 July 2017 (UTC)

Note that if your home network is too stable for this effect, try wifi in some restaurant. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 21:44, 19 July 2017 (UTC)

To get something to load on my computer, sometimes I have to turn on my phone's wifi hotspot (or tethering). ―[[User:TobyBartels|TobyBartels]] ([[User talk:TobyBartels|talk]]) 18:06, 20 July 2017 (UTC)

See https://www.maketecheasier.com/find-best-wifi-channel/#comments. One of the problems is that many WiFi routers have their power set to maximum, which means that they can interfere with WiFi networks at fairly large distances. I also have a suspicion that some ISP providers have misconfigured the routers they supply so that the range of their router looks better even though it causes problems. (They hope that you will blame the problems on someone else.) What I haven't decided is whether this is deliberate or simply due to incompetence and lack of diligence. The indication of this is a large number of networks in the display that won't even get to the point of requesting a password. I have also found that performance varies widely over time. [[User:BradleyRoss|BradleyRoss]] ([[User talk:BradleyRoss|talk]]) 03:02, 21 July 2017 (UTC)

Right now the title text's explanation includes "Being "with HBO" would mean being able to stream TV shows made by HBO, notably Game of Thrones, natively rather than relying on piracy or an add-on service to provide them as most online viewers do.". It seems like whoever wrote this is unaware that HBO is an actual TV channel. The title text appears to be expanding on the low quality of the home wi-fi, implying that the wi-fi's internet is from the cable company. A CABLE COMPANY'S package being "with HBO" would simply mean that the CABLE TV channel selection includes that channel, that's all. Nothing about streaming (though people with HBO usually have access to stream it as well, such as with the HBO Go mobile app). And there's nothing "notable" about Game Of Thrones here, that is merely an example of an HBO show, there's no reference or even slight connection to GoT in this comic to make it notable. I'm looking for some consensus here but if there's no change or comments by Thursday night I'll try my hand at fixing it. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 09:54, 26 July 2017 (UTC)
:Agreed that the "streaming" part of the explanation is a bit cluncky, but I don't agree that there is nothing notable about Game of Thrones. This comic appeared 3 days after the first episode of GoT season 7 was released. My personal experience has been that absolutely everyone is talking about it, and everyone is trying to get access to it. In France, demand for live access to the show via the largest ISP's VOD service was so high it broke their servers, so the first episode ended up being offered to stream for free. It is not out of the question that this comic might have been inspired precisely by Randall's attempt to get a reliable streaming connection to watch the show... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.220|108.162.229.220]] 11:38, 26 July 2017 (UTC)
::No need for GoT, it's not mentioned (also not hidden) in the comic. And "XTREME" is simple "extreme" and "HBO" means a subscription to their streaming service. Cheap in the beginning but after that extraordinary expensive.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:01, 26 July 2017 (UTC)
:::Gotta agree with Dgbrt here, there's no mention of GoT here, or even a vague implication. The comic only talks about "getting something to load", not even a mention of streaming or TV shows. Meaning the only connection to GoT is the timing. Even HBO isn't even the focus of the comic, and merely gets a passing mention in the title text! To me, that's enough for a mention, but that's about it, like "Seeing as this comic was released 3 days after the season 7 premiere of Game Of Thrones on HBO, this comic may be a result of Randall trying to stream it.". (On a couple of side notes, I tend to think people still try to watch actual shows and movies on real screens, not a phone, only using their phone when they're out and desperate, and especially when in a position to use wi-fi. If you have wi-fi, you probably also have access to a better screen. And actually this year personally I've seen no mention of GoT, at least among my Facebook friends. Some ads on TV that the season was starting an a certain date - despite my not having HBO! It always gets me when stations advertise on OTHER stations - then that's it. For me it's been very quiet this year) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:22, 28 July 2017 (UTC)
:::: As a side note to the side note: It's perfectly plausible to use the phone's cellular connection AND having a "real screen". Establish a private hotspot with the phone to which the "real screen"-device can connect via wifi [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:36, 31 July 2017 (UTC)
::::: Well of course. :) I've done that myself. Maybe I'm too focused on the times when I've had to watch my phone bandwidth, especially since my phone STILL isn't unlimited just yet. :) But I still find most TVs these days are larger than the screens of computers and such which can use such a hotspot, with the exception of AppleTV and such devices providing streaming capability to TVs. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:53, 1 August 2017 (UTC)
:::::: "[...] private hotspot with the phone to which the "real screen"-device can connect via wifi" to which the TV can be connected via <port name>-cable ;) If your TV or device happen to have neither port suitable for such a connection or you don't have a fitting cable you're out of luck, though... XD However, personally I'm not that into that whole mobile stuff. My monthly volume is still limited to 250 MB which I never exceeded (while my partner has 8 GB) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 06:37, 1 August 2017 (UTC)
My house's Wi-Fi is somehow better than my cellular data which majority is in 3G mode, if my Wi-Fi breaks at home, I would just off my Wi-Fi and restart again, it downloads faster than my cellular data..Boeing-787lover 16:46, 28 August 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1858: 4th of July

2017-07-07T13:18:33Z

Xkcdreader52:

Hmm. I would personally switch 2017 goal with 2018. But in the meantime, I'm going to practice my armor-polishing skills so that my future master will treat me well. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.33|162.158.74.33]] 15:46, 3 July 2017 (UTC) SiliconWolf

:Drones don't have armor. At least not yet. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:17, 7 July 2017 (UTC)

Added an initial description, definitely needs work though. Hopefully it covers the bases for readers not aware of Independence day celebration in the US [[User:Bpendragon|Bpendragon]] ([[User talk:Bpendragon|talk]]) 17:32, 3 July 2017 (UTC)

A far as hitting drones with fireworks, fireworks cannot be controlled once launched and air currents (especially if there are drones in the vicinity) would make the fireworks' trajectories unpredictable.

Intercepting fireworks with drones would require precise control of the drone.
[[User:The Dining Logician|The Dining Logician]] ([[User talk:The Dining Logician|talk]]) 17:45, 3 July 2017 (UTC)
: "''fireworks cannot be controlled once launched''" .. I think people can fix that if sufficiently motivated ;-) [[User:Zmatt|Zmatt]] ([[User talk:Zmatt|talk]]) 08:11, 5 July 2017 (UTC)
:: If it can be controlled, it's usually called missile, not firework. Although I suppose you can make a decent fireworks with {{w|MIRV}}s. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:17, 7 July 2017 (UTC)

I don't understand the title text, I understand the first part, but the second part had me confused.[[User:Xkcdreader52|Xkcdreader52]] ([[User talk:Xkcdreader52|talk]]) 06:55, 5 July 2017 (UTC)
:''It's pretty messy.''--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:24, 5 July 2017 (UTC)

:There's also Nathan's Coney Island Hot Dog eating contest on July 4 each year - which also gets pretty messy, with contestants eating over 70 hot dogs with buns in just 10 minutes.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.179|108.162.238.179]] 12:39, 7 July 2017 (UTC)

: Thanks so much for the explanation! I didn't read it properly I guess. Boeing-787lover 13:18, 7 July 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1859: Sports Knowledge

2017-07-05T19:03:25Z

Xkcdreader52:

Turns out I don't know enough about sports to get this comic. Thanks Explain XKCD! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.184|108.162.245.184]] 15:54, 5 July 2017 (UTC)

Thanks for the explaination! I learnt a lot!Boeing-787lover 19:03, 5 July 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1858: 4th of July

2017-07-05T06:55:22Z

Xkcdreader52: