https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=162.158.166.125&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T11:04:25ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1932:_The_True_Meaning_of_Christmas&diff=3300941932: The True Meaning of Christmas2023-12-04T01:41:53Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1932<br />
| date = December 22, 2017<br />
| title = The True Meaning of Christmas<br />
| image = the_true_meaning_of_christmas.png<br />
| titletext = They all made fun of Autometalogolex, but someday there will be a problem with Christmas that can only be solved if Santa somehow gets a serious headache, and then they'll see.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
This is the first of two [[:Category:Christmas|Christmas comics]] in a row. It is making fun of the common trope in popular media that the {{tvtropes|TrueMeaningOfChristmas|true meaning of Christmas}} is about family, friends, and sharing the Christmas Spirit. It subverts the trope by suggesting that once the stories of the "True Meaning of Christmas" become sufficiently common, the real true meaning becomes to spread those stories. Thus the search for the "True Meaning of Christmas" is itself the meaning of Christmas, in a sort of "the journey is the reward" discovery.<br />
<br />
In the last panel and title text, "Autometalogolex" is a {{w|neologism}} of Randall's, which can be broken down to its various prefixes and the root:<br />
:"Auto-" - Greek meaning "self."<br />
:"Meta-" - Greek meaning "after," "beyond," or "in reference to."<br />
:"Logo-" - Greek meaning "word" or "speech."<br />
:"Lex" - "lexis" is another Greek word meaning "word"; but in this case it is more likely to be a shortening of "lexicon" (another word for dictionary), or perhaps a reference to the process of "lexing" (lexical analysis), part of the process of computer analysis of text.<br />
Thus, "Autometalogolex" would literally mean "A word that refers to itself in the dictionary," or more precisely "the act of looking up the definition of autometalogolex", which leads to a recursion, as all ''meaning of Christmas'' stories do. Recursion and self-reference is a [[:Category:Self-reference|recurring theme]] in xkcd.<br />
<br />
The term Autometalogolex might also refer to autological words, words that refer to a property of the word itself. ("noun" is a noun, "pentasyllabic" is pentasyllabic [has 5 syllables]). "Autometalogolex" is a 'meta' version of the looking up (lex) of an autological word.<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] finally states that Autometalogolex is his least favorite of {{w|Santa Claus's reindeer}}. This is not among the commonly quoted list of names: ''Dasher'', ''Dancer'', ''Prancer'', ''Vixen'', ''Comet'', ''Cupid'', ''Donder'', and ''Blitzen''.{{Citation needed}} As the title text reveals this ninth reindeer could be a reference to {{w|Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer}}, who was not accepted by the others until Santa had problems and asked it to lead the other reindeer pulling the sleigh. The title text may also imply the only effective outcome of Autometalogolex (or the newly defined Christmas) is giving headaches, as with many self-referential concepts. As headaches generally are bad{{citation needed}}, Autometalogolex is not accepted, but - as in a typical Christmas story, here driven into the absurd realm - Santa needed a headache, and Autometalogolex was there to save the day.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is talking to a guy wearing a Santa hat.]<br />
:Cueball: You’re looking festive.<br />
:Santa Hat: I love Christmas!<br />
:Cueball: Really? Doesn’t seem like your kind of thing.<br />
:Santa Hat: It’s our most meta holiday!<br />
<br />
:[Same setting.]<br />
:Cueball: How so?<br />
:Santa Hat: All our Christmas stories now are about discovering the “true meaning of Christmas.”<br />
<br />
:[The same setting in a frame-less panel where Santa Hat shrugs.]<br />
:Cueball: Huh, yeah. And then sharing it with others.<br />
:Santa Hat: At some point, that quest itself ''became'' the true meaning.<br />
<br />
:[Same setting with Santa Hat holding a hand to his chin.]<br />
:Cueball: Like a word whose definition is “the act of looking up the definition of this word.”<br />
:Santa Hat: “Autometalogolex”?<br />
:Cueball: My least favorite of Santa’s reindeer.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*At the time this comic was released the expression ''Autometalogolex'' did not exist. But only a few hours later at {{w|Urban Dictionary}} this phrase got its first entries: [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Autometalogolex Urbandictionary Autometalogolex].<br />
*It appears that HopJacker Brewer makes a beer named ''Autometalogolex'', presumably named after this comic. There are [https://untappd.com/b/hopjacker-brewery-autometalogolex/2550579/photos multiple] [http://www.rutlandcamra.org.uk/2018/02/27/empingham-cricket-club-beer-festival-beer-list/ references] to it online, though it doesn't appear on [http://hopjacker.co.uk/beers/ HopJacker's own webpage], so it is possible that this beer doesn't exist and folks are just trolling beer drinkers to get them to autometalogolex.<br />
*Some believe that the Santa Hat character is actually [[Black Hat]], owing to the Santa hat in question being black (the character's behavior, and [[Cueball]]'s comment that Santa Hat doesn't seem to be the type to enjoy Christmas match Black Hat's personality perfectly). However, the Santa hat may actually be meant to be red but rendered as black because the comic is in black-and-white (although it's worth nothing that in [[361: Christmas Back Home]] and [[838: Incident]], Christmas clothing was shown as red, not black). Santa Hat's identity is therefore unclear. But that was of course [[:Category:Comics with color|Comics with color]] which is not the norm in xkcd, which is why there is a category for those. In black and white comics it makes no sense to discuss that a black Santa hat must be black.<br />
**But already in the next comic where the "real" Santa is described his red Santa Hat is drawn black, thus proving that it is not a black hat because it is black in the comic.<br />
**Since there are many comics with [[:Category:Multiple Cueballs|Multiple Cueballs]], it could just as well be Cueball with a Santa Hat and another guy asking him about it.<br />
**As there is no way to decide, then the best description of this comic is that Cueball is talking to a guy with a Santa Hat.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Christmas]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Characters with hats]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Self-reference]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:ClassicalGames&diff=312813User talk:ClassicalGames2023-05-11T00:53:01Z<p>162.158.166.125: Clarification</p>
<hr />
<div>You can create pages.<br />
<br />
I've changed my password for you. [[User:ChristmasGospel|ChristmasGospel]] ([[User talk:ChristmasGospel|talk]]) 23:00, 8 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Thank you. You can change your password back and continue to use your own computer. [[User:ClassicalGames|ClassicalGames]] ([[User talk:ClassicalGames|talk]]) 07:28, 9 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: you black kike antifascist. Chink. You are a complete jerk. You couldn't be more motherfucking. You are a gay. TMD. CNMLGB. Your mom is dead. Hitler will rise and kill you. You are purely a bad antifascist. You are more of a fool than a fool. You are more stupid a than all humans in the world, combined. You are not a single human. You are as blind as a bat. You never care about our fascist movements. You chai-knees. Chai-knees dirty knees. You know Hitler? He will come up and use an A-bomb to destroy your house, your car, and your office building. He will kill your stupid girlfriend. I'm not a spammer. I'm a legitimate fascist in America. Fuck poor non-fascist.<br />
<br />
: Hey, you never showed any sympathy to the fascists? Don't you want to continue living? You are as poor as Job. Maybe you can just volunteer to kill yourself so the fascists can eat your dead body. Fuck you. (That's my way of being polite)<br />
<br />
: You are already old enough to die, according to your nationality. You poor gay dude. You are a motherfuckingly motherfucking motherfucker. You are a dim-witted edit-reverter. Your knees are made of fragile china. Fuk your country's president, and your entire naion. Your whole nation will be destroyid within three months. Any strong force will cover up your whole country in three months. Your skin is as yellow as feces (yes, there are some other people whose skin is golden). And it's smelly. You had better depart from this world as soon as possible. Actually. you should have died earlier, much earlier. It's a piy that Hitler passed away too early.<br />
<br />
:: Done! [[User:ChristmasGospel|ChristmasGospel]] ([[User talk:ChristmasGospel|talk]]) 22:54, 9 May 2023 (UTC)</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=721:_Flatland&diff=312504721: Flatland2023-05-06T23:55:46Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 721<br />
| date = March 31, 2010<br />
| title = Flatland<br />
| image = flatland.png<br />
| titletext = Also, I apologize for the time I climbed down into your world and everyone freaked out about the lesbian orgy overseen by a priest.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic is a reference to the satirical novel ''{{w|Flatland|Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions}}'', in which a society of flat shapes live in a {{w|Two-dimensional space|2D}} world. Half the book is a direct satire of {{w|Victorian era|Victorian}} society, and the other half explores the experience of discovering a new dimension, where a sphere introduces a square (named A. Square) to {{w|Three-dimensional space|3D}}. [[Cueball]] appears to have taken the place of this sphere, and the comic takes place after the square knows the third dimension exists.<br />
<br />
Humans will never fully be able to fully grasp the concept of a fourth spatial dimension (at least not in the foreseeable future), but there are ways of squashing or slicing four dimensions to create partial visualizations of 4D space. ''{{w|Miegakure}}'' is a yet-to-be-released 4D game that uses cross-sections of 4D space. Cueball attempted to play a pre-release version of it, but after having his "mind blown", he gained more sympathy for A. Square, who'd had similar trouble understanding 3D. A. Square accepts his apology.<br />
<br />
The joke here is that Cueball was being silly and drew lines on A. Square to make him look like {{w|SpongeBob SquarePants (character)|SpongeBob}}, which did not make the square happy. Cueball apologizes again.<br />
<br />
The title text is a third apology for when Cueball crawled down into the second dimension. Being a stick figure, he is composed of a circle and straight lines {{cn}}. In Flatland, circles are priests (Flatland's highest social level), and all women are lines; thus, to a watcher in Flatland, Cueball would look very much like a priest above many connected women, which may look like a lesbian orgy.<br />
<br />
Also worth mentioning is the pun in the greetings: A. Square - being on ground level - asks Cueball above him how he's doing by asking what's up.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball talks to a square on the ground.]<br />
:Cueball: Hey, A. Square. How's Flatland?<br />
:A. Square: Still flat. What's up?<br />
:Cueball: I just spent an hour playing a demo of this 4D game called Miegakure.<br />
<br />
:[In a frameless panel, a character in Miegakure jumps around the 4D landscape.]<br />
:Caption above the panel: Trying to jump from block to block in four dimensions hurt my brain.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball continues talking to A. Square on the ground.]<br />
:Cueball: So I apologize for giving you a hard time when you were slow to understand 3D space. I sympathize now.<br />
:A. Square: It's okay.<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on Cueball's head]<br />
:Cueball: Also, I apologize for drawing arms, legs, and eyes on you to make you look like SpongeBob. That was out of line.<br />
:A. Square: Yes, it was.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*There is actually a SpongeBob episode featuring a flat creature that resembles a crude drawing of SpongeBob.<br />
<br />
===UniXKCD===<br />
*This comic was released on March 31, 2010 and was still up on April 1st, 2010. <br />
**On {{w|April_Fools%27_Day|April Fools' Day}} in 2010 [[Randall]] altered the website to mimic a {{w|Unix}} command line interface. <br />
**This interface is still available on [https://uni.xkcd.com uni.xkcd.com] and the source code is available on [https://github.com/chromakode/xkcdfools GitHub]. <br />
**See more on the [[UniXKCD]] April Fools' Day joke.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Geometry]]<br />
[[Category:Video games]]<br />
[[Category:Homosexuality]]<br />
[[Category:Sex]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=721:_Flatland&diff=312503721: Flatland2023-05-06T23:55:30Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 721<br />
| date = March 31, 2010<br />
| title = Flatland<br />
| image = flatland.png<br />
| titletext = Also, I apologize for the time I climbed down into your world and everyone freaked out about the lesbian orgy overseen by a priest.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic is a reference to the satirical novel ''{{w|Flatland|Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions}}'', in which a society of flat shapes live in a {{w|Two-dimensional space|2D}} world. Half the book is a direct satire of {{w|Victorian era|Victorian}} society, and the other half explores the experience of discovering a new dimension, where a sphere introduces a square (named A. Square) to {{w|Three-dimensional space|3D}}. [[Cueball]] appears to have taken the place of this sphere, and the comic takes place after the square knows the third dimension exists.<br />
<br />
Humans will never fully be able to fully grasp the concept of a fourth spatial dimension (at least not in the foreseeable future), but there are ways of squashing or slicing four dimensions to create partial visualizations of 4D space. ''{{w|Miegakure}}'' is a yet-to-be-released 4D game that uses cross-sections of 4D space. Cueball attempted to play a pre-release version of it, but after having his "mind blown", he gained more sympathy for A. Square, who'd had similar trouble understanding 3D. A. Square accepts his apology.<br />
<br />
The joke here is that Cueball was being silly and drew lines on A. Square to make him look like {{w|SpongeBob SquarePants (character)|SpongeBob}}, which did not make the square happy. Cueball apologizes again.<br />
<br />
The title text is a third apology for when Cueball crawled down into the second dimension. Being a stick figure, he is composed of a circle and straight lines {cn}. In Flatland, circles are priests (Flatland's highest social level), and all women are lines; thus, to a watcher in Flatland, Cueball would look very much like a priest above many connected women, which may look like a lesbian orgy.<br />
<br />
Also worth mentioning is the pun in the greetings: A. Square - being on ground level - asks Cueball above him how he's doing by asking what's up.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball talks to a square on the ground.]<br />
:Cueball: Hey, A. Square. How's Flatland?<br />
:A. Square: Still flat. What's up?<br />
:Cueball: I just spent an hour playing a demo of this 4D game called Miegakure.<br />
<br />
:[In a frameless panel, a character in Miegakure jumps around the 4D landscape.]<br />
:Caption above the panel: Trying to jump from block to block in four dimensions hurt my brain.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball continues talking to A. Square on the ground.]<br />
:Cueball: So I apologize for giving you a hard time when you were slow to understand 3D space. I sympathize now.<br />
:A. Square: It's okay.<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on Cueball's head]<br />
:Cueball: Also, I apologize for drawing arms, legs, and eyes on you to make you look like SpongeBob. That was out of line.<br />
:A. Square: Yes, it was.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*There is actually a SpongeBob episode featuring a flat creature that resembles a crude drawing of SpongeBob.<br />
<br />
===UniXKCD===<br />
*This comic was released on March 31, 2010 and was still up on April 1st, 2010. <br />
**On {{w|April_Fools%27_Day|April Fools' Day}} in 2010 [[Randall]] altered the website to mimic a {{w|Unix}} command line interface. <br />
**This interface is still available on [https://uni.xkcd.com uni.xkcd.com] and the source code is available on [https://github.com/chromakode/xkcdfools GitHub]. <br />
**See more on the [[UniXKCD]] April Fools' Day joke.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Geometry]]<br />
[[Category:Video games]]<br />
[[Category:Homosexuality]]<br />
[[Category:Sex]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=721:_Flatland&diff=312502721: Flatland2023-05-06T23:54:31Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 721<br />
| date = March 31, 2010<br />
| title = Flatland<br />
| image = flatland.png<br />
| titletext = Also, I apologize for the time I climbed down into your world and everyone freaked out about the lesbian orgy overseen by a priest.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic is a reference to the satirical novel ''{{w|Flatland|Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions}}'', in which a society of flat shapes live in a {{w|Two-dimensional space|2D}} world. Half the book is a direct satire of {{w|Victorian era|Victorian}} society, and the other half explores the experience of discovering a new dimension, where a sphere introduces a square (named A. Square) to {{w|Three-dimensional space|3D}}. [[Cueball]] appears to have taken the place of this sphere, and the comic takes place after the square knows the third dimension exists.<br />
<br />
Humans will never fully be able to fully grasp the concept of a fourth spatial dimension (at least not in the foreseeable future), but there are ways of squashing or slicing four dimensions to create partial visualizations of 4D space. ''{{w|Miegakure}}'' is a yet-to-be-released 4D game that uses cross-sections of 4D space. Cueball attempted to play a pre-release version of it, but after having his "mind blown", he gained more sympathy for A. Square, who'd had similar trouble understanding 3D. A. Square accepts his apology.<br />
<br />
The joke here is that Cueball was being silly and drew lines on A. Square to make him look like {{w|SpongeBob SquarePants (character)|SpongeBob}}, which did not make the square happy. Cueball apologizes again.<br />
<br />
The title text is a third apology for when Cueball crawled down into the second dimension. Being a stick figure, he is composed of a circle and straight lines [[citation needed]]. In Flatland, circles are priests (Flatland's highest social level), and all women are lines; thus, to a watcher in Flatland, Cueball would look very much like a priest above many connected women, which may look like a lesbian orgy.<br />
<br />
Also worth mentioning is the pun in the greetings: A. Square - being on ground level - asks Cueball above him how he's doing by asking what's up.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball talks to a square on the ground.]<br />
:Cueball: Hey, A. Square. How's Flatland?<br />
:A. Square: Still flat. What's up?<br />
:Cueball: I just spent an hour playing a demo of this 4D game called Miegakure.<br />
<br />
:[In a frameless panel, a character in Miegakure jumps around the 4D landscape.]<br />
:Caption above the panel: Trying to jump from block to block in four dimensions hurt my brain.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball continues talking to A. Square on the ground.]<br />
:Cueball: So I apologize for giving you a hard time when you were slow to understand 3D space. I sympathize now.<br />
:A. Square: It's okay.<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on Cueball's head]<br />
:Cueball: Also, I apologize for drawing arms, legs, and eyes on you to make you look like SpongeBob. That was out of line.<br />
:A. Square: Yes, it was.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*There is actually a SpongeBob episode featuring a flat creature that resembles a crude drawing of SpongeBob.<br />
<br />
===UniXKCD===<br />
*This comic was released on March 31, 2010 and was still up on April 1st, 2010. <br />
**On {{w|April_Fools%27_Day|April Fools' Day}} in 2010 [[Randall]] altered the website to mimic a {{w|Unix}} command line interface. <br />
**This interface is still available on [https://uni.xkcd.com uni.xkcd.com] and the source code is available on [https://github.com/chromakode/xkcdfools GitHub]. <br />
**See more on the [[UniXKCD]] April Fools' Day joke.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Geometry]]<br />
[[Category:Video games]]<br />
[[Category:Homosexuality]]<br />
[[Category:Sex]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2763:_Linguistics_Gossip&diff=3105072763: Linguistics Gossip2023-04-17T02:07:58Z<p>162.158.166.125: cats</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2763<br />
| date = April 14, 2023<br />
| title = Linguistics Gossip<br />
| image = linguistics_gossip_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 269x329px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = The E's wedding invitation definitely used the word LOVE more times than was strictly necessary.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by Æ's DIVORCE ATTORNEY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Æ}} (pronounced "ash") is a letter formed from a {{w|Ligature (writing)|ligature}} of A and E. Depending on the language, it can be pronounced as a diphthong /ae̯/ (Classical Latin), as an /ɛ/ sound like in "b''e''t" (Old Norse, later forms of Latin), as an /eɪ̯/ like in "oy v''ey''", as an /aɪ̯/ like in "''aye''-aye", or as an /æ/ like in "c''a''t" (Danish, Norwegian, and in the International Phonetic Alphabet).<br />
<br />
The comic personifies the letters "A" and "E", imagining that the character Æ represents a romantic relationship between the two. It then imagines a situation in which the two letters end the relationship and eventually marry other letters, giving rise to two new ligatures (A with R and E with V).<br />
<br />
The title text continues with the idea of personified letters with E's wedding invitation. In the comic, E's new relationship appears to be with the letter "V" as implied with the statement with E's wedding invitation repeatedly using the word "LOVE", which would spawn many chances to use a V+E ligature. Part of the humor in the title text comes from the idea that the number of times the word "LOVE" is used in a wedding invitation can be defined as "strictly necessary," even though a wedding is a celebration of love. Love (presumably) is the reason for a marriage, or perhaps they are self-deluding themselves, or desperately trying to convince others that it is genuine romance rather than a relationship at least partially on the rebound from the original split. This could also be a reference to strict linguistics and grammar guidelines that do not make sense in a given context.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[There is a broken heart centered at the top of the image. Below that is the capital letter Æ (a letter combining A and E). There are arrows pointing downward — one from the A of Æ to an A, and one from the E to an E. Below this layer is an arrow from the A to a letter combining A and R, and an arrow from the E to a letter combining V and E.]<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
<br />
:Hot linguistics gossip: The '''A''' and '''E''' from '''Æ''' have broken up and are now married to other letters.<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Language]]<br />
[[Category: Romance]]<br />
[[Category:Comics_with_lowercase_letters]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2763:_Linguistics_Gossip&diff=310470Talk:2763: Linguistics Gossip2023-04-16T09:09:57Z<p>162.158.166.125: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
Added initial explanation [[User:Bamboo|Bamboo]] ([[User talk:Bamboo|talk]]) 14:08, 14 April 2023 (UTC)Bamboo<br />
<br />
Added possible explanation of title text [[User:Bamboo|Bamboo]] ([[User talk:Bamboo|talk]]) 14:14, 14 April 2023 (UTC)Bamboo<br />
<br />
Has anyone asked O what they think of all this?[[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.152|172.70.91.152]] 14:32, 14 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
NOTE: I'm assuming the IE/VE ligature is IE, where the I is tilted<br />
Could this also be a reference to the historical Latin pronunciation of Æ, and its separation into "AA" (which could be represented by "ar" in English ("r" is silent), hence the ligature "AR") and "IE" (which would be pronounced "ee" as in "relieve") [[User:1844161|1844161]] ([[User talk:1844161|talk]]) 15:21, 14 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
: I disagree. The title text strongly points towards VE as the logical interpretation [[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 15:52, 14 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
I think it might be helpful to readers to provide a parenthetical describing the pronunciation of the 'ash' glyph, so that people who aren't old language aficionados aren't left in the lurch if they're the sort who read aloud in their head. I'm going to add it, but if someone removes it I won't be miffed. Also, there's no way the new E ligature is meant to be IE. The title text only makes sense if it's VE.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.67.136|172.69.67.136]] 15:56, 14 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
: Thank you. That was super helpful as I'm language-curious, but not an æficænado. Any chance we could get similar explanations of the AR (seems legit) & AV(seems not)? [[User:Iggynelix|Iggynelix]] ([[User talk:Iggynelix|talk]]) 13:49, 15 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I hope AR wedding hat a pirate theme. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 16:05, 14 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The AR ligature is used in aeronautical engineering for the aspect ratio of a wing. This mainly applies to handwritten work, since there isn't an easy way to insert that glyph when typing. [[User:D5xtgr|D5xtgr]] ([[User talk:D5xtgr|talk]]) 17:18, 14 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The AR (&#x1f707;) ligature also stands for a substance that can mix with gold. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.125|162.158.166.125]] 09:09, 16 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
2763 -MathHacked<br />
<br />
I suppose the Æsop is that it's not necessary to maintain a chimæric quæstionability just for primævally æsthetic reasons, or have sæcularly dæmonic adhærence to adhæsively mæandering through an anæsthetic tædium of hæritage fæcality. Unless that's all just hæretical hyperbolæ, casting pædagogical umbræ on the matter. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.160|172.70.162.160]] 21:22, 14 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
: Well plæd. <br />
: AUGH!!! Just make it stop!!!!<br />
It's just too bad they all now live in the same ''small recreational vehicle'' because that leads to awkwardness. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.159|172.71.142.159]] 02:07, 15 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
: Seems pretty roomy based on the space between them.;)<br />
<br />
A and E got REM🜇RIED?! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.38.96|172.70.38.96]] 05:28, 15 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It is downright incorrect to refer to the ae-ligature as 'ash', as this is only true when it is used to Latinize the aesc-rune in Old English, which is anything but the most common use of this ligature. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.46.192|172.70.46.192]] 18:01, 15 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I went looking for "AR" and "VE" ligatures in general use (and in Unicode), and found nothing. Are they in general use? If not, a comment to that effect in the explanation would be helpful. -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 21:44, 15 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
:(Ignoring that D5xtgr said there was an AR, and an IP even ''wrote'' an 🜇...) Of course they weren't in general use, because A and E were together all that time, but now they're recoupled..! [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.87|172.71.242.87]] 21:58, 15 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm no linguist, but this may refer to the fact that many languages with the AE ligature are romance languages, while English is not. [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 09:04, 16 April 2023 (UTC)</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Sandbox&diff=310343explain xkcd:Sandbox2023-04-14T06:09:09Z<p>162.158.166.125: </p>
<hr />
<div>💣__NOINDEX__<br />
Make changes, try things out, or just have fun with the wiki here! Just leave everything above the line alone, please.<br />
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Sandbox&action=edit&oldid=91667 clear sandbox]<br />
------<br />
dnhsbaprsqbaacxlemstzecxonglsnth<br />
<table class="infobox vcard"><br />
<tr><th colspan=2 class="fn" style="text-align:center; font-size:125%; font-weight:bold; background-color:#BCD4E6;">Natasha</th></tr><br />
<tr><td colspan="2" class="{{{class|}}}" style="text-align:center; {{{headerstyle|}}}">[[File:Cueball.png|150px|alt=text]]<br />
<div><center><i>Name</i></center></div></td></tr><br />
<tr class="{{{rowclass|}}}"><br />
<th scope="row" style="text-align:left; line-height: 1.3em;">Born</th><br />
<td class="{{{class|}}}" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Unknown</td></tr></table><br />
<br />
<pre>#include <cstdio><br />
int a[3]={0,0,0};<br />
void acase(int b){<br />
if(b>=0)printf("case %d:",b);<br />
}<br />
void dcase(int d,int m=0){<br />
printf("\t\t\t\t");m?printf(" "):0;acase(a[0]+d);acase(a[1]+d);acase(a[2]+d);m?printf("\n"):printf("printf(\"2$\");break;\n");<br />
}<br />
int main() {<br />
dcase(9,1);<br />
dcase(0);<br />
dcase(10,1);<br />
dcase(1);<br />
dcase(2,1);<br />
dcase(3,1);<br />
dcase(6,1);<br />
dcase(7,1);<br />
dcase(11,1);<br />
dcase(12,1);<br />
dcase(17,1);<br />
dcase(18);<br />
dcase(14,1);<br />
dcase(4);<br />
dcase(15,1);<br />
dcase(5);<br />
dcase(8);<br />
dcase(13);<br />
dcase(19);<br />
dcase(16,1);<br />
dcase(20);<br />
return 0;<br />
}</pre><br />
Pau={{#expr:3*asin(1)}}<br />
<pre>n = 0<br />
for i in range((2 ** 13)):<br />
if (i % 4 == 0 or i < 2 ** 7):<br />
n += 1<br />
print(n)</pre></div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2761:_1-to-1_Scale&diff=310105Talk:2761: 1-to-1 Scale2023-04-11T03:35:38Z<p>162.158.166.125: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
Really want an explanation for this one. [[User:JobbieJimmies|Melomaniac]] ([[User talk:JobbieJimmies|talk]]) 03:23, 11 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
My comment got deleted by a bot!!! [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 03:23, 11 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
:[[2293|RIP]]. [[User:JobbieJimmies|Melomaniac]] ([[User talk:JobbieJimmies|talk]]) 03:25, 11 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The lines represent the surfaces of the planets I think, so it's basically all the planets overlaid on top of each other. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.35|172.71.142.35]] 03:28, 11 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Yup, I think it's what he meant - but I find it unlikely that the gas giants would have this clear cutoff of a "surface". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.189.241|162.158.189.241]] 03:34, 11 April 2023 (UTC)</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2632:_Greatest_Scientist&diff=3100792632: Greatest Scientist2023-04-11T00:26:15Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2632<br />
| date = June 13, 2022<br />
| title = Greatest Scientist<br />
| image = Greatest Scientist.png<br />
| titletext = "Ow! One of the petri dishes I left on the tower railing fell and hit me on the head. Hey, that gives me an idea..."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
This comic takes the feats of seven of history's most acclaimed scientists and combines them into one fictional act, claiming that this person was the greatest scientist in history. The joke is that pulling off a combination of all of these would be rather impressive{{Citation needed}} from a technical standpoint, but would have little value as a scientific experiment; almost none of the things being tested are directly related to each other.<br />
<br />
These scientists are {{w|Thales of Miletus}}, {{w|Galileo Galilei}}, {{w|Benjamin Franklin}}, {{w|Alexander Fleming}}, {{w|Ivan Pavlov}}, {{w|Eratosthenes}}, and {{w|Isaac Newton}}.<br />
<br />
The ground is noticeably curved in this comic, because the curvature of the Earth is mentioned and measured.<br />
<br />
Humorously combining multiple science experiments into one was also a punchline in [[1584: Moments of Inspiration]]. Curved floors to represent Earths curvature were mentioned in [[2412: 1/100,000th Scale World]].<br />
<br />
==Table of Experiments==<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|+ List of experiments in the comic<br />
|-<br />
! Experiment in comic !! Experiment in reality !! Meaning !! Scientist<br />
|-<br />
| Measuring the shadow of a tall building|| Tradition holds that {{w|Thales of Miletus}} measured the shadow of the {{w|Great Pyramid of Giza}}, and used geometry he had recently proven to calculate its height. || Thales was the first known person to actually prove mathematical fact rather than simply notice it, and as such he is considered the father of both math and science. His development of the theory of similar triangles in particular paved the way for many later discoveries, such as the Pythagorean theorem and Eratosthenes' measurement of the earth.|| {{w|Thales of Miletus}}<br />
|-<br />
| The Leaning Tower of Pisa || {{w|Galileo}} conducted [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo%27s_Leaning_Tower_of_Pisa_experiment an experiment] at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, where he dropped two objects to measure whether the rate at which objects fall is dependent on weight or is constant. || Galileo found that objects with different weights fall at the same rate, disproving Aristotle's statement which purported the opposite. Galileo was not the first scientist to run such an experiment (and there is some debate whether he ran the experiment himself or not) but Galileo's version is notable for furthering the idea of experimentation in science, in opposition to the then-prevailing view that knowledge is learned by studying the writings of the ancients.|| {{w|Galileo Galilei}}<br />
|-<br />
|Flying a kite into a thunderstorm with lightning || In June 1752, Benjamin Franklin performed his famous {{w|kite experiment}} in which he attached a conductive wire to a kite and flew it near a thunderstorm. Attached to the kite was a key, which was further attached to a {{w|Leyden jar}}. || While the kite was not hit by lightning, "Franklin did notice that loose threads of the kite string were repelling each other and deduced that the Leyden jar was being charged." This is sometimes considered the discovery of the fact that lightning contains/is electricity. || {{w|Benjamin Franklin}}<br />
|-<br />
| Two moldy petri dishes || In August 1928, Alexander Fleming put ''Staphylococcus aureus'' into multiple petri dishes and then left to go on holiday/vacation. On September 3, he returned and found that one plate had mold on it. The moldy plate was the only one that no longer had ''S. aureus'' bacteria in it. He later repeated this experiment and {{w|History_of_penicillin#The_breakthrough_discovery|the result was confirmed}}. || The mold that Fleming had discovered produced penicillin, an antibiotic. This was the first time that a substance had been discovered that could ''reliably'' treat bacterial infections, having a huge impact on medicine across the world. || Sir {{w|Alexander Fleming}}<br />
|-<br />
| Salivating dog located next to a bell || [https://www.simplypsychology.org/pavlov.html In 1902 Ivan Pavlov conducted a study on dog reflexes] by giving dogs food and simultaneously ringing a bell. When the dog smelled and saw the food, it started salivating. Eventually, simply ringing the bell made the dog salivate, as the dog had associated the bell ringing with food. Pavlov also performed other, less humane experiments on other dogs. <!--Before deleting this, please discuss it in the discussion section -->|| This was the discovery of {{w|classical conditioning}}, where a stimulus is paired with an unrelated other thing through repeated exposure. The subject will eventually react to the unrelated thing in the absence of the stimulus. This is an example of taught reflexes, where a subconsious reaction like a reflex or instinct is taught. || {{W|Ivan Pavlov}}<br />
|-<br />
| The shadow angle of the dog determining the circumference of the Earth || |In the 200s BCE, the Greek philosopher Eratosthenes {{w|Earth's_circumference#Eratosthenes|measured the circumference of the Earth}}. While his exact method has been lost to time, a simplified version remains: At high noon on the summer solstice in Syene, Egypt, the sun was almost directly overhead. This was confirmed with a sundial. 5,000 stadia away in Alexandria, at the same time, the angle of the sun was measured with another sundial and converted into a fraction of the Earth's circumference. Some simple multiplication could then yield the circumference of the Earth. || The distance Eratosthenes calculated for the circumference of Earth was 250,000 stadia. This estimate was either 2.4% low or 0.8% high compared to modern knowledge, depending on whether he used Greek or Egyptian stadia - a remarkably accurate estimate for the time. || {{w|Eratosthenes}}<br />
|-<br />
| (Title text) A petri dish falling on the scientist's head, leading to a new discovery || Sir Isaac Newton, an inventor of calculus and discoverer of his famous {{w|Newton's laws of motion|Laws of Motion}}, also determined the basic mechanics of {{w|gravity}}. Newton apparently told acquaintances that his inquiries into gravity were {{w|Isaac_Newton#Apple_incident|"occasion'd by the fall of an apple"}}, and this is often embellished into a story where Newton came up with the notion of gravity when an apple fell from a tree and hit him on the head. Regardless of what the apple really landed on, this purportedly led Newton to consider the question of what ''exactly'' caused the apple to fall straight to the ground. || This line of thinking ultimately let him to deduce the {{w|Law of Universal Gravitation}}, which is fundamental to understanding celestial mechanics. || Sir {{w|Isaac Newton}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A segment of the Earth is shown where the ground is noticeably curved, low at the edges and highest in the middle. On the left of the panel, there are one tall, but leaning tower, three smaller buildings, two trees and a small plant representing Pisa, Italy. The tower represents the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Cueball is standing in front of the left most building. The height of the tower is labeled h1 against a locally non-leaning dotted line, the length of its shadow upon the grounds is marked L1, the angle from ground at the end of the shadow to the tip of the tower is labelled θ1. Attached to the top of the tower, there is a kite string which goes in a upward sloping curve to a kite. The kite is in the top right corner with it's tail pointing away from the kite to the right. Just above and to the left of the kite there is a cloud with a lightning bolt coming out beneath it. Beneath the kite there is a string down to a rectangular device, that seems to have two arms beneath it. These seems to have dropped two items, as indicated with dotted lines going down towards the ground in two parallel and straight lines. It turns out to be two disks that fell from the kite, and just above the ground they hit a bell supported on curved pin. As they hit the bell is makes two sounds. Next to the bell is a small dog with it's tongue hanging out. A horizontal line above the dog and its shadow is labeled (and possibly broken up by) h2, the length of its shadow on the ground L2, and the angle up from the far end of the shadow to the tip of the dog θ2. To the left of the dog there is a three and two smaller plants. Between Pisa and the dog, near the middle part of the curved there are various distant pyramids near the horizon. This section of the ground are very nearly horizontal to the image. All buildings in 'Pisa', the dropping disks and the supported bell/dog at the other side of the scene and various trees and plants around each end are locally-vertical in a radial manner, except for the Tower Of Pisa which is almost vertical to the image in exhibiting its local 'lean'. The two θ angles are clearly different but the dotted diagonal segments they define head in the same drawn direction from the tips of the shadows to the tips of their objects. The Sun is not illustrated but would be somewhere to the left of the image and upwards to cause the measured shadows.]<br />
:Left labels: h<sub>1</sub> θ<sub>1</sub> L<sub>1</sub><br />
:Right labels: h<sub>2</sub> θ<sub>2</sub> L<sub>2</sub><br />
:Bell: Ding ding<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:History's greatest scientist was probably that one who measured the shadow of the Leaning Tower of Pisa while flying a kite into a distant thunderstorm where lightning caused two moldy Petri dishes to fall onto a bell next to a salivating dog whose shadow angle determined the circumference of the Earth.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Kites]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous&diff=309844explain xkcd:Community portal/Miscellaneous2023-04-06T09:07:43Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Public sandbox */ Public sandbox lyrics spam incident - Template copied from 850</p>
<hr />
<div><noinclude>{{Community links}}<br />
<br />
{|-<br />
|valign="top" width="100%"|[[File:Internet-group-chat.svg|left|120px]] <big><big><b>Miscellaneous</b></big></big><br />
<br />
<i>This is a place for general chit-chat about virtually anything that doesn't fit anywhere else. </i>{{AddNewSection|Page=Explain XKCD:Community portal/Miscellaneous|Text=<small>(+post)</small>}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
= Discussion Area =<br />
</noinclude><br />
<br />
== The Community Portal's design ==<br />
<br />
{{tl|Community portal}} looks too Wikipedia-ish (because that's where I got it). Someone who can design things should probably fix that. It isn't protected for the time being, though it probably will be in the future (high-visibility template). --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]''&nbsp;<sup>[[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]]</sup> 00:54, 4 August 2012 (EDT)<br />
<br />
== Common mistake ==<br />
<br />
This affects all pages that ever say "alt text" in reference to the TITLE text on xkcd images. "Alt text" is incorrect; Alt text refers to the text that is shown as an alternative when images are not displayed. Title text is what xkcd uses and is shown as a tool tip-like bubble when images are hovered over.<br />
<br />
I would correct this myself but I saw no way to edit the main page. --[[User:Jillysky|Jillysky]] ([[User talk:Jillysky|talk]]) 14:21, 6 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:You actually don't need to edit the main page to fix it, as what's there is just a mirror (transclusion) of the actual content from the comic page, at [[Curiosity]], which is open for editing by anyone. Then again, the "alt-text" in that case is generated by a template, {{tl|comic}}, so that's where we should fix this. The template's code, however, is currently a terrible mess (sorry!), so I went ahead and took care of it. Thanks for catching that! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:24, 6 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Ah? So it's wrong, for instance, on http://m.xkcd.com? because of that I took it for granted that we could call it the alt-text... - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 17:38, 6 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: Yes. If you look at the page's html source, you'll see:<br />
<nowiki><img<br />
id="comic"<br />
src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/curiosity.png"<br />
title="As of this writing the NASA/JPL websites are still overloaded. Trying CURIOSITY-REAR-CAM_[256px_x_256px].torrent.SwEsUb.DVDRip.XviD-aXXo.jpg instead."<br />
alt="Curiosity"></nowiki><br />
::(line breaks added for clarity) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 23:54, 6 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That was my error in the template. I knew "image text" that has been commonly used by Jeff was not techically correct, but I didn't actually go back and confirm it was alt text before I included that tag in the template. That's to Waldir (I believe?) for correcting the template. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:14, 7 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== When the "official" transcript is wrong? ==<br />
I did [[903: Extended Mind]]. Interestingly, the transcript on xkcd.com is missing the bottom line "When Wikipedia has a server outage, my apparent IQ drops by 30 points." I assume we want a complete transcript, rather than whatever xkcd.com says it is...? [[User:Stevage|Stevage]] ([[User talk:Stevage|talk]]) 04:10, 17 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:We're focusing on the actual transcript of the comic, not the xkcd.com transcript. The official transcript is usually right, but even Randall makes mistakes sometimes. [[User:Davidy22|<span title="I want you."><u><font color="purple" size="2px">David</font><font color="green" size="3px">y</font></u><sup><font color="indigo" size="1px">22</font></sup></span>]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 04:24, 17 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Milestone: half the comics explained!! ==<br />
<br />
Hi all! I'm pleased to announce that we have just broke the 50% mark for xkcd explanations! The page that balanced the count (568 explained, 568 to go, at the time) was [[877: Beauty]], created 01:31 UTC, 21 November 2012 by [[User:Davidy22]]. Congratulations!! :D --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:10, 21 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:The caterer's been called! The punch will be arriving soon! Go [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]! [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]<span title="I'm an admin. I can help.">_a</span> ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:53, 21 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::[[File:freedom.png]] Punch is served! [[User:Davidy22|<span title="I want you."><u><font color="purple" size="2px">David</font><font color="green" size="3px">y</font></u><sup><font color="indigo" size="1px">22</font></sup></span>]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 07:11, 21 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
But the Main page says 407 explanations, 731 to go! What's up with that? --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 21:00, 23 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Reverse? ==<br />
<br />
Why in the Archive why are all the thing up until "Heatmap" in Reverse? Can someone please answer? [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Archive? Can you provide a link or screenshot? '''[[User:Davidy22|<span title="I want you."><u><font color="purple" size="2px">David</font><font color="green" size="3px">y</font></u><sup><font color="indigo" size="1px">22</font></sup></span>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:43, 19 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
http://xkcd.com/archive/ [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Ah, that's because the comic right after that, rtl, has a right-to-left character in it that flips all the proceeding text. '''[[User:Davidy22|<span title="I want you."><u><font color="purple" size="2px">David</font><font color="green" size="3px">y</font></u><sup><font color="indigo" size="1px">22</font></sup></span>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:13, 20 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Ah, ok, i see that now. When I 1st saw that RTL I just thought that it was random letters, thankyou for explaining it for me. [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
It also depends on what browser you are on because on Google Chrome it was normal. [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 09:08, 20 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Do you think this question was asked by one of the xkcd people? ==<br />
<br />
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090301060752AAtYugc [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:38, 20 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Matthew Reilly ==<br />
<br />
I would just like to tell everyone that I asked Matthew Reilly (the author) if he is ever scared that a velociraptor is going to attack him, and he said NO! He clearly needs to start worrying about them! [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 10:45, 22 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== What can we learn section ==<br />
First of all I love your work. I believe deeper understanding of each XKCD can make a world a better place and I thank you sincerely for starting this webpage. I wanted to ask what you think about "What can we learn?" section I've been adding to some of the pages. Thank you - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:27, 28 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:This site is actually the work of multiple editors working slowly and steadily to fill in explanations for all the old comics. Some of the xkcd comics are incredibly deep - comic [[956]] is such a poignant comic that digs into the DRM issue on so many levels. Your reflections on many of the comics are very much warranted and you're helping us create talk pages with high-quality opening posts, which is great for future discussion on this wiki. It'd be nice if you could refrain from putting headers in talk pages, technical limitations of the wiki make long explanation pages choke when headings are in the discussion page. Other than that, keep up the good work! '''[[User:Davidy22|<u><font color="purple" title="I want you">David</font><font color="green" size="3px">y</font></u><font color="indigo" size="4px">²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:42, 28 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::I've put in my 2 cents to comic [[956]], and thank you for teaching me how to comment and link to other comics - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:58, 28 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::: FYI, you can always make pseudo-headings using a horizontal rule and a bold "header", but honestly I think a simple standard opening sentence would suffice. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:14, 2 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Oh, and the guy who draws xkcd is called {{w|Randall Munroe}}. So many glowing things to be said about him. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u><font color="purple" title="I want you">David</font><font color="green" size="3px">y</font></u><font color="indigo" size="4px">²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:44, 28 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Yes, I can't thank him enough for simplifying complex issues to funny stories, I think it's exactly what our generation needs - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:58, 28 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I'm in favor of a Mr. Rogers style of 'what lesson can be learned' on the talk page, but make sure your comments don't come across as sanctimonious and holier-than-thou as that can be really off-putting. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]<span title="I'm an admin. I can help.">_a</span> ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 19:06, 28 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: You are absolutely correct, I have not thought of that, please trust me I did not do it on purpose. Thank you Mr. Lcarsos - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 19:55, 28 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Thank you David, and I apologize that I've not made it clear that by your work, I do mean your collective work (the wiki is only as good as all the people behind it). I was trying to put the headers to allow others to find the section easier in case they start looking for it, perhaps I could make a suggestion to make it a standalone section so that others would be encouraged to contribute their own understanding of lessons they have noticed from each comic. I know the lessons I've seen, but I would love to learn from others as much as I hope they can learn from me and Mr. XKCD, thank you. - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:48, 28 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD ==<br />
<br />
Hello fellow editors. Do you remember the last time we were hit by a surge of automated spam? Neither do I. ConfirmEdit has really done a number on the volume of spam that we're eating - one spam account has been created since we finished configuring confirmEdit, and zero anon edits have been spam. Zero. Can you say happiness? Can you say party? '''[[User:Davidy22|<u><font color="purple" title="I want you">David</font><font color="green" size="3px">y</font></u><font color="indigo" size="4px">²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:41, 1 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Hehe, I'm glad! Thanks for being so relentless on the spam-fighting all this time! Maybe we should make up a new reason to make Jeff remove the /wiki/ in the URL? ;) –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 18:11, 1 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: Awesome news! Finally the patrolling feature will be usable: [{{fullurl:Special:RecentChanges|hideanons=1&hidepatrolled=1&from=20121204025000&days=365&limit=1000}} Unpatrolled changes by registered users] / [{{fullurl:Special:RecentChanges|hideliu=1&hidepatrolled=1&from=20121204025000&days=365&limit=1000}} Unpatrolled changes by anonymous users] :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:27, 2 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== 1000th comic explanation!! ==<br />
<br />
Hi all! It apparently went unnoticed that '''we have recently surpassed the mark of 1000 comic explanations!''' Some calculations based on [[:Category:Comics]] and [[Special:NewPages]] led me to the conclusion that the 1000th explanation was [[681: Gravity Wells]], created by [[User:AlexRNL]] just yesterday! Yay! This calls for a celebration, no? Congrats to [[Special:ContributionScores|everyone]] who made this happen! I'll edit [[Mediawiki:Sitenotice]] with a congratulatory message. Way to go, guys! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:04, 10 April 2013 (UTC)<br />
:ps - I also took the opportunity to flesh out our [[explain xkcd|about/history page]]. Please take a look and fix/add any details I might have missed. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:06, 10 April 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Style guide ==<br />
Is there a style guide for this wiki? --[[User:PeterMortensen|PeterMortensen]] ([[User talk:PeterMortensen|talk]]) 20:14, 10 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Oh, sorry, I did forget to answer here. A guide on this is not easy, many individual comics do need special layouts because they have content never can match to a style guide. But I will give a try [[Help:Style Guide]].--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:18, 15 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Adblock ==<br />
<br />
I've whitelisted the site in adblock, but the ads are still blocked.<br />
Anyone know what' going on here and how I can fix it?--[[User:ParadoX|ParadoX]] ([[User talk:ParadoX|talk]]) 04:34, 27 September 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Huh. I was wondering why our impression counts weren't rising. I thought it was just because this site had high turnover. I've changed the webpage that the word whitelisting links to, try the instructions there instead. Project wonderful is our ad provider, and they've been pretty good to us so far. Also, thanks for helping to support the site! '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:40, 27 September 2013 (UTC)<br />
::Great! I don't really mid ads as long as they aren't intrusive. Works now, Hope everyone else does it as well.--[[User:ParadoX|ParadoX]] ([[User talk:ParadoX|talk]]) 05:16, 27 September 2013 (UTC)<br />
::I saw you wrote "the webpage that the word whitelisting links to" so I went to the search box and typed whitelisting. My search didn't yield anything useful: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?search=whitelisting&go=Go&title=Special%3ASearch]. I don't know how to create the missing page but there oughta be a link for someone like me who searches for whitelist or whitelisting, to take them to the instructions you refer to. [[User:SaxTeacher|SaxTeacher]] ([[User talk:SaxTeacher|talk]]) 10:59, 17 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::We already have this linked somewhere, but [https://www.projectwonderful.com/adblock.php this] is the link you want. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:41, 17 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I normally access this site through the android app "xkcd browser". That app only links to the content part of the site and doesn't show the side bar, so the adds aren't shown either. Might be worth discussing it with the author. [[Special:Contributions/109.158.126.139|109.158.126.139]] 08:06, 27 September 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:We support those avenues completely, you don't need to feel bad if you use an app to browse this site. We're only really concerned when we put up ads and our impressions are less than half our page hits, because that essentially means more than half our readers aren't contributing to server costs. That's really hard to deal with. We have enough daily page hits to qualify as web publishers at very big ad agencies, but we've had to settle for relatively low rates at the smaller Project Wonderful because 60% of our users were using adblock, so the agencies rejected us because our valuable "paying" audience was too low for them to consider us. That's been the difference between us using dedicated servers to host the site and hiring a contractor to set it up, and the (admittedly somewhat decent) shared hosting plan that we have to settle for now. We can only afford the shared hosting, because the small-scale advertisers at Project Wonderful don't even pay for full days of advertising; most of the time, we make less per day than the posted $3.90 price. That said, we're grateful that Project Wonderful would take us as a publisher when no one else would, but it really feels like the difference between being accepted to community college and being accepted to an ivy league school. For a similar reason, the Google ads route was not sufficient to satisfy our needs; not a large enough proportion of our users were looking at ads, so we either needed to spam them and degrade the site, or we needed to make them refresh, which makes pages slow and causes needlessly high traffic for a lot of users. We didn't want our ads to make the site worse, because that would drive away users and defeat the purpose of us being a public resource for xkcd readers. We actually decided to go the agency route pretty early, because adsense takes a massive cut of revenues and gives us little control over what ads or advertisers actually showed, which was not okay with us. Whoah, I wrote a lot. I hope it was coherent. Maybe someday I'll collect my thoughts and write a proper summary on how and why we advertise. Also, if you have any questions about anything ad-related, you can always ask us at [[explain xkcd talk:Advertise Here]]. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 11:15, 27 September 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Feynman? ==<br />
<br />
Feynman (both in [[182: Nash|living]] and [[397: Unscientific|zombie]] form) probably deserves an entry in the [[Template:Navbox characters|character navbox]] template doesn't he? [[Special:Contributions/128.250.152.198|128.250.152.198]] 02:21, 1 October 2013 (UTC)<br />
:That's two comics out of 1200+. Three if you count the song. Not quite enough yet. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:27, 1 October 2013 (UTC)<br />
:: If that's the criterion, then we need to get rid of [[Brown Hat]]. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 19:30, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::Potentially, we could create a very minor character category with these two, and other characters with less than 10 appearances. [[User:tplaza64]]<br />
<br />
== Job Interview (Atomic Soup) ==<br />
<br />
The soup is clearly being poured out of an atomic socket. This "atomic soup" is probably not a reference to the alcoholic brew favoured by Scottish tramps, but more likely to the virtual nature of the company. {{unsigned|Sulis}}<br />
:Hey, go here [[Talk:1293: Job Interview]] for discussions. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:58, 20 November 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Is there a similar, transcripted service for The Oatmeal? ==<br />
<br />
Hi everyone - this site is a real gem, I've sent it to a friend of mine who can't read XKCD because she's blind. The transcripts on this site are a real boon!<br />
<br />
Does anyone know if there is a similar service for The Oatmeal? I've searched and searched, but found nothing so far.<br />
<br />
Thanks :)<br />
<br />
Jeff<br />
<br />
:As far as I know we are kind of unique in the web comics world. I think we get away with it because Randall publishes all his comics as Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial. We liberally link back to xkcd, and we don't make a penny (The ads are just to cover server expenses, because wikis and the databases that support them get big when you're covering a body of work like xkcd). I haven't looked into the copyright Matt uses for the Oatmeal, but he seems like a cool enough guy to not kill a community transcripting effort of his comics. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]<span title="I'm an admin. I can help.">_a</span> ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:32, 4 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== what if 103: Vanishing Water - comics ==<br />
<br />
Please explain the 2nd and the 4th comics from http://what-if.xkcd.com/103/<br />
<br />
"Just tried to sail my boat over land, because I didn't learn from that kid in the Zephyr." (who's the kid from Zephyr?)<br />
<br />
"A third time?" (maybe whales were dropped twice before in other what-ifs?) [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 21:57, 9 July 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:"A third time?" is a reference to a whale falling twice in "Hitchiker's guide to the Galaxy". Been a while, so I don't remember the details of how this fit in, but the second time it happened to the whale, he thought "Not again" or something along those lines. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 18:49, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Actually, it was the bowl of petunias that thought to itself "Oh, no, not again." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.73|108.162.216.73]] 00:48, 5 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Raises the question of if we should explain jokes imbedded in What If comics. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 18:49, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Discussion usage ==<br />
<br />
Am I being a killjoy in feeling that the discussion section should be mainly limited to discussion on improving the explanation, gathering consensus and that type of thing.<br />
Specifically, the discussion for [[1418: Horse]] is quickly turning into every man and his dog posting a sentence in the style of the comic, which doesn't really add anything to the page other than clutter.<br />
<br />
Personally, I'd just delete most of them, but I think I might be turning into a grumpy old bugger... --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 20:32, 10 September 2014 (UTC)<br />
:The discussion is also there for just talking about the comic. Those guys aren't wildly off-topic, there's no need to clamp down on what they get to talk about. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 17:44, 10 September 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Yep, I must just be grumpy and draconian! Lesson learned --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 20:32, 10 September 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== 2014 Christmas header ==<br />
<br />
Since the header for the site current contains a [http://imgs.xkcd.com/store/store_default.png graphic link to the store] that promises that Randall probably won't ship you a [[:Category:Bobcats|bobcat]], it seems to me that probably ought to be preserved and explained somewhere. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.189|173.245.56.189]] 17:45, 3 December 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== XKCD at LanguageLog ==<br />
<br />
Arnold Zwicky (of the well-known linguistics blog Language Log) has put together a list of linguistics-related XKCD strips, here: http://arnoldzwicky.org/the-language-of-comics/comics-lists/xkcd-cartoons/ I thought it might be appropriate for a copy of the list (maybe a category) to be created from it. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.79|199.27.133.79]] 03:48, 28 December 2014 (UTC)<br />
:[[:Category:Language]] '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:39, 28 December 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Bookmarklet ==<br />
<br />
Hello there, I've created a little bookmarklet (https://ginkobox.fr/shaarli/?a77vQw) and I thought it might be useful for someone out there.<br />
<br />
When launched, it adds the 'explain' before xkcd.com and the browser loads the explainxkcd page. I've tested it only on Firefox.<br />
<br />
(Contact @ https://ginkobox.fr/wiki/doku.php?id=about) {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.100}}<br />
<br />
:Thanks 108.162.229.100! I've started collecting these helpful tools on a [[Browser helpers|new page]], to hopefully make them easier for others to find. – [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 01:36, 29 September 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Is there a RSS feed for What If? ==<br />
<br />
Is there a RSS feed for What If?--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 11:59, 29 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:No, because we cover the comics. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 18:57, 29 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== My User Page ==<br />
<br />
Can someone help me with [[user:17jiangz1|my user page]]? I can't seem to remove the large spaaaaaace on top.--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 07:43, 9 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
: The only solution I've found is to remove the contribution scores (data6=...). Not sure what exactly is triggering this bug. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 21:02, 9 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
I am receiving "Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ""." for <code><pre>{{#expr: {{formatnum:{{#cscore:17jiangz1|pages}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NUMBEROFARTICLES}}|R}}*100 round 5 }}</pre></code>--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 05:46, 10 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Bump?--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 06:48, 14 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== What-If ==<br />
<br />
In What-If 150, "Tatoonie Rainbow", http://what-if.xkcd.com/150/ the first image title-text says: "Vowing not to reference that video any further anywhere in this article, on principle.". What video is he talking about? [[User:5mi11er|slmiller]] ([[User talk:5mi11er|talk]]) 14:29, 27 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It hasn't updated for 2 weeks. why?--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 06:50, 25 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Looks like they're on hold for a few months (Until July 14th). Too bad, I enjoyed them. ([http://what-if.xkcd.com/ Look at the top of the What-If page]) --[[User:Zman9600|Zman9600]] ([[User talk:Zman9600|talk]]) 20:24, 6 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
:What is so special about the date and time? Seems very specific: ''July 14th, 2015 at 7:49:59 AM EDT.'' --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.99|141.101.98.99]] 12:48, 28 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
Looks like it's set for the 40th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz mission launch. {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.158}}<br />
<br />
What If updates will resume on July 14th, 2015 at 7:49:59 AM EDT. By that time {{w|New Horizons}} will have it's closest approach to {{w|Pluto}}. See here: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/ --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:34, 5 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== thanks for having a working website ==<br />
<br />
the search function on xkcd.com was taken off, and now the random function seems to be having issues, but it's nice that here both work [[Special:Contributions/188.114.97.114|188.114.97.114]] 19:09, 9 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:We do our best. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 22:27, 9 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Ada Munroe ==<br />
<br />
The latest [[what if?]] number 139 has a question by "Ada Munroe". Is she related to [[Randall]] in any way? --{{User:17jiangz1/signature|06:57, 09 August 2015}}<br />
<br />
== Out of curiosity ==<br />
<br />
I notice that whenever someone links to tvtropes.org in an explanation, someone changes the link to the matching page on allthetropes.org. I'm curious as to why that is. Is there some kind of terms of use conflict at play here that an editor should be keeping in mind? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.156|199.27.128.156]] 06:33, 26 October 2015 (UTC)<br />
:TVtropes does not restrict links to their site, and if this has been happening there are some time-outs that I need to be handing out. Can you point me to some of the edits where this is happening? '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:24, 26 October 2015 (UTC)<br />
::The specific example I had was, um, [[1468: Worrying]]. On Jan 3rd the links went to tvtropes.org, and on March 18th they were all changed over to allthetropes.orain.org. I just found it curious, I wasn't sure what the reason for it was [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.47|162.158.255.47]] 10:32, 29 October 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::Reverted. Typically, the reason people change perfectly good links to specific, obscure links in wikis is usually self-advertising. I'll be watching that guy's edits in the future. Thanks for the heads up. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 18:00, 29 October 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Sightless readers offended by the "It's 'cause you're dumb" tagline. ==<br />
<br />
I'll admit, every now and again the comic is over my head. ...because I'm dumb in that particular field. However, blind users who enjoy xkcd must do so through explainxkcd. They are NOT dumb. They are *blind*. Without explainxkcd, they would have no idea what is in the comics panels.<br />
<br />
Explainxkcd is a great site. There is no question it provides a service to the internet community.<br />
<br />
Please see this thread (last paragraph) on Userfriendly.org. Keep in mind, the end user is sightless and explainxkcd is "viewed" through a screen reader. http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/read.cgi?id=20160207&tid=3930989 (Anonymous)<br />
<br />
: The guy on that other site is complaining about that XKCD does not work well in a screen reader -- that is not our problem, but a problem for Randall to solve on his own site. We cannot be the catch all for everything on the internet that Randall broke [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:37, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:: Agreed --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Honestly, I never even noticed the tagline in question. Humorous to sighted folks, sure. ...but obviously offensive to those who have no choice but to access xkcd through explainxkcd.<br />
<br />
I'll leave it to the administrators or the community to figure something out, if anything at all. Maybe no one cares? I didn't come here to make any suggestions, only to point out how offensive those 4 words are to some users of the website. {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.88}}<br />
<br />
:Alright, put a link here in the site notice. What does everyone else think? I'm open to changing it, it's something people complain about fairly periodically and our identity isn't completely tied to the tagline, I feel. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:16, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Well, we definitely shouldn't change anything because that particular guy is upset. It's one thing to be offended, but he's also attacking both this site and Randal Monroe. I don't think that sort of behavior should be rewarded. I actually have a rule online where, if someone acts like a jerk to me, I will be kind, but I won't give them what they want. I think a lot of the problems with people being jerks to others is that they still get what they want, so what reason do they have to stop? If he wants us to change it, he should address us like an adult and ask us himself.<br />
<br />
::But you claim this is a common complaint. Then I would say we need more info. My instinct would be that people don't understand that it's a joke. But then my solution would be to do what the site is designed to do and explain the joke, rather than take it down. If there's actually something about it that's offensive to an entire class of people, that's different. I am unaware of a stereotype that blind people are stupid, but I'm open to the idea that I don't know.<br />
<br />
::I'm not particularly married to the tag line. I actually didn't even notice it was there. But I'm loathe to take it down over a misunderstanding. I can't think of a similarly humorous replacement that would not be offensive, but I can at least suggest "Because nobody knows everything." --[[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 09:42, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::I've gotten these before. There's a [[Talk:Main_Page#Header_message|slowly growing]] section in the main page discussion page and a complaint buried somewhere in my talk page and they're usually quite unhappy. I pegged it up this time round because there's special needs involved, and a good part of our intended appeal is the transcripts for the blind. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 10:45, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::I like your reasoning, what if "It's 'cause you're dumb" was follow by "[citation needed]" and make the whole thing a link to a page explaining the header. It would be in character of the page, and xkcd. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.34|108.162.221.34]] 00:28, 13 February 2016 (UTC) Sam<br />
::::Great idea, Sam! That's the funniest suggestion ever [citation needed]. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.141.4|172.68.141.4]] 19:29, 29 August 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Is he one of those people who are so self-centered and 'entitled' that just because they have a disability they assume that everyone is constantly trying to offend them, even in the most unlikeliest of cases? Does he actually believe that the tag line was written with the intention of offending blind people? This is ridiculous. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.71|141.101.106.71]] 11:04, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
"Just in case you feel dumb"? "Some comics may be funnier than they appear"?[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.198|199.27.130.198]] 09:55, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
How about simply removing it? At least until we find something that isn't offensive to anyone - which might be very hard to obtain. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:34, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Because you're crippled... That's worse I guess.<br><br />
But before considering the "you're dumb" tagline, one must think about the name of this wiki. It is called '''Explain''' xkcd, not read xkcd, and explaining is for dumb people, not blind people.<br><br />
Maybe one thing we can do is add a "(unless you are just here for the transcript)" subtext, with a link to the transcript section, which has the advantage of both taming offended blind readers (maybe) and provide a direct, "spoilerless" link. --[[User:GuB|GuB]] ([[User talk:GuB|talk]]) 10:40, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I need explainxkcd for two reasons: being visually impaired, although I can see most of the comics I often miss crucial details that I find only in the transcript; and as a non-American, I lack many cultural references (books, movies, songs, sayings...) that are given in the explanations.<br />
I don't think either of these reasons makes me "dumb". However, I never found the tagline offensive. It was immediately obvious to me that it was meant as humor. Who could seriously think that someone is dumb just because they haven't read the specific book that Randall is parodying in a given comic? Or because they're not familiar with a specific programming language or Unix command? IMHO the tagline *is* funny precisely because very few people can actually "get" all the comics without an explanation. Suggesting that anyone who isn't part of the 0.1% of the population who share all of Randall's abilities and references, is dumb, can't be anything but a joke. Adding to the lot those who can't get the comics because they're blind doesn't make the joke more offensive. It's a sad world where political correctness kills all forms of humor.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, the tagline is not an essential part of the site and if a significant number want it removed, so be it.<br />
Zetfr 10:46, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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:Well not everybody's mind works the same way, and some people legitimately cannot grasp humor very easily. They may come to read the explanations precisely because they can't recognize what about a given comic is supposed to be humorous, and they likewise may not be able to tell that the tagline is just a joke. Besides, the tagline is equating a lack of knowledge with a lack of intelligence, which also makes it inaccurate and kind of kills the humor for those who stop and think about it.<br />
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:I personally agree with the above "Because nobody knows everything." approach. I would suggest something along the lines of "Because you won't always get the joke." --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.134|108.162.242.134]] 11:06, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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:: This sounds like a bunch of dumb people coming together and suggesting that the rest of people should be more like them (joke intended) [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:33, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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: +1 on this. '''Keep'''. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 20:15, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''removal''' [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 11:01, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Mostly agree with Zetfr, it is a rather obvious joke, and this is a website about a webcomic which is mostly about fun, it would be different if this was some serious news portal, but it isn't, and in my humble opinion people who can't take a joke shouldn't even be here. There will always be ranters and people who get offended, we should not let them make decisions for us. I sincerely believe vast majority of people, blind or otherwise, understand it. [[User:Jaalenja|Jaalenja]] ([[User talk:Jaalenja|talk]])<br />
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:I agree with Zetfr. If a user doesn't understand that it is a joke, then he won't understand XKCD's jokes, either, no matter how much explaination he can get.<br />
:--[[User:Lou Crazy|Lou Crazy]] ([[User talk:Lou Crazy|talk]]) 12:12, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
::I also agree with the above, and like the part of Zetfr about because you need a reader to use the page you do not need to be offended by an obvious joke --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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if i had a vote i'd say change the "because you're dumb" from text to a picture with alt text of something slightly less rude. "because you're using a screenreader," perhaps. although that would show up on mouseover. meh. whatever. --13:01, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:and someone isn't "entitled" because they get annoyed about something that doesn't annoy you. as a sighted person i don't even look at the headers on the page. i would imagine that since the text in question is at the top of the page he has to listen to it every single time the page is refreshed. which is annoying enough if it's not insulting. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.161|141.101.106.161]] 13:06, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:It is bad to have the alt-text saying something differently, but since the current tagline is not offensive to non-blind people then why would it be offensive to a blind person. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:24, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''keep''' -- Blind people do not have to come to this site, they can just use xkcd.com directly and if that is not working for blind people then that is Randall's problem not ours. The tag line has been there for years while I have noticed it before and used the site and I have never been offended, if a blind person is offended maybe they should stop using the internet. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.109|162.158.255.109]] 15:18, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
: I second that -- the tag line does not appear to offend non-blind people, it should not offend blind people either [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:24, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Voting '''KEEP''' -- the tag line is a joke, and who is to say that blind people cannot be dumb [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:24, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''keep''' as well. I don't see any reason to change it; it's not a jab at disabled people, blind or otherwise. The site is called '''explain'''xkcd, and everything here centers around explaining the comic, not being a transcription service. (If that's not the case, then maybe other things need changing too.) I always thought the tagline fit nicely with the "sarcasm" part of xkcd's own tagline. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.26|108.162.216.26]] 15:26, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''KEEP and satisfy both sides'''. If you examine the HTML, or use [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/fangs-screen-reader-emulator/ Fangs] (free screen reader), you may notice there is a jump-to-nav div element that lets people with screen readers jump to various parts of the page. The jump-to-nav div is only a few HTML lines below the tagline. I'd recommend:<br />
# Moving the jump-to-nav div to '''before''' the tagline<br />
# Adding a "Jump to Transcript" link in the jump-to-nav div.<br />
# Test it with [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/fangs-screen-reader-emulator/ Fangs] in Firefox to simulate a screen reader.<br />
This way, screen-reader users can jump to the transcript and don't have to hear the tagline every time they visit an explainxkcd.com page.<br />
-- [[User:Hat|Hat]] ([[User talk:Hat|talk]]) 15:44, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Consider "Do you get it now?" [[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.11|198.41.235.11]] 16:09, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''keep''': it's reasonable and no change is warranted<br />
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I like the suggestion of '''keeping''' the current tagline, but changing it to an '''image with alttext''' saying something like "because you're using a screenreader". I also vote to move the link to the transcript to above the tagline. [[User:Rileysci|Rileysci]] ([[User talk:Rileysci|talk]]) 17:32, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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: Great idea, but here's an even better one: '''Keep''' the tagline for visual browsers, but '''add code''' such as [http://stackoverflow.com/questions/672156/is-there-a-way-to-write-content-that-screen-readers-will-ignore <code> CSS { speak: none; } and aria-hidden="true"</code>] that prevents it from being spoken by screen readers. -- [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 15:31, 15 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I get the joke and I'm not offended by it, but it seems to me that it really sticks out on this site and it doesn't seem consistent with Randall's sense of humor. Everyone on this site is very inclusive and eager to share all perspectives and points of view. I come here both to see the humor that I have the knowledge to understand and to learn more about the world the way Randall sees it. In short, I come here to be one of the lucky 10,000. In fact, I would suggest that as the tag line, "Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000!". Inside joke that can link to the comic (http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1053:_Ten_Thousand) and it is welcoming. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.170|108.162.245.170]] 18:44, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
: +1 on this. '''Change''' [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 03:45, 9 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''keep'''. In case it is not kept then it should be changed to something completely different. Te idea of making a title text to an image I really dislike, although I even more dislike adding anything to the existing one to either refer to people coming for the transcript or making excuses for the obvious joke. This has been a part of the page forever, I have seen it almost every time I come here. To begin with I did feel dumb sometimes, but I was never offended by it, just amused. But of course an explain page is for those who did not get the joke. And there are other pages that explains the comic. I do not know if they have a transcript? But I'm happy to know that some people must really enjoy the detailed transcripts that I usually try to provide. I had just not though about the blind perspective. I more use the transcript to make sure every one agrees on what is seen in the images of the comic. Having said all this, I must admit that the best suggestion for a change so far is the one posted above my post (about the lucky 10,000). :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote keep, for exactly the reasons explained by Zeftr above. Changing it to an image with alt text would be OK also. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 20:45, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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:I vote '''Change''' it because it is too easily mistaken as an insult instead of a joke. At least change it to ''Because you are stupid''.... Ah, maybe instead ''Because xkcd is far beyond common knowledge'' or ''Because hardly anyone gets everything'' or ''Because it is usually nerdly esoteric even for geeks''. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.46|108.162.221.46]] 21:39, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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:I vote '''Change'''. I have never been a big fan of the tagline. I don't know everything, but I am certainly not dumb. Also, I echo the reference to (http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1053:_Ten_Thousand). This comic has always been about expanding knowledge, not making you feel guilty for not knowing something.<br />
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:'''Change''': I realize the "It's because you're dumb" tagline follows the sarcastic nature of Randall's humor, but there are enough people who don't get or appreciate that sort of humor and are likely to be more offended by it, special needs or no. Here's my suggestion: "For those of us who don't get it." [[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]] ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) 21:59, 8 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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At what point is "enough" people offended? I've only seen evidence of several (https://xkcd.com/1070/) visually impaired users actually offended by the site, along with a couple people who didn't specify their visual ability. I don't know the traffic on this site, but I would expect it to be on the order of 10^4 or higher. So is this discussion about changing something that a handful of people find offensive? Or is there an actual problem of something inappropriate on the site. If this is all about a couple people finding something offensive, I imagine a few christians might take issue with (https://xkcd.com/709/). Should we start another discussion about accommodating them? Or add a disclaimer that the views expressed by Randall Munroe are his own and do not reflect those of this site? [[User:Beardmcbeardson|Beardmcbeardson]] ([[User talk:Beardmcbeardson|talk]]) 01:25, 9 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
: So you vote to '''keep''' -- right? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 04:30, 9 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Slightly Change'''-- make it more obviously tongue in cheek. "It's cause we're dumb" or "For those of us who need it" I agree with the point about not complying with people on the internet who can't behave like adults, however I've never found the line particularly funny. Also change the jump-to-nav, as that would just get annoying to hear it every time you open up the site. I am not recommending changing it based on the imagined offenses of others. I just think it could be funnier.[[User:NotLock|NotLock]] ([[User talk:NotLock|talk]]) 06:29, 9 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I like changing to "For those of us who need it"<br />
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'''Keep''' Trying to satisfy everyone is like trying to understand every comic. It probably won't happen. As an example, using the 'one of 10 000' example provided above can insult a bunch of people that are not from the States simply because the comic (and the reference to the comic for that matter) will make them feel left out. My other reasons for voting keep have all been mentioned already. People get insulted so easily, let's try not to encourage this behavior by rewarding it. [[User:Bon|Bon]] ([[User talk:Bon|talk]]) 07:16, 9 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''Change''' because I find it slightly offensive myself. If we change it, we should replace it with something that everybody would interpret as humorous, e.g. "Because we can't all be rocket scientists". [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 08:25, 9 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Keep'''. Next thing we know, liberal arts majors will complain about xkcd science being offensive. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.91.229|141.101.91.229]] 10:12, 9 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote for '''change''' or '''remove'''. Regarding the former, while I know it's supposed to be a joke, I never found it humorous myself and, unlike others that wrote before me, I don't think it relates to the humor or sarcasm used by Randall. It being offensive is not part of my motivation for my vote. I agree with some of the suggestions written up to now. Regarding the latter, I don't really think it's existence is necessary. Regardless, changing the div things is a must. [[User:GuiRitter|GuiRitter]] ([[User talk:GuiRitter|talk]]) 16:25, 9 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote for '''change'''. You could keep much of the humour by changing it to something like "because ignorance '''can''' be cured". [[User:Farnz|Farnz]] ([[User talk:Farnz|talk]])<br />
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If I may vote (as a happy international user of this site, but not yet a contributor), one more vote for '''Keep''' - at least as "don't change now, because of this specific request, because of perceived offensiveness". For several reasons, which have been mentioned already:<br />
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a) I think it's funny. It also fits perfectly with the overall XKCD humor. And the same line of thinking as the book "You are now less dumb" from "YouAreNotSoSmart.com".<br />
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b) It's so obviously generic (directed at everyone reading it) I fail to understand how it can be interpreted as insult instead of irony. Even worse: I fail to understand why it should be _especially_ insulting to blind people. Having a transcript for them to use is nice, but it's merely one of the aspects this site provides (and it's not even at the top nor are there pages "transcript only", so blind are no primary audience)<br />
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c) If this site decides to actually help blind people more, how about: putting the tagline in the image (so it's not "read every time"), put the transcript at the top / provide pages with only transcripts, so that the original XKCD can be consumed prior to the explanations here (just as non-blind users would see it)<br />
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d) this request follows the current Outragism trend, so I do suspect that it's not actually blind people feeling offended, but privileged SJWs thinking about who might possibly feel offended, bringing change to the world where it's not beneficial even for those they claim to support. Comparable to PETA.<br />
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While I'm at it - THANK YOU for this site. Most XKCD I mostly understand. But due to being an international reader, some aspects of American Culture I need explainXKCD to grasp, and other aspects it's just nice to see more details, cross-references with other comics, and hidden gems. <br />
[[User:Zefiro|Zefiro]] ([[User talk:Zefiro|talk]]) 18:46, 9 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:I'm an "international user", too, and I suppose a lot of users of this site are international users who need to be explained some xkcd jokes that would be obvious to any native English speaker living in the US. I don't have an opinion about changing the tagline or keeping it, but I would like to notice that "Because you are dumb" is the kind of joke that would need an explanation - it would be hard for me to tell if it's a joke or an insult. Therefore, an easier joke could have some advantage.--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 22:16, 9 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote for '''change.''' I know it's a joke, but it's not particularly funny, and can easily be mistaken for an insult. [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 20:13, 9 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I agree with Trlkly (and Isaac(https://xkcd.com/1448/)), more information is needed. The purpose of this site is to explain xkcd (obviously, from the name) so people come here primarily to seek knowledge or a better understanding about xkcd. As long as the explanations or the explainers don't act like white hat (https://xkcd.com/1386/), there should be no reason to take the tagline seriously.--[[User:Beardmcbeardson|Beardmcbeardson]] ([[User talk:Beardmcbeardson|talk]]) 01:20, 10 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote KEEP, but I do support the idea of moving the jump-to to above the tagline. I believe that the tagline is obviously a joke, and that pleaing everyone is nigh impossible. I also strongly oppose the proposal to change it to an image with an alt-text of "because you're using a screen reader." Finally, I do not believe we should change the tagline. We should, if anything, remove it altogether. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.20|173.245.54.20]] 03:33, 10 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Slightly Change''' - I like 199.27.130.198's idea, "Just in case you feel dumb." [[User:Mateussf|Mateussf]] ([[User talk:Mateussf|talk]]) 04:44, 10 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''Change''', preferably to something like "The ''Anti'' Thing Explainer; Simple Stuff in Complicated Words!" Only, you know, more complicated to improve the joke. [[User:KitsunePhoenix|Amaroq (KitsunePhoenix)]] ([[User talk:KitsunePhoenix|talk]]) 05:01, 10 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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What about: it's cause you need more context. I also don't like the current tagline, because dumbness would be more the inability to understand than a lack of knowledge.<br />
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'''Change''' - First thing first, as suggested, move the jump-to-nav div to before the tagline and add a "Jump to Transcript" link in the jump-to-nav div.<br />
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Then also change the tagline: it's not that good, and not that in line with the xkcd humor - it's actually ''directly opposed'' to the spirit of [[1053]]. Some better ones have already been suggested:<br />
*"Some comics may be funnier than they appear"<br />
*"Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000!"<br />
*"because sometimes we all need a little help"<br />
''Or'' we could even have a bunch of good ones like that out of which one is selected at random when the page is loaded --[[User:Jules.LT|Jules.LT]] ([[User talk:Jules.LT|talk]]) 09:17, 10 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I like the joke in the tag line (some of us come here because they are to stupid or to lazy to lookup all the information xkcd is joking about)<br />
but I also find it to direct to the user. I want to add some suggestions to Jules.LT [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 10:01, 10 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
* "Error loading tagline, click here to retry."<br />
* "Because it is Monday morning."<br />
* "Because you like explaining jokes."<br />
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I think people coming here and complaining because "dumb" appears to be aimed at insulting the blind are hilarious, because another meaning for "dumb" is "unable to speak." If people who were "dumb" in this way were complaining because we are using the other meaning of "dumb" it would be awkward, but degree of visual acuity is not open for the same misinterpretation. [[User:Swordsmith|Swordsmith]] ([[User talk:Swordsmith|talk]])<br />
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'''KEEP''' for the same reasons as [[User:Zefiro|Zefiro]]. If change is necessary, fix it so the screen reader doesnt say it aloud. (This ensures the change is propagated to those who have no other recourse for sightless XKCD enjoyment, and is not a ploy by SJWs who can't take sarcastic humor (why are they reading XKCD in the first place?) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.40|108.162.221.40]] 14:06, 10 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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It is super obviously not intended seriously, because xkcd is a technical comic that nobody will understand entirely on the first pass. If it's true, then everybody is dumb. Boo hoo.<br />
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The guy in question is under the mistaken impression that Randall runs this site and maliciously hides his transcripts under the tagline. He's also very angry about a lot of things. Sighted people have to look at the tagline every time it loads too, it's at the top of the page.<br />
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I vote '''Keep''' because I hate negotiating with terrorists. If it has the effect of filtering out people who enjoy being outraged, then it's doing a service. Image search "stephen fry offensive".<br />
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I'd be fine with moving the jump-to-nav div. I'm absolutely against making it an image with a different tagline, because then we would be depriving blind people of the joke. I'm absolutely against changing it to something less offensive. I would settle for removing it entirely, or changing it to something more offensive, such as "It's 'cause you're dumb, and get offended over dumb shit."<br />
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Or, you know, make a transcribexkcd.com site. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.203|108.162.217.203]] 16:39, 10 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Change''' to one of the cool new suggestions I've seen. I've always been sad about this tagline, and while I love XKCD humor, I just don't think the tagline is funny. It makes me hesitate and sometimes decide not to share this site with others who I think would love the humor, but not the tagline. The issue keeps coming up, and this is just one more way that it irritates people and causes hassle. It's obvious to me that we should find a new tagline, or just drop it for the time being. [[User:Nealmcb|Nealmcb]] ([[User talk:Nealmcb|talk]]) 17:39, 10 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Change''' The word "dumb" used as slang for "unintelligent" or "uneducated" is offensive and many better suggestions have been proposed, which retain the wry humor without the offense. Hiding behind "it's just a joke" is beneath the standards of this site. {{unsigned ip|108.162.245.134}}<br />
:It's not hiding behind "just a joke", it IS the joke. It's tongue-in-cheek. It's so obviously false that you have to intentionally ignore the joke and manufacture offense about something benign. I'll give you that it's not that funny. It's also not that offensive. Why are we talking about something so petty. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.11|108.162.221.11]] 21:11, 10 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Keep'''. I feel like a blind person being insulted by the implication that being sightless somehow makes them unintelligent is a pretty far leap of logic. Not being able to see has no bearing whatsoever on your actual mental acuity. How many actual complaints have there been? One, a few, lots? I don't know, but if it was a significant number I might change my mind. As it stands, though, I think it's pretty clear in the site description that this site is meant for people who don't understand the comic due to its focus on obscure topics and use of technical jargon, being written by a former NASA robot technician with a bent for Linux. Using disabilities as an insult is something I don't condone, but in this case I think it's a case of certain individuals being overly sensitive. Thinking a word as mild as "dumb" is offensive is a bit much, especially since it's often used in contexts other than "uneducated" or "stupid" - I use it to describe myself all the time when I can't word proper-like. I think of it more as "scatter-brained". --[[User:KingStarscream|KingStarscream]] ([[User talk:KingStarscream|talk]]) 18:55, 10 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Change''' I feel like the "Because we can't all be rocket scientists" tagline suggested above is great; I always found the tagline to be a bit annoying because I often know all of a comic except a small part, and I come here for that. It's just unnecessarily confrontational and Randall himself has expressed in https://xkcd.com/1386/ and https://xkcd.com/1053/ that he doesn't agree with insulting ignorance. {{unsigned ip|198.41.235.179}}<br />
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'''Change AND Keep''' I get the original joke, but I love some of the new ones too. Randomly rotating tag line appear is my vote, BUT let's make the tag line clickable so that we can explain the tag line .... for those of us who don't get the joke! {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.10}}<br />
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'''Keep''', but change the jump-to-nav, and maybe make the tagline clickable. I like the tagline. Someone already said this, but this is explainxkcd, not readxkcd. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.63|108.162.216.63]] 19:37, 10 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''Keep''', because it's been there for so long! I remember coming here years ago and looking for the references I didn't get, and the tagline was already there. It's a legacy thing, the one thing remaining from the old website in the new fancy wiki format. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.226.204|198.41.226.204]] 20:47, 10 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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For all you people being offended and claiming that the tagline is contrary to the spirit of xkcd, I give you [https://xkcd.com/386/ xkcd.com/386]. This entire argument is offensive to me, can we remove it? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.11|108.162.221.11]] 21:20, 10 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Keep''' The referenced posting is obviously a troll. And xkcd has transcripts so the story of the self proclaimed blind person with diabetes does not make sense. --23:43, 10 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Rather than "cuz you're dumb" which both asserts a trait and uses what might not be the best word choice, why not something like "Because you might be ignorant"? Dumb, after all, isn't remediable, though ignorance is. (Also, a consideration, "dumb" can mean "mute," so if there's something with screenreading for blindness, that could be read as assuming more than one disability? ("blind and dumb" akin to "deaf and dumb"?) // Possibly do something akin to the warning on the comic's site itself: "Because you might be a liberal arts major." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.61|108.162.221.61]] 00:22, 11 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Keep''' because risk of accidental offence is never a good reason to rewrite comedy. If community wants to change suggest "Explaining Xtremely Klever Comedic Drawings"; if only to troll those who insist that the letters XKCD must stand for something (which it doesn't) [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 00:37, 11 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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The issue seems to boil down to:<br />
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Is it funny?<br />
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Is it overly offensive?<br />
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And therefore:<br />
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Is it worth it?<br />
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− <br />
Throwing in my opinion, however small:<br />
+ <br />
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It's amusing to me.<br />
The joke is clear, and universal. Offence may be taken equally by anyone reading.<br />
It fits well.<br />
Possibly have a hidden link for those offended. A rotating tag line could include more jokes, but...<br />
By all means move the navigation.<br />
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An explain explainxkcd page that is linked to might work, in the spirit of metahumour.<br />
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However, it may not be as serious an issue, as the tag line is easy to ignore. Just moving HTML a bit seems like a logical, cheap and easy solution, and then we can test it. Please note that this has no technical knowledge behind it, just a reading of the above.<br />
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So, my vote goes to '''keep''', and shuffle HTML or, in order, link, replace with rotating, modify, remove.<br />
Harmless fun. Possibly have a cookie-based option to permanently hide the tag line.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.160|108.162.250.160]] 00:56, 11 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Apologies, I have broken formatting in the last few edits, trying to fix it...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.160|108.162.250.160]] 00:57, 11 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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: My vote is '''change''', and it's not because of blind people. Let me run you through a very common scenario for new users:<br />
:* You have a person who generally thinks of themselves as quite smart.<br />
:* They read the comics and find most of them extremely funny.<br />
:* They come across a comic they just can't understand.<br />
:* They stare at it for minutes, wondering why they just can't get the joke.<br />
:* Pride already bruised, they eventually give up and turn to Google.<br />
:* "Explain xkcd! That's exactly what I'm looking for!"<br />
:* Click the link.<br />
:* "Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb"<br />
:* Gee, what a lovely welcome. Not.<br />
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: Insulting your users the first time you meet them is '''''terrible''''' practice. You're pointing at them and laughing that they didn't understand the joke. You're kicking somebody when they're already down. OK, that is exaggeration, but when you look at the line as a new user, it's not friendly and welcoming; it doesn't encourage you to return. It's just bad UX.<br />
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: Now, we could overlook the directed insult if it was indeed funny, but it really isn't. There's nothing witty about it, nothing punny about it, no double-entendres or sly references. It's just an insult. <br />
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: Legacy is no reason to keep something that doesn't work. Just because something wasn't picked up as bad practice 5 years ago doesn't mean that it isn't bad practice. Can you imagine if Microsoft kept Clippy around for "legacy reasons"?<br />
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: It would be one thing if it were kept because there were no other options, but ''so many'' fantastic alternatives have been suggested:<br />
:* '''It's 'cause we're dumb''' -- Changes it from an insult directed at one person to a statement with an inclusive sense of community. It saying that, hey, you may not understand all the comics, but neither do we! Let's learn together!<br />
:* '''Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000!''' -- Direct reference to comic which celebrates filling gaps in one's knowledge. Also, as a comic reference, most people won't get it the first time, so make it a link and use it to draw people further in to this wiki!<br />
:* '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear''' -- Actually humorous, containing reference to a very common message we're all familiar with (objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear). Also alludes to the hidden depths to many of the comics, where additional levels of meaning are revealed the more about the subject one knows, which is what this wiki is trying to reveal.<br />
:* '''Error loading tagline, click here to retry.''' -- Looks like the kind of joke you'd actually find in the comments. Clicking the tagline should then do something completely unrelated to reloading the tagline (I dunno, set off some cool JS magic).<br />
:* '''Because it is Monday morning.''' -- Should only be shown on Mondays. Can easily be implemented with parser functions.<br />
:* '''Because sometimes we all need a little help''' -- Gives an understanding tone that's comforting to new users.<br />
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: '''TL;DR''': The current tagline is unnecessarily confrontational and projects a bad welcome to new users, and there is nothing particularly clever/funny/important about the current tag line to recommend keeping it, especially with ''so many'' better suggestions on offer. Put it this way, if you were seeing "It's 'cause you're dumb" tag as a suggestion to add to this wiki today, would you choose it over the other options? No? Then make like an old meme and "Let It Go!" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.157|108.162.249.157]] 05:49, 11 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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: I think the above comment is a perfect example of different mindsets. I discovered this wiki in exactly the way you described. But I was not offended in anyway when seeing the tagline, which I did almost immediately. Rather, it got a little chuckle out of me along with a thought along the lines of "Haha, yeah, maybe I am dumb." If you get offended by such a tagline, it suggests to me that you are not all that certain about your own intelligence in the first place. It's a static bit of text. It was not aimed at the person reading it, it was aimed at EVERYONE reading it. EDIT-I realize this post could be seen as offensive or a personal attack, which it's not, please read the "you" not as the poster of the above mentioned comment, but as a generic for any person reading the comment. [[User:Bon|Bon]] ([[User talk:Bon|talk]]) 07:11, 11 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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: If I remember correctly I've heard it origonally was a pic of Blackhat saying it. Would it be possible to use that on this site. It seems like a decent solution? (I haven't read all of this so I don't know if this has been suggested sorry if it has). Like people have said no one gets all of xkcd, as a nonAmerican there is also a lot of references I don't get. Getting offenend over this does seems pretty pathetic to me. I also use this site for non explanation reasons, that is it often links together comics which is handy, and people often post cool links. But as others have pointed out this site isn't transcriptxkcd or linkxkcd it's explainxkcd, so that's what it should be meant for. Claiming i's offensive o the visually impaired seems pretty silly. All in all, maybe it could do with tweaking to make it more obvious but IMO it's a solid '''keep''' [[User:Halfhat|Halfhat]] ([[User talk:Halfhat|talk]]) 11:22, 11 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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::I vote '''change''', for the reasons the Halfhat above listed. I also never thought "It's 'cause you're dumb." really fit with this wiki. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.33|141.101.104.33]] 12:57, 11 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::I can't believe we've become such a limp-wristed baby society that we can't even have a joke like "It's 'cause you're dumb" as the tagline. Nobody would reasonably get offended at it. '''Keep.''' [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.33|108.162.221.33]] 13:35, 11 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''keep'''. Blind people have to realize they're not the only ones reading this site. This site was created to explain the comic, not purely to provide a transcript of the comic - that's just icing. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:27, 11 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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If there ever really was a single person who took the tag line seriously, then it was just telling them the truth. I vote '''keep'''. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.90|162.158.255.90]] 19:15, 11 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''Keep, or otherwise, Change'''. My opinion: It is not offensive, and I find it humourous. As I am very interested in the maths and the sciences, and I am very nerdy, I do often understand the jokes in each comic. However, sometimes I don't quite get it. This wiki is very good for that, because it collates many people's views and expertise on the comic. If the vote is overall to change, I am a fan of "Because sometimes we all need a little help." [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.29|173.245.54.29]] 21:18, 11 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''change''': I've always been a bit unsettled by it myself. Some deaf readers may be more insulted by it than blind ones. vote for "'''Cause you're #dumb''" (or perhaps another NOT symbol... so only people that don't understand are insulted... and the tagline can be linked to a page that explains why it isn't an insult) [[User:Edo|Edo]] ([[User talk:Edo|talk]]) 23:16, 11 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''KEEP'''. I actually had the feeling the fellow who complained may not understand sarcasm very well. Regardless, the tagline to me is remarkably funny and one of the things I always point out to folks when I first turn them on to XKCD. I worry they will stop following XKCD if they don't understand a post, which is why I am especially glad your site exists. There are many types of humor that will be lost on folks. Myself, for example. I was just railing to my friends about how much I did not like a recent popular vine which showed a guy, kinda probably the father, scaring a very young child strapped in a cat seat, by yelling in horror as the cats convertible roof was closed. Because I did not grow up watching laugh-tracked America's Funniest (sic) Home Video segments, I am not conditioned for casual schadenfreude-driven videos. But I know that's just me. I don't want to limit free-speech merely because it is not for me. Regardless, I really just want you to '''KEEP''' it because to me it is darn funny and just the sort of humor most of the folks who enjoy XKCD appreciate. --[[User:Hugo|Hugo]] ([[User talk:Hugo|talk]]) 23:25, 11 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I will also vote '''keep'''. While it ''might'' be considered offensive, it's really no more "offensive" than XKCD itself. Lest we forget the line at the bottom of every comic page:<br />
:Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and '''advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)'''.<br />
I don't see how "It's 'cause you're dumb." is any worse. [[User:Schiffy|<font color="000999">Schiffy</font>]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|<font color="FF6600">Speak to me</font>]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|<font color="FF0000">What I've done</font>]]) 23:52, 11 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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:: I don't think it's offensive, it's more childish, which may be off-putting for first time readers. Hence I vote for '''change'''. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 01:12, 14 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''Keep''', per the reasoning of, among other people, Zefiro. I like the tagline a lot and don't see much at all, if anything, that's wrong with it. Like Hugo, I feel like it's a bit of ''entirely'' appropriate humor. [[User:APerson|APerson]] ([[User talk:APerson|talk!]]) 00:36, 12 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''change'''. I know it's supposed to be a joke, but it seems out of place and not particularly funny, and it could discourage potential readers. I don't have an idea for a new tagline, but plenty of good ones have been suggested here. [[User:Cheese Lord Eggplant|Cheese Lord Eggplant]] ([[User talk:Cheese Lord Eggplant|talk]]) 03:13, 12 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Keep''' better sums up my vote, and I wish to explain why. I understand the views (as stated above) that it might discourage potential viewers, but I have seen enough well-put arguments that point out why it should not be removed for the arguments on the other side of the debate. However, I do understand that sightless users would get pretty pissed off at being told that they're dumb over and over. Is there perhaps a way to hide the text from programs designed to assisted the disabled? I have a couple of suggestions.<br />
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Perhaps it can instead simply be an image, and can even be done in a more stylized text that hints at the humour behind it (no, I have no specific suggestions). This image should not have the words it says in the meta-text within it. I just think it's not worth removing it over, it's kind of funny (or very funny, depending who you ask), replacement suggestions kinda make it bland, and this is a way to avoid having sightless people get told they're dumb over and over. The stylization is just a suggestion, because most alternative taglines I've heard don't sound up to par compared to it. Just anything to point out the sarcastic and purely humorous intentions.<br />
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I'd like to enforce my suggestion of having an image with no meta-text that can be read by bringing up that explainxkcd.com can hardly ''lose'' popularity if for the sensitive minority they don't have a tagline (especially if this tagline they are not aware of could be construed as offensive). 'Cause seriously, who's going to go tell a blind person "hey man the tagline for this site is insulting to you want to hear it?" so they'll just not learn of its existence and go on peacefully. So: Image, stylized to clearly express humour, with no program-interpretable meta-text for the blind to hear. I'd like this opinion to be closely considered, and I'd love to hear intelligent replies. ''For all intents and purposes,'' I vote '''Keep''', but to address the issue proactively and adaptively to get the best for both worlds.<br />
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I would like to point out one change I would definitely agree with, however. The commenter at 108.162.249.157 not far up suggests "It's 'cause we're dumb", and I would totally back that. That one change could make a world of difference for some people. --[[User:Znayx|Znayx]] ([[User talk:Znayx|talk]]) 09:15, 12 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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: "It's cause we're dumb" is actually a pretty acceptable change in my opinion. I still vote keep, but wouldn't mind seeing that one. Right now the no tagline version looks lonely. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.40|108.162.221.40]] 14:56, 12 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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::For the record, I would oppose a change of "It's cause we're dumb" because it's simply not as funny (the joke benefits from it sounding like it's a mock insult) and for the reasons in my main post right below this one that I see no reason to change the tagline which should not offend or be taken personally by someone who has enough sense of humour and intelligence to enjoy xkcd. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 17:25, 12 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
::This brings up the point that it is indeed a mock insult, and one that everyone gets when they visit the site, those with perfect vision are insulted just as much as the blind, or white, or black, etc... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.34|108.162.221.34]] 00:34, 13 February 2016 (UTC) Sam<br />
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I would vote '''keep''' as it is. I am mindful of offensive content, but context is key. This is a website whose primary purpose is explaining a humour-based webcomic that touches on topics that require some intelligence to really enjoy. The tagline is obviously (I hope) tongue-in-cheek. "if you need explanation of this sometimes very technical and specialized and sometimes ambiguous webcomic, you're clearly a moron". I think that most people on this site and elsewhere would consider those who enjoy xkcd (a webcomic that often concerns itself with science, history, technology, etc.) to be relatively intelligent. Just perhaps not in every particular area (as noted right at the top of this discussion). I also think it is clear that this is a wiki an thus the tagline is directed to everyone, even the people who wrote the tagline. We're all here because we're "dumb" in the sense of occasionally needing (or at least enjoying) a deeper explanation for the comics. If someone who is blind is using the site other than for its originally intended purpose, and it helps them, that's awesome. But that doesn't mean the tagline must acknowledge all possible uses of the site. Just the thesis statement of the site, which is "this site is for explaining something you might not understand". If there are blind people who use this site just to read the comic and never to need or enjoy the explanations, then I guess they are smarter than me. I do not personally believe in changing the tagline of the entire community because it doesn't apply to one small group that is using the site for a different purpose than its intentions (again, not knocking them for using the site at all, but seriously, don't walk into McDonalds and go "''I eat here because my doctor says I need more sodium, and I actually hate the food. I'm offended by your "I'm loving it" tagline. Change it!''". Or complain about Disneyland's slogan because you suffer from depression.). I would also have expected anyone who reads xkcd often enough to bother coming to this site just to do so because of their blindness would have a sense of humour and would understand the context in which the tagline was intended, and not take it personally. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 17:25, 12 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:I really agree with basically everything TheHypo writes, both here and his above comment on the reason "we're dumb" would not work at all. The idea with keeping the text but only as an image could be used, but I just do not like that we change this because someone made a ''troll complaint'' somewhere, regardless of him being blind or not; that is just one more good reason to keep it. Then again if we really wish to make it better for blind people, then by all means use an image. But keep the text in the image then! If you do enjoy xkcd then you should be able to spot the humor, and with the way Randall himself keep on mocking people on his own page, and in his comics, then why should this not fit well in with this explain page, and why should we not keep on doing what we have been doing so far? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:19, 13 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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How about '''Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're ''dumb*''.''' (''*Or don't get the joke because it is either outside your area of expertise or in a format that isn't accessible to you'') - [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.23|141.101.70.23]] 04:48, 13 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Change'''. I've always realized it was a joke, but I think we could do a bit better. How about, "Some comics may be funnier than they appear" as suggested by 199.27.130.198? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.42|173.245.54.42]] 19:35, 13 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Change'''. When I first started reading this wiki and noticed the tagline, I wasn't offended, and I realized it was a joke. But it also gave me an impression that this wiki is run by immature people as this is a childish insult, used as joke. Naturally, I wasn't too keen on following thissite closely and would only visit here when there's a comic that I don't understand at all. Thankfully, after reading through multiple explanations, I no longer think that the writers are immature and as I started reading other explanations, I started coming here even for the comics that I understand. My point is, it took me couple of months to warm towards explainxkcd and most people aren't that persistent/ give the chance to prove. So we are making lot of people to alienate with the site just at the tagline, even before they get to the content. I vote for '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear'''. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 01:07, 14 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Keep''' would be my vote. Today's society puts too much emphasis on protecting people's feelings, to the point that some people have onion-paper-thin skins, too thin to operate effectively when out in public! I feel this complaint falls under this category. Such over sensitivity shouldn't seriously be catered to. Politely listened to and considered, at most. Bending to such things just encourages people to be more sensitive.<br />
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The way I see it, you CANNOT enjoy xkcd without being smarter than average, or you'd have to turn to xkcd Explain for every single comic! It cannot be fun to require being walked through every single one. Conversely, I doubt there's very many of these smart people who are smart enough to get every joke (and every nuance) without assistance. Therefore it should be clear that is is a simple tongue-in-cheek joke, you don't really mean it seriously. It should be taken in the tone that it's meant, and it offends me when people don't.<br />
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For example, right now I'm at a bar at a Valentine's Day event. As I'm hopelessly single, this day is problematic for me, especially to be in public. I COULD ask that people refrain from love stuff, from flaunting their relationship, etc., that I'm here for other reasons. But as an intelligent adult I realize this would be unreasonable, that many people, especially most here tonight, enjoy the love stuff, enjoy Valentine's Day. It is certainly not their fault I don't, not directly, and they should not be held responsible for my discomfort.<br />
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If the final vote is for Change, I like "It's because '''we're''' dumb", or "we're all dumb", be inclusive to reduce how derogatory it sounds. Remember, while sightless people might find this site useful, the primary reason for it IS because we're dumb, i.e. we need help getting the joke. - NiceGuy1[[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.215|198.41.235.215]] 04:53, 14 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Wait, so they think they're smarter than me? I'm offended! ;-)<br />
Okay so I'm not. I almost voted keep because the primary raison d'être of exkcd is not for blind people. It was created specifically for people who need help understanding some of the science, math, and arcana behind the humor.<br />
But you know what? "It's 'cause you're dumb" is not that funny. Some of the suggestions are better. So I vote "'''CHANGE'''". [[User:Saspic45|Saspic45]] ([[User talk:Saspic45|talk]]) 07:30, 14 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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How about "Explain xkcd: It's 'cause we're dumb."? This has more of a feeling of inclusiveness and camaraderie to me, as in we're all equals more-or-less in the face of RM's brilliance and having a good time enjoying the material together. Came up with it about a year ago, because as it is the tagline struck me as a bit harsh, and have said it that way in my mind ever since.<br />
Edit: Ok, I see this has been suggested, so +1 for that minor change.<br />
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'''Change.''' While I didn't notice it at first, I was pretty offput when I did. As someone who has some trouble catching sarcasm all the time, I was excited when I found this site -- it helps me with not only things outside my knowledge, but also lets me check when something ''is'' being sarcastic. And when I finally noticed that tagline, even though I knew it couldn't be directed straight at me, it still sort of felt like it. I've been called dumb nearly throughout my life for not catching sarcasm which others seem to understand immediately, and it doesn't exactly feel nice (or in the spirit of XKCD!) to have that little reminder floating there. It's not even worded to be funny, either, just sorta cold. Sarcastically saying someone is dumb for not getting sarcasm... it's a vicious loop. And when there are so many other options -- many of which have fun puns or a much more friendly feel -- why are people so attached to this one? And from what it seems, a lot of people seem attached to it purely for the purpose of being stubborn against people who don't like it. Plus, why is it such an awful thing to try to make people feel more welcome? Jeez, guys. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.11|108.162.216.11]] 21:57, 14 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Change it please. I see it all the time, and it feels SO condescending. I often check out the site to get more information about a topic in the scope of a given strip, or to see if there's any subtext outside of the primary joke, and it ALWAYS feels like the site is insulting my ability to understand "simple humor". I understand that it's supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek joke, but I hate it. I think it should either be changed to one of the previous suggestions, or use a rotating set of taglines, or it should just be removed completely, because I utterly dislike the way it currently is. [[Special:Contributions/130.215.123.52|130.215.123.52]] 12:27, 15 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Definitely '''change''' - I'm surprised what it was doing there in the first place - but I do not like the "we're dumb" version either. My current favorite is "Because we all need a little help", as it is equally directed at both the non-joke-understanding audience and the screenreading audience; but I definitely like "Some comics may be funnier than they appear" and, to a lesser extent, "You're one of today's lucky 10,000" (not sure, actually, whether that one would benefit from a link to the relevant comic). <small>Incidentally, how did the previous guy manage to post four hours in the future? Or is the AM/PM to 24h conversion broken?</small> --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.88|141.101.81.88]] 08:39, 15 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Wow, this blew up... I never found the tagline particularly funny, but I honestly can't believe so many people appear to be offended by it. If someone is dumb enough to believe it is specifically aimed at them, not realise that it is humor, and think it is actually worth getting upset about, then the tagline is perfectly justified. Should be changed to "Please click here if you are easily offended", with a link to Disney.com, (or 4chan/b/...) --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 12:09, 15 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''change'''. Even smart humans need positive words. Many of the proposed alternative with only positive words suits me fine. [[User:MGitsfullofsheep|MGitsfullofsheep]] ([[User talk:MGitsfullofsheep|talk]]) 13:25, 15 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''keep''', but modify the Skip to Content tags to bypass it. It's humorous, and there's no such thing as a humorous tag line that won't offend '''someone'''. Can pretty much guarantee that if it's changed to something else, some wag will start a discussion about how that new subtitle offends them... {{unsigned|Danemcg}}<br />
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If it's not too late, I vote '''keep''', I regularly view the site for detailed information about comic topics and am always amused to read the tag line. I hope the poor fellow who tallies our votes here will mind that we're likely an unrepresentative group - if you're offended, you're likely to turn out, where a contented user (nearly myself) might just pass by. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.36|108.162.216.36]] 14:34, 15 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''keep'''. Anyone who's actually offended by this is way to sensitive...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.11|108.162.216.11]] 15:09, 15 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Change'''. Never found it funny. We can do better. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 16:12, 15 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Change'''. It offends too many people (myself included, although more at first than now) to be kept. [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 16:57, 15 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I too vote '''change''' if it's not too late. Not because it's particularly offensive but more because it's not funny or xkcd-ish enough to justify any offence it may or may not cause. I prefer some of the suggestions we've had:<br />
* Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000! (with, of course, a link to the relevant comic)<br />
* '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear.''' This one is my favourite and I feel it captures very well my main reason for using explainxkcd<br />
::[[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.149|141.101.106.149]] 21:12, 15 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''Keep'''. If we legitimately had a large group of blind people who were offended at this tagline, I would be in support of changing it. However, the only supposedly blind person who we know of that takes offense was obviously a belligerent individual. Do we really want to take a guy who says "I've found more intelligent, compassionate, humane, wise, sympathetic, inclusive, and infinitely funnier *dingleberries* than [Randall Munroe].*Rude gesture*" seriously? do we really want some ranting asshole somewhere to dictate what our site does or does not do? seriously? [[User:VfiftyV|VfiftyV]] ([[User talk:VfiftyV|talk]]) 00:11, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I vote '''change'''. I've always disliked the tagline, it's a bland and obvious "joke" that's at odds with the friendly, clever tone of both the comics and the rest of this site. Even if it's clear we don't mean it, calling every visitor to this site dumb, with no further context, just isn't setting a good example for the kind of *clever* sarcasm that Randall uses. We can do better. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.32|108.162.221.32]] 01:12, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Keep''' because it's clearly meant as a joke. It makes no sense to change this site over one person's "offense" that the unaffiliated xkcd site isn't blind-friendly enough.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.142.217|162.158.142.217]] 02:31, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Keep'''. Anyone with a sense of humor can understand that it's at least humorous. And, the primary purpose of the site ''is'' to... explain the comics, mainly to those who don't understand them. If it does get read out loud to every blind person who visits, then please, by all means, '''Change''' the layout at least to keep that from happening. But it shouldn't be removed due to half-baked complaints. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.168|108.162.245.168]] 02:57, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I've already voted above, but I would like to call out the sightlessness issue as a red herring. One of the premises of accessible design is that all users get the same content, although perhaps in different ways, so I think we're going in the wrong direction in proposing to change or hide the text for blind users but not for everyone else. If we're to keep it, then let us keep it for all. If we're to change it, then let us change it (to the same thing) for all. If we're to remove it, then let us remove it for all. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:22, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Alright, I've tallied up the votes twice and counted 36-31 the first time, and 39-32 the second time. Both times were majority keep, though there was still a strong showing for people wanting to change it. I've fixed and restored the black hat figure who was supposed to be speaking the tagline back in the old blog days, and I turned the tagline off for screen readers since the blind may only need us for the transcript, and accessibility for the blind is a big part of why we had a transcript to begin with. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:44, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:I think this is a great compromise. And cool that it is Black Hat's line. I did not know this used to be the case. Is it correct that the font color has also been turned gray so it is not so prominent? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:45, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Yeah, back when this site was a blog, [https://web.archive.org/web/20130118141641/http://www.explainxkcd.com/ the tagline was Black Hat's line.] [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=MediaWiki:Tagline&action=history looking at the edit history for the tagline], it looks like we've made some vague attempts to restore black hat's face next to the tagline before, but mediawiki doesn't process markup in that area. I did a little bit of CSS magic this time round to fix it properly this time. He's a little fuzzy though, could be better. The tagline's always been gray though. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:57, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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: Just before I start, since I'm an IP user and therefore hard to identify (should probably make an account one of these days, but oh well), I just want to quickly mention that I am the same person as [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.157|108.162.249.157]] who posted on the 11 Feb.<br />
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: Now that's out of the way, I want to say that I disagree with the outcome decided for this post. While I appreciate the attempt to compromise by having it look a bit more like Black Hat is saying the line, I still think that the substance of the arguments against the current tag line are much stronger than the arguments for keeping it. The arguments for keeping it all basically boil down to "It's a joke and it's been there forever so there is no need to change and anyone who suggests otherwise should just man the f*** up." Nowhere have I seen anyone in the keep-camp argue as to why none of the alternatives are just as good or better than the current line. Pretty much, the only reason ever given to stick to the current tag line is that it's the status quo.<br />
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: On the other hand, you have many, many people pointing out that the tagline is offensive and that, even if the reader does understand it to be a joke, it's not a particularly clever one and provides a rather unwelcoming atmosphere. What many of the people in the keep-camp are ignoring is the fact that not everybody has a high level of self-confidence, and that being called dumb, even if the intention is tongue-in-cheek, just comes off as hostile and drives people away. It is also true that all tone of voice suggesting sarcasm is completely lost in text, which is why over at the [http://doctorwho.answers.wikia.com/wiki/Doctor_Who_Answers:Policies#Additional Doctor Who Answers Wiki] we specifically point this out in our policy of civility towards fellow users. This wiki is very different from that one in many ways, but I don't think it would be dumb to look at what others have noticed and learn from their mistakes, especially since that particular wording was added due to a bad misunderstanding leading from lost sarcasm. There has already been somebody here who admits they find understanding sarcasm to be difficult. Should we really be calling them dumb? Furthermore, the quote seems to directly contradict Randall's attitude towards ignorance, summed up so perfectly in [[1053: Ten Thousand]]. We should be welcoming ignorant, or "dumb", people in the hopes of enlightening them with the wisdom of the community here. Singling them out as dumb isn't going to help them. <br />
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: Finally, I fear the reason there aren't more change votes are because many of the people who were put off by the tagline simply never came back to this wiki after their first visit. I wouldn't be surprised if reader retention rates increased if you changed the tagline, and if the number of readers who convert to users also increases if the community provided a more friendly first-impression.<br />
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: Now, I know that I have raised this all before, along with many of the other people who voted for change, and it still doesn't seem to have made an impact of the people who try to insist that an insult with no wit or humour is "just a joke". I think the best way for us to prove that the tagline needs to change is to conduct a little experiment. Let's look at a list of commonly supported alternatives:<br />
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:# '''It's 'cause we're dumb''' <br />
:# '''Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000!'''<br />
:# '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear'''<br />
:# '''Because sometimes we all need a little help'''<br />
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: Explanations for why these taglines are better than the current have already been provided. I challenge anyone reading this post from the keep-camp to explain why "It's 'cause you're dumb" is better than each of those taglines individually, without falling back on arguments of legacy or that the people reading the line are thin-skinned wusses. If reasonable counter-arguments can be made against each of those lines in favour of the current one, then I will back down. Until then, I cannot accept that the battle of ideas has chosen the current tagline. There are just so many better alternatives that are funnier, more in-line with the xkcd spirit, and above all, are welcoming to new readers into the community instead of turning them away the moment they reach the front door. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.157|108.162.250.157]] 11:28, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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:: Dude, you are not getting how voting and democracy works. The people who are proposing a change, are the equivalent of lobbyist --having lots of lobbyist does not equate to "strong support". None of these lobbyist have been able to agree on a single rewording, so they are not arguing for the same cause. On the the other hand there are thousands of of visitors (voters), of those who actually voted, voted to keep and not go with the suggestions of the lobbyists. Had there on the other-hand been a majority for change, the what would the change be? At best we would have to consolidate the suggestions (candidates), and since there is no term limit on tag-lines, the existing one should be a running candidate as well, and then make an eating contest between all the possible candidates [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.109|162.158.255.109]] 19:50, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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OK, I'll take a stab at it. "It's 'cause you're dumb" is better than any of these because it is funnier than any of these. It's funny for the same reason that the titles of numerous books, "XXX for Dummies" are funny. In fact, if it weren't such an obvious rip-off, the tag line could be "xkcd for Dummies", which would be the same joke.<br />
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:# '''It's 'cause we're dumb''' is sort of awkward, and why would I want an explanation for something I didn't understand from a bunch of dummies, anyway? I want somebody smart to explain it to the dummy - me - who didn't get the joke.<br />
:# '''Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000!''' is meaningless, and therefore not funny, unless you click on it and then let Randall tell you the joke behind that punch line. I do love the sentiment now that I've seen that comic, and somehow linking to that comic as an explanation of what explainxkcd.com is all about is a great idea, but as a tag line, by itself, it just isn't funny.<br />
:# '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear''' is sort of cute, as it relates to the warning in rear-view mirrors, but it is so actually true in the case of xkcd that it loses some of its funniness by being a serious explanation of why the explainxkcd.com site is valuable.<br />
:# '''Because sometimes we all need a little help''' - is sweet, sympathetic, and inclusive; it's just not very funny.<br />
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By contrast, "It's 'cause you're dumb" grabbed me the first time I saw it as being relevant to why explainxkcd.com is a great site, and equally importantly, it made me laugh. Maybe it is to be expected that among the viewers of a site dedicated to explaining jokes there will be a reasonable percentage that don't get this particular joke, either. Maybe the solution is a link on that line to a page that explains the "It's 'cause you're dumb" joke in the way xkcd jokes are explained: "It's funny because you are not really dumb, you just maybe didn't get some very esoteric reference, and you'll enjoy the humor of xkcd more when that reference is explained. But, when jokes need to be explained, it is common for people to feel like they must be stupid, so we make a joke about that feeling. It's not really pointed at you in particular; after all, this is a published web-site - the folks who wrote it probably don't even know you." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.41|108.162.221.41]] 18:44, 16 February 2016<br />
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'''Change''', kind of. How about this: "Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're <strike>dumb</strike> of average intelligence." Maybe even include a (hidden) link to [[1386: People are Stupid]]. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.220.17|108.162.220.17]] 23:42, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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: (I landed in an edit conflict with the person above, so my comments do not take their response into account.)<br />
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: Thank you 108. You actually provided a decent rebuttal against the counterproposal, which has been lacking until this time. While I do not agree with all your points, I can actually see your point-of-view. Personally, I think that if we're going to use it as a reference to the "___ for Dummies" books, it needs to be clearer so people don't take it as an insult, but otherwise I understand your points.<br />
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: @162: As my friend, one of the greatest admins on one of the biggest non-Wikipedia wikis, says, wikis are not democracies. It is the idea with the best supporting arguments that wins, not the idea with the most votes, as many people support certain ideas for superficial reasons that are not aligned with the overall aim of improving the wiki to attract more readers/editors and improve content. Especially with such a close vote, I would put more emphasis on the quality of the arguments than the pure numbers of supports/opposes.<br />
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: Looking at the proper counter-arguments finally provided, I would shift the counter-proposal for a new tagline to tagline 3 suggested above: '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear'''. From above, I can see the argument against 1 being that people don't want help from dummies, 2 will probably be obscure for new users and may alienate them upon entry, and 4 is just too soppy. 3 however is funny, it's accessible, and it's actually funnier in my opinion because it actually ''does'' describe exactly what we do here. To the new user, it will at first just be a mildly amusing reference (still funnier than the current line in my opinion) but it will take on a new meaning and relevance as people use this wiki more, and the gradual realisation of relevance will make the tagline even more appropriate and amusing. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.163|108.162.250.163]] 23:59, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I’m the lurker who suggested “Some comics are funnier than they appear.” I was bemused to see it get any traction at all, since it’s not that hysterically funny, and perhaps incomprehensible outside the US where convex car mirrors aren’t etched “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”<br />
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Wow, am I glad I didn’t create an account here when posting it!<br />
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I expected to see more spit-balling in kind, not an outpouring of orneriness from a majority of this obviously intelligent community who are apparently too stubborn to admit that there could possibly be anything wrong with greeting newcomers, “It’s ‘cause you’re dumb.” I took the starting point of the thread to be the obviousness that ANYTHING ELSE would be better than that.<br />
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I also expected the admin to deliberate a little harder, showing how he evaluated arguments and suggestions and tried to do the right thing, rather than just counting votes. Notwithstanding the facade of democracy in his benevolent dictatorship, he also doesn’t seem to have taken into account that the effect of NOT changing the tagline—-thus continuing to alienate a lot of users and potential contributors like me-—far, FAR outweighs any potential backlash from the old guard who are married to it. What are they going to do, rage-quit because they didn’t get their way? Because something on their favorite wiki got **gasp!** CHANGED?<br />
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Boo hoo, I didn’t get my way on a small thing which doesn’t really matter. At all. I only followed up here because I noticed the banner soliciting user input had changed. However, the ugly tone of this little tempest in a teapot has certainly convinced me that this community isn’t worth joining or contributing to. I reserve the right to continue lurking, but I’m sure as hell turning my AdBlock back on.[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.198|199.27.130.198]] 07:10, 17 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) said "We're all idiots 99% of the time about 99% of things. It's the 1% that makes up for all the rest." Learning begins by owning your dumb. [[User:Bob Stein - VisiBone|Bob Stein - VisiBone]] ([[User talk:Bob Stein - VisiBone|talk]]) 16:12, 17 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Keep'''. I felt offended -- but -- so what. It is true. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.91.169|141.101.91.169]] 21:20, 17 February 2016 (UTC) Martin<br />
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* '''Keep''' It is funny. People are not made of glass, not even dumb ones. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.172|108.162.245.172]] 23:15, 17 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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: ''199 wrote:"I was bemused to see it get any traction at all, since it’s [...] perhaps incomprehensible outside the US where convex car mirrors aren’t etched “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”"''<br />
: You don't need to worry about that. American culture has spread throughout the world so thoroughly that I assume most English speakers will understand it. I myself am an Aussie, who spent most of her childhood living in Europe, and I understood the reference perfectly. And while it might not be "hysterically funny", it is certainly more universally funny than the insult.<br />
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: Admins, please heed what 199 said in the rest of his/her message. You have yet another example in a long line of people being turned off from this wiki community because they don't like the attitude of this statement, nor the stubborn adherence to it despite so many people pointing out how wrong it is. You are aware that "It was just a joke" is a common defence bullies make, right? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.157|108.162.250.157]] 00:53, 18 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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So, @Davidy22, can you add a "Jump to Transcript" link in the jump-to-nav div, and move the jump-to-nav div to before the tagline in the HTML? Thank you! [[User:Hat|Hat]] ([[User talk:Hat|talk]]) 08:58, 18 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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At 12,000 words this discussion has beaten the H0/HO discussion on wikipedia... How long until we beat Star Trek Into Darkness??? --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 12:10, 18 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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'''Keep'''. I like the humour in it. 18.February 2016 12:40 (UTC) Fabian<br />
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XKCD provides transcripts about a week after a new comic comes out, so saying that blind readers require explainxkcd is a bit of an overstatement (although to be honest the official transcripts are somewhat vague). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.217|141.101.70.217]] 19:45, 18 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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: Generally most transcripts gets completed within hours of the comics being posted. More complex ones can take longer, and there is sometimes a bit of back and forth as far as layout is concerned, but the content tends to be there pretty quickly. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 09:35, 19 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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"Explain xkcd: extra knowledge, see discussions." I wish I'd thought of that one a week ago. And Randall says it's not an acronym, eh? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.198|199.27.130.198]] 09:21, 19 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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:Ah crap... that's actually really good. I'd have supported this had it been mentioned earlier, even though I voted to keep the current. [[User:Schiffy|<font color="000999">Schiffy</font>]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|<font color="FF6600">Speak to me</font>]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|<font color="FF0000">What I've done</font>]]) 02:39, 20 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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For what it's worth, if the matter is ever re-opened, I'd vote to '''change''' to one of the alternate suggestions -- I quite like "extra knowledge, see discussions" but many others would be fine. The current one is a poor way to greet newcomers; it certainly gave ''me'' pause. Perhaps I've been sensitized by the general uptick in incivility in many places in recent years, but I'm actively avoiding forums and sites that appear to be encouraging rudeness. If one disregards that header, it becomes clear that this site isn't like that, but one has to get past that header first. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 17:32, 15 October 2020 (UTC)<br />
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'''Change''' because the only justification to keep it seems to be "It's just a joke why are people always so offended at everything" [[User:256.256.256.256|<font color="800080">256.256.256.256</font>]] ([[User talk:256.256.256.256|<font color="0000FF">talk about me behind my</font>]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ/ <font color="0000FF">back</font>]) 12:55, 20 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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I’d say '''change''' it. It’s not funny, it’s never been funny and it never will be funny. Why does a tag line have to be funny any way? All it needs to be is memorable and eye catching. I personally like “congratulations you’re one of today’s lucky 10,000” it’s a direct reference to an existing comic and encourages learning more.<br />
:I agree, so '''change''' from me. —[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User:While False/explain xkcd museum|'''museum''']] | [[User talk:While False|talk]] | [[special:Contributions/While_False|contributions]] | [[special:Log/While_False|logs]] | [[Special:UserRights/While_False|rights]] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:While_False&printable=yes printable version] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:While_False&action=info page information] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere/User:While_False what links there] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:RecentChangesLinked&days=30&from=&target=User%3AWhile_False related changes] | [https://www.google.com Google search] | current time: {{CURRENTTIME}}) 18:27, 8 December 2022 (UTC)<br />
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== Concerning recent spam ==<br />
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In light of the recent and large amount of spam that we've been seeing, I've revoked new users of the right to create and move pages, as well as access to the write api. If your account is three days old and has 10 or more edits under it, you will still be allowed to create and move pages. This will end when the spambots decide to leave. To the person who's doing this, don't ruin this for the other people who use this site. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 19:36, 11 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:In light of the recent burst of spam, creation of talk pages will also be shut off for new users. We will create an empty talk page for new comics in place of this feature. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 06:47, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
: So what will you do in three days when the spambot can create new pages again? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 07:58, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
::They have to hit both criteria. The flaw there is that spambots have also demonstrated themselves to be capable of editing pages, but I'm not sure what to do for that aside from look for a better captcha. If it comes to it, I'll write my own. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:05, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
aw man. tfw another troll already beat me to the punch {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.62}}<br />
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@Davidy22: Maybe we should use something like [[MW:Extension:TitleBlacklist]] or [[MW:Manual:Combating spam#.24wgSpamRegex]]. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 14:25, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Hum. I'll take a look when I get home. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:02, 17 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:: Sigh, it's getting out of hand again... --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 15:19, 18 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Alright, I'm not sure what's happening here. This is what's in the localsettings file:<br />
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$wgGroupPermissions['user']['createtalk'] = false;<br />
$wgGroupPermissions['autoconfirmed']['createtalk'] = false;<br />
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:::I don't know why this doesn't work. Probably well overdue for a mediawiki upgrade, but I have midterms and papers coming up. This timing is inconvenient. The title blacklist is for a newer mediawiki version, I'll lock and upgrade this weekend. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 16:07, 18 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::For now, I'll try removing talk page creation rights from all non-admin users. I'll make the talk pages for new explanations. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 16:09, 18 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Alright, I made a test account and I realised I'm very dumb. I forgot to turn off createtalk for all, so people could still make talk pages. I've also added mandatory email verification. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:34, 18 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
::::See tagline ;-) --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 01:51, 19 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::::I do want to find/write a better CAPTCHA though, none of these measures I've taken stop account creation, so the spammers might try just shoving a million accounts at us. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 03:03, 19 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Oooh nevermind forcing email verification turns off anonymous editing. Don't want to go that far, and it didn't stop that one spammer anyways. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:17, 19 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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== Will verifying my email turn off the CAPTCHA ==<br />
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Pretty much what the section title says. I find the way the captcha works here kinda annoying, since I submit and then get the CAPTCHA. I'd be willing to put in my email address if it would stop the CAPTCHA, but, otherwise, I don't see any point in doing so.<br />
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If it does stop the CAPTCHA, I would suggest mentioning this in the preferences as one of the benefits of adding an email, and perhaps point it out on the page when the CAPTCHA appears. <br />
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IF not, then will I just have the CAPTCHA forever? Or will it go away once I put in enough edits? Or do I need to do something else? <br />
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[[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 00:10, 1 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
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:The email address is optional, we have it set up so that users less than 3 days old with less than 10 edits will have to fill in a CAPTCHA when they edit. It's set up that way to limit and make the damage that spambots can inflict much easier to fix. You appear to have cleared the 10 edit boundery today, so you should be able to start editing CAPTCHA free now. Giving people a way to bypass the anti spam window by providing an email address is an idea though, I'll see if I can't write a plugin for that after I'm done with finals. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:24, 1 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
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== Why does Mediawiki look so "old" all of a sudden? ==<br />
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Screendhots: [http://i.imgur.com/smN1a45.png][http://i.imgur.com/qdpxhdY.png]<br />
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I've tried this in three browsers, and they all look the same. [[User:KangaroOS|Kangaro]][[User talk:KangaroOS|OS]] 12:56, 4 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
:High traffic, high load, everything is on fire. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 16:28, 4 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
:: Man ! The fire started by Randall is out of control.. It has been so long, and this is looking very ugly. Did wiki go in "printer-friendly version only" mode ? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.56|162.158.255.56]] 04:10, 5 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
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(H'rm - realized I posted this in the wrong place - further discussion should go [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Technical#Stylesheets not working?|here]].) [[User:KangaroOS|Kangaro]][[User talk:KangaroOS|OS]] 15:20, 5 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
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== Annoying ad ==<br />
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From the anti-noscript text shown when an ad is blocked by noscript: "our ads are restricted to unobtrusive images and slow animated GIFs."<br />
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Yet the ad blocked features a drawing of a woman in her underwear. I find this very obtrusive.<br />
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Also, can you get rid of the captcha needed to even view content on this site using Tor? https://support.cloudflare.com/hc/en-us/articles/203306930-Does-CloudFlare-block-Tor- {{unsigned ip|162.158.17.66}}<br />
:Looked through our bids, a guy who was auto approved used the privelidge to put that ad up. I cancelled the ad, if he puts it up again he's getting banned. I'll get on the tor options in cloudflare. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:41, 10 August 2016 (UTC)<br />
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== Random Question ==<br />
Since this is the miscellaneous section, I assume I can ask a question based on anything, even if it's not XKCD or wiki-related. Am I correct? Or is there another place to do that? --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 16:21, 9 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Nothing expressly forbids it, but do remember the purpose of the site. If you want to ask a question not related to xkcd or the site, there is likely another, better outlet for your question on the internet. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 17:14, 9 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Ah. Okay. Just making sure. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 17:47, 9 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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== "What if: Hide the Atmosphere" question ==<br />
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At the end, Randall notes one "may not want to" dig out Texas, and the guy in the illustration mentions "specifically requesting" something. As someone not from the USA, I don't know what he's referring to. Could someone please explain it? {{unsigned ip|172.68.51.28}}<br />
:It's a reference to {{w|Don't Mess with Texas}}. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 20:52, 9 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
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== Blinking advert ==<br />
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There's an ad for something called Goliath Fallen that blinks occasionally. A static picture would be fine but the blinking is distracting --[[User:Figvh|Figvh]] ([[User talk:Figvh|talk]]) 04:22, 27 September 2017 (UTC)<br />
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== What is Randall Munroe's wife's name? ==<br />
I am curious--haven't been able to find it. {{unsigned ip|162.158.62.141}}<br />
:We accept privacy. Ask Randall himself. [[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:21, 19 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:We could refer to her as Megan, based on the character even despite its' "everywoman" stance. Megan is represented as Randall's wife in the ''_ Years'' comic series (with Randall being the supportive main Cueball character), as well as in other comics where Randall is represented as a Cueball in a comic with a Megan. {{unsigned ip|172.70.130.6}} 18:52, 26 Jul 2021 (UTC)<br />
::Also, broken signing because I forgot that <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> was a thing. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.6|172.70.130.6]] 18:56, 26 July 2021 (UTC)<br />
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== 5 bucks that most of these are spambots. ==<br />
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[[File:probablyspammers.png]]<br />
<br />
🤔<br />
<br />
[[User:DPS2004|DPS2004&#39;); DROP TABLE users;--]] ([[User talk:DPS2004|talk]]) 19:07, 12 February 2018 (UTC)<br />
:I tried "DROP TABLE users;" but then I lost my login... ;)<br />
:The more serious thing is that when the Captcha was broken (after 31 March) that bots were too dumb but with the new reCaptcha V2 this happens again.<br />
:But since those users take no further actions and IPs also can edit here it doesn't seem to be a problem. Nevertheless old users with zero edits may be purged in the future.<br />
:[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:17, 19 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Header pointing to FAQ implies content that doesn't exist ==<br />
<br />
"All explain xkcd editors should check the latest update at the Editor FAQ. We now support LaTeX..."<br />
<br />
Strangely, the FAQ doesn't mention LaTex once.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.210.34|172.69.210.34]] 15:06, 8 June 2018 (UTC)<br />
:You're right but the (yet last) question "How do I enter mathematical or chemical formulas?" belongs to this. The Math functionality uses LaTeX syntax and I will mention this. I thought people who know the markup <code><nowiki><math>...</math></nowiki></code> do know that it's based on LaTeX. Nevertheless reading this {{w|Help:Displaying a formula|manual}} is mandatory. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:08, 8 June 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Unable to create own user page? ==<br />
<br />
Hi, I'm a new user here. When I try to put info on my user page it says I don't have permission to create it. Same applies for my talk page. Please help.[[User:VannaWho|VannaWho]] ([[User talk:VannaWho|talk]]) 07:18, 13 June 2018 (UTC)<br />
:I've clarified the corresponding section in the [[explain xkcd:Editor FAQ|Editor FAQ]]. You will become a trusted user after a few more edits, but right now I've created your user and talk page. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:57, 13 June 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks. I'm looking forwards to becoming an active member of the community here.[[User:VannaWho|VannaWho]] ([[User talk:VannaWho|talk]]) 13:09, 13 June 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== 2018 ==<br />
<br />
This probably only means something to me, but has anyone else noted that we are approaching comic 2018 in 2018? I don't think any other comic has been posted in in the year its number represents. Maybe the sign of the apocalypse? Or like all the other signs of the apocalypse, just a random occurrence. I am interested in seeing if it is memorialized in some way. {{unsigned ip|172.69.33.239}}<br />
:Please do not forget to sign your comments. Nevertheless the apocalypse was already here: [[998: 2012]]. And a comic with the name 2018 was published last December ([[1935: 2018]]). The comic number 2018 will probably happen on July 11 and the number 2019 will be two days later on July 13 (ohhh, it's a Friday...). --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 08:41, 23 June 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Random Kettle ==<br />
<br />
Hello, so I had https://xk3d.xkcd.com/880/ open for an extended amount of time. When I came back to it today, I had a random blue kettle that was not on any other of my xkcd pages, and it would change locations every time i refreshed. (I have several screenshots, just not sure how to upload here.)<br />
<br />
It went away when the back page button was pressed, but does anybody know what or WHY this kettle was there? {{unsigned|DeathFox4}}<br />
:Please do not forget to sign your comments. You probably want to talk about this matter here: [[Talk:880: Headache]]. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:44, 11 October 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Where to ask questions to find a specific comic? ==<br />
<br />
Hello, <br />
<br />
Someone searching for a specific comic has gotten me to try to find a place to ask the community, but haven't found any? <br />
<br />
[https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/9uzvqv/help_me_find_the_one_where/]<br />
<br />
kind regards, <br />
Dodo --[[User:Dodo|Dodo]]<br />
:Please sign your posts with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> because then we also see a timestamp of your comment. That's important because we could see that your question from reddit was solved there slightly after your post here. It's from SMBC and not xkcd. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:55, 8 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Incomplete "Created by a _" Tag Jokes ==<br />
<br />
I'm not lobbying for their return or anything, I'm just curious why they were removed. Or rather, why the incomplete tag was rewritten to discourage them. It was a good bit of comedy, and their removal makes it seem like this wiki is trying to be more serious than it really needs to be, IMO. [[User:CJB42|CJB42]] ([[User talk:CJB42|talk]]) 19:18, 9 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:I'm the creator of the BOT which initially presented a new page by honestly mentioning it was NOT created by a human. Years later, people started to make that joke. Sometimes it was really funny, but you can't repeat a joke for over hundreds of times, not funny and stupid attempts to reach that first jokes. And that incomplete tag is meant to be there for mentioning what's wrong or missing, sadly most editors don't use it for this reason. Nonetheless a nice joke is still welcome there, but it should be funny and not just an urge to present a "joke." --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:51, 9 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== xkcd.wtf ==<br />
<br />
Hi everyone, I've recently made this small project http://xkcd.wtf/ . It's not yet finished, but somehow Big Goog' picked it up, so I thought I'll go live. It is important to me to announce it here first, since it uses explainxkcd's API and wouldn't be possible without all of you. <br />
<br />
Originally, this was meant to be a Uni project, but the course was cancelled and the already purchased domain sat dormant for many months. Just recently, I picked it up and made a first prototype in Perl, then I undertook the painful process of rewriting it as a buzzword-compliant Javascript Single Page Application (so my server doesn't have to proxy everything). It sometimes craps out, because xkcd's API is awful (the 'real' one doesn't have CORS, the c.xkcd.com one is often offline) [[User:Gir|//gir.st/]] ([[User talk:Gir|talk]]) 22:19, 12 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Nice, I know you have many skills in programming. What's the purpose of this project?<br />
:Funny findings: The TLD isn't welcome always like here "In June 2012, Ryan Singel of Wired predicted that the .wtf domain would not be applied by anyone." and my own first investigation:<br />
:<code>[root@localhost ~]# whois xkcd.wtf</code><br />
:<code>No whois server is known for this kind of object.</code><br />
:I'm running CentOS with no pending updates...<br />
:Besides kidding, it works great and could be a good presentation on pages using a bad layout here. My goal is still to get this site much more mobile compliant, but there are still also issues on parts you don't use. Nonetheless let me know if you need help, hoping you will help here in the future too. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:49, 13 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::hi, sorry I missed your post! The purpose was to do this as a university project, but the course was cancelled after I bought the domain in anticipation of it. not wanting it to go to waste, I've implemented it in my spare time. the whois error is strange; it works on Fedora (which queries whois.donuts.co (no m)). I may come back to your offer for help (thanks) and definitely won't be leaving explainxkcd.com (my expertise lies with computer topics, and there weren't many comics about that recently. that's why I've quieted down a bit) [[User:Gir|//gir.st/]] ([[User talk:Gir|talk]]) 17:03, 18 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== xkcd Sorting Options ==<br />
Is there any way to sort xkcd comics by size? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.80|141.101.77.80]] 04:37, 4 February 2019 (UTC)<br />
:What size? The pictures, the explanation, or what? Explanations are changed every day. So, for what purpose is this idea? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:21, 15 February 2019 (UTC)<br />
::I can see some benefit in being able to sort explanations by size as some of the earlier comics have fairly short explanations that could be expanded, but I'm not sure this is worth the effort of setting up a sort function. I don't know why you would want to sort the images by size other than perhaps for general interest. [[User:A(l)Chemist|AlChemist]] ([[User talk:A(l)Chemist|talk]]) 10:55, 16 February 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::A small sized explanation doesn't say anything about it's quality. IMHO in contrast there are many overwhelming explanations which are far too long, TL;DR... --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:32, 16 February 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::I agree. Most of the early explanations are just fine. I was just trying to guess why they were suggesting a sort function. [[User:A(l)Chemist|AlChemist]] ([[User talk:A(l)Chemist|talk]]) 14:15, 16 February 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== 1204: Detail has the incorrect picture ==<br />
<br />
Not sure where to put this but just look at the title. Not sure how one changes it, but a typo was fixed and usually the newest picture is used. [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 14:15, 19 March 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Regarding the alt-right trolls ==<br />
Safe to say everything they leave is deletable, ''including'' the little "jew reverted my edits, help!" complaint they almost always leave on the discussion pages? --[[User:Youforgotthisthing|Youforgotthisthing]] ([[User talk:Youforgotthisthing|talk]]) 00:53, 12 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Is the "It's 'cause you're dumb" tagline a relic of the past? ==<br />
<br />
Yes, I'm going there, because this issue isn't going away.<br />
<br />
I read through the entirety of the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous#Sightless_readers_offended_by_the_.22It.27s_.27cause_you.27re_dumb.22_tagline. Explain XKCD tagline debate from 2016], and I have to admit, I was surprised. I had not considered that there would be so many people in support of this tagline, nor that the debate had been going on this long. I was actually sure that most people were in agreement with me that it's unnecessarily insulting and demeaning. It seems that isn't the case.<br />
<br />
The main argument from the Keep side appears to be that "it's just a joke". Here are some examples of that sentiment:<br />
<br />
* "Suggesting that anyone who isn't part of the 0.1% of the population who share all of Randall's abilities and references, is dumb, can't be anything but a joke."<br />
* "it is a rather obvious joke"<br />
* "If a user doesn't understand that it is a joke, then he won't understand XKCD's jokes, either, no matter how much explaination he can get."<br />
* "I always thought the tagline fit nicely with the "sarcasm" part of xkcd's own tagline."<br />
* "It's not hiding behind "just a joke", it IS the joke. It's tongue-in-cheek. It's so obviously false that you have to intentionally ignore the joke and manufacture offense about something benign."<br />
* "It's amusing to me. The joke is clear, and universal. Offence may be taken equally by anyone reading. It fits well."<br />
* "Looks like the kind of joke you'd actually find in the comments."<br />
* "I can't believe we've become such a limp-wristed baby society that we can't even have a joke like "It's 'cause you're dumb" as the tagline. Nobody would reasonably get offended at it."<br />
* "If there ever really was a single person who took the tag line seriously, then it was just telling them the truth."<br />
* "the joke benefits from it sounding like it's a mock insult"<br />
* "I doubt there's very many of these smart people who are smart enough to get every joke (and every nuance) without assistance. Therefore it should be clear that is is a simple tongue-in-cheek joke, you don't really mean it seriously. It should be taken in the tone that it's meant, and it offends me when people don't."<br />
* "It's 'cause you're dumb" grabbed me the first time I saw it as being relevant to why explainxkcd.com is a great site, and equally importantly, it made me laugh."<br />
<br />
I like to think that I do understand xkcd's humor very well - even the more subtle aspects of it, like Randall's perpetual social paranoia, his sarcasm at common failings of societies and organizations, his absurdism, his childlike wonder at the things we don't know. I love it, it makes me laugh and it makes me happy.<br />
<br />
I am not a delicate snowflake, and I believe firmly that we should not allow people to use "being offended" as a weapon of control to take away freedoms or to force their agenda on others. That kind of behavior should rightfully be challenged and resisted.<br />
<br />
However, I am not arguing on the basis of offense. I believe that I actually have a solid, reasonable foundation for my case for change that can be accepted by all, if I can argue it effectively enough. Because you see... I never got the joke.<br />
<br />
When I came to Explain XKCD for the first time, and saw the "It's 'cause you're dumb" tagline, my reaction was "Well, that isn't true, and it's a bit childish." It didn't come across as sarcasm to me; it comes across more like the kind of boorish flippancy expected of an anonymous imageboard, where being crude is the local currency. Mentally, I just couldn't fit it with what I saw as an otherwise fine mission of collaboratively explaining a very clever webcomic as a service to readers all over the world. And I didn't like it. It's not the kind of tone that I enjoy in a community.<br />
<br />
"I don't like it" is not, of course, an argument, and would be a poor foundation from which to make my case - particularly as I am up against people who insist that the tagline ''is'' xkcd's humor and tone. So instead, I would like to argue this case: '''I think that this is what xkcd's tone ''used to be'', and that it isn't what xkcd's tone is ''now'''''.<br />
<br />
The "It's 'cause you're dumb" tagline is actually ''ten years old''. It originally appeared in a different context; it was in the header image for the Explain XKCD blog.<br />
<br />
[[File:explain xkcd blog header image.png|center]]<br />
<br />
The image of Black Hat insulting Cueball is subtly different to what the tagline is now, and so I think some of the nuance - that might soften the joke or make it less antagonistic - has been lost. I have a theory that this is part of the reason why people are so polarized on whether the tagline is insulting or not, because I suspect that some people are remembering this older version. However, that's away from the point.<br />
<br />
My point is this: it is no longer 2009 and things have changed.<br />
<br />
xkcd, and Randall himself, have changed - Randall has published more than 1500 comics in that time, as well as books dedicated to explaining science and technology in his unique, witty style. He loves knowledge and discovery and celebrates the little things that people find interesting, often standing up to defend such pursuits against those who might otherwise dismiss them. That is xkcd to me. And I submit that Explain XKCD has, in those ten years, outgrown the tagline as well, We are, I think, more encyclopedists than agitators. If most people on this wiki are like me, they find pleasure in carefully unraveling the mystery of an xkcd comic and creating a resource that's as useful as can be. The tagline serves no purpose, in that case, other than to drive away contributors.<br />
<br />
We shouldn't be afraid to offend. But I don't think we should offend needlessly. I think we're better than that.<br />
<br />
[[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 21:29, 15 July 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I really like the old banner, and think that the tone fits well with many of the older comics. But I agree with you that most of the newer comics have a less childish tone to them, where it is not as fitting. Also having it as a tagline instead of a banner makes it less obvious to be a character-statement. It is not an important issue to me, but I agree with you. After all explainxkcd is a site, for the lucky [[Ten Thousand]] each day. [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:36, 16 July 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Pageviews? ==<br />
<br />
Any idea how many pageviews, on average, this wiki gets? I'm not looking for any detailed breakdown or historical stats, just a rough average for the main page each day. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.23.57|172.69.23.57]] 02:21, 8 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'd be really curious to know which pages are the most viewed on this website. Which comics are the most unintelligible to people? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.201|173.245.54.201]] 23:01, 15 March 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== xkcd site's fine print ==<br />
<br />
I just noticed the fine print on the xkcd site, under the comics list: "xkcd.com is best viewed with Netscape Navigator 4.0 or below on a Pentium 3±1 emulated in Javascript on an Apple IIGS at a screen resolution of 1024x1. Please enable your ad blockers, disable high-heat drying, and remove your device from Airplane Mode and set it to Boat Mode. For security reasons, please leave caps lock on while browsing."<br />
<br />
Is there an explanation for the above? (copied from xkcd's homepage on 8/8/19)<br />
<br />
<br />
My first thought was "Those are low requirements". Then the "on an Apple IIGS" tripped me up. (I know so little of Apple software use that I can't say that portion is incorrect.) I like the humor of the screen resolution (although I think only computers could read it) and the suggested mode.<br />
<br />
M.Striker<br />
(didn't realize that this was an edit and not a message; deleted my included e-mail)<br />
<br />
:The text you mentioned is explained at [[footnote]]. I guess you are new to this wiki/project? Feel free to improve any of the sites you find (many can be found by using the search function), or to comment/discuss the pages in the discussion section. If you want to sign your comments on here or in a comment section (with or without an existing account), you can use four "~"-symbols. (Do not wory, it will not show you actual IP adress). [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:18, 9 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Randall NYT excerpt from "How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems" ==<br />
<br />
FYI, Randall has an article in Tuesday's ''New York Times'': [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/13/science/what-makes-a-red-sky-at-night-and-at-morning.html "What Makes a Red Sky at Night (and at Morning)"]. It's an excerpt from "How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems." [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 03:34, 15 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== More ads? ==<br />
<br />
Is it me, or are there now a ton of extra advertisements on this site? There is one between every paragraph of explanation. At least, when viewed with a mobile browser. It's a huge distraction, so I'm going to be enabling an adblocker.<br />
<br />
: I would also like to file a complaint. [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 03:10, 9 April 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: [[user:Davidy22]] If hosting expense is the problem, would it be possible to move to miraheze? [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 11:54, 19 May 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::: Hello? Anyone there? [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 06:55, 8 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Should we* reference xkcd.com "black lives matter" banner ==<br />
<br />
I consume almost all my xkcd directly from explain xkcd. So i only visit xkcd.com rarely.<br />
<br />
I had been wondering why Randall was avoiding referencing the black lives matter movement which is clearly topical.<br />
<br />
But i note that xkcd.com has a banner featuring Cueball saying "black lives matter".<br />
<br />
Should we do the same?<br />
<br />
* my apologies if we already do<br />
<br />
[[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 06:01, 11 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I'm not entirely sure if I understand the question. We list most (all?) the variants of Randall's banners on the [[:xkcd Header text]] page, and as of Tuesday (a bit late), that includes the Black Lives Matter banner. We also acknowledge it in [[2315: Eventual Consistency#Trivia]] as the first comic that ran after the banner went up. There's reason to ask if this wiki should give banners in general more prominent treatment, and question is raised on [[:Talk:xkcd Header text]].<br />
:But are you asking if ExplainXKCD should adopt its own editorial position and feature a banner? I think it's really hard for wikis to make high-level editorial decisions like that. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 06:28, 11 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
:: this was the question. And I hadn't looked hard enough. Thank you<br />
:: no, not suggesting we do editorial, but glad we recognise what Randall has done. Cheers [[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 12:30, 11 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== is scraping this site ok? ==<br />
<br />
Hi everyone! Some days ago I scraped explainxkcd to get the webcomics' content, and created an interactive network chart where nodes are comics and two nodes share a link if they have words in common. (It's here: https://www.fluentdata.tech/visualizing-the-xkcd-comics-network-using-google-vision-spacy-and-d3/)<br />
<br />
However, looking back I don't know if I had permission to actually scrape this site. Where can I get this information? Is scraping OK?<br />
:From [[explain xkcd:Copyrights]], "The Explain XKCD wiki is generally licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license (CC-BY-SA-3.0). This means that you can freely reuse our content, but you have to say where you got it — if you're sharing on the internet, a link back to the article is appropriate." So yes, scraping this site is allowed, but you should credit the site.<span> — [[User:Sqrt-1|The <b>𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭</b>]] <sup>[[User talk:Sqrt-1|<span style="color: blue">talk</span>]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|<span style="color: blue">stalk</span>]]</sup></span> 03:43, 5 March 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== So what happened to the site? ==<br />
Just curious, but it was down last night (June 14, Eastern Daylight time's night) and this morning has reverted to February. This is not a complaint, it's curiosity and a willingness to help out. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 15:41, 15 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:I'm curious too. It was down on the morning of Friday the 11th & is currently back up showing last Wednesday the 9th's comic. A post asking about it on [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/nxrm65 r/xkcd] got over 140 upvotes in 3 days. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 16:30, 15 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
::The page was down for more than four days. Problem is there seem to be no administrators attached to explain xkcd anymore, so no one who actually knows anything replies to these posts... :-/ So if the page goes down permanently there seems to be no one who still uses this page, who knows what to do... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:03, 16 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:::That would be a shame since a ton of good content would be lost. Somebody somewhere needs to be paying the bills for the site to be hosted though. Don't they know what happens to the product they're paying for? [[User:Bischoff|Bischoff]] ([[User talk:Bischoff|talk]]) 13:01, 16 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
::::Indeed, is there anyway we can contribute to the upkeep of the site? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.182|141.101.76.182]]<br />
<br />
== Stuck? ==<br />
So, nothing yet for the August 7, 2021 comic? I normally see the main page update within an hour of the new xkcd appearing. Not complaining, just hoping nothing is wrong. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 20:43, 7 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Help finding a specific comic. ==<br />
<br />
I've been trying to find this specific comic but I can not find it anywhere. It's the one where a character suggests going to another building to avoid companies like Google and Facebook and tries to leave only to find the doors (and windows?) replaced with walls. Turns out Google and Facebook bought all the buildings and removed all doors so people can only use their services.<br />
: (Above unsigned post by [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.65|108.162.245.65]] 04:38, 28 October 2021 (UTC).)<br />
: 99% sure that's not an xkcd (though it does sound entertaining). You might try asking on r/xkcd, they can often ID even non-xkcd comics.<br />
: Please sign your posts. [[User:Esogalt|Esogalt]] ([[User talk:Esogalt|talk]]) 05:32, 28 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Update/further correct the Bots pages? ==<br />
<br />
Seeing an edit to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Bots the site's meta-page on Bots] (and making a minor grammatical edit myself), the current and seemingly unfixable inactivity of DgbrtBOT and its replacement by Theusaof... (though not, yet, as an officially recognised member of the Bots group?) makes the statement "There are 3 bots" dubiously correct, depending upon how you count them. As a humble IP unconnected to any 'bot, I am neither confident enough in the facts to revise all the relevent details nor able to do much about it (not even create the above page's Talk-space) but maybe someone else here can muster up both qualities. So over to you..? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.36|172.70.91.36]] 11:48, 1 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Countdown Timer ==<br />
<br />
Does anyone know what the timer in the upper right corner of the website is? As of writing, it's around "20D 20H 20M" (ha ha). Is this for some kind of event I don't know about (I mean, I don't keep track of that sort of thing, so I wouldn't usually know anyway, but still), or is this just something weird Randall's doing that we're all going to find out together?<br />
<br />
Just curious.<br />
(Tidal Rose)<br />
<br />
:Yes, I've been wondering, too. I can't find any good explanation anywhere for it -- I looked on Reddit, etc. I guess he really is keeping it a secret -- perhaps a book announcement. -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.253|162.158.255.253]] 00:51, 11 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It appears that the accompanying image may also be updating (not minute to minute at the moment). Curious to see what this little black line does! (My bet is that it's a new book as well)<br />
<br />
:My first thought was counting down to Webb reaching L2, but it's a couple days late for that... looks to be approximately 10AM Eastern on January 31, though my datemath is probably not too good when the local hour is <6. [[User:Davidhbrown|Davidhbrown]] ([[User talk:Davidhbrown|talk]]) 05:49, 12 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The image has definitely updated!<br />
<br />
Is there a place where the progressive images are archived? [[User:Fuzzymo|Fuzzymo]] ([[User talk:Fuzzymo|talk]]) 01:00, 14 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:There is a [[Countdown_in_header_text|page structure]] now created for it. Go directly to [[Countdown_in_header_text/images|the /images sub-page]] for the captured series-so-far. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.43|162.158.159.43]] 04:37, 14 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The exact time it's counting down to is Monday, January 31, 2022 at 10 AM EST (Munroe's time zone) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.165|108.162.229.165]] 23:55, 14 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Could it be for [https://www.nationaldaystoday.com/national-backward-day/ National Backward Day?]<br />
:Already mentioned (and mostly rejected?) in the ''real'' conversation about this. (See the [[Countdown in header text]] page, etc, if you haven't already.) Not sure what the plane would have to do with it, unless it turns out to be flying backwards when we see movement lines. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.155|172.70.162.155]] 17:53, 25 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== What if 103 ==<br />
<br />
Why is it "not quite a coincidence" that the titanic was traveling at about the same speed when it hit bottom as when it hit the iceberg?<br />
: 1. please sign your posts! 2. im guessing the joke is that it wasnt moving [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 17:09, 25 August 2022 (UTC)Bumpf<br />
:: What are you talking about? Its speed was around 20.5 kts at the time of impact.<br />
<br />
== Syndication comic: uploaded with no number, link to xkcd doesn't work? ==<br />
<br />
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Syndication<br />
<br />
In the title, the page is very broken and there's no evidence Randall Munroe ever uploaded this. Someone in the comments theorises it's a fan uploaded comic pretending to be official. Any way to find out? [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 08:08, 14 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Concerning a certain editor ==<br />
<br />
I'm puzzled and slightly worried as to the motives of [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?limit=50&title=Special%3AContributions&contribs=user&target=Gadget-HotCat&namespace=&tagfilter=&start=&end= a given named editor]. Having made direct comments myself (and seen others do so), albeit only as an IP, I'm concerned as to their potentially reckless nature. As messages to(/in reply to) them have done very little to get a valid explanation, I thought I should note the case slightly more formally. They seemed quite helpful when they started to post (at a time of notable vandalism, and I'm reluctant to jump to any adverse conclusion about that) and I obviously cannot speak of their time beyond this submission, but I find an overwhelming amount of their most recent interactions to be (to put it charitably) naive, despite clearly the intelligence to use advanced Wiki markup/etc.<br />
<br />
I welcome a ready and willing editor. Moreover one who has bothered to get an accountable account, more than I have ever done! I would be happy to see them usefully contribute further, but could they perhaps realise (or accept, if they already know) that the drive to submit random and (pretty much always) unexplanatory content is not useful to anyone. And that's all I wish to say, right now. As much of a nudge as I want to make for the moment. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.64|141.101.99.64]] 14:45, 28 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== xkcd Volume 0 ==<br />
xkcd Volume 0 is a collection of chosen comic strips - but there's also red-text found scattered though pages, usually as some type of cypher or code. Because of that, can an authorized user create a stub for [[xkcd Volume 0]] so that the codes can be documented, or does that risk too much of a copyright violation? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.56|108.162.241.56]] 00:10, 29 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Russia ==<br />
Is there a comic that mentions Russia? Omg Omg Omg {{unsigned|Omg omg omg Бельков|23:02, 19 March 2023 (UTC)}}<br />
:@[[User:Omg omg omg Бельков|Omg omg omg Бельков]]: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?search=russia&title=Special%3ASearch&go=Go Let me use the search bar]. ~ [[user:megan|Megan]] <sup>she</sup>/<sub>her</sub> <sup>[[user talk:megan|talk]]</sup>/<sub>[[special:contribs/megan|contribs]]</sub> 23:25, 19 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Might be a good idea if the mods had a look at the following accounts, BTW:<br />
:"Omg сайт вместо гидры", "Omg omg omg Бельков", "Omgomg", "Площадка omg", "Darknet omg omg", "Ссылка на omgomg", "Омгомгомг магазин", "Омгомгомг сайт", "Омгомгомг ссылка", "Омг сайт магазин", "Омг ссылка", "Омг тор ссылка", "Площадка omg ссылка", "Сайт омг омг ссылка", "Сайт omg onion", "Сайт omg shop", "Сайт omgomg", "Omgomgomg ссылка", "Omg omg market onion", "Omg onion", "Omg online", "Omg shop ссылка", "Omg web net", "Omgomg гидра", "Omgomg замена гидре", "Omgomg market", "Omgomg tor", "Omgomgomg магазин", "Omgomgomg сайт", "Omg omg сайт зеркало", "Omg omg ссылка онион", "Omg omg сайт аналог гидры", "Omg зеркало", "Omg аналог гидры", "Omg вместо гидры", "Omg даркнет", "Omg дарк", "Omg маркет", "Omg omg площадка тор", "Omg онион", "Omg площадка даркнета", "Omg площадка новая", "Omg площадка торговая", "Omg ссылка", "Omg dark", "Omg darknet", "Omg market", "Omg omg даркнет", "Omg omg магазин ссылка", "Omg omg площадка отзывы", "Omg omg площадка сайт", "Зеркало ссылка омг"<br />
:Wasn't particularly concerned, but then one decided to have a go at posting. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.185|172.69.79.185]] 23:51, 19 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Edit War ==<br />
An edit war has occurred on this page. Three topics were added and then removed. One user got banned. It seemed that the "Miscellaneous" is not actually miscellaneous. I can't create any talk pages, either. [[User:ClassicalGames|ClassicalGames]] ([[User talk:ClassicalGames|talk]]) 03:40, 31 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Spammers are being impersonated. <span>[[User:ClassicalGames|Clas]]</span>rch 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Connect spam ==<br />
It seems that the pages with "Connect" in their titles tend to receive spam posts. [[User:Memo Spike Connector|2503: Memo Spike Connector]] ([[User talk:Memo Spike Connector|talk]]) 08:05, 31 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Did this happen on Wikipedia too? [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 10:40, 31 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Note for spammers: Do not rely on our group or others such as [[User:Memo Spike Connector]] to revert your edits. [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 10:46, 31 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== April fools day ==<br />
April fools day is coming. Let's predict what [[Randall]] will post for the day. [[User:Memo Spike Connector|2503: Memo Spike Connector]] ([[User talk:Memo Spike Connector|talk]]) 08:05, 31 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: Uh, oh, April Fool's Day has already passed and there doesn't seem to be any related comics this year. [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 20:14, 2 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: Seems like they've seen our trying to predict the April Fools comic. [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 23:35, 3 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Public sandbox ==<br />
{{notice2|'''Sorry, an unexpected edit war has occurred in this section.'''<br>''Public sandbox lyrics spam incident''<br>If you are in doubt, please [[Special:Random|do not read]] further.|image=semi-protection-lock.png}}<br />
What are the public sandbox pages used for? The "Main Page sandbox" was originally intended for testing the main page features, but then it received a lot of off-topic comments. [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 20:24, 2 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:The [[:Template:sandbox]] page received spam posts recently, with some user repeatedly trying to put words under another person's pen. I'm afraid someone will start using chatbots to spam in the future. [[User:ClassicalGames|ClassicalGames]] ([[User talk:ClassicalGames|talk]]) 07:03, 4 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::I'm not spamming. There is indeed evidence. You see, he mentioned the Cherokee keyboard [[Talk:2583:_Chorded_Keyboard|a lot]] [[Talk:2736:_Only_Serifs|of times]]. He made an edit about publishing songs and emphasized the word "Practical" in the title text. And there's still more. You see, I'm not spamming. [[User:Omg Oriental Music Group|Omg Oriental Music Group]] ([[User talk:Omg Oriental Music Group|talk]]) 08:13, 4 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::As far as I'm concerned, you're not the same person. Different things being done by all the CGs and OMGs (and other previously seen usernames too, that I could mention). Even if you're just doing things to try to trap 'real' spammers, better to just not put stupid unrelated things on here in the first place, make it less effort to notice the least friendly stuff rather than having to trawl through nonsensical sandbox edits. My opinion. No compulsion to take notice of me. Namaste. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.160|172.70.162.160]] 13:34, 4 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::How dare you say we're the same person???!!! {{w|We Didn't Start the Fire|I didn't write the lousy lyrics}}! Actually, there's a lot of evidence that suggests that it's CG who did that. Even the link in the email I've received says it's CG. [[User:Omg Oriental Music Group|Omg Oriental Music Group]] ([[User talk:Omg Oriental Music Group|talk]]) 22:55, 5 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::::It seems that you wrote the lyrics, adopting CG's language style and shared it under the name of CG. Or you may be trying to imitate CG's edits to trick others into believing that you are CG. Or you may be a chatbot asked to upload lyrics written in CG's style (The Chat GPT is already able to write in other people's style). You could be making CG look suspicious, and maybe one day CG will behave as if he actually wrote the lyrics, which is most probably an effect of the Pilgrimalion's effect (Sorry I don't know what it is exactly called). And why did you link to the "We didn't start the fire" page? - [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.230|172.71.158.230]] 00:54, 6 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::::I guess there's someone else pretending to be CG and trying to trick you. And did you mean "Pygmalion effect"? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.217|172.71.158.217]] 08:12, 6 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::::And you could be trying to put CG in a dilemma (if he didn't write the lyrics). If he just removed his name, you would put it back in. If he blanked the page, others would think that he is trying to keep the lyrics a secret. If he left it alone, others would think that he really wrote the lyrics. Another important question is ''who'' wrote the lyrics if any. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.87|172.71.154.87]] 08:21, 6 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::::What about the other two names listed under the "Lyrics by" section? [[Special:Contributions/Donald_Amadeus_Theophilus_Gottlieb_Trump|Donald ATG Trump]] didn't make any edits. The other one probably refers to the real one from another website, but it's also unlikely that he contributed to the lyrics. If none of the three contributed to the lyrics, then who is the real lyricist? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.125|162.158.166.125]] 09:07, 6 April 2023 (UTC)</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2746:_Launch_Window&diff=3073752746: Launch Window2023-03-08T04:14:28Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ - Identifying characters and adding explanation</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2746<br />
| date = March 6, 2023<br />
| title = Launch Window<br />
| image = launch_window_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 501x256px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = "Confirmed, we have to scrub." "Ugh, okay. I'll get the bucket and sponge."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a WINDEX-SCRUBBED LAUNCH WINDOW - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
A {{w|launch window}} is a brief period of time in which a spacecraft can be launched from Earth's surface such that the spacecraft can reach its destination with the minimal amount (or an amount lower than a threshold of acceptance) of energy expenditure.<br />
<br />
This comic takes the concept of a "launch window" in a more literal direction, implying that they have an actual physical window that is only open at certain times, and through which the rocket presumably has to be launched. [[Cueball]], representing a technician working in a mission control center, suggests moving the rocket outside in order to avoid issues that arise from dealing with the window. This immediately gets pushback by the other technicians who, in stereotypical behavior of shut-ins, don't want to bother leaving their comfortable computers. [[Ponytail]] complains the outside 'is so sunny', which ironically would normally indicate good conditions that would permit a launch. [[Hairy]] also objects because it would cause them to have to deal with bugs, presumably not of the technical type which might commonly prevent a launch, but more of the living, biting kind.<br />
<br />
The title text continues the comic’s theme of taking aerospace terms literally, with a play on the two meanings of ''scrub''. Normally, in the context of a rocket launch, this would mean to cancel the launch, but here it apparently means that some cleaning job is required, possibly of the window in question (though how that would help them to launch the rocket through it is unclear), or possibly to deal with the aftermath of launching through the closed window.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Ponytail and Hairy can be seen sitting either side of a technical-looking double-sided console, with Hairy wearing a mike-and-headphones headset]<br />
:Ponytail: The launch window will only be open for another 90 minutes.<br />
:Ponytail: We may have to scrub.<br />
<br />
:[In a frameless panel, a slightly expanded view where, left from Ponytail and Hairy, Cueball can also be seen, operating a similar but single-sided neighboring console with his back to Ponytail]<br />
:Cueball: You know,<br />
:Cueball: given all our issues with the launch window,<br />
<br />
:[Cueball turns around, facing the others]<br />
:Cueball: have we thought about moving the rocket outside?<br />
:Ponytail: Ugh, no. It's so sunny out.<br />
:Hairy: And there are bugs.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category: Space]]<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Hairy]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1826:_Birdwatching&diff=3063901826: Birdwatching2023-02-17T02:56:04Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Transcript */ : made transcript a bit more accurate</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1826<br />
| date = April 19, 2017<br />
| title = Birdwatching<br />
| image = birdwatching_small.png<br />
| titletext = No, tell the park rangers to calm down, it's fine--I put a screen on the front. I just want to get the birds a little closer.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
In this comic, [[Cueball]] and [[Knit Cap]] are out birdwatching (hence the title). {{w|Birdwatching}} is an activity to observe birds. Usually this is done at a distance, as birds are flying in the air, and are far away. It is thus helpful to use {{w|binoculars}}. <br />
<br />
[[Knit Cap]] uses binoculars and manages to spot a {{w|hawk}} a mile up. Cueball, however, has brought his camera, probably his superzoom camera from [[1719: Superzoom]]. (He uses that again already two comics later in [[1828: ISS Solar Transit]]). It is very difficult to find anything in such a camera, especially if held in one's hand (as opposed to on a tripod) and zoomed in. Maybe Cueball is with his trained friend, out birdwatching for the first time. Cueball is frustrated and comments on the difficulty and is amazed [[Knit Cap]] can spot birds over such distances.<br />
<br />
Frustrated with his camera, Cueball comes up with a solution, which is to use a {{w|vacuum cleaner}}, specifically a {{w|shop vac}}, to pull the birds in closer so he won't need the superzoom camera to see them. This is physically impossible with such a small device. Even if the shop vac created a perfect vacuum, it can only pull out air at the speed of sound, which amounts to approximately 1 cubic meter per second considering the apparent size of the hose. This is not enough to create a significant amount of wind or affect the atmosphere. (He might've borrowed it from [[Beret Guy]] who has many [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]] that also extends to improving vacuum cleaners, which Cueball knows about as seen in [[1486: Vacuum]]).<br />
<br />
Cueball's shop vac bird collector is similar in concept to [http://biostor.org/reference/76824/page/3 vacuum-based insect collectors] [http://media.nola.com/environment/photo/xuanchen1jpg-fca88349bf05fe83.jpg used by] [http://www.rinconvitova.com/d-vac.htm entomologists]. Cueball evidently thinks that a similar concept will work to easily collect birds.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to {{w|park ranger}}s, who are officials in charge of protecting the natural elements (i.e. plants, animals, etc.) in many parks and would certainly object to birds being forced to coalesce via an extremely powerful vacuum. If such a vacuum were created and used for this purpose, it probably would pose a threat to the safety of birds. Cueball says he has solved this problem by placing a perforated screen in front. In doing so, he can safely attract the birds without trapping them inside the vacuum. He implies that this should remove the danger to the birds, which is not the case. While the birds can no longer enter the vacuum itself, having a large number of birds pulled into a (presumably small) screen would probably fare poorly for the birds, so Cueball's solution is rather poor.<br />
<br />
When out birdwatching it is a great idea to have a silhouette chart to be able to recognize the birds by the shadow they make against the sky. Two comics before this one [[Randall]] made a comic with just such a chart, [[1824: Identification Chart]], although that was for combinations of birds and planes...<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and Knit Cap with a knit cap are standing together looking up in the sky. Cueball holds a camera with a large lens down in front of him, and his friend holds binoculars down in front of him.]<br />
:Cueball: Birdwatching is hard. <br />
:Cueball: They're all way too small and far away.<br />
<br />
:[In a frame-less panel they both raise their tool eyepieces to their eyes.]<br />
:Cueball: That hawk is over a mile up! How did you even spot it?<br />
<br />
:[Both lower their eyepiece again. The friend still looks up while Cueball looks down on his camera which he holds up in front of him. A black squiggly line above his head indicates that he is fuming over his camera's abilities.]<br />
<br />
:[Cueball now has a vacuum cleaner with a big body and a large hose which he is pointing towards the sky, as air is visibly sucked in to the hose and the vacuum cleaner is making a very loud noise which extends beyond the frame of the panel.Cueball is holding one hand on the vacuum cleaner which has a label with its brand on it. Cueball's camera lies on the ground in front of the vacuum cleaner. The friend looks back at Cueball.]<br />
:Vacuum cleaner: <big>'''''WHRRRRR'''''</big><br />
:Label: Shop Vac<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*This comic was originally published with a very large picture, much larger than the standard screen. <br />
**The original image was named [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/birdwatching_huge.png birdwatching_huge.png] <br />
**The image at that location has also been downsized to normal dimensions. <br />
**It was later updated to use an image without the "_huge" in its name, at the usual size. <br />
*The unexpected size was at first interpreted as being part of the joke, see the [[#Discussion|discussion page]].<br />
**The idea was that the reader was only seeing an inconvenient subset of the magnified image on the screen, just like Cueball was experiencing an inconvenient subset of the magnified sky through the zoom of his camera lens.<br />
**It seems, however, that it wasn't meant to be like this, as both the size and name of the image were later corrected.<br />
*Alternatively the size gave people trouble with reading the page, and made Randall change his mind and reset it to normal size. <br />
**It seems weird he would make a "_huge" version by mistake?<br />
*The premise is similar to the {{w|Superman_(1940s_cartoons)|Fleischer Superman}} cartoon {{w|The Magnetic Telescope}}, where a mad scientist does essentially the same thing with comets.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2730:_Code_Lifespan&diff=3054162730: Code Lifespan2023-01-27T16:44:30Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ link</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2730<br />
| date = January 27, 2023<br />
| title = Code Lifespan<br />
| image = code_lifespan_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 377x307px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Surely (no one/everyone) will (recognize how flexible and useful this architecture is/spend a huge amount of effort painstakingly preserving and updating this garbage I wrote in 20 minutes)<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT PROGRAMMED 50 YEARS AGO. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In the first panel, [[Ponytail]] painstakingly future-proofed her code, but all in vain, as it will never be reused again. In the second panel, she decided that future-proofing would be unneccessary, as she assumes nobody would reuse her code that far in the future anyway. This feels like a {{w|Catch-22 (logic)|''Catch-22''}} situation for developers.<br />
<br />
The title text proposes four permutations of sentences that software developers may consider, which given the context of the comic, usually start out as these two hoped-for ideals:<br />
* Surely everyone will recognize how flexible and useful this architecture is. And,<br />
* Surely no one will spend a huge amount of effort painstakingly preserving and updating this garbage I wrote in 20 minutes.<br />
However, reality often falls short of such hopes, in that insufficient numbers of people recognize code intended for re-use, and far more people than intended will attempt to maintain and adapt sloppy work. The latter sometimes happens because the corner-cutting peculiarities of hasty work are often seen as far deeper necessities than they actually are.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[Two situations are depicted between Ponytail and Cueball.]<br />
<br />
[Situation 1:]<br />
<br />
Ponytail: It took some extra work to build, but now we'll be able to use it for all our future projects.<br />
<br />
Caption below the panel: How to ensure your code is never reused<br />
<br />
[Situation 2:]<br />
<br />
Ponytail: Let's not overthink it; if this code is still in use '''''that''''' far in the future, we'll have bigger problems.<br />
<br />
Caption below the panel: How to ensure your code lives forever<br />
<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2719:_Hydrogen_Isotopes&diff=3040532719: Hydrogen Isotopes2023-01-04T06:34:35Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ unnecessary</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2719<br />
| date = January 2, 2023<br />
| title = Hydrogen Isotopes<br />
| image = hydrogen_isotopes_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 442x250px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Oops, All Neutrons is also known as Neutral Quadrium, Nydnonen, and Goth Tritium.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BREAK ROOM DE BROGLIE MICROWAVE USER. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{W|Hydrogen}} is the simplest of the chemical atoms, usually consisting of an electron orbiting a lone proton. This comic shows real and humorously fictional forms of hydrogen, generally depicted according the {{w|Discovery of the neutron#Proton–neutron model of the nucleus|Chadwick model}} of the atom; see [[2100: Models of the Atom]] for details.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! "Isotope"<br />
! Real?<br />
! Description<br />
|-<br />
|Hydrogen<br />
|Yes<br />
|Hydrogen-1 is the most common {{w|isotope}} of hydrogen, with one proton and one electron, shown with the electron orbiting the proton. It is also known as protium.<br />
|-<br />
|Deuterium<br />
|Yes<br />
|{{w|Deuterium}} is the second most common isotope of hydrogen, with one electron and both a neutron and proton in its nucleus. About one of every 6,760 hydrogen atoms in seawater is deuterium.<br />
|-<br />
|Tritium<br />
|Yes<br />
|{{w|Tritium}} is the third most common isotope of hydrogen, with one electron and a nucleus of one proton and two neutrons, for an atomic mass of about three {{w|Dalton (unit)|daltons}}. It is radioactive with a half-life of about twelve years, and is very rare (but not as rare as unbound "instant hydrogen" neutrons.)<br />
|-<br />
|Ium<br />
|Not as shown<br />
|This isotope depicts an electron orbiting around nothing. Heavier hydrogen isotopes are named from a prefix designating the number of {{w|nucleons}} followed by the suffix "-ium" (which is also {{w|systematic element name|used to name newly discovered elements}} before they are given a proper name, e.g. {{w|unununium}} for element 111) so no nucleus is designated here with no prefix. A free electron will not circle around nothing, but instead will gain momentum towards positive electric field potentials including those created by moving magnetic fields.<br />
|-<br />
|Wheelium<br />
|No<br />
|This fictional form consists of a proton, electron, and neutron orbiting around nothing, shaped similarly to a wheel. The neutron could bind to the proton, but will more likely {{w|Elastic_scattering#Nuclear particle physics|elastically scatter}} away.<br />
|-<br />
|Instant hydrogen (ready in 15 minutes)<br />
|Yes, but rare<br />
|This is just a single neutron. An unbound neutron will decay into a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino, with a mean lifetime of just under fifteen minutes. The proton and electron ''can'' form into a hydrogen atom, but that [https://van.physics.illinois.edu/ask/listing/1207 only happens about four times in a million.] The name is likely a reference to "instant" food such as noodles which are reduced for convenience and can be quickly reconstituted.<br />
|-<br />
|Hydrogen (maximum strength)<br />
|No<br />
|This fictional isotope consists of a proton, an electron, and what appear to be at least 14 neutrons. This isotope's proton would not be bound to all the neutrons. It would immediately decay by {{w|Nuclear drip line|dripping}} most all of them away, producing a large amount of energy. "Maximum strength" may be a reference to over-the-counter medicines containing the largest quantity of active ingredients permitted.<br />
|-<br />
|Oops, All Neutrons<br />
|Maybe<br />
|This fictional form consists of four neutrons, a {{w|tetraneutron}}, with one orbiting around a group of three. The name is likely a reference to an American breakfast cereal called {{w|Cap'n Crunch#Variations|Oops! All Berries}}.<br />
<br />
The title text provides three other names of this form: 1. "Neutral Quadrium": Quadrium is an extremely rare isotope of hydrogen with four nucleons, a proton and three neutrons.[https://www.chem.ccu.edu.tw/~hu/Web_Lib/articles/Muonium+H2_Science_2011.pdf][https://www.lenr-canr.org/acrobat/GodesRcontrolled.pdf] The proton and electron have been replaced with neutrons, making a fictional neutral atom. 2. "Nydnonen" is likely a derivation of "hydrogen" with three of its consonants replaced with the letter 'n' so it has four of them representing the four neutrons. 3. "Goth Tritium": All the particles in the depiction are black, resembling typical {{w|gothic fashion}}, and in the same configuration as the particles of tritium.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{{notice2|The Mountain View, California Public Library is hosting an online chat with [[Randall Munroe]] Tuesday, January 31 at 11am Pacific.<br/>[https://libraryc.org/mountainviewlibrary/22032 Register here to send your question(s) to the moderators.]|image=Crystal Project Agt announcements.png}} <!-- pending admin request to add blurb to sitenotice --><br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Eight drawings of different versions of hydrogen atoms are shown. They are arranged in two rows of four. The depictions use the planetary model version with for instance a negative electron (with a "-" written inside a small circle) orbiting a positive proton (with a "+" written inside a larger circle) and a black neutron depicted as a circle of the same size as the neutron, as in the second atom - Deuterium. Each has a label underneath. Here, they are listed in reading order:]<br />
:[An electron orbiting a proton:] <br />
:Hydrogen<br />
<br />
:[An electron orbiting a proton connected with a neutron:] <br />
:Deuterium<br />
<br />
:[An electron orbiting a proton connected with two neutrons, so they form a triangle:] <br />
:Tritium<br />
<br />
:[An electron orbiting nothing:]<br />
:Ium<br />
<br />
:[An electron a proton and a neutron all orbiting on the same circle around nothing. They are placed equidistant from each other forming a large triangle:]<br />
:Wheelium<br />
<br />
:[A single neutron:] <br />
:Instant Hydrogen (ready in 15 minutes)<br />
<br />
:[An electron orbiting a proton connected with many neutrons, 13 visible with six touching the proton which are in front. Four more are close to those six and mostly shown and then three are only just visible behind the others. Looking closely there are also two smaller dots near the edge indicating at least two more, for 15 that can be seen. And several more would be behind the visible neutrons if this forms a spherical shape. The electrons orbit just barely goes around the outer neutrons:] <br />
:Hydrogen (maximum strength)<br />
<br />
:[Four neutrons arranged like the particles in Tritium with a neutron orbiting a triangle of neutrons.]<br />
:Oops, all neutrons<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2719:_Hydrogen_Isotopes&diff=3039692719: Hydrogen Isotopes2023-01-03T07:25:25Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ copyedit</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2719<br />
| date = January 2, 2023<br />
| title = Hydrogen Isotopes<br />
| image = hydrogen_isotopes_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 442x250px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Oops, All Neutrons is also known as Neutral Quadrium, Nydnonen, and Goth Tritium.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BREAK ROOM DE BROGLIE MICROWAVE USER. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{W|Hydrogen}} is the simplest of the chemical atoms, usually consisting of an electron orbiting an proton. This comic imagines other humorous fictional forms of hydrogen as follows:<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! "Isotope"<br />
! Real?<br />
! Description<br />
|-<br />
|Hydrogen<br />
|Yes<br />
|Hydrogen is the most common {{w|isotope}} of hydrogen, with one proton and one electron, shown with the electron orbiting the proton. It is also known as protium.<br />
|-<br />
|Deuterium<br />
|Yes<br />
|Deuterium is the second most common isotope of hydrogen, with one electron, and both a neutron and proton in its nucleus. About one of every 6,760 hydrogen atoms in seawater is deuterium.<br />
|-<br />
|Tritium<br />
|Yes<br />
|Tritium is the third most common isotope of hydrogen, with one electron, and a nucleus of one proton and two neutrons, for an atomic mass of three {{w|Dalton (unit)|daltons}}. It is radioactive with a half-life of about twelve years, and is very rare (but not as rare as unbound "instant hydrogen" neutrons.)<br />
|-<br />
|Ium<br />
|No<br />
|This imaginary isotope consists of one electron orbiting around nothing. The name relates to the fact that the two heavier isotopes are named from a prefix designating the number of {{w|nucleons}} followed by the suffix "-ium", which is sometimes used satirically, e.g., in "unobtainium."<br />
|-o<br />
|Wheelium<br />
|No<br />
|This fictional form consists of a proton, electron, and neutron orbiting around nothing, shaped similarly to a wheel.<br />
|-<br />
|Instant hydrogen (ready in 15 minutes)<br />
|Yes, but rare<br />
|This is just a single neutron. Unbound neutrons will take about fifteen minutes to decay into a proton, an electron, and a neutrino, which ''can'' then form into a hydrogen atom, [https://van.physics.illinois.edu/ask/listing/1207 but do only four times in a million.] The name is likely a reference to "instant" meals that require less preparation time than traditional varieties, e.g., instant noodles.<br />
|-<br />
|Hydrogen (maximum strength)<br />
|No<br />
|This fictional isotope consists of a proton, an electron, and what appear to be at least 14 neutrons. This isotope's proton would not be bound to all the neutrons. It would immediately {{w|Nuclear drip line|drip}} away most of them.<br />
|-<br />
|Oops, All Neutrons<br />
|Maybe<br />
|This fictional form consists of four neutrons, a {{w|tetraneutron}}, with one orbiting around a group of three. The name is likely a reference to an American breakfast cereal called {{w|Cap'n Crunch#Variations|Oops! All Berries}}.<br />
<br />
The title text provides three other names of this form: 1. "Neutral Quadrium": The proton and electron in tritium have both been replaced with neutrons, making this fictional atom neutral, and it's named with the "quad-" prefix designating four nucleons. 2. "Nydnonen" is likely a derivation of "hydrogen" with most of its consonants replaced with the letter 'n' representing four neutrons. 3. "Goth Tritium": all the particles in the depiction are black, resembling stereotypical {{w|goth fashion}}.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{{notice2|The Mountain View, California Public Library is hosting an online chat with [[Randall Munroe]] Tuesday, January 31 at 11am Pacific.<br/>[https://libraryc.org/mountainviewlibrary/22032 Register here to send your question(s) to the moderators.]|image=Crystal Project Agt announcements.png}} <!-- pending admin request to add blurb to sitenotice --><br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
There are 8 drawings of atoms, arranges 4 across and 2 down, as planetary models. Each has a label underneath. Here, they are listed left-to-right top-to-bottom.<br />
<br />
1 electron, 1 proton: Hydrogen<br />
<br />
1 electron, 1 proton, 1 neutron: Deuterium<br />
<br />
1 electron, 1 proton, 1 neutron: Tritium<br />
<br />
1 electron only: ium<br />
<br />
1 electron, 1 proton, 1 neutron, all orbiting together around nothing: Wheelium<br />
<br />
1 proton only: Instant Hydrogen (ready in 15 minutes)<br />
<br />
1 proton, 1 electron, lots of neutrons: Hydrogen (Maximum Strength)<br />
<br />
1 neutron orbiting 3 other neutrons: Oops, all neutrons<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2719:_Hydrogen_Isotopes&diff=303962Talk:2719: Hydrogen Isotopes2023-01-03T05:29:41Z<p>162.158.166.125: Stemming</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
This shows as a 404 on xkcd.com but in my RSS feed i can see the comic<br />
: Works for me. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.9|172.69.34.9]] 02:25, 3 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
::works for me now too but it didnt before<br />
::: It works on m.xkcd.com and on the homepage of xckd, but the direct link gives me a 404. Various services such as the Wayback Machine show it as loading though. Could be a bad cache on some service. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.86|162.158.63.86]] 02:37, 3 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Could someone add an explanation of Nydnonen? I don't get it and it's google proof [[Special:Contributions/172.71.210.209|172.71.210.209]] 05:04, 3 January 2023 (UTC)Benzodiakanine<br />
: Nothing. Was hopeful about {{w|List of Greek and Latin roots in English/N}} but nope. Tried stemming on all the Wiktionaries too. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.91|172.71.158.91]] 05:28, 3 January 2023 (UTC)</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2716:_Game_Night_Ordering&diff=3036502716: Game Night Ordering2022-12-29T10:08:20Z<p>162.158.166.125: Rm anecdote. Unless the LAN had ABA or SWIFT routing, it probably couldn't transfer legal tendet</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2716<br />
| date = December 26, 2022<br />
| title = Game Night Ordering<br />
| image = game_night_ordering_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 293x471px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = One good trick, if you get called on a fake service, is to build a working version of it and mention it again the next week.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BORED FOOD.NET DRIVER BETWEEN DELIVERIES. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic is poking fun at the proliferation of apps and internet services such as for [https://builtin.com/consumer-tech/food-delivery-companies food delivery] and [https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/banking/best-ways-to-send-money money transfer]. The characters are discussing which to use during an evening of tabletop gaming. The group has a running competition to see who can mention fake apps or services without being called out. The idea being that since there are so many, it is difficult to remember which are real.<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] mentions three food delivery services, {{w|Grubhub}}, {{w|DoorDash}}, and Food.net, and [[Ponytail]] asks him to reimburse her using {{w|Venmo}}, {{w|PayPal}}, or Yahoo Cash. Cueball expresses skepticism about Yahoo Cash, after which Ponytail admits it's a fake service and is thus obligated to pay for Cueball's meal. (Incidentally, Yahoo does provide a money transfer service to facilitate private party gambling on {{w|fantasy sports}}, called [https://sports.yahoo.com/wallet/dailyfantasy/referafriend/ Yahoo Fantasy Wallet], but it uses PayPal.) Food.net, which Cueball mentioned without being called out, is not a real service; https://food.net exists but is "not available for use," and is not related to food.<br />
<br />
Based on Ponytail's offer, if someone is correctly called out then they apparently must pay for the player who caught them, but what happens when a player isn't caught (e.g. when Cueball mentioned Food.net) isn't clear. The rules might be similar to variants of the card game often known as "{{w|Cheat (game)|Cheat}}," in which a successful bluff merely allows play to continue on until someone is caught bluffing or incorrectly accuses another player.<br />
<br />
The title text offers a tip for winning the competition after being called out for mentioning a fake service: building a working version of it and then mentioning it again the next week. While it could be possible to prototype a user interface and possibly use it to perform food deliveries with a very limited number of drivers in a small area, or provide a front end interface to an existing money transfer service with strong API support, building a full-fledged viable service for either in a week is humorously beyond the reach of typical gamers.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Cueball, Megan, and Ponytail are sitting at a table to order food. Cueball is on his phone, and Ponytail, sitting opposite, on her laptop.]<br />
:Cueball: What should we use to order? Grubhub? DoorDash? Food.net?<br />
:Ponytail: I'll do Grubhub; you can send me money. Do you do Venmo? Paypal? Yahoo Cash?<br />
:Cueball: Yahoo Cash ''has'' to be fake.<br />
:Ponytail: Yes. Dang. I'll get your share.<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Our game night has an ongoing competition to see who can mention the most fake apps and services without getting called on it. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Food]]<br />
[[Category:Games]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2716:_Game_Night_Ordering&diff=3034322716: Game Night Ordering2022-12-26T22:29:55Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ ChatGPT lol</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2716<br />
| date = December 26, 2022<br />
| title = Game Night Ordering<br />
| image = game_night_ordering_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 293x471px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = One good trick, if you get called on a fake service, is to build a working version of it and mention it again the next week.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Literally created by a ChatGPT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The comic is poking fun at the proliferation of online food delivery services, and the characters are discussing which one to use. Ponytail suggests using Grubhub, and Cueball mentions a few other options, including Food.net. Cueball expresses skepticism about Yahoo Cash, suggesting that it might be a fake service. <br />
<br />
The title text suggests that the group has a running competition to see who can mention the most fake apps and services without being called out, and offers a tip for getting away with it: building a working version of the fake service and mentioning it again the next week.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[Cueball, Megan, and Ponytail are sitting at a table to order food.<br />
Cueball is on his phone, and Ponytail, sitting opposite, on her laptop.]<br/><br />
Cueball: What should we use to order? Grubhub? Doordash? Food.net?<br/><br />
Ponytail: I'll do Grubhub; you can send me money. Do you do Venmo? Paypal? Yahoo Cash?<br/><br />
Cueball: Yahoo Cash HAS to be fake.<br/><br />
Ponytail: Yes. Dang. I'll get your share.<br/> <br />
[Caption below the panel:]<br/><br />
Our game night has an ongoing competition to see who can mention the most fake apps and services without getting called on it. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1247:_The_Mother_of_All_Suspicious_Files&diff=3008481247: The Mother of All Suspicious Files2022-12-08T10:32:16Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1247<br />
| date = August 5, 2013<br />
| title = The Mother of All Suspicious Files<br />
| image = the_mother_of_all_suspicious_files.png<br />
| titletext = Better change the URL to 'https' before downloading.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
Modern operating systems try to intercept malicious files before they can be downloaded. This comic depicts a {{w|dialog box}} requiring the user to confirm if they want to download a potentially dangerous file &mdash; and it turns out the file being downloaded is absolutely filled with a truly absurd number of file extensions. Many of the {{w|file extension|extensions}} used inside there indicate executable code; multiple file extensions are sometimes used to disguise a {{w|Trojan horse (computing)|trojan program}} as a document. The sheer number of extensions in the comic wouldn't just look out of place on a safe file, it's also far more than an actual computer virus would bother to have, thus the humor.<br />
<br />
The first part of the suspicious file's name is <tt><nowiki>http://65.222.202.53</nowiki></tt>, an {{w|IP address}} that hosted {{w|JavaScript}} {{w|malware}} during a recent attack on the {{w|Tor anonymity network}}, with a very long file title. <br />
<br />
You can also see common download syntax for a pirated movie, {{w|Hackers (film)|''Hackers''}}, likely included to appear malicious to anyone skimming but is actually a movie about hackers, making it a benign reference rather than malicious. It is described as "<tt>_BLURAY_CAM</tt>", which contradicts itself ("<tt>_BLURAY</tt>" would imply it was ripped from a copy on {{w|Blu-ray Disc}}, while "<tt>_CAM</tt>" would mean it was copied by pointing a camera at the screen in the cinema). "<tt>_BLURAY_CAM</tt>" would probably indicate a search-keyword-stuffed fake copy; fake pirated media often contain viruses (although this is more likely to be a problem with newer media, before the first real pirated copy appears).<br />
<br />
The {{w|URL}} contains the path "<tt>~tilde/pub/cia-bin/etc</tt>". The first part is a public folder of a user named "tilde" (which is also the name for the {{w|tilde|~ symbol}}), "<tt>cgi-bin</tt>" is a common folder on a web server for server-side executables ([[Randall]] changes the name to "<tt>[[CIA|cia]]-bin</tt>"), and "<tt>etc</tt>" is a standard folder for configuration files – normally never accessible through a web server. The program "init.dll" isn't executable at all, it's a {{w|Dynamic-link library}} which can't be run standalone, and is rarely referenced in URLs (even though such syntax is still being employed, even on [https://www.google.com/search?q=site:edu+filetype:dll reputable websites (Google search)] or here at [https://signin.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll eBay], indicating the webserver is a Microsoft {{w|Active Server Pages|ASP}} server). The question mark indicates the start of a parameter list, and in this case we have only one named "<tt>FILE</tt>".<br />
<br />
The "Save" button is greyed out, suggesting that it is disabled; you can click only the "Cancel" button. For security reasons, some browsers (like Firefox) disable the "Save" button for a few seconds before enabling it. This prevents users from accidentally accepting a download while entering input, like a malicious CAPTCHA.<br />
<br />
The complete content sent to the server, starting with "<tt>/~tilde...</tt>" and ending with "<tt>...out.exe</tt>", is exactly 256 characters long. On {{w|HTML 3}} specifications you have a limitation of 1024 characters, whereas later HTML specifications don't have this limit; it just depends on the web server's capabilities. But posting parameters directly at the URL is still a worse choice.<br />
<br />
The content of the parameter is shown here:<br />
*<tt>__</tt> (underscore underscore) — used in the {{w|C programming language}} to denote that a symbol is really not for public consumption.<br />
*<tt>{{w|autoexec.bat}}</tt> — a {{w|batch file}} which is automatically run during startup on {{w|MS-DOS}} and {{w|Windows}} operating systems, and was often modified by viruses, which added malicious code to be run on each boot.<br />
*<tt>My%20OSX%20Documents</tt> — referencing Apple's {{w|OS X}} operating system (<tt>{{w|URL encoding#Character data|%20}}</tt> is a representation of a space in a URL, i.e. it reads as "<tt>My OSX Documents</tt>").<br />
*<tt>install.exe</tt> — a typical {{w|Installer#Installer|installer}}.<br />
*<tt>{{w|RAR|.rar}}</tt> — a compressed archive file type.<br />
*<tt>{{w|INI file|.ini}}</tt> — a configuration file type.<br />
*<tt>{{w|Tar (computing)|.tar}}</tt> — a {{w|file}} archive popular in {{w|Unix}} and {{w|Unix-like}} operating systems. tar has been mentioned [[1168: tar|before]].<br />
*<tt>.doçx</tt> — <tt>{{w|docx|.docx}}</tt> is an {{w|Office Open XML}} file, i.e. a word processing format used by {{w|Microsoft Word 2007}} and above, but has no {{w|cedilla}} (¸). The addition of a cedilla may be a reference to exploits that rely on rare characters being mistaken for more common ones that look similar, such as the {{w|IDN homograph attack}}.<br />
*<tt>.phphphp</tt> — a play on {{w|PHP}} files, a kind of server-based web page file type. PHP originally stood for "Personal Home Page" but was later redefined as the recursive abbreviation "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor".<br />
*<tt>{{w|XHTML|.xhtml}}</tt> — another web page file type.<br />
*<tt>{{w|TransducerML|.tml}}</tt> — stands for Transducer Markup Language, an {{w|XML}}-based {{w|markup language}} that specifies how to capture, time-tag and describe sensor data.<br />
*<tt>.xtl</tt> — possibly a play on XHTML.<br />
*<tt>.txxt</tt> — a play on <tt>{{w|Text file|.txt}}</tt> file types.<br />
*<tt>0DAY.HACK</tt> — a reference to a {{w|zero-day exploit}}. (overlaps with the next entry)<br />
*<tt>HACK.ERS_(1995)_BLURAY_CAM-XVID</tt> — a reference to the 1995 {{W|Hackers (film)|''Hackers''}} movie, but pirated movies would either be a <tt>BLURAYRIP/DVDRIP</tt> or <tt>CAM</tt>, but not both at the same time unless you used a camera to record a {{w|Blu-Ray}} movie as it played.<br />
*<tt>{{w|EXE|.exe}}</tt> — an executable file type used by Microsoft Windows.<br />
*<tt>[SCR]</tt> — a tag used by movie pirates to denote a '{{w|Screener}}', the DVD copy of films given to critics prior to theater release. Usually the highest quality available at the time, rare, and thus good bait for a virus-laden download. "{{w|.scr}}" is also the extension for screensaver files, really just an exe file with a different extension and one of the classical ways to distribute infected files.<br />
*<tt>{{w|Lisp (programming language)|Lisp}}</tt> — programming language.<br />
*<tt>{{w|Windows Installer|.msi}}</tt> — an installation file used by Microsoft Installer.<br />
*<tt>{{w|.lnk}}</tt> — an extension used by Microsoft Windows for shortcuts. The extension is normally hidden to the user.<br />
*<tt>.lnk.zda.gnn</tt> — references to {{w|Link (The Legend of Zelda)|Link}}, {{w|Princess Zelda|Zelda}}, and {{w|Ganon}}, important characters from ''{{w|The Legend of Zelda}}'' video game franchise.<br />
*<tt>{{w|White Rabbit#Television and films|wrbt.obj}}</tt> — A reference to the line of code Dennis Nedry used in ''{{w|Jurassic Park}}'' to shut down key systems.<br />
*<tt>{{w|Object file|.o}}</tt> — The extension for a {{w|Linker (computing)|linker file}}, an intermediary created when compiling {{w|C programming language|C code}}.<br />
*<tt>{{w|Header file|.h}}</tt> — The file extension of a {{w|header file}} in C code.<br />
*<tt>{{w|.swf}}</tt> — {{w|Shockwave Flash}} file type.<br />
*<tt>{{w|Dpkg|.dpkg}}</tt> — The {{w|Debian}} package management, although the package files use the file suffix <tt>.deb</tt>.<br />
*<tt>.app</tt> — an application on the {{w|Mac OS X}} operating system.<br />
*<tt>{{w|ZIP (file format)|.zip}}</tt> — compressed archive file type.<br />
*<tt>.co</tt> — the {{w|List of Internet top-level domains|top-level domain (TLD)}} for Colombia, but marketed as a global domain. Some countries use <tt>.co.''TLD''</tt> for general use, e.g. <tt>.co.uk</tt> in the United Kingdom. But the TLD <tt>.gz</tt> does not exist and thus <tt>.co.gz</tt> is invalid.<br />
*<tt>{{w|Gzip|.gz}}</tt> — a compressed file using {{w|GNU}} zip.<br />
*<tt>{{w|A.out|.a.out}}</tt> — Default filename when creating an executable on {{w|Linux}} or other Unix-like operating systems if none was specified for the compiler.<br />
<br />
The title text suggests changing from <tt>http</tt> to <tt>https</tt>, as if encrypting a suspicious file before downloading it is somehow better than downloading it unencrypted. <tt>{{w|http}}</tt> (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and <tt>{{w|https}}</tt> (Hypertext Transfer Protocol – Secure) are the two common protocols for getting web pages and web downloads. http is the simple download, whereas https adds an SSL encryption layer so the item being downloaded cannot be viewed unencrypted by anyone except the end recipient. Changing <tt>http</tt> to <tt>https</tt> is a common suggestion to improve security when browsing the web from an insecure network (such as a public {{w|WiFi}} hotspot) to avoid surveillance or hijacking to a malicious website; Google automatically switches to <tt>https</tt> for all mail accounts and is starting to do so with searches. The end recipient will still get whatever nasties were in the original, however — encrypting it doesn't change the content at all.<br />
<br />
The {{w|IP address}} referenced in the comic, <tt>65.222.202.53</tt>, was, at the time this article was authored, being used by the shellcode of a {{w|JavaScript}} {{w|zero-day exploit}} for the {{w|Tor Browser Bundle}} being run by the {{w|FBI}} to phone home over the clearnet [http://thehackernews.com/2013/08/Firefox-Exploit-Tor-Network-child-pornography-Freedom-Hosting.html] and deanonymize visitors to websites on Freedom Hosting that are serving child pornography. [http://www.reddit.com/r/onions/comments/1jmrta/founder_of_the_freedom_hosting_arrested_held/]<br />
<br />
As the last extension in the file is .exe, a Windows computer would run the file like an application. Usually, it is not safe to run unknown .exe files.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Browser download warning box containing the following text.]<br />
:WARNING!<br />
:This type of file can harm your computer! Are you sure you want to download:<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Computers]]<br />
[[Category:Video games]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2703:_Paper_Title&diff=2998862703: Paper Title2022-11-26T02:06:58Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ word choice</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2703<br />
| date = November 25, 2022<br />
| title = Paper Title<br />
| image = paper_title_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 557x261px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT: The authors hope these results are correct because we all want to be cool people who are good at science.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a MICROBE TRYING TO LURE YOU WITH CLICKBAIT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Many if not most scientific research papers present a hypothesis and the result of testing the hypothesis. Scientific papers should also have titles which describe the content of the papers. See [[2456: Types of Scientific Paper]].<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] is writing a research paper with a {{w|clickbait}} style and {{w|puffery}} title, "Check out this cool microbe we found." His colleague [[Megan]] asks him whether science is supposed to be about formulating a {{w|hypothesis}} and testing it. Cueball agrees, changing the title to, "Is our lab really good at finding cool microbes? Some preliminary data." However, that is still an overly-promotional clickbait title, purporting to be a study of the authors' own competence, which would be highly unusual because of the lack of objectivity caused by the authors being the subject of investigation. [[:Category:Clickbait|Clickbait]] is a recurring theme on xkcd, recently considered within science publications in [[2001: Clickbait-Corrected p-Value]].<br />
<br />
{{w|Emperical research|''Empirical investigations''}} and ''{{w|analysis}} papers'' almost always state and test a hypothesis, but there are many kinds of scientific papers which likely will not, including ''{{w|literature review}}s,'' which qualitatively summarize the results of other papers; ''{{w|meta-analysis|meta-analyses}},'' which quantitatively summarize the results and quality of other work; ''observational reports'' (or ''{{w|case study|case studies}} — not to be confused with {{w|observational study|observational studies}}, a kind of emperical analysis''), which present data and a chronicle of its collection without analysis, testing, or interpretation; ''{{w|Conference proceeding|conference papers}},'' which present preliminary work without peer review; ''definition papers,'' which attempt to formalize terms used in divergent ways in prior work; ''{{w|Dialectic#Hegelian dialectic|syntheses}},'' which present alternative views combining multiple and often conflicting concepts; ''{{w|Comparison|comparative studies}},'' which compare and contrast a class of concepts; ''{{w|Interpretive discussion|interpretive}} papers,'' showing a different perspective on previous work; ''{{w|technical reports}},'' which usually present information on a specific procedural topic; ''opinion'' and ''editorial essays,'' which are intended to argue a point of view persuasively; ''book reviews,'' which summarize monographs or biographies; and ''grant proposals,'' which make the case for funding a project. Mathematical research papers which don't involve emperical observations or uncertainty would be considered technical reports in other fields. Engineering work can be reported as an emperical investigation or a technical report. <br />
<br />
Cueball seems to want to author an observational report, but Megan would prefer an emperical investigation or analysis, perhaps because they are more likely to be accepted by peer reviewed journals, and as such are more prestigious than mere conference papers, "letters," or "communications" as observational reports are usually published. However, research articles describing the discovery of new microbes in prestigious peer-reviewed journals are often published as observational reports[https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/ijsem/10.1099/ijsem.0.004029][http://calamar.univ-ag.fr/mangroveSAE/articles/2022/Volland%20et%20al%202022.pdf][https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10482-021-01656-x] so Megan's concerns may be unfounded; even if so, the editors of any reputable journal would almost certainly require a far more descriptive and less overly promotional title from Cueball. The question remains whether an intial submission with a catchy clickbait title might get more prompt attention from editors and reviewers.<br />
<br />
In the title text, the conflict of interest statement says that the authors hope their results are correct because, "we all want to be cool people who are good at science." A scientific publication's potential {{w|conflict of interest}} usually refers to the authors' financial, familial, or other external interests in the research outcomes. The disclosure statement does not describe a conflict between the authors' extrinsic motivations and factors influencing the accuracy and neutrality of their work; in fact it claims the opposite, an alignment between their intrinsic motivations and the goal of producing high quality work.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan is standing behind and looking over the shoulder of Cueball who is sitting in his office chair at his desk typing on the keyboard. A line from the keyboard goes up to two boxes above them. A smaller one at the top, half the length and a third the height of the larger box below. There are text in both boxes. The bottom box is not filled out with text. At the end of the text in the bottom box the line indicating where the courser are can be seen, as in this is what Megan can see on the screen:]<br />
:Paper title<br />
:''Check out this cool microbe we found''| <br />
<br />
:[Pan to only showing Megan who has taken a hand up to her chin. Cueball replies from off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: Isn’t science supposed to be about formulating a hypothesis and then testing it?<br />
:Cueball - off panel: Oh. Yeah, I guess.<br />
<br />
:[Same setting as in the first panel, but now the bottom box is filled out with text, but still with the courser shown at the end:]<br />
:Paper title<br />
:''Is our lab really good at finding cool microbes? Some preliminary data''|<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Scientific research]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Clickbait]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2703:_Paper_Title&diff=2998772703: Paper Title2022-11-26T00:03:18Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ explain in more detail</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2703<br />
| date = November 25, 2022<br />
| title = Paper Title<br />
| image = paper_title_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 557x261px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT: The authors hope these results are correct because we all want to be cool people who are good at science.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a MICROBE TRYING TO LURE YOU WITH CLICKBAIT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Many if not most scientific research papers present a hypothesis and the result of testing the hypothesis. Scientific papers should also have titles which describe the content of the papers. See [[2456: Types of Scientific Paper]].<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] is writing a research paper with a {{w|clickbait}} style and {{w|puffery}} title, "Check out this cool microbe we found." His colleague [[Megan]] asks him whether science is supposed to be about formulating a {{w|hypothesis}} and testing it. Cueball agrees, changing the title to, "Is our lab really good at finding cool microbes? Some preliminary data." However, that is still an overly-promotional clickbait title, purporting to be a study of the authors' own competence, which would be highly unusual because of the lack of objectivity caused by the authors being the subject of investigation. [[:Category:Clickbait|Clickbait]] is a recurring theme on xkcd, recently considered within science publications in [[2001: Clickbait-Corrected p-Value]].<br />
<br />
{{w|Emperical research|''Empirical investigations''}} and ''{{w|analysis}} papers'' almost always state and test a hypothesis, but there are many kinds of scientific papers which likely will not, including ''{{w|literature review}}s,'' which qualitatively summarize the results of other papers; ''{{w|meta-analysis|meta-analyses}},'' which quantitatively summarize the results and quality of other work; ''observational reports'' (or ''{{w|case study|case studies}} — not to be confused with {{w|observational study|observational studies}}, a kind of emperical analysis''), which present data and a chronicle of its collection without analysis, testing, or interpretation; ''{{w|Conference proceeding|conference papers}},'' which present preliminary work without peer review; ''definition papers,'' which attempt to formalize terms used in divergent ways on work; ''{{w|Dialectic#Hegelian dialectic|syntheses}},'' which present alternative views combining multiple and often conflicting concepts; ''{{w|Comparison|comparative studies}},'' which compare and contrast a class of concepts; ''{{w|Interpretive discussion|interpretive}} papers,'' showing a different perspective of previous work; ''{{w|technical reports}},'' which usually present information on a specific procedural topic; ''opinion'' and ''editorial essays,'' which are intended to argue a point of view persuasively; ''book reviews,'' which summarize monographs or biographies; and ''grant proposals,'' which make the case for funding a project. Mathematical research papers which don't involve emperical observations or uncertainty would be considered technical reports in other fields. Engineering work can be reported as an emperical investigation or a technical report. Cueball seems to want to author an observational report, but Megan would prefer an emperical investigation or analysis, perhaps because they are more likely to be accepted by peer reviewed journals, and as such are more prestigious than mere conference papers, "letters," or "communications" as observational reports are usually published. However, research articles describing the discovery of new microbes in prestigious peer-reviewed journals are often published as observational reports[https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/ijsem/10.1099/ijsem.0.004029][http://calamar.univ-ag.fr/mangroveSAE/articles/2022/Volland%20et%20al%202022.pdf][https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10482-021-01656-x] so Megan's concerns may be unfounded.<br />
<br />
In the title text, the conflict of interest statement says that the authors hope their results are correct because, "we all want to be cool people who are good at science." A scientific publication's potential {{w|conflict of interest}} usually refers to the authors' financial, familial, or other external interests in the research outcomes. The disclosure statement does not describe a conflict between the authors extrinsic motivations and factors influencing the accuracy and neutrality of the work; in fact it claims the opposite, an alignment between their intrinsic motivations and the goal of producing high quality work.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan is standing behind and looking over the shoulder of Cueball who is sitting in his office chair at his desk typing on the keyboard. A line from the keyboard goes up to two boxes above them. A smaller one at the top, half the length and a third the height of the larger box below. There are text in both boxes. The bottom box is not filled out with text. At the end of the text in the bottom box the line indicating where the courser are can be seen, as in this is what Megan can see on the screen:]<br />
:Paper title<br />
:''Check out this cool microbe we found''| <br />
<br />
:[Pan to only showing Megan who has taken a hand up to her chin. Cueball replies from off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: Isn’t science supposed to be about formulating a hypothesis and then testing it?<br />
:Cueball - off panel: Oh. Yeah, I guess.<br />
<br />
:[Same setting as in the first panel, but now the bottom box is filled out with text, but still with the courser shown at the end:]<br />
:Paper title<br />
:''Is our lab really good at finding cool microbes? Some preliminary data''|<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Scientific research]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Clickbait]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2703:_Paper_Title&diff=2998712703: Paper Title2022-11-25T23:42:14Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ copyedit</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2703<br />
| date = November 25, 2022<br />
| title = Paper Title<br />
| image = paper_title_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 557x261px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT: The authors hope these results are correct because we all want to be cool people who are good at science.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a MICROBE TRYING TO LURE YOU WITH CLICKBAIT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Many if not most scientific research papers present a hypothesis and the result of testing the hypothesis. Scientific papers should also have titles which describe the content of the papers. See [[2456: Types of Scientific Paper]].<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] is writing a research paper with a {{w|clickbait}} style and {{w|puffery}} title, "Check out this cool microbe we found." His colleague [[Megan]] asks him whether science is supposed to be about formulating a {{w|hypothesis}} and testing it. Cueball agrees, changing the title to, "Is our lab really good at finding cool microbes? Some preliminary data." However, that is still an overly-promotional clickbait title, purporting to be a study of the authors' own competence, which would be highly unusual because of the lack of objectivity caused by the authors being the subject of investigation. [[:Category:Clickbait|Clickbait]] is a recurring theme on xkcd, recently considered within science publications in [[2001: Clickbait-Corrected p-Value]].<br />
<br />
{{w|Emperical research|''Empirical investigations''}} and ''{{w|analysis}} papers'' almost always state and test a hypothesis, but there are many kinds of scientific papers which likely will not, including ''{{w|literature review}}s,'' which qualitatively summarize the results of other papers; ''{{w|meta-analysis|meta-analyses}},'' which quantitatively summarize the results and quality of other work; ''observational reports,'' (or ''{{w|case study|studies}} — not to be confused with {{w|observational study|observational studies}}, a kind of emperical analysis'') which present data and a chronicle of its collection without analysis, testing, or interpretation; ''{{w|Conference proceeding|conference papers}},'' which present preliminary work without peer review; ''definition papers,'' which attempt to formalize terms used in divergent ways on work; ''{{w|Dialectic#Hegelian dialectic|syntheses}},'' which present alternative views combining multiple and often conflicting concepts; ''{{w|Comparison|comparative studies}},'' which compare and contrast a class of concepts; ''{{w|Interpretive discussion|interpretive}} papers,'' showing a different perspective of previous work; ''{{w|technical reports}},'' which usually present information on a specific procedural topic; ''opinion'' and ''editorial essays,'' which are intended to argue a point of view persuasively; ''book reviews,'' which summarize monographs or biographies; and ''grant proposals,'' which make the case for funding a project. Mathematical research papers which don't involve emperical observations or uncertainty would be considered technical reports in other fields. Engineering work can be reported as an emperical investigation or a technical report. Cueball seems to want to author an observational report, but Megan would prefer an emperical investigation or analysis, perhaps because they are more likely to be accepted by peer reviewed journals, and as such are more prestigious than mere conference papers, "letters," or "communications" as observational reports are usually published.<br />
<br />
In the title text, the conflict of interest statement says that the authors hope their results are correct because, "we all want to be cool people who are good at science." A scientific publication's potential {{w|conflict of interest}} usually refers to the authors' financial, familial, or other external interests in the research outcomes.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan is standing behind and looking over the shoulder of Cueball who is sitting in his office chair at his desk typing on the keyboard. A line from the keyboard goes up to two boxes above them. A smaller one at the top, half the length and a third the height of the larger box below. There are text in both boxes. The bottom box is not filled out with text. At the end of the text in the bottom box the line indicating where the courser are can be seen, as in this is what Megan can see on the screen:]<br />
:Paper title<br />
:''Check out this cool microbe we found''| <br />
<br />
:[Pan to only showing Megan who has taken a hand up to her chin. Cueball replies from off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: Isn’t science supposed to be about formulating a hypothesis and then testing it?<br />
:Cueball - off panel: Oh. Yeah, I guess.<br />
<br />
:[Same setting as in the first panel, but now the bottom box is filled out with text, but still with the courser shown at the end:]<br />
:Paper title<br />
:''Is our lab really good at finding cool microbes? Some preliminary data''|<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Scientific research]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Clickbait]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2701:_Change_in_Slope&diff=2996112701: Change in Slope2022-11-22T00:10:59Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ more grammar</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2701<br />
| date = November 21, 2022<br />
| title = Change in Slope<br />
| image = change_in_slope_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 656x371px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Squinting at a graph is fine for getting a rough idea of the answer, but if you want to pretend to know it exactly, you neeed statistics.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a SIDEWAYS STATISTIC - Confirm whether the rotated plot is accurate to the comic (i tilted my laptop screen to check this). Expand on statistical tools one could use to find the change in slope for a scatter plot. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The comic is a tip for detecting changes in slopes over a {{w|scatter plot}} of data. This is very prevalent in statistics while comparing trends &mdash; finding the cutoff where the slope changes may reveal valuable data about the data set.<br />
<br />
The comic compares two methods. Firstly, a novice method &mdash; by 'doing a bunch of statistics', applying various statistical tools to analyze the data and figure out the quantitative change in slope. This results in two equations for the trendlines above and below a given value, a box plot, a histogram and a line chart. It is unknown exactly what methods the novice used to figure out the change in slope in the data. Possibilities include calculating the [https://stackoverflow.com/a/45063636 derivatives] or the [https://stackoverflow.com/a/71744293 gradients], or using a [https://stackoverflow.com/a/47522444 Savitzky-Golay filter or piecewise linear smoothing spline fits].<br />
<br />
The other is the so-called 'expert' method, which involves [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/525939879805190154/1044395695525875712/xkcd_sideways.png tilting the page the graph is printed on to view changes in slope] better. For small changes in an underlying trend, similar to that apparently shown in the comic, direct visual inspection cannot always identify or even reveal the effect. The comic shows, however, that by taking the page and rotating it in just the right way, {{w|Perspective (graphical)|no longer flat on}} to the observer, a change in slope is more clearly visible to the naked eye. Ironically, tilting the comic to make the original' roughly resemble the perspective of the 'tilted' version graph shown in the comic shows that the second panel is exaggerated for visual effect.<br />
<br />
However, applying such an approach to data plots can run into errors &mdash; the primary one being parallax error from the oblique viewing angle causing the observer to not necessariy identify or clearly find the point at which the slope changes. It also does not reveal any data about the quantitative value of the change in slope, merely proving the existence of one.<br />
<br />
The title text then goes on to say that, while such a trick is useful to identify that there is some change in slope, in order to ''pretend'' to know it exactly one must revert to statistics (the "novice method") to obtain some form of information, defeating some of the premise of the comic. This at least produces a semblence of statistical rigor although, once an answer appears obvious, data could be interpreted to reach an answer that you are now expecting rather than revealing something of more statistically useful significance.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:How to detect a change in the slope of your data<br />
<br />
:[First column, on the left]<br />
:Novice method:<br />
:[A graph, with dots forming a rough line, math formulas, and sub graphs]<br />
:Do a bunch of statistics<br />
<br />
:[Second column, on the right]<br />
:Expert method:<br />
:[Perspective view of the previous graph, with the legend "Hey look, it bends here" and an arrow pointing to the graph]<br />
:Tip the graph sideways<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Scatter plots]]<br />
[[Category:Bar charts]]<br />
[[Category:Line graphs]]<br />
[[Category:Statistics]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2683:_Fan_Theories&diff=2963522683: Fan Theories2022-10-11T02:26:23Z<p>162.158.166.125: Undo revision 296351 by 172.69.22.119 (talk)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2683<br />
| date = October 10, 2022<br />
| title = Fan Theories<br />
| image = fan_theories_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 267x318px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = The universe fandom is great. Such sweet and enthusiastic people.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a THREE-D PRINTED FORM BASED ON A HYPOTHETICAL SOLUTION TO THE NAVIER-STOKES LAMINAR-TURBULENCE BOUNDARY EQUATION. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Once again, [[Randall]] has devised a new and effective way to annoy a very sizable proportion of the scientific community.<br />
<br />
In this comic, [[Cueball]] refers to scientific {{w|hypothesis|hypotheses}} he is trying to explain to [[Ponytail]], [[White Hat]], and [[Megan]], as "fan theories." Scientists are sometimes upset when their very serious hypotheses are not treated with the upmost respect, because there are a lot of charismatic cranks who obtain undeserved recognition.<br />
<br />
This comic appeared 60 years after [https://iep.utm.edu/kuhn-ts/ Thomas S. Kuhn's] renowned 1962 treatise, "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions."<br />
<br />
The title text may be mocking fandoms, which are sometimes thought of as unwelcoming and inconsiderate.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Ponytail, Cueball, White Hat, and Megan standing in a line. Cueball has his hand raised, and Megan has hands balled into fists, exasperated.]<br />
:Cueball: But according to leading fan theories, Jupiter's moons may harbor subsurface oceans.<br />
:Megan: Will you ''please'' stop calling them that?<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:How to annoy scientists: refer to all hypotheses as "fan theories"<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2679:_Quantified_Self&diff=295885Talk:2679: Quantified Self2022-10-02T21:04:56Z<p>162.158.166.125: Reply</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
This could also be a call back to the Billy Path comics run in Family Circus. I don't have time today to add that research though. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.59|172.70.214.59]] 16:00, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
:The xkcd [[100: Family Circus]] seems relevant enough and readers can go to that page for an explanation of "Billy paths" and the OCD connection. [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 00:24, 2 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Here is an explanation of what it is about<br />
https://www.reddit.com/r/OCD/comments/1ve309/invisible_thread_attached_to_my_back_am_i_the/ {{unsigned|Florian F|18:11, 30 September 2022}}<br />
:I was going to guess sorting Google Maps Directions by sustainability announced this past Wednesday. https://blog.google/products/search/new-ways-to-make-more-sustainable-choices/ [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.17|172.69.134.17]] 18:53, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
::How is this comic about optimizing for sustainability?<br />
:::It is about optimizing a particular attribute of maps directions. Sustainability is the most recent such attribute announced (two days prior to the comic) by a top-3 commerical maps directions provider. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.183|172.70.214.183]] 06:04, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::: Google optimizes paths for distance and time for a long time already. The announcement is about optimizing for fuel efficiency instead. The comic clearly speaks about measuring distance but not about fuel consumption.<br />
:::: The comic also insists on the topological features of constructions, namely whether there is a hole. This has nothing to do with fuel efficiency. And how does pulling a string taut measure fuel efficiency? I don't understand.<br />
:::: The newspapers are full of events that happened 3 days ago. What makes Google's announcement more relevant to the comic than other news? [[User:Florian F|Florian F]] ([[User talk:Florian F|talk]]) 09:29, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::: Are you saying your OCD interpretation is more likely? Do you have any sources compatible with {{w|WP:RSP}}? How do those sources compare to an annual software release announcement by a top-10 tech company? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.125|162.158.166.125]] 09:34, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::::What I am saying is that the Google announcement as reliable as it is, is totally irrelevant to this comic. It is both optimization of a path. So what? It doesn't shed any light on any peculiarity of the comic. If you can explain why the red line is affected by bridges and an arch, but not by buildings or mountains, in the context of sustainability an fuel reduction, you might have a case. [[User:Florian F|Florian F]] ([[User talk:Florian F|talk]]) 15:35, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::::::The connection is clear to me: there is a new way to select paths based on a metric nobody has been using before. I don't feel the same way about the link to [[Math Work]] which is far more of a stretch, so I uncommented the first two sentences and the references, but deleted that link. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.126|172.70.211.126]] 05:12, 2 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::::::What is clear is that you need to tailor your description in a very abstract way to make it look related. The context is completely different. And the reference to google maps doesn't explain any part of the comic strip. [[User:Florian F|Florian F]] ([[User talk:Florian F|talk]]) 11:53, 2 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::::::::All of the things in that Google blog post involve the quantified self as a central idea, not just the maps part. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.125|162.158.166.125]] 21:04, 2 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I think you're way off. I don't see any hint that it's about OCD. If it's similar to the condition you referenced, it's just a coincidence. The whole thing needs to be started from scratch. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.105|108.162.221.105]] 20:41, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
::That is why this site exists. To explain things you don't see. I don't think many people are familiar with this compulsion about an imaginary string retracing your path in space, but when you are, it is spot on. [[User:Florian F|Florian F]] ([[User talk:Florian F|talk]]) 23:09, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
GOOMHR! - Although for me it was the opposite aim. I've had periods of time when I wouldn't even like (if I noticed, I wasn't like OCD or anything[1]!!!) to make a return journey that meant I even crossed the road at a different point and thus passed under a different telegraph wire between a different set of adjacent poles, on the presumption that if I were to 'retract my path' then it would be irrevocably looped around at least one telegraph poles. (But normal lamp-posts were Ok... the path-'string' could just pass over and around the top and continue to retract. And it could pass above/below anything movable like cars, people, etc.) My ideal would be to be topologically contracted to zero length. Nut I wasn't actually obsessed by it, just... sometimes noticed when I was forced to do something that would cause such 'problems' and might deliberately ensure that any such loop was fully reversed (in strict reverse order to any such transit adding them in) ''if at all possible''. Of course, once it was spoilt by one end of the journey being held by a loop, the rest didn't matter so much. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.71|162.158.34.71]] 18:21, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
:''[1] Not even CDO, which is like OCD but ordered alphabetically!''<br />
:: I definitely am also someone who always played it your way, the reverse XKCD. My cats play it straight though, running into the house, through, and out a different entrance repeatedly one day, then the other way the day after. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.210.45|172.68.210.45]] 19:35, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::Yeah, I was always trying to avoid "entangling" my path as well. I suppose it's not just nightmares that can be "oddly universal"--childhood superstitious compulsions might be the same way, at least among the nerd population! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.41|172.70.174.41]] 00:07, 2 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
; Red string of Fate <br />
The drawing looks like the red thread connecting people in chinese mythology.<br />
-[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.188|162.158.91.188]] 18:21, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
What happens to the string if you crawl under a car which then drives off?[[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.141|172.70.134.141]] 20:05, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
:You probably would only count objects that were stationary after you passed them.[[User:Anonymouscript|Anonymouscript]] ([[User talk:Anonymouscript|talk]]) 21:10, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
::If it can conceivably move over your 'thread', then it isn't a 'tangling loop'. You have to allow for any degree of mysterious topological optimisation that can magically unhook itself from anything that can be unhooked from, no matter {{w|Alexander horned sphere|how much work it has to do to do so}}, and if that has to include choosing just the right time (with perfect prescience, where necessary!) to allow it to untangle wherever/whenever possible. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.205|162.158.34.205]] 21:25, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::That doesn't make sense, taken to the extreme, since all things will turn to dust eventually.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.42|162.158.107.42]] 21:47, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::Within the period of your concern (e.g. per daily routine), I would presume. That gantry over the road will be (partially, perhaps in stages) dissasembled for maintenance at some point, if not outright taken down, allowing an arbitrarily future-sensitive thread to not be caught up in it any more. Tachyonic thread-behaviour could happily unwrap around the time ''before'' the gantry (or bridges, or arch) were built, and as for the house... Before completion or after the next F5 tornado, the 4D constraints are far less (a line snagged permanently in a 4D 'passage' suggests something a bit more interesting, given a closed door doesn't 'snag' in 3D, only the use of two different doorways, with or without actual doors). But limiting it to a daily assesment bookends the whole 4D construct with a virtual lintel over (and under, in the ''t''-dimension) any potential gap for thread-movement that might be considered a way to be optimising to minimal necessary set of straight-line distances... Well, unless you learn the gantry was only assembled that morning, or that it had sufficient Ship Of Theseus-style repairs during the day, or a truck hit it by the end of the day... then it still acts as a looped-snagger<br />
::::The car is trivial, in comparison, as we ''know'' it drives away in the posited scenario (and within the duration of the scenario). Even if our mental thread-pull does not allow us to tug it under the firmly ground-planted tyres, by reducing to periods of instaniousness as the 'trapped' thread is then rolled over (and even more tightly trapped, without violating the 'through solid matter' issue) you reach a point where it is now rolled ''off'' of (no longer underneath the car at all) so you can consider it untrapped. Unlike any thread that was threaded in through the driver's side door but out again through the passenger-side one, which traps loops completely (except for convertables, of course, or if Black Hat subsequently does a more width-wise [[562: Parking|version of the "cut'n'shut", with or without the "shut" bit]].<br />
::::But that's just my interpretation. Thread-line obsessions probably come in various flavours and twists (can a thread-line knot about itself? And, insofar as the car example, is it basically forced to stay 'loose' but looped under the car as it drives, at least until enough of the car's wheels lose contact with the ground due to excessive speed over a humped bridge or even speedbump?) and I can't speak for all of them, but my reasonable (FCVO 'reasonable') assessment suggests that there are get outs ''and'' constraints that might be more universal than not. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.48|172.70.91.48]] 01:47, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
{{cot|When it was all about the OCD}}<br />
This is about a type of OCD where some people feel like they have an imaginary string connecting them to where they come from. As they move around, that string gets entangled and they feel the urge to untangle it. When they enter a car, they feel the need to exit the car from the same door, or else the string will be trapped as forever passing through the car. When they enter a building, they feel they need to exit using the same doorway(s), to avoid entangling the string in the building.<br />
<br />
Some cases, like turning around a lamp post are OK because you can imagine removing the loop over the top of the lamp post, such that it is not really entangled.<br />
<br />
There may not be an official clinical name for this variety of OCD, but one suggested one is the "imaginary path-string".<br />
<br />
Randall treats this OCD like a new measure to add to one's quantified self. The quantified self normally refers to the collection of measurements about your activity, like the number of steps you walk in a day, or monitoring your weight, blood pressure or calories intake. Here, Cueball measures his OCD, i.e. how long this imaginary string has become at the end of the day, after mentally untangling the string as much as possible with valid changes, like moving it around objects, but never through solid matter.<br />
<br />
Unlike most people with this OCD, who feel the urge to minimize it, Randall/Cueball takes the opposite stance and actually prefers to maximize the (optimally minimal) length of that imaginary string.<br />
<br />
The alt text tells about all the things that become useful adjuncts to this way of thinking and measuring, such as passing (one way) through any tube, tunnel or frame made of solid material that could thus capture the imaginary string and help to keep its ultimate distance as lengthy as possible. All of these situations are dreaded by the people with the more traditional version of OCD. <br />
{{cob}}<br />
...because someone [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2679:_Quantified_Self&diff=295745&oldid=295744 ''just deleted it''], and didn't even appear to attempt to replace it with anything useful themselves. (It did need a lot of editing, but not sure it is totally inapplicable, given the demonstrated familiarity with the basic concept by Randall's target audience...) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.205|162.158.34.205]] 21:25, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I also had a preoccupation with this sort of thing, for a while as a child. My magic thread was a remnant of the umbilical cord, with one end permanently anchored in the hospital where I was born. I had little or no knowledge of the fundamental nature of matter and just thought of it as a rubber band that was too small to see or feel. Like in the comic and other comments here, it could magically stretch as much as needed and would un-stretch when possible. I did not consider changing behaviour (e.g. choosing an exit to leave a building) because I had no desire for it to be longer or shorter, and it was clearly far too late to make a significant difference. I did spend quite some time thinking of all the places the thread must have gotten caught (as in the comic) and estimating its total length. (I did not consider airports, or my estimate would have been far longer). [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 06:17, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Comics with color, red-line subset<br />
As [[:Category:Comics with color]] doesn't have a currently extant Talk-page to it, mentioning it here (although not sure if this one counts, as much, for my suggestion). Many CwC examples are basically "monochrome with added red" ([[2639: Periodic Table Changes|'corrections' to periodic tables]], e.g.) that are distinct from "having lines of various colours" (like [[657: Movie Narrative Charts|multidata plottings]]), which are in turn distinctive from [[2598: Graphic Designers|floodfilled]] or [[1024: Error Code|brushstroked]] multihue images. A simple(ish) algorithm could autoclassify all images with any non-greyscale pixels in them, but (from a human perspective, which is [[1530: Keyboard Mash|definitely my kind of perspective]]!) I think that we could sub-split CwC candidates into something like "(Monochrome) Comics with added red lines", and the rest. Doubtless some are going to be edge-cases (is this one technically a red-line one? Probably, but it's not really the same as a 'correction/annotation' red-lined comic), but such subcategorisation might still be broadly useful. - Just a wild idea, that you could perhaps safely ignore. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.117|172.70.90.117]] 02:25, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Are there any ''reliable'' sources for the OCD interpretation, or merely a collection of anecdotes? If the former, please spell out and wikilink OCD. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.119|172.71.158.119]] 07:24, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I have some questions about the Google Maps Directions sustainability and related Google features; please see:<br />
* https://itep.org/the-impact-of-work-from-home-on-commercial-property-values-and-the-property-tax-in-u-s-cities/<br />
* https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/08/working-from-home-commercial-office-space-booming<br />
* https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-08-12/office-rentals-shrink-as-tenant-employees-work-from-home<br />
* https://www.computerworld.com/article/3659891/google-others-adding-office-space-in-anticipation-of-the-great-return.html<br />
* https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2022/01/14/google-spends-billions-on-buying-office-buildings-is-this-a-sign-of-the-post-pandemic-pushback-against-remote-work/<br />
* https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-cutting-office-space-predict-long-term-savings-11625493601<br />
Firstly, has Google published a cost-benefit analysis comparing the sharply increased profits and productivity from work-from-home to the value of coastal region commercial office space holdings and leases? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.59|172.70.214.59]] 08:49, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Added, except I TLDRed on those six links lol. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.185|162.158.166.185]] 08:57, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
::This looks totally irrelevant to me. [[User:Florian F|Florian F]] ([[User talk:Florian F|talk]]) 09:29, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Did you miss these three?<br />
:* https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2021-04-28/google-is-saving-1-billion-per-year-as-a-result-of-employees-working-from-home <br />
:* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-15/google-googl-wants-employees-to-return-to-office-despite-productivity-gains<br />
:* https://www.reuters.com/world/the-great-reboot/pay-cut-google-employees-who-work-home-could-lose-money-2021-08-10/<br />
:? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.125|162.158.166.125]] 09:31, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
::No, seriously? You think this comic has to do with google employees working from home?<br />
<br />
I [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2679%3A_Quantified_Self&type=revision&diff=295816&oldid=295813 deleted the entire OCD interpretation section] because I couldn't figure out how to comment it out. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.89|172.71.158.89]] 10:59, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Usual HTML commenting-out would do it. Put a <code><nowiki><!--</nowiki></code> before it and a <code><nowiki>--></nowiki></code> after it. (There's no valid 'tag-end' <code><nowiki>--!></nowiki></code>. The special tag as a whole is <code><nowiki><!-- COMMENTED CONTENTS HERE --></nowiki></code>, though why it isn't <code><nowiki><!-- --/></nowiki></code> more closely aligned with XML standards for singleton tags I couldn't tell you. ;)<br />
:However, I feel you're just missing the fact that this is provably a thing (to various degrees as exquisitely described both here and on external links) and as valid as subject for Randall's parody as [[245: Floor Tiles|stepping only in valid patterns]] or [[735: Floor|not even upon the floor at all]]. But you've made the change, so... [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.211|172.69.79.211]] 21:47, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Glad to see some people have some sense. [[User:Florian F|Florian F]] ([[User talk:Florian F|talk]]) 22:34, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I put the proper HTML markers to comment out the old OCD section (that the anonymous editor thought was too long?) and restored the citations with a much shorter explanation and two relevant XKCD comics (735 floor and 100 family circus). [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 22:39, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Now you can do the same with the Google Maps Sustainability hypotheses that so far hasn't proven any relevance to the comic. But do I repeat myself? [[User:Florian F|Florian F]] ([[User talk:Florian F|talk]]) 22:34, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I'm inclined to agree. I'll put the same block-comment tags around that Google Sustainability paragraph. [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 22:50, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
;r/whoosh<br />
We need a "I don't get it" tag for these strips. We could call it "r/whoosh".<br />
(to be fair, I understand the comics, but I don't personally find it neither fascinating, nor interesting, nor funny, nor depicting an interesting fact, nor something I can relate about, and I don't think I'm going to be the only one... YMMV to those who feel differently). [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 17:09, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
;A thought about the world of this comic<br />
The world created by these locations looks like the world of the original ''Starcraft'''s third Terran mission, "Desperate Alliance," the one where you have to survive for thirty minutes. Just a thought.</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2679:_Quantified_Self&diff=2958092679: Quantified Self2022-10-01T09:47:57Z<p>162.158.166.125: Refs from talk, chronology order, getting popcorn</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2679<br />
| date = September 30, 2022<br />
| title = Quantified Self<br />
| image = quantified_self_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 386x328px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = It's made me way more excited about ferris wheels, subways, car washes, waterslides, and store entrances that have double doors with a divider in the middle.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by an IMAGINARY PATH-STRING STRANGULATION VICTIM. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] (presumably a representation of [[Randall]] in this comic) is talking about how he embraces the {{w|quantified self}}, a popular philosophy promoting monitoring yourself with devices and data in the hope to help your well-being. He claims to apply this philosophy to his life, but as is usual for Randall, he does so in his very unique and absurdly humorous way, with help from a smart watch or handheld mobile device.<br />
<br />
Typically, fitness apps and wearable devices will track the number of steps that users take and distances walked or run, along with other measurements such as heart rate, blood oxygenation level, blood pressure, and mood.) This is to encourage users to be more physically active. However, Randall has chosen to track a modified version of this metric, in which his path is post-processed by contracting it. Ordinarily, people begin and end their days in bed; in this case, it can get 'caught' where Randall has passed through topological tunnels. (See [[2658: Coffee Cup Holes]] and [[2625: Field Topology]] for details.) In the comic strip, we see that, over the course of his week, Randall has looped around his house twice (which could itself conceal any number of activities, so long as he left through his front door and returned through his back door) and crossed under two highway overpasses, a highway sign, and apparently the St. Louis {{w|Gateway Arch}} before almost returning home.<br />
<br />
This comic appeared two days after [https://blog.google/products/search/new-ways-to-make-more-sustainable-choices/ Google's announcement that Maps Directions will be sortable by sustainability.] This may be particularly notable because of tech industry discussions between employees and executives about cost-benefit analyses comparing sharply increased profits and productivity from work-from-home to the value of coastal region commercial office space holdings and leases, relative to [https://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/scope-3-inventory-guidance scope 3 emissions].[https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2021-04-28/google-is-saving-1-billion-per-year-as-a-result-of-employees-working-from-home][https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-cutting-office-space-predict-long-term-savings-11625493601][https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-15/google-googl-wants-employees-to-return-to-office-despite-productivity-gains][https://www.reuters.com/world/the-great-reboot/pay-cut-google-employees-who-work-home-could-lose-money-2021-08-10/][https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2022/01/14/google-spends-billions-on-buying-office-buildings-is-this-a-sign-of-the-post-pandemic-pushback-against-remote-work/][https://www.computerworld.com/article/3659891/google-others-adding-office-space-in-anticipation-of-the-great-return.html] Please see [[2207: Math Work#Examples of bivariate optimization|2207: Math Work § Examples of bivariate optimization]].<br />
<br />
The title text mentions concepts useful adjuncts for such measurements and evaluations, such as passing (one way) through any tube, tunnel, ferris wheel, car wash, water slide or double door frame made of solid material that could thus capture the imaginary string and help to keep its ultimate distance as lengthy as possible.<br />
<br />
===OCD interpretation===<br />
<br />
The quantity Randall measures can be recognized as a specific type of OCD where people feel like they have an imaginary string connecting them to where they come from.[https://www.reddit.com/r/OCD/comments/1ve309/invisible_thread_attached_to_my_back_am_i_the/][https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/xs50yr/xkcd_2679_quantified_self/iqjcmbv/?context=3]<br />
As they move around, that string gets entangled and they feel the urge to untangle it. When they enter a car, they feel the need to exit the car from the same door, to avoid that the string gets trapped by forever passing through the car. When they enter a building, they feel they need to exit using the same staircases and doorway(s), to avoid entangling the string in the building. Some situations, like turning around a lamp post, are OK because you can imagine removing the loop over the top of the lamp post, such that it is not really entangled.<br />
<br />
Randall tries a new approach to deal with this OCD by integrating it in his quantified self. He defines precisely how to measure the length of the imaginary string, reduced to its minimum, and chooses this as a quantity to monitor. Unlike most people with this OCD, who feel the urge to minimize the length, Randall takes the opposite stance trying to maximize the (optimally minimal) length of the string.<br />
<br />
This could be thought as a therapy. By defining as a target to achieve a given length every day, he creates a drive to embrace situations that entangle the string. This drive opposes the natural compulsion to avoid them and hopefully cancels it. The joke of the title text is that Randall now becomes overly interested in all the things that are disturbing for people with the OCD. The monitoring has just reversed his obsession.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A red path links two red Cueballs. It start from the left Cueball, does two loops through a small house, under a first road bridge, under a gantry sign, under a second road bridge, under the Gateway Arch, and to a second red Cueball on the right. That Cueball is looking at a smart watch or a mobile device.]<br />
<br />
:Red Cueball's watch or mobile device: Good job! You hit your weekly goal for "total length of your path through space if you minimize its length by pulling it taut, maneuvering it around solid objects but not through them."<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:I'm into the quantified self, but only for really arbitrary quantities.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2679:_Quantified_Self&diff=295807Talk:2679: Quantified Self2022-10-01T09:34:53Z<p>162.158.166.125: reply</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
This could also be a call back to the Billy Path comics run in Family Circus. I don't have time today to add that research though. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.59|172.70.214.59]] 16:00, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Here is an explanation of what it is about<br />
https://www.reddit.com/r/OCD/comments/1ve309/invisible_thread_attached_to_my_back_am_i_the/ {{unsigned|Florian F|18:11, 30 September 2022}}<br />
:I was going to guess sorting Google Maps Directions by sustainability announced this past Wednesday. https://blog.google/products/search/new-ways-to-make-more-sustainable-choices/ [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.17|172.69.134.17]] 18:53, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
::How is this comic about optimizing for sustainability?<br />
:::It is about optimizing a particular attribute of maps directions. Sustainability is the most recent such attribute announced (two days prior to the comic) by a top-3 commerical maps directions provider. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.183|172.70.214.183]] 06:04, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::: Google optimizes paths for distance and time for a long time already. The announcement is about optimizing for fuel efficiency instead. The comic clearly speaks about measuring distance but not about fuel consumption.<br />
The comic also insists on the topological features of constructions, namely whether there is a hole. This has nothing to do with fuel efficiency. And how does pulling a string taut measure fuel efficiency? I don't understand.<br />
The newspapers are full of events that happened 3 days ago. What makes Google's announcement more relevant to the comic than other news? [[User:Florian F|Florian F]] ([[User talk:Florian F|talk]]) 09:29, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::: Are you saying your OCD interpretation is more likely? Do you have any sources compatible with {{w|WP:RSP}}? How do those sources compare to an annual software release announcement by a top-10 tech company? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.125|162.158.166.125]] 09:34, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I think you're way off. I don't see any hint that it's about OCD. If it's similar to the condition you referenced, it's just a coincidence. The whole thing needs to be started from scratch. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.105|108.162.221.105]] 20:41, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
::That is why this site exists. To explain things you don't see. I don't think many people are familiar with this compulsion about an imaginary string retracing your path in space, but when you are, it is spot on. [[User:Florian F|Florian F]] ([[User talk:Florian F|talk]]) 23:09, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
GOOMHR! - Although for me it was the opposite aim. I've had periods of time when I wouldn't even like (if I noticed, I wasn't like OCD or anything[1]!!!) to make a return journey that meant I even crossed the road at a different point and thus passed under a different telegraph wire between a different set of adjacent poles, on the presumption that if I were to 'retract my path' then it would be irrevocably looped around at least one telegraph poles. (But normal lamp-posts were Ok... the path-'string' could just pass over and around the top and continue to retract. And it could pass above/below anything movable like cars, people, etc.) My ideal would be to be topologically contracted to zero length. Nut I wasn't actually obsessed by it, just... sometimes noticed when I was forced to do something that would cause such 'problems' and might deliberately ensure that any such loop was fully reversed (in strict reverse order to any such transit adding them in) ''if at all possible''. Of course, once it was spoilt by one end of the journey being held by a loop, the rest didn't matter so much. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.71|162.158.34.71]] 18:21, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
:''[1] Not even CDO, which is like OCD but ordered alphabetically!''<br />
:: I definitely am also someone who always played it your way, the reverse XKCD. My cats play it straight though, running into the house, through, and out a different entrance repeatedly one day, then the other way the day after. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.210.45|172.68.210.45]] 19:35, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
; Red string of Fate <br />
The drawing looks like the red thread connecting people in chinese mythology.<br />
-[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.188|162.158.91.188]] 18:21, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
What happens to the string if you crawl under a car which then drives off?[[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.141|172.70.134.141]] 20:05, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
:You probably would only count objects that were stationary after you passed them.[[User:Anonymouscript|Anonymouscript]] ([[User talk:Anonymouscript|talk]]) 21:10, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
::If it can conceivably move over your 'thread', then it isn't a 'tangling loop'. You have to allow for any degree of mysterious topological optimisation that can magically unhook itself from anything that can be unhooked from, no matter {{w|Alexander horned sphere|how much work it has to do to do so}}, and if that has to include choosing just the right time (with perfect prescience, where necessary!) to allow it to untangle wherever/whenever possible. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.205|162.158.34.205]] 21:25, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::That doesn't make sense, taken to the extreme, since all things will turn to dust eventually.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.42|162.158.107.42]] 21:47, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::Within the period of your concern (e.g. per daily routine), I would presume. That gantry over the road will be (partially, perhaps in stages) dissasembled for maintenance at some point, if not outright taken down, allowing an arbitrarily future-sensitive thread to not be caught up in it any more. Tachyonic thread-behaviour could happily unwrap around the time ''before'' the gantry (or bridges, or arch) were built, and as for the house... Before completion or after the next F5 tornado, the 4D constraints are far less (a line snagged permanently in a 4D 'passage' suggests something a bit more interesting, given a closed door doesn't 'snag' in 3D, only the use of two different doorways, with or without actual doors). But limiting it to a daily assesment bookends the whole 4D construct with a virtual lintel over (and under, in the ''t''-dimension) any potential gap for thread-movement that might be considered a way to be optimising to minimal necessary set of straight-line distances... Well, unless you learn the gantry was only assembled that morning, or that it had sufficient Ship Of Theseus-style repairs during the day, or a truck hit it by the end of the day... then it still acts as a looped-snagger<br />
::::The car is trivial, in comparison, as we ''know'' it drives away in the posited scenario (and within the duration of the scenario). Even if our mental thread-pull does not allow us to tug it under the firmly ground-planted tyres, by reducing to periods of instaniousness as the 'trapped' thread is then rolled over (and even more tightly trapped, without violating the 'through solid matter' issue) you reach a point where it is now rolled ''off'' of (no longer underneath the car at all) so you can consider it untrapped. Unlike any thread that was threaded in through the driver's side door but out again through the passenger-side one, which traps loops completely (except for convertables, of course, or if Black Hat subsequently does a more width-wise [[562: Parking|version of the "cut'n'shut", with or without the "shut" bit]].<br />
::::But that's just my interpretation. Thread-line obsessions probably come in various flavours and twists (can a thread-line knot about itself? And, insofar as the car example, is it basically forced to stay 'loose' but looped under the car as it drives, at least until enough of the car's wheels lose contact with the ground due to excessive speed over a humped bridge or even speedbump?) and I can't speak for all of them, but my reasonable (FCVO 'reasonable') assessment suggests that there are get outs ''and'' constraints that might be more universal than not. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.48|172.70.91.48]] 01:47, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
{{cot|When it was all about the OCD}}<br />
This is about a type of OCD where some people feel like they have an imaginary string connecting them to where they come from. As they move around, that string gets entangled and they feel the urge to untangle it. When they enter a car, they feel the need to exit the car from the same door, or else the string will be trapped as forever passing through the car. When they enter a building, they feel they need to exit using the same doorway(s), to avoid entangling the string in the building.<br />
<br />
Some cases, like turning around a lamp post are OK because you can imagine removing the loop over the top of the lamp post, such that it is not really entangled.<br />
<br />
There may not be an official clinical name for this variety of OCD, but one suggested one is the "imaginary path-string".<br />
<br />
Randall treats this OCD like a new measure to add to one's quantified self. The quantified self normally refers to the collection of measurements about your activity, like the number of steps you walk in a day, or monitoring your weight, blood pressure or calories intake. Here, Cueball measures his OCD, i.e. how long this imaginary string has become at the end of the day, after mentally untangling the string as much as possible with valid changes, like moving it around objects, but never through solid matter.<br />
<br />
Unlike most people with this OCD, who feel the urge to minimize it, Randall/Cueball takes the opposite stance and actually prefers to maximize the (optimally minimal) length of that imaginary string.<br />
<br />
The alt text tells about all the things that become useful adjuncts to this way of thinking and measuring, such as passing (one way) through any tube, tunnel or frame made of solid material that could thus capture the imaginary string and help to keep its ultimate distance as lengthy as possible. All of these situations are dreaded by the people with the more traditional version of OCD. <br />
{{cob}}<br />
...because someone [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2679:_Quantified_Self&diff=295745&oldid=295744 ''just deleted it''], and didn't even appear to attempt to replace it with anything useful themselves. (It did need a lot of editing, but not sure it is totally inapplicable, given the demonstrated familiarity with the basic concept by Randall's target audience...) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.205|162.158.34.205]] 21:25, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I also had a preoccupation with this sort of thing, for a while as a child. My magic thread was a remnant of the umbilical cord, with one end permanently anchored in the hospital where I was born. I had little or no knowledge of the fundamental nature of matter and just thought of it as a rubber band that was too small to see or feel. Like in the comic and other comments here, it could magically stretch as much as needed and would un-stretch when possible. I did not consider changing behaviour (e.g. choosing an exit to leave a building) because I had no desire for it to be longer or shorter, and it was clearly far too late to make a significant difference. I did spend quite some time thinking of all the places the thread must have gotten caught (as in the comic) and estimating its total length. (I did not consider airports, or my estimate would have been far longer). [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 06:17, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Comics with color, red-line subset<br />
As [[:Category:Comics with color]] doesn't have a currently extant Talk-page to it, mentioning it here (although not sure if this one counts, as much, for my suggestion). Many CwC examples are basically "monochrome with added red" ([[2639: Periodic Table Changes|'corrections' to periodic tables]], e.g.) that are distinct from "having lines of various colours" (like [[657: Movie Narrative Charts|multidata plottings]]), which are in turn distinctive from [[2598: Graphic Designers|floodfilled]] or [[1024: Error Code|brushstroked]] multihue images. A simple(ish) algorithm could autoclassify all images with any non-greyscale pixels in them, but (from a human perspective, which is [[1530: Keyboard Mash|definitely my kind of perspective]]!) I think that we could sub-split CwC candidates into something like "(Monochrome) Comics with added red lines", and the rest. Doubtless some are going to be edge-cases (is this one technically a red-line one? Probably, but it's not really the same as a 'correction/annotation' red-lined comic), but such subcategorisation might still be broadly useful. - Just a wild idea, that you could perhaps safely ignore. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.117|172.70.90.117]] 02:25, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Are there any ''reliable'' sources for the OCD interpretation, or merely a collection of anecdotes? If the former, please spell out and wikilink OCD. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.119|172.71.158.119]] 07:24, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I have some questions about the Google Maps Directions sustainability and related Google features; please see:<br />
* https://itep.org/the-impact-of-work-from-home-on-commercial-property-values-and-the-property-tax-in-u-s-cities/<br />
* https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/08/working-from-home-commercial-office-space-booming<br />
* https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-08-12/office-rentals-shrink-as-tenant-employees-work-from-home<br />
* https://www.computerworld.com/article/3659891/google-others-adding-office-space-in-anticipation-of-the-great-return.html<br />
* https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2022/01/14/google-spends-billions-on-buying-office-buildings-is-this-a-sign-of-the-post-pandemic-pushback-against-remote-work/<br />
* https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-cutting-office-space-predict-long-term-savings-11625493601<br />
Firstly, has Google published a cost-benefit analysis comparing the sharply increased profits and productivity from work-from-home to the value of coastal region commercial office space holdings and leases? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.59|172.70.214.59]] 08:49, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Added, except I TLDRed on those six links lol. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.185|162.158.166.185]] 08:57, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
::This looks totally irrelevant to me. [[User:Florian F|Florian F]] ([[User talk:Florian F|talk]]) 09:29, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Did you miss these three?<br />
:* https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2021-04-28/google-is-saving-1-billion-per-year-as-a-result-of-employees-working-from-home <br />
:* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-15/google-googl-wants-employees-to-return-to-office-despite-productivity-gains<br />
:* https://www.reuters.com/world/the-great-reboot/pay-cut-google-employees-who-work-home-could-lose-money-2021-08-10/<br />
:? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.125|162.158.166.125]] 09:31, 1 October 2022 (UTC)</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2679:_Quantified_Self&diff=295806Talk:2679: Quantified Self2022-10-01T09:31:44Z<p>162.158.166.125: more links to explain significance</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
This could also be a call back to the Billy Path comics run in Family Circus. I don't have time today to add that research though. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.59|172.70.214.59]] 16:00, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Here is an explanation of what it is about<br />
https://www.reddit.com/r/OCD/comments/1ve309/invisible_thread_attached_to_my_back_am_i_the/ {{unsigned|Florian F|18:11, 30 September 2022}}<br />
:I was going to guess sorting Google Maps Directions by sustainability announced this past Wednesday. https://blog.google/products/search/new-ways-to-make-more-sustainable-choices/ [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.17|172.69.134.17]] 18:53, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
::How is this comic about optimizing for sustainability?<br />
:::It is about optimizing a particular attribute of maps directions. Sustainability is the most recent such attribute announced (two days prior to the comic) by a top-3 commerical maps directions provider. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.183|172.70.214.183]] 06:04, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::: Google optimizes paths for distance and time for a long time already. The announcement is about optimizing for fuel efficiency instead. The comic clearly speaks about measuring distance but not about fuel consumption.<br />
The comic also insists on the topological features of constructions, namely whether there is a hole. This has nothing to do with fuel efficiency. And how does pulling a string taut measure fuel efficiency? I don't understand.<br />
The newspapers are full of events that happened 3 days ago. What makes Google's announcement more relevant to the comic than other news? [[User:Florian F|Florian F]] ([[User talk:Florian F|talk]]) 09:29, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I think you're way off. I don't see any hint that it's about OCD. If it's similar to the condition you referenced, it's just a coincidence. The whole thing needs to be started from scratch. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.105|108.162.221.105]] 20:41, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
::That is why this site exists. To explain things you don't see. I don't think many people are familiar with this compulsion about an imaginary string retracing your path in space, but when you are, it is spot on. [[User:Florian F|Florian F]] ([[User talk:Florian F|talk]]) 23:09, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
GOOMHR! - Although for me it was the opposite aim. I've had periods of time when I wouldn't even like (if I noticed, I wasn't like OCD or anything[1]!!!) to make a return journey that meant I even crossed the road at a different point and thus passed under a different telegraph wire between a different set of adjacent poles, on the presumption that if I were to 'retract my path' then it would be irrevocably looped around at least one telegraph poles. (But normal lamp-posts were Ok... the path-'string' could just pass over and around the top and continue to retract. And it could pass above/below anything movable like cars, people, etc.) My ideal would be to be topologically contracted to zero length. Nut I wasn't actually obsessed by it, just... sometimes noticed when I was forced to do something that would cause such 'problems' and might deliberately ensure that any such loop was fully reversed (in strict reverse order to any such transit adding them in) ''if at all possible''. Of course, once it was spoilt by one end of the journey being held by a loop, the rest didn't matter so much. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.71|162.158.34.71]] 18:21, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
:''[1] Not even CDO, which is like OCD but ordered alphabetically!''<br />
:: I definitely am also someone who always played it your way, the reverse XKCD. My cats play it straight though, running into the house, through, and out a different entrance repeatedly one day, then the other way the day after. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.210.45|172.68.210.45]] 19:35, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
; Red string of Fate <br />
The drawing looks like the red thread connecting people in chinese mythology.<br />
-[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.188|162.158.91.188]] 18:21, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
What happens to the string if you crawl under a car which then drives off?[[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.141|172.70.134.141]] 20:05, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
:You probably would only count objects that were stationary after you passed them.[[User:Anonymouscript|Anonymouscript]] ([[User talk:Anonymouscript|talk]]) 21:10, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
::If it can conceivably move over your 'thread', then it isn't a 'tangling loop'. You have to allow for any degree of mysterious topological optimisation that can magically unhook itself from anything that can be unhooked from, no matter {{w|Alexander horned sphere|how much work it has to do to do so}}, and if that has to include choosing just the right time (with perfect prescience, where necessary!) to allow it to untangle wherever/whenever possible. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.205|162.158.34.205]] 21:25, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::That doesn't make sense, taken to the extreme, since all things will turn to dust eventually.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.42|162.158.107.42]] 21:47, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::Within the period of your concern (e.g. per daily routine), I would presume. That gantry over the road will be (partially, perhaps in stages) dissasembled for maintenance at some point, if not outright taken down, allowing an arbitrarily future-sensitive thread to not be caught up in it any more. Tachyonic thread-behaviour could happily unwrap around the time ''before'' the gantry (or bridges, or arch) were built, and as for the house... Before completion or after the next F5 tornado, the 4D constraints are far less (a line snagged permanently in a 4D 'passage' suggests something a bit more interesting, given a closed door doesn't 'snag' in 3D, only the use of two different doorways, with or without actual doors). But limiting it to a daily assesment bookends the whole 4D construct with a virtual lintel over (and under, in the ''t''-dimension) any potential gap for thread-movement that might be considered a way to be optimising to minimal necessary set of straight-line distances... Well, unless you learn the gantry was only assembled that morning, or that it had sufficient Ship Of Theseus-style repairs during the day, or a truck hit it by the end of the day... then it still acts as a looped-snagger<br />
::::The car is trivial, in comparison, as we ''know'' it drives away in the posited scenario (and within the duration of the scenario). Even if our mental thread-pull does not allow us to tug it under the firmly ground-planted tyres, by reducing to periods of instaniousness as the 'trapped' thread is then rolled over (and even more tightly trapped, without violating the 'through solid matter' issue) you reach a point where it is now rolled ''off'' of (no longer underneath the car at all) so you can consider it untrapped. Unlike any thread that was threaded in through the driver's side door but out again through the passenger-side one, which traps loops completely (except for convertables, of course, or if Black Hat subsequently does a more width-wise [[562: Parking|version of the "cut'n'shut", with or without the "shut" bit]].<br />
::::But that's just my interpretation. Thread-line obsessions probably come in various flavours and twists (can a thread-line knot about itself? And, insofar as the car example, is it basically forced to stay 'loose' but looped under the car as it drives, at least until enough of the car's wheels lose contact with the ground due to excessive speed over a humped bridge or even speedbump?) and I can't speak for all of them, but my reasonable (FCVO 'reasonable') assessment suggests that there are get outs ''and'' constraints that might be more universal than not. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.48|172.70.91.48]] 01:47, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
{{cot|When it was all about the OCD}}<br />
This is about a type of OCD where some people feel like they have an imaginary string connecting them to where they come from. As they move around, that string gets entangled and they feel the urge to untangle it. When they enter a car, they feel the need to exit the car from the same door, or else the string will be trapped as forever passing through the car. When they enter a building, they feel they need to exit using the same doorway(s), to avoid entangling the string in the building.<br />
<br />
Some cases, like turning around a lamp post are OK because you can imagine removing the loop over the top of the lamp post, such that it is not really entangled.<br />
<br />
There may not be an official clinical name for this variety of OCD, but one suggested one is the "imaginary path-string".<br />
<br />
Randall treats this OCD like a new measure to add to one's quantified self. The quantified self normally refers to the collection of measurements about your activity, like the number of steps you walk in a day, or monitoring your weight, blood pressure or calories intake. Here, Cueball measures his OCD, i.e. how long this imaginary string has become at the end of the day, after mentally untangling the string as much as possible with valid changes, like moving it around objects, but never through solid matter.<br />
<br />
Unlike most people with this OCD, who feel the urge to minimize it, Randall/Cueball takes the opposite stance and actually prefers to maximize the (optimally minimal) length of that imaginary string.<br />
<br />
The alt text tells about all the things that become useful adjuncts to this way of thinking and measuring, such as passing (one way) through any tube, tunnel or frame made of solid material that could thus capture the imaginary string and help to keep its ultimate distance as lengthy as possible. All of these situations are dreaded by the people with the more traditional version of OCD. <br />
{{cob}}<br />
...because someone [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2679:_Quantified_Self&diff=295745&oldid=295744 ''just deleted it''], and didn't even appear to attempt to replace it with anything useful themselves. (It did need a lot of editing, but not sure it is totally inapplicable, given the demonstrated familiarity with the basic concept by Randall's target audience...) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.205|162.158.34.205]] 21:25, 30 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I also had a preoccupation with this sort of thing, for a while as a child. My magic thread was a remnant of the umbilical cord, with one end permanently anchored in the hospital where I was born. I had little or no knowledge of the fundamental nature of matter and just thought of it as a rubber band that was too small to see or feel. Like in the comic and other comments here, it could magically stretch as much as needed and would un-stretch when possible. I did not consider changing behaviour (e.g. choosing an exit to leave a building) because I had no desire for it to be longer or shorter, and it was clearly far too late to make a significant difference. I did spend quite some time thinking of all the places the thread must have gotten caught (as in the comic) and estimating its total length. (I did not consider airports, or my estimate would have been far longer). [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 06:17, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Comics with color, red-line subset<br />
As [[:Category:Comics with color]] doesn't have a currently extant Talk-page to it, mentioning it here (although not sure if this one counts, as much, for my suggestion). Many CwC examples are basically "monochrome with added red" ([[2639: Periodic Table Changes|'corrections' to periodic tables]], e.g.) that are distinct from "having lines of various colours" (like [[657: Movie Narrative Charts|multidata plottings]]), which are in turn distinctive from [[2598: Graphic Designers|floodfilled]] or [[1024: Error Code|brushstroked]] multihue images. A simple(ish) algorithm could autoclassify all images with any non-greyscale pixels in them, but (from a human perspective, which is [[1530: Keyboard Mash|definitely my kind of perspective]]!) I think that we could sub-split CwC candidates into something like "(Monochrome) Comics with added red lines", and the rest. Doubtless some are going to be edge-cases (is this one technically a red-line one? Probably, but it's not really the same as a 'correction/annotation' red-lined comic), but such subcategorisation might still be broadly useful. - Just a wild idea, that you could perhaps safely ignore. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.117|172.70.90.117]] 02:25, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Are there any ''reliable'' sources for the OCD interpretation, or merely a collection of anecdotes? If the former, please spell out and wikilink OCD. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.119|172.71.158.119]] 07:24, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I have some questions about the Google Maps Directions sustainability and related Google features; please see:<br />
* https://itep.org/the-impact-of-work-from-home-on-commercial-property-values-and-the-property-tax-in-u-s-cities/<br />
* https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/08/working-from-home-commercial-office-space-booming<br />
* https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-08-12/office-rentals-shrink-as-tenant-employees-work-from-home<br />
* https://www.computerworld.com/article/3659891/google-others-adding-office-space-in-anticipation-of-the-great-return.html<br />
* https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2022/01/14/google-spends-billions-on-buying-office-buildings-is-this-a-sign-of-the-post-pandemic-pushback-against-remote-work/<br />
* https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-cutting-office-space-predict-long-term-savings-11625493601<br />
Firstly, has Google published a cost-benefit analysis comparing the sharply increased profits and productivity from work-from-home to the value of coastal region commercial office space holdings and leases? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.59|172.70.214.59]] 08:49, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Added, except I TLDRed on those six links lol. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.185|162.158.166.185]] 08:57, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
::This looks totally irrelevant to me. [[User:Florian F|Florian F]] ([[User talk:Florian F|talk]]) 09:29, 1 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Did you miss these three?<br />
:* https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2021-04-28/google-is-saving-1-billion-per-year-as-a-result-of-employees-working-from-home <br />
:* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-15/google-googl-wants-employees-to-return-to-office-despite-productivity-gains<br />
:* https://www.reuters.com/world/the-great-reboot/pay-cut-google-employees-who-work-home-could-lose-money-2021-08-10/<br />
:? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.125|162.158.166.125]] 09:31, 1 October 2022 (UTC)</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2675:_Pilot_Priority_List&diff=2954112675: Pilot Priority List2022-09-24T09:41:46Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ better link anchors</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2675<br />
| date = September 21, 2022<br />
| title = Pilot Priority List<br />
| image = pilot_priority_list_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 369x548px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = CELEBRATE: Serve passengers tiered cakes shaped like the airspace class diagram<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by using an ELUCIDATE, EXPLICATE, ANNOTATE, DEMONSTRATE, CITATE AND ILLUSTRATE CHECKLIST. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The [https://elevate-aviation.com/blog/pilots-priority-checklist "ANC" Pilot Priority Checklist] is a list of three guidelines, sorted by priority, that pilots should follow to prevent them from being distracted. Failing to follow it might make the aircraft crash or suffer other problems. As a {{w|mnemonic}} device, all the activities end in ''-ate''.<br />
<br />
# '''Aviate''' means keeping the aircraft in control. If the pilot fails to do this the aircraft might crash, so this should be the highest priority for the pilot.<br />
# '''Navigate''' means knowing where you are and where you're going. Failing to follow this might make the aircraft go into restricted airspace, for example, make the journey take too long, or cause the flight to crash into terrain obscured by clouds.<br />
# '''Communicate''' means talking with air traffic control (ATC) and your company's people through the radio. In the standard list, this is the lowest priority because talking through the radio might distract the pilot from other more important tasks.<br />
<br />
By deferring less important activities until the prior need is deemed satisfied, the immediate dangers of flight into terrain ({{w|United Airlines Flight 173|uncontrolled}} and {{w|controlled flight into terrain}}) are reduced — as the pilot's {{w|Loss of control (aeronautics)|current circumstances}} allow — and yet can provide for addressing {{w|Separation (aeronautics)|other hazards}}.<br />
<br />
[[Randall]] humorously "extends" this standard list with other ''-ate'' checklist items that pilots could do if they're not too busy aviating, navigating and communicating. These extra tasks range from somewhat hilarious to physically impossible or dangerous; see the [[#Table of extended priority items|table]] below for explanations. These actions {{w|Sterile flight deck rule|should generally not be taken}}, as they could distract the pilot and prevent them from reaching the cabin in case of an emergency, or vaporize everyone inside along with portions of the airframe.<br />
<br />
[[File:Airspace classes (United States).png|thumb|Airspace classes in the United States]]<br />
<br />
The title text adds another ''-ate'' item to the checklist: Celebrate. It refers to airspace with stricter entry requirements overhead of large airports. In the US, the {{w|Airspace_class_(United_States)|airspace class}} over airports starts with a small circle over the airport and then becomes wider in one or two steps at higher altitudes. When depicted graphically, this looks like an {{w|File:Airspace classes (United States).png|inverted tiered cake}}, as opposed to a [https://3brothersbakery.com/product/wedding-white-chandelier-tier/ regular tiered cake]. Randall suggests that after having congratulated yourself for flying an aircraft, you could then celebrate by serving the passengers cakes in this inverted shape. It would, however, be unsuitable for an aircraft to serve cakes that are smaller at the bottom than at the top because of turbulence.<br />
<br />
{{clear}}<br />
<br />
===Table of extended priority items===<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Checklist item<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Decorate || Make the cockpit fancy || {{w|Interior design}} of aircraft cockpits is usually starkly utilitarian and could conceivably benefit from enhancements if they aren't distracting. See for example [https://futurism.com/boeings-spaceship-cockpit-looks-strikingly-different-spacexs this comparison of SpaceX and Boeing space capsule cockpits.]<br />
|-<br />
| Accelerate || See how fast you can go || While pilots are often keenly interested in the extents of their aircraft flight capabilities, maximum speed is inefficient in jet aircraft, and probably best explored during testing rather than passenger flights.<br />
|-<br />
| Roller skate || Zoom down the aisle || Passengers would probably not appreciate this,{{cn}} although fellow crew members might be amused. Or possibly ''vice versa''.<br />
|-<br />
| Exfoliate || Scrub away dead skin || {{w|Emery board}}s and {{w|pumice}} are used to prevent flaking and the development of {{w|callus}}es but dermatologists caution exfoliation is very often unnecessary and can have unwanted consequences.<br />
|-<br />
| Sublimate || Turn directly into a vapor || To the contrary, one of the most important duties of aircraft pilots is to prevent passengers and crew from vaporizing.[citation: rules 1 and 2 are nearly impossible to do when in gaseous form and yes we do need a citation for this citation]<br />
|-<br />
| Pollinate || Fly low to stir up pollen || Low-flying helicopters can assist in plant {{w|pollination}},[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S037842901931175X] and are offered as a [http://www.flyingmair.com/ag-services/corn-pollination/ commercial service by helicopter pilots.]<br />
|-<br />
| Congratulate || You're doing a good job flying a plane! || Self-esteem is an important component of mental health, and affirmations can help build it.{{cn}}<br />
|-<br />
| Celebrate (title text) || Serve passengers tiered cakes shaped like the airspace class diagram || See discussion of the title text above.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A list with ten numbered points are shown. Above the list is a large header. Below this is a divided line with a section header written in a smaller than standard font. The three first numbered points are below this. Then follows another divided line with section header written in smaller font and below this the next seven numbered points. All ten points have two lines of text. A line with a normal sized font and below each of these a description in a smaller light gray font.]<br />
::<big>Pilot Priority List</big><br />
:-----------<small>Standard section</small>-----------<br />
:1. Aviate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Maintain control of the aircraft</font></small><br />
:2. Navigate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Figure out where you're going</font></small><br />
:3. Communicate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Stay in touch with ATC and others</font></small><br />
:-----------<small>Extended section</small>-----------<br />
:4. Decorate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Make the cockpit fancy</font></small><br />
:5. Accelerate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">See how fast you can go</font></small><br />
:6. Roller skate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Zoom down the aisle</font></small><br />
:7. Exfoliate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Scrub away dead skin</font></small><br />
:8. Sublimate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Turn directly to a vapor</font></small><br />
:9. Pollinate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Fly low to stir up pollen</font></small><br />
:10. Congratulate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">You're doing a good job flying a plane!</font></small><br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Aviation]]<br />
[[Category:Food]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2675:_Pilot_Priority_List&diff=2954102675: Pilot Priority List2022-09-24T09:40:16Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ grammar</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2675<br />
| date = September 21, 2022<br />
| title = Pilot Priority List<br />
| image = pilot_priority_list_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 369x548px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = CELEBRATE: Serve passengers tiered cakes shaped like the airspace class diagram<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by using an ELUCIDATE, EXPLICATE, ANNOTATE, DEMONSTRATE, CITATE AND ILLUSTRATE CHECKLIST. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The [https://elevate-aviation.com/blog/pilots-priority-checklist "ANC" Pilot Priority Checklist] is a list of three guidelines, sorted by priority, that pilots should follow to prevent them from being distracted. Failing to follow it might make the aircraft crash or suffer other problems. As a {{w|mnemonic}} device, all the activities end in ''-ate''.<br />
<br />
# '''Aviate''' means keeping the aircraft in control. If the pilot fails to do this the aircraft might crash, so this should be the highest priority for the pilot.<br />
# '''Navigate''' means knowing where you are and where you're going. Failing to follow this might make the aircraft go into restricted airspace, for example, make the journey take too long, or cause the flight to crash into terrain obscured by clouds.<br />
# '''Communicate''' means talking with air traffic control (ATC) and your company's people through the radio. In the standard list, this is the lowest priority because talking through the radio might distract the pilot from other more important tasks.<br />
<br />
By deferring less important activities until the prior need is deemed satisfied, the immediate dangers of flight into terrain ({{w|United Airlines Flight 173|UFIT}} and {{w|Controlled flight into terrain}}) are reduced — as the pilot's {{w|Loss of control (aeronautics)|current circumstances}} allow — and yet can provide for addressing {{w|Separation (aeronautics)|other hazards}}.<br />
<br />
[[Randall]] humorously "extends" this standard list with other ''-ate'' checklist items that pilots could do if they're not too busy aviating, navigating and communicating. These extra tasks range from somewhat hilarious to physically impossible or dangerous; see the [[#Table of extended priority items|table]] below for explanations. These actions {{w|Sterile flight deck rule|should generally not be taken}}, as they could distract the pilot and prevent them from reaching the cabin in case of an emergency, or vaporize everyone inside along with portions of the airframe.<br />
<br />
[[File:Airspace classes (United States).png|thumb|Airspace classes in the United States]]<br />
<br />
The title text adds another ''-ate'' item to the checklist: Celebrate. It refers to airspace with stricter entry requirements overhead of large airports. In the US, the {{w|Airspace_class_(United_States)|airspace class}} over airports starts with a small circle over the airport and then becomes wider in one or two steps at higher altitudes. When depicted graphically, this looks like an {{w|File:Airspace classes (United States).png|inverted tiered cake}}, as opposed to a [https://3brothersbakery.com/product/wedding-white-chandelier-tier/ regular tiered cake]. Randall suggests that after having congratulated yourself for flying an aircraft, you could then celebrate by serving the passengers cakes in this inverted shape. It would, however, be unsuitable for an aircraft to serve cakes that are smaller at the bottom than at the top because of turbulence.<br />
<br />
{{clear}}<br />
<br />
===Table of extended priority items===<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Checklist item<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Decorate || Make the cockpit fancy || {{w|Interior design}} of aircraft cockpits is usually starkly utilitarian and could conceivably benefit from enhancements if they aren't distracting. See for example [https://futurism.com/boeings-spaceship-cockpit-looks-strikingly-different-spacexs this comparison of SpaceX and Boeing space capsule cockpits.]<br />
|-<br />
| Accelerate || See how fast you can go || While pilots are often keenly interested in the extents of their aircraft flight capabilities, maximum speed is inefficient in jet aircraft, and probably best explored during testing rather than passenger flights.<br />
|-<br />
| Roller skate || Zoom down the aisle || Passengers would probably not appreciate this,{{cn}} although fellow crew members might be amused. Or possibly ''vice versa''.<br />
|-<br />
| Exfoliate || Scrub away dead skin || {{w|Emery board}}s and {{w|pumice}} are used to prevent flaking and the development of {{w|callus}}es but dermatologists caution exfoliation is very often unnecessary and can have unwanted consequences.<br />
|-<br />
| Sublimate || Turn directly into a vapor || To the contrary, one of the most important duties of aircraft pilots is to prevent passengers and crew from vaporizing.[citation: rules 1 and 2 are nearly impossible to do when in gaseous form and yes we do need a citation for this citation]<br />
|-<br />
| Pollinate || Fly low to stir up pollen || Low-flying helicopters can assist in plant {{w|pollination}},[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S037842901931175X] and are offered as a [http://www.flyingmair.com/ag-services/corn-pollination/ commercial service by helicopter pilots.]<br />
|-<br />
| Congratulate || You're doing a good job flying a plane! || Self-esteem is an important component of mental health, and affirmations can help build it.{{cn}}<br />
|-<br />
| Celebrate (title text) || Serve passengers tiered cakes shaped like the airspace class diagram || See discussion of the title text above.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A list with ten numbered points are shown. Above the list is a large header. Below this is a divided line with a section header written in a smaller than standard font. The three first numbered points are below this. Then follows another divided line with section header written in smaller font and below this the next seven numbered points. All ten points have two lines of text. A line with a normal sized font and below each of these a description in a smaller light gray font.]<br />
::<big>Pilot Priority List</big><br />
:-----------<small>Standard section</small>-----------<br />
:1. Aviate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Maintain control of the aircraft</font></small><br />
:2. Navigate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Figure out where you're going</font></small><br />
:3. Communicate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Stay in touch with ATC and others</font></small><br />
:-----------<small>Extended section</small>-----------<br />
:4. Decorate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Make the cockpit fancy</font></small><br />
:5. Accelerate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">See how fast you can go</font></small><br />
:6. Roller skate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Zoom down the aisle</font></small><br />
:7. Exfoliate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Scrub away dead skin</font></small><br />
:8. Sublimate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Turn directly to a vapor</font></small><br />
:9. Pollinate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Fly low to stir up pollen</font></small><br />
:10. Congratulate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">You're doing a good job flying a plane!</font></small><br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Aviation]]<br />
[[Category:Food]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2675:_Pilot_Priority_List&diff=2954032675: Pilot Priority List2022-09-24T09:05:06Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ accommodate helicopters</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2675<br />
| date = September 21, 2022<br />
| title = Pilot Priority List<br />
| image = pilot_priority_list_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 369x548px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = CELEBRATE: Serve passengers tiered cakes shaped like the airspace class diagram<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by using an ELUCIDATE, EXPLICATE, ANNOTATE, DEMONSTRATE, CITATE AND ILLUSTRATE CHECKLIST. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The [https://elevate-aviation.com/blog/pilots-priority-checklist "ANC" Pilot Priority Checklist] is a list of three guidelines, sorted by priority, that pilots should follow to prevent them from being distracted. Failing to follow it might make the aircraft crash or suffer other problems. As a {{w|mnemonic}} device, all the activities end in ''-ate''.<br />
<br />
# '''Aviate''' means keeping the aircraft in control. If the pilot fails to do this the aircraft might crash. That is why this should be the highest priority for the pilot.<br />
# '''Navigate''' means knowing where you are and where you're going. Failing to follow this might make the aircraft go into restricted airspace, for example, make the journey take too long, or cause the flight to crash into terrain obscured by clouds.<br />
# '''Communicate''' means talking with air traffic control (ATC) and your company's people through the radio. In the standard list, this is the lowest priority because talking through the radio might distract the pilot from other more important or urgent tasks, and purely corporate communications are to be avoided during critical flight phases.<br />
<br />
By deferring less important activities until the prior need is deemed satisfied, the immediate dangers of flight into terrain ({{w|United Airlines Flight 173|UFIT}} and {{w|Controlled flight into terrain|CFIT}}) are reduced (as the pilot's {{w|Loss of control (aeronautics)|current circumstances}} allow) and yet leave time to be able to coordinate properly with any {{w|Separation (aeronautics)|other hazards}}.<br />
<br />
[[Randall]] humorously "extends" this standard list with other ''-ate'' checklist items that pilots could do if they're not too busy aviating, navigating and communicating. These extra tasks go from somewhat hilarious to physically impossible or dangerous; see the [[#Table of extended priority items|table]] below for explanations. These actions {{w|Sterile flight deck rule|should generally not be taken}}, as they could distract the pilot and prevent them from reaching the cabin in case of an emergency, or vaporize everyone inside along with portions of the airframe.<br />
<br />
[[File:Airspace classes (United States).png|thumb|Airspace classes in the United States]]<br />
<br />
The title text adds another ''-ate'' item to the checklist: Celebrate. It refers to airspace with stricter entry requirements overhead of large airports. In the US, the {{w|Airspace_class_(United_States)|airspace class}} over airports starts with a small circle over the airport and then becomes wider in one or two steps at higher altitudes. When depicted graphically, this looks like an {{w|File:Airspace classes (United States).png|inverted tiered cake}}, as opposed to a [https://3brothersbakery.com/product/wedding-white-chandelier-tier/ regular tiered cake]. Randall suggests that after having congratulated yourself for flying an aircraft, you could then celebrate by serving the passengers cakes in this inverted shape. It would, however, be unsuitable for an aircraft to serve cakes that are smaller at the bottom than at the top because of turbulence.<br />
<br />
{{clear}}<br />
<br />
===Table of extended priority items===<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Checklist item<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Decorate || Make the cockpit fancy || {{w|Interior design}} of aircraft cockpits is usually starkly utilitarian and could conceivably benefit from enhancements if they aren't distracting. See for example [https://futurism.com/boeings-spaceship-cockpit-looks-strikingly-different-spacexs this comparison of SpaceX and Boeing space capsule cockpits.]<br />
|-<br />
| Accelerate || See how fast you can go || While pilots are often keenly interested in the extents of their aircraft flight capabilities, maximum speed is inefficient in jet aircraft, and probably best explored during testing rather than passenger flights.<br />
|-<br />
| Roller skate || Zoom down the aisle || Passengers would probably not appreciate this,{{cn}} although fellow crew members might be amused. Or possibly ''vice versa''.<br />
|-<br />
| Exfoliate || Scrub away dead skin || {{w|Emery board}}s and {{w|pumice}} are used to prevent flaking and the development of {{w|callus}}es but dermatologists caution exfoliation is very often unnecessary and can have unwanted consequences.<br />
|-<br />
| Sublimate || Turn directly into a vapor || To the contrary, one of the most important duties of aircraft pilots is to prevent passengers and crew from vaporizing.[citation: rules 1 and 2 are nearly impossible to do when in gaseous form and yes we do need a citation for this citation]<br />
|-<br />
| Pollinate || Fly low to stir up pollen || Low-flying helicopters can assist in plant {{w|pollination}},[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S037842901931175X] and are offered as a [http://www.flyingmair.com/ag-services/corn-pollination/ commercial service by helicopter pilots.]<br />
|-<br />
| Congratulate || You're doing a good job flying a plane! || Self-esteem is an important component of mental health, and affirmations can help build it.{{cn}}<br />
|-<br />
| Celebrate (title text) || Serve passengers tiered cakes shaped like the airspace class diagram || See discussion of the title text above.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A list with ten numbered points are shown. Above the list is a large header. Below this is a divided line with a section header written in a smaller than standard font. The three first numbered points are below this. Then follows another divided line with section header written in smaller font and below this the next seven numbered points. All ten points have two lines of text. A line with a normal sized font and below each of these a description in a smaller light gray font.]<br />
::<big>Pilot Priority List</big><br />
:-----------<small>Standard section</small>-----------<br />
:1. Aviate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Maintain control of the aircraft</font></small><br />
:2. Navigate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Figure out where you're going</font></small><br />
:3. Communicate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Stay in touch with ATC and others</font></small><br />
:-----------<small>Extended section</small>-----------<br />
:4. Decorate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Make the cockpit fancy</font></small><br />
:5. Accelerate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">See how fast you can go</font></small><br />
:6. Roller skate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Zoom down the aisle</font></small><br />
:7. Exfoliate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Scrub away dead skin</font></small><br />
:8. Sublimate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Turn directly to a vapor</font></small><br />
:9. Pollinate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">Fly low to stir up pollen</font></small><br />
:10. Congratulate<br />
::<small><font color="gray">You're doing a good job flying a plane!</font></small><br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Aviation]]<br />
[[Category:Food]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2675:_Pilot_Priority_List&diff=2952252675: Pilot Priority List2022-09-22T05:58:21Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ revise to single multisyllabic words from talk</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2675<br />
| date = September 21, 2022<br />
| title = Pilot Priority List<br />
| image = pilot_priority_list_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 369x548px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = CELEBRATE: Serve passengers tiered cakes shaped like the airspace class diagram<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by an ELUCIDATE, EXPLICATE, ANNOTATE, DEMONSTRATE, AND ILLUSTRATE CHECKLIST. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The [https://elevate-aviation.com/blog/pilots-priority-checklist "ANC" Pilot Priority Checklist] is a list of three guidelines, sorted by priority, that pilots should follow to prevent them from being distracted. Failing to follow it might make the plane crash or suffer other problems. As a {{w|mnemonic}} device, all the activities end in ''-ate''.<br />
<br />
# '''Aviate''' means "Keeping the plane in control". If the pilot fails to do this the plane might crash. That is why this should be the highest priority for the pilot.<br />
# '''Navigate''' means "Knowing where you are and where you're going". Failing to follow this might make the plane go into restricted airspace, for example, or make the journey take too long, or cause the flight to crash into terrain obscured by clouds.<br />
# '''Communicate''' means talking to air traffic control (ATC) through radio. In the standard list this is the lowest priority because talking through the radio might distract the pilot from other more important or urgent tasks.<br />
<br />
[[Randall]] humorously "extends" this standard list with [[#Table of extended priority items|other ''-ate'' checklist items]] that pilots could do if they have nothing to aviate, navigate, or communicate. These extra tasks go from somewhat hilarious to physically impossible or dangerous. These actions should not be taken as they could distract the pilot and prevent them from reaching the cabin in case of an emergency.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to airspace with stricter entry requirements overhead of large airports. In the US, this airspace starts as a small circle and then becomes wider in one or more steps at higher altitudes. When depicted graphically, this looks like an [https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/media/17_phak_ch15.pdf inverted tiered cake].<br />
<br />
Even the extended list leaves some possibly even more dangerous activities unexplored, including copulate, circumnavigate, excommunicate, or exterminate.<br />
<br />
===Table of extended priority items===<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Checklist item<br />
! Description<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Decorate || Make the cockpit fancy || {{w|Interior design}} of aircraft cockpits is usually starkly utilitarian and could conceivably benefit from enhancements if they aren't distracting.<br />
|-<br />
| Accelerate || See how fast you can go || While pilots are often keenly interested in the extents of their aircraft flight capabilities, maximum speed is inefficient in jet aircraft, and probably best explored in modern flight simulators than passenger flights.<br />
|-<br />
| Roller skate || Zoom down the aisle || Passengers would probably not appreciate this,{{cn}} although fellow crew members might be amused.<br />
|-<br />
| Exfoliate || Scrub away dead skin || {{w|Emery board}}s and {{w|pumice}} are used to prevent flaking and the development of {{w|callus}}es but dermatologists caution exfoliation is very often unnecessary and can have unwanted consequences.<br />
|-<br />
| Sublimate || Turn directly into a vapor || To the contrary, one of the most important duties of aircraft pilots is to prevent passengers and crew from vaporizing.<br />
|-<br />
| Pollinate || Fly low to stir up pollen || Low-flying helicopters can assist in plant {{w|pollination}},[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S037842901931175X] and are offered as a [http://www.flyingmair.com/ag-services/corn-pollination/ commercial service by helicopter pilots.]<br />
|-<br />
| Congratulate || You're doing a good job flying a plane! || Self-esteem is an important component of mental health, and encouragement can help build it.<br />
|-<br />
| Celebrate (title text) || Serve passengers tiered cakes shaped like the airspace class diagram || See discussion of the title text above.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:<big>Pilot Priority List</big><br />
:[In small font, bracketed by horizontal lines:]<br />
:Standard Section<br />
[A numbered list, with a single verb in large font and descriptors in small, light gray font:]<br />
:1. Aviate<br />
::Maintain control of the aircraft<br />
:2. Navigate<br />
::Figure out where you're going<br />
:3. Communicate<br />
::Stay in touch with ATC and others<br />
:[In small font, bracketed by horizontal lines:]<br />
:Extended Section<br />
:[Continuation of the list:]<br />
:4. Decorate<br />
::Make the cockpit fancy<br />
:5. Accelerate<br />
::See how fast you can go<br />
:6. Roller Skate<br />
::Zoom down the aisle<br />
:7. Exfoliate<br />
::Scrub away dead skin<br />
:8. Sublimate<br />
::Turn directly into a vapor<br />
:9. Pollinate<br />
::Fly low to stir up pollen<br />
:10. Congratulate<br />
::You're doing a good job flying a plane!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2673:_Cursed_mRNA_Cocktail&diff=294946Talk:2673: Cursed mRNA Cocktail2022-09-16T21:37:39Z<p>162.158.166.125: Rvv</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
"¼ tsp MSG or nutritional yeast," is like saying, "A monochrome d12 or the city of Washington, D.C." [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.25|172.71.154.25]] 20:55, 16 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I wonder if this was inspired by "drug coctails", where a combination of different drugs is prescribed to treat a disease. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:08, 16 September 2022 (UTC)</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2673:_Cursed_mRNA_Cocktail&diff=2949452673: Cursed mRNA Cocktail2022-09-16T21:35:54Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ source: personal communication with M.D.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2673<br />
| date = September 16, 2022<br />
| title = Cursed mRNA Cocktail<br />
| image = cursed_mrna_cocktail_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 331x513px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Serve one each to guests whose last cursed cocktail was more than 2 months ago.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a VACCINE DRINKER. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The comic describes a process to approximate the molecular composition of certain mRNA-based vaccines in drinkable form. It contains the variety and relative concentrations of the basic molecular constituents found within the injectable mixture. i.e. mostly water, some sugar, lipids and a probably similar dose of genetic material.<br />
<br />
Like much of what we eat or drink, the stomach and intestines will neutralise much of the complexity of either the vaccines or this ersatz replica of it, reducing it to more basic proteins of some slight nutritional value. For the vaccine to work, it has been designed to be injected into the body e.g. {{w|intramuscular}}ly to bypass the hostile environment of the human digestive system. Randall's replacement mixture might provoke generally unwise physiological reactions. This is funny because while very few people would find such a mixture palatable, it is very likely nontoxic,{{cn}} and does contain both moisture and calories, both important if elementary nutritional components.<br />
<br />
The title text suggests that this can be served as a "booster" to a prior dose or serving after an initial treatment. There is much study of vaccine efficacy relative to times of dosages. Too little time between makes the new dose not necessarily cause the immune system to react in the way that it should; however most pairs of vaccines work well if delivered on the same day.{{Actual citation needed}} The comic recommends not redosing within two months of the last attempt.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:Ever wondered what it would be like to drink the new COVID booster?<br />
:This recipe approximately recreates the taste and nutritional profile!<br />
:''(Note: does not protect against COVID.)''<br />
<br />
:[The following two testimonies are displayed in spiky bubbles.]<br />
:"...What? Eww." -CDC spokesperson<br />
:"Please stop." -Dr. Anthony Fauci<br />
<br />
:<u>Ingredients</u><br />
:2 cups water<br />
:3 tbsp mayonnaise<br />
:¼ tsp MSG or nutritional yeast<br />
:1 tbsp sugar<br />
<br />
:<u>Directions</u><br />
:Pour 1 cup of water into a blender. Add the mayonnaise and MSG. Blend until smooth.<br />
:Pour the other cup of water into a glass. Add the sugar and 1 tsp of the mixture from the blender. Stir well.<br />
:Serve in shot glasses.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2671:_Rotation&diff=2947142671: Rotation2022-09-12T23:34:33Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ typo</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2671<br />
| date = September 12, 2022<br />
| title = Rotation<br />
| image = rotation.png<br />
| titletext = It's okay, we can just feed the one-pixel image into an AI upscaler and recover the original image, or at least one that's just as cool.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by an IMAGE UPSCALER. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Another of [[Randall]]'s [[:Category:Tips|Tips]], this tip claims that rotating a phone and taking a screenshot too many times will cause an image to disappear into nothingness, and warns the user against doing so. This is funny because while camera phone users are unlikely to do this, they are usually less aware of the optimal resolution for their intended purposes than they could be. A phone's "auto-rotation" feature will automatically rotate an image to the fit the phone's current orientation based on {{w|accelerometer}}s.<br />
<br />
[[Image:World lines and world sheet.svg|thumb|200px|{{w|String theory}} describes the {{w|worldline}}s of point-like particles as {{w|worldsheet}}s of "closed strings," forming a topological foam.]]<br />
<br />
For a fuller explanation of the concepts involved, including {{w|Planck units}}, often associated with the topological {{w|quantum foam}} of {{w|string theory}}, please see [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUF5esTscZI this CGP Grey video.] For an explanation of topological string theory, see [[2658: Coffee Cup Holes]].<br />
<br />
The title text refers to producing photographically likely higher resolution images from lower resolutions, an active area of current research.[https://openaccess.thecvf.com/content/ICCV2021/papers/Liang_Hierarchical_Conditional_Flow_A_Unified_Framework_for_Image_Super-Resolution_and_ICCV_2021_paper.pdf] Because reducing the resolution of an image is a lossy process results obtained through such processes will not be able to perfectly recreate the original. When scaled all the way down to one pixel, everything except a small amount of data about the image's overall color is lost, making reconstructing the original image impossible, though an algorithm might produce an image similar to, and potentially as cool or cooler than,{{cn}} the original.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[A phone in portrait orientation shows an image. It is then rotated, showing the image smaller with bars in landscape orientation, then the next phone is in portrait showing the entire screen of the previous rotated sideways, shrinking it every time. The labels show the decreasing size of the original image as it goes through successive rotations.]<br />
<br />
<br />
"9 rotations: original image is smaller than a pixel."<br />
<br />
"25 rotations: original image is smaller than an atom."<br />
<br />
"101 rotations: original image is smaller than the Planck length, at which the concept of distance may break down."<br />
<br />
Bottom caption: "Phone tip: don't rotate and screenshot an image too many times or it will become lost in the quantum foam of the universe."<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Tips]]<br />
[[Category:Smartphones]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2671:_Rotation&diff=2947082671: Rotation2022-09-12T23:25:34Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ indefinite article</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2671<br />
| date = September 12, 2022<br />
| title = Rotation<br />
| image = rotation.png<br />
| titletext = It's okay, we can just feed the one-pixel image into an AI upscaler and recover the original image, or at least one that's just as cool.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by an AI upscaler - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Another of Randall's [[:Category:Tips|Tips]], this tip claims that rotating a phone and taking a screenshot too many times will cause an image to disappear into nothingness, and warns the user against doing so. This is funny because while camera phone users are unlikely to do this, they are usually less aware of the optimal resolution for their intended purposes than they could be. A phone's "auto-rotation" feature will automatically rotate an image to the fit the current phone's orientation based on {{w|accelerometer}}s.<br />
<br />
[[Image:World lines and world sheet.svg|thumb|200px|{{w|String theory}} describes the {{w|worldline}}s of point-like particles as {{w|worldsheet}}s of "closed strings," forming a topological foam.]]<br />
<br />
For a fuller explanation of the concepts involved, including {{w|Planck units}}, often associated with the topological {{w|quantum foam}} of {{w|string theory}}, please see [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUF5esTscZI this CGP Grey video.] For an explanation of topological string theory, see [[2658: Coffee Cup Holes]].<br />
<br />
The title text refers to producing photographically likely higher resolution images from lower resolutions, an active area of current research.[https://openaccess.thecvf.com/content/ICCV2021/papers/Liang_Hierarchical_Conditional_Flow_A_Unified_Framework_for_Image_Super-Resolution_and_ICCV_2021_paper.pdf] Because reducing the resolution of an image is a lossy process, however, the result obtained through such processes will not be able to perfectly recreate the original. When scaled all the way down to one pixel, everything except a small amount of data about the image's overall color is lost, making reconstructing the original image impossible, though an algorithm might produce an image similar to, and probably cooler than,{{cn}} the original.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[A phone in portrait orientation shows an image. It is then rotated, showing the image smaller with bars in landscape orientation, then the next phone is in portrait showing the entire screen of the previous rotated sideways, shrinking it every time. The labels show the decreasing size of the original image as it goes through successive rotations.]<br />
<br />
<br />
"9 rotations: original image is smaller than a pixel."<br />
<br />
"25 rotations: original image is smaller than an atom."<br />
<br />
"101 rotations: original image is smaller than the Planck length, at which the concept of distance may break down."<br />
<br />
Bottom caption: "Phone tip: don't rotate and screenshot an image too many times or it will become lost in the quantum foam of the universe."<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Tips]]<br />
[[Category:Smartphones]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2671:_Rotation&diff=2946962671: Rotation2022-09-12T22:46:40Z<p>162.158.166.125: Planck</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2671<br />
| date = September 12, 2022<br />
| title = Rotation<br />
| image = rotation.png<br />
| titletext = It's okay, we can just feed the one-pixel image into an AI upscaler and recover the original image, or at least one that's just as cool.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by an AI upscaler - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Another of Randall's [[:Category:Tips|Tips]], this tip claims that rotating a phone and taking a screenshot too many times will cause an image to disappear into nothingness, and warns the user against doing so.<br />
<br />
This comic references a phone's "auto-rotation" feature, which will automatically rotate an image to the fit the current phone's orientation.<br />
<br />
For a fuller explanation of the concepts involved, including {{w|Planck units}}, please see [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUF5esTscZI this CGP Grey video.]<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[A phone in portrait orientation shows an image. It is then rotated, showing the image smaller with bars in landscape orientation, then the next phone is in portrait showing the entire screen of the previous rotated sideways, shrinking it every time. The labels show the decreasing size of the original image as it goes through successive rotations.]<br />
<br />
<br />
"9 rotations: original image is smaller than a pixel."<br />
<br />
"25 rotations: original image is smaller than an atom."<br />
<br />
"101 rotations: original image is smaller than the Planck length, at which the concept of distance may break down."<br />
<br />
Bottom caption: "Phone tip: don't rotate and screenshot an image too many times or it will become lost in the quantum foam of the universe."<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Tips]]<br />
[[Category:Smartphones]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2671:_Rotation&diff=294692Talk:2671: Rotation2022-09-12T22:10:42Z<p>162.158.166.125: Reply</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
For extra credit: Waht is the resolution of the phone screen? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.94.135|172.71.94.135]] 18:59, 12 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:IMHO 400px. Note SMALLER. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 19:53, 12 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:From the image you can assume an 9/20 aspect ratio. Assuming each rotation reduces the image dimensions by that fraction after 9 rotations the dimensions would be reduced 1322 times so the resolution would be something between 1322x595 pixels (anything less than that would made it require 8 rotations or less) to 2935x1321 pixels (anything beyond that would require 10 rotations or more). 1600x720 or 2400x1080 maybe? Applying the same formula for the phone width and assuming atoms are typically around 100 picometers across then the phone width is close to 4.67 cm, too small, but maybe that's because rounding. In the other hand that formula does not work with Planck length at all: using it the phone width would be 1.69 meters. If you assume a width of 7 cm and 97 rotations you get pretty close to Planck length, but the comic says 101, not 97. Something is wrong with my calculations, I don't know what. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.160|162.158.63.160]] 21:03, 12 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This seems like it could actually be really cool. Can anyone do this and put the picture here as an example? Also, if possible, include an AI upscale of the one pixel. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.90.83|172.69.90.83]] 19:07, 12 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
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There's a '''minor''' counting error: instead of pointing to the 9th rotation, the 'nine rotations' statement points to the 8th as the first phone has no rotations.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.77|172.70.90.77]] 19:10, 12 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Anyone getting a 404? Seems like the comic has disappeared. EDIT: ...aaaand it's back. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.100.54|172.70.100.54]] 19:34, 12 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Just putting https://www.codeguru.com/multimedia/rotate-a-bitmap-image/ here. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.131|172.69.134.131]] 20:12, 12 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
: Microsoft C#, and not the original HAKMEM or Smalltalk 80? Please! You might as well be using C++: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/wingdi/nf-wingdi-plgblt [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.173|162.158.166.173]] 20:21, 12 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: I see your trivial software squabble, and raise one peer reviewed open access article citation: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-010-9144-5 [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.5|172.69.22.5]] 22:03, 12 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::I'll see your humorously ambiguous reference, and raise you a slightly more on-topic chapter encompassing both: https://journalspress.com/LJRHSS_Volume17/208_The-Geometric-Progression.pdf [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.125|162.158.166.125]] 22:10, 12 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Tiktok [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.68|108.162.246.68]] 20:40, 12 September 2022 (UTC)</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=922:_Fight_Club&diff=294517922: Fight Club2022-09-09T07:26:48Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 922<br />
| date = July 8, 2011<br />
| title = Fight Club<br />
| image = fight_club.png<br />
| titletext = I'm not saying it's all bad, but that movie has not aged as well as my teenage self in 2000 was confident it would.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
''{{w|Fight Club}}'' is a movie starring {{w|Brad Pitt}} and {{w|Edward Norton}} that was released in 1999, based on the novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. It included this oft-quoted and parodied line: "The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club." Randall twists this iconic line by asking, if you ever meet him in real life, "Do not talk about the movie ''Fight Club''."<br />
<br />
The movie has been fiercely debated by critics, primarily regarding whether it makes a sophisticated philosophical statement about society and consumerism or whether it is {{tvtropes|FightClubbing|just a movie with lots of fighting and mischief}}. Randall explains his position in the title text, claiming that he lies somewhere in-between and does not want to debate this issue with others.<br />
<br />
"This conversation is over" is also a line from the movie, in the scene where the Narrator (Edward Norton) is arguing with Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter) while Tyler (Brad Pitt) tells the Narrator what to say from the bottom of the basement stairs.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:Friend: But ''Fight Club'' isn't really about fighting. It's about the way society—<br />
:Cueball: Nope, don't wanna hear it.<br />
:Friend: But it says consumers are—<br />
:Cueball: This conversation is over.<br />
<br />
:The first rule of talking to me about movies is do ''NOT'' talk about Fight Club.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Fiction]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br />
[[Category:Fight Club]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1912:_Thermostat&diff=294044Talk:1912: Thermostat2022-09-03T05:55:39Z<p>162.158.166.125: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Maybe the the last sentence is about moses parting the sea so he can walk through it.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.221|162.158.91.221]] 05:55, 6 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
: I interpreted it that way. In computing, partitioning separates parts of a drive that are to be used for different purposes, so parallels might be drawn there. - [[User:Emmia|Emmia]] ([[User talk:Emmia|talk]]) 07:24, 6 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
: Not so sure about that. It's possible, I guess, but it's not obviously funny. I think it's more related to the title text about the helpline operative being afraid to upset whatever god of technology has cursed him with this unfathomable tech problem, and suggesting to him that the situation is so dire he may as well just end it all. (Obviously overreacting, as the failure of an IoT-enabled thermostat is definitely a First World Problem and not the horrendous event the characters are considering it to be.) 09:57, 6 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
:: I disagree. In isolated regions with cold weather, the failure of a heating system, whether induced by the failure of the furnace itself or the thermostat controlling it, is a significant concern. [[User:Justice210|Justice210]] ([[User talk:Justice210|talk]]) 20:31, 30 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I also thought about the "parting the sea" idea...consider that in the Old Testament, the gods of other cultures were spoken of as alive, and the Israelite God as directly challenging and defeating them (see the challenge issued to the Egyptian deities in Exodus). Perhaps, rather than helping Cueball himself, Hairy thinks that by invoking the Most High, Cueball might be able to defeat whatever technology god he has angered. Hence, Hairy suggests that Cueball try to play the role of Moses. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.76|172.68.34.76]] 16:11, 6 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
:No, just talking about abandoning hope and that Cueball should escape life. This use of walking into the sea is a commonly used result of giving up at life, a reaction to not wanting to deal with people, reality, etc. any more. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:37, 7 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
: I read it more as a comment along the lines of "if we've got to the point where we're making something as trivial as a thermostat this complicated then there's no hope for us and we may as well just end it all".[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 17:31, 7 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think there's additional humor to the extent of his boot problems. Monthly Energy Report (1).doc would be a normal document a smart thermostat may create. But if it became a boot volume it'd brick the device.{{unsigned|Comment Police}}<br />
<br />
: Maybe "Monthly Energy Report (1).doc" was meant to resemble a malware-laden email attachment. The "(1)" could indicate a name-collision-avoidance suffix of a downloaded file. [[User:Bob Stein - VisiBone|Bob Stein - VisiBone]] ([[User talk:Bob Stein - VisiBone|talk]]) 11:48, 6 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:'Monthly Energy Report.doc' might be a normal document a smart energy device might produce (can't see why it would be producing energy reports if all it is is a thermostat), but the '(1)' on the end suggests it's been unable to overwrite a previous report. or for some reason produced a copy of the original document.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 17:23, 7 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:When generating a report with a static filename every month, instead of using report names which include a variable such as 'Monthly report November 2017.doc', the generation will cause a naming collision the second time a report is run. Why there would be a process to guard against overwriting the previous report, or what the significance would be to know the device is 2 months old, I do not know. I guess, in real life, this could happen when the thermostat has this guard against filename collisions in place and characters such as ( are not properly escaped in the script used to update the bootloader. {{unsigned|Comment Police}}<br />
<br />
Possibly a reference to xkcd 327? Though it feels like a stretch. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.247|162.158.111.247]] 22:46, 8 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I believe Cueball has accidentally discovered that the thermostat—supposedly simple device—is actually doing surveillance on the house (and is poorly coded). Now the tech support guy is astounded by the fact that somebody has found out, but then promptly suggests suicide in a non-direct manner to clean up evidence, covering this is with religious explanation. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.244.24|172.68.244.24]] 06:37, 6 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
:I'm not sure about the surveillance. It seems to me that the .doc is somehow a record of power usage of the thermostat. However, it remains to be determined a. why it is running Android b. why it is mounting and booting a .doc c. how it got there [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.12|162.158.106.12]] 07:11, 6 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
:: The .doc file is the trojan that was installed on the device. It was supposed to look innocent, but actually contains an encoded sysroot with the real spyware. It's just also terribly written. Very genuinely Russian.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.106|162.158.202.106]] 21:46, 6 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I took it as a variation on this joke in HHG:<br />
: "Many were increasingly of the opinion that they'd all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans."<br />
:...Which in the BBC TV series was accompanied by visuals of Douglas Adams himself walking into the ocean. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.86.58|172.68.86.58]] 07:27, 6 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Might be a reference to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nest_learning_thermostat Nest Thermostat], which like Android is an Alphabet thing. While Nest doesn't run Android, its OS is Linux-based like Android. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.89|108.162.246.89]] 08:07, 6 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
While reading the title text my first thought was http://americangods.wikia.com/wiki/Technical_Boy [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:16, 6 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Not sure if "Android error screen" deserves emphasis in the explanation, as lately many very simple devices have Android, it shouldn't be surprising to find a thermostat running it. [[User:Fvalves|Fvalves]] ([[User talk:Fvalves|talk]]) 10:12, 6 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
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https://xkcd.com/349/ also mentions tech issues and the sea. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.78|141.101.107.78]] 10:36, 6 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
As a (former) network engineer for the largest IoT deployment at a major ISP, I can say with complete certainty that this is nothing. A hard reset (typically, holding the power and some other button down for 5+ seconds) will skip the attempt at local boot and go directly to a BOOTP wipe from the mothership, which should have that thermostat up and running the Russian military/mob's firmware in ten minutes tops. Soon your thermostat will be mining bitcoin and staging attacks on your local vital infrastructure like all the other thermostats, don't you worry. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.196|141.101.98.196]] 11:14, 6 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
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Should we make a category for this? It's becoming a recurring theme on xkcd. [[User:RamenChef|RamenChef]] ([[User talk:RamenChef|talk]]) 15:49, 6 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: Sounds like this may be referrng to recent news where some Google Pixel 2 owners received phones [https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/11/2/16599938/google-pixel-2-xl-operating-system-shipping-quality-control-issues without any operating system]. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 16:59, 6 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Refer to https://xkcd.com/801/ on using a complex OS for single purpose Hardware [[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.101|172.68.46.101]]<br />
<br />
Perhaps it's referring to the story of Jonah. In an effort to get Jonah to go back to where he was supposed to go, God sent a terrible storm that devastated the ship that Jonah was escaping on. In order to appease God, the crew had to throw Jonah into the sea, where he was subsequently swallowed up by a giant fish.<br />
<br />
"the extension .docx has been the default from Microsoft Office 2007 onwards and is generally favored over the preceding .doc extension."... No, not "favored", just that it's the default, and the default default, and most people don't know to change it, or how, or that they should. :) I've found docx more unstable, more buggy, and less readable (seeing as people who have the sense not to blindly downgrade through 2007 and 2010 and 365 won't natively be able to open it, and may have trouble with the file support extension). Actually, Randall's use of .doc here suggests to me he's one of us who are wise enough to stick with Office 2003, or at least stick with using .doc. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:37, 7 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Moreover, the adding of "(1)" to a filename, when asked to avoid overwriting with conflicts, is itself only a more modern implementation within the Windows family (possibly Vista onwards, but Win8 onwards more certainly), for what used to be a purely overwrite/do not overwrite decision of sorts, although it does also mirror one of many possible user-based method of versioning/forking that wouldn't be unknown...<br />
:(My reading of the comic, BTW, is that someone in the household has opened up the device to a very insecure remote access to grab data to convert into a personal record - and, for some reason, this was being done in .doc rather than .xls or something more usefully statistical - the document for this somehow then written onto the raw partition,perhaps having deleted everythibg else (i.e. the virtual boot partition file the device normally goes to, as part of the bootstrap) leaving that document there for the bootloader to go "well, this is the only file,it must be the partition!" in an overly flexible/helpful but ultimately misguided firmware-led booting process. But there's ''so'' much wrong with even this scenario that I'm with the tech support guy in dispair that it ever happened.)[[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.130|141.101.76.130]] 22:35, 7 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
:: Actually, the first I saw "(1)" was way back with Windows 95, sorry. Windows has been doing that for ages. Try right-clicking in Windows Explorer and creating a new file or folder in that way, then not changing the default name, then do it again. The second one's default name will have it. :) Whenever I copy files these days, if the same name exists in the destination, I get the option to Overwrite, Not Copy, or Copy But Keep Both Files, which results in the "(1)" method (I generally use Windows 7 at the moment).<br />
:: As for interpreting the comic, I've wavered between what you said, an attempt to capture a log has gone awry, and the conspiracy-theory-friendly part of my mind (despite not being much of a conspiracy kind of guy) thinking that this is an indication that someone has been trying to spy on Cueball through data from his thermometer, but they accidentally messed it up and revealed themselves. However, the prevailing theory for me is that this is simply another entry in the theme of "Cueball gets the weirdest tech problems", extending beyond the usual computer and programming problems, and extending beyond Megan (Ponytail? I forget...) having to deal with them. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:45, 24 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I strongly agree with the previous. My work in tech support has teched me that the worst clients are the ones who have "just a little bit adjusted" something causing the failure but when they contact the tech support they act as the failure had occured by itself and deny ever touching anything. This .doc file is clearly created by the caller who has downloaded data from the thermostat and then accidentally saved it to the thermostat. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.48|172.68.47.48]] 18:41, 11 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::It could also mean that the battery is at the end of its lifespan, being charged enough to prevent the low-battery safeties from tripping, but not providing enough voltage for proper bit-on/off separation (which can cause all sorts of messes normally prevented by aforementioned safeties). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.224|162.158.111.224]] 11:26, 19 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
I can't figure out if it's just a typo or if there's some meaning that "Have you tried walking into the sea." ends with a "." rather than a "?". The author isn't one to make grammatical errors, but I can't think of a clear interpretation - perhaps this is because, while worded as a question, it really only makes sense as a command - if Cueball had already tried walking into the sea, then he probably wouldn't be calling tech support now. That made me realize that we're hearing this from Cueball's perspective, so homonyms could be at play - for example, rather than referencing the "sea" Harry could be referring to the lower level programming language "C" (a predecessor to C++), which could be part of a larger explanation. [TH] [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.48|172.68.47.48]] 18:41, 11 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I took this to mean Cueball had been trying to hack his traditional thermostat, and poorly. He says the **little** LCD is giving him this **Android** recovery error. Almost no thermostats run Android and if they do they don't have little LCDs. So now tech support has to deal with his utter incompetence and tampering that's bricked his thermostat. Hence the telling him to go walk into the sea. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.72|162.158.186.72]] 22:22, 19 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
: It's Android because that makes the problem extra weird. I feel certain that this is just the latest in the ongoing theme of "Cueball gets the WEIRDEST tech problems". :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:45, 24 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I've deleted the trivia section, in both [[349: Success]] and [[1350: Lorenz]], the shark attack was caused by BSD. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 04:01, 3 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Why does the question have no question mark? To me it seems unnatural. {{unsigned ip|172.69.79.223}}<br />
:Why does the comment have no signature? And is this a rhetorical question? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.209|172.69.79.209]] 21:50, 6 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: I forgot to add one. No, this is not rhetorical, and this grammar issue is getting really on my nerves. Is this really a grammar issue of just a new addition to english. (?) --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.223|172.69.79.223]] 10:22, 7 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::It should have a question mark, but it's Randall's error. A Trivia section could be added that mentions the mistake--lots of articles in this wiki do mention the creator's errors. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 03:32, 9 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::I don't interpret it as an error - it reads as natural to me, as Harry asking a rhetorical question. [https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/12760/should-rhetorical-questions-end-with-a-period A quick google search] shows that ending rhetorical questions with periods is done sometimes, if not often. Whether or not it's "correct" grammar isn't really important, imho. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.125|162.158.166.125]] 05:55, 3 September 2022 (UTC)</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2666:_Universe_Price_Tiers&diff=2938892666: Universe Price Tiers2022-09-01T05:46:21Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2666<br />
| date = August 31, 2022<br />
| title = Universe Price Tiers<br />
| image = universe_price_tiers.png<br />
| titletext = In Universe Pro®™ the laws of physics remain unchanged under time reversal, to maintain backward compatibility.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a SOWN WIND - Explained the main point, more details needed. Please change this comment when editing the page . Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
Philosophers have posed many questions in trying to understand the nature of the universe. Some of these have become well-known in popular culture; while some are deliberately open-ended, several others are presented as a choice between two or more options, and are assumed to have a single answer, the debate being about which is correct. In this comic, Randall proposes that the answers to these questions are instead not fixed, but vary according to a tiered {{w|subscription business model}}, as seen in many business pricing schemes, particularly in software. In this model, the no-cost tier gets you a universe experience of a lower quality, while at higher tiers better options are available for a cost - for example in the highest tier the processes of aging and death are "Opt-in" rather than "Mandatory". It is not clear from the comic who is supposed to be paying these subscription fees, or whose experience of the universe is supposed to be affected.<br />
<br />
The universe does not have a subscription model,{{citation needed}} but on the chart some of the categories that refer to observable properties such as the speed limit or existence of the {{w|Uncertainty Principle}} indicate ours is the Universe Standard® subscription, but other specifications may not entirely match our user experience.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the concept of {{w|T-symmetry}} in physical laws. Most properties of our universe are asymmetric, meaning that the property changes if time is reversed (e.g. the entropy of the universe decreases as time flows backwards). Randall again makes a reference to software subscription models in a play on words as the Universe Pro®™ sub appears to have laws that maintain "backwards compatibility".<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! !! Universe Lite™ !! Universe Standard® !! Universe Pro®™!!Explanation<br />
|-<br />
! Price <br />
| Free || $14.95/month || $49.95/month || Indicative of a typical Freemium product, the versions released include what is effectively an 'unlimited trial' version, but lacking some potentially desired features, and then extra tiers with increased functionality so that you can "get what you pay for".<br />
|-<br />
! Ads<br />
| Yes || Yes || No || There are indeed ads in our own universe, but whether they are an intrinsic property of the universe or not is an open question.<br />
|-<br />
! Number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin<br />
| 4 || 64 || 4,096 || "{{w|How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?}}" is a question used to poke fun at medieval angelology and medieval scholasticism in general by claiming discussions in its fields revolve around meaningless questions. It is also used as a metaphor for wasting time debating useless questions, as it is generally accepted that we can have no definititive answer. Here, the question is given concrete answers that are powers of 2 often seen when using binary representation.<br />
|-<br />
! Free will or determinism <br />
| Determinism || Free will || Free will || Another predominantly philosophical issue, although physics (both Newtonian and Quantum) has not shied away from trying to answer this (see Does God Play Dice? below). It is interesting that the paid versions of the universe are the only ones to include free will, implying that either such a quality is inherently desirable or it is a necessary condition of some other feature in the paid plan (such as, for instance, the aforementioned dice-playing).<br />
|-<br />
! Cosmic speed limit <br />
| 65 mph || 300,000 km/s || Unlimited || The Cosmic speed limit refers to the {{w|speed of light}}, which rounds to 300,000 kilometers per second in our particular universe, one of the few definite clues as to which tier we might exist in. Living in a universe with such a low speed limit would render many aspects of experience unrecognizable from our own; assuming the speed of light and thus all relativistic effects were similarly scaled, the act of driving at highway speeds would result in human-observable time dilation and apparent spatial distortion. The idea of having a speed cap is reminiscent of computer simulations and game engines, which often prevent agents from accelerating beyond a certain point to prevent unintended behavior.<br />
|-<br />
! If a tree falls in a forest and there's no one there to hear... <br />
| No sound || Simple beep || Full sound || {{w|If a tree falls in a forest}} is a popular philosophical question whose answer depends largely on one's philosophical belief system and the interpretation of the question itself. Here it's suggested that there is a definite answer which differs depending on the quality of the universe subscription. On the assumption that "our" universe is on the Standard Plan, this table implies that all trees falling outside of the auditory range of anyone or anything capable of noticing it emit a simplified "beep" sound, rather than the complex crashing one would expect. Given loose enough assumptions, we cannot "prove" in a classical sense that this is not the case, and this may contribute to the humor of this entry.<br />
|-<br />
! Meaning of Life <br />
| Unknowable || Uncertain || Clearly explained || All we can know is that we (currently) don't know, which makes our universe one almost certainly either with an unknowable or uncertain state of affairs.{{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
! Sound of one hand clapping <br />
| [None] || [None] || ''Kazzap!'' || A {{w|Koan}} from Buddhism. Koans deliberately have no answer &mdash; one hand cannot clap, as the sound of two hands clapping relies upon there being two hands percussing and displacing/resonating air. The "Kazzap" referenced is humorous because it provides an answer to something with no answer, in the form of a nonsense onomatopoeia. To members of our universe, this is absurd. The implication is that those in the Pro version of the universe have access to this seemingly impossible feat.<br />
|-<br />
! Aging and death <br />
| Mandatory || Mandatory || Opt-in || If this is a mere option, we clearly haven't read (or understood) the online manual or perhaps read the tool-tips.<br />
|-<br />
! Does god play dice with the universe? <br />
| Yes, and he cheats || Yes || No || A reference to a phrase famously ascribed to Einstein (in opposition to the concept of quantum uncertainty) that "God does not play dice with the universe." This option and the Determinism/Free Will choice, above, are interestingly linked but not necessarily in a way we can comprehend.<br />
|-<br />
! Bad things... <br />
| Happen to good people only || Happen to good and bad people || Don't happen || Relates to whether there is justice, compassion or fairness in the universe, or perhaps if there specifically is not. In theological arguments, this detabe is intimately connected with theodicy (the "problem of evil"), but like the existence of free will it is hotly debated in non-theological contexts as well. <br />
|-<br />
! What happens to those who sow the wind <br />
| Reap the whirlwind || Reap the whirlwind || Lots of crops everywhere || <!-- A famous quote but I need to save before I research this further, and I'm likely to get an Edit Conflict if I take my time to do it and the other things I need to do to provide sufficient Wikilinks for my other additions... --> This is a reference to the famous phrase "sow the wind, reap the whirlwind", taken from Hosea 8:7. The phrase means that those who do evil without thought to the consequences will receive punishment. However, in Universe Pro®™, where nothing bad happens to anyone, acting rashly results in a tremendous crop yield.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! !! Universe Lite™ !! Universe Standard® !! Universe Pro®™<br />
|-<br />
! Price <br />
| Free || $14.95/month || $49.95/month<br />
|-<br />
! Ads<br />
| Yes || Yes || No<br />
|-<br />
! Number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin<br />
| 4 || 64 || 4,096<br />
|-<br />
! Free will or determinism <br />
| Determinism || Free will || Free will<br />
|-<br />
! Cosmic speed limit <br />
| 65mph || 300,000 km/s || Unlimited<br />
|-<br />
! If a tree falls in a forest and there's no one there to hear... <br />
| No sound || Simple beep || Full sound<br />
|-<br />
! Meaning of Life <br />
| Unknowable || Uncertain || Clearly explained<br />
|-<br />
! Sound of one hand clapping <br />
| [None] || [None] || ''Kazzap!''<br />
|-<br />
! Aging and death <br />
| Mandatory || Mandatory || Opt-in<br />
|-<br />
! Does god play dice with the universe? <br />
| Yes, and he cheats || Yes || No<br />
|-<br />
! Bad things... <br />
| Happen to good people only || Happen to good and bad people || Don't happen<br />
|-<br />
! What happens to those who sow the wind <br />
| Reap the whirlwind || Reap the whirlwind || Lots of crops everywhere<br />
|}<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Philosophy]]<br />
[[Category: Religion]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2658:_Coffee_Cup_Holes&diff=292759Talk:2658: Coffee Cup Holes2022-08-14T01:37:30Z<p>162.158.166.125: actual cn explanation</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
I was confused for a moment. That's a coffee ''mug''. And the correct answer is either one (the handle) or none (because below the macroscopic level (and above the theoretical sub-Planck scale of string-theory loops) it's increasingly not even mostly holes but very, very barely anything 'solid' jostling about in empty space giving no real impediment to any theoretical quantum-scale cheesewire without even being cut through). A coffee ''cup'' has no holes (regardless) if you don't count any form of sippy-lid it might have. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.13|172.70.85.13]] 22:25, 12 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Actually, the mug has two at the macro level (the hole that makes up the handle and the hole on the top). There could conceivably be more shallow holes inside the mug where the handle connects to the cup. At a plank-length level, the atoms could be viewed as holes in the vacuum bending space time around it.<br />
::You're not a topologist, certainly. And a ''hydrogen-nucleus'' is approximately 10^20 times the planck-length. The whole atom on the order of 10,000 times larger, and the constiuent quarks 'only' 1,000th, or so, smaller, with the differences being the space betweenn that anything that cares isn't going to consider much of an obstruction. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.155|172.70.162.155]] 23:43, 12 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
:There is no "hole" at the top - at best it count as an indention in the surface {{unsigned ip|172.70.211.134|23:38, 12 August 2022}}<br />
::Hole has multiple meanings. A hole in the ground doesn't have to go all the way through the Earth. The point of panel three is that we don't know what definition the question is using, which makes it impossible to answer correctly.[[User:Zzyzx|Zzyzx]] ([[User talk:Zzyzx|talk]]) 00:47, 13 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Do coffee “cups” not have handles wherever you are? Google image search shows white ceramic cups with rounded bottoms, wider than they are high, ''with round handles'' that a finger or two can pass through, on saucers; and that is indeed what I think of when I hear “coffee cup”. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_cup Wikipedia] shows similar examples in other colours and materials. In my understanding, it is entirely equivalent to a mug-with-a-handle topologically and has the same one hole. Oh, are you perhaps thinking of those cardboard cups you get from vending machines and cheap coffee shops? I wouldn’t call them “coffee cups” at all; just “paper cups”. [[User:Chortos-2|Chortos-2]] ([[User talk:Chortos-2|talk]]) 13:01, 13 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
::For my part, "wider than tall and rounded (or even very tapered)" is a cup (it cups the liquid), hence "teacup", and they mostly do have handles, whilst the shape held in the comic is a mug for being more a height-dominant cylinder (or close to it). Topologically the same, but distinct in fully-fleshed form (at least for those of either not morphologically distorted towards the other, a tall cup or a wide mug, say).<br />
::A "paper cup that coffee comes in" (or a similar re-usable "cup-for-life") that does not have a handle is, however, always a ''cup'' even if it's taller than wide, for reasons clearly more descriptivist than prescriptivist in origin. There are no "paper mugs", that I'm aware of; I know you have plastic cup-holding things that give you a (re-usable) handle to hold the thing that the cup sits in so that you don't have to grip a thin, fragile and ''very heated'' disposable/vendable cup skin-on-'skin', but that's a holder for a cup and it's still a cup that it holds.<br />
::I have no compunction in calling the comic's container a mug, based entirely upon its appearance, though obviously applying my own cultural/learnt distinctions to this. YMMV. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.171|172.69.79.171]] 19:08, 13 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Mug_and_Torus_morph.gif] [[Special:Contributions/172.70.179.4|172.70.179.4]] 23:54, 12 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
For something to be a hole, you need to consider what is capable of passing through the hole. For instance, a mesh screen might have no holes that my fingers can pass through, but it is full of holes for water or air to pass through. And while atoms might be mostly space, other atoms can't usually just pass through that space, although high-energy particles may. Also, the space can be considered filled with forces, which may act as barriers to certain things. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.171|172.70.130.171]] 00:36, 13 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Sure, for one definition of “hole.” That’s the whole point of the comic: there are multiple definitions, and no single definition is correct. [[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 01:01, 13 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is “cup” or “mug” better for the explanation? “Mug” is a better descriptor, but it’s described as “cup” in the comic, so that would be more faithful to what Randall intended. [[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 01:25, 13 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Linguist: Zero to Two... mostly. Given linguistic variation and local functional style the object being referred to may not have a closed handle, or any handle at all (Cup vs Mug), and the top may be considered a hole in the common usage. --- [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.34|172.69.71.34]] 01:33, 13 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Part of the joke is that all five methods don't discern between a cup and a mug, the original cliché being that topologists are unusual because they don't. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.134|172.70.211.134]] 03:06, 13 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Someone should mention that part of the joke is that when the topologist says it has one hole, they're referring to the hole in the handle, while in the next panel the "normal person" assumes the one hole they mentioned is the opening and questions its validity. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.51|108.162.241.51]] 03:25, 13 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
All frames except the first and last depict a mug; a topologist most definitely discerns between a a cup and a mug because they give different answers, the "normal" person is only questioning a specific feature, and the philosopher is clearly considering a mug. If it's part of the joke the only contrast is the question. Seems way too subtle for Mr Munroes normal style. probably just what he is used to calling it. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.69.208|172.69.69.208]] 07:04, 13 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
We have a lot of visual aids for topology in this comic, and none for the article about 2625: Field Topology. That seems backwards to me.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.39|172.69.22.39]] 22:47, 13 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
:That's a good point. Please find photos of the various sports fields and edit them to overlay brightly colored and contrastive lines showing where their holes are, link to them on the admin noticeboard, and I'm sure someone will upload and add them. I think they turned off uploads by IPs and new users to discourage troll vandals. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.119|172.69.22.119]] 01:07, 14 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
In the physicist paragraph, I put an Actual Citation Needed tag after "factorial of the number of particles in the universe" because, while I see what is being got at, with string theory of force mediation e.g. photons (and gravitons? or Higgs bosons?) it would be really nice to have a reference for that topic. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.125|162.158.166.125]] 01:37, 14 August 2022 (UTC)</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2658:_Coffee_Cup_Holes&diff=2927352658: Coffee Cup Holes2022-08-13T14:00:04Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */ links</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2658<br />
| date = August 12, 2022<br />
| title = Coffee Cup Holes<br />
| image = coffee_cup_holes.png<br />
| titletext = Theoretical physicist: At the Planck length, uncountably many.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a CAFFEINE MOLECULE WITH A HOLE DRILLED IN ITS SIDE. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic depicts people in different fields of study answering the question, "How many holes are there in a coffee cup?" This question can have multiple interpretations, in particular concerning the definition of a hole.<br />
<br />
[[File:Mug and Torus morph.gif|thumb|150px|The coffee mug and donut shown in this animation both have topological genus one.]]<br />
<br />
[[Ponytail]], a {{w|topology|topologist}}, states the coffee cup belongs in the {{w|Genus (mathematics)#Topology|genus}} of one hole. A common joke is that topologists can't tell the difference between a coffee cup and a donut since they're homeomorphic to each other — they have the same genus. From the topologist's point of view, the coffee cup definitely has one hole. See [[2625: Field Topology]] for more information about topology.<br />
<br />
[[Hairy]], a normal person, is not sure (the acronym "IDK" stands for "I don't know") and asks for clarification about whether the opening at the top counts as a hole. This shows flaws in the question, which suffers from the mathematically imprecise, ambiguous common usage of the word hole. Topologists would refer to the opening as a concavity, not a hole, and while they consider such geometrical properties generally outside their field, most practical applications of topology do involve geometrical components.{{cn}}<br />
<br />
[[File:Double torus illustration.png|thumb|left|150px|A genus two surface]]<br />
<br />
[[Hairbun]], a philosopher, answers the question with an elucidating counter-question, considering a hypothetical scenario. Drilling a new hole should increase the number of holes by one, and after the hole has been drilled, a common teacup or mug has two holes according to topologists. Since drilling a hole increases the number of holes by one{{cn}}, the philosopher's question requires the original questioner to reveal the answer to their own question.<br />
<br />
[[Image:Point cloud torus.gif|thumb|150px|A point cloud of a genus one surface]]<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]], a chemist, looks at the coffee in the cup on a molecular level, which means it has very many holes: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (10<sup>21</sup> or 1 sextillion) “in the [https://chemapps.stolaf.edu/jmol/jmol.php?model=CN1C%3DNC2%3DC1C%28%3DO%29N%28C%28%3DO%29N2C%29C caffeine] alone.” The implication is that there are more in the cup itself, depending on what material it’s made out of. Also, the coffee itself could have other holes, depending on the type of coffee. For example, espresso contains significant amounts of niacin and riboflavin, each of which has at least one hole in its chemical structure. However, this ignores the fact that bonds are not discrete sticks as portrayed in many molecular models. The "holes" in the middle of a caffeine molecule are not completely empty but instead merely have lower electron densities/probabilities. In a {{w|space-filling model}}, a caffeine molecule has zero holes. So the point-cloud duality of {{w|Bonding molecular orbital|electron orbitals and bonds}} might not satisfy a topologist's, normal person's, or philosopher's criteria for a connected substrate in which holes may be formed.<br />
<br />
[[Image:World lines and world sheet.svg|left|thumb|150px|{{w|String theory}} describes the {{w|worldline}}s of point-like particles as {{w|worldsheet}}s of "closed strings," forming topological holes.]]<br />
<br />
In the title text, a theoretical physicist looks even deeper, at the subatomic scale of {{w|Planck units}}. Since fundamental particle interaction is governed by fundamental forces and collision (per the {{w|Pauli exclusion principle}}) instead of tensile or ductile solid connectedness, the theoretical physicist posits that any definition providing for a single hole would also describe a number of holes akin to the factorial of the number of particles in the universe, or at least within the cup's {{w|light cone}}, which is a number impractical to accurately count, but not uncountable in a mathematical sense.<br />
<br />
Part of the joke could be that all five methods of inquiry don't discern between a {{w|cup}} (as described) and a {{w|mug}} (as depicted), the cliché being that topologists are unusual because they don't. Or, as many people use the terms interchangeably, [[Randall]] may too.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[The first panel has text only. The "Q:" below is a large letter Q representing a question, not a character name.]<br />
:Q:<br />
:How many holes are there in a coffee cup?<br />
<br />
:[Each of the next four panels has a caption at the top to indicate the kind of person answering the question.]<br />
:Caption: Topologist<br />
:[Ponytail stands holding a coffee mug.]<br />
:Ponytail: One.<br />
<br />
:Caption: Normal person<br />
:[Hairy stands to the right of Ponytail, holding a coffee mug at an angle to look into it.]<br />
:Hairy: IDK, does the opening count as a hole?<br />
<br />
:Caption: Philosopher<br />
:[Hairbun is shown in closeup, with two drawings of coffee mugs to her left.]<br />
:Hairbun: To answer that question, consider another: If we drill a hole in the side, how many holes are there now?<br />
<br />
:Caption: Chemist<br />
:[Cueball stands with a drawing of a caffeine molecule above him and to the right.]<br />
:Cueball: 10<sup>21</sup> in the caffeine alone<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category:Food]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Philosophy]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:Dgbrt&diff=228178User:Dgbrt2022-03-09T07:43:50Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* I'm not a native English speaker */ wow i am learning so much about my own language just by making these minor edits. thanks :D</p>
<hr />
<div>Hello, I am a big xkcd fan.<br />
<br />
On every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, when the next comic is published, my bot [[User: DgbrtBOT|dgbrtBOT]] tries to create all the necessary pages here.<br />
<br />
Since the major server updates in May 2018 I'm an Administrator here. As an IT professional I really know how this stuff works.<br />
<br />
After a few tests and always reading some useless error messages I've debugged the source code of the Math extension. In general it's simple but the error messages didn't help - especially when searching them at Google. But a brief understanding how this software works brought me to this solution:<br />
:<math>P_{MathDoesWork} = 100%</math> or this one <math>\sum_{n=0}^N</math> (''N'' is the number of what???)<br />
The mathematical formula is rendered to a PNG picture. There are more possibilities, this is just the simplest way and compatible to the vast majority of all browsers.<br />
<br />
<br />
====My introduction as xkcd fan====<br />
My random list of favourite Comics by Randall: [[Combination Vision Test]], [[Up Goer Five]] and of course that tiny rover [[Spirit]] never coming home.<br />
<br />
====I'm ''not'' a native English speaker====<br />
...and I don't like "typos". So much THANKS for helping on this issue or even more importantly: Wrong grammar <-I don't like these errors I don't see.<br />
<br />
As a German native speaker I had to learn something like "Oxford English" in school, and I hated it. My knowledge about the (American, British, more...) English language mostly belongs to later experiences. International contacts, science (especially physics), programming (Randall does not know how funny IBM's translations for German are - "Copy from to" becomes "Copy until") in German, '''''AND''''' the main language on the Internet is, of course, English.<br />
<br />
Also I was even bad at the German language sessions in school. But that's just another story.<br />
<br />
I'm happy about corrections to my typos and grammar, but on essential content I will discuss.<br />
<br />
Thanks to [[User: Spongebog|Spongebob]] for some smaller edits on this page. I'm still learning English...<br /><br />
Thanks to [[User: Spongebog|Spongebob]] again for fixing a really damn typo...</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:Dgbrt&diff=228177User:Dgbrt2022-03-09T07:42:46Z<p>162.158.166.125: :D</p>
<hr />
<div>Hello, I am a big xkcd fan.<br />
<br />
On every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, when the next comic is published, my bot [[User: DgbrtBOT|dgbrtBOT]] tries to create all the necessary pages here.<br />
<br />
Since the major server updates in May 2018 I'm an Administrator here. As an IT professional I really know how this stuff works.<br />
<br />
After a few tests and always reading some useless error messages I've debugged the source code of the Math extension. In general it's simple but the error messages didn't help - especially when searching them at Google. But a brief understanding how this software works brought me to this solution:<br />
:<math>P_{MathDoesWork} = 100%</math> or this one <math>\sum_{n=0}^N</math> (''N'' is the number of what???)<br />
The mathematical formula is rendered to a PNG picture. There are more possibilities, this is just the simplest way and compatible to the vast majority of all browsers.<br />
<br />
<br />
====My introduction as xkcd fan====<br />
My random list of favourite Comics by Randall: [[Combination Vision Test]], [[Up Goer Five]] and of course that tiny rover [[Spirit]] never coming home.<br />
<br />
====I'm ''not'' a native English speaker====<br />
...and I don't like "typos". So much THANKS for helping on this issue or even more importantly: Wrong grammar <-I don't like these errors I don't see.<br />
<br />
As a German native speaker I had to learn something like "Oxford English" in school, and I hated it. My knowledge about the (American, British, more...) English language mostly belongs to later experiences. International contacts, science (especially physics), programming (Randall does not know how funny IBM's translations for German are - "Copy from to" becomes "Copy until") in German, '''''AND''''' the main language on the Internet is, of course, English.<br />
<br />
Also I was even bad at the German language sessions at school. But that's just another story.<br />
<br />
I'm happy about corrections to my typos and grammar, but on essential content I will discuss.<br />
<br />
Thanks to [[User: Spongebog|Spongebob]] for some smaller edits on this page. I'm still learning English...<br /><br />
Thanks to [[User: Spongebog|Spongebob]] again for fixing a really damn typo...</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2582:_Data_Trap&diff=2271962582: Data Trap2022-02-18T00:58:53Z<p>162.158.166.125: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2582<br />
| date = February 16, 2022<br />
| title = Data Trap<br />
| image = data_trap.png<br />
| titletext = It's important to make sure your analysis destroys as much information as it produces.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a SURPLUS DATA-CREATING BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] wants to analyze a "bunch" of {{w|data}} that he has, likely from a survey or study. [[Megan]] warns him against doing {{w|Data analysis|analysis}} because analysis produces more data — specifically, {{w|Metadata|data ''about'' the data}}. This is implied to be a bad thing, as in, having "too much" data is undesirable &mdash; perhaps he will be expected to analyze the metadata, then analyze the metadata created by the metadata, and so on. However, data generated from analysis may provide useful insights about the original data set, e.g. finding {{w|Correlation|trends or correlations}} between data points. Avoiding the analysis or deleting its data could deprive the analyzer of useful information. And, in the case that the analysis is flawed or impossible, there is little danger in disposing of any resulting reports.{{citation needed}}<br />
<br />
The title text proposes an alternate solution: it is important that the method chosen to analyze the data destroys as much information as it created, thus keeping the total amount of data constant. This expands on the concept of not having a surplus of data, suggesting that any analysis should destroy as much data as it produces. This would make data constant in quantity or in an equilibrium; of course, data doesn't actually have this limitation{{Citation needed}}, and the user can create as much data as is needed or desired.<br />
<br />
In the quantum world {{w|information}} can neither be destroyed or created; see the {{w|no-hiding theorem}}, for instance.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is sitting in an office chair at his desk, hands on his knees, looking at his laptop. Megan stands behind him, with her arms raised to the sides and above her head.]<br />
:Cueball: Hey, look, we have a bunch of data! I'm gonna analyze it.<br />
:Megan: No, you fool! '''''That will only create more data!'''''<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Statistics]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2217:_53_Cards&diff=181782Talk:2217: 53 Cards2019-10-26T19:25:43Z<p>162.158.166.125: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
"This page was last edited [tomorrow]." Okay, good to know. Tomorrow starts three hours from now, my time. This comic reminded me of this article: https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/10/corkscrewing-bouncy-ion-drive-would-provide-thrust-in-different-universe/ [[Special:Contributions/172.68.38.88|172.68.38.88]] 00:44, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I can do this, but my flowchart would be different and involve secretly inserting a joker, using the shuffling as cover for the move. <br />
Collect a deck of 52 cards and have a spectator count the cards. - Secretly hide a joker from the deck in your off-hand (the one without the deck). - Shuffle the cards, letting the hidden card drop on top of the deck. - Keep shuffling, so the inserted joker is well mixed into the deck. - Have a spectator count the cards, looking only at the backs. - 53.<br />
[[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 04:56, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Actually this is also what encryption scientists have to face talking to not so few encryption enthusiasts who just invented their own encryption method[[Special:Contributions/162.158.234.112|162.158.234.112]] 07:01, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Ohg V unir na haornnoyr pvcure! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.253|162.158.158.253]] 13:52, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:: Shouldn't that be Ohg V unir na haorn'''g'''noyr pvcure! I'm pretty sure that a character got lost.[[User:Jtoebes|Jtoebes]] ([[User talk:Jtoebes|talk]]) 01:47, 26 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:The difference is that those "own excryption methods" usually work ... not well, but at least little. Now, the algorithms which claim to compress ANY input to smaller size, those tend to be suspicious ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:15, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Wait, isn't perpetual motion (w.r.t. a inertial reference frame) possible, at least according to Newtonian mechanics? Just launch something into space at high enough speed and "watch" it wander away forever. Extracting (an unbounded amount of) energy from that object is a totally different story... --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.234.94|162.158.234.94]] 10:11, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Not really, as even in vacuums particles randomly come into existence. Eventually enough would be in the path to slow it to a stop. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.151|162.158.62.151]] 17:37, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Not in Newtonian mechanics. Those random particles are result of quantum physics - and in quantum physics, EVERYTHING is possible, just unlikely (there is extremely small but nonzero probability that all particles in macroscopic object would exhibit tunneling effect moving them in same direction, for example). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:15, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::Even in Newtonian mechanics, the energy would be sapped from the object eventually. Space isn't completely empty. The object will occasionally hit particles that will alter its kinetic energy. Also, as it encounters gravitational fields, there will be stresses and strains in the material of the object and the objects creating the gravitational fields. As an example, think of the Earth rotating in space. It's actually slowing down because of the tidal effect caused by the Moon. Some of the rotational energy is being imparted to the Moon, but some of it is let as heat through friction from the movement of tides. [[User:Jeremyp|Jeremyp]] ([[User talk:Jeremyp|talk]]) 13:39, 22 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Vacuum fluctuation (particles), i.e. quantum weirdness, cannot cause trouble. This is because all working QFT, where these vacuum fluctuations appear, take as assumption the strict local conservation of energy-momentum 4-vector, which is the generalisation of what our OP is asking about. This is a fundamental backbone of all modern physics, not just Newtonian mechanics, and the only known violation is in cosmology. Needless to say, when we talk about perpetual motion machines, we have to start by omitting this trivial class. That is, we do not call systems that achieve perpetual motion by exploiting the conservation of linear or angular momentum alone, as perpetual motion machines. Some machines of that form that convert the energy and momentum from one part to the other could be a perpetual motion machine, because in those cases it is possible for the efficiency of conversion to be imperfect, in which case it will always practically be imperfect, leading to the eventual failure. Luckily, on Earth and in practice, there is no need to be careful, because even the linear or angular momentum special case, would be interacting with air---the best vacuum we can get, are still not perfect; it is not perfect even in actual space outside Earth. It just doesn't exist anywhere. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.118|162.158.165.118]] 20:49, 21 October 2019 (UTC) <br />
::Uhhh, and what about ''Ptolemaic'' Mechanics? SOMETHING is keeping the spheres rotating. Seems Randall hasn't really thought this comic through. Someone should challenge him to prove that his comic is true in all idealistic conceptions of the real world. (Please sign off, and make edits separate from others'.)<br />
:::This was a reply to earlier comments. Randall's comic stands funny as-is. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.125|162.158.166.125]] 19:25, 26 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Getting a 53 card deck from a 52 card deck is easy. First, cut the deck twice. Then, shuffle all parts together; be sure to suffer thoroughly. Finally, take off the top 5 cards, sneak in the Joker on the bottom while nobody's looking, and put the five cards at the "middle". Because of skewed philosophy, you will have gotten a 53 card deck![[Special:Contributions/162.158.122.186|162.158.122.186]]<br />
<br />
“The amount of energy necessary to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.” -Alberto Brandolini [[User:Menoshe|Menoshe]] ([[User talk:Menoshe|talk]]) 22:03, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Note that while it shouldn't be possible to obtain energy from nowhere, there ARE methods which makes hard to find where the energy comes from, and some may be useful (say, perhaps as a new kind of battery?). Also, anything involving not-completely-understood phenomena, like black hole for example, might actually generate energy from source we don't know about yet (parallel universe or something like that). Meanwhile, lot of theoretical designs of perpetual motion machines without working prototype only contain steps which can't possibly get energy anywhere and are completely useless ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:15, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
: Black hole physics are one of the best understood. No part of understanding them requires parallel universes. The thing that is really a headache in General Theory of Relativity is that we still do not have a good, localised, way to express the energy stored in the gravitational field. Landau-Lifshitz pseudo-tensor is proved to be unique given the assumptions, but starts with a subtraction of the matter stress-energy tensor, and violates precisely this comic---it says that some gravitational wave situations don't carry away energy, when in fact we know those have to carry away energy. Better defined notions, like ADM energy, are global energy, not localised energy, so that we do not know what they mean, practically. However, even though we are still not fully understanding what mathematical quantity would correctly map to gravitational field energy in the theory, we still do know that it has to be gravitational field energy, and that it has nothing to do with parallel universes. Just to hammer down the singular mistake in your nice comment. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.118|162.158.165.118]] 21:01, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
In the picture it seems that he cuts the cards into a pile of 21 cards and 38 cards (thus making 59 cards) I'm sure that helps his argument (or he can't count.<br />
: Yeah, I noticed that mismatch too!<br/>Actually, I interpreted the "cut" as referring to that one old trick where rectangular objects (usually banknotes) would be cut in half and then rearranged with small pieces missing, making one more object than there used to be. This of course would not be a case of "rearranging and shuffling".<br/>(If you're wondering why this doesn't work for ''actual'' banknotes, that's because the existence of serial numbers makes this trick far harder, and the ''repeated'' serial numbers on most modern notes make it effectively impossible. But back in the 19th century this actually used to be a problem.) --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.33|172.69.54.33]] 19:26, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Perpetual motion is so easy that we've already done it. The universe isn't going to stop expanding anytime soon, afterall. Also, Voyager (and some other space probes). Everything is perpetual motion in space at solar escape velocity until/unless it hits something. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 18:35, 20 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
: This case is by definition excluded from the discussion of perpetual motion. See above for my longer version on it. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.118|162.158.165.118]] 21:03, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
You can always rearrange the matter making up the 52 cards, into 53 smaller cards. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.17|108.162.212.17]] 19:21, 20 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It's easy to prove, using the Banach-Tarski theorem [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 12:39, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:If you show me how to dissolve the cards into subatomar theoretical dots by shuffling, I agree. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 13:36, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Sigh... I really don't like having to keep challenging Kynde, who I believe is a well-intentioned contributor... but as soon as I saw the rewritten explanation with confusing phrasing and broken English, I knew that it was him who did it, and honestly... it just makes the article worse. It's harder to read and comprehend, contains irrelevancies, and swings between explanatory points incoherently. It was, honestly, okay as it was (specifically [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2217:_53_Cards&oldid=181494 this version]). I don't really know what to do about it. I'm of the "be bold in making edits" school of wiki-ing, but I don't want to just flush away other people's well-meant contributions. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 15:01, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, plenty of physicists make the same mistake, losing sight of the fact that math is only a model that must conform to reality, a-la Zeno's Paradox. That's how you end up with silly claims of "if you can [go faster than light] [travel through a wormhole between two distant points in an expanding universe] you'll go backward in time". Or how about the pseudoscience of explaining failed models by assuming that there must be "dark" matter or energy, instead of acknowledging that the model, itself, must be fundamentally wrong the way an actual scientist would. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 16:53, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
: What are the chances that the global scientific community, who are setup to attack each other to win funding, would require outsiders to tell them that dark matter and dark energy are indications that their models are "fundamentally wrong"? It just goes to show how rarely you talk to scientists. Cosmologists are always apologising for not knowing what dark energy is, treating them only as the cosmological constant (other alternatives are always explored, but none offer significant improvements upon cosmological constant simplicity). But the dark matter situation already merit a few observational wins, and are starting to look more and more like postulating neutrinos, which is a winning precedent. For two examples, firstly, we have observed localised dark matter causing gravitational lensing. Secondly, we see some galaxy collisions that have dark matter in the wrong place due to the collisions. These evidences are enough to convince most astrophysicists that the basic picture seems correct. Other than this, you should also work on understanding more about how theory and experiment interact in physics, before commenting more upon the matter. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.118|162.158.165.118]] 21:17, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
::You fail to understand: Even if something eventually turned up that they could claim is the equivalent of dark energy or matter, it would be an accident, and change nothing about how anti-scientific they had been. The methodology they use is not only wrong, but essentially identical to that used by advocates of the geocentric model when prosecuting Galileo. Dark matter and energy are epicycles and deferents, ridiculous tweaks to models that fail to naturally match observation. Any model that can't hold up to the simplest, barely-scientific benchmark of simply matching observation naturally is a failure. Any adjustments made are a departure from its fundamental premises. At that point it might as well be astrologers tweaking star sign analyses. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 01:26, 22 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::Well, do ''you'' have a model that matches reality better than what we have? Please enlighten us. Even the geocentric model matched observations and was regarded as ok for a few centuries until we got a better model. Since we don't have a better model, we should try to find evidence or otherwise for the model/s we currently have. {{unsigned ip|162.158.158.213}}<br />
<br />
Well, since it's a non-closed system that is receiving energy... and matter is just solidified energy... :) I'm going to say that Cueball is right so long as his flowchart also contains a StarTrek replicator somewhere. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.90.64|172.68.90.64]] 20:08, 21 October 2019 (UTC)SiliconWolf<br />
<br />
Where's the Banach–Tarski reference! There should totally be an earth-shattering Banach–Tarski reference. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.58.219|162.158.58.219]] 21:36, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
: I agree. Reading this comic led me to google for Banach-Tarski, even if it wasn't mentioned by name. <span style="color:green;">Saibot84</span> 03:25, 23 October 2019 (UTC) {{unsigned|Saibot84}}<br />
<br />
Agreed: There should totally be some sort of Axiom of Choice joke here as well. {{unsigned ip|172.68.70.34}}<br />
<br />
See also Sam Loyd's "Get Off The Earth" puzzle (and similar illusions where shifting pieces of a larger picture changes the number of objects by redistributing pieces of each one). {{unsigned|SteveMB}}<br />
<br />
Something, something, infinite chocolate {{unsigned ip|162.158.166.109}}</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2217:_53_Cards&diff=181781Talk:2217: 53 Cards2019-10-26T19:25:00Z<p>162.158.166.125: Someone's comment merged into mine.</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
"This page was last edited [tomorrow]." Okay, good to know. Tomorrow starts three hours from now, my time. This comic reminded me of this article: https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/10/corkscrewing-bouncy-ion-drive-would-provide-thrust-in-different-universe/ [[Special:Contributions/172.68.38.88|172.68.38.88]] 00:44, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I can do this, but my flowchart would be different and involve secretly inserting a joker, using the shuffling as cover for the move. <br />
Collect a deck of 52 cards and have a spectator count the cards. - Secretly hide a joker from the deck in your off-hand (the one without the deck). - Shuffle the cards, letting the hidden card drop on top of the deck. - Keep shuffling, so the inserted joker is well mixed into the deck. - Have a spectator count the cards, looking only at the backs. - 53.<br />
[[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 04:56, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Actually this is also what encryption scientists have to face talking to not so few encryption enthusiasts who just invented their own encryption method[[Special:Contributions/162.158.234.112|162.158.234.112]] 07:01, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Ohg V unir na haornnoyr pvcure! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.253|162.158.158.253]] 13:52, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:: Shouldn't that be Ohg V unir na haorn'''g'''noyr pvcure! I'm pretty sure that a character got lost.[[User:Jtoebes|Jtoebes]] ([[User talk:Jtoebes|talk]]) 01:47, 26 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:The difference is that those "own excryption methods" usually work ... not well, but at least little. Now, the algorithms which claim to compress ANY input to smaller size, those tend to be suspicious ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:15, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Wait, isn't perpetual motion (w.r.t. a inertial reference frame) possible, at least according to Newtonian mechanics? Just launch something into space at high enough speed and "watch" it wander away forever. Extracting (an unbounded amount of) energy from that object is a totally different story... --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.234.94|162.158.234.94]] 10:11, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Not really, as even in vacuums particles randomly come into existence. Eventually enough would be in the path to slow it to a stop. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.151|162.158.62.151]] 17:37, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Not in Newtonian mechanics. Those random particles are result of quantum physics - and in quantum physics, EVERYTHING is possible, just unlikely (there is extremely small but nonzero probability that all particles in macroscopic object would exhibit tunneling effect moving them in same direction, for example). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:15, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::Even in Newtonian mechanics, the energy would be sapped from the object eventually. Space isn't completely empty. The object will occasionally hit particles that will alter its kinetic energy. Also, as it encounters gravitational fields, there will be stresses and strains in the material of the object and the objects creating the gravitational fields. As an example, think of the Earth rotating in space. It's actually slowing down because of the tidal effect caused by the Moon. Some of the rotational energy is being imparted to the Moon, but some of it is let as heat through friction from the movement of tides. [[User:Jeremyp|Jeremyp]] ([[User talk:Jeremyp|talk]]) 13:39, 22 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Vacuum fluctuation (particles), i.e. quantum weirdness, cannot cause trouble. This is because all working QFT, where these vacuum fluctuations appear, take as assumption the strict local conservation of energy-momentum 4-vector, which is the generalisation of what our OP is asking about. This is a fundamental backbone of all modern physics, not just Newtonian mechanics, and the only known violation is in cosmology. Needless to say, when we talk about perpetual motion machines, we have to start by omitting this trivial class. That is, we do not call systems that achieve perpetual motion by exploiting the conservation of linear or angular momentum alone, as perpetual motion machines. Some machines of that form that convert the energy and momentum from one part to the other could be a perpetual motion machine, because in those cases it is possible for the efficiency of conversion to be imperfect, in which case it will always practically be imperfect, leading to the eventual failure. Luckily, on Earth and in practice, there is no need to be careful, because even the linear or angular momentum special case, would be interacting with air---the best vacuum we can get, are still not perfect; it is not perfect even in actual space outside Earth. It just doesn't exist anywhere. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.118|162.158.165.118]] 20:49, 21 October 2019 (UTC) <br />
::Uhhh, and what about ''Ptolemaic'' Mechanics? SOMETHING is keeping the spheres rotating. Seems Randall hasn't really thought this comic through. Someone should challenge him to prove that his comic is true in all idealistic conceptions of the real world. (Please sign off, and make edits separate from others'.)<br />
:::This was a reply to earlier comments. Randall's comic stands funny as-is. <br />
<br />
Getting a 53 card deck from a 52 card deck is easy. First, cut the deck twice. Then, shuffle all parts together; be sure to suffer thoroughly. Finally, take off the top 5 cards, sneak in the Joker on the bottom while nobody's looking, and put the five cards at the "middle". Because of skewed philosophy, you will have gotten a 53 card deck![[Special:Contributions/162.158.122.186|162.158.122.186]]<br />
<br />
“The amount of energy necessary to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.” -Alberto Brandolini [[User:Menoshe|Menoshe]] ([[User talk:Menoshe|talk]]) 22:03, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Note that while it shouldn't be possible to obtain energy from nowhere, there ARE methods which makes hard to find where the energy comes from, and some may be useful (say, perhaps as a new kind of battery?). Also, anything involving not-completely-understood phenomena, like black hole for example, might actually generate energy from source we don't know about yet (parallel universe or something like that). Meanwhile, lot of theoretical designs of perpetual motion machines without working prototype only contain steps which can't possibly get energy anywhere and are completely useless ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:15, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
: Black hole physics are one of the best understood. No part of understanding them requires parallel universes. The thing that is really a headache in General Theory of Relativity is that we still do not have a good, localised, way to express the energy stored in the gravitational field. Landau-Lifshitz pseudo-tensor is proved to be unique given the assumptions, but starts with a subtraction of the matter stress-energy tensor, and violates precisely this comic---it says that some gravitational wave situations don't carry away energy, when in fact we know those have to carry away energy. Better defined notions, like ADM energy, are global energy, not localised energy, so that we do not know what they mean, practically. However, even though we are still not fully understanding what mathematical quantity would correctly map to gravitational field energy in the theory, we still do know that it has to be gravitational field energy, and that it has nothing to do with parallel universes. Just to hammer down the singular mistake in your nice comment. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.118|162.158.165.118]] 21:01, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
In the picture it seems that he cuts the cards into a pile of 21 cards and 38 cards (thus making 59 cards) I'm sure that helps his argument (or he can't count.<br />
: Yeah, I noticed that mismatch too!<br/>Actually, I interpreted the "cut" as referring to that one old trick where rectangular objects (usually banknotes) would be cut in half and then rearranged with small pieces missing, making one more object than there used to be. This of course would not be a case of "rearranging and shuffling".<br/>(If you're wondering why this doesn't work for ''actual'' banknotes, that's because the existence of serial numbers makes this trick far harder, and the ''repeated'' serial numbers on most modern notes make it effectively impossible. But back in the 19th century this actually used to be a problem.) --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.33|172.69.54.33]] 19:26, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Perpetual motion is so easy that we've already done it. The universe isn't going to stop expanding anytime soon, afterall. Also, Voyager (and some other space probes). Everything is perpetual motion in space at solar escape velocity until/unless it hits something. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 18:35, 20 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
: This case is by definition excluded from the discussion of perpetual motion. See above for my longer version on it. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.118|162.158.165.118]] 21:03, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
You can always rearrange the matter making up the 52 cards, into 53 smaller cards. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.17|108.162.212.17]] 19:21, 20 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It's easy to prove, using the Banach-Tarski theorem [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 12:39, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:If you show me how to dissolve the cards into subatomar theoretical dots by shuffling, I agree. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 13:36, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Sigh... I really don't like having to keep challenging Kynde, who I believe is a well-intentioned contributor... but as soon as I saw the rewritten explanation with confusing phrasing and broken English, I knew that it was him who did it, and honestly... it just makes the article worse. It's harder to read and comprehend, contains irrelevancies, and swings between explanatory points incoherently. It was, honestly, okay as it was (specifically [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2217:_53_Cards&oldid=181494 this version]). I don't really know what to do about it. I'm of the "be bold in making edits" school of wiki-ing, but I don't want to just flush away other people's well-meant contributions. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 15:01, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
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Unfortunately, plenty of physicists make the same mistake, losing sight of the fact that math is only a model that must conform to reality, a-la Zeno's Paradox. That's how you end up with silly claims of "if you can [go faster than light] [travel through a wormhole between two distant points in an expanding universe] you'll go backward in time". Or how about the pseudoscience of explaining failed models by assuming that there must be "dark" matter or energy, instead of acknowledging that the model, itself, must be fundamentally wrong the way an actual scientist would. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 16:53, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
: What are the chances that the global scientific community, who are setup to attack each other to win funding, would require outsiders to tell them that dark matter and dark energy are indications that their models are "fundamentally wrong"? It just goes to show how rarely you talk to scientists. Cosmologists are always apologising for not knowing what dark energy is, treating them only as the cosmological constant (other alternatives are always explored, but none offer significant improvements upon cosmological constant simplicity). But the dark matter situation already merit a few observational wins, and are starting to look more and more like postulating neutrinos, which is a winning precedent. For two examples, firstly, we have observed localised dark matter causing gravitational lensing. Secondly, we see some galaxy collisions that have dark matter in the wrong place due to the collisions. These evidences are enough to convince most astrophysicists that the basic picture seems correct. Other than this, you should also work on understanding more about how theory and experiment interact in physics, before commenting more upon the matter. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.118|162.158.165.118]] 21:17, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
::You fail to understand: Even if something eventually turned up that they could claim is the equivalent of dark energy or matter, it would be an accident, and change nothing about how anti-scientific they had been. The methodology they use is not only wrong, but essentially identical to that used by advocates of the geocentric model when prosecuting Galileo. Dark matter and energy are epicycles and deferents, ridiculous tweaks to models that fail to naturally match observation. Any model that can't hold up to the simplest, barely-scientific benchmark of simply matching observation naturally is a failure. Any adjustments made are a departure from its fundamental premises. At that point it might as well be astrologers tweaking star sign analyses. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 01:26, 22 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::Well, do ''you'' have a model that matches reality better than what we have? Please enlighten us. Even the geocentric model matched observations and was regarded as ok for a few centuries until we got a better model. Since we don't have a better model, we should try to find evidence or otherwise for the model/s we currently have. {{unsigned ip|162.158.158.213}}<br />
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Well, since it's a non-closed system that is receiving energy... and matter is just solidified energy... :) I'm going to say that Cueball is right so long as his flowchart also contains a StarTrek replicator somewhere. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.90.64|172.68.90.64]] 20:08, 21 October 2019 (UTC)SiliconWolf<br />
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Where's the Banach–Tarski reference! There should totally be an earth-shattering Banach–Tarski reference. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.58.219|162.158.58.219]] 21:36, 21 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
: I agree. Reading this comic led me to google for Banach-Tarski, even if it wasn't mentioned by name. <span style="color:green;">Saibot84</span> 03:25, 23 October 2019 (UTC) {{unsigned|Saibot84}}<br />
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Agreed: There should totally be some sort of Axiom of Choice joke here as well. {{unsigned ip|172.68.70.34}}<br />
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See also Sam Loyd's "Get Off The Earth" puzzle (and similar illusions where shifting pieces of a larger picture changes the number of objects by redistributing pieces of each one). {{unsigned|SteveMB}}<br />
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Something, something, infinite chocolate {{unsigned ip|162.158.166.109}}</div>162.158.166.125https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2189:_Old_Game_Worlds&diff=180838Talk:2189: Old Game Worlds2019-10-04T11:06:06Z<p>162.158.166.125: yahoo</p>
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;Older games<br />
Quote from explanation: "Some readers might wonder why there's no mention of even older games like Space Invaders (1978) and Pac-Man (1980), but these games were so abstracted, so pixelated; that there's never an expectation that anything in them would age or deteriorate. Likewise with older text games like the Zork series (1977–79) or their predecessor, Colossal Cave (1976–77). So they are sadly ignored on the timeline of games."<br />
*Nope, sorry, I completely disagree with this. Pacman always felt like a real world to me. Imagine a night club in the afternoon, cleaners mopping, a couple of ghosts sleeping in the corner, sick on a wall, another wall crumbled, muzak playing, the threadworn patterned carpet now visable, pellets scattered, a uniformed teen carefully placing new shiny pellets, another uniformed teen sneaking up on the sleeping ghosts with a net. Space Invaders: the aliens have gone, people have built house out of the ruins of the bunkers, the laser is crashed in a field missing vital parts, cows mill around eating the grass, a guy with an end-is-nigh sign babbles incessantly about aliens coming. Meanwhile Zork and Colossal Cave would also be perfect for this scenario - being text the only limit on then is the imagination of the author (and memory space etc, but shhh). Personally I feel the list just represents some of Randall's favourite games - he was born in 1984 so these games here are ''before his time'' and not really games he would gravitate towards when making a list of just '''13''' games. [[User:A74xhx|A74xhx]] ([[User talk:A74xhx|talk]]) 07:08, 14 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Yes, it is easy, with a bit of imagination (and at time of publishing of the games, limiting alternative experiences in video games), to really dive in deeply. But it wouldn't make a good comic, to do these "modern" adaptions to the simple layout of the actual user interface of e.g. pacman. Nevertheless i am not sure if that actually belongs to the explanation, as it is only speculation about something that is NOT in the comic. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:27, 14 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::Not to mention that the list might just be incomplete and continue on below the visible space. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.28|108.162.249.28]] 07:13, 14 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::: Ok, removed the paragraph [[User:A74xhx|A74xhx]] ([[User talk:A74xhx|talk]]) 9:30, 14 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::::I'm guessing whoever wrote that former paragraph never played '''Return To Zork'''. The very ''premise'' of that game is that hundreds of years have passed & the kingdom has fallen into a dystopic state of decay & darkness. Returning to a once-liberated land to find it changed or ravaged by time is a common theme far pre-dating high-detail videogame graphics, & is by no means limited to games with extravagantly detailed visuals. In fact I feel pity for anyone so lacking in imagination that they need advanced graphics just to feel immersed in the fictional settings presented... I guess they wouldn't enjoy books either? <br />
:::::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 18:21, 14 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
:I disagree. Tunnels of Doom (TI 99/4A, 1982) literally had randomized worlds regenerated every time you went in- with a 3d maze several layers deep. Also Hunt the Wumpus and even nethack are older yet. Of course, Tunnels of Doom came pre-distressed, it was a dungeon crawl after all.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 11:38, 14 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
::The first version of NetHack was released in 1987, so it's definitely not older than Tunnels of Doom.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.166|162.158.238.166]] 15:27, 14 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Consider what is seen in the plot of {{w|Only You Can Save Mankind}}, an acknowledged persistence within the game-universe (except for the 'players' who come back again and again) and even at one point we are shown effectively the relics of Space Invader battles of times past... An interesting book from a philosophical standpoint (though I'm not sure I'd force Randall to read it, if he isn't already aware of it, except as an intro to the minor series that leads up to Johnny And The Bomb which he might find interesting for other reasons) if it isn't just dismissable as a fever-dream building upon mysteriously synchronised (without even RTCs, in the typical standalone game computers of the day!) self-sabotaging code. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.143|162.158.91.143]] 03:44, 15 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
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"Mario kart" is a series, not a game. Its first title "Super Mario Kart" was released in 1992, which would be older than the "very old game" "Escape Velocity (1996)". Maybe Randall referred to "Mario kart 64", which was released in North America 1997 in, rendering it newer than "Escape Velocity". Stefan 08:51, 14 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Agree, that makes sense with both the title and the chronology. I will correct my own explanation.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:55, 14 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
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Somebody should make a Videogames subcategory for Kerbal Space Program and assign it to comics 1106, 1244, 1350 and 1356. [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 10:09, 14 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
:And if so this one. But is 4-5 comics enough for a new category...? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:39, 14 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
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Hey folks, a Swede here: given that the final frame is depicting a Panera and the whole comic is about contrasting how things used to be with how they are nowadays, I must ask: Are cinnamon rolls in vogue right now? Cinnamon rolls have been the standard pastry here since before I was born, but between this strip and a recent SMBC-comic(http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/cinnamon-buns) I wonder if cinnamon rolls is something of a trend in the US right now? Like how shawarma no doubt became trendy once The Avengers had a scene where the titular characters ate the dish, and fidget spinners were all the rage a few years ago.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.210|162.158.134.210]] 15:35, 14 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
:I don't think it's a trend here, I think it's just the go-to bread when someone wants to refer to something extra sweet and extravagant. I think when they first published the calorie count of a Cinnabon, it was off the charts. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 19:21, 14 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
::When I make cinnamon rolls, 8 rolls call for 2 sticks (1 cup or 227g) of butter. I tried asking Wolfram about the average cinnamon roll, but it says 3 calories which seems wrong. [[User:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|Probably not Douglas Hofstadter]] ([[User talk:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|talk]]) 03:42, 15 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
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This belongs here: http://www.shikadi.net/keenwiki/Episode_58_-_The_Ruin_of_Roib [[User:Keenmaster486|Keenmaster486]] ([[User talk:Keenmaster486|talk]]) 17:35, 14 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
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Considering SimCity obviously don't progress in real time, the fact it's paused if you leave it, even for years, is not that surprising ... Civilization (not on list) would make it even more apparent (also, it's turn-based, so ...) -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:11, 14 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
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For anyone now pining for the joys of Escape Velocity again, you can try the very good and still being expanded (and free!) Endless Sky on Steam. Strongly recommend enabling beta mode if you do.[[User:OhFFS|OhFFS]] ([[User talk:OhFFS|talk]]) 13:39, 15 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
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[[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.125|162.158.166.125]] 11:06, 4 October 2019 (UTC)If we consider "old" games to be from 1995 to 2005, Mario Kart 64, Super Circuit, Double Dash and DS fit.<br />
Out of these games, I think Double Dash is the most likely because Randall's talked about it before. (I think the comic is called 'Mario Kart: Tokyo Drift' or something)</div>162.158.166.125