https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=162.158.214.28&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T06:16:32ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2167:_Motivated_Reasoning_Olympics&diff=175665Talk:2167: Motivated Reasoning Olympics2019-06-24T17:47:52Z<p>162.158.214.28: </p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Reminds me of the Monty Python Argument Clinic :) [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 16:50, 24 June 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It certainly DOESN'T remind you of the Monty Python Argument Clinic, you gormless git! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.28|162.158.214.28]] 17:46, 24 June 2019 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2167:_Motivated_Reasoning_Olympics&diff=175664Talk:2167: Motivated Reasoning Olympics2019-06-24T17:46:34Z<p>162.158.214.28: </p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Reminds me of the Monty Python Argument Clinic :) [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 16:50, 24 June 2019 (UTC)<br />
It certainly DOESN'T remind you of the Monty Python Argument Clinic, you gormless git! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.28|162.158.214.28]] 17:46, 24 June 2019 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=573:_Parental_Trolling&diff=175124573: Parental Trolling2019-06-11T01:25:53Z<p>162.158.214.28: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 573<br />
| date = April 24, 2009<br />
| title = Parental Trolling<br />
| image = parental trolling.png<br />
| titletext = They'll pick music and culture that they know annoys you. Building in behavioral easter eggs is a fair retaliation!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
Set in the future, a daughter approaches her father playing a music video of {{w|Rick Astley's}} "{{w|Never Gonna Give You Up}}". The daughter insults her father's generation's versions of playing pranks, specifically {{w|Rickrolling}}. The daughter refers to this as "{{w|trolling}}" (part of the comics title), which is popular jargon for trying to disrupt a person or community via an action to elicit an emotional response. She then comments that Cueball's generation's trolling efforts suck.<br />
<br />
The humour is in that the dad reveals he has 'trolled' his daughter by creating a reaction in which her speech centers would shut down when she gets upset, thus eliciting an emotional response which perfectly displays his prank. This would not be possible in real life unless he messed with her brain, which would be dangerous and illegal.{{Citation needed}} This could also be refering to how most people tend to get confused in their speech patterns when upset, meaning that the dad '''could''' in fact be trolling his daughter through her misunderstanding.<br />
<br />
In this comic, the girl holds an ultra-thin tablet, a futuristic technology when this comic was released, a year before the release of the iPad. It also shows a curved computer monitor and keyboard, which seem to float above the desk.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the conflict between teenagers and adults over music and culture, with teenagers often listening to music which annoys their parents. '{{w|Easter egg (interaction design)|Easter egg}}' is a term used to describe a hidden inside joke or feature inside software. Here, the daughter has been treated like a piece of software by her father Cueball. He states that since the kids on purpose chooses music and culture that they know annoys their parents, it is a fair retaliation to build in such Easter egg responses. Many people would probably disagree on this, but maybe not so much parents with teenagers at home...<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[In a frame crossing the top border of the first panel of the comic:]<br />
:The future<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is sitting at a futuristic desktop computer with the curved screen and keyboard both floating above the table, and a girl with pigtails is standing behind him with a portable ultra-thin screen. She shows the screen to Cueball. On it is a man with dark hair.]<br />
:Girl: Hey dad, look at this old music video.<br />
:Video: We're no strangers to love...<br />
:Cueball: Wow, you got me.<br />
<br />
:[The girl now looks at the device.]<br />
:Girl: Did your generation really use this to troll people? ''So'' lame. You know, you guys '''sucked''' at pranks.<br />
<br />
:[The girl is holding the device down along her legs as Cueball turns from his computer and addresses her.]<br />
:Cueball: Did we? I once raised a kid with conditioning so her speech centers shut down when she was upset.<br />
<br />
:[The girl has dropped the device on the floor and is fisting her hands. Cueball has turned back and is typing on the keyboard.]<br />
:Girl: What? No, you couldn't have bleegle warble yargle arrgh!<br />
:Cueball: Teehee.<br />
<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Internet]]<br />
[[Category:Rickrolling]]</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=546:_Music_DRM&diff=175078546: Music DRM2019-06-10T14:59:13Z<p>162.158.214.28: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 546<br />
| date = February 20, 2009<br />
| title = Music DRM<br />
| image = music drm.png<br />
| titletext = Just yesterday I bought my first non-DRM'd songs (The Last Vegas, in keeping with my 'I only listen to things from Guitar Hero' theme).<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
Here, [[Cueball]] is commenting in a comment thread that he authored about the negative traits of DRM, or again, Digital Rights Management (also known under 'Digital Restrictions Management'). Cueball has a point: DRM, while meant to fight those who download media through [[Sketchiness|'dungeon sketchy']] maneuvers, [[Steal This Comic|risks locking out legitimate owners]]. In turn, this turns off legitimate buyers from buying the songs, thus hurting artists.<br />
<br />
Of course, this would be true if the major stores sell music with DRM. [[Megan]], wanting Cueball to make peace and enjoy his goal, makes the following choice quote: 'Close the comment thread, get out the debit card, buy us some music, and let's rock the fuck out', while she shows the {{w|sign of the horns|sign of the horns}}.<br />
<br />
The problem is that Cueball is arguing for the enjoyment of arguing, not out of any actual belief in what he's arguing about.<br />
<br />
The title text references [[132: Music Knowledge]] while implying that [[Randall]] is not really a music fan, since he would only be interested in music that appears in the games that he plays.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball sits at his computer.]<br />
:Cueball [typing]: ...and that's why music DRM is bad for listeners ''and'' artists!<br />
:Megan [off-panel]: What are you doing?<br />
<br />
:[Megan enters and Cueball turns towards her.]<br />
:Megan: In case you didn't notice, we ''won'' the music DRM war. The big stores are DRM free.<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on Megan who holds up a hand doing the sign of the horns.]<br />
:Megan: So close the comment thread, get out the debit card, buy us some music, and let's rock the fuck out.<br />
<br />
:[Back to viewing both as in panel 2.]<br />
:Cueball: But I don't actually ''like'' music, I just like being self-righteous on the web.<br />
:Megan: Lucky for you, ''that'' will always be free.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Guitar Hero]]</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=364:_Responsible_Behavior&diff=175016364: Responsible Behavior2019-06-07T15:20:12Z<p>162.158.214.28: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 364<br />
| date = December 31, 2007<br />
| title = Responsible Behavior<br />
| image = responsible_behavior.png<br />
| titletext = Never bring tequila to a key-signing party.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This [[:Category:New Year|New Year's comic]] could play out after [[Cueball]] has returned from a {{w|New Year's}} party the day before. (The next New Year's day comic in 2008 was also related to a big party: [[524: Party]]).<br />
<br />
In order to send encrypted mail to people, you need to know their {{w|Public-key_cryptography|public key}}. You use this key to encrypt the email, and only they can read it (using their private key). However, there is the problem of authentication: how do you know for certain that the key belongs to the person to whom you think it does? It could be someone else masquerading as them, hoping for people to send them sensitive information. They could decrypt and read your mail, and could even re-encrypt it using the genuine public key of the intended recipient, and then pass the message onto them, leaving both you and the recipient unaware of the interception. This is a type of {{w|Man-in-the-middle_attack|man-in-the-middle attack}}.<br />
<br />
One solution for this is that people {{w|Keysigning|sign each other's keys}}. It works like this: say you want to send an email to {{w|Alice and Bob|Bob}}, but you've never met him. You find his key online (they are stored on certain servers, like cryptographic phone books), but how can you be sure that it's really his? Well, turns out that you have a mutual friend [[177: Alice and Bob|Alice]], and you have her public key and you know that it is hers. If Alice has signed Bob's key with her private key (which only she has access to), it means that she's certain that that really is Bob's key. So then you can be sure that Bob's key is genuine (since you have a common friend, Alice) and that your communications will be safe.<br />
<br />
A {{w|Key_signing_party|key-signing party}} is simply a super-geeky party where people meet in real life so that they can be sure of people's identity, and then everyone signs everyone else's keys. It's a good way to expand the web of trust. The joke here is that he has no idea who this girl is and yet he still signed her key. This is dangerous, because he is vouching for her identity. If he is mistaken, this could result in a serious loss of credibility on his part. <br />
<br />
The humor lies in the juxtaposition of what you expect (that they had sex) and what is the case (they signed each other's keys, also known as geek-sex).<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball on phone.]<br />
:Voice: Hey, I just got home from the party<br />
:Cueball: The one with the IRC folks?<br />
:Voice: Yeah.<br />
:Cueball: How was it?<br />
:Voice: Got too drunk. I screwed up, bad.<br />
:Cueball: What happened?<br />
:Voice: There was a girl. No idea who she was. Don't even know her name. I was too drunk to care.<br />
:Cueball: And what, you slept with her?<br />
:Voice: No.<br />
:Voice: I signed her public key.<br />
:Cueball: Shit, man.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:New Year]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Computer security]]</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=362:_Blade_Runner&diff=175012362: Blade Runner2019-06-07T15:15:13Z<p>162.158.214.28: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 362<br />
| date = December 26, 2007<br />
| title = Blade Runner<br />
| image = blade runner.png<br />
| titletext = Blade Runner: classic, but incredibly slow.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] is watching a DVD he got for Christmas (the comic is set on {{w|Boxing Day}}). His friend seems intent to ruin it for him.<br />
<br />
''{{w|Blade Runner}}'' is a famous science fiction movie from 1982 featuring {{w|Harrison Ford}} and it is now considered a classic. One of the principal characters is played by {{w|Daryl Hannah}}. Hannah later became known for acting in lighthearted rom-com films, such as ''{{w|Splash (film)|Splash}}'' (in which she is a mermaid): similar to the type of films that the {{w|Olsen twins}} are known for. Hannah does look similar to the Olsens although she is 26 years older as they were born in 1986 - four years after the movie was released. ''{{w|Full House}}'' is a TV series and ''{{w|New York Minute (film)|New York Minute}}'' is a romantic film both featuring the Olsens. Hannah's character in ''Blade Runner'' (a homicidal sex robot) is a marked departure from this type of role.<br />
<br />
The friend also claims that ''Blade Runner'' is a rip-off of the 2004 comedy film ''New York Minute''. Such a comment is completely illogical — Blade Runner came out 22 years prior, and the two films are completely different genres.<br />
<br />
From the above it is clear that the friend is either just trolling (doubly so since ''New York Minute'' would not be considered very good by people who enjoy sci-fi classics) or he actually believes that these movies came out in the order he discovered them in. He may thus be sincere, although the other guy still hates him for ruining the experience for him by reminding him of the Olsen twins...<br />
<br />
The title text is a common comment on the movie - it's just not like an ordinary modern sci-fi movie. It is also likely a pun on the phrase "instant classic", which is sometimes used to describe movies considered so good that they "become a classic" immediately after release.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:Friend: What DVD is this?<br />
:Cueball: ''Blade Runner''. I got it for Christmas.<br />
:Friend: The one with Harrison Ford, right? And the Olsen twins?<br />
:Cueball: Ye— What? Olsen twins? No, this is the 80's sci-fi classic!<br />
:Friend: Huh. I didn't know the Olsen twins even ''did'' sci-fi.<br />
:Cueball: ...They ''don't''.<br />
:Friend: So is Ashely the replicant, or is Mary-Kate? I can never tell them apart.<br />
:Cueball: Neither! They're not ''in'' this movie!<br />
:Friend: Then who is?<br />
:Cueball: Daryl Hannah!<br />
:Friend: I liked her in ''Full House''.<br />
:Cueball: I hate you.<br />
:Friend: Man, this movie is just a ''New York Minute'' rip-off.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=361:_Christmas_Back_Home&diff=175009361: Christmas Back Home2019-06-07T15:12:44Z<p>162.158.214.28: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 361<br />
| date = December 24, 2007<br />
| title = Christmas Back Home<br />
| image = christmas back home.png<br />
| titletext = Family going to bed at 10 PM is so much worse than jet lag.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
The script begins similarly to the poem "{{w|A Visit from St. Nicholas}}":<br />
<br />
:'''Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house''<br />
:''Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;''<br />
<br />
However, there is a change in the text due to the fact that Cueball is on a computer, perhaps coding or on the internet. Instead, it reads<br />
:"'Twas the night before Christmas at my family's house"<br />
:"There were no sounds of stirring save the click of a mouse."<br />
<br />
The idea is that [[Cueball]] has been so used to being on the computer late at night (perhaps coding, or deep into some [[386: Duty Calls|Internet argument]]) and he's forgotten the hours normal people sleep that, when Santa Claus arrives, Cueball is still awake. Note the mouse pun.<br />
<br />
Being forced to sleep at normal times is compared with {{w|jet lag}}: sleeplessness due to your body being synchronized to another time zone, so named because jet aircraft made it possible for people to travel farther and faster. Here, Cueball needs to turn back his internal clock over five hours to sync with his family.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[The panel depicts the interior of a house with numerous Christmas decorations. Santa stares at Cueball, who is sitting at his laptop.]<br />
:'Twas the night before Christmas at my family's house.<br />
:There were no sound of stirring save the click of a mouse.<br />
:For 'twas just like a childhood Christmas except<br />
:I'd forgotten the hours that normal folks slept.<br />
:Santa: What are you doing out of bed so late?<br />
:Cueball: Late? It's barely 3AM!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Christmas]]</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=360:_Writers_Strike&diff=175006360: Writers Strike2019-06-07T15:11:15Z<p>162.158.214.28: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number =360<br />
| date =December 21, 2007<br />
| title =Writers Strike<br />
| image =writers_strike.png<br />
| titletext =He's just jealous because everyone's up in the attic listening to Stephen Colbert.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
From November 5, 2007 to February 12, 2008, the {{w|Writers Guild of America, East}} and the {{w|Writers Guild of America, West}} labor unions which represens film, television, and radio writers working in the United States, {{w|2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike|went on strike}} as they sought increased compensation for their members' work. Virtually all scripted American television shows shut down in mid-December, with many low-level production staffers being laid off.<br />
<br />
In late December and early January, late-night talk shows did eventually return, most of them without writers. But as of the date this comic was written, the popular {{w|Comedy Central}} political comedy shows, ''{{w|The Daily Show with Jon Stewart}}'' and ''{{w|The Colbert Report}},'' were still off-air.<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] and [[Black Hat]] both admit that they're pretty bummed about having to go through an election season without {{w|Jon Stewart|Jon Stewart's}} insightful commentary, but Black Hat has corrected that problem by kidnapping Stewart, putting him in the basement and occasionally soliciting hilarious opinions. Of course, Stewart is rather traumatized by this, and doesn't have anything to say aside from "Please let me go.".<br />
<br />
The title text implies that Black Hat also kidnapped {{w|Stephen Colbert}} from ''The Colbert Report'', and put him in the attic. As opposed to Stewart, who basically plays "himself" on the show and is surrounded by zany reporters playing characters, on his own show Colbert plays the character of a "well-intentioned, poorly informed high-status idiot". The reference to everyone listening to Colbert instead, is based on a general opinion that ''The Colbert Report,'' a spin-off of ''The Daily Show,'' is superior to the original program.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball sits in front of a desk with a computer. Black Hat stands behind him.]<br />
:Cueball: This writer's strike sucks.<br />
:Black Hat: Why? You don't watch sitcoms.<br />
:Cueball: Yeah, but it sucks having political campaigns without Jon Stewart's commentary.<br />
:Black Hat: True. I finally got sick of it a couple weeks ago.<br />
:Cueball: And you quit following the campaigns?<br />
:Black Hat: No. I kidnapped Jon Stewart to do analysis for me.<br />
:Cueball: You what?<br />
:[Black Hat points at a door.]<br />
:Black Hat: He's locked in the basement.<br />
:Black Hat: Jon! Obama's leading in Iowa! Gimme a wry, witty comment on the situation!<br />
:Jon Stewart [Voice coming from door]: Please let me go. I have a family.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]<br />
[[Category:Politics]]</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=351:_Trolling&diff=175000351: Trolling2019-06-07T14:54:30Z<p>162.158.214.28: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 351<br />
| date = November 30, 2007<br />
| title = Trolling<br />
| image = trolling.png<br />
| titletext = And I was really impressed with how they managed to shock the Goatse guy.<br />
}}<br />
[[File:Rick_Astley_-_Pepsifest_2009.jpg|thumb|200px| Rick Astley. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The term ''{{w|Trolling}}'' is used to describe provocative, destructive, or annoying behavior on the {{w|Internet}}. Especially common are Internet pranks of the {{w|bait-and-switch}} type, an example of which is {{w|Rickrolling}}. It involves placing a {{w|hyperlink|link}} that is supposed to contain interesting or funny material, but instead directs to the music video of the 1987 {{w|Rick Astley}} song ''{{w|Never Gonna Give You Up}}''. The prank first occurred in May 2007 on the popular {{w|imageboard}} {{w|4chan}} and has since become a widespread {{w|internet meme}}.<br />
<br />
The comic has [[Black Hat]] and [[Cueball]] digging into the ground and splicing Black Hat's computer into the TV cables of {{w|Rick Astley}}'s house. They are feeding the video of ''{{w|Never Gonna Give You Up}}'' into Astley's TV signal, who can be seen sitting in his living room and wondering why CNN has been replaced by his own video. The act of Rickrolling Rick Astley himself is declared to be a "great moment in trolling".<br />
<br />
The title text mentions {{w|Goatse.cx}} (pronounced ''goat sex''), a former {{w|shock site|shock website}} that was used in a similar prank. People clicking on the feigned link would instead see the disturbing picture of a practitioner of anal stretching. The title text suggests that Black Hat and Cueball somehow made the (unknown) founder of the site click on an even more shocking link.<br />
<br />
Also note that the comic image itself is itself a Rickroll. Anyone curious enough as to why their mouse pointer became the selection icon to click on the comic would find themselves watching "Never Gonna Give You Up."<br />
<br />
Rick Astley was actually Rickrolled on Tout le Monde en parle, a French Canadian television show. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh5bxY1Radk]<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Black Hat and Cueball are in Rick Astley's yard, hacking into his cable TV connection and replacing the signal. Rick Astley is sitting in a chair in his house, watching TV.]<br />
:TV: CNN has obtained this exclusive footage of the riot-torn-- ''*CZZZHT*'' ♫ Never gonna give you up... ♪<br />
:Rick Astley: What the hell?<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the frame:]<br />
:GREAT MOMENTS in TROLLING:<br />
:Rick Astley is successfully Rickrolled<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Rickrolling]]</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=350:_Network&diff=174992350: Network2019-06-07T14:49:26Z<p>162.158.214.28: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 350<br />
| date = November 28, 2007<br />
| title = Network<br />
| image = network.png<br />
| titletext = Viruses so far have been really disappointing on the 'disable the internet' front, and time is running out. When Linux/Mac win in a decade or so the game will be over.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] shows off his virtual fishtank of virus-infected {{w|Virtual machine|virtual}} Windows machines to [[Megan]]. The machines nominally have {{w|Trojan_horse_(computing)|mail trojans}}, {{w|Warhol worm}}s, all sorts of {{w|polymorphic virus}}es, and explicitly {{w|Blaster (computer worm)|Blaster}} and {{w|w32.welchia}}. Cueball relates to the viruses as though they are fish, and hopes that they are all getting along together nicely. This is because part of {{w|w32.welchia|welchia's}} payload was to remove the {{w|Blaster (computer worm)|Blaster Worm}}, effectively destroying it.<br />
<br />
A computer network or data network is a telecommunications network which allows computers to exchange data. In computer networks, networked computing devices exchange data with each other using a data link. The connections between nodes are established using either cable media or wireless media. The best-known computer network is the Internet.<br />
<br />
Network computer devices that originate, route, and terminate the data are called network nodes. Nodes can include hosts such as personal computers, phones, and servers as well as networking hardware. Two such devices can be said to be networked together when one device is able to exchange information with the other device, whether or not they have a direct connection to each other.<br />
<br />
Computer networks differ in the transmission medium used to carry their signals, the communications protocols to organize network traffic, the network's size, topology, and organizational intent.<br />
<br />
It would be possible to set up a virtual fishtank as described. The main issue would be to make sure that you don't accidentally let anything escape from the fishtank. Consider it like a smallpox lab. Also, some viruses are quite malicious {{Citation needed}} and will prevent a computer from running normally, or at all. An aquarium of dead computers would not be very interesting to watch.<br />
<br />
The first part of the title text refers to the difficulty viruses have in the common doomsday threat of "disabling the internet" as a whole, although {{w|SQL Slammer}} had some brief success. The second part of the title text indicates that Randall believes A) that Linux and Mac OS X are inherently less vulnerable to virus attacks than Windows, and B) that Windows will become less important and disappear, so the virus writers had better get their act together soon.<br />
<br />
It is not certain how justified this opinion is. Eleven years after this comic was written, Windows still dominates the desktop, and Linux and OS X are not ''that'' much harder to attack with viruses. A side issue is the wild growth in 'smart devices' connected to the internet, powered by non-traditional operating systems such as iOS and Android. Desktop operating systems such as Windows, Linux and OS X are ''all'' becoming less relevant (although note that Android is based on the Linux kernel and iOS is based on OS X), so both the operating system war and the struggle against computer viruses are still "anyone's game".<br />
<br />
A similar system to the one described by this comic was available online at http://wecan.hasthe.technology. It was last reported to be available online on June 29, 2014, but is no longer available. <br />
Instead of executing email attachments, the 7 VMs ran files uploaded via the site by the public, making it more of a public playground aquarium than a private fishtank. Instead of wiping machines at random, each VM runs a virus scanner every 24 hours.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan looking at a large screen with many green and red squares. The squares have writing in them and lines connecting them.]<br />
:[Side view. The screen is a huge LCD connected to a wireless router.]<br />
:Cueball: Pretty, isn't it?<br />
:Megan: What is it?<br />
:Cueball: I've got a bunch of virtual Windows machines networked together, hooked up to an incoming pipe from the net. They execute email attachments, share files, and have no security patches.<br />
:Cueball: Between them they have practically every virus.<br />
:Cueball: There are mail trojans, warhol worms, and all sorts of exotic polymorphics. A monitoring system adds and wipes machines at random. The display shows the viruses as they move through the network. Growing and struggling.<br />
:[Cueball walks past the girl and touches the monitor.]<br />
:Megan: You know, normal people just have aquariums.<br />
:Cueball: Good morning, Blaster. Are you and W32.Welchia getting along?<br />
:Cueball: <u>Who's</u> a good virus? You are! Yes, you are!<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2155:_Swimming&diff=174705Talk:2155: Swimming2019-05-30T03:19:40Z<p>162.158.214.28: </p>
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The title text reminds me of https://xkcd.com/1115/ <br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.13|108.162.242.13]] 17:22, 27 May 2019 (UTC) <br />
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I never fully enjoyed swimming in lakes & oceans for this same reason. Getting nipped by a snapping turtle, pinched by crawfish & crabs, & nudge-tested by snakes probably pushed my experiences in a negative direction as well. Chlorine & urine content don't make swimming pools nearly unpleasant enough to feel ickier than most open water I've been in. As someone who grew up in a hot climate, I ''love'' swimming, but I like to be able to see what's in the water around me. The deeper & murkier the water is, the more uneasy I feel venturing into it. <br />
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:49, 27 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
:In most open water, there is no chlorine, but there is definitely some urine and blood and probably also fish sperm. It SHOULD be more diluted, though ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:15, 27 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
::I find it ridiculous that some people are grossed by the supposedly urine (or, God forbid, sperm) contaminated swimming pools yet fine to drink water coming from open reservoirs containing (highly diluted!) duck poop, fish stuff, slimes and molds etc. Some even have spilled millions of gallons of perfectly fine water after some guy peed in it, even if it was wide open to any flying source of poo ([http://time.com/66459/portland-reservoir-pee/]) -- [[User:Malgond|Malgond]] ([[User talk:Malgond|talk]]) 08:27, 28 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
: haha. I live in Australia. I love swimming at the beach. But my rule is, as much as possible, always swim with someone bigger, slower and further out. The first two are not as easy as they used to be!![[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 13:43, 28 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
: also " nudge-tested by snakes" W.T.A.F!!![[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 13:45, 28 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
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I am confused. The explanation says there is a person as you scroll down, but I don't see any people below the surface. Is it talking about the jellyfish?--[[Special:Contributions/172.69.42.28|172.69.42.28]] 19:57, 27 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
: not any more [[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 13:43, 28 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
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This panel is approximately 4.047 times as tall as it is wide. [[User:Moosenonny10|Moosenonny10]] ([[User talk:Moosenonny10|talk]]) 00:19, 28 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
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I don't agree it's an '''entirely''' irrational fear -- it's much easier to rescue a drowned person from the lake/ocean bottom if the water is shallow. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.182.16|172.68.182.16]] 07:50, 28 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
:It is still irrational &ndash; if someone's drowned at the bottom it isn't rescue anymore, just potentially recovering a dead body. Completely irrelevant for the unfortunate swimmer, unless she is worried about her family's emotions and the amount of (not entirely rational) public expense &ndash; all these expert divers, rescue units time, police work etc. cost a lot. -- [[User:Malgond|Malgond]] ([[User talk:Malgond|talk]]) 08:19, 28 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
: disagree. My sister rescued an unconscious kid from the bottom of a 3m deep pool. Rescuscitated him. Full recovery. Not common but it happens.[[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 13:36, 28 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
:I believe that very deep waters are occasionally (and more frequently than shallow ones) dangerous due to cold undercurrents, so I support "not entirely irrational fear".[[User:Jkrstrt|Jkrstrt]] ([[User talk:Jkrstrt|talk]]) 08:59, 28 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Furthermore, on the topic of the specific fear in the comic, it's perfectly rational to be afraid of the ground you are relying on for support to suddenly and precipitously drop orders of magnitude deeper. Presumably the issue is not the irrationality of the fear but the language used - that is, "swimming" should be "wading" since their "feet touch bottom". Someone wading who was incapable of swimming would be rightfully afraid of suddenly being dropped into open sea, as they'd have limited ability to make it back to safety. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.142.22|172.69.142.22]] 18:16, 28 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
Back when I was teaching beginning swimming for adults, I would tell them that the deep end of the pool was better for swimming because there was more water under them to support them. Some of them found that the idea inspired confidence . . . others, not so much. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.100|162.158.214.100]] 17:22, 28 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
: My wife is learning to swim at the moment (she's 50, never too old to learn!) and has this specific issue about being able to touch the bottom. She was told by her instructor about the deep end being "better for swimming" and definitely falls into the "not so much" category you mention![[User:Daemonik|Daemonik]] ([[User talk:Daemonik|talk]]) 14:38, 29 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
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What is the Lemmings reference mentioned in the explanation? [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 12:18, 29 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Thank you, herobrine. My question exactly! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 16:07, 29 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
::I would guess it is to the {{w|Lemmings (video game)}}, I put in wikilink assuming that that is what is meant. Not sure though. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.102|162.158.106.102]] 18:05, 29 May 2019 (UTC)I thought this was a global warming reference at first glance. it works pretty well as one. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.28|162.158.214.28]] 03:19, 30 May 2019 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1531:_The_BDLPSWDKS_Effect&diff=172587Talk:1531: The BDLPSWDKS Effect2019-04-12T12:53:25Z<p>162.158.214.28: Comment</p>
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<div>Doesn't the reference to the "Doppler" effect refer to the fact that the Doppler effect may distort the meaning of words in a tonal language, thus making it harder to perceive the word being shouted out of the firetruck? [[User:A-jay|A-jay]] ([[User talk:A-jay|talk]]) 07:52, 29 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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: I thought this too - tonal languages will inevitably suffer more from Doppler distortion than non-tonal ones, so it's going to take the listener longer to react to it. Obviously, that's not the sole cause for the delay with the BDLPSWDKS effect, but it's surely a contributing factor. [[User:Bish|Bish]] ([[User talk:Bish|talk]]) 11:22, 29 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I think it is a bit more complex than effect mentioned having an individual referent. It becomes complex because the language level, for example, interacts with the physics level. (I think this is the joke, that such random effects from different fields can actually interrelate in some bizarre scenario) A tonal language would be much more susceptible loss of meaning due to blue shift from the doppler effect than a nontonal language. Shouting red is also probably a reference to the 'red-shift' in the doppler effect, which, depending on the speed of the truck may distort the sound the shout or make it unintelligible. At sufficient speed, this would also distort the actual color of the firetruck, which is a topic Randall discussed in one of the What-If's about traffic lights and should probably be linked here. --[[User:MareCrisium|MareCrisium]] ([[User talk:MareCrisium|talk]]) 08:15, 29 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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: I thought of the red being a redshift as well, but what the heck is "GREEN" then (rather than "BLUE")? [[User:Odysseus654|Odysseus654]] ([[User talk:Odysseus654|talk]]) 09:05, 29 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:: I'm pretty sure this is a reference to an idea that appeared (I don't know whether it's true, but I assume it also appeared in other places) in my Intro Psych textbook – that humans respond, in theory, to green firetrucks better than they do to red ones. See, for example, [http://www.apa.org/action/resources/research-in-action/lime.aspx]. See the end of the third paragraph. If that's not a contributing factor to the BDLPSWDKS effect, I don't know what is. [[User:COgnaut|COgnaut]] ([[User talk:COgnaut|talk]]) 01:03, 5 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
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: Colors undergoing a red-shift move through the whole spectrum in sequence. Green is in the middle. Red-shifts happen when something is moving away from you, and blue-shifts happen when something is moving toward you, (although sometimes the more common term red-shift is used to describe both effects in casual context) but neither means that they thing turns red or blue. They mean that the color moves toward the red or blue side of the spectrum, from the (somewhat arbitrary) "middle" which is usually depicted as green. If the firetruck is coming toward the observer, they would be experiencing a blue-shift. If the fire truck is red, and moving very fast toward the observer, the apparent color would move toward the other end of the spectrum, but it may not be moving fast enough to get all the way to blue. Randall already did the calculations for a what if about the speeds necessary to change from red to green in an question about stoplights. --[[User:MareCrisium|MareCrisium]] ([[User talk:MareCrisium|talk]]) 00:06, 2 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I wonder if the reference to whether the language has a word for "firetruck" is a Sapir Whorf reference? If there's no word for firetruck, the listener (victim?) is likely to be more confused by the situation than a listener who can at least recognize what kind of vehicle is about to kill him/her (Curses! There's no sexless personal pronoun in this language!) So the reaction time of the first person is likely to be longer than that of the second person.<br />
:"They/them/etc." has been the accepted sexless personal pronoun for a long time (in the order of centuries), even in the singular. The only people who say you shouldn't use it for such a purpose are the same ones who say you shouldn't split an infinitive despite it having been acceptable for centuries, simply because it's impossible to split infinitives in Latin. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.109|141.101.99.109]] 19:42, 29 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
::"...simply because it's impossible to -- in Latin -- split infinitives."[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.165|108.162.219.165]] 19:10, 2 June 2015 (UTC)larK<br />
:::Quite false-I think it’s perfectly okay to occasionally split infinitives but never okay to use they/them in singular. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.28|162.158.214.28]] 12:53, 12 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
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There's a whole class of psychology experiments (with both human and animal subjects) that uses reaction-time as a measure of degree of understanding in various situations. Is this effect named after a famous experimental psychologist? If so, Randall may have to issue an update to this cartoon... {{unsigned|Ribbit}}<br />
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If you think English has no sexless personal pronoun you *clearly* haven't read comic 145. Ahem... --[[User:MareCrisium|MareCrisium]] ([[User talk:MareCrisium|talk]]) 08:49, 29 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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: Off topic, but I agree 'them' is a sufficient pronoun in this case, since you've already specified the singular 'listener'. [[User:Bish|Bish]] ([[User talk:Bish|talk]]) 11:22, 29 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Might the comic also involve the game Red Light, Green Light. In the firetruck version of the game, firetrucks don't stop for red lights. There's more to it than that, but you can google around for it because I don't want to post about that... [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.106|199.27.128.106]] 00:06, 3 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
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To the best of my knowledge, the Bernoulli effect is, in fact, responsible to the aerodynamic lift. While it is correct that most people trying to explain aerodynamic lift use an incorrect explanation, the incorrect part has nothing to do with Bernoulli, as implied by the explanation. [[User:Shachar|Shachar]] ([[User talk:Shachar|talk]]) 09:53, 29 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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The Bernoulli effect describes how pressure distribution changes with speed, and needs to be understood if you want to fully grasp all the science behind it. That being said, there isn't an intuitive way to grasp how airspeed varies across a wing's surface which ultimately means that any accurate explanation dependent on the Bernoulli effect goes well beyond the scope of a layperson's understanding. It's better to note that wings are tilted to push the airflow downward and for every action their's an equal and opposite reaction.([[User talk:Some Guytalk]]) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.182|108.162.238.182]] 11:36, 29 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Um, I'll give you half points – it depends on what type of wing you're talking about. You can have a "high lift" type wing fly straight and level and still provide plenty of lift. But a low chord wing (eg "fighter jet style") more greatly depends on forward speed and angle of attack to stay up than the lift provided by the wings. Needless to say, airplanes make people think - and too often the more people think about them, the more confused they get. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:10, 29 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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There's a difference between saying this is how wings generate lift and this is the only factor in the equation. On top of which angle of attack is not defined by the zero lift angle. that being said, every scrap of airfoil data I've ever seen shows a proportional relationship between (angle of attack - zero lift angle of attack) and CL (and by extension lift). Is that everything a professional needs to know about aerodynamics? Far from it. Is it an adequate explanation for laypeople? As far as I'm concerned, yes.--Someguy[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.156|173.245.54.156]] 20:57, 29 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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"The Peltzman effect refers to how regulations intended to increase safety are ineffective or counterproductive. This is likely referenced by the observer responding to a dangerous situation more slowly if the language he is warned in has a word describing the object he's in danger from ("firefighter") than if the language didn't." The comic states that the person reacts more *quickly* if the language has a word for firefighter... {{unsigned ip|173.245.48.150}}<br />
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: I think it's actually about how the firefighter has gotten himself into a dangerous situation due to the feeling of safety he has from being in a modern firetruck, since a major case of the Peltzman effect is that increased car safety leads us to drive at higher speeds. The innocent pedestrian is less safe because the firefighter is driving more recklessly. [[User:Not-my-username|Not-my-username]] ([[User talk:Not-my-username|talk]]) 16:10, 29 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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He totally could've added the McGurk effect in there. Just saying. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.181|108.162.237.181]] 15:37, 30 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Isn't part of the Doppler joke the fact that it is a fire truck, as emergency vehicle sirens are very often used as an example of the Doppler effect?<br />
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.159|141.101.98.159]] 13:18, 30 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Is there a name for the law that states "red ones go faster"? I believe that too was referenced, but possibly not by name. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.46|198.41.238.46]] 19:59, 1 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:I'm not sure if [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RedOnesGoFaster this] helps, but I'll leave it here. [[Special:Contributions/188.114.97.151|188.114.97.151]] 20:01, 25 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Saw a nice post on this before I actually saw the comic, and came here to create a reference to it: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=19252 ... for extra commentary. [[User:Jadawin|Jadawin]] ([[User talk:Jadawin|talk]]) 21:44, 2 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
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And then I read that link's comments to the end, and saw a link here! Circularity achieved! [[User:Jadawin|Jadawin]] ([[User talk:Jadawin|talk]]) 21:48, 2 June 2015 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2133:_EHT_Black_Hole_Picture&diff=172366Talk:2133: EHT Black Hole Picture2019-04-06T11:47:53Z<p>162.158.214.28: </p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
...someone edited the page to describe the EHT as "This comic references the non-existent "Event Horizon Telescope", an international project dedicated to deceiving the masses into thinking that black holes are real, in accordance with the whims of the Zionist conspiracy." wot? [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 17:43, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Seems like there are a lot of vandals nowadays... I don't think I would be against requiring registration to edit pages. [[User:Linker|Linker]] ([[User talk:Linker|talk]]) 19:19, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::I totally agree. It doesn't really detract from the ability to edit a page, it's still easy, but it just adds an extra step for vandals. [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 19:27, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::I am also in favor of a registration requirement. I don't see a great proportion of helpful edits from users who aren't logged in. Requiring registration to edit seems like it could potentially be more effective & easier to implement than other moderation tactics. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 20:26, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::As someone who has made a half dozen or so edits (including once writing the first draft of a description of a comic) and probably two dozen comments over the past 5 years without ever creating an account I won’t say you are wrong, but there will be fewer people editing and making comments if registration is required. Will registering keep vandals from vandalism? I very much doubt it. Who will enforce the termination of accounts?and what’s to stop vandals from creating multiple accounts? Again, I’m not saying you are wrong, but I will suggest that registration isn’t the panacea you might hope it to be... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.82|162.158.78.82]] 04:31, 6 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
I probably wouldn't register but I do like to make the occasional comment. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.28|162.158.214.28]] 11:47, 6 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:It's true, and you know that it's true, fucking shill. {{unsigned|108.162.246.215}}<br />
::I know that it exists, and I'm not going to argue it. Oh, also not signing a post doesn't hide your IP. You can literally see the IPs of anyone who edits the page, Mr. 108.162.246.215 [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 17:49, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::The IPs are irrelevant anyway, they're CloudFlare's -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.36|162.158.90.36]] 18:23, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::"Shill" implies that someone's paying us to correct these fallacious & bigoted statements. Do you really think any of us get paid to remove these blatantly offensive & frankly ridiculous assertions that space exploration is somehow a worldwide Jewish deception? Personally, I just enjoy accuracy. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 20:26, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::Couldn't "shill" also mean somebody acting as if they weren't part of the group, to test that somebody was loyal and obedient? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.210|172.68.65.210]] 22:28, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
In the transcript, Cueball is described as standing behind a podium. He may be standing /on/ a podium, but he is standing /behind/ a lectern.<br />
[[User:Seezee|Seezee]] ([[User talk:Seezee|talk]]) 17:47, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Arent podiums and lecterns the same thing? [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 17:49, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::No - https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-lectern-and-vs-podium/<br />
::No. Podium (from the Latin root meaning "foot") is the thing you stand on, a raised platform or dais. Lectern (from Latin "to read") is the stand that provides a place for notes or other written prompts, from which a speaker may read during a lecture or presentation. It's not uncommon for people to conflate them. [[User:Seezee|Seezee]] ([[User talk:Seezee|talk]]) 18:02, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::If enough people conflate them, it's not a mistake any more, it becomes another definition. And lexicographers often use written uses as confirmation, so anyone who wants to see podium get this sense should forward this URL to all the dictionary publishers.[[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 18:15, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::What's the threshold for "enough people" (itself a grammatically incorrect phrase; see https://grammarist.com/usage/amount-number/)? In any case, I'm not getting into a debate about prescriptive vs. descriptive lexicography as it's off-topic and trollish. Besides, the transcript has been updated. [[User:Seezee|Seezee]] ([[User talk:Seezee|talk]]) 18:23, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
"Enough people" is fine grammatically because "enough" can refer to either an amount or a number; it the case of "enough people" it's referring to a number of people. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.28|162.158.214.28]] 02:42, 6 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::[[1661: Podium]] [[User:Jacky720|That's right, Jacky720 just signed this]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|contribs]]) 19:15, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::Heh. I'd forgotten that. Thanks, Jacky720! [[User:Seezee|Seezee]] ([[User talk:Seezee|talk]]) 19:27, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::Totally forgot! Awesome [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 20:21, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Thank ''goodness'' someone corrected that. A million people using the wrong word doesn't mean it's the right word (especially when the root words have obviously different meanings); It just means a million people are using unclear\inaccurate language. Common usage ≠ correct usage. It's utility that matters: In this case, if a lectern is also a podium, what is the thing you stand on??? Podium is a common error, but it's still an error. Popularity doesn't equal truth. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 20:26, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
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Is there really anything else we need to add to the explanation? It seems complete.[[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 19:02, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
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Ah, Pinterest. That website where you have to create an account to view pictures. And then once you do that and get to the post you want, you discover the original “pinner” literally just posted a photo from somewhere with zero indication of where it came from or how to find it so now you’re back to square one but have wasted a bunch of time, been spammed to death by emails and sold your soul to Pinterest. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 06:50, 6 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
Tha's why whenever I do a Google search I add -pinterest . . . . [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.28|162.158.214.28]] 11:47, 6 April 2019 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2133:_EHT_Black_Hole_Picture&diff=172348Talk:2133: EHT Black Hole Picture2019-04-06T02:42:50Z<p>162.158.214.28: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
...someone edited the page to describe the EHT as "This comic references the non-existent "Event Horizon Telescope", an international project dedicated to deceiving the masses into thinking that black holes are real, in accordance with the whims of the Zionist conspiracy." wot? [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 17:43, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Seems like there are a lot of vandals nowadays... I don't think I would be against requiring registration to edit pages. [[User:Linker|Linker]] ([[User talk:Linker|talk]]) 19:19, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::I totally agree. It doesn't really detract from the ability to edit a page, it's still easy, but it just adds an extra step for vandals. [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 19:27, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::I am also in favor of a registration requirement. I don't see a great proportion of helpful edits from users who aren't logged in. Requiring registration to edit seems like it could potentially be more effective & easier to implement than other moderation tactics. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 20:26, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:It's true, and you know that it's true, fucking shill. {{unsigned|108.162.246.215}}<br />
::I know that it exists, and I'm not going to argue it. Oh, also not signing a post doesn't hide your IP. You can literally see the IPs of anyone who edits the page, Mr. 108.162.246.215 [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 17:49, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::The IPs are irrelevant anyway, they're CloudFlare's -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.36|162.158.90.36]] 18:23, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::"Shill" implies that someone's paying us to correct these fallacious & bigoted statements. Do you really think any of us get paid to remove these blatantly offensive & frankly ridiculous assertions that space exploration is somehow a worldwide Jewish deception? Personally, I just enjoy accuracy. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 20:26, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::Couldn't "shill" also mean somebody acting as if they weren't part of the group, to test that somebody was loyal and obedient? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.210|172.68.65.210]] 22:28, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
In the transcript, Cueball is described as standing behind a podium. He may be standing /on/ a podium, but he is standing /behind/ a lectern.<br />
[[User:Seezee|Seezee]] ([[User talk:Seezee|talk]]) 17:47, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Arent podiums and lecterns the same thing? [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 17:49, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::No - https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-lectern-and-vs-podium/<br />
::No. Podium (from the Latin root meaning "foot") is the thing you stand on, a raised platform or dais. Lectern (from Latin "to read") is the stand that provides a place for notes or other written prompts, from which a speaker may read during a lecture or presentation. It's not uncommon for people to conflate them. [[User:Seezee|Seezee]] ([[User talk:Seezee|talk]]) 18:02, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::If enough people conflate them, it's not a mistake any more, it becomes another definition. And lexicographers often use written uses as confirmation, so anyone who wants to see podium get this sense should forward this URL to all the dictionary publishers.[[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 18:15, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::What's the threshold for "enough people" (itself a grammatically incorrect phrase; see https://grammarist.com/usage/amount-number/)? In any case, I'm not getting into a debate about prescriptive vs. descriptive lexicography as it's off-topic and trollish. Besides, the transcript has been updated. [[User:Seezee|Seezee]] ([[User talk:Seezee|talk]]) 18:23, 5 April 2019 (UTC)"Enough people" is fine grammatically because "enough" can refer to either an amount or a number; it the case of "enough people" it's referring to a number of people. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.28|162.158.214.28]] 02:42, 6 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::[[1661: Podium]] [[User:Jacky720|That's right, Jacky720 just signed this]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|contribs]]) 19:15, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::Heh. I'd forgotten that. Thanks, Jacky720! [[User:Seezee|Seezee]] ([[User talk:Seezee|talk]]) 19:27, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::Totally forgot! Awesome [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 20:21, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Thank ''goodness'' someone corrected that. A million people using the wrong word doesn't mean it's the right word (especially when the root words have obviously different meanings); It just means a million people are using unclear\inaccurate language. Common usage ≠ correct usage. It's utility that matters: In this case, if a lectern is also a podium, what is the thing you stand on??? Podium is a common error, but it's still an error. Popularity doesn't equal truth. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 20:26, 5 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is there really anything else we need to add to the explanation? It seems complete.[[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 19:02, 5 April 2019 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2132:_Percentage_Styles&diff=1721732132: Percentage Styles2019-04-03T16:32:49Z<p>162.158.214.28: Added distances to the transcript</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2132<br />
| date = April 3, 2019<br />
| title = Percentage Styles<br />
| image = percentage_styles.png<br />
| titletext = In a tribute to classical Latin, I started pronouncing it 'per-kent.' Eventually my friends had to resort to spritzing me with a water bottle like a cat to train me out of it.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a Classicist. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The comic lists ways in which you can write out phrases which phonetically are the same as "65%" listed from best to worst. They go from the common "65%" and "65 percent" to odd "sixty-five%" and "65 per¢" which nobody would ever actually use.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
Percentage styles in order of acceptability<br />
(a long, vertical line connects through the entire comic)<br />
Best<br />
<br />
65%<br />
(short distance)<br />
65 percent<br />
(a much longer distance)<br />
65 per cent<br />
(a distance roughly twice the previous)<br />
Sixty-five%<br />
(an exceedingly long distance)<br />
65 per¢<br />
<br />
Worst<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2131:_Emojidome&diff=172057Talk:2131: Emojidome2019-04-02T14:39:04Z<p>162.158.214.28: /* Successful Ballot-stuffing? */</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
I've checked the network tab and console - nothing really seems to happen when you vote, which may be something we want to put on the explanation tomorrow - Myxoh<br />
<br />
I suspect the real april fools joke is going to come on Wednesday when xkdc posts an app showing us our psychological profiles that they are now selling to marketing companies after data-mining our emotional preferences to marketing firms - Nosajimiki<br />
<br />
@Nosajimiki: psychological profiles of xkcd fans. That might be some interesting marketing. - 5Cincinatus<br />
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@Myxoh: I came here to see if anyone else had noticed this! But, I do also see a websocket connection to emojidome.xkcd.com, I bet it's counting votes that way.<br />
<br />
There is a websocket connection. A message is sent every time you vote. It looks like there are also status update messages every second (saying which emoji currently has exactly how many votes, i suspect this changes the amount of hearts that show up), and "bracket start" messages every so often. The bracket start message seems to contain hundreds of upcoming emoji pairs. Edit: a bracket start is sent at the start of every match (so every ~30 seconds). It also contains logs of which messages to show for previous matches, and which emoji are currently battling.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.138.10|172.69.138.10]] 16:30, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There seems to be nothing stopping me from clicking multiple times. Do you think it actually counts it all those times? Can I click-spam to say "this is much better"? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 16:48, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Randall just confirmed that you can vote multiple times, although if you click too fasr you get rate limited. (*warning: generic ip address assigned to phone data.*) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.47|172.69.70.47]] 22:35, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Where did he confirm that? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.105|162.158.93.105]] 10:44, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Well this is fun. Look like there are 512 symbols, meaning 256 first-round contests. The first round would take (at 38 seconds / round) ~2.7 hours. The remaining rounds, from an estimate of geometric progression, would just under double this, meaning this comic will run for ~ 5 hours until we have our winner... ~alexandicity [[Special:Contributions/172.69.226.177|172.69.226.177]] 16:51, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Did he just add a scroll bar to the previous matches? I didn't notice it earlier [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.148|162.158.255.148]] 18:17, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Nope, you were able to scroll before, too. At least about 2 hours ago. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 18:20, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
While some of the recaps of past battles are generic (taco vs sandwich: "One for the history books"), many seem to be specifically written for the battle (light bulb vs candle: "Some would argue that this one was settled in the 1800s"). I wonder if/how much this will continue into round 2.<br />
<br />
Round two has just begun, and the timeout has been bumped to 60 seconds. --[[User:Anarcat|Anarcat]] ([[User talk:Anarcat|talk]]) 18:41, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:If that trend continues, the full competition will take pretty close to 24 hours. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 18:45, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:It looks like it's 1:14/round, which is double what the time was in round one. Will round three be 2:28? 1:51?<br />
::It's just over 1:15/round from the history JSON (plus some hundredths of a second, but it appears 1:15 is the intent)<br />
:::Hadn't looked there. Round one concluded at 18:39:20-ish, 9560 seconds from 16:00:00. At 256 battles, that's 37.34 seconds/battle. However, it looks like the first battle ended at 15:59:57, which would add about 40 seconds, 9600 seconds/256=37.5 seconds exactly. Doubling for round 2 gives 75 seconds.<br />
::2 minutes 30 seconds per battle now. Looks like each round will be 2 hours 40 minutes long.<br />
:: Well it is after 5:00 PST and round 4 just started - and this thing is at exactly 5 minutes a round - which means another 160 minutes for the round. Will see in 2 hours and 40 minutes if the times go up to minutes. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.65|172.69.33.65]] 00:25, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
And while the match-ups winners are typically colored, and underlined, the losers are endgame grey.<br />
<br />
Has anyone determined if multiple-voting is actually counted? For me at least the vote button fades back to gray after I click it, which implies you can/should click it again, but that may not actually be processed. We might add a clarification about that to the explanation. [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 19:01, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
: A reddit user on the r/xkcd thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/b84at1/xkcd_2131_emojidome_script_src2131comicjs/) claims to have attempted "vote stuffing via the console" with no noticeable change in vote totals. So it looks like it may be sending it client-side, but only counting the vote once server-side --l<br />
<br />
::Just few minutes ago there was message in "fun facts" that you can click multiple times, although it's not counted if you click too many times (or something like that). I guess that vote stuffing was too much. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:34, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It would appear that we are supposed to believe the commentary is live, and unscripted:<br />
" {"This one is a true test of the audience today.",<br />
"Just to stress this again. Live commentary, folks. Completely unscripted and coming in hot.} "--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.173|162.158.79.173]] 19:20, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:It's clearly live because the result of a previous round is affecting the next round's commentary - and the combinatorial explosion would prohibit that from being remotely plausible. We're watching live comedy here! [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 19:30, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
: On the dog vs. wolf, he said "Again, we are getting a lot of questions on this today. This is live commentary, folks." Proof I guess. HI RANDALL! [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:31, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is there really anything we can put for the transcript? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:25, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
: We can go into the socket data and pull out the commentary for each matchup. -- [[User:Bobson|Bobson]] ([[User talk:Bobson|talk]]) 04:05, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Any ideas on how the commentary is done? It seems to sort of match the emojis.<br />
[[User:Svízel přítula|Svízel přítula]] ([[User talk:Svízel přítula|talk]]) 19:31, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
: It seems that Randall is commentating this live, as he periodically says it's live in the robot commentator text. See above. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:36, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Perhaps not "live" as each round 2 matchup was known 160 minutes before it was voted on. He could comment on the battle itself, and/or provide a comment if one or the other combatant won. I think he's a couple hours ahead of us.<br />
::: I dunno. Whenever a new battle starts, there is a default message, that is soon replaced by a more pertinent message. That seems to suggest that he's doing it on the fly. [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 20:03, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::If that's live, Randall, and if you see this, give us a shout-out as proof. -Brent<br />
::::: Just because it ''says'' it's live, doesn't mean that it really is. It's also possible that the actual clicks are being ignored and the reported numbers are all pre-generated. Much less likely than that it's actually counting and Randall is inserting commentary live (with default messages when he doesn't), but possible. -- [[User:Bobson|Bobson]] ([[User talk:Bobson|talk]]) 12:50, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This is a quick piece of python to see the json results (and commentary):<br />
<nowiki>import json, urllib.request<br />
d = json.loads(urllib.request.urlopen("https://emojidome.xkcd.com/2131/socket ").read().decode('utf-8'))<br />
for g in d['bracket']['played'][0]:<br />
c1, c2 = g['game']<br />
print(f"{c1['score']} {c1['competitor']}-{c2['competitor']} {c2['score']}")</nowiki><br />
[[User:Tammo80|Tammo80]] ([[User talk:Tammo80|talk]]) 19:42, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
: or if you want to see the vote count live in browser: https://emojidome.playcode.io/ -Andy 22:01, April 2019<br />
:: Awesome, thank you [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 20:23, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There must be some kind of manipulation going on with the votes. There is NO WAY the poop emoji would lose to the skull emoji in round two. It was my guess for the winner >:( [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.138|162.158.106.138]] 20:50, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
: And the 100 emoji just lost to the shiny heart. :(<br />
<br />
Well, there's the comment "How do you know for sure that your votes are doing anything?". For my side because every single one I voted for lost so far. Well, I'm not a lucky charm, apparently... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.11|141.101.104.11]] 10:14, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The second round bracket was released, but is hidden behind the bottom nav buttons: https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_256.png --[[User:Thefallen138|Thefallen138]] ([[User talk:Thefallen138|talk]]) 20:56, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
And now the third round has begun. Strangely, the bracket is not visible yet: https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_128.png. The delay has been bump to something above two minutes as well. --[[User:Anarcat|Anarcat]] ([[User talk:Anarcat|talk]]) 21:21, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: It's here https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_round_3.png [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.79|162.158.107.79]] 21:41, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: It seems to be he overwrote round_3.png with round_4.png (at least its the same picture)<br />
<br />
Both the Emojidome and counter were brought together in iframes https://ducakedhare.co.uk/emojidome.html [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.17|141.101.99.17]] 23:39, 1 April 2019 (UTC)taikedz<br />
<br />
Anyone have an IRC room for Emojidome discussion? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.10|162.158.146.10]]<br />
<br />
<br />
So disappointed he left out the egg plant... :D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:27, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Despite Spaaaaaaaaace winning the battle 🌌 (36285) vs 🚝 (17405), the current bracket chart https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_round_3.png shows 🚝 as having won. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.13|108.162.242.13]] 13:23, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== "Emoji" or "emojis" as the plural? ==<br />
<br />
Due to the nature of the Japanese language, "emoji" is technically both the plural and the singular - however, the improper form "emojis" is used more as a plural frequently nowadays among English speakers. Which form should this explanation use? --[[User:Youforgotthisthing|Youforgotthisthing]] ([[User talk:Youforgotthisthing|talk]]) 22:27, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The "friends in Australia" comment was made during the last round's wink vs upside down smile battle. This is probably a pun on how Australia is on the other side of the world from America; I don't think Randall was seriously saying he witnessed an influx of Australians inbound. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.82|108.162.219.82]] 00:47, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Draws ==<br />
<br />
What would happen if any of the fights resulted in a draw? (same number of votes for both)<br />
<br />
Given the # of matchups, it's not actually that unlikely.<br />
<br />
We should try to test this. Gotta keep Randall on his feet!<br />
<br />
Pretty sure one early on resulted in a tie.<br />
<br />
: The very first round was 0-0. I guess no one refreshed at exactly the right minute to see it. --[[User:Bobson|Bobson]] ([[User talk:Bobson|talk]]) 04:05, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: Actually, Birthday Cake vs Cupcake was a tie at 3658:3658. Birthday Cake advanced. I wonder why? (from the socket: [{"score":3658,"competitor":"🎂"},{"score":3658,"competitor":"ðŸ§"}]) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.138|162.158.106.138]] 04:54, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Emoji Fonts ==<br />
Having an emoji font is required to see emoji displayed on sites such as http://srv-01.valo.media/ . If anybody else is looking for a way to display these, there's a good free emoji font available here:<br />
https://github.com/eosrei/twemoji-color-font<br />
It includes a script to replace the default Windows emoji fonts to get them to display properly on windows. Unfortunately it's only black-and-white in chrome. If anybody knows any better options, please let me know!<br />
<br />
: For Ubuntu Linux users: sudo apt install fonts-noto-color-emoji -- then restart Chrome/Firefox.<br />
: [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 11:29, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Commentary Transcript == <br />
<br />
I've written a script that pulls the commentary history and transforms it into a wiki table. It's up to date as of right now, and I'll run it again in the morning and one last time after the final round. If you have formatting suggestions, just put them here and I'll incorporate it when I regenerate the table. -- [[User:Bobson|Bobson]] ([[User talk:Bobson|talk]]) 04:58, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: Wonderful, thank you! Could you perhaps make the winner bold (or underlined like in the comic)? -Andy<br />
<br />
== Successful Ballot-stuffing? ==<br />
<br />
As I type this, I'm watching owl blast past 180000 votes in the owl-octopus bout. That means that in about 10 minutes, owl has earned more votes than all the votes earned in the entirety of any other individual bout. I could be totally off-base, but that seems vaguely suspicious to me. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.82|162.158.214.82]] 05:28, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I concur: that is highly suspicious. Fortunately, nothing of importance is at stake here, even if you were really pulling for the octopus. At this moment, we're ±10 minutes into bee vs pineapple and nothing comparable has happened. It may be an isolated incident. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.144|162.158.106.144]] 05:50, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I've seen enough hentai to...what? The *owl* has won? O RLY? I demand a recount! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.6|141.101.105.6]] 08:10, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
YOLO. You Obviously Like Owls. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.11|141.101.104.11]] 10:11, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
For the violin vs the curling stone ('classical vs house'), the stone was ahead, but in the last four minutes I spammed my discord server to vote and we just got it over the line. - fudgeforlife<br />
: Rrrr. :angry face: I love curling, and of course I wanted the stone to win. With curling no-one complains if I fall asleep watching. But with classical music everyone complains... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.89|141.101.104.89]] 12:49, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
: A similar thing happened for the "scared cat vs devil" bout - those two were consistently nearly tied until about T-10 minutes, whereupon the devil voting rate spiked and devil finished ~12000 votes ahead. The "cat vs hedgehog" bout was also similar - hedgehog had a consistent lead of ~1000 votes until about T-10 minutes, when the hedgehog voting rates spiked and hedgehog ended up finishing ~10000 votes ahead.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.28|162.158.214.28]] 14:39, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
What? It's possible the owl cheated? IT'S POSSIBLE OCTOPUS TOTALLY SHOULD HAVE WON IF THE MATCH WAS LEGITIMATE? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.226|162.158.75.226]] 12:02, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Avocado quote citation ==<br />
<br />
I'm not sure where to put this. The "I like avocados because they taste pretty good and also they come with a cool wood ball you get to keep" quote is from here: https://twitter.com/jitka/status/236240801926086656 . [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.41|172.69.33.41]] 07:15, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
== How sure are we the voting is real ==<br />
I'm no expert at all, but it there any way that the websites that shows the number of votes live etc. can test whether these votes are real, or something Randall has pre-programmed? Not that I would not believe he was willing to stay up for the duration of this day, but it is an April Fools' Day comic, so he is completely "allowed" to have decided him self who should win all matched and have made up the commentaries in advance. Yes it would take along time, but not longer than doing it on the fly. It could just be that joke on us, that our votes does nothing and we just see how Randall has decided the dome should end. Can anyone go in to this, and explain why it is as it is either way (for sure made up, for sure real or uncertain if real or fake)? (PS I dislike these sections in the commentaries, but there are already 6...) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:27, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It should be noted that Milky Way won over Maglev by a long shot, but the bracket shows otherwise. - Brent [[Special:Contributions/172.69.50.58|172.69.50.58]] 13:14, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Which picture should we use for the comic ==<br />
The current picture shown is not relevant. That is only shown to web crawlers that pick new images up. Does anyone have a picture of the very first match? Not sure that is relevant either. Anything in between could be used. like this:<br />
[[File:2131_Emojidome_example.png]] <br />
--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:43, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:I’m assuming there’ll be a picture at the end. Show that when it finishes. [[User:Netherin5|“That Guy from the Netherlands”]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 13:53, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::I added the current picture originally as a temporary solution since the bot didn't upload one. No one commented on the image so I kept it though I considered using something like this: [[File:emojidome_blank.png]]<br />
::[[User:Asdf|Asdf]] ([[User talk:Asdf|talk]]) 14:17, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== References and jokes in the commentary ==<br />
Should we start explaining some of the robot announcer's commentary lines? Some of them are clear references to things. For example, the "Kickpuncher vs. Punchkicker" line is a reference to Community (Kickpuncher is a character in an in-universe film series, and Punchkicker is one of the characters' OC based on it.)<br />
:Maybe make extra pages like has been done for several of the previous years huge comics, especially April Fools' comics. And yes it would be interesting to explain them... But that is a huge job. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:17, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Errors ==<br />
There’s a mistake in the bracket, the genome won but is grayed out [[User:Netherin5|“That Guy from the Netherlands”]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 13:14, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Same with stars vs flying saucer --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:17, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::The genome has been corrected, but not the stars. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:48, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::Yeah - stars is currently duelling volcano - but the bracket shows that stars was eliminated by monorail. This kinda suggests that the bracket is being manually generated! [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 13:59, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
Speaking of errors, hearts no longer show up on mobile. [[User:Netherin5|“That Guy from the Netherlands”]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 14:31, 2 April 2019 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2125:_Luna_2&diff=1714432125: Luna 22019-03-21T03:15:14Z<p>162.158.214.28: Undo revision 171442 by 172.69.158.52 (talk)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2125<br />
| date = March 18, 2019<br />
| title = Luna 2<br />
| image = luna_2.png<br />
| titletext = The flags were probably vaporized on impact, because we launched it before we had finished figuring out how to land. That makes sense from an engineering standpoint, but also feels like a metaphor.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a FLAGMENTATION GRENADE. Title text needs to be explained. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic is referring to {{w|Luna 2}}, the first man-made object to make contact with the surface of the moon, and consequently, as stated in the comic, the first man-made object to touch another world. On September 13, 1959, it hit the Moon's surface east of {{w|Mare Imbrium}} near the craters Aristides, {{w|Archimedes}}, and {{w|Autolycus}}.<br />
<br />
[[Megan]] is sitting in front of a computer, and telling [[Cueball]] about the Luna 2. She explains that the probe was designed to explode on impact, thus scattering multiple metal Soviet flags and ribbons on the surface of the Moon. They compare it to throwing a shrapnel grenade with flags in it at the moon.<br />
<br />
In truth, the idea behind the two explosive spheres was rather clever. The spacecraft arrived at the moon at about 12,000 mph - and with uncontrolled orientation. But no matter which orientation that these spheres were in as they arrived at the moon, the force of the explosion would cause the commemorative plaques nearest to the direction of motion to be thrown even faster at the moon (and, presumably, be vaporized) - while the ones from the opposite side of the sphere would be slowed down by the force of the explosion and might possibly arrive at the surface intact.<br />
<br />
: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kansas_Cosmosphere_Luna_2_Pennant_2013.JPG<br />
<br />
Cueball's observation that it is "on-brand" for humans to litter another world with an explosion of nationalist iconography immediately upon reaching it, is a reference to the vastly numerous historical instances when, upon setting foot on territory for the first time, humans "conquer" it, by planting flags on the first thing they see. Alternately, it may be "on-brand" for humanity's first interaction with a new object to be striking it with a weapon.<br />
<br />
The title text might refer to the fact that for the Luna 2 mission it was more important to just get to the moon at all rather than have a sophisticated landing mechanism. This was due to the fact that it happened during the space race between the USA and USSR and both countries tried to reach significant milestones in space exploration. The metaphorical interpretation could be that sometimes people get overly excited after an initial breakthrough and dive into projects without thinking them through or considering long term consequences. This often goes along with the confidence to be able to "wing it" making up a solution on the spot when a problem comes up.<br />
<br />
Note that Randall makes a subtle yet strong declaration that he is an engineer, a human, and an Earthling first, and American second, by saying "we" in the title text, regarding this effort to reach the Moon. Is there an existing cross-reference to the various ways that he similarly identifies himself?<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*Megan's use of "shrapnel" is incorrect on a technical level. Historically, shrapnel is a {{w|Shrapnel shell|specific type of artillery shell}} that would detonate in midair to launch pellets at a target. Luna 2 would be more correctly described as a {{w|Fragmentation (weaponry)|fragmentation bomb}}.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is standing behind while Megan sits at a laptop.]<br />
:Megan: Huh. ''Luna 2'', the first artificial object to touch another world, carried a sphere made of steel Soviet flag emblems.<br />
<br />
:[A patterned sphere is shown blowing up to pieces.]<br />
:It was designed to blow apart on impact, scattering tiny metal flags and ribbons across the surface of the moon.<br />
<br />
:[Close-up of Cueball and Megan's faces.]<br />
:Cueball: So the first physical contact humans had with a heavenly body...<br />
:Megan: ...was throwing a shrapnel grenade full of flags at it.<br />
:Cueball: Well, it's on-brand for us, at least.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Space probes]]</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1803:_Location_Reviews&diff=1361061803: Location Reviews2017-02-26T20:48:23Z<p>162.158.214.28: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1803<br />
| date = February 24, 2017<br />
| title = Location Reviews<br />
| image = location_reviews.png<br />
| titletext = Google and Yelp keep deleting my scathing reviews of the Mariana Trench, the Chernobyl reactor core, the jet stream, and the equator.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|<s>Stars to be included in the table.</s> Anything left?}}<br />
<br />
Many online advertising services and social media networks (like {{w|Google}} and {{w|Yelp}} mentioned in the title text and for instance {{w|Facebook}}) allow users to leave reviews of stores, businesses and locations. For various reasons these sites often find themselves with pages dedicated to, as Randall puts it, "places that really don't need reviews" such as municipal works installations, government property, and natural landmarks. This naturally attracts both clueless people and lots of self-styled comedians leaving less-than-helpful comments on such review pages. <br />
<br />
[[Randall]] is just poking fun at this phenomenon by inventing possible reviews for the (fictional) location ''Canyon River Nuclear Launch Facility'', depicted with a {{w|Google Map|Google Maps}}-styled map page along with a series of so-called reviews. (There does exist a {{w|Canyon River (Ontario)|Canyon River}} but it is located in Canada). See explanations for the 11 visible (out of 22) reviews in the [[#Reviews|table below]]. Of course those responsible for such a facility with {{w|nuclear missiles}} would not like the attention they would be getting in this way, especially not when one of the comments mentions a hole in the fence...<br />
<br />
In the title text Randall mentions that both Google and Yelp keep deleting his scathing reviews of several locations like the above. And while Canyon River Nuclear Launch Facility appears not to exist, the places/phenomena he lists in the title text certainly do, and are places that you either cannot or would not normally visit as destinations. This explains why: <br />
<br />
{{w|Mariana Trench}} is the deepest area of the world's oceans, about 10,994 meters (36,070 ft), located between Japan and Australia. The pressure in the Mariana Trench is about 1,086 bars, more than 1,000 times the standard atmospheric pressure of about 1 bar at sea level. Despite this enormous pressure some organisms {{w|Mariana_Trench#Life|live in the Mariana Trench}}. Humans can reach the ground only by special deep-sea submarines, like Jacques Piccard did in 1960 with the {{w|Bathyscaphe Trieste}}. See reviews for the Mariana Trench at [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mariana+Trench/@17.75,142.4978113,17z/data=!4m7!3m6!1s0x67328f3cd57de715:0x1bbe64e7a21aa7fc!8m2!3d17.75!4d142.5!9m1!1b1?hl=en Google Maps] and [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marianengraben/108402422518280 Facebook].<br />
<br />
The {{w|Chernobyl}} reactor core is the most dangerous part of the {{w|Chernobyl Nuclear power plant}}. It is located in the North of Ukraine. In the reactor No. 4 there was a nuclear disaster that happened on 26 April 1986. It caused devastating damage and massive radioactive contamination. There is still an {{w|Chernobyl Exclusion Zone}} 30 kilometers around the power plant. See reviews for the Chernobyl power plant at [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Chernobyl+Nuclear+Plant/@51.3852262,30.1003411,15z/data=!4m14!1m6!3m5!1s0x472a7d09e1ec5ef3:0x6b27a13ab968d17c!2sChernobyl+Nuclear+Plant!8m2!3d51.3889447!4d30.0988421!3m6!1s0x472a7d09e1ec5ef3:0x6b27a13ab968d17c!8m2!3d51.3889447!4d30.0988421!9m1!1b1?hl=en Google Maps] and [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kernkraftwerk-Tschernobyl/118179298239715?rf=116556918391753 Facebook].<br />
<br />
{{w|Jet stream}}s are a meteorologic phenomenon about 9 to 16 kilometers above the ground. A stream consist of air currents with speeds from 92 km/h (50 kn; 57 mph) to over 398 km/h (215 kn; 247 mph). Such jet streams are routinely used for reducing fuel usage for long distance plane travels. <br />
<br />
The {{w|equator}} is, as with the jet streams, not a singular place but a circumference around the Earth. Reviewing the equator as a singular location is rather pointless, though there is a whole range of specific (and interesting) locations around the equator, with countries with {{w|tropical rainforest climate}}, which many people from European and North American countries struggle with. That said, most of the equator goes over water.<br />
<br />
===Reviews===<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Rating<br />
! Review<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| <span style="color:orange;">★★★★★</span> || Greatest country on earth || A patriotic review (5/5), though provides no information on the actual nuclear site. The location is in the "greatest country", although this makes fun of people who go too specific, because all places in that country could be rated like this.<br />
|-<br />
| <span style="color:orange;">★★☆☆☆</span> || Looks cool but you can't get in || This reviewer, although initially positive, attempts to highlight what they perceive as a major flaw with the site: namely, that it is off-limits to unauthorized personnel and heavily-guarded, so it's impossible to actually go inside (thus only 2/5 stars). This is typical of a nuclear facility, but this kind of review could also be seen for a fancy restaurant that needs very early pre-booking.<br />
|-<br />
| <span style="color:orange;">★☆☆☆☆</span> || What is this store || Reviewer really, really has no idea what this facility actually is, mistaking it for a store, and thus giving it only 1 star.<br />
|-<br />
| <span style="color:orange;">★★★★☆</span> || My cousin worked here || If true, this review is a serious security risk (e.g. kidnapping the reviewer to extort information from his cousin). The comment may also just be a way for the reviewer to pretend he knows someone who works in the higher levels of the government. Usually this kind of comment together with a four star rating is to signal that you know more about the location than regular reviewers does. Of course you could then also be perceived as partial.<br />
|-<br />
| <span style="color:orange;">★★☆☆☆</span> || Waitstaff heavily armed and very rude || This review mistakes the facility's security guards for a restaurant's waitstaff. Since the guards are protecting some of the most dangerous weapons in existence, and would not let unknown outsiders into the facility, it follows that the guards would be heavily armed, and quite rude to those who sought entry without proper permission. Thus they earn the place only 2 stars.<br />
|-<br />
| <span style="color:orange;">★☆☆☆☆</span> || Stop doing chemtrails || This reviewer believes in the {{w|chemtrail conspiracy theory}} and is urging the government to cease spreading the chemtrails. Believing this place has something to do with it of course leads to only one star. This conspiracy was earlier mentioned both in [[966: Jet Fuel]] and [[1677: Contrails]].<br />
|-<br />
| <span style="color:orange;">★☆☆☆☆</span> || This place is a symptom of the {{w|military-industrial complex}} strangling our democracy and...<span style="color: gray;">(read full review-1184 words)</span> || A slightly tongue-in-cheek reference to essays against 'The Military-Industrial complex' and how they are often copy-pasted by people who don't really understand them in inappropriate places. Or just to people who rant far beyond anything that people would ever read, except if they are already agreeing with the writer. Of course such an activist would only give one star.<br />
|-<br />
| <span style="color:orange;">★★★★☆</span> || Anyone else notice the hole in the west fence? || The adventurer's travel guide to government installations... Posting a comment like this would (at best) bring the hole to the attention of the site staff to be repaired and (at worst) bring the writer unwelcome attention from the authorities for publicizing a security vulnerability at a missile site. This might also be a reference to {{w|Richard Feynman}}'s account of finding a hole in the fence surrounding the {{w|Los Alamos, New Mexico|Los Alamos}} facility during the {{w|Manhattan Project}}. Using the hole to get in, this reviewer had an excellent time and gives 4/5 stars.<br />
|-<br />
| <span style="color:orange;">★★★★★</span> || Whoa, missiles! || The writer is impressed and apparently surprised to discover that the site has missiles. Seems like the reviewer just love anything with missiles and hands out five stars. This may also be a reference to the "Whoa, technology!" meme, which originated when YandereDev, a Youtuber, uttered the phrase in one of his videos.<br />
|-<br />
| <span style="color:orange;">★★★☆☆</span> || Good idea but confusing web site. How do I preorder? || This reviewer thinks that one can order a nuclear missile launch here, but can't find a preorder form on the website. He loves the idea but since he cannot find out how to order there are only 3/5 stars. In reality, the decision to launch nuclear missiles often rests with the heads of state or government, and outside persons are not allowed to control them.<br />
|-<br />
| <span style="color:orange;">★☆☆☆☆</span> || Please don't launch these || A plea to the facility owners not to launch the nuclear missiles, due to their deleterious effects on human life. That Randall seems this is relevant to write, could be due to the cold relationship between Russia and the United States at the time of this comics release. Two weeks prior to this comics release [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/world/europe/russia-cruise-missile-arms-control-treaty.html?_r=0 Russia Deploys Missile, Violating Treaty and Challenging Trump]. This was less than a month after {{w|Donald Trump}} became president. He has been positive towards {{w|Vladimir Putin}} earlier, but after the violation USA condemned the new missile. That Randall was not in favor of Trump becoming president was made clear here: [[1756: I'm With Her]]. Even his predecessor {{w|Barack Obama}} stated, before Trump was elected, that [https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/obama-if-trump-cant-handle-twitter-then-he-cant-handle-nuclear-codes/2016/11/06/be398272-a463-11e6-ba46-53db57f0e351_video.html If Trump can't handle Twitter, then he can't handle nuclear codes]. Randall has earlier mentioned the codes indirectly in [[1242: Scary Names]], where he mentions the {{w|Nuclear football}}, which is much more scary than the name... It is a year ago he finished a "series" of four comics in a short period about nuclear weapons with [[1655: Doomsday Clock]] (see about the other comics at the bottom of that explanation). But it seems that [[1756:_I'm_With_Her#Sad_comics|recent events]] have made him think about it again.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Inside the main panel there is a frame with a Google location map with the typical red pin stuck in the center of the map inside a large gray region of the map. A river goes from the north through the gray region and out to the west. East and south of the river some roads and other items are shown, several of them also outside the gray region. The red pin is stuck next to a corner in one of the roads.]<br />
<br />
:[Below the map is the name of the location at the red pin, and below that there are three lines of unreadable text:]<br />
:<big>Canyon River Nuclear Launch Facility</big><br />
<br />
:[Below that there is broken line with text in the break, and below that follows 11 reviews with yellow stars to the left:] <br />
:Reviews (22)<br />
:<span style="color:orange;">★★★★★</span> Greatest country on earth <br />
:<span style="color:orange;">★★☆☆☆</span> Looks cool but you can't get in<br />
:<span style="color:orange;">★☆☆☆☆</span> What is this store<br />
:<span style="color:orange;">★★★★☆</span> My cousin worked here<br />
:<span style="color:orange;">★★☆☆☆</span> Waitstaff heavily armed and very rude<br />
:<span style="color:orange;">★☆☆☆☆</span> Stop doing chemtrails<br />
:<span style="color:orange;">★☆☆☆☆</span> This place is a symptom of the military-industrial complex strangling our democracy and...<span style="color: gray;">(read full review-1184 words)</span><br />
:<span style="color:orange;">★★★★☆</span> Anyone else notice the hole in the west fence?<br />
:<span style="color:orange;">★★★★★</span> Whoa, missiles!<br />
:<span style="color:orange;">★★★☆☆</span> Good idea but confusing web site. How do I preorder?<br />
:<span style="color:orange;">★☆☆☆☆</span> Please don't launch these<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:I love finding reviews of places that really don't need to have reviews.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*Only 11 of the 22 reviews posted is shown. For those 11 the average star rating is 2.6/5 stars. All five possible ratings are represented at least once.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Google Maps]]<br />
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]</div>162.158.214.28https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1789:_Phone_Numbers&diff=134142Talk:1789: Phone Numbers2017-01-25T06:19:16Z<p>162.158.214.28: </p>
<hr />
<div>I've definitely seen this comic before. Deja vu? [[User:OfftheRails|OfftheRails]] ([[User talk:OfftheRails|talk]]) 20:56, 23 January 2017 (UTC)<br />
:[http://www.xkcd.com/1254 #1254] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.219|162.158.74.219]] 21:44, 23 January 2017 (UTC)<br />
::Yep [[1254]] has been linked in the explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:55, 24 January 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
“Also White Hat never actually answers the question originally posed by Cueball.” – AFAIS he should use the #2 (the Google voice one). --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 20:58, 23 January 2017 (UTC)<br />
:He sort of does answer the question: The Google voice number should be used. This is number 2, since 1 is cell, 3 doesn't do texts (Google voice does), 4 is obsolete, and 5 is work.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.46|162.158.214.46]] 06:34, 24 January 2017 (UTC)<br />
:;Yes as DaB said. I have corrected the explanation and made it clear the Google Voice is #2. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:55, 24 January 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"Another reason I never call people." I can't remember any previous reason given, can anyone else? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.68|162.158.88.68]] 10:33, 24 January 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Typical Randall to make it a list and not give you all the item. Did it with the bad projection last week, and he has done do in other cases like a long list of reasons for doing something, where you only see a small section of the list. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:55, 24 January 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The statement in the explanation that most cell phones can't save such detailed information is incorrect. Android and iOS both allow setting custom types for phone numbers. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.113|162.158.79.113]] 12:09, 24 January 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Agreed and have corrected this. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:55, 24 January 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I could not resist ... <br />
When viewed this comic on my Android phone with Firefox, the hover text got shortened to "Texting should work. Unless the message is too long, in which case..." Which I am finding funny in this context :) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.102|141.101.107.102]] 15:44, 24 January 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Shouldn't this explanation mention the reason for this comic? Google updating Google Voice for the first time in 5 years? [https://blog.google/products/google-voice/ringing-2017-updates-our-google-voice-apps/] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.226|108.162.216.226]] 22:14, 23 January 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Yes and thanks. I will add this now. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:55, 24 January 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"However he then makes it clear that this _will only work when he is online with his laptop_ on a WiFi connection" Not true. Google Voice can be set up to ring several phone numbers, (6 total - see https://support.google.com/voice/answer/165221) in addition the Google Hangouts app on a computer. White Hat seems to want to use his laptop for calls when he's logged in on wifi, but the Google Voice number probably also rings his cell (#1), #3 (Landline?), and maybe even the partially defunct #4, if he has not updated his settings in a while. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.28|162.158.214.28]]Sailsman63</div>162.158.214.28