https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=SamuelRobe&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T18:52:35ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1083:_Writing_Styles&diff=2203331083: Writing Styles2021-11-04T10:19:00Z<p>SamuelRobe: </p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1083<br />
| date = July 18, 2012<br />
| title = Writing Styles<br />
| image = writing_styles.png<br />
| titletext = I liked the idea, suggested by h00k on bash.org, of a Twitter bot that messages prominent politicians to tell them when they've unnecessarily used sms-speak abbreviations despite having plenty of characters left.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
Sms-speak is a style of communication which involves substituting numbers for letters and shortening phrases to get a longer idea across in fewer characters at the cost of readability. The practice began first with text messages, also known as {{w|Short Message Service|SMS}}, or Short Message Service, which limited messages to 160 characters. Twitter has adopted a 140 character limit since its inception, which allowed any given tweet to be received as an SMS message with enough room for the user's Twitter handle (15 characters max).<br />
<br />
Randall is poking fun at both the stereotypical Senator and at teenagers supporting Ron Paul.<br />
<br />
The dig at the senator refers to poor use of sms-style abbreviations by older, less tech-savvy politicians who are hoping to appear more in tune with the modern world. Many politicians use sms-speak in cases when their message isn't in danger of the character limit, but where they are appealing to a younger demographic, thinking it makes them appear to be "modern" to their target audience. In reality, it may do the opposite, showing that they do not understand why sms-speak is used at all. <br />
<br />
Conversely modern teenagers, often stereotyped as lacking proper writing skills due to character limits on services such as SMS and twitter, instead here produce coherent sentences expressing a political view (this is later discussed in [[1414: Writing Skills]]). There is a subtle dig that being drawn to [[:Category:Comics featuring Ron Paul|Ron Paul]] is a stereotypical political position for a teenager, as Paul is ideologically libertarian, and the implication is that libertarianism is a position held while younger and politically or economically naive. Randall has also poked fun at libertarianism on several other occasions, such as [[610: Sheeple]], [[1026: Compare and Contrast]], [[1049: Bookshelf]] and [[1277: Ayn Random]]. The teenager's tweet is almost identical to the stereotypical Paul-ite comment made fun of in the title text to [[1026]]: "Only Ron Paul offers a TRUE alternative!"<br />
<br />
A few years ago, the sentence attributed to the teenager is the sort of thing that would stereotypically be assigned to a senator, while the sentence attributed to the senator would be stereotypically assigned to a teenager - however, now the situation has changed and so Randall comments that the internet has ended up in "kind of a weird place". <br />
<br />
The title text discusses an idea that Randall approves of, [https://papersbattle.com/best-assignment-writing-services/ originally suggested] by a user on bash.org called h00k, where a twitter bot be created to message politicians when they use sms-speak unnecessarily. This would presumably embarrass said politicians, which might in turn lead to a decrease in their use of sms-speak. Randall evidently considers this a good thing, suggesting he finds the unnecessary use of sms-speak annoying.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[This is a chart with the above two labeled columns. The rows will be represented below in the same format.]<br />
:If you post: you sound like<br />
:"Ron Paul is the only candidate who offers us a real choice!": A teenager<br />
:"its gettin l8 so ill b here 4 prob 2 more hrs tops": A senator<br />
:The internet has wound up in kind of a weird place.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
When this comic came out in 2012, the twitter limit was actually 140 characters. It has since doubled to 280, to allow longer messages, and due to the declining popularity of SMS.<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ron Paul]]<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]<br />
[[Category:Politics]]<br />
[[Category:Computers]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]</div>SamuelRobehttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=59:_Graduation&diff=22013759: Graduation2021-11-01T17:44:40Z<p>SamuelRobe: </p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 59<br />
| date = February 3, 2006<br />
| title = Graduation<br />
| image = graduation.jpg<br />
| titletext = Opening dialogue by Scott<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Megan]] and a young [[Blondie]] (in her first appearance) discuss their plans for life after college. <br />
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Megan has taken the increasingly unusual choice of pursuing a career as a {{w|Lighthouse keeper|lighthouse operator}}, a path that has become increasingly less traveled, as lighthouses have become ever more automated and supplanted by other solutions. Before GPS technology, {{w|Lighthouse|lighthouses}} were invaluable markers of where dangers to marine navigation, such as shallow reefs or coastal headlands, were located. Megan likes the idea of subverting the [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GirlInTheTower trope of the helpless maid in the tower] who needs saving, by helping to save seafarers by operating a lighthouse that helps them to find their way safely back home.<br />
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When it comes to her turn to answer her own question, Blondie answers that she plans to pursue {{w|Postgraduate education|postgraduate education}}, but admits that she has no purpose for doing so. After obtaining an {{w|undergraduate education|undergraduate}}/{{w|Bachelor's degree|bachelor's}} degree, {{w|Graduate school|graduate school}} is the next level of [https://essayreviewexpert.com/review/papersowl/ education], where students pursue a {{w|Master's degree|master's}} or {{w|Doctorate|doctoral}} {{w|Academic degree|degree}}. Augmenting one's education with post-graduate studies is a conventional career path, and would imply that the student has a definite plan for their career, yet some people may attend grad school only ''because'' it is conventional, without having any definite plan for their career. This appears to be the case for Blondie, contrasted with Megan's choice of a seemingly {{w|Blue-collar worker|blue collar}}/{{w|Skilled worker|unskilled}} career &mdash; one might expect such a career to indicate someone who has no specific career plan, yet Megan seems to know her exact purpose, unlike Blondie. The fact that Blondie then accepts an invitation to spend her breaks at Megan's lighthouse suggests that she finds this a more attractive prospect than her more conventional path.<br />
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Other comics with a similar theme about finding or taking unexplored paths, instead of fitting into the mold, include [[137: Dreams]] and [[267: Choices: Part 4]].<br />
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[[Scott]] appears to be a friend of [[Randall Munroe]]. Comics 57 through 59 all have the title text ''[[:Category:Opening dialogue by Scott|Opening dialogue by Scott]]'', forming a sort of informal mini-series inspired by him. They are:<br />
*[[57: Wait For Me]]<br />
*[[58: Why Do You Love Me?]]<br />
*[[59: Graduation]]<br />
As there already was a comic released on Monday that week, the first of these three was released on Tuesday, then Wednesday and Friday. This may be related to the fact that this was the first week where the comics were not also released on [[LiveJournal]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan and Blondie are talking.]<br />
:Blondie: What do you want to do when you graduate?<br />
<br />
:[Same scene as before.]<br />
:Megan: I want to become a lighthouse operator.<br />
:Blondie: Oh?<br />
:Megan: Yeah.<br />
<br />
:[Cut to scene of lighthouse with text overlaid.]<br />
:Megan: Lighthouses are built on interesting pieces of coast, so I'll have an interesting place to walk and swim, and great views of all kinds of weather. I'd feel good about myself and my work every single day.<br />
<br />
:[Cut back to Megan and Blondie. Megan has her arms up.]<br />
:Megan: I'd get to be the girl in the tower, only <u>I'd</u> be the one rescuing people.<br />
<br />
:[Megan now has her arms down.]<br />
:Megan: Why, what do you want to do?<br />
:Blondie: I'm going to grad school. I don't really know why.<br />
<br />
:[Same scene as before.]<br />
:Megan: Wanna come hang in my lighthouse over breaks?<br />
:Blondie: ...yeah.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]<br />
[[Category:Scott]]<br />
[[Category:Opening dialogue by Scott]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]</div>SamuelRobe