Editing Bitcoin address

Randall added a {{w|Bitcoin}} address to two pages of his site and changed it many times over the years, as a high-tech equivalent of a tip-jar. Here's a quick list of all the addresses mentioned in this article that have appeared in the [[footnote]] on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com] and on [https://xkcd.com/bitcoin xkcd.com/bitcoin], along with the earliest web archive available:
* [https://blockchain.info/address/1Lg2rvxbBPC8jp2YJoV5xL7sdyTjueMUot <code>1Lg2rvxbBPC8jp2YJoV5xL7sdyTjueMUot</code>], [https://web.archive.org/web/20110414103726/http://xkcd.com/bitcoin April 14th, 2011]
* [https://blockchain.info/address/14FHqYSgAi39CEJksUJJsK8JzJzyqFpLVk <code>14FHqYSgAi39CEJksUJJsK8JzJzyqFpLVk</code>], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120115221445/http://xkcd.com:80/bitcoin January 15th, 2012]
* [https://blockchain.info/address/1NEPgrUmed3VyXpqbYZom7YVJ8MozYrNWx <code>1NEPgrUmed3VyXpqbYZom7YVJ8MozYrNWx</code>], [https://web.archive.org/web/20130428000254/http://xkcd.com/ April 28th, 2013]
* [https://blockchain.info/address/14Tr4HaKkKuC1Lmpr2YMAuYVZRWqAdRTcr <code>14Tr4HaKkKuC1Lmpr2YMAuYVZRWqAdRTcr</code>], [https://web.archive.org/web/20130505042652/http://xkcd.com:80/bitcoin May 5th, 2013]
* [https://blockchain.info/address/1NfBXWqseXc9rCBc3Cbbu6HjxYssFUgkH6 <code>1NfBXWqseXc9rCBc3Cbbu6HjxYssFUgkH6</code>], [https://web.archive.org/web/20130604104224/http://xkcd.com:80/ June 4th, 2013]
* [https://blockchain.info/address/1FhCLQK2ZXtCUQDtG98p6fVH7S6mxAsEey <code>1FhCLQK2ZXtCUQDtG98p6fVH7S6mxAsEey</code>], [https://web.archive.org/web/20140627024159/http://xkcd.com/ June 27th, 2014]

==[https://xkcd.com/bitcoin xkcd.com/bitcoin]==
The first address was added to [https://xkcd.com/bitcoin xkcd.com/bitcoin], which today returns a 404 error. The first web archive of the page is dated [https://web.archive.org/web/20110414103726/http://xkcd.com/bitcoin April 14th, 2011], and its contents have been changed four times. On the [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5686.5;wap2 #xkcd-bitcoin channel] on irc.foonetic.net, he explained why he created it:

{{Quote|We don't have donations of any kind, actually.  I mean, there are prints you can buy, and you can pay more if you want. I only learned about bitcoins a month or so ago. I don't solicit donations on my website, and I have avoided soliciting donations through various systems where I hadn't decided to actively promote those systems (i.e. flattr and bitcoin). [...]

''Here's how far I'll go: if anyone types this URL, they can see a black hole into which they can deposit bitcoins: http://xkcd.com/bitcoin/. it'll be interesting to see if anyone stumbles on it. I am probably legally obligated to let you know that I am not a charity and will probably be spending the money on extremely unwise things (i.e. gin).

''Hooray!  I have some bitcoins now.|[[Randall Munroe]]|[https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5686.5;wap2 Source]}}

The original address was [https://blockchain.info/address/1Lg2rvxbBPC8jp2YJoV5xL7sdyTjueMUot <code>1Lg2rvxbBPC8jp2YJoV5xL7sdyTjueMUot</code>], but between April 14th, 2011 and [https://web.archive.org/web/20110601013953/http://www.xkcd.com/bitcoin/ June 1st, 2011], Randall replaced it with a message explaining why he decided to remove it:

{{Quote|Thank you for all the kind donations! I took down my address because I would prefer to experiment with Bitcoin as a regular, anonymous user. I put up an address here because someone on IRC asked, but I don't want an xkcd.com donation address to be seen as an endorsement of Bitcoin to xkcd readers.

''As a bitcoin user, I stand to profit from encouraging waves of new adopters who drive up bitcoin prices. I'm uneasy about this conflict of interest; for the moment, I'd rather stay a normal user. Again, thank you to everyone who sent me bitcoins before I took this down! I'll try to use them for something fun and geeky.''

''<3 Randall|[[Randall Munroe]]|[https://web.archive.org/web/20110601013953/http://www.xkcd.com/bitcoin Source]}}

The message was then removed before [https://web.archive.org/web/20110812095028/http://xkcd.com/bitcoin/ August 12th, 2011] and the page remained empty until a new address was added between August 12th, 2011 and [https://web.archive.org/web/20120115221445/http://xkcd.com:80/bitcoin January 15th, 2012]: [https://blockchain.info/address/14FHqYSgAi39CEJksUJJsK8JzJzyqFpLVk <code>14FHqYSgAi39CEJksUJJsK8JzJzyqFpLVk</code>]. It was then replaced by the last address to be shown on the page, [https://blockchain.info/address/14Tr4HaKkKuC1Lmpr2YMAuYVZRWqAdRTcr <code>14Tr4HaKkKuC1Lmpr2YMAuYVZRWqAdRTcr</code>], between [https://web.archive.org/web/20130316094344/http://www.xkcd.com:80/bitcoin/ March 16th, 2013] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20130505042652/http://xkcd.com:80/bitcoin May 5th, 2013]. It remained there until the page was shut down after [https://web.archive.org/web/20171124124330/https://xkcd.com/bitcoin/ November 24th, 2017].

==Footnote==
Between [https://web.archive.org/web/20130218163441/http://xkcd.com/ February 18th, 2013] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20130224073827/http://xkcd.com/ February 24, 2013], Randall edited the [[footnote]] on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com] and added a Bitcoin addresses. Over time, he changed them four times (before eventually removing it), but they were always displayed in this format:

:<small><b><i>BTC 14FHqYSgAi39CEJksUJJsK8JzJzyqFpLVk</i></b></small>

The first address to be added to the footnote was [https://blockchain.info/address/14FHqYSgAi39CEJksUJJsK8JzJzyqFpLVk <code>14FHqYSgAi39CEJksUJJsK8JzJzyqFpLVk</code>], which was also the second address to appear on [https://xkcd.com/bitcoin xkcd.com/bitcoin]. It was added between [https://web.archive.org/web/20130218163441/http://xkcd.com:80/ February 18th, 2013] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20130224073827/http://xkcd.com/ February 24th, 2013], months after it was initially introduced on the Bitcoin page.

The three addresses that followed were both never present on the Bitcoin page and only appeared on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com]. First, it was replaced by [https://blockchain.info/address/1NEPgrUmed3VyXpqbYZom7YVJ8MozYrNWx <code>1NEPgrUmed3VyXpqbYZom7YVJ8MozYrNWx</code>] between [https://web.archive.org/web/20130423213215/http://xkcd.com/ April 23rd, 2013] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20130428000254/http://xkcd.com/ April 28th, 2013], which was then changed into [https://blockchain.info/address/1NfBXWqseXc9rCBc3Cbbu6HjxYssFUgkH6 <code>1NfBXWqseXc9rCBc3Cbbu6HjxYssFUgkH6</code>] between [https://web.archive.org/web/20130601200048/http://xkcd.com:80/ June 1st, 2013] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20130604104224/http://xkcd.com:80/ June 4th, 2013]. Finally, either on [https://web.archive.org/web/20140626022915/http://xkcd.com/ June 26th, 2014] or [https://web.archive.org/web/20140627024159/http://xkcd.com/ June 27th, 2014], it would be changed for the last time into [https://blockchain.info/address/1FhCLQK2ZXtCUQDtG98p6fVH7S6mxAsEey <code>1FhCLQK2ZXtCUQDtG98p6fVH7S6mxAsEey</code>].

The footnote containing the Bitcoin address would be removed entirely, along with the [[warning]] above it, on [https://web.archive.org/web/20160912204204/http://xkcd.com/ September 12th, 2016], when [[1732: Earth Temperature Timeline]] was the frontpage comic. They were probably removed to not scare potential new fans away, given the [[1732#Popularity_of_comic|popularity of the comic]].

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