Editing 3074: Push Notifications

{{comic
| number    = 3074
| date      = April 9, 2025
| title     = Push Notifications
| image     = push_notifications_2x.png
| imagesize = 277x347px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = NOTIFICATION: Now dismissing a head of the Notification Hydra… NOTIFICATION: Success! You have dismissed a head of the Notification Hydra!
}}
* To experience the interactivity, visit the [https://xkcd.com/3074/ original comic].

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a DELAYED BOT - Please write a better overall explanation and explain other functions of the comic. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This interactive comic is the 15th [[:Category:April fools' comics|April Fools' Day]] comic released by Randall, just over a week late. It uses {{w|push notifications}} to change the comic image over time and make other statements.

If you press silence notifications too much the laptop blows up.

Notification types include:
* A few starter notifications about this comic, the successful sending of a notification of this comic, and the lack of another comic.
* A "streak" notification counting the number of times you've clicked it. The message changes every 10 clicks, and after 100 clicks there is an offer to make future clicks count twice, making this a simple version of {{w|Cookie Clicker}}.
* A "have you seen my cat?" notification which spawns several clickable cats on the comic.
* Cat fact notifications that appear when a cat is clicked.
* A "gravity malfunction" indicating a change of the image.
* An HTTP malfunction with Zalgo text indicating a change to the tentacle image.
* "Zoom notifications" including numeric coordinates.<!-- ???? -->
* "Constant reminders" stating what a mathematical constant's value will be "at the tone". (This is in reference to time-of-day phone services, largely obsolete since the popularization of the internet, which you could call to hear the exact time at a given tone.) There are also joke constants such as "your favorite number will be equal to 14."
* A notification that offers to provide weather alerts for your location, which leads into a series of notifications asking whether you live in a named city.
* A notification claiming that your computer ballast needs emptying, along with the computer room being flooded
* A reminder that the Earth spins at 1 rpd (rotation per day).

Comic images include:
* Cueball sitting at his desk, with his laptop.
* Cueball sitting at his desk, with a small potted plant.
* Cueball sitting at his desk, with a much larger plant that has clearly outgrown the pot, at least vertically.
* Cueball sitting at his desk, with a cat in the foreground near the point of view.
* Cueball sitting at his desk, his chair replaced with a large cat.
* Cueball, the desk, and the laptop floating.
* Cueball sitting at his desk, shielding his face with his arm from a tentacle coming out of the laptop screen.
* Cueball spinning in his chair.
* Cueball sitting on the desk, facing the laptop on the chair.
* The desk vacant with "Game Over" displayed if you use the emergency stop.
* Cueball sitting on the desk, with a sword leaning against the desk.
* The room flooded 2/3 of the way up the desk.
* Cueball sitting at his desk, but with the laptop much larger.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball sits at a desk in an office chair. He is typing on a computer.]
:[Gray message boxes with a small circled “x” at the top right corner are shown:]
:Happy April 1st (observed)! 
:To celebrate, we were excited to introduce a new xkcd.com feature: push notifications for new comics! 
:Unfortunately, this feature has gone horribly wrong. 
:Until further notice, we are asking people ''NOT'' to sign up for new comic notifications. 
:Frankly, we recommend not even clicking on any notifications to learn more.
:<span style="color:gray">''Click this notification to learn more!''</span> (a circled arrow is shown)

:“Push notifications for new comics” sounds like a simple feature, right? 
:There’s a nice API for browser notifications. xkcd updates three times a week. 
:So you just send a notification for each update, right? 
:That’s what we thought, too. 
:<span style="color:gray">''Click to continue!''</span> (a circled arrow is shown)

:[To the side of the comic frame is a big, horizontal hexagonal stop sign]
:Sign: Emergency STOP
:Below the sign: <span style="color:red">''Halt ALL notifications and forget everything''</span>
:The good news is that we did build a button to stop xkcd new comic notifications. 
:You can press this button at any time and the system will stop sending you notifications. 
:The nightmare will be over and the server will forget you ever existed. 
:This part definitely works. 
:<span style="color:gray">''The rest of the system does <u>NOT</u> work.''</span> (a circled arrow is shown)

:We’re sorry. 
:We don’t know how things went so wrong. 
:The system is sending more than three notifications a week. A <b><u>LOT</u></b> more.
:We cannot recommend signing up for xkcd new comic notifications at this time. 
:<span style="color:gray">''Click here to ignore the warnings.''</span> (a circled arrow is shown)

:No, really. 
:Our notification system may send a large number of very real system notifications. 
:These may flood your browser, displace other notifications, and cause problems. 
:<big>⚠️<b>DO NOT ENABLE XKCD NEW COMIC NOTIFICATIONS</b>⚠️</big>
:<span style="color:gray">''Yeah, I get it, but I definitely want to enable xkcd new comic notifications.''</span> (a circled arrow is shown)

:Are you sure? 
:<span style="color:gray">''Yes!''</span> (a circled arrow is shown) 
:Absolutely sure? 
:<span style="color:gray">''YES!!''</span> (a circled arrow is shown) 
:To enable push notifications on mobile you need to add xkcd.com to your home screen.

:<span style="background-color:#FFD3D3;"><span style="color:#8B0000">''Click here to subscribe to xkcd notifications''</span>

{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Initial static image shows Cueball sat on an office chair at a desk using a laptop computer. A notification 'window' is speech-bubbled above the computer]
:[Grey notification box, header:] April 1<sup>st</sup> (Observed)
:[Notification box, further text:] Open xkcd.com to view.

:[When viewed live, various xkcd-style popover notifications appear, each can be dismissed or (usually the last on every page) invited to press an 'onwards'-style button.]

:[First page of messages]
:Happy April 1<sup>st</sup>! To celebrate, we were excited to introduce a new xkcd.com feature: Push Notifications for new comics!
:Unfortunately, this feature has gone horribly wrong.
:Until further notice, we are asking people NOT to sign up for new comic notifications.
:Frankly, we recommend not even clicking on any notifications to learn more.
:[Notification with 'onwards button':] ''Click on this notification to learn more''

:[Upon choosing to continue, further messages appear, replacing any prior ones left open]
:"Push Notifications for new comics" sounds like a simple feature, right?
:There's a nice API for browser notifications, xkcd updates three times a week.
:So you just send a notification for each upafte, right?
:That's what we thought, too.
:[Notification with 'onwards button':] ''Click on this notification to continue''

:[Next set of popover messages]
:The good news is that we did build a button to STOP xkcd new comic notifications.
:You can press this button at any time and the system will stop sending you notifications.
:The nightmare will be over and the server will forget you ever existed.
:This part definitely works.
:[Notification with 'onwards':] ''The rest of the system does <u>not</u> work.''
:[To the right of the comic frame, a red, octagonal button has white text upon it:]Emergency Stop
:[Below the button is red text:] Halt all notifications and forget everything

:[Next set of popovers, "stop" button remains permanently so long as you continue]
:We're sorry.
:We didn't know how things went so wrong.
:The system is sending more than three notifications at this time.
:['Onwards' notification:] ''Click here to ignore the warnings''

:[Next set.]
:No, really.
:Our notification system may send a large amount of very real system notifications.
:These may flood your browser, displace other notifications, and cause problems.
:[Text bookended by warning triangles:] Do not enable xkcd new comic notifications
:['Onwards':] Yeah, I get it, but I definitely want to enable xkcd new comic notifications

:[Just two popovers, initially]
:Are you sure?
:['Onwards':] Yes
:[On clicking onwards, two more appear below]
:Absolutely sure?
:['Onwards':] Yes!!
:[On clicking, a further popover]
:[Red-tinted 'onwards'-style popover with warnings:] Click here to subscribe to xkcd notifications.

:[...something appeared then dissappeared...]
:[Genuine(?) browser dialogue activated:] xkcd.com wants to send you notifications. Block / Allow

:[If allowed, one more popover in the original style]
:Success!!
:[Below the Emergency Stop button, an oval gray button appears labeled in white:] Silence notifications at a cost
:[Below that, in grey text:]Temporarily pause your notifications at the cost of notifying two random people.

:[Further changes include the contents of the pane, whether Cueball is sat at the laptop, whether the laptop is larger, or a pot-plant, whether there are cats in the frame, outside the frame, sat on the Stop buttons, whether Cueball is sat on a large cat instead of an office chair...]
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:April fools' comics]]