Editing 1137: RTL
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{{comic | {{comic | ||
| number = 1137 | | number = 1137 | ||
| date = November 21, 2012 | | date = November 21, 2012 | ||
− | | title = | + | | title = LTR |
| image = rtl.png | | image = rtl.png | ||
| titletext = Collaborative editing can quickly become a textual rap battle fought with increasingly convoluted invocations of U+202a to U+202e | | titletext = Collaborative editing can quickly become a textual rap battle fought with increasingly convoluted invocations of U+202a to U+202e | ||
}} | }} | ||
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
+ | U+202e is a {{w|unicode control characters|unicode control character}} that changes all subsequent text to right-to-left (RTL, as the title references). In the comic, [[Black Hat]] tires of [[Cueball]]'s complaining and inserts a U+202e character in the middle of Cueball's speech, turning his complaints into gibberish - sentences that must be read from right-to-left. U+202c returns text back to its normal direction. | ||
− | + | When multiple writers work on the same text, arguments can often arise with some writers resorting to vandalizing the works of other writers. The title text takes this up a level, suggesting the use of U+202e and other direction control characters in editor wars to disrupt other people's work. | |
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− | When multiple writers work on the same text, arguments can often arise with some writers resorting to vandalizing the works of other writers. The title text takes this up a level, suggesting the use of U+202e and other direction control characters in editor wars to disrupt other people's work | ||
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | :[Cueball is standing | + | :[Cueball and Black Hat. Cueball is standing. Black Hat is sitting down and using a laptop.] |
:Cueball: And that's not even the worst part! The ''worst'' part is that— | :Cueball: And that's not even the worst part! The ''worst'' part is that— | ||
− | :Black Hat | + | :Black Hat: U+202e |
− | :Cueball: | + | :Cueball: ...neve t'ndid yehT— (Flipped translation = "— They didn't even...") |
− | :Cueball: | + | :Cueball: ?lleh eht tahW... (Flipped translation = "...What the hell?") |
− | :Cueball: | + | :Cueball: ...uoy did woH (Flipped translation = "How did you...") |
− | :Cueball: | + | :Cueball: .elohssA... (Flipped translation = "...Asshole.") |
==Trivia== | ==Trivia== | ||
+ | *The title of the comic on the xkcd website actually has a U+202e character preceding it; when copied and pasted, the title of the comic actually reads "LTR". The page title is "xkcd: [U+202e]LTR", which causes Firefox to use "xkcd: xoferiF allizoM - RTL" as the window title. This also occurs in Chromium and Opera. | ||
*In the version originally published there was a typo in the reverse text ("ETH" instead of "EHT" for "THE"). This mistake was corrected within a couple of hours. | *In the version originally published there was a typo in the reverse text ("ETH" instead of "EHT" for "THE"). This mistake was corrected within a couple of hours. | ||
− | + | *In some browsers, this page's title damages the appearance of all older entries in the [http://xkcd.com/archive/ archive page]. | |
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==Unicode Control Characters== | ==Unicode Control Characters== | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]] | ||
[[Category:Computers]] | [[Category:Computers]] | ||
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