Editing warning

{{notice|This article is a WIP. Please do not edit it.}}For a long time (at least since [https://web.archive.org/web/20060408214700/http://www.xkcd.com/ April 2006]) [[xkcd]] had a warning below the comics, beneath Randall's list of ''Comics I Enjoy'' (and later above the [[footnote]]), which said:

:"Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)."

The [https://web.archive.org/web/20160912181546/https://xkcd.com/ last day it was on the page] was September 12, 2016 when [[1732] was released.

Four hours later that day the page [https://web.archive.org/web/20160912204204/http://xkcd.com/ looked like this] with no footnote or warning. 

It was maybe due to the [[1732: Earth Temperature Timeline#Popularity of comic|popularity of the comic]] that this warning was removed [[footnote#Footnote_removed|along with the footnote]] to not scare new fans away.

When the [[footnote#Current_footnote|current footnote]] appeared, this warning did not reappear.

The warning thus lasted almost ten and a half years.




The warning on [[xkcd]] was originally added to [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com] before April 8th, 2006. It used to appear between [[Randall]]'s list of "Comics I Enjoy" and the [[footnote]], before it was removed on September 12th, 2016. For almost a decade and a half, it served as a humorous advisory message to users about the contents of the comics. It stated:

:Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors).

==Warning removed==
On September 12, 2016, the comic [[1732: Earth Temperature Timeline]] was published and [[1732: Earth Temperature Timeline#Popularity of comic|garnered attention]] from a much wider audience compared to other xkcd comics. Four hours after its release, the warning, along with the [[footnote#3._Bitcoin_addresses|previous footnote]], were both [[footnote#4._Footnote_removed|removed]] from the site. While a [[footnote#5._Current_footnote|new footnote]] was added 22 days later, the warning never came back. This new footnote did not include a reinstatement of the original warning message.


The removal of the xkcd warning and its accompanying footnote was likely a result of the comic's sudden surge in popularity. It is plausible that the webcomic's creator, Randall Munroe, made the decision to remove the warning and footnote to ensure that new fans were not deterred by the cautionary message. The popularity of "1732: Earth Temperature Timeline" might have prompted Munroe to rethink the need for the warning, as the comic's appeal reached a broader audience.

With the removal of the xkcd warning, a new footnote was introduced on the xkcd website. 


[[Category:Design of xkcd]]
{{xkcdmeta}}