285: Wikipedian Protester - Revision history

Lettherebedarklight: /* Trivia */ add Category:Comics with a Spanish translation

2025-12-15T09:00:35Z

‎Trivia: add Category:Comics with a Spanish translation

SacrifycedStoat: Added that the text (citation needed) is underlined to the transcript.

2025-10-27T00:05:53Z

Added that the text (citation needed) is underlined to the transcript.

SevenTheGamingKitty: You forgot a space.

2025-06-08T04:43:49Z

You forgot a space.

FaviFake: /* Explanation */

2025-04-25T10:18:26Z

‎Explanation

FaviFake: /* Trivia */

2025-04-25T10:15:13Z

‎Trivia

FaviFake: i disagree but i guess its not that incomplete

2025-04-17T21:02:59Z

i disagree but i guess its not that incomplete

172.70.162.159: /* Explanation */ I believe that point is every bit as explained as we could hope for, without forcibly dredging Randall's own memories and motivations...

2025-04-17T20:55:27Z

‎Explanation: I believe that point is every bit as explained as we could hope for, without forcibly dredging Randall's own memories and motivations...

FaviFake at 17:14, 17 April 2025

2025-04-17T17:14:36Z

FaviFake: /* Explanation */

2025-04-17T16:59:49Z

‎Explanation

Etymologicon: Explained why this was posted on the fourth of July.

2025-04-17T15:52:29Z

Explained why this was posted on the fourth of July.

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:00, 15 December 2025
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	[[Category:Public speaking]]		[[Category:Public speaking]]
	[[Category:Wikipedia]]		[[Category:Wikipedia]]
		+	[[Category:Comics with a Spanish translation]]

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 ==Transcript==
-:[A man (presumably some sort of electoral candidate) with flat, dark hair is standing at a podium. He is speaking to a crowd while standing behind a lectern. The lectern has a microphone on the top and sports an American flag in color on the side. He holds an arm on the lectern and the other arm is held up in front of him with a finger pointing upwards. There are four red stars on the side of the podium below him and behind him something that could be high curtains. There is an empty gap between the podium and the first people in the crowd followed by a stick with a red top, which indicates a fence to keep the crowd at a distance from the podium. After the fence there is a large crowd of people listening, most of them only partly drawn, and a lot of them lacking hair. Three signs can be seen above the heads of the crowd, but two are just blank white, except for one in the middle of the crowd. There, a Cueball has been raised above the rest of the crowd (possibly on someone else's shoulders) while holding a large sign above his head in both hands. The sign has blue text in black square brackets:]
+:[A man (presumably some sort of electoral candidate) with flat, dark hair is standing at a podium. He is speaking to a crowd while standing behind a lectern. The lectern has a microphone on the top and sports an American flag in color on the side. He holds an arm on the lectern and the other arm is held up in front of him with a finger pointing upwards. There are four red stars on the side of the podium below him and behind him something that could be high curtains. There is an empty gap between the podium and the first people in the crowd followed by a stick with a red top, which indicates a fence to keep the crowd at a distance from the podium. After the fence there is a large crowd of people listening, most of them only partly drawn, and a lot of them lacking hair. Three signs can be seen above the heads of the crowd, but two are just blank white, except for one in the middle of the crowd. There, a Cueball has been raised above the rest of the crowd (possibly on someone else's shoulders) while holding a large sign above his head in both hands. The sign has underlined blue text in black square brackets:]
 :<big>[<font color="blue"><u>Citation needed</u></font>]</big>

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-[[Cueball]] holds up a sign reading "[<font color="blue"><u>Citation needed</u></font>]" during a political speech. The sign text is based on the {{w|Wikipedia:Citation needed|Wikipedia template}} that can be placed next to statements that need citations, usually because of questionable validity. (It looks like this: {{Citation needed}}) Cueball is using this template to challenge the politician's speech, as political speakers often throw out claims having dubious or no factual basis.This comic was posted on {{w|Independence Day}} in 2007, which may explain its focus on classically American issues such as free speech, protest, and the Constitution (as well as the presence of the country's flag on the podium).
+[[Cueball]] holds up a sign reading "[<font color="blue"><u>Citation needed</u></font>]" during a political speech. The sign text is based on the {{w|Wikipedia:Citation needed|Wikipedia template}} that can be placed next to statements that need citations, usually because of questionable validity. (It looks like this: {{Citation needed}}) Cueball is using this template to challenge the politician's speech, as political speakers often throw out claims having dubious or no factual basis. This comic was posted on {{w|Independence Day}} in 2007, which may explain its focus on classically American issues such as free speech, protest, and the Constitution (as well as the presence of the country's flag on the podium).
 The title text represents an alternative sign the protester could be holding. It is a pun on popular phrase "protect the Constitution", which urges politicians to pass and enforce laws in a way that preserves the rules and rights set down by the {{w|Constitution of the United States|U.S. constitution}}. "Semi-protect" is a reference to the {{w|Wikipedia:Semi-protection policy|Wikipedia semi-protection policy}}, which is used to prevent important articles from being edited anonymously or by new users. Semi-protection on an article is shown by displaying this lock [[File:semi-protection-lock.png|12px]] on the top right of an article. Constitutional amendments are proposed by Congress, which isn't anonymous, meaning that in effect, all articles of the Constitution are technically already semi-protected. Funnily enough, the "{{w|Constitution}}" and "{{w|Constitution of the United States}}" articles on Wikipedia are now semi-protected due to excessive vandalism.

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-[[Cueball]] holds up a sign reading "[<font color="blue"><u>Citation needed</u></font>]" during a political speech. The sign text is based on the {{w|Wikipedia:Citation needed|Wikipedia template}} that can be placed next to statements that need citations, (that look like this<sup>[<i><font color="blue">citation needed</font></i>]</sup>) usually because of questionable validity. Cueball is using this template to challenge the politician's speech, as political speakers often throw out claims having dubious or no factual basis.
+[[Cueball]] holds up a sign reading "[<font color="blue"><u>Citation needed</u></font>]" during a political speech. The sign text is based on the {{w|Wikipedia:Citation needed|Wikipedia template}} that can be placed next to statements that need citations, usually because of questionable validity. (It looks like this: {{Citation needed}}) Cueball is using this template to challenge the politician's speech, as political speakers often throw out claims having dubious or no factual basis.This comic was posted on {{w|Independence Day}} in 2007, which may explain its focus on classically American issues such as free speech, protest, and the Constitution (as well as the presence of the country's flag on the podium).
 The title text represents an alternative sign the protester could be holding. It is a pun on popular phrase "protect the Constitution", which urges politicians to pass and enforce laws in a way that preserves the rules and rights set down by the {{w|Constitution of the United States|U.S. constitution}}. "Semi-protect" is a reference to the {{w|Wikipedia:Semi-protection policy|Wikipedia semi-protection policy}}, which is used to prevent important articles from being edited anonymously or by new users. Semi-protection on an article is shown by displaying this lock [[File:semi-protection-lock.png|12px]] on the top right of an article. Constitutional amendments are proposed by Congress, which isn't anonymous, meaning that in effect, all articles of the Constitution are technically already semi-protected. Funnily enough, the "{{w|Constitution}}" and "{{w|Constitution of the United States}}" articles on Wikipedia are now semi-protected due to excessive vandalism.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 * Randall {{w|User talk:Xkcd#http://xkcd.com/c285.html|re-licensed this comic}} under [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ the CC-BY 2.5 license] so that it could be {{w|File:Webcomic xkcd - Wikipedian protester.png|used on Wikipedia}}. By default, xkcd comics are licensed under [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ CC-BY-NC 2.5], which is [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commons:Licensing#Acceptable_licenses considered too restrictive for Wikimedia content]. On Wikipedia, this comic was featured as the {{w|Template:POTD/2018-11-23|picture of the day}} on November 23, 2018 and is used in the "{{w|Citation needed}}" article, the "{{w|Wikipedia:Citation needed}}" information page, and the "{{w|Wikipedia:Why Wikipedia cannot claim the Earth is not flat}}" essay.
 {{Quote| I feel like I've already fielded requests on this particular image elsewhere in the three years since this debate, so the issue has probably been resolved. In case I haven't: yes—I am willing to release comic #285 under CC-BY-SA, so Wikipedia can use it. Sorry for any trouble!|[[Randall Munroe]]|{{w|User talk:Xkcd#http://xkcd.com/c285.html|User talk:Xkcd}}}}
 * The template in this comic used to be [https://web.archive.org/web/20211215010112/https://store.xkcd.com/products/citation-needed-sticker-pack available as a sticker pack] in the xkcd store before it was [[Store|shut down]].
 {{comic discussion}}

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-{{incomplete|The comic was released on the 4th of July. Explain further why this comic was posted on that day in the last paragraph.}}[[Cueball]] holds up a sign reading "[<font color="blue"><u>Citation needed</u></font>]" during a political speech. The sign text is based on the {{w|Wikipedia:Citation needed|Wikipedia template}} that can be placed next to statements that need citations, (that look like this<sup>[<i><font color="blue">citation needed</font></i>]</sup>) usually because of questionable validity. Cueball is using this template to challenge the politician's speech, as political speakers often throw out claims having dubious or no factual basis.
+{{incomplete|
 The title text represents an alternative sign the protester could be holding. It is a pun on popular phrase "protect the Constitution", which urges politicians to pass and enforce laws in a way that preserves the rules and rights set down by the {{w|Constitution of the United States|U.S. constitution}}. "Semi-protect" is a reference to the {{w|Wikipedia:Semi-protection policy|Wikipedia semi-protection policy}}, which is used to prevent important articles from being edited anonymously or by new users. Semi-protection on an article is shown by displaying this lock [[File:semi-protection-lock.png|12px]] on the top right of an article. Constitutional amendments are proposed by Congress, which isn't anonymous, meaning that in effect, all articles of the Constitution are technically already semi-protected. Funnily enough, the "{{w|Constitution}}" and "{{w|Constitution of the United States}}" articles on Wikipedia are now semi-protected due to excessive vandalism.
@@ Line 18: / Line 21: @@
 ==Trivia==
-* Randall's ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' blog and [[explain xkcd|this wiki]] use the {{Template|Citation needed}} template as a joke, after statements that are blatantly obvious. For example, "The light from the Sun illuminates the Earth.{{Citation needed}}". On this wiki, clicking the template leads to this comic's explanation instead of the {{w|Wikipedia:Citation needed}} page. Because of this, this wiki instead uses the {{tl|Actual citation needed}} template for statements that are unsourced and require actual reliable citations. [[explain_xkcd:Editor_FAQ#citation|Learn more at the Editor FAQ]]
+* Randall's ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' blog and [[explain xkcd|this wiki]] use the {{Template|Citation needed}} template as a joke, after statements that are blatantly obvious. For example, "The light from the Sun illuminates the Earth.{{Citation needed}}". On this wiki, clicking the template leads to this comic's explanation instead of the {{w|Wikipedia:Citation needed}} page. Because of this, this wiki instead uses the {{tl|Actual citation needed}} template for statements that are unsourced and require actual reliable citations. [[explain_xkcd:Editor_FAQ#citation|Learn more at the Editor FAQ]].
-* Randall {{w|User_talk:Xkcd#http://xkcd.com/c285.html|re-licensed this comic}} under [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ the CC-BY 2.5 license] so that it could be {{w|File:Webcomic xkcd - Wikipedian protester.png|used on Wikipedia}}. By default, xkcd comics are licensed under [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ CC-BY-NC 2.5], which is [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commons:Licensing#Acceptable_licenses considered too restrictive for Wikimedia content]. On Wikipedia, this comic was featured as the {{w|Template:POTD/2018-11-23|picture of the day}} on November 23, 2018 and is used in the "{{w|Citation needed}}" article, the "{{w|Wikipedia:Citation needed}}" information page, and the "{{w|Wikipedia:Why Wikipedia cannot claim the Earth is not flat}}" essay.
+* Randall {{w|User talk:Xkcd#http://xkcd.com/c285.html|re-licensed this comic}} under [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ the CC-BY 2.5 license] so that it could be {{w|File:Webcomic xkcd - Wikipedian protester.png|used on Wikipedia}}. By default, xkcd comics are licensed under [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ CC-BY-NC 2.5], which is [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commons:Licensing#Acceptable_licenses considered too restrictive for Wikimedia content]. On Wikipedia, this comic was featured as the {{w|Template:POTD/2018-11-23|picture of the day}} on November 23, 2018 and is used in the "{{w|Citation needed}}" article, the "{{w|Wikipedia:Citation needed}}" information page, and the "{{w|Wikipedia:Why Wikipedia cannot claim the Earth is not flat}}" essay.
 * The template in this comic used to be [https://web.archive.org/web/20211215010112/https://store.xkcd.com/products/citation-needed-sticker-pack available as a sticker pack] in the xkcd store before it was [[Store|shut down]].