Editing 285: Wikipedian Protester

{{comic
| number    = 285
| date      = July 4, 2007
| title     = Wikipedian Protester
| image     = wikipedian_protester.png
| titletext = SEMI-PROTECT THE CONSTITUTION
}}

==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. This comic was posted on Independence Day in 2007.

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==
:[A man with dark flat 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, only a few has hair. Three signs can be seen above the heads of the crowd, but they are all empty white signs. Except in the middle of the crowd, where Cueball has been raised above the rest of the crowd. He is holding a large sign up over his head in both hands. The sign has a blue text in black square brackets:]
:<big>[<font color="blue"><u>Citation needed</u></font>]</big>

==Trivia==
* The ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' blog and 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, the template has been used in [[:Category:Pages using the "citation needed" template|{{PAGESINCAT:Pages using the "citation needed" template}} pages]] and and clicking on it leads to this comic's explanation.
* 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 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]].
* xkcd fans have made [https://blog.xkcd.com/2007/10/01/the-meetup/comment-page-2/#:~:text=There%20were%20several%20gallant%20protesters%20insisting%20that%20all%20assertions%20be%20fully%20backed%2Dup. "Citation needed" signs in real life] as a joke.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:CC-BY-SA comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with xkcd store products]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Public speaking]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]