Difference between revisions of "Header text"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
Jump to: navigation, search
(Changes to the header text)
Line 64: Line 64:
 
**Also the comic that was the last to feature a message would be interesting to have below the other data.
 
**Also the comic that was the last to feature a message would be interesting to have below the other data.
 
**Put the newest (current) version at the top.
 
**Put the newest (current) version at the top.
 +
 +
====2019-07-15 or earlier====
 +
 +
*Randall announces his plans at ComicCon
  
 
====2019-06-25====
 
====2019-06-25====

Revision as of 08:17, 17 July 2019

Header text

  • The header text is part of the xkcd Header.
  • The header text is often changing when Randall has news to tell.
    • But when this news wears off the page usually returns to the go to header text which is:
      • xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
      • It was last active on 2019-02-05 at the time that this section was last updated!

Current header text

  • The current header text, when this section was last updated on [2019-06-27] was:
    • Want to bring me to your town for my How To book tour? Click to find out how to enter the challenge!
  • Usually the header text is the same for all comics.
    • But for certain comics there may be a reason to change the text permanent and as long as that is active they will not change along with the other.
    • See Unique header text

Unique header text

  • Some comics have their own version of the header text that do not change.
    • Only when the comic is on the front page, will it also be the main header text of xkcd.
    • Put newest comic at the top
    • Here below are examples of that:

Seven Years

  • 1928: Seven Years
    • It was released as a response to another cancer diagnosis, this is explained in the Header text which has replaced the standard xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The new one is this one, with the active link included:
    • The text (with link):
      • Becky Beaton, sister of fellow cartoonist Kate Beaton, has also been diagnosed with cancer. You can support her treatment here.
    • Kate Beaton is the creator of the web comic Hark! A Vagran.
      • Although this comic is not one on Randall's list of Comics I enjoy, he is clearly much influenced by another cancer diagnosis among someone in his own creative field.below.
    • At the time of this post the on 2017-12-14 the message is still there.
    • There is a possibility that it will be removed, when the support page is discontinued, but in October 2018 it was still there.
    • See the comic on xkcd xkcd 1928.

Meteorite Identification

  • 1723: Meteorite Identification
    • Randall realized that his comic was almost a copy of some other person. And he has since then acknowledged this on the comics specific page see more here.
    • At the time of this post, in the newest saved version on the archive from 2016-10-10 it is still there and says:
      • Note: Jolyon, founder of mindat.org, made a similar chart way before me!
    • See the comic on xkcd xkcd 1723.

Garden

  • 1663: Garden
    • This comic had a header text to help people use the comic when it came out.
    • For some time this text was the main header text, but after a while is disappeared from the main header, but remained as the header for Garden.
    • Today and as of the newest saved version on the archive from 2016-12-31 it is still there and says:
      • Protip: If you don't like how your garden is growing, you can click to prune it.
      • You can copy the URL to share your garden. From other browsers, it will be view-only.
    • See the comic on xkcd xkcd 1663.

Na

  • 851: Na
    • After Randall made this comic, he realized he could have "made it better" and changed the header text to:
      • I can't believe I forgot Hey Jude.
      • I don't get do-overs, but I couldn't resist making a fixed version.
    • See more about it in that comics trivia section.
    • See the comic on xkcd xkcd 851.

House of Pancakes

Changes to the header text

  • The header text changes often.
    • Here these changes can be listed
    • Begin with the date of the web archive link and make the date a link.
    • Link to the comic that was on the front page when the text changed
    • Then describe the changes and put in text if possible
    • Also the comic that was the last to feature a message would be interesting to have below the other data.
    • Put the newest (current) version at the top.

2019-07-15 or earlier

  • Randall announces his plans at ComicCon

2019-06-25

  • 2019-06-25.
    • 2167: Motivated Reasoning Olympics was up when the header changed.
    • Randall continues to promote his new book and his book tour.
      • The image now shows 15 people standing side by side each holding a book up in front of them with unreadable titles.
      • From left: Megan, Cueball, a man with blonde hair, Science Girl, Blondie, Hairy, another Hairy, White Hat, a kid with curly hair, Hairbun, another Cueball, another Megan, a guy with a knit cap, Ponytail and Beret Guy.
      • Above them is a text message.
    • The text:
      • Want to bring me to your town for my How To book tour? Click to find out how to enter the challenge!
        • The entire picture is a link to the official book tour announcement posted on the Blag, with all cities and dates listed with details.
        • In the link it is explained how to enter a competition on how to bring Randall to your city.
        • Make a story using only book titles and get the books used to be held up by different individuals.
        • A longer sentence will improve your chances.
        • This is what the picture shows.

2019-06-15

  • 2019-06-15
    • 2163: Chernobyl was up when the header changed.
    • Randall only made a small change to the one that had been up for four days at this time.
    • The text only changed by adding a line below the first line:
      • Announcing the How To book tour:
      • [Click here for dates and tickets]
        • The rest of the header is exactly the same as on 2019-06-11, except everything is a bit smaller to make room in the same place for the extra line.
        • The link is not located on the blue part of the text and it was already there before this update.
        • Best guess is that not many clicked through and Randall then made it obvious that there was a link.
        • The entire picture is a link to the official book tour announcement posted on the Blag, with all cities and dates listed with details.
        • Randall has previously made it clear, in 1572: xkcd Survey, that he knows how to make an image a link, but not how to put the link only where he says to click. But it is easier to make a place for people to click than tell them this...
  • The header stayed like this until 2019-06-25, when it changed while 2167: Motivated Reasoning Olympics was up. But this one was still up when that comic came out the day before 2019-06-24.

2019-06-11

  • 2019-06-11
    • 2161: An Apple a Day was up when the header changed.
      • Note when this change happened two new links was added to the xkcd links section of xkcd.
    • Randall changed the header text to announce the official book tour for his newest book How to to be released 3 months later.
    • The text:
      • Announcing the How To book tour:
      • [Below this header is a map of the mainland USA with 14 labeled black dots indicates the 14 cities that the book tour will take Randall to. One red dot with five red question marks above is located beneath the map to the left, indicating a 15th city to be chosen in a contest. Above the map to the right is a small picture of the book with the blue title on the black cover. Above the book is the release date and with an arrow pointing down to the book.]
      • September 3rd
      • How to
      • Seattle
      • Portland
      • San Francisco
      • Santa Cruz
      • Los Angeles
      • Salt Lake City
      • Kansas City
      • Ann Arbor
      • Cincinnati
      • Louisville
      • Cambridge
      • New York
      • D.C.
      • Raleigh
      • ????? (Chosen by readers)
      • [The entire picture is a link to the official book tour announcement posted on the Blag, with all cities and dates listed with details.]
        • In the link it is explained how to enter a competition on how to bring Randall to your city.
        • Make a story using only book titles and get the books used to be held up by different individuals.
        • Only US cities can apply.
    • The header only stayed exactly like this for three days, and was still up on 2019-06-14 when 2162: Literary Opinions was on the front page.
      • Then it changed slightly to indicate that the picture was a link which was not clear before. See above.

2019-05-17

  • 2019-05-17:
    • 2150: XKeyboarCD was still up when the header changed. It changed back to the exact same heading as before the one with Google reader here below.
    • See 2019-02-06 below for all details.
    • It stayed up for more than three weeks and was still up on 2019-06-10, while 2160: Ken Burns Theory was still up on the day the next comic 2161: An Apple a Day was to be released (where the new header could be found at least the next day, but maybe from the release of that comic?). Then it changed to announce the book tour for his new book.

2019-04-23

  • 2019-04-23:
    • 2140: Reinvent the Wheel came out when it changed, ending a more than two and half month long promotion of Randall's new book how to.
    • Randall changed the header text to ask if the reader still mourned the loss of Google Reader which closed on 2013-07-01, almost 6 years before this comic..
      • He offers the possibility to sign up to receive the newest comic by e-mail.
    • The comic may have relation to this, as some where using Google reader for different purposes when they closed it, without any chance of getting your data out.
      • The comic "Reinvent the Wheel" mentions that using external dependencies carry risks, such as Google closing down a feature. given the fact that the comic came out as the header changed it is probably not a coincidence.
    • The text:
      • Still mourning the demise of Google Reader? You can sign up to get new comics delivered by email here.
    • The link is to https://xkcd.com/newsletter, where it is possible to submit your e-mail address and press a subscribe button.
      • the following text is written above it:
      • To receive the comic and news postings in your inbox, subscribe here.
    • It stayed up for more than three weeks and was still up on 2019-05-16, when 2150: XKeyboarCD was up. Then it changed back to the promotion of his new book.

2019-02-06

  • 2019-02-06:
    • 2107: Launch Risk was up at the time when it changed, having been up since Monday the 4. of February
      • Here it can be seen being on the front of xkcd on 2019-02-05, without the new text. This was also the last time the standard header text was used in several months.
      • 2108: Carbonated Beverage Language Map came up later on the day the header changed.
    • Randall changed the header text to promote his newest book How to to be released 7 months later.
      • He added an image of the book with large text next to it regarding the release and links on how to preorder it.
      • There was no direct relation to the comics released at the time, except of course that he kind of launched his new book with all the risk it involves, while having a comic called launch risk up. It was though a very different and more real type of launch risk (of a human carrying space rocket) in the comic.
    • The text:
      • [The book is shown to the left as a black rectangle with large blue text and smaller gray text. On the book cover is seen Ponytail with a ladder and either black or White Hat (hard to say on black background). both are looking up on Cueball who is floating in the air with a quadcopter beneath either leg, trying to plug in an electric light bulb in a naked lamp hanging down near him. It seems he has already removed the broken light bulb, as he has one in both hands. And now he tries to put in the new one. He could have let Ponytail use the ladder...]
      • [The header in blue above it all:] How to.
      • [Sub header in gray to the left of Cueball:] Absurd Scientific Answers to Common Real-world Problems
      • [Author name in blue below the drawing:] Randall Munroe
      • [Sub header to this below in gray:] Creator of xkcd
      • [Sub header to this below in gray:] Author of what if? and Thing Explainer
      • [Next to this book image are the following text:]
      • [Large heading:] HOW TO
      • [Normal size sub header:] Absurd Scientific Answers to Common Real-world Problems
      • [In smaller gray font below:] Available September 3, 2019.
      • [Four links in gray blue are given with the first word still in gray:] Preorder:Amazon,Barnes & Noble,IndieBound,Apple Books
    • It stayed up for more than two and a half month and was still up on 2019-04-22, when 2139: Email Settings was up. Then it finally changed to a new header without going back to the standard.

2018-11-06

  • 2018-11-06:
    • 2068: Election Night (on election day the day after this comic was released).
      • It added a larger comic above the two links from the previous header. Those links of the previous header text was still up the day before 2018-11-05, when 2067: Challengers was still up.
    • Randall changed the xkcd header once more to try to make more people vote, and in this case help others to vote.
      • Once again directly related to the new comic about election night.
    • The text:
      • [A line of altering blue and red stars, blue first and last of two rows of nine starts around of the heading:]
      • Election Day!
      • [Below Black Hat and Ponytail to the left and Megan to the right of Cueball is checking their smart phones. Cueball is addressing the reader:]
      • Cueball: The biggest thing you can do th help is to check in with friends and family and make sure they know when and where they're voting.
      • [Below these four characters there is the following text with two arrows pointing left and right. Both are turning up to text/links on either side of the four:]
      • Use these links to answer questions
      • [To the left:] Where and how to vote: Vote-org
      • [To the right:] What's on your ballot: BallotReady.org
      • [Below was the two links from the previous header:]
      • Find out where to vote: vote.org.
      • See what's on your ballot: BallotReady.org
    • It ended the day after 2018-11-07 when the next comic 2069: Wishlist came out.
      • The text then returned to the standard xkcd header: xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

2018-11-02

  • 2018-11-02:
    • 2067: Challengers (on the Friday, it was released).
      • It added another link to the previous header text. That text was still up the day before on Thursday 2018-11-01.
      • That was while comic 2066: Ballot Selfies was still up.
    • Randall changed the xkcd header to let people know who is on their voting ballot, and as before there is also a link on how to register for voting.
      • This is also directly related to the new comic that came out that day, about helping people to decide who to vote for, i.e. who is on their ballot.
    • The text:
    • This was done at this moment because the United States midterm election was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, four days after the release of this comic.
    • It was still up the day before the election day, 2018-11-05, and then it changed with the next comic.

2018-10-22

2018-09-13

  • 2018-09-13
    • 2045: Social Media Announcement (the day after the release of the comic.)
      • It was not up when the comic was released on 2018-09-12.
    • It was a short lived reminder that NY votes today below the usual standard text.
    • The text:
      • xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
      • NY votes today! Find your polling place here. (Zephyr Teachout for AG!)
    • It ended with 2046: Trum-, the very next comic, on 2018-09-14, returning to the standard text.

2017-11-26

2017-09-22

2017-07-31

2017-07-25

  • 2017-07-25:
    • 1867: Physics Confession (2nd day after release of the comic, it was not up on the first day: 2017-07-24).
    • Randall modified the xkcd header to ask readers to support voting against Donald Trump's new health care bill.
      • The header was replaced with an image which is available in an archived version here.
      • The image is also a link (and you can click anywhere on it to go the the link that is mentioned.
        • The link goes to TrumpCare Ten (here in an archived version).
        • Randall has previously made it clear, in 1572: xkcd Survey, that he knows how to make an image a link, but not how to put the link only where he says to click.
      • Transcript of the image:
        • [Megan is holding hand with Cueball next to three lines of large text, the same height as they are:]
        • Please tell your senators to vote against this health care bill. It will hurt people.
        • [After these three lines there is a phone number in a very large bold font with a line of text below:]
        • 202-224-3121
        • Or click here for more info
        • [Below the above is a gray line which is split in the middle with gray text, and below that four state names in white text inside black boxes:]
        • Know anyone in these states? Ask them to call, too.
        • Alaska Maine Nevada Ohio West Virginia
    • Ended while 1869: Positive and Negative Reviews was up on 2017-07-31, when it was replaced by a Thank you.

2017-01-21

2016-11-28

2016-11-28

Changes not documented yet 2

  • Before the above was
  • More changes could be here between this and the one below.

2015-05-15

2015-05-15

    • 1525: Emojic 8 Ball
    • This was a more detailed promotion for Randall's new book: Thing Explainer to be published in November 2015, more than half a year after the announcement, compared to the previous change which was just a line and a link.
    • The text:
      • A picture of the open book is shown with diagrams of a human cell on the left page and suspension bridges on the right. All held in blue nuances. And arrow goes from the first word of the text to the right to the book on the left. The text is also blue except the title of the book which is in red:
        • New book: Thing Explainer
        • Up Goer Five-style diagrams of things (explained in the then hundred most common words)
      • Below this image is a line of text with the first word in black and the other are four links to where to preorder the book:
      • The image above the preorder line is a link to the Blag post New book: Thing Explainer.
  • On 2015-05-14 a single line announced the book with link to the blag post from the day before.
  • On 2015-05-12 the standard header text was still up.
  • It stayed up with some changes for the rest of the year...

Changes not documented yet 1

  • Before the above was
    • xkcd updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
  • More changes could be earlier than this.