explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

421: Making Hash Browns

2013-05-23T18:02:49Z

Lcarsos: /* Transcript */ indenting

{{comic
| number = 421
| date = September 5, 2008
| title = Making Hash Browns
| image = making_hash_browns.png
| titletext = There are at least fourteen ways this could go badly (seventeen if that fork is a dangerous crossbreed.)
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] is attempting to make {{w|hash browns}}. A hash brown is a way of serving a potato where the potato has been diced or shredded in some way, then pan-fried. Cueball's method for making hash browns, though, is rather unique. He is throwing potatoes into the air and striking them with a flaming tennis racket at his friend, who is holding a tray with a dangerously tilting glass of orange juice balanced on top. His friend is holding a fork in the other hand. The idea is that the tennis racket would simultaneously dice the potato, fry it, and then launch the completed product towards his friend's plate. In reality, this probably wouldn't do much. To properly {{w|Pan frying|pan-fry}} food, it must be cooked in a pan with some oil to lubricate the food, with enough time for the heat to transfer through the oil and spread properly through the food. Hitting a potato with a flaming tennis racket would not cook it as it would strike it too quickly, and it probably wouldn't dice it either unless the wire of the racket is incredibly sharp. Cueball would probably just end up batting a very hot, uncooked, unprepared potato at his friend.

The title text comments on how many ways this experiment could go badly, and jokes that there are even more potential problems if the fork Cueball's friend is holding is a cross-breed. Here are just a few potential ways the activity could go wrong.

# Cueball could burn himself with the flaming tennis racket.
# The can of gasoline could leak and then Cueball could drop the racket, causing a fire to spread.
# Cueball may fail to hit the potato and it would get dirty from the ground.
# Cueball may fail to hit the potato and whack himself with the aforementioned flaming tennis racket.
# Cueball may hit the potato and knock the plate out of his friend's hand, smashing it.
# Cueball may hit the potato and knock the glass out of his friend's hand, smashing that instead.
# Both of the above could happen.
# Cueball might instead hit the potato at his friend's head.
# Cueball could accidentally launch the tennis racket itself (if he has exceptionally poor grip,) at his friend.
# His friend might catch the potato and burn himself on it (it would be a hot potato.)
# Cueball could drop the tennis racket onto the can of gasoline, causing it to explode.
# Even if none of the above happened, Cueball would fail to actually ''cook'' the potato
# Likewise, Cueball would probably not succeed in dicing the potato.

It's unclear what Randall may or may not have had on his mind, though, with regards to specific ways the situation in the comic could go wrong.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball stands holding a flaming tennis racket. He is throwing a potato in the air as if to serve like a tennis ball. Behind him is a red gas can and a sack of potatoes. Across from him is a another person holding a fork in one hand and balancing a serving tray with a glass of orange juice on it.]

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:Comics with color]]

421: Making Hash Browns

2013-05-23T18:00:50Z

Lcarsos: added Category:Comics with color using HotCat

{{comic
| number = 421
| date = September 5, 2008
| title = Making Hash Browns
| image = making_hash_browns.png
| titletext = There are at least fourteen ways this could go badly (seventeen if that fork is a dangerous crossbreed.)
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] is attempting to make {{w|hash browns}}. A hash brown is a way of serving a potato where the potato has been diced or shredded in some way, then pan-fried. Cueball's method for making hash browns, though, is rather unique. He is throwing potatoes into the air and striking them with a flaming tennis racket at his friend, who is holding a tray with a dangerously tilting glass of orange juice balanced on top. His friend is holding a fork in the other hand. The idea is that the tennis racket would simultaneously dice the potato, fry it, and then launch the completed product towards his friend's plate. In reality, this probably wouldn't do much. To properly {{w|Pan frying|pan-fry}} food, it must be cooked in a pan with some oil to lubricate the food, with enough time for the heat to transfer through the oil and spread properly through the food. Hitting a potato with a flaming tennis racket would not cook it as it would strike it too quickly, and it probably wouldn't dice it either unless the wire of the racket is incredibly sharp. Cueball would probably just end up batting a very hot, uncooked, unprepared potato at his friend.

The title text comments on how many ways this experiment could go badly, and jokes that there are even more potential problems if the fork Cueball's friend is holding is a cross-breed. Here are just a few potential ways the activity could go wrong.

# Cueball could burn himself with the flaming tennis racket.
# The can of gasoline could leak and then Cueball could drop the racket, causing a fire to spread.
# Cueball may fail to hit the potato and it would get dirty from the ground.
# Cueball may fail to hit the potato and whack himself with the aforementioned flaming tennis racket.
# Cueball may hit the potato and knock the plate out of his friend's hand, smashing it.
# Cueball may hit the potato and knock the glass out of his friend's hand, smashing that instead.
# Both of the above could happen.
# Cueball might instead hit the potato at his friend's head.
# Cueball could accidentally launch the tennis racket itself (if he has exceptionally poor grip,) at his friend.
# His friend might catch the potato and burn himself on it (it would be a hot potato.)
# Cueball could drop the tennis racket onto the can of gasoline, causing it to explode.
# Even if none of the above happened, Cueball would fail to actually ''cook'' the potato
# Likewise, Cueball would probably not succeed in dicing the potato.

It's unclear what Randall may or may not have had on his mind, though, with regards to specific ways the situation in the comic could go wrong.

==Transcript==
[Cueball stands holding a flaming tennis racket. He is throwing a potato in the air as if to serve like a tennis ball. Behind him is a red gas can and a sack of potatoes. Across from him is a another person holding a fork in one hand and balancing a serving tray with a glass of orange juice on it.]

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:Comics with color]]

Talk:Main Page

2013-05-22T05:09:27Z

Lcarsos: /* Quit building? */ moving post, will delete entirely in a day

{{notice|This page is for discussion of the [[Main Page]] itself. Other issues probably belong at the [[Explain XKCD:Community portal]].}}

As a new user, I think the first page is very important. So I thought why not begin a discussion here what to have on the first page every user visits.--[[User:Relic|Relic]] ([[User talk:Relic|talk]]) 05:59, 1 August 2012 (EDT) Re-signed here - b/c I broke the comment in two when I added the "List of comics" header. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 23:01, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

==List of comics==
I was thinking of having a quick link to the list of comics that is explained. Right know, it took me a while to even see any of them. Eventually I found the "List All Pages" (found it in Special pages) where I could find the comics that have been explained. What do you think?
:A category tag will do that for you automatically. Having a list of comics indexed by its number would be a little different.--[[User:Relic|Relic]] ([[User talk:Relic|talk]]) 05:59, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::Sounds like a great list - I ''think'' it'd have to be manually maintained until/unless we get someone who knows how to make a bot update it. Categories will be useful, but they only work if someone added the category to the page in the first place. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 07:21, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::A (somewhat) related question - should [[:Category:Comics]] be sorted alphabetically or by comic number? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 07:43, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::::I think [[:Category:Comics]] should be sorted by comic number. If you are looking for a specific comic, you will use the search field. Is there a way to make that happen? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 08:11, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::::They are two different functions. For the former, instead of adding <nowiki>[[Category:Comics]]</nowiki>, add, say, <nowiki>[[Category:Comics|1]]</nowiki>. For the second, we can create redirects. Normally, I'd say just make sure the search term was in the article text, but since numbers are going to be use for other purposes than just comic titles, it may be better to create [[1]] and [[Comic 1]] as redirects to the relevant articles right off the bat. --08:24, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::::::We could also have a comic-list template on the Main Page, I suppose, or perhaps two - one for number and one for name? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 08:54, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::::::Here's what I was thinking of for that: {{tl|Comics navbox}} Thoughts? ''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]]
:(outdent) It's ugly, but a sortable wikitable [[User:SurturZ/sandbox|(click here for example)]] could be used as a checklist to see what has been uploaded and what hasn't. What's the project namespace here, anyway (analogue of "WP:")? --[[User:SurturZ|SurturZ]] ([[User talk:SurturZ|talk]]) 03:04, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
:OK, I've found a way to get all the titles of the comics, so I was confident enough to create <big>[[Explain XKCD:Checklist]]</big> which can be used to fill in the gaps. --[[User:SurturZ|SurturZ]] ([[User talk:SurturZ|talk]]) 03:41, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
::I'm liking the checklist! That should do quite nicely as a "tool for editors". (I'm linking to it at the Community Portal). We still need the "template for readers." Did you think {{tl|Comics navbox}} was on the right track or should we do something else for that? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 20:09, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
::Better idea - I'm throwing it directly onto the Main Page. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 20:10, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

==Admin list==
You can find a system-accurate list of admins [{{canonicalurl:Special:ListUsers|group=sysop}} here], so that might good to share, along with the manual list. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 07:13, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:Added to page. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 08:10, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::That's exactly what I wanted, but couldn't find the auto page for it. I knew it was somewhere. I don't see any reason to keep the link to the manual page. Do you? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 08:11, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::Not unless you want it. I'll remove it. Should I add the similar link for 'crats or is that unnecessary at this point? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 08:25, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::::To be honest, I have no idea what the Burecrats role does. Might be unnecessary now but helpful in the future? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 11:16, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::::Bureaucrats can turn other users into administrators (or indeed, other bureaucrats). That privilege isn't available to ordinary administrators. I'd keep it to yourself for the time being. :-) --[[User:Yirba|Yirba]] ([[User talk:Yirba|talk]]) 17:39, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::::::You can actually see a technical list of which rights each group confers at [[Special:ListGroupRights]]. As the wiki grows, you might want to spin off a few, such as the ability to grant rollbacker and autopatrolled, to admins as some other wikis have. But for the time being, at least, there's really no reason for the wiki to have more than one 'crat. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 17:07, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

== Community portal ==

I've created the [[Explain XKCD:Community portal]] as a tools/help page. If that's not what you want, feel free to change/move/whatever it, but I thought it'd be nice to save this page for discussion of the Main Page and discuss the wiki as a whole/ask for help there. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 08:36, 1 August 2012 (EDT)

== Direct link to latest comic ==

There should be a direct link to the latest comic at the top of the Main page. A nice thing about going to explainxkcd.com was that the latest comic is right there at the top. For those changing their default link to the wiki, there should be an easy "Latest Comic" link that quickly takes them there. I'm sure some folks actually skip xkcd.com and come directly here instead to read the latest offering from Randall. They shouldn't have to search for it.
[[User:Christopher Foxx|- CFoxx]] ([[User talk:Christopher Foxx|talk]]) 11:59, 1 August 2012 (EDT)

: Maybe the page [[latest]] should redirect to the most recent comic? Could that be taken care of by some sort of script/template so it doesn't have to be manually updated? Should each explination page also have "next", "previous", "random", "first" and "latest" links, possibly also generated automatically via scripts/templates? Additionally, shouldn't the number page be the canonical one? It seems like [[Internal monologue]] should redirect to [[1089]] rather than the other way around - certainly it would make a bunch of scripting types of things a lot easier. [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 13:02, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::If you wanted, we could even use wiki-magic to show the title of the page as the Comic name, but the URL as the number - in order to parallel the actual XKCD website. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 17:09, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
:: Shouldn't there be a way to programmatically find the comic with the highest number that has a page with content? That would work as long as no one puts future comic pages up. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 20:25, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::It's all sounding like folks are over-complicating something quite easy. All I'm suggesting is a prominent link to http://www.xkcd.com/. No need, I think, to list which number the latest is, or include the next/last/random buttons, etc. [[User:Christopher Foxx|- CFoxx]] ([[User talk:Christopher Foxx|talk]]) 11:41, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
::::Oh. We've got that, now, in the sidebar - labeled as "XKCD." I do think that having an internal link to the latest (explained) comic would be a great thing, though. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 16:36, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

You can transclude the latest comic on the main page like this: <nowiki>{{:pagename}} e.g. {{:Internal_monologue}} </nowiki>--[[User:SurturZ|SurturZ]] ([[User talk:SurturZ|talk]]) 00:25, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
: I've started with just a manual link to the latest comic. Ideally it will be automatic, but a manual link will work for now as I've had quite a few people ask for it. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 21:09, 1 August 2012 (EDT)

Transclusion of the latest comic is great. Someone with the right permissions should add (for instance on the top-right corner of the grey transclusion area) a link to edit the corresponding wiki page, so that people seeing something they could add would feel invited to do so (wiki style). In my opinion this would be a good way to improve the quality of the user-generated explanations.
Also, all the "XKCD"s in the "New here?" section should be converted to the lowercase "xkcd"...
[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 14:00, 6 August 2012 (UTC)
:Good points. I've done both. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 15:48, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

Call me dumb, but... You've got a link called "prev" that goes to the explaination for the previous comic. Then a link called "comic #42" but that goes to xkcd. And then a smaller, less prominent link called "go to this comic" that doesn't go to the comic but to its explaination. Anyone else think that's a little back-to-front? [[User:Zootle|Zootle]] ([[User talk:Zootle|talk]]) 17:18, 31 August 2012 (UTC)
:OK, you're dumb :-). The standard template for an explanation page includes the header with "Prev", "Comic # (date)", and "Next" links. If we don't have explanation pages for the previous or next comic, we don't show the respective link. I hadn't noticed that the "Comic # (date)" bit was a link to the xkcd site before, but in context it makes sense to me. Including a link to the Explain page for the comic who's explain page you are already looking at doesn't make sense.
:The explanation page for the latest comic is "transcluded" in the main page pretty much as-is, so we get the header, the comic, the explanation, etc. We don't get the discussion, which is visible at the bottom of the Explain page. Because there is never an explanation for a comic that hasn't been released yet, there is never a "Next" link on the main page's transcluded header. So you get "Prev" and "Comic" links. The "Go to this comic" link is added by the main page above the transcluded explain page.
:I can see how the "Go to this comic" link might be poorly worded especially as it's placement seems to be within the explanation it's linking to. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 18:16, 31 August 2012 (UTC)
::Rather than "Go to this comic" maybe it could be "Go to full explanation" ? Something else? [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 13:38, 5 September 2012 (UTC)
::There was [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Admin_requests#.22Edit_this_explanation.22_link_on_main_page a discussion at one point] about a wittier/more descriptive link - but no one came up with anything. I do like "Go to Full Explanation" better, for what it's worth. --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 15:31, 5 September 2012 (UTC)
:::My problem with that suggestion is that it implies that the main page explanation is not full. As of right now, the full explanation is transcluded on the main page. There's nothing more to see by clicking that link (explanation wise) Perhaps "Go to full explanation page" but that doesn't quite sound right to me... [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:42, 7 September 2012 (UTC)
::::How about "Go to this Comic Explanation Page"? One nice thing about the specific page rather than the [[Main_Page]] transcoding is that it nicely includes the discussion as well. I have a bookmark to the [[Main_Page]] that I look at every day, but I want to easily read the discussions, not only the explanation. Humm, maybe we could have a page [[most recent comic]] that automagically redirects to the most recent comic? [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 12:42, 8 September 2012 (UTC)
:::::I tried to get [[most recent comic]] to redirect to LATESTCOMIC, but can't get the syntax working - it is possible? [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 13:03, 8 September 2012 (UTC)
::::::Apparently it isn't. I would have tried <code><nowiki>#REDIRECT [[{{LATESTCOMIC}}]]</nowiki></code> like you did, but since that doesn't work, I'll delete the page for now. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:38, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

== Discussion of latest comic ==
Perhaps include the discussions of the latest comic here? I almost missed there was a discussion field a few times because I would only read about the latest comic on the main page. [[User:Carewolf|Carewolf]] ([[User talk:Carewolf|talk]]) 14:54, 22 September 2012 (UTC)

This comics's explanation is complete bollocks, I think. Of course it is NOT a "fact that such a room exists". This comics parodies trope often used in cop movies - an elderly cop goes to work for the last time before his retirement, packs things, plans fishing the next day ... only to be called to one more case (possibly with a new, young and brash partner). And despites his efforts not to screw anything and stay clear of danger, he is either mortally wounded or screws big time and is degraded. So much clichè, that if someone says "It's my last day or service", you might be sure one of the two options above happens. See http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Retirony [[User:edheldil|Edheldil]] 10:17, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

== The comic explanation count is wrong ==

The adjustment is currently 3, but there are now 6 subcategories and one list making the current correct adjustment 7.
If the wiki was upgraded to version 1.20, a form exists to automatically exclude subcategories.
--[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 09:56, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

:Looks like another week of the wiki going down then.
:But seriously, I've been noticing this too. Didn't know what was causing it, but it's going to have to be fixed sometime.[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 10:25, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

::The text reads <pre><nowiki>We already have [[:Category:Comics|'''{{#expr:{{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-3}}''' comic explanations]]!</nowiki></pre> The -3 is to account for the subcategories and non-explanation pages in the category. There apparently used to be three such pages, and now there are seven. I would fix this myself, but the page is protected. If the wiki where upgraded to version 1.20, the categories could be explicitly excluded, but the [[List of all comics]] would still be in the category. (Note that the -3 actually appears twice.) --[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 05:03, 11 October 2012 (UTC)

:::Mediawiki 1.20 fixes this issue, although it'd be nice if this could be fixed in the meantime via the hack reccommended by divad. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 06:40, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

:Looks like Waldir updated the "Comic Correction Count" to "10" (as of 20 November 2012):
<nowiki> We already have [[:Category:Comics|'''{{#expr:{{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-10}}''' comic explanations]]!</big>
Note: the -10 in the calculation above is to discount subcategories (there are 7 of them as of 20 November 2012),
non-comic pages (2 as of same date: [[List of all comics]] and [[Exoplanet]])
and the comic 404, which was deliberately not posted. Thus 7 + 2 + 1 = 10
(But there are still {{#expr:{{LATESTCOMIC}}-({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-10)}} to go. Come and [[List of all comics|add yours]]!)</nowiki>
:Could we possibly make this more dynamic by creating a "IGNORE_IN_COUNT" category or something? and then using something like: <nowiki>{#expr:{{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-{{PAGESINCAT:IGNORE_IN_COUNT}}}</nowiki>? Then any additional entries to the "Comics" category (that are 'special' entries) could just have the special category added and no main page editing would be necessary? --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 07:50, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

==Make Jeff stop apologizing==
The apology for server downtime has been around for a while now. Can we take it down? [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 04:41, 11 October 2012 (UTC)

== Spambots ==

I think someone should install [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:AbuseFilter AbuseFilter]. --[[User:Kronf|Kronf]] ([[User talk:Kronf|talk]]) 10:09, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

== Purge ==

We should regularly purge the server's cache for the main page using http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page&action=purge to keep the explanation up to date. --[[User:Kronf|Kronf]] ([[User talk:Kronf|talk]]) 02:28, 3 November 2012 (UTC)

== Updating the Rules ==

I've been having a lovely discussion with someone who apparently thought the "edit anything you want" rule applied to the Talk pages. As we don't have any codified rules for ''here'' and can only point to "well the canonical way this is done on Wikipedia is..." I think that there are a few things we need to put into the list of Rules on the front page, and then have a link to a more in-depth talk about why the rules exist and what-not.

Specifically, I'm talking about writing "Feel free to edit any page on the wiki to be better. But, treat talk pages like you would blog comments: comments by other people ''cannot be changed by you'', you can only respond to them." as a new rule to be plastered on the front page, as there seems to be an increasing number social neophytes that seem to think that editing words that are attributed as being said by another person is perfectly legitimate and non-controversial.

Shall we discuss? [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 01:25, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

:We could add the etiquette rules as an addendum to the signature reminder at the top of the page. Just an extra note below the alert box asking people to not edit other people's comments. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 06:40, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

::It really should be right down with the "edited mercilessly" description, because this is an exception to that statement. Shouldn't have two sets of contradictory instructions in different places. When I made my improper edit, I had a semi-conscious moment of doubt about whether changing the other guy's comment was ok, even though this is a wiki (and even though it wasn't really clear to me that this "discussion" box held something totally separate from the page content), but that statement at the bottom put all such doubts to rest. I read it multiple times to be sure. But I did not notice that line at the top about the four tildes until ''much'' later. It's somewhat lost, visually, in the header line, when you're not looking directly at it.[[Special:Contributions/50.0.38.245|50.0.38.245]] 18:32, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

:::There's discussion to replace that message with a more noticeable alert box. The message at the bottom of the page appears for all pages, including talk pages, so a talk-page specific message there would not entirely fit. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 00:18, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

::::If that text at the bottom is in fact alterable, it should be written to take every case into account. It's an extremely poor user interface that has instructions appearing on a page stating rules that are the exact opposite of reality. And note that the altert box on the top looks a lot like a banner add, when you don't focus on it and read it. People will tend to habitually filter out anything written there from their perception. Also, it can easily be scrolled off the top of the screen when the discussion starts to get long, and they have a preview displayed.
::::So I think after the "...then do not submit it here.", it should add, "'''Exception''': others' comments in Discussion pages are not to be altered. See full rules at <<link to appropriate wikipedia page>>."[[Special:Contributions/50.0.38.245|50.0.38.245]] 15:46, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

== Update after changes ==

The front page explanation hasn't been updated at all day to match changes in the explanation on the comic's page. This is a major problem i think, as it is the front page explanation people visitors will most often read. --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 20:43, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
: It might be a caching issue. Appending <code>&action=purge</code> to the URL will probably fix it. Can you confirm it looks good to you now? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 00:29, 27 November 2012 (UTC)
::Yep, now it updates instantly! Well done, whatever you did! :) --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 16:24, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

:::I've also added a link underneath the comic box that has the action embedded, so no one has to do any manual URL hacking. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:38, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

== Suggestion: Change "Go to this comic" to "Go to this entry" ==

Just a small suggestion. For the Main Page, I suggest changing "Go to this comic" to say "Go to this ''entry''" instead to remove any confusion for new and regular viewers. It certainly took me a while to figure how to go to each featured comic's entry from the main page.

[[Special:Contributions/69.43.114.2|69.43.114.2]] 17:04, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

:How about if it reads "Go to this comic explanation"? Would that be less confusing? I only quibble because the explanations aren't really entries, in wiki parlance each page is usually called an article, but that doesn't seem to fit here as we really have explanation pages. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:41, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

::Agreed. [[User:Ctxppc|Randy Marsh]] ([[User talk:Ctxppc|talk]]) 22:55, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

== Explain the Unreleased Comic? ==
:I wonder if [[http://i56.tinypic.com/a9ton8.png this comic]] is permitted to be explained, despite the double issue of Randall pulling the comic plus me finding the pulled comic through "xkcd overrated"... [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 18:21, 12 December 2012 (UTC)

== Comic 1156 ==

I don't have an account to edit the page directly, so here's an edit someone should make:
It looks like whoever wrote the existing page simply googled 'conditioning' and found the first link that came up.
Please modify the link to point to 'Classical conditioning', not 'Operant conditioning'.
Thanks. {{unsigned ip|124.191.56.91|05:26, 7 January 2013‎ (UTC)}}

:Hi. This is the talk page for the main page of the wiki. This page only has a "view" of the actual comic explanation. The actual explanation page is at [[1156: Conditioning]], and I assure you, edit permissions have not been restricted for that page. Someone has already changed the page to link to Classical conditioning, but the original editor came back stating that Operant was correct. If you would like to start a discussion about this [[Talk:1156: Conditioning|on the talk page for this explanation]] that would be much more conducive to getting this matter settled. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 05:52, 7 January 2013 (UTC)

== Comic Links ==

Some of the links seem to be confusing, as they're titled in a weird way. The link/button 'go to this comic', I'd expect would go to the actual comic on XKCD's page. Yet it goes to the comic's wiki page. And clicking on the comic # and date directs you to the XKCD page, yet I really feel that link should go to the wiki page, as it's right at the top center there, and has the date and everything, sort of indicating that it's a wiki page, yet it's not. And the prev and next buttons next to it don't go to the xkcd page, they go to the wiki pages. Which is really messed up, I think. Because of my confusion, every single time I visit here, I clicked on the wrong link, though now I've gotten used to it. I suggest rewording the links as 'XKCD Comic # and date' and 'go to this comic's wiki page'. And possibly switching the links' positions so that the wiki links could be in that navigation bar and the XKCD links could be off to the side. After all, we are a wiki, so putting our wiki links to the comic off to the side and the direct xkcd link in the center seems odd. Anyway, has anyone had the same thoughts and/or agree with me on this?--[[Special:Contributions/69.119.250.251|69.119.250.251]] 18:19, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

== Unexplained comics ==

The template that starts each explanation page should be edited to have the next and previous buttons automatically skip over pages that don't exist, rather than simply not being there if comic n+1 or n-1 doesn't exist. Preferably it would append a notice to the next page (like the redirect notices commonly found on mediawiki) telling you how many comics have been skipped. I'm not sure how feasible this would be to script, however. [[Special:Contributions/130.160.145.185|130.160.145.185]] 23:45, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

== Percentage of remaining comics calculation is off... ==

Okay, I hate to be "that pedantic math guy", but... Today the main page reads "We have collaboratively explained 936 xkcd comics, and only 252 (27%) remain." While I agree that 252/936 is roughly 27%, I believe we should really be calculating the percentage as "the number left to explain" divided by "the total number of comics that exist", not divided by "the number we have finished". That is (today), 252/1188=21%. Think about it. If we had completed 594 comics today, with 594 remaining, what should the percentage be? 594/594=100%? That's not right... 594/1188=50%? That's what we really want to say.

The page is protected, which makes sense. So I'll make my suggestion here.

Change this:

<pre>
and only {{#expr:{{LATESTCOMIC}}-({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-9)}}
({{#expr: ({{LATESTCOMIC}}-({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-9)) / ({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-9) * 100 round 0}}%)
remain.
</pre>
To this:
<pre>
and only {{#expr:{{LATESTCOMIC}}-({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-9)}}
({{#expr: ({{LATESTCOMIC}}-({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-9)) / {{#expr:{{LATESTCOMIC}}}} * 100 round 0}}%)
remain.
</pre>
[[User:Imperpay|Imperpay]] ([[User talk:Imperpay|talk]]) 15:32, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

:Done and done. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 15:37, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

:Thanks for the heads-up! However, notice that the #expr: around LATESTCOMIC was unnecessary. I've removed it. [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 11:30, 21 March 2013 (UTC)

::Waldir, you have exposed me as a charlatan and a fool! (I just copied, pasted, and tinkered until I made something that worked. I don't actually understand it. No formal training, you see. It's what we used to call "hacking" back in the dawn of the digital era, before the word took on connotations of vandalism, trespassing, and fraud. Have you kids come up with another word for it?) [[User:Imperpay|Imperpay]] ([[User talk:Imperpay|talk]]) 13:59, 22 March 2013 (UTC)

::: Joke's on me then, 'cause you sure fooled me – I readily assumed you knew your way around those parser functions. Nice job hacking the code, it was a nearly perfect crime ;) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:26, 25 March 2013 (UTC)

:::I've heard the cool kids call that the "Maker Mentality", usually with a reference to [http://makezine.com/ Make magazine] and [http://makerfaire.com/ Maker Faire]. But I think there's also a movement to resurrect the original meaning of hacker. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 04:21, 25 March 2013 (UTC)

==sidebar ads?==
''Moved to [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals]] –– [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 08:06, 4 May 2013 (UTC)''

== Expression error on Main Page ==

Please use <code><nowiki>{{PAGESINCAT:...|R}}</nowiki></code> instead of <code><nowiki>{{PAGESINCAT:...}}</nowiki></code> to correct these errors :) --[[Special:Contributions/110.168.83.62|110.168.83.62]] 10:55, 8 April 2013 (UTC)
:Dun diddly done. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 11:21, 8 April 2013 (UTC)

== Compile a list of non-technical comics to non-technical readers? ==

I'm a long-time reader and fan of >< |< C |}, but my normal approach is useless when I introduce this provocative comic series to my less technical friends. They stay at the apparent level of many comics. They don't bother reading the explanations, but they would say, "it's hard to make sense". Imagine an average non-technical (and non-arts) major guy/girl, can we compile a list of state-of-the-art but less-technical, easy-to-comprehend but "ah ha!!" strips that is suitable for them? --[[User:FrenzY|W shll nvr flly xpln xkcd!]] ([[User talk:FrenzY|talk]]) 12:39, 18 May 2013 (UTC)
:Oh my god that signature.
:Gaah, derailment. Uh, pretty much anything that isn't tagged with the physics or math categories are easy enough to understand for the average English speaker, so just check the categories at the bottom of the page for that. Also, avoid comics with the incomplete tag, and that oughta be fine. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:41, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

== Quit building? ==
''This post was moved to [[Talk:1214: Geoguessr]].''

:Hello, this is the talk page for the content of the front page of the wiki, not for discussion of the most recent comic, that happens [[Talk:1214: Geoguessr|here]]. I've moved your post over there for you. Cheers, and welcome to explain xkcd! [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 05:09, 22 May 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1214: Geoguessr

2013-05-22T05:04:36Z

Lcarsos: moving comment from Main Talk

Not only have Statue of liberty lots of replicas, also the original is in Paris. On the other hand, I don't suppose you can mistake the original with New York replica give the size difference. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:17, 20 May 2013 (UTC)
:I'm not sure where you're getting that from, but the original Statue of Liberty is the one in New York. It was assembled in paris, but not as a copy of any prior existing sculpture. {{unsigned|Zuffelnok}}
::Here is a list of replicas: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replicas_of_the_Statue_of_Liberty Replicas of the Statue of Liberty]. So it seems the original is that one in New York.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:33, 21 May 2013 (UTC)
:::In the {{w|Replicas of the Statue of Liberty#Jardin du Luxembourg|Jardin du Luxembourg}} section of that page it states that it is the 'first' that the artist used as a model for the full size version in New York, this is probably what Hkmaly is referring to. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:20, 21 May 2013 (UTC)
::::There were models before that statue was build. But no one was big as the present to the United States. Nevertheless it's correct, the first one is not standing at NYC. And without that statue at NYC we all would not know it.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:44, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

So by being in the same country you get a few thousand points. But, then I got an easy one because the street view showed a restaurant called Vila Cha, and sure enough TripAdvisor took me to Vila Cha in Campos Do Jordao in Sao Paolo, Brazil. I double checked in a separate tab the street view of the area, and I hit the point 0.023km off, and got "only" 6477 points. For the difficulty of the game, I'd think you'd get 5 digit scores for that at least. [[User:Uctriton00|Uctriton00]] ([[User talk:Uctriton00|talk]]) 15:59, 20 May 2013 (UTC) uctriton00
:I got the point 4 meters off, and only got about 6.5k points. --[[User:DiEvAl|DiEvAl]] ([[User talk:DiEvAl|talk]]) 20:13, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

"if you recognize Japanese characters on a sign, the nation of Japan actually encompasses an enormous area, so unless you can recognize a specific region, there's no obvious place to guess where you can hope to get high points. (Unlike somewhere like England, where guessing London is guaranteed to put you within reasonable distance from a global perspective.)" -- Japan is about three times as big as England, so I wouldn't say that Japan is "enormous" in comparison. Furthermore, since the part about Japan refers to recognition of Japanese characters, this would be equivalent to connecting signs in English to England, which apparently is not the most obvious conclusion. [[User:Jolindbe|Jolindbe]] ([[User talk:Jolindbe|talk]]) 19:26, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

:Nation != Country. I once had an island somewhere in the Indian Ocean where everything was in Japanese. I don't remember what it was called though. --[[User:DiEvAl|DiEvAl]] ([[User talk:DiEvAl|talk]]) 20:13, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

"For every famous object, there are countless replicas, and the vast majority of famous objects (...) exist in only one place in the world". ??? Someone might need to clarify the meaning here, as this reads as self-contradictory to me. Also, can I guess Legoland Windsor as being (very inaccurately) half way between Billund and wherever the California one is? ;) [[Special:Contributions/178.99.247.73|178.99.247.73]] 20:41, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

Actually, if people ''quit'' building replicas, Cueball's score would stay the same. To actually make his score higher, people would have to go and actually '''destroy''' some replicas, or wait for them to fall into ruin. All of this assumes that Cueball isn't getting any better with practice, and isn't playing often enough to where he's actually seen the replicas enough to recognize them... [[Special:Contributions/76.26.147.222|76.26.147.222]] 04:35, 22 May 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1214: Geoguessr

2013-05-21T20:20:26Z

Lcarsos: clearing up confusion

Not only have Statue of liberty lots of replicas, also the original is in Paris. On the other hand, I don't suppose you can mistake the original with New York replica give the size difference. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:17, 20 May 2013 (UTC)
:I'm not sure where you're getting that from, but the original Statue of Liberty is the one in New York. It was assembled in paris, but not as a copy of any prior existing sculpture.
::Here is a list of replicas: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replicas_of_the_Statue_of_Liberty Replicas of the Statue of Liberty]. So it seems the original is that one in New York.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:33, 21 May 2013 (UTC)
:::In the {{w|Replicas of the Statue of Liberty#Jardin du Luxembourg|Jardin du Luxembourg}} section of that page it states that it is the 'first' that the artist used as a model for the full size version in New York, this is probably what Hkmaly is referring to. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:20, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

So by being in the same country you get a few thousand points. But, then I got an easy one because the street view showed a restaurant called Vila Cha, and sure enough TripAdvisor took me to Vila Cha in Campos Do Jordao in Sao Paolo, Brazil. I double checked in a separate tab the street view of the area, and I hit the point 0.023km off, and got "only" 6477 points. For the difficulty of the game, I'd think you'd get 5 digit scores for that at least. [[User:Uctriton00|Uctriton00]] ([[User talk:Uctriton00|talk]]) 15:59, 20 May 2013 (UTC) uctriton00
:I got the point 4 meters off, and only got about 6.5k points. --[[User:DiEvAl|DiEvAl]] ([[User talk:DiEvAl|talk]]) 20:13, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

"if you recognize Japanese characters on a sign, the nation of Japan actually encompasses an enormous area, so unless you can recognize a specific region, there's no obvious place to guess where you can hope to get high points. (Unlike somewhere like England, where guessing London is guaranteed to put you within reasonable distance from a global perspective.)" -- Japan is about three times as big as England, so I wouldn't say that Japan is "enormous" in comparison. Furthermore, since the part about Japan refers to recognition of Japanese characters, this would be equivalent to connecting signs in English to England, which apparently is not the most obvious conclusion. [[User:Jolindbe|Jolindbe]] ([[User talk:Jolindbe|talk]]) 19:26, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

:Nation != Country. I once had an island somewhere in the Indian Ocean where everything was in Japanese. I don't remember what it was called though. --[[User:DiEvAl|DiEvAl]] ([[User talk:DiEvAl|talk]]) 20:13, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

"For every famous object, there are countless replicas, and the vast majority of famous objects (...) exist in only one place in the world". ??? Someone might need to clarify the meaning here, as this reads as self-contradictory to me. Also, can I guess Legoland Windsor as being (very inaccurately) half way between Billund and wherever the California one is? ;) [[Special:Contributions/178.99.247.73|178.99.247.73]] 20:41, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

Cueball

2013-05-14T16:36:22Z

Lcarsos: Can't say occasionally officially, it's a contradiction. Also, "dude" is a common enough slang term in english to be disregarded unless repeated

{{Infobox character
| image = Cueball.png
| imagesize = 141px
| caption = A close-up of Cueball from [[1063: Kill Hitler]]
| first_appearance = [[6: Irony]]
}}

'''Cueball''' is a [[stick figure]] character in [[xkcd]], distinguished from other characters by having ''no'' distinguishing features (including no hair or hat). The name is unofficial, and pretty much only used here on [[explain xkcd]].

Unlike other [[xkcd]] characters, Cueball doesn't necessarily represent the same character from comic to comic, and is not necessarily a unique character in any given strip. Instead, he represents a generic {{w|everyman}}. In several comics ([[1089: Internal Monologue]], for example) there are multiple such stick figures, any of whom could be called Cueball.

Early [[xkcd]] comics featured Cueball-style characters who occasionally included facial features (e.g., [[18: Snapple]]), since [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] hadn't standardized his character design early in the comic's run.

== Name ==
The character is never actually referred to as Cueball in [[xkcd]]. The name was developed by early contributions to [[explain xkcd]], and has stuck. It refers to the visual similarity of Cueball's head to a {{w|billiard ball}}. In some strips a cueball character named [[Rob]] appears.

We do know for sure that his name is [[989|not Terry]]. (Check the transcript.)

{{navbox-characters}}

1192: Humming

2013-04-18T04:10:43Z

Lcarsos: /* Explanation */ shortening ugly internal link

{{comic
| number = 1192
| date = March 29, 2013
| title = Humming
| image = humming.png
| titletext = I'm so bad at carrying a tune, those 'find a song by humming its melody' websites throw an HTTP 406 error as soon as I start to hum.
}}

==Explanation==
Services like {{w|MusicBrainz}} and {{w|SoundHound}} can detect a recorded song's {{w|acoustic fingerprint}} and match it with an existing song. This lets them identify the title and artist of an unnamed recorded musical extract. In this comic, [[Megan]] hacks the acoustic fingerprint database to add her own entry with a message to [[Cueball]], in which she asks him to buy [[1022|cat food]].

HTTP error code 406 means Not Acceptable. When a client requests data from a server, the client lists the data formats that it can accept. If a server is unable to provide data in any format that the client accepts, the server returns error 406 Not Acceptable. For example, this can occur if a client requests XML but the server supports only JSON. In the comic, the standard meaning of the error message is ignored and the text "Not Acceptable" is taken literally: The server is offended by the author's humming.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is humming a tune.]
:Cueball: Hey.
:Cueball: What's that?

:[Megan is still humming the same tune.]
:Cueball: What are you humming?
:Cueball: Should I know the tune?
:Cueball: ...Hmm...

:[Cueball gets out his phone and opens up a music recognition program.]
:Phone: Identify song
:Phone: Recorded
:Phone: > Live [beta]

:Phone: Identifying...

:[A zoom in on the phone screen. An album cover with a picture of Megan on it.]
:Positive match:
:''Check it out!''
:By I hacked the audio fingerprint database
:Feat. MEEEEEE
:Track: We're out of cat food (pick some up?)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Music]]

Talk:815: Mu

2013-04-14T22:33:41Z

Lcarsos:

I don't understand the max. Do chair-sitters decrease in productivity as mu increases because they are trying in vain to spin difficult chairs? In the limiting case of a rigid chair, do chair-sitters vainly attempt to rotate their chairs anyways? {{unsigned ip|75.145.95.201}}

:I think a difficult-to-spin chair just feels uncomfortable, so it kind of subconsciously affects your productivity. In fact most people never sit completely still and often you have to turn to get something from next to your desk or move around... That can be pretty annoying to some people. The way I imagine it, this would not apply to an "infinitely" rigid chair (a simple one with four legs), because you don't expect it to move so it would still feel "right", if it's sufficiently comfortable in the other regards (softness, angle of the backrest, ...). Maybe productivity would not be as high as with an optimal spinning chair, since it would not be as much fun, but that's not in the picture anyway. [[User:Laden|Laden]] ([[User talk:Laden|talk]]) 03:07, 19 January 2013 (UTC)

:I would think that the function approaches a fixed chair production coefficient ( ;) A set number for that chair subject to other variables which are being kept constant [as Laden pointed out]) as Mu approaches infinity.
:It's most likely a peicewise function with a different value @ infinity--granted truly rigorous analysis would conclude that all chairs no matter how "rigid" would experience microscopic torques from people turning and shifting in them.

:But this doesn't affect the psychology of being frustrated in a sticky swivel chair. As such that productivity would likely be higher than the CPC, which I would expect as Laden does would be to be lower than the max CPC of a swivel chair (which if I could would by now be denoting as C sub-S and rigid chairs as C sub-R)

:A similar graph could likely be made for a chair which has a certain maximum "reclination"

:Apologies for lack of formatting I've never commented before, and clearly was completely backwards from what I intended when i originally commented. Whoops
:--Rick 20:18:~45 13-4-13 [[Special:Contributions/67.182.93.204|67.182.93.204]] 03:06, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

::Rick, I hope you don't mind, I've come through and indented your comment the way I think you intended. If this is incorrect, feel free to correct it. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:33, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

618: Asteroid

2013-04-14T22:23:42Z

Lcarsos: /* Transcript */ shall we try using the xkcd provided transcript? That sounds like a good idea.

{{comic
| number = 618
| date = August 3, 2009
| title = Asteroid
| image = asteroid.png
| titletext = My Deep Impact/Little Prince crossover fanfic has been poorly received by the community.
}}

==Explanation==
The end of the world has been envisioned in many ways. One of the most common is with a {{w|Deep Impact (film)|really}} {{w|Armageddon (1998 film)|big}} {{w|Asteroid (film)|rock}} {{w|Meteor (film)|hitting}} {{w|The Day the Sky Exploded|Earth}}. There is an [http://impact.ese.ic.ac.uk/ImpactEffects online calculator] for asteroid impacts, but don't worry as any rock that does hit Earth [http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2010/11/04/calculator-shows-effects-of-asteroid-collision-with-earth isn't likely] to kill [http://www.sott.net/article/124099-Catastrophe-Calculator-Estimate-Asteroid-Impact-Effects-Online everyone]. And, as seen in a [[what if?|what-if]] article, [http://what-if.xkcd.com/20/ speed counts too].

The joke here, though, is that, after sending up a robot to blow the asteroid to smithereens, said rock is actually the home of {{w|The Little Prince|the Little Prince}} from the wildly famous tale by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. To save our world, we must destroy his. And probably the prince along with it. If the only way to save our species is by killing off another species, is the act still ethical? In none of the world-destroying asteroid stories were said rocks actually home to intelligent life. Or any life, for that matter. Also, in said movies the "heroic" mission always involves humans in some way imperiling themselves to save humanity, rather than, say, staying safely at home and using a robotic rover to do all the dangerous stuff.

The title text is a reference to the 1998 asteroid movie {{w|Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact}}. Fanfic is short for {{w|fanfic|Fan Fiction}},e.g. a fictional story written by someone who loves a particular story/series/idea so much they wanted to write their own tale about it (or one who hated said story so much they felt compelled to fix it). It suggests that most people were either unwilling to play a game involving build asteroids that then hit the earth, or watch a movie of people nuking miniature kingdoms to save civilization. A tough entertainment call any day.

==Transcript==
:[The panel appears like a news report.]
:[There is a picture of a rocket, captioned 'Breaking news']
:News-anchor: Astronomers have confirmed that the asteroid is headed for Earth.

:News-anchor: NASA has launched a heroic mission to land a rover on the asteroid, drill into it, and destroy it with nuclear bombs.
:[The picture of the rocket fills the panel. In an inset picture is the rover.]

:[A woman is sitting at an interface. A man stands next to it. Both are wearing headsets with microphones.]
:Woman with headset: The robot has landed successfully and planted the nukes! We're saved!
:Man with headset: Hooray!
:Voice: We're heroes!

:[Digital countdown.]
:0:05...
:0:04...
:0:03...
:[The Little Prince is looking at the NASA rover, which has drilled into the asteroid. Beside him is the rose, and a small volcano.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

User:Lcarsos

2013-04-13T20:45:49Z

Lcarsos: adding reference to the fact that some crazy fool gave me 'crat powers. Mwahahaha

{{UserBoxes|
{{:User:IronyChef/UserBox/DeputyAoD}}
{{User difficultblocks}}
}}

The username is lcarsos. pronounced el-cars-oh-ess. The only other acceptable capitalizations are LCARSOS or LCARS OS. The second of those is frowned upon because that should be used for any project attempting to create an LCARS operating system, or overlay/window manager. And lastly, '''never''' Lcarsos, despicable.

I'm your local admin/'crat, you can come to me with problems and questions. Some may call me a {{w|BOFH}} (And I have been known to jokingly self-deprecate as well), but I promise, honest questions will get an honest response.

I'm just a big xkcd and Star Trek fan (props if you got the reference).

Some days I feel like the English that comes out of my mouth is as coherent as [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz04IBZqfFE this video]. (For those who need backstory: He is an Italian artist who made a song to let English speakers know what Rock 'n Roll sounds like to non-English-native people.)

==Personal Achievements==
Some of the things I've managed to do here, I'm very proud of. And by golly, I'm going to display them out in public so everyone else can see how vain I am.

===Named Characters===
*[[Ponytail]] - Brought back the name from a dimly remembered past.
*[[Danish]] - stumbled across [[377]] and suggested it to [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] to be used as her official name
*[[Miss Lenhart]] - doesn't really count, I just created all the pages for her. But I'm very proud that I managed to do it all correctly on my own.

===Huge Pages I Made===
*[[980: Money]] - not finished but a good start. Please other people work on it.
*[[977: Map Projections]] - Created an explanation of each projection with explanation of each of the things happening in the discussion. Phew!

==Things I Need to Remember==
'''SERIOUSLY NEED TO WORK ON SOME KIND RUDIMENTARY SPAM BOT.''' I'm too busy right now trying to get assignments done for uni, but HONESTLY, this needs to stop.

; Categories I forget:
*[[:Category:Charts]]

; Necessary Pages:
* [[:Category:Pages to delete]] - baleeted.
* [[Special:Log/newusers|newusers]] - ban hammer if spammer, welcome the genuine humans.

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Talk_page_guidelines#Editing_comments Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines#Editing comments]

; Research
* http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Administrators
* http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Block_and_unblock
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:New_admin_school

; Cool pages:
* [[List of all comics]]
* [[Special:Categories]]
* [[Special:ActiveUsers]]
* [[Special:RecentChanges]]
* [[Special:SpecialPages]]
* [[Special:DoubleRedirects]]

; For when we get the okay to delete {{tl|explain}}
* [[Special:WhatLinksHere/Template:explain]]

; Waiting for scaled images fix
* [[954: Chin-Up Bar]]
* [[1093: Forget]]

;Admin-y gnome-ish matters
<code><nowiki>{{subst:uw-blockindef|reason=creating a username suspiciously similar to spam bots|sig=yes}}</nowiki></code>

==Ruby Importer script==
===Bugs, Questions, Comments, Heaping Adulation, Scathing Remarks===
[[User Talk:Lcarsos#Ruby Importer]] Please post there.

I'm trying to keep everything organized so nothing gets lost in the shuffle (lost cause, I know, but I can do my small part to battle entropy).

===Introduction===
Work on my import-assistant script is progressing. I'm using it to help create pages as I work my way backwards. Currently it is just using information from xkcd's json api and leaving explanation open for you to get.

I'm working on getting the explanation to pull in. But, managing to guess the right url alone was a difficult task, and it still doesn't get it right for some of the more odd ones, but it would be faster to just find the page manually than code for each exception to the rule. I'm going to do a bit more work on that, but I might just give it up and keep manually copying explanations in. Or at least write out a best-guess of what the url should be to get you close, if you aren't walking backward through the blog entries.

I want to be able to pull in the explanation so I can scan through it to get a rough idea of what characters appear to automatically generate Comics featuring ___ categories. But that's a bit of work, including lots of regular expressions ([[Regular Expressions|regex!]]) but it's good practice for basic data mining and pattern recognition.

I've found that already I'm much more productive simply by not having to type in the comic template info. And the page feels much more finished when it has the transcript.

Now, I'm going to give you a link, but I am requiring you to manually go through and look at what it generates and keep yourself engaged. As I explain in the README, there are things the human brain can do innately that computers need lots of work to get the logic hooked up.

You '''must''' go through and make links to appropriate wikipedia and external web pages. I can make links to the links that exist in the html, but ''you have to be a human'' and realize that if something has a wikipedia page it probably needs to be linked to.

Please tell me on my [[User Talk: Lcarsos#Ruby Importer]] page if you are using it, what features you want, and bugs you find.

===Link===

https://github.com/lcarsos/explainxkcd-importer/

===Change log===

* 20120917 - changed transcript parsing to use new indentation style, changing quotes into their pre-html version, as mediawiki correctly escapes them.

===Usage===
Generic:
:<tt>./importer.rb <number> ...</tt>
:<tt>ruby importer.rb <number> ...</tt> - for those that don't want to make the file executable.
Specific examples:
:<tt>./importer.rb 1000</tt>
:<tt>./importer.rb 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004</tt>
:<tt>./importer.rb `seq 1 600`</tt> ''Don't actually do that''

It accepts any number of comic numbers as arguments (space delimited, duh) and will iterate through all of them and spit out a text file <tt><number>.txt</tt> with Unix line-endings (if you open it up on Windows use Notepad++ or some other ''real'' text editor).

'''If I see you using this tool to blindly create pages without going through and cleaning things up I will kill you.'''

===Known Issues===
* '''Active Development Work'''
** Explanations are not being culled from the blog page.
* '''Noted As Feature'''
** Some transcripts come from the json api with extra newlines. Will not be fixed to encourage humans to look everything through. Good for fingerprinting brain-dead copy/paste usage.

==Formatting==
This section is being made into its own page, so that it will be easier to move it out into its own entity when it is complete. See [[User:Lcarsos/Style Guide|here]]

===Paragraphs===
Traditional paragraphs need to have an extra return between them

{| class="wikitable" |
! Typing this
!Produces this
|-
| width="50%" |
If this is a paragraph, and there is typing.

Then the next one is down here.
|
If this is a paragraph, and there is typing.

Then the next one is down here.
|-
| width="50%" |
If this is a paragraph, and there is typing.
Don't put the next paragraph on the next line.
|
If this is a paragraph, and there is typing.
Don't put the next paragraph on the next line.
|-
|}

The difference is that the wiki software will wrap the first example in paragraph tags, which means that it gets a margin between them. Where the behavior for the second seems a bit undefined. Sometimes you will end up with a line break, and sometimes it completely ignores it.

In only one instance can this be useful, and it is discussed in the Talk Pages section.

===Editorial Voice===
As you are going through, if you are using Jeff's explanations from the blog, please go through and edit the sentences to not include personal pronouns, e.g., "I". Since anyone can edit (nearly) every article here, there is no 'I'.

Next point, there is no 'we'. If you are referring to anyone who's edited the article, that could be anyone, there's hardly any consensus there. If you are referring to 'We' the editors of ExplainXKCD wiki, again, we don't agree on anything, don't believe it? Read the Community Portal pages.

'''For the purposes of this wiki''', saying 'we' is referring to ''human beings in general'', and it would have to be a very special case to mean any set/group of people smaller than that.

This is based off of the discussion that occurred in [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals#Editorial Voice]].

===Talk Pages===
Wikis have a well established tradition for how to use talk pages.

You begin your conversation, and someone else replies to you by commenting under the post and indenting by using the colon (":"). This mimics how threaded conversations work in blog comments.

Talk pages should not be dynamic like article pages are. Old and outdated information should not disappear. People use that as a reference for themselves. If suddenly a link they knew was there yesterday is not there today, it's hard to believe that you might actually be going insane. If information becomes outdated, post a reply saying the information is outdated or strike through it using the <nowiki><s>tag</s></nowiki> and it will magically <s>look like this</s>.

'''All comments on talk pages should be signed''' by using <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>. It is easy to forget this, but it is equally easy to get into the habit.

There are 2 canonical ways to handle multi-paragraph comments.
# Double returns between paragraphs and signature on its own separate line.
# Single returns between paragraphs and signature on the last line.

This makes it easy to scan through to see who's comments are whom's.

{| class="wikitable" |
! width="50%" | Typing this
! width="50%" | Produces this
|-
| width="50%" |
I think that there should be more lions.
<nowiki />
Of course, then we need more wildebeests.
<nowiki />
<nowiki>~~~~User1</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:That is a good idea.</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:And yes, then we would need more prey.</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:~~~~User2</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>::I'm replying to User2.</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>::Because he's funny.</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>::~~~~User3</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:I'm replying to User1, saying that we don't need lions.
Predators should be kept in cages ~~~~User4</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:I'm replying to User1 also, telling him he's a genius.
~~~~User5</nowiki>
| width="50%" |
I think that there should be more lions.

Of course, then we need more wildebeests.

User1

:That is a good idea.

:And yes, then we would need more prey.

:User2

::I'm replying to User2.

::Because he's funny.

::User3

:I'm replying to User1, saying that we don't need lions. Predators should be kept in cages User4

:I'm replying to User1 also, telling him he's a genius. User5
|-
| width="50%" |
I think that there should be more lions.
Of course, then we need more wildebeests. <nowiki>~~~~User1</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:That is a good idea.</nowiki>
<nowiki>:And yes, then we would need more prey. ~~~~User2</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>::I'm replying to User2.</nowiki>
<nowiki>::Because he's funny. ~~~~User3</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:I'm replying to User1, saying that we don't need lions.
Predators should be kept in cages ~~~~User4</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:I'm replying to User1 also, telling him he's a genius.
~~~~User5</nowiki>
| width="50%" |
I think that there should be more lions.
Of course, then we need more wildebeests. User1

:That is a good idea.
:And yes, then we would need more prey. User2

::I'm replying to User2.
::Because he's funny. User3

:I'm replying to User1, saying that we don't need lions. Predators should be kept in cages User4

:I'm replying to User1 also, telling him he's a genius. User5
|}

See how easy this is to read? And now we don't even have to start introducing bullet points into the discussion. Bullet lists can now be used for what they were intended: Making lists, even inside of a single post in a talk page.

But if you meet someone who doesn't know what they are doing everything breaks down quickly.

{| class="wikitable" |
! width="50%" | Typing this
! width="50%" | Produces this
|-
| width="50%" |
I think that there should be more lions.
Of course, then we need more wildebeests. <nowiki>~~~~User1</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:That is a good idea.</nowiki>
<nowiki>:And yes, then we would need more prey. ~~~~User2</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>::I'm replying to User2.</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>::Because he's funny. ~~~~User3</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:I'm replying to User1, saying that we don't need lions.
Predators should be kept in cages ~~~~User4</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:I'm replying to User1 also, telling him he's a genius.
~~~~User5</nowiki>
| width="50%" |
I think that there should be more lions.
Of course, then we need more wildebeests. User1

:That is a good idea.
:And yes, then we would need more prey. User2

::I'm replying to User2.

::Because he's funny. User3

:I'm replying to User1, saying that we don't need lions. Predators should be kept in cages User4

:I'm replying to User1 also, telling him he's a genius. User5
|}
For those of you that are now confused, don't worry I had to look back to my perfect example to see where I was coming.

Do you see that User3 has now managed to make the conversation very hard to read? By ending the line with a username it looks like that user posted a reply to themselves, and then by using 2 returns, made it look his own comment was also a reply. In reality these two should be part of the same comment. It can be frustrating to have different standards. But, it is extremely taboo to edit someone else's comment on a talk page. ''Don't do it.'' If the standard is single-returns within comments, double-returns between, do that. If the standard is double-returns throughout, do that. '''Do not''' go through the entire talk page and edit it to make it conform to your own personal feelings. If you start a talk page, then you may impose your will upon the unfortunate souls after you.

This is the only time in a wiki when paragraphs should not be double returned.

User talk:Lcarsos

2013-04-13T20:43:56Z

Lcarsos: /* About your discussion on explain xkcd:Community portal/Coordination */ replying

==Moved discussion==
Hi, just to let you know that I move the thread you started to [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests]]. Cheers, --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 10:33, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

== Ruby Importer ==
''For discussion of the Ruby Import assistant. Please create subsections for each item.''

===Multi-file Generation===
I assume that <tt>./importer.rb 100{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9}</tt> would also work? [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 02:08, 26 August 2012 (UTC)
: I hadn't even thought of that. I'll try it and report back as soon as I get home after work. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:18, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
:: It'll work; it's not a Ruby thing, it's a Borne Shell thing. When the Borne Shell does wild-card expansion, it generates all alternatives enclosed in braces. So "echo 1{2,3,4,5}" is equivalent to "echo 12 13 14 15". I've been known to do things like <tt>echo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9}{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9} 100</tt> to list all numbers between 1 and 100. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 16:34, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
::: I just ssh'd into a linux box, and yes that will work. But I still prefer using <tt>seq 1 100</tt>, much easier to type. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:17, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

==Removing Erroneous Categories==
It seems to me that if you are removing the same "erroneous" category from three comics that all refer to the same thing (like Wikipedia) that perhaps a bit more explanation needs to be made as to why the category is erroneous. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 21:32, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

:I was going through categories, and it looked like someone had started to tag any page that had a link to Wikpedia. I was putting a stop to it.

:But now that you've elevated this to conscious level, it might be that 2 of the pages were tagged Wikipedia because the theme of the comic was Wikipedia. The first one that caught my eye, [[548: Kindle]], merely had the word Wikipedia, that one to me seems that it was incorrectly categorized. The other two, now that I think about it, would make sense if we're categorizing comics by theme. I'll go back, make restitution, and fix [[739: Malamanteau]] and [[214: The Problem with Wikipedia]], and undo changes to the Wikipedia category. Thanks for keeping me honest.

:[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:49, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

== LCARS ==

Saw this and thought of you: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/12/star-trek-padd-app-is-a-lcars-sporting-trekkies-reference-bible/

:Okay, first, I'd like to thank you for showing this to me. I'm always interested to see anything Star Trek related. Always. There should never be a Trek-less day, for anyone, ever. But, now, you've opened a can of worms so now I get to do a little bit of ranting.

:With a few exceptions, anything "official" that Paramount/CBS Paramount/CBS commissions to be made based on Star Trek is crap. This is one of those things. The interface, while reminiscent of, and is close enough to scare away the children, is a tragedy that shouldn't have the privilege of being able to call itself "official" or "LCARS". The color scheme is vomitous, every color that could have been put into the interface is there, as opposed to the restrained every-color-represents-a-function style that is shown in the show. About the one thing they got correct is the use of the LCARS font. Other than that, the font is too large in every instance. The font should be bottom-right aligned, and there should be a generous amount of padding except for the bottom-right corner. And, except for actual paragraph text, everything should be all-caps.

:They also got the elbos (the bits that change from vertical UI to horizontal and vice versa) wrong. The curves aren't skewed like that. A quick look at the fan-made [http://www.lcarsdeveloper.com LCARS Standards website] would have showed them the correct way to build an elbo. Or, ''*GASP*'' they could ask Michael Okuda to consult on the project.

:Final UI complaint: What is that panel on the bottom doing? You mean that the people that made this app completely missed the idea of the LCARS UI and just have a panel at the bottom with skinned buttons that take you to the main sections of the app? Also, don't mix the butt-ended buttons with the fully rounded buttons. Just don't. Someone should have slapped you in art school for doing that.

:From reviews of the app in iTunes, it looks like the app isn't even fully baked. The database isn't full, just has entries for the popular characters and ships. This should be a front end for Memory-Alpha, but you'd have to do some work to strip out all the wikia bs.

:Finally, still iOS only? It's apparently been out for a year, and been updated once, in October, 2011. Was this a one-off, did CBS hire Random Company LLC to "Make a thing for the hip kids, with the iPads and the what-not" pay them to get the app out the door, kept them for a month to fix bugs and then fired them? Have we heard of Android? Is this the 90s when developers had to pick between developing for Windows 95 or Mac OS 8?

:Why is this catastrophe $5? There's obviously no development work going on, CBS makes bank off of the DVDs and other crap merchandise they sell (why are there no officially licensed replica isolinear chips?). This is pure, simple corporate greed.

:Sorry for the rant, I get angry when my favorite things are mistreated. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:05, 10 September 2012 (UTC)

== Double redirect ==

You're right. I knew there had been a reason I didn't do that for the first pile of comics I created. That's for reminding me. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 21:37, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

:Yep. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:38, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

== To the human behind the curtain ==
Moved conversation to the correct [[User talk:XERXES.ai|talk page]]

== Congrats on becoming Admin ==
Looks like my days of 700+ changes per month are a thing of the past! (What ''will'' I ever do with all the free time now? Edit, perhaps? ;-) -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 06:32, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

:Grazie. I noticed Jeff do a little bit of work, and then go silent. So, I hoped that I could catch him with a tab still open pointing out our plight. It looks like it worked! Also, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't in part because you started that daily counter of edits on your user page. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:40, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

:: Minor thing; do it too if you want to. When deleting spam pages, I "[omitted]" any link that appeared in the deletion comment, just so it doesn't even show up in the logs. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 06:50, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

:::I keep forgetting. Sorry about that. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 13:16, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

:Looks like [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=newusers&user=&page=User%3ALcarsos&year=&month=-1&hide_patrol_log=1 you registered your account] just two days before I [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?limit=50&tagfilter=&title=Special%3AContributions&contribs=user&target=Waldir&namespace=&year=2012&month=10 I went on a hiatus] for a while, so I'm afraid we never got a chance to interact much. Although away from editing, I've been following the wiki activity through RSS, so I'm aware of the huge amount of work you've put in, which I appreciate. And of course, I take the opportunity to congratulate you on earning your admin "badge". Cheers! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:05, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

::Thanks! I seem to have started contributing at the moment when everyone else went on hiatus. It got very quiet for a while, but it seems like it's coming back alive. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:28, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

== Category:Comic images ==

Hi Lcarsos. I noticed you categorized two images in [[:Category:Comic images]]. I am actually using the ones that aren't categorized yet as a todo list of those which haven't been moved to the original filenames (lowercase). If you categorize more images, please make sure to also move them to the lowercase filename, and fix the redirect from the filename with only the first character uppercased. That is: there are typically 3 file pages for every comic: file_name.png, File_Name.png and File_name.png, with the first and third redirecting to the middle one, and the end result shoudl be the second and third redirecting to the first. I hope this isn't confusing :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 18:30, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

:Sorry about that. I saw that BPothier uncategorized those two, but when I looked at them I saw they were redirection pages, and when I checked a few other images I saw the category was on the images. I thought I would be helpful and put the category on the File page instead of undoing the change on the redirect page. Sorry to be a nuisance. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:36, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

:: Not at all :) You acted in a perfectly reasonable way. In fact I missed the fact that you were actually moving a category from a redirect to the real image, which makes perfect sense. I am the one using the uncategorized files list as a personal todo list, in clear unorthodox fashion :P --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 04:29, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

== Captchas ==

I believe there's an option to force all users of a certain group to take the captcha when editing. Could you change the captcha settings to force all anonymous users to pass one to edit? This is getting stupid. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 07:14, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

:First off, this is a request for Waldir. I have no idea what I'm doing. Second, I've looked at the captcha pages in MediaWiki's manual, and it looks like I don't have the rights to do that, it would have to be someone who can edit the php files to change that over (*ahem* Jeff). Third, I've clicked on every link in [[Special:SpecialPages]] and I don't see anywhere that I can change that. I wish I could. Fourth, I am sick and tired of all this spam!!!!! [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 08:12, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

== Deletion ==

I'm sure you only overlooked this because of being busy fighting huge amounts of spam, but there was actually some valid history behind [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Design]], which I just restored (I left the spam edits under the carpet, though). It's not a huge deal, and as you can see, it's easily reversible, but it's generally nice to preserve page histories for archival reasons. Also, please comment on [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Technical#We need more maintainers]] when you have the chance. Cheers, [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:50, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

:Oops, again. I don't know if it was a case of unfortunate blindness, or I was too far into spam fighting that I simply deleted it. Sorry about that. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:35, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

== Patrolling ==

Hi, Lcarsos. I think this might be useful for you since you're doing so much work on spam fighting: [[mw:Help:Patrolled edits]]. I asked Jeff to change the wiki configuration so that edits by "auto-confirmed" users will be automatically patrolled. This means the feature should be more useful from now on. Let me know if it helps. Cheers, [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 21:28, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

:Edits from logged in people are still showing as un-patrolled. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. There are several editors that have created accounts that I'm not quite ready to blanket state that every edit they make are perfectly good. I think that if we had more people that were patrolling pages and edits the feature would be more useful. But, since it's just me going through and occasionally remembering to mark a page as patrolled, it's not very useful as I can generally remember where I've perused through. I think if we got Davidy22 rights to patrol edits too, I think that would push it over the mark into useful territory. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:43, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

::Jeff {{diff|20769&oldid{{=}}20467|just enabled}} the tweaks to the autopatrolling feature as I asked him to. I know we can't immediately trust every edit a recent user does, but I find that well-intentioned mistakes (which we all make btw) are much easier to fix, and overall less harmful than spam/vandalism. Right now the threshold for autopatrolling is at 3 days of age and 10 edits (both conditions have to be met). We can tweak that if we decide different values would work better, but I am assuming that spammers and otherwise malicious editors would be caught and blocked before that. I intend to use the following links to help weed out the bad stuff from the wiki:
::* [{{fullurl:Special:RecentChanges|hideanons=1&hidepatrolled=1}} Unpatrolled changes by registered users]
::* [{{fullurl:Special:RecentChanges|hideliu=1&hidepatrolled=1}} Unpatrolled changes by anonymous users]
::Of course, only edits from now on will apply the new parameters, so older edits by (non-admin) trusted editors still show as unpatrolled. But from now on it will probably make sifting the recent changes a little easier, since we can now filter out edits that we don't have to worry much about, leaving only new users and anonymous ones, the groups spammers/vandals are most likely to belong to.
::Also, I agree that Davidy22 could have patrolling rights by now. I am liberal about adminship, so I'd suggest we ask Jeff to "promote" him, as that would do it.
::Cheers, [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:33, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

== Blocking IPs ==

I don't think anonymous vandals should be blocked indefinitely. IPs are generally not static so we might end up preventing someone from doing a legitimate contribution, while the spammer will likely not use that particular IP for very long. I suggest changing all [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?wpTarget=&wpOptions=userblocks&limit=50&title=Special%3ABlockList IP blocks] to have a finite expiration date, say a week, or a month. What do you think? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 15:55, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

:I don't think that would be a good idea. Our second great spam bout was caused by the 1 month block that SlashMe placed on the IPs of a foregone spam attack expired, and suddenly all those computers had access to edit the wiki again. In theory IPs are not static, but the home I live in right now has had the same IP address since I moved in, and that's even with hard resetting the modem about weekly as Comcast fails to bond their channels together, and I suspect most ISPs work that way.

:Maybe we could try an experiment where we let all the blocks expire and see what happens. ''But'', I ''do not'' want that to be anywhere near any holiday, or major event, or major xkcd comic post (see Click and Drag or Congress) as it would be nearly impossible to hand pick out the good from the spam.

:I do understand that theoretically, if this goes on eventually we'll have blocked the whole internet from editing the wiki. We need a better way to lock this down. A lot of the wikis I've looked at disallow editing from anonymous users (See the [https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Main_Page Valve Developer] wiki and the [http://kspwiki.nexisonline.net/wiki/Main_Page Kerbal Space Program] wiki, this would cut down on about half the spam, and then we need a better way to stop the bots from registering accounts, somehow both the VDC and KSP wiki don't have any spam activity (creation or clean-up) for the past few days, we're obviously doing something wrong, but I have no idea what. We may be more popular than the KSP wiki, but certainly we aren't more popular than Valve's own wiki. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:14, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

:: I see. Personally, I consider disabling anonymous editing as somehow admitting defeat (assuming bad faith by default) but maybe [[mw:Extension:SpamBlacklist]] could help. It uses a very extensive list maintained at meta.wikimedia.org. Do you think it could prevent spam rampages such as the last one? Otherwise, we could try some of the approaches listed at [[mw:Manual:Combating spam]] and [[mw:Anti-spam features]]. I am inclined towards more automatic methods, as most of those would require Jeff to edit the server, so a one-time config thing (using lists updates elsewhere) would be best. Thoughts? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:58, 14 December 2012 (UTC)

== [[Stick figure]] linking to [[Cueball]] ==

Hey there. Do you mind explaining why you reverted my comment on the Stick figure page? (that sounds like "argh how dare you do that" - not my intention, just looking to understand, since there was no explanation given in the changelog.) My thought was that "Stick figure" is a page discussing the art style that Randall uses for his characters. In such a page, it seemed appropriate to mention the one character that is the most representative of the "classic stick figure" (Cueball). I thought I added that sentence in a way that fit naturally with the rest of the text. Please let me know what the issues are so I can work on them. Thanks. [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 15:26, 21 December 2012 (UTC)

:The addition of Cueball was not necessarily helpful in describing what a stick figure is (and I'd like to start a debate on whether or not we should be in the business of doing Wikipedia's job, or simply restrict ourselves to explaining xkcd and providing links where appropriate). Likewise, including Cueball in the explanation of what a generic stick figure is, makes it sound like Cueball is simply a name we use for any character that has no defining features. Which is not true. Cueball has a specific set of generic traits (it's a complex way of thinking about it) which combine to form a geeky every-man who is quite annoyed by the rampant use of "[[1108|literally]]", is banned from quite a few security conferences (and at least one [[1090|grammar]] con), and is fond of [[651|showing security agents the flaws in airport security]].

:So that's why I did it. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:54, 21 December 2012 (UTC)

== Categories ==

Hey, Merry Christmas!

If I, or someone else creates an arguably useful category that you don't really like, would you please say so on the talk page, so that we can discuss it, as a community. I agree that two entries doesn't make a category, but there are several more than two comics about Internet arguments. The topic itself is very specific, but it is also recurring indeed, just like [[:Category:Velociraptors|raptors]]. As for Flowcharts, I'm sure I know 5-6 comics containing them, just top of my head. That surely should be enuff? (At least get rid of the [[:Category:Axiom of Choice|Axiom of Choice]], if you are to be ... [[:Category:Puts on sunglasses|::puts on sunglasses::]] ... consistent.) ;) Swedish greetings from [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 14:24, 26 December 2012 (UTC)

:By that logic, I am now justified in reorganizing the entirety of [[:Category:Dynamic comics]]. I hold up that as an example of exactly why I stopped opening this up for a discussion and started ruthlessly cutting down our category count. In general I go by a simple rule of "Huh, I wonder if there are other comics on this topic?" which is why, many moons ago, I created the [[:Category:Axiom of Choice]] (created when we didn't have so many categories, and no one batted an eye at having a category with only two comics in it). This is why I think [[:Category:Internet]] is a very good category, and that Internet Arguments was not. Now, maybe I would have felt a little more lenient if it was <nowiki>[[Category:Trolling]]</nowiki> but that's because it's not so specific as to only be a handful of comics (and now that I say that out loud, I think there's quite a few that would fall under trolling).

:This is because, as the wiki has come into its own, the mainstay editors have decided (and I'm the only one to vocalize it) that the categories a page has is not a traditional blog tag cloud where you simply vomit out everything that the comic contains. We use the categories as a way to "find similar" comics.

:It really rankles me to have deeply nested categories, like [[:Category:Set theory]], but I'm willing to leave it there because I can see people coming by the site, reading a comic in Set Theory and wanting to read all the other ones on the same topic. Though I would greatly prefer it if it wasn't deeply nested, if it was simply parented to [[:Category:Comics by topic]] and then had a See Also section.

:As for Axiom of Choice, I still believe that it's an odd enough thing to have in a comic, anyone browsing through might want to see other comics that make reference to it, but I'm open to deleting it.

:--[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 00:59, 28 December 2012 (UTC)

::Thanks for your answer. I think i mostly agree with you. Especially on that it should not be a tag cloud "to vomit out everything that the comic contains", but to find related ones. So at least no comic should be alone in a category.

::I've been thinking that, while Internet might be a reasonable category, it is not in any way remarkable that the topic "Internet" recurs (of course it does). From that viewpoint it is much more interesting when e.g. the Axiom of Choice returns. The comics becomes much more tightly related, and that piece of information should doubtlessly be given in the wiki! I can think of two ways: by making a category, or by linking to the other comic(s) from the explanation page.

::Since one can argue that set theory is a subdicipline of logic, a subdicipline of math, or neither, i just, without thinking too much, linked to (added) the category from all those levels. Maybe "See also" would be better. Why not?

::Lastly, I must confess that i didn't get the "dynamic comics" part. If you were making a good point, please spell it out.

::-- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 11:25, 28 December 2012 (UTC)

:::Ages ago (I believe it was when we were first working on getting the explanation for [[Umwelt]] fleshed out) there was talk about what do we want to categorize it as. Someone, brilliantly, added an "Out of the ordinary" category, and did the same to [[961: Eternal Flame]], justifying that amid 1000+ comics these ones were truly odd, and broke the format (an animated gif and a comic that was different for nearly anyone depending on where they were, what browser they were using, etc.) that xkcd generally followed (geeky discussions, charts, and the occasional [[:Category:Large drawings|large drawing]]. Some other editors, that didn't quite understand, went into the back catalog and started adding other comics as being "out of the ordinary" such as [[Money]]. This ignited another conversation about what makes something ordinary, what makes it extraordinary, out-of-the-ordinary, the difference between the three, and why we have to have the majority be ordinary so we can have an out-of-the ordinary.

:::Then Randall published [[Click and Drag]]. Amidst the insanity of everyone frothing at the mouth to completely, totally, and summarily flog that horse until it was dead three times over, it was put into the category "out of the ordinary" and then someone created an "interactive" category, and someone else put Umwelt into it. Then there was an edit war, and a conversation (about why we need to clamp down on new categories, what constitutes out of the ordinary, why Umwelt isn't interactive, and moaning that people should stop the edit war until a decision had been made) was started. It was cut short when [[Traffic Lights]] was posted and one of the editors went rogue and cleaned up "interactive comics", and moved "out of the ordinary" to dynamic comics. It's slowly morphed from there to how we currently have it set up today.

:::Anyway, months ago I tried to start a discussion that none of the categories/comics should be part of a "Dynamic comics" parent category because none of them are "dynamic" they are very static. Since then I've been promoted to administrator, but I haven't touched it because, even though I may be a [http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/B/BOFH.html BOFH] at times, this is still a wiki, and I can't right every wrong simply by wielding the sword of righteous indignation.

:::And that's all for storytime today. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:29, 28 December 2012 (UTC)

::::I think this is gonna be good! First, i don't know if i have anything to add about the dynamic stuff. But if no one seems to disagree, why not give it a shot? I wouldn't mind if you changed the nestings in math/set theory either. :) To get back to the "by topic", if i may:

::::If two comics connect by some interesting topic or reference, I'd think it's neatest to just link them together with a note at the end of the explanation, like someone did to [[994: Advent Calendar]] also about Zeno, from the last comic. (I added a similar note in 994). Zeno might or might not come back, but anyway it's nice that you can click a wikilink and read another Zeno-joke. If it's a third comic about Zeno, we ''could'' do the same thing, (slightly more complicated, since we'd want all three to link to the other two), or consider a category. If it's suddenly four Zenos, well... What do you say? :) -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 17:51, 30 December 2012 (UTC)

:::::Sorry, I lost this tab, but I just found it again. Exactly. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 01:27, 6 January 2013 (UTC)
::::::Great! Hope you had a good day at church! :) -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 19:55, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

== Sections in talk pages ==

Since we/you don't want sections in talk pages, how should we suitably structure the discussions? Where do you think I should answer on the probability thing (latest comic)? On the bottom, or in the middle of the page? {{unsigned|St.nerol}}

:As I've said many times, simply commenting in a threaded chronological order is all that needs to happen. Chronological dictates that all new comments go at the bottom. Threaded dictates that if you are responding to a comment you indent one from the comment you are responding to. Together this means that a discussion starts at the far left, and the responses continue downward and rightward.

:This is only for explanation talk pages, as it breaks the way that sections work through the transclusion of the talk page onto the explanation. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 23:32, 12 January 2013 (UTC)
::Thank you very much for clearing that up for me, supporting me in the discussion and, hrm, signing my question! –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 00:16, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

:::Yep. I'm here to keep discussion civil. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 00:51, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

==Two images to delete==
A couple of users ran into a conflict with a KDE desktop file on the server when trying to upload today's comic. Here's two broked images to delete [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=File:tar_xkcd.png][http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=File:tar-1168.png] '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:11, 1 February 2013 (UTC)
:Oh, and another one from a while ago when a user ran into a map stored on the server. People mess up so much when they're trying to make new explanation pages. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=File:amazon_1165.png] '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 06:29, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

::{{done}} [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 23:00, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

:::And a botched redirect made by a newbie: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1120:_Bridge] '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:16, 11 February 2013 (UTC)

:::{{done}} [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 19:03, 11 February 2013 (UTC)

== "Unacceptable username" ==

Hi,

Just wondering, what does the "Unacceptable username" user-blocking reason refer to? (apart from the fact that these users closely resemble users ready to spam...)

Just being curious. - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 14:09, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

: Maybe it's just that you don't know what else to put when blocking a highly suspicious account? In which case you could add a reason in [[MediaWiki:Ipbreason-dropdown]], something like "User account suspicious compared to spamming schemes" (or a better phrasing than this one, which I'm not too sure of...).
: Thing is, I don't see what's wrong in choosing for instance "Zbenjamin89" as a username. - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 14:41, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

::You're right. I'm using "Unacceptable username" with the implicit subtitle "spammer-like username". I've been putting it on some of the block messages. I'm only blocking usernames that were created in blocks, that are suspiciously similar to known spamming accounts, and have no contributions despite the account being created hours before. If any one of them comes back and posts on their talk page, or gets in contact, to prove they are human I unblock them. So far, none of them have.

::I got tired of having to clean up spam, and it seems that blocking these accounts that are created, left to sit for a day or a week, and then activated to spew absurd amounts of spam, has helped in some small measure. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 23:52, 7 February 2013 (UTC)
::
::: So, what about adding a dedicated reason to [[MediaWiki:Ipbreason-dropdown]]? (with the right permissions, I'd have done it myself)
::: As I said, I'm ''not'' blaming you for being the "BOFH" here (love that one ^^), I think that these blocks are useful indeed. I just feel the same thing could be done more intelligibly: someone stumbling upon one of those blocked accounts, or on a log, wouldn't understand and could deduce wrong things out of this. For instance, if you blocked a legitimate account among spammers (seems quite plausible, and in a way, unavoidable), it would not help the user to understand what the problem is, and chances are he would not try to fight to get his "unacceptable" username accepted by an environment he doesn't really know about...
::: So, I believe adding a block reason is very quick and would be better. Maybe my previous phrasing isn't very good, then what about this simpler one: "User account suspicious, very similar to spamming accounts"?
::: [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 14:10, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

== Hi, ==

I understand you had exams. Hope they went well for you! May I ask what you're studying? (Myself I have one week to the exam in {{w|multivariable calculus}}!) ––[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 00:00, 10 March 2013 (UTC)

:Hi, the week before last I had a Physics exam (circuits, capacitance, AC circuits, Kirchoff's law, fun stuff), and last week I had midterms in both Discrete Mathematics (the most wordy math class I've ever taken, but it's about the only formal logic I've ever had, so I love it) and Operating Systems. I also had large projects due in both O.S. and a class called Elements of Computing Systems (The premise of the class is to build up a computer starting at {{w|nand gates}} and through multiple levels of abstraction eventually end up with a high level java-like language that compiles down to the machine language of the processor we "built"). It's all fun, but immensely draining. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 09:45, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

== About your discussion on [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Coordination]] ==

Those two IPs you were complaining about - that was me (I was using two computers so two IPs). At that time I was a bit of a noob and did all of those things because I thought that I wasn't doing anything wrong.

Things have changed. I haven't made many new categories (just [[:Category:Bobcats]] and [[:Category:Crossbows]]) and I started using <nowiki>{{incomplete}}</nowiki> on comics that I either can't explain or am not confident enough to do so.

I do not like the way that I was treated as an anon, because, in my opinion, the community {{w|Wikipedia:Don't bite the newcomers|bit a newcomer}}. Nobody posted on either [[User talk:72.252.145.183]] or [[User talk:207.204.86.3]] so I only discovered that my actions were not received very well when I saw an angry edit summary. That was not at all pleasant or friendly. --[[User:Btx40|Btx40]] ([[User talk:Btx40|talk]]) 19:08, 12 April 2013 (UTC)

:Thank you for bringing your butthurt to me several months after the matter lay so dormant as to be forgotten by most parties (yours being the most notable, and to my knowledge only, exclusion). I assume you mean [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Coordination#Can we turn off page creation for non-logged in users]], I have posted many times to Coordination, but that one appears to be the only one you have concerned yourself with (again, Necro Bumping an 8 month old discussion). I'm sorry that you don't like the way you were treated when you chose to be anonymous to the regular editors of this wiki, and intentionally difficult to contact. And yes, being anonymous is more difficult to contact because at least 95% of all the anonymous editors we have know nothing about editing a wiki. Normally that wouldn't be bad, except when they continue to make poor quality edits ignoring any editor that "fixes" (my term) a page that they have edited and ignoring the format of any other page on the wiki. I have not yet had any anonymous editor respond to any post made on their IP talk page, which makes it pointless to try. It is the responsibility of any editor who knows anything to take responsibility for their edits by using their account. Anonymous editors have almost 0 accountability. Final point, edit summaries are not biting the newbie. They are grumblings in public. You will notice that my primary goal in that post was to try to shut off the flood of daily spam we were getting and slogging through.

:Now that I've got my butthurt out of the way. You are correct. That post on the Coordination page was rude and out of line. I realize that now. But I hold onto my defense of hindsight always being 20/20. Back in September the site was almost complete anarchy, and the few of us that were regular editors wanted/needed the site to operate the same from moment to moment so we wouldn't lose our sanity. I apologize for being a little bit vicious toward you. But a lot of confusion could have been avoided if you had made an account and had made your edits using the account. I'm glad to have you with us, and I hope you keep on editing.

:Sorry for the lateness of my reply. I take a long time to compose serious responses to matters that require serious responses. (Also, I hope you don't mind, I edited your post so that the categories would show up in the text, rather than being added as categories of this page).

:--[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:43, 13 April 2013 (UTC)

690: Semicontrolled Demolition

2013-04-04T06:29:44Z

Lcarsos: Adding an explanation

{{comic
| number = 690
| date = January 18, 2010
| title = Semicontrolled Demolition
| image = semicontrolled_demolition.png
| titletext = I believe the truth always lies halfway between the most extreme claims.
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|World Trade Center}} towers were destroyed on September 11, 2001 (Using American date notation that's 9/11). The attack allegedly was supposed to be two simultaneous planes colliding with both the north and south towers. What ended up happening was plane 1 hit the north tower at 8:46 am. There is no video footage of the plane colliding with the building because it was unexpected. The second plane hit the south tower a little less than 20 minutes later. There is [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KYE4zViAAg&t=11m44s video footage] of that happening. In the investigation following many questions were raised that didn't seem to get a satisfactory answer. Many people, calling themselves {{w|9/11 Truthers}} began to claim that the whole thing was a government conspiracy.

[[Randall]] proposes a compromise theory to make all people happy. Since we have no video proof that a plane manned by terrorists flew into the north tower, that was a government conspiracy. It just so happened that the government decided to demolish the north tower on the same day that terrorists had set to demolish the south tower.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is holding up a pointer to a screen with an image of the World Trade Center towers mid-disaster.]
:Cueball: Based on my analysis, I believe the government faked the plane crash and demolished the WTC north tower with explosives.
:Cueball: The south tower, in a simultaneous but unrelated plot, was brought down by actual terrorists.

:The 9/11 truthers responded poorly to my compromise theory.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

File:externality-dog14.png

2013-04-03T13:53:02Z

Lcarsos:

== Licensing ==
{{XKCD file}}

Candy Button Paper

2013-03-28T06:09:13Z

Lcarsos: Redirected page to 205: Candy Button Paper

#REDIRECT [[205: Candy Button Paper]]

205

2013-03-28T06:09:06Z

Lcarsos: Redirected page to 205: Candy Button Paper

#REDIRECT [[205: Candy Button Paper]]

444: Macgyver Gets Lazy

2013-03-28T06:02:45Z

Lcarsos: fixing the page

{{comic
| number = 444
| date = July 2, 2008
| title = Macgyver Gets Lazy
| image = macgyver_gets_lazy.png
| titletext = At the time of this writing, Wikipedia has a wonderful article titled 'List of problems solved by Macgyver'
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Macgyver}} was a 80s and early 90s TV character, famed for improvising complex devices in a matter of minutes in order to escape dangerous situations. In this comic, Macgyver's suggests an unusually direct escape plan—shooting the guard in the head.

==Transcript==
:[Outside of a building with a door marked No Entry and a guard standing outside, Cueball and Macgyver are hiding.]
:Cueball: Any ideas?
:Macgyver: I can use the trigger mechanism of this gun to ignite a small explosive charge, propelling a metal slug into the guard's head.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Macgyver Gets Lazy

2013-03-28T06:01:44Z

Lcarsos: Redirected page to 444: Macgyver Gets Lazy

#REDIRECT [[444: Macgyver Gets Lazy]]

444

2013-03-28T06:01:35Z

Lcarsos: Redirected page to 444: Macgyver Gets Lazy

#REDIRECT [[444: Macgyver Gets Lazy]]

Theft of the Magi

2013-03-28T05:59:36Z

Lcarsos: Redirected page to 506: Theft of the Magi

#REDIRECT [[506: Theft of the Magi]]

506

2013-03-28T05:59:32Z

Lcarsos: Redirected page to 506: Theft of the Magi

#REDIRECT [[506: Theft of the Magi]]

506

2013-03-28T05:59:13Z

Lcarsos: Redirected page to 506: The Theft of the Magi

#REDIRECT [[506: The Theft of the Magi]]

573: Parental Trolling

2013-03-28T05:56:58Z

Lcarsos: fixing the page. I'm surprised no one got to it before me.

{{comic
| number = 574
| date = April 24, 2009
| title = Parental Trolling
| image = parental_trolling.png
| titletext = They'll pick music and culture that they know annoys you. Building in behavioral easter eggs is a fair retaliation!
}}

==Explanation==
Set in the future, a daughter approaches her father playing a music video of Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up". The daughter insults her father's generation's versions of playing pranks, specifically {{w|Rickrolling}}. The daughter refers to this as "trolling" (also in the title), which is popular jargon for trying to disrupt a person or community via an action to elicit an emotional response.

==Transcript==
:The Future
:[Man is sitting at a futuristic desktop computer, and a girl is standing behind him with a portable ultra-thin screen]
:Girl: Hey dad, look at this old music video.
:Video: We're no strangers to love...
:Dad: Wow, you got me.
:Girl: Did your generation really use this to troll people? SO lame. Your generation sucked at pranks.
:Dad: Did we? I once raised a kid with conditioning so her speech centers shut down when she was upset.
:Girl: What? No, you couldn't have bleegle warble yargle arggh!
:Dad: Teehee!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Internet]]

Parental Trolling

2013-03-28T05:51:46Z

Lcarsos: Redirected page to 573: Parental Trolling

#REDIRECT [[573: Parental Trolling]]

573

2013-03-28T05:51:39Z

Lcarsos: Redirected page to 573: Parental Trolling

#REDIRECT [[573: Parental Trolling]]

Analogies

2013-03-28T05:48:28Z

Lcarsos: Redirected page to 762: Analogies

#REDIRECT [[762: Analogies]]

762

2013-03-28T05:48:15Z

Lcarsos: Redirected page to 762: Analogies

#REDIRECT [[762: Analogies]]

Talk:Main Page

2013-03-25T04:21:19Z

Lcarsos: /* Percentage of remaining comics calculation is off... */

{{notice|This page is for discussion of the [[Main Page]] itself. Other issues probably belong at the [[Explain XKCD:Community portal]].}}

As a new user, I think the first page is very important. So I thought why not begin a discussion here what to have on the first page every user visits.--[[User:Relic|Relic]] ([[User talk:Relic|talk]]) 05:59, 1 August 2012 (EDT) Re-signed here - b/c I broke the comment in two when I added the "List of comics" header. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 23:01, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

==List of comics==
I was thinking of having a quick link to the list of comics that is explained. Right know, it took me a while to even see any of them. Eventually I found the "List All Pages" (found it in Special pages) where I could find the comics that have been explained. What do you think?
:A category tag will do that for you automatically. Having a list of comics indexed by its number would be a little different.--[[User:Relic|Relic]] ([[User talk:Relic|talk]]) 05:59, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::Sounds like a great list - I ''think'' it'd have to be manually maintained until/unless we get someone who knows how to make a bot update it. Categories will be useful, but they only work if someone added the category to the page in the first place. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 07:21, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::A (somewhat) related question - should [[:Category:Comics]] be sorted alphabetically or by comic number? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 07:43, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::::I think [[:Category:Comics]] should be sorted by comic number. If you are looking for a specific comic, you will use the search field. Is there a way to make that happen? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 08:11, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::::They are two different functions. For the former, instead of adding <nowiki>[[Category:Comics]]</nowiki>, add, say, <nowiki>[[Category:Comics|1]]</nowiki>. For the second, we can create redirects. Normally, I'd say just make sure the search term was in the article text, but since numbers are going to be use for other purposes than just comic titles, it may be better to create [[1]] and [[Comic 1]] as redirects to the relevant articles right off the bat. --08:24, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::::::We could also have a comic-list template on the Main Page, I suppose, or perhaps two - one for number and one for name? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 08:54, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::::::Here's what I was thinking of for that: {{tl|Comics navbox}} Thoughts? ''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]]
:(outdent) It's ugly, but a sortable wikitable [[User:SurturZ/sandbox|(click here for example)]] could be used as a checklist to see what has been uploaded and what hasn't. What's the project namespace here, anyway (analogue of "WP:")? --[[User:SurturZ|SurturZ]] ([[User talk:SurturZ|talk]]) 03:04, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
:OK, I've found a way to get all the titles of the comics, so I was confident enough to create <big>[[Explain XKCD:Checklist]]</big> which can be used to fill in the gaps. --[[User:SurturZ|SurturZ]] ([[User talk:SurturZ|talk]]) 03:41, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
::I'm liking the checklist! That should do quite nicely as a "tool for editors". (I'm linking to it at the Community Portal). We still need the "template for readers." Did you think {{tl|Comics navbox}} was on the right track or should we do something else for that? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 20:09, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
::Better idea - I'm throwing it directly onto the Main Page. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 20:10, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

==Admin list==
You can find a system-accurate list of admins [{{canonicalurl:Special:ListUsers|group=sysop}} here], so that might good to share, along with the manual list. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 07:13, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:Added to page. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 08:10, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::That's exactly what I wanted, but couldn't find the auto page for it. I knew it was somewhere. I don't see any reason to keep the link to the manual page. Do you? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 08:11, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::Not unless you want it. I'll remove it. Should I add the similar link for 'crats or is that unnecessary at this point? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 08:25, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::::To be honest, I have no idea what the Burecrats role does. Might be unnecessary now but helpful in the future? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 11:16, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::::Bureaucrats can turn other users into administrators (or indeed, other bureaucrats). That privilege isn't available to ordinary administrators. I'd keep it to yourself for the time being. :-) --[[User:Yirba|Yirba]] ([[User talk:Yirba|talk]]) 17:39, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::::::You can actually see a technical list of which rights each group confers at [[Special:ListGroupRights]]. As the wiki grows, you might want to spin off a few, such as the ability to grant rollbacker and autopatrolled, to admins as some other wikis have. But for the time being, at least, there's really no reason for the wiki to have more than one 'crat. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 17:07, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

== Community portal ==

I've created the [[Explain XKCD:Community portal]] as a tools/help page. If that's not what you want, feel free to change/move/whatever it, but I thought it'd be nice to save this page for discussion of the Main Page and discuss the wiki as a whole/ask for help there. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 08:36, 1 August 2012 (EDT)

== Direct link to latest comic ==

There should be a direct link to the latest comic at the top of the Main page. A nice thing about going to explainxkcd.com was that the latest comic is right there at the top. For those changing their default link to the wiki, there should be an easy "Latest Comic" link that quickly takes them there. I'm sure some folks actually skip xkcd.com and come directly here instead to read the latest offering from Randall. They shouldn't have to search for it.
[[User:Christopher Foxx|- CFoxx]] ([[User talk:Christopher Foxx|talk]]) 11:59, 1 August 2012 (EDT)

: Maybe the page [[latest]] should redirect to the most recent comic? Could that be taken care of by some sort of script/template so it doesn't have to be manually updated? Should each explination page also have "next", "previous", "random", "first" and "latest" links, possibly also generated automatically via scripts/templates? Additionally, shouldn't the number page be the canonical one? It seems like [[Internal monologue]] should redirect to [[1089]] rather than the other way around - certainly it would make a bunch of scripting types of things a lot easier. [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 13:02, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::If you wanted, we could even use wiki-magic to show the title of the page as the Comic name, but the URL as the number - in order to parallel the actual XKCD website. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 17:09, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
:: Shouldn't there be a way to programmatically find the comic with the highest number that has a page with content? That would work as long as no one puts future comic pages up. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 20:25, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:::It's all sounding like folks are over-complicating something quite easy. All I'm suggesting is a prominent link to http://www.xkcd.com/. No need, I think, to list which number the latest is, or include the next/last/random buttons, etc. [[User:Christopher Foxx|- CFoxx]] ([[User talk:Christopher Foxx|talk]]) 11:41, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
::::Oh. We've got that, now, in the sidebar - labeled as "XKCD." I do think that having an internal link to the latest (explained) comic would be a great thing, though. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 16:36, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

You can transclude the latest comic on the main page like this: <nowiki>{{:pagename}} e.g. {{:Internal_monologue}} </nowiki>--[[User:SurturZ|SurturZ]] ([[User talk:SurturZ|talk]]) 00:25, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
: I've started with just a manual link to the latest comic. Ideally it will be automatic, but a manual link will work for now as I've had quite a few people ask for it. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 21:09, 1 August 2012 (EDT)

Transclusion of the latest comic is great. Someone with the right permissions should add (for instance on the top-right corner of the grey transclusion area) a link to edit the corresponding wiki page, so that people seeing something they could add would feel invited to do so (wiki style). In my opinion this would be a good way to improve the quality of the user-generated explanations.
Also, all the "XKCD"s in the "New here?" section should be converted to the lowercase "xkcd"...
[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 14:00, 6 August 2012 (UTC)
:Good points. I've done both. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 15:48, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

Call me dumb, but... You've got a link called "prev" that goes to the explaination for the previous comic. Then a link called "comic #42" but that goes to xkcd. And then a smaller, less prominent link called "go to this comic" that doesn't go to the comic but to its explaination. Anyone else think that's a little back-to-front? [[User:Zootle|Zootle]] ([[User talk:Zootle|talk]]) 17:18, 31 August 2012 (UTC)
:OK, you're dumb :-). The standard template for an explanation page includes the header with "Prev", "Comic # (date)", and "Next" links. If we don't have explanation pages for the previous or next comic, we don't show the respective link. I hadn't noticed that the "Comic # (date)" bit was a link to the xkcd site before, but in context it makes sense to me. Including a link to the Explain page for the comic who's explain page you are already looking at doesn't make sense.
:The explanation page for the latest comic is "transcluded" in the main page pretty much as-is, so we get the header, the comic, the explanation, etc. We don't get the discussion, which is visible at the bottom of the Explain page. Because there is never an explanation for a comic that hasn't been released yet, there is never a "Next" link on the main page's transcluded header. So you get "Prev" and "Comic" links. The "Go to this comic" link is added by the main page above the transcluded explain page.
:I can see how the "Go to this comic" link might be poorly worded especially as it's placement seems to be within the explanation it's linking to. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 18:16, 31 August 2012 (UTC)
::Rather than "Go to this comic" maybe it could be "Go to full explanation" ? Something else? [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 13:38, 5 September 2012 (UTC)
::There was [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Admin_requests#.22Edit_this_explanation.22_link_on_main_page a discussion at one point] about a wittier/more descriptive link - but no one came up with anything. I do like "Go to Full Explanation" better, for what it's worth. --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 15:31, 5 September 2012 (UTC)
:::My problem with that suggestion is that it implies that the main page explanation is not full. As of right now, the full explanation is transcluded on the main page. There's nothing more to see by clicking that link (explanation wise) Perhaps "Go to full explanation page" but that doesn't quite sound right to me... [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:42, 7 September 2012 (UTC)
::::How about "Go to this Comic Explanation Page"? One nice thing about the specific page rather than the [[Main_Page]] transcoding is that it nicely includes the discussion as well. I have a bookmark to the [[Main_Page]] that I look at every day, but I want to easily read the discussions, not only the explanation. Humm, maybe we could have a page [[most recent comic]] that automagically redirects to the most recent comic? [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 12:42, 8 September 2012 (UTC)
:::::I tried to get [[most recent comic]] to redirect to LATESTCOMIC, but can't get the syntax working - it is possible? [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 13:03, 8 September 2012 (UTC)
::::::Apparently it isn't. I would have tried <code><nowiki>#REDIRECT [[{{LATESTCOMIC}}]]</nowiki></code> like you did, but since that doesn't work, I'll delete the page for now. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:38, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

== Discussion of latest comic ==
Perhaps include the discussions of the latest comic here? I almost missed there was a discussion field a few times because I would only read about the latest comic on the main page. [[User:Carewolf|Carewolf]] ([[User talk:Carewolf|talk]]) 14:54, 22 September 2012 (UTC)

This comics's explanation is complete bollocks, I think. Of course it is NOT a "fact that such a room exists". This comics parodies trope often used in cop movies - an elderly cop goes to work for the last time before his retirement, packs things, plans fishing the next day ... only to be called to one more case (possibly with a new, young and brash partner). And despites his efforts not to screw anything and stay clear of danger, he is either mortally wounded or screws big time and is degraded. So much clichè, that if someone says "It's my last day or service", you might be sure one of the two options above happens. See http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Retirony [[User:edheldil|Edheldil]] 10:17, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

== The comic explanation count is wrong ==

The adjustment is currently 3, but there are now 6 subcategories and one list making the current correct adjustment 7.
If the wiki was upgraded to version 1.20, a form exists to automatically exclude subcategories.
--[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 09:56, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

:Looks like another week of the wiki going down then.
:But seriously, I've been noticing this too. Didn't know what was causing it, but it's going to have to be fixed sometime.[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 10:25, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

::The text reads <pre><nowiki>We already have [[:Category:Comics|'''{{#expr:{{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-3}}''' comic explanations]]!</nowiki></pre> The -3 is to account for the subcategories and non-explanation pages in the category. There apparently used to be three such pages, and now there are seven. I would fix this myself, but the page is protected. If the wiki where upgraded to version 1.20, the categories could be explicitly excluded, but the [[List of all comics]] would still be in the category. (Note that the -3 actually appears twice.) --[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 05:03, 11 October 2012 (UTC)

:::Mediawiki 1.20 fixes this issue, although it'd be nice if this could be fixed in the meantime via the hack reccommended by divad. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 06:40, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

:Looks like Waldir updated the "Comic Correction Count" to "10" (as of 20 November 2012):
<nowiki> We already have [[:Category:Comics|'''{{#expr:{{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-10}}''' comic explanations]]!</big>
Note: the -10 in the calculation above is to discount subcategories (there are 7 of them as of 20 November 2012),
non-comic pages (2 as of same date: [[List of all comics]] and [[Exoplanet]])
and the comic 404, which was deliberately not posted. Thus 7 + 2 + 1 = 10
(But there are still {{#expr:{{LATESTCOMIC}}-({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-10)}} to go. Come and [[List of all comics|add yours]]!)</nowiki>
:Could we possibly make this more dynamic by creating a "IGNORE_IN_COUNT" category or something? and then using something like: <nowiki>{#expr:{{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-{{PAGESINCAT:IGNORE_IN_COUNT}}}</nowiki>? Then any additional entries to the "Comics" category (that are 'special' entries) could just have the special category added and no main page editing would be necessary? --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 07:50, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

==Make Jeff stop apologizing==
The apology for server downtime has been around for a while now. Can we take it down? [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 04:41, 11 October 2012 (UTC)

== Spambots ==

I think someone should install [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:AbuseFilter AbuseFilter]. --[[User:Kronf|Kronf]] ([[User talk:Kronf|talk]]) 10:09, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

== Purge ==

We should regularly purge the server's cache for the main page using http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page&action=purge to keep the explanation up to date. --[[User:Kronf|Kronf]] ([[User talk:Kronf|talk]]) 02:28, 3 November 2012 (UTC)

== Updating the Rules ==

I've been having a lovely discussion with someone who apparently thought the "edit anything you want" rule applied to the Talk pages. As we don't have any codified rules for ''here'' and can only point to "well the canonical way this is done on Wikipedia is..." I think that there are a few things we need to put into the list of Rules on the front page, and then have a link to a more in-depth talk about why the rules exist and what-not.

Specifically, I'm talking about writing "Feel free to edit any page on the wiki to be better. But, treat talk pages like you would blog comments: comments by other people ''cannot be changed by you'', you can only respond to them." as a new rule to be plastered on the front page, as there seems to be an increasing number social neophytes that seem to think that editing words that are attributed as being said by another person is perfectly legitimate and non-controversial.

Shall we discuss? [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 01:25, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

:We could add the etiquette rules as an addendum to the signature reminder at the top of the page. Just an extra note below the alert box asking people to not edit other people's comments. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 06:40, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

::It really should be right down with the "edited mercilessly" description, because this is an exception to that statement. Shouldn't have two sets of contradictory instructions in different places. When I made my improper edit, I had a semi-conscious moment of doubt about whether changing the other guy's comment was ok, even though this is a wiki (and even though it wasn't really clear to me that this "discussion" box held something totally separate from the page content), but that statement at the bottom put all such doubts to rest. I read it multiple times to be sure. But I did not notice that line at the top about the four tildes until ''much'' later. It's somewhat lost, visually, in the header line, when you're not looking directly at it.[[Special:Contributions/50.0.38.245|50.0.38.245]] 18:32, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

:::There's discussion to replace that message with a more noticeable alert box. The message at the bottom of the page appears for all pages, including talk pages, so a talk-page specific message there would not entirely fit. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 00:18, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

::::If that text at the bottom is in fact alterable, it should be written to take every case into account. It's an extremely poor user interface that has instructions appearing on a page stating rules that are the exact opposite of reality. And note that the altert box on the top looks a lot like a banner add, when you don't focus on it and read it. People will tend to habitually filter out anything written there from their perception. Also, it can easily be scrolled off the top of the screen when the discussion starts to get long, and they have a preview displayed.
::::So I think after the "...then do not submit it here.", it should add, "'''Exception''': others' comments in Discussion pages are not to be altered. See full rules at <<link to appropriate wikipedia page>>."[[Special:Contributions/50.0.38.245|50.0.38.245]] 15:46, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

== Update after changes ==

The front page explanation hasn't been updated at all day to match changes in the explanation on the comic's page. This is a major problem i think, as it is the front page explanation people visitors will most often read. --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 20:43, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
: It might be a caching issue. Appending <code>&action=purge</code> to the URL will probably fix it. Can you confirm it looks good to you now? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 00:29, 27 November 2012 (UTC)
::Yep, now it updates instantly! Well done, whatever you did! :) --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 16:24, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

:::I've also added a link underneath the comic box that has the action embedded, so no one has to do any manual URL hacking. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:38, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

== Suggestion: Change "Go to this comic" to "Go to this entry" ==

Just a small suggestion. For the Main Page, I suggest changing "Go to this comic" to say "Go to this ''entry''" instead to remove any confusion for new and regular viewers. It certainly took me a while to figure how to go to each featured comic's entry from the main page.

[[Special:Contributions/69.43.114.2|69.43.114.2]] 17:04, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

:How about if it reads "Go to this comic explanation"? Would that be less confusing? I only quibble because the explanations aren't really entries, in wiki parlance each page is usually called an article, but that doesn't seem to fit here as we really have explanation pages. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:41, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

::Agreed. [[User:Ctxppc|Randy Marsh]] ([[User talk:Ctxppc|talk]]) 22:55, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

== Explain the Unreleased Comic? ==
:I wonder if [[http://i56.tinypic.com/a9ton8.png this comic]] is permitted to be explained, despite the double issue of Randall pulling the comic plus me finding the pulled comic through "xkcd overrated"... [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 18:21, 12 December 2012 (UTC)

== Comic 1156 ==

I don't have an account to edit the page directly, so here's an edit someone should make:
It looks like whoever wrote the existing page simply googled 'conditioning' and found the first link that came up.
Please modify the link to point to 'Classical conditioning', not 'Operant conditioning'.
Thanks. {{unsigned|124.191.56.91}}

:Hi. This is the talk page for the main page of the wiki. This page only has a "view" of the actual comic explanation. The actual explanation page is at [[1156: Conditioning]], and I assure you, edit permissions have not been restricted for that page. Someone has already changed the page to link to Classical conditioning, but the original editor came back stating that Operant was correct. If you would like to start a discussion about this [[Talk:1156: Conditioning|on the talk page for this explanation]] that would be much more conducive to getting this matter settled. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 05:52, 7 January 2013 (UTC)

== Comic Links ==

Some of the links seem to be confusing, as they're titled in a weird way. The link/button 'go to this comic', I'd expect would go to the actual comic on XKCD's page. Yet it goes to the comic's wiki page. And clicking on the comic # and date directs you to the XKCD page, yet I really feel that link should go to the wiki page, as it's right at the top center there, and has the date and everything, sort of indicating that it's a wiki page, yet it's not. And the prev and next buttons next to it don't go to the xkcd page, they go to the wiki pages. Which is really messed up, I think. Because of my confusion, every single time I visit here, I clicked on the wrong link, though now I've gotten used to it. I suggest rewording the links as 'XKCD Comic # and date' and 'go to this comic's wiki page'. And possibly switching the links' positions so that the wiki links could be in that navigation bar and the XKCD links could be off to the side. After all, we are a wiki, so putting our wiki links to the comic off to the side and the direct xkcd link in the center seems odd. Anyway, has anyone had the same thoughts and/or agree with me on this?--[[Special:Contributions/69.119.250.251|69.119.250.251]] 18:19, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

== Unexplained comics ==

The template that starts each explanation page should be edited to have the next and previous buttons automatically skip over pages that don't exist, rather than simply not being there if comic n+1 or n-1 doesn't exist. Preferably it would append a notice to the next page (like the redirect notices commonly found on mediawiki) telling you how many comics have been skipped. I'm not sure how feasible this would be to script, however. [[Special:Contributions/130.160.145.185|130.160.145.185]] 23:45, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

== Percentage of remaining comics calculation is off... ==

Okay, I hate to be "that pedantic math guy", but... Today the main page reads "We have collaboratively explained 936 xkcd comics, and only 252 (27%) remain." While I agree that 252/936 is roughly 27%, I believe we should really be calculating the percentage as "the number left to explain" divided by "the total number of comics that exist", not divided by "the number we have finished". That is (today), 252/1188=21%. Think about it. If we had completed 594 comics today, with 594 remaining, what should the percentage be? 594/594=100%? That's not right... 594/1188=50%? That's what we really want to say.

The page is protected, which makes sense. So I'll make my suggestion here.

Change this:

<pre>
and only {{#expr:{{LATESTCOMIC}}-({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-9)}}
({{#expr: ({{LATESTCOMIC}}-({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-9)) / ({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-9) * 100 round 0}}%)
remain.
</pre>
To this:
<pre>
and only {{#expr:{{LATESTCOMIC}}-({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-9)}}
({{#expr: ({{LATESTCOMIC}}-({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-9)) / {{#expr:{{LATESTCOMIC}}}} * 100 round 0}}%)
remain.
</pre>
[[User:Imperpay|Imperpay]] ([[User talk:Imperpay|talk]]) 15:32, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

:Done and done. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 15:37, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

:Thanks for the heads-up! However, notice that the #expr: around LATESTCOMIC was unnecessary. I've removed it. [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 11:30, 21 March 2013 (UTC)

::Waldir, you have exposed me as a charlatan and a fool! (I just copied, pasted, and tinkered until I made something that worked. I don't actually understand it. No formal training, you see. It's what we used to call "hacking" back in the dawn of the digital era, before the word took on connotations of vandalism, trespassing, and fraud. Have you kids come up with another word for it?) [[User:Imperpay|Imperpay]] ([[User talk:Imperpay|talk]]) 13:59, 22 March 2013 (UTC)

::: Joke's on me then, 'cause you sure fooled me – I readily assumed you knew your way around those parser functions. Nice job hacking the code, it was a nearly perfect crime ;) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:26, 25 March 2013 (UTC)

:::I've heard the cool kids call that the "Maker Mentality", usually with a reference to [http://makezine.com/ Make magazine] and [http://makerfaire.com/ Maker Faire]. But I think there's also a movement to resurrect the original meaning of hacker. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 04:21, 25 March 2013 (UTC)

explain xkcd:Community portal/Technical

2013-03-23T07:12:24Z

Lcarsos: /* Error message */

<noinclude>{{Community portal}}</noinclude>

== Changelog ==

I created this page. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 08:40, 1 August 2012 (EDT)

I've also created [[Explain XKCD:Sandbox]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 08:40, 1 August 2012 (EDT)

I've changed [[MediaWiki:Helppage]] to point here. If we decide to have a local users manual or help desk, it should probably be changed. The default target was "Help:Contents". This also changes where the "Help" link in the sidebar points, so right now we have two different sidebar links pointing to the same place. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 10:30, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:Update: I changed it to point to [[mw:Help:Contents|Help:Contents]] at mediawiki.org. The community portal is already linked from the sidebar, it was redundant to have two links there pointing to the same page. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 11:41, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

I created [[MediaWiki:Common.css]] and [[MediaWiki:Common.js]]. This is one of the "did I break it"-type changes, so let me know if you notice anything strange. The new pages are made up of excerpts from their Wikipedia counterparts - I copied what I thought was potentially useful and left the rest. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 22:32, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
Moved from [[Explain XKCD:Community Portal]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:08, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Sitenotice dismissal ==

There should be a way to dismiss the [[MediaWiki:Sitenotice]] after you've read it. I know it can be done, but don't know how, does anyone else? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:23, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:What do you think about this extension? [[mw:Extension:DismissableSiteNotice|Dismissable Site Notice]] --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 03:37, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
::Yes! That's probably what I'm looking for. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 01:41, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

== Comments ==

Hey,

You might consider [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Comments Extension:Comments]. It acts basically like the comment system on the blog, so you could keep everything (article, comments) in one place. It's more conducive to casual conversation than the discussion page.
--[[User:Cyanfish|Cyanfish]] ([[User talk:Cyanfish|talk]]) 14:07, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

:That's nice, but a simpler approach could be just to transclude the talk page in the subject page itself, as is done in the Wikipedia Signpost (see [[wikipedia:Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2012-07-30/Technology report|here]] for an example). --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:15, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

::Okay, that would work. The extension does have its advantages though - it's easier for new users (no markup), you can have upvotes/downvotes/"comments of the day"... It's a matter of preference, I suppose. --[[User:Cyanfish|Cyanfish]] ([[User talk:Cyanfish|talk]]) 22:27, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Discussion above moved from [[User talk:Jeff]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:26, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

::: I'll take a look and see what looks best. I don't necessarily like the transcluding option. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 15:56, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

::::Neither do I, to be honest. I just created {{tl|Comic discussion}} to make things a little smoother, but from my experience, there will *always* be newcomers forgetting to sign, commenters confused about the best markup for indentation/replies, comments placed at the top rather than at the bottom, new comic description pages created without that template, etc. A proper commenting solution might be the best option for this. I just mentioned the transclusion option to let people know it was a possibility. Also, in the long run we need to make sure the wiki doesn't start looking like Wikia (blergh) if we start adding too many custom extensions. But a comment extension seems to be essential if we don't want to alienate the blog's community. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:06, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

Following post moved from [[Explain XKCD:Community portal/Proposals#Comments]] --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:11, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

I'd like to suggest we add comments capabilities to the comics pages, since the discussion pages don't lend themselves to the kind of dialogue experienced on the blog. There appear to be several extensions that allow this, but I'm fairly new to the wikimedia stuff so I'm not sure how it would work, exactly.

One extension available is [[mw:Extension:WordPress Comments|Extension:WordPress Comments]], which appears to enable the style of comments we are used to. Any thoughts? --[[User:DanB|DanB]] (talk) 15:10, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

: We should definitely give it a try :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:46, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:: That said, [http://shadowfax.org.uk/wiki/MediaWiki_Wordpress_Comment_Extension_Code its demo] looks rather simple. Extension:Comments seems to be a little more powerful (supporting replies, user pictures, voting, and maybe more). The only advantage of the Wordpress one is that it would integrate with Wordpress so extra accounts don't need to be created, but I assume most people who used to comment on the blog didn't have accounts anyway... --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:58, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
::: Tried [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Comments Extension:Comments] - but the download page for it does not exist. Anyone have any ideas why that is? Looks like an extension I'd like to try, but I can't download it! --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 01:47, 14 August 2012 (UTC)

== Robots.txt ==

I'm not sure how to set it up, but if you could edit the robots.txt file to exclude the contents of [[:Category:Noindexed pages]]? I've created a [[Explain XKCD:Sandbox|Sandbox]] for people to test the unfamiliar features in, and you're probably not going to want that indexed by the search engines. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 08:47, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
:Apparently you can edit it through [[MediaWiki:Robots.txt]], but I'm not experienced enough to know what will happen if you block a url that runs through a .php page. (Perhaps nothing? Perhaps it blocks everything?) Is there any chance of moving the wiki to use /wiki/articlename urls like Wikipedia does rather than the current /wiki/index.php?title=articlename ? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 10:43, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::: /wiki/articlename would be great. Been trying to figure out how to make it work for days. Let me know if you know how. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 11:11, 1 August 2012 (EDT)

For URL rewritung, have a look at mediawiki.org: [[mw:Manual:Short URL|Short URL]] or for [[mw:Manual:Short URL/Apache|Apache]]. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 15:49, 1 August 2012 (EDT)

Moved from [[User talk:Jeff]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:27, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Gadgets? ==

Can we enable [[MediaWikiWiki:Extension:Gadgets]]? I'd really like to bring over [[wikipedia:Wikipedia:Popups]] and [[wikipedia:Wikipedia:HotCat]] as gadgets. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 22:45, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
:sounds good. I'll do it later this weekend when I get back to my computer to get to the FTP access. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 00:31, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
::That'd be great! While you're at it, [[MediaWikiWiki:Extension:Inputbox]] is something we may want for the future, though we don't need it now. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 21:29, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Moved from [[User talk:Jeff]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:38, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

:: {{done}} --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 03:16, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::: For the record, what was installed was the Gadgets extension (which makes sense since Philosopher said the InputBox is not needed ATM). I had already brought the [[MediaWiki:Gadget-HotCat.js|HotCat gadget]], which should now be visible in the users' preferences for enabling. It was also necessary to create [[MediaWiki:Gadgets-definition]] and [[MediaWiki:Gadget-HotCat|the description for HotCat]] so it could appear in the preferences page. However, it doesn't seem to be working... If someone can figure out what's wrong, we can fix it. One can test the script separately from the gadget system (so we can make sure it's not a gadget problem) by installing it as a user script, as I did in [[User:Waldir/common.js]] --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 11:02, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
::::: Nevermind, the guys from the #mediawiki IRC channel helped me figure out what was wrong :) it should be working now and available to all users via the gadgets tab of the preferences page. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 11:41, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::: You rule Waldir. The InputBox extension is enabled as well for good measure. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 13:01, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
::::::: Awesome :D I assume Philosopher will have a few ideas for that (namely the {{tl|Community portal}} template. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:28, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::::: Yeah, that's where I found out about it, at least. I may not find time to implement it right away - I'm busy in RL at the moment. In the mean time, I've imported Popups from en.wikipedia. I haven't edited out the references to Wikipedia in it b/c I'm not quite sure which of them will break things or what to replace them with. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 04:23, 11 August 2012 (UTC)

== Wordpress Import ==

Moved from [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests#Wordpress Import]]

Anyone have any idea on how to import all of my posts from Wordpress into pages in the wiki? I can do it manually obviously, but I'd love to do it programatically. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 15:10, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
: I also realize that I won't be importing ALL the posts, just the ones that don't already have pages in the wiki already created. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 15:25, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

:[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] said ([[explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals#Adding a new comic|here]]): ''When we agree on a page layout, I can do this automatically.'' He's speaking about importing and creating pages for all comics programmatically. I don't know if he includes the explanations from your blog posts, though...
:Also, do you think it could be a good idea to import, in the comic discussions here, the comments existing in the wordpress blog for comics prior to the wiki conversion? They obviously wouldn't be associated with wiki accounts, but we could get a copy of them here (with the dates, names, and also the +/- comment appreciation maybe...). Perhaps this could be considered once the idea of wordpress comments on wiki pages (as suggested [[Explain XKCD:Community portal/Technical#Comments|here]] by [[User:DanB|DanB]]) is already settled.
:[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 15:44, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

:: I don't think I can import blog posts completely automatically, but maybe write something to make it easier. I'll have to look what is possible, but I'd say the least I'll need is an account for Wordpress.
:: Importing comments is similar: No promises, but probably difficult if not impossible. I'll have to see the comment system in the wiki. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 17:06, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

::: Importing all previous blog comments would be awesome. We could try a test installation of wordpress and a few test pages here on the wiki (it's easy to delete them if we screw up anything). In any case, I expect some manual tweaking to be needed if we want to convert the comments already posted on-wiki into comments of the wordpress plugin. It's definitely a challenge, but after all, we're xkcd readers, by definition we enjoy a good puzzle :) (and many of us are perfectionists who won't settle for a less-than-perfect solution :D). I say let's hack the heck outta that extension! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:48, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

:: Sorry to the perfectionists, but regarding a less-than-perfect solution, could we include a link to the blog comments as a temporary stopgap? I've been using [[1004:_Batman]] to try my hand at adding a comic, and I added a subtle link to the blog comments below the discussion box/transmutation. I'm thinking that link could be added programatically because we know how the blog structure is with year/month/date foldering. --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 17:11, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

::: Yes, it can be automatically generated by the {{tl|comic}} template. [[User:TheHYPO]] should be able do do it. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 18:42, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

== Automation ==
moved from [[Explain XKCD:Community portal/Proposals#Automation]]

This wiki lacks automation, every time a comic comes out it needs to be submitted manually. A really simple way to do this is utilize xkcd's own JSON feed.
http://xkcd.com/json.html
If you download the latest comic json feed and edit it in notepad, you find all sorts of useful data like a complete transcript of the comic. --[[User:Jtorba|Jtorba]] ([[User talk:Jtorba|talk]]) 14:28, 7 August 2012‎ (UTC)

== Outage ==
moved from [[Explain XKCD:Community portal/Miscellaneous]]

Just experienced the following navigating the site...

Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to
complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator, webadmin@kundenserver.de and inform
them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that
may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an
ErrorDocument to handle the request.

Very strange, and not able to repro it, so it seems to have been transient. Just noting it here in case it happens again. I assume this is a hosting company hiccup.

BTW, while researching the above, I noticed that the ''explainxkcd.com'' domain registration expires in 3 days (August 10)... hopefully the bill has been paid; I'd hate for this site to go down; Grace Period and Redemption are a PITA... -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:44, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

:over the past week, I've gotten a few of those Internal Server Errors at random. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:05, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

:: Not sure what is up with them, but I've gotten some as well. It is either me messing with the site or the server creaking under pressure. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 15:32, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

::: Could be the pressure... I've been getting a few randomly and the site every now and then gets quite slow. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 18:43, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

== References ==
moved from [[Explain XKCD:Community portal/Proposals#References]]

Can we install the "references" plugin so that we can use "ref" tags and add "references" sections to certain comics? I grant that it won't be as useful as on wikipedia, as most references are generally just wikilinks to wikipedia anyway, but I think it could be helpful. In editing the [[Black Hat]] article, I wanted to cite references to specific comics. I had to write them into the text because references aren't installed. If References do get installed, I'd like to also suggest a template for {{tl|cite comic}} to create a quick and easy uniform reference to comics by number (or perhaps by name at the user's option?) [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:56, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:: Do you have a link for the References plugin? I searched quickly on MediaWiki's site and didn't see anything. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:56, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::[http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Cite/Cite.php Cite extension]
:::It defaults (I believe) to citing in a 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 style; there's SOMETHING That lets you change it to the more familiar wikipedia 'a' 'b' 'c' style, which is easier to read, imo. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:15, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:: qv the existing <nowiki>{{xkcd}}</nowiki> and <nowiki>{{explain}}</nowiki> templates, which generate links to a specific xkcd comic, or the corresponding explanation here, respectively; to wit, <nowiki>{{xkcd|29}}</nowiki> and <nowiki>{{explain|29}}</nowiki> produce {{xkcd|29}} and {{explain|29}}, the latter could also be used this way: {{explain|29: Hitler}}. Either could also become {{xkcd|29|the first comic in which Black Hat appears}} or {{explain|29|Black Hat's first appearance}}. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 06:10, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

== Mainpage category issues ==

Waldir already did some repairs to the {{tl|comic}} template to keep it from sorting the [[Main Page]] into categories when the template is transcluded on the main page, but I see that other manual categorizations are still being transcluded (eg: the main page is currently categorized into [[:category:Comics featuring Cueball]]. Is there a way to include the article without including its categories at all? [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 21:33, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
:That doesn't seem to be related to the {{tl|comic}} template. Apparently the categories added manually to the comic page are getting to the main page. We can, for now, wrap them in noinclude tags. Maybe later we should create a {{tl|category}} template that does that automatically. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 23:40, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
::I noted in that you'd already fixed the comic template. As I said, these were the "other manual categorizations". Noinclude would work, I suppose, but I do think we need to somehow fix that if the entire article is going to be included on the main page. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 16:08, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

== Caching issues ==

I seem to be seeing some caching issues with images. I can't be sure if this will still be in effect by the time anyone reads this, but at the time of writing, [[:File:United Shapes.png]], for example, is still displaying as an older revision (even though it correctly states the filesize and resolution of the current version). Viewing the "full sized image" ([http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fc/United_Shapes.png http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fc/United_Shapes.png]) still displays that older revision, as well. However, if you add a question mark to the end of the full sized URL ([http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fc/United_Shapes.png? http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fc/United_Shapes.png?]), the image is correctly purged and displays the correct image (although only with that URL, not on the file page nor where the image is transcluded). In other words, there's a caching issue.

I used to edit on some Wikia sites where they also had this issue, and it drove all the editors up the wall (particularly since it ended up affecting a good portion of images when updated, sometimes for as long as several hours). It was frankly quite frustrating when Wikia refused to do anything about that problem (part of the reason I don't edit there anymore). Is there any chance someone could look into this issue? I'm not sure what entirely causes it. {{User:Omega/sig}} 01:58, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

:Aaaaand the image is updated (so the above example won't work anymore). The images definitely seem to be updating, but it's rather slow: at least a few minutes... {{User:Omega/sig}} 02:00, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

::I think it might have to do with the [[mw:Manual:Job queue#HTML cache invalidation|Job queue]]. If that's the case, such updates will gradually happen as edits are made to other pages (each edit takes a job from the queue and runs it). But I'm not entirely sure that's what's at play here. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:28, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

===Related issue?===
Don't know if this is related, but I'm noticing that thumbnails are displaying as red X's on alot of images - especially where I've noticed that editors have corrected the image title to lowercase in an article. One example is [[file:t-shirts]] and [[T-shirts]] - the thumbnails for the image history on the image page itself are Xs for me, as is the actualy comic on its comic page, which was at a reduced size. This isn't the only comic doing this. [[Hitler]] is as well, for example. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:01, 13 August 2012 (UTC)

== Creating new comics ==

I'm a big fan of [[List of all comics]] which I think is a great page and resource. Problem is, at least for me, the "create" button isn't working like it should. It's not preloading the {{tl|create}} template as a starting template. If someone has time to take a look at that issue, I think it's a great idea. Is there any way that the preload could also somehow be passed the comic number, image name and comic name so the user doesn't have to reenter those? We should look into this. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 21:15, 15 August 2012 (UTC)
:Ditto. There are a few refinements that I think could be made, though.
:* It's huge, taking a lot of time to load (tables tend to do that, I suppose) so perhaps breaking it into groups, even if it's on the same page (that is, separate tables for each hundred or fraction thereof) Breaking each into sections would allow a TOC for rapid navigation, too.
:* While it might be innocuous, the (create) link isn't needed for anything that isn't redlinked, so maybe an #ifexist, for when the pages do get created, the create no longer appears.
:Just thotz. Otherwise, it's a really useful page, both for visitors, and gnomes. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 01:58, 16 August 2012 (UTC)
::The create link only appears on redlinked pages for me already. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:45, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

== short URLs ==

Hi, you should try to enable short URLs, which remove the ugly index.php from every URL. It makes navigation more intuitive and "wiki-style". It's actually quite easy to do: [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Short_URL]

(Oh, and by the way, would you add WikiEditor? It's so beautiful :) [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:WikiEditor])

== Scaled Images ==

Some of the larger comics are being scaled down to 800px wide. But MediaWiki apparently wants a discrete image rather than scaling what's been uploaded. Is there a plan to fix this? I hope I posted to the right section [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:39, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

:Can you provide an article as an example, because I'm not sure what you mean here. What I ''have'' noticed lately, and maybe this is the same thing you're talking about is that ''any'' scaled image is not displaying and I'm not sure what the error is.

[[file:Cueball.png|50px|right]]
For Example:

: The image links to [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/thumb/4/46/Cueball.png/50px-Cueball.png], which gives a 404. Maybe this is related to [[#short URLs]]? --[[Special:Contributions/83.243.48.2|83.243.48.2]] 06:49, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

::When I first started posting comics, the scaling worked; so something changed to break the images. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:35, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

: I'll start building a list here of them as I go through. Feel free to strike out the ones that fix themselves or get fixed.
:* [[1040: Lakes and Oceans]]
:* [[1071: Exoplanets]]
:* [[1080: Visual Field]]
:* [[:File:online_communities_2.png]]
:* [[:File:online_communities_small.png]]
:* Basically, anything that's been scaled down, whether automatically by the wiki software (usually on File pages), or by people putting in widths into the comic template on comic pages so the images aren't obnoxiously large.
:[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:24, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

::Right - so this is the same problem. Basically resized images are no longer working properly for some reason... [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:54, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

:::[http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help_talk:Images_and_other_uploaded_files#Thumbnails_not_being_created Here is a mediawiki discussion] on this same (appraently) issue. And [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Talk:MediaWiki_1.19#Thumbnails_didn.27t_work_since_Update_to_1.19_15046 this is a mediawiki bug report thread] that has at least one link to a patch. Perhaps someone in management can attempt to impliment some of the proposed solutions? [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:06, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

== Caching issue with pages ==

I'm noticing that aside from the image scaling issue (that I really hope someone is working on), I'm noticing that pages appear to be caching - I edited the latest article but my edits don't immediately show on the main page where that article is transcluded (as of this writing, I still see dead links on the mainpage to "Comics featuring Beret Guy" "Comics featuring Ponytail" because I forgot to add "Category:" to the wiki tag, even though I've already fixed the error in the article. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 16:38, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

== Math extension ==

[[:mw:Extension:Math|Extension:Math]] for mathematical formulas in "Transcript" sections (see [[385]] or [[870]]). --[[User:Valepert|valepert]] ([[User talk:Valepert|talk]]) 04:41, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

== External Link ==

The little image that is usually there to indicate an external link is not appear on some pages:

+ Home Page 
+ Community Portal 
+ Etc 

Probably a permissions issue. --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]

== Spam template add noindex ==

Can the spam template be modified to also tag the pages as [[:Category:Noindexed pages]] so that passing search engine robots don't think we're promoting those sites? I haven't leveled up enough in wiki-knowledge to be smart enough to do that on my own. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:38, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

:Apologies if this is already implemented, but just add <nowiki><includeonly>__NOINDEX__</includeonly></nowiki> to the template page. That's assuming the robots.txt for this website is set up to accept instructions from the wiki, of course. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 07:55, 6 October 2012 (UTC)

== Change "Discussion" to "Talk" ==

It seems we've borrowed a number of templates and other settings that refer to "T" or "talk" for what is still called "Discussion" here. I suggest it is changed to "Talk" now, rather than change the references back to "D" and "discussion". [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 11:44, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

== New comic template: ==

[http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help_talk:Edit_toolbar this guy] has indicated that he has "added some interesting features to my toolbar, including adding a page template as a button" - it would be great to Add the {{tl|create}} template code as a quick clickable button to insert when creating a new page for new comics... Can anyone with admin access to the site code add such a button?? [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 20:49, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

== xkcd icon ==

Can anyone see the icon next to xkcd.com links? I just see a blank space. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 15:19, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

:I cannot, and as far as I know, no one else can. I suspect that this is related to the image resizing bug that we are also dealing with. But, as no one is working on that, there will not be a fix for this either in the near (or indeed the foreseeable) future. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 15:50, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

:: We could simply remove it. I mean, was it that useful anyway? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:28, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

::: Actually, it wasn't related to the image scaling problem. It turns out the direct link at [[MediaWiki:Common.css]] was outdated. I just fixed that :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:13, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

== We need more maintainers ==

:''I'm moving a thread that Davidy22 started on my talk page. The gist is, we need more people with server-side access (especially mediawiki-savvy ones) so we can properly deal with several issues that have been plaguing the wiki for a while now, most notably spam, but also the image scaling problem, a possible extension for proper comments, clean urls, etc. Below is the original thread, please comment.'' --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:56, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

Could you set the permissions so that all anon users have to pass a captcha to edit? The spam has gotten obscene, and they've stopped posting links, so our current detection mechanisms aren't working anymore. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 08:21, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

:I would love to have the ability to tweak the wiki more thoroughly, but currently Jeff's the only one with server access. To be honest, I am not terribly familiar with server-side mediawiki management, so I haven't asked Jeff for access, but it's clear we can't be dependent on a single person to do all the mediawiki config (and Jeff probably knows even less about mediawiki than I do). Are you by any chance acquainted with server-side mediawiki maintenance? I think we could present a good case for having someone else with access to a dev/prototype instance of this wiki on Jeff's server so we could at least experiment and tell him exactly what needs to be done. Thoughts? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:40, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

::I agree that we need more people that are empowered to actively fight spam. I think that we ought to promote Davidy22 to administrator also, so that he can delete pages and block spammers/vandals as he notices them rather than letting them pile up until yourself, IronyChef, or myself notice that there's work that needs done.

::What I think we should do is break out rights into more groups than simply administrator and bureaucrat. I think that's too big of a jump, and that there should be some gradiation. I think we should add a moderator (mark pages as patrolled and rollback ability (as much as it's a sledgehammer when you really only need a ball-peen hammer)) position.

::I think we also need a spam fighter position, but that might not be possible to implement. It should be a position that allows the person to delete pages with 1 or 2 edits (page creation, marked as spam, maybe as high as 3 or 4 for the bots that repeat edit certain pages) and block users with 1 or 2 edits. The real problem there is how to grant those super-powerful abilities without allowing them to lose their mind and go crazy and destroy the wiki. Of course, if we don't catch it early enough there's going to be those IPs that manage to get to six edits, and those will have to be squashed by a full admin. We will also need a way of tagging those spam accounts so when a full admin passes by they will also know to ban the IP address after a spam fighter has deleted all the pages it created.

::Finally, we also need a more active bureaucrat so that we don't have to bug Jeff to promote admin's as well as future moderators and/or spam fighters, and recognize bot accounts as bot accounts. We also should find someone knowledgeable to help Jeff (and maybe he has little helpers) to maintain the actual server. I've done some PHP work, but I've never touched anything deep inside a wiki (I like Ruby and Rails much more). This is my first time gaining admin status on a wiki, so I have no idea what the extra dials and levers do/mean. I look up on the MediaWiki manual and Wikipedia help pages things that I think should be possible, and often times pages exist in places about doing these things, but I'm nowhere near being called knowledgeable. After I finish up some IRL work I'm currently tied up in, I intend to set up a VM webserver on my computers and run a mediawiki install so I can learn how to work (and not break) things without putting explain xkcd in jeopardy.

::Another really wordy post from, [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:01, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

::: From what I know, a moderator user group is possible, but not the spam fighter one. Then again, too many hierarchical levels may be too much for such a small body of regulars. Implementing the moderator group is easy, [[mw:Manual:User rights]] has the details (the "ninja" example and the "list of permissions" section should be enough for putting together the configuration commands to be added to the wiki's LocalSettings.php).
::: As for bureaucrats, I think it makes sense but it seems to me that Jeff only takes longer to perform changes that affect the server, as they understandably may take longer or be more complex (or break the wiki!). Bureaucrats' only difference from admins is that they can promote/demote other users, and this Jeff has been doing without delay, so perhaps there isn't a need for more bureaucrats at the moment. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
::: We do need more sysadmins (people with access to the server), though, for sure. This is a little tricky as none of us is comfortable enough to confidently make server changes in a mediawiki install. Jeff, how about putting the wiki in source control and giving two or three people access to it, so that any wrongdoings can be easily reverted? You could setup a git repository in the server and we could fork it locally to our machines, make tests and push the commits to the server repo whenever they're ready. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:20, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

:::: This is good stuff. I'm down with promoting more admins for spam fighting. If they screw stuff up we can demote them if necessary. I really haven't found a spam fighting extension that I think will be the best possible solution. I'll keep looking as it may be a combination of things. Server access is much more complicated as it is not even my server and it is shared hosting. I think that would be best to be accessed just by me. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 19:10, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

::::: Regarding the server, I understand -- your position seems reasonable. In any case, I've been looking for extensions that may help taking some workload out of server actions and make more stuff configurable via the wiki itself. I'll report back if I find something usable.
::::: On another note, how do you feel about promoting more bureaucrats? I suggest Lcarsos who's been consistently active for the past few months. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:47, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

Personally I'd kind of like to go and make some changes myself. Come up with a nice short url pattern and set it up. Upgrade the wiki. etc... [[User:Dantman|Dantman]] ([[User talk:Dantman|talk]]) 02:44, 23 March 2013 (UTC)
:The shorter URL is being looked into, although Mediawiki strongly advises against it. As for upgrades to the wiki, monetary donations towards Jeff so he can buy better bit for the server would be appreciated. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 03:06, 23 March 2013 (UTC)
::MediaWiki does not advise against it. Half the code currently running short URLs in core was written by me. Same for the new standard for rewrite rules in the new guides. And the tool to automatically generate the config needed to apply short urls to a wiki. Short URLs are '''not''' advised against.
::We do however strongly advise against installing a wiki in <code>/wiki</code>. Because you do '''not''' want to create <code>/wiki/$1</code> style paths while your script path makes scripts look like <code>/wiki/index.php</code>.
::In this case my plan would be to move <code>/wiki</code> to <code>/w</code> then come up with some other short url pattern like <code>/e/$1</code>, some other path, or maybe <code>/$1</code>.
::And setup some 301 redirects to redirect from the old urls to the new ones.
::And upgrading the version of MediaWiki so that it doesn't have security holes doesn't require server replacement. [[User:Dantman|Dantman]] ([[User talk:Dantman|talk]]) 07:09, 23 March 2013 (UTC)

== Sort by numbers in categories ==

I noticed that in [[:Category:Comics]] all comics are sorted correctly by numbers; but not in any subcategory. (I didn't really get the explanation of how it works on the comics page.) How to fix this? -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 10:40, 22 December 2012 (UTC)

:<nowiki>The comics template uses a template called num4 that turns the number in the comic number field into a four-digit number. That's then passed as a parameter to the category link, and the comics category page sorts articles by those four-digit numbers instead of their actual names. If we wanted to do the same for other categories, we would have to type them all out as [[Category:Politics|0200]], or whatever the comic number is. I would rather wait for mediawiki to come out with an in-built feature to solve this.</nowiki> [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 11:28, 22 December 2012 (UTC)

::Is there a reason that the template applies that directly to [[:Category:Comics]] and not as a default sortkey via DEFAULTSORT? – ''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 12:10, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

::: Good thinking. Using DEFAULTSORT oughta make it work for all categories. I'll give it a try. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 15:37, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

== Resize ==

I haven't been here (to edit) for a while, but have we still not addressed the bug that doesn't allow image resizing? I know most of us don't have access to that kind of lower-level coding on the site, but I think it's a bit of a notable issue that we can't display comics smaller than their actual size. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:24, 21 January 2013 (UTC)

:Take it up with [[User:Jeff]], but I suspect that adding your voice to the already insistent roaring that images are broken isn't going to inspire much change. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:08, 23 January 2013 (UTC)

== Incidental Ads ==

as ive noticed i think you should check if someone has embeded some of your links with ads really annoying please fix

--[[User:TheWeatherMan|TheWeatherMan]] ([[User talk:TheWeatherMan|talk]]) 14:00, 23 January 2013 (UTC)TheWeatherMan

:Do you have any specific examples of this? By the way, using punctuation, capitalization, spell check, and complete sentences are more likely to get someone to help you. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:10, 23 January 2013 (UTC)

::There is known malware (both adware and viruses) that makes Wikipedia look like it has ads. This wiki uses the same wiki software, so perhaps that malware affects our site too? – ''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 05:42, 15 February 2013 (UTC)

==/wiki/==
Now that explainxkcd redirects straight to the wiki, could we take the /wiki/ out of the url? I'd also like the wiki's edit log to be purged to clean out the history and forget about past spam, but that's probably wishing for too much. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:06, 28 January 2013 (UTC)

:But seriously, could the /wiki/ go? It'll screw with the spammers for a day or two, at the very least. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 11:37, 30 January 2013 (UTC)

==Newbie questions: Comic dates, previous-and-next-comic buttons==
Just created the my first page, [[220: Philosophy]], but I could use a little guidance. How do I find the date that an ''xkcd'' comic was originally posted, and how do I rig up the previous-comic and next-comic arrows on a page? (Actually, I've noticed several pages that should have the arrows but don't.) [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 11:19, 28 January 2013 (UTC)
:Those arrows will automagically insert themselves when you make the adjacent comic explanations. There *is* a little backstage magic that needs to be taken care of, but we can do that for you. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 11:40, 28 January 2013 (UTC)
** OK. How about the dates? [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 11:41, 28 January 2013 (UTC)
:::Click on "All Comics" in the navbar on left-hand side of the site. The dates are in the form YYYY-MM-DD. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 11:56, 28 January 2013 (UTC)

:The comic template checks for the existence of the numerical redirect for the comic before and the comic after. If it finds the page to exist it will display the next/previous button as appropriate. So, by creating the redirects listed on the [[List of all comics]] (third column, only worry about the number and title links) future pages will automatically get the links created. Redirect pages look like <code><nowiki>#REDIRECT [[####: Comic Title]]</nowiki></code> and that's it ([http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1143&redirect=no here] is a link to the redirect page with redirect disabled so you can look at the source to see what I'm talking about). That's all that needs to exist on the number and title redirects. If you feel up to creating them yourself, feel free, otherwise someone else goes through occasionally and mass adds all the missing redirects. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:55, 29 January 2013 (UTC)

== Error message ==

I've been getting this error message a lot the last cup'o days. When trying to access a page; when trying to save changes on a page. Any ideas on why? I'm getting it on both chrome and firefox.
::Database error
::A database query syntax error has occurred. This may indicate a bug in the software. The last attempted database query was:
::(SQL query hidden) from within function "Revision::insertOn". Database returned error "1142: INSERT command denied to user ::'dbo423085716'@'74.208.16.155' for :table 'text' (db423085716.db.1and1.com)".
–[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 22:54, 18 March 2013 (UTC)

:Every once in a while I get a SQL error being reported, but usually I can simply F5 and the page comes up. Every once in a while it seems like the server load is just so that somebody gets lucky enough to see the server error out. I don't think there's much we can do about this, other than move the wiki onto a more powerful server. But, there are no ads on this site, there is no revenue model, just a very kind person paying for hosting that keeps this site up. I'm more than willing to overlook a few hiccups for the continuing availability of explain xkcd. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 07:12, 23 March 2013 (UTC)

explain xkcd:Community portal/Coordination

2013-03-14T12:02:52Z

Lcarsos: /* Trivia and transcript placement */ finally putting in my two cents

<noinclude>{{Community portal}}</noinclude>

== Issue dates ==

Hi Jeff,

As i'm creating pages I struggle with the issue dates of comics. I've added a comment to all pages that contain the (unknown/incorrect) dates. Is there a way to research those dates? --[[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]])
: [http://xkcd.com/archive/] if you mouse over the comic name, it will have the date. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:26, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

- if you mouse over comic name in "Archive" section of xkcd.com. Older comics(1-44 or so) might be found in [http://liveweb.archive.org/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/?skip=40 livejournal archive][[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 18:35, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Should we consider using "2012-08-03" style dates and letting localization "do the right thing"? Most pages so far use "August 3, 2012" style dates, with a few incorrectly doing "August 3rd, 2012"... Presumably the template could do the localizing/localising...--[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 18:39, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

: The date is also available with the [http://xkcd.com/json.html JSON API], which I'm going to use for the [[User_talk:Jeff#Automatic_Import|import]]. I use <nowiki>{{#dateformat: year-month-day}}</nowiki>, MediaWiki should figure out the correct way to display it based on your preferences. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 18:47, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
Moved from [[User talk:Jeff]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:15, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Date? ==

How do I find the date a comic was first posted (to put in the comic header here?) [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 12:26, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Moved from [[Talk:Main Page]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:43, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

Original posting date is listed on xkcd's [[http://xkcd.com/archive/ archive page]] as hover-text for each post. The first 44 comics are all listed as 2006-01-01. Many of these were previously posted on the [[http://liveweb.archive.org/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/?skip=40 livejournal site]], and some dates can be found/inferred by checking there.--[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 17:49, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

== To do list ==

I suggest a todo list to be added here so newcomers will have an idea of concrete things they can do to help. I'll start by moving some items I've been collecting on my user page. Feel free to add more :)

'''Things to do'''
* Complete all entries from the [[List of all comics]]
* [[Special:WantedPages]] lists pages that have links to them but haven't been created yet.
* More topics that could be covered here besides the comics themselves:
** our [https://twitter.com/explainxkcd twitter account]
** the xkcd irc channel (and [http://wiki.xkcd.com its wiki])
** the xkcd blag
** the xkcd forum
** other sites explaining xkcd ([http://xkcdexplained.com/], [http://xkcd.wikia.com], [http://xkcdexplained.wikia.com], [http://xkcdexplainedexplained.tumblr.com/archive], maybe invite members+content of the other wikis in once we're established?)

'''Maintenance'''
* Redirects should be created from the "File:number.png" format to the "File:title.png" format.
* categorization (make sure these lists are empty):
** [[Special:UncategorizedCategories]]
** [[Special:UncategorizedFiles]]
** [[Special:UncategorizedPages]]
** [[Special:WantedCategories]]
* building the web of links:
** [[Special:DeadendPages]] (pages with no links to other pages)
** [[Special:LonelyPages]] (pages that aren't linked to by any others)
* other
** [[Special:DoubleRedirects]]
**: (Took a chunk out of these the good ol' fashioned way, but there's got to be a wiff of Perl or Python to automate this... ? -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:44, 9 August 2012 (UTC))
**:: Well, there's [https://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/mwclient/ mwclient], a Python interface to the mediawiki API which I've used to move the comics to the new names. We could certainly create scripts to perform maintenance tasks and share the snippets here on the wiki. Automated tools will be useful while we establish standards early on. If you'd like help getting started, let me know. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:40, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
** convert [[Special:LinkSearch/en.wikipedia.org|wikipedia links]] to the <nowiki>{{w|Lorem ipsum}}</nowiki> format
** use lowercase xkcd everywhere on the wiki (see [http://xkcd.com/about/ How do I write "xkcd"?])

There are more maintenance reports at [[Special:SpecialPages]], for inspiration :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 06:45, 6 August 2012 (EDT)

:: I'd love one of these "To Do" lists for admins as well! :) I'm always forgetting what I need to do! --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 02:35, 12 August 2012 (UTC)
::: There actually isn't much to do that needs admin permissions around here. Right I can think of only a handful of admin-specific tasks:
:::* Keeping an eye on [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests]] for stuff other editors might need
:::* Keeping an eye on [[:Category:Pages to delete]] (currently populated by {{tl|spam}}), delete the pages, block the spammers
:::* Updating the main page and watching
:::* Implementing any changes, agreed by the community, that require editing Mediawiki pages
:::Maybe others will have other items to add to the list, but for the most part, the things that need to be done are available to all editors: adding the missing comic explanations, describing characters, categorizing, etc. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:13, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

== Date categories ==
I'm not sure the "[[:Category:Comics by month|Comics by month]]", by weekday, etc. Will be much useful, unless for those interested in running some stats. It might be more interesting to have specific months, such as [[:Category:Comics from May 2011]] and so on. What do you think? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 06:45, 6 August 2012 (EDT)
: That was actually next for me: #time:year-month, but I wanted to study the globalization implications. I prefer over-categorizing rather than under-categorizing, since it's comparatively cheap. The assumption is that categories are the same as tags on the old site, and that mediawiki affords us some extra ways to automatically categorize pages in addition to the manual forms starting to emerge (by character, by subject, etc.) To paraphrase an old prof: you can't study what you don't measure; I've been wanting to see if, for example, Monday comics deal certain subjects, while Friday comics deal with another, etc. Not everybody's cup of tea, but of value perhaps to some, and insanely cheap to support both mentally and for the software. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 13:51, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

I also used it to find some date typos for Saturday/Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday comics, which should usually be empty - except for some early entries from livejournal... --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 21:50, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

It does make it look a bit messy down by the categories... maybe we can skip one or two of these date categories, if people don't still find them useful? [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 21:22, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

== Page names ==

I think we should use the comic number '''and''' the title as the page name. Like so: "112: Baring My Heart". This would allow comics to be sorted by order in categories, but the pages would still have human-readable names for those of us who don't memorize all xkcd comic numbers ;) Thoughts? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 07:23, 6 August 2012 (EDT)

:I agree, for another reason: for instance [[YouTube]] could be either the title of a page explaining how YouTube is referenced in xkcd, or the title of the explanation for comic #202 (titled "YouTube"). I don't know if I'm being clear here, but as we do not control the titles of the comics, that could create confusion with other pages. So using something like [[202: YouTube]] would ensure disambiguation without being really complicated or awkward... And actually prefixing the comic title with its number seems quite relevant to me.
:Additionally, that would solve potential problems such as [[Exoplanets]]: comic [[786]] or [[1071]]?
:[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 14:33, 6 August 2012 (UTC)
::Beat me to the punch; agreed. Numbers are unique and sequential, but not altogether that meaningful. Names are meaningful but (as we've seen) not unique. Some combination of both would be called for. We'd need to have the plain numbers redirect to the new topic (some double-redirects would need to be fixed up?) and the names would too (with at least one disambiguation page for now, and who knows: maybe more to come?) -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 13:55, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
::Following up on the YouTube discussion above, I'm wondering if we should leverage namespaces more: main:topic is implicitly ''xkcd:topic'' (ie ''main:YouTube'' discusses the xkcd comic, while ''ref:YouTube'' is the place where the pop-culture reference of YouTube is discussed.) Either that, or some other name decoration, such as ''YouTube Explained'', or ... -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 13:59, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
::: Agreed. Number and the name together. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:08, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::: Looks like we have consensus. I'll move the pages (I've been meaning to learn how to use [https://sourceforge.net/projects/mwclient mwclient] anyway :D) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 18:01, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::: {{done}}, all current pages have been moved. However, I am not sure whether we should keep a space after the colon. What do you guys think? Should it be "112: Baring My Heart" or "112:Baring My Heart"? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 18:20, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
::::: Also, I just realized MediaWiki doesn't allow colons in image Filenames. One solution could be using something like [[:File:786. Exoplanets.png]] or [[:File:786-Exoplanets.png]], but then perhaps we'd have to change the pages name too, for consistency? I'll try to investigate what is the reasoning behind this restriction. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 18:50, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::: Ok, it seems like it's a matter of setting <code><nowiki>$wgIllegalFileChars = '';</nowiki></code> in LocalSettings.php (because it is set as <code>$wgIllegalFileChars = ':';</code> in DefaultSettings.php). <s>Jeff, could you do that please?</s> --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:13, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::::: Nevermind, we will probably use a different naming pattern instead. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 20:05, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

::::::: I guess this is my bad for not ciming in on this discussion earlier, but I frankly think that the #: Name is a worse way of doing it just for the reasons of system resources. #:Name is fine from a user standpoint with the '''caveat''' that # and Name both redirect to #:Name. The problem is that this requires 2 redirects minimum for every comic, and the redirect itself takes a bit more time for each article to load, and (as I understand from wikipedia and its dislike of double redirects), every redirect adds to the system load. So if every article lookup by users (who will undoubtedly type either the number or the name, but rarely both) is a redirect, the system load is going to go up.

::::::: As an aside, assuming Jeff is able to install the Cite Extension to add citation referencing (and even if he doesn't), I was expecting to try to create some sort of template in the concept of {{tl|cite comic}} where you could basically pass a single variable (e.g. the comic number) and it would create a proper citation for that comic. Similarly, this naming format will perhaps require a template something like {{tl|comicno}} with a comic number field just to create a quick link that is visibly appealing and links properly to the comic with that number. (ie: {comicno|18} would produce a link like "[[18: Snapple|Snapple]]" or something). I'm wondering though if anyone has any coding ideas for how we might accomplish this other than the hardcode all the titles into a template. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:26, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

::::::: PS: I did some mild digging on another wiki, ''Star Trek'''s Memory Alpha wiki, and although all of its episode articles are now titled "episode title (episode)" to avoid disambiguation, which allows you to an episode template by calling the title (which template appends "(episode)" to every entry), they DO have a title-display template: [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Template:Titles Template:Titles] - with a template subpage for every single episode setting out how the mouseover text should be displayed. It would be possible to do such a template for xkcd just so that comic numbers can be crossreferenced to titles... [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 20:30, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::::: (Hoping this is the right number of colons for proper indentation... ;-) Redirects are one thing, and while probably resulting in possibly two page serves (isn't it really just two hits to the db?) they're natively supported by mediawiki. Even so, if performance is proven to be a real (not just conjectured) problem, can we do something clever, perhaps, with transclusion? Either the number transcludes the title, or vice versa? Might be a case of pre-optimization, though; in the back of my mind, it seems that the rendering engine puts as much effort into transcluding to expand templates as it would to expand a redirect in situ: either case is just a query to the DB to expand the contents of said item. (Enough rambling; anybody have any concrete metrics on this?) -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 06:23, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::::::Hi folks. Just thought I'd state that redirects are completely safe. They don't add any noticeable loading time for the users and the extra resources used by the server are so minor that it's akin to the resources used to type a character in notepad. Pages are also aggressively cached (by default, anyway). If you're interested, the way redirects work in Mediawiki isn't like most other sites handle redirects. It's not loading a page that makes you load another page. Rather, all content is stored in an SQL database. The content is stored under a certain name (eg, "#: Hello World!"). A redirect simply tells Mediawiki to look for the content under a different name. Slightly more work for the server (don't worry, they can handle it), but the page is delivered to the user in roughly the same period of time (if we want to be technical, the page will be slightly larger, due to the "Redirected from whatever" line added to the page (which is mostly there for the purpose of making it easier to fix incorrect redirects). I don't have metrics, but can assure you that it's almost no difference in the end result. {{User:Omega/sig}} 09:11, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

I've been thinking about this some more, and I believe we should choose a different pattern for the page names.
* First, use another separator between comic number and name, since colon is forbidden in files. A simple alternative would be "Comic title (number)", as in [[Michael Phelps (1092)]]. This would additionally allow us to use the {{w|Help:Pipe trick|pipe trick}} when linking to a comic, since content in parenthesis is automatically stripped out: <nowiki>[[Michael Phelps (1092)|]]</nowiki> results in [[Michael Phelps (1092)|Michael Phelps]]. Another effect of this is that by dropping the colon naming scheme we would remove ambiguity with the namespace system, which also uses colons to separate namespaces from pagenames.
* Second, we should probably follow IronyChef's suggestion above and move them to a specific namespace, such as [[Comic:Michael Phelps (1092)]]. Other namespaces could be added for more topics, such as [[Character:Cueball]], [[xkcd:Randall]] (or [[Meta:Randall]]), [[Topic:Velociraptors]], etc. Not only we would be able to generate lists of pages without resorting to categories (which have to be added manually), but we would get lot's of "Random X" for free (random comic, random character, random topic, etc.)
What do you guys think? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 14:29, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
:P.s. - Proper category sorting of the comics would be dealt with by the {{tl|comic}} template, which would also pad the numbers with zeroes to ensure 100 comes after 2, etc.

::+1 on the parens... (but does that mean my recent double-redirect-fixups have been for naught? {{xkcd|541|(grin)}}) ... I couldn't put my finger on it and didn't articulate it earlier, but the fact that colon needed special attention by the software left me a bit uneasy (there must be a reason for them doing that, like namespaces perhaps) so using parentheses-es-es (as {{xkcd|297|long}} as we {{xkcd|859|close}} them {{explain|312|properly}}) seems more the mediawiki way. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 15:03, 9 August 2012 (UTC) (I know you folks don't like my propensity to (over?)categorize, but <nowiki>[[Category:Parentheses]]</nowiki> is just too irresistible... ;-)

:I think, that all of this seem unnecessary complication to me. I don't see any problem with the current system. I think something like [[1092: Michael Phelps]] flows well, is quite readable and easy to insert "as is" in the text (see the links to other comics in [[1048: Emotion]] for instance). As I understand, we would want the image files to be titled exactly the same way as their corresponding article; why, where is the need for that? (to me the simplest way, and most relevant maybe, would be to name them exactly as they are on xkcd.com; maybe with a prefix, like "xkcd - ", so that it cannot mess with other existing images such as from Commons).
:I don't see the point of creating namespaces such as "Character", "Topic", etc.; what is the problem with [[Beret Guy]], [[Randall Munroe]], [[Velociraptors]], and such? with namespaces one will have to put each topic in one box (and one only), where will you put things like [[Stick figure]] or [[My Hobby]] or any other thing that will pop up without clearly belonging to one of these boxes? ''[[1077: Home Organization|just give up]]!'' :-)
:About the "Random X", I like the idea that on xkcd.com, you can get a random ''comic'' (because that's all what is there), but in here you can get a random whatever: you may get a comic explanation, a character, a topic or anything, because in here there is all that.
:I don't think the colon in the comic page names will pose any problem, it cannot mess with anything as long as it is preceded by a number only.
:''In the end,'' I think that adding the number in the comic page names was a good choice, because there would have been real issues otherwise, but for now I would say : "don't fix what is not broken", KISS, and "just give up". :-)
:[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 16:14, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

:: I have to agree with this. The existing page names are fine in my book, and I don't see any benefits of renaming them all (again). Concerning the random, though, I mentioned an extension in proposals that would allow us to choose a "random page in a category". I don't really care one way or another about character topics. Seem like a lot of maintenance when we don't even have a quarter of the comics explained yet, but whatever. Concerning the image names, I think that simply using the same name as it appears on xkcd is fine. Images are a bit of a "backend", that people don't usually search for (rather, they'd search for the comic and find the image on that page). As well, since all images are hosted on xkcd, they won't be any file name conflicts amongst the comics. {{User:Omega/sig}} 18:04, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

::: Good points (and puns!), all of you. I'd like to address a few specific points (I'll highlight the key takeaways for your convenience):
:::* '''I still prefer parenthesis''' for the simple reason that colons mess with the concept of namespaces (not that it has any effect on the software, which can cope quite well; I'm speaking from a user point of view). Besides, one of the reasons I proposed for having the number first was automatic category sorting, but that backfired (cf. #2 vs. #100).
:::* Re rationale for having image files titled like the comics is that it would allow automatic image inclusion via the {{tl|comic}} template. However, having the prefix is not crucial for that (hadn't thought of this before), so I'll go ahead and remove my suggestion above to allow colons in filenames.
:::* Note that there's no problem with "conflicts" with Commons images: an image uploaded here simply takes precedence regarding an image uploaded to commons under the same name (e.g. [[:File:Irony.jpg]] vs. [[commons:File:Irony.jpg]]). That said, while external conflicts aren't a problem, internal ones are (e.g. [[Exoplanets]]). That, coupled with the "it's just a backend" point made by Omega, is a good argument to '''use the original filenames''' (also, less overhead when uploading a new comic)
:::* I understand the argument against a single primary way to classify a page using namespaces. The category system is more flexible as it allows many-to-many relationships. However, I must point out that the examples you give are no problem at all: [[Meta:Stick figure]] and [[Topic:My Hobby]] ;) So '''I'm still not convinced that using custom namespaces is a bad idea''' or a lost cause or that it won't scale up well. Besides, it makes it very clear what a reader will find on that page (explainxkcd.com/wiki/Topic:Velociraptors is a pretty self-explanatory url). And again, it allows us to use the random feature that is natively implemented on mediawiki, rather than an extension. And "random whatever" is still available, of course :)
:::* IronyChef, by all means, please create [[:Category:Parentheses]] :D
::: --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 20:05, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

:::If we're going to use the numbers in the titles, it seems logical to have the number come first so that comics are essentially sortable by number rather than alphabetically by title; although this probably can be taken care of by changing the sort title, thoug this could be tedious.

:::I don't support new namespaces for comics and characters and whatnot. I don't see what it adds to the wiki, and it just makes the links to each comic page ''even longer'' (no one will EVER correctly search for '''Comic:Snapple (18)''' on their first attempt).

:::I am not claiming to be an expert on redirects. My comment was based on wikipedia pages like {{w|Wikipedia:Double redirects}} where it clearly suggests in the lead that double redirects "waste server resources". I assume this applies (at to a lesser degree) to single redirects. They may not be needless waste like double redirects, but they they do use resources. Granted wikipedia has far larger servers and much more traffic, so it may be more relevant to them than here, but it still would appear to be a resource issue; Database queries are still resource hogs, even if they are simple ones. Not suggesting they aren't safe, but if every comic load is basically a redirect, that is still two queries every time instead of just the occasional one. I'm fine with it; I'm just pointing out the issue. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 16:20, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

::::The reason that double redirects are bad is that linking a redirect to another redirect (a double redirect) causes the first redirect to simply display the content of the second redirect (rather than actually redirecting the page). This appears as simply an arrow and a link (a soft redirect). It uses more system resources because an actual page has to be loaded and displayed, forcing the user to manually click the link and display the proper page (whereas a single redirect would load the correct page and display it). So in other words, a double redirect forces two pages to be loaded, while a single redirect only loads one page, more or less the same as if you went to the actual page title. {{User:Omega/sig}} 21:35, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

::::: Also, regarding the sorting argument for using numbers first: I was the one who originally proposed that, but I overlooked the fact that sorting won't work unless we use padding (e.g. "0001: Comic title"), which is kind of a hack. MediaWiki supports category sort keys natively, so we should be taking advantage of them rather than relying on a specific page title format to achieve the same effect.
::::: As for the namespaces, I think I've presented my arguments for that above; let me know if any of them are unclear. I accept that one may disagree with them, but not that there ''aren't'' any benefits. Note that '''nobody''' will correctly seach for whatever page title we use, unless we use only the numbers as the final title, which I think we all agree is not desirable. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 11:25, 11 August 2012 (UTC)

::::::Thanks for the double-redirect explanation, Omega. To Waldir; I think people would also correctly search for Comic Titles, at times. Some more than others, for sure. But if you are on XKCD reading a comic that has a title printed, and you want to come here and read the explanation, You would most likely search for either the number or the title that is displayed at xkcd.com. That said, if it's not a resource hog, and we can find a GOOD way to create links to comics easily (ie: I can type in {explain|123} and actually get a proper looking link to that comic's page, I'm cool with that. I really think it will add a lot of time to the edit process to have to manually type in 123: Title for every link to another comic. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:32, 13 August 2012 (UTC)

== Comic Display - another new template ==

I see that the latest comics have changed over to {{tl|comicbox}} from {{tl|comic}}. This might be in response to today's tall narrow comic. I don't see any recent discussions about the {{tl|comicbox}} template. We really need to come to some form of consensus on the comic display issue. I am really not a fan of the {{tl|comicbox}} template, as I arrive at the homepage today and I don't understand what I'm seeing. There is no indication that the text on the right is the Explanation. I wasn't sure if part of it was title text or not. I figured it out, but it's not the easiest thing to see. I also don't think the navbuttons jutting right up against the top of the comic display box looks good.

Eithe way, where I'm going with this is that I think we need to come to a consensus on the form and template used for comic pages. If we choose comicbox, or comic or some other template, it's all good; but we should be editing ONE template to get it working and looking the way we want; rather than bouncing between many templates and creating new ones. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 16:26, 10 August 2012 (UTC)
:Yeah, I was really confused at first, and scrambled through the discussions trying to find what happened. To be honest, I'm more of a fan of the {{tl|comic}} template, with the explanation under a header explaining so. Not to mention with {{tl|comicbox}}, I'm suddenly unsure of what to do with the transcripts. For comparison, [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1093:_Forget&oldid=6199 here] is the {{tl|comic}} template, while [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1093:_Forget&oldid=6209 here] is the {{tl|comicbox}} template. At any rate, no matter what template we're using (I personally prefer {{tl|comic}}, but don't really care that much provided all comics use the same template), I agree that we need some kind of consensus to determine how we're formatting the page. {{User:Omega/sig}} 21:31, 10 August 2012 (UTC)
::Ditto on the confusion (augmented by the confusion of finding where the pertinent discussion has gotten off to; they seem to slip from page to page between visits... ) Anyway, I'm guessing this is a ''de-gustibus'' matter, but regardless of the respective virtues of either template, to my eye the template today's comic was changed to has {{explain|1070|a couple}} cosmetic shortcomings:
::* The typeface is larger than normal. Just a personal preference, but it should be scaled 100% vs adjacent normal wiki text; readers can change the level of zoom if that's too small. Also,
::* the image is vertically centered, so in the case of a disproportionately long explanation (like today's) it appears too far down the page; it really needs to be top-aligned, with the title text close underneath it. Further,
::* for this vertical layout, there's a lot of wasted vertical space when the explanation is so much longer than the image. Rather than having two rigid columns, have we considered '''float:left''' or '''float:right''' style attributes on the image, so that whatever text is left flows to fill the entire space below the image?
:: Finally, to tie this all up with a bow, (and perhaps raising an issue that may have been raised before; I don't recall, because of the shifting locations of discussions hereabouts) ... Is there a need for images to always be shown at 100% size, especially for the more extremely sized ones? Seems to me that the images here really only need to fulfill a refresher role, and clicks through the image should take the reader to the full-sized image on xkcd.com. Legally, I know we have the right to host the images here. But morally, it seems like we shouldn't be taking too much traffic away from xkcd.com as it is RM's bread and butter. Our value-add is the in the form of explanations: long as we can visually tie these explanations with the comic (by having something bigger than a thumbnail, but somewhat smaller than full size, especially for odd-shaped ones) I think we're on the positive side. Thotz? -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 05:23, 11 August 2012 (UTC)
:::I agree with you on all points, although I'm really not a fan of having the text either beside or under the comic. I'd rather it be the same in all cases. In which case, having the text beside the comic won't do, as wide comics wouldn't be very supportive of that. Also, if the explanation is considerably longer than the comic, it just looks a bit strange to me. Float left/right would fix that, but would be a bit harder to implement with the title text (eg, if the title text and image are inside a float left div, does that div have a fixed width or does a long title text push it over?). All in all, I'd rather the text always be below the comic. It's consistent and less problematic. Regarding the size of comics, I'd rather we use the full size in all cases except the "large" comics (defined as the comics that are shown at a reduced size on xkcd itself, such as [[1079: United Shapes]]). Why? Because when I'm reading an explanation to a comic I don't understand, I'm constantly referencing the explanation with the comic itself. Having to open a new tab each time would make that a bit less convenient. {{User:Omega/sig}} 06:38, 11 August 2012 (UTC)
::::For visual experimentation, I've made the theoretically uncontroversial changes of text size (it's now expressed as relative percentage rather than absolute px) and I made the image top-aligned, so comics like {{explain|1093}} show the image near the top of the explanation, despite the explanation being many multiples of that image's height; we can change that back if we don't like them. There are other changes I'd like to make (see above) but I'll wait for general agreement on that (not to mention which template to use.) -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 15:39, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

:::::To respond to all of the previous comments; I echo IronyChef's thought - I built into {{tl|comic}} an imagesize attribute because I believe that the comic should be a managable size on this site; generally not more than say 400px; this creates a "click to enlarge" link which takes the user to the imgae's page. Although I previously thought that a balance needs to be kept because people may start coming to the wiki to read xkcd in the first instance instead of xkcd.com, I also agree with Omega's point that it's potentially unfair to Randall to entice traffic away from xkcd.com. This strengthens my belief that larger comics should be kept to a reasonable size.

:::::Not sure if I said it in this thread, I think we have to look at the purpose of the box itself. In my eyes, the box is designed (like an infobox) to basically show the user the basic facts. Not user-added material or encyclopedia text. The box, in my view, is there to present all of the info about the comic that actually comes from xkcd. The image, the alt text, the title, date and number. Adding the explanation in the box basically makes the explanation look official as part of the comic. The primary content of this site is the explanations. If anything should go under proper wiki-format headers, it's that (in my opinion). The transcript is technically official content, but as I've said elsewhere, in my view, the transcript is secondary info that the comic already contains; it doesn't need to be in the infobox. IronyChef has indentified and fixed a lot of my minor cosmetic issues with the comicbox template, and there are others I don't like either (the title font is a little too weak and the top of the box is touching the bottom of the nav buttons. Don't like those, but again, easily fixable).

::::: I also think while there may be instances like the "Forget" comic which is a list-form comic where having a long vertical list explanation works, a long vertical list is often harder to read and follow than a full-page-width explanation. (even "Forget" has each line of explanation end up being several lines long in {{tl|comicbox}} format.) Worse, the potential to want to fit in the box may limit users from adding to explanations which we shouldn't encourage. If the explanation is twice as long as the comic, there's nothing wrong with that, and it shouldn't look bad by going inside the template. I appreciate the attempt that the verticle comicbox makes to not waste space (using the two-column method) but I don't think this is the way to do it. I think shrinking the comic (and accepting that there will be space on either side) is the best way. As I say, 375px or 400px seem like logical limiters for most comics. This is explainxkcd, so you shouldn't have to scroll way down to get to the explanation. I too sometimes like to view the comic and explain at the same time to check notes as Omega suggests, but I can do that by control+click or shift+clicking the image to enlarge, and comparing in separate windows by tiling them or just switching back and forth - with a larger comic, you'd have to scroll up and down to read both the comic and the explanation anyway. I find I lose my place in the text when I do that. alt+Tabbing for me generally is easier to keep my place in both windows.

:::::The one thing from {{tl|comicbox}} that I do like is that the box is shaded slightly bluegray. I like the separation that creates; on the other hand, xkcd.com has comics posted on white; does it hurt the integrity of any comics to have them posted on blue-grey instead of white? I'd consider changing the background of {{tl|comic}} to a blue-gray (though perhaps lighter than the one on comicbox) if people like that. That's my thoughts[[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:10, 13 August 2012 (UTC)

{{outdent|:::::}}
{{tl|ComicBox}} just got a major redesign. It looks more like {{tl|comic}}, but with the addition of a vertical comic mode. Also, bear in mind that {{tl|comic}} doesn't use white for the background. For comics like "Forget", take a look at [[Forget comicbox]]. Looks ok? --[[User:Grep|Grep]] ([[User talk:Grep|talk]]) 15:27, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

:As noted on [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals#Comic Templates]], there is no need to start a new thread there there there is already a thread on the topic here (which you've posted to). Also, if your post was "which template should we use when?" it's not really a "proposal" for the proposals page, and better fits here under coordination.

:That said, I thought this topic was fairly well resolved. Jeff endorsed {{tl|Comic}} in the [[#Header_template]] discussion on this page, and this subsequent discussion seemed to resolve as well with no real consensus that a change from {{tl|comic}} was necessary or beneficial. I don't see the benefit of continuing to build new templates that basially duplicate existing templates with one extra function (vertical mode). That could have been built into the existing template, if it were deemed necessary.

:I personally think there are still pluses and minuses to doing things vertically; It looks a little cluttered to have the comic up on one size and the explanation on the other. If you don't have a high-resolution desktop or you want a non-maximized window, there may not be much space for the explanation which may end up with two or three words per line and be hard to read and annoying. "Forget" was a comic featuring a long list; this made for a very long listed explanation. Most long comics will not have explanations longer than the comic, and we'll have a lot of whitespace to the right of the comic. It just looks cluttered to me. I like having the navbar centered above the comic, not the page (and also in the enclosed comic box). That's personal preference though. I think the better design for vertical comics (is just to reduce their size and put them in the standard box. They otherwise take up too much space. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 16:48, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

*I am not a fan of the discontinuity that comicbox creates as the explanation runs longer than the image. I also feel that we should focus on improving the existing {{tl|comic}} instead of further developing new templates. - [[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 21:38, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

== Template for New Comics ==

To clarify, I'm not talking about a template like {{tl|comic}} or {{tl|comicbox}}, but rather a form to cut/paste for new comics. I'm rather new to large editing of MediaWiki pages, so I'm interested in learning of better ways of doing things.

Recently, I've been copy/pasting [[User:Blaisepascal/newcomictemplate]] to set up the basic form of the page, then editing the various sections. This ensures I get the major bits. I still have to copy/paste the transcript from xkcd.com, fill in the {{tl|comic}} template, and make the number and title redirects by hand.

Is there a better way? Is there anything my template is missing? [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 14:06, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

:I've created a ruby script that can be given a comic number and it will spit out a text file with the comic template filled out, the transcript, and the comic discussion template. I've finally gotten it to the point that it is usable, so that's why I'm talking about it. It still doesn't pull explanations from the blog, but that's a whole ball of wax in and of itself. I'm on Linux so it's easy to run it and have it spit out files, I assume on Windows if you have ruby installed there is a way to run ruby scripts from the command prompt. Can't tell you where things will pop out, probably in the directory you run it in, but I haven't tested it on Windows yet. I'm also continuing to work on it, so don't assume that any version you download is the final product. Oh, it also spits out the redirect line you put in the number and title pages so you can just copy/paste that.
:I made it because I was going to drive myself insane making hundreds of pages without some kind of automation. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 07:24, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

::{{tl|create}} was created as a template for the comic list so that it could be autoloaded into comics by linking from [[List of all comics]]. That functionality doesn't seem to be working, unfortunately. For that reason, I added a "transcript" of the create text as documentation on that template. If you goto {{tl|create}}, you will find a template for new comic creation. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 20:20, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

== The name of the ponytail character ==

I remember the community having a name for the female ponytail character (I don't recall if there is a male ponytail character, but in the interest of being complete). Was it simply Ponytail?

In any case, she seems to recur enough to deserve her own Category:Comics featuring ... page. But I don't want to go create it without knowing what we can agree on is her name. So, pony (wow, didn't intend that pun) up your 2 cents. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:28, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

:This comic http://xkcd.com/322/ calls a ponytail'ed female Joanna. Is this the same character as ponytail? She might be different. Community input please. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 01:26, 23 August 2012 (UTC)
::It sounds plausible. Few of the characters are named, and it looks like Ponytail (compare, for example, Elaine Roberts as an adult, who has light hair, but doesn't wear it in a ponytail). The one concern is that in 322, she is clearly acquainted with Black Hat, and in 405 she appears to be friends with Danish, yet Black Hat and Danish don't know each other -- unless he tracked her down via Joanna... [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 04:41, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

== The name of Black Hat's girlfriend ==

[[Black Hat]] has a girlfriend, introduced in [[377: Journal 2]]. She has thicker hair than Megan, and is seen (in [[405: Journal 3]] to be friends with [[Ponytail]]. Is there community-accepted name for her?
:: No, not yet. She seems to have a personality similar to [[Black Hat]] himself --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 15:48, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
:::I don't really want to create a "Category:Comics featuring Black Hat's girlfriend" if there is a better solution, that's all. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 15:57, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
::::In my own head I've been calling her Summer because she looks like how Randall draws Summer Glau (not a good argument, granted), and in some of the comics she shows up she reminds me of Summer's characters. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:41, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::Or we could call her Dearest or Darling or Danish http://xkcd.com/515/ [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:32, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
::::::OK, I've gone with [[Danish]]. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 22:18, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::::P.S. I love you for that. You have my eternal respect. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:35, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

Also, now someone needs to update the Characters nav box to include Danish. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:51, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
:I found the template on my own (aren't I a [[1032|grown up professional]]?) and updated it. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:53, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

== Can we turn off page creation for non-logged in users ==

I'm not very familiar with mediawiki, so I don't know if this would be hard or not. But, it would stop the drive-by spam attacks (the ones that don't create accounts anyway, such nice bots).

My secondary goal in doing this would be to get [[Special:Contributions/‎72.252.145.183|‎72.252.145.183]] and [[Special:Contributions/‎207.204.86.3|‎207.204.86.3]] to make accounts so that there is a way to get a hold of them, give them some feedback, and have them stop adding/spamming spurious categories. Both of them are creating pages with poor/non-existent explanations, sections for the transcript but missing the transcript, haphazardly adding pre-existing categories and adding tons of one-off categories which do nothing to enhance explain xkcd.

[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 19:02, 13 September 2012 (UTC)
:Tag any such comics with {{[[Template:Comic-stub|Comic-stub]]}} and you or someone else can fix it ^^--[[User:Relic|Relic]] ([[User talk:Relic|talk]]) 00:01, 24 September 2012 (UTC)

== Tagline categories! ==

It finally struck me that there's that great line sitting top-right on the xkcd site. Yes the [[tagline]]. So, I've created pages for [[:Category:Language|Language]], [[:Category:Romance|Romance]], [[:Category:Math|Math]] already existed. But, I don't have time right now to go hunting down examples of [[:Category:Sarcasm|Sarcasm]]. Can I enlist the help of all the beautiful editors here to go tagging crazy? (Ok, not crazy like insane, but please do comb through everything for these) [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 19:47, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

== Image updates on xkcd ==

Once in a while, Randall changes the image of a particular comic (usually after someone here spotted an error!); for instance, that is the case for [http://xkcd.com/1122/ xkcd 1122 on Electoral Precedents]. It would be nice to still be able to see the original image(s) here as well as the updated version, as the discussion usually references the previous version(s) and therefore sometimes doesn't make sense without the original image in those cases. Also, consider this as a mild suggestion to update the mentioned image on its explanation page. Sorry if I've put this in the wrong place... --[[User:Jay|Jay]] ([[User talk:Jay|talk]]) 14:54, 29 October 2012 (UTC)

:For these most recent comics, someone usually uploads the version that goes public at midnight, and then corrections are uploaded on top of that. As part of the MediaWiki software, you can click on the image, which will take you to its file page, which allows you to see all the versions of the image back to its first creation. I, personally, am not sure if it's possible to link directly to a previous version, but it is there at least.

:Unfortunately, due to an image resizing bug, (that we all hope is being worked on, but it's been months with no progress and no word of work or progress, so hope is dwindling) for larger images you won't be able to see it, until you click on the broken file link which will just take you to the image.

:Hope that helps some. --[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:35, 29 October 2012 (UTC)

== The Great Spam Attack Of Thanksgiving 2012 ==

I believe I have now dealt with all the spam that has accumulated on the wiki. I've gone through Recent Changes and personally checked every anonymous edit since 5 this morning, and looked through every new page created. If I've missed something, please edit the page and put {{tl|spam}} at the top. Thank you to all the new editors that stepped up and went to work in the trenches while the rest of us were off stuffing our faces. I think special thanks goes out to [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] and [[User:TheOriginalSoni|TheOriginalSoni]]. I believe what happened is, the first major attack was met with a tepid response of about a month's temp block for all the IPs. But this time, for the flagrant vandalizers they are now on an indefinite ban.

Please, as you continue to notice spam or vandalization, use the {{tl|spam}} template, or add [[:Category:Pages to delete]] to the page (in the event that it's a newly created page). Leave a comment in your edit summary about vandalization clean up and someone with the power to, will deal with it.

--[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:38, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

:Marked a wee bit that you missed. Typical, I take a day-long trip into China and an unholy mess of spam happens. May I suggest captchas for all anonymous edits for now? I would also like to get all the explanations done, or at least the ones from the blog, so that we can get the /wiki/ out of the URL to throw some of the spammers. The wall-of-text spammers all seem to include links to spam on other poor abused wikis, and I've noticed that all of those wikis also have a /wiki/ somewhere in there URL. It probably won't stop the new anon spammer, but we could probably restrict page creation to registered users only once we're done filling in all the old XKCD pages to cull those twats out too. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 09:27, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

:I have again dealt with the second wave of spam this Thanksgiving holiday (in the U.S. It's the only thing I can think that would be the cause.) and protected a few pages that seem to be repeat targets. If this is any indication of what major US holidays are like we need to get the administration (*ahem* Jeff) to delegate more controls to more users, and more A.I. spam fighting than we currently have (none). There has to be tricks that Wikipedia is using to fight spam. If we get this much, I can't imagine what the wikipedia servers have to daily stand up against, they must have spam fighting tricks, and not just hordes of people that can delete new pages that anonymous spam bots create. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 07:13, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

::Wikipedia has cluebot, which looks at page blanking and text insertion by anonymous users and reverts suspicious behavior automagically. I could ask cluebot's creator if we could lift the code for use here. It'll be like XERXES.ai, except it'll look for spam instead of spelling errors. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 07:16, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

::Aight, so Cluebot runs off a [https://github.com/cluenet/cluebotng core engine] with a dataset of previous vandalism to work from. We can set the files up on a raspberry pi or something, leave it running and connected to the web and feed it a backlog of past spam to teach it what to look for. Gonna do it after this hellish pile of work is over, unless someone wants to ninja me again. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 07:50, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

:::Cluebot sounds like a wonderful thing to have around here. When I have free time I might try to develop a basic bot that catches the basic kinds of spam and vandals we see here. (Spammers create a user account, create a random page and link to a random page on the internet; Vandals almost always leave an 18 character mixed lower/upper alphanumeric comment and are anonymous, that's unique enough it should be easily catchable)

==Trivia and transcript placement==
The placement of the trivia sections are not consistent on the wiki; sometimes they are placed above the transcript and sometimes below.

The trivia sections are often fun to read, and a good complement to the explanation. On the other hand I have a hard time imagining people coming here to read transcripts (I remember someone suggested collapsable boxes for them). I'm afraid trivia sections below the transcript "disappears" and sometimes won't be noticed at all (especially if the transcript is long). Therefore I propose that trivia sections should follow the explanation, and that the transcripts should be at the bottom of the page.

Another reason for this is that the dividing line between explanation and trivia is not always clear. The end of the explanations tend to accumulate trivia-like information. The natural thing is to just "crop off" a trivia section, where deemed appropriate, and not to move stuff to and fro around the block of transcript. –St.nerol (talk) 15:15, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

:I agree that trivia sections, if present, should come before the transcript. By the way, I think this thread would be more appropriate for the Coordination section of the community portal. If you agree, please move it there. Waldir (talk) 16:32, 6 March 2013 (UTC)
::Moved from Proposals to Coordination! –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 23:02, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

:If an explanation contains trivia, that's an issue with the trivia being in the wrong place. Trivia is supposed to contain information that's only tangentially relevant to the comic at hand, and should be kept to the end of the page to keep the rest of the page free of clutter. Also, the comic discussion is at the bottom of every explanation page, but that doesn't seem to have deterred anyone from finding in. We could fix up some kind of collapse box for the transcripts though, since they do tend to be unneeded for most comics. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:16, 7 March 2013 (UTC)
:Alright, I've done a mockup for what the transcript collapse box could look like. It's in our sandbox, like?'''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:16, 7 March 2013 (UTC)

::It looks good!
::I'm not sure it is so easy to differentiate between tangentially relevant, more relevant, and explanatory information. I think there will always be a hazy zone of borderline examples. (By the way, should the explanation/trivia division be based on how ''relevant'' the information is, or on how ''explanatory'' it is?)
::Now that we're getting a collapsible box; where should we place it? I still don't think it is logical to have it between explanation and trivia (if present), but it will matter less. Maybe we should move it up to the top again? –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 10:24, 8 March 2013 (UTC)
:::Trivia in most wikis is reserved for all the junk that doesn't add value to the main purpose of the article. In our case, that would be information that doesn't serve to explain comics, which is what people who visit the site come here looking for. The transcript is useful for cases where an image is ambiguous or easily mistaken, although it's not entirely needed for every comic. If the trivia section ever contains anything that enhances the comic explanation more than the transcript does, it's in the wrong section.
:::The transcript template is probably going to have to get OK'ed by all the other editors round here before we make it a thing. It's quite a big change to make, and we'll have to change every existing page if we want to add it. We'd probably put it where we usually put the transcript if we do add it in though. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 10:44, 8 March 2013 (UTC)
::::Yeah, I hope that the other guys turns up and says something too. Still, the trivia/transcript placement is not standardized, so we need to decide together what's more natural.
::::*Do we want the transcript in a box?
::::*Do we want it on the bottom of the page, or directly below the explanation, or on the top of the page?

::::It ''is'' a borderland between explaining a comic and giving background information, connections to other comics, etc. There's no borderland between those and transcript. Also, all trivia sections I've seen so far has enhanced the explanations more than the transcript. (Probably because I didn't feel need to read it). –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 16:10, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

::::If one actually needs/wants to read the transcript, one presumably wants to compare it directly with how the comic looks. That would be the good reason to place the box close to the comic. –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 16:12, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

::::<strike>Sorry I dropped off the face of the planet for a while there. The run up to Spring Break nearly killed me (that's not as figurative as you'd think). I'll write a proper response in the morning, or late afternoon, after I've had enough sleep to recover from ~2 weeks of ~3 hours of sleep a night. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 08:58, 9 March 2013 (UTC)</strike>

::::I think that Trivia belongs at the bottom of the page. We didn't start with putting transcripts on the explanation page, so there isn't a law passed down from the founders to let us know how to slaughter our sheep as sacrifice (wait, that's something else). However, in keeping with Wikipedia's tradition, we put tangentially related information into its own category at the bottom of the page.

::::What defines tangentially related? Well, most of our editors seem to have a good grasp on it, so I didn't think it was necessary to spell out hard and fast rules. I think the group of people that read xkcd frequently are also prone to become draconian, pedantic, rules lawyers, so I hesitate to suggest that we need to impose too much more structure than what we can glean from Wikipedia's many years of existence. This is how I categorize it:
::::*The explanation, which is the main point of the site, should explain all cultural, technological, mathematical, scientific, visual, and linguistic gags that Randall includes.
::::*The transcript, which helps to ensure that people aren't mis-reading the comic. This is also valuable for accessibility, as blind people cannot read images (not yet, OCR isn't that good), which is why I think Randall should publish transcript data as he posts the comics. So, I support the creation of a transcript when the comic first posts, but about a week later someone should go back and replace it with the transcript that Randall publishes so that anything we interpret incorrectly will be corrected.
::::*Discussion. Since we transclude the discussion onto the explanation page anything that comes up as a result of the comic will often be commented on here. E.g. "Did you guys see Reddit blew up after Randall called them out in this comic? [link]"
::::*And lastly trivia. My template test for this one is "Is this really important trivia, but it doesn't add one hoot to the explanation? Then it should go here." What jumps to my mind every time I think of this is [[Click and Drag]]. That is a prime example of a trivia section. It doesn't explain the comic, but it is meta-information about the comic.

::::Why last? Because if the community cares about the points of trivia someone will bring it up. So that content already exists on the page. Duplicating that and putting it up higher makes no sense. What's even worse is having an Explanation, content directly about the comic; Trivia, an interlude with some information that's fun to know and you can stump people at xkcd meet-ups but otherwise useless; and Transcripts, which is directly about the comic again.

::::I would say that Trivia should actually go at the bottom of the page, but the transclusion of the discussion page makes that ugly to my eye. But it should go underneath the Transcript. Not all of the world are "fully functional" "Average" (capital 'A' Average) and "Normal" (capital 'N' Normal) humans, and consideration needs to be spent on them. And the transcript is more relevant information about the comic than any trivia is. If there is trivia that is more relevant than the transcript, it should be worked into the explanation. If a transcript gets long and you believe scrolling is a tedious, laborious task that only proto-humans had to deal with, then add a <code><nowiki>__TOC__</nowiki></code> (the TOC is ugly because of the comic discussion template, which is another discussion) underneath the comic template.

::::--[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 12:02, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

:: I think the transcript could be integrated into [[template:comic]], instead of being a separate template, and use a softer and more neutral color (light gray, for example) in the heading. Apart from these details, I agree with the collapsing of the transcript, and being collapsed, its placement isn't really problematic. Right under the comic sounds ok to me. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 02:04, 10 March 2013 (UTC)

:::I think this would be a good option. If the transcript were in the comic template, such that it was comic image, title text, transcript, this would be a good option for screen readers, so that the explanation would be read after the transcript. I am quite in favor of this. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 12:02, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

User talk:Lcarsos

2013-03-14T09:45:40Z

Lcarsos: /* Hi, */

User:Lcarsos

2013-03-14T09:41:12Z

Lcarsos: I'm back, well rested (well, better rested)

{{UserBoxes|
{{:User:IronyChef/UserBox/DeputyAoD}}
{{User difficultblocks}}
}}

The username is lcarsos. pronounced el-cars-oh-ess. The only other acceptable capitalizations are LCARSOS or LCARS OS. The second of those is frowned upon because that should be used for any project attempting to create an LCARS operating system, or overlay/window manager. And lastly, '''never''' Lcarsos, despicable.

I'm your local admin, you can come to me with problems and questions. Some may call me a {{w|BOFH}} (And I have been known to jokingly self-deprecate as well), but I promise, honest questions will get an honest response.

I'm just a big xkcd and Star Trek fan (props if you got the reference).

Some days I feel like the English that comes out of my mouth is as coherent as [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz04IBZqfFE this video]. (For those who need backstory: He is an Italian artist who made a song to let English speakers know what Rock 'n Roll sounds like to non-English-native people.)

==Personal Achievements==
Some of the things I've managed to do here, I'm very proud of. And by golly, I'm going to display them out in public so everyone else can see how vain I am.

===Named Characters===
*[[Ponytail]] - Brought back the name from a dimly remembered past.
*[[Danish]] - stumbled across [[377]] and suggested it to [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] to be used as her official name
*[[Miss Lenhart]] - doesn't really count, I just created all the pages for her. But I'm very proud that I managed to do it all correctly on my own.

===Huge Pages I Made===
*[[980: Money]] - not finished but a good start. Please other people work on it.
*[[977: Map Projections]] - Created an explanation of each projection with explanation of each of the things happening in the discussion. Phew!

==Things I Need to Remember==
'''SERIOUSLY NEED TO WORK ON SOME KIND RUDIMENTARY SPAM BOT.''' I'm too busy right now trying to get assignments done for uni, but HONESTLY, this needs to stop.

; Categories I forget:
*[[:Category:Charts]]

; Necessary Pages:
* [[:Category:Pages to delete]] - baleeted.
* [[Special:Log/newusers|newusers]] - ban hammer if spammer, welcome the genuine humans.

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Talk_page_guidelines#Editing_comments Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines#Editing comments]

; Research
* http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Administrators
* http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Block_and_unblock
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:New_admin_school

; Cool pages:
* [[List of all comics]]
* [[Special:Categories]]
* [[Special:ActiveUsers]]
* [[Special:RecentChanges]]
* [[Special:SpecialPages]]
* [[Special:DoubleRedirects]]

; For when we get the okay to delete {{tl|explain}}
* [[Special:WhatLinksHere/Template:explain]]

; Waiting for scaled images fix
* [[954: Chin-Up Bar]]
* [[1093: Forget]]

;Admin-y gnome-ish matters
<code><nowiki>{{subst:uw-blockindef|reason=creating a username suspiciously similar to spam bots|sig=yes}}</nowiki></code>

==Ruby Importer script==
===Bugs, Questions, Comments, Heaping Adulation, Scathing Remarks===
[[User Talk:Lcarsos#Ruby Importer]] Please post there.

I'm trying to keep everything organized so nothing gets lost in the shuffle (lost cause, I know, but I can do my small part to battle entropy).

===Introduction===
Work on my import-assistant script is progressing. I'm using it to help create pages as I work my way backwards. Currently it is just using information from xkcd's json api and leaving explanation open for you to get.

I'm working on getting the explanation to pull in. But, managing to guess the right url alone was a difficult task, and it still doesn't get it right for some of the more odd ones, but it would be faster to just find the page manually than code for each exception to the rule. I'm going to do a bit more work on that, but I might just give it up and keep manually copying explanations in. Or at least write out a best-guess of what the url should be to get you close, if you aren't walking backward through the blog entries.

I want to be able to pull in the explanation so I can scan through it to get a rough idea of what characters appear to automatically generate Comics featuring ___ categories. But that's a bit of work, including lots of regular expressions ([[Regular Expressions|regex!]]) but it's good practice for basic data mining and pattern recognition.

I've found that already I'm much more productive simply by not having to type in the comic template info. And the page feels much more finished when it has the transcript.

Now, I'm going to give you a link, but I am requiring you to manually go through and look at what it generates and keep yourself engaged. As I explain in the README, there are things the human brain can do innately that computers need lots of work to get the logic hooked up.

You '''must''' go through and make links to appropriate wikipedia and external web pages. I can make links to the links that exist in the html, but ''you have to be a human'' and realize that if something has a wikipedia page it probably needs to be linked to.

Please tell me on my [[User Talk: Lcarsos#Ruby Importer]] page if you are using it, what features you want, and bugs you find.

===Link===

https://github.com/lcarsos/explainxkcd-importer/

===Change log===

* 20120917 - changed transcript parsing to use new indentation style, changing quotes into their pre-html version, as mediawiki correctly escapes them.

===Usage===
Generic:
:<tt>./importer.rb <number> ...</tt>
:<tt>ruby importer.rb <number> ...</tt> - for those that don't want to make the file executable.
Specific examples:
:<tt>./importer.rb 1000</tt>
:<tt>./importer.rb 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004</tt>
:<tt>./importer.rb `seq 1 600`</tt> ''Don't actually do that''

It accepts any number of comic numbers as arguments (space delimited, duh) and will iterate through all of them and spit out a text file <tt><number>.txt</tt> with Unix line-endings (if you open it up on Windows use Notepad++ or some other ''real'' text editor).

'''If I see you using this tool to blindly create pages without going through and cleaning things up I will kill you.'''

===Known Issues===
* '''Active Development Work'''
** Explanations are not being culled from the blog page.
* '''Noted As Feature'''
** Some transcripts come from the json api with extra newlines. Will not be fixed to encourage humans to look everything through. Good for fingerprinting brain-dead copy/paste usage.

==Formatting==
This section is being made into its own page, so that it will be easier to move it out into its own entity when it is complete. See [[User:Lcarsos/Style Guide|here]]

===Paragraphs===
Traditional paragraphs need to have an extra return between them

{| class="wikitable" |
! Typing this
!Produces this
|-
| width="50%" |
If this is a paragraph, and there is typing.

Then the next one is down here.
|
If this is a paragraph, and there is typing.

Then the next one is down here.
|-
| width="50%" |
If this is a paragraph, and there is typing.
Don't put the next paragraph on the next line.
|
If this is a paragraph, and there is typing.
Don't put the next paragraph on the next line.
|-
|}

The difference is that the wiki software will wrap the first example in paragraph tags, which means that it gets a margin between them. Where the behavior for the second seems a bit undefined. Sometimes you will end up with a line break, and sometimes it completely ignores it.

In only one instance can this be useful, and it is discussed in the Talk Pages section.

===Editorial Voice===
As you are going through, if you are using Jeff's explanations from the blog, please go through and edit the sentences to not include personal pronouns, e.g., "I". Since anyone can edit (nearly) every article here, there is no 'I'.

Next point, there is no 'we'. If you are referring to anyone who's edited the article, that could be anyone, there's hardly any consensus there. If you are referring to 'We' the editors of ExplainXKCD wiki, again, we don't agree on anything, don't believe it? Read the Community Portal pages.

'''For the purposes of this wiki''', saying 'we' is referring to ''human beings in general'', and it would have to be a very special case to mean any set/group of people smaller than that.

This is based off of the discussion that occurred in [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals#Editorial Voice]].

===Talk Pages===
Wikis have a well established tradition for how to use talk pages.

You begin your conversation, and someone else replies to you by commenting under the post and indenting by using the colon (":"). This mimics how threaded conversations work in blog comments.

Talk pages should not be dynamic like article pages are. Old and outdated information should not disappear. People use that as a reference for themselves. If suddenly a link they knew was there yesterday is not there today, it's hard to believe that you might actually be going insane. If information becomes outdated, post a reply saying the information is outdated or strike through it using the <nowiki><s>tag</s></nowiki> and it will magically <s>look like this</s>.

'''All comments on talk pages should be signed''' by using <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>. It is easy to forget this, but it is equally easy to get into the habit.

There are 2 canonical ways to handle multi-paragraph comments.
# Double returns between paragraphs and signature on its own separate line.
# Single returns between paragraphs and signature on the last line.

This makes it easy to scan through to see who's comments are whom's.

{| class="wikitable" |
! width="50%" | Typing this
! width="50%" | Produces this
|-
| width="50%" |
I think that there should be more lions.
<nowiki />
Of course, then we need more wildebeests.
<nowiki />
<nowiki>~~~~User1</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:That is a good idea.</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:And yes, then we would need more prey.</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:~~~~User2</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>::I'm replying to User2.</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>::Because he's funny.</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>::~~~~User3</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:I'm replying to User1, saying that we don't need lions.
Predators should be kept in cages ~~~~User4</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:I'm replying to User1 also, telling him he's a genius.
~~~~User5</nowiki>
| width="50%" |
I think that there should be more lions.

Of course, then we need more wildebeests.

User1

:That is a good idea.

:And yes, then we would need more prey.

:User2

::I'm replying to User2.

::Because he's funny.

::User3

:I'm replying to User1, saying that we don't need lions. Predators should be kept in cages User4

:I'm replying to User1 also, telling him he's a genius. User5
|-
| width="50%" |
I think that there should be more lions.
Of course, then we need more wildebeests. <nowiki>~~~~User1</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:That is a good idea.</nowiki>
<nowiki>:And yes, then we would need more prey. ~~~~User2</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>::I'm replying to User2.</nowiki>
<nowiki>::Because he's funny. ~~~~User3</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:I'm replying to User1, saying that we don't need lions.
Predators should be kept in cages ~~~~User4</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:I'm replying to User1 also, telling him he's a genius.
~~~~User5</nowiki>
| width="50%" |
I think that there should be more lions.
Of course, then we need more wildebeests. User1

:That is a good idea.
:And yes, then we would need more prey. User2

::I'm replying to User2.
::Because he's funny. User3

:I'm replying to User1, saying that we don't need lions. Predators should be kept in cages User4

:I'm replying to User1 also, telling him he's a genius. User5
|}

See how easy this is to read? And now we don't even have to start introducing bullet points into the discussion. Bullet lists can now be used for what they were intended: Making lists, even inside of a single post in a talk page.

But if you meet someone who doesn't know what they are doing everything breaks down quickly.

{| class="wikitable" |
! width="50%" | Typing this
! width="50%" | Produces this
|-
| width="50%" |
I think that there should be more lions.
Of course, then we need more wildebeests. <nowiki>~~~~User1</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:That is a good idea.</nowiki>
<nowiki>:And yes, then we would need more prey. ~~~~User2</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>::I'm replying to User2.</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>::Because he's funny. ~~~~User3</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:I'm replying to User1, saying that we don't need lions.
Predators should be kept in cages ~~~~User4</nowiki>
<nowiki />
<nowiki>:I'm replying to User1 also, telling him he's a genius.
~~~~User5</nowiki>
| width="50%" |
I think that there should be more lions.
Of course, then we need more wildebeests. User1

:That is a good idea.
:And yes, then we would need more prey. User2

::I'm replying to User2.

::Because he's funny. User3

:I'm replying to User1, saying that we don't need lions. Predators should be kept in cages User4

:I'm replying to User1 also, telling him he's a genius. User5
|}
For those of you that are now confused, don't worry I had to look back to my perfect example to see where I was coming.

Do you see that User3 has now managed to make the conversation very hard to read? By ending the line with a username it looks like that user posted a reply to themselves, and then by using 2 returns, made it look his own comment was also a reply. In reality these two should be part of the same comment. It can be frustrating to have different standards. But, it is extremely taboo to edit someone else's comment on a talk page. ''Don't do it.'' If the standard is single-returns within comments, double-returns between, do that. If the standard is double-returns throughout, do that. '''Do not''' go through the entire talk page and edit it to make it conform to your own personal feelings. If you start a talk page, then you may impose your will upon the unfortunate souls after you.

This is the only time in a wiki when paragraphs should not be double returned.

explain xkcd:Community portal/Coordination

2013-03-09T08:58:27Z

Lcarsos: /* Trivia and transcript placement */

<noinclude>{{Community portal}}</noinclude>

== Issue dates ==

Hi Jeff,

As i'm creating pages I struggle with the issue dates of comics. I've added a comment to all pages that contain the (unknown/incorrect) dates. Is there a way to research those dates? --[[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]])
: [http://xkcd.com/archive/] if you mouse over the comic name, it will have the date. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:26, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

- if you mouse over comic name in "Archive" section of xkcd.com. Older comics(1-44 or so) might be found in [http://liveweb.archive.org/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/?skip=40 livejournal archive][[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 18:35, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Should we consider using "2012-08-03" style dates and letting localization "do the right thing"? Most pages so far use "August 3, 2012" style dates, with a few incorrectly doing "August 3rd, 2012"... Presumably the template could do the localizing/localising...--[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 18:39, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

: The date is also available with the [http://xkcd.com/json.html JSON API], which I'm going to use for the [[User_talk:Jeff#Automatic_Import|import]]. I use <nowiki>{{#dateformat: year-month-day}}</nowiki>, MediaWiki should figure out the correct way to display it based on your preferences. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 18:47, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
Moved from [[User talk:Jeff]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:15, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Date? ==

How do I find the date a comic was first posted (to put in the comic header here?) [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 12:26, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Moved from [[Talk:Main Page]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:43, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

Original posting date is listed on xkcd's [[http://xkcd.com/archive/ archive page]] as hover-text for each post. The first 44 comics are all listed as 2006-01-01. Many of these were previously posted on the [[http://liveweb.archive.org/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/?skip=40 livejournal site]], and some dates can be found/inferred by checking there.--[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 17:49, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

== To do list ==

I suggest a todo list to be added here so newcomers will have an idea of concrete things they can do to help. I'll start by moving some items I've been collecting on my user page. Feel free to add more :)

'''Things to do'''
* Complete all entries from the [[List of all comics]]
* [[Special:WantedPages]] lists pages that have links to them but haven't been created yet.
* More topics that could be covered here besides the comics themselves:
** our [https://twitter.com/explainxkcd twitter account]
** the xkcd irc channel (and [http://wiki.xkcd.com its wiki])
** the xkcd blag
** the xkcd forum
** other sites explaining xkcd ([http://xkcdexplained.com/], [http://xkcd.wikia.com], [http://xkcdexplained.wikia.com], [http://xkcdexplainedexplained.tumblr.com/archive], maybe invite members+content of the other wikis in once we're established?)

'''Maintenance'''
* Redirects should be created from the "File:number.png" format to the "File:title.png" format.
* categorization (make sure these lists are empty):
** [[Special:UncategorizedCategories]]
** [[Special:UncategorizedFiles]]
** [[Special:UncategorizedPages]]
** [[Special:WantedCategories]]
* building the web of links:
** [[Special:DeadendPages]] (pages with no links to other pages)
** [[Special:LonelyPages]] (pages that aren't linked to by any others)
* other
** [[Special:DoubleRedirects]]
**: (Took a chunk out of these the good ol' fashioned way, but there's got to be a wiff of Perl or Python to automate this... ? -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:44, 9 August 2012 (UTC))
**:: Well, there's [https://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/mwclient/ mwclient], a Python interface to the mediawiki API which I've used to move the comics to the new names. We could certainly create scripts to perform maintenance tasks and share the snippets here on the wiki. Automated tools will be useful while we establish standards early on. If you'd like help getting started, let me know. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:40, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
** convert [[Special:LinkSearch/en.wikipedia.org|wikipedia links]] to the <nowiki>{{w|Lorem ipsum}}</nowiki> format
** use lowercase xkcd everywhere on the wiki (see [http://xkcd.com/about/ How do I write "xkcd"?])

There are more maintenance reports at [[Special:SpecialPages]], for inspiration :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 06:45, 6 August 2012 (EDT)

:: I'd love one of these "To Do" lists for admins as well! :) I'm always forgetting what I need to do! --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 02:35, 12 August 2012 (UTC)
::: There actually isn't much to do that needs admin permissions around here. Right I can think of only a handful of admin-specific tasks:
:::* Keeping an eye on [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests]] for stuff other editors might need
:::* Keeping an eye on [[:Category:Pages to delete]] (currently populated by {{tl|spam}}), delete the pages, block the spammers
:::* Updating the main page and watching
:::* Implementing any changes, agreed by the community, that require editing Mediawiki pages
:::Maybe others will have other items to add to the list, but for the most part, the things that need to be done are available to all editors: adding the missing comic explanations, describing characters, categorizing, etc. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:13, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

== Date categories ==
I'm not sure the "[[:Category:Comics by month|Comics by month]]", by weekday, etc. Will be much useful, unless for those interested in running some stats. It might be more interesting to have specific months, such as [[:Category:Comics from May 2011]] and so on. What do you think? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 06:45, 6 August 2012 (EDT)
: That was actually next for me: #time:year-month, but I wanted to study the globalization implications. I prefer over-categorizing rather than under-categorizing, since it's comparatively cheap. The assumption is that categories are the same as tags on the old site, and that mediawiki affords us some extra ways to automatically categorize pages in addition to the manual forms starting to emerge (by character, by subject, etc.) To paraphrase an old prof: you can't study what you don't measure; I've been wanting to see if, for example, Monday comics deal certain subjects, while Friday comics deal with another, etc. Not everybody's cup of tea, but of value perhaps to some, and insanely cheap to support both mentally and for the software. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 13:51, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

I also used it to find some date typos for Saturday/Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday comics, which should usually be empty - except for some early entries from livejournal... --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 21:50, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

It does make it look a bit messy down by the categories... maybe we can skip one or two of these date categories, if people don't still find them useful? [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 21:22, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

== Page names ==

I think we should use the comic number '''and''' the title as the page name. Like so: "112: Baring My Heart". This would allow comics to be sorted by order in categories, but the pages would still have human-readable names for those of us who don't memorize all xkcd comic numbers ;) Thoughts? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 07:23, 6 August 2012 (EDT)

:I agree, for another reason: for instance [[YouTube]] could be either the title of a page explaining how YouTube is referenced in xkcd, or the title of the explanation for comic #202 (titled "YouTube"). I don't know if I'm being clear here, but as we do not control the titles of the comics, that could create confusion with other pages. So using something like [[202: YouTube]] would ensure disambiguation without being really complicated or awkward... And actually prefixing the comic title with its number seems quite relevant to me.
:Additionally, that would solve potential problems such as [[Exoplanets]]: comic [[786]] or [[1071]]?
:[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 14:33, 6 August 2012 (UTC)
::Beat me to the punch; agreed. Numbers are unique and sequential, but not altogether that meaningful. Names are meaningful but (as we've seen) not unique. Some combination of both would be called for. We'd need to have the plain numbers redirect to the new topic (some double-redirects would need to be fixed up?) and the names would too (with at least one disambiguation page for now, and who knows: maybe more to come?) -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 13:55, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
::Following up on the YouTube discussion above, I'm wondering if we should leverage namespaces more: main:topic is implicitly ''xkcd:topic'' (ie ''main:YouTube'' discusses the xkcd comic, while ''ref:YouTube'' is the place where the pop-culture reference of YouTube is discussed.) Either that, or some other name decoration, such as ''YouTube Explained'', or ... -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 13:59, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
::: Agreed. Number and the name together. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:08, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::: Looks like we have consensus. I'll move the pages (I've been meaning to learn how to use [https://sourceforge.net/projects/mwclient mwclient] anyway :D) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 18:01, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::: {{done}}, all current pages have been moved. However, I am not sure whether we should keep a space after the colon. What do you guys think? Should it be "112: Baring My Heart" or "112:Baring My Heart"? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 18:20, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
::::: Also, I just realized MediaWiki doesn't allow colons in image Filenames. One solution could be using something like [[:File:786. Exoplanets.png]] or [[:File:786-Exoplanets.png]], but then perhaps we'd have to change the pages name too, for consistency? I'll try to investigate what is the reasoning behind this restriction. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 18:50, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::: Ok, it seems like it's a matter of setting <code><nowiki>$wgIllegalFileChars = '';</nowiki></code> in LocalSettings.php (because it is set as <code>$wgIllegalFileChars = ':';</code> in DefaultSettings.php). <s>Jeff, could you do that please?</s> --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:13, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::::: Nevermind, we will probably use a different naming pattern instead. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 20:05, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

::::::: I guess this is my bad for not ciming in on this discussion earlier, but I frankly think that the #: Name is a worse way of doing it just for the reasons of system resources. #:Name is fine from a user standpoint with the '''caveat''' that # and Name both redirect to #:Name. The problem is that this requires 2 redirects minimum for every comic, and the redirect itself takes a bit more time for each article to load, and (as I understand from wikipedia and its dislike of double redirects), every redirect adds to the system load. So if every article lookup by users (who will undoubtedly type either the number or the name, but rarely both) is a redirect, the system load is going to go up.

::::::: As an aside, assuming Jeff is able to install the Cite Extension to add citation referencing (and even if he doesn't), I was expecting to try to create some sort of template in the concept of {{tl|cite comic}} where you could basically pass a single variable (e.g. the comic number) and it would create a proper citation for that comic. Similarly, this naming format will perhaps require a template something like {{tl|comicno}} with a comic number field just to create a quick link that is visibly appealing and links properly to the comic with that number. (ie: {comicno|18} would produce a link like "[[18: Snapple|Snapple]]" or something). I'm wondering though if anyone has any coding ideas for how we might accomplish this other than the hardcode all the titles into a template. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:26, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

::::::: PS: I did some mild digging on another wiki, ''Star Trek'''s Memory Alpha wiki, and although all of its episode articles are now titled "episode title (episode)" to avoid disambiguation, which allows you to an episode template by calling the title (which template appends "(episode)" to every entry), they DO have a title-display template: [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Template:Titles Template:Titles] - with a template subpage for every single episode setting out how the mouseover text should be displayed. It would be possible to do such a template for xkcd just so that comic numbers can be crossreferenced to titles... [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 20:30, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::::: (Hoping this is the right number of colons for proper indentation... ;-) Redirects are one thing, and while probably resulting in possibly two page serves (isn't it really just two hits to the db?) they're natively supported by mediawiki. Even so, if performance is proven to be a real (not just conjectured) problem, can we do something clever, perhaps, with transclusion? Either the number transcludes the title, or vice versa? Might be a case of pre-optimization, though; in the back of my mind, it seems that the rendering engine puts as much effort into transcluding to expand templates as it would to expand a redirect in situ: either case is just a query to the DB to expand the contents of said item. (Enough rambling; anybody have any concrete metrics on this?) -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 06:23, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::::::Hi folks. Just thought I'd state that redirects are completely safe. They don't add any noticeable loading time for the users and the extra resources used by the server are so minor that it's akin to the resources used to type a character in notepad. Pages are also aggressively cached (by default, anyway). If you're interested, the way redirects work in Mediawiki isn't like most other sites handle redirects. It's not loading a page that makes you load another page. Rather, all content is stored in an SQL database. The content is stored under a certain name (eg, "#: Hello World!"). A redirect simply tells Mediawiki to look for the content under a different name. Slightly more work for the server (don't worry, they can handle it), but the page is delivered to the user in roughly the same period of time (if we want to be technical, the page will be slightly larger, due to the "Redirected from whatever" line added to the page (which is mostly there for the purpose of making it easier to fix incorrect redirects). I don't have metrics, but can assure you that it's almost no difference in the end result. {{User:Omega/sig}} 09:11, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

I've been thinking about this some more, and I believe we should choose a different pattern for the page names.
* First, use another separator between comic number and name, since colon is forbidden in files. A simple alternative would be "Comic title (number)", as in [[Michael Phelps (1092)]]. This would additionally allow us to use the {{w|Help:Pipe trick|pipe trick}} when linking to a comic, since content in parenthesis is automatically stripped out: <nowiki>[[Michael Phelps (1092)|]]</nowiki> results in [[Michael Phelps (1092)|Michael Phelps]]. Another effect of this is that by dropping the colon naming scheme we would remove ambiguity with the namespace system, which also uses colons to separate namespaces from pagenames.
* Second, we should probably follow IronyChef's suggestion above and move them to a specific namespace, such as [[Comic:Michael Phelps (1092)]]. Other namespaces could be added for more topics, such as [[Character:Cueball]], [[xkcd:Randall]] (or [[Meta:Randall]]), [[Topic:Velociraptors]], etc. Not only we would be able to generate lists of pages without resorting to categories (which have to be added manually), but we would get lot's of "Random X" for free (random comic, random character, random topic, etc.)
What do you guys think? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 14:29, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
:P.s. - Proper category sorting of the comics would be dealt with by the {{tl|comic}} template, which would also pad the numbers with zeroes to ensure 100 comes after 2, etc.

::+1 on the parens... (but does that mean my recent double-redirect-fixups have been for naught? {{xkcd|541|(grin)}}) ... I couldn't put my finger on it and didn't articulate it earlier, but the fact that colon needed special attention by the software left me a bit uneasy (there must be a reason for them doing that, like namespaces perhaps) so using parentheses-es-es (as {{xkcd|297|long}} as we {{xkcd|859|close}} them {{explain|312|properly}}) seems more the mediawiki way. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 15:03, 9 August 2012 (UTC) (I know you folks don't like my propensity to (over?)categorize, but <nowiki>[[Category:Parentheses]]</nowiki> is just too irresistible... ;-)

:I think, that all of this seem unnecessary complication to me. I don't see any problem with the current system. I think something like [[1092: Michael Phelps]] flows well, is quite readable and easy to insert "as is" in the text (see the links to other comics in [[1048: Emotion]] for instance). As I understand, we would want the image files to be titled exactly the same way as their corresponding article; why, where is the need for that? (to me the simplest way, and most relevant maybe, would be to name them exactly as they are on xkcd.com; maybe with a prefix, like "xkcd - ", so that it cannot mess with other existing images such as from Commons).
:I don't see the point of creating namespaces such as "Character", "Topic", etc.; what is the problem with [[Beret Guy]], [[Randall Munroe]], [[Velociraptors]], and such? with namespaces one will have to put each topic in one box (and one only), where will you put things like [[Stick figure]] or [[My Hobby]] or any other thing that will pop up without clearly belonging to one of these boxes? ''[[1077: Home Organization|just give up]]!'' :-)
:About the "Random X", I like the idea that on xkcd.com, you can get a random ''comic'' (because that's all what is there), but in here you can get a random whatever: you may get a comic explanation, a character, a topic or anything, because in here there is all that.
:I don't think the colon in the comic page names will pose any problem, it cannot mess with anything as long as it is preceded by a number only.
:''In the end,'' I think that adding the number in the comic page names was a good choice, because there would have been real issues otherwise, but for now I would say : "don't fix what is not broken", KISS, and "just give up". :-)
:[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 16:14, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

:: I have to agree with this. The existing page names are fine in my book, and I don't see any benefits of renaming them all (again). Concerning the random, though, I mentioned an extension in proposals that would allow us to choose a "random page in a category". I don't really care one way or another about character topics. Seem like a lot of maintenance when we don't even have a quarter of the comics explained yet, but whatever. Concerning the image names, I think that simply using the same name as it appears on xkcd is fine. Images are a bit of a "backend", that people don't usually search for (rather, they'd search for the comic and find the image on that page). As well, since all images are hosted on xkcd, they won't be any file name conflicts amongst the comics. {{User:Omega/sig}} 18:04, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

::: Good points (and puns!), all of you. I'd like to address a few specific points (I'll highlight the key takeaways for your convenience):
:::* '''I still prefer parenthesis''' for the simple reason that colons mess with the concept of namespaces (not that it has any effect on the software, which can cope quite well; I'm speaking from a user point of view). Besides, one of the reasons I proposed for having the number first was automatic category sorting, but that backfired (cf. #2 vs. #100).
:::* Re rationale for having image files titled like the comics is that it would allow automatic image inclusion via the {{tl|comic}} template. However, having the prefix is not crucial for that (hadn't thought of this before), so I'll go ahead and remove my suggestion above to allow colons in filenames.
:::* Note that there's no problem with "conflicts" with Commons images: an image uploaded here simply takes precedence regarding an image uploaded to commons under the same name (e.g. [[:File:Irony.jpg]] vs. [[commons:File:Irony.jpg]]). That said, while external conflicts aren't a problem, internal ones are (e.g. [[Exoplanets]]). That, coupled with the "it's just a backend" point made by Omega, is a good argument to '''use the original filenames''' (also, less overhead when uploading a new comic)
:::* I understand the argument against a single primary way to classify a page using namespaces. The category system is more flexible as it allows many-to-many relationships. However, I must point out that the examples you give are no problem at all: [[Meta:Stick figure]] and [[Topic:My Hobby]] ;) So '''I'm still not convinced that using custom namespaces is a bad idea''' or a lost cause or that it won't scale up well. Besides, it makes it very clear what a reader will find on that page (explainxkcd.com/wiki/Topic:Velociraptors is a pretty self-explanatory url). And again, it allows us to use the random feature that is natively implemented on mediawiki, rather than an extension. And "random whatever" is still available, of course :)
:::* IronyChef, by all means, please create [[:Category:Parentheses]] :D
::: --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 20:05, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

:::If we're going to use the numbers in the titles, it seems logical to have the number come first so that comics are essentially sortable by number rather than alphabetically by title; although this probably can be taken care of by changing the sort title, thoug this could be tedious.

:::I don't support new namespaces for comics and characters and whatnot. I don't see what it adds to the wiki, and it just makes the links to each comic page ''even longer'' (no one will EVER correctly search for '''Comic:Snapple (18)''' on their first attempt).

:::I am not claiming to be an expert on redirects. My comment was based on wikipedia pages like {{w|Wikipedia:Double redirects}} where it clearly suggests in the lead that double redirects "waste server resources". I assume this applies (at to a lesser degree) to single redirects. They may not be needless waste like double redirects, but they they do use resources. Granted wikipedia has far larger servers and much more traffic, so it may be more relevant to them than here, but it still would appear to be a resource issue; Database queries are still resource hogs, even if they are simple ones. Not suggesting they aren't safe, but if every comic load is basically a redirect, that is still two queries every time instead of just the occasional one. I'm fine with it; I'm just pointing out the issue. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 16:20, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

::::The reason that double redirects are bad is that linking a redirect to another redirect (a double redirect) causes the first redirect to simply display the content of the second redirect (rather than actually redirecting the page). This appears as simply an arrow and a link (a soft redirect). It uses more system resources because an actual page has to be loaded and displayed, forcing the user to manually click the link and display the proper page (whereas a single redirect would load the correct page and display it). So in other words, a double redirect forces two pages to be loaded, while a single redirect only loads one page, more or less the same as if you went to the actual page title. {{User:Omega/sig}} 21:35, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

::::: Also, regarding the sorting argument for using numbers first: I was the one who originally proposed that, but I overlooked the fact that sorting won't work unless we use padding (e.g. "0001: Comic title"), which is kind of a hack. MediaWiki supports category sort keys natively, so we should be taking advantage of them rather than relying on a specific page title format to achieve the same effect.
::::: As for the namespaces, I think I've presented my arguments for that above; let me know if any of them are unclear. I accept that one may disagree with them, but not that there ''aren't'' any benefits. Note that '''nobody''' will correctly seach for whatever page title we use, unless we use only the numbers as the final title, which I think we all agree is not desirable. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 11:25, 11 August 2012 (UTC)

::::::Thanks for the double-redirect explanation, Omega. To Waldir; I think people would also correctly search for Comic Titles, at times. Some more than others, for sure. But if you are on XKCD reading a comic that has a title printed, and you want to come here and read the explanation, You would most likely search for either the number or the title that is displayed at xkcd.com. That said, if it's not a resource hog, and we can find a GOOD way to create links to comics easily (ie: I can type in {explain|123} and actually get a proper looking link to that comic's page, I'm cool with that. I really think it will add a lot of time to the edit process to have to manually type in 123: Title for every link to another comic. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:32, 13 August 2012 (UTC)

== Comic Display - another new template ==

I see that the latest comics have changed over to {{tl|comicbox}} from {{tl|comic}}. This might be in response to today's tall narrow comic. I don't see any recent discussions about the {{tl|comicbox}} template. We really need to come to some form of consensus on the comic display issue. I am really not a fan of the {{tl|comicbox}} template, as I arrive at the homepage today and I don't understand what I'm seeing. There is no indication that the text on the right is the Explanation. I wasn't sure if part of it was title text or not. I figured it out, but it's not the easiest thing to see. I also don't think the navbuttons jutting right up against the top of the comic display box looks good.

Eithe way, where I'm going with this is that I think we need to come to a consensus on the form and template used for comic pages. If we choose comicbox, or comic or some other template, it's all good; but we should be editing ONE template to get it working and looking the way we want; rather than bouncing between many templates and creating new ones. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 16:26, 10 August 2012 (UTC)
:Yeah, I was really confused at first, and scrambled through the discussions trying to find what happened. To be honest, I'm more of a fan of the {{tl|comic}} template, with the explanation under a header explaining so. Not to mention with {{tl|comicbox}}, I'm suddenly unsure of what to do with the transcripts. For comparison, [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1093:_Forget&oldid=6199 here] is the {{tl|comic}} template, while [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1093:_Forget&oldid=6209 here] is the {{tl|comicbox}} template. At any rate, no matter what template we're using (I personally prefer {{tl|comic}}, but don't really care that much provided all comics use the same template), I agree that we need some kind of consensus to determine how we're formatting the page. {{User:Omega/sig}} 21:31, 10 August 2012 (UTC)
::Ditto on the confusion (augmented by the confusion of finding where the pertinent discussion has gotten off to; they seem to slip from page to page between visits... ) Anyway, I'm guessing this is a ''de-gustibus'' matter, but regardless of the respective virtues of either template, to my eye the template today's comic was changed to has {{explain|1070|a couple}} cosmetic shortcomings:
::* The typeface is larger than normal. Just a personal preference, but it should be scaled 100% vs adjacent normal wiki text; readers can change the level of zoom if that's too small. Also,
::* the image is vertically centered, so in the case of a disproportionately long explanation (like today's) it appears too far down the page; it really needs to be top-aligned, with the title text close underneath it. Further,
::* for this vertical layout, there's a lot of wasted vertical space when the explanation is so much longer than the image. Rather than having two rigid columns, have we considered '''float:left''' or '''float:right''' style attributes on the image, so that whatever text is left flows to fill the entire space below the image?
:: Finally, to tie this all up with a bow, (and perhaps raising an issue that may have been raised before; I don't recall, because of the shifting locations of discussions hereabouts) ... Is there a need for images to always be shown at 100% size, especially for the more extremely sized ones? Seems to me that the images here really only need to fulfill a refresher role, and clicks through the image should take the reader to the full-sized image on xkcd.com. Legally, I know we have the right to host the images here. But morally, it seems like we shouldn't be taking too much traffic away from xkcd.com as it is RM's bread and butter. Our value-add is the in the form of explanations: long as we can visually tie these explanations with the comic (by having something bigger than a thumbnail, but somewhat smaller than full size, especially for odd-shaped ones) I think we're on the positive side. Thotz? -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 05:23, 11 August 2012 (UTC)
:::I agree with you on all points, although I'm really not a fan of having the text either beside or under the comic. I'd rather it be the same in all cases. In which case, having the text beside the comic won't do, as wide comics wouldn't be very supportive of that. Also, if the explanation is considerably longer than the comic, it just looks a bit strange to me. Float left/right would fix that, but would be a bit harder to implement with the title text (eg, if the title text and image are inside a float left div, does that div have a fixed width or does a long title text push it over?). All in all, I'd rather the text always be below the comic. It's consistent and less problematic. Regarding the size of comics, I'd rather we use the full size in all cases except the "large" comics (defined as the comics that are shown at a reduced size on xkcd itself, such as [[1079: United Shapes]]). Why? Because when I'm reading an explanation to a comic I don't understand, I'm constantly referencing the explanation with the comic itself. Having to open a new tab each time would make that a bit less convenient. {{User:Omega/sig}} 06:38, 11 August 2012 (UTC)
::::For visual experimentation, I've made the theoretically uncontroversial changes of text size (it's now expressed as relative percentage rather than absolute px) and I made the image top-aligned, so comics like {{explain|1093}} show the image near the top of the explanation, despite the explanation being many multiples of that image's height; we can change that back if we don't like them. There are other changes I'd like to make (see above) but I'll wait for general agreement on that (not to mention which template to use.) -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 15:39, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

:::::To respond to all of the previous comments; I echo IronyChef's thought - I built into {{tl|comic}} an imagesize attribute because I believe that the comic should be a managable size on this site; generally not more than say 400px; this creates a "click to enlarge" link which takes the user to the imgae's page. Although I previously thought that a balance needs to be kept because people may start coming to the wiki to read xkcd in the first instance instead of xkcd.com, I also agree with Omega's point that it's potentially unfair to Randall to entice traffic away from xkcd.com. This strengthens my belief that larger comics should be kept to a reasonable size.

:::::Not sure if I said it in this thread, I think we have to look at the purpose of the box itself. In my eyes, the box is designed (like an infobox) to basically show the user the basic facts. Not user-added material or encyclopedia text. The box, in my view, is there to present all of the info about the comic that actually comes from xkcd. The image, the alt text, the title, date and number. Adding the explanation in the box basically makes the explanation look official as part of the comic. The primary content of this site is the explanations. If anything should go under proper wiki-format headers, it's that (in my opinion). The transcript is technically official content, but as I've said elsewhere, in my view, the transcript is secondary info that the comic already contains; it doesn't need to be in the infobox. IronyChef has indentified and fixed a lot of my minor cosmetic issues with the comicbox template, and there are others I don't like either (the title font is a little too weak and the top of the box is touching the bottom of the nav buttons. Don't like those, but again, easily fixable).

::::: I also think while there may be instances like the "Forget" comic which is a list-form comic where having a long vertical list explanation works, a long vertical list is often harder to read and follow than a full-page-width explanation. (even "Forget" has each line of explanation end up being several lines long in {{tl|comicbox}} format.) Worse, the potential to want to fit in the box may limit users from adding to explanations which we shouldn't encourage. If the explanation is twice as long as the comic, there's nothing wrong with that, and it shouldn't look bad by going inside the template. I appreciate the attempt that the verticle comicbox makes to not waste space (using the two-column method) but I don't think this is the way to do it. I think shrinking the comic (and accepting that there will be space on either side) is the best way. As I say, 375px or 400px seem like logical limiters for most comics. This is explainxkcd, so you shouldn't have to scroll way down to get to the explanation. I too sometimes like to view the comic and explain at the same time to check notes as Omega suggests, but I can do that by control+click or shift+clicking the image to enlarge, and comparing in separate windows by tiling them or just switching back and forth - with a larger comic, you'd have to scroll up and down to read both the comic and the explanation anyway. I find I lose my place in the text when I do that. alt+Tabbing for me generally is easier to keep my place in both windows.

:::::The one thing from {{tl|comicbox}} that I do like is that the box is shaded slightly bluegray. I like the separation that creates; on the other hand, xkcd.com has comics posted on white; does it hurt the integrity of any comics to have them posted on blue-grey instead of white? I'd consider changing the background of {{tl|comic}} to a blue-gray (though perhaps lighter than the one on comicbox) if people like that. That's my thoughts[[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:10, 13 August 2012 (UTC)

{{outdent|:::::}}
{{tl|ComicBox}} just got a major redesign. It looks more like {{tl|comic}}, but with the addition of a vertical comic mode. Also, bear in mind that {{tl|comic}} doesn't use white for the background. For comics like "Forget", take a look at [[Forget comicbox]]. Looks ok? --[[User:Grep|Grep]] ([[User talk:Grep|talk]]) 15:27, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

:As noted on [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals#Comic Templates]], there is no need to start a new thread there there there is already a thread on the topic here (which you've posted to). Also, if your post was "which template should we use when?" it's not really a "proposal" for the proposals page, and better fits here under coordination.

:That said, I thought this topic was fairly well resolved. Jeff endorsed {{tl|Comic}} in the [[#Header_template]] discussion on this page, and this subsequent discussion seemed to resolve as well with no real consensus that a change from {{tl|comic}} was necessary or beneficial. I don't see the benefit of continuing to build new templates that basially duplicate existing templates with one extra function (vertical mode). That could have been built into the existing template, if it were deemed necessary.

:I personally think there are still pluses and minuses to doing things vertically; It looks a little cluttered to have the comic up on one size and the explanation on the other. If you don't have a high-resolution desktop or you want a non-maximized window, there may not be much space for the explanation which may end up with two or three words per line and be hard to read and annoying. "Forget" was a comic featuring a long list; this made for a very long listed explanation. Most long comics will not have explanations longer than the comic, and we'll have a lot of whitespace to the right of the comic. It just looks cluttered to me. I like having the navbar centered above the comic, not the page (and also in the enclosed comic box). That's personal preference though. I think the better design for vertical comics (is just to reduce their size and put them in the standard box. They otherwise take up too much space. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 16:48, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

*I am not a fan of the discontinuity that comicbox creates as the explanation runs longer than the image. I also feel that we should focus on improving the existing {{tl|comic}} instead of further developing new templates. - [[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 21:38, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

== Template for New Comics ==

To clarify, I'm not talking about a template like {{tl|comic}} or {{tl|comicbox}}, but rather a form to cut/paste for new comics. I'm rather new to large editing of MediaWiki pages, so I'm interested in learning of better ways of doing things.

Recently, I've been copy/pasting [[User:Blaisepascal/newcomictemplate]] to set up the basic form of the page, then editing the various sections. This ensures I get the major bits. I still have to copy/paste the transcript from xkcd.com, fill in the {{tl|comic}} template, and make the number and title redirects by hand.

Is there a better way? Is there anything my template is missing? [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 14:06, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

:I've created a ruby script that can be given a comic number and it will spit out a text file with the comic template filled out, the transcript, and the comic discussion template. I've finally gotten it to the point that it is usable, so that's why I'm talking about it. It still doesn't pull explanations from the blog, but that's a whole ball of wax in and of itself. I'm on Linux so it's easy to run it and have it spit out files, I assume on Windows if you have ruby installed there is a way to run ruby scripts from the command prompt. Can't tell you where things will pop out, probably in the directory you run it in, but I haven't tested it on Windows yet. I'm also continuing to work on it, so don't assume that any version you download is the final product. Oh, it also spits out the redirect line you put in the number and title pages so you can just copy/paste that.
:I made it because I was going to drive myself insane making hundreds of pages without some kind of automation. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 07:24, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

::{{tl|create}} was created as a template for the comic list so that it could be autoloaded into comics by linking from [[List of all comics]]. That functionality doesn't seem to be working, unfortunately. For that reason, I added a "transcript" of the create text as documentation on that template. If you goto {{tl|create}}, you will find a template for new comic creation. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 20:20, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

== The name of the ponytail character ==

I remember the community having a name for the female ponytail character (I don't recall if there is a male ponytail character, but in the interest of being complete). Was it simply Ponytail?

In any case, she seems to recur enough to deserve her own Category:Comics featuring ... page. But I don't want to go create it without knowing what we can agree on is her name. So, pony (wow, didn't intend that pun) up your 2 cents. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:28, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

:This comic http://xkcd.com/322/ calls a ponytail'ed female Joanna. Is this the same character as ponytail? She might be different. Community input please. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 01:26, 23 August 2012 (UTC)
::It sounds plausible. Few of the characters are named, and it looks like Ponytail (compare, for example, Elaine Roberts as an adult, who has light hair, but doesn't wear it in a ponytail). The one concern is that in 322, she is clearly acquainted with Black Hat, and in 405 she appears to be friends with Danish, yet Black Hat and Danish don't know each other -- unless he tracked her down via Joanna... [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 04:41, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

== The name of Black Hat's girlfriend ==

[[Black Hat]] has a girlfriend, introduced in [[377: Journal 2]]. She has thicker hair than Megan, and is seen (in [[405: Journal 3]] to be friends with [[Ponytail]]. Is there community-accepted name for her?
:: No, not yet. She seems to have a personality similar to [[Black Hat]] himself --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 15:48, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
:::I don't really want to create a "Category:Comics featuring Black Hat's girlfriend" if there is a better solution, that's all. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 15:57, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
::::In my own head I've been calling her Summer because she looks like how Randall draws Summer Glau (not a good argument, granted), and in some of the comics she shows up she reminds me of Summer's characters. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:41, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::Or we could call her Dearest or Darling or Danish http://xkcd.com/515/ [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:32, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
::::::OK, I've gone with [[Danish]]. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 22:18, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::::P.S. I love you for that. You have my eternal respect. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:35, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

Also, now someone needs to update the Characters nav box to include Danish. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:51, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
:I found the template on my own (aren't I a [[1032|grown up professional]]?) and updated it. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:53, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

== Can we turn off page creation for non-logged in users ==

I'm not very familiar with mediawiki, so I don't know if this would be hard or not. But, it would stop the drive-by spam attacks (the ones that don't create accounts anyway, such nice bots).

My secondary goal in doing this would be to get [[Special:Contributions/‎72.252.145.183|‎72.252.145.183]] and [[Special:Contributions/‎207.204.86.3|‎207.204.86.3]] to make accounts so that there is a way to get a hold of them, give them some feedback, and have them stop adding/spamming spurious categories. Both of them are creating pages with poor/non-existent explanations, sections for the transcript but missing the transcript, haphazardly adding pre-existing categories and adding tons of one-off categories which do nothing to enhance explain xkcd.

[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 19:02, 13 September 2012 (UTC)
:Tag any such comics with {{[[Template:Comic-stub|Comic-stub]]}} and you or someone else can fix it ^^--[[User:Relic|Relic]] ([[User talk:Relic|talk]]) 00:01, 24 September 2012 (UTC)

== Tagline categories! ==

It finally struck me that there's that great line sitting top-right on the xkcd site. Yes the [[tagline]]. So, I've created pages for [[:Category:Language|Language]], [[:Category:Romance|Romance]], [[:Category:Math|Math]] already existed. But, I don't have time right now to go hunting down examples of [[:Category:Sarcasm|Sarcasm]]. Can I enlist the help of all the beautiful editors here to go tagging crazy? (Ok, not crazy like insane, but please do comb through everything for these) [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 19:47, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

== Image updates on xkcd ==

Once in a while, Randall changes the image of a particular comic (usually after someone here spotted an error!); for instance, that is the case for [http://xkcd.com/1122/ xkcd 1122 on Electoral Precedents]. It would be nice to still be able to see the original image(s) here as well as the updated version, as the discussion usually references the previous version(s) and therefore sometimes doesn't make sense without the original image in those cases. Also, consider this as a mild suggestion to update the mentioned image on its explanation page. Sorry if I've put this in the wrong place... --[[User:Jay|Jay]] ([[User talk:Jay|talk]]) 14:54, 29 October 2012 (UTC)

:For these most recent comics, someone usually uploads the version that goes public at midnight, and then corrections are uploaded on top of that. As part of the MediaWiki software, you can click on the image, which will take you to its file page, which allows you to see all the versions of the image back to its first creation. I, personally, am not sure if it's possible to link directly to a previous version, but it is there at least.

:Unfortunately, due to an image resizing bug, (that we all hope is being worked on, but it's been months with no progress and no word of work or progress, so hope is dwindling) for larger images you won't be able to see it, until you click on the broken file link which will just take you to the image.

:Hope that helps some. --[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:35, 29 October 2012 (UTC)

== The Great Spam Attack Of Thanksgiving 2012 ==

I believe I have now dealt with all the spam that has accumulated on the wiki. I've gone through Recent Changes and personally checked every anonymous edit since 5 this morning, and looked through every new page created. If I've missed something, please edit the page and put {{tl|spam}} at the top. Thank you to all the new editors that stepped up and went to work in the trenches while the rest of us were off stuffing our faces. I think special thanks goes out to [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] and [[User:TheOriginalSoni|TheOriginalSoni]]. I believe what happened is, the first major attack was met with a tepid response of about a month's temp block for all the IPs. But this time, for the flagrant vandalizers they are now on an indefinite ban.

Please, as you continue to notice spam or vandalization, use the {{tl|spam}} template, or add [[:Category:Pages to delete]] to the page (in the event that it's a newly created page). Leave a comment in your edit summary about vandalization clean up and someone with the power to, will deal with it.

--[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:38, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

:Marked a wee bit that you missed. Typical, I take a day-long trip into China and an unholy mess of spam happens. May I suggest captchas for all anonymous edits for now? I would also like to get all the explanations done, or at least the ones from the blog, so that we can get the /wiki/ out of the URL to throw some of the spammers. The wall-of-text spammers all seem to include links to spam on other poor abused wikis, and I've noticed that all of those wikis also have a /wiki/ somewhere in there URL. It probably won't stop the new anon spammer, but we could probably restrict page creation to registered users only once we're done filling in all the old XKCD pages to cull those twats out too. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 09:27, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

:I have again dealt with the second wave of spam this Thanksgiving holiday (in the U.S. It's the only thing I can think that would be the cause.) and protected a few pages that seem to be repeat targets. If this is any indication of what major US holidays are like we need to get the administration (*ahem* Jeff) to delegate more controls to more users, and more A.I. spam fighting than we currently have (none). There has to be tricks that Wikipedia is using to fight spam. If we get this much, I can't imagine what the wikipedia servers have to daily stand up against, they must have spam fighting tricks, and not just hordes of people that can delete new pages that anonymous spam bots create. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 07:13, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

::Wikipedia has cluebot, which looks at page blanking and text insertion by anonymous users and reverts suspicious behavior automagically. I could ask cluebot's creator if we could lift the code for use here. It'll be like XERXES.ai, except it'll look for spam instead of spelling errors. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 07:16, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

::Aight, so Cluebot runs off a [https://github.com/cluenet/cluebotng core engine] with a dataset of previous vandalism to work from. We can set the files up on a raspberry pi or something, leave it running and connected to the web and feed it a backlog of past spam to teach it what to look for. Gonna do it after this hellish pile of work is over, unless someone wants to ninja me again. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 07:50, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

:::Cluebot sounds like a wonderful thing to have around here. When I have free time I might try to develop a basic bot that catches the basic kinds of spam and vandals we see here. (Spammers create a user account, create a random page and link to a random page on the internet; Vandals almost always leave an 18 character mixed lower/upper alphanumeric comment and are anonymous, that's unique enough it should be easily catchable)

==Trivia and transcript placement==
The placement of the trivia sections are not consistent on the wiki; sometimes they are placed above the transcript and sometimes below.

The trivia sections are often fun to read, and a good complement to the explanation. On the other hand I have a hard time imagining people coming here to read transcripts (I remember someone suggested collapsable boxes for them). I'm afraid trivia sections below the transcript "disappears" and sometimes won't be noticed at all (especially if the transcript is long). Therefore I propose that trivia sections should follow the explanation, and that the transcripts should be at the bottom of the page.

Another reason for this is that the dividing line between explanation and trivia is not always clear. The end of the explanations tend to accumulate trivia-like information. The natural thing is to just "crop off" a trivia section, where deemed appropriate, and not to move stuff to and fro around the block of transcript. –St.nerol (talk) 15:15, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

:I agree that trivia sections, if present, should come before the transcript. By the way, I think this thread would be more appropriate for the Coordination section of the community portal. If you agree, please move it there. Waldir (talk) 16:32, 6 March 2013 (UTC)
::Moved from Proposals to Coordination! –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 23:02, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

:If an explanation contains trivia, that's an issue with the trivia being in the wrong place. Trivia is supposed to contain information that's only tangentially relevant to the comic at hand, and should be kept to the end of the page to keep the rest of the page free of clutter. Also, the comic discussion is at the bottom of every explanation page, but that doesn't seem to have deterred anyone from finding in. We could fix up some kind of collapse box for the transcripts though, since they do tend to be unneeded for most comics. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:16, 7 March 2013 (UTC)
:Alright, I've done a mockup for what the transcript collapse box could look like. It's in our sandbox, like?'''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:16, 7 March 2013 (UTC)

::It looks good!
::I'm not sure it is so easy to differentiate between tangentially relevant, more relevant, and explanatory information. I think there will always be a hazy zone of borderline examples. (By the way, should the explanation/trivia division be based on how ''relevant'' the information is, or on how ''explanatory'' it is?)
::Now that we're getting a collapsible box; where should we place it? I still don't think it is logical to have it between explanation and trivia (if present), but it will matter less. Maybe we should move it up to the top again? –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 10:24, 8 March 2013 (UTC)
:::Trivia in most wikis is reserved for all the junk that doesn't add value to the main purpose of the article. In our case, that would be information that doesn't serve to explain comics, which is what people who visit the site come here looking for. The transcript is useful for cases where an image is ambiguous or easily mistaken, although it's not entirely needed for every comic. If the trivia section ever contains anything that enhances the comic explanation more than the transcript does, it's in the wrong section.
:::The transcript template is probably going to have to get OK'ed by all the other editors round here before we make it a thing. It's quite a big change to make, and we'll have to change every existing page if we want to add it. We'd probably put it where we usually put the transcript if we do add it in though. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 10:44, 8 March 2013 (UTC)
::::Yeah, I hope that the other guys turns up and says something too. Still, the trivia/transcript placement is not standardized, so we need to decide together what's more natural.
::::*Do we want the transcript in a box?
::::*Do we want it on the bottom of the page, or directly below the explanation, or on the top of the page?

::::It ''is'' a borderland between explaining a comic and giving background information, connections to other comics, etc. There's no borderland between those and transcript. Also, all trivia sections I've seen so far has enhanced the explanations more than the transcript. (Probably because I didn't feel need to read it). –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 16:10, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

::::If one actually needs/wants to read the transcript, one presumably wants to compare it directly with how the comic looks. That would be the good reason to place the box close to the comic. –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 16:12, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

::::Sorry I dropped off the face of the planet for a while there. The run up to Spring Break nearly killed me (that's not as figurative as you'd think). I'll write a proper response in the morning, or late afternoon, after I've had enough sleep to recover from ~2 weeks of ~3 hours of sleep a night. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 08:58, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

24: Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey

2013-03-04T00:12:24Z

Lcarsos: adding TOC, moving transcript. Transcript is more important than Trivia. Look at any Wikipedia article, random facts go at the bottom of the article

{{comic
| number = 24
| date = September 30, 2005
| title = Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey
| image = godel_escher_kurthalsey.jpg
| titletext = I love the idea here, though of course it's not a great-quality drawing or scan.
}}

__TOC__

==Explanation==
The name of the comic is a take on the book {{w|Gödel, Escher, Bach}}. The book is about "strange loops", self-reference, and recurring patterns, partially shown through the works of the three people in its title.

{{w|Kurt Gödel}} was a 20th century mathematician most famous for mathematically proving that there are some mathematical truths that can't be proven.

{{w|M. C. Escher}} was a 20th century artist most famous for mathematically-inspired engravings of tessellated animals, impossible scenes, distorted images that contained themselves, and so on.

{{w|Johann Sebastian Bach}} was a German composer and musician during the Baroque Period.

[http://www.kurthalsey.com Kurt Halsey] is a comic artist from Oregon.

It looks unclear whether the hatted guy is [[Black Hat]]. The charachter design wasn't yet standardized. The sarcastic comment points towards that it is.

==Transcript==
:Drawn during an unending NASA lecture.
:[Two people are talking, one in a hat.]
:Cueball: it's just so hard to compare kids now with kids in the past. you can't help but to belong to one group or the other.

:Cueball: and of course every generation seems awful to the one before it. look at quotes from throughout history.

:Hatted: yeah, and it sure would be nice to have some perspective on some of this stuff. I just don't know what to make of it.
:[Circles are appearing--maybe snow?]

:Cueball: i guess you do what you can to help the people around you and hope it turns out okay.

:Cueball: in the end, what else can you do?

:Hatted: lead a crusade?

:[We can no longer see the people, just the circles.]
:it's presentism, man. the idea that historical context is irrelevant, that we understand it

:all that we need take no warnings from the follies of the past. that we're facing something new.

:socrates couldn't imagine the internet. but people don't change.
:[We can start to see the corner of a darker circle in the lower right.]

:(The borders between the three panels on this line are cracking.)
:have you seen those collections of historical pornography? talk about historical context.

:did you know the first porn photo was bestial in.
:[inside a circle:] nature?

:at least that stuff was out of the mainstream
:[each word in one circle:]
:no
:just
:in
:history

:(the three panels have merged into one on each row.)

:i don't know about you, but
:[circled] I
:[uncircled] never

:even once seen

:[The circles are highly variable in size now, and pressed up against a larger one on the right side.]

:[There is mass of circles of different sizes, with some dark fissures in between, against the side of a large circle which we can see part of in the right half of the panel. They look like cells. There's a tiny square in the center of the giant cell.]

:[We see only the tiny square, centered. It has a few marks inside it.]

:[Closer, the square is divided into rectangles of different sizes, each of which has text in it.]

:[Much closer, we can see fragments of the text. Some are sideways, some are cut off, some are too small to read.]
:machine language translated by principles of isomorphism it is a consequence of the Church-Turing thesis that ...
:but how do you select the channel you wish to se-
:thou ... shou ... palin ... stri ... it is a ... crab ...

:[Closer still, we can just see a huge sideways s and h.]

:[Those letters are faded and mixed with a faded version of the next panel.]

:girls take boys away ...
:never be further than a phone call and a goosebumped shiver away ...
:drove all night listening to mix tapes ...
:the past is just practice
:[There is a heart at the bottom and, in the lower left, the name Kurt.]

:[The same as the previous panel, but with the words blurred out to scribbles.]

:[Jagged, shaded shapes and strands start to fall. Faint panel borders appear again. There is a person on the far right.]

:(Back to three panels per row.)
:[Cueball and Megan are standing amid the fragments.]

:Man: There's too much. And so little feels important.

:[The jagged edge of the shaded area is encroaching on the sides of the panel.]

:What do you do?

:[We see them from farther away through a rough hole in the shaded area. Bits continue to fall around them.]

:[She takes his hand.]

==Trivia==
* This was the sixth comic originally posted to livejournal. The previous was [[1: Barrel - Part 1]]. The next was [[13: Canyon]]. View archive [http://liveweb.archive.org/web/20060529063441/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/ here].
* Original [[Randall]] quote: "One of a series of strips I drew during a long and boring NASA lecture. It careens wildly from intellectual to chaotic to Godel, Escher, Bach to Kurt Halsey to chaotic and sappy."
* The above quote suggests that the image on LiveJournal was only part of this strip (and that the above is the whole series). Unfortunately, the image link on LiveJournal is broken.
* Original title: "Strip series"

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]

explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals

2013-03-03T20:52:28Z

Lcarsos: /* New character */

<noinclude>{{Community portal}}</noinclude>

== Spampage Rampage ==
Hail fellow admins, Jeff, distinguished editors all,

We've just been through a second spike of spam, (the first being around the 1110 Click and Drag comic) so as your friendly Angel of Death to such spammery, I'd like to open the floor to discussion on strategies to deal with the issue.

Personally, I don't mind the role of grim reaper for these miscreants, but I'd also prefer that it doesn't grow in magnitude; of late, I find myself almost exclusively dealing with the matter, leaving little enough time to enjoy the site, let alone contributing to it. Anything we can do to keep things under control would be appreciated.

So far, the spam comes in these flavors:
* One-timers. New users that create their own user page, oddly alike (couldn't be a spam-bot, eh?) always linking to "their" website. By far the biggest percentage of time the scythe falls, it falls on these.
** Two-timers. A variant of above, except they create one or two additional pages, typically the user's talk page, or a page same as the username, but not in the user namespace. Here too, quickly dispatched across the Styx.
* IPersonators: IP users that create faux user (and other) pages. Second largest group, though this trend has been growing, especially during this recent onslaught.
** A particularly insidious variant: IPersonators creating or modifying a real users' page. I've been pretty careful, so far, to track down the author, and block ''them'' (as opposed to assuming author = user) but I can see how this flavor of spam risks accidental blocking of legit contributors, which would be doubleplusungood.
* Jibberish vandal: Somebody creating content that isn't spam, but just repeated ''asdf'' or ''ghjkl'' content. Treated as above, though I don't call this spam in the logs. My guess is that this is a spam-bot under development. Fairly infrequent, and addressed using techniques as for above.

There are a few other one-off types, too, which I won't bother elaborating here.

So, the open-ended question stands: What do we do?

# There has been a suggestion to block IP-only contributors (ie must log in) ... perhaps only on an as-needed basis.
# Another thought would be to (by some as-yet unspecified means) prevent the creation, or cause the timely deletion, of user pages by other than said user.)
# Restricting external links (by a similarly as-yet-unspecified means) either to a specified approved white-list, or by a specified set of contributors (must have made more than n edits, for example.)
# Other thoughts? Let the discussion unfold...

No solution is likely to be perfect; this is a matter of raising the bar to where whatever processed meat can crest over it can be most easily managed... all without being so draconian that we compromise the appeal of the site.

All said, I have no problems with the grim reaper enterprise, but would like to spend more time in the [[User:IronyChef/TestKitchen|kitchen]], and less in the [[Special:Log/block|dumpster]].

A little postscript to put the issue into perspective: the ''top four contributors'', (as per Active Users as I write this) are as follows:
* Lcarsos [169 edits in the last 30 days]
* Davidy22 [282 edits in the last 30 days]
* Bpothier [298 edits in the last 30 days]
* IronyChef [433 edits in the last 30 days]
I can tell you that of my four-hundred plus edits, only about a dozen have not been spam related. Lcarsos and Davidy22 are two ace spam-seeking deputies, so a large part of their edits involve tagging pages with the spam template, not (as I'm sure they'd prefer) actually chiming in on matters xkcd. The rest of the field: not even close in terms of edit magnitude. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 15:30, 20 October 2012 (UTC)

:I was going to suggest a range block, but the IP addresses com from everywhere. The only pattern I can see is in the 83.<25 range. We could also change the captcha to cut into the bots for a little while. Another suggestion would be to create every explanation page, then mark the unfinished ones with the <nowiki>{{stub}}</nowiki> template, if that exists in this wiki. Then we can block anonymous page creation without having to worry about stopping anonymous users from creating new explanations. We'll have to make a few modifications to the site, to instruct users on how to find pages in need of explanations, but it'll kill all the userpage and self-help spambots. We can figure out how to deal with vandalism later - I would recommend implementing wikipedia's cluebot to automagically roll back page clearing and the like. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 23:16, 20 October 2012 (UTC)

:Also, we can semi-protect important pages like categories and templates. Chances are, anonymous users aren't familiar enough with wikis to be handling those anyways, and wiki veteran anonymous users will probably make an account. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 09:30, 21 October 2012 (UTC)

... ''Madame la Guillotine'' has been busy, dealing with no less than four dozen spammified pages and their attendant contributors in the last hour, to address a third spike in spam. Our hyper-contributing editors have been helping identify these malefactors, so the process has been fairly straight-forward on my part, but it's awfully quiet here....

The top five contributors, as of this writing, are:
* Divad27182 [133 edits in the last 30 days]
* Davidy22 [202 edits in the last 30 days]
* Lcarsos [207 edits in the last 30 days]
* Bpothier [267 edits in the last 30 days]
* IronyChef [537 edits in the last 30 days]

Number six is comes in at less than half of Divad's, and the curve decays precipitiously from there... so this is becoming a call to arms for admins to convene and discuss, ''or'' Jeff to anoint other, more active contributors, admin status.

Thoughts?

-- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 06:02, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

:Would it be possible to volunteer to be another admin to move some of the load off of IronyChef? It feels slightly cruel and unusual for him to be the only active admin, and thus ad-hoc in charge of keeping the engines running. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:16, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

::Another admin is definitely needed, given the volume of spam. It'd be nice if we could [[Special:UnusedTemplates|clean]] [[Special:UnusedFiles|out]] the attic too. Shall we hold a vote? [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 06:41, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

::I only have sporadic time to do edits, so I'd likely not be an ideal choice if there can be only 1 more... --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 07:19, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

::: This is yet again great. I'm researching SPAM prevention tools in use on other wikis. Let me know if you have something you think will work. Also, Lcarsos, you are up. Best new admin I can think of. I'm not afraid to add other admins if some (including myself) are less active. Other candidates can be submitted here. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 17:53, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

::::I'm immensely honored that you trust me that much. Thank you, I'll work hard to better the wiki. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:00, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

== Redirect main-page of explainxkcd.com ==

I mentioned this on the old site, but I guess this is a better place. The first page most people will get to is still the main explainxkcd.com page. With no more updates there it looks at first glance like a dead place, and when I out of habit go there, I still get an instinctive feeling that the site is dead because the first place I am send is a dead place. PLEASE redirect the main-page to this wiki, since this is the place that is still alive. [[User:Carewolf|Carewolf]] ([[User talk:Carewolf|talk]]) 14:40, 22 September 2012 (UTC)
: Good idea. Will work on that soon. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 17:49, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

== Tagline ==

I haven't created [[MediaWiki:Tagline]] yet, but we need to think about what to put there. That's the familiar "From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." over at Wikipedia - it appears right under the title of each page. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 10:39, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
 Moved from [[Explain XKCD:Community portal]] --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:09, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

:I think it's pretty obvious we should keep the "It's cause you're dumb." :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 13:20, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:: Well, since there haven't been any objections, I went ahead and added it: [[Mediawiki:Tagline]]. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 18:46, 11 August 2012 (UTC)

== Separate discussion page(s) ==

I think we should create a separate Discuss the wiki page, so that each discussion can go under its own header. I'd suggest setting up a todo list where people can help out. I'd start with a suggestion:
: We should be using [[mw:Manual:Short URL|cleaner urls]]. Maybe [http://shorturls.redwerks.org/ this tool] can help setting that up. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 05:46, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
:: Whatever we do decide, I've created <nowiki>{{xkcd}}</nowiki> and <nowiki>{{explain}}</nowiki> templates to create links to the xkcd site and other explanations here on this site; that should factor at least those sites (nice central administration) as well as helping us categorize pages that use them. Was thinking of also <nowiki>{{wiki}}</nowiki> for the same benefit, even if there's already a prefix built into mediawiki... the only drawback is the bias toward the en side... [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 10:31, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
:::I'm liking the idea of creating a Discuss the wiki page - I'll start one if someone doesn't/hasn't beat me to it and add it to the sidebar. I'd asked for better URLs at [[User talk:Jeff#Robots.txt]], though I didn't know what they were called. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 17:17, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
::::I also like the idea of the {{tl|xkcd}} tags. On a related note, I've [[Special:Import|imported]] {{tl|tl}}. :-) <s> I also realize we don't have a secure server here, but I'd support the best practice of beginning URLs with protocol-relative links ( // instead of http:// or https:// ) anyway, especially since the xkcd website ''itself'' appears to be https-compatible.</s>Nevermind, it doesn't seem to be. So I guess it doesn't matter. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 22:40, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
::: Maybe we can create a subpage of the community portal for the wiki discussion. What do you think? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 04:32, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
:::: Also one for editing coordination (see [[User:SurturZ/sandbox]] for instance), another for mediawiki assistance (requests to admins perhaps on the same page, or on a separate one). Any other ideas? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 04:41, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
Moved from [[Explain XKCD:Community portal]], may need to be broken out into new headers or sub-headers. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:12, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

Great job on creating the subpages! I think the subpages can be made more intuitive for newcomers, though. Here are my subbestions:
* merge "/Design" and "/Proposals" into '''"/Discuss the wiki"''' or "/Improve the wiki" or something to that effect.
* rename "/Technical" into '''"/Tecnical assistance"''' so it is clear that it should be used for one-off issues rather than coordination of wiki-wide changes (which should go in the section above)
* merge the "/Administrator's noticeboard" above? That would reinforce that adminship is nothing but a set of technical tools to assist the wiki
* New '''"/Editing coordination"''' subpage for organizing what to do, maintenance, keeping a TODO list for newcomers to tackle, etc -- essentially like WikiProjects work at Wikipedia.
--[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 04:35, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

:As I see this, it would involve mostly just renaming pages. I don't particularly care what the names are, so I won't comment on that.
:*I'd like to keep /Administrator's noticeboard for the time being. The primary advantage of this is that administrators can watchlist this and things which need the tools are less likely to get lost in discussion. It can always be deprecated afterwards if it isn't being used enough.
:*I'd sort of seen /Design as doing what you're proposing for /Editing coordination, though I didn't explain it as well.
:--''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 18:43, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:: Ok, I get what you mean with the Admin page. I don't think this wiki is going to be that busy to warrant a separate page, though. But for now, let's at least simplify the name? "Admin requests", for instance :)
:: And yeah, Design isn't really a good name for content-related coordination. What I'm suggesting here is to have one page for meta (wiki-related) discussion, and another for content-related discussion. Does that make sense? And what name do you think would be good for the former rather than the current, too generic imo, "Proposals"? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:20, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

:::"Discuss the wiki" sounds good to me, as does "Admin requests." Or whatever, I guess. ;-) I may not be online much for the next few days (or much this evening), so go ahead and change it how you think it should be, I guess. Having stable discussion pages sooner than later would be good. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 01:48, 6 August 2012 (EDT)

:::: Ok I changed the admin page name, and merged "design" and "proposals", but for now I left it named "Proposals". I'm not quite confident about the clarity of "Discuss the wiki"... I'll wait until others comment here. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 14:06, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

::::: I'm not seeing any further discussion and it's been a few days since the move, so I'm clearing the sitenotice. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 02:38, 11 August 2012 (UTC)

== Automatic Import ==

Hi

I created a draft for the comic pages. It's still work in progress, but I'd like to retrieve feedback.

Also, maybe we could autmatically import comics using the JSON data Randall gives us ([http://xkcd.com/614/info.0.json]). This way, we could also include transcripts. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 15:23, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
: Hm, I should add a link to my draft: [[User:SlashMe/Testpage]] ;-) --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 06:54, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

I updated the page, including links to the next/previous comic similar to [[Template:ComicHeader]]. I used comic 472, because it has a lot of metadata (link, news, HTML title, etc.). --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 07:32, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

Just to remind everyone, I'd be ready to import the comics, but I don't want to until I got more feedback. Please have a look at [[User:SlashMe/Testpage]] and tell me your opinion. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 06:02, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
: I think your test page looks great. I'm a big fan of it. Any way to fit the text in the text box rather than having it run all the way to the right? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:19, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
:: I just made a change concerning line breaks, at least it works in Firefox and Chrome. Could somebody please test it in different versions of Internet Explorer?
:: If you agree, I would start uploading tomorrow. I'll send you a mail. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 18:31, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Moved from [[User talk:Jeff]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:38, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

The discussion is now at [[Explain XKCD:Community_portal/Design#Header template]]. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 04:20, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== "Random comic?" ==

Not to clutter the sidebar, but what would you say to adding a "Random comic" right under "Random page", linking to [//dynamic.xkcd.com/random/comic/ //dynamic.xkcd.com/random/comic/] ? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 01:46, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:Naw, xkcd already has a random comic. I think we should have a ''random explanation''. ;-) All kidding aside, I was wondering: generating a random member of a category...? Has that improved since the early days when I tried to do something like that. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 03:19, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
::Hi. For how to do this, we could install the [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Random_In_Category Random In Category] Mediawiki extension, which would allow us to use <nowiki>[[Special:RandomInCategory/Comics]]</nowiki> to point to any random explanation. {{User:Omega/sig}} 22:42, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
::: Or we could move the comics into a Comic namespace, and use Special:Random/comic (See for instance [[Special:Random/template]]). This doesn't require any server-side changes. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 23:58, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

== Header template ==

Hi, I've created a template called [[Template:ComicHeader]], which might make things easier when creating comic pages (and also provide better consistency between the pages). I've used it on the [[Internal monologue]] page, to display the comic number and the date it was published. The template also adds the page to the [[:Category:Comics|Comics]] category.

You just need to add:
<pre>{{ComicHeader|1089|August 1, 2012}}</pre>
…to the start of the page (replacing the comic number and date).

I'll try to make the template look a bit nicer, but the great thing about templates of course, is that once they're updated, the changes are reflected on all the pages that include that template. --[[User:Yirba|Yirba]] ([[User talk:Yirba|talk]]) 18:46, 1 August 2012 (EDT)

:By the way, I'm thinking of maybe programming something that would allow you to easily import the comic image and alt text from xkcd without having to upload the images manually and the like. You'd just have to host a single PHP file on your server and make a few changes to the MediaWiki configuration. Of course, you'd be able to see source code and everything to make sure I'm not trying to do something fishy. :-P Let me know what you think. :-) --[[User:Yirba|Yirba]] ([[User talk:Yirba|talk]]) 18:54, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::Yirba - I like the idea. My email is explain@explainxkcd.com - send me what you put together and we can sort it out. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 19:37, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
::Ditto on the Template. Up-vote. Any thought on harvesting the pre-wiki content from ExplainXKCD with some sort of a Python, Perl, or PHP script? (That sounds more like a 'bot than something that would have to be hosted, though.) [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 01:52, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

::: I was thinking of putting it into a infobox, please [[#Idea|see above]]. I also intended to automatically extract data from xkcd, which would lack descriptions, but at least we would have data like title, image and transcripts. Also, there are some other data like links (e.g. 832), news (which are displayed in xkcd's header, e.g. 739) and titles which contain HTML (259 and 472). I also extracted all those data. When we agree on a page layout, I could begin programming a bot. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 06:54, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

::::Hmmm… an infobox may be a good idea. And a bot that imports data from xkcd might be handy. Anyway, here's something I programmed that would allow for access to the xkcd API from the wiki itself. Essentially, you'd put this xkcdinfo.php ([http://gist.github.com/3239432 source], [http://github.com/downloads/Yirba/yirba.github.com/xkcdinfo.php download]) file somewhere on the server (e.g. at http://www.explainxkcd.com/xkcdinfo.php) and [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Interwiki#Adding_a_new_website_for_interwiki_linking include it in MediaWiki's interwiki table] (ensuring iw_trans == 1):
<pre>INSERT INTO interwiki (iw_prefix, iw_url, iw_local, iw_trans) VALUES ('xkcdinfo', 'http://www.explainxkcd.com/xkcdinfo.php?input=$1', 0, 1);</pre>
::::After [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:$wgEnableScaryTranscluding enabling scary transclusion] in LocalSettings.php, you'd then be able to send queries to the xkcd JSON API via this file. In other words, <code><nowiki>{{xkcdinfo:32-title}}</nowiki></code> would make comic 32's title appear. <code><nowiki>{{xkcdinfo:55-alt}}</nowiki></code> would make comic 55's image text appear. I've also set it so you could enter <code><nowiki>{{xkcdinfo:100-embed}}</nowiki></code>, and it would make the comic 100 image appear on the wiki page. Feel free to use it however you want (if at all), and modify the code should you wish. (Hint: Using the number 0 for the comic number will query the most recent comic, so <code><nowiki>{{xkcdinfo:0-num}}</nowiki></code> will return the current comic number. Also, adding "raw:" before "xkcdinfo:" might be more useful in some instances. E.g.: <code><nowiki>{{raw:xkcdinfo:555-title}}</nowiki></code>)--[[User:Yirba|Yirba]] ([[User talk:Yirba|talk]]) 14:50, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

::::: Nice idea, altough this would mean to load all data from xkcd whenever a page is <del>viewed</del><ins>edited</ins> (I think this is the way MediaWiki caches the data). This is a lot of traffic for little data. I'd say to include the metadata statically, but linking the external image seems a good thing to me. Again, it'd be great if you gave me feedback for [[User:SlashMe/Testpage|my idea]]. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 15:54, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

::::::Yes, the data would be loaded from xkcd for each edit. You can, however, substitute (subst) the template for data that is unlikely to change. And therefore the data would indeed be stored statically. I like the layout you've come up with. It could perhaps do with a bit of tweaking here and there, but the general idea is good. --[[User:Yirba|Yirba]] ([[User talk:Yirba|talk]]) 17:16, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

::::::: What kind of tweaking do you mean? I know the code is a bit messy, if you have a better idea, please tell me (or do it yourself - hey, it's a wiki!). The CSS should be placed in an external file, but for now, it's ok. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 17:51, 2 August 2012 (EDT)

Looks like there is another/newer template called [[Template:Comic]] that includes prev/next buttons as well.
You add it with:
<pre>{{comic
| number = 1
| date = September 30, 2005
| title = {{PAGENAME}}
| image = barrel_cropped_(1).jpg
| imagesize =
| alttext = Don't we all.
}}

Moved from [[User talk:Jeff]]. --~~~~
==Description==
xxxxxxxxxxx
</pre>
No need to include the alt text separately, as the template does it for you. It also includes the comic category, but only if the first 4 fields are filled out.
--[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 18:47, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

: Yes, but that is not necessarily an advantage. My template only creates the infobox, so you are still able to create an introductory text or other sections, for special comics that need a more detailed description. I can also add categories if needed. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 19:02, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

::I think it is a major advantage to make the thing easier to use and more consistant site-wide.

::As the creator of the new one, I'm obviously biased, but I created it because I think it's better. Not putting your work down, it was a great piece of code that I put to work in my template. But I think if there's need for pre-text of any kind (not sure there is, as the articles probably should all open with the comic itself as presented on XKCD), a pre-comment can be added into the template, but I'm not sure what that would be. Perhaps there would be a requirement for special circumstances like the comic a few weeks ago where there were a million iterations depending on locality, browser, etc. But that's the rarity. I think the new one simplifies it for users. They need only one template to post the comic, alt text title and nav buttons. What could be easier? [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:08, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

::: As the creator of the other one, I'm equally biased. What about a "main template", which then calls one or two other templates (e.g. one for the infobox, another for image and alt text? For most comics, this main template could be used, but if absolutely needed, it would still be possible to use the underlying templates with custom sections/text. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 19:15, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

::::I just now saw your request for feedback on your new comic page with the sidebar. I honestly am not sure which format is better. I kind of like my format for the fact that it basically presents the comic as it was originally posted, but your infobox does provide some additional stuff like 3D link (not sure what "news" is, of where the "link" comes from but...) Perhaps we could integrate the two. I like that the comic is visble right away on my template, but on your page it's down below the first header. I don't think the comic itself needs an "image" heading. No disrespect, but I think your sidebar, esp. because of the "news" field is a bit chunky - too wide for most of its content.

::::I think we could easily add things like a "3d" link into {{tl|comic}} as part of the next/prev bar where a "3D" field in the template is non-blank. Similarly, original title could read something like (Originally titled: xxxxx) below the primary title in a smaller font. Other than the "link" and "news" fields (which again, I'm not sure what they are), I think that would inclde all the same info as your infobox into my template. Thoughts?

::::As to your other comment about compartmentalizing the template, I have nothing against that, but which parts of the template would you want to be able to use separately (and can you suggest an example where that might be necessary?) Subdividing the template can always be done later if it becomes needed; just trying to get an idea of what you have in mind by compartmentalizing it. Cheers [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:43, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Moved from [[User talk:Jeff]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:37, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

{{outdent|::::}}

''Suggestion:''

* I will start by uploading all images. This will take some time and has no points to discuss. (If it has, tell me.) At a later point, maybe we could link them directly from xkcd.com.
* For the comic pages: Let's say we'll use {{tl|Comic}}. I'll change the arguments of the template to be more like my {{tl|Infobox comic}}, see [[Template:Infobox comic#Arguments|documentation]]. I'll keep the ''alttext'' argument, but make ''image'' optional (file name should be guessed from the title). Do we really need ''imagesize''?
* {{tl|Comic}} would then call some further templates, passing the appropriate arguments. This way, we are able to use custom sections/text if needed for special comics (like [http://xkcd.com/1037/ Umwelt]) by using these templates instead of the all-in-one {{tl|Comic}}.
* Since we have one template doing all the work, we can easily change the page layout even after the import. (We should only keep track of the pages that don't use {{tl|Comic}}, using a hidden category)
* For consistency, I would move all existing pages out of the way and re-create them. The moved pages could be collected by adding them to a category like [[:Category:legacy pages]], so they should easily be found. Descriptions should be moved to the new pages, afterwards the legacy pages can be deleted.

This way, I can import all comics, but we would still be able to change the layout afterwards. My 2ct concerning page layout:
* <del>'''Use comic titles as page names.'''</del><ins>(See below)</ins> The title should be prominent, the number will be in the infobox.
* I'll remove ''Original title'', ''news'' and ''link'' from the infobox and move them to a section after the description. (For details, see [[Template:Infobox_comic#Documentation|here]])
* suggested layout:
<pre>
=====page title=====
+--------------------+ +---------+
| | | infobox |
| image | | text |
|(no section heading)| | |
| | | |
| | +---------+
+--------------------+
==alt==
text
==description==
text
==transcript==
text
==original title, news and link== (if available)
text
</pre>

Still open for opinions.--[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 04:13, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

:It might make more sense to use the comic number as the page title, and then use [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:$wgAllowDisplayTitle DISPLAYTITLE] to make the comic title appear in place of the number. Just putting that out as another possibility. --[[User:Yirba|Yirba]] ([[User talk:Yirba|talk]]) 09:49, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
::Good point, I agree. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 09:54, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

If anyone wants to use it, I've written a bot [http://pastebin.com/5F877BHE] that can upload images, create redirect pages, and create comic pages. You can change the format it uses for the comic page if you have some knowledge of python. To use it, look at [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Pywikipediabot/Quick_Start_Guide]. --[[User:Cyanfish|Cyanfish]] ([[User talk:Cyanfish|talk]]) 10:56, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:Sorry, I was faster. I'm using [http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/mwclient/ mwclient], and I already uploaded all images. I could also create pages and redirects, but I'm waiting until we have a consent. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 11:02, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

::A few thoughts: if you start uploading images, but don't create the comic pages with them, a user going to create a new comic page isn't going to know whether or not the comic image has already been uploaded. This could be confusing. Hopefully the uploads are going to be named the same as the original images? (when I do upload, I actually just paste the URL in my "browse" box and upload directly from my browsers cache that way so it works out), but I just want to avoid duplicating images on the server as well as wasting time by trying to upload something that's already there.

::As to the page layout, I'm still of the view that the transcript should be in a collapsed frame so that it doesn't take up half the article. I don't honestly think that most people are coming to read the transcript. I could be wrong tho. Open to opinions on that. Otherwise, I do like transcript AFTER The explanation (also, the heading "explanation" vs. "description" as mentioned in another discussion in the portal. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:09, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

:::PS: We definately need imagesize. It defaults to full size, but I think we definately need the optional argument for large comics. Remembering that this is a wiki to explain the comics, there are many large comics that ought to be restricted to a smaller size for the page (they can be clicked to enlarge - the template automatically creates a "click to enlarge" link if imagesize is used). I have generally been using a 375 or 400px size for keeping larger comics managable, but sometimes it's a comic-dependant decision. Also, notwithstanding my comment on another thread, even though I agree that the xkcd commentary is actually "title text", just as a side note, I've just noticed that the transcripts for older comics actually do call it "alt text") [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:40, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::: As long as no one has any objections, this header looks awesome (with ImageSize as TheHYPO suggested), so feel free to work on the importation functionality. Let me know if you need anything from me in order to import from the Wordpress side of things. If we start talking importation, lets move that conversation under a different header. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 15:56, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

=== Date format ===

I suggest to enter the date as YYYY-MM-DD and using <nowiki>{{#dateformat: {{date}}}</nowiki> in {{tl|comic}}. This way, the date should be displayed using the personal preferences (see [[Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-datetime]]). Does anyone disagree? --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 20:42, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

== Displaying Comics {{done|Closed}}==

For the home page, I think the comic and explanation should be displayed instead of a link to the comic.

For reasons unknown to me, I decided to create [[Template:Comicbox]] and [[Template:Comicbox2]]. Looks nice, as long as you use the correct one for the comic.

Go to [[User:Grep/comicbox]] and [[User:Grep/comicbox2]] for examples. --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]
:Those're wonderful! And should probably be on the main page. If you wanted, we could probably incorporate them (and maybe a third?) into a single template with a "square/vertical or horizontal" switch. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 21:36, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
::Also, you used "comicbox" for the class. Is that a class that's defined somewhere? (And if so, where?) --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 21:36, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
:::Good point. Removed. And merging them sounds wonderful. --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]
::::Maybe merging them into [[Template:comicbox]]? --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]
:::::I think classes are defined at [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], so if you really wanted to define the class.... And [[Template:Comicbox]] would probably be best. Did you want to merge them or should I take a look at it? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 22:25, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
::::::ParserFunctions and any sort of non-XMLish markup is weird. I would rather you look at it. --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]
:::::::Okay, I've moved your templates to {{tl|Comicbox square or vertical}} and {{tl|Comicbox horizontal}} so I can work on {{tl|Comicbox}} as the main one. It may take a while - I like to think of myself as a "[[wikipedia:Category:User template coder|master of all known wikimarkup]]," but I don't actually use those skills that often. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 23:08, 2 August 2012 (EDT)
::::::::Thanks. --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]
:::::::::I've made it at {{tl|Comicbox}}. This actually leaves {{tl|Comicbox square or vertical}} and {{tl|Comicbox horizontal}} unused, though I credited you (and them) in a comment at the top of the template. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:21, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
::::::::::I think that the explanation should be on the right because it just looks weird as is... --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]
{{outdent}} Sure. But right now they both look like they're on the bottom? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 20:02, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
:{{done|Fixed}} --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]

===Sans-serif typeface {{done|Closed}}===
::::::::I like these, too, but the roman typeface... how do folks feel about sticking with a sans-serif typeface throughout the site? [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 00:13, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
:::::::::We should be able to change that wiki-wide through [[MediaWiki:Common.css]], I think. Unfortunately, I don't know enough CSS to do it. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:23, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
:::::::::: I believe sans serif is already the default wiki-wide. Those specific instances were deliberately coded to use a serif font. It's just a matter of removing <code>font-family: 'Times New Roman';</code> from the template. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:01, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
::::::::::: Oh, I'd missed that. I removed it. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 22:14, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Moved from [[User talk:Jeff]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:37, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== comic header ==

Jeff, further to your previous conversation on the comic header, I've significantly rewritten Yirba's template (thanks to Yirba for the hard work. His navigation bar was very useful) and I've created a new template of {{tl|comic}}. An example of the comic in use can be seen at [[T-shirts]]. I started a discussion on the main page discussion board, but I thought if I pointed it out to you and you like it, it can start going in the rotation for new comics.

I actually now see that Grep did a template up with intent (I think) to use for the main page. Had I known that when I started, I would have probably based my template off of his, because it looks nice, but either way, mine is intended for the actual articles. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:46, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

:Again, may I link to <del>[[User talk:Jeff#Automatic Import|my request for feedback]]</del>? --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 15:52, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

The discussion is now at [[Explain XKCD:Community_portal/Design#Header template]]. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 04:17, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

Moved from [[User talk:Jeff]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:37, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Bylines ==
In the migration from blog to wiki, I noticed a few things:
# Visitors still seem to assume there's a single, ''invisible other'' that provides the explanations; this might be a carryover from the blog days when Jeff was the author of that content, or it may be newcomers not familiar with the license-to-create a wiki offers. You see it in comments that call out corrections, without the corrections actually being made to the explanations. Usually a more savvy editor swings in, makes the fix, and chimes in on the comments.
# There's no visual cue on the page itself to disabuse a novice of that fact. Sure, wikiphiles will check the history; but aside from that the novice has is left in the dark, and certainly isn't led to the conclusion that they, too, can contribute to the explanation.
To that end, I was wondering: why not put a {{tl|byline}} on each explanation, and give credit where credit is due? I know Waldir wanted to "gamify" the wiki a bit. I don't know that I'd go ''that'' far, but putting bylines does kill a few birds by raising awareness of the democratic approach to explanations, and giving kudos to the contributor(s). I've prototyped it (and of course, it's subject to revision) but here's how it would work:
* '''<nowiki>{{byline|you}}</nowiki>''' produces {{byline|you}}
* '''<nowiki>{{byline|you|me}}</nowiki>''' produces {{byline|you|me}}
* '''<nowiki>{{byline|you|me|someone else}}</nowiki>''' produces {{byline|you|me|someone else}}
* More concretely, '''<nowiki>{{byline|Jeff|Waldir|IronyChef|Blaisepascal}}</nowiki>''' produces {{byline|Jeff|Waldir|IronyChef|Blaisepascal}}
(in general, the parameters are the usernames, up to about 5 or six contributors, for now.) Was thinking about having the content be automatically turned into wiki-links, but left that out while we think it over. Thotz? -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 04:22, 17 August 2012 (UTC)
:: How would we indicate who is in the byline? The person who created the page? The person who edited the most characters? Would it be a combination of all the names? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 14:32, 17 August 2012 (UTC)
:::I have to say, it sounds contrary to the whole wiki premise. I agree with you that there does seem to be a bit of a learning curve here, but I don't know if "crediting" the explanations is the right solution. How much editing does one have to do to get credit on an article? You might get people who want to edit just to get credits, and credits over time could get relatively lengthy. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:41, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

== Template improvement suggestion ==

Can I suggest that we work on improving {{tl|ComicHeader}} - I wish I had time to do it myself and then edit all the comic pages, but I would suggest the best way might be to start a new template (perhaps design it a bit more like an infobox) and start converting the old pages over to new ones.

The feature I think should be added is that, where the template currently includes teh comic number and date, and creates the nav header, the template really ought to include the image name, and the alt text. In that way, the template can produce the entire part of the article that displays the comic and its alt text (and the alt text, as mentioned, could be more like a caption, instead of just looking like a generic section of the article - it's part of the comic, it shouldn't look like part of the article on this site (no offence, Jeff, but that's one thing I always didn't like about explain XKCD - the image text should be bold or underlined or italics or something to signify that it's part of the comic and not the explanation.

I'll see if I can work on a prototype. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 12:29, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

:What does everyone thing of this as a better layout? [[Blown Apart]] [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 13:09, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

::May I link to <del>[[User talk:Jeff#Automatic Import|my request for feedback]]</del>? --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 15:52, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Moved from [[Talk:Main Page]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:44, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

The discussion is now at [[#Header template]]. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 04:17, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Transcripts ==

Do we need to add a whole section on "Transcript" for each comic? That could get very long for some comics, and basically pushes the explanations down further (which is what people generally come to explainxkcd for). If anything, perhaps the transcripts could be in a minimizable box like some navboxes do on wikipedia? I don't see a majority of users coming to read the transcripts... [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:15, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

: What about putting the transcripts at the bottom of the page?
: BTW: If you agree, this discussion should be moved to [[Explain XKCD:Community portal]], as [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] suggested. At least for new discussions. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 19:19, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

::No problem there. Feel free to move it. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 19:29, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

:::How about having it be collapsed, with the option to expand it (TOC-like)? -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 04:25, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

Moved from [[Talk:Main Page]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:47, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

The discussion is now at [[#Header template]]. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 04:18, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Adding a new comic ==

This is the process I use to add a new comic. YMMV... Feel free to update this as/if needed to provide some consistency...--[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 19:22, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

I start by uploading the image using the name from [[XKCD]]'s page.

I create the new page using the comic number(not the name), e.g. "http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1"

I (currently) insert using the "Comic" template:
<pre>
{{comic
| number = 1
| date = September 30, 2005
| title = {{PAGENAME}}
| image = barrel_cropped_(1).jpg
| imagesize =
| alttext = Don't we all.
}}
==Transcript==
This is the transcript from xkcd
==Description==
Wow what a cool comic!
</pre>

I "Show preview" to ensure the image shows up and everything looks good.

I "Save page".

I click the "move" link on the down-arrow drop-down menu to the right of "View history" (at top of page).

I rename the page from "1" to the page title from [[XKCD]].

This will automatically create a redirect from "1" to the correct page name without having to do it manually.
--[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 19:22, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

:Please, have a break here. When we agree on a page layout, I can do this automatically. I repeat, when we agree on the layout (which should also include the direction of the redirects) --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 19:25, 3 August 2012 (EDT)

Moved from [[Talk:Main Page]]. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:47, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

The discussion concerning the layout is at [[Explain XKCD:Community_portal/Design#Header template]]. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 04:18, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== styling of xkcd links ==

I added code to the end of [[MediaWiki:Common.css]] to style links to the xkcd website as http://xkcd.com rather than the regular external link format, http://example.com. What do you guys think? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 05:06, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:I like it generally. Is there a way to force it to not display on individual pages, though? I don't think we should have it at [[Explain XKCD:Copyrights]], {{tl|XKCD file}}, or {{tl|XKCD file derived}}, as they are more serious. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 16:27, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
::Sure. I've disabled it on those pages, feel free to add more as you see fit. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:22, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:::Thanks! --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 18:34, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:I like the idea of the graphic, too, but wonder if it could be muted a bit (medium gray vs black) so it recedes a bit into the background; the classic graphic is a very light blue for that reason, too. (Oh, and a minor quibble... overheard: "who is that short, bearded dude?" "Oh! That's megan?") ... I don't know how we could update it, and maybe it'll be less of an issue when muted... Thotz? -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:16, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
::The image can be updated by uploading new versions of [[File:xkcd favicon.png]]. It doesn't need to be the xkcd.com favicon; in fact, it would be good if we could make it even smaller (e.g. just cueball's head, or simply "xkcd" in the typical handwritten font, etc). Making it dimmer also seems like a good idea, btw. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:38, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

== 'Explanation' rather than 'Description' ==

Can I suggest we use the heading "Explanation" rather than "Description" on the comic pages, since that fits with the name of the wiki? --[[User:SurturZ|SurturZ]] ([[User talk:SurturZ|talk]]) 09:20, 5 August 2012 (EDT)
:Agreed. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 14:27, 5 August 2012 (EDT)
::Seconded [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:04, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

== Allow external inline images ==

Hi. I'd like to propose that we set [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:$wgAllowExternalImages $wgAllowExternalImages] to true '''or''' add <tt>xkcd.com</tt> and some image hosting sites (such as <tt>imgur.com</tt>) to [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:$wgAllowExternalImagesFrom $wgAllowExternalImagesFrom]. If the former is set to true, external images will be allowed from any host, whereas if the former is kept as false but we add some sites to the latter (obviously adding xkcd's site itself seems to be the logical choice), then only images that are from whitelisted sites can appear as inline images. What this does is it allows external images to be displayed as an actual image, rather than just a link (note that sites not in the whitelist will still appear as just the link). Why? Because there's no way to display images without uploading them. Obviously some editors may wish to use images for non-wiki purposes, such as proposing alternative logos or for their userspace, in which case uploading the images to this site isn't entirely practical. Allowing externally hosted images to be displayed will alleviate that problem.

Yes, there is the risk of... less appropriate images being displayed, however, I consider that being a null argument, as editors could just as easily upload the image here and link it as an internal image. As well, using the whitelist alternative would limit the image to being posted from a trusted site, such as imgur. Finally, if worries about nude photos being posted is really a concern (seriously, what's stopping an editor from just uploading said image here? Nothing.), it's possible to only whitelist sites which don't permit nude images from being hosted on their site (such as <tt>imageshack.us</tt>), although I think that's a bit extreme (especially considering that imgur is hands down the most popular image host these days). {{User:Omega/sig}} 07:52, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

:I really don't see a compelling reason to have this. It's not about improper images or anything. (Note that we already have access to all images in [[commons:|Wikimedia Commons]], by the way, which has a large variety of images and other media, with the added benefit that we're sure they can be reused without licensing concerns). A specific whitelist could be interesting (e.g. we could hotlink the images from xkcd), but having the images here allows us to do neat things like categorizing them by topic, size, etc. Also, images like logo proposals, etc. do benefit from being uploaded here (for historical interest, for a guarantee that they won't be deleted wherever they're hosted, for better control regarding how they're displayed, etc.) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:27, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

== Latest comic handling ==

Currently the latest comic is handled automatically by the {{tl|LATESTCOMIC}} template, which tests the existence of pages like 1092, 1093 (supposed to be redirects to the corresponding comics), to see which is the highest-number existing page, and consider it the latest comic.

That way we can have the latest comic automatically transcluded on the main page.

But we cannot have, with that system, an automatic "Edit" link (to edit the latest comic) on the main page, nor can we have automatically the comments associated with that latest comic. The former was {{diff|5587|changed to a "Go to this comic" link}}, and the latter was {{diff|4940|removed}}. I think both of them are really useful things to have on the main page.

I've been thinking a little bit about this, and in the end I suggest that we handle manually the latest comic :
* There would be a single {{tl|latest comic}} template, which would have to be updated manually to return the full title of the latest comic's page (such as "1092: Michael Phelps").
* Next to the "Latest comic" header, on the front page, would be appended a "[update]" link, to a page explaining that to insert the new latest comic in the wiki: one needs to 1/ create a page titled "<number>: <title>" and 2/ update the {{tl|latest comic}} template with the new title.
* The "Edit this explanation" link could be put back on the main page, using something like <code><nowiki>[{{fullurl:{{latest comic}}|action=edit}} '''Edit this explanation''']</nowiki></code>. And I firmly believe that link is important. ({{diff|5598|*this*}} for instance is exactly what I'm talking about)
* The comments to the latest comic could be appended under the latest comic's transclusion, with something like <code><nowiki>{{ {{TALKPAGENAME: {{latest comic}} }} }}</nowiki></code>. They could be in a collapsible area if they take too much space. Same here than about the edit link, I believe that's really important to impel/motivate readers to leave their comments as well.
* Finally, when only the number is needed (such as in the computation of the number of missing explanations), this could be done via another template (for instance {{tl|latest comic number}}), automatic this time, which would replace the current {{tl|LATESTCOMIC}} by extracting the value out of {{tl|latest comic}} (with something like <code><nowiki>{{#explode:{{latest comic}}|:}}</nowiki></code>).

So, yes there would be a value to update manually, but that's not really much and if it's part of a process I don't think that would be a big drawback, and on the other hand I think it would be less error-prone than an automatic calculation, and allow more useful things. And make less use of redirects as well. Furthermore, the current {{tl|LATESTCOMIC}}, used quite a lot (in the sidebar, so in every page actually), makes heavy use of the <code><nowiki>{{#ifexist:...}}</nowiki></code> parser function, [[mw:Help:Extension:ParserFunctions##ifexist|qualified as "expensive"]], so even though it may not be a big deal it could be a better option to try to avoid that...

What do you think?

[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 16:53, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
:Quick interjection in the middle of this larger posting, but I've been playing around with a template that should radically simplify the exhaustive and expensive logic used by {{tl|LATESTCOMIC}} by using date math. It's been simmering in my test kitchen, and I'm fairly sure it's robust enough to roll out... just one thing: it would be much more efficient if we had the Variables extension (ie, ADMIN REQUEST) else there would be a lot of duplicate recalculation of the date. Not terrible, but not as good as it could be. See {{tl|LatestComicOnDate}} and the associated talk page for the guts of it. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 04:14, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

:A few considerations:
:* We can instead add the edit link directly to the comic page. It could be generated by the {{tl|comic}} template, which already has to be provided with both the number and the title of the comic (in fact those could even be automatically extracted from the page title with some [[mw:Extension:StringFunctions|string parsing functions]] or {{w|Template:Str number/trim|clever}} {{w|Template:Remove first word|templates}}). This should solve the "edit this comic" link issue.
:* Actually, the discussion part was hidden from the main page on purpose (although for a different reason: it was transcluding the main page's own talk page instead). I am not sure it's a good idea to include it in the main page as it could clutter it, but I can understand the point of putting it there. I would suggest perhaps including it directly rather than inside the {{tl|comic discussion}} box, as that would create a box on a box layout that I don't think would look too good. Note that there is no problem with needing the pagename here, since we can transclude a redirect (the same way the actual comic page is transcluded using only the number, which is a redirect).
:* I did see that edit and was thinking that we could probably display a custom info message whenever someone attempts to edit main page, so they'll know they ''can'' edit the actual comic page. I'll add that to my todo list.
:* Mediawiki itself will tell us when a potentially expensive parser function is being used too much, by placing the corresponding page in [[:Category:Pages with too many expensive parser function calls]]. So we don't need to be concerned with {{w|premature optimization}} :)
:--[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:16, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

::The edit link can be displayed, specifically on the main page, by the {{tl|comic}} template, that is true; it just seems wrong to me however, it's not his job to do so...
::As for the comments, they cannot be displayed by the template (unless we put them before the explanation), so we still don't have a solution for them; and I still believe they would be very useful on the main page, very appealing for readers to come and comment as well.
::So, problem still not solved I would say... - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 16:27, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

::: I don't see the problem with {{tl|comic}} displaying the edit link on the main page, especially since you consider using it to display the discussion as well (which, I agree, unfortunately isn't possible)
::: I added the discussion to the main page. It will depend on a redirect being created for the talk page as well every time a new comic is released, but it doesn't make it any harder. Compare:
:::# Create comic page at <nowiki>[[123: title]]</nowiki>
:::# Update <nowiki>{{latest comic}}</nowiki>
:::# Redirect <nowiki>[[123]] to [[123: title]]</nowiki> (it's necessary to allow people to get to the comic with only the number)
:::with:
:::# Create comic page at <nowiki>[[123: title]]</nowiki>
:::# Redirect <nowiki>[[123]] to [[123: title]]</nowiki>
:::# Redirect <nowiki>[[Talk:123]] to [[Talk:123: title]]</nowiki>
:::Therefore, I don't see a strong case for creating the <nowiki>{{latest comic}}</nowiki> template. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 20:31, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
:::
::::You're right, the two systems are equivalent in use; but then is there a strong case to keep the current one against using the one I suggested?
::::Currently we cannot get an "add a comment" link on the main page, and to put the "edit this explanation" banner below the explanation one has to put it on the comic page (and manually remove it once the comic is not the latest any more). And when there is no comments yet, the main page displays a weird red link (transclusion of the redirect page to a non-existant page) instead of displaying (for instance) a nice "''No comments yet''".
::::True, the {{tl|comic}} template could be used to, specifically on the main page, display something like "view page - edit - add a comment" on top-right, but that doesn't solve all these issues, and then the links wouldn't be at their ideal place. And one could argue that all the features I'm speaking about are not absolutely necessary, but I still think it would be better at least.
::::All in all, I can live with the current system, but I still believe a manually updated <nowiki>{{latest comic}}</nowiki> would allow, without cost, to set a better layout of content, navigation links and edit/comment links.
::::[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 16:46, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
::::
:::*I am in agreement that the goal should be to have the ability to comment directly onto the main page for the current comic.
::::Can all pages be formatted to look like the main page (ie header with number of comics explained/remaining and the 3 paragraphs at the end describing the site).
::::If this could be done (I don't think it would clutter the site as these take up very little space even on the main page), then could we just redirect the main page to the comic with the highest number? The function of the main page would not change as a new user would still see all information currently available on the main page, but it would have the added benefit of sending visitors to the desired location (the fully functional current comic page).
::::[[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 17:23, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

== How to reference strips? ==

I think we need to agree on a citation style for strips in plain prose. I.e. If the [[Black Hat]] article says "Black Hat first appears in ________", how are we filling that blank? In this case, the blank is [[29: Hitler]]. As I understand it, proper style for an "episode" name typically is quotes, so the stip is "Hitler". But there's still various options:

# "[[29: Hitler|Hitler]]" [quotes not linked]
# [[29: Hitler|"Hitler"]] [quotes linked]
# [[29: Hitler|Comic #29]]
# [[29: Hitler|#29]]
# [[29: Hitler]]
# "[[29: Hitler|Hitler]]" (29)
# "[[29: Hitler|Hitler]]" (#29)

etc.

Anyone have any opinions? [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 21:38, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

: Option 5. above seems the simplest, yet readable and informative. At most I'd prepend a # sign, like so: #[[29: Hitler]]. Being a link should be enough to differentiate it from the rest of the text (without needing quote signs). Alternatively, #7 also may be an acceptable option, but we'd need a template to make sure the formatting is maintained in all such references... I don't think it's worth the extra complexity. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 23:54, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
:: Whatever we decide, let's encode it into the <nowiki>{{xkcd}}</nowiki> and/or <nowiki>{{explain}}</nowiki> templates, and just agree to use those templates. That allows central administration of the stylistic issues and gives editors a simple rule to follow. Minor tweaks to either would afford that flexibility. Right now, they generate the links {{xkcd|29}} and {{explain|29}} respectively, though the latter can be {{explain|29: Hitler}} without much fuss. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 05:58, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
::: I support modifying the <nowiki>{{explain}}</nowiki> template to be along the lines of proposal number five. {{User:Omega/sig}} 09:20, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
:::: Five. yes. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:15, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

== Sidebar icons ==

Hi all. I hope you'll forgive my enthusiasm but I went ahead and implemented an icon theme for the sidebar (as well as more spacing between the links, for extra breathing room). What do you guys think of it? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 21:45, 11 August 2012 (UTC)
:I like it, but I'm not sure where you added them. Was that on a MediaWiki: page or one of the .css pages? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 01:39, 12 August 2012 (UTC)
::Both :) [[Mediawiki:Common.css]] --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 09:07, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

== Cueball/Rob ==

I noticed someone edited the character template to add an article for "[[Rob]]". I thought this might have just been a vandal edit, but I googled 'xkcd Rob' and discovered that indeed, a Cueball chracter has been referenced as Rob in several strips. Is there a reason Cueball hasn't been designated officially "Rob" just as [[Megan]] has been designated Megan by being named in a few strips? Do we have reason to believe that other Cueballs are non-Rob characters? PS: this might not be the right place for this discussion, but I'm not sure if anyone is reading article discussion pages at this point yet, and I thought that the name of the primary character might be a notable issue of discussion [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:07, 13 August 2012 (UTC)
:: I'm unclear on this as well. Cueball was just a name made up (I think here on this site) for the main character of the comic. Are there separate characters for Cueball and Rob? I'm not sure. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 15:52, 13 August 2012 (UTC)
:::I know that "Cueball" has now been severely grandfathered in, but I think we have to consider moving [[Cueball]] over to [[Rob]] and basically considering the Cueball character to be "Rob", in the same way as Megan, unless it's clear that the character isn't Rob, since Cueball, as noted, is not an official title. I'm somewhat leaning in this direction.

:::I do see some leakage of the term "Cueball" into other sites via a google search including xkcd forums. In the alternatively, I would suggest mentioning in the Cueball article that he has been referred to as "Rod" in some comics, but due to his lack of distinguishing physical traits, it is not always clear if a comic is depicting Rod, or a different character. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]])
::::I have to agree with this. When I first heard about the page on "Rob", I was a bit skeptical, as I couldn't recall hearing the name before and the page was ridiculous at the time. However, after looking him up to try and verify the page, I found a number of "Cueball" characters that were referred to as "Rob", officially (and even an instance where the transcript referred to the character as "Rob" when the comic didn't mention a name). TL; DR: The character we've all called "Cueball" seems to be more properly known as "Rob". {{User:Omega/sig}} 22:46, 14 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::{{explain|285|Citation needed...}} I, for one, would oppose the migration away from Cueball.
:::::# {{w|xkcd|Wikipedia}} has been silent on the matter, giving no more credibility to the apellation than Cueball.
:::::# Transcripts in xkcd typically (granted, with a few exceptions) refer to the various stick figures as Person 1, etc. Frequently, there are several stick figures, all essentially the same generic stick-figure shape. Rob is a specific proper noun, and it would be silly to suggest that each stick figure is named Rob. Cueball, on the other hand, while filling the role of a proper noun, is still generic enough to suggest the any-man nature of the figures. It is descriptive more than nominative.
:::::# Local color. That's part of what distinguishes this site from others, and part of why I've been coming back. I for one would be sad to see that replaced with MacDonalds-like sameness. I ''might'' reconsider if RM's About page definitively said "his name is Rob"... but only reluctantly.
:::::So -1 on the proposition to migrate away from Cueball. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 04:55, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

::::::To respond to your points, #1, Wikipedia is not official or a primary source; it's a community edit encyclopedia like this one. If you'd like me to go over there and reference "Rob", then all of a sudden Wikipedia will say Rob. Wikipedia isn't the source of credibility for xkcd imo. #2 is interesting, and I take it as a fair point (I'm not suggesting that in every case we see a Cueball it is the same character) but my interest here is consistency. Megan appears in many comic strips where she is listed as "person 2" in the transcript, such as [[1084]]. Should she be given a generic name other than where she is named (Cuebelle?) Similarly for #3, Megan is not refernced on the xkcd About page; it's about consistency. I understand color and such, but to an extent, when you take something that's a blog and turn it into a wiki style pseudo-encyclopedia, one of the casualties sometimes is color. It became inappropriate to use phrases like "I think" in explanations just because of the way the articles are perceived. In the same way, consistency is something that I think is important when going to this style format. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:26, 15 August 2012 (UTC)
::::::::::Just want to insert here that I laughed at "Cubelle" above, but though I enjoyed it, I'd have to say the visual similarity to Cueball would likely cause confusion. Props for the suggestion, though.--[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 18:51, 30 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::::* Agreed that Wikipedia is not official or primary, but it is ''de-facto'' (it's likely more linked-to than even xkcd.com is on this site, for some reason.) That standing gives it a level of authority no other site has except the source itself. And agreed, one could very easily go and add Rob, or Cueball, or some other designation to the character(s). But nobody to date has (or, if they have, it may very likely have been reverted, being subject to that evolutionary force Wikipedia in aggregate exerts on subjects there, on needing to be noteworthy.) So while not an absolute authority, it caries a gravitas that other than xkcd itself, no other site really posesses on the matter, and so far, it (the collective body of contributors) has not deemed it important to settle the matter.
:::::::* I'm also not altogether convinced that, in transmogrification from blog to wiki, it necessarily follows that we must become more Wiki''pedia''-like. The medium has afforded a democratization of information here, but not a requirement that information lose its local flavor to become some dessicated academic dissertation. "I think" is, in my opinion, as valid here as it always was, and mediawiki doesn't necessarily impose otherwise.
:::::::* As for consistency, it serves its purpose, but generally I'm not one to be ruled by hobgoblins.
:::::::Anyway, the foregoing being only my opinion, and having express it, I leave it at that. Other minds may differ. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 02:30, 16 August 2012 (UTC)
::::::::It seems to me that this discussion has moved away from Cueball/Rob, and perhaps is deserving of it's own section now. When this site was a blog, and not a wiki, there was a clear separation between Jeff's explanations in the main body of the post, and the comments below. For the most part, Jeff wrote in an "editorial voice", and I don't recall a lot of "I think", "In my opinion", etc in the main posting (there was an occasional "I don't get this, can anyone explain it?", but that's clearly different). I know, at least, I've tried to maintain that color here: in the main page, editorial voice; in the discussion section (included at the bottom of every page, usually), personal voice. I think that works well. In my opinion, I think that "I think" and "In my opinion" have no place where it's not clear who the speaker is. The main pages are group edited, and have no identified speaker, so I wouldn't put it there. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 02:53, 16 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::::::I concur that Wikipedia has ''some'' gravitas over any other site, and there is a reason it has links here (it is easier to link to an existing encyclopedia article on {{w|quantum physics}} than to start from scratch explaining it here. But in the same way that this may soon be a "wikipedia" for all things xkcd, that still doesn't make explainxkcd official. It may be considered a more reliable source of information than some random blogger, but that doesn't make it an official source. Wikipedia, notably, doesn't call Cueball anything. If it called him Cueball, that would be one thing - the name would have pervaded culture outside this website; but Wikipedia takes no position; I don't see how we can take Wikipedia's failure to reference the character at all and use this as a rationale to make any decision on this site one way or another.
:::::::::I will respond to BlaisePascal's editorial voice comment in a new section [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:40, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

== Default color? ==

Frankly, I'm not even sure this is an issue on the wiki's end vs. the browser's default, but I've noticed this with other wiki-based software. With the default of Blue links and Purple visited links, I've been noticing a lot lately that the Purple visited links are not really standing out from the otherwise black text. Not sure why this is. Is anyone else noticing this? I'm having a hard time finding wikilinks in text that I've already visited. Perhaps it's just me. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:37, 13 August 2012 (UTC)

: As a color blind user of explainxkcd, I'd like to put in a vote to up the contrast between visited and not links on the wiki. It doesn't need to be much, but more than it is now would be infinitely helpful. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:21, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

::Has this gone anywhere? I still find it hard to see the visited links (they now simply look like the rest of the text). And the unvisited links are hard to focus on. I'm not sure I can explain it any better. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:25, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

== Comments ==

Please let me know where the comments are for the latest comic. If
I'm not the only one who can't find them, can there be a link next to the comic?

== Editorial Voice ==

:''This section is split off in response to a comment by [[user:Blaisepascal]] in the Cueball/Rob discussion above.
I concur with Blaisepascal on the editorial voice issue. "first person" has no place in a wiki, as there is no single editor to be "I". I have a recollection that when the wiki started, Jeff said something about how in moving to a wiki, he had attempted to edit most of the explanations that has been moved over to remove most of the first-person references, but he invited others to continue this where he missed them. I can't, however, find this reference anywhere anymore. Assuming I am not making this up in my own mind, it's Jeff's site, so I think his style wishes are paramount.

I agree that most of the personal references on explainxkcd are things like "let's see if I get this right" or "Did I miss something?" or general bloggish comments like sorry I'm late to post; but there are other posts such as [http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/10/18/connected/ this one] in which part of Jeff's post was: "''This is another one of those xkcd's that I classify as "emo". [...] Since there is nothing to explain here, [...] I'll wait for the next comic that makes a joke about Lord of the Rings and wormholes or something''" when moved over here.

The wiki format changes the nature of the explanations. It makes them no longer one person's opinion on the meaning of a comic. It is now a wiki where members of the public will aim to have a complete and accurate explanation built from many editors' thoughts and corrections. I don't think the articles need have encyclopedic definity. I have no issue with phrases like "it appears" or "it may be" where something is ambiguous, but "I think" or "I did a Google search" are not wikipropriate. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:44, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

:For the most part I completely agree. But I think that the explanations should not be boring. Even without personal pronouns, many of them have a congenial tone, not an overbearing one.

:For example, when I brought over [[1030: Keyed]], I took out the personal pronouns, but I left in the comment "Oh Beret Guy, never change." I started coming to the site, in part, because of the tone. I think that that should be preserved despite the inherent non-oneness of the wiki. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:08, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

:: But the tone should not reflect individuals' tastes. Let the reader decide. --[[User:Smartin|Smartin]] ([[User talk:Smartin|talk]]) 04:47, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

== Discussion comments link? ==

*Does anyone else think that the {{tl|comic discussion}} template should have an argument added for some way to display a link to the comments section of the original blog posts for older comics? [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:48, 16 August 2012 (UTC)
**I'm not sure that it would always be clear what the comments are referring to since the explanation may differ from the original.-[[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 21:21, 20 August 2012 (UTC)
***I hear you, and that's a valid point; but it seems a shame to just discard the upwards of a hundred comments that sometimes took place on the old blog. I guess it also matters whether [[User:Jeff]] intends to delete the blog version at some point given the wiki. If it is going to stay up, why not link to the archived comments? The original blog post would be viewable there as well, if there were any differences relevant to those comments. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:03, 21 August 2012 (UTC)
*I would, however, like something to be done about the issue of new users finding the discussion section from the explain wiki main page. A suggestion I saw recently on the old site by rewq^ suggesting changing 'go to this comic' to 'comments' would solve the problem. I think it could also be changed to 'go to comments' - [[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 21:21, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

That's an inventive answer to an intesreting question

== LiveJournal content ==

I've noticed that people are putting content from Randall's LiveJournal account into comic articles here, which I think is good. But I'd like to make some style suggestions around that.

Let's look at {{explain|42}}. Now, until someone explicitly pointed it out, I had no idea xkcd started on a LiveJournal account, so comments like "Original quote" or "Original comment" or "Original title" were confusing to me. I had no idea the source of this information. Now that I know better, my suggestions are as follows:

# These shouldn't be listed as "trivia". This is official content. I would suggest perhaps this be included in a "Background" section with any other background info on the comic (e.g. for some recent comics, it might reference Randall's fiancée's health issues for relevant comics).
# This "Background" section contains official content and more official than the "Explanation". The Background section should therefore go first.
# The section should be written in prose, not point form. My sample replacement for the above article would be "this comic was originally posted on Randall's LiveJournal account with the comment "''No laughing, 'less you want some of this too! *hefts golf club menacingly*''". Randall listed his mood at the time as "sick". The comic was actually the Xth comic posted on the LiveJournal account, and was included out-of-order when it was numbered as part of ''xkcd''.
# I think [[LiveJournal]] should have a brief article about the original LJ account.
# I note that on other wiki's including, for example [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Family_(episode) Memory alpha (example)] and on Wikipedia, they often have boxes showing the 'previous'/'next' things on a list (prev/next songs to hit #1 on different music charts, or prev/next tv episodes produced vs. aired). Should we give thought to creating a short sub-list of the Order comics were actually posted on the Livejournal so you can prev/next through that list?

Thoughts? [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 22:17, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

:I added most of the LJ related "Trivia" just to get it into the wiki. I think expanding it would be nice, but I'm a bit lazy :) I did add a new category for the LJ posts, so they should be easier to find. There are still a few that do not (that I can find) appear in LJ, so I left as "undated" - but added the undated category that someone else had created. I was also considering creating a list ordered by LJ posting order on the LJ category page (to be created) to at least preserve some of the nostalgia. Is there another pre-xkcd site besides LJ that posts might have appeared in? Or are these "undated" posts possibly others that were just lumped into the "early posts" on xkcd? --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 21:05, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

::There are three undated comics that I found (and I noted them on the "big board" of all comics at [[list of all comics]]. If no one disagrees, I will start moving sections when I have time and creating any new sections as "Background" rather than "Trivia" where the sections relate to the history or backstory of the comic itself. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 16:04, 20 August 2012 (UTC)
:::The three undated comics do not appear on LiveJournal, just on the xkcd.com site. Given that (a) all of the comics on LJ from before 2006-1-1 are dated 2006-1-1 on xkcd, (b) all the ones after are dated with the same dates as on LJ, and (c) the three undated comics appear in the middle of the pre-2006 comics on LJ, I suspect that [[Randall]] posted them to the xkcd site first, and as part of a batch of comics he posted to bootstrap the site. So it's entirely likely that the 2006-1-1 date is accurate. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 16:18, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

I added, in the "Trivia" section, a "thread" tying all the LJ comics together, in order. In doing so, I also added the half-dozen or so LJ comics not yet added. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 16:18, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

== Programmatically Accessing Comics ==

I think there should be a way for other websites to view* explanations, (discussions?), etc programmatically.

This could be used for the [http://explainxkcd.com front page], or a website wanting to show an explanation of a comic that is always up-to-date and correct, etc.

<nowiki>*</nowiki> I wrote view, but it could also be edit.

--[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]

:This could be done with json responses to individual pages including the current explanation for that comic. Similar to how the xkcd json api works now. I don't know if that is feasible in php though. I'm currently on a RoR craze though, so maybe there's an easier and less over-engineered solution I don't know about. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:18, 20 August 2012 (UTC)
::A cheap way out would be to have PHP page access the SQL DB and yank the necessary text from there. This could be useful for a naitive mobile app. Also, this site needs a mobile version. --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]

== New Edit Explanation Image/Link (Introduced 9/22/12) ==

Some initial thoughts.
*Will this be a permanent part of each comic? I would not be in favor of each comic in the archives having this disclaimer/large repetitive image as part of the explanation. Instead, can this just be part of the most recent comic?
*The other issue I have is that main page now has one direct link to editing the explanation (the thing least done by users) and none to editing discussion/adding comments (the thing most done by users). I see that the talk page is now displayed on the main page, which I think is a good thing, but I hope that someone can also get the 'add a comment' link on the main page as well.
*In the end I feel there should be links for editing the explanation and adding comments/discussion on the main page and that these links should be proportional in size to their traffic by users (re the link for adding to the discussion should be equal to or larger than the link for the explanation).
--[[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 14:26, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

:A few pointers about that:
:* I introduced the "edit explanation" image/link below the explanation I gave for today's comic, mainly because I felt what I had written ''was'' indeed incomplete (I was lacking an explanation for the "[has only one review]" part and for the title text). So in a way that was some sort of calling for help with the explanation. And once done I thought it was a good idea to have a highly visible "edit" link for the latest comic explanation on the main page (''"so that people seeing something they could add would feel invited to do so (wiki style). In my opinion this would be a good way to improve the quality of the user-generated explanations"'', as I said [[Talk:Main Page#Direct link to latest comic|here]]).
:* Later on, I added the "may be incorrect" notion in the banner, because I saw that people having different explanations only mentioned them in the comments, instead of editing my explanation (which after all could be wrong). So I fear there's some sort of "we don't touch what has been done" effect, where the first explanation given will be more likely to stick and not be corrected by readers who are not used to the idea that they can edit it (actually, if someone has a better explanation than the one I put, I'd be happy to see it corrected!).
:* That edit banner should not be a permanent part of each comic. My opinion is that it should stay on the latest comic's page (even when the explanation could be considered complete) until there is a new comic, in order to invite as much people as possible to share their explanation; and it should also, of course, be on the comic pages for which the explanation is considered incomplete, for instance [[51: Malaria|this]] (empty) or [[46: Secrets|that]] (partial only).
:* It would be nice indeed to have also, on the main page, a direct link to add a comment (exactly like the one on [[1098: Star Ratings|the comic page]]), but that is currently not feasible automatically. This is one of the reasons why I suggested an other way to handle the latest comic (see [[#Latest comic handling]] above), which I actually still think would be better, and in particular which would allow to do all that (including the edit banner) nicely automatically from the main page.
:[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 15:20, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

==Notice templates==
I would like to suggest a template for a notice saying "this page requires copy editing," and one saying "this page may be unclear in its meaning," or something of the sort for each. the comic posted on 8/22/12 could use both of these. (unsigned comment by [[User:Dave|Dave]] 19:11, 23 August 2012‎ )

:I agree. I discussed this matter with [[User:Blaisepascal]] in respect of his template {{tl|Incomplete}} on its talk page. I have updated that template to {{tl|Incomplete/beta1}} and created {{tl|ambox}} as a generic message box ''xkcd''-style where other message templates can be created and color coded like on wikipedia, such as the ones you suggest.

:Unfortunately, because of the image scaling issues, the ambox template displays two broken images at the moment which we agreed shouldn't replace the existing template until the images are unbroken. I'm not sure anyone is working on the image scaling problem, is one of the issues. In any event, I also don't see the point in creating other notice templates until the issue is fixed and we can use the standardized template. I'm really hoping someone is working on the image scaling problem... [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 16:36, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

:: I changed the template to use the {{tl|notice}} template that is already being used in several places. I'll delete {{tl|ambox}} as it's redundant, but the styling of {{tl|notice}} can be changed if such is desired. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 02:40, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

== Denoting comic "series" ==

There are several "series" of comics. Is there a better/prefered way of notating these? Currently I have been creating a "Category:Series Name", e.g. (not all of these exist yet)
* [Category:Comics featuring Barrel Boy](1-5) (Should this be just "Barrel Boy"?)
* [Category:Journal](1-5)
* [Category:The Race](1-5)
* [Category:My Hobby](random)
* [Category:1337](1-5)
* [Category:Choices](1-5)
* [Category:Parody Week](5 in this "series", but others fit the genre)
* [Category:Red Spiders](4 in this "genre", 2 explicitly numbered)
* [Category:Secretary](1-5)
* [Category:Five-Minute Comics](1-3)
* [Category: Guest Week](5 comics, but not exactly a "series").

I usually also create a REDIRECT of "Series Name" to "Category: Series Name"(breaks for "Journal", as it is also a comic title.
Should we have another meta-category for series comics? What about a [Series:Series Name] "category"? or does that break wiki? --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 23:33, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

== Categories for Proposals Page ==

Maybe just simply two categories, resolved and unresolved? --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]

Or stickers that say Open/Closed. --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]

== Moving the Wiki {{done|Closed}}==

What if explainxkcd.com/wiki was move to explainxkcd.com and explainxkcd.com would be moved to explainxkcd.com/blog? --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]

+1 (44)

-1 (0)

: That's my plan long term. That might make a lot of things like shortURL possible. Just have to get some time to get it sorted out. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 19:58, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
<hr />
Sorry if your votes don't appear immediately. I will have them update automatically soon. Hopefully. And if you clicked my signature wanting to +1 this page, sorry for the confusion. DanB and Lcarsos, your +1's have been added to the count. --[[User:Grep|grep]]:[[User_talk:Grep|talk]]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=p&f=ex_grep applaud]:[http://arthurmigdal.com/vote/vote.php?a=c&f=ex_grep smite]
:+1 from me. --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 14:36, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
:+1 as well. I keep hitting the blog when I mean to go to the wiki. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 15:00, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

== Chart type comics ==

Some comics (circuit diagram, US states,eyes sights, among others) are in a characteristic chart format- where it is all based around a chart of some kind or the other. Should we have a separate template for them, for the type of comics?

And somebody should actually create all the pages in the required format without explanations, so that other users can fill on the explanation. I can give explanations, but need somebody to make the pages first

[[User:TheOriginalSoni|TheOriginalSoni]] ([[User talk:TheOriginalSoni|talk]]) 17:05, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

:All the images have been uploaded, and a template exists at [[User:Blaisepascal/newcomictemplate]] that can be copied/pasted into a new comic page that just needs to be filled in. [[User:Lcarsos]] has written a [[User:Lcarsos#Ruby_importer_script|Ruby importer script]] that will create an almost-ready-to-upload page for you. All you need to do is fill in the explanation, proof-read, and add useful Wiki links. You don't need special privileges to create new pages.
:Personally, I find comic pages devoid of explanation counter to the intent of this site, and I try not to create them. If I put up a page, I try to make sure it has an explanation. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 18:22, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

:I agree with Blaisepascal. If a comic does not have an explanation its page should not exist so that it is easy to tell how much work there is left to be done. If suddenly all the pages are created, but none of them have explanations, a passing user won't know that there is still work to be done, and potentially won't pitch in to help complete the site.
:As far as charts go, be sure to tag them with [[:Category:Charts]] and I like to change the transcript into a wiki table format. Of course, if the page doesn't have a transcript section then be sure you get the transcript from xkcd's json api (There is information about how to work it in [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Coordination#Issue dates]], as well as my [[User:Lcarsos#Ruby Importer scipt|Ruby script]] pulls in the transcript if it exists. You're still on your own to get the explanation from the blog (I'm working on that)).
:[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:57, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

== New Categories ==
(cut from Chart Type Comics section above, as seems new topic) [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 00:14, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

Ok. Also, add a new section for proposing templates. We can have a very varied range of templates, like 'Comics with Black Hat', 'Comics with Raptor reference' etc... That will provide a useful ground for comparision of the most common themes [[User:TheOriginalSoni|TheOriginalSoni]] ([[User talk:TheOriginalSoni|talk]]) 16:44, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
:From context, I assume that by "templates", you mean "categories"? [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 18:00, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

:I think you'd benefit from taking a gander at [[:Category:Comics by featured characters]] and [[:Category:Comics by topic]]. I think we're still debating what to do about comics with actual people in them. But that will get you a good start. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:55, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

:: I'd be okay with creating a [[:Category:Comics featuring real people]] and including sub-categories for Cory Doctorow, the Firefly cast, RMS, Ron Paul, and other recurring real-life people.
:: But then, my general philosophy is more links, more pages, more explanation the better. One-shot fictional characters (like ponytail-Sarah in [[84: National Language]]) probably don't need their own category/page, though.[[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 02:06, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

:::I really like that idea. I too am of the more categories tribe, but I prefer them to be properly nested. I want to try my hand at creating categories let me see if I can do this. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 00:54, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

::::Okay, the beginnings are in place. Though I used [[:Category:Comics featuring real people]] as most comics that reference these people, in fact, feature them. I've also created a [[Playpen balls]] category under [[:Category:Comics by topic]] as it seems to me that it's referenced enough that it's necessary.

::::Question: Should we mirror Featured Characters by also having a page for each character and a Category:Real people, or will the Category pages be good enough?

::::The categories are going to get/are getting crowded with all the categories, is there a better way to represent them rather than a list? I'm thinking something that looks like [[:Template:navbox-characters]] except it needs to maintain the link on highlighted items, and it needs to be capable of multiple highlights. I think it would need sections for Featured Characters, Real people, Series (Barrel boy, Secretary, The Race), and Recurring Topics. What I mean by multiple highlights is, if they exist in that comic, i.e. if a comic features Black Hat, Cueball, Cory Doctorow, and Playpen balls, all of those should be highlighted.

::::[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 02:37, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

It looks like a good time to resurrect this topic. So, If you are going to categorize pages into a category that doesn't exist yet. MAKE SURE that you create the category page, don't just let it be a red link. That looks so sloppy. While on the subject of sloppy, Alphabetize by type the categories on the comic page. I go: Main characters, minor characters, real people, topics, series.

My personal requirements for making a category:
*For new topics
**For new topics, must be the central topic of ''at least'' two comics, with a few more tangentially related.
**It should be something that someone reads and goes "I wonder if there are more comics about this?" It is not simply creating a tag cloud for a post on a blog. That metaphor is gone. These are categories, like sections in an index to a book, or rather an ''encyclopedia''.
**A perfect example of this is [[User:Bpothier|Bpothier]]'s introduction of [[:Category:Comics with color]]. I've often wanted a list of all xkcds to date that have color on them. You'll know you've hit on something when another editor starts going through the pages and adding them to the new category.
*For new recurring characters
**They must recur. This seems obvious, but Adrian Lamo (for example, {{Wiktionary|AFAIK}}), only appears in [[1337: Part 3]]. This is a useless category if there are no other comics he appears in. It only goes to clutter up other, well populated categories.
*For other new categories
**You better have a damn solid case for why you have added a category that wasn't a sub-category of [[:Category:Comics by topic]] or [[:Category:Comic series]]. ''And if you do'', '''be polite''' and present it on the community portal so that the circling editors don't come in like brain-dead vultures to tear apart and re-parent your new category.

It is brain dead easy to create a page (spam bots do it all the time). It is much more complicated to get a page deleted by an admin once it has been created. You can tag it [[:Category:Pages to delete]], but non-spam pages marked this aren't often cleaned out. What I'm trying to say here is, be judicious in picking the names of pages you want to create. It's a pain to have to move Comics featuring Barrel Boy into a [[Barrel]] category.

Also, categorizing a page as something because of the explanation is not ok. These categories are here to group comics together, not as a general tag cloud for the wiki.

'''TL;DR:''' When creating a new category, create the goddamn category page (red links icky) and have ''at least'' 2 pages in the category. For big changes come here and ask first. [http://dontbeadickday.com/ Wil Wheaton says: "Don't be a dick!"]

Questions, comments, improvements, pies to the face accepted. Being-non-useful/criticism-with-intent-to-destroy is rude.

[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:28, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

:No, Lcarsos, don't hold back; please tell us what you really think! ;-) All kidding aside, these suggestions seem really pretty good. There may be some subjectivity in terms of what constitutes contributing to a tag cloud vs the categorization you mention here. But as you point out, that understanding is likely to evolve: if one creates a category that somebody else runs with it, that's a pretty good indicator. I'm glad this categorization has been going on as it has; were it not for my ''de facto'' role as ''Grim Spammer-Reaper'' I'd be in there helping sort and categorize 'em all, too. So huge thanks! -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 05:45, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

::Just to clarify, I assume what you mean by "''Alphabetize by type the categories on the comic page. I go: Main characters, minor characters, real people, topics, series.''" is that one should ''group'' categories by type, and then alphabetize within them? If that's the case, I don't see any major issue with that; that said, I tend to add categories by deemed 'importance', i.e. I would add comics featuring Cueball before comics featuring Black Hat or Beret Guy just because Cueball is the central character in the series. Similarly, I would also reorder so that "series" comes before topic, if not before characters as well. The first category a "My Hobby" comic comes into, in my mind, is the "My Hobby" category. Only then is it a comic that happens to feature Cueball, or happens to be on the topic of computers. That's my personal view of it. The only reason I would keep characters first is because it's the most common category type a comic will fall into. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:26, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

== Randall in Comics ==

In comic 541 (TED Talk), Randall uses a Cueball character to refer to himself. How should this be included in the Wiki? Cited: http://xkcd.com/541/ AWiseGuy (talk) 21:50, 1 September 2012 (UTC)

:I think, since he also seems to appear as himself in [[1057: Klout]] it would be appropriate to create a [[:Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]] and parent it to [[:Category:Comics featuring real people]]. I'll let you do that. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:51, 1 September 2012 (UTC)

== Characters appearing only by name. ==

I've noticed that in several comics, known and named characters appear by name only without any physical appearance. Off the top of my head, I can think of Miss Lenhart (who actually appears twice by name before making her first real appearance: http://xkcd.com/135/ and in http://xkcd.com/416/) and Rob in comic 1102. I think these should be included as appearances, or under some other related but separate category, because they do provide character development. Thoughts on this? [[User:AWiseGuy|AWiseGuy]] ([[User talk:AWiseGuy|talk]]) 19:51, 2 September 2012 (UTC)

:I consider references to be apperances. Anyone interested in reading all comics relating to that character or looking for a specific comic featuring that character might be remmebering one where it was a mention by name, not by apperance, and they should be included in the categories for ease of reference, IMO. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 20:13, 4 September 2012 (UTC)

There's also Cory Doctorow, and I personally would like to know more about him. I came to explainxkcd to find out who he is, and he's not even mentioned. So he should be added to this list of characters by name.{{unsigned|‎205.189.255.122}}

== Also explain cartoons from the XKCD book? ==

Hi!
As many of you surely know, many comics from the main site were featured in the book xkcd: volume 0. Some of them where altered or had extra explanations. Moreover, there where quite a few riddles and new comics in the book, which should be explained here, too. The forums did a great job on solving the great big riddles which lead to the legendary "official" XKCD-meetup with Randall. --[[Special:Contributions/137.193.213.160|137.193.213.160]] 09:37, 3 September 2012 (UTC)
:Oops, for got to log in, this suggestion came from me: [[User:Gefrierbrand|Gefrierbrand]] ([[User talk:Gefrierbrand|talk]]) 09:48, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

== Just add 'explain' before the 'xkcd.com' ==

You know how you there are services like [http://www.youtuberepeat.com YouTube Repeat] which let you go to the corresponding part of their site by just adding `repeat` before the `.com` of the YouTube video URL?

Likewise, let us just add `explain` before the `xkcd.com` part in any comic URL and let it redirect us to the appropriate wiki post. For example: `explainxkcd.com/1000` would redirect to `http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1000`. I think since the site is based on PHP, it'd be very easy to just send a 301 Redirect header along.

This will be of immense comfort and will probably see me and others using ExplainXKCD.com a lot mre ! Happy reading :)

{{unsigned|YatharthROCK|15:17, 16 September 2012}}

:In a way, that's the plan... per [[#Moving the Wiki ✓ Closed|#Moving the Wiki]] above, the `/wiki` part would disappear, and with shortURL at the same time (mentioned there and at other places as well), the `index.php?title=` would disappear as well. Therefore, explainxkcd.com/1000 would get you the [[1000]] page, which itself redirects to the explanation of the comic ([[1000: 1000 Comics]]). So I guess the only issue is: when will this be done?... - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 10:38, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
:: I'd LOVE this working. I've worked on this a bunch and only succeeded in bricking the site. If anyone has any advice, I'd love the help. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:04, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

:::I don't think that there is a wiki way to do this, as I've never set up mediawiki before (I should get around to it though). But from 10,000 feet it appears to me that all of the wiki software lives inside a /wiki/ directory on the server, and the blog lives in the root directory. Currently, all of mediawiki's pages are being generated by being passed GET variables, and all of WordPress' pages are being generated by its use of mod_rewrite (why the difference, I don't know. I've never set up mediawiki, and thus never had to try to get mod_rewrite working for it). This is a problem, because any url sent to the server such as explainxkcd.com/1000 is causing the server to look for a directory named 1000, and when it doesn't find it, it invokes mod_rewrite and passes 1000 to the index.php of the root directory as a search term, which activates WordPress which searches for any entries dated in the year 1000 (Wordpress treats the first "directory" as the year), naturally none exist so WordPress generates a 404 error.

:::While the blog exists, I think the only way to do this would be to write a .htaccess that conditionally reroutes directory misses to /wiki/ so something like explainxkcd.com/1000 would be sent to explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1000 but explainxkcd.com/2012/04 would still be sent to WordPress to find entries posted in April 2012.

:::As soon as we can get rid of the blog (which is not yet, because there are a lot of explanations still there that haven't been migrated over) the logic that has to be in the .htaccess becomes much simpler. Anything gets redirected to explainxkcd.com/wiki/. I say anything, and I mean anything because URI requests for anything under explainxkcd.com/wiki/ apache will find the /wiki/ directory and pass everything into there (mod_rewrite or as it currently is) and anything not matchin the /wiki/ directory can be 302'd into /wiki/ for the wiki to find it.

:::I hope that makes sense. If that's too long, let me sum up. '''TL;DR:''' Not very feasible until all explanations in the blog are in the wiki and we can get rid of WordPress.

:::--[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:52, 13 November 2012 (UTC)
::: Yup - I certainly would be using htaccess file and that's the approach that has NOT worked in the past. It is possible it needs some tweaking so that it works for the wiki. I'm not sure. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 19:09, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Hi, joining the conversation: Could we perhaps also ask the original administrator of explainxkcd to redirect the address of his site here? It'll be easier to get here and it might generate more traffic as well. --[[User:Castriff|Jimmy C]] ([[User talk:Castriff|talk]]) 01:48, 18 December 2012 (UTC)

:The person you would want to talk about that is Jeff. The very same Jeff that started, and is bureaucrat of this wiki. So, read the conversation that happened above, and you'll see some of the technical reasons why this hasn't happened yet. And again, I ask that you please comment in chronological order, and that you don't add your comment in a place that it disrupts all of the nested conversation that's already happened. There was an entire comment thread that you put your new comment in the middle of. It was hard to tell if you wanted to reply to this section's OP or anyone else in that thread. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 08:22, 18 December 2012 (UTC)

== Add explanations for what-if.xkcd.com ==
A new [http://what-if.xkcd.com sub-site] from Randall calls for new explanations.
This might not need quite as much explaining, but it is worthy of reference anyway.
--[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 16:01, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

:I think Randall actually does quite a good job of explaining everything in what-if. If we had a go at it, it would pretty much just be a page with a link to general and special relativity pages of wikipedia. Other than that, he provides links for almost everything he discusses. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:21, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

:But we may want to discuss his topics among ourselves. I am reading the lightning topic today, and wishing I could comment on it or add fragments of my own experience to it.[[User:Noni Mausa|Noni Mausa]] ([[User talk:Noni Mausa|talk]]) 11:32, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
:
::...then you have http://forums.xkcd.com, made exactly for that purpose; in particular: [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=94449 xkcd • View topic - What-if 0016: Lightning].
::Don't want to seem unfriendly here, I'm not trying to "get you out of here", it's just that if you want to ''discuss his topics'', ''comment on it or add fragments of your own experience to it'', then I believe that would be the best place for you to do so; and where you could find other people to share it, as well.
::[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 17:38, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
:: Thanks, I will go have a look. I'm somewhat of a newbie, quod erat demonstrandum.[[User:Noni Mausa|Noni Mausa]] ([[User talk:Noni Mausa|talk]]) 02:37, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

== News Links ==
Certain pages have custom news links.
Many use the generic news link, which these days refers to what-if.xkcd.com.
Template "comic" should probably explcitly support and display custom news.
(An effort should be made at times to scan for updated news.)
--[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 16:01, 5 October 2012 (UTC)
: And, of course, there should be a category for anything with custom news. --[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 16:05, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

== New List requests ==

List of comics related to cancer -
(Umwelt, 818,828,836,925,931,933)

[Keep on adding new requests below this]
[[User:TheOriginalSoni|TheOriginalSoni]] ([[User talk:TheOriginalSoni|talk]]) 18:24, 21 October 2012 (UTC)
: Good suggestion. One observation... this is essentially a democratic institution, so feel free to put the catagory tags on each of these pages and get those editorial props due to you for recommending the category. I'm guessing <nowiki>[[Category:Cancer]]</nowiki> should be a good start. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 23:06, 21 October 2012 (UTC)

== Disambiguation ==

Ok, I think we need to start considering disambiguation pages.

Off the top of my head there's
*[[17: What If]] and [[what if?]]
*[[786: Exoplanets]] and [[1071: Exoplanets]]

If you search "what if" the redirect takes you to the [[17: What If]]. I've added a note to that page that links to [[what if?]].

[[Exoplanets]] (the title redirect) is an informal disambiguation page. But, neither comic links to the other one in case someone clicks links and gets to the wrong page.

In terms of notes on pages that there is a disambiguation page that they might be looking for, I think that the note should be made under the comic template so that people clicking the next/previous links don't have to move their cursor (I find nothing more infuriating than having a next/previous link move around as I'm browsing a website).

Anyone else? Thoughts? [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 15:42, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

== RSS Feed ==

We need a new RSS feed so people using news readers can easily be notified of new comics. {{unsigned|67.186.234.12}}

:First and foremost, a disambiguation: '''We are not xkcd'''. We are a group of people who love xkcd and sometimes a joke goes over our head, and we'd go into fits of OCD rage if we don't understand every joke in xkcd.

:If you want to read xkcd, subscribe to the RSS feed that [[Randall]] provides. [http://xkcd.com/rss.xml here's a link] A new xkcd is posted at midnight eastern (US East coast) of every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

:We are just here for the explanation, which is community based. It takes quite a few edits from many people before an explanation is really explained-to-death and every joke found and beaten with a club to extract maximum joke-explanation value. But there's usually a fairly substantial effort at an explanation by noon eastern. That's about the best we can offer you.

:--[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:19, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

== Comic Difficulty score ==

We should add a difficulty score to each page. Each XKCD comic could be awarded a score based on the number of people that have to visit explainxkcd.com on the day a comic is posted and a couple days after. Inspired by comic: http://www.xkcd.com/1137/

Jim

Hehe, that is a cool idea! --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 22:06, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

== Contributions and revert buttons ==

The main vandalism comes from IP adresses, and one IP may attack more than one page when it logs on. So its best to have a contributions link show up beside user page and talk page for every page history and signature; and wherever else it is used that way.

Also a quick way to deal with vandalism is to have two buttons on the show history page-
1. Revert this edit [undo] (for all, including IP users, not just normal users)
2. Revert to this edit (Just beside every edit on the edit history)

These two buttons (links, whatever u call them) will make it much more efficient for vandal-reverters to tackle them down.

[[User:TheOriginalSoni|TheOriginalSoni]] ([[User talk:TheOriginalSoni|talk]]) 20:08, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

Oh and an easy template to keep tagging vandals, and vandalism affected articles, as well as a quick way to say that whatever we are doing is editing vandalism. I truly would not want to press any more than 4 buttons/clicks ideally on one page when I am trying to revert edits.

The tagging vandals and vandalism affected pages will help admins keep fast track of whos the worst vandal and block that range of IPs from editing (except to submit edit request to admins) and which are worst affected pages (to protect them) [[User:TheOriginalSoni|TheOriginalSoni]] ([[User talk:TheOriginalSoni|talk]]) 20:15, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

== Subsection for title text explanation ==

Hey! On trial I created subsections for some longer explanations of the title text on some pages, like this: [[804: Pumpkin Carving#Explanation]]. Do you think that is helpful? – [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 22:22, 23 November 2012 (UTC)
:Good idea. In some cases it might be the best choice. I just did that on [[1074: Moon Landing]] too :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 19:01, 26 November 2012 (UTC)

:Making a special sub-section for the title text only makes sense for large explanations. Explanations that are maybe only 2-3 scrappy paragraphs, and then an explanation of the title text, is not so dense that it is hard to find it. I like this as an idea, but I think that only the really large explanations should have the subsection. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:34, 17 December 2012 (UTC)

== Explain other webcomics too? ==

How about we explain other webcomics too, e.g. Penny Arcade? --[[User:SurturZ|SurturZ]] ([[User talk:SurturZ|talk]]) 02:36, 3 December 2012 (UTC)
:Good god, no. We've barely even finished xkcd. All these explanations pages still need a lick of polish, and there's still heaps of red links in the list of all comics page. Also, the wiki's called explainxkcd. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:38, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

== Whatever Happened to the Template? & Transcript Redirect ==

I've been using the template whenever I make a new page for an explanation, but I think it's been gone for a couple of weeks now. Does anyone think they could possibly resurrect it? I'm just here to explain, I'm really not a pro with the technical details, so please bear with me.

Also, I got to thinking: In the List of All Comics, there are redirects for the Number, the Title, and the Talk pages, but has anyone thought about making a redirect for the transcript? I'm pushing for transcript help in a bunch of different areas mostly because I think people have been filling it in themselves without going to the site.
--[[User:Castriff|Jimmy C]] ([[User talk:Castriff|talk]]) 02:07, 18 December 2012 (UTC)

== Add unexplained strips ==

At the moment, browsing through the explanations using the previous and next buttons is interrupted whenever there's an explanation missing.

I think adding a page with the strip fr all of those with a short message like "no one has explained this yet, want to give it a shot?" would make the wiki easier to browse through and will get more strips explained faster.

:I don't think that would happen. If suddenly it was much easier for people to skip over pages that had no explanation, I think they would do exactly that, skip right over it. On the same side of that coin, If suddenly there are no longer any red links on the [[List of all comics]] then everyone perusing that page assumes that all the comics have been explained and don't need to contribute any more. It's astonishing how quickly an [[589: Designated Drivers|embedded]] red link gets an explanation page created simply to get rid of the red link.

:Secondarily, ''many'' of the pages created recently aren't being created with their numerical and titular redirects. Without the numerical redirect, the comic template can't find that there is a previous/next comic to link to. Every once in a while somebody will go through and try to notice all the pages that don't have their redirects created but it's an unscientific process that only happens occasionally. If we could get every joe blow that comes in and vomits up a poorly done explanation to create the redirects I wouldn't be quite as annoyed at their lack of show-don't-tell-manship. But, since they can't be bothered to put the date in the comic template, I doubt we'll ever get people to create the redirects.

:'''TL;DR:''' No more red links, no more work gets done on the back catalog.

:--[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 14:28, 21 December 2012 (UTC)

== xplainkcd.com ==

When I first saw this site I thought it should definitely be at xplainkcd.com or at least redirect from that url {{unsigned|115.166.22.158|12:45, 3 January 2013 (UTC)}}

: I like that idea! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 13:28, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

:Yeah! If it's possible, it would be cool! At least as a redirect. -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 15:46, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

== Section style and usage ==

I am new here and I'm trying to get up to speed with the culture. I have a few questions about how and where to use sections (== this ==). I am more willing to go with (and enforce) whatever norms there are here, but I have not seen them actually discussed.

# '''Is it OK to create sections in Discussion pages?''' I have been told no, but there are many examples extant of this usage in this Wiki and indeed in Wikipedia.
# '''Section title case''' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Capital_letters#Acronyms Wikipedia's style guide] recommends sentence case, not title case. There are many title cased section headers here.
# '''Links''' I do not have a reference for this but it seems to me putting links in section code (== [[<nowiki>this</nowiki>]] == ) is bad form.

Last note -- it's understood if these bylaws have not yet been written. I can see that a few of you have made a huge personal investment to make this Wiki what it is today, and that is a credit to you all -- this is awesome! As a long-time aficionado of xkcd I applaud your work and look forward to further collaboration.
--[[User:Smartin|Smartin]] ([[User talk:Smartin|talk]]) 04:15, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

:As a general rule, we stick to the standard format that existing pages follow, with an optional trivia section below the transcript. Some zealous editors like to add other sections though, which tend to be for the most part unneeded or redundant. If something you want to add doesn't help to explain the comic in some way, but the inclusion of which would somehow still add to the page, *and* it doesn't fall under the trivia category, a new section is warranted. This isn't the case most of the time though, so editors usually fold the content of extraneous sections into "Explanation" or "Trivia." We have no policy on links in titles, and they're allowed so long as they are appropriate; the link is useful and can't be folded into the section itself. And we use title case for titles cuz it just makes sense. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:08, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

:We generally do not (or at least, discourage) use sections on the talk/discussion pages for explanation pages. This is purely for looks. The comic discussion section of the explanation page looks/feels wrong if there are level 2 section breaks in the transclusion. Also, if the [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Table_of_contents Table of Contents] starts showing up on a page, such as on [[Click and Drag]] the sections created on the talk page also show up in the TOC. This gets confusing, and this is why we prefer not to use them on explanation talk pages. Everywhere else we follow standard wiki format and do use sections on the discussion pages.

:Personally, I think that links in section titles looks wrong, but I choose not to be the dictator of style in this matter. :p

:Please feel free to make edits. The worst that happens is someone reverts your edit. If it's a big enough issue and/or you don't seem to be learning from what people are fixing about your edits someone will leave a comment on your talk page. That's it. We might leave a nasty-gram in the edit summary, but oh well. We only ban for malicious intent. Honestly working to better the wiki is good, even if sometimes we grumble about it.

:--[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 07:00, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

::Oh, I just looked at your talk page. I completely forgot that that happened. Don't worry about it. Learning the ropes is part of the experience. Do make edits, and if they're wrong, we'll nudge you in the right direction. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 07:18, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

I have been moving some trivia sections to directly below the explanation, in order to make it more consistent, and easier to survey and maintain. Often the dividing line between trivia and explanation is not entirely clear, and in articles without a trivia section the end of the explanation very often contains trivia-like information. (e.g. [[1155: Kolmogorov Directions]]) -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 10:13, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

== Protip ==

Anyone for adding ''Protip'' as a [[:Category:Comic series|Comic series]]. I have found five so far: [[653]], [[711]], [[1022]], [[1047]] and [[1156]]. (There are also a few comics with a protip title text.) -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 10:25, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

:I think that qualifies as a recurring topic (thus worthy of a category), but not as a series, where you can see a clear sequence. In fact, [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby]] has the same limitation, for what I suggest it to be removed from [[:Category:Comic series]]. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 11:42, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

::Seconded. Looks general and common enough to be a category. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:57, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

:::Okay, great! Do you think that the ones with a "protip:" title text should be included? Besides, I think I might be the one responsiple for moving My Hobby from [[:Category:Comics by topic|Comics by topic]] to Comic series. I felt that all the My Hobby comics were about different topics, but maybe i've got to narrow an interpretation of the word "topic". -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 15:31, 4 January 2013 (UTC)

:::: Can you link to the protip-in-title-text comics?
:::: As for My Hobby, note that categories aren't mutually exclusive. They can be in the "my hobby" topic, and each of them further categorized as appropriate: music, math, etc. Makes sense? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:45, 5 January 2013 (UTC)
:::: I just searched for protip in the xkcd search bar. Here: [[1084]], [[427]]. And yes, makes sense. I've moved My Hobby back to "by topic". -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 12:06, 5 January 2013 (UTC)

== Category: Sports ==

How about creating a new "Sports" category? [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 15:31, 28 January 2013 (UTC)
:Well, maybe. Everyone aren't so keen on new categories here. Which comics are you thinking of, for a start? –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 20:32, 28 January 2013 (UTC)
::We definitely need to reach an agreement as a community on when to create new categories. Something simple like a minimum of 3 (or, say, 5) existing comics. Since we're already at the proposals' portal... what do you guys think about that? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 21:44, 28 January 2013 (UTC)
:::My opinion: Five would be enough to qualify. [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 09:31, 29 January 2013 (UTC)
::::I vote for four. But it should also be a reasonable thing to categorize, like sports, not like "sports with Cueball containing at least three anagram words". Wich sholdn't be a problem. :) But the best name choice could be tricky sometimes. e.g. "Film & television", Film & TV", "Film", "Films", or "Movies"? –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 12:59, 29 January 2013 (UTC)
:::
::::Agreed, five should be enough to create the category without having to discuss it. - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 00:50, 26 February 2013 (UTC)
: OK, let's start with [[588: Pep Rally|588]], [[1092: Michael Phelps|1092]], [[904: Sports|904]] and [[1107: Sports Cheat Sheet|1107]]. Should be able to find a few more. [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 05:00, 29 January 2013 (UTC)
::Yeah, it's a broad subject so there are probably several more. -[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 12:59, 29 January 2013 (UTC)
:::I found another one, sort of, in [[929:Speculation|929]] (although it hasn't been explained yet). Should I get the ball rolling (no pun intended) on setting up the category? Don't wanna do it unilaterally and get yelled at. ;) [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 06:18, 30 January 2013 (UTC)
::::I think you should. On a wiki, getting stuck in discussions which die without a conclusion, to the point that motivated people give up without having done anything, is definitely counter-productive, and phrases like [[wikipedia:Wikipedia:Be bold|Wikipedia:Be bold]] are here to remind us of that. Seems like people agreed that you ''could'', and after a while nobody said that you ''shouldn't'', so I'd say do it. - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 00:50, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

== Category: Sex ==

I think we should also create a Sex category. There's no ''doubt'' we can find more than three examples. I'll start looking for them and post the ones I find in here; again, I don't wanna create a large category by myself without community consent. [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 09:20, 2 February 2013 (UTC)
*OK, the ones for Category: Sex that I've found so far are [[443]], [[219]], [[550]], [[1026]], [[575]], [[468]], [[592]], [[320]], [[1101]], [[417]], [[713]], [[672]], [[230]], [[436]], [[940]], [[532]], [[649]], [[176]], [[1006]], [[596]] and [[717]], and I'm sure there are many more. Should we create this category? [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 23:17, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

:Same as [[#Category: Sports|above]], do it. Oh, already did; well, all the better. - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 00:53, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

==New character==
As per [[Talk:1178: Pickup Artists]], the character with hair has appeared in quite a few comics now, and he's starting to become a recurring character. Shall we go ahead with inaugurating him into our list of regular characters, and what name shall we assign him? Current candidate names include Hairy and Harry. Anyone? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:07, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

: I like Harry :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 01:04, 26 February 2013 (UTC)
::Cos made a point in the discussion on [[Talk:1178: Pickup Artists]] that Hairy is directly descriptive, whereas Harry is not obvious to visitors. On the other hand, not all names are descriptive ([[Danish]]) and I think this wiki is entitled to create some xkcd-in-culture, and not just describe. And Harry is quite funny.
::I wonder: has [[Randall]] ever called him anything at all in the transcript? –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 21:52, 26 February 2013 (UTC)
:::Well, he's not named in a any official transcripts, but he's already called Harry in quite a few comic explanations. Then again, I do like having a more descriptive name for him. Shall we hold this up to a vote? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:29, 26 February 2013 (UTC)
::::I think we should wait a little for a few more viewpoints to crop up. Also, can someone link to some more comics he's been featured in? I've got [[1028: Communication]], [[1027: Pickup Artist]] and [[1178: Pickup Artists]]. –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 23:41, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
:::::I actually like what that anon said: ''Curly''. Second choice: Hairy (being descriptive, a la Black Hat, Beret, Cueball, etc.) While there's talk about in-culture, we've done that with the names Cueball, Beret, etc. It's my opinion that the only names that should be "real" proper names are those that are named in the comic. Megan, Miss Lenhart, etc. Danish (as is discussed below) isn't truly a proper name, but you could argue it's a meta-description (one attributed by Black hat.) So that's my vote: yes for '''Curly''' or '''Hairy''', no for Harry. [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 05:21, 2 March 2013 (UTC)
:::That's right, [[Danish]] is not descriptive, but 1/ that name was suggested because the character [[515: No One Must Know|was called that way in the comic]], which is a tiny bit like a name given by the author (at least more than Harry which we have completely made up), and 2/ in that case it's hard to find a descriptive term: use something that revolves around her black hair (her only descriptive feature), and you easily mix up with [[Megan]]; the only graphical difference is that her hair is ''long'', but what kind of name can you make out of that?
:::For this new character, I suggest Hairy because it comes as the easy solution with every advantage: descriptive, easy to understand, and it's not ugly... I actually see no reason to resort to a made-up name like Harry.
:::[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 22:29, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

: '''Alright. So the discussion's been had, and the most oft recommended name appears to be Hairy. All in favor, say aye. If more than 1/3 of editors agree and we have more than 6 votes, Hairy it is.''' '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:58, 2 March 2013 (UTC)
:* '''Aye''' '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:58, 2 March 2013 (UTC)
:* '''Aye''' [[User:Guru-45|Guru-45]] ([[User talk:Guru-45|talk]]) 06:14, 2 March 2013 (UTC)
:* '''Aye''' to Hairy. [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 15:43, 2 March 2013 (UTC)
:* '''Aye'''. Harry would be a nice nod to the fact that he's actually hairy, but indeed it's better to avoid inside jokes. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:05, 2 March 2013 (UTC)
:* '''Aye'''. I'm convinced! –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 17:52, 3 March 2013 (UTC)
:* '''Aye'''. Hairy. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:52, 3 March 2013 (UTC)

User talk:E-inspired

2013-03-03T20:48:20Z

Lcarsos: oops only a 1 month block for first offense

<div class="user-block" style="min-height: 40px"> [[Image:Stop x nuvola with clock.svg|40px|left|alt=|link=]] You have been '''[[Wikipedia:Blocking policy|blocked]]''' from editing for a period of '''1 month''' for continuing to insert nonsense into pages after a warning. This is strike 1 of 3. Once the block has expired, you are welcome to [[Wikipedia:Five pillars|make useful contributions]]. If you think there are good reasons why you should be unblocked, you may [[Wikipedia:Appealing a block|appeal this block]] by adding below this notice the text <code><nowiki>{{unblock|reason=</nowiki>''Your reason here ~~~~''<nowiki>}}</nowiki></code>, but you should read the [[Wikipedia:Guide to appealing blocks|guide to appealing blocks]] first. - [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:48, 3 March 2013 (UTC)</div>

User talk:E-inspired

2013-03-03T20:46:18Z

Lcarsos: Blocked user notice

<div class="user-block" style="min-height: 40px"> [[Image:Stop x nuvola.svg|40px|left|alt=|link=]] You have been '''[[Wikipedia:Blocking policy|blocked]]''' '''indefinitely''' from editing for continuing to insert nonsense into pages after a warning. If you think there are good reasons why you should be unblocked, you may [[Wikipedia:Appealing a block|appeal this block]] by adding below this notice the text <code><nowiki>{{unblock|reason=</nowiki>''Your reason here ~~~~''<nowiki>}}</nowiki></code>, but you should read the [[Wikipedia:Guide to appealing blocks|guide to appealing blocks]] first. - [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:46, 3 March 2013 (UTC)</div>

Talk:1180: Virus Venn Diagram

2013-03-03T20:26:57Z

Lcarsos: Removing spam

If nothing else, defragging the Singularity would keep it busy for a few hours. ~ [[User:Quackslikeaduck|Quackslikeaduck]] ([[User talk:Quackslikeaduck|talk]]) 13:40, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

I wonder if defragging the Singularity would actually erase/ruin it. Just imagine what would have happened to the first multi-cellular organism if someone had rearranged its molecules in what it considered to be a more "efficient" manner!--[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 15:00, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

And for a minute I was asking myself what black holes had to do with it... --[[Special:Contributions/65.222.165.65|65.222.165.65]] 16:14, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

: Well, beyond borrowing the name from the black-hole concept, there's something else too. You could say defragging decreases entropy. Decreasing the entropy of a black-hole would lead to what? Not a black hole? Bear in mind that black holes are tricky from a physics POV, and to top that, entropy, in the context of gravitation is a tricky thing. Also, the entire concept of "efficiency" is governed by the second law. So... Damn. I've tied this into all sorts of knots. But I'm going to say, if you tried defragging the singularity, it would actually prevent it from acting (since any action increases entropy), and therefore, IS a viable method to slow down the AI takeover. [[Special:Contributions/220.224.246.97|220.224.246.97]] 22:39, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

I've managed to put someone in the "Maybe it has a Virus" category. I added an implementation of "{{w|Neko_(computer_program)|neko}}" to an application we where working on, and the little cat following the mouse just confused a user who had never seen it before. [[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 19:15, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

It's actually an Euler diagram, not a Venn diagram. --[[Special:Contributions/23.17.150.29|23.17.150.29]] 21:04, 1 March 2013 (UTC)
:I looked it up and agree. I wonder if someone has told Randall. I know he would appreciate it ([[1053: Ten Thousand]]). I'm not sure whether or not to change the "a Euler diagram" to "an Euler diagram" though. --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 21:31, 1 March 2013 (UTC)
:It's no less a Venn Diagram than it is a Euler. --[[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 05:27, 2 March 2013 (UTC)
::Since Euler is pronounced "Oiler" the "an" is appropriate no matter what your thoughts are regarding it's conventions.[[User:Schmammel|Schmammel]] ([[User talk:Schmammel|talk]]) 03:05, 2 March 2013 (UTC)
:Also, one of the most fascinating things from the Euler Wiki article was [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Euler_diagram_of_triangle_types.svg this image] on a Euler diagram of traingles. --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 21:41, 1 March 2013 (UTC)
:Actually, this IS a Venn Diagram, not an Euler diagram. In an Euler diagram, one thins is a subset of another, which in this case would suggest that either all suspected cases of computer viruses are a subset of actual computer viruses, or the reverse, which I really don't think Randall is trying to imply, or rather NOT imply by his joke. For one thing, the joke is that problems that are caused by computer viruses and problems that people suspect are caused by computer viruses should have some overlap, but don't. This does not fit with an Euler interpretation of the graph as that would say (if one of the circles was inside the other) that every time the problem is a computer virus, people always correctly identify them but also assume other non-computer virus problems are viruses - or the reverse - all problems are caused by a computer virus but only a few are identified as computer viruses. Secondly, and more importantly, in an Euler diagram one circle is always SMALLER than the other, where as in a Venn diagram they are always the SAME size. Oh, and last but not least, I'd be very surprised if Randall didn't know the difference between a Venn and an Euler diagram, since I'm sure he's had to use both many times.--[[User:7OO Tnega Terces|7OO Tnega Terces]] ([[User talk:7OO Tnega Terces|talk]]) 07:43, 3 March 2013 (UTC)
::I'm citing Wikipedia: "Euler diagrams consist of simple closed curves (usually circles) in the plane that depict sets. The sizes or shapes of the curves are not important: the significance of the diagram is in how they overlap." I didn't know about this before, but I learned it because of DanB's cunning. No one knows everything, not even Mr. Munroe, and I'm sure you can use both kinds of diagrams many times without knowing their definitions. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Euler-venn-example.png Diagram.] –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 18:07, 3 March 2013 (UTC)

:I was about to make a post about unnecessary amounts of pedantry, but after reading both wikipedia articles, I've decided that this is exactly the kind of "Learn something new every day" material that I really liked about the old explain xkcd blog, and I'm happy that its continuing. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:32, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

:I'm not so sure whether this really is a standard Venn diagram. According to quite some sources ([1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venn_diagram, section "Overview"; as well as these papers: [2] [http://arxiv.org/abs/1207.6452 arXiv:1207.6452], [3] [http://arxiv.org/abs/math/0603068 arXiv:math/0603068], have a look at p. 1 and pp. 1/2 respectively, also: [4] [http://arxiv.org/abs/cs/0512001 arXiv:cs/0512001], Wolfram MathWold agrees: [5] http://mathworld.wolfram.com/VennDiagram.html), a Venn diagram is "[...] a set of n [– in this case 2 – ...] closed curves [– circles –] that subdivide the plane into 2^n connected regions [...]." [3, p. 1]. So we would actually expect to see 4 regions – in a standard Venn diagram. Obviously here the intersection is supposed to be empty (yielding only three regions), making this effectively an Euler diagram, in which circles are allowed to be the same size -- why should they not (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hamilton_1881_example.jpg). Additionally, Euler diagrams are not only used to illustrate "(for all x) if A, then B" or "all A are B", but also "no A are B" etc. You might also want to have a look at this blogpost concerning Euler vs. Venn: [http://blog.stevemould.com/venn-vs-euler-diagrams/ Venn Vs Euler: The Diagrams]. As this comic is titled "Virus Venn Diagram" one expects to see a classical Venn diagram, one does, however, not get to see one, but rather an Euler diagram showing very drastically that there is no intersection of the set of problems that make one think there might be a virus causing it and the set of problems actually caused by a virus. That's my amount of unnecessary pedantry for today. [[Special:Contributions/89.182.242.115|89.182.242.115]] 12:19, 3 March 2013 (UTC)

: Either way, "Virus Euler" doesn't alliterate --[[User:H|H]] ([[User talk:H|talk]]) 16:21, 3 March 2013 (UTC)

Haha, how often do I have this conversation with my parents! They: "I think we are being hacked." Me: "?!" They: "Yeah, this morning when I started my computer, X wasn't working and now Y is acting all weird." ... Yes, of course. --[[Special:Contributions/83.84.33.170|83.84.33.170]] 08:49, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

User talk:E-inspired

2013-03-03T20:25:05Z

Lcarsos: /* Use Policy Violation */ new section

Please feel free to ask questions that have been bugging you here and I will try to answer them to the best of my understanding. Try to make them short and simple (you'd be surprised how easy that is after you learn how). You can talk to me either here or on twitter in case I move on to something else. My twitter is [http://twitter.com/eInspired eInspired], thank you. - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 15:19, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

== Use Policy Violation ==

Can you explain yourself for the posts you made to [[Talk:1180: Virus Venn Diagram]]? That kind of flagrant spamming is unacceptable. If this continues you will be banned. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:25, 3 March 2013 (UTC)

562: Parking

2013-03-03T00:12:32Z

Lcarsos: If its in the transcript, take it as gospel

{{comic
| number = 562
| date = March 30, 2009
| title = Parking
| image = parking.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = Police reported three dozen cheerful bystanders, yet no one claims to have seen who did it.
}}

==Explanation==
There are few things so annoying as when a parking lot is full, and someone has decided to build in a buffer-zone to their parking job like this. (Perhaps that someone wanted to excange the risk of someone accidentally scratching their car, for the risk of someone [[Keyed|doing it on purpose.]]) However, there are a few non-violent ways to tackle the problem; [http://www.threadless.com/product/187/I_Park_Like_an_Idiot politely leave a note], or if possible move their car. Of course, [[Black Hat]] takes the less traveled path involving a {{w|blow torch}} and what looks to be a {{w|circular saw}}.

He's [[496|admittedly]] done this kind of thing before.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is in a car driving around a parking lot]

:[Black Hat's car pulls up next to a red car, that's parked over a line at an angle that block two spaces]

:[Black Hat gets out of his car]
:''SLAM''

:[Black Hat is now holding a flamethrower and a rotary saw, He's also wearing goggles and fuel tanks on his back. The flamethrower is lit]
:''Fwoosh''

:[The badly parked car has been cut in half along a diagonal, and the half of the car that was in the second slot has been moved into the same slot as the rest of the car. Black Hat's car occupies the newly freed space.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

662: iPhone or Droid

2013-03-02T23:28:27Z

Lcarsos: Undo revision 29515 by 75.69.96.225 (talk) iphone apologist, yes the comic is out of date now that's how publishing works

{{comic
| number = 662
| date = November 13, 2009
| title = iPhone or Droid
| image = iphone_or_droid.png
| titletext = It may be a fundamentally empty experience, but holy crap the Droid's 265 ppi screen is amazing.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references the "phone wars" between the iPhone and phone that run the Android system. The third panel references the fact that, officially speaking, the iPhone is a closed system which does not guarantee entry into the official store, yet anyone can acquire an .apk file that will install an app into an Android phone.

Cueball has a point in the second panel. After consuming a lot, would you not want to actually give back to the community that gave you all the ever-fancier toys? Would you not get a pleasure from actually constructing and contributing something yourself? Would you want to feel useful about yourself?

{{Incomplete}}

==Transcript==
:[Megan sitting at her computer is talking to Cueball standing behind her.]
:Megan: Well, it depends what you want. The iPhone wins on speed and polish, but the Droid has that gorgeous screen and physical keyboard.

:Cueball: What if I want something more than the pale facsimile of fulfillment brought by a parade of ever-fancier toys? To spend my life restlessly producing instead of sedately consuming?
:Cueball: Is there an app for THAT?

:Megan: Yeah, on both.
:Megan: Wait, no, looks like it was rejected from the iPhone store.
:Cueball: Droid it is, then.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]

Talk:1180: Virus Venn Diagram

2013-03-02T06:32:17Z

Lcarsos:

236: Collecting Double-Takes

2013-02-28T19:14:08Z

Lcarsos: /* Explanation */ better wording

{{comic
| number =236
| date =March 16, 2007
| title =Collecting Double Takes
| image =collecting_double_takes.png
| titletext =Fun Game: find a combination of two items that most freaks out the cashier. Winner: pregnancy test and single coat hanger.
}}

==Explanation==
By standing in a produce aisle with a tube of {{w|K-Y Jelly}} in his hand and considering what produce to buy (between bananas, apples, oranges and zuchinis, and doubtless many more offscreen), Cueball is allowing other people to believe he plans to use that produce item to pleasure himself via anal sex. K-Y Jelly is most commonly used as a sexual lubricant.

Cueball is probably not actually planning on doing this, but he loves to see the look on people's faces; hence, he's collecting double-takes.

In the title text, he says he likes to play a game of "freak out the cashier using two items". Coat hangers can be used to perform do-it-yourself abortions.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing in the middle of the produce aisle in a supermarket, holding a tube of K-Y Jelly in one hand, the other on his chin. The signs read "Bananas" "Apples" "Oranges" and "Zucchini" from left to right.]
:MY HOBBY: Standing in the supermarket's produce section holding a tube of K-Y Jelly, looking contemplative.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

1167: Star Trek into Darkness

2013-02-28T19:11:10Z

Lcarsos: /* +~tRIvIa+~ */ trivia is a level 2 header, not a subsection of the transcript

{{comic
| number = 1167
| date = January 30, 2013
| title = Star Trek into Darkness
| image = star_trek_into_darkness.png
| titletext = Of course, factions immediately sprang up in favor of '~*~sTaR tReK iNtO dArKnEsS~*~', 'xX_StAr TrEk InTo DaRkNess_Xx', and 'Star Trek lnto Darkness' (that's a lowercase 'L').
}}

==~*~ExPlAnAtIoN~*~==
The talk page of a Wikipedia article is used to discuss changes to the article. An {{w|Wikipedia:Edit warring|edit war}} is a dispute about a specific edit to an article, manifesting as a series of edits alternatingly making and reverting the change, and usually accompanied by a more-or-less heated debate on the talk page.

Here, [[Randall]] is referring to a dispute on the Wikipedia article about ''{{w|Star Trek Into Darkness}}'' (an upcoming Star Trek film). On the day before the comic was published the article name had a lowercase "into", the talk page looked [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Star_Trek_Into_Darkness&oldid=535271069 like this], (rounded off in a friendly way, with the posting of {{w|User:Frungi/Star_Trek_Into_Darkness_capitalization|a summary of the arguments}}, and an exchange of virtual hugs).

[[Cueball]] changes the title so that every other letter is capitalized, and adds framing tildes and asterisks (a common (childish) way of emphasising titles online). This will probably not go over well.

Megan's line of "They should have sent a poet." is a quote from the film ''{{w|Contact (film)|Contact}}''. The quote is also featured in [[482: Height]].

The title text indicates Randall's belief that such arguments are perpetual and will always arise. He suggests that the edit in the comic will result in a dispute over variants on Cueballs "compromise". Because the lowercase "L" and the capital "I" appear similar in many fonts, he also suggests the potential argument that the character in the movie's title is a lowercase "L".

The old "favourite edit war" might be the one referenced in [[878: Model Rail]].

==xX_tRaNsCrIpT_Xx==
:[Cueball staring at computer screen.]
:Cueball: Oh, wow. Look at Wikipedia's Talk page for Star Trek into Darkness. I have a new favorite edit war.
:Megan (off-panel): Oh?

:Cueball: Forty ''thousand'' words of debate over whether to capitalize "into" in the movie's title. Still no consensus.
:Megan: That's ''magnificient''.
:Cueball: It's breathtaking.
:Megan: They should have sent a poet.

:Cueball: Well I'm making an executive decision. I hope both sides accept this as a fair compromise.

:[A wikipedia page titled "~*~ StAr TrEk InTo DaRkNeSs ~*~"]

==+~tRIvIa+~==
After the publication the debate continued with full force, complete with {{w|Talk:Star_Trek_Into_Darkness&oldid=535664064#xkcd_Mention|a section of xkcd-inspired suggestions}}. The article itself was soon protected, so that only administrators could edit it. A day later the title was changed to a capital "Into" by the administrator {{w|User:Mackensen|Mackensen}}. (The debate continued on {{w|User talk:Mackensen#Star Trek into Darkness|his talk page}}.)

{{w|The Independent}} had an article about the [http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/trekkies-take-on-wikis-in-a-grammatical-tizzy-over-star-trek-into-darkness-8475705.html "grammatical tizzy"], and the thing was included in Wikipedias humorous list of the {{w|WP:LAME|lamest edit wars}}.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]

explain xkcd:Community portal/Miscellaneous

2013-02-28T19:06:07Z

Lcarsos: /* What can we learn section */

<noinclude>{{Community portal}}</noinclude>

== The Community Portal's design ==

{{tl|Community portal}} looks too Wikipedia-ish (because that's where I got it). Someone who can design things should probably fix that. It isn't protected for the time being, though it probably will be in the future (high-visibility template). --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:54, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Common mistake ==

This affects all pages that ever say "alt text" in reference to the TITLE text on xkcd images. "Alt text" is incorrect; Alt text refers to the text that is shown as an alternative when images are not displayed. Title text is what xkcd uses and is shown as a tool tip-like bubble when images are hovered over.

I would correct this myself but I saw no way to edit the main page. --[[User:Jillysky|Jillysky]] ([[User talk:Jillysky|talk]]) 14:21, 6 August 2012‎ (UTC)

:You actually don't need to edit the main page to fix it, as what's there is just a mirror (transclusion) of the actual content from the comic page, at [[Curiosity]], which is open for editing by anyone. Then again, the "alt-text" in that case is generated by a template, {{tl|comic}}, so that's where we should fix this. The template's code, however, is currently a terrible mess (sorry!), so I went ahead and took care of it. Thanks for catching that! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:24, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:Ah? So it's wrong, for instance, on http://m.xkcd.com? because of that I took it for granted that we could call it the alt-text... - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 17:38, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:: Yes. If you look at the page's html source, you'll see:
<nowiki><img
id="comic"
src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/curiosity.png"
title="As of this writing the NASA/JPL websites are still overloaded. Trying CURIOSITY-REAR-CAM_[256px_x_256px].torrent.SwEsUb.DVDRip.XviD-aXXo.jpg instead."
alt="Curiosity"></nowiki>
::(line breaks added for clarity) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 23:54, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:::That was my error in the template. I knew "image text" that has been commonly used by Jeff was not techically correct, but I didn't actually go back and confirm it was alt text before I included that tag in the template. That's to Waldir (I believe?) for correcting the template. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:14, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

== When the "official" transcript is wrong? ==
I did [[903: Extended Mind]]. Interestingly, the transcript on xkcd.com is missing the bottom line "When Wikipedia has a server outage, my apparent IQ drops by 30 points." I assume we want a complete transcript, rather than whatever xkcd.com says it is...? [[User:Stevage|Stevage]] ([[User talk:Stevage|talk]]) 04:10, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

:We're focusing on the actual transcript of the comic, not the xkcd.com transcript. The official transcript is usually right, but even Randall makes mistakes sometimes. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 04:24, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

== Milestone: half the comics explained!! ==

Hi all! I'm pleased to announce that we have just broke the 50% mark for xkcd explanations! The page that balanced the count (568 explained, 568 to go, at the time) was [[877: Beauty]], created 01:31 UTC, 21 November 2012 by [[User:Davidy22]]. Congratulations!! :D --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:10, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

:The caterer's been called! The punch will be arriving soon! Go [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]! [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:53, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

::[[File:freedom.png]] Punch is served! [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 07:11, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

But the Main page says 407 explanations, 731 to go! What's up with that? --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 21:00, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

== Reverse? ==

Why in the Archive why are all the thing up until "Heatmap" in Reverse? Can someone please answer? [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)
:Archive? Can you provide a link or screenshot? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:43, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

http://xkcd.com/archive/ [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

::Ah, that's because the comic right after that, rtl, has a right-to-left character in it that flips all the proceeding text. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:13, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

Ah, ok, i see that now. When I 1st saw that RTL I just thought that it was random letters, thankyou for explaining it for me. [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

It also depends on what browser you are on because on Google Chrome it was normal. [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 09:08, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

== Do you think this question was asked by one of the xkcd people? ==

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090301060752AAtYugc [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:38, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

== Matthew Reilly ==

I would just like to tell everyone that I asked Matthew Reilly (the author) if he is ever scared that a velociraptor is going to attack him, and he said NO! He clearly needs to start worrying about them! [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 10:45, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

== What can we learn section ==
First of all I love your work. I believe deeper understanding of each XKCD can make a world a better place and I thank you sincerely for starting this webpage. I wanted to ask what you think about "What can we learn?" section I've been adding to some of the pages. Thank you - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:27, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
:This site is actually the work of multiple editors working slowly and steadily to fill in explanations for all the old comics. Some of the xkcd comics are incredibly deep - comic [[956]] is such a poignant comic that digs into the DRM issue on so many levels. Your reflections on many of the comics are very much warranted and you're helping us create talk pages with high-quality opening posts, which is great for future discussion on this wiki. It'd be nice if you could refrain from putting headers in talk pages, technical limitations of the wiki make long explanation pages choke when headings are in the discussion page. Other than that, keep up the good work! '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:42, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
::I've put in my 2 cents to comic [[956]], and thank you for teaching me how to comment and link to other comics - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:58, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
:Oh, and the guy who draws xkcd is called {{w|Randall Munroe}}. So many glowing things to be said about him. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:44, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
::Yes, I can't thank him enough for simplifying complex issues to funny stories, I think it's exactly what our generation needs - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:58, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
:I'm in favor of a Mr. Rogers style of 'what lesson can be learned' on the talk page, but make sure your comments don't come across as sanctimonious and holier-than-thou as that can be really off-putting. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 19:06, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Thank you David, and I apologize that I've not made it clear that by your work, I do mean your collective work (the wiki is only as good as all the people behind it). I was trying to put the headers to allow others to find the section easier in case they start looking for it, perhaps I could make a suggestion to make it a standalone section so that others would be encouraged to contribute their own understanding of lessons they have noticed from each comic. I know the lessons I've seen, but I would love to learn from others as much as I hope they can learn from me and Mr. XKCD, thank you. - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:48, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

954: Chin-Up Bar

2013-02-28T18:57:49Z

Lcarsos: Undo revision 29287 by E-inspired (talk) inappropriate and wrong content in trivia section

{{comic
| number = 954
| date = September 21, 2011
| title = Chin-Up Bar
| image = chin_up_bar.png
| titletext = Those few who escaped found the emergency cutoff box disabled. The stampede lasted two hours and reached the bottom three times.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Black Hat]] is blocking traffic on {{w|Escalator#North and South America|the longest escalator in the country}}, the escalator in the {{w|Wheaton (WMATA station)|Wheaton station}} in {{w|Washington D.C.}}'s {{w|Washington Metro}}.

An {{w|escalator}} is a motorized stairway. Black Hat installs a {{w|chin-up bar}} at waist height. Chin-up bars are typically capable of holding up a 300 pound (130 kg) person without moving. Being at waist height makes it hard to duck under, and hard to hurdle. Either way, on a crowded escalator during a high traffic period, avoiding the bar will be extremely difficult. The first people would probably stumble backward to avoid it, which would collide them into the passengers behind them, creating a {{w|domino effect}} all the way down. Of course, as the escalator continues to move people forward, but the wave of falling people is moving backward, its {{w|Theory of special relativity|apparent speed}} will be slower than it actually is.

That is the joke in the title text, that over two hours the wave can reach the bottom only three times, whereas if this were a simple staircase the event would only last once and be over as quickly as people can fall down.
The people that actually made it to the bottom were unable tue the emergency shutdown because Black Hat disabled it.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is standing on an escalator as it ascends. He is carrying a pole with what looks like a bracket on each end, resting on his shoulder. In front of him is Ponytail, and in front of her is a punk with spiked hair and pimples. Behind Black Hat is Cueball. Behind Cueball is a man wearing glasses with a goatee standing next to someone with short hair.]

:[The view closes on Black Hat and Cueball. In the background a girl can be seen standing on the descending escalator.]
:Cueball: This is a long escalator.
:Black Hat: 70 meters. Longest in the country.

:[In the background the girl from the last panel has now passed the group and a few other people can be seen descending.]

:Cueball: Why're you carrying a chin-up bar?
:Black Hat: Why aren't you wearing a hat?

:[The view opens up a bit more to show the two riders ahead, and the two behind.]
:Cueball: I'm not really a hat person.
:Black Hat: And I'm not really a Not-carrying-a-chin-up-bar person.

:[Close up on Cueball]

:[The view opens up to show the same people in the first panel. They're near the top of the escalator now and Ponytail is beginning to step off.]
:Cueball: Seriously, why did you bring it?
:Black Hat: How should I know? I'm not a psychologist.

:[As Black Hat steps off the escalator he turns and installs the chin-up bar such that it blocks people from leaving the escalator, about waist height. Cueball turns to observe what Black Hat is doing.]
:''Twist''
:''Click click''

:[They get onto the descending escalator. The man with glasses and a goatee and his companion are blocked from leaving the escalator by the chin-up bar.]

:[The next panel is large.]
:[The view shows an extended section of the escalator, the top right has become a pile of people all squished together and on top of each other. One person has grabbed another by the hair and is standing on a third person in an attempt to not fall. Someone is falling off the pile and another person is running down the escalator to avoid them. People closer to the bottom of the escalator are looking horrified at the scene ahead of them. In the background hat man and his companion are visible. Black Hat is looking toward the bottom of the escalator, not caring or noticing the chaos unfolding. Cueball looks back pensively.]

==Trivia==
*It would appear that the goatee'd man behind Cueball has been seen before as the Psychologist from [[435: Purity]]. It would also seem that the person he is with might be the Sociologist from that same comic.
**If it is the psychologist, he should have been able to diagnose why Black Hat was carrying a Chin-up bar.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests

2013-02-28T18:55:04Z

Lcarsos: /* Something is odd with 191: SOLVED */

<noinclude>{{Community portal}}</noinclude>

== Adverts ==

Looks like someone's discovered us! There are several accounts with spam userpages already: [[User:VereGrube253]], [[User:Sharon0H]], [[User:RAndra]], [[User:KathrynMwy]], [[User:Ffmdcyz]], and [[User:Pimarsolek23]]. What should we do with these? I'm all for deleting the advert and blocking the user, but I didn't want to do that without input (esp. from [[User:Jeff|Jeff]]). --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 01:59, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:*Cold shoulder for spam. Jeff should give the final say, but I'll up-vote shutting down spam users accounts... and a policy statement that lays out the rules, such as user pages are for contributing to xkcd-related discussions. Off-topic subject matter must find a home elsewhere. In the meantime, perhaps roll back the spam, post an announcement on the problem user page, and mark protected. Thoughts? -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 03:14, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:* Delete and block. And some plugin (or whatever) to keep them from signing up. Spambots don't read announcements. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 03:31, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:* Delete the userpages (and spam edits) and block indefinitely. A vandal might be someone having fun but who can be converted into an editor if nurtured, but a spammer definitely has an agenda and we should have no hopes for them. Also we might need some [[mw:Extension:ConfirmEdit|captcha extension]] (I'd suggest using the ReCaptcha option). --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:53, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:* Delete and block. Spam cannot be tolerated. Captcha sounds good. Are they edits to actual comic pages or new pages? If someone wants to actually advertise, they can come to me. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 12:38, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:*: From my experience taming spam in small wikis in the wild, spammers tend to use all sorts of techniques, from using different accounts to upload images (since there are more restrictions on that than on editing pages), to creating the pages in their user namespace and then moving them elsewhere, to creating the spam pages directly, to adding/replacing links in existing pages... --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:51, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:*::Do you know if there are any good anti-spam bots out there that could be persuaded to add this wiki to the list they patrol? --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 16:20, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:*:::I don't know much about anti-spam bots, but if they work roughly as I think, I'd prefer us to try out extensions + user intervention before resorting to bots. I'd like to know generally how efficient automatic (trigger-like, rather than continuously or regularly running bots) can get at preventing spam. We should start with captchas. Then, if needed, we can add more: [http://bad-behavior.ioerror.us/support/installation/mediawiki/ Bad Behavior] looks interesting, and we can always restrict editing to registered accounts, coupled with [[mw:Manual:$wgEmailConfirmToEdit|email confirmation]] or [[mw:Extension:OpenID|OpenID]]. But these steps should be taken one by one, as needed, so we can measure what works and what doesn't. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:15, 4 August 2012 (EDT)
:*:::: Is this spam? [[User:BoyceX9]] --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:40, 6 August 2012 (UTC)
:*::::: Yes, so far they've been following the same pattern. Introducing themselves (with a completely different name from the account name), praise the wiki, say they wanna help... then ramble about "them" and "their" work, culminating with one or more links to commercial, shady-looking sites. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:25, 6 August 2012 (UTC)
:*::::: {{done}} Ok, ReCaptcha is enabled. I believe I set it for all non-bots, non-admins on 'addurl', 'createaccount' or 'badlogon'. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 12:42, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:*Can the extension be configured so it will only be applied to "new" users or accounts with an edit count of less than, say, 5? While I'd understand a captcha on the first few edits, after that, it gets annoying quickly, particularly when you get captcha like [http://i.imgur.com/53wPN.jpg this]. {{User:Omega/sig}} 09:35, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
:*:I tend to agree. I've been an editor in several small wikis where spam also needs to be kept under control, and never "upgrading" past the captcha level does get annoying after a while. I suggest the captcha to be disabled for autoconfirmed users, and users who have a confirmed email ([[mw:Extension:ConfirmEdit#Configuration]] for details). Autoconfirmed status depends on a user performing a given number of edits, '''and''' having an account older than X days. Both are zero by default; I suggest setting them to 5 edits and 3 days (around 250 000 seconds). [[mw:Manual:Autoconfirmed users|Here's how to do it]]. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 11:32, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
::::Yes. I'll edit it. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:19, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
::::: Seems like editing is disabled for anonymous editors. I think that keeps away a lot of drive-by editors who could be enticed to later create an account, while spammers have no problems creating accounts, as we've seen. Therefore, this restriction does more harm than good, IMO. if it makes the idea any more bearable, Captcha could be enabled for all edits by anonymous editors, even if they don't add links. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 21:23, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::: Ok - anon edits has been enabled. I changed captcha so that all registered users don't get it on edits. Hopefully that makes it easier on everyone. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 02:32, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

Is there a procedure for alerting admins of spam accounts? I've seen them slammed down quick enough, but if there's anything I can do to help? [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 21:12, 14 August 2012 (UTC)
:Add {{tl|Spam}} to the top of the page. {{User:Omega/sig}} 22:38, 14 August 2012 (UTC)

== Let Me Know ==
Admins - Please let me know if any of the changes that you request aren't done correctly or if something needs to be changed back. Obviously, this is my first wiki hosting experience and I'm learning as I go along. I couldn't do it without you all and it is already far beyond my wildest dreams. Keep it up! --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 15:53, 6 August 2012 (UTC)
:Just a quick nod of appreciation for all your efforts! -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:22, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
::Same here. No matter how much I like to praise the merits of MediaWiki, setting it up for many common needs is undeniably still very user-unfriendly. I'm glad we're all supporting each other around here. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:25, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
:::Very nice. :-) --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 02:57, 11 August 2012 (UTC)

== "Edit this explanation" link on main page ==
On the main page, there's a link to "edit this explanation". However, it's hard coded to point towards comic 1091, not the most recent comic, as the template does. Instead, that link should be a part of the template, so it can point to whichever comic the template is displaying (the latest). Of course, an admin would be required to do this, as the main page is off limits to other editors. {{User:Omega/sig}} 09:27, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

:Yes, it needs to be fixed. However, an edit link has to point to the actual page, not the redirect (the number), so we first need a way to automatically update the title of the last comic. [[User:TheHYPO]] suggested a template listing all comic titles and corresponding numbers, but that would still need to be updated manually whenever a new comic is added. I'm not sure there's a good solution for that. Perhaps that link could ''say'' "edit", but simply point to the comic page where editors would have to click the edit tab. Does that sound ok? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 11:32, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

:: I agree with the above suggestion to have it link to the comic page. I find myself trying to click the comic name/title on the main page and expecting it to go to the wiki page for the comic instead of to xckd.com. This would provide at least one way to go to the comic page. Plus, some people may want to comment instead of edit the description. That said, we might want to consider renaming it to something else, like "Go to this comic" but more witty.--[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 15:26, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

::: Ok, temporarily changed to a plain (non-edit) link. Awaiting wittyness for definitive deploy :P --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 15:41, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

::::Thus, the temporary becomes permanent. Such is life. --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 13:42, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

== Incorrect redirect ==

Either I, or whoever created the page (If it's me, I sincerely apologize) have created a [[1024: Never]] page, which is wrong. I've moved it to [[1042: Never]], but there's still a redirect in place. Can someone, or if you'll tell me how I'll do it, delete that redirect page? I hope this is the right space to be posting this. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 03:57, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

: {{done}} :) Also, I moved the thread to the appropriate discussion page (Admin requests) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 09:35, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

== Main page: Error in counter ==

I noticed the counter for the number of missing comics on the [[Main Page]] was off. Looking into it, the equation is missing a parenthesis. It currently says <code><nowiki>{{#expr:{{LATESTCOMIC}}-{{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-3}}</nowiki></code>, but should correctly be <code><nowiki>{{#expr:{{LATESTCOMIC}}-({{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}-3)}}</nowiki></code>. The reason for this is that <code><nowiki>{{PAGESINCAT:Comics}}</nowiki></code> will return 3 higher than the actual pages, as it counts subcategory. Thus why we're subtracting three. However, the missing parenthesis make it so we're subtracting (from the latest comic), the number of pages '''including''' those three pages, then subtracting those three pages again, thus making it 6 off. The parenthesis make it so we're subtracting the pages in the category without those three subcategories. If that doesn't make sense, just grab a calculator and subtract the latest comic from the number of comics the main page says we'll have, and you'll see it comes up six short. {{User:Omega/sig}} 08:44, 11 August 2012 (UTC)
:Good catch! I'll fix that :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 11:38, 11 August 2012 (UTC)
:
::Actually you could also remove one from the current computed total, since there's no comic 404 (unless you imagine a page explaining the joke about that). - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 16:16, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
:::I was in fact planning on adding a [[404: Not Found]] page with just such an explanation.
::::I have added a [[404]] page. Since the comic is non-existent, it isn't titled "Not Found", so I decided against creating a [[404: Not Found]] page, or a [[Not Found]] redirect. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 18:40, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
:::Actually, if you view the source of {{xkcd|404}} it *clearly* states: "<title>404 - Not Found</title>" :) I also added some more color to the [[404]] page (including a date and title). [[403]] was posted on March 31 and [[405]] was posted on April 2, so 404 would have been April 1, although really April 2 in keeping with the M/W/F posting schedule. Squeezing it in-between was an even better joke.--[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 19:06, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::Perfect, so nothing to change in the counter. (how on Earth did he manage to get that 404 fall on April Fool's day...?) - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 19:03, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
::::::He didn't. By his standard M/W/F posting order, comic 404 should have been posted on 4/2/2008. He posted 405 on that date instead. There isn't a 404 page on xkcd.com. The HTML title element isn't from a special page he created for the comic. The page you get for the 404 page is the custom 404 error page for the xkcd.com site. Check out [http://xkcd.com/jlafkfsdljk], you'll get exactly the same page. In fact, if you check out [http://xkcd.com/404] and look at the actual http status code returned, it's 404, not 200 as you'll see for other pages with actual comics. It's not an actual April Fools comic, it's just plain missing. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 19:38, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::::Ah, but it is. Granted, he did ''skip'' the number 404, but not by accident, and ''that'' is the joke. Gotta love Randall: he's so meta ! -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:23, 23 August 2012 (UTC)
::::::::I agree it's a joke, and intentional. However, I think it's pure coincidence that it fell around April 1st. I think Randall would have done the same 404 joke even if it had fallen on June 31st instead. The joke itself is rather subtle, since people just looking at the site wouldn't see it, and people following the RSS feed wouldn't have seen it. The comic numbers don't appear on the pages themselves, just in the URL. The only people who will see it are people who are obsessive about looking at the comic numbers. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 14:55, 23 August 2012 (UTC)
::::::Well, I still like the April 1 explanation better... :) The whole "Posting comic #404 on Tuesday April 1 and making it look exactly like a regular xkcd '404' page" makes a much better story... Much better than "He accidentally skipped #404 and it just happened to have been around April 1, boy that could have been a good comic opportunity, too bad he was just clumsy and didn't realize the potential inside jokes the techies would have read into it..." --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 20:16, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::::The explanation above holds true: Randall went straight to 405 on his regular schedule, and {{xkcd|404}} really does return an HTTP 404 result code. But that technical explanation aside, there is no doubt that Randall deliberately chose to do so, so xkcd 404 ''is'' an AFD joke, even if he never put (virtual) pen to paper to do so. As far as comic scheduling goes, you might say we got a freebie. BTW, there have been other instances of Randall modifying his schedule, the {{xkcd|961|tribute}} to Steve Jobs being another example IIRC, so the MWF rule, while fairly stable, is not inviolate -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:23, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

== What ==

Any reason the Main Page was moved to explain xkcd from main page? I moved it back. 
Any reason the templates aren't working? 
WTF? 
--[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 02:27, 12 August 2012 (UTC)
:Something seems to have gone seriously wrong? Earlier, I was redirected to a non-existent version of a subpage of an old blog-style explanation. And now I'm getting "500 Internal Server Error" warnings when I try to use [[Special:RecentChanges]] to see what's happened lately. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 04:12, 12 August 2012 (UTC)
::Well, for one of the problems, something seems to be forcing template titles to begin with a lowercase letter? Which is weird, because '''''all''''' pages, including templates, begin with a capital letter. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 04:18, 12 August 2012 (UTC)
:::Here's what broke the templates: the change requested at [[User talk:Jeff#wgCapitalLinks]]. When we link templates, we've been using lowercase letters in the template links, relying on the software to be smart enough to know we meant the capital version. So {{Tl|xkcd}} and {{Tl|Xkcd}} would refer to the same template. The change to wgCapitalLinks allowed page names to begin with small letters, but at the same time made the software think that {{Tl|xkcd}} and {{Tl|Xkcd}} were different pages. --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 04:33, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

Hi guys, sorry about that. ''Mea culpa''.

The main page was moved because then people reaching the wiki would see as first header the actual name of the wiki, rather than the generic mediawiki "Main Page". I assumed it would be an uncontroversial move, mut apparently I misjudged that.

As for the templates, it is only one instance of broken links due to the change to make links case-sensitive. This is mostly visible for templates because due to their very nature, they're used in many pages. We just need to move them to the lowercase titles (or create redirects from those, depending on which version is preferable as canonical; for instance, I moved {{tl|Xkcd}} to {{tl|xkcd}}, but {{tl|Yesno}} to {{tl|YesNo}}). The links couldn't be fixed prior to the configuration change because the software would point us to the capitalized version whenever we tried to access the lowercase version; a move wouldn't work as the target would be assumed as the same page.

I have no idea what broke [[Special:RecentChanges]]. Perhaps it was unrelated, or perhaps it was a hiccup as the software regenerated all internal links? I have no idea. It seems to be working now, anyway.

Again, sorry for the confusion. I hope you'll all understand it was a necessary hurdle to get over if we want to be accurate about capitalization issues ([[Xkcd]] vs. [[xkcd]], [[S/keyboard/leopard/]] vs. [[s/keyboard/leopard/]], etc.) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 08:42, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

::::For the love of god, can we please undo this change? I'm completely unconvinced that case-sensitive first characters is beneficial for the wiki. There's a good reason that the default is case-insensitive (bearing in mind this only applies to the first character). If the concern is "automatic capitalization", there's ways to override the page title, where needed (for example, Wikipedia's page on {{w|iPods}}). However, case insensitive pages means linking and creating pages is now more complex. For what? For a handful of pages that need the first letter to be lowercase? The only pages I can think of that need that is the page on xkcd itself. Templates don't matter much, but if we're counting them, then there's the {{tl|xkcd}} template (note: would need to be surrounded by noinclude tags, to prevent renaming every page the template is used on).

::::Now, why am I so venomously opposed to this change? Look at it this way: [[Explain xkcd]] (the "main page") and [[explain xkcd]] are entirely different links. At the time of writing, the all-lowercase alternative, which normally should work fine, does not. Why is that? because of this change. I'm sure that ten seconds after the first person reads this, we'll have a redirect there (I'm not going to, as if the change is reversed, god knows what will happen when two different pages are suddenly considered the same page), but that's not the point. The point is the sheer difficulty this change just created. If a page author forgets to create a redirect to a properly cased page (in the vast majority of cases, the page should be in sentence case. "xkcd" is one of the very few possible exceptions, and Randall himself stated that "Xkcd" is fine). Anyway, back to our author with his newly created page. We'll assume he's familiar with Mediawiki, and links to his page from another page. But he links in lowercase, as most links will likely be (the page on wikipedia is technically "Cabbage", but unless the word is at the beginning of a sentence, we'll be typing "cabbage"). Our page author, however, is confused. His link is coming up as a red link, even after triple and quadruple checking his spelling. Raaaage quit. And all for what? So one or two pages can be lowercase?

::::There's a very good reason why Wikipedia keeps this default on. In fact, multiple reasons. User friendly, practical, low maintenance... And the reasons to support case sensitivity? Pretty much nothing, since rare instances where a lowercase first letter is required can override the title with magic words. I know we aren't Wikipedia; we don't have their rules for consensus (though I wish we did), nor do we have their community, their careful array of checks and balances, and distributed rights. Yet, I think that such an incredibly controversial change without any consensus and without any real benefit doesn't suit this wiki at all. I ask that we undo the change or at least discuss it in depth. Come on, folks, this is rewriting an entire language because you couldn't spell one word. {{User:Omega/sig}} 09:33, 12 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::And now the main page has been renamed to "explain xkcd" (in all lowercase). The project namespace is also in lowercase. Yet, we still use the traditional "File" and "Template" namespaces (I don't think you could change their casing without editing Mediawiki's PHP files, though). In other words, moooore inconsistency. Can we puleeeeze sit down and discuss these changes? Can anyone name '''one''' reason to use case insensitive titling versus page title overrides on the one or two pages that actually need them? It's generally accepted that articles in media use "sentence case" (eg, "Case Sensitivity", not "case sensitivity"). Also, to be specific, this change only applies to the first letter of page titles, which are normally case insensitive (to ensure ease of use). Other letters are by default case sensitive (eg, "Hello world" is always a different article than "Hello World"). This is actually partially a technical issue (most programming languages, PHP included, are case sensitive). {{User:Omega/sig}} 09:52, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

::::::I think you're seeing this move as way more impacting than it is. Note that while on Wikipedia most of the pages cover topics that are objects or concepts for which it makes sense to write them down in lowercase, here the vast majority of pages are comic explanations, whose titles are capitalized (sentence case) anyway. Even several of the non-comic pages are always capitalized (the characters, Randall...), with the exception perhaps of topics ([[My Hobby]], [[Velociraptors]]...) and a handful of others that might not be occurring to me right now. In total, these should be a fraction of the comic pages, and redirects can easily be created for them. Files are lowercase in virtually all original filenames from xkcd.com, and currently the occurrences of uppercase in their first letter derive primarily from copying the title from the file page. Now, files are lowercased so copying will pose no problems. Templates have also been moved to the lowercase versions, with redirects when appropriate, since most people use them in lowercase anyway.
:::::: As for the name of the wiki and project namespace, that's a completely different issue, and it was agreed on via discussion, and {{diff|4866|endorsed}} by Jeff, to be "explain xkcd" (all lowercase). This happened several days ago. Then, yesterday I moved the main page to that title, because I assumed it would be uncontroversial, as that is the wiki's name, and we don't have a header or anything, so it would serve as the primary heading of the main page, rather than mediawiki's generic "Main Page". Apparently that reasoning didn't resonate with everyone, so I'll move it back to "Main Page" for now. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 20:20, 12 August 2012 (UTC)
:::::::But you still haven't explained a single reason why this change was beneficial. The handful of pages that "needed" a lowercase first letter could easily have slapped a magic word onto the page to override the title. I'm still only thinking of two pages that would ever need a lowercase first letter ([[xkcd]] and [[Template:xkcd]]). We effectively just nuked every page to make those two pages a little bit more... fluid? What? And for the name of the main page, I do support calling it "Explain xkcd", although I don't see what it has to do with the whole uppercase versus lowercase discussion. The casing is inconsistent everywhere I see it. The explainxkcd website has a header in all lowercase, but then references the site in several other places as "Explain XKCD". At any rate, I fail to see the problem with "Explain xkcd", as sentence case has historically been used for page titles, particularly on Wikipedia. It's also much easier to borrow from Wikipedia's policies when naming and styling pages, as the vast majority of xkcd fans are likely also Wikipedia supporters. Why change what's not broke?

:::::::I'm just rather annoyed that one or two people are making every major decision without taking the time to discuss the pros and cons. Can we please sit down and discuss changes with consensus before we implement them, rather than having to argue about them after it's already done? {{User:Omega/sig}} 20:42, 12 August 2012 (UTC)
::::::::I'm with you Omega on the discussion factor. Lets do that going forward to make sure we discuss any changes before they go in. Is the lowercase v uppercase still an issue now? Will reverting it break things all over again? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:07, 13 August 2012 (UTC)

== Wrong File Names ==

Comic [[1077: Home Organization]] has a bad image link. It's pointing to [[:File:Home organization.png]] (lowercase 'O' in organization) which is a redirect to the correct page at [[:File:Home Organization.png]] (Capital 'O'). AFAIK files are supposed to be first letter capitalized, the rest lowercase. Should the image be moved to the lowercase page? Please advise as to how to continue. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 23:09, 14 August 2012 (UTC)
:I found another one. [[1076: Groundhog Day]]. Same deal. [[:File:Groundhog day.png]] is trying to redirect to [[:File:Groundhog Day.png]] [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 23:12, 14 August 2012 (UTC)

:: {{done}}: I moved both images to the lowercase versions and edited the comic pages.
:: Please use the original filename when uploading comics (i.e., lowercase and underscores), even though MediaWiki replaces underscores with spaces. Also, when creating the comic page, use the original filename, MediaWiki will again replace underscores to find the file. The advantage is that we will be able to replace the images with direct links to xkcd.com if this should become necessary or desired. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 14:22, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

::: Some clever person has gone and tagged a bunch of pages that have this issue [[:Category:Pages with broken file links]] [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 17:11, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

:::: {{done}} --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 20:18, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

::::: I swear I've fixed this page before, but [[1054: The Bacon]] the image is now broken using the new style. [[:File:The bacon.png]] needs to be moved and cajoled to work right. Also, there's a few redirects that should be deleted [[The bacon]] and [[1054: The bacon]]. Thank you for your work, you are amazing. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:42, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

:::::: Again, {{done}}. I don't think the redirects will hurt someone, so I keep them in place. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 06:55, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

== [[MediaWiki:Talkpagetext]] ==

I would advise that an admin edit the [[MediaWiki:Talkpagetext]] message with something like [[wikipedia:MediaWiki:Talkpagetext]], or more precisely like the message in bold on [[Talk:1098: Star Ratings|several]] [[Talk:1097: A Hypochondriac's Nightmare|talk]] [[Talk:1095: Crazy Straws|pages]], about signing comments.

That would avoid having to put it on top of every talk page, while also avoiding a not-so-nice message for somebody who came there just to read the comments.

[[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 16:11, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

: So? Up? This does not seem a complex or controversial change to me...
: There, I can make it even more simple for the <s>lazy</s> busy admins: here is a suggestion for the content of that system message: :-)
: <code><nowiki>'''This is a talk page, so please add ~~~~ to the end of your comments to include your signature. Thanks!'''</nowiki></code>
: Obviously, I would gladly do it myself if I could.
: Thanks! - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 15:58, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
:
:: How's that? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:23, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
::
::: :-D sorry, I {{diff|10815|can see}} that I unintentionally left a trap in my suggestion, this would have been better:
::: <code><nowiki>'''This is a talk page, so please add <code><nowiki>~~~~</now</nowiki><nowiki>iki></code> to the end of your comments to include your signature. Thanks!'''</nowiki></code>
::: About your version Jeff, I'm not sure the links to Wikipedia are really useful, especially since talk pages here are not exactly like on Wikipedia: on WP their only use is to talk about the corresponding page and not its subject, here they can also serve to talk about a comic which is the subject of the corresponding page. And if you choose to keep these links, then two of them need a double "wikipedia" prefix (<code><nowiki>[[wikipedia:Wikipedia:Signatures]]</nowiki></code>).
::: But that WPlinks remarks are no big issue anyway, the current version basically does the job so thank you for that.
::: [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 17:06, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
:::: I stole that right from MediaWiki... whoops. Ok, how about now? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 17:54, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
::::
::::: Looks fine for me :-) . If you want you can replace "the signature button at the top of the page" with [[File:Button sig.png]] (<code><nowiki>[[File:Button sig.png]]</nowiki></code>), but that's as you prefer. Thanks again! - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 18:57, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

== New Page Creation Guide ==

Hey folks. Is there a guide for creating new pages, now that frequent users have had a little practice and the templates seem to be settled in? If not, anyone want to volunteer to start one? I've just been copying the latest comic and erasing its content. Perhaps we can start the guide by providing that. It should also be linked from the main page in the section encouraging people to add comics. --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 13:55, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

* I support this. Two pointers: I have a page called [[User:Blaisepascal/newcomictemplate]] which has an empty template for a new comic, including an {{tl|Incomplete}} at the top, all the major sections (Explanation, Transcript, Trivia), and the {{tl|Comic discussion}} at the bottom. I use it to simplify getting the format right. [[User:Lcarsos|Lcarsos]] has also written a Ruby script which will, when given a comic number, will fill in the newcomictemplate with all the information which can be grabbed from xkcd.com (the number, name, date, image name, title text, and Template), as well as the redirect string. All that needs to be done before copy/pasting into explainxkcd is to proof-read it, add appropriate wiki links, and add an explanation. I think a guide should point out tools like this. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 14:51, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

:: A few more tips, remember that the Wiki software doesn't recognize single returns as new paragraphs, there needs to be a whole line between things you want to show up on different lines. And in transcripts, the Wiki software things anything enclosed in double brackets — e.g., [<nowiki />[ — is ''obviously'' a link so some other page on the wiki. Most people are deciding to simply take out the second bracket.

::Also, please, please, please, please, ''please'', add links to Wikipedia. Simply encase the word in {{<nowiki>w|My Phrase</nowiki>}} and the {{tl|w}} template will pick it up and link to that article in Wikipedia. Be sure to click the links you are creating, sometimes Wikipedia's links are awkwardly case sensitive, and conversational capitalization will take you a "No page exists with this title" and won't give you any hints about the page you are looking for. If this happens use {{<nowiki>w|Conversational Capitalization|conversational capitalization</nowiki>}}. The first is the name of the article, the second is what will show up in the generated anchor tag.

::Finally, as you are going through, if you are using Jeff's explanations from the blog, please go through and edit the sentences to not include personal pronouns, e.g., "I". Since anyone can edit (nearly) every article here, there is no 'I' and there is no 'we' if you are referring to anyone who's edited the article. We is referring to human beings in general on this wiki, and it would have to be a very special case to mean anything more exclusive than that. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 15:36, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

:::Thanks for the tips. Exactly the kinds of things I think should be in a guide, more specific for this site than [[wikipedia:Wikipedia:Tutorial|Wikipedia's Editing Tutorial]] is. --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 19:48, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

::::I've started work on exactly that document. I'm currently keeping it at [[User:Lcarsos#Formatting]]. If people think this should be moved out to a real page I'll do that. Just tell me what people think a good name would be. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:10, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

== Please ban [[User:Jjhuddle]] ==

None of the changes that Jjhuddle have made have been for the better. He has reorganized talk pages to fit his own formatting guides, removed perfectly good paragraphs from explanations, refuses to take constructive criticism, refuses to link to his user account in his signature, more often than not forgets to sign his posts, and is being a minor menace. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:05, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
: {{done}} --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:22, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
:
:: I might step into what is not my business here, but I can't help thinking that was a bit harsh.
:: Looking into [[Special:Contributions/Jjhuddle|his contributions]], I see several changes that were perfectly constructive, maybe awkward sometimes, but usually in good faith "for the better". Sure there were mistakes as well, such as discussion reformatting or weird signatures, but (in my opinion) that's really no big issue, and on the whole asking here to ban him without first, for instance, warning him about that, seems pretty rude to me. Also lcarsos, where on earth did he ''remove perfectly good paragraphs from explanations''?? the closest that I found was {{diff|10721|this}}, and frankly that can arguably be interpreted as an improvement (actually I would have done it as well).
:: So I don't know, maybe it's better to act quickly without thinking too much, in order to avoid lengthy, time-consuming debates; that was just my 2¢, do whatever you want with it.
:: [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 17:45, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
:::I assumed that lcarsos has dealt with JJ Huddle over these issues and had finally brought it to us, but I'll leave that for lcarsos to answer. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 17:50, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

::::Let me give you a kind of chronology.

::::His {{diff|9169|first attempt}} at creating a page was actually quite good, his explanation needed a little work to explain things that people might miss, rather than tell what is on the page, but that is a common mistake in enough English classrooms, that I'll write that off entirely. His {{diff|9948|second page}}, made 5 days later, was a step backward.
::::*Separate Title Text section despite using the {{tl|comic}} header
::::*Discussion section despite using the {{tl|comic discussion}} template on his first attempt.
::::*Explanation was better used as a transcript than as an explanation, when there was a perfectly good explanation that existed on the blog, all he had to do was copy and paste.

::::The last of which is what spawned my first post on his talk page. A rather long "welcome to the community post" offering some helpful (that's me talking about myself, somebody double-check me [[User talk:Jjhuddle#Welcome, and a little constructive criticism]]) tips. That was a week ago.

::::After that he fell off my radar until yesterday, I was doing some minor clean up when I stumbled on a talk page that had been completely revised to use bullet points. I delved into its history and found that it was him at fault. That spawned the second of my entries on his [[User talk:Jjhuddle#Do Not Change talk pages]] which was, admittedly, tersely worded. But I did note, that he had not posted a response to my first post. He must have seen the banner that one of the pages on his watchlist (His talk page) had been changed. But didn't post a response, he's been chatty enough elsewhere on the wiki (creating {{diff|10675|talk pages}} to ask where the new comic is; and {{diff|9543|inserting into}} actual pages, things that should have been in the talk page, {{diff|9491|which he did}} but was too impatient to wait for an answer), so I concluded that he wasn't going to take this seriously.

::::His changes to comic explanation pages usually replaces other words, not that they are better wordings, but that they are replacements: {{diff|5606|Michael Phelps}}, {{diff|9890|Hypochondriac's Nightmare}}, {{diff|10721|Vows}}. In both {{diff|9543|Clinically Studied Ingredient}} and Nightmare, he writes "It is not known..." which suggests that he should instead open it up to the community in the Talk page until it is decided, and an edit can then be made, once it is known. TheHYPO dealt with it in short order in Ingredient.

::::I had refreshed the Vows page when I noticed the talk section was done in bullet points rather than indentations, and the first line of the article (which had survived ''many'' edits) was gone. After checking the version history and seeing that Jjhuddle had been on both pages, I checked his contributions more thoroughly. I found that every talk page he had been on after 8 August he would go back and revise it to use bullets, despite the indentations working perfectly well to illustrate the threaded conversations (and in at least one case breaking them: {{diff|9165|Crazy Straws Talk}}, note the response to Erenan's post). Including the {{diff|10183|Star Ratings Talk Page}} where he literally added the "please sign your comment" banner and revised it to bullets, but never left a comment, and didn't add even meager signatures.

::::Then I undid the changes to both Vows pages. Having now looked through most of his edits, I felt that it was time to put a stop to his shenanigans. That is when I created the post on this page.

::::Was it harsh? Yes. All banning is. Was it rude? Probably. But so has his conduct been to the community. His kind of loose-cannon enthusiasm hasn't hardly benefited this wiki, and I bet that if he was allowed to continue, the majority of his edits would be undone. In a philosophy class I took, we had a debate about at what point a laundry list of grievances becomes actionable. We never did nail down an exact number (is that even possible in a philosophy class?) but we decided that everyone has their own instinctual limit, and should act on it rather than wait.

::::Cos, I suppose I should have said "removes/replaces content without adding anything more" instead of "removed perfectly good paragraphs", as it allows what I've discussed to be included in that umbrella.

::::[[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:55, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

== Please block 94.23.1.28 ==

Spam bot replaced [[Template:W]] with spam content. Please block IP.

On a related note. what is the best way to signal to admins/moderators an IP address that needs to be blocked for destructive/spam edits? [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:05, 20 September 2012 (UTC)

==(Temporarily) Turn Off Anonymous Edits (please)==
We've had '''50''' anonymous destructive/harmful edits since the beginning of this slew. I think because of the popularity of 1110 the site is getting more attention than usual. Maybe if anonymous edits are turned off through the weekend that might get us through the storm. Please and thank you.

The full list for those that care:
;2012-09-20
# {{diff|12825|Template:W}}
# {{diff|12878|User:Joe Green}}
# {{diff|12835|1093: Forget}}
# {{diff|12836|explain xkcd:Community portal/Miscellaneous}}
# {{diff|12847|Talk:626: Newton and Leibniz}}
# {{diff|12838|explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals}}
# {{diff|12873|Category talk:Comics from June}}
# {{diff|12844|User:Lcarsos}}
# {{diff|12862|Talk:1038}}
# {{diff|12850|explain xkcd:Community portal/Technical}}
# {{diff|12857|User:Lcarsos}}
# {{diff|12870|User:Enginesoul}}
# {{diff|12860|explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals}}
# {{diff|12863|User talk:Medotcom}}
# {{diff|12864|User:Waldir}}
# {{diff|12871|User:Jeremyp}}
# {{diff|12884|1093: Forget}}
# {{diff|12888|User:BKA}}
# {{diff|12893|Talk:1097: A Hypochondriac's Nightmare}}
# {{diff|12901|User talk:81.3.214.199}}
# {{diff|12902|1093: Forget}}
# {{diff|12911|explain xkcd:Community portal/Miscellaneous}}
# {{diff|12950|User:Klamann}}
# {{diff|12915|User:IronyChef/TestKitchen}}
# {{diff|12951|Category talk:Electric Skateboard}}
# {{diff|12937|1093: Forget}}
# {{diff|12952|Category:Pages with too many expensive parser function calls}}
# {{diff|12939|User:IronyChef}}
# {{diff|12942|1093: Forget}}
# {{diff|12946|explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals}}
# {{diff|12962|explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals}}
# {{diff|12975|1093: Forget}}
# {{diff|12976|explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals}}
;2012-09-21
# {{diff|12982|1093: Forget}}
# {{diff|12983|explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals}}
# {{diff|12984|131: Fans}}
# {{diff|12985|1073: Weekend}}
# {{diff|12998|Talk:1094: Interview}}
# {{diff|12999|118: 50 Ways}}
# {{diff|13000|explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals}}
# {{diff|13002|11: Barrel - Part 2}}
# {{diff|13004|User:Waldir}}
# {{diff|13020|Template:google custom}}
# {{diff|13027|Template:outdent}}
# {{diff|13036|1: Barrel - Part 1}}
# {{diff|13040|User talk:Jtorba}}
# {{diff|13044|140: Delicious}}
# {{diff|13050|User:Yirba}}
# {{diff|13054|140: Delicious}}
# {{diff|13059|1093: Forget}}

--A haggard undo-er of mischief [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:15, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
:: Sorry - just getting to this now... how does it look now? Still garbage coming in? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 12:25, 27 September 2012 (UTC)
:::Just an FYI... it seems that the worst of the vandalism happened during the days when {{explain|1110}} was current, and we had a bunch of anonymous vandals, though that has declined again. My only reservation on blocking anonymous edits is that outside of this exceptional window, most anonymous edits, by far, are of the good kind. (Right now, my only grouse in the Angel of Death category is that one person who registers with a Chinese name, and puts jibberish pages with links to some Mulberry bag outlet store...) What would seem more effective is being able to block where external links go to. Linking to xkcd.com or wikipedia.org seem reasonable, but anything else should be disabled, or at least requiring an admin's approval... Thotz? In conclusion, I will say a big ''tin star'' to Lcarsos, and the whole cast of regulars, in keeping the content here free of vandalism! (I've got to get myself one of those graphics, and post it on the appropriate user pages...) -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:43, 27 September 2012 (UTC)

== Object Cache ==

Hi Admins -
The reason the site was down was the Object Cache database got to be over 1 GB in size and took down access to all databases, so needless to say, this cannot happen again.
I've got but $wgMainCacheType set to CACHE_NONE. Is there anywhere else I can turn off the caching to the database? [[User:Jeff|Jeff]] 12:34, 27 September 2012‎ (UTC)

== Minor change to protected page ==

Hi - new here... I wanted to correct the text for comic #1153 (to change 'apparent paradox' into 'paradox', since the word means 'apparent contradiction') but the page is locked (I get 'This page has been protected to prevent editing' on the Source page). Is there some magic I'm missing, or have you blocked all pages due to malicious hacking?

:Hi, I don't mean to question your intelligence, but were you by chance on the main page, and not on [[1153: Proof]]? I don't see any protections on the explanation page itself, but we definitely have the main page locked down due to the number of spam bot changes we'd have to fix if it were not. The Main Page just has a view (called "transclusion" in wiki terminology) of the comic page, so if you were trying to edit the main page, it wouldn't have helped much because the actual text of the explanation is on the explanation page. If that's not the problem, do write back so we can get to the bottom of this. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 07:34, 30 December 2012 (UTC)

== [[MediaWiki:Captcha-addurl-whitelist]] ==

I'm not sure why I had to solve a captcha for adding an external link in [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1154:_Resolution&diff=prev&oldid=23961 this edit], but perhaps this can be fixed by adding <code>www\.explainxkcd\.com</code> to the captcha whitelist. --[[Special:Contributions/132.230.221.144|132.230.221.144]] 10:28, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
:{{done}}, thanks for reporting. Let me know if it solves the issue. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 05:15, 1 January 2013 (UTC)
::[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1153 Test] Seems to work. Thank you! --[[Special:Contributions/132.230.221.144|132.230.221.144]] 08:28, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

== Something is odd with [[191]]: SOLVED ==
I've added my comments to discussion page of comic [[191]], but they don't show up on the main one. Can you guys hint on what I've done wrong? Thank you in advance. - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 16:24, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
:Now it's happening to [[954]] as well :( - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 16:47, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
: Never-mind, figured it out myself. I had to click out of date fix on the main page of the wiki, though not sure why - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 18:51, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

::Mediawiki caches page transclusions, which is how we get the talk page to show up on the explanation page, and the latest comic on the main page. The cache eventually refreshes itself, but, if you want it to show up right away you can do a little url hacking to add the argument <tt>&purge=true</tt> onto the page the transclusion is occurring on. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:55, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Help:How to add a new comic explanation

2013-02-26T22:53:12Z

Lcarsos: all the mediawiki documentation prefers REDIRECT to Redirect

Welcome to the '''explain xkcd''' wiki, and thanks for your willingness to help further our mission!

Adding a new comic explanation is very simple; just follow these simple steps:

{| class="wikitable" style="float:left;"
! colspan="2" | For an old, unexplained comic:

|-
| style="color:Teal; font-size:large; font-weight:bold; width:3em; text-align:center;" | 1
| style="vertical-align:top; width:30em" |
Visit [[List of all comics]] and find the comic you want to explain.
It should display as a red link on the table.

|-
| style="color:Teal; font-size:large; font-weight:bold; width:3em; text-align:center;" | 2
| style="vertical-align:top;" colspan="3" |
Click the "(create)" light blue link in the "title" column of [[List of all comics]], and follow the instructions.
:[[File:Bulbgraph.png|12px|Note|link=]] ''Don't forget to add all the required components:
:: fill the parameters of the {{tl|comic}} template, add the explanation, and the transcript.''

|-
| style="color:Teal; font-size:large; font-weight:bold; width:3em; text-align:center;" | 3
| style="vertical-align:top;" colspan="3"|
Click the red links for "number" and "title" in the "redirects" column of [[List of all comics]],
and create both pages with the code <code><nowiki>#REDIRECT [[XXX: Comic title]]</nowiki></code>
(of course, substituting the relevant data)

|}

{| class="wikitable" style="float:left;"
! colspan="2" | For the latest xkcd comic:

|-
| style="color:Teal; font-size:large; font-weight:bold; width:3em; text-align:center;" | 1
| style="vertical-align:top; width:30em" |
Open http://xkcd.com and gather the data from the page. You will need:
* The title of the comic
* The comic image (save it to your computer)
* The transcript of the comic (view the HTML source of the page to get it)

|-
| style="color:Teal; font-size:large; font-weight:bold; width:3em; text-align:center;" | 2
| style="vertical-align:top;" |
Edit [[List of all comics]] and add a new row to the top of the table, using the {{tl|comicsrow}} template.
:[[File:Bulbgraph.png|12px|Note|link=]] ''Make sure to use the same format as the other rows,
:: and click the "preview" button before saving the page, to check that everything looks ok.''

|-

| style="color:Teal; font-size:large; font-weight:bold; width:3em; text-align:center;" | 3
| style="vertical-align:top;" |
Click the red links in the "image" column and upload the file you downloaded in step #1

|-
| style="color:Teal; font-size:large; font-weight:bold; width:3em; text-align:center;" | 4
| style="vertical-align:top;" colspan="3" |
Click the "(create)" light blue link in the "title" column of [[List of all comics]], and follow the instructions.
:[[File:Bulbgraph.png|12px|Note|link=]] ''Don't forget to add all the required components:
:: fill the parameters of the {{tl|comic}} template, add the explanation, and the transcript.''

|-
| style="color:Teal; font-size:large; font-weight:bold; width:3em; text-align:center;" | 5
| style="vertical-align:top;" colspan="3"|
Click the red links for "number" and "title" in the "redirects" column of [[List of all comics]],
and create both pages with the code <code><nowiki>#Redirect [[XXX: Comic title]]</nowiki></code>
(of course, substituting the relevant data)

|}

1167: Star Trek into Darkness

2013-02-26T22:47:53Z

Lcarsos: /* ~*~tRaNsCrIpT~*~ */ lolz

{{comic
| number = 1167
| date = January 30, 2013
| title = Star Trek into Darkness
| image = star_trek_into_darkness.png
| titletext = Of course, factions immediately sprang up in favor of '~*~sTaR tReK iNtO dArKnEsS~*~', 'xX_StAr TrEk InTo DaRkNess_Xx', and 'Star Trek lnto Darkness' (that's a lowercase 'L').
}}

==~*~ExPlAnAtIoN~*~==
The talk page of a Wikipedia article is used to discuss changes to the article. An {{w|Wikipedia:Edit warring|edit war}} is a dispute about a specific edit to an article, manifesting as a series of edits alternatingly making and reverting the change, and usually accompanied by a more-or-less heated debate on the talk page.

Here, [[Randall]] is referring to a dispute on the Wikipedia article about ''{{w|Star Trek Into Darkness}}'' (an upcoming Star Trek film). On the day before the comic was published the article name had a lowercase "into", the talk page looked [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Star_Trek_Into_Darkness&oldid=535271069 like this], (rounded off in a friendly way, with the posting of {{w|User:Frungi/Star_Trek_Into_Darkness_capitalization|a summary of the arguments}}, and an exchange of virtual hugs).

[[Cueball]] changes the title so that every other letter is capitalized, and adds framing tildes and asterisks (a common (childish) way of emphasising titles online). This will probably not go over well.

Megan's line of "They should have sent a poet." is a quote from the film ''{{w|Contact (film)|Contact}}''. The quote is also featured in [[482: Height]].

The title text indicates Randall's belief that such arguments are perpetual and will always arise. He suggests that the edit in the comic will result in a dispute over variants on Cueballs "compromise". Because the lowercase "L" and the capital "I" appear similar in many fonts, he also suggests the potential argument that the character in the movie's title is a lowercase "L".

The old "favourite edit war" might be the one referenced in [[878: Model Rail]].

After the publication the debate continued with full force, complete with [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Star_Trek_Into_Darkness&oldid=535664064#xkcd_Mention a section of xkcd-inspired suggestions]. The article itself was soon protected, so that only administrators could edit it. A day later the title was changed to a capital "Into" by the administrator {{w|User:Mackensen|Mackensen}}. (The debate continued on {{w|User talk:Mackensen#Star Trek into Darkness|his talk page}}.)

{{w|The Independent}} had an article about the [http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/trekkies-take-on-wikis-in-a-grammatical-tizzy-over-star-trek-into-darkness-8475705.html "grammatical tizzy"], and the thing was included in Wikipedias humorous list of the {{w|WP:LAME|lamest edit wars}}.

==xX_tRaNsCrIpT_Xx==
:[Cueball staring at computer screen.]
:Cueball: Oh, wow. Look at Wikipedia's Talk page for Star Trek into Darkness. I have a new favorite edit war.
:Megan (off-panel): Oh?

:Cueball: Forty ''thousand'' words of debate over whether to capitalize "into" in the movie's title. Still no consensus.
:Megan: That's ''magnificient''.
:Cueball: It's breathtaking.
:Megan: They should have sent a poet.

:Cueball: Well I'm making an executive decision. I hope both sides accept this as a fair compromise.

:[A wikipedia page titled "~*~ StAr TrEk InTo DaRkNeSs ~*~"]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]

1171: Perl Problems

2013-02-26T22:46:28Z

Lcarsos: added Category:Computers using HotCat

{{comic
| number = 1171
| date = February 8, 2013
| title = Perl Problems
| image = perl problems.png
| titletext = To generate #1 albums, 'jay --help' recommends the -z flag.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Perl}} is a scripting language that makes heavy use of {{w|Regular expression|regular expressions}}, which are good for dealing with large amounts of text quickly. In the comic, the man wearing sunglasses parodies the song "{{w|99 Problems}}" in which the rapper {{w|Jay-Z}} says:

:If you're havin' girl problems
:I feel bad for you, son-
:I got 99 problems,
:But a bitch ain't one.

In the comic however, the rapper tries to solve his problems with Perl’s regular expressions, and ends up only creating another problem for himself, which is a reference to a [http://regex.info/blog/2006-09-15/247 famous quote by Jamie Zawinski] (whose name could also be shortened to "Jay-Z"): “Some people, when confronted with a problem, think ‘I know, I'll use regular expressions.’ Now they have two problems.”

“program --help” is a common way, originating with the GNU project, to ask a program to show documentation on its usage and supported parameters; which, for some program, could include a “-z” command-line argument (“flag”), so the command would read “jay -z”. In this case, it is just an obvious play on the rapper’s name. ([http://www.cs.rit.edu/~ats/projects/lp/doc/jay/package-summary.html '''jay'''] is also an actual C program that is a compiler-compiler for java, but it doesn't have a “-z” flag.)

==Transcript==
:[Man with sunglasses and Cueball talking.]
:Sunglasses: If you're havin' perl problems I feel bad for you, son-

:Sunglasses: I got 99 problems,

:Sunglasses: So I used regular expressions.

:Sunglasses: Now I have 100 problems.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]

1171: Perl Problems

2013-02-26T22:46:15Z

Lcarsos: removed Category:Perl using HotCat

1167: Star Trek into Darkness

2013-02-24T19:51:17Z

Lcarsos: Someone took away the lulzy capitalization. Listen to me: When the two active senior editors decide that it's okay to leave something funny in the page, leave it in the page.

{{comic
| number = 1167
| date = January 30, 2013
| title = Star Trek into Darkness
| image = star_trek_into_darkness.png
| titletext = Of course, factions immediately sprang up in favor of '~*~sTaR tReK iNtO dArKnEsS~*~', 'xX_StAr TrEk InTo DaRkNess_Xx', and 'Star Trek lnto Darkness' (that's a lowercase 'L').
}}

==ExPlAnAtIoN==
The talk page of a Wikipedia article is used to discuss changes to the article. An {{w|Wikipedia:Edit warring|edit war}} is a dispute about a specific edit to an article, manifesting as a series of edits alternatingly making and reverting the change, and usually accompanied by a more-or-less heated debate on the talk page.

Here, [[Randall]] is referring to a dispute on the Wikipedia article about ''{{w|Star Trek Into Darkness}}'' (an upcoming Star Trek film). On the day before the comic was published the article name had a lowercase "into", the talk page looked [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Star_Trek_Into_Darkness&oldid=535271069 like this], (rounded off in a friendly way, with the posting of {{w|User:Frungi/Star_Trek_Into_Darkness_capitalization|a summary of the arguments}}, and an exchange of virtual hugs).

[[Cueball]] changes the title so that every other letter is capitalized, and adds framing tildes and asterisks (a common (childish) way of emphasising titles online). This will probably not go over well.

Megan's line of "They should have sent a poet." is a quote from the film ''{{w|Contact (film)|Contact}}''. The quote is also featured in [[482: Height]].

The title text indicates Randall's belief that such arguments are perpetual and will always arise. He suggests that the edit in the comic will result in a dispute over variants on Cueballs "compromise". Because the lowercase "L" and the capital "I" appear similar in many fonts, he also suggests the potential argument that the character in the movie's title is a lowercase "L".

The old "favourite edit war" might be the one referenced in [[878: Model Rail]].

After the publication the debate continued with full force, complete with [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Star_Trek_Into_Darkness&oldid=535664064#xkcd_Mention a section of xkcd-inspired suggestions]. The article itself was soon protected, so that only administrators could edit it. A day later the title was changed to a capital "Into" by the administrator {{w|User:Mackensen|Mackensen}}. (The debate continued on {{w|User talk:Mackensen#Star Trek into Darkness|his talk page}}.)

{{w|The Independent}} had an article about the [http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/trekkies-take-on-wikis-in-a-grammatical-tizzy-over-star-trek-into-darkness-8475705.html "grammatical tizzy"], and the thing was included in Wikipedias humorous list of the {{w|WP:LAME|lamest edit wars}}.

==tRaNsCrIpT==
:[Cueball staring at computer screen.]
:Cueball: Oh, wow. Look at Wikipedia's Talk page for Star Trek into Darkness. I have a new favorite edit war.
:Megan (off-panel): Oh?

:Cueball: Forty ''thousand'' words of debate over whether to capitalize "into" in the movie's title. Still no consensus.
:Megan: That's ''magnificient''.
:Cueball: It's breathtaking.
:Megan: They should have sent a poet.

:Cueball: Well I'm making an executive decision. I hope both sides accept this as a fair compromise.

:[A wikipedia page titled "~*~ StAr TrEk InTo DaRkNeSs ~*~"]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]