Editing 1028: Communication

{{comic
| number    = 1028
| date      = March 12, 2012
| title     = Communication
| image     = communication.png
| imagesize = 
| titletext = Anyone who says that they're great at communicating but 'people are bad at listening' is confused about how communication works.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic is divided into two parts, the first two rows of panels and then the third one.

The first part demonstrates a failed attempt at communication:

* [[White Hat]] notices a dangerous hole, and thinks he should warn people about it.
* White Hat encounters [[Hairy]] and tries to warn him about the hole, while Hairy is wondering what White Hat wants.
* Hairy doesn't understand the warning, only seeing White Hat ranting about something.
* White Hat is irritated by Hairy's lack of understanding, and leaves him.
* White Hat encounters [[Megan]], who tries to tell him about another hole, but White Hat is still annoyed about Hairy and tries to talk about him instead.
* White Hat and Megan continue on, both frustrated by the outcome of their encounters.
* Megan meets Hairy, and they share their common experience of seeing White Hat upset about something.
* They continue on towards the first hole, unaware of it. <small>''Note: quite strangely (mistake?), Hairy seems to "lose" his hair, but it's still the same person, as evidenced by Randall's transcript of the comic.''</small>
* Megan and Hairy fall into the first hole since it wasn't properly communicated to them.
* White Hat falls into the second hole since it wasn't properly communicated to him.

The holes are, hilariously, only about one person deep, probably simply so that we can recognize who fell in; unaware and careless people don't notice them when they come upon them, which makes them symbolic of any problem or danger one can encounter in life, and could avoid if properly warned or careful.

The second part demonstrates a much more successful attempt at communication:

* [[Beret Guy]] notices a dangerous hole, and thinks he should warn people about it.
* Beret Guy finds [[Cueball]], and tells him to come along.
* Cueball doesn't understand why, but follows Beret Guy anyway.
* Beret Guy leads Cueball to the hole, which he shows him.
* Both Beret Guy and Cueball are now properly warned about the hole now.

The moral of the story is that the best way to communicate may be to show instead of tell.

If you are not familiar with it, the symbol of the triangle with the exclamation mark in it is a widely used symbol that means "{{w|Warning sign|warning}}".

The title text references the requirement that "communication" is a two-sided process, and just telling someone something does not mean that you "communicated" the information to them: if they failed to understand, then it means ''you'' failed to communicate.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat looks down at a large gap in the walkway; a thought bubble with a warning symbol and an image of the gap appears above his head.]

:[White Hat walks to the right, away from the gap, and encounters Hairy, to which he speaks (in iconographic speech bubble form), attempting to inform him about the gap. A thought bubble appears above Hairy's head with an image of White Hat.]

:[White Hat continues, waving his arms, still talking about the gap. Hairy's thought bubble continues to contain images of White Hat, now gesturing frantically.]

:[Hairy shrugs in a nonplussed manner, and White Hat leaves off the right side of the frame. Both have thought bubbles displaying the other's reaction.]

:[White Hat continues to the right and comes across Megan. He tells her about the reaction of Hairy (still all in iconographic form); she simultaneously tries to tell him about a gap and gestures off to the right of the frame.]

:[White Hat and Megan both leave the frame thinking of each other's reactions; Megan exiting left and White Hat exiting right.]

:[Megan (still thinking about White Hat) encounters Hairy (who is also still thinking about White Hat).]

:[Megan and Hairy talk about White Hat.]

:[Megan and Hairy continue talking about White Hat as they exit the frame to the left.]

:[A commotion is heard from the left.]

:[The camera pans over to the left, where Megan and Hairy have fallen into a gap in the walkway. A commotion is then also heard from the right.]

:[The camera pans over to the right, where White Hat has also fallen into a gap.]

:[Beret Guy comes across a gap in the walkway.]

:[Beret Guy runs off the frame to the right.]

:[Beret Guy meets Cueball, and tells him (still in iconographic form) to come with him. Cueball has a thought bubble of Beret Guy.]

:[Beret Guy takes Cueball's hand and leads him along to the left. Cueball's thought bubble has question marks around Beret Guy.]

:[Beret Guy leads Cueball to the gap and shows him it.]

:[Beret Guy and Cueball walk away from the gap to the right, now both thinking about the gap.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]