Difference between revisions of "215: Letting Go"

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(Rewriting revision 45710 without any duplication.)
(Complete rewrite of explanation, minor fixes to transcript)
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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
The title "Letting Go" points out a classic human behavior; you know it's over, you can't do anything to reverse it, but nevertheless you are still very sad.
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In fiction, a character who has had a romantic relationship end will be shown taking some act to remove a sign of their partner's presence in their life, e.g. removing/selling a wedding or engagement ring, removing the partner's toiletries from the bathroom, or deleting the partner's phone number from a cell phone. This is used to symbolize that the character has accepted the end of the relationship and is ready to move on, no longer pining for their loss or seeking to restore the relationship.
  
Obviously, [[Megan]] broke up with [[Cueball]] and he is still desolate, just looking at the torn photo (of Megan & himself). He sits through the night mourning the breakup, and probably contemplating if there is any chance of a patch up. In the morning, he acknowledges the reality that the relationship is over and thus deletes the user account of Megan. This also shows that decision to delete the computer account is as important as the relation to Cueball, presumably a power user/geek, as it involves loss of data and settings.
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The first three panels imply that [[Cueball]] was presumably in a now-terminated relationship with [[Megan]]. The final panel shows him using the Unix command 'userdel' is used to delete her user account from his computer. The joke here is that he considers this to be a significant part of accepting that she is no longer a part of his life, where most people would consider it a routine administrative task.
  
The Unix command ''userdel'' deletes a user account. Megan can't login again.
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The title text refers to Cueball's thankfulness that he never gave Megan the password to the administrator ('root') account on the computer. It is unclear why this is; he might be worried she would have used the access to perform [[340|malicious actions]] after the breakup, or simply glad to be spared the need to change the root password. Alternately, it could be a metaphor for marriage and/or a closer emotional relationship, and he is glad he did not allow her an even greater hold on his heart before the breakup (which would, of course, have entailed commensurately more pain when she did leave him).
 
 
The title text continues the theme of Unix terminology, as the root password means full access to the system. But he never gave her access at this level, maybe the cause for the breakup.
 
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
:[A picture of Cueball and Megan in a heart is being held by someone, it has been ripped down the middle, separating the two people.]
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:[A picture of Cueball and Megan in a heart is being held by someone; it has been ripped down the middle, separating the two people.]
  
:[Cueball sits at computer, looking at the picture.]
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:[Cueball sits at computer, looking at an object in his hands, presumably the picture from the previous frame.]
  
:[It is night, Cueball still sits at computer with the picture in front of him and his head drooped.]
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:[Cueball still sits at computer with the object in front of him and his head drooped. This frame is drawn in photo-negative (i.e. white lines on black background)]
  
:[It is day again, Cueball types on computer.]
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:[Cueball types on the computer.]
 
:Text from computer: <code>root@homebox:~# userdel megan</code>
 
:Text from computer: <code>root@homebox:~# userdel megan</code>
  

Revision as of 06:20, 14 November 2013

Letting Go
At least I never gave her the root password.
Title text: At least I never gave her the root password.

Explanation

In fiction, a character who has had a romantic relationship end will be shown taking some act to remove a sign of their partner's presence in their life, e.g. removing/selling a wedding or engagement ring, removing the partner's toiletries from the bathroom, or deleting the partner's phone number from a cell phone. This is used to symbolize that the character has accepted the end of the relationship and is ready to move on, no longer pining for their loss or seeking to restore the relationship.

The first three panels imply that Cueball was presumably in a now-terminated relationship with Megan. The final panel shows him using the Unix command 'userdel' is used to delete her user account from his computer. The joke here is that he considers this to be a significant part of accepting that she is no longer a part of his life, where most people would consider it a routine administrative task.

The title text refers to Cueball's thankfulness that he never gave Megan the password to the administrator ('root') account on the computer. It is unclear why this is; he might be worried she would have used the access to perform malicious actions after the breakup, or simply glad to be spared the need to change the root password. Alternately, it could be a metaphor for marriage and/or a closer emotional relationship, and he is glad he did not allow her an even greater hold on his heart before the breakup (which would, of course, have entailed commensurately more pain when she did leave him).

Transcript

[A picture of Cueball and Megan in a heart is being held by someone; it has been ripped down the middle, separating the two people.]
[Cueball sits at computer, looking at an object in his hands, presumably the picture from the previous frame.]
[Cueball still sits at computer with the object in front of him and his head drooped. This frame is drawn in photo-negative (i.e. white lines on black background)]
[Cueball types on the computer.]
Text from computer: root@homebox:~# userdel megan


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Discussion

Man! That last panel broke my heart.

Right in the feelings. :( ‎173.245.50.139 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

When my last relationship ended I had to revoke her VPN certificate. Relationships got weird. 108.162.221.65 08:06, 22 July 2016 (UTC)

Is this the first comic in which Megan is named as such? 108.162.210.220 19:29, 12 September 2016 (UTC)

when i broke up with ada i deleted her user from my pc xd An user who has no account yet (talk) 18:41, 5 September 2023 (UTC)