322: Pix Plz

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Pix Plz

Title text: But one of the regulars in the channel is a girl!

Explanation

Though this comic predates it, there is a meme (also known as Rule 16 or Rule 30 of the Internet) that has traveled through the Internet that there are no girls on the Internet. This comes from a stigma that girls are too stupid to go on the Internet. The puerile nature of the Internet creates a repulsive force because of exactly what Cueball is doing. As soon as anyone claims to be a female online there will invariably be a slew of "tits or gtfo" replies.

Black Hat, while usually a destructive force, and self-proclaimed classhole, stands up for women everywhere. He enlists the help of a Ponytail character named Joanna (and in fact it could be claimed that Ponytail's name is Joanna) to ban Cueball from the Internet if he slips up again. Which he does.

IRC is the acronym for Internet Relay Chat. It is a protocol that eventually evolved into the instant messengers, chat rooms, and XMPP (formerly Jabber) servers around today. With the advent of live-streaming video online, IRC channels are making a come-back as a way for hosts and audiences to communicate with each other in real-time.

An EMP is an electromagnetic pulse that will disrupt electronics from functioning normally. An EMP is an unusual spike in voltage. Small EMPs will disrupt electricity momentarily, larger EMPs are capable of burning out circuitry.

There is no lost love between Randall and people who "jokingly" do something.

Transcript

[Black Hat stands in the entrance to a room. The door has been broken down. A surprised Cueball has turned away from his computer to face the remains of the door.]

Black Hat: Hi. I'm here about the girl who visited your IRC channel last night looking for Java help.

Cueball: What did you do to my door?

Black Hat: When someone with a feminine username joins your community and you say "OMG a woman on the Internet" and 'jokingly' ask for naked pics, you are being an asshole. You are not being ironic. You are not cracking everybody up. You are the number one reason women are so rare on the Internet.

Black Hat: At least, the parts of it you frequent.

[Ponytail enters the room, holding some sort of device.]

Black Hat: As someone who likes nerdy girls, I do not appreciate this. I'm here to ban you from the Internet. The gal behind me with the EMP cannon is Joanna - she'll be assigned to you for the next year. Try to go online and she'll melt your PC.

Cueball: Dude, she's hot. Is she single?

Black Hat: Joanna, fire.

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Discussion

It's a little unfair to say that the "rule", such as it is, exists because internet users believe women are too stupid <sic> to be online. A more accurate reason would be because so many men masquerade as women for various reasons. (Such as extra attention, or as a fetish)

Therefore, someone claiming to be female is met with cynicism online - often with unfortunate results. ‎161.31.32.81 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

I find it amusing that, while ostensibly egalitarian/feminist/what-have-you, this comic's last panel still has Black Hat giving Joanna the order to fire -- for all his high-flown (and largely justified) rhetoric, he still doesn't realize she doesn't need telling. 71.97.137.127 22:28, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

I see that more because of a boss/employee relationship between black hat guy and joanna 189.135.40.161 19:48, 24 April 2013 (UTC)

If I ask you to close the blinds, because you are closer to the window, would you assume I think myself superior? Same here, Joanna has the gun, BHG doesn´t, therefore he asks her to do it. 91.64.172.40 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)