https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=141.101.99.12explain xkcd - User contributions [en]2026-04-17T13:01:13ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2966:_Exam_Numbers&diff=3477532966: Exam Numbers2024-07-31T18:57:25Z<p>141.101.99.12: /* Pre-Algebra Final Exam */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2966<br />
| date = July 31, 2024<br />
| title = Exam Numbers<br />
| image = exam_numbers_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 553x400px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Calligraphy exam: Write down the number 37, spelled out, nicely.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a MATH TEACHER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
At a kindergarden-level education, it is assumed that an individual might write down a relatively small number{{cn}} like 300, or maybe even 5000. But when people get more education or simply absorb information from pop culture, they get more intuition on how big numbers get, so it is a very complicated problem for a postgraduate student to write a big number. Some example responses to the very last question may include TREE(3), Graham's number, or 3^^^3.<br />
<br />
However, it is another problem to write down the number in notation, because mathematical notation is inherently abstract. For example, what is stopping somebody from just writing down "the biggest number + 1"? Is it valid to write a Python program? Some<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzgw6zMtipQ : Quest To Find The Largest Number<br />
- CodeParade</ref> may argue that the only valid solution is to write down a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambda_calculus Lambda calculus] computation which results in a very big number.<br />
<br />
===Pre-Algebra Final Exam===<br />
x = 3x - 8<br />
<br />
''3x'' refers to the multiplication of 3 and the 'unknown number' ''x''.<br />
<br />
Of the many ways to solve this, you might start by making ''x'' relevent upon only one side of the equation. Subtracting ''x'' from both sides gives ''0 = 2x -8''. As ''2x'' becomes zero if you take away the value 8, a single ''x'' would be half of that, i.e. 4. <br />
<br />
This is easily verified by plugging ''x=4'' into the original equation. '''4''' = 3*'''4''' - 8 -> 4 = 12 - 8 -> 4 = 4.<br />
<br />
===Calculus Final Exam===<br />
Integrate[x Sin[x]^2, {x, 0, Pi}]<br />
<br />
Answer: Pi^2/4 or approx 2.4674<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
6 Different math test questions. The first one says: Kindergarten math:Write down the biggest number you can think of<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references /></div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2956:_Number_Line_Branch&diff=3461582956: Number Line Branch2024-07-11T08:09:53Z<p>141.101.99.12: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2956<br />
| date = July 8, 2024<br />
| title = Number Line Branch<br />
| image = number_line_branch_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 469x235px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Attention all passengers: This is an express sequence to infinity. If your stop is not a power of two, please disembark now.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a SECOND BOT TO REDUCE CONGESTION - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic likens the {{w|number line}} to a line of a railroad or subway system. These often have branches where different trains continue on to a different destination, with different stops along the way, or travel on parallel lines to allow faster trains to bypass slower ones. In the number line, one branch (presumably the original) contains ordinary numbers, while the newly opened branch consists of some completely different numbers, denoted with various symbols as an analogue to those we use as digits. The branches seem to split at π. The new branch proceeds slightly more quickly than the traditional numerical branch.<br />
<br />
The sequence ending with a bold mark at Δ (whereas the original number line fades out) suggests that it is the end of this branching sequence. Mathematicians, apparently, could only afford to construct 5 additional numbers, or their research hasn't yet found other numbers. The branch may have been intended to run much further, but been {{w|High_Speed_2|scaled back}} due to budget overruns and cutbacks.<br />
<br />
The title text makes a parallel between a train stopping at a station and a numerical sequence "stopping" at a number – that is, taking it as a value. It's a spoof of announcements that are typically made on trains, so that passengers can confirm that they're on a train that goes to their desired station; an "express train" typically makes fewer stops so it can serve the most popular stops and reach its final destination sooner. In this case, the express train only stops at powers of 2; presumably the "local" stops at every integer. Powers of 2 are 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and so on, such that the interval between stops grows exponentially larger.<br />
<br />
Mathematically, an express train like this would get to its scheduled stops much faster, but it would not actually have any fewer stops overall. Mathematicians that study infinities generally regard all "{{w|Countable_set|countably}}" infinite sets as being the same "size." Infinity is not a fixed value, rather it's the concept of "does not end," so it's paradoxical to try to take a train to a destination that is, by definition, not a single destination. By way of analogue, it's akin to promising to stop hitting your little brother only after you've done so forever.<br />
<br />
A fictional number was previously shown in [[899: Number Line]] ("gird"), and fictional ''numerals'' were shown in [[2206: Mavis Beacon]]. And similar treatment of mathematics as public infrastructure was seen in [[2735: Coordinate Plane Closure]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[The number line for natural numbers, going from 0 to 10 and trailing off, with a marker at 0 to indicate that it is the start of the sequence. At about pi, the line branches off into a second line, which contains five odd-looking symbols, and stops at the fifth one. The first, below 4, is a square, the second is a pi rotated 90° counterclockwise, the third resembles a closed phi, the fourth is a spiral, and the fifth is a triangle.]<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Good news!<br />
:After thousands of years, mathematicians have finally opened a second branch on the number line to reduce congestion.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2923:_Scary_Triangles&diff=3456082923: Scary Triangles2024-07-04T12:04:10Z<p>141.101.99.12: /* Explanation */ If intended as a comment, done wrongly. Isn't well written either in the form it appears *or* as a mysteriously hidden comment.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2923<br />
| date = April 22, 2024<br />
| title = Scary Triangles<br />
| image = scary_triangles_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 303x369px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Concealed mostly beneath the surface, sharks are the icebergs of the sea.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] is giving a marine biology lecture about sharks and seems to have mixed up icebergs with the topic. <br />
<br />
In pop culture, {{w|shark}}s will often approach prey or people with only their front {{w|dorsal fin}} visible, which looks like a triangle, above the water. As far as its usual marine prey is concerned, this is inaccurate, as most sharks will attack from below to keep the element of surprise. From the human perspective, we're just more used to (and capable of) seeing the surface of the sea so, most of the time, if we actually ''know'' that there is a shark in the area then it's because it is currently swimming close enough to the surface to have its dorsal fin conspicuously sticking into the air - whether or not it is a hunting shark, a dangerous shark or even an actual shark.<br />
<br />
In the comic the joke is that Cueball reveals that marine biologists have only recently learned that the triangle is only a small part of a shark. Until this revelation people were only aware of the visible portion, and the fact that death and injury often occurred when they arrive, causing them to be known as 'scary triangles'. Finally the community has learned that more than 90% (i.e. the rest of the shark's body) is hidden beneath the surface. (In most, if not all, cases it would actually be ''significantly'' more than 90%.)<br />
<br />
The 90% is borrowed from an often cited factoid about {{w|iceberg}}s: that 90% of their volume is underwater (see also [[2829: Iceberg Efficiency]]). This follows from the relative densities of ice and water: the fraction under water is the density of the ice divided by the density of the water. For pure ice just below freezing in pure water just above freezing this would be 0.92 kg/L / 1 kg/L = 92%. However sea water has a density of 1.03 kg/L, leading to 89%. In reality icebergs are made of compressed snow (which has a lower density) and may be filled with air cavities, leading to lower densities. <br />
<br />
Having learned that a similar fact is true of sharks, Cueball has drawn a dotted outline of the shark's body, equivalent to that often depicted in diagrams of icebergs, beneath the scary triangular fin, to show what a shark looks like under the surface. Cueball's enhanced analysis has so far failed to identify some of the {{w|Shark tooth|even more scary triangles}} that more often stay below water, and would be experienced proportionately more in actual attack situations, also leaving critical leaky holes in the body.<br />
<br />
The title text continues the joke explicitly, saying that sharks are the "icebergs of the sea." However, icebergs are already the icebergs of the sea.{{Citation needed}} A better name would be "icebergs in the animal kingdom".<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball points with a stick to a poster hanging behind him to the left. The poster has a diagram of a shark. The dorsal fin is shown above a wavy surface of water. The part of the outline of the shark that are under water are drawn in dashed lines. There are unreadable text in the top and bottom left corner, and two labels with lines that points to its dorsal fin and its gills. Cueball's stick points to the label near the gills]<br />
:Cueball: Today's marine biology lecture is on '''sharks'''. We all know them as the scary triangles of the sea, but recent research has revealed that the triangle is only a small portion of the shark - over 90% of it is hidden beneath the surface.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
This is the second comic in a row to mention sharks (the previous being [[2922: Pub Trivia]]), and the third out of the last five to mention large marine predators in some way (the first being [[2919: Sitting in a Tree]]).<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Public speaking]]<br />
[[Category:Biology]]<br />
[[Category:Sharks]]</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2699:_Feature_Comparison&diff=298981Talk:2699: Feature Comparison2022-11-18T10:35:03Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
The image has changed. Now Mastodon includes USER-RUN INSTANCES (though I believe it should also have a check next to DOESN'T REQUIRE CENTRAL SERVER).<br />
<br />
I tried googling "wikipedia feature comparison chart". Instead of finding a page explaining how these charts work, I got a chart comparing different wiki softwares. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:22, 16 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Of course, it wouldn't be hard to make apps on smartphones support mesh networks ... however, the manufacturers and app developers prefer to work hard to make sure they don't work without being connected to internet and serving advertisement. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_Direct Although ...] -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:25, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Actually, nearly all smartphones use radio chipsets running proprietary firmware with little to no mesh support; WiFi Direct depends upon protocol support from these chipsets, & specifically precludes relaying from device-to-device-to-device in a "decentralized mesh" fashion. DD-WRT & OpenWRT protocols support this kind of wireless decentralized mesh, but are not supported by the radio firmware present on consumer smartphones. Devices supporting these wireless mesh protocols do exist, but a lack of other nearby devices supporting those protocols, precludes relayed communication over multiple until such devices are deployed throughout the distance between a sender & recipient. In the US, there's only a couple bands allocated by the FCC which permit ciphered digital transmissions without a broadcast license, & the lineup of cellular handsets featuring radios for these bands can be counted on a few fingers. <br />
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 19:55, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There seems to be a lot of wrongness about this matrix. Besides that mastodon instances can be run by user (which is fixed):<br />
* Mastodon does not support file transfer. You can only upload images, and ''not'' even all image formats—webp is not supported. Some other ActivityPub servers support file upload, but then it's not Mastodon.<br />
* IRC also doesn't support file transfer afaik.<br />
* Mastodon and SMS don't require a central server<br />
* Discord, Reddit, and Slack doesn't have user-run instances<br />
* Discord doesn't have builtin games last time I checked. The games are by the bots,<br />
<br />
I don't know about Slack, but pretty much all of Discord and Reddit is user-run/moderated instances.<br />
:That slash is doing a lot of work there. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.31|172.69.34.31]] 06:57, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Your definition for "instance" must be very different from mine then. For me, "instance" refer to the server software's instance; that is, the user must be able to run the server software on their own to qualify this. If you consider subreddits and discord chat rooms (I refuse to call them "servers", because that's not what they are) as "user-run instances", then so are Facebook groups, right? Those are not instances; they're just communities or groups moderated by some selected people. --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.215.3|172.71.215.3]] 12:55, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:webp support was added in Mastodon 4.0. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.124|162.158.222.124]] 08:38, 18 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"IRC itself is a teleconferencing system, which (through the use of the client-server model) is well-suited to running on many machines in a distributed fashion. A typical setup involves a single process '''(the server) forming a central point''' for clients (or other servers) to connect to, performing the required message delivery/multiplexing and other functions." – J. Oikarinen, D. Reed; Internet Relay Chat Protocol; RFC 1459; May 1993. Emphasis added. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.158|172.71.154.158]] 01:45, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Notably, Mastodon ''eschews'' file transfer - audio specifically - for fear of enabling piracy (issue #7495). Tumblr would have a more comprehensive version of file transfer.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/172.71.146.136|172.71.146.136]] 03:17, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
IRC has (X)DCC for File Transfers and for it's centralisation it depends on the deployment, the original network that became EFNet (Eris-Free Network) doesn't have a central server, but things like Libera and OFTC have centralised services for authentication and servers maintained by only one organisation. Btw for games on the fediverse (which Mastodon is part of) Misskey includes some, sadly they're centralised. [[User:Lanodan|Lanodan]] ([[User talk:Lanodan|talk]]) 03:40, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Tumblr does have group chats. They're publicly viewable by anyone, but only people in the group can send messages, so I think they still count as group chats.<br />
<br />
It appears we are all having a [[386]] moment watching Randall finally be wrong about something. How dare he?! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.111.30|172.70.111.30]] 05:37, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
: Nobody wants to put this train wreck into the explanation, but someone has to. I'm guessing we're waiting for further corrections just in case.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.31|ki172.69.34.31]] 06:57, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
Discord did add games recently: https://discord.com/blog/server-activities-games-voice-watch-together<br />
[[User:Spenc|Spenc]] ([[User talk:Spenc|talk]]) 07:28, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
He also just left out Matrix entirely, y'know I'm starting to think this isn't a serious comparison. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.250.193|172.70.250.193]] 07:42, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
: He forgot to include humans, too, which support all of the features listed. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 10:23, 18 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Not sure what built-in would mean, but Slack has plenty of games you can install on it as an admin (Similar to Discord) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.223|172.70.162.223]] 09:52, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Also on April fool's days Tumblr occasionally have some sort of built-in game [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.46|172.70.162.46]] 09:54, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:xkcd has those too :p --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.215.3|172.71.215.3]] 12:55, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm wondering if we shouldn't include in the explanation, besides (on instead of) the link to {{Wikipedia|Mesh networking}}, also a link to {{Wikipedia|Comparison of software and protocols for distributed social networking}}. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 10:34, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I can't help to notice phpBB is so dead it's not even on this chart. -- Shirluban [[Special:Contributions/172.71.122.79|172.71.122.79]] 10:37, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I agree that the table is riddled with a surprising number of errors, but if the conspiracy theory that Randall has been replaced by another, evil cartoonist (as I write, the head of this explanation) is meant to be funny ... it didn't seem amusing to this particular explainer. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 12:55, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
: It wasn't meant to be funny, it was meant to explain the comic. How much fake news about fake news about fake news do we need before we talk about it? It's clear to anybody who can tell how severe the mistakes are, that this is what the comic is about. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.111.29|172.70.111.29]] 15:10, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
While I'm sure this could start a holy war in its own right, if you include MMS under the umbrella of SMS, you get sort-of file transfers and also group chats. [[User:Jpatterson|Jpatterson]] ([[User talk:Jpatterson|talk]]) 14:12, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
If you think about the difference between user *run* instances vs user *hosted* instances, that might explain why Discord, Reddit, and Slack all have that check. However, I can't think of a possible reason why Mastodon is missing "Doesn't require central server" when that is its main selling point. :shrug: [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.67|108.162.246.67]] 14:59, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Somebody reverted my change that IRC does not require a central server, but it doesn't. The protocol has clients connecting to _one_ server among a _network_ of interconnected servers, where anybody can run such a network. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.111.29|172.70.111.29]] 15:10, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
: There's still going to be centralization of administration even among federated nets of IRC servers, unlike USENET for example. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.168|172.69.33.168]] 15:31, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Are we encountering a new kind of vandalism where plausible edits are made introducing terrible prose, typos, and falsehoods? I noticed something similar happened with the recent Y2K comic. I really don't like to log in because we usually show we can do good work with most people logged out and IP's CDN-obfusticated for actual mass anonymity, but I will absolutely log in and push for page protection if vandals start trying to get insidious with subterfuge. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.168|172.69.33.168]] 15:31, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I don't know what vandalisms you're referring to. I've been adding the "Intermediate Edits", mostly behind HTML comments while fine-tuning so as not to make it look awful during the time I know it'll be half-completed (or less!).<br />
:As to terrible prose, I cannot refute the possibility that I'm guilty of that. I do my best, but genuine typos or personal proclivities for purple prose may indeed creep in.<br />
:With falsehoods, nothing I have added (or changed) is deliberately wrong, but may be not the same interpretation as someone else. I'm somewhat handicapped by not being a (regular/registered) user of most of the services (and may understand, e.g., Mesh Networking only in a form that a modern re-envisaging of it has moved drastically away from), but I've been taking my cues from only the very best external references (or Wikipedia!) and trying to boil down the supernumary technicalities to a more Explainxkcd-friendly format.<br />
:As always, another editor with a genuinely better idea (in all those aspects) can refine things. As, I notice, has already been started. Didn't get an Edit Conflict, which I put down to being short and sharp in my insertions, and hope I caused not too many for others. - Taking a break from imposing my own edits, now. I shall deal with any further changes (or reversions) in good heart when I get the time again, later. Good luck and good editing to those who wish to pick up any of the work (or rework it) in the meantime. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.53|172.70.91.53]] 15:58, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think some of you missed the forest for the trees. The point of the comic is to illustrate how feature comparison charts, which are very common sales tools, might be abused to show that the seller's product looks better than it really is. That should be in the explanation of the comic. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.243|172.70.210.243]] 17:27, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
: Agreed, there are a lot of the points that could be debated. Is "central server" meant a server not controlled by you? What is a user-run instance? As twitter has several clients available but is listed without "User-run instances". I bet cybiko is trending on google search right now. [[User:Harald|Harald]] ([[User talk:Harald|talk]]) 17:33, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Sort of https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=now%207-d&q=cybiko [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.38|172.71.154.38]] 19:13, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
: Even though a line about this has now been added, it still seems like it's slightly missing the point, in that it doesn't mention that while the Cybiko may support all those features, that doesn't mean (as the chart implies) that it supports them in a way that is comparatively useful to most users as the other options listed. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 10:35, 18 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===Proposal===<br />
Instead of trying to describe all the common platforms and features, as the HTML comments editor plans, why not just link to their Wikipedia articles and discuss the edge cases, like what counts as group chat or file transfer? Most people will understand the general terms. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.252|172.70.214.252]] 19:41, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I see it as a handy summary that the respective Wikilink (which could still be followed) discusses at length, with history, CEOs, controversies, etc that we don't (normally, except maybe Twitter – for obvious current reasons/inspiration). Enough to brief the slightly adrift user (I have no idea how Discord works, I thought it was like Zoom!) or to clarify the tech used (the Mesh concept was backboneless self-organising swarm-communication, in my day, but is it possibly like Torrenting, according to one version of explanation?) without copypastaing absolutely everything.<br />
:Plus the extensive "this is wrong, that is wrong..." can be quickly folded into a caveat (as one comment says) rather than the current clump edited in at the end, where it's a pain to read and I'm not sure I even read it thoroughly anyway. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.2|172.70.90.2]] 21:19, 17 November 2022 (UTC)</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2699:_Feature_Comparison&diff=298980Talk:2699: Feature Comparison2022-11-18T10:23:25Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
The image has changed. Now Mastodon includes USER-RUN INSTANCES (though I believe it should also have a check next to DOESN'T REQUIRE CENTRAL SERVER).<br />
<br />
I tried googling "wikipedia feature comparison chart". Instead of finding a page explaining how these charts work, I got a chart comparing different wiki softwares. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:22, 16 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Of course, it wouldn't be hard to make apps on smartphones support mesh networks ... however, the manufacturers and app developers prefer to work hard to make sure they don't work without being connected to internet and serving advertisement. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_Direct Although ...] -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:25, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Actually, nearly all smartphones use radio chipsets running proprietary firmware with little to no mesh support; WiFi Direct depends upon protocol support from these chipsets, & specifically precludes relaying from device-to-device-to-device in a "decentralized mesh" fashion. DD-WRT & OpenWRT protocols support this kind of wireless decentralized mesh, but are not supported by the radio firmware present on consumer smartphones. Devices supporting these wireless mesh protocols do exist, but a lack of other nearby devices supporting those protocols, precludes relayed communication over multiple until such devices are deployed throughout the distance between a sender & recipient. In the US, there's only a couple bands allocated by the FCC which permit ciphered digital transmissions without a broadcast license, & the lineup of cellular handsets featuring radios for these bands can be counted on a few fingers. <br />
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 19:55, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There seems to be a lot of wrongness about this matrix. Besides that mastodon instances can be run by user (which is fixed):<br />
* Mastodon does not support file transfer. You can only upload images, and ''not'' even all image formats—webp is not supported. Some other ActivityPub servers support file upload, but then it's not Mastodon.<br />
* IRC also doesn't support file transfer afaik.<br />
* Mastodon and SMS don't require a central server<br />
* Discord, Reddit, and Slack doesn't have user-run instances<br />
* Discord doesn't have builtin games last time I checked. The games are by the bots,<br />
<br />
I don't know about Slack, but pretty much all of Discord and Reddit is user-run/moderated instances.<br />
:That slash is doing a lot of work there. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.31|172.69.34.31]] 06:57, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Your definition for "instance" must be very different from mine then. For me, "instance" refer to the server software's instance; that is, the user must be able to run the server software on their own to qualify this. If you consider subreddits and discord chat rooms (I refuse to call them "servers", because that's not what they are) as "user-run instances", then so are Facebook groups, right? Those are not instances; they're just communities or groups moderated by some selected people. --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.215.3|172.71.215.3]] 12:55, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:webp support was added in Mastodon 4.0. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.124|162.158.222.124]] 08:38, 18 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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"IRC itself is a teleconferencing system, which (through the use of the client-server model) is well-suited to running on many machines in a distributed fashion. A typical setup involves a single process '''(the server) forming a central point''' for clients (or other servers) to connect to, performing the required message delivery/multiplexing and other functions." – J. Oikarinen, D. Reed; Internet Relay Chat Protocol; RFC 1459; May 1993. Emphasis added. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.158|172.71.154.158]] 01:45, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Notably, Mastodon ''eschews'' file transfer - audio specifically - for fear of enabling piracy (issue #7495). Tumblr would have a more comprehensive version of file transfer.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/172.71.146.136|172.71.146.136]] 03:17, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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IRC has (X)DCC for File Transfers and for it's centralisation it depends on the deployment, the original network that became EFNet (Eris-Free Network) doesn't have a central server, but things like Libera and OFTC have centralised services for authentication and servers maintained by only one organisation. Btw for games on the fediverse (which Mastodon is part of) Misskey includes some, sadly they're centralised. [[User:Lanodan|Lanodan]] ([[User talk:Lanodan|talk]]) 03:40, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Tumblr does have group chats. They're publicly viewable by anyone, but only people in the group can send messages, so I think they still count as group chats.<br />
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It appears we are all having a [[386]] moment watching Randall finally be wrong about something. How dare he?! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.111.30|172.70.111.30]] 05:37, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
: Nobody wants to put this train wreck into the explanation, but someone has to. I'm guessing we're waiting for further corrections just in case.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.31|ki172.69.34.31]] 06:57, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Discord did add games recently: https://discord.com/blog/server-activities-games-voice-watch-together<br />
[[User:Spenc|Spenc]] ([[User talk:Spenc|talk]]) 07:28, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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He also just left out Matrix entirely, y'know I'm starting to think this isn't a serious comparison. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.250.193|172.70.250.193]] 07:42, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
: He forgot to include humans, too, which support all of the features listed. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 10:23, 18 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Not sure what built-in would mean, but Slack has plenty of games you can install on it as an admin (Similar to Discord) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.223|172.70.162.223]] 09:52, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Also on April fool's days Tumblr occasionally have some sort of built-in game [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.46|172.70.162.46]] 09:54, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:xkcd has those too :p --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.215.3|172.71.215.3]] 12:55, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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I'm wondering if we shouldn't include in the explanation, besides (on instead of) the link to {{Wikipedia|Mesh networking}}, also a link to {{Wikipedia|Comparison of software and protocols for distributed social networking}}. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 10:34, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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I can't help to notice phpBB is so dead it's not even on this chart. -- Shirluban [[Special:Contributions/172.71.122.79|172.71.122.79]] 10:37, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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I agree that the table is riddled with a surprising number of errors, but if the conspiracy theory that Randall has been replaced by another, evil cartoonist (as I write, the head of this explanation) is meant to be funny ... it didn't seem amusing to this particular explainer. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 12:55, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
: It wasn't meant to be funny, it was meant to explain the comic. How much fake news about fake news about fake news do we need before we talk about it? It's clear to anybody who can tell how severe the mistakes are, that this is what the comic is about. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.111.29|172.70.111.29]] 15:10, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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While I'm sure this could start a holy war in its own right, if you include MMS under the umbrella of SMS, you get sort-of file transfers and also group chats. [[User:Jpatterson|Jpatterson]] ([[User talk:Jpatterson|talk]]) 14:12, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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If you think about the difference between user *run* instances vs user *hosted* instances, that might explain why Discord, Reddit, and Slack all have that check. However, I can't think of a possible reason why Mastodon is missing "Doesn't require central server" when that is its main selling point. :shrug: [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.67|108.162.246.67]] 14:59, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Somebody reverted my change that IRC does not require a central server, but it doesn't. The protocol has clients connecting to _one_ server among a _network_ of interconnected servers, where anybody can run such a network. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.111.29|172.70.111.29]] 15:10, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
: There's still going to be centralization of administration even among federated nets of IRC servers, unlike USENET for example. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.168|172.69.33.168]] 15:31, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Are we encountering a new kind of vandalism where plausible edits are made introducing terrible prose, typos, and falsehoods? I noticed something similar happened with the recent Y2K comic. I really don't like to log in because we usually show we can do good work with most people logged out and IP's CDN-obfusticated for actual mass anonymity, but I will absolutely log in and push for page protection if vandals start trying to get insidious with subterfuge. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.168|172.69.33.168]] 15:31, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I don't know what vandalisms you're referring to. I've been adding the "Intermediate Edits", mostly behind HTML comments while fine-tuning so as not to make it look awful during the time I know it'll be half-completed (or less!).<br />
:As to terrible prose, I cannot refute the possibility that I'm guilty of that. I do my best, but genuine typos or personal proclivities for purple prose may indeed creep in.<br />
:With falsehoods, nothing I have added (or changed) is deliberately wrong, but may be not the same interpretation as someone else. I'm somewhat handicapped by not being a (regular/registered) user of most of the services (and may understand, e.g., Mesh Networking only in a form that a modern re-envisaging of it has moved drastically away from), but I've been taking my cues from only the very best external references (or Wikipedia!) and trying to boil down the supernumary technicalities to a more Explainxkcd-friendly format.<br />
:As always, another editor with a genuinely better idea (in all those aspects) can refine things. As, I notice, has already been started. Didn't get an Edit Conflict, which I put down to being short and sharp in my insertions, and hope I caused not too many for others. - Taking a break from imposing my own edits, now. I shall deal with any further changes (or reversions) in good heart when I get the time again, later. Good luck and good editing to those who wish to pick up any of the work (or rework it) in the meantime. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.53|172.70.91.53]] 15:58, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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I think some of you missed the forest for the trees. The point of the comic is to illustrate how feature comparison charts, which are very common sales tools, might be abused to show that the seller's product looks better than it really is. That should be in the explanation of the comic. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.243|172.70.210.243]] 17:27, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
: Agreed, there are a lot of the points that could be debated. Is "central server" meant a server not controlled by you? What is a user-run instance? As twitter has several clients available but is listed without "User-run instances". I bet cybiko is trending on google search right now. [[User:Harald|Harald]] ([[User talk:Harald|talk]]) 17:33, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Sort of https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=now%207-d&q=cybiko [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.38|172.71.154.38]] 19:13, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
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===Proposal===<br />
Instead of trying to describe all the common platforms and features, as the HTML comments editor plans, why not just link to their Wikipedia articles and discuss the edge cases, like what counts as group chat or file transfer? Most people will understand the general terms. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.252|172.70.214.252]] 19:41, 17 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I see it as a handy summary that the respective Wikilink (which could still be followed) discusses at length, with history, CEOs, controversies, etc that we don't (normally, except maybe Twitter – for obvious current reasons/inspiration). Enough to brief the slightly adrift user (I have no idea how Discord works, I thought it was like Zoom!) or to clarify the tech used (the Mesh concept was backboneless self-organising swarm-communication, in my day, but is it possibly like Torrenting, according to one version of explanation?) without copypastaing absolutely everything.<br />
:Plus the extensive "this is wrong, that is wrong..." can be quickly folded into a caveat (as one comment says) rather than the current clump edited in at the end, where it's a pain to read and I'm not sure I even read it thoroughly anyway. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.2|172.70.90.2]] 21:19, 17 November 2022 (UTC)</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2498:_Forest_Walk&diff=216185Talk:2498: Forest Walk2021-08-07T17:55:46Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Have just added a transcript. Hope I did good! :) -Lance ([[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.211|172.70.126.211]] 02:40, 5 August 2021 (UTC))<br />
:You did good, Lance. *pats head* [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.197|162.158.74.197]] 18:06, 5 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
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Wonder what Beret Guy would do if Cooper said, "I don't have it any more," since some of the money was discovered, badly deteriorated and partially buried, along the banks of the Columbia River back in 1980, as verified by serial numbers on the found currency. Given the absence of any other evidence, it was assumed that the hijacker had gotten separated from the money either during or right after the jump, the found currency had been deposited as flotsam at its discovery point through the actions of the river itself, and the rest of the money was still somewhere in the Pacific Northwest awaiting similar discovery, [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 04:23, 5 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
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If it can be considered that the comic is a reference to random walk (in a forest), can it also be considered a reference to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_forest random forests] ? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.68.73|141.101.68.73]] 07:14, 5 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
:I don't get why the comic is supposed to be a reference to random walks or to random forests. Nothing points to that. Real forests exists, and people walk in them. The only peculiarity of this particular forest is that D.B. Cooper hangs in one of its trees. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.103.244|188.114.103.244]] 08:20, 5 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
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I feel like there should be a D.B. Cooper category at this point. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.52|141.101.104.52]] 07:51, 5 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
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Hey there, I think the alt text is also a reference to https://xkcd.com/2390/ ? Kind regards :) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.61|162.158.89.61]] 08:13, 5 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
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Typo: "he might have simply inherited it form his mom". --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.39|162.158.255.39]] 12:40, 5 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
: Done, now. I'd seen it, but apparently missed it, in preparing for my first big corrective edit of the day (little tyops, a lot less awful than ones ''I'' have previously left for others to correct). Or maybe I thought I should leave it suspended from the tree until some other issue had been resolved. :P [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.105|162.158.158.105]] 12:53, 5 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
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Not to question the artistic representation, but rather than Forest (tree canopy and dense undergrowth), I'd say that was more Woodland Savanna (individual tree growth smattered around grass/shrubland at most). Or maybe we just can't properly see the woods for the trees... (Or the action is set at the edge of a clearing, of course!) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.184|141.101.98.184]] 13:32, 5 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
:It's Southwest Washington, where Pyroculture practiced over centuries changed the nature of the forests. Your average forest, until recently when fire suppression came in, had very little undergrowth, and sometimes whole fields of Camas Lilly or Tarweed or other food plants valued by the Yakima.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 19:43, 5 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
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Doesn't it seem likely, that Beret Guy's trees have soup outlets on them? Like his Business does? (Or, maybe Ghosts (like the business))<br />
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'You help me down this instant!' is not an "unlikely combination of words" or an unusual phrase. I'm not sure if it is regional, but as a native US English speaker, this is a completely normal wording to use if you are frustrated and insisting that someone do something, especially someone much younger, so perhaps it is meant to further indicate the man's age. As an example, a parent might say to their unruly child who is refusing to do their chores, "young man, you clean your room this instant!" (or "right this instant") It can also be used playfully: you are taking a walk along a river with some friends, when one of them suddenly playfully splashes water on you and takes off running (to avoid retaliation) and you run after them shouting "I'm going to get you for that! You get back here right this instant!" [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.28|172.70.131.28]] 15:36, 5 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
:I had the same reaction to both the title text and the explanation (although I believe it refers to the "help me down" part and not the "this instant" part). Either way, neither part of the phrase nor the entire phrase seems unlikely or unusual. I actually first came to this page to see if I was missing a reference in the title text, but it appears Randall just finds our dialectic somewhat strange. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.73|172.70.114.73]] 16:28, 5 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
::IANALinguist, but I took it that "Help me down" is a (potentially, enough to be linguistically nerdsniped upon) ambiguous. 'Down' as a verb is strange, maybe ("to down, I wish you to help me") which might even be more feather-based in regards to the action conveyed. Or "lower the amount of help you shall grant me". Or even "(I) require assistance (for) I (am) feeling a certain amount of ennui". And "I wish to fall" is obviously not meant... Or is it? Some people would wish to consider this... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.211|162.158.158.211]] 19:06, 5 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
:::It was I who added that part about the "unlikely combination of words". Today I have checked it on https://www.english-corpora.org/coca/ (where you have to annoyingly register with your real email address as throwaway mails are effectively blocked). Expression 'right know' has 151 795 results. 'this instant' has only 558 including phrases such as:<br />
:::"Get the fuck out of my office this instant." from Silicon Valley (2017 TV Series, episode The Keenan Vortex);<br />
:::"Shh. Stop that this instant! 'Stop that this instant.' You sound like my teacher." Justice League Action (2016, Galaxy Jest);<br />
:::"Put those drapes down this instant. ... I will grab a spatula and put you Over my knee this instant! - You sound like mommy." The Haunted Hathaways (2014, Haunted Viking);<br />
:::"Applebloom! You come back here right this instant! (blustering)" My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010, Bridle Gossip).<br />
:::There were also some result from spoken word, newspapers and blogs but they were not relevant. In conclusion, 'this instant' is much less frequent than more common 'right know', however, it is used. On the other hand, it is infrequent enough that characters in TV series comment on how out of place that phrase sounds. I have deleted my explanation, feel free to undo the deletion, rewrite the explanation or leave it as it is now.<br />
::: To clarify, I have deleted this part of explanation: As mentioned in [[1400: D.B. Cooper]], Cooper was also known for ambiguous, possibly affected speaking style and use of unusual phrases such as 'negotiable American currency', he seems to hold to this habit and instead of much more common 'Help me right now!' or 'Put me down immediately!' he used rather unlikely combination of words 'You help me down this instant!'. [[User:CryptoNut1269|CryptoNut1269]] ([[User talk:CryptoNut1269|talk]]) 11:06, 6 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
::::I assume you mean "right now" not "right know". [[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.165|172.70.126.165]] 01:05, 7 August 2021 (UTC)Pat<br />
::: My input: the "this instant" bit is not even mentioned as the focus of the linguist's attention, so I'd not consider that important. D.B. may also have only started to say that ''since'' the prior visitor, or only when directly addressing BG (with the long history of ignoring/refusing him). "Help me down" is an interesting construct in and of itself, as mentioned. But I could not tell you in what ways. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.106|162.158.158.106]] 14:39, 6 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
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Anyone else think that D.B. Cooper in this comic looks a bit like Don Quixote from alternate energy revolution? --[[User:4D4850|4D4850]] ([[User talk:4D4850|talk]]) 02:13, 6 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
: Kind of, but when you looked closer at [[556: Alternative Energy Revolution]] Don Quixote's beard is definitely better groomed and his hair is trimmed. I would rather compare this Cooper with the guy form [[725: Literally]]. [[User:CryptoNut1269|CryptoNut1269]] ([[User talk:CryptoNut1269|talk]]) 11:06, 6 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
:: <humor> What if literally guy is alternate universe D.B. Cooper? </humor> Seriously speaking though, it seems the similarity is just because there aren't many different ways to draw stick figures. --[[User:4D4850|4D4850]] ([[User talk:4D4850|talk]]) 19:41, 6 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
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Where's the page for yesterday's 2499:Abandonment Function? I know it was published late (after midnight last night), but is that a reason not to explain it? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 12:54, 7 August 2021 (UTC)<br />
:Sometimes DGBRTBot (however it's capitalised, etc, I forget) needs a nudge. It's a long long time since I last saw that need so seriously doing, so can't remember how difficult it was when everyone was last complaining about it... I'm sure others are checking that, but I'll poke around to see if it's possible to poke as an AnonIP too... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 17:55, 7 August 2021 (UTC)</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1581:_Birthday&diff=102440Talk:1581: Birthday2015-09-25T14:47:54Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
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<div>http://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/23/happy-birthday-song-now-in-public-domain.html [[User:Mwburden|mwburden]] ([[User talk:Mwburden|talk]]) 11:09, 23 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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https://ia601904.us.archive.org/13/items/gov.uscourts.cacd.564772/gov.uscourts.cacd.564772.docket.html [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.245|162.158.92.245]] 11:26, 23 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Why is there a <nowiki><code></nowiki> box around the transcript? {{User:17jiangz1/signature|12:51, 23 September 2015}}<br />
:Because someone wrote the text with a space between each line instead of beginning each line with ":"<br />
Like this<br />
:Instead of like this --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:29, 23 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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There are nine musical notes, not six.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.92|173.245.50.92]] 13:40, 23 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:There are six musical notes (in pictures, two connected eighth notes are one note picture), not nine. [[Special:Contributions/188.114.106.89|188.114.106.89]] 04:56, 25 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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"Some might claim" seems wishy-washy to me. Perhaps it would be better to say "calling the cops in such situations is neither socially appropriate nor beneficial: this is the source of the humor in this comment." [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 14:15, 23 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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This appears to be one of the few comics with <em> both </em> Black Hat and White Hat. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.116|199.27.133.116]] 15:47, 23 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I don't have a sub to law360, nor do I wish to bother giving them my throwaway email. What was the basis of the ruling? Why is this public domain now? {{unsigned|NotLock}}<br />
:It's not, text updated. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.161|108.162.250.161]] 06:39, 24 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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The third line implies that "xkcd" should be pronounced as having two syllables. {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.163}}<br />
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:Clearly you have never heard "Happy Birthday" sung to someone with a really long name. It doesn't matter if it's two syllables, you just stretch it out. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.123|173.245.48.123]] 04:08, 24 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:The song can accommodate names of different lengths, consider the following https://youtu.be/vWs3035D69k?t=1m23s [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.180|108.162.250.180]] 08:45, 24 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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AFAIK The ruling only applies to the lyrics, they still have a valid copyright to the music, so if you sing the song you had better make sure it's to a suitable tune that is out of copyright! {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.80}}<br />
:As I understood it, the music itself is in the public domain and it's just the specific piano arrangement that was under copyright. Reproductions of the music are free and legal, reproductions of the arrangement is the only thing to watch out for. {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.161}}<br />
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:it was ruled that their copyright only covers a specific piano arrangement which is not the tune in use today, so sing your heart out: [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.7|173.245.54.7]] 14:00, 24 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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One in 366 xkcd fans turned to the page today and initially thought that Randall had used a code not dissimilar to what Google uses to change the banner to a birthday greeting on the users' birthday. I was one of those fans... :-) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.23|141.101.99.23]] 09:33, 24 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:You mean one in 365,25... ;-) Happy Birthday with yesterday! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:37, 24 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
::You mean four in 1,461... I've yet to see 0.25 of a fan ;-) &mdash; [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.54|141.101.99.54]] 08:51, 25 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::If I've got my sums right, it'd be 400 in 146097 (+1 day every four years except not +1 every 100 years except ''indeed'' +1 every 400 years). Which factors down to... Ah, that's actually the simplest fraction (2x2x2x2x5x5 in 3x3x3x7x773, no mutuality of factors at all). But if you want to restrict XKCD readers to only those of an age of below 115, I ''suppose'' the above approximation will suffice... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 14:47, 25 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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On the cake most of the characters are separated by space and a dot, except beret guy and cueball who are separated by space and a heart, any thoughts? --Cris {{unsigned ip|108.162.241.195}}<br />
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:the explanation says that is Rob to the right of the heart, and that Cueball is in the top layer. Personally I can't tell the difference between those two stick figures in this cartoon. --Martin {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.183}}<br />
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:Heart in the middle of the cake! [[Special:Contributions/188.114.106.89|188.114.106.89]] 04:56, 25 September 2015 (UTC)</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1580:_Travel_Ghost&diff=102439Talk:1580: Travel Ghost2015-09-25T14:29:35Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
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<div>Racing Ghosts is a refference to Mario Kart [[User:ẞ qwertz|ẞ qwertz]] ([[User talk:ẞ qwertz|talk]]) 12:50, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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: This seems like a bit of a stretch to me. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.118|173.245.55.118]] 13:35, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:: It's not a reference to Mario Kart specifically (lots of racing games have ghosts), but that's basically what this is doing - translating the concept of racing ghosts to the real world.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.70|108.162.216.70]] 13:50, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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::: Well, there are some fitness running apps that support a ghost runner mode, so you run against your best time and get updates if you are in front or behind of your „ghost“. Without actually being able to prove it, I believe (and always assumed) this idea is actually inspired from racing games like Mario Kart. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.115.36|162.158.115.36]] 13:56, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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: Also, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_attack#Video_games [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 14:11, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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So in the title text, is he being replaced with the ghost who always <i>*ahem*</i> comes last? --[[User:SaturNine|SaturNine]] ([[User talk:SaturNine|talk]]) 12:53, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:I agree. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.154|173.245.50.154]] 13:36, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:: Women prefer men that are stuck in traffic?? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.235|162.158.90.235]] 19:17, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
::: Nah - just someone who takes the "scenic" route. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.17|108.162.215.17]] 19:50, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::: I love that this could be a reference to the move Ghost. Great. -[[User:Jeff|<b><font color="orange">Jeff</font></b>]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 19:51, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Is this the first time Cueballs children were shown? [[User:ẞ qwertz|ẞ qwertz]] ([[User talk:ẞ qwertz|talk]]) 17:22, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I don't know if it's worth mentioning that this appears to be a width-first (route-)search algorithm. A memory-heavy but guaranteed 'perfect' solver of best routing, at every point of choice (from the very first, how you start the journey), all possible/practical travel options are explored (including taking a journey in the 'wrong' direction, or waiting for the non-stop train that is not the first to arrive, to take advantage of connections with faster transport links), in parallel according to the total time (or other measure of efficiency) yet taken on each iteration. Unless any 'ghost' arrives at a node that has already been visited by a 'ghost', when it need not continue. Eventually, the most efficient son-of-a-son-of-a-son...-of-a-son-of-a-ghost will reach the destination, indicating the 'correct' answer. At least within the limits of the split-and-propogate algorithm, and the amount of parallelisation available to devote to the problem. (See also the multiple-overlayed 'searches' performed by two-minutes-of-Nicholas Cage, in the near-climactic scene in {{w|Next_(2007_film)|the film 'Next' (beware spoilers!)}}.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 22:38, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Are you aware if such an app exists in real life? I'd be interested in trying to program one (albeit with less tangible ghosts). [[User:LowHangingFruit|LowHangingFruit]] 14:19, 22 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:: This is an extremely easy algorithm to program (I have taught it while teaching AP (high school) computer science), however it isn't an algorithm that will likely be useful to you since it has exponential time complexity. In other words, if there are more than a trivial number of possibilities to be examined, finding the solution through this algorithm would not finish before you were dead. For those of you who are about to say that if we could run a huge bunch of these possibilities in parallel: merging the results, memory management, context switching, and similar things, even if they could be done in constant time would still mean a constant amount of time for each of an exponential set of possibilities. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.173|108.162.219.173]] 22:29, 22 September 2015 (UTC)tomb<br />
::: Can anyone give me a (couple) Wikipedia articles to read, so I can understand this comment? I'm really interested. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.206|162.158.92.206]] 18:53, 23 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::Well, {{w|Breadth-first search}}ing is probably your first step, then hit the appropriate sidebar for other methods. ('m a particular fan of the {{w|A_Star|A* (A-Star)}} method, myself, but that's more probably due to my Dwarf Fortress addiction... ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 14:29, 25 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Will his children have half-siblings that are fathered by the ghost that has replaced him in the bedroom? Or are ghosts infertile?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.170|108.162.215.170]] 04:07, 22 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Doesn't light do this according to some theory, sending out "investigation waves / photons" to determine the quickest way to get anywhere? I'm no expert on this, just some food for thought...<br />
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.249|162.158.90.249]] 11:57, 22 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Not really - or at least not real. There may be some "potential photons" in some attempts to describe some quantum-based theory ... but there will certainly be no investigation photons after wave collapse. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:12, 22 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
::"Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real." - Niels Bohr. (Whether or not he's ultimately right, it's an explanation.)[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 13:48, 22 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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If the simulations explore all travel possibilities, how long will it be until bike ghost gets run off the road by bus ghost? Or flattened by texting driver ghost? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.33|198.41.238.33]] 12:30, 22 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:This reminds me of an Android (and probably iOS) game "Does Not Commute" which takes the classic 'ghost competitor' behaviour (note: 108.162.226.149, below, that it's a common thing) and makes them solid. You run (different) 'missions'/commutes across the playing arena with a succession of new vehicles, each time finding that all your ''previous'' commutes are happening, simultaneously, creating obstacles and hazards. You can collide with (or end up being run into by) another vehicle, replaying the path you set it upon in a previous round, and this causes you to rebound. (But there's no 'kickback' when contact is made with your prior 'self', which sticks solidly to its pre-played path. Thus no need to deal with contradictions and temporal paradoxes by deflecting a past-self thus potentially changing the entire arena (for good or bad) for every other attempt you made, trying to avoid everything else.) Worth a dabble, perhaps, but don't get addicted to it! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 13:48, 22 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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There's actually a very similar mechanism in the game Canvas Rider, where the best times on a track (it's a bike racing game with stick figures) can be clicked and a ghost that takes the same path with the same speed as those people appears and moves while you do. In fact, they actually look somewhat similar to the ghost in panel 4. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.226.149|108.162.226.149]] 13:17, 22 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I strongly suspect this also references the concept of the Oracle machine as it relates to the NP hardness of the traveling salesman problem. TSP is in the complexity class NP Complete, and part of the most common proof that it is NP hard involves showing that it reduces to a polynomial time algorithm (and hence potentially practically computed) if there exists an oracle that can tell you if a route is optimal (the fastest) in constant time. I have never edited here before and don't know all the etiquette, so I leave it to a more experienced editor to consider this in the main article. The "ghost" would then be related to the Oracle because many real world "oracles" (as in fortune tellers or weird tripping priestesses of Apollo) claim to get answers by talking to ghosts. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.173|108.162.219.173]] 22:17, 22 September 2015 (UTC) tomb</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1580:_Travel_Ghost&diff=102261Talk:1580: Travel Ghost2015-09-22T13:48:36Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
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<div>Racing Ghosts is a refference to Mario Kart [[User:ẞ qwertz|ẞ qwertz]] ([[User talk:ẞ qwertz|talk]]) 12:50, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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: This seems like a bit of a stretch to me. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.118|173.245.55.118]] 13:35, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:: It's not a reference to Mario Kart specifically (lots of racing games have ghosts), but that's basically what this is doing - translating the concept of racing ghosts to the real world.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.70|108.162.216.70]] 13:50, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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::: Well, there are some fitness running apps that support a ghost runner mode, so you run against your best time and get updates if you are in front or behind of your „ghost“. Without actually being able to prove it, I believe (and always assumed) this idea is actually inspired from racing games like Mario Kart. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.115.36|162.158.115.36]] 13:56, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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: Also, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_attack#Video_games [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 14:11, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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So in the title text, is he being replaced with the ghost who always <i>*ahem*</i> comes last? --[[User:SaturNine|SaturNine]] ([[User talk:SaturNine|talk]]) 12:53, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:I agree. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.154|173.245.50.154]] 13:36, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:: Women prefer men that are stuck in traffic?? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.235|162.158.90.235]] 19:17, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
::: Nah - just someone who takes the "scenic" route. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.17|108.162.215.17]] 19:50, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::: I love that this could be a reference to the move Ghost. Great. -[[User:Jeff|<b><font color="orange">Jeff</font></b>]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 19:51, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Is this the first time Cueballs children were shown? [[User:ẞ qwertz|ẞ qwertz]] ([[User talk:ẞ qwertz|talk]]) 17:22, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I don't know if it's worth mentioning that this appears to be a width-first (route-)search algorithm. A memory-heavy but guaranteed 'perfect' solver of best routing, at every point of choice (from the very first, how you start the journey), all possible/practical travel options are explored (including taking a journey in the 'wrong' direction, or waiting for the non-stop train that is not the first to arrive, to take advantage of connections with faster transport links), in parallel according to the total time (or other measure of efficiency) yet taken on each iteration. Unless any 'ghost' arrives at a node that has already been visited by a 'ghost', when it need not continue. Eventually, the most efficient son-of-a-son-of-a-son...-of-a-son-of-a-ghost will reach the destination, indicating the 'correct' answer. At least within the limits of the split-and-propogate algorithm, and the amount of parallelisation available to devote to the problem. (See also the multiple-overlayed 'searches' performed by two-minutes-of-Nicholas Cage, in the near-climactic scene in {{w|Next_(2007_film)|the film 'Next' (beware spoilers!)}}.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 22:38, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
Will his children have half-siblings that are fathered by the ghost that has replaced him in the bedroom? Or are ghosts infertile?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.170|108.162.215.170]] 04:07, 22 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Doesn't light do this according to some theory, sending out "investigation waves / photons" to determine the quickest way to get anywhere? I'm no expert on this, just some food for thought...<br />
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.249|162.158.90.249]] 11:57, 22 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Not really - or at least not real. There may be some "potential photons" in some attempts to describe some quantum-based theory ... but there will certainly be no investigation photons after wave collapse. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:12, 22 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
::"Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real." - Niels Bohr. (Whether or not he's ultimately right, it's an explanation.)[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 13:48, 22 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
If the simulations explore all travel possibilities, how long will it be until bike ghost gets run off the road by bus ghost? Or flattened by texting driver ghost? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.33|198.41.238.33]] 12:30, 22 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:This reminds me of an Android (and probably iOS) game "Does Not Commute" which takes the classic 'ghost competitor' behaviour (note: 108.162.226.149, below, that it's a common thing) and makes them solid. You run (different) 'missions'/commutes across the playing arena with a succession of new vehicles, each time finding that all your ''previous'' commutes are happening, simultaneously, creating obstacles and hazards. You can collide with (or end up being run into by) another vehicle, replaying the path you set it upon in a previous round, and this causes you to rebound. (But there's no 'kickback' when contact is made with your prior 'self', which sticks solidly to its pre-played path. Thus no need to deal with contradictions and temporal paradoxes by deflecting a past-self thus potentially changing the entire arena (for good or bad) for every other attempt you made, trying to avoid everything else.) Worth a dabble, perhaps, but don't get addicted to it! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 13:48, 22 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There's actually a very similar mechanism in the game Canvas Rider, where the best times on a track (it's a bike racing game with stick figures) can be clicked and a ghost that takes the same path with the same speed as those people appears and moves while you do. In fact, they actually look somewhat similar to the ghost in panel 4. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.226.149|108.162.226.149]] 13:17, 22 September 2015 (UTC)</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1580:_Travel_Ghost&diff=102236Talk:1580: Travel Ghost2015-09-21T22:38:55Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
<hr />
<div>Racing Ghosts is a refference to Mario Kart [[User:ẞ qwertz|ẞ qwertz]] ([[User talk:ẞ qwertz|talk]]) 12:50, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: This seems like a bit of a stretch to me. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.118|173.245.55.118]] 13:35, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:: It's not a reference to Mario Kart specifically (lots of racing games have ghosts), but that's basically what this is doing - translating the concept of racing ghosts to the real world.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.70|108.162.216.70]] 13:50, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::: Well, there are some fitness running apps that support a ghost runner mode, so you run against your best time and get updates if you are in front or behind of your „ghost“. Without actually being able to prove it, I believe (and always assumed) this idea is actually inspired from racing games like Mario Kart. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.115.36|162.158.115.36]] 13:56, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: Also, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_attack#Video_games [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 14:11, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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So in the title text, is he being replaced with the ghost who always <i>*ahem*</i> comes last? --[[User:SaturNine|SaturNine]] ([[User talk:SaturNine|talk]]) 12:53, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:I agree. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.154|173.245.50.154]] 13:36, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:: Women prefer men that are stuck in traffic?? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.235|162.158.90.235]] 19:17, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
::: Nah - just someone who takes the "scenic" route. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.17|108.162.215.17]] 19:50, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::: I love that this could be a reference to the move Ghost. Great. -[[User:Jeff|<b><font color="orange">Jeff</font></b>]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 19:51, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Is this the first time Cueballs children were shown? [[User:ẞ qwertz|ẞ qwertz]] ([[User talk:ẞ qwertz|talk]]) 17:22, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I don't know if it's worth mentioning that this appears to be a width-first (route-)search algorithm. A memory-heavy but guaranteed 'perfect' solver of best routing, at every point of choice (from the very first, how you start the journey), all possible/practical travel options are explored (including taking a journey in the 'wrong' direction, or waiting for the non-stop train that is not the first to arrive, to take advantage of connections with faster transport links), in parallel according to the total time (or other measure of efficiency) yet taken on each iteration. Unless any 'ghost' arrives at a node that has already been visited by a 'ghost', when it need not continue. Eventually, the most efficient son-of-a-son-of-a-son...-of-a-son-of-a-ghost will reach the destination, indicating the 'correct' answer. At least within the limits of the split-and-propogate algorithm, and the amount of parallelisation available to devote to the problem. (See also the multiple-overlayed 'searches' performed by two-minutes-of-Nicholas Cage, in the near-climactic scene in {{w|Next_(2007_film)|the film 'Next' (beware spoilers!)}}.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 22:38, 21 September 2015 (UTC)</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1579:_Tech_Loops&diff=102235Talk:1579: Tech Loops2015-09-21T22:12:00Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
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<div>RANDALL, WHY DID YOU GIVE ME AN EXISTENIAL CRISIS?! [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.113|173.245.54.113]] 10:49, 18 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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There are only three loops; "Awful hack from 2009" and "IRC for some reason" forms one, "Tool" → "Updater" → "Library" → "Tool" is the second, and there's a long one from "Awful hack from 2009" → "Library" → "Library" → "Custom settings" → "Library" → "Hardware workaround" → "Awful hack from 2009". Any other path not from "DLL needed by something" ends at "Repository". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.193|108.162.237.193]] 04:35, 18 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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: I think the fact that "Repository" ends to be a sink (only entering connections) is a mistake - all other have at least one entry and at least one exit --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 07:24, 18 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:: No, I think that makes sense. A repository is where something is stored. If it's in use by something, it's not a repository. Of course, I'm thinking that repository means something like "USB Hard Drive", so I might be wrong. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.187|108.162.249.187]] 09:12, 18 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
::: I agree to this. A repository is a perfect location for "dumping" things where they never come back [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 09:31, 18 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::: I interpreted it to mean that the repository hosts the things it is dependent on, using the things it is dependent on, making the loop conceptual. The code that is hosted in the repository is only ultimately required because of the need for the repository to host thing code that the repository runs on. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.187|141.101.98.187]] 11:19, 18 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
::The library at the bottom right does not have any entry, so there is also a start! So one that only has exits and one that only has entries! No error there I also think!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:33, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Doesn't Buddha sais "The Path is the Goal"? Just because what you are doing is on path which seems to go nowhere doesn't mean the path is not worth it. Did you saw any tourist complaining that the trek he's on is supposed to end on the same place it started? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:07, 18 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Does it bother anyone else that he wrote "soley" or am I missing something? {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.40}}<br />
:It also bothers John and Nancy, but it doesn't bother me because he was obviously talking about doing it by means of a fish.[[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]])<br />
:::The image is corrected [http://www.xkcd.com/1579/]. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.154|173.245.50.154]] 13:40, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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When I see this comic I think its less about "how tech people find complicated solutions to things" and more about how as time goes on they end up with increasingly complex workarounds to get old stuff to work. Like in https://xkcd.com/1305/ they wanted to use the chat group, but for that they needed the VM, but according to this comic they need hardware workaround for that, which needs a library to work, which needs custom settings, which needs a library, etc.... Thoughts? {{unsigned|Pyrolo}}<br />
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I don't get the current "explanation" at all which goes off on a seemingly off-topic tangent on Android programming (not to mention that I don't agree that gps-based apps to find nearby gas stations are the typical introductory apps source code one might find.)<br />
From the design of the xkcd panel, it's obviously targeted at a Windows desktop computer rather than Android, given the mention of DLLs. You could trivially substitute DLL by "shared library" (aka ".so") and make it a Linux or other Unix-compatible system, which combined with Windows would cover 99.99% of existing desktop systems. And of course a reference to [https://xkcd.com/349/ 349] shall be made when it comes to hardware workarounds.<br />
Given this context, the comic is more about how much of the time one might spend on a computer as a geek tends to be in maintaining the system itself rather using it, up to the point where maintaining the system becomes the main goal. Most people consider computers as tools to achieve something else -- e.g. to write a book or balance their bank account; however here Randall is using his computer just for the sake of maintaining the OS or the hardware on said computer. It's tools for the sake of tooling, rather than tools as helpers to build something else. If somebody knows how to express that more fluently, please do so.<br />
:A hardware equivalent would be reprap: get a 3d printer and end up spending all the time printing 3d parts for the printer instead of creating something else like toys or art. <br />
:I've modified the explanation with a variation of this; I've left the original explanation in place since maybe there's some value in it. Please edit as you see fit. [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 14:53, 18 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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A great deal of all that we do, as individuals, and as a society, directly or indirectly maintains our ability to do so.<br />
Such a tiny sliver of our lives is "unproductive", but that's literally the only reason we do any of the "productive" parts of life.<br />
The only things really worth doing are the things there is no real reason for doing.<br />
Does that make sense? <br />
[[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 18:07, 18 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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In a broader sense, one might even say that the basic human desire to socialise is evolutionarily advantageous, serving the purpose of continuing the species. In that broad sense, everything that we do is merely "maintaining a huge chain of technology solely to support itself". Reminds me of https://xkcd.com/59/. It's easy to forget why we do things in life. [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 18:14, 18 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Forget about official "tech people," even godforsaken ordinary users spend way too much time wrestling with this stuff. I myself always quail when I see a .dll in the distance. It has never ended well for me.[[User:NoniMausa|NoniMausa]] ([[User talk:NoniMausa|talk]]) 01:08, 19 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Sometimes you eat too much dogfood. If you write a toolkit, and then find you need to write a buildsystem (or other infrastructure) and at some point find your buildsystem using the toolkit, you are probably doing something wrong. Note the exception of writing an IDE in your toolkit, for your toolkit, is not only okay, it is doing it wring.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.235|162.158.90.235]] 10:45, 19 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I'm the author of the original explanation (that about Android things). It looked good to me at that time (mostly justified by the "things I actually want to do with my computer" bit), however the "new" explanation by Ralfoide looks much better now, so probably mine should be just deleted (I'm not doing just that right now because I lack the time to search for useful bits to keep, if any). By the way, the Android story actually happened to a friend of mine just as told. :) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.183|108.162.229.183]] 21:54, 19 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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This is me again from another IP. I changed the wording of my original explanation and changed the Android stuff to a reference to comic 949. Now I feel like the first explanation was awfully worded and this one says about the same thing but fits much better. Or something [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.236|108.162.229.236]] 10:21, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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The current explanation is wrong. The joke is that there are a lot of running components in Randall's computer (services, daemons, applications...) whose only purpose is to enable the execution of the other components in the loop. In other words, performing busywork, which is a waste of computer resources. The chain probably started when Randall wanted to test a new software in Linux, that is known to have a nightmarish package system based on dependencies, so he had to install a lot of libraries and perform some ugly hacks to get the software working, which in turn required other packages to be installed and tweaked. At one point, one of the packages or hacks had a circular dependency with the original software and created a loop. By then, Randall had already forgotten why he wanted to use that software in the first place, and now he only uses it to keep the rest of the loop running. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.108|141.101.99.108]] 10:41, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
: The footer begins "Every now and then", so this is not about a single event. Also, the "DLL" part does not match this being Linux-specific. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.236|108.162.229.236]] 11:23, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:: Yeah, this is not the first time he accidentally created a self-sustained loop, but it probably always happen for the same reason. It's pretty clear to me that the strip refers to a linux system because its software distribution philosophy is literally a mess, unlike every other system whose applications are self-contained in one neat file with no other dependencies. To support my point, note how the DLL files are conveniently NOT part of the loop; this is what makes them hilarious and what's baffling Randall: he has no idea about which component is relying on them because they do not belong in a Linux system. In any case, the fact that there is a (probably windows) VM running in the mix, plus an Irc client, points to the loop being multi-system wide, so that is a botch of epic proportions. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.108|141.101.99.108]] 14:47, 21 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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The isolated 'mystery DLL dependency' reminds me of the Programmable Gate Array evolution experiment where an interesting solution to a problem created an efficient but highly unintuitive circuit 'design' within it that contained a segment that ''was not actually connected to anything else'' but performed a vital function (removing the isolated elements from the 'design' produced a non-working circuit, as would 'attaching' it, even neutrally, to the surroundings), though not by any method that the design and specification would make obvious. [http://darwin200.christs.cam.ac.uk/pages/index.php?page_id=h7 Here is one possible telling of the tale], although it doesn't exactly match the one that I recall. Look at the paragraph immediately under the "Evolving Complexity" heading for this version, however. (Or in the paragraph immediately under the "Tron kiss" picture in [http://www.damninteresting.com/on-the-origin-of-circuits/ this other article], that I also found.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 22:12, 21 September 2015 (UTC)</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1541:_Voice&diff=96132Talk:1541: Voice2015-06-22T15:23:43Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
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<div>The premise of this comic reminds me of a sci-fi short story I read many years ago but have never been able to track down. A young girl's doll (?) comes to life, and it explains that it is a entity that can inhabit inanimate objects. Some things happen that I have forgotten, and while walking down the road, the girl is almost struck by a runaway car. The entity takes control of the car and steers it away from her. It decides that, having saved the girl's life, it has every right to take control of her - leaving our poor protagonist in the worst kind of "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" scenario as the story ends. Perhaps Randall Munroe read the same story. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.212|141.101.98.212]] 12:08, 22 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:To me it reminds me of the movie "Being John Malkovich", especially the end, where the main character is forever trapped in the other person's body, unable to talk. Kind of the-other-way-around, but a similar concept. [[User:Linuspogo|Linuspogo]] ([[User talk:Linuspogo|talk]]) 12:23, 22 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
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== every six years ==<br />
<br />
6 years back it was june 22, 2009 -> [[600|Comic 600]]. I guess there is no link between those comics , but I would not be surprised if there was. [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 12:44, 22 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
: anyway, I'm looking forward to the comic of june 22, 2021 ;) [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Do you realize that xkcd is fiction? Do you realize that Homer and Marge Simpson have not been married for 27 years, since Bart has been 10 during these 27 years? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.94|173.245.50.94]] 13:15, 22 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::The author of this comic has a habit of doing things as suggested by the commenter that you mock. Stay on topic. This is not a place for picking fights.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.154|173.245.48.154]] 14:49, 22 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Does this look like a continuation of the same conversation from two comics ago? [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 14:57, 22 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
: Not to me. It's the same characters chatting casually, but there's nothing else linking both comics. [[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.224|188.114.111.224]] 15:11, 22 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
By the way, I'd think that, even if Ponytail can't control her voice, she still can write whatever she wants. [[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.224|188.114.111.224]] 15:15, 22 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==Animorphs reference?==<br />
<br />
xkcd has mentioned that franchise before- https://xkcd.com/1380/<br />
It centers around an alien race named the Yeerks that effectively possess a host by entering the brain. There is a single character in that series (Marco's mother) that is on rare occasions able to break through the Yeerk's control to use her own voice. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 15:23, 22 June 2015 (UTC)</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1507:_Metaball&diff=886641507: Metaball2015-04-06T11:38:30Z<p>141.101.99.12: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1507<br />
| date = April 3, 2015<br />
| title = Metaball<br />
| image = metaball.png<br />
| titletext = Shoot, it landed in the golf course. Gonna be hard to get it down the--oh, never mind, it rolled onto the ice hazard. Face-off!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
In the first two panels of this game [[Megan]] kicks a {{w|Ball (association football)|football}} (also known as a {{w|association football|soccer}} ball in some regions), but the surprise comes in the next panel when it turns out she tried to kick it into a {{w|basketball}} hoop where Cueball is either trying to catch, stop or dunk the ball. [[Hair Bun Girl]] is also reaching an arm up after the ball. But then [[Ponytail]] yells "'''''Out!'''''". When Megan asks Ponytail why the ball is out, Ponytail explains it is due to the ''{{w|infield fly rule}}'' that was invoked when the ball crossed into the {{w|baseball}} zone - a very complicated rule to understand for baseball outsiders.<br />
<br />
They are playing a {{w|ball game}} that incorporates the rules of many {{w|List of ball games|games that use a ball}}. The rules seem to be based on the location of the {{w|ball}}. Ponytail is holding a map which divides the area into zones. Each time the ball enters a new zone, the rules change to become the rules of the ball game represented in that zone.<br />
<br />
The name "Metaball" is the combination of the prefix "{{w|meta}}" and the word "{{w|ball}}". Recently there was another comic with Meta in the title:[[1447: Meta-Analysis]]. The joke ''is meta'' in [[917: Hofstadter]].<br />
<br />
Megan is out according to the rules of baseball, because the football that she initially kicked in the football zone in an attempt to score in the basketball hoop (in the basketball zone), clipped the corner of the baseball zone. And suddenly her high kick turned into a {{w|Batted ball|pop fly}} and Ponytail (presumably the referee (and creator/ruler) of this game) invoked the infield fly rule which forces the batter out. In this case that would be the kicker Megan as she is the last to have touched the ball).<br />
<br />
In baseball the infield fly rule can be invoked by the {{w|umpire}} (i.e. the referee in baseball), Ponytail in this case, to prevent an {{w|infielder}} from intentionally dropping a fair ball when runners are on multiple bases, forcing the runners on base to advance and allowing the infielder's team to quickly perform a double or triple play by throwing the ball to where the runners are trying to get and performing force out on their base. The infield fly rule, once called out by the umpire, forces the batter to be out whether or not the infielder tries to get the batter out. While complicated, the rule has been in the baseball for a long time and exists to stop the fielding team from deliberately dropping an easy catch (and getting one person out) in order to force out two or more players on the bases. While difficult for outsiders to understand it makes sense in context. <br />
<br />
The title text continues the comic. After Megan is ruled out, even though Cueball misses the catch, the ball now enters the {{w|golf}} section of the field, meaning that the players would have to to hit the ball into a golf hole to score. Given that the ball is much larger than a standard golf ball, this would prove difficult. However before they get this far, the situation changes as the ball rolls into a separate section of the field called the ice hazard.<br />
<br />
On a golf course a {{w|Hazard (golf)|hazard}} is either a {{w|Hazard_(golf)#Bunker|bunker}} (with sand) or a {{w|/Hazard_(golf)#Water_hazard|water hazard}}. If the latter type freezes over it could be called an ice hazard. However, in this Metaball game this section of the course is apparently used to play some form of {{w|ice hockey}}. And since the game has been held up when Megan was called out, they will now have to restart the game with a {{w|face-off}} (a skirmish between two players of opposing teams to restart the game). It can be argued that an ice hockey {{w|Hockey puck|puck}} can be considered a ball, since ice hockey has evolved from, and is a variation of, older stick-and-ball games. And since they play both baseball, basketball and golf with the association football, they could also continue playing ice hockey with this ball instead of a puck.<br />
<br />
For the record there are several other versions of {{w|hockey}} that are played with a ball ({{w|ball hockey}} for instance) and at least one of these is played on ice (see {{w|broomball}}). In these games face-offs are also used. It seems likely that [[Randall]] has chosen some of the most popular sports of the US - and then used a soccer/football instead of an {{w|Football_(ball)#American_and_Canadian_football|American football}}.<br />
<br />
Given the timing of this comic with {{w|NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship|the US collegiate basketball tournament}}, we may assume Randall is writing as a response to that. He has previously given an opinion on sports (see for instance [[904: Sports]], [[1107: Sports Cheat Sheet]] and [[1480: Super Bowl]]).<br />
<br />
This concept is very similar to [http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1990/05/27 Calvinball] from the comic strip ''{{w|Calvin and Hobbes}}'' by American cartoonist {{w|Bill Watterson}}.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan runs towards a bouncing soccer football.]<br />
<br />
:[Megan kicks the soccer football upwards.]<br />
<br />
:[Cueball leaps towards the ball as it falls towards a basketball hoop. Hair Bun Girl also stretches her arm up.]<br />
:Ponytail (offscreen):'''''Out!'''''<br />
<br />
:[Ponytail walks toward them consulting a piece of paper divided in sections:]<br />
:[Megan (offscreen):] What do you ''mean'', out?!<br />
:Ponytail: The ball clipped the corner of the baseball zone. Infield fly rule.<br />
:[Megan (offscreen):] Aw, ''maaan''...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1465:_xkcd_Phone_2&diff=815191465: xkcd Phone 22014-12-26T13:51:55Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1465<br />
| date = December 26, 2014<br />
| title = xkcd Phone 2<br />
| image = xkcd_phone_2.png<br />
| titletext = Washable, though only once.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
{{incomplete|Some features still not explained}}<br />
<br />
This is a followup to https://xkcd.com/1363/, which debuted the original xkcd Phone. Like [[xkcd Phone]] 1, this comic continues to parody modern smartphone advertisement by imitating a promotional image for a fictional phone. Like the previous XKCD Phone, the comic touts a variety of features which are either pointless, misleading, or physically impossible.<br />
<br />
*'''MaxHD''' 350 pixels is not very impressive: Each would be about 0.5x0.5 cm. Even if it implies 350 pixels along the edge this is still less than standard definition TV (PAL gives 576 lines of horizontal resolution). Likely a reference to HD+, FullHD, QuadHD and other marketing expressions for screen resolutions, by which common users are often confused. In xkcd [[732]] Randall has observered that HD is not an especially high resolution, when compared with computer monitors.<br />
*'''Always on Speaker''': An always on microphone is a genuine feature. It allows speech control software such as "Okay Google" or "Siri" to respond without having to be turned on. An always on speaker would be less useful especially if it implies the phone is always making noise.<br />
*'''Blood Pressure reliever''': This appears to be where a real phone would have its front facing camera.<br />
*'''Auto-Rotating Case:''' Phones often feature an auto-rotating display (to treat the phone as portrait or landscape), but this is useless, as a human may easily rotate the phone manually. To make a case that did not "auto"-rotate with the phone would be much harder; all cases rotate with the phone.<br />
*'''Ribbed:''' A reference to ribbed {{w|condom}}s, which are often advertised as superior to standard ones<br />
*'''Waterproof (Inside only)''' But waterproofing is done to the outside to prevent water from getting in, not to prevent water from escaping. <br />
*'''Googleable''' Another non-feature. Advertising as ...able is a way for marketing to add features, without adding features. This may be (for example) a recyclable paper bag: paper is normally recyclable. Any term may be 'googled' so being "googleable" is not an actual feature. <br />
*'''Cheek toucher''': The part that would touch the cheek if held in the right hand and used as a mobile telephone.<br />
*'''Cries if lost:''' Actually useful function, for it would help the owner find the cellphone in case it was lost. It refers to people's habit of calling their own cellphones to help find it. It also resembles the first xkcd phone's functions of 'Screaming when falling' and 'Saying hi when lit'.<br />
*'''Bug drawer:''' This is most likely the cover for other ports, though looks like a small drawer, capable of only holding bug-sized items. Possibly a joke on software bugs, which would, being virtual rather than physical, easily fit inside this area. May also be a reference to "Phone may attract/trap insects; this is normal" from the original ''xkcd Phone'' comic.<br />
*'''Coin slot:''' In most phones, this would be the charging port. Payphones have coin slots.<br />
*'''Scroll lock:''' A computer key on most keyboards which is practically never used. (Despite [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/978 a previous xkcd strip] it was not invented by {{w|Steven Chu}}.)<br />
*'''OS by Stackoverflow®:''' [http://stackoverflow.com/ Stackoverflow.com] is a public question/answer forum for programmers, indicating that the operating system of the XKCD Phone 2 was developed by anonymous internet volunteers rather than by a professional development team, or that professional developers make use a lot of this forum to solve their coding issues.<br />
*'''3D Materials:''' All real materials are three-dimensional, thus not an actual feature.<br />
*'''Dog Noticer''': Does this alert the user to nearby dogs, or does it produce dog control notices and orders? <br />
*'''FitBit® Fitness Evaluator''' [http://www.fitbit.com/ FitBit] make wristbands that measure heartrate and as an aid to planning an exercise programme.<br />
*'''Volume and density control:''' A play of words on "volume" as in sound, and "volume" as in a physical property like density.<br />
<br />
The title text: It is washable but only once (as washing it will ruin it).<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
[An image of a phone is here. Coming off from it are many labels.]<br />
[Clockwise, from the top left.]<br />
- MaxHD: Over 350 pixels per screen<br />
- Always-on Speaker<br />
- Blood Pressure Reliever<br />
- Auto-Rotating Case<br />
- Ribbed<br />
- Waterproof (Interior Only)<br />
- Googleable<br />
- Cheek Toucher<br />
- Cries if Lost<br />
- Bug Drawer<br />
- Coin Slot<br />
- Scroll Lock<br />
- OS By Stackoverflow®<br />
- 3D Materials<br />
- Dog Noticer<br />
- FitBit® Fitness Evaluator<br />
- Volume and Density Control<br />
<br />
Introducing the xkcd Phone 2<br />
A phone for your other hand®<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1465:_xkcd_Phone_2&diff=815181465: xkcd Phone 22014-12-26T13:49:31Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1465<br />
| date = December 26, 2014<br />
| title = xkcd Phone 2<br />
| image = xkcd_phone_2.png<br />
| titletext = Washable, though only once.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
{{incomplete|Some features still not explained}}<br />
<br />
This is a followup to https://xkcd.com/1363/, which debuted the original xkcd Phone. Like [[xkcd Phone]] 1, this comic continues to parody modern smartphone advertisement by imitating a promotional image for a fictional phone. Like the previous XKCD Phone, the comic touts a variety of features which are either pointless, misleading, or physically impossible.<br />
<br />
*'''MaxHD''' 350 pixels is not very impressive: Each would be about 0.5x0.5 cm. Even if it implies 350 pixels along the edge this is still less than standard definition TV (PAL gives 576 lines of horizontal resolution). Likely a reference to HD+, FullHD, QuadHD and other marketing expressions for screen resolutions, by which common users are often confused. In xkcd [[732]] Randall has observered that HD is not an especially high resolution, when compared with computer monitors.<br />
*'''Always on Speaker''': An always on microphone is a genuine feature. It allows speech control software such as "Okay Google" or "Siri" to respond without having to be turned on. An always on speaker would be less useful especially if it implies the phone is always making noise.<br />
*'''Blood Pressure reliever''': This appears to be where a real phone would have its front facing camera.<br />
*'''Auto-Rotating Case:''' Phones often feature an auto-rotating display (to treat the phone as portrait or landscape), but this is useless, as a human may easily rotate the phone manually. To make a case that did not "auto"-rotate with the phone would be much harder; all cases rotate with the phone.<br />
*'''Ribbed:''' A reference to ribbed {{w|condom}}s, which are often advertised as superior to standard ones<br />
*'''Waterproof (Inside only)''' But waterproofing is done to the outside to prevent water from getting in, not to prevent water from escaping. <br />
*'''Googleable''' Another non-feature. Advertising as ...able is a way for marketing to add features, without adding features. This may be (for example) a recyclable paper bag: paper is normally recyclable. Any term may be 'googled' so being "googleable" is not an actual feature. <br />
*'''Cheek toucher''': The part that would touch the cheek if held in the right hand and used as a mobile telephone.<br />
*'''Cries if lost:''' Actually useful function, for it would help the owner find the cellphone in case it was lost. It refers to people's habit of calling their own cellphones to help find it. It also resembles the first xkcd phone's functions of 'Screaming when falling' and 'Saying hi when lit'.<br />
*'''Bug drawer:''' This is most likely the cover for other ports, though looks like a small drawer, capable of only holding bug-sized items. Possibly a joke on software bugs, which would, being virtual rather than physical, easily fit inside this area. May also be a reference to "Phone may attract/trap insects; this is normal" from the original ''xkcd Phone'' comic.<br />
*'''Coin slot:''' In most phones, this would be the charging port. Payphones have coin slots.<br />
*'''Scroll lock:''' A computer key on most keyboards which is practically never used. (Despite [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/978 a previous xkcd strip] it was not invented by {{w|Steven Chu}}.)<br />
*'''OS by Stackoverflow®:''' [http://stackoverflow.com/ Stackoverflow.com] is a public question/answer forum for programmers, indicating that the operating system of the XKCD Phone 2 was developed by anonymous internet volunteers rather than by a professional development team, or that professional developers make use a lot of this forum to solve their coding issues.<br />
*'''3D Materials:''' All real materials are three-dimensional, thus not an actual feature.<br />
*'''Dog Noticer''': Does this alert the user to nearby dogs, or does it produce dog control notices and orders? <br />
*'''FitBit® Fitness Evaluator''' FitBit make wristbands that measure heartrate and as an aid to planning an exercise programme.<br />
*'''Volume and density control:''' A play of words on "volume" as in sound, and "volume" as in a physical property like density.<br />
<br />
The title text: It is washable but only once (as washing it will ruin it).<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
[An image of a phone is here. Coming off from it are many labels.]<br />
[Clockwise, from the top left.]<br />
- MaxHD: Over 350 pixels per screen<br />
- Always-on Speaker<br />
- Blood Pressure Reliever<br />
- Auto-Rotating Case<br />
- Ribbed<br />
- Waterproof (Interior Only)<br />
- Googleable<br />
- Cheek Toucher<br />
- Cries if Lost<br />
- Bug Drawer<br />
- Coin Slot<br />
- Scroll Lock<br />
- OS By Stackoverflow®<br />
- 3D Materials<br />
- Dog Noticer<br />
- FitBit® Fitness Evaluator<br />
- Volume and Density Control<br />
<br />
Introducing the xkcd Phone 2<br />
A phone for your other hand®<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1465:_xkcd_Phone_2&diff=815171465: xkcd Phone 22014-12-26T13:47:03Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1465<br />
| date = December 26, 2014<br />
| title = xkcd Phone 2<br />
| image = xkcd_phone_2.png<br />
| titletext = Washable, though only once.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
{{incomplete|Some features still not explained}}<br />
<br />
This is a followup to https://xkcd.com/1363/, which debuted the original xkcd Phone. Like [[xkcd Phone]] 1, this comic continues to parody modern smartphone advertisement by imitating a promotional image for a fictional phone. Like the previous XKCD Phone, the comic touts a variety of features which are either pointless, misleading, or physically impossible.<br />
<br />
*'''MaxHD''' 350 pixels is not very impressive: Each would be about 0.5x0.5 cm. Even if it implies 350 pixels along the edge this is still less than standard definition TV (PAL gives 576 lines of horizontal resolution). Likely a reference to HD+, FullHD, QuadHD and other marketing expressions for screen resolutions, by which common users are often confused.<br />
*'''Always on Speaker''': An always on microphone is a genuine feature. It allows speech control software such as "Okay Google" or "Siri" to respond without having to be turned on. An always on speaker would be less useful especially if it implies the phone is always making noise.<br />
*'''Blood Pressure reliever''': This appears to be where a real phone would have its front facing camera.<br />
*'''Auto-Rotating Case:''' Phones often feature an auto-rotating display (to treat the phone as portrait or landscape), but this is useless, as a human may easily rotate the phone manually. To make a case that did not "auto"-rotate with the phone would be much harder; all cases rotate with the phone.<br />
*'''Ribbed:''' A reference to ribbed {{w|condom}}s, which are often advertised as superior to standard ones<br />
*'''Waterproof (Inside only)''' But waterproofing is done to the outside to prevent water from getting in, not to prevent water from escaping. <br />
*'''Googleable''' Another non-feature. Advertising as ...able is a way for marketing to add features, without adding features. This may be (for example) a recyclable paper bag: paper is normally recyclable. Any term may be 'googled' so being "googleable" is not an actual feature. <br />
*'''Cheek toucher''': The part that would touch the cheek if held in the right hand and used as a mobile telephone.<br />
*'''Cries if lost:''' Actually useful function, for it would help the owner find the cellphone in case it was lost. It refers to people's habit of calling their own cellphones to help find it. It also resembles the first xkcd phone's functions of 'Screaming when falling' and 'Saying hi when lit'.<br />
*'''Bug drawer:''' This is most likely the cover for other ports, though looks like a small drawer, capable of only holding bug-sized items. Possibly a joke on software bugs, which would, being virtual rather than physical, easily fit inside this area. May also be a reference to "Phone may attract/trap insects; this is normal" from the original ''xkcd Phone'' comic.<br />
*'''Coin slot:''' In most phones, this would be the charging port. Payphones have coin slots.<br />
*'''Scroll lock:''' A computer key on most keyboards which is practically never used. (Despite [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/978 a previous xkcd strip] it was not invented by {{w|Steven Chu}}.)<br />
*'''OS by Stackoverflow®:''' [http://stackoverflow.com/ Stackoverflow.com] is a public question/answer forum for programmers, indicating that the operating system of the XKCD Phone 2 was developed by anonymous internet volunteers rather than by a professional development team, or that professional developers make use a lot of this forum to solve their coding issues.<br />
*'''3D Materials:''' All real materials are three-dimensional, thus not an actual feature.<br />
*'''Dog Noticer''': Does this alert the user to nearby dogs, or does it produce dog control notices and orders? <br />
*'''FitBit® Fitness Evaluator''' FitBit make wristbands that measure heartrate and as an aid to planning an exercise programme.<br />
*'''Volume and density control:''' A play of words on "volume" as in sound, and "volume" as in a physical property like density.<br />
<br />
The title text: It is washable but only once (as washing it will ruin it).<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
[An image of a phone is here. Coming off from it are many labels.]<br />
[Clockwise, from the top left.]<br />
- MaxHD: Over 350 pixels per screen<br />
- Always-on Speaker<br />
- Blood Pressure Reliever<br />
- Auto-Rotating Case<br />
- Ribbed<br />
- Waterproof (Interior Only)<br />
- Googleable<br />
- Cheek Toucher<br />
- Cries if Lost<br />
- Bug Drawer<br />
- Coin Slot<br />
- Scroll Lock<br />
- OS By Stackoverflow®<br />
- 3D Materials<br />
- Dog Noticer<br />
- FitBit® Fitness Evaluator<br />
- Volume and Density Control<br />
<br />
Introducing the xkcd Phone 2<br />
A phone for your other hand®<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=691:_MicroSD&diff=72944691: MicroSD2014-08-05T03:18:54Z<p>141.101.99.12: /* Explanation */ numbers</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 691<br />
| date = January 20, 2010<br />
| title = MicroSD<br />
| image = microsd.png<br />
| titletext = That card holds a refrigerator carton's worth of floppy discs, and a soda can full of those cards could hold the entire iTunes store's music library. Mmmm.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{w|MicroSD}} is one format of the Secure Digital memory card format, used in digital cameras, cell phones, and other devices. It is very small, only 15×11×1 mm, but can hold as much as 128GB of data (as of January 2014).<br />
<br />
The main character in the comic (on the right) thinks about all the ideas that could be expressed by the data in the microSD card, or in a library. He feels not just reverent and intimidated, but sexually aroused by the thought. As he begins to touch it, his friend is disgusted by what might happen if he uses the card as some kind of sex toy, and does not want to be involved if the card is lost afterwards (or ends up in some bodily cavity (or both)).<br />
<br />
The title text seems to be the main character thinking about how much data the card holds, in terms of {{w|floppy disks}} and the {{w|iTunes}} music library, and feeling aroused by these thoughts.<br />
<br />
Randalls claims in the title text do check out. A high density floppy disk with a FAT format holds about 1.4 MB of data, and has dimensions of 90×94×3mm, for a volume of about 25000mm³. A refrigerator carton is the large cardboard box that fridges are delivered in. A typical refrigerator carton may be 1800×700×700mm, a volume of about 900000000mm³. So a fridge carton could hold about 35000 90mm floppies, or roughly 50GB. This is comparable to the storage on a single microSD card. A soda can (500mL = 500000mm³) could hold 3000 microSD cards, or store 50TB of data. However, the iTunes store claims to hold 26 million songs (as of Summer 2014), and allowing for about 2MB per song gives 50 TB of music. The claim that a soda can could hold the iTunes library seems to be reasonable.<br />
<br />
Related to this topic is [http://what-if.xkcd.com/31/ this xkcd What If blog entry].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and a friend approach a table.]<br />
:Cueball: Hey, what's up?<br />
:Friend: Shhhhh.<br />
:Cueball: Hrm?<br />
:Friend: There's a microSD card on your table.<br />
<br />
:[A microSD card sits next to an assortment of coins for size reference.]<br />
:Cueball (out of panel): So?<br />
:Friend (out of panel): I dunno, high storage densities freak me out. A whole aisle of library shelves on something smaller than a dime.<br />
<br />
:[The two people stand near the table, the friend peering at the coins and card on the table.]<br />
:Friend: Libraries are unnerving enough-millions of ideas surrounding you, towering over you. These cards fill me with that same reverence, that same intimidation.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball stands alone.]<br />
:Friend (out of panel): ...that same faint arousal. Maybe I'll just touch it.<br />
:Cueball: If you lose that card I'm <u>NOT</u> helping you find it.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=691:_MicroSD&diff=72943691: MicroSD2014-08-05T02:53:17Z<p>141.101.99.12: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 691<br />
| date = January 20, 2010<br />
| title = MicroSD<br />
| image = microsd.png<br />
| titletext = That card holds a refrigerator carton's worth of floppy discs, and a soda can full of those cards could hold the entire iTunes store's music library. Mmmm.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{w|MicroSD}} is one format of the Secure Digital memory card format, used in digital cameras, cell phones, and other devices. It is very small, only 15x11x1 mm, but can hold as much as 128GB of data (as of January 2014).<br />
<br />
The main character in the comic (on the right) thinks about all the ideas that could be expressed by the data in the microSD card, or in a library. He feels not just reverent and intimidated, but sexually aroused by the thought. As he begins to touch it, his friend is disgusted by what might happen if he uses the card as some kind of sex toy, and does not want to be involved if the card is lost afterwards (or ends up in some bodily cavity (or both)).<br />
<br />
The title text seems to be the main character thinking about how much data the card holds, in terms of {{w|floppy disks}} and the {{w|iTunes}} music library, and feeling aroused by these thoughts.<br />
<br />
A high density floppy disk with a FAT format holds about 1.4 MB of data, and has dimensions of 90×94×3mm, for a volume of about 25000mm³. A refrigerator carton is the large cardboard box that fridges are delivered in. A typical refrigerator carton may be 1800×700×700mm, a volume of about 900000000mm³. So a fridge carton could hold about 35000 90mm floppies, or roughly 50GB. This is comparable to the storage on a single microSD card.<br />
<br />
Related to this topic is [http://what-if.xkcd.com/31/ this xkcd What If blog entry].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and a friend approach a table.]<br />
:Cueball: Hey, what's up?<br />
:Friend: Shhhhh.<br />
:Cueball: Hrm?<br />
:Friend: There's a microSD card on your table.<br />
<br />
:[A microSD card sits next to an assortment of coins for size reference.]<br />
:Cueball (out of panel): So?<br />
:Friend (out of panel): I dunno, high storage densities freak me out. A whole aisle of library shelves on something smaller than a dime.<br />
<br />
:[The two people stand near the table, the friend peering at the coins and card on the table.]<br />
:Friend: Libraries are unnerving enough-millions of ideas surrounding you, towering over you. These cards fill me with that same reverence, that same intimidation.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball stands alone.]<br />
:Friend (out of panel): ...that same faint arousal. Maybe I'll just touch it.<br />
:Cueball: If you lose that card I'm <u>NOT</u> helping you find it.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:642:_Creepy&diff=70074Talk:642: Creepy2014-06-20T19:52:25Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
<hr />
<div>Is the real-life example unwarranted? [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 15:26, 19 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Admirably done. I like the link. In future, though, the wiki-engine doesn't know what single returns means, so if you want a paragraph break hit enter twice. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]<span title="I'm an admin. I can help.">_a</span> ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:07, 19 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
A hint for girls, we all have the SAME fears, don't be afraid to find out who we are on the inside :) - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 04:46, 3 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Uh...men typically don't have to worry about getting harassed, assaulted, or killed like women do. At least not to the same degree. Your nervousness about being turned down is not the same as the woman's fear of being attacked. [[Special:Contributions/15.211.201.83|15.211.201.83]] 20:57, 14 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Thank you for making this comment. It perfectly outlines the exact type of conceited, one sided views that are being used by tumblr feminists in their crusade for "safety" and "equality". The idea that men are all some sort of all powerful being, incapable of being abused or raped is not only factually wrong, but actually perpetuates the abuses against them as more and more men stop coming forward for fear of looking weak. You speak as if you have knowledge in this field, but that just can't be the case. If you did, you would be much better educated as to the real breakdowns of sexual violence per gender, and know just how ridiculous your claims are. [[Special:Contributions/205.211.113.69|205.211.113.69]] 20:11, 12 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::[citation needed]<br />
<br />
:::Quite frankly, the rates of violence against men are much lower, and almost all of it is committed by men (as you can tell by googling "literally anything about crime statistics"). Men are less harmed and less affected by these issues (see, eg, Moradi and Huang 2008); further, what you just posted is a strawman, because what was posted above does not claim that men cannot be harmed or raped, only that one fear is greater than the other.<br />
<br />
:::Given that feminism is the entire reason the legal definition of rape in america includes men - see the Feminist Majority Foundation and Ms. Magazines Rape Is Rape campaign, I think you maybe want to inform yourself more. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 19:47, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:What girl wants to be with a guy who is so introspective and nervous that he can't talk to girls? A hint for guys, grow a pair. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 02:29, 24 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It seems pretty obvious to me that the comic intends to point out the paralyzing paranoia men can have about interacting with women, and the description as it is seems to refuse to explain the comic out of sheer disagreement. {{unsigned ip|207.98.247.127}}<br />
<br />
The comments here, with the call for men to "grow a pair" combined with the (false) claim that women are at greater danger of being attacked than men (seemingly offered as justification for unreasonable female caution or hostility toward men), are a perfect illustration of why this anomie exists.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.71|173.245.50.71]] 03:05, 30 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
...What? The claim that women are in greater danger of being attacked than men is NOT false. In 2010, Women were 21 times more likely to be the victim of sexual crimes than men, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (0.1 cases per 1000 males, and 2.1 cases per 1000 females per year). Not only that, but the vast majority of cases of male sexual assault victims were assaulted by another male. Debate on the subject is fine, but let's at least get our facts straight. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.63|173.245.55.63]] 03:12, 12 May 2014 (UTC)Greg<br />
:You are right, but this comic is more about women using this fact to cover their own capabilities to talk to a "interesting" man. And because your facts are correct it must be mentioned at this explain. But this comic is also about the "strange" behave done by women to men; hard to understand by a man. And because this comic is still even more complicated this gets an incomplete tag with your mentions. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:28, 12 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
:I agree with Greg. Let us indeed 'get our facts straight'. [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2449454/More-men-raped-US-women-including-prison-sexual-abuse.html| More men are raped in the US than women, figures on prison assaults reveal] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.47|108.162.218.47]] 22:50, 3 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: As a point of departure, The Daily Mail isn't exactly known for its sterling reporting record, and the article cited above is no exception. It cherry picks from two different sources (prison and non-prison populations) as well as two different definitions (sexual abuse and rape) in order to concoct a sensational and ultimately inaccurate headline. We are comparing two entirely different sets of populations: incarcerated vs. non-incarcerated (even ignoring the fact that it's also men in US prisons who are the bad actors). I'm surprised I even need to point out the difference. One should hope that the daily atmosphere in US society writ large is not marked by the same hyper-aggression and mental illness that exists in federal prisons. Further, according to BJS, in 2010 approximately 270,000 women experienced and reported sexual assault, compared to 17,400 men, and, yes, the 218,000 inmates in 2008 (not specified whether male or female in the Daily Mail article). I appreciate honest attempts to move a conversation forward, but please let's try to be consistent and intellectually rigorous in our arguments and rebuttals. [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 07:27, 6 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: I hope that the Daily Mail reference was a joke. That publication certainly is. Is this continuing debate the only reason the explanation is incomplete? I'm not sure it applies. What is the definition of incomplete anyway? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.218|141.101.99.218]] 15:10, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:2.1 in a 1000? That still leaves 997.9 in a 1000. If those odds are enough to make you shun an entire half of the human population, then you might be paranoid. And those 2.1 probably tend to occur in certain situations and certain places, although I'm loathe to actually make any claims without the data to back me up. Yes, there is still misogyny in our society, Tumblr feminists, but the majority of us would never knowingly hurt anybody, females included. So while carrying mace in your purse is understandable, not speaking to a cute non-psychotic guy because you think that the moment you show any interest in him, he won't let you go until he has had your way with you, that's a bit too much. And ironically, it still ends up placing the blame on the victims of such encounters. "Oh, but you talked to him first, you shouldn't have recognized his existence. Everybody knows you don't recognize a male's existence or else you're asking for it."[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.56|141.101.104.56]] 14:26, 17 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Here's a fun statistic. Somewhere between 1 in 20 and 1 in 200 men has raped somebody, based on a simple calculation of the number of american rapes versus the number of american men. It's 1 in 20 if you assume that the average American rapist accounts for ten victims; in truth, the average american rapist accounts for only six, meaning that 1 in 20 is a lower bound. 1 in 200 is roughly the figure you get for a lower bound if you pretend that every rape is reported.<br />
<br />
::How's that for risk? <br />
<br />
:: I feel like you also might be missing that the figure of 2.1 in 1000 is IN A WORLD WHERE WOMEN ARE HYPERCAUTIOUS ABOUT THIS. it does not work as an argument for them being less vigilant. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 19:50, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: According to the UN, its more like 333 out of 1000: [http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/pdf/VAW.pdf "On average, at least one in three women is beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused by an intimate partner in the course of her lifetime."] --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.93.216|141.101.93.216]] 17:02, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: PS: There is not a single excuse for rape and also no way to "ask for it". Except to actually ''ask'' for it (consensual non-consent); but then its not called rape anymore. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.93.216|141.101.93.216]] 17:06, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think this cartoon elegantly captures the age-old challenge of dating: how to make contact with someone you find attractive, without contravening the social mores of your time - be it not talking to someone you have not been introduced to in the Victorian times, not making eye-contact in a bar unless you are "available" late last century, as well as the practice using any number of props such as witty opening lines, proclaiming a shared interest in poetry, accidentally running into each other at second hand book fairs or the joining the local skydiving club. The specific example here flags out the fears of "cyber social rejection" as another component to how we arbitrarily constrain the dynamic of "boy wants to meet girl, girl wants to meet boy" {{unsigned|ZenDad}}</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:642:_Creepy&diff=70073Talk:642: Creepy2014-06-20T19:51:10Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
<hr />
<div>Is the real-life example unwarranted? [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 15:26, 19 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Admirably done. I like the link. In future, though, the wiki-engine doesn't know what single returns means, so if you want a paragraph break hit enter twice. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]<span title="I'm an admin. I can help.">_a</span> ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:07, 19 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
A hint for girls, we all have the SAME fears, don't be afraid to find out who we are on the inside :) - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 04:46, 3 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Uh...men typically don't have to worry about getting harassed, assaulted, or killed like women do. At least not to the same degree. Your nervousness about being turned down is not the same as the woman's fear of being attacked. [[Special:Contributions/15.211.201.83|15.211.201.83]] 20:57, 14 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Thank you for making this comment. It perfectly outlines the exact type of conceited, one sided views that are being used by tumblr feminists in their crusade for "safety" and "equality". The idea that men are all some sort of all powerful being, incapable of being abused or raped is not only factually wrong, but actually perpetuates the abuses against them as more and more men stop coming forward for fear of looking weak. You speak as if you have knowledge in this field, but that just can't be the case. If you did, you would be much better educated as to the real breakdowns of sexual violence per gender, and know just how ridiculous your claims are. [[Special:Contributions/205.211.113.69|205.211.113.69]] 20:11, 12 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::[citation needed]<br />
<br />
:::Quite frankly, the rates of violence against men are much lower, and almost all of it is committed by men (as you can tell by googling "literally anything about crime statistics"). Men are less harmed and less affected by these issues (see, eg, Moradi and Huang 2008); further, what you just posted is a strawman, because what was posted above does not claim that men cannot be harmed or raped, only that one fear is greater than the other.<br />
<br />
:::Given that feminism is the entire reason the legal definition of rape in america includes men - see the Feminist Majority Foundation and Ms. Magazines Rape Is Rape campaign, I think you maybe want to inform yourself more. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 19:47, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:What girl wants to be with a guy who is so introspective and nervous that he can't talk to girls? A hint for guys, grow a pair. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 02:29, 24 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It seems pretty obvious to me that the comic intends to point out the paralyzing paranoia men can have about interacting with women, and the description as it is seems to refuse to explain the comic out of sheer disagreement. {{unsigned ip|207.98.247.127}}<br />
<br />
The comments here, with the call for men to "grow a pair" combined with the (false) claim that women are at greater danger of being attacked than men (seemingly offered as justification for unreasonable female caution or hostility toward men), are a perfect illustration of why this anomie exists.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.71|173.245.50.71]] 03:05, 30 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
...What? The claim that women are in greater danger of being attacked than men is NOT false. In 2010, Women were 21 times more likely to be the victim of sexual crimes than men, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (0.1 cases per 1000 males, and 2.1 cases per 1000 females per year). Not only that, but the vast majority of cases of male sexual assault victims were assaulted by another male. Debate on the subject is fine, but let's at least get our facts straight. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.63|173.245.55.63]] 03:12, 12 May 2014 (UTC)Greg<br />
:You are right, but this comic is more about women using this fact to cover their own capabilities to talk to a "interesting" man. And because your facts are correct it must be mentioned at this explain. But this comic is also about the "strange" behave done by women to men; hard to understand by a man. And because this comic is still even more complicated this gets an incomplete tag with your mentions. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:28, 12 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
:I agree with Greg. Let us indeed 'get our facts straight'. [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2449454/More-men-raped-US-women-including-prison-sexual-abuse.html| More men are raped in the US than women, figures on prison assaults reveal] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.47|108.162.218.47]] 22:50, 3 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: As a point of departure, The Daily Mail isn't exactly known for its sterling reporting record, and the article cited above is no exception. It cherry picks from two different sources (prison and non-prison populations) as well as two different definitions (sexual abuse and rape) in order to concoct a sensational and ultimately inaccurate headline. We are comparing two entirely different sets of populations: incarcerated vs. non-incarcerated (even ignoring the fact that it's also men in US prisons who are the bad actors). I'm surprised I even need to point out the difference. One should hope that the daily atmosphere in US society writ large is not marked by the same hyper-aggression and mental illness that exists in federal prisons. Further, according to BJS, in 2010 approximately 270,000 women experienced and reported sexual assault, compared to 17,400 men, and, yes, the 218,000 inmates in 2008 (not specified whether male or female in the Daily Mail article). I appreciate honest attempts to move a conversation forward, but please let's try to be consistent and intellectually rigorous in our arguments and rebuttals. [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 07:27, 6 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: I hope that the Daily Mail reference was a joke. That publication certainly is. Is this continuing debate the only reason the explanation is incomplete? I'm not sure it applies. What is the definition of incomplete anyway? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.218|141.101.99.218]] 15:10, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:2.1 in a 1000? That still leaves 997.9 in a 1000. If those odds are enough to make you shun an entire half of the human population, then you might be paranoid. And those 2.1 probably tend to occur in certain situations and certain places, although I'm loathe to actually make any claims without the data to back me up. Yes, there is still misogyny in our society, Tumblr feminists, but the majority of us would never knowingly hurt anybody, females included. So while carrying mace in your purse is understandable, not speaking to a cute non-psychotic guy because you think that the moment you show any interest in him, he won't let you go until he has had your way with you, that's a bit too much. And ironically, it still ends up placing the blame on the victims of such encounters. "Oh, but you talked to him first, you shouldn't have recognized his existence. Everybody knows you don't recognize a male's existence or else you're asking for it."[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.56|141.101.104.56]] 14:26, 17 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Here's a fun statistic. Somewhere between 1 in 20 and 1 in 200 men has raped somebody, based on a simple calculation of the number of american rapes versus the number of american men. It's 1 in 20 if you assume that the average American rapist accounts for ten victims; in truth, the average american rapist accounts for only six, meaning that 1 in 20 is a lower bound. 1 in 200 is roughly the figure you get for a lower bound if you pretend that every rape is reported.<br />
<br />
::How's that for risk? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 19:50, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: According to the UN, its more like 333 out of 1000: [http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/pdf/VAW.pdf "On average, at least one in three women is beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused by an intimate partner in the course of her lifetime."] --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.93.216|141.101.93.216]] 17:02, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: PS: There is not a single excuse for rape and also no way to "ask for it". Except to actually ''ask'' for it (consensual non-consent); but then its not called rape anymore. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.93.216|141.101.93.216]] 17:06, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think this cartoon elegantly captures the age-old challenge of dating: how to make contact with someone you find attractive, without contravening the social mores of your time - be it not talking to someone you have not been introduced to in the Victorian times, not making eye-contact in a bar unless you are "available" late last century, as well as the practice using any number of props such as witty opening lines, proclaiming a shared interest in poetry, accidentally running into each other at second hand book fairs or the joining the local skydiving club. The specific example here flags out the fears of "cyber social rejection" as another component to how we arbitrarily constrain the dynamic of "boy wants to meet girl, girl wants to meet boy" {{unsigned|ZenDad}}</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:642:_Creepy&diff=70072Talk:642: Creepy2014-06-20T19:50:08Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
<hr />
<div>Is the real-life example unwarranted? [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 15:26, 19 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Admirably done. I like the link. In future, though, the wiki-engine doesn't know what single returns means, so if you want a paragraph break hit enter twice. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]<span title="I'm an admin. I can help.">_a</span> ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:07, 19 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
A hint for girls, we all have the SAME fears, don't be afraid to find out who we are on the inside :) - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 04:46, 3 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Uh...men typically don't have to worry about getting harassed, assaulted, or killed like women do. At least not to the same degree. Your nervousness about being turned down is not the same as the woman's fear of being attacked. [[Special:Contributions/15.211.201.83|15.211.201.83]] 20:57, 14 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Thank you for making this comment. It perfectly outlines the exact type of conceited, one sided views that are being used by tumblr feminists in their crusade for "safety" and "equality". The idea that men are all some sort of all powerful being, incapable of being abused or raped is not only factually wrong, but actually perpetuates the abuses against them as more and more men stop coming forward for fear of looking weak. You speak as if you have knowledge in this field, but that just can't be the case. If you did, you would be much better educated as to the real breakdowns of sexual violence per gender, and know just how ridiculous your claims are. [[Special:Contributions/205.211.113.69|205.211.113.69]] 20:11, 12 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::[citation needed]<br />
<br />
:::Quite frankly, the rates of violence against men are much lower, and almost all of it is committed by men (as you can tell by googling "literally anything about crime statistics"). Men are less harmed and less affected by these issues (see, eg, Moradi and Huang 2008); further, what you just posted is a strawman, because what was posted above does not claim that men cannot be harmed or raped, only that one fear is greater than the other.<br />
<br />
:::Given that feminism is the entire reason the legal definition of rape in america includes men - see the Feminist Majority Foundation and Ms. Magazines Rape Is Rape campaign, I think you maybe want to inform yourself more. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 19:47, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:What girl wants to be with a guy who is so introspective and nervous that he can't talk to girls? A hint for guys, grow a pair. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 02:29, 24 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It seems pretty obvious to me that the comic intends to point out the paralyzing paranoia men can have about interacting with women, and the description as it is seems to refuse to explain the comic out of sheer disagreement. {{unsigned ip|207.98.247.127}}<br />
<br />
The comments here, with the call for men to "grow a pair" combined with the (false) claim that women are at greater danger of being attacked than men (seemingly offered as justification for unreasonable female caution or hostility toward men), are a perfect illustration of why this anomie exists.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.71|173.245.50.71]] 03:05, 30 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
...What? The claim that women are in greater danger of being attacked than men is NOT false. In 2010, Women were 21 times more likely to be the victim of sexual crimes than men, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (0.1 cases per 1000 males, and 2.1 cases per 1000 females per year). Not only that, but the vast majority of cases of male sexual assault victims were assaulted by another male. Debate on the subject is fine, but let's at least get our facts straight. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.63|173.245.55.63]] 03:12, 12 May 2014 (UTC)Greg<br />
:You are right, but this comic is more about women using this fact to cover their own capabilities to talk to a "interesting" man. And because your facts are correct it must be mentioned at this explain. But this comic is also about the "strange" behave done by women to men; hard to understand by a man. And because this comic is still even more complicated this gets an incomplete tag with your mentions. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:28, 12 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
:I agree with Greg. Let us indeed 'get our facts straight'. [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2449454/More-men-raped-US-women-including-prison-sexual-abuse.html| More men are raped in the US than women, figures on prison assaults reveal] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.47|108.162.218.47]] 22:50, 3 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: As a point of departure, The Daily Mail isn't exactly known for its sterling reporting record, and the article cited above is no exception. It cherry picks from two different sources (prison and non-prison populations) as well as two different definitions (sexual abuse and rape) in order to concoct a sensational and ultimately inaccurate headline. We are comparing two entirely different sets of populations: incarcerated vs. non-incarcerated (even ignoring the fact that it's also men in US prisons who are the bad actors). I'm surprised I even need to point out the difference. One should hope that the daily atmosphere in US society writ large is not marked by the same hyper-aggression and mental illness that exists in federal prisons. Further, according to BJS, in 2010 approximately 270,000 women experienced and reported sexual assault, compared to 17,400 men, and, yes, the 218,000 inmates in 2008 (not specified whether male or female in the Daily Mail article). I appreciate honest attempts to move a conversation forward, but please let's try to be consistent and intellectually rigorous in our arguments and rebuttals. [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 07:27, 6 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: I hope that the Daily Mail reference was a joke. That publication certainly is. Is this continuing debate the only reason the explanation is incomplete? I'm not sure it applies. What is the definition of incomplete anyway? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.218|141.101.99.218]] 15:10, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:2.1 in a 1000? That still leaves 997.9 in a 1000. If those odds are enough to make you shun an entire half of the human population, then you might be paranoid. And those 2.1 probably tend to occur in certain situations and certain places, although I'm loathe to actually make any claims without the data to back me up. Yes, there is still misogyny in our society, Tumblr feminists, but the majority of us would never knowingly hurt anybody, females included. So while carrying mace in your purse is understandable, not speaking to a cute non-psychotic guy because you think that the moment you show any interest in him, he won't let you go until he has had your way with you, that's a bit too much. And ironically, it still ends up placing the blame on the victims of such encounters. "Oh, but you talked to him first, you shouldn't have recognized his existence. Everybody knows you don't recognize a male's existence or else you're asking for it."[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.56|141.101.104.56]] 14:26, 17 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Here's a fun statistic. Somewhere between 1 in 20 and 1 in 200 men has raped somebody, based on a simple calculation of the number of american rapes versus the number of american men. It's 1 in 20 if you assume that the average American rapist accounts for ten victims; in truth, the average american rapist accounts for only six, meaning that 1 in 20 is a lower bound.<br />
<br />
::How's that for risk? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 19:50, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: According to the UN, its more like 333 out of 1000: [http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/pdf/VAW.pdf "On average, at least one in three women is beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused by an intimate partner in the course of her lifetime."] --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.93.216|141.101.93.216]] 17:02, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: PS: There is not a single excuse for rape and also no way to "ask for it". Except to actually ''ask'' for it (consensual non-consent); but then its not called rape anymore. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.93.216|141.101.93.216]] 17:06, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think this cartoon elegantly captures the age-old challenge of dating: how to make contact with someone you find attractive, without contravening the social mores of your time - be it not talking to someone you have not been introduced to in the Victorian times, not making eye-contact in a bar unless you are "available" late last century, as well as the practice using any number of props such as witty opening lines, proclaiming a shared interest in poetry, accidentally running into each other at second hand book fairs or the joining the local skydiving club. The specific example here flags out the fears of "cyber social rejection" as another component to how we arbitrarily constrain the dynamic of "boy wants to meet girl, girl wants to meet boy" {{unsigned|ZenDad}}</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:642:_Creepy&diff=70071Talk:642: Creepy2014-06-20T19:48:08Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
<hr />
<div>Is the real-life example unwarranted? [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 15:26, 19 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Admirably done. I like the link. In future, though, the wiki-engine doesn't know what single returns means, so if you want a paragraph break hit enter twice. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]<span title="I'm an admin. I can help.">_a</span> ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:07, 19 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
A hint for girls, we all have the SAME fears, don't be afraid to find out who we are on the inside :) - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 04:46, 3 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Uh...men typically don't have to worry about getting harassed, assaulted, or killed like women do. At least not to the same degree. Your nervousness about being turned down is not the same as the woman's fear of being attacked. [[Special:Contributions/15.211.201.83|15.211.201.83]] 20:57, 14 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Thank you for making this comment. It perfectly outlines the exact type of conceited, one sided views that are being used by tumblr feminists in their crusade for "safety" and "equality". The idea that men are all some sort of all powerful being, incapable of being abused or raped is not only factually wrong, but actually perpetuates the abuses against them as more and more men stop coming forward for fear of looking weak. You speak as if you have knowledge in this field, but that just can't be the case. If you did, you would be much better educated as to the real breakdowns of sexual violence per gender, and know just how ridiculous your claims are. [[Special:Contributions/205.211.113.69|205.211.113.69]] 20:11, 12 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::[citation needed]<br />
<br />
:::Quite frankly, the rates of violence against men are much lower, and almost all of it is committed by men (as you can tell by googling "literally anything about crime statistics"). Men are less harmed and less affected by these issues (see, eg, Moradi and Huang 2008); further, what you just posted is a strawman, because what was posted above does not claim that men cannot be harmed or raped, only that one fear is greater than the other.<br />
<br />
:::Given that feminism is the entire reason the legal definition of rape in america includes men - see the Feminist Majority Foundation and Ms. Magazines Rape Is Rape campaign, I think you maybe want to inform yourself more. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 19:47, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:What girl wants to be with a guy who is so introspective and nervous that he can't talk to girls? A hint for guys, grow a pair. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 02:29, 24 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It seems pretty obvious to me that the comic intends to point out the paralyzing paranoia men can have about interacting with women, and the description as it is seems to refuse to explain the comic out of sheer disagreement. {{unsigned ip|207.98.247.127}}<br />
<br />
The comments here, with the call for men to "grow a pair" combined with the (false) claim that women are at greater danger of being attacked than men (seemingly offered as justification for unreasonable female caution or hostility toward men), are a perfect illustration of why this anomie exists.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.71|173.245.50.71]] 03:05, 30 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
...What? The claim that women are in greater danger of being attacked than men is NOT false. In 2010, Women were 21 times more likely to be the victim of sexual crimes than men, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (0.1 cases per 1000 males, and 2.1 cases per 1000 females per year). Not only that, but the vast majority of cases of male sexual assault victims were assaulted by another male. Debate on the subject is fine, but let's at least get our facts straight. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.63|173.245.55.63]] 03:12, 12 May 2014 (UTC)Greg<br />
:You are right, but this comic is more about women using this fact to cover their own capabilities to talk to a "interesting" man. And because your facts are correct it must be mentioned at this explain. But this comic is also about the "strange" behave done by women to men; hard to understand by a man. And because this comic is still even more complicated this gets an incomplete tag with your mentions. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:28, 12 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
:I agree with Greg. Let us indeed 'get our facts straight'. [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2449454/More-men-raped-US-women-including-prison-sexual-abuse.html| More men are raped in the US than women, figures on prison assaults reveal] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.47|108.162.218.47]] 22:50, 3 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: As a point of departure, The Daily Mail isn't exactly known for its sterling reporting record, and the article cited above is no exception. It cherry picks from two different sources (prison and non-prison populations) as well as two different definitions (sexual abuse and rape) in order to concoct a sensational and ultimately inaccurate headline. We are comparing two entirely different sets of populations: incarcerated vs. non-incarcerated (even ignoring the fact that it's also men in US prisons who are the bad actors). I'm surprised I even need to point out the difference. One should hope that the daily atmosphere in US society writ large is not marked by the same hyper-aggression and mental illness that exists in federal prisons. Further, according to BJS, in 2010 approximately 270,000 women experienced and reported sexual assault, compared to 17,400 men, and, yes, the 218,000 inmates in 2008 (not specified whether male or female in the Daily Mail article). I appreciate honest attempts to move a conversation forward, but please let's try to be consistent and intellectually rigorous in our arguments and rebuttals. [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 07:27, 6 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: I hope that the Daily Mail reference was a joke. That publication certainly is. Is this continuing debate the only reason the explanation is incomplete? I'm not sure it applies. What is the definition of incomplete anyway? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.218|141.101.99.218]] 15:10, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:2.1 in a 1000? That still leaves 997.9 in a 1000. If those odds are enough to make you shun an entire half of the human population, then you might be paranoid. And those 2.1 probably tend to occur in certain situations and certain places, although I'm loathe to actually make any claims without the data to back me up. Yes, there is still misogyny in our society, Tumblr feminists, but the majority of us would never knowingly hurt anybody, females included. So while carrying mace in your purse is understandable, not speaking to a cute non-psychotic guy because you think that the moment you show any interest in him, he won't let you go until he has had your way with you, that's a bit too much. And ironically, it still ends up placing the blame on the victims of such encounters. "Oh, but you talked to him first, you shouldn't have recognized his existence. Everybody knows you don't recognize a male's existence or else you're asking for it."[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.56|141.101.104.56]] 14:26, 17 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: According to the UN, its more like 333 out of 1000: [http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/pdf/VAW.pdf "On average, at least one in three women is beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused by an intimate partner in the course of her lifetime."] --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.93.216|141.101.93.216]] 17:02, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: PS: There is not a single excuse for rape and also no way to "ask for it". Except to actually ''ask'' for it (consensual non-consent); but then its not called rape anymore. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.93.216|141.101.93.216]] 17:06, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think this cartoon elegantly captures the age-old challenge of dating: how to make contact with someone you find attractive, without contravening the social mores of your time - be it not talking to someone you have not been introduced to in the Victorian times, not making eye-contact in a bar unless you are "available" late last century, as well as the practice using any number of props such as witty opening lines, proclaiming a shared interest in poetry, accidentally running into each other at second hand book fairs or the joining the local skydiving club. The specific example here flags out the fears of "cyber social rejection" as another component to how we arbitrarily constrain the dynamic of "boy wants to meet girl, girl wants to meet boy" {{unsigned|ZenDad}}</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:642:_Creepy&diff=70070Talk:642: Creepy2014-06-20T19:47:28Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
<hr />
<div>Is the real-life example unwarranted? [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 15:26, 19 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Admirably done. I like the link. In future, though, the wiki-engine doesn't know what single returns means, so if you want a paragraph break hit enter twice. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]<span title="I'm an admin. I can help.">_a</span> ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:07, 19 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
A hint for girls, we all have the SAME fears, don't be afraid to find out who we are on the inside :) - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 04:46, 3 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Uh...men typically don't have to worry about getting harassed, assaulted, or killed like women do. At least not to the same degree. Your nervousness about being turned down is not the same as the woman's fear of being attacked. [[Special:Contributions/15.211.201.83|15.211.201.83]] 20:57, 14 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Thank you for making this comment. It perfectly outlines the exact type of conceited, one sided views that are being used by tumblr feminists in their crusade for "safety" and "equality". The idea that men are all some sort of all powerful being, incapable of being abused or raped is not only factually wrong, but actually perpetuates the abuses against them as more and more men stop coming forward for fear of looking weak. You speak as if you have knowledge in this field, but that just can't be the case. If you did, you would be much better educated as to the real breakdowns of sexual violence per gender, and know just how ridiculous your claims are. [[Special:Contributions/205.211.113.69|205.211.113.69]] 20:11, 12 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::[citation needed]<br />
<br />
Quite frankly, the rates of violence against men are much lower, and almost all of it is committed by men (as you can tell by googling "literally anything about crime statistics"). Men are less harmed and less affected by these issues (see, eg, Moradi and Huang 2008); further, what you just posted is a strawman, because what was posted above does not claim that men cannot be harmed or raped, only that one fear is greater than the other.<br />
<br />
Given that feminism is the entire reason the legal definition of rape in america includes men - see the Feminist Majority Foundation and Ms. Magazines Rape Is Rape campaign, I think you maybe want to inform yourself more. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 19:47, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:What girl wants to be with a guy who is so introspective and nervous that he can't talk to girls? A hint for guys, grow a pair. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 02:29, 24 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It seems pretty obvious to me that the comic intends to point out the paralyzing paranoia men can have about interacting with women, and the description as it is seems to refuse to explain the comic out of sheer disagreement. {{unsigned ip|207.98.247.127}}<br />
<br />
The comments here, with the call for men to "grow a pair" combined with the (false) claim that women are at greater danger of being attacked than men (seemingly offered as justification for unreasonable female caution or hostility toward men), are a perfect illustration of why this anomie exists.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.71|173.245.50.71]] 03:05, 30 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
...What? The claim that women are in greater danger of being attacked than men is NOT false. In 2010, Women were 21 times more likely to be the victim of sexual crimes than men, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (0.1 cases per 1000 males, and 2.1 cases per 1000 females per year). Not only that, but the vast majority of cases of male sexual assault victims were assaulted by another male. Debate on the subject is fine, but let's at least get our facts straight. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.63|173.245.55.63]] 03:12, 12 May 2014 (UTC)Greg<br />
:You are right, but this comic is more about women using this fact to cover their own capabilities to talk to a "interesting" man. And because your facts are correct it must be mentioned at this explain. But this comic is also about the "strange" behave done by women to men; hard to understand by a man. And because this comic is still even more complicated this gets an incomplete tag with your mentions. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:28, 12 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
:I agree with Greg. Let us indeed 'get our facts straight'. [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2449454/More-men-raped-US-women-including-prison-sexual-abuse.html| More men are raped in the US than women, figures on prison assaults reveal] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.47|108.162.218.47]] 22:50, 3 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: As a point of departure, The Daily Mail isn't exactly known for its sterling reporting record, and the article cited above is no exception. It cherry picks from two different sources (prison and non-prison populations) as well as two different definitions (sexual abuse and rape) in order to concoct a sensational and ultimately inaccurate headline. We are comparing two entirely different sets of populations: incarcerated vs. non-incarcerated (even ignoring the fact that it's also men in US prisons who are the bad actors). I'm surprised I even need to point out the difference. One should hope that the daily atmosphere in US society writ large is not marked by the same hyper-aggression and mental illness that exists in federal prisons. Further, according to BJS, in 2010 approximately 270,000 women experienced and reported sexual assault, compared to 17,400 men, and, yes, the 218,000 inmates in 2008 (not specified whether male or female in the Daily Mail article). I appreciate honest attempts to move a conversation forward, but please let's try to be consistent and intellectually rigorous in our arguments and rebuttals. [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 07:27, 6 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: I hope that the Daily Mail reference was a joke. That publication certainly is. Is this continuing debate the only reason the explanation is incomplete? I'm not sure it applies. What is the definition of incomplete anyway? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.218|141.101.99.218]] 15:10, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:2.1 in a 1000? That still leaves 997.9 in a 1000. If those odds are enough to make you shun an entire half of the human population, then you might be paranoid. And those 2.1 probably tend to occur in certain situations and certain places, although I'm loathe to actually make any claims without the data to back me up. Yes, there is still misogyny in our society, Tumblr feminists, but the majority of us would never knowingly hurt anybody, females included. So while carrying mace in your purse is understandable, not speaking to a cute non-psychotic guy because you think that the moment you show any interest in him, he won't let you go until he has had your way with you, that's a bit too much. And ironically, it still ends up placing the blame on the victims of such encounters. "Oh, but you talked to him first, you shouldn't have recognized his existence. Everybody knows you don't recognize a male's existence or else you're asking for it."[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.56|141.101.104.56]] 14:26, 17 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: According to the UN, its more like 333 out of 1000: [http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/pdf/VAW.pdf "On average, at least one in three women is beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused by an intimate partner in the course of her lifetime."] --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.93.216|141.101.93.216]] 17:02, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: PS: There is not a single excuse for rape and also no way to "ask for it". Except to actually ''ask'' for it (consensual non-consent); but then its not called rape anymore. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.93.216|141.101.93.216]] 17:06, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think this cartoon elegantly captures the age-old challenge of dating: how to make contact with someone you find attractive, without contravening the social mores of your time - be it not talking to someone you have not been introduced to in the Victorian times, not making eye-contact in a bar unless you are "available" late last century, as well as the practice using any number of props such as witty opening lines, proclaiming a shared interest in poetry, accidentally running into each other at second hand book fairs or the joining the local skydiving club. The specific example here flags out the fears of "cyber social rejection" as another component to how we arbitrarily constrain the dynamic of "boy wants to meet girl, girl wants to meet boy" {{unsigned|ZenDad}}</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1383:_Magic_Words&diff=70069Talk:1383: Magic Words2014-06-20T19:28:14Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
<hr />
<div>In this comic, Mr. Munroe makes a joke. As of yet, it is unclear what this joke IS, specifically, but it can be assumed that it's a funny one. {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.120}}<br />
<br />
the clue was in "anapest"... for those more ambitious to explain and understand [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_%28prosody%29] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.83|108.162.221.83]] 04:13, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Each sequence has four words with the same stress pattern, which makes them the same type of poetic foot (the first group is all iambs, the second is all trochees, the third is bacchius). Basically it's a pun. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.185|173.245.54.185]] 04:25, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is Cueball really as much of a ''cunning linguist'' as Megan makes him out to be? If not, she is going to be extremely unsatisfied in bed. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.208.25|108.162.208.25]] 08:36, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Ha! Cunning linguist! *snicker* [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.157|108.162.254.157]] 08:42, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Before the explanation, I was wondering where "correct horse battery staple" was... {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.219}}<br />
<br />
Hmmm - surely there is some role the choice of words plays in this, beyond having a particular meter. Any ideas? [[User:Nealmcb|Nealmcb]] ([[User talk:Nealmcb|talk]]) 12:19, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
What about Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? =8o) [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 12:44, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I did not initially state that "a-na-'''pest''' is an anapest. But now I have tripple checked amongst other with a school teacher and the dictionary that I link to in the link. I have thus correct this back again. Please do not change it back! [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:01, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:There seem to be some '''disagreement''' about the '''pronunciation''' of the word '''anapest''' - or at least what it means to stress a syllable. I'm no expert, but had two other hear the word from the link to the pronunciation given in the explain. There is now two different people who have written that anapest is an anapest (I'm one of them) and two others who have changed it back to being a dactyl, without commenting down here... The last who did it wrote that I had misread how the stress was in the dictionary. But I cannot see where this is defined? I just listened to the word. If someone can post a link to how the word is pronounced, and can explain to me how to read it, (so it can be made clear what is correct instead of starting an editing war...) that would be great. In case it is the first syllable that is stressed then the two definitions on Wikipedia for what an anapest is will give two different conclusions for the word. This I have now included in the anapest explanation. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:18, 19 June 2014 (UTC) <br />
:: The primary stress is marked with an apostrophe BEFORE the stressed syllable. Secondary stress, which isn't important here, is marked with an inverted apostrophe (ie, at the bottom of the line) before the stressed syllable. You almost certainly don't pronounce it with the last syllable stressed, because it would sound very clearly and definitely like "er-ner-pest". [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 19:28, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
::'Anapest' is definitely an anapest, by BOTH definitions, when I pronounce it. What's more, when I intentionally try to pronounce it as a dactyl, it is very difficult for me to do so--it feels unnatural. California-raised with a Master's in English from an Ivy League school, if anyone cares. Anyway, my experience in both the world and the classroom lead me to believe that 'anapest' is an anapest for American English. If it can also be a dactyl, I'd say that's a British pronunciation. I'm pretty sure whatever any of us think, Randall thinks 'anapest' is an anapest... [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.196|173.245.48.196]] 14:34, 19 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::Thanks for the input. From this I have rephrased the anapest discussion an moved it into a trivia section. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:14, 19 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
::'Anapest' is a dactyl because the stress is on the first syllable, according to [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/anapest Dictionary.com] (in bold), [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anapest Merriam-Webster], and [http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/anapaest?q=anapest Oxford Dictionaries] (notice the accent mark at the beginning of the word). The inflection of the pronunciation also indicates stress on the first syllable. For example, compare the way you say "'''an'''apest" to "an '''ap'''ple", and how your voice rises at the beginning of the former but the middle of the latter. I haven't seen any examples showing the stress on the last syllable, so unless someone has one, I'm going to revert back to the correct explanation. [[User:Prometheusmmiv|Prometheusmmiv]] ([[User talk:Prometheusmmiv|talk]]) 00:39, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
::As an addenda to the above; if anapest were an anapest, the first syllable would be reduced to schwa in most english-speaking accents and you'd get uh-nuh-pest - specifically, the first "a" would sound like the second "a" does. If you pronounce it with an audible, clear "aaaa", you're stressing the first syllable. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 19:25, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Also, note that all these phrases are grammatically correct, but semantically nonsensical, Chomsky-style: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorless_green_ideas_sleep_furiously {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.41}}<br />
<br />
I don't think "story water paper doorway" is gramatically correct. Whether you take water or paper to be the verb, both the noun and the object would need to be plural and they're not.<br />
<br />
Also, there's nothing nonsensical about "strawberry scorpion poetry"<br />
<br />
The strawberry scorpion's sweet <br /><br />
Though juicy you never should eat- <br /><br />
In case you get stung <br /><br />
Just call 911 <br /><br />
And try your best to stay upbeat <br /> {{unsigned ip}}<br />
<br />
:Since it's in all caps, we can't tell if "story" and "paper doorway" are proper names; if they are, a single comma would make that string grammatically correct - an imperative instructing Story to water Paper Doorway. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 19:25, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Does anyone else think these words were chosen because they have whispering qualities would produce an 'autonomous sensory meridian response'? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_sensory_meridian_response {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.207}}<br />
<br />
This is certainly contro-verse-ial. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.6}}<br />
<br />
As a linguist who dreams word-play, this comic is fantastic on so many levels. Thanks, Randall! [[User:Clumsy|Clumsy]] ([[User talk:Clumsy|talk]]) 21:34, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Holy crap, I had no freaking idea what was going on in this one. The cool thing is it's funny enough to still give me a chuckle after reading the explanation. Most jokes die a painful death if they have to be explained. Also, I have no idea how to properly sign my posts so I'm ignorantly copying others, likely incorrectly. [[User:jakeepooh|jakeepooh]]<br />
<br />
I read the comic and the explanation, and I still have no clue. Guess no poetic foot fetish action for me. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.34}}<br />
<br />
I agree with the opinion that anapest is an anapest, and I've seen no comments to the contrary so unless there's other evidence to support it being a dactyl, it should remain anapest.<br />
Also, apparently the last person to change it didn't even read the entire sentence, because they left it as an autological word and not a heterological word. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.60|108.162.216.60]] 19:46, 19 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Though almost nobody in America has heard the word "anapest" spoken aloud in our entire lives, I think most of us would assume, since words like "analog" and "Everest" are both dactyls, that "anapest" is obviously a dactyl unless there is some special cited reason that it's not. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.90|199.27.128.90]] 00:51, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"Anapest" has been in my usage vocabulary since high school (about fifty years), and it's always been a dactyl for me. [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anapest Merriam-Webster] agrees: Their written pronunciation, '''\ˈa-nə-ˌpest\''', has primary stress on the first syllable and secondary stress on the third, which is just how I pronounce it. [[User:Thnidu|Thnidu]] ([[User talk:Thnidu|talk]]) 06:03, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Interesting side note: the Wikipedia link to "foot fetishism" is blocked on my current Mobile Internet connection (pending an Adult Verification-type process that I'm not too bothered about engaging with, despite being very much elegible). Considering the things that ''aren't'' blocked (on Wikipedia and elsewhere), I thought this would amuse some of you, at least. ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.57|141.101.99.57]] 15:25, 20 June 2014 (UTC)</div>141.101.99.12https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1383:_Magic_Words&diff=70068Talk:1383: Magic Words2014-06-20T19:25:23Z<p>141.101.99.12: </p>
<hr />
<div>In this comic, Mr. Munroe makes a joke. As of yet, it is unclear what this joke IS, specifically, but it can be assumed that it's a funny one. {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.120}}<br />
<br />
the clue was in "anapest"... for those more ambitious to explain and understand [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_%28prosody%29] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.83|108.162.221.83]] 04:13, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Each sequence has four words with the same stress pattern, which makes them the same type of poetic foot (the first group is all iambs, the second is all trochees, the third is bacchius). Basically it's a pun. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.185|173.245.54.185]] 04:25, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Is Cueball really as much of a ''cunning linguist'' as Megan makes him out to be? If not, she is going to be extremely unsatisfied in bed. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.208.25|108.162.208.25]] 08:36, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Ha! Cunning linguist! *snicker* [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.157|108.162.254.157]] 08:42, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Before the explanation, I was wondering where "correct horse battery staple" was... {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.219}}<br />
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Hmmm - surely there is some role the choice of words plays in this, beyond having a particular meter. Any ideas? [[User:Nealmcb|Nealmcb]] ([[User talk:Nealmcb|talk]]) 12:19, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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What about Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? =8o) [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 12:44, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I did not initially state that "a-na-'''pest''' is an anapest. But now I have tripple checked amongst other with a school teacher and the dictionary that I link to in the link. I have thus correct this back again. Please do not change it back! [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:01, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:There seem to be some '''disagreement''' about the '''pronunciation''' of the word '''anapest''' - or at least what it means to stress a syllable. I'm no expert, but had two other hear the word from the link to the pronunciation given in the explain. There is now two different people who have written that anapest is an anapest (I'm one of them) and two others who have changed it back to being a dactyl, without commenting down here... The last who did it wrote that I had misread how the stress was in the dictionary. But I cannot see where this is defined? I just listened to the word. If someone can post a link to how the word is pronounced, and can explain to me how to read it, (so it can be made clear what is correct instead of starting an editing war...) that would be great. In case it is the first syllable that is stressed then the two definitions on Wikipedia for what an anapest is will give two different conclusions for the word. This I have now included in the anapest explanation. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:18, 19 June 2014 (UTC) <br />
::'Anapest' is definitely an anapest, by BOTH definitions, when I pronounce it. What's more, when I intentionally try to pronounce it as a dactyl, it is very difficult for me to do so--it feels unnatural. California-raised with a Master's in English from an Ivy League school, if anyone cares. Anyway, my experience in both the world and the classroom lead me to believe that 'anapest' is an anapest for American English. If it can also be a dactyl, I'd say that's a British pronunciation. I'm pretty sure whatever any of us think, Randall thinks 'anapest' is an anapest... [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.196|173.245.48.196]] 14:34, 19 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::Thanks for the input. From this I have rephrased the anapest discussion an moved it into a trivia section. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:14, 19 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
::'Anapest' is a dactyl because the stress is on the first syllable, according to [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/anapest Dictionary.com] (in bold), [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anapest Merriam-Webster], and [http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/anapaest?q=anapest Oxford Dictionaries] (notice the accent mark at the beginning of the word). The inflection of the pronunciation also indicates stress on the first syllable. For example, compare the way you say "'''an'''apest" to "an '''ap'''ple", and how your voice rises at the beginning of the former but the middle of the latter. I haven't seen any examples showing the stress on the last syllable, so unless someone has one, I'm going to revert back to the correct explanation. [[User:Prometheusmmiv|Prometheusmmiv]] ([[User talk:Prometheusmmiv|talk]]) 00:39, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
::As an addenda to the above; if anapest were an anapest, the first syllable would be reduced to schwa in most english-speaking accents and you'd get uh-nuh-pest - specifically, the first "a" would sound like the second "a" does. If you pronounce it with an audible, clear "aaaa", you're stressing the first syllable. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 19:25, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Also, note that all these phrases are grammatically correct, but semantically nonsensical, Chomsky-style: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorless_green_ideas_sleep_furiously {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.41}}<br />
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I don't think "story water paper doorway" is gramatically correct. Whether you take water or paper to be the verb, both the noun and the object would need to be plural and they're not.<br />
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Also, there's nothing nonsensical about "strawberry scorpion poetry"<br />
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The strawberry scorpion's sweet <br /><br />
Though juicy you never should eat- <br /><br />
In case you get stung <br /><br />
Just call 911 <br /><br />
And try your best to stay upbeat <br /> {{unsigned ip}}<br />
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:Since it's in all caps, we can't tell if "story" and "paper doorway" are proper names; if they are, a single comma would make that string grammatically correct - an imperative instructing Story to water Paper Doorway. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 19:25, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Does anyone else think these words were chosen because they have whispering qualities would produce an 'autonomous sensory meridian response'? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_sensory_meridian_response {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.207}}<br />
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This is certainly contro-verse-ial. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.6}}<br />
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As a linguist who dreams word-play, this comic is fantastic on so many levels. Thanks, Randall! [[User:Clumsy|Clumsy]] ([[User talk:Clumsy|talk]]) 21:34, 18 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Holy crap, I had no freaking idea what was going on in this one. The cool thing is it's funny enough to still give me a chuckle after reading the explanation. Most jokes die a painful death if they have to be explained. Also, I have no idea how to properly sign my posts so I'm ignorantly copying others, likely incorrectly. [[User:jakeepooh|jakeepooh]]<br />
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I read the comic and the explanation, and I still have no clue. Guess no poetic foot fetish action for me. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.34}}<br />
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I agree with the opinion that anapest is an anapest, and I've seen no comments to the contrary so unless there's other evidence to support it being a dactyl, it should remain anapest.<br />
Also, apparently the last person to change it didn't even read the entire sentence, because they left it as an autological word and not a heterological word. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.60|108.162.216.60]] 19:46, 19 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Though almost nobody in America has heard the word "anapest" spoken aloud in our entire lives, I think most of us would assume, since words like "analog" and "Everest" are both dactyls, that "anapest" is obviously a dactyl unless there is some special cited reason that it's not. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.90|199.27.128.90]] 00:51, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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"Anapest" has been in my usage vocabulary since high school (about fifty years), and it's always been a dactyl for me. [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anapest Merriam-Webster] agrees: Their written pronunciation, '''\ˈa-nə-ˌpest\''', has primary stress on the first syllable and secondary stress on the third, which is just how I pronounce it. [[User:Thnidu|Thnidu]] ([[User talk:Thnidu|talk]]) 06:03, 20 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Interesting side note: the Wikipedia link to "foot fetishism" is blocked on my current Mobile Internet connection (pending an Adult Verification-type process that I'm not too bothered about engaging with, despite being very much elegible). Considering the things that ''aren't'' blocked (on Wikipedia and elsewhere), I thought this would amuse some of you, at least. ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.57|141.101.99.57]] 15:25, 20 June 2014 (UTC)</div>141.101.99.12