explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1889: xkcd Phone 6

2017-09-13T15:08:11Z

162.158.255.40:

{{comic
| number = 1889
| date = September 13, 2017
| title = xkcd Phone 6
| image = xkcd_phone_6.png
| titletext = We understand your privacy concerns; be assured that our phones will never store or transmit images of your face.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is the sixth entry in the ongoing [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd Phone series]].

===List of features===

; Front camera (centered for eye contact during video chat)

: Front camera is a common feature of smartphones. The camera lens is on the same side of the phone's case as the main screen, therefore its is possible to capture the image of the user's face looking at the screen and display the interlocutor's face on the screen simultaneously, enabling video calls. However, as the camera is usually located above the screen, a user looking at the displayed image of the other person directs his or her eyes at the center of the screen and not at the camera's lens. This is very visible on the other end of the call as if the person talking is looking down and not in the interlocutor's face which is an uncomfortable situation for most people.

; Full-width rear camera

:

; CDC partnership - phone automatically administers seasonal flu vaccine to cheek every year

:

; 12-function

:

; Dishwasher safe

:

; GPS transmitter

:

; 3-G acceleration

:

; Portable, solar-heated

:

;Pore-cleaning strip

; Maximum strength

:

; Never needs sharpening

:

; Can survive up to 30 minutes out of water

:

; Exclusive Audubon Society app identifies birds and lets you control their flight

:

; Extra screen

:

; Wireless charging port

:

; Safe for ages 6 – 8 months, 10 months, 18 months – 3 years, and 12 years and older

:

; Screen goes past the edge

:

; High thread count CPU

:

; Shroud of Turin-style facial transfer unlock

:

; Fonts developed by NASA

:

; Includes applicator

:

; Burns clean coal

:

; Pre-seasoned

:

; Broad-spectrum SPF 30

:

; College-ruled

:

; Sterile packaging

:

; Radium backlight

:

; 4K pixels (50x80)

:

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A smartphone is shown, the screen is slightly wider than the case, in the middle is a photo lens, and at the right bottom a small extra part is added to the screen.]
:[On top a bracket ranges nearly over the entire width of the case. The text reads:]
:Full-width rear camera
:[The label at the photo lens is:]
:Front camera (centered for eye contact during video chat)
:[The label on the extra part says:]
:Extra screen
:[At the bottom below the case a label reads:]
:Wireless charging port

:[The labels left to the phone are:]
:4k pixels (50x80)
:Radium backlight
:Sterile packaging
:College-ruled
:Broad spectrum SPF 30
:Pre-seasoned
:Burns clean coal
:Includes applicator
:Fonts developed by NASA
:Shroud of turn-style facial transfer unlock
:High thread count CPU
:Screen goes past the edge
:Safe for ages 6-8 months, 10 months, 18 months-3 years, and 12 years and older

:[The labels right to the phone are:]
:CDC partnership: Phone automatically administers seasonal flu vaccine to check every year
:12-function
:Dishwasher safe
:GPS transmitter
:3-G acceleration
:Portable, solar-heated
:Pore-cleaning strip
:Maximum strength
:Never needs sharpening
:Can survive up to 30 minutes out of water
:Exclusive Audubon Society app identifies birds and lets you control their flight

:[Text below the phone:]
:Introducing
:'''The XKCD PHONE 6, VIII, 10, X, 26, and 1876'''
:We didn't start this nonconsecutive version number war, but we will not lose it.™®©º
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:xkcd Phones]]

1072: Seventies

2017-08-13T18:13:26Z

162.158.255.40: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1072
| date = June 22, 2012
| title = Seventies
| image = seventies.png
| titletext = Hey, man, the 1670s called. They were like 'Wherefore this demonic inſtrument? By what ſorcery does it produce ſuch ſounds?"
}}

==Explanation==
This is a take on the common insult "<year> called and they want their <item> back", used when one is wearing something out of fashion (used before in [[875: 2009 Called]]). In this case, the comment is ''literally'' true: someone in the '70s called, but did not leave a message. Instead, the caller is puzzled because answering machines and especially voicemail were rare or nonexistent in the 1970s, and his telephone has a {{w|rotary dial}}, rather than a {{w|touch tone}}, so he can't "press" 1.

The caller is wearing flared trousers (frequently associated with 1970s fashion), but no jacket, suggesting that it is his own jacket that has been stolen by the addressee, presumably using time travel. The caller is similarly using time-travel to directly dial a number in the present.

Originally telephones had rotary dials instead of buttons, hence the origin of the terms "dial tone" and "to dial a number". Touch tone phones were introduced in the 1960s, but weren't standard in many places until the 1980s. Rotary dial telephones used {{w|pulse dialing}} to transmit numbers and push-button telephones use {{w|Dual-tone_multi-frequency_signaling|DTMF}} (although phones from the '80s and '90s could often use both). Modern {{w|voicemail}} systems regularly don't support pulse dialing, so even selecting "1" on the rotary dial would not choose "1" in the voicemail menu system.

The title text plays off the fact that the telephone had not yet been invented in the 17th century: in fact, all of the component technologies, including the materials used for the casing, were unknown at that point, and therefore the telephone is assumed to be supernatural in origin ("demonic... sorcery"). Randall uses the character "ſ", the {{w|long S}}, which was used in written English to take the place of the modern lowercase "s" in the beginning and middle of words; it was phaſed out around the beginning of the 19th century.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: Nice jacket. Hey—
:Cueball: The Seventies called.
:Out-of-panel: Oh? What'd they want?

:[Cueball looking at smartphone in hand]
:Cueball: I don't know. They didn't leave a message.
:Out-of-panel: Weird.

:1974:
:[Person in bell bottoms looking at a rotary phone receiver.]
:Voicemail service: If you'd like to leave a message, press "1".

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

Talk:616: Lease

2016-06-08T04:00:01Z

162.158.255.40:

I'm coming up on a landmark decade, probably somewhere near the half-way mark of my future-projected life expectency, and I can ''totally'' relate to that feeling of being a child in an adult world... And did I ''really'' just use the word 'totally' in that manner? [[Special:Contributions/178.99.247.73|178.99.247.73]] 22:03, 21 May 2013 (UTC)
:Trust me; nothing changes. You just get older on the outside.

[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 08:29, 29 January 2015 (UTC)

I totally see myself doing that in the future. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.40|162.158.255.40]] 04:00, 8 June 2016 (UTC) Swaphero

Talk:7: Girl sleeping (Sketch -- 11th grade Spanish class)

2016-06-08T03:16:26Z

162.158.255.40:

It feels like the first bunch of comics were just Randall dumping the contents of his sketchbook onto his new site. That shirt though. That shirt. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:08, 8 January 2013 (UTC)
:The incomplete tag is removed by me. Early comics are not on "romance, sarcasm, math, and language", we just have some pictures he did maybe a couple of years before.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:34, 10 June 2013 (UTC)

Kids fall asleep all the time, especially around 11th grade, but extremely few do it on the floor. I haven't really seen that. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 15:55, 25 August 2013 (UTC)

I wonder if the subject ever saw this? It was clearly a pretty-enough girl to motivate Randall to draw this, and I can imagine him being too shy to approach her but he drew this sketch and posted it where millions can see it. Potential romantic comedy plotline here. --Cser

I thought this is a spoof of Spanish artists who famously sketched girls in natural position. For example, Goya's "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters," showing a sleeping woman/girl without showing her face. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sleep_of_Reason_Produces_Monsters [[User:Danshoham|Mountain Hikes]] ([[User talk:Danshoham|talk]]) 22:56, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

I feel bad for Randal, if he actually had a crush on this girl. I actually like to know if Randal is still in contact with this girl, but I would have to guess might be something that he would like to keep to himself, rather than telling the Internet. --Swaphero

1688: Map Age Guide

2016-06-01T15:50:08Z

162.158.255.40: Istanbul is not the capital of Turkey

{{comic
| number = 1688
| date = June 1, 2016
| title = Map Age Guide
| image = map_age_guide.png
| titletext = Does the screeching chill your blood and herald death? If yes, banshee. If no, seagull.
}}

*A [http://xkcd.com/1688/large/ larger version] of this image can be found by clicking the image at xkcd.com - the comic's page can also be accessed by clicking on the comic number above.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Many is still missing.}}
Flowchart depicting various ways to tell what era a map is from based on present country borders and land forms. Most of the options are very serious,with a few bizarre options (mistaking a seagull and breadbox for a map) or references to things like the {{w|Discworld}} books and Middle-earth, the setting of the Lord Of the Rings series. He also mentions US President Jimmy Carter being attacked by a giant swimming rabbit, an event previously referenced by [[204]].

Additionally, (possible) future maps including a "Radioactive Exclusion Zone" in the place of Colorado are mentioned. It predicts that some kind of nuclear incident will occur in Colorado (possibly at Rulison or Rio Blanco nuclear testing sites) in 2022. It also predicts that the area will be infested by radioactive spiders one year later.

The title text continues the path where the user has confused a seagull for a map by inquiring if the (presumed) seagull might be a banshee based on the effect of its screams.

(First Draft, please expand.)

Going through the flowchart, taking the leftmost path first, recursively. See {{w|Depth-first search}}.

'''Istanbul or Constantinople''': The largest city in Turkey is famous for having different names at different times or to different people. Variations on both names go back at least 1,000 years. Other names have also been used at various points. İstanbul has been the official name since the 1920's, although Western maps often referred to it as Constantinople as late as the 1960's; on the flowchart, the choice of name appears to go with the 1920's date. The name changes are the subject of a [http://mentalfloss.com/article/60314/original-istanbul-not-constantinople song], originally by the Four Lads, but now mainly known for the They Might Be Giants recording.

Constantinople / Do any of these exist? / '''Independent Canada - US Territoy or Alaska - Tokyo''' Yes

Constantinople / Do any of these exist? / '''Independent Canada - US Territoy or Alaska - Tokyo''' No

Constantinople / Do any of these exist? / No / '''The United States'''

Neither / Does the Ottoman Empire exist? / No / '''The Soviet Union?'''

The Soviet Union is one of the largest countries ever to exist consisting of Russia and large portions of eastern Europe and central Asia. It was a major political force from 1922, when several allied soviets republics united, to 1991, when it broke up. Its very simple to find on any map that has it.

Zaire was one of a series of names for what is today called the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1996 a (successful) revolt began to oust the reigning government from power. As part of this revolution, the country was renamed. The origonal name change away from 'Congo' was part of an 'Africanisation' naming campaign, although 'Congo' is in origin an authentic African name for the river that set the boundaries of the nation.

Serbia and Montenegro were a remnant of Yugoslavia. Montenegro voted to become its own country in 2006.

East Timor is a nation north of Australia and south east of Indonesia. During the dutch colonization of Indonesia east Timor remained in Portuguese hands. While occupied and annexed by Indonesia since 1976, east Timor retained its own culture and voted for independence, then had a nasty militia action that required UN peacekeeping action, and finally become independent in 2002.

In 2011, after a long history of violence between the two portions of the country (which can be characterized as Islamic vs. Christian and Traditional Religions), South Sudan became independent from its northern neighbor.

In 2014, a revolution ousted the current Ukrainian president. The Crimea had its own civil unrest, and Russian troops intervened to restore order. A referendum held during this time has decided in favor of russian annexation. Many nations, including all member states of the EU and the USA, dispute the results of the referendum.

'''Is there a big lake in Southern California? (Created by Mistake)'''
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salton_Sea Salton Sea] A previously dry lakebed accidentally flooded in 1905 while attempting to increase irrigation to the area from the Colorado River

'''How far East do the American Prairies reach?'''
The Northwest Territory was incorporated in pieces ~1820s, there may be something more relavent to draw the line at Indiana though.

'''Is there a big lake in the middle of Ghana? (Created on Purpose)'''
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Volta Lake Volta]

'''The US's southern border looks'''
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_Purchase Gadsden Purchase]

'''"Buda" and "Pest" or "Budapest"''' [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest#Etymology Buda and Pest] were originally two different cities

'''Does Russia Border the Sea of Japan?''' Russia currently borders the sea of Japan so the 1867 upper limit is because of Tokyo not existing higher in the chain. The 1858 limit is to do with the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Aigun Treaty of Aigun]

'''Rhodesia?''' The dates down the chain suggest this is about [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesia_(region) Rhodesia the Region] not [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesia Rhodesia the Unrecognized state] nor [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia] the British Colony

==Transcript==

Start:
* Istanbul or Constantinople?
** Constantinople:
*** Do any of these exist? Independent Canada; US Territory of Alaska; Tokyo.
**** No:
***** The Holy Roman Empire?
****** Yes:
******* 1805 or earlier (before this point, the modern idea of a complete political map of the world gets hard to apply.)
****** No:
******* The United States?
******** No:
********* How sure are you that this map is in english?
******** Yes:
********* Texas is...
********** Part of Mexico:
*********** Florida is part of...
************ Spain:
************* Paraguay?
************** No: '''1806-10'''
************** Yes: '''1811-17'''
************ The US:
************* Venezuela and/or ecuador?
************** No: '''1818-29'''
************** Yes: '''1830-33'''
********** Independent: '''1834-45'''
********** Part of the US:
*********** Does Russia border the Sea of Japan?
************ No:
************* The US's southern border looks...
************** Weird: '''1846-53'''
************** Normal: '''1854-56'''
************ Yes: '''1858-67'''
**** Yes:
***** South Africa?
****** No:
******* Rhodesia?
******** No:
********* Is Bolivia landlocked?
********** No:
*********** "Buda" and "Pest" or "Budapest"?
************ Buda and Pest: '''1868-72'''
************ Budapest: '''1873-83'''
********** Yes: '''1884-95'''
******** Yes:
********* Is Norway part of Sweden?
********** Yes: '''1896-1905'''
********** No: '''1906-09'''
****** Yes:
******* Austria-Hungary?
******** Yes:
********* Albania?
********** No: '''1910-12'''
********** Yes: '''1913-18'''
******** No:
********* Leningrad?
********** No: '''1919-23'''
********** Yes: '''1924-29'''
** Neither:
*** Does the Ottoman Empire exist?
**** Yes: '''[[#canada-alaska-tokyo]]'''
**** No:
***** The Soviet Union?
****** Yes:
******* Saudi Arabia?
******** Yes:
********* Is most of West Africa a giant french blob?
********** Yes:
*********** Bangladesh?
************ No:
************* Is the area sout of Lake Victoria...
************** British:
*************** The town on I-25 between Albuquerque and El Paso is...
**************** Hot Springs: '''1948-49'''
**************** Truth or Consequences: '''1950-52'''
************** Tanganyika: '''1961-64'''
************** Tanzania: '''1965-71'''
************ Yes: '''1972-75'''
********** No:
*********** How many Vietnams are there?
************ Two:
************* [[#bangladesh]]
************ One:
************* Jimmy Carter is...
************** Being attacked by a giant swimming rabbit: '''April 20, 1979'''
************** Fine:
*************** The Sinai is part of what country?
**************** Israel: '''1976-79'''
**************** Mostly Israel: '''1980'''
**************** Mostly Egypt: '''1981'''
**************** Egypt:
***************** What's the capital of Micronesia?
****************** Kolonia:
******************* Republic of the Upper Volta or Burkina Faso?
******************** Upper Volta: '''1982-84'''
******************** 1985-88
****************** Palikir:
******************* (number of Yemens) + (number of Germanys) = ?
******************** Four: '''1989-early 1990'''
******************** Three: '''mid-1990'''
******************** Two: '''late 1990-1991'''
******** No: '''1922-1932'''
****** No:
******* North Korea?
******** Yes:
********* Zaire? or: '''"Hong Kong (UK)"'''
********** Yes: '''1992-96'''
********** No:
*********** Serbia/Montenegro are...
************ One country:
************* East Timor?
************** No: '''1997-2001'''
************** Yes: '''2002-06'''
************ Two countries:
************* How many Sudans are there?
************** One: '''2007-11'''
************** Two:
************** Is Crimea disputed?
*************** Yes:
**************** "Colorado" or "Danger—Radioactive Exclusion Zone—Avoid"?
***************** Colorado: '''2014-21'''
***************** Danger:
****************** Does the warning mention the spiders?
******************* No: '''2022'''
******************* Yes: '''2023 or later'''
*************** No: '''2012-13'''
******** No:
********* Saint Trimble's Island
********** No:
*********** Is Jan Mayen part of the Kingdom of Norway?
************ Not yet:
************* [[#canada-alaska-tokyo]]
************ What?
************* Can you see the familiar continents?
************** Yes:
*************** This sounds like a physical map or satellite photo.
**************** Yes, that's it
***************** Is Lake Chad missing?
****************** No:
******************* How far east do the American Prairies reach?
******************** Indiana: '''before 1830'''
******************** The Mississippi: '''1830s-80s'''
******************** Nebraska:
********************* Is there a big lake in the middle of Southern California? (created by mistake)
********************** No: '''1860s-1900s'''
********************** Yes: '''1910s'''
******************** What prairies?
********************* Is there a big lake in the middle of Ghana? (created on purpose)
********************** No: '''1920s-50s'''
********************** Yes: '''1960s-70s'''
****************** Yes:
******************* Is the Aral Sea missing?
******************** No: '''1970s-90s'''
******************** Yes: '''2000s+'''
************** No:
*************** Rivers "Sirion" or "Anduin"?
**************** Yes:
***************** Mordor?
****************** No:
******************* Beleriand?
******************** Yes: '''First Age'''
******************** No: '''Early Second Age'''
****************** Yes:
******************* Númenor?
******************** Yes: '''Late Second Age'''
******************** No:
********************* The forest east of the Misty Mountains is...
********************** Greenwood: '''Early Third Age'''
********************** Mirkwood: '''Late Third Age'''
********************** The Wood of Greenleaves: '''Fourth Age'''
**************** No:
***************** Cair Paravel?
****************** Yes:
******************* Calormen?
******************** No:
********************* Lotta Islands?
********************** No:
*********************** Beruna
************************ Ford: '''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'''
************************ Bridge:
********************** Yes: '''Prince Caspian'''
******************** Yes:
********************* Weird recursive heaven?
********************** No: '''one of the random later books'''
********************** Yes: '''The Last Battle'''
****************** No:
******************* Mossflower?
******************** Yes:
********************* Redwall
******************** No:
********************* Is the world on the back of a turtle?
********************** Yes: '''Discworld'''
********************** No:
*********************** Are you ''sure'' this is a map?
************************ Yes:
************************* Did you make it yourself?
************************** Yes:
*************************** It's very nice.
**************************** Thank you!
************************ No:
************************* Is it trying to bite you?
************************** No:
*************************** Is it larger than a breadbox?
**************************** Yes: '''tuba'''
**************************** No: '''stapler'''
**************************** About the same: '''breadbox'''
************************** Yes:
*************************** If you let it go, what does it do?
**************************** Hisses and runs away: '''cat'''
**************************** Screeches and flaps around the room breaking things: '''seagull'''
************ Yes:
************* Pakistan?
************** No:
*************** How many Germanys are there?
**************** One:
***************** Persia or Iran?
****************** Persia: '''1930-34'''
****************** Iran: '''1935-40'''
**************** One, but it's ''huge'': '''1941-45'''
**************** Two: '''1946-47'''
************** Yes:
*************** Cambodia?
**************** No:
***************** Eritrea is part of...
****************** Italy:
******************* Canada is...
******************** Missing a piece: '''1948'''
******************** Fine: '''1949-52'''
****************** Ethiopia: '''1952-53'''
**************** Yes:
***************** The United Arab Republic?
****************** No: '''1954-57'''
****************** Yes: '''1958-60'''
********** Yes: '''No, I made that one up.'''
** Istanbul:
*** Does the Soviet Union exist?
**** Yes:
***** [[#west-africa-french-blob]]
**** No:
***** [[#zaire]]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Time]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Geography]]

Talk:1597: Git

2015-11-02T23:23:57Z

162.158.255.40: ... Homeomorphic endofunctors mapping submanifolds of a Hilbert space

If someone is interested, the best book I've read on it is [http://www.git-scm.com/book/en/v2 Pro Git]. The chapters 2 and 3 explain pretty well this mess of branching and merging. But it's true that it takes a bit of patience to go over it all. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.228.35|108.162.228.35]] 08:47, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

Also take a look at [http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/ GitFlow: A Successful Git Branching Model]. Though Randall is correct there usually comes a time when it is easier to give up and "start again". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.147|162.158.34.147]] 08:53, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

I never liked the name of this piece of software; in British English, the name "git" is mildly rude :-)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(slang) . [[User:Gearoid|Gearóid]] ([[User talk:Gearoid|talk]]) 09:20, 30 October 2015 (UTC)
:According to word of god it was on purpose: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(software)#History [[Special:Contributions/162.158.22.46|162.158.22.46]] 11:41, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

'Internally, Git works by saving the differences between various versions of the files, rather than creating a new copy each time the user "commits" the current version of the code.' - It is exactly the opposite. It stores whole files, or rather all committed pieces of data (blobs). See http://gitready.com/beginner/2009/02/17/how-git-stores-your-data.html [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.202|141.101.88.202]] 09:38, 30 October 2015 (UTC)TK

: It is stored as diffs in pack file. Whole file (loose object) are packed automatically by default.
:
: See https://schacon.github.io/gitbook/7_the_packfile.html and https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-pack-objects.html
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.177.59|162.158.177.59]] 10:15, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

::Not sure what pack files are used for, but data is stored as is and named by the SHA-1 of its contents. See [https://schacon.github.io/gitbook/1_the_git_object_model.html object model] in the same reference. [[User:Walenc|Walenc]] ([[User talk:Walenc|talk]]) 16:02, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

I think you guys need to differentiate between the underlying data scheme, and the command line. The way git stores underlying data is indeed beautiful, but the command-line is the worst UI ever. You know how you switch to working on a different branch? "git checkout". You know how you revert the changes you've made to a file? "git checkout". You know how you make a new branch? "git checkout -b". If you're used to other systems, you'll find nearly every operations - even common ones - counterintuitively named. I work at Google and even here, every week someone near me screws up their respository enough that they have to save their work, nuke their repo, reapply their changes, and try moving forward again. I don't know why anyone puts up with this! (Actually I do - it's because if you're collaborating between companies, git does it better than anything else.) [[Special:Contributions/199.27.129.107|199.27.129.107]] 18:46, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

I feel like this article should end with a quick guide to git commands. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.27}}

Well, I feel this article focuses on explaning git too much that it loses the point of the joke. We have Wikipedia to refer readers to ... The thing is, not just users who are unable to use git beyond a few basic commands, but also those who understand git often use some sort of "start over" method because an action looking perfectly legit got the repository into unusable state, where recovery is much more difficult than reapplying patches. For one of the most common, search for "detached head", for example - especially funny when git insists on falling into that state after checking out master which is in direct contradiction to what docs say when it happens. But I don't feel like rewriting that, sorry :-/ --kavol, [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.206|141.101.96.206]] 16:04, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

I feel you've all been nerd-sniped. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.8|108.162.216.8]] 19:33, 30 October 2015 (UTC)Pat

The problem is not about the working copy and about the branching tree structure and some git internals that is quite confusing.
This 4 years old reddit post can be used as a funny reference: https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/embdf/git_complicated_of_course_not_commits_map_to/

http://tartley.com/?p=1267
"One of the things that tripped me up as a novice user was the way Git handles branches. Unlike more primitive version control systems, git repositories are not linear, they support branching, and are thus best visualised as trees, upon the nodes of which your current commit may add new leaf nodes. To visualise this, it’s simplest to think of the state of your repository as a point in a high-dimensional ‘code-space’, in which branches are represented as n-dimensional membranes, mapping the spatial loci of successive commits onto the projected manifold of each cloned repository." {{unsigned ip|108.162.210.212}}

Should someone mention how git is by default used through a terminal - which is often more confusing than a GUI for most people - and that while there are graphical shells for git, some people refuse to use them because they're not fully-featured? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.36|108.162.221.36]] 11:43, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

Shit. I use git for almost a year and I delete my repos more often than I'd like to admit. I'm going to read [https://www.git-scm.com/book/en/v2] and (hopefully) fix this once and for all. [[User:Kripmo|Kripmo]] ([[User talk:Kripmo|talk]]) 02:04, 31 October 2015 (UTC)
:It was way easier than I thought. This is what I needed: git reset --hard <commit before fuck up>. Its alias will be fu. [[User:Kripmo|Kripmo]] ([[User talk:Kripmo|talk]]) 08:10, 31 October 2015 (UTC)

The really sad part of all this is that if you work in a multi-dev environment and anyone on the team is doing what Cueball suggests, it negates every other user's ability to use the main trunk properly. [[User:Ericm301|Ericm301]] ([[User talk:Ericm301|talk]]) 02:26, 31 October 2015 (UTC)

Hasn't it got too extensive about git? I've never used git but quite understood the comedy. I just visited this page to know about git.txt and there's nothing about it but just long text that doesn't help whatsoever to understand the comic. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.84.125|141.101.84.125]] 08:45, 31 October 2015 (UTC)

:I agree completely! I've stripped out the overlong discussion of git's features. --[[User:Slashme|Slashme]] ([[User talk:Slashme|talk]]) 00:12, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

AFAIK, the git.txt is not the part of the Git itself. I just added it to explanation. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.231|162.158.114.231]] 20:21, 31 October 2015 (UTC)

:"This comic is a play on how git, a popular version control system, is misused by people who have a very poor understanding of its inner workings."

Comically missing the point. That is NOT what the comic is about, that is a poor excuse from a fanboy. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.159|162.158.90.159]] 12:00, 1 November 2015 (UTC)
: I agree the verbose "explanation" misses the point. The reality is that git is a confusing mess from a user's point of view. It's a very nice and powerful design from a technical point of view yet one that will mostly confuse anyone who encounters it at first; most people are afraid of admitting it because they don't want to look dumb. There's beauty in a design that is user-friendly at its core, and git misses that mark. [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 17:38, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

: The same can be said of Linux. It seems to be a common theme in Linus Torvalds' work. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.163|108.162.249.163]] 23:52, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

In pretty much every team I've worked I found there ends up being one "git expert" that raises above the rest and people continuously go see that person with "I don't know how to do X", to which the expert will often reply with a magic unheard-of-before git command line that looks pretty much like perl line noise. [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 17:38, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

In what world are telephones not an electronic mean of communication ? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.75.245|141.101.75.245]] 10:56, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

That's not the point. The distinction was being made (ambiguously, perhaps) between electronic and vocal communication. We might naturally turn to telephones for the latter.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.227|162.158.2.227]] 12:16, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

ExplainXKCD is usually amazing, but the explanation above is really "comically missing the point".

:Git has a very cool distributed architecture, but the user experience is much more complex than other revision control systems. TFS and subversion can be taught to junior developers in about 20 minutes, but it takes much longer to learn how to use Git’s basic features. It is very easy for Git to become deadlocked, which requires some obscure commands to fix. Unless you are an expert at Git, it is sometimes easier to delete your project and try again.

:There are things that Git does that other RCS don’t do. (I am not entirely sure what they are, to be totally honest. When the question is asked, the responses usually just talk about the architecture.) Git experts tend to like that the software is more powerful than other RCS systems, and some tend to be dismissive of how difficult other people find it to use. Many people (such as myself and Cueball) find the architecture cool, but are not Git experts.

:So this is the joke. There is a conflict between how experts typically TALK about Git, and how most users actually USE Git. The humor comes from having a character say things that many people think, but wouldn’t say out loud for fear of looking stupid.

Would it be worth polishing the above and adding it to the description, or would that just be flamebait?
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.86|108.162.246.86]] 16:08, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

The title text may be referring to the famous saying: "Git is really pretty simple, just think of branches as homeomorphic endofunctors mapping submanifolds of a Hilbert space." [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.40|162.158.255.40]] 23:23, 2 November 2015 (UTC)