explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2583: Chorded Keyboard

2024-05-21T05:14:01Z

162.158.62.69: added a new comment

Why is it H+<Left> rather than H+<Right>? [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 03:22, 19 February 2022 (UTC)
:Probably for the rhyme with "Shift" in the previous verse. In terms of practicality, though, I agree — <Right> would make more sense for a real keychord. {{unsigned ip|108.162.246.154}}
::A pity Shift and Left don't rhyme very well. But then neither do Chord and Word. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 03:41, 19 February 2022 (UTC)
::It works if you're from New Zealand. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.16|162.158.111.16]] 10:37, 19 February 2022 (UTC)
::Wow, I totally missed that {{w|near rhyme}}. It's not quite so bad if you sing it, though. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 03:46, 19 February 2022 (UTC)
::: Eh, {{w|Tom Lehrer}}'s certainly done much worse slant rhymes. -- [[User:KarMann|KarMann]] ([[User talk:KarMann|talk]]) 03:55, 19 February 2022 (UTC)
::Sadly, too, there was the opportunity for "The other hand, hits H and ''lift.''" Alas. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 04:23, 19 February 2022 (UTC)
::I don't know about other people, but I can reach H+<Left> on my keyboard with the index finger and pinky of my right hand, but H+<Right> requires thumb and pinky and doing something terribly awkward with my wrist. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.161|172.70.110.161]] 06:51, 19 February 2022 (UTC)
:::Interesting to note that in vi, the '''H''' key ''is'' left. [[User:Dansiman|Dansiman]] ([[User talk:Dansiman|talk]]) 23:38, 8 March 2022 (UTC)
::I added some (necessary?) additional contextualising of how it mirrors the original song, consider it a bridge/middle-eight, so that those who still don't quite get that bit of popular culture get a bit more of the idea than before.
::In the process I made an executive decision to comment about the rhyming (or not) along the way.
::...but I strayed into 'Cueball's Computer Problems' territory, and then noticed (sorry, missed it before diving in) that it's mentioned again (but chronologically before!) at the the end of the explanation. I'm not quite sure how to remove the redundancy. The lyrical trailing-off really needs to mention this, I feel, but removing repetitions from the other person's text will need extra thought too. If someone gets in there before I do and modifies either/both of the sections nicely then that'll be Ok, but I'll try to revisit it myself (and {{wiktionary|kill_one%27s_darlings|'kill my darlings'}} if necessary) if nobody else sees fit to in my stead. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.22|172.70.86.22]] 19:02, 19 February 2022 (UTC)
:presumably he programmed his keyboard to use chord-logic for ALL common words.... if he has ctrl, alt, shift, and at least two special function keys, such as win and alt-gr.... that's 2^5=32 possible signal combinations from function keys. if he uses the 8 direction keys on the numeric keypad, that's 32*8= 256 possibilities for command modifiers to each letter. So, in theory, he could program in an unique combination of key strokes that chooses between the 256 most common words that begin with each letter, totaling 6656 possible words that can by typed using chording. The combination that results in "hallelujah" just happens to be ctrl-shift-h-left. hopefully there's a graphical prompt which shows you the 8 possible current words to choose from, given the most recent combination of function keys and a given letter.
::I happen to know that if you're typing in Japanese phonetic letters using MS Word, there are actually so many homonym words which have different logographic symbols, and different meanings, but which all SOUND the same, and thus are phonetically TYPED the same, that's it actually NORMAL for Word to list a pop-up context menu with the top-8 word choices you might have just meant to enter, and require you to select one before continuing. and then it swaps out the correct logograph symbol for the phonetic symbols you just typed. I don't think it uses the numpad directional arrows to make the choice, but honestly, it would be a lot more user-friendly if it did.... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.170|162.158.74.170]] 05:38, 20 February 2022 (UTC)

Is it steganography? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.41|108.162.237.41]] 04:03, 19 February 2022 (UTC)
:Stenography* [[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.239|198.41.242.239]] 19:09, 19 February 2022 (UTC)
:Stenotype actually (though they use special typing machines, but there's software to use any keyboard for stenotype). It's been a cornerstone of court reporting and live captioning for over a century, and it doesn't seem to be replaced anytime soon by transcription "AI", given how horrible it still is. I'm surprised it's not been mentioned in the article.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.190.113|162.158.190.113]] 12:53, 20 February 2022 (UTC)

Ironically, having considerable knowledge of one of those covers of the song can lead to more confusion than less familiarity with any of them. My wife was recently moderately obsessed with Rufus Wainwright, including his cover of 'Hallelujah'. So when I read this comic, I didn't catch on until most of the way through what other Randall was up to. But when she read it, she caught on in the first line, and yet, didn't get the title text at all until I explained it to her (having compared some versions overnight before then), since that line isn't included in Rufus' version. No particular point here, just, well, 'Talk'. -- [[User:KarMann|KarMann]] ([[User talk:KarMann|talk]]) 01:55, 20 February 2022 (UTC)

Has anyone recorded a cover with these lyrics yet? I had kind of assumed that would happen soon after this was posted. --[[User:Sensorfire|Sensorfire]] ([[User talk:Sensorfire|talk]]) 04:14, 20 February 2022 (UTC)

Kind of disappointed that the explanation isn't itself written in verse form after Hallelujah. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 11:51, 21 February 2022 (UTC)

;Control Shift H
https://defkey.com/what-means/ctrl-shift-h shows the shortcut action in 113 programs. (Who knew there was a website devoted to keyboard shortcuts?) In Firefox, it shows your history as soon has you hit the H. (I like to think that Randall uses good ol' open source Firefox.) Your history will show the current XKCD page first, of course, but that listing does not include the word "HALLELUJAH." The next keydown is interpreted as a separate keystroke. Nothing interesting happens with the 8 permutations of Ctrl-Shift (up or down) and (left arrow, numpad left, left tab, backspace). I was kinda hoping that Mozilla had secretly conspired to tweak this keystroke combination in the last update. In short, I have nothing to add to the explanation, but not for lack of trying. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.187|108.162.219.187]] 23:52, 19 February 2022 (UTC) (This is my first explainxkcd comment. I'll properly sign up before I comment again.)

We can add a javascript snippet that captures this keychord and shows "Hallelujah" on this website, right :P
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.188.81|172.70.188.81]] 04:46, 20 February 2022 (UTC)

It's interesting that the strip is "technically incorrect" in two ways, in order to make the song work. Firstly, while key-combos are often referred to as "chords", when they are user-configured they are typically called "macros" instead... but that would break the joke. Secondly, *Corded keyboards* (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorded_keyboard) are a very, very different thing to "perfectly normal keyboard hardware connected to a system where someone has set up macros". A corded keyboard would not typically have any of the keys described in the strip: they normally have a half-dozen keys or less, though some exist with two or three rows of about four keys.

Also, the current explanation is incorrect both in that macroing is in any way a thing of the past, and also that it is always application-level. Things like AutoHotKey (windows), BetterTouchTool (mac), AutoKey and IronAHK (Linux) etc permit system-level macroing, so that the key-combo can inject the word hallelujah into whichever application currently has keyboard focus, typos can be automatically fixed, etc. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.162|108.162.238.162]] 16:33, 21 February 2022 (UTC)

: To be clear, the closest thing that exists to any kind of special keyboard hardware required to support chords/macros is a keyboard with *N-key rollover* ({{w|Rollover (keyboard)}}) ... but this would not be required for the chord described in the strip. There are also gaming keyboards which have additional keys (eg Logitech's with extra "G keys") which allow you to map macros to those extra keys using custom keyboard driver software... but this is explicitly there to prevent you needing to chord to fire a macro. Neither of these are called "chorded keyboards", either. Fairly sure Randal would know all this and was just stretching facts to fit the joke. It'll be interesting to see if his alternative meaning for "chorded keyboard" becomes popular after this strip. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.130|162.158.187.130]] 16:58, 21 February 2022 (UTC)

'''Randall is not a millennial''' (& popularization of the interface hacks described, pre-dates millennials), so I have changed the first occurrence to read "gen-X", & corrected the past-tense phrasing farther down, to allow for modern usage (especially since alternative keyboards are ''more'' widely known\used now, than in the past). Randall has even done comics about this obnoxiously persistent & utility-reducing shift in terminology around "millennials": ''Not everyone born after the "baby boom" generation is a millennial!'' There were ''two'' generations in between. Regardless, common usage persistently shifts toward calling everyone since the Baby Boomers a "Millennial". In point of fact, many (or most?) of the social phenomena commonly associated with millenials, were well established over a decade before the millennium ("meme" image captions, digital nativism, eschewing traditional career & transportation modes, et cetera). Unfortunately, because the generation subsequent to the baby boom was comparatively so small, they are largely insignificant in terms of marketing & finance. (Gen-X also happen to have the lowest average income of any living generation.) Hence, everything post-BabyBoom tends to be attributed to "millennials", because ''actual'' millennials are the first generations since the baby boom, to comprise a population segment too large to be marginalized. 
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:21, 21 February 2022 (UTC)
:(Moreover:)
:In reality, increased interaction between age groups has largely erased any clear "generational" segmentation in behavior, rendering useless the entire concept of distinctly divided "generations": Age is an increasingly poor indicator of social set, & there is no globally consistent swell & decay cycle in birth rates, to produce meaningful points of demarcation between clusters. In other words, while age may ''sometimes'' still provide statistically useful clues toward an individual's behavior, there is no longer any clear dividing line between age groups over time. More practical & applicable to any year, are terms such as "teens" (13-19), "young adults" (<35), "middle aged", & "geriatric". Terms defining a "generation" by arbitrary decade rollovers, are increasingly disinformative & constitute poor set optimization.
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:26, 21 February 2022 (UTC)
::Actually... Randall is a millennial. I won't revert the change as I find these generational categories silly and don't see how mentioning it adds anything to the (already very bloated) explanation but general consensus (i.e. wikipedia) is, that the term "Millennial" describes those born between 1981 and 1996. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennials Randall was born in 1984. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:42, 22 February 2022 (UTC)
Thanks for fixing the phrase "millenial". I meant like the 80s and 90s but didn't know the right term. I'm surprised that the link to the section of the wikipedia showing open source hacker keyboards like the one randall depicts was changed back, dunno. It would be cool to link the image in from that article ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorded_keyboard#/media/File:Chording_Keyboard.png ) or any other image. The current wording of the article added some inclusion around GUI operating systems, maybe like Windows, which is great, but do they have the level of customisation that linux and emacs hackers enjoy? When you code it yourself you can make arbitrarily large chords. It's been a long time since I've customised a GUI OS, so I'm imagining things have changed and you could somehow set up a homebrew chorded keyboard on windows or osx as well nowadays. It's certainly gotten _harder_ on linux, where things are much less barebones than they used to be. Probably a software package for all the environments somewhere. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.99|172.70.114.99]] 22:37, 21 February 2022 (UTC)
:"I'm surprised that the link to the section of the wikipedia showing open source hacker keyboards like the one randall depicts was changed back"... I did that. The link was for Chorded Keyboards, not for specificall the open-source ones. The reader who follows your link would have to scroll up to find out what a chorded keyboard ''was'', and might be excused for imaginging there was no relevence to the next section down about Commercial Devices was also not being possibly referenced.
:As pointed out, it appears that it was a lyrical thing, and it was a standard keyboard with various settings, but at the point of the link it was explaining the principle of any chorded keyboard, like a Braille-writer...
:...which, incidentally, does ''not'' do "whole words" with a combination, except if set up that way through optional configuration, much as Cueball has done for his regular-seeming non-chorded keyboard, but is calling a "chord".
:(I personally often set up many shortcuts on my Windows machines. I seem to be able to use Ctrl-Shift-Alt-<character> with impunity to launch many programmes or other features, because there are virtually no situations in which my four-fingered-salute would be something another program with keyboard-focus is likely to misinterpret as being an instruction built into it. Generally that's a mnemonic <character> to the thing I want to speed-launch, but I have occasionally used a cursor. I must admit I have never tried to hack a two-meta-two-'normal' key thing, so not sure whether I need to use something a bit more interesting than inbuilt Windows functionality for that. Will check next time I'm back on an MS OS. And I've never used it to speed-type things, which would need me to call something I've written/appropriated that does a configurable buffer-dump.)
:Anyway, I see in you a fellow verbose individual, like I'm striving (and failing) not to be. Welcome, if you're new to this site! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.121|172.70.90.121]] 01:02, 22 February 2022 (UTC)

Based on prior discussion about Milennial vs Generation-X, I think the solution is to go with the Xennial term https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xennials. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.69|162.158.146.69]] 23:00, 24 February 2022 (UTC)
:I already thought, when the whole age-group-of-Randall was first brought up, that it was an unnecessary commentary. It's Cueball, who could be anybody of whatever age you want across a whole swathe of Gen-X and onwards. If I were of a mood to editorialise it to my own tastes I'd just put it back to "this is something that certain technically-minded people do" (to paraphrase, without looking up if it was written as hackers/geeks/whatever).
:The bit about "and his original audience" just confuses me. Is this a message to the far future when people like me (not a customised-keyboard user, but been reading xkcd almost from the beginning, so 'original' to that extent) are dead and gone? Or out virtually picketting the Metaverse so we no longer have time to keep up with CyberRandall 2.0's output anymore? It's a messy paragraph that seems to have something of an agenda behind it, not just simple explanation. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.113|172.70.85.113]] 00:05, 25 February 2022 (UTC)
:: Agree. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 13:13, 25 February 2022 (UTC)

New user here, apologies if formatting inadequate - just wanted to observe that this is not the first XKCD to reference Cohen's secret chord song, it's also in the background of XKCD 1234 "Douglas Engelbart 1925-2013. Chris [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.85|162.158.159.85]] 08:09, 22 February 2022 (UTC)

This comic seems to have sparked a brief but bloody editing war over the efficiency of dvorak and qwerty, that issue raising its hoary head once more. It was funny to watch in real time. [[User:Requiscant|Requiscant]] ([[User talk:Requiscant|talk]]) 09:53, 22 February 2022 (UTC)

Does the title text imply that a fatal accident occured due to a misconfigured keyboard?
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.41|141.101.76.41]] 14:40, 2 March 2022 (UTC)

If I remembered correctly, then the "1" key is supposed to type an entire word on a standard Cherokee keyboard, which can also be considered "Chorded". [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 10:58, 26 March 2023 (UTC)

Nowadays it's possible that all the keyboard config is happening on the board. Modern firmware like qmk allows you to remap keys, program macros, do chords, have different layers and modifier keys, and more. Especially if you code it all custom, you can have your "keyboard config" be compatible with any system, any OS, and even with limited or no permissions. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.69|162.158.62.69]] 05:14, 21 May 2024 (UTC)

2867: DateTime

2023-12-13T22:43:08Z

162.158.62.69: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2867
| date = December 13, 2023
| title = DateTime
| image = datetime_2x.png
| imagesize = 679x478px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's not just time zones and leap seconds. SI seconds on Earth are slower because of relativity, so there are time standards for space stuff (TCB, TGC) that use faster SI seconds than UTC/Unix time. T2 - T1 = [God doesn't know and the Devil isn't telling.]
}}

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

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Ponytail is talking to Cueball.]
:Ponytail: Event #1 happened at time T1.
:Cueball: Okay.

:Ponytail: Then event #2 happened at time T2.
:Cueball: Mhmm.

:Ponytail: How would you calculate how much time elapsed between T1 and T2?

:[The comic splits into two paths, each with a caption at the top.]

:[Path 1]
:Caption: Normal person:
:Cueball: T2 minus T1.

:[Path 2]
:Caption: Anyone who's worked on datetime systems:
:Cueball: '''''It is impossible to know and a sin to ask!'''''

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1899: Ears

2018-07-31T21:05:29Z

162.158.62.69:

The explanation for this comic may wish to reference this NYT article on Earbud Cartilage Deficiency Syndrome (E.C.D.S.) [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/21/technology/personaltech/21pogue.html]. I suffer from ECDS myself and hope this comic will bring much needed recognition to the condition. --172.68.65.54

I added the description. Feel free to edit it. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|'''JayRules''XKCD''' ]][[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|what's up?]] 12:45, 6 October 2017 (UTC)
:I modified the explanation. It is speculation that Cueball is listening to music through earbuds, as I can see nor read anything that made it a "fact" that he is doing so. Please feel free to revert my modification if anyone can present evidence to support that theory. [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 00:37, 9 October 2017 (UTC)

Re. "Megan responds by making fun of Cueball and the stuff that goes on in his head" - I'm not sure it's clear that that's what she's referring to. It could be read as she doesn't know what's going on in normal people's ears. In fact, my first reading of it was that it was a deliberate double meaning - she's making it sound to Cueball as if she's agreeing that there must be something weird about the ears, but privately she's referring to the weird thoughts in his head.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 13:08, 6 October 2017 (UTC)

:If Cueball is listening to music, perhaps so does Megan and she doesn't actually hear him ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:57, 7 October 2017 (UTC)

The title isn't explicitly a reference to Animorphs/Yeerks, so I don't think we can claim that for sure (even though Randall has referenced it multiple times in the past). [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 14:33, 6 October 2017 (UTC)
: Agree, and replaced "is a reference" with "may be a reference". [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:46, 9 October 2017 (UTC)

Alternative theory: the brain slugs don't like ear buds so they push them out [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.27|162.158.74.27]] 01:50, 9 October 2017 (UTC)

Would it be worth mentioning the Doctor Who episode Age of Steel, whose plot was about earbuds being used to mind control society? At the very least, it's a rather similar concept to that described by the mouseover text.

The thing is, earbuds totally don't stay in. Not here, at least. They fall out constantly. Are my ears shaped wrong?--[[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.209|172.68.132.209]] 02:32, 14 January 2018 (UTC)

I have pointed ears and have yet to find a good (read: compatible) pair of over-the-ear headphones or behind-the-ear buds. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.69|162.158.62.69]] 21:05, 31 July 2018 (UTC)

Talk:2014: JWST Delays

2018-07-21T15:29:06Z

162.158.62.69:

Haha - I made this same graph 2 weeks ago! [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 17:39, 2 July 2018 (UTC)

Suggest the last sentence be made more general: "The title text refers to a fundamental question of the Big Bang Theory; will the universe expand forever, or will is collapse back on itself? The likely answer to this question has changed over the decades as new measurements have been made, and new theories such as dark matter and dark energy developed to explain the new measurements. Apparently, and for an analogous reason, between 2018 and 2020 the likely answer to the fundamental JWST question will change." [[User:GODZILLA|GODZILLA]] ([[User talk:GODZILLA|talk]]) 17:58, 2 July 2018 (UTC)
:I agree to the current sentence saying "and compares the universe’s accelerating expansion to the apparently ever-delaying schedule" but were the hell comes the conclusion that "the JWST will have enough delays to fill a universe"? This does not make any sense. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:59, 3 July 2018 (UTC)

Does today's prediction of 2026 count? If that is included in the data set, it would then skew the best-fit line to be steeper. If a new prediction is made using that new best-fit line, that would further skew the line, and so on, causing the acceleration the title text anticipates between 2018 and 2020.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.88|162.158.63.88]] 20:10, 2 July 2018 (UTC)

> Until the slope of the line becomes more than one and the prediction goes to the past, right? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.16|108.162.216.16]] 21:55, 2 July 2018 (UTC)

:No, it doesn't count, because it's just '''prediction''', while the data set is of (official) '''planned launch dates'''. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:06, 2 July 2018 (UTC)

:The Wikipedia data (taking the midpoint for ranges) fits a linear function with slope 0.660618 and intercept 687.739. This implies convergence at 2026.45, which is why Randall is predicting late 2026 for the actual launch. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.56|172.69.22.56]] 15:04, 10 July 2018 (UTC)

[[wikipedia:Heinz von Foerster#Doomsday equation|Von Foersters's doomsday]] is Friday 13th of November 2026. (cue Twilight Zone intro) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.175|162.158.89.175]] 21:20, 2 July 2018 (UTC)

Why does he keep saying it's 2021? Is he trying to skip Trump's term or what? --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.211.10|172.68.211.10]] 00:30, 3 July 2018 (UTC)
Why do you think that Trump will get only 1 term?[[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.70|141.101.76.70]] 17:10, 3 July 2018 (UTC)

This is the same chart for the new airport in Berlin. Sadly its slope is not less than one, it is indeed accelerating... 
2006     2011 
2010     2012 
2012     2013 
2013     2014 
2014     2016 
2015     2018 
2016     2018 
2017     2022 
[[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 07:57, 3 July 2018 (UTC)
:[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bau_des_Flughafens_Berlin_Brandenburg#cite_ref-136] says that the planned launch date from December 2017 is in October 2020 (not 2022). That would make the slope slightly less than 1 (unless you ignore the 2016->2011 data point, as outlier) --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.35|162.158.91.35]] 09:27, 4 July 2018 (UTC)
::There was a 2022 prediction earlier in 2017, I took the maximum value for each year. And honestly, 2202 sounds more reasonable than 2020 for me. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 14:39, 4 July 2018 (UTC)

I feel a quadratic regression would be needed to determine acceleration / deceleration [[Special:Contributions/172.68.59.24|172.68.59.24]] 13:54, 3 July 2018 (UTC)

: If you plot out the least-squares fit as it changes over time (i.e. repeat Randall's graph as each new data point was added), it fits a quadratic quite well. And converges to a 2025 date.

I wonder what this chart would look like for new york's 2nd avenue subway.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.130|162.158.75.130]] 17:36, 3 July 2018 (UTC)

At least there _is_ a slope. How about Trump's wall? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.151|173.245.52.151]] 00:52, 4 July 2018 (UTC)

Two more lines are coming together... the year and the XKCD index. 2018 should happen next week. [[User:IonFreeman|IonFreeman]] ([[User talk:IonFreeman|talk]]) 14:22, 5 July 2018 (UTC)

2022: Sports Champions

2018-07-20T10:18:17Z

162.158.62.69: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2022
| date = July 20, 2018
| title = Sports Champions
| image = sports_champions.png
| titletext = For a long time, people thought maybe Usain Bolt was the one for running, until the 2090s and the incredible dominance of Derek Legs.
}}

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

In an example of {{w|nominative determinism}}, the comic lists people whose surname relates to their participation in various sports. It is presented as though it was created in the far future, reflecting on sports players over the decades through to the 2080s. The first three are real sportspeople, the remainder are imaginary players of the future.

The caricatures feature people participating in their sport, except for Jebediah who is standing at a {{w|podium}}.

{| class="wikitable"
!style="width:20%"|Name
!style="width:10%"|Year
!style="width:15%"|Sport
!style="width:55%"|Explanation
|-
|Margaret Court
|1960s
|Tennis
|{{w|Margaret Court}} is a retired Australian tennis player, former world number 1, who won many competitions in the 1960s and 70s. A {{w|tennis court}} is the playing arena used in that sport.
|-
|Gary Player
|1970s
|Golf
|{{w|Gary Player}} is a South African golfer who won nine major championships in the 1960s and 70s. Game competitors are often known as "players".
|-
|Lonzo Ball
|2020s
|Basketball
|{{w|Lonzo Ball}} is an American professional basketball player, currently with the Los Angeles Lakers. Of course, basketball is a {{w|ball game}}.
|-
|Jake Halfpipe
|2030s
|Skateboarding
|A {{w|half-pipe}} is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding.
|-
|Sarah Goggles
|2030s
|Swimming
|{{w|Goggles}} are protective eyewear used in many sports, such as swimming or skiing.
|-
|Kevin Slurve
|2050s
|Baseball
|A {{w|slurve}} is a baseball throwing technique, a portmanteau of '''sl'''ider and c'''urve'''.
|-
|Julia Chairlift
|2050s
|Skiing
|A {{w|chairlift}} is an aerial machine often used to transport winter sportsmen and women up mountains.
|-
|Dwight Shuttlecock
|2060s
|Badminton
|A {{w|shuttlecock}} is a projectile used in the sport of badminton.
|-
|Brandon Sponsorship
|2060s
|Unclear
|Sporting professionals are often {{w|Sponsor (commercial)|sponsored}} by corporations. Brandon seems to be holding a branded sponsorship item, possibly shoes.
|-
|Kate Dopingscandal
|2070s
|Cycling
|There have been many {{w|Doping in sport|doping}} scandals in the world of sport, notably cyclist {{w|Lance Armstrong}}, and {{w|Doping in Russia|many Russian competitors}} in the Olympics
|-
|Jebediah Disasterous Postgame PressConference
|2080s
|Unspecified
|At the end of sporting events - ie post-game - there is often a {{w|News conference|press conference}} where the competitors discuss the result. Sometimes, these live interviews are a disaster. Randall has chosen to spell their name as "Disasterous", rather than the more conventional "Disastrous".
|-
|(in title text)
Usain Bolt and Derek Legs
|2090s
|Sprinting
|From the title text, {{w|Usain Bolt}} is the (now retired) world record holder for the 100 meter dash and 4x100 meter relay events in {{w|Track & Field}}. Thus Randall considers him a solid contender for this list since he can ''bolt'' down the track. However the fictional Derek Legs ends up replacing Bolt on the list, either because they are an even faster sprinter, or because “legs” more clearly and unambiguously relates to running than “bolt” does.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Two rows of people wielding sports equipment are shown, six in the upper row, five in the lower, only the last has no equipment but is standing behind a lectern with a microphone attached to it. Below each person their name is given and the decade in which they where champions of their sport is given below their name in brackets. Here is a list of the 11 people:]

:[Woman with dark hair holding a tennis racket]
:Margaret Court
:(1960s)

:[Cueball with a golf club]
:Gary Player
:(1970s)

:[Cueball with a basket ball]
:Lonzo Ball
:(2020s)

:[Hairy on a skateboard]
:Jake Halfpipe
:(2030s)

:[Woman with dark hair wearing a swim cap and googles]
:Sarah Goggles
:(2030s)

:[A man with a baseball cap throwing a baseball to the right]
:Kevin Slurve
:(2050s)

:[A woman with long black hair in a knit cap is standing on ski holding ski poles]
:Julia Chairlift
:(2050s)

:[Hairy holding a badminton rackets bouncing a shuttlecock on it]
:Dwight Shuttlecock
:(2060s)

:[Hairy holding a pair of shoes in his hand]
:Brandon Sponsorship
:(2060s)

:[Hairbun standing next to a bicycle.]
:Kate Dopingscandal
:(2070s)

:[Hairy standing behind a lectern with a microphone on it.]
:Jebediah Disasterous Postgame PressConference
:(2080s)

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Fun fact: Every sport eventually produces a champion competitor named after a common element of the game.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Sport]]
[[Category:Baseball]]
[[Category:Basketball]]

2020: Negative Results

2018-07-18T14:16:37Z

162.158.62.69: /* Explanation */ The comic doesn't say "the null hypotheses" as if it's a single thing, it says "any null hypothesis", as in the state of the art in any branch of science anywhere.

{{comic
| number = 2020
| date = July 16, 2018
| title = Negative Results
| image = negative_results.png
| titletext = P.S. We're going to the beach this weekend, so I'm attaching my preregistration forms for that trip now, before we find out whether it produces any interesting results.
}}

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

Recently, scientists have begun encouraging each other to publish negative results, where a study failed to find the intended effect, as a way of counteracting {{w|publication bias}} (where only interesting positive results get published), which results in false-positive results being published while negative results are not.

Cueball misinterprets the "push to publish negative results" as meaning that he should always attempt to publish the fact that he failed to find evidence of an effect, even when he didn't even try. This plays on the unspoken assumption that scientists would only choose to submit (and journals would only accept) negative results where a study was designed and executed well enough that it should have shown an effect or at least demonstrated evidence of some kind.

Besides personal preferences, ''{{w|The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild}}'', the most recent ''Legend of Zelda'' game at the time of publication, was likely chosen for its notorious length, Nintendo nerd cred, and a relevance to ''{{w|Nature (journal)|Nature}}'' magazine’s subject. The average time to beat 100% of the content is [https://howlongtobeat.com/game.php?id=38019 over 175 hours].

The title text references the practice of "pre-registration" of a study, which is one means to prevent publication bias: details of a planned study are registered with an organization before the study is conducted, so that a null result or a change in methodology cannot be hidden. The title text may be a play on words, mixing this up with registering (or booking) travel. On the other hand, it may just be playing on the absurdity of pre-registering a simple trip to the beach with a registry for scientific studies.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting in an office chair at a desk typing on a laptop computer. The following message is displayed above him:]
:Dear ''Nature'' Magazine,
:I found no evidence sufficient to reject the null hypothesis in any research areas because I spent the whole week playing ''The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild''.
:I'll send you another update next week!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:The push to publish negative results seems kinda weird, but I'm happy to go along with it.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Video games]]

496: Secretary: Part 3

2018-05-25T22:55:06Z

162.158.62.69: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 496
| date = October 29, 2008
| title = Secretary: Part 3
| image = secretary part 3.png
| titletext = He actually installed each piece in a different car in the lot, then built a new car in the spot from the displaced pieces. It's a confusing maneuver known as the auto-troll shuffle.
}}

==Explanation==
When a person has been appointed to one of certain positions by the {{w|POTUS|President}}, they must first go through a confirmation hearing in front of the {{w|United States Senate|Senate}}, the upper house of {{w|United States Congress|Congress}} where they find if the person is qualified to be in the position they have been appointed to. Of course, [[Black Hat]] is not the cleanest of characters, so Congress has a lot of reservations about his {{w|résumé}}.

*{{w|Starbucks}} is an American coffee shop chain.
**He hasn't yet, but in [[562: Parking]], Black Hat will cut someone's car in half to make it fit in a single space. Not quite as dramatic as completely disassembling a car and, as the title text says, putting a single piece in another car parked in the lot, and building a car out of the displaced parts, which could almost be considered subtle; but, it is quite dramatic.
**The title text refers the Starbucks incident. Taking all the parts from different cars to build in a new car in the same spot parallels the idea in philosophy of the {{w|Ship of Theseus}} in which a question arises of whether a ship is the same ship if it is replaced piece by piece by identical pieces.
*{{w|Charles M. Schulz}} drew a comic called {{w|Peanuts}}. One of the recurring characters was {{w|Snoopy}} who would often use his doghouse as an imaginary {{w|Sopwith Camel}} in many battles with {{w|Manfred von Richthofen|The Red Baron}} who piloted a {{w|Fokker Dr.I|Red Fokker}} {{w|Triplane}}.
**The {{w|Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade}} is a parade that happens on {{w|Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving Day}} in the US. There are many giant balloons of pop-culture icons. Snoopy has made many appearances. Obviously, being the classhole he is, has shot up the Snoopy float with a stolen Red Fokker triplane, which would be disturbing, especially to the kids watching the parade, who would get the impression that Snoopy has died. His statement that he "Got three mimes, too" just proves his casual disregard for collateral damage.
*{{w|9/11 Truth movement|9/11 Truthers}} believe that the terrorist attack on the {{w|World Trade Center}} towers on September 11, 2001 (thus 9/11) was not actually organized by terrorists, but by the United States government. Black Hat apparently claims to subscribe to a comedically exaggerated version of this conspiracy theory in which the attacks did not happen ''at all'' and the World Trade Center is presumably still standing. Such a conspiracy is extremely implausible, as it would require either the involvement of every single person to ever set foot in one of the world's largest cities, or some way to conceal a pair of hundred story tall buildings, which is obviously impossible.{{Citation needed}}
**Black Hat uses a common refrain [[:Category:Sheeple|Wake up, Sheeple]] to insult the senators.
*{{w|RadioShack}} is a chain of consumer electronics shops that sold parts to build electronics with: resistors, transistors, etc. Apparently Black Hat managed to build a death ray from the parts there and accidentally vaporized a customer. His line "Figures that'd be the one day that there'd be a customer in the aisle" refers to the fact that RadioShack stores have been in steady decline over the years, largely propped up by momentum.
*{{w|Microsoft}} is the company that makes {{w|Microsoft Windows|Windows}}, and {{w|Steve Ballmer}} was its {{w|Chief executive officer|CEO}} until being replaced in 2014 by {{w|Satya Nadella}}. {{w|Windows Vista}} is an {{w|operating system}} released in 2007; it was widely panned by software critics. It is unclear how feeding a squirrel through a fax machine could possibly contribute to winning an argument about it, but given Black Hat"s almost superhuman abilities to troll and avoid the consequences, it's possible that it could happen.
*{{w|Ruth Bader Ginsburg}} is the second female justice on the {{w|Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court}}, appointed by President Clinton. The relevance here is that during her own confirmation hearings, she refused to answer many questions about her personal views, frustrating many Senators (nevertheless, she was confirmed, 96-3). {{w|John Roberts}}, the current Chief Justice, was similarly evasive in his hearings, citing the "Ginsburg Precedent."
*Black Hat stole a nuclear submarine in xkcd [[405: Journal 3]] to get his hat back from [[Danish]]. However, that one was a Russian submarine, and the US Senate would probably not take that into account. Perhaps they are indeed referencing that incident, or it could be that he has also stolen an American submarine. Stealing one navy submarine would be impossibly hard, stealing nuclear submarines from not one but two different navies would be practically impossible.
*"Pleading the fifth" is to invoke the {{w|Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fifth Amendment}} of the {{w|United States Bill of Rights}}. Specifically, when someone pleads the fifth, they mean that they cannot be compelled to give testimony against themselves. That is, they do not have to say anything that could be taken as an admission of guilt. The {{w|Third Amendment to the United States Constitution|third amendment}} states that no homeowner has to keep troops of the United States Army in their house against their will in peacetime. Either Black Hat
**Doesn't understand the 3rd Amendment,
**Just chooses this amendment over the 5th to confuse the committee which seems to forget the question,
**Believes the nuclear submarine to be his property, and rather than stealing it he was simply expelling military personnel who were "quartered" in his nuclear sub without his permission,
**Stole the submarine in order to have a convenient place other than his house to quarter troops

The final panels show Ron Paul's blimp finally approaching Washington DC. The balloon spotted on their radar is presumably piloted by blogger {{w|Cory Doctorow}}, as revealed in the next installment, Secretary: Part 4.

All comics in the [[:Category:Secretary|Secretary]] series:
*[[494: Secretary: Part 1]]
*[[495: Secretary: Part 2]]
*496: Secretary: Part 3 (this one)
*[[497: Secretary: Part 4]]
*[[498: Secretary: Part 5]]

This series was released on 5 consecutive days (Monday-Friday) and not over the usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.

It is possible that this series is a continuation of [[493: Actuarial]], in which Black Hat demonstrates great power over even Internet trolls via his sociopathic ways. This would explain why Black Hat was chosen as Internet secretary.

==Transcript==
:[The confirmation hearings begin.]
:Senator: It appears you have quite an arrest record.

:Senator: Is it true you completely disassembled someone's car outside a Starbucks?
:Black Hat: It was parked across two spaces.

:Senator: You stole a red Fokker triplane and strafed the snoopy float at the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade?

:Black Hat: Got three mimes, too.

:Senator: You disrupted a 9/11 truth meeting, insisting the Twin Towers never actually collapsed?
:Black Hat: I have evidence! Don't trust the media! Wake up, sheeple!

:Senator: You were fired from Radio Shack after you built a death ray and vaporized a customer?

:Black Hat: I was just testing it! Figures that'd be the one day there was a shopper in the aisle.

:Senator: And you were thrown out of Microsoft headquarters for... trying to feed a squirrel through a fax machine?

:Black Hat: I forgot about that! it was part of an argument with Steve Ballmer about Vista.
::Which I won, by the way.

:[Senators look down at their notes.]

:Senator: This is the worst history of vandalism, gleeful mayhem, and general recalcitrance we've seen in a nominee since Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

:Senator: And this-you stole a nuclear submarine?
:Black Hat: I plead the third.

:Senator: You mean the fifth?
:Black Hat: No, the third.

:Senator: You refuse to quarter troops in your house?
:Black Hat: I have few principles, but I stick to them.

:Meanwhile...
:[Aboard Ron Paul's blimp.]
:Ponytail: We're nearing Washington, sir.
::Wait... There's something ahead on the sensors.

:Ponytail: It's a balloon.
:Ron Paul: ...Oh, no.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Secretary|03]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Secretary]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ron Paul]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Sheeple]]

1981: Rickrolling Anniversary

2018-04-17T02:00:16Z

162.158.62.69:

{{comic
| number = 1981
| date = April 16, 2018
| title = Rickrolling Anniversary
| image = rickrolling_anniversary.png
| titletext = Want to feel old? The 'want to feel old?' factoid meme dates back to around 2011, closer to the Bush/Kerry election than to today.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Rickroller that feels old- Seems close to complete.}}

[[Cueball]] tells [[Megan]] that by the release of this comic in April 2018 it is the 10th anniversary of the peak of {{w|rickrolling}}, and she is amazed that this has been so long ago. She then remembers that they met each other during this meme, and tells him happy anniversary. After a beat panel Cueball concludes that ''We've known each other for so long''.

"[https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?t=59 We've known each other for so long]", is the first line of the second verse of the song "{{w|Never Gonna Give You Up}}" the hit song by {{w|Rick Astley}} on which rickrolling is based. The first reference to this was in [[351: Trolling]] from 2007, where Astley himself was Rickrolled by [[Black Hat]]. Black Hat then later uses Astley to show his girlfriend [[Danish]] how Rick-Rolls in [[524: Party]], a New Year party from the end of 2008.

Rickrolling had first started in 2007, but reached a peak in about April 2008 when, as an April fool's day prank, {{w|Youtube}} linked all its featured videos to ''Never Gonna Give You Up'', and the {{w|New York Mets}} were Rickrolled by a public vote to choose a song for the 8th innings sing-song. This coincided with a sharp [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rickroll peak in searches] for "Rick Astley" and related terms.

The title text refers to another ''old'' xkcd meme of giving snippets of information to the reader [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|that make them feel old]]. Although comics such as [[218: Nintendo Surgeon]] in 2007 refer to facts that could make you feel old, the first comic directly build around factoids to make one feel old in xkcd was [[891: Movie Ages]] in April 2011. This was 7 years before the time of publishing. The {{w|United States presidential election, 2004|Bush Kerry election}} was in November 2004, 6½ years before that comic, making the title text statement that the beginning of this meme is closer to that election that today. This is the way most of these make you feel old comics are built.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are walking.]
:Cueball: This month marks ten years since the peak of the Rickrolling phenomenon.

:[In a frame-less panel they keep waling.]
:Megan: Seriously?
:Megan: Wow. Happy anniversary, I guess.

:[They keep walking silently, beat panel.]

:[And they walk on.]
:Cueball: We've known each other for so long.
:Megan: We really have.

==Trivia==
*This comic is a return to the recurring theme of [[:Category:Rickrolling|Rickrolling]], which was most famous around 2008 and 2009 - also at xkcd.
*Interestingly enough the last time rickrolling was referenced in xkcd was [[1757: November 2016]], another comic centered around making people feel old.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Rickrolling]]
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]

1301: File Extensions

2018-03-15T07:54:53Z

162.158.62.69: /* Explanation */ Added "portable" to pdf's description to help explain the acronym, and bolded the initials for pdf, csv and svg. Should .png, .jpg and .gif be explained as well? The others seem straightforward.

{{comic
| number = 1301
| date = December 9, 2013
| title = File Extensions
| image = file_extensions.png
| titletext = I have never been lied to by data in a .txt file which has been hand-aligned.
}}

==Explanation==
Computer file names often end in {{w|file extension}}s like ".ppt" or ".exe". These extensions are a holdover from early operating systems like {{W|DOS}} in which filenames had a maximum eight characters followed by a period and the three-character extension. The extension was used by the operating system to determine filetype so that the system would know how to handle the file (e.g. which program could open the file). Newer operating systems and file systems now accept longer-than eight-character filenames, and extensions of greater than three characters; although most extensions remain three characters.

Most extensions are created as proprietary to certain pieces of software, although software by other developers may later be designed to be able to read the format. For example, .doc is a Microsoft Word document, although because of that software's popularity, many word processors include the ability to open .doc files. Some common file extensions are not proprietary to a piece of software and may be handled by various programs; .jpg or .gif images are examples. In either case, a file's extension is generally a good indicator of what type of data the file contains.

Certain file types are more prevalent for certain uses, with some being almost exclusive to one use, while other are in general use and might contain almost anything. Here, [[Randall]] presents a series of file extensions which often contain information, and he is rating the reliability of the information they generally contain from most reliable to least.

*{{w|.tex}} files are source files for the programs {{w|TeX}} and {{w|LaTeX}}, which are used often and almost exclusively by academics, especially in mathematics and the hard sciences. .tex pretty much means serious business, and Randall does not anticipate that anyone would use such a format other than for reliable information.
*{{w|.pdf}} files are a ('''p'''ortable (as in over the web)) '''d'''ocument '''f'''ormat by Adobe, frequently used for publication. Companies use them for official documentation. Thus, a .pdf file is likely to be some type of final product or polished work. Further, .tex files are generally compiled into .pdf files in order to make them readable. It would be strange to trust a .tex file without trusting the .pdf to which it compiles. For example, when submitting to academic journals in math and the hard sciences, the journal accepts the .tex file, but then compiles it and publishes the resulting .pdf.
*{{w|.csv}} are '''c'''omma-'''s'''eparated '''v'''alues: tables of information delimited by commas, and often consist of computer-generated raw data (from, say, a scientific experiment or a database).
*{{w|.txt}} files contain only plain text, no "rich text" or anything fancy. Programmers often use them for README files.
*{{w|.svg}} files are a ('''s'''calable) '''v'''ector '''g'''raphics format used a lot for diagrams, such as on Wikipedia.
*{{w|.xls}} and {{w|.xlsx}} files are spreadsheets used and created by the program Microsoft Excel, part of a bundle of applications known as Microsoft Office (also supported by compatible free software such as LibreOffice). These applications are very commonly used, especially for business, finance and data analysis tasks. {{w|.xls}} is a binary format used for Excel versions up to 2003, while {{w|.xlsx}} is a ZIPped XML-based format used for Excel versions 2007 and later.
*{{w|.doc}} files are a rich-text document format used and created by the program {{w|Microsoft Word}}, another application in the Microsoft Office bundle. As with .xls, almost anyone with access to Microsoft Office could easily make one of these. While Excel is generally used for creating tables and presenting data, Word could be used for any text-based document. Thus, Word documents tend to be far more prevalent and casually created than Excel documents, which is presumably why Randall doesn't trust them as much.
*{{w|.png}} files are a bitmap image format designed for the Internet. They enjoy wide popularity for providing crisp, full-color images with lossless (reversible) compression. Almost all xkcd comics, this diagram included, use PNG. But since he rates the format so low, is Randall saying we shouldn't trust this chart?
*{{w|.ppt}} files are used and created by the program {{w|Microsoft PowerPoint}}; as with the other two Office applications, almost anyone could easily make one of these. As they are usually used for presentations rather than documents, the information in them may be arranged differently, possibly to "dumb down" the content, or in marketing materials or talks in which the author may not be very objective. Further, several years ago, PowerPoint presentations were sometimes included instead of plain images as attachments in e-mail forwards containing inaccurate information. These emails still occasionally circulate, and may be the source of Randall's distrust.
*{{w|.jpg}} files are another image format with high compression capabilities, good for storing photos and not so good for many other things. Photographs in general are prone to image manipulation, hence Randall's low score for this file format.
*{{w|.jpeg}} files are the same thing as .jpg files, but these are more likely to have been created manually rather than automatically, making them even less reliable.
*{{w|.gif}} files are yet another bitmap image format, notable for supporting short animations. GIF was once ''the'' Internet image file format until PNG gradually replaced it. Since GIF is the only common image format capable of animation, it is often used to contain things like silly clips of cats falling into boxes, or annoying, blinking advertisements claiming that you're the '''[[570|100,000,000]]th VISITOR!'''. GIFs are also created by Internet trolls, such as on 4chan.org, to feed misinformation to gullible gamers and computer users. For example, a recent [http://mashable.com/2013/12/09/xbox-one-hoax-4chan-backward-compatible/ Xbox One Hoax GIF] contained supposed instructions for making the Xbox One backwards compatible. The instructions instead make the console inoperable.

Note that while the extensions .xls/.xlsx, .doc, and .ppt were originally exclusive only to Microsoft Office and users of Windows, there now exist a number of open source programs such as Open Office, Libre Office, and some Android apps that are capable of editing such files. These programs can run on systems other than just Windows, such as Linux, perhaps contributing to making them even more widespread and easy to make than before.

The title text refers to how .txt files contain only plain text and nothing else, meaning that any alignment (such as for indentation, tables, or {{w|Justification (typesetting)|justification}}) would have to be performed manually by adding in spaces or tabs. Anyone who would go through such an effort to improve their text's readability is likely to be trustworthy, and almost by definition, the opinion presented would be justified.

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the bar chart:]
:Trustworthiness of Information by File Extension

:[A line is going down and from that gray bars is charting the trustworthiness in a bar graph that goes both left and right of the line. No units or figures are given. For ease of comprehension this transcript will arbitrarily designate the highest score as [+100]; subsequent scores are estimates based on the size of their bars.]
:[+100]: .tex
:[+89]: .pdf
:[+85]: .csv
:[+67]: .txt
:[+65]: .svg
:[+49]: .xls/.xlsx
:[+21]: .doc
:[+15]: .png
:[+14]: .ppt
:[+3]: .jpg
:[-8]: .jpeg
:[-36]: .gif

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Bar chart]]

Talk:722: Computer Problems

2018-03-11T01:30:31Z

162.158.62.69: /* Does Randall Munroe have a cat? */ new section

I think this might be also a joke on how computer programming and/or hacking is presented in action movies. {{unsigned ip|77.254.185.80}}

I think the explanation of "explaining in simpler terms" should be expanded as how interactions with computers can be so complex (i.e. trying to make something specific work in Linux) but at the same time look absolutely pointless if observed by someone who understands little to nothing about computers. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.196|108.162.212.196]] 13:56, 11 January 2014 (UTC)

I've thought a similar thing about video games. The way you win is by moving the controls in a precise sequence, which if you knew, you wouldn't need to look at the screen to be victorious. {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.114}}

I'm a software developer and have this comic hanging up by my desk. It helps keep things in perspective when things get a bit too overwhelming. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.13|108.162.216.13]] 21:49, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

Cue the rubber ducking. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.139|162.158.2.139]] 03:20, 4 September 2015 (UTC)

I was under the impression that cats gravitated to keyboards less for the warmth and more for the "Hello you are paying attention to that thing and not me, which is ridiculous because I am obviously the most important thing and now I will remind you of that." factor. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 05:23, 19 October 2015 (UTC)

== Does Randall Munroe have a cat? ==

Can someone please confirm this?

----
PhoebeF

359: Rock Band

2017-06-03T16:42:33Z

162.158.62.69: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 359
| date = December 19, 2007
| title = Rock Band
| image = rock_band.png‎
| titletext = I'm gonna have to add something to the strum bar so it makes a clicky sound like the old controllers. I'm so used to the feedback; the silence throws me off.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is aggravated because while he thinks that playing {{w|Rock Band (video game)|Rock Band}} isn't cool and hence shouldn't be fun, the people playing Rock Band are having fun and he's obviously not.

The title text is a comment on haptic feedback, comparing the guitar controllers of {{w|Guitar Hero (video game)|Guitar Hero}}, which make a clicking sound when the user strums, with those of Rock Band, which do not click.

It should be noted that this comic lent its name to the "Stop Having Fun Guys" trope on TVTropes.

==Transcript==
:[3 people are playing Rock Band. Cueball with arms crossed is looking at them.]
:Cueball: You know, playing this doesn't make you cool like a real rock band.
:Cueball: Guys?
:Cueball: Didn't you hear me?
:Cueball: Stop having fun!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Guitar Hero]]

1788: Barge

2017-01-20T15:18:13Z

162.158.62.69:

{{comic
| number = 1788
| date = January 20, 2017
| title = Barge
| image = barge.png
| titletext = My life goal is to launch a barge into the air and have it land on one of Elon Musk's rockets.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}

. this is another one of the "my hobby" series, where someone, it is assumed Cueball, tells about a strange hobby. this is probably the most destructive one so far, where Cueball empties out a barge, puts on a sheet . of paper with the spaceEx logo, and floats it near launch sites. the goal of that hobby is to get spaceEx rockets to land on the barge, causing them to crash through the paper and fall into the sea. careful logic brings . up the idea that this particular entry in the "my hobby" series in not made by Cueball at all, but instead has been sneaked into Cueball's diary by Black Hat. however, even if it is Black Has done this, it would still be . his most destructive idea of all time.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}