explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2437: Post-Vaccine Party

2021-03-24T01:39:06Z

162.158.75.80: Added reference to paint drying.

Okay, I started it. Join in and make it better! [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 17:26, 15 March 2021 (UTC)

:I thought that the party food and beverages were reduced to small cups of ice water and m&m as we gained weight over months of staying home. It looks like the list was made earlier in the pandemic when this was not a problem (yet). And now the list has changed since al lot of people gained weight. But pizzas and snack can contribute to the spread of the virus. For the rest I understand it like you N0lqu. mkljun 18:56, 15 March 2021 (UTC)
::Thanks, I added that! [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 18:19, 15 March 2021 (UTC)

Ping-pong should be a reasonably safe activity. A standard table is 9 feet long, so the players are forced to social distance. And unless you play at expert levels, it's not so energetic that you'll breathe heavily. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 19:27, 15 March 2021 (UTC)
:My employer padlocked the door to our ping-pong room because people apparently couldn't mask and play at the same time. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.212.218|162.158.212.218]] 13:33, 16 March 2021 (UTC)

I think this is more about how exciting the party is than about COVID precautions. These are all toned-down versions of regular party stuff. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.229|141.101.99.229]] 21:08, 15 March 2021 (UTC)

Still missing an explanation regarding the crossing out of "Big screen" in front of "TV". A small TV would actually be counterproductive, as folks would need to crowd around it in order to see it well, thus reducing social distance. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.140|162.158.75.140]] 21:37, 15 March 2021 (UTC)

:Answer is in the comment above yours. No one has been to a party in a year, and the idea is to "start slow" and keep the party from being overwhelming to people who have been isolating for a long time. I don't get the title text, though... [[User:Orion205|Orion205]] ([[User talk:Orion205|talk]]) 22:38, 15 March 2021 (UTC)

The COVID vaccine works by making your immune system kick in hard. At a panel presentation on COVID, a doctor was saying that fever, muscle aches, nausea, or other flu-like symptoms are to be expected after injections. It’s a good sign that the vaccine is working. The party list makes a little more sense if people were expected to be feeling mildly ill from the vaccine. —brad

I didn't initially read it as boring for the sake of safety, just boring because nobody has been to a party for a year and would find it harder to cope with the excitement. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.166|141.101.107.166]] 09:08, 16 March 2021 (UTC)
: This explains the title text, too. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.174|141.101.98.174]] 20:55, 16 March 2021 (UTC)

I think the joke is that we are being told we can increase social activity but not to increase it "too much". So we could have a gathering but not as big a gathering as before. The reduction is supposed to be targeted to specific activities that might risk contagious spread. However, the joke is that the person planning this party is reducing activities just for the sake of "downsizing" the party whether the activities are related to contagious spread or not. For example, watching TV on a small screen versus a big screen. The title text furthers the joke, that we have been conditioned to be fearful of trivial encounters that do not increase contagious risk (like briefly passing someone outdoors who is not wearing a mask even if we have a mask on) so something as innocuous as dropping a candy in a glass of water caused a panic. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 19:10, 16 March 2021 (UTC)
: There are a few ways that could scare or upset people, from the similarity of dropping medicine in a cup of water, to the danger of getting splashed by someone elses cup of water and catching their contagion that way. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.112|162.158.167.112]] 21:23, 16 March 2021 (UTC)
:: Exactly my point. This is so unlikely to actually cause contagion that it should not cause the attendees to "panic and scatter". And that's the joke. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 00:14, 17 March 2021 (UTC)
:: The thing with Diet Coke and Mentos crossed my mind, since this incident does not involve Diet Coke and does not involve Mentos, but it easily COULD have. :-) rja.carnegie@excite.com [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.108|162.158.159.108]] 22:36, 16 March 2021 (UTC)
:I think this is missing the point. The point of this "cautious" party is not to reduce the risk of contagion (that is just a positive side effect) but just to get used to party again. The drop of the candy into the water causes no panic because it might be dangerous but because it is exciting (relatively speaking). With that explanation even the small TV makes sense. As already mentioned a smaller TV is bad in sense of preventing infection due to the need of being closer to it and as a result closer to others who also want to watch Bob Ross. But from a "entertainment value" or "excitement value" point of view a small TV is "safer" than a big one. So the point of this is not (primarily) to prevent contagion but just to getting used to being together in one (physical) room again. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 09:47, 17 March 2021 (UTC)

Academic research on paint drying -- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160318090817.htm apparently it is exciting enough to be grant-funded.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.80|162.158.75.80]] 01:39, 24 March 2021 (UTC)

This is a joke. It is funny. Haha. Laugh. Hilarious. {{unsigned ip|172.68.142.105}}

== Transcript ==
I think this needs rework. Isn't the point (among some other things) of a transcript to "show" some visually impaired people what this is all about with the help of a screen reader? The current transcript doesn't seem to do that. I don't know HOW these exactly work, but I THINK the current transcript would lead to something like that: "<underlinded>Drinks; <striked through> Soda, Wine; <red> Small cups; <striked through> Beer; <red> of ice water [...]". Or am I wrong? [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:03, 17 March 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2378: Fall Back

2021-01-13T22:01:36Z

162.158.75.80: bumbling fool

Ah, that American thing. Late to The Great War, late to WW2, every year late turning the clocks back in '''autumn'''... ;)
(Seriously, though - at least under xkcd terms - surely [[320|2''9''-hour]] days.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.32|162.158.159.32]] 02:02, 29 October 2020 (UTC)
:That schedule doesn't change the length of the day, though, just the sleep cycle to accommodate 20 hours of wakefulness. [[User:OhFFS|OhFFS]] ([[User talk:OhFFS|talk]]) 16:40, 29 October 2020 (UTC)
[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 19:51, 29 October 2020 (UTC)Yep, both sides are convinced the other side has been in a state of altered consciousness for the past 6 years. And the 20% in the center thinks that both sides have gone insane.

The election has only been bitter to the liberals, because they are going to loose. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 21:16, 29 October 2020 (UTC)

Well, if you meant the liberals were showing signs of loosening (?), I can't say whether or not you were right, because I don't know what that means. But if you meant the liberals were going to LOSE, you were wrong. Sorry about that. [Dated November 13, 2020.][[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.4|172.69.62.4]] 13:00, 13 November 2020 (UTC)

Hwat? What makes you believe that? Nobody can be absolutely certain at this stage. The election hasn’t happened yet, so it isn’t “bitter” to anyone. Liberals are stressed out about it, because they m I g h t lose

This comment did not age well.

Everyone! Look here at the bumbling fool! He’s at it again!

@SDSpivey: Right? I still really like XKCD, but the peppering of political bias in the last few years is irritating. Not everything has to be fused with political commentary. Can't XKCD be it's own thing? It feels like how different TV shows start off great, then with their success start just riding the wistless wave of popular culture and public opinion in a sad attempt to stay relevant without making any substantive commentary (think about Simpsons, for instance). We've gone from normal life being fine to now EVERYONE having to state what side of every issue they're on. Just... be you. Stop making everything about whatever current story is in the news. I miss XKCD being XKCD rather than another player on the public stage imposing their political opinions. Just be a human we can all relate to, no matter the political persuasion. Political ideology doesn't correlate with IQ, and since XKCD caters to an audience with above-average IQ, Randall's making the same mistake as everyone else by isolating half the audience. [[User::Anonymous|Anonymous]] 16:01, 29 October 2020 (MST)
Everyone! Look here at the bumbling fool! You can’t just not be political. Even if you could, you wouldn’t be obliged to do so. Randall has literally always been expressing his views in XKCD. From the start.
::I don't think most people are aware how political the expressions that seem normal to them, seem to people of opposing politics. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.42|108.162.219.42]] 00:35, 2 November 2020 (UTC)
:Randall's only human. He's worried about the world too, since he live in it. He isn't working in a vacuum after all. His life experiences shapes the way he writes, both consciously and subconsciously. And outside 'I'm with Her', he hasn't written a single comic where he explicitly or implicitly states who you should vote for - Only that you SHOULD vote.The others simply explore the consequences the government's and people's decisions have wrought, and general comments on the news cycle.
:Hello, you two. Look at the comic. Look at the explanation. Look in this segment. Look at your two comments in particular. Which bit is stating an actual full on bias/preference? The bit with you two in. We know which way Randall leans as preference, as it happens, but if we thought he leant the other way the same comic coming from the anti-Randall would ''still'' work as well. If you can't see that, the problem isn't with xkcd. (And even if it was, everyone is free to find and appreciate anti-Randall's 'dckx' webcomic. In fact, if you know a good one, I wouldn't mind a look.) As to the result, those who can and wish to vote should do so (if they haven't already) and only when everyone has done that and been tabulated will we know this. If you have a sincere prediction, remember that loads of others have similarly sincere (but dissimilarly tinted) predictions and the universe isn't going to automatically obey your personal preference without everything else lining up. So maybe you'll he lucky. Me, I've got no skin in the game (except as someone living on the same planet) and can't influence the election even by a single vote. This isn't about changing opinions, it's about changing attitudes. And that's even less likely. Meh. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.113|162.158.158.113]] 01:02, 30 October 2020 (UTC)
::I have bias, I admit that. Everyone should. All the bitterness I have seen this year has come from the liberals (news reporters, comedians, actors) who claim to care about all of us, but really just care about their own pet projects, or just want to seem like they care.I don't care what my favorite entertainer thinks, just entertain me. That's what we pay you for. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 02:36, 31 October 2020 (UTC)
No. Just no. First of all, you do not pay Randall. Also, Randall has literally always used XKCD to state his opinions about things. Even if it isn’t about politics (which he has talked about for literal years), XKCD has never been this romantic bias free pure entertainment blob you seem to be longing for. Never has. Politics isn’t an abstract concept, and what happens affects actual real people. Randall is a literal human person on earth, who uses his platform to spread ideas and messages. He literally always has. Also, the rant about famous people or whatever acting bitter is completely unrelated. Plus, this comic is not even political. Many of Randall’s comics are political, but this one is not. It doesn’t remotely express a political view.
:::Yeah, and that's exactly what this comic pokes fun at - all the fearmongering the elites spread through their outlets causing anxiety to shoot through the roof, and in this comic, to such a point that Megan has started dissociating herself.
[citation needed]