explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3044: Humidifier Review

2025-02-03T09:23:59Z

172.69.43.182:

Somehow, the text here makes me think of the air-source heat pump equivalent, i.e. ''Why shouldn't it be the case that humidifiers condense outside air and suck the water out of it, and then pump that water into the conditioned space and re-disperse it?'' Of course, the obvious answer is that doing so would be frightfully expensive and entirely unnecessary given the cost of that kind of condensation compared to the cost of water. And, of course, the capital cost for the minor plumbing to install a domestic water line to the humidifier is going to be far smaller than the capital cost of a heat pump apparatus (or whatever) to generate condensation outdoors and then pump it into the conditioned space. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 00:13, 30 January 2025 (UTC)
:Also it would still need that amount of water, just that the operator doesn't need to add it manually. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 12:43, 30 January 2025 (UTC)

This reminds me of the whole thing with the VTuber Sakura Miko where she was using a humidifier without knowing she had to fill the tank with water for at least a year [[Special:Contributions/172.70.223.184|172.70.223.184]] 01:10, 30 January 2025 (UTC)

Related to that, just a week ago Sharp announced a humidifier collaboration with Sakura Miko, and as part of the PR they made a formal apology for "Not being able to use magic to make a waterless humidifier" {{unsigned ip|198.41.236.162|02:01, 30 January 2025}}

I'm waiting for the HydroPro High-Efficiency Electric Kettle™ which is connected to a heat pump to heat your tea water. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.170.192|172.71.170.192]] 04:39, 30 January 2025 (UTC)

: ''High-Efficiency Electric Kettle™ which is connected to a heat pump to heat your tea water'' You jest; but in the US we get hot water at the sink faucet. There is a push to do it all with heat-pumps, save a hundred bucks a year! (They say more, but I've compared our use.) But the heatpumps are $2K. A dumb resistor tank is $500. Payback is well in excess of 5 years. And it would make my cold cellar even colder, thus damper. --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 06:17, 30 January 2025 (UTC)

:: A heat pump water heater would (if properly installed) make the cellar colder and dryer. Essentially, it's air conditioning the cellar and that's what A/C does. In detail water will condense on the cold coils (giving up latent heat which helps heat the water) and the condensate should go down a drain reducing the amount of water in the cellar.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.107|162.158.62.107]] 16:02, 31 January 2025 (UTC)

:: Just install a dehumidifier. And feed the water that the dehumidifier into the water heater. Infinite hot water! Also, enormous electric bills. Also legionnaire's disease. [[User:RegularSizedGuy|RegularSizedGuy]] ([[User talk:RegularSizedGuy|talk]]) 06:22, 30 January 2025 (UTC)
::: All dehumidifiers and all humidifiers must be connected together for the ultimate harmony! (If there turns out to be a net need/excess, we can work out what to do... We probably have a whole load of piping leading all over the planet, by this time, so we can find the most optimal source/sink.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.33|172.70.162.33]] 13:32, 30 January 2025 (UTC)

Another device which is often getting negative reviews for not breaking laws of physics is car. Not only that, EU laws for 2035 are basically making against the EU law for a new car to not break laws of physics. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:08, 30 January 2025 (UTC)
: The only two transportation options that do not either break the laws of physics or ultimately prove either unfeasible or useless against carbon dioxide spiking and resulting anthropogenic climate change have five toes on each one. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.42.87|162.158.42.87]] 15:34, 30 January 2025 (UTC)
:: Cycling burns about half the calories per mile as walking. Which one has the lower overall carbon footprint depends on a lot of factors, including the carbon created for food production, bicycle production, the lifetime and maintenance requirements for the bike, the health benefits leading to a longer life (and hence more carbon production) for the walker/rider, etc. But if you already have a bike, it's probably more efficient to ride than it is to walk. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.169|162.158.62.169]] 17:59, 30 January 2025 (UTC)
::: Except that this isn't how humans work. Just because you reduce your calorie expenditure on transportation doesn't mean you reduce your calorie expenditure overall - it will just get expended somewhere else. Besides which, calorie expenditure isn't tied to calorie consumption. Even if you were able to reduce your overall expenditure, it would make no difference at all to your carbon footprint. To do that you'd need to reduce how much you eat (or change its composition).[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.7|141.101.98.7]] 09:33, 31 January 2025 (UTC)
:::: You would burn fewer calories if you cycled for a while (instead of walking) though. Maybe cycling a mile compared to walking it wouldn't really make any difference, but cycling 20 miles as opposed to walking that definitely would burn fewer calories. Walking 20 miles is already going noticeably over your regular calorie expenditure, which is going to require more food no matter what, so cycling instead would definitely require less food. Although the difference is probably not too big compared to what you would usually burn. [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] [[User talk:Beanie|talk]] 10:09, 31 January 2025 (UTC)
:::::Be sure we're talking of the same things. Cycling twenty miles might be accomplished in an hour (allowing for sympathetic terrain/roads, bike and degree of fitness), with some effort and therefore raised metabolism, but should normally take less than two hours just by keeping the wheels turning at a decent rate. Walking twenty miles might be six to twelve hours of walking (including stops, which I don't bother to assume that the rider will take).
::::: (...assuming you are physically/mentally capable of either. I regularly walk a nine-mile (rugged) path from A to B every week, taking about 3.5 hours unless I'm rushed (faster) or it is/has been raining (the 'direct' route gets muddy, either slowing me down or I divert by longer roadside routes around sections). For the purposes of the trip (for which I know I have a handy lift back), I know I have a reason to get there. (''Ocasionally'' with a diversion to a handy geohash!) I probably wouldn't walk in a nine-mile circuit, without something to do at the extremities of the point. Even though I ''have'' walked 20+ miles, I'd need even more incentive. Meanwhile, I wouldn't go cycling for 'just' nine miles of circuit, that's a waste of time in the other direction. The pleasure of the ride (balanced with the effort of it, and preparing for it) means that 20 miles of no other purpose is at the lower end. But then I was brought up as a cyclist used to weekly 50+ mile rides via at least one cafe-stop, or similar. I know some people wouldn't/couldn't/daren't walk maybe half a mile (total) to the shops and back, ''or'' ride there. Others (not me!) will happily ride as fast as they can for 12 or 24 hours, [http://www.rra.org.uk/Records-Place-to-Place.html or more], for their own reasons.)
:::::...Anyway... Having saved enough time to have five hours for every hour of travel, you don't then flatline your activity and consider it done, but continue to exist. Even if that's vegging out in front of the TV. 20 miles on the bike should probably include the hours (and the meals) you spend pre- and/or post-trip, which map to the equivalent time you'd spend for the same walk ''without'' the bicycle. Also, as you might or might not also have the bike, whatever the reason you can't/shan't use it, hard to factor in the 'investment' carbon footprint for equipment you might or might not use, and which might amortise its 'cost' across an indeterminate number of actual uses. Much like you could have a car or any other vehicle but can only reliably compare fuel/charging costs, between alternative modes of travel, not usually the capital costs...
:::::And even wear-and-tear-based upkeep is also a somewhat variable relationship. I wear out walking shoes within a year or two. I typically expect my bike tyres (and inner-tubes) to last much longer, but are subject to unrepairable damage at any time (I've had to deal with three separate punctures in a single day, before, luckily was easy to patch), which can badly mess with the running average.
::::: The point being that comparison is difficult. And even if you're sure you've tied down what you mean, someone else may think it applies to their own (different) understanding. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.246|172.70.91.246]] 17:47, 31 January 2025 (UTC)
::::: You would burn less calories ''doing the cycling'' vs ''doing the walking'', but you wouldn't burn less calories ''overall'', because the calories you 'saved' would simply end up being burnt elsewhere. Even if you drove the journey, your overall calorie expenditure would still end up being the same. And in any case the food you consume doesn't tend to have much relationship to how much you 'require' — just because you walk rather than cycle doesn't mean you're then going to have a smaller portion at dinner — so how much you're burning is fairly irrelevant to carbon footprint.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.124|172.71.178.124]] 09:14, 3 February 2025 (UTC)
::Actually, climate activists are trying to avoid mentioning it, but humans are TOTALLY significant producers of CO2 considering how many of them are. But mentioning it reveals the uncomfortable truth: we can't REALLY get to zero carbon dioxide emission. It's not realistic goal. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 06:43, 3 February 2025 (UTC)
:::The idea isn't zero emissions, it's ''net'' zero - as much coming out as goes in.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.182|172.69.43.182]] 09:23, 3 February 2025 (UTC)

Zero stars:

Dried out my house when I was already dehydrated

- BButton1869
[[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 20:42, 30 January 2025 (UTC)

I'm not sure conservation of mass is the right law here. It would be possible to increase humidity without using water or violating the conservation of mass, such as by burning hydrogen. The relevant law here is the conservation of ''molecular quantity''. Except . . . that's not a law (hence my hydrogen combustion counterexample). What's going on here is that you cannot change the amount of water ''without a chemical reaction'', essentially by definition. So any humidifier that operates in a purely mechanical manner without reacting any chemicals will "conserve water" in this sense.

In the real world, every humidifier works this way, and it would rarely make sense to do it any other way. In fact, you are more likely to see oxygen made from water (e.g. in a submarine or space station) than vice-versa. However, if you have a natural gas furnace, that will produce water, and in principle, there's no reason that produced water could not be fed into a humidifier, thus saving on the water bill. Highly efficient furnaces capture the water without letting it out the flu, not because they want to salvage the water, but to increase efficiency. Still, the water is there, so this isn't a physically or even practically impossible demand. [[User:EebstertheGreat|EebstertheGreat]] ([[User talk:EebstertheGreat|talk]]) 01:28, 31 January 2025 (UTC)

: "''...a natural gas furnace, that will produce water, .....could ...be fed into a humidifier,''" There are gas appliances, cookers and room heaters, also gas clothes dryers, which can vent damp exhaust directly to the room. But even when I paid for water, I never fretted about the cost of humidity. And I already run a dehumidifier 7 months a year. And the hi-eff gas burners and the dehumidifier in a damp basement already force me to maintain a non-ignorable pump infrastructure to lift water out of the cellar. -- So unlike the joker in the cartoon, I am hyper-aware of my humidity.--[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 04:39, 31 January 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3037: Radon

2025-01-14T12:00:48Z

172.69.43.182:

The sun is a white star. It looks yellow from within the atmosphere because blue light is scattered out of it, the same reason the sky is blue. How did physicist Randall not know that? [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 20:26, 13 January 2025 (UTC)
:Randall is almost certainly a Superman fan, and we all know that Kryptonians get their powers from yellow suns. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:07, 13 January 2025 (UTC)
:Wikipedia disagrees; The Sun is a G-type main-sequence star (G2V), informally called a yellow dwarf, though its light is actually white. It formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of matter within a region of a large molecular cloud. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.23.87|172.71.23.87]] 20:43, 13 January 2025 (UTC)
::Your quote agrees with me. As @Starstar says below, it might be intentional on his part. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 20:53, 13 January 2025 (UTC)
::: No "his quote" doesn't?? (Unless I'm understanding your meaning with "his quote") Yes the sun is White. HOWEVER, it is NOT called a "white star". Stars aren't categorized by color but by tempeture. Which I mean I guess it sorta means their catagorized by color but thats being nitpicky. Our sun is 5,772 K, which according to wikipedia means its a class-G star which is known by the not nerds as a yellow dwarf. Being a physicist means Randell is VERY aware of the category of our Sun. Repeat, the Sun is called a "yellow dwarf", therefore is Ponytail said "white star", she'd be talking about a star that is 9000 K and therfor NOT our Sun. Seriously this was like a 5 minute google search. [[User:Apollo11|Apollo11]] ([[User talk:Apollo11|talk]]) 21:01, 13 January 2025 (UTC)
::: At any rate, I believe it plays into Ponytail just goofing around more than being precise [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 22:12, 13 January 2025 (UTC)
:Perhaps it is intentional? [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 20:36, 13 January 2025 (UTC)

Possible trivia: The effect used in the title text for "²³⁸Umbrella" does NOT use html formatting. It uses unicode for the almost-but-not-technically superscripted "238" before "Umbrella." On some systems, this renders with the "23" being larger than and slightly below the level of the "8". Whether Randall knew of this effect or not is a mystery. If he did know, his motivations are a mystery. Maybe the 8 is radioactive and emitted a non-massless particle, thereby making it smaller (less mass != less volume, but go with it here) and more buoyant (less weight) in the presence of the adjacent characters. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.227.105|198.41.227.105]] 21:19, 13 January 2025 (UTC)
:You can't use HTML markup in the title attribute, so there's no other way to do super/sub-scripting there. He could have used JavaScript to emulate the title attribute, though. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:38, 13 January 2025 (UTC)

What do people think of Hairstylist Wannabe's near-total rewrite of the explanation? While they added lots of technical details about radon, I think they missed much of the humor. Ponytail's comments are typical of the kind of things a home inspector or repair person will say to the owner, not really "flippant". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:48, 13 January 2025 (UTC)
:I like the facts but i changed the joke explantion back. [[User:Apollo11|Apollo11]] ([[User talk:Apollo11|talk]]) 22:07, 13 January 2025 (UTC)
:The rewrite has waaaaay too much detail. This site is for explaining what's going on in a comic, not repeating everything you know that's related, however remotely, to the comic. Just add wikilinks to things! Like, do we really need to have repeated here how much 238U the Earth contains? How much radiation one experiences from uranium? I vote to remove a lot of the detail and just explain the comic. [[User:DKMell|DKMell]] ([[User talk:DKMell|talk]]) 23:45, 13 January 2025 (UTC)

Possible trivia: 238 Umbrella is a common weight for a patio umbrella stand. {{unsigned|TallJason|22:53, 13 January 2025}}

I started to write another paragraph:
:The primary reason why the radon is considered more deadly than the original uranium (and thorium) is its nature as a heavy gas; the earlier states of decay remain stuck in the original rock, interstitially, whereas radon more freely leaches out. This quickly disperses to extremely diluted levels in the open air but, being a gas that is denser than air, it can accumulate to low (but potentially significant) levels in a cellar or basement, having few natural air-currents to drive the heavier gas atoms out of the sump in which the radon sits. Although each atom does not last long in this state, the resulting polonium, bismuth or lead atoms (all being isotopes that are themselves radioactive) ''can'' find themselves drifting as dust particles initially (and, after settling, easily disturbed), with the potential
...but it got out of hand. Was going to edit it down (and correct anything I'd accidentally mispoken/misedited/ispunctuated, in the initial fervour) when I'd finished, but I've got to go somewhere, so leaving it as possible inspiration for someone else to use/ignore/tear part/whatever. Have fun. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.92|172.68.205.92]] 23:50, 13 January 2025 (UTC)
: "possible inspiration for someone else" Good stuff, but surely it already exists (without xkcd context) many other places? Can be just linked? [[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 02:33, 14 January 2025 (UTC)

I thought, the title text was a reference to nuclear umbrella. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.200|172.68.50.200]] 07:45, 14 January 2025 (UTC)

"This process will render the Earth uninhabitable for humans within approximately 5 billion years." That seems very optimistic. Isn't it more like 1 billion years? --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 10:05, 14 January 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3026: Linear Sort

2024-12-19T18:04:42Z

172.69.43.182:

First in linear time![[User:Mr. I|Mr. I]] ([[User talk:Mr. I|talk]]) 13:28, 18 December 2024 (UTC)

Due to the fact that O(nlog(n)) outgrows O(n), the Linear Sort is not actually linear. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.174.227|162.158.174.227]] 14:21, 18 December 2024 (UTC)
:If your sleep() function can handle negative arguments "correctly", then I guess it could work. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.91|162.158.91.91]] 16:27, 18 December 2024 (UTC)

That was fast... [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 15:35, 18 December 2024 (UTC)

Do I even want to know what Randall's thinking nowadays? [[User:Definitely Bill Cipher|⯅A dream demon⯅]] ([[User talk:Definitely Bill Cipher|talk]]) 16:02, 18 December 2024 (UTC)

The title text would be more correct if Randall used e.g. Timsort instead of Mergesort. They both have the same worst-case complexity O(n*log(n)), but the former is linear if the list was already in order, so best-case complexity is O(n). Mergesort COULD also be implemented this way, but its standard version is never linear. [[User:Bebidek|Bebidek]] ([[User talk:Bebidek|talk]]) 16:35, 18 December 2024 (UTC)

According to my estimates extrapolated from timing the sorting of 10 million random numbers on my computer, the break-even point where the algorithm becomes worse than linear is beyond the expected heat death of the universe. I did neglect the question of where to store the input array. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.35|162.158.154.35]] 16:37, 18 December 2024 (UTC)
:If the numbers being sorted are unique, each would need a fair number of bits to store. (Fair meaning that the time to do the comparison would be non-negligible.) If they aren't, you can just bucket-sort them in linear time. Since we're assuming absurdly large memory capacity. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.253|162.158.186.253]] 17:14, 18 December 2024 (UTC)

What system was the person writing the description using where Sleep(n) takes a parameter in whole seconds rather than the usual milliseconds? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.216.162|172.70.216.162]] 17:20, 18 December 2024 (UTC)
: First, I don't recognize the language, but sleep() takes seconds for python, C (et. al.), and no doubt many others. Second, the units don't have to be seconds, they just have to be whatever `TIME()` returns, and multiplicable by 1e6 to yield a "big enough" delay. Of course, no coefficient is big enough for this to actually be linear in theory for any size list, so who cares? To be truly accurate, sleep for `e^LENGTH(LIST)`, and it really won't much matter what the units are, as long as they're big enough for `SLEEP(e)` to exceed the difference in the time it takes to sort two items versus one item. Use a language-dependent coefficient as needed. [[User:Jlearman|Jlearman]] ([[User talk:Jlearman|talk]]) 18:02, 18 December 2024 (UTC)
: Usual where, is that the Windows API? The sleep function in the POSIX standard takes seconds. See https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man3/sleep.3.html . [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.194|162.158.62.194]] 18:57, 18 December 2024 (UTC)

If I had a nickel for every time I saw an O(n) sorting algorithm using "sleep"… But this one is actually different. The one I usually see feeds the to-be-sorted value into the sleep function, so it schedules "10" to be printed in 10 seconds, then schedules "3" to be printed in 3 seconds, etc., which would theoretically be linear time, if the sleep function was magic. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 17:25, 18 December 2024 (UTC)

This comic also critiques/points out the pitfalls of measuring time complexity using Big-O notation, such as an algorithm or solution that runs in linear time still being too slow for its intended use case. [[User:Sophon|Sophon]] ([[User talk:Sophon|talk]]) 17:46, 18 December 2024 (UTC)

Current text is incorrect, but I'm not sure how best to express the correction -- there do exist O(n) sorting algorithms, they're just not general-purpose, since they don't work with an arbitrary comparison function. See [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counting_sort counting sort]. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.151|172.69.134.151]] 18:25, 18 December 2024 (UTC)

Hi! I'm just gonna say this before everyone leaves and goes on their merry way. Significant comic numbers coming soon:
Comics 3100, 3200, 3300, etc, Comic 3094 (The total number of frames in 'time'), Comic 4000, Comic Whatever the next April fools day comic will be, and Comic 4096. Wait for it...[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]] ([[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al|talk]]) 20:42, 18 December 2024 (UTC)
:Comic 3141.592654[[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.144|172.70.163.144]] 09:16, 19 December 2024 (UTC)

As everyone observed, the stated algorithm is not theoretically linear, but only practically linear (in that the time and space to detect O(n log n) exceeds reasonable (time, space) bounds for this universe). Munroe's solution is much deeper than that though - it trivially generalises to a _constant_ O(1) bound. [run a sort algorithm, wait 20 years, give the answer]. That's the preferred way of repaying loans, too. {{unsigned ip|172.69.195.27|21:46, 18 December 2024 (UTC)}}

Continues comic 3017's theme of worst-case optimization. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.207.115|172.70.207.115]] 00:32, 19 December 2024 (UTC)

It looks as though this function does not actually do the sort in Linear Time, it only returns in Linear Time.
The MERGESORT Function itself looks to only take one parameter and does not have an obvious return value indicating that it performs an in-place sort on the input mutable list.
This means that the list is sorted at the speed of the MERGESORT function, but flow control is only returned after Linear Time.
For a single threaded program calling this function there is no practical difference, but it would make a difference if some other thread was concurrently querying the list.
A clearer linear time sort might look like this:

function LinearSort(list):
StartTime=Time()
SortedList=MergeSort(list)
Sleep(1e6*length(list)-(Time()-StartTime))
return SortedList

Leon {{unsigned ip|172.70.162.70|17:31, 19 December 2024}}
:There's such a thing as pass-by-reference, variously implemented depending upon the actual programming language used. It's even possible to accept both ''list'' (non-reference, to force a return of ''sorted_list'') and ''listRef'' (returns nothing, or perhaps a result such as ''number_of_shuffles made''), for added usefulness, though of course that'd need even more pseudocode to describe. For the above/comic pseudocode, it's not so arbitrary that a programmer shouldn't know how to implement it in their instance.
:I might even set about to do something like use a SetStartTime() and CheckElapsedTime() funtion, if there's possible use; the former making a persistant (private variable) note of what =Time() it is, perhaps to an arbitrary record scoped to any parameterID it is supplied, and the latter returning the 'now' time minus the stored (default or explicitly IDed) moment of record. I could then have freely pseudocoded the extant outline in even briefer format, on the understanding what these two poke/peek functions are. Which is already left open to the imagination for MergeSort(). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.182|172.69.43.182]] 18:04, 19 December 2024 (UTC)

There are situations where you want to return in O(1) time or some other time that is not dependent on the input data to prevent side-channel data leaks. While the run-time of Randall's "O(n)" algorithm has an obvious dependencies on the input data, using the "Randall Algorithm" to obscure a different algorithm can reduce the side-channel opportunities. A more sure-fire way would be to have the algorithm return in precisely i seconds, where i is the number of seconds between now and the heat death of the universe. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.167.89|172.71.167.89]] 17:49, 19 December 2024 (UTC)

User talk:42.book.addict

2024-12-19T17:18:32Z

172.69.43.182: /* Congrats */

<center>'''Archive 1'''</center>
<center>[[File:archive.png]]</center>
<center>For old and irrelevant messages, see my [[User talk:42.book.addict/archive|archive!]]</center>

== introductions ==
Just replying to your message (also dw no big deal for bothering me)
You click on your username and there should be an edit box. --[[User:1234231587678|1234231587678]] ([[User talk:1234231587678|talk]]) 04:58, 7 February 2024 (UTC)
:it says that i dont have permission to create the page…
:There is currently no text in this page. You can search for this page title in other pages, or search the related logs, but you do not have permission to create this page. it says [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 19:33, 7 February 2024 (UTC)

I think you might have to wait some time (like a timer) until you can edit your own page... I think I only got to edit my page after 1 month of creating my account.--[[User:1234231587678|1234231587678]] ([[User talk:1234231587678|talk]]) 21:31, 7 February 2024 (UTC)
:ok, thx [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 21:52, 7 February 2024 (UTC)

My guess on where you live is somewhere in the GMT zone, so United Kingdom.--[[User:1234231587678|1234231587678]] ([[User talk:1234231587678|talk]]) 03:43, 8 February 2024 (UTC)
:nope, im a california girl :) ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 05:04, 8 February 2024 (UTC)

lol you never know with utc times --[[User:1234231587678|1234231587678]] ([[User talk:1234231587678|talk]]) 16:52, 8 February 2024 (UTC)

== Depends what you wanted to do... ==

Is the following what you intended? 
{{Userbox | border-c = #255 | border-s = 1 | info-s = 9 | id = [[File:trans_flag.png|45px]] | info = [[{{w|Transgender|This user is trans.}}]] | float = left }} 
{{clear}}...or is even the [[]] part not what you want?{{clear}}
{{Userbox | border-c = #255 | border-s = 1 | info-s = 9 | id = [[File:trans_flag.png|45px]] | info = {{w|Transgender|This user is trans.}} | float = left }} 
{{clear}}As brief a guide as I can manage:
*URL links use []. Although literal https://www.google.com will self-link without ''any'' wikimarkup, you probably don't want it to look like that most of the time.
** Just give the URL, as in <code><nowiki>[https://www.google.com]</nowiki></code>, to get a [https://www.google.com] (i.e. a reference number), not the best way to do it. It can be organised better with a 'References' section, but we don't do that here (they do on wikipedia, but usually with other bits to it.
** Better to give the URL and the text to use (after a space, a character that never appears raw in any proper URL). This can be <code><nowiki>[https://www.google.com Check It Out On Google!]</nowiki></code> or even <code><nowiki>[https://www.google.com https://www.microsoft.com (only kidding!)]</nowiki></code>, to give [https://www.google.com Check It Out On Google!] or [https://www.google.com https://www.microsoft.com (only kidding!)]... But perhaps best not to do the latter too much (I really didn't want to post that without the "(only kidding!)" part, in fact.)
*Internalised wikilinks use the [[]]s.
**Anything that can be found under the title, e.g. "2: Petit Trees (sketch)" (or, because of redirections, "2" and "Petit Trees (sketch)" go to the same spot, so <code><nowiki>[[2]], [[Petit Trees (sketch)]] and [[2: Petit Trees (sketch)]]</nowiki></code> gives you the literal links [[2]], [[Petit Trees (sketch)]] and [[2: Petit Trees (sketch)]]
**Or use <code><nowiki>[[2: Petit Trees (sketch)|that comic with the little trees]]</nowiki></code>, additional text separated by the 'pipe' symbol (i.e. "|"), to link to [[2: Petit Trees (sketch)|that comic with the little trees]]
**You can also link across to articles on other 'wikimedia family' sites, but I'm not going to try to summarise that, as the primary reason to do that is to go to an actual Wikipedia article, and there's a template set up to do that ''very'' nicely, already (and also a few other places, like Wiktionary, and some not-really-wikis with a similar philosphy like TVTropes). If in doubt, do it as a URL link ''or'' find a place where someone else has clearly markuped a link to the same site as you want to link to.
*So, anyway, Wikilink templates use the {{template|w}}-template, with one or two paramaters (pipe-separated). (It shortcuts the thing you'd maybe use [[]]s for
**Using <code><nowiki>{{w|article}}</nowiki></code> gives you a link to "{{w|Article}}" (it capitalises the first character, even if you don't)
**Using <code><nowiki>{{w|article|with alternate text}}</nowiki></code> gives you a link there but "{{w|article|with alternate text}}"
**If the article name has whitespace (or other 'URL-unfriendly' characters) in it, those characters in the URL (which you wouldn't want to use) will be rendered as something URL-friendly. The URL for "Whitespace (programming language)", for example, is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitespace_(programming_language) but you wouldn't normally use that so literally in any case, and definitely not when you can significanty shorten it with the {{template|w}} notation.
***What you can do is (without 'alternate link text') render it as <code><nowiki>{{w|Whitespace_(programming_language)}}</nowiki></code> - i.e. {{w|Whitespace_(programming_language)}} - but that's not nice to see 'rendered raw' when you ''want'' the spaces. You could give it alternate text via <code><nowiki>{{w|Whitespace_(programming_language)|Whitespace (programming language)}}</nowiki></code> to give {{w|Whitespace_(programming_language)|Whitespace (programming language)}} ...but that's wasteful and unnecessary.
***Instead, just do <code><nowiki>{{w|Whitespace (programming language)}}</nowiki></code> (that's the literal copy of the article's own page title, from the rendered page) - and shows as {{w|Whitespace (programming language)}} - which is good. Although <code><nowiki>{{w|Whitespace (programming language)|the programming language called Whitespace}}</nowiki></code> might be the best way to seemlessly link to {{w|Whitespace (programming language)|the programming language called Whitespace}} ...depends what you want to appear there.
***And you can link to header anchors pretty much ''like'' the URL of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitespace_(programming_language)#History by using <code><nowiki>{{w|Whitespace (programming language)#History|the history of Whitespace}}</nowiki></code> to have you show {{w|Whitespace (programming language)#History|the history of Whitespace}} or whatever else you might want to use.
**Also, for the use of a link which is singular but which you would like to include as the plural (usually the "...s" or "...es" version), you could use article-name first parameter and ''pluralised'' article name as second, but instead of <code><nowiki>{{w|Plural|Plurals}}</nowiki></code>, for a link to the {{w|Plural|Plurals}}, you can save yourself a lot of effort by doing <code><nowiki>{{w|Plural}}s</nowiki></code> to also give you a linke to {{w|Plural}}s. Magic, eh? And it also works with <code><nowiki>{{w|Ox}}en</nowiki></code> to link the different standard plural of {{w|Ox}}en to the article for "Ox" (better than linking to the word for {{w|Oxen}}, which ends up redirecting to {{w|Ox}} anyway).
...so, anyway, that's the basics. And a few not-so-basics. So if the solutions to your tagging issue aren't already solved (or even if they are!), you might have enough info here to kludge it into whatever form of infobox info text you ''really'' wanted to use. Ok? Probably far too much info for you to absorb in one go, but covers loads of interesting possibilities. About the only thing you don't want to do is wikilink straight to the word "trans", at that'll be a disambiguation page. And there's also no way (or reason?) to use the terms "trans man"/"trans woman" as the pluralised "trans men"/"trans women" versions via the "directly add the plural suffix" thing, of course. :P Anyway, FYI. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.217|162.158.38.217]] 20:40, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
::oh my god thank you so much [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 19:38, 27 May 2024 (UTC)

== Welcome back, Tori! ==

How's life? [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 18:47, 1 December 2024 (UTC)
:Eh, it’s fine. I just came back from New York on a ''very'' stressful flight-missed the original one, did my Language Arts homework on the flight, and came back to California at 2 am. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 16:26, 2 December 2024 (UTC)

== Comics with inverted brightness. ==

At the most arbitrary, I'd suggest that, just maybe, ''panes'' with inverted brightness fulfil the category requirements, or perhaps a bit of white text because it happens to be written on a more shaded bit of background, but I'm unsure that the {{diff|358698|lavatory signs}} strictly invoke inverted brightness (if real signs exist that are light-on-dark, which at least some of them are, this makes it an ''un''inverted depiction of one of them), and I'm unhappy with your (presumed) linking of this category for a {{diff|358691|tree silhouette}} (it shows the perfectly cromulant situation of bright sky behind a relatively dark tree, again not inverted, merely drawn for contrast).

An interesting example is something like [[811: Starlight]]. The stars (white spots on floodfilled black background) really shouldn't be considered inverted (black stars on white sky would be inverted; it's only that the category specifically mentions night ''and'' space scenes makes it valid from that perspective), but the text and stickfigures/etc ''are'' definitely inverted (all due to the background they're on).

It's just my opinion, but I don't think that any patch of black-floodfill (especially in just a fraction of a pane or two, within an otherwise normal multi-pane comic) around a white detail is automatically ripe for marking as inverted. I'll reluctantly accept "night sky" or "space" (but only with stars... no "entirely featureless black, through a window/porthole") as cause for being classed as Inverted, due to the category explanation. But feel that the true "inversion" is where there is [[566: Matrix Revisited|pane inversion]] which results in white text and/or (character) stickfigures upon black background as a definite contrast to 'normality'. Before you go too far with HotCatting some things that I'd feel compelled to revert (as I'm very tempted with the tree silhouette, and almost certain I should with the Gents-signs, for example...). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.119|141.101.98.119]] 19:12, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

==Hey again, I know we have some bad blood but...==
Hey 42, it's Z1m. I know we haven't seen each other in a while (who am I kidding, it's a wiki; I meant talked) Can you do the little welcome thing so I can edit my talk page? Thanks! [[User:Maybe Bill Cipher|An anonymous Gravity Falls expert]] ([[User talk:Maybe Bill Cipher|talk]]) 19:26, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
:Why can’t you use your old account? '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 21:38, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
::I forgot my pass :skull: [[User:Maybe Bill Cipher|An anonymous Gravity Falls expert]] ([[User talk:Maybe Bill Cipher|talk]]) 22:33, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
:::SMH. Done. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 22:37, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
::::Thanks! [[User:Maybe Bill Cipher|An anonymous Gravity Falls expert]] ([[User talk:Maybe Bill Cipher|talk]]) 22:42, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

==I FORGOT MY PASS AGAIN ASDFGHJK<SAHFJEWIUBEIUWDBHIVHJ==
Help :( [[User:Definitely Bill Cipher|Help I'm not OK]] ([[User talk:Definitely Bill Cipher|talk]]) 18:49, 13 December 2024 (UTC)
:''sigh'' '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 19:41, 13 December 2024 (UTC)
:I KNOW I'M A DINGUS DON'T LOOK AT ME LEAV EME TO MY BASIC YELLOW DORITO SHAME [[User:Definitely Bill Cipher|Do not click on this link if you wish to keep your soul]] ([[User talk:Definitely Bill Cipher|talk]])

==Hi (3==
Sorry if I'm bothering you too much, just wanted to say hi. {{unsigned|Definitely Bill Cipher|15:19, 17 December 2024 (UTC)}}
:Please sign your comments with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 16:05, 17 December 2024 (UTC)
::Sorry [[User:Definitely Bill Cipher|A dream demon]] ([[User talk:Definitely Bill Cipher|talk]]) 19:10, 17 December 2024 (UTC)
:::It’s fine, as long as you remember. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 20:51, 17 December 2024 (UTC)
::::So, uh... do you wanna take this to my talk page and we can talk or... [[User:Definitely Bill Cipher|A dream demon]] ([[User talk:Definitely Bill Cipher|talk]]) 21:18, 17 December 2024 (UTC)

==Congrats==
:I checked and you're the contributor today that has made the most edits. I'm on the leaderboard too, but not in the top three *0(*. Anyway, I just wanted to congratulate you. Talk to me anytime! [[User:Definitely Bill Cipher|⯅A dream demon⯅]] ([[User talk:Definitely Bill Cipher|talk]]) 15:52, 19 December 2024 (UTC)
:Ok, that’s nice. I’ve stopped viewing Contribution Scores as a measurement of my editing ability-it only measures how many points and how many pages I have edited, not the quality of my edits or how much of an impact they have on the wiki. A bot can spam and get onto the All-Time Top 50 Leaderboard, but that's not reflective of its helpfulness (none). '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 16:49, 19 December 2024 (UTC)
:I remain free from all such objectivity by staying firmly off the list. I ''could'' flatter myself that I deserve a place, for all my (useful?) work over the last 10+ years, but... no definitive tallying and I don't even fool myself that this statement can be believed. Which is liberating. No temptation to "edit for editing's sake", and remaining blissfully unaware how much time I must have spent not doing ''other'' important things. But that's just me (assuming you accept my account), and please don't consider this as downplaying the known-and-named contributors (current and past) who have made a more attributable contribution. Horses for courses. You (both) be you, and who knows where any of us might be in another ten years; hopefully managing to create a net positive outcome for the world, as the only thing that ''anybody'' should aspire to.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.182|172.69.43.182]] 17:18, 19 December 2024 (UTC)

3026: Linear Sort

2024-12-19T16:57:53Z

172.69.43.182: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3026
| date = December 18, 2024
| title = Linear Sort
| image = linear_sort_2x.png
| imagesize = 385x181px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The best case is O(n), and the worst case is that someone checks why.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created in Θ(N) TIME by an iterative Insertion Sorter working on a multidimensional array - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A common task in programming is to sort a list, a list being a collection of related elements of data that are stored in a linear fashion. There are dozens of algorithms that have been created for this through the years, from simple to complex, and each has its own merits with regards to how easy it is to understand / implement, how much space it uses, and how efficiently it operates on the data.

In computer science, the runtime of an algorithm can be described using {{w|Big O Notation}}, which categorises the asymptotic, usually average, runtime (''O'') of a function of the number of elements (''n'') operated on (''f(n)'') as it grows larger and larger towards infinity; this creates the form O(''f''(''n'')) as the final description. Being asymptotic means that Big O Notation only considers parts of the function that scale with time and disregards fixed changes such as multipliers and additions to the scaling time ( 'lesser' scalings are also generally discarded). O(2''n'') is essentially O(''n''), while O(2''n'' + ''n''2) might be taken as O(2''n'') with the significance of ''n''2 practically eclipse in the long term. In practice, an O(''n'') algorithm takes a constant additional amount of time per element operated on, O(log ''n'') suffers less relative increase as the input complexity does, while O(''n''{{w|Factorial|!}}) generates vastly more! This does not make claims about how much time a single base unit of complexity takes to complete (including any lesser overheads), as that relies upon actual hardware and software benchmarks, but it gives the trend in a way that is usually directly comparable between any number of alternate methods implementable in exactly the same situation for an arbitrary usage case. A simple example would be examining pictures in sequence: if it takes one second to look at a picture, it would take ten seconds to look at ten pictures; if it took three seconds to look at a picture, it would take thirty seconds to look at ten pictures — both are described as O(''n'').

Generally, programmers seek to minimize the Big O Notation of their algorithms because it means they take less time. It can be proven that all general-purpose sorting methods have an average-case lower bound of {{w|Big O notation#Big Omega notation|Ω}}(''n'' log ''n'') for all possible input orders; since this is larger than ''n'' on its own, it means that algorithms will always begin to take longer per element as the number of elements increases. This still depends upon the algorithm and the data, as something like an {{w|Insertion sort}} can work in O(''n'') time if given a list already in the correct order, or O(''n''2) if it needs to be reversed.

Here are some examples of common runtimes expressed in Big O notation, from smallest to largest:
<ul><li>O(1) - Constant time, which means the execution time is independent of the size of the data</li>
<li>O(''n'') - Linear time, which means the execution time grows in direct proportion to the size of the data</li>
<li>O(''n'' log(''n'')) - The execution time grows proportionally to ''n'' * the {{w|logarithm}} of ''n'', with the added ''log(n)'' creating an increasingly larger multiplier on the runtime</li>
<li>O(''n''2) - Quadratic time, meaning the execution time grows proportionally to the ''square'' of the size of the data.</li></ul>

The code in the comic describes a 'linear' sort that first sorts the list using {{w|merge sort}}, which is known to take time O(''n'' log(''n'')), and then `sleep()`s (pauses with no activity) for a complementary amount of time by subtracting the time taken for the sort from the number of elements multiplied by 1 million (1e6) seconds. This way, the total time always scales proportionately with the number of elements. This effectively converts the algorithm, through brute force, to fit the definition of linear time: it takes one million seconds — which is more than 11 days — per element, rather than a non-linear progression as the number of elements increases. Although this algorithm ''does'' run in O(''n''), it does not reflect that it is made to be significantly slower than the nominally 'worse' O(''n'' log(''n'')) performance that the embedded sort takes by itself.

It should be noted that for sufficiently large lists, the merge sort will take longer than the million seconds per element, which results in a negative value being passed to the sleep() function. This might halt the program with a runtime error, produce {{w|Integer overflow#Definition variations and ambiguity|unpredictably extra-long}} additional waits or skip any additional wait; all of these still leaving the issue of already having exceeded O(''n''). However, this issue will only arise for impossibly huge lists: if, for instance, a merge sort took ''n log(n)'' microseconds to complete (which would be considered slow, by today's typical processing times), then the comic's 'linear' sort target would be reached sooner only for lists longer than 21,000,000,000,000 ≈ 10300,000,000,000 elements — a number far larger than the number of atoms in the universe. The practical impossibility of this outcome might be why such a ridiculously high number of seconds was chosen.

The title text refers to the {{w|Best, worst and average case|best and worst case}} of a sort, which are additional measures of its runtime to describe the shortest and longest potential times. A more optimal sort may decide how much of a list needs to be passed over again after its first pass of shuffling elements around; scanning a pre-sorted list (and deducing that it has no more checking to do) could mean that no more effort is needed, resulting in a best case of O(''n''). Depending upon the algorithm, presenting a list that is in an ordering that happens to challenge it the most (such as exactly reversed) may mean even an 'average O(''n'' log ''n'')' process would have to exceed this, resulting in a worst-case number of operations that may be O(''n2''). It can be very useful to know that a given sorting method ''may'' take the average order of time, but have the possibility of a much shorter ''or'' longer runtime... especially when the method is expected to be [[1185: Ineffective Sorts|far, far worse than others]], where only particular and more idealistic input lets it approach the more satisfyingly fast average/best responses.

By forcing all practical searches to take O(''n'') time, regardless of how otherwise identical data is presorted, the best case (and worst case, for that matter) will also be O(''n''). The last part of the text then plays on another meaning of best case and worst case, as best- and {{w|worst-case scenario}}s for a situation, by saying that the worst outcome for the code's author is when someone decides to investigate the code (perhaps owing to its absurd runtime, or else just justifiably skeptical of the declared optimality), whereupon that investigator will discover the deception and ruin the author's reputation.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[The panel shows five lines of code:]
:function LinearSort(list):
::StartTime=Time()
::MergeSort(list)
::Sleep(1e6*length(list)-(Time()-StartTime))
::return

:[Caption below the panel:]
:How to sort a list in linear time

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Programming]]

Talk:3025: Phase Change

2024-12-17T17:59:17Z

172.69.43.182:

Baba is First. [[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 17:02, 16 December 2024 (UTC)
:what [[User:Rustykid52|Rustykid52]] ([[User talk:Rustykid52|talk]]) 16:26, 17 December 2024 (UTC)
Thanks Randall, I hate it. 😊 [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 18:07, 16 December 2024 (UTC)

Oi, why was my transcript deleted? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.64|172.69.134.64]] 21:52, 16 December 2024 (UTC)
:It’s been restored. Maybe pop a message to Apollo11 if you want an explanation from him? '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 23:01, 16 December 2024 (UTC)

The comic may have been inspired by the Ologies podcast episode on mnemologie part one posted on December the fourth. There Dr. Michael Yassa exblains the effect. {{unsigned ip|162.158.111.86|00:57, 17 December 2024}}

For water vapour we use fushu. From r/linguisticshumor {{unsigned ip|172.69.165.2|01:01, 17 December 2024}}

About the phrase 'as can the sound of the word "water" itself [being "soft and round"]' - "Water" is a mix, the beginning and end are "soft/round" but the middle is quite "hard/sharp." [[Special:Contributions/172.71.170.109|172.71.170.109]] 15:01, 17 December 2024 (UTC)
:Depends. It's only fairly sharp in my accent, and virtually gone in other dialectical variations. And even at its 'hardest', it can be likened to the pitter-pat of rain on a surface (hard surface, yes, but much 'softer' rain). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.182|172.69.43.182]] 17:59, 17 December 2024 (UTC)

I think that this also relates to a nonsense shape theory (ex, the bouba kiki theory, to be exact) but I'm not entirely sure... [[User:Definitely Bill Cipher|A dream demon]] ([[User talk:Definitely Bill Cipher|talk]]) 15:16, 17 December 2024 (UTC)
:I don't know if you trying to say exactly what (part of) the article already says, or something different that I don't understand. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.182|172.69.43.182]] 17:59, 17 December 2024 (UTC)

User talk:Theusaf

2024-12-17T17:42:25Z

172.69.43.182: /* >:( */

Hello world [[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 05:10, 18 August 2021 (UTC)

==[[User:TheusafBOT]]==
Hi Theusaf. Great with the bot. And sorry I made the error of claiming that 2x image should be used. this was a mistake. So if you see this please change the bot so it does use the normal sized image and do not put an image size in the header field. It caused confusion and is not like all the other comics. I take the blame, but would love you bot to work proper. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:34, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
:Got it. [[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 15:53, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
::Great. Thanks for fixing this now that DGBRT seems to have left explain xkcd. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:09, 24 August 2021 (UTC)

Update: Great with the new feature of [[User:TheusafBOT]], so it helps with reverting spam. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:42, 31 July 2022 (UTC)

==Nice job==
Nice bot! --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 00:28, 7 November 2021 (UTC)

==Thanks for helping with images for the countdown==
Thanks for helping with [[Countdown in header text/images|images for the countdown]]. Was afraid I was alone on that ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:11, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
:No problem! [[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 18:31, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
::Seems like we will be the one to do it though ;-) Just added two more up to 33. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:42, 15 January 2022 (UTC)

Hey Theusaf!
Were you the one that made the kahoot winner thing?
[[User:Wafflefly21|Wafflefly21]] ([[User talk:Wafflefly21|talk]]) 01:28, 4 May 2022 (UTC)
:That is correct. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 21:16, 5 May 2022 (UTC)

== Nomination ==

See [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Coordination#New_admins]] '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:08, 8 May 2022 (UTC)

== Common.js Changes ==
You know, we could set up a script to block keywords from editing, like AbuseFilter. I'm not sure if we could make it performant and guarantee no false positives.

Actually, could we just up and add AbuseFilter?

[[User:Jacky720|That's right, Jacky720 just signed this]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|contribs]]) 22:24, 23 May 2022 (UTC)
:It would be great if we could enable it, but that requires direct access to the server, which AFAIK, only Jeff can do. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 22:26, 23 May 2022 (UTC)
:: Ah, alright. Do you think the script could work without messing people up? We would need to avoid edge cases like the word being used legitimately... maybe detect if there are two in a row and that it isn't the entirety of the page content. [[User:Jacky720|Jack]], currently rethinking his overly long signature ([[User talk:Jacky720|t]]|[[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|c]]) 22:30, 23 May 2022 (UTC)
:::That is true, it needs to take into account legitimate usage. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 23:04, 23 May 2022 (UTC)
::::Does the new code's regex somehow match the crap or something? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.105|172.70.130.105]] 23:50, 23 May 2022 (UTC)
::::: <s>No, it just makes one of the elements nonfunctional for a half-second 50% of the time. It throttles edits but doesn't block them. And we can't make it a real throttle, like just failing to edit if too many edits are made too fast, without more API use than we know.</s> [[User:Jacky720|Jack]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|t]]|[[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|c]]) 00:27, 24 May 2022 (UTC)
::::: Oh, no, theusaf changed it. Now it picks a random word in the article and refuses to put the edit through if more than 60% of the article is that same word. Not foolproof, but it's going to require some adaptation I don't know if our script kiddie is up to.
::::: ... Did I just jinx it? [[User:Jacky720|Jack]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|t]]|[[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|c]]) 00:33, 24 May 2022 (UTC)
:::::: I think we're dealing with more than a script kiddie. (S)he/they ha(s/ve) been adapting to previous antivandalbot changes/code. I think (s)he/they will do the same for this. Just a constant game of cat and mouse, unfortunately. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.195|172.70.130.195]] 00:40, 24 May 2022 (UTC)

== Anticrap doesn't work ==

Seems that the click attribute of the save button isn't what's causing the form to submit. We could just delete all the IDs of the elements, thus making them harder to reference by script? --[[User:Jacky720|Jack]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|t]]|[[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|c]]) 21:12, 24 May 2022 (UTC)
:The two craps I reverted were from IPs, so they seem to have been done manually. The bot only works for logged-in autoconfirmed users. [[User:Anticrap|Anticrap]] ([[User talk:Anticrap|talk]]) 21:49, 24 May 2022 (UTC)
:: Still, the script is designed to block all crapping in the UI. Since the bot is basically a UI selfbot, it shows that it won't work when another autoconfirmed account crops up. --[[User:Jacky720|Jack]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|t]]|[[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|c]]) 21:53, 24 May 2022 (UTC)
:::Oh yeah, you're right. BTW, I just decrapped four more pages that got crapped. My guess is that the crapper doesn't have any autoconfirmed accounts now (thanks for blocking those BTW), so (s)he's/they're doing some manual crapping while (s)he/they wait(s) for an account to be old enough. [[User:Anticrap|Anticrap]] ([[User talk:Anticrap|talk]]) 22:02, 24 May 2022 (UTC)

== Please disable autoblock on [[User:Donald Trump]] ==

A couple times, I've been assigned the same IP as one of the ones the crapper was assigned, and had to try several times to save edits. [[User:Anticrap|Anticrap]] ([[User talk:Anticrap|talk]]) 20:13, 26 May 2022 (UTC)
:Done —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 20:18, 26 May 2022 (UTC)
:It would help if Anticrap was most likely not an account also being used by the crapper themself (and therefore habitually uses the very same Cloudflare portal and thus possible IP range). So many clues to suggest this, even before 'Donald' basically admitted it. Anyway, if you're reading this, Anticrap, and you recognise the truth of this, I've left a comment about 'playing the villain' at the end of the Talk discussion of the now blocked account. Consider it, if it is indeed applicable. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 21:02, 26 May 2022 (UTC)
::May I ask what evidence you have that Anticrap is the troll? [[User:Vandalbane|Vandalbane]] ([[User talk:Vandalbane|talk]]) 21:08, 26 May 2022 (UTC)
:::A few little things. Individually not enough to worry about. But we can start with a occasions when just ''two'' "crappings" were made (very out of character for the Crapper, who by that point was more than willing to mass-Crap either by user-script or just by personal effort on anonymous login) and then within 4 minutes (within 2 minutes, in one pair of cases, I think) Anticrap lived up to their name.
:::Possibly very lucky (and the Crapper's heart also wasn't in it), but it wasn't just the one instance.
:::The suggestions and insights Anticrap has made also seem a little off, especially in light of this. And it was soon after Anticrap learnt how to use the one-click-revert (for the purpose intended) that so did the next incarnation of Crapper.
:::If I am wrong - and I invite you to consider this yourself, I know I've no provable authority - then I apologise to you, Anticrap, but you find yourself in the middle of a whole lot of of 'obvious' paranoia-inducing coincidences. Your revelation of IP-sharing was just the icing on the already very well baked cake.
:::(Noting that I already made a slightly obscure note of this in our little mutual discussion about Vista, the other day, and that was before several further indications intensified my opinion on this. I won't give clues to some of these things, but noting that "I don't want to help the Crapper" is a phrase I used before and also crept into Anticrap's submitted text. Thank you for paying attention to me, if that's what happened, I'm truly gratified.)
:::Oh, and I'm also not calling for Anticrap to be banned/blocked. I'm just asking them to continue to be the (mostly) white-hat user they have tried to be, and appealing for ''whoever'' is the black-hat vandaliser to just not make things worse again under whatever new guises they are tempted to use. I'm a tolerant person. "Hate the sin, love the sinner," you might say. But with 'Donald' being so frank, I'm more convinced of the link than ever.
:::HTH, HAND. FYI, YMMV. TTFN. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.44|172.70.86.44]] 21:56, 26 May 2022 (UTC)
::::I think your evidence is quite convincing. I agree we should trust them unless we have a reason not to, but I can see why you're suspicious of them. This makes me wonder if the Anticrap account is their "good hand" account they mentioned. Lastly, I agree we shouldn't help the crapper, nor should we feed the trolls, but I do feel like the wiki team needs a secure place to discuss sensitive matters. [[User:Vandalbane|Vandalbane]] ([[User talk:Vandalbane|talk]]) 22:13, 26 May 2022 (UTC)
:::::What "suggestions and insights" are you referring to? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.47|172.70.178.47]] 00:29, 27 May 2022 (UTC)

== Bot down ==
Hello! Since [[2631: Exercise Progression]], the bot seems to have not created the page and the three since then have been manually made. I was wondering if that was a problem with the bot, or if I simply created the Exercise Progression page before the bot could and messed it up. I did wait a bit before starting, so I think the bot might've hit some sort of error (: [[User:Char Latte49|Wielder of the Staple Gun]] ([[User talk:Char Latte49|talk]]) 14:15, 15 June 2022 (UTC)
:Yes seems like the bot is down. Are you there Theusaf? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:36, 15 June 2022 (UTC)
::The bot should be back up now. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 17:21, 15 June 2022 (UTC)
:::Thank you! [[User:Char Latte49|Char Latte]] ([[User talk:Char Latte49|talk]]) 15:02, 16 June 2022 (UTC)
::::Great, yes thanks. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:46, 17 June 2022 (UTC)

== Site convention ==

I didn't notice until after another edit of mine (to [[1388]]), but my attempted revert of the Title-Text-added-to-Transcript had obviously been preceded by your own. I must have missed the "It has been changed..." note, while I was pondering another edit (that I then did) to the main text.

However, that meant my Summary got lost, and I note that you didn't supply the detail. On the assumption that it's a genuine editor (very strange to be our current resident vandal, to do that, so I'm assuming good faith in the original attempt, and another random-looking comment got TitleText-Transcripted just recently, perhaps by the same unknowingly misguided IP-contributor) it might be a good idea to explain. I had put something like "Title Text is already mentioned beneath the comic image. Site Convention is that the Transcript only describes the image details not ready readily available for site-reader/text-search processing". (Actually, it was shorter than that, because of space limitations. Perhaps why you got your revert in... I was busy editing it to fit! :P)

I know there are regulars here (named and IP) who have expressed doubts about whether that's a ''good'' reason. An alternate use-case is that all Transcripts ''do'' go through the comic in great detail and also end with the 'meta'-text of the hovertext/whatever. But as (pretty much) none of them have it right now I'm very happy to support the no-Title-Text-in-Transcript standard. And have said so elsewhere, at other times (not that my voice carries weight).

But what I ''really'' meant to just say here is that the reason/'policy'/convention might need to be advertised a bit better, occasionally. At least before someone decides to 'correct' absolutely every Transcript (constructively, after a fashion, if not necessarily) because of some perceived need and some clear overabundance of time. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.34|172.70.86.34]] 14:49, 1 August 2022 (UTC)
:Yes, I agree. The reason I didn't provide detail in the revert was that I had clicked on the rollback button (which automatically undoes revisions with a default message) instead of the undo button. I'll try to be more careful in the future. Thanks! —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 15:27, 1 August 2022 (UTC)
::There is not a single transcript that have the title text, or if, so it is because of a mistake. If someone begins to do this it will be spotted, and said person will be told to stop and all his edits would be reverted. I have deleted some in my time, but not many. So I do not see this as a real issue. I'm the one that completes most of the transcript, making sure they follow same standard. Of course not all agree with this all the time, but there is a consistence across the comics. I have not been through all transcripts, but I would guess I have seen about 2/3. And one of the thing is that it should describe the picture both for blind/weak sighted people, and also for possible searching for items in the image. And then of-course all text in the image (any text) should be part of the actual transcript, not the description. No (active) links, no explanations and no title text. For sure it is best to write which changes we do, but if there are many changes done it is hard to write for all of them... You can check the [[Special:ContributionScores|number of edits]] I have made on these pages... most of any ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:50, 1 August 2022 (UTC)
:::Hi, yes (IP OP of this section, lest there be doubt). Because it is practically universal, unless any otherwise slipped in somehow, I'm vigorous in removing new examples. Two very recently (or one and the above where Theusaf got there before me), I think one a month or two ago, very infrequently otherwise but not unknown. And who knows how many where I never noticed behind "24 revisions, showing the latest state", because I aint checking ''every'' minute of the day... ;)
:::Of coirse, its a largely unwritten rule (or mentioned deep within Community Portal subsections and perhaps occasional Talk pages ...for a comic or otherwise) and just as we all sort of learnt (or, maybe for some, ''developed'') the conventions from our own reading and posting here, in our greener days, obviously we get new-bugs along who don't quite grasp things as we seem to have realised.
:::So my intent was to just say "Hey, you got there just before me, but maybe a reason would be good", just as a friendly note to another friendly person. But I inserted far too much side-commentary. Maybe you recognise my style, as 'that IP' who often does that! (Though it's not just me, I'm sure, so don't blame every anonymously meandering muse-out-loud on just myself!)
:::Note made, however. Only editing this in because both of you (worthy edktors/page-wrangle5s, both!) are now here. If any more notable commentators arrive, I think it'd he best taken out qnd plonked upon one or other Community Portal pages, naturally. ;P [[Special:Contributions/172.70.246.221|172.70.246.221]] 17:00, 1 August 2022 (UTC)

== Something for your autoreverter bot to look for? ==

https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk%3A2335%3A_Photo_Deposit&type=revision&diff=293007&oldid=289177

That's across several edits (this link-adder seems to always take several shots at trying to get the link to work how they want, unless it's an attempt to get past potential initial insertion-detections....) and I've reverted it in whole now. But as it's quite a pattern (the casino link... I'd have to search for past examples that were neutered, though, if you want the full range of possibilities) I was wondering if it was a good target for your 'bot.

FYI, anyway. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 21:01, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

(...also FYI, I undid [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=President&curid=14671&diff=293026&oldid=292152 another perrenial] ((And [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Facebook&curid=10895&diff=293029&oldid=222716 another one]], taking foreign text as its source, which I should have noticed earlier)). Actually, probably a perlunial or even more frequent. But as I've intruded into your Talk-space already, why not mention this too? ;) ) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.211|172.69.79.211]] 22:17, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

:Thanks for the report! I'll see if I can use these to improve what the bot detects as spam. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 04:57, 18 August 2022 (UTC)

::Success! ( https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Facebook&diff=293076&oldid=293075 ) Good work. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.128|172.70.91.128]] 12:37, 18 August 2022 (UTC)

An [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=214:_The_Problem_with_Wikipedia&curid=2047&diff=294127&oldid=291651 incompetent vandalism attempt] (currently reverted) clearly done after someone (our old 'friend'?) found themselves being so quickly foiled in two other edits, earlier today. Just a heads-up. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.19|162.158.159.19]] 20:25, 4 September 2022 (UTC)

I think I know why your 'bot didn't catch [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Facebook&diff=305025&oldid=305021 this one]... But for your consideration as to whether you can handle it better (without false positives)... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.127|172.70.91.127]] 17:24, 19 January 2023 (UTC)

== What is up with your bot? ==

https://i.imgur.com/I2vrwgI.png ?!? https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Admin_requests&curid=576&action=history [[Special:Contributions/172.71.146.73|172.71.146.73]] 07:41, 24 August 2022 (UTC)
:Sorry about that. It seems that the bot is a bit too loose with its spam detection. I'll look into the problem. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 16:07, 24 August 2022 (UTC)
::Done it [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Admin_requests&curid=576&diff=293417&oldid=292142 again]. I'm not the above IP, but I added to the quote-punctuation thing (long, rambly, personal opinion/interpretation) and I'm wondering if the <nowiki><tt></nowiki> (which I didn't use, but was submitted from the original as a section-edit) might have triggered the autorevert? And link I give is for the whole day-span of edits. Not sure why it suddenly doesn't like GWG's historic comment, etc, as well... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.221|172.70.85.221]]
:::It's mostly because there is discussion about spam on the page, so any edits to the page seems to trigger the bot. It looks like I didn't whitelist the page properly in the bot.
:::This should be fixed now. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 23:29, 24 August 2022 (UTC)
I think [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2003:_Presidential_Succession&diff=prev&oldid=294743 this edit] was overzealous, if I'm reading the change/reverted-prior correctly. Understandable. Single-word edits can be very malicious and I doubt your 'bot can recognise a legitimate grammatical/contextual edit so it probably just got caught in your detection-net's particular 'mesh', the details of which I imagine you understand better than I would, and also how you'd get this one unreverted without overly hobbling your autoreverting system. — Without checking, I imagine the "either" is a remnant of a longer statement that had an "or" to it, long unspotted. (Well done then, PoolloverNathan, for finding it! ;) ) Just a heads-up, assuming you don't get a nice little review-log to scan through already in your own time. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.175|172.70.90.175]] 13:32, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
:Thanks for the report. I'll look into it. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 17:08, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
::I've adjusted the detection-net. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 17:37, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

== Edit summary ==

The edit summary in 2700 contains slur, could you please redacted them? https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:RevisionDelete. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.82|172.70.206.82]] 05:12, 19 November 2022 (UTC)
:Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I have access to that feature. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 06:12, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

== User page ==

Thanks for helping me create my user page. [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 18:42, 4 December 2022 (UTC)

== Strange spam-responding ==

Inexplicably, [[User:While False]] has been trying to talk to long-standing spammers, that your BOT already adequately deals wirh, on their IP pages. It looks like he's mostly ignoring other (actually caring) IPs like me, is there anything you can try saying to them? And perhaps get resolved some of the [[:Category:Pages to delete]] that have resulted from this strange pactice. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.185|172.69.79.185]] 22:09, 17 December 2022 (UTC)
:Looks like we’re both at last have had the pages we have nominated for deletion deleted. Perhaps we’re both satisfied then, now that an admin has set a useful precedent. —[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User:While False/explain xkcd museum|'''museum''']] | [[User talk:While False|talk]] | [[special:Contributions/While_False|contributions]] | [[special:Log/While_False|logs]] | [[Special:UserRights/While_False|rights]] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:While_False&printable=yes printable version] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:While_False&action=info page information] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere/User:While_False what links there] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:RecentChangesLinked&days=30&from=&target=User%3AWhile_False related changes] | a late contribution | current time: {{CURRENTTIME}}) 22:33, 18 December 2022 (UTC)
::I only took my lead from elsewhere, and others' clear interest in the matter (being the above respondee, but having seen others(?) previously try to engage). Perhaps I just poked the right spot, or it was going to happen anyway. But it feels rude to chat with you on someone else's page, as it is unnecessary to correct minor errors in my original text.
::But I can't work out your mind, and it seems I won't expect you to understand mine. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.205|162.158.34.205]] 00:14, 19 December 2022 (UTC)
:::Not my intention to be rude to either of you; sorry if I was. —[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User:While False/explain xkcd museum|'''museum''']] | [[User talk:While False|talk]] | [[special:Contributions/While_False|contributions]] | [[special:Log/While_False|logs]] | [[Special:UserRights/While_False|rights]] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:While_False&printable=yes printable version] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:While_False&action=info page information] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere/User:While_False what links there] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:RecentChangesLinked&days=30&from=&target=User%3AWhile_False related changes] | a late contribution | current time: {{CURRENTTIME}}) 04:13, 19 December 2022 (UTC)

== Image reversions ==
Alright, a vandal is currently hard at work on the site by changing the original xkcd images into various spam.

Is it possible to implement a feature which keeps all the images as the original, or simply lock those pages?

Thanks!

[[User:Eelitee|Eelitee]] ([[User talk:Eelitee|talk]]) 06:33, 22 December 2022 (UTC)
:For now, I've implemented the ability to revert image changes to my bot. Another possible solution I am considering is automatically using my account to semi-protect images when uploaded. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 17:46, 26 March 2023 (UTC)

== Forced shift of focus? ==

It seems to me that, after upping the protection on the Unreliable Connection page, the 'other possible spam-dumped pages' have been getting somewhat more attention than they got before. I'm guessing that failures to post (perhaps by failing the CAPTCHA, or some other challenge/speed-bump, have always used a "fail-over" method to try another on the list. Having (presumably) shut off the UC page more firmly, it's just drizzling more often over to the backup targets.

Just my impression. And your counter-spam measures are catching them all anyway (well, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Google_Maps&diff=306469&oldid=306463 ''nearly'' all], for what I think are obvious reasons how it evaded the detection), but I'm not sure zipping any page up tighter is going to necessarily help that much. Opinion only, but FYI. Yet with continued appreciation that you're actually making the effort to keep on top of these things. Cheers for what you're doing, anyway. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.132|172.69.79.132]] 13:35, 20 February 2023 (UTC)

...just spotted that [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2659:_Unreliable_Connection&diff=prev&oldid=306619 someone had to undo] a change to UC's Talk page. I can't even remember the last time a wipe/replace spammer targetted a discussion page, and it can't be a coincidence that it is the one associated with the now blocked favourite target. A spillover action, almost certainly. Not sure what we can do better about this, of course, so still just a personal observation of little useful value. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.206|172.71.178.206]] 22:04, 22 February 2023 (UTC)

Uhh, are you discussing me? [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 03:20, 11 April 2023 (UTC)
:Look at the dates... You didn't even exist for roughly another month yet. But it's by your own hand that you made it possible that you're confused, if you are. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.137|172.71.178.137]] 09:25, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

== Comment deleted abruptly ==
Your bot has deleted my comment ! ! ! [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 03:19, 11 April 2023 (UTC)
:That's a bit unfortunate. It looks like you created the explanation quite quickly after the comic came out. The bot checks the LATESTCOMIC template to determine if an explanation exists, so it re-created the page. I'll see about verifying the existence of pages before creating them though. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 19:31, 11 April 2023 (UTC)
::Can I suggest excluding the Number->redirect page from that check. It's something someone could predict in advance, but not what "title" or "number: title" would be, and cause (temporary) bother. Best just to let that be overwritten properly ''if'' it already exists, and there shouldn't be an in-like-Flynn user already creating the page (like above with main and dicussion edits) who might need allowing for. It's ''only'' a redirect page. (Or possibly a Title->redirect page, if we get any more like [[2614: 2]] or [[855: 1999|ones]] [[998: 2012|for]] [[1311: 2014|various]] [[1624: 2016|years]], [[1779: 2017|titled]] [[1935: 2018|as]] [[2685: 2045|numbers]], but we should know of any new/impending instances of those in advance. Unless we get a given comic number that is entitled with the same number. ;) )
::But the example with UC's page-creating did also show a few faults (imperfect comic-template populating, and the lack of opening comment-tag in the Discussion page) that could benefit from at least checking. Maybe a special category appended, as the simplest first action upon finding a pre-created page (or an {{template|incomplete}}-style tag, saying "This page was created manually, and may need confirming as correctly set up...").
::Only important upon the 'bot making its first pass (the attempt to create), on finding for itself that there's a new comic, and shouldn't be needed for monitoring existing pages. That's all covered by the other anti-vandal services it provides. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.127|172.70.86.127]] 10:01, 12 April 2023 (UTC)
:::Thanks for your feedback. The bot does somewhat verify the title redirect pages, where if the title is a number larger than the current number, it won't re-create that redirect. I think excluding the number redirect from the check does make sense. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 18:14, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

==Can't create user page==

Hey, do you know how I can create my user page? Some people have them, but every time i try to create mine it says I can't.

Another thing: I don't receive any confirmation email when i click the button, this has been going on for days. Do you know how I could fix that?

Thanks, [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 09:13, 1 May 2023 (UTC)
:I've created your user page. To be able to create pages, you'll have to become autoconfirmed. The requirements for this can be found here: [[explain_xkcd:Autoconfirmed_users]]. Assuming it is accurate, I'm not quite sure why you were not able to create it. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 17:32, 1 May 2023 (UTC)
::Thanks! I must've become autoconfirmed after I added the topic to this talk page :)

== Spam on another wiki ==
Ther is far too much spam on [https://neography.miraheze.org/wiki/Special:RecentChanges this wiki]. It seems like the spammer on your website had went there to make a mess. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.135.23|172.69.135.23]] 00:54, 15 May 2023 (UTC)

== Bot down ==

The last two comics 2793 and 2794 had to be manually created. Is the bot down? Thanks, [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 19:35, 26 June 2023 (UTC)
:Thanks for the reminder! The bot was down due to some server maintenance. I'll get it back up. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 22:52, 28 June 2023 (UTC)
:: FYI, the bot looks down again. [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 04:46, 19 October 2023 (UTC)
:::Yup. I think I've got the auto-start script working properly now. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 15:44, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

== Errors ==

Hi Theusaf. I’m reaching out because there’s been a large amount of errors being thrown around recently. I’ve reached out to all semi-active admins that are on the wiki. A lot of users are getting 503 Errors and saying that server can’t be reached at the moment, please check the Technical Community Portal to see. Do you have server access or are able to personally contact Jeff? I know that he has a Twitter but I don’t have a Twitter account since my parents don’t let me. If you see this message, please respond as soon as possible, as I don’t think that this issue will resolve itself. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 21:53, 19 September 2024 (UTC)
:Sorry 42.book.addict. I don't have server access or a way to personally contact Jeff. Other admins might have a way though. Usually the 503 errors tend to go away after a bit of time. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 19:40, 21 September 2024 (UTC)

== Spam reverting in places where it shouldn't ==

hi theusaf your bot reverted an edit i made to my own user page please revise as this does not make sense thank you [[User:Certified_nqh|Me]]{{citation needed}} 19:34, 4 October 2024 (UTC)
:Hi there, sorry about that. I've added your user page to the ignore list. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 02:59, 8 October 2024 (UTC)

== Broken RSS Feed ==

Hi Theusaf,
There have been some [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Admin_requests#RSS_Feed_Broken|reports]] of the RSS feed being broken. Seeing as you’re one of the more technical (and active) admins, could you poke around to see if you could fix this issue? I have also looped in [[User:Davidy22]] via email. Thanks! '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 16:43, 16 December 2024 (UTC)

==>:(==
Please get your bot off my talk page, thanks! [[User:Definitely Bill Cipher|A dream demon]] ([[User talk:Definitely Bill Cipher|talk]]) 16:11, 17 December 2024 (UTC)
:You mean your User page, actually. And, seeing what you perhaps did to gain the wrath of the bot (I'll admit it, I ''did'' laugh when I saw what was happening), I suspect that you ''don't'' need to trigger this rather basic spam-detecting behaviour. Don't do the many-times repeated text. Perhaps TheusafBOT could be desensitised in certain instances (e.g. a user is allowed to edit ''their'' User: page with more latitude than would be allowed elsewhere), but the easy solution is just not to trigger it. (If it's some other 'spam metric', instead, then try to work round it, looking for whatever you want to do that does and doesn't trigger it.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.182|172.69.43.182]] 17:42, 17 December 2024 (UTC)

explain xkcd:Community portal/Miscellaneous

2024-12-11T12:14:11Z

172.69.43.182: What's the role of spam on this server? Answer: None.

<noinclude>{{Community links}}

{|-
|valign="top" width="100%"|[[File:Internet-group-chat.svg|left|120px]] <big><big>Miscellaneous</big></big>

This is a place for general chit-chat about virtually anything that doesn't fit anywhere else. {{AddNewSection|Page=Explain XKCD:Community portal/Miscellaneous|Text=(+post)}}
|}

= Discussion Area =
</noinclude>

== The Community Portal's design ==

{{tl|Community portal}} looks too Wikipedia-ish (because that's where I got it). Someone who can design things should probably fix that. It isn't protected for the time being, though it probably will be in the future (high-visibility template). --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:54, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Common mistake ==

This affects all pages that ever say "alt text" in reference to the TITLE text on xkcd images. "Alt text" is incorrect; Alt text refers to the text that is shown as an alternative when images are not displayed. Title text is what xkcd uses and is shown as a tool tip-like bubble when images are hovered over.

I would correct this myself but I saw no way to edit the main page. --[[User:Jillysky|Jillysky]] ([[User talk:Jillysky|talk]]) 14:21, 6 August 2012‎ (UTC)

:You actually don't need to edit the main page to fix it, as what's there is just a mirror (transclusion) of the actual content from the comic page, at [[Curiosity]], which is open for editing by anyone. Then again, the "alt-text" in that case is generated by a template, {{tl|comic}}, so that's where we should fix this. The template's code, however, is currently a terrible mess (sorry!), so I went ahead and took care of it. Thanks for catching that! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:24, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:Ah? So it's wrong, for instance, on http://m.xkcd.com? because of that I took it for granted that we could call it the alt-text... - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 17:38, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:: Yes. If you look at the page's html source, you'll see:
<nowiki><img
id="comic"
src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/curiosity.png"
title="As of this writing the NASA/JPL websites are still overloaded. Trying CURIOSITY-REAR-CAM_[256px_x_256px].torrent.SwEsUb.DVDRip.XviD-aXXo.jpg instead."
alt="Curiosity"></nowiki>
::(line breaks added for clarity) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 23:54, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:::That was my error in the template. I knew "image text" that has been commonly used by Jeff was not techically correct, but I didn't actually go back and confirm it was alt text before I included that tag in the template. That's to Waldir (I believe?) for correcting the template. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:14, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

== When the "official" transcript is wrong? ==
I did [[903: Extended Mind]]. Interestingly, the transcript on xkcd.com is missing the bottom line "When Wikipedia has a server outage, my apparent IQ drops by 30 points." I assume we want a complete transcript, rather than whatever xkcd.com says it is...? [[User:Stevage|Stevage]] ([[User talk:Stevage|talk]]) 04:10, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

:We're focusing on the actual transcript of the comic, not the xkcd.com transcript. The official transcript is usually right, but even Randall makes mistakes sometimes. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 04:24, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

== Milestone: half the comics explained!! ==

Hi all! I'm pleased to announce that we have just broke the 50% mark for xkcd explanations! The page that balanced the count (568 explained, 568 to go, at the time) was [[877: Beauty]], created 01:31 UTC, 21 November 2012 by [[User:Davidy22]]. Congratulations!! :D --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:10, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

:The caterer's been called! The punch will be arriving soon! Go [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]! [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:53, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

::[[File:freedom.png]] Punch is served! [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 07:11, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

But the Main page says 407 explanations, 731 to go! What's up with that? --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 21:00, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

== Reverse? ==

Why in the Archive why are all the thing up until "Heatmap" in Reverse? Can someone please answer? [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)
:Archive? Can you provide a link or screenshot? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:43, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

http://xkcd.com/archive/ [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

::Ah, that's because the comic right after that, rtl, has a right-to-left character in it that flips all the proceeding text. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:13, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

Ah, ok, i see that now. When I 1st saw that RTL I just thought that it was random letters, thankyou for explaining it for me. [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

It also depends on what browser you are on because on Google Chrome it was normal. [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 09:08, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

== Do you think this question was asked by one of the xkcd people? ==

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090301060752AAtYugc [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:38, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

== Matthew Reilly ==

I would just like to tell everyone that I asked Matthew Reilly (the author) if he is ever scared that a velociraptor is going to attack him, and he said NO! He clearly needs to start worrying about them! [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 10:45, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

== What can we learn section ==
First of all I love your work. I believe deeper understanding of each XKCD can make a world a better place and I thank you sincerely for starting this webpage. I wanted to ask what you think about "What can we learn?" section I've been adding to some of the pages. Thank you - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:27, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

:This site is actually the work of multiple editors working slowly and steadily to fill in explanations for all the old comics. Some of the xkcd comics are incredibly deep - comic [[956]] is such a poignant comic that digs into the DRM issue on so many levels. Your reflections on many of the comics are very much warranted and you're helping us create talk pages with high-quality opening posts, which is great for future discussion on this wiki. It'd be nice if you could refrain from putting headers in talk pages, technical limitations of the wiki make long explanation pages choke when headings are in the discussion page. Other than that, keep up the good work! '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:42, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

::I've put in my 2 cents to comic [[956]], and thank you for teaching me how to comment and link to other comics - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:58, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

::: FYI, you can always make pseudo-headings using a horizontal rule and a bold "header", but honestly I think a simple standard opening sentence would suffice. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:14, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

:Oh, and the guy who draws xkcd is called {{w|Randall Munroe}}. So many glowing things to be said about him. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:44, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

::Yes, I can't thank him enough for simplifying complex issues to funny stories, I think it's exactly what our generation needs - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:58, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

:I'm in favor of a Mr. Rogers style of 'what lesson can be learned' on the talk page, but make sure your comments don't come across as sanctimonious and holier-than-thou as that can be really off-putting. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 19:06, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

:: You are absolutely correct, I have not thought of that, please trust me I did not do it on purpose. Thank you Mr. Lcarsos - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 19:55, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Thank you David, and I apologize that I've not made it clear that by your work, I do mean your collective work (the wiki is only as good as all the people behind it). I was trying to put the headers to allow others to find the section easier in case they start looking for it, perhaps I could make a suggestion to make it a standalone section so that others would be encouraged to contribute their own understanding of lessons they have noticed from each comic. I know the lessons I've seen, but I would love to learn from others as much as I hope they can learn from me and Mr. XKCD, thank you. - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:48, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

== DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD ==

Hello fellow editors. Do you remember the last time we were hit by a surge of automated spam? Neither do I. ConfirmEdit has really done a number on the volume of spam that we're eating - one spam account has been created since we finished configuring confirmEdit, and zero anon edits have been spam. Zero. Can you say happiness? Can you say party? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:41, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

:Hehe, I'm glad! Thanks for being so relentless on the spam-fighting all this time! Maybe we should make up a new reason to make Jeff remove the /wiki/ in the URL? ;) –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 18:11, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

:: Awesome news! Finally the patrolling feature will be usable: [{{fullurl:Special:RecentChanges|hideanons=1&hidepatrolled=1&from=20121204025000&days=365&limit=1000}} Unpatrolled changes by registered users] / [{{fullurl:Special:RecentChanges|hideliu=1&hidepatrolled=1&from=20121204025000&days=365&limit=1000}} Unpatrolled changes by anonymous users] :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:27, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

== 1000th comic explanation!! ==

Hi all! It apparently went unnoticed that '''we have recently surpassed the mark of 1000 comic explanations!''' Some calculations based on [[:Category:Comics]] and [[Special:NewPages]] led me to the conclusion that the 1000th explanation was [[681: Gravity Wells]], created by [[User:AlexRNL]] just yesterday! Yay! This calls for a celebration, no? Congrats to [[Special:ContributionScores|everyone]] who made this happen! I'll edit [[Mediawiki:Sitenotice]] with a congratulatory message. Way to go, guys! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:04, 10 April 2013 (UTC)
:ps - I also took the opportunity to flesh out our [[explain xkcd|about/history page]]. Please take a look and fix/add any details I might have missed. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:06, 10 April 2013 (UTC)

== Style guide ==
Is there a style guide for this wiki? --[[User:PeterMortensen|PeterMortensen]] ([[User talk:PeterMortensen|talk]]) 20:14, 10 August 2013 (UTC)
:Oh, sorry, I did forget to answer here. A guide on this is not easy, many individual comics do need special layouts because they have content never can match to a style guide. But I will give a try [[Help:Style Guide]].--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:18, 15 August 2013 (UTC)

== Adblock ==

I've whitelisted the site in adblock, but the ads are still blocked.
Anyone know what' going on here and how I can fix it?--[[User:ParadoX|ParadoX]] ([[User talk:ParadoX|talk]]) 04:34, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
:Huh. I was wondering why our impression counts weren't rising. I thought it was just because this site had high turnover. I've changed the webpage that the word whitelisting links to, try the instructions there instead. Project wonderful is our ad provider, and they've been pretty good to us so far. Also, thanks for helping to support the site! '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:40, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
::Great! I don't really mid ads as long as they aren't intrusive. Works now, Hope everyone else does it as well.--[[User:ParadoX|ParadoX]] ([[User talk:ParadoX|talk]]) 05:16, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
::I saw you wrote "the webpage that the word whitelisting links to" so I went to the search box and typed whitelisting. My search didn't yield anything useful: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?search=whitelisting&go=Go&title=Special%3ASearch]. I don't know how to create the missing page but there oughta be a link for someone like me who searches for whitelist or whitelisting, to take them to the instructions you refer to. [[User:SaxTeacher|SaxTeacher]] ([[User talk:SaxTeacher|talk]]) 10:59, 17 May 2014 (UTC)
:::We already have this linked somewhere, but [https://www.projectwonderful.com/adblock.php this] is the link you want. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:41, 17 May 2014 (UTC)

I normally access this site through the android app "xkcd browser". That app only links to the content part of the site and doesn't show the side bar, so the adds aren't shown either. Might be worth discussing it with the author. [[Special:Contributions/109.158.126.139|109.158.126.139]] 08:06, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

:We support those avenues completely, you don't need to feel bad if you use an app to browse this site. We're only really concerned when we put up ads and our impressions are less than half our page hits, because that essentially means more than half our readers aren't contributing to server costs. That's really hard to deal with. We have enough daily page hits to qualify as web publishers at very big ad agencies, but we've had to settle for relatively low rates at the smaller Project Wonderful because 60% of our users were using adblock, so the agencies rejected us because our valuable "paying" audience was too low for them to consider us. That's been the difference between us using dedicated servers to host the site and hiring a contractor to set it up, and the (admittedly somewhat decent) shared hosting plan that we have to settle for now. We can only afford the shared hosting, because the small-scale advertisers at Project Wonderful don't even pay for full days of advertising; most of the time, we make less per day than the posted $3.90 price. That said, we're grateful that Project Wonderful would take us as a publisher when no one else would, but it really feels like the difference between being accepted to community college and being accepted to an ivy league school. For a similar reason, the Google ads route was not sufficient to satisfy our needs; not a large enough proportion of our users were looking at ads, so we either needed to spam them and degrade the site, or we needed to make them refresh, which makes pages slow and causes needlessly high traffic for a lot of users. We didn't want our ads to make the site worse, because that would drive away users and defeat the purpose of us being a public resource for xkcd readers. We actually decided to go the agency route pretty early, because adsense takes a massive cut of revenues and gives us little control over what ads or advertisers actually showed, which was not okay with us. Whoah, I wrote a lot. I hope it was coherent. Maybe someday I'll collect my thoughts and write a proper summary on how and why we advertise. Also, if you have any questions about anything ad-related, you can always ask us at [[explain xkcd talk:Advertise Here]]. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 11:15, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

== Feynman? ==

Feynman (both in [[182: Nash|living]] and [[397: Unscientific|zombie]] form) probably deserves an entry in the [[Template:Navbox characters|character navbox]] template doesn't he? [[Special:Contributions/128.250.152.198|128.250.152.198]] 02:21, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
:That's two comics out of 1200+. Three if you count the song. Not quite enough yet. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:27, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
:: If that's the criterion, then we need to get rid of [[Brown Hat]]. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 19:30, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
:::Potentially, we could create a very minor character category with these two, and other characters with less than 10 appearances. [[User:tplaza64]]

== Job Interview (Atomic Soup) ==

The soup is clearly being poured out of an atomic socket. This "atomic soup" is probably not a reference to the alcoholic brew favoured by Scottish tramps, but more likely to the virtual nature of the company. {{unsigned|Sulis}}
:Hey, go here [[Talk:1293: Job Interview‎]] for discussions. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:58, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

== Is there a similar, transcripted service for The Oatmeal? ==

Hi everyone - this site is a real gem, I've sent it to a friend of mine who can't read XKCD because she's blind. The transcripts on this site are a real boon!

Does anyone know if there is a similar service for The Oatmeal? I've searched and searched, but found nothing so far.

Thanks :)

Jeff

:As far as I know we are kind of unique in the web comics world. I think we get away with it because Randall publishes all his comics as Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial. We liberally link back to xkcd, and we don't make a penny (The ads are just to cover server expenses, because wikis and the databases that support them get big when you're covering a body of work like xkcd). I haven't looked into the copyright Matt uses for the Oatmeal, but he seems like a cool enough guy to not kill a community transcripting effort of his comics. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:32, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

== what if 103: Vanishing Water - comics ==

Please explain the 2nd and the 4th comics from http://what-if.xkcd.com/103/

"Just tried to sail my boat over land, because I didn't learn from that kid in the Zephyr." (who's the kid from Zephyr?)

"A third time?" (maybe whales were dropped twice before in other what-ifs?) [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 21:57, 9 July 2014 (UTC)

:"A third time?" is a reference to a whale falling twice in "Hitchiker's guide to the Galaxy". Been a while, so I don't remember the details of how this fit in, but the second time it happened to the whale, he thought "Not again" or something along those lines. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 18:49, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

::Actually, it was the bowl of petunias that thought to itself "Oh, no, not again." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.73|108.162.216.73]] 00:48, 5 April 2016 (UTC)

Raises the question of if we should explain jokes imbedded in What If comics. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 18:49, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

== Discussion usage ==

Am I being a killjoy in feeling that the discussion section should be mainly limited to discussion on improving the explanation, gathering consensus and that type of thing.
Specifically, the discussion for [[1418: Horse]] is quickly turning into every man and his dog posting a sentence in the style of the comic, which doesn't really add anything to the page other than clutter.

Personally, I'd just delete most of them, but I think I might be turning into a grumpy old bugger... --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 20:32, 10 September 2014 (UTC)
:The discussion is also there for just talking about the comic. Those guys aren't wildly off-topic, there's no need to clamp down on what they get to talk about. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 17:44, 10 September 2014 (UTC)

::Yep, I must just be grumpy and draconian! Lesson learned --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 20:32, 10 September 2014 (UTC)

== 2014 Christmas header ==

Since the header for the site current contains a [http://imgs.xkcd.com/store/store_default.png graphic link to the store] that promises that Randall probably won't ship you a [[:Category:Bobcats|bobcat]], it seems to me that probably ought to be preserved and explained somewhere. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.189|173.245.56.189]] 17:45, 3 December 2014 (UTC)

== XKCD at LanguageLog ==

Arnold Zwicky (of the well-known linguistics blog Language Log) has put together a list of linguistics-related XKCD strips, here: http://arnoldzwicky.org/the-language-of-comics/comics-lists/xkcd-cartoons/ I thought it might be appropriate for a copy of the list (maybe a category) to be created from it. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.79|199.27.133.79]] 03:48, 28 December 2014 (UTC)
:[[:Category:Language]] '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:39, 28 December 2014 (UTC)

== Bookmarklet ==

Hello there, I've created a little bookmarklet (https://ginkobox.fr/shaarli/?a77vQw) and I thought it might be useful for someone out there.

When launched, it adds the 'explain' before xkcd.com and the browser loads the explainxkcd page. I've tested it only on Firefox.

(Contact @ https://ginkobox.fr/wiki/doku.php?id=about) {{unsigned ip|‎108.162.229.100}}

:Thanks 108.162.229.100! I've started collecting these helpful tools on a [[Browser helpers|new page]], to hopefully make them easier for others to find. – [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 01:36, 29 September 2020 (UTC)

== Is there a RSS feed for What If? ==

Is there a RSS feed for What If?--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 11:59, 29 March 2015 (UTC)
:No, because we cover the comics. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 18:57, 29 March 2015 (UTC)

== My User Page ==

Can someone help me with [[user:17jiangz1|my user page]]? I can't seem to remove the large spaaaaaace on top.--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 07:43, 9 April 2015 (UTC)
: The only solution I've found is to remove the contribution scores (data6=...). Not sure what exactly is triggering this bug. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 21:02, 9 April 2015 (UTC)
I am receiving "Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ""." for <code><pre>{{#expr: {{formatnum:{{#cscore:17jiangz1|pages}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NUMBEROFARTICLES}}|R}}*100 round 5 }}</pre></code>--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 05:46, 10 April 2015 (UTC)
:Bump?--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 06:48, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

== What-If ==

In What-If 150, "Tatoonie Rainbow", http://what-if.xkcd.com/150/ the first image title-text says: "Vowing not to reference that video any further anywhere in this article, on principle.". What video is he talking about? [[User:5mi11er|slmiller]] ([[User talk:5mi11er|talk]]) 14:29, 27 May 2016 (UTC)

It hasn't updated for 2 weeks. why?--[[User:17jiangz1|17jiangz1]] ([[User talk:17jiangz1|talk]]) 06:50, 25 April 2015 (UTC)
:Looks like they're on hold for a few months (Until July 14th). Too bad, I enjoyed them. ([http://what-if.xkcd.com/ Look at the top of the What-If page]) --[[User:Zman9600|Zman9600]] ([[User talk:Zman9600|talk]]) 20:24, 6 May 2015 (UTC)
:What is so special about the date and time? Seems very specific: ''July 14th, 2015 at 7:49:59 AM EDT.'' --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.99|141.101.98.99]] 12:48, 28 May 2015 (UTC)
Looks like it's set for the 40th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz mission launch. {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.158}}

What If updates will resume on July 14th, 2015 at 7:49:59 AM EDT. By that time {{w|New Horizons}} will have it's closest approach to {{w|Pluto}}. See here: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/ --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:34, 5 June 2015 (UTC)

== thanks for having a working website ==

the search function on xkcd.com was taken off, and now the random function seems to be having issues, but it's nice that here both work [[Special:Contributions/188.114.97.114|188.114.97.114]] 19:09, 9 June 2015 (UTC)
:We do our best. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 22:27, 9 June 2015 (UTC)

== Ada Munroe ==

The latest [[what if?]] number 139 has a question by "Ada Munroe". Is she related to [[Randall]] in any way? --{{User:17jiangz1/signature|06:57, 09 August 2015}}

== Out of curiosity ==

I notice that whenever someone links to tvtropes.org in an explanation, someone changes the link to the matching page on allthetropes.org. I'm curious as to why that is. Is there some kind of terms of use conflict at play here that an editor should be keeping in mind? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.156|199.27.128.156]] 06:33, 26 October 2015 (UTC)
:TVtropes does not restrict links to their site, and if this has been happening there are some time-outs that I need to be handing out. Can you point me to some of the edits where this is happening? '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:24, 26 October 2015 (UTC)
::The specific example I had was, um, [[1468: Worrying]]. On Jan 3rd the links went to tvtropes.org, and on March 18th they were all changed over to allthetropes.orain.org. I just found it curious, I wasn't sure what the reason for it was [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.47|162.158.255.47]] 10:32, 29 October 2015 (UTC)
:::Reverted. Typically, the reason people change perfectly good links to specific, obscure links in wikis is usually self-advertising. I'll be watching that guy's edits in the future. Thanks for the heads up. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 18:00, 29 October 2015 (UTC)

== Sightless readers offended by the "It's 'cause you're dumb" tagline. ==

I'll admit, every now and again the comic is over my head. ...because I'm dumb in that particular field. However, blind users who enjoy xkcd must do so through explainxkcd. They are NOT dumb. They are *blind*. Without explainxkcd, they would have no idea what is in the comics panels.

Explainxkcd is a great site. There is no question it provides a service to the internet community.

Please see this thread (last paragraph) on Userfriendly.org. Keep in mind, the end user is sightless and explainxkcd is "viewed" through a screen reader. http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/read.cgi?id=20160207&tid=3930989 (Anonymous)

: The guy on that other site is complaining about that XKCD does not work well in a screen reader -- that is not our problem, but a problem for Randall to solve on his own site. We cannot be the catch all for everything on the internet that Randall broke [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:37, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
:: Agreed --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

Honestly, I never even noticed the tagline in question. Humorous to sighted folks, sure. ...but obviously offensive to those who have no choice but to access xkcd through explainxkcd.

I'll leave it to the administrators or the community to figure something out, if anything at all. Maybe no one cares? I didn't come here to make any suggestions, only to point out how offensive those 4 words are to some users of the website. {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.88}}

:Alright, put a link here in the site notice. What does everyone else think? I'm open to changing it, it's something people complain about fairly periodically and our identity isn't completely tied to the tagline, I feel. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:16, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

::Well, we definitely shouldn't change anything because that particular guy is upset. It's one thing to be offended, but he's also attacking both this site and Randal Monroe. I don't think that sort of behavior should be rewarded. I actually have a rule online where, if someone acts like a jerk to me, I will be kind, but I won't give them what they want. I think a lot of the problems with people being jerks to others is that they still get what they want, so what reason do they have to stop? If he wants us to change it, he should address us like an adult and ask us himself.

::But you claim this is a common complaint. Then I would say we need more info. My instinct would be that people don't understand that it's a joke. But then my solution would be to do what the site is designed to do and explain the joke, rather than take it down. If there's actually something about it that's offensive to an entire class of people, that's different. I am unaware of a stereotype that blind people are stupid, but I'm open to the idea that I don't know.

::I'm not particularly married to the tag line. I actually didn't even notice it was there. But I'm loathe to take it down over a misunderstanding. I can't think of a similarly humorous replacement that would not be offensive, but I can at least suggest "Because nobody knows everything." --[[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 09:42, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
:::I've gotten these before. There's a [[Talk:Main_Page#Header_message|slowly growing]] section in the main page discussion page and a complaint buried somewhere in my talk page and they're usually quite unhappy. I pegged it up this time round because there's special needs involved, and a good part of our intended appeal is the transcripts for the blind. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 10:45, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
:::I like your reasoning, what if "It's 'cause you're dumb" was follow by "[citation needed]" and make the whole thing a link to a page explaining the header. It would be in character of the page, and xkcd. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.34|108.162.221.34]] 00:28, 13 February 2016 (UTC) Sam
::::Great idea, Sam! That's the funniest suggestion ever [citation needed]. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.141.4|172.68.141.4]] 19:29, 29 August 2018 (UTC)

::Is he one of those people who are so self-centered and 'entitled' that just because they have a disability they assume that everyone is constantly trying to offend them, even in the most unlikeliest of cases? Does he actually believe that the tag line was written with the intention of offending blind people? This is ridiculous. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.71|141.101.106.71]] 11:04, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

"Just in case you feel dumb"? "Some comics may be funnier than they appear"?[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.198|199.27.130.198]] 09:55, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

How about simply removing it? At least until we find something that isn't offensive to anyone - which might be very hard to obtain. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:34, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

Because you're crippled... That's worse I guess. 
But before considering the "you're dumb" tagline, one must think about the name of this wiki. It is called '''Explain''' xkcd, not read xkcd, and explaining is for dumb people, not blind people. 
Maybe one thing we can do is add a "(unless you are just here for the transcript)" subtext, with a link to the transcript section, which has the advantage of both taming offended blind readers (maybe) and provide a direct, "spoilerless" link. --[[User:GuB|GuB]] ([[User talk:GuB|talk]]) 10:40, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

I need explainxkcd for two reasons: being visually impaired, although I can see most of the comics I often miss crucial details that I find only in the transcript; and as a non-American, I lack many cultural references (books, movies, songs, sayings...) that are given in the explanations.
I don't think either of these reasons makes me "dumb". However, I never found the tagline offensive. It was immediately obvious to me that it was meant as humor. Who could seriously think that someone is dumb just because they haven't read the specific book that Randall is parodying in a given comic? Or because they're not familiar with a specific programming language or Unix command? IMHO the tagline *is* funny precisely because very few people can actually "get" all the comics without an explanation. Suggesting that anyone who isn't part of the 0.1% of the population who share all of Randall's abilities and references, is dumb, can't be anything but a joke. Adding to the lot those who can't get the comics because they're blind doesn't make the joke more offensive. It's a sad world where political correctness kills all forms of humor.

On the other hand, the tagline is not an essential part of the site and if a significant number want it removed, so be it.
Zetfr 10:46, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

:Well not everybody's mind works the same way, and some people legitimately cannot grasp humor very easily. They may come to read the explanations precisely because they can't recognize what about a given comic is supposed to be humorous, and they likewise may not be able to tell that the tagline is just a joke. Besides, the tagline is equating a lack of knowledge with a lack of intelligence, which also makes it inaccurate and kind of kills the humor for those who stop and think about it.

:I personally agree with the above "Because nobody knows everything." approach. I would suggest something along the lines of "Because you won't always get the joke." --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.134|108.162.242.134]] 11:06, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

:: This sounds like a bunch of dumb people coming together and suggesting that the rest of people should be more like them (joke intended) [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:33, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

: +1 on this. '''Keep'''. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 20:15, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''removal''' [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 11:01, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

Mostly agree with Zetfr, it is a rather obvious joke, and this is a website about a webcomic which is mostly about fun, it would be different if this was some serious news portal, but it isn't, and in my humble opinion people who can't take a joke shouldn't even be here. There will always be ranters and people who get offended, we should not let them make decisions for us. I sincerely believe vast majority of people, blind or otherwise, understand it. [[User:Jaalenja|Jaalenja]] ([[User talk:Jaalenja|talk]])

:I agree with Zetfr. If a user doesn't understand that it is a joke, then he won't understand XKCD's jokes, either, no matter how much explaination he can get.
:--[[User:Lou Crazy|Lou Crazy]] ([[User talk:Lou Crazy|talk]]) 12:12, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
::I also agree with the above, and like the part of Zetfr about because you need a reader to use the page you do not need to be offended by an obvious joke --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

if i had a vote i'd say change the "because you're dumb" from text to a picture with alt text of something slightly less rude. "because you're using a screenreader," perhaps. although that would show up on mouseover. meh. whatever. --13:01, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
:and someone isn't "entitled" because they get annoyed about something that doesn't annoy you. as a sighted person i don't even look at the headers on the page. i would imagine that since the text in question is at the top of the page he has to listen to it every single time the page is refreshed. which is annoying enough if it's not insulting. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.161|141.101.106.161]] 13:06, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
:It is bad to have the alt-text saying something differently, but since the current tagline is not offensive to non-blind people then why would it be offensive to a blind person. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:24, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''keep''' -- Blind people do not have to come to this site, they can just use xkcd.com directly and if that is not working for blind people then that is Randall's problem not ours. The tag line has been there for years while I have noticed it before and used the site and I have never been offended, if a blind person is offended maybe they should stop using the internet. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.109|162.158.255.109]] 15:18, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
: I second that -- the tag line does not appear to offend non-blind people, it should not offend blind people either [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:24, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

Voting '''KEEP''' -- the tag line is a joke, and who is to say that blind people cannot be dumb [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 15:24, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''keep''' as well. I don't see any reason to change it; it's not a jab at disabled people, blind or otherwise. The site is called '''explain'''xkcd, and everything here centers around explaining the comic, not being a transcription service. (If that's not the case, then maybe other things need changing too.) I always thought the tagline fit nicely with the "sarcasm" part of xkcd's own tagline. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.26|108.162.216.26]] 15:26, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''KEEP and satisfy both sides'''. If you examine the HTML, or use [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/fangs-screen-reader-emulator/ Fangs] (free screen reader), you may notice there is a jump-to-nav div element that lets people with screen readers jump to various parts of the page. The jump-to-nav div is only a few HTML lines below the tagline. I'd recommend:
# Moving the jump-to-nav div to '''before''' the tagline
# Adding a "Jump to Transcript" link in the jump-to-nav div.
# Test it with [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/fangs-screen-reader-emulator/ Fangs] in Firefox to simulate a screen reader.
This way, screen-reader users can jump to the transcript and don't have to hear the tagline every time they visit an explainxkcd.com page.
-- [[User:Hat|Hat]] ([[User talk:Hat|talk]]) 15:44, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

Consider "Do you get it now?" [[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.11|198.41.235.11]] 16:09, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''keep''': it's reasonable and no change is warranted

I like the suggestion of '''keeping''' the current tagline, but changing it to an '''image with alttext''' saying something like "because you're using a screenreader". I also vote to move the link to the transcript to above the tagline. [[User:Rileysci|Rileysci]] ([[User talk:Rileysci|talk]]) 17:32, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

: Great idea, but here's an even better one: '''Keep''' the tagline for visual browsers, but '''add code''' such as [http://stackoverflow.com/questions/672156/is-there-a-way-to-write-content-that-screen-readers-will-ignore <code> CSS { speak: none; } and aria-hidden="true"</code>] that prevents it from being spoken by screen readers. -- [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 15:31, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

I get the joke and I'm not offended by it, but it seems to me that it really sticks out on this site and it doesn't seem consistent with Randall's sense of humor. Everyone on this site is very inclusive and eager to share all perspectives and points of view. I come here both to see the humor that I have the knowledge to understand and to learn more about the world the way Randall sees it. In short, I come here to be one of the lucky 10,000. In fact, I would suggest that as the tag line, "Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000!". Inside joke that can link to the comic (http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1053:_Ten_Thousand) and it is welcoming. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.170|108.162.245.170]] 18:44, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
: +1 on this. '''Change''' [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 03:45, 9 February 2016 (UTC)
: +1 on this. '''Change'''

I vote '''keep'''. In case it is not kept then it should be changed to something completely different. Te idea of making a title text to an image I really dislike, although I even more dislike adding anything to the existing one to either refer to people coming for the transcript or making excuses for the obvious joke. This has been a part of the page forever, I have seen it almost every time I come here. To begin with I did feel dumb sometimes, but I was never offended by it, just amused. But of course an explain page is for those who did not get the joke. And there are other pages that explains the comic. I do not know if they have a transcript? But I'm happy to know that some people must really enjoy the detailed transcripts that I usually try to provide. I had just not though about the blind perspective. I more use the transcript to make sure every one agrees on what is seen in the images of the comic. Having said all this, I must admit that the best suggestion for a change so far is the one posted above my post (about the lucky 10,000). :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote keep, for exactly the reasons explained by Zeftr above. Changing it to an image with alt text would be OK also. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 20:45, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

:I vote '''Change''' it because it is too easily mistaken as an insult instead of a joke. At least change it to ''Because you are stupid''.... Ah, maybe instead ''Because xkcd is far beyond common knowledge'' or ''Because hardly anyone gets everything'' or ''Because it is usually nerdly esoteric even for geeks''. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.46|108.162.221.46]] 21:39, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

:I vote '''Change'''. I have never been a big fan of the tagline. I don't know everything, but I am certainly not dumb. Also, I echo the reference to (http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1053:_Ten_Thousand). This comic has always been about expanding knowledge, not making you feel guilty for not knowing something.

:'''Change''': I realize the "It's because you're dumb" tagline follows the sarcastic nature of Randall's humor, but there are enough people who don't get or appreciate that sort of humor and are likely to be more offended by it, special needs or no. Here's my suggestion: "For those of us who don't get it." [[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]] ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) 21:59, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

At what point is "enough" people offended? I've only seen evidence of several (https://xkcd.com/1070/) visually impaired users actually offended by the site, along with a couple people who didn't specify their visual ability. I don't know the traffic on this site, but I would expect it to be on the order of 10^4 or higher. So is this discussion about changing something that a handful of people find offensive? Or is there an actual problem of something inappropriate on the site. If this is all about a couple people finding something offensive, I imagine a few christians might take issue with (https://xkcd.com/709/). Should we start another discussion about accommodating them? Or add a disclaimer that the views expressed by Randall Munroe are his own and do not reflect those of this site? [[User:Beardmcbeardson|Beardmcbeardson]] ([[User talk:Beardmcbeardson|talk]]) 01:25, 9 February 2016 (UTC)
: So you vote to '''keep''' -- right? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 04:30, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Slightly Change'''-- make it more obviously tongue in cheek. "It's cause we're dumb" or "For those of us who need it" I agree with the point about not complying with people on the internet who can't behave like adults, however I've never found the line particularly funny. Also change the jump-to-nav, as that would just get annoying to hear it every time you open up the site. I am not recommending changing it based on the imagined offenses of others. I just think it could be funnier.[[User:NotLock|NotLock]] ([[User talk:NotLock|talk]]) 06:29, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

I like changing to "For those of us who need it"

'''Keep''' Trying to satisfy everyone is like trying to understand every comic. It probably won't happen. As an example, using the 'one of 10 000' example provided above can insult a bunch of people that are not from the States simply because the comic (and the reference to the comic for that matter) will make them feel left out. My other reasons for voting keep have all been mentioned already. People get insulted so easily, let's try not to encourage this behavior by rewarding it. [[User:Bon|Bon]] ([[User talk:Bon|talk]]) 07:16, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''Change''' because I find it slightly offensive myself. If we change it, we should replace it with something that everybody would interpret as humorous, e.g. "Because we can't all be rocket scientists". [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 08:25, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep'''. Next thing we know, liberal arts majors will complain about xkcd science being offensive. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.91.229|141.101.91.229]] 10:12, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote for '''change''' or '''remove'''. Regarding the former, while I know it's supposed to be a joke, I never found it humorous myself and, unlike others that wrote before me, I don't think it relates to the humor or sarcasm used by Randall. It being offensive is not part of my motivation for my vote. I agree with some of the suggestions written up to now. Regarding the latter, I don't really think it's existence is necessary. Regardless, changing the div things is a must. [[User:GuiRitter|GuiRitter]] ([[User talk:GuiRitter|talk]]) 16:25, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote for '''change'''. You could keep much of the humour by changing it to something like "because ignorance '''can''' be cured". [[User:Farnz|Farnz]] ([[User talk:Farnz|talk]])

If I may vote (as a happy international user of this site, but not yet a contributor), one more vote for '''Keep''' - at least as "don't change now, because of this specific request, because of perceived offensiveness". For several reasons, which have been mentioned already:

a) I think it's funny. It also fits perfectly with the overall XKCD humor. And the same line of thinking as the book "You are now less dumb" from "YouAreNotSoSmart.com".

b) It's so obviously generic (directed at everyone reading it) I fail to understand how it can be interpreted as insult instead of irony. Even worse: I fail to understand why it should be _especially_ insulting to blind people. Having a transcript for them to use is nice, but it's merely one of the aspects this site provides (and it's not even at the top nor are there pages "transcript only", so blind are no primary audience)

c) If this site decides to actually help blind people more, how about: putting the tagline in the image (so it's not "read every time"), put the transcript at the top / provide pages with only transcripts, so that the original XKCD can be consumed prior to the explanations here (just as non-blind users would see it)

d) this request follows the current Outragism trend, so I do suspect that it's not actually blind people feeling offended, but privileged SJWs thinking about who might possibly feel offended, bringing change to the world where it's not beneficial even for those they claim to support. Comparable to PETA.

While I'm at it - THANK YOU for this site. Most XKCD I mostly understand. But due to being an international reader, some aspects of American Culture I need explainXKCD to grasp, and other aspects it's just nice to see more details, cross-references with other comics, and hidden gems.
[[User:Zefiro|Zefiro]] ([[User talk:Zefiro|talk]]) 18:46, 9 February 2016 (UTC)
:I'm an "international user", too, and I suppose a lot of users of this site are international users who need to be explained some xkcd jokes that would be obvious to any native English speaker living in the US. I don't have an opinion about changing the tagline or keeping it, but I would like to notice that "Because you are dumb" is the kind of joke that would need an explanation - it would be hard for me to tell if it's a joke or an insult. Therefore, an easier joke could have some advantage.--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 22:16, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote for '''change.''' I know it's a joke, but it's not particularly funny, and can easily be mistaken for an insult. [[User:Ekedolphin|Ekedolphin]] ([[User talk:Ekedolphin|talk]]) 20:13, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

I agree with Trlkly (and Isaac(https://xkcd.com/1448/)), more information is needed. The purpose of this site is to explain xkcd (obviously, from the name) so people come here primarily to seek knowledge or a better understanding about xkcd. As long as the explanations or the explainers don't act like white hat (https://xkcd.com/1386/), there should be no reason to take the tagline seriously.--[[User:Beardmcbeardson|Beardmcbeardson]] ([[User talk:Beardmcbeardson|talk]]) 01:20, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote KEEP, but I do support the idea of moving the jump-to to above the tagline. I believe that the tagline is obviously a joke, and that pleaing everyone is nigh impossible. I also strongly oppose the proposal to change it to an image with an alt-text of "because you're using a screen reader." Finally, I do not believe we should change the tagline. We should, if anything, remove it altogether. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.20|173.245.54.20]] 03:33, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Slightly Change''' - I like 199.27.130.198's idea, "Just in case you feel dumb." [[User:Mateussf|Mateussf]] ([[User talk:Mateussf|talk]]) 04:44, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''Change''', preferably to something like "The ''Anti'' Thing Explainer; Simple Stuff in Complicated Words!" Only, you know, more complicated to improve the joke. [[User:KitsunePhoenix|Amaroq (KitsunePhoenix)]] ([[User talk:KitsunePhoenix|talk]]) 05:01, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

What about: it's cause you need more context. I also don't like the current tagline, because dumbness would be more the inability to understand than a lack of knowledge.

'''Change''' - First thing first, as suggested, move the jump-to-nav div to before the tagline and add a "Jump to Transcript" link in the jump-to-nav div.

Then also change the tagline: it's not that good, and not that in line with the xkcd humor - it's actually ''directly opposed'' to the spirit of [[1053]]. Some better ones have already been suggested:
*"Some comics may be funnier than they appear"
*"Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000!"
*"because sometimes we all need a little help"
''Or'' we could even have a bunch of good ones like that out of which one is selected at random when the page is loaded --[[User:Jules.LT|Jules.LT]] ([[User talk:Jules.LT|talk]]) 09:17, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

I like the joke in the tag line (some of us come here because they are to stupid or to lazy to lookup all the information xkcd is joking about)
but I also find it to direct to the user. I want to add some suggestions to Jules.LT [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 10:01, 10 February 2016 (UTC)
* "Error loading tagline, click here to retry."
* "Because it is Monday morning."
* "Because you like explaining jokes."

I think people coming here and complaining because "dumb" appears to be aimed at insulting the blind are hilarious, because another meaning for "dumb" is "unable to speak." If people who were "dumb" in this way were complaining because we are using the other meaning of "dumb" it would be awkward, but degree of visual acuity is not open for the same misinterpretation. [[User:Swordsmith|Swordsmith]] ([[User talk:Swordsmith|talk]])

'''KEEP''' for the same reasons as [[User:Zefiro|Zefiro]]. If change is necessary, fix it so the screen reader doesnt say it aloud. (This ensures the change is propagated to those who have no other recourse for sightless XKCD enjoyment, and is not a ploy by SJWs who can't take sarcastic humor (why are they reading XKCD in the first place?) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.40|108.162.221.40]] 14:06, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

It is super obviously not intended seriously, because xkcd is a technical comic that nobody will understand entirely on the first pass. If it's true, then everybody is dumb. Boo hoo.

The guy in question is under the mistaken impression that Randall runs this site and maliciously hides his transcripts under the tagline. He's also very angry about a lot of things. Sighted people have to look at the tagline every time it loads too, it's at the top of the page.

I vote '''Keep''' because I hate negotiating with terrorists. If it has the effect of filtering out people who enjoy being outraged, then it's doing a service. Image search "stephen fry offensive".

I'd be fine with moving the jump-to-nav div. I'm absolutely against making it an image with a different tagline, because then we would be depriving blind people of the joke. I'm absolutely against changing it to something less offensive. I would settle for removing it entirely, or changing it to something more offensive, such as "It's 'cause you're dumb, and get offended over dumb shit."

Or, you know, make a transcribexkcd.com site. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.203|108.162.217.203]] 16:39, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Change''' to one of the cool new suggestions I've seen. I've always been sad about this tagline, and while I love XKCD humor, I just don't think the tagline is funny. It makes me hesitate and sometimes decide not to share this site with others who I think would love the humor, but not the tagline. The issue keeps coming up, and this is just one more way that it irritates people and causes hassle. It's obvious to me that we should find a new tagline, or just drop it for the time being. [[User:Nealmcb|Nealmcb]] ([[User talk:Nealmcb|talk]]) 17:39, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Change''' The word "dumb" used as slang for "unintelligent" or "uneducated" is offensive and many better suggestions have been proposed, which retain the wry humor without the offense. Hiding behind "it's just a joke" is beneath the standards of this site. {{unsigned ip|108.162.245.134}}
:It's not hiding behind "just a joke", it IS the joke. It's tongue-in-cheek. It's so obviously false that you have to intentionally ignore the joke and manufacture offense about something benign. I'll give you that it's not that funny. It's also not that offensive. Why are we talking about something so petty. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.11|108.162.221.11]] 21:11, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep'''. I feel like a blind person being insulted by the implication that being sightless somehow makes them unintelligent is a pretty far leap of logic. Not being able to see has no bearing whatsoever on your actual mental acuity. How many actual complaints have there been? One, a few, lots? I don't know, but if it was a significant number I might change my mind. As it stands, though, I think it's pretty clear in the site description that this site is meant for people who don't understand the comic due to its focus on obscure topics and use of technical jargon, being written by a former NASA robot technician with a bent for Linux. Using disabilities as an insult is something I don't condone, but in this case I think it's a case of certain individuals being overly sensitive. Thinking a word as mild as "dumb" is offensive is a bit much, especially since it's often used in contexts other than "uneducated" or "stupid" - I use it to describe myself all the time when I can't word proper-like. I think of it more as "scatter-brained". --[[User:KingStarscream|KingStarscream]] ([[User talk:KingStarscream|talk]]) 18:55, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Change''' I feel like the "Because we can't all be rocket scientists" tagline suggested above is great; I always found the tagline to be a bit annoying because I often know all of a comic except a small part, and I come here for that. It's just unnecessarily confrontational and Randall himself has expressed in https://xkcd.com/1386/ and https://xkcd.com/1053/ that he doesn't agree with insulting ignorance. {{unsigned ip|198.41.235.179}}

'''Change AND Keep''' I get the original joke, but I love some of the new ones too. Randomly rotating tag line appear is my vote, BUT let's make the tag line clickable so that we can explain the tag line .... for those of us who don't get the joke! {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.10}}

'''Keep''', but change the jump-to-nav, and maybe make the tagline clickable. I like the tagline. Someone already said this, but this is explainxkcd, not readxkcd. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.63|108.162.216.63]] 19:37, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''Keep''', because it's been there for so long! I remember coming here years ago and looking for the references I didn't get, and the tagline was already there. It's a legacy thing, the one thing remaining from the old website in the new fancy wiki format. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.226.204|198.41.226.204]] 20:47, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

For all you people being offended and claiming that the tagline is contrary to the spirit of xkcd, I give you [https://xkcd.com/386/ xkcd.com/386]. This entire argument is offensive to me, can we remove it? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.11|108.162.221.11]] 21:20, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep''' The referenced posting is obviously a troll. And xkcd has transcripts so the story of the self proclaimed blind person with diabetes does not make sense. --23:43, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

Rather than "cuz you're dumb" which both asserts a trait and uses what might not be the best word choice, why not something like "Because you might be ignorant"? Dumb, after all, isn't remediable, though ignorance is. (Also, a consideration, "dumb" can mean "mute," so if there's something with screenreading for blindness, that could be read as assuming more than one disability? ("blind and dumb" akin to "deaf and dumb"?) // Possibly do something akin to the warning on the comic's site itself: "Because you might be a liberal arts major." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.61|108.162.221.61]] 00:22, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep''' because risk of accidental offence is never a good reason to rewrite comedy. If community wants to change suggest "Explaining Xtremely Klever Comedic Drawings"; if only to troll those who insist that the letters XKCD must stand for something (which it doesn't) [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 00:37, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

−
The issue seems to boil down to:

−
Is it funny?

−
Is it overly offensive?

−
And therefore:

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Is it worth it?

−
Throwing in my opinion, however small:
+

It's amusing to me.
The joke is clear, and universal. Offence may be taken equally by anyone reading.
It fits well.
Possibly have a hidden link for those offended. A rotating tag line could include more jokes, but...
By all means move the navigation.

An explain explainxkcd page that is linked to might work, in the spirit of metahumour.

However, it may not be as serious an issue, as the tag line is easy to ignore. Just moving HTML a bit seems like a logical, cheap and easy solution, and then we can test it. Please note that this has no technical knowledge behind it, just a reading of the above.

So, my vote goes to '''keep''', and shuffle HTML or, in order, link, replace with rotating, modify, remove.
Harmless fun. Possibly have a cookie-based option to permanently hide the tag line.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.160|108.162.250.160]] 00:56, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

Apologies, I have broken formatting in the last few edits, trying to fix it...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.160|108.162.250.160]] 00:57, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

: My vote is '''change''', and it's not because of blind people. Let me run you through a very common scenario for new users:
:* You have a person who generally thinks of themselves as quite smart.
:* They read the comics and find most of them extremely funny.
:* They come across a comic they just can't understand.
:* They stare at it for minutes, wondering why they just can't get the joke.
:* Pride already bruised, they eventually give up and turn to Google.
:* "Explain xkcd! That's exactly what I'm looking for!"
:* Click the link.
:* "Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb"
:* Gee, what a lovely welcome. Not.

: Insulting your users the first time you meet them is '''''terrible''''' practice. You're pointing at them and laughing that they didn't understand the joke. You're kicking somebody when they're already down. OK, that is exaggeration, but when you look at the line as a new user, it's not friendly and welcoming; it doesn't encourage you to return. It's just bad UX.

: Now, we could overlook the directed insult if it was indeed funny, but it really isn't. There's nothing witty about it, nothing punny about it, no double-entendres or sly references. It's just an insult.

: Legacy is no reason to keep something that doesn't work. Just because something wasn't picked up as bad practice 5 years ago doesn't mean that it isn't bad practice. Can you imagine if Microsoft kept Clippy around for "legacy reasons"?

: It would be one thing if it were kept because there were no other options, but ''so many'' fantastic alternatives have been suggested:
:* '''It's 'cause we're dumb''' -- Changes it from an insult directed at one person to a statement with an inclusive sense of community. It saying that, hey, you may not understand all the comics, but neither do we! Let's learn together!
:* '''Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000!''' -- Direct reference to comic which celebrates filling gaps in one's knowledge. Also, as a comic reference, most people won't get it the first time, so make it a link and use it to draw people further in to this wiki!
:* '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear''' -- Actually humorous, containing reference to a very common message we're all familiar with (objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear). Also alludes to the hidden depths to many of the comics, where additional levels of meaning are revealed the more about the subject one knows, which is what this wiki is trying to reveal.
:* '''Error loading tagline, click here to retry.''' -- Looks like the kind of joke you'd actually find in the comments. Clicking the tagline should then do something completely unrelated to reloading the tagline (I dunno, set off some cool JS magic).
:* '''Because it is Monday morning.''' -- Should only be shown on Mondays. Can easily be implemented with parser functions.
:* '''Because sometimes we all need a little help''' -- Gives an understanding tone that's comforting to new users.

: '''TL;DR''': The current tagline is unnecessarily confrontational and projects a bad welcome to new users, and there is nothing particularly clever/funny/important about the current tag line to recommend keeping it, especially with ''so many'' better suggestions on offer. Put it this way, if you were seeing "It's 'cause you're dumb" tag as a suggestion to add to this wiki today, would you choose it over the other options? No? Then make like an old meme and "Let It Go!" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.157|108.162.249.157]] 05:49, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

: I think the above comment is a perfect example of different mindsets. I discovered this wiki in exactly the way you described. But I was not offended in anyway when seeing the tagline, which I did almost immediately. Rather, it got a little chuckle out of me along with a thought along the lines of "Haha, yeah, maybe I am dumb." If you get offended by such a tagline, it suggests to me that you are not all that certain about your own intelligence in the first place. It's a static bit of text. It was not aimed at the person reading it, it was aimed at EVERYONE reading it. EDIT-I realize this post could be seen as offensive or a personal attack, which it's not, please read the "you" not as the poster of the above mentioned comment, but as a generic for any person reading the comment. [[User:Bon|Bon]] ([[User talk:Bon|talk]]) 07:11, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

: If I remember correctly I've heard it origonally was a pic of Blackhat saying it. Would it be possible to use that on this site. It seems like a decent solution? (I haven't read all of this so I don't know if this has been suggested sorry if it has). Like people have said no one gets all of xkcd, as a nonAmerican there is also a lot of references I don't get. Getting offenend over this does seems pretty pathetic to me. I also use this site for non explanation reasons, that is it often links together comics which is handy, and people often post cool links. But as others have pointed out this site isn't transcriptxkcd or linkxkcd it's explainxkcd, so that's what it should be meant for. Claiming i's offensive o the visually impaired seems pretty silly. All in all, maybe it could do with tweaking to make it more obvious but IMO it's a solid '''keep''' [[User:Halfhat|Halfhat]] ([[User talk:Halfhat|talk]]) 11:22, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

::I vote '''change''', for the reasons the Halfhat above listed. I also never thought "It's 'cause you're dumb." really fit with this wiki. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.33|141.101.104.33]] 12:57, 11 February 2016 (UTC)
:::I can't believe we've become such a limp-wristed baby society that we can't even have a joke like "It's 'cause you're dumb" as the tagline. Nobody would reasonably get offended at it. '''Keep.''' [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.33|108.162.221.33]] 13:35, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''keep'''. Blind people have to realize they're not the only ones reading this site. This site was created to explain the comic, not purely to provide a transcript of the comic - that's just icing. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:27, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

If there ever really was a single person who took the tag line seriously, then it was just telling them the truth. I vote '''keep'''. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.90|162.158.255.90]] 19:15, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''Keep, or otherwise, Change'''. My opinion: It is not offensive, and I find it humourous. As I am very interested in the maths and the sciences, and I am very nerdy, I do often understand the jokes in each comic. However, sometimes I don't quite get it. This wiki is very good for that, because it collates many people's views and expertise on the comic. If the vote is overall to change, I am a fan of "Because sometimes we all need a little help." [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.29|173.245.54.29]] 21:18, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''change''': I've always been a bit unsettled by it myself. Some deaf readers may be more insulted by it than blind ones. vote for "'''Cause you're #dumb''" (or perhaps another NOT symbol... so only people that don't understand are insulted... and the tagline can be linked to a page that explains why it isn't an insult) [[User:Edo|Edo]] ([[User talk:Edo|talk]]) 23:16, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''KEEP'''. I actually had the feeling the fellow who complained may not understand sarcasm very well. Regardless, the tagline to me is remarkably funny and one of the things I always point out to folks when I first turn them on to XKCD. I worry they will stop following XKCD if they don't understand a post, which is why I am especially glad your site exists. There are many types of humor that will be lost on folks. Myself, for example. I was just railing to my friends about how much I did not like a recent popular vine which showed a guy, kinda probably the father, scaring a very young child strapped in a cat seat, by yelling in horror as the cats convertible roof was closed. Because I did not grow up watching laugh-tracked America's Funniest (sic) Home Video segments, I am not conditioned for casual schadenfreude-driven videos. But I know that's just me. I don't want to limit free-speech merely because it is not for me. Regardless, I really just want you to '''KEEP''' it because to me it is darn funny and just the sort of humor most of the folks who enjoy XKCD appreciate. --[[User:Hugo|Hugo]] ([[User talk:Hugo|talk]]) 23:25, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

I will also vote '''keep'''. While it ''might'' be considered offensive, it's really no more "offensive" than XKCD itself. Lest we forget the line at the bottom of every comic page:
:Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and '''advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)'''.
I don't see how "It's 'cause you're dumb." is any worse. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 23:52, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

:: I don't think it's offensive, it's more childish, which may be off-putting for first time readers. Hence I vote for '''change'''. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 01:12, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''Keep''', per the reasoning of, among other people, Zefiro. I like the tagline a lot and don't see much at all, if anything, that's wrong with it. Like Hugo, I feel like it's a bit of ''entirely'' appropriate humor. [[User:APerson|APerson]] ([[User talk:APerson|talk!]]) 00:36, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''change'''. I know it's supposed to be a joke, but it seems out of place and not particularly funny, and it could discourage potential readers. I don't have an idea for a new tagline, but plenty of good ones have been suggested here. [[User:Cheese Lord Eggplant|Cheese Lord Eggplant]] ([[User talk:Cheese Lord Eggplant|talk]]) 03:13, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep''' better sums up my vote, and I wish to explain why. I understand the views (as stated above) that it might discourage potential viewers, but I have seen enough well-put arguments that point out why it should not be removed for the arguments on the other side of the debate. However, I do understand that sightless users would get pretty pissed off at being told that they're dumb over and over. Is there perhaps a way to hide the text from programs designed to assisted the disabled? I have a couple of suggestions.

Perhaps it can instead simply be an image, and can even be done in a more stylized text that hints at the humour behind it (no, I have no specific suggestions). This image should not have the words it says in the meta-text within it. I just think it's not worth removing it over, it's kind of funny (or very funny, depending who you ask), replacement suggestions kinda make it bland, and this is a way to avoid having sightless people get told they're dumb over and over. The stylization is just a suggestion, because most alternative taglines I've heard don't sound up to par compared to it. Just anything to point out the sarcastic and purely humorous intentions.

I'd like to enforce my suggestion of having an image with no meta-text that can be read by bringing up that explainxkcd.com can hardly ''lose'' popularity if for the sensitive minority they don't have a tagline (especially if this tagline they are not aware of could be construed as offensive). 'Cause seriously, who's going to go tell a blind person "hey man the tagline for this site is insulting to you want to hear it?" so they'll just not learn of its existence and go on peacefully. So: Image, stylized to clearly express humour, with no program-interpretable meta-text for the blind to hear. I'd like this opinion to be closely considered, and I'd love to hear intelligent replies. ''For all intents and purposes,'' I vote '''Keep''', but to address the issue proactively and adaptively to get the best for both worlds.

I would like to point out one change I would definitely agree with, however. The commenter at 108.162.249.157 not far up suggests "It's 'cause we're dumb", and I would totally back that. That one change could make a world of difference for some people. --[[User:Znayx|Znayx]] ([[User talk:Znayx|talk]]) 09:15, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

: "It's cause we're dumb" is actually a pretty acceptable change in my opinion. I still vote keep, but wouldn't mind seeing that one. Right now the no tagline version looks lonely. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.40|108.162.221.40]] 14:56, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

::For the record, I would oppose a change of "It's cause we're dumb" because it's simply not as funny (the joke benefits from it sounding like it's a mock insult) and for the reasons in my main post right below this one that I see no reason to change the tagline which should not offend or be taken personally by someone who has enough sense of humour and intelligence to enjoy xkcd. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 17:25, 12 February 2016 (UTC)
::This brings up the point that it is indeed a mock insult, and one that everyone gets when they visit the site, those with perfect vision are insulted just as much as the blind, or white, or black, etc... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.34|108.162.221.34]] 00:34, 13 February 2016 (UTC) Sam

I would vote '''keep''' as it is. I am mindful of offensive content, but context is key. This is a website whose primary purpose is explaining a humour-based webcomic that touches on topics that require some intelligence to really enjoy. The tagline is obviously (I hope) tongue-in-cheek. "if you need explanation of this sometimes very technical and specialized and sometimes ambiguous webcomic, you're clearly a moron". I think that most people on this site and elsewhere would consider those who enjoy xkcd (a webcomic that often concerns itself with science, history, technology, etc.) to be relatively intelligent. Just perhaps not in every particular area (as noted right at the top of this discussion). I also think it is clear that this is a wiki an thus the tagline is directed to everyone, even the people who wrote the tagline. We're all here because we're "dumb" in the sense of occasionally needing (or at least enjoying) a deeper explanation for the comics. If someone who is blind is using the site other than for its originally intended purpose, and it helps them, that's awesome. But that doesn't mean the tagline must acknowledge all possible uses of the site. Just the thesis statement of the site, which is "this site is for explaining something you might not understand". If there are blind people who use this site just to read the comic and never to need or enjoy the explanations, then I guess they are smarter than me. I do not personally believe in changing the tagline of the entire community because it doesn't apply to one small group that is using the site for a different purpose than its intentions (again, not knocking them for using the site at all, but seriously, don't walk into McDonalds and go "''I eat here because my doctor says I need more sodium, and I actually hate the food. I'm offended by your "I'm loving it" tagline. Change it!''". Or complain about Disneyland's slogan because you suffer from depression.). I would also have expected anyone who reads xkcd often enough to bother coming to this site just to do so because of their blindness would have a sense of humour and would understand the context in which the tagline was intended, and not take it personally. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 17:25, 12 February 2016 (UTC)
:I really agree with basically everything TheHypo writes, both here and his above comment on the reason "we're dumb" would not work at all. The idea with keeping the text but only as an image could be used, but I just do not like that we change this because someone made a ''troll complaint'' somewhere, regardless of him being blind or not; that is just one more good reason to keep it. Then again if we really wish to make it better for blind people, then by all means use an image. But keep the text in the image then! If you do enjoy xkcd then you should be able to spot the humor, and with the way Randall himself keep on mocking people on his own page, and in his comics, then why should this not fit well in with this explain page, and why should we not keep on doing what we have been doing so far? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:19, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

How about '''Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're ''dumb*''.''' (''*Or don't get the joke because it is either outside your area of expertise or in a format that isn't accessible to you'') - [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.23|141.101.70.23]] 04:48, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Change'''. I've always realized it was a joke, but I think we could do a bit better. How about, "Some comics may be funnier than they appear" as suggested by 199.27.130.198? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.42|173.245.54.42]] 19:35, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Change'''. When I first started reading this wiki and noticed the tagline, I wasn't offended, and I realized it was a joke. But it also gave me an impression that this wiki is run by immature people as this is a childish insult, used as joke. Naturally, I wasn't too keen on following thissite closely and would only visit here when there's a comic that I don't understand at all. Thankfully, after reading through multiple explanations, I no longer think that the writers are immature and as I started reading other explanations, I started coming here even for the comics that I understand. My point is, it took me couple of months to warm towards explainxkcd and most people aren't that persistent/ give the chance to prove. So we are making lot of people to alienate with the site just at the tagline, even before they get to the content. I vote for '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear'''. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 01:07, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep''' would be my vote. Today's society puts too much emphasis on protecting people's feelings, to the point that some people have onion-paper-thin skins, too thin to operate effectively when out in public! I feel this complaint falls under this category. Such over sensitivity shouldn't seriously be catered to. Politely listened to and considered, at most. Bending to such things just encourages people to be more sensitive.

The way I see it, you CANNOT enjoy xkcd without being smarter than average, or you'd have to turn to xkcd Explain for every single comic! It cannot be fun to require being walked through every single one. Conversely, I doubt there's very many of these smart people who are smart enough to get every joke (and every nuance) without assistance. Therefore it should be clear that is is a simple tongue-in-cheek joke, you don't really mean it seriously. It should be taken in the tone that it's meant, and it offends me when people don't.

For example, right now I'm at a bar at a Valentine's Day event. As I'm hopelessly single, this day is problematic for me, especially to be in public. I COULD ask that people refrain from love stuff, from flaunting their relationship, etc., that I'm here for other reasons. But as an intelligent adult I realize this would be unreasonable, that many people, especially most here tonight, enjoy the love stuff, enjoy Valentine's Day. It is certainly not their fault I don't, not directly, and they should not be held responsible for my discomfort.

If the final vote is for Change, I like "It's because '''we're''' dumb", or "we're all dumb", be inclusive to reduce how derogatory it sounds. Remember, while sightless people might find this site useful, the primary reason for it IS because we're dumb, i.e. we need help getting the joke. - NiceGuy1[[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.215|198.41.235.215]] 04:53, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

Wait, so they think they're smarter than me? I'm offended! ;-)
Okay so I'm not. I almost voted keep because the primary raison d'être of exkcd is not for blind people. It was created specifically for people who need help understanding some of the science, math, and arcana behind the humor.
But you know what? "It's 'cause you're dumb" is not that funny. Some of the suggestions are better. So I vote "'''CHANGE'''". [[User:Saspic45|Saspic45]] ([[User talk:Saspic45|talk]]) 07:30, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

How about "Explain xkcd: It's 'cause we're dumb."? This has more of a feeling of inclusiveness and camaraderie to me, as in we're all equals more-or-less in the face of RM's brilliance and having a good time enjoying the material together. Came up with it about a year ago, because as it is the tagline struck me as a bit harsh, and have said it that way in my mind ever since.
Edit: Ok, I see this has been suggested, so +1 for that minor change.

'''Change.''' While I didn't notice it at first, I was pretty offput when I did. As someone who has some trouble catching sarcasm all the time, I was excited when I found this site -- it helps me with not only things outside my knowledge, but also lets me check when something ''is'' being sarcastic. And when I finally noticed that tagline, even though I knew it couldn't be directed straight at me, it still sort of felt like it. I've been called dumb nearly throughout my life for not catching sarcasm which others seem to understand immediately, and it doesn't exactly feel nice (or in the spirit of XKCD!) to have that little reminder floating there. It's not even worded to be funny, either, just sorta cold. Sarcastically saying someone is dumb for not getting sarcasm... it's a vicious loop. And when there are so many other options -- many of which have fun puns or a much more friendly feel -- why are people so attached to this one? And from what it seems, a lot of people seem attached to it purely for the purpose of being stubborn against people who don't like it. Plus, why is it such an awful thing to try to make people feel more welcome? Jeez, guys. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.11|108.162.216.11]] 21:57, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

Change it please. I see it all the time, and it feels SO condescending. I often check out the site to get more information about a topic in the scope of a given strip, or to see if there's any subtext outside of the primary joke, and it ALWAYS feels like the site is insulting my ability to understand "simple humor". I understand that it's supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek joke, but I hate it. I think it should either be changed to one of the previous suggestions, or use a rotating set of taglines, or it should just be removed completely, because I utterly dislike the way it currently is. [[Special:Contributions/130.215.123.52|130.215.123.52]] 12:27, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Definitely '''change''' - I'm surprised what it was doing there in the first place - but I do not like the "we're dumb" version either. My current favorite is "Because we all need a little help", as it is equally directed at both the non-joke-understanding audience and the screenreading audience; but I definitely like "Some comics may be funnier than they appear" and, to a lesser extent, "You're one of today's lucky 10,000" (not sure, actually, whether that one would benefit from a link to the relevant comic). Incidentally, how did the previous guy manage to post four hours in the future? Or is the AM/PM to 24h conversion broken? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.88|141.101.81.88]] 08:39, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Wow, this blew up... I never found the tagline particularly funny, but I honestly can't believe so many people appear to be offended by it. If someone is dumb enough to believe it is specifically aimed at them, not realise that it is humor, and think it is actually worth getting upset about, then the tagline is perfectly justified. Should be changed to "Please click here if you are easily offended", with a link to Disney.com, (or 4chan/b/...) --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 12:09, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''change'''. Even smart humans need positive words. Many of the proposed alternative with only positive words suits me fine. [[User:MGitsfullofsheep|MGitsfullofsheep]] ([[User talk:MGitsfullofsheep|talk]]) 13:25, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''keep''', but modify the Skip to Content tags to bypass it. It's humorous, and there's no such thing as a humorous tag line that won't offend '''someone'''. Can pretty much guarantee that if it's changed to something else, some wag will start a discussion about how that new subtitle offends them... {{unsigned|Danemcg}}

If it's not too late, I vote '''keep''', I regularly view the site for detailed information about comic topics and am always amused to read the tag line. I hope the poor fellow who tallies our votes here will mind that we're likely an unrepresentative group - if you're offended, you're likely to turn out, where a contented user (nearly myself) might just pass by. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.36|108.162.216.36]] 14:34, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''keep'''. Anyone who's actually offended by this is way to sensitive...[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.11|108.162.216.11]] 15:09, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Change'''. Never found it funny. We can do better. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 16:12, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Change'''. It offends too many people (myself included, although more at first than now) to be kept. [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 16:57, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

I too vote '''change''' if it's not too late. Not because it's particularly offensive but more because it's not funny or xkcd-ish enough to justify any offence it may or may not cause. I prefer some of the suggestions we've had:
* Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000! (with, of course, a link to the relevant comic)
* '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear.''' This one is my favourite and I feel it captures very well my main reason for using explainxkcd
::[[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.149|141.101.106.149]] 21:12, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''Keep'''. If we legitimately had a large group of blind people who were offended at this tagline, I would be in support of changing it. However, the only supposedly blind person who we know of that takes offense was obviously a belligerent individual. Do we really want to take a guy who says "I've found more intelligent, compassionate, humane, wise, sympathetic, inclusive, and infinitely funnier *dingleberries* than [Randall Munroe].*Rude gesture*" seriously? do we really want some ranting asshole somewhere to dictate what our site does or does not do? seriously? [[User:VfiftyV|VfiftyV]] ([[User talk:VfiftyV|talk]]) 00:11, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

I vote '''change'''. I've always disliked the tagline, it's a bland and obvious "joke" that's at odds with the friendly, clever tone of both the comics and the rest of this site. Even if it's clear we don't mean it, calling every visitor to this site dumb, with no further context, just isn't setting a good example for the kind of *clever* sarcasm that Randall uses. We can do better. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.32|108.162.221.32]] 01:12, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep''' because it's clearly meant as a joke. It makes no sense to change this site over one person's "offense" that the unaffiliated xkcd site isn't blind-friendly enough.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.142.217|162.158.142.217]] 02:31, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep'''. Anyone with a sense of humor can understand that it's at least humorous. And, the primary purpose of the site ''is'' to... explain the comics, mainly to those who don't understand them. If it does get read out loud to every blind person who visits, then please, by all means, '''Change''' the layout at least to keep that from happening. But it shouldn't be removed due to half-baked complaints. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.168|108.162.245.168]] 02:57, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

I've already voted above, but I would like to call out the sightlessness issue as a red herring. One of the premises of accessible design is that all users get the same content, although perhaps in different ways, so I think we're going in the wrong direction in proposing to change or hide the text for blind users but not for everyone else. If we're to keep it, then let us keep it for all. If we're to change it, then let us change it (to the same thing) for all. If we're to remove it, then let us remove it for all. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:22, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Alright, I've tallied up the votes twice and counted 36-31 the first time, and 39-32 the second time. Both times were majority keep, though there was still a strong showing for people wanting to change it. I've fixed and restored the black hat figure who was supposed to be speaking the tagline back in the old blog days, and I turned the tagline off for screen readers since the blind may only need us for the transcript, and accessibility for the blind is a big part of why we had a transcript to begin with. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:44, 16 February 2016 (UTC)
:I think this is a great compromise. And cool that it is Black Hat's line. I did not know this used to be the case. Is it correct that the font color has also been turned gray so it is not so prominent? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:45, 16 February 2016 (UTC)
::Yeah, back when this site was a blog, [https://web.archive.org/web/20130118141641/http://www.explainxkcd.com/ the tagline was Black Hat's line.] [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=MediaWiki:Tagline&action=history looking at the edit history for the tagline], it looks like we've made some vague attempts to restore black hat's face next to the tagline before, but mediawiki doesn't process markup in that area. I did a little bit of CSS magic this time round to fix it properly this time. He's a little fuzzy though, could be better. The tagline's always been gray though. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:57, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

: Just before I start, since I'm an IP user and therefore hard to identify (should probably make an account one of these days, but oh well), I just want to quickly mention that I am the same person as [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.157|108.162.249.157]] who posted on the 11 Feb.

: Now that's out of the way, I want to say that I disagree with the outcome decided for this post. While I appreciate the attempt to compromise by having it look a bit more like Black Hat is saying the line, I still think that the substance of the arguments against the current tag line are much stronger than the arguments for keeping it. The arguments for keeping it all basically boil down to "It's a joke and it's been there forever so there is no need to change and anyone who suggests otherwise should just man the f*** up." Nowhere have I seen anyone in the keep-camp argue as to why none of the alternatives are just as good or better than the current line. Pretty much, the only reason ever given to stick to the current tag line is that it's the status quo.

: On the other hand, you have many, many people pointing out that the tagline is offensive and that, even if the reader does understand it to be a joke, it's not a particularly clever one and provides a rather unwelcoming atmosphere. What many of the people in the keep-camp are ignoring is the fact that not everybody has a high level of self-confidence, and that being called dumb, even if the intention is tongue-in-cheek, just comes off as hostile and drives people away. It is also true that all tone of voice suggesting sarcasm is completely lost in text, which is why over at the [http://doctorwho.answers.wikia.com/wiki/Doctor_Who_Answers:Policies#Additional Doctor Who Answers Wiki] we specifically point this out in our policy of civility towards fellow users. This wiki is very different from that one in many ways, but I don't think it would be dumb to look at what others have noticed and learn from their mistakes, especially since that particular wording was added due to a bad misunderstanding leading from lost sarcasm. There has already been somebody here who admits they find understanding sarcasm to be difficult. Should we really be calling them dumb? Furthermore, the quote seems to directly contradict Randall's attitude towards ignorance, summed up so perfectly in [[1053: Ten Thousand]]. We should be welcoming ignorant, or "dumb", people in the hopes of enlightening them with the wisdom of the community here. Singling them out as dumb isn't going to help them.

: Finally, I fear the reason there aren't more change votes are because many of the people who were put off by the tagline simply never came back to this wiki after their first visit. I wouldn't be surprised if reader retention rates increased if you changed the tagline, and if the number of readers who convert to users also increases if the community provided a more friendly first-impression.

: Now, I know that I have raised this all before, along with many of the other people who voted for change, and it still doesn't seem to have made an impact of the people who try to insist that an insult with no wit or humour is "just a joke". I think the best way for us to prove that the tagline needs to change is to conduct a little experiment. Let's look at a list of commonly supported alternatives:

:# '''It's 'cause we're dumb'''
:# '''Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000!'''
:# '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear'''
:# '''Because sometimes we all need a little help'''

: Explanations for why these taglines are better than the current have already been provided. I challenge anyone reading this post from the keep-camp to explain why "It's 'cause you're dumb" is better than each of those taglines individually, without falling back on arguments of legacy or that the people reading the line are thin-skinned wusses. If reasonable counter-arguments can be made against each of those lines in favour of the current one, then I will back down. Until then, I cannot accept that the battle of ideas has chosen the current tagline. There are just so many better alternatives that are funnier, more in-line with the xkcd spirit, and above all, are welcoming to new readers into the community instead of turning them away the moment they reach the front door. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.157|108.162.250.157]] 11:28, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

:: Dude, you are not getting how voting and democracy works. The people who are proposing a change, are the equivalent of lobbyist --having lots of lobbyist does not equate to "strong support". None of these lobbyist have been able to agree on a single rewording, so they are not arguing for the same cause. On the the other hand there are thousands of of visitors (voters), of those who actually voted, voted to keep and not go with the suggestions of the lobbyists. Had there on the other-hand been a majority for change, the what would the change be? At best we would have to consolidate the suggestions (candidates), and since there is no term limit on tag-lines, the existing one should be a running candidate as well, and then make an eating contest between all the possible candidates [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.109|162.158.255.109]] 19:50, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

OK, I'll take a stab at it. "It's 'cause you're dumb" is better than any of these because it is funnier than any of these. It's funny for the same reason that the titles of numerous books, "XXX for Dummies" are funny. In fact, if it weren't such an obvious rip-off, the tag line could be "xkcd for Dummies", which would be the same joke.

:# '''It's 'cause we're dumb''' is sort of awkward, and why would I want an explanation for something I didn't understand from a bunch of dummies, anyway? I want somebody smart to explain it to the dummy - me - who didn't get the joke.
:# '''Congratulations! You're one of today's lucky 10,000!''' is meaningless, and therefore not funny, unless you click on it and then let Randall tell you the joke behind that punch line. I do love the sentiment now that I've seen that comic, and somehow linking to that comic as an explanation of what explainxkcd.com is all about is a great idea, but as a tag line, by itself, it just isn't funny.
:# '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear''' is sort of cute, as it relates to the warning in rear-view mirrors, but it is so actually true in the case of xkcd that it loses some of its funniness by being a serious explanation of why the explainxkcd.com site is valuable.
:# '''Because sometimes we all need a little help''' - is sweet, sympathetic, and inclusive; it's just not very funny.

By contrast, "It's 'cause you're dumb" grabbed me the first time I saw it as being relevant to why explainxkcd.com is a great site, and equally importantly, it made me laugh. Maybe it is to be expected that among the viewers of a site dedicated to explaining jokes there will be a reasonable percentage that don't get this particular joke, either. Maybe the solution is a link on that line to a page that explains the "It's 'cause you're dumb" joke in the way xkcd jokes are explained: "It's funny because you are not really dumb, you just maybe didn't get some very esoteric reference, and you'll enjoy the humor of xkcd more when that reference is explained. But, when jokes need to be explained, it is common for people to feel like they must be stupid, so we make a joke about that feeling. It's not really pointed at you in particular; after all, this is a published web-site - the folks who wrote it probably don't even know you." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.41|108.162.221.41]] 18:44, 16 February 2016‎

'''Change''', kind of. How about this: "Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're <strike>dumb</strike> of average intelligence." Maybe even include a (hidden) link to [[1386: People are Stupid]]. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.220.17|108.162.220.17]] 23:42, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

: (I landed in an edit conflict with the person above, so my comments do not take their response into account.)

: Thank you 108. You actually provided a decent rebuttal against the counterproposal, which has been lacking until this time. While I do not agree with all your points, I can actually see your point-of-view. Personally, I think that if we're going to use it as a reference to the "___ for Dummies" books, it needs to be clearer so people don't take it as an insult, but otherwise I understand your points.

: @162: As my friend, one of the greatest admins on one of the biggest non-Wikipedia wikis, says, wikis are not democracies. It is the idea with the best supporting arguments that wins, not the idea with the most votes, as many people support certain ideas for superficial reasons that are not aligned with the overall aim of improving the wiki to attract more readers/editors and improve content. Especially with such a close vote, I would put more emphasis on the quality of the arguments than the pure numbers of supports/opposes.

: Looking at the proper counter-arguments finally provided, I would shift the counter-proposal for a new tagline to tagline 3 suggested above: '''Some comics may be funnier than they appear'''. From above, I can see the argument against 1 being that people don't want help from dummies, 2 will probably be obscure for new users and may alienate them upon entry, and 4 is just too soppy. 3 however is funny, it's accessible, and it's actually funnier in my opinion because it actually ''does'' describe exactly what we do here. To the new user, it will at first just be a mildly amusing reference (still funnier than the current line in my opinion) but it will take on a new meaning and relevance as people use this wiki more, and the gradual realisation of relevance will make the tagline even more appropriate and amusing. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.163|108.162.250.163]] 23:59, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

I’m the lurker who suggested “Some comics are funnier than they appear.” I was bemused to see it get any traction at all, since it’s not that hysterically funny, and perhaps incomprehensible outside the US where convex car mirrors aren’t etched “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”

Wow, am I glad I didn’t create an account here when posting it!

I expected to see more spit-balling in kind, not an outpouring of orneriness from a majority of this obviously intelligent community who are apparently too stubborn to admit that there could possibly be anything wrong with greeting newcomers, “It’s ‘cause you’re dumb.” I took the starting point of the thread to be the obviousness that ANYTHING ELSE would be better than that.

I also expected the admin to deliberate a little harder, showing how he evaluated arguments and suggestions and tried to do the right thing, rather than just counting votes. Notwithstanding the facade of democracy in his benevolent dictatorship, he also doesn’t seem to have taken into account that the effect of NOT changing the tagline—-thus continuing to alienate a lot of users and potential contributors like me-—far, FAR outweighs any potential backlash from the old guard who are married to it. What are they going to do, rage-quit because they didn’t get their way? Because something on their favorite wiki got **gasp!** CHANGED?

Boo hoo, I didn’t get my way on a small thing which doesn’t really matter. At all. I only followed up here because I noticed the banner soliciting user input had changed. However, the ugly tone of this little tempest in a teapot has certainly convinced me that this community isn’t worth joining or contributing to. I reserve the right to continue lurking, but I’m sure as hell turning my AdBlock back on.[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.198|199.27.130.198]] 07:10, 17 February 2016 (UTC)

Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) said "We're all idiots 99% of the time about 99% of things. It's the 1% that makes up for all the rest." Learning begins by owning your dumb. [[User:Bob Stein - VisiBone|Bob Stein - VisiBone]] ([[User talk:Bob Stein - VisiBone|talk]]) 16:12, 17 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep'''. I felt offended -- but -- so what. It is true. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.91.169|141.101.91.169]] 21:20, 17 February 2016 (UTC) Martin

* '''Keep''' It is funny. People are not made of glass, not even dumb ones. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.172|108.162.245.172]] 23:15, 17 February 2016 (UTC)

: ''199 wrote:"I was bemused to see it get any traction at all, since it’s [...] perhaps incomprehensible outside the US where convex car mirrors aren’t etched “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”"''
: You don't need to worry about that. American culture has spread throughout the world so thoroughly that I assume most English speakers will understand it. I myself am an Aussie, who spent most of her childhood living in Europe, and I understood the reference perfectly. And while it might not be "hysterically funny", it is certainly more universally funny than the insult.

: Admins, please heed what 199 said in the rest of his/her message. You have yet another example in a long line of people being turned off from this wiki community because they don't like the attitude of this statement, nor the stubborn adherence to it despite so many people pointing out how wrong it is. You are aware that "It was just a joke" is a common defence bullies make, right? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.157|108.162.250.157]] 00:53, 18 February 2016 (UTC)

So, @Davidy22, can you add a "Jump to Transcript" link in the jump-to-nav div, and move the jump-to-nav div to before the tagline in the HTML? Thank you! [[User:Hat|Hat]] ([[User talk:Hat|talk]]) 08:58, 18 February 2016 (UTC)

At 12,000 words this discussion has beaten the H0/HO discussion on wikipedia... How long until we beat Star Trek Into Darkness??? --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 12:10, 18 February 2016 (UTC)

'''Keep'''. I like the humour in it. 18.February 2016 12:40 (UTC) Fabian

XKCD provides transcripts about a week after a new comic comes out, so saying that blind readers require explainxkcd is a bit of an overstatement (although to be honest the official transcripts are somewhat vague). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.217|141.101.70.217]] 19:45, 18 February 2016 (UTC)

: Generally most transcripts gets completed within hours of the comics being posted. More complex ones can take longer, and there is sometimes a bit of back and forth as far as layout is concerned, but the content tends to be there pretty quickly. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 09:35, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

"Explain xkcd: extra knowledge, see discussions." I wish I'd thought of that one a week ago. And Randall says it's not an acronym, eh? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.198|199.27.130.198]] 09:21, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

:Ah crap... that's actually really good. I'd have supported this had it been mentioned earlier, even though I voted to keep the current. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 02:39, 20 February 2016 (UTC)

For what it's worth, if the matter is ever re-opened, I'd vote to '''change''' to one of the alternate suggestions -- I quite like "extra knowledge, see discussions" but many others would be fine. The current one is a poor way to greet newcomers; it certainly gave ''me'' pause. Perhaps I've been sensitized by the general uptick in incivility in many places in recent years, but I'm actively avoiding forums and sites that appear to be encouraging rudeness. If one disregards that header, it becomes clear that this site isn't like that, but one has to get past that header first. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 17:32, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

'''Change''' because the only justification to keep it seems to be "It's just a joke why are people always so offended at everything" [[User:256.256.256.256|256.256.256.256]] ([[User talk:256.256.256.256|talk about me behind my]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ/ back]) 12:55, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

I’d say '''change''' it. It’s not funny, it’s never been funny and it never will be funny. Why does a tag line have to be funny any way? All it needs to be is memorable and eye catching. I personally like “congratulations you’re one of today’s lucky 10,000” it’s a direct reference to an existing comic and encourages learning more.
:I agree, so '''change''' from me. —[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User:While False/explain xkcd museum|'''museum''']] | [[User talk:While False|talk]] | [[special:Contributions/While_False|contributions]] | [[special:Log/While_False|logs]] | [[Special:UserRights/While_False|rights]] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:While_False&printable=yes printable version] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:While_False&action=info page information] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere/User:While_False what links there] | [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:RecentChangesLinked&days=30&from=&target=User%3AWhile_False related changes] | [https://www.google.com Google search] | current time: {{CURRENTTIME}}) 18:27, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

== Concerning recent spam ==

In light of the recent and large amount of spam that we've been seeing, I've revoked new users of the right to create and move pages, as well as access to the write api. If your account is three days old and has 10 or more edits under it, you will still be allowed to create and move pages. This will end when the spambots decide to leave. To the person who's doing this, don't ruin this for the other people who use this site. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 19:36, 11 February 2016 (UTC)
:In light of the recent burst of spam, creation of talk pages will also be shut off for new users. We will create an empty talk page for new comics in place of this feature. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 06:47, 16 February 2016 (UTC)
: So what will you do in three days when the spambot can create new pages again? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 07:58, 16 February 2016 (UTC)
::They have to hit both criteria. The flaw there is that spambots have also demonstrated themselves to be capable of editing pages, but I'm not sure what to do for that aside from look for a better captcha. If it comes to it, I'll write my own. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:05, 16 February 2016 (UTC)
aw man. tfw another troll already beat me to the punch {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.62}}

@Davidy22: Maybe we should use something like [[MW:Extension:TitleBlacklist]] or [[MW:Manual:Combating spam#.24wgSpamRegex]]. --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 14:25, 16 February 2016 (UTC)
:Hum. I'll take a look when I get home. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:02, 17 February 2016 (UTC)
:: Sigh, it's getting out of hand again... --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 15:19, 18 February 2016 (UTC)
:::Alright, I'm not sure what's happening here. This is what's in the localsettings file:

$wgGroupPermissions['user']['createtalk'] = false;
$wgGroupPermissions['autoconfirmed']['createtalk'] = false;

:::I don't know why this doesn't work. Probably well overdue for a mediawiki upgrade, but I have midterms and papers coming up. This timing is inconvenient. The title blacklist is for a newer mediawiki version, I'll lock and upgrade this weekend. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 16:07, 18 February 2016 (UTC)
:::For now, I'll try removing talk page creation rights from all non-admin users. I'll make the talk pages for new explanations. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 16:09, 18 February 2016 (UTC)
:::Alright, I made a test account and I realised I'm very dumb. I forgot to turn off createtalk for all, so people could still make talk pages. I've also added mandatory email verification. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:34, 18 February 2016 (UTC)
::::See tagline ;-) --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 01:51, 19 February 2016 (UTC)
:::::I do want to find/write a better CAPTCHA though, none of these measures I've taken stop account creation, so the spammers might try just shoving a million accounts at us. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 03:03, 19 February 2016 (UTC)
:::Oooh nevermind forcing email verification turns off anonymous editing. Don't want to go that far, and it didn't stop that one spammer anyways. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:17, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

== Will verifying my email turn off the CAPTCHA ==

Pretty much what the section title says. I find the way the captcha works here kinda annoying, since I submit and then get the CAPTCHA. I'd be willing to put in my email address if it would stop the CAPTCHA, but, otherwise, I don't see any point in doing so.

If it does stop the CAPTCHA, I would suggest mentioning this in the preferences as one of the benefits of adding an email, and perhaps point it out on the page when the CAPTCHA appears.

IF not, then will I just have the CAPTCHA forever? Or will it go away once I put in enough edits? Or do I need to do something else?

[[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 00:10, 1 March 2016 (UTC)

:The email address is optional, we have it set up so that users less than 3 days old with less than 10 edits will have to fill in a CAPTCHA when they edit. It's set up that way to limit and make the damage that spambots can inflict much easier to fix. You appear to have cleared the 10 edit boundery today, so you should be able to start editing CAPTCHA free now. Giving people a way to bypass the anti spam window by providing an email address is an idea though, I'll see if I can't write a plugin for that after I'm done with finals. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:24, 1 March 2016 (UTC)

== Why does Mediawiki look so "old" all of a sudden? ==

Screendhots: [http://i.imgur.com/smN1a45.png][http://i.imgur.com/qdpxhdY.png]

I've tried this in three browsers, and they all look the same. [[User:KangaroOS|Kangaro]][[User talk:KangaroOS|OS]] 12:56, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
:High traffic, high load, everything is on fire. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 16:28, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
:: Man ! The fire started by Randall is out of control.. It has been so long, and this is looking very ugly. Did wiki go in "printer-friendly version only" mode ? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.56|162.158.255.56]] 04:10, 5 April 2016 (UTC)

(H'rm - realized I posted this in the wrong place - further discussion should go [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Technical#Stylesheets not working?|here]].) [[User:KangaroOS|Kangaro]][[User talk:KangaroOS|OS]] 15:20, 5 April 2016 (UTC)

== Annoying ad ==

From the anti-noscript text shown when an ad is blocked by noscript: "our ads are restricted to unobtrusive images and slow animated GIFs."

Yet the ad blocked features a drawing of a woman in her underwear. I find this very obtrusive.

Also, can you get rid of the captcha needed to even view content on this site using Tor? https://support.cloudflare.com/hc/en-us/articles/203306930-Does-CloudFlare-block-Tor- {{unsigned ip|162.158.17.66}}
:Looked through our bids, a guy who was auto approved used the privelidge to put that ad up. I cancelled the ad, if he puts it up again he's getting banned. I'll get on the tor options in cloudflare. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:41, 10 August 2016 (UTC)

== Random Question ==
Since this is the miscellaneous section, I assume I can ask a question based on anything, even if it's not XKCD or wiki-related. Am I correct? Or is there another place to do that? --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 16:21, 9 November 2016 (UTC)
:Nothing expressly forbids it, but do remember the purpose of the site. If you want to ask a question not related to xkcd or the site, there is likely another, better outlet for your question on the internet. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 17:14, 9 November 2016 (UTC)
:Ah. Okay. Just making sure. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 17:47, 9 November 2016 (UTC)

== "What if: Hide the Atmosphere" question ==

At the end, Randall notes one "may not want to" dig out Texas, and the guy in the illustration mentions "specifically requesting" something. As someone not from the USA, I don't know what he's referring to. Could someone please explain it? {{unsigned ip|172.68.51.28}}
:It's a reference to {{w|Don't Mess with Texas}}. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 20:52, 9 February 2017 (UTC)

== Blinking advert ==

There's an ad for something called Goliath Fallen that blinks occasionally. A static picture would be fine but the blinking is distracting --[[User:Figvh|Figvh]] ([[User talk:Figvh|talk]]) 04:22, 27 September 2017 (UTC)

== What is Randall Munroe's wife's name? ==
I am curious--haven't been able to find it. {{unsigned ip|162.158.62.141}}
:We accept privacy. Ask Randall himself. [[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:21, 19 May 2018 (UTC)
:We could refer to her as Megan, based on the character even despite its' "everywoman" stance. Megan is represented as Randall's wife in the ''_ Years'' comic series (with Randall being the supportive main Cueball character), as well as in other comics where Randall is represented as a Cueball in a comic with a Megan. {{unsigned ip|172.70.130.6}} 18:52, 26 Jul 2021 (UTC)
::Also, broken signing because I forgot that <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> was a thing. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.6|172.70.130.6]] 18:56, 26 July 2021 (UTC)

== 5 bucks that most of these are spambots. ==

[[File:probablyspammers.png]]

🤔

[[User:DPS2004|DPS2004'); DROP TABLE users;--]] ([[User talk:DPS2004|talk]]) 19:07, 12 February 2018 (UTC)
:I tried "DROP TABLE users;" but then I lost my login... ;)
:The more serious thing is that when the Captcha was broken (after 31 March) that bots were too dumb but with the new reCaptcha V2 this happens again.
:But since those users take no further actions and IPs also can edit here it doesn't seem to be a problem. Nevertheless old users with zero edits may be purged in the future.
:[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:17, 19 May 2018 (UTC)

== Header pointing to FAQ implies content that doesn't exist ==

"All explain xkcd editors should check the latest update at the Editor FAQ. We now support LaTeX..."

Strangely, the FAQ doesn't mention LaTex once.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.210.34|172.69.210.34]] 15:06, 8 June 2018 (UTC)
:You're right but the (yet last) question "How do I enter mathematical or chemical formulas?" belongs to this. The Math functionality uses LaTeX syntax and I will mention this. I thought people who know the markup <code><nowiki><math>...</math></nowiki></code> do know that it's based on LaTeX. Nevertheless reading this {{w|Help:Displaying a formula|manual}} is mandatory. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:08, 8 June 2018 (UTC)

== Unable to create own user page? ==

Hi, I'm a new user here. When I try to put info on my user page it says I don't have permission to create it. Same applies for my talk page. Please help.[[User:VannaWho|VannaWho]] ([[User talk:VannaWho|talk]]) 07:18, 13 June 2018 (UTC)
:I've clarified the corresponding section in the [[explain xkcd:Editor FAQ|Editor FAQ]]. You will become a trusted user after a few more edits, but right now I've created your user and talk page. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:57, 13 June 2018 (UTC)
:Thanks. I'm looking forwards to becoming an active member of the community here.[[User:VannaWho|VannaWho]] ([[User talk:VannaWho|talk]]) 13:09, 13 June 2018 (UTC)
Thank You for the info!
[[User:GetPunnedOn]]
::Extra info, for GetPunnedOn (and others, but you're needing to he told this a lot, GPO...). Please use the full signature (those four tildes: <code><nowiki>~~~~</nowiki></code>), to let us know that, in this case, you posted your reply at 23:30, 21 May 2023 UTC, as we knew what date and times in 2018 the prior users posted. Not even sure you'll read this/etc, so leaving it as an open message to anyone else who stumbles this way without otherwise picking up on the other hints to do so. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.206|172.71.178.206]] 08:52, 22 May 2023 (UTC)

== 2018 ==

This probably only means something to me, but has anyone else noted that we are approaching comic 2018 in 2018? I don't think any other comic has been posted in in the year its number represents. Maybe the sign of the apocalypse? Or like all the other signs of the apocalypse, just a random occurrence. I am interested in seeing if it is memorialized in some way. {{unsigned ip|172.69.33.239}}
:Please do not forget to sign your comments. Nevertheless the apocalypse was already here: [[998: 2012]]. And a comic with the name 2018 was published last December ([[1935: 2018]]). The comic number 2018 will probably happen on July 11 and the number 2019 will be two days later on July 13 (ohhh, it's a Friday...). --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 08:41, 23 June 2018 (UTC)

== Random Kettle ==

Hello, so I had https://xk3d.xkcd.com/880/ open for an extended amount of time. When I came back to it today, I had a random blue kettle that was not on any other of my xkcd pages, and it would change locations every time i refreshed. (I have several screenshots, just not sure how to upload here.)

It went away when the back page button was pressed, but does anybody know what or WHY this kettle was there? {{unsigned|DeathFox4}}
:Please do not forget to sign your comments. You probably want to talk about this matter here: [[Talk:880: Headache]]. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:44, 11 October 2018 (UTC)

== Where to ask questions to find a specific comic? ==

Hello,

Someone searching for a specific comic has gotten me to try to find a place to ask the community, but haven't found any?

[https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/9uzvqv/help_me_find_the_one_where/]

kind regards,
Dodo --[[User:Dodo|Dodo]]
:Please sign your posts with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> because then we also see a timestamp of your comment. That's important because we could see that your question from reddit was solved there slightly after your post here. It's from SMBC and not xkcd. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:55, 8 November 2018 (UTC)

== Incomplete "Created by a _" Tag Jokes ==

I'm not lobbying for their return or anything, I'm just curious why they were removed. Or rather, why the incomplete tag was rewritten to discourage them. It was a good bit of comedy, and their removal makes it seem like this wiki is trying to be more serious than it really needs to be, IMO. [[User:CJB42|CJB42]] ([[User talk:CJB42|talk]]) 19:18, 9 November 2018 (UTC)
:I'm the creator of the BOT which initially presented a new page by honestly mentioning it was NOT created by a human. Years later, people started to make that joke. Sometimes it was really funny, but you can't repeat a joke for over hundreds of times, not funny and stupid attempts to reach that first jokes. And that incomplete tag is meant to be there for mentioning what's wrong or missing, sadly most editors don't use it for this reason. Nonetheless a nice joke is still welcome there, but it should be funny and not just an urge to present a "joke." --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:51, 9 November 2018 (UTC)

== xkcd.wtf ==

Hi everyone, I've recently made this small project http://xkcd.wtf/ . It's not yet finished, but somehow Big Goog' picked it up, so I thought I'll go live. It is important to me to announce it here first, since it uses explainxkcd's API and wouldn't be possible without all of you.

Originally, this was meant to be a Uni project, but the course was cancelled and the already purchased domain sat dormant for many months. Just recently, I picked it up and made a first prototype in Perl, then I undertook the painful process of rewriting it as a buzzword-compliant Javascript Single Page Application (so my server doesn't have to proxy everything). It sometimes craps out, because xkcd's API is awful (the 'real' one doesn't have CORS, the c.xkcd.com one is often offline) [[User:Gir|//gir.st/]] ([[User talk:Gir|talk]]) 22:19, 12 November 2018 (UTC)
:Nice, I know you have many skills in programming. What's the purpose of this project?
:Funny findings: The TLD isn't welcome always like here "In June 2012, Ryan Singel of Wired predicted that the .wtf domain would not be applied by anyone." and my own first investigation:
:<code>[root@localhost ~]# whois xkcd.wtf</code>
:<code>No whois server is known for this kind of object.</code>
:I'm running CentOS with no pending updates...
:Besides kidding, it works great and could be a good presentation on pages using a bad layout here. My goal is still to get this site much more mobile compliant, but there are still also issues on parts you don't use. Nonetheless let me know if you need help, hoping you will help here in the future too. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:49, 13 November 2018 (UTC)
::hi, sorry I missed your post! The purpose was to do this as a university project, but the course was cancelled after I bought the domain in anticipation of it. not wanting it to go to waste, I've implemented it in my spare time. the whois error is strange; it works on Fedora (which queries whois.donuts.co (no m)). I may come back to your offer for help (thanks) and definitely won't be leaving explainxkcd.com (my expertise lies with computer topics, and there weren't many comics about that recently. that's why I've quieted down a bit) [[User:Gir|//gir.st/]] ([[User talk:Gir|talk]]) 17:03, 18 November 2018 (UTC)

== xkcd Sorting Options ==
Is there any way to sort xkcd comics by size? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.80|141.101.77.80]] 04:37, 4 February 2019 (UTC)
:What size? The pictures, the explanation, or what? Explanations are changed every day. So, for what purpose is this idea? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:21, 15 February 2019 (UTC)
::I can see some benefit in being able to sort explanations by size as some of the earlier comics have fairly short explanations that could be expanded, but I'm not sure this is worth the effort of setting up a sort function. I don't know why you would want to sort the images by size other than perhaps for general interest. [[User:A(l)Chemist|AlChemist]] ([[User talk:A(l)Chemist|talk]]) 10:55, 16 February 2019 (UTC)
:::A small sized explanation doesn't say anything about it's quality. IMHO in contrast there are many overwhelming explanations which are far too long, TL;DR... --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:32, 16 February 2019 (UTC)
::::I agree. Most of the early explanations are just fine. I was just trying to guess why they were suggesting a sort function. [[User:A(l)Chemist|AlChemist]] ([[User talk:A(l)Chemist|talk]]) 14:15, 16 February 2019 (UTC)

== 1204: Detail has the incorrect picture ==

Not sure where to put this but just look at the title. Not sure how one changes it, but a typo was fixed and usually the newest picture is used. [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 14:15, 19 March 2019 (UTC)

== Regarding the alt-right trolls ==
Safe to say everything they leave is deletable, ''including'' the little "jew reverted my edits, help!" complaint they almost always leave on the discussion pages? --[[User:Youforgotthisthing|Youforgotthisthing]] ([[User talk:Youforgotthisthing|talk]]) 00:53, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

== Is the "It's 'cause you're dumb" tagline a relic of the past? ==

Yes, I'm going there, because this issue isn't going away.

I read through the entirety of the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous#Sightless_readers_offended_by_the_.22It.27s_.27cause_you.27re_dumb.22_tagline. Explain XKCD tagline debate from 2016], and I have to admit, I was surprised. I had not considered that there would be so many people in support of this tagline, nor that the debate had been going on this long. I was actually sure that most people were in agreement with me that it's unnecessarily insulting and demeaning. It seems that isn't the case.

The main argument from the Keep side appears to be that "it's just a joke". Here are some examples of that sentiment:

* "Suggesting that anyone who isn't part of the 0.1% of the population who share all of Randall's abilities and references, is dumb, can't be anything but a joke."
* "it is a rather obvious joke"
* "If a user doesn't understand that it is a joke, then he won't understand XKCD's jokes, either, no matter how much explaination he can get."
* "I always thought the tagline fit nicely with the "sarcasm" part of xkcd's own tagline."
* "It's not hiding behind "just a joke", it IS the joke. It's tongue-in-cheek. It's so obviously false that you have to intentionally ignore the joke and manufacture offense about something benign."
* "It's amusing to me. The joke is clear, and universal. Offence may be taken equally by anyone reading. It fits well."
* "Looks like the kind of joke you'd actually find in the comments."
* "I can't believe we've become such a limp-wristed baby society that we can't even have a joke like "It's 'cause you're dumb" as the tagline. Nobody would reasonably get offended at it."
* "If there ever really was a single person who took the tag line seriously, then it was just telling them the truth."
* "the joke benefits from it sounding like it's a mock insult"
* "I doubt there's very many of these smart people who are smart enough to get every joke (and every nuance) without assistance. Therefore it should be clear that is is a simple tongue-in-cheek joke, you don't really mean it seriously. It should be taken in the tone that it's meant, and it offends me when people don't."
* "It's 'cause you're dumb" grabbed me the first time I saw it as being relevant to why explainxkcd.com is a great site, and equally importantly, it made me laugh."

I like to think that I do understand xkcd's humor very well - even the more subtle aspects of it, like Randall's perpetual social paranoia, his sarcasm at common failings of societies and organizations, his absurdism, his childlike wonder at the things we don't know. I love it, it makes me laugh and it makes me happy.

I am not a delicate snowflake, and I believe firmly that we should not allow people to use "being offended" as a weapon of control to take away freedoms or to force their agenda on others. That kind of behavior should rightfully be challenged and resisted.

However, I am not arguing on the basis of offense. I believe that I actually have a solid, reasonable foundation for my case for change that can be accepted by all, if I can argue it effectively enough. Because you see... I never got the joke.

When I came to Explain XKCD for the first time, and saw the "It's 'cause you're dumb" tagline, my reaction was "Well, that isn't true, and it's a bit childish." It didn't come across as sarcasm to me; it comes across more like the kind of boorish flippancy expected of an anonymous imageboard, where being crude is the local currency. Mentally, I just couldn't fit it with what I saw as an otherwise fine mission of collaboratively explaining a very clever webcomic as a service to readers all over the world. And I didn't like it. It's not the kind of tone that I enjoy in a community.

"I don't like it" is not, of course, an argument, and would be a poor foundation from which to make my case - particularly as I am up against people who insist that the tagline ''is'' xkcd's humor and tone. So instead, I would like to argue this case: '''I think that this is what xkcd's tone ''used to be'', and that it isn't what xkcd's tone is ''now'''''.

The "It's 'cause you're dumb" tagline is actually ''ten years old''. It originally appeared in a different context; it was in the header image for the Explain XKCD blog.

[[File:explain xkcd blog header image.png|center]]

The image of Black Hat insulting Cueball is subtly different to what the tagline is now, and so I think some of the nuance - that might soften the joke or make it less antagonistic - has been lost. I have a theory that this is part of the reason why people are so polarized on whether the tagline is insulting or not, because I suspect that some people are remembering this older version. However, that's away from the point.

My point is this: it is no longer 2009 and things have changed.

xkcd, and Randall himself, have changed - Randall has published more than 1500 comics in that time, as well as books dedicated to explaining science and technology in his unique, witty style. He loves knowledge and discovery and celebrates the little things that people find interesting, often standing up to defend such pursuits against those who might otherwise dismiss them. That is xkcd to me. And I submit that Explain XKCD has, in those ten years, outgrown the tagline as well, We are, I think, more encyclopedists than agitators. If most people on this wiki are like me, they find pleasure in carefully unraveling the mystery of an xkcd comic and creating a resource that's as useful as can be. The tagline serves no purpose, in that case, other than to drive away contributors.

We shouldn't be afraid to offend. But I don't think we should offend needlessly. I think we're better than that.

[[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 21:29, 15 July 2019 (UTC)

:I really like the old banner, and think that the tone fits well with many of the older comics. But I agree with you that most of the newer comics have a less childish tone to them, where it is not as fitting. Also having it as a tagline instead of a banner makes it less obvious to be a character-statement. It is not an important issue to me, but I agree with you. After all explainxkcd is a site, for the lucky [[Ten Thousand]] each day. [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:36, 16 July 2019 (UTC)

== Pageviews? ==

Any idea how many pageviews, on average, this wiki gets? I'm not looking for any detailed breakdown or historical stats, just a rough average for the main page each day. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.23.57|172.69.23.57]] 02:21, 8 August 2019 (UTC)

I'd be really curious to know which pages are the most viewed on this website. Which comics are the most unintelligible to people? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.201|173.245.54.201]] 23:01, 15 March 2020 (UTC)

== xkcd site's fine print ==

I just noticed the fine print on the xkcd site, under the comics list: "xkcd.com is best viewed with Netscape Navigator 4.0 or below on a Pentium 3±1 emulated in Javascript on an Apple IIGS at a screen resolution of 1024x1. Please enable your ad blockers, disable high-heat drying, and remove your device from Airplane Mode and set it to Boat Mode. For security reasons, please leave caps lock on while browsing."

Is there an explanation for the above? (copied from xkcd's homepage on 8/8/19)

My first thought was "Those are low requirements". Then the "on an Apple IIGS" tripped me up. (I know so little of Apple software use that I can't say that portion is incorrect.) I like the humor of the screen resolution (although I think only computers could read it) and the suggested mode.

M.Striker
(didn't realize that this was an edit and not a message; deleted my included e-mail)

:The text you mentioned is explained at [[footnote]]. I guess you are new to this wiki/project? Feel free to improve any of the sites you find (many can be found by using the search function), or to comment/discuss the pages in the discussion section. If you want to sign your comments on here or in a comment section (with or without an existing account), you can use four "~"-symbols. (Do not wory, it will not show you actual IP adress). [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:18, 9 August 2019 (UTC)

== Randall NYT excerpt from "How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems" ==

FYI, Randall has an article in Tuesday's ''New York Times'': [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/13/science/what-makes-a-red-sky-at-night-and-at-morning.html "What Makes a Red Sky at Night (and at Morning)"]. It's an excerpt from "How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems." [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 03:34, 15 August 2019 (UTC)

== More ads? ==

Is it me, or are there now a ton of extra advertisements on this site? There is one between every paragraph of explanation. At least, when viewed with a mobile browser. It's a huge distraction, so I'm going to be enabling an adblocker.

: I would also like to file a complaint. [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 03:10, 9 April 2020 (UTC)

:: [[user:Davidy22]] If hosting expense is the problem, would it be possible to move to miraheze? [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 11:54, 19 May 2020 (UTC)

::: Hello? Anyone there? [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 06:55, 8 July 2020 (UTC)

== Should we* reference xkcd.com "black lives matter" banner ==

I consume almost all my xkcd directly from explain xkcd. So i only visit xkcd.com rarely.

I had been wondering why Randall was avoiding referencing the black lives matter movement which is clearly topical.

But i note that xkcd.com has a banner featuring Cueball saying "black lives matter".

Should we do the same?

* my apologies if we already do

[[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 06:01, 11 June 2020 (UTC)

:I'm not entirely sure if I understand the question. We list most (all?) the variants of Randall's banners on the [[:xkcd Header text]] page, and as of Tuesday (a bit late), that includes the Black Lives Matter banner. We also acknowledge it in [[2315: Eventual Consistency#Trivia]] as the first comic that ran after the banner went up. There's reason to ask if this wiki should give banners in general more prominent treatment, and question is raised on [[:Talk:xkcd Header text]].
:But are you asking if ExplainXKCD should adopt its own editorial position and feature a banner? I think it's really hard for wikis to make high-level editorial decisions like that. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 06:28, 11 June 2020 (UTC)
:: this was the question. And I hadn't looked hard enough. Thank you
:: no, not suggesting we do editorial, but glad we recognise what Randall has done. Cheers [[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 12:30, 11 June 2020 (UTC)

== is scraping this site ok? ==

Hi everyone! Some days ago I scraped explainxkcd to get the webcomics' content, and created an interactive network chart where nodes are comics and two nodes share a link if they have words in common. (It's here: https://www.fluentdata.tech/visualizing-the-xkcd-comics-network-using-google-vision-spacy-and-d3/)

However, looking back I don't know if I had permission to actually scrape this site. Where can I get this information? Is scraping OK?
:From [[explain xkcd:Copyrights]], "The Explain XKCD wiki is generally licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license (CC-BY-SA-3.0). This means that you can freely reuse our content, but you have to say where you got it — if you're sharing on the internet, a link back to the article is appropriate." So yes, scraping this site is allowed, but you should credit the site. — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 03:43, 5 March 2021 (UTC)

== So what happened to the site? ==
Just curious, but it was down last night (June 14, Eastern Daylight time's night) and this morning has reverted to February. This is not a complaint, it's curiosity and a willingness to help out. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 15:41, 15 June 2021 (UTC)
:I'm curious too. It was down on the morning of Friday the 11th & is currently back up showing last Wednesday the 9th's comic. A post asking about it on [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/nxrm65 r/xkcd] got over 140 upvotes in 3 days. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 16:30, 15 June 2021 (UTC)
::The page was down for more than four days. Problem is there seem to be no administrators attached to explain xkcd anymore, so no one who actually knows anything replies to these posts... :-/ So if the page goes down permanently there seems to be no one who still uses this page, who knows what to do... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:03, 16 June 2021 (UTC)
:::That would be a shame since a ton of good content would be lost. Somebody somewhere needs to be paying the bills for the site to be hosted though. Don't they know what happens to the product they're paying for? [[User:Bischoff|Bischoff]] ([[User talk:Bischoff|talk]]) 13:01, 16 June 2021 (UTC)
::::Indeed, is there anyway we can contribute to the upkeep of the site? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.182|141.101.76.182]]

== Stuck? ==
So, nothing yet for the August 7, 2021 comic? I normally see the main page update within an hour of the new xkcd appearing. Not complaining, just hoping nothing is wrong. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 20:43, 7 August 2021 (UTC)

== Help finding a specific comic. ==

I've been trying to find this specific comic but I can not find it anywhere. It's the one where a character suggests going to another building to avoid companies like Google and Facebook and tries to leave only to find the doors (and windows?) replaced with walls. Turns out Google and Facebook bought all the buildings and removed all doors so people can only use their services.
: (Above unsigned post by [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.65|108.162.245.65]] 04:38, 28 October 2021‎ (UTC).)
: 99% sure that's not an xkcd (though it does sound entertaining). You might try asking on r/xkcd, they can often ID even non-xkcd comics.
: Please sign your posts. [[User:Esogalt|Esogalt]] ([[User talk:Esogalt|talk]]) 05:32, 28 October 2021 (UTC)

== Update/further correct the Bots pages? ==

Seeing an edit to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Bots the site's meta-page on Bots] (and making a minor grammatical edit myself), the current and seemingly unfixable inactivity of DgbrtBOT and its replacement by Theusaof... (though not, yet, as an officially recognised member of the Bots group?) makes the statement "There are 3 bots" dubiously correct, depending upon how you count them. As a humble IP unconnected to any 'bot, I am neither confident enough in the facts to revise all the relevent details nor able to do much about it (not even create the above page's Talk-space) but maybe someone else here can muster up both qualities. So over to you..? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.36|172.70.91.36]] 11:48, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

== Countdown Timer ==

Does anyone know what the timer in the upper right corner of the website is? As of writing, it's around "20D 20H 20M" (ha ha). Is this for some kind of event I don't know about (I mean, I don't keep track of that sort of thing, so I wouldn't usually know anyway, but still), or is this just something weird Randall's doing that we're all going to find out together?

Just curious.
(Tidal Rose)

:Yes, I've been wondering, too. I can't find any good explanation anywhere for it -- I looked on Reddit, etc. I guess he really is keeping it a secret -- perhaps a book announcement. -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.253|162.158.255.253]] 00:51, 11 January 2022 (UTC)

It appears that the accompanying image may also be updating (not minute to minute at the moment). Curious to see what this little black line does! (My bet is that it's a new book as well)

:My first thought was counting down to Webb reaching L2, but it's a couple days late for that... looks to be approximately 10AM Eastern on January 31, though my datemath is probably not too good when the local hour is <6. [[User:Davidhbrown|Davidhbrown]] ([[User talk:Davidhbrown|talk]]) 05:49, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

The image has definitely updated!

Is there a place where the progressive images are archived? [[User:Fuzzymo|Fuzzymo]] ([[User talk:Fuzzymo|talk]]) 01:00, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
:There is a [[Countdown_in_header_text|page structure]] now created for it. Go directly to [[Countdown_in_header_text/images|the /images sub-page]] for the captured series-so-far. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.43|162.158.159.43]] 04:37, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

The exact time it's counting down to is Monday, January 31, 2022 at 10 AM EST (Munroe's time zone) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.165|108.162.229.165]] 23:55, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

Could it be for [https://www.nationaldaystoday.com/national-backward-day/ National Backward Day?]
:Already mentioned (and mostly rejected?) in the ''real'' conversation about this. (See the [[Countdown in header text]] page, etc, if you haven't already.) Not sure what the plane would have to do with it, unless it turns out to be flying backwards when we see movement lines. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.155|172.70.162.155]] 17:53, 25 January 2022 (UTC)

== What if 103 ==

Why is it "not quite a coincidence" that the titanic was traveling at about the same speed when it hit bottom as when it hit the iceberg?
: 1. please sign your posts! 2. im guessing the joke is that it wasnt moving [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 17:09, 25 August 2022 (UTC)Bumpf
:: What are you talking about? Its speed was around 20.5 kts at the time of impact.

== Syndication comic: uploaded with no number, link to xkcd doesn't work? ==

https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Syndication

In the title, the page is very broken and there's no evidence Randall Munroe ever uploaded this. Someone in the comments theorises it's a fan uploaded comic pretending to be official. Any way to find out? [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 08:08, 14 October 2022 (UTC)

== Concerning a certain editor ==

I'm puzzled and slightly worried as to the motives of [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?limit=50&title=Special%3AContributions&contribs=user&target=Gadget-HotCat&namespace=&tagfilter=&start=&end= a given named editor]. Having made direct comments myself (and seen others do so), albeit only as an IP, I'm concerned as to their potentially reckless nature. As messages to(/in reply to) them have done very little to get a valid explanation, I thought I should note the case slightly more formally. They seemed quite helpful when they started to post (at a time of notable vandalism, and I'm reluctant to jump to any adverse conclusion about that) and I obviously cannot speak of their time beyond this submission, but I find an overwhelming amount of their most recent interactions to be (to put it charitably) naive, despite clearly the intelligence to use advanced Wiki markup/etc.

I welcome a ready and willing editor. Moreover one who has bothered to get an accountable account, more than I have ever done! I would be happy to see them usefully contribute further, but could they perhaps realise (or accept, if they already know) that the drive to submit random and (pretty much always) unexplanatory content is not useful to anyone. And that's all I wish to say, right now. As much of a nudge as I want to make for the moment. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.64|141.101.99.64]] 14:45, 28 November 2022 (UTC)

== xkcd Volume 0 ==
xkcd Volume 0 is a collection of chosen comic strips - but there's also red-text found scattered though pages, usually as some type of cypher or code. Because of that, can an authorized user create a stub for [[xkcd Volume 0]] so that the codes can be documented, or does that risk too much of a copyright violation? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.56|108.162.241.56]] 00:10, 29 January 2023 (UTC)

== Russia ==
Is there a comic that mentions Russia? Omg Omg Omg {{unsigned|Omg omg omg Бельков|23:02, 19 March 2023 (UTC)}}
:@[[User:Omg omg omg Бельков|Omg omg omg Бельков]]: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?search=russia&title=Special%3ASearch&go=Go Let me use the search bar]. ~ [[user:megan|Megan]] she/her [[user talk:megan|talk]]/[[special:contribs/megan|contribs]] 23:25, 19 March 2023 (UTC)
:Might be a good idea if the mods had a look at the following accounts, BTW:
:"Omg сайт вместо гидры", "Omg omg omg Бельков", "Omgomg", "Площадка omg", "Darknet omg omg", "Ссылка на omgomg", "Омгомгомг магазин", "Омгомгомг сайт", "Омгомгомг ссылка", "Омг сайт магазин", "Омг ссылка", "Омг тор ссылка", "Площадка omg ссылка", "Сайт омг омг ссылка", "Сайт omg onion", "Сайт omg shop", "Сайт omgomg", "Omgomgomg ссылка", "Omg omg market onion", "Omg onion", "Omg online", "Omg shop ссылка", "Omg web net", "Omgomg гидра", "Omgomg замена гидре", "Omgomg market", "Omgomg tor", "Omgomgomg магазин", "Omgomgomg сайт", "Omg omg сайт зеркало", "Omg omg ссылка онион", "Omg omg сайт аналог гидры", "Omg зеркало", "Omg аналог гидры", "Omg вместо гидры", "Omg даркнет", "Omg дарк", "Omg маркет", "Omg omg площадка тор", "Omg онион", "Omg площадка даркнета", "Omg площадка новая", "Omg площадка торговая", "Omg ссылка", "Omg dark", "Omg darknet", "Omg market", "Omg omg даркнет", "Omg omg магазин ссылка", "Omg omg площадка отзывы", "Omg omg площадка сайт", "Зеркало ссылка омг"
:Wasn't particularly concerned, but then one decided to have a go at posting. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.185|172.69.79.185]] 23:51, 19 March 2023 (UTC)

== Edit War ==
An edit war has occurred on this page. Three topics were added and then removed. One user got banned. It seemed that the "Miscellaneous" is not actually miscellaneous. I can't create any talk pages, either. [[User:ClassicalGames|ClassicalGames]] ([[User talk:ClassicalGames|talk]]) 03:40, 31 March 2023 (UTC)

:Spammers are being impersonated. [[User:ClassicalGames|Clas]]rch 2023 (UTC)

== Connect spam ==
It seems that the pages with "Connect" in their titles tend to receive spam posts. [[User:Memo Spike Connector|2503: Memo Spike Connector]] ([[User talk:Memo Spike Connector|talk]]) 08:05, 31 March 2023 (UTC)

Did this happen on Wikipedia too? [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 10:40, 31 March 2023 (UTC)

Note for spammers: Do not rely on our group or others such as [[User:Memo Spike Connector]] to revert your edits. [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 10:46, 31 March 2023 (UTC)

== April fools day ==
April fools day is coming. Let's predict what [[Randall]] will post for the day. [[User:Memo Spike Connector|2503: Memo Spike Connector]] ([[User talk:Memo Spike Connector|talk]]) 08:05, 31 March 2023 (UTC)

: Uh, oh, April Fool's Day has already passed and there doesn't seem to be any related comics this year. [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 20:14, 2 April 2023 (UTC)

:: Seems like they've seen our trying to predict the April Fools comic. [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 23:35, 3 April 2023 (UTC)

== Public sandbox ==

What are the public sandbox pages used for? The "Main Page sandbox" was originally intended for testing the main page features, but then it received a lot of off-topic comments. [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 20:24, 2 April 2023 (UTC)

:The [[:Template:sandbox]] page received spam posts recently, with some user repeatedly trying to put words under another person's pen. I'm afraid someone will start using chatbots to spam in the future. [[User:ClassicalGames|ClassicalGames]] ([[User talk:ClassicalGames|talk]]) 07:03, 4 April 2023 (UTC)

:The above issue seems to have been resolved. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.135.43|172.69.135.43]] 02:07, 10 May 2023 (UTC)

::And then a mysterious "fanmade comic" appeared. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.174|172.69.22.174]] 02:08, 10 May 2023 (UTC)

::For the record, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous&diff=prev&oldid=312713 massive editing has occured] here, which is clearly debatable. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.35|172.70.90.35]] 08:33, 10 May 2023 (UTC)

== Editor guide for specific category ==

Could you add an editor guide on how to add this category to pages? Some user did it wrongly a while ago. https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Comics_sharing_name

I can't create talk pages. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.230|162.158.166.230]] 09:30, 6 April 2023 (UTC)

==Vector images don't work==
The vector images don't show up on my browser. [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 22:59, 8 April 2023 (UTC)
:Which vector images, and which bowser? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.184|172.69.79.184]] 23:29, 8 April 2023 (UTC)

::There is supposed to be a vector image on the top of this page, just above the "Contents" block. It seems to be that none of the vector images show up normally on this computer. [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 23:48, 8 April 2023 (UTC)

:::I used a new browser and it failed again. [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 08:06, 9 April 2023 (UTC)
::::But ''which'' browser(s)? I mean, if you're using Lynx, then you probably won't get native inline SVG rendering support, ever. If you're using NCSA Mosaic then you definitely need to change to something a bit newer ''anyway''. If you're using the latest Chrome/Firefox/Edge/whatever then I'd be surprised if it doesn't work. And if it's ''only on this site'' (i.e. that similarly embedded graphics work elsewhere), then that's a whole other line of enquiry.
::::Help us to help you, if you have indeed got a problem (and perhaps explain how you found the problem, too, to know how you detected the anomaly). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.9|141.101.98.9]] 12:29, 9 April 2023 (UTC)

== Solar system category ==

Could the category for the solar system be possibly created? There are several comics related. [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 07:13, 11 April 2023 (UTC)
:Hey! You don't need to make an admin request. In proposals 1.49 there's where you can propose categories, and if you think it's a good idea/get support you can just go ahead and make it. [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 09:44, 18 April 2023 (UTC)

== Categorization problem ==

Just now, I found two user pages lying in the [[:Category:Internet]] category. Could we possibly create a categorization template so that user pages that transcluded a comic page will not be categorized? We can also solve the problem that puts the Main Page in various theme categories. [[User:CategoryGeneral|CategoryGeneral]] ([[User talk:CategoryGeneral|talk]]) 03:38, 14 April 2023 (UTC)
:I've blanked one of the sandboxes. The other one doesn't belong to our group. [[User:ClassicalGames|ClassicalGames]] ([[User talk:ClassicalGames|talk]]) 03:46, 14 April 2023 (UTC)
::Nice sentiments, but please stop feigning talking to yourself or using [[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2293:_RIP_John_Conway&diff=prev&oldid=310329 your own edits to justify your various unnecessary aliases]]...
::There really do not need to be 'personal sandboxes', and the use made of the sandboxes is not useful. Many things that a Sandbox is used for could be done simply by the "Show preview", and certainly it isn't supposed to be a notepad for unrelated junk. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.67|172.70.85.67]] 08:11, 14 April 2023 (UTC)

== Help with Creating a User Page ==

I'm a relatively new user, and I decided "I should probably make a user page," but for some reason it says that I "do not have permission to create this page" even though it's my page. [[User:Trogdor147|Trogdor147]] ([[User talk:Trogdor147|talk]]) 03:08, 7 June 2023 (UTC)
:Check the user page now! [[User:Z1mp0st0rz|Z1mp0st0rz]] ([[User talk:Z1mp0st0rz|talk]]) 15:24, 24 April 2024 (UTC)
::Thanks! To everyone redirected here via my previous comments, click here -> [[User:Trogdor147|Trogdor147]] ([[User_talk:Trogdor147|talk]]) 00:17, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

== Versailles-Rose-style cultural export ==

America has already banned cultural export from several places, but this happened again in [[Talk:2781: The Six Platonic Solids]]. That is illegal. It should be taken seriously. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.71|172.69.134.71]] 23:55, 2 July 2023 (UTC)
:Presuming you're refering to that thing edited out in [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2781:_The_Six_Platonic_Solids&diff=prev&oldid=316742 this edit], if I thought I understood the original comment, then I'm darned if I can work out what your official objection to it is.
:If I thought the original wasn't just CG being CG, I'd revert that removal for being nonsensical. No "inciting illegality", so far as I can see, so no need to remove the comment or complain about it.
:You're not CG (or an off-site ally) wearing an IP cloak to do other typical CG-like things, such as we've seen many times before, are you? Don't do that, if so. I won't be restoring the original, but you need to establish better reasons for editorialising a Talk page's contributions.
:...but, if anyone is going to edit things around again, I hope they also put a suitably attributed {{template|unsigned ip}} on the other most recent appended line, ok? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.16|172.70.86.16]] 10:11, 3 July 2023 (UTC)
: He restored that offensive line. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.17|172.69.22.17]] 23:49, 7 July 2023 (UTC)
: Not sure what's going on here, but the nonsense language makes me suspect bots, in which case maybe just ban the IP. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 23:43, 9 July 2023 (UTC)
:: Difficult, with IPs. I'm one but not the type you want to ban, if you can take my word on that. It all depends on which Cloudflare gateway(s) you get routed through, and then which 'local' IP you happen to get assigned as from interaction to interaction.
:: Personally I suspect an idiot (a human, but an idiot. Or maybe an entire off-site group of idiots who are playing some sort of group game using our site as the playing-board. If it's automated (which is more difficult to do reliably than direct human trolling, realistically) then it's still an idiotically set up auto-trolling with no clear usefulness beyond 'because we can'. Nobody bothered to answer me as to why, but that just reinforces my feeling that there's no legitimate reasons behind any of it. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.97|172.71.242.97]] 09:10, 10 July 2023 (UTC)

::That post appeared back again. That's kind of hidden cultural reference. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.17|172.71.154.17]] 23:46, 9 July 2023 (UTC)
::Too hidden. As I asked before (but it was deleted) explain it to us. Or me, at least. If tou actually have a point, we can help you. But you don't, I suspect. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.97|172.71.242.97]] 09:10, 10 July 2023 (UTC)

There is a hidden reference to another country's culture. Many Americans hate that country. We do not allow such countries' culture to invade our website. Our website is American. EDIT: Those captchas are way too hard. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.156|172.71.154.156]] 23:42, 10 July 2023 (UTC)
:Still obtuse. And, I suspect, also incorrect. Which country? China ? North Korea? Canada? You can say, you know... Free speech exists, with no overriding legal prohibition against even mentioning whatever enemy nation you consider as beyond the pale for 'many'. Perhaps you aren't allowed to incite hatred (not sure if it's a legal thing, but it would be a generally established forum policy) but merely mentioning a general emnitity arising from the distrust of all things mapleleafian can be done without fear or favo(u)r. Educate us. Make us understand the issue, that we might never again fall into the trap of razy lacism or accidentally mention beavers in polite company... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.130|172.70.85.130]] 08:23, 11 July 2023 (UTC)
:: Click the "edit" button and you'll see that. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.204|162.158.166.204]] 23:02, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

== Twix re-referencing ==

Nearly put this as an HTML comment in the Social Media category (it has no Talk). Not sure if this should be under Proposals/Maintenance/Co-ordination in here (please move there, if you feel strongly it does belong in any of these). But probably needs saying.

Just seen one (out of many!) Twitter-referencing articles entirely rebranded to say "X" instead (and "x" for "tweet", etc). Which I felt a mistake. Reverted and added a single "now rebranded as..." caveat to the original mention, given the comic concerned was clearly Twitter-branded (older look, too), and this seemed a better solution.

I just want to express my opinion (and thus ask if I'm truly rolling with the consensus) that "now known as "X" is perhaps the besr direction to go. As and when, not necessarily as a splurge of appended edits to ''every'' Twitter-referencing page right this minute. (For one thing, it could so easily be rebranded/retrobranded/debranded altogether in the near future if either sanity prevails or greater insanity piles upon that already seen.)

Clear Twitter-era comics certainly don't need "tweets" changed to... whatever gets settled on as the proper term for post-Twitter tweets. "Twixes"? Yeah, nobody really knows that, yet, anyway. When (inevitably) a comic arises referencing "X (formerly known as Twitter)" then the referencing can be reversed. If/when Wikipedia renames/redirects accordingly then maybe that'll be a cue to (as we editors come across them in other edit contexts) change <code><nowiki>{{w|Twitter}}</nowiki></code> to something like <code><nowiki>{{w|X (Social media)|Twitter}}</nowiki></code> to avoid hitting the redirect, or whatever makes sense by then. But I would resist big changes to legacy references (i.e. pre-July 2023) and imagine that well-meaning editors that do try to help by almost 'keyboard/leopard' mass changing be discouraged/pre-empted.

But that's IMHO. I think it should potentially be a conversation, here, rather than me being a full on vigilante-reverter (and others having their own ideas) just because *I* have a particular impression of what's suitable to maintain site style. For the present. And potentially in years to come when the fate of The Media Formerly Known As Twitter might have transformed yet again and Randall's œuvre (perhaps still being drawn, thrice Earth-weekly, from his Lunar south-pole penthouse 'retirement' suite, or else from his official AI mind-mapped legal successor-entity!) continues to attract new readers for whom this "Twitter" thing needs actual explaining, even though they've used MuskMedia's 'æMotifier' quantum-netlink ever since they got their first cranial emotion-transceiver implant inserted and become a fully accredited voting Martian Citizen! (Or, alternatively, it's become as unknown to most people as AskJeeves/Geocities/Fidonet because it's a sidelined or even completely defunkt thing.)

So, yeah, ''waaay'' too early to do crazy site-wide edits, but perhaps agree on what we might do right now on a throttled back basis. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.197|141.101.98.197]] 09:46, 2 August 2023 (UTC)

== wait what? (is this "view a bunch of html" thing intentional?) ==

so i was trying to see the rss feed because i was curious and ended up with the page showing me a bunch of html code for some reason. what is going on???

also just realized half of the "[something][/something]" thing you use in forums to, for example, post something as a spoiler is basically html but with square brackets instead of whatever these are called (the ones that look like this: "<>") [[User:An user who has no account yet|An user who has no account yet]] ([[User talk:An user who has no account yet|talk]]) 18:30, 5 September 2023 (UTC)
:{{w|RSS}} is, or should be, based upon XML (eXtensible Markup Language). Which is basically the 'core' of many common markup languages, especially HTML (or XHTML, as it has been standardised). You're really supposed to use an RSS ''reader'' utility to parse the 'html code' and present it in a more human-readable way. (Although it's also fairly easy to human-read the RSS and scan for details of interest, so long as you have at least an inkling of what you're looking at and for.)
:Regarding the forum <code>[code]...[/code]</code> stuff, I ''think'' you're speaking of {{w|BBCode}}, which I think is intended to be a handy solution to allowing only ''sanitised'' markup to be posted by any given forum's random, rambling and potentially rabid users with something to say. If you're happy to allow a contributor to render a <code><nowiki></nowiki></code> tag (or with <code><nowiki></nowiki></code>, or via a CSS property, etc), your forum back-end translates the allowable <code>[b]...[/b]</code> into that mandated browser-friendly form.
:But if anyone tried to use any actual <X>-tag directly, then it gets sanitised into <code>&lt;X&gt;</code>. This means that ''unless the forum explicitly allows it'' (and in a form that the browser understands, might need a .js/.css extension to execute it in modern browsers) one couldn't <code><blink><marquee>Blink A Marquee</marquee></blink></code> within any arbitrary post text...
:And also, with such lightweight "Bulletin Board Code" and neutralised 'original raw HTML', you can also stop many of the possible techniques for someone trying direct script-injection or even just rendering follow-up messages liable to inheriting an opened (but not closed) formatting from more freely used HTML.
:(I'm not entirely sure if 'markup security' is the prime reason for using it, and I know some weird and disruptive loopholes have occasionally still had to be closed in the parsing/conversion rules, but it seems to me as good an impetus as any.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.8|172.71.242.8]]

== Is it possible to add a feature that keeps track of all viewed comics so that you specifically view unseen comics only? ==

I'm trying to read every xkcd comic, and I believe I have done so, but I still have a small doubt in my head. Would it be possible, even if only on explainxkcd to keep track of comics viewed? If not, is it possible to create a program that can do this locally or would I just need to go back through all of them? {{unsigned|SteveTheNoob|10:40, 12 October 2023}}

: I'm not aware of anything simple that might (say) work as a <nowiki>{{Special:RandomUnreadOnly}}</nowiki> restriction, if that's what you're looking for. You(/everyone with a named account) probably need a "read list" page off your userspace that gets updated by a bit of "Visited!" embedded template/code/scripting attached to every relevent page (probably limited by being 'noinclude'd) and can be checked before it suggests your next landing spot (Random or otherwise). It would be a bit contrived. Even more so if you store page details ''with'' a last-viewed timestamp (either to allow you to revisit upon an update or to just allow pages seen early on to be occasionally revisited), which I'd suggest would be useful. But if it's an internal wiki page (rather than browser-side) it would probably be visible to anyone (write-restricted, I imagine) and I'm not sure that's a wise move.
: Too late to necessarily help you, but the aspiring completist could simply progress logically (not 'Special:Random'ly) from Comic 1 on up (or the current latest on down, with future 'latest's being a different progression to track) and keep a note of where you've got to after each binge-session of Next/Previous following. That'd catch most of the comics, less those that are unnumbered for various reasons. It could be done wikiwise with a variation on the 'Latest Comic' (global) tracker, but again with a Userspace page. Or just a browser extention, updating a Bookmark/Favourites link or just jot it down on a bit of paper. Some of these would take far less effort than trying to a implement per-user shared-but-private wikimedia solution bespoke to the exacting needs of this particular Wiki. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.205|172.70.91.205]] 13:28, 12 October 2023 (UTC)

== While False ==

There’s now over a year ago since [[user:While False|While False]] contributed for the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:While_False&diff=303753&oldid=301370|Barry-Larry-very last time]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.5|162.158.222.5]]

:While False’s “Explain xkcd museum” can be found [[User:While False/explain xkcd museum|here]]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.44|162.158.222.44]]

== Furries ==

Someone has been adding vaguely-relaged pages to [[:Category:Furries]]. Is this okay? This person's criteria seem to be that anything related to anthropomorphic animals (including anything related to Narnia) is "furry"; they also consider anything pertaining to knots or cheese graters to be furry-related. (The knot and grater things are NSFW inside jokes within the furry fandom.)

My opinion is that anything with anthropomorphic animals is close enough to fall under the furry category (after all, anthropomorphic animals are basically what define the furry fandom), but individual Narnia-related pages don't need to be tagged as furry. [[:Category:Chronicles of Narnia]] being a subcat of Furries is enough IMO. As for knots and graters, I don't think those also should be enough to tag someone.

What do you all think? {{unsigned ip|172.71.146.55|04:38, 1 February 2024}}

:My opinion: that it must depict furries subculture or its ''unambiguous'' inspirations.
:I see that [[:Category:Chronicles of Narnia]] has been labeled such, but this implies that [[969: Delta-P]] (amongst others) includes furries.
:I'd also argue that merely 'talking animals' aren't sufficient to be "furrie". [[1503: Squirrel Plan]] (not catted... yet!) are still ultimately scuiromorphic squirrels. 'Intelligent' animals, and 'translator-microbed' for our benefit, but barely different in depiction from any [[635: Locke and Demosthenes|other typical appearance]]. YMMV.
:And if a long-standing comic has not been given a long-standing category ''until you 'spot' the connection'', then it might be obscure and need (in-line) justification. See the markup (and edit-history) of the Lowercase in [[739: Malamanteau]] as an example of perhaps why and how.
:...in particular, when someone made [[1762: Moving Boxes]] an example of "Furries", someone else thought it was (improperly) due to the word "Hooves", when it was really due to "Knots". Equally improperly, IMO, given that various types of knot were mentioned in the Explanation, but certainly no references there to Furries (or even to more 'obvious' kinks than furry-fandom, with or without extant categories or obvious interest by Randall). Personally, I thought it had been about the word "Kits" (c.f. "cubs"), not that I agreed with that assertion either. So do add an in-line comment, and it ''might'' help justify it to future editors who don't see what you see. Still arguable, but at least avoids arguing cross-purposes.
:''To summarise'', unless you consider everything with Animals in it (or at least every one with animals being [[928: Mimic Octopus|'odd' in any human-relatable way]]) as potential Furries-fodder, it really must be obviously referencing Furrie-subculture. Enough to be considered worthy a mention in the Explanation as well, not just because of a tenuous word-association or imagery inadvertently triggering an obscure personal interests. (There's a comic that specifically makes me think "Caramel", but it has nothing intrinsically to do with (e.g.) [[:Category:Food]]. I know why it makes me think that, but wouldn't consider it meaningful to ''anyone'' else. Even if it might for a small subculture, however, it still wouldn't actually be a valid category to apply if there was no reason for Randall to have had that same association in mind.)
:Categories should not include much more true material than they reasonably need to, just on the offchance that there's a totally unintended link. (And if ''all'' the Narnia references need cat:Furries, they also need cat:Animals. I might argue that cat:Religion is at least as necessary, just for every mention/hint of Aslan. But I wouldn't actually flood that option, either.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.207|172.71.242.207]] 10:49, 1 February 2024 (UTC)
::I think there are enough pages in the category as of right now (22:16, 9 March 2024 (UTC)), but seeing as I don't know all the references (what's so funny about knots and cheese graters?) it's obvious that I'm just William Shatner's generation 💅 descendant who pretends to be a furry for clout online. So I'm not sure whether you should trust me. --[[User:AndroidTheLucario|Your favorite aura doggo]] ([[User talk:AndroidTheLucario|talk]]) 22:16, 9 March 2024 (UTC)

== What is the significance of the word "crap" here? ==

I often see vague references to "crap" in discussions on this wiki, but I don't understand the meaning. Of course, I *do* know what the literal definition of "crap" is; I just don't know the significance here. It doesn't seem to be a word used particularly often in xkcd, so what is the significance here? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.49|108.162.245.49]] 02:28, 7 February 2024 (UTC)
:I think you're refering to the escapades of a particular idiot (and possibly copycats). The actions conducted might well be refered to by various verb forms/etc of the word.
:Though there are 'legitimate' uses of the word in comics, in context, I don't think there is any particular Randallesque significance that you need to worry about. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.55|172.71.178.55]] 04:55, 7 February 2024 (UTC)
::Thank you! What did the particular idiot do? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.150.62|172.71.150.62]] 22:46, 8 February 2024 (UTC)
:::Just particularly low-vocabulary/high-volume/zero-creativity nuisance editing Probably doesn't need dignifying by further explanation, and really not worth dwelling on. But this was just one particular type of nuisance, dealt with just as many other nuisances (by whatever hand) also were/will be. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.212|172.70.91.212]] 02:05, 9 February 2024 (UTC)

== Is ReCAPTCHA really necessary? ==

I worry that I might be opening up a can of worms here, but here goes. For various personal reasons I don't like setting up accounts with things unless I really, really need to. I'm sure I'm not the only one. There are also people who can't set up accounts because they don't have an email address. Because we're not logged in, every time we want to make any edit or post any comment on any part of this Wiki, we have to go through multiple laborious ReCAPTCHAs. I'm sure the irony isn't lost on the rest of you that CAPTCHA/ReCAPTCHA is the butt of more than a few jokes on various XKCD comics, which imply that they are disingenuous processes whose real purpose is to farm out stultifyingly mundane computing tasks to a captive audience. Furthermore, I am editing on mobile, which can present formatting problems, rendering the ReCAPTCHA (and, by extension, my editing) impossible to complete. I know there are other ways in which this Wiki combats spam, so do we really need ReCAPTCHAs? Removing them would make this site considerably more accessible to eccentrics and Luddites such as myself. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.13|172.70.85.13]] 18:23, 17 April 2024 (UTC)
:I'm guessing you weren't here for the crap incident? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.41.120|162.158.41.120]] 23:22, 17 April 2024 (UTC)
:Speaking as an accountless luddite (long term active and non-lurking contributor; I ''choose'' not to clutter myself with yet another account, inventing yet another apt username when I don't actually have to), it ''can'' be annoying to have to do a round or two of Traffic Light or Tractor identification. But, given the number of obvious fake accounts, it may be that removing the control would release a deluge of one-shot spams that are currently caught.
:It's less trouble than the extra issue of having done a CAPTCHA successfully, submitting a ticked contribution, the explainxkcd server complaining of overload/whatever (error 503, I think) and then the necessary refresh-submit moans that I ''didn't'' give a CAPTCHA (logical enough... the side-server confirmation data probably loses synchronicity against the 'new' POST submission). And not even sure whether an other-than-CAPTCHA solution could handle that type of fail-over any better. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 10:52, 18 April 2024 (UTC)

== Why do all the comic updates feel late to me? I only ever see them on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and weekends. ==

I'm in the same time zone as Randall, so it could just be a sleep schedule thing tbh. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 21:29, 13 May 2024 (UTC)
:Quick poll of server-times for explainxkcd's BOT back to mid-February suggests that significantly more than half were before midnight Randall Mean Time (or Randall Daylight Time). That said, a long long experience has taught me not to fret the "only see it the next morning" ones (my time). They keep coming. 2916 was an outlier (almost 29 hours longer to arrive than 2910 did, assuming that wasn't a BOT delay that I'm not aware of).
:In this sample, it went from an earliest time of 11:37 (servertime, remember), Q1 at 18:12, Q2 at 22:03, Q3 at 03:11 (still pre-midnight, for you and him), and the latest was 16:31 the day after. Mondays seem to be a bit lagged over Wednesdays and Fridays but, outliers apart, there doesn't seem to be much in it.
:I could do a far longer sampling (I can recall of a couple-of-days-delayed ones that arrived ''eventually'', but at least officially kept the MWF cycles going. not counting delayed-specials/etc), but there's not much to be seen recently to concern me. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.190|172.69.79.190]] 23:32, 13 May 2024 (UTC)

== New users can't create pages ==

Hey, you know how new users can't create their own user pages? Well, it turns out that new users can't create ''any'' pages. Could this be the autoconfirm thing? {{unsigned|PDesbeginner|14:56, 20 June 2024}}
:If you think about it, you'll realise that it's probable that new users can't create user pages '''exactly because''' they can't create ''any'' pages... ;) But that state of affairs won't last long, if you're patient.
:...Until then, petitioning for (say) a new Category (with sufficient examples to provide a reason for it) might get you helped out by a sympathetic existing page-creator. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.90|172.70.91.90]] 19:45, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

== Minor edit/Watch this page ==

Before I save an edit, how do I decide which checkbox to select? [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 14:57, 21 June 2024 (UTC)
:I use the "minor edit" for fixing (my own) typos and when adding links or such to the(my) text. I never used the "watch" option but I guess you can use it to receive mail notifications if someone changes the page [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:57, 2 July 2024 (UTC)
:I did a test and it turns out that the "Watch this page" box makes the page get automatically added to your watchlist when you save the edit. Thanks for the help with when to select the minor edit box, but does anyone know what it actually does? [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 20:07, 6 November 2024 (UTC)
::From my experience of other wiki sites (where I have an account, thus get to see such options), it's not much more than a bit of administrivia, to allow you to mark anything that you consider not bothersome in any way (de-doubling unnecessary whitespace, trivial typo-correction, etc.) and thus letting others selectively ignore such tweaks (at least until they start to wonder why an article has gained/lost several paragraphs as part of an apparently "minor edit").
::If it has any functional utility beyond just a handy user-flag, I haven't seen it. And no doubt there are those who would ''especially'' check (or have 'Bots check) so-called-minor edits, just to make sure they really are. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.203|172.70.162.203]] 23:07, 6 November 2024 (UTC)
::Thanks! [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 16:58, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

== Hi! ==

How are all you beautiful people doing? I'm quite alright myself. [[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 03:03, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

== Red text ==
I found red text in the "Flowchart" comic explanation. Could you deal with it? [[User:CategoryGeneral|CategoryGeneral]] ([[User talk:CategoryGeneral|talk]]) 08:58, 30 July 2024 (UTC)
:In [[1195: Flowchart]]? I don't see any there.
:There are similarly named comics, and plenty of furtyer comics "that have a flowchart" so perhaps try at least telling us the number of the one you mean. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.145|172.70.86.145]] 18:44, 30 July 2024 (UTC)

== The future ==

You know, we're not too far from a future where each and every edit to this website will have paragraphs of critical commentary. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.210|108.162.245.210]] 23:49, 19 August 2024 (UTC)

== Comic # 2974 explanation ==

Someone please hug the editor of the explanation of comic #2974. They seem a little depressed. I noticed your nitpickyness and I cared. Thank you. Also you made me laugh a bunch. {{unsigned ip|172.70.111.167|13:28, 21 August 2024}}
:I don't see that myself (though there will be a number of editors, maybe the bits you mean are less obvious now) although hugs are rarely a bad idea (being careful in cases of sunburn, dermititis, excessive blisters or bubonic infections of various kinds) so free (but entirely optional!) hugs all round. Just because not all symptoms of depression are particularly obvious anyway. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.17|172.70.162.17]] 14:37, 21 August 2024 (UTC)

== Comic #3000 ==
Y’all, we’re getting scarily close to comic 3000. Any bets on what it’ll be about? [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 02:17, 23 August 2024 (UTC)
:I'll get back to you on that in a couple of months... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.164|172.70.162.164]] 04:39, 23 August 2024 (UTC)
::I myself think that it’s going to be a continuation of the <code><nowiki>[[Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd phones]]</nowiki></code> series. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 20:49, 26 August 2024 (UTC)
:::(You probably meant to use something like <code><nowiki>[[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd phones]]</nowiki></code>, which appears as the now clickable: [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd phones]] ...or something similar. FYI.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.62|141.101.98.62]] 20:36, 26 September 2024 (UTC)
nothing, you get nothing >:[ [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 07:06, 24 October 2024 (UTC)

== Trouble finding comic about how kids read too many comics ==

Iirc, it was a comic that had newspaper quotes from various times in history. One was that kids read too many comics, one was that kids look out the window too much. Maybe one on too many video games, and/or too much tv. And maybe one on reading. Anyway, I'm having trouble finding it because the keywords are too vague. And "xkcd comic" just brings me to the homepage. Any help would be appreciated 🙏 [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.6|172.70.131.6]] 04:30, 13 September 2024 (UTC)
:[[1601|1601: Isolation]] [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 15:33, 13 September 2024 (UTC)

== Correct name ==

What’s the correct name for this wiki? ExplainXKCD is what I use, but there’s also Explainxkcd or explainxkcd or explain xkcd. Please advise for all of us pedantic editors. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 00:55, 22 September 2024 (UTC)
:A question for the ages. The case of "xkcd" itself is officially all lowered, and all domain names are inherently caseless, whilst xkcd's (usual) comic-text is sᴍᴀʟʟᴄᴀᴘs (or, rather, partly camel-cased SᴍᴀʟʟCᴀᴘs). If I don't use "explainxkcd" I might go for "ExplainXkcd" or "explainXkcd" (the latter two probably wrong, but at least adds degrees of parsability, maybe with some cringing). There's even a [[:File:Logo.png|case]] (NPI!) to call it "EXPLAINxkcd", but I wouldn't. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.138|172.71.26.138]] 10:15, 22 September 2024 (UTC)
::I’ve also noticed that if you substitute x for 23, k for 11, c for 3, and d for 4, as that is the order that they appear in the English alphabet, those four numbers add up to 42, or the answer to life, the universe and everything else. Is this intentional? Has anybody else noticed this? [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 21:41, 14 October 2024 (UTC)
:::[[xkcd#Meaning of xkcd|Yes]] [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.150|172.68.205.150]] 22:36, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

== Coincidence ==

I just used the random page feature and got comic [[498: Secretary: Part 5]] twice in a row and got [[496: Secretary: Part 3]] on the third!
Its not important but I just think its neat[[User:Pego|Pego]] ([[User talk:Pego|talk]])

== Horrendously Cursed numbers ==

I need them. Currently, my favorite (which I found by a whole lot of guesswork) is 2^2.321928094886. It equals 5. -[[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 23:35, 28 October 2024 (UTC)

It happened to bring a typo on page [[1506: xkcloud]] to my attention. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 04:02, 3 November 2024 (UTC)

== 2024 Harris banner ==

Will there be an article archiving and explaining the Harris banner on xkcd.com as of my typing this? https://imgs.xkcd.com/news/harris_news@2x.png [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 01:51, 4 November 2024 (UTC)
:Check [[Header text]]. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 03:36, 4 November 2024 (UTC)
::Thanks. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 04:29, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

== IP Editing Doesn’t Make Sense ==

I've read various arguments for why IP editing is allowed, or even a 'good idea'. I've read none that was compelling. Here are my reasons why I think it's not a good idea, and why it should be banned:

Per {{w|WP:ISU}}, user names that imply shared use are not allowed, so why is editing using an IP address allowed, given that IP addresses usually are shared? If the logic behind this policy is that an edit must be traceable to an individual editor, not a collective entity, then allowing anonymous editing from an IP address flies squarely in the face of that.
IP editing accounts for a large chunk of vandalism, disruptive editing, BLP violations, etc., and stopping it would reduce the cleanup workload for other editors.
Using multiple IP addresses, either intentionally or unintentionally, fragments a user's edit history, and makes it difficult, in some cases virtually impossible, to detect editing patterns and decipher intentions.
The 'hassle' of registering really is not great, and therefore I don't buy the argument that mandatory registration would make it difficult to recruit new editors.
It's too easy for a registered editor to get around certain rules (such as creators not being allowed to remove speedy tags from their own articles) by logging out and editing under IP.
The whole malarkey about hiding IP addresses, allegedly for privacy reasons (!), would go away if IP editing weren't an option.
To be clear, I think everyone should be able to access the site without registering, and anyone should be allowed to edit, just not edit without registering. In that sense it's not that different from using a public library: you're welcome to browse the collection, access the reference section, etc. without anyone asking you any questions, but if you want to take a book home, you need to get a library card from the nice librarian first.

And a further clarification: I've nothing against users who edit under IP; my issue is with the system which allows this. As long as it is allowed, users are of course welcome to make use of this. I just think it shouldn't be allowed {{unsigned|IP Addresses Don’t Make Sense|23:25, 14 November 2024}}
:As an habitual IP, far for it for me to get involved in the argument. I will say that sometimes think it'd be nice to have a "history" that proves my actual involvement (the other day I came across a contribution from 2013 that was clearly mine), but those moments pass when I see how easy (too easy) it is to have gotten myself an account. Witness the various accounts that get conjoured up on a whim, 'yourself' included... You're not helping the cause by doing this.
:If you're a named user, normally, then you're just giving more reasons for locking everyone into far more restrictions than your nominal argument suggests, and forgetting how much non-disrupting (indeed, fixing) behaviour is also done by everyone. The perfect situation? Maybe not. But there are worse ones, for anyone who has thought about it for any time. Do you want ''my'' suggestions? I've got a whole shopping list of them, but you won't want to hear about them. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.227|172.69.194.227]] 03:38, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

== when did xkcd jump the shark ==
like, when exactly do you feel xkcd jumped the shark (if at all)? [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 12:45, 28 November 2024 (UTC)
:If it has, than put me down as "likes shark-jumping". I've been directly enjoying (if not always as caught up with as I am these days) xkcd since before [[195: Map of the Internet]] (quite possibly back into only double-figures, but hard to know what I later rewound back to; or quite how far back I subsequently joined the fora and/or started explainxkcding, as both histories are shrouded behind data that's either now lost or inconveniently anonymised).
:Not everything is as geeky as that, but it doesn't have to be. Horses for courses, naturally. (Perhaps lasagna?) If ''everyone'' who had such a moment actually decides to tell you their answer, probably could be up to 3000 or so distinct replies. ("It was the flying ferret" "Those spiders always did it for me" ...) ''To clarify, there may be many valid answers, but the people who would give them are far more likely not to be here to answer your question. If anybody ''does'' hover around here and want to give a definite answer of why they no longer like xkcd, then bear in mind that they're more the exception than the rule. Twice-over!'' [[Special:Contributions/172.71.122.102|172.71.122.102]] 14:22, 28 November 2024 (UTC)
::Hi, 42.book.addict here to put in my own two cents (check my user page on why I’m an IP). I would like to comment that I have noticed that I very much enjoy the older (albeit lower quality and resolution) comics than before. I think that I like the old xkcd strips more because they were much more geeky and nerdy than now, as well as more funny and witty. I feel like Randall has adapted the strip to appeal to a larger audience, which in turn lowered how much I enjoyed it (as I’m a massive nerd/geek). I can’t give an exact number, because the Covid-19 comics were highly enjoyable and are more of an outlier. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.117|162.158.167.117]] 17:33, 28 November 2024 (UTC)

2425: mRNA Vaccine

2024-11-23T09:14:49Z

172.69.43.182: Category says: "Note: this category is for large singular images, not for long comics that contain a large number of panels."

{{comic
| number = 2425
| date = February 15, 2021
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| title = mRNA Vaccine
| image = mrna_vaccine.png
| titletext = To ensure lasting immunity, doctors recommend destroying a second Death Star some time after the first.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is another in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}, specifically regarding the [[:Category:COVID-19 vaccine|COVID-19 vaccine]].

This one is another analogy to how {{w|mRNA vaccines}} work, by creating inactive fragments of the virus to prime the immune system to be prepared to stave off the real thing. This is done in response to Cueball's question to the person vaccinating him, "Why would my body attack something it made itself?", using elements of the film ''{{w|Star Wars (film)|Star Wars: Episode IV}}'' as an analogy.

The analogy starts in the second panel, where the Rebel Alliance has retrieved the {{w|Death Star}} plans, conveyed by {{w|Princess Leia}} to General [https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jan_Dodonna Jan Dodonna] (in ''Star Wars'', via {{w|R2-D2}} and some adventures, but shown as a simple handoff here). The Death Star is a space station the size of a small moon that has the power to destroy planets. In the film, the plans are analyzed to find a weakness in the enemy Death Star and destroy it; however, in this panel, the "Death Star plans" are passed down a line of people until they are interpreted as a construction assignment and are used to build a Death Star. In the analogy, the mRNA in the vaccine corresponds to the plans for the Death Star, the spike proteins (inactive COVID-19 virus fragments) correspond to the benign Death Star itself, and the cellular processes that build spike proteins correspond to the builders of the benign Death Star. Just as merely having the plans on hand led to the Death Star being built, the mere presence of the mRNA in the cellular environment leads to it being translated, producing the viral protein. Amusingly, as the plans are handed off to the construction crew leader, he replies "Copy that," which is normally just a slang term for "I understand" but here is also a pun that presages his actions.

After Leia's Death Star has been built, it is positioned near a planet/moon. This Death Star is ''benign'': it only ''looks'' dangerous and isn't about to actually hurt anyone; the Death Star crew are Rebels, after all, and state that they don't have the laser wired up. The Rebels mobilize to destroy this benign Death Star because it looks like an enemy battle station, evidently not listening to the construction crew's transmissions. Analogously, immune cells cannot think{{Citation needed}} or directly communicate, basing their determination of friend from foe entirely on external chemical signatures. However, the Death Star operators are confused, because they believe Leia (a member of the Rebels) had ordered its construction. The Rebels initially attack the surface of the benign Death Star, without much effect; Leia orders the factories to continue developing torpedoes and ships as they run out, presumably putting an extra workload on the factory workers and tiring them out, or at least diverting resources away from other projects. In the analogy, the Rebels correspond to the immune system's {{w|B cells}} and {{w|T cells}}, which mobilize to attack the spike proteins (the benign Death Star) made as a result of the vaccine, but are often ineffective at first. The body keeps producing these immune cells, trying many variants (many ways of attacking the benign Death Star) in an attempt to find one that works well against the spike proteins. This results in Cueball experiencing {{w|side effects}} from the vaccine, including soreness and tiredness, and he lies down and rests.

After much effort on the Rebels' part, they find a weakness in the benign Death Star, a "thermal exhaust port" vulnerable to "proton torpedoes" that can destroy the Death Star. Firing a proton torpedo down the exhaust port destroys a Death Star very rapidly, compared to the initial, ineffective frontal assault on the surface. After this benign Death Star is destroyed, Princess Leia allows the fleet to stand down.

Up to this point, the entire thing seems like a comedy of errors, with huge expenditures being made for no apparent reason, due to a simple lack of communication. But during this process, the Rebel Alliance has both built a huge fleet and figured out how to target the Death Star's weakness and destroy it. Later on, when a real, dangerous Death Star approaches the planet (with the apparent intent of destroying it), the Rebels immediately deploy their fleet, target the weakness, and destroy it almost immediately, much to the shock of the Imperial troops, who had believed they were on an invulnerable ship and are surprised by the Rebels' immediate response and overwhelmed by it.

The analogy is that the immune system (the Rebel Alliance) figures out a way to attach to the spike proteins (attack the benign Death Star) made by the mRNA vaccine; the immune system's {{w|antibodies}} (Rebel planners) now "know" how to recognize and destroy things that have these spike proteins — including SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (real, dangerous Death Stars). Hence, when the vaccinated Cueball approaches White Hat, who is maskless, coughing, and presumably sick with COVID-19, Cueball's immune system is able to destroy dangerous SARS-CoV-2 virus particles because it knows about the virus's spike proteins. This is represented by Cueball not experiencing any suffering from COVID-19, and he goes on his way whistling merrily, perhaps to the tune of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yixG8pfncOs The Throne Room/End Title] (from the ceremony celebrating the destruction of the Death Star).

It's notable that Cueball continues to wear a mask after being vaccinated. This is in accordance with {{w|Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC}} guidelines, which recommend continuing to wear a mask, practicing social distancing, etc. after getting the vaccine; doctors at CDC "don’t yet know whether getting a COVID-19 vaccine will prevent you from spreading the virus that causes COVID-19 to other people, even if you don’t get sick yourself."[https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html] None of the vaccines available as of when the comic was posted are 100% effective at preventing infection, with the best ones about 94% effective at preventing symptomatic cases, but all vaccines that are approved or submitted for approval are completely (100.00%) effective at preventing death from COVID-19.

The title text references the fact that the two COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States as of the date of publication (the {{w|Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine|Pfizer-BioNTech one}} and the {{w|Moderna COVID-19 vaccine|Moderna one}}) require [[2422: Vaccine Ordering|two doses of vaccine]] to be fully effective, as do many others in use worldwide (AstraZeneca, Gameleya Institute, Sinovac, etc.). The second dose strengthens the body's immune response to the spike proteins and causes it to "remember", via antibodies, how to attack those proteins for a long time — hopefully years or even decades. Likewise, the Rebels in the movies destroy two Death Stars, the second one in ''Return of the Jedi''. Incidentally, that second Death Star was destroyed while it was apparently incomplete, much like the Death Star here was destroyed before it could destroy Cueball; however, in the film, the Emperor had deliberately left it with an incomplete outer structure to lure the Rebellion into attacking it, only for the Rebels to find that its superlaser was fully operational.

Vaccination was also explained, xkcd-style, in [[2406: Viral Vector Immunity]].

References to the ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' franchise are a [[:Category:Star Wars|recurring theme]] on xkcd.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball seated in a doctor's office getting a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Both he and the doctor are wearing masks; the doctor is also wearing a scrub cap.]
:Doctor: The vaccine contains mRNA instructions for making the virus spike protein.
:Cueball: Weird, so the vaccine is just blueprints?
:Doctor: Yup! Your body reads the mRNA, makes the proteins, and then has an immune reaction to them.
:Cueball: Why would my body attack something it made itself?
:Doctor: Well...

:[Princess Leia and General Dodonna in frame.]
:Leia: Here are the Death Star plans.
:Dodonna: Thank you, Princess.

:[Dodonna, Ponytail, and White Hat in frame.]
:Dodonna: These blueprints are from Princess Leia.
:Ponytail: Ugh, she's always giving us projects.

:[Ponytail and Cueball in frame.]
:Ponytail: Here, take these blueprints to your construction crew.
:Cueball: Affirmative. What is it?
:Ponytail: No idea. Something the Princess wants.
:Cueball: Copy that.

:Panel heading: Soon...
:[A view from outside of the Death Star.]
:Voice from Death Star: Hi, Commander? Construction crew B here.

:[A view from inside the Death Star, with a planet visible through two adjacent windows. Cueball is standing at some kind of control/communications panel.]
:Cueball: We finished building the Princess's big metal orb thing.

:[A view from outside the Death Star again, with the curve of the planet in the foreground.]
:Voice from Death Star: Do you know if she wants us to park it somewhere, or—
:Voices from the planet: '''''AAAAAA!!!'''''

:[A view from the planet's surface with the Death Star in the sky. 3 Cueballs, a Megan-like character, and Ponytail are on the planet's surface.]
:Voice from Death Star: ...Is everything ok?
:Cueball 1: '''''AAAAAAA!'''''
:Cueball 2: ''Imperial battle station!!!''
:Ponytail & Cueball 3: ''AAAAAAAAAA''
:Offscreen voice: ''Red Alert Red Alert''

:[Another view from the planet's surface. There is some type of military encampment surrounded by an open field, with trees and mountains in the background. People are running around on the field, which also contains several currently grounded craft and several flying craft streaming toward the Death Star.]
:Death Star voice: Hello?
:Generic field voices: ''Get the fighters in the air!''
:''Red Alert''
:''Blow it up! Blow it up!''
:''AAAAA''
:Generic tree voices: '''''AAAAAaa'''''
:Generic spacecraft voices: ''Kill it kill it kill it kill it kill it kill it''

:[A zoomed-in view of the outside of the Death Star, which is accumulating light damage. Numerous spacecraft are shooting at it; various explosions occur on the Death Star's surface and in space nearby.]
:Death Star voice: Hello?
:Generic spacecraft voices: ''Shoot it! Shoot it! Shoot it!''
:That armor's too strong! We're not getting through!
:''Keep firing!''

:[A view from inside the Death Star again with Cueball at the control panel and the planet in the background windows; various projectiles and explosions can be seen through the window.]
:Cueball: Can everybody please just chill? We don't even have the laser thing wired up. We—
:'''''BOOM'''''
:''Hey!!'' I ''said'', we...

:[Ponytail enters from the left, and points to her left. Princess Leia points at her.]
:Ponytail: We can't get through! We're running out of proton torpedoes!
:Leia: Send every crew to build more torpedoes!
:Ponytail: There aren't enough ships to—
:Leia: ''Build more ships!!''

:[Ponytail is standing still and Princess Leia is walking to the right with her fists raised.]
:Ponytail: That thing is just sitting there. Are you sure we—
:Leia: ''Keep building ships! Build ships forever! '''Destroy the orb!'''''

:[A view of the Death Star in space and the curvature of the planet off to the side. An enormous torrent of (barely visible) ships is seen streaming from the planet's surface to the Death Star. The damage to the Death Star is slightly worse.]
:Generic ship voices: '''''aaaaAAAAAAAAaaaaa'''''
:Death Star voice: What is ''wrong'' with you people?

:[Back in the real world, Cueball is standing with arms hunched and a cartoon helix above his head. Megan stands next to him.]
:Cueball: Definitely feeling a little sore.
:Megan: Yeah, they said you might have some side effects.
:Megan: You lie down—I'll get you some hot tea and a blanket.

:[An outside view of the damaged Death Star with ships swarming it.]
:Generic voices: ''Die die die die! Die!''

:[An inside view; Cueball appears injured, and the control panel is damaged with a fire on the ground nearby.]
:Cueball: I hate you all so much.

:[The outside of the Death Star again.]
:Ship 1: What's that?!
:Ship 2: Looks like a thermal exhaust port.
:Ship 3: I'm going in!

:[The outside of the Death Star.]
:''pew pew pew pew pew pew''

:[Beat panel.]

:[The Death Star explodes.]

:[A disheveled Dodonna, Princess Leia, and Ponytail in frame.]

:[The same frame.]
:Leia: Good work.

:[In the real world, Cueball sits on top of a bed with a blanket draped over his lap. Megan stands next to the bed.]
:Cueball: I'm feeling better today.
:Megan: That's great!

:Panel heading: A few months later...
:[Cueball and White Hat walking past each other. Cueball is wearing a face mask; White Hat isn't but coughs into his elbow.]
:White Hat: ''Cough cough''

:[The real Death Star drifts toward the planet.]
:Death Star voice: We have reached the rebel system, Lord Vader.

:[View from inside the real Death Star.]
:Vader: Now they shall witness the firepower of this fully armed and oper—

:[Leia, Ponytail, and Cueball in frame.]
:Leia: '''''Thermal exhaust port!!'''''
:Ponytail: ''Aaa''
:Cueball: ''Aaa''

:[An equally large torrent of ships stream from the planet to the real Death Star.]
:Death Star voice: What.
:Various ships: '''''aA AAAAAAA aaa aAAAAAAA aaa'''''
:'''''AAAAAA aaa aAAAAA'''''

:[The Death Star explodes, leaving debris trailing away.]

:[In the real world, White Hat and Cueball continue to walk past each other.]
:Cueball: ♫ ♫

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:COVID-19 vaccine]]
[[Category:Comics featuring face masks]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Biology]]

3012: The Future of Orion

2024-11-19T11:39:08Z

172.69.43.182: /* Transcript */ Suppose I should mention the othe4 traditionally common alternate visual interpretation.

{{comic
| number = 3012
| date = November 15, 2024
| title = The Future of Orion
| image = the_future_of_orion_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x300px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Dinosaur Cosmics
}}

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

Stars in the night sky sometimes change, occasionally varying in brightness, very rarely exploding, and imperceptibly moving. For example, {{w|Betelgeuse}}, a star in the constellation {{w|Orion (constellation)|Orion}}, is expected to explode as a {{w|supernova}} between [https://astrobites.org/2023/07/01/betelgeuse-betelgeuse-betelgeuse-is-it-supernovatime/ tens of] and [https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/betelgeuse-will-explode-someday/ a thousand] years, and then disappear from the night sky. And all stars move relative to us and each other, which results in apparent movement in the sky called {{w|proper motion}}, a function of a star's relative movement in three dimensions and its distance from us.

This comic shows changes in Orion from Betelgeuse disappearing and three of its fastest moving stars, and recommends revising the {{w|constellation}} (or creating a new {{w|Asterism (astronomy)|asterism}}) from one which depicts a hunter to another matching a different hunter, the {{w|Tyrannosaurus}} from Ryan North's [https://www.qwantz.com Dinosaur Comics]. It should be noted that {{w|Orion's Sword}} is drawn but does not fit inside the dinosaur. As it does in the original Orion constellation. Thus it seems this has been dropped from the Dinosaur. Saliva or worse...

The proper motion of {{w|Chi1 Orionis|χ¹ Orionis}} shown near the top at the end of Orion's arm (and the back of the dinosaur's head) is 0.20 arcseconds per year, so it will traverse the depicted angular distance of 0.84 degrees in about 15,000 years. {{w|Pi1 Orionis|π¹ Orionis}} at the top of Orion's bow (and the end of the dinosaur's tail) has a proper motion of 0.14 arcseconds per year, so it will traverse its distance of 0.87° in about 23,000 years. However, with a proper motion of 0.46 as/yr, {{w|Pi3 Orionis|π³ Orionis}}, in the middle of the bow, will take only about 9,600 years to traverse its longer depicted distance of 1.24°. (The angular distances traversed by the stars were measured relative to the distance between Orion's two outermost belt stars, {{w|Alnitak}} and {{w|Mintaka}}, the dinosaur's hips.) Thus, the new constellation won't form until its current name has lasted more than three times as long as it already has.

[[File:School of Athens Raphael detail 03.jpg|thumb|Hipparchus and Ptolemy compare globes in {{w|Raphael}}'s famous fresco ''{{w|The School of Athens}}''. Ptolemy is shown with a crown because of his erroneous association with the royal house of Ptolemaic Egypt.]]
There are no official constellations depicting dinosaurs. However, {{w|Draco (constellation)|Draco}} represents a mythological reptilian dragon, and the lizard {{w|Lacerta}} was described in 1687. The first fossil to be later identified as a dinosaur was found in 1676, but the term "dinosaur" was not introduced until 1842. The earliest constellations in the northern hemisphere were recognized around 3000 BC. By the 2nd century AD, the Greek mathematician and astronomer {{w|Ptolemy}} listed 48 constellations visible from the northern hemisphere in his ''{{w|Almagest}},'' following the star catalogs and globes made by {{w|Hipparchus}} which have since been lost to history. The remaining modern southern constellations were mostly finalized by {{w|Nicolas Louis de Lacaille}} in 1756. Dozens of {{w|former constellations}} have been recognized, sometimes for hundreds of years, before being disregarded, replaced by others, or because they were only recognized by cultures apart from dominant Western traditions. ({{w|Micronesian navigation#Navigation by the stars|Polynesian navigators}} settled {{w|Polynesian Triangle|a vast expanse of the south Pacific Ocean}} from 26,000 to 950 years ago apparently without naming constellations, but instead [https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/items/f617b33c-531b-41b4-b550-5aec81face2c recording the positions of stars] on {{w|Compass rose#Sidereal|sidereal compass dials}}.) The {{w|International Astronomical Union}} established the current official list of 88 constellations in 1922.

The title text is another joke regarding Dinosaur Comics, replacing "comics" with "cosmics" because we're talking about a dinosaur in the sky.

Orion is also mentioned in [[1020: Orion Nebula]]. T-Rex is also featured in [[1452: Jurassic World]]. In 2006, [[Randall]] emulated the style of Dinosaur Comics with [[145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics]] and he lists the comic as one of those comics [[Design_of_xkcd.com#Comics_I_enjoy|he enjoys]]. Randall and Ryan North are known to be friends. And on the day Randall posted this comic, Ryan wrote the following in his "[https://web.archive.org/web/20241117023759/https://qwantz.com/ What are the haps my friends]" section beneath his own comic: November 15th, 2024: [https://xkcd.com/3012/ HEY DID YOU SEE XKCD TODAY??]

==Transcript==
:[Star map of the Orion constellation at present, everything black on white background. The majority of the twenty-three points are connected with the traditional constellation lines. As is usual, the three stars of "Orion's Sword" are left unconnected, and neither is Sigma Orionis, in its position very close to Alnitak on Orion's Belt. In a frame above the stars there is a label:]
:Orion Today:

:[In the next panel the same stars are drawn (except Sigma Orionis, which features in no further panels) but without the constellation lines. Three of the dots that mark the stars are drawn in grey, and from them a short red line is going to an additional red dot that marks a new star position. A fourth star has a red cross over it. There are two labels in red. From the upper label goes two long red arrows in opposite directions towards the red and grey stars and lines (two of those are close together beneath the label, one is above). A small red arrow goes from the other label to the crossed out star. The rest of the stars remain unchanged. In a frame above the stars there is a label:]
:Predicted Changes:
:Upper label: Star movement
:Lower label: Star Death (Betelgeuse)

:[Star map of the future Orion constellation, all map features black on white, with Betelgeuse now missing and the three moved stars where their red 'new' positions were in the prior panel. A set of mostly different constellation lines are drawn joining the majority of the twenty-one points (excepting the traditional Sword stars). A red label is written with a red arrow pointing to a constellation line at the top right. In a frame above the stars there is a label:]
:Orion in the future:
:Label: Suggested lines

:[In the last panel the same stars with constellation lines are drawn. It overlays an image of Dinosaur Comics T-rex, the full color habitual 'final pane' pose, but flipped left/right to match and generally encompasses the new constellation lines in a way typical of more classical artistic constellation depictions. In particular, bow and right arm of Orion (in some versions, left arm holding captured prey) now matches the dinosaur tail, whilst the raised left arm (sometimes considered the right arm, holding a club aloft) now matches the neck and dropped jaw of its head. The stars of "Orion's Sword" remain as three dots between the legs constellation/dinosaur legs, without any connection to either, or indeed any 'sword'-equivalent.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with red annotations]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]

Talk:3011: Europa Clipper

2024-11-14T19:53:23Z

172.69.43.182:

I'm not brave enough to actually add an explanation myself, quite yet, but ... I guess this is a reference to the fact(?) that Europa looks a bit like a creme brulee', when viewed from space? https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/moons/europa/ It does look tasty ... :) [[User:ModelD|ModelD]] ([[User talk:ModelD|talk]]) 12:53, 13 November 2024 (UTC)
:I suspect it's more due to the need to drill through a couple miles of ice to get to the ocean; much like breaking through the sugar crust on a creme broule! [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 13:16, 13 November 2024 (UTC)

Thank you to the people at 9AM Post things on another website to try and explain XKCD Comics. -Forgotten_Mail {{unsigned ip|172.69.33.177|13:30, 13 November 2024}}

The comically large spoon!!!!!!!!!! I love those. -[[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 16:38, 13 November 2024 (UTC)
: Don't be sucked in! Protect yourself! https://rathergood.com/2017/02/10/spoonguard/ [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.105|141.101.99.105]] 10:57, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

I think the "Crème brûlée is from France, France is in Europe, the moon is called Europa" connection is a bit of a stretch...? [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 18:36, 13 November 2024 (UTC)
: Eh, it's the same etymology. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.230|172.69.134.230]] 11:04, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
:: The issue of the continent and the moon coming from the same classical source (for different reasons) rather stretches the link between the dish (from the country, from the country's region/continent, from the region of Greece, ''possibly'' from the pantheon) and the moon (directly from the pantheon). I agree with the 'stretch' assessment. You can probably find easier and more plausible (but wrong) links worth alluding to than that, which relies upon several steps and a ''possible'' polysemic pair of original links. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.58.45|172.70.58.45]] 12:12, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
:::From an American perspective, Europe might seem like a distant, mysterious place that you might want to send a probe to to gather interesting information, and also somewhere that crème brûlée comes from. It's also potentially confusable (by the easily confused) with Europa. That seems like a reasonable enough connection to make to me. The mention of France is essentially by the by.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.107|172.71.26.107]] 12:23, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
:::It keeps getting said that "Europa is named after Europe", '''which is not correct''' (etymology, BTW, not entomology). I shall have to re-restore some other changes made to the same paragraph in rapid succession whilst I was trying to explain this. Bear with me. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.195|172.70.160.195]] 14:57, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
:::...You don't care, do you. You just keep putting it back in. SMH. Have fun. Someone else will probably be along to correct you ''again'' later. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.68.92|141.101.68.92]] 15:35, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

"only a spoonful" moment 💔 [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 19:20, 13 November 2024 (UTC)

Someone should add a reference to XKCD's previous mention of a Planetary Protection Officer: https://what-if.xkcd.com/117/ [[Special:Contributions/162.158.42.221|162.158.42.221]] 00:09, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

JUICE mentioned!!! cracker ham cheese cracker ham cheese cracker [[User:N-eh|N-eh]] ([[User talk:N-eh|talk]]) 07:31, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
: Edited out, alas. It's a fascinating, and entertaining, experience to set up a starter explanation and then watch it bubble and froth. As with the crème | France | Europe | Europa trajectory (in which I had no part after posting the starter). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.113|108.162.245.113]] 18:46, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Here is a list from NASA about spacecraft instrument deployment failures, they are remarkably frequent: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20210020397/downloads/Alphonzo%20Stewart-%20Final%20Paper.pdf [[Special:Contributions/162.158.19.50|162.158.19.50]] 13:00, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

I think we need to have a conversation about how the insertion orbit plan is so chaotic that there is a significant chance that the probe might crash in to and pierce the crust of Europa. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.56|162.158.187.56]] 14:36, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
:...and if so, what's the likelihood of hitting just the right angle to scrape off a tasty bit with that spoon? [[User:Transgalactic|Transgalactic]] ([[User talk:Transgalactic|talk]]) 16:04, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
::What would you like it to be? I can't step on butterflies, but I can certainly act according to the purest form of free will by strapping a noise bridge diode to my corpus callosum. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.83|108.162.246.83]] 16:17, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
:Well we just need Elon to lock in the plan that if it crashes then it automatically becomes a sample return mission, and the first SolarCity sales rep to break out +150% of their quota gets to be the one to crash it. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.42.130|162.158.42.130]] 15:56, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
::What part of "Attempt No Landing There" is unclear to you? [[User:Liv2splain|Liv2splain]] ([[User talk:Liv2splain|talk]]) 18:36, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
::In all seriousness, the liquid water is a good reason to be extremely careful so you don't end up detecting {{w|tardigrade}}s, {{w|deinococcus radiodurans}}, or {{w|bacillus subtilis}}. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.166|172.70.214.166]] 19:16, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

I can ''not'' believe I got ChatGPT to make this for me:
{{cot|You have been warned}}

Europa was this smart, ambitious woman just trying to make it out there in the Mediterranean startup scene. She had her plans, her own thing going on, some solid friends, and a bright future. She wasn’t looking for anything too complicated; she just wanted to keep her options open and figure out her next big move.

Enter Zeus. Now, picture him as that intense CEO type—big, powerful, kind of legendary for his influence (and his *questionable* reputation). He’s been around the block a few times, always looking for the next exciting project or, well… person. Zeus saw Europa, and she was exactly his type: sharp, resourceful, had a lot of potential. He was like, "Yeah, I need *that* in my portfolio."

But Zeus was a little extra with his tactics. Instead of just, you know, scheduling a coffee chat or reaching out on LinkedIn like a normal person, he came up with this elaborate scheme. He disguised himself as this beautiful white bull (yeah, Zeus was *that* guy who would make things way more complicated than necessary). He wandered down to the shore near Europa and her friends, looking majestic and mysterious, and let her come to him.

Europa, understandably, was like, "This bull is kind of weirdly friendly and actually pretty cool." She got curious, went closer, and Zeus played it super smooth, staying calm and approachable. When she got comfortable enough, she even climbed onto his back for a ride—just for fun! I mean, who hasn’t hopped onto a crazy idea because it seemed cool at the time, right?

But then things got wild. Suddenly, Zeus took off, sprinting across the beach and straight into the sea. He didn’t just want to show her the local scene; he was taking her across the entire Mediterranean to Crete, like some super intense onboarding retreat she hadn’t signed up for. By the time they got there, she was probably exhausted, confused, and questioning her life choices.

And here’s the kicker: once they arrived, Zeus was like, “Oh hey, it’s me! Not just some chill bull—surprise, I’m Zeus.” At this point, Europa realized she was in way deeper than she’d ever expected. She ended up staying in Crete, becoming queen and building a legacy, which, sure, sounds great on paper. But you have to wonder if that’s what she really wanted in the first place, or if she was just swept up in the whirlwind of Zeus's charm and grand promises.

So, in the end, Europa's career ended up in a place she never saw coming. She became a name people would remember for centuries, but not necessarily on her own terms. It’s the classic millennial dilemma: she got a high-profile "role" with Zeus, but did she really get to build her own brand, or was she just another line in Zeus’s impressive (and very long) resume?

Maybe Europa would look back on this “opportunity” and think, “Did I even want this? Or did I just get pulled into someone else’s grand plan?” A classic case of getting lost in the allure of “networking,” and honestly, a pretty good reminder to always check out who’s really behind the bull.
{{cob}}
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.23.82|172.68.23.82]] "This bull is kind of weirdly friendly and actually pretty cool" 16:03, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
::"Europa was this smart, ambitious woman...." She was a {{w|nepo baby}}. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.231|172.70.206.231]] 18:55, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
:ChatGPT should have learned long ago that it's not cool to reproduce rape culture. But I guess AI just doesn't get better than its training material... [[User:Transgalactic|Transgalactic]] ([[User talk:Transgalactic|talk]]) 16:34, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
::It is apparently aware of the issue:
:::"The myth of Zeus and Europa is problematic from a modern perspective, especially concerning consent. Europa willingly approaches and even climbs onto Zeus, who is disguised as a bull, suggesting an initial level of curiosity and comfort. However, Zeus’s sudden abduction of Europa—taking her across the sea to Crete and revealing his true identity only after they arrive—shows a disregard for her autonomy, as she never consented to go with him under those terms. Her actions are based on Zeus’s deception, and without knowing his true intentions, her choice was not fully informed. In Greek mythology, such abductions were common symbols of divine intervention, reflecting a worldview where gods often overpowered human agency, a stark contrast to today’s emphasis on consent and personal autonomy."
::The issue with Zeus's behavior was tempered by the story that he gave Europa a kingdom to rule and all the riches and luxuries that came with it. Isn't that the way bad boyfriends are excused in our day and age? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.143|172.70.211.143]] 17:45, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
:::Like [https://krapopolis.fandom.com/wiki/Krapopolis#:~:text=Tyrannis%2C%20the%20mortal%20son%20of,self%2Ddestruction%20and%20questionable%20choices. King Tyrannis] in {{w|Krapopolis}}? All that glitters is not gold. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.22.93|172.68.22.93]] 18:02, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
::Given how it's likely not Zeus's momentary crush, that was the Europa concerned (naming the river, region then contintent), all that ChatGPT stuff is interesting but very likely going down totally the wrong trail of ideas. Of course, the phylomemetic development of legends is probably very mixed up, and trying to trace what figures certain phonemes originally refered to (before being cooked and remixed in countless oral 'history' retellings with few written standard versions to keep them static and consistant) is an art in itself. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.42|172.71.26.42]] 19:31, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
:::The Greek myths were handed down in writing and by the oral tradition. They are absolutely diverse but the common threads are a large part of what an entire middle age of clerical monks have bestowed upon Western culture. In that tradition, Europa kept her gift kingdom instead of returning home, which suggests some measure of consent after the fact. If you were given a huge island kingdom because some god-bull decided to take you for a surprise swim, would you refuse it? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.129|172.70.211.129]] 19:33, 14 November 2024 (UTC)
::::Since more 'modern' times (to speak of monks, you'd generally be talking about mediæval times onwards, though some priests and scholars of pre-christianity eras may have played some similar roles beforehand), they may have been 'well' documented, but we're talking about bronze-age-and-earlier (mostly) oral traditions that bumbled along for a long time with few persisting writings/engravings. Imagine what ancient records were lost in Alexandria/other destructions, or sat upon stone/clay that has since lain undiscovered for cdnturies but likely crumbled well beyond the ability of any lucky archaeologist to reconstruct.
::::And not all of the {{w|Europa (Greek myth)|various women/beings of that name}} could have been just retellings of the same 'original' (with deviations). Zeus's Europa likely, in fact, far post-dates the examples rooted in the pre-Olympian pantheon. Either in 'actual legend' or in the tales that developed to explain the current understanding of the soap-opera that was what gods/titans/whatever had performed to get from the creation of the world to 'now'. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.183|172.69.43.183]] 19:52, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2916: Machine

2024-04-10T10:56:44Z

172.69.43.182: /* Bugs and Exploits */

rather late for an april fools comic innit? also there doesn't seem to be anything exciting in this one lol, none of the usual cool exploration easter eggs, as far as i could tell at least [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.76|172.71.178.76]] 16:41, 6 April 2024 (UTC)Erfaniom

: We're exploring crowdsourced human creativity here, in a way, so it can be a lot more interesting then Randall's exploration comics, at least for me, because i did take two years of GCSE psychology and enjoyed it. [[Special:Contributions/172.64.238.130|172.64.238.130]]

: looks like the egg's on my face lmao, i think i was among the first people to make anything, so everywhere was under construction for me, i didn't even understand that it was like a crowd thing [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.52|172.70.210.52]] 14:19, 9 April 2024 (UTC)Erfaniom

Just popped over using Chrome on Android and all I see is four "missing picture" logos spinning around, plus another down the bottom right... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.68.193|141.101.68.193]] 18:13, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
:Okay, followup: it behaves quite differently on the non mobile site. You get two entry points with red balls and yellow balls and you need to place the various gizmos to direct the balls to the correct exit point. Once enough have correctly passed to turn the red X into a green tick, you have the option to submit. If you do, once you have named your design it will be added to the grid with other submissions all of which exist to push red and yellow balls around. (if you come across "Memories of Ragnarok", that's mine) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.134.207|172.71.134.207]] 18:27, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
::The number of inputs appears to vary between 1 and 4, each of a different color, with one color-coded output for each. [[User:Claire Kholin|Claire Kholin]] ([[User talk:Claire Kholin|talk]]) 18:49, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

On the "machine" section, you see lots of "under construction cells". Perhaps this will develop as more are submitted. I notice the "under construction tape" has "DJIA" and "31415", perhaps a reference to "dow jones industrial average" and the first five digits of pi. [[User:Zeimusu|Zeimusu]] ([[User talk:Zeimusu|talk]]) 18:37, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
:Whenever someone submits a cell, it fills in one of the under construction cells. [[User:Claire Kholin|Claire Kholin]] ([[User talk:Claire Kholin|talk]]) 18:49, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
[Robert'); DROP TABLE Student!:;--] i just got a machine with 3 outputs one yellow another red and a third blue AND green and 3 inputs one green one blue and one red blue and yellow https://xkcd.com/2916/#xt=7&yt=50 hope its still there {{unsigned ip|172.70.115.173|18:01, 9 April 2024}}
:I think I just 'did' one with a Red+Yellow source (also separate singular Blue and Green) and a combined Blue+Green sink (and separate Yellow and Red). Got it working well, actually using fan-levitation to separate the R+Y enough to route them to their destinations, the Y then having to cross the occasional flying Green (which I was forced to "Bonk" and bounce up, entry being nearly at the bottom on right, exit being nearly at top on left) for its exit, everything else fairly simple. No idea if it got integrated, of course. Never seen any of my machines be accepted (when I later look around at what's there), so I'm still unsure if there's anything I can do to increase my chance of a successful square being made permanent on the grid.... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 20:58, 9 April 2024 (UTC)
:...still had it sitting there [https://imgur.com/kZdp3kH on my browser], though note that the Red+Yellow supply (mid-left) and the Green supply (right) aren't working here, through the "move the screen around, lose the feeds from 'Under Construction' squares" issue, or similar. But still I managed to submit it. The occasional Yellow and Red are falling from the Blue entrance in the top (I've not done anything special to filter those out/send them to a more proper exit, and it's too late to do so now anyway, it was just a Blue entry during the development process, of course).
:It's a pity you can't see it working, but I quite like my Yellow/Red separation. This might be the only time you see it in place, though, so a shame I didn't take a screenshot immedediately after submitting it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 21:30, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

I wanted to add an image for each object, but do not have the necessary access, can someone who has access add the images that I linked in the table so they can be included? [[User:Claire Kholin|Claire Kholin]] ([[User talk:Claire Kholin|talk]]) 18:49, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

I found a discussion with some guy talking about the API at https://euphoria.leet.nu/room/xkcd/ ; this could be useful for the wiki.

<code>
[c+1] now time to try fucking with the api
[c+1] https://incredible.xkcd.com/
[userwithnoaccount] 404
[c+1] it seems there are numbered machines under incredible.xkcd.com/machine/x
[c+1] returns a grid of individual machinlets
[c+1] which are uids like 3a7af27c-5389-5dcb-b660-3feab6be2ceb
[c+1] they're stored at urls like incredible.xkcd.com/folio/3a7af27c-5389-5dcb-b660-3feab6be2ceb
[c+1] there appear to be 33 machines total
[c+1] the json it returns seems to refer to these as "versions"
[c+1] $ curl -s https://incredible.xkcd.com/machine/21 | jq ".version"
21
[c+1] there is a machine/0, but it's all null
[c+1] going to https://incredible.xkcd.com/machine/current redirects to the current machine
[c+1] $ curl -sL https://incredible.xkcd.com/machine/current | jq ".version"
35
[c+1] wait, is that the *total* number of mahcines?
[c+1] i would've thought there'd be more
[c+1] this whole think is rather esoteric
[c+1] Written in rust, too: https://rapier.rs/
[c+1] Uh oh.
https://i.hypercone.us/?v=8e283d
[c+1] HMMM
https://i.hypercone.us/?v=079f8f
[c+1] it seems there is no limit
[c+1] i've uploaded a ~50M title
</code>

[[Special:Contributions/172.70.57.146|172.70.57.146]]

Had quite a lot of fun, added a few 'successful' machines to the grid. Noted that whenever I try to use the Prism that (after a short delay) the comic-pane blanks and I need to refresh the page/get a completely new 'challenge' to start from scratch, so I'm just not using the prism at all (used most of the other items, in combination or 'just the one across the whole board', whichever seems most fun). But it doesn't seem to do what I'd like it to do, which is sort multiple colours from the same inflow into different outflow directions. Which would be ''very'' useful in a 'crossroads' situation, the general solution of directing them cross-path being too prone to random collisions. Also might be useful in the 'submitted machine grid', as I note that errors propagate, whereas adding a filter on all inputs would clean out (dispose of/send off to a valid gate?) the rogue balls. Anyway, gonna have to come back to this later when there's more time... Maybe then I'll even have something useful to add to the Explanation. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 19:03, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

The balls appear to be different weights. I just saw a machine that used fans to separate yellows from greens and blues in a sort of 'wheat from the chaff' manner to direct them to their correct outputs. I wonder what other hidden tricks are included. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.1.159|172.68.1.159]] 19:40, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

They're not all accepted, though it makes you think they are. Or something else more complex is going on we haven't realized yet. I made a machine that was working reliably, submitted it, and saw it on the overall grid. Reloading from a different browser I found the same location of the machine, with the same surroundings, but my machine had been replaced. It's nowhere else on the grid either. The first browser still shows it (but not after a reload with a cache clear). I'm not sure if there's some kind of "save" event that needs to happen beyond seeing your machine in the broader one, or if all user collaboration is an illusion, or if the system changes its mind about us somehow.

: Yeah, i've been seeing this too. Please tell me if you find any of my machines, images at https://i.hypercone.us/?v=22d562 , https://i.hypercone.us/?v=ad8e3a , and https://i.hypercone.us/?v=8d4d6a . I want to be one of the few to have added Catalan and Spanish to the grid. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.134.164|172.71.134.164]] 20:56, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

I've added some more observations to the page. Also, a guess which is too uncertain to put on the main page: The ball launcher for the yellows on the far left side misses a lot, and the yellow container isn't the one on the left. So I think the whole machine with crossing streams will result in the colors being sorted in their container order, and possibly have the streams combined and deposited at the bottom just above the containers. --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.147.100|172.71.147.100]] 21:07, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

has anyone seen the boat at the very bottom? [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 21:21, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

trying to see it on Firefox for Ubuntu and it just tells me to "visit xkcd.com to view" - THAT'S WHERE I AM?! Tried clearing website data (but not my entire cache) and that didn't help. Is there something I'm missing?

Oooh, just had one with four ball-entries (four colours) and ''three'' exits (one caters for two arrows). Pity it's rather complicated to get entries to exits (even if I can merge two of the streams). Might have to give up on it, but I'd like to have seen how it fits in with the 'submited grid'. i.e. someone else gets a two-colour introduction spot. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.119|162.158.74.119]] 22:37, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
:Me again. I'm just refreshing the page, looking at the pattern of entries/exits (just a dozen or so screens in, getting some repeats of pattern, indicating that it's going back to tiles it was suggesting before, probably depends on how many others are contributing and extending...)
:Found another 'double-colour' example. Two yellows ''from the same side'', which probably means that there's a two-yellows been asked to exit from the neighbour (will check shortly).
:Quickly adapting from my spreadsheet notation, "R, Y, G, B" in order, each "(Entry, Exit)", I've been using <dir> of L/R/T/B and a number (nominally percentage, though seems to include only values of 20, 30, 50, 70 and 80, so it ''might'' be more 1/6..5/6?) relating to the distance along from L to R (for T/B) or T to B (for L/R).
:This line is therefore (0,0)(L20+L70,R30+B70)(R80,L80)(T70,L50) ... no reds, two yellow pairings, a red pairing, a blue pairing. Would require at least two path-crossings (but I was going to calculate those things later, and double-colours might confuse my intended simple line-intersection calculation).
:...anyway, spent some time on this message, which might mean I'll get into a 'new batch' of available patterns as people have succeeded some of the challenges that I've been 'swiping left'. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.20|172.70.162.20]] 19:28, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:...very next click: (0,0)(T30+L20,R20+R70)(R80,L80)(R50,B50), which is clearly the actual left-neighbour of the above. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.19|172.70.162.19]] 19:32, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:Ok, stopped my refreshing to [https://imgur.com/a/OMFOmzy 'solve' a screen]. First of all I routed both yellows entries (right-upper and upper-right) to one yellow exit (middle-left) and gradually teased the greens across (lower-left to middle-right), as that way I was avoiding a criss-cross of balls, but the the other yellow exit (left-lower) was, of course, invalid.
:Changed it to drop one stream of yellows down towards the lower exit, across the rapidly firing greens (added a fan to filter away the occasional yellow that gets bounced over there, not much of an opportunity to filter falling-greens out of the yellow exit, so apologies to whoever gets the sceen below). Submited as "Two Yellows, One Green!", whether or not that'll save (apparently, I should continue to contribute and not refresh/close, or else the server will not keep the solution?).
:Interestingly, all four adjacent tiles are "Under construction", and if I scroll up... *DARN* the comic has blanked out (nothing there between the upper PREV/RANDOM/NEXT buttons and the lower ones, just whitespace). This may mean that it did not save. This is the kind of 'page crash' I get when I try using a Prism or get too many balls rattling around on top of a Black Hole. Perhaps it doesn't like that I'm scrolling into an Under Construction that shouldn't be there? (But then, why ''is'' it there?)
:Anyway, all extra information for everyone.
:I'll just refresh the page and go back and do some more entry/exit mapping, maybe? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.20|172.70.162.20]] 20:17, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

If you combine a bunch of these silly claw things in the middle by just spamming it, it begins to lag and do some chaotic collisions, even without balls colliding on it. It's curious how it does that seemingly randomly though. I wonder how calculations are added and if there's a tiny sprinkle of RNG. (Also, errors occur and say something about damaging recursion in the Rust programming language, so I guess we know how it was made. It's also pretty weird how there's not a lot of opening combinations? It's possible that the machine loops over in chunks of gears or something (that's what I'll call them). ([[User talk:Leo|talk]]) 13:15, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

If you place a black hole in the centre of a wheel, it makes the wheel behave unpredictably between resets. Sometimes it's almost normal, sometimes it's a lot faster than usual, and sometimes it's stopped but launches balls that touch it with extreme force. I was able to use this to submit a machine which didn't actually let a single ball through after being submitted. https://i.hypercone.us/?v=928bcd [[Special:Contributions/162.158.33.149|162.158.33.149]] 01:19, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

The page says that (and I have taken note of) the ball hue is ''coded'' to certain values, but is there a logic to those values that might be derived from the colour (either as RGB triplet or HSV/other colourspace definition). For example, the two ball-types with zero green component in their makeup are 'unit density' (green is far heavier "green+red" is far lighter, so it's not a simple relationship, unless it converts from °hue, in some way) and the only secondary colour exhibits non-zero drag. There's the possibility that it just derived from "we need different properties, we need different colours, we have no reason to connect either with other deliberately" or even some non-mathematical symbology (fire=red, water=blue(?), earth=green, air(/sunlight?)=yellow). But it makes me wonder what combination of properties cyan/magenta balls might have, if added. (Or is the choice of those four colours constrained, anyway? Though R/G colorblindness is already something of an accessibility failure, if anyone suffers that.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.205|172.69.194.205]] 17:02, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

[https://pastebin.com/7PAiLnyF Python script to get the URL and title of each Cell in the current machine]

[https://pastebin.com/xBhywGde Result of running that script at the moment] (encoded with ROT13 because pastebin wouldn't let me save it otherwise)
:has anybody at all whatsoever been able to find their creation using this API? [[User:Bellydrum|Bellydrum]] ([[User talk:Bellydrum|talk]]) 21:58, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

[https://pastebin.com/jN5MP2za Result of running that script on the first 42 machines], at least on these it looks like the only difference is that one cell is added each time? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.99.195|172.71.99.195]] 17:22, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

I've submitted four now, none of which was accepted. I tend to spend a lot of time getting them just right. Any hints as to what the acceptance criteria might be? Or do I just stink at this?
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.59.204|172.69.59.204]] 19:47, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

There appears to be a new object: a cat that bats things that touch it.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.214.39|172.69.214.39]] 20:17, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

Is anyone else experiencing the bug where prisms cause the comic to disappear (leaving only the white background where it was) after a while? It makes viewing the whole machine basically impossible. (On further testing it appears to be firefox-exclusive.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.38|172.70.162.38]] 20:31, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:I've had the "Prisms break things" from the beginning (before any practical content). As in, trying to use them in a design breaks things. But I ''did'' glance upon their occasional use in the 'view submissions grid'. Right now I'm suffering from "white only" issue (see my "multi-yellow" accounts, above). I ''am'' using Firefox, if that's indeed relevant to this issue, but right now I'm not near any other up-to-date browser I care to use. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 21:37, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:I'm getting the same issue with black holes (which probably makes more sense - put a black hole there and you'd expect everything else to disappear :o) - except that on one occasion I was able to put about 6 black holes in before the 7th one vanished everything.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.121|172.69.194.121]] 09:15, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

Has anyone seen their own cell in the machine at all yet? A manual approval system is probably necessary for obvious reasons, but if so it does seem to be moving quite slowly.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.65.24|172.69.65.24]] 02:58, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

How on earth is everyone seeing different parts of the grid? If I request "view machine" I can only see my own square, and the edges of everyone elses. Nothing else, definitely not all of the machine. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.64.149|172.68.64.149]] 21:11, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
::You should be able to click and drag the view around. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.54|172.71.242.54]] 21:41, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

Whoever designed the room entirely full of fans is evil - every time I scroll near it my entire browser freezes up and becomes unresponsive. And then the comic usually blanks.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.81|172.69.194.81]] 08:23, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

== Level scrolling bug ==

When one views the whole machine, and scrolls down far enough, everything just disappears, and the comic is completely unresponsive. Has anyone else seen this? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.236.152|198.41.236.152]] 20:38, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

:I'm now seeing the same issue, I wasn't before. (I'm using Chrome) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.20|172.70.162.20]] 21:06, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

::A hard refresh appears to have fixed this for me (same person as above). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.101|141.101.99.101]] 10:28, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

:I've been having this issue as well (I'm using firefox). Opening the site in Edge instead seemed to work around it for me, so it might only affect Firefox (and derivatives). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 21:27, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
::See also the 'firefox bug' comments currently immediately above this section. (Please don't ask me to start Edge up, I hate it, won't use it any more than the system requires me to...) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 21:37, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

:Update - I did a hard refresh so I could play around with the new additions and I'm no longer encountering the bug, even on firefox. I think the "white screen" bug is fixed now and you just need to hard-refresh to download the fixed JS instead of using the cached one. (same person as 172.70.163.31 and 172.70.162.38) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.16|172.70.86.16]] 11:16, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

==New Category: Ball Pit?==

What do you think about a new category for comics with [[ball pits]]? [[150]], [[219]], [[485]], [[498]], [[2916]]? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.229|162.158.134.229]] 21:50, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

[[Category:Playpen balls]] already exists.
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.133|172.70.174.133]] 17:35, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

== Prism Use? ==

Can the prism be used to sort balls by color? (or in any other way that is useful and different?) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.61|172.68.34.61]] 12:11, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:From what I've seen, no. Though may be ''extremely'' susceptible to incident angle. As far as my own use has been, they seem to randomise the trajectory (possibly also do a total-internal-reflection, I've had balls bounce around and exit at ''really'' weird angles), but it's hard to collimate a feed of balls into a single exact track, even straight down from a ceiling-feed (if you have a ceiling feed directly over the floor exit, lucky you, it'll still occasionally perturb balls off to the sides just enough to be bounced out as a gate-miss, unless you add 'funnel' architecture of one kind or another). Oh, and when balls do a lot of 'internal bouncing' it often forced me to reload the comic (overloaded the physics engine?), so could not continue to tweak the same design.
:On the other hand, perhaps this was the ''intent'', and just code/browser failings made it work erratically. Maybe would be an idea to go back and retest for this (anybody who can), do a little !!science!! to be recorded and explained on the page. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.183|172.69.43.183]] 12:51, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:So, ive did some testing and found..nothing. i ''did'' find some uses for the prism though. Like outting them diagonally makes the balls follow a "path", speeding up more and more (not really that great but it works with yellows), and that any ball hitting the left edge will try to go the the right edge. Not sure what else it can do, though. [[User:Begocc|Begocc]] ([[User talk:Begocc|talk]]) 09:35, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

== Bugs and Exploits ==

You can use a sword to break the physics on the hinge thingy and create your very own "magnetic hill": https://imgur.com/a/IRZ0AlL [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.108|162.158.134.108]] 13:02, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:Hard to tell from that what other fans (perhaps) you've got completely off-clip.
:Those hinge-thingies can definitely be shifted by horizontal (outwith ball-weight pressures), but I've not found them to be reliable components as the "Stop" button (ball reset) seems to let those 'hinges' slring back to level, which might need a re-reset by moving them back past the thing that's holding them off-level.
:I have tried a few things with them:
:*'Ticker' mechanism, almost like a clock escapement, nudged by the rotating 'waterwheel', perhaps to try to release balls through a stream of other balls whilst keeping the path clear of collisions for each set, in turn.
:*'Batch dumper', accumulating a number of balls (above the 'hinge', behind a vertical bulkhead) until there's weight enough to 'open the hatch' and roll them out. (Again, an attempt to reduce collisions, by clumping batches together).
:*Finely configured inclines, by shoving something up into a free end of hinge with better angular resolution (but, as mentioned, this doesn't seem to want to 'hold', so probably would fail upon submission).
:...I had wondered if there was supposed to be a "falling anvil creates a catapult/ballista" idea behind the piece, but we don't ''have'' falling anvils (and definitely not in a repeating manner), and ball-powered catapult (esssentially "clown/acrobat jumps on one end of seesaw, clown/acrobat on other end flies up into the air") also doesn't seem practical.
:I'll try to recreate ''your'' design, work out if there's anything new about it, but right now looks like it's a fan-powered incline-raiser. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.38|172.70.162.38]] 14:23, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:: No fans! Here's a wider view: https://imgur.com/a/xPJcsor
:: It survives the reset, because the balls falling on the lever push it down to the sword and it gets stuck there every time. But you need to place the sword just right to make the gravity bug happen. And even then it depends on the number of balls in some ways. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.243.27|172.68.243.27]] 14:46, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
::: I've replicated the "tip of sword grabs the 'hinge'" thing, which is very interesting, but not the anti-gravity effect. The movement still seems ''to me'' more like a fan's 'area of effect' thing, than a wonky sense of gravity, the way that the balls are rolling/resisting/interacting with each other. No, I can't see where you've 'hidden' the fan (and I'm sure that fans can't act across submission-grid-boundaries, which was my next guess), so it's a bit of a funny thing that you've got there. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 21:35, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

On occasion, two balls will fall from the containers as a pair, as if glued together. When this happens, they float down as if under much lower gravity, and then suddenly explode violently away from each other.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.182|172.69.43.182]] 10:56, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

== The USS Buoyancy ==

Guys. The Buoyancy. She ''floats''. When all four sets of balls reach the ball pit there aren't further additions. The boat starts floating on them. I've been watching it for a while. It seems she moves left and will probably end up escaping the ball pit. [[User:DL Draco Rex|DL Draco Rex]] ([[User talk:DL Draco Rex|talk]]) 20:44, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:Update: A new row spawned in and it reset just before the Buoyancy could escape. Here's a screenshot I grabbed a while before the reset, she'd moved further left by the time the reset occurred. https://imgur.com/gallery/8UCASCu [[User:DL Draco Rex|DL Draco Rex]] ([[User talk:DL Draco Rex|talk]]) 20:51, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

== Added key combinations, found in source ==

ctrl+alt+b
ctrl+shift+option+d
wheel: arrow keys

== Fixed Number of Possible Machinelets? ==

I was resetting my browser to try and find new machinelet configurations, but there seem to be fewer and fewer as the game progresses. Hypothesis: the 'under construction' machinelets are set, and once one of them gets approved and added to the grid, that specific configuration of entrances/exits can't show up again.

== Advanced components? ==

How does one get access to the full set of components to build from? I'm only given planks, mallets, swords, scoops, anvils, bricks and fans. I never get any pillows, bumpers, cats, stick figures et cetera. Do they need to be "unlocked" through some achievement, or what? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.102|162.158.222.102]] 11:04, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

This caught me for a while as well. I have since discovered that the tool box has a scroll bar and can be scrolled down; that's where the others are hiding.
::Invisible scrollbars – every GUI obfuscator's favorite tool for making users' lives harder. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.142|162.158.222.142]] 18:17, 9 April 2024 (UTC)