explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

explain xkcd talk:Editor FAQ

2022-10-11T16:01:03Z

172.70.134.103:

Feel free to enter any question about editing this Wiki and don't forget to sign you comment. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:18, 31 May 2018 (UTC)

== Formatting of explanations ==

Many pages contain tables where a definition list would be 1) easier to read 2) mobile friendly, for example: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1957:_2018_CVE_List&oldid=160469 1957].

I was also involved in rewriting the transcript for [[1963]], where the discussion came up about how those should be styled. ("as if you were reading the comic to someone")

I think we should have a small style guide to encourage sane formatting. What else should such guidelines contain?

Edit: One more thing I'd love to see: semantic headlines (i.e. < h3> headlines for explanation subchapters instead of < h2> which is the same level as the explanation itself)

<small>(Sidenote: I've been active on explainxkcd for quite some time, but only now got around making an account.)</small> [[User:Gir|//gir.st/]] ([[User talk:Gir|talk]]) 15:01, 19 August 2018 (UTC)

:Thanks for your remarks. First: There is no need to start every new sentence at a new line. Tables are meant for small content in all other cases it's bad layout. I recently changed this [[2034: Equations]] to a proper floating text. At the transcript tables should never be used, even when there is a table in the comic image it should be described by text. The guide here was mainly written by me because there was nothing like this here before. Some people already helped and I'm happy for any further remarks to enhance it. And this table issue is definitely one; I just not wanted to be the only (arrogant) layout master. Your help is welcome to write something, otherwise I will do so soon.
:For headlines we don't use HTML-code but WIKI-code. The main headlines are written like this: <nowiki>==Explanation==</nowiki>, <nowiki>==Transcript==</nowiki>, and (optional) <nowiki>==Trivia==</nowiki>. Headlines inside that chapters should be done in this way: <nowiki>;Subtitle</nowiki>. The preceding semicolon causes the entire line to be rendered in bold. Only when the explanation really needs sub-chapters it can be done by this: <nowiki>===Sub header===</nowiki> (three equal signs before and after the text). I will put this also into the FAQ.
:Welcome and thanks for helping. PROTIP: Always use the preview button to check the layout before saving. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:39, 20 August 2018 (UTC)
::hi, I'm aware about the headlines and stuff, it was just shorter to write it this way in the comment. I see you started a bit with a styleguide already; I hope I can contribute to it next week, when things cool down at work a bit. //gir.st/, who is to lazy to log in [[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.190|172.68.51.190]] 06:51, 24 August 2018 (UTC)

So, one more thing, regarding 'What is the proper layout for headers?'. I think we should better use small <code><nowiki>====headings====</nowiki></code> instead of just description titles (<code><nowiki>;bold text</nowiki></code>), since it makes the intent clearer. what is your reasoning behind suggesting it the other way round? greetings, [[User:Gir|//gir.st/]] ([[User talk:Gir|talk]]) 14:49, 25 August 2018 (UTC)
:Thanks for your input and of course Wiki markup headers should be valid. I just believe that the simplest way should also be valid for less experienced writers. When a new explanation starts it's often awful and chaotic; giving a simple but effective structure at the beginning helps against this chaos. So, I'm thinking about dividing the section "What is the proper layout for headers?" (it's a question because it's a FAQ) into two subsections:
:*easy: a semicolon, the colon at the following paragraph may be mentioned - but I'm not sure about the colon because it should be ''easy''
:*advanced: <code><nowiki>===headings===</nowiki></code> if the comic really can be divided into chapters; <code><nowiki>====headings====</nowiki></code> as a replacement for the semicolon; and <code><nowiki>==headings==</nowiki></code> is forbidden because it belongs to expl, trnsc, trivia. The semicolon, colon issue should be mentioned here.
:Please consider that there was many chaos in the past and many writers will do their edits without reading this FAQ. So keeping this simple as possible seems to me to be inevitable. And dividing sections by using the semicolon for a header is still much better than many of those tables. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:41, 25 August 2018 (UTC)
::Based on this discussion I edited the current comic here: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2037%3A_Supreme_Court_Bracket&type=revision&diff=161880&oldid=161841] and compare it to this former version [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2037:_Supreme_Court_Bracket&diff=prev&oldid=161841]. Do not focus on the edits, just scroll down to the resulting page.
::This brought me to another important issue: NO links in a header. At Wikipedia this is also not welcome. This site isn't Wikipedia but in this case I feel this is a good rule. But the TOC (Table of content) is shown in the preview while it's not at the resulting page. The result is preferred but the TOC in the preview may confuse editors here.
::So, I'm still looking for simple instructions, layouts which advanced people always can enhance.
::And consider that some editors are probably younger than xkcd is. Not sure about this but there are definitely young people here and I welcome them all. And I'm NOT getting old like Randall sometimes feel, I like to support every editor despite any other background. And this has to be simple on the first place. STOP(I could talk much more) --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:49, 25 August 2018 (UTC)
:::Sorry, I missed this. I'd personally go with the "advanced" option, but mentioning both is fine too. Nice work on 2037! Really enjoying our conversations about this, I hope i'm not a bother ;-) [[User:Gir|//gir.st/]] ([[User talk:Gir|talk]]) 11:20, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
OK, after a few days and some more edits (for example see here: [[2035: Dark Matter Candidates]]) I believe this would be the best guide:
*<code><nowiki>====headings====</nowiki></code> should be preferred because the advantage is that each header has it's own edit button. One other advantage is that the header text will be shown at the summary in the history.
*The semicolon may be used as a preliminary layout for new comics until it's clear of what content the explanation is composed of.
*On more rare circumstances the <code><nowiki>===headings===</nowiki></code> may divide the explanation into different larger chapters.
*<code><nowiki>==headings==</nowiki></code> is reserved to the general layout and has not to be used.
And I still oppose to the colon at the beginning of any paragraph at all. Any thoughts? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:17, 29 August 2018 (UTC)

== Please '''''do not''''' use semicolon-lines as "headings" ==

Hi, sorry to butt in, but I was going to mention this here anyway after I saw it in the FAQ. Please ''don't'' continue to give this advice to editors:
<blockquote>For headlines you have to use Wiki-style code. The simplest way is a preceding semicolon at the beginning of the line which causes the entire line to be rendered in bold.<ref>§ [[explain xkcd:Editor FAQ#What_is_the_proper_layout_for_headers.3F|What is the proper layout for headers?]] of the [[explain xkcd:Editor FAQ|Editor FAQ]]</ref>

====References====
<references/>
</blockquote>

The [[explain xkcd:Editor FAQ#In_which_case_tables_are_meaningful_and_when_not.3F|previous Editor FAQ section]] has it right: in wikicode, the semicolon opens a ''description list'', and will be translated into equivalent HTML. In other words, the wikicode is processed as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Wikicode !! HTML
|-
| style="vertical-align:top;" |<pre>; xkcd
: a popular webcomic</pre>
|<pre><dl>
<dt>xkcd</dt>
<dd>a popular webcomic</dd>
</dl></pre>
|}

One or more lines started with a semicolon ''must'' be followed by at least one line that starts with a colon, to provide the <code><dd>...</dd></code> part of the description list block.

It is a {{w|Help:List#Common_mistakes|common mistake}} to use semicolon-lines as "headings". Unfortunately the result is '''invalid HTML''', since the HTML spec requires that a <code><dl></code> block contain:
<blockquote>Zero or more groups each consisting of one or more dt elements followed by one or more dd elements</blockquote>
It's fine to have multiple semicolon-lines in a row (as the HTML standard allows for groups of several <code><dt>...</dt></code> blocks in sequence), but they must '''always''' be followed by at least one <code><dd>...</dd></code> block, created in wikicode by following a line started with a semicolon with another line that starts with a colon.

Just like lines started with <code>*</code> or <code>#</code>, a line started with a <code>;</code> creates a list element, and has syntactic requirements that must be followed. Abusing the description-term wikicode for purposes other than description-list creation not only breaks the HTML on the resulting page, but it makes the content much harder for screen readers and other assistive technologies to parse and accurately reproduce.

(And, yes, technically Mediawiki's use of <code>:</code>-lines for indenting, as on talk pages, is also invalid since it creates a <code><dl><dd>...</dd></dl></code> block with no <code><dt></code> element. So it's bad enough on talk pages, it's 100x worse to encourage doing it on '''article''' pages.) Please consider removing this bad advice from the Editor FAQ. Thanks. -- [[User:FeRDNYC|FeRDNYC]] ([[User talk:FeRDNYC|talk]]) 05:48, 5 September 2018 (UTC)

:Thanks for your remarks, that's why I started this FAQ and the discussion about it. Especially the header section is still preliminary, just check the section above here at the talk page.
:My first purpose is to keep it as simple as possible for writers having not much or no knowledge about wiki code or HTML. After that an advanced section should follow and define the rules for a complete article.
:Please check my summary from 29 August 2018 just above here. You're right the semicolon isn't a header, that's why I'm saying it should be used only temporary. And after reading your remarks here I would propose a single line with bold text and a following empty line instead of that semicolon thing.
:Keep it simple for people who just want to write something here; advanced users will change it to an appropriate layout later. Consider: When a new comic is out the explanation often starts in chaos. And for now I'm really happy that the overwhelming usage of tables is stopped.
:Let me know what you do think about the bold text line (not by semicolon) and the more sophisticated header guidance for the final layout as I've mentioned on 29 August 2018. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:45, 5 September 2018 (UTC)
::And of course the usage of a semicolon should also be mentioned together with the colon because it's a list. An entire paragraph "How do I format lists?" has still to be written yet. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:51, 5 September 2018 (UTC)
::One more: I've checked the definition for <code>dd/dt/dl</code> and it's clear the <code>dd</code> tag must be followed by at least one (either <code>dt</code> or <code>dl</code>) child. This tells me that the indent done by a colon is proper HTML. This is very important because every transcript since the first comic uses this indentation. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:20, 5 September 2018 (UTC)
:::On one hand, yes, the HTML is technically invalid, but on the other hand, every browser gets the intended layout correct, in no small part because these sorts of errors have been parts of industry-wide regression test suites since the mid-1990s. Asking users to try to achieve completely unnecessary perfection is a waste of time. Even screenreaders are completely unfazed by this nominal flaw. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.36|172.70.211.36]] 01:29, 11 July 2022 (UTC)

==Incomplete tags==
The FAQ says to use <code><nowiki>{{incomplete transcript|YOUR REASON}}</nowiki></code> but instead of rendering like this (like with the incomplete template):

{{notice|'''This transcript is incomplete:''' ''YOUR REASON'' <br/>If you can address this issue, please '''[{{fullurl:{{{target|{{FULLPAGENAME}}}}}|action=edit}} edit the page]!''' Thanks.}}

It renders like this:

{{notice|'''This transcript is incomplete.''' Please help [{{fullurl:{{{target|{{FULLPAGENAME}}}}}|action=edit}} editing] it! Thanks.}}

Can someone please change this? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.133.180|172.68.133.180]] 02:55, 13 October 2018 (UTC)
:The FAQ also says: "The reason at the transcript is not shown to the viewer." You can see it when you edit the transcript. And because the reason for the comic is also often not given this should be enough for the transcript. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:49, 15 October 2018 (UTC)

== math markup ==

Just to note - I was curious about the "math markup" message at the top of each page, and duly followed the link to the Editor FAQ as instructed, but ther--e is no mention of why it shouldn't be used... (no account yet, as I've not made any edits - yet! and i use google data saver, so this is not my ip -->) --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.22|162.158.34.22]] 23:49, 11 December 2018 (UTC)

:damn, I'm tired - just re-read the section titles, and there it is. It's late, so sorry! --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.22|162.158.34.22]] 23:54, 11 December 2018 (UTC)

::I think the reason given is incomplete, but wanted to check here before I amended it. Transcripts are for the benefit of visually-challenged visitors, so using math markup, and thus rendering the text as images, is counterproductive. Right? -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 15:06, 20 March 2019 (UTC)

:::The explanation is (in my opinion) somewhat silly, as the image generated by MathML has an alt tag for text browsers/accessible use. Further, if this wiki's settings were chosen correctly, the image would be output with MathML alongside, which is the ''actual'' (non-plaintext) accessible solution for displaying mathematical formulas on the web. See also: https://accessibility.princeton.edu/about/blog/mathml-accessible-math-markup [[User:DimeCadmium|DimeCadmium]] ([[User talk:DimeCadmium|talk]]) 02:20, 12 October 2019 (UTC)

== Create page for new comic ==

Should there be a paragraph about this?
Since the bot is not working anymore, people need to do this. I know I have seen isntructions somewhere on this wiki, but cannot find them... [btw: there is a new comic up, right now, as I post this line, which is not yet in the wiki. SO if you know how to do it, do it before explaining it on the FAQ :)] --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 13:27, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

== Page targeted by Spam ==

The page is currently targeted heavily by Spambots. I am not sure why they target this specific page. It might be, because it is linked in the header? Since Admins (who could protect the FAQ) seem to be currently absent from the page, anyone got any ideas what to do about it? leave it to spam and create a seperate FAQ with the same content? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 10:08, 26 February 2020 (UTC)

== Spaces ==

Seriously, why oh why is [[1285:_Third_Way|1285]] not linked into the statement about the one space / two space [[1285:_Third_Way | controversy]]? This feels like an inexplicable gap. Is there a policy insisting the FAQ remain fastidiously humorless in all ways? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.231|162.158.107.231]] 02:10, 29 January 2021 (UTC)

== Duplicating the hover text/title in the transcript section? ==

Is there a reason not to duplicate the title/hovertext in the transcript section, so a screenreader user can be sent there and not have to page back up for that bit (besides "one or more editors would need to check all entries and edit it in where missing")? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.68.43|141.101.68.43]] 00:11, 28 November 2021 (UTC)
:For my two (or three) cents:
:1) You'd be duplicating it, so you ought to lose the sub-image record if you do that or you could get silly with all kinds of repeating of everything..
:2) It's a Transcript to try to record/present the text (and imagery) you cannot already screen-read.
:3) It doesn't need manual editing (and manual editing is more likely to have mistakes, anyway).
:...Perhaps some Template(-pair?) could be developed to sit post-template to "display:screenreader-only" (or whatever the markup format would be) the upper-templated titletext field? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.12|172.70.86.12]] 04:00, 28 November 2021 (UTC)

== it's/its typo ==

At §[[explain_xkcd:Editor_FAQ#How_do_I_enter_mathematical_or_chemical_formulas.3F| How_do_I_enter_mathematical_or_chemical_formulas?]] please change “it's Wikipedia help page” to “'''its''' Wikipedia help page” (for the same reason that "our" and "their" don't have apostrophes).
[[User:Kurahaupo|Kurahaupo]] ([[User talk:Kurahaupo|talk]]) 23:44, 29 January 2022 (UTC)
: Came here to say this, but I see I'm two months too late. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.64|172.70.86.64]] 12:32, 9 April 2022 (UTC)

== Punctuation inside quotes and parentheses ==

Can we add a section saying <tt>."</tt> or <tt>,"</tt> is always better than putting the quotation mark first, and <tt>.)</tt> or <tt>.")</tt> are similarly preferable to <tt>).</tt> and <tt>").</tt> please? We also need to remind editors that numbered hyperlinks come after periods, commas, and parentheses, not before them. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.83|172.69.33.83]] 03:30, 3 September 2022 (UTC)
:...Erm. For quotes, it depends. If a proper sentence(-fragment) then I'd put punctuation in front (entry and exit), with ','=>'.' or vice-versa, as required by the full container sentence, but retaining notable exclamation- and question-marks. <tt>He said, "Erm," with a hint of hesitation, "For quotes, it depends."</tt> I know this is how I was taught to deal with quoted speech (close on fifty years ago), although I know standards change, and it may not even then have been so necessary for non-speech quotations. Yet certainly if I were to mention a set of randomish words like "Red green blue" (or "Red", "Green" and "Blue", perhaps) I would unhesitatingly consider it utterly wrong to move punctuation within any such quotation section. And note that an Oxford Comma (even without the quotes) would confuse matters in that second example.
:As for <tt>.)</tt> (etc), I've seen somebody ''wrongly'' do this. Do not do it if you have a in-sentence parenthesis (like this). I have never seen any suggestion that you'd do that (like this.) [<= Deliberately wrong!] And, even if it works "like a quote", it ''really'' looks wrong to me. (The clear exception is when you entirely make a sentence parenthetical, like this.)
:Now, this is just my own experience/preference/habituation. I have no doubt there are alternative points of view, which I would welcome to be added hereafter. But, whilst supporting the ''initial'' idea to precede quotes with punctuation (yet content to let it slip when others have prior authorship and it causes no additional confusion), I rail against it as an unwavering/absolutist style for all quotes ("quotes" ''and'' 'quotes', and maybe even «quotes» and the rest?) and especially it having any bearing at all in any bracketting/bracing/parenthesi(s|z)ing situations where full and proper start/end mark nesting should be adhered to as the ''only'' useful criteria.
:An interesting counter-examplee, however, might even mean individualised punctuation either side of a close-paren (if the sentence somehow does not require the same mark as the aside somehow begs, whether that be exclamation, question or even… ellipsis…?!?). Just so. But I'd normally consider rewriting that, as too stream-of-consciousness-like. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.73|162.158.159.73]] 04:25, 3 September 2022 (UTC)
::This is covered in sections [https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/ch06/ch06_sec005.html 6.5] and [https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/ch06/ch06_sec009.html 6.9] of the ''Chicago Manual of Style''. The intent is to aid readability. The reasons for variation from such style guidelines are evident when they are compelling, but whether a quotation doesn't actually end with a comma is simply not a compelling reason to write typography which distracts the ordinary reader. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.213|172.70.206.213]] 09:32, 3 September 2022 (UTC)
:::(Chicago links need registration to access, so no idea whose arguments/what alternative it supports.)
:::There are many Style Manuals (I'd defer to H. W. Fowler's ''Modern English Usage'', if forced). But, I would say, clarity is king above all. And I think the original suggestion is incorrect in that regard.
:::And depends upon medium. I was taught to put a little finger between words when learning to write with nibbed-pens (and don't smudge/flick the ink!) and a thumb-width indent to each paragraph's first line. Later two spacebars between sentences (and four as indent) when typing.
:::But that's old-hat (and doesn't survive whitespace condensing in XMLish context, etc, anyway). Spell things correctly (or, because of where Randall lives, all Americanised!) and try not to be accidentally ambiguous! And "-1" to original suggestion. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.80|172.70.91.80]] 12:04, 3 September 2022 (UTC)
::::A Google search on, "Fowler's Modern English on quotation," returns the question, "What is the correct punctuation for quotes?," in the second paragraph of results. Clicking on it shows the answer, "Commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks in American English; dashes, colons, and semicolons almost always go outside the quotation marks; question marks and exclamation marks sometimes go inside, sometimes stay outside."[https://www.grammarly.com/blog/quotation-marks/] Does ''Fowler'' diverge from ''Chicago'' in any of these respects? The paywall has a free 30-day trial, and it isn't difficult to find citations to those sections elsewhere. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.163|172.70.206.163]] 21:38, 3 September 2022 (UTC)
:::::(On principle, I don't do 'free trials', but that's just me and a comment on being asked to check something that has hoops to it.)
:::::Like I said, ''if forced'', I'd defer to Fowler of the many options, after the clear suggestion that Chicago was effectively the ''Académie Française'' of English, no matter which flavo[u]r of the lingo you're defaulting to. And [https://www.thepunctuationguide.com/british-versus-american-style.html this article is interesting], but I'm not sure I agree with its single-/double-quotes mark primacy suggestion.
:::::Anyway, when it's an actual speech-quoting-quote I'd probably adhere to preceding the quotation marks. But was resonding to OP's (your?) suggestion that it "is always better". And, coincidentally, just there it is not. Furthermore, Fowler does suggest that where a sentence is equally clear with and without punctuation, one should leave it out. I may not always stick to that myself, with an inordinate love of comma-bound sub-clausing, but I find it a decent principle to aspire to.
:::::As for "Foo (bar.)"-form sentences. No. Just no. Though "(Foo bar.)", and then always so in that case! Noting that you've not defended this part of the original idea, so I don't feel the need to continue to flog that aparently terminal equine.
:::::It's all just opinions, however, just to demonstrate my feelings on the subject as sympathetic to the gist of OP's first respondant. I have no idea if OP and Chicago-linker (and, in turn Chicago-trialler) are the same person or just separately of the opposing opinion. Let those who actually administer the site have the ultimate say (if they wish to have), naturally. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.201|172.69.79.201]] 23:18, 3 September 2022 (UTC)
::::::The reason we don't try to assign identities to the sources of ideas when we discuss them, is because we believe, as Oscar Wilde once said, the value of the idea is greater than the value of the person expressing the idea. Would you please answer the question about whether ''Fowler'' diverges from ''Chicago?'' [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.83|172.69.33.83]] 23:49, 3 September 2022 (UTC)
:::::::I have yet to delve into the Windy City's precise text. And Fowler has said much, but how about:
[...] Neatness is the sole consideration; just as the ears may be regarded as not hearing organs, but 'handsome volutes of the human capital', so quotation marks may be welcomed as giving a good picturesque finish to a sentence; those who are of this way of thinking must feel that, if they allowed outside them anything short of fine handsome stops like the exclamation and question marks, they would be countenancing an anticlimax. But they are really mere conservatives, masquerading only as aesthetes; and their conservatism will soon have to yield. Argument on the subject is impossible; it is only a question whether the printer's love for the old ways that seem to him so neat, or the writer's and reader's desire to be understood and to understand fully, is to prevail."
:::::::And later, as part of a conclusion, the interesting:
[...] We recommend that the Times method should be abandoned, and the first or second of the others used according to circumstances.
The next question is, Whence is this income derived?—Times.
The next question is 'Whence is this income derived?'. (Full direct quotation. Observe the 'monstrosity' stop)
The next question is whence this income is derived. (Indirect quotation)
The next question is 'Whence this income is derived'. (Indirect quotation with quotation marks, or half-and-half quotation, like the Borrow sentence)
:::::::Far too much to copypasta. The concluding para just over-eggs my already eggy pudding, so above are just two of the many interesting bits that popped up in the source given at the top of my own definitive search (by exactly the same terms as given above), that demonstrate the evolution of what might be considered acceptible (and why) going into the future, ''[https://www.bartleby.com/116/406.html from 1908]''! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.11|162.158.159.11]] 10:06, 4 September 2022 (UTC)

==Math Formatting==
Math formatting seems to be broken. For example, the following (from [[2435: Geothmetic Meandian]]) doesn't compile:

<math>\left(\prod_{i=1}^n x_i\right)^\frac{1}{n} = \sqrt[n]{x_1 x_2 \cdots x_n}</math>

Perhaps a configuration error? The LaTeX markup is correct, and it works on Wikipedia and TeX processing systems like Overleaf, but not here. Simple things like <math>E=mc^2</math> seem to work, but more slightly more advanced things like uppercase greek letters (e.g., ''\Pi'') and delimiters (e.g., ''\left('' or ''\right)'') don't seem to.

Or is this by design, and math formulas really shouldn't be part of explanations? That seems a bit odd to me (especially for an xkcd explanation wiki), but I'm new here and I'm not sure.

Comic series

2022-10-07T12:40:09Z

172.70.134.103: betwee

Some of the strips in [[xkcd]] are directly related to each other, rather than simply sharing a recurring [[:Category:Comics by topic|topic]].

*'''Click''' to expand for a more detailed explanation:
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%">
<br>
==Explanation==
Several of these series have been released in a series of five consecutively released comics using all five regular days in a week (like for instance with [[:Category:Secretary|Secretary]]). This occurred several times between 2006 and 2010. But since then no series were released like this, although some series were released but with long separation between releases. That was until October 2016, when the "strange" series [[:Category:Time traveling Sphere|Time traveling Sphere]] were released. In the explanation for that series the strangeness of its release is discussed, relating back to how other series mentioned here have been released.

===True series===
*Here is a chronological list of all (29 as of July 2021) true series (removing those made for explaining certain aspects of xkcd without being a series in any clear way on xkcd).
**A series first becomes a series when it is clear that it will be a series, i.e. usually when the second comic in the series is released. It is thus not the first comic that determines the date for a series, but the second.
**The list here below is sorted after that date, when the second comic where released.
#[[:Category:Barrel|Barrel]]
##A five (or six) comic series released over one and a half month from September 2005. The very first comic on xkcd was named [[1: Barrel - Part 1]] showing that there were more than one in the series, and the next four parts (as well as [[20: Ferret]] belonging to the series) where released within 2 months of each other. The normal schedule was not in place at that time, and the first two parts where [[:Category:First day on LiveJournal|released on the same day]] on [[LiveJournal]], and they were not released in the order they are shown on [[xkcd]] today, as the order of comics where changed from [[:Category:Comics posted on livejournal|that on LiveJournal]] when xkcd.com went live in 2006. So originally Barrel was not the first comic to be released.
#[[:Category:Red Spiders|Red Spiders]]
##A four (or five to seven) comic series released over more than half a year from September 2005 to June 2006. The first comic was [[8: Red spiders]], released on the first day (as with Barrel above), but it first became a series when [[43: Red Spiders 2]] was released two month later with the same title and a number. A month later [[47: Counter-Red Spiders]] came out. The last true comic in the series was [[126: Red Spiders Cometh]] released half a year later. Only those four uses "Red Spiders" in the title. But later Red Spiders where depicted again (as in [[427: Bad Timing]]), but those were call backs to the original series rather than as a true part of the series.
#[[:Category:Opening dialogue by Scott|Opening dialogue by Scott]]
##A three comic series released consecutive over the last part of a week. They were released the first week after xkcd comics where no longer released on LiveJournal but only released on xkcd. The first was released on January 31st 2006. The first comic released that week and only on xkcd was not part of this series. So when [[Randall]] wished to have all these three with the same title text (''Opening dialogue by Scott'') in the same week, the first [[57: Wait For Me]] was released already on the Tuesday after the Monday release. This was the first time a series had been released consecutively in a week. But the three comics where not directly related.
#[[:Category:Parody Week|Parody Week]]
##A five comic series released over five consecutive days from Monday-Friday in August 2006. It was the first time of six that this occurred. The theme was the same, parodying other web comics, but there were no connection between the comics themselves.
#[[:Category:Choices|Choices]]
##A five comic series released over five consecutive days from Monday-Friday in May 2007. It was the second series released like this, but it was the first time of four that the five comics of such a series were directly connected in a continuation story line.
#[[:Category:1337|1337]]
##A five comic series released over five consecutive days from Monday-Friday in November 2007. It was the second series released like this where the five comics were directly connected in a continuation story line.
#[[:Category:Journal|Journal]]
##A five comic series released over about five month the first [[374: Journal]] in January 2008. It first became a series when the second comic [[377: Journal 2]] was released a week later at the end of January with a “2” to indicate that this was a series. Each of the first four comic was released in different weeks, the third first in April and the fourth in June. But the last comic [[433: Journal 5]] was released the next release day (Friday) after [[432: Journal 4]]. This is the only series that behaves like this. Apart from that it behaves like the other five comics in one week series, with a number indicating it is a series. This thus makes it the fifth comic with five comics that are directly and chronologically ordered. (The Barrel series is in some way similar, but cannot really be considered as being the same type as this and the other four consecutive comics).
# [[:Category:Secretary|Secretary]]
##A five comic series released over five consecutive days from Monday-Friday at the end of October 2008. It was the third series released like this where the five comics were directly connected in a continuation story line.
# [[:Category:Well|Well]]
##A two comic series released with about two weeks between them. When the first comic [[561: Well]] was released in March 2009 it was not a series. That was first obvious when [[568: Well 2]] was released in April. It is the first time that Randall made a two comic series like this by adding a 2 after the title of a previous comic. But this happened several times later, but then not always with a continuing storyline as in Well. Of course the numbering like this was also used for Journal and Red Spiders, but both of these had more comics in their series.
#[[:Category:The Race|The Race]]
##A five comic series released over five consecutive days from Monday-Friday at the beginning of May 2009. It was the fourth and last series released like this (as of 2016) where the five comics were directly connected in a continuation story line. But one more series were released like this the year after, but those comics stories where not related.
#[[:Category:Android|Android]]
##A two comic series released with less than two weeks between them. When the first comic [[595: Android Girlfriend]] was released in June 2009 it was not a series. That was first obvious when [[600: Android Boyfriend]] was released later that month. It was the first series where it was only part of the title that made it clear it was a series. And no numbering was used. The plot though also makes the connection clear. A similar connection between comics in series was not seen before ''Time traveling Sphere'' seven years later (see below).
#[[:Category:Online Communities|Online Communities]]
##A two comic series released with more than three years between the first [[256: Online Communities]] in May 2007, and the second [[802: Online Communities 2]] from October 2010. It was first the latter that with the same title and a number 2 made it into a series. This is the reason it is first listed chronologically here. It was not a series in 2007. Adding the number “2” to make it into a series is like the Well series, and this was the second time that happened.
#[[:Category:Five-minute comics|Five-minute comics]]
##A three comic series released consecutively over a week using the normal release schedule in the middle of November 2010. This is the second time a series has been released with three in one week, following the Opening dialogue by Scott in 2006 (but that time there were four comics in the week, one not belonging to the series). It is thus the only time that a week with three comics only where all released as a series. It was the first of two weeks in a row with series. Both series were made to give Randall some time to cope with his wife’s cancer.
#[[:Category:Guest Week|Guest Week]]
##A five comic series released over five consecutive days from Monday-Friday at the end of November 2010. It is so far (as of 2016) the last time of six that this occurred. The theme was the same, with five web comic artist making guest appearances on xkcd, so there were no connections between the comics themselves. It is the second time this happened, the first time was the first five day series in August 2006. It was the second of two weeks in a row with series. Both series were made to give Randall some time to cope with his wife’s cancer. Since this comic there has never been released more than three comics in a week. Also until October 2016 with the ''Time traveling Sphere'' there were never to comics directly related which were released in the same week (see below).
#[[:Category:Etymology-Man|Etymology-Man]]
##A two comic series released with during one weeks with one comic in between. When the first comic [[1010: Etymology-Man]] was released on Monday January 30th 2012 it was not a series. That was first obvious when [[1012: Wrong Superhero]] was released Friday of the same week. There is no storyline connection between the two, but Etymology-Man from the first is the wrong superhero in the next.
#[[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd Phones]]
##An eight comic series (as of October 2020) released over six years between the first [[1363: xkcd Phone]] in May 2014 and the latest [[2377: xkcd Phone 12]], from October 2020. It was first with the release of the second [[1465: xkcd Phone 2]] in December 2014 with the same title and a number 2 that it became a series. Adding a number to a title has been used like this two times before, but it is the first of this kind of series to progress beyond 2, so far all the way to 6. Only in Journal (that went to 5) did the numbering without including "part" progress beyond 2, and that was a true series where the story was connected. This is also what makes this a special type of series in xkcd not seen before, as it is clear that these are a series, but they are not connected as a story. After number six the number that did not just go one up (2-6 for the second to sixth), but used 2000 to coincide with it being comic 2000 on xkcd. But then the next, number eight used the number 12 as it was released near the relase of {{w|iPhone 12}}.
#[[:Category:Exoplanet Names|Exoplanet Names]]
##A two comic series released with almost a year between the first [[1253: Exoplanet Names]] in August 2013, and the second [[1555: Exoplanet Names 2]] from July 2014. It was first the latter that with the same title and a number 2 made it into a series. This is the reason it is first listed chronologically here. It was not a series in 2013. Adding the number “2” to make it into a series is like the Well series, and this was the fourth time that happened and so far (as of 2016) the last time. These two comics are not connected as a story, rather the second is an update to the list made in the first, even including most of the first list. In that was this is a special type of series, in someway related to the xkcd phone series above. The first of these two comics came out before the first phone comic, but the second phone comic came before the second of these, thus explaining the chronology.
#[[:Category:Synonym Movies|Synonym Movies]]
##A two comic series released with less than two weeks between them. When the first comic [[1563: Synonym Movies]] was released in August 2015 it was not a series. That was first obvious when [[1568: Synonym Movies 2]] was released later that month. There is no storyline connection between the two, but the idea is the same, showing DVD boxes with real movie titles changed using synonyms.
#[[:Category:Substitution series|Substitution series]]
##A three comic series (as of 2016) released over almost three years between the first [[1288: Substitutions]] in November 2013 to the third [[1679: Substitutions 3]] from May 2016, It first became a series with the second comic [[1625: Substitutions 2]] released in January 2016, explaining why it is placed after the two above. It is not a continuing series, but rather the same concept used again, more related to the xkcd Phone or Exoplanet names above, than to a comic series like Well. It was for long the only series, with numbers added, released like this over long time, that was at only three releases. But in February 2020 the [[:Category:Stargazing|Stargazing]] series also got a third installment.
# [[:Category:Code Quality|Code Quality]]
##A five comic series (so far as of April 2019) released with exactly four years years between the first and so far last in the series. When the first comic [[1513: Code Quality]] was released on the 17th of April 2015 it was not a series. That was first obvious when [[1695: Code Quality 2]] was released in June 2016. This series reminds of Well and Android, but with much longer time between the two releases. And then it continued with [[1833: Code Quality 3]] in May 2017 still adding to the number. It then changed the naming in [[1926: Bad Code]], which clearly belonged to the other three. This was released in December 2017. And has so far the series ended with yet another comic that changed the name again, this time to [[2138: Wanna See the Code?]] released on the 17th of April 2019, on the four year anniversary of the first in the series.
#[[:Category:Time traveling Sphere|Time traveling Sphere]]
##A two comic series released over two consecutive but normal release day in the same week (a Monday and a Wednesday) in the middle of October 2016. This was a very strange release in many ways, and that has been described in great detail in the series category. It was first clear that this was a series with the Wednesday release [[1748: Future Archaeology]] but not from the title which has very little direct relation to the first title [[1747: Spider Paleontology]], but the plot was clearly a continuation of the first comic. The series could in principle continue later, but it did not fill out the entire week, and stopped at those two.
#[[:Category:Bad Map Projections|Bad Map Projections]]
##So far four comics have been released over more than four years, but given the Map projectons have numbers 79, 108, 299 and 358 there could be many more to come.
##The first was released on January 11th 2017, it was <nowiki>#107</nowiki>: [[1784: Bad Map Projection: Liquid Resize]]. And it became a series with the second comic released just a little more than a month later on February 15th with <nowiki>#79</nowiki>: [[1799: Bad Map Projection: Time Zones]]. The third, came almost three years later, and had <nowiki>#358</nowiki>: [[2256: Bad Map Projection: South America]]. It was released in January 2020. And one and a half year later the fourth <nowiki>#299</nowiki> [[2489: Bad Map Projection: The Greenland Special]] came out in July 2021.
#[[:Category:ISS Solar Transit|ISS Solar Transit]]
##Two comics was released Monday and Friday in the same week. Just at with the ''Time Traveling Sphere'' mentioned above, this was yet a new way to release a series.
##The first comic, [[1828: ISS Solar Transit]], was released on April 24, 2017 and the second, [[1830: ISS Solar Transit 2]], four days later on April 28, 2017. Once again a series where the second comic just adds a "2" to the title.
#[[:Category:X Years|X Years]]
##A three comic series (as of 2020) released over eight years between the first [[1141: Two Years]] from November 2012 to the third [[2386: Ten Years]] from November 2020.
##It first became a series with the second comic [[1928: Seven Years]] released in December 2017, five years later, duh! This is the date that is used to arrange it in this list.
##The series is about how many years it has been since Randall's wife's cancer diagnosis.
#[[:Category:Stargazing|Stargazing]]
##A three comic series (as of 2020) released over just a bit more than four years between the first [[1644: Stargazing]] in February 2017 to the third [[2274: Stargazing 3]] from February 2020.
##It first became a series with the second comic [[2017: Stargazing 2]] released in July 2018, one and a half year after the fist, explaining why it is placed after the three above. It is now the second series so far released like this, with numbers added, over long time that is at three releases, the first being the [[:Category:Substitution series|Substitution series]].
##Once again a series where the follow up comics just adds a number to the title.
#[[:Category:Horror Movies|Horror Movies]]
##A two comic series released with six and a half weeks between them. When the first comic [[2056: Horror Movies]] was released in October 2018 it was not a series. That was first obvious when [[2076: Horror Movies 2]] was released towards the end of November 2018. The second comic continues the discussion of "why horror movies exists" directly from the first comic.
##The first comic was released on October 8, 2018 and the second, on November 23, 2018. Once again a series where the second comic just adds a "2" to the title.
#[[:Category:Coronavirus Genome|Coronavirus Genome]]
##A two comic series released over two consecutive but normal release day Friday and Monday (a first that it went over two weeks but still consecutive). The first comic [[2298: Coronavirus Genome]] was released at the end of April 2020.
##It was first clear that this was going to be a series with the Monday release [[2299: Coronavirus Genome 2]].
#[[:Category:Old Days|Old Days]]
##A two comic series released with almost 3.5 years between the. When the first comic [[1755: Old Days]] was released in November 2016 it was not a series. That was first obvious when [[2324: Old Days 2]] was released in June 2020. The second comic continues the discussion of programming in the old days - directly from the first comic in spite of more than 3 years between them.
##Once again a series where the second comic just adds a "2" to the title. And once again one with long time between the first and the second comic, that made it a series.
#[[:Category:Alien Visitors|Alien Visitors]]
##A two comic series released over two consecutive but normal release day Wednesday and Friday. The first comic [[2477: Alien Visitors]] was released 2021-06-16.
##It was first clear that this was going to be a series with the Friday release [[2478: Alien Visitors 2]] on 2021-06-18.
#[[:Category:Cursed Connectors|Cursed Connectors]]
##So far two comics have been released, but given the connectors have numbers 65 and 187 there could be many more to come.
##The first was released on July 23rd 2021, it was <nowiki>#187</nowiki>: [[2493: Dual USB-C]]. And it became a series with the second comic released just two comics later the next week on July 28th with <nowiki>#65</nowiki>: [[2495: Universal Seat Belt]].
##It is thus similar to the [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|Bad Map Projections]] series.

===Other series===
Here is a list of the (2 as of 2016) other types of series that has been used for explaining certain aspects of xkcd without being a series in any clear way on xkcd:
#[[:Category:A Smarter Planet|A Smarter Planet]]
##A two comic series from the summer of 2009 made specially for IBM's blog A Smarter Planet, and thus not part of the regular xkcd comics. Although the obviously have been made as a set, their stories are not related in any way, and their titles [[Conservation]] and [[Prescriptions]] are also not related. So they would only make a series because they were made for the same specific reason.
#[[:Category:Comics sharing name|Comics sharing name]]
##This category lists comics that share name with another comic, or almost shares name. So many series would be here. But there are also some series like comics that are not directly related in a series, like the new years comics released under the title of the new year. (2012, 2014 and 2016 so far). Many of the comics that share name or almost share name is not in any way part of the same series. The category is mainly used for explaining comics with similar name.

===Not series===
#[[:Category:COVID-19|COVID-19]]
##This category contains the many comics from March 2020 and on that where inspired by the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus pandemic|2019-20 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}} which results in the {{w|coronavirus disease 2019}}, COVID-19 for short.
##They are not seen as a comic series, as most of them has no direct relation to the story or subject of the others, except the overall relation to COVID-19.
##There can be exceptions within the category, as there now is a direct series relating to the [[:Category:Coronavirus Genome|Coronavirus Genome]].

</div>
<br>

[[Category:Comics|Series]]

explain xkcd talk:Museum

2022-10-07T12:37:07Z

172.70.134.103:

Maybe it's more of statistics than exhibitions. --[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User talk:While False|speak]]|[[User:While False/explain xkcd museum|museum]]) 21:17, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

== pixels-assembly-3.png ==

how is it 0 bytes?? i see that it is shown as 0 bytes on the wiki, but the file itself, when downloaded is 5kb! how???[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.209|108.162.221.209]] 16:41, 4 October 2022 (UTC)Bumpf
:If the question is how it can be written like that here, the answer is that I used the numbers of the wiki. —[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User talk:While False|speak]]|[[User:While False/explain xkcd museum|museum]]) 19:18, 4 October 2022 (UTC)
::Sorry, should have made it more clear. Do you know why it is shown as 0 bytes on the file page? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.103|172.70.134.103]] 12:37, 7 October 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

2681: Archimedes Principle

2022-10-06T22:56:06Z

172.70.134.103: fix typo

{{comic
| number = 2681
| date = October 5, 2022
| title = Archimedes Principle
| image = archimedes_principle_2x.png
| imagesize = 312x379px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = "I've always wanted to run naked through town, but I don't want to get in trouble with the king or be remembered by history as a weirdo. I wonder how I could ... EUREKA!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a FLUID MECHANIC - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Archimedes}} was tasked by his tyrant king, {{w|Hiero II of Syracuse}}, with determining whether a votive crown made by a local goldsmith actually contained all the gold the king had provided for it, or whether the goldsmith had substituted an equal weight of silver for the more-valuable gold. Archimedes knew he could solve this problem if only he could determine the volume of the crown, since any silver in it, being only about half as dense, would occupy more volume than the gold. Despite knowing this, Archimedes didn't know how to measure the volume of the crown, which was highly irregularly shaped. According to legend, as Archimedes was getting into a bath one day, the bath overflowed. Archimedes realized that the volume of water displaced by any immersed object, including his body and the crown, was equal to the volume of the object, and thus he could measure the crown's volume. This insight led him to solve the king's problem (and determine that the goldsmith had in fact cheated the king out of some gold). Legend also says[https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-archimede/] that upon having this insight, he went running naked down the streets of Syracuse shouting "{{w|Eureka (word)|eureka}}!", Greek for "I have found it!" - a word now associated with sudden insights.

In the comic, Archimedes' insight doesn't involve science, but is a plan for self-enrichment. Evidently, he has concealed a less-valuable gold-plated or gold-alloy crown in the tub of liquid, and plans to swap it for the real crown when 'measuring the volume'. This implies that the king's crown turns out to be, in fact, pure gold, but Archimedes will report it to be adulterated with silver, in order to steal the gold crown for himself. This is claimed to be the invention of the heist. While theft has no doubt existed since property has existed, a "heist" implies a complex plan, often based on deception and carefully planned operations, as is typical of {{w|heist films}}.

The title of the comic, "Archimedes Principle", refers to a different but related insight of Archimedes, that the upward buoyant force that is exerted on a body immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid that the body displaces.

According to the title text, Archimedes's eureka moment wasn't when he discovered how to measure the crown's volume, but when he realized that he could use this discovery as a pretext for running naked through town, something he'd always wanted to do.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is leaning over a large bucket standing on the floor. She is resting one hand on the bucket and holding a crown in other other hand, which she has pulled partially up over the top of the water filled bucket. The water is now splashing over the edge of the bucket and dripping from the still partially immersed crown. Behind her back, with his back toward hers, Archimedes sits on a chair at a desk. He is depicted as a balding man with a white beard, and he is writing on a piece of paper, while a stack of papers lies in front of him.]
:Megan: Uh, Archimedes, why is there a bucket of water with a gold crown hidden in the bottom?
:Archimedes: It's mostly silver. Replica of the King's crown. He's coming here later, and I have a plan.

:[Caption beneath the panel:]
:Archimedes invents the heist.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category: Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category: Physics]]

727: Trade Expert

2022-10-02T20:54:24Z

172.70.134.103:

{{comic
| number = 727
| date = April 14, 2010
| title = Trade Expert
| image = trade_expert.png
| titletext = I mean, it's been almost twenty years. Now, it's possible you're simply embedding Windows directory paths in your URIs, but in that case you need more than just a short lecture.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] as a [[:Category:News anchor|news anchor]] has another Cueball-like character as guest in the studio, a doctor who is also a trade expert. However, Steven Berlee turns out to be a fraud. In reality he is a frustrated programmer willing to lie his way on to news show to share his message with any newscasters willing to listen:
:Every time you say "backslash" as part of a web address on air, I die a little.

The {{w|Slash (punctuation)|slash character}} (/), also known as forward slash, is the correct way to separate distinct parts of a web address; for example in the address "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_(punctuation) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_(punctuation)]", a slash follows the "org" and the "wiki". However, some newscasters are unfamiliar with the distinction between the different types of slashes, thus confusing the normal slash with the {{w|backslash}} (\), the wrong character. They may also be somewhat overzealous by trying to specify forward- or backslash since just saying "slash" would be sufficient. Also as mentioned in the title text the backslash is used in addresses on a windows PC.

Steven Berlee claims that he suffers every time this mistake is made in a news program, explaining his reason for cheating his way on the air. Steven's name is most likely made up, as it seems to be taken from two or three of the inventors of the {{w|Internet}}:
*Dr. {{w|Steve Crocker}} who has worked in the Internet community since its inception. He was part of the team that developed the protocols for the {{w|ARPANET}} which were the foundation for today's Internet and for this work, he was awarded the 2002 IEEE Internet Award. His real name is Stephen D. Crocker.
*Dr. {{w|Stephen Wolff}}, spelled differently than Steve, but the same as the real name of Steve Crocker. He is one of the many fathers of the Internet, mainly credited with turning the Internet from a government project into something that proved to have scholarly and commercial interest for the rest of the world. At one point he managed a research group that participated in the development of ARPANET.
*Sir {{w|Tim Berners-Lee}}'s last name can made into the {{w|portmanteau}} ''Berlee''. He is an English computer scientist, best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web. Berners-Lee is the director of the World Wide Web Consortium, which oversees the continued development of the Web.
Searching the internet lists no one called Steven Berlee, and the only references point back to this comic.

The title text refers to how in the {{w|Windows}} operating system, the backslash is actually used instead of the slash as a separator (in contrast to Unix-based systems, which use the forward slash). Thus, the path to any Windows file encoded in a {{w|Uniform resource identifier|URI}} (uniform resource identifier, also called a URL) would correctly contain the backslash character. It is possible to pass parameters, including strings, in an internet URI and so you could have an identifier that directly embedded the path of a windows file on a windows server - this would be such a weird and terrible thing to do.{{Actual citation needed}}

In the title text Steven complains that after having had the modern version of the Internet for 20 years (since early 90s and this comic was released in 2010) they should have learned the difference by now. He also continues to claim that if they do not understand the difference between an internet URI and Windows directory paths, and thus embedding these into their URIs, then he cannot help them with just a short lecture while he cons his way to time on the air.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball as a news anchor is sitting behind a desk with his hand on the desk, leaning towards his off-panel guest to the right.]
:Cueball: And for more on the summit, we turn to trade expert Dr. Steven Berlee.
:Cueball: Steven?

:[Zoom out to include Dr. Steven Berlee, also drawn like Cueball, with his hands below he desk, sitting behind the desk to the right of Cueball facing towards him, still with his hands on the desk.]
:Steven Berlee: I'm not actually a doctor or a trade expert. I'm just a programmer who lies to get on news shows.

:[Close-up on Steven Berlee.]
:Cueball (off-panel): What? Why?
:Steven Berlee: To share a message with newscasters.

:[Zoom back out to show both men, the news anchor now also with his hands below the desk.]
:Cueball: Which is?
:Steven Berlee: Every time you say "backslash" as part of a web address on air, I die a little.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:News anchor]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Language]]

Talk:No One Was Hurt

2022-07-07T04:06:23Z

172.70.134.103:

I suppose we should look through e.g. [https://www.reddit.com/r/Fireworksgonewrong r/Fireworksgonewrong] for a few big ones that claim nobody was hurt. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndVhgq1yHdA] is okay, but I think that one where the launcher tipped over and fired directly into the crowd only resulted in minor burns.... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.207.8|172.70.207.8]] 02:34, 7 July 2022 (UTC)
:If you mean Simi Valley 2013, that had 28 injuries including broken bones(!) Here's one sort of like it without any injuries from Monday, but the video isn't too impressive: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDhj-dfJ6TE]. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.125|172.70.210.125]] 02:45, 7 July 2022 (UTC)
:[https://www.reddit.com/r/Wellthatsucks/comments/vrmega/my_neighbor_had_a_little_firework_mishap/if0qr7g/?context=3] is decent, but the video starts too early and ends too soon. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.81|172.70.214.81]] 03:04, 7 July 2022 (UTC)

It appears the comic was taken down. It showed on rss feeds but isn't on the website anymore. Guessing this is because of the Illinois terrorism incident at their parade. Is it worth mentioning that the comic is no longer up?

2633: Astronomer Hotline

2022-06-17T14:44:42Z

172.70.134.103: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2633
| date = June 15, 2022
| title = Astronomer Hotline
| image = Astronomer Hotline.png
| titletext = Employment statistics have to correct for the fact that the Weird Bug Hotline hires a bunch of extra temporary staff every 17 years.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 17 YEAR CICADA TRYING TO LOOK LIKE A FIREFLY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a joke about {{w|Helpline|helplines}}, and the experience of the skilled people staffing them, who often have to deal with callers with a much lower understanding of the subject, seeking assistance with things that may seem very basic from the point of view of the technician, or where they have completely misunderstood the nature of the issue.

The comic starts with someone having called the "Astronomer hotline", hence the title. Judging by the way the helpline employee, [[Cueball]], starts the call, by asking for a description of the weird lights, it is implied that this is the main/only purpose of the helpline, or is, in practice, the subject of most of the calls they receive.

The caller is in panic, and doesn't know how to describe the light. Cueball is used to this and asks the caller to stay calm, then starts to go through his check list, asking them if it is daytime, because if it was he might assume they have just noticed the Sun. Most people are familiar with the Sun{{Citation needed}} and would not need help in identifying it, although people have also mistaken the Moon for a 'mysterious light in the sky' at times. Asking this could thus seem very condescending, but it is like when the employee at a tech support hot-line asks if the computer is turned on, or if the caller tried to restart the computer, see [[806: Tech Support]]. It may also refer to the most immediate danger, as looking directly at the sun is a bad idea.

The caller is not affronted, but tells Cueball that the Sun has set. When asked if the lights are stationary, which stars would normally appear to be, the reply is that they are zipping around in the bushes.

At this point Cueball realizes that the caller has just seen {{w|fireflies}}, a family of insects commonly seen in temperate/tropical climates during the summer. He describes them for the caller as "lightning bugs" (another common epithet for these insects), "tree blinkers", or "ground stars" (unusual terms invented for this comic that seem to illustrate the Astronomer Hotline's unfamiliarity with fireflies); and says that these are not a problem, much to the caller's relief.[https://giphy.com/gifs/bbcamerica-seven-worlds-one-planet-Q7FbMX6oJa4ycuY5Hf] Those last two descriptions, especially "ground stars", are reminiscent of the "fool's stars" mentioned in [[2017: Stargazing 2]].

However, Cueball must admit that astronomers do not know much about fireflies, since they are too fast for the astronomers' telescopes. This refers to the problem of object tracking in astronomy. Sufficient observations must be taken to reliably predict the future path of an object, and thereby to be able to reorient the observing equipment to track its progress across the sky and make further observations. In reality, the relative velocity of fireflies would be much lower than that of most astronomical bodies. However, being usually much closer to the observer, their movement across the field of view tends to appear much quicker, and this, combined with their erratic, unpredictable paths, would make them very difficult to track through a telescope.

Since Cueball cannot help further, he transfers the caller to the "Weird Bug Hotline", in a process that is apparently somewhat routine – enough to have the correct line somehow preprogrammed into his call-handling system. This is clearly not the first 'astronomy' query that actually concerns fireflies. This is similar to the process that might happen when a helpline caller's query cannot be handled by first line support and has to be passed on to a more specialist second line operator, or where the call has been routed to the wrong specialism to start with, perhaps because the user, lacking knowledge about the issue, selected the wrong option from an automated routing system.

Before the call ends, at Cueball's end, he hears the opening question from the other hotline ("Is it currently biting you?") as the new support tech again goes directly to the most common/important query, whether there is any immediate danger to be resolved... It is possible that Cueball will actually be speaking to the Weird Bugs line initially, quickly priming the Weird Bug call-handler with the salient facts already established before fully handing over the call. This could get the original caller straight into the correct conversation if the onward line's handler is sufficiently competent and experienced in such a transfer.

Some people (often {{w|Unidentified flying object|UFO}} enthusiasts) tend to get a little over-excited about calling every light in the sky they don't expect a UFO. This comic takes this to the extreme, where someone calls a helpline because they saw fireflies, and thought they were UFOs. While UFOs are not mentioned by name, they are heavily implied. Technically, such a person would be correct, so long as the lights are actually unidentified, flying and caused by a physical object, but if the expectation is that it is an extraterrestrial spacecraft then the truth (if discovered and also accepted) can be disappointing to some people, rather than lead to an interesting alternative avenue of appreciation of whatever phenomenon it truly is.

The title text is a reference to bugs that have gaps of several years between emerging from their larval state. Most famous are the {{w|Periodical cicadas}}, 13- and 17-year cicadas, that only emerge every 13 or 17 years, depending on species. The 17 years in the title text thus refers to the 17-year cicadas. Every 17 years the bug hotline hires a bunch of temporary staff, either because there will be more callers due to the unexpected new bug no one has seen for 17 years, or it could be because they just like to emulate nature and thus do this every 17 years. Or alternately, the 17-year cicadas may just like to gather inside of a trench coat and apply for jobs answering calls about weird bugs. The largest 17-year cicada appearance in the USA is called {{W|Brood X}} which last occurred in 2021 and before that 2004. [https://cicadas.uconn.edu/broods/ There are smaller broods in other years], but the majority come out with 17 years interval, and the next is expected in 2038. The joke in the title text is that the employment statistics for the weird hotline have to correct for this fact. Periodical cicadas have been mentioned before in [[2263: Cicadas]], see details about them in that comics [[2263:_Cicadas#Trivia|trivia section]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball, with a headset on, is sitting in an office chair at a desk in front of his computer screen, hands on the keyboard. He receives a call, and the caller's voice is shown in a jagged frame above Cueball, between his two lines of text.]
:Cueball: Hello, Emergency Astronomer Hotline. How would you describe the lights?
:Caller on phone: ''I don't know! Help!''
:Cueball: Stay calm. Is it day? If so, that's the Sun.

:[Cueball is now seen en face with the headset, but the computer etc. is not shown. The caller's voice is now written normally but with zigzag lines going to the text from Cueball's headphone. Cueball's reply has a normal line going up to it.]
:Caller on phone: No, the Sun set and then the light appeared!
:Cueball: Hmm, could be stars. Are they stationary?
:Caller on phone: No, they're all zipping around bushes.

:[In a frameless panel, the setting returns to the one from the first panel, with the caller's voice in jagged frames again.]
:Cueball: ''Aha!'' Fireflies!
:Caller on phone: "Fireflies"?
:Cueball: Lightning bugs. Tree blinkers. Ground stars.
:Cueball: They're fine.
:Caller on phone: ''Phew!''

:[Same setting as first panel, but broader panel. After Cueball's reply and a short reply from the caller as in the first panel, there is a sound indicating transfer to another hotline. Then to the right there is a square panel with jagged edge, with the voice from the other hotline's employee.]
:Cueball: We don't know much about them as they're too fast for our telescopes, but I can transfer you to the Weird Bug Hotline.
:Caller on phone: Sure, thanks.
:Transfer of call. *''Click''*
:Weird Bug Hotline on phone: ''Hi, Weird Bug Hotline. Is it currently biting you?''

==Trivia==
*The UK Military had a UFO helpline for over 50 years. [[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34277625 Link]]
**The US took up that mantle by requesting UAP ({{w|Unidentified Aerial Phenomena}}) reports in 2021.[https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/reports-publications/reports-publications-2021/item/2223-preliminary-assessment-unidentified-aerial-phenomena]
*This comic has a lot of themes that have been touched on in previous comics, including
**Helplines [[278: Black Hat Support]], [[806: Tech Support]]
**People not understanding basic concepts [[876: Trapped]]
**Cicadas [[2263: Cicadas]]

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Animals]]

2633: Astronomer Hotline

2022-06-17T14:44:08Z

172.70.134.103: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2633
| date = June 15, 2022
| title = Astronomer Hotline
| image = Astronomer Hotline.png
| titletext = Employment statistics have to correct for the fact that the Weird Bug Hotline hires a bunch of extra temporary staff every 17 years.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 17 YEAR CICADA TRYING TO LOOK LIKE A FIREFLY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a joke about {{w|Helpline|helplines}}, and the experience of the skilled people staffing them, who often have to deal with callers with a much lower understanding of the subject, seeking assistance with things that may seem very basic from the point of view of the technician, or where they have completely misunderstood the nature of the issue.

The comic starts with someone having called the "Astronomer hotline", hence the title. Judging by the way the helpline employee, [[Cueball]], starts the call, by asking for a description of the weird lights, it is implied that this is the main/only purpose of the helpline, or is, in practice, the subject of most of the calls they receive.

The caller is in panic, and doesn't know how to describe the light. Cueball is used to this and asks the caller to stay calm, then starts to go through his check list, asking them if it is daytime, because if it was he might assume they have just noticed the Sun. Most people are familiar with the Sun{{Citation needed}} and would not need help in identifying it, although people have also mistaken the Moon for a 'mysterious light in the sky' at times. Asking this could thus seem very condescending, but it is like when the employee at a tech support hot-line asks if the computer is turned on, or if the caller tried to restart the computer, see [[806: Tech Support]]. It may also refer to the most immediate danger, as looking directly at the sun is a bad idea.

The caller is not affronted, but tells Cueball that the Sun has set. When asked if the lights are stationary, which stars would normally appear to be, the reply is that they are zipping around in the bushes.

At this point Cueball realizes that the caller has just seen {{w|fireflies}}, a family of insects commonly seen in temperate/tropical climates during the summer. He describes them for the caller as "lightning bugs" (another common epithet for these insects), tree blinkers, or ground stars (unusual terms invented for this comic that seem to illustrate the Astronomer Hotline's unfamiliarity with fireflies); and says that these are not a problem, much to the caller's relief.[https://giphy.com/gifs/bbcamerica-seven-worlds-one-planet-Q7FbMX6oJa4ycuY5Hf] Those last two descriptions, especially "ground stars", are reminiscent of the "fool's stars" mentioned in [[2017: Stargazing 2]].

However, Cueball must admit that astronomers do not know much about fireflies, since they are too fast for the astronomers' telescopes. This refers to the problem of object tracking in astronomy. Sufficient observations must be taken to reliably predict the future path of an object, and thereby to be able to reorient the observing equipment to track its progress across the sky and make further observations. In reality, the relative velocity of fireflies would be much lower than that of most astronomical bodies. However, being usually much closer to the observer, their movement across the field of view tends to appear much quicker, and this, combined with their erratic, unpredictable paths, would make them very difficult to track through a telescope.

Since Cueball cannot help further, he transfers the caller to the "Weird Bug Hotline", in a process that is apparently somewhat routine – enough to have the correct line somehow preprogrammed into his call-handling system. This is clearly not the first 'astronomy' query that actually concerns fireflies. This is similar to the process that might happen when a helpline caller's query cannot be handled by first line support and has to be passed on to a more specialist second line operator, or where the call has been routed to the wrong specialism to start with, perhaps because the user, lacking knowledge about the issue, selected the wrong option from an automated routing system.

Before the call ends, at Cueball's end, he hears the opening question from the other hotline ("Is it currently biting you?") as the new support tech again goes directly to the most common/important query, whether there is any immediate danger to be resolved... It is possible that Cueball will actually be speaking to the Weird Bugs line initially, quickly priming the Weird Bug call-handler with the salient facts already established before fully handing over the call. This could get the original caller straight into the correct conversation if the onward line's handler is sufficiently competent and experienced in such a transfer.

Some people (often {{w|Unidentified flying object|UFO}} enthusiasts) tend to get a little over-excited about calling every light in the sky they don't expect a UFO. This comic takes this to the extreme, where someone calls a helpline because they saw fireflies, and thought they were UFOs. While UFOs are not mentioned by name, they are heavily implied. Technically, such a person would be correct, so long as the lights are actually unidentified, flying and caused by a physical object, but if the expectation is that it is an extraterrestrial spacecraft then the truth (if discovered and also accepted) can be disappointing to some people, rather than lead to an interesting alternative avenue of appreciation of whatever phenomenon it truly is.

The title text is a reference to bugs that have gaps of several years between emerging from their larval state. Most famous are the {{w|Periodical cicadas}}, 13- and 17-year cicadas, that only emerge every 13 or 17 years, depending on species. The 17 years in the title text thus refers to the 17-year cicadas. Every 17 years the bug hotline hires a bunch of temporary staff, either because there will be more callers due to the unexpected new bug no one has seen for 17 years, or it could be because they just like to emulate nature and thus do this every 17 years. Or alternately, the 17-year cicadas may just like to gather inside of a trench coat and apply for jobs answering calls about weird bugs. The largest 17-year cicada appearance in the USA is called {{W|Brood X}} which last occurred in 2021 and before that 2004. [https://cicadas.uconn.edu/broods/ There are smaller broods in other years], but the majority come out with 17 years interval, and the next is expected in 2038. The joke in the title text is that the employment statistics for the weird hotline have to correct for this fact. Periodical cicadas have been mentioned before in [[2263: Cicadas]], see details about them in that comics [[2263:_Cicadas#Trivia|trivia section]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball, with a headset on, is sitting in an office chair at a desk in front of his computer screen, hands on the keyboard. He receives a call, and the caller's voice is shown in a jagged frame above Cueball, between his two lines of text.]
:Cueball: Hello, Emergency Astronomer Hotline. How would you describe the lights?
:Caller on phone: ''I don't know! Help!''
:Cueball: Stay calm. Is it day? If so, that's the Sun.

:[Cueball is now seen en face with the headset, but the computer etc. is not shown. The caller's voice is now written normally but with zigzag lines going to the text from Cueball's headphone. Cueball's reply has a normal line going up to it.]
:Caller on phone: No, the Sun set and then the light appeared!
:Cueball: Hmm, could be stars. Are they stationary?
:Caller on phone: No, they're all zipping around bushes.

:[In a frameless panel, the setting returns to the one from the first panel, with the caller's voice in jagged frames again.]
:Cueball: ''Aha!'' Fireflies!
:Caller on phone: "Fireflies"?
:Cueball: Lightning bugs. Tree blinkers. Ground stars.
:Cueball: They're fine.
:Caller on phone: ''Phew!''

:[Same setting as first panel, but broader panel. After Cueball's reply and a short reply from the caller as in the first panel, there is a sound indicating transfer to another hotline. Then to the right there is a square panel with jagged edge, with the voice from the other hotline's employee.]
:Cueball: We don't know much about them as they're too fast for our telescopes, but I can transfer you to the Weird Bug Hotline.
:Caller on phone: Sure, thanks.
:Transfer of call. *''Click''*
:Weird Bug Hotline on phone: ''Hi, Weird Bug Hotline. Is it currently biting you?''

==Trivia==
*The UK Military had a UFO helpline for over 50 years. [[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34277625 Link]]
**The US took up that mantle by requesting UAP ({{w|Unidentified Aerial Phenomena}}) reports in 2021.[https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/reports-publications/reports-publications-2021/item/2223-preliminary-assessment-unidentified-aerial-phenomena]
*This comic has a lot of themes that have been touched on in previous comics, including
**Helplines [[278: Black Hat Support]], [[806: Tech Support]]
**People not understanding basic concepts [[876: Trapped]]
**Cicadas [[2263: Cicadas]]

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Animals]]

Talk:2621: Mainly Known For

2022-05-20T15:58:18Z

172.70.134.103: /* You DO know who Michael Jordan is, right? */

Title text: the movies are Star Wars, 1) Keira Knightly starred as one of the handmaidens of Padme, 2) The Land Before Time had George Lucas as executive producer 3) The guy from Jurassic Park and Ghostwriter is Samuel L. Jackson 4) Billie Lourd's mom is Carrie Fisher.--[[Special:Contributions/172.70.254.121|172.70.254.121]] 04:19, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
:The hard part must have been finding out that she did script work, because she is not credited for this even on IMDb... I would like a citation for that actually, rather than the silly ones that was in the explanation at this time. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:06, 19 May 2022 (UTC)

Re. John Lennon/Ringo Starr: Could one make the argument that the whole Beatles section is further proof of Megan's tendencies because Ringo is widely cited as the least famous and recognisable of the Beatles, meaning that the fact that she mentions him before the probably much more famous Paul McCartney and George Harrison is also misjudging who the Beatles are mainly known for consisting of??
:Agree that this could be mentioned --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:06, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
:Being the "least famous Beatle" still makes him one of the most famous people in the world. You have to go to Pete Best, the original drummer he replaced, to have a Beatle that isn't known by most most people. I also think Ringo may have been more well known during the Beatles' heyday, as he seemed to be more vocal in interviews than George Harrison, who was the "quiet one". He didn't have as big a solo career as the others after the breakup, but that's also a high bar. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 13:13, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
::It's not just whether he's the least well known of the four, though. Apparently, to Megan, he's more well known than Lennon, who is certainly the most well-known of them to the rest of the world. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.44|172.70.86.44]] 13:41, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
:::Without having read the above (Barmar), I recently added in the George detail myself. I mean, personally, I found Ringo more memorable than George (individually, but also a hint of "the Fab four are John, Paul, ummm.... And Ringo!" as Mr Starkey's nick-/stage-name is so much more distinctive).
:::Ringo continued(/ues) to perform beyond the Beatles, and not just as drummer, far more than George who did perform but seemed to move into behind-the-scenes Producer-like and/or financially backing roles for classic/cult-classic projects like Life Of Brian/Time Bandits.
:::I think George's impact on the Beatles, and beyond, was not at all small but was generally less prominent (except maybe for his Bangladesh fundraising/etc) than Ringo who managed to be front-of-house, in various capacities, a lot more. Not quite to the level of Paul (his only current active 'competition', given that the others in the running succumbed to mortality) but his innate firstname-recognition certainly leaves him not far behind. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.237|172.69.33.237]] 15:40, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
:::Paul? George? Put me as another person who knows only Lennon and Ringo. Also note that someone who has interest in movies but much less interest in music, remembering singers by what movies they starred in makes sense. Even remembering Jobs for Pixar would be at least consistent. Of course, then she doesn't know Star Wars by name or by one of most important characters in it ... while knowing someone who played in the last trilogy. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 20:59, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
::Hang on. Hang ON. Is anybody <i>seriously</i> taking a "Paul McCartney? George Harrison? Yeah...? I've kind of heard of them, I guess?" kind of attitude?
::Like, really? <i>REALLY?!</I>
::Like..."Burger...'King,' I think? MacKenzies for a third-pounder Big Mac? Kentucky Fried Something? I think...or was it Tennessee? No, no, pretty sure it's Kentucky."
::"That dude on the Buck: Jeff Washingburn, right?"
::John, Paul, George and Ringo. Even if you don't care, you can't not know.[[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 01:26, 20 May 2022 (UTC)
:::No, I unironically would not be able to tell you the third one. Lennon is The Beatle, McCartney I recognise but didn't realise was a Beatle for years, Ringo at least has a distinctive name but I might mistake him for a Marx Brother. [[User:Noaqiyeum|Noaqiyeum]] ([[User talk:Noaqiyeum|talk]]) 10:06, 20 May 2022 (UTC)

Question in general, but don't know where to ask: why are panels 1, 2 and 4 boxed off, and is 3 open? Going back in time, the first example I found where a panel is not boxed off, is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2581:_Health_Stats Health Stats], in which it's also the 3rd one that is open...[[Special:Contributions/162.158.233.89|162.158.233.89]] 10:00, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
:No it is relatively common, but something that I strive to mention when it happens, as it is a defining characteristic of those comics where it occurs. I'm not sure I have used the same wording every time, but searching for ''[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Search&limit=500&offset=0&profile=default&search=%22in+a+frameless+panel%22 in a frameless panel]'' I got 35 results from other comics transcripts. So Randall uses this on a regular basis. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:04, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
::I think it's a nice stylistic choice. 'Borderless' frames that are defined by the borders of adjacent frames (usually to left and right, but occasionally above and below rather than the 'virtual' boundary that is the natural continuation of the margin betwixt image-edge and adjacent explicit frame-edges) give a sense of openness where strict 'each cell is bounded' could be seen as claustrophobic and wasteful of actual comic real-estate.
::And it's done quite a bit, yes. Maybe the reason you (162.158.233.89) hadn't noticed it was just that it was so naturally done? Consider it yet another reason to browse back through old comics, just to pick up these little quirks. Like the peculiar "TH"-kerning which is another Randallesque bit of idiosynchratic penmanship, etc. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.237|172.69.33.237]] 15:40, 19 May 2022 (UTC)

== You DO know who Michael Jordan is, right? ==

Sure I do! Space Jam. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 19:20, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
: Seconding that. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 21:03, 19 May 2022 (UTC)
:: he was that guy who's name is like the actor that was in Space Jam 2 for a little bit, right?

:I don't follow sports other than baseball. I can recall two actual moments like this in my life. Once was when I was flipping channels and saw footage of Shaq actually playing basketball. The other was connecting the name "Peyton Manning" to that guy I've been seeing in all those commercials. Bonus: My mom picked out a car from a dealership owned by "some baseball player." (Mike Piazza). Being that I actually do enjoy baseball, that seemed silly, but then realized I was just as bad when it came to the other sports! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.103|172.70.134.103]] 15:58, 20 May 2022 (UTC)

This may be too much of a stretch, but calling Samuel Jackson "the guy from Jurassic Park" may be an oblique reference to Epic Rap Battles of History, Steven Spielberg vs Alfred Hitchcock - where at one point, Tarantino's lyrics are "Ask anybody, 'What's your favorite Sam Jackson part?' No-one's gonna say 'What's his name from Jurassic Park?'" [[Special:Contributions/172.70.219.26|172.70.219.26]] 05:40, 20 May 2022 (UTC)

1957: 2018 CVE List

2022-05-19T13:03:40Z

172.70.134.103: Fix link & add HTTPS

{{comic
| number = 1957
| date = February 19, 2018
| title = 2018 CVE List
| image = 2018_cve_list.png
| titletext = CVE-2018-?????: It turns out Bruce Schneier is just two mischevious kids in a trenchcoat.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures|CVE}} (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) is a standardized format for assigning an identity to a cybersecurity vulnerability (similar to the way that astronomical bodies are assigned unique identifiers by committees). Giving vulnerabilities a unique identifier makes them easier to talk about and helps in keeping track of the progress made toward resolving them. The typical format of a CVE identifier is '''CVE-[YEAR]-[NUMBER]'''. For example, the CVE identifier for 2017's widespread {{w|Meltdown (security vulnerability)|Meltdown vulnerability}} is [https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2017-5754 CVE-2017-5754]. CVEs also contain a short description of the issue.

In this comic (released in February 2018), Randall presents a number of spurious predicted CVEs for later in 2018. Each CVE identifier is given as "CVE-2018-?????", reflecting the fact that they have not yet happened so we don't know exactly what their CVE identifier will be.

Following are short descriptions of all the ''vulnerabilities'' mentioned in the comic.

;Apple products crash when displaying certain {{w|Telugu language|Telugu}} or {{w|Bengali language|Bengali}} letter combinations.
:This refers to a [https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/15/iphone-text-bomb-ios-mac-crash-apple/ real vulnerability] in iOS and MacOS publicized a few days before the comic was released, as well as [https://thenextweb.com/apps/2017/01/18/iphone-ipad-apple-text-ios-bug/ past] [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/01/18/apple-text-bomb-can-crash-iphones-single-message/ similar] iOS vulnerabilities.
;An attacker can use a timing attack to extploit [''sic''] a race condition in {{w|Garbage collection (computer science)|garbage collection}} to extract a limited number of bits from the Wikipedia article on Claude Shannon.
:The reference to using a Timing Attack to exploit a race condition in garbage collection refers to Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaws that can be exploited in a cloud server like the ones in Wikipedia. {{w|Claude Shannon}} was an early and highly influential information scientist whose work underlies compression, encryption, security, and the theory behind how information is encoded into binary digits.
:
:This is not a security problem, since Wikipedia articles are public. However, since Shannon formulated how the amount of unique or actual information some entity contains is proportional to the number of bits required to encode it, retrieving only a few bits casts a dark perspective upon the significance of the Shannon article's content.
;At the cafe on Third Street, the Post-it note with the WiFi password is visible from the sidewalk.
:Cafés often offer free access to WiFi as a service to patrons, as a business strategy to encourage said patrons to remain in the building and buy more coffee. Some use a password, so that only patrons can use the WiFi, and may display the password on signage inside. Since anybody could go into the cafe to read the post-it, and then use the network from nearby, the ability to read it from outside is, at most, a trivial problem. For systems that are supposed to be secure, writing passwords in a visible place is a major security flaw. For instance, following the [[wikipedia:2018 Hawaii false missile alert|2018 Hawaii false missile alert]], the agency concerned received criticism for a press photo showing [https://www.businessinsider.com/hawaii-emergency-agency-password-discovered-in-photo-sparks-security-criticism-2018-1?r=US&IR=T a password written on a sticky note] attached to a monitor.
;A remote attacker can inject arbitrary text into public-facing pages via the comments box.
:Describes a common feature on news sites or social media sites like Facebook. The possibility for users to "inject" text into the page is by design. This is a humorous reference to the relatively common security vulnerability "[[Wikipedia:Cross-site_scripting|persistent cross-site scripting]]", where input provided by a user, such as through a comment section, can result in dangerous content containing arbitrary HTML or JavaScript code being displayed to other users.
;MySQL server 5.5.45 secretly runs two parallel databases for people who say "S-Q-L" and "sequel."
:Some people pronounce "{{w|SQL}}" like "sequel", after SQL's predecessor "SEQUEL (Structured English Query Language)". The standard for SQL suggests that it should be pronounced as separate letters; however, the author of SQL pronounces it "sequel", so the debate persists (with even more justification than arguments about how to pronounce "GIF"). MySQL is an open-source relational database management system. The latest generally available version (at the time of writing) is MySQL 5.7.
;A flaw in some x86 CPUs could allow a root user to de-escalate to normal account privileges.
:{{w|Privilege escalation}} refers to any illegitimate means by which a system user gains greater access privileges than they are supposed to have. The most highly-sought privilege is that of the root user, which allows complete access to an entire system— a ''superuser''. Any flaw that would allow an ordinary user to escalate to superuser status is a critical security threat, as they then have full control of the machine. This is what most hackers seek to achieve when attacking a device.
:
:This CVE presents the less-threatening reverse situation: allowing a root user to ''de-escalate'' to normal account privileges. In fact, root users can already do this at any time; superuser privileges allow them to take control of any user account, so they can simply switch to an account which has fewer privileges than the root user.
;Apple products catch fire when displaying emoji with diacritics.
:This is a reference to a common problem of modern gadgets catching fire (usually related to flaws in lithium-ion batteries), as well as to Apple products crashing when attempting to display certain character sequences. Diacritics are the accents found on letters in some languages (eg. č, ģ ķ, ļ, ņ, š, ž). These would not normally be found on emojis{{citation needed}}. 🔥̃ is an example of such an emoji.
;An oversight in the rules allows a dog to join a basketball team.
:This probably refers to the movie ''{{w|Air Bud}}'', about a dog playing basketball. This has been a common theme in xkcd comics: see [[115: Meerkat]], [[1439: Rack Unit]], [[1819: Sweet 16]], [[1552: Rulebook]].
:In 2017, it was discovered that an oversight in the constitution of the state of Kansas may [http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article175956836.html permit a dog to be governor]. Shortly before this comic published, the Secretary of State's office ruled that [http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2018/02/13/dog-kansas-governor/ it could not].
;Haskell isn't side-effect-free after all; the effects are all just concentrated in this one computer in Missouri that no one's checked on in a while.
:{{w|Haskell (programming language)|Haskell}} is a functional programming language. Functional programming is characterized by using functions that don't have side effects because they can not change things accessible in other parts of the program, as in [[1312: Haskell]]. The joke here is discovering that it does indeed have side-effects, manifested via external alteration, not violating the internal alteration paradigm. It may also be a reference to "{{w|The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas}}," a short story by Ursula Le Guin in which a utopian city concentrates all its misery into one child who is locked away in a basement.
;Nobody really knows how hypervisors work.
:[[wikipedia:Hypervisor|"Hypervisors"]] are a tool for computer virtualization. Virtualization is implemented via various combinations of hardware and/or software, which requires a computer to completely simulate another computer, with its own unique hardware and software, and to varying degrees as to whether or not the virtualization is aware of or can determine whether it is being virtualized. Many IT professionals and businesses rely heavily on various forms of virtualization, but most of the individual employees would be hard-pressed to explain how it works. Programs running on other virtual computers, or on the real computer, may be able to access information on a virtual computer in ways which would not be possible with a single real computer. Consequently, understanding how the hypervisor works is important to assessing the security of a virtual server. Meltdown and Spectre are related to this.
;Critical: Under Linux 3.14.8 on System/390 in a UTC+14 time zone, a local user could potentially use a buffer overflow to change another user's default system clock from 12-hour to 24-hour.
:This joke is about arcane systems that are running Linux in exceedingly rare situations, meaning that reproducing errors would be incredibly difficult or inconvenient, and would only affect a very tiny user base (if any at all). {{w|IBM System/390 ES/9000 Enterprise Systems Architecture ESA family|System/390}} is an IBM mainframe introduced almost 30 years before this comic, which has a version of Linux. UTC+14 is a time zone used only on some islands in the Pacific Ocean (Primarily [[Wikipedia:Line_Islands|the Line Islands]]) and is also the earliest time zone on Earth. Even if all of these absurd conditions were met, the resulting vulnerability would still be relatively benign: simply changing a user's preferred clock display format. Other xkcd comics make references to such obscure computer-time issues relating to time zones and time conversions, and how many programmers find these issues frustrating or even traumatizing.
;x86 has way too many instructions.
:The x86 architecture (used in many Intel and AMD processors) is very complicated. Processors typically implement such a complex architecture using programs (microcode) run on a set of hidden, proprietary processors. The details of these hidden machines and errors in the microcode can result in security vulnerabilities, such as Meltdown, where the physical machine does not match the conceptual machine.
:
:A more complicated instruction set is more complex to implement.{{Citation needed}} The x86 architecture is considered "CISC" (a "{{w|Complex instruction set computer}}"), having many instructions originally provided to make programming by a human simpler; other examples include the 68000 series used in the first {{w|Apple Macintosh}}. In the 1980s, this design philosophy was countered by the "RISC" ("{{w|Reduced instruction set computer}}") design movement - based on the observation that computer programs were increasingly generated by compilers (which only used a few instructions) rather than directly by people, and that the chip area dedicated to extra instructions could be better dedicated to, for example, cache. Examples of RISC style designs include {{w|SPARC}}, {{w|MIPS}}, {{w|PowerPC}} (used by Apple in later Macintoshes) and the {{w|ARM architecture|ARM}} chips common in mobile phones. Historically, there was considerable discussion about the merits of each approach. At one time the Mac and Windows PC were on different sides; owners of other competing systems such as the Archimedes and Amiga had similar arguments on usenet in the early 1990s. This "issue" may be posted by someone who still recalls these debates. Technically, the extra instructions do slightly complicate the task of validating correct chip behaviour and complicate the tool chains that manage software, which could be seen as a minor security risk. However, the 64-bit architecture introduced by {{w|AMD}}, and since adopted by {{w|Intel}}, does rationalize things somewhat, and all recent x86 chips break down instructions into RISC-like micro-operations, so the complication from a hardware perspective is localized. Recent security issues, such as the speculative cache load issue in Meltdown and Spectre, depend more on details of implementation, rather than instruction set, and have been exhibited both by x86 (CISC) and ARM (RISC) processors.
;NumPy 1.8.0 can factor primes in ''O''(log ''n'') time and must be quietly deprecated before anyone notices.
:Fantastically, this would be an unimaginable software threat, not to be confused with the even speedier, but future-bound, threat in hardware via {{w|Quantum computing}}.
:NumPy is the fundamental package for scientific computing with the programming language Python. ''O''(log ''n'') is [[wikipedia:Big_O_notation#Infinite_asymptotics|Big O notation]] meaning that the time it takes for a computer algorithm to run is in the order of log ''n'', for an input of size ''n''. ''O''(log ''n'') is very fast and is more usual for a search algorithm. Prime factorization currently is ''O''(''2''<sup>''n''</sup>n)). If something can find the prime factors of a number this quickly, especially a [[wikipedia:semiprime|semiprime]] with two large factors, it will enable attacks to break many crypto functions used in internet security. However, prime numbers have only a single factor, and "factoring primes" quickly is a simpler problem, that of [[wikipedia:Primality test|proving that a number is in fact a prime]].
;Apple products grant remote access if you send them words that break the "I before E" rule.
:Another joke on the first CVE and [[wikipedia:I before E except after C|a common English writing rule of thumb]], which fails almost as often as it succeeds. Possibly a jab at Apple's image, portraying their software as unable to handle improper grammar or spelling.
;Skylake x86 chips can be pried from their sockets using certain flathead screwdrivers.
:Skylake x86 chips are a line of microprocessors made by Intel. Some processors are soldered directly to a system board or daughter board, while others are attached to boards that plug into the system board by means of a socket (pins or connectors that make physical contact with receptacles or connectors on a system board). Some sockets, especially older ones, require force to insert or remove, and often require the use of a flat blade screwdriver or a specialized tool, but most modern ones use ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) techniques, often involving a lever or similar to tighten or loosen the friction/tightness of the contacts. No screwdriver is needed in this case. However, any processor ''can'' be forcefully removed from its socket with a screwdriver.{{Citation needed}}
;Apparently Linus Torvalds can be bribed pretty easily.
:{{w|Linus Torvalds}} is the {{w|benevolent dictator for life}} of the Linux kernel codebase. Normally it is hard to make changes because he has the last word, and because the kernel is replicated in all Linux installations. Linus made the news in January 2018 when, having looked at one of Intel's proposed fixes for the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities, he declared "[https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/22/linus-torvalds-declares-intel-fix-for-meltdown-spectre-complete-and-utter-garbage/ the patches are COMPLETE AND UTTER GARBAGE]". Presumably, it may be found that he may be successfully bribed to be less blunt and/or less critical of vulnerability fixes that are complete and/or utter garbage. If this were the case, this would be a severe critical vulnerability to all Linux servers and machines.
;An attacker can execute malicious code on their own machine and no one can stop them.
:The point of an attack is to make someone else's machine perform actions against the owner's will. Anyone can make their own machine execute any code if they have root access and the necessary tools, but this would usually not be described as an attack, except in the case of a locked-down appliance, such as a video game console, a John Deere tractor, or pay TV decoder.
;Apple products execute any code printed over a photo of a dog with a saddle and a baby riding it.
:This could refer to a CVE vulnerability of JPG files where JavaScript embedded within the image file is executed by some application. In this case, though, the code is visible on the image instead of invisibly encoded within the image file. The code is also only executed if the image contains a photo of a baby in a saddle riding a dog. It's unclear whether the photo would be a digital photo, a printed photo (i.e. as taken using a digital camera), or maybe both.
:Other than by some {{w|metadata}}, either internal to the image file, or embedded along with it, as in a web page, or a PDF or other container file, this "bug" would require the device to {{w|Hard AI|figure out}} specifically what the photo contains image-wise (something that's REALLY HARD for computers to do reliably), but would also require OCR (optical character recognition) code to convert the text superimposed on the photo into executable code. In other words, it's hard to believe in 2018 that such a bug could exist. Maybe in the future when such things are more routine...? As an example, OCR used to be hard to do reliably, but now it's a lot more routine and built into a lot of devices.
;Under rare circumstances, a flaw in some versions of Windows could allow Flash to be installed.
:Adobe Flash has been an integral browser plugin for decades, but has fallen out of favor in the 2010s, and eventually discontinued because of its notoriously abysmal security record. All security experts advise against installing it. Preventing installation of Flash would make systems more secure, but most versions of Windows do not prevent Flash installation (provided, as of 2021, the user still has a copy of the files with which to do so). The joke here relates to the difficulty of keeping Flash up to date, or even installed properly to begin with. A common user experience, which is the subject of numerous jokes and memes, is the constant nagging notification to install or update Flash in order for web pages to display properly. Many IT professionals will bemoan the trouble they have experienced in the workplace due to these notifications and problems related to them.
:In late 2020, Microsoft [https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4577586/update-for-removal-of-adobe-flash-player released an optional Windows update] that removes Flash and prevents users from installing it again.
;Turns out the cloud is just other people's computers.
:This refers to a meme that demands that "cloud" be replaced with "other people's computers" in all marketing presentation to CEOs and non-computer literate persons evaluating the security impact of using cloud services. Part of the humor here is that "the cloud" is, in actuality, simply a term for hosted services, or in other words computers being run by other people (typically businesses that specialize in this type of "{{w|Platform as a Service}}" or "PaaS" service model). Referring to "the cloud" as "other people's computers" is, at its core, entirely accurate, though it takes away the business jargon and simplifies the situation in such a way that it might cast doubt on the security, reliability, and general effectiveness of using "cloud" solutions. In [[908: The Cloud]], it turns out that [[Black Hat]] is the "other people" whose computer ''is'' the Cloud.
;A flaw in Mitre's CVE database allows arbitrary code insertion.[[779|[~~CLICK HERE FOR CHEAP VIAGRA~~]]]
:Mitre's CVE database is where all {{w|Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures|CVEs}} are stored. This log message forms the punchline of the comic, as it implies that all of the exaggerated error messages above might have been inserted by hackers exploiting the vulnerability. To pour salt in the wound, they then included in a typical spam link purporting to offer inexpensive {{w|Viagra|brand-name Sildenafil}}.
;It turns out Bruce Schneier is just two mischevious kids in a trenchcoat.
:Appears in the title text. {{w|Bruce Schneier}} is security researcher and blogger. The "two kids in a trenchcoat" is a reference to the {{tvtropes|TotemPoleTrench|Totem Pole Trench}} trope. Shortly before this comic was posted, a [https://rare.us/rare-humor/two-kids-dressed-as-a-tall-man-to-get-into-black-panther-is-caught-on-video story went viral] in which two kids were photographed attempting this for real to get into a screening of ''Black Panther''.

==Transcript==
:[A heading is centered above a list of 21 vulnerabilities]
:<big>Leaked list of major 2018 security vulnerabilities </big>

:CVE-2018-????? Apple products crash when displaying certain Telugu or Bengali letter combinations.
:CVE-2018-????? An attacker can use a timing attack to extploit a race condition in garbage collection to extract a limited number of bits from the Wikipedia article on Claude Shannon.
:CVE-2018-????? At the cafe on Third Street, the Post-it note with the WiFi password is visible from the sidewalk.
:CVE-2018-????? A remote attacker can inject arbitrary text into public-facing pages via the comments box.
:CVE-2018-????? MySQL server 5.5.45 secretly runs two parallel databases for people who say "S-Q-L" and "sequel."
:CVE-2018-????? A flaw in some x86 CPUs could allow a root user to de-escalate to normal account privileges.
:CVE-2018-????? Apple products catch fire when displaying emoji with diacritics.
:CVE-2018-????? An oversight in the rules allows a dog to join a basketball team.
:CVE-2018-????? Haskell isn't side-effect-free after all; the effects are all just concentrated in this one. computer in Missouri that no one's checked on in a while.
:CVE-2018-????? Nobody really knows how hypervisors work.
:CVE-2018-????? Critical: Under Linux 3.14.8 on System/390 in a UTC+14 time zone, a local user could potentially use a buffer overflow to change another user's default system clock from 12-hour to 24-hour.
:CVE-2018-????? x86 has way too many instructions.
:CVE-2018-????? NumPy 1.8.0 can factor primes in ''O''(log ''n'') time and must be quietly deprecated before anyone notices.
:CVE-2018-????? Apple products grant remote access if you send them words that break the "I before E" rule.
:CVE-2018-????? Skylake x86 chips can be pried from their sockets using certain flathead screwdrivers.
:CVE-2018-????? Apparently Linus Torvalds can be bribed pretty easily.
:CVE-2018-????? An attacker can execute malicious code on their own machine and no one can stop them.
:CVE-2018-????? Apple products execute any code printed over a photo of a dog with a saddle and a baby riding it.
:CVE-2018-????? Under rare circumstances, a flaw in some versions of Windows could allow Flash to be installed.
:CVE-2018-????? Turns out the cloud is just other people's computers.
:CVE-2018-????? A flaw in Mitre's CVE database allows arbitrary code insertion.<span style="color:blue">[~~Click here for cheap viagra~~]</span>

==Trivia==

Randall has previously referenced diacritics in [[1647: Diacritics]].

Bruce Schneier was previously mentioned in the title texts of [[748: Worst-Case Scenario]] and [[1039: RuBisCO]].

{{comic discussion}}

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