explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3065: Square Units

2025-03-19T21:16:30Z

172.70.91.130: /* Explanation */ If there was a switch-unit error, in there, I could not see it. Only *which* unit (X square metres to X metres square, etc).

{{comic
| number = 3065
| date = March 19, 2025
| title = Square Units
| image = square_units_2x.png
| imagesize = 545x678px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The biggest I've seen in a published source in the wild is an 80-fold error in a reported distance, which I think came from a series of at least three unit conversions and area/length misinterpretations.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SQUARE AREA DEFOLIATION BOT - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic, [[Megan]] has found an insect species on her phone that devours one square inch of grass per day. This unit gets misinterpreted until [[Hairbun]] tells other people that it devours an area of grass equal to two times the land area of Australia. This is similar to the premise of [[2585: Rounding]].

This gross error is the result of repeatedly misinterpreting the number of square units as the side length of a square, thus increasing the described area by the power of two. The chain also involves converting between an imperial unit and a metric unit, alternating, thus introducing smaller rounding errors even while switching which measurement is "a single square with sides of a certain distance" and which is "the number of squares that are each of unit length". The upshot is that, while each statement has two roughly similar measurements of area, the chain of misunderstanding ends up claiming ever larger relative expanses. The later participants in this chain also clearly forget to sanity-check their figures, blithely informing others that an individual insect is effectively consuming impossibly huge quantities of food, and travelling enormous linear distances every day to do so.

The title text tells us that [[Randall]] once found an 80-fold error in a reported distance in a published source.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Arrows point to each consecutive panel.]
:[Megan is looking at her phone, with Cueball standing next to her.]
:Megan: This newly-described insect can devour up to a square inch of grass per day.
:Cueball: Oh, neat.
:[Cueball is speaking to Ponytail.]
:Cueball: ...it eats a square inch, or 6 cm², of grass per day...
:[Ponytail is speaking to Hairy.]
:Ponytail: ...a 6-centimeter (2½ inch) square of grass, or 36 cm²...
:[Arrows now point to each consecutive conversion.]
:Written out of panel: ...a 36 centimeter square, or over a square foot...
:Written out of panel: ...a square foot, or 900 cm²...
:Written out of panel: ...a 900 cm (30 foot) square...
:Written out of panel: ...a 30 foot square of grass (900 square feet)...
:Written out of panel: ...a 900 foot square, or almost 20 acres...
:Written out of panel: ...20 acres (8 hectares, or 80,000 square meters)...
:Written out of panel: ...an 80,000 meter (80 km) square...
:Written out of panel: ...a square 80 km wide, or roughly 2,500 square miles...
:Written out of panel: ...a 2,500-mile square, or twice the land area of Australia, per day...
:[An arrow points from the last conversion to the last panel.]
:[Hairbun is looking at her phone, with White Hat, Danish and Blondie next to her.]
:Hairbun: Did you hear about this insect that defoliates the entire land area of Australia twice a day?
:White Hat: Gosh!
:Danish: Wow.
:Blondie: I hope at least it's contained there...

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]

1106: ADD

2025-03-05T12:23:45Z

172.70.91.130: /* Explanation */ That's the exact wiki title in use (could argue about capitalisation, but wikistyle has clearly ended up with that).

{{comic
| number = 1106
| date = September 10, 2012
| title = ADD
| image = add.png
| titletext = 20 balloons float away while I'm busy permanently tying one to a tree to deal with it for good. Unfortunately, that one balloon was 'land a rocket on the moon in Kerbal Space Program.'
}}

==Explanation==
This comic appears to be a visual representation of the thought process of someone with {{w|Attention Deficit Disorder}} or ADD (Which has been renamed to ADHD, for "{{w|Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder}}"). Various of Cueball's thoughts or tasks that he must do are represented by balloons which are rising out of his reach. He holds the "math problem" balloon and grabs the "call mom" balloon, but notices "check oven" is rising out of his reach. He abandons the two balloons he holds to dive and grab the "check oven" balloon. Of course, this allows the other two to rise, presumably out of Cueball's reach, as the pullout reveals a plethora of other balloons already rising too high, some of which describe actions required to live, like balloons marked "breathe" or "drink water". This visualizes how ADHD makes it incredibly difficult to multi-task, prioritize, and continually work on one task.

Cueball quickly drops one task to take on another, only to jump to yet another task before that one is done; showing how the person with ADHD feels; that while they are focusing on one task, 20 others are getting away from them. The title text further reinforces this, noting that while committing to actually complete one task (represented by tying a balloon to a tree), 20 others floated away. The task he chose to complete is (as stereotypical for someone with ADHD), a task that results in no necessary accomplishment — the task is to land a rocket on the moon (Mun) in ''{{w|Kerbal Space Program}}'', a PC-based spaceflight simulator and video game. Additional humor comes from the fact that landing a rocket on the moon in Kerbal Space Program would require a lot of repetition through trial-and-error, making a long and involved task during which many other important tasks might be ignored normally.

In addition, the title "add" may also have a secondary meaning that Cueball feels that balloons/tasks are always being added, which does indeed feel like the case as his field of vision expands, resulting in an overwhelming experience.

{{Incomplete|add explanations for the balloons please}}

:*Parking Meter - blue - 11M
:*Taxes - green - 3K
:*Buy Soap - red - 12I
:*Phone Call - green - 7H
:*Relax - yellow - 6C
:*Inbox - blue - 9G
:*Clean - red - 13O
:*Beat Game - green - 4D
:*Feed Cat - yellow - 8L
:*Drink Water - blue - 15Q
:*Call Mom - red - 2A
:*Math Problem - green - 3B
:*Send Card - red - 14J
:*Check Oven (Cueball is holding this one still) - yellow - 1E
:*Engine Light - yellow - 10F
:*Read - blue - 16N
:*Breathe - blue - 5P

==Transcript==

:[Cueball is holding a balloon with "Math Problem" written on it. He is running to grab a balloon labeled "Call Mom" that is floating away.]

:[Cueball is now holding both balloons, but looks over his shoulder and sees a balloon that reads "Check Oven".]
:Cueball: ''!!''

:[Cueball releases the balloons he had been holding and runs for the third.]

:[Cueball jumps for the "Check Oven" balloon and snatches it just before it is out of reach.]
:''LEAP''
:Cueball: Hah!

:[Full width panel showing 16 balloons floating away and one Cueball is holding. The balloons are different sizes and colors, and are floating at different heights. They are labeled as follows from left to right. Listed as * Label - color - height order (1 is the lowest balloon). Listed as * Label - size - size order (A is smallest)]
:*Parking Meter - blue - 11M
:*Taxes - green - 3K
:*Buy Soap - red - 12I
:*Phone Call - green - 7H
:*Relax - yellow - 6C
:*Inbox - blue - 9G
:*Clean - red - 13O
:*Beat Game - green - 4D
:*Feed Cat - yellow - 8L
:*Drink Water - blue - 15Q
:*Call Mom - red - 2A
:*Math Problem - green - 3B
:*Send Card - red - 14J
:*Check Oven (Cueball is holding this one still) - yellow - 1E
:*Engine Light - yellow - 10F
:*Read - blue - 16N
:*Breathe - blue - 5P

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Psychology]]
[[Category:Kerbal Space Program]]
[[Category:Rockets]]

UniXKCD

2025-02-06T10:35:34Z

172.70.91.130: Undo revision 364715 by 162.158.114.49 (talk) Nope.

{{TOC}}On April Fools' Day in 2010, [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] altered [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com] to mimic a {{w|Unix}} command line interface. This interface is still available on [https://uni.xkcd.com uni.xkcd.com] and the source code is [https://github.com/chromakode/xkcdfools available on GitHub]. The comic [[721: Flatland]], which was released on March 31, 2010, was still up on April 1st, 2010, but had in itself nothing to do with the Unix interface. This Unix interface is thus in itself not one of Randall's [[:Category: April fools' comics|April fools' comics]]. The terminal only lists a few available commands, but most commands are undocumented.

==Documented commands==
* <code>next</code> shows the next comic. It shows the error "Time travel mode not enabled" on the last comic (see <code>enable time travel</code>).
* <code>prev</code> shows the previous comic.
* <code>first</code> shows the first comic.
* <code>last</code> shows the last comic.
* <code>display [number]</code> shows the comic with the specified number. (Trying to display comic [[404: Not Found|404]] will result in an endless loading attempt.)
* <code>random</code> shows a random comic.
* <code>ls</code> shows the content of the current directory.
* <code>cat [filename]</code> shows the content of the file, or "You're a kitty!" if [filename] is left blank.
* <code>cd [directory]</code> changes to the specified directory.

==Undocumented commands==
* <code>:(){:|:&};:</code> This command, otherwise known as a [https://askubuntu.com/questions/159491/why-did-the-command-make-my-system-lag-so-badly-i-had-to-reboot shell fork bomb] will make the terminal display the <code>[. . .]</code> loading text indefinitely, as though it crashed.
* <code>a/s/l</code> [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=a%2Fs%2Fl A/S/L] is not a Unix command, but an acronym of Age/Sex/Location. The following replies are possible:
** "2/AMD64/Server Rack", answered as if the server replied.
** "328/M/Transylvania", answered by {{w|Dracula}}.
** "6/M/Battle School", answered by {{w|Ender Wiggin}} or another boy from battle school.
** "48/M/The White House", answered by {{w|Barack Obama}} or another male of the same age in the White House.
** "7/F/Rapture", answered by a {{w|Little_Sister_(BioShock)|Little Sister}} from {{w|BioShock}}.
** "Exactly your age/A gender you're attracted to/Far far away.", Requests for a/s/l are often not answered truthfully, but crafted to suit the one asking the question.
** "7,831/F/Lothlórien", answered by {{w|Galadriel}} or another elf.
** "42/M/FBI Field Office", answered by an FBI agent (referencing the old [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet trope] that all girls on the internet are FBI agents impersonating them).
* <code>apt-get</code> replies "This APT has Super Cow Powers.". The <code>apt-get</code> command is part of the Debian package manager {{w|Advanced_Packaging_Tool|APT}}. This reply is one of the built-in Easter eggs.
* <code>apt-get moo</code> replies "Have you mooed today" with an ASCII cow.
* <code>asl</code> same as <code>a/s/l</code>.
* <code>bash</code> replies "You bash your head against the wall. It's not very effective.". {{w|Bash}} is a shell for POSIX-based systems.
* <code>buy stuff</code> same as <code>cd store</code>.
* <code>cat [number]/alt.txt</code> displays the title text of the specified comic.
* <code>cat</code> (without a filename, or an invalid one) will show "You're a kitty!", possibly referencing [[231: Cat Proximity]].
* <code>cheat</code> promotes the [https://store.xkcd.com/ xkcd store].
* <code>clear</code> clears the screen.
* <code>curl</code> creates an iframe to the URL specified
* <code>date</code> replies "March 32nd" (instead of April 1st), which is not a real date.{{citation needed}}
* <code>dir</code> same as <code>ls</code>.
* <code>display title text</code> will print: display: unable to open image "title": No such file or directory. in red text.
* <code>echo</code> replies "Echo ... echo ... echo ...". The {{w|Echo_(command)|echo}} command is used to print text to the terminal.
* <code>ed</code> replies "You are not a diety ''[sic]''.". {{w|Ed_(text_editor)|ed}} is a very simple text editor. It is usually not considered very user-friendly (see also <code>vi</code> and <code>emacs</code>).
* <code>emacs</code> replies "You should use Vim.". References [[378: Real Programmers]].
* <code>enable time travel</code> replies "TARDIS error: Time Lord missing.". A {{w|Doctor Who}} reference. See also the <code>next</code> command.
* <code>exit</code> will end the terminal session.
* <code>find kitten</code> showed the {{w|robotfindskitten}} game (the link to the Flash version no longer works, but an HTML version is available [http://robotfindskitten.org/play/robotfindskitten/ here]).
* <code>find</code> replies "What do you want to find? Kitten would be nice.".
* <code>finger</code> replies "Mmmmmm...". <code>finger USER</code> is used on UNIX-like systems to get information about another USER (here, Randall is taking advantage of its suggestive name... pardon the pun).
* <code>fuck</code> replies "I have a headache.".
* <code>goto [any]</code> shows comic [[292: goto]] and asks if you meant <code>display</code> instead.
* <code>go back</code> replies "You cannot go back."
* <code>go down</code> replies "On our first date?"
* <code>halp</code> same as <code>help</code>.
* <code> Hello Joshua </code> replies "How about a nice game of Global Thermonuclear War?". A reference to the {{w|WarGames}} movie.
* <code>hello</code> replies "Hello.". A second reply "Why hello there!" is coded, but it is never used.
* <code>help</code> says "That would be cheating!".
* <code>hi</code> replies "Hi.".
* <code>hint</code> randomly replies "We offer some nice polos.", "This terminal will remain available at xkcd.com/unixkcd/", "Use the source, Luke!" or "There are cheat codes.".
* <code>i read the source code</code> replies "<3".
* <code>irc [nick]</code> starts an {{w|IRC}} session on the xkcd channel on irc.foonetic.net.
* <code>kill</code> replies "Terminator deployed to 1984.". A reference to the {{w|The_Terminator|Terminator}} movie. In Bash, <code>kill</code> is used to end a process.
* <code>latest</code> displays the latest comic.
* <code>locate [filename]</code> is normally used to locate a file in a directory. It will give humorous results when searching for <code>ninja</code>, <code>keys</code>, <code>joke</code>, <code>problem</code> and <code>raptor</code>.
* <code>logout</code> same as <code>exit</code>.
* <code>lpr</code> replies "PC LOAD LETTER". {{w|Line_Printer_Daemon_protocol|lpr}} is a command to print documents. {{w|PC_LOAD_LETTER}} is a printer error.
* <code>make love</code> replies "I put on my robe and wizard hat.". A reference to this [http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/text/bloodninja roleplay chat transscript] (NSFW), also mentioned in [[442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel]]. <code>make love</code> is a standard Unix joke, because the reply is "make: don't know how to make love.".
* <code>make me a sandwich</code> behaves like [[149: Sandwich]].
* <code>man [command]</code> show unhelpful information about the command (only <code>last</code>, <code>help</code>, <code>next</code>, <code>cat</code> or no command are supported).
* <code>moo</code> replies "moo".
* <code>more</code> replies "Oh, yes! More! More!". The {{w|More_(command)|more}} command is used to paginate output.
* <code>nano</code> replies "Seriously? Why don't you just use Notepad.exe? Or MS Paint?". {{w|GNU_nano|Nano}} is another text editor for Unix systems (see <code>vi</code> and <code>emacs</code>).
* <code>ping</code> replies "There is another submarine three miles ahead, bearing 225, forty fathoms down.". The {{w|Ping_(networking_utility)|ping}} command is used to measure round trip times to a destination. The name does indeed originate from {{w|sonar}} technology.
* <code>pwd</code> replies "You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike.". The {{w|pwd}} command prints the current working directory (see <code>look</code>). The output is a reference to {{w|Colossal Cave Adventure}}.
* <code>poweroff</code> same as <code>shutdown</code>.
* <code>quit</code> same as <code>exit</code>.
* <code> reddit [number]</code> shows the [https://www.reddit.com/ Reddit] voting bar for the specified comic (or xkcd when no number is specified).
* <code>rm [filename]</code> will "remove" a file, while <code>rm -r</code> will remove a directory. (<code>sudo rm -rf /</code> will break all commands until the page is reloaded.)
* <code>serenity</code> replies "You can't take the sky from me.". This is a line from the Balad of Serenity from the {{w|Firefly_(TV_series)|Firefly}} TV series. Serenity is also the name of an Operating System (that Randall probably wasn't thinking of): [https://www.serenityos.org/ SerenityOS].
* <code>shutdown</code> replies "Must be root.". See also <code>sudo poweroff</code>.
* <code>ssh</code> replies "ssh, this is a library.". {{w|Secure_Shell|ssh}} is the command to start a secure shell, but it also resembles the "{{w|Shh}}" sound.
* <code>su</code> replies "God mode activated. Remember, {{w|With great power comes great responsibility|with great power comes great}} ... aw, screw it, go have fun.". The {{w|Su_(Unix)|su}} command is used to log in as an upper user, which gives you full and potentially dangerous access to the system. On some systems, "with great power comes great responsibility" is also part of a message that is printed the first time <code>sudo</code> is used.
* <code>sudo [command]</code> executes the command with {{w|Superuser|root}} privileges.
* <code>sudo apt-get dist-upgrade</code> Returns "You are already running [OS].".
* <code>sudo apt-get moo</code> replies "Have you mooed today?" (apt-get Easter egg).
* <code>sudo apt-get update</code> Refreshes the package list so the system knows which updates are available.
* <code>sudo apt-get upgrade</code> shows a link to [http://abetterbrowser.org/ A Better Browser] on Internet Explorer and Firefox (< v3). On all other browsers, it doesn't complain.
* <code>sudo make me a sandwich</code> behave like [[149: Sandwich]].
* <code>sudo !!</code> will sudo the last command.
* <code>sudo poweroff</code> will shutdown the system.
* <code>sudo reboot</code> will restart the system.
* <code>sudo restart</code> same as <code>sudo reboot</code>.
* <code>sudo shutdown</code> same as <code>sudo poweroff</code>.
* <code>sudo sudo</code> will print An internal error occurred: RangeError: Maximum call stack size exceeded in red text.
* <code>time travel</code> displays [[630: Time Travel]].
* <code>top</code> replies "It's up there --^". The {{w|Top_(software)|top}} command shows a table of processes. Here it is taken literally.
* <code>uname</code> replies "Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator". <code>uname</code> on Unix lists system information. The Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator is an explosive device created by Marvin the Martian in the {{w|Looney Tunes}} series.
* <code>unixkcd</code> opens a new terminal window.
* <code>use the force luke</code> replies "I believe you mean source.". A reference to the {{w|The_Force_(Star_Wars)|Force}} in the {{w|Star Wars}} franchise.
* <code>use the source luke</code> replies "I'm not luke, you're luke!", an old programmers' joke.
* <code>vi</code> reply "You should use emacs.". References [[378: Real Programmers]].
* <code>vim</code> same as <code>vi</code>.
* <code>wget [url]</code> shows the content of the specified url. The {{w|wget}} command on Unix will download the content and not show it.
* <code>who</code> replies "Doctor Who?". Another {{w|Doctor Who}} reference. The <code>who</code> command on Unix lists the logged-in users.
* <code> Whoami </code> replies "You are Richard Stallman.". The {{w|whoami}} command lists the name of the current user. Richard Stallman is the creator of the GNU project and the Free Software Foundation.
* <code>write [nick]</code> same as <code>irc</code>.
* <code>xkcd</code> replies "Yes?".
* <code>xyzzy</code> replies "Nothing happens.". {{w|Xyzzy_(computing)|xyzzy}} is a magic word, originally used in the game {{w|Colossal Cave Adventure}}.
* <code>your gay</code> replies "Keep your hands off it!".
* <code>!!</code> reruns the previous command after stating the command.

===Game commands===
* There are also some other commands borrowed from a {{w|Zork}} like {{w|Text-based game|text based adventure game}}.
* <code>look</code> describes your current surroundings.
* <code>go [direction]</code> moves you in the specified direction.
* <code>light lamp</code> lights your lamp.
* <code>sleep [seconds]</code> sleeps for the specified time. Without specifying, the nap is 5 seconds.
* You will be killed by a {{w|Grue (monster)|grue}} if you don't light your lamp when going south. Going West repeatedly will list the refrain from the song {{w|Go West (song)|Go West}}.

===Konami code===
[[File:Konami code.png|300px|thumb|The image used as the background after using the Konami code five times.]]
The terminal also responds to the {{w|Konami code}} Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A. Entering this code repeatedly will, in order:
# Transform all characters to uppercase
# Add a greatest shadow
# Add an orange text-shadow
# Shake the screen
# Add a background image of [[Richard Stallman]] from [[345: 1337: Part 5]].

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Richard Stallman]]
[[Category:Computers]]

42: Geico

2025-02-06T10:34:09Z

172.70.91.130: Undo revision 364714 by 162.158.114.97 (talk) Noneof those things relate to the image description. All are also mentioned elsewhere.

{{comic
| number = 42
| date = November 28, 2005
| title = Geico
| before = <big><big>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060529063441/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/#:~:text=Monday%27s%20Drawing%3A%20Geico Original title]: '''Monday's Drawing: Geico'''</big></big>
| image = geico.jpg
| titletext = David did this [https://web.archive.org/web/20060529063441/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/#:~:text=Monday%27s%20Drawing%3A%20Geico Original caption]: '''Current Mood:''' ''[[File:sick.gif|12px]] sick''
}}

==Explanation==
This was the thirty-eighth comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]]. The previous one was [[35: Sheep]], and the next one was [[38: Apple Jacks]].

This comic references a long-running ad campaign for {{w|Geico}} insurance in which a character (different in each commercial) lists a series of horrible events or news, but then caps it off with "but I've got good news: I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico" – news that may be good, but is usually either trivial compared to the magnitude of the preceding bad news, or else is said to the person whom all of the preceding bad news applied to, giving them false hope that the good news was for them. It became a recognizable pop culture phrase. In this one-panel comic, [[Cueball]] parodies the punchline by saving money on his car insurance by intimidation, instead of choosing the best provider. A golf club would later also be used for similarly socially unacceptable actions in [[81: Attention, shopper]], and Geico's ad would be mentioned again in [[870: Advertising]].

In the title text, [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] attributes this comic to the unknown friend [[David]]. He does the same in [[51: Malaria]] and [[100: Family Circus]]. We can assume (or rather, we can ''hope'') that "this" refers to the act of writing the comic, as opposed to the act of threatening his insurance agent.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball holding a golf club.]
:Cueball: I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by threatening my agent with a golf club.

==Trivia==
This is the first xkcd comic featuring [[David]].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Posted on LiveJournal| 38]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd.com]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring David]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]
[[Category:Emoji]]

Talk:3026: Linear Sort

2024-12-20T09:37:01Z

172.70.91.130:

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

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

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

Do I even want to know what Randall's thinking nowadays? [[User:Definitely Bill Cipher|⯅A dream demon⯅]] ([[User talk:Definitely Bill Cipher|talk]]) 16:02, 18 December 2024 (UTC)
:Does anyone every want to know what Randall is thinking nowadays? :P [[Special:Contributions/198.41.227.177|198.41.227.177]] 22:02, 19 December 2024 (UTC)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

;Please write an explanation for non-programmers!
I don't understand this explainxkcd. The comic itself was less confusing. Can please someone who really gets this stuff write a section of the explanation that explains the joke to people like me who do not have a theoretical programming degree? I know that is a tall task but right now it reads as rambling and a bunch of 0(n) that makes no sense to me. I can cut and paste a bash script together and make it work. I can understand that putting a sleep for a million seconds in a loop somewhere makes it slow. But a layperson explanation of what makes a sort linear, what is linear, what is funny about that approach, would be better than all the arguing about 0(n) because we don't get it. Thanks in advance! You folks are awesome! [[Special:Contributions/172.71.147.210|172.71.147.210]] 20:51, 19 December 2024 (UTC)
:Maybe this would be a good start:
::--cut here--
::An algorithm is a step-by-step way of doing things.
::A sorting algorithm is a step-by-step way to sort things.
::There are several commonly used sorting algorithms. Some have very little "overhead" (think: set-up time or requiring lots of extra memory) or what I call "molassas" (yes, I just made that up) (think "taking a long time or lots of extra memory for each step") but they really bog down if you have a lot of things that need sorting. These are better if you have a small list of items to sort.

::Others have more "overhead" or "molasses" but don't bog down as much when you have a lot of things that need sorting. These are better if you have a lot of things to sort.

::A linear sorting algorithm would take twice as long to sort twice as many unsorted items. If it took 100 seconds to sort 100 items, then it would take 200 seconds to sort 200, 300 seconds to sort 300, and so on. Algorithms that take "twice as long to do twice as much" are said to run in "Order(n)" or "O(n)" time, where "n" is the number of items they are working on, or in the case of a sorting algorithm, the number of items to be sorted.

::For traditional sorting algorithms that don't use "parallel processing" (that is, they don't do more than one thing in any given moment), a linear sorting algorithm with very little "overhead" or "molasses" would be the "holy grail" of sorting algorithms. For example, a hypothetical linear sorting algorithm that took 1/1000th of a second to "set things up" (low "overhead") and an additional 1 second to sort 1,000,000 numbers (not much "molasses") would be able to sort 2,000,000 numbers in just over 2 seconds, 10,000,000 numbers in just over 10 seconds, and 3,600,000,000 numbers in a hair over an hour.

::The reality is that there is no such thing as a general-purpose linear sorting algorithm that has very little overhead (in both time and memory) and very little "molasses." All practical general-purpose sorting algorithms either use parallel processing, they have a lot of overhead (set-up time or uses lots of memory), a lot of "molasses" (takes a long time or uses lots of memory for EACH item in the list) or they are "slower than linear," which means they bog down when you give them a huge list of things to sort. For example, let's say the "mergesort" in Randall's algorithm doesn't have much "overhead" or "molasses" and it sorts 1,000,000 items in 1 second. It's time is "O(nlog(n))" which is a fancy way of saying if you double the number, you'll more than double the time. This means sorting 2,000,000 items will take more than 2 seconds, and sorting 4,000,000 items will take more than twice as long as it takes to sort 2,000,000. Eventually all of those "more than's" add up and things slow to a crawl.

::The joke is that Randall "pretends" to be the "holy grail" by being a linear sorting algorithm, but he has lots of "molasses" because his linear sorting algorithm takes 1 million seconds for each item in the list, compared to the 1,000,000 items per second in the hypothetical "linear sorting algorithm" I proposed.

::As others in the discussion point out, Randall's "algorithm" is "busted" (breaks, doesn't work, gives undefined results) if the mergesort (which is a very fast sort if you have a large list if items) is sorting a list so big that it takes over 1 million seconds per item to sort anyways. I'll spare you the math, but if the mergesort part of Randall's "algorithm" could do 1,000,000 numbers in 1 second with a 1/1000th of a second to "set things up," it would take a huge list to get it to "bust" Randall's "algorithm."
::--cut here--
:[[Special:Contributions/162.158.174.202|162.158.174.202]] 21:44, 19 December 2024 (UTC)

:Layman's guide to O(n) time, second try:
::--cut here--
::First, "O" is "Order of" as in "order of magnitude." It's far from exact.
::O(1) is "constant time" - the time it takes me to give you a bag that contains 5000 $1 bills doesn't depend on how many bills there are in the bag. It would take the same amount of time if the bag had only 500, 50, or even 5 bills in it.
::O(log(n)) is "logarithmic time" - the time is the time it takes me to write down how many bills are in the bag. If it's 5000, I have to write down 4 digits, if it's 500, 3, if it's 50, 2, if it's 5, only 1.
::O(n) is "linear time" - the time it takes me to count out each bill in the bag depends on how many bills there are. It takes a fixed amount of time to count each bill. If there's 5000 $1 bills it may take me 5000 seconds to count them. If there's 500 $1 bills, it will take me only 500 seconds.
::O(nlog(n)) is "linear times logarithmic time" - the time it takes me to sort a pre-filled bag of money by serial number using a good general-purpose sorting algorithm (most good general-purpose sorting algorithms are O(nlog(n)) time). If it takes me 2 seconds to sort two $1 bills, it will take me about 3 or 4 times 5000 seconds to sort 5000 $1 bills. The "3 or 4" is very approximate, the important thing is that "logarithm of n" (in this case, logarithm of 5000) is big enough to make a difference (by a factor of 3 or 4 in this case) but far less than "n" (in this case, 5000).
::O(n2) is "n squared" time, which is a special case of "polynomial time." "Polynomial time" includes things like O(n3) and O(n1,000,000). Many algorithms including many "naive" sorting algorithms are in this category. If I used a "naive" sorting algorithm to sort 5000 $1 bills by serial number, instead of it taking about 15,000-20,000 seconds, it would take about 5,000 times 5,000 seconds. I don't know about you, but I've got better things to do with 25,000,000 seconds than sort paper money.
::It gets worse (O(2n) anyone? No thanks!), but you wanted to keep it simple.
:[[Special:Contributions/198.41.227.177|198.41.227.177]] 23:30, 19 December 2024 (UTC)
::Personally, I've got better things to do than sort dollar bills, full stop.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.130|172.70.91.130]] 09:37, 20 December 2024 (UTC)

Friendly reminder that some users of this site are just here to learn what the joke is, and not to read the entire Wikipedia article on Big O Notation. Perhaps the actual explanation could be moved up a bit, and some of the fiddly Big-O stuff could be moved down? I'd do it myself, but I'm not really sure which is which. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.176.28|172.70.176.28]] 06:42, 20 December 2024 (UTC)
:I mean, it is fairly fundamental to the joke, and therefore to the explanation. It might be possible to slim it down a bit, but I don't think you can explain the joke without ''some'' explanation of Big O.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.130|172.70.91.130]] 09:37, 20 December 2024 (UTC)

Talk:3022: Making Tea

2024-12-10T07:03:47Z

172.70.91.130:

I wonder where [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party making it in Boston Harbor, at ambient temperature, at scale] would fit on this scale. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.162|172.70.206.162]] 04:38, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
: A little to the left of the microwave thing. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.252|162.158.186.252]] 05:14, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
: Oh, no, much further to the right. You stole our colony from us, set up some tinpot, pretended 'country' in its place, and you didn't even have the class to make a decent cup of tea first. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.93|172.68.205.93]] 06:24, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
:: And, even if [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68085304 this guy] is right, ''way'' too much salt... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.130|172.70.91.130]] 07:03, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

When I make ramen, I put the measuring cup in the microwave. Fight me. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.87|162.158.167.87]] 05:35, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

"...to the point virtually every home has an electric tea kettle as a standard appliance". If I'm reading it correctly, this and the comic suggests we (though not I, as I'm not a tea-drinker) make tea ''in the electric kettle''. Electric tea-urns, yes, or maybe a setup like a samovar. But, generally, the kettle itself (and, so far as I'm aware, always with an electric kettle) is used to heat the water, which you then pour into the tea''pot'' into which the requisite number of tealeaves/teabags are also put to steep. (Or, for the lazy way, into the mug-with-teabag.) I wouldn't be able to use my electric kettle to (for example) make my instant mashed-potato into the actual mash, if I'd have regularly used it to mash tea. Or top up the boiling saucepan that I'd realised I'd not quite enough water in to cover the pasta/vegetables/whatever. Or to easily add nust a little more heat (with less new water) to the washing-up bowl than would be possible from the hot tap, back to as hot as possible without scalding me. – Whether intentional or not, I suspect Randall has the role of kettle and teapot mixed up, and so (without the intent to parody) has the editor who wrote the above. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.135|172.70.160.135]] 05:49, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

3022: Making Tea

2024-12-10T06:47:08Z

172.70.91.130: /* Explanation */ Here, have a run-down. From one person's perspective.

{{comic
| number = 3022
| date = December 9, 2024
| title = Making Tea
| image = making_tea_2x.png
| imagesize = 690x291px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = No, of course we don't microwave the mug WITH the teabag in it. We microwave the teabag separately.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Microwaved by a TEA-MAKING AUTOMATON - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Tea is exceptionally popular in the United Kingdom, to the point virtually every home has an electric tea kettle as a standard appliance. In contrast, tea is less commonplace in the United States of America (Randall's native country) and owning a separate appliance solely for tea is generally not needed. As a result, when Americans need a cup of boiled water — for tea or otherwise — it's considered normal to put the water in a microwave oven.

British people are stereotyped as taking genuine offense to microwaved water, believing it to be an objectively incorrect way to make tea. Randall mocks this stereotype through exaggeration, saying British people would be less offended by the theft of the {{w|Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom}} than they would be by a cup of microwaved water. Randall may also be referencing the story of {{w|Thomas Blood}}, who nearly succeeded in stealing some of the Crown Jewels. Shortly after his capture, he was pardoned by King Charles II and given land in Ireland worth £500 per year. If this were to reflect a pattern of behavior among British people in general, then one might believe the British view Crown Jewel theft quite positively in relation to making tea in a mug in a microwave.

===Methods mentioned===
;Making it in a kettle
:Perhaps an intentional misnomer. Water may be ''boiled'' in a kettle, but the tea itself is made in a separate {{w|teapot}}, with loose or bagged tea-leaves, ready for pouring into {{w|teacup}}s, {{w|mug}}s or {{w|vacuum flask|thermos flask}} as required.

;Boiling water in a pot, steeping in a mug
:The reverse misnomer, as the boiling water from the ''kettle'', as well as being used to fill any (tea)pot, can be poured straight into a mug. Either with a teabag already waiting in it (typical for "{{w|Builder's tea}}", where it may remain for a long while, ''perhaps' until being fished out by a spoon just before drinking) or into which the teabag will now be dipped (at the personal discretion of the recipient, to taste, thus fine-tuning the time it infuses).

;Making it in a chalice and ampulla stolen from the Crown Jewels
:The most un-British thing about this is the stealing. Though many may have considered it, and occasionally {{w|Thomas Blood#Theft of the Crown Jewels|attempted it}}, it would not be taken kindly by many others. And to do so to make tea would be just {{wiktionary|not cricket}}. The stone challice and gold ampulla are also doubtful as being of suitable materials for British tea-making (as opposed to silver-plated steel, robust ceramics, etc) and there'd definitely be some complaints that it does not taste like a proper cuppa.

;Microwaving a mug
:Apparently common in the US, possibly because standard US home power supplies (~120V) is less suitable than an eletric kettle such as the British might use (with ~240V). This method of heating water is widely mistrusted in the UK, with warnings about generating superheated water that explodes in your face the moment it is disturbed. In general, one doesn't put 'just water' in a microwave; the closest analogue would be something like soup (from a can but now in a microwave-safe bowl), and keeping an eye on it/applying a loose lid to prevent it sputtering and overboiling.
:The title text continues with this theme, by reassuring us that the microwaved mug doesn't have a teabag in it (analogous to the 'boiling tea-kettle' version). Instead, it is separately microwaved. As tealeaves (and bag) should normally be dry and receive little to no heating from its own stint in the microwave, the wrongheadedness this invokes does little to dissuade the skeptic's doubts about how utterly perverse this colonial variation on tea-making has become.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[A chart is shown with four labeled tick marks. The first two are close together on the far left side of the graph, the third is approximately in the center, and the fourth is on the far right side of the graph. Above the chart are, from top to bottom, a heading, a subheading, and a labeled arrow pointing right.]

:<big>Ways of making tea</big>
:By how angry British people get when Americans do them

:More angry

:Making it in a kettle

:Boiling water in a pot, steeping in a mug

:Making it in a chalice and ampulla stolen from the Crown Jewels

:Microwaving a mug
{{comic discussion}}

User talk:ConscriptGlossary

2024-11-29T14:01:39Z

172.70.91.130: /* Cultural issues. */ new section

== Suggestions been made to block C___G___ accounts! ==
Hi. I'm an admin here and there has been a request to [[User_talk:Kynde#Blocking_ColorfulGalaxy|block ColorfulGalaxy]] and other accounts that are of the form C___G___ like yours, because you all seem to interact and maybe use each others accounts or being one guy with multiple accounts. Specifically [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:ColorfulGalaxy&oldid=320641 the dead links] on [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxys]] page (that has at the moment been removed, hence link to old version) was an offence point. Seems you have ben trying to use this wiki for a project called neology, which does not belong here. Please stop what ever you are doing, and remove any thing related to this or I will be forced to ban all of these accounts. If you stop and begin editing only relevant stuff I will not ban you! Best regads --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:01, 29 September 2024 (UTC)

The neography project has already been moved. It's been moved several times in fact. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 12:07, 30 September 2024 (UTC)

== Li Jiayi ==

You added a trivia section in [[461: Google Maps]] about Li Jiayi. I’ve never heard of this person, could you please drop a link to wherever you found this so that I can add the Chinese characters? I have Chinese keyboards on my device. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 17:09, 10 October 2024 (UTC)

== Barnstar ==

{| style="border: 1px solid {{{border|gray}}}; background-color: {{{color|#fdffe7}}};"
|rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:middle;" | {{{{{|safesubst:}}}#ifeq:{{{2}}}|alt|[[File:Barnstar of Reversion Hires.png|100px]]|[[File:Barnstar_of_Reversion2.png|100px]]}}
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em;" | '''The Anti-Vandalism Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | <div style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond"> For your help in reverting vandalism on my talk pages, [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]], I hereby award thee a Barnstar. Feel free to display it on your user page. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 21:14, 24 October 2024 (UTC) 
</noinclude>
|}

== Usage of {{template|incomplete}} ==

You've been inserting <code><nowiki>{{incomplete|...}}</nowiki></code> in the rough manner of <code><nowiki>{{Citation needed}}</nowiki></code>, probably assuming it gives a [incomplete] style span-tag. But it inserts an infobox that's paragraph-breaking (if used within one). As you'd see if you Previewed what you did. I'd do an example, but then it'd permanently label your Talk page as 'incomplete', unless I cobbled together a fake version.

If you want to add (new) incomplete-tag info, put it in the traditional place of just below the "==Explanation==" header. Or just make the edits needed to reflect the update of info that you are trying to identify.

I'm going to address these issues for you, but wanted to make sure that you weren't going to continue. Perhaps you could instead tag such things with {{template|Actual citation needed}}. You can add an 'explanation parameter', as with the incompleteness one. Though it won't show up in the tag itself, it would benefit future editors to know exactly what issue you were raising. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.136|172.69.43.136]] 13:33, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

Further note: There's no reason to replace {{template|Citation needed}} with {{template|cn}} (though, yes, do move the tag the right side of the adjacent punctuation). The 'true template' is "Citation needed" and "cn" (and "citation needed" and "Citation Needed" and "fact" and several others) tend to be aliased/redirected to that. If anything, take the time to replace "<code><nowiki>...something{{cn}}. Something else...</nowiki></code>" with "<code><nowiki>...something.{{Citation needed}} Something else...</nowiki></code>", while you're adjusting the punctuation, but it doesn't actually help to rename it reverse. It looks the same (insofar as the tag) when viewing the page normally, but doesn't significantly help (and, for the unfamiliar, may more hinder) the understanding of the markup edit. Not worth a special (re)edit, but I'll frequently take the opportunity to use the "one true" template name if I pass something like a "cn" (maybe or maybe not a "fact") when adjusting a other element of a page. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.21|172.70.86.21]] 15:34, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

== Cultural issues. ==

We understand that those from the PRC still claim the territory of ROC, but it's not your place to tell someone who they are in such a complicated issue. Indeed, they may be of more original Formosan heritage (Gāoshān?), not Chinese Han. Or from, e.g. Qing times well prior to the CPC taking over 'only' mainland China. I don't want to speak on their behalf, but it is certainly nonsensical to use the Taiwanese (and anti-Qing!) flag but state "Chinese" (except in any claim that the Mao Zedong takeover was, and remains, illegitimate - which isn't obviously the case here).

I don't want you to get into trouble, locally, by changing your personal learned understanding of the situation from the official CCP line, but do appreciate that on the worldwide stage there are diplomatic contortions made in order to not ''directly'' contradict this but still appreciate that this is a territory in its own right that is a continuation of the pre-revolutionary government. (I am not a diplomat, I probably can't describe it all entirely correctly, as I also have no personal association or bias on the matter. But then I'm also not restrained to the dancing about the issue that an actual government would have to, on the world stage. The point is, opinions differ, as with territorial matter. See also Gaza, Golan Heights, Crimea/Donbass/etc, Transnistria, Ossetia Kosovo, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Falklands, Kashmir, Kuril Islands, etc. In no particular order, to various degrees of dispute, and deliberately trying to avoid mentioning any case in which (either/both) China would still be involved.) Hence it's not really valid to 'correct' such things.

Maybe add caveats in Explanation-type pages (which might be further edited to caveat your caveats, if not totally out of accepted reality), but mostly don't change others' User-page stuff or signed Talk-page statements to "your personal liking". [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.130|172.70.91.130]] 14:01, 29 November 2024 (UTC)