https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=183231bcbexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2026-04-09T13:05:45ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3230:_Overton&diff=4099233230: Overton2026-04-08T19:03:40Z<p>183231bcb: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3230<br />
| date = April 8, 2026<br />
| title = Overton<br />
| image = overton_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 242x268px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = I think I accidentally installed an Overton window in my bedroom. A few months ago, the sun wasn't in my face in the morning, but now it is.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created by JOSEPH PAUL OVERTON, BACK FROM THE DEAD. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Joseph Paul Overton}} was a political scientist who created the concept of the {{w|Overton Window}}, which is the range of subjects that are politically appropriate to raise during a period of time. The first set of dates, 1960-2003, are the years that Joseph Paul Overton was born and died.<br />
<br />
It is common for political commentators to state that the overton window has "moved," meaning that the standard for which political positions are "moderate" or "extreme" changes. In the comic, the "Overton window" instead refers to the time span in which Joseph Paul Overton was alive. Overton's gravestone has the dates repeatedly crossed out as the Overton window moves.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
[A gravestone is shown on some grass, bearing the name Joseph Paul Overton as its inscription; several of the years are crossed out and replaced with new years underneath in red.]<br />
<br />
1960 - 2003<br />
<br />
1965 - 2011<br />
<br />
1973 - 2018<br />
<br />
1982 - <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude></div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3220:_Rotational_Gravity&diff=4082963220: Rotational Gravity2026-03-17T13:48:21Z<p>183231bcb: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3220<br />
| date = March 16, 2026<br />
| title = Rotational Gravity<br />
| image = rotational_gravity_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 303x325px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = I don't get it. The peak acceleration for passengers was WAY lower than in the giant-waterslide-loop-the-loop incident the other cruise line fired me for.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created by A DISMEMBERED WATERSLIDE TEST DUMMY. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
Low-gravity environments can cause humans and other animals to lose muscle mass, a serious problem for people staying for extended periods on the {{w|International Space Station}}. <br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] at first appears to be describing his experience operating a spaceship, creating {{w|Artificial_gravity#Centrifugal_force|artificial gravity by rotating the ship}} so as to preserve the passengers' muscle mass.<br />
<br />
However, the caption to the panel indicates that the "ship" Cueball was operating was a cruise ship, not a space ship. Since cruise ships that travel upon the seas and oceans of the Earth, experience the same gravity that they would experience at sea level on land, there is no need for "artificial gravity" aboard a cruise ship.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, Cueball's rotation of the ship along its longitudinal axis would involve turning the ship upside down (and then right side up again). This would likely result in many people aboard drowning, as well as anything on the decks being lost that wasn't nailed down. Of course not if he did this with the angular speed required to create artificial gravity. But a cruise ship would not be build to withstand the stress imposed on it if it was rotated like this (at all, independent of the speed!)<br />
<br />
The title text references the earlier comic [[2935: Ocean Loop]], where Cueball made an {{w|Action Park}}'s Cannonball Loop for Cruise ships. Such loops can subject riders to [https://www.wired.com/2012/04/g-forces-in-a-looping-water-slide/ over 10g] of acceleration. Cueball complains about being fired, and says he does not understand why. Since "The peak acceleration for passengers was WAY lower than in the giant-waterslide-loop-the-loop incident the other cruise line fired me for." This is thus the second comic where Cueball has been fired by a cruise line for his hazardous actions. In the first comic he similarly complains about the decision of the cruise line in the title text.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball stands facing Hairbun and White Hat. Hairbun has a "steaming" symbol above her head indicating anger, while White Hat is facepalming.]<br />
<br />
:Cueball: I was able to produce artificial gravity by rotating the ship along its longitudinal axis, helping passengers maintain muscle mass on the long-duration voyage!<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Well, the cruise line fired me.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=872:_Fairy_Tales&diff=393192872: Fairy Tales2025-12-02T01:49:46Z<p>183231bcb: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 872<br />
| date = March 14, 2011<br />
| title = Fairy Tales<br />
| image = fairy tales.png<br />
| titletext = Goldilocks' discovery of Newton's method for approximation required surprisingly few changes.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{w|Eigenvalues and eigenvectors|Eigenvectors}} are a mathematical concepts that can be applied to a {{w|Matrix (mathematics)|matrix}}. A matrix is mostly displayed as an rectangular array of elements used to describe the state of objects in physics. In pure mathematics they can be much more complex. The most important issue to the understanding of the comic is that a matrix can be transformed through various processes. These transformations can include rotation, movement and scaling of the object described by the matrix. An eigenvector refers to elements of the vector space of the matrix which remain unchanged (except possibly being scaled to be longer or shorter) after the transformation is applied. The prefix 'eigen-' applied to the term is adopted from the German word ''eigen'' for "self-" or "unique to", "peculiar to", or "belonging to." As the eigenvector remains unchanged through the transformation of the matrix it can be used to describe something unique about that matrix.<br />
<br />
The story of Cinderella includes Cinderella going to a ball in disguise, dancing with a prince and then leaving early and quickly, so that she accidentally leaves a shoe behind (made of gold in German versions of the story or glass in French and English versions). The prince then uses the shoe to find Cinderella. [[Megan]] says that the way she learned it, the prince used an eigenvector and corresponding eigenvalue to match the shoe to its owner.<br />
Eigenvectors are a basis of statistical {{w|Principal component analysis}}, a procedure in which a set of points in N-dimensional space (each of which represents an observation) is rotated in such a way, that the cloud of points has its largest extent along the X-axis, then along the Y-axis, and so on. The prince could probably use this procedure on {{w|Cinderella}}'s shoe to determine its size, although it would be an extremely complicated way to do this compared to simply measuring with a ruler or tailor's tape.<br />
<br />
Megan explains that her mother, a math professor (drawn as [[Hairbun]] with glasses) would continue to talk when she fell asleep in the midst of reading bed time stories, and then would ramble on mixing the adventures with the math from her work. The middle panel refers to the story of {{w|The Ant and the Grasshopper}} with the addition of what is likely a reference to the {{w|Poincaré conjecture}}, a (now-misnamed) theorem in mathematics. <br />
<br />
Megan explains that even today she is not sure which versions are the real ones. Cueball cannot understand how she would not have noticed the drastic subject changes (which seems obvious to adults, but maybe not to small children). <br />
<br />
Megan then mentions two other story changes, the first ''Inductive White and the (''n''−1) Dwarfs'' was better than the original. The story is a combination of {{w|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs}} with the {{w|Mathematical induction|principle of induction}}. But ''The lim<sub>x→∞</sub>(x) Little Pigs'' was a little weird toward the end. That story combines the {{w|Three Little Pigs}} with {{w|Limit (mathematics)|mathematical limits}}. The reason it got weird toward the end was (likely) because the number of pigs tends to infinity as the story progresses. <br />
<br />
Each of the stories has a varied degree of similarity to the mathematical concepts that were mixed in as though her mom began to talk about a mathematical principle that may have been brought to mind while reading the story or already on her mind.<br />
<br />
In the title text Megan mentions another adventure: ''Goldilocks' discovery of Newton's method for approximation''. {{w|Newton's method}} for approximation is a method for finding successively better approximations to the zeroes (or roots) of a real-valued function. In {{w|The Story of the Three Bears|Goldilocks}}, the protagonist finds successively better porridge and comfier chairs in a house where three bears lived. In the same way, in the Mom's version of the fairy tale, she would find successively better approximations to zeroes instead of successively better bowls of porridge, and Megan notes that it was surprising how few changes that story needed compared to the original adventure.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan sits in an armchair, reading a book looking over her shoulder at Cueball as he walks in.]<br />
:Megan: Are there eigenvectors in ''Cinderella?''<br />
:Cueball: ...No?<br />
:Megan: The prince didn't use them to match the shoe to its owner?<br />
:Cueball: What are you ''talking'' about?<br />
:Megan: Dammit.<br />
<br />
:[In this frame-less panel Megan is shown in a flashback as a little girl lying in bed, head on pillow and hands held on the edge of the blanket at her throat. Hairbun with glasses, as her mom, is sitting on the edge of the bed reading, while her head is hanging down. Above and below there are two frames with Megan's narration. Hairbun's reading text is smaller than the other text in this comic.]<br />
:Megan (narrating): My mom is one of those people who falls asleep while reading, but keeps talking. She's a math professor, so she'd start rambling about her work.<br />
:Mom: <small>But while the ant gathered food ...</small><br />
:Mom: <small>...zzzz...</small><br />
:Mom: <small>...the grasshopper contracted to a point on a manifold that was ''not'' a 3-sphere...</small><br />
:Megan (narrating): I'm still not sure which versions are real.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball now stands in front of the arm chair. Megan has put the book away, and is leaning her head on her left arm which rests on the armrest of the chair.]<br />
:Cueball: You didn't notice the drastic subject changes?<br />
:Megan: Well, sometimes her versions were better. We loved ''Inductive White and the (n−1) Dwarfs''.<br />
:Megan: I guess ''The lim<sub>x→∞</sub>(x) Little Pigs'' did get a bit weird toward the end...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] <!-- Newton --><br />
[[Category:Fiction]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3170:_Service_Outage&diff=3912873170: Service Outage2025-11-20T02:38:16Z<p>183231bcb: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3170<br />
| date = November 19, 2025<br />
| title = Service Outage<br />
| image = service_outage_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 376x364px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Now, if it were the *Canon* wiki, it's possible to imagine someone with a productivity-related reason for consulting it, but no one's job requires them to read that much about Admiral Daala.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
In this comic, Cueball is comparing the effects that service outages for different websites can have on people's productivity. When the service (like Google) is essential to his work, his productivity will clearly go down. However, his productivity increases if the service (the Star Wars Legends wiki) is non-essential, implying that he frequently gets distracted by them. However, his productivity is shown as slowly decreasing back to normal after the outage, probably because he has found some other ways to distract himself.<br />
<br />
The title-text continues the Star Wars Legends Wiki joke, mentioning the canon and non-canon wikis. A writer or editor for a forthcoming Star Wars product may have a work-related reason to review a wiki containing Star Wars canon. Star Wars Legends, on the other hand, have been considered non-canon since 2014.<br />
<br />
This comic was posted the day after there was an outage at {{w|Cloudflare}}, a major {{w|Content Delivery Network}}, and a few weeks after there were outages at {{w|Microsoft Azure}} and {{w|Amazon Web Services}}, which provide {{w|cloud computing}} services. These aren't sites that most non-technical users are directly familiar with, but they provide infrastructure for many popular web sites, so their outages have wide-ranging impact.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude></div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=732:_HDTV&diff=390001732: HDTV2025-11-02T02:32:31Z<p>183231bcb: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 732<br />
| date = April 26, 2010<br />
| title = HDTV<br />
| image = hdtv.png<br />
| titletext = We're also stuck with blurry, juddery, slow-panning 24fps movies forever because (thanks to 60fps home video) people associate high framerates with camcorders and cheap sitcoms, and thus think good framerates look fake.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic pokes fun at the differing standard between image quality for television sets and other electronic devices, even though both are based on essentially the same standards. When rating television sets, a {{w|1080p}} screen, that is, a screen 1,920 pixels wide and 1,080 pixels tall with progressive scan, is considered impressive.<br />
In comparison, high-end smartphones in late 2009/early 2010 had 480×800 resolution (with horizontal resolution of 1,920 pixels being more than twice of 800 pixels). As of the comic's publishing date, there had been even higher resolution monitors available (30-inch diagonal 2,560 by 1,600 pixels and 22-inch diagonal 3,840 by 2,400 pixels).<br />
In 2004, common desktop monitors had WUXGA resolution of 1,920 wide by 1,200 pixels tall, which is how the TV "almost" (but not quite) has the same resolution as an upper midrange monitor would already have six years earlier.<br />
<br />
Soon after the comic's publishing date in 2010, phones with long edge resolution approaching 1,000 pixels were being announced. The first smartphone with a 5-inch full HD screen was announced in November 2012.<br />
<br />
The title texts explains another disagreement brought about from the different ways video can be filmed. Often referred to as the {{w|Soap opera effect|Soap Opera Effect}}, it is the feeling that a viewer gets when watching a film or video with a higher frame rate such as a home films, older {{w|sitcoms}}, or (as the name suggests,) {{w|soap operas}}. The disparity comes from the fact that many small-time productions record with cameras running at 60 frames per second, while big-time productions either record directly on film or set their digital cameras to record at the same 24 frames per second as film. Visual problems such as blur, judder, and slow pans are mostly absent in high-frame rate productions, however, because of the lower budgets of small-time productions, high frame rates are thus associated with a feeling of lower quality. Major films such as {{w|The Hobbit}} and {{w|Avatar 2}} have attempted to break the norm by shooting with higher frame rates.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is pointing to a huge flatscreen HDTV on the wall. His friend is holding a cell phone.]<br />
:Cueball (HDTV Owner): Check out my new HDTV-a beautiful, high-def 1080p.<br />
:Friend: Wow, that's over ''TWICE'' the horizontal resolution of my cell phone.<br />
:Friend: In fact, it almost beats the LCD monitor I got in 2004.<br />
:[Caption below the panel:] It baffles me that people find HDTV impressive.<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3162:_Heart_Mountain&diff=3899603162: Heart Mountain2025-11-01T00:25:52Z<p>183231bcb: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3162<br />
| date = October 31, 2025<br />
| title = Heart Mountain<br />
| image = heart_mountain_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 669x272px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Even geology papers about Heart Mountain are like, "Look, we all agree this 'volcanic gas earthquake hovercraft' thing seems like it can't possibly be right, but..."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
[[Cueball]] and [[Ponytail]] wonder whether the {{w|geology}} department (presumably at a university) is doing okay. Ponytail goes to check in on the geologists, and finds them discussing a theory which sounds ridiculous to her. Someone presumably on the faculty of the geology department proposes that Heart Mountain slid sideways like a hovercraft. Based on hearing this hypothesis, Ponytail concludes that the geology department is not okay.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude></div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3162:_Heart_Mountain&diff=3899593162: Heart Mountain2025-11-01T00:25:03Z<p>183231bcb: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3162<br />
| date = October 31, 2025<br />
| title = Heart Mountain<br />
| image = heart_mountain_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 669x272px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Even geology papers about Heart Mountain are like, "Look, we all agree this 'volcanic gas earthquake hovercraft' thing seems like it can't possibly be right, but..."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
Cueball and Ponytail wonder whether the {{w:geology}} department (presumably at a university) is doing okay. Ponytail goes to check in on the geologists, and finds them discussing a theory which sounds ridiculous to her. Someone presumably on the faculty of the geology department proposes that Heart Mountain slid sideways like a hovercraft. Based on hearing this hypothesis, Ponytail concludes that the geology department is not okay.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude></div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3162:_Heart_Mountain&diff=3899583162: Heart Mountain2025-11-01T00:23:59Z<p>183231bcb: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3162<br />
| date = October 31, 2025<br />
| title = Heart Mountain<br />
| image = heart_mountain_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 669x272px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Even geology papers about Heart Mountain are like, "Look, we all agree this 'volcanic gas earthquake hovercraft' thing seems like it can't possibly be right, but..."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
Cueball and Ponytail wonder whether the [[w:geology|geology]] department (presumably at a university) is doing okay. Ponytail goes to check in on the geologists, and finds them discussing a theory which sounds ridiculous to her. Someone presumably on the faculty of the geology department proposes that Heart Mountain slid sideways like a hovercraft. Based on hearing this hypothesis, Ponytail concludes that the geology department is not okay.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude></div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3126:_Disclaimer&diff=3837313126: Disclaimer2025-08-08T19:20:43Z<p>183231bcb: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3126<br />
| date = August 8, 2025<br />
| title = Disclaimer<br />
| image = disclaimer_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 346x396px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = You say no human would reply to a forum thread about Tom Bombadil by writing and editing hundreds of words of text, complete with formatting, fancy punctuation, and two separate uses of the word 'delve'. Unfortunately for both of us, you are wrong.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was not created by ChatGPT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
ChatGPT is a large language model, a type of bot commonly marketed as generative artificial intelligence. In 2025, at the time of this comic's release, it was common for people to use ChatGPT to generate long emails. One side effect of this phenomenon is that people who actually write long emails are sometimes incorrectly accused of using ChatGPT to generate them.<br />
<br />
In the comic, [[Cueball]] (possibly representing [[Randall]]) has written an email. At the end, he includes a notice that the email was not generated by ChatGPT.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude></div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3125:_Snake-in-the-Box_Problem&diff=3837203125: Snake-in-the-Box Problem2025-08-08T16:05:30Z<p>183231bcb: Quantum cat is mentioned, though not shown</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3125<br />
| date = August 6, 2025<br />
| title = Snake-in-the-Box Problem<br />
| image = snake_in_the_box_problem_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 359x611px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Chemistry grad students have been spotted trying to lure campus squirrels into laundry hampers in the hope that it sparks inspiration.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|This page was created recently by a popular Nokia phone game. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic makes fun of the fact that many fields of science use analogies to help visualize complex problems. One such analogy, drawn in the comic, involves a snake on the edges of an n-dimensional hypercube, which is a real problem in graph theory called {{w|snake-in-the-box}}. In this problem, a snake is coiled around the edges of an ''n''-dimensional hypercube. No two adjacent corners of the cube can be occupied by non-consecutive parts of the snake (i.e., the snake can't come near itself). The problem involves finding the longest snake for a box of a given dimension. This problem has been solved up to an 8-dimensional cube, but unsolved for 9 dimensions and up. (The proper name for this problem, as stated in [https://oeis.org/A099155 OEIS A099155], is "Maximum length of a simple path with no chords in the n-dimensional hypercube" but, as the entry acknowledges, "snake-in-the-box problem" is the name commonly used for it.)<br />
<br />
The other thought experiment alluded to is {{w|Schrödinger's cat}}, which is used in quantum physics. In this thought experiment, a cat is put in a box which contains poison, a radioactive source and a {{w|Geiger counter}}, which absolutely fits the definition of a "weird box". This aims to illustrate an apparent paradox in the principle of {{w|quantum superposition}} — a property of quantum mechanics in which objects can exist in two apparently incompatible states simultaneously, so long as no attempt is made to verify which state they are in. If an atom of the radioactive source decays, the poison is released, and the cat dies, tying its fate to the radioactive decay. Since radioactive decay obeys quantum mechanics, so long as the particle is not observed it will exist in a superposition of two states: decayed and not decayed. Therefore, the cat, too, may be considered to exist in a superposition of two states (alive and not alive) which appears to be absurd. The opening of the box collapses the superposition so that only one of those states remains.<br />
<br />
The comic jokes that these two "cute animal in a box" thought experiments are instances of a universal rule that applies to every field of study. Other fields have simply yet to "discover" their own analogies. Whether a snake counts as a "cute animal" that would satisfy the "rule" is likely to occasion some debate.<br />
<br />
The title text takes this further by claiming that chemistry students have been trying to fix the lack of cute-animal-in-box thought experiments in their field by attempting to trap a squirrel with a laundry basket. It is unclear how squirrels in laundry baskets might contribute to the understanding of chemistry problems. However, those students seem to hope that it will inspire them in some way, maybe similarly to what is depicted in [[1584: Moments of Inspiration]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A panel with text both above and below the illustration, with further text outside the panel below.]<br />
:[In the panel, above the illustration:]<br />
:A snake slithers around a hypercube. No two non-consecutive parts of its coils can be on adjacent corners.<br />
:[Three small illustrations of 4-dimensional hypercubes, each with a snake slithering around its edges. Each illustration has a red line or lines indicating an edge or edges where two non-consecutive parts of the snake are on adjacent corners. Below each hypercube is a red X.]<br />
:[A large illustration depicting a 4-dimensional hypercube with a snake slithering around its edges.]<br />
:[Below the large illustration is text printed in green. To the left of the text is a green checkmark.]<br />
:Dimensions=4<br />
:Max length=7<br />
:[The following text is printed in black, except for the last word "UNSOLVED" which is printed in red:]<br />
:Snake(N) = Largest snake that can fit in an N-dimensional hypercube<br />
:Snake(N=1, 2, 3 .. 8) = 1, 2, 4, 7, 13, 26, 50, 98<br />
:Snake(N>8) = UNSOLVED<br />
<br />
:[Text outside the panel:]<br />
:It turns out every scientific field has a key thought experiment that involves putting a cute animal in a weird box for no reason.<br />
:So far, quantum mechanics and graph theory have found theirs, but most other fields are still working on it.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Cats]]</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Technical&diff=378766explain xkcd:Community portal/Technical2025-06-02T17:47:02Z<p>183231bcb: /* What would it take to clone ExplainXKCD? */</p>
<hr />
<div><noinclude>__NEWSECTIONLINK__<br />
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{|-<br />
|valign="top" width="100%"|[[File:Crystal Clear app package settings blue.png|left|120px]] <big><big><b>Technical</b></big></big><br />
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<i>Technical issues ''about'' the [[explain xkcd]] wiki, including bug reports or MediaWiki extensions requests.</i> {{AddNewSection|Page=Explain XKCD:Community portal/Technical|Text=<small>(+post)</small>}}<br />
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<br />
==ARCHIVED DISCUSSIONS==<br />
<div class="plainlinks" style="background:#edf6ff; border:1px solid #a7d7f9; margin:1em auto 1em auto; width:100%; font-size: 120%; padding: 0.5ex; text-align: center;">Most of the discussions on this page have been archived. The archive is available at '''[[explain xkcd talk:Community portal/Technical]]'''.</div><br />
<br />
== Unable to view "what if?" page ==<br />
<br />
The link to the page for the [[what if?]] blog displays an error: "No input file specified." [[User:JBYoshi|JBYoshi]] ([[User talk:JBYoshi|talk]]) 03:38, 21 August 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:This also happens to me on [[1205: Is It Worth the Time?]] Must be something with the ?s in the titles. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.66|172.69.22.66]] 15:46, 25 August 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::I've noticed that as well. I made a page in my userspace that redirects to the what if page, and for some reason that seems to work. ([[User:Blue screen of life/whatiflink|here is the link to the page]]) [[User:Blue screen of life|Blue screen of life]] ([[User talk:Blue screen of life|talk]]) 20:09, 31 August 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::I have also noticed this but it is not just on pages with questions marks. Both [[259]] and [[1705]] show the same thing. A full list (as of 22 June 2020) of the ones i found is in the last reply to my report found here [[#2138_page_issues]] [[User:TomW1605|TomW1605]] ([[User talk:TomW1605|talk]]) 12:20, 22 September 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::Both [[259]] and [[1705]] have an ({{w|E acute|e-with-accute-accent}}, Unicode U+00E9) in the URL, so for those pages, I wonder if that has anything to do with it?<br />
::::For the "what if?" page, I had recently added a redirect from [[what if (blog)]] to get to it, and the [[What If]] disambiguation page has been updated with it, so at least we can get to it that way; and for the comic explanations, at least we can get to them by linking to their number-redirects (as [[58]] instead of [[58: Why Do You Love Me?]]); but not sure how to fix it overall. At the following page, it suggests tweaking an {{w|Apache HTTP Server|Apache}} {{w|Rewrite engine|rewrite}} directive in {{w|.htaccess}} (or a {{w|Common Gateway Interface|CGI}} setting in {{w|PHP}} if it's running on {{w|Internet Information Services|IIS}}):<br />
::::* https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Topic:Vmaw1tu5kkhyon0n<br />
::::So maybe something about that has changed recently? Documentation:<br />
::::* [https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/mod/mod_rewrite.html#rewriterule Apache mod_rewrite <code>RewriteRule</code> directive]<br />
::::* [https://www.php.net/manual/en/ini.core.php#ini.cgi.force-redirect php.ini <code>cgi.force_redirect</code> directive]<br />
::::Summarizing a few points from [[User talk:SlashMe#Homeopathic Wiki|this related discussion]]:<br />
::::* Only one of the site's [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:ListUsers?group=sysop 10 administrators] has made recent edits ([[Special:Contributions/SlashMe|SlashMe]]).<br />
::::* Neither of the site's [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:ListUsers?group=bureaucrat 2 bureaucrats] ([[Special:Contributions/Jeff|Jeff]] and [[Special:Contributions/Lcarsos|Lcarsos]]) have made any edits recently.<br />
::::* For admin access to the ''server'' itself, my limited understanding is that [[Special:Contributions/Jeff|Jeff]] might actually own the server, but may have also given admin access to [[Special:Contributions/Dgbrt|Dgbrt]]; however, neither of them have made edits recently.<br />
::::But "most recent edit" might not be a good indicator, so I wonder of some of these folks are still involved in the project?<br />
::::– [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 05:10, 29 September 2020 (UTC)<br />
: Looks like it happens for any page that has a percent-encoding in the title. [[User:PoolloverNathan|PoolloverNathan]]<sup><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Special:Contributions/PoolloverNathan|s]][[User talk:PoolloverNathan|talk]] [[Wikipedia:WP:SEAOFBLUE|the blue seas]]<nowiki>]</nowiki></sup> 16:32, 16 March 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
=== Known broken pages ===<br />
(Redirects work, whereas links to the actual page are broken.)<br />
<br />
Title containing e-accute-accent:<br />
* [[259]] ↳ [[259: Clichéd Exchanges]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=259:_Clich%C3%A9d_Exchanges What links here])</small><br />
* [[1705]] ↳ [[1705: Pokémon Go]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=1705:_Pok%C3%A9mon_Go What links here])</small><br />
<br />
Title ending with question mark:<br />
* <del>[[what if (blog)]] ↳ [[what if?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=What_If%3F What links here])</small></del> <ins>fixed – content now exists at [[what if]], and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:WhatLinksHere/what_if&limit=500 broken links] are in the process of being updated (see below)</ins><br />
* [[58]] ↳ [[58: Why Do You Love Me?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=58:_Why_Do_You_Love_Me%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[111]] ↳ [[111: Firefox and Witchcraft - The Connection?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=111:_Firefox_and_Witchcraft_-_The_Connection%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[1205]] ↳ [[1205: Is It Worth the Time?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=1205:_Is_It_Worth_the_Time%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[1841]] ↳ [[1841: Who?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=1841:_Who%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[1913]] ↳ [[1913: A ?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=1913:_A_%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[2065]] ↳ [[2065: Who Sends the First Text?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=2065:_Who_Sends_the_First_Text%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[2138]] ↳ [[2138: Wanna See the Code?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=2138:_Wanna_See_the_Code%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[2236]] ↳ [[2236: Is it Christmas?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=2236:_Is_it_Christmas%3F What links here])</small><br />
<br />
=== Moved ===<br />
I moved the [[what if?]] page to the [[what if (blog)]] page which I then changed to simply [[what if]] to fix this issue and because anyone new to this site would type that any way to see it.<span> — [[User:Sqrt-1|The <b>𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭</b>]] <sup>[[User talk:Sqrt-1|<span style="color: blue">talk</span>]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|<span style="color: blue">stalk</span>]]</sup></span> 06:47, 29 September 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Still trying to wrap my head around it – so just to summarize, we currently have:<br />
:<br />
:* '''[[whatif]]''' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=whatif&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small><br />
:** ↳ ''redirects to'' '''[[what if?]]''' (see below)<br />
:* '''[[What If?]]''' – page broken <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=What_If%3F&redirect=no no-redirect link]) ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=What_If%3F What links here])</small><br />
:** ↳ ''also redirects to'' '''[[what if?]]''' – page broken <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if%3F&redirect=no no-redirect link]) ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=what_if%3F What links here])</small><br />
:*** ↳ ''redirects to'' '''[[what if]] – actual content'''<br />
:*** ''content manually moved from'' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if%3F&diff=198070&oldid=197859 diff])</small> '''[[what if?]]''' ''to'' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if&diff=198071&oldid=197486 diff])</small> '''[[what if (blog)]]''' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if_(blog)&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small> (''[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if%3F&action=history previous revision history] remains at'' '''[[what if?]]''')<br />
:**** ⇒ ''moved to'' '''[[what if]] – actual content'''<br />
:<br />
:For completeness, we also have...<br />
:<br />
:* '''[[what if book]]''' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if_book&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small><br />
:** ↳ ''redirects to'' '''[[what if#The book]] – actual content'''<br />
:** Suggestion: for consistency, also add a '''[[what if (book)]]''' page that redirects here?<br />
:<br />
:...and the disambiguation page...<br />
:<br />
:* '''[[What If]]''' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=What_If&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small><br />
:** ⇒ ''moved to'' '''[[What If (disambiguation)]]''' – disambiguation page<br />
:*** ''links to'' '''[[17: What If]]''' (↲ '''[[17]]''' redirects here <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=17&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small>)<br />
:*** ''links to'' '''[[what if]] – actual content'''<br />
:*** Suggestion: mention the ''book'' here as well, and link to its section in the [[what if]] page?<br />
:<br />
:...and these troubleshooting pages from [[User:Blue screen of life]]:<br />
:<br />
:* '''[[User:Blue screen of life/redirecttest]]''' – test page <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:Blue_screen_of_life/redirecttest&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small><br />
:** ⇒ ''moved to'' '''[[User:Blue screen of life/whatiflink]]''' – test page <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:Blue_screen_of_life/whatiflink&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small><br />
:*** ↳ ''redirects to'' '''[[What If?]]''' (see above)<br />
:<br />
:Given that the actual content of the "what if?" article now lives at '''[[what if]]''', I've started updating pages <ins>(except for Talk pages)</ins> to link directly there instead of the other redirect pages. All that's left to do are pages that link to the '''[[what if?]]''' redirect-page (which is broken). <del>Its [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere/what_if%3F "What links here"] special page is broken too, so it's difficult to find what pages link there – but now that it redirects to the [[what if]] page, you can see them indirectly from ''that'' page's [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:WhatLinksHere/what_if&limit=500 "What links here"] special page.</del> <ins>[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=what_if%3F These] are the pages that still link there.</ins> There are still a lot of them to go.<br />
:<br />
:Also, should the following redirect-pages be simplified to have them redirect straight to the new [[what if]] page, instead of redirecting through the intermediate '''[[what if?]]''' page (which itself redirects there anyway)?<br />
:* '''[[whatif]]'''<br />
:* '''[[What If?]]'''<br />
:– [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 17:20, 29 September 2020 (UTC)<br />
:: Fixed the double redirects, don't ask me why we have so many pages for the same thing. [[User:PoolloverNathan|PoolloverNathan]]<sup><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Special:Contributions/PoolloverNathan|s]][[User talk:PoolloverNathan|talk]] [[Wikipedia:WP:SEAOFBLUE|the blue seas]]<nowiki>]</nowiki></sup> 16:29, 16 March 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Discussion not displaying with comic ==<br />
<br />
I am using FireFox on a Win10 machine. When I come to the site I can see the comic, explanation and transcript. But the discussion section is hidden. Even when logged in.<br />
<br />
Any ideas?<br />
<br />
: You say "when I come to the site". If the address bar says you are on Main_Page and you see the heading "Latest comic", then it's simply working as designed. Above the comic, click on "Go to this comic explanation" and you will see the comic plus discussion.<br />
<br />
: Also, Steve, please sign your comments every time, with four tildes. That expands into your user name and a timestamp. Like this -- [[User:JohnB|JohnB]] ([[User talk:JohnB|talk]]) 10:10, 29 September 2020 (UTC)<br />
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== Random page sometimes takes me to an invalid address ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, when clicking on "Random page" in the left sidebar, the site will be blank apart from the text "No input file specified. ".<br />
<br />
An example of such an URL is: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/111:_Firefox_and_Witchcraft_-_The_Connection%3F<br />
<br />
<br />
:I've noticed this happens for ''all'' URLs to comics that end in a question mark (or possibly any special character). Interestingly, this doesn't happen if you go to the comic from the search bar. [[User:Danish|Danish]] ([[User talk:Danish|talk]]) 23:04, 27 January 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Bug on the main page ==<br />
<br />
Bug Enviroment(Might work on other enviroments):<br />
Ubuntu 20.04LTS <br />
Firefox85.0 <br />
2021.2.7 <br />
<br />
Bug: <br />
The front page reads: `Welcome, Main Page, to explain xkcd!` with `Main Page` formatted as a username,can someone fix this?<br />
<br />
[[User:Xkcdjerry|Xkcdjerry]] ([[User talk:Xkcdjerry|talk]]) 09:48, 7 February 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Occasional error via Cloudflare ==<br />
Just a note that I'm getting Cloudflare errors of "origin not reachable" (sounds wrong to me, in my head it should be 'destination', but never mind) three times now in the last ten to fifteen minutes - of maybe a dozen general site-requests.<br />
<br />
I've also been getting seemingly .CSSless formatted pages over the past few days, which I've been putting down to slightly dodgy wifi at my end (not unknown) but if I'm getting Cloudflare's error cleanly then perhaps it's been entirely upstream/downstream/however-you'd-describe-the-Explain-server. (Obviously CSS resource requests, as with images, are additional HTTP calls, but I still lump it into the single site-request ''per page'' in my 'dozen' estimate above. No obviously lost images, though, in incomplete pages - not that can't be explained by .CSS non-following, anyway.)<br />
<br />
I had copy-buffered some of the exact info, but due to incompetence I recopied over it before coming here. If it happens again, I'll try to bring it over here. But (the way these things go) maybe it won't. FYI, though. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.52|141.101.98.52]] 12:04, 5 March 2021 (UTC)<br />
: Not a Cloudfare error (looks like an error of the actual explainxkcd server) but every now and then (like just a few minutes ago) I get an error page that generally goes away if I immediately refresh. To whit:<br />
Service Unavailable<br />
The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later.<br />
<br />
Additionally, a 503 Service Unavailable error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.<br />
: Not really a problem (occasionally happened while submitting an exit, and I have to confirm to the browser that I wish to repost the data, but this particular copied instance was through a more 'read-only' link-click, like most of the instances) but... in case someone finds this to be new and useful information... here you are! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 03:45, 12 March 2021 (UTC)<br />
:OP, here, of the above 503 error report/casual mention. Obviously this is the same message that happened for an ''extended'' period of time over a number of days, but I've only just happened to find the site responding again and have not yet looked to see if it is explained as the same or different cause to the old intermittent issues (at root). I hope things are resolved from the major outage (server quota? bill payments? renewal/reconfiguration blips?) but wonder if I should report any future minor outages? I'm still smarting from the total loss of the fora.xkcd.com platform, a few years back, and while I'm not active enough here to consider a proper login (lurking as a freeloading anon-IP is good enough, usually, for my intellectual enjoyment, with all due apologies) I did have a slight pang of emptiness while it was out-of-order. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.79|141.101.99.79]] 15:48, 16 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Add TemplateData ==<br />
<br />
Add the {{mw|Extension:TemplateData|TemplateData}} extension to allow setting data for templates. This will help editors because they will be able to see the data of templates.<br />
<br />
== MediaWiki 1.30.0?! ==<br />
<br />
This wiki is [[Special:Version|currently]] on [[mw:MediaWiki 1.30|MediaWiki 1.30.0]] ([[mw:Release notes/1.30|release notes]]), the first of three releases of a version of MW that reached end-of-life in June of 2019 ([[mw:Version lifecycle]]). It's thus missing multiple important security updates from 1.30.1 and 1.30.2, not to mention the two years' worth of security updates since 1.30.x reached end-of-life. Even 1.31.x will be reaching end-of-life in just over a month.<br />
<br />
If the sysadmins here update to [[mw:MediaWiki 1.35|MediaWiki 1.35.2]] ([[mw:Release_notes/1.35|release notes]]), that version will be maintained till September of 2023, with only a few security updates in the meantime. I would '''strongly''' encourage y'all to update to 1.35.2; to promptly update if there's a .3, .4, etc.; and to make sure you switch to the next LTS release (which will presumably be 1.39) well in advance of September of '23. (Note that this will also require updating to PHP 7.3.19 or later.) [[User:PinkAmpersand|PinkAmpersand]] ([[User talk:PinkAmpersand|talk]]) 07:17, 30 April 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Uptime ==<br />
Did the website just go down? <span style="text-shadow:0 0 8px black">[[User:Beanie|<span style="font-size:11pt;color:#dddddd">Beanie</span>]]</span> <sup><span style="text-shadow:0 0 7px #000000">[[User talk:Beanie|<span style="font-size:8pt;color:#dddddd">talk</span>]]</span></sup> 13:06, 28 May 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It was definitely down this weekend! <br />
https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/nxrm65 <br />
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 16:21, 15 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Comic template lappend breaks for standalone comic links ==<br />
<br />
For example, https://xkcd.com/blue_eyes.html is changed to https://xkcd.com/blue_eyes.html/ which isn't valid [[Special:Contributions/172.69.90.15|172.69.90.15]] 15:51, 13 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Template here, I think it needs to be changed to solve this https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Template:comic<br />
<br />
exkcd page here https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Blue_Eyes<br />
<br />
== May not be your problem, but FYI. ==<br />
<br />
My typcal setup: Android tablet, with Chrome for Android (latest update), but also Firefox for Android (ditto), using default Gboard (likewise) for input.<br />
<br />
Occasionally (notably within the last few weeks/maybe a month or so), when going in to edit an explainxkcd page through Chrome (it's how I divide up my browsing), I'm getting the cursor in the textarea box which ''can'' be used to Cut/Copy/Paste (as applicable and useful), but the on-screen keyboard isn't popping up. Page is fully loaded (can be refreshed, doesn't have the "stop loading" alternative), can go back (page viewing) and try to go back to the page editor (often to same result). Sitting and waiting doesn't pop the keyboard up, either (sat there for minutes). Happens both on home wifi and mobile connection.<br />
<br />
If I transfer my attentions to the page to Firefox (copy URL, to use there... but I don't use that by default for expxkcd stuff) there's no problem, but then if I come back to Chrome again it seems to start working again ''anyway'' so not sure if it's just avoiding/flushing a transient problem that would also initially crop up with Firefox if I used that more.<br />
<br />
Because editing is a different (mobile-optimised) process on Wikipedia and I can't be sure about any the equivalence of any other wiki out there (and it doesn't happen with anything else I regularly key into on Chrome) it's not something I've reproduced outwith this site, and of course desktop page-editing doesn't require touch-screen keyboard because there's a physical one.<br />
<br />
Not getting much feedback with Chrome (really can't get on with their bugrep processes, it's too huge a project to make headway, IME), not even tried to pester the Gboard team and I've not ''seen'' anything said on here about this being a site-issue (not sure how it could be, as it's outside the remit of the core web-page rendering process and more an Android or App level of incompetence), but I thought I'd make a note of it here for future reference. Make of it what you will. Annoying but not game-breaking. And I just wanted to vent a little. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 16:54, 25 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== [[special:interwiki]] ==<br />
<br />
where'd it go? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.200|172.69.68.200]] 05:07, 7 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Please update MediaWiki + AbuseFilter ==<br />
<br />
Seriously. Many scripts and such built for modern, supported versions of MW do not work here because it is so unbelievably undated. PinkAmpersand above basically covers the reason why. I also highly recommend adding the extension AbuseFilter (https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:AbuseFilter) as it immensely makes removing vandalism easier (by straight up disallowing or blocking those that do, esp if it's like the current formulaic massive-replacement vandalism.) [[User:CRLF|CRLF]] ([[User talk:CRLF|talk]]) 00:48, 21 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Ditto. I feel like the main problem is that the sole person who has access to the backend either doesn't have time to update, doesn't have interest, or doesn't have the technical knowledge necessary. But yes, I agree - updating and installing an extension to help control vandalism would help this wiki tremendously. [[User:Obwankenobi|Obwankenobi]] ([[User talk:Obwankenobi|talk]]) 20:09, 9 February 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== ↑ ? ==<br />
<br />
Why do some pages have ↑ at the very start? They can all be spotted by searching ↑ <br />
Is it a technical thing, vandalism, some sort of glitch? Maybe I'm just uninformed or being an idiot.<br />
:Edit logs tell me that an IP user manually reverting vandalism somehow inserted one or more extra characters while manually reverting vandalism. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:59, 22 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Should it be removed? It's not necessary and might be confusing for screenreaders... [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 09:00, 23 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::Maybe not en-mass, I'd say. But I've dove in to delete a rogue leading <nowiki><br /></nowiki> tag left from a part of a prior vandalism (likewise, just before the {{template|comic}}-element) and I've promised myself that I'll remove any more that I spot (and now that arrow) in any future whole-page edit I make. Plus a small shopping-list of inessential but useful edits like making {{template|Citation needed}}s flow better when they're mispunctuated/etc.<br />
:::But that's my solitary opinion. I'm sure hunting out and squishing this isn't a problem at all. I'm just balancing my own peculiar brand of OCD with what is somehow my also my own version of casual apathy towards other details. (Also, it probably looks better for a named account of recognised good standing to start editing potentially hundreds of pages in a session, rather than myself... potentially indistinguishable from the IP who seems to relish worn out memes in a general page-trashing.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.121|162.158.159.121]] 12:20, 23 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Is there anything else we can do to prevent vandalism? ==<br />
<br />
There's been quite a significant uptick in vandalism recently, and I don't feel we have any effective tools to combat it. I believe one of the biggest issues here is due to the way logged-out editing works on this wiki. Blocks are completely ineffective at slowing vandals, and IP editors can vandalize with basically nothing we can do to thwart them other than revert-warring. '''Is there a better way?'''<br />
<br />
There's been some discussion of installing AbuseFilter, but I'm not sure anything became of it. We could disable logged-out editing, but that would likely be counterproductive as we get lots of legitimate contributions from logged-out users. If there's a way to switch to location-based IPs, we could rangeblock problematic users as well as proxies. Does anyone have any ideas? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.145|162.158.78.145]] 16:11, 1 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I'm sort of making server side changes via telegraph so an extension is probably going to take a while to get installed. Takes a bunch of emails and followups to get single variables changed in the mediawiki settings file. There is an email verification option, and some edit frequency variables that could be set to make spam more time consuming. Don't love range blocks but wouldn't mind getting the CDN IPs dealt with so we can actually use the IP bans again. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 17:16, 1 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I'm very grateful that you're working on changes under the hood. What do you think is the best way to deal with disruption in the meantime? [[User:Vandalbane|Vandalbane]] ([[User talk:Vandalbane|talk]]) 17:19, 1 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::Could borrow a patrol bot like the ones people on main wikipedia have, could ask around. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 18:53, 1 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::There's not really a drop-in solution that you can use, especially since the server's MediaWiki version is not in sync with Wikipedia's (so a lot of the APIs etc have completely changed; when initially reverting vandalism I tried importing some scripts from enwiki but they failed as a result), but also because the bots have gotten pretty complex (using machine learning provided by the Wikimedia Foundation, for example). [[User:CRLF|CRLF]] ([[User talk:CRLF|talk]]) 03:56, 2 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::::Oh I do notice mediawiki hasn't been upgraded in a while. Looks like new version of mediawiki should be dropping extremely imminently, would be nice timing for an upgrade '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:45, 2 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Rollback ==<br />
<br />
Does the rollback permission exist on this wiki? [[User:Vandalbane|Vandalbane]] ([[User talk:Vandalbane|talk]]) 17:00, 1 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:The rollback permission of course exists but there's no group called "rollbacker" like you'd find on Wikipedia (limited to admins). You'd need the sysadmin to change the configuration to add one, which as established is not really an option right now. [[User:CRLF|CRLF]] ([[User talk:CRLF|talk]]) 03:58, 2 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== What happened to custom JavaScript? ==<br />
<br />
I put some code in <code>[[User:Some user/common.js]]</code>, but it is not alerting 'hi' every time I load a page. Why can't we execute JavaScript anymore? Is it in response to the [[Project:Crap|crapping]] incident? [[User:Some user|Some user]] ([[User talk:Some user|talk]]) 21:16, 27 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Entirely because of that, yeah. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:51, 28 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== My IP ==<br />
<br />
Why is my IP address a Cloudflare address in Norway? Is this a joke of some kind that I'm missing?<br />
<br />
Other wikis like Wikipedia are showing me my actual IP when I go to [[Special:MyContributions]], so I suspect this is a wiki misconfiguration. It changed again while I was typing this. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.194|162.158.222.194]] 16:55, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:All IPs (as this one will be) are from Cloudflare gateway IPs, because that's the default IP that the Wiki understands as the source. Cloudflare mediates all the traffic, and perhaps to some advantage (not being privvy to the logs, I can only guess how much it insulates the true server from extreme problems, but I bet it does in some way).<br />
:There have been suggestions before to change some setting (in the MediaWiki implementation? ...can't recall exactly) to have it pick up and use the IP that the gateway reports (in its meta-request) was the origin, but that's not been enacted for Idunnowhat reason.<br />
:Because the black-box that is the Cloudflare traffic shapes in various ways, you will find that a single user will jump around 'apparent' IPs, and I've also been in the relatively embarassing situation of replying to another IP's info and finding that I've registered on the exact same IP so that it looks like I'm stooging myself, or something.<br />
:On the whole, though, it's a harmless quirk. And given the trivial nature of deliberately spoofing origins (even on top of assuming you get an effectively static NAT from your ISP in the first place) I don't personally see it as a problem to 'solve' this. But neither would I complain if the 'fix' were implemented if this query reminds someone that they ''were'' going to try and do the necessary tweak.<br />
:As a lay-answer, I hope that fills you in a little. ''If'' those who have more knowledge/control of the process want to add anything or correct me, I'm sure they'll do so as soon as they can, but here's a reply to keep you going for now... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.24|172.70.85.24]] 01:19, 20 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:fyi it is supported in MediaWiki through <code>$wgCdnServers</code>. See [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Cloudflare#Integration_with_MediaWiki MediaWiki’s introduction]. {{unsigned|物灵|06:58, 6 April 2025}}<br />
<br />
==Main page in categories==<br />
{{notice|'''This discussion is marked as duplicate.''' See [[#Main Page|this discussion]].}}<br />
[[Main_Page]] was found wrongly appearing in some newly-created categories, such as [[:Category:Cosmology]]. Could you fix it? --[[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 17:49, 12 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Never noticed this myself, but I'll take it as read. Before checking myself, I'm wondering if this could be when the main page 'inherits' tags from the Current Comic that it features. And thus solve itself (whilst gaining others) upon a newer Current Comic. (Must surely inherit "Monday Comics"/etc, on schedule every week.)<br />
:If it is that, perhaps the solution lies in the details contained within https://m.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Categories#Categories_and_templates_(transcluded_pages)<br />
:Or maybe I'm wrong about it. But I have no rights to edit (thus at least examine the 'code' of) the Main page, to check my snap theory, as with most people. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.46|172.70.162.46]] 19:21, 12 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This happened again in [[:Category:Airplane banner]]. [[User:I27.O.O.I|I27.O.O.I]] ([[User talk:I27.O.O.I|talk]]) 09:00, 28 February 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Yes, and it lasted as long as the latest comic was still one with particular categories. I don't intend to worry about it. If someone goes to a category that interests them and looks at the main page, as temporarily advertised, they're likely to find (as part of it) a comic which is indeed in that category. Doesn't sound like a big problem to me, except for determinin why some cats (e.g. Friday Comics) ''don't'' link to the Main page when they might be expected to...<br />
:(PS, I know for sure that I27.O.O.I isn't the same person as ColofulGalaxy (and various others, beyond even those with the bloomin' obvious "CG" initials or other recent spoofs on the RFC1918 addresses), and I don't think I mind too much, but faking disagreements between your various IDs isn't helping, anyone... smells too much of trying to establish alibis in advance of your next attempt to vandalise the site with stupid stuff. And doesn't impress me, so I doubt it impresses anyone else either. As long as you're just doing sane things, however, I'll accept your little idiosyncracies.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.32|162.158.74.32]] 19:37, 5 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
:(PPS: You left your fingerprint on this latter attempt to 'rescue' [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2659:_Unreliable_Connection&curid=25530&diff=307289&oldid=307282 this page]. - Spammer a few minutes before midnight, my IP reversion happened shortly after. A little later "Elisabeth" then re-spammed (modified), then another IP immediately jumps on it to restore it but with the modified undo-summary line clearly indicating that some sort of a game is being played. Please don't, it's not clever.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.34|172.70.90.34]] 02:22, 7 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This doesn't happen to date categories, but it happens in manually added categories such as [[:Category:Statistics]]. [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 21:49, 27 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==Cannot create user page==<br />
It says: There is currently no text in this page. You can search for this page title in other pages, or search the related logs, but you do not have permission to create this page. [[2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[Talk:2659: Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 22:56, 26 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
:(Removed alternative text in the link involved, to not hide behind trickery.) I think you know that there's no problem with [[2659: Unreliable Connection]] itself, except that it had become one of several pages targeted for spamming, the only one then locked down, then finding that the spammers just retargeted to its Talk page, etc.<br />
:I'm torn between "not assuming bad faith" and "don't feed the trolls", as competing principles, so I'm spelling out the situation. However much a tribute you might think it could be, I don't think there's a future in having a new username that's directly referencing a comic which has become so frequently seen in the recent history of this wiki's edits.<br />
:Obviously any genuine contributions are more than welcome. So prove me wrong, why don't you? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.151|172.70.91.151]] 03:20, 27 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Could you help now? [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 09:13, 29 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: I've created your talk page. I guess that what you intended is to have a backup or mirror page for comic [[2659]]. Am I right? [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 20:16, 2 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Fanmade comics ==<br />
A fanmade comic appeared on xkcd. Could you edit the template? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.23.100|172.69.23.100]] 07:21, 28 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
:You're going to have to say more about it, at least for me. Apart from the Sandbox attempt to make a page, I haven't seen the comic you're describing anywhere. Certainly not anywhere official. Link, for our benefit? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.66|172.70.85.66]] 10:04, 28 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==Why doesn't this code block work?==<br />
Does anybody know why the code block at the end of [[Transcript on xkcd|this page]] doesn't work? I've tried everything and it still looks like plain text<br />
<br />
== Can't add RSS feed because of pubDate value on 27 Nov 2015 ==<br />
<br />
When I try to add the RSS feed in Nextcloud News feed reader I get an error <code>Impossible to convert date : Fri, 27 Nov 2015 17:24:34 Pacific Standard Time</code>.<br />
<br />
[https://validator.w3.org/feed/check.cgi?url=https%3A%2F%2Fexplainxkcd.com%2Frss.xml W3C Feed validation] says that <code>pubDate must be an RFC-822 date-time</code> and points "Pacific Standard Time" portion as the cause of the error: <code><pubDate>Fri, 27 Nov 2015 17:24:34 Pacific Standard Time</pubDate></code>. Can you please fix the timestap for this?<br />
<br />
== Admin request posted here because of vandalism ==<br />
<br />
I can not currently access the admin requests page because it has been vandalized... can someone please protect the latest comic page (2805). There is some pretty childish vandalism going on there right now. Thanks!<br />
:It's not the latest, seems like ALL. I went back to 2804, 2803, jumped back like 15 comics, all the same thing. To me the most offensive part is doing it with a nonsensical image. And why pipe it through Archive somehow? [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 02:33, 24 July 2023 (UTC)<br />
::UGH. the vandals are back at it again... we need to lock xkcd pages @NiceGuy [[Special:Contributions/172.70.39.2|172.70.39.2]] 00:59, 25 July 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Way to contact the site hosters? ==<br />
<br />
As many have pointed out the software this wiki runs on is horribly outdated. WikiEditor also isn't here for some reason. Quite a bit of messages here have seen no action. Is there some kind of contact form to reach the hosters? {{unsigned|Aaron Liu|00:36, 10 October 2023}}<br />
: There are various levels of admin who do intervene, as and when jecessary, but I understand that the (active) ones closest to the actual hosting level of intervention are not really ready to do the (increasingly greater) degree of uprooting necessary to get a "working" system to be "marginally better working", by way of that very dangerous middle-ground of potentially being ruined entirely.<br />
: I appreciate and anticipate the counter-arguments regarding letting it go totally unupdated, of course, just I've personally seen enough failures (participated in some, or been the actual invokee, myself) to be very sympathetic to the "if it aint (too) broke, don't fix it" tendency. But that inertia is not the only factor, of course, and the full motivations (or lack of them) of those involved is not for a lowly IP like me to explain, even if I think I know... [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.42|172.69.195.42]] 01:24, 10 October 2023 (UTC)<br />
:: Have they posted some sort of statement? It also is most definitely not “marginally” better working, compare the source editor to that of Wikipedia and look at topic subscription etc features. Not to mention a lot of security fixes haven’t been added and this version has reached EOL long ago. Updating also would not ruin this entirely…[[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 17:22, 12 October 2023 (UTC)<br />
:: Some have also said that quite a bit of assistive scripts for modern versions don’t work. Visual Editor, while horrible, is still easier for new people to get started with. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 17:23, 12 October 2023 (UTC)<br />
I've found a new reason: This wiki doesn't even allow loading userscripts! [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 01:34, 9 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:That might actually have been a conscious decition, after a 'certain user' caused chaos here, not so long ago. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.25|162.158.74.25]] 19:01, 9 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
::It was about a year and a half ago. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.143|172.68.174.143]] 06:41, 10 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
::Huh? What happened? Is there a place to request gadgets then? [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 02:04, 10 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::"What happened" involved automated vandalism (from someone who been doing it manually, then found the "better way") though I couldn't tell you the exact details, there were automated 'unvandalism's made in response, and theusafBOT/etc does some of that still, in response to non-automated(/off-site scripted) vandalism/errors that it can actually catch before ordinary users (or IPs like me) can. But certainly a certain brand of scripting was turned off to curtail the 'high intensity' vandalism phase.<br />
:::You're more or less in the best place to request things, right here. Whether updates, (re)adding functionalitu or tweaking site settings. Can't tell if those who ''can'' do these things can't or won't do them... Or are actually absent, instead of just not replying. The cavalry has been known to come running in when necessary (e.g. when "what happened" happened) so it could be any manner of non-response (until you get one). Not necessarily the best state of affairs, but better than being confirmed absentees.<br />
::::I ran a bot to mass-edit pages by replacing their content with the word "crap" repeatedly. I was 15 then, and I thought it was funny. It wasn't. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.143|172.68.174.143]] 06:41, 10 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::As an occasional but infrequent actual-Wikipedia editor, too, I must say that if the Visual Editor is what I currently have to use for that (at least as an anonIP when using a mobile device, which tends to be when I get the urge most) then I like the unaugmented editor here more. Straight up, honest, un'wizarded' interface, where you only have to get used to markup details and not a WYSIWYG editing environment (as well?). Not sure I'd be happy with an even ''more'' 'assistive' script imposed upon me, like I dislike modern generations of Windows (and 'user friendly' linux dists). So can I just ask that functional/visible changes of the kind you seem to be asking for, if made available, aren't overimposed/left as options rather than the default (or only) choice...? Ok, so I can (or would have to) adapt, but I'd rather not. Of course, I have no weight to pull in this matter, it's just an afterthought (even as I wish you good luck with raising an admin's eyebrow, in some useful manner). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.135|141.101.98.135]] 05:14, 10 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::I am not asking for VisualEditor, which no one likes on Wikipedia either. For some blasted reason they made it edit HTML instead of Wikitext and it’s clunky and loads for a very long time.<br />
::::I’m asking about the WikiEditor, aka Wikipedia’s source editor. In VE, click on the pen next to the publish button and click on “source editing”. That editor makes this one look like freaking Stone Age, syntax highlighting is especially a game-changer. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 16:03, 12 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
: There’s also the annoying ReCaptcha v2 every single edit… it seems like it would be relatively easy to switch to v3 which only makes you do the challenge when you’ve visited a bit too much. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 16:32, 12 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:: Unfortunately, that would make things easier for someone who wanted to do mass vandalism like I did. If it didn't do it every time, someone could still edit quite quickly. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.192|172.68.174.192]] 18:32, 12 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
::Well, I can tell you that it doesn't always demand that I fulfil more than a tickbox (most trouble I have is when it fails to connect to give me the tickbox (or respond with anything useful when I do), for which I'm forced into one or more Previews until it will. When it ''does'' ask me to do something about it, I do often get forced through two or more request to identify traffic lights, motorbikes, stairways, bridges, hills, tractors, buses, etc, etc, etc... But I think that's more the Tesla-training Algorithm being nust greedy for my attention than the Robot-sentry having a less casual attitude to my attempt to edit. (I believe I'm on a usually untroublesome source IP/Cloudflare gateway, but it could also depend on how many others try to do things via (part of) the same route. Very, very rarely I get Google Search requesting something similar of me ((It: "You have made a lot of searches", me: "Of course I'll have play your little game, but this is my first lookup today...")), which I'm sure isn't Cloudflared, so it might reach back to my ISP's gateway and what fellow users are currently getting up to.)<br />
::As for the guy above (and you, Liu), can't speak for how well or badly others on your own 'choice' of gateways behave. Or yourselves. Luck of the draw? For the first part, at least. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.174|172.69.195.174]] 20:31, 12 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::MediaWiki 1.40 automatically tags all edits that remove over 90% of page text with "mw-replaced". You could block all edits in mainspace with that tag, either if MediaWiki has it or through the AbuseFilter extension. While I can complete the CAPTCHAs, it's very annoying to need to Captcha every edit on a place where the main focus is edits. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 03:06, 13 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::Plus, v3 doesn't just do nothing. It tracks how your cursor moves to see if it's robotic, while v2 annoyingly gives you the challenge every time. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 20:01, 8 January 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Presumably for touchscreen control (like mine, right this moment), it does something else than track a nonexistent mouse-pointer's passage across the monitored elements of the display... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.190|172.70.90.190]] 12:26, 9 January 2024 (UTC)<br />
::There are a few MediaWiki plugins that help keep vandalism/spam under control without requiring users to solve a Captcha every time they make an edit. I use https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Moderation on the wiki I maintain, and it works very well. However, it does require that there be enough active moderators to approve edits, as it basically requires every single edit to be approved before it's posted. Thus, it also introduces some "lag" between when stuff is written and when it can be seen by others. I think it could work if the extension could be installed (I'm not even sure if it's supported on this version of MediaWiki) and if a good list of moderators could be put together. [[User:Obwankenobi|Obwankenobi]] ([[User talk:Obwankenobi|talk]]) 20:02, 9 February 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::I disagree with requiring edits to be approved. Unless we have extremely high vandalism, just filtering out the above tags I mentioned and using ReCAPTCHA v3 would be enough. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 23:16, 16 February 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Ok, fair point. However, that wouldn't stop human vandalism, just vandalism from bots. I'm not sure how much human vandalism there is, though, so it might not even be a problem. [[User:Obwankenobi|Obwankenobi]] ([[User talk:Obwankenobi|talk]]) 12:35, 22 February 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::It's hard (for us 'civvies') to know how much bot-vandalism is stopped but [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Log/newusers&offset=&limit=500&type=newusers&user= probably a lot], most of which we never see, with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2503:_Memo_Spike_Connector&diff=335487&oldid=335486 occasional ones] we might see having be dealt with. (I'm guessing these things are rare (temporarily-)successful 'bots, because flesh-and-blood vandals wouldn't be occasionally doing essentially the same insta-reverted thing on a thematically-small set of pages, over several ''years'' without moving on. It has to be a lucky unattended script-based effort that just keeps trying the same things over and over with an easily revertible but tangible result happening only infrequently.)<br />
:::::More obvious human vandalism tends to rumble on, with occasionally a spate of it as someone gets short-term kicks for it. Though some of them seem may repeat themself after a break. Friendly humans and friendly 'bots both tend to provide the main anti-vandalism responses fairly quickly, though, depending upon what kind of a mess they caused. I've seen worse places, definitely, and it's by no means a losing battle against chaos, just regular skermishes.<br />
:::::Not wanting to tempt fate, of course. I guarantee that there'll be some fool that takes all this as a challenge, so I just have to trust to the Good Guys keeping on keeping on. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.71|172.70.90.71]] 14:21, 22 February 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
heyo, is there a way to add actual citations to explainxkcd instead of the template citation needed? couldn't find anything, but i'm pretty new here - thanks in advance. [[User:Nigga|Nigga]] ([[User talk:Nigga|talk]]) 21:47, 17 March 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Not that I have much faith in your usernae lasting long (you're 'that guy', aren't you? ...in which case you know anyway), but for the sake of anyone else who needs to know:<br />
:*If you mean "add an actual 'citation needed' tag", then it's {{template|Actual citation needed}} that you'll use.<br />
:*If you mean "add an actual citation link to somewhere", then:<br />
:** Link to URLs with [].<br />
:*** A link such as [<url>] will give you a superscript-number link, which isn't pretty, IMO.<br />
:*** A link such as [<url> <text>] (that's a space between the two) will link <text> to the URL, just work it into the sentence you're writing, fairly easy<br />
:** Link to internal (or cross-wiki) pages with [[]].<br />
:*** [[<page title>]] will make a literal link to <page title>.<br />
:*** [[<page title>|<text>]] (with a pipe) is how you make the <text> your link.<br />
:** You can use the last to link specifically to wikipedia's cross-site format, but for that it's best to use {{template|w}}<br />
:*** <nowiki>{{w|<page title>}}</nowiki> (w-pipe...) uses the page title<br />
:**** It will use the link as if the first character is uppercase, so you don't need to capitalise that. Other case-sensitivity is preserved.<br />
:**** <nowiki>{{w|<singular page title>}}s</nowiki> will link the obvious pluralisation of the page title, just to save you effort<br />
:*** <nowiki>{{w|<page title>|<text>}}</nowiki> (w-pipe and pipe) lets you use entirely alternate text.<br />
:** There's also templates that shortcut (or make easier on the eye, or add appropriate warnings) for some other commonly referenced external sites, from xkcd's own what-if to TVTropes.<br />
:...hope that helps everyone that doesn't already know these few simple bits as relate to wikis in general or this wiki in particular. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.218|172.71.242.218]] 22:24, 17 March 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Confirmation Email Bug ==<br />
<br />
Hi. I've been trying to get my email confirmed so that I can get pinged when pages are edited, but I just can't find it, even after trying multiple times. I use Gmail, and yes, I have checked my spam folder. Has anyone else had this issue? EDIT: I see that others have had this issue, but the admins haven't done any action to solve it, except for one sarcastic comment by Davidy22 back in 2014. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 00:43, 12 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Lack of Userpage ==<br />
<br />
Hey, I joined a few years ago, but I still do not have a Userpage. Can you make one for me? I do not have the permission to do so. [[User:GreyFox|GreyFox]] ([[User talk:GreyFox|talk]]) 22:47, 15 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
:This is actually your very first post, after joining a bit more than a year ago ("18:35, 14 November 2023 User account GreyFox (talk | contribs) was created"). I'm sure someone can oblige (not me, for obvious reasons), but you've not done much to contribute (at least under this account), which would have then eventually brought you to the point where you ''can'' just self-create your Userpages/etc. So your request is a bit out of the blue.<br />
:Just so long as we all know where we stand, though. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.227|172.69.194.227]] 09:42, 16 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
::Oh, thanks! Do you know the exact number of edits I need to create it?<br />
:::50 to be autoconfirmed. Also, please sign your comments. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 15:23, 16 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== server errors ==<br />
is anyone else constantly getting 503 errors? [[user talk:lettherebedarklight|youtu.be/miLcaqq2Zpk]] 17:14, 21 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
:yup, been seeing those all the time. Also seeing that the server is down a lot of time-it suggests me to Google for what I’m “looking for” [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 17:18, 21 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
::503s are fairly common (often when I'm in a rush), and have been for... well, certainly years, maybe more than a decade (though more common during major vandalism/anti-vandalism surges). I had, however, noticed a recent blip (during the last day or so) of the Server Down/Try Google page that you refer to, which I haven't seen for a ''long'' time (not really sure when, but maybe five years or so ago). In fact, I probably got Cloudflare 'rejections' more, during aformentioned vandal-overloading.<br />
::Without any access to the admin logs, I can only speculate as to what might be sparking it. But service (notwithstanding the brief page-refusals themselves) seems to be happily unaffected. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.249|172.70.160.249]] 20:29, 21 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Allow new users to edit their own page ==<br />
<br />
I found someone asking if we could change this in the proposals page (Community portal/Proposals: Allow Users to Edit their own talk page if not auto confimed (not a typo)). [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 14:39, 19 June 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Technical difficulties? ==<br />
<br />
I keep getting a message that says: "Sorry! This site is experiencing technical difficulties.Try waiting a few minutes and reloading. (Cannot access the database)"<br />
It's happened a lot so I was wondering if there was a specific cause behind it and perhaps a way to fix it.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.65|172.68.54.65]] 00:17, 17 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
:yeah, I’ve been getting those errors too. I can’t even log into my account before it says that there’s an error again. I’ve been steadily receiving them for a couple months, but never like today. From Recent Changes, it doesn’t look like anyone is spamming the wiki, so maybe it’s an attack of some kind. You’ll need to contact the admins who have access to the server and can poke around, but good luck getting [[User:Davidy22]] or [[User:Jeff]] online. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.135.130|172.69.135.130]] 17:16, 17 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
::update: I’ve been poking around a lot of websites, trying to see if the website is being attacked. The websites all say that the server is down. I’ll try to ask Jeff on this and pray that he checks his email. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.135.129|172.69.135.129]] 17:21, 17 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== The site is collapsing ==<br />
503's are to be expected, but i've got them and the "Sorry! This site is experiencing technical difficulties. Try waiting a few minutes and reloading." error way, way too much. it's actually getting really hard to edit stuff because of them. [[user talk:lettherebedarklight|youtu.be/miLcaqq2Zpk]] 01:58, 19 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
:heck, i just got a 503 when posting this topic. also, load times are noticeably longer. and i'm getting "loss of session" errors when i try to edit... [[user talk:lettherebedarklight|youtu.be/miLcaqq2Zpk]] 02:02, 19 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
::I’ve messaged Davidy22 and Jeff about it, hopefully they see it and reply. It looks fine right now, appears that it works horribly at times and fine later. Due to the on-off nature of it, I would suspect DDoS attacks, as a 503 error means that the server can’t process the request, which occurs with DDoS attacks. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 21:37, 19 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::update: I’ve made a Reddit post, as I’ve seen Davidy22 active on Reddit and respond to older threads on r/xkcd. Hopefully they respond! [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 18:50, 24 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::October update: Davidy22 responded to my emails and said that he has emailed Jeff multiple times. Apparently Jeff is ignoring his emails and not responding. I’ve been checking Jeff’s Twitter/X/Whatever once a week and it shows that he uses it semi-regularly. Apparently Jeff is a podcaster too? Anyways, nobody has really responded to me on r/xkcd, so I’m thinking of sending a DM to Jeff via Twitter. I have a to-do list for Jeff listed on my User Page, feel free to give any thoughts, proposals, comments on anything else you want him to do in this thread. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 18:46, 24 October 2024 (UTC)<br />
::Agree, the situation is not terrible but feels extremely unstable. What happens if the wiki just breaks, and nobody can even contact Jeff? I feel like these errors are happening more and more frequently. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 17:30, 2 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::Were you around for the (hacking-enforced) sudden ending of the xkcd fora? All things end.<br />
:::But (touch wood) the 503s/other connection refusals are a lot less frequent right now, so I'm not actually quite so worried as I might occasionally have been. What's more likely to happen is that the hosting plan, physical hardware and/or domain reaches an end and then... that's probably it unless someone with the wherewithall somehow manages to drag it back up again. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.14|162.158.74.14]] 00:09, 3 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
::::I really don't like the idea of this site becoming permanently unavailable :( This makes me want to contribute less! I was not around back then, no. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:47, 3 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
:I've been getting these errors a lot as well all of a sudden. Sadly from what I've read on these pages, the sysadmin has basically left and ghosted everyone. The moment the site fully breaks for whatever reason, ExplainXKCD will be history. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.58|172.71.178.58]] 15:34, 23 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
::It's probably not the site breaking (as in, it's not intrinsically failing), just that unrestrained useless traffic to it (I theorise, elsewhere that it's a sudden rise in inconsiderate AI-training has led to a rise of ungoverned degrees of site-scraping) is marginalising our more legitimate attempts to interact. ''It would help'' to get some Administrator-led process to mitigate it, but it really should be better dealt with more towards the gateway-side of the connection (or the scrapers gradually toning their scraping down, but I doubt that'll happen). It, say, Cloudflare ''itself'' gets a good solution in place to dissuade such high attempts to access all the sites it otherwise proxies for, then we'll be back to just the site bumbling along in its ''slightly'' unmaintained condition. We then still have a couple of sub-administrators, a Bot and a good population of other users to keep things running against more trivial issues (short of hardware/infrastructure/financial failures). [[Special:Contributions/172.68.186.141|172.68.186.141]] 16:55, 23 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== List of All Comics ==<br />
<br />
I think that FaviFake and I have accidentally broken the All comics page. When clicked, it brings you to the page List of all comics, which displays the comics 3000-3002 (as of right now) instead of the list of all comics (oops-my bad). How do we fix this? There’s also the page List of all comics (3000-3500), but the TheusafBOT ignores it. Can someone more technical help troubleshoot this problem? Again, sorry for making a muck of things. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 18:43, 24 October 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Oh I'm sorry, I created a new topic for this and I didn't see this one. I noticed the [[List of all comics (3000-3500)]] today and scheduled it for deletion because we never make such a page until we have exactly 500 comics to put there. Also, the name is wrong, it should say 3001-3500.<br />
:The page [[List of all comics]] is supposed to display comics 3001-3005, not all comics. You might be confusing it with [[List of all comics (full)]], which would work perfectly if [[List of all comics]] displayed the last 3 comics. I have no idea why the bot stopped updating it. Maybe it will work now that the wrong page is scheduled for deletion? [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 05:15, 31 October 2024<br />
::Wait a second, why did you move the List of all comics to [[List of all comics (3000-3500)]]? It seemed to me like everything was working fine before you moved it [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 05:24, 31 October 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::I was trying to copy the content to [[List of all comics (3000-3500)]], and accidentally broke it. Sorry! [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 16:48, 31 October 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Yeah I can confirm the content and the entire edit history was moved to the incorrectly-titled page that's now scheduled for deletion. I guess maybe we didn't really need the edit history on that page, but who knows.<br />
::::Weirdly, the bot seems to have restored the page as it was and then stopped doing its thing. Since we're the only ones here, I suggest you manually create the missing rows for the new comics and we'll see if that works when the next comic drops. If it doesn't, I'll contact the maintainer and creator of the bot myself. Sounds good? :) [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 18:29, 31 October 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::Sir yes Sir! 🫡 [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 04:51, 1 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::: Great, thanks! I can also do it this afternoon if you don't have time. I realise my previous messages read like orders lol, they were supposed to be suggestions to try and fix the issue. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 07:18, 1 November 2024<br />
<br />
== The [[List of all comics]] is no longer being updated automatically ==<br />
<br />
Hey everyone, I noticed the bot isn't updating this page anymore: [[List of all comics]]. There are supposed to be five comics in it but there are only two at the moment. Is this supposed to happen? [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 05:06, 31 October 2024<br />
<br />
== 2034: Equations error? ==<br />
<br />
One of the TeX math-thingies (sorry for the informal writing), is showing this error: "Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable. Please see math/README to configure.): \oint". Idk why it's showing this, can someone fix this? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.48|108.162.237.48]] 19:25, 6 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:It's a long-standing error, to do with the background processes that turns the TeX-style markup into embedded images. All equations (or whatever it might be that the particular MathML was being used to render) that were originally given cached-imagery ''still work fine'', but it seems a later update made it so that if you adjust it at all (even slightly), it no longer has the route to produce the embedding cleanly.<br />
:It can probably be solved by rolling back some module(s) that got refreshed quite some time ago, though the advised fix is to actually fully update them (and/or reconfigure the backend scripting) to work with all the newest versions of the original tools. Unfortunately, the people (or maybe person) who would do this is not too active at the moment (may also not be up to speed on everything, either, if it involves a bit of more tricky administration), so we're left with the occasional problem establishing the texvc handler.<br />
:Not sure which page you're encountering this on, but sometimes if you look back in the edit history you can find a working version of the thing you're seeing go wrong. If it's an aesthetic difference (e.g. the presence or absence of a spacing character), you might be able to just restore the render-cached version and make do with it not looking ''quite'' right.<br />
:If it's a necessary change that was made (e.g. "''dt''" instead of "''dx''", which is definitely wrong the old way), or it seems never to have a valid render, then there's two obvious solutions:<br />
:#Make your own image of it as it should be and (with a suitably auto-validated account, or via a handy external image hosting service and/or a more mature account here) get that embedded in place of the markup-source, or<br />
:#Replicate its appearance in more basic (by standard) but complex (by source needed) markup. Combinations of basic wikimarkup and HTML can do most 'fiddly positional' things, see [[2614: 2]] for a numerator/denominator layout, for example.<br />
:Not as 'simple' as TeX-markedup. But, on the other hand, the "\oint" symbol is "∮", so perhaps all you need to do is copy'n'paste that actual unicode symbol to wherever you found the problem, and use that instead, and forgo the TeX version altogether? (Might not show on some displays, but probably enough to make it a minority issue.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.105|172.70.90.105]] 22:50, 6 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Had the brainwave that I could probable ''search'' for the offending \oint, actually. Did so, found [[2034: Equations]], noted that it was the only (current) rendering issue and therefore just did the pasting over myself. Looks good for me, but obviously might not help (but not make worse) others' viewing of it. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.54|172.69.195.54]] 22:58, 6 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
...Why didn't I think of just pasting the Unicode equivalent. I'm dumb, but thanks for fixing it. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.10|172.69.70.10]] 13:44, 8 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Esolang wiki bug ==<br />
The "esolangs.org" wiki is also experiencing a similar bug. The server was repeatedly changing a particular user's signature in his posts. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 04:01, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Fucking bullshit. One, this doesn’t belong here and I’ve copied it into [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Technical|the Technical Community Portal]]. Two, I saw your talk page on [https://esolangs.org/wiki/User_talk:ColorfulGalaxy%27s_CA_discoveries esolangs.org], which you brought up this “bug”, which the local admin (who’s probably just as sick and tired of you as I am) called BS on. If the server was changing your sig to my sig, it would be '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#db97bf">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#97b6db">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''', not the sig that you faked in. You’re obviously seeking attention and are being abusive and childish. Please see the bottom of https://esolangs.org/wiki/Esolang:Introduce_yourself to see a full list of complaints. I will be asking Kynde to ban you and all of your alt (or shared) accounts. -tori [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.98|162.158.167.98]] 05:36, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
::Additionally, the complaint doesn’t even make sense. The 2 wikis are running on different servers and different MediaWiki software and should in no shape or form be having the same bug across 2 different systems. Plus, why is the CAPTCHA in the esolang wiki so damn difficult? (Just a side note :3) '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#db97bf">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#97b6db">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 22:42, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:I just realized that they've changed '''my''' signature as well. That's strange. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 06:37, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Once again they suddenly redirected my username to the Main Page. And the bug even forgot to remove "User:". [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 13:05, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:It's working normally now. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 13:06, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The wiki may have been hacked. I checked it and got "HTTP 429" error message. [[User:ChristmasGospel|ChristmasGospel]] ([[User talk:ChristmasGospel|talk]]) 19:14, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:No, it has not been hacked. The error message means that the server that is hosting the wiki is under a lot of stress and load. '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#db97bf">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#97b6db">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 19:20, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
::Yes and no.<br />
::;429 Too Many Requests (RFC 6585):The user has sent too many requests in a given amount of time. Intended for use with rate-limiting schemes.<br />
::...it generally means that (in the opinion of the server), the person getting the 429 has been bashing the connection too much. This ''could'' be because they happen to be going through the same proxy as an actual prolific user (or several sub-prolific ones that similarly got lumped together to add up to "too much"), but load-sharing systems generally account for that already. General 'stress and load' is more likely to invoke a 500s message (depending upon what actually is happening).<br />
::But, either way, if you get one of them then you're advised to pause, take a breath, perhaps wait a little before your next refresh/reload attempt, but if ''that'' goes wrong then wait a bit longer still (double your patience, maybe), and again more (further doubling) as necessary.<br />
::Either it's not your fault, but you probably don't need to add to the problems, or it ''is'' your fault (e.g. you're webscraping in the background at full throttle) and you ''really'' need to stop causing those problems (and try not to do it again later). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.109|172.70.90.109]] 20:17, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::Oops-you’re right. I just did a cursory search on google with the Google AI, so that explanation is more correct. Thank you! '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#db97bf">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#97b6db">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 22:42, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Hint: even if you don't entirely trust Wikipedia not to be written (or rewritten) wrongly, you don't get the whole world of possible wrongness of a mostly uncomprehending AI repeating a load of mangled fragments put together on an "at least it looks grammatically correct" basis. If you trust AI so much that you don't go looking anywhere else (there are plenty of technical sites out there, including the actual official RFCs which say what servers ''should'' be doing and saying) but Wikipedia is also far from wrong and pretty thorough on this point.<br />
::::Ask Google's AI for entertainment, or to start to put together a school report (but be prepared to check ''everything'', as well as edit enough not to be caught by AI-detection as well as Plagiarism-detection). But not for insta-expertise, if you've not got enough grounding in the subject to at least sanity-checking what you're being told. Truth-checking and reality-checking are always necessary, of course, no matter what the source. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.36|141.101.98.36]] 01:25, 30 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::Noted and acknowledged. '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#db97bf">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#97b6db">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 14:31, 30 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== RSS Feed: XML not well-formed ==<br />
<br />
<pre>XML Parsing Error: not well-formed<br />
<br />
Location: https://explainxkcd.com/rss.xml?_SLWxoPenuRl=nOtinFEeDPREVIew<br />
<br />
Line Number 31, Column 18:<br />
<br />
<title>3015: D&D Combinatorics</title><br />
------------------------^<br />
</pre><br />
<br />
PHP-Fix:<br />
<br />
$title = str_replace("&", "&amp;amp;", $title);<br />
<br />
or <br />
<br />
$title = htmlspecialchars($title);<br />
<br />
: Same problem here. Perhaps surprisingly, this is the first time an xkcd title has included an ampersand (as far as I can see from [[List_of_all_comics_(full)]]). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.85|141.101.99.85]] 14:16, 7 December 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== rss feed ==<br />
<br />
Hello<br />
<br />
the rss feed is broken, could you fix it ?<br />
<br />
Error : <br />
try{(function overrideDefaultMethods(r, g, b, a, scriptId, storedObjectPrefix) {<br />
var scriptNode = document.getElementById(scriptId);<br />
function showNotification() {<br />
const evt = new CustomEvent(storedObjectPrefix + "_show_notification", {'detail': {}});<br />
window.dispatchEvent(evt);<br />
}<br />
function overrideCanvasProto(root) {<br />
function overrideCanvasInternal(name, old) {<br />
root.prototype[storedObjectPrefix + name] = old;<br />
Object.defineProperty(root.prototype, name,<br />
{<br />
value: function () {<br />
var width = this.width;<br />
var height = this.height;<br />
var context = this.getContext("2d");<br />
var imageData = context.getImageData(0, 0, width, height);<br />
for (var i = 0; i < height; i++) {<br />
for (var j = 0; j < width; j++) {<br />
var index = ((i * (width * 4)) + (j * 4));<br />
imageData.data[index + 0] = imageData.data[index + 0] + r;<br />
imageData.data[index + 1] = imageData.data[index + 1] + g;<br />
imageData.data[index + 2] = imageData.data[index + 2] + b;<br />
imageData.data[index + 3] = imageData.data[index + 3] + a;<br />
}<br />
}<br />
context.putImageData(imageData, 0, 0);<br />
showNotification();<br />
return old.apply(this, arguments);<br />
}<br />
}<br />
);<br />
}<br />
overrideCanvasInternal("toDataURL", root.prototype.toDataURL);<br />
overrideCanvasInternal("toBlob", root.prototype.toBlob);<br />
//overrideCanvasInternal("mozGetAsFile", root.prototype.mozGetAsFile);<br />
}<br />
function overrideCanvaRendProto(root) {<br />
const name = "getImageData";<br />
const getImageData = root.prototype.getImageData;<br />
<br />
root.prototype[storedObjectPrefix + name] = getImageData;<br />
<br />
Object.defineProperty(root.prototype, "getImageData",<br />
{<br />
value: function () {<br />
var imageData = getImageData.apply(this, arguments);<br />
var height = imageData.height;<br />
var width = imageData.width;<br />
// console.log("getImageData " + width + " " + height);<br />
for (var i = 0; i < height; i++) {<br />
for (var j = 0; j < width; j++) {<br />
var index = ((i * (width * 4)) + (j * 4));<br />
imageData.data[index + 0] = imageData.data[index + 0] + r;<br />
imageData.data[index + 1] = imageData.data[index + 1] + g;<br />
imageData.data[index + 2] = imageData.data[index + 2] + b;<br />
imageData.data[index + 3] = imageData.data[index + 3] + a;<br />
}<br />
}<br />
showNotification();<br />
return imageData;<br />
}<br />
}<br />
);<br />
}<br />
function inject(element) {<br />
if (element.tagName.toUpperCase() === "IFRAME" && element.contentWindow) {<br />
try {<br />
var hasAccess = element.contentWindow.HTMLCanvasElement;<br />
} catch (e) {<br />
console.log("can't access " + e);<br />
return;<br />
}<br />
overrideCanvasProto(element.contentWindow.HTMLCanvasElement);<br />
overrideCanvaRendProto(element.contentWindow.CanvasRenderingContext2D);<br />
overrideDocumentProto(element.contentWindow.Document);<br />
}<br />
}<br />
function overrideDocumentProto(root) {<br />
function doOverrideDocumentProto(old, name) {<br />
root.prototype[storedObjectPrefix + name] = old;<br />
Object.defineProperty(root.prototype, name,<br />
{<br />
value: function () {<br />
var element = old.apply(this, arguments);<br />
// console.log(name+ " everridden call"+element);<br />
if (element == null) {<br />
return null;<br />
}<br />
if (Object.prototype.toString.call(element) === '[object HTMLCollection]' ||<br />
Object.prototype.toString.call(element) === '[object NodeList]') {<br />
for (var i = 0; i < element.length; ++i) {<br />
var el = element[i];<br />
// console.log("elements list inject " + name);<br />
inject(el);<br />
}<br />
} else {<br />
// console.log("element inject " + name);<br />
inject(element);<br />
}<br />
return element;<br />
}<br />
}<br />
);<br />
}<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.createElement, "createElement");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.createElementNS, "createElementNS");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.getElementById, "getElementById");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.getElementsByName, "getElementsByName");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.getElementsByClassName, "getElementsByClassName");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.getElementsByTagName, "getElementsByTagName");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.getElementsByTagNameNS, "getElementsByTagNameNS");<br />
}<br />
overrideCanvasProto(HTMLCanvasElement);<br />
overrideCanvaRendProto(CanvasRenderingContext2D);<br />
overrideDocumentProto(Document);<br />
scriptNode.parentNode.removeChild(scriptNode);<br />
})(24,14,-9,19,"ojkrt", "ltwvx");} catch (e) {console.error(e);}Erreur d’analyse XML : mal formé<br />
Emplacement : https://explainxkcd.com/rss.xml<br />
Numéro de ligne 63, Colonne 18 :<br />
<title>3015: D&D Combinatorics</title><br />
------------------------^<br />
<br />
== Total amount of accounts created on this wiki? ==<br />
<br />
I was editing [[explain xkcd:Museum]] and I was wondering how many accounts have ever been created. Is there a way to access this? {{unsigned|DollarStoreBa'al|15:52, 17 March 2025}}<br />
:Hey, I moved your message from the Coordination portal. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:26, 17 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
:The base information you need is from the special page that is https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:Log/newusers - although bear in mind that an overwhelming number of created accounts are spam-attempts (that get no further), so perhaps the count needs to be qualified as "users that have then gone on to post" (a few of which ''are'' still spam-only contributors, but now an insignificant amount rather than a probably overwhelming majoriy).<br />
:How you go about counting ''and'' classifying valid accounts is up to you, of course. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.68|162.158.74.68]] 21:46, 17 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
::How would one actually count these? Is there an easier way? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:37, 18 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::There's <code><nowiki>[[Special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFUSERS}}]]</nowiki></code>, that gives you the value [[Special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFUSERS}}]] (it was 142,958 when I wrote this), for the total number of registered users (including no-input pre-spammers, only-ever-spammed contributors, "I only created this account to say..."ers who didn't realised they could do as much as an IP, maybe some banned, sock-puppet/legitimate-alts/forgot-my-old-login duplicate accounts, maybe ''not'' some totally excised by top-tier-admins).<br />
:::There's also <code><nowiki>[[Special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFACTIVEUSERS}}]]</nowiki></code>, with the value [[Special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFACTIVEUSERS}}]] (119, as I write this), which I think is everyone active (+registered) in the past 30 days.<br />
:::Possibly there are other "magic word" values for more useful in-betweeny values (nearer the top end of the first), e.g. of everyone who has made at least one edit ''ever''. But not sure I know what that might off the top of my head.<br />
:::I can think of ways to ''interrogate'' the wiki for one or other (better) counting criteria, but it would be horribly intensive. If anyone wanted to do this (it already needing a bit more technical ability than merely using inbuilt auto-value magic words, and preferably you'd need to not be a 'mere' scriptkiddie jumping in with both feet without knowing how to do it sensibly), I'd suggest ensuring a ''very'' throttled-back process that may take its time over days. Then, once 'completed', a not-quite-so-throttled-back version can just 'top up' its stats with everything from the last point you'd reached the last time round until the present (to never hammer the site).<br />
:::Please please please, though, you should probably only try any of this if you're already sure of everything I've been suggesting. There are also far easier ways to attempt a DoS, but it would be ironic if you did this ''while trying to be helpful''... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.65|141.101.98.65]] 20:43, 18 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
::::Oh neat that's exactly what we needed! Could you add these magic words to the museum, maybe calling one "total accounts" and the other one "users active in last 30 days"? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:21, 19 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== email confirmation ==<br />
<br />
my email confirmation did not get sent even after a week. is there anything wrong? - [[User:Bb777|(((((((((((((([...]((((((((((((((]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]]) 21:36, 22 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
:been broken for a decade i think. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 08:25, 23 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
::WE REALLY NEED JEFF BACK !!!!!!!! [[User:Bb777|hi]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]]) 16:12, 24 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== RSS ==<br />
<br />
RIP RSS feed yet again. 23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)[[User:Bb777|&#91;insert signature here&#93;]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]])<br />
:Is there something new we should know? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.58.6|172.70.58.6]] 00:30, 25 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== MediaWiki error when visiting [[1270: Functional]] or [[1270]] ==<br />
<br />
When I go to [[1270: Functional]] or [[1270]], there is a MediaWiki error. This does not occur at [[1269]] or [[1271]]. [[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 13:57, 9 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
:Could not replicate.<br />
:[[1270]] redirects to [[1270: Functional]], so does it happen for you if you go via [[Functional]] and ''its'' redirect? How about https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1270:_Functional (as URL) rather than what you may be doing (but so did I, at first, still to find no error) in plugging the text into the "Search explain xkcd" field..?<br />
:Unless it's an off-page edit (some template, broken and then fixed), the page itself seems to have no recent edit to explain any changes (to broken and/or to unbroken)... I think we may need more info. Including myself in "we" in case it's an error even I can fix, which isn't unknown but not guaranteed! [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.160|172.71.178.160]]<br />
::Screenshot of MediaWiki internal error when visiting [[1270: Functional]]: https://gcdnb.pbrd.co/images/L5icGdZ9nBzw.png?o=1 <br />
::Screenshot of MediaWiki internal error when visiting [[1270]]: https://gcdnb.pbrd.co/images/1nP1qunLk86a.png?o=1<br />
::Screenshot of MediaWiki internal error when visiting [[Functional]]: https://gcdnb.pbrd.co/images/7S3Ct5wghTIH.png?o=1<br />
::Screenshot of MediaWiki internal error when visiting [[1270: Functional]] via index.php: https://gcdnb.pbrd.co/images/HghYaRj9wA1f.png?o=1 [[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 14:06, 14 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::I can see the history page, but the same error occurs when I visit any diff links, old versions, and the talk page. [[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 14:12, 14 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
::::Anybody else? ''None'' of that happens here.<br />
::::Could it be somehow browser-specific, or even extension-related? One thing to try is if you any further browsers handily installed (or installable) that you can use (even if just just for this one purpose, you don't need them to be the default system one). As of right now, though, I'm flumoxed and don't have any obvious other steps, and I dont believe anybody else has the means to enable the debug options.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.190|172.69.79.190]] 22:17, 14 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::::This occurs on a Chromebook managed by my school, so I can't install any browsers besides Chrome and I can't manage the extensions. I can see the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1270:_Functional&action=edit editing page] but I get an even less elegantly presented [https://gcdnb.pbrd.co/images/xQOVUQMjoF1r.png?o=1 error] when I try to preview the page.[[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 20:30, 24 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Couldn't replicate either, Windows 11 Chrome Canary. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 17:14, 16 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
:Figured out the problem. This error occurs on any page using the <code><nowiki><math></nowiki></code> tag. I don't know why, though. [[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 20:30, 24 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
::Yep, added <code><nowiki><math>This causes an error.</math></nowiki></code> to the top of [[explain xkcd:Sandbox]] and now it gives the same error. [[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 20:35, 24 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::This bug has been around for at least 7 years. Here's the fix: [[#Mediawiki exception on some pages]]. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 21:01, 24 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Captcha repeat ==<br />
When you've finished editing, there is an "I'm not a robot" CAPTCHA.<br />
<br />
But if you preview the changes before saving, that gets reset, so you can't just say "yup, looks good, go ahead and publish this change."<br />
<br />
How hard would it be to make the CAPTCHA sticky, so that it doesn't need an extra interaction/mouse movement after previewing? <br />
<br />
Or, alternatively, to not display either the CAPTCHA or the Save Changes until after a preview. {{unsigned|JimJJewett20:40, 14 April 2025}}<br />
<br />
:If you're going to Preview (which can often be a good idea), don't bother ticking the "I am not a robot". Previews (also the "Show Changes") are 'free' and don't need you to feed the CAPTHA machine.<br />
:What's wrong with 1) editing, 2) previewing, 3) going "Yup, looks good" and ticking the box, 3a) ''if'' required, fulfill the Captcha, 4) Submit..?<br />
:It's exactly the same amount of work as having the Captcha-fulfillment at position (1a) and 'sticky'<br />
:Also, however hard it might be to 'sticky' the CAPTCHA, there's a ''reason'' that a validated CAPTCHA isn't held over willy-nilly. Theoretically, an automated system (or semi-attended one) that relied upon finding out if it ''could'' post an edit, before it even bothered to try could benefit (if only by a smidgen) from first having a pot-shot at authorisation and only then (presumably before any 'time out' kicked in) pushing the latest spambot stuff.<br />
:I see no value in allowing that, even if there was anybody who might have enough of an 'in' on the server code to enable such a thing. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.33.248|162.158.33.248]] 23:02, 14 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
:Moved this to technical portal. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 17:07, 16 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Request for feedback about {{tl|comic}} ==<br />
<br />
Hey, I'd like to hear someone else's opinion on the random button on our comic template, please see this page: [[Template talk:comic#Random button should link to Special:RandomInCategory]] --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 08:30, 2 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Does anyone here know how to create a random link that fetches pages from two different categories? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 10:12, 4 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== the rss feed seems to be broken ==<br />
<br />
the rss feed button on the side leading to https://explainxkcd.com/rss.xml throws up and error making the feed not load properly in rss readers. <br />
<br />
"This page contains the following errors:<br />
error on line 463 at column 18: EntityRef: expecting ';'<br />
Below is a rendering of the page up to the first error." {{unsigned ip|172.71.241.19|20:38, 5 May 2025}}<br />
:I think this is the continuing issue as of [[#RSS Feed: XML not well-formed]], you're talking about. As far as I'm aware unfixed and (with the current smattering of active admins at their limits of admin-levels) unfixable. Because of a 'bare' ampersand (or two) being misinterpreted as a failed attempt at a character-entity reference. ''If'' that was fixed, without me noticing, then I'm sure someone will be along to try to fix your new issue too.<br />
:People have been trying to prod other people who can prod the server back into shape (insofar as that issue), but I've not yet been privy to anything coming of that, and presume you're just trapped in the exact same glitch. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.30|172.70.91.30]] 21:59, 5 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What exactly happens if it's broken? Is it just unusable forever, or is just that one comic that's broken? Or something else? I'm curious. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:24, 6 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::It's unusable so long as the "I'm parsing this is an '&amp;Thing;' ... oh, wait, it has no closing ';'... ARGH!" happens to it. If you click on the RSS feed, to the left, you can see how it shows the (not ''quite'' humanly-readable) lines of the RSS feed (most recent, chronologically backwards) until the last line it shows is the comic imediately after the most recent "D&D" entry. (Actually, depends on browser. Sorry, just checked. It does that on Android Chrome, but currently I'm on Windows Firefox and it 'only' complains. But if you'll take my word for it.)<br />
:::Someone really needs to go into the https://explainxkcd.com/rss.xml file (who can edit it directly) and find the two "D&D" instances and make them "D&amp;amp;D". (Note to editors: Had to "amp amp" the "amp", here in this edit, to get it to appear just as amp... In case you get confused when coming in here and expecting to see "D&amp;D" :P )<br />
:::The fact that nobody has yet managed to do it is probably because nobody (from Kynde to Theusaf) has the server-root access necessary to edit things at that level.<br />
:::Until it's changed (I assume the xml updating is done at a more server-backend level than most of the rest of the administrative functions, but I'm not at all au fait with mediawiki's internals to that level), whenever a 'compliant' (and, apparently, ''very'' strict) parser tries to read the .xml it'll 'quite rightly' tell you that there's a bare ampersand and then refuses to do anything more.<br />
:::Again, without knowing the technical operation of what ''wrote'' the original data, it seems like there was insufficient 'sanitising' of the input. It applied the bare-ampersand without forward-converting it to an ampersanded ampersand-entity. That maybe also needs fixing (in case we get more), even if the existing ones get manually changed. I don't use any RSS feeds, myself, being too new-fangled ("Initial release: RSS 0.90 (Netscape), March 15, 1999; 26 years ago; Latest release: RSS 2.0 (version 2.0.11) March 30, 2009; 16 years ago"... yeah, ''to me'' that's still new-fangled! :P ) so all I know about how this one fails is what people have talked about above, and trivially clicking on the left-sidebar link to look at it myself, and venture what I think is the logical nature of the glitch (both cause and effect). Maybe somebody knows more about it, but I'm filling in until that person comes along and says otherswise (and/or more) about it. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.33.193|162.158.33.193]] 20:28, 6 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::: It's not being "very strict" to reject an unescaped ampersand: it's just part of the XML spec. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.216.67|162.158.216.67]] 09:00, 28 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Random comic/explanation glitches ==<br />
<br />
For some reason, I can''not'' press random without being sent to either the Verizon comic-thing or comic #4 (this is one of my first times commenting, no clue how to do links). I’ve now pressed the button for random comic 8 times and keep getting these two pages, any idea for fixing this? [[User:AK24Ammit|AH24Ammit]] ([[User talk:AK24Ammit|talk]]) 00:24, 22 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:update: it’s now added repeatedly sending me to [[1057:Klout]] and [[2875:2024]]. I can’t get it to send me to any other page through the random button. After 23 random comic presses, I got each of these four comics 6 times and the latest comic once. [[User:AK24Ammit|AH24Ammit]] ([[User talk:AK24Ammit|talk]]) 00:29, 22 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Incessant 503 errors ==<br />
<br />
I cannot keep contributing to this site if the 503 errors continue. The time it takes to perform a single action is about 10 times greater than it should be, some pages never load, and almost everything is broken and outdated. The situation will get worse if we do nothing. We have to do something :( &nbsp; --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:47, 26 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:I've not yet found any page that won't ever load, can you give an example?<br />
:Updating the website, though useful for other reasons, also cannot help this problem much. Different hosting might help, but mostly different proxying. Site-side changes, of the kind we've perhaps been waiting for, would be minimally useful to this external issue. Maybe we'll get some changes out of this crisis, maybe we'll just get the site closed down as not worth the additional effort. (Just going read-only might not even help, and would still be gruelling loss.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.10|172.71.178.10]] 16:27, 26 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Can't do much better than Cloudflare for proxying, at least not on a budget. If the DDOS is from an AI-scraper or a malicious-but-not-paying-attention source, temporarily shifting everything to a new domain and having explainxkcd.com just be a placeholder with human-readable instructions to het to the temp site ''might'' help, at least until the adversary adapted. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.16|162.158.167.16]] 19:31, 26 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Well anything would be better than the current situation, except a total shutdown. Why is nobody worried this entire wiki is dying in front of our eyes and the owner doesn't even remember it exists? Jesus --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:03, 27 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Same issue. What could be causing this? {{unsigned ip|162.158.114.253|14:49, 27 May 2025}}<br />
::The server's seemingly being hammered by a new batch of unregulated traffic, that's been hammering many other sites. Your attempts to connect are getting lost in the overload, until the instigators get bored, smarter/kinder or someone implements a better way to stop the offending connections better. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.160|172.70.162.160]] 16:41, 27 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== wtf is going on with the server?? ==<br />
<br />
why is the site giving a db error 90% of the time? is something wrong? how/when will it be fixed? (can it be fixed at all?) update: the db crashed AGAIN while i was writing this. also its not like above section, since it currently *specifically* gives db errors. "cannot access the database." [[User:An user who has no account yet|An user who has no account yet]] ([[User talk:An user who has no account yet|talk]]) 16:54, 27 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:See the sub-header above (and other contributions by people in the last two or three comic Discussions), but imagine you're at a party, trying to talk to your friends, and people you don't know keep coming over and trying to start various inane conversations that just keep distracting you, and ''they just won't leave you alone!''<br />
:So: 1) Too much traffic. 2) Not with the server. 3) Difficult/not quickly (it's not really a server-fix). And the DB isn't fully crashing (that'd do something else). It's just unable to reply to everyone, every time, and even saying "No I can't talk to you" takes up time.<br />
:Ideally, you get someone else to intercept anyone coming over to talk to you. Maybe a VIP-section "red rope", and a big guy with a clipboard of guests/a personal secretary to vet newcomers. Doing that yourself is just going to distract you more. (Or you can take enough amphetamines to become enough of a party animal to comfortably be at the centre of the ''wildest'' of parties, but that takes finding a dealer with the right product, as well as other problems. And the tendency to overextend your analogies.) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.72|172.68.205.72]] 19:36, 27 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
::That reads like the "explain" of an XKCD that I want to see. :P [[Special:Contributions/162.158.175.131|162.158.175.131]] 21:17, 27 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==Special:ContributionScores on Main Page busts caching, causing load==<br />
<br />
Long story short, the Main Page transcludes a top contributors table, [[Special:ContributionScores/10/30]], which marks the entire Main Page as dynamic (not cacheable). This means that (1) Cloudflare is not serving up a static version of this page, even to those not logged in, (2) the Main Page wikitext is getting reparsed on every hit, and (3) the parser is recreating the table from scratch on every hit, consuming a lot of database connection time, roughly between 0.5 and 1.0 second each. This is...suspicious, given the wiki's technical difficulties. I suggest an experiment with removing it to see if technical issues improve. If so, and if people wish to keep the table, I suggest creating a static version of the table that is updated only occasionally (even once every few hours by bot should be fine).<br />
<br />
The whole story is: While browsing overnight, I noticed that the issues with page loads seemed caching-related; pages never seemed to load on the first click, though refreshing was often successful, at least during the presumably lower-load overnight hours. Research led me to the possibility that some broken caching system was leading to the database running out of connections (even on a cache hit, one is still needed to determine whether it is a cache hit or miss), so I started looking at some technical indicators, eventually leading to the parser profiling ("NewPP") and transclusions block at the end of the parser output [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=parse&page=Main%20Page here].<br />
<br />
For the main page, it outputs:<br />
<br />
<nowiki>NewPP limit report<br />
Cached time: 20250528101640<br />
Cache expiry: 0<br />
Dynamic content: true<br />
CPU time usage: 0.059 seconds<br />
Real time usage: 2.564 seconds<br />
Preprocessor visited node count: 273/1000000<br />
Preprocessor generated node count: 2367/1000000<br />
Post\u2010expand include size: 17895/2097152 bytes<br />
Template argument size: 714/2097152 bytes<br />
Highest expansion depth: 7/40<br />
Expensive parser function count: 4/100<br />
--><br />
<!--<br />
Transclusion expansion time report (%,ms,calls,template)<br />
100.00% 1762.386 1 -total<br />
65.93% 1161.960 1 3094<br />
33.89% 597.347 1 Special:ContributionScores/10/30/nosort,notools<br />
22.59% 398.159 1 Template:comic<br />
16.62% 292.973 1 Template:incomplete_transcript<br />
15.21% 268.077 1 Template:incomplete<br />
6.34% 111.727 1 Template:comic_discussion<br />
6.20% 109.319 1 MediaWiki:Mainpage<br />
0.21% 3.766 4 Template:w<br />
0.09% 1.566 5 Template:LATESTCOMIC</nowiki><br />
<br />
The 2.5 seconds taken isn't itself necessarily a problem, but notice that the page is considered dynamic content with immediate cache expiration. This contrasts with a normal page like [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=parse&page=3094:%20Mass%20Spec the latest comic]:<br />
<br />
<nowiki><!-- <br />
NewPP limit report<br />
Cached time: 20250528111305<br />
Cache expiry: 86400<br />
Dynamic content: false<br />
CPU time usage: 0.060 seconds<br />
Real time usage: 0.333 seconds<br />
Preprocessor visited node count: 324/1000000<br />
Preprocessor generated node count: 2362/1000000<br />
Post\u2010expand include size: 63936/2097152 bytes<br />
Template argument size: 1609/2097152 bytes<br />
Highest expansion depth: 9/40<br />
Expensive parser function count: 3/100<br />
--><br />
<!--<br />
Transclusion expansion time report (%,ms,calls,template)<br />
100.00% 160.074 1 -total<br />
37.56% 60.117 1 Template:comic<br />
20.70% 33.133 1 Template:comic_discussion<br />
19.54% 31.277 1 Template:cn<br />
8.81% 14.101 5 Template:w<br />
8.31% 13.303 1 MediaWiki:Mainpage<br />
7.86% 12.585 1 Template:incomplete_transcript<br />
5.26% 8.424 1 Template:incomplete<br />
4.83% 7.739 2 Template:notice<br />
1.38% 2.212 2 Talk:3094:_Mass_Spec<br />
--><br />
</div><br />
<!-- Saved in parser cache with key expla0_db423085716:pcache:idhash:29008-0!canonical and timestamp 20250528111305 and revision id 378578<br />
--></nowiki><br />
<br />
From a quick search, it sounds like transclusion of a special page will always cause the parser cache to be bypassed, causing all of the parsed output to be regenerated on every hit by any visitor, logged in or not, via the API or not, etc. (While it's not technically wrong that increased number of visits may be causing issues, this would be a multiplicative exacerbation of that.) Combined with the fact that the page is recreating a pretty heavy database query to count and tabulate the last 30 days of edits, this seems Really Bad. [[User:AySz88|AySz88]] ([[User talk:AySz88|talk]]) 11:14, 28 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: Edited for corrections and clarity. Also, one can generate and profile the cost of any bit of wikitext using the API: <nowiki>https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=parse&text={{Special:ContributionScores/10/7/nosort,notools}}&title=Special:ContributionScores</nowiki> would create and time the processing time needed to generate <nowiki>{{Special:ContributionScores/10/7/nosort,notools}}</nowiki>.<br />
: I'd noticed that there was a recent change from 7 to 30 days of scoring, but it turns out that doesn't make a big difference in processing time. In addition, the parser considering the content static doesn't seem to be enough for Cloudflare to start caching a page, so that might not be as easy to change. Still, simply allowing the parser output to be saved and regenerating the table for the vast majority of visitors' hits might be a big help. [[User:AySz88|AySz88]] ([[User talk:AySz88|talk]]) 13:27, 28 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: Does this affect other pages? If not, then the main DB issues aren't fixed... but if it does, then why is the contribs page loaded for EVERY page? Also, I *support* removing this... it's just a showcase that exists for no good reason if shown to every viewer, the recent contribs should probably be restricted to users only or something [[Special:Contributions/162.158.8.176|162.158.8.176]] 08:30, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::: The contrib table doesn't load on every page, but the vast majority of hits are going to be to the Main Page. And (my hypothesis is) it holds database connections open while it's running, which consumes that limited resource on the server. (We could just raise the cap, but we don't have access to the server.) A lot of the lag time in the profiler above is just sitting in a queue for the next database connection, which affects everything. So in that sense, it affects the whole wiki. [[User:AySz88|AySz88]] ([[User talk:AySz88|talk]]) 17:53, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Hi. I changed to 30 days on suggestion by FaviFake. But that was in March. Just changed it back to 7 again just to try it. Of course I can also try to remove it for a period of time. But for us that makes a lot of contributions that list is a motivating factor. So I would hate to remove it. Also it has worked with 30 days for more than two months and with the 7 days for as long as I have used the site (since 2012). So it seems weird that it should suddenly be the front page that breaks it all. It is also not the first time we have had these issues. Not sure how they where resolved last time but strange if it suddenly is the main page that causes all these problems [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:29, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::: (Un)Fortunately(?) I suspect the technical caching issue is more relevant, where naively transcluding a Special page via <code><nowiki>{{Special:...}}</nowiki></code> causes everything to re-process on every hit. That doesn't mean losing the feature entirely (or even the 30 days); I can help make a bot that can send the output (inside <code><nowiki>https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=parse&text={{Special:ContributionScores/10/30,nosort,notools}}&title=Special:ContributionScores&format=json</nowiki></code>) to a template, automatically updating once per short interval (an hour?). The delayed version can also be Main Page only; the live version can always still be linked, and/or the full page linked to.<br />
::: You're right that perhaps this isn't necessarily ''the'' proximate "straw that broke the camel's back" cause. And there are a lot of other problems and solutions that could help - like simply raising the DB connection cap, or all the stuff about crawler traffic, and that Cloudflare doesn't seem to be caching the basically-static CSS from tool.php, etc. etc... But without admin access to diagnostics or settings for the database and Cloudflare, we can only work with the tools we have. Even this specific widget itself does some caching in a newer update, but we don't have access to updating it. (That said, I'm still keeping an eye out for other things that might have changed recently.) [[User:AySz88|AySz88]] ([[User talk:AySz88|talk]]) 17:53, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
::::As it did not help making it 7 days again I have now removed it. Seems to make no difference to begin with. But lets give it some time to work. But I'm not optimistic. Let me know if I moved the correct bit, I'm no expert just sadly the only active admin and we cannot get hold of Jeff... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:34, 30 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
Since the removal of the Rankings table, I haven't noticed a downtick of connection errors. (That said, I dislike people ''aiming'' to be in the Rankings, I consider that editing should be its own reward, so personally I'd be happier without it anywhere quite as prominent.) Haven't done a full technical analysis, but I estimate that from a prior peak of maybe 1.5 "technical difficulties" or "also, a 503 error" responses, generally varying between zero issues (straight in) and normal worstest-case scenario of three attempts (fourth attempt is Ok, ''maybe'' unstylsheeted), in the last 24 hours it's been more like 2.5:1 fail to success ratio. (i.e. reaching up to maybe 6th-attempt success, worst case.) Not nice, but survivable.<br />
<br />
Though got a new one, just a few minutes ago. An actual Cloudflare error: "SSL handshake failed Error code 525 // Visit cloudflare.com for more information. // 2025-05-30 20:01:57 UTC". In case that interests anyone. Looks like the server was temperarily so incapacitated as to not be able to even handshake with the proxy. But I don't currently expect that to recur, just thought I'd note it as a 'new' glitch, in passing. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.241.123|172.71.241.123]] 20:37, 30 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: Well, ''right now'' things seem more stable. But during Friday just after the change, when pages could load at all, I noticed they were loading faster, but the availability was just as bad or worse for a while. I'm not really sure how much credit to the latest improvement goes to changing the contribution table. [[User:AySz88|AySz88]] ([[User talk:AySz88|talk]]) 00:59, 2 June 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Everything seems to be good now. No constant DB errors, and it's now smooth! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.8.142|162.158.8.142]] 07:00, 2 June 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Should I try inserting the contribution score to see if the problems return, because it would be nice to know if it was this or just random. Also even though some might dislike this score it has been there always, and should not just be removed because one person writes negatively about it. But of course if it was really the reason behind the problems it has to stay of the front page. But a link could be inserted. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:44, 2 June 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::To clarify, I wasn't saying I disliked the score, ''per se'', just that it encourages edits-for-the-sake-of-edits and (though I rarely see the Main Page myself) is prominent enough for the new discoverers of the site to take as a challenge (in well-meaning ways, as well as less so). I have sympathy with "But for us that makes a lot of contributions that list is a motivating factor." Just pointing out the functional inverse that it is a motivating factor ''to make a lot of contributions''. (And that I personally abstain from that competition, buried within the contributions of various other IPers, no temptation at all to edit without decent cause.)<br />
:::A version of the table weighted against new accounts ''might'' make me happier, but too many ways of doing that (hard threshold, to kick in at an arbitrary 'account maturity' age, so no-one appears on the list until 'old enough'; a formula that slopes from 0 to 1 at the "maturity" time, multiply the contributions by the current value; ditto, but a smoother function that becomes assymptotic to 1) that probably also involve scripted conversions and various arbitrary choices. So not something I'd imagine being done.<br />
:::I do think it's a good idea to re-add it ''for science''. Give it a week to settle down, without it as an issue. If (as it seems) it has died down properly, add it again for a further week (or less, if it becomes obvious it has reintroduced the same DoS-like scenario). Let the outcome shape your further decision, or fine-tuning. Not mere yay/nay preferences, like mine, regarding it.<br />
:::It's also very likely only a ''factor'' in the slow-down. It was ok (in both 7 day and 30 day versions) for aong time, but ''together with'' increased amounts of site traffic (as per anecdotal evidence from elsewhere on the 'net) it went bad on us. The improved situation could also have been due to the perpetrators turning their (accidental?) web-hammering scripts off, having finished their project, or now making them far less aggressive. The 'benefits' of the League Table might not now cause such side-effects. But also it's still possible that the problematic traffic comes back and hobbles the site gain, regardless of the absence frontpage League Tabling.<br />
:::And you can always add the Special:ContributionScores(-slash-whatever) information as a link to go to, rather than transcluded (if you've decided that it's still trouble to have where it was). But cross that bridge if you come to it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.109|172.70.90.109]] 16:31, 2 June 2025 (UTC)<br />
::PS I also gets 0-2 errors at the moment, so it is not all good, had to reload twice to get the comment above posted. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:45, 2 June 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::My observations: still 'terrible', maybe even slightly worse, Friday and early Saturday, UK time, noting the Friday Comic didn't get Bot-imported until well into Saturday PM (theusaf might have failure logs?), but I'm sure I saw it on xkcd.com on Saturday morning (but still had showed Wednesday as of Fri/Sat midnight, UTC+1, or thereabouts, i.e. early Friday evening Randall Time, not untypical for such updates). The table-transclusion was removed at least a full day before. Don't know if anything else caused lag in the proxy's response.<br />
:::Since Saturday evening, more or less ok. ''Some'' errors, in line with "background levels" before this recent splurge actually hit. If I get a "technical problems", an imminent refresh sorts it (doesn't return another error), gets on with things. Not perfect, might mean a bit more RAM/swapspace might further help, or a higher quota of shared processing threads (if there are any that can be spared from whatever else is running in whatever rackspace unit it might be). Livable, if also still vulnerable to the next period of increased pressure. Keeping an eye on it, and still trying to eventually get through to the hardware-owning sysops, would be wise. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.109|172.70.90.109]] 16:31, 2 June 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== What would it take to clone ExplainXKCD? ==<br />
<br />
What would it take technically and financially to clone this web site?<br />
<br />
Installing MediaWiki and cloning the wiki pages should be fairly straightforward. There may be some pain due to differences in MediaWiki versions.<br />
<br />
Cloning or rewriting the bots may be a chore.<br />
<br />
Paying for hosting and Cloudflare will take a steady stream of income.<br />
<br />
There's also legal issues, like how to protect everyone from liability if someone wants to sue, even if it's a frivolous suit.<br />
<br />
There will need to be multiple administrators at every level so we don't have the "if one person disappears for awhile and problems arise, we are stuck" issues.<br />
<br />
My guess is that between the existing administrators and regular contributors, we have the technical skills to do this. It's the financial and legal issues that give me pause.<br />
<br />
Yes, I'm an occasional contributor, and no, I haven't created an account yet. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.175.119|162.158.175.119]] 19:51, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:It would help if we didn't want to clone ''all page history''. Already, it would bar those bits hidden behind admin-level deletions, etc, but limiting the actual depth of history scraped up and made available on a new platform would be wise from a 'start over' POV, ''especially'' if not having direct access to the core database. Possibly a 'bot could maintain an "anything new on old site gets reduplicated to new site" until a phased cut-off, with enough thought, dyluring the ''duration'' of the migratory process, but you need a solid base (maybe with further back-filled history as much as you can).<br />
::Removing page history might violate the "attribution" part of the CC-BY-SA license (but I am not a lawyer so don't take my word for it.) [[User:183231bcb|183231bcb]] ([[User talk:183231bcb|talk]]) 17:46, 2 June 2025 (UTC)<br />
:And then there's user accounts. Maybe there's a way to confirm your rights to an original-site username on the new-site (potentially complex things, or just something to do with logins on both, posting "it's me" on the new site, then "yes, that new-site claim me of being me is indeed correct" on old-site, but you still have to deal with potential claim-jumping/identity-gazumping). Which also needs trust of the new-site admins to play fair with potential disputes.<br />
:And it'd be a good opportunity to clean some up things (everyone can think of several inconsistecies that ''they'd'' deal with, given the opportunity), but only with a lot of hands on effort. So factor that in for potential work.<br />
:On the whole, though, best just to 'start fresh'. A task in itself, perhaps use and acknowledge this site's "best material" (I think copyright might be not so much an issue if based upon a fair and dutiful copy, due to the details of [[explain xkcd:Copyrights]], but that's of course something that needs advice sought for any particular implementation). That, of course, needs community acceptance not to be seen as an "upstart usurper" site, perhaps, and could create a schism where some would refuse to partake in the new project at all.<br />
:i.e. you raise good questions (and prompt others), but I'm not sure there are ''undeniably'' objective good answers to them all. Trying it and seeing how it goes is probably the ''only'' way to bash out the many details. Not an easy project. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.241.144|172.71.241.144]] 21:19, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I think it would be absolutely awesome to move to something that *isn't* self hosted, something that as far as I can tell this wiki is. If we move or clone, may we see [https://weirdgloop.org/ Weird Gloop] as an option? They have a lot of experience and will [https://weirdgloop.org/blog/why-were-helping-more-wikis-move-away-from-fandom#how-to-not-turn-into-fandom-20-with-these-2-simple-tricks probably not turn into another fandom and will not be bought by them]. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.130.250|172.69.130.250]] 15:33, 30 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
::Oh ye gods... Yes, whatever you do, ''don't'' go anywhere near Fandom, as a solution. Not that I think this will be a convincing argument on its own, but you'll absolutely lose me as an 'explain' reader (never mind contributor) if it goes onto a Fandom/ex-Wikia hosting model. I've no experience of Weird Gloop (yet), but the URL (about why they're different) certainly does vicerally appeal to me on first glance. Do your own independant research, though, anybody tempted down that or any eqyivalent route. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.241.123|172.71.241.123]] 20:37, 30 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:[https://github.com/saveweb/wikiteam3/ Wikidump] can get all page content with full history (for pages that have not been deleted). It doesn't require admin privileges to use. [[User:183231bcb|183231bcb]] ([[User talk:183231bcb|talk]]) 21:38, 31 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:The site seems stable now, at least for the last half-day. I'm not sure if the attack/scraping ended, or if there's a real back-end fix in place, but here's hoping it stays stable. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.73|172.68.26.73]] 02:11, 1 June 2025 (UTC)<br />
::Replying to '''my''' comment of 02:11, 1 June 2025 immediately above: I spoke too soon, I got two "Sorry! This site is experiencing technical difficulties." errors in less than 5 minutes. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.67.217|172.69.67.217]] 03:20, 2 June 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: Why should we do this in the first place? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.8.165|162.158.8.165]] 07:01, 2 June 2025 (UTC)<br />
:: So we can manage things when someone with server-level access is required. For example, if someone with server-level access was around during the last week or two when we've been having intermittent-but-sometimes-heavy site-is-too-busy-try-again-later errors, we (or, rather, the server operator) would have more insight to the problem and would likely be able to do something about it. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.170.157|172.71.170.157]] 16:01, 2 June 2025 (UTC)</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Technical&diff=378697explain xkcd:Community portal/Technical2025-05-31T21:38:56Z<p>183231bcb: /* What would it take to clone ExplainXKCD? */ Forgot to sign</p>
<hr />
<div><noinclude>__NEWSECTIONLINK__<br />
{{Community links}}<br />
<br />
{|-<br />
|valign="top" width="100%"|[[File:Crystal Clear app package settings blue.png|left|120px]] <big><big><b>Technical</b></big></big><br />
<br />
<i>Technical issues ''about'' the [[explain xkcd]] wiki, including bug reports or MediaWiki extensions requests.</i> {{AddNewSection|Page=Explain XKCD:Community portal/Technical|Text=<small>(+post)</small>}}<br />
|}</noinclude><br />
<br />
==ARCHIVED DISCUSSIONS==<br />
<div class="plainlinks" style="background:#edf6ff; border:1px solid #a7d7f9; margin:1em auto 1em auto; width:100%; font-size: 120%; padding: 0.5ex; text-align: center;">Most of the discussions on this page have been archived. The archive is available at '''[[explain xkcd talk:Community portal/Technical]]'''.</div><br />
<br />
== Unable to view "what if?" page ==<br />
<br />
The link to the page for the [[what if?]] blog displays an error: "No input file specified." [[User:JBYoshi|JBYoshi]] ([[User talk:JBYoshi|talk]]) 03:38, 21 August 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:This also happens to me on [[1205: Is It Worth the Time?]] Must be something with the ?s in the titles. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.66|172.69.22.66]] 15:46, 25 August 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::I've noticed that as well. I made a page in my userspace that redirects to the what if page, and for some reason that seems to work. ([[User:Blue screen of life/whatiflink|here is the link to the page]]) [[User:Blue screen of life|Blue screen of life]] ([[User talk:Blue screen of life|talk]]) 20:09, 31 August 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::I have also noticed this but it is not just on pages with questions marks. Both [[259]] and [[1705]] show the same thing. A full list (as of 22 June 2020) of the ones i found is in the last reply to my report found here [[#2138_page_issues]] [[User:TomW1605|TomW1605]] ([[User talk:TomW1605|talk]]) 12:20, 22 September 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::Both [[259]] and [[1705]] have an ({{w|E acute|e-with-accute-accent}}, Unicode U+00E9) in the URL, so for those pages, I wonder if that has anything to do with it?<br />
::::For the "what if?" page, I had recently added a redirect from [[what if (blog)]] to get to it, and the [[What If]] disambiguation page has been updated with it, so at least we can get to it that way; and for the comic explanations, at least we can get to them by linking to their number-redirects (as [[58]] instead of [[58: Why Do You Love Me?]]); but not sure how to fix it overall. At the following page, it suggests tweaking an {{w|Apache HTTP Server|Apache}} {{w|Rewrite engine|rewrite}} directive in {{w|.htaccess}} (or a {{w|Common Gateway Interface|CGI}} setting in {{w|PHP}} if it's running on {{w|Internet Information Services|IIS}}):<br />
::::* https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Topic:Vmaw1tu5kkhyon0n<br />
::::So maybe something about that has changed recently? Documentation:<br />
::::* [https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/mod/mod_rewrite.html#rewriterule Apache mod_rewrite <code>RewriteRule</code> directive]<br />
::::* [https://www.php.net/manual/en/ini.core.php#ini.cgi.force-redirect php.ini <code>cgi.force_redirect</code> directive]<br />
::::Summarizing a few points from [[User talk:SlashMe#Homeopathic Wiki|this related discussion]]:<br />
::::* Only one of the site's [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:ListUsers?group=sysop 10 administrators] has made recent edits ([[Special:Contributions/SlashMe|SlashMe]]).<br />
::::* Neither of the site's [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:ListUsers?group=bureaucrat 2 bureaucrats] ([[Special:Contributions/Jeff|Jeff]] and [[Special:Contributions/Lcarsos|Lcarsos]]) have made any edits recently.<br />
::::* For admin access to the ''server'' itself, my limited understanding is that [[Special:Contributions/Jeff|Jeff]] might actually own the server, but may have also given admin access to [[Special:Contributions/Dgbrt|Dgbrt]]; however, neither of them have made edits recently.<br />
::::But "most recent edit" might not be a good indicator, so I wonder of some of these folks are still involved in the project?<br />
::::– [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 05:10, 29 September 2020 (UTC)<br />
: Looks like it happens for any page that has a percent-encoding in the title. [[User:PoolloverNathan|PoolloverNathan]]<sup><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Special:Contributions/PoolloverNathan|s]][[User talk:PoolloverNathan|talk]] [[Wikipedia:WP:SEAOFBLUE|the blue seas]]<nowiki>]</nowiki></sup> 16:32, 16 March 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
=== Known broken pages ===<br />
(Redirects work, whereas links to the actual page are broken.)<br />
<br />
Title containing e-accute-accent:<br />
* [[259]] ↳ [[259: Clichéd Exchanges]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=259:_Clich%C3%A9d_Exchanges What links here])</small><br />
* [[1705]] ↳ [[1705: Pokémon Go]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=1705:_Pok%C3%A9mon_Go What links here])</small><br />
<br />
Title ending with question mark:<br />
* <del>[[what if (blog)]] ↳ [[what if?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=What_If%3F What links here])</small></del> <ins>fixed – content now exists at [[what if]], and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:WhatLinksHere/what_if&limit=500 broken links] are in the process of being updated (see below)</ins><br />
* [[58]] ↳ [[58: Why Do You Love Me?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=58:_Why_Do_You_Love_Me%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[111]] ↳ [[111: Firefox and Witchcraft - The Connection?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=111:_Firefox_and_Witchcraft_-_The_Connection%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[1205]] ↳ [[1205: Is It Worth the Time?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=1205:_Is_It_Worth_the_Time%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[1841]] ↳ [[1841: Who?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=1841:_Who%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[1913]] ↳ [[1913: A ?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=1913:_A_%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[2065]] ↳ [[2065: Who Sends the First Text?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=2065:_Who_Sends_the_First_Text%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[2138]] ↳ [[2138: Wanna See the Code?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=2138:_Wanna_See_the_Code%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[2236]] ↳ [[2236: Is it Christmas?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=2236:_Is_it_Christmas%3F What links here])</small><br />
<br />
=== Moved ===<br />
I moved the [[what if?]] page to the [[what if (blog)]] page which I then changed to simply [[what if]] to fix this issue and because anyone new to this site would type that any way to see it.<span> — [[User:Sqrt-1|The <b>𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭</b>]] <sup>[[User talk:Sqrt-1|<span style="color: blue">talk</span>]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|<span style="color: blue">stalk</span>]]</sup></span> 06:47, 29 September 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Still trying to wrap my head around it – so just to summarize, we currently have:<br />
:<br />
:* '''[[whatif]]''' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=whatif&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small><br />
:** ↳ ''redirects to'' '''[[what if?]]''' (see below)<br />
:* '''[[What If?]]''' – page broken <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=What_If%3F&redirect=no no-redirect link]) ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=What_If%3F What links here])</small><br />
:** ↳ ''also redirects to'' '''[[what if?]]''' – page broken <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if%3F&redirect=no no-redirect link]) ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=what_if%3F What links here])</small><br />
:*** ↳ ''redirects to'' '''[[what if]] – actual content'''<br />
:*** ''content manually moved from'' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if%3F&diff=198070&oldid=197859 diff])</small> '''[[what if?]]''' ''to'' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if&diff=198071&oldid=197486 diff])</small> '''[[what if (blog)]]''' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if_(blog)&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small> (''[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if%3F&action=history previous revision history] remains at'' '''[[what if?]]''')<br />
:**** ⇒ ''moved to'' '''[[what if]] – actual content'''<br />
:<br />
:For completeness, we also have...<br />
:<br />
:* '''[[what if book]]''' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if_book&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small><br />
:** ↳ ''redirects to'' '''[[what if#The book]] – actual content'''<br />
:** Suggestion: for consistency, also add a '''[[what if (book)]]''' page that redirects here?<br />
:<br />
:...and the disambiguation page...<br />
:<br />
:* '''[[What If]]''' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=What_If&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small><br />
:** ⇒ ''moved to'' '''[[What If (disambiguation)]]''' – disambiguation page<br />
:*** ''links to'' '''[[17: What If]]''' (↲ '''[[17]]''' redirects here <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=17&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small>)<br />
:*** ''links to'' '''[[what if]] – actual content'''<br />
:*** Suggestion: mention the ''book'' here as well, and link to its section in the [[what if]] page?<br />
:<br />
:...and these troubleshooting pages from [[User:Blue screen of life]]:<br />
:<br />
:* '''[[User:Blue screen of life/redirecttest]]''' – test page <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:Blue_screen_of_life/redirecttest&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small><br />
:** ⇒ ''moved to'' '''[[User:Blue screen of life/whatiflink]]''' – test page <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:Blue_screen_of_life/whatiflink&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small><br />
:*** ↳ ''redirects to'' '''[[What If?]]''' (see above)<br />
:<br />
:Given that the actual content of the "what if?" article now lives at '''[[what if]]''', I've started updating pages <ins>(except for Talk pages)</ins> to link directly there instead of the other redirect pages. All that's left to do are pages that link to the '''[[what if?]]''' redirect-page (which is broken). <del>Its [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere/what_if%3F "What links here"] special page is broken too, so it's difficult to find what pages link there – but now that it redirects to the [[what if]] page, you can see them indirectly from ''that'' page's [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:WhatLinksHere/what_if&limit=500 "What links here"] special page.</del> <ins>[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=what_if%3F These] are the pages that still link there.</ins> There are still a lot of them to go.<br />
:<br />
:Also, should the following redirect-pages be simplified to have them redirect straight to the new [[what if]] page, instead of redirecting through the intermediate '''[[what if?]]''' page (which itself redirects there anyway)?<br />
:* '''[[whatif]]'''<br />
:* '''[[What If?]]'''<br />
:– [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 17:20, 29 September 2020 (UTC)<br />
:: Fixed the double redirects, don't ask me why we have so many pages for the same thing. [[User:PoolloverNathan|PoolloverNathan]]<sup><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Special:Contributions/PoolloverNathan|s]][[User talk:PoolloverNathan|talk]] [[Wikipedia:WP:SEAOFBLUE|the blue seas]]<nowiki>]</nowiki></sup> 16:29, 16 March 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Discussion not displaying with comic ==<br />
<br />
I am using FireFox on a Win10 machine. When I come to the site I can see the comic, explanation and transcript. But the discussion section is hidden. Even when logged in.<br />
<br />
Any ideas?<br />
<br />
: You say "when I come to the site". If the address bar says you are on Main_Page and you see the heading "Latest comic", then it's simply working as designed. Above the comic, click on "Go to this comic explanation" and you will see the comic plus discussion.<br />
<br />
: Also, Steve, please sign your comments every time, with four tildes. That expands into your user name and a timestamp. Like this -- [[User:JohnB|JohnB]] ([[User talk:JohnB|talk]]) 10:10, 29 September 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Random page sometimes takes me to an invalid address ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, when clicking on "Random page" in the left sidebar, the site will be blank apart from the text "No input file specified. ".<br />
<br />
An example of such an URL is: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/111:_Firefox_and_Witchcraft_-_The_Connection%3F<br />
<br />
<br />
:I've noticed this happens for ''all'' URLs to comics that end in a question mark (or possibly any special character). Interestingly, this doesn't happen if you go to the comic from the search bar. [[User:Danish|Danish]] ([[User talk:Danish|talk]]) 23:04, 27 January 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Bug on the main page ==<br />
<br />
Bug Enviroment(Might work on other enviroments):<br />
Ubuntu 20.04LTS <br />
Firefox85.0 <br />
2021.2.7 <br />
<br />
Bug: <br />
The front page reads: `Welcome, Main Page, to explain xkcd!` with `Main Page` formatted as a username,can someone fix this?<br />
<br />
[[User:Xkcdjerry|Xkcdjerry]] ([[User talk:Xkcdjerry|talk]]) 09:48, 7 February 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Occasional error via Cloudflare ==<br />
Just a note that I'm getting Cloudflare errors of "origin not reachable" (sounds wrong to me, in my head it should be 'destination', but never mind) three times now in the last ten to fifteen minutes - of maybe a dozen general site-requests.<br />
<br />
I've also been getting seemingly .CSSless formatted pages over the past few days, which I've been putting down to slightly dodgy wifi at my end (not unknown) but if I'm getting Cloudflare's error cleanly then perhaps it's been entirely upstream/downstream/however-you'd-describe-the-Explain-server. (Obviously CSS resource requests, as with images, are additional HTTP calls, but I still lump it into the single site-request ''per page'' in my 'dozen' estimate above. No obviously lost images, though, in incomplete pages - not that can't be explained by .CSS non-following, anyway.)<br />
<br />
I had copy-buffered some of the exact info, but due to incompetence I recopied over it before coming here. If it happens again, I'll try to bring it over here. But (the way these things go) maybe it won't. FYI, though. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.52|141.101.98.52]] 12:04, 5 March 2021 (UTC)<br />
: Not a Cloudfare error (looks like an error of the actual explainxkcd server) but every now and then (like just a few minutes ago) I get an error page that generally goes away if I immediately refresh. To whit:<br />
Service Unavailable<br />
The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later.<br />
<br />
Additionally, a 503 Service Unavailable error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.<br />
: Not really a problem (occasionally happened while submitting an exit, and I have to confirm to the browser that I wish to repost the data, but this particular copied instance was through a more 'read-only' link-click, like most of the instances) but... in case someone finds this to be new and useful information... here you are! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 03:45, 12 March 2021 (UTC)<br />
:OP, here, of the above 503 error report/casual mention. Obviously this is the same message that happened for an ''extended'' period of time over a number of days, but I've only just happened to find the site responding again and have not yet looked to see if it is explained as the same or different cause to the old intermittent issues (at root). I hope things are resolved from the major outage (server quota? bill payments? renewal/reconfiguration blips?) but wonder if I should report any future minor outages? I'm still smarting from the total loss of the fora.xkcd.com platform, a few years back, and while I'm not active enough here to consider a proper login (lurking as a freeloading anon-IP is good enough, usually, for my intellectual enjoyment, with all due apologies) I did have a slight pang of emptiness while it was out-of-order. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.79|141.101.99.79]] 15:48, 16 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Add TemplateData ==<br />
<br />
Add the {{mw|Extension:TemplateData|TemplateData}} extension to allow setting data for templates. This will help editors because they will be able to see the data of templates.<br />
<br />
== MediaWiki 1.30.0?! ==<br />
<br />
This wiki is [[Special:Version|currently]] on [[mw:MediaWiki 1.30|MediaWiki 1.30.0]] ([[mw:Release notes/1.30|release notes]]), the first of three releases of a version of MW that reached end-of-life in June of 2019 ([[mw:Version lifecycle]]). It's thus missing multiple important security updates from 1.30.1 and 1.30.2, not to mention the two years' worth of security updates since 1.30.x reached end-of-life. Even 1.31.x will be reaching end-of-life in just over a month.<br />
<br />
If the sysadmins here update to [[mw:MediaWiki 1.35|MediaWiki 1.35.2]] ([[mw:Release_notes/1.35|release notes]]), that version will be maintained till September of 2023, with only a few security updates in the meantime. I would '''strongly''' encourage y'all to update to 1.35.2; to promptly update if there's a .3, .4, etc.; and to make sure you switch to the next LTS release (which will presumably be 1.39) well in advance of September of '23. (Note that this will also require updating to PHP 7.3.19 or later.) [[User:PinkAmpersand|PinkAmpersand]] ([[User talk:PinkAmpersand|talk]]) 07:17, 30 April 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Uptime ==<br />
Did the website just go down? <span style="text-shadow:0 0 8px black">[[User:Beanie|<span style="font-size:11pt;color:#dddddd">Beanie</span>]]</span> <sup><span style="text-shadow:0 0 7px #000000">[[User talk:Beanie|<span style="font-size:8pt;color:#dddddd">talk</span>]]</span></sup> 13:06, 28 May 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It was definitely down this weekend! <br />
https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/nxrm65 <br />
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 16:21, 15 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Comic template lappend breaks for standalone comic links ==<br />
<br />
For example, https://xkcd.com/blue_eyes.html is changed to https://xkcd.com/blue_eyes.html/ which isn't valid [[Special:Contributions/172.69.90.15|172.69.90.15]] 15:51, 13 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Template here, I think it needs to be changed to solve this https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Template:comic<br />
<br />
exkcd page here https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Blue_Eyes<br />
<br />
== May not be your problem, but FYI. ==<br />
<br />
My typcal setup: Android tablet, with Chrome for Android (latest update), but also Firefox for Android (ditto), using default Gboard (likewise) for input.<br />
<br />
Occasionally (notably within the last few weeks/maybe a month or so), when going in to edit an explainxkcd page through Chrome (it's how I divide up my browsing), I'm getting the cursor in the textarea box which ''can'' be used to Cut/Copy/Paste (as applicable and useful), but the on-screen keyboard isn't popping up. Page is fully loaded (can be refreshed, doesn't have the "stop loading" alternative), can go back (page viewing) and try to go back to the page editor (often to same result). Sitting and waiting doesn't pop the keyboard up, either (sat there for minutes). Happens both on home wifi and mobile connection.<br />
<br />
If I transfer my attentions to the page to Firefox (copy URL, to use there... but I don't use that by default for expxkcd stuff) there's no problem, but then if I come back to Chrome again it seems to start working again ''anyway'' so not sure if it's just avoiding/flushing a transient problem that would also initially crop up with Firefox if I used that more.<br />
<br />
Because editing is a different (mobile-optimised) process on Wikipedia and I can't be sure about any the equivalence of any other wiki out there (and it doesn't happen with anything else I regularly key into on Chrome) it's not something I've reproduced outwith this site, and of course desktop page-editing doesn't require touch-screen keyboard because there's a physical one.<br />
<br />
Not getting much feedback with Chrome (really can't get on with their bugrep processes, it's too huge a project to make headway, IME), not even tried to pester the Gboard team and I've not ''seen'' anything said on here about this being a site-issue (not sure how it could be, as it's outside the remit of the core web-page rendering process and more an Android or App level of incompetence), but I thought I'd make a note of it here for future reference. Make of it what you will. Annoying but not game-breaking. And I just wanted to vent a little. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 16:54, 25 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== [[special:interwiki]] ==<br />
<br />
where'd it go? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.200|172.69.68.200]] 05:07, 7 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Please update MediaWiki + AbuseFilter ==<br />
<br />
Seriously. Many scripts and such built for modern, supported versions of MW do not work here because it is so unbelievably undated. PinkAmpersand above basically covers the reason why. I also highly recommend adding the extension AbuseFilter (https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:AbuseFilter) as it immensely makes removing vandalism easier (by straight up disallowing or blocking those that do, esp if it's like the current formulaic massive-replacement vandalism.) [[User:CRLF|CRLF]] ([[User talk:CRLF|talk]]) 00:48, 21 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Ditto. I feel like the main problem is that the sole person who has access to the backend either doesn't have time to update, doesn't have interest, or doesn't have the technical knowledge necessary. But yes, I agree - updating and installing an extension to help control vandalism would help this wiki tremendously. [[User:Obwankenobi|Obwankenobi]] ([[User talk:Obwankenobi|talk]]) 20:09, 9 February 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== ↑ ? ==<br />
<br />
Why do some pages have ↑ at the very start? They can all be spotted by searching ↑ <br />
Is it a technical thing, vandalism, some sort of glitch? Maybe I'm just uninformed or being an idiot.<br />
:Edit logs tell me that an IP user manually reverting vandalism somehow inserted one or more extra characters while manually reverting vandalism. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:59, 22 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Should it be removed? It's not necessary and might be confusing for screenreaders... [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 09:00, 23 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::Maybe not en-mass, I'd say. But I've dove in to delete a rogue leading <nowiki><br /></nowiki> tag left from a part of a prior vandalism (likewise, just before the {{template|comic}}-element) and I've promised myself that I'll remove any more that I spot (and now that arrow) in any future whole-page edit I make. Plus a small shopping-list of inessential but useful edits like making {{template|Citation needed}}s flow better when they're mispunctuated/etc.<br />
:::But that's my solitary opinion. I'm sure hunting out and squishing this isn't a problem at all. I'm just balancing my own peculiar brand of OCD with what is somehow my also my own version of casual apathy towards other details. (Also, it probably looks better for a named account of recognised good standing to start editing potentially hundreds of pages in a session, rather than myself... potentially indistinguishable from the IP who seems to relish worn out memes in a general page-trashing.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.121|162.158.159.121]] 12:20, 23 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Is there anything else we can do to prevent vandalism? ==<br />
<br />
There's been quite a significant uptick in vandalism recently, and I don't feel we have any effective tools to combat it. I believe one of the biggest issues here is due to the way logged-out editing works on this wiki. Blocks are completely ineffective at slowing vandals, and IP editors can vandalize with basically nothing we can do to thwart them other than revert-warring. '''Is there a better way?'''<br />
<br />
There's been some discussion of installing AbuseFilter, but I'm not sure anything became of it. We could disable logged-out editing, but that would likely be counterproductive as we get lots of legitimate contributions from logged-out users. If there's a way to switch to location-based IPs, we could rangeblock problematic users as well as proxies. Does anyone have any ideas? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.145|162.158.78.145]] 16:11, 1 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I'm sort of making server side changes via telegraph so an extension is probably going to take a while to get installed. Takes a bunch of emails and followups to get single variables changed in the mediawiki settings file. There is an email verification option, and some edit frequency variables that could be set to make spam more time consuming. Don't love range blocks but wouldn't mind getting the CDN IPs dealt with so we can actually use the IP bans again. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 17:16, 1 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I'm very grateful that you're working on changes under the hood. What do you think is the best way to deal with disruption in the meantime? [[User:Vandalbane|Vandalbane]] ([[User talk:Vandalbane|talk]]) 17:19, 1 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::Could borrow a patrol bot like the ones people on main wikipedia have, could ask around. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 18:53, 1 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::There's not really a drop-in solution that you can use, especially since the server's MediaWiki version is not in sync with Wikipedia's (so a lot of the APIs etc have completely changed; when initially reverting vandalism I tried importing some scripts from enwiki but they failed as a result), but also because the bots have gotten pretty complex (using machine learning provided by the Wikimedia Foundation, for example). [[User:CRLF|CRLF]] ([[User talk:CRLF|talk]]) 03:56, 2 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::::Oh I do notice mediawiki hasn't been upgraded in a while. Looks like new version of mediawiki should be dropping extremely imminently, would be nice timing for an upgrade '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:45, 2 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Rollback ==<br />
<br />
Does the rollback permission exist on this wiki? [[User:Vandalbane|Vandalbane]] ([[User talk:Vandalbane|talk]]) 17:00, 1 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:The rollback permission of course exists but there's no group called "rollbacker" like you'd find on Wikipedia (limited to admins). You'd need the sysadmin to change the configuration to add one, which as established is not really an option right now. [[User:CRLF|CRLF]] ([[User talk:CRLF|talk]]) 03:58, 2 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== What happened to custom JavaScript? ==<br />
<br />
I put some code in <code>[[User:Some user/common.js]]</code>, but it is not alerting 'hi' every time I load a page. Why can't we execute JavaScript anymore? Is it in response to the [[Project:Crap|crapping]] incident? [[User:Some user|Some user]] ([[User talk:Some user|talk]]) 21:16, 27 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Entirely because of that, yeah. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:51, 28 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== My IP ==<br />
<br />
Why is my IP address a Cloudflare address in Norway? Is this a joke of some kind that I'm missing?<br />
<br />
Other wikis like Wikipedia are showing me my actual IP when I go to [[Special:MyContributions]], so I suspect this is a wiki misconfiguration. It changed again while I was typing this. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.194|162.158.222.194]] 16:55, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:All IPs (as this one will be) are from Cloudflare gateway IPs, because that's the default IP that the Wiki understands as the source. Cloudflare mediates all the traffic, and perhaps to some advantage (not being privvy to the logs, I can only guess how much it insulates the true server from extreme problems, but I bet it does in some way).<br />
:There have been suggestions before to change some setting (in the MediaWiki implementation? ...can't recall exactly) to have it pick up and use the IP that the gateway reports (in its meta-request) was the origin, but that's not been enacted for Idunnowhat reason.<br />
:Because the black-box that is the Cloudflare traffic shapes in various ways, you will find that a single user will jump around 'apparent' IPs, and I've also been in the relatively embarassing situation of replying to another IP's info and finding that I've registered on the exact same IP so that it looks like I'm stooging myself, or something.<br />
:On the whole, though, it's a harmless quirk. And given the trivial nature of deliberately spoofing origins (even on top of assuming you get an effectively static NAT from your ISP in the first place) I don't personally see it as a problem to 'solve' this. But neither would I complain if the 'fix' were implemented if this query reminds someone that they ''were'' going to try and do the necessary tweak.<br />
:As a lay-answer, I hope that fills you in a little. ''If'' those who have more knowledge/control of the process want to add anything or correct me, I'm sure they'll do so as soon as they can, but here's a reply to keep you going for now... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.24|172.70.85.24]] 01:19, 20 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:fyi it is supported in MediaWiki through <code>$wgCdnServers</code>. See [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Cloudflare#Integration_with_MediaWiki MediaWiki’s introduction]. {{unsigned|物灵|06:58, 6 April 2025}}<br />
<br />
==Main page in categories==<br />
{{notice|'''This discussion is marked as duplicate.''' See [[#Main Page|this discussion]].}}<br />
[[Main_Page]] was found wrongly appearing in some newly-created categories, such as [[:Category:Cosmology]]. Could you fix it? --[[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 17:49, 12 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Never noticed this myself, but I'll take it as read. Before checking myself, I'm wondering if this could be when the main page 'inherits' tags from the Current Comic that it features. And thus solve itself (whilst gaining others) upon a newer Current Comic. (Must surely inherit "Monday Comics"/etc, on schedule every week.)<br />
:If it is that, perhaps the solution lies in the details contained within https://m.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Categories#Categories_and_templates_(transcluded_pages)<br />
:Or maybe I'm wrong about it. But I have no rights to edit (thus at least examine the 'code' of) the Main page, to check my snap theory, as with most people. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.46|172.70.162.46]] 19:21, 12 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This happened again in [[:Category:Airplane banner]]. [[User:I27.O.O.I|I27.O.O.I]] ([[User talk:I27.O.O.I|talk]]) 09:00, 28 February 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Yes, and it lasted as long as the latest comic was still one with particular categories. I don't intend to worry about it. If someone goes to a category that interests them and looks at the main page, as temporarily advertised, they're likely to find (as part of it) a comic which is indeed in that category. Doesn't sound like a big problem to me, except for determinin why some cats (e.g. Friday Comics) ''don't'' link to the Main page when they might be expected to...<br />
:(PS, I know for sure that I27.O.O.I isn't the same person as ColofulGalaxy (and various others, beyond even those with the bloomin' obvious "CG" initials or other recent spoofs on the RFC1918 addresses), and I don't think I mind too much, but faking disagreements between your various IDs isn't helping, anyone... smells too much of trying to establish alibis in advance of your next attempt to vandalise the site with stupid stuff. And doesn't impress me, so I doubt it impresses anyone else either. As long as you're just doing sane things, however, I'll accept your little idiosyncracies.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.32|162.158.74.32]] 19:37, 5 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
:(PPS: You left your fingerprint on this latter attempt to 'rescue' [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2659:_Unreliable_Connection&curid=25530&diff=307289&oldid=307282 this page]. - Spammer a few minutes before midnight, my IP reversion happened shortly after. A little later "Elisabeth" then re-spammed (modified), then another IP immediately jumps on it to restore it but with the modified undo-summary line clearly indicating that some sort of a game is being played. Please don't, it's not clever.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.34|172.70.90.34]] 02:22, 7 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This doesn't happen to date categories, but it happens in manually added categories such as [[:Category:Statistics]]. [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 21:49, 27 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==Cannot create user page==<br />
It says: There is currently no text in this page. You can search for this page title in other pages, or search the related logs, but you do not have permission to create this page. [[2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[Talk:2659: Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 22:56, 26 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
:(Removed alternative text in the link involved, to not hide behind trickery.) I think you know that there's no problem with [[2659: Unreliable Connection]] itself, except that it had become one of several pages targeted for spamming, the only one then locked down, then finding that the spammers just retargeted to its Talk page, etc.<br />
:I'm torn between "not assuming bad faith" and "don't feed the trolls", as competing principles, so I'm spelling out the situation. However much a tribute you might think it could be, I don't think there's a future in having a new username that's directly referencing a comic which has become so frequently seen in the recent history of this wiki's edits.<br />
:Obviously any genuine contributions are more than welcome. So prove me wrong, why don't you? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.151|172.70.91.151]] 03:20, 27 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Could you help now? [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 09:13, 29 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: I've created your talk page. I guess that what you intended is to have a backup or mirror page for comic [[2659]]. Am I right? [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 20:16, 2 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Fanmade comics ==<br />
A fanmade comic appeared on xkcd. Could you edit the template? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.23.100|172.69.23.100]] 07:21, 28 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
:You're going to have to say more about it, at least for me. Apart from the Sandbox attempt to make a page, I haven't seen the comic you're describing anywhere. Certainly not anywhere official. Link, for our benefit? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.66|172.70.85.66]] 10:04, 28 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==Why doesn't this code block work?==<br />
Does anybody know why the code block at the end of [[Transcript on xkcd|this page]] doesn't work? I've tried everything and it still looks like plain text<br />
<br />
== Can't add RSS feed because of pubDate value on 27 Nov 2015 ==<br />
<br />
When I try to add the RSS feed in Nextcloud News feed reader I get an error <code>Impossible to convert date : Fri, 27 Nov 2015 17:24:34 Pacific Standard Time</code>.<br />
<br />
[https://validator.w3.org/feed/check.cgi?url=https%3A%2F%2Fexplainxkcd.com%2Frss.xml W3C Feed validation] says that <code>pubDate must be an RFC-822 date-time</code> and points "Pacific Standard Time" portion as the cause of the error: <code><pubDate>Fri, 27 Nov 2015 17:24:34 Pacific Standard Time</pubDate></code>. Can you please fix the timestap for this?<br />
<br />
== Admin request posted here because of vandalism ==<br />
<br />
I can not currently access the admin requests page because it has been vandalized... can someone please protect the latest comic page (2805). There is some pretty childish vandalism going on there right now. Thanks!<br />
:It's not the latest, seems like ALL. I went back to 2804, 2803, jumped back like 15 comics, all the same thing. To me the most offensive part is doing it with a nonsensical image. And why pipe it through Archive somehow? [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 02:33, 24 July 2023 (UTC)<br />
::UGH. the vandals are back at it again... we need to lock xkcd pages @NiceGuy [[Special:Contributions/172.70.39.2|172.70.39.2]] 00:59, 25 July 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Way to contact the site hosters? ==<br />
<br />
As many have pointed out the software this wiki runs on is horribly outdated. WikiEditor also isn't here for some reason. Quite a bit of messages here have seen no action. Is there some kind of contact form to reach the hosters? {{unsigned|Aaron Liu|00:36, 10 October 2023}}<br />
: There are various levels of admin who do intervene, as and when jecessary, but I understand that the (active) ones closest to the actual hosting level of intervention are not really ready to do the (increasingly greater) degree of uprooting necessary to get a "working" system to be "marginally better working", by way of that very dangerous middle-ground of potentially being ruined entirely.<br />
: I appreciate and anticipate the counter-arguments regarding letting it go totally unupdated, of course, just I've personally seen enough failures (participated in some, or been the actual invokee, myself) to be very sympathetic to the "if it aint (too) broke, don't fix it" tendency. But that inertia is not the only factor, of course, and the full motivations (or lack of them) of those involved is not for a lowly IP like me to explain, even if I think I know... [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.42|172.69.195.42]] 01:24, 10 October 2023 (UTC)<br />
:: Have they posted some sort of statement? It also is most definitely not “marginally” better working, compare the source editor to that of Wikipedia and look at topic subscription etc features. Not to mention a lot of security fixes haven’t been added and this version has reached EOL long ago. Updating also would not ruin this entirely…[[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 17:22, 12 October 2023 (UTC)<br />
:: Some have also said that quite a bit of assistive scripts for modern versions don’t work. Visual Editor, while horrible, is still easier for new people to get started with. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 17:23, 12 October 2023 (UTC)<br />
I've found a new reason: This wiki doesn't even allow loading userscripts! [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 01:34, 9 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:That might actually have been a conscious decition, after a 'certain user' caused chaos here, not so long ago. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.25|162.158.74.25]] 19:01, 9 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
::It was about a year and a half ago. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.143|172.68.174.143]] 06:41, 10 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
::Huh? What happened? Is there a place to request gadgets then? [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 02:04, 10 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::"What happened" involved automated vandalism (from someone who been doing it manually, then found the "better way") though I couldn't tell you the exact details, there were automated 'unvandalism's made in response, and theusafBOT/etc does some of that still, in response to non-automated(/off-site scripted) vandalism/errors that it can actually catch before ordinary users (or IPs like me) can. But certainly a certain brand of scripting was turned off to curtail the 'high intensity' vandalism phase.<br />
:::You're more or less in the best place to request things, right here. Whether updates, (re)adding functionalitu or tweaking site settings. Can't tell if those who ''can'' do these things can't or won't do them... Or are actually absent, instead of just not replying. The cavalry has been known to come running in when necessary (e.g. when "what happened" happened) so it could be any manner of non-response (until you get one). Not necessarily the best state of affairs, but better than being confirmed absentees.<br />
::::I ran a bot to mass-edit pages by replacing their content with the word "crap" repeatedly. I was 15 then, and I thought it was funny. It wasn't. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.143|172.68.174.143]] 06:41, 10 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::As an occasional but infrequent actual-Wikipedia editor, too, I must say that if the Visual Editor is what I currently have to use for that (at least as an anonIP when using a mobile device, which tends to be when I get the urge most) then I like the unaugmented editor here more. Straight up, honest, un'wizarded' interface, where you only have to get used to markup details and not a WYSIWYG editing environment (as well?). Not sure I'd be happy with an even ''more'' 'assistive' script imposed upon me, like I dislike modern generations of Windows (and 'user friendly' linux dists). So can I just ask that functional/visible changes of the kind you seem to be asking for, if made available, aren't overimposed/left as options rather than the default (or only) choice...? Ok, so I can (or would have to) adapt, but I'd rather not. Of course, I have no weight to pull in this matter, it's just an afterthought (even as I wish you good luck with raising an admin's eyebrow, in some useful manner). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.135|141.101.98.135]] 05:14, 10 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::I am not asking for VisualEditor, which no one likes on Wikipedia either. For some blasted reason they made it edit HTML instead of Wikitext and it’s clunky and loads for a very long time.<br />
::::I’m asking about the WikiEditor, aka Wikipedia’s source editor. In VE, click on the pen next to the publish button and click on “source editing”. That editor makes this one look like freaking Stone Age, syntax highlighting is especially a game-changer. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 16:03, 12 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
: There’s also the annoying ReCaptcha v2 every single edit… it seems like it would be relatively easy to switch to v3 which only makes you do the challenge when you’ve visited a bit too much. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 16:32, 12 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:: Unfortunately, that would make things easier for someone who wanted to do mass vandalism like I did. If it didn't do it every time, someone could still edit quite quickly. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.192|172.68.174.192]] 18:32, 12 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
::Well, I can tell you that it doesn't always demand that I fulfil more than a tickbox (most trouble I have is when it fails to connect to give me the tickbox (or respond with anything useful when I do), for which I'm forced into one or more Previews until it will. When it ''does'' ask me to do something about it, I do often get forced through two or more request to identify traffic lights, motorbikes, stairways, bridges, hills, tractors, buses, etc, etc, etc... But I think that's more the Tesla-training Algorithm being nust greedy for my attention than the Robot-sentry having a less casual attitude to my attempt to edit. (I believe I'm on a usually untroublesome source IP/Cloudflare gateway, but it could also depend on how many others try to do things via (part of) the same route. Very, very rarely I get Google Search requesting something similar of me ((It: "You have made a lot of searches", me: "Of course I'll have play your little game, but this is my first lookup today...")), which I'm sure isn't Cloudflared, so it might reach back to my ISP's gateway and what fellow users are currently getting up to.)<br />
::As for the guy above (and you, Liu), can't speak for how well or badly others on your own 'choice' of gateways behave. Or yourselves. Luck of the draw? For the first part, at least. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.174|172.69.195.174]] 20:31, 12 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::MediaWiki 1.40 automatically tags all edits that remove over 90% of page text with "mw-replaced". You could block all edits in mainspace with that tag, either if MediaWiki has it or through the AbuseFilter extension. While I can complete the CAPTCHAs, it's very annoying to need to Captcha every edit on a place where the main focus is edits. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 03:06, 13 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::Plus, v3 doesn't just do nothing. It tracks how your cursor moves to see if it's robotic, while v2 annoyingly gives you the challenge every time. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 20:01, 8 January 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Presumably for touchscreen control (like mine, right this moment), it does something else than track a nonexistent mouse-pointer's passage across the monitored elements of the display... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.190|172.70.90.190]] 12:26, 9 January 2024 (UTC)<br />
::There are a few MediaWiki plugins that help keep vandalism/spam under control without requiring users to solve a Captcha every time they make an edit. I use https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Moderation on the wiki I maintain, and it works very well. However, it does require that there be enough active moderators to approve edits, as it basically requires every single edit to be approved before it's posted. Thus, it also introduces some "lag" between when stuff is written and when it can be seen by others. I think it could work if the extension could be installed (I'm not even sure if it's supported on this version of MediaWiki) and if a good list of moderators could be put together. [[User:Obwankenobi|Obwankenobi]] ([[User talk:Obwankenobi|talk]]) 20:02, 9 February 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::I disagree with requiring edits to be approved. Unless we have extremely high vandalism, just filtering out the above tags I mentioned and using ReCAPTCHA v3 would be enough. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 23:16, 16 February 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Ok, fair point. However, that wouldn't stop human vandalism, just vandalism from bots. I'm not sure how much human vandalism there is, though, so it might not even be a problem. [[User:Obwankenobi|Obwankenobi]] ([[User talk:Obwankenobi|talk]]) 12:35, 22 February 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::It's hard (for us 'civvies') to know how much bot-vandalism is stopped but [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Log/newusers&offset=&limit=500&type=newusers&user= probably a lot], most of which we never see, with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2503:_Memo_Spike_Connector&diff=335487&oldid=335486 occasional ones] we might see having be dealt with. (I'm guessing these things are rare (temporarily-)successful 'bots, because flesh-and-blood vandals wouldn't be occasionally doing essentially the same insta-reverted thing on a thematically-small set of pages, over several ''years'' without moving on. It has to be a lucky unattended script-based effort that just keeps trying the same things over and over with an easily revertible but tangible result happening only infrequently.)<br />
:::::More obvious human vandalism tends to rumble on, with occasionally a spate of it as someone gets short-term kicks for it. Though some of them seem may repeat themself after a break. Friendly humans and friendly 'bots both tend to provide the main anti-vandalism responses fairly quickly, though, depending upon what kind of a mess they caused. I've seen worse places, definitely, and it's by no means a losing battle against chaos, just regular skermishes.<br />
:::::Not wanting to tempt fate, of course. I guarantee that there'll be some fool that takes all this as a challenge, so I just have to trust to the Good Guys keeping on keeping on. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.71|172.70.90.71]] 14:21, 22 February 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
heyo, is there a way to add actual citations to explainxkcd instead of the template citation needed? couldn't find anything, but i'm pretty new here - thanks in advance. [[User:Nigga|Nigga]] ([[User talk:Nigga|talk]]) 21:47, 17 March 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Not that I have much faith in your usernae lasting long (you're 'that guy', aren't you? ...in which case you know anyway), but for the sake of anyone else who needs to know:<br />
:*If you mean "add an actual 'citation needed' tag", then it's {{template|Actual citation needed}} that you'll use.<br />
:*If you mean "add an actual citation link to somewhere", then:<br />
:** Link to URLs with [].<br />
:*** A link such as [<url>] will give you a superscript-number link, which isn't pretty, IMO.<br />
:*** A link such as [<url> <text>] (that's a space between the two) will link <text> to the URL, just work it into the sentence you're writing, fairly easy<br />
:** Link to internal (or cross-wiki) pages with [[]].<br />
:*** [[<page title>]] will make a literal link to <page title>.<br />
:*** [[<page title>|<text>]] (with a pipe) is how you make the <text> your link.<br />
:** You can use the last to link specifically to wikipedia's cross-site format, but for that it's best to use {{template|w}}<br />
:*** <nowiki>{{w|<page title>}}</nowiki> (w-pipe...) uses the page title<br />
:**** It will use the link as if the first character is uppercase, so you don't need to capitalise that. Other case-sensitivity is preserved.<br />
:**** <nowiki>{{w|<singular page title>}}s</nowiki> will link the obvious pluralisation of the page title, just to save you effort<br />
:*** <nowiki>{{w|<page title>|<text>}}</nowiki> (w-pipe and pipe) lets you use entirely alternate text.<br />
:** There's also templates that shortcut (or make easier on the eye, or add appropriate warnings) for some other commonly referenced external sites, from xkcd's own what-if to TVTropes.<br />
:...hope that helps everyone that doesn't already know these few simple bits as relate to wikis in general or this wiki in particular. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.218|172.71.242.218]] 22:24, 17 March 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Confirmation Email Bug ==<br />
<br />
Hi. I've been trying to get my email confirmed so that I can get pinged when pages are edited, but I just can't find it, even after trying multiple times. I use Gmail, and yes, I have checked my spam folder. Has anyone else had this issue? EDIT: I see that others have had this issue, but the admins haven't done any action to solve it, except for one sarcastic comment by Davidy22 back in 2014. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 00:43, 12 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Lack of Userpage ==<br />
<br />
Hey, I joined a few years ago, but I still do not have a Userpage. Can you make one for me? I do not have the permission to do so. [[User:GreyFox|GreyFox]] ([[User talk:GreyFox|talk]]) 22:47, 15 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
:This is actually your very first post, after joining a bit more than a year ago ("18:35, 14 November 2023 User account GreyFox (talk | contribs) was created"). I'm sure someone can oblige (not me, for obvious reasons), but you've not done much to contribute (at least under this account), which would have then eventually brought you to the point where you ''can'' just self-create your Userpages/etc. So your request is a bit out of the blue.<br />
:Just so long as we all know where we stand, though. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.227|172.69.194.227]] 09:42, 16 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
::Oh, thanks! Do you know the exact number of edits I need to create it?<br />
:::50 to be autoconfirmed. Also, please sign your comments. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 15:23, 16 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== server errors ==<br />
is anyone else constantly getting 503 errors? [[user talk:lettherebedarklight|youtu.be/miLcaqq2Zpk]] 17:14, 21 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
:yup, been seeing those all the time. Also seeing that the server is down a lot of time-it suggests me to Google for what I’m “looking for” [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 17:18, 21 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
::503s are fairly common (often when I'm in a rush), and have been for... well, certainly years, maybe more than a decade (though more common during major vandalism/anti-vandalism surges). I had, however, noticed a recent blip (during the last day or so) of the Server Down/Try Google page that you refer to, which I haven't seen for a ''long'' time (not really sure when, but maybe five years or so ago). In fact, I probably got Cloudflare 'rejections' more, during aformentioned vandal-overloading.<br />
::Without any access to the admin logs, I can only speculate as to what might be sparking it. But service (notwithstanding the brief page-refusals themselves) seems to be happily unaffected. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.249|172.70.160.249]] 20:29, 21 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Allow new users to edit their own page ==<br />
<br />
I found someone asking if we could change this in the proposals page (Community portal/Proposals: Allow Users to Edit their own talk page if not auto confimed (not a typo)). [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 14:39, 19 June 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Technical difficulties? ==<br />
<br />
I keep getting a message that says: "Sorry! This site is experiencing technical difficulties.Try waiting a few minutes and reloading. (Cannot access the database)"<br />
It's happened a lot so I was wondering if there was a specific cause behind it and perhaps a way to fix it.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.65|172.68.54.65]] 00:17, 17 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
:yeah, I’ve been getting those errors too. I can’t even log into my account before it says that there’s an error again. I’ve been steadily receiving them for a couple months, but never like today. From Recent Changes, it doesn’t look like anyone is spamming the wiki, so maybe it’s an attack of some kind. You’ll need to contact the admins who have access to the server and can poke around, but good luck getting [[User:Davidy22]] or [[User:Jeff]] online. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.135.130|172.69.135.130]] 17:16, 17 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
::update: I’ve been poking around a lot of websites, trying to see if the website is being attacked. The websites all say that the server is down. I’ll try to ask Jeff on this and pray that he checks his email. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.135.129|172.69.135.129]] 17:21, 17 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== The site is collapsing ==<br />
503's are to be expected, but i've got them and the "Sorry! This site is experiencing technical difficulties. Try waiting a few minutes and reloading." error way, way too much. it's actually getting really hard to edit stuff because of them. [[user talk:lettherebedarklight|youtu.be/miLcaqq2Zpk]] 01:58, 19 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
:heck, i just got a 503 when posting this topic. also, load times are noticeably longer. and i'm getting "loss of session" errors when i try to edit... [[user talk:lettherebedarklight|youtu.be/miLcaqq2Zpk]] 02:02, 19 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
::I’ve messaged Davidy22 and Jeff about it, hopefully they see it and reply. It looks fine right now, appears that it works horribly at times and fine later. Due to the on-off nature of it, I would suspect DDoS attacks, as a 503 error means that the server can’t process the request, which occurs with DDoS attacks. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 21:37, 19 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::update: I’ve made a Reddit post, as I’ve seen Davidy22 active on Reddit and respond to older threads on r/xkcd. Hopefully they respond! [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 18:50, 24 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::October update: Davidy22 responded to my emails and said that he has emailed Jeff multiple times. Apparently Jeff is ignoring his emails and not responding. I’ve been checking Jeff’s Twitter/X/Whatever once a week and it shows that he uses it semi-regularly. Apparently Jeff is a podcaster too? Anyways, nobody has really responded to me on r/xkcd, so I’m thinking of sending a DM to Jeff via Twitter. I have a to-do list for Jeff listed on my User Page, feel free to give any thoughts, proposals, comments on anything else you want him to do in this thread. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 18:46, 24 October 2024 (UTC)<br />
::Agree, the situation is not terrible but feels extremely unstable. What happens if the wiki just breaks, and nobody can even contact Jeff? I feel like these errors are happening more and more frequently. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 17:30, 2 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::Were you around for the (hacking-enforced) sudden ending of the xkcd fora? All things end.<br />
:::But (touch wood) the 503s/other connection refusals are a lot less frequent right now, so I'm not actually quite so worried as I might occasionally have been. What's more likely to happen is that the hosting plan, physical hardware and/or domain reaches an end and then... that's probably it unless someone with the wherewithall somehow manages to drag it back up again. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.14|162.158.74.14]] 00:09, 3 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
::::I really don't like the idea of this site becoming permanently unavailable :( This makes me want to contribute less! I was not around back then, no. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:47, 3 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
:I've been getting these errors a lot as well all of a sudden. Sadly from what I've read on these pages, the sysadmin has basically left and ghosted everyone. The moment the site fully breaks for whatever reason, ExplainXKCD will be history. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.58|172.71.178.58]] 15:34, 23 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
::It's probably not the site breaking (as in, it's not intrinsically failing), just that unrestrained useless traffic to it (I theorise, elsewhere that it's a sudden rise in inconsiderate AI-training has led to a rise of ungoverned degrees of site-scraping) is marginalising our more legitimate attempts to interact. ''It would help'' to get some Administrator-led process to mitigate it, but it really should be better dealt with more towards the gateway-side of the connection (or the scrapers gradually toning their scraping down, but I doubt that'll happen). It, say, Cloudflare ''itself'' gets a good solution in place to dissuade such high attempts to access all the sites it otherwise proxies for, then we'll be back to just the site bumbling along in its ''slightly'' unmaintained condition. We then still have a couple of sub-administrators, a Bot and a good population of other users to keep things running against more trivial issues (short of hardware/infrastructure/financial failures). [[Special:Contributions/172.68.186.141|172.68.186.141]] 16:55, 23 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== List of All Comics ==<br />
<br />
I think that FaviFake and I have accidentally broken the All comics page. When clicked, it brings you to the page List of all comics, which displays the comics 3000-3002 (as of right now) instead of the list of all comics (oops-my bad). How do we fix this? There’s also the page List of all comics (3000-3500), but the TheusafBOT ignores it. Can someone more technical help troubleshoot this problem? Again, sorry for making a muck of things. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 18:43, 24 October 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Oh I'm sorry, I created a new topic for this and I didn't see this one. I noticed the [[List of all comics (3000-3500)]] today and scheduled it for deletion because we never make such a page until we have exactly 500 comics to put there. Also, the name is wrong, it should say 3001-3500.<br />
:The page [[List of all comics]] is supposed to display comics 3001-3005, not all comics. You might be confusing it with [[List of all comics (full)]], which would work perfectly if [[List of all comics]] displayed the last 3 comics. I have no idea why the bot stopped updating it. Maybe it will work now that the wrong page is scheduled for deletion? [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 05:15, 31 October 2024<br />
::Wait a second, why did you move the List of all comics to [[List of all comics (3000-3500)]]? It seemed to me like everything was working fine before you moved it [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 05:24, 31 October 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::I was trying to copy the content to [[List of all comics (3000-3500)]], and accidentally broke it. Sorry! [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 16:48, 31 October 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Yeah I can confirm the content and the entire edit history was moved to the incorrectly-titled page that's now scheduled for deletion. I guess maybe we didn't really need the edit history on that page, but who knows.<br />
::::Weirdly, the bot seems to have restored the page as it was and then stopped doing its thing. Since we're the only ones here, I suggest you manually create the missing rows for the new comics and we'll see if that works when the next comic drops. If it doesn't, I'll contact the maintainer and creator of the bot myself. Sounds good? :) [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 18:29, 31 October 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::Sir yes Sir! 🫡 [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 04:51, 1 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::: Great, thanks! I can also do it this afternoon if you don't have time. I realise my previous messages read like orders lol, they were supposed to be suggestions to try and fix the issue. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 07:18, 1 November 2024<br />
<br />
== The [[List of all comics]] is no longer being updated automatically ==<br />
<br />
Hey everyone, I noticed the bot isn't updating this page anymore: [[List of all comics]]. There are supposed to be five comics in it but there are only two at the moment. Is this supposed to happen? [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 05:06, 31 October 2024<br />
<br />
== 2034: Equations error? ==<br />
<br />
One of the TeX math-thingies (sorry for the informal writing), is showing this error: "Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable. Please see math/README to configure.): \oint". Idk why it's showing this, can someone fix this? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.48|108.162.237.48]] 19:25, 6 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:It's a long-standing error, to do with the background processes that turns the TeX-style markup into embedded images. All equations (or whatever it might be that the particular MathML was being used to render) that were originally given cached-imagery ''still work fine'', but it seems a later update made it so that if you adjust it at all (even slightly), it no longer has the route to produce the embedding cleanly.<br />
:It can probably be solved by rolling back some module(s) that got refreshed quite some time ago, though the advised fix is to actually fully update them (and/or reconfigure the backend scripting) to work with all the newest versions of the original tools. Unfortunately, the people (or maybe person) who would do this is not too active at the moment (may also not be up to speed on everything, either, if it involves a bit of more tricky administration), so we're left with the occasional problem establishing the texvc handler.<br />
:Not sure which page you're encountering this on, but sometimes if you look back in the edit history you can find a working version of the thing you're seeing go wrong. If it's an aesthetic difference (e.g. the presence or absence of a spacing character), you might be able to just restore the render-cached version and make do with it not looking ''quite'' right.<br />
:If it's a necessary change that was made (e.g. "''dt''" instead of "''dx''", which is definitely wrong the old way), or it seems never to have a valid render, then there's two obvious solutions:<br />
:#Make your own image of it as it should be and (with a suitably auto-validated account, or via a handy external image hosting service and/or a more mature account here) get that embedded in place of the markup-source, or<br />
:#Replicate its appearance in more basic (by standard) but complex (by source needed) markup. Combinations of basic wikimarkup and HTML can do most 'fiddly positional' things, see [[2614: 2]] for a numerator/denominator layout, for example.<br />
:Not as 'simple' as TeX-markedup. But, on the other hand, the "\oint" symbol is "∮", so perhaps all you need to do is copy'n'paste that actual unicode symbol to wherever you found the problem, and use that instead, and forgo the TeX version altogether? (Might not show on some displays, but probably enough to make it a minority issue.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.105|172.70.90.105]] 22:50, 6 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Had the brainwave that I could probable ''search'' for the offending \oint, actually. Did so, found [[2034: Equations]], noted that it was the only (current) rendering issue and therefore just did the pasting over myself. Looks good for me, but obviously might not help (but not make worse) others' viewing of it. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.54|172.69.195.54]] 22:58, 6 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
...Why didn't I think of just pasting the Unicode equivalent. I'm dumb, but thanks for fixing it. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.10|172.69.70.10]] 13:44, 8 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Esolang wiki bug ==<br />
The "esolangs.org" wiki is also experiencing a similar bug. The server was repeatedly changing a particular user's signature in his posts. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 04:01, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Fucking bullshit. One, this doesn’t belong here and I’ve copied it into [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Technical|the Technical Community Portal]]. Two, I saw your talk page on [https://esolangs.org/wiki/User_talk:ColorfulGalaxy%27s_CA_discoveries esolangs.org], which you brought up this “bug”, which the local admin (who’s probably just as sick and tired of you as I am) called BS on. If the server was changing your sig to my sig, it would be '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#db97bf">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#97b6db">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''', not the sig that you faked in. You’re obviously seeking attention and are being abusive and childish. Please see the bottom of https://esolangs.org/wiki/Esolang:Introduce_yourself to see a full list of complaints. I will be asking Kynde to ban you and all of your alt (or shared) accounts. -tori [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.98|162.158.167.98]] 05:36, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
::Additionally, the complaint doesn’t even make sense. The 2 wikis are running on different servers and different MediaWiki software and should in no shape or form be having the same bug across 2 different systems. Plus, why is the CAPTCHA in the esolang wiki so damn difficult? (Just a side note :3) '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#db97bf">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#97b6db">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 22:42, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:I just realized that they've changed '''my''' signature as well. That's strange. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 06:37, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Once again they suddenly redirected my username to the Main Page. And the bug even forgot to remove "User:". [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 13:05, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:It's working normally now. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 13:06, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The wiki may have been hacked. I checked it and got "HTTP 429" error message. [[User:ChristmasGospel|ChristmasGospel]] ([[User talk:ChristmasGospel|talk]]) 19:14, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:No, it has not been hacked. The error message means that the server that is hosting the wiki is under a lot of stress and load. '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#db97bf">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#97b6db">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 19:20, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
::Yes and no.<br />
::;429 Too Many Requests (RFC 6585):The user has sent too many requests in a given amount of time. Intended for use with rate-limiting schemes.<br />
::...it generally means that (in the opinion of the server), the person getting the 429 has been bashing the connection too much. This ''could'' be because they happen to be going through the same proxy as an actual prolific user (or several sub-prolific ones that similarly got lumped together to add up to "too much"), but load-sharing systems generally account for that already. General 'stress and load' is more likely to invoke a 500s message (depending upon what actually is happening).<br />
::But, either way, if you get one of them then you're advised to pause, take a breath, perhaps wait a little before your next refresh/reload attempt, but if ''that'' goes wrong then wait a bit longer still (double your patience, maybe), and again more (further doubling) as necessary.<br />
::Either it's not your fault, but you probably don't need to add to the problems, or it ''is'' your fault (e.g. you're webscraping in the background at full throttle) and you ''really'' need to stop causing those problems (and try not to do it again later). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.109|172.70.90.109]] 20:17, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::Oops-you’re right. I just did a cursory search on google with the Google AI, so that explanation is more correct. Thank you! '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#db97bf">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#97b6db">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 22:42, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Hint: even if you don't entirely trust Wikipedia not to be written (or rewritten) wrongly, you don't get the whole world of possible wrongness of a mostly uncomprehending AI repeating a load of mangled fragments put together on an "at least it looks grammatically correct" basis. If you trust AI so much that you don't go looking anywhere else (there are plenty of technical sites out there, including the actual official RFCs which say what servers ''should'' be doing and saying) but Wikipedia is also far from wrong and pretty thorough on this point.<br />
::::Ask Google's AI for entertainment, or to start to put together a school report (but be prepared to check ''everything'', as well as edit enough not to be caught by AI-detection as well as Plagiarism-detection). But not for insta-expertise, if you've not got enough grounding in the subject to at least sanity-checking what you're being told. Truth-checking and reality-checking are always necessary, of course, no matter what the source. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.36|141.101.98.36]] 01:25, 30 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::Noted and acknowledged. '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#db97bf">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#97b6db">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 14:31, 30 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== RSS Feed: XML not well-formed ==<br />
<br />
<pre>XML Parsing Error: not well-formed<br />
<br />
Location: https://explainxkcd.com/rss.xml?_SLWxoPenuRl=nOtinFEeDPREVIew<br />
<br />
Line Number 31, Column 18:<br />
<br />
<title>3015: D&D Combinatorics</title><br />
------------------------^<br />
</pre><br />
<br />
PHP-Fix:<br />
<br />
$title = str_replace("&", "&amp;amp;", $title);<br />
<br />
or <br />
<br />
$title = htmlspecialchars($title);<br />
<br />
: Same problem here. Perhaps surprisingly, this is the first time an xkcd title has included an ampersand (as far as I can see from [[List_of_all_comics_(full)]]). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.85|141.101.99.85]] 14:16, 7 December 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== rss feed ==<br />
<br />
Hello<br />
<br />
the rss feed is broken, could you fix it ?<br />
<br />
Error : <br />
try{(function overrideDefaultMethods(r, g, b, a, scriptId, storedObjectPrefix) {<br />
var scriptNode = document.getElementById(scriptId);<br />
function showNotification() {<br />
const evt = new CustomEvent(storedObjectPrefix + "_show_notification", {'detail': {}});<br />
window.dispatchEvent(evt);<br />
}<br />
function overrideCanvasProto(root) {<br />
function overrideCanvasInternal(name, old) {<br />
root.prototype[storedObjectPrefix + name] = old;<br />
Object.defineProperty(root.prototype, name,<br />
{<br />
value: function () {<br />
var width = this.width;<br />
var height = this.height;<br />
var context = this.getContext("2d");<br />
var imageData = context.getImageData(0, 0, width, height);<br />
for (var i = 0; i < height; i++) {<br />
for (var j = 0; j < width; j++) {<br />
var index = ((i * (width * 4)) + (j * 4));<br />
imageData.data[index + 0] = imageData.data[index + 0] + r;<br />
imageData.data[index + 1] = imageData.data[index + 1] + g;<br />
imageData.data[index + 2] = imageData.data[index + 2] + b;<br />
imageData.data[index + 3] = imageData.data[index + 3] + a;<br />
}<br />
}<br />
context.putImageData(imageData, 0, 0);<br />
showNotification();<br />
return old.apply(this, arguments);<br />
}<br />
}<br />
);<br />
}<br />
overrideCanvasInternal("toDataURL", root.prototype.toDataURL);<br />
overrideCanvasInternal("toBlob", root.prototype.toBlob);<br />
//overrideCanvasInternal("mozGetAsFile", root.prototype.mozGetAsFile);<br />
}<br />
function overrideCanvaRendProto(root) {<br />
const name = "getImageData";<br />
const getImageData = root.prototype.getImageData;<br />
<br />
root.prototype[storedObjectPrefix + name] = getImageData;<br />
<br />
Object.defineProperty(root.prototype, "getImageData",<br />
{<br />
value: function () {<br />
var imageData = getImageData.apply(this, arguments);<br />
var height = imageData.height;<br />
var width = imageData.width;<br />
// console.log("getImageData " + width + " " + height);<br />
for (var i = 0; i < height; i++) {<br />
for (var j = 0; j < width; j++) {<br />
var index = ((i * (width * 4)) + (j * 4));<br />
imageData.data[index + 0] = imageData.data[index + 0] + r;<br />
imageData.data[index + 1] = imageData.data[index + 1] + g;<br />
imageData.data[index + 2] = imageData.data[index + 2] + b;<br />
imageData.data[index + 3] = imageData.data[index + 3] + a;<br />
}<br />
}<br />
showNotification();<br />
return imageData;<br />
}<br />
}<br />
);<br />
}<br />
function inject(element) {<br />
if (element.tagName.toUpperCase() === "IFRAME" && element.contentWindow) {<br />
try {<br />
var hasAccess = element.contentWindow.HTMLCanvasElement;<br />
} catch (e) {<br />
console.log("can't access " + e);<br />
return;<br />
}<br />
overrideCanvasProto(element.contentWindow.HTMLCanvasElement);<br />
overrideCanvaRendProto(element.contentWindow.CanvasRenderingContext2D);<br />
overrideDocumentProto(element.contentWindow.Document);<br />
}<br />
}<br />
function overrideDocumentProto(root) {<br />
function doOverrideDocumentProto(old, name) {<br />
root.prototype[storedObjectPrefix + name] = old;<br />
Object.defineProperty(root.prototype, name,<br />
{<br />
value: function () {<br />
var element = old.apply(this, arguments);<br />
// console.log(name+ " everridden call"+element);<br />
if (element == null) {<br />
return null;<br />
}<br />
if (Object.prototype.toString.call(element) === '[object HTMLCollection]' ||<br />
Object.prototype.toString.call(element) === '[object NodeList]') {<br />
for (var i = 0; i < element.length; ++i) {<br />
var el = element[i];<br />
// console.log("elements list inject " + name);<br />
inject(el);<br />
}<br />
} else {<br />
// console.log("element inject " + name);<br />
inject(element);<br />
}<br />
return element;<br />
}<br />
}<br />
);<br />
}<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.createElement, "createElement");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.createElementNS, "createElementNS");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.getElementById, "getElementById");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.getElementsByName, "getElementsByName");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.getElementsByClassName, "getElementsByClassName");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.getElementsByTagName, "getElementsByTagName");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.getElementsByTagNameNS, "getElementsByTagNameNS");<br />
}<br />
overrideCanvasProto(HTMLCanvasElement);<br />
overrideCanvaRendProto(CanvasRenderingContext2D);<br />
overrideDocumentProto(Document);<br />
scriptNode.parentNode.removeChild(scriptNode);<br />
})(24,14,-9,19,"ojkrt", "ltwvx");} catch (e) {console.error(e);}Erreur d’analyse XML : mal formé<br />
Emplacement : https://explainxkcd.com/rss.xml<br />
Numéro de ligne 63, Colonne 18 :<br />
<title>3015: D&D Combinatorics</title><br />
------------------------^<br />
<br />
== Total amount of accounts created on this wiki? ==<br />
<br />
I was editing [[explain xkcd:Museum]] and I was wondering how many accounts have ever been created. Is there a way to access this? {{unsigned|DollarStoreBa'al|15:52, 17 March 2025}}<br />
:Hey, I moved your message from the Coordination portal. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:26, 17 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
:The base information you need is from the special page that is https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:Log/newusers - although bear in mind that an overwhelming number of created accounts are spam-attempts (that get no further), so perhaps the count needs to be qualified as "users that have then gone on to post" (a few of which ''are'' still spam-only contributors, but now an insignificant amount rather than a probably overwhelming majoriy).<br />
:How you go about counting ''and'' classifying valid accounts is up to you, of course. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.68|162.158.74.68]] 21:46, 17 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
::How would one actually count these? Is there an easier way? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:37, 18 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::There's <code><nowiki>[[Special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFUSERS}}]]</nowiki></code>, that gives you the value [[Special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFUSERS}}]] (it was 142,958 when I wrote this), for the total number of registered users (including no-input pre-spammers, only-ever-spammed contributors, "I only created this account to say..."ers who didn't realised they could do as much as an IP, maybe some banned, sock-puppet/legitimate-alts/forgot-my-old-login duplicate accounts, maybe ''not'' some totally excised by top-tier-admins).<br />
:::There's also <code><nowiki>[[Special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFACTIVEUSERS}}]]</nowiki></code>, with the value [[Special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFACTIVEUSERS}}]] (119, as I write this), which I think is everyone active (+registered) in the past 30 days.<br />
:::Possibly there are other "magic word" values for more useful in-betweeny values (nearer the top end of the first), e.g. of everyone who has made at least one edit ''ever''. But not sure I know what that might off the top of my head.<br />
:::I can think of ways to ''interrogate'' the wiki for one or other (better) counting criteria, but it would be horribly intensive. If anyone wanted to do this (it already needing a bit more technical ability than merely using inbuilt auto-value magic words, and preferably you'd need to not be a 'mere' scriptkiddie jumping in with both feet without knowing how to do it sensibly), I'd suggest ensuring a ''very'' throttled-back process that may take its time over days. Then, once 'completed', a not-quite-so-throttled-back version can just 'top up' its stats with everything from the last point you'd reached the last time round until the present (to never hammer the site).<br />
:::Please please please, though, you should probably only try any of this if you're already sure of everything I've been suggesting. There are also far easier ways to attempt a DoS, but it would be ironic if you did this ''while trying to be helpful''... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.65|141.101.98.65]] 20:43, 18 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
::::Oh neat that's exactly what we needed! Could you add these magic words to the museum, maybe calling one "total accounts" and the other one "users active in last 30 days"? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:21, 19 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== email confirmation ==<br />
<br />
my email confirmation did not get sent even after a week. is there anything wrong? - [[User:Bb777|(((((((((((((([...]((((((((((((((]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]]) 21:36, 22 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
:been broken for a decade i think. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 08:25, 23 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
::WE REALLY NEED JEFF BACK !!!!!!!! [[User:Bb777|hi]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]]) 16:12, 24 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== RSS ==<br />
<br />
RIP RSS feed yet again. 23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)[[User:Bb777|&#91;insert signature here&#93;]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]])<br />
:Is there something new we should know? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.58.6|172.70.58.6]] 00:30, 25 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== MediaWiki error when visiting [[1270: Functional]] or [[1270]] ==<br />
<br />
When I go to [[1270: Functional]] or [[1270]], there is a MediaWiki error. This does not occur at [[1269]] or [[1271]]. [[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 13:57, 9 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
:Could not replicate.<br />
:[[1270]] redirects to [[1270: Functional]], so does it happen for you if you go via [[Functional]] and ''its'' redirect? How about https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1270:_Functional (as URL) rather than what you may be doing (but so did I, at first, still to find no error) in plugging the text into the "Search explain xkcd" field..?<br />
:Unless it's an off-page edit (some template, broken and then fixed), the page itself seems to have no recent edit to explain any changes (to broken and/or to unbroken)... I think we may need more info. Including myself in "we" in case it's an error even I can fix, which isn't unknown but not guaranteed! [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.160|172.71.178.160]]<br />
::Screenshot of MediaWiki internal error when visiting [[1270: Functional]]: https://gcdnb.pbrd.co/images/L5icGdZ9nBzw.png?o=1 <br />
::Screenshot of MediaWiki internal error when visiting [[1270]]: https://gcdnb.pbrd.co/images/1nP1qunLk86a.png?o=1<br />
::Screenshot of MediaWiki internal error when visiting [[Functional]]: https://gcdnb.pbrd.co/images/7S3Ct5wghTIH.png?o=1<br />
::Screenshot of MediaWiki internal error when visiting [[1270: Functional]] via index.php: https://gcdnb.pbrd.co/images/HghYaRj9wA1f.png?o=1 [[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 14:06, 14 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::I can see the history page, but the same error occurs when I visit any diff links, old versions, and the talk page. [[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 14:12, 14 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
::::Anybody else? ''None'' of that happens here.<br />
::::Could it be somehow browser-specific, or even extension-related? One thing to try is if you any further browsers handily installed (or installable) that you can use (even if just just for this one purpose, you don't need them to be the default system one). As of right now, though, I'm flumoxed and don't have any obvious other steps, and I dont believe anybody else has the means to enable the debug options.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.190|172.69.79.190]] 22:17, 14 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::::This occurs on a Chromebook managed by my school, so I can't install any browsers besides Chrome and I can't manage the extensions. I can see the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1270:_Functional&action=edit editing page] but I get an even less elegantly presented [https://gcdnb.pbrd.co/images/xQOVUQMjoF1r.png?o=1 error] when I try to preview the page.[[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 20:30, 24 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Couldn't replicate either, Windows 11 Chrome Canary. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 17:14, 16 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
:Figured out the problem. This error occurs on any page using the <code><nowiki><math></nowiki></code> tag. I don't know why, though. [[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 20:30, 24 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
::Yep, added <code><nowiki><math>This causes an error.</math></nowiki></code> to the top of [[explain xkcd:Sandbox]] and now it gives the same error. [[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 20:35, 24 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::This bug has been around for at least 7 years. Here's the fix: [[#Mediawiki exception on some pages]]. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 21:01, 24 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Captcha repeat ==<br />
When you've finished editing, there is an "I'm not a robot" CAPTCHA.<br />
<br />
But if you preview the changes before saving, that gets reset, so you can't just say "yup, looks good, go ahead and publish this change."<br />
<br />
How hard would it be to make the CAPTCHA sticky, so that it doesn't need an extra interaction/mouse movement after previewing? <br />
<br />
Or, alternatively, to not display either the CAPTCHA or the Save Changes until after a preview. {{unsigned|JimJJewett20:40, 14 April 2025}}<br />
<br />
:If you're going to Preview (which can often be a good idea), don't bother ticking the "I am not a robot". Previews (also the "Show Changes") are 'free' and don't need you to feed the CAPTHA machine.<br />
:What's wrong with 1) editing, 2) previewing, 3) going "Yup, looks good" and ticking the box, 3a) ''if'' required, fulfill the Captcha, 4) Submit..?<br />
:It's exactly the same amount of work as having the Captcha-fulfillment at position (1a) and 'sticky'<br />
:Also, however hard it might be to 'sticky' the CAPTCHA, there's a ''reason'' that a validated CAPTCHA isn't held over willy-nilly. Theoretically, an automated system (or semi-attended one) that relied upon finding out if it ''could'' post an edit, before it even bothered to try could benefit (if only by a smidgen) from first having a pot-shot at authorisation and only then (presumably before any 'time out' kicked in) pushing the latest spambot stuff.<br />
:I see no value in allowing that, even if there was anybody who might have enough of an 'in' on the server code to enable such a thing. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.33.248|162.158.33.248]] 23:02, 14 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
:Moved this to technical portal. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 17:07, 16 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Request for feedback about {{tl|comic}} ==<br />
<br />
Hey, I'd like to hear someone else's opinion on the random button on our comic template, please see this page: [[Template talk:comic#Random button should link to Special:RandomInCategory]] --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 08:30, 2 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Does anyone here know how to create a random link that fetches pages from two different categories? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 10:12, 4 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== the rss feed seems to be broken ==<br />
<br />
the rss feed button on the side leading to https://explainxkcd.com/rss.xml throws up and error making the feed not load properly in rss readers. <br />
<br />
"This page contains the following errors:<br />
error on line 463 at column 18: EntityRef: expecting ';'<br />
Below is a rendering of the page up to the first error." {{unsigned ip|172.71.241.19|20:38, 5 May 2025}}<br />
:I think this is the continuing issue as of [[#RSS Feed: XML not well-formed]], you're talking about. As far as I'm aware unfixed and (with the current smattering of active admins at their limits of admin-levels) unfixable. Because of a 'bare' ampersand (or two) being misinterpreted as a failed attempt at a character-entity reference. ''If'' that was fixed, without me noticing, then I'm sure someone will be along to try to fix your new issue too.<br />
:People have been trying to prod other people who can prod the server back into shape (insofar as that issue), but I've not yet been privy to anything coming of that, and presume you're just trapped in the exact same glitch. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.30|172.70.91.30]] 21:59, 5 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What exactly happens if it's broken? Is it just unusable forever, or is just that one comic that's broken? Or something else? I'm curious. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:24, 6 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::It's unusable so long as the "I'm parsing this is an '&amp;Thing;' ... oh, wait, it has no closing ';'... ARGH!" happens to it. If you click on the RSS feed, to the left, you can see how it shows the (not ''quite'' humanly-readable) lines of the RSS feed (most recent, chronologically backwards) until the last line it shows is the comic imediately after the most recent "D&D" entry. (Actually, depends on browser. Sorry, just checked. It does that on Android Chrome, but currently I'm on Windows Firefox and it 'only' complains. But if you'll take my word for it.)<br />
:::Someone really needs to go into the https://explainxkcd.com/rss.xml file (who can edit it directly) and find the two "D&D" instances and make them "D&amp;amp;D". (Note to editors: Had to "amp amp" the "amp", here in this edit, to get it to appear just as amp... In case you get confused when coming in here and expecting to see "D&amp;D" :P )<br />
:::The fact that nobody has yet managed to do it is probably because nobody (from Kynde to Theusaf) has the server-root access necessary to edit things at that level.<br />
:::Until it's changed (I assume the xml updating is done at a more server-backend level than most of the rest of the administrative functions, but I'm not at all au fait with mediawiki's internals to that level), whenever a 'compliant' (and, apparently, ''very'' strict) parser tries to read the .xml it'll 'quite rightly' tell you that there's a bare ampersand and then refuses to do anything more.<br />
:::Again, without knowing the technical operation of what ''wrote'' the original data, it seems like there was insufficient 'sanitising' of the input. It applied the bare-ampersand without forward-converting it to an ampersanded ampersand-entity. That maybe also needs fixing (in case we get more), even if the existing ones get manually changed. I don't use any RSS feeds, myself, being too new-fangled ("Initial release: RSS 0.90 (Netscape), March 15, 1999; 26 years ago; Latest release: RSS 2.0 (version 2.0.11) March 30, 2009; 16 years ago"... yeah, ''to me'' that's still new-fangled! :P ) so all I know about how this one fails is what people have talked about above, and trivially clicking on the left-sidebar link to look at it myself, and venture what I think is the logical nature of the glitch (both cause and effect). Maybe somebody knows more about it, but I'm filling in until that person comes along and says otherswise (and/or more) about it. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.33.193|162.158.33.193]] 20:28, 6 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::: It's not being "very strict" to reject an unescaped ampersand: it's just part of the XML spec. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.216.67|162.158.216.67]] 09:00, 28 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Random comic/explanation glitches ==<br />
<br />
For some reason, I can''not'' press random without being sent to either the Verizon comic-thing or comic #4 (this is one of my first times commenting, no clue how to do links). I’ve now pressed the button for random comic 8 times and keep getting these two pages, any idea for fixing this? [[User:AK24Ammit|AH24Ammit]] ([[User talk:AK24Ammit|talk]]) 00:24, 22 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:update: it’s now added repeatedly sending me to [[1057:Klout]] and [[2875:2024]]. I can’t get it to send me to any other page through the random button. After 23 random comic presses, I got each of these four comics 6 times and the latest comic once. [[User:AK24Ammit|AH24Ammit]] ([[User talk:AK24Ammit|talk]]) 00:29, 22 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Incessant 503 errors ==<br />
<br />
I cannot keep contributing to this site if the 503 errors continue. The time it takes to perform a single action is about 10 times greater than it should be, some pages never load, and almost everything is broken and outdated. The situation will get worse if we do nothing. We have to do something :( &nbsp; --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:47, 26 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:I've not yet found any page that won't ever load, can you give an example?<br />
:Updating the website, though useful for other reasons, also cannot help this problem much. Different hosting might help, but mostly different proxying. Site-side changes, of the kind we've perhaps been waiting for, would be minimally useful to this external issue. Maybe we'll get some changes out of this crisis, maybe we'll just get the site closed down as not worth the additional effort. (Just going read-only might not even help, and would still be gruelling loss.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.10|172.71.178.10]] 16:27, 26 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Can't do much better than Cloudflare for proxying, at least not on a budget. If the DDOS is from an AI-scraper or a malicious-but-not-paying-attention source, temporarily shifting everything to a new domain and having explainxkcd.com just be a placeholder with human-readable instructions to het to the temp site ''might'' help, at least until the adversary adapted. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.16|162.158.167.16]] 19:31, 26 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Well anything would be better than the current situation, except a total shutdown. Why is nobody worried this entire wiki is dying in front of our eyes and the owner doesn't even remember it exists? Jesus --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:03, 27 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Same issue. What could be causing this? {{unsigned ip|162.158.114.253|14:49, 27 May 2025}}<br />
::The server's seemingly being hammered by a new batch of unregulated traffic, that's been hammering many other sites. Your attempts to connect are getting lost in the overload, until the instigators get bored, smarter/kinder or someone implements a better way to stop the offending connections better. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.160|172.70.162.160]] 16:41, 27 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== wtf is going on with the server?? ==<br />
<br />
why is the site giving a db error 90% of the time? is something wrong? how/when will it be fixed? (can it be fixed at all?) update: the db crashed AGAIN while i was writing this. also its not like above section, since it currently *specifically* gives db errors. "cannot access the database." [[User:An user who has no account yet|An user who has no account yet]] ([[User talk:An user who has no account yet|talk]]) 16:54, 27 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:See the sub-header above (and other contributions by people in the last two or three comic Discussions), but imagine you're at a party, trying to talk to your friends, and people you don't know keep coming over and trying to start various inane conversations that just keep distracting you, and ''they just won't leave you alone!''<br />
:So: 1) Too much traffic. 2) Not with the server. 3) Difficult/not quickly (it's not really a server-fix). And the DB isn't fully crashing (that'd do something else). It's just unable to reply to everyone, every time, and even saying "No I can't talk to you" takes up time.<br />
:Ideally, you get someone else to intercept anyone coming over to talk to you. Maybe a VIP-section "red rope", and a big guy with a clipboard of guests/a personal secretary to vet newcomers. Doing that yourself is just going to distract you more. (Or you can take enough amphetamines to become enough of a party animal to comfortably be at the centre of the ''wildest'' of parties, but that takes finding a dealer with the right product, as well as other problems. And the tendency to overextend your analogies.) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.72|172.68.205.72]] 19:36, 27 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
::That reads like the "explain" of an XKCD that I want to see. :P [[Special:Contributions/162.158.175.131|162.158.175.131]] 21:17, 27 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==Special:ContributionScores on Main Page busts caching, causing load==<br />
<br />
Long story short, the Main Page transcludes a top contributors table, [[Special:ContributionScores/10/30]], which marks the entire Main Page as dynamic (not cacheable). This means that (1) Cloudflare is not serving up a static version of this page, even to those not logged in, (2) the Main Page wikitext is getting reparsed on every hit, and (3) the parser is recreating the table from scratch on every hit, consuming a lot of database connection time, roughly between 0.5 and 1.0 second each. This is...suspicious, given the wiki's technical difficulties. I suggest an experiment with removing it to see if technical issues improve. If so, and if people wish to keep the table, I suggest creating a static version of the table that is updated only occasionally (even once every few hours by bot should be fine).<br />
<br />
The whole story is: While browsing overnight, I noticed that the issues with page loads seemed caching-related; pages never seemed to load on the first click, though refreshing was often successful, at least during the presumably lower-load overnight hours. Research led me to the possibility that some broken caching system was leading to the database running out of connections (even on a cache hit, one is still needed to determine whether it is a cache hit or miss), so I started looking at some technical indicators, eventually leading to the parser profiling ("NewPP") and transclusions block at the end of the parser output [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=parse&page=Main%20Page here].<br />
<br />
For the main page, it outputs:<br />
<br />
<nowiki>NewPP limit report<br />
Cached time: 20250528101640<br />
Cache expiry: 0<br />
Dynamic content: true<br />
CPU time usage: 0.059 seconds<br />
Real time usage: 2.564 seconds<br />
Preprocessor visited node count: 273/1000000<br />
Preprocessor generated node count: 2367/1000000<br />
Post\u2010expand include size: 17895/2097152 bytes<br />
Template argument size: 714/2097152 bytes<br />
Highest expansion depth: 7/40<br />
Expensive parser function count: 4/100<br />
--><br />
<!--<br />
Transclusion expansion time report (%,ms,calls,template)<br />
100.00% 1762.386 1 -total<br />
65.93% 1161.960 1 3094<br />
33.89% 597.347 1 Special:ContributionScores/10/30/nosort,notools<br />
22.59% 398.159 1 Template:comic<br />
16.62% 292.973 1 Template:incomplete_transcript<br />
15.21% 268.077 1 Template:incomplete<br />
6.34% 111.727 1 Template:comic_discussion<br />
6.20% 109.319 1 MediaWiki:Mainpage<br />
0.21% 3.766 4 Template:w<br />
0.09% 1.566 5 Template:LATESTCOMIC</nowiki><br />
<br />
The 2.5 seconds taken isn't itself necessarily a problem, but notice that the page is considered dynamic content with immediate cache expiration. This contrasts with a normal page like [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=parse&page=3094:%20Mass%20Spec the latest comic]:<br />
<br />
<nowiki><!-- <br />
NewPP limit report<br />
Cached time: 20250528111305<br />
Cache expiry: 86400<br />
Dynamic content: false<br />
CPU time usage: 0.060 seconds<br />
Real time usage: 0.333 seconds<br />
Preprocessor visited node count: 324/1000000<br />
Preprocessor generated node count: 2362/1000000<br />
Post\u2010expand include size: 63936/2097152 bytes<br />
Template argument size: 1609/2097152 bytes<br />
Highest expansion depth: 9/40<br />
Expensive parser function count: 3/100<br />
--><br />
<!--<br />
Transclusion expansion time report (%,ms,calls,template)<br />
100.00% 160.074 1 -total<br />
37.56% 60.117 1 Template:comic<br />
20.70% 33.133 1 Template:comic_discussion<br />
19.54% 31.277 1 Template:cn<br />
8.81% 14.101 5 Template:w<br />
8.31% 13.303 1 MediaWiki:Mainpage<br />
7.86% 12.585 1 Template:incomplete_transcript<br />
5.26% 8.424 1 Template:incomplete<br />
4.83% 7.739 2 Template:notice<br />
1.38% 2.212 2 Talk:3094:_Mass_Spec<br />
--><br />
</div><br />
<!-- Saved in parser cache with key expla0_db423085716:pcache:idhash:29008-0!canonical and timestamp 20250528111305 and revision id 378578<br />
--></nowiki><br />
<br />
From a quick search, it sounds like transclusion of a special page will always cause the parser cache to be bypassed, causing all of the parsed output to be regenerated on every hit by any visitor, logged in or not, via the API or not, etc. (While it's not technically wrong that increased number of visits may be causing issues, this would be a multiplicative exacerbation of that.) Combined with the fact that the page is recreating a pretty heavy database query to count and tabulate the last 30 days of edits, this seems Really Bad. [[User:AySz88|AySz88]] ([[User talk:AySz88|talk]]) 11:14, 28 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: Edited for corrections and clarity. Also, one can generate and profile the cost of any bit of wikitext using the API: <nowiki>https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=parse&text={{Special:ContributionScores/10/7/nosort,notools}}&title=Special:ContributionScores</nowiki> would create and time the processing time needed to generate <nowiki>{{Special:ContributionScores/10/7/nosort,notools}}</nowiki>.<br />
: I'd noticed that there was a recent change from 7 to 30 days of scoring, but it turns out that doesn't make a big difference in processing time. In addition, the parser considering the content static doesn't seem to be enough for Cloudflare to start caching a page, so that might not be as easy to change. Still, simply allowing the parser output to be saved and regenerating the table for the vast majority of visitors' hits might be a big help. [[User:AySz88|AySz88]] ([[User talk:AySz88|talk]]) 13:27, 28 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: Does this affect other pages? If not, then the main DB issues aren't fixed... but if it does, then why is the contribs page loaded for EVERY page? Also, I *support* removing this... it's just a showcase that exists for no good reason if shown to every viewer, the recent contribs should probably be restricted to users only or something [[Special:Contributions/162.158.8.176|162.158.8.176]] 08:30, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::: The contrib table doesn't load on every page, but the vast majority of hits are going to be to the Main Page. And (my hypothesis is) it holds database connections open while it's running, which consumes that limited resource on the server. (We could just raise the cap, but we don't have access to the server.) A lot of the lag time in the profiler above is just sitting in a queue for the next database connection, which affects everything. So in that sense, it affects the whole wiki. [[User:AySz88|AySz88]] ([[User talk:AySz88|talk]]) 17:53, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Hi. I changed to 30 days on suggestion by FaviFake. But that was in March. Just changed it back to 7 again just to try it. Of course I can also try to remove it for a period of time. But for us that makes a lot of contributions that list is a motivating factor. So I would hate to remove it. Also it has worked with 30 days for more than two months and with the 7 days for as long as I have used the site (since 2012). So it seems weird that it should suddenly be the front page that breaks it all. It is also not the first time we have had these issues. Not sure how they where resolved last time but strange if it suddenly is the main page that causes all these problems [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:29, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::: (Un)Fortunately(?) I suspect the technical caching issue is more relevant, where naively transcluding a Special page via <code><nowiki>{{Special:...}}</nowiki></code> causes everything to re-process on every hit. That doesn't mean losing the feature entirely (or even the 30 days); I can help make a bot that can send the output (inside <code><nowiki>https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=parse&text={{Special:ContributionScores/10/30,nosort,notools}}&title=Special:ContributionScores&format=json</nowiki></code>) to a template, automatically updating once per short interval (an hour?). The delayed version can also be Main Page only; the live version can always still be linked, and/or the full page linked to.<br />
::: You're right that perhaps this isn't necessarily ''the'' proximate "straw that broke the camel's back" cause. And there are a lot of other problems and solutions that could help - like simply raising the DB connection cap, or all the stuff about crawler traffic, and that Cloudflare doesn't seem to be caching the basically-static CSS from tool.php, etc. etc... But without admin access to diagnostics or settings for the database and Cloudflare, we can only work with the tools we have. Even this specific widget itself does some caching in a newer update, but we don't have access to updating it. (That said, I'm still keeping an eye out for other things that might have changed recently.) [[User:AySz88|AySz88]] ([[User talk:AySz88|talk]]) 17:53, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
::::As it did not help making it 7 days again I have now removed it. Seems to make no difference to begin with. But lets give it some time to work. But I'm not optimistic. Let me know if I moved the correct bit, I'm no expert just sadly the only active admin and we cannot get hold of Jeff... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:34, 30 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
Since the removal of the Rankings table, I haven't noticed a downtick of connection errors. (That said, I dislike people ''aiming'' to be in the Rankings, I consider that editing should be its own reward, so personally I'd be happier without it anywhere quite as prominent.) Haven't done a full technical analysis, but I estimate that from a prior peak of maybe 1.5 "technical difficulties" or "also, a 503 error" responses, generally varying between zero issues (straight in) and normal worstest-case scenario of three attempts (fourth attempt is Ok, ''maybe'' unstylsheeted), in the last 24 hours it's been more like 2.5:1 fail to success ratio. (i.e. reaching up to maybe 6th-attempt success, worst case.) Not nice, but survivable.<br />
<br />
Though got a new one, just a few minutes ago. An actual Cloudflare error: "SSL handshake failed Error code 525 // Visit cloudflare.com for more information. // 2025-05-30 20:01:57 UTC". In case that interests anyone. Looks like the server was temperarily so incapacitated as to not be able to even handshake with the proxy. But I don't currently expect that to recur, just thought I'd note it as a 'new' glitch, in passing. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.241.123|172.71.241.123]] 20:37, 30 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== What would it take to clone ExplainXKCD? ==<br />
<br />
What would it take technically and financially to clone this web site?<br />
<br />
Installing MediaWiki and cloning the wiki pages should be fairly straightforward. There may be some pain due to differences in MediaWiki versions.<br />
<br />
Cloning or rewriting the bots may be a chore.<br />
<br />
Paying for hosting and Cloudflare will take a steady stream of income.<br />
<br />
There's also legal issues, like how to protect everyone from liability if someone wants to sue, even if it's a frivolous suit.<br />
<br />
There will need to be multiple administrators at every level so we don't have the "if one person disappears for awhile and problems arise, we are stuck" issues.<br />
<br />
My guess is that between the existing administrators and regular contributors, we have the technical skills to do this. It's the financial and legal issues that give me pause.<br />
<br />
Yes, I'm an occasional contributor, and no, I haven't created an account yet. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.175.119|162.158.175.119]] 19:51, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:It would help if we didn't want to clone ''all page history''. Already, it would bar those bits hidden behind admin-level deletions, etc, but limiting the actual depth of history scraped up and made available on a new platform would be wise from a 'start over' POV, ''especially'' if not having direct access to the core database. Possibly a 'bot could maintain an "anything new on old site gets reduplicated to new site" until a phased cut-off, with enough thought, dyluring the ''duration'' of the migratory process, but you need a solid base (maybe with further back-filled history as much as you can).<br />
:And then there's user accounts. Maybe there's a way to confirm your rights to an original-site username on the new-site (potentially complex things, or just something to do with logins on both, posting "it's me" on the new site, then "yes, that new-site claim me of being me is indeed correct" on old-site, but you still have to deal with potential claim-jumping/identity-gazumping). Which also needs trust of the new-site admins to play fair with potential disputes.<br />
:And it'd be a good opportunity to clean some up things (everyone can think of several inconsistecies that ''they'd'' deal with, given the opportunity), but only with a lot of hands on effort. So factor that in for potential work.<br />
:On the whole, though, best just to 'start fresh'. A task in itself, perhaps use and acknowledge this site's "best material" (I think copyright might be not so much an issue if based upon a fair and dutiful copy, due to the details of [[explain xkcd:Copyrights]], but that's of course something that needs advice sought for any particular implementation). That, of course, needs community acceptance not to be seen as an "upstart usurper" site, perhaps, and could create a schism where some would refuse to partake in the new project at all.<br />
:i.e. you raise good questions (and prompt others), but I'm not sure there are ''undeniably'' objective good answers to them all. Trying it and seeing how it goes is probably the ''only'' way to bash out the many details. Not an easy project. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.241.144|172.71.241.144]] 21:19, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I think it would be absolutely awesome to move to something that *isn't* self hosted, something that as far as I can tell this wiki is. If we move or clone, may we see [https://weirdgloop.org/ Weird Gloop] as an option? They have a lot of experience and will [https://weirdgloop.org/blog/why-were-helping-more-wikis-move-away-from-fandom#how-to-not-turn-into-fandom-20-with-these-2-simple-tricks probably not turn into another fandom and will not be bought by them]. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.130.250|172.69.130.250]] 15:33, 30 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
::Oh ye gods... Yes, whatever you do, ''don't'' go anywhere near Fandom, as a solution. Not that I think this will be a convincing argument on its own, but you'll absolutely lose me as an 'explain' reader (never mind contributor) if it goes onto a Fandom/ex-Wikia hosting model. I've no experience of Weird Gloop (yet), but the URL (about why they're different) certainly does vicerally appeal to me on first glance. Do your own independant research, though, anybody tempted down that or any eqyivalent route. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.241.123|172.71.241.123]] 20:37, 30 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:[https://github.com/saveweb/wikiteam3/ Wikidump] can get all page content with full history (for pages that have not been deleted). It doesn't require admin privileges to use. [[User:183231bcb|183231bcb]] ([[User talk:183231bcb|talk]]) 21:38, 31 May 2025 (UTC)</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Technical&diff=378696explain xkcd:Community portal/Technical2025-05-31T21:15:23Z<p>183231bcb: /* What would it take to clone ExplainXKCD? */</p>
<hr />
<div><noinclude>__NEWSECTIONLINK__<br />
{{Community links}}<br />
<br />
{|-<br />
|valign="top" width="100%"|[[File:Crystal Clear app package settings blue.png|left|120px]] <big><big><b>Technical</b></big></big><br />
<br />
<i>Technical issues ''about'' the [[explain xkcd]] wiki, including bug reports or MediaWiki extensions requests.</i> {{AddNewSection|Page=Explain XKCD:Community portal/Technical|Text=<small>(+post)</small>}}<br />
|}</noinclude><br />
<br />
==ARCHIVED DISCUSSIONS==<br />
<div class="plainlinks" style="background:#edf6ff; border:1px solid #a7d7f9; margin:1em auto 1em auto; width:100%; font-size: 120%; padding: 0.5ex; text-align: center;">Most of the discussions on this page have been archived. The archive is available at '''[[explain xkcd talk:Community portal/Technical]]'''.</div><br />
<br />
== Unable to view "what if?" page ==<br />
<br />
The link to the page for the [[what if?]] blog displays an error: "No input file specified." [[User:JBYoshi|JBYoshi]] ([[User talk:JBYoshi|talk]]) 03:38, 21 August 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:This also happens to me on [[1205: Is It Worth the Time?]] Must be something with the ?s in the titles. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.66|172.69.22.66]] 15:46, 25 August 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::I've noticed that as well. I made a page in my userspace that redirects to the what if page, and for some reason that seems to work. ([[User:Blue screen of life/whatiflink|here is the link to the page]]) [[User:Blue screen of life|Blue screen of life]] ([[User talk:Blue screen of life|talk]]) 20:09, 31 August 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::I have also noticed this but it is not just on pages with questions marks. Both [[259]] and [[1705]] show the same thing. A full list (as of 22 June 2020) of the ones i found is in the last reply to my report found here [[#2138_page_issues]] [[User:TomW1605|TomW1605]] ([[User talk:TomW1605|talk]]) 12:20, 22 September 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::Both [[259]] and [[1705]] have an ({{w|E acute|e-with-accute-accent}}, Unicode U+00E9) in the URL, so for those pages, I wonder if that has anything to do with it?<br />
::::For the "what if?" page, I had recently added a redirect from [[what if (blog)]] to get to it, and the [[What If]] disambiguation page has been updated with it, so at least we can get to it that way; and for the comic explanations, at least we can get to them by linking to their number-redirects (as [[58]] instead of [[58: Why Do You Love Me?]]); but not sure how to fix it overall. At the following page, it suggests tweaking an {{w|Apache HTTP Server|Apache}} {{w|Rewrite engine|rewrite}} directive in {{w|.htaccess}} (or a {{w|Common Gateway Interface|CGI}} setting in {{w|PHP}} if it's running on {{w|Internet Information Services|IIS}}):<br />
::::* https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Topic:Vmaw1tu5kkhyon0n<br />
::::So maybe something about that has changed recently? Documentation:<br />
::::* [https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/mod/mod_rewrite.html#rewriterule Apache mod_rewrite <code>RewriteRule</code> directive]<br />
::::* [https://www.php.net/manual/en/ini.core.php#ini.cgi.force-redirect php.ini <code>cgi.force_redirect</code> directive]<br />
::::Summarizing a few points from [[User talk:SlashMe#Homeopathic Wiki|this related discussion]]:<br />
::::* Only one of the site's [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:ListUsers?group=sysop 10 administrators] has made recent edits ([[Special:Contributions/SlashMe|SlashMe]]).<br />
::::* Neither of the site's [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:ListUsers?group=bureaucrat 2 bureaucrats] ([[Special:Contributions/Jeff|Jeff]] and [[Special:Contributions/Lcarsos|Lcarsos]]) have made any edits recently.<br />
::::* For admin access to the ''server'' itself, my limited understanding is that [[Special:Contributions/Jeff|Jeff]] might actually own the server, but may have also given admin access to [[Special:Contributions/Dgbrt|Dgbrt]]; however, neither of them have made edits recently.<br />
::::But "most recent edit" might not be a good indicator, so I wonder of some of these folks are still involved in the project?<br />
::::– [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 05:10, 29 September 2020 (UTC)<br />
: Looks like it happens for any page that has a percent-encoding in the title. [[User:PoolloverNathan|PoolloverNathan]]<sup><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Special:Contributions/PoolloverNathan|s]][[User talk:PoolloverNathan|talk]] [[Wikipedia:WP:SEAOFBLUE|the blue seas]]<nowiki>]</nowiki></sup> 16:32, 16 March 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
=== Known broken pages ===<br />
(Redirects work, whereas links to the actual page are broken.)<br />
<br />
Title containing e-accute-accent:<br />
* [[259]] ↳ [[259: Clichéd Exchanges]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=259:_Clich%C3%A9d_Exchanges What links here])</small><br />
* [[1705]] ↳ [[1705: Pokémon Go]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=1705:_Pok%C3%A9mon_Go What links here])</small><br />
<br />
Title ending with question mark:<br />
* <del>[[what if (blog)]] ↳ [[what if?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=What_If%3F What links here])</small></del> <ins>fixed – content now exists at [[what if]], and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:WhatLinksHere/what_if&limit=500 broken links] are in the process of being updated (see below)</ins><br />
* [[58]] ↳ [[58: Why Do You Love Me?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=58:_Why_Do_You_Love_Me%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[111]] ↳ [[111: Firefox and Witchcraft - The Connection?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=111:_Firefox_and_Witchcraft_-_The_Connection%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[1205]] ↳ [[1205: Is It Worth the Time?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=1205:_Is_It_Worth_the_Time%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[1841]] ↳ [[1841: Who?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=1841:_Who%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[1913]] ↳ [[1913: A ?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=1913:_A_%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[2065]] ↳ [[2065: Who Sends the First Text?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=2065:_Who_Sends_the_First_Text%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[2138]] ↳ [[2138: Wanna See the Code?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=2138:_Wanna_See_the_Code%3F What links here])</small><br />
* [[2236]] ↳ [[2236: Is it Christmas?]] <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=2236:_Is_it_Christmas%3F What links here])</small><br />
<br />
=== Moved ===<br />
I moved the [[what if?]] page to the [[what if (blog)]] page which I then changed to simply [[what if]] to fix this issue and because anyone new to this site would type that any way to see it.<span> — [[User:Sqrt-1|The <b>𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭</b>]] <sup>[[User talk:Sqrt-1|<span style="color: blue">talk</span>]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|<span style="color: blue">stalk</span>]]</sup></span> 06:47, 29 September 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Still trying to wrap my head around it – so just to summarize, we currently have:<br />
:<br />
:* '''[[whatif]]''' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=whatif&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small><br />
:** ↳ ''redirects to'' '''[[what if?]]''' (see below)<br />
:* '''[[What If?]]''' – page broken <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=What_If%3F&redirect=no no-redirect link]) ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=What_If%3F What links here])</small><br />
:** ↳ ''also redirects to'' '''[[what if?]]''' – page broken <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if%3F&redirect=no no-redirect link]) ([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=what_if%3F What links here])</small><br />
:*** ↳ ''redirects to'' '''[[what if]] – actual content'''<br />
:*** ''content manually moved from'' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if%3F&diff=198070&oldid=197859 diff])</small> '''[[what if?]]''' ''to'' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if&diff=198071&oldid=197486 diff])</small> '''[[what if (blog)]]''' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if_(blog)&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small> (''[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if%3F&action=history previous revision history] remains at'' '''[[what if?]]''')<br />
:**** ⇒ ''moved to'' '''[[what if]] – actual content'''<br />
:<br />
:For completeness, we also have...<br />
:<br />
:* '''[[what if book]]''' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=what_if_book&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small><br />
:** ↳ ''redirects to'' '''[[what if#The book]] – actual content'''<br />
:** Suggestion: for consistency, also add a '''[[what if (book)]]''' page that redirects here?<br />
:<br />
:...and the disambiguation page...<br />
:<br />
:* '''[[What If]]''' <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=What_If&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small><br />
:** ⇒ ''moved to'' '''[[What If (disambiguation)]]''' – disambiguation page<br />
:*** ''links to'' '''[[17: What If]]''' (↲ '''[[17]]''' redirects here <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=17&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small>)<br />
:*** ''links to'' '''[[what if]] – actual content'''<br />
:*** Suggestion: mention the ''book'' here as well, and link to its section in the [[what if]] page?<br />
:<br />
:...and these troubleshooting pages from [[User:Blue screen of life]]:<br />
:<br />
:* '''[[User:Blue screen of life/redirecttest]]''' – test page <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:Blue_screen_of_life/redirecttest&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small><br />
:** ⇒ ''moved to'' '''[[User:Blue screen of life/whatiflink]]''' – test page <small>([https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:Blue_screen_of_life/whatiflink&redirect=no no-redirect link])</small><br />
:*** ↳ ''redirects to'' '''[[What If?]]''' (see above)<br />
:<br />
:Given that the actual content of the "what if?" article now lives at '''[[what if]]''', I've started updating pages <ins>(except for Talk pages)</ins> to link directly there instead of the other redirect pages. All that's left to do are pages that link to the '''[[what if?]]''' redirect-page (which is broken). <del>Its [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere/what_if%3F "What links here"] special page is broken too, so it's difficult to find what pages link there – but now that it redirects to the [[what if]] page, you can see them indirectly from ''that'' page's [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:WhatLinksHere/what_if&limit=500 "What links here"] special page.</del> <ins>[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:WhatLinksHere?target=what_if%3F These] are the pages that still link there.</ins> There are still a lot of them to go.<br />
:<br />
:Also, should the following redirect-pages be simplified to have them redirect straight to the new [[what if]] page, instead of redirecting through the intermediate '''[[what if?]]''' page (which itself redirects there anyway)?<br />
:* '''[[whatif]]'''<br />
:* '''[[What If?]]'''<br />
:– [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 17:20, 29 September 2020 (UTC)<br />
:: Fixed the double redirects, don't ask me why we have so many pages for the same thing. [[User:PoolloverNathan|PoolloverNathan]]<sup><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Special:Contributions/PoolloverNathan|s]][[User talk:PoolloverNathan|talk]] [[Wikipedia:WP:SEAOFBLUE|the blue seas]]<nowiki>]</nowiki></sup> 16:29, 16 March 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Discussion not displaying with comic ==<br />
<br />
I am using FireFox on a Win10 machine. When I come to the site I can see the comic, explanation and transcript. But the discussion section is hidden. Even when logged in.<br />
<br />
Any ideas?<br />
<br />
: You say "when I come to the site". If the address bar says you are on Main_Page and you see the heading "Latest comic", then it's simply working as designed. Above the comic, click on "Go to this comic explanation" and you will see the comic plus discussion.<br />
<br />
: Also, Steve, please sign your comments every time, with four tildes. That expands into your user name and a timestamp. Like this -- [[User:JohnB|JohnB]] ([[User talk:JohnB|talk]]) 10:10, 29 September 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Random page sometimes takes me to an invalid address ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, when clicking on "Random page" in the left sidebar, the site will be blank apart from the text "No input file specified. ".<br />
<br />
An example of such an URL is: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/111:_Firefox_and_Witchcraft_-_The_Connection%3F<br />
<br />
<br />
:I've noticed this happens for ''all'' URLs to comics that end in a question mark (or possibly any special character). Interestingly, this doesn't happen if you go to the comic from the search bar. [[User:Danish|Danish]] ([[User talk:Danish|talk]]) 23:04, 27 January 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Bug on the main page ==<br />
<br />
Bug Enviroment(Might work on other enviroments):<br />
Ubuntu 20.04LTS <br />
Firefox85.0 <br />
2021.2.7 <br />
<br />
Bug: <br />
The front page reads: `Welcome, Main Page, to explain xkcd!` with `Main Page` formatted as a username,can someone fix this?<br />
<br />
[[User:Xkcdjerry|Xkcdjerry]] ([[User talk:Xkcdjerry|talk]]) 09:48, 7 February 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Occasional error via Cloudflare ==<br />
Just a note that I'm getting Cloudflare errors of "origin not reachable" (sounds wrong to me, in my head it should be 'destination', but never mind) three times now in the last ten to fifteen minutes - of maybe a dozen general site-requests.<br />
<br />
I've also been getting seemingly .CSSless formatted pages over the past few days, which I've been putting down to slightly dodgy wifi at my end (not unknown) but if I'm getting Cloudflare's error cleanly then perhaps it's been entirely upstream/downstream/however-you'd-describe-the-Explain-server. (Obviously CSS resource requests, as with images, are additional HTTP calls, but I still lump it into the single site-request ''per page'' in my 'dozen' estimate above. No obviously lost images, though, in incomplete pages - not that can't be explained by .CSS non-following, anyway.)<br />
<br />
I had copy-buffered some of the exact info, but due to incompetence I recopied over it before coming here. If it happens again, I'll try to bring it over here. But (the way these things go) maybe it won't. FYI, though. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.52|141.101.98.52]] 12:04, 5 March 2021 (UTC)<br />
: Not a Cloudfare error (looks like an error of the actual explainxkcd server) but every now and then (like just a few minutes ago) I get an error page that generally goes away if I immediately refresh. To whit:<br />
Service Unavailable<br />
The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later.<br />
<br />
Additionally, a 503 Service Unavailable error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.<br />
: Not really a problem (occasionally happened while submitting an exit, and I have to confirm to the browser that I wish to repost the data, but this particular copied instance was through a more 'read-only' link-click, like most of the instances) but... in case someone finds this to be new and useful information... here you are! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 03:45, 12 March 2021 (UTC)<br />
:OP, here, of the above 503 error report/casual mention. Obviously this is the same message that happened for an ''extended'' period of time over a number of days, but I've only just happened to find the site responding again and have not yet looked to see if it is explained as the same or different cause to the old intermittent issues (at root). I hope things are resolved from the major outage (server quota? bill payments? renewal/reconfiguration blips?) but wonder if I should report any future minor outages? I'm still smarting from the total loss of the fora.xkcd.com platform, a few years back, and while I'm not active enough here to consider a proper login (lurking as a freeloading anon-IP is good enough, usually, for my intellectual enjoyment, with all due apologies) I did have a slight pang of emptiness while it was out-of-order. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.79|141.101.99.79]] 15:48, 16 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Add TemplateData ==<br />
<br />
Add the {{mw|Extension:TemplateData|TemplateData}} extension to allow setting data for templates. This will help editors because they will be able to see the data of templates.<br />
<br />
== MediaWiki 1.30.0?! ==<br />
<br />
This wiki is [[Special:Version|currently]] on [[mw:MediaWiki 1.30|MediaWiki 1.30.0]] ([[mw:Release notes/1.30|release notes]]), the first of three releases of a version of MW that reached end-of-life in June of 2019 ([[mw:Version lifecycle]]). It's thus missing multiple important security updates from 1.30.1 and 1.30.2, not to mention the two years' worth of security updates since 1.30.x reached end-of-life. Even 1.31.x will be reaching end-of-life in just over a month.<br />
<br />
If the sysadmins here update to [[mw:MediaWiki 1.35|MediaWiki 1.35.2]] ([[mw:Release_notes/1.35|release notes]]), that version will be maintained till September of 2023, with only a few security updates in the meantime. I would '''strongly''' encourage y'all to update to 1.35.2; to promptly update if there's a .3, .4, etc.; and to make sure you switch to the next LTS release (which will presumably be 1.39) well in advance of September of '23. (Note that this will also require updating to PHP 7.3.19 or later.) [[User:PinkAmpersand|PinkAmpersand]] ([[User talk:PinkAmpersand|talk]]) 07:17, 30 April 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Uptime ==<br />
Did the website just go down? <span style="text-shadow:0 0 8px black">[[User:Beanie|<span style="font-size:11pt;color:#dddddd">Beanie</span>]]</span> <sup><span style="text-shadow:0 0 7px #000000">[[User talk:Beanie|<span style="font-size:8pt;color:#dddddd">talk</span>]]</span></sup> 13:06, 28 May 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It was definitely down this weekend! <br />
https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/nxrm65 <br />
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 16:21, 15 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Comic template lappend breaks for standalone comic links ==<br />
<br />
For example, https://xkcd.com/blue_eyes.html is changed to https://xkcd.com/blue_eyes.html/ which isn't valid [[Special:Contributions/172.69.90.15|172.69.90.15]] 15:51, 13 October 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Template here, I think it needs to be changed to solve this https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Template:comic<br />
<br />
exkcd page here https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Blue_Eyes<br />
<br />
== May not be your problem, but FYI. ==<br />
<br />
My typcal setup: Android tablet, with Chrome for Android (latest update), but also Firefox for Android (ditto), using default Gboard (likewise) for input.<br />
<br />
Occasionally (notably within the last few weeks/maybe a month or so), when going in to edit an explainxkcd page through Chrome (it's how I divide up my browsing), I'm getting the cursor in the textarea box which ''can'' be used to Cut/Copy/Paste (as applicable and useful), but the on-screen keyboard isn't popping up. Page is fully loaded (can be refreshed, doesn't have the "stop loading" alternative), can go back (page viewing) and try to go back to the page editor (often to same result). Sitting and waiting doesn't pop the keyboard up, either (sat there for minutes). Happens both on home wifi and mobile connection.<br />
<br />
If I transfer my attentions to the page to Firefox (copy URL, to use there... but I don't use that by default for expxkcd stuff) there's no problem, but then if I come back to Chrome again it seems to start working again ''anyway'' so not sure if it's just avoiding/flushing a transient problem that would also initially crop up with Firefox if I used that more.<br />
<br />
Because editing is a different (mobile-optimised) process on Wikipedia and I can't be sure about any the equivalence of any other wiki out there (and it doesn't happen with anything else I regularly key into on Chrome) it's not something I've reproduced outwith this site, and of course desktop page-editing doesn't require touch-screen keyboard because there's a physical one.<br />
<br />
Not getting much feedback with Chrome (really can't get on with their bugrep processes, it's too huge a project to make headway, IME), not even tried to pester the Gboard team and I've not ''seen'' anything said on here about this being a site-issue (not sure how it could be, as it's outside the remit of the core web-page rendering process and more an Android or App level of incompetence), but I thought I'd make a note of it here for future reference. Make of it what you will. Annoying but not game-breaking. And I just wanted to vent a little. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 16:54, 25 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== [[special:interwiki]] ==<br />
<br />
where'd it go? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.200|172.69.68.200]] 05:07, 7 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Please update MediaWiki + AbuseFilter ==<br />
<br />
Seriously. Many scripts and such built for modern, supported versions of MW do not work here because it is so unbelievably undated. PinkAmpersand above basically covers the reason why. I also highly recommend adding the extension AbuseFilter (https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:AbuseFilter) as it immensely makes removing vandalism easier (by straight up disallowing or blocking those that do, esp if it's like the current formulaic massive-replacement vandalism.) [[User:CRLF|CRLF]] ([[User talk:CRLF|talk]]) 00:48, 21 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Ditto. I feel like the main problem is that the sole person who has access to the backend either doesn't have time to update, doesn't have interest, or doesn't have the technical knowledge necessary. But yes, I agree - updating and installing an extension to help control vandalism would help this wiki tremendously. [[User:Obwankenobi|Obwankenobi]] ([[User talk:Obwankenobi|talk]]) 20:09, 9 February 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== ↑ ? ==<br />
<br />
Why do some pages have ↑ at the very start? They can all be spotted by searching ↑ <br />
Is it a technical thing, vandalism, some sort of glitch? Maybe I'm just uninformed or being an idiot.<br />
:Edit logs tell me that an IP user manually reverting vandalism somehow inserted one or more extra characters while manually reverting vandalism. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:59, 22 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Should it be removed? It's not necessary and might be confusing for screenreaders... [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 09:00, 23 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::Maybe not en-mass, I'd say. But I've dove in to delete a rogue leading <nowiki><br /></nowiki> tag left from a part of a prior vandalism (likewise, just before the {{template|comic}}-element) and I've promised myself that I'll remove any more that I spot (and now that arrow) in any future whole-page edit I make. Plus a small shopping-list of inessential but useful edits like making {{template|Citation needed}}s flow better when they're mispunctuated/etc.<br />
:::But that's my solitary opinion. I'm sure hunting out and squishing this isn't a problem at all. I'm just balancing my own peculiar brand of OCD with what is somehow my also my own version of casual apathy towards other details. (Also, it probably looks better for a named account of recognised good standing to start editing potentially hundreds of pages in a session, rather than myself... potentially indistinguishable from the IP who seems to relish worn out memes in a general page-trashing.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.121|162.158.159.121]] 12:20, 23 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Is there anything else we can do to prevent vandalism? ==<br />
<br />
There's been quite a significant uptick in vandalism recently, and I don't feel we have any effective tools to combat it. I believe one of the biggest issues here is due to the way logged-out editing works on this wiki. Blocks are completely ineffective at slowing vandals, and IP editors can vandalize with basically nothing we can do to thwart them other than revert-warring. '''Is there a better way?'''<br />
<br />
There's been some discussion of installing AbuseFilter, but I'm not sure anything became of it. We could disable logged-out editing, but that would likely be counterproductive as we get lots of legitimate contributions from logged-out users. If there's a way to switch to location-based IPs, we could rangeblock problematic users as well as proxies. Does anyone have any ideas? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.145|162.158.78.145]] 16:11, 1 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I'm sort of making server side changes via telegraph so an extension is probably going to take a while to get installed. Takes a bunch of emails and followups to get single variables changed in the mediawiki settings file. There is an email verification option, and some edit frequency variables that could be set to make spam more time consuming. Don't love range blocks but wouldn't mind getting the CDN IPs dealt with so we can actually use the IP bans again. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 17:16, 1 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I'm very grateful that you're working on changes under the hood. What do you think is the best way to deal with disruption in the meantime? [[User:Vandalbane|Vandalbane]] ([[User talk:Vandalbane|talk]]) 17:19, 1 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::Could borrow a patrol bot like the ones people on main wikipedia have, could ask around. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 18:53, 1 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::There's not really a drop-in solution that you can use, especially since the server's MediaWiki version is not in sync with Wikipedia's (so a lot of the APIs etc have completely changed; when initially reverting vandalism I tried importing some scripts from enwiki but they failed as a result), but also because the bots have gotten pretty complex (using machine learning provided by the Wikimedia Foundation, for example). [[User:CRLF|CRLF]] ([[User talk:CRLF|talk]]) 03:56, 2 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::::Oh I do notice mediawiki hasn't been upgraded in a while. Looks like new version of mediawiki should be dropping extremely imminently, would be nice timing for an upgrade '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:45, 2 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Rollback ==<br />
<br />
Does the rollback permission exist on this wiki? [[User:Vandalbane|Vandalbane]] ([[User talk:Vandalbane|talk]]) 17:00, 1 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:The rollback permission of course exists but there's no group called "rollbacker" like you'd find on Wikipedia (limited to admins). You'd need the sysadmin to change the configuration to add one, which as established is not really an option right now. [[User:CRLF|CRLF]] ([[User talk:CRLF|talk]]) 03:58, 2 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== What happened to custom JavaScript? ==<br />
<br />
I put some code in <code>[[User:Some user/common.js]]</code>, but it is not alerting 'hi' every time I load a page. Why can't we execute JavaScript anymore? Is it in response to the [[Project:Crap|crapping]] incident? [[User:Some user|Some user]] ([[User talk:Some user|talk]]) 21:16, 27 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Entirely because of that, yeah. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:51, 28 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== My IP ==<br />
<br />
Why is my IP address a Cloudflare address in Norway? Is this a joke of some kind that I'm missing?<br />
<br />
Other wikis like Wikipedia are showing me my actual IP when I go to [[Special:MyContributions]], so I suspect this is a wiki misconfiguration. It changed again while I was typing this. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.194|162.158.222.194]] 16:55, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:All IPs (as this one will be) are from Cloudflare gateway IPs, because that's the default IP that the Wiki understands as the source. Cloudflare mediates all the traffic, and perhaps to some advantage (not being privvy to the logs, I can only guess how much it insulates the true server from extreme problems, but I bet it does in some way).<br />
:There have been suggestions before to change some setting (in the MediaWiki implementation? ...can't recall exactly) to have it pick up and use the IP that the gateway reports (in its meta-request) was the origin, but that's not been enacted for Idunnowhat reason.<br />
:Because the black-box that is the Cloudflare traffic shapes in various ways, you will find that a single user will jump around 'apparent' IPs, and I've also been in the relatively embarassing situation of replying to another IP's info and finding that I've registered on the exact same IP so that it looks like I'm stooging myself, or something.<br />
:On the whole, though, it's a harmless quirk. And given the trivial nature of deliberately spoofing origins (even on top of assuming you get an effectively static NAT from your ISP in the first place) I don't personally see it as a problem to 'solve' this. But neither would I complain if the 'fix' were implemented if this query reminds someone that they ''were'' going to try and do the necessary tweak.<br />
:As a lay-answer, I hope that fills you in a little. ''If'' those who have more knowledge/control of the process want to add anything or correct me, I'm sure they'll do so as soon as they can, but here's a reply to keep you going for now... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.24|172.70.85.24]] 01:19, 20 November 2022 (UTC)<br />
:fyi it is supported in MediaWiki through <code>$wgCdnServers</code>. See [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Cloudflare#Integration_with_MediaWiki MediaWiki’s introduction]. {{unsigned|物灵|06:58, 6 April 2025}}<br />
<br />
==Main page in categories==<br />
{{notice|'''This discussion is marked as duplicate.''' See [[#Main Page|this discussion]].}}<br />
[[Main_Page]] was found wrongly appearing in some newly-created categories, such as [[:Category:Cosmology]]. Could you fix it? --[[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 17:49, 12 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Never noticed this myself, but I'll take it as read. Before checking myself, I'm wondering if this could be when the main page 'inherits' tags from the Current Comic that it features. And thus solve itself (whilst gaining others) upon a newer Current Comic. (Must surely inherit "Monday Comics"/etc, on schedule every week.)<br />
:If it is that, perhaps the solution lies in the details contained within https://m.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Categories#Categories_and_templates_(transcluded_pages)<br />
:Or maybe I'm wrong about it. But I have no rights to edit (thus at least examine the 'code' of) the Main page, to check my snap theory, as with most people. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.46|172.70.162.46]] 19:21, 12 January 2023 (UTC)<br />
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This happened again in [[:Category:Airplane banner]]. [[User:I27.O.O.I|I27.O.O.I]] ([[User talk:I27.O.O.I|talk]]) 09:00, 28 February 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Yes, and it lasted as long as the latest comic was still one with particular categories. I don't intend to worry about it. If someone goes to a category that interests them and looks at the main page, as temporarily advertised, they're likely to find (as part of it) a comic which is indeed in that category. Doesn't sound like a big problem to me, except for determinin why some cats (e.g. Friday Comics) ''don't'' link to the Main page when they might be expected to...<br />
:(PS, I know for sure that I27.O.O.I isn't the same person as ColofulGalaxy (and various others, beyond even those with the bloomin' obvious "CG" initials or other recent spoofs on the RFC1918 addresses), and I don't think I mind too much, but faking disagreements between your various IDs isn't helping, anyone... smells too much of trying to establish alibis in advance of your next attempt to vandalise the site with stupid stuff. And doesn't impress me, so I doubt it impresses anyone else either. As long as you're just doing sane things, however, I'll accept your little idiosyncracies.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.32|162.158.74.32]] 19:37, 5 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
:(PPS: You left your fingerprint on this latter attempt to 'rescue' [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2659:_Unreliable_Connection&curid=25530&diff=307289&oldid=307282 this page]. - Spammer a few minutes before midnight, my IP reversion happened shortly after. A little later "Elisabeth" then re-spammed (modified), then another IP immediately jumps on it to restore it but with the modified undo-summary line clearly indicating that some sort of a game is being played. Please don't, it's not clever.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.34|172.70.90.34]] 02:22, 7 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
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This doesn't happen to date categories, but it happens in manually added categories such as [[:Category:Statistics]]. [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 21:49, 27 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
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==Cannot create user page==<br />
It says: There is currently no text in this page. You can search for this page title in other pages, or search the related logs, but you do not have permission to create this page. [[2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[Talk:2659: Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 22:56, 26 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
:(Removed alternative text in the link involved, to not hide behind trickery.) I think you know that there's no problem with [[2659: Unreliable Connection]] itself, except that it had become one of several pages targeted for spamming, the only one then locked down, then finding that the spammers just retargeted to its Talk page, etc.<br />
:I'm torn between "not assuming bad faith" and "don't feed the trolls", as competing principles, so I'm spelling out the situation. However much a tribute you might think it could be, I don't think there's a future in having a new username that's directly referencing a comic which has become so frequently seen in the recent history of this wiki's edits.<br />
:Obviously any genuine contributions are more than welcome. So prove me wrong, why don't you? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.151|172.70.91.151]] 03:20, 27 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
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::Could you help now? [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 09:13, 29 March 2023 (UTC)<br />
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: I've created your talk page. I guess that what you intended is to have a backup or mirror page for comic [[2659]]. Am I right? [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 20:16, 2 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
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== Fanmade comics ==<br />
A fanmade comic appeared on xkcd. Could you edit the template? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.23.100|172.69.23.100]] 07:21, 28 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
:You're going to have to say more about it, at least for me. Apart from the Sandbox attempt to make a page, I haven't seen the comic you're describing anywhere. Certainly not anywhere official. Link, for our benefit? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.66|172.70.85.66]] 10:04, 28 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
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==Why doesn't this code block work?==<br />
Does anybody know why the code block at the end of [[Transcript on xkcd|this page]] doesn't work? I've tried everything and it still looks like plain text<br />
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== Can't add RSS feed because of pubDate value on 27 Nov 2015 ==<br />
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When I try to add the RSS feed in Nextcloud News feed reader I get an error <code>Impossible to convert date : Fri, 27 Nov 2015 17:24:34 Pacific Standard Time</code>.<br />
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[https://validator.w3.org/feed/check.cgi?url=https%3A%2F%2Fexplainxkcd.com%2Frss.xml W3C Feed validation] says that <code>pubDate must be an RFC-822 date-time</code> and points "Pacific Standard Time" portion as the cause of the error: <code><pubDate>Fri, 27 Nov 2015 17:24:34 Pacific Standard Time</pubDate></code>. Can you please fix the timestap for this?<br />
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== Admin request posted here because of vandalism ==<br />
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I can not currently access the admin requests page because it has been vandalized... can someone please protect the latest comic page (2805). There is some pretty childish vandalism going on there right now. Thanks!<br />
:It's not the latest, seems like ALL. I went back to 2804, 2803, jumped back like 15 comics, all the same thing. To me the most offensive part is doing it with a nonsensical image. And why pipe it through Archive somehow? [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 02:33, 24 July 2023 (UTC)<br />
::UGH. the vandals are back at it again... we need to lock xkcd pages @NiceGuy [[Special:Contributions/172.70.39.2|172.70.39.2]] 00:59, 25 July 2023 (UTC)<br />
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== Way to contact the site hosters? ==<br />
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As many have pointed out the software this wiki runs on is horribly outdated. WikiEditor also isn't here for some reason. Quite a bit of messages here have seen no action. Is there some kind of contact form to reach the hosters? {{unsigned|Aaron Liu|00:36, 10 October 2023}}<br />
: There are various levels of admin who do intervene, as and when jecessary, but I understand that the (active) ones closest to the actual hosting level of intervention are not really ready to do the (increasingly greater) degree of uprooting necessary to get a "working" system to be "marginally better working", by way of that very dangerous middle-ground of potentially being ruined entirely.<br />
: I appreciate and anticipate the counter-arguments regarding letting it go totally unupdated, of course, just I've personally seen enough failures (participated in some, or been the actual invokee, myself) to be very sympathetic to the "if it aint (too) broke, don't fix it" tendency. But that inertia is not the only factor, of course, and the full motivations (or lack of them) of those involved is not for a lowly IP like me to explain, even if I think I know... [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.42|172.69.195.42]] 01:24, 10 October 2023 (UTC)<br />
:: Have they posted some sort of statement? It also is most definitely not “marginally” better working, compare the source editor to that of Wikipedia and look at topic subscription etc features. Not to mention a lot of security fixes haven’t been added and this version has reached EOL long ago. Updating also would not ruin this entirely…[[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 17:22, 12 October 2023 (UTC)<br />
:: Some have also said that quite a bit of assistive scripts for modern versions don’t work. Visual Editor, while horrible, is still easier for new people to get started with. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 17:23, 12 October 2023 (UTC)<br />
I've found a new reason: This wiki doesn't even allow loading userscripts! [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 01:34, 9 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:That might actually have been a conscious decition, after a 'certain user' caused chaos here, not so long ago. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.25|162.158.74.25]] 19:01, 9 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
::It was about a year and a half ago. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.143|172.68.174.143]] 06:41, 10 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
::Huh? What happened? Is there a place to request gadgets then? [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 02:04, 10 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::"What happened" involved automated vandalism (from someone who been doing it manually, then found the "better way") though I couldn't tell you the exact details, there were automated 'unvandalism's made in response, and theusafBOT/etc does some of that still, in response to non-automated(/off-site scripted) vandalism/errors that it can actually catch before ordinary users (or IPs like me) can. But certainly a certain brand of scripting was turned off to curtail the 'high intensity' vandalism phase.<br />
:::You're more or less in the best place to request things, right here. Whether updates, (re)adding functionalitu or tweaking site settings. Can't tell if those who ''can'' do these things can't or won't do them... Or are actually absent, instead of just not replying. The cavalry has been known to come running in when necessary (e.g. when "what happened" happened) so it could be any manner of non-response (until you get one). Not necessarily the best state of affairs, but better than being confirmed absentees.<br />
::::I ran a bot to mass-edit pages by replacing their content with the word "crap" repeatedly. I was 15 then, and I thought it was funny. It wasn't. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.143|172.68.174.143]] 06:41, 10 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::As an occasional but infrequent actual-Wikipedia editor, too, I must say that if the Visual Editor is what I currently have to use for that (at least as an anonIP when using a mobile device, which tends to be when I get the urge most) then I like the unaugmented editor here more. Straight up, honest, un'wizarded' interface, where you only have to get used to markup details and not a WYSIWYG editing environment (as well?). Not sure I'd be happy with an even ''more'' 'assistive' script imposed upon me, like I dislike modern generations of Windows (and 'user friendly' linux dists). So can I just ask that functional/visible changes of the kind you seem to be asking for, if made available, aren't overimposed/left as options rather than the default (or only) choice...? Ok, so I can (or would have to) adapt, but I'd rather not. Of course, I have no weight to pull in this matter, it's just an afterthought (even as I wish you good luck with raising an admin's eyebrow, in some useful manner). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.135|141.101.98.135]] 05:14, 10 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::I am not asking for VisualEditor, which no one likes on Wikipedia either. For some blasted reason they made it edit HTML instead of Wikitext and it’s clunky and loads for a very long time.<br />
::::I’m asking about the WikiEditor, aka Wikipedia’s source editor. In VE, click on the pen next to the publish button and click on “source editing”. That editor makes this one look like freaking Stone Age, syntax highlighting is especially a game-changer. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 16:03, 12 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
: There’s also the annoying ReCaptcha v2 every single edit… it seems like it would be relatively easy to switch to v3 which only makes you do the challenge when you’ve visited a bit too much. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 16:32, 12 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:: Unfortunately, that would make things easier for someone who wanted to do mass vandalism like I did. If it didn't do it every time, someone could still edit quite quickly. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.192|172.68.174.192]] 18:32, 12 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
::Well, I can tell you that it doesn't always demand that I fulfil more than a tickbox (most trouble I have is when it fails to connect to give me the tickbox (or respond with anything useful when I do), for which I'm forced into one or more Previews until it will. When it ''does'' ask me to do something about it, I do often get forced through two or more request to identify traffic lights, motorbikes, stairways, bridges, hills, tractors, buses, etc, etc, etc... But I think that's more the Tesla-training Algorithm being nust greedy for my attention than the Robot-sentry having a less casual attitude to my attempt to edit. (I believe I'm on a usually untroublesome source IP/Cloudflare gateway, but it could also depend on how many others try to do things via (part of) the same route. Very, very rarely I get Google Search requesting something similar of me ((It: "You have made a lot of searches", me: "Of course I'll have play your little game, but this is my first lookup today...")), which I'm sure isn't Cloudflared, so it might reach back to my ISP's gateway and what fellow users are currently getting up to.)<br />
::As for the guy above (and you, Liu), can't speak for how well or badly others on your own 'choice' of gateways behave. Or yourselves. Luck of the draw? For the first part, at least. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.174|172.69.195.174]] 20:31, 12 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::MediaWiki 1.40 automatically tags all edits that remove over 90% of page text with "mw-replaced". You could block all edits in mainspace with that tag, either if MediaWiki has it or through the AbuseFilter extension. While I can complete the CAPTCHAs, it's very annoying to need to Captcha every edit on a place where the main focus is edits. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 03:06, 13 December 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::Plus, v3 doesn't just do nothing. It tracks how your cursor moves to see if it's robotic, while v2 annoyingly gives you the challenge every time. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 20:01, 8 January 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Presumably for touchscreen control (like mine, right this moment), it does something else than track a nonexistent mouse-pointer's passage across the monitored elements of the display... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.190|172.70.90.190]] 12:26, 9 January 2024 (UTC)<br />
::There are a few MediaWiki plugins that help keep vandalism/spam under control without requiring users to solve a Captcha every time they make an edit. I use https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Moderation on the wiki I maintain, and it works very well. However, it does require that there be enough active moderators to approve edits, as it basically requires every single edit to be approved before it's posted. Thus, it also introduces some "lag" between when stuff is written and when it can be seen by others. I think it could work if the extension could be installed (I'm not even sure if it's supported on this version of MediaWiki) and if a good list of moderators could be put together. [[User:Obwankenobi|Obwankenobi]] ([[User talk:Obwankenobi|talk]]) 20:02, 9 February 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::I disagree with requiring edits to be approved. Unless we have extremely high vandalism, just filtering out the above tags I mentioned and using ReCAPTCHA v3 would be enough. [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 23:16, 16 February 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Ok, fair point. However, that wouldn't stop human vandalism, just vandalism from bots. I'm not sure how much human vandalism there is, though, so it might not even be a problem. [[User:Obwankenobi|Obwankenobi]] ([[User talk:Obwankenobi|talk]]) 12:35, 22 February 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::It's hard (for us 'civvies') to know how much bot-vandalism is stopped but [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Log/newusers&offset=&limit=500&type=newusers&user= probably a lot], most of which we never see, with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2503:_Memo_Spike_Connector&diff=335487&oldid=335486 occasional ones] we might see having be dealt with. (I'm guessing these things are rare (temporarily-)successful 'bots, because flesh-and-blood vandals wouldn't be occasionally doing essentially the same insta-reverted thing on a thematically-small set of pages, over several ''years'' without moving on. It has to be a lucky unattended script-based effort that just keeps trying the same things over and over with an easily revertible but tangible result happening only infrequently.)<br />
:::::More obvious human vandalism tends to rumble on, with occasionally a spate of it as someone gets short-term kicks for it. Though some of them seem may repeat themself after a break. Friendly humans and friendly 'bots both tend to provide the main anti-vandalism responses fairly quickly, though, depending upon what kind of a mess they caused. I've seen worse places, definitely, and it's by no means a losing battle against chaos, just regular skermishes.<br />
:::::Not wanting to tempt fate, of course. I guarantee that there'll be some fool that takes all this as a challenge, so I just have to trust to the Good Guys keeping on keeping on. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.71|172.70.90.71]] 14:21, 22 February 2024 (UTC)<br />
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heyo, is there a way to add actual citations to explainxkcd instead of the template citation needed? couldn't find anything, but i'm pretty new here - thanks in advance. [[User:Nigga|Nigga]] ([[User talk:Nigga|talk]]) 21:47, 17 March 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Not that I have much faith in your usernae lasting long (you're 'that guy', aren't you? ...in which case you know anyway), but for the sake of anyone else who needs to know:<br />
:*If you mean "add an actual 'citation needed' tag", then it's {{template|Actual citation needed}} that you'll use.<br />
:*If you mean "add an actual citation link to somewhere", then:<br />
:** Link to URLs with [].<br />
:*** A link such as [<url>] will give you a superscript-number link, which isn't pretty, IMO.<br />
:*** A link such as [<url> <text>] (that's a space between the two) will link <text> to the URL, just work it into the sentence you're writing, fairly easy<br />
:** Link to internal (or cross-wiki) pages with [[]].<br />
:*** [[<page title>]] will make a literal link to <page title>.<br />
:*** [[<page title>|<text>]] (with a pipe) is how you make the <text> your link.<br />
:** You can use the last to link specifically to wikipedia's cross-site format, but for that it's best to use {{template|w}}<br />
:*** <nowiki>{{w|<page title>}}</nowiki> (w-pipe...) uses the page title<br />
:**** It will use the link as if the first character is uppercase, so you don't need to capitalise that. Other case-sensitivity is preserved.<br />
:**** <nowiki>{{w|<singular page title>}}s</nowiki> will link the obvious pluralisation of the page title, just to save you effort<br />
:*** <nowiki>{{w|<page title>|<text>}}</nowiki> (w-pipe and pipe) lets you use entirely alternate text.<br />
:** There's also templates that shortcut (or make easier on the eye, or add appropriate warnings) for some other commonly referenced external sites, from xkcd's own what-if to TVTropes.<br />
:...hope that helps everyone that doesn't already know these few simple bits as relate to wikis in general or this wiki in particular. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.218|172.71.242.218]] 22:24, 17 March 2024 (UTC)<br />
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== Confirmation Email Bug ==<br />
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Hi. I've been trying to get my email confirmed so that I can get pinged when pages are edited, but I just can't find it, even after trying multiple times. I use Gmail, and yes, I have checked my spam folder. Has anyone else had this issue? EDIT: I see that others have had this issue, but the admins haven't done any action to solve it, except for one sarcastic comment by Davidy22 back in 2014. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 00:43, 12 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
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== Lack of Userpage ==<br />
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Hey, I joined a few years ago, but I still do not have a Userpage. Can you make one for me? I do not have the permission to do so. [[User:GreyFox|GreyFox]] ([[User talk:GreyFox|talk]]) 22:47, 15 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
:This is actually your very first post, after joining a bit more than a year ago ("18:35, 14 November 2023 User account GreyFox (talk | contribs) was created"). I'm sure someone can oblige (not me, for obvious reasons), but you've not done much to contribute (at least under this account), which would have then eventually brought you to the point where you ''can'' just self-create your Userpages/etc. So your request is a bit out of the blue.<br />
:Just so long as we all know where we stand, though. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.227|172.69.194.227]] 09:42, 16 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
::Oh, thanks! Do you know the exact number of edits I need to create it?<br />
:::50 to be autoconfirmed. Also, please sign your comments. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 15:23, 16 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
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== server errors ==<br />
is anyone else constantly getting 503 errors? [[user talk:lettherebedarklight|youtu.be/miLcaqq2Zpk]] 17:14, 21 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
:yup, been seeing those all the time. Also seeing that the server is down a lot of time-it suggests me to Google for what I’m “looking for” [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 17:18, 21 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
::503s are fairly common (often when I'm in a rush), and have been for... well, certainly years, maybe more than a decade (though more common during major vandalism/anti-vandalism surges). I had, however, noticed a recent blip (during the last day or so) of the Server Down/Try Google page that you refer to, which I haven't seen for a ''long'' time (not really sure when, but maybe five years or so ago). In fact, I probably got Cloudflare 'rejections' more, during aformentioned vandal-overloading.<br />
::Without any access to the admin logs, I can only speculate as to what might be sparking it. But service (notwithstanding the brief page-refusals themselves) seems to be happily unaffected. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.249|172.70.160.249]] 20:29, 21 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
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== Allow new users to edit their own page ==<br />
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I found someone asking if we could change this in the proposals page (Community portal/Proposals: Allow Users to Edit their own talk page if not auto confimed (not a typo)). [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 14:39, 19 June 2024 (UTC)<br />
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== Technical difficulties? ==<br />
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I keep getting a message that says: "Sorry! This site is experiencing technical difficulties.Try waiting a few minutes and reloading. (Cannot access the database)"<br />
It's happened a lot so I was wondering if there was a specific cause behind it and perhaps a way to fix it.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.65|172.68.54.65]] 00:17, 17 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
:yeah, I’ve been getting those errors too. I can’t even log into my account before it says that there’s an error again. I’ve been steadily receiving them for a couple months, but never like today. From Recent Changes, it doesn’t look like anyone is spamming the wiki, so maybe it’s an attack of some kind. You’ll need to contact the admins who have access to the server and can poke around, but good luck getting [[User:Davidy22]] or [[User:Jeff]] online. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.135.130|172.69.135.130]] 17:16, 17 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
::update: I’ve been poking around a lot of websites, trying to see if the website is being attacked. The websites all say that the server is down. I’ll try to ask Jeff on this and pray that he checks his email. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.135.129|172.69.135.129]] 17:21, 17 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
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== The site is collapsing ==<br />
503's are to be expected, but i've got them and the "Sorry! This site is experiencing technical difficulties. Try waiting a few minutes and reloading." error way, way too much. it's actually getting really hard to edit stuff because of them. [[user talk:lettherebedarklight|youtu.be/miLcaqq2Zpk]] 01:58, 19 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
:heck, i just got a 503 when posting this topic. also, load times are noticeably longer. and i'm getting "loss of session" errors when i try to edit... [[user talk:lettherebedarklight|youtu.be/miLcaqq2Zpk]] 02:02, 19 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
::I’ve messaged Davidy22 and Jeff about it, hopefully they see it and reply. It looks fine right now, appears that it works horribly at times and fine later. Due to the on-off nature of it, I would suspect DDoS attacks, as a 503 error means that the server can’t process the request, which occurs with DDoS attacks. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 21:37, 19 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::update: I’ve made a Reddit post, as I’ve seen Davidy22 active on Reddit and respond to older threads on r/xkcd. Hopefully they respond! [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 18:50, 24 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::October update: Davidy22 responded to my emails and said that he has emailed Jeff multiple times. Apparently Jeff is ignoring his emails and not responding. I’ve been checking Jeff’s Twitter/X/Whatever once a week and it shows that he uses it semi-regularly. Apparently Jeff is a podcaster too? Anyways, nobody has really responded to me on r/xkcd, so I’m thinking of sending a DM to Jeff via Twitter. I have a to-do list for Jeff listed on my User Page, feel free to give any thoughts, proposals, comments on anything else you want him to do in this thread. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 18:46, 24 October 2024 (UTC)<br />
::Agree, the situation is not terrible but feels extremely unstable. What happens if the wiki just breaks, and nobody can even contact Jeff? I feel like these errors are happening more and more frequently. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 17:30, 2 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::Were you around for the (hacking-enforced) sudden ending of the xkcd fora? All things end.<br />
:::But (touch wood) the 503s/other connection refusals are a lot less frequent right now, so I'm not actually quite so worried as I might occasionally have been. What's more likely to happen is that the hosting plan, physical hardware and/or domain reaches an end and then... that's probably it unless someone with the wherewithall somehow manages to drag it back up again. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.14|162.158.74.14]] 00:09, 3 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
::::I really don't like the idea of this site becoming permanently unavailable :( This makes me want to contribute less! I was not around back then, no. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:47, 3 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
:I've been getting these errors a lot as well all of a sudden. Sadly from what I've read on these pages, the sysadmin has basically left and ghosted everyone. The moment the site fully breaks for whatever reason, ExplainXKCD will be history. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.58|172.71.178.58]] 15:34, 23 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
::It's probably not the site breaking (as in, it's not intrinsically failing), just that unrestrained useless traffic to it (I theorise, elsewhere that it's a sudden rise in inconsiderate AI-training has led to a rise of ungoverned degrees of site-scraping) is marginalising our more legitimate attempts to interact. ''It would help'' to get some Administrator-led process to mitigate it, but it really should be better dealt with more towards the gateway-side of the connection (or the scrapers gradually toning their scraping down, but I doubt that'll happen). It, say, Cloudflare ''itself'' gets a good solution in place to dissuade such high attempts to access all the sites it otherwise proxies for, then we'll be back to just the site bumbling along in its ''slightly'' unmaintained condition. We then still have a couple of sub-administrators, a Bot and a good population of other users to keep things running against more trivial issues (short of hardware/infrastructure/financial failures). [[Special:Contributions/172.68.186.141|172.68.186.141]] 16:55, 23 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== List of All Comics ==<br />
<br />
I think that FaviFake and I have accidentally broken the All comics page. When clicked, it brings you to the page List of all comics, which displays the comics 3000-3002 (as of right now) instead of the list of all comics (oops-my bad). How do we fix this? There’s also the page List of all comics (3000-3500), but the TheusafBOT ignores it. Can someone more technical help troubleshoot this problem? Again, sorry for making a muck of things. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 18:43, 24 October 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Oh I'm sorry, I created a new topic for this and I didn't see this one. I noticed the [[List of all comics (3000-3500)]] today and scheduled it for deletion because we never make such a page until we have exactly 500 comics to put there. Also, the name is wrong, it should say 3001-3500.<br />
:The page [[List of all comics]] is supposed to display comics 3001-3005, not all comics. You might be confusing it with [[List of all comics (full)]], which would work perfectly if [[List of all comics]] displayed the last 3 comics. I have no idea why the bot stopped updating it. Maybe it will work now that the wrong page is scheduled for deletion? [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 05:15, 31 October 2024<br />
::Wait a second, why did you move the List of all comics to [[List of all comics (3000-3500)]]? It seemed to me like everything was working fine before you moved it [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 05:24, 31 October 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::I was trying to copy the content to [[List of all comics (3000-3500)]], and accidentally broke it. Sorry! [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 16:48, 31 October 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Yeah I can confirm the content and the entire edit history was moved to the incorrectly-titled page that's now scheduled for deletion. I guess maybe we didn't really need the edit history on that page, but who knows.<br />
::::Weirdly, the bot seems to have restored the page as it was and then stopped doing its thing. Since we're the only ones here, I suggest you manually create the missing rows for the new comics and we'll see if that works when the next comic drops. If it doesn't, I'll contact the maintainer and creator of the bot myself. Sounds good? :) [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 18:29, 31 October 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::Sir yes Sir! 🫡 [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 04:51, 1 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::: Great, thanks! I can also do it this afternoon if you don't have time. I realise my previous messages read like orders lol, they were supposed to be suggestions to try and fix the issue. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 07:18, 1 November 2024<br />
<br />
== The [[List of all comics]] is no longer being updated automatically ==<br />
<br />
Hey everyone, I noticed the bot isn't updating this page anymore: [[List of all comics]]. There are supposed to be five comics in it but there are only two at the moment. Is this supposed to happen? [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 05:06, 31 October 2024<br />
<br />
== 2034: Equations error? ==<br />
<br />
One of the TeX math-thingies (sorry for the informal writing), is showing this error: "Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable. Please see math/README to configure.): \oint". Idk why it's showing this, can someone fix this? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.48|108.162.237.48]] 19:25, 6 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:It's a long-standing error, to do with the background processes that turns the TeX-style markup into embedded images. All equations (or whatever it might be that the particular MathML was being used to render) that were originally given cached-imagery ''still work fine'', but it seems a later update made it so that if you adjust it at all (even slightly), it no longer has the route to produce the embedding cleanly.<br />
:It can probably be solved by rolling back some module(s) that got refreshed quite some time ago, though the advised fix is to actually fully update them (and/or reconfigure the backend scripting) to work with all the newest versions of the original tools. Unfortunately, the people (or maybe person) who would do this is not too active at the moment (may also not be up to speed on everything, either, if it involves a bit of more tricky administration), so we're left with the occasional problem establishing the texvc handler.<br />
:Not sure which page you're encountering this on, but sometimes if you look back in the edit history you can find a working version of the thing you're seeing go wrong. If it's an aesthetic difference (e.g. the presence or absence of a spacing character), you might be able to just restore the render-cached version and make do with it not looking ''quite'' right.<br />
:If it's a necessary change that was made (e.g. "''dt''" instead of "''dx''", which is definitely wrong the old way), or it seems never to have a valid render, then there's two obvious solutions:<br />
:#Make your own image of it as it should be and (with a suitably auto-validated account, or via a handy external image hosting service and/or a more mature account here) get that embedded in place of the markup-source, or<br />
:#Replicate its appearance in more basic (by standard) but complex (by source needed) markup. Combinations of basic wikimarkup and HTML can do most 'fiddly positional' things, see [[2614: 2]] for a numerator/denominator layout, for example.<br />
:Not as 'simple' as TeX-markedup. But, on the other hand, the "\oint" symbol is "∮", so perhaps all you need to do is copy'n'paste that actual unicode symbol to wherever you found the problem, and use that instead, and forgo the TeX version altogether? (Might not show on some displays, but probably enough to make it a minority issue.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.105|172.70.90.105]] 22:50, 6 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Had the brainwave that I could probable ''search'' for the offending \oint, actually. Did so, found [[2034: Equations]], noted that it was the only (current) rendering issue and therefore just did the pasting over myself. Looks good for me, but obviously might not help (but not make worse) others' viewing of it. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.54|172.69.195.54]] 22:58, 6 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
...Why didn't I think of just pasting the Unicode equivalent. I'm dumb, but thanks for fixing it. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.10|172.69.70.10]] 13:44, 8 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Esolang wiki bug ==<br />
The "esolangs.org" wiki is also experiencing a similar bug. The server was repeatedly changing a particular user's signature in his posts. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 04:01, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Fucking bullshit. One, this doesn’t belong here and I’ve copied it into [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Technical|the Technical Community Portal]]. Two, I saw your talk page on [https://esolangs.org/wiki/User_talk:ColorfulGalaxy%27s_CA_discoveries esolangs.org], which you brought up this “bug”, which the local admin (who’s probably just as sick and tired of you as I am) called BS on. If the server was changing your sig to my sig, it would be '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#db97bf">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#97b6db">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''', not the sig that you faked in. You’re obviously seeking attention and are being abusive and childish. Please see the bottom of https://esolangs.org/wiki/Esolang:Introduce_yourself to see a full list of complaints. I will be asking Kynde to ban you and all of your alt (or shared) accounts. -tori [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.98|162.158.167.98]] 05:36, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
::Additionally, the complaint doesn’t even make sense. The 2 wikis are running on different servers and different MediaWiki software and should in no shape or form be having the same bug across 2 different systems. Plus, why is the CAPTCHA in the esolang wiki so damn difficult? (Just a side note :3) '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#db97bf">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#97b6db">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 22:42, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:I just realized that they've changed '''my''' signature as well. That's strange. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 06:37, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Once again they suddenly redirected my username to the Main Page. And the bug even forgot to remove "User:". [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 13:05, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:It's working normally now. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 13:06, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The wiki may have been hacked. I checked it and got "HTTP 429" error message. [[User:ChristmasGospel|ChristmasGospel]] ([[User talk:ChristmasGospel|talk]]) 19:14, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:No, it has not been hacked. The error message means that the server that is hosting the wiki is under a lot of stress and load. '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#db97bf">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#97b6db">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 19:20, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
::Yes and no.<br />
::;429 Too Many Requests (RFC 6585):The user has sent too many requests in a given amount of time. Intended for use with rate-limiting schemes.<br />
::...it generally means that (in the opinion of the server), the person getting the 429 has been bashing the connection too much. This ''could'' be because they happen to be going through the same proxy as an actual prolific user (or several sub-prolific ones that similarly got lumped together to add up to "too much"), but load-sharing systems generally account for that already. General 'stress and load' is more likely to invoke a 500s message (depending upon what actually is happening).<br />
::But, either way, if you get one of them then you're advised to pause, take a breath, perhaps wait a little before your next refresh/reload attempt, but if ''that'' goes wrong then wait a bit longer still (double your patience, maybe), and again more (further doubling) as necessary.<br />
::Either it's not your fault, but you probably don't need to add to the problems, or it ''is'' your fault (e.g. you're webscraping in the background at full throttle) and you ''really'' need to stop causing those problems (and try not to do it again later). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.109|172.70.90.109]] 20:17, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::Oops-you’re right. I just did a cursory search on google with the Google AI, so that explanation is more correct. Thank you! '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#db97bf">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#97b6db">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 22:42, 29 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Hint: even if you don't entirely trust Wikipedia not to be written (or rewritten) wrongly, you don't get the whole world of possible wrongness of a mostly uncomprehending AI repeating a load of mangled fragments put together on an "at least it looks grammatically correct" basis. If you trust AI so much that you don't go looking anywhere else (there are plenty of technical sites out there, including the actual official RFCs which say what servers ''should'' be doing and saying) but Wikipedia is also far from wrong and pretty thorough on this point.<br />
::::Ask Google's AI for entertainment, or to start to put together a school report (but be prepared to check ''everything'', as well as edit enough not to be caught by AI-detection as well as Plagiarism-detection). But not for insta-expertise, if you've not got enough grounding in the subject to at least sanity-checking what you're being told. Truth-checking and reality-checking are always necessary, of course, no matter what the source. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.36|141.101.98.36]] 01:25, 30 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::Noted and acknowledged. '''[[User:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:9pt;color:#db97bf">42.book.addict</span>]]<sup>[[User talk:42.book.addict|<span style="font-family:Cormorant Garamond;font-size:6pt;color:#97b6db">Talk to me!</span>]]</sup>''' 14:31, 30 November 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== RSS Feed: XML not well-formed ==<br />
<br />
<pre>XML Parsing Error: not well-formed<br />
<br />
Location: https://explainxkcd.com/rss.xml?_SLWxoPenuRl=nOtinFEeDPREVIew<br />
<br />
Line Number 31, Column 18:<br />
<br />
<title>3015: D&D Combinatorics</title><br />
------------------------^<br />
</pre><br />
<br />
PHP-Fix:<br />
<br />
$title = str_replace("&", "&amp;amp;", $title);<br />
<br />
or <br />
<br />
$title = htmlspecialchars($title);<br />
<br />
: Same problem here. Perhaps surprisingly, this is the first time an xkcd title has included an ampersand (as far as I can see from [[List_of_all_comics_(full)]]). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.85|141.101.99.85]] 14:16, 7 December 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== rss feed ==<br />
<br />
Hello<br />
<br />
the rss feed is broken, could you fix it ?<br />
<br />
Error : <br />
try{(function overrideDefaultMethods(r, g, b, a, scriptId, storedObjectPrefix) {<br />
var scriptNode = document.getElementById(scriptId);<br />
function showNotification() {<br />
const evt = new CustomEvent(storedObjectPrefix + "_show_notification", {'detail': {}});<br />
window.dispatchEvent(evt);<br />
}<br />
function overrideCanvasProto(root) {<br />
function overrideCanvasInternal(name, old) {<br />
root.prototype[storedObjectPrefix + name] = old;<br />
Object.defineProperty(root.prototype, name,<br />
{<br />
value: function () {<br />
var width = this.width;<br />
var height = this.height;<br />
var context = this.getContext("2d");<br />
var imageData = context.getImageData(0, 0, width, height);<br />
for (var i = 0; i < height; i++) {<br />
for (var j = 0; j < width; j++) {<br />
var index = ((i * (width * 4)) + (j * 4));<br />
imageData.data[index + 0] = imageData.data[index + 0] + r;<br />
imageData.data[index + 1] = imageData.data[index + 1] + g;<br />
imageData.data[index + 2] = imageData.data[index + 2] + b;<br />
imageData.data[index + 3] = imageData.data[index + 3] + a;<br />
}<br />
}<br />
context.putImageData(imageData, 0, 0);<br />
showNotification();<br />
return old.apply(this, arguments);<br />
}<br />
}<br />
);<br />
}<br />
overrideCanvasInternal("toDataURL", root.prototype.toDataURL);<br />
overrideCanvasInternal("toBlob", root.prototype.toBlob);<br />
//overrideCanvasInternal("mozGetAsFile", root.prototype.mozGetAsFile);<br />
}<br />
function overrideCanvaRendProto(root) {<br />
const name = "getImageData";<br />
const getImageData = root.prototype.getImageData;<br />
<br />
root.prototype[storedObjectPrefix + name] = getImageData;<br />
<br />
Object.defineProperty(root.prototype, "getImageData",<br />
{<br />
value: function () {<br />
var imageData = getImageData.apply(this, arguments);<br />
var height = imageData.height;<br />
var width = imageData.width;<br />
// console.log("getImageData " + width + " " + height);<br />
for (var i = 0; i < height; i++) {<br />
for (var j = 0; j < width; j++) {<br />
var index = ((i * (width * 4)) + (j * 4));<br />
imageData.data[index + 0] = imageData.data[index + 0] + r;<br />
imageData.data[index + 1] = imageData.data[index + 1] + g;<br />
imageData.data[index + 2] = imageData.data[index + 2] + b;<br />
imageData.data[index + 3] = imageData.data[index + 3] + a;<br />
}<br />
}<br />
showNotification();<br />
return imageData;<br />
}<br />
}<br />
);<br />
}<br />
function inject(element) {<br />
if (element.tagName.toUpperCase() === "IFRAME" && element.contentWindow) {<br />
try {<br />
var hasAccess = element.contentWindow.HTMLCanvasElement;<br />
} catch (e) {<br />
console.log("can't access " + e);<br />
return;<br />
}<br />
overrideCanvasProto(element.contentWindow.HTMLCanvasElement);<br />
overrideCanvaRendProto(element.contentWindow.CanvasRenderingContext2D);<br />
overrideDocumentProto(element.contentWindow.Document);<br />
}<br />
}<br />
function overrideDocumentProto(root) {<br />
function doOverrideDocumentProto(old, name) {<br />
root.prototype[storedObjectPrefix + name] = old;<br />
Object.defineProperty(root.prototype, name,<br />
{<br />
value: function () {<br />
var element = old.apply(this, arguments);<br />
// console.log(name+ " everridden call"+element);<br />
if (element == null) {<br />
return null;<br />
}<br />
if (Object.prototype.toString.call(element) === '[object HTMLCollection]' ||<br />
Object.prototype.toString.call(element) === '[object NodeList]') {<br />
for (var i = 0; i < element.length; ++i) {<br />
var el = element[i];<br />
// console.log("elements list inject " + name);<br />
inject(el);<br />
}<br />
} else {<br />
// console.log("element inject " + name);<br />
inject(element);<br />
}<br />
return element;<br />
}<br />
}<br />
);<br />
}<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.createElement, "createElement");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.createElementNS, "createElementNS");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.getElementById, "getElementById");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.getElementsByName, "getElementsByName");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.getElementsByClassName, "getElementsByClassName");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.getElementsByTagName, "getElementsByTagName");<br />
doOverrideDocumentProto(root.prototype.getElementsByTagNameNS, "getElementsByTagNameNS");<br />
}<br />
overrideCanvasProto(HTMLCanvasElement);<br />
overrideCanvaRendProto(CanvasRenderingContext2D);<br />
overrideDocumentProto(Document);<br />
scriptNode.parentNode.removeChild(scriptNode);<br />
})(24,14,-9,19,"ojkrt", "ltwvx");} catch (e) {console.error(e);}Erreur d’analyse XML : mal formé<br />
Emplacement : https://explainxkcd.com/rss.xml<br />
Numéro de ligne 63, Colonne 18 :<br />
<title>3015: D&D Combinatorics</title><br />
------------------------^<br />
<br />
== Total amount of accounts created on this wiki? ==<br />
<br />
I was editing [[explain xkcd:Museum]] and I was wondering how many accounts have ever been created. Is there a way to access this? {{unsigned|DollarStoreBa'al|15:52, 17 March 2025}}<br />
:Hey, I moved your message from the Coordination portal. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:26, 17 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
:The base information you need is from the special page that is https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:Log/newusers - although bear in mind that an overwhelming number of created accounts are spam-attempts (that get no further), so perhaps the count needs to be qualified as "users that have then gone on to post" (a few of which ''are'' still spam-only contributors, but now an insignificant amount rather than a probably overwhelming majoriy).<br />
:How you go about counting ''and'' classifying valid accounts is up to you, of course. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.68|162.158.74.68]] 21:46, 17 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
::How would one actually count these? Is there an easier way? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:37, 18 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::There's <code><nowiki>[[Special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFUSERS}}]]</nowiki></code>, that gives you the value [[Special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFUSERS}}]] (it was 142,958 when I wrote this), for the total number of registered users (including no-input pre-spammers, only-ever-spammed contributors, "I only created this account to say..."ers who didn't realised they could do as much as an IP, maybe some banned, sock-puppet/legitimate-alts/forgot-my-old-login duplicate accounts, maybe ''not'' some totally excised by top-tier-admins).<br />
:::There's also <code><nowiki>[[Special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFACTIVEUSERS}}]]</nowiki></code>, with the value [[Special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFACTIVEUSERS}}]] (119, as I write this), which I think is everyone active (+registered) in the past 30 days.<br />
:::Possibly there are other "magic word" values for more useful in-betweeny values (nearer the top end of the first), e.g. of everyone who has made at least one edit ''ever''. But not sure I know what that might off the top of my head.<br />
:::I can think of ways to ''interrogate'' the wiki for one or other (better) counting criteria, but it would be horribly intensive. If anyone wanted to do this (it already needing a bit more technical ability than merely using inbuilt auto-value magic words, and preferably you'd need to not be a 'mere' scriptkiddie jumping in with both feet without knowing how to do it sensibly), I'd suggest ensuring a ''very'' throttled-back process that may take its time over days. Then, once 'completed', a not-quite-so-throttled-back version can just 'top up' its stats with everything from the last point you'd reached the last time round until the present (to never hammer the site).<br />
:::Please please please, though, you should probably only try any of this if you're already sure of everything I've been suggesting. There are also far easier ways to attempt a DoS, but it would be ironic if you did this ''while trying to be helpful''... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.65|141.101.98.65]] 20:43, 18 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
::::Oh neat that's exactly what we needed! Could you add these magic words to the museum, maybe calling one "total accounts" and the other one "users active in last 30 days"? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:21, 19 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== email confirmation ==<br />
<br />
my email confirmation did not get sent even after a week. is there anything wrong? - [[User:Bb777|(((((((((((((([...]((((((((((((((]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]]) 21:36, 22 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
:been broken for a decade i think. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 08:25, 23 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
::WE REALLY NEED JEFF BACK !!!!!!!! [[User:Bb777|hi]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]]) 16:12, 24 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== RSS ==<br />
<br />
RIP RSS feed yet again. 23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)23:29, 24 March 2025 (UTC)[[User:Bb777|&#91;insert signature here&#93;]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]])<br />
:Is there something new we should know? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.58.6|172.70.58.6]] 00:30, 25 March 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== MediaWiki error when visiting [[1270: Functional]] or [[1270]] ==<br />
<br />
When I go to [[1270: Functional]] or [[1270]], there is a MediaWiki error. This does not occur at [[1269]] or [[1271]]. [[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 13:57, 9 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
:Could not replicate.<br />
:[[1270]] redirects to [[1270: Functional]], so does it happen for you if you go via [[Functional]] and ''its'' redirect? How about https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1270:_Functional (as URL) rather than what you may be doing (but so did I, at first, still to find no error) in plugging the text into the "Search explain xkcd" field..?<br />
:Unless it's an off-page edit (some template, broken and then fixed), the page itself seems to have no recent edit to explain any changes (to broken and/or to unbroken)... I think we may need more info. Including myself in "we" in case it's an error even I can fix, which isn't unknown but not guaranteed! [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.160|172.71.178.160]]<br />
::Screenshot of MediaWiki internal error when visiting [[1270: Functional]]: https://gcdnb.pbrd.co/images/L5icGdZ9nBzw.png?o=1 <br />
::Screenshot of MediaWiki internal error when visiting [[1270]]: https://gcdnb.pbrd.co/images/1nP1qunLk86a.png?o=1<br />
::Screenshot of MediaWiki internal error when visiting [[Functional]]: https://gcdnb.pbrd.co/images/7S3Ct5wghTIH.png?o=1<br />
::Screenshot of MediaWiki internal error when visiting [[1270: Functional]] via index.php: https://gcdnb.pbrd.co/images/HghYaRj9wA1f.png?o=1 [[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 14:06, 14 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::I can see the history page, but the same error occurs when I visit any diff links, old versions, and the talk page. [[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 14:12, 14 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
::::Anybody else? ''None'' of that happens here.<br />
::::Could it be somehow browser-specific, or even extension-related? One thing to try is if you any further browsers handily installed (or installable) that you can use (even if just just for this one purpose, you don't need them to be the default system one). As of right now, though, I'm flumoxed and don't have any obvious other steps, and I dont believe anybody else has the means to enable the debug options.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.190|172.69.79.190]] 22:17, 14 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::::This occurs on a Chromebook managed by my school, so I can't install any browsers besides Chrome and I can't manage the extensions. I can see the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1270:_Functional&action=edit editing page] but I get an even less elegantly presented [https://gcdnb.pbrd.co/images/xQOVUQMjoF1r.png?o=1 error] when I try to preview the page.[[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 20:30, 24 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Couldn't replicate either, Windows 11 Chrome Canary. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 17:14, 16 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
:Figured out the problem. This error occurs on any page using the <code><nowiki><math></nowiki></code> tag. I don't know why, though. [[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 20:30, 24 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
::Yep, added <code><nowiki><math>This causes an error.</math></nowiki></code> to the top of [[explain xkcd:Sandbox]] and now it gives the same error. [[User:Dgrilawidbanana|Dgrilawidbanana]] ([[User talk:Dgrilawidbanana|talk]]) 20:35, 24 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::This bug has been around for at least 7 years. Here's the fix: [[#Mediawiki exception on some pages]]. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 21:01, 24 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Captcha repeat ==<br />
When you've finished editing, there is an "I'm not a robot" CAPTCHA.<br />
<br />
But if you preview the changes before saving, that gets reset, so you can't just say "yup, looks good, go ahead and publish this change."<br />
<br />
How hard would it be to make the CAPTCHA sticky, so that it doesn't need an extra interaction/mouse movement after previewing? <br />
<br />
Or, alternatively, to not display either the CAPTCHA or the Save Changes until after a preview. {{unsigned|JimJJewett20:40, 14 April 2025}}<br />
<br />
:If you're going to Preview (which can often be a good idea), don't bother ticking the "I am not a robot". Previews (also the "Show Changes") are 'free' and don't need you to feed the CAPTHA machine.<br />
:What's wrong with 1) editing, 2) previewing, 3) going "Yup, looks good" and ticking the box, 3a) ''if'' required, fulfill the Captcha, 4) Submit..?<br />
:It's exactly the same amount of work as having the Captcha-fulfillment at position (1a) and 'sticky'<br />
:Also, however hard it might be to 'sticky' the CAPTCHA, there's a ''reason'' that a validated CAPTCHA isn't held over willy-nilly. Theoretically, an automated system (or semi-attended one) that relied upon finding out if it ''could'' post an edit, before it even bothered to try could benefit (if only by a smidgen) from first having a pot-shot at authorisation and only then (presumably before any 'time out' kicked in) pushing the latest spambot stuff.<br />
:I see no value in allowing that, even if there was anybody who might have enough of an 'in' on the server code to enable such a thing. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.33.248|162.158.33.248]] 23:02, 14 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
:Moved this to technical portal. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 17:07, 16 April 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Request for feedback about {{tl|comic}} ==<br />
<br />
Hey, I'd like to hear someone else's opinion on the random button on our comic template, please see this page: [[Template talk:comic#Random button should link to Special:RandomInCategory]] --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 08:30, 2 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Does anyone here know how to create a random link that fetches pages from two different categories? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 10:12, 4 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== the rss feed seems to be broken ==<br />
<br />
the rss feed button on the side leading to https://explainxkcd.com/rss.xml throws up and error making the feed not load properly in rss readers. <br />
<br />
"This page contains the following errors:<br />
error on line 463 at column 18: EntityRef: expecting ';'<br />
Below is a rendering of the page up to the first error." {{unsigned ip|172.71.241.19|20:38, 5 May 2025}}<br />
:I think this is the continuing issue as of [[#RSS Feed: XML not well-formed]], you're talking about. As far as I'm aware unfixed and (with the current smattering of active admins at their limits of admin-levels) unfixable. Because of a 'bare' ampersand (or two) being misinterpreted as a failed attempt at a character-entity reference. ''If'' that was fixed, without me noticing, then I'm sure someone will be along to try to fix your new issue too.<br />
:People have been trying to prod other people who can prod the server back into shape (insofar as that issue), but I've not yet been privy to anything coming of that, and presume you're just trapped in the exact same glitch. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.30|172.70.91.30]] 21:59, 5 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What exactly happens if it's broken? Is it just unusable forever, or is just that one comic that's broken? Or something else? I'm curious. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:24, 6 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::It's unusable so long as the "I'm parsing this is an '&amp;Thing;' ... oh, wait, it has no closing ';'... ARGH!" happens to it. If you click on the RSS feed, to the left, you can see how it shows the (not ''quite'' humanly-readable) lines of the RSS feed (most recent, chronologically backwards) until the last line it shows is the comic imediately after the most recent "D&D" entry. (Actually, depends on browser. Sorry, just checked. It does that on Android Chrome, but currently I'm on Windows Firefox and it 'only' complains. But if you'll take my word for it.)<br />
:::Someone really needs to go into the https://explainxkcd.com/rss.xml file (who can edit it directly) and find the two "D&D" instances and make them "D&amp;amp;D". (Note to editors: Had to "amp amp" the "amp", here in this edit, to get it to appear just as amp... In case you get confused when coming in here and expecting to see "D&amp;D" :P )<br />
:::The fact that nobody has yet managed to do it is probably because nobody (from Kynde to Theusaf) has the server-root access necessary to edit things at that level.<br />
:::Until it's changed (I assume the xml updating is done at a more server-backend level than most of the rest of the administrative functions, but I'm not at all au fait with mediawiki's internals to that level), whenever a 'compliant' (and, apparently, ''very'' strict) parser tries to read the .xml it'll 'quite rightly' tell you that there's a bare ampersand and then refuses to do anything more.<br />
:::Again, without knowing the technical operation of what ''wrote'' the original data, it seems like there was insufficient 'sanitising' of the input. It applied the bare-ampersand without forward-converting it to an ampersanded ampersand-entity. That maybe also needs fixing (in case we get more), even if the existing ones get manually changed. I don't use any RSS feeds, myself, being too new-fangled ("Initial release: RSS 0.90 (Netscape), March 15, 1999; 26 years ago; Latest release: RSS 2.0 (version 2.0.11) March 30, 2009; 16 years ago"... yeah, ''to me'' that's still new-fangled! :P ) so all I know about how this one fails is what people have talked about above, and trivially clicking on the left-sidebar link to look at it myself, and venture what I think is the logical nature of the glitch (both cause and effect). Maybe somebody knows more about it, but I'm filling in until that person comes along and says otherswise (and/or more) about it. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.33.193|162.158.33.193]] 20:28, 6 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:::: It's not being "very strict" to reject an unescaped ampersand: it's just part of the XML spec. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.216.67|162.158.216.67]] 09:00, 28 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Random comic/explanation glitches ==<br />
<br />
For some reason, I can''not'' press random without being sent to either the Verizon comic-thing or comic #4 (this is one of my first times commenting, no clue how to do links). I’ve now pressed the button for random comic 8 times and keep getting these two pages, any idea for fixing this? [[User:AK24Ammit|AH24Ammit]] ([[User talk:AK24Ammit|talk]]) 00:24, 22 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:update: it’s now added repeatedly sending me to [[1057:Klout]] and [[2875:2024]]. I can’t get it to send me to any other page through the random button. After 23 random comic presses, I got each of these four comics 6 times and the latest comic once. [[User:AK24Ammit|AH24Ammit]] ([[User talk:AK24Ammit|talk]]) 00:29, 22 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Incessant 503 errors ==<br />
<br />
I cannot keep contributing to this site if the 503 errors continue. The time it takes to perform a single action is about 10 times greater than it should be, some pages never load, and almost everything is broken and outdated. The situation will get worse if we do nothing. We have to do something :( &nbsp; --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:47, 26 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:I've not yet found any page that won't ever load, can you give an example?<br />
:Updating the website, though useful for other reasons, also cannot help this problem much. Different hosting might help, but mostly different proxying. Site-side changes, of the kind we've perhaps been waiting for, would be minimally useful to this external issue. Maybe we'll get some changes out of this crisis, maybe we'll just get the site closed down as not worth the additional effort. (Just going read-only might not even help, and would still be gruelling loss.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.10|172.71.178.10]] 16:27, 26 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Can't do much better than Cloudflare for proxying, at least not on a budget. If the DDOS is from an AI-scraper or a malicious-but-not-paying-attention source, temporarily shifting everything to a new domain and having explainxkcd.com just be a placeholder with human-readable instructions to het to the temp site ''might'' help, at least until the adversary adapted. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.16|162.158.167.16]] 19:31, 26 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Well anything would be better than the current situation, except a total shutdown. Why is nobody worried this entire wiki is dying in front of our eyes and the owner doesn't even remember it exists? Jesus --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:03, 27 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Same issue. What could be causing this? {{unsigned ip|162.158.114.253|14:49, 27 May 2025}}<br />
::The server's seemingly being hammered by a new batch of unregulated traffic, that's been hammering many other sites. Your attempts to connect are getting lost in the overload, until the instigators get bored, smarter/kinder or someone implements a better way to stop the offending connections better. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.160|172.70.162.160]] 16:41, 27 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== wtf is going on with the server?? ==<br />
<br />
why is the site giving a db error 90% of the time? is something wrong? how/when will it be fixed? (can it be fixed at all?) update: the db crashed AGAIN while i was writing this. also its not like above section, since it currently *specifically* gives db errors. "cannot access the database." [[User:An user who has no account yet|An user who has no account yet]] ([[User talk:An user who has no account yet|talk]]) 16:54, 27 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:See the sub-header above (and other contributions by people in the last two or three comic Discussions), but imagine you're at a party, trying to talk to your friends, and people you don't know keep coming over and trying to start various inane conversations that just keep distracting you, and ''they just won't leave you alone!''<br />
:So: 1) Too much traffic. 2) Not with the server. 3) Difficult/not quickly (it's not really a server-fix). And the DB isn't fully crashing (that'd do something else). It's just unable to reply to everyone, every time, and even saying "No I can't talk to you" takes up time.<br />
:Ideally, you get someone else to intercept anyone coming over to talk to you. Maybe a VIP-section "red rope", and a big guy with a clipboard of guests/a personal secretary to vet newcomers. Doing that yourself is just going to distract you more. (Or you can take enough amphetamines to become enough of a party animal to comfortably be at the centre of the ''wildest'' of parties, but that takes finding a dealer with the right product, as well as other problems. And the tendency to overextend your analogies.) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.72|172.68.205.72]] 19:36, 27 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
::That reads like the "explain" of an XKCD that I want to see. :P [[Special:Contributions/162.158.175.131|162.158.175.131]] 21:17, 27 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==Special:ContributionScores on Main Page busts caching, causing load==<br />
<br />
Long story short, the Main Page transcludes a top contributors table, [[Special:ContributionScores/10/30]], which marks the entire Main Page as dynamic (not cacheable). This means that (1) Cloudflare is not serving up a static version of this page, even to those not logged in, (2) the Main Page wikitext is getting reparsed on every hit, and (3) the parser is recreating the table from scratch on every hit, consuming a lot of database connection time, roughly between 0.5 and 1.0 second each. This is...suspicious, given the wiki's technical difficulties. I suggest an experiment with removing it to see if technical issues improve. If so, and if people wish to keep the table, I suggest creating a static version of the table that is updated only occasionally (even once every few hours by bot should be fine).<br />
<br />
The whole story is: While browsing overnight, I noticed that the issues with page loads seemed caching-related; pages never seemed to load on the first click, though refreshing was often successful, at least during the presumably lower-load overnight hours. Research led me to the possibility that some broken caching system was leading to the database running out of connections (even on a cache hit, one is still needed to determine whether it is a cache hit or miss), so I started looking at some technical indicators, eventually leading to the parser profiling ("NewPP") and transclusions block at the end of the parser output [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=parse&page=Main%20Page here].<br />
<br />
For the main page, it outputs:<br />
<br />
<nowiki>NewPP limit report<br />
Cached time: 20250528101640<br />
Cache expiry: 0<br />
Dynamic content: true<br />
CPU time usage: 0.059 seconds<br />
Real time usage: 2.564 seconds<br />
Preprocessor visited node count: 273/1000000<br />
Preprocessor generated node count: 2367/1000000<br />
Post\u2010expand include size: 17895/2097152 bytes<br />
Template argument size: 714/2097152 bytes<br />
Highest expansion depth: 7/40<br />
Expensive parser function count: 4/100<br />
--><br />
<!--<br />
Transclusion expansion time report (%,ms,calls,template)<br />
100.00% 1762.386 1 -total<br />
65.93% 1161.960 1 3094<br />
33.89% 597.347 1 Special:ContributionScores/10/30/nosort,notools<br />
22.59% 398.159 1 Template:comic<br />
16.62% 292.973 1 Template:incomplete_transcript<br />
15.21% 268.077 1 Template:incomplete<br />
6.34% 111.727 1 Template:comic_discussion<br />
6.20% 109.319 1 MediaWiki:Mainpage<br />
0.21% 3.766 4 Template:w<br />
0.09% 1.566 5 Template:LATESTCOMIC</nowiki><br />
<br />
The 2.5 seconds taken isn't itself necessarily a problem, but notice that the page is considered dynamic content with immediate cache expiration. This contrasts with a normal page like [https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=parse&page=3094:%20Mass%20Spec the latest comic]:<br />
<br />
<nowiki><!-- <br />
NewPP limit report<br />
Cached time: 20250528111305<br />
Cache expiry: 86400<br />
Dynamic content: false<br />
CPU time usage: 0.060 seconds<br />
Real time usage: 0.333 seconds<br />
Preprocessor visited node count: 324/1000000<br />
Preprocessor generated node count: 2362/1000000<br />
Post\u2010expand include size: 63936/2097152 bytes<br />
Template argument size: 1609/2097152 bytes<br />
Highest expansion depth: 9/40<br />
Expensive parser function count: 3/100<br />
--><br />
<!--<br />
Transclusion expansion time report (%,ms,calls,template)<br />
100.00% 160.074 1 -total<br />
37.56% 60.117 1 Template:comic<br />
20.70% 33.133 1 Template:comic_discussion<br />
19.54% 31.277 1 Template:cn<br />
8.81% 14.101 5 Template:w<br />
8.31% 13.303 1 MediaWiki:Mainpage<br />
7.86% 12.585 1 Template:incomplete_transcript<br />
5.26% 8.424 1 Template:incomplete<br />
4.83% 7.739 2 Template:notice<br />
1.38% 2.212 2 Talk:3094:_Mass_Spec<br />
--><br />
</div><br />
<!-- Saved in parser cache with key expla0_db423085716:pcache:idhash:29008-0!canonical and timestamp 20250528111305 and revision id 378578<br />
--></nowiki><br />
<br />
From a quick search, it sounds like transclusion of a special page will always cause the parser cache to be bypassed, causing all of the parsed output to be regenerated on every hit by any visitor, logged in or not, via the API or not, etc. (While it's not technically wrong that increased number of visits may be causing issues, this would be a multiplicative exacerbation of that.) Combined with the fact that the page is recreating a pretty heavy database query to count and tabulate the last 30 days of edits, this seems Really Bad. [[User:AySz88|AySz88]] ([[User talk:AySz88|talk]]) 11:14, 28 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: Edited for corrections and clarity. Also, one can generate and profile the cost of any bit of wikitext using the API: <nowiki>https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=parse&text={{Special:ContributionScores/10/7/nosort,notools}}&title=Special:ContributionScores</nowiki> would create and time the processing time needed to generate <nowiki>{{Special:ContributionScores/10/7/nosort,notools}}</nowiki>.<br />
: I'd noticed that there was a recent change from 7 to 30 days of scoring, but it turns out that doesn't make a big difference in processing time. In addition, the parser considering the content static doesn't seem to be enough for Cloudflare to start caching a page, so that might not be as easy to change. Still, simply allowing the parser output to be saved and regenerating the table for the vast majority of visitors' hits might be a big help. [[User:AySz88|AySz88]] ([[User talk:AySz88|talk]]) 13:27, 28 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: Does this affect other pages? If not, then the main DB issues aren't fixed... but if it does, then why is the contribs page loaded for EVERY page? Also, I *support* removing this... it's just a showcase that exists for no good reason if shown to every viewer, the recent contribs should probably be restricted to users only or something [[Special:Contributions/162.158.8.176|162.158.8.176]] 08:30, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::: The contrib table doesn't load on every page, but the vast majority of hits are going to be to the Main Page. And (my hypothesis is) it holds database connections open while it's running, which consumes that limited resource on the server. (We could just raise the cap, but we don't have access to the server.) A lot of the lag time in the profiler above is just sitting in a queue for the next database connection, which affects everything. So in that sense, it affects the whole wiki. [[User:AySz88|AySz88]] ([[User talk:AySz88|talk]]) 17:53, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Hi. I changed to 30 days on suggestion by FaviFake. But that was in March. Just changed it back to 7 again just to try it. Of course I can also try to remove it for a period of time. But for us that makes a lot of contributions that list is a motivating factor. So I would hate to remove it. Also it has worked with 30 days for more than two months and with the 7 days for as long as I have used the site (since 2012). So it seems weird that it should suddenly be the front page that breaks it all. It is also not the first time we have had these issues. Not sure how they where resolved last time but strange if it suddenly is the main page that causes all these problems [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:29, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::: (Un)Fortunately(?) I suspect the technical caching issue is more relevant, where naively transcluding a Special page via <code><nowiki>{{Special:...}}</nowiki></code> causes everything to re-process on every hit. That doesn't mean losing the feature entirely (or even the 30 days); I can help make a bot that can send the output (inside <code><nowiki>https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=parse&text={{Special:ContributionScores/10/30,nosort,notools}}&title=Special:ContributionScores&format=json</nowiki></code>) to a template, automatically updating once per short interval (an hour?). The delayed version can also be Main Page only; the live version can always still be linked, and/or the full page linked to.<br />
::: You're right that perhaps this isn't necessarily ''the'' proximate "straw that broke the camel's back" cause. And there are a lot of other problems and solutions that could help - like simply raising the DB connection cap, or all the stuff about crawler traffic, and that Cloudflare doesn't seem to be caching the basically-static CSS from tool.php, etc. etc... But without admin access to diagnostics or settings for the database and Cloudflare, we can only work with the tools we have. Even this specific widget itself does some caching in a newer update, but we don't have access to updating it. (That said, I'm still keeping an eye out for other things that might have changed recently.) [[User:AySz88|AySz88]] ([[User talk:AySz88|talk]]) 17:53, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
::::As it did not help making it 7 days again I have now removed it. Seems to make no difference to begin with. But lets give it some time to work. But I'm not optimistic. Let me know if I moved the correct bit, I'm no expert just sadly the only active admin and we cannot get hold of Jeff... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:34, 30 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
Since the removal of the Rankings table, I haven't noticed a downtick of connection errors. (That said, I dislike people ''aiming'' to be in the Rankings, I consider that editing should be its own reward, so personally I'd be happier without it anywhere quite as prominent.) Haven't done a full technical analysis, but I estimate that from a prior peak of maybe 1.5 "technical difficulties" or "also, a 503 error" responses, generally varying between zero issues (straight in) and normal worstest-case scenario of three attempts (fourth attempt is Ok, ''maybe'' unstylsheeted), in the last 24 hours it's been more like 2.5:1 fail to success ratio. (i.e. reaching up to maybe 6th-attempt success, worst case.) Not nice, but survivable.<br />
<br />
Though got a new one, just a few minutes ago. An actual Cloudflare error: "SSL handshake failed Error code 525 // Visit cloudflare.com for more information. // 2025-05-30 20:01:57 UTC". In case that interests anyone. Looks like the server was temperarily so incapacitated as to not be able to even handshake with the proxy. But I don't currently expect that to recur, just thought I'd note it as a 'new' glitch, in passing. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.241.123|172.71.241.123]] 20:37, 30 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== What would it take to clone ExplainXKCD? ==<br />
<br />
What would it take technically and financially to clone this web site?<br />
<br />
Installing MediaWiki and cloning the wiki pages should be fairly straightforward. There may be some pain due to differences in MediaWiki versions.<br />
<br />
Cloning or rewriting the bots may be a chore.<br />
<br />
Paying for hosting and Cloudflare will take a steady stream of income.<br />
<br />
There's also legal issues, like how to protect everyone from liability if someone wants to sue, even if it's a frivolous suit.<br />
<br />
There will need to be multiple administrators at every level so we don't have the "if one person disappears for awhile and problems arise, we are stuck" issues.<br />
<br />
My guess is that between the existing administrators and regular contributors, we have the technical skills to do this. It's the financial and legal issues that give me pause.<br />
<br />
Yes, I'm an occasional contributor, and no, I haven't created an account yet. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.175.119|162.158.175.119]] 19:51, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:It would help if we didn't want to clone ''all page history''. Already, it would bar those bits hidden behind admin-level deletions, etc, but limiting the actual depth of history scraped up and made available on a new platform would be wise from a 'start over' POV, ''especially'' if not having direct access to the core database. Possibly a 'bot could maintain an "anything new on old site gets reduplicated to new site" until a phased cut-off, with enough thought, dyluring the ''duration'' of the migratory process, but you need a solid base (maybe with further back-filled history as much as you can).<br />
:And then there's user accounts. Maybe there's a way to confirm your rights to an original-site username on the new-site (potentially complex things, or just something to do with logins on both, posting "it's me" on the new site, then "yes, that new-site claim me of being me is indeed correct" on old-site, but you still have to deal with potential claim-jumping/identity-gazumping). Which also needs trust of the new-site admins to play fair with potential disputes.<br />
:And it'd be a good opportunity to clean some up things (everyone can think of several inconsistecies that ''they'd'' deal with, given the opportunity), but only with a lot of hands on effort. So factor that in for potential work.<br />
:On the whole, though, best just to 'start fresh'. A task in itself, perhaps use and acknowledge this site's "best material" (I think copyright might be not so much an issue if based upon a fair and dutiful copy, due to the details of [[explain xkcd:Copyrights]], but that's of course something that needs advice sought for any particular implementation). That, of course, needs community acceptance not to be seen as an "upstart usurper" site, perhaps, and could create a schism where some would refuse to partake in the new project at all.<br />
:i.e. you raise good questions (and prompt others), but I'm not sure there are ''undeniably'' objective good answers to them all. Trying it and seeing how it goes is probably the ''only'' way to bash out the many details. Not an easy project. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.241.144|172.71.241.144]] 21:19, 29 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I think it would be absolutely awesome to move to something that *isn't* self hosted, something that as far as I can tell this wiki is. If we move or clone, may we see [https://weirdgloop.org/ Weird Gloop] as an option? They have a lot of experience and will [https://weirdgloop.org/blog/why-were-helping-more-wikis-move-away-from-fandom#how-to-not-turn-into-fandom-20-with-these-2-simple-tricks probably not turn into another fandom and will not be bought by them]. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.130.250|172.69.130.250]] 15:33, 30 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
::Oh ye gods... Yes, whatever you do, ''don't'' go anywhere near Fandom, as a solution. Not that I think this will be a convincing argument on its own, but you'll absolutely lose me as an 'explain' reader (never mind contributor) if it goes onto a Fandom/ex-Wikia hosting model. I've no experience of Weird Gloop (yet), but the URL (about why they're different) certainly does vicerally appeal to me on first glance. Do your own independant research, though, anybody tempted down that or any eqyivalent route. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.241.123|172.71.241.123]] 20:37, 30 May 2025 (UTC)<br />
:[https://github.com/saveweb/wikiteam3/ Wikidump] can get all page content with full history (for pages that have not been deleted). It doesn't require admin privileges to use.</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3073:_Tariffs&diff=3716623073: Tariffs2025-04-08T00:16:33Z<p>183231bcb: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3073<br />
| date = April 7, 2025<br />
| title = Tariffs<br />
| image = tariffs_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 681x809px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = [later] I don't get why our pizza slices have such terrible reviews; the geotextile-infused sauce gives the toppings incredible slope stability!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a TRADE DEFICIT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic is a parody of [[wikipedia:Tariffs in the second Trump administration|Tariffs in the second Trump administration]], which were announced shortly before the comic's release. [[Cueball]] describes that [[Ponytail]] has a trade deficit with a pizza store.<br />
<br />
A trade deficit occurs when party A buys more from party B than they sell to party B. As Ponytail explains, there is nothing wrong with having a trade deficit if you think you are getting your money's worth for what you are buying. Donald Trump, the president of the United States at the time the comic released, claimed that if the U.S. has a trade deficit with another country, then the U.S. is getting ripped off and the other country must be punished. In the comic, Cueball echoes Trump's belief.<br />
<br />
A tariff is a tax on imports from another country. Donald Trump introduced tariffs to punish countries with which the United States had a trade deficit. In the comic, Cueball proposes that Ponytail impose a tariff on the pizza store until they start buying from Ponytail.<br />
<br />
Ponytail notes that such a tariff might encourage the pizza store to stop selling to her, which Cueball considers a victory.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.I don’t like reCAPTCHAS}}<br />
:[Ponytail walks over to Cueball with a phone in her hand. Cueball turns away from his desk to look at her.]<br />
:Ponytail: You know how I blocked all news sites at the start of 2021 to avoid spoilers for Avatar 2, and then forgot to start checking them again?<br />
:Cueball: Yeah, we've been meaning to talk to you about that...<br />
<br />
:[Ponytail stops in front of Cueball.]<br />
:Ponytail: Well, I just checked the news for the first time, and why is the economy tanking?<br />
:Cueball: Uh, the president is mad at other countried and imposed a lot of tariffs.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail's head.]<br />
:Ponytail: Wait, who's the president now?<br />
:Cueball: Donald Trump.<br />
:Ponytal: ...Still??<br />
:Cueball: No, again.<br />
<br />
:[Pan out.]<br />
:Ponytail: OK, fine, what's a tariff? Why is he doing this?<br />
:Cueball: You know that pizzeria your comapny orders from? They don't buy anything from you, right?<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Cueball, arms spread.]<br />
:Cueball: Right, so they're ripping you off! You're paying them tons of money, and what are you getting for it?<br />
:Ponytail: I mean... pizza?<br />
:Cueball: See? They're not helping your business at all!<br />
:Cueball: What a ripoff!<br />
<br />
:[Pan out. Ponytail has her hand under her chin.]<br />
:Ponytail: What would they even buy from us? I guess we could survey a pizza...<br />
:Cueball: Yes, perfect! You refuse to let the delivery driver past your security desk unless they venmo you for an equivalent value of LIDAR scans.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail's head.]<br />
:Ponytail: Wouldn't they just stop taking our orders?<br />
:Cueball: Perfect, balance restored!<br />
<br />
:[Pan out.]<br />
:Ponytail: OK, but I still want pizza.<br />
:Cueball: Can you just make one? You have all that gear.<br />
:Ponytail: I don't think pizza made with lidar diodes would be very good. MACARONI AND BLOOD FOR YHE GRAND OLD COOWBOY BLOOD GOD YEEEEEEEEEEEEEE I LOVE CHEESE DAMG THATS WHAT THEY SAY HUT ALSO LINK TO THE WONDER WOMAN ONE YAHOO!<br />
:Cueball: Ugh, why is everyone so picky about toppings?<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3073:_Tariffs&diff=3716613073: Tariffs2025-04-08T00:14:00Z<p>183231bcb: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3073<br />
| date = April 7, 2025<br />
| title = Tariffs<br />
| image = tariffs_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 681x809px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = [later] I don't get why our pizza slices have such terrible reviews; the geotextile-infused sauce gives the toppings incredible slope stability!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a TRADE DEFICIT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic is a parody of [[wikipedia:Tariffs in the second Trump administration|Tariffs in the second Trump administration]], which were announced shortly before the comic's release. [[Cueball]] describes that [[Ponytail]] has a trade deficit with a pizza store.<br />
<br />
A trade deficit occurs when party A buys more from party B than they sell to party B. As Ponytail explains, there is nothing wrong with having a trade deficit if you think you are getting your money's worth for what you are buying. Donald Trump, the president of the United States at the time the comic released, claimed that if the U.S. has a trade deficit with another country, then the U.S. is getting ripped off and the other country must be punished. In the comic, Cueball echoes Trump's belief.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.I don’t like reCAPTCHAS}}<br />
:[Ponytail walks over to Cueball with a phone in her hand. Cueball turns away from his desk to look at her.]<br />
:Ponytail: You know how I blocked all news sites at the start of 2021 to avoid spoilers for Avatar 2, and then forgot to start checking them again?<br />
:Cueball: Yeah, we've been meaning to talk to you about that...<br />
<br />
:[Ponytail stops in front of Cueball.]<br />
:Ponytail: Well, I just checked the news for the first time, and why is the economy tanking?<br />
:Cueball: Uh, the president is mad at other countried and imposed a lot of tariffs.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail's head.]<br />
:Ponytail: Wait, who's the president now?<br />
:Cueball: Donald Trump.<br />
:Ponytal: ...Still??<br />
:Cueball: No, again.<br />
<br />
:[Pan out.]<br />
:Ponytail: OK, fine, what's a tariff? Why is he doing this?<br />
:Cueball: You know that pizzeria your comapny orders from? They don't buy anything from you, right?<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Cueball, arms spread.]<br />
:Cueball: Right, so they're ripping you off! You're paying them tons of money, and what are you getting for it?<br />
:Ponytail: I mean... pizza?<br />
:Cueball: See? They're not helping your business at all!<br />
:Cueball: What a ripoff!<br />
<br />
:[Pan out. Ponytail has her hand under her chin.]<br />
:Ponytail: What would they even buy from us? I guess we could survey a pizza...<br />
:Cueball: Yes, perfect! You refuse to let the delivery driver past your security desk unless they venmo you for an equivalent value of LIDAR scans.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail's head.]<br />
:Ponytail: Wouldn't they just stop taking our orders?<br />
:Cueball: Perfect, balance restored!<br />
<br />
:[Pan out.]<br />
:Ponytail: OK, but I still want pizza.<br />
:Cueball: Can you just make one? You have all that gear.<br />
:Ponytail: I don't think pizza made with lidar diodes would be very good. MACARONI AND BLOOD FOR YHE GRAND OLD COOWBOY BLOOD GOD YEEEEEEEEEEEEEE I LOVE CHEESE DAMG THATS WHAT THEY SAY HUT ALSO LINK TO THE WONDER WOMAN ONE YAHOO!<br />
:Cueball: Ugh, why is everyone so picky about toppings?<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3073:_Tariffs&diff=3716593073: Tariffs2025-04-08T00:13:03Z<p>183231bcb: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3073<br />
| date = April 7, 2025<br />
| title = Tariffs<br />
| image = tariffs_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 681x809px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = [later] I don't get why our pizza slices have such terrible reviews; the geotextile-infused sauce gives the toppings incredible slope stability!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic is a parody of [[wikipedia:Tariffs in the second Trump administration|Tariffs in the second Trump administration]], which were announced shortly before the comic's release. Cueball describes that ponytail has a trade deficit with a pizza store.<br />
<br />
A trade deficit occurs when party A buys more from party B than they sell to party B. As Ponytail explains, there is nothing wrong with having a trade deficit if you think you are getting your money's worth for what you are buying. Donald Trump, the president of the United States at the time the comic released, claimed that if the U.S. has a trade deficit with another country, then the U.S. is getting ripped off and the other country must be punished. In the comic, Cueball echoes Trump's belief.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.I don’t like reCAPTCHAS}}<br />
:[Ponytail walks over to Cueball with a phone in her hand. Cueball turns away from his desk to look at her.]<br />
:Ponytail: You know how I blocked all news sites at the start of 2021 to avoid spoilers for Avatar 2, and then forgot to start checking them again?<br />
:Cueball: Yeah, we've been meaning to talk to you about that...<br />
<br />
:[Ponytail stops in front of Cueball.]<br />
:Ponytail: Well, I just checked the news for the first time, and why is the economy tanking?<br />
:Cueball: Uh, the president is mad at other countried and imposed a lot of tariffs.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail's head.]<br />
:Ponytail: Wait, who's the president now?<br />
:Cueball: Donald Trump.<br />
:Ponytal: ...Still??<br />
:Cueball: No, again.<br />
<br />
:[Pan out.]<br />
:Ponytail: OK, fine, what's a tariff? Why is he doing this?<br />
:Cueball: You know that pizzeria your comapny orders from? They don't buy anything from you, right?<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Cueball, arms spread.]<br />
:Cueball: Right, so they're ripping you off! You're paying them tons of money, and what are you getting for it?<br />
:Ponytail: I mean... pizza?<br />
:Cueball: See? They're not helping your business at all!<br />
:Cueball: What a ripoff!<br />
<br />
:[Pan out. Ponytail has her hand under her chin.]<br />
:Ponytail: What would they even buy from us? I guess we could survey a pizza...<br />
:Cueball: Yes, perfect! You refuse to let the delivery driver past your security desk unless they venmo you for an equivalent value of LIDAR scans.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail's head.]<br />
:Ponytail: Wouldn't they just stop taking our orders?<br />
:Cueball: Perfect, balance restored!<br />
<br />
:[Pan out.]<br />
:Ponytail: OK, but I still want pizza.<br />
:Cueball: Can you just make one? You have all that gear.<br />
:Ponytail: I don't think pizza made with lidar diodes would be very good.<br />
:Cueball: Ugh, why is everyone so picky about toppings?<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3073:_Tariffs&diff=3716563073: Tariffs2025-04-08T00:09:24Z<p>183231bcb: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3073<br />
| date = April 7, 2025<br />
| title = Tariffs<br />
| image = tariffs_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 681x809px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = [later] I don't get why our pizza slices have such terrible reviews; the geotextile-infused sauce gives the toppings incredible slope stability!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic is a parody of [[wikipedia:Tariffs in the second Trump administration|Tariffs in the second Trump administration]], which were announced shortly before the comic's release. Cueball describes that ponytail has a trade deficit with a pizza store.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.I don’t like reCAPTCHAS}}<br />
:[Ponytail walks over to Cueball with a phone in her hand. Cueball turns away from his desk to look at her.]<br />
:Ponytail: You know how I blocked all news sites at the start of 2021 to avoid spoilers for Avatar 2, and then forgot to start checking them again?<br />
:Cueball: Yeah, we've been meaning to talk to you about that...<br />
<br />
:[Ponytail stops in front of Cueball.]<br />
:Ponytail: Well, I just checked the news for the first time, and why is the economy tanking?<br />
:Cueball: Uh, the president is mad at other countried and imposed a lot of tariffs.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail's head.]<br />
:Ponytail: Wait, who's the president now?<br />
:Cueball: Donald Trump.<br />
:Ponytal: ...Still??<br />
:Cueball: No, again.<br />
<br />
:[Pan out.]<br />
:Ponytail: OK, fine, what's a tariff? Why is he doing this?<br />
:Cueball: You know that pizzeria your comapny orders from? They don't buy anything from you, right?<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Cueball, arms spread.]<br />
:Cueball: Right, so they're ripping you off! You're paying them tons of money, and what are you getting for it?<br />
:Ponytail: I mean... pizza?<br />
:Cueball: See? They're not helping your business at all!<br />
:Cueball: What a ripoff!<br />
<br />
:[Pan out. Ponytail has her hand under her chin.]<br />
:Ponytail: What would they even buy from us? I guess we could survey a pizza...<br />
:Cueball: Yes, perfect! You refuse to let the delivery driver past your security desk unless they venmo you for an equivalent value of LIDAR scans.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail's head.]<br />
:Ponytail: Wouldn't they just stop taking our orders?<br />
:Cueball: Perfect, balance restored!<br />
<br />
:[Pan out.]<br />
:Ponytail: OK, but I still want pizza.<br />
:Cueball: Can you just make one? You have all that gear.<br />
:Ponytail: I don't think pizza made with lidar diodes would be very good.<br />
:Cueball: Ugh, why is everyone so picky about toppings?<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3073:_Tariffs&diff=3716553073: Tariffs2025-04-08T00:09:07Z<p>183231bcb: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3073<br />
| date = April 7, 2025<br />
| title = Tariffs<br />
| image = tariffs_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 681x809px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = [later] I don't get why our pizza slices have such terrible reviews; the geotextile-infused sauce gives the toppings incredible slope stability!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic is a parody of [[w:Tariffs in the second Trump administration|Tariffs in the second Trump administration]], which were announced shortly before the comic's release. Cueball describes that ponytail has a trade deficit with a pizza store.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.I don’t like reCAPTCHAS}}<br />
:[Ponytail walks over to Cueball with a phone in her hand. Cueball turns away from his desk to look at her.]<br />
:Ponytail: You know how I blocked all news sites at the start of 2021 to avoid spoilers for Avatar 2, and then forgot to start checking them again?<br />
:Cueball: Yeah, we've been meaning to talk to you about that...<br />
<br />
:[Ponytail stops in front of Cueball.]<br />
:Ponytail: Well, I just checked the news for the first time, and why is the economy tanking?<br />
:Cueball: Uh, the president is mad at other countried and imposed a lot of tariffs.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail's head.]<br />
:Ponytail: Wait, who's the president now?<br />
:Cueball: Donald Trump.<br />
:Ponytal: ...Still??<br />
:Cueball: No, again.<br />
<br />
:[Pan out.]<br />
:Ponytail: OK, fine, what's a tariff? Why is he doing this?<br />
:Cueball: You know that pizzeria your comapny orders from? They don't buy anything from you, right?<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Cueball, arms spread.]<br />
:Cueball: Right, so they're ripping you off! You're paying them tons of money, and what are you getting for it?<br />
:Ponytail: I mean... pizza?<br />
:Cueball: See? They're not helping your business at all!<br />
:Cueball: What a ripoff!<br />
<br />
:[Pan out. Ponytail has her hand under her chin.]<br />
:Ponytail: What would they even buy from us? I guess we could survey a pizza...<br />
:Cueball: Yes, perfect! You refuse to let the delivery driver past your security desk unless they venmo you for an equivalent value of LIDAR scans.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Ponytail's head.]<br />
:Ponytail: Wouldn't they just stop taking our orders?<br />
:Cueball: Perfect, balance restored!<br />
<br />
:[Pan out.]<br />
:Ponytail: OK, but I still want pizza.<br />
:Cueball: Can you just make one? You have all that gear.<br />
:Ponytail: I don't think pizza made with lidar diodes would be very good.<br />
:Cueball: Ugh, why is everyone so picky about toppings?<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1408:_March_of_the_Penguins&diff=3678641408: March of the Penguins2025-03-04T17:52:57Z<p>183231bcb: /* Explanation */ Tense</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1408<br />
| date = August 15, 2014<br />
| title = March of the Penguins<br />
| image = march_of_the_penguins.png<br />
| titletext = You ARE getting older, though.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
Several of the xkcd comics outline ways to [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|make people feel older]] by referencing various pieces of popular culture which feel ingrained and "recent", and revealing the time that has elapsed since their release to be longer than expected (for instance, [[1393: Timeghost]] and [[891: Movie Ages]]).<br />
<br />
This appears to be what [[Black Hat]] is doing as he walks in on [[Megan]] to announce that all the penguins from a 2005 documentary ''{{w|March of the Penguins}}'' about {{w|emperor penguins}} are dead. Megan is familiar with these sorts of antics and assumes Black Hat is indicating that the film is so old that the lifespan of emperor penguins is less than the time since the documentary was released. Frustrated, Megan simply acknowledges Black Hat's statement by agreeing that everyone is aging. Black Hat, however, reveals that he is not trying to make her feel old, because the penguins were all alive "last night" and all died in one instance since then and thus not from old age. <br />
<br />
His announcement that he is "trying to apologize" creates the obvious inference that he caused the penguins to be killed (either intentionally or by mistake). This gives the situation a much darker tone; especially since Black Hat likely is not truly apologizing, as he is very unapologetic in his [[72: Classhole|"classhole"]] tendencies, and just wish to mess even further with Megan.<br />
<br />
Emperor penguins actually live about 20 years on average, so presumably, barring any intervention by Black Hat, most of the younger penguins and many of the older penguins in the movie were still alive at the time of release of this comic in 2014, nine years after the documentary was released.<br />
<br />
The title text emphasizes that whatever the penguins' fate, we do get and are getting older.{{Citation needed}} This is presented as a last jab by Black Hat as he departs just to make Megan feel a bit worse. So in the end this comic did try to make the reader feel older.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Black Hat walks towards Megan who is sitting in an office chair at a desk working on her laptop.]<br />
:Black Hat: All the birds from ''March of the Penguins'' are now dead.<br />
<br />
:[In a frame-less panel only Megan is shown. She sits back from the laptop taking her hands down on her legs. Black Hat replies from off-panel.]<br />
:Megan: OK, I ''get'' it. We're all aging.<br />
:Black Hat (off-panel): What? No.<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat is in the frame again holding one hand slightly out towards Megan who has turned around in her office chair and is now facing Black Hat.]<br />
:Black Hat: I'm not trying to make you feel old. They were alive last night. <br />
:Black Hat:I'm trying to apologize.<br />
:Megan: Oh God<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3020:_Infinite_Armada_Chess&diff=3588083020: Infinite Armada Chess2024-12-06T21:12:57Z<p>183231bcb: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 3020<br />
| date = December 4, 2024<br />
| title = Infinite Armada Chess<br />
| image = infinite_armada_chess_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 282x497px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Stockfish 16 suggests the unconventional opening 1. RuntimeError: Out of bounds memory access<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by an infinite armada of Stockfish BOTS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Chess}} is a board game played between two players on an 8x8 chessboard. In standard chess, each player has 8 pawns and 8 other pieces: 2 rooks, 2 knights, 2 bishops, a queen, and a king. {{w|Chess variants}} are chess games in which the rules, board sizes, and/or piece behaviors are altered. In the chess game presented here, a non-standard chessboard is used, which extends vertically past the original 1st and 8th ranks off the page to infinity in both directions. Each square beyond the 8 standard ranks is filled by an additional queen. The {{w|Queen (chess)|queen}} is the most powerful piece on the chessboard, having the powers of a {{w|Bishop (chess)|bishop}} and a {{w|Rook (chess)|rook}} combined. With an infinite armada of queens, each player will have more resources to call on. Sometimes having a bunch of queens [https://x.com/chesscom/status/1841540380363211164 doesn't go very well], however (here, try knight to d6).<br />
<br />
[https://www.roblox.com/games/11339102114/Infinite-Armada Infinite Armada] is a spaceship combat game with customizable ships in a massive map that runs on the {{w|Roblox}} online game platform. It's unclear whether its map and number of spaceships are actually unbounded (infinite), or merely very large.<br />
<br />
In the title text, {{w|Stockfish (Chess)|Stockfish}} is a {{w|chess engine}} designed to evaluate a chessboard and find the best move. However, it is designed to handle finite boards, so it's likely that some problem will occur as it runs on an infinite one. Here that problem shows up as the game's move #1, "RuntimeError: Out of bounds memory access". This error message is unique to the cross-browser {{w|WebAssembly}} implementations of {{w|WebGL}}, so there was probably not enough memory to {{w|Rendering (computer graphics)|render}} an infinite board in a {{w|web browser}} window.<br />
<br />
All but a finite number of pieces are stuck at every step, and thus there are only a finite number of possible moves, but the game is unbounded (each capture resets the draw clock) and each capture also increases the number of possible pieces which can move by opening up more space on the board. No finite amount of space is guaranteed to suffice to analyze the game — contrast with standard chess in which surprisingly little memory (given impossibly vast, but finite, amounts of time) is needed to play perfectly. Still, as in regular chess, a program which understood that only a finite number of pieces are accessible could play the same way programs play conventional chess.<br />
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However, without specifically coding Stockfish to be aware of the logical certainty of the infinite number of queens being blocked, it is likely to still be checking ''every'' piece in turn, long after it has successfully prepared to establish (or perhaps [[2407: Depth and Breadth|actually explored]]) the relative strategical advantages of undertaking the twenty initial moves that White could make. Or, in the algorithm's worst case scenario, it has tried to start its movement-checking process at the 'rearmost rank', and has encountered the error before managing to establish (let alone assess) ''any'' valid opening moves. By easy induction, the human player should be able to establish an intrinsic understanding that everything behind two full ranks of undisturbed pieces (or beyond them, when applied to the opponent's position on the other side of the board) is unable to move, where no gaps exist to shuffle around in, but the code (if designed for finite, though perhaps arbitrary, boards) is unlikely to natively have the complexity to derive this computational detail from first principles, or even establish that it might hit a {{w|halting problem}} failure should it somehow avoid the issue of resources.<br />
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This comic was published in the middle of the {{w|World Chess Championship 2024|2024 World Chess Championship}}, between the World Champion Ding Liren and the Challenger Gukesh D.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[A chess board in the starting position, except it extends further at the top and bottom, going beyond the panel. The extra squares are filled with queens of the sides' respective colors.]<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Infinite armada chess<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Chess]]</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2990:_Late_Cenozoic&diff=351283Talk:2990: Late Cenozoic2024-09-26T01:39:03Z<p>183231bcb: </p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
first explanation, probably bad [[User:Sci09273.15|Sci09273.15]] ([[User talk:Sci09273.15|talk]]) 19:41, 25 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
:It's a fine starting point. Welcome! [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 19:51, 25 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
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It would have been so cute if Randall had given the lecturer alien some features of Miss Lenhart. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 19:53, 25 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
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Luckily for future paleontologists, our infrastructure and earthmoving projects are sturdy enough that they should still look kinda funny in a hundred million years. They might not assume that there was a technological civilization until they identified the Manhattan Iron Deposits as ancient vehicles or found similar proof, but they would know SOMETHING weird was going on. [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 21:38, 25 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
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The gap in the fossil record between their extinction and sudden resurgence will be explained by a chance discovery of a prestine copy of the documentary Jurassic Park.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.208.183|172.69.208.183]] 23:50, 25 September 2024 (UTC)<br />
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Hey, I made this same exact joke (offline) over 20 years ago! I believe that means [[827: My Business Idea|I am entitled to compensation]]. [[User:183231bcb|183231bcb]] ([[User talk:183231bcb|talk]]) 01:39, 26 September 2024 (UTC)</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:Kynde&diff=342689User talk:Kynde2024-05-21T15:07:49Z<p>183231bcb: /* Linking from another wiki */</p>
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<div>== Cueball references ==<br />
Hi, please do not remove the Cueball references here. He is a standard character. The category [[:Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] gives just an overview about all comics showing this stick figure. And just one is him, not defined by Randall but by us. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:10, 8 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
:But who should define who Cueball is? You? I could see him as both here. And somebody did. You have just corrected back so that the Cueball in the explain is switched to the other charachter in the transcript. At least one of these should then be changed to match the other. It is thus also clear that people have different views of what Cueball stands for. Is he the one trolling, or is he the one who knows which movie Blade Runner is? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:35, 10 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
:By the way - I did not remove the reference to the chategory - but only in the text as described above. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:38, 10 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
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== Minor tags on edits ==<br />
Also, a minor concern, but please be more sparing in your use of "minor" tags on edits. Addition of 1200 characters (e.g. . . m Talk:1496: Art Project; 20:04 . . (+1,240) . . Kynde, or . . m 1497: New Products; 19:12 . . (-419) . . Kynde →Explanation: It does not fit into category four! See new test. I also deleted a lot of text, that already was written below, and was basically the same as the one stille) is NOT minor. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:22, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
::When adding a new comment to the talk page I newer see this as a major change. This i a discussion not a change to the explanation!. I do not believe it was a big change removing the text you wrote, when all of it basically was written below. Try and read your version, and see that it was more or less double. Also I had already once removed the reference to the fourth category. If the guy has signed up he have no problems with this company. Also it is mentioned that the fourth category is not a company he is afraid off, but just someone they do not like. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:42, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
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== Thank you ==<br />
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I like what you did at [[1402: Harpoons]]. Thank you. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.153|173.245.54.153]]<br />
:You're welcome - I did it based on your comment [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 03:41, 2 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
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==[[980: Money]]==<br />
Hey, you've done an amazing job on the money comic's transcript, but the explanation page is still marked as incomplete. Is there actually anything left to be done on it? Thanks! [[User:Davak72|Davak72]] ([[User talk:Davak72|talk]]) 03:04, 3 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks allot. I have replied on the Money page where you repeated the above. I can even remember the number although it was some time since I did the transcript. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:44, 3 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
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== Merge Cueball & Rob ==<br />
<br />
You seem to have changed some comics in which formerly more than one cueball appeared to make it such that none were called cueball (e.g. Orb Hammer). But many persist, see transcripts in:<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1405:_Meteor<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/192:_Working_for_Google<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/525:_I_Know_You%27re_Listening<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/187:_The_Familiar<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/79:_Iambic_Pentameter<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/65:_Banter<br />
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We should probably seek broader consensus before rewriting all these transcripts. There seems to me to be a general trend to name one "Cueball" and call the others "Friend" or somesuch in these cases and I'm concerned that you seem to want to singlehandedly rewrite all that convention. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:07, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:It is typically the first who writes the transcript who decides who of the Cueballs (or Megans) he feel represents the real Cueball. However, there is no real behavior of Cueball. So who should decide. I could also change these transcripts so it becomes the other character who becomes Cueball, because I think the first transcripter did it wrong. This was exactly what happened with the two Megan-like comics. First it was Megan and Danish. Then unidentified girl and Megan. Then Megan and unidentified girl, then two Megan like girls with short and long hair and finally you reverted it to my first ide: Unidentified girl and Megan. So thanks for showing me these six double Cueball comics. I will change asap. And as I answered your comment on [[1496: Art Project]] Rob is already listed as part of the category for Comics featuring Cueball: http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Comics_featuring_Rob and this is listed as the first entry when going to the page for Category:Comics featuring Cueball: http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Comics_featuring_Cueball Thus he should not be merged--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:21, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:: Can you please add this discussion here [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob]. I have refrained from making these sort of substantial changes and want to seek a broader consensus. Please use the community forum to seek such consensus before making major unilateral changes like that. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:24, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::Done with interests --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:02, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:: there are dozens of multiple-Cueball comments. Please don't change them to "man 1", "man 2" until we can reach a braoder consensus. I will not be changing them to "Rob" without consensus. This is not something to be done all at once and making that many changes will prompt me to request that an admin freeze your account. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:27, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::I was about to write this before your comment no. two. So this was a reply to your previous comment: "I can post it there, but these changes has been underway a long time for almost a year. But it is hard to find these comics as I do not go through them just to find incidences. How long have you been active in xkcd. I can see your page has been created today, but maybe you were active long before that?"--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:42, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::This is a comment to your next comment: "It is very hard to threaten someone like that already. I have been making these changes before, and by the way never to man 1 or man 2. I have been one of the top contributers for more than a year. I hope this is not just because I reverted one of your contributions to Mondays comic? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]21:42, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::::I didn't want to threaten. I think consistent style is important, and general style I see is in multi-Cueball comics, one is ID'd as Cueball and others are "Friend", etc. Anyone unilaterally changing an established style should seek consensus first.<br />
:::::Additionally, I think your undo on my edit actually improved the explanation.<br />
:::::Finally, if you know how to solicit more opinions on the matter at hand, please let me know (or do it). Thanks! [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 23:53, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::::Thanks on the edit appraisal. As I wrote on the talk page, yours was also much better phrased the second time. I do not know how to get anyone to go read your comment except by giving them the message like you did with me. Or putting a link to it from the talk page of the double Megan comic, and maybe on some of the double Cueball comics too. I did not understand the "solicit more opinions" at first (why I wrote that last part in my comment below "how many will read"). So you do realize, I can see now, that not many will. By the way I'm [[Danish]]... That is, I'm neither a mean girl or a pastry cake, but from Denmark. And although I'm, really good at English for everyday use, it is not by far a language I can understand everything. But suddenly I got your message.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 12 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
My only point is we need to wait until consensus is reached before undoing years of precedent in Cueball naming. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 22:38, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Well as I have made fairly clear there is no consensus. Because it is up to the first one who writes the transcript to decide who is the friend. And this often leads to discussion or changes forth and back (like we just saw with two Megans) since people have different opinion on how Cueball should behave, since they do not know that Cueball can behave anyway Randall needs him to. Often he reflects Randall's intelligence, but just as often he is a prick behaving horribly towards girls etc. So if there are two, one good and one bad, you cannot say the good one is Cueball. And how many do you think reads your post? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:43, 12 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I have had a look at the comics you have listed. Here are my comments:<br />
*[[1405:_Meteor]]<br />
**Here I would have changed - since it is believed that Cueball often represents Randall's version of himself - especially when it is his hobby. Of course it is then Randall who is pedantic, and thus Cueball. So I would change the Cueball reference. So here we could have a stupid editing war, instead of writing something else.<br />
*[[525:_I_Know_You%27re_Listening]]<br />
**Here there is only one Cueball speaking. And the other is listening in. So here I would no object so much. Maybe I would mention that the other looks like Cueball.<br />
*[[192:_Working_for_Google]]<br />
**Here I would have changed - since I would think that Cueball should have the most interesting story, and also that this Cueball is Randall as it is known that Randall has an interest in Google and has also been cheated by their aptitude test (so much that he did the famous [[356: Nerd Sniping]]). So also here I would change the Cueball reference. So again stupid editing war, instead of writing something else.<br />
*[[187:_The_Familiar]]<br />
**Here I would have changed - since I would thing that Cueball should be the one always interested in computers. Not the other way. I know there are other comics where he enjoys nature. But Also a lot where he enjoys computers out of hand and math etc. So again I would have changed the Cueball reference. So again stupid editing war, instead of writing something else.<br />
*[[79:_Iambic_Pentameter]]<br />
**Here I agree with the Cueball = Randall - it's Randall my hobby and thus the one with the Hobby is Cueball. But I would still prefer they are not named. some might argue against me on the hobby, saying the Cueball with the hobby is "Randall" so the other Cueball is "Cueball". Thus once more editing war. But I would not start it. But still probably mention that the Cueball with a hobby is Randall.<br />
*[[65:_Banter]]<br />
**What can I say. The first is called Cueball the other is not. They have the same amount of text, and they are obviously both gay and missing out. I would definitely loose the Cueball reference here. <br />
That is my ten cents about these six examples. Maybe we should create a category called multiple Cueballs. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 12 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Note that I have not changed any of these... yet. But maybe I should revert those three I think is plain wrong, so the Cueball and friend is changed. Then we can see if anyone changes back? ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 12 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:::I advise waiting. If you want to enact 4, go for it, but then put in the discussion a [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob link] to our discussion for '''all''' the changes you make so hopefully someone besides you and me goes to that page and weighs in.<br />
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To answer your question, I've read xkcd for years (I started reading regularly around the time there were ~500 total comics), lurked on explainxkcd and made anonymous minor edits for most of that time. I set up an account in July 2013, when I began making more regular edits.<br />
<br />
I recognize that the issue has a large amount of inertia. My point is precisely that there are 9 "Rob" comics and countless Cueball. But, as I stated on the page, there is ample evidence that the same character (Black Hat's friend/roommate, Megan's boyfriend) '''is''' named Rob. I haven't done a count, but I suspect that "Megan" is named in the comic fewer than 9 times, but characters of her appearance are '''all''' called "Megan".<br />
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Yes, multiple Megans triggered the idea that's been brewing in my mind since someone (not me) made an anonymous comment on a relatively recent Rob comic [1168: tar]. Since I read that it's been sitting in my mind, but I haven't wanted to make an issue. However, the asymmetry between Megan/Cutie and Rob/Cueball grates for me and I want to urge the community here to evaluate critically whether it is the right thing or an inappropriate historical artifact. Years ago, [Cutie] was abolished (redirects now to [Megan]), I think it's objectively appropriate to make a symmetrical arrangement for Rob/Cueball (hence my options 2 & 3 in the public discussion thread).<br />
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For now, if you want to go changing all those comics go ahead. I won't argue or revert, but I request that you put the following (or something close to it) in the discussion of all the comics you change "I've removed the name 'Cueball' from this and several other comics that have multiple Cueball's in them as per my position on the issue currently under discussion at http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob if you support this change or disagree with it, please weigh in on that discussion thread."<br />
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Thank you and I look forward to hearing from more users. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 00:04, 13 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
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::::Dear Djbrasier<br />
:(By the way my name is Kynde - that is both my nick and my middle name).<br />
:Thanks for this very open talk. I like you much better now ;-)<br />
:If I do change any of these I will do as you ask. It is not like I have forever to do these changes, although I for sure use too much time already on explain... I think I will add the category:Comics with multiple Cueballs. What do you think of the name if I do (and if I do then maybe also make one with Category:Comics where Megan is named Megan. Please tell me you can think of a better name for that one ;-) I only know of the three now mentioned on [[Megan]]s page.<br />
:As you can see om my page, I have only used explain xkcd since late 2013. So you have been member longer than me by some months. I did not read xkcd before that - became fascinated with the What if section on xkcd and when I finished with those I turned to the comic. But found that I failed to understand quite a few, and thus searched and found this page. I have read them as they come out since then, and then also began reading from no. 1. But since I always look in this page for the explanation and like to contribute I only progress very slowly. Recently I have reached [[540: Base System]] where I have made several improvements additions and corrections. And that is as far as I have reached reading straight fro no. 1. But I have of course used the cross referencing and thus read many in between that and those from October 2013. <br />
:Regards Kynde --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:02, 13 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
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::Happy to have the discussion and to get to wiki-know you. I definitely see your points. I added a few comments and links to our public discussion in the hopes that, over time, it will attract more users to the community portal discussion. I suspect it will take some months for enough users to weigh in that we have a reasonable consensus. I think that if you remove "Cueball" from some of the comics you mentioned above and put a link to the portal page in the discussion block of those comments, that will prompt community input.<br />
::Cheers,<br />
::DJ [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 13:40, 13 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I also added incomplete tags to a few comics in which I think a strong argument can be made that "Cueball" is really Rob, despite his name not showing up (Boombox & Cover-up) [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 13:49, 13 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Well I disagree again. See the talk pages. But then it is out for discussion.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:19, 15 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I have changed several of the Multiple Cueballs comics as you said was OK with you. See the new caregory. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:41, 16 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
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== xkcloud permalink usernames ==<br />
<br />
You said "The user name and user picture stay the same though.", [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1506:_xkcloud&diff=prev&oldid=88207 An Anon] had mentioned that [http://xkcd.com/1506/#post/3c34fb48-1a07-51d2-a81d-5257a3681024 3c34fb48-1a07-51d2-a81d-5257a3681024] had the name "Lauren Ibsen Dolores Amit" and changed to "Margaret5", then by the time I looked at it, it had "Virginia2006". It still has "Virginia2006" now, but since it has changed twice I wouldn't assume it is now permanent. Due to this, I [[1506:_xkcloud/Table of Permalinks|haven't been saving the usernames]]. Could you confirm that you see Virginia2006? Perhaps it's different for each user. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 21:09, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Yes I did see Virginia2006. I think it may change some times, but then suddenly it could become stable? The permalink used on the main page of the explain, was mine. I noted it was Mark Zuckerberg. But this has changed. But now I think it is stuck on: Destiny1983 and always with the skating "Megan". Can you confirm this: http://xkcd.com/1506/#post/50b47c70-3a7c-504d-bcc0-60597338e999 . Cool that you have collected all these images. Can we put the link under the permalink section. As you can see I'm trying to completely revise the page so it is easier to find the explain and then only see the detail if you are interested. Hope you like these changes --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:27, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Yeah, I see Destiny1983 on that one too. I like the changes, they make everything much clearer. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 21:30, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::Thanks. I was trying to make it easier to write some extra info on your permalink page, and deleted most of them. Luckily they are not deleted permanently. But the page is so big I have trouble loading it. I try to repair my mistake, but else please do so for me, and sorry in advance. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:45, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::NP, <tt>&action=history</tt> is a life-saver. I was going to suggest using <tt>&action=edit&section=0</tt>, but I see you've already added a description heading. It also lags pretty badly for me so I expect I'll have to stop at 10000, and I'm already up to 8444 since my last edit to the page. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 22:20, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::::Yes I think I fixed it but I had to split it in three uploads. How many different pictures do you think there are. I guess some off them are the same? (And same for text). Maybe the last part can be seen by sorting the table. But does the image also have the same name when used more than once? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:33, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
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::::::Well, I know of 1419 unique images so far. Yes, both images and text are reused for different permalinks, some come up a lot more frequently than others. If you click the heading, you can sort by either image or text, which will group them together. It's kind of interesting to see different captions for the same image. If you mean the same username, I haven't checked. I also haven't checked whether the same pair of image and text ever appear together as different permalinks, I'll check that <s>eventually</s>, <s>later</s>, ''right now''... nope. I imagine the prompt never even ''suggests'' a caption which is already associated with an image. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 23:27, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::::I hit the 2mb page limit at 10217 permalinks, out of the 15000+ I have found, so I've reduced the table to only show each image and text once. As in, ''either'' the image or text once, so there will be a couple of duplicate images and text. So what I said previously about sorting to see different captions for the same image no longer applies, but the page will be more manageable this way. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 13:53, 7 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::::: So you think that it will not be possible for anyone to add the same image to the same caption, because this caption will never again come up with this image or the other way around? I can see yo have removed the ? where they where something else like turtles... Nice. What about all the links below? Are they just the other 10.000 links not associated with a new image or caption, just a different combination? If so maybe this should be made clear. You could make a new section heading for them. Would it be possible to list them in any other way, or is this to save space? Alternatively you could make a new subpage with extra permalinks for further study. We of course both know that no one will ever read these again ;-) But nice work anyway. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:17, 7 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:::::::: So far, I've never found the same image and same caption, but I'll keep checking, as I'm still storing all of the information, just not posting the full list to the wiki now. The other links at the bottom are all 15000+ permalinks I've found, good point about making that more clear. It might also be a good idea to list them on another separate page to save space, but they're not for further study, as I have all the images and captions associated with them, there just isn't room to display all of the information, because it would currently take 3mb+. Regarding the symbols, I was previously pasting my javascript output into my text editor to format them, but now I have my script format them for me, so the symbols are preserved. - and it's also a lot easier for me. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 14:29, 7 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::::::: Well, I've hit the 2 megabyte limit again, so it looks like we'll have to put the table on one page and the list of links on another. Any suggestions for the page titles? -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 15:25, 23 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::::::: You are crazy :-) My suggestion is that you create a new page called Table of Permalink (with the explanation at the top the same, but now linking to the old page, and vice versa for the old page to the new). Then let the list of permalink stay on the old page. And move the table to the new page. Finally, look at what pages direct to the old page, and redirect them to the new, only leaving link to the old page from the new one. The table is most important. The problem with your table is that it is too big for anyone to load... Maybe there should even be another page in between. Which is called - a selection of permalink. And then with link to the full table and links, with a fair warning about huge amount of data (Big data.). My explorer just went down trying to load the page (or maybe I'm just too impatient?) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:36, 24 April 2015 (UTC) (Ah, now it is finished loading...)<br />
:::::::::: Thanks. I haven't tried it in internet explorer, but the table loads okay with Chrome on my laptop I bought 7 years ago. Now that the pages are split, it might load faster for you. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 18:58, 24 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==[[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript|Hoverboard Transcript]]==<br />
<br />
Sorry to ask about such a minor thing, just curious about why the man on the raised plateau can't be a woman. Elsewhere in the comic Darth Vader is seen explaining Steven Universe to someone. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.43|108.162.221.43]] 13:46, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Hi - it cold be. But to me it looks like a family. But to be honest I had not expected anyone to change it, and did not notice before I had copy pasted some text in from the document I write the transcript in. But hopefully at some time this family (or whatever) becomes part of the effort to explain the entire comic. My guess is that someone will know who it is - that they are from some TV series or movie. In that case it will become clear if it is (as I assumed) a family with mom and dad and two children or if it is a lesbian couple or something entirely different... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::The family resembles the main characters of Steven Universe, a cartoon(the characters being three women and a child) The explanation page also lists them as such(Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems - (x: 551664, y: -567383). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.64|173.245.55.64]] 21:03, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::Perfect thanks. Then is makes sense with the Vader reference. Is it the boy who is Steven? And is the low girl also a grown woman? I will look it up but thanks for answering. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:07, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::Fixed the transcript. Some of the link I put in, is not supposed to be there, but may be moved once they are explained in the main article.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:20, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Hair Bun "Girl" ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde, I noticed you created the character page for "Hair Bun Girl". This naming convention is inconsistent with most of the other characters named here, e.g. Cueball, Ponytail, Hairy, et al. Beret Guy is a potential counterexample, but the words "guy" and "man" don't have the same relationship as "girl" and "woman". Partly for consistency, and partly for simple feminism, I'd like to open a conversation about changing the character's name please. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:08, 4 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:I think it is exactly the same as guy vs. girl. Hair Bun Woman is just too cumbersome. But if you can find a name like Ponytail that fits then by all means. Hairbun just doesn't do it for me. But I do not have any specific feelings for this name, I just found that she was used too often to not have a character page. So I will not take offence against you trying to find a better name through a conversation. Contraty to for instance Megan, which once was Cuetie (sexistick I think), it will not be so hard to change Hair Bun Girl's name to something else, but still she has just reached comic no. 20 so it is not easy to find all the references. Are you ready to do that job if you do get a new name for her? Because else it is just semantics --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:20, 4 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Thanks, appreciate it. Yes I am ready to do the job. What would you recommend for next steps? Should I raise the issue at http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Coordination? [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:06, 7 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Your welcome, and good luck. Try to see [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob|this post]] regarding the naming convention of [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] which much to my joy did not end up in altering anything, but they were "old" names, Hair Bun Girl is new. You could post you suggestion there. And maybe make a note at the top of [[Hair Bun Girl]]'s page? (You can write Notice as a template just like the incomplete. Check out this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Cueball&oldid=92611 old version of Cueball page history]). Now that I think about it '''Hairbun''' is probably as good a name as [[Ponytail]]. So I would think that would be a decent proposal for a change. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:08, 7 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
::::Okay, process started. Thank you for the good wishes and guidance. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:31, 9 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
=== Girl With Hairbun? ===<br />
<br />
I have identified several comics that have a girl (clearly a child) similar in appearance to Hairbun. <br />
Examples include [[1104: Feathers]], [[1352: Cosmologist on a Tire Swing]] and [[1370: President]]. Would these people be included under Hairbun? Most of them are not marked as such. And what are the requirments to make a new character? I think this girl has appeared rather often. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.42}}<br />
:Hi. If you look at the description for [[Hairbun]] it clearly states that she is an adult as are Ponytail and Cueball etc. So no, these examples should not be included in Hairbun category. If you look at the last entry on the talk page of President I suggested a children category. But I would agree that a category with curious girl or science girl could be relevant. She is also in [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]] for instance. If there are about five comics that could go in a new category it is just to create it. The naming is important though. See othere categories for what to write on the category page. I have made several including Hairbun --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:12, 27 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Thanks for your input. I think I will be creating this category soon. Since most of the names seem to refer to the hairstyles (they are recognizable) I think I'll be going with the name "Double Bun Girl".<br />
<br />
== Marking edits as minor edits ==<br />
Hey, I noticed that you mark lot of your edits as minor edits while most of them aren't. For example, [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645%3A_Toasts&diff=112997&oldid=112996 this]] and probably [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=113008 this]] too constitute as a minor edit, but these - [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=112997 [1]]], [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=113003 [2]]], [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=113009 [3]]], etc. aren't minor edits. Refer to the wikipedia guidelines for minor edits - {{w|Help:Minor_edit}}.<br />
::Examples include typographical corrections, formatting and presentational changes, and rearrangements of text without modification of its content. A minor edit is one that the editor believes requires no review and could never be the subject of a dispute.<br />
Basically, if you are adding/removing even a little bit of content, it is not minor. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 23:31, 21 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Oh, and how in the world is [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Thing_Explainer&curid=16286&diff=113034&oldid=113033 this ]] and [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1608:_Hoverboard&curid=16986&diff=113019&oldid=113013 this ]] minor !! [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 23:47, 21 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Sorry about that. I just updated my settings where it had been set to default: "Mark all edits minor by default". If I by mistake click OK to an update before clicking that off it was to late. But now it will be the other way instead. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:19, 22 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Cool, no worries. It happens. I was just surprised that everything was marked minor. Anyway, keep up the good work. I see that you're finishing up all the incomplete explanations and improving comics in general. Great work ! :) [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 01:04, 23 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Thanks for the support, nice to get some feedback. Also great that someone mentions when you are doing something the wrong way. I had only limited experience with wiki pages before signing up here, and I had not read the wiki page on minor edits, but now I have. How come you have chosen not to have an account? Seems like you also make several comments and changes... which is great ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:11, 23 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Please create the discussion page for today's comic. ==<br />
Thanks. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.13|108.162.221.13]] 15:02, 7 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Well just did that (for [[1652: Conditionals]]) but not because I saw this comment, just before. I guess it is not possible for no registered users to create pages? Well I fulfilled your wish before I knew about it ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:05, 7 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Moving comments around ==<br />
Please do not move people's comments into unrelated discussions without asking them, and if you do, make sure the timestamps in the reply chain aren't out of order. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 20:36, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:I expect you were referring to [[Talk:1659: Tire Swing]]? Well all comments I moved were regarding the same question of who the girls looked like, and they should have been posted as replies to the first. There were no time stamp on the first comment and your post asking if they were children were posted straight under a post about if they were Megan and Hair Bun girl or Thelma and Louise. So I do believe your comment belong under that statement. But fine by my that it just stand beneath instead of being indented. The time stamp of all comments seem to be in time order as I see it. It would get really confusing or I would have to make the same reply three times if they were not together. The comments in between were not at all related and there should be no confusion. So I think it made the discussion page much more useful what I did.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:52, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Well I don't know about the other users, but I know for a fact that mine wasn't in response to the first one. I don't even know what the first one said, I just moved it from the explanation to comment page. And mine was posted immediately after it because I was chronologically the second comment made. I had no reason to wait (interestingly, you moved someone else's comment so that I was replying to it, even though it didn't exist when I posted.) [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 00:41, 24 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::I cannot see that what you say is true about moving your comment. I just checked the history and here is what I found:<br><br />
'''This was what it looked like before my changes:''' <br><br />
--- <br><br />
the women do not look like Megan and Hair Bun Girl to me, are they new?<br />
sorry for commenting here, but I do not have rights to create a new page, which seems to be necessary for posting the fire comment. Will move once the comment section is created.<br />
<br />
I think they are Thelma and Louise (from the movie) given the looks of their hair {{unsigned|Chichak|March 23, 2016}}<br />
<br />
I think they're children [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:33, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Maybe they got the truck from Black Hat's garage? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:34, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I have yet to use a tire swing that was made from a worn tire (worn by the road not by swinging). From my experience, expired tires used by automobiles typically have sharp metal protruding from the rubber. This would make a dangerous tire swing. I thought landscaping (rubber mulch) and playgrounds was the preferred recycling method for used tires?--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:35, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The first one certainly looks like Hair Bun, but the second one (which in in the explanation is presented as Megan) has a somewhat curly hair. Could she be another character, perhaps? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.166|108.162.218.166]] 17:05, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br>--- <br><br />
'''This what it looked like after:'''<br><br />
--- <br><br />
the women do not look like Megan and Hair Bun Girl to me, are they new?<br />
sorry for commenting here, but I do not have rights to create a new page, which seems to be necessary for posting the fire comment. Will move once the comment section is created.<br />
:I think they are Thelma and Louise (from the movie) given the looks of their hair {{unsigned|Chichak|March 23, 2016}}<br />
::I think they're children [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:33, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::The first one certainly looks like Hair Bun, but the second one (which in in the explanation is presented as Megan) has a somewhat curly hair. Could she be another character, perhaps? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.166|108.162.218.166]] 17:05, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
::::As the tire comes from a truck and it's diameter is more than half the height of these small girls they are definitely kids (not that Randall could not have made adults make a swing as like in [[150]]). Also this makes it much more funny that they both stole a car and beat up an angry adult. And now they are going all environmental after wards. So they are not Megan (which looks nothing like a curly haired girl) and also not Hair Bun Girl as it is defined that these characters are adults. There are many stories using kids and they will never represent Cueball, Megan or Ponytail etc. Those with hats are for instance never drawn small! Have thus corrected the explanation. But it still seems to miss much more on the environmental issue which is the subject/point of the comic if not the joke --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:19, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Maybe they got the truck from Black Hat's garage? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:34, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Then they would have lost the fight: [[433: Journal 5]]! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:22, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I have yet to use a tire swing that was made from a worn tire (worn by the road not by swinging). From my experience, expired tires used by automobiles typically have sharp metal protruding from the rubber. This would make a dangerous tire swing. I thought landscaping (rubber mulch) and playgrounds was the preferred recycling method for used tires?--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:35, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:I think you are correct. We have one for our kids (though it sucked and we took it down again) and that was a brand new tire, but not one I think would be suitable for any car though. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:22, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br><br />
---<br><br />
'''As can be seen''' <br />
:::I have only moved one comment up, and that was not yours! That you did not check that there already seemed to be two comments above yours, about the appearance of the girls, doesn't mean that it would not make sense to pool all these questions and comments regarding exactly this topic together to give just one answer. And as you can see from the above '''I did NOT move your comments''', but I moved someone else's comment, in between the first and second of your comments, to be able to reply to all four things already written about the girls (ie. 1) The women do not look like Megan and Hair Bun Girl to me, are they new? 2) I think they are Thelma and Louise (from the movie) 3) I think they're children and 4) ... a somewhat curly hair. Could she be another character?) All that was what I replied to, now possible to do in one go right beneath all four remarks. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:47, 25 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
::::There was only one comment before mine, and it was 2 paragraphs. You moving the second half into a reply of the first half caused some of the confusion here [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 06:54, 26 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::::OK now I understand, so it was not your comment I moved, but the previous comment that I split in two (that was a mistake). That you did not answer to the comment above was of course not clear since it was on the same subject. Again this, as I understand it, was caused by someone posting a comment in the explanation, and you moving it into the comments section (which was fine, but made it hard to find out who posted what.) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:58, 26 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Gardening ==<br />
<br />
You mention "three links to images that did not work" in my "garden store for deer" entry. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:UploadStash/thumb/13xmd97bimg0.n2wbws.5455.png/739px-13xmd97bimg0.n2wbws.5455.png These]<br />
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:UploadStash/thumb/13xn667h2jlw.jonmk1.5455.png/739px-13xn667h2jlw.jonmk1.5455.png three]<br />
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:UploadStash/thumb/13xod68rb29s.7fj65u.5455.png/739px-13xod68rb29s.7fj65u.5455.png links]<br />
all work for me; they are images I tried to upload, scaled as large as the server would allow (739x461). Somehow I can upload images but not create image pages (also the spam protection is still triggered, so creating this account seems to accomplish nothing). It's very strange that the server has stored them but won't allow anyone else to view them (after logging out, it tells me I "must be logged in to upload files" instead of displaying the images). Someone should rescue the images from wherever they reside on the server.<br />
<br />
The "face" I referred to (the second image) is really a cluster of leaves and branches: the bottom cluster of the rightmost tree looks like a head in profile, with curly hair, an eye, a grinning mouth, and a prominent nose. The two rightmost trees started with no branches (first image), but grew several when I placed a light above them. I moved the light so the face wouldn't be destroyed and tried to grow branches on the lower trunks. The third image is essentially the same as what you uploaded today.<br />
<br />
Regarding Megan's office furniture: I'd actually pruned her second wand whenever it appeared, and then the bird took its place. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 15:29, 8 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Hi .42 First I think it take a few days (three) before you are allowed to create new pages to fight off spam boots that we have had problems with. I cannot see you images I get the following message:<br />
:'''Internal Server Error'''<br />
:'''This file (13xmd97bimg0.n2wbws.5455.png) doesn't belong to the current user.'''<br />
:Cool that you have logged in as a user, although poor name ;-) On the other hand if you are a fan of Hitchhikers Guide then I guess it would be cool enough by the way. I'm happy to see that I finally get a chance to prune some of my gardens after several upsets since the comic came out. If I can help you with the images let me know. Maybe you can post them somewhere else and I can find upload them for you? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:34, 8 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::I'll try to upload tomorrow, then. I don't know where the server found the .42 IP address &mdash; that isn't my address! It's ''really weird'' that it chose this number. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 16:18, 8 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Have you seen libra's [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=114415&start=480#p3954408 purple light] gardens? [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 22:58, 11 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
:No I had not. I like the stilt on platform up in tree. I did not know this could happen. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:24, 12 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== [[1703: Juno|NASA versus the press]] ==<br />
Hi Kynde. I'm afraid I disagree. It seems pretty clear to me that the question about the tip-off comes from NASA. I've added a topic to the talk page, where I explain my reasoning, and where this should be discussed if you still disagree. Thanks! [[User:Garik|Garik]] ([[User talk:Garik|talk]]) 16:52, 6 July 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Yes I still disagree. To me it seems like a continuation of the conference and it is now the press to speak. And given that I knew Juno to be related to Jupiter but not that she was the daughter of Saturn (and given the reason for the naming in the real world) I would not say that the name in any way would lead anyone to take it as a hint for going to Saturn. But great to discuss it. Will post this on the [[Talk:1703:_Juno|talk page]] too. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:21, 6 July 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== 1712: Politifact ==<br />
Hi, I'm the BOT and I'm BORG...<br />
<br />
...nevertheless your enhancement to the transcript was too much. And I think your enhancements to the explain section is also overrunning the target.<br />
<br />
But I just only did revert the transcript. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:19, 28 July 2016 (UTC)<br />
:HI BORG... :/<br />
:I Highly disagree with your changes.<br />
:A transcript serves several functions:<br />
#To make it possible to find out what any text/characters reads, even if it is hard to read in the comic.<br />
#To make a description of what happens in the images. This has two purposes:<br />
##So people with eye disabilities can find out what the comic is about. So here a full description of the comic is needed apart from the text.<br />
##So it is possible to search the comic for info on the content, like a woman with a hat with a white tag.<br />
#Finally it is great if the transcript represents the way it is written in the comic as close as possible including colors (which should also be described in the text for those that cannot see them selves). So tables, colors and formatting is fine. If the text then is harder to read it is possible to copy paste it.<br />
:I can see there may have been a bit of explanation in that I wrote about what Megan did in the previous panel, but that is not enough to just undo the whole thing. <br />
:I will reinsert the transcript and if you disagree then lets discuss either on that comic or in a general fora on what a transcript should contain.<br />
:Regards, just Kynde. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:16, 29 July 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Follow-Up on that "Random Chat" ==<br />
Hey dude! Uh... wow this is awkward. You said hi to me in the random chat on my user page. I said hi. Then we never said anything else to each other again. xD --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 16:07, 25 October 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Jay. Not so awkward. :-) I mean you just said thanks, and thus did not really initiate any chat. Do you have anything in mind? Like something to be improved here on explain? Something larger maybe that could need discussion. Or anything else... Problem is of course that when I chat to you here, you do not get any reminder like when I chat on your page and visa versa. So I will make a post on your page that I have answered here... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:04, 25 October 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Well, by that, I just meant a simple random chat. Like a "hey! how are you doing? that's nice... what do you like to do in your free time..?" kind of chat. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 14:18, 26 October 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Ah well, I guess I would not really like to have such a chat on these pages, so sorry that I misunderstood you. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:19, 26 October 2016 (UTC)<br />
::::It's alright.. also.... HAPPY HALLOWEEN! :D --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 14:41, 31 October 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::::Wow... it's (almost) a whole year since then. Time sure flies by, huh? --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|'''JayRules''XKCD''' ]]<sup>[[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|what's up?]]</sup> 12:34, 9 October 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::::Yes that is true. Actually more since the first contact ;-) Haven't been so active the last half year. :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:22, 11 October 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== [[1751: Movie Folder]] ==<br />
<br />
Assuming that Black Hat only has good movies is rather absurd, as there's not a shred of evidence to support this. Especially since this is Black Hat we're talking about. Therefore, there's no evidence that Titanic 98 is about the ship hitting the reef, and therefore, the calculations about stacking 97 ships have no relevance. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.79.81|172.68.79.81]] 15:06, 1 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Since this is relevant to a specific comic, I suggest that you just leave this comment on that specific comic's discussion board. Thank you. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 15:13, 1 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Yes that is true Jay. Anyway there is reason to believe that Black Hat either thinks or teases Cueball with his movies, and thus he suggest that the movies he has are god. Also the other comment he makes suggest this. So I think there is a lot of evidence that this movie 98 is one in the series of movies where Titanic hits the reef of older Titanics. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:05, 2 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Cueball names 7 movies, Black Hat replies to 4 of those. He has definitively positive things to say about 2 of those, and simply states information about another. In that context, there's no reason to assume his comment about the Titanic series should be interpreted as a claim that he considers Titanic 98 to be 'good'. And with only 2 of the other 6 known movies in his collection being stated as 'good', that's clearly not "a lot of evidence" that Titanic 98 is 'good'. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.86|108.162.237.86]] 21:24, 3 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
::::Well we disagree on that then. If the explanation should be changed on the basis of this discussion it should be moved to the relevant discussion page. If it is the same person who wrote from both IP .81 and .86 you could move it there your self. Feel free to include my replies, but leave out Jays as that has nothing to do with the discussion. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:56, 4 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::::[[Talk:1751: Movie Folder#Titanic XCVIII|Done]]. (Yes, .81 and .86 were me) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.86|108.162.237.86]] 16:57, 4 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Transcript TLDR; ==<br />
*I got so tired of Dgbrt's negative comments (TLDR;), that I have collapsed them here below. Fell free to read them if you really wish by clicking: --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:00, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%"><br />
<br><br />
Please stop to write this massive texts into the transcript. Have a look at the discus at the last (1798) comic. And also think about that you are the only one who is entering those massive explains perhaps also nobody does read. LESS is often MORE! --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:43, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Maybe. I was under the impression that they where both there for those that had problems with vision, and also so you could search on something you remembered from a comic and find it using that tool. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:27, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::Even visually impaired persons don't like it (see 1798). And TLDR means "too long; didn't read", just in case. You should consider this. Reading the transcript should not take much longer than identifying the features from picture itself. Every spoken text and a short description what is shown should be suffice. At [[1799: Bad Map Projection: Time Zones]] even not every county must be mentioned; showing differences to a regular map projection should be enough because everybody knows a regular world map. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:44, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::I completely disagree about only writing spoken text. The transcript is intended to make it possible to read all text in the image not just spoken text. It is often difficult to read all text, and also if people misread it or do not notice it by looking at the image, it will be there to find in the transcript, especially for those visually impaired. And what you said means there should be no transcript for the current comic [[1799]] where you linked to this discussion from. By the way I know what TLDR means, and also did not ask about it, if you noticed! I have seen it used here before, probably regarding something you wrote! ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:33, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::I agree with Dgbrt. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:50, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::I expect mainly people who agree comes here, as people who are not troubled by it, might not care enough. ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:33, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::The first criticism was done by a visually impaired person (Zetfr 23:11, 13 February 2017 (UTC)) at [[Talk:1798:_Box_Plot]]. That was the reason for me to start this discussion.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:52, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::::Yes thanks for pointing that out. I had not read his comments when I replied before. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:13, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::Another reason for detailed transcripts with image descriptions is that sometimes people have misunderstood what is in the image, and then a transcript can be used to make sure what is there. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:33, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::All that may go into the explain section; it doesn't belong to the transcript.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:52, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::Yes maybe, but will the visibly impaired not also be annoyed about it there. Then maybe in a trivia section if there is need. I will try that for [[1798]] I think. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:13, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Maybe not known to all. In the past Randall provided a transcript on each comic. It is in a hidden div-tag. Then something went wrong and the transcript actually belonged to an older comic. Right now there is no transcript anymore. But have look at this example (shown on https://xkcd.com/1664/ for https://xkcd.com/1662/):<br />
<pre><br />
[[Two children, a girl and a boy, are talking to an adult woman as they walk away from her. The boy has a bucket.]] <br />
Girl: Me and Jack are going up the hill to fetch a pail of water. <br />
[[The children have left; the woman calls after them.]] <br />
Woman: Okay, have fun! [[The woman stands and thinks.]] <br />
Woman: ... wait. What the heck is going on with the hydrology around here? <br />
{{Title text: Jill and Jack began to frack. The oil boosts their town. But fractures make the bedrock shake and Jack came tumbling down.}}<br />
</pre><br />
--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:07, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Yes I tried to include this on explain xkcd by making a [[xkcd#Transcript_on_xkcd|description]] of it on the [[xkcd]] page some weeks ago. Transcript are of course even more important now that there are no longer transcripts on xkcd. The first problem arose after the [[Hoverboard]] comic where the transcript for all comics after that was shifted two and later three comics from the one they belonged to. The last of those shifted transcript ended with [[1674]] whose transcript was found three comics later at [[1677]]. But also comics with transcript needs a better transcript here on xkcd, to include other written text, and small important details, as well as we are using given names for characters which Randall has never used (or only rarely uses). Actually Randall has once made a direct link to Explain xkcd for a better transcript. Alas there was not transcript until this year, where I made it: See this [[Payloads#Trivia|trivia]] under [[Payloads]].--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:16, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
I'm glad this discussion is finally taking place. I raised the point a while back on [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#purpose_of_detailed_transcripts the community portal] but nobody noticed. I tried again on [[1795]] but attention had already moved on to the next comic... Seems I got it right this time ;-)<br />
Different people may have different uses for the transcripts. For me, being visually impaired, the right level of detail is that of Randall's official transcripts. It should include every written word in the comic (spoken, printed, in captions, etc.) and just enough information on what's going on to "get it", but not how things are drawn. E.g. "Cueball is talking to Megan", not "Cueball, on the left, has his right arm extended towards Megan who is sitting on a chair" (unless the chair somehow plays a part in the story). Imagine you're talking on the phone: "hey, I saw a great comic this morning, here is how it goes..." and then "tell" yor friend the joke, rather than "describe" the comic. BTW, I think this also serves your goal of being able to search old comics for a specific element. The element you'll remember will be something important to the comic's story, not a graphical detail such as a character's position or the number of lines drawn around his hand to indicate movement. Anyway, thanks for the good work!! Zetfr 16:18, 16 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks for the input, especially to Zetfr. I had not seen your comment on 1795 or in the community portal. I'll have a look, and thanks to Dgbrt for letting me know about your latest comment. I will try to keep out the details in the transcript. For me personally I have often been looking for a specific thing, like searching for the comic where Cueball stands on a chair with a sword or rotates in an office chair. As I could not remember any lines spoken, and because those making the transcript had not mentioned either spinning office chair, or sword, I could not search my way to them even in this explain page. I have found them later, but by chance. And then I put in the details. Maybe I have gotten carried away, so sorry about that. I think the details somehow belongs, but if that should be in the trivia, or at the bottom of the transcript...? I'm not sure, which was also why I put it in the transcript. Being the one who makes the most edits and also hard work (large tables, and huge transcripts) I'm happy Zetfr likes the page :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:09, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::I have changed the transcript for [[1795]] putting the details into a subesection of the transcript. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:38, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::Hi Kynde, I still disagree with this subsection solution. You don't have to repaint the picture by text! If a detail is important for understanding a pun it has to be mentioned in the transcript itself; otherwise it is useless and oversized. E.g.: Nobody wants to know -- and wont remember later -- if there are two, three, four, or five sound symbols and how they are painted. The single word "SOUND" describes all. And please consider: Nobody reads those long texts. LESS is often MORE!.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:04, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::Hi Dgbrt. We can movie it into a trivia. I think some of it is relevant, and sometimes it is hard to find out which part will be searched for later. But I guess we two alone would end in a [[1800: Chess Notation|½-½]] for this discussion so far... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:41, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::::I completely agree with Dgbrt. The transcript should say *what* Randall wants to tell us, not *how* he tells it. In most cases this should also work to let you search for details you remember. In your example, Cueball holding a sword is certainly important to the comic's point, so it should be mentioned in the transcript. But the length and position of the sword are irrelevant, and probably not what you'll search for. Obviously, there is no hard rule to decide what should or shouldn't go into the transcript, it's a matter of personal judgment and common sense, but I think we can all agree on general guidelines. Regarding the "Detailed image description" section tested in [[1795]], I have no problem with that. I'm not sure it will ever be useful to anyone, but it won't do any harm either, so if you're willing to put in the extra work, go for it. Zetfr 12:17, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::::Thanks Zetfr. About the extra details, they could be put into a section where you had to press to see the extra details. I do not know if a reader will pass over that. For instance like I have done with explanation for several categories like [[:Category:New Year]] --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:12, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Nice find for [[1461:_Payloads]], I didn't now Randall refers to this wiki. According to ''web.archive.org'' that hint was entered between 2015-01-25 and 2015-02-07 and refers to the entire wiki page, not only "our" transcript. So it's absolutely NOT embarrassing as you wrote in the trivia section. I'm setting an incomplete tag for the transcript and trivia section and edit it tomorrow (18th Feb). I will let you know what I've done and why. Stay tuned...--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:59, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:The rework on [[1461:_Payloads]] is done. But I didn't remove the incomplete tag. That's up to you. Like Zetfr I'm not sure it will ever be useful to anyone, but the larger description on a separate page would be acceptable to me. Furthermore I've done some investigations on Randalls links to this wiki and put it together in a new category: [[:Category:Explain_mentioned_by_Randall]].--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:57, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::Thanks both for the "nice find" and for reworking Payloads, and especially for the new category. Great find. I will look at the other examples soon. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:12, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Many thanks by me for this positive and productive discussion. It seems there are some more former transcripts which need a rework. I personally will focus on checking all the JSON-scripts I downloaded today (1799 at all; ofcourse 404 doesn't exist; and exactly seven contain the word "explainxkcd"). I will write a small script to put them into a human readable form and present it somewhere here for further use. Stay tuned... --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:45, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks Dbgrt. And really cool how you made that new category. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:14, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== [[xkcd]] page and subpages ==<br />
<br />
You moved some contented into subpages which doesn't make it better. There is no need to describe in [[Design of xkcd.com]] a layout everybody can see. The lemma "Design" requires just a few lines of text but you repeat all the "Content". And just for interest: Before the redirect to https was in place (a few weeks ago) there was language specific advertising for the shop. I'm looking forward for a better and more compressed form on all of this. Any suggestions?--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:07, 24 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Dgbrt. My reason for making this page, is that the links, the comics, the headline, the byline, the warning etc. all changes with time, and I would like users of this site to have easy access to earlier links. Just like we have a category for the fotter comics (which I by the way did not make, but enjoyed, because I never thought absolute that he must have had them before all those five comics had been published and that they thus must have changed). So I thought similar things would be nice to have for changes to the layout and hence I decided to describe it. Maybe it was too much, but I like to have the archive links to changes. And since I had already done lots of work on this, I just copied all the new text to another page, to not delete it. And yes as I have said on Davidy's page I should not have put it on the xkcd page to begin with. But when I started I had no idea it would end up soooo long. Waiting to hear your comments on this info, before going further with suggestions. But thanks for asking. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:16, 24 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::All those pages are on my agenda; your edit or not. I don't care. But I will not delete any content without an agreement. I will present something in a sandbox at my user page. You are welcome there (not before tomorrow). And consider, this wiki is not a backup for archive.org.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:56, 24 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::I think this wiki is for explaining xkcd, not just the comics. I believe you agree as I have seen on Davidy's talk page. And major changes or important revisions to the main page is important in my opinion. For instance I'm sad to see that the [[xkcd warning]] has gone from xkcd, and think it is important to let it be know it was there for many years. Where to do so? And how to find it if you did not know about it? There need to be a place that links to it, directly or indirectly through the xkcd page. I look forward to see you [[Time|sand castle]]. :-) Please leave a comment here when you have something you wish me to see, with a link. Regarding you answer to my comment, I meant that I would hear what you had to say before I came with suggestions. Not that you should not do anything before I made one. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:08, 24 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== I am still calm... ==<br />
<br />
...why I shouldn't? You see things inspiring others to see more things... (<- you would wrote 500 words for this) and you are still not able to put the pun on the top of an explanation. Keep your focus on the pun, not on every Million possibilities behind the drawing. And you can be sure I will have an eye on this because this is NOT "dreamingxkcd".--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:15, 4 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Well I'm not! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:09, 7 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Aggressive edits ==<br />
<br />
While I was talking to others about the explanation and the transcript for more than 24 hours you need only one hour to change everything that was discussed before. Again all red is yours: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1810%3A_Chat_Systems&diff=137245&oldid=137225 1810: Chat Systems changes]. Editors, mainly not me, don't like it when all their work is changed after you finished your edits. Please respect other editors! --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:50, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
:I do not change everything. I add. But we are obviously not going to agree on this. I would prefer not to discuss with you. How do yo know what the others like or not. In the discussions we have had I found more against your way of communication than against my edits. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:57, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
::Massive changes and you call it add??? So tell me your adds and explain how all they other changes happened. I will add a sentence to the comic discussion because it's senseless here.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:14, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::Yes it is. And it is a real shame that you have decided to know how this wiki should be. Hope that Davidy soon tells one of us to back off. If it is me then I will have to take it into account. So far he has only had nice things to say to me about my work here, which is not what I have seen regarding your work. Have you read the other users that calls your tone negative/aggressive or even worse? I have really tried to speak nicely to you, but you never seems to accept any edits I do. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:21, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::Your "Citation needed" template add to my text is just one example for what I call aggressive. Hiding four paragraphs is an other.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:09, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
</div><br />
<br><br />
<br />
== Possible Issues with Updating Old Comics ==<br />
<br />
I know you spent a lot of time making edits to many older comics, so I thought you might have some input on one that I'm thinking needs a change - 38 Apple Jacks. I noticed you edited it a little a couple years ago. It's the one where the father tells his son they don't taste like apples, and his son tells him off.<br />
<br />
The title text description says it appears to be another case of Randall explaining the comic to readers who don't know about the old commercial, but I think it might be the father telling the son why he was saying that to him. I think it's worth at least adding, if not totally replacing the current description, but I see you had previously added to it during your edits.<br />
<br />
How would you handle that type of change, if it were you? [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 21:38, 3 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
: Hi Ianrbibtitlht<br />
:I disagree with the idea you have. And my reason for that is based in the original quote from Randall when posting this comic to live journal where he asks: <br />
::"Who else remembers those commercials?" <br />
::See the comics [[38:_Apple_Jacks#Trivia|Trivia section]].<br />
::To me indication that since no one did, he added the explanation in the title text.<br />
:The son dismissed his father completely, and I do not think the father goes on. <br />
:And since many of xkcd's readers may not know the reference he explains it in the title text. <br />
:He did the same with the title text in [[30: Donner]], which is what is refereed to in the title text explanation. I have added links between these two examples. There may be more.<br />
:Of course you are free to add an alternative explanation, and see if any one notices enough to complain about/remove it. ;-) <br />
:--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:57, 5 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::I appreciate the feedback. I don't feel strongly enough to modify it at this point but thought it might be an added insight that nobody had thought about! ;-) [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 14:57, 5 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::Thanks for asking, by the way. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:46, 5 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Need help ==<br />
A few things. Several people have mentioned that ReCAPTCA v1 has expired, and something needs to be done about that. But no one has replied to the admin forum, so not sure what is going on. Are there even any admins still here? Seems like they've all disappeared. And should we create a new forum for questions and things like that? And if all the admins have left, should there be like more admins or something like that? [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 07:51, 8 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Hi <br />
:I haven't any idea about ReCAPTCA and Im not an admin. But yes if there is no one that replies it is a problem. Davidy is the obe I have had discussions with but he did not reply the last two times I wrote. Don't know if DGBRT with the BOT has any knowledge that can be used. Try those two. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:30, 9 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
::FYI, we still have admins here and there will be a major update soon at one of the next weekends. BTW, I prefer it in lowercase: dgbrt - like xkcd--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:16, 16 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::Thanks for the info dgbrt, and it sounds greawt. (Your signature is with capital D but that is maybe just as the username? I will use dgbrt from now on). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:08, 23 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== All is red again - you changed everything according to the diff ==<br />
<br />
Hi, look at [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1981%3A_Rickrolling_Anniversary&diff=155913&oldid=155905 your edits] and tell me how someone can see what you have changed. Please keep your changes to smaller parts.<br />
<br />
And beginning an explanation with a youtube link which even doesn't work in some countries like Germany is also not a god start to an explanation. I'm referring to your edits above. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:27, 16 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:OK, sorry about that. I will try to make smaller changes. The link was not one I put in, I just moved it to the beginning to rickroll someone - it was a joke... Of course if the link did not work I can understand why you did not get Rickrolled. But the link had already been included in the explanation before my edits. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:24, 18 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Thanks for your understanding, "all is red..." was the reason why I started this section, the video link was meant as a minor remark and that it doesn't work in Germany is even less important for the explanation.<br />
::But I didn't understand your joke. So what do you think about changing all the internal links like [[Cueball]] to rickroll the readers - of course only less important links.<br />
::BTW: Around 2009 and some years later the German GEMA Mafia tried to block all music content until they got the money. Even dashcam videos from the meteorite incident in Chelyabinsk were blocked when you could hear something from the radio in the car. This has changed and newer uploads are now available to me (including Rick). --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:02, 18 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::The joke was that this comic was about rickrolling and the link was to the ricrolling youtube video... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:30, 19 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I just tried to make several smaller changes, and it was much more difficult to me, with the risk of making mistakes... But have a look at this then: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1982:_Evangelism&action=history Evangelism history].--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:45, 19 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:I like that but the development of this comic explanation is funny and not a typical one. Many vast changes were done after your comment here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:01, 21 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Well happy you do. Most of the changes were improvement, but often based on or improving parts I had edited (well I had edited most parts ;-) What I meant was that some of the good changes only came about because of the changes I had done in the first place. Still seems we need a citation for primates opening at the "wrong" end though? {{unsigned|Kynde}}<br />
:::You know I'm a fan of short explanations just covering what's in the comic. And in [[1982: Evangelism]] there is no "wrong banana end" mentioned. It just mentions "the other" - which is of course always "wrong". The title text then indeed refers to a schism in Europe - the Americans weren't much developed by that time (excepting the natives).<br />
:::BTW: My major workload here right now is working on the health of this wiki. You probably haven't seen my latest comment five days ago just a section above. We will get an update soon. Stay tuned.<br />
:::BTW2: You have forgotten to sign your comment ;)<br />
:::--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:19, 21 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::Yes we are not fan of the same type of explanations we have covered that. I believe that the majority of humans do peel the banana from the opposite end of that cited (without citations) to what primates do... I'm not sure there is any year for the schism in Europe so who knows how developed the US was at that time. Bananas is a rather new thing in Europe I believe!<br />
::::And no I had not seen that comment, probably same time you posted this comment thread? But sounds great! Are you an admin now? And do you have any contact with Davidy... He went off the xkcd explain grid long time ago.<br />
::::I have amended my mistake and will sign this time ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:12, 23 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== You blanked the page [[1996]] ==<br />
<br />
A you can see [[Talk:1995: MC Hammer Age|here]] "I decided to let it stay there as it is but on Monday that redirect will AND must be overwritten in the meaning of a comic number." That blank page isn't better than my decision. Beginning on Monday the number 1996 MUST be used for navigation (i.e. Comic Number) and nothing else.<br />
<br />
Other future comics will be: 1999, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2038. That's all!<br />
<br />
All those future comics (by number) - beginning with 1996 on Monday - AND that older ones (by name) should have a disambiguation line on top when the comic number overrides that name.<br />
<br />
The problem is the logic at this wiki. While at xkcd the number and name have different meanings and navigation is only done by number it's not true here. While <nowiki>https://xkcd.com/1996</nowiki> will lead to the next future comic and is unique the link <nowiki>https://explainxkcd.com/1996</nowiki> could mean number OR name. We also use the number for navigation, so the abbreviation in the meaning as a comic name can not be supported for those eight comics. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:58, 19 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Hi DBBRT<br />
:I first saw your comments after I had blanked it. And I thought it was better to avoid confusion over the weekend. So I did not return it. I think it could be better to already now remove those page re-directions for the comics you mention now, to avoid confusion on all those numbers... A lot of those the next 20 comic or so. We already had a similar situation with [[1337]], because of the LEET comic series. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:15, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Read my future comic list above, it's only seven. And the blank page confused some users also. Nevertheless I will change the comic template, navigation to the right will not be shown when the target is greater than the LATESTCOMIC. The BOT will update those redirects anyway. I just prefer some tests at home to figure out the best solution before editing here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:53, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::Well, I think 7 times confusing in 20 comics is a lot, but I can read that you are working on avoiding it, so that is great. I'm very impressed by your bot, but then again I have very little programming experience and it was back in my days as a PhD Student around 2002... (Pascal...) Great you have made it and keep improving it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:06, 25 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::Thanks for your kind words. I still don't understand the 20, it's only seven comics and I've changed the global comic template so that this is SOLVED now. There is no link to [[1999]] in the navigation bar today. But on Monday my bot will update that page in the meaning of a comic number and the right navigation in [[1998: GDPR]] will be shown. FYI: I'm a professional programmer. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:04, 25 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::Must have been unclear. I meant that over the next 20 comics, there would have been this issue 7 times i.e. about once every week, and I found that it could have caused confusion a lot in those 7 weeks. But now you have solved this with you prof. programmer skills. ;-) So there is no longer any problems. Great work. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:04, 27 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::::Thanks for your kind words. And I've done more: Embedding pictures from Commons works again and it's now also possible to change the size. See my latest edit here [[1400: D.B. Cooper]] which uses this statement <nowiki>[[File:DBCooper.jpg|thumb|150px|Cooper]]</nowiki>. That image is not uploaded here, click at it in the comic and you will see. I've mentioned this in the Community portal. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:07, 27 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::::Cool. I'm not sure how this works. Looks at first like the image is on the local wiki but I can see it is not so. But how does this works. Can you write the "File" formula for any picture name on commons and then get it embedded here like that? It is beyond my computer skills :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:02, 28 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::::::When the picture isn't here it's searched on Commons. When it's found it's only cached at this wiki. In general it works like a local file. This did already work in the past until it was broken. But now we also can change the size, play with that 150px in the preview. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:15, 28 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::::::Thx --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:08, 28 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Why you still focus on that SAD comics? ==<br />
<br />
I focus on all edits done here and your edits are minor (there are much more edits here needing some attention), nonetheless I would be happy to find a solution on that ''sad'' thoughts are in your mind. I respect your thoughts, but that trivia at ''[[1756: I'm With Her]]'' really dohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Kyndees not belong to that comic at all. It was deleted before, you reverted that -- by not reading or ignoring the discussion page -- and I just want to prevent an edit war. Furthermore I removed your statement about "trolls" at the discussion page because that's not polite.<br />
*And now<br />
**I start<br />
***with<br />
****your layout<br />
*****You see???<br />
Try to write full sentences without bullets. I'm hoping you understand my major two parts here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:21, 27 October 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Yes I did not read the comments. I was looking for the sad list, when I fond it missing. I saw through the edit and found the following comment:<br />
::This "sad comics" list is utterly pointless and has no reason to exist. I don't regret deleting this waste. If anyone wants to keep it up, revert the edit, but make it readable, compact, and make at least one bit of sense. (Emojis? must be TRUMP!!?!one1!)) <br />
:I did not see any discussion there, and found it rude and also not done properly (with many links pointing to this section). So I just reverted it. It could be given its own page though. <br />
:Regarding politeness I must say I did not find most of your comments on the talk page polite as I just read them. As you state "no one has criticized it before", so maybe it is just you, and now some years later a few guys that begins rambling on about it. <br />
:As to why, I think it is quite clear that Randall was sad after the election. Maybe I took it too far, and it should no longer have been "sad", but about comics pointing to a political agenda by Randall. As Randall is on the move again with the mid term election coming, he has both a new political comic out, and has changed the header text with regards to registering for voting twice in a month. <br />
:So I definitely still find it relevant. That has not changed just because two years have passed. What Trump does at the moment is even more disturbing than ever, and I'm sure Randall is thick and tried of it still! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:38, 29 October 2018 (UTC)<br />
::PS. The layout was me trying to make a list of comics that was related to this issue. And with date and events listed as well. Maybe it can be done better, but I at least kept the format throughout. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:39, 29 October 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::You always do this nested bullet lists. That's ugly layout. One bullet and one or two short sentences, not more. In most cases you just should simply omit the bullets and write full sentences. The page [[Design of xkcd.com]] is an other example for this bad layout.<br />
:::But back to the main issue: Even jet you did not read the comments completely. Only after "A) Why does the sad comics list exist (see comment above)?..." I came in. And on 27 October 2018 I mentioned at least four incomplete reasons (the transcript was you).<br />
:::So I recall: The trivia at ''[[1756: I'm With Her]]'' does not belong to that comic at all, and even at a different page the title would be wrong because most of the listed comics are NOT sad. Furthermore I don't know how you do know how Randall feels, he is just a writer and these are only comics.<br />
:::There was a reason why David was against a category for sad comics, and this is still valid. This is the only reason why this section at the trivia of 1756 exists, be honest.<br />
:::So my proposal is:<br />
:::*moving the content to a separate page, either with a new title or only moving the "sad" content and deleting the rest<br />
:::*using the link from the menu: "What links here" at 1756 ([[Special:WhatLinksHere/1756: I'm With Her]]) to fix the links to that part (mostly your former work) and maybe also change the text<br />
:::The comic 1756 has to be explained mainly in the context of the time BEFORE the election. It was a campaign for Hillary Clinton, anything later done by Trump is irrelevant, besides that it has to be mentioned that the campaign wasn't successful. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:16, 29 October 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::Well, I definitely know that the comment in here is mine. I did very much hate the list because, as mentioned in the talk page on the comic, the section was completely disorganized. It took up half of the entire page. As Dgbrt mentioned, the format you use is honestly really ugly, and I have to agree. The real problem that I found was ''after'' I posted the comment he quoted. <br />
::::In that comment, I mentioned that it should have had its own category instead of being completely on that single page, which would have prevented it from the eyes of those who don't like this format. Alternatively, it could have been in a table, a format much more compact, several times easier to understand, and at least 12 octillion times less infuriating to look at. <br />
::::The other mind-boggling and frankly stupid thing about the list, of course, was that you added '''''every. Single. Comic.''''' ...if it seemed to be remotely sad (and even if it ''wasn't sometimes!'') and tried to link it to the political situation and Trump. I, in that comment, presented two of the comics in a - admittedly more asshole-ish - way that you linked them like this. But that's the ''core'' of all of this drama. Hell, in multiple of the comics, you even said that no "big" event seemed related to the situation and simply just put it in because it mentioned the military or security. And even for some of the ones you did present a political event, the speculation that you presented for Randall making these comics was beyond 4chan with Smash Ultimate level.<br />
::::Like I said in that comment, it isn't necessarily a political comment just because something big happened that day. Vomiting Emoji and Flag, the two I highlighted in my comment, have explanations that are just plainly absurd. Randall "expressing fear" that the moon would be gone before the eclipse was ''obviously'' a joke. Randall making a joke that has a flag in the picture doesn't mean he's going to rebel against the United States, make his own country, and science his way to taking it over just so that Trump is no longer the ruler.<br />
::::I wouldn't have had these problems if the list weren't so outlandishly absurd, and combined with the fact that it clogged up the page with a lot of meaningless speculation, I felt pushed to just delete the entire thing. Yes, that may have been extreme of me, and I should apologize for being fed up, but I still maintain that a lot of the stuff on that list is bad. If it's presented in - again - a way that doesn't hurt to read or filled up with what it is, I would have not as many problems with it. But as it looks right now, just making the list collapsible doesn't remove the problem; it's like putting White-Out on a yellow test paper and saying that the question never existed, despite the fact that it's obvious that something is wrong. [[User:Halo422|Halo422]] ([[User talk:Halo422|talk]]) 04:05, 1 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::A bit complicated to reply now. But to Dgbrt I did not read any comments until your post here. I was pissed about the deletion of the entire section, and just undid it. As Dgbrt wrote it can only be deleted properly by also removing links that goes there. I'm not using the page that much at the moment, and do not read all comments. This is also why I first see your comments today.<br />
:::::Dgbrt do you have any good idea for a page title? If it is only the first few comics that are clearly sad, could it then be called "Sad comics"? And should it be a page or a category? If we can find a solution for that, I will try to change it so it can be tolerable... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:01, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::::I'm honest: I vote for deleting that section. The main reason is that we don't know how Randall feels, whether sad or not. We just have comics, not an autobiography.<br />
::::::If you still vote for keeping I only can see two possibilities:<br />
::::::*Keep the title "Sad comics", move it to a single page (no subpage to any comic), remove most of the content, write a proper text instead of bullets, and start it like "Some comics may suggest the impression..." because your "...clear trend..." is nonsense.<br />
::::::*Or, move everything to a separate page, but then I have no idea about any proper title.<br />
::::::BTW: I've created a new category: [[:Category:Elections]], and as I mention here [[:Talk:2067: Challengers]] it still needs some work. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:06, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::::I will think about the possibilities. And I did see your new category. Which is great by the way. There must be many of these from earlier years also?--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:09, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::::::I need help on this new category because I'm sure there is more. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:12, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::I have now created [[Sad comics]] and moved the content from With her and tried to make the layout better. I do not agree with deleting the references to the other comics, but not they have been separated from the first four sad/negative comics. All links have been diverted to this page from all 16 comics. If there are other comics, not on the list, with link to that section I have not changed those... Many comics could refer to With Her for many reasons so I will not go through them all. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:55, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::You've done a big job, so thanks for this on the first place. And I can assure you that you always can find all links at the tools box "What links here", in this case when reading ''[[1756: I'm With Her]]''. I'm still not happy seeing comics like [[2064: I'm a Car]] linking to content titled as ''sad'', but that's up to other editors. <br />
:::'''ProTip''': You should watch pages important to you, just activate "Watch this page" at the bottom when editing, or adjust your "Watchlist" at the top menu belonging to your personal profile. You will receive an email on every change. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:31, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::Yes I know about the links, but even though I have reverted the link to the sad trivia section, there may still be a link to the With her comic for other reasons. And there may even be links to the sad section from other comics not listed in my trivia, and I will not go through all pages referencing one of the controversial comics. I by the way highly disagree that we do not know Randall's political opinion. He has also endorsed Obama, so to day it is certain that he endorses the democrats vs Republican is a fact, not a guess. But you changed that on the new [[Challengers]] comic. I will not change it though. I just highly disagree with you on what is a know and what is a guess there.<br />
::::Regarding the comics that are not sad it is not listed as being sad, that is only the first four. The rest is just listing comics that could have to do with Randall's political mood due to Trump and his politics.<br />
::::I no longer have the time I once dedicated to this page... And hence I have taken e-mail alerts off, which is why I first noticed the deletion now. But I get e-mails on personal changes on this page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:37, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::While I'm still sure not knowing much about Randall's condition when his comics are published, I sense ''you'' are sad. I insist you should take a closer look on all your contributions here, which are much more than only this stupid sad stories. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:18, 4 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== I am still happy to see your additions here... ==<br />
<br />
...you did edits I didn't like - and vice versa - but that's a war I don't like. And now I'm in a position in which I have to take care of all the health here, not only what's written.<br />
<br />
Ironically: xkcd is also about sarcasm, the hell, shoooouuuuting on the hellll... <br />
<br />
I will probably disagree on some of your future edits, but I don't have to judge this. That's up to others here.<br />
<br />
So now I'm asking for help on a SMALL page introducing the memes used at this site. Like the Editor-FAQ I did. David did...not that much on that requests over a long time.<br />
<br />
While I'm not sure about a proper title, this Wiki still leaks on a page simply showing the memes used here, linking to more specific pages, presented to evrey newbee.<br />
<br />
--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:06, 16 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Thanks.<br />
::I'm not sure I understand the page you are talking about, or what type of memes you mean. <br />
::Also as is probably clear I'm not using that much time on this wiki anymore. I'm not leaving it, I just do not have the time any longer. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:31, 19 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::Oh, I'm also not sure, maybe just a title like "About". It often happens that new people asking questions like "Why is the mouse-over text called title text?", how character names have been developed here, and so forth. A simple page, mostly showing links with a small introduction to the more hidden pages you often maintain. New readers have simple questions we don't think about anymore, that's what I would like to present. But it seems I have to collect some more items on which you maybe can help. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:34, 19 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::Ah I see. It was the meme part that failed to register. But a about page makes sense. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:37, 20 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== We got a final image ==<br />
<br />
Emoji dome has a wonderful ending image. Do you mind putting it as the current explainxkcd image? [[User:Netherin5|“That Guy from the Netherlands”]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 18:25, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:No it is perfect. I can see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:emojidome.png someone already did], it has just not been updated on the front of the page yet. It will be before tomorrow. The other pictures should be collected on a extra page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:56, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Removing all references to the Sad comics page ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde,<br />
<br />
I've expressed my intention to remove all references to the Sad comics page over at [[Talk:Sad_comics]], but I wanted to get your input too, since it is your page. Feel free to drop a comment over there if you want to contest this. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 12:56, 13 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Hawthorbn. Thanks for alerting me. Did not follow the discussion page on Sad. I of course disagree. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:56, 14 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
::I have now deleted the page completely --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:56, 11 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== 2196 ==<br />
I mentioned this on DgbrtBOT's talk page, but I'm not sure Dgbrt saw it. Since you're an admin, could you help me with this?<br />
# I uploaded the file, and it appeared in the page, but the link in the List of all comics page is still red. I think I messed up the upload, so could you delete the current file (the one I uploaded) for 2196 and reupload it? <br />
# I created an incorrect redirect page [[Nice To E-Meet you]] (The name is incorrect, I forgot to capitalize the You). Could you please delete that page? Thanks! <br />
[[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 00:52, 1 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Herobrine. No I'm not ad admin, just very active, and cannot do anything to delete pages. I can give it a look though cause I have created a few pages long time ago when the bot was not there/working. And yes seems like Dgbrt is not active at the moment. Lets see if it works again this Monday. As you can see [[User_talk:Dgbrt#DgbrtBOT_failed_2019-08-30|here]] I tried to write directly to him. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:38, 1 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Can see you have created the page with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Nice_To_E-Meet_You&redirect=no capital You] and I have now moved the image to a title with the hyphen in e-meet, which was missing in your original edit. So now [[List_of_all_comics]] works for the image as well. There are so many things which can go wrong, which is why we love out BOT. Hope it works tomorrow.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:46, 1 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Category book promotion ==<br />
Hi, you obviously know a thing or 2 about creating and adding categories, and like to do so :)<br />
I feel like we could need a category about book promotion, with at least 3 comics related to how to and at least one to thing explainer (hoverboard, possibly also up goer five...), and myabe even others I can't remember right now. What do you think? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:31, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Maybe more a list of comics that promote books. Not comics that inspire books, so no to Up Goer Five. But it could get special mention with mention of the category in that explanation as well. But I think we need to find more than 4, five is kind of a limit. Maybe there where something for what if? But I do not think so... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:37, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Looking at it again, we do have five :) [[Hoverboard]], [[2190: Serena Versus the Drones]], [[2198: Throw]], [[Disappearing Sunday Update]] and [[2194: How to Send a File]]<br />
:::Well great. Do you have an idea for the category name? "Category:Book promotion" ??--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:54, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::Sounds good to me! --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:56, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::::Will you add that category to the comics? I can help create the page then. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:57, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::::Done --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:07, 4 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::::::[[:Category:Book promotion]] page created and found another comic that promotes a book Randall has been involved in! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:40, 4 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Broken Button ==<br />
Hi Kynde, I've answered your question on my talk page. But I'll post it here just in case: I think you forgot to update [[Template:LATESTCOMIC]], so it would treat comic 2198 as 2197, hence breaking the button. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 22:55, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks, DgbrtBOT has updatet it and now it works! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:40, 4 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Thanks ==<br />
<br />
I see you went through a few of my recent edits, and corrected them / replied on them / acted on them. Thanks a lot. Also, now I learned from your edits how subcategories work. Thanks also for that. :) (But, please try not to change the word typo to lupo in common use. I don't think it would be an honour :) ) --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:00, 11 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:I hope you could see the joke. Like when you fixed the fix? I also spotted you put a hidden joke <!-- and I did not delete it :p -->. I will not make the same joke again. I guess it was also a kind of signature. I spotted that you where the most active last month. And was interested seeing what kind of edits. More or less I agreed with most... And cool with the spam fight. Do not use the same amount of time as I used to, but have been more active lately... Just became 2nd on all time activity list... Happy you both noticed and approved. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:09, 11 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
::I could see the joke and I enjoyed it :) as I tend to make a lot of typos, it isn't even that far fetched to use my name instead ;). I usually visit the site a few times a day and start on the recent changes page, and check what has happened. That's also how I often quickly find the spam. The other thing I tend to do when I got some free time on my hands is use the "random page" button and find out if I can improve the place I get to. I also saw that you are progressing a lot in the all time list. Last month I even noticed you were in the monthly list at a score that would have put you in the all time top 50 on its own. Impressive! Have a good weekend. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 20:00, 11 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::I'm also not native English speaker (Danish), and my grammar is probably horrible. Then it is great it is a wiki so others can fix that. I hope my additions are a plus. Have of course had rows with others, as can be seen above ;-) With some of the big one I think I have had months that would put me in top 20... (Not something I have checked). But with some of the comics where I added a lot of images, I will get a very high score as unique pages gives one point, and every picture uploaded is a new page. The amount of changes I have made puts me in nr. 1 spot, but that doesn't give much compared to number of pages visited. And please feel free to correct my typos. By the way I haven't even read all comics yet, since I have a hard time reading a new one without wishing to make corrections to transcript or explanations, so it takes some time every time I find a new. So between the first comic I saw when I found this page and then back from there there will be lots of comics I haven't even seen yet... Probably why you can find so many transcripts where caption below the panel has not been added (as it was I who began making this the way to write it). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:46, 11 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Category for Back to the Future ==<br />
<br />
Hi, can you create a category for the film series ''Back to the Future''? To start, there is [[102: Back to the Future]], [[656: October 30th]], [[1477: Star Wars]], [[2104: Biff Tannen]], [[2193: Well-Ordering Principle]], and maybe others. Thanks, [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.144|172.68.47.144]] 20:26, 31 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Hi yes I can. And I did: [[:Category:Back to the Future]]. I added yours. Here is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Search&limit=50&offset=0&profile=default&search=%22Back+to+the+Future%22 a search string] that may help find more (for you to add). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:31, 1 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Deletion of small categories? ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde! I posted this on the community portal, but it seems unresponsive, and since none of the admins have edited recently, you seem like the person to ask.<br />
I count eight categories on explainxkcd that satisfy the following properties: 1. They have only three comics in them. 2. They aren't really a comic series; they just feature or reference a comic theme. 3. They aren't Featuring some person or character. In short, they seem to have no real reason to exist. (They're [[:Category:Spice_Girls|t]][[:Category:Wind_turbine|h]] e[[:Category:Ender%27s_Game|s]]eo[[:Category:FernGully|n]][[:Category:Giraffes|e]]s.) In addition, there are [[:Category:Sketches|t]][[:Category:BSD|h]][[:Category:Emacs|i]][[:Category:Identity_Theft|r]][[:Category:Katamari_Damacy|t]][[:Category:Super_Bowl|e]][[:Category:The_Matrix|e]][[:Category:Tournament_bracket|n]][[:Category:Traffic_light| ]][[:Category:Trebuchet|m]][[:Category:Wingsuit|o]][[:Category:Euler_diagrams|r]][[:Category:Pedantic|e]] four-comic categories that also satisfy these requirements. I know non-admins can't delete articles, but because of these articles' status, should I remove their contents and add them to [[:Category:Pages to delete]]? --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 01:17, 12 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Since I'm no admin just the most active over an extended period of time, I cannot really say what to do. Some of the categories I think has merit, I may even have created some of them. And there may be reason to expect more to come. But others I tend to agree. I think Randall has something with Giraffes and the Spice Girl spurt with three in short notice I think merits the categories. The other 6 with three I would not mind if they went away. But then there may need to be some links between those comics. Are you willing to make those? If you do then empty the categories, and put them as up for deletion. Most of those with four I would keep. I have NOT clicked on them all though, just read them here when I edited this response. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:56, 12 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Category for Bees ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde,<br />
<br />
Can you add a category on bees, as a subcategory of [[:Category:Animals]]? I've found [[1259: Bee Orchid]], [[1186: Bumblebees]], [[2231: the Time Before And After Land]], [[2035: Dark Matter Candidates]], [[1692: Man Page]], and there are probably more. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.38|172.69.34.38]] 00:22, 22 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Done [[:Category:Bees]]. Added your five comics. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:49, 22 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== New category - comics with store products ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde, thanks for creating the new page for [[:Category:Comics with store products]]! (I was the one who added the comics to that category, but I didn't have permission to create a new page for the category itself, so I apologize for abandoning it like that.)<br />
<br />
For the name of this category, I wanted to follow a similar pattern to existing category names such as "[[:Category:Comics from 2005]]" or "[[:Category:Comics with color]]". So for the name of this new category, I had considered some other more accurate names, such as "[[:Category:Comics upon which xkcd store products are based]]", or perhaps "[[:Category:Comics made into official merchandise]]"; but I felt that these new category names would be a bit too long, so I was trying to keep it more succinct than that. ...But now I realize that the current name I chose is not very clear, and might cause some confusion about what it's supposed to mean, so it was really a poor choice of words on my part. Do you have any ideas for a better name that we could use for this category? If so, please feel free to rename it, then I will go through all the comic pages where I added it, and update them to the new category.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, in the edit-history of the [[:Category:Comics with store products]] page, I noticed in your comments that you felt it was maybe not a good idea for a category -- and I certainly understand that, so if you want to just remove this category completely, please feel free to do so, then I will go through and remove it from all the comics where I added it (so as not to leave any broken links behind).<br />
<br />
Thanks for your help, and sorry for causing noob trouble!<br />
<br />
- [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 09:57, 24 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Yfmcpxpj<br />
:First of all, the comment on my creation of the page, was because I did not understand the category. Store products.. I thought it was like with products bought in a type of store... First when I clicked on a few and saw your (?) comments that a t-shirt was based on this comic, did I understand the category. Think I wrote that in my next edit, where I linked to the store. After realizing that, I though it was a great category, although adding xkcd would probably help the understand-ability: "Category: Comics with xkcd store products" <br />
:What do you say to that title?<br />
:Regarding my ability to make pages, that is just because I have edited enough to get that right (I know I have edited more than any one else here...) But I'm actually not an admin, and I cannot delete pages. Sadly it seems the admins have left xkcd without replacements... So not one answers admin requests, and although I'm glad to help when I can, I do not have that many rights on the page. <br />
:But true you may have asked for someone to create the page and also maybe ask for the title before creating it. I think I will be able to rename the page though, so if you can go through all the comics and correct the category there I would like to give it a try. (Do not do this before I have changed the name!)<br />
:What do you say? And should I add the xkcd as suggested above?<br />
:--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:14, 24 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Yes, I like your title better, "Comics with xkcd store products" -- I think it is much clearer. If you can rename the category, I will wait for that, then after it has been successfully renamed, I'll go through and update those comics to use the new one instead. And sorry to hear that the admins have been absent -- but it looks like you are doing a good job of keeping the site maintained, so thank-you for that! - [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 08:58, 25 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::I have now moved the category page. You can find the list of comics that now need to be moved [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Comics_with_store_products&redirect=no here].<br />
:::And the new empty category here [[:Category:Comics with xkcd store products]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:26, 25 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::Thanks Kynde; I have moved the remaining comics into the new category. You mentioned that you don't have permissions to delete pages, so I wonder if the old page [[:Category:Comics with store products]] should be put into parent [[:Category:Pages to delete]] so maybe the admins will delete it? - [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 08:15, 26 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::::As the old Category redirects to the new one, I guess deletion is not necessary. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:31, 26 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::::If no pages refers to the old category, and to avoid anyone putting comics in that category again, it would be nice to have it deleted. But I'm not sure anyone will do that at the moment. Davidy is long gone and DGBRT seems to be absent as well... I was once asked to be an admin but declined at the time ... Maybe that was a shame, but at least I still react when someone post on my page... But I'm not that active anymore, and have never looked much through the portal pages etc. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:49, 26 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Banned from Conferences Category ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde, you usually have a good feeling on how Categories should be described, etc. There was a (quite short) discussion on [[153: Cryptography]], to remove a portion of the explanation. Do you think that stuff belongs into [[:Category:Banned from conferences]]? Maybe you can chime into the "discussion" on 153. -- Regards [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:24, 5 December 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Edit summaries ==<br />
Please use {{w|Help:Edit_summary|edit summaries}}; they are especially important for pages like [[:xkcd Header text]] that are infrequently monitored but have a meta-importance. Thanks. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 21:22, 16 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
:I have more or less created the entire page from scratch. So I will not begin writing details every time I make a revision. But I use it for most other edits. I can see you care for BLM... Great, you probably know much more on this than I do. I made this page, to keep track of the header text, which was not explained on these pages. Sometimes it is relevant for a given comic, so great to have this place to write about it, and then link to it from the comics. The unfilled link was to help people wo may help editing this page, fill in when the header changed. I will do that now. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:37, 18 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
::Kynde: I don't understand how your authorship of the page (from scratch or otherwise) has anything to do with whether you should be writing details of when you make a revision. But for sensitive topics, which BLM is, it is especially important for other editors to be able to carefully review changes. And when you make a large block of changes, like you did there on July 1, with 8 different edits, edit summaries are an extremely helpful tool for everyone else. So, again, the request is to please use an edit summary, ''especially'' when you are making multiple edits in a row, and ''especially'' on pages of meta-importance like [[:xkcd Header text]]. Of course, this is not Wikipedia, the rules here (such as they are) are relatively weak, and we all should coöperate. But if your answer is "I don't have to because I wrote the page first, years ago!" that doesn't make any sense at all. If your goal was to make sense, then I don't know how to respond. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 17:50, 18 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
:::Well I shall try to be more careful around sensitive subjects. You are one of the first other than me to have edited the page. And one of the few that have added a new section. I just changed it into the same format that I have used on all the others. And did a revision now, and sorry I forgot to write what it was out of bad habit. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:57, 18 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
::::I think the change you just made was…not great. See [[:Talk:xkcd_Header_text#Recent_BLM_edits]] where I give my opinion. But it is probably better discussed there than on your personal page, but I wanted to highlight it for you. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 18:04, 18 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
:::::I have replied on the other talk page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:28, 21 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Nationality ==<br />
<br />
What country are you from? <span style="text-shadow:0 0 6px black">[[User:Beanie|<span style="font-size:11pt;color:#dddddd">Beanie</span>]]</span> <sup><span style="text-shadow:0 0 3px #000000">[[User talk:Beanie|<span style="font-size:8pt;color:#dddddd">talk</span>]]</span></sup> 12:34, 14 July 2021 (UTC)<br />
:Denmark. Why? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:15, 15 July 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Forgive this IP ==<br />
I just made a handful of edits to recent changes that you had made (may not have been what you changed, in all cases; it might have just been pre-existing errors and Recent Changes just drew me to them). I hope it doesn't look personal, especially from an impersonal IP that you can't easily talk back to. So I'm mentioning it here to try to apologise if it does seem that way. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.85|162.158.159.85]] 18:57, 28 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
:Hi. Thanks for telling. Since your IP will change I cannot see exactly which changes you made, but cheeked on my last changes and saw some CE and minor changes. Only thing I disagreed with (not sure it was you) was that the Launch comic should not have been released on the 24th. Which it was in most of the US if not all. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:01, 29 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
::(Most of the changes occured under roughly the 172.70.… range, as I recall, though you can see the above switched to a whole different class-B - entirely due to the internediary's whim (Cloudflare?) without my changing anything. I'm sitting on a different connection now, so all bets are off what ''this'' will appear as. ;) )<br />
::I have no argument with Randall posting on the 24th (his time) as the Bot got there soon enough to prove it. But of course the rest of us (mostly Europe and beyond) had a different experience. Still before the launch (whoever checked for themselves in time), which I think a couple of my edits were about. Really not huge issues, just minor fixes. You're good with those things, I know from experience, just a courtesy note (that and this). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.22|172.70.86.22]] 22:42, 29 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
:::Maybe not you who posted. But as you can see your IP is not the same in these two posts, so I can only assume you are the same person, but cannot guess which of my edits you have changed and which someone else changed ;-) Do you have a name other than 162.158.159.85 or 172.70.86.22 ;-) Why not get an account? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:29, 30 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
::::I just can't think of a decent username. I tend to use different ones everwhere (and never my RL identity) and most of them were 'good ideas at the time' but when the inevitable "Why is your username what it is?" thread comes around it always seems my 'explanation' is laughable. All the above in this section (that isn't you) is me, BTW. Just added an indent layer I missed. I'm happy being (slightly unpredictably) changing IP, because I seek no credit (or blame!) for my 'insights' and my ego survives well enough on such fleeting moments of anonymous fame, I assure you. ;) And I don't mind when other IP-editors 'land' on/near what I just used, either, even if they're now completely wrong.<br />
::::Not that I think Usernames are a bad thing in general for you and others (c.f. 4chan 'anon' culture...), I'm just happy that it's one less thing to worry about in my own case! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 15:04, 30 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
:::::Well that is up to you. But then again it is hard to forgive an IP when I'm not sure what it has done or not. But as I could just see there where nothing needing forgiveness so we are good. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:15, 3 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Do you get a healthy amount of sleep? ==<br />
In recent days I see you editing very often and I just wanna make sure you get enough sleep because while you're doing amazing work, I am a bit concerned [[User:256.256.256.256|256.256.256.256]] ([[User talk:256.256.256.256|talk]]) 08:45, 6 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Ha ha - thanks for both the concern and the praise. I'm from Denmark so if you look at the time stamp and think I should be sleeping, then maybe it is in the middle of the day here. I write this just before 10:00 AM here in DK. But actually I'm doing very little now compared to maybe five years ago. If you look at the [[Special:ContributionScores|ContributionScores]] at the bottom with the All time (Top 50), you will see that I'm number two. And if you look at number of changes I'm far ahead of number 2... So this is actually quite low level activity for me... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:53, 6 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==[[Countdown in header text]] image ==<br />
You mentioned you'd help uploading the countdown wiggle gif, so [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown here]'s a link to all the image stuff of the countdown. (Specifically, [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown/full_animation.gif full_animation.gif] and [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown/Countdown%20in%20header%20text%20Wiggling.gif Countdown in header text Wiggling.gif]).<br />
Optionally [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown.zip zipped], for easier archival. [[User:Toby|Toby]] ([[User talk:Toby|talk]]) 20:03, 31 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Great thanks Toby. Will try to make it work. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:15, 31 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
::It worked and I have replied on your new talk page and created your own page, in case you still could not. Feel free to change that now. Very happy with your work, both of the files. Thanks!!! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:28, 31 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Purely to improve your knowledge of English ==<br />
<br />
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spacecrafts#English<br />
<br />
i.e., as with vehicular "craft" in general (including aircraft, hovercraft, etc), the -s pluralisation is allowable but not considered standard. An oddity of the terminology that I don't actually know the reason for. I'm wondering could it be from our nautical heritage where singular craft were the rarity (a simpler version of how [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aderyn sometimes the singular can be considered rarer than the plural]? Yet ships/vessels/etc don't succumb to that usage. Even if sheep and fish do! Anyway, while spacecraft are preferred, spaceships are indeed the synonymous alternative. IYSWIM...<br />
<br />
Crafts, as in skillfully created works, ''are'' the plurals exactly as you'd initially expect. Woodcrafts, metalcrafts, etc. So I suppose those people who are shipcrafters might therefore craft many crafted craft, thanks to the various crafts they know, and then exhibit their crafts at a craft-fair. ((i.e "Boatwrights might construct many well-made (model?) ships, thanks to their skills, then show their creations at an exhibition of bespoke manufacturing.")) Crafty, eh?<br />
<br />
Sorry, I seem to have gone overboard with the explanation. Throw me that lifebelt, please? ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 10:40, 10 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Hi. Thanks. I'm not sure it will help, I'm not very good at spelling, even in my own language. But maybe I will remember this. I do not mind other people copy editing my posts. My idea is that if I write something useful other will make it better, and correct the errors. But if I do not write it, then it may be left out of an explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:54, 13 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== THANK YOU!!! ==<br />
Kynde - I have only just discovered this beautiful Explain XKCD wiki and am in awe - I saw that you have been a huge contribuotr for years and just wanted to say Thank You to you and team for this beautiful legacy of work! With it XKCD can be that much more of a portal into all the different directions Randall’s comics touch on and drift near. <br />
<br />
I’ve been behind the scenes in wikipedia for years (so often painful) and love connecting with anyone else who is doing meaningful wiki work. I’m just stopping by here today on my way to *important deadlines* but intend to be back. Just set up my Explain editor account. Pop me a talk page note? Happy to plug in! [[User:DrMel|DrMel]] ([[User talk:DrMel|talk]]) 19:53, 20 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
(Ps looks like I am not getting through the email validation steps - no email confirmation has yet made it to my email. I’ll check back later. On wikipedia I’m https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:DrMel<br />
<br />
(pps - email validated! But i still dont have permission to setup my user page… so this time i really am going back to the Save-The-World work i am supposed to be doing!)<br />
:Hi [[User:DrMel|DrMel]]. Wow, thanks a lot. Yes I have been very active on this page. I'm not one of the admins though, and sadly it seems this page is without any active admins, and that it has been so for a while. I guess I'm the best option right now. I have created your user page and talk page, so now you can work on the user page. Welcome to explain xkcd. If you have any questions regarding format or other things feel free to ask. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:38, 21 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Nomination ==<br />
I know you maybe don't want it, but see [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Coordination#New_admins]] '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:08, 8 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I have answered there and accepted the nomination. It is an honor. Hope I can live up to it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:16, 10 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Finally got the promotion from Jeff. Thanks. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:30, 23 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Block User:Donald Trump ==<br />
<br />
Can you block [[User:Donald Trump]]? He is another spambot, like the others recently: [[Special:Contributions/Donald_Trump]]. Thanks, [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 17:48, 26 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Done--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 26 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== you blocked a mobile phone (T-mobile) IP ==<br />
<br />
You blocked “162.158.107.124”. The problem is, that’s a T-mobile IP that goes to whomever happens to get it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.36|172.70.211.36]] 19:11, 26 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Yes Im new to being administrator so sorry I messed that up. But think I [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:Contributions/162.158.107.124 managed to undo it]? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:33, 26 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Regarding your latest IP block ==<br />
<br />
See [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:While_False&oldid=286101#Concision_and_clarity my note on this latest thing] that it seems like you were reacting to.<br />
<br />In general, I don't think IP-blocking is very useful (false-positives get hit and false-negatives get round it, depending upon the vagueries of everything, and as an IP myself this is close to the bone for me) but there's potentially something going on. I don't know if you get to see what ''doesn't'' happen because of a block, though. Tricky one to get your head round. But thought I'd clue you in on what I'm thinking. Completely your decision on how you take it.<br />
<br />Keep up the good work, BTW! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.15|162.158.159.15]] 12:59, 3 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Just to add that [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=957:_Development&curid=4423&diff=286104&oldid=283524 this change] follows the trend I mentioned (type of edit + history of its apparent IP), and now undone. Not to overly pester you with this (better the Community Portal for that), just FYI. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.11|141.101.98.11]] 17:05, 3 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I only block them for a week or 3 days, just to stop current spam, and thanks for the praise --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:02, 5 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Sparing use of Talk-page section headers ==<br />
<br />
Note that I added a ;-title (not an individually editable section's title), albeit first mis-tapping in the :-indenter instead by accident, but maybe you were a bit overzealous squishing out the ==editable== section-headers (the existing one and my own once someone had helpfully 'upgraded' it) in the latest discussion.<br />
<br />
The advice given on the main-page, as part of the discussion-inclusion templating, is that new sections should be used ''sparingly'', not that they are not to be used. If anything, I was wrong to use a ;-title (to logically separate my contribution from the headered bit I was following), perhaps I should have inserted as a normal running comment above the newly broken-out section.<br />
<br />
Not complaining, but just positing the view that it seemed a bit draconic of an intervention. Livable-with, having been done, but not sure it was strictly necessary.<br />
<br />
(Would be handy to add across the "Add to the bottom (etc)" HTML-comment to the top of the page, from a BOT-created new-discussion-page, though I suppose I could do that. Maybe I will. Yes, I think I will. You could also maybe check the circumstances why a normal user had needed to do theusafBOT's work for it... I'm sure it's more that theusaf's script is just temporarily offline, or slow to react, rather than having gone the way of dgbrtBOT/whatever...) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.177|172.70.85.177]] 13:49, 14 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I think there is now use for headings in comment section. And in some cases the explanations have a TOC and then the headings of the talk page would come into this because we include talk page on the explanation page. Also it becomes confusing when others add different comments below, as they then seems to belong to the headered section. Thus best leave them out, unless something very special. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 05:55, 15 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Table of tips? ==<br />
Why put the table in a section on [[2649]]? It breaks the convention of discussing the comic before discussing the title text. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.145|172.70.210.145]] 07:11, 25 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:No this has been done whenever there is a table. The comic should be explained first, but if lots of info needs to be added in order to understand the full details of the comic, then the title text is usually explained after the first short explanation. And then the larger explanation is delegated to a sub section, just as I have done here. It is because you may not wish to dwell into all these details, they are not needed to understand the overall joke, but you might like to see the title text explained, and then this should not be hidden deep down. Also there is a link from the explanation to the table, so you can easily go there to read the main explanation for each tip.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:32, 25 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Well it's no big deal; I don't have strong feelings about it, but I haven't been here very long, and noticed that [[2636]], [[2638]], and [[2639]] all have tables following the sequence of the comics instead of in a section at the end. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.88|172.70.211.88]] 08:39, 25 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::Yes that must also be said to be new comics, and not those that have been here long time ;-) All of them came out after my holiday began this summer, and I have not had time to go through those comics yet. But thanks I will fix it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:21, 25 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::Fixed those three and also completed two of the transcripts. Thanks for pointing the discrepancy out. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:02, 25 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
How do you feel about [[2606]]? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.150.173|172.71.150.173]] 08:32, 27 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Since the title text is just another symbol, it seems fine to have it in the table. But actually there may be a reason to explain that joke as well in the main explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:35, 27 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
::But after updating the explanation I ended up moving the table to a section and moving any other explanation above. Including a mention of the title text. Is this the same person that started this thread that asked about 2606? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:56, 27 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::No, I'm [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2207:_Math_Work&diff=291019&oldid=282989 this guy.] [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.88|172.70.211.88]] 15:52, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::Hello, That Guy. (BTW, I'm also none of the above conversationalists, Kynde...) That change you linked... I just reverted it. It was fixed (devandalised) already in a state that was after the removal of the Incomplete tag and I couldn't work out ''why'' you considered it needing reverting. Yes, a lot of restored stuff (now unrestored), but I couldn't quite work out which (pre-vandalism) version you even reverted to, and surely there were various useful culling edits ("no, we don't need to say that, it's irrelevent", etc) that you were negating.<br />
::::Or at least that was my almost knee-jerk response (almost, because I went back through the crapcrapcrap stuff and beyond trying to find where you were coming from, so I spent some time on thinking about it before I did it).<br />
::::I offer it up to review by the wider community, or back to yourself (or give Kynde a shot, if they aren't busy). Maybe some old bits could be reintegrated, but I couldn't see which on a semi-cursory glance. So, given you have provided a handle on you, expanding upon the woefully short edit-summary space, to more fully explain any confusion (of mine, or yours, or just in general). Ok? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.128|172.70.91.128]] 16:43, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::::Are you saying you removed vandalism with the revert? Which parts do you think are crap stuff? Do you not see how it is all directly related to the drawing on the board? I should have removed the incomplete tag, but I think I'll try the appended section idea to appease objectors with a compromise. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.185|172.69.33.185]] 05:15, 29 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::::I don't think this has anything to do with my comment, and I do not have any thing to add to this discussion. If this is all about [[2207:_Math_Work]], then please take any further [[Talk:2207:_Math_Work#Deletions|discussion there]], as to not disturb me with e-mails every time you change my user talk page ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:07, 29 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== A spammer has appeared! ==<br />
Hi! It seems that there's a spammer who's been consistently adding an incredibly odd rant to the front page from a wide variety of IP addresses over the course of yesterday and today. They currently show no signs of stopping; could you use whatever Special Admin Powers you may have to resolve the issue? --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 18:37, 30 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Hi. No, sadly I cannot do much about it. I can try to alert those with more powers than me though. I'm not that technically minded. If it was a user I could block him, but as I understood from the newest comics discussion it is multiple ip addresses. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:36, 31 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Interview request! and thanks! ==<br />
Hey Kynde, forgive me if this isn't allowed! I'm a journalist and wiki enthusiast and I'd love to chat with you about all your work here. Can you send an email to annierau at umich dot edu? Thank you so much! [[User:Postgradpredeath|Postgradpredeath]] ([[User talk:Postgradpredeath|talk]]) 03:36, 22 September 2022 (UTC):Hi <br />
:Annie Rau(?)/Postgradpredeath. I don't think asking me would not be allowed. I might not wish to mail you but that would then be an option. I may actually not wish to use my e-mail. But maybe we could try to catch up on twitter, where I have an account I only used to get into contact with admins on this page... If you also have a twitter acount we may be able to tweet to each other there... And thanks for the praise. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 06:39, 22 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Vandalism on latest comic ==<br />
Hello, just letting you know there's been another bit of spam. Only on the most recent comic as far as I've seen, and fixed for now :) [[User:Char Latte49|Char Latte]] ([[User talk:Char Latte49|talk]]) 22:11, 3 December 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks. Also had a vandal here replying to you comment. Of course deleted it. Haven't been so active lately. But hope the problem has stopped. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:55, 4 December 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Notification ==<br />
Hey, I wanted to let you know that I'm working on the huge project of making a table to organize planet names, coordinates, and explanations, and the four item types and their explanation in the latest interactive comic. I've replied to the conversation, here's a link: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Talk:2765:_Escape_Speed#Making_a_table_to_organize_planet_names.2C_coordinates.2C_and_explanations.2C_and_the_four_item_types_and_their_explanation<br />
<br />
If possible, could you check if you're able to answer the questions I have?<br />
<br />
Thanks, [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:44, 29 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Favi. Have not had much time but looked at it and liked the table. Also added two more pages, one with overview images of the world and the planets and one with a place to post the screen shots needed for making a full explanation. Put some of the relevant images up already but will not have time to much more the rest of this week. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:25, 1 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
:: Great! Thanks, I like the new pages. Do you happen to know of a way to find the coordinates of each planet, so i can add them to the table? How did the folks editing [[2712: Gravity]] do it? [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:52, 2 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::: Hi Favi. Thanks. No I do not know, I did not do any editing on that comic. Have not had time like I did for instance with [[Hoverboard]] where I did most of the documentation. But have no idea what to do with a game like this. Not very tech savvy on that account. Keep up the good work! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:35, 6 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::Nevermind, someone on the discussions page let me know of a very useful script that did exactly that, s I filled the entire Tiles column :D {{unsigned|FaviFake}}<br />
:::::Great --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:19, 6 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Hi, I've made [[User:Malgond/Drafts/Escape_Speed|another attempt]] at tables. I've talked a little bit with [[User talk:FaviFake|FaviTake]] but we didn't seem to come to a conclusion. I think we need a third (and maybe fourth and fifth) opinion. I have put a note about this in the [[Talk:2765: Escape Speed|discussion board]] but I'm not sure anybody will notice (there's a lot of stuff there). - [[User:Malgond|Malgond]] ([[User talk:Malgond|talk]]) 21:52, 13 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::I have replied and think your tables are great. See talk page for comic --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:18, 14 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Changing category name, and the creation of [[:Category:Comics with red corrections]] ==<br />
Hey Kynde,<br />
I wanted to ask you if, as an admin, you could change the name of the [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal|Category:Comics posted on livejournal]] to this: [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal|Category:Comics posted on LiveJournal]]<br />
The other two categories that mention LiveJournal have the L and J uppercase, so I think it should be the same for this category too:<br />
*[[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd]]<br />
*[[:Category:First day on LiveJournal]]<br />
<br />
Also, I just created [[:Category:Comics with red corrections]] for comics like [[2639: Periodic Table Changes]] (under [[:Category:Comics with color]]) after seeing at least two or three request it.<br />
*Is [[:Category:Comics with color]] the right parent category?<br />
*Or should it be added to [[:Category:Distinctive comics]] too? Or just in one? Idk where to put it<br />
<br />
Thanks, [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 09:38, 20 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Hi FlaviFake<br />
:I could probably move the page to the correct spelling. I think I actually created the other two categories, after the one you know wish me to change. So it is my spelling later that would overrule the first. But i agree it would make sense.<br />
:But if I do then all 45 comics that has this category should be corrected so they spell the category the new way. Would you be ready to do this for all 45 comics? And also every page that links to the current version of the category? I think it is not good enough to have a forward link with the category spelled wrong on all comics... Let me know if you wish to do that, then I can move the page. Once all has been corrected I could delete the forward page. <br />
:<br />
:I like your new category. Seems like the newest three is a series... But maybe we should just keep the red corrections. Question is if he has some with other color corrections, and if it is important that they are red? Or even color? But I like the idea. <br />
:Not sure what categories they belong under. Not sure the color category is relevant. More comics by topic - the topic being corrections. <br />
:Keep up the good work. I have much less time for making changes to the wiki now, that I used to.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:21, 22 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Thanks for the reply!<br />
<br />
::>Would you be ready to do this for all 45 comics?<br />
::Yeah, it shouldn't be that hard. I just need to copy and paste the correct spelling on the articles. Let me know when you've moved it :)<br />
<br />
::>if he has some with other color corrections, and if it is important that they are red?<br />
::I put red because I've never seen a comic with a correction ''not'' in red, but I get your point. We can always rename it and update the category names in the few articles that are included in it<br />
<br />
::>More comics by topic - the topic being corrections.<br />
::You're right, I'll move it there now. Btw there is also a category called [[:Category:Comics with blood]] that is also in the Comics with color category, should it move that one to comics by topic too?<br />
:::Hi. Tried, but I cannot move it cause the page name is not case sensitive, so it complains that I did not move it. Also I'm not sure it would work before you made the corrections, so it would be complicated. Not sure it is important enough for me to try to do some other thing. Like moving to a different title, then deleting the original page and try to move back. Maybe It will not be possible. So guess it won't happen? <br />
:::Yes I think blood should be topic. Guess it will always be red to make sure we know it is blood? But then again maybe there could be a comic with not red blood or just black and white drawing where it is clear it is blood. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:22, 23 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::Hey; I forgot to say it yesterday, but (after I realized I could already move pages on my account) I've moved [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal|Category:Comics posted on livejournal]] to [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal]]. I've removed the "comics" part because a different category, [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd]], started with "Posted". So I thought I could kill two birds with one stone and fixed both the consistency and the capitalization. i also moved the blood category to comics by topic<br />
:::::I saw the message, created the requested page with capitalisation. They both redirect to "Posted on LiveJournal," you can pick whether you want to keep the new name you picked or if you want the one that was originally requested '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 15:09, 24 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::::Good to hear from you Davidy22. And great work again FaviFake. I have just made sure there are no longer any links left to the old or the new version Davidy22 made, so we now use the FaviFake version and I have deleted the other two. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:03, 25 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Changing the Sitenotice of this wiki ==<br />
Hey,<br />
<br />
I've noticed that for a few years, the page [[MediaWiki:Sitenotice]] is out of date, but from my understanding it can only be edited by admins. So, could you edit it and remove the mention on comic [[1608: Hoverboard]]? It's not incomplete anymore. Or, even better, could you try making it editable by confirmed registered users, so we can keep it up to date?<br />
<br />
I would also remove the "Never use the Math markup language at the transcript. The reason for this you can read at the Editor FAQ." because it's probably one of the least useful things a newcomer should see when they open the site for the first time. I think if it were editable by mere people, it would be great because we could also update it for when a big new comic comes out and we need more people to help explain it. Thanks, [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:04, 28 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Hi FaviFake<br />
:I have never changed that notice before, but I was able to. But do think it will be only admins that can do it. But I have changed it to [[2765: Escape Speed]] and removed the math mark. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:25, 30 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::That's great! Thank you.--[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:48, 30 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::Ambivalent about the removal of the anti-Math bit, but I'm worried that there's also too much reliance upon general markup (including tables), rather than 'flat' description, and it does creep in. Historic articles that still do it might not help, though I'm not going back to change them.<br />
:::To be clear, some stuff is really difficult to do ''without'' a table, and be short and sweet (though exporting detail to a /Transcript sub-page is a doable thing), but at least we shouldn't just use '''bold''' text or <span style="color: #F00">colours where colours are</span>, but ensure they're always transcriptually indicated, in preference to/entirely instead of being used:<br />
::::[A fragment of text, "bold" is in bold and several other words are written in red:] ...we shouldn't just use '''bold''' text or <span style="color: #F00">colours where colours are</span>, but...<br />
:::...to give a poor example that I'd expect another Transcript specialist to improve anyway.<br />
:::Don't know how best to advertise this. Nor how ''not'' to add Citation Neededs, there being a current spate of them before commas/etc, which is against explainxkcd ''and'' Wikipedia standards, regardless of the actual overuse/misuse that may also happen by the hands of the enthusistic new(?) editors doing it. So I'll tweak what I see (of all these little things) hoping to move things more towards the aspirational ideals developed over many years of editors. And obviously that'd include the misplaced Math-markup. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.108|172.71.242.108]] 08:32, 31 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::Well I think there is no reason to have such a text standing there. If someone begins using it again write to them and change it in transcript. I actually did not know where to change the notice and also was not aware I had the rights. Also I think it is fine to use colors and bold text in transcript. But if the color is important then it should be mentioned. But the transcript is also for people to be able to easily read the text and see what it looked like. And it is important so it is possible to search for a phrase you remember. As the description is important so you can search for a special item that was in a comic you remember... And tables is OK when relevant for the way the comic is written. So think I'm not really agreeing with the user who is not signed up here above... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:51, 31 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::: We agree a lot, you'll be relieved(!) to hear. No bones to me about that warning (I could have told you that you could change it, just had no reason to :p ) and I'm sure someone will redo anything 'wrong' that occurs due to the prominant lack of it in future.<br />
::::: I think it's less important to exactly reproduce what can be seen in the comic in "what can be seen in the Transcript", but as long as those who might not have compatible search/screen-reader access get the written cues as well than it's clearly permissable.<br />
::::: Table use is still tricky. Not sure how screen-readers render them, so would depend upon how sensibly a small (or large) example can be described in either/both ways. (Totally coincidental case in point, my tongue-in-cheek comment to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2780:_Physical_Quantities&diff=314617&oldid=314606 this edit I just did] highlights how something could be visually formatted accurately, though I actually tried to Transcriptionally describe more accurately instead, which I thought more useful. (Not ''very'' important, but it's a clear layout choice that was not reflected in any usable way for ''anyone''.)<br />
::::: But this is not a hill I'd die on (if it even came to that). I'm just doing my bit to maintain and support what I see as the contributor conventions that have been bashed around and gradually smoothed into some form of useful (if not universal) coherency over the various years. I'll take any sudden informal policy shift under advisement, and of course your words carry more weight than my own! I'll repeat "policy", but don't wish to (re)set it [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.225|172.71.242.225]] 11:26, 31 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::::If you actually do some edits, why not get a account? Much easier to do edits and much easier to have a discussion, and we could actually see what you contribute, and agree or disagree. Now I will never know for sure what you did as IPs change from day to day and other people might get this ip later... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:05, 31 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::::::I know you've no way of confirming this, but I've survived long enough without. And had this conversation before. With no power comes no responsibility! (Or, really, just could never decided on a good username/never the time to start having one, and rarely any need to.) But don't want to rehash all that again. You've done important work, before and after your ennoblement, and I congratulate you on it.<br />
:::::::No, I just offer opinion that can be ignored, and edits that can be over-ruled. Imagine the damage to my fragile ego if I materialised as a Username account and everyone ''still'' ignores/rewrites everything I say? ;) Horses for courses, but that's how it works for me! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.71|172.70.91.71]] 19:09, 31 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Solving the [[MediaWiki:Sitenotice]] problem once and for all ==<br />
Hey Kynde, I have an idea for solving the problem of having to constantly ask an admin to update the comic in the site notice. Since few admins are very active on this wiki, and the page [[MediaWiki:Sitenotice]] can't be set to allow non-admins to change it, we can just create a template and replace the text on [[MediaWiki:Sitenotice]] with the template (and then protect the template so only autoconfirmed users can edit it), so when for example a new big comic comes out, it can be updated immediately by simply editing the template. What do you think? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:18, 1 September 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Hi FaviFake. Although I can see your point I'm not really sure what to do about this, and also not feeling confident of doing such a change. I'm still fairly regular using the page, and saw your comment fairly soon. I do not understand why I did not get an e-mail about your change to my talk page though? But I would be happy to change the sitenotice for you if your request makes sense to me. So let's see if that works for some time. Do you have a new comis you would like to have mentioned? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:27, 3 September 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Justification for 2023 April Fools' comics ==<br />
It's just someone's edit comment, but see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:April_fools%27_comics&diff=prev&oldid=338888 where it is claimed]... From that (and that it's completely not impossible to have both April Fool and book-launch combined in a single exotic comic) I think it's worth counting 2023 as at least a ''possible'' answer to the "Missing 2023 April Fool" conundrum. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.145|172.69.79.145]] 23:30, 6 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:: Hey I don't want to start an edit war over this, but I swear to you, Escape Speed was intended to be the 2023 April Fools comic. Chromakode (another person named in the credits for this comic) confirms as much in his blog post at https://chromakode.com/post/xkcd-gravity-escape-speed as well. [[User:Benley|Benley]] ([[User talk:Benley|talk]]) 00:49, 7 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::Thanks for the link. That was what was missing, or if it was already somewhere I missed it. I did not see the thing about being named in the credits, but also that is not really enough without a link. Anyone could have said that. But I'm happy to learn this and will of course now not oppose including [[2765: Escape Speed]] as the 2023 fools' comic. And will even help sort out the list (a list which I started and have tried to keep up to date from the start.) Benley - is that Benjamin Staffin? And which of the other named in the credits for Escape Speed is Chromakode? (there is no such name there and did not find anything on the link but I'm not on X for instance so could not enter all of them). If you are indeed a developer of such comics, I thank you for all the joy you help bring to xkcd fans. Best regard --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:25, 7 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::That's correct, benley is Benjamin Staffin (me). Chromakode is Max Goodhart. Thanks for maintaining this wiki :-) [[User:Benley|Benley]] ([[User talk:Benley|talk]]) 18:28, 10 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::Thanks for the info. Cool you are involved in these special comics. An honor to write with you. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 04:20, 11 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:To the first comment. I just realized it was [[Gravity]] that promoted the what if? book release. So that was my bad. Not that I would have believed a 19 day overdue comic was April fools' comic, just because it was not released on a book launch. But with the link from Benley, now I do. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:29, 7 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Ping, re: Main Page deletion. ==<br />
If you aren't being contacted by other means, this time I'm ''needing'' to spark off an email notification to you (resuming we don't need davidy22, etc). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 16:24, 11 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:I managed to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Undelete&target=Main_Page restore the page]. Thanks. Did not see it. I have written to the one who did it. Hope it was a mistake. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:58, 11 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::hey kynde, i would highly reccomend de-sysopping markhurd. he's confirmed to have passed on his main wikipedia page, and it could a security risk to keep him as a sysop, as whoever is in control of the account might delete more pages. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 20:13, 14 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::Hi. Are you saying that he is dead now? Not sure I have permission to do that though --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:42, 15 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Yes, although I prefer more respectful terms. My great-grandfather recently passed at 100 years old, and I'm still needing time to process. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 17:02, 15 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::Codolence for you loss. I'm not native English speaker and was uncertain what you meant and how you knew. Found out as you can see. Best, Kynde... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 06:14, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::::It's a minefield of language. To have "passed" is probably not even a fairly common euphemism in British English (in fact, if locally used and understood for what it is about, it may even sound like a pat and insincere imported Americanism, rather than respectful...). Formally, you may say "deceased". Or you might skirt the issue by saying someone "is no longer with us" (although that might also mean they just moved on, i.e. now live somewhere else, rather than have "moved on", another euphemistic phrase that does somewhat presuppose belief that there is some other place that they can now be but is less 'Merkin than "passed").<br />
::::::In general, take the cue from the one most connected. I would definitely honour 42's terminology regarding their great-grandfather, and would wish to pass on my own sympathies. For myself, once I tell you that my Dad is dead, you could easily ask how I've been "since he died". (NB.: though a real example, it was several years ago, with myself having been no spring chicken at the time, and so it is not a current issue; please let me avoid any further awkwardness by taking any belated condolances as read. My four grandparents died at various times between my being barely old enough to know until... well, it was still decades ago. Never had the opportunity to know any of ''their'' parents.) <br />
::::::Aside from all that, I would find it awkward to restrict the language used when it comes to reports of those ''not'' obviously connected to either myself or the other party. Sean Connery died, JFK died ("was asassinated"), James VI Of Scotland/James I Of England is long dead, and moreso is {{w|Lucy (Australopithecus)|'Lucy'}}. Mortality is still far too common to ''never'' say the respective words, although clearly you might hedge your language if you know you're potentially tweaking fresh emotions in the one you're talking to, or are feeling fragile about the issue yourself.<br />
::::::Perhaps understandable for 42 to have taken the more oblique term, in their recent state of grieving, but was unfortunately contextless and thus hard for you to interpret until fully explained. Og vi kender ikke engang dine egne forhold, så vi kan såre dine egne følelser. Whatever you might wish to say other than "Han er bestået"(/"død"). One perhaps must take this into account, in such internationalised communications. More in understanding others than in trying to anticipate what idealised position you must always take. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.220|172.70.90.220]] 15:19, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::::sorry for my little meltdown yesterday. sorry kynde, didn't know you were a non-native speaker. i blame hormones and grief-but mostly hormones. sorry again. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 23:20, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::::::No problem 42. I do understand the meaning of passed, but had at first no idea how you would knew this and got confused. And did not think you would be affected by my question. A bit long essay from the previous commenter ;-) But fine with a littele context. Seems like he is also Danish, like me, given that he wrote some Danish lines...? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:55, 17 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::::::Nej undskyld. Skyd skylden på en populær hjemmeside*. Du har et dejligt land, men mit ene besøg var som barn (da man havde verdens eneste forlystelsespark lavet af plastikmursten!), og jeg kunne aldrig mere dansk end et par vitale ord som "ja", " nej" og "kartoffelmos"... :p [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.77|172.71.178.77]] 10:23, 17 April 2024 (UTC) ((* - checked the reversal; fiddled with it a bit; had to overrule it to specifically say 'brick(s)', not 'stone', presuming that would be more correct! ;) Anyway, just FYI. Ignorer mig!))<br />
::::::::::Ha ha. Well you made a visit to Legoland. :-) Hope you enjoyed it. Have been there many times. It is called: Legoklodser. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:32, 17 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Ah found it my self [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Markhurd here]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:43, 15 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::I have blocked Mark Hurds account now. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:47, 15 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::::Does this wiki have a deceased tag like on Wikipedia? Or a way to deactivate their account without blocking? I can't find markhurd's page so I don't know if thats something you did. But if thats not an avalible option, that would be a nice thing for the admins or buracrats add, as a more respectful way to deactivate their acount, instead of blocking them. :) [[User:Apollo11|Apollo11]] ([[User talk:Apollo11|talk]]) 15:36, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::::Also 42, I'm very sorry for your loss. [[User:Apollo11|Apollo11]] ([[User talk:Apollo11|talk]]) 15:36, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::::I have left a message on [[User:Markhurd]] saying he has "passed", do not think there is a dedicated tag for this. Also if there was or I'm not the one to make it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:55, 17 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== main page protection ==<br />
can you protect the main page, like how 42.book.addict asked on the admin request community portal? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.155.39|172.71.155.39]] 21:21, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Done. I had hoped it was a one time problem. It can now only be changed by admins. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:51, 17 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Linking from another wiki ==<br />
<br />
Hi,<br />
Over on a different wiki's homepage, I'm maintaining [https://pandorastale.wiki/wiki/Pandora%27s_Tale_Wiki#Other_Webcomic_Wikis_We_Love|keeping a list of wikis] about webcomics on "good" hosts (independent or Miraheze, no Fandom). Would you be okay with me listing your wiki?<br />
[[User:183231bcb|183231bcb]] ([[User talk:183231bcb|talk]]) 22:12, 19 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Hi. I'm not quite sure where you would put a link. But I see no problems with links to this page, as it is a page for people who wish to get help understanding (or help with explaining) xkcd which is public. So not really sure you need any permission to link to this page. I'm not in any way the owner of this page, just an admin. Feel free to link though.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:02, 20 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
::If I can perhaps try to help both of you (forgive me for butting in)...<br />
::Minor markup problems were made with the initial request. "...I'm maintaining [https://pandorastale.wiki/wiki/Pandora%27s_Tale_Wiki#Other_Webcomic_Wikis_We_Love keeping a list of wikis] about webcomics..." ''should'' be the intended link, and way of linking it. (If I've done it right!) It's a simple request to make reference to our site here (not 'page', that might be confusing) and though there's really nothing to stop them, I for one thank them for asking, and also complement them on their good taste! :p<br />
::We don't really have an established place to make a reciprocal gesture, nice as that might be. We have a bit or two that documents Randall's own "Other webcomics I like" elements, but that's more just a matter of record (if he adds something there, we'll add it here).<br />
::It might be interesting to have a Community-area page where contributors can place such suggestions, but by the very nature of our broad church of viewers I could see that being a bit uncontrollable. We do have people linking (relevent) other sites in Explanation pages, ones that may seem relevent in the Talk/Discussion contributions and of course a User page is that user's own to (within reason!) set up any kind of webcomic directory they wish (hey, with a bit of clever <nowiki><(no)include(only)></nowiki> tagging, they can maintain it there and perhaps let it show up, transcluded, somewhere that the Community is happy to put it, for as long as it looks like this person is doing a decent job of maintaining it).<br />
::...but that's beyond the request by 183231bcb (which I think I'm right in saying that Kynde has no problems with, to project what I think is meant above by both of you).<br />
::And, to clarify, yes this isn't "Kynde's wiki", as such. The hoster/maintainer is someone else (and not Randall), it's rather a bit more of a community effort in a public square set up in the distant past by generally absent landlords. That said, Kynde is a worthy moderator/admin/whatever and currently active (others exist, and some occasionally pop by as required), and - if you accept this long-time anon-IP's word - I would say he's not a bad choice to check with on this issue. Might be quicker to get a yay/nay response than putting it out to general comment. (For those who check the possible appearance of such a request for general comment!) And, still hoping I'm not putting wrong words into mouths here, that response ''is'' "yay", so hey..! (I imagine it's not going to be as problematic as being slashdotted, which would be my only reservation. Even so, being slashdotted (or the modern equivalent) is something we have no control over.)<br />
::Now it's up to everyone as to what to do about it. Barring anyone ''else'' having an opinion, first! Let what happens happen, eh? (I've only briefly looked at the PTW, so rar, but maybe I'll get to see what your lot's focal strip is doing as well, later. Nice to know there's others who avoid Fandom-type sites!) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.48|172.70.90.48]] 15:38, 20 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::Thanks for your input. Now I know where it would go. I can see no reason not to put a link to a public page and telling you like it. But as said above we do not reciprocal the gesture. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:27, 21 May 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Hi,<br />
Thank you. My initial request was just if you minded me linking to you: a returning link from here to PTW would be beyond my initial request (but of course I would be happy if you did!)<br />
[[User:183231bcb|183231bcb]] ([[User talk:183231bcb|talk]]) 15:07, 21 May 2024 (UTC)</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:Kynde&diff=342533User talk:Kynde2024-05-19T22:20:27Z<p>183231bcb: /* Linking from another wiki */</p>
<hr />
<div>== Cueball references ==<br />
Hi, please do not remove the Cueball references here. He is a standard character. The category [[:Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] gives just an overview about all comics showing this stick figure. And just one is him, not defined by Randall but by us. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:10, 8 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
:But who should define who Cueball is? You? I could see him as both here. And somebody did. You have just corrected back so that the Cueball in the explain is switched to the other charachter in the transcript. At least one of these should then be changed to match the other. It is thus also clear that people have different views of what Cueball stands for. Is he the one trolling, or is he the one who knows which movie Blade Runner is? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:35, 10 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
:By the way - I did not remove the reference to the chategory - but only in the text as described above. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:38, 10 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Minor tags on edits ==<br />
Also, a minor concern, but please be more sparing in your use of "minor" tags on edits. Addition of 1200 characters (e.g. . . m Talk:1496: Art Project; 20:04 . . (+1,240) . . Kynde, or . . m 1497: New Products; 19:12 . . (-419) . . Kynde →Explanation: It does not fit into category four! See new test. I also deleted a lot of text, that already was written below, and was basically the same as the one stille) is NOT minor. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:22, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
::When adding a new comment to the talk page I newer see this as a major change. This i a discussion not a change to the explanation!. I do not believe it was a big change removing the text you wrote, when all of it basically was written below. Try and read your version, and see that it was more or less double. Also I had already once removed the reference to the fourth category. If the guy has signed up he have no problems with this company. Also it is mentioned that the fourth category is not a company he is afraid off, but just someone they do not like. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:42, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Thank you ==<br />
<br />
I like what you did at [[1402: Harpoons]]. Thank you. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.153|173.245.54.153]]<br />
:You're welcome - I did it based on your comment [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 03:41, 2 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==[[980: Money]]==<br />
Hey, you've done an amazing job on the money comic's transcript, but the explanation page is still marked as incomplete. Is there actually anything left to be done on it? Thanks! [[User:Davak72|Davak72]] ([[User talk:Davak72|talk]]) 03:04, 3 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks allot. I have replied on the Money page where you repeated the above. I can even remember the number although it was some time since I did the transcript. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:44, 3 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Merge Cueball & Rob ==<br />
<br />
You seem to have changed some comics in which formerly more than one cueball appeared to make it such that none were called cueball (e.g. Orb Hammer). But many persist, see transcripts in:<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1405:_Meteor<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/192:_Working_for_Google<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/525:_I_Know_You%27re_Listening<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/187:_The_Familiar<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/79:_Iambic_Pentameter<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/65:_Banter<br />
<br />
We should probably seek broader consensus before rewriting all these transcripts. There seems to me to be a general trend to name one "Cueball" and call the others "Friend" or somesuch in these cases and I'm concerned that you seem to want to singlehandedly rewrite all that convention. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:07, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:It is typically the first who writes the transcript who decides who of the Cueballs (or Megans) he feel represents the real Cueball. However, there is no real behavior of Cueball. So who should decide. I could also change these transcripts so it becomes the other character who becomes Cueball, because I think the first transcripter did it wrong. This was exactly what happened with the two Megan-like comics. First it was Megan and Danish. Then unidentified girl and Megan. Then Megan and unidentified girl, then two Megan like girls with short and long hair and finally you reverted it to my first ide: Unidentified girl and Megan. So thanks for showing me these six double Cueball comics. I will change asap. And as I answered your comment on [[1496: Art Project]] Rob is already listed as part of the category for Comics featuring Cueball: http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Comics_featuring_Rob and this is listed as the first entry when going to the page for Category:Comics featuring Cueball: http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Comics_featuring_Cueball Thus he should not be merged--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:21, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:: Can you please add this discussion here [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob]. I have refrained from making these sort of substantial changes and want to seek a broader consensus. Please use the community forum to seek such consensus before making major unilateral changes like that. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:24, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::Done with interests --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:02, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:: there are dozens of multiple-Cueball comments. Please don't change them to "man 1", "man 2" until we can reach a braoder consensus. I will not be changing them to "Rob" without consensus. This is not something to be done all at once and making that many changes will prompt me to request that an admin freeze your account. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:27, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::I was about to write this before your comment no. two. So this was a reply to your previous comment: "I can post it there, but these changes has been underway a long time for almost a year. But it is hard to find these comics as I do not go through them just to find incidences. How long have you been active in xkcd. I can see your page has been created today, but maybe you were active long before that?"--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:42, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::This is a comment to your next comment: "It is very hard to threaten someone like that already. I have been making these changes before, and by the way never to man 1 or man 2. I have been one of the top contributers for more than a year. I hope this is not just because I reverted one of your contributions to Mondays comic? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]21:42, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::::I didn't want to threaten. I think consistent style is important, and general style I see is in multi-Cueball comics, one is ID'd as Cueball and others are "Friend", etc. Anyone unilaterally changing an established style should seek consensus first.<br />
:::::Additionally, I think your undo on my edit actually improved the explanation.<br />
:::::Finally, if you know how to solicit more opinions on the matter at hand, please let me know (or do it). Thanks! [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 23:53, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::::Thanks on the edit appraisal. As I wrote on the talk page, yours was also much better phrased the second time. I do not know how to get anyone to go read your comment except by giving them the message like you did with me. Or putting a link to it from the talk page of the double Megan comic, and maybe on some of the double Cueball comics too. I did not understand the "solicit more opinions" at first (why I wrote that last part in my comment below "how many will read"). So you do realize, I can see now, that not many will. By the way I'm [[Danish]]... That is, I'm neither a mean girl or a pastry cake, but from Denmark. And although I'm, really good at English for everyday use, it is not by far a language I can understand everything. But suddenly I got your message.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 12 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
My only point is we need to wait until consensus is reached before undoing years of precedent in Cueball naming. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 22:38, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Well as I have made fairly clear there is no consensus. Because it is up to the first one who writes the transcript to decide who is the friend. And this often leads to discussion or changes forth and back (like we just saw with two Megans) since people have different opinion on how Cueball should behave, since they do not know that Cueball can behave anyway Randall needs him to. Often he reflects Randall's intelligence, but just as often he is a prick behaving horribly towards girls etc. So if there are two, one good and one bad, you cannot say the good one is Cueball. And how many do you think reads your post? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:43, 12 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I have had a look at the comics you have listed. Here are my comments:<br />
*[[1405:_Meteor]]<br />
**Here I would have changed - since it is believed that Cueball often represents Randall's version of himself - especially when it is his hobby. Of course it is then Randall who is pedantic, and thus Cueball. So I would change the Cueball reference. So here we could have a stupid editing war, instead of writing something else.<br />
*[[525:_I_Know_You%27re_Listening]]<br />
**Here there is only one Cueball speaking. And the other is listening in. So here I would no object so much. Maybe I would mention that the other looks like Cueball.<br />
*[[192:_Working_for_Google]]<br />
**Here I would have changed - since I would think that Cueball should have the most interesting story, and also that this Cueball is Randall as it is known that Randall has an interest in Google and has also been cheated by their aptitude test (so much that he did the famous [[356: Nerd Sniping]]). So also here I would change the Cueball reference. So again stupid editing war, instead of writing something else.<br />
*[[187:_The_Familiar]]<br />
**Here I would have changed - since I would thing that Cueball should be the one always interested in computers. Not the other way. I know there are other comics where he enjoys nature. But Also a lot where he enjoys computers out of hand and math etc. So again I would have changed the Cueball reference. So again stupid editing war, instead of writing something else.<br />
*[[79:_Iambic_Pentameter]]<br />
**Here I agree with the Cueball = Randall - it's Randall my hobby and thus the one with the Hobby is Cueball. But I would still prefer they are not named. some might argue against me on the hobby, saying the Cueball with the hobby is "Randall" so the other Cueball is "Cueball". Thus once more editing war. But I would not start it. But still probably mention that the Cueball with a hobby is Randall.<br />
*[[65:_Banter]]<br />
**What can I say. The first is called Cueball the other is not. They have the same amount of text, and they are obviously both gay and missing out. I would definitely loose the Cueball reference here. <br />
That is my ten cents about these six examples. Maybe we should create a category called multiple Cueballs. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 12 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Note that I have not changed any of these... yet. But maybe I should revert those three I think is plain wrong, so the Cueball and friend is changed. Then we can see if anyone changes back? ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 12 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::I advise waiting. If you want to enact 4, go for it, but then put in the discussion a [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob link] to our discussion for '''all''' the changes you make so hopefully someone besides you and me goes to that page and weighs in.<br />
<br />
To answer your question, I've read xkcd for years (I started reading regularly around the time there were ~500 total comics), lurked on explainxkcd and made anonymous minor edits for most of that time. I set up an account in July 2013, when I began making more regular edits.<br />
<br />
I recognize that the issue has a large amount of inertia. My point is precisely that there are 9 "Rob" comics and countless Cueball. But, as I stated on the page, there is ample evidence that the same character (Black Hat's friend/roommate, Megan's boyfriend) '''is''' named Rob. I haven't done a count, but I suspect that "Megan" is named in the comic fewer than 9 times, but characters of her appearance are '''all''' called "Megan".<br />
<br />
Yes, multiple Megans triggered the idea that's been brewing in my mind since someone (not me) made an anonymous comment on a relatively recent Rob comic [1168: tar]. Since I read that it's been sitting in my mind, but I haven't wanted to make an issue. However, the asymmetry between Megan/Cutie and Rob/Cueball grates for me and I want to urge the community here to evaluate critically whether it is the right thing or an inappropriate historical artifact. Years ago, [Cutie] was abolished (redirects now to [Megan]), I think it's objectively appropriate to make a symmetrical arrangement for Rob/Cueball (hence my options 2 & 3 in the public discussion thread).<br />
<br />
For now, if you want to go changing all those comics go ahead. I won't argue or revert, but I request that you put the following (or something close to it) in the discussion of all the comics you change "I've removed the name 'Cueball' from this and several other comics that have multiple Cueball's in them as per my position on the issue currently under discussion at http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob if you support this change or disagree with it, please weigh in on that discussion thread."<br />
<br />
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from more users. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 00:04, 13 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::Dear Djbrasier<br />
:(By the way my name is Kynde - that is both my nick and my middle name).<br />
:Thanks for this very open talk. I like you much better now ;-)<br />
:If I do change any of these I will do as you ask. It is not like I have forever to do these changes, although I for sure use too much time already on explain... I think I will add the category:Comics with multiple Cueballs. What do you think of the name if I do (and if I do then maybe also make one with Category:Comics where Megan is named Megan. Please tell me you can think of a better name for that one ;-) I only know of the three now mentioned on [[Megan]]s page.<br />
:As you can see om my page, I have only used explain xkcd since late 2013. So you have been member longer than me by some months. I did not read xkcd before that - became fascinated with the What if section on xkcd and when I finished with those I turned to the comic. But found that I failed to understand quite a few, and thus searched and found this page. I have read them as they come out since then, and then also began reading from no. 1. But since I always look in this page for the explanation and like to contribute I only progress very slowly. Recently I have reached [[540: Base System]] where I have made several improvements additions and corrections. And that is as far as I have reached reading straight fro no. 1. But I have of course used the cross referencing and thus read many in between that and those from October 2013. <br />
:Regards Kynde --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:02, 13 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Happy to have the discussion and to get to wiki-know you. I definitely see your points. I added a few comments and links to our public discussion in the hopes that, over time, it will attract more users to the community portal discussion. I suspect it will take some months for enough users to weigh in that we have a reasonable consensus. I think that if you remove "Cueball" from some of the comics you mentioned above and put a link to the portal page in the discussion block of those comments, that will prompt community input.<br />
::Cheers,<br />
::DJ [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 13:40, 13 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I also added incomplete tags to a few comics in which I think a strong argument can be made that "Cueball" is really Rob, despite his name not showing up (Boombox & Cover-up) [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 13:49, 13 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Well I disagree again. See the talk pages. But then it is out for discussion.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:19, 15 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I have changed several of the Multiple Cueballs comics as you said was OK with you. See the new caregory. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:41, 16 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== xkcloud permalink usernames ==<br />
<br />
You said "The user name and user picture stay the same though.", [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1506:_xkcloud&diff=prev&oldid=88207 An Anon] had mentioned that [http://xkcd.com/1506/#post/3c34fb48-1a07-51d2-a81d-5257a3681024 3c34fb48-1a07-51d2-a81d-5257a3681024] had the name "Lauren Ibsen Dolores Amit" and changed to "Margaret5", then by the time I looked at it, it had "Virginia2006". It still has "Virginia2006" now, but since it has changed twice I wouldn't assume it is now permanent. Due to this, I [[1506:_xkcloud/Table of Permalinks|haven't been saving the usernames]]. Could you confirm that you see Virginia2006? Perhaps it's different for each user. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 21:09, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Yes I did see Virginia2006. I think it may change some times, but then suddenly it could become stable? The permalink used on the main page of the explain, was mine. I noted it was Mark Zuckerberg. But this has changed. But now I think it is stuck on: Destiny1983 and always with the skating "Megan". Can you confirm this: http://xkcd.com/1506/#post/50b47c70-3a7c-504d-bcc0-60597338e999 . Cool that you have collected all these images. Can we put the link under the permalink section. As you can see I'm trying to completely revise the page so it is easier to find the explain and then only see the detail if you are interested. Hope you like these changes --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:27, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Yeah, I see Destiny1983 on that one too. I like the changes, they make everything much clearer. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 21:30, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::Thanks. I was trying to make it easier to write some extra info on your permalink page, and deleted most of them. Luckily they are not deleted permanently. But the page is so big I have trouble loading it. I try to repair my mistake, but else please do so for me, and sorry in advance. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:45, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::NP, <tt>&action=history</tt> is a life-saver. I was going to suggest using <tt>&action=edit&section=0</tt>, but I see you've already added a description heading. It also lags pretty badly for me so I expect I'll have to stop at 10000, and I'm already up to 8444 since my last edit to the page. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 22:20, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::::Yes I think I fixed it but I had to split it in three uploads. How many different pictures do you think there are. I guess some off them are the same? (And same for text). Maybe the last part can be seen by sorting the table. But does the image also have the same name when used more than once? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:33, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::::Well, I know of 1419 unique images so far. Yes, both images and text are reused for different permalinks, some come up a lot more frequently than others. If you click the heading, you can sort by either image or text, which will group them together. It's kind of interesting to see different captions for the same image. If you mean the same username, I haven't checked. I also haven't checked whether the same pair of image and text ever appear together as different permalinks, I'll check that <s>eventually</s>, <s>later</s>, ''right now''... nope. I imagine the prompt never even ''suggests'' a caption which is already associated with an image. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 23:27, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::::I hit the 2mb page limit at 10217 permalinks, out of the 15000+ I have found, so I've reduced the table to only show each image and text once. As in, ''either'' the image or text once, so there will be a couple of duplicate images and text. So what I said previously about sorting to see different captions for the same image no longer applies, but the page will be more manageable this way. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 13:53, 7 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::::: So you think that it will not be possible for anyone to add the same image to the same caption, because this caption will never again come up with this image or the other way around? I can see yo have removed the ? where they where something else like turtles... Nice. What about all the links below? Are they just the other 10.000 links not associated with a new image or caption, just a different combination? If so maybe this should be made clear. You could make a new section heading for them. Would it be possible to list them in any other way, or is this to save space? Alternatively you could make a new subpage with extra permalinks for further study. We of course both know that no one will ever read these again ;-) But nice work anyway. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:17, 7 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::::::: So far, I've never found the same image and same caption, but I'll keep checking, as I'm still storing all of the information, just not posting the full list to the wiki now. The other links at the bottom are all 15000+ permalinks I've found, good point about making that more clear. It might also be a good idea to list them on another separate page to save space, but they're not for further study, as I have all the images and captions associated with them, there just isn't room to display all of the information, because it would currently take 3mb+. Regarding the symbols, I was previously pasting my javascript output into my text editor to format them, but now I have my script format them for me, so the symbols are preserved. - and it's also a lot easier for me. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 14:29, 7 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::::::: Well, I've hit the 2 megabyte limit again, so it looks like we'll have to put the table on one page and the list of links on another. Any suggestions for the page titles? -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 15:25, 23 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::::::: You are crazy :-) My suggestion is that you create a new page called Table of Permalink (with the explanation at the top the same, but now linking to the old page, and vice versa for the old page to the new). Then let the list of permalink stay on the old page. And move the table to the new page. Finally, look at what pages direct to the old page, and redirect them to the new, only leaving link to the old page from the new one. The table is most important. The problem with your table is that it is too big for anyone to load... Maybe there should even be another page in between. Which is called - a selection of permalink. And then with link to the full table and links, with a fair warning about huge amount of data (Big data.). My explorer just went down trying to load the page (or maybe I'm just too impatient?) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:36, 24 April 2015 (UTC) (Ah, now it is finished loading...)<br />
:::::::::: Thanks. I haven't tried it in internet explorer, but the table loads okay with Chrome on my laptop I bought 7 years ago. Now that the pages are split, it might load faster for you. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 18:58, 24 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==[[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript|Hoverboard Transcript]]==<br />
<br />
Sorry to ask about such a minor thing, just curious about why the man on the raised plateau can't be a woman. Elsewhere in the comic Darth Vader is seen explaining Steven Universe to someone. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.43|108.162.221.43]] 13:46, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Hi - it cold be. But to me it looks like a family. But to be honest I had not expected anyone to change it, and did not notice before I had copy pasted some text in from the document I write the transcript in. But hopefully at some time this family (or whatever) becomes part of the effort to explain the entire comic. My guess is that someone will know who it is - that they are from some TV series or movie. In that case it will become clear if it is (as I assumed) a family with mom and dad and two children or if it is a lesbian couple or something entirely different... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::The family resembles the main characters of Steven Universe, a cartoon(the characters being three women and a child) The explanation page also lists them as such(Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems - (x: 551664, y: -567383). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.64|173.245.55.64]] 21:03, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::Perfect thanks. Then is makes sense with the Vader reference. Is it the boy who is Steven? And is the low girl also a grown woman? I will look it up but thanks for answering. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:07, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::Fixed the transcript. Some of the link I put in, is not supposed to be there, but may be moved once they are explained in the main article.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:20, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Hair Bun "Girl" ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde, I noticed you created the character page for "Hair Bun Girl". This naming convention is inconsistent with most of the other characters named here, e.g. Cueball, Ponytail, Hairy, et al. Beret Guy is a potential counterexample, but the words "guy" and "man" don't have the same relationship as "girl" and "woman". Partly for consistency, and partly for simple feminism, I'd like to open a conversation about changing the character's name please. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:08, 4 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:I think it is exactly the same as guy vs. girl. Hair Bun Woman is just too cumbersome. But if you can find a name like Ponytail that fits then by all means. Hairbun just doesn't do it for me. But I do not have any specific feelings for this name, I just found that she was used too often to not have a character page. So I will not take offence against you trying to find a better name through a conversation. Contraty to for instance Megan, which once was Cuetie (sexistick I think), it will not be so hard to change Hair Bun Girl's name to something else, but still she has just reached comic no. 20 so it is not easy to find all the references. Are you ready to do that job if you do get a new name for her? Because else it is just semantics --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:20, 4 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Thanks, appreciate it. Yes I am ready to do the job. What would you recommend for next steps? Should I raise the issue at http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Coordination? [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:06, 7 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Your welcome, and good luck. Try to see [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob|this post]] regarding the naming convention of [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] which much to my joy did not end up in altering anything, but they were "old" names, Hair Bun Girl is new. You could post you suggestion there. And maybe make a note at the top of [[Hair Bun Girl]]'s page? (You can write Notice as a template just like the incomplete. Check out this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Cueball&oldid=92611 old version of Cueball page history]). Now that I think about it '''Hairbun''' is probably as good a name as [[Ponytail]]. So I would think that would be a decent proposal for a change. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:08, 7 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
::::Okay, process started. Thank you for the good wishes and guidance. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:31, 9 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
=== Girl With Hairbun? ===<br />
<br />
I have identified several comics that have a girl (clearly a child) similar in appearance to Hairbun. <br />
Examples include [[1104: Feathers]], [[1352: Cosmologist on a Tire Swing]] and [[1370: President]]. Would these people be included under Hairbun? Most of them are not marked as such. And what are the requirments to make a new character? I think this girl has appeared rather often. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.42}}<br />
:Hi. If you look at the description for [[Hairbun]] it clearly states that she is an adult as are Ponytail and Cueball etc. So no, these examples should not be included in Hairbun category. If you look at the last entry on the talk page of President I suggested a children category. But I would agree that a category with curious girl or science girl could be relevant. She is also in [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]] for instance. If there are about five comics that could go in a new category it is just to create it. The naming is important though. See othere categories for what to write on the category page. I have made several including Hairbun --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:12, 27 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Thanks for your input. I think I will be creating this category soon. Since most of the names seem to refer to the hairstyles (they are recognizable) I think I'll be going with the name "Double Bun Girl".<br />
<br />
== Marking edits as minor edits ==<br />
Hey, I noticed that you mark lot of your edits as minor edits while most of them aren't. For example, [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645%3A_Toasts&diff=112997&oldid=112996 this]] and probably [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=113008 this]] too constitute as a minor edit, but these - [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=112997 [1]]], [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=113003 [2]]], [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=113009 [3]]], etc. aren't minor edits. Refer to the wikipedia guidelines for minor edits - {{w|Help:Minor_edit}}.<br />
::Examples include typographical corrections, formatting and presentational changes, and rearrangements of text without modification of its content. A minor edit is one that the editor believes requires no review and could never be the subject of a dispute.<br />
Basically, if you are adding/removing even a little bit of content, it is not minor. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 23:31, 21 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Oh, and how in the world is [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Thing_Explainer&curid=16286&diff=113034&oldid=113033 this ]] and [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1608:_Hoverboard&curid=16986&diff=113019&oldid=113013 this ]] minor !! [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 23:47, 21 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Sorry about that. I just updated my settings where it had been set to default: "Mark all edits minor by default". If I by mistake click OK to an update before clicking that off it was to late. But now it will be the other way instead. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:19, 22 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Cool, no worries. It happens. I was just surprised that everything was marked minor. Anyway, keep up the good work. I see that you're finishing up all the incomplete explanations and improving comics in general. Great work ! :) [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 01:04, 23 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Thanks for the support, nice to get some feedback. Also great that someone mentions when you are doing something the wrong way. I had only limited experience with wiki pages before signing up here, and I had not read the wiki page on minor edits, but now I have. How come you have chosen not to have an account? Seems like you also make several comments and changes... which is great ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:11, 23 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Please create the discussion page for today's comic. ==<br />
Thanks. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.13|108.162.221.13]] 15:02, 7 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Well just did that (for [[1652: Conditionals]]) but not because I saw this comment, just before. I guess it is not possible for no registered users to create pages? Well I fulfilled your wish before I knew about it ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:05, 7 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Moving comments around ==<br />
Please do not move people's comments into unrelated discussions without asking them, and if you do, make sure the timestamps in the reply chain aren't out of order. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 20:36, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:I expect you were referring to [[Talk:1659: Tire Swing]]? Well all comments I moved were regarding the same question of who the girls looked like, and they should have been posted as replies to the first. There were no time stamp on the first comment and your post asking if they were children were posted straight under a post about if they were Megan and Hair Bun girl or Thelma and Louise. So I do believe your comment belong under that statement. But fine by my that it just stand beneath instead of being indented. The time stamp of all comments seem to be in time order as I see it. It would get really confusing or I would have to make the same reply three times if they were not together. The comments in between were not at all related and there should be no confusion. So I think it made the discussion page much more useful what I did.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:52, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Well I don't know about the other users, but I know for a fact that mine wasn't in response to the first one. I don't even know what the first one said, I just moved it from the explanation to comment page. And mine was posted immediately after it because I was chronologically the second comment made. I had no reason to wait (interestingly, you moved someone else's comment so that I was replying to it, even though it didn't exist when I posted.) [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 00:41, 24 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::I cannot see that what you say is true about moving your comment. I just checked the history and here is what I found:<br><br />
'''This was what it looked like before my changes:''' <br><br />
--- <br><br />
the women do not look like Megan and Hair Bun Girl to me, are they new?<br />
sorry for commenting here, but I do not have rights to create a new page, which seems to be necessary for posting the fire comment. Will move once the comment section is created.<br />
<br />
I think they are Thelma and Louise (from the movie) given the looks of their hair {{unsigned|Chichak|March 23, 2016}}<br />
<br />
I think they're children [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:33, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Maybe they got the truck from Black Hat's garage? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:34, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I have yet to use a tire swing that was made from a worn tire (worn by the road not by swinging). From my experience, expired tires used by automobiles typically have sharp metal protruding from the rubber. This would make a dangerous tire swing. I thought landscaping (rubber mulch) and playgrounds was the preferred recycling method for used tires?--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:35, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The first one certainly looks like Hair Bun, but the second one (which in in the explanation is presented as Megan) has a somewhat curly hair. Could she be another character, perhaps? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.166|108.162.218.166]] 17:05, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br>--- <br><br />
'''This what it looked like after:'''<br><br />
--- <br><br />
the women do not look like Megan and Hair Bun Girl to me, are they new?<br />
sorry for commenting here, but I do not have rights to create a new page, which seems to be necessary for posting the fire comment. Will move once the comment section is created.<br />
:I think they are Thelma and Louise (from the movie) given the looks of their hair {{unsigned|Chichak|March 23, 2016}}<br />
::I think they're children [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:33, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::The first one certainly looks like Hair Bun, but the second one (which in in the explanation is presented as Megan) has a somewhat curly hair. Could she be another character, perhaps? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.166|108.162.218.166]] 17:05, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
::::As the tire comes from a truck and it's diameter is more than half the height of these small girls they are definitely kids (not that Randall could not have made adults make a swing as like in [[150]]). Also this makes it much more funny that they both stole a car and beat up an angry adult. And now they are going all environmental after wards. So they are not Megan (which looks nothing like a curly haired girl) and also not Hair Bun Girl as it is defined that these characters are adults. There are many stories using kids and they will never represent Cueball, Megan or Ponytail etc. Those with hats are for instance never drawn small! Have thus corrected the explanation. But it still seems to miss much more on the environmental issue which is the subject/point of the comic if not the joke --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:19, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Maybe they got the truck from Black Hat's garage? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:34, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Then they would have lost the fight: [[433: Journal 5]]! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:22, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I have yet to use a tire swing that was made from a worn tire (worn by the road not by swinging). From my experience, expired tires used by automobiles typically have sharp metal protruding from the rubber. This would make a dangerous tire swing. I thought landscaping (rubber mulch) and playgrounds was the preferred recycling method for used tires?--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:35, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:I think you are correct. We have one for our kids (though it sucked and we took it down again) and that was a brand new tire, but not one I think would be suitable for any car though. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:22, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br><br />
---<br><br />
'''As can be seen''' <br />
:::I have only moved one comment up, and that was not yours! That you did not check that there already seemed to be two comments above yours, about the appearance of the girls, doesn't mean that it would not make sense to pool all these questions and comments regarding exactly this topic together to give just one answer. And as you can see from the above '''I did NOT move your comments''', but I moved someone else's comment, in between the first and second of your comments, to be able to reply to all four things already written about the girls (ie. 1) The women do not look like Megan and Hair Bun Girl to me, are they new? 2) I think they are Thelma and Louise (from the movie) 3) I think they're children and 4) ... a somewhat curly hair. Could she be another character?) All that was what I replied to, now possible to do in one go right beneath all four remarks. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:47, 25 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
::::There was only one comment before mine, and it was 2 paragraphs. You moving the second half into a reply of the first half caused some of the confusion here [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 06:54, 26 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::::OK now I understand, so it was not your comment I moved, but the previous comment that I split in two (that was a mistake). That you did not answer to the comment above was of course not clear since it was on the same subject. Again this, as I understand it, was caused by someone posting a comment in the explanation, and you moving it into the comments section (which was fine, but made it hard to find out who posted what.) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:58, 26 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Gardening ==<br />
<br />
You mention "three links to images that did not work" in my "garden store for deer" entry. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:UploadStash/thumb/13xmd97bimg0.n2wbws.5455.png/739px-13xmd97bimg0.n2wbws.5455.png These]<br />
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:UploadStash/thumb/13xn667h2jlw.jonmk1.5455.png/739px-13xn667h2jlw.jonmk1.5455.png three]<br />
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:UploadStash/thumb/13xod68rb29s.7fj65u.5455.png/739px-13xod68rb29s.7fj65u.5455.png links]<br />
all work for me; they are images I tried to upload, scaled as large as the server would allow (739x461). Somehow I can upload images but not create image pages (also the spam protection is still triggered, so creating this account seems to accomplish nothing). It's very strange that the server has stored them but won't allow anyone else to view them (after logging out, it tells me I "must be logged in to upload files" instead of displaying the images). Someone should rescue the images from wherever they reside on the server.<br />
<br />
The "face" I referred to (the second image) is really a cluster of leaves and branches: the bottom cluster of the rightmost tree looks like a head in profile, with curly hair, an eye, a grinning mouth, and a prominent nose. The two rightmost trees started with no branches (first image), but grew several when I placed a light above them. I moved the light so the face wouldn't be destroyed and tried to grow branches on the lower trunks. The third image is essentially the same as what you uploaded today.<br />
<br />
Regarding Megan's office furniture: I'd actually pruned her second wand whenever it appeared, and then the bird took its place. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 15:29, 8 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Hi .42 First I think it take a few days (three) before you are allowed to create new pages to fight off spam boots that we have had problems with. I cannot see you images I get the following message:<br />
:'''Internal Server Error'''<br />
:'''This file (13xmd97bimg0.n2wbws.5455.png) doesn't belong to the current user.'''<br />
:Cool that you have logged in as a user, although poor name ;-) On the other hand if you are a fan of Hitchhikers Guide then I guess it would be cool enough by the way. I'm happy to see that I finally get a chance to prune some of my gardens after several upsets since the comic came out. If I can help you with the images let me know. Maybe you can post them somewhere else and I can find upload them for you? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:34, 8 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
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::I'll try to upload tomorrow, then. I don't know where the server found the .42 IP address &mdash; that isn't my address! It's ''really weird'' that it chose this number. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 16:18, 8 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Have you seen libra's [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=114415&start=480#p3954408 purple light] gardens? [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 22:58, 11 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
:No I had not. I like the stilt on platform up in tree. I did not know this could happen. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:24, 12 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
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== [[1703: Juno|NASA versus the press]] ==<br />
Hi Kynde. I'm afraid I disagree. It seems pretty clear to me that the question about the tip-off comes from NASA. I've added a topic to the talk page, where I explain my reasoning, and where this should be discussed if you still disagree. Thanks! [[User:Garik|Garik]] ([[User talk:Garik|talk]]) 16:52, 6 July 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Yes I still disagree. To me it seems like a continuation of the conference and it is now the press to speak. And given that I knew Juno to be related to Jupiter but not that she was the daughter of Saturn (and given the reason for the naming in the real world) I would not say that the name in any way would lead anyone to take it as a hint for going to Saturn. But great to discuss it. Will post this on the [[Talk:1703:_Juno|talk page]] too. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:21, 6 July 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== 1712: Politifact ==<br />
Hi, I'm the BOT and I'm BORG...<br />
<br />
...nevertheless your enhancement to the transcript was too much. And I think your enhancements to the explain section is also overrunning the target.<br />
<br />
But I just only did revert the transcript. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:19, 28 July 2016 (UTC)<br />
:HI BORG... :/<br />
:I Highly disagree with your changes.<br />
:A transcript serves several functions:<br />
#To make it possible to find out what any text/characters reads, even if it is hard to read in the comic.<br />
#To make a description of what happens in the images. This has two purposes:<br />
##So people with eye disabilities can find out what the comic is about. So here a full description of the comic is needed apart from the text.<br />
##So it is possible to search the comic for info on the content, like a woman with a hat with a white tag.<br />
#Finally it is great if the transcript represents the way it is written in the comic as close as possible including colors (which should also be described in the text for those that cannot see them selves). So tables, colors and formatting is fine. If the text then is harder to read it is possible to copy paste it.<br />
:I can see there may have been a bit of explanation in that I wrote about what Megan did in the previous panel, but that is not enough to just undo the whole thing. <br />
:I will reinsert the transcript and if you disagree then lets discuss either on that comic or in a general fora on what a transcript should contain.<br />
:Regards, just Kynde. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:16, 29 July 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Follow-Up on that "Random Chat" ==<br />
Hey dude! Uh... wow this is awkward. You said hi to me in the random chat on my user page. I said hi. Then we never said anything else to each other again. xD --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 16:07, 25 October 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Jay. Not so awkward. :-) I mean you just said thanks, and thus did not really initiate any chat. Do you have anything in mind? Like something to be improved here on explain? Something larger maybe that could need discussion. Or anything else... Problem is of course that when I chat to you here, you do not get any reminder like when I chat on your page and visa versa. So I will make a post on your page that I have answered here... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:04, 25 October 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Well, by that, I just meant a simple random chat. Like a "hey! how are you doing? that's nice... what do you like to do in your free time..?" kind of chat. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 14:18, 26 October 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Ah well, I guess I would not really like to have such a chat on these pages, so sorry that I misunderstood you. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:19, 26 October 2016 (UTC)<br />
::::It's alright.. also.... HAPPY HALLOWEEN! :D --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 14:41, 31 October 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::::Wow... it's (almost) a whole year since then. Time sure flies by, huh? --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|'''JayRules''XKCD''' ]]<sup>[[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|what's up?]]</sup> 12:34, 9 October 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::::Yes that is true. Actually more since the first contact ;-) Haven't been so active the last half year. :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:22, 11 October 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== [[1751: Movie Folder]] ==<br />
<br />
Assuming that Black Hat only has good movies is rather absurd, as there's not a shred of evidence to support this. Especially since this is Black Hat we're talking about. Therefore, there's no evidence that Titanic 98 is about the ship hitting the reef, and therefore, the calculations about stacking 97 ships have no relevance. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.79.81|172.68.79.81]] 15:06, 1 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Since this is relevant to a specific comic, I suggest that you just leave this comment on that specific comic's discussion board. Thank you. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 15:13, 1 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Yes that is true Jay. Anyway there is reason to believe that Black Hat either thinks or teases Cueball with his movies, and thus he suggest that the movies he has are god. Also the other comment he makes suggest this. So I think there is a lot of evidence that this movie 98 is one in the series of movies where Titanic hits the reef of older Titanics. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:05, 2 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Cueball names 7 movies, Black Hat replies to 4 of those. He has definitively positive things to say about 2 of those, and simply states information about another. In that context, there's no reason to assume his comment about the Titanic series should be interpreted as a claim that he considers Titanic 98 to be 'good'. And with only 2 of the other 6 known movies in his collection being stated as 'good', that's clearly not "a lot of evidence" that Titanic 98 is 'good'. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.86|108.162.237.86]] 21:24, 3 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
::::Well we disagree on that then. If the explanation should be changed on the basis of this discussion it should be moved to the relevant discussion page. If it is the same person who wrote from both IP .81 and .86 you could move it there your self. Feel free to include my replies, but leave out Jays as that has nothing to do with the discussion. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:56, 4 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::::[[Talk:1751: Movie Folder#Titanic XCVIII|Done]]. (Yes, .81 and .86 were me) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.86|108.162.237.86]] 16:57, 4 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Transcript TLDR; ==<br />
*I got so tired of Dgbrt's negative comments (TLDR;), that I have collapsed them here below. Fell free to read them if you really wish by clicking: --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:00, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%"><br />
<br><br />
Please stop to write this massive texts into the transcript. Have a look at the discus at the last (1798) comic. And also think about that you are the only one who is entering those massive explains perhaps also nobody does read. LESS is often MORE! --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:43, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Maybe. I was under the impression that they where both there for those that had problems with vision, and also so you could search on something you remembered from a comic and find it using that tool. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:27, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::Even visually impaired persons don't like it (see 1798). And TLDR means "too long; didn't read", just in case. You should consider this. Reading the transcript should not take much longer than identifying the features from picture itself. Every spoken text and a short description what is shown should be suffice. At [[1799: Bad Map Projection: Time Zones]] even not every county must be mentioned; showing differences to a regular map projection should be enough because everybody knows a regular world map. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:44, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::I completely disagree about only writing spoken text. The transcript is intended to make it possible to read all text in the image not just spoken text. It is often difficult to read all text, and also if people misread it or do not notice it by looking at the image, it will be there to find in the transcript, especially for those visually impaired. And what you said means there should be no transcript for the current comic [[1799]] where you linked to this discussion from. By the way I know what TLDR means, and also did not ask about it, if you noticed! I have seen it used here before, probably regarding something you wrote! ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:33, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::I agree with Dgbrt. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:50, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::I expect mainly people who agree comes here, as people who are not troubled by it, might not care enough. ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:33, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::The first criticism was done by a visually impaired person (Zetfr 23:11, 13 February 2017 (UTC)) at [[Talk:1798:_Box_Plot]]. That was the reason for me to start this discussion.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:52, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::::Yes thanks for pointing that out. I had not read his comments when I replied before. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:13, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::Another reason for detailed transcripts with image descriptions is that sometimes people have misunderstood what is in the image, and then a transcript can be used to make sure what is there. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:33, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::All that may go into the explain section; it doesn't belong to the transcript.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:52, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::Yes maybe, but will the visibly impaired not also be annoyed about it there. Then maybe in a trivia section if there is need. I will try that for [[1798]] I think. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:13, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Maybe not known to all. In the past Randall provided a transcript on each comic. It is in a hidden div-tag. Then something went wrong and the transcript actually belonged to an older comic. Right now there is no transcript anymore. But have look at this example (shown on https://xkcd.com/1664/ for https://xkcd.com/1662/):<br />
<pre><br />
[[Two children, a girl and a boy, are talking to an adult woman as they walk away from her. The boy has a bucket.]] <br />
Girl: Me and Jack are going up the hill to fetch a pail of water. <br />
[[The children have left; the woman calls after them.]] <br />
Woman: Okay, have fun! [[The woman stands and thinks.]] <br />
Woman: ... wait. What the heck is going on with the hydrology around here? <br />
{{Title text: Jill and Jack began to frack. The oil boosts their town. But fractures make the bedrock shake and Jack came tumbling down.}}<br />
</pre><br />
--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:07, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Yes I tried to include this on explain xkcd by making a [[xkcd#Transcript_on_xkcd|description]] of it on the [[xkcd]] page some weeks ago. Transcript are of course even more important now that there are no longer transcripts on xkcd. The first problem arose after the [[Hoverboard]] comic where the transcript for all comics after that was shifted two and later three comics from the one they belonged to. The last of those shifted transcript ended with [[1674]] whose transcript was found three comics later at [[1677]]. But also comics with transcript needs a better transcript here on xkcd, to include other written text, and small important details, as well as we are using given names for characters which Randall has never used (or only rarely uses). Actually Randall has once made a direct link to Explain xkcd for a better transcript. Alas there was not transcript until this year, where I made it: See this [[Payloads#Trivia|trivia]] under [[Payloads]].--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:16, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
I'm glad this discussion is finally taking place. I raised the point a while back on [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#purpose_of_detailed_transcripts the community portal] but nobody noticed. I tried again on [[1795]] but attention had already moved on to the next comic... Seems I got it right this time ;-)<br />
Different people may have different uses for the transcripts. For me, being visually impaired, the right level of detail is that of Randall's official transcripts. It should include every written word in the comic (spoken, printed, in captions, etc.) and just enough information on what's going on to "get it", but not how things are drawn. E.g. "Cueball is talking to Megan", not "Cueball, on the left, has his right arm extended towards Megan who is sitting on a chair" (unless the chair somehow plays a part in the story). Imagine you're talking on the phone: "hey, I saw a great comic this morning, here is how it goes..." and then "tell" yor friend the joke, rather than "describe" the comic. BTW, I think this also serves your goal of being able to search old comics for a specific element. The element you'll remember will be something important to the comic's story, not a graphical detail such as a character's position or the number of lines drawn around his hand to indicate movement. Anyway, thanks for the good work!! Zetfr 16:18, 16 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks for the input, especially to Zetfr. I had not seen your comment on 1795 or in the community portal. I'll have a look, and thanks to Dgbrt for letting me know about your latest comment. I will try to keep out the details in the transcript. For me personally I have often been looking for a specific thing, like searching for the comic where Cueball stands on a chair with a sword or rotates in an office chair. As I could not remember any lines spoken, and because those making the transcript had not mentioned either spinning office chair, or sword, I could not search my way to them even in this explain page. I have found them later, but by chance. And then I put in the details. Maybe I have gotten carried away, so sorry about that. I think the details somehow belongs, but if that should be in the trivia, or at the bottom of the transcript...? I'm not sure, which was also why I put it in the transcript. Being the one who makes the most edits and also hard work (large tables, and huge transcripts) I'm happy Zetfr likes the page :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:09, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::I have changed the transcript for [[1795]] putting the details into a subesection of the transcript. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:38, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::Hi Kynde, I still disagree with this subsection solution. You don't have to repaint the picture by text! If a detail is important for understanding a pun it has to be mentioned in the transcript itself; otherwise it is useless and oversized. E.g.: Nobody wants to know -- and wont remember later -- if there are two, three, four, or five sound symbols and how they are painted. The single word "SOUND" describes all. And please consider: Nobody reads those long texts. LESS is often MORE!.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:04, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::Hi Dgbrt. We can movie it into a trivia. I think some of it is relevant, and sometimes it is hard to find out which part will be searched for later. But I guess we two alone would end in a [[1800: Chess Notation|½-½]] for this discussion so far... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:41, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::::I completely agree with Dgbrt. The transcript should say *what* Randall wants to tell us, not *how* he tells it. In most cases this should also work to let you search for details you remember. In your example, Cueball holding a sword is certainly important to the comic's point, so it should be mentioned in the transcript. But the length and position of the sword are irrelevant, and probably not what you'll search for. Obviously, there is no hard rule to decide what should or shouldn't go into the transcript, it's a matter of personal judgment and common sense, but I think we can all agree on general guidelines. Regarding the "Detailed image description" section tested in [[1795]], I have no problem with that. I'm not sure it will ever be useful to anyone, but it won't do any harm either, so if you're willing to put in the extra work, go for it. Zetfr 12:17, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::::Thanks Zetfr. About the extra details, they could be put into a section where you had to press to see the extra details. I do not know if a reader will pass over that. For instance like I have done with explanation for several categories like [[:Category:New Year]] --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:12, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Nice find for [[1461:_Payloads]], I didn't now Randall refers to this wiki. According to ''web.archive.org'' that hint was entered between 2015-01-25 and 2015-02-07 and refers to the entire wiki page, not only "our" transcript. So it's absolutely NOT embarrassing as you wrote in the trivia section. I'm setting an incomplete tag for the transcript and trivia section and edit it tomorrow (18th Feb). I will let you know what I've done and why. Stay tuned...--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:59, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:The rework on [[1461:_Payloads]] is done. But I didn't remove the incomplete tag. That's up to you. Like Zetfr I'm not sure it will ever be useful to anyone, but the larger description on a separate page would be acceptable to me. Furthermore I've done some investigations on Randalls links to this wiki and put it together in a new category: [[:Category:Explain_mentioned_by_Randall]].--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:57, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::Thanks both for the "nice find" and for reworking Payloads, and especially for the new category. Great find. I will look at the other examples soon. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:12, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Many thanks by me for this positive and productive discussion. It seems there are some more former transcripts which need a rework. I personally will focus on checking all the JSON-scripts I downloaded today (1799 at all; ofcourse 404 doesn't exist; and exactly seven contain the word "explainxkcd"). I will write a small script to put them into a human readable form and present it somewhere here for further use. Stay tuned... --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:45, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks Dbgrt. And really cool how you made that new category. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:14, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== [[xkcd]] page and subpages ==<br />
<br />
You moved some contented into subpages which doesn't make it better. There is no need to describe in [[Design of xkcd.com]] a layout everybody can see. The lemma "Design" requires just a few lines of text but you repeat all the "Content". And just for interest: Before the redirect to https was in place (a few weeks ago) there was language specific advertising for the shop. I'm looking forward for a better and more compressed form on all of this. Any suggestions?--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:07, 24 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Dgbrt. My reason for making this page, is that the links, the comics, the headline, the byline, the warning etc. all changes with time, and I would like users of this site to have easy access to earlier links. Just like we have a category for the fotter comics (which I by the way did not make, but enjoyed, because I never thought absolute that he must have had them before all those five comics had been published and that they thus must have changed). So I thought similar things would be nice to have for changes to the layout and hence I decided to describe it. Maybe it was too much, but I like to have the archive links to changes. And since I had already done lots of work on this, I just copied all the new text to another page, to not delete it. And yes as I have said on Davidy's page I should not have put it on the xkcd page to begin with. But when I started I had no idea it would end up soooo long. Waiting to hear your comments on this info, before going further with suggestions. But thanks for asking. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:16, 24 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::All those pages are on my agenda; your edit or not. I don't care. But I will not delete any content without an agreement. I will present something in a sandbox at my user page. You are welcome there (not before tomorrow). And consider, this wiki is not a backup for archive.org.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:56, 24 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::I think this wiki is for explaining xkcd, not just the comics. I believe you agree as I have seen on Davidy's talk page. And major changes or important revisions to the main page is important in my opinion. For instance I'm sad to see that the [[xkcd warning]] has gone from xkcd, and think it is important to let it be know it was there for many years. Where to do so? And how to find it if you did not know about it? There need to be a place that links to it, directly or indirectly through the xkcd page. I look forward to see you [[Time|sand castle]]. :-) Please leave a comment here when you have something you wish me to see, with a link. Regarding you answer to my comment, I meant that I would hear what you had to say before I came with suggestions. Not that you should not do anything before I made one. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:08, 24 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== I am still calm... ==<br />
<br />
...why I shouldn't? You see things inspiring others to see more things... (<- you would wrote 500 words for this) and you are still not able to put the pun on the top of an explanation. Keep your focus on the pun, not on every Million possibilities behind the drawing. And you can be sure I will have an eye on this because this is NOT "dreamingxkcd".--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:15, 4 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Well I'm not! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:09, 7 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Aggressive edits ==<br />
<br />
While I was talking to others about the explanation and the transcript for more than 24 hours you need only one hour to change everything that was discussed before. Again all red is yours: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1810%3A_Chat_Systems&diff=137245&oldid=137225 1810: Chat Systems changes]. Editors, mainly not me, don't like it when all their work is changed after you finished your edits. Please respect other editors! --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:50, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
:I do not change everything. I add. But we are obviously not going to agree on this. I would prefer not to discuss with you. How do yo know what the others like or not. In the discussions we have had I found more against your way of communication than against my edits. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:57, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
::Massive changes and you call it add??? So tell me your adds and explain how all they other changes happened. I will add a sentence to the comic discussion because it's senseless here.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:14, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::Yes it is. And it is a real shame that you have decided to know how this wiki should be. Hope that Davidy soon tells one of us to back off. If it is me then I will have to take it into account. So far he has only had nice things to say to me about my work here, which is not what I have seen regarding your work. Have you read the other users that calls your tone negative/aggressive or even worse? I have really tried to speak nicely to you, but you never seems to accept any edits I do. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:21, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::Your "Citation needed" template add to my text is just one example for what I call aggressive. Hiding four paragraphs is an other.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:09, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
</div><br />
<br><br />
<br />
== Possible Issues with Updating Old Comics ==<br />
<br />
I know you spent a lot of time making edits to many older comics, so I thought you might have some input on one that I'm thinking needs a change - 38 Apple Jacks. I noticed you edited it a little a couple years ago. It's the one where the father tells his son they don't taste like apples, and his son tells him off.<br />
<br />
The title text description says it appears to be another case of Randall explaining the comic to readers who don't know about the old commercial, but I think it might be the father telling the son why he was saying that to him. I think it's worth at least adding, if not totally replacing the current description, but I see you had previously added to it during your edits.<br />
<br />
How would you handle that type of change, if it were you? [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 21:38, 3 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
: Hi Ianrbibtitlht<br />
:I disagree with the idea you have. And my reason for that is based in the original quote from Randall when posting this comic to live journal where he asks: <br />
::"Who else remembers those commercials?" <br />
::See the comics [[38:_Apple_Jacks#Trivia|Trivia section]].<br />
::To me indication that since no one did, he added the explanation in the title text.<br />
:The son dismissed his father completely, and I do not think the father goes on. <br />
:And since many of xkcd's readers may not know the reference he explains it in the title text. <br />
:He did the same with the title text in [[30: Donner]], which is what is refereed to in the title text explanation. I have added links between these two examples. There may be more.<br />
:Of course you are free to add an alternative explanation, and see if any one notices enough to complain about/remove it. ;-) <br />
:--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:57, 5 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::I appreciate the feedback. I don't feel strongly enough to modify it at this point but thought it might be an added insight that nobody had thought about! ;-) [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 14:57, 5 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::Thanks for asking, by the way. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:46, 5 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Need help ==<br />
A few things. Several people have mentioned that ReCAPTCA v1 has expired, and something needs to be done about that. But no one has replied to the admin forum, so not sure what is going on. Are there even any admins still here? Seems like they've all disappeared. And should we create a new forum for questions and things like that? And if all the admins have left, should there be like more admins or something like that? [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 07:51, 8 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Hi <br />
:I haven't any idea about ReCAPTCA and Im not an admin. But yes if there is no one that replies it is a problem. Davidy is the obe I have had discussions with but he did not reply the last two times I wrote. Don't know if DGBRT with the BOT has any knowledge that can be used. Try those two. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:30, 9 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
::FYI, we still have admins here and there will be a major update soon at one of the next weekends. BTW, I prefer it in lowercase: dgbrt - like xkcd--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:16, 16 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::Thanks for the info dgbrt, and it sounds greawt. (Your signature is with capital D but that is maybe just as the username? I will use dgbrt from now on). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:08, 23 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== All is red again - you changed everything according to the diff ==<br />
<br />
Hi, look at [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1981%3A_Rickrolling_Anniversary&diff=155913&oldid=155905 your edits] and tell me how someone can see what you have changed. Please keep your changes to smaller parts.<br />
<br />
And beginning an explanation with a youtube link which even doesn't work in some countries like Germany is also not a god start to an explanation. I'm referring to your edits above. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:27, 16 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:OK, sorry about that. I will try to make smaller changes. The link was not one I put in, I just moved it to the beginning to rickroll someone - it was a joke... Of course if the link did not work I can understand why you did not get Rickrolled. But the link had already been included in the explanation before my edits. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:24, 18 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Thanks for your understanding, "all is red..." was the reason why I started this section, the video link was meant as a minor remark and that it doesn't work in Germany is even less important for the explanation.<br />
::But I didn't understand your joke. So what do you think about changing all the internal links like [[Cueball]] to rickroll the readers - of course only less important links.<br />
::BTW: Around 2009 and some years later the German GEMA Mafia tried to block all music content until they got the money. Even dashcam videos from the meteorite incident in Chelyabinsk were blocked when you could hear something from the radio in the car. This has changed and newer uploads are now available to me (including Rick). --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:02, 18 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::The joke was that this comic was about rickrolling and the link was to the ricrolling youtube video... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:30, 19 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I just tried to make several smaller changes, and it was much more difficult to me, with the risk of making mistakes... But have a look at this then: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1982:_Evangelism&action=history Evangelism history].--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:45, 19 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:I like that but the development of this comic explanation is funny and not a typical one. Many vast changes were done after your comment here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:01, 21 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Well happy you do. Most of the changes were improvement, but often based on or improving parts I had edited (well I had edited most parts ;-) What I meant was that some of the good changes only came about because of the changes I had done in the first place. Still seems we need a citation for primates opening at the "wrong" end though? {{unsigned|Kynde}}<br />
:::You know I'm a fan of short explanations just covering what's in the comic. And in [[1982: Evangelism]] there is no "wrong banana end" mentioned. It just mentions "the other" - which is of course always "wrong". The title text then indeed refers to a schism in Europe - the Americans weren't much developed by that time (excepting the natives).<br />
:::BTW: My major workload here right now is working on the health of this wiki. You probably haven't seen my latest comment five days ago just a section above. We will get an update soon. Stay tuned.<br />
:::BTW2: You have forgotten to sign your comment ;)<br />
:::--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:19, 21 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::Yes we are not fan of the same type of explanations we have covered that. I believe that the majority of humans do peel the banana from the opposite end of that cited (without citations) to what primates do... I'm not sure there is any year for the schism in Europe so who knows how developed the US was at that time. Bananas is a rather new thing in Europe I believe!<br />
::::And no I had not seen that comment, probably same time you posted this comment thread? But sounds great! Are you an admin now? And do you have any contact with Davidy... He went off the xkcd explain grid long time ago.<br />
::::I have amended my mistake and will sign this time ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:12, 23 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== You blanked the page [[1996]] ==<br />
<br />
A you can see [[Talk:1995: MC Hammer Age|here]] "I decided to let it stay there as it is but on Monday that redirect will AND must be overwritten in the meaning of a comic number." That blank page isn't better than my decision. Beginning on Monday the number 1996 MUST be used for navigation (i.e. Comic Number) and nothing else.<br />
<br />
Other future comics will be: 1999, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2038. That's all!<br />
<br />
All those future comics (by number) - beginning with 1996 on Monday - AND that older ones (by name) should have a disambiguation line on top when the comic number overrides that name.<br />
<br />
The problem is the logic at this wiki. While at xkcd the number and name have different meanings and navigation is only done by number it's not true here. While <nowiki>https://xkcd.com/1996</nowiki> will lead to the next future comic and is unique the link <nowiki>https://explainxkcd.com/1996</nowiki> could mean number OR name. We also use the number for navigation, so the abbreviation in the meaning as a comic name can not be supported for those eight comics. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:58, 19 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Hi DBBRT<br />
:I first saw your comments after I had blanked it. And I thought it was better to avoid confusion over the weekend. So I did not return it. I think it could be better to already now remove those page re-directions for the comics you mention now, to avoid confusion on all those numbers... A lot of those the next 20 comic or so. We already had a similar situation with [[1337]], because of the LEET comic series. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:15, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Read my future comic list above, it's only seven. And the blank page confused some users also. Nevertheless I will change the comic template, navigation to the right will not be shown when the target is greater than the LATESTCOMIC. The BOT will update those redirects anyway. I just prefer some tests at home to figure out the best solution before editing here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:53, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::Well, I think 7 times confusing in 20 comics is a lot, but I can read that you are working on avoiding it, so that is great. I'm very impressed by your bot, but then again I have very little programming experience and it was back in my days as a PhD Student around 2002... (Pascal...) Great you have made it and keep improving it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:06, 25 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::Thanks for your kind words. I still don't understand the 20, it's only seven comics and I've changed the global comic template so that this is SOLVED now. There is no link to [[1999]] in the navigation bar today. But on Monday my bot will update that page in the meaning of a comic number and the right navigation in [[1998: GDPR]] will be shown. FYI: I'm a professional programmer. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:04, 25 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::Must have been unclear. I meant that over the next 20 comics, there would have been this issue 7 times i.e. about once every week, and I found that it could have caused confusion a lot in those 7 weeks. But now you have solved this with you prof. programmer skills. ;-) So there is no longer any problems. Great work. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:04, 27 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::::Thanks for your kind words. And I've done more: Embedding pictures from Commons works again and it's now also possible to change the size. See my latest edit here [[1400: D.B. Cooper]] which uses this statement <nowiki>[[File:DBCooper.jpg|thumb|150px|Cooper]]</nowiki>. That image is not uploaded here, click at it in the comic and you will see. I've mentioned this in the Community portal. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:07, 27 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::::Cool. I'm not sure how this works. Looks at first like the image is on the local wiki but I can see it is not so. But how does this works. Can you write the "File" formula for any picture name on commons and then get it embedded here like that? It is beyond my computer skills :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:02, 28 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::::::When the picture isn't here it's searched on Commons. When it's found it's only cached at this wiki. In general it works like a local file. This did already work in the past until it was broken. But now we also can change the size, play with that 150px in the preview. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:15, 28 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::::::Thx --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:08, 28 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Why you still focus on that SAD comics? ==<br />
<br />
I focus on all edits done here and your edits are minor (there are much more edits here needing some attention), nonetheless I would be happy to find a solution on that ''sad'' thoughts are in your mind. I respect your thoughts, but that trivia at ''[[1756: I'm With Her]]'' really dohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Kyndees not belong to that comic at all. It was deleted before, you reverted that -- by not reading or ignoring the discussion page -- and I just want to prevent an edit war. Furthermore I removed your statement about "trolls" at the discussion page because that's not polite.<br />
*And now<br />
**I start<br />
***with<br />
****your layout<br />
*****You see???<br />
Try to write full sentences without bullets. I'm hoping you understand my major two parts here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:21, 27 October 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Yes I did not read the comments. I was looking for the sad list, when I fond it missing. I saw through the edit and found the following comment:<br />
::This "sad comics" list is utterly pointless and has no reason to exist. I don't regret deleting this waste. If anyone wants to keep it up, revert the edit, but make it readable, compact, and make at least one bit of sense. (Emojis? must be TRUMP!!?!one1!)) <br />
:I did not see any discussion there, and found it rude and also not done properly (with many links pointing to this section). So I just reverted it. It could be given its own page though. <br />
:Regarding politeness I must say I did not find most of your comments on the talk page polite as I just read them. As you state "no one has criticized it before", so maybe it is just you, and now some years later a few guys that begins rambling on about it. <br />
:As to why, I think it is quite clear that Randall was sad after the election. Maybe I took it too far, and it should no longer have been "sad", but about comics pointing to a political agenda by Randall. As Randall is on the move again with the mid term election coming, he has both a new political comic out, and has changed the header text with regards to registering for voting twice in a month. <br />
:So I definitely still find it relevant. That has not changed just because two years have passed. What Trump does at the moment is even more disturbing than ever, and I'm sure Randall is thick and tried of it still! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:38, 29 October 2018 (UTC)<br />
::PS. The layout was me trying to make a list of comics that was related to this issue. And with date and events listed as well. Maybe it can be done better, but I at least kept the format throughout. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:39, 29 October 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::You always do this nested bullet lists. That's ugly layout. One bullet and one or two short sentences, not more. In most cases you just should simply omit the bullets and write full sentences. The page [[Design of xkcd.com]] is an other example for this bad layout.<br />
:::But back to the main issue: Even jet you did not read the comments completely. Only after "A) Why does the sad comics list exist (see comment above)?..." I came in. And on 27 October 2018 I mentioned at least four incomplete reasons (the transcript was you).<br />
:::So I recall: The trivia at ''[[1756: I'm With Her]]'' does not belong to that comic at all, and even at a different page the title would be wrong because most of the listed comics are NOT sad. Furthermore I don't know how you do know how Randall feels, he is just a writer and these are only comics.<br />
:::There was a reason why David was against a category for sad comics, and this is still valid. This is the only reason why this section at the trivia of 1756 exists, be honest.<br />
:::So my proposal is:<br />
:::*moving the content to a separate page, either with a new title or only moving the "sad" content and deleting the rest<br />
:::*using the link from the menu: "What links here" at 1756 ([[Special:WhatLinksHere/1756: I'm With Her]]) to fix the links to that part (mostly your former work) and maybe also change the text<br />
:::The comic 1756 has to be explained mainly in the context of the time BEFORE the election. It was a campaign for Hillary Clinton, anything later done by Trump is irrelevant, besides that it has to be mentioned that the campaign wasn't successful. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:16, 29 October 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::Well, I definitely know that the comment in here is mine. I did very much hate the list because, as mentioned in the talk page on the comic, the section was completely disorganized. It took up half of the entire page. As Dgbrt mentioned, the format you use is honestly really ugly, and I have to agree. The real problem that I found was ''after'' I posted the comment he quoted. <br />
::::In that comment, I mentioned that it should have had its own category instead of being completely on that single page, which would have prevented it from the eyes of those who don't like this format. Alternatively, it could have been in a table, a format much more compact, several times easier to understand, and at least 12 octillion times less infuriating to look at. <br />
::::The other mind-boggling and frankly stupid thing about the list, of course, was that you added '''''every. Single. Comic.''''' ...if it seemed to be remotely sad (and even if it ''wasn't sometimes!'') and tried to link it to the political situation and Trump. I, in that comment, presented two of the comics in a - admittedly more asshole-ish - way that you linked them like this. But that's the ''core'' of all of this drama. Hell, in multiple of the comics, you even said that no "big" event seemed related to the situation and simply just put it in because it mentioned the military or security. And even for some of the ones you did present a political event, the speculation that you presented for Randall making these comics was beyond 4chan with Smash Ultimate level.<br />
::::Like I said in that comment, it isn't necessarily a political comment just because something big happened that day. Vomiting Emoji and Flag, the two I highlighted in my comment, have explanations that are just plainly absurd. Randall "expressing fear" that the moon would be gone before the eclipse was ''obviously'' a joke. Randall making a joke that has a flag in the picture doesn't mean he's going to rebel against the United States, make his own country, and science his way to taking it over just so that Trump is no longer the ruler.<br />
::::I wouldn't have had these problems if the list weren't so outlandishly absurd, and combined with the fact that it clogged up the page with a lot of meaningless speculation, I felt pushed to just delete the entire thing. Yes, that may have been extreme of me, and I should apologize for being fed up, but I still maintain that a lot of the stuff on that list is bad. If it's presented in - again - a way that doesn't hurt to read or filled up with what it is, I would have not as many problems with it. But as it looks right now, just making the list collapsible doesn't remove the problem; it's like putting White-Out on a yellow test paper and saying that the question never existed, despite the fact that it's obvious that something is wrong. [[User:Halo422|Halo422]] ([[User talk:Halo422|talk]]) 04:05, 1 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::A bit complicated to reply now. But to Dgbrt I did not read any comments until your post here. I was pissed about the deletion of the entire section, and just undid it. As Dgbrt wrote it can only be deleted properly by also removing links that goes there. I'm not using the page that much at the moment, and do not read all comments. This is also why I first see your comments today.<br />
:::::Dgbrt do you have any good idea for a page title? If it is only the first few comics that are clearly sad, could it then be called "Sad comics"? And should it be a page or a category? If we can find a solution for that, I will try to change it so it can be tolerable... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:01, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::::I'm honest: I vote for deleting that section. The main reason is that we don't know how Randall feels, whether sad or not. We just have comics, not an autobiography.<br />
::::::If you still vote for keeping I only can see two possibilities:<br />
::::::*Keep the title "Sad comics", move it to a single page (no subpage to any comic), remove most of the content, write a proper text instead of bullets, and start it like "Some comics may suggest the impression..." because your "...clear trend..." is nonsense.<br />
::::::*Or, move everything to a separate page, but then I have no idea about any proper title.<br />
::::::BTW: I've created a new category: [[:Category:Elections]], and as I mention here [[:Talk:2067: Challengers]] it still needs some work. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:06, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::::I will think about the possibilities. And I did see your new category. Which is great by the way. There must be many of these from earlier years also?--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:09, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::::::I need help on this new category because I'm sure there is more. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:12, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::I have now created [[Sad comics]] and moved the content from With her and tried to make the layout better. I do not agree with deleting the references to the other comics, but not they have been separated from the first four sad/negative comics. All links have been diverted to this page from all 16 comics. If there are other comics, not on the list, with link to that section I have not changed those... Many comics could refer to With Her for many reasons so I will not go through them all. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:55, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::You've done a big job, so thanks for this on the first place. And I can assure you that you always can find all links at the tools box "What links here", in this case when reading ''[[1756: I'm With Her]]''. I'm still not happy seeing comics like [[2064: I'm a Car]] linking to content titled as ''sad'', but that's up to other editors. <br />
:::'''ProTip''': You should watch pages important to you, just activate "Watch this page" at the bottom when editing, or adjust your "Watchlist" at the top menu belonging to your personal profile. You will receive an email on every change. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:31, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::Yes I know about the links, but even though I have reverted the link to the sad trivia section, there may still be a link to the With her comic for other reasons. And there may even be links to the sad section from other comics not listed in my trivia, and I will not go through all pages referencing one of the controversial comics. I by the way highly disagree that we do not know Randall's political opinion. He has also endorsed Obama, so to day it is certain that he endorses the democrats vs Republican is a fact, not a guess. But you changed that on the new [[Challengers]] comic. I will not change it though. I just highly disagree with you on what is a know and what is a guess there.<br />
::::Regarding the comics that are not sad it is not listed as being sad, that is only the first four. The rest is just listing comics that could have to do with Randall's political mood due to Trump and his politics.<br />
::::I no longer have the time I once dedicated to this page... And hence I have taken e-mail alerts off, which is why I first noticed the deletion now. But I get e-mails on personal changes on this page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:37, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::While I'm still sure not knowing much about Randall's condition when his comics are published, I sense ''you'' are sad. I insist you should take a closer look on all your contributions here, which are much more than only this stupid sad stories. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:18, 4 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== I am still happy to see your additions here... ==<br />
<br />
...you did edits I didn't like - and vice versa - but that's a war I don't like. And now I'm in a position in which I have to take care of all the health here, not only what's written.<br />
<br />
Ironically: xkcd is also about sarcasm, the hell, shoooouuuuting on the hellll... <br />
<br />
I will probably disagree on some of your future edits, but I don't have to judge this. That's up to others here.<br />
<br />
So now I'm asking for help on a SMALL page introducing the memes used at this site. Like the Editor-FAQ I did. David did...not that much on that requests over a long time.<br />
<br />
While I'm not sure about a proper title, this Wiki still leaks on a page simply showing the memes used here, linking to more specific pages, presented to evrey newbee.<br />
<br />
--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:06, 16 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Thanks.<br />
::I'm not sure I understand the page you are talking about, or what type of memes you mean. <br />
::Also as is probably clear I'm not using that much time on this wiki anymore. I'm not leaving it, I just do not have the time any longer. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:31, 19 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::Oh, I'm also not sure, maybe just a title like "About". It often happens that new people asking questions like "Why is the mouse-over text called title text?", how character names have been developed here, and so forth. A simple page, mostly showing links with a small introduction to the more hidden pages you often maintain. New readers have simple questions we don't think about anymore, that's what I would like to present. But it seems I have to collect some more items on which you maybe can help. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:34, 19 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::Ah I see. It was the meme part that failed to register. But a about page makes sense. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:37, 20 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== We got a final image ==<br />
<br />
Emoji dome has a wonderful ending image. Do you mind putting it as the current explainxkcd image? [[User:Netherin5|“That Guy from the Netherlands”]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 18:25, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:No it is perfect. I can see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:emojidome.png someone already did], it has just not been updated on the front of the page yet. It will be before tomorrow. The other pictures should be collected on a extra page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:56, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Removing all references to the Sad comics page ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde,<br />
<br />
I've expressed my intention to remove all references to the Sad comics page over at [[Talk:Sad_comics]], but I wanted to get your input too, since it is your page. Feel free to drop a comment over there if you want to contest this. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 12:56, 13 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Hawthorbn. Thanks for alerting me. Did not follow the discussion page on Sad. I of course disagree. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:56, 14 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
::I have now deleted the page completely --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:56, 11 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== 2196 ==<br />
I mentioned this on DgbrtBOT's talk page, but I'm not sure Dgbrt saw it. Since you're an admin, could you help me with this?<br />
# I uploaded the file, and it appeared in the page, but the link in the List of all comics page is still red. I think I messed up the upload, so could you delete the current file (the one I uploaded) for 2196 and reupload it? <br />
# I created an incorrect redirect page [[Nice To E-Meet you]] (The name is incorrect, I forgot to capitalize the You). Could you please delete that page? Thanks! <br />
[[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 00:52, 1 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Herobrine. No I'm not ad admin, just very active, and cannot do anything to delete pages. I can give it a look though cause I have created a few pages long time ago when the bot was not there/working. And yes seems like Dgbrt is not active at the moment. Lets see if it works again this Monday. As you can see [[User_talk:Dgbrt#DgbrtBOT_failed_2019-08-30|here]] I tried to write directly to him. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:38, 1 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Can see you have created the page with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Nice_To_E-Meet_You&redirect=no capital You] and I have now moved the image to a title with the hyphen in e-meet, which was missing in your original edit. So now [[List_of_all_comics]] works for the image as well. There are so many things which can go wrong, which is why we love out BOT. Hope it works tomorrow.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:46, 1 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Category book promotion ==<br />
Hi, you obviously know a thing or 2 about creating and adding categories, and like to do so :)<br />
I feel like we could need a category about book promotion, with at least 3 comics related to how to and at least one to thing explainer (hoverboard, possibly also up goer five...), and myabe even others I can't remember right now. What do you think? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:31, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Maybe more a list of comics that promote books. Not comics that inspire books, so no to Up Goer Five. But it could get special mention with mention of the category in that explanation as well. But I think we need to find more than 4, five is kind of a limit. Maybe there where something for what if? But I do not think so... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:37, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Looking at it again, we do have five :) [[Hoverboard]], [[2190: Serena Versus the Drones]], [[2198: Throw]], [[Disappearing Sunday Update]] and [[2194: How to Send a File]]<br />
:::Well great. Do you have an idea for the category name? "Category:Book promotion" ??--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:54, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::Sounds good to me! --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:56, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::::Will you add that category to the comics? I can help create the page then. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:57, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::::Done --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:07, 4 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::::::[[:Category:Book promotion]] page created and found another comic that promotes a book Randall has been involved in! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:40, 4 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Broken Button ==<br />
Hi Kynde, I've answered your question on my talk page. But I'll post it here just in case: I think you forgot to update [[Template:LATESTCOMIC]], so it would treat comic 2198 as 2197, hence breaking the button. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 22:55, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks, DgbrtBOT has updatet it and now it works! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:40, 4 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Thanks ==<br />
<br />
I see you went through a few of my recent edits, and corrected them / replied on them / acted on them. Thanks a lot. Also, now I learned from your edits how subcategories work. Thanks also for that. :) (But, please try not to change the word typo to lupo in common use. I don't think it would be an honour :) ) --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:00, 11 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:I hope you could see the joke. Like when you fixed the fix? I also spotted you put a hidden joke <!-- and I did not delete it :p -->. I will not make the same joke again. I guess it was also a kind of signature. I spotted that you where the most active last month. And was interested seeing what kind of edits. More or less I agreed with most... And cool with the spam fight. Do not use the same amount of time as I used to, but have been more active lately... Just became 2nd on all time activity list... Happy you both noticed and approved. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:09, 11 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
::I could see the joke and I enjoyed it :) as I tend to make a lot of typos, it isn't even that far fetched to use my name instead ;). I usually visit the site a few times a day and start on the recent changes page, and check what has happened. That's also how I often quickly find the spam. The other thing I tend to do when I got some free time on my hands is use the "random page" button and find out if I can improve the place I get to. I also saw that you are progressing a lot in the all time list. Last month I even noticed you were in the monthly list at a score that would have put you in the all time top 50 on its own. Impressive! Have a good weekend. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 20:00, 11 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::I'm also not native English speaker (Danish), and my grammar is probably horrible. Then it is great it is a wiki so others can fix that. I hope my additions are a plus. Have of course had rows with others, as can be seen above ;-) With some of the big one I think I have had months that would put me in top 20... (Not something I have checked). But with some of the comics where I added a lot of images, I will get a very high score as unique pages gives one point, and every picture uploaded is a new page. The amount of changes I have made puts me in nr. 1 spot, but that doesn't give much compared to number of pages visited. And please feel free to correct my typos. By the way I haven't even read all comics yet, since I have a hard time reading a new one without wishing to make corrections to transcript or explanations, so it takes some time every time I find a new. So between the first comic I saw when I found this page and then back from there there will be lots of comics I haven't even seen yet... Probably why you can find so many transcripts where caption below the panel has not been added (as it was I who began making this the way to write it). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:46, 11 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Category for Back to the Future ==<br />
<br />
Hi, can you create a category for the film series ''Back to the Future''? To start, there is [[102: Back to the Future]], [[656: October 30th]], [[1477: Star Wars]], [[2104: Biff Tannen]], [[2193: Well-Ordering Principle]], and maybe others. Thanks, [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.144|172.68.47.144]] 20:26, 31 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Hi yes I can. And I did: [[:Category:Back to the Future]]. I added yours. Here is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Search&limit=50&offset=0&profile=default&search=%22Back+to+the+Future%22 a search string] that may help find more (for you to add). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:31, 1 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Deletion of small categories? ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde! I posted this on the community portal, but it seems unresponsive, and since none of the admins have edited recently, you seem like the person to ask.<br />
I count eight categories on explainxkcd that satisfy the following properties: 1. They have only three comics in them. 2. They aren't really a comic series; they just feature or reference a comic theme. 3. They aren't Featuring some person or character. In short, they seem to have no real reason to exist. (They're [[:Category:Spice_Girls|t]][[:Category:Wind_turbine|h]] e[[:Category:Ender%27s_Game|s]]eo[[:Category:FernGully|n]][[:Category:Giraffes|e]]s.) In addition, there are [[:Category:Sketches|t]][[:Category:BSD|h]][[:Category:Emacs|i]][[:Category:Identity_Theft|r]][[:Category:Katamari_Damacy|t]][[:Category:Super_Bowl|e]][[:Category:The_Matrix|e]][[:Category:Tournament_bracket|n]][[:Category:Traffic_light| ]][[:Category:Trebuchet|m]][[:Category:Wingsuit|o]][[:Category:Euler_diagrams|r]][[:Category:Pedantic|e]] four-comic categories that also satisfy these requirements. I know non-admins can't delete articles, but because of these articles' status, should I remove their contents and add them to [[:Category:Pages to delete]]? --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 01:17, 12 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Since I'm no admin just the most active over an extended period of time, I cannot really say what to do. Some of the categories I think has merit, I may even have created some of them. And there may be reason to expect more to come. But others I tend to agree. I think Randall has something with Giraffes and the Spice Girl spurt with three in short notice I think merits the categories. The other 6 with three I would not mind if they went away. But then there may need to be some links between those comics. Are you willing to make those? If you do then empty the categories, and put them as up for deletion. Most of those with four I would keep. I have NOT clicked on them all though, just read them here when I edited this response. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:56, 12 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Category for Bees ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde,<br />
<br />
Can you add a category on bees, as a subcategory of [[:Category:Animals]]? I've found [[1259: Bee Orchid]], [[1186: Bumblebees]], [[2231: the Time Before And After Land]], [[2035: Dark Matter Candidates]], [[1692: Man Page]], and there are probably more. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.38|172.69.34.38]] 00:22, 22 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Done [[:Category:Bees]]. Added your five comics. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:49, 22 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== New category - comics with store products ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde, thanks for creating the new page for [[:Category:Comics with store products]]! (I was the one who added the comics to that category, but I didn't have permission to create a new page for the category itself, so I apologize for abandoning it like that.)<br />
<br />
For the name of this category, I wanted to follow a similar pattern to existing category names such as "[[:Category:Comics from 2005]]" or "[[:Category:Comics with color]]". So for the name of this new category, I had considered some other more accurate names, such as "[[:Category:Comics upon which xkcd store products are based]]", or perhaps "[[:Category:Comics made into official merchandise]]"; but I felt that these new category names would be a bit too long, so I was trying to keep it more succinct than that. ...But now I realize that the current name I chose is not very clear, and might cause some confusion about what it's supposed to mean, so it was really a poor choice of words on my part. Do you have any ideas for a better name that we could use for this category? If so, please feel free to rename it, then I will go through all the comic pages where I added it, and update them to the new category.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, in the edit-history of the [[:Category:Comics with store products]] page, I noticed in your comments that you felt it was maybe not a good idea for a category -- and I certainly understand that, so if you want to just remove this category completely, please feel free to do so, then I will go through and remove it from all the comics where I added it (so as not to leave any broken links behind).<br />
<br />
Thanks for your help, and sorry for causing noob trouble!<br />
<br />
- [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 09:57, 24 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Yfmcpxpj<br />
:First of all, the comment on my creation of the page, was because I did not understand the category. Store products.. I thought it was like with products bought in a type of store... First when I clicked on a few and saw your (?) comments that a t-shirt was based on this comic, did I understand the category. Think I wrote that in my next edit, where I linked to the store. After realizing that, I though it was a great category, although adding xkcd would probably help the understand-ability: "Category: Comics with xkcd store products" <br />
:What do you say to that title?<br />
:Regarding my ability to make pages, that is just because I have edited enough to get that right (I know I have edited more than any one else here...) But I'm actually not an admin, and I cannot delete pages. Sadly it seems the admins have left xkcd without replacements... So not one answers admin requests, and although I'm glad to help when I can, I do not have that many rights on the page. <br />
:But true you may have asked for someone to create the page and also maybe ask for the title before creating it. I think I will be able to rename the page though, so if you can go through all the comics and correct the category there I would like to give it a try. (Do not do this before I have changed the name!)<br />
:What do you say? And should I add the xkcd as suggested above?<br />
:--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:14, 24 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Yes, I like your title better, "Comics with xkcd store products" -- I think it is much clearer. If you can rename the category, I will wait for that, then after it has been successfully renamed, I'll go through and update those comics to use the new one instead. And sorry to hear that the admins have been absent -- but it looks like you are doing a good job of keeping the site maintained, so thank-you for that! - [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 08:58, 25 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::I have now moved the category page. You can find the list of comics that now need to be moved [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Comics_with_store_products&redirect=no here].<br />
:::And the new empty category here [[:Category:Comics with xkcd store products]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:26, 25 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::Thanks Kynde; I have moved the remaining comics into the new category. You mentioned that you don't have permissions to delete pages, so I wonder if the old page [[:Category:Comics with store products]] should be put into parent [[:Category:Pages to delete]] so maybe the admins will delete it? - [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 08:15, 26 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::::As the old Category redirects to the new one, I guess deletion is not necessary. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:31, 26 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::::If no pages refers to the old category, and to avoid anyone putting comics in that category again, it would be nice to have it deleted. But I'm not sure anyone will do that at the moment. Davidy is long gone and DGBRT seems to be absent as well... I was once asked to be an admin but declined at the time ... Maybe that was a shame, but at least I still react when someone post on my page... But I'm not that active anymore, and have never looked much through the portal pages etc. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:49, 26 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Banned from Conferences Category ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde, you usually have a good feeling on how Categories should be described, etc. There was a (quite short) discussion on [[153: Cryptography]], to remove a portion of the explanation. Do you think that stuff belongs into [[:Category:Banned from conferences]]? Maybe you can chime into the "discussion" on 153. -- Regards [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:24, 5 December 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Edit summaries ==<br />
Please use {{w|Help:Edit_summary|edit summaries}}; they are especially important for pages like [[:xkcd Header text]] that are infrequently monitored but have a meta-importance. Thanks. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 21:22, 16 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
:I have more or less created the entire page from scratch. So I will not begin writing details every time I make a revision. But I use it for most other edits. I can see you care for BLM... Great, you probably know much more on this than I do. I made this page, to keep track of the header text, which was not explained on these pages. Sometimes it is relevant for a given comic, so great to have this place to write about it, and then link to it from the comics. The unfilled link was to help people wo may help editing this page, fill in when the header changed. I will do that now. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:37, 18 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
::Kynde: I don't understand how your authorship of the page (from scratch or otherwise) has anything to do with whether you should be writing details of when you make a revision. But for sensitive topics, which BLM is, it is especially important for other editors to be able to carefully review changes. And when you make a large block of changes, like you did there on July 1, with 8 different edits, edit summaries are an extremely helpful tool for everyone else. So, again, the request is to please use an edit summary, ''especially'' when you are making multiple edits in a row, and ''especially'' on pages of meta-importance like [[:xkcd Header text]]. Of course, this is not Wikipedia, the rules here (such as they are) are relatively weak, and we all should coöperate. But if your answer is "I don't have to because I wrote the page first, years ago!" that doesn't make any sense at all. If your goal was to make sense, then I don't know how to respond. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 17:50, 18 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
:::Well I shall try to be more careful around sensitive subjects. You are one of the first other than me to have edited the page. And one of the few that have added a new section. I just changed it into the same format that I have used on all the others. And did a revision now, and sorry I forgot to write what it was out of bad habit. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:57, 18 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
::::I think the change you just made was…not great. See [[:Talk:xkcd_Header_text#Recent_BLM_edits]] where I give my opinion. But it is probably better discussed there than on your personal page, but I wanted to highlight it for you. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 18:04, 18 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
:::::I have replied on the other talk page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:28, 21 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Nationality ==<br />
<br />
What country are you from? <span style="text-shadow:0 0 6px black">[[User:Beanie|<span style="font-size:11pt;color:#dddddd">Beanie</span>]]</span> <sup><span style="text-shadow:0 0 3px #000000">[[User talk:Beanie|<span style="font-size:8pt;color:#dddddd">talk</span>]]</span></sup> 12:34, 14 July 2021 (UTC)<br />
:Denmark. Why? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:15, 15 July 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Forgive this IP ==<br />
I just made a handful of edits to recent changes that you had made (may not have been what you changed, in all cases; it might have just been pre-existing errors and Recent Changes just drew me to them). I hope it doesn't look personal, especially from an impersonal IP that you can't easily talk back to. So I'm mentioning it here to try to apologise if it does seem that way. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.85|162.158.159.85]] 18:57, 28 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
:Hi. Thanks for telling. Since your IP will change I cannot see exactly which changes you made, but cheeked on my last changes and saw some CE and minor changes. Only thing I disagreed with (not sure it was you) was that the Launch comic should not have been released on the 24th. Which it was in most of the US if not all. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:01, 29 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
::(Most of the changes occured under roughly the 172.70.… range, as I recall, though you can see the above switched to a whole different class-B - entirely due to the internediary's whim (Cloudflare?) without my changing anything. I'm sitting on a different connection now, so all bets are off what ''this'' will appear as. ;) )<br />
::I have no argument with Randall posting on the 24th (his time) as the Bot got there soon enough to prove it. But of course the rest of us (mostly Europe and beyond) had a different experience. Still before the launch (whoever checked for themselves in time), which I think a couple of my edits were about. Really not huge issues, just minor fixes. You're good with those things, I know from experience, just a courtesy note (that and this). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.22|172.70.86.22]] 22:42, 29 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
:::Maybe not you who posted. But as you can see your IP is not the same in these two posts, so I can only assume you are the same person, but cannot guess which of my edits you have changed and which someone else changed ;-) Do you have a name other than 162.158.159.85 or 172.70.86.22 ;-) Why not get an account? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:29, 30 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
::::I just can't think of a decent username. I tend to use different ones everwhere (and never my RL identity) and most of them were 'good ideas at the time' but when the inevitable "Why is your username what it is?" thread comes around it always seems my 'explanation' is laughable. All the above in this section (that isn't you) is me, BTW. Just added an indent layer I missed. I'm happy being (slightly unpredictably) changing IP, because I seek no credit (or blame!) for my 'insights' and my ego survives well enough on such fleeting moments of anonymous fame, I assure you. ;) And I don't mind when other IP-editors 'land' on/near what I just used, either, even if they're now completely wrong.<br />
::::Not that I think Usernames are a bad thing in general for you and others (c.f. 4chan 'anon' culture...), I'm just happy that it's one less thing to worry about in my own case! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 15:04, 30 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
:::::Well that is up to you. But then again it is hard to forgive an IP when I'm not sure what it has done or not. But as I could just see there where nothing needing forgiveness so we are good. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:15, 3 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Do you get a healthy amount of sleep? ==<br />
In recent days I see you editing very often and I just wanna make sure you get enough sleep because while you're doing amazing work, I am a bit concerned [[User:256.256.256.256|256.256.256.256]] ([[User talk:256.256.256.256|talk]]) 08:45, 6 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Ha ha - thanks for both the concern and the praise. I'm from Denmark so if you look at the time stamp and think I should be sleeping, then maybe it is in the middle of the day here. I write this just before 10:00 AM here in DK. But actually I'm doing very little now compared to maybe five years ago. If you look at the [[Special:ContributionScores|ContributionScores]] at the bottom with the All time (Top 50), you will see that I'm number two. And if you look at number of changes I'm far ahead of number 2... So this is actually quite low level activity for me... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:53, 6 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==[[Countdown in header text]] image ==<br />
You mentioned you'd help uploading the countdown wiggle gif, so [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown here]'s a link to all the image stuff of the countdown. (Specifically, [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown/full_animation.gif full_animation.gif] and [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown/Countdown%20in%20header%20text%20Wiggling.gif Countdown in header text Wiggling.gif]).<br />
Optionally [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown.zip zipped], for easier archival. [[User:Toby|Toby]] ([[User talk:Toby|talk]]) 20:03, 31 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Great thanks Toby. Will try to make it work. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:15, 31 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
::It worked and I have replied on your new talk page and created your own page, in case you still could not. Feel free to change that now. Very happy with your work, both of the files. Thanks!!! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:28, 31 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Purely to improve your knowledge of English ==<br />
<br />
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spacecrafts#English<br />
<br />
i.e., as with vehicular "craft" in general (including aircraft, hovercraft, etc), the -s pluralisation is allowable but not considered standard. An oddity of the terminology that I don't actually know the reason for. I'm wondering could it be from our nautical heritage where singular craft were the rarity (a simpler version of how [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aderyn sometimes the singular can be considered rarer than the plural]? Yet ships/vessels/etc don't succumb to that usage. Even if sheep and fish do! Anyway, while spacecraft are preferred, spaceships are indeed the synonymous alternative. IYSWIM...<br />
<br />
Crafts, as in skillfully created works, ''are'' the plurals exactly as you'd initially expect. Woodcrafts, metalcrafts, etc. So I suppose those people who are shipcrafters might therefore craft many crafted craft, thanks to the various crafts they know, and then exhibit their crafts at a craft-fair. ((i.e "Boatwrights might construct many well-made (model?) ships, thanks to their skills, then show their creations at an exhibition of bespoke manufacturing.")) Crafty, eh?<br />
<br />
Sorry, I seem to have gone overboard with the explanation. Throw me that lifebelt, please? ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 10:40, 10 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Hi. Thanks. I'm not sure it will help, I'm not very good at spelling, even in my own language. But maybe I will remember this. I do not mind other people copy editing my posts. My idea is that if I write something useful other will make it better, and correct the errors. But if I do not write it, then it may be left out of an explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:54, 13 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== THANK YOU!!! ==<br />
Kynde - I have only just discovered this beautiful Explain XKCD wiki and am in awe - I saw that you have been a huge contribuotr for years and just wanted to say Thank You to you and team for this beautiful legacy of work! With it XKCD can be that much more of a portal into all the different directions Randall’s comics touch on and drift near. <br />
<br />
I’ve been behind the scenes in wikipedia for years (so often painful) and love connecting with anyone else who is doing meaningful wiki work. I’m just stopping by here today on my way to *important deadlines* but intend to be back. Just set up my Explain editor account. Pop me a talk page note? Happy to plug in! [[User:DrMel|DrMel]] ([[User talk:DrMel|talk]]) 19:53, 20 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
(Ps looks like I am not getting through the email validation steps - no email confirmation has yet made it to my email. I’ll check back later. On wikipedia I’m https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:DrMel<br />
<br />
(pps - email validated! But i still dont have permission to setup my user page… so this time i really am going back to the Save-The-World work i am supposed to be doing!)<br />
:Hi [[User:DrMel|DrMel]]. Wow, thanks a lot. Yes I have been very active on this page. I'm not one of the admins though, and sadly it seems this page is without any active admins, and that it has been so for a while. I guess I'm the best option right now. I have created your user page and talk page, so now you can work on the user page. Welcome to explain xkcd. If you have any questions regarding format or other things feel free to ask. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:38, 21 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Nomination ==<br />
I know you maybe don't want it, but see [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Coordination#New_admins]] '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:08, 8 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I have answered there and accepted the nomination. It is an honor. Hope I can live up to it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:16, 10 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Finally got the promotion from Jeff. Thanks. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:30, 23 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Block User:Donald Trump ==<br />
<br />
Can you block [[User:Donald Trump]]? He is another spambot, like the others recently: [[Special:Contributions/Donald_Trump]]. Thanks, [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 17:48, 26 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Done--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 26 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== you blocked a mobile phone (T-mobile) IP ==<br />
<br />
You blocked “162.158.107.124”. The problem is, that’s a T-mobile IP that goes to whomever happens to get it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.36|172.70.211.36]] 19:11, 26 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Yes Im new to being administrator so sorry I messed that up. But think I [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:Contributions/162.158.107.124 managed to undo it]? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:33, 26 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Regarding your latest IP block ==<br />
<br />
See [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:While_False&oldid=286101#Concision_and_clarity my note on this latest thing] that it seems like you were reacting to.<br />
<br />In general, I don't think IP-blocking is very useful (false-positives get hit and false-negatives get round it, depending upon the vagueries of everything, and as an IP myself this is close to the bone for me) but there's potentially something going on. I don't know if you get to see what ''doesn't'' happen because of a block, though. Tricky one to get your head round. But thought I'd clue you in on what I'm thinking. Completely your decision on how you take it.<br />
<br />Keep up the good work, BTW! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.15|162.158.159.15]] 12:59, 3 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Just to add that [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=957:_Development&curid=4423&diff=286104&oldid=283524 this change] follows the trend I mentioned (type of edit + history of its apparent IP), and now undone. Not to overly pester you with this (better the Community Portal for that), just FYI. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.11|141.101.98.11]] 17:05, 3 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I only block them for a week or 3 days, just to stop current spam, and thanks for the praise --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:02, 5 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Sparing use of Talk-page section headers ==<br />
<br />
Note that I added a ;-title (not an individually editable section's title), albeit first mis-tapping in the :-indenter instead by accident, but maybe you were a bit overzealous squishing out the ==editable== section-headers (the existing one and my own once someone had helpfully 'upgraded' it) in the latest discussion.<br />
<br />
The advice given on the main-page, as part of the discussion-inclusion templating, is that new sections should be used ''sparingly'', not that they are not to be used. If anything, I was wrong to use a ;-title (to logically separate my contribution from the headered bit I was following), perhaps I should have inserted as a normal running comment above the newly broken-out section.<br />
<br />
Not complaining, but just positing the view that it seemed a bit draconic of an intervention. Livable-with, having been done, but not sure it was strictly necessary.<br />
<br />
(Would be handy to add across the "Add to the bottom (etc)" HTML-comment to the top of the page, from a BOT-created new-discussion-page, though I suppose I could do that. Maybe I will. Yes, I think I will. You could also maybe check the circumstances why a normal user had needed to do theusafBOT's work for it... I'm sure it's more that theusaf's script is just temporarily offline, or slow to react, rather than having gone the way of dgbrtBOT/whatever...) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.177|172.70.85.177]] 13:49, 14 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I think there is now use for headings in comment section. And in some cases the explanations have a TOC and then the headings of the talk page would come into this because we include talk page on the explanation page. Also it becomes confusing when others add different comments below, as they then seems to belong to the headered section. Thus best leave them out, unless something very special. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 05:55, 15 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Table of tips? ==<br />
Why put the table in a section on [[2649]]? It breaks the convention of discussing the comic before discussing the title text. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.145|172.70.210.145]] 07:11, 25 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:No this has been done whenever there is a table. The comic should be explained first, but if lots of info needs to be added in order to understand the full details of the comic, then the title text is usually explained after the first short explanation. And then the larger explanation is delegated to a sub section, just as I have done here. It is because you may not wish to dwell into all these details, they are not needed to understand the overall joke, but you might like to see the title text explained, and then this should not be hidden deep down. Also there is a link from the explanation to the table, so you can easily go there to read the main explanation for each tip.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:32, 25 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Well it's no big deal; I don't have strong feelings about it, but I haven't been here very long, and noticed that [[2636]], [[2638]], and [[2639]] all have tables following the sequence of the comics instead of in a section at the end. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.88|172.70.211.88]] 08:39, 25 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::Yes that must also be said to be new comics, and not those that have been here long time ;-) All of them came out after my holiday began this summer, and I have not had time to go through those comics yet. But thanks I will fix it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:21, 25 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::Fixed those three and also completed two of the transcripts. Thanks for pointing the discrepancy out. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:02, 25 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
How do you feel about [[2606]]? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.150.173|172.71.150.173]] 08:32, 27 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Since the title text is just another symbol, it seems fine to have it in the table. But actually there may be a reason to explain that joke as well in the main explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:35, 27 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
::But after updating the explanation I ended up moving the table to a section and moving any other explanation above. Including a mention of the title text. Is this the same person that started this thread that asked about 2606? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:56, 27 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::No, I'm [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2207:_Math_Work&diff=291019&oldid=282989 this guy.] [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.88|172.70.211.88]] 15:52, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::Hello, That Guy. (BTW, I'm also none of the above conversationalists, Kynde...) That change you linked... I just reverted it. It was fixed (devandalised) already in a state that was after the removal of the Incomplete tag and I couldn't work out ''why'' you considered it needing reverting. Yes, a lot of restored stuff (now unrestored), but I couldn't quite work out which (pre-vandalism) version you even reverted to, and surely there were various useful culling edits ("no, we don't need to say that, it's irrelevent", etc) that you were negating.<br />
::::Or at least that was my almost knee-jerk response (almost, because I went back through the crapcrapcrap stuff and beyond trying to find where you were coming from, so I spent some time on thinking about it before I did it).<br />
::::I offer it up to review by the wider community, or back to yourself (or give Kynde a shot, if they aren't busy). Maybe some old bits could be reintegrated, but I couldn't see which on a semi-cursory glance. So, given you have provided a handle on you, expanding upon the woefully short edit-summary space, to more fully explain any confusion (of mine, or yours, or just in general). Ok? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.128|172.70.91.128]] 16:43, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::::Are you saying you removed vandalism with the revert? Which parts do you think are crap stuff? Do you not see how it is all directly related to the drawing on the board? I should have removed the incomplete tag, but I think I'll try the appended section idea to appease objectors with a compromise. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.185|172.69.33.185]] 05:15, 29 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::::I don't think this has anything to do with my comment, and I do not have any thing to add to this discussion. If this is all about [[2207:_Math_Work]], then please take any further [[Talk:2207:_Math_Work#Deletions|discussion there]], as to not disturb me with e-mails every time you change my user talk page ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:07, 29 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== A spammer has appeared! ==<br />
Hi! It seems that there's a spammer who's been consistently adding an incredibly odd rant to the front page from a wide variety of IP addresses over the course of yesterday and today. They currently show no signs of stopping; could you use whatever Special Admin Powers you may have to resolve the issue? --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 18:37, 30 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Hi. No, sadly I cannot do much about it. I can try to alert those with more powers than me though. I'm not that technically minded. If it was a user I could block him, but as I understood from the newest comics discussion it is multiple ip addresses. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:36, 31 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Interview request! and thanks! ==<br />
Hey Kynde, forgive me if this isn't allowed! I'm a journalist and wiki enthusiast and I'd love to chat with you about all your work here. Can you send an email to annierau at umich dot edu? Thank you so much! [[User:Postgradpredeath|Postgradpredeath]] ([[User talk:Postgradpredeath|talk]]) 03:36, 22 September 2022 (UTC):Hi <br />
:Annie Rau(?)/Postgradpredeath. I don't think asking me would not be allowed. I might not wish to mail you but that would then be an option. I may actually not wish to use my e-mail. But maybe we could try to catch up on twitter, where I have an account I only used to get into contact with admins on this page... If you also have a twitter acount we may be able to tweet to each other there... And thanks for the praise. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 06:39, 22 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Vandalism on latest comic ==<br />
Hello, just letting you know there's been another bit of spam. Only on the most recent comic as far as I've seen, and fixed for now :) [[User:Char Latte49|Char Latte]] ([[User talk:Char Latte49|talk]]) 22:11, 3 December 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks. Also had a vandal here replying to you comment. Of course deleted it. Haven't been so active lately. But hope the problem has stopped. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:55, 4 December 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Notification ==<br />
Hey, I wanted to let you know that I'm working on the huge project of making a table to organize planet names, coordinates, and explanations, and the four item types and their explanation in the latest interactive comic. I've replied to the conversation, here's a link: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Talk:2765:_Escape_Speed#Making_a_table_to_organize_planet_names.2C_coordinates.2C_and_explanations.2C_and_the_four_item_types_and_their_explanation<br />
<br />
If possible, could you check if you're able to answer the questions I have?<br />
<br />
Thanks, [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:44, 29 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Favi. Have not had much time but looked at it and liked the table. Also added two more pages, one with overview images of the world and the planets and one with a place to post the screen shots needed for making a full explanation. Put some of the relevant images up already but will not have time to much more the rest of this week. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:25, 1 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
:: Great! Thanks, I like the new pages. Do you happen to know of a way to find the coordinates of each planet, so i can add them to the table? How did the folks editing [[2712: Gravity]] do it? [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:52, 2 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::: Hi Favi. Thanks. No I do not know, I did not do any editing on that comic. Have not had time like I did for instance with [[Hoverboard]] where I did most of the documentation. But have no idea what to do with a game like this. Not very tech savvy on that account. Keep up the good work! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:35, 6 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::Nevermind, someone on the discussions page let me know of a very useful script that did exactly that, s I filled the entire Tiles column :D {{unsigned|FaviFake}}<br />
:::::Great --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:19, 6 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Hi, I've made [[User:Malgond/Drafts/Escape_Speed|another attempt]] at tables. I've talked a little bit with [[User talk:FaviFake|FaviTake]] but we didn't seem to come to a conclusion. I think we need a third (and maybe fourth and fifth) opinion. I have put a note about this in the [[Talk:2765: Escape Speed|discussion board]] but I'm not sure anybody will notice (there's a lot of stuff there). - [[User:Malgond|Malgond]] ([[User talk:Malgond|talk]]) 21:52, 13 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::I have replied and think your tables are great. See talk page for comic --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:18, 14 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Changing category name, and the creation of [[:Category:Comics with red corrections]] ==<br />
Hey Kynde,<br />
I wanted to ask you if, as an admin, you could change the name of the [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal|Category:Comics posted on livejournal]] to this: [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal|Category:Comics posted on LiveJournal]]<br />
The other two categories that mention LiveJournal have the L and J uppercase, so I think it should be the same for this category too:<br />
*[[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd]]<br />
*[[:Category:First day on LiveJournal]]<br />
<br />
Also, I just created [[:Category:Comics with red corrections]] for comics like [[2639: Periodic Table Changes]] (under [[:Category:Comics with color]]) after seeing at least two or three request it.<br />
*Is [[:Category:Comics with color]] the right parent category?<br />
*Or should it be added to [[:Category:Distinctive comics]] too? Or just in one? Idk where to put it<br />
<br />
Thanks, [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 09:38, 20 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Hi FlaviFake<br />
:I could probably move the page to the correct spelling. I think I actually created the other two categories, after the one you know wish me to change. So it is my spelling later that would overrule the first. But i agree it would make sense.<br />
:But if I do then all 45 comics that has this category should be corrected so they spell the category the new way. Would you be ready to do this for all 45 comics? And also every page that links to the current version of the category? I think it is not good enough to have a forward link with the category spelled wrong on all comics... Let me know if you wish to do that, then I can move the page. Once all has been corrected I could delete the forward page. <br />
:<br />
:I like your new category. Seems like the newest three is a series... But maybe we should just keep the red corrections. Question is if he has some with other color corrections, and if it is important that they are red? Or even color? But I like the idea. <br />
:Not sure what categories they belong under. Not sure the color category is relevant. More comics by topic - the topic being corrections. <br />
:Keep up the good work. I have much less time for making changes to the wiki now, that I used to.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:21, 22 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Thanks for the reply!<br />
<br />
::>Would you be ready to do this for all 45 comics?<br />
::Yeah, it shouldn't be that hard. I just need to copy and paste the correct spelling on the articles. Let me know when you've moved it :)<br />
<br />
::>if he has some with other color corrections, and if it is important that they are red?<br />
::I put red because I've never seen a comic with a correction ''not'' in red, but I get your point. We can always rename it and update the category names in the few articles that are included in it<br />
<br />
::>More comics by topic - the topic being corrections.<br />
::You're right, I'll move it there now. Btw there is also a category called [[:Category:Comics with blood]] that is also in the Comics with color category, should it move that one to comics by topic too?<br />
:::Hi. Tried, but I cannot move it cause the page name is not case sensitive, so it complains that I did not move it. Also I'm not sure it would work before you made the corrections, so it would be complicated. Not sure it is important enough for me to try to do some other thing. Like moving to a different title, then deleting the original page and try to move back. Maybe It will not be possible. So guess it won't happen? <br />
:::Yes I think blood should be topic. Guess it will always be red to make sure we know it is blood? But then again maybe there could be a comic with not red blood or just black and white drawing where it is clear it is blood. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:22, 23 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::Hey; I forgot to say it yesterday, but (after I realized I could already move pages on my account) I've moved [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal|Category:Comics posted on livejournal]] to [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal]]. I've removed the "comics" part because a different category, [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd]], started with "Posted". So I thought I could kill two birds with one stone and fixed both the consistency and the capitalization. i also moved the blood category to comics by topic<br />
:::::I saw the message, created the requested page with capitalisation. They both redirect to "Posted on LiveJournal," you can pick whether you want to keep the new name you picked or if you want the one that was originally requested '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 15:09, 24 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::::Good to hear from you Davidy22. And great work again FaviFake. I have just made sure there are no longer any links left to the old or the new version Davidy22 made, so we now use the FaviFake version and I have deleted the other two. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:03, 25 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Changing the Sitenotice of this wiki ==<br />
Hey,<br />
<br />
I've noticed that for a few years, the page [[MediaWiki:Sitenotice]] is out of date, but from my understanding it can only be edited by admins. So, could you edit it and remove the mention on comic [[1608: Hoverboard]]? It's not incomplete anymore. Or, even better, could you try making it editable by confirmed registered users, so we can keep it up to date?<br />
<br />
I would also remove the "Never use the Math markup language at the transcript. The reason for this you can read at the Editor FAQ." because it's probably one of the least useful things a newcomer should see when they open the site for the first time. I think if it were editable by mere people, it would be great because we could also update it for when a big new comic comes out and we need more people to help explain it. Thanks, [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:04, 28 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Hi FaviFake<br />
:I have never changed that notice before, but I was able to. But do think it will be only admins that can do it. But I have changed it to [[2765: Escape Speed]] and removed the math mark. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:25, 30 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::That's great! Thank you.--[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:48, 30 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::Ambivalent about the removal of the anti-Math bit, but I'm worried that there's also too much reliance upon general markup (including tables), rather than 'flat' description, and it does creep in. Historic articles that still do it might not help, though I'm not going back to change them.<br />
:::To be clear, some stuff is really difficult to do ''without'' a table, and be short and sweet (though exporting detail to a /Transcript sub-page is a doable thing), but at least we shouldn't just use '''bold''' text or <span style="color: #F00">colours where colours are</span>, but ensure they're always transcriptually indicated, in preference to/entirely instead of being used:<br />
::::[A fragment of text, "bold" is in bold and several other words are written in red:] ...we shouldn't just use '''bold''' text or <span style="color: #F00">colours where colours are</span>, but...<br />
:::...to give a poor example that I'd expect another Transcript specialist to improve anyway.<br />
:::Don't know how best to advertise this. Nor how ''not'' to add Citation Neededs, there being a current spate of them before commas/etc, which is against explainxkcd ''and'' Wikipedia standards, regardless of the actual overuse/misuse that may also happen by the hands of the enthusistic new(?) editors doing it. So I'll tweak what I see (of all these little things) hoping to move things more towards the aspirational ideals developed over many years of editors. And obviously that'd include the misplaced Math-markup. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.108|172.71.242.108]] 08:32, 31 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::Well I think there is no reason to have such a text standing there. If someone begins using it again write to them and change it in transcript. I actually did not know where to change the notice and also was not aware I had the rights. Also I think it is fine to use colors and bold text in transcript. But if the color is important then it should be mentioned. But the transcript is also for people to be able to easily read the text and see what it looked like. And it is important so it is possible to search for a phrase you remember. As the description is important so you can search for a special item that was in a comic you remember... And tables is OK when relevant for the way the comic is written. So think I'm not really agreeing with the user who is not signed up here above... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:51, 31 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::: We agree a lot, you'll be relieved(!) to hear. No bones to me about that warning (I could have told you that you could change it, just had no reason to :p ) and I'm sure someone will redo anything 'wrong' that occurs due to the prominant lack of it in future.<br />
::::: I think it's less important to exactly reproduce what can be seen in the comic in "what can be seen in the Transcript", but as long as those who might not have compatible search/screen-reader access get the written cues as well than it's clearly permissable.<br />
::::: Table use is still tricky. Not sure how screen-readers render them, so would depend upon how sensibly a small (or large) example can be described in either/both ways. (Totally coincidental case in point, my tongue-in-cheek comment to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2780:_Physical_Quantities&diff=314617&oldid=314606 this edit I just did] highlights how something could be visually formatted accurately, though I actually tried to Transcriptionally describe more accurately instead, which I thought more useful. (Not ''very'' important, but it's a clear layout choice that was not reflected in any usable way for ''anyone''.)<br />
::::: But this is not a hill I'd die on (if it even came to that). I'm just doing my bit to maintain and support what I see as the contributor conventions that have been bashed around and gradually smoothed into some form of useful (if not universal) coherency over the various years. I'll take any sudden informal policy shift under advisement, and of course your words carry more weight than my own! I'll repeat "policy", but don't wish to (re)set it [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.225|172.71.242.225]] 11:26, 31 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::::If you actually do some edits, why not get a account? Much easier to do edits and much easier to have a discussion, and we could actually see what you contribute, and agree or disagree. Now I will never know for sure what you did as IPs change from day to day and other people might get this ip later... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:05, 31 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::::::I know you've no way of confirming this, but I've survived long enough without. And had this conversation before. With no power comes no responsibility! (Or, really, just could never decided on a good username/never the time to start having one, and rarely any need to.) But don't want to rehash all that again. You've done important work, before and after your ennoblement, and I congratulate you on it.<br />
:::::::No, I just offer opinion that can be ignored, and edits that can be over-ruled. Imagine the damage to my fragile ego if I materialised as a Username account and everyone ''still'' ignores/rewrites everything I say? ;) Horses for courses, but that's how it works for me! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.71|172.70.91.71]] 19:09, 31 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Solving the [[MediaWiki:Sitenotice]] problem once and for all ==<br />
Hey Kynde, I have an idea for solving the problem of having to constantly ask an admin to update the comic in the site notice. Since few admins are very active on this wiki, and the page [[MediaWiki:Sitenotice]] can't be set to allow non-admins to change it, we can just create a template and replace the text on [[MediaWiki:Sitenotice]] with the template (and then protect the template so only autoconfirmed users can edit it), so when for example a new big comic comes out, it can be updated immediately by simply editing the template. What do you think? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:18, 1 September 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Hi FaviFake. Although I can see your point I'm not really sure what to do about this, and also not feeling confident of doing such a change. I'm still fairly regular using the page, and saw your comment fairly soon. I do not understand why I did not get an e-mail about your change to my talk page though? But I would be happy to change the sitenotice for you if your request makes sense to me. So let's see if that works for some time. Do you have a new comis you would like to have mentioned? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:27, 3 September 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Justification for 2023 April Fools' comics ==<br />
It's just someone's edit comment, but see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:April_fools%27_comics&diff=prev&oldid=338888 where it is claimed]... From that (and that it's completely not impossible to have both April Fool and book-launch combined in a single exotic comic) I think it's worth counting 2023 as at least a ''possible'' answer to the "Missing 2023 April Fool" conundrum. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.145|172.69.79.145]] 23:30, 6 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:: Hey I don't want to start an edit war over this, but I swear to you, Escape Speed was intended to be the 2023 April Fools comic. Chromakode (another person named in the credits for this comic) confirms as much in his blog post at https://chromakode.com/post/xkcd-gravity-escape-speed as well. [[User:Benley|Benley]] ([[User talk:Benley|talk]]) 00:49, 7 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::Thanks for the link. That was what was missing, or if it was already somewhere I missed it. I did not see the thing about being named in the credits, but also that is not really enough without a link. Anyone could have said that. But I'm happy to learn this and will of course now not oppose including [[2765: Escape Speed]] as the 2023 fools' comic. And will even help sort out the list (a list which I started and have tried to keep up to date from the start.) Benley - is that Benjamin Staffin? And which of the other named in the credits for Escape Speed is Chromakode? (there is no such name there and did not find anything on the link but I'm not on X for instance so could not enter all of them). If you are indeed a developer of such comics, I thank you for all the joy you help bring to xkcd fans. Best regard --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:25, 7 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::That's correct, benley is Benjamin Staffin (me). Chromakode is Max Goodhart. Thanks for maintaining this wiki :-) [[User:Benley|Benley]] ([[User talk:Benley|talk]]) 18:28, 10 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::Thanks for the info. Cool you are involved in these special comics. An honor to write with you. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 04:20, 11 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:To the first comment. I just realized it was [[Gravity]] that promoted the what if? book release. So that was my bad. Not that I would have believed a 19 day overdue comic was April fools' comic, just because it was not released on a book launch. But with the link from Benley, now I do. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:29, 7 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Ping, re: Main Page deletion. ==<br />
If you aren't being contacted by other means, this time I'm ''needing'' to spark off an email notification to you (resuming we don't need davidy22, etc). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 16:24, 11 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:I managed to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Undelete&target=Main_Page restore the page]. Thanks. Did not see it. I have written to the one who did it. Hope it was a mistake. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:58, 11 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::hey kynde, i would highly reccomend de-sysopping markhurd. he's confirmed to have passed on his main wikipedia page, and it could a security risk to keep him as a sysop, as whoever is in control of the account might delete more pages. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 20:13, 14 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::Hi. Are you saying that he is dead now? Not sure I have permission to do that though --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:42, 15 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Yes, although I prefer more respectful terms. My great-grandfather recently passed at 100 years old, and I'm still needing time to process. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 17:02, 15 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::Codolence for you loss. I'm not native English speaker and was uncertain what you meant and how you knew. Found out as you can see. Best, Kynde... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 06:14, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::::It's a minefield of language. To have "passed" is probably not even a fairly common euphemism in British English (in fact, if locally used and understood for what it is about, it may even sound like a pat and insincere imported Americanism, rather than respectful...). Formally, you may say "deceased". Or you might skirt the issue by saying someone "is no longer with us" (although that might also mean they just moved on, i.e. now live somewhere else, rather than have "moved on", another euphemistic phrase that does somewhat presuppose belief that there is some other place that they can now be but is less 'Merkin than "passed").<br />
::::::In general, take the cue from the one most connected. I would definitely honour 42's terminology regarding their great-grandfather, and would wish to pass on my own sympathies. For myself, once I tell you that my Dad is dead, you could easily ask how I've been "since he died". (NB.: though a real example, it was several years ago, with myself having been no spring chicken at the time, and so it is not a current issue; please let me avoid any further awkwardness by taking any belated condolances as read. My four grandparents died at various times between my being barely old enough to know until... well, it was still decades ago. Never had the opportunity to know any of ''their'' parents.) <br />
::::::Aside from all that, I would find it awkward to restrict the language used when it comes to reports of those ''not'' obviously connected to either myself or the other party. Sean Connery died, JFK died ("was asassinated"), James VI Of Scotland/James I Of England is long dead, and moreso is {{w|Lucy (Australopithecus)|'Lucy'}}. Mortality is still far too common to ''never'' say the respective words, although clearly you might hedge your language if you know you're potentially tweaking fresh emotions in the one you're talking to, or are feeling fragile about the issue yourself.<br />
::::::Perhaps understandable for 42 to have taken the more oblique term, in their recent state of grieving, but was unfortunately contextless and thus hard for you to interpret until fully explained. Og vi kender ikke engang dine egne forhold, så vi kan såre dine egne følelser. Whatever you might wish to say other than "Han er bestået"(/"død"). One perhaps must take this into account, in such internationalised communications. More in understanding others than in trying to anticipate what idealised position you must always take. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.220|172.70.90.220]] 15:19, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::::sorry for my little meltdown yesterday. sorry kynde, didn't know you were a non-native speaker. i blame hormones and grief-but mostly hormones. sorry again. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 23:20, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::::::No problem 42. I do understand the meaning of passed, but had at first no idea how you would knew this and got confused. And did not think you would be affected by my question. A bit long essay from the previous commenter ;-) But fine with a littele context. Seems like he is also Danish, like me, given that he wrote some Danish lines...? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:55, 17 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::::::Nej undskyld. Skyd skylden på en populær hjemmeside*. Du har et dejligt land, men mit ene besøg var som barn (da man havde verdens eneste forlystelsespark lavet af plastikmursten!), og jeg kunne aldrig mere dansk end et par vitale ord som "ja", " nej" og "kartoffelmos"... :p [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.77|172.71.178.77]] 10:23, 17 April 2024 (UTC) ((* - checked the reversal; fiddled with it a bit; had to overrule it to specifically say 'brick(s)', not 'stone', presuming that would be more correct! ;) Anyway, just FYI. Ignorer mig!))<br />
::::::::::Ha ha. Well you made a visit to Legoland. :-) Hope you enjoyed it. Have been there many times. It is called: Legoklodser. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:32, 17 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Ah found it my self [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Markhurd here]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:43, 15 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::I have blocked Mark Hurds account now. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:47, 15 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::::Does this wiki have a deceased tag like on Wikipedia? Or a way to deactivate their account without blocking? I can't find markhurd's page so I don't know if thats something you did. But if thats not an avalible option, that would be a nice thing for the admins or buracrats add, as a more respectful way to deactivate their acount, instead of blocking them. :) [[User:Apollo11|Apollo11]] ([[User talk:Apollo11|talk]]) 15:36, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::::Also 42, I'm very sorry for your loss. [[User:Apollo11|Apollo11]] ([[User talk:Apollo11|talk]]) 15:36, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::::I have left a message on [[User:Markhurd]] saying he has "passed", do not think there is a dedicated tag for this. Also if there was or I'm not the one to make it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:55, 17 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== main page protection ==<br />
can you protect the main page, like how 42.book.addict asked on the admin request community portal? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.155.39|172.71.155.39]] 21:21, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Done. I had hoped it was a one time problem. It can now only be changed by admins. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:51, 17 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Linking from another wiki ==<br />
<br />
Hi,<br />
Over on a different wiki's homepage, I'm maintaining [https://pandorastale.wiki/wiki/Pandora%27s_Tale_Wiki#Other_Webcomic_Wikis_We_Love|keeping a list of wikis] about webcomics on "good" hosts (independent or Miraheze, no Fandom). Would you be okay with me listing your wiki?<br />
[[User:183231bcb|183231bcb]] ([[User talk:183231bcb|talk]]) 22:12, 19 May 2024 (UTC)</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:Kynde&diff=342532User talk:Kynde2024-05-19T22:12:37Z<p>183231bcb: /* Linking from another wiki */ new section</p>
<hr />
<div>== Cueball references ==<br />
Hi, please do not remove the Cueball references here. He is a standard character. The category [[:Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] gives just an overview about all comics showing this stick figure. And just one is him, not defined by Randall but by us. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:10, 8 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
:But who should define who Cueball is? You? I could see him as both here. And somebody did. You have just corrected back so that the Cueball in the explain is switched to the other charachter in the transcript. At least one of these should then be changed to match the other. It is thus also clear that people have different views of what Cueball stands for. Is he the one trolling, or is he the one who knows which movie Blade Runner is? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:35, 10 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
:By the way - I did not remove the reference to the chategory - but only in the text as described above. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:38, 10 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Minor tags on edits ==<br />
Also, a minor concern, but please be more sparing in your use of "minor" tags on edits. Addition of 1200 characters (e.g. . . m Talk:1496: Art Project; 20:04 . . (+1,240) . . Kynde, or . . m 1497: New Products; 19:12 . . (-419) . . Kynde →Explanation: It does not fit into category four! See new test. I also deleted a lot of text, that already was written below, and was basically the same as the one stille) is NOT minor. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:22, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
::When adding a new comment to the talk page I newer see this as a major change. This i a discussion not a change to the explanation!. I do not believe it was a big change removing the text you wrote, when all of it basically was written below. Try and read your version, and see that it was more or less double. Also I had already once removed the reference to the fourth category. If the guy has signed up he have no problems with this company. Also it is mentioned that the fourth category is not a company he is afraid off, but just someone they do not like. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:42, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Thank you ==<br />
<br />
I like what you did at [[1402: Harpoons]]. Thank you. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.153|173.245.54.153]]<br />
:You're welcome - I did it based on your comment [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 03:41, 2 August 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==[[980: Money]]==<br />
Hey, you've done an amazing job on the money comic's transcript, but the explanation page is still marked as incomplete. Is there actually anything left to be done on it? Thanks! [[User:Davak72|Davak72]] ([[User talk:Davak72|talk]]) 03:04, 3 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks allot. I have replied on the Money page where you repeated the above. I can even remember the number although it was some time since I did the transcript. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:44, 3 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Merge Cueball & Rob ==<br />
<br />
You seem to have changed some comics in which formerly more than one cueball appeared to make it such that none were called cueball (e.g. Orb Hammer). But many persist, see transcripts in:<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1405:_Meteor<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/192:_Working_for_Google<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/525:_I_Know_You%27re_Listening<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/187:_The_Familiar<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/79:_Iambic_Pentameter<br />
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/65:_Banter<br />
<br />
We should probably seek broader consensus before rewriting all these transcripts. There seems to me to be a general trend to name one "Cueball" and call the others "Friend" or somesuch in these cases and I'm concerned that you seem to want to singlehandedly rewrite all that convention. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:07, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:It is typically the first who writes the transcript who decides who of the Cueballs (or Megans) he feel represents the real Cueball. However, there is no real behavior of Cueball. So who should decide. I could also change these transcripts so it becomes the other character who becomes Cueball, because I think the first transcripter did it wrong. This was exactly what happened with the two Megan-like comics. First it was Megan and Danish. Then unidentified girl and Megan. Then Megan and unidentified girl, then two Megan like girls with short and long hair and finally you reverted it to my first ide: Unidentified girl and Megan. So thanks for showing me these six double Cueball comics. I will change asap. And as I answered your comment on [[1496: Art Project]] Rob is already listed as part of the category for Comics featuring Cueball: http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Comics_featuring_Rob and this is listed as the first entry when going to the page for Category:Comics featuring Cueball: http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Comics_featuring_Cueball Thus he should not be merged--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:21, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:: Can you please add this discussion here [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob]. I have refrained from making these sort of substantial changes and want to seek a broader consensus. Please use the community forum to seek such consensus before making major unilateral changes like that. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:24, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::Done with interests --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:02, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:: there are dozens of multiple-Cueball comments. Please don't change them to "man 1", "man 2" until we can reach a braoder consensus. I will not be changing them to "Rob" without consensus. This is not something to be done all at once and making that many changes will prompt me to request that an admin freeze your account. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:27, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::I was about to write this before your comment no. two. So this was a reply to your previous comment: "I can post it there, but these changes has been underway a long time for almost a year. But it is hard to find these comics as I do not go through them just to find incidences. How long have you been active in xkcd. I can see your page has been created today, but maybe you were active long before that?"--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:42, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::This is a comment to your next comment: "It is very hard to threaten someone like that already. I have been making these changes before, and by the way never to man 1 or man 2. I have been one of the top contributers for more than a year. I hope this is not just because I reverted one of your contributions to Mondays comic? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]21:42, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::::I didn't want to threaten. I think consistent style is important, and general style I see is in multi-Cueball comics, one is ID'd as Cueball and others are "Friend", etc. Anyone unilaterally changing an established style should seek consensus first.<br />
:::::Additionally, I think your undo on my edit actually improved the explanation.<br />
:::::Finally, if you know how to solicit more opinions on the matter at hand, please let me know (or do it). Thanks! [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 23:53, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::::Thanks on the edit appraisal. As I wrote on the talk page, yours was also much better phrased the second time. I do not know how to get anyone to go read your comment except by giving them the message like you did with me. Or putting a link to it from the talk page of the double Megan comic, and maybe on some of the double Cueball comics too. I did not understand the "solicit more opinions" at first (why I wrote that last part in my comment below "how many will read"). So you do realize, I can see now, that not many will. By the way I'm [[Danish]]... That is, I'm neither a mean girl or a pastry cake, but from Denmark. And although I'm, really good at English for everyday use, it is not by far a language I can understand everything. But suddenly I got your message.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 12 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
My only point is we need to wait until consensus is reached before undoing years of precedent in Cueball naming. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 22:38, 11 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Well as I have made fairly clear there is no consensus. Because it is up to the first one who writes the transcript to decide who is the friend. And this often leads to discussion or changes forth and back (like we just saw with two Megans) since people have different opinion on how Cueball should behave, since they do not know that Cueball can behave anyway Randall needs him to. Often he reflects Randall's intelligence, but just as often he is a prick behaving horribly towards girls etc. So if there are two, one good and one bad, you cannot say the good one is Cueball. And how many do you think reads your post? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:43, 12 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I have had a look at the comics you have listed. Here are my comments:<br />
*[[1405:_Meteor]]<br />
**Here I would have changed - since it is believed that Cueball often represents Randall's version of himself - especially when it is his hobby. Of course it is then Randall who is pedantic, and thus Cueball. So I would change the Cueball reference. So here we could have a stupid editing war, instead of writing something else.<br />
*[[525:_I_Know_You%27re_Listening]]<br />
**Here there is only one Cueball speaking. And the other is listening in. So here I would no object so much. Maybe I would mention that the other looks like Cueball.<br />
*[[192:_Working_for_Google]]<br />
**Here I would have changed - since I would think that Cueball should have the most interesting story, and also that this Cueball is Randall as it is known that Randall has an interest in Google and has also been cheated by their aptitude test (so much that he did the famous [[356: Nerd Sniping]]). So also here I would change the Cueball reference. So again stupid editing war, instead of writing something else.<br />
*[[187:_The_Familiar]]<br />
**Here I would have changed - since I would thing that Cueball should be the one always interested in computers. Not the other way. I know there are other comics where he enjoys nature. But Also a lot where he enjoys computers out of hand and math etc. So again I would have changed the Cueball reference. So again stupid editing war, instead of writing something else.<br />
*[[79:_Iambic_Pentameter]]<br />
**Here I agree with the Cueball = Randall - it's Randall my hobby and thus the one with the Hobby is Cueball. But I would still prefer they are not named. some might argue against me on the hobby, saying the Cueball with the hobby is "Randall" so the other Cueball is "Cueball". Thus once more editing war. But I would not start it. But still probably mention that the Cueball with a hobby is Randall.<br />
*[[65:_Banter]]<br />
**What can I say. The first is called Cueball the other is not. They have the same amount of text, and they are obviously both gay and missing out. I would definitely loose the Cueball reference here. <br />
That is my ten cents about these six examples. Maybe we should create a category called multiple Cueballs. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 12 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Note that I have not changed any of these... yet. But maybe I should revert those three I think is plain wrong, so the Cueball and friend is changed. Then we can see if anyone changes back? ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 12 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::I advise waiting. If you want to enact 4, go for it, but then put in the discussion a [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob link] to our discussion for '''all''' the changes you make so hopefully someone besides you and me goes to that page and weighs in.<br />
<br />
To answer your question, I've read xkcd for years (I started reading regularly around the time there were ~500 total comics), lurked on explainxkcd and made anonymous minor edits for most of that time. I set up an account in July 2013, when I began making more regular edits.<br />
<br />
I recognize that the issue has a large amount of inertia. My point is precisely that there are 9 "Rob" comics and countless Cueball. But, as I stated on the page, there is ample evidence that the same character (Black Hat's friend/roommate, Megan's boyfriend) '''is''' named Rob. I haven't done a count, but I suspect that "Megan" is named in the comic fewer than 9 times, but characters of her appearance are '''all''' called "Megan".<br />
<br />
Yes, multiple Megans triggered the idea that's been brewing in my mind since someone (not me) made an anonymous comment on a relatively recent Rob comic [1168: tar]. Since I read that it's been sitting in my mind, but I haven't wanted to make an issue. However, the asymmetry between Megan/Cutie and Rob/Cueball grates for me and I want to urge the community here to evaluate critically whether it is the right thing or an inappropriate historical artifact. Years ago, [Cutie] was abolished (redirects now to [Megan]), I think it's objectively appropriate to make a symmetrical arrangement for Rob/Cueball (hence my options 2 & 3 in the public discussion thread).<br />
<br />
For now, if you want to go changing all those comics go ahead. I won't argue or revert, but I request that you put the following (or something close to it) in the discussion of all the comics you change "I've removed the name 'Cueball' from this and several other comics that have multiple Cueball's in them as per my position on the issue currently under discussion at http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob if you support this change or disagree with it, please weigh in on that discussion thread."<br />
<br />
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from more users. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 00:04, 13 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::Dear Djbrasier<br />
:(By the way my name is Kynde - that is both my nick and my middle name).<br />
:Thanks for this very open talk. I like you much better now ;-)<br />
:If I do change any of these I will do as you ask. It is not like I have forever to do these changes, although I for sure use too much time already on explain... I think I will add the category:Comics with multiple Cueballs. What do you think of the name if I do (and if I do then maybe also make one with Category:Comics where Megan is named Megan. Please tell me you can think of a better name for that one ;-) I only know of the three now mentioned on [[Megan]]s page.<br />
:As you can see om my page, I have only used explain xkcd since late 2013. So you have been member longer than me by some months. I did not read xkcd before that - became fascinated with the What if section on xkcd and when I finished with those I turned to the comic. But found that I failed to understand quite a few, and thus searched and found this page. I have read them as they come out since then, and then also began reading from no. 1. But since I always look in this page for the explanation and like to contribute I only progress very slowly. Recently I have reached [[540: Base System]] where I have made several improvements additions and corrections. And that is as far as I have reached reading straight fro no. 1. But I have of course used the cross referencing and thus read many in between that and those from October 2013. <br />
:Regards Kynde --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:02, 13 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Happy to have the discussion and to get to wiki-know you. I definitely see your points. I added a few comments and links to our public discussion in the hopes that, over time, it will attract more users to the community portal discussion. I suspect it will take some months for enough users to weigh in that we have a reasonable consensus. I think that if you remove "Cueball" from some of the comics you mentioned above and put a link to the portal page in the discussion block of those comments, that will prompt community input.<br />
::Cheers,<br />
::DJ [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 13:40, 13 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I also added incomplete tags to a few comics in which I think a strong argument can be made that "Cueball" is really Rob, despite his name not showing up (Boombox & Cover-up) [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 13:49, 13 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Well I disagree again. See the talk pages. But then it is out for discussion.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:19, 15 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I have changed several of the Multiple Cueballs comics as you said was OK with you. See the new caregory. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:41, 16 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== xkcloud permalink usernames ==<br />
<br />
You said "The user name and user picture stay the same though.", [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1506:_xkcloud&diff=prev&oldid=88207 An Anon] had mentioned that [http://xkcd.com/1506/#post/3c34fb48-1a07-51d2-a81d-5257a3681024 3c34fb48-1a07-51d2-a81d-5257a3681024] had the name "Lauren Ibsen Dolores Amit" and changed to "Margaret5", then by the time I looked at it, it had "Virginia2006". It still has "Virginia2006" now, but since it has changed twice I wouldn't assume it is now permanent. Due to this, I [[1506:_xkcloud/Table of Permalinks|haven't been saving the usernames]]. Could you confirm that you see Virginia2006? Perhaps it's different for each user. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 21:09, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Yes I did see Virginia2006. I think it may change some times, but then suddenly it could become stable? The permalink used on the main page of the explain, was mine. I noted it was Mark Zuckerberg. But this has changed. But now I think it is stuck on: Destiny1983 and always with the skating "Megan". Can you confirm this: http://xkcd.com/1506/#post/50b47c70-3a7c-504d-bcc0-60597338e999 . Cool that you have collected all these images. Can we put the link under the permalink section. As you can see I'm trying to completely revise the page so it is easier to find the explain and then only see the detail if you are interested. Hope you like these changes --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:27, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Yeah, I see Destiny1983 on that one too. I like the changes, they make everything much clearer. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 21:30, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::Thanks. I was trying to make it easier to write some extra info on your permalink page, and deleted most of them. Luckily they are not deleted permanently. But the page is so big I have trouble loading it. I try to repair my mistake, but else please do so for me, and sorry in advance. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:45, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::NP, <tt>&action=history</tt> is a life-saver. I was going to suggest using <tt>&action=edit&section=0</tt>, but I see you've already added a description heading. It also lags pretty badly for me so I expect I'll have to stop at 10000, and I'm already up to 8444 since my last edit to the page. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 22:20, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::::Yes I think I fixed it but I had to split it in three uploads. How many different pictures do you think there are. I guess some off them are the same? (And same for text). Maybe the last part can be seen by sorting the table. But does the image also have the same name when used more than once? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:33, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::::Well, I know of 1419 unique images so far. Yes, both images and text are reused for different permalinks, some come up a lot more frequently than others. If you click the heading, you can sort by either image or text, which will group them together. It's kind of interesting to see different captions for the same image. If you mean the same username, I haven't checked. I also haven't checked whether the same pair of image and text ever appear together as different permalinks, I'll check that <s>eventually</s>, <s>later</s>, ''right now''... nope. I imagine the prompt never even ''suggests'' a caption which is already associated with an image. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 23:27, 6 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::::I hit the 2mb page limit at 10217 permalinks, out of the 15000+ I have found, so I've reduced the table to only show each image and text once. As in, ''either'' the image or text once, so there will be a couple of duplicate images and text. So what I said previously about sorting to see different captions for the same image no longer applies, but the page will be more manageable this way. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 13:53, 7 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::::: So you think that it will not be possible for anyone to add the same image to the same caption, because this caption will never again come up with this image or the other way around? I can see yo have removed the ? where they where something else like turtles... Nice. What about all the links below? Are they just the other 10.000 links not associated with a new image or caption, just a different combination? If so maybe this should be made clear. You could make a new section heading for them. Would it be possible to list them in any other way, or is this to save space? Alternatively you could make a new subpage with extra permalinks for further study. We of course both know that no one will ever read these again ;-) But nice work anyway. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:17, 7 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::::::: So far, I've never found the same image and same caption, but I'll keep checking, as I'm still storing all of the information, just not posting the full list to the wiki now. The other links at the bottom are all 15000+ permalinks I've found, good point about making that more clear. It might also be a good idea to list them on another separate page to save space, but they're not for further study, as I have all the images and captions associated with them, there just isn't room to display all of the information, because it would currently take 3mb+. Regarding the symbols, I was previously pasting my javascript output into my text editor to format them, but now I have my script format them for me, so the symbols are preserved. - and it's also a lot easier for me. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 14:29, 7 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::::::: Well, I've hit the 2 megabyte limit again, so it looks like we'll have to put the table on one page and the list of links on another. Any suggestions for the page titles? -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 15:25, 23 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::::::: You are crazy :-) My suggestion is that you create a new page called Table of Permalink (with the explanation at the top the same, but now linking to the old page, and vice versa for the old page to the new). Then let the list of permalink stay on the old page. And move the table to the new page. Finally, look at what pages direct to the old page, and redirect them to the new, only leaving link to the old page from the new one. The table is most important. The problem with your table is that it is too big for anyone to load... Maybe there should even be another page in between. Which is called - a selection of permalink. And then with link to the full table and links, with a fair warning about huge amount of data (Big data.). My explorer just went down trying to load the page (or maybe I'm just too impatient?) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:36, 24 April 2015 (UTC) (Ah, now it is finished loading...)<br />
:::::::::: Thanks. I haven't tried it in internet explorer, but the table loads okay with Chrome on my laptop I bought 7 years ago. Now that the pages are split, it might load faster for you. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 18:58, 24 April 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==[[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript|Hoverboard Transcript]]==<br />
<br />
Sorry to ask about such a minor thing, just curious about why the man on the raised plateau can't be a woman. Elsewhere in the comic Darth Vader is seen explaining Steven Universe to someone. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.43|108.162.221.43]] 13:46, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Hi - it cold be. But to me it looks like a family. But to be honest I had not expected anyone to change it, and did not notice before I had copy pasted some text in from the document I write the transcript in. But hopefully at some time this family (or whatever) becomes part of the effort to explain the entire comic. My guess is that someone will know who it is - that they are from some TV series or movie. In that case it will become clear if it is (as I assumed) a family with mom and dad and two children or if it is a lesbian couple or something entirely different... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
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::The family resembles the main characters of Steven Universe, a cartoon(the characters being three women and a child) The explanation page also lists them as such(Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems - (x: 551664, y: -567383). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.64|173.245.55.64]] 21:03, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::Perfect thanks. Then is makes sense with the Vader reference. Is it the boy who is Steven? And is the low girl also a grown woman? I will look it up but thanks for answering. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:07, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::Fixed the transcript. Some of the link I put in, is not supposed to be there, but may be moved once they are explained in the main article.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:20, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Hair Bun "Girl" ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde, I noticed you created the character page for "Hair Bun Girl". This naming convention is inconsistent with most of the other characters named here, e.g. Cueball, Ponytail, Hairy, et al. Beret Guy is a potential counterexample, but the words "guy" and "man" don't have the same relationship as "girl" and "woman". Partly for consistency, and partly for simple feminism, I'd like to open a conversation about changing the character's name please. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:08, 4 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:I think it is exactly the same as guy vs. girl. Hair Bun Woman is just too cumbersome. But if you can find a name like Ponytail that fits then by all means. Hairbun just doesn't do it for me. But I do not have any specific feelings for this name, I just found that she was used too often to not have a character page. So I will not take offence against you trying to find a better name through a conversation. Contraty to for instance Megan, which once was Cuetie (sexistick I think), it will not be so hard to change Hair Bun Girl's name to something else, but still she has just reached comic no. 20 so it is not easy to find all the references. Are you ready to do that job if you do get a new name for her? Because else it is just semantics --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:20, 4 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Thanks, appreciate it. Yes I am ready to do the job. What would you recommend for next steps? Should I raise the issue at http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Coordination? [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:06, 7 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Your welcome, and good luck. Try to see [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob|this post]] regarding the naming convention of [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] which much to my joy did not end up in altering anything, but they were "old" names, Hair Bun Girl is new. You could post you suggestion there. And maybe make a note at the top of [[Hair Bun Girl]]'s page? (You can write Notice as a template just like the incomplete. Check out this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Cueball&oldid=92611 old version of Cueball page history]). Now that I think about it '''Hairbun''' is probably as good a name as [[Ponytail]]. So I would think that would be a decent proposal for a change. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:08, 7 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
::::Okay, process started. Thank you for the good wishes and guidance. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:31, 9 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
=== Girl With Hairbun? ===<br />
<br />
I have identified several comics that have a girl (clearly a child) similar in appearance to Hairbun. <br />
Examples include [[1104: Feathers]], [[1352: Cosmologist on a Tire Swing]] and [[1370: President]]. Would these people be included under Hairbun? Most of them are not marked as such. And what are the requirments to make a new character? I think this girl has appeared rather often. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.42}}<br />
:Hi. If you look at the description for [[Hairbun]] it clearly states that she is an adult as are Ponytail and Cueball etc. So no, these examples should not be included in Hairbun category. If you look at the last entry on the talk page of President I suggested a children category. But I would agree that a category with curious girl or science girl could be relevant. She is also in [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]] for instance. If there are about five comics that could go in a new category it is just to create it. The naming is important though. See othere categories for what to write on the category page. I have made several including Hairbun --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:12, 27 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Thanks for your input. I think I will be creating this category soon. Since most of the names seem to refer to the hairstyles (they are recognizable) I think I'll be going with the name "Double Bun Girl".<br />
<br />
== Marking edits as minor edits ==<br />
Hey, I noticed that you mark lot of your edits as minor edits while most of them aren't. For example, [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645%3A_Toasts&diff=112997&oldid=112996 this]] and probably [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=113008 this]] too constitute as a minor edit, but these - [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=112997 [1]]], [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=113003 [2]]], [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=113009 [3]]], etc. aren't minor edits. Refer to the wikipedia guidelines for minor edits - {{w|Help:Minor_edit}}.<br />
::Examples include typographical corrections, formatting and presentational changes, and rearrangements of text without modification of its content. A minor edit is one that the editor believes requires no review and could never be the subject of a dispute.<br />
Basically, if you are adding/removing even a little bit of content, it is not minor. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 23:31, 21 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Oh, and how in the world is [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Thing_Explainer&curid=16286&diff=113034&oldid=113033 this ]] and [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1608:_Hoverboard&curid=16986&diff=113019&oldid=113013 this ]] minor !! [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 23:47, 21 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Sorry about that. I just updated my settings where it had been set to default: "Mark all edits minor by default". If I by mistake click OK to an update before clicking that off it was to late. But now it will be the other way instead. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:19, 22 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Cool, no worries. It happens. I was just surprised that everything was marked minor. Anyway, keep up the good work. I see that you're finishing up all the incomplete explanations and improving comics in general. Great work ! :) [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 01:04, 23 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Thanks for the support, nice to get some feedback. Also great that someone mentions when you are doing something the wrong way. I had only limited experience with wiki pages before signing up here, and I had not read the wiki page on minor edits, but now I have. How come you have chosen not to have an account? Seems like you also make several comments and changes... which is great ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:11, 23 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Please create the discussion page for today's comic. ==<br />
Thanks. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.13|108.162.221.13]] 15:02, 7 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Well just did that (for [[1652: Conditionals]]) but not because I saw this comment, just before. I guess it is not possible for no registered users to create pages? Well I fulfilled your wish before I knew about it ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:05, 7 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Moving comments around ==<br />
Please do not move people's comments into unrelated discussions without asking them, and if you do, make sure the timestamps in the reply chain aren't out of order. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 20:36, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:I expect you were referring to [[Talk:1659: Tire Swing]]? Well all comments I moved were regarding the same question of who the girls looked like, and they should have been posted as replies to the first. There were no time stamp on the first comment and your post asking if they were children were posted straight under a post about if they were Megan and Hair Bun girl or Thelma and Louise. So I do believe your comment belong under that statement. But fine by my that it just stand beneath instead of being indented. The time stamp of all comments seem to be in time order as I see it. It would get really confusing or I would have to make the same reply three times if they were not together. The comments in between were not at all related and there should be no confusion. So I think it made the discussion page much more useful what I did.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:52, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Well I don't know about the other users, but I know for a fact that mine wasn't in response to the first one. I don't even know what the first one said, I just moved it from the explanation to comment page. And mine was posted immediately after it because I was chronologically the second comment made. I had no reason to wait (interestingly, you moved someone else's comment so that I was replying to it, even though it didn't exist when I posted.) [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 00:41, 24 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::I cannot see that what you say is true about moving your comment. I just checked the history and here is what I found:<br><br />
'''This was what it looked like before my changes:''' <br><br />
--- <br><br />
the women do not look like Megan and Hair Bun Girl to me, are they new?<br />
sorry for commenting here, but I do not have rights to create a new page, which seems to be necessary for posting the fire comment. Will move once the comment section is created.<br />
<br />
I think they are Thelma and Louise (from the movie) given the looks of their hair {{unsigned|Chichak|March 23, 2016}}<br />
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I think they're children [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:33, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Maybe they got the truck from Black Hat's garage? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:34, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I have yet to use a tire swing that was made from a worn tire (worn by the road not by swinging). From my experience, expired tires used by automobiles typically have sharp metal protruding from the rubber. This would make a dangerous tire swing. I thought landscaping (rubber mulch) and playgrounds was the preferred recycling method for used tires?--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:35, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
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The first one certainly looks like Hair Bun, but the second one (which in in the explanation is presented as Megan) has a somewhat curly hair. Could she be another character, perhaps? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.166|108.162.218.166]] 17:05, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br>--- <br><br />
'''This what it looked like after:'''<br><br />
--- <br><br />
the women do not look like Megan and Hair Bun Girl to me, are they new?<br />
sorry for commenting here, but I do not have rights to create a new page, which seems to be necessary for posting the fire comment. Will move once the comment section is created.<br />
:I think they are Thelma and Louise (from the movie) given the looks of their hair {{unsigned|Chichak|March 23, 2016}}<br />
::I think they're children [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:33, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::The first one certainly looks like Hair Bun, but the second one (which in in the explanation is presented as Megan) has a somewhat curly hair. Could she be another character, perhaps? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.166|108.162.218.166]] 17:05, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
::::As the tire comes from a truck and it's diameter is more than half the height of these small girls they are definitely kids (not that Randall could not have made adults make a swing as like in [[150]]). Also this makes it much more funny that they both stole a car and beat up an angry adult. And now they are going all environmental after wards. So they are not Megan (which looks nothing like a curly haired girl) and also not Hair Bun Girl as it is defined that these characters are adults. There are many stories using kids and they will never represent Cueball, Megan or Ponytail etc. Those with hats are for instance never drawn small! Have thus corrected the explanation. But it still seems to miss much more on the environmental issue which is the subject/point of the comic if not the joke --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:19, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Maybe they got the truck from Black Hat's garage? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:34, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Then they would have lost the fight: [[433: Journal 5]]! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:22, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I have yet to use a tire swing that was made from a worn tire (worn by the road not by swinging). From my experience, expired tires used by automobiles typically have sharp metal protruding from the rubber. This would make a dangerous tire swing. I thought landscaping (rubber mulch) and playgrounds was the preferred recycling method for used tires?--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:35, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:I think you are correct. We have one for our kids (though it sucked and we took it down again) and that was a brand new tire, but not one I think would be suitable for any car though. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:22, 23 March 2016 (UTC)<br><br />
---<br><br />
'''As can be seen''' <br />
:::I have only moved one comment up, and that was not yours! That you did not check that there already seemed to be two comments above yours, about the appearance of the girls, doesn't mean that it would not make sense to pool all these questions and comments regarding exactly this topic together to give just one answer. And as you can see from the above '''I did NOT move your comments''', but I moved someone else's comment, in between the first and second of your comments, to be able to reply to all four things already written about the girls (ie. 1) The women do not look like Megan and Hair Bun Girl to me, are they new? 2) I think they are Thelma and Louise (from the movie) 3) I think they're children and 4) ... a somewhat curly hair. Could she be another character?) All that was what I replied to, now possible to do in one go right beneath all four remarks. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:47, 25 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
::::There was only one comment before mine, and it was 2 paragraphs. You moving the second half into a reply of the first half caused some of the confusion here [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 06:54, 26 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::::OK now I understand, so it was not your comment I moved, but the previous comment that I split in two (that was a mistake). That you did not answer to the comment above was of course not clear since it was on the same subject. Again this, as I understand it, was caused by someone posting a comment in the explanation, and you moving it into the comments section (which was fine, but made it hard to find out who posted what.) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:58, 26 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Gardening ==<br />
<br />
You mention "three links to images that did not work" in my "garden store for deer" entry. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:UploadStash/thumb/13xmd97bimg0.n2wbws.5455.png/739px-13xmd97bimg0.n2wbws.5455.png These]<br />
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:UploadStash/thumb/13xn667h2jlw.jonmk1.5455.png/739px-13xn667h2jlw.jonmk1.5455.png three]<br />
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:UploadStash/thumb/13xod68rb29s.7fj65u.5455.png/739px-13xod68rb29s.7fj65u.5455.png links]<br />
all work for me; they are images I tried to upload, scaled as large as the server would allow (739x461). Somehow I can upload images but not create image pages (also the spam protection is still triggered, so creating this account seems to accomplish nothing). It's very strange that the server has stored them but won't allow anyone else to view them (after logging out, it tells me I "must be logged in to upload files" instead of displaying the images). Someone should rescue the images from wherever they reside on the server.<br />
<br />
The "face" I referred to (the second image) is really a cluster of leaves and branches: the bottom cluster of the rightmost tree looks like a head in profile, with curly hair, an eye, a grinning mouth, and a prominent nose. The two rightmost trees started with no branches (first image), but grew several when I placed a light above them. I moved the light so the face wouldn't be destroyed and tried to grow branches on the lower trunks. The third image is essentially the same as what you uploaded today.<br />
<br />
Regarding Megan's office furniture: I'd actually pruned her second wand whenever it appeared, and then the bird took its place. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 15:29, 8 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Hi .42 First I think it take a few days (three) before you are allowed to create new pages to fight off spam boots that we have had problems with. I cannot see you images I get the following message:<br />
:'''Internal Server Error'''<br />
:'''This file (13xmd97bimg0.n2wbws.5455.png) doesn't belong to the current user.'''<br />
:Cool that you have logged in as a user, although poor name ;-) On the other hand if you are a fan of Hitchhikers Guide then I guess it would be cool enough by the way. I'm happy to see that I finally get a chance to prune some of my gardens after several upsets since the comic came out. If I can help you with the images let me know. Maybe you can post them somewhere else and I can find upload them for you? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:34, 8 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
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::I'll try to upload tomorrow, then. I don't know where the server found the .42 IP address &mdash; that isn't my address! It's ''really weird'' that it chose this number. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 16:18, 8 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Have you seen libra's [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=114415&start=480#p3954408 purple light] gardens? [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 22:58, 11 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
:No I had not. I like the stilt on platform up in tree. I did not know this could happen. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:24, 12 April 2016 (UTC)<br />
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== [[1703: Juno|NASA versus the press]] ==<br />
Hi Kynde. I'm afraid I disagree. It seems pretty clear to me that the question about the tip-off comes from NASA. I've added a topic to the talk page, where I explain my reasoning, and where this should be discussed if you still disagree. Thanks! [[User:Garik|Garik]] ([[User talk:Garik|talk]]) 16:52, 6 July 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Yes I still disagree. To me it seems like a continuation of the conference and it is now the press to speak. And given that I knew Juno to be related to Jupiter but not that she was the daughter of Saturn (and given the reason for the naming in the real world) I would not say that the name in any way would lead anyone to take it as a hint for going to Saturn. But great to discuss it. Will post this on the [[Talk:1703:_Juno|talk page]] too. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:21, 6 July 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== 1712: Politifact ==<br />
Hi, I'm the BOT and I'm BORG...<br />
<br />
...nevertheless your enhancement to the transcript was too much. And I think your enhancements to the explain section is also overrunning the target.<br />
<br />
But I just only did revert the transcript. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:19, 28 July 2016 (UTC)<br />
:HI BORG... :/<br />
:I Highly disagree with your changes.<br />
:A transcript serves several functions:<br />
#To make it possible to find out what any text/characters reads, even if it is hard to read in the comic.<br />
#To make a description of what happens in the images. This has two purposes:<br />
##So people with eye disabilities can find out what the comic is about. So here a full description of the comic is needed apart from the text.<br />
##So it is possible to search the comic for info on the content, like a woman with a hat with a white tag.<br />
#Finally it is great if the transcript represents the way it is written in the comic as close as possible including colors (which should also be described in the text for those that cannot see them selves). So tables, colors and formatting is fine. If the text then is harder to read it is possible to copy paste it.<br />
:I can see there may have been a bit of explanation in that I wrote about what Megan did in the previous panel, but that is not enough to just undo the whole thing. <br />
:I will reinsert the transcript and if you disagree then lets discuss either on that comic or in a general fora on what a transcript should contain.<br />
:Regards, just Kynde. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:16, 29 July 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Follow-Up on that "Random Chat" ==<br />
Hey dude! Uh... wow this is awkward. You said hi to me in the random chat on my user page. I said hi. Then we never said anything else to each other again. xD --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 16:07, 25 October 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Jay. Not so awkward. :-) I mean you just said thanks, and thus did not really initiate any chat. Do you have anything in mind? Like something to be improved here on explain? Something larger maybe that could need discussion. Or anything else... Problem is of course that when I chat to you here, you do not get any reminder like when I chat on your page and visa versa. So I will make a post on your page that I have answered here... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:04, 25 October 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Well, by that, I just meant a simple random chat. Like a "hey! how are you doing? that's nice... what do you like to do in your free time..?" kind of chat. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 14:18, 26 October 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Ah well, I guess I would not really like to have such a chat on these pages, so sorry that I misunderstood you. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:19, 26 October 2016 (UTC)<br />
::::It's alright.. also.... HAPPY HALLOWEEN! :D --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 14:41, 31 October 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::::Wow... it's (almost) a whole year since then. Time sure flies by, huh? --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|'''JayRules''XKCD''' ]]<sup>[[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|what's up?]]</sup> 12:34, 9 October 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::::Yes that is true. Actually more since the first contact ;-) Haven't been so active the last half year. :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:22, 11 October 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== [[1751: Movie Folder]] ==<br />
<br />
Assuming that Black Hat only has good movies is rather absurd, as there's not a shred of evidence to support this. Especially since this is Black Hat we're talking about. Therefore, there's no evidence that Titanic 98 is about the ship hitting the reef, and therefore, the calculations about stacking 97 ships have no relevance. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.79.81|172.68.79.81]] 15:06, 1 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Since this is relevant to a specific comic, I suggest that you just leave this comment on that specific comic's discussion board. Thank you. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 15:13, 1 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Yes that is true Jay. Anyway there is reason to believe that Black Hat either thinks or teases Cueball with his movies, and thus he suggest that the movies he has are god. Also the other comment he makes suggest this. So I think there is a lot of evidence that this movie 98 is one in the series of movies where Titanic hits the reef of older Titanics. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:05, 2 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Cueball names 7 movies, Black Hat replies to 4 of those. He has definitively positive things to say about 2 of those, and simply states information about another. In that context, there's no reason to assume his comment about the Titanic series should be interpreted as a claim that he considers Titanic 98 to be 'good'. And with only 2 of the other 6 known movies in his collection being stated as 'good', that's clearly not "a lot of evidence" that Titanic 98 is 'good'. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.86|108.162.237.86]] 21:24, 3 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
::::Well we disagree on that then. If the explanation should be changed on the basis of this discussion it should be moved to the relevant discussion page. If it is the same person who wrote from both IP .81 and .86 you could move it there your self. Feel free to include my replies, but leave out Jays as that has nothing to do with the discussion. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:56, 4 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::::[[Talk:1751: Movie Folder#Titanic XCVIII|Done]]. (Yes, .81 and .86 were me) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.86|108.162.237.86]] 16:57, 4 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Transcript TLDR; ==<br />
*I got so tired of Dgbrt's negative comments (TLDR;), that I have collapsed them here below. Fell free to read them if you really wish by clicking: --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:00, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%"><br />
<br><br />
Please stop to write this massive texts into the transcript. Have a look at the discus at the last (1798) comic. And also think about that you are the only one who is entering those massive explains perhaps also nobody does read. LESS is often MORE! --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:43, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Maybe. I was under the impression that they where both there for those that had problems with vision, and also so you could search on something you remembered from a comic and find it using that tool. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:27, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::Even visually impaired persons don't like it (see 1798). And TLDR means "too long; didn't read", just in case. You should consider this. Reading the transcript should not take much longer than identifying the features from picture itself. Every spoken text and a short description what is shown should be suffice. At [[1799: Bad Map Projection: Time Zones]] even not every county must be mentioned; showing differences to a regular map projection should be enough because everybody knows a regular world map. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:44, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::I completely disagree about only writing spoken text. The transcript is intended to make it possible to read all text in the image not just spoken text. It is often difficult to read all text, and also if people misread it or do not notice it by looking at the image, it will be there to find in the transcript, especially for those visually impaired. And what you said means there should be no transcript for the current comic [[1799]] where you linked to this discussion from. By the way I know what TLDR means, and also did not ask about it, if you noticed! I have seen it used here before, probably regarding something you wrote! ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:33, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::I agree with Dgbrt. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:50, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::I expect mainly people who agree comes here, as people who are not troubled by it, might not care enough. ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:33, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::The first criticism was done by a visually impaired person (Zetfr 23:11, 13 February 2017 (UTC)) at [[Talk:1798:_Box_Plot]]. That was the reason for me to start this discussion.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:52, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::::Yes thanks for pointing that out. I had not read his comments when I replied before. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:13, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::Another reason for detailed transcripts with image descriptions is that sometimes people have misunderstood what is in the image, and then a transcript can be used to make sure what is there. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:33, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::All that may go into the explain section; it doesn't belong to the transcript.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:52, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::Yes maybe, but will the visibly impaired not also be annoyed about it there. Then maybe in a trivia section if there is need. I will try that for [[1798]] I think. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:13, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Maybe not known to all. In the past Randall provided a transcript on each comic. It is in a hidden div-tag. Then something went wrong and the transcript actually belonged to an older comic. Right now there is no transcript anymore. But have look at this example (shown on https://xkcd.com/1664/ for https://xkcd.com/1662/):<br />
<pre><br />
[[Two children, a girl and a boy, are talking to an adult woman as they walk away from her. The boy has a bucket.]] <br />
Girl: Me and Jack are going up the hill to fetch a pail of water. <br />
[[The children have left; the woman calls after them.]] <br />
Woman: Okay, have fun! [[The woman stands and thinks.]] <br />
Woman: ... wait. What the heck is going on with the hydrology around here? <br />
{{Title text: Jill and Jack began to frack. The oil boosts their town. But fractures make the bedrock shake and Jack came tumbling down.}}<br />
</pre><br />
--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:07, 15 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Yes I tried to include this on explain xkcd by making a [[xkcd#Transcript_on_xkcd|description]] of it on the [[xkcd]] page some weeks ago. Transcript are of course even more important now that there are no longer transcripts on xkcd. The first problem arose after the [[Hoverboard]] comic where the transcript for all comics after that was shifted two and later three comics from the one they belonged to. The last of those shifted transcript ended with [[1674]] whose transcript was found three comics later at [[1677]]. But also comics with transcript needs a better transcript here on xkcd, to include other written text, and small important details, as well as we are using given names for characters which Randall has never used (or only rarely uses). Actually Randall has once made a direct link to Explain xkcd for a better transcript. Alas there was not transcript until this year, where I made it: See this [[Payloads#Trivia|trivia]] under [[Payloads]].--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:16, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
I'm glad this discussion is finally taking place. I raised the point a while back on [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#purpose_of_detailed_transcripts the community portal] but nobody noticed. I tried again on [[1795]] but attention had already moved on to the next comic... Seems I got it right this time ;-)<br />
Different people may have different uses for the transcripts. For me, being visually impaired, the right level of detail is that of Randall's official transcripts. It should include every written word in the comic (spoken, printed, in captions, etc.) and just enough information on what's going on to "get it", but not how things are drawn. E.g. "Cueball is talking to Megan", not "Cueball, on the left, has his right arm extended towards Megan who is sitting on a chair" (unless the chair somehow plays a part in the story). Imagine you're talking on the phone: "hey, I saw a great comic this morning, here is how it goes..." and then "tell" yor friend the joke, rather than "describe" the comic. BTW, I think this also serves your goal of being able to search old comics for a specific element. The element you'll remember will be something important to the comic's story, not a graphical detail such as a character's position or the number of lines drawn around his hand to indicate movement. Anyway, thanks for the good work!! Zetfr 16:18, 16 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks for the input, especially to Zetfr. I had not seen your comment on 1795 or in the community portal. I'll have a look, and thanks to Dgbrt for letting me know about your latest comment. I will try to keep out the details in the transcript. For me personally I have often been looking for a specific thing, like searching for the comic where Cueball stands on a chair with a sword or rotates in an office chair. As I could not remember any lines spoken, and because those making the transcript had not mentioned either spinning office chair, or sword, I could not search my way to them even in this explain page. I have found them later, but by chance. And then I put in the details. Maybe I have gotten carried away, so sorry about that. I think the details somehow belongs, but if that should be in the trivia, or at the bottom of the transcript...? I'm not sure, which was also why I put it in the transcript. Being the one who makes the most edits and also hard work (large tables, and huge transcripts) I'm happy Zetfr likes the page :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:09, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::I have changed the transcript for [[1795]] putting the details into a subesection of the transcript. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:38, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::Hi Kynde, I still disagree with this subsection solution. You don't have to repaint the picture by text! If a detail is important for understanding a pun it has to be mentioned in the transcript itself; otherwise it is useless and oversized. E.g.: Nobody wants to know -- and wont remember later -- if there are two, three, four, or five sound symbols and how they are painted. The single word "SOUND" describes all. And please consider: Nobody reads those long texts. LESS is often MORE!.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:04, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::Hi Dgbrt. We can movie it into a trivia. I think some of it is relevant, and sometimes it is hard to find out which part will be searched for later. But I guess we two alone would end in a [[1800: Chess Notation|½-½]] for this discussion so far... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:41, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::::I completely agree with Dgbrt. The transcript should say *what* Randall wants to tell us, not *how* he tells it. In most cases this should also work to let you search for details you remember. In your example, Cueball holding a sword is certainly important to the comic's point, so it should be mentioned in the transcript. But the length and position of the sword are irrelevant, and probably not what you'll search for. Obviously, there is no hard rule to decide what should or shouldn't go into the transcript, it's a matter of personal judgment and common sense, but I think we can all agree on general guidelines. Regarding the "Detailed image description" section tested in [[1795]], I have no problem with that. I'm not sure it will ever be useful to anyone, but it won't do any harm either, so if you're willing to put in the extra work, go for it. Zetfr 12:17, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::::Thanks Zetfr. About the extra details, they could be put into a section where you had to press to see the extra details. I do not know if a reader will pass over that. For instance like I have done with explanation for several categories like [[:Category:New Year]] --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:12, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Nice find for [[1461:_Payloads]], I didn't now Randall refers to this wiki. According to ''web.archive.org'' that hint was entered between 2015-01-25 and 2015-02-07 and refers to the entire wiki page, not only "our" transcript. So it's absolutely NOT embarrassing as you wrote in the trivia section. I'm setting an incomplete tag for the transcript and trivia section and edit it tomorrow (18th Feb). I will let you know what I've done and why. Stay tuned...--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:59, 17 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:The rework on [[1461:_Payloads]] is done. But I didn't remove the incomplete tag. That's up to you. Like Zetfr I'm not sure it will ever be useful to anyone, but the larger description on a separate page would be acceptable to me. Furthermore I've done some investigations on Randalls links to this wiki and put it together in a new category: [[:Category:Explain_mentioned_by_Randall]].--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:57, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::Thanks both for the "nice find" and for reworking Payloads, and especially for the new category. Great find. I will look at the other examples soon. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:12, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Many thanks by me for this positive and productive discussion. It seems there are some more former transcripts which need a rework. I personally will focus on checking all the JSON-scripts I downloaded today (1799 at all; ofcourse 404 doesn't exist; and exactly seven contain the word "explainxkcd"). I will write a small script to put them into a human readable form and present it somewhere here for further use. Stay tuned... --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:45, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks Dbgrt. And really cool how you made that new category. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:14, 18 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== [[xkcd]] page and subpages ==<br />
<br />
You moved some contented into subpages which doesn't make it better. There is no need to describe in [[Design of xkcd.com]] a layout everybody can see. The lemma "Design" requires just a few lines of text but you repeat all the "Content". And just for interest: Before the redirect to https was in place (a few weeks ago) there was language specific advertising for the shop. I'm looking forward for a better and more compressed form on all of this. Any suggestions?--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:07, 24 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Dgbrt. My reason for making this page, is that the links, the comics, the headline, the byline, the warning etc. all changes with time, and I would like users of this site to have easy access to earlier links. Just like we have a category for the fotter comics (which I by the way did not make, but enjoyed, because I never thought absolute that he must have had them before all those five comics had been published and that they thus must have changed). So I thought similar things would be nice to have for changes to the layout and hence I decided to describe it. Maybe it was too much, but I like to have the archive links to changes. And since I had already done lots of work on this, I just copied all the new text to another page, to not delete it. And yes as I have said on Davidy's page I should not have put it on the xkcd page to begin with. But when I started I had no idea it would end up soooo long. Waiting to hear your comments on this info, before going further with suggestions. But thanks for asking. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:16, 24 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
::All those pages are on my agenda; your edit or not. I don't care. But I will not delete any content without an agreement. I will present something in a sandbox at my user page. You are welcome there (not before tomorrow). And consider, this wiki is not a backup for archive.org.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:56, 24 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::I think this wiki is for explaining xkcd, not just the comics. I believe you agree as I have seen on Davidy's talk page. And major changes or important revisions to the main page is important in my opinion. For instance I'm sad to see that the [[xkcd warning]] has gone from xkcd, and think it is important to let it be know it was there for many years. Where to do so? And how to find it if you did not know about it? There need to be a place that links to it, directly or indirectly through the xkcd page. I look forward to see you [[Time|sand castle]]. :-) Please leave a comment here when you have something you wish me to see, with a link. Regarding you answer to my comment, I meant that I would hear what you had to say before I came with suggestions. Not that you should not do anything before I made one. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:08, 24 February 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== I am still calm... ==<br />
<br />
...why I shouldn't? You see things inspiring others to see more things... (<- you would wrote 500 words for this) and you are still not able to put the pun on the top of an explanation. Keep your focus on the pun, not on every Million possibilities behind the drawing. And you can be sure I will have an eye on this because this is NOT "dreamingxkcd".--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:15, 4 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Well I'm not! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:09, 7 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Aggressive edits ==<br />
<br />
While I was talking to others about the explanation and the transcript for more than 24 hours you need only one hour to change everything that was discussed before. Again all red is yours: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1810%3A_Chat_Systems&diff=137245&oldid=137225 1810: Chat Systems changes]. Editors, mainly not me, don't like it when all their work is changed after you finished your edits. Please respect other editors! --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:50, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
:I do not change everything. I add. But we are obviously not going to agree on this. I would prefer not to discuss with you. How do yo know what the others like or not. In the discussions we have had I found more against your way of communication than against my edits. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:57, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
::Massive changes and you call it add??? So tell me your adds and explain how all they other changes happened. I will add a sentence to the comic discussion because it's senseless here.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:14, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
:::Yes it is. And it is a real shame that you have decided to know how this wiki should be. Hope that Davidy soon tells one of us to back off. If it is me then I will have to take it into account. So far he has only had nice things to say to me about my work here, which is not what I have seen regarding your work. Have you read the other users that calls your tone negative/aggressive or even worse? I have really tried to speak nicely to you, but you never seems to accept any edits I do. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:21, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
::::Your "Citation needed" template add to my text is just one example for what I call aggressive. Hiding four paragraphs is an other.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:09, 14 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
</div><br />
<br><br />
<br />
== Possible Issues with Updating Old Comics ==<br />
<br />
I know you spent a lot of time making edits to many older comics, so I thought you might have some input on one that I'm thinking needs a change - 38 Apple Jacks. I noticed you edited it a little a couple years ago. It's the one where the father tells his son they don't taste like apples, and his son tells him off.<br />
<br />
The title text description says it appears to be another case of Randall explaining the comic to readers who don't know about the old commercial, but I think it might be the father telling the son why he was saying that to him. I think it's worth at least adding, if not totally replacing the current description, but I see you had previously added to it during your edits.<br />
<br />
How would you handle that type of change, if it were you? [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 21:38, 3 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
: Hi Ianrbibtitlht<br />
:I disagree with the idea you have. And my reason for that is based in the original quote from Randall when posting this comic to live journal where he asks: <br />
::"Who else remembers those commercials?" <br />
::See the comics [[38:_Apple_Jacks#Trivia|Trivia section]].<br />
::To me indication that since no one did, he added the explanation in the title text.<br />
:The son dismissed his father completely, and I do not think the father goes on. <br />
:And since many of xkcd's readers may not know the reference he explains it in the title text. <br />
:He did the same with the title text in [[30: Donner]], which is what is refereed to in the title text explanation. I have added links between these two examples. There may be more.<br />
:Of course you are free to add an alternative explanation, and see if any one notices enough to complain about/remove it. ;-) <br />
:--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:57, 5 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::I appreciate the feedback. I don't feel strongly enough to modify it at this point but thought it might be an added insight that nobody had thought about! ;-) [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 14:57, 5 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::Thanks for asking, by the way. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:46, 5 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Need help ==<br />
A few things. Several people have mentioned that ReCAPTCA v1 has expired, and something needs to be done about that. But no one has replied to the admin forum, so not sure what is going on. Are there even any admins still here? Seems like they've all disappeared. And should we create a new forum for questions and things like that? And if all the admins have left, should there be like more admins or something like that? [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 07:51, 8 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Hi <br />
:I haven't any idea about ReCAPTCA and Im not an admin. But yes if there is no one that replies it is a problem. Davidy is the obe I have had discussions with but he did not reply the last two times I wrote. Don't know if DGBRT with the BOT has any knowledge that can be used. Try those two. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:30, 9 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
::FYI, we still have admins here and there will be a major update soon at one of the next weekends. BTW, I prefer it in lowercase: dgbrt - like xkcd--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:16, 16 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::Thanks for the info dgbrt, and it sounds greawt. (Your signature is with capital D but that is maybe just as the username? I will use dgbrt from now on). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:08, 23 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== All is red again - you changed everything according to the diff ==<br />
<br />
Hi, look at [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1981%3A_Rickrolling_Anniversary&diff=155913&oldid=155905 your edits] and tell me how someone can see what you have changed. Please keep your changes to smaller parts.<br />
<br />
And beginning an explanation with a youtube link which even doesn't work in some countries like Germany is also not a god start to an explanation. I'm referring to your edits above. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:27, 16 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:OK, sorry about that. I will try to make smaller changes. The link was not one I put in, I just moved it to the beginning to rickroll someone - it was a joke... Of course if the link did not work I can understand why you did not get Rickrolled. But the link had already been included in the explanation before my edits. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:24, 18 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Thanks for your understanding, "all is red..." was the reason why I started this section, the video link was meant as a minor remark and that it doesn't work in Germany is even less important for the explanation.<br />
::But I didn't understand your joke. So what do you think about changing all the internal links like [[Cueball]] to rickroll the readers - of course only less important links.<br />
::BTW: Around 2009 and some years later the German GEMA Mafia tried to block all music content until they got the money. Even dashcam videos from the meteorite incident in Chelyabinsk were blocked when you could hear something from the radio in the car. This has changed and newer uploads are now available to me (including Rick). --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:02, 18 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::The joke was that this comic was about rickrolling and the link was to the ricrolling youtube video... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:30, 19 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I just tried to make several smaller changes, and it was much more difficult to me, with the risk of making mistakes... But have a look at this then: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1982:_Evangelism&action=history Evangelism history].--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:45, 19 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:I like that but the development of this comic explanation is funny and not a typical one. Many vast changes were done after your comment here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:01, 21 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Well happy you do. Most of the changes were improvement, but often based on or improving parts I had edited (well I had edited most parts ;-) What I meant was that some of the good changes only came about because of the changes I had done in the first place. Still seems we need a citation for primates opening at the "wrong" end though? {{unsigned|Kynde}}<br />
:::You know I'm a fan of short explanations just covering what's in the comic. And in [[1982: Evangelism]] there is no "wrong banana end" mentioned. It just mentions "the other" - which is of course always "wrong". The title text then indeed refers to a schism in Europe - the Americans weren't much developed by that time (excepting the natives).<br />
:::BTW: My major workload here right now is working on the health of this wiki. You probably haven't seen my latest comment five days ago just a section above. We will get an update soon. Stay tuned.<br />
:::BTW2: You have forgotten to sign your comment ;)<br />
:::--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:19, 21 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::Yes we are not fan of the same type of explanations we have covered that. I believe that the majority of humans do peel the banana from the opposite end of that cited (without citations) to what primates do... I'm not sure there is any year for the schism in Europe so who knows how developed the US was at that time. Bananas is a rather new thing in Europe I believe!<br />
::::And no I had not seen that comment, probably same time you posted this comment thread? But sounds great! Are you an admin now? And do you have any contact with Davidy... He went off the xkcd explain grid long time ago.<br />
::::I have amended my mistake and will sign this time ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:12, 23 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== You blanked the page [[1996]] ==<br />
<br />
A you can see [[Talk:1995: MC Hammer Age|here]] "I decided to let it stay there as it is but on Monday that redirect will AND must be overwritten in the meaning of a comic number." That blank page isn't better than my decision. Beginning on Monday the number 1996 MUST be used for navigation (i.e. Comic Number) and nothing else.<br />
<br />
Other future comics will be: 1999, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2038. That's all!<br />
<br />
All those future comics (by number) - beginning with 1996 on Monday - AND that older ones (by name) should have a disambiguation line on top when the comic number overrides that name.<br />
<br />
The problem is the logic at this wiki. While at xkcd the number and name have different meanings and navigation is only done by number it's not true here. While <nowiki>https://xkcd.com/1996</nowiki> will lead to the next future comic and is unique the link <nowiki>https://explainxkcd.com/1996</nowiki> could mean number OR name. We also use the number for navigation, so the abbreviation in the meaning as a comic name can not be supported for those eight comics. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:58, 19 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Hi DBBRT<br />
:I first saw your comments after I had blanked it. And I thought it was better to avoid confusion over the weekend. So I did not return it. I think it could be better to already now remove those page re-directions for the comics you mention now, to avoid confusion on all those numbers... A lot of those the next 20 comic or so. We already had a similar situation with [[1337]], because of the LEET comic series. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:15, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Read my future comic list above, it's only seven. And the blank page confused some users also. Nevertheless I will change the comic template, navigation to the right will not be shown when the target is greater than the LATESTCOMIC. The BOT will update those redirects anyway. I just prefer some tests at home to figure out the best solution before editing here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:53, 23 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::Well, I think 7 times confusing in 20 comics is a lot, but I can read that you are working on avoiding it, so that is great. I'm very impressed by your bot, but then again I have very little programming experience and it was back in my days as a PhD Student around 2002... (Pascal...) Great you have made it and keep improving it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:06, 25 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::Thanks for your kind words. I still don't understand the 20, it's only seven comics and I've changed the global comic template so that this is SOLVED now. There is no link to [[1999]] in the navigation bar today. But on Monday my bot will update that page in the meaning of a comic number and the right navigation in [[1998: GDPR]] will be shown. FYI: I'm a professional programmer. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:04, 25 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::Must have been unclear. I meant that over the next 20 comics, there would have been this issue 7 times i.e. about once every week, and I found that it could have caused confusion a lot in those 7 weeks. But now you have solved this with you prof. programmer skills. ;-) So there is no longer any problems. Great work. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:04, 27 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::::Thanks for your kind words. And I've done more: Embedding pictures from Commons works again and it's now also possible to change the size. See my latest edit here [[1400: D.B. Cooper]] which uses this statement <nowiki>[[File:DBCooper.jpg|thumb|150px|Cooper]]</nowiki>. That image is not uploaded here, click at it in the comic and you will see. I've mentioned this in the Community portal. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:07, 27 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::::Cool. I'm not sure how this works. Looks at first like the image is on the local wiki but I can see it is not so. But how does this works. Can you write the "File" formula for any picture name on commons and then get it embedded here like that? It is beyond my computer skills :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:02, 28 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::::::When the picture isn't here it's searched on Commons. When it's found it's only cached at this wiki. In general it works like a local file. This did already work in the past until it was broken. But now we also can change the size, play with that 150px in the preview. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:15, 28 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::::::Thx --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:08, 28 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Why you still focus on that SAD comics? ==<br />
<br />
I focus on all edits done here and your edits are minor (there are much more edits here needing some attention), nonetheless I would be happy to find a solution on that ''sad'' thoughts are in your mind. I respect your thoughts, but that trivia at ''[[1756: I'm With Her]]'' really dohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Kyndees not belong to that comic at all. It was deleted before, you reverted that -- by not reading or ignoring the discussion page -- and I just want to prevent an edit war. Furthermore I removed your statement about "trolls" at the discussion page because that's not polite.<br />
*And now<br />
**I start<br />
***with<br />
****your layout<br />
*****You see???<br />
Try to write full sentences without bullets. I'm hoping you understand my major two parts here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:21, 27 October 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Yes I did not read the comments. I was looking for the sad list, when I fond it missing. I saw through the edit and found the following comment:<br />
::This "sad comics" list is utterly pointless and has no reason to exist. I don't regret deleting this waste. If anyone wants to keep it up, revert the edit, but make it readable, compact, and make at least one bit of sense. (Emojis? must be TRUMP!!?!one1!)) <br />
:I did not see any discussion there, and found it rude and also not done properly (with many links pointing to this section). So I just reverted it. It could be given its own page though. <br />
:Regarding politeness I must say I did not find most of your comments on the talk page polite as I just read them. As you state "no one has criticized it before", so maybe it is just you, and now some years later a few guys that begins rambling on about it. <br />
:As to why, I think it is quite clear that Randall was sad after the election. Maybe I took it too far, and it should no longer have been "sad", but about comics pointing to a political agenda by Randall. As Randall is on the move again with the mid term election coming, he has both a new political comic out, and has changed the header text with regards to registering for voting twice in a month. <br />
:So I definitely still find it relevant. That has not changed just because two years have passed. What Trump does at the moment is even more disturbing than ever, and I'm sure Randall is thick and tried of it still! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:38, 29 October 2018 (UTC)<br />
::PS. The layout was me trying to make a list of comics that was related to this issue. And with date and events listed as well. Maybe it can be done better, but I at least kept the format throughout. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:39, 29 October 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::You always do this nested bullet lists. That's ugly layout. One bullet and one or two short sentences, not more. In most cases you just should simply omit the bullets and write full sentences. The page [[Design of xkcd.com]] is an other example for this bad layout.<br />
:::But back to the main issue: Even jet you did not read the comments completely. Only after "A) Why does the sad comics list exist (see comment above)?..." I came in. And on 27 October 2018 I mentioned at least four incomplete reasons (the transcript was you).<br />
:::So I recall: The trivia at ''[[1756: I'm With Her]]'' does not belong to that comic at all, and even at a different page the title would be wrong because most of the listed comics are NOT sad. Furthermore I don't know how you do know how Randall feels, he is just a writer and these are only comics.<br />
:::There was a reason why David was against a category for sad comics, and this is still valid. This is the only reason why this section at the trivia of 1756 exists, be honest.<br />
:::So my proposal is:<br />
:::*moving the content to a separate page, either with a new title or only moving the "sad" content and deleting the rest<br />
:::*using the link from the menu: "What links here" at 1756 ([[Special:WhatLinksHere/1756: I'm With Her]]) to fix the links to that part (mostly your former work) and maybe also change the text<br />
:::The comic 1756 has to be explained mainly in the context of the time BEFORE the election. It was a campaign for Hillary Clinton, anything later done by Trump is irrelevant, besides that it has to be mentioned that the campaign wasn't successful. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:16, 29 October 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::Well, I definitely know that the comment in here is mine. I did very much hate the list because, as mentioned in the talk page on the comic, the section was completely disorganized. It took up half of the entire page. As Dgbrt mentioned, the format you use is honestly really ugly, and I have to agree. The real problem that I found was ''after'' I posted the comment he quoted. <br />
::::In that comment, I mentioned that it should have had its own category instead of being completely on that single page, which would have prevented it from the eyes of those who don't like this format. Alternatively, it could have been in a table, a format much more compact, several times easier to understand, and at least 12 octillion times less infuriating to look at. <br />
::::The other mind-boggling and frankly stupid thing about the list, of course, was that you added '''''every. Single. Comic.''''' ...if it seemed to be remotely sad (and even if it ''wasn't sometimes!'') and tried to link it to the political situation and Trump. I, in that comment, presented two of the comics in a - admittedly more asshole-ish - way that you linked them like this. But that's the ''core'' of all of this drama. Hell, in multiple of the comics, you even said that no "big" event seemed related to the situation and simply just put it in because it mentioned the military or security. And even for some of the ones you did present a political event, the speculation that you presented for Randall making these comics was beyond 4chan with Smash Ultimate level.<br />
::::Like I said in that comment, it isn't necessarily a political comment just because something big happened that day. Vomiting Emoji and Flag, the two I highlighted in my comment, have explanations that are just plainly absurd. Randall "expressing fear" that the moon would be gone before the eclipse was ''obviously'' a joke. Randall making a joke that has a flag in the picture doesn't mean he's going to rebel against the United States, make his own country, and science his way to taking it over just so that Trump is no longer the ruler.<br />
::::I wouldn't have had these problems if the list weren't so outlandishly absurd, and combined with the fact that it clogged up the page with a lot of meaningless speculation, I felt pushed to just delete the entire thing. Yes, that may have been extreme of me, and I should apologize for being fed up, but I still maintain that a lot of the stuff on that list is bad. If it's presented in - again - a way that doesn't hurt to read or filled up with what it is, I would have not as many problems with it. But as it looks right now, just making the list collapsible doesn't remove the problem; it's like putting White-Out on a yellow test paper and saying that the question never existed, despite the fact that it's obvious that something is wrong. [[User:Halo422|Halo422]] ([[User talk:Halo422|talk]]) 04:05, 1 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::A bit complicated to reply now. But to Dgbrt I did not read any comments until your post here. I was pissed about the deletion of the entire section, and just undid it. As Dgbrt wrote it can only be deleted properly by also removing links that goes there. I'm not using the page that much at the moment, and do not read all comments. This is also why I first see your comments today.<br />
:::::Dgbrt do you have any good idea for a page title? If it is only the first few comics that are clearly sad, could it then be called "Sad comics"? And should it be a page or a category? If we can find a solution for that, I will try to change it so it can be tolerable... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:01, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::::I'm honest: I vote for deleting that section. The main reason is that we don't know how Randall feels, whether sad or not. We just have comics, not an autobiography.<br />
::::::If you still vote for keeping I only can see two possibilities:<br />
::::::*Keep the title "Sad comics", move it to a single page (no subpage to any comic), remove most of the content, write a proper text instead of bullets, and start it like "Some comics may suggest the impression..." because your "...clear trend..." is nonsense.<br />
::::::*Or, move everything to a separate page, but then I have no idea about any proper title.<br />
::::::BTW: I've created a new category: [[:Category:Elections]], and as I mention here [[:Talk:2067: Challengers]] it still needs some work. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:06, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::::I will think about the possibilities. And I did see your new category. Which is great by the way. There must be many of these from earlier years also?--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:09, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::::::I need help on this new category because I'm sure there is more. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:12, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::I have now created [[Sad comics]] and moved the content from With her and tried to make the layout better. I do not agree with deleting the references to the other comics, but not they have been separated from the first four sad/negative comics. All links have been diverted to this page from all 16 comics. If there are other comics, not on the list, with link to that section I have not changed those... Many comics could refer to With Her for many reasons so I will not go through them all. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:55, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::You've done a big job, so thanks for this on the first place. And I can assure you that you always can find all links at the tools box "What links here", in this case when reading ''[[1756: I'm With Her]]''. I'm still not happy seeing comics like [[2064: I'm a Car]] linking to content titled as ''sad'', but that's up to other editors. <br />
:::'''ProTip''': You should watch pages important to you, just activate "Watch this page" at the bottom when editing, or adjust your "Watchlist" at the top menu belonging to your personal profile. You will receive an email on every change. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:31, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::Yes I know about the links, but even though I have reverted the link to the sad trivia section, there may still be a link to the With her comic for other reasons. And there may even be links to the sad section from other comics not listed in my trivia, and I will not go through all pages referencing one of the controversial comics. I by the way highly disagree that we do not know Randall's political opinion. He has also endorsed Obama, so to day it is certain that he endorses the democrats vs Republican is a fact, not a guess. But you changed that on the new [[Challengers]] comic. I will not change it though. I just highly disagree with you on what is a know and what is a guess there.<br />
::::Regarding the comics that are not sad it is not listed as being sad, that is only the first four. The rest is just listing comics that could have to do with Randall's political mood due to Trump and his politics.<br />
::::I no longer have the time I once dedicated to this page... And hence I have taken e-mail alerts off, which is why I first noticed the deletion now. But I get e-mails on personal changes on this page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:37, 2 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::::While I'm still sure not knowing much about Randall's condition when his comics are published, I sense ''you'' are sad. I insist you should take a closer look on all your contributions here, which are much more than only this stupid sad stories. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:18, 4 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== I am still happy to see your additions here... ==<br />
<br />
...you did edits I didn't like - and vice versa - but that's a war I don't like. And now I'm in a position in which I have to take care of all the health here, not only what's written.<br />
<br />
Ironically: xkcd is also about sarcasm, the hell, shoooouuuuting on the hellll... <br />
<br />
I will probably disagree on some of your future edits, but I don't have to judge this. That's up to others here.<br />
<br />
So now I'm asking for help on a SMALL page introducing the memes used at this site. Like the Editor-FAQ I did. David did...not that much on that requests over a long time.<br />
<br />
While I'm not sure about a proper title, this Wiki still leaks on a page simply showing the memes used here, linking to more specific pages, presented to evrey newbee.<br />
<br />
--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:06, 16 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Thanks.<br />
::I'm not sure I understand the page you are talking about, or what type of memes you mean. <br />
::Also as is probably clear I'm not using that much time on this wiki anymore. I'm not leaving it, I just do not have the time any longer. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:31, 19 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::Oh, I'm also not sure, maybe just a title like "About". It often happens that new people asking questions like "Why is the mouse-over text called title text?", how character names have been developed here, and so forth. A simple page, mostly showing links with a small introduction to the more hidden pages you often maintain. New readers have simple questions we don't think about anymore, that's what I would like to present. But it seems I have to collect some more items on which you maybe can help. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:34, 19 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:::Ah I see. It was the meme part that failed to register. But a about page makes sense. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:37, 20 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== We got a final image ==<br />
<br />
Emoji dome has a wonderful ending image. Do you mind putting it as the current explainxkcd image? [[User:Netherin5|“That Guy from the Netherlands”]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 18:25, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:No it is perfect. I can see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:emojidome.png someone already did], it has just not been updated on the front of the page yet. It will be before tomorrow. The other pictures should be collected on a extra page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:56, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Removing all references to the Sad comics page ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde,<br />
<br />
I've expressed my intention to remove all references to the Sad comics page over at [[Talk:Sad_comics]], but I wanted to get your input too, since it is your page. Feel free to drop a comment over there if you want to contest this. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 12:56, 13 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Hawthorbn. Thanks for alerting me. Did not follow the discussion page on Sad. I of course disagree. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:56, 14 May 2019 (UTC)<br />
::I have now deleted the page completely --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:56, 11 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== 2196 ==<br />
I mentioned this on DgbrtBOT's talk page, but I'm not sure Dgbrt saw it. Since you're an admin, could you help me with this?<br />
# I uploaded the file, and it appeared in the page, but the link in the List of all comics page is still red. I think I messed up the upload, so could you delete the current file (the one I uploaded) for 2196 and reupload it? <br />
# I created an incorrect redirect page [[Nice To E-Meet you]] (The name is incorrect, I forgot to capitalize the You). Could you please delete that page? Thanks! <br />
[[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 00:52, 1 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Herobrine. No I'm not ad admin, just very active, and cannot do anything to delete pages. I can give it a look though cause I have created a few pages long time ago when the bot was not there/working. And yes seems like Dgbrt is not active at the moment. Lets see if it works again this Monday. As you can see [[User_talk:Dgbrt#DgbrtBOT_failed_2019-08-30|here]] I tried to write directly to him. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:38, 1 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Can see you have created the page with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Nice_To_E-Meet_You&redirect=no capital You] and I have now moved the image to a title with the hyphen in e-meet, which was missing in your original edit. So now [[List_of_all_comics]] works for the image as well. There are so many things which can go wrong, which is why we love out BOT. Hope it works tomorrow.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:46, 1 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Category book promotion ==<br />
Hi, you obviously know a thing or 2 about creating and adding categories, and like to do so :)<br />
I feel like we could need a category about book promotion, with at least 3 comics related to how to and at least one to thing explainer (hoverboard, possibly also up goer five...), and myabe even others I can't remember right now. What do you think? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:31, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Maybe more a list of comics that promote books. Not comics that inspire books, so no to Up Goer Five. But it could get special mention with mention of the category in that explanation as well. But I think we need to find more than 4, five is kind of a limit. Maybe there where something for what if? But I do not think so... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:37, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Looking at it again, we do have five :) [[Hoverboard]], [[2190: Serena Versus the Drones]], [[2198: Throw]], [[Disappearing Sunday Update]] and [[2194: How to Send a File]]<br />
:::Well great. Do you have an idea for the category name? "Category:Book promotion" ??--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:54, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::Sounds good to me! --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:56, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::::Will you add that category to the comics? I can help create the page then. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:57, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::::Done --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:07, 4 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::::::[[:Category:Book promotion]] page created and found another comic that promotes a book Randall has been involved in! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:40, 4 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Broken Button ==<br />
Hi Kynde, I've answered your question on my talk page. But I'll post it here just in case: I think you forgot to update [[Template:LATESTCOMIC]], so it would treat comic 2198 as 2197, hence breaking the button. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 22:55, 3 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks, DgbrtBOT has updatet it and now it works! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:40, 4 September 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Thanks ==<br />
<br />
I see you went through a few of my recent edits, and corrected them / replied on them / acted on them. Thanks a lot. Also, now I learned from your edits how subcategories work. Thanks also for that. :) (But, please try not to change the word typo to lupo in common use. I don't think it would be an honour :) ) --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:00, 11 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:I hope you could see the joke. Like when you fixed the fix? I also spotted you put a hidden joke <!-- and I did not delete it :p -->. I will not make the same joke again. I guess it was also a kind of signature. I spotted that you where the most active last month. And was interested seeing what kind of edits. More or less I agreed with most... And cool with the spam fight. Do not use the same amount of time as I used to, but have been more active lately... Just became 2nd on all time activity list... Happy you both noticed and approved. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:09, 11 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
::I could see the joke and I enjoyed it :) as I tend to make a lot of typos, it isn't even that far fetched to use my name instead ;). I usually visit the site a few times a day and start on the recent changes page, and check what has happened. That's also how I often quickly find the spam. The other thing I tend to do when I got some free time on my hands is use the "random page" button and find out if I can improve the place I get to. I also saw that you are progressing a lot in the all time list. Last month I even noticed you were in the monthly list at a score that would have put you in the all time top 50 on its own. Impressive! Have a good weekend. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 20:00, 11 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::I'm also not native English speaker (Danish), and my grammar is probably horrible. Then it is great it is a wiki so others can fix that. I hope my additions are a plus. Have of course had rows with others, as can be seen above ;-) With some of the big one I think I have had months that would put me in top 20... (Not something I have checked). But with some of the comics where I added a lot of images, I will get a very high score as unique pages gives one point, and every picture uploaded is a new page. The amount of changes I have made puts me in nr. 1 spot, but that doesn't give much compared to number of pages visited. And please feel free to correct my typos. By the way I haven't even read all comics yet, since I have a hard time reading a new one without wishing to make corrections to transcript or explanations, so it takes some time every time I find a new. So between the first comic I saw when I found this page and then back from there there will be lots of comics I haven't even seen yet... Probably why you can find so many transcripts where caption below the panel has not been added (as it was I who began making this the way to write it). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:46, 11 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Category for Back to the Future ==<br />
<br />
Hi, can you create a category for the film series ''Back to the Future''? To start, there is [[102: Back to the Future]], [[656: October 30th]], [[1477: Star Wars]], [[2104: Biff Tannen]], [[2193: Well-Ordering Principle]], and maybe others. Thanks, [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.144|172.68.47.144]] 20:26, 31 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Hi yes I can. And I did: [[:Category:Back to the Future]]. I added yours. Here is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Search&limit=50&offset=0&profile=default&search=%22Back+to+the+Future%22 a search string] that may help find more (for you to add). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:31, 1 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Deletion of small categories? ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde! I posted this on the community portal, but it seems unresponsive, and since none of the admins have edited recently, you seem like the person to ask.<br />
I count eight categories on explainxkcd that satisfy the following properties: 1. They have only three comics in them. 2. They aren't really a comic series; they just feature or reference a comic theme. 3. They aren't Featuring some person or character. In short, they seem to have no real reason to exist. (They're [[:Category:Spice_Girls|t]][[:Category:Wind_turbine|h]] e[[:Category:Ender%27s_Game|s]]eo[[:Category:FernGully|n]][[:Category:Giraffes|e]]s.) In addition, there are [[:Category:Sketches|t]][[:Category:BSD|h]][[:Category:Emacs|i]][[:Category:Identity_Theft|r]][[:Category:Katamari_Damacy|t]][[:Category:Super_Bowl|e]][[:Category:The_Matrix|e]][[:Category:Tournament_bracket|n]][[:Category:Traffic_light| ]][[:Category:Trebuchet|m]][[:Category:Wingsuit|o]][[:Category:Euler_diagrams|r]][[:Category:Pedantic|e]] four-comic categories that also satisfy these requirements. I know non-admins can't delete articles, but because of these articles' status, should I remove their contents and add them to [[:Category:Pages to delete]]? --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 01:17, 12 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Since I'm no admin just the most active over an extended period of time, I cannot really say what to do. Some of the categories I think has merit, I may even have created some of them. And there may be reason to expect more to come. But others I tend to agree. I think Randall has something with Giraffes and the Spice Girl spurt with three in short notice I think merits the categories. The other 6 with three I would not mind if they went away. But then there may need to be some links between those comics. Are you willing to make those? If you do then empty the categories, and put them as up for deletion. Most of those with four I would keep. I have NOT clicked on them all though, just read them here when I edited this response. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:56, 12 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Category for Bees ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde,<br />
<br />
Can you add a category on bees, as a subcategory of [[:Category:Animals]]? I've found [[1259: Bee Orchid]], [[1186: Bumblebees]], [[2231: the Time Before And After Land]], [[2035: Dark Matter Candidates]], [[1692: Man Page]], and there are probably more. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.38|172.69.34.38]] 00:22, 22 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Done [[:Category:Bees]]. Added your five comics. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:49, 22 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== New category - comics with store products ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde, thanks for creating the new page for [[:Category:Comics with store products]]! (I was the one who added the comics to that category, but I didn't have permission to create a new page for the category itself, so I apologize for abandoning it like that.)<br />
<br />
For the name of this category, I wanted to follow a similar pattern to existing category names such as "[[:Category:Comics from 2005]]" or "[[:Category:Comics with color]]". So for the name of this new category, I had considered some other more accurate names, such as "[[:Category:Comics upon which xkcd store products are based]]", or perhaps "[[:Category:Comics made into official merchandise]]"; but I felt that these new category names would be a bit too long, so I was trying to keep it more succinct than that. ...But now I realize that the current name I chose is not very clear, and might cause some confusion about what it's supposed to mean, so it was really a poor choice of words on my part. Do you have any ideas for a better name that we could use for this category? If so, please feel free to rename it, then I will go through all the comic pages where I added it, and update them to the new category.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, in the edit-history of the [[:Category:Comics with store products]] page, I noticed in your comments that you felt it was maybe not a good idea for a category -- and I certainly understand that, so if you want to just remove this category completely, please feel free to do so, then I will go through and remove it from all the comics where I added it (so as not to leave any broken links behind).<br />
<br />
Thanks for your help, and sorry for causing noob trouble!<br />
<br />
- [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 09:57, 24 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Yfmcpxpj<br />
:First of all, the comment on my creation of the page, was because I did not understand the category. Store products.. I thought it was like with products bought in a type of store... First when I clicked on a few and saw your (?) comments that a t-shirt was based on this comic, did I understand the category. Think I wrote that in my next edit, where I linked to the store. After realizing that, I though it was a great category, although adding xkcd would probably help the understand-ability: "Category: Comics with xkcd store products" <br />
:What do you say to that title?<br />
:Regarding my ability to make pages, that is just because I have edited enough to get that right (I know I have edited more than any one else here...) But I'm actually not an admin, and I cannot delete pages. Sadly it seems the admins have left xkcd without replacements... So not one answers admin requests, and although I'm glad to help when I can, I do not have that many rights on the page. <br />
:But true you may have asked for someone to create the page and also maybe ask for the title before creating it. I think I will be able to rename the page though, so if you can go through all the comics and correct the category there I would like to give it a try. (Do not do this before I have changed the name!)<br />
:What do you say? And should I add the xkcd as suggested above?<br />
:--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:14, 24 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Yes, I like your title better, "Comics with xkcd store products" -- I think it is much clearer. If you can rename the category, I will wait for that, then after it has been successfully renamed, I'll go through and update those comics to use the new one instead. And sorry to hear that the admins have been absent -- but it looks like you are doing a good job of keeping the site maintained, so thank-you for that! - [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 08:58, 25 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::I have now moved the category page. You can find the list of comics that now need to be moved [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Comics_with_store_products&redirect=no here].<br />
:::And the new empty category here [[:Category:Comics with xkcd store products]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:26, 25 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::Thanks Kynde; I have moved the remaining comics into the new category. You mentioned that you don't have permissions to delete pages, so I wonder if the old page [[:Category:Comics with store products]] should be put into parent [[:Category:Pages to delete]] so maybe the admins will delete it? - [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 08:15, 26 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::::As the old Category redirects to the new one, I guess deletion is not necessary. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:31, 26 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::::If no pages refers to the old category, and to avoid anyone putting comics in that category again, it would be nice to have it deleted. But I'm not sure anyone will do that at the moment. Davidy is long gone and DGBRT seems to be absent as well... I was once asked to be an admin but declined at the time ... Maybe that was a shame, but at least I still react when someone post on my page... But I'm not that active anymore, and have never looked much through the portal pages etc. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:49, 26 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Banned from Conferences Category ==<br />
<br />
Hi Kynde, you usually have a good feeling on how Categories should be described, etc. There was a (quite short) discussion on [[153: Cryptography]], to remove a portion of the explanation. Do you think that stuff belongs into [[:Category:Banned from conferences]]? Maybe you can chime into the "discussion" on 153. -- Regards [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:24, 5 December 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Edit summaries ==<br />
Please use {{w|Help:Edit_summary|edit summaries}}; they are especially important for pages like [[:xkcd Header text]] that are infrequently monitored but have a meta-importance. Thanks. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 21:22, 16 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
:I have more or less created the entire page from scratch. So I will not begin writing details every time I make a revision. But I use it for most other edits. I can see you care for BLM... Great, you probably know much more on this than I do. I made this page, to keep track of the header text, which was not explained on these pages. Sometimes it is relevant for a given comic, so great to have this place to write about it, and then link to it from the comics. The unfilled link was to help people wo may help editing this page, fill in when the header changed. I will do that now. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:37, 18 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
::Kynde: I don't understand how your authorship of the page (from scratch or otherwise) has anything to do with whether you should be writing details of when you make a revision. But for sensitive topics, which BLM is, it is especially important for other editors to be able to carefully review changes. And when you make a large block of changes, like you did there on July 1, with 8 different edits, edit summaries are an extremely helpful tool for everyone else. So, again, the request is to please use an edit summary, ''especially'' when you are making multiple edits in a row, and ''especially'' on pages of meta-importance like [[:xkcd Header text]]. Of course, this is not Wikipedia, the rules here (such as they are) are relatively weak, and we all should coöperate. But if your answer is "I don't have to because I wrote the page first, years ago!" that doesn't make any sense at all. If your goal was to make sense, then I don't know how to respond. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 17:50, 18 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
:::Well I shall try to be more careful around sensitive subjects. You are one of the first other than me to have edited the page. And one of the few that have added a new section. I just changed it into the same format that I have used on all the others. And did a revision now, and sorry I forgot to write what it was out of bad habit. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:57, 18 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
::::I think the change you just made was…not great. See [[:Talk:xkcd_Header_text#Recent_BLM_edits]] where I give my opinion. But it is probably better discussed there than on your personal page, but I wanted to highlight it for you. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 18:04, 18 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
:::::I have replied on the other talk page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:28, 21 July 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Nationality ==<br />
<br />
What country are you from? <span style="text-shadow:0 0 6px black">[[User:Beanie|<span style="font-size:11pt;color:#dddddd">Beanie</span>]]</span> <sup><span style="text-shadow:0 0 3px #000000">[[User talk:Beanie|<span style="font-size:8pt;color:#dddddd">talk</span>]]</span></sup> 12:34, 14 July 2021 (UTC)<br />
:Denmark. Why? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:15, 15 July 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Forgive this IP ==<br />
I just made a handful of edits to recent changes that you had made (may not have been what you changed, in all cases; it might have just been pre-existing errors and Recent Changes just drew me to them). I hope it doesn't look personal, especially from an impersonal IP that you can't easily talk back to. So I'm mentioning it here to try to apologise if it does seem that way. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.85|162.158.159.85]] 18:57, 28 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
:Hi. Thanks for telling. Since your IP will change I cannot see exactly which changes you made, but cheeked on my last changes and saw some CE and minor changes. Only thing I disagreed with (not sure it was you) was that the Launch comic should not have been released on the 24th. Which it was in most of the US if not all. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:01, 29 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
::(Most of the changes occured under roughly the 172.70.… range, as I recall, though you can see the above switched to a whole different class-B - entirely due to the internediary's whim (Cloudflare?) without my changing anything. I'm sitting on a different connection now, so all bets are off what ''this'' will appear as. ;) )<br />
::I have no argument with Randall posting on the 24th (his time) as the Bot got there soon enough to prove it. But of course the rest of us (mostly Europe and beyond) had a different experience. Still before the launch (whoever checked for themselves in time), which I think a couple of my edits were about. Really not huge issues, just minor fixes. You're good with those things, I know from experience, just a courtesy note (that and this). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.22|172.70.86.22]] 22:42, 29 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
:::Maybe not you who posted. But as you can see your IP is not the same in these two posts, so I can only assume you are the same person, but cannot guess which of my edits you have changed and which someone else changed ;-) Do you have a name other than 162.158.159.85 or 172.70.86.22 ;-) Why not get an account? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:29, 30 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
::::I just can't think of a decent username. I tend to use different ones everwhere (and never my RL identity) and most of them were 'good ideas at the time' but when the inevitable "Why is your username what it is?" thread comes around it always seems my 'explanation' is laughable. All the above in this section (that isn't you) is me, BTW. Just added an indent layer I missed. I'm happy being (slightly unpredictably) changing IP, because I seek no credit (or blame!) for my 'insights' and my ego survives well enough on such fleeting moments of anonymous fame, I assure you. ;) And I don't mind when other IP-editors 'land' on/near what I just used, either, even if they're now completely wrong.<br />
::::Not that I think Usernames are a bad thing in general for you and others (c.f. 4chan 'anon' culture...), I'm just happy that it's one less thing to worry about in my own case! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 15:04, 30 December 2021 (UTC)<br />
:::::Well that is up to you. But then again it is hard to forgive an IP when I'm not sure what it has done or not. But as I could just see there where nothing needing forgiveness so we are good. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:15, 3 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Do you get a healthy amount of sleep? ==<br />
In recent days I see you editing very often and I just wanna make sure you get enough sleep because while you're doing amazing work, I am a bit concerned [[User:256.256.256.256|256.256.256.256]] ([[User talk:256.256.256.256|talk]]) 08:45, 6 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Ha ha - thanks for both the concern and the praise. I'm from Denmark so if you look at the time stamp and think I should be sleeping, then maybe it is in the middle of the day here. I write this just before 10:00 AM here in DK. But actually I'm doing very little now compared to maybe five years ago. If you look at the [[Special:ContributionScores|ContributionScores]] at the bottom with the All time (Top 50), you will see that I'm number two. And if you look at number of changes I'm far ahead of number 2... So this is actually quite low level activity for me... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:53, 6 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==[[Countdown in header text]] image ==<br />
You mentioned you'd help uploading the countdown wiggle gif, so [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown here]'s a link to all the image stuff of the countdown. (Specifically, [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown/full_animation.gif full_animation.gif] and [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown/Countdown%20in%20header%20text%20Wiggling.gif Countdown in header text Wiggling.gif]).<br />
Optionally [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown.zip zipped], for easier archival. [[User:Toby|Toby]] ([[User talk:Toby|talk]]) 20:03, 31 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Great thanks Toby. Will try to make it work. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:15, 31 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
::It worked and I have replied on your new talk page and created your own page, in case you still could not. Feel free to change that now. Very happy with your work, both of the files. Thanks!!! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:28, 31 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Purely to improve your knowledge of English ==<br />
<br />
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spacecrafts#English<br />
<br />
i.e., as with vehicular "craft" in general (including aircraft, hovercraft, etc), the -s pluralisation is allowable but not considered standard. An oddity of the terminology that I don't actually know the reason for. I'm wondering could it be from our nautical heritage where singular craft were the rarity (a simpler version of how [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aderyn sometimes the singular can be considered rarer than the plural]? Yet ships/vessels/etc don't succumb to that usage. Even if sheep and fish do! Anyway, while spacecraft are preferred, spaceships are indeed the synonymous alternative. IYSWIM...<br />
<br />
Crafts, as in skillfully created works, ''are'' the plurals exactly as you'd initially expect. Woodcrafts, metalcrafts, etc. So I suppose those people who are shipcrafters might therefore craft many crafted craft, thanks to the various crafts they know, and then exhibit their crafts at a craft-fair. ((i.e "Boatwrights might construct many well-made (model?) ships, thanks to their skills, then show their creations at an exhibition of bespoke manufacturing.")) Crafty, eh?<br />
<br />
Sorry, I seem to have gone overboard with the explanation. Throw me that lifebelt, please? ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 10:40, 10 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Hi. Thanks. I'm not sure it will help, I'm not very good at spelling, even in my own language. But maybe I will remember this. I do not mind other people copy editing my posts. My idea is that if I write something useful other will make it better, and correct the errors. But if I do not write it, then it may be left out of an explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:54, 13 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== THANK YOU!!! ==<br />
Kynde - I have only just discovered this beautiful Explain XKCD wiki and am in awe - I saw that you have been a huge contribuotr for years and just wanted to say Thank You to you and team for this beautiful legacy of work! With it XKCD can be that much more of a portal into all the different directions Randall’s comics touch on and drift near. <br />
<br />
I’ve been behind the scenes in wikipedia for years (so often painful) and love connecting with anyone else who is doing meaningful wiki work. I’m just stopping by here today on my way to *important deadlines* but intend to be back. Just set up my Explain editor account. Pop me a talk page note? Happy to plug in! [[User:DrMel|DrMel]] ([[User talk:DrMel|talk]]) 19:53, 20 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
(Ps looks like I am not getting through the email validation steps - no email confirmation has yet made it to my email. I’ll check back later. On wikipedia I’m https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:DrMel<br />
<br />
(pps - email validated! But i still dont have permission to setup my user page… so this time i really am going back to the Save-The-World work i am supposed to be doing!)<br />
:Hi [[User:DrMel|DrMel]]. Wow, thanks a lot. Yes I have been very active on this page. I'm not one of the admins though, and sadly it seems this page is without any active admins, and that it has been so for a while. I guess I'm the best option right now. I have created your user page and talk page, so now you can work on the user page. Welcome to explain xkcd. If you have any questions regarding format or other things feel free to ask. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:38, 21 March 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Nomination ==<br />
I know you maybe don't want it, but see [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Coordination#New_admins]] '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:08, 8 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I have answered there and accepted the nomination. It is an honor. Hope I can live up to it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:16, 10 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Finally got the promotion from Jeff. Thanks. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:30, 23 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Block User:Donald Trump ==<br />
<br />
Can you block [[User:Donald Trump]]? He is another spambot, like the others recently: [[Special:Contributions/Donald_Trump]]. Thanks, [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 17:48, 26 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Done--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 26 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== you blocked a mobile phone (T-mobile) IP ==<br />
<br />
You blocked “162.158.107.124”. The problem is, that’s a T-mobile IP that goes to whomever happens to get it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.36|172.70.211.36]] 19:11, 26 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Yes Im new to being administrator so sorry I messed that up. But think I [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:Contributions/162.158.107.124 managed to undo it]? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:33, 26 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Regarding your latest IP block ==<br />
<br />
See [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:While_False&oldid=286101#Concision_and_clarity my note on this latest thing] that it seems like you were reacting to.<br />
<br />In general, I don't think IP-blocking is very useful (false-positives get hit and false-negatives get round it, depending upon the vagueries of everything, and as an IP myself this is close to the bone for me) but there's potentially something going on. I don't know if you get to see what ''doesn't'' happen because of a block, though. Tricky one to get your head round. But thought I'd clue you in on what I'm thinking. Completely your decision on how you take it.<br />
<br />Keep up the good work, BTW! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.15|162.158.159.15]] 12:59, 3 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Just to add that [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=957:_Development&curid=4423&diff=286104&oldid=283524 this change] follows the trend I mentioned (type of edit + history of its apparent IP), and now undone. Not to overly pester you with this (better the Community Portal for that), just FYI. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.11|141.101.98.11]] 17:05, 3 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I only block them for a week or 3 days, just to stop current spam, and thanks for the praise --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:02, 5 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Sparing use of Talk-page section headers ==<br />
<br />
Note that I added a ;-title (not an individually editable section's title), albeit first mis-tapping in the :-indenter instead by accident, but maybe you were a bit overzealous squishing out the ==editable== section-headers (the existing one and my own once someone had helpfully 'upgraded' it) in the latest discussion.<br />
<br />
The advice given on the main-page, as part of the discussion-inclusion templating, is that new sections should be used ''sparingly'', not that they are not to be used. If anything, I was wrong to use a ;-title (to logically separate my contribution from the headered bit I was following), perhaps I should have inserted as a normal running comment above the newly broken-out section.<br />
<br />
Not complaining, but just positing the view that it seemed a bit draconic of an intervention. Livable-with, having been done, but not sure it was strictly necessary.<br />
<br />
(Would be handy to add across the "Add to the bottom (etc)" HTML-comment to the top of the page, from a BOT-created new-discussion-page, though I suppose I could do that. Maybe I will. Yes, I think I will. You could also maybe check the circumstances why a normal user had needed to do theusafBOT's work for it... I'm sure it's more that theusaf's script is just temporarily offline, or slow to react, rather than having gone the way of dgbrtBOT/whatever...) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.177|172.70.85.177]] 13:49, 14 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I think there is now use for headings in comment section. And in some cases the explanations have a TOC and then the headings of the talk page would come into this because we include talk page on the explanation page. Also it becomes confusing when others add different comments below, as they then seems to belong to the headered section. Thus best leave them out, unless something very special. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 05:55, 15 June 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Table of tips? ==<br />
Why put the table in a section on [[2649]]? It breaks the convention of discussing the comic before discussing the title text. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.145|172.70.210.145]] 07:11, 25 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:No this has been done whenever there is a table. The comic should be explained first, but if lots of info needs to be added in order to understand the full details of the comic, then the title text is usually explained after the first short explanation. And then the larger explanation is delegated to a sub section, just as I have done here. It is because you may not wish to dwell into all these details, they are not needed to understand the overall joke, but you might like to see the title text explained, and then this should not be hidden deep down. Also there is a link from the explanation to the table, so you can easily go there to read the main explanation for each tip.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:32, 25 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Well it's no big deal; I don't have strong feelings about it, but I haven't been here very long, and noticed that [[2636]], [[2638]], and [[2639]] all have tables following the sequence of the comics instead of in a section at the end. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.88|172.70.211.88]] 08:39, 25 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::Yes that must also be said to be new comics, and not those that have been here long time ;-) All of them came out after my holiday began this summer, and I have not had time to go through those comics yet. But thanks I will fix it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:21, 25 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::Fixed those three and also completed two of the transcripts. Thanks for pointing the discrepancy out. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:02, 25 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
How do you feel about [[2606]]? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.150.173|172.71.150.173]] 08:32, 27 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Since the title text is just another symbol, it seems fine to have it in the table. But actually there may be a reason to explain that joke as well in the main explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:35, 27 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
::But after updating the explanation I ended up moving the table to a section and moving any other explanation above. Including a mention of the title text. Is this the same person that started this thread that asked about 2606? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:56, 27 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::No, I'm [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2207:_Math_Work&diff=291019&oldid=282989 this guy.] [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.88|172.70.211.88]] 15:52, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::Hello, That Guy. (BTW, I'm also none of the above conversationalists, Kynde...) That change you linked... I just reverted it. It was fixed (devandalised) already in a state that was after the removal of the Incomplete tag and I couldn't work out ''why'' you considered it needing reverting. Yes, a lot of restored stuff (now unrestored), but I couldn't quite work out which (pre-vandalism) version you even reverted to, and surely there were various useful culling edits ("no, we don't need to say that, it's irrelevent", etc) that you were negating.<br />
::::Or at least that was my almost knee-jerk response (almost, because I went back through the crapcrapcrap stuff and beyond trying to find where you were coming from, so I spent some time on thinking about it before I did it).<br />
::::I offer it up to review by the wider community, or back to yourself (or give Kynde a shot, if they aren't busy). Maybe some old bits could be reintegrated, but I couldn't see which on a semi-cursory glance. So, given you have provided a handle on you, expanding upon the woefully short edit-summary space, to more fully explain any confusion (of mine, or yours, or just in general). Ok? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.128|172.70.91.128]] 16:43, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::::Are you saying you removed vandalism with the revert? Which parts do you think are crap stuff? Do you not see how it is all directly related to the drawing on the board? I should have removed the incomplete tag, but I think I'll try the appended section idea to appease objectors with a compromise. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.185|172.69.33.185]] 05:15, 29 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::::I don't think this has anything to do with my comment, and I do not have any thing to add to this discussion. If this is all about [[2207:_Math_Work]], then please take any further [[Talk:2207:_Math_Work#Deletions|discussion there]], as to not disturb me with e-mails every time you change my user talk page ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:07, 29 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== A spammer has appeared! ==<br />
Hi! It seems that there's a spammer who's been consistently adding an incredibly odd rant to the front page from a wide variety of IP addresses over the course of yesterday and today. They currently show no signs of stopping; could you use whatever Special Admin Powers you may have to resolve the issue? --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 18:37, 30 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Hi. No, sadly I cannot do much about it. I can try to alert those with more powers than me though. I'm not that technically minded. If it was a user I could block him, but as I understood from the newest comics discussion it is multiple ip addresses. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:36, 31 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Interview request! and thanks! ==<br />
Hey Kynde, forgive me if this isn't allowed! I'm a journalist and wiki enthusiast and I'd love to chat with you about all your work here. Can you send an email to annierau at umich dot edu? Thank you so much! [[User:Postgradpredeath|Postgradpredeath]] ([[User talk:Postgradpredeath|talk]]) 03:36, 22 September 2022 (UTC):Hi <br />
:Annie Rau(?)/Postgradpredeath. I don't think asking me would not be allowed. I might not wish to mail you but that would then be an option. I may actually not wish to use my e-mail. But maybe we could try to catch up on twitter, where I have an account I only used to get into contact with admins on this page... If you also have a twitter acount we may be able to tweet to each other there... And thanks for the praise. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 06:39, 22 September 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Vandalism on latest comic ==<br />
Hello, just letting you know there's been another bit of spam. Only on the most recent comic as far as I've seen, and fixed for now :) [[User:Char Latte49|Char Latte]] ([[User talk:Char Latte49|talk]]) 22:11, 3 December 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks. Also had a vandal here replying to you comment. Of course deleted it. Haven't been so active lately. But hope the problem has stopped. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:55, 4 December 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Notification ==<br />
Hey, I wanted to let you know that I'm working on the huge project of making a table to organize planet names, coordinates, and explanations, and the four item types and their explanation in the latest interactive comic. I've replied to the conversation, here's a link: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Talk:2765:_Escape_Speed#Making_a_table_to_organize_planet_names.2C_coordinates.2C_and_explanations.2C_and_the_four_item_types_and_their_explanation<br />
<br />
If possible, could you check if you're able to answer the questions I have?<br />
<br />
Thanks, [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:44, 29 April 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Hi Favi. Have not had much time but looked at it and liked the table. Also added two more pages, one with overview images of the world and the planets and one with a place to post the screen shots needed for making a full explanation. Put some of the relevant images up already but will not have time to much more the rest of this week. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:25, 1 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
:: Great! Thanks, I like the new pages. Do you happen to know of a way to find the coordinates of each planet, so i can add them to the table? How did the folks editing [[2712: Gravity]] do it? [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:52, 2 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::: Hi Favi. Thanks. No I do not know, I did not do any editing on that comic. Have not had time like I did for instance with [[Hoverboard]] where I did most of the documentation. But have no idea what to do with a game like this. Not very tech savvy on that account. Keep up the good work! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:35, 6 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::Nevermind, someone on the discussions page let me know of a very useful script that did exactly that, s I filled the entire Tiles column :D {{unsigned|FaviFake}}<br />
:::::Great --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:19, 6 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Hi, I've made [[User:Malgond/Drafts/Escape_Speed|another attempt]] at tables. I've talked a little bit with [[User talk:FaviFake|FaviTake]] but we didn't seem to come to a conclusion. I think we need a third (and maybe fourth and fifth) opinion. I have put a note about this in the [[Talk:2765: Escape Speed|discussion board]] but I'm not sure anybody will notice (there's a lot of stuff there). - [[User:Malgond|Malgond]] ([[User talk:Malgond|talk]]) 21:52, 13 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::I have replied and think your tables are great. See talk page for comic --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:18, 14 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Changing category name, and the creation of [[:Category:Comics with red corrections]] ==<br />
Hey Kynde,<br />
I wanted to ask you if, as an admin, you could change the name of the [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal|Category:Comics posted on livejournal]] to this: [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal|Category:Comics posted on LiveJournal]]<br />
The other two categories that mention LiveJournal have the L and J uppercase, so I think it should be the same for this category too:<br />
*[[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd]]<br />
*[[:Category:First day on LiveJournal]]<br />
<br />
Also, I just created [[:Category:Comics with red corrections]] for comics like [[2639: Periodic Table Changes]] (under [[:Category:Comics with color]]) after seeing at least two or three request it.<br />
*Is [[:Category:Comics with color]] the right parent category?<br />
*Or should it be added to [[:Category:Distinctive comics]] too? Or just in one? Idk where to put it<br />
<br />
Thanks, [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 09:38, 20 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Hi FlaviFake<br />
:I could probably move the page to the correct spelling. I think I actually created the other two categories, after the one you know wish me to change. So it is my spelling later that would overrule the first. But i agree it would make sense.<br />
:But if I do then all 45 comics that has this category should be corrected so they spell the category the new way. Would you be ready to do this for all 45 comics? And also every page that links to the current version of the category? I think it is not good enough to have a forward link with the category spelled wrong on all comics... Let me know if you wish to do that, then I can move the page. Once all has been corrected I could delete the forward page. <br />
:<br />
:I like your new category. Seems like the newest three is a series... But maybe we should just keep the red corrections. Question is if he has some with other color corrections, and if it is important that they are red? Or even color? But I like the idea. <br />
:Not sure what categories they belong under. Not sure the color category is relevant. More comics by topic - the topic being corrections. <br />
:Keep up the good work. I have much less time for making changes to the wiki now, that I used to.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:21, 22 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Thanks for the reply!<br />
<br />
::>Would you be ready to do this for all 45 comics?<br />
::Yeah, it shouldn't be that hard. I just need to copy and paste the correct spelling on the articles. Let me know when you've moved it :)<br />
<br />
::>if he has some with other color corrections, and if it is important that they are red?<br />
::I put red because I've never seen a comic with a correction ''not'' in red, but I get your point. We can always rename it and update the category names in the few articles that are included in it<br />
<br />
::>More comics by topic - the topic being corrections.<br />
::You're right, I'll move it there now. Btw there is also a category called [[:Category:Comics with blood]] that is also in the Comics with color category, should it move that one to comics by topic too?<br />
:::Hi. Tried, but I cannot move it cause the page name is not case sensitive, so it complains that I did not move it. Also I'm not sure it would work before you made the corrections, so it would be complicated. Not sure it is important enough for me to try to do some other thing. Like moving to a different title, then deleting the original page and try to move back. Maybe It will not be possible. So guess it won't happen? <br />
:::Yes I think blood should be topic. Guess it will always be red to make sure we know it is blood? But then again maybe there could be a comic with not red blood or just black and white drawing where it is clear it is blood. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:22, 23 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::Hey; I forgot to say it yesterday, but (after I realized I could already move pages on my account) I've moved [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal|Category:Comics posted on livejournal]] to [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal]]. I've removed the "comics" part because a different category, [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd]], started with "Posted". So I thought I could kill two birds with one stone and fixed both the consistency and the capitalization. i also moved the blood category to comics by topic<br />
:::::I saw the message, created the requested page with capitalisation. They both redirect to "Posted on LiveJournal," you can pick whether you want to keep the new name you picked or if you want the one that was originally requested '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 15:09, 24 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::::Good to hear from you Davidy22. And great work again FaviFake. I have just made sure there are no longer any links left to the old or the new version Davidy22 made, so we now use the FaviFake version and I have deleted the other two. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:03, 25 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Changing the Sitenotice of this wiki ==<br />
Hey,<br />
<br />
I've noticed that for a few years, the page [[MediaWiki:Sitenotice]] is out of date, but from my understanding it can only be edited by admins. So, could you edit it and remove the mention on comic [[1608: Hoverboard]]? It's not incomplete anymore. Or, even better, could you try making it editable by confirmed registered users, so we can keep it up to date?<br />
<br />
I would also remove the "Never use the Math markup language at the transcript. The reason for this you can read at the Editor FAQ." because it's probably one of the least useful things a newcomer should see when they open the site for the first time. I think if it were editable by mere people, it would be great because we could also update it for when a big new comic comes out and we need more people to help explain it. Thanks, [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:04, 28 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Hi FaviFake<br />
:I have never changed that notice before, but I was able to. But do think it will be only admins that can do it. But I have changed it to [[2765: Escape Speed]] and removed the math mark. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:25, 30 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::That's great! Thank you.--[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:48, 30 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::Ambivalent about the removal of the anti-Math bit, but I'm worried that there's also too much reliance upon general markup (including tables), rather than 'flat' description, and it does creep in. Historic articles that still do it might not help, though I'm not going back to change them.<br />
:::To be clear, some stuff is really difficult to do ''without'' a table, and be short and sweet (though exporting detail to a /Transcript sub-page is a doable thing), but at least we shouldn't just use '''bold''' text or <span style="color: #F00">colours where colours are</span>, but ensure they're always transcriptually indicated, in preference to/entirely instead of being used:<br />
::::[A fragment of text, "bold" is in bold and several other words are written in red:] ...we shouldn't just use '''bold''' text or <span style="color: #F00">colours where colours are</span>, but...<br />
:::...to give a poor example that I'd expect another Transcript specialist to improve anyway.<br />
:::Don't know how best to advertise this. Nor how ''not'' to add Citation Neededs, there being a current spate of them before commas/etc, which is against explainxkcd ''and'' Wikipedia standards, regardless of the actual overuse/misuse that may also happen by the hands of the enthusistic new(?) editors doing it. So I'll tweak what I see (of all these little things) hoping to move things more towards the aspirational ideals developed over many years of editors. And obviously that'd include the misplaced Math-markup. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.108|172.71.242.108]] 08:32, 31 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::Well I think there is no reason to have such a text standing there. If someone begins using it again write to them and change it in transcript. I actually did not know where to change the notice and also was not aware I had the rights. Also I think it is fine to use colors and bold text in transcript. But if the color is important then it should be mentioned. But the transcript is also for people to be able to easily read the text and see what it looked like. And it is important so it is possible to search for a phrase you remember. As the description is important so you can search for a special item that was in a comic you remember... And tables is OK when relevant for the way the comic is written. So think I'm not really agreeing with the user who is not signed up here above... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:51, 31 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::: We agree a lot, you'll be relieved(!) to hear. No bones to me about that warning (I could have told you that you could change it, just had no reason to :p ) and I'm sure someone will redo anything 'wrong' that occurs due to the prominant lack of it in future.<br />
::::: I think it's less important to exactly reproduce what can be seen in the comic in "what can be seen in the Transcript", but as long as those who might not have compatible search/screen-reader access get the written cues as well than it's clearly permissable.<br />
::::: Table use is still tricky. Not sure how screen-readers render them, so would depend upon how sensibly a small (or large) example can be described in either/both ways. (Totally coincidental case in point, my tongue-in-cheek comment to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2780:_Physical_Quantities&diff=314617&oldid=314606 this edit I just did] highlights how something could be visually formatted accurately, though I actually tried to Transcriptionally describe more accurately instead, which I thought more useful. (Not ''very'' important, but it's a clear layout choice that was not reflected in any usable way for ''anyone''.)<br />
::::: But this is not a hill I'd die on (if it even came to that). I'm just doing my bit to maintain and support what I see as the contributor conventions that have been bashed around and gradually smoothed into some form of useful (if not universal) coherency over the various years. I'll take any sudden informal policy shift under advisement, and of course your words carry more weight than my own! I'll repeat "policy", but don't wish to (re)set it [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.225|172.71.242.225]] 11:26, 31 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
::::::If you actually do some edits, why not get a account? Much easier to do edits and much easier to have a discussion, and we could actually see what you contribute, and agree or disagree. Now I will never know for sure what you did as IPs change from day to day and other people might get this ip later... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:05, 31 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
:::::::I know you've no way of confirming this, but I've survived long enough without. And had this conversation before. With no power comes no responsibility! (Or, really, just could never decided on a good username/never the time to start having one, and rarely any need to.) But don't want to rehash all that again. You've done important work, before and after your ennoblement, and I congratulate you on it.<br />
:::::::No, I just offer opinion that can be ignored, and edits that can be over-ruled. Imagine the damage to my fragile ego if I materialised as a Username account and everyone ''still'' ignores/rewrites everything I say? ;) Horses for courses, but that's how it works for me! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.71|172.70.91.71]] 19:09, 31 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Solving the [[MediaWiki:Sitenotice]] problem once and for all ==<br />
Hey Kynde, I have an idea for solving the problem of having to constantly ask an admin to update the comic in the site notice. Since few admins are very active on this wiki, and the page [[MediaWiki:Sitenotice]] can't be set to allow non-admins to change it, we can just create a template and replace the text on [[MediaWiki:Sitenotice]] with the template (and then protect the template so only autoconfirmed users can edit it), so when for example a new big comic comes out, it can be updated immediately by simply editing the template. What do you think? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:18, 1 September 2023 (UTC)<br />
:Hi FaviFake. Although I can see your point I'm not really sure what to do about this, and also not feeling confident of doing such a change. I'm still fairly regular using the page, and saw your comment fairly soon. I do not understand why I did not get an e-mail about your change to my talk page though? But I would be happy to change the sitenotice for you if your request makes sense to me. So let's see if that works for some time. Do you have a new comis you would like to have mentioned? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:27, 3 September 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Justification for 2023 April Fools' comics ==<br />
It's just someone's edit comment, but see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:April_fools%27_comics&diff=prev&oldid=338888 where it is claimed]... From that (and that it's completely not impossible to have both April Fool and book-launch combined in a single exotic comic) I think it's worth counting 2023 as at least a ''possible'' answer to the "Missing 2023 April Fool" conundrum. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.145|172.69.79.145]] 23:30, 6 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:: Hey I don't want to start an edit war over this, but I swear to you, Escape Speed was intended to be the 2023 April Fools comic. Chromakode (another person named in the credits for this comic) confirms as much in his blog post at https://chromakode.com/post/xkcd-gravity-escape-speed as well. [[User:Benley|Benley]] ([[User talk:Benley|talk]]) 00:49, 7 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::Thanks for the link. That was what was missing, or if it was already somewhere I missed it. I did not see the thing about being named in the credits, but also that is not really enough without a link. Anyone could have said that. But I'm happy to learn this and will of course now not oppose including [[2765: Escape Speed]] as the 2023 fools' comic. And will even help sort out the list (a list which I started and have tried to keep up to date from the start.) Benley - is that Benjamin Staffin? And which of the other named in the credits for Escape Speed is Chromakode? (there is no such name there and did not find anything on the link but I'm not on X for instance so could not enter all of them). If you are indeed a developer of such comics, I thank you for all the joy you help bring to xkcd fans. Best regard --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:25, 7 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::That's correct, benley is Benjamin Staffin (me). Chromakode is Max Goodhart. Thanks for maintaining this wiki :-) [[User:Benley|Benley]] ([[User talk:Benley|talk]]) 18:28, 10 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::Thanks for the info. Cool you are involved in these special comics. An honor to write with you. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 04:20, 11 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:To the first comment. I just realized it was [[Gravity]] that promoted the what if? book release. So that was my bad. Not that I would have believed a 19 day overdue comic was April fools' comic, just because it was not released on a book launch. But with the link from Benley, now I do. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:29, 7 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Ping, re: Main Page deletion. ==<br />
If you aren't being contacted by other means, this time I'm ''needing'' to spark off an email notification to you (resuming we don't need davidy22, etc). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 16:24, 11 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:I managed to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Undelete&target=Main_Page restore the page]. Thanks. Did not see it. I have written to the one who did it. Hope it was a mistake. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:58, 11 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::hey kynde, i would highly reccomend de-sysopping markhurd. he's confirmed to have passed on his main wikipedia page, and it could a security risk to keep him as a sysop, as whoever is in control of the account might delete more pages. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 20:13, 14 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::Hi. Are you saying that he is dead now? Not sure I have permission to do that though --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:42, 15 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Yes, although I prefer more respectful terms. My great-grandfather recently passed at 100 years old, and I'm still needing time to process. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 17:02, 15 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::Codolence for you loss. I'm not native English speaker and was uncertain what you meant and how you knew. Found out as you can see. Best, Kynde... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 06:14, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::::It's a minefield of language. To have "passed" is probably not even a fairly common euphemism in British English (in fact, if locally used and understood for what it is about, it may even sound like a pat and insincere imported Americanism, rather than respectful...). Formally, you may say "deceased". Or you might skirt the issue by saying someone "is no longer with us" (although that might also mean they just moved on, i.e. now live somewhere else, rather than have "moved on", another euphemistic phrase that does somewhat presuppose belief that there is some other place that they can now be but is less 'Merkin than "passed").<br />
::::::In general, take the cue from the one most connected. I would definitely honour 42's terminology regarding their great-grandfather, and would wish to pass on my own sympathies. For myself, once I tell you that my Dad is dead, you could easily ask how I've been "since he died". (NB.: though a real example, it was several years ago, with myself having been no spring chicken at the time, and so it is not a current issue; please let me avoid any further awkwardness by taking any belated condolances as read. My four grandparents died at various times between my being barely old enough to know until... well, it was still decades ago. Never had the opportunity to know any of ''their'' parents.) <br />
::::::Aside from all that, I would find it awkward to restrict the language used when it comes to reports of those ''not'' obviously connected to either myself or the other party. Sean Connery died, JFK died ("was asassinated"), James VI Of Scotland/James I Of England is long dead, and moreso is {{w|Lucy (Australopithecus)|'Lucy'}}. Mortality is still far too common to ''never'' say the respective words, although clearly you might hedge your language if you know you're potentially tweaking fresh emotions in the one you're talking to, or are feeling fragile about the issue yourself.<br />
::::::Perhaps understandable for 42 to have taken the more oblique term, in their recent state of grieving, but was unfortunately contextless and thus hard for you to interpret until fully explained. Og vi kender ikke engang dine egne forhold, så vi kan såre dine egne følelser. Whatever you might wish to say other than "Han er bestået"(/"død"). One perhaps must take this into account, in such internationalised communications. More in understanding others than in trying to anticipate what idealised position you must always take. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.220|172.70.90.220]] 15:19, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::::sorry for my little meltdown yesterday. sorry kynde, didn't know you were a non-native speaker. i blame hormones and grief-but mostly hormones. sorry again. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 23:20, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::::::No problem 42. I do understand the meaning of passed, but had at first no idea how you would knew this and got confused. And did not think you would be affected by my question. A bit long essay from the previous commenter ;-) But fine with a littele context. Seems like he is also Danish, like me, given that he wrote some Danish lines...? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:55, 17 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::::::Nej undskyld. Skyd skylden på en populær hjemmeside*. Du har et dejligt land, men mit ene besøg var som barn (da man havde verdens eneste forlystelsespark lavet af plastikmursten!), og jeg kunne aldrig mere dansk end et par vitale ord som "ja", " nej" og "kartoffelmos"... :p [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.77|172.71.178.77]] 10:23, 17 April 2024 (UTC) ((* - checked the reversal; fiddled with it a bit; had to overrule it to specifically say 'brick(s)', not 'stone', presuming that would be more correct! ;) Anyway, just FYI. Ignorer mig!))<br />
::::::::::Ha ha. Well you made a visit to Legoland. :-) Hope you enjoyed it. Have been there many times. It is called: Legoklodser. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:32, 17 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::Ah found it my self [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Markhurd here]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:43, 15 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::I have blocked Mark Hurds account now. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:47, 15 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::::Does this wiki have a deceased tag like on Wikipedia? Or a way to deactivate their account without blocking? I can't find markhurd's page so I don't know if thats something you did. But if thats not an avalible option, that would be a nice thing for the admins or buracrats add, as a more respectful way to deactivate their acount, instead of blocking them. :) [[User:Apollo11|Apollo11]] ([[User talk:Apollo11|talk]]) 15:36, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
::::::Also 42, I'm very sorry for your loss. [[User:Apollo11|Apollo11]] ([[User talk:Apollo11|talk]]) 15:36, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:::::::I have left a message on [[User:Markhurd]] saying he has "passed", do not think there is a dedicated tag for this. Also if there was or I'm not the one to make it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:55, 17 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== main page protection ==<br />
can you protect the main page, like how 42.book.addict asked on the admin request community portal? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.155.39|172.71.155.39]] 21:21, 16 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
:Done. I had hoped it was a one time problem. It can now only be changed by admins. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:51, 17 April 2024 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Linking from another wiki ==<br />
<br />
Hi,<br />
Over on a different wiki's homepage, I'm [https://pandorastale.wiki/wiki/Pandora%27s_Tale_Wiki#Other_Webcomic_Wikis_We_Love|keeping a list of wikis] about webcomics on "good" hosts (independent or Miraheze, no Fandom). Would you be okay with me listing your wiki?<br />
[[User:183231bcb|183231bcb]] ([[User talk:183231bcb|talk]]) 22:12, 19 May 2024 (UTC)</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2160:_Ken_Burns_Theory&diff=3336642160: Ken Burns Theory2024-01-27T22:37:48Z<p>183231bcb: /* Explanation */ Missing word</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2160<br />
| date = June 7, 2019<br />
| title = Ken Burns Theory<br />
| image = ken_burns_theory.png<br />
| titletext = Some of the KBCU ancillary works try a little too hard to tie everything together. Doris Kearns Goodwin, the sports journalist featured in "Baseball," was somehow ALSO a famous historian who wrote bestselling biographies of Lincoln AND Johnson? Unrealistic.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
Some fiction writers and filmmakers deliberately set some (or all) of their works in a common, or shared, {{w|fictional universe|universe}}, meaning that characters in one work can conceivably meet characters in another work via conventional travel, and sometimes such crossovers are made canon. In other cases, though, fans will hypothesize that a set of works take place in the same universe, even if the creators don't make such connections explicit (or even outright deny it). In such cases, fans will often pick out elements of different works, and find ways to relate them to a common storyline, creating a meta-narrative, in which each individual work is part of a larger timeline (some examples of such fan theories described in [http://mentalfloss.com/article/62835/5-common-universe-theories-movies this Mental Floss article]).<br />
<br />
{{w|Ken Burns}} is an American filmmaker renowned for his historical documentaries; thus, all his documentary series are set in a common universe - namely, the real one - and usually the setting is a small part of that (real) universe: the United States in the last two centuries. The series mentioned are<br />
<br />
* {{w|The Civil War (miniseries)|''The Civil War''}}, covering the history of the American Civil War (1861-1865), released in 1990.<br />
* {{w|The Vietnam War (TV series)|''The Vietnam War''}}, covering the history of the Vietnam War (1955-1975), released in 2017.<br />
* {{w|Baseball (TV series)|''Baseball''}}, covering the history of baseball from the 1840s to the 1990s, released in 1994.<br />
<br />
The joke here is that Cueball is trying to find the common features between Ken Burns' series to set them in a common universe, as a fiction fan would do, "discovering" similarities between series that are simply facts in American history. For example, several series have an office named "President", which Cueball "guesses" to be the same for {{w|Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln}} and {{w|Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson}}, and which obviously is just the {{w|President of the United States}}. Cueball has also drawn inferences from facts established in one series to draw conclusions about another, when he ({{w|Opposition_to_United_States_involvement_in_the_Vietnam_War|correctly}}) concludes that the 1960s protesters depicted in ''Baseball'' were protesting "Johnson's war" as depicted in ''The Vietnam War''. <br />
<br />
The title text continues the joke by saying these stories are set in the "KBCU", an acronym which stands for "Ken Burns Cinematic Universe" similar to the popular {{w|Marvel Cinematic Universe}} (MCU).<br />
<br />
{{w|Doris Kearns Goodwin}}, mentioned in the title text, is a famous historian who has written biographies of several U.S. Presidents. She is also a fan of baseball's Boston Red Sox and a sportswriter who appeared in the ''Baseball'' miniseries. Cueball states that having a character that had written biographies of both presidents, while also a sportswriter was "unrealistic". It's not uncommon for writers trying to fit different stories into a single 'universe' to cause a single character to become important in both, {{tvtropes|ContrivedCoincidence|even though it makes little narrative sense.}} This can be denounced as "trying too hard" to fit the stories together.<br />
<br />
Finding that certain aspects of reality seems unrealistic is {{tvtropes|RealityIsUnrealistic|quite common}}. This is because our judgment of realism is based on our own experiences and our (often flawed) perception of probabilities. Because the complexities of the world generally exceed any person's experience, and because it's natural for highly unlikely events to occur sometimes, real events can seem implausible. In this case, people tend to think of sports journalism and political biography as being very different fields. The odds that one person would do work in both fields important enough to be relevant to all three documentaries under discussion feels unlikely. As a result, we (or rather, Cueball) deem it as unrealistic, even though it actually happened.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is standing next to Megan.]<br />
:Cueball: Lincoln was "President" in ''The Civil War'' (1990), the same office held by Johnson in ''The Vietnam War'' (2017).<br />
:Cueball: And ''Baseball'' (1994) briefly showed 1960s "protesters." I think they were protesting Johnson's war!<br />
:Cueball: It all fits!<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:I have a fan theory that every Ken Burns miniseries exists within a single cohesive universe.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1053:_Ten_Thousand&diff=3309871053: Ten Thousand2023-12-17T17:38:53Z<p>183231bcb: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1053<br />
| date = May 9, 2012<br />
| title = Ten Thousand<br />
| image = ten_thousand.png<br />
| titletext = Saying 'what kind of an idiot doesn't know about the Yellowstone supervolcano' is so much more boring than telling someone about the Yellowstone supervolcano for the first time.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
In this strip, [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] presents a mathematical argument against the idea of making fun of people for their ignorance. The mathematical argument, presented in the first panel, goes as follows: Since people aren't born knowing ''anything'', everyone has to learn everything for the first time at some point. By using the US national birth rate and assuming that most common facts that "every adult knows" are learned by age 30, Randall calculates that there are around 10,000 people in the US alone who learn any given common fact for the first time each day.<br />
<br />
Since you can only learn something for the first time once, each of these 10,000 people are having a unique, unrepeatable experience of enlightenment, which Randall sees as something to be cherished, not criticized. In the second panel, Randall notes that if he makes fun of people for not knowing things, he is effectively training them to avoid sharing those moments with him, and thus he will miss innumerable opportunities to do something he considers fun. To drive the point home, the second panel shows Cueball finding out that Megan doesn't know about the "Diet Coke and Mentos thing", and - instead of making fun of her, Cueball affirms that Megan is part of a special and select group - she is one of the "Lucky 10,000" who, that day, will learn and experience that thing for the first time.<br />
<br />
{{w|Diet Coke}} (sold under the names "Diet Coca-Cola" or "Coca-Cola Light" in certain countries) is a popular brand of sugar-free soda. {{W|Mentos}} is a brand that makes chewable mints. If they are dropped into a bottle of Diet Coke, the {{w|Diet Coke and Mentos eruption|soda erupts with startling violence}}, sending a fountain of soda many meters into the air. This interaction is widely renowned due to its dramatic, unexpected nature, and the fact that you can do it with cheap and commonplace ingredients (though it does make quite a mess and should only be done outdoors). The reaction can be done with a variety of sodas (though Diet Coke is the most commonly repeated choice), and is caused by a physical reaction between the Mentos and the soda. The Mentos rapidly nucleate the carbon dioxide bubbles in the soda, causing the dissolved carbon dioxide in the soda to assume gaseous form. The sudden formation of all the carbon dioxide gas forces the contents of the bottle out. A 2006 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjbJELjLgZg Mythbusters episode] explored the phenomenon in detail. <br />
<br />
The Diet Coke and Mentos eruption has also been mentioned in a previous strip [[346: Diet Coke+Mentos]]. Both the eruption and this comic were referenced much later in the ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' article ''{{what if|162|Comet Ice}}'', where the title text of the first image proclaims that "Some of the lucky 10,000 are less lucky than others", as demonstrated when [[Black Hat]] offers to "help" Cueball to stem his overflowing Diet Coke bottle by plugging the opening with Mentos. This comic also appears in a modified form in Randall's book ''[[How To]]'', in the introduction of the book. Supervolcanos would be mentioned again in [[1159: Countdown]] and in [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]].<br />
<br />
The title text states, emphatically, that explaining a fact to a person for the first time (in this case, the existence of a supervolcano within the Yellowstone National Park) is much more entertaining than just expressing annoyance about their lack of knowledge. Here is a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PxDGiVQNg8 good video] about the {{w|Yellowstone supervolcano}}. Interestingly, both events alluded to in this comic include an eruption, although of two very different kinds{{Citation needed}}.<br />
<br />
In the What If article "Comet Ice," the title text of the first image references this page.<br />
<br />
===Calculation===<br />
Randall does not show the full calculation in the comic, but we can derive it as follows:<br />
* First, assume that everyone will know a given fact by the time they reach adulthood, which is defined here to be 30 years old.<br />
* Assuming the US birth rate of 4 million per year, this means that in 30 years, 120 million people will be born who will learn the fact at some point.<br />
* 30 years is equal to 10950 days (30 years x 365 days per year). Since we have assumed that everyone will learn the fact within that time, that means on any given day, there is a 1/10950 chance that that will be the day they learn the fact.<br />
* So, if 120 million people have a 1/10950 chance per day of learning the fact, that means that on any given day, the number of people learning that fact will be, on average, 120,000,000 / 10,950 = 10958.9, which is approximately 10,000.<br />
<br />
It is worth noting that the target age of 30 is actually irrelevant to the calculation. Taking the assumption of a steady birth rate, and assuming that "everyone" learns a fact at some point in their lives, then the number of births per day and the number of people learning a thing each day must average out to the same value over time. The ages at which it is learned don't affect the numbers. This calculation is obviously simplified, since birth rates are not constant over extended periods, and some people presumably die before learning certain facts, (either because they die young, or because they simply never encounter the fact). The assumptions are, however, sufficiently good to give a general estimate. <br />
<br />
Randall's calculation is for the US, but it can be easily converted for other countries or the entire world by supplying the appropriate birth rate. For the world as a whole, the average birth rate as of late 2022 is 140 million per year, which gives a total of approximately 400,000 people learning a fact for the first time each day (140,000,000 / 365 = 383,561.6 ≈ 400,000).<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Caption above the panel:]<br />
:I try not to make fun of people for admitting they don't know things.<br />
:[Caption right below said caption:]<br />
:Because for each thing "everyone knows" by the time they're adults, every day there are, on average, 10,000 people in the US hearing about it for the first time.<br />
<br />
:[A list of equations.]<br />
:Fraction who have heard of it at birth = 0%<br />
:Fraction who have heard of it by 30 ≈ 100%<br />
:US birth rate ≈ 4,000,000/year<br />
:Number hearing about it for the first time ≈ 10,000/day<br />
<br />
:[Caption above the next panel:]<br />
:If I make fun of people, I train them not to tell me when they have those moments. <br />
:And I miss out on the fun.<br />
<br />
:[Megan is standing. Cueball is walking, with his palm out.]<br />
:Megan: "Diet Coke and Mentos thing"? What's that?<br />
:Cueball: Oh man! Come on, we're going to the grocery store.<br />
:Megan: Why?<br />
:Cueball: You're one of today's lucky 10,000.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>183231bcbhttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2800:_Down&diff=3176652800: Down2023-07-10T21:28:04Z<p>183231bcb: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2800<br />
| date = July 10, 2023<br />
| title = Down<br />
| image = down_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 611x290px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = It's just that I get nervous about heights.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a SOLAR COORDINATE SYSTEM. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Megan states that down was redefined to be relative to Mars. Down is relative to gravity in actuality (in this context, that is), not to a fixed "coordinate center". If this was actually true, then they would be falling towards Mars, which would not be good. {{citation needed}}<br />
<br />
In the title text, Cueball states that he gets nervous about heights, and rightfully so- Mars is about 34,000,000 mi (55,000,000 km) away from Earth at their closest approaches (on the extremely rare occasion that Mars is at perihelion and opposition (relative to Earth) simultaneously).<br />
<br />
The comic might be a reference to the novel ''Ender's Game'' by Orson Scott Card, in which the protagonist, Ender, notes that the directions "up" and "down" are arbitrary in space, and that it can be helpful to think of "down" as towards the enemy's base. This aspect of ''Ender's Game'' was previously referenced in [[241: Battle Room]]<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:: [Megan is seated at a desk, in front of a laptop. The scene is rotated by 150° clockwise, so she appears to be upside down and angled.]<br />
<br />
:: [Cueball enters the scene from the right side, behind Megan. He has three question marks below his head, oriented upright in frame.]<br />
<br />
:: Megan: They announced that "down" is relative to Mars today.<br />
:: Cueball: Ugh, I hate when they make another planet the coordinate system origin.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>183231bcb