explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2309: X

2020-05-21T02:40:50Z

Blacksilver:

id certainly use that language lol ([[User talk:172.69.70.101|172.69.70.101]])

-- haXkell is a X-based dialect of haskell 
X :: Integer -> Integer 
X 0 = 1 
X X = X * X (X-1) 
[[User:Capncanuck|Capncanuck]] ([[User talk:Capncanuck|talk]]) 02:35, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

https://esolangs.org/wiki/X isn't taken. --[[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 02:40, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2264: Satellite

2020-02-06T02:28:15Z

Blacksilver:

I don't care what tech hasn't been invented yet. I want one. --[[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 02:28, 6 February 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2259: Networking Problems

2020-01-25T12:28:17Z

Blacksilver: ... and I forgot to sign it

I just had an issue the other day with copying disk images to a network drive using <code>smbclient</code> on Linux Mint. The transfer would only run at 1 to 2 MB/s. Then I discovered that if I opened the mounted drive in the GUI file explorer and refreshed the directory where I was copying the image to, it would consistently cause the copy operation to jump to 40 to 60 MB/s and stay there for the rest of the operation. I concluded that <code>smbclient</code> must run on actual sorcery. [[User:Aaron Rotenberg|Aaron Rotenberg]] ([[User talk:Aaron Rotenberg|talk]]) 18:02, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

:Sounds like the explorer is able to create some sort of cache that the transfer is able to use but not create. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:36, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

:The original <code>smbclient</code> implementation turned out to be virtually impossible, so the programmers gave up and used <code>import_ai()</code>. Unfortunately they then used <code>ai_solve(network.problems,0,0)</code> to set the maliciousness and capriciousness variables to zero, but a combination of off-by-one and roll-over errors mean that these two variables are maximized. True story. [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 09:39, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

Yeah, can confirm that even the high end of 'normal computer problems' can result in belief in the occult and/or paranormal operation of computers. I now attempt to moderate my brainwaves into positive only flow to make sure I do not negatively effect the computer through quantum effects on the bits and operation. If i get frustrated or confused by the computer for an extended time, i put it down and walk away until I have more of a 'can do' attitude. Then of coarse there was that time that.... it may be too late for me, but there are puzzling computer problems to explore so I... remember me as I was. ~Litppunk 18:26, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

"Ghosts generally are not concerned with expressions of belief, but there are some religious traditions that include group clapping and chanting." - I don't think the hover text is related to the ghosts. They seem just like two separate unbelievable things. "Perhaps the ghost in question is the Holy Ghost." - I doubt that is what he is referring to, especially since it is plural 'ghosts' and the Holy Ghost is singular. [[User:Curtobi4|Curtobi4]] ([[User talk:Curtobi4|talk]]) 18:44, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Clearly seems related to 1457, albeit with much more advanced tech issues. --[[User:GoldNinja|GoldNinja]] ([[User talk:GoldNinja|talk]]) 19:18, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Clapping hands and saying you believe in fairys is how you prevent Tinkerbell from Dying when you watch Peter Pan.{{unsigned|108.162.241.32}}
:Yeah, the interactive part of the play/movie/comix. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:36, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

: '''Pareidolia''' (one of my least favorite words because I can't spell it well enough to google for the correct spelling) is a definite problem for the human brain - we habitually spot patterns where they don't exist. But the problem for software engineers is that spotting patterns that '''DO''' exist is how you find bugs. So distinguishing between real patterns and pareidolia ('i' before 'e' except after 'c'...and 'r'...sometimes...) is a vital part of the job. Clearly Cueball has that problem here. [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 20:48, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

I know it's hyperbole, but are there any actual networking problems that could cause every other packet to be laggy? [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 21:17, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

:Nothing I can think of you'd ever do in a production setup on purpose, but with some really crazy port-channel settings, with the right kind of tiny packets like a SYN, and a downstream bridge or repeater to add in some intentional delay, I think you could. Never underestimate the power of a sufficiently motivated netadmin. [[User:DevAudio|DevAudio]] ([[User talk:DevAudio|talk]]) 22:55, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

The classic 500-mile bug: "We can't send mail more than 500 miles" http://web.mit.edu/jemorris/humor/500-miles

: I'm legally required to link [http://catb.org/jargon/html/story-of-mel.html The Story Of Mel] and [http://catb.org/jargon/html/magic-story.html A story about 'magic'] [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 12:28, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

While I don't believe that ghosts have power over computers, I do believe that many of the seemingly random "hiccups" in my computer programs are caused by sunspots. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 22:52, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Disagree strongly that this has anything to do with seeing patterns where they don't exist. Modern network troubleshooting tools will show you exactly the order that packets were received, and the time they were received at. Although it would be hard to induce the problem described, if it '''were''' induced, you could indeed see it quite clearly and objectively in a packet capture. This comic is more about some of the brain-breakingly twisted ways networking can go awry and all the impossible things it can make you want to believe in the quest to make sense of what we are seeing. [[User:DevAudio|DevAudio]] ([[User talk:DevAudio|talk]]) 23:02, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

: I will correct myself slightly - it would seem from the mouseover text that he is finding a false pattern, but it's not impossible for what he said to be true, it would just require laboratory conditions and someone playing a prank. He could also be seeing a real pattern with some kind of crazy cause involving a sound transducer and either EMI or some intentional sabotage. Yeah, that's waaaay off in left field, but so is the network data Cueball may be actually be seeing. On the whole, I would not fight someone who chose to believe Cueball is seeing a false pattern with the clapping. It's a reasonable interpretation for anyone who hasn't seen the insane things I have when troubleshooting networks. I HAVE seen ghost packets. (It was a weird glitch causing a switch to replay packets from hosts that weren't even connected anymore, not actual paranormal activity.) [[User:DevAudio|DevAudio]] ([[User talk:DevAudio|talk]]) 23:34, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Strictly speaking, I don't think lag is about how long transmission of a packet takes, which is instead referred to as {{w|network delay}}. Furthermore, from the referenced Wikipedia page, network delay is experienced in each "hop" of the data packet from node to node and includes the following delays: processing delay (time to process the packet header), queuing delay (time packet spends in routing queue), transmission delay (time to push the packet onto the link), and propagation delay (time to travel to destination based on the speed of the link). IMHO, a laggy network connection is one where the network delay is longer than normal due to a temporary problem in one or more of these areas. A connection that is always slow because of low link bandwidth is not laggy, it's just slow. Others may disagree with me. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 03:02, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2259: Networking Problems

2020-01-25T12:27:55Z

Blacksilver: mel & magic

I just had an issue the other day with copying disk images to a network drive using <code>smbclient</code> on Linux Mint. The transfer would only run at 1 to 2 MB/s. Then I discovered that if I opened the mounted drive in the GUI file explorer and refreshed the directory where I was copying the image to, it would consistently cause the copy operation to jump to 40 to 60 MB/s and stay there for the rest of the operation. I concluded that <code>smbclient</code> must run on actual sorcery. [[User:Aaron Rotenberg|Aaron Rotenberg]] ([[User talk:Aaron Rotenberg|talk]]) 18:02, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

:Sounds like the explorer is able to create some sort of cache that the transfer is able to use but not create. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:36, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

:The original <code>smbclient</code> implementation turned out to be virtually impossible, so the programmers gave up and used <code>import_ai()</code>. Unfortunately they then used <code>ai_solve(network.problems,0,0)</code> to set the maliciousness and capriciousness variables to zero, but a combination of off-by-one and roll-over errors mean that these two variables are maximized. True story. [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 09:39, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

Yeah, can confirm that even the high end of 'normal computer problems' can result in belief in the occult and/or paranormal operation of computers. I now attempt to moderate my brainwaves into positive only flow to make sure I do not negatively effect the computer through quantum effects on the bits and operation. If i get frustrated or confused by the computer for an extended time, i put it down and walk away until I have more of a 'can do' attitude. Then of coarse there was that time that.... it may be too late for me, but there are puzzling computer problems to explore so I... remember me as I was. ~Litppunk 18:26, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

"Ghosts generally are not concerned with expressions of belief, but there are some religious traditions that include group clapping and chanting." - I don't think the hover text is related to the ghosts. They seem just like two separate unbelievable things. "Perhaps the ghost in question is the Holy Ghost." - I doubt that is what he is referring to, especially since it is plural 'ghosts' and the Holy Ghost is singular. [[User:Curtobi4|Curtobi4]] ([[User talk:Curtobi4|talk]]) 18:44, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Clearly seems related to 1457, albeit with much more advanced tech issues. --[[User:GoldNinja|GoldNinja]] ([[User talk:GoldNinja|talk]]) 19:18, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Clapping hands and saying you believe in fairys is how you prevent Tinkerbell from Dying when you watch Peter Pan.{{unsigned|108.162.241.32}}
:Yeah, the interactive part of the play/movie/comix. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:36, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

: '''Pareidolia''' (one of my least favorite words because I can't spell it well enough to google for the correct spelling) is a definite problem for the human brain - we habitually spot patterns where they don't exist. But the problem for software engineers is that spotting patterns that '''DO''' exist is how you find bugs. So distinguishing between real patterns and pareidolia ('i' before 'e' except after 'c'...and 'r'...sometimes...) is a vital part of the job. Clearly Cueball has that problem here. [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 20:48, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

I know it's hyperbole, but are there any actual networking problems that could cause every other packet to be laggy? [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 21:17, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

:Nothing I can think of you'd ever do in a production setup on purpose, but with some really crazy port-channel settings, with the right kind of tiny packets like a SYN, and a downstream bridge or repeater to add in some intentional delay, I think you could. Never underestimate the power of a sufficiently motivated netadmin. [[User:DevAudio|DevAudio]] ([[User talk:DevAudio|talk]]) 22:55, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

The classic 500-mile bug: "We can't send mail more than 500 miles" http://web.mit.edu/jemorris/humor/500-miles

: I'm legally required to link [http://catb.org/jargon/html/story-of-mel.html The Story Of Mel] and [http://catb.org/jargon/html/magic-story.html A story about 'magic']

While I don't believe that ghosts have power over computers, I do believe that many of the seemingly random "hiccups" in my computer programs are caused by sunspots. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 22:52, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Disagree strongly that this has anything to do with seeing patterns where they don't exist. Modern network troubleshooting tools will show you exactly the order that packets were received, and the time they were received at. Although it would be hard to induce the problem described, if it '''were''' induced, you could indeed see it quite clearly and objectively in a packet capture. This comic is more about some of the brain-breakingly twisted ways networking can go awry and all the impossible things it can make you want to believe in the quest to make sense of what we are seeing. [[User:DevAudio|DevAudio]] ([[User talk:DevAudio|talk]]) 23:02, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

: I will correct myself slightly - it would seem from the mouseover text that he is finding a false pattern, but it's not impossible for what he said to be true, it would just require laboratory conditions and someone playing a prank. He could also be seeing a real pattern with some kind of crazy cause involving a sound transducer and either EMI or some intentional sabotage. Yeah, that's waaaay off in left field, but so is the network data Cueball may be actually be seeing. On the whole, I would not fight someone who chose to believe Cueball is seeing a false pattern with the clapping. It's a reasonable interpretation for anyone who hasn't seen the insane things I have when troubleshooting networks. I HAVE seen ghost packets. (It was a weird glitch causing a switch to replay packets from hosts that weren't even connected anymore, not actual paranormal activity.) [[User:DevAudio|DevAudio]] ([[User talk:DevAudio|talk]]) 23:34, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Strictly speaking, I don't think lag is about how long transmission of a packet takes, which is instead referred to as {{w|network delay}}. Furthermore, from the referenced Wikipedia page, network delay is experienced in each "hop" of the data packet from node to node and includes the following delays: processing delay (time to process the packet header), queuing delay (time packet spends in routing queue), transmission delay (time to push the packet onto the link), and propagation delay (time to travel to destination based on the speed of the link). IMHO, a laggy network connection is one where the network delay is longer than normal due to a temporary problem in one or more of these areas. A connection that is always slow because of low link bandwidth is not laggy, it's just slow. Others may disagree with me. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 03:02, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2259: Networking Problems

2020-01-24T21:17:21Z

Blacksilver:

Talk:2257: Unsubscribe Message

2020-01-20T13:28:28Z

Blacksilver:

YOU HAVE BEEN UNSUBCRIBED!!!![[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.148|162.158.214.148]] 12:57, 20 January 2020 (UTC)

If I ever make an unsubscribe message, it'll just be this comic. [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 13:28, 20 January 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2188: E Scooters

2019-08-12T05:21:24Z

Blacksilver:

This comic came out early. They don't usually go live till around noon my time. It's 1:20 AM. [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 05:21, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

2156: Ufo

2019-05-29T21:24:22Z

Blacksilver: Remove redundant `?w=800`

{{comic
| number = 2156
| date = May 29, 2019
| title = Ufo
| image = ufo.png
| titletext = "It's a little low for a weather balloon; it might be some other kind." "Yeah. Besides, I know I'm the alien conspiracy guy, but come on--the idea that the government would care about hiding something so mundane as atmospheric temperature measurement is too ridiculous even for me."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an alien weather balloon. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This cartoon makes fun of {{w|conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories}}, by suggesting that authorities, like the Navy, could be promoting mysterious explanations for mundane phenomena (such as a {{w|weather balloon}}). UFO is an initialism for an {{w|unidentified flying object}}. This comic is mostly likely inspired by [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/26/us/politics/ufo-sightings-navy-pilots.html reports of US Navy pilots] seeing unexplained objects. The "History Channel thing" could refer to this [https://www.history.com/shows/unidentified-inside-americas-ufo-investigation upcoming series]. It may also be inspired by the Trump administration ordering US government agencies to stop or minimize research and reporting on climate change, suggesting they would need to conceal meteorological activities.

This comic features {{w|Fox Mulder}} and {{w|Dana Scully}}, two fictional FBI agents from the television show ''{{w|The X-Files}}''. In the show, Mulder is usually a believer in all manner of conspiracies and supernatural phenomena, whereas his partner, Scully, is reflexively skeptical of any claims of the paranormal.

A fighter aircraft's {{w|Head-up display|Head-Up Display}} (HUD), projects information about the aircraft and its surroundings on a glass panel in front of the pilot. This allows the pilot to fly and fight without looking down at gauges and panels in the cockpit. When the pilot selects a radar contact to track, information including the angle and range to that contact is displayed on the HUD. The HUD is also overlaid on video recorded by the airplane's on-board camera. Scully has examined the tracking information recorded in one video and concluded that the unidentified object was relatively stationary. Her opinion is that the object is likely a mundane weather balloon, rather than an extraterrestrial craft.

"Maybe the shadowy forces that control the world just want to believe" is an allusion to "I Want to Believe", a phrase from the ''The X-Files'' associated with Mulder and [https://images.newrepublic.com/82a6d0770aeaafbae8f26bf40a822b9b79a5c412.png his iconic UFO poster.]

The title text makes it clear why government agencies might try to hide "something so mundane as atmospheric temperature measurement," because the Trump administration ordered US government agencies to stop or minimize research and reporting on climate change. <ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/27/us/politics/trump-climate-science.html</ref>

==Transcript==
:[Mulder from The X-Files depicted as Hairy sits in his office chair at his desk and points to his computer screen while looking over his shoulder and addressing Scully off-panel, who replies.]
:Mulder: Hey Scully, have you seen these Navy UFO videos?
:Scully (off-panel): Oh, the History Channel thing?

:[In a frame-less panel, Scully walks in from the right towards Mulder, who has turned around in his chair facing towards her (the desk is not included). He is leaning on the back of the chair with one arm. Scully has shoulder length hair, not similar to any of the regular women in xkcd.]
:Scully: I don't know about the other two videos, but in one of them, if you take the angles and ranges on the HUD and do a little geometry, it kind of suggests the object isn't really moving. It just looks like it because the plane's camera is panning.

:[Zoom in on Scully.]
:Scully: The pilots got excited for the same reason we did. Then the media got into it.
:Scully: But I think what they saw was a round, white object floating at 13,000 feet.

:[Zoom out again to shown that Mulder sits straight up in his chair with hands in his lap and the desk with computer behind him. Scully stand in front of him.]
:Harry: So your theory is that the military '''''claims''''' to have footage of aliens, but you think it's a giant cover-up to hide that it's a weather balloon?
:Scully: Some kind of balloon, yes.
:Harry: Pretty weird conspiracy.
:Scully: Maybe the shadowy forces that control the world just want to believe, too.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]

2131: Emojidome

2019-04-01T18:41:15Z

Blacksilver: Round 2!

{{comic
| number = 2131
| date = April 1, 2019
| title = Emojidome
| image = emojidome.png
| titletext = 🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼
}}
*To experience the interactivity, visit the {{xkcd|2131|original comic}}.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 😇. Needs more elaboration on font influencing emoji..}}

This is an interactive [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] that began at noon ET (16:00 UTC) on April 1, 2019, in which users are shown two emoji roughly every 40 seconds, and vote for their favorite. The competing candidates are periodically overlaid with heart emojis that float up from the vote button oscillating in a sinusoidal pattern before disappearing above the candidate, and may represent real-time votes for each emoji. Supposedly, the emoji will be eliminated one-by-one until there are a final two emoji facing off, with the one most voted-for being crowned the best emoji. This is likely a parody of March Madness.

As of 17:30 UTC, we are still in the first round of voting brackets, according to the match-up schedule in the link. At the current rate, the entire tournament will take just under five and a half hours.

The second round started at 18:39 UTC.

Note that the schedule might show different emoji pictures then the main voting screen, presumably because of fonts. The image is pre-rendered.

The competing candidates are chosen in order of unicode value at first, resulting in similar emojis being compared. Examples include:

😜 squaring off against 😛 - two emoji playfully sticking their tongues out

🤩 squaring off against 😍 - two smiling emojis with symbols for eyes

😂 squaring off with 🤣 - two emojis that are crying in laughter/joy.

The title text may appear to be nonsense. If so, your browser may not be parsing the title text correctly. It consists of the wrestlers emoji (🤼) eight times over.

A robot face announcer-emoji (🤖) and a link to the full bracket was added at 38 minutes in.
https://www.xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket.png shows 512 emojis in a single-elimination tournament.

Real live data with results (clicks) can be seen as JSON-websocket at https://emojidome.xkcd.com/2131/socket

* The second round of eliminations started at around 14:40 EST. The time limit was increased to 60 seconds.

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]

2108: Carbonated Beverage Language Map

2019-02-08T02:52:47Z

Blacksilver: Removed stray curly braces

{{comic
| number = 2108
| date = February 6, 2019
| title = Carbonated Beverage Language Map
| image = carbonated_beverage_language_map.png
| titletext = There's one person in Missouri who says "carbo bev" who the entire rest of the country HATES.
}}

==Explanation==

In the US, people in various parts of the country refer to carbonated beverages by {{w|Names for soft drinks in the United States|different names}} such as Soda, Pop, Coke, etc. Generally, the West Coast and Northeast say "Soda", the South says "Coke" and the rest of the country says "Pop".

There are various maps of the name differences, including: [http://www.popvssoda.com/]

This map leverages xkcd's mockery-maps of regional and state-by-state differences or variations in the use of language and overlays the regional variances in the terms for soda pop (for example: https://laughingsquid.com/soda-pop-or-coke-maps-of-regional-dialect-variation-in-the-united-states/), as was made trending and popular in 2013. Not only are there far more terms than are actually used by Americans, many are terms for other drinks (mead), unrelated liquids (quicksilver), or trademarked beverage names less popular than {{w|Coca Cola|Coke}}/{{w|Coca Cola}} ({{w|Mountain Dew|Code Red}}) -- and in one case, something that's not even tangible ({{w|cryptocurrency|"Crypto"}}).

{| class="wikitable"
|+Map terms (from left to right, approximately)
|-
|{{w|Fanta}}
|Name of a carbonated beverage line
|-
|Söde
|Presumably pronounced "soda" but spelled oddly (might be reference to ''{{w|Monty_Python_and_the_Holy_Grail|Monty Python and the Holy Grail}}'' subtitles - "Wi nøt trei a høliday in Sweden this yër?")
|-
|True Water
|Possibly a reference to Tru Blood, a fictional artificial blood substitute for vampires in ''{{w|The Southern Vampire Mysteries}}'' book series by Charlaine Harris, and the television series ''{{w|True Blood}}''. Also could be a reference to "purified" mineral waters such as {{w|Glaceau Smartwater|Smartwater}}.
|-
|Crypto
|Popularized as a slang term in the late '80s and early '90s to refer to anything involving the act of encryption/decryption {{w|cryptography}} through the application of ciphers, a practice which has become practically ubiquitous in the digital age. Given the highlighted region is the Silicon Valley, this is almost certainly a specific reference to {{w|cryptocurrency}}. None of these concepts are liquid and therefore not drinkable. Possibly a joke that the residents of Silicon Valley are actually computers that "drink" crypto (i.e. data). Might also reference the fact that it creates bubbles.
|-
|Yum
|Refers to {{w|Yum! Brands}}, parent company of several fast food restaurants, which was spun off from PepsiCo, maker of a carbonated beverage, in 1997, and has a lifetime contract to serve their beverages.
|-
|Sparkle Fluid
|Roughly analogously to how "sparkling wine" and "sparkling cider" are carbonated varieties of wine and cider, "sparkling fluid" or "sparkle fluid" would presumably be any carbonated fluid
|-
|King Cola
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|{{w|Pepsi}}
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|{{w|Crystal Pepsi}}
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|Ichor
|Several definitions (blood of a god (or demon, or, in some dialects, any insect) or watery discharge from a wound). None of them carbonated. None of them recommended as a drinkable liquid. (Well, not by someone with your best interests at heart.{{Citation needed}})
|-
|You-Know-What
|A phrase typically employed when a more specific term is considered unspeakable or taboo. Reference to Harry Potter and You-Know-Who
|-
|{{w|Tab (drink)|Tab}}
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|Spicewater
|Thought to be a reference to the spice in “Dune.”
|-
|Softie
|Short for soft drink. On the map, it looks like the region for Softie is taking a punch from the region for Punch
|-
|Ohio Tea
|The area in question covers much of Arizona, the namesake of {{w|Arizona Beverage Company|Arizona Iced Tea}}, itself a non-carbonated beverage. This implies that residents of Arizona view carbonated beverages as something that comes from Ohio, and thus they place Ohio’s name before the word "Tea” to indicate its carbonated state.

Could also refer to [https://youtu.be/0_XAPku7SgE?t=30 "...bubbling crude. Oil that is, black gold, '''Texas tea'''.]
|-
|Boat Drink
|A reference to the song {{w|Boat Drinks|Boat Drinks}} by {{w|Jimmy Buffett|Jimmy Buffett}}.
|-
|Melt
|Usually used to describe a kind of sandwich where cheese is melted in the center, usually on a griddle. Possibly a play on {{w|malt drink}} Or maybe just a way to say "no, the *melted* ice"
|-
|Fizz Ooze
|The shortened name of the book "Fizz, Foam, Splatter & Ooze" about chemical reactions.
|-
|{{w|Punch (drink)|Punch}}
|A drink typically found in the juice aisle. Only sometimes carbonated. It's also a pun on the word punch, meaning to hit something, and on the map it looks like the region for Punch is literally punching the region for Softie.
|-
|Fun Wine
|Implies that normal wine is not "fun". Might be an allusion to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheerwine Cheerwine], a carbonated drink from the Southeast.
|-
|Diet
|Sometimes refers to a carbonated beverage. A common request in restaurants, as they often only have a single "{{w|Diet drink|diet soda}}" option for customers to pick.
|-
|Refill
|A subsequent glass of whatever you drank previously. Works for any drinkable liquid.
|-
|Tickle Juice
|Name of a Boston-based jazz band.
|-
|Bubble Honey
|Reversed name of the Honey Bubble Tea brand. https://honeybubbletea.com
|-
|Sugar Oil
|Some sodas do contain oils such as palm oil. The areas of Oklahoma and north Texas that are shaded produce a significant amount of {{w|petroleum|crude oil}}.
|-
|The Wet Drink
|Technically true of all drinks, unless one is attempting to drink sand (or anhydrous fluids - of which the least harmful may be clarified butter). It may also refer to the fact that many advertisements for carbonated beverages attempt to make the product look more appetizing by photographing or filming a beverage container covered with water droplets.
|-
|{{w|Mountain Dew|Code Red}}
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|{{w|Mead}}
|An alcoholic drink. Traditionally not carbonated. Often associated with Vikings, and these areas did have many Scandinavian immigrants.
|-
|Canadian Ale
|Probably a reference to the {{w|Canada Dry}} brand of {{w|Ginger Ale}}, a non-alcoholic carbonated beverage.
|-
|Aether
|Could refer to a highly flammable industrial solvent, also used as an anesthetic. Do not drink. Also, not carbonated. Alternately, could refer to the nonexistent fluid that was believed to carry light waves before electromagnetism was fully understood, or poetically to the sky; in either case it is not a drinkable liquid (or carbonated).
|-
|Carbonated Beverage
|Technically correct, but a bit of an awkward term due to its unnecessary length.
|-
|Mouthwater
|A play on the term "mouth watering" to describe delicious foods and drinks.
|-
|{{w|Capri Sun|Capri}}
|Capri Sun is a brand of juice drinks, typically sold in uncarbonated pouches.
|-
|Skim Shake
|A shortened name of the beverage "Skim Milkshake"
|-
|Kid's Coffee
|Somewhat accurate. Coffee is typically drunk by adults for its caffeine. Carbonated beverages often have caffeine (in addition to various suggestibility-increasing drugs) also, and are often consumed by children. Possibly a reference to the song "Kids" from the 1960 musical ''{{w|Bye Bye Birdie}}''.
|-
|Regular
|In the past, referred to gasoline with lead, as opposed to "Unleaded". Not a drinkable liquid, and also outlawed. Could refer to regular (as opposed to decaf) coffee. Could refer to regular, with sugar (as opposed to diet), soda.
|-
|{{w|Tang (drink)|Tang}}
|An orange flavored beverage containing less than 2% juice extract. Normally sold in powdered form, and not carbonated.
|-
|{{w|Infant formula|Formula}}
|Typically refers to an artificial replacement for mother's milk. Not carbonated.
|-
|Medicine
|This may be a reference to {{w|Vernors}} Ginger Ale, originally produced in Detroit, which is sometimes used as a folk remedy for an upset stomach.
|-
|{{w|Broth}}
|Liquid in which bones, meat, fish, or vegetables have simmered. Often used as a soup base. Not carbonated.
|-
|Fool's Champagne
|Carbonated beverage is to champagne what fool's gold is to gold.
|-
|Sugar Milk
|This may be a reference to dairy, but in this region of the US people drink a popular carbonated beverage called {{w|Moxie}} that is less familiar to people elsewhere.
|-
|No word for them
|This region of the US does not have a word for carbonated beverages (according to Randall). Possibly they do not drink them at all.
|-
|Hydro
|A word for water. Carbonated water does exist, but this word means all forms of water. Possibly a reference to the film {{w|Waterworld}}, in which "hydro" is the common term for (scarce and valuable) drinkable water.
|-
|Harvard Tea
|The region shaded this way includes {{w|Cambridge, Massachusetts}}, which is home to {{w|Harvard University}}.
|-
|{{w|Drinking fountain|Bubbler}}
|A nod to another popular map of the same type, exploring the regional dialects used to describe drinking fountains. Rhode Island and the eastern portion of Wisconsin are the only two locations where 'Bubbler' is commonly used to refer to drinking fountains, but the word is commonly used in surrounding areas to depict the strong variety of {{w|Rhoticity_in_English|rhoticity}} present, some saying 'bubblah' in for example Boston, and others saying 'water fountain'.
|-
|Mouthbuzz
|Perhaps referring to the feeling of drinking a carbonated drink, where the releasing carbonation almost 'buzzes' in the mouth.
|-
|Brad's Elixer
|Possibly a reference to "Brad's Drink", the original name for {{w|Pepsi}} when it was invented by Caleb Bradham in 1893. The word "elixir" is defined as "a sweetened liquid usually containing alcohol that is used in medication either for its medicinal ingredients or as a flavoring", but it is misspelled here as "elixer".
|-
|Hot Water
|Not carbonated. Not even in Jacuzzi and hot tubs. May reference how boiled water forms bubbles before it actually comes to a boil.
|-
|Fluid
|A word that means nearly any liquid or gas in existence. Not specific to carbonated beverages.
|-
|{{w|Coke Zero}}
|Name of a carbonated beverage.
|-
|Carbo
|Sodas sweetened with corn syrup or cane sugar are high in carbohydrates. Could also refer to carbonation.
|-
|Quicksilver
|An old term for the element mercury, a metallic liquid in its pure form at room temperature.
|-
|Glug
|Onomatopoeia, referring to the sound of swallowing a large amount of liquid. Or possibly referring to {{w|Glögi|glögg}} (pronounced "glug"), a Swedish drink similar to mulled wine.
|-
|Water Plus
|Technically the name of {{w|Water Plus|a British water retail services provider}}, this likely refers to the prevalence of "plus" as a preposition in branding nomenclature (e.g.: {{w|Google+}}, {{w|iPhone 8 Plus}}, {{w|7 Up Plus}}, etc.). Also reminiscent of "Milk Plus," the drugged milk from the movie A Clockwork Orange.
|}

The title text may be a wry comment in light of the pocket of "soda" in the St. Louis, MO area.

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

:[A map of the United States divided into purple, red, green, blue, and yellow colored regions.]

:[A purple area in North West Washington.]
:Fanta

:[A blue area spanning the Western border of Washington and Oregon.]
:Söde

:[A yellow area spanning the remainder of Washington, North Western Oregon, Northern Idaho and the North Western corner of Montana.]
:Ichor

:[A yellow area corresponding to Hawaii except for the island of O'ahu.]
:Pepsi

:[A red area corresponding to the Hawaiian island of O'ahu.]
:Crystal Pepsi

:[A green area spanning the North Eastern corner of Oregon, central Idaho and the majority of Montana.]
:Spicewater

:[A blue area spanning Eastern Montana, the North Eastern corner of Wyoming and the majority of North and South Dakota.]
:Refill

:[A red area spanning Eastern North and South Dakota, the majority of Minnesota, Northern Wisconsin and Michigan North of the lakes.]
:Mead

:[A green area spanning the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin.]
:Canadian Ale

:[A yellow area spanning the South Eastern corner of Minnesota, the North Eastern corner of Iowa and the majority of Wisconsin.]
:Aether

:[A green area in North East Wisconsin.]
:Mouthwater

:[A purple area covering most of Michigan south of the lakes.]
:Kid's coffee

:[A red area covering Northeast & central New York.]
:Hydro

:[A green area covering Vermont and spanning the border with New York.]
:[No word for them]

:[A yellow area covering Maine and the majority of New Hampshire.]
:Sugar milk

:[A red area spanning Eastern Massachusetts and the border with New Hampshire.]
:Harvard tea

:[A blue area covering Rhode Island and spanning Eastern Connecticut, central Massachusetts and the South West corner of New Hampshire.]
:Bubbler

:[A yellow area spanning the South Eastern corner of New York, the South Western corner of Massachusetts, Western Connecticut and Northern New Jersey.]
:Mouth Buzz

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Maps]]

1863: Screenshots

2019-02-05T02:56:43Z

Blacksilver: Removed the random "chrome" in the Useful browser modes section

{{comic
| number = 1863
| date = July 14, 2017
| title = Screenshots
| image = screenshots.png
| titletext = For the final exam, you take a screenshot showing off all the work you've done in the class, and it has to survive being uploaded, thumbnailed, and re-screenshotted through a chain of social media sites.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic shows a syllabus of an introductory course on {{w|Screenshot|screenshots}}. Screenshots have become a common way of spreading and sharing content on social media like Tumblr and Twitter, particularly excerpts of text such as seen in the cartoon. This in turn has developed into a common language with unwritten rules; the comic imagines a world where such rules have become codified into best practices, able to be taught in classes.

The image on the left shows an image of screenshots of text, along with what seems like annotations describing various ratios and dos and don'ts about making such screenshots. The right side shows the main points of the course, touching on topics that are relevant for making and publishing screenshots. Some of these guidelines are violated on a regular basis by people sharing screenshots on the internet, leading to impaired readability and the degradation of digital quality (see [[1683: Digital Data]]).

The punchline of the comic describes a high attendance in the course (presumably many people are interested in how to take high-quality screenshots); however, the digital textbook only sold one copy, implying that the only attendee that bought the book was adept enough to distribute screenshots of the textbook content to the others, because of the information gathered from the class itself. In essence, the writer of the textbook has taught its students how to pirate his material, effectively putting himself out of a job. There isn't anything that the author can do to prevent this due to the {{w|Analog hole|analog hole}}, which states that if non-interactive media can be visually seen by humans, it can be copied, as with a screenshot.

Detailed explanation of the headings on the right:

;Highlighting: What & How much?
:This refers to highlighting text of particular interest in screenshots, as depicted on the left.

;Aspect ratios
:Again, depicted on the left. If a screenshot is too wide, it might be difficult to read, and/or it will not fit into thumbnails and social networking feeds. This leads to the screenshot being scaled down too much to be readable (see bottom left). An {{w|aspect ratio}} that is too tall would have similar effects, so in general it is better to stick to near-square aspect ratios (see bottom right of the left section). Some users change the aspect ratio when scaling with a very ugly result (see e.g. [[1187: Aspect Ratio]]).

;Cropping: Pre- and Post-
:This refers to {{w|cropping}} the image, that is, cutting away the irrelevant or unnecessary parts, leaving just the content one needs to communicate. Pre- and Post- refers to when the cropping is done, either before the screenshot (i.e. framing the shot) or cropping the screenshot after it has been taken (i.e. fine tuning it in a photo editing program).

;Whitespace
:This section presumably deals with {{w|White space (visual arts)|whitespace}}. This generally refers to the space around the content of interest, which is often but not always white. In the main image on the left side of this comic, most of the red marks are arrows indicating the white space of that image. In this case the "whitespace" at the top and bottom are indeed not white, but rather filled with text not relevant to the screenshot. Removing all whitespace makes an image more efficient and helps provide focus on the important part of a screenshot, but too little whitespace can be less comfortable to read or look at, and therefore appear as a more amateurish result. This section of the course would likely discuss this balance.

;Screenshots vs Links
:For the most part it is recommended that one links to the original content, rather than publishing a screenshot of said content. In some situations it is advisable to opt for using screenshots, such as trying to catch attention on social media, or if the content in question has been removed from the original source, and one still wants to communicate the fact that it was published there.

;Catching the right GIF frame
:A {{w|GIF}} is a bitmap image format that was developed in 1987 by CompuServe and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability. The format supports animations and is often used for short looping animations on the internet. They often employ a low {{w|frame rate}}, so that one might notice a funny or interesting frame during playback. The naïve approach is to press the 'Print Screen' button with careful timing, but in this manner it can be very challenging to capture the desired frame of any GIF that plays at a speed of greater than 5 frames per second. Presumably, the course introduces its students to special tools to get the job done, such as [https://ezgif.com/speed the EZgif website] or the [http://www.xtreme-lab.net/7gif/en/index.html downloadable 7GIF app].

;Snapchat and trust
:{{w|Snapchat}} is a popular social networking application for mobile devices primarily used for sharing images and short videos. One of the main selling points is the transience of content posted. The idea is that as soon as one opens an image or video, a timer starts, and once it has expired the content is no longer accessible on the device. This has led to people sending sensitive content to their friends, thinking that they wouldn't be able to cause much harm, as the content is non-permanent. An obvious flaw in this model is the capability of modern mobile devices to take screenshots (usually available from shortcut keys), and thus permanently save the images to the phone's memory. Saving embarrassing images of one's friends, that they themselves meant as a transient joke, is a serious breach of trust, hence the heading.

;Embarrassing background tabs
:A common error when publishing screenshots is not checking thoroughly enough, and leaving content visible, that might be embarrassing. One such example is {{w|browser tab}}, which might feature content that the creator of the screenshot does not want others to see, such as a page about a sensitive disease one may have (e.g. {{w|AIDS}}) or {{w|pornography}}. Since tabs are small and disconnected from the main content, it is easy to miss such occurrences, which lead to situations such as [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/06/10/lawmaker-mistakenly-hands-out-document-with-porn-references.html this one], where a politician handed out a document with background tabs to pornography websites.

;Spellcheck's red underlines
:{{w|Spell checkers}} are designed to notify the writer of a document of spelling and grammatical mistakes in the text. This is usually done through the editor marking text it thinks is incorrect with an underline (usually red, but other colors may indicate different kinds of mistakes). Sometimes these mistakes are not relevant to the writer, such as when editing {{w|source code}} or using a spellchecker that is set to another language. Even if the corrections are relevant, however, one would not want the ugly red underlines on a screenshot. This section presumably deals with this problem.

;Security: Beware of URL tokens
:{{w|Query string|URL tokens}} are pieces of code embedded in the {{w|URL}} of a website. If implemented well, these help identify a particular document or search query, and do not carry any sensitive security information. Insecure web-apps, however, may encode authentication information (such as {{w|Session_ID|session IDs}}, or even worse: usernames and passwords) in the URL, leading to a massive security risk on the part of someone whose screen might be visible to others. Screenshots allow anyone to easily read off these parameters, and possibly successfully impersonate the creator of the screenshot on a website. This is especially hard to notice to less technically inclined users, who might not know that, say, a session ID (a seemingly random jumble of characters), might be used to impersonate them.

;Redacting personal info
:Somewhat related to the previous point: Screenshots might include personal information, such as indications of institutions one might work for, e-mail addresses, and the like, that one might not want to share with the world. This section presumably deals with ways of obscuring such information on screenshots.

;Useful browser modes
:Using the {{w|Privacy mode|private browsing mode}} offered by most browsers helps with the previous point of keeping your personal information out of the screenshots because websites see you as logged out. Another helpful mode is the full screen browsing mode (usually F11) that will maximize the content to cover the whole screen, keeping the browser UI out of the screenshots. This also helps with privacy, as it will keep the bookmarks on your browser toolbar from being visible, as well as your username if you're logged in Chrome, without having to crop the screenshots manually. Counterpointing with the final bullet on spotting fakes, the Inspect Element browser mode allows you to live-edit the HTML source of the webpage, allowing you to create more convincing fakes if that is your goal.

;Tradeoffs: PNG vs JPG
:{{w|Portable Network Graphics|PNG}} and {{w|JPG}} are file formats with different {{w|image compression|image compression algorithms}}. JPG is widely used for encoding photographs, as it compresses real-world images to a fraction of their normal size without losing much quality. On artificial images with lots of sharp changes in contrast (such as text), however, JPG produces visible {{w|compression artifacts}} due to its {{w|lossy compression}}. For these, PNG is usually used, as it compresses large blocks of a single color, and repeating patterns efficiently, and due to it having a lossless option is able to encode text without artifacts, improving readability. PNG is usually superior for screenshots, as these are artificial images, but if the screenshot is of an actual photo (or a frame of a GIF or movie), JPG might yield lower file sizes at comparable quality. This tradeoff is presumably discussed under the heading.
:JPG images also have an attached {{w|EXIF}} data file, not present in PNG images, which may contain information about the device that the screenshot was taken on (especially "with", e.g. a camera) and thus be a potential privacy risk in some cases. However, EXIF metadata is not used with JPEG 2000. However, PNG can contain a transparency layer, allowing the object in the image to exist without a background.

;Watermark ethics
:Many users and websites add {{w|watermarks}} to their original content (or even worse: their screenshots) to indicate where it came from. As depicted in [[1683: Digital Data]] this can lead to degradation of quality as watermarks are stacked on top of each other. It is generally considered okay to put a single unobtrusive watermark on one's own original work; anything other than that would be considered unethical.

;Spotting fakes
:It is relatively easy to fake a screenshot in an image editing program such as {{w|GIMP}} or just editing the page source, making it seem like another organization or person is the original source of the content, possibly damaging their reputation. Some of these techniques are easily detectable by looking at the images {{w|metadata}} or correlating the contents of the screenshot with other sources.

The title text once again refers to the continual re-screenshooting of data as seen in [[1683: Digital Data]], where the final examination consists of the students taking a screenshot good enough that it is still recognizable (and hopefully readable) after being re-compressed, re-screenshot and re-uploaded to various social networking sites, deteriorating its quality. This is quite a difficult task, considering the student only has control over the first screenshot, and subsequent screenshots could degrade the quality to any level. Hopefully the professor is aware of this and plans to perform the test under controlled conditions, as well as grade on a curve.

Screenshots were previously explored by Randall in [[1373: Screenshot]], [[1683: Digital Data]] and [[1815: Flag]]. This comic is one of a small set of comics with the same or almost the same title as another comic (with only the plural form of the word screenshot being the difference).

==Transcript==
:<big>Intro to Screenshots</big>

:[The left side of the panel shows three images. The largest image is a screenshot of text with the middle section highlighted and margins and top and bottom rows marked with red lines and arrows. The two smaller images below are cropped versions of the screenshot in the first image: the left image has an incorrect "squashed" aspect ratio and a red X on it, while the right image has a correct aspect ratio and a green check mark.]

:[The right side of the panel:]

::Syllabus
:*Highlighting: What & how much
:*Aspect ratios
:*Cropping: Pre- and post-
:*Whitespace
:*Screenshots vs links
:*Catching the right GIF frame
:*Snapchat and trust
:*Embarrassing background tabs
:*Spellcheck's red outlines
:*Security: Beware URL tokens
:*Redacting personal info
:*Useful browser modes
:*Tradeoffs: PNG vs JPG
:*Watermark ethics
:*Spotting fakes

:[Caption below the panel:]
:My class on screenshots was a big hit, although for some reason I only ever sold one copy of the digital textbook.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics sharing name|Screenshot02]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

Talk:610: Sheeple

2019-01-25T12:54:49Z

Blacksilver: Be different: conform.

Which one is Paul Ryan?[[Special:Contributions/138.162.140.55|138.162.140.55]] 00:44, 19 October 2012 (UTC)

tsk tsk tsk... somebody has been watching too much of the msnbc propaganda... [[User:Douglasadams472|Douglasadams472]] 20:56, 15 December 2012 (UTC)

Probably the one with the briefcase full of money. :P [[User:Hogtree Octovish|Hogtree Octovish]] ([[User talk:Hogtree Octovish|talk]]) 09:25, 16 February 2013 (UTC)
:Beret guy?

[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 09:11, 29 January 2015 (UTC)

I find another possible humor in tile text: Ironically, Rand fans would find the concept of a collective rather revolting. A convention is in essence a gathering of everyone who has an interest in a subject, and is thus an "average of averages" (to quote Rand herself) on the respective subject. Fans who take Rand's philosophy as intended would probably find amassing themselves with others in a social hodge-podge of people without much function, mindless discussion, and re-iterating the ideas of someone else, to be against Rand's theory of Objectivism... Unless their Libertarians, of course. [[User:Jinx|Jinx]] 20:31, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

I wonder if this was the same train that blew the Taggart tunnel... [[User: Nemo|Nemo]] 14:46, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

There is a [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob|community portal discussion]] of what to call Cueball and what to do in case with more than one Cueball. I have added this comic to the new Category:Multiple Cueballs. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:06, 15 March 2015 (UTC)

Be different: conform.

-- Fortune

User talk:Blacksilver

2019-01-09T15:07:41Z

Blacksilver: touch

Talk:2096: Mattresses

2019-01-09T15:07:15Z

Blacksilver:

I wonder if the fact that it's unclear is in intentional, or if it was somehow a mistake [[User:Zachweix|Zachweix]] ([[User talk:Zachweix|talk]]) 13:46, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

Is it just me, or has the image got some graphical artefacts?[[User:Cyclic3|Cyclic3]] ([[User talk:Cyclic3|talk]])

It's not just you! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.221|141.101.96.221]] 13:52, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

I see it too, I saved a picture in case he fixes it [[User:Catnerd8695|Catnerd8695]] ([[User talk:Catnerd8695|talk]]) 14:09, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

Both "1x" and 2x versions are black and white, not grayscale, causing artifacts. The 2x image, being larger, have less artifacts. Maybe it's caused by some kind of bug, otherwise, if it was intentional, both versions would look similar.

Maybe Randall is having problems with his computer and had to scan the comic with a far less capable software tool than usual. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 14:15, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

How does one contact him to let him know that he messed up when saving/editing/uploading/whatevering this comic? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 14:16, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

Also, does he actually have a podcast? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 14:18, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

I thought it might be a pun based on "new years resolution" but that would've been a couple of comics ago. Came here to see if anyone could explain it as there is normally reason behind his madness.--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.71|141.101.99.71]] 14:29, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

It's a 2-bit png, haven't seen one of those for over a decade [[Special:Contributions/172.68.215.112|172.68.215.112]] 14:31, 9 January 2019 (UTC)
:So you mean the only difference is that it has no greyscales? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 14:36, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

Maybe we should pre-emptively add the original image to the trivia section. [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 15:07, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

2089: Christmas Eve Eve

2018-12-24T05:50:44Z

Blacksilver: ellipsis

{{comic
| number = 2089
| date = December 24, 2018
| title = Christmas Eve Eve
| image = christmas_eve_eve.png
| titletext = It turns out that saying "Oh, so THAT'S why they call it Boxing Day" is a good way to get punched a second time.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by SANTA. There appears to be no explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic was posted on December 24, 2018 -- Christmas eve.

Some people (presumably including Randall) call December 23 "Christmas eve eve". We add one "eve" for each night before Christmas morning.

It follows that December 25 is "Christmas eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve".

Cueball's friend Megan finds this fact unacceptable; as such, she announces that she will not give Cueball gifts.

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

[Cueball, White Hat, and Megan stand in frame.]

Cueball: Today is Christmas Eve. Yesterday was Christmas eve day.

Megan: Uh huh...

Cuball: Of course, tomorrow is Christmas. And then, my favourite...

Megan: Oh no.

Cueball: ...Christmas eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve!

[The "eve"s get smaller over time.]

Megan: I'm returning the presents I got for you.

{{comic discussion}}

2089: Christmas Eve Eve

2018-12-24T05:48:01Z

Blacksilver: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 2089
| date = December 24, 2018
| title = Christmas Eve Eve
| image = christmas_eve_eve.png
| titletext = It turns out that saying "Oh, so THAT'S why they call it Boxing Day" is a good way to get punched a second time.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by SANTA. There appears to be no explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic was posted on December 24, 2018 -- Christmas eve.

Some people (presumably including Randall) call December 23 "Christmas eve eve". We add one "eve" for each night before Christmas morning.

It follows that December 25 is "Christmas eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve".

Cueball's friend Megan finds this fact unacceptable; as such, she announces that she will not give Cueball gifts.

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

[Cueball, White Hat, and Megan stand in frame.]

Cueball: Today is Christmas Eve. Yesterday was Christmas eve day.

Megan: Uh huh...

Cuball: Of course, tomorrow is Christmas. And then, my favourite...

Megan: Oh no.

Cueball: Christmas eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve!

[The "eve"s get smaller over time.]

Megan: I'm returning the presents I got for you.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2089: Christmas Eve Eve

2018-12-24T05:40:27Z

Blacksilver: ID10T

The "eve" count might be off by one or two. I used 365. [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 05:40, 24 December 2018 (UTC)

Talk:2089: Christmas Eve Eve

2018-12-24T05:39:39Z

Blacksilver:

The "eve" count might be off by one or two.

2089: Christmas Eve Eve

2018-12-24T05:38:29Z

Blacksilver:

2089: Christmas Eve Eve

2018-12-24T05:36:45Z

Blacksilver: muahaha

2083: Laptop Issues

2018-12-10T17:59:43Z

Blacksilver: Link to ''The Three-Body Problem'' on wikipedia.

{{comic
| number = 2083
| date = December 10, 2018
| title = Laptop Issues
| image = laptop_issues.png
| titletext = Hang on, we got a call from the feds. They say we can do whatever with him, but the EPA doesn't want that laptop in the ocean. They're sending a team.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Edited by a beleaguered tech support user. Horribly incomplete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Cueball]] goes to tech support with his laptop. [[Hairy]] and [[Ponytail]] are waiting behind the counter; one has dealt with [[Category:Cueball Computer Problems|Cueball's bizarre tech issues]] before, and warns the other. Sure enough, Cueball sets the computer down and offers a detailed list of the arcane problems his computer is giving him.

{|class="wikitable"
| ''My laptop's battery won't hold a charge.''
| A common problem; as batteries are frequently charged and recharged, their capacity for storing charge deteriorates. However...
|-
| ''Tried [replacing the battery]. Now the new ones won't either.''
| ...the problem persisting despite the battery's replacement fails to make any significant sense. It my be a problem with his laptop's charging port, but his comment that the "new ones" now fail to hold a charge seems to imply it is persisting despite the replacement batteries being used elsewhere after attempting to use them for his laptop and failing..
|-
| ''Also, random files get corrupted on the first of every month. Factory reset didn't help either.''
| Some devices may be scheduled to do a "disk cleanup" on the first of every month. Somehow, this task is corrupting files that should be kept.
|-
| ''When it's plugged in, I get static from my plumbing.''
| Static charge from a portable device while it's charging is common. Static charge from ''elsewhere in the building'' while the portable device is charging... not so much.
|-
| ''And it reboots if someone uses an arc welder nearby''
| Setting aside the question of why Cueball is using his laptop around an arc welder (although he doesn't specify what qualifies as "nearby"), the high power draw of an arc welder will occasionally cause less devoted power supplies to flicker. For some reason, this is causing his laptop to reboot instead.
|-
| ''Transition(R) lenses go dark when exposed to the screen''
| Transition lenses in prescription glasses darken when exposed directly to UV rays; this is to avoid the wearer any hassle of needing prescription sunglasses. This seems to indicate that the screen of Cueball's laptop is emitting UV radiation.
|-
| ''and when I open too many tabs, it fogs any nearby photographic film.''
| The screen would have to emitting X-rays that can pass through the film's container and expose the film. This may be a reference to the science fiction book series {{w|The Three-Body Problem (novel)|''The Three Body Problem''}}, where one character finds that all of his pictures become blurred, no matter how they were taken.
|}

The sheer incongruity of everything Cueball has reported, in combination with past issues, leads Hairy to report that his manager has authorized Cueball and his laptop be thrown into the ocean so that their plague upon the earth may no longer spread. Cueball, having surrendered to his inability to use technology, accepts this without objection.

The alt-text contains mention of the Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) a part of the United States government responsible for preventing pollution. In this case, another part of the joke is that the laptop is considered toxic waste, and therefore the EPA, as part of their mission, is sending a hazmat team to collect the laptop and safely dispose of it.

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

:[Cueball is walking past a sign reading "Tech Support," with a right-pointing arrow and carrying a laptop.]
:Off panel voice #1: Oh, No.
:Off panel voice #2: What?
:Off panel voice #1: This guy. He has the worst tech problems.

:[Cueball at tech support desk with closed laptop on desk. Hairy and Ponytail are there.]
:Cueball: My laptop's battery won't hold a charge.
:Hairy: We can replace it.
:Cueball: Tried that. Now the new ones won't either.

:[Close-up of Cueball]
:Cueball: Also, random files get corrupted on the first day of every month. Factory reset didn't help.
:Off panel voice #2: You weren't kidding.

:[Close-up of Cueball]
:Cueball: When it's plugged in, I get static shocks from my plumbing.
:Off panel voice: What the...
:Cueball: And it reboots if someone uses an arc welder nearby.

:[Same tableau as second panel except that the laptop is slightly open now.]
:Cueball: Transitions® lenses go dark when exposed to the screen, and when I open too many tabs, it fogs nearby photographic film.
:Hairy: We don't usually do this, but I've gotten permission from my manager to have you and the laptop hurled into the ocean.
:Cueball: That's probably for the best.

{{comic discussion}}

User:Blacksilver

2018-12-10T16:54:41Z

Blacksilver: Created page with "Hi, I'm [https://blacksilver.xyz Blacksilver]."

Hi, I'm [https://blacksilver.xyz Blacksilver].

2083: Laptop Issues

2018-12-10T16:51:55Z

Blacksilver: Mostly just created a table.

Talk:2061: Tectonics Game

2018-10-19T17:24:08Z

Blacksilver: GIT INIT LETS GO

My wife is trying to physically restrain me from immediately starting to write this game...int main ( int arggggg...ow...get off [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 16:52, 19 October 2018 (UTC)

Wrote my first transcript. Hopefully it isn't terrible, haha. [[User:IYN|IYN]] ([[User talk:IYN|talk]]) 17:13, 19 October 2018 (UTC)

Who wants to help me make this? [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 17:24, 19 October 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1228: Prometheus

2018-07-24T19:16:28Z

Blacksilver:

''"The gods gave us fire, but blowing stuff up -- That was our idea."'' -- Ahoy, ''Rocket Launcher.'' [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 19:16, 24 July 2018 (UTC)

Could this be an analogy for sharing? {{unsigned ip|24.255.167.124}}

As '''an author''' of very expensive business software, I love the idea of giving it away and making money through "value added". I truly believe that most people who "steal" software would never have paid for it anyway. Similarly, when I worked for a clothing manufacturer, other companies were always copying our designs but we made more money than them because we were the place to go for the new stuff. [[User:Hax|Hax]] ([[User talk:Hax|talk]]) 10:19, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

I'd like to say something like "The title-text gives what might be a typical approach to movie dialogue in a typical (Michael) Baysian movie plot," but am not sure I'm correct and/or pithy enough.  [[Special:Contributions/178.98.31.27|178.98.31.27]] 12:48, 21 June 2013 (UTC)
:Do we also need to explain that this line is not in reference to an existing movie?  [[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 12:55, 21 June 2013 (UTC)
:: No, but it IS a reference to the novel "The Salvation War" by Stuart Slade in which modern day humanity DOES go to war with the gods. [[User:ERBOCH|ERBOCH]] ([[User talk:ERBOCH|talk]]) 1:33, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

Does the returning what Prometheus stole explanation need to be that involved? I thought it could be interpreted as a simple play on words referring to "returning fire" since it's also just a phrase that means to return an attack? [[Special:Contributions/128.197.37.175|128.197.37.175]] 14:24, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

: Haha.. Vote to edit title text to "I'm here to return fire." However, I'm wondering if we've inverted the meaning through the ages, and if the etymology of the phrase won't reveal pacifist origins: returning the fire as in refusing to fight. Refusing to light a war-signal, or light arrows etc. [[Special:Contributions/220.224.246.97|220.224.246.97]] 16:40, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

:I'm all for information freedom, but you CAN steal fire. You could take away the only spark/source of ignition/activation energy provision in the possession of the gods. Secondly, fire needs fuel to burn. Take away all their fuel, and you've stolen their fire. Alright, you have your own fuel? Fine, you're still stealing fire, because once you've discovered how to make a fire - you burn your fuel, release more combustible products, and choke the atmosphere (Though, we'd have snuffed ourselves out before we snuffed out Olympus). In any case, you're accelerating the {{w|heat death}} of the universe, and making all thermodynamic cycles "less efficient" because of the higher sink temperatures. But that's not the marrow of the bone of contention. Even the original Prometheus-v-Gods animosity arose because of information theft, and not 'property' theft. [[Special:Contributions/220.224.246.97|220.224.246.97]] 16:40, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

:: You CAN steal fire, but looking at the {{w|Prometheus}} myth it doesn't seem gods lost the fire after the "theft". Would be pretty hard, too, considering the gods ({{w|Hephaestus}} specifically) have {{w|volcano}}s (which, technically, are powered by geothermal energy and not by burning fuel ; speaking about them, igniting wood using volcanos can easily be a source of Prometheus myth). And the thermal death of universe? Chemical reactions are insignificant in this regard. Finally, the reason Gods hated Prometheus for stealing fire is generally agreed upon to be them being jerks. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:37, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

::Could it also be a reference to Terry Pratchett's "The Last Hero?" Y'know, where Cohen the Barbarian (et al) decide to return fire to the gods...?(-Aerych){{unsigned ip|216.131.24.14}}

:::I immediately thought of The Last Hero too.{{unsigned ip|199.83.221.155}}

::::Actually nothing in comics seems to specifically refer The Last Hero, suggesting that Pratchett and Randall simply had the same idea about how the phrase of "returning fire to gods" can be interpretted. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:37, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

:::::Just that Pratchett had it in 2001, and published it widely. Surely a geek should be well aware of the Diskworld series? Cohen starts off by saying that 'The Last Hero should return what the First Hero stole...' and, later on provides a typical one-liner "We're going to return fire to the Gods. With interest..." (reveals a barrel of gunpowder) {{unsigned|86.10.119.75}}

::::::To be precise, Agatean Thunder Clay. While Discworld has black powder explosive (see Men At Arms), this is something that "you have to smash a jar of acid in the mixture. The acid soaks into it, and then - kabloouie, I believe the term is." So maybe a sort of 'binary explosive mixture' type of thing, although the clay bit harks back to Alfred Nobel's original breakthrough. But it's very much a mix of memes, as it ends up proving powerful enough (a single barrel of it becoming "an explosion which has reduced a mountain to a valley") that it's very much an atomic-weapon analogue. Sorry, just thought I'd clarify, even if it's not direct inspiration to Randall or overly relevent to this comic. [[Special:Contributions/178.98.31.27|178.98.31.27]] 20:03, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

Fire is like information: a very important part of human life here on Earth, spreads easily and quickly, and, if in the wrong hands, can be incredibly dangerous. [[User:SuperSupermario24|Just some random derp]] 23:33, 5 May 2015 (UTC)

I'm missing the negative aspect of the fire metaphor in the explanation. "Fire wants to be free." If you ''set fire free'', it spreads and destroys quite a lot in its wake. Well, I could think of a few negative aspects in /information-sharing. Whatever. But I'm not fighting sharing. "All your 'R' belong to everyone!" {{unsigned ip|162.158.83.144}}

1) I read Title-text. 2) Me: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!! [[User:SilverMagpie|SilverMagpie]] ([[User talk:SilverMagpie|talk]]) 20:40, 10 November 2016 (UTC)

1963: Namespace Land Rush

2018-05-24T22:02:01Z

Blacksilver: <your city>

{{comic
| number = 1963
| date = March 5, 2018
| title = Namespace Land Rush
| image = namespace_land_rush.png
| titletext = You can also just mash the keyboard at random, but you might end up with a gibberish name no one can pronounce.
}}

==Explanation==

When a new web service starts, such as a forum, a social media server or an email portal, the people who sign up get to choose their username on the service, which, in most cases, blocks future users from using those usernames. Common names such as "john" are likely to be taken quickly. This is analogous to the way that land was distributed in America, with the first to claim able to choose the best land.

This comic is a list of usernames [[Randall]] suggests should be used if they are available.

The title text is a self-reference to "xkcd"; the name of the comic is a purposefully unpronounceable phrase created by Randall.

(Note: for a more serious list of problematic user names to block from a service provider’s point of view, see [https://ldpreload.com/blog/names-to-reserve Hostnames and usernames to reserve] as well as [https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2142 RFC 2142].)

==Table==
{{incomplete|Add explanations of the names. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{| class="wikitable"
!style="width:30%"|Entry
!style="width:70%"|Explanation
|-
!colspan=2|Straightforward (Usernames that a person would use under typical circumstances)
|-
|<Your usual username, if any>
|Most internet users will have settled on some unique handle that they try to use across all platforms. Even if this wasn't a new service, most people would try this first.
|-
|<Your given name>
|More rare is using one's nickname or first name as their username, since the amount of common names will mean many users share a name. Thus, if you can get your given name, you will have a simple username that many others wanted, and without resorting to prefixes or numbers (i.e. Xx_MyName00_xX)
|-
|<Your full name>
|Similar to your given name, but slightly more unique since a last name and/or middle name is added.
|-
|<Initial><Surname>
|A common second choice if a given or full name is already in use.
|-
|<Surname>
|Possibly available if your last name is more uncommon; names like "smith" or "kim" will probably be taken faster than even given names.
|-
!colspan=2|Recognizable (Usernames that would make it look like the email came from an official source within the organization named)
|-
|Google
|Registering the name "Google" would allow for communicating on the site (or even outside of it) with a name that appears to be an official Google account. For any of the examples in this section, you would select the names for the same reason. This has been done in the past with both [https://twitter.com/BiIIMurray humorous] and [http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/technology/ct-russian-twitter-account-tennessee-gop-20171018-story.html nefarious] results.
|-
|iPhone
|Many services would mark messages sent from an iOS client on iPhone as "sent from iPhone".
This could make people believe that your messages are sent from an iPhone even if you don't own one.
|-
|Facebook
|Similiar to Google above.
|-
|BitCoin
|
|-
|Obama
|Impersonating a president, supposedly to send messages as them to make them seem bad (or not).
|-
|Canada
|
|-
|NFL
|
|-
|Garfield
|In the original "GMail" service on the Internet, the G stood for "Garfield"
|-
|<Your city>
|Impersonating the official account for your place of residence.
|-
|NASA
|
|-
|<Name of person who runs the service>
|
|-
!colspan=3|Causing Trouble (Usernames that might cause errors when mixed with the service's back-end code)
|-
|User
|This is usually the default username for a non-administrative account. This may trick a user that this is owned by the operator of the service.
|-
|Username
|
|-
|Name
|
|-
|You
|Many services display "You" as the signed-on user, so naming oneself "You" makes users think that they are you/they are signed on when they aren't.
|-
|Guest
|Attempts to fool users into thinking that they have a guest account.
|-
|Account
|
|-
!colspan=2|Causing More Trouble
|-
|Admin
|Impersonating to be a system administrator will let someone fool people and cause a lot of trouble. In particular, it could be used to obtain SSL certificates by demonstrating ownership of a supposedly internal address.
|-
|Administrator
|See above.
|-
|System
|Pretending to be a system-controlled account - might give permissions if the server checks by name.
|-
|<Name of service>
|Pretending to be the official account of the service.
|-
|Help
|Pretending to be the help account. This could led to many questions from new users.
|-
|Error
|This may trick users to do what the user says as they could claim that it was a legitimate error.
|-
!colspan=2|Impossible to Say
|-
|Hyphen-Emdash
|Could be read "Hyphen hyphen Em dash" or "Hyphen dash em dash"
|-
|Dash-8hyphen-8
|Could be read "Dash dash eight hyphen dash eight" or "Dash hyphen eight hyphen hyphen eight". "Hyphen eight" sounds like "hyphenate".
|-
|Zero0ne2numeral2
|Could be read "Zero zero one two numeral two" or "Zero zero ne two numeral two" or "Zero oh ne two numeral two".
|-
|KrisasinHemsworth
|This would be confusing to say out loud, as it would sound like the user was saying that their username was "Chris," spelled the same way that famous actor {{w|Chris Hemsworth}} spells his name. However, the actual username uses the name "Kris," spelled a completely different way than Chris Hemsworth's name, and the phrase "as in Hemsworth" being also part of the username, rather than a clarification of the spelling of "Kris" as would be assumed.
|-
|TheWord&Ampersand
|This would also be confusing and difficult to communicate, as anyone trying to read the username to someone else would say "The word ampersand ampersand" which could be interpreted as "ampersand&" or "ampersand ampersand". Having the phrase "the word" in front of a symbol makes it quite difficult to communicate which variation of ampersand (word or symbol) is actually being referred to.
|-
|ZettaWith3Teees 
|Read aloud, this would lead the listener to expect a username of 'Zettta'. Clarifying that "with three tees" is text and not description would in turn make it difficult to explain the spelling of 'Zetta' with two 't's, and 'Teees' with three 'e's.
|-
!colspan=2|Misc
|-
|<Single Letters>
|
|-
|<Single Numbers>
|
|-
|<Common Words>
|
|-
|<SQL/JS Injection>
|Codes such as "Drop Table" intended to cause errors or even damage the service's back-end code. (See [[327|Comic 327]])
|-
|ASDF
|
|-
|QWERTY
|
|-
|Yes
|
|-
|Bot
|Pretending to be a bot.
|-
|Computer
|
|-
|Blocked
|
|-
|Deleted
|Some services like Reddit keep up user posts and data after account deletion, marking the content as submitted by the user "[Deleted]" or "Deleted".
|-
|Jeeves
|
|-
|Narrator
|
|-
|Internet
|
|-
|NPC
|Non-player character
|-
|Password
|
|-
!colspan=2|Permissive Character Sets
|-
|<Space>
|
|-
|<nowiki>@ é | “ ”</nowiki>
|
|-
|<NBSP>
|
|-
|<nowiki>\ . # " ‘</nowiki>
|
|-
|<RTL override>
|The right to left override is an Unicode character which forces text after it to be laid out right to left. Thus, in left-to-right locales, it flips everything after it. This can be rather amusing if permitted. (See [[1137|Comic 1137]])
|-
|<nowiki>– - _ / ’ ' `</nowiki>
|Includes both the em-dash and the hyphen, which are easily confused, as well as the grave accent (`) and the apostrophe ('), which are easy to confuse. Besides being highly unusual for user names and confusing, some of these symbols (like the grave accent) have special meanings in languages like Javascript and can therefore cause bugs or even security issues on web pages.
|-
|<Any emoji>
|Current databases are not set up to store emojis as characters.
|-
|","
|In CSV files this separates one column or data item from another. This could cause bugs if the usernames are used as part of a CSV file since the next column on the row could be left blank filled with other data.
|-
|<nowiki>&NBSP</nowiki>;
|The special entity in HTML (web page language) for a non-breaking space, or a space that prevents an automatic line-break at its position. When rendered as part of an HTML page without sanitization, this would only display a space.
|-
|<nowiki></HTML></nowiki>
|This is trying to inject code for the web page using the user name. If the user name is not sanitized and does not have special characters encoded, this HTML end tag could end the HTML document, leading to page errors.
|-
|&LT;/HTML&GT;
|&LT; and &GT; are special character entities in HTML that represent < and >, repectively. So all together, when rendered as part of an HTML document, this would print "<nowiki></HTML></nowiki>" Although this would look similar to the previous <nowiki></HTML></nowiki> entry, it would be unlikely to cause problems as the symbols are not interpreted if encoded as special entities.
|-
|OkThisIsKindOfConfusingButIt's <LessThan\ForwardSlashHTML GreaterThanActualGreaterThan Symbol>Yes,ThatWasAllPartOfThe Name,ButSoIs...Ok,LetMeStartOver”
|The abundance of symbols and symbol related worlds and phrases such as ActualGreaterThanSymbol would make this extremely difficult to vocally communicate to another person. This difficulty is further compounded by the parts at the beginning and end, which sound like they are part of the explanation despite being part of the name itself.
|-
|}

==Transcript==
'''Namespace Land Rush Cheat Sheet'''

When a new service appears that lets you register a name, here are some you may want to try and get first:

{|
!colspan=3|Straightforward
!colspan=2|Recognizable
|-
|colspan=3|<Your usual username, if any>
|Google||iPhone
|-
|colspan=3|<Your given name>
|Facebook||BitCoin
|-
|colspan=3|<Your full name>
|Obama||Canada
|-
|colspan=3|<Initial><Surname>
|NFL||Garfield
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|<Surname>
|colspan=2 rowspan=2|(Bold & Slightly Unconventional)
|<Your city>||NASA
|-
|colspan=3| 
|colspan=2|<Name of person who runs the service>
|- style="vertical-align:bottom;"
!Causing Trouble
!colspan=2|Causing More Trouble
!colspan=2|Impossible to Say
|-
|User
|colspan=2|Admin
|colspan=2|Hyphen-Emdash
|-
|Username
|colspan=2|Administrator
|colspan=2|Dash-8hyphen-8
|-
|Name
|colspan=2|System
|colspan=2|Zero0ne2numeral2
|-
|You
|colspan=2|<Name of service>
|colspan=2|KrisasinHemsworth
|-
|Guest
|colspan=2|Help
|colspan=2|TheWord&Ampersand
|-
|Account
|colspan=2|Error
|colspan=2|ZettaWith3Teees 
|-
!Misc!! 
!colspan=3|Permissive Character Sets
|-
|colspan=2|<Single Letters>
|<Space>|| 
|<nowiki>@ é | “ ”</nowiki>
|-
|colspan=2|<Single Numbers>
|<NBSP>|| 
|<nowiki>\ . # " ‘</nowiki>
|-
|colspan=2|<Common Words>
|colspan=2|<RTL override>
|<nowiki>– - _ / ’ ' `</nowiki>
|-
|colspan=2|<SQL/JS Injection>
|<Any emoji>
|style="text-align:center;"|","
|<nowiki>&NBSP</nowiki>;
|-
|ASDF||QWERTY
|<nowiki></HTML></nowiki>
|style="text-align:right;" colspan=2|&LT;/HTML&GT;
|-
|Yes||Bot
|colspan=3|OkThisIsKindOfConfusingButIt's
|-
|Computer||Blocked
|colspan=3|<LessThan\ForwardSlashHTML
|-
|Deleted||Jeeves
|colspan=3|GreaterThanActualGreaterThan
|-
|Narrator||Internet
|colspan=3|Symbol>Yes,ThatWasAllPartOfThe
|-
|NPC||Password
|colspan=3|Name,ButSoIs...Ok,LetMeStartOver”
|}

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1978: Congressional Testimony

2018-04-09T15:54:48Z

Blacksilver:

We should change the logs and stuff so it looks like this page was created before the comic came out (say, on 2018-04-07) [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 15:54, 9 April 2018 (UTC)

I was about to change the bot to Mark Zuckerberg's terminator double, but somebody was faster. Ah well.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.106|108.162.219.106]] 15:24, 9 April 2018 (UTC)
:Damn that's actually better than what I put. [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 15:25, 9 April 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1978: Congressional Testimony

2018-04-09T15:54:02Z

Blacksilver:

We should change the logs and stuff so it looks like this page was created before the comic came out (say, on 2018-04-08) [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 15:54, 9 April 2018 (UTC)

I was about to change the bot to Mark Zuckerberg's terminator double, but somebody was faster. Ah well.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.106|108.162.219.106]] 15:24, 9 April 2018 (UTC)
:Damn that's actually better than what I put. [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 15:25, 9 April 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1969: Not Available

2018-03-19T17:12:39Z

Blacksilver:

[http://blacksilver.xyz/notapage I think I'm the first to implement this?] [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 17:12, 19 March 2018 (UTC)

This comment is not available in your country. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.107|141.101.99.107]] 15:31, 19 March 2018 (UTC)

This is probably related to some websites adding this type of banner to support Net Neutrality. [https://miguelpiedrafita.com/ Miguel Piedrafita] 15:35, 19 March 2018 (UTC)

Not sure about the green, but old versions of macOS (and possibly other systems?) showed inproperly/nonexistent embedded images in websites as a blue puzzle piece with a “?” in it. I think this is what Randall’s referencing in the title text. Oddly a google image search is not finding any examples, so I may be misremembering the details somewhat. [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 16:22, 19 March 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1688: Map Age Guide

2017-11-14T16:12:48Z

Blacksilver:

I think we should make the second-right and far-right column wider. [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 16:12, 14 November 2017 (UTC)

-----

Well, I have no clue how to upload the image, it just displays the title text.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.91|108.162.216.91]] 12:47, 1 June 2016 (UTC)
:Done. Guess the bot failed because there is a larger one when you click the image on xkcd? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:08, 1 June 2016 (UTC)
::The BOT didn't fail. The was an 404 error, the picture wasn't available at the first time. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:03, 1 June 2016 (UTC)
I feel like the title seriously lacks the word "political", there's all sorts of nice things with dating non-modern world maps. -- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.104|141.101.104.104]] 13:34, 1 June 2016 (UTC)

It doesn't just cover political maps -- there is a section on telling when you are with physical maps via the presence or absence of bodies of water. In fact, there are four or five main branches: fictional maps, topographical maps, not a map, and political maps (which have two branches, based on the naming of Istanbul (was Constantinople) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.174|108.162.237.174]] 13:42, 1 June 2016 (UTC)

I like how that this flow chart also describes what I've drawn[[Special:Contributions/162.158.26.220|162.158.26.220]] 14:05, 1 June 2016 (UTC)

The 1992-1996 range (top right corner) could be narrowed down further with the independence of Eritrea 1993. Am I getting something wrong or did Randall actually overlook this? :-) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.141|162.158.85.141]] 14:49, 1 June 2016 (UTC)
:Or the splitting of Czechoslovakia, also in 1993... There are probably others for different time ranges, too. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.95.25|141.101.95.25]] 16:28, 1 June 2016 (UTC)

----
Noone else has started work on this and I'm bored so... (feel free to reorder and/or add more detail where appropriate)
Relevant Events

'''Is there a big lake in Southern California? (Created by Mistake)'''
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salton_Sea Salton Sea] A previously dry lakebed accidentally flooded in 1905 while attempting to increase irrigation to the area from the Colorado River

Vietnam unification: the two Vietnams were not united in 1975. Although the communist victory took place with the capture of Saigon in April of that year, the state of South Vietnam continued to exist, under the rule of the Provisional Revolutionary Government, until 1976. The two nations were formally united as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on July 2, 1976. Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_Revolutionary_Government_of_the_Republic_of_South_Vietnam [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.100|162.158.75.100]] 14:28, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
'''How far East do the American Prairies reach?'''
The Northwest Territory was incorporated in pieces ~1820s, there may be something more relavent to draw the line at Indiana though.

'''Is there a big lake in the middle of Ghana? (Created on Purpose)'''
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Volta Lake Volta]

'''The US's southern border looks'''
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_Purchase Gadsden Purchase]

'''"Buda" and "Pest" or "Budapest"''' [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest#Etymology Buda and Pest] were originally two different cities

'''Does Russia Border the Sea of Japan?''' Russia currently borders the sea of Japan so the 1867 upper limit is because of Tokyo not existing higher in the chain. The 1858 limit is to do with the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Aigun Treaty of Aigun]

'''Rhodesia?''' The dates down the chain suggest this is about [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesia_(region) Rhodesia the Region] not [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesia Rhodesia the Unrecognized state] nor [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia] the British Colony {{unsigned ip|162.158.214.218}}

:We are talking about physical/stellite maps at this point of the chart. Incorporation is not relevant. This is about the movement or size change of the American prairies. Climate change, perhaps. Haven't found anything relevant on that, though. Maybe it is about untouched land, as in not having settlements. -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.183|162.158.85.183]] 16:05, 1 June 2016 (UTC)

----

Should the relevant links above be added directly to the transcript, or to a separate section? --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.29.127|172.68.29.127]] 14:29, 1 June 2016 (UTC)

:The transcript is only for faithful transcription of the comic. It exists for users who would otherwise be unable to view the regular comic, and should contain nothing but the contents of the comic. Links go in the explanation, if relevant. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 18:56, 1 June 2016 (UTC)

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Istanbul is not the capital of Turkey! (It's Ankara) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.86.131|162.158.86.131]] 14:41, 1 June 2016 (UTC)
----

Maybe a better way of organizing this is chronologically, i.e., show the state of the world each year.

That being said, is every year accounted for? For example, 1857 appears to be missing. {{unsigned ip|162.158.60.41}}

----
From the left and roughly in chronological order (only partial, might add more later):

'The Holy Roman Empire?'
1806 - Dissolution of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire Holy Roman Empire] by Emperor Francis II

'Do Any of These Exist?'

1867 - British North America act passed, marking Canadian independence

- Alaskan Purchase by US from Russian Empire

- Meiji Restoration (in 1869, Emperor Meiji moves to Edo, which is renamed Tokyo)

'Texas is...'

independent - 1836? 35? 34? Texas Revolution

'Florida is part of...'

The US: 1818 - US basically controls East Florida after [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seminole_Wars#Jackson_invades_Florida First Seminole War] (Spain officially cedes the territory in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adams%E2%80%93On%C3%ADs_Treaty Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819].

'Venezuela and or Ecuador?'

1830 - Both Venezuela and Ecuador become independent as the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Colombia Republic of Gran Colombia] dissolves in late 1830, early 1831.

'Does Russia border the Sea of Japan?'
1858 - China cedes territory to Russia under the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Aigun Treaty of Aigun], bordering the Sea of Japan (sort of? There's also the Treaty of Beijing)

'South Africa?'
1910 - the Union of South Africa created, thanks to the South Africa Act 1909 enacted by British parliament

'Is Bolivia landlocked?'
1884 - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Valparaiso Treaty of Valparaiso] signed ceding Bolivian territory to to Chile, leaving Bolivia landlocked (see also [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Pacific War of the Pacific]

'Buda and Pest or Budapest?'
1873 - Buda and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pest,_Hungary Pest] merge to become Budapest

'Is Norway part of Sweden?'
1905 - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_union_between_Norway_and_Sweden Sweden-Norway dissolved], Norway becomes an independent monarchy

'Rhodesia?'
Rhodesia was named [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_rule_in_Rhodesia under the British South Africa Company in 1895]

'Austria-Hungary?'
1918 - Austria-Hungary officially separates into Austria and Hungary

'Albania?'
1912 - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_Declaration_of_Independence Albania declares independence] from the Ottoman Empire

'Leningrad?'
1924 - Petrograd ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg Saint Petersburg]) changes its name to Leningrad

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.156|108.162.250.156]]

You know there are times where I suspect he's just making some of his comics intentionally hard to explain or very ambiguous just to watch us do somersaults trying to describe them and make it clear, not necessarily for this comic but definitely with some of them it just seems that way. I don't know if he does or not, or how much he even pays attention to this wiki, just a thought. Of course maybe he does just because we're prime nerd sniping material. [[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 16:00, 1 June 2016 (UTC)

----
I'm pretty sure 'is it larger than a breadbox' is a reference to 20 questions. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.77|108.162.216.77]] 16:11, 1 June 2016 (UTC)

:From the Wikipedia page for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breadbox 'Breadbox']: "The most common reference to breadboxes is the phrase "Is it bigger than a breadbox?" when trying to guess what some surprise object may be. This question was popularized by Steve Allen on the American game show What's My Line? where he initially asked the question on 18 January 1953. It remains a popular question in the parlor game 20 Questions." [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.16|141.101.98.16]] 17:48, 1 June 2016 (UTC)

Note that it is very hard to even ''find'' Jan Mayen on an actual world map (even a political one), never mind figure out which country it belongs to. So anyone actually following these questions might (in some cases) get derailed fairly easily. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.77|141.101.81.77]] 18:20, 1 June 2016 (UTC)

::You will only get there if you can't find Istanbul/Constantinople, you can't find the Ottoman Empire, you can't find North Korea, and Soviet Russia can't find you. Note that the "no" box actually says "not yet". If you can find any of those four, you will never reach the Jan Mayen box. You will also never answer "yes" to the Jan Mayen box, as that would contradict the Soviet Union and North Korea not existing. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.9|108.162.219.9]] 20:34, 1 June 2016 (UTC)

::I tried to explain that a response of "What?" is interpreted to be unable to find Norway, not Jan Mayen, for this reason and that the name didn't exist until 1620, but then I couldn't eliminate that the map is from 1299 or earlier, because the kingdom of Norway is not that old. As for the "Yes" response, for a short period between November 1 and December 28, 1922, neither the Soviet Union nor the Ottoman Empire existed, and Norway had already received jurisdiction over Jan Mayen then.--[[User:Troy0|Troy0]] ([[User talk:Troy0|talk]]) 07:16, 2 June 2016 (UTC)

::I stumbled on this when trying to apply the test to the Yakko's World map (which is normally mid-1990 - total of Yemens and Germanys is 3; of course, that's because there's 2 Yemens and 1 Germany, and the intended date was probably in 1991). As it happens, the Soviet Union is labelled "Russia", Korea is shown as unified, and Istanbul is not labelled at all but the country is Turkey, so we get to the Jan Mayen question. (I hadn't looked at thar map precisely enough to figure out if Jan Mayen is there at all, but it must be Norwegian if it does appear. However, even if we answer "yes", it would not be possible to reach the 1990 option anyway [we get 1954-57, in fact]. OTOH, if we accept that the Soviet Union is there, we correctly reach the Micronesia question, and the mid-1990 option is close enough to that to be able to guess correctly.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.30|141.101.80.30]] 13:56, 3 June 2016 (UTC)

----

Update picture, please: The "giant French blob" "yes" option points to the correct box (Pakistan) on xkcd.com but not on this page (Bangladesh), and the incorrect version leaves out approximately 1930-1960. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.9|108.162.219.9]] 20:34, 1 June 2016 (UTC)

I fleshed out the Narnian section with links to the original illustrated maps from several books (but this gets weird in a hurry because there is no consistency of illustrations across the various editions of the books). I think it deserves to be mentioned in the article (although I did not try) that Randall is being slightly disingenuous with the history of maps of Narnia. For instance, there is no published map with sufficient detail to determine if Beruna has a ford or a bridge, neither can I find a map that includes Aslan's Country. On the other hand, it is also not an accurate history of the geopolitics of Narnia; for instance, Calormen existed during the time of the first three books even if it wasn't listed on any of the authorized maps. Also, it is the first time I have helped to edit an article, so I apologize for the quirkiness (especially the reliance on non-wikipedia links). [[User:Mwdaly|Mwdaly]] ([[User talk:Mwdaly|talk]]) 02:55, 2 June 2016 (UTC)

The introduction to the Narnia section reminds me of Douglas Adams' discussion of the difficulties of tense formation in time travel [http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Time_Traveler's_Handbook_of_1001_Tense_Formations], differences between writing/publication order and reading order are very like time travel. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.217|141.101.70.217]] 16:24, 4 June 2016 (UTC)
----
Any particular reason the Crimea description was edited to be so much more condemning of Russia? I could understand if it was originally written that way, but it was changed essentially to put Russia's actions in a negative light. Is that something that needs to be done? {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.174}}

;My map doesn't fit the chart... I think?

I've got a Stanford's General Map of the World (On Mercator's Projection) from 1968. My answers:

Istanbul '''->''' The Soviet Union exists '''->''' West Africa is ''not'' a giant French blob '''->''' Only one Vietnam '''->''' Jimmy Carter is fine... I think? The only animals on my map are Poseidon and a seahorse '''->''' Sinai is mostly Egyptian...

Bangladesh exists, and below Victoria is Tanzania; so where's the second Vietnam I've failed to locate on my map? [[User:Mr FJ|Mr FJ]] ([[User talk:Mr FJ|talk]]) 20:44, 1 June 2016 (UTC)

:Your map is optimistic in suggesting there is only one Vietnam, as 1968 was in the heart of the Vietnam War. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.123|141.101.98.123]] 22:42, 1 June 2016 (UTC)

;Saint Trimble's Island

I think the real question is: how long until there actually is one on this planet, even though Randal claims to have made it up.
--[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 03:30, 2 June 2016 (UTC)

Perhaps this should refer to Sandy Island. [http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/22/sandy-island-missing-google-earth] [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.217|141.101.70.217]] 16:18, 4 June 2016 (UTC)
----

Appearantly the year of an event is included in intervals after the event, but not in those prior. How do we handle it? [[User:Troy0|Troy0]] ([[User talk:Troy0|talk]]) 03:46, 2 June 2016 (UTC)

;Flaws

Going on the path '''neither''' - '''no ottoman empire''' - '''no soviet union''' - '''no north korea''' - '''jan mayen is norwegian''' I will get results that all belong to a time were the soviet union existed. Am I doing it wrong?--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.175|162.158.92.175]] 08:01, 2 June 2016 (UTC)
:This path implies a time interval between November 1 and December 28, 1922, so it is unclear why it is linked to the Istanbul Division, which is 1928 or later.--[[User:Troy0|Troy0]] ([[User talk:Troy0|talk]]) 08:28, 2 June 2016 (UTC)

;Did it work on your map?
;Worked:
I just tried this out on an old Danish world atlas (''Lademann Verdensatlas'' with most English names also included). And although I could not determine the capital of Micronesia, I found out that it was still called Upper Volta not Burkino faso and thus the map should be from 1982-1984. First then did I check the release date for this map and true enough it was from 1982! Cool. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:41, 2 June 2016 (UTC)

;Didn't work:
A map [http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47db-b011-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99#/] in the New York Public library, dated 1840, is given a date of 1818-1830. Notably this map has Texas as part of Mexico (though mentioned as in captials indicating a district within Mexico. It is also missing independent Paraguay, Ecuador and Venezuela. [[User:Zeimusu|Zeimusu]] ([[User talk:Zeimusu|talk]]) 10:04, 3 June 2016 (UTC)

Apparently most Mars maps were made in 1922-1932. No Istanbul/Constantinople, no Ottoman Empire, Soviet Union exists (e.g. Mars 3 and Mars 6), no Saudi Arabia... --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.62|173.245.52.62]] 11:18, 2 June 2016 (UTC)

I have been evaluating world globes (subset of maps of course) for several years, and find this quite amusing. A note of interest: Apparently Randall knows that maps often do include copyright or other dates, while globes with very few exceptions do not include a date. There are other guides to finding the date of presentation of a globe of course, which may or may not pin the date down more precisely. [[User:Pault151|Pault151]] ([[User talk:Pault151|talk]]) 05:38, 3 June 2016 (UTC)

Hugo Giraudel made a command line version of this: https://github.com/HugoGiraudel/map-dater (full disclosure: I helped) [[User:Haroenv|Haroenv]] ([[User talk:Haroenv|talk]]) 16:24, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

Starting at the Istanbul Division, the Question Date Range no longer fits the definition at the top of the table, and now includes the effects of the Prior Date Range. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.5|172.68.46.5]] 07:03, 20 March 2017 (UTC)

I tried to apply this to a map of Pangaea and ended up being taken to the "you made this yourself" part... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.106|162.158.78.106]] 09:49, 27 August 2017 (UTC)
:It's very nice.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.58.249|162.158.58.249]] 12:22, 25 October 2017 (UTC)

Talk:815: Mu

2016-10-03T13:13:18Z

Blacksilver:

We should do a formal double-blind trial.
--[[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 13:13, 3 October 2016 (UTC)

I don't understand the max. Do chair-sitters decrease in productivity as mu increases because they are trying in vain to spin difficult chairs? In the limiting case of a rigid chair, do chair-sitters vainly attempt to rotate their chairs anyways? {{unsigned ip|75.145.95.201}}

:I think a difficult-to-spin chair just feels uncomfortable, so it kind of subconsciously affects your productivity. In fact most people never sit completely still and often you have to turn to get something from next to your desk or move around... That can be pretty annoying to some people. The way I imagine it, this would not apply to an "infinitely" rigid chair (a simple one with four legs), because you don't expect it to move so it would still feel "right", if it's sufficiently comfortable in the other regards (softness, angle of the backrest, ...). Maybe productivity would not be as high as with an optimal spinning chair, since it would not be as much fun, but that's not in the picture anyway. [[User:Laden|Laden]] ([[User talk:Laden|talk]]) 03:07, 19 January 2013 (UTC)

:I would think that the function approaches a fixed chair production coefficient ( ;) A set number for that chair subject to other variables which are being kept constant [as Laden pointed out]) as Mu approaches infinity.
:It's most likely a peicewise function with a different value @ infinity--granted truly rigorous analysis would conclude that all chairs no matter how "rigid" would experience microscopic torques from people turning and shifting in them.

:But this doesn't affect the psychology of being frustrated in a sticky swivel chair. As such that productivity would likely be higher than the CPC, which I would expect as Laden does would be to be lower than the max CPC of a swivel chair (which if I could would by now be denoting as C sub-S and rigid chairs as C sub-R)

:A similar graph could likely be made for a chair which has a certain maximum "reclination"

:Apologies for lack of formatting I've never commented before, and clearly was completely backwards from what I intended when i originally commented. Whoops
:--Rick 20:18:~45 13-4-13 [[Special:Contributions/67.182.93.204|67.182.93.204]] 03:06, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

::Rick, I hope you don't mind, I've come through and indented your comment the way I think you intended. If this is incorrect, feel free to correct it. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:33, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

;Reference to electrons
I cannot shake the feeling that this comic makes a reference to the spin of electrons. However, not being a physicist, I cannot quite place the implications. Also, the graph looks quite familiar to me. --[[User:Alfons|Alfons]] ([[User talk:Alfons|talk]]) 09:50, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

:Now I know, where I know this graph from: It is an inversed [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_potential Morse potential]. Does anybody know, whether it might have something to do with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franck%E2%80%93Condon_principle Franck-Condon principle]? --[[User:Alfons|Alfons]] ([[User talk:Alfons|talk]]) 14:56, 25 November 2013 (UTC)

;Title of the comic
The title of the comic, mu (μ), is a symbol that is commonly used to denote the coefficient of friction. Posted by [[User:Irino.]].
:Mu is not μ, which just means micro (one per Million). I can't see the link.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:58, 7 September 2013 (UTC)
::[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu_(letter) Mu, or μ], is a Greek letter. It is often used as an abbreviation for the prefix [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro- micro-], but can also be used as a variable for the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friction#Coefficient_of_friction coefficient of friction]. [[Special:Contributions/24.41.66.114|24.41.66.114]] 23:04, 12 September 2013 (UTC)

;Quantum mechanics
As Alfons did mention above, the graph is related to quantum mechanics. But the spin of an electron is not correct, but maybe a hint. It belongs more to this: {{w|Probability amplitude}} or {{w|Quantum tunnelling}} (the latter because of the negative values on the left.) Further investigations are needed.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:41, 25 November 2013 (UTC)

;{{w|Classical mechanics}}
Ohh, this is a very ''classical mechanics'' comic. I must have been blind. Shame on me. Look at this angular momentum wheel: {{w|Reaction wheel}}. One wheel moves its momentum to an other wheel (the spacecraft in this case). This is just simple classical physics, which also not easy to understand without knowing the basics of classical mechanics. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:49, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

What is the full form of "CoKF" (in the title text)?
"Coefficient of ___ Force"?
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.181|108.162.245.181]]

Talk:815: Mu

2016-10-03T13:12:50Z

Blacksilver:

We should do a formal double-blind trial.
--[[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 13:12, 3 October 2016 (UTC)

I don't understand the max. Do chair-sitters decrease in productivity as mu increases because they are trying in vain to spin difficult chairs? In the limiting case of a rigid chair, do chair-sitters vainly attempt to rotate their chairs anyways? {{unsigned ip|75.145.95.201}}

:I think a difficult-to-spin chair just feels uncomfortable, so it kind of subconsciously affects your productivity. In fact most people never sit completely still and often you have to turn to get something from next to your desk or move around... That can be pretty annoying to some people. The way I imagine it, this would not apply to an "infinitely" rigid chair (a simple one with four legs), because you don't expect it to move so it would still feel "right", if it's sufficiently comfortable in the other regards (softness, angle of the backrest, ...). Maybe productivity would not be as high as with an optimal spinning chair, since it would not be as much fun, but that's not in the picture anyway. [[User:Laden|Laden]] ([[User talk:Laden|talk]]) 03:07, 19 January 2013 (UTC)

:I would think that the function approaches a fixed chair production coefficient ( ;) A set number for that chair subject to other variables which are being kept constant [as Laden pointed out]) as Mu approaches infinity.
:It's most likely a peicewise function with a different value @ infinity--granted truly rigorous analysis would conclude that all chairs no matter how "rigid" would experience microscopic torques from people turning and shifting in them.

:But this doesn't affect the psychology of being frustrated in a sticky swivel chair. As such that productivity would likely be higher than the CPC, which I would expect as Laden does would be to be lower than the max CPC of a swivel chair (which if I could would by now be denoting as C sub-S and rigid chairs as C sub-R)

:A similar graph could likely be made for a chair which has a certain maximum "reclination"

:Apologies for lack of formatting I've never commented before, and clearly was completely backwards from what I intended when i originally commented. Whoops
:--Rick 20:18:~45 13-4-13 [[Special:Contributions/67.182.93.204|67.182.93.204]] 03:06, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

::Rick, I hope you don't mind, I've come through and indented your comment the way I think you intended. If this is incorrect, feel free to correct it. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:33, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

;Reference to electrons
I cannot shake the feeling that this comic makes a reference to the spin of electrons. However, not being a physicist, I cannot quite place the implications. Also, the graph looks quite familiar to me. --[[User:Alfons|Alfons]] ([[User talk:Alfons|talk]]) 09:50, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

:Now I know, where I know this graph from: It is an inversed [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_potential Morse potential]. Does anybody know, whether it might have something to do with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franck%E2%80%93Condon_principle Franck-Condon principle]? --[[User:Alfons|Alfons]] ([[User talk:Alfons|talk]]) 14:56, 25 November 2013 (UTC)

;Title of the comic
The title of the comic, mu (μ), is a symbol that is commonly used to denote the coefficient of friction. Posted by [[User:Irino.]].
:Mu is not μ, which just means micro (one per Million). I can't see the link.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:58, 7 September 2013 (UTC)
::[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu_(letter) Mu, or μ], is a Greek letter. It is often used as an abbreviation for the prefix [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro- micro-], but can also be used as a variable for the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friction#Coefficient_of_friction coefficient of friction]. [[Special:Contributions/24.41.66.114|24.41.66.114]] 23:04, 12 September 2013 (UTC)

;Quantum mechanics
As Alfons did mention above, the graph is related to quantum mechanics. But the spin of an electron is not correct, but maybe a hint. It belongs more to this: {{w|Probability amplitude}} or {{w|Quantum tunnelling}} (the latter because of the negative values on the left.) Further investigations are needed.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:41, 25 November 2013 (UTC)

;{{w|Classical mechanics}}
Ohh, this is a very ''classical mechanics'' comic. I must have been blind. Shame on me. Look at this angular momentum wheel: {{w|Reaction wheel}}. One wheel moves its momentum to an other wheel (the spacecraft in this case). This is just simple classical physics, which also not easy to understand without knowing the basics of classical mechanics. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:49, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

What is the full form of "CoKF" (in the title text)?
"Coefficient of ___ Force"?
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.181|108.162.245.181]]