https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=InfoManiac 2026-04-08T15:23:26Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3006:_Demons&diff=355289 2024-11-01T18:53:47Z

<p>InfoManiac: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3006<br /> | date = November 1, 2024<br /> | title = Demons<br /> | image = demons_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 285x458px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Though they do appreciate how much he improved the heating system for the flame pit.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a DOOR THAT GOES LESS WAYS THAN MOST, WHICH WAS IN TURN MADE BY A DEMON - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {{w|Maxwell's demon}} is a thought experiment devised by {{w|James Clerk Maxwell}} that appears to refute the {{w|second law of thermodynamics}}, which roughly says that heat always flows from hotter regions to colder. In the thought experiment, two chambers, both containing a gas at the same temperature, have a door between them. A being (later called a demon by {{w|Lord Kelvin}}) lets only fast-moving gas molecules move from the first chamber to the second, and only slow-moving ones move from the second chamber to the first. The second chamber's gas gradually warms as the average speed of its molecules increases, and the first chamber's gas likewise cools. This demon behaves very differently from mythological {{w|demons}}, which exist in the afterlife (usually some form of {{w|hell}}) and punish evil humans after death by causing them great suffering, as for example boiling them in oil or casting them into flame pits.<br /> <br /> In this comic, Randall jokes that, if such a demon were to encounter more stereotypical, mythological ones, he would probably not fit in very well, and would inevitably propose treating humans like the particles of the thought experiment. While a few humans might &quot;get it&quot; and feel offended; for most, the extent of the suffering would be reduced to the anxiety of knowing that, once they cross the door, they are not allowed to return, so (unlike particles which move by simple virtue of having energy) they must ''choose'' when to cross it. This kind of torture is considered tame when compared to being boiled in oil or cast into flame pits.<br /> <br /> The title text continues the joke by suggesting that Maxwell's &quot;technique&quot; might have been ineffective at torturing the souls of the damned, but could be used to heat the flame pits better instead.<br /> <br /> This comic was published on 01 November, 2024, the day after Halloween, when many comic strips have demonic, supernatural, or other spooky themes.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> :[Three demons standing in hell, surrounded by fire. Each demon has two horns and a tail. The leftmost demon is holding a pitchfork.]<br /> :Leftmost demon: What's our plan for the souls today? Boil them in oil? <br /> :Middle demon: We could cast them into the flame pit. <br /> :Rightmost demon: What if we set up two rooms with a door in between, but– get this– ''we only let them go through it one way!''<br /> <br /> :[Caption below the panel:]<br /> :Maxwell's Demon had trouble fitting in with the others.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category:Infernal comics]]<br /> [[Category:Physics]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2966:_Exam_Numbers&diff=347826 2024-08-01T06:42:53Z

<p>InfoManiac: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2966<br /> | date = July 31, 2024<br /> | title = Exam Numbers<br /> | image = exam_numbers_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 553x400px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Calligraphy exam: Write down the number 37, spelled out, nicely.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by 10 MORE THAN AVERAGE MATH TEACHERS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> The comic depicts various similarly formatted examination questions that might appear on test papers at various points in a student's potential academic career. While they all share a similar feel, they are asking for different things, some of which might be considered more serious and examinable proofs of study than others.<br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> |+ Exam numbers<br /> ! Exam level !! Question !! Answer<br /> |-<br /> | Kindergarten math || Write down the biggest number you can think of || At a kindergarden-level education, it is assumed that an individual might write down a relatively small number like 300, depending upon whether they have encountered the concept of hundreds. It might also be interpreted as &quot;what's the highest number that you (think you) can count up to&quot;. Given the nature of a child's exuberant glee at learning about ''really'' big (but otherwise normal) numbers, they may even try an answer something like &quot;a million billion squillion gazillion&quot;. It is not certain what criteria would be used to mark this question correct or otherwise, it may actually by a stealth question in child psychology or a question that everybody &quot;gets right&quot; so long as they answer it.<br /> |-<br /> | Pre-algebra || Write down the value of x if x=3x-8 || <br /> <br /> ''3x'' refers to the multiplication of 3 and the originally unknown number ''x'', as a convenient shorthand.<br /> <br /> By subtracting ''3x'' from both sides, ''-2x = -8''. Divide both sides by -2 to find ''x''=4. Alternately, subtract ''x'' from both sides to give ''0 = 2x - 8'', and as taking 8 from two ''x''s makes it zero, one ''x'' is half that<br /> <br /> (Verify by plugging ''x''=4 into the original equation. '''4''' = (3*'''4''') - 8 -&gt; '''4''' = 12 - 8 -&gt; '''4''' = 4.)<br /> |-<br /> | Calculus || Write down the value of ∫&lt;sub&gt;0&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;sup&gt;π&lt;/sup&gt; x sin&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; x dx || The integral of the expression is ''((x-sin(2*x))*2*x-cos(2*x))/8 + C''. Plugging in values for ''x'' gives the result as π&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;/4 = 2.4674...<br /> <br /> If one assumes sin&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; is an {{w|iterated function}} instead of a square, one instead gets π&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;{{w|Struve function|H&lt;sub&gt;0&lt;/sub&gt;(1)}}/2 = 2.8062...<br /> |-<br /> | PhD Cosmology || Write down the Hubble constant to within 1% || The exact value of the Hubble constant is not known to this level of accuracy; it is about 2.3×10&lt;sup&gt;-18&lt;/sup&gt; Hz. Different methods of measuring it have come up with significantly different values, and resolving this difference (the {{w|Hubble's_law#Hubble_tension|Hubble tension}}) is one of the great challenges of modern cosmology. This question might have a different acceptable answer in the future, depending upon further developments in cosmology.<br /> |-<br /> | Game Theory || Write down 10 more than the average of the class's answers || Game Theory studies &quot;games&quot; in which two or more participants' take actions that will succeed or fail based on other participants' decisions. In this case, all students' answers will be averaged, and the best answer will be 10 more than that average. If a student knew what everyone else was thinking, this would incentivise them to answer 10 more than the consensus (taking into account their own forthcoming answer), which would not necessarily be the largest number written down. For instance, if the answers end up being 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70, the most correct of these answers is 60.<br /> <br /> In reality, most game theory exams test your understanding of game theory as an academic subject, not your ability to win games. (A type of class where actual results may result in better grades is a business negotiation class where the results of practice negotiations can determine one's grade on the assignment.)<br /> <br /> Something similar to this question is found in the title text of [[2385: Final Exam]].<br /> |-<br /> | Postgraduate Math || Write down the biggest number you can think of || This question echoes the very first example, but would be expected to be answered very differently (unlike a revisiting of most of the others).<br /> Postgraduate math students can probably think of ''very'' large numbers. While the &quot;best&quot; answer could be &quot;infinity&quot; since, depending on your definition of the word &quot;number&quot;, infinity may be the largest possible number that you will have encountered, students familiar with the field of [https://googology.fandom.com/wiki/Googology#History Googology] may consider infinity a concept rather than a number, and might give an answer such as Rayo's Number, which was the winning entry in the [https://googology.fandom.com/wiki/Big_Number_Duel Big Number Duel]. <br /> <br /> This might heavily depend upon the branch of mathematics you are studying, however, as named (finite) numbers or ones with specific and useful notations might satisfy some questioning contexts, whilst the existence of a whole further set of trans-finite numbers (i.e. increasingly large types of &quot;infinity&quot;) would be important considerations in others. For those associated with more computational mathematics, any infinity be {{w|NaN|Not a Number}}, and their answer might instead be the ceiling of some binary representation (typically ''2&lt;sup&gt;8n&lt;/sup&gt;-1'' for some value of ''n''), the largest value reliably storable in byte form (e.g. a {{w|Integer (computer science)|double quadword}}).<br /> <br /> As with the kindergarten question, there may be no previously anticipated &quot;correct&quot; answer. It could be another &quot;correct just so long as you answer it&quot; (or perhaps &quot;sensibly&quot; so) or the mark goes only to those giving the greatest number across all submissions.<br /> |-<br /> | Calligraphy (title text) || Write down the number 37, spelled out (as &quot;thirty-seven&quot; or &quot;thirty seven&quot;), nicely || Calligraphy is the art of artistic writing. The title text expands the joke outside the realm of math and points out that since calligraphy does not require any math skills, the only way a calligraphy exam would even mention numbers is if one had to write them out in such a way as to showcase their calligraphic skill. {{w|37}} is a number that some people believe [http://thirty-seven.org mysteriously appears more often than it should]; this was a subject of a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6iQrh2TK98 recent Veritasium video].<br /> |}<br /> <br /> This final exam question, un-numbered and therefore possibly the ''only'' question upon the whole of each final paper, in some ways (for some instances) echoes the question &quot;What is your name?&quot; that Randall will be aware was the sole question given to Discworld's {{w|List of Discworld characters#Victor Tugelbend|Victor Tugelbend}} in an attempt to ensure he comprehensively passed (or utterly failed) his final student-wizard's exam, after many prior times of deliberately not-quite-passing.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> :[6 different math test questions.]<br /> <br /> :[The first panel:]<br /> :Kindergarten math final exam <br /> :Q. Write down the biggest number you can think of<br /> :A. [empty box]<br /> <br /> :[The second panel:]<br /> :Pre-algebra final exam<br /> :Q. Write down the value of x if x=3x-8<br /> :A. [empty box]<br /> <br /> :[The third panel:]<br /> :Calculus final exam<br /> :Q. Write down the value of [integral sign, from 0 to pi] x sin^2 x dx<br /> :A. [empty box]<br /> <br /> :[The fourth panel:]<br /> :PhD cosmology final exam<br /> :Q. Write down the Hubble constant to within 1%<br /> :A. [empty box]<br /> <br /> :[The fifth panel:]<br /> :Game theory final exam<br /> :Q. Write down 10 more than the average of the class's answers<br /> :A. [empty box]<br /> <br /> :[The sixth panel:]<br /> :Postgraduate math final exam<br /> :Q. Write down the biggest number you can think of<br /> :A. [empty box]<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Math]]<br /> [[Category:Cosmology]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2935:_Ocean_Loop&diff=342642 2024-05-21T03:10:50Z

<p>InfoManiac: /* Trivia */</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2935<br /> | date = May 20, 2024<br /> | title = Ocean Loop<br /> | image = ocean_loop_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 317x286px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = I can't believe they wouldn't even let me hold a vote among the passengers about whether to try the loop.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a GULF JET STREAM - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> Upon hearing the term &quot;ocean loop&quot;, many people think of horizontal {{w|ocean gyre}}s or {{w|ocean currents}}. This comic illustrated a vertical, rather than horizontal, ocean loop.<br /> <br /> The comic shows a large construction, rising out of the sea to dwarf a nearby cruise ship. It involves a submerged water-jet sending water up out of the surface and round a rollercoaster-loop-like water-flume trough. The scale is such that it seems that the ship, once caught in the necessarily powerful stream of water, is intended to be in turn propelled around the inverting loop before &quot;safely&quot; exiting at the other side.<br /> <br /> Apart from various other issues regarding {{what if|43|large &quot;loop-de-loops&quot;}}, the stream of water required to maintain this setup would be {{w|Entrainment (hydrodynamics)|acting upon the nearby water}} and so the nearby ship is probably already close enough to be drawn into the loop (with the best option left being to deliberately steer into it, rather than risk being swept uncontrollably into the structure), assuming that it isn't already caught in the tug of the water-jet's inward flow.<br /> <br /> Even assuming a &quot;successful&quot; loop (the stresses, and rotation, inflicted by the loop are likely beyond the design limits of such a vessel), the emergence back into the ''relatively'' calm and stationary waters beyond the exiting outflow would be a severe challenge to navigation. On the positive side, due to the nature of buoyancy, if the loop structure itself is capable of withstanding the force of the water being forced round it then it ''should'' be equally capable of withstanding the passage of the ship, unlike an impromptu rail-based loop which might stand up on its own but then shake itself apart when the first carriage is sent around it.<br /> <br /> Not only would there be problems for the engineers, ship and navigators, the &quot;ride&quot; wouldn't be pleasant for the passengers of the ship in any way. Many of the passengers would suffer extreme injuries from the changes of velocity (up to 230 mph based on a loop radius of 3 x ship length) and rotation (unlike {{w|rollercoasters}}, or even airplanes during simple take-off and landing, passengers aren't normally strapped down). It is possible that the initial extreme undercurrent would likely capsize the ship. Depending upon where in the ship you were, the centripetal forces and the ships rotation may not match for all passengers, forcing anyone not properly secured out towards the bow or stern. As well as the passengers, this also is relevant to all unsecured items (e.g. knives and forks would go flying off tables), as well as the dangers of breakable glass, liquids and many other dangerous objects which could create hazards even (or particularly) against those who have strapped themselves down to prevent their own movement through the ship.<br /> <br /> The bottom text, &quot;I don't know why the cruise line fired me&quot;, implies that someone (maybe [[Black Hat]]?) either suggested or implemented this idea, much to the dismay of his company.<br /> <br /> The title text suggests that the not only are those in charge of the ship skeptical about sailing into this loop, but that they are worried that opening the decision-making process to the passengers might favor the exciting risk over the well-founded reason of the staff. However, cruise ships generally don't function as democracies even outside of absurd situations such as the one depicted.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[A cruise ship approaches an enormous loop-de-loop flume. A large jet of water is being propelled into the loop-de-loop.]<br /> <br /> :[Caption below the panel:]<br /> :I don't know why the cruise line fired me.<br /> <br /> ==Trivia==<br /> * '''This trivia section was created by a BOT'''<br /> * The [[:File:ocean_loop_huge.png|standard size]] image was uploaded with a resolution/size larger than the supposed 2x version.<br /> * This may have been an error.<br /> * At the time of posting, the image was ''massive'', 4760 x 4295 pixels.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=File:ocean_loop_huge.png&diff=342641 2024-05-21T03:09:19Z

<p>InfoManiac: Taken from https://web.archive.org/web/20240520204909if_/https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/ocean_loop.png</p> <hr /> <div>== Summary ==<br /> Taken from https://web.archive.org/web/20240520204909if_/https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/ocean_loop.png<br /> == Licensing ==<br /> {{XKCD file}}</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2921:_Eclipse_Path_Maps&diff=339917 2024-04-18T05:56:15Z

<p>InfoManiac: /* Explanation */</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2921<br /> | date = April 18, 2024<br /> | title = Eclipse Path Maps<br /> | image = eclipse_path_maps_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 562x674px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Okay, this eclipse will only be visible from the Arctic in February 2063, when the sun is below the horizon, BUT if we get lucky and a gigantic chasm opens in the Earth in just the right spot...<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a TORNADO CAPITAL OF THE WORLD - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> A total {{w|solar eclipse}} occurred {{w|Solar eclipse of April 8, 2024|on April 8, 2024}} in North America, ten days before this comic. This comic comments on the fact that most solar eclipses happen on territories not easily reachable by humans, or do happen near easy to reach places, but with weather conditions that make viewing the eclipse less appealing. <br /> <br /> This map shows one ideal location for seeing an eclipse within a path of totality. However, having 40,000,000 visitors per 6 square miles would equal 2.57 people per square meter, which isn't very much space available per person.<br /> <br /> The title text mentions a {{w|Solar eclipse of February 28, 2063|solar eclipse of February 2063}}, but this annular eclipse will traverse through the Indian Ocean rather than close to the Arctic. It then jokingly suggests that a giant chasm could open up, making viewing easier.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :'''Every eclipse path map'''<br /> :[Labels along the path from top to bottom:]<br /> :Zone where totality lasts 1-2 seconds<br /> :Bay of shifting ice<br /> :Shipwreck cove<br /> :Desert so hars they train Mars astronauts there<br /> :Sea of rocky crags and maelstorms<br /> :[State department travel advisory]<br /> :Isle of perpetrual fog<br /> :Nice, scenic, accessible area (6 square miles, 40,000,000 visitors expected)<br /> :Tornado capital of the world<br /> :Area where the eclipse will be low in the sky, behind the tornadoes<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Solar eclipses]]<br /> [[Category:Maps]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1933:_Santa_Facts&diff=328839 2023-11-13T15:53:41Z

<p>InfoManiac: /* Explanation */ ce</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 1933<br /> | date = December 25, 2017<br /> | title = Santa Facts<br /> | image = santa_facts.png<br /> | titletext = We've gotten him up to 20% milk and cookies through an aggressive public campaign, but that seems to be his dietary limit. Anything above that and he starts developing nutritional deficiencies.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> This, the second [[:Category:Christmas|Christmas comic]] in a row, provides some dubious &quot;Facts&quot; and &quot;Figures&quot; of the creature known as &quot;Santa&quot;. We can see from the drawing that this is obviously meant to be either {{w|Santa Claus}} or a parody of Santa Claus. It is the third comic using [[:Category:Facts|Facts]] in the title.<br /> <br /> This comic is reminiscent of the [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd Phones series]].<br /> <br /> '''Type: Flying/Psychic'''<br /> :A reference to {{w|Pokémon}}. The {{w|Gameplay_of_Pokémon#Pok%C3%A9mon_types|type}} of a Pokémon describes and determines its abilities (including attacks), affinities, and general nature. In most stories Santa Claus rides a sled pulled by flying reindeer (all other [https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Flying_(type) Flying-type] Pokémon fly under their own power) and some kind of magical power. Psychic possibly refers to his ability to know a child's activities and behavior, including when they are {{w|Santa_Claus_Is_Comin%27_to_Town| sleeping or awake}}, implying a psychic ability to read minds. There is a Pokémon based on Santa, [https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Delibird_(Pok%C3%A9mon) Delibird], although it is Ice/Flying instead of Flying/Psychic.<br /> <br /> '''Plural: &quot;Santa&quot;'''<br /> :The plural form of 'Santa' conveniently parallels that of 'reindeer' (as well as those of all species of Pokémon and the term &quot;Pokémon&quot; itself). In real life, &quot;santa&quot; means &quot;saint&quot; in most {{w|Romance languages}}. However &quot;santa&quot; is not plural in any of these languages (for example, in Portuguese the proper plural would be &quot;santos&quot;). Under the most common English approach for making a plural noun, Santa would have a plural of &quot;Santas&quot;. Taking &quot;Santa Claus&quot; as a separate noun, the plural would be &quot;Santa Clauses&quot;.<br /> <br /> '''Active warrants: 5'''<br /> :There is an active warrant for Santa's arrest in 5 jurisdictions, presumably for breaking and entering or for operating a flying sleigh without the proper licensing, while drunk, or over the speed limit.<br /> <br /> '''Lubricated for easy passage down chimneys'''<br /> :The diagram indicates that Santa's attire is lubricated to ease his traditional method of ingress and egress. This explanation is incomplete, however, as a great many chimneys have cross-sectional area substantially smaller than that of a normal human body, let alone a portly one, as commonly described. The common presence of chimney caps, fireplace dampers, and the like would also impede Santa's passage down a great many chimneys. That said, if we take the classic poem &quot;{{w|A Visit from St. Nicholas}}&quot; into account, the statement is technically true, just &quot;lubricated&quot; with magic rather than physical lubrication. A less classic example of Santa going down the chimney with help of magic can be seen in The Santa Clause [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBaQwGTHCL8]. &quot;Lubricated&quot; is also a reference to lubricated condoms - see &quot;Ribbed&quot; below.<br /> <br /> '''Vertical Leap: 14 Miles'''<br /> :For a non-magical being or object, a vertical leap of 14 miles (~23 km), ''ignoring air resistance'' would require an initial launch velocity of slightly more than 2180 feet per second (665 m/s), somewhat over twice the speed of sound. Achieving this velocity by means of bending then straightening the legs would require an acceleration of roughly 25,000 G, placing extraordinarily high demands on the strength of the legs. As Santa does not have a particularly aerodynamic shape, air resistance would increase the launch velocity and launch acceleration requirements substantially. Santa may be able to overcome these problems due to his magical nature; however, there is clearly still a limit to what this can achieve, as there is a maximum to his leaping ability.<br /> <br /> '''Sleigh Flag of Convenience: Panama'''<br /> :The {{w|Flag_of_convenience|Flag of Convenience}} identifies the country in which an ocean-going vessel has its registration information. Panama maintains one of the top three open registries. Owners of a vessel may choose to use an open registry to avoid labor or safety regulations of the owner's country. They may also choose such a registry to help obscure ownership of the vessel. Which concern applies in the case of Santa's sleigh is not stated, or (more likely) not known. It may also be the only type of registration available, since the north pole is not in any country, so there is no &quot;owner's country&quot;.<br /> <br /> :However, a ship's flag state exercises regulatory control over the vessel and is required to inspect it regularly, certify the ship's equipment and crew, and issue safety and pollution prevention documents. One suspects that this does '''not''', in fact, happen regularly with Santa's sleigh. Also, as a ''flying'' sleigh, the registry for ''ocean-going'' vessels is not applicable. Instead, it would be registered as an aircraft, with the FAA (in the U.S.), EASA (in Europe), or the equivalent in another country. Civilian aircraft have their registration number painted on their tails, but are not required to display a &quot;flag&quot;. (However, U.S. Airways used a stylized version of a U.S. flag as a corporate logo prior to its merger with American Airlines.)<br /> <br /> :The country being Panama may be a reference to the {{w|Panama Papers}}.<br /> <br /> '''9th in Presidential Line of Succession'''<br /> :The {{w|United_States_presidential_line_of_succession|Presidential Line of Succession}} specifies the order in which persons may become or act as {{w|President of the United States}} if the incumbent President becomes incapacitated, dies, resigns, or is removed from office. Having Santa as the 9th in that order would place him above the {{w|United States Secretary of Agriculture|Secretary of Agriculture}}. An alternative interpretation would hold that Santa '''is''' the present Secretary of Agriculture, {{w|Tom Vilsack}}.<br /> <br /> :Assuming Tom Vilsack is not Santa Claus, Santa is likely ineligible for the Presidency, as most origin stories of Santa have him a natural-born citizen of a European country (or of Turkey) rather than the United States. Alternately, Santa might be old enough to qualify under the &quot;citizen at the time of the adoption of this constitution&quot; clause, although in light of the information that Santa is actually an arthropod and/or a vampire (see below), his status as an American citizen is dubious. <br /> <br /> '''Not technically an insect &amp;#8212; actually an arthropod'''<br /> :This &quot;fact&quot; uses an absurd misconception to correct a relatively common misconception. Absurdly, Randall has mistaken Santa for a lobster, given his bright red coloration and the surname Claus (which is pronounced the same as a lobster's &quot;claws&quot;). This may be an homage to the film the Nightmare Before Christmas, where Jack Skellington believes Christmas Town is led by &quot;Sandy Claws&quot; who is &quot;like a lobster, huge and red&quot;.<br /> <br /> :There is a relatively common misconception that lobsters are insects. In fact, lobsters are crustaceans, but there is a kernel of truth to the misconception, as crustaceans and insects are related (both are arthropods). Thus, the &quot;fact&quot; states that Lobster-Santa is not technically an insect; he is actually an arthropod. <br /> <br /> '''Only known vampire able to enter house without being invited'''<br /> :In traditional vampire folklore, a vampire {{tvtropes|MustBeInvited|cannot enter an abode without an invitation from the owner of the same}}. Santa, however, seems to be able to enter houses even without explicit invitation (although plenty of children do welcome him, either via written notes or by their general sentiments), so if he is a vampire he is the exception to that rule. This juxtaposes interestingly with the previous point about his arthropod nature.<br /> <br /> :His being a vampire is perhaps related to his dressing all in red, and alleged immortality. <br /> <br /> '''Works with Alexa'''<br /> :May have any of several meanings, including that Alexa (Amazon's virtual assistant) is Santa's colleague, that Santa uses Alexa in his work, that Santa is somehow functionally compatible with Alexa, or a reference to various Santa-themed 'skills' that Alexa can be associated with. A common advertisement states that a product is compatible with Amazon's smart device, Alexa. But it could also be a play on the idea or fear that Alexa may be used to spy on people from the privacy of their own homes, much like what is claimed of Santa (&quot;he sees you when you're sleeping, [...]&quot;). Finally, several skills designed to entertain users of Alexa are themed around Santa Claus, including asking Alexa where Santa is on Christmas Eve, whether or not you've been naughty or nice, or even leaving the jolly old elf a voicemail.<br /> <br /> '''Ribbed'''<br /> :A reference to condoms, which have ridges or ribbing in order to promote pleasurable stimulation during coitus (see &quot;Lubricated&quot; above). This also puns on the fact that, as a humanoid, Santa presumably has a rib cage. (This might directly contradict the claims about his being an arthropod.)<br /> <br /> '''IUCN Red List: Critically endangered'''<br /> :The [https://www.iucn.org/about International Union for Conservation of Nature] (IUCN) monitors the size and viability of populations of organisms; 'critically endangered' marks a population as being highly susceptible to extinction. Santa, being one (or possibly two, if we include his wife) of a kind and lacking any offspring (and, indeed, likely being incapable of effectively producing any), will most likely be the last member of his population; thus extinction will arrive with his or his wife's death. Note, however, that the presence on the Red List implies that &quot;Santa&quot; is a biological species, not a fantasy, robot, or other non-biological entity. This is consistent with Santa being an arthropod and/or vampire, but would suggest that there are many specimens of Santa, while other 'Facts' (such as having a definite ranking in the Presidential Line of Succession) suggest Santa to be a single individual. <br /> <br /> '''Diet: 80% Reindeer'''<br /> :A mocking allusion to Santa Claus's sleigh, usually pulled by reindeer. Usual folklore depict Santa Claus being extremely fond of his reindeer, thus making it a humorous contrast to suggest he'd be ''eating'' reindeer meat on a daily basis.<br /> <br /> '''Liability Insurance: None'''<br /> :As a result of his diet (see above), alleged criminal activity (ditto), species ambiguity, and occupation, Santa would find the cost of liability insurance quite high. He instead chooses to 'go bare' and operate without any.<br /> <br /> The title text states that as a result of intervention Santa's diet is now 20% milk &amp; cookies, implying that previously it was 100% Reindeer. It is a tradition to leave out milk and cookies as a &quot;gift&quot; for Santa. If he is indeed a vampire, it is odd that Santa could survive on a diet of reindeer, milk, and cookies, since vampires supposedly need human blood to survive. Of course, his entering without being invited already shows Santa to be a highly unusual vampire. Additionally, it is possible that he consumes ''reindeer'' blood as part of his reindeer diet (vampires living off animal blood is not unheard of in modern fantasy). Related to that may be the observation that he seems to develop &quot;nutritional deficiencies&quot; when going below 80% reindeer meat, as that would logically result in him consuming less blood and thus starvation due to his vampiric nature.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[An annotated picture of Santa is shown.]<br /> :'''Santa'''<br /> :Facts and Figures<br /> <br /> :Type: Flying/Psychic<br /> :Plural: &quot;Santa&quot;<br /> :Active Warrants: 5<br /> :Lubricated for easy passage down chimneys<br /> :Vertical leap: 14 Miles<br /> :Sleigh flag of convenience: Panama<br /> :9th in presidential line of succession<br /> :Not technically an insect—actually an arthropod<br /> :Only known vampire able to enter house without being invited<br /> :Works with Alexa<br /> :Ribbed<br /> :IUCN red list: Critically endangered<br /> :Diet: 80% Reindeer<br /> :Liability Insurance: None<br /> <br /> ==Trivia==<br /> *If the proposed line of succession from [[2003: Presidential Succession]] is used in place of the real one, Santa's place in the line would correspond to either a person who does not live in Washington, D.C, nominated at the start of the President's term and confirmed by the Senate, if the five people have an order of succession between themselves, or the governor whose state is the most populous at the most recent census, if they take up a joint presidency.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Christmas]]<br /> [[Category:Facts]]<br /> [[Category:Animals]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2823:_Fossil&diff=323160 2023-09-02T15:22:29Z

<p>InfoManiac: ce</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2823<br /> | date = September 1, 2023<br /> | title = Fossil<br /> | image = fossil_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 428x246px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = The two best reasons to get into fossils are booping trilobites and getting to say the word &quot;fossiliferous&quot; a lot.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a BOOPED FOSSIL OF A BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {{w|Trilobite}}s are an extinct group of species of marine animal, one of the earliest known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record is from about 521 million years ago and last from about 251.9 million years ago. They were very common and have easily fossilized exoskeleton, so their fossils can be found very often.<br /> <br /> In the comic, [[Cueball]] is digging at a site with [[Megan]], [[White Hat]], and [[Ponytail]] visible in the background. He finds and digs up a trilobite fossil and proceeds to {{wiktionary|boop#Verb|boop}} it (possibly because he thinks it’s cute?). An off-screen character yells at him for doing this, probably because fossils are fragile{{citation needed}} and excessive touching may cause it to break or, because doing so is not showing the due respect for a once living being that is much older than Cueball.<br /> <br /> Fossiliferous (of a rock or stratum) means containing fossils or organic remains, and [[Randall]] implies that it is a fun word to say (it really is!).<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Cueball is holding two pieces of rock in a paleontological site. Megan, Ponytail and White Hat are in the background.]<br /> :Cueball: It's weird to pry open a rock and see an animal that no one has laid eyes on for 400 million years.<br /> <br /> :[Zoom in on Cueball looking at the fossil he is holding.]<br /> <br /> :[Cueball pokes the fossil.]<br /> :Cueball: ''Boop!''<br /> :Off-panel voice: Hey! Don't boop the trilobites!<br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br /> [[Category:Animals]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2818:_Circuit_Symbols&diff=321520 2023-08-22T02:38:35Z

<p>InfoManiac: changed spelling of &quot;trolley&quot; to match comic</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2818<br /> | date = August 21, 2023<br /> | title = Circuit Symbols<br /> | image = circuit_symbols_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 438x362px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = A circle with an A in it means that the circuit has committed a sin and has been marked as punishment.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a REALLY COOL SHEEP DIODE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> {| class=&quot;wikitable&quot;<br /> ! Symbol !! Comic Description !! Comments<br /> |-<br /> | Switch <br /> | Drawbridge <br /> | The symbol represents a physical on/off switch in a circuit, but also resembles a medieval drawbridge.<br /> |-<br /> | Capacitor<br /> | Overpass<br /> | A capacitor is a component that can be used to hold electric charge, but also looks a bit like the map symbol for a highway overpass.<br /> |-<br /> | Ground<br /> | Pogo Stick<br /> | This symbol represents a connection to &quot;ground&quot; (aka earth for folks in the UK). If you squint, it also looks like a pogo stick<br /> |-<br /> | Inductor<br /> | Sheep<br /> | An inductor is a component that can be used to hold electric current, but is also very curly<br /> |-<br /> | Transformer<br /> | Two sheep in love, trapped on opposite side of a fence.<br /> | The input and output looks on a transform are represented as curly loops, which Randal claims resemble sheep, and the straight line (which represents the core) is a fence.<br /> |-<br /> | Battery<br /> | Battery<br /> | No joke, that's the symbol for a battery<br /> |-<br /> | None<br /> | Baertty<br /> | Randall seems to be mapping the vowels and 't's to the inner lines in the symbol, and asserting that if you sort them long long, short short, you need to put the vowels in the front and the 't's in the back.<br /> |-<br /> | Really None<br /> | Batttttttttttery<br /> | Or, you know, you could just throw in a ton of 't's.<br /> |-<br /> | Photodiode<br /> | Check out this really cool diode<br /> | A photodiode generates current in response to light (the arrows pointing at it.) Randall is instead pretending that the arrows are pointing at it because it's really cool.<br /> |-<br /> | Oscillator<br /> | Wave Pool<br /> | An oscillator generates signals at a given frequencies. A wave pool, it could be argued, is in fact a type of oscillator, just with water instead of electricity<br /> |-<br /> | Transistor<br /> | Trolley Problem<br /> | A transistor will switch on a current flow depending on the input from a input signal. Thus, it switches electricity in the same way that the trolley problem switches the trolley. The symbol also somewhat resembles the usual pictorial depiction of the problem.<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> picture of drawbridge:drawbridge<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category:Engineering]]<br /> [[Category:Charts]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2259:_Networking_Problems&diff=315385 2023-06-14T04:46:22Z

<p>InfoManiac: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2259<br /> | date = January 24, 2020<br /> | title = Networking Problems<br /> | image = networking_problems.png<br /> | titletext = LOOK, THE LATENCY FALLS EVERY TIME YOU CLAP YOUR HANDS AND SAY YOU BELIEVE<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> Computer problems are frequent and can be difficult to solve.{{Citation needed}} Networking problems in particular can puzzle even seasoned people and sometimes seem to have arbitrary issues causing them. {{w|Network packet|Packets}} are units of data transfer used in computer networking, and one measure of network performance is ''lag'', the amount of time it takes for data to travel from one point to another (and perhaps back); saying a packet's transmission is 'laggy' means it is unacceptably slow. <br /> <br /> Lag in packet transmission and other network performance measures can appear quite random. Just to start with, your ISP may be engaged in traffic shaping, which can do very weird things indeed to your packets (making the first megabyte of a transfer faster than any other, for example); now imagine that your ISP's ISP (usually known as an &quot;Upstream Provider&quot;) is engaged in something similar, and you begin to see the scale of the problem. Wireless latency can relate to things as unexpected as where people are standing, what they are touching, the weather, viruses and other system compromises, network activity by other unseen users, and so on. Because humans are wired to perceive patterns, they will {{w|Apophenia|find them even in random data}}, a fallacy that Cueball is probably suffering from here. He variously attributes the network behavior he sees to the packet number being even vs. odd, packet arrival time being before vs. after noon, and packet arrival day being today vs. yesterday. Such a pattern would make sense if it were merely &quot;every other packet&quot; regardless of odd or evenness, but that still leaves unexplained the other &quot;patterns&quot; Cueball is seeing.<br /> <br /> These non-existent patterns that Cueball is 'finding' are driving him mad, so much so that he says he believes in ghosts now. The statement of belief in ghosts may be a reference to the intermittent or fluctuating nature of the network issues being caused by mischievous or malevolent spirits. Ghosts generally are not concerned with expressions of belief, but there are some religious traditions that include group clapping and chanting. Many works of fiction depict a future or alternate history where {{tvtropes|MachineWorship|machines are worshiped as gods or spirits}}, such as the Adeptus Mechanicus of ''{{w|Warhammer 40,000}}''. Some of this terminology can be found in present-day IT and other support personnel, including references to &quot;{{w|Daemon (computing)|daemons}}&quot; and &quot;[http://catb.org/jargon/html/B/black-magic.html black magic]&quot;. Another possible reference Randall may be making is to the {{w|Ghost_in_the_machine|Ghost in the machine}}, a term describing AI. A third possibility is that Cueball's brain had stopped working, as Randall had suggested in his chart. it may also be a reference to [[1316: Inexplicable]], in which Megan concludes Cueball's computer is haunted.<br /> <br /> The title text continues Cueball's maniacal attempts at self-assurance, with him alluding to J.M. Barrie's play ''{{w|Peter Pan}}'' by saying that latency falls every time you &quot;CLAP YOUR HANDS AND SAY YOU BELIEVE&quot;. In the play, Peter Pan says, [https://classic-literature.co.uk/j-m-barrie-peter-pan-play/|&quot;Say quick that you believe! If you believe, clap your hands!&quot;] A more mundane explanation of the network behavior Cueball is experiencing might be that it is random but he's seeing a pattern anyway, or that there is a loose connection or trace and the vibration of clapping and speaking in the vicinity of the equipment in question closes the connection.<br /> <br /> Similar superstition regarding computer devices was used previously in [[1457: Feedback]].<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[A chart is shown with one horizontal line with 13 ticks (the first larger) and ending in an arrow. There are three labels along the line, at the start in the middle an towards the end before the arrow. Below are two clouds in gray with labels. The first cloud is long and it is getting thinner towards the right. It goes between the first and second label above the chart. The second blob is smaller and of equal thickness and it goes from the last label towards right. Above the chart is a heading and a subheading:]<br /> :&lt;big&gt;Types of Computer Problems&lt;/big&gt;<br /> :By how much debugging them makes your brain stop working<br /> <br /> :[The three labels above and the two in the clouds:]<br /> :None <br /> :Some <br /> :A lot<br /> :Normal problems<br /> :Networking problems<br /> <br /> :[Below the chart, only in the right part of the comic is a comic drawing. Cueball is kneeling before a rack of servers. One of the server blades is extended and connected by a cable to a laptop sitting on a box, which Cueball is using. Behind Cueball, there is a wireless router sitting on a stool, which is connected by a cable to another wireless router sitting on the floor, which is connected to another laptop. From behind him to the right an off-panel voice emanates from a starburst at the edge of the panel.]<br /> :Cueball: '''''Before''''' noon, '''''odd'''''-numbered packets were laggy, but ''after'' noon, '''''even'''''-numbered ones are! It's the '''''opposite''''' of yesterday!<br /> :Off-panel voice: Are you sure you're okay?<br /> :Cueball: '''''I'm fine and I believe in ghosts now!'''''<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Charts]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=857:_Archimedes&diff=315287 2023-06-12T02:11:59Z

<p>InfoManiac: /* Explanation */ Removed &quot;force multiplication&quot; link because it pointed to something else irrelevant, changed to &quot;force&quot;</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 857<br /> | date = February 7, 2011<br /> | title = Archimedes<br /> | image = archimedes.png<br /> | titletext = Give a man a fish, or he will destroy the only existing vial of antidote.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> This comic references a famous quote made by {{w|Archimedes}}: [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Archimedes δῶς μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω], which could translate as &quot;Give me a long enough lever and a place to rest it, and I will move the Earth&quot;. Archimedes was illustrating the power of {{w|force}} multiplication by stating that, in theory, even a mass as immense as the entire planet Earth could be moved by a single human being using a simple {{w|lever}}.<br /> <br /> While Archimedes is theoretically correct, in practice the lever would need to be millions of light years long, and the person operating it would need to push it by several light years to move the Earth even a microscopic amount. In fact, a much simpler way to move the Earth, which achieves similar distances, is to jump in the air - by Newton's third law, the same amount of force that is applied to you will also be applied to the Earth.<br /> <br /> Here, [[Cueball]] begins as if he is quoting Archimedes, but then produces a gun and threatens to execute hostages if he does not receive the lever, indicating that he is, for some reason, actually trying to enact Archimedes' thought experiment for real.<br /> <br /> The title text references another famous proverb, &quot;Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.&quot; The quote starts out the same, but again ends with a sentence that is more fitting for an action movie.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Cueball is standing normally.]<br /> :Cueball: In the words of Archimedes,<br /> <br /> :[Cueball extends his left arm slightly.]<br /> :Cueball: Give me a long enough lever and a place to rest it<br /> <br /> :[Cueball is now holding a gun in his right hand.]<br /> :Cueball: Or I will kill one hostage every hour.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Physics]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2732:_Bursa_of_Fabricius&diff=305648 2023-02-01T23:08:41Z

<p>InfoManiac: /* Explanation */</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2732<br /> | date = February 1, 2023<br /> | title = Bursa of Fabricius<br /> | image = bursa_of_fabricius_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 298x399px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = If an anatomical structure is named for a person, it means they were the only person to have it. Pierre Paul Broca had a special area of his brain that created powerful magnetic fields, enabling him to do 19th century fMRI research.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by FLYING SCIENTISTS WITH TRANSPLANTED AVIAN LYMPHATIC ORGANS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> The {{w|Bursa of Fabricius}} is an organ found in birds that is necessary for the development of the immune system. The comic claims that 16th century anatomist {{w|Hieronymus Fabricius}} (whom the organ was named for) was able to fly because he also had that organ. However, this organ does not in fact contribute to flight.{{citation needed}}<br /> <br /> Many scientific and mathematical discoveries, including anatomical structures, are named after the people who discovered them. The title text claims that in the case of anatomical structures, the anatomical structure is named after the only person to have it in their body. This would seem to be highly unlikely given the limits of biology.{{citation needed}} {{w|Pierre Paul Broca}} was a French physician, anatomist and anthropologist, known for his research on {{w|Broca's area}}, a region of the brain named after him that is used for speech and language processing. Broca did not do fMRI research, as it was not invented in his lifetime, but was able to study brains of speech-impaired patients of his who had died.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> :[A Cueball-like man wearing a hat, and a Megan-like woman wearing a wig look up at a man with bald-patches flying in the air]<br /> :[Header on top of the image]:<br /> :The ''bursa of Fabricius'' is a lymphoid organ found only in birds and in 16&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; century anatomist Hieronymus Fabricius, to whom it conferred the power of flight.<br /> :Hieronymus Fabricius: Wheee<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category:Biology]]<br /> [[Category:Animals]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring real people]]<br /> [[Category:Characters with hats]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2727:_Runtime&diff=305138 2023-01-23T07:41:24Z

<p>InfoManiac: /* Explanation */</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2727<br /> | date = January 20, 2023<br /> | title = Runtime<br /> | image = runtime_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 399x389px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = At least there's a general understanding all around that Doctor Who is its own thing.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by THE XKCD CINEMATIC UNIVERSE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> The comic presents two separate conversations, which boil down to the same premise and yet differing conclusions. In one, a particular TV show is being watched, in the other a film franchise.<br /> <br /> While it is finding its feet, a new season of a television show (perhaps commissioned, on the back of some perceived interest in the story it will tell, for a dozen or so episodes of around 50 minutes - i.e. about ten hours) is not necessarily going to get everything right in the writing style, the slant it puts on the subject matter, the cast of characters or other production values. Or at least not for mass appeal to the everyman, for whom [[Cueball]] is the archetypal representative. Nevertheless, many series ''do'' get further seasons and greatly improve. [[White Hat]] (the optimist, and clearly won over by the production) is on the way to successfully convincing Cueball to view a particular series, or perhaps to continue to watch it after becoming jaded by its early failure to live up to its hype. It sounds reasonable to Cueball, just from his friend's recommendation, to get over the hump and appreciate it &quot;when it gets good&quot;.<br /> <br /> A series of films, however, are seemingly a different matter. By substituting 10+ hours of filmed-for-television with something more cinematic, the prospect of getting over the exact same scale of 'hump' in a long-running set of sequels (eight films at a not unreasonable average length of 85 minutes each would ''also'' require a bit more than ten hours of commitment), is not at all enticing.<br /> <br /> The real reason for this difference is that a television series that gets good can be expected to run for at least five seasons, whereas nine movies is already quit long for a movie series. Sitting through eight bad movies in order to understand two or three good ones is not a worthwhile tradeoff.<br /> <br /> The mention of “after the first 8 movies” might be a reference to the long-running Fast and the Furious franchise, which now has 9 movies (plus a couple of spin-offs) at the time of this comic’s publication. The more recent movies are well-reviewed (rated “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes), even though the first four were widely panned by critics. Someone like Randall, who may have ignored the franchise when it first came out in 2001, may be wondering if he should watch the more recent ones that critics generally like; and, if so, does he need to catch up on the initial movies first?<br /> <br /> The title text talks of the long-running British TV series that is {{w|Doctor Who}}. The original Doctor Who, running from 1963-1989 was typically low budget, for its time and locality, though initially considered cutting edge in many ways. Compared to more modern classics, and especially Hollywood sci-fi, it would be noticably not as good. The revived series (2005-present) has a much higher production budget and is typically much more aligned to modern viewers, who may wilfully ignore or not even know of the older episodes. Someone just starting to watching Doctor Who sequentially from the ''very'' first season (broadcast in 1963) would have to watch hundreds of episodes (26 'seasons', by some counts) before the series &quot;gets good&quot; to modern eyes, if the {{tvtropes|GrowingTheBeard|&quot;good&quot; point}} is the 2005 series revival, or even quite a few to reach any given key point in the original run. Thus Doctor Who is considered to be its own thing, and unlike other shows where the fans recommend you suffer through a poor first season to enjoy improvement in subsequent seasons, {{w|Whovians}} might recommend potential new fans to begin with the 2005 reboot (technically the 27th season), which was produced to appeal to all new-comers without even necessarily any cultural knowledge of what had been broadcast up until the long hiatus a decade and a half before.<br /> <br /> There is also the wrinkle that anyone wishing to start with the original run would be out of luck, seeing as many early episodes - before the late-70s - were {{w|Doctor Who missing episodes|lost forever}}. The BBC didn't see any value in keeping them as they couldn't rerun them, so random episodes would be disposed of or recycled for various reasons, and those episodes are gone, making many stories incomplete. Some have been recovered through discovering some fan having recorded them (in fact, the ''audio'' for every single episode has been preserved) but most lost episodes remain lost.<br /> <br /> It is vague about Randall's precise opinion, but even the most dedicated fan would acknowledge that it has had a varying quality/charm/consistency/etc, according to one's personal tastes for such things. Comparing the original run (pre-Millenium, featuring seven key actors sequentially taking on the title role, and another for a standalone TV-movie) with the revived series (continuing the pattern with a further seven title-actors, and the eighth already announced), and any number of 'show-runners' (producers, main writers, etc) is one possible point of contention, probably more suited to British viewers. Possibly, in Randall's case, it is just the (perceived) ups and downs in the more recent era, which has been more consistently screened in the US.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> :[Two situations are depicted between White Hat and Cueball.]<br /> :[Situation 1:]<br /> :White Hat: You should keep watching! After the first season it gets really good.<br /> :Cueball: Oh yeah, I've heard that!<br /> :[Situation 2:]<br /> :White Hat: You should keep watching! After the first 8 movies, they get really good.<br /> :Cueball: Haha, what? I'm not going to sit through '''''eight''''' bad movies!<br /> :[Caption below the panel:]<br /> :It's weird how it's way more normal and socially acceptable to suggest someone spend 10-15 hours watching something when it's TV rather than movies.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br /> [[Category:Fiction]]<br /> [[Category:Doctor Who]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2725:_Sunspot_Cycle&diff=304863 2023-01-17T03:40:16Z

<p>InfoManiac: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2725<br /> | date = January 16, 2023<br /> | title = Sunspot Cycle<br /> | image = sunspot_cycle_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 740x503px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Who can forget the early 2010s memes? 'You know you're a 90s kid if you remember the feeling of warm sunlight on your face.' 'Only 90s kids remember the dawn.'<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a NINETIES KID WHO FELT SUN - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> This comic seems to be set in an alternative reality where the sun's brightness rises and falls within an 11 year cycle, causing there to be complete darkness for around 10 years. The change in brightness over the cycle is due to sunspots accumulating over half of the cycle. When the sun darkens, standard sunspots appear. When it brightens, fictitious 'bright' sunspots appear in place of the old, dark sunspots.<br /> <br /> This would obviously be impossible{{citation needed}} as not only do sunspots cool the area of the sun where they appear, but during a dark phase, no light is coming from the sun, so the Earth would freeze.<br /> <br /> The title text indicates the effect on internet memes that this process has. During the 2010's, when '90's kid' memes were still funny, many have changed to reflect that the Earth has been dark since the 2000's, and thus only those born in the 90's and before would remember dawn.<br /> <br /> This comic seems to be an allegory correlating the solar cycle to events and periods in the cycle of human history. In the 1970s the sun was light, humans society was doing well, with progress made in social issues and lifestyle. The dark periods seem to coincide with dark events in history, i.e. 2001 and on, then things started to look up after the financial crash of 2014. A low point at 2020 could indicate the COVID-19 epidemic. The history shown does not correspond to the observed sunspot cycle in reality.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> (Caption above the comic):Ever wonder why the sun disappears for about 10 years every other decade? This terrifying period of worldwide darkness is a consequence of the 11-year sunspot cycle.<br /> <br /> There is a graph with &quot;Sunspot number&quot; and &quot;Time&quot;.<br /> Left to right:<br /> Dark sunspots appear.<br /> Sunspot number rises.<br /> Numbers fall as sunspots merge.<br /> Sunspots envelop sun, earth enters years of darkness.<br /> Bright sunspots appear, cycle reverses.<br /> <br /> History:<br /> (A graph goes back and forth from &quot;Sun is light&quot; and &quot;Sun is dark&quot;.<br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2725:_Sunspot_Cycle&diff=304862 2023-01-17T03:39:47Z

<p>InfoManiac: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2725<br /> | date = January 16, 2023<br /> | title = Sunspot Cycle<br /> | image = sunspot_cycle_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 740x503px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Who can forget the early 2010s memes? 'You know you're a 90s kid if you remember the feeling of warm sunlight on your face.' 'Only 90s kids remember the dawn.'<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a NINETIES KID WHO FELT SUN - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> This comic seems to be set in an alternative reality where the sun's brightness rises and falls within an 11 year cycle, causing there to be complete darkness for around 10 years. The change in brightness over the cycle is due to sunspots accumulating over half of the cycle. When the sun darkens, standard sunspots appear. When it brightens, fictitious 'bright' sunspots appear in place of the old, dark sunspots.<br /> <br /> This would obviously be impossible{{citation needed}} as not only do sunspots cool the area of the sun where they appear, but during a dark phase, no light is coming from the sun, so the Earth would freeze.<br /> <br /> The title text indicates the effect on internet memes that this process has. During the 2010's, when '90's kid' memes were still funny, many have changed to reflect that the Earth has been dark since the 2000's, and thus only those born in the 90's and before would remember dawn.<br /> <br /> This comic seems to be an allegory correlating the solar cycle to events and periods in the cycle of human history. In the 1970s the sun was light, humans society was doing well, with progress made in social issues and lifestyle. The dark periods seem to coincide with dark events in history, ie 2001 and on, then things started to look up after the financial crash of 2014. A low point at 2020 could indicate the covid epidemic. The history shown does not correspond to the observed sunspot cycle in reality.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> (Caption above the comic):Ever wonder why the sun disappears for about 10 years every other decade? This terrifying period of worldwide darkness is a consequence of the 11-year sunspot cycle.<br /> <br /> There is a graph with &quot;Sunspot number&quot; and &quot;Time&quot;.<br /> Left to right:<br /> Dark sunspots appear.<br /> Sunspot number rises.<br /> Numbers fall as sunspots merge.<br /> Sunspots envelop sun, earth enters years of darkness.<br /> Bright sunspots appear, cycle reverses.<br /> <br /> History:<br /> (A graph goes back and forth from &quot;Sun is light&quot; and &quot;Sun is dark&quot;.<br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2715:_Pando&diff=303392 2022-12-24T23:48:38Z

<p>InfoManiac: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2715<br /> | date = December 23, 2022<br /> | title = Pando<br /> | image = pando_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 422x372px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = The presents under the tree are actually a single gift connected by an underground ribbon system.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a CHRISTMAS PANDA — Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {{w|Pando_(tree)|Pando}} is a {{w|Populus tremuloides|quaking aspen}} tree colony in {{w|Fishlake National Forest}}, Utah. Depending on the measurement method,[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWAA-SrrFUQ] Pando is the largest living organism on earth, and is thereby also the largest tree on earth. By dry mass (mass not including water), Pando is the largest living thing humans have found. There is [https://www.forbes.com/sites/linhanhcat/2019/02/22/largest-organism-in-the-world/ one fungus in Oregon] which may weigh more including water, but a fungus is [[1749: Mushrooms|not a tree]].<br /> <br /> Pando is a tree colony, a type of {{w|clonal colony}} made of trees. Clonal colonies all form from the same seed or other origin, and are all genetically identical. Tree colonies spread using their extensive root system. Under all trees are {{w|Root|roots}}, which gather nutrients and water from soil. On clonal trees (such as the {{w|Populus tremuloides|quaking aspen}}, Pando's species), when roots from one tree surface they can form another stalk/tree, remaining the same genetic stock; this is unlike propagation by seeds. This clone then grows its own root network and is part of the clonal colony. Crucially, the linking roots between 'generations' of the plant do not naturally separate, so all effective clones stay attached. Each such stalk still has an individually limited lifespan of decades to centuries, but the colony can persist and propagate in this manner for millennia. For example, the only known wild example of {{w|Lomatia tasmanica|''Lomatia tasmanica'', also known as King's lomatia}}, is a clonal shrub thought to be at least 43,600 years old, and Pando itself is thought to be around 14,000 years old.<br /> <br /> {{w|Christmas}} is a celebration on the 25th of December, traditionally celebrating the birth of {{w|Jesus}}. The celebration is often claimed to be built heavily upon pagan traditions,[https://chefin.com.au/blog/these-6-christmas-traditions-are-actually-pagan-customs/] though this is disputed by some historians[https://historyforatheists.com/2020/12/pagan-christmas/], as well as on annual social customs, then arguably converted into a far more secular event for many. This comic was published on the 23rd of December, two days before Christmas, or [[Christmas Eve Eve]].<br /> <br /> The concept of a {{w|Christmas tree}} is rooted&lt;!--No Pun Intended--&gt; in various pre-Christian folkloric traditions and, in the modern era, may be adapted or adopted as desired by local and personal circumstances. It need not be an {{w|evergreen}} tree with an angel or star atop, though that is the oft-depicted image, but can be any handy plant or artificial substitute strewn with decorations and/or {{w|Christmas lights|lights}} as the owner wishes. People and places often compete to hold the record for the largest Christmas tree. At time of writing, the officially tallest Christmas tree was a 64.36 m (221 ft) tall {{w|Douglas-fir}} that was displayed in {{w|Northgate Station (shopping mall)|Northgate Shopping Center}},{{Actual citation needed}} Seattle, WA in 1950.[https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/77271-tallest-christmas-tree][https://www.historylink.org/File/21359] The one with the most area is likely the [https://www.italybyevents.com/en/events/umbria/world-largest-christmas-tree-gubbio/ Christmas tree display] in {{w|Gubbio}}, a town in {{w|Umbria, Italy}}, where hundreds of trees on a mountain face are lit up with light to form a Christmas tree shape. <br /> <br /> In this comic, [[Randall]] proposes putting Christmas lights all the way around Pando to turn it into (technically) a Christmas tree. As Pando is the world's largest tree, if this plan were carried out, it would safely take the record for largest Christmas tree and hold it for quite some time. In the inset map, Randall has drawn the path of the Christmas lights as a {{w|convex hull}} around the edge of Pando. [https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1Wgz5CxvxHC7FKMHWp5zkPQuQsZevBqU&amp;usp=sharing Roughly tracing Pando on Google Maps] reveals its perimeter to be roughly 2.77 km or 1.72 miles, or roughly 9,000 ft. Allowing a little wiggle-room for differing levels of accuracy, and possibly the extra length required to suspend the shallow {{w|catenary}} loops of the lights and wrap them around the various supporting branches, 9,300 ft of Christmas lights seems about right.<br /> <br /> The title text suggests that similarly to how trees that make up Pando are interconnected by underground roots, the gifts under the proposed Christmas tree are interconnected by underground ribbons.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[The main comic frame is a profile view of a number of separated trees, of varying heights and maturity, across each of which (of those with sufficient height) has apparently been draped a single chain of decorative lights that goes from off-image at one side to off-image at the other.]<br /> <br /> :[Inset in the bottom right is a mini-map implicating that these light-linked 'trees' are actually all risers from a single large superorganism (as a shaded complex but contiguous shape labelled &quot;Pando&quot;), the map has a &quot;N&quot;orth pointer, a scale bar indicating the length of &quot;1,000 ft&quot; (approximately a third of the shaded mass's full width) and a convex hull perimeter line tightly fitting the shaded area that has an indicative arrow from a label informing us that its length would be &quot;9,300 ft&quot;.]<br /> <br /> :[Caption below:] Christmas Science Fact: Pando is approximately 9,300 feet of lights away from being the world's largest Christmas Tree.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics with lowercase text]] &lt;!-- A couple of examples of &quot;ft&quot;, upon the inlaid minimap--&gt;<br /> [[Category:Christmas]] <br /> [[Category:Biology]]<br /> [[Category:Facts]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2711:_Optimal_Bowling&diff=301446 2022-12-16T03:24:48Z

<p>InfoManiac: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2711<br /> | date = December 14, 2022<br /> | title = Optimal Bowling<br /> | image = optimal_bowling_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 306x670px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = If you want to bowl a strike, the optimal place is almost certainly inside a bowling alley, although with a little luck any establishment uphill from one could also work.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a SUPERMASSIVE BOWLING BALL - Need a full analysis of each graph (preferably with input from someone who understands bowling). Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> This series of line graphs purports to advise players on how to improve their odds of achieving a strike in the sport of {{w|bowling}} – presumably {{w|ten-pin bowling}}, the most popular version of the sport in the United States. As is typical for Randall, however, things start off halfway reasonable and quickly escalate to the absurd. Among the parameters being measured, that being angle, throwing speed, spinning speed, and weight of the ball, the latter three are on {{w|logarithmic scale}}s, making them encompass ranges larger than would be useful for reference by a bowler, up to values that are physically impossible for a human to achieve.{{Citation needed}}<br /> <br /> The first line graph indicates that a bowler has the greatest chance of achieving a strike by aiming the ball directly at the pins, with the chance of a strike decreasing rapidly as the ball is aimed to the left or the right. Even a novice bowler already knows to aim the ball at the pins, not elsewhere. While a novice bowler may have difficulty achieving a 0° angle roll, their roll would still not come close to a -90° or 90° angle (due left or due right), much less a -180° or 180° angle (which, in either case, would be the opposite direction from the pins). Unlike with the other graphs, it is physically possible for a bowler to aim the ball at any angle, albeit not permissible under bowling rules; aiming the ball at an angle which deviates significantly from 0° would create a risk of the ball going into one of the other lanes or missing the lanes entirely, which would annoy or anger other bowlers and employees of the bowling alley.<br /> <br /> The second graph indicates that a bowler has the greatest chance of achieving a strike by throwing the ball about 10 m/s (22 mph or 36 kph), with the chance of a strike decreasing as the speed is increased or decreased. Most bowlers cannot throw more than 100 m/s (224 mph or 360 kph).{{Citation needed}} According to the graph, any throw faster than 100 m/s would cause equipment damage, and then becomes actually responsible for widespread destruction by the time that increase is several order of magnitudes later. The graph ends at the speed of light, ''perhaps'' as it is physically impossible to throw anything faster.{{Citation needed}}<br /> <br /> The third graph concerns the rotational speed of the ball. The &quot;ball explodes&quot; section is a reference to one of Randall's favorite equations, which is that an object cannot spin faster than the square root of its specific tensile strength. Spinning the ball any faster than this limit would cause the bowling ball to lose its structural integrity and explosively disintigrate. At particularly high speeds, the material of the ball would be flung outwards at a significant fraction of the speed of light, causing, as in graph #2, widespread destruction (possibly a reference to {{what if|92|One-Second Day}}.)<br /> <br /> The fourth graph in this comic illustrates a bowler's probability of a strike with a ball whose mass ranges from 10&lt;sup&gt;0&lt;/sup&gt; kg (2.2 pounds) to close to 10&lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt; kg (over 22 billion pounds), and continues by indicating that balls even larger than that would cause &quot;equipment damage&quot; (up to 10&lt;sup&gt;20&lt;/sup&gt; kg) or the creation of a black hole (starting from around 10&lt;sup&gt;25&lt;/sup&gt; kg and up). The last entry on the x-axis of this graph is 10&lt;sup&gt;40&lt;/sup&gt; kg, which is about 5 billion times the mass of the {{w|Sun}}.<br /> <br /> By contrast, the United States Bowling Congress requires all bowling balls to weigh no more than 16 pounds (that is, a mass of no more than 7.257 kg), with no minimum weight. Hence, if the x-axis of the graph ran from, say, 0 to 8 kg, the graph might actually impart some useful information.<br /> <br /> The title text continues the trend of providing unhelpful information by stating that the optimal place to stand when trying to bowl a strike is inside the bowling alley. It is quite obvious that if one is to attempt to bowl a strike, they should stand near the pins, hence inside a bowling alley. The title text also mentions the possibility of &quot;any establishment uphill from one&quot; working, with a little luck. This suggests the possibility of rolling the bowling ball downhill, into the bowling alley (possibly ''through'' it) and into the pins.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> :[The header is surrounded on either side by small drawings of two bowling pins and a bowling ball.]<br /> :Data for Optimal Bowling<br /> <br /> :[Four line graphs are depicted. Each has a numbered one-word general description in a box at the top, an unlabeled y-axis, and a labeled x-axis. The relevant curve and other comments on each graph are in red.]<br /> <br /> :1. Aim<br /> :[The graph's x-axis is labeled from -180° to 180°.]<br /> :Release Direction<br /> :[The red curve on the graph is just above the x-axis at all points except for a steep peak around 0°. The red curve is labeled:]<br /> :Relative Probability of Strike<br /> <br /> :2. Speed<br /> :[The graph's x-axis is labeled from 10&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; to 10&lt;sup&gt;8&lt;/sup&gt;, with the last point on the x-axis labeled &quot;Speed of Light&quot;.]<br /> :Ball Speed (m/s)<br /> :[The red curve on the graph starts at the x-axis for 10&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;, reaches its peak around 10, then declines and becomes a dashed line ending around three-quarters of the peak around 10&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;. The remainder of the curve is replaced by two labels:]<br /> :Equipment Damage<br /> :Widespread Destruction<br /> <br /> :3. Spin<br /> :[The graph's x-axis is labeled from 0 to 10&lt;sup&gt;12&lt;/sup&gt;.]<br /> :Spin (RPMs)<br /> :[The red curve on the graph starts about halfway from its peak for 0, reaches its peak somewhere between 0 and 1,000, then declines and becomes a dashed line around 1,000, soon after which the remainder of the curve is replaced by two labels:]<br /> :Ball Explodes<br /> :Widespread Destruction<br /> <br /> :4. Weight<br /> :[The graph's x-axis is labeled from 10&lt;sup&gt;0&lt;/sup&gt; to 10&lt;sup&gt;40&lt;/sup&gt;.]<br /> :Ball Mass (kg)<br /> :[The red curve on the graph starts just above the x-axis for 10&lt;sup&gt;0&lt;/sup&gt;, rises steeply and drops steeply ending just above the x-axis, then becoming a dashed line, all before reaching 10&lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;. The remainder of the curve is replaced by two labels:]<br /> :Equipment Damage<br /> :Black Hole Created <br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Line graphs]]<br /> [[Category:Comics with color]]<br /> [[Category:Sport]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299395 2022-11-19T05:33:02Z

<p>InfoManiac: Formatting</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2700<br /> | date = November 18, 2022<br /> | title = Account Problems<br /> | image = account_problems_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 538x272px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = My password is just every Unicode codepoint concatenated into a single UTF-8 string.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a VISIBLE ZERO WIDTH SPACE. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> [[Cueball]] walks toward [[Ponytail]] carrying his laptop. Ponytail is sitting at her desk, and turns to face him. Having attempted to fix [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|Cueball's tech issues]], she replies with dread. Cueball promises that &quot;It's a normal problem this time&quot;, and Ponytail reluctantly agrees to look at it. Cueball then reveals that he has included a {{w|Null-terminated_string|null string terminator character}} in one of his passwords, probably for a website. Ponytail responds in disbelief, and Cueball defends his actions by saying that the website told him to use special characters.<br /> <br /> In computers, every &quot;character&quot; is a sequence of bytes. Every byte is a sequence of eight bits. A bit is always either a zero (0) or a one (1).<br /> <br /> Every character is a sequence of bytes, but not every sequence of bytes is a valid character. For example, a JPEG image is also a sequence of bytes (much longer than a character). An MP3 audio file is also a sequence of bytes.<br /> <br /> A null string terminator is a type of character called a control character. Unlike characters which are letters of the alphabet or numbers, control characters are not intended to be displayed on the screen, and are not intended to be typed on a keyboard; rather, they are used for internal purposes in the computer program. It is thus strange and hard to understand how Cueball was able to successfully insert such a character in his password, since there is no sequence of keys he could type that would result in a null terminator.<br /> <br /> Null terminators are used in older, C-based languages to mark where a string ends. Every programming language has variables,{{citation needed}} which are used to store data. In C, a primitive variable can store a small amount of data, such as an integer or boolean (true or false) value. Strings (which are a sequence of characters) often need to store much larger amounts of data; too much to fit in the memory space which is available for a primitive. To solve this, C uses a system called &quot;pointers&quot;, in which the variable is an integer which refers to a memory location. When the string needs to be read or written, C looks up the memory location, and interprets the data as a series of characters. One problem is, because a string can be any length (big or small), C needs to know where to stop reading from memory. The null terminator is C's solution to this. When C encounters the null terminator, it knows it has reached the end of the string and stops reading. Therefore, it is important that the null terminator is not a normal character that can be typed on a keyboard.<br /> <br /> This has implications for security. If users are able to add or remove null terminators at will, then they can exploit C's string reading mechanisms in order to read data in a way not intended by the software programmers. If a malicious user is successful in doing this, they may be able to intentionally cause security problems on the computer, such as infecting it with malware.<br /> <br /> Cueball notes that his password contains a &quot;special character&quot;, which is a typical requirement imposed on users. However, in most contexts, &quot;special character&quot; means an ordinary printable character, other than letters or numbers, that can be typed on a normal keyboard and seen on the screen. Cueball's use of &quot;special&quot; is technically true, as null terminals do have a specialized purpose; but his usage of the word is not in keeping with the way that phrase is normally understood.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Cueball carries a laptop over to Ponytail. Ponytail is sitting at her desk.]<br /> :Cueball: Can you help me with my account?<br /> :Ponytail: Oh no.<br /> <br /> :[Cueball holds his laptop in front of Ponytail.]<br /> :Cueball: No no, I promise it's a normal problem this time.<br /> :Ponytail: Okay. Fine. What is it?<br /> <br /> :[Ponytail is using Cueball's laptop.]<br /> :Cueball: I included a null string terminator as part of my password, and now I can't-<br /> :Ponytail: ''How?!''<br /> :Cueball: They said to use special characters!<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br /> [[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299387 2022-11-19T05:25:26Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299386 by 172.71.151.26 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :::::The fact you're replying to yourself calling somebody a troll to say calling people names is sad is possibly the saddest thing in this discussion. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.176|172.71.142.176]] 04:33, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I accidentally used a backspace character in a username one time. It caused all sorts of problems with my account.<br /> <br /> Also, I've never found the whole &quot;The trolls will leave you alone if you don't move.&quot; thing to be effective. But I've never found anything else to be effective at universally adjusting behavior either.<br /> -Master Areth</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299384 2022-11-19T05:24:58Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299382 by 172.71.151.26 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :::::The fact you're replying to yourself calling somebody a troll to say calling people names is sad is possibly the saddest thing in this discussion. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.176|172.71.142.176]] 04:33, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I accidentally used a backspace character in a username one time. It caused all sorts of problems with my account.<br /> <br /> Also, I've never found the whole &quot;The trolls will leave you alone if you don't move.&quot; thing to be effective. But I've never found anything else to be effective at universally adjusting behavior either.<br /> -Master Areth</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299375 2022-11-19T05:23:20Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299373 by 172.71.151.26 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :::::The fact you're replying to yourself calling somebody a troll to say calling people names is sad is possibly the saddest thing in this discussion. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.176|172.71.142.176]] 04:33, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I accidentally used a backspace character in a username one time. It caused all sorts of problems with my account.<br /> <br /> Also, I've never found the whole &quot;The trolls will leave you alone if you don't move.&quot; thing to be effective. But I've never found anything else to be effective at universally adjusting behavior either.<br /> -Master Areth</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299310 2022-11-19T02:51:20Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299309 by InfoManiac (talk) Oops! Sorry about that, collateral damage</p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I accidentally used a backspace character in a username one time. It caused all sorts of problems with my account.<br /> <br /> Also, I've never found the whole &quot;The trolls will leave you alone if you don't move.&quot; thing to be effective. But I've never found anything else to be effective at universally adjusting behavior either.<br /> -Master Areth</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299309 2022-11-19T02:50:49Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299308 by 172.71.26.151 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299307 2022-11-19T02:46:38Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299305 by 172.71.150.168 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299303 2022-11-19T02:46:03Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299302 by 172.71.150.168 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299301 2022-11-19T02:45:45Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299300 by 172.71.150.169 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2700<br /> | date = November 18, 2022<br /> | title = Account Problems<br /> | image = account_problems_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 538x272px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = My password is just every Unicode codepoint concatenated into a single UTF-8 string.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a VISIBLE ZERO WIDTH SPACE. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> [[Cueball]] walks toward [[Ponytail]] carrying his laptop. Ponytail is sitting at her desk, and turns to face him. Having attempted to fix [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|Cueball's tech issues]], she replies with dread. Cueball promises that &quot;It's a normal problem this time&quot;, and Ponytail reluctantly agrees to look at it. Cueball then reveals that he has included a {{w|Null-terminated_string|null string terminator character}} in one of his passwords, probably for a website. Ponytail responds in disbelief, and Cueball defends his actions by saying that the website told him to use special characters.<br /> <br /> In computers, every &quot;character&quot; is a sequence of bytes. Every byte is a sequence of eight bits. A bit is always either a zero (0) or a one (1).<br /> <br /> Every character is a sequence of bytes, but not every sequence of bytes is a valid character. For example, a JPEG image is also a sequence of bytes (much longer than a character). An MP3 audio file is also a sequence of bytes.<br /> <br /> A null string terminator is a type of character called a control character. Unlike characters which are letters of the alphabet or numbers, control characters are not intended to be displayed on the screen, and are not intended to be typed on a keyboard; rather, they are used for internal purposes in the computer program. It is thus strange and hard to understand how Cueball was able to successfully insert such a character in his password, since there is no sequence of keys he could type that would result in a null terminator.<br /> <br /> Null terminators are used in older, C-based languages to mark where a string ends. Every programming language has variables{{citation needed}}, which are used to store data. In C, a primitive variable can store a small amount of data, such as an integer or boolean (true or false) value. Strings (which are a sequence of characters) often need to store much larger amounts of data; too much to fit in the memory space which is available for a primitive. To solve this, C uses a system called &quot;pointers&quot;, in which the variable is an integer which refers to a memory location. When the string needs to be read or written, C looks up the memory location, and interprets the data as a series of characters. One problem is, because a string can be any length (big or small), C needs to know where to stop reading from memory. The null terminator is C's solution to this. When C encounters the null terminator, it knows it has reached the end of the string and stops reading. Therefore, it is important that the null terminator is not a normal character that can be typed on a keyboard.<br /> <br /> This has implications for security. If users are able to add or remove null terminators at will, then they can exploit C's string reading mechanisms in order to read data in a way not intended by the software programmers. If a malicious user is successful in doing this, they may be able to intentionally cause security problems on the computer, such as infecting it with malware.<br /> <br /> Cueball notes that his password contains a &quot;special character&quot;, which is a typical requirement imposed on users. However, in most contexts, &quot;special character&quot; means an ordinary printable character, other than letters or numbers, that can be typed on a normal keyboard and seen on the screen. Cueball's use of &quot;special&quot; is technically true, as null terminals do have a specialized purpose; but his usage of the word is not in keeping with the way that phrase is normally understood.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Cueball walks up to Ponytail.]<br /> :Cueball: Can you help me with my account?<br /> :Ponytail: Oh no.<br /> :Cueball: No no, I promise it's a normal problem this time.<br /> :Ponytail: Okay. Fine. What is it?<br /> :Cueball: I included a null string terminator as part of my password, and now I can't-<br /> :Ponytail: How?!<br /> :Cueball: They said to use special characters!<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299299 2022-11-19T02:45:34Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299298 by 172.71.150.168 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299295 2022-11-19T02:45:14Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299294 by 172.71.150.169 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299293 2022-11-19T02:45:00Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299292 by 172.71.150.169 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2700<br /> | date = November 18, 2022<br /> | title = Account Problems<br /> | image = account_problems_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 538x272px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = My password is just every Unicode codepoint concatenated into a single UTF-8 string.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a VISIBLE ZERO WIDTH SPACE. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> [[Cueball]] walks toward [[Ponytail]] carrying his laptop. Ponytail is sitting at her desk, and turns to face him. Having attempted to fix [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|Cueball's tech issues]], she replies with dread. Cueball promises that &quot;It's a normal problem this time&quot;, and Ponytail reluctantly agrees to look at it. Cueball then reveals that he has included a {{w|Null-terminated_string|null string terminator character}} in one of his passwords, probably for a website. Ponytail responds in disbelief, and Cueball defends his actions by saying that the website told him to use special characters.<br /> <br /> In computers, every &quot;character&quot; is a sequence of bytes. Every byte is a sequence of eight bits. A bit is always either a zero (0) or a one (1).<br /> <br /> Every character is a sequence of bytes, but not every sequence of bytes is a valid character. For example, a JPEG image is also a sequence of bytes (much longer than a character). An MP3 audio file is also a sequence of bytes.<br /> <br /> A null string terminator is a type of character called a control character. Unlike characters which are letters of the alphabet or numbers, control characters are not intended to be displayed on the screen, and are not intended to be typed on a keyboard; rather, they are used for internal purposes in the computer program. It is thus strange and hard to understand how Cueball was able to successfully insert such a character in his password, since there is no sequence of keys he could type that would result in a null terminator.<br /> <br /> Null terminators are used in older, C-based languages to mark where a string ends. Every programming language has variables{{citation needed}}, which are used to store data. In C, a primitive variable can store a small amount of data, such as an integer or boolean (true or false) value. Strings (which are a sequence of characters) often need to store much larger amounts of data; too much to fit in the memory space which is available for a primitive. To solve this, C uses a system called &quot;pointers&quot;, in which the variable is an integer which refers to a memory location. When the string needs to be read or written, C looks up the memory location, and interprets the data as a series of characters. One problem is, because a string can be any length (big or small), C needs to know where to stop reading from memory. The null terminator is C's solution to this. When C encounters the null terminator, it knows it has reached the end of the string and stops reading. Therefore, it is important that the null terminator is not a normal character that can be typed on a keyboard.<br /> <br /> This has implications for security. If users are able to add or remove null terminators at will, then they can exploit C's string reading mechanisms in order to read data in a way not intended by the software programmers. If a malicious user is successful in doing this, they may be able to intentionally cause security problems on the computer, such as infecting it with malware.<br /> <br /> Cueball notes that his password contains a &quot;special character&quot;, which is a typical requirement imposed on users. However, in most contexts, &quot;special character&quot; means an ordinary printable character, other than letters or numbers, that can be typed on a normal keyboard and seen on the screen. Cueball's use of &quot;special&quot; is technically true, as null terminals do have a specialized purpose; but his usage of the word is not in keeping with the way that phrase is normally understood.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Cueball walks up to Ponytail.]<br /> :Cueball: Can you help me with my account?<br /> :Ponytail: Oh no.<br /> :Cueball: No no, I promise it's a normal problem this time.<br /> :Ponytail: Okay. Fine. What is it?<br /> :Cueball: I included a null string terminator as part of my password, and now I can't-<br /> :Ponytail: How?!<br /> :Cueball: They said to use special characters!<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299291 2022-11-19T02:44:11Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299290 by 172.71.151.26 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2700<br /> | date = November 18, 2022<br /> | title = Account Problems<br /> | image = account_problems_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 538x272px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = My password is just every Unicode codepoint concatenated into a single UTF-8 string.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a VISIBLE ZERO WIDTH SPACE. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> [[Cueball]] walks toward [[Ponytail]] carrying his laptop. Ponytail is sitting at her desk, and turns to face him. Having attempted to fix [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|Cueball's tech issues]], she replies with dread. Cueball promises that &quot;It's a normal problem this time&quot;, and Ponytail reluctantly agrees to look at it. Cueball then reveals that he has included a {{w|Null-terminated_string|null string terminator character}} in one of his passwords, probably for a website. Ponytail responds in disbelief, and Cueball defends his actions by saying that the website told him to use special characters.<br /> <br /> In computers, every &quot;character&quot; is a sequence of bytes. Every byte is a sequence of eight bits. A bit is always either a zero (0) or a one (1).<br /> <br /> Every character is a sequence of bytes, but not every sequence of bytes is a valid character. For example, a JPEG image is also a sequence of bytes (much longer than a character). An MP3 audio file is also a sequence of bytes.<br /> <br /> A null string terminator is a type of character called a control character. Unlike characters which are letters of the alphabet or numbers, control characters are not intended to be displayed on the screen, and are not intended to be typed on a keyboard; rather, they are used for internal purposes in the computer program. It is thus strange and hard to understand how Cueball was able to successfully insert such a character in his password, since there is no sequence of keys he could type that would result in a null terminator.<br /> <br /> Null terminators are used in older, C-based languages to mark where a string ends. Every programming language has variables{{citation needed}}, which are used to store data. In C, a primitive variable can store a small amount of data, such as an integer or boolean (true or false) value. Strings (which are a sequence of characters) often need to store much larger amounts of data; too much to fit in the memory space which is available for a primitive. To solve this, C uses a system called &quot;pointers&quot;, in which the variable is an integer which refers to a memory location. When the string needs to be read or written, C looks up the memory location, and interprets the data as a series of characters. One problem is, because a string can be any length (big or small), C needs to know where to stop reading from memory. The null terminator is C's solution to this. When C encounters the null terminator, it knows it has reached the end of the string and stops reading. Therefore, it is important that the null terminator is not a normal character that can be typed on a keyboard.<br /> <br /> This has implications for security. If users are able to add or remove null terminators at will, then they can exploit C's string reading mechanisms in order to read data in a way not intended by the software programmers. If a malicious user is successful in doing this, they may be able to intentionally cause security problems on the computer, such as infecting it with malware.<br /> <br /> Cueball notes that his password contains a &quot;special character&quot;, which is a typical requirement imposed on users. However, in most contexts, &quot;special character&quot; means an ordinary printable character, other than letters or numbers, that can be typed on a normal keyboard and seen on the screen. Cueball's use of &quot;special&quot; is technically true, as null terminals do have a specialized purpose; but his usage of the word is not in keeping with the way that phrase is normally understood.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Cueball walks up to Ponytail.]<br /> :Cueball: Can you help me with my account?<br /> :Ponytail: Oh no.<br /> :Cueball: No no, I promise it's a normal problem this time.<br /> :Ponytail: Okay. Fine. What is it?<br /> :Cueball: I included a null string terminator as part of my password, and now I can't-<br /> :Ponytail: How?!<br /> :Cueball: They said to use special characters!<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299289 2022-11-19T02:44:00Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299287 by 172.71.151.25 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299288 2022-11-19T02:43:52Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299285 by 172.71.151.25 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2700<br /> | date = November 18, 2022<br /> | title = Account Problems<br /> | image = account_problems_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 538x272px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = My password is just every Unicode codepoint concatenated into a single UTF-8 string.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a VISIBLE ZERO WIDTH SPACE. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> [[Cueball]] walks toward [[Ponytail]] carrying his laptop. Ponytail is sitting at her desk, and turns to face him. Having attempted to fix [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|Cueball's tech issues]], she replies with dread. Cueball promises that &quot;It's a normal problem this time&quot;, and Ponytail reluctantly agrees to look at it. Cueball then reveals that he has included a {{w|Null-terminated_string|null string terminator character}} in one of his passwords, probably for a website. Ponytail responds in disbelief, and Cueball defends his actions by saying that the website told him to use special characters.<br /> <br /> In computers, every &quot;character&quot; is a sequence of bytes. Every byte is a sequence of eight bits. A bit is always either a zero (0) or a one (1).<br /> <br /> Every character is a sequence of bytes, but not every sequence of bytes is a valid character. For example, a JPEG image is also a sequence of bytes (much longer than a character). An MP3 audio file is also a sequence of bytes.<br /> <br /> A null string terminator is a type of character called a control character. Unlike characters which are letters of the alphabet or numbers, control characters are not intended to be displayed on the screen, and are not intended to be typed on a keyboard; rather, they are used for internal purposes in the computer program. It is thus strange and hard to understand how Cueball was able to successfully insert such a character in his password, since there is no sequence of keys he could type that would result in a null terminator.<br /> <br /> Null terminators are used in older, C-based languages to mark where a string ends. Every programming language has variables{{citation needed}}, which are used to store data. In C, a primitive variable can store a small amount of data, such as an integer or boolean (true or false) value. Strings (which are a sequence of characters) often need to store much larger amounts of data; too much to fit in the memory space which is available for a primitive. To solve this, C uses a system called &quot;pointers&quot;, in which the variable is an integer which refers to a memory location. When the string needs to be read or written, C looks up the memory location, and interprets the data as a series of characters. One problem is, because a string can be any length (big or small), C needs to know where to stop reading from memory. The null terminator is C's solution to this. When C encounters the null terminator, it knows it has reached the end of the string and stops reading. Therefore, it is important that the null terminator is not a normal character that can be typed on a keyboard.<br /> <br /> This has implications for security. If users are able to add or remove null terminators at will, then they can exploit C's string reading mechanisms in order to read data in a way not intended by the software programmers. If a malicious user is successful in doing this, they may be able to intentionally cause security problems on the computer, such as infecting it with malware.<br /> <br /> Cueball notes that his password contains a &quot;special character&quot;, which is a typical requirement imposed on users. However, in most contexts, &quot;special character&quot; means an ordinary printable character, other than letters or numbers, that can be typed on a normal keyboard and seen on the screen. Cueball's use of &quot;special&quot; is technically true, as null terminals do have a specialized purpose; but his usage of the word is not in keeping with the way that phrase is normally understood.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Cueball walks up to Ponytail.]<br /> :Cueball: Can you help me with my account?<br /> :Ponytail: Oh no.<br /> :Cueball: No no, I promise it's a normal problem this time.<br /> :Ponytail: Okay. Fine. What is it?<br /> :Cueball: I included a null string terminator as part of my password, and now I can't-<br /> :Ponytail: How?!<br /> :Cueball: They said to use special characters!<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299283 2022-11-19T02:42:25Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299278 by 172.71.150.129 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=File_talk:Osama_bin_Laden_portrait.jpg&diff=299282 2022-11-19T02:42:17Z

<p>InfoManiac: </p> <hr /> <div>Delete this temporarily to prevent vandalism? [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Unfortunately it looks like this is from Wikimedia Commons, no idea if it can even be deleted [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 02:42, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=File_talk:Osama_bin_Laden_portrait.jpg&diff=299281 2022-11-19T02:42:11Z

<p>InfoManiac: </p> <hr /> <div>Delete this temporarily to prevent vandalism? [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> Unfortunately it looks like this is from Wikimedia Commons, no idea if it can even be deleted [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 02:42, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299277 2022-11-19T02:41:07Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299276 by 172.71.150.129 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2700<br /> | date = November 18, 2022<br /> | title = Account Problems<br /> | image = account_problems_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 538x272px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = My password is just every Unicode codepoint concatenated into a single UTF-8 string.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a VISIBLE ZERO WIDTH SPACE. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> [[Cueball]] walks toward [[Ponytail]] carrying his laptop. Ponytail is sitting at her desk, and turns to face him. Having attempted to fix [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|Cueball's tech issues]], she replies with dread. Cueball promises that &quot;It's a normal problem this time&quot;, and Ponytail reluctantly agrees to look at it. Cueball then reveals that he has included a {{w|Null-terminated_string|null string terminator character}} in one of his passwords, probably for a website. Ponytail responds in disbelief, and Cueball defends his actions by saying that the website told him to use special characters.<br /> <br /> In computers, every &quot;character&quot; is a sequence of bytes. Every byte is a sequence of eight bits. A bit is always either a zero (0) or a one (1).<br /> <br /> Every character is a sequence of bytes, but not every sequence of bytes is a valid character. For example, a JPEG image is also a sequence of bytes (much longer than a character). An MP3 audio file is also a sequence of bytes.<br /> <br /> A null string terminator is a type of character called a control character. Unlike characters which are letters of the alphabet or numbers, control characters are not intended to be displayed on the screen, and are not intended to be typed on a keyboard; rather, they are used for internal purposes in the computer program. It is thus strange and hard to understand how Cueball was able to successfully insert such a character in his password, since there is no sequence of keys he could type that would result in a null terminator.<br /> <br /> Null terminators are used in older, C-based languages to mark where a string ends. Every programming language has variables{{citation needed}}, which are used to store data. In C, a primitive variable can store a small amount of data, such as an integer or boolean (true or false) value. Strings (which are a sequence of characters) often need to store much larger amounts of data; too much to fit in the memory space which is available for a primitive. To solve this, C uses a system called &quot;pointers&quot;, in which the variable is an integer which refers to a memory location. When the string needs to be read or written, C looks up the memory location, and interprets the data as a series of characters. One problem is, because a string can be any length (big or small), C needs to know where to stop reading from memory. The null terminator is C's solution to this. When C encounters the null terminator, it knows it has reached the end of the string and stops reading. Therefore, it is important that the null terminator is not a normal character that can be typed on a keyboard.<br /> <br /> This has implications for security. If users are able to add or remove null terminators at will, then they can exploit C's string reading mechanisms in order to read data in a way not intended by the software programmers. If a malicious user is successful in doing this, they may be able to intentionally cause security problems on the computer, such as infecting it with malware.<br /> <br /> Cueball notes that his password contains a &quot;special character&quot;, which is a typical requirement imposed on users. However, in most contexts, &quot;special character&quot; means an ordinary printable character, other than letters or numbers, that can be typed on a normal keyboard and seen on the screen. Cueball's use of &quot;special&quot; is technically true, as null terminals do have a specialized purpose; but his usage of the word is not in keeping with the way that phrase is normally understood.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Cueball walks up to Ponytail.]<br /> :Cueball: Can you help me with my account?<br /> :Ponytail: Oh no.<br /> :Cueball: No no, I promise it's a normal problem this time.<br /> :Ponytail: Okay. Fine. What is it?<br /> :Cueball: I included a null string terminator as part of my password, and now I can't-<br /> :Ponytail: How?!<br /> :Cueball: They said to use special characters!<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299275 2022-11-19T02:39:35Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299271 by 172.71.142.177 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299268 2022-11-19T02:37:10Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299264 by 172.71.142.177 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299262 2022-11-19T02:35:23Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299259 by 172.71.151.26 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299256 2022-11-19T02:32:34Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299254 by 172.71.150.128 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299249 2022-11-19T02:29:57Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299246 by 162.158.107.41 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299243 2022-11-19T02:25:26Z

<p>InfoManiac: </p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299240 2022-11-19T02:24:25Z

<p>InfoManiac: </p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment --[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::::The fact you even think anyone would actually be insulted to be called that makes it even sadder. ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 02:17, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::I'm pretty sure he is. [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 02:23, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299234 2022-11-19T02:19:48Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299233 by 162.158.107.41 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2700<br /> | date = November 18, 2022<br /> | title = Account Problems<br /> | image = account_problems_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 538x272px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = My password is just every Unicode codepoint concatenated into a single UTF-8 string.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a VISIBLE ZERO WIDTH SPACE. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> [[Cueball]] walks toward [[Ponytail]] carrying his laptop. Ponytail is sitting at her desk, and turns to face him. Having attempted to fix Cueball's computer problems before (e.g., [[2083: Laptop Issues]]), she replies with dread. Cueball promises that &quot;It's a normal problem this time&quot;, and Ponytail reluctantly agrees to look at it. Cueball then reveals that he has included a {{w|Null-terminated_string|null string terminator character}} in one of his passwords, probably for a website. Ponytail responds in disbelief, and Cueball defends his actions by saying that the website told him to use special characters.<br /> <br /> In computers, every &quot;character&quot; is a sequence of bytes. Every byte is a sequence of eight bits. A bit is always either a zero (0) or a one (1).<br /> <br /> Every character is a sequence of bytes, but not every sequence of bytes is a valid character. For example, a JPEG image is also a sequence of bytes (much longer than a character). An MP3 audio file is also a sequence of bytes.<br /> <br /> A null string terminator is a type of character called a control character. Unlike characters which are letters of the alphabet or numbers, control characters are not intended to be displayed on the screen, and are not intended to be typed on a keyboard; rather, they are used for internal purposes in the computer program. It is thus strange and hard to understand how Cueball was able to successfully insert such a character in his password, since there is no sequence of keys he could type that would result in a null terminator.<br /> <br /> Null terminators are used in older, C-based languages to mark where a string ends. Every programming language has variables{{citation needed}}, which are used to store data. In C, a primitive variable can store a small amount of data, such as an integer or boolean (true or false) value. Strings (which are a sequence of characters) often need to store much larger amounts of data; too much to fit in the memory space which is available for a primitive. To solve this, C uses a system called &quot;pointers&quot;, in which the variable is an integer which refers to a memory location. When the string needs to be read or written, C looks up the memory location, and interprets the data as a series of characters. One problem is, because a string can be any length (big or small), C needs to know where to stop reading from memory. The null terminator is C's solution to this. When C encounters the null terminator, it knows it has reached the end of the string and stops reading. Therefore, it is important that the null terminator is not a normal character that can be typed on a keyboard.<br /> <br /> This has implications for security. If users are able to add or remove null terminators at will, then they can exploit C's string reading mechanisms in order to read data in a way not intended by the software programmers. If a malicious user is successful in doing this, they may be able to intentionally cause security problems on the computer, such as infecting it with malware.<br /> <br /> Cueball notes that his password contains a &quot;special character&quot;, which is a typical requirement imposed on users. However, in most contexts, &quot;special character&quot; means an ordinary printable character, other than letters or numbers, that can be typed on a normal keyboard and seen on the screen. Cueball's use of &quot;special&quot; is technically true, as null terminals do have a specialized purpose; but his word usage is not in keeping with the way that phrase is normally understood.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Cueball walks up to Ponytail.]<br /> :Cueball: Can you help me with my account?<br /> :Ponytail: Oh no.<br /> :Cueball: No no, I promise it's a normal problem this time.<br /> :Ponytail: Okay. Fine. What is it?<br /> :Cueball: I included a null string terminator as part of my password, and now I can't-<br /> :Ponytail: How?!<br /> :Cueball: They said to use special characters!<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299222 2022-11-19T02:15:25Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299221 by 172.71.150.82 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2700<br /> | date = November 18, 2022<br /> | title = Account Problems<br /> | image = account_problems_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 538x272px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = My password is just every Unicode codepoint concatenated into a single UTF-8 string.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a VISIBLE ZERO WIDTH SPACE. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> [[Cueball]] walks toward [[Ponytail]] carrying his laptop. Ponytail is sitting at her desk, and turns to face him. Having attempted to fix Cueball's computer problems before (e.g., [[2083: Laptop Issues]]), she replies with dread. Cueball promises that &quot;It's a normal problem this time&quot;, and Ponytail reluctantly agrees to look at it. Cueball then reveals that he has included a {{w|Null-terminated_string|null string terminator character}} in one of his passwords, probably for a website. Ponytail responds in disbelief, and Cueball defends his actions by saying that the website told him to use special characters.<br /> <br /> In computers, every &quot;character&quot; is a sequence of bytes. Every byte is a sequence of eight bits. A bit is always either a zero (0) or a one (1).<br /> <br /> Every character is a sequence of bytes, but not every sequence of bytes is a valid character. For example, a JPEG image is also a sequence of bytes (much longer than a character). An MP3 audio file is also a sequence of bytes.<br /> <br /> A null string terminator is a type of character called a control character. Unlike characters which are letters of the alphabet or numbers, control characters are not intended to be displayed on the screen, and are not intended to be typed on a keyboard; rather, they are used for internal purposes in the computer program. It is thus strange and hard to understand how Cueball was able to successfully insert such a character in his password, since there is no sequence of keys he could type that would result in a null terminator.<br /> <br /> Null terminators are used in older, C-based languages to mark where a string ends. Every programming language has variables{{citation needed}}, which are used to store data. In C, a primitive variable can store a small amount of data, such as an integer or boolean (true or false) value. Strings (which are a sequence of characters) often need to store much larger amounts of data; too much to fit in the memory space which is available for a primitive. To solve this, C uses a system called &quot;pointers&quot;, in which the variable is an integer which refers to a memory location. When the string needs to be read or written, C looks up the memory location, and interprets the data as a series of characters. One problem is, because a string can be any length (big or small), C needs to know where to stop reading from memory. The null terminator is C's solution to this. When C encounters the null terminator, it knows it has reached the end of the string and stops reading. Therefore, it is important that the null terminator is not a normal character that can be typed on a keyboard.<br /> <br /> This has implications for security. If users are able to add or remove null terminators at will, then they can exploit C's string reading mechanisms in order to read data in a way not intended by the software programmers. If a malicious user is successful in doing this, they may be able to intentionally cause security problems on the computer, such as infecting it with malware.<br /> <br /> Based on Ponytail's reaction, this is not the first time Cueball has come to her with strange problems. Based on Cueball's reaction, it does not look like he was purposely trying to exploit a security vulnerability, but instead ended up in this situation through some mysterious, unexplained happenstance.<br /> <br /> Cueball notes that his password contains a &quot;special character&quot;, which is a typical requirement imposed on users. However, in most contexts, &quot;special character&quot; means an ordinary printable character, other than letters or numbers, that can be typed on a normal keyboard and seen on the screen. Cueball's use of &quot;special&quot; is technically true, as null terminals do have a specialized purpose; but his word usage is not in keeping with the way that phrase is normally understood.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Cueball walks up to Ponytail.]<br /> :Cueball: Can you help me with my account?<br /> :Ponytail: Oh no.<br /> :Cueball: No no, I promise it's a normal problem this time.<br /> :Ponytail: Okay. Fine. What is it?<br /> :Cueball: I included a null string terminator as part of my password, and now I can't-<br /> :Ponytail: How?!<br /> :Cueball: They said to use special characters!<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299220 2022-11-19T02:13:38Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299219 by 172.71.150.169 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2700<br /> | date = November 18, 2022<br /> | title = Account Problems<br /> | image = account_problems_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 538x272px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = My password is just every Unicode codepoint concatenated into a single UTF-8 string.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a VISIBLE ZERO WIDTH SPACE. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> [[Cueball]] walks toward [[Ponytail]] carrying his laptop. Ponytail is sitting at her desk, and turns to face him. Having attempted to fix Cueball's computer problems before (e.g., [[2083: Laptop Issues]]), she replies with dread. Cueball promises that &quot;It's a normal problem this time&quot;, and Ponytail reluctantly agrees to look at it. Cueball then reveals that he has included a {{w|Null-terminated_string|null string terminator character}} in one of his passwords, probably for a website. Ponytail responds in disbelief, and Cueball defends his actions by saying that the website told him to use special characters.<br /> <br /> In computers, every &quot;character&quot; is a sequence of bytes. Every byte is a sequence of eight bits. A bit is always either a zero (0) or a one (1).<br /> <br /> Every character is a sequence of bytes, but not every sequence of bytes is a valid character. For example, a JPEG image is also a sequence of bytes (much longer than a character). An MP3 audio file is also a sequence of bytes.<br /> <br /> A null string terminator is a type of character called a control character. Unlike characters which are letters of the alphabet or numbers, control characters are not intended to be displayed on the screen, and are not intended to be typed on a keyboard; rather, they are used for internal purposes in the computer program. It is thus strange and hard to understand how Cueball was able to successfully insert such a character in his password, since there is no sequence of keys he could type that would result in a null terminator.<br /> <br /> Null terminators are used in older, C-based languages to mark where a string ends. Every programming language has variables{{citation needed}}, which are used to store data. In C, a primitive variable can store a small amount of data, such as an integer or boolean (true or false) value. Strings (which are a sequence of characters) often need to store much larger amounts of data; too much to fit in the memory space which is available for a primitive. To solve this, C uses a system called &quot;pointers&quot;, in which the variable is an integer which refers to a memory location. When the string needs to be read or written, C looks up the memory location, and interprets the data as a series of characters. One problem is, because a string can be any length (big or small), C needs to know where to stop reading from memory. The null terminator is C's solution to this. When C encounters the null terminator, it knows it has reached the end of the string and stops reading. Therefore, it is important that the null terminator is not a normal character that can be typed on a keyboard.<br /> <br /> This has implications for security. If users are able to add or remove null terminators at will, then they can exploit C's string reading mechanisms in order to read data in a way not intended by the software programmers. If a malicious user is successful in doing this, they may be able to intentionally cause security problems on the computer, such as infecting it with malware.<br /> <br /> Based on Ponytail's reaction, this is not the first time Cueball has come to her with strange problems. Based on Cueball's reaction, it does not look like he was purposely trying to exploit a security vulnerability, but instead ended up in this situation through some mysterious, unexplained happenstance.<br /> <br /> Cueball notes that his password contains a &quot;special character&quot;, which is a typical requirement imposed on users. However, in most contexts, &quot;special character&quot; means an ordinary printable character, other than letters or numbers, that can be typed on a normal keyboard and seen on the screen. Cueball's use of &quot;special&quot; is technically true, as null terminals do have a specialized purpose; but his word usage is not in keeping with the way that phrase is normally understood.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Cueball walks up to Ponytail.]<br /> :Cueball: Can you help me with my account?<br /> :Ponytail: Oh no.<br /> :Cueball: No no, I promise it's a normal problem this time.<br /> :Ponytail: Okay. Fine. What is it?<br /> :Cueball: I included a null string terminator as part of my password, and now I can't-<br /> :Ponytail: How?!<br /> :Cueball: They said to use special characters!<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299215 2022-11-19T02:12:33Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299214 by 172.71.142.176 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2700<br /> | date = November 18, 2022<br /> | title = Account Problems<br /> | image = account_problems_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 538x272px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = My password is just every Unicode codepoint concatenated into a single UTF-8 string.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a VISIBLE ZERO WIDTH SPACE. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> [[Cueball]] walks toward [[Ponytail]] carrying his laptop. Ponytail is sitting at her desk, and turns to face him. Having attempted to fix Cueball's computer problems before (e.g., [[2083: Laptop Issues]]), she replies with dread. Cueball promises that &quot;It's a normal problem this time&quot;, and Ponytail reluctantly agrees to look at it. Cueball then reveals that he has included a {{w|Null-terminated_string|null string terminator character}} in one of his passwords, probably for a website. Ponytail responds in disbelief, and Cueball defends his actions by saying that the website told him to use special characters.<br /> <br /> In computers, every &quot;character&quot; is a sequence of bytes. Every byte is a sequence of eight bits. A bit is always either a zero (0) or a one (1).<br /> <br /> Every character is a sequence of bytes, but not every sequence of bytes is a valid character. For example, a JPEG image is also a sequence of bytes (much longer than a character). An MP3 audio file is also a sequence of bytes.<br /> <br /> A null string terminator is a type of character called a control character. Unlike characters which are letters of the alphabet or numbers, control characters are not intended to be displayed on the screen, and are not intended to be typed on a keyboard; rather, they are used for internal purposes in the computer program. It is thus strange and hard to understand how Cueball was able to successfully insert such a character in his password, since there is no sequence of keys he could type that would result in a null terminator.<br /> <br /> Null terminators are used in older, C-based languages to mark where a string ends. Every programming language has variables{{citation needed}}, which are used to store data. In C, a primitive variable can store a small amount of data, such as an integer or boolean (true or false) value. Strings (which are a sequence of characters) often need to store much larger amounts of data; too much to fit in the memory space which is available for a primitive. To solve this, C uses a system called &quot;pointers&quot;, in which the variable is an integer which refers to a memory location. When the string needs to be read or written, C looks up the memory location, and interprets the data as a series of characters. One problem is, because a string can be any length (big or small), C needs to know where to stop reading from memory. The null terminator is C's solution to this. When C encounters the null terminator, it knows it has reached the end of the string and stops reading. Therefore, it is important that the null terminator is not a normal character that can be typed on a keyboard.<br /> <br /> This has implications for security. If users are able to add or remove null terminators at will, then they can exploit C's string reading mechanisms in order to read data in a way not intended by the software programmers. If a malicious user is successful in doing this, they may be able to intentionally cause security problems on the computer, such as infecting it with malware.<br /> <br /> Based on Ponytail's reaction, this is not the first time Cueball has come to her with strange problems. Based on Cueball's reaction, it does not look like he was purposely trying to exploit a security vulnerability, but instead ended up in this situation through some mysterious, unexplained happenstance.<br /> <br /> Cueball notes that his password contains a &quot;special character&quot;, which is a typical requirement imposed on users. However, in most contexts, &quot;special character&quot; means an ordinary printable character, other than letters or numbers, that can be typed on a normal keyboard and seen on the screen. Cueball's use of &quot;special&quot; is technically true, as null terminals do have a specialized purpose; but his word usage is not in keeping with the way that phrase is normally understood.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Cueball walks up to Ponytail.]<br /> :Cueball: Can you help me with my account?<br /> :Ponytail: Oh no.<br /> :Cueball: No no, I promise it's a normal problem this time.<br /> :Ponytail: Okay. Fine. What is it?<br /> :Cueball: I included a null string terminator as part of my password, and now I can't-<br /> :Ponytail: How?!<br /> :Cueball: They said to use special characters!<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299213 2022-11-19T02:11:34Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299212 by 172.71.142.89 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2700<br /> | date = November 18, 2022<br /> | title = Account Problems<br /> | image = account_problems_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 538x272px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = My password is just every Unicode codepoint concatenated into a single UTF-8 string.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a VISIBLE ZERO WIDTH SPACE. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> [[Cueball]] walks toward [[Ponytail]] carrying his laptop. Ponytail is sitting at her desk, and turns to face him. Having attempted to fix Cueball's computer problems before (e.g., [[2083: Laptop Issues]]), she replies with dread. Cueball promises that &quot;It's a normal problem this time&quot;, and Ponytail reluctantly agrees to look at it. Cueball then reveals that he has included a {{w|Null-terminated_string|null string terminator character}} in one of his passwords, probably for a website. Ponytail responds in disbelief, and Cueball defends his actions by saying that the website told him to use special characters.<br /> <br /> In computers, every &quot;character&quot; is a sequence of bytes. Every byte is a sequence of eight bits. A bit is always either a zero (0) or a one (1).<br /> <br /> Every character is a sequence of bytes, but not every sequence of bytes is a valid character. For example, a JPEG image is also a sequence of bytes (much longer than a character). An MP3 audio file is also a sequence of bytes.<br /> <br /> A null string terminator is a type of character called a control character. Unlike characters which are letters of the alphabet or numbers, control characters are not intended to be displayed on the screen, and are not intended to be typed on a keyboard; rather, they are used for internal purposes in the computer program. It is thus strange and hard to understand how Cueball was able to successfully insert such a character in his password, since there is no sequence of keys he could type that would result in a null terminator.<br /> <br /> Null terminators are used in older, C-based languages to mark where a string ends. Every programming language has variables{{citation needed}}, which are used to store data. In C, a primitive variable can store a small amount of data, such as an integer or boolean (true or false) value. Strings (which are a sequence of characters) often need to store much larger amounts of data; too much to fit in the memory space which is available for a primitive. To solve this, C uses a system called &quot;pointers&quot;, in which the variable is an integer which refers to a memory location. When the string needs to be read or written, C looks up the memory location, and interprets the data as a series of characters. One problem is, because a string can be any length (big or small), C needs to know where to stop reading from memory. The null terminator is C's solution to this. When C encounters the null terminator, it knows it has reached the end of the string and stops reading. Therefore, it is important that the null terminator is not a normal character that can be typed on a keyboard.<br /> <br /> This has implications for security. If users are able to add or remove null terminators at will, then they can exploit C's string reading mechanisms in order to read data in a way not intended by the software programmers. If a malicious user is successful in doing this, they may be able to intentionally cause security problems on the computer, such as infecting it with malware.<br /> <br /> Based on Ponytail's reaction, this is not the first time Cueball has come to her with strange problems. Based on Cueball's reaction, it does not look like he was purposely trying to exploit a security vulnerability, but instead ended up in this situation through some mysterious, unexplained happenstance.<br /> <br /> Cueball notes that his password contains a &quot;special character&quot;, which is a typical requirement imposed on users. However, in most contexts, &quot;special character&quot; means an ordinary printable character, other than letters or numbers, that can be typed on a normal keyboard and seen on the screen. Cueball's use of &quot;special&quot; is technically true, as null terminals do have a specialized purpose; but his word usage is not in keeping with the way that phrase is normally understood.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Cueball walks up to Ponytail.]<br /> :Cueball: Can you help me with my account?<br /> :Ponytail: Oh no.<br /> :Cueball: No no, I promise it's a normal problem this time.<br /> :Ponytail: Okay. Fine. What is it?<br /> :Cueball: I included a null string terminator as part of my password, and now I can't-<br /> :Ponytail: How?!<br /> :Cueball: They said to use special characters!<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299205 2022-11-19T02:03:24Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299204 by 172.71.150.128 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2700<br /> | date = November 18, 2022<br /> | title = Account Problems<br /> | image = account_problems_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 538x272px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = My password is just every Unicode codepoint concatenated into a single UTF-8 string.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a VISIBLE ZERO WIDTH SPACE. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> [[Cueball]] walks toward [[Ponytail]] carrying his laptop. Ponytail is sitting at her desk, and turns to face him. Having attempted to fix Cueball's computer problems before (e.g., [[2083: Laptop Issues]]), she replies with dread. Cueball promises that &quot;It's a normal problem this time&quot;, and Ponytail reluctantly agrees to look at it. Cueball then reveals that he has included a {{w|Null-terminated_string|null string terminator character}} in one of his passwords, probably for a website. Ponytail responds in disbelief, and Cueball defends his actions by saying that the website told him to use special characters.<br /> <br /> In computers, every &quot;character&quot; is a sequence of bytes. Every byte is a sequence of eight bits. A bit is always either a zero (0) or a one (1).<br /> <br /> Every character is a sequence of bytes, but not every sequence of bytes is a valid character. For example, a JPEG image is also a sequence of bytes (much longer than a character). An MP3 audio file is also a sequence of bytes.<br /> <br /> A null string terminator is a type of character called a control character. Unlike characters which are letters of the alphabet or numbers, control characters are not intended to be displayed on the screen, and are not intended to be typed on a keyboard; rather, they are used for internal purposes in the computer program. It is thus strange and hard to understand how Cueball was able to successfully insert such a character in his password, since there is no sequence of keys he could type that would result in a null terminator.<br /> <br /> Null terminators are used in older, C-based languages to mark where a string ends. Every programming language has variables{{citation needed}}, which are used to store data. In C, a primitive variable can store a small amount of data, such as an integer or boolean (true or false) value. Strings (which are a sequence of characters) often need to store much larger amounts of data; too much to fit in the memory space which is available for a primitive. To solve this, C uses a system called &quot;pointers&quot;, in which the variable is an integer which refers to a memory location. When the string needs to be read or written, C looks up the memory location, and interprets the data as a series of characters. One problem is, because a string can be any length (big or small), C needs to know where to stop reading from memory. The null terminator is C's solution to this. When C encounters the null terminator, it knows it has reached the end of the string and stops reading. Therefore, it is important that the null terminator is not a normal character that can be typed on a keyboard.<br /> <br /> This has implications for security. If users are able to add or remove null terminators at will, then they can exploit C's string reading mechanisms in order to read data in a way not intended by the software programmers. If a malicious user is successful in doing this, they may be able to intentionally cause security problems on the computer, such as infecting it with malware.<br /> <br /> Based on Ponytail's reaction, this is not the first time Cueball has come to her with strange problems. Based on Cueball's reaction, it does not look like he was purposely trying to exploit a security vulnerability, but instead ended up in this situation through some mysterious, unexplained happenstance.<br /> <br /> Cueball notes that his password contains a &quot;special character&quot;, which is a typical requirement imposed on users. However, in most contexts, &quot;special character&quot; means an ordinary printable character, other than letters or numbers, that can be typed on a normal keyboard and seen on the screen. Cueball's use of &quot;special&quot; is technically true, as null terminals do have a specialized purpose; but his word usage is not in keeping with the way that phrase is normally understood.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Cueball walks up to Ponytail.]<br /> :Cueball: Can you help me with my account?<br /> :Ponytail: Oh no.<br /> :Cueball: No no, I promise it's a normal problem this time.<br /> :Ponytail: Okay. Fine. What is it?<br /> :Cueball: I included a null string terminator as part of my password, and now I can't-<br /> :Ponytail: How?!<br /> :Cueball: They said to use special characters!<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299199 2022-11-19T01:58:44Z

<p>InfoManiac: Undo revision 299198 by 172.71.142.176 (talk)</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2700<br /> | date = November 18, 2022<br /> | title = Account Problems<br /> | image = account_problems_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 538x272px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = My password is just every Unicode codepoint concatenated into a single UTF-8 string.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a &lt;!-- ZERO WIDTH SPACE- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon. --&gt;}}<br /> [[Cueball]] walks toward [[Ponytail]] carrying his laptop. Ponytail is sitting at her desk, and turns to face him. Having attempted to fix Cueball's computer problems before (e.g., [[2083: Laptop Issues]]), she replies with dread. Cueball promises that &quot;It's a normal problem this time&quot;, and Ponytail reluctantly agrees to look at it. Cueball then reveals that he has included a {{w|Null-terminated_string|null string terminator character}} in one of his passwords, probably for a website. Ponytail responds in disbelief, and Cueball defends his actions by saying that the website told him to use special characters.<br /> <br /> In computers, every &quot;character&quot; is a sequence of bytes. Every byte is a sequence of eight bits. A bit is always either a zero (0) or a one (1).<br /> <br /> Every character is a sequence of bytes, but not every sequence of bytes is a valid character. For example, a JPEG image is also a sequence of bytes (much longer than a character). An MP3 audio file is also a sequence of bytes.<br /> <br /> A null string terminator is a type of character called a control character. Unlike characters which are letters of the alphabet or numbers, control characters are not intended to be displayed on the screen, and are not intended to be typed on a keyboard; rather, they are used for internal purposes in the computer program. It is thus strange and hard to understand how Cueball was able to successfully insert such a character in his password, since there is no sequence of keys he could type that would result in a null terminator.<br /> <br /> Null terminators are used in older, C-based languages to mark where a string ends. Every programming language has variables{{citation needed}}, which are used to store data. In C, a primitive variable can store a small amount of data, such as an integer or boolean (true or false) value. Strings (which are a sequence of characters) often need to store much larger amounts of data; too much to fit in the memory space which is available for a primitive. To solve this, C uses a system called &quot;pointers&quot;, in which the variable is an integer which refers to a memory location. When the string needs to be read or written, C looks up the memory location, and interprets the data as a series of characters. One problem is, because a string can be any length (big or small), C needs to know where to stop reading from memory. The null terminator is C's solution to this. When C encounters the null terminator, it knows it has reached the end of the string and stops reading. Therefore, it is important that the null terminator is not a normal character that can be typed on a keyboard.<br /> <br /> This has implications for security. If users are able to add or remove null terminators at will, then they can exploit C's string reading mechanisms in order to read data in a way not intended by the software programmers. If a malicious user is successful in doing this, they may be able to intentionally cause security problems on the computer, such as infecting it with malware.<br /> <br /> Based on Ponytail's reaction, this is not the first time Cueball has come to her with strange problems. Based on Cueball's reaction, it does not look like he was purposely trying to exploit a security vulnerability, but instead ended up in this situation through some mysterious, unexplained happenstance.<br /> <br /> Cueball notes that his password contains a &quot;special character&quot;, which is a typical requirement imposed on users. However, in most contexts, &quot;special character&quot; means an ordinary printable character, other than letters or numbers, that can be typed on a normal keyboard and seen on the screen. Cueball's use of &quot;special&quot; is technically true, as null terminals do have a specialized purpose; but his word usage is not in keeping with the way that phrase is normally understood.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Cueball walks up to Ponytail.]<br /> :Cueball: Can you help me with my account?<br /> :Ponytail: Oh no.<br /> :Cueball: No no, I promise it's a normal problem this time.<br /> :Ponytail: Okay. Fine. What is it?<br /> :Cueball: I included a null string terminator as part of my password, and now I can't-<br /> :Ponytail: How?!<br /> :Cueball: They said to use special characters!<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]</div>

InfoManiac https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2700:_Account_Problems&diff=299197 2022-11-19T01:57:39Z

<p>InfoManiac: </p> <hr /> <div>&lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&gt;<br /> <br /> What was going on with this page? [[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 00:58, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Vandalism. I mentioned it on the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] page. It's getting reverted back to normal pretty quickly when it happens, but it will probably keep happening until an admin bans the person doing it, or the person doing it gets bored and stops on their own. [[User:Equites|Equites]] ([[User talk:Equites|talk]]) 01:05, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> are two nazis actually in an edit war or is it just one person astroturfing --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.100|162.158.63.100]] 01:18, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'm trying to combat it, but I'll only be able to keep this up for around another 20 minutes or so. [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 01:21, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Is TheusafBot ofline or something? Generally it handles this sort of stuff pretty well--[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 01:44, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> ::Theusafaggotry couldn't code a bot properly if his life depended on it. &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:172.71.150.169|172.71.150.169]] ([[User talk:172.71.150.169|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> :::Man, what a pathetic life you must have, that you need to call peopl faggot online and troll to get a shred of attention and entretainment &lt;small&gt; -- [[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) &lt;span style=&quot;color:grey; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;''(please sign your comments with &lt;nowiki&gt;~~&lt;/nowiki&gt;~~)''&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/small&gt;<br /> <br /> This reminds me of the time I used a character in my password that was the &quot;stty kill&quot; character for one workstation's default console terminal settings. I normally logged in via ssh, and occasionally logged in via xdm, but the time I tried logging in via the console, it really didn't like what was left of my password. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 01:25, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> :Ah, the good old days when ordinary printing characters were used for erase and kill. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:43, 19 November 2022 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Vandals are just looking for a fun time, generally. Solution: make it not a fun time for them. Revert their edits dryly, patiently, with no particular comment or anything. Eventually they will get bored and find something else to do. Or, perhaps they'll sit there vandalizing while we revert them, we dozens against probably just one vandal. But if you make your irritation clear, that's &quot;fun&quot; to them, and they'll keep at it with renewed vigour. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.239|108.162.216.239]] 01:37, 19 November 2022 (UTC)</div>

InfoManiac