explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3235: Types of Board Game

2026-04-21T05:44:22Z

Runefurb: Added some nuance to description of Twilight Imperium (it is NOT among the most complicated board games in existence - BGA lists over 4.000 games more complicated)

{{comic
| number = 3235
| date = April 20, 2026
| title = Types of Board Game
| image = types_of_board_game_2x.png
| imagesize = 501x1161px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I can't believe Candles of Vienna caved to commercial pressure and added the Goku expansion.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a member of the Congress of Vienna in 1814. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This comic is about types of board games.

{| class="wikitable"
| Boring || This is a very simplistic and boring board game style, where the players simply move around the board aimlessly. A well known example would be {{w|Monopoly (game)}}, and it might be interpreted that Randall himself finds Monopoly boring.
|-
| Abstract || This board game has more abstract tones, with less of a tangible goal.
|-
| Hyperspecific Theme || This board game takes place on a specific date and time, and appears to have little room for flexibility. The {{w|Congress of Vienna}} was a gathering of diplomats from many different countries at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. There exists an actual board game about the Congress of Vienna, see https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/296578/congress-of-vienna, but it has nothing to do with lighting candles.
|-
| Overcomplicated || Twilight Imperium is a fairly complicated board game (complexity rating 3.46 / 5 on BoardGameGeek.com). Cones of Dunshire is a joke board game that was shown on the TV show ''Parks & Recreation''. Combining them would be extremely strange.
|-
| Cooperative ||
|-
| Branded ||
|-
| Party || Various board games intended for adults have swearing in them, one of the well known examples being {{w|Cards Against Humanity}}, which is known for its rather vulgar language at times.
|-
| Social Deduction ||
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[There are 8 cells, each with a different type of board game.]

Boring

Megan: Each turn, roll a die and move your token. Turns proceed clockwise around the table until we get bored and go home.

Abstract

Cueball: Each turn, you can place any number of red triangles or blue squares on a hexagon, or move any hexagon to a...

Hyperspecific Theme

Megan: It's October 2, 1814. The Congress of Vienna convenes. You are each in charge of distributing and lighting candles for the opening ball, which was held at these three locations...

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

2164: Glacier

2019-06-18T06:21:44Z

Runefurb: Added a bit about the Norwegian connection to glaciers

{{comic
| number = 2164
| date = June 17, 2019
| title = Glacier
| image = glacier.png
| titletext = The Norwegian adaptation of The Sword in the Stone takes things in a weird direction.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by the Meteorological Society. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A {{w|glacier}} is a wall of dense ice. Though glaciers tend to appear still, they are actually slowly moving, at a rate of around 1 m per day.

The joke in this comic is a pun on the word "advancing". In the original context, the glacier is "advancing" or moving forward slowly. However, Beret Guy uses the fencing term {{w|Glossary of fencing|"advance"}}, which is a basic forward movement. Beret Guy attaches a fencing {{w|sabre (fencing)|sabre}} to the glacier, and then takes a defensive position. It's unclear at this time who will win.

The title text refers to {{w|Excalibur|The Sword in the Stone}}, a famous sword in the legends of King Arthur, and the fact that 1% of mainland {{w|Norway}} is covered with glaciers (but 60% of the {{w|Svalbard}} archipelago, also a part of Norway).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A person wearing a knit cap and Beret Guy are standing to the left of a glacier.]
:Knit cap person: Glaciers are so neat. You can't see it, but this ice is slowly advancing.

:[Zoom in on Beret Guy, who has his hand to his mouth, thinking.]

:[Zoomed in, Beret Guy exits to the left of the panel.]

:[Beret Guy enters the panel from the left, carrying two fencing sabres.]

:[Beret Guy uses a blow dryer to attach one of the sabres to the glacier.]
:''Whirrrr''
:[Beret Guy is holding the blow dryer and looks at the sabre that is attached to the glacier.]

:[Beret Guy stands in a defensive position with sabre in hand, ready to defend against the "advancing" glacier.]

==Trivia==
The author of ''The Sword in the Stone'', T. H. White, was mentioned two comics ago in [[2162: Literary Opinions]].

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
{{comic discussion}}

593: Voynich Manuscript

2016-04-26T11:45:50Z

Runefurb: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 593
| date = June 5, 2009
| title = Voynich Manuscript
| image = voynich_manuscript.png
| titletext = Wait, is that the ORIGINAL voynich manuscript? Where did you GET that? Wanna try playing a round of Druids and Dicotyledons?
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|Voynich manuscript}} is a very detailed book written in an unknown script, describing plants and recipes, most of which lack a real-world analogue. Over the past few decades, linguists and cryptographers have unsuccessfully attempted to decode the book. A cut out from the book is depicted in the first frame (real or similar).

{{w|Tabletop role-playing game|Tabletop role-playing games}} (such as {{w|Dungeons and Dragons}}) are fantasy games with extremely detailed descriptions of fantastical worlds. The invented language is probably a reference to {{w|The Lord of the Rings}} in which author {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}} invented several languages of which {{w|Sindarin}} (Grey elvish), and {{w|Quenya}} (High elvish), are the most famous.

After being shown the manuscript for the first time by [[Megan]], [[Cueball]] argues that it should be obvious that it's just an ancient role-playing-game rulebook, since the human tendency to invent fantastical worlds must have also existed in the past. That it is this obvious was again stated when the manuscript was referenced in [[1501: Mysteries]].

In the last panel the book is used, 500 years ago, to play a game similar to Dungeons and Dragons. They speak in a somewhat outdated English. The reference to the real plant {{w|Aconitum|Wolfsbane}} could also be a reference to another invented world, as it is memorably mentioned in the first book of the {{w|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone|Harry Potter}} series.

After concluding this, a shocked Cueball then asks in the title text how Megan got her hands on the original manuscript (which is in the Yale University's ''{{w|Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library}}''). He then unexpectedly goes on to suggest the prosaic activity of playing {{w|Druid|Druids}} and {{w|Dicotyledon|Dicotyledons}}, assuming such a game could be defined by the manuscript.

Note:
*In the third panel, [[Randall]] may have meant ''{{w|glossolalia}}'' rather than ''glossolatia''.
*The use of the pronoun "your" in the last frame is anachronistic, as in early modern English it was used as a plural pronoun, or as a singular pronoun only to a superior; the proper pronoun would be "thy": "Thy Druid doth lose two points."

==Transcript==
:[Weird root vegetables surround a strange script.]

:[Megan holding up book to Cueball.]
:Megan: This is the Voynich manuscript— a book, allegedly 500 years old, written in an unrecognized script. It's some kind of visual encyclopedia of imaginary plants and undeciphered "recipes".

:[Megan points while Cueball opens the book.]
:Megan: It could be a hoax, a lost language, a cipher, an alien text, glossolatia — no one knows.
:Cueball: No one? But it's obvious.

:[Megan continues to talk. Cueball holds the now closed book.]
:Megan: ... Obvious? Linguists and cryptographers have been stumped for decades.
:Cueball: They forget. Human nature doesn't change.

:[Close up of Megan and Cueball - the book is off panel.]
:Cueball: Just imagine someone found a book from our time, full of lists, illustrations, tables, and long, dry descriptions of nonexistent worlds written in an invented language. What have they found?
:Megan: ...Dear Lord. It ''is'' obvious.

:[Three people are standing around pawns and a die. One is holding a sheet of paper, another is holding a book, the third is holding a scythe. At the top of the panel there is a frame with the following text:]
:500 Years Earlier:
:Person #1: Forsooth! I concoct an elixir of courage.
:Person #2: Nae! The source booke sayeth that requires some wolfsbane!
:Person #3: Your druid doth lose two points.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Cryptography‏‎]]

1648: Famous Duos

2016-02-26T07:43:41Z

Runefurb: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1648
| date = February 26, 2016
| title = Famous Duos
| image = famous_duos.png
| titletext = The Romeo and Butt-Head film actually got two thumbs up from Siskel and Oates.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs to be expanded}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Actual pairings
|-
! Name
! pairing
! Partner
! From
|-
| Thelma
| and
| Louise
| {{w|Thelma_%26_Louise|road trip film}}
|-
| When Harry
| Met
| Sally
| {{w|When_Harry_Met_Sally...|romantic comedy film}}
|-
| Batman
| and
| Robin
| {{w|Batman|comic book characters}}
|-
| Antony
| and
| Cleopatra
| historical figures
|-
| Romeo
| and
| Juliet
| Shakespeare characters
|-
| Bonnie
| and
| Clyde
| historical figures
|-
| Pinky
| and
| the Brain
| TV show
|-
| Simon
| and
| Garfunkel
| musical duo
|-
| Beauty
| and
| the Beast
| fairy tale characters
|-
| Beavis
| and
| Butthead
| TV show
|-
| Rocky
| and
| Bullwinkle
| TV show
|-
| Abbott
| and
| Costello
| comedy duo
|-
| Dr. Jekyll
| and
| Mr. Hyde
| {{w|Strange_Case_of_Dr_Jekyll_and_Mr_Hyde|book}}
|-
| Samson
| and
| Delilah
| Biblical characters
|-
| Butch Cassidy
| and
| the Sundance Kid
| historical characters and famous movie
|-
| Bill
| and
| Ted’s Excellent Adventure
| movie series
|-
| David
| and
| Goliath
| Biblical characters
|-
| Sherlock Holmes
| and
| Dr. Watson
| {{w|Sherlock_Holmes|Arthur Conan Doyle characters}}
|-
| Jay
| and
| Silent Bob
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_and_Silent_Bob View Askewniverse characters (Clerks movies)]]
|-
| Anna
| and
| the King
| movie, based on Anna and the King of Siam
|-
| Calvin
| and
| Hobbes
| {{w|Calvin_and_Hobbes|comic series}}
|-
| Timon
| and
| Pumbaa
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timon_and_Pumbaa characters from the Lion King film series]]
|-
| Mary Kate
| and
| Ashley Olsen
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary-Kate_and_Ashley_Olsen twin actresses]]
|-
| Mario
| and
| Luigi
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Bros. video game characters]]
|-
| Siskel
| and
| Ebert
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_the_Movies_(U.S._TV_series) movie critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert]]
|-
| Hall
| and
| Oates
| musical duo
|}

==Transcript==
Famous Duos

Famous Duos in a nearby parallel universe

Thelma and Hobbes

when Harry met Bullwinkle

Batman and Louise

Antony and Robin

Romeo and Butthead

bonnie and Ted's ecellent adventure

Pinky and Clyde

Simon and Goliath

Beauty and Luigi

Beavis and The Beast

Rocky and Delilah

Abbot and Cleopatra

Dr. Jekyll and Ashley Olsen

Samson and Pumbaa

Butch Cassidy and Mr. Hyde

Bill and Sally's Bogus Journey

David and Costello

Sherlock Holmes and Silent Bob

Jay and Dr. Watson

Anna and The Brain

Calvin and The King

Timon and Garfunkel

Mary-Kate and The Sundance Kid

Mario and Juliet

1648: Famous Duos

2016-02-26T07:38:53Z

Runefurb: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1648
| date = February 26, 2016
| title = Famous Duos
| image = famous_duos.png
| titletext = The Romeo and Butt-Head film actually got two thumbs up from Siskel and Oates.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs to be expanded}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Actual pairings
|-
! Name
! pairing
! Partner
! From
|-
| Thelma
| and
| Louise
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelma_%26_Louise road trip film]]
|-
| When Harry
| Met
| Sally
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Harry_Met_Sally... romantic comedy film]]
|-
| Batman
| and
| Robin
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman comic book characters]]
|-
| Antony
| and
| Cleopatra
| historical figures
|-
| Romeo
| and
| Juliet
| Shakespeare characters
|-
| Bonnie
| and
| Clyde
| historical figures
|-
| Pinky
| and
| the Brain
| TV show
|-
| Simon
| and
| Garfunkel
| musical duo
|-
| Beauty
| and
| the Beast
| fairy tale characters
|-
| Beavis
| and
| Butthead
| TV show
|-
| Rocky
| and
| Bullwinkle
| TV show
|-
| Abbott
| and
| Costello
| comedy duo
|-
| Dr. Jekyll
| and
| Mr. Hyde
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Case_of_Dr_Jekyll_and_Mr_Hyde book]]
|-
| Samson
| and
| Delilah
| Biblical characters
|-
| Butch Cassidy
| and
| the Sundance Kid
| historical characters and famous movie
|-
| Bill
| and
| Ted’s Excellent Adventure
| movie series
|-
| David
| and
| Goliath
| Biblical characters
|-
| Sherlock Holmes
| and
| Dr. Watson
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle characters]]
|-
| Jay
| and
| Silent Bob
| View Askewniverse characters (Clerks movies)
|-
| Anna
| and
| the King
| movie, based on Anna and the King of Siam
|-
| Calvin
| and
| Hobbes
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_and_Hobbes comic series]]
|-
| Timon
| and
| Pumbaa
| characters from the Lion King
|-
| Mary Kate
| and
| Ashley Olsen
| twin actresse
|-
| Mario
| and
| Luigi
| video game characters
|-
| Siskel
| and
| Ebert
| movie critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert
|-
| Hall
| and
| Oates
| musical duo
|}

==Transcript==
Famous Duos

Famous Duos in a nearby parallel universe

Thelma and Hobbes

when Harry met Bullwinkle

Batman and Louise

Antony and Robin

Romeo and Butthead

bonnie and Ted's ecellent adventure

Pinky and Clyde

Simon and Goliath

Beauty and Luigi

Beavis and The Beast

Rocky and Delilah

Abbot and Cleopatra

Dr. Jekyll and Ashley Olsen

Samson and Pumbaa

Butch Cassidy and Mr. Hyde

Bill and Sally's Bogus Journey

David and Costello

Sherlock Holmes and Silent Bob

Jay and Dr. Watson

Anna and The Brain

Calvin and The King

Timon and Garfunkel

Mary-Kate and The Sundance Kid

Mario and Juliet

345: 1337: Part 5

2014-06-04T07:33:12Z

Runefurb: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 345
| date = November 16, 2007
| title = 1337: Part 5
| image = 1337_part_5.png
| titletext = This digital music thing will probably reach its endgame sometime in the next decade or so. These are very exciting times.
}}

==Explanation==

{{w|Richard Stallman}} is the ardent defender of freedom and believer in {{w|copyleft}}, he also founded the {{w|GNU Project}}.

{{w|Cory Doctorow}} is a blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who serves as co-editor of the weblog {{w|Boing Boing}}. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the {{w|Creative Commons}} organization.

{{w|Bram Cohen}} is the founder of {{w|BitTorrent}}, a distributed method of downloading files.

The {{w|Dread Pirate Roberts}} is a fictional character from the book and movie {{w|The Princess Bride}}. Roberts is the most feared pirate on the seas. But, "Dread Pirate Roberts" is merely a title that has been passed down as previous "Roberts" have gained enough money (from piracy) to retire comfortably. Westley, one of the main characters from The Princess Bride, becomes the Dread Pirate after being taken prisoner by the preceding Pirate Roberts. If Elaine became Dread Pirate Roberts, she would be a true Dread Pirate Roberts.

{{w|Ubuntu}} is probably the most well known {{w|Linux}} distribution. A Linux distribution is any operating system that is based on the Linux {{w|kernel}}.

All comics in "[[:Category:1337|1337]]" series:
*[[341: 1337: Part 1]]
*[[342: 1337: Part 2]]
*[[343: 1337: Part 3]]
*[[344: 1337: Part 4]]
*345: 1337: Part 5 (this one)

This series was released on 5 consecutive days (Monday-Friday) and not over the usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.

==Transcript==
:[Two RIAA agents attack Elaine and Stallman. Elaine breaks RIAA #1, while Stallman disarms RIAA #2 in a flying manouvre.]
:Elaine: Thanks, Stallman!
:Stallman: 'Tis my pleasure.

:Elaine: So, wait - how did you know we were in trouble?
:Stallman: My friend here was tracking these thugs from his balloon. He called me and I thought I'd stop by
:[Doctorow slides down a rope in red cape & goggles.]
:Doctorow: -Hi! Cory Doctorow - It's a pleasure to meet you.

:Elaine: Balloon?
:Stallman: Aye. They're up there constructing something called a "Blogosphere."
:Doctorow: Yup! It's twenty kilometers up, just above the tag clouds.

:Bobby: Mom, I'm hungry.
:Mrs. Roberts: Hush! I'm coding. You ate yesterday.
:Stallman: You know, Roberts, GNU could use a good coder like you. Ever thought of joining us?
:Elaine: Maybe someday. Right now I've got an industry to take down. Music doesn't need these assholes.
:Doctorow: Begone! And never darken our comment threads again!

:Stallman: Well, you won't fix the industry with random exploits. You need to encourage sharing in the public mind.
:Doctorow: Hey; With your music and coding backgrounds, you should get into building better p2p systems.

:Elaine: What? Straight-up piracy?
:Doctorow: Sure- have you ever considered it? You'd make a wonderful dread pirate, Roberts

:Epilogue
:Elaine shared her ideas with Bram Cohen, who went on to develop BitTorrent.
:Mrs. Roberts spends her time developing for Ubuntu, and defacing the websites of people who make "your mom" jokes to her daughter. Elaine still stalks the net. She joins communities, contributes code or comments, and moves on. And if, late at night, you point a streaming audio player at the right IP at the right time - you can hear her rock out.
:~Happy Hacking.~

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Elaine Roberts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Richard Stallman]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Mrs. Roberts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Your Mom]]
[[Category:1337|05]]

Talk:1360: Old Files

2014-04-28T06:14:27Z

Runefurb:

I notice backup and recovery files. I once had a folder on my father's computer that housed everything I did. When the drive crashed, I managed to recover it and store it to a CD-ROM (this was before thumb drives). I copied everything onto my first computer within my main folder (I don't use My Documents), and I continue to move my main folder into a new main folder each time I migrate between computers. I have so many nested memories. I, too, have incomplete fan-fiction and instant message logs. Oh, and a dream.txt. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.218|108.162.237.218]] 04:47, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

I don't have as much of a problem with the "old files room", because I keep nearly all of my files on my laptop, but my hard drive is almost full. Another hard drive replace the CD drive, but this computer won't last much longer (bye cd drive workaround). I'll have to build an "old files room" sooner or later. [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 05:07, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

Back in the... early '90s, I think it was... I recall there being someone like a buddhist monk (or someone ''claiming'' to be someone like a buddhist monk, and the religion could have been something else) who set up an internet site (not necessarily a website) as a temple for "all lost data". The files you had accidentally deleted, the floppies that got damaged or otherwise corrupted, forgotten formats on old drives that you'd lost the wherewithall to access them. Between this and the "hoarder" behaviour exhibitted in the above XKCD folder we encompass ''all'' long-term computer users. At the same time. I know I regret the dead USB sticks (with irreplacable content) and yet I stare in hopelessness at the folders "GStick" and "FStick" within My Documents, that really need looking at again. (No, they don't contain the lost material. Datestamped at 2009.) But they're two of fifty-three separate subfolders (and a helluva lot of loose files) in that level. "WebRedo"? I remember that. That site hasn't even been ''active'' for about a decade. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.224|141.101.89.224]] 06:50, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

;Explanation
I think the point of the comic doesn't come across in the explanation. It's not just that he's sifting through files, but that he's finding files nested deeply in his folder structure that just came to pass because he always copied contents of an old computer to some folder on the next computer and then ignored its contents.

I.e. in his "Documents" folder, there is the "Old Desktop" folder from a previous computer, which contains the "Recovered from drive crash" folder from another previous system, which has another "Mu Documents" folder within, ... etc. The nesting aspect should somehow be integrated into the explanation.
--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.57|108.162.229.57]] 09:59, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

The shape of the panel is vaguely reminiscent of a hard drive, this may be intentional, being emphasized by the increasing size of the individual layers. In which case there might be some metaphor construed by the placement of the two characters based on their location in the structure of the hard-drive perhaps involving the catalog index. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.35}}

It should be pointed out that the AYB folder is directly referencing https://xkcd.com/286/ {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.211}}

I have done this before on my hard drive(s) and I always find my old qbasic programs. Anyone knows of an emulator for qbasic so I could see my old programs running again? [[User:Bigfatbernie|Bigfatbernie]] ([[User talk:Bigfatbernie|talk]]) 13:56, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

:DOSBox will run QBasic programs if you grab the QBasic 1.1 interpreter from either an old copy of Windows 98 that still has it in its dos utilities folder, or just download it from here: http://www.qbasic.net/en/qbasic-downloads/compiler/qbasic-interpreter.htm [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.42|108.162.219.42]] 17:01, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

:Also, there's this: http://www.qb64.net/ [[User:Runefurb|Runefurb]] ([[User talk:Runefurb|talk]]) 06:14, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

Qbasic was "hardwired" in IBM PC's and/or PC/AT's. If the PC did not find some bootable device,
it would start Qbasic from a chip. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.55}}

Anybody know what Citadel is? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.42|108.162.219.42]] 16:58, 25 April 2014 (UTC)
Citadel is historically a BBS package. Today it is an open source groupware system, but some people are still using it as a BBS. Google "Uncensored! BBS" to find a well known one. [[User:IGnatius T Foobar|IGnatius T Foobar]] ([[User talk:IGnatius T Foobar|talk]]) 03:19, 26 April 2014 (UTC)

;Can we get some instructions on how to edit the page?

It makes no sense to me whatsoever, and it's unlike every other page on the wiki. I can find the list we use in the transcript, but I can't figure out how to add the explainations [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.204|199.27.130.204]] 18:19, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

:I did remove that templates from this page, the explain is still very bad — but now you should be able to post your adds. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:23, 25 April 2014 (UTC)
: I am the person who added the templates. I figured that on a xkcd wiki of all wikis one should feel free to use some more advanced Mediawiki features, to keep from redundancy (here, repetition of data between the explanation and the transcript)... Oh well. Apparently the definition of "to make sense" is "to make sense to others". Also, semicolons are used for definition lists, not for headers. {{unsigned ip|141.101.89.217}}
:: By the way, the current transcript is wrong. The items listed under "No header" headers belong to the "named" headers on the parallel side. There is no dichotomy like that. If you insist on reflecting the visual layout of the comic in the transcript, I suggest something like this (uncapitalised, unsorted, and unformatted, because it is just a quick illustration):

<table class='wikitable'>
<tr>
<td>
 
<th>
documents <hr>
Megan: "You OK down there?"
<td>
 

<tr>
<td>
* misc.txt
<th>
old desktop
<td>
* video projects

<tr>
<td>
* facebook pics
<th>
recovered from drive flash
<td>
* pics from other camera
* temp
* misc pdfs
* mp3

<tr>
<td>
* temp
<th>
my documents
<td>
* work misc
* audiobooks

<tr>
<td>
* downloads
* ayb
* ev override
* angband
* kazaa shared
* gigs
<th>
high school zip disk
<td>
* fight club.wmv
* aim direct connect files
* elasto mania
* 4chan
* icq logs

<tr>
<td>
* lovenote.txt
* gorilla.bas
* aol
** citadel
* nyet
* jokes.txt
<th>
aaafiles
<td>
* korn midi
* photos3
** prom
* dream.txt
* james.txt
* qbasic

<tr>
<td>
 
<th>
txt <hr>
Cueball: "Oh my God. I wrote poetry."
<td>
 
</table>
:{{unsigned ip|141.101.89.217}}
:Done '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 21:07, 25 April 2014 (UTC)
:: Thank you! In fact, I just noticed that rows didn't reflect one filesystem level! They should be moved one level up. I will fix that (and capitalise and sort the labels.) {{unsigned ip|‎141.101.89.212}}
::: Done. {{unsigned ip|‎141.101.89.212, too--I really don't like this insistence on signing}}
::::The unsigned template contains instructions on how to properly sign your posts. If you are against signing for privacy reasons, at least use five tildes (<nowiki>~~~~~</nowiki>) to mark off each of your messages as distinct comments. Your IP is logged anyways by Mediawiki, but casual observers will not see your IP. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 21:41, 25 April 2014 (UTC)
::::Uh, little question. I just read the source, and the html for your table contains no closing tags. Do you have something against them or something? Also, I removed the bullet points when I added the table to the transcript because strictly speaking, the comic doesn't actually contain any bullet points, so we're adding punctuation that isn't present in the comic. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 21:54, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

;Unsigned IP's producing a great chaos here. No READER does UNDERSTAND. Please keep it simple as possible, NO new template for a single comic. I will bring back some edits I've done, respecting edits have done later. But right now I can't see there is any proper attempt to do an explain other could understand.
:Please focus FIRST on the readers here, then focus on possible editors (don't understand), and then tell a new IP how to behave here. It's not my invention, but please try to keep this page at a basis on some standards. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:22, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

Actually, the "AIM Direct Connect" is in reference to the file sharing system that the AOL Instant Messenger used to use. A quick Google would have found that. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.32|108.162.221.32]] 22:20, 26 April 2014 (UTC)Slacker

:First thanks for your hint, but please add comments at the bottom here. I did update many items and I'm not perfect. I will enhance this after this post. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:34, 26 April 2014 (UTC)
::I can't figure it out, maybe you have a better hint. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:42, 26 April 2014 (UTC)
:::Whup, sorry about that! I'll remember that in the future. For better reference on AIM Direct Connect: https://adium.im/help/pgs/AdvancedFeatures-AIM-DirectConnect.html I'll see if I can add a better explanation to that above! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.32|108.162.221.32]] 00:05, 27 April 2014 (UTC)Slacker

Gorilla.bas is a qbasic game distributed with DOS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorillas_(video_game)
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.129|173.245.53.129]] 22:29, 26 April 2014 (UTC)

:Thanks for your hint, why do you not add this by yourself? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:34, 26 April 2014 (UTC)
::Done. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:42, 26 April 2014 (UTC)

1360: Old Files

2014-04-25T05:39:37Z

Runefurb: /* Files */

{{comic
| number = 1360
| date = April 25, 2014
| title = Old Files
| image = old_files.png
| titletext = Wow, ANIMORPHS-NOVEL.RTF? Just gonna, uh, go through and delete that from all my archives real quick.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Missing explanations for most of the various files.}}
Cueball is sifting through a pile of old files, either a theoretical one that exists on a hard drive, making fun of how hard it is to search through old files, or a real room of old hard drives. He discovers several files he is embarrassed about, including a poetry file that surprises him, since he does not remember writing poetry, and an "Animorphs Novel" mentioned in the title text, most likely a fan fiction of the Animorphs series, although possibly a copy of one of the original books.

=== Files ===
* [[wikipedia:Angband|Angband]] is a rogue-like computer game.
* [[wikipedia:Kazaa|Kazaa]] is an internet file sharing service.
* [[wikipedia:QBasic|QBasic]] is an IDE and intepreter for a dialect of the BASIC programming language, originally bundled with MS-DOS 5.0 and newer, and [[wikipedia:Gorillas (video game)|Gorilla.bas]] is one of the games that came with QBasic.
* [[wikipedia:ICQ|ICQ]] is an early (1996) instant messenger client.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}

1360: Old Files

2014-04-25T05:39:15Z

Runefurb: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1360
| date = April 25, 2014
| title = Old Files
| image = old_files.png
| titletext = Wow, ANIMORPHS-NOVEL.RTF? Just gonna, uh, go through and delete that from all my archives real quick.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Missing explanations for most of the various files.}}
Cueball is sifting through a pile of old files, either a theoretical one that exists on a hard drive, making fun of how hard it is to search through old files, or a real room of old hard drives. He discovers several files he is embarrassed about, including a poetry file that surprises him, since he does not remember writing poetry, and an "Animorphs Novel" mentioned in the title text, most likely a fan fiction of the Animorphs series, although possibly a copy of one of the original books.

=== Files ===
* [[wikipedia:Angband|Angband]] is a rogue-like computer game.
* [[wikipedia:Kazaa|Kazaa]] is an internet file sharing service.
* [[wikipedia:QBasic|QBasic]] is an IDE and intepreter for the BASIC programming language, originally bundled with MS-DOS 5.0 and newer, and [[wikipedia:Gorillas (video game)|Gorilla.bas]] is one of the games that came with QBasic.
* [[wikipedia:ICQ|ICQ]] is an early (1996) instant messenger client.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}