explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Somefan explain xkcd - User contributions [en] 2026-05-17T14:24:38Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1666:_Brain_Upload&diff=410131 1666: Brain Upload 2026-04-11T23:08:27Z

<p>Somefan: no correlation to linux</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 1666<br /> | date = April 11, 2016<br /> | title = Brain Upload<br /> | image = brain upload.png<br /> | titletext = I just spent 20 minutes deciding whether to start an email with 'Hi' or 'Hey', so I think it transferred correctly.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> [[Megan]] is {{w|Mind uploading|uploading}} [[Cueball|Cueball's]] {{w|consciousness}} into a computer device attached to his head via a cap on his skull. After the upload, the computer seems to have stopped responding to inputs, causing Megan to conclude that the process has failed, however Cueball insists the transfer could have worked, or at least gave the correct response. This is because that is the kind of behavior he is used to experiencing from his own brain.<br /> <br /> Sometimes computers can seem to be "frozen" - i.e. non-responsive to any user input; but may eventually start responding again. In fact, it is impossible for a computer to determine (for all cases) if a program will eventually finish its process (see {{w|halting problem}}).<br /> <br /> The potential benefits of the fictional technology used in this comic are obvious, and this type of "transfer" has been subject of various science fiction works. It could allow for a form of immortality or serve as a "backup" for someone's mind. A "transfer" (rather than a "copy") would suggest that Cueball's consciousness is removed from his body and relocated, but Megan may simply be using the incorrect verb. The exact nature of "consciousness" is left somewhat ambiguous in this comic.<br /> <br /> In the title text Cueball (or [[Randall]]) indicates that this kind of non-response from the brain (or a computer) is something he just experienced when trying to write an email and then failing to get started for 20 minutes while he (i.e. his brain) tried to decide the "very important" detail of whether to begin the email with 'Hi' or 'Hey' - a detail that is really trivial, as the difference between these two informal greetings has little consequence.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Megan is standing in front of the control panel of a device with both hands on the keyboard. The device is linked to Cueball's heads through a wire that goes to a cap on top of Cueball's head, where it spreads out in more than ten wires connecting to different places all over the cap. Cueball sits, hands in his laps, on a kind of table on the other side of the device facing Megan.]<br /> :Megan: Neural-digital link established. Ready to upload your consciousness to the computer?<br /> :Cueball: Sure, go for it.<br /> <br /> :[Same setting in a frame-less panel, but Megan presses a button on the keyboard with one hand and a flash of light goes through the wire and around Cueballs head. Cueball seems to jerk as his hands are lifted from his lap and his legs move a little forward.]<br /> :Computer: ''Bzzzzzzt''<br /> <br /> :[Same setting again but Megan seems to be typing harder on the keys (shown with small lines above her hands on the keyboard) and Cueball sits normally again but one hand further back than in the first panel.]<br /> :Megan: ...Hmm.<br /> :Cueball: What?<br /> <br /> :[Same as first panel but Megan looks a little more down on the keyboard.]<br /> :Megan: It's not responding - the whole system is frozen. I think the transfer failed.<br /> :Cueball: No, that sounds right.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Biology]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3227:_Creation&diff=409961 Talk:3227: Creation 2026-04-08T22:33:09Z

<p>Somefan: 688 w/ dark mode</p> <hr /> <div><br /> did anyone else wait for the screensaver to hit the corner? [[Special:Contributions/216.25.182.141|216.25.182.141]] 20:13, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :Yes. I watched waaay too long to see if it would, but lost patience and I don’t want to put effort into determining if it will happen. Can anyone confirm whether or not it will eventually happen either for some people or for all people? [[User:Dúthomhas|Dúthomhas]] ([[User talk:Dúthomhas|talk]]) 23:06, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> ::The comic always bounces off of the top of your screen, but keeps its place relative to the rest of the page when scrolling, so you can try to make it hit the corner yourself [[User:Jarochar|Jarochar]] ([[User talk:Jarochar|talk]]) 21:21, 3 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :::You can also resize the window while it's bouncing to move the corner into the path of the comic. I haven't observed anything special yet, but I'm not patient enough to try for a pixel-perfect bounce. [[Special:Contributions/169.150.203.33|169.150.203.33]] 02:46, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I can't work out what Modem mode is meant to do... on my machine it just freezes the whole page. [[Special:Contributions/78.213.151.110|78.213.151.110]] 20:22, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :It plays the sound of an old-style phone modem, and scrolls the comic into view slowly. It's supposed to represent the early days when downloading an image would take a long time. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:31, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :can confirm on android firefox it seems to render the page unresponsive to input - [[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 21:18, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :Same here on Desktop Firefox - under "Modem mode", the whole page freezes up and the browser prompts me to close it ("this page is slowing down Firefox", or words to that effect). I wonder if it's a Firefox thing - odd if so, because I imagine Randall of all people would test on browsers other than Chrom* - or some weird side-effect of my ad/popup/script/cookie-blockers. A shame because all the other modes seem to work - "Greyscale mode" is far too subtle, and I'm ashamed to admit I missed the change from "math" to "maths"! - but this is a great April Fools' comic. [[Special:Contributions/50.45.232.78|50.45.232.78]] 22:56, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :Firefoxer here, and ''without'' any particular add-ons that might interact badly with it... It does (seem to) lock up and it does (sometimes... didn't on at least one occasion) prompt Firefox to ask if I want to stop the page. But if I wait long enough it 'wipes off' the last seen comic image, starts to 'scanline' it back (note: not actually accurate to the real days of modems, as you'd probably be loading up images in interlaced mode) and ''then'' starts to give a modem-shriek.<br /> :I wonder, without delving into the code used, if it's the method used to 'sleep' (could it be using busy-busy NOP-like code, rather than true sleep-interupts?), or just a slightly different asynchronous script-handling method that Firefox uses instead of other test-platforms. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 23:46, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> ::Using Firefox (On mac, in Australia, if relevant) and it works fine, but no audio component. [[Special:Contributions/114.198.19.39|114.198.19.39]] 08:07, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> : For me (in Chrome) it scrolled the whole page in from the bottom, but then kept scrolling so that you got the top of the page appearing beneath the bottom of it - like a TV with vertical hold problems (kids - ask your grandparents). Then changing to other modes it was stuck in that position. However, on subsequent attempts it only scrolled open the comic portion of the page. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:35, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I clicked darker mode and my screen is black and I cant undo it help {{unsigned ip|207.233.27.2|20:24, 1 April 2026 (UTC)}}<br /> :I assume you mean Darkest Mode, since there's no darker mode. The screen turns black but if you look carefully you can still see the grey of the menu and you can click on it. Also, the menu border continues to appear after you select the choice (at least it does on my Mac). P.S. Don't forget to sign your comment with 4 ~ characters. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:31, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Modem mode doesn’t work for me what does it do [[Special:Contributions/2A06:5906:1412:4100:352D:1A2:184:5F3|2A06:5906:1412:4100:352D:1A2:184:5F3]] 20:29, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :Modem mode makes the comic slowly print from above [[Special:Contributions/216.25.182.141|216.25.182.141]] 20:34, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I see the mobile site m.xkcd.com was left out on this change😔 [[Special:Contributions/104.28.215.219|104.28.215.219]] 20:37, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :I have been viewing via a tablet, though I think I've permwnently set my browsers to ''not'' use mobile version sites (they tend to assume viewing everything in portrait, I have found, whereas I almost always browse in landscape, so it gives me badly relocated on-page menu bars, or other wierdnesses).<br /> :Everything seems to work nicely, as I bounced back and forth between modes (and occasionaly went to other comics to see how something like Stained Glass worked with them). Until I tried out the Star Wars scrolling one. Earlier on, I'd checked it out on a desktop, so I left it until one of the last few because it was hardest on the desktop to move on from (unless you used the cursor key, when you'd let the select-drop-down element drift to far 'away' to easily click.<br /> :However, on the tablet, it ''just'' goes black, no appearance of the scrolly-scrawled page contents. (No way to use cursors to change the in-focus drop-down element to a neighbour.) Back-paging just takes me back through the various Random-comic pages I'd passed through, then the plain xkcd.com latest-comic default, all completely black, no animation. (Plane/Boat/Spring/Screensave mode dynamics, etc animated/transformed properly in their various ways.) Back-paging to before landing on xkcd.com (the tab I'd set off from) then forward again landed me in the all-black page with no space-sprawl in evidence...<br /> :...''until'' I turned the tablet sideways (portrait proportions), and there it was. And rotated back to landscape to find it ''still'' properly visible, still scrolling away. Also, discovered I could drag (without pinch-dragging, which is zooming) the scrawl back 'towards me' (essentially scrolling down the skewed page, not an interaction that I'd attempted on the desktop computer), so that I could intercept the dropdown box and shift myself onto a different mode again.<br /> :This is on Chrome For Android. I have other tablet browsers handy, but would need to check them properly before committing to ''their'' compatabilities or peculiarities. But sort of works, after you get over a funny hurdle (as just described), and ''perhaps'' need to have set Desktop Site as default rather than letting your device attempt to automatically use the "m." site version. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.237.40|82.132.237.40]] 02:56, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I read “Modern mode” instead of Modem mode and I spent a while making wild theories about what it could be referencing. But I’m also quite sleepy. [[Special:Contributions/146.70.116.107|146.70.116.107]] 20:51, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :i also misread it as modern mode, it made everything lag for me, made it feel like a modern website [[Special:Contributions/85.206.187.35|85.206.187.35]] 00:57, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I deminified the code if anyone wants it. There are no hidden options or anything like right-click has, but it would be extremely easy to add modes to it. [[Special:Contributions/2601:441:4B7E:7660:0:0:0:AC72|2601:441:4B7E:7660:0:0:0:AC72]] 20:59, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> "Modem mode" works for me in Chromium, but not Firefox. [[User:Robobun|Robobun]] ([[User talk:Robobun|talk]]) 21:06, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :For me it's just slow on Firefox. It takes about 5 seconds to clear the comic and start scrolling it back in, and the static doesn't start until it's almost all showing. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:11, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> applies across the whole website? i forsee a preservation effort in the near future to capture What This Was Like, when randall inevitably removes the menu and all its modes--there's no chance this is staying, is there? - [[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 21:24, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :It applies to older comics, but not other parts of the site. I'm also wondering if this might be just for April Fool's Day. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:27, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :: I know it's april the 1st, but could we keep the modes? Stainglass is fun when the background doesn't turn maroon (and makes the text hard to read). I also checked other pages of xkcd, the modes are on on the other comics. {{unsigned ip|2a04:cec0:121a:5180:bcf7:54ff:feb2:d55|21:31, 1 April 2026 (UTC)}}<br /> ::Of course it's the April Fools'/Fools' comic. Nice to see it being on time, this year, and I too wonder how long it'll stay. Might it permanently stay on this comic page, perhaps even stay if you jump off of it, but comic 3228 (or the 'default' latest-comic page) will probably be back to normal on Friday. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 22:14, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :Luckily, preservation is easy enough. I think you just need to save the main [https://xkcd.com/3227/5710add.js Javascript file] (which contains the CSS, and generates the necessary DOM on the fly) and the [https://xkcd.com/3227/imgs/nyoom_2x.png one image asset]. I think it should be easy enough to turn it into a UserScript if you turn the png into a data URI, or even a web extension if that's more your speed. [[User:Dratini0|Dratini0]] ([[User talk:Dratini0|talk]]) 00:12, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Finally we have the Boat Mode from the footer! [[User:B_for_brain|B for brain]] ([[User_talk:B_for_brain|talk]]) ([https://www.youtube.com/@bforbrain youtube channel] [https://bforbrain.weebly.com/ wobsite (supposed to be a blag)]) 21:33, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> '''Attention admins''' I think there's an "oops" in this line:<br /> <nowiki>To experience the interactivity, visit the {{xkcd|{comicNum}|original comic}}!</nowiki><br /> [[Special:Contributions/64.201.132.210|64.201.132.210]] 21:43, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :Yeah, looks like this is a regression in this corner case. I should have a fix for it soon. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 23:41, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Has the full footer always been there? "xkcd.com is best viewed with Netscape Navigator 4.0 or below on a Pentium 3±1 emulated in Javascript on an Apple IIGS at a screen resolution of 1024x1. Please enable your ad blockers, disable high-heat drying, and remove your device from Airplane Mode and set it to Boat Mode. For security reasons, please leave caps lock on while browsing." --[[User:Chance2travel|Chance2travel]] ([[User talk:Chance2travel|talk]]) 22:30, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :Yes, always has been. Learn more at the page for [[Footnote]]. [[Special:Contributions/104.28.215.219|104.28.215.219]] 23:17, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I think the Dorian Greyscale Mode takes 5 minutes to complete. I see this in the Javascript: <code>body.mode-dorian-greyscale {\n transition: filter 300s ease-out;</code> [[User:Pgn674|Pgn674]] ([[User talk:Pgn674|talk]]) 22:36, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Dorian Greyscale Mode seems like it ought to use only the white keys on a standard piano, and go DEGFCDBA, with adjacent notes differing in a single bit position. [[Special:Contributions/2A02:8084:2862:4F80:65B7:327D:E614:342F|2A02:8084:2862:4F80:65B7:327D:E614:342F]] 22:56, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I'd love to know if the modem mode's audio file decodes to anything if you try to decode it as a v.92 stream or something similar. [[Special:Contributions/2603:6011:4504:D100:3BD0:B617:9D7:1C80|2603:6011:4504:D100:3BD0:B617:9D7:1C80]] 23:24, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Stained Glass Mode doesn't show title text? Might be a bug [[User:X|X]] ([[User talk:X|talk]]) 23:38, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Not gonna lie, I got nerd-sniped hard here. I thought the noise in the modem mode might be real modem noises, and I tried to demodulate it. With Gnuradio, I got to the point of guessing that it's 4FSK at 2400 baud, with a center frequency of about 1700 Hz and a frequency deviation of about 300 Hz. I couldn't find the corresponding modem standard, so I started deminifying the source code that generates it. The good news is that I was correct. It's 4FSK, 2400 baud, center frequency 1710 Hz, frequency deviation 270 Hz. The bad news? The data is Math.random(). That feels bittersweet. I saw a puzzle where there was none. I want to post the relevant snippet of deminified code. Am I allowed to do that? Is the site itself also under CC-BY-NC, or just the comics? [[User:Dratini0|Dratini0]] ([[User talk:Dratini0|talk]]) 23:58, 1 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Honestly, I'd love a real dark mode for xkcd.com. But one where the comic isn't inverted. Sometimes I prefer to read the comic here on explainxkcd.com since I have mediawiki settings for dark mode, but those don't invert the comic. (I don't think I can make mediawiki settings for space opera mode...) [[User:Orion205|Orion205]] ([[User talk:Orion205|talk]]) 00:28, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :You should be able to force a custom CSS on this site (with or without any browser-helpers, but there are ones out there that streamline/automate/augment this ability). The AFD-code is applying a full visual filter (over the top of the comic; maybe or maybe not above the mode-selection 'widget', depending upon browser implementation), but sounds like you just want to apply foreground/background inversion as priority (above anything xkcd.com normally 'suggests' via CSS/tag-attributes) to all markup, but leave the comic image (and any other images, like the thumbnails) as is. Might he tricky if any element is "black-on-transparency" image, which assumes white but now has your code turning it black behind the non-transparent black, but you could probably live with it (or make it 75% dark-grey or so?), and non-transparent black-on-white (presuming white all around it) could look strange.<br /> :But you can't tell for sure without trying to tweak your end (or actually checking the source HTML, on the way to doing just that).<br /> :Alternatively, maybe you can isolate the on-site code for just the Dark Mode of the entire-page treatment, modified to 'demask' the filter exactly over the limits of the comic img-rendering area. If it's been done the way I think it's been done (not gonna try to check, 'til I'm not on mobile platform myself) should be a fairly trivial job to add to the fraction of the code you 'borrow'. Or at least a learning experience, as you work out what tweaks do what. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.237.40|82.132.237.40]] 12:22, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> ::all this has inspired me to set up a usercss to darktheme explainxkcd for me; i'm feeling very content with how this page looks for me right now. - [[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 08:07, 8 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I spent way too long watching screensaver mode to see if it would do anything if the comic hit a corner. [[Special:Contributions/170.142.177.145|170.142.177.145]] 00:31, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :fyi ive found that the comic panels bounce on the edges of the viewport but move with reference to page coordinates--which means if you scroll just right you can place a corner of your screen where it's going to hit, without having to wait for it to get there on its own - [[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 03:39, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I wonder if the choice of the actual text in the comic is a reference to the Apollo 8 Christmas broadcast of Genesis, due to the Artemis II launch today... or maybe I'm overthinking it and it's simply a joke about light and dark mode. [[Special:Contributions/2601:241:8002:3E0:5CAD:3E02:93FF:FB00|2601:241:8002:3E0:5CAD:3E02:93FF:FB00]] 01:05, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :TY! I was not aware of that broadcast and it seems incredibly strange, since everything done on the mission "debunks" that passage! Apparently it was done because anything alluding to "world peace" in any way would seem like a commentary on the Vietnam War. Which, depending on one's skepticism of religion, can also seem quite ironic -now I'm overthinking, so I'll stop now. [[User:Cuvtixo|Cuvtixo]] ([[User talk:Cuvtixo|talk]]) 16:00, 3 April 2026 (UTC) <br /> <br /> Anyone test the other April fools comics? [[User:Commercialegg|Commercialegg]] ([[User talk:Commercialegg|talk]]) 01:14, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :I tried Machine (2916) in dark mode and it just froze after the tutorial. [[User:King Pando|King Pando]] ([[User talk:King Pando|talk]]) 03:34, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :Hoverboard (1608) becomes quite challenging in Space Opera Mode, not least because the player and the coins are invisible (at least in my antique MS Edge browser). [[Special:Contributions/74.220.129.129|74.220.129.129]] 15:26, 4 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I noticed using some of the modes makes xkcd.com/688 no longer self describing, not sure if its worth noting on either wiki [[User:Daunting Zebra|Daunting Zebra]] ([[User talk:Daunting Zebra|talk]]) 07:31, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> The current explanation of dark mode as 'inverting black and white pixels' isn't quite correct. For example, on [[2623]] a pale yellow colour gets flipped to black. On the other hand, other colours elsewhere are left untouched. So it must be doing 'some very light area of colour palette > black' and presumably 'some very dark area of colour palette > white'. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 11:27, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> : On [[2342]] a light khaki(?) colour gets changed to a dark grey - not even a black. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 11:29, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> : Brown sun, anyone? [[2750]] [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 11:33, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :Similar to the criteria for the Stained Glass region borders, perhaps? Sufficiently light grey (or unssaturated+light colours) do not 'edge' a given floodfill area, it seems. (See {{xkcd|1811}}, and how it floods/filters that, for example, with pre-coloured ''and'' greyscale text to compare its operational limits upon.) [[Special:Contributions/82.132.237.40|82.132.237.40]] 12:22, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> : It is not flipped to black. It is turned into a very dark yellow that appears closer to black than the original yellow appeared to white because it is not gamma-corrected. [[Special:Contributions/80.187.115.75|80.187.115.75]] 00:05, 3 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> ... ... I was hoping this comic would be actually fun, like ALL previous April 1 comics are... :( It would be much better if it follows its name and the standards of earlier April 1's, i.e. there is only a "dark" option and when you switch to it the story progresses and you continue to do some other things and eventually complete a full xkcd-style "creation" (a great idea!) [[Special:Contributions/203.198.86.210|203.198.86.210]] 11:43, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> unsigned comment (pretend it's April foooools) {{unsigned ip|13:27, 2 April 2026 (UTC)}}<br /> <br /> Is nobody noticing the fact that Randall was ACTUALLY ON TIME? That's quite rare! --''''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#023020">DollarStoreBa'al</span>]]<sup>[[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|<span style="color:#09ff00">Converse</span>]]</sup> 13:58, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I wonder if any intentional "Easter eggs" were hidden inside other comic pages. [[User:Benzaldehyde|Benzaldehyde]] ([[User talk:Benzaldehyde|talk]] 17:10, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :I tried looking up #[[880]] (the one about 3D) and sadly it has no additional easter eggs with it :( [[Special:Contributions/2407:0:3006:2959:B0A4:2347:EF39:22AE|2407:0:3006:2959:B0A4:2347:EF39:22AE]] 12:03, 3 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Did anyone else notice that the effect (3D, Airplane, etc.) carries over to other comics accessed by the 'Random' button?{{unsigned ip|130.76.25.40|20:25, 2 April 2026 (UTC)}}<br /> :You can change it on any comic. The dropdown is still there. [[User:King Pando|King Pando]] ([[User talk:King Pando|talk]]) 23:09, 2 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Spring Mode is broken on comic [https://xkcd.com/1127/ 1127]. It doesn't do anything for that one, but the other modes work. [[Special:Contributions/2600:4040:2CD4:C200:C134:93AD:21E2:1202|2600:4040:2CD4:C200:C134:93AD:21E2:1202]] 12:35, 3 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> : On that note, the spring mode on Earth Temperature Timeline is crazy. [[Special:Contributions/85.76.164.131|85.76.164.131]] 15:07, 4 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :: thank you for tipping me off about this, it's great - [[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 08:11, 8 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I tried watching this one render in Modem mode with the volume turned up... [[1732: Earth Temperature Timeline]] :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:52, 4 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Anyone else tried dark mode on comic 688 “Self-Description”? [[Special:Contributions/2600:4040:52F7:9A00:F19F:5EAC:82CF:A62A|2600:4040:52F7:9A00:F19F:5EAC:82CF:A62A]] 15:00, 5 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :yep, luckily i read it for no informative purposes in mind -- <span style="letter-spacing:0.1rem">[[User:Somefan|somefan]] ([[User talk:Somefan|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Somefan|contribs]])</span> 22:33, 8 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> In the explanation working around a human existing to ask for dark mode, I saw this as the Earth itself asking for dark mode - no humans, so that rationale isn't needed. [[User:Goodeye|Goodeye]] ([[User talk:Goodeye|talk]]) 15:51, 5 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> it would seem that screensaver mode only actually collides with walls on the top left corner, at least on some comics[[Special:Contributions/204.113.154.68|204.113.154.68]] 14:46, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I used all of the options on my favorite XKCD comic - the 64 states map one (2868). [[User:Strontium|Strontium]] ([[User talk:Strontium|talk]]) 20:48, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> It is now 9 April 2026 (in my timezone) and the mode option is still there on all comics. Is it a permanent feature? [[User:Martin|Martin]] ([[User talk:Martin|talk]]) 22:22, 8 April 2026 (UTC)</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3230:_Overton&diff=409959 3230: Overton 2026-04-08T22:27:38Z

<p>Somefan: add polecat</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3230<br /> | date = April 8, 2026<br /> | title = Overton<br /> | image = overton_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 242x268px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = I think I accidentally installed an Overton window in my bedroom. A few months ago, the sun wasn't in my face in the morning, but now it is.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|This page was created by JOSEPH PAUL OVERTON, BACK FROM THE DEAD. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> {{w|Joseph Paul Overton}} was a political scientist who created the concept of the {{w|Overton Window}}, which is the range of subjects that are politically appropriate to raise during a period of time. The first set of dates, 1960 and 2003, are the years that Joseph Paul Overton was born and died.<br /> <br /> It is common for political commentators to state that the Overton window has "moved," meaning that the standard for which political positions are "moderate" or "extreme" changes, and in either direction. In the comic, the "Overton window" instead refers to the time span in which Joseph Paul Overton was alive. In the drawing Overton's gravestone has the dates repeatedly crossed out as the Overton window moves. This creates the ridiculous implication that Overton had multiple lives (4 in the comic), which is impossible{{cn}}.<br /> <br /> The title text refers to the seasonal movement of sunlight, where the sun's path rises and sets further north or south over months, known as seasonal sun path changes. This shift, caused by Earth's tilt, moves between the summer solstice (highest/northernmost arc) and winter solstice (lowest/southernmost arc.) However, the character in the text believes that rather than being a natural phenomenon, the sunlight is now being let in by a literal window, which, since it is an Overton window, is capable of gradual movement.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> :[A gravestone is shown on some grass. On the inscription, all of the years except the last one are crossed out in red, and all except the first pair of years have the years themselves in red. The inscription is as follows:]<br /> :Joseph Paul Overton<br /> :<s>1960</s> - <s>2003</s><br /> :<s>1965</s> - <s>2011</s><br /> :<s>1973</s> - <s>2018</s><br /> :1982 - <br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br /> [[Category:Politics]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=838:_Incident&diff=409953 838: Incident 2026-04-08T22:11:32Z

<p>Somefan: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 838<br /> | date = December 24, 2010<br /> | title = Incident<br /> | image = incident.png<br /> | titletext = He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake, he's copied on /var/spool/mail/root, so be good for goodness' sake.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> This comic was posted on {{w|Christmas Eve}}. While {{w|Christmas}} is principally a {{w|Christian}} holiday, there are many traditions around it, among them {{w|Christmas Eve#Gift_giving|a tradition}} that on {{w|Christmas Eve}} {{w|Santa Claus}} will make his round delivering gifts to good children. [[Rob]] (identified by his username, <code>robm</code>) sits behind a UNIX computer and tried to change his user account from his normal access to the access of a super user by using the command "<code>sudo su</code>". {{w|Sudo}} is a famous phrase in xkcd lore, made famous by comic [[149: Sandwich]]. Before allowing administrator access (as root user), it asks for a password. The field is blank because, in most UNIX systems, the characters of the password are invisible to protect privacy. Even though the password is correct, Rob's account is not in the list of accounts that can use <code>sudo</code> (the <code>sudoers</code> file). The error message says that the incident "will be reported" (usually to the system administrator, so they can see if someone is making repeated attempts at accessing administrator privileges).<br /> <br /> In the comic, however, sudo and the system report the incidents to {{w|Santa Claus}}, who, in Christmas lore, makes a list of who is naughty and who is nice. If you are nice then you get presents, while if you are naughty, you get a lump of coal. When sudo reports to Santa that Rob's account is not authorized, he puts Rob on the naughty list. The message "… is not in the sudoers file. This incident will be reported." is a real message that the <code>sudo</code> program used to output in this situation. It was changed in 2022 to "This incident has been reported to the administrator", citing this comic: [https://github.com/sudo-project/sudo/commit/6aa320c96a37613663e8de4c275bd6c490466b01][https://github.com/sudo-project/sudo/commit/9757d29a24ac1872872cf09757b0439c54089707].<br /> <br /> In the title text, which is a parody of the famous Christmas song, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", <code>/var/spool/mail/root</code> is the root (superuser) mailbox on a Linux system, where the incident described in the comic would commonly be reported to.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Rob is sitting at a computer. The computer's prompt is shown.]<br /> robm@homebox~$ sudo su<br /> Password:<br /> robm is not in the sudoers file. This incident will be reported.<br /> robm@homebox~$ █<br /> <br /> :[Megan approaches.]<br /> :Rob: Hey — who does sudo report these "incidents" ''to''?<br /> :Megan: You know, I've never checked.<br /> <br /> :[Santa Claus is sitting at a desk supported by candy canes, with a red monitor. On the wall are two lists labeled 'naughty' and 'nice'. He is in the process of adding a line to the 'naughty' list.]<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Rob]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br /> [[Category:Comics with color]]<br /> [[Category:Linux]]<br /> [[Category:Christmas]]<br /> [[Category:Comics with a Spanish translation]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=834:_Wikileaks&diff=409952 834: Wikileaks 2026-04-08T22:02:05Z

<p>Somefan: shrink image and move to explanation</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 834<br /> | date = December 15, 2010<br /> | title = Wikileaks<br /> | image = wikileaks.png<br /> | titletext = STUDENTS ARE CALLING PRESIDENT JOHNSON EN MASSE TO PROTEST THE BOMBING AND IT'S JAMMED THE WHITE HOUSE SWITCHBOARD. COULD THEY COLLAPSE OUR CRITICAL PHONE SYSTEMS? HAS THE FIRST TELEPHONE WAR BEGUN? STAY TUNED FOR MORE ON THIS DANGEROUS NEW TECHNOLOGY.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> [[File:Anonymous_emblem.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|200px| Anonymous' emblem. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]<br /> This comic references {{w|WikiLeaks}}, a site to which classified data can be sent for publication, while nobody would know who leaked the data. Many people dislike WikiLeaks, but proponents claim that, since government is supposed to work for the people, all government information should be available to anyone who wants to see it. WikiLeaks' actions are illegal in most countries, and the people maintaining WikiLeaks stay anonymous, with the notable exception of {{w|Julian Assange}}, the spokesperson. Among the supporters of Wikileaks are the 4chan-based activism/hacker group {{w|Anonymous (group)|Anonymous}}, who, for the week or so prior to this comic's release, used DDoS attacks to take down servers for companies that aided the governments of the world in taking down Wikileaks and its CEO, Julian Assange. Amazon, PayPal and MasterCard were all targets of Anonymous. The claim 'We are legion' is a reference to Mark chapter 5 in the Bible, in which Jesus throws out a group of demons that call themselves Legion, [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%205:1-10&version=NIV "for we are many."]<br /> <br /> The comic imagines an ironic scenario in which WikiLeaks, the organization Anonymous fought to protect, stays true to their mission of releasing secrets to the public, and publishes the personal information of Anonymous members. The joke in the comic notes a contradiction in Anonymous's position, relying on strict secrecy of its members' private information while supporting an anti-secrecy organization like WikiLeaks. This may be a reference to an incident in 2009 when WikiLeaks [http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-02/18/wikileaks-forced-to-leak-own-secret-info published a leaked list] of some of their anonymous donors, following their then-policy of complete impartiality regarding leaks.<br /> <br /> In theory, Anonymous consists of everyone who takes steps to remain anonymous, not merely the hackers and criminals. In practice, Julian would merely have to post a list of Wikileaks contributors.<br /> <br /> The title text appears to be a news wire from during the {{w|Vietnam War}} when {{w|Lyndon B. Johnson}} was President in the United States. The students were calling to protest the War, in what xkcd implicates as the first {{w|DDoS}} attack. A DDoS attack is a Distributed Denial of Service attack, one of Anonymous' favorite tactics, in which the attackers send vast quantities of traffic from many different points to take down a web server, or, in the case of the title text, a phone network. Taken as a whole, the title text satirizes news reports in which a DDoS attack is confused with an actual hack, as only in the latter does the attacker gain (partial) access to the system itself.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[The logo of Anonymous (but without the question mark), a black formal suit with no head, is talking.]<br /> :Anonymous: We are Anonymous. We are legion. We are no one and everyone.<br /> :Anonymous: And we are here to fight for WikiLeaks.<br /> <br /> :[The panel is presented as the front page of WikiLeaks, in a browser.]<br /> :<big>New Leak:</big><br /> :Names, addresses, IPs, and phone numbers of everyone in Anonymous.<br /> :Download Now<br /> <br /> :Anonymous: ...Dammit, Julian.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category:Internet]]<br /> [[Category:Comics with a Spanish translation]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409926 3229: Grammar 2026-04-08T19:09:19Z

<p>Somefan: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Explanation of '''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE''' should focus on grammar, not communication.}}<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}, which is a system of rules describing how a certain language is structured. This is useful to make communication and meaning standardized and clear, with little to no difficulty in parsing. However, due to having many rules and structures to learn, the grammar of some languages can be viewed with annoyance by some people who wish it were 'simpler'. Miss Lenhart claims that grammar is "''one'' of the most popular ways to structure a language" and presents two alternative methods, but this is odd, as grammar ''is'' how we structure a language. Also, if the names of these 'rivals' illustrate their use, they reflect their own rules, and thus imply their own grammar. She also presents two alternative methods (though it could be interpreted as a list of four items without commas to split it up) that competed to substitute grammar, yet evidently never took off to be implemented for practical use. Despite seeming nonsensical, they've gained their own linguistic terminology:<br /> <br /> ;Words order words random words words random good<br /> :This alternate to grammar likely has very loose rules around structure, as it consists of simply stating words that relate directly to the idea being conveyed (as opposed to normal grammar, which focuses on linking together many words to form a single coherent idea). This is superficially similar to some languages, like Ukrainian, where word order does not matter. However, in these languages, its role in the sentence is simply replaced with more in-depth conjugation, which is also a form of grammar. The provided sentence, conversely, appears to have neither conjugation nor any meaningful ordering, which would make it difficult to convey more complex concepts.<br /> <br /> ;EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE<br /> :This might be referencing a scream as a form of communication. Screams are capable of communicating small amounts of information, primarily the fact that someone is attempting to draw one's attention, but cannot convey most concepts without use of complex, structured encoding patterns like Morse code (which do not appear to be present here). Alternatively, it could be made up of various random syllables, with others in the system too. (like 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH' & 'OOOOOOOOOOOH'). It may also be a reference to one of the questions recorded in [[Randall]]'s ''[[What If? 2]]'', in the {{what if|2-58.5|Short Answers #5 chapter}}. The "question", posted by Nate Yu, was a string of 960 letter "E"s, to which Randall replied: "I feel you, Nate".<br /> <br /> The title text continues Lenhart's lecture, as she moves on to {{w|communication}} and its rival alternatives, similar to the subject of grammar, but seems to cut off before naming the first one. Lenhart is self-demonstrating non-communication, as the sudden stop in the middle of the sentence could be a joke for how there are no other ways to convey information without communication. Still, this doesn't rule at least one other 'rival' to communication, as Lenhart implies that at least one more method exists. If communication is defined as successful transmission of information, it is possible she is referring to some sort of method(s) that attempts, but fails to transmit information. Nonetheless, demonstrating lack of communication would not be useful in this setting without further explanation, as abruptly ceasing to provide more information could instill confusion in her students.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Miss Lenhart is teaching in a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, Cueball in the first row and Megan in the second row.]<br /> :Miss Lenhart: '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''''words order words random words words random good''''' and '''''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br /> [[Category:Language]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3229:_Grammar&diff=409924 Talk:3229: Grammar 2026-04-08T19:06:43Z

<p>Somefan: traditional grammar</p> <hr /> <div><br /> E3EeE E3eE!! [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 22:26, 6 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> : E [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 19:54, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I created a transcript, but used OCR for all the E's because I kept losing count of how many there were. If someone wants to factcheck that, please do. [[Special:Contributions/104.28.215.220|104.28.215.220]] 22:45, 6 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> : Factchecked 19 E's counted in the image and 19 E's counted in the transcript. [[Special:Contributions/12.155.149.34|12.155.149.34]] 23:00, 6 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> It looks like the bot picked up the April Fool's "feature" as interactive, should we keep it or remove? [[Special:Contributions/104.28.215.220|104.28.215.220]] 22:46, 6 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Side note: I have heard people using both alternate niche methods of language structure, kinda like those people who adopt a losing format even after it's clear it has lost. On character who has on occasion dabbled in both is Homer Simpson, BTW. --[[Special:Contributions/94.73.49.13|94.73.49.13]]<br /> :I still say that Video2000 was the superior home VCR format, in every way...[[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 23:55, 6 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> : Not really niche - a significant proportion of spoken language is non-grammatical. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 16:27, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :: your non-grammatical [[Special:Contributions/45.178.3.34|45.178.3.34]] 14:34, 8 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :::*Yorue'roe'r<br /> <br /> Any "competitors" to grammar would still be grammars since a grammar, by definition, describes how a language is structured. [[Special:Contributions/75.248.235.98|75.248.235.98]] 00:00, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :Well, the Random Words one ''seems'' to have no particular structure beyond being word-utterances, and the EEEEEEEEEEEEEE one doesn't even have much that ''can'' be structuralised (though I'm half expecting it to actually supposed to be a modem 'yowl', it needn't even be that), so I'm willing to bet that this exempts them from any consistent quality of being grammar. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 00:08, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> : The second example used the term word-s which in itself is a structure with grammar. And the last example might well have grammar, if eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee is a single morpheme, we siply wouldn't be able to recognize the grammar. [[Special:Contributions/195.65.24.115|195.65.24.115]]<br /> <br /> I interpreted "words order words random words words random good" differently. I assumed it was missing commas and should be read as "words-order", "words-random" "words-words" "random-good". Maybe(probably?) not what Randall intended, but if anyone interpreted it the same as me, you're not alone! {{unsigned ip|69.204.108.174|00:23, 7 April 2026 (UTC)}}<br /> <br /> i reconsider this: non-verbal communication isn't another rival for communication, as it is a subset (after seeing and liking [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=next&oldid=409748 this anon's edit]), but i'm not sure what other methods there could be than just communication and non-communication; Lenhart says "rivals" plural -- <span style="letter-spacing:0.1rem">[[User:Somefan|somefan]] ([[User talk:Somefan|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Somefan|contribs]])</span> 00:45, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :Pretty sure the joke is that any alternative to communication would by definition be impossible to communicate. --[[User:Biotronic|Biotronic]] ([[User talk:Biotronic|talk]]) 08:18, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> ::Actually, I worded that wrong - what I meant is that '' is an example of non-communication, which is not very effective at transmitting information --[[User:Biotronic|Biotronic]] ([[User talk:Biotronic|talk]]) 08:58, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you [[Special:Contributions/137.25.230.78|137.25.230.78]] 00:54, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :steal orange me steal eat orange me eat orange steal me eat orange steal me you [[User:King Pando|King Pando]] ([[User talk:King Pando|talk]]) 02:34, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> orange orange orange <br /> orange orange orange <br /> orange orange orange <br /> yellow<br /> orange you glad I didn't say orange? [[Special:Contributions/98.22.184.160|98.22.184.160]] 11:27, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I would suggest that light/photons are the most popular way of transmitting information? to (most) humans anyway... {{unsigned ip|2a02:a468:b8cb:0:5a82:a830:1528:55af|13:15, 7 April 2026 (UTC)}}<br /> : Only up until the last mile. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 14:15, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Why waste time use good grammar when bad grammar do trick? [[Special:Contributions/70.40.121.82|70.40.121.82]] 15:08, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :Cuz if you're doing too bad grammar, sometimes you'll see some sentences that triggers Uncanny Valley effect (or related stuff). (I would guess this way) [[User:Cream Starlight|Cream Starlight]] ([[User talk:Cream Starlight|talk]]) 15:25, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> ::It's a reference to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bctjSvn-OC8 this scene] from the American version of The Office. [[User:MeZimm|MeZimm]] ([[User talk:MeZimm|talk]]) 16:08, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> In Cookie Clicker, there’s a news ticker message that says “Neeeeews : "neeeew EEEEEE keeeeey working fineeeeeeeee", reeeports gleeeeeeeeful journalist.” Might be a reference to that. [[Special:Contributions/185.124.31.68|185.124.31.68]] 15:41, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Erm, isn't the current description kind of missing the point? "Grammar is one of the most popular ways to structure a language" is a tautology. "Grammar" studies how languages are structured, so ANY organization scheme of a language (from random to highly structured) would be classified as that language's grammar. Trying to say there are "other ways to structure a language" would just be a different form of grammar. Same thing with the title text. "Communication" is transmitting information from one individual to another. Any alternative to "Communication" isn't transmitting information. [[Special:Contributions/57.140.32.31|57.140.32.31]] 16:32, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> The "words order random words" part may be a reference to {{w|Nim Chimpsky}}'s sign language "sentences" like "Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you". [[Special:Contributions/193.179.120.253|193.179.120.253]] 18:22, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I figured the EEE....EEE was referring to the screeching of a modem trying to establish communication. --[[User:Jimmosk|Jimmosk]] ([[User talk:Jimmosk|talk]]) 22:07, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Farm Macdonald farm old farm farm had farm a, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE [[User:King Pando|King Pando]] ([[User talk:King Pando|talk]]) 02:53, 8 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Somebody should make a version of scream cypher where it's E instead of A. [[Special:Contributions/216.25.182.141|216.25.182.141]] 04:43, 8 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Oh btw, in Chinese translation of What If? 2, the amount of E's featured in the question were 1083. I counted lol [[User:Cream Starlight|Cream Starlight]] ([[User talk:Cream Starlight|talk]]) 04:46, 8 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This reminds me of a linguistics forum post a professor showed my class once. "I respect Chomsky, but Universal Grammar isn't all it's cracked up to be," it read. "The best way to learn a language is through immersion!" [[User:Flipping Mackerel|Flipping Mackerel]] ([[User talk:Flipping Mackerel|talk]]) 11:46, 8 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> : The best way to learn a language is a correspondence course. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 13:09, 8 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I believe this is a reference to frequent weird results that Google AI mode sometimes returns after a search. I got this exact behavior twice. --[[Special:Contributions/82.132.222.151|82.132.222.151]] 12:42, 8 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> : That's what I was thinking before I came here: AI excreting nonsense, and a teacher happily conveying that to the class. But that's just a hunch, can't get a handle on the actual joke yet. [[User:Pganon|Pganon]] ([[User talk:Pganon|talk]]) 17:51, 8 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Language is not about communicating "facts" or propositions. It is a behaviour which benefits an individual by influencing the behaviour of a second individual to the benefit of the first.<br /> [[User:Kelvin128|Kelvin128]] ([[User talk:Kelvin128|talk]]) 16:38, 8 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Maybe Lenhart meant {{w|traditional grammar|''traditional'' grammar}}? -- <span style="letter-spacing:0.1rem">[[User:Somefan|somefan]] ([[User talk:Somefan|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Somefan|contribs]])</span> 19:06, 8 April 2026 (UTC)</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409874 3229: Grammar 2026-04-08T02:53:55Z

<p>Somefan: fix italic use on work, correct "letters E" -> "letter E's", and remove a redundant template</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}, which is a system of rules describing how a certain language is structured. This is useful to make communication and meaning standardized and clear, with little to no difficulty in parsing. However, due to having many rules and structures to learn, the grammar of some languages can be viewed with annoyance by some people who wish it were 'simpler'. Miss Lenhart claims that grammar is "''one'' of the most popular ways to structure a language" and presents two alternative methods, but this is odd, as grammar ''is'' how we structure a language. Also, if the names of these 'rivals' illustrate their use, they reflect their own rules, and thus imply their own grammar. She also presents two alternative methods (though it could be interpreted as a list of four items without commas to split it up) that competed to substitute grammar, yet evidently never took off to be implemented for practical use. Despite seeming nonsensical, they've gained their own linguistic terminology:<br /> <br /> ;Words order words random words words random good<br /> :This alternate to grammar likely has very loose rules around structure, as it consists of simply stating words that relate directly to the idea being conveyed (as opposed to normal grammar, which focuses on linking together many words to form a single coherent idea). This is superficially similar to some languages, like Ukrainian, where word order does not matter. However, in these languages, its role in the sentence is simply replaced with more in-depth conjugation, which is also a form of grammar. The provided sentence, conversely, appears to have neither conjugation nor any meaningful ordering, which would make it difficult to convey more complex concepts.<br /> <br /> ;EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE<br /> :This might be referencing a scream as a form of communication. Screams are capable of communicating small amounts of information, primarily the fact that someone is attempting to draw one's attention, but cannot convey most concepts without use of complex, structured encoding patterns like Morse code (which do not appear to be present here). Alternatively, it could be made up of various random syllables, with others in the system too. (like 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH' & 'OOOOOOOOOOOH'). It may also be a reference to one of the questions recorded in [[Randall]]'s ''[[What If? 2]]'', in the {{what if|2-58.5|Short Answers #5 chapter}}. The "question", posted by Nate Yu, was a string of 960 letter E's, to which Randall replied: "I feel you, Nate".<br /> <br /> The title text continues Lenhart's lecture, as she moves on to {{w|communication}} and its rival alternatives, similar to the subject of grammar, but seems to cut off before naming the first one. Lenhart is self-demonstrating non-communication, as the sudden stop in the middle of the sentence could be a joke for how there are no other ways to convey information without communication. Still, this doesn't rule at least one other 'rival' to communication, as Lenhart implies that at least one more method exists. If communication is defined as successful transmission of information, it is possible she is referring to some sort of method(s) that attempts, but fails to transmit information. Nonetheless, demonstrating lack of communication would not be useful in this setting without further explanation, as abruptly ceasing to provide more information could instill confusion in her students.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Miss Lenhart is teaching in a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, Cueball in the first row and Megan in the second row.]<br /> :Miss Lenhart: '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''''words order words random words words random good''''' and '''''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br /> [[Category:Language]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3228:_Day_Counter&diff=409872 3228: Day Counter 2026-04-08T02:43:45Z

<p>Somefan: chair sitters still levitating is an art style choice, shown in the past</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3228<br /> | date = April 3, 2026<br /> | title = Day Counter<br /> | image = day_counter_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 319x287px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = It has been −2,147,483,648 days since our last integer overflow.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> <br /> {{incomplete|The calculations by DL Draco Rex et al. in the Talk should be included in the explanation. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> A common feature of an industrial setting is a prominent sign announcing how many days have elapsed since the last workplace accident. The sign is typically updated each day to a number one higher — or back to zero, if there ''has'' been an accident. Such signs are intended to foster a culture of safety among the workers in the facility, since presumably no one wants to suffer the embarrassment of being the one to have caused an accident that resets the number to 0. (However, it may also lead workers to cover up or conceal accidents, for the same reason, which would tend to increase future accidents, because they do not report the need to correct hazardous conditions that are causing accidents.)<br /> <br /> Evidently, in the programming facility shown in the comic, a floating-point error has occurred today, and an attempt has been made to update the sign to say "It has been 0 days since...". But the number 0 is displayed incorrectly, as the very small negative value −0.00000000000000044. Perhaps the error that was made today was the very error that occurred in updating the sign! (This would of course violate {{w|causality}}, but in comedy, self-referential humor beats causality every time, and is at least self-consistent, like with [[363: Reset]])<br /> <br /> Floating-point errors occur because computers can devote only a finite amount of storage for each {{w|Floating-point arithmetic|floating point number}} or other fraction. However, many {{w|real numbers}} and {{w|rational numbers}} theoretically require an infinite number of digits to represent them. For example, the ordinary fraction ⅓ is represented in decimal as 0.3333333333…, where the 3s repeat forever. When a number is truncated to fit in the finite amount of space, precision is inevitably lost, resulting in a slight rounding error. Unless carefully controlled, these rounding errors can accumulate, significantly degrading the accuracy of floating-point computations. For example, although ⅓ + ⅓ + ⅓ should obviously equal 1, a finite-precision calculation like 0.333 + 0.333 + 0.333 might show a misleading result of 0.999, which might not trigger the code to do what it should do when three thirds have been accumulated (it can be mitigated by allowing a match for a value which is within a suitably very small difference to the test value, but this must be considered carefully to not be over-/under-sensitive). The amount of required space for rational numbers is not universal, it depends on the base used (⅓ in base 3 requires just two digits: 0 as the units and 1 after the {{w|Decimal separator#Radix point|radix (ternary) point}}). Floating point arithmetic standards, like the popular IEEE 754, define how and when an approximation should take place, leading to predictable results, but they don't respect some basic properties of common arithmetic operations, which someone may take for granted, e.g. in floating point arithmetic addition and multiplication are commutative (a+b=b+a; a*b=b*a), but aren't guaranteed to be associative ((a+b)+c≈a+(b+c)); (a*b)*c≈a*(b*c)).<br /> <br /> This issue is exacerbated on computers which use binary arithmetic (i.e., virtually all computers today), since in binary, the ordinary fraction 1/10 is represented as the infinitely-repeating base-2 fraction <tt>0.000110011001100110011</tt>…. A classic example is that, depending on circumstances, the calculation 0.1 + 0.2 might [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/588004/is-floating-point-math-broken seem to give an answer of 0.30000000000000004].<br /> <br /> Floating point errors are particularly common in programming, especially in languages that implicitly convert decimal numbers to binary floating point, so an approximation is already made at conversion leading to unexpected results. The title text cites another common programming problem, integer overflow. When a value gets bigger than the biggest integer that can be represented in a certain format, it may "wrap around" to the smallest/most negative value (if the system is not instead set to catch this as an overflow error). In case of 32-bit signed integers it may wrap from 2<sup>31</sup>−1 (2,147,483,647) to −2<sup>31</sup> (−2,147,483,648). <br /> <br /> Integer overflow was the topic of [[571: Can't Sleep]], with yet another example of a 'days since' sign being [[3140: Biology Department]] (two examples, in both the comic and its title text).<br /> <br /> It should be noted that computers displaying things like "-1 seconds until the next [blank]" is a glitch that actually happens.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> [White Hat, Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan are all below a large sign, which appears to be attached to the wall at its four corners. White Hat and Ponytail appear to be discussing something, while Cueball is sitting at his desk working on a laptop and Megan is walking away. The sign has text on it, as well as a large display presumably meant to show a number.]<br /> <br /> :[Sign:] It has been<br /> :[Display:] -0.00000000000000044<br /> :[Sign:] days since our last floating point error<br /> <br /> ==Trivia==<br /> As an example of how the number −0.00000000000000044 could have arisen when 0 was intended, consider this simple {{w|C (programming language)|C}} program:<br /> <br /> #include <stdio.h><br /> int main()<br /> {<br /> double d = 19;<br /> for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++) d -= 1.9;<br /> printf("%.17f\n", d);<br /> }<br /> <br /> The program starts with the number 19, and subtracts 1.9 from it, ten times. Mathematically, we would expect the result to be 0. However, the number 1.9 cannot be represented exactly in binary, nor can the intermediate results 17.1, 15.2, 13.3, etc. The cascading roundoff errors conspire to produce a result of −0.00000000000000044 instead of the expected 0.<br /> <br /> In the comic, such an error creates the ridiculous illusion that −0.00000000000000044 days have passed, which implies a 'negative' number of days, which is impossible{{cn}}. It also, even if it were a positive number, would mean that much less than a nanosecond had passed since the last error, which would be an unfeasably short amount of time. Of course, the joke is that in making the sign showing the amount of time since a floating point error was last made, they are creating a floating point error, meaning the sign maintains its own "error state" in a self-referential way. Also, if they tried to reset the sign, they might make the same error again, repeating the cycle over and over, which would not be ideal.<br /> <br /> Coincidentally enough, [[Cueball]] is also floating — off his seat in this case, but this is an art style choice that ended up being apparent, as [[919|many]] [[1682|past]] [[1411|chair]] [[2362|sitters]] [[2382|are]] [[1088|shown]] [[1121|to]] [[3198|levitate]].<br /> <br /> Strangely enough, when the comic was first published the sign number was −0.00000000000000017 days.{{actual citation needed}} It was changed later though, probably so that it would be more realistic, −0.00000000000000017 would correspond to the very last bit of mantissa being incorrect and only for numbers between 1 and 2 (not including 2), and operation (1-1) is unlikely to result in rounding errors, so the smallest difference from integer is usually higher, which would result in −0.00000000000000044 the smallest possible rounding error for values between 2 and 4.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude>[[Category:Interactive comics]][[Category:Dynamic comics]]<br /> [[Category:Programming]]<br /> [[Category:Math]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409846 3229: Grammar 2026-04-07T19:29:39Z

<p>Somefan: these rivals have their grammar</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}, which is a system of rules describing how a certain language is structured. This is useful to make communication and meaning standardized and clear, with little to no difficulty in parsing. However, due to having many rules and structures to learn, the grammar of some languages can be viewed with annoyance by some people who wish it were 'simpler'. Miss Lenhart claims that grammar is "''one'' of the most popular ways to structure a language" and presents two alternative methods, but this is odd, as grammar ''is'' how we structure a language. Also, if the names of these 'rivals' illustrate their use, they reflect their own rules, and thus imply their own grammar. She also presents two alternative methods (though it could be interpreted as a list of four items without commas to split it up) that competed to substitute grammar, yet evidently never took off to be implemented for practical use. Despite seeming nonsensical, they've gained their own linguistic terminology:<br /> <br /> ;Words order words random words words random good<br /> :This alternate to grammar likely has very loose rules around structure, as it consists of simply stating words that relate directly to the idea being conveyed (as opposed to normal grammar, which focuses on linking together many words to form a single coherent idea). This can also refer to other languages, like Ukrainian, where due to conjugation word order does not matter, although it might sound weird.<br /> <br /> ;EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE<br /> :This might be referencing a scream as a form of communication (albeit an unreliable one). Alternatively, it could be made up of various random syllables, with others in the system too. (like 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH' & 'OOOOOOOOOOOH'). It may also be a reference to one of the questions recorded in [[Randall]]'s [[What If? 2]] book, in the {{what if|2-58.5|''Short Answers #5'' chapter}}. The "question", posted by Nate Yu, was a string of 960 letters "E", to which Randall replied: {{what if|2-58.5|"I feel you, Nate"}}.<br /> <br /> The title text continues Lenhart's lecture, as she moves on to {{w|communication}} and its rival alternatives, similar to the subject of grammar, but seems to cut off before naming the first one. Lenhart is self-demonstrating non-communication, as the sudden stop in the middle of the sentence could be a joke for how there are no other ways to convey information without communication. Still, this doesn't rule at least one other 'rival' to communication, as Lenhart implies that at least one more method exists. If communication is defined as successful transmission of information, it is possible she is referring to some sort of method(s) that attempts, but fails to transmit information. Nonetheless, demonstrating lack of communication would not be useful in this setting without further explanation, as abruptly ceasing to provide more information could instill confusion in her students.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Miss Lenhart is teaching in a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, Cueball in the first row and Megan in the second row.]<br /> :Miss Lenhart: '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''''words order words random words words random good''''' and '''''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br /> [[Category:Language]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409845 3229: Grammar 2026-04-07T19:20:46Z

<p>Somefan: missed one (also i meant "plural -> at least one" (not "other -> at least one"))</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}, which is a system of rules describing how a certain language is structured. This is useful to make communication and meaning standardized and clear, with little to no difficulty in parsing. However, due to having many rules and structures to learn, the grammar of some languages can be viewed with annoyance by some people who wish it were 'simpler'. However, this comic shows how effective grammar is by comparing it with various other 'forms' of structure. Specifically, Miss Lenhart claims that grammar is "''one'' of the most popular ways to structure a language". She also presents two alternative methods (though it could be interpreted as a list of four items without commas to split it up) that competed to substitute grammar, yet evidently never took off to be implemented for practical use. Despite seeming nonsensical, they've gained their own linguistic terminology:<br /> <br /> ;Words order words random words words random good<br /> :This alternate to grammar likely has very loose rules around structure, as it consists of simply stating words that relate directly to the idea being conveyed (as opposed to normal grammar, which focuses on linking together many words to form a single coherent idea). This can also refer to other languages, like Ukrainian, where due to conjugation word order does not matter, although it might sound weird.<br /> <br /> ;EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE<br /> :This might be referencing a scream as a form of communication (albeit an unreliable one). Alternatively, it could be made up of various random syllables, with others in the system too. (like 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH' & 'OOOOOOOOOOOH'). It may also be a reference to one of the questions recorded in [[Randall]]'s [[What If? 2]] book, in the {{what if|2-58.5|''Short Answers #5'' chapter}}. The "question", posted by Nate Yu, was a string of 960 letters "E", to which Randall replied: {{what if|2-58.5|"I feel you, Nate"}}.<br /> <br /> The title text continues Lenhart's lecture, as she moves on to {{w|communication}} and its rival alternatives, similar to the subject of grammar, but seems to cut off before naming the first one. Lenhart is self-demonstrating non-communication, as the sudden stop in the middle of the sentence could be a joke for how there are no other ways to convey information without communication. Still, this doesn't rule at least one other 'rival' to communication, as Lenhart implies that at least one more method exists. If communication is defined as successful transmission of information, it is possible she is referring to some sort of method(s) that attempts, but fails to transmit information. Nonetheless, demonstrating lack of communication would not be useful in this setting without further explanation, as abruptly ceasing to provide more information could instill confusion in her students.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Miss Lenhart is teaching in a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, Cueball in the first row and Megan in the second row.]<br /> :Miss Lenhart: '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''''words order words random words words random good''''' and '''''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br /> [[Category:Language]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1031:_s/keyboard/leopard/&diff=409844 1031: s/keyboard/leopard/ 2026-04-07T19:19:09Z

<p>Somefan: nvm. this is a command, not a notation</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 1031<br /> | date = March 19, 2012<br /> | title = s/keyboard/leopard/<br /> | image = s keyboard leopard.png<br /> | titletext = Problem Exists Between Leopard And Chair<br /> }}<br /> Clicking on the image takes you to [http://wiki.xkcd.com/irc/Leopard this link] (now defunct, [https://web.archive.org/web/20190810230906/http://wiki.xkcd.com:80/irc/Leopard archive]).<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> Extensions are small programs that install into your {{w|Internet browser}} and change the Web pages as you view them. Some make pages easier to read, some remove ads (the third extension is [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/adblock/gighmmpiobklfepjocnamgkkbiglidom AdBlock]) and so on. [[Randall]]'s browser looks like {{w|Google Chrome}} as viewed on a {{w|Mac (computer)|Mac}}, and he has installed at least four extensions on it, which explains the little symbols to the right of the address bar.<br /> <br /> For the joke in this comic, an extension accidentally replaces the word "{{w|Computer keyboard|keyboard}}" with "{{w|leopard}}" in a regex (or {{w|regular expression}}). In computing, a regular expression provides a concise and flexible means to "match" (specify and recognize) patterns in text, such as a sequence of characters or words. This can be helpful for "substituting" such patterns with new sequences, which is colloquially known as a "find and replace" procedure.<br /> <br /> A command that helps denote string substitution is <code>s/old/new/</code>, where any occurrence of <code>old</code> is replaced with <code>new</code>. Originating from the {{w|ed (text editor)|ed text editor}}, this syntax is notably found in shell or scripting utilities for text processing. The title follows this format for changing any occurrence of "keyboard" into "leopard".<br /> <br /> It's not clear what the extension Randall installed was actually supposed to do, but most extensions that revolve around text replacement are humorous in nature (such as [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cloud-to-butt-plus/apmlngnhgbnjpajelfkmabhkfapgnoai?hl=en Cloud to Butt], which replaces all instances of "[[908: The Cloud|the cloud]]" with "my butt").<br /> <br /> The title text references the common IT phrase "Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair" or {{w|PEBKAC}}, which means that the problem is caused by the user, not by any failure of the computer. However, due to the substitution, it is now "Problem Exists Between Leopard And Chair". It could also be a reference to [[A-Minus-Minus]], the comic containing the phrase "Instead of office chair, package contained [[:Category:Bobcats|bobcat]]".<br /> <br /> There has been several [[:Category:Substitutions|comics using substitutions]], both before and after this one.<br /> <br /> ===Sentences===<br /> ; Weird, my leopard just switched to Chinese.<br /> : Sometimes, the keyboard settings may switch to Chinese due to a bug, or by unconsciously making the change. It is quite common for users with non-US keyboard layouts to find they have accidentally switched to the 'default', and conceivably this 'feature' could work the other way. Especially on systems with significant historic Chinese involvement in its [[2166: Stack|development]].<br /> : Leopards are not known to speak at all, let alone Chinese. Alternately, it refers to a change in diet of {{w|Man-eater|one form}} or {{w|Chinese restaurant|another}}.<br /> <br /> ; I work with one leopard on my desk and another in the leopard tray.<br /> : Keyboards often take up desk space, and one solution is to have a [https://www.bpfonline.co.uk/search.asp?catid=2737 keyboard tray] that slides from under the desk, or out of the computer cabinet, when needed. This person apparently has two ''separate'' keyboards attached to their system(s), one taking up desk space and the other on the tray. This is probably more convenient than having two keyboards side by side (or on top of each other) on the desktop or two separate 'trays' (or two keyboards somehow jammed into the same tray), and often a person with such a requirement will have a computer for typical use (with the most accessible keyboard) and a second one only occasional use (with the second keyboard). They could also use a {{w|KVM switch}} for some of the peripherals, but it may not be quite as convenient or as easy to set up as to double up on the keyboards.<br /> : Leopards are traditionally solitary animals outside of mating season, or when a mother is raising her cub(s), and so however practical it is to have two leopards in close proximity, it might be a somewhat necessary compromise to give them each their own area in a given workspace. However, it is generally uncommon to put a leopard in a ''tray'' specifically.{{Citation needed}}<br /> <br /> ; Ever cleaned a leopard? They're ''filthy''.<br /> : Most people will use a keyboard for a long time, rarely replacing them unless they are actually broken, and possibly using old ones with new computers (if not integrated within their system, as with laptops). All this time, general detritus, skin, hair and even scraps of food will accumulate upon and beneath the keys unless cleaned thoroughly. Most people don't try to clean a keyboard ''until'' the accumulated grime starts to make typing a problem with less sensitive (or over sensitive!) keys. If you're finding it necessary to clean a keyboard at all, you will probably find quite a lot of filth to clean off/out.<br /> : Leopards, like most cats, are generally adept at keeping themselves clean. However, as a wild animal they're perhaps considered less 'clean' than one would hope a household or workplace appliance might be, and this would depend upon one's attitude to their grooming by licking themselves all over.<br /> <br /> ; The iPhone virtual leopard is the fastest IMO.<br /> : The response time of a keyboard is one of the factors that determine its quality, and the ability to rapidly enter characters (words, code, commands). A {{w|virtual keyboard}}, often implemented as a touch-screen 'app', has to integrate into the interface and the speaker here apparently rates the default iPhone type more than others of this kind.<br /> : Real leopards are known to run fast. It is possible that a virtual leopard may be made to exemplify this speed. The makers of the iPhone have possibly made a virtual leopard that is faster than all real leopards, or at least they have made ''their'' virtual leopard faster than all other virtual leopards from all other vendors.<br /> <br /> ; I rarely email from my phone—I'm so slow when I'm not on a leopard.<br /> : A disadvantage with virtual keyboards is often the lack of {{w|Haptic technology|haptic feedback}}, as well as the compressed and compromised layout required to fit the keys within interface. It is often much easier to use a proper full-sized keyboard, whether you hunt-and-peck or are an accomplished touch-typist, although this may depend a lot on practice.<br /> : In the context of leopards, the individual concerned seems to appreciate the advantages of being on an actual leopard when emailing, as it makes them faster. This could mean faster because the leopard itself is wont to run around. Or perhaps it is because sitting on the back of a leopard (not particularly known for being a patient beast of burden) means you ''have'' to do what you are trying to do much faster, before the consequences being on a (possibly annoyed) leopard literally come back to bite you.<br /> <br /> ; My leopard died when I spilled tea on it &#58;(<br /> : Keyboards are not generally waterproof, and react badly to any liquid spill upon them. If you are lucky, you can quickly drain them, let them dry and they will not suffer too many ill effects in the long run. But, if the less resiliant electronics get directly affected, it can mean having to replace the now unresponsive keyboard.<br /> : Leopards are animals which eventually die. They are not known to be particularly susceptible to tea, as a substance, although the typically very hot water would not be comfortable and might contribute to the mortality of one in certain circumstances. Either way, it seems like an upsetting experience. "My leopard" suggests (as with several of the above) that a leopard is being kept as a pet, working animal or perhaps a personal zoo inhabitant, and the loss certainly seems more than if a random leopard were accidentally splashed with a drink.<br /> <br /> == Transcript ==<br /> :[There are two browser windows open on a computer screen.]<br /> :[The first browser window, taking up most of the screen, but partly blocked by the other window at the bottom, has a Wikipedia article open. The title of the page can be seen on the active tab.]<br /> :Computer leopard - Wikip...<br /> :[Next to the address bar are four add-ons and the toolbar icon. One of the add-ons is a letter:]<br /> :R<br /> :[To the left on the page are standard menus, with lots of unreadable text, except these words:]<br /> :Help<br /> :Go Search<br /> :[The page is not at the top of the article, so the text begins mid sentence, the very top of the letters just cut of in the first visible sentence.]<br /> :which range from pocket-sized leopards to large desktop leopards, the leopard remains the most common user input device. In addition to text entry, specialized leopards are used for computer gaming. <br /> :While many computer interfaces rely on mice or touchscreens, UNIX-style command-line interfaces require users to interact with a leopard.<br /> :[Below is the contents list - the text in the brackets can barely be read. And only the very top of the 2.3 line can be seen, and is thus only a qualified guess at what it was supposed to say, although it fits with the real wiki article.]<br /> :Contents [hide]<br /> :1. History<br /> :2. Leopard types<br /> ::2.1 Standard<br /> ::2.2 Laptop-sized<br /> ::2.3 Thumb-sized<br /> :[To the right there is a picture of a keyboard. The picture text written below:]<br /> :IBM Model M Leopard<br /> <br /> :[The second browser window overlapping the first, at the level of the 2.3 menu point in the content menu, is a message board. The title of the page can be seen on the active tab:]<br /> :Discuss - Leopard issu...<br /> :[Next to the address bar are four add-ons and the toolbar icon. One of the add-ons is a letter:]<br /> :R<br /> :[In the window there is a list of topics next to icons of those starting the topic. The top post is just inside the frame, the icon cut of at the very top.]<br /> :[Face of Cueball-like guy on white background:]<br /> :Weird, my leopard just switched to Chinese.<br /> ::3 days ago<br /> :[Super close-up of the head of a person with dark hair on black background:]<br /> :I work with one leopard on my desk and another in the leopard tray.<br /> ::3 days ago<br /> :[Full picture of a Cueball-like guy, with white background in the bottom half and dark in the upper half (which would conceal any hair on the persons head):]<br /> :Ever cleaned a leopard? They're ''filthy''.<br /> ::2 days ago<br /> :[Head of a cat on black background:]<br /> :The iPhone virtual leopard is the fastest IMO.<br /> ::19 hours ago<br /> :[Head of a girl with long blond hair on white background:]<br /> :I rarely email from my phone—I'm so slow when I'm not on a leopard.<br /> ::11 hours ago<br /> :[Head of Cueball-like guy. A line seems to be going our from his head, but it could just be one of the lines used to fill in the background:]<br /> :My leopard died when I spilled tea on it :(<br /> ::2 hours ago<br /> <br /> :[Below the main panel of the comic is the following caption:]<br /> :The Internet got 100 times better when, thanks to an extension with a typo'd regex, my browser started replacing the word "keyboard" with "leopard".<br /> <br /> ==Trivia==<br /> When first posted, the title of the comic was <code>s/keyboard/leopard</code>, with the last slash erroneously missing. This would have failed for not following the common syntax and was later fixed.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Substitutions]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br /> [[Category:Wikipedia]]<br /> [[Category:Internet]]<br /> [[Category:Language]]<br /> [[Category:Animals]]<br /> [[Category:Regex]]<br /> [[Category:Comics edited after their publication]]<br /> [[Category:Comics with custom header texts]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409843 3229: Grammar 2026-04-07T19:09:52Z

<p>Somefan: other -> at least one. (plural means at least one)</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}, which is a system of rules describing how a certain language is structured. This is useful to make communication and meaning standardized and clear, with little to no difficulty in parsing. However, due to having many rules and structures to learn, the grammar of some languages can be viewed with annoyance by some people who wish it were 'simpler'. However, this comic shows how effective grammar is by comparing it with various other 'forms' of structure. Specifically, Miss Lenhart claims that grammar is "''one'' of the most popular ways to structure a language". She also presents two alternative methods (though it could be interpreted as a list of four items without commas to split it up) that competed to substitute grammar, yet evidently never took off to be implemented for practical use. Despite seeming nonsensical, they've gained their own linguistic terminology:<br /> <br /> ;Words order words random words words random good<br /> :This alternate to grammar likely has very loose rules around structure, as it consists of simply stating words that relate directly to the idea being conveyed (as opposed to normal grammar, which focuses on linking together many words to form a single coherent idea). This can also refer to other languages, like Ukrainian, where due to conjugation word order does not matter, although it might sound weird.<br /> <br /> ;EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE<br /> :This might be referencing a scream as a form of communication (albeit an unreliable one). Alternatively, it could be made up of various random syllables, with others in the system too. (like 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH' & 'OOOOOOOOOOOH'). It may also be a reference to one of the questions recorded in [[Randall]]'s [[What If? 2]] book, in the {{what if|2-58.5|''Short Answers #5'' chapter}}. The "question", posted by Nate Yu, was a string of 960 letters "E", to which Randall replied: {{what if|2-58.5|"I feel you, Nate"}}.<br /> <br /> The title text continues Lenhart's lecture, as she moves on to {{w|communication}} and its rival alternatives, similar to the subject of grammar, but seems to cut off before naming the first one. Lenhart is self-demonstrating non-communication, as the sudden stop in the middle of the sentence could be a joke for how there are no other ways to convey information without communication. Still, this doesn't rule at least one other 'rival' to communication, as Lenhart implies that other methods exist. If communication is defined as successful transmission of information, it is possible she is referring to some sort of method(s) that attempts, but fails to transmit information. Nonetheless, demonstrating lack of communication would not be useful in this setting without further explanation, as abruptly ceasing to provide more information could instill confusion in her students.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Miss Lenhart is teaching in a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, Cueball in the first row and Megan in the second row.]<br /> :Miss Lenhart: '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''''words order words random words words random good''''' and '''''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br /> [[Category:Language]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409842 3229: Grammar 2026-04-07T19:07:34Z

<p>Somefan: remove reference to non-verbal communication; this is communication</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}, which is a system of rules describing how a certain language is structured. This is useful to make communication and meaning standardized and clear, with little to no difficulty in parsing. However, due to having many rules and structures to learn, the grammar of some languages can be viewed with annoyance by some people who wish it were 'simpler'. However, this comic shows how effective grammar is by comparing it with various other 'forms' of structure. Specifically, Miss Lenhart claims that grammar is "''one'' of the most popular ways to structure a language". She also presents two alternative methods (though it could be interpreted as a list of four items without commas to split it up) that competed to substitute grammar, yet evidently never took off to be implemented for practical use. Despite seeming nonsensical, they've gained their own linguistic terminology:<br /> <br /> ;Words order words random words words random good<br /> :This alternate to grammar likely has very loose rules around structure, as it consists of simply stating words that relate directly to the idea being conveyed (as opposed to normal grammar, which focuses on linking together many words to form a single coherent idea). This can also refer to other languages, like Ukrainian, where due to conjugation word order does not matter, although it might sound weird.<br /> <br /> ;EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE<br /> :This might be referencing a scream as a form of communication (albeit an unreliable one). Alternatively, it could be made up of various random syllables, with others in the system too. (like 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH' & 'OOOOOOOOOOOH'). It may also be a reference to one of the questions recorded in [[Randall]]'s [[What If? 2]] book, in the {{what if|2-58.5|''Short Answers #5'' chapter}}. The "question", posted by Nate Yu, was a string of 960 letters "E", to which Randall replied: {{what if|2-58.5|"I feel you, Nate"}}.<br /> <br /> The title text continues Lenhart's lecture, as she moves on to {{w|communication}} and its rival alternatives, similar to the subject of grammar, but seems to cut off before naming the first one. Lenhart is self-demonstrating non-communication, as the sudden stop in the middle of the sentence could be a joke for how there are no other ways to convey information without communication. Still, this doesn't rule out other 'rivals' to communication, as Lenhart implies that other methods exist. If communication is defined as successful transmission of information, it is possible she is referring to some sort of method(s) that attempts, but fails to transmit information. Nonetheless, demonstrating lack of communication would not be useful in this setting without further explanation, as abruptly ceasing to provide more information could instill confusion in her students.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Miss Lenhart is teaching in a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, Cueball in the first row and Megan in the second row.]<br /> :Miss Lenhart: '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''''words order words random words words random good''''' and '''''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br /> [[Category:Language]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409774 3229: Grammar 2026-04-07T02:54:53Z

<p>Somefan: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|This page was created recently by a EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}. Grammar is a system and set of rules to describe how a certain language is structured. This is useful to make communication and meaning standardized and clear with little to no difficulty for parsing. In this comic, Miss Lenhart claims that grammar is "''one'' of the most popular ways to structure a language". She also presents two alternative methods (though it could be interpreted as a list of four items without commas to split it up) that competed to substitute grammar, yet evidently never took off to be implemented for practical use. Despite seeming nonsensical, they've gained their own endonyms:<br /> <br /> ;Words order words random words words random good<br /> :This form of alternative grammar arbitrarily consists of words that vaguely help understanding the overall sentence.<br /> <br /> ;EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE<br /> :This is the strangest of the two. It might be referencing a scream as a form of communication (albeit an unreliable one)<br /> <br /> The title text continues Lenhart's lecture, as she moves on to {{w|communication}} and its rival alternatives, similar to the subject of grammar, but seems to cut off before naming the first one. This may reference {{w|nonverbal communication}} (which is communication without oral means), but this is a subset of communication. Either Miss Lenhart has transferred into another mode of transmitting information to self-demonstrate (that may be impossible to render textually) or lack thereof, as the sudden stop in the middle of the sentence could be a joke for how there no other ways to convey information without communication. Still, this doesn't rule out other possible alternatives to communication, as Lenhart implies that other methods exist. Nonetheless, self-demonstrating lack of communication would not be useful in this setting without further explanation, as abruptly ceasing to provide more information could instill confusion in her students.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Miss Lenhart is teaching in a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, [[Cueball]] in the first row and [[Megan]] in the second row.]<br /> :Miss Lenhart: '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''words order words random words words random good''' and '''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br /> [[Category:Language]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409773 3229: Grammar 2026-04-07T02:53:39Z

<p>Somefan: generalize</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|This page was created recently by a EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}. Grammar is a system and set of rules to describe how a certain language is structured. This is useful to make communication and meaning standardized and clear with little to no difficulty for parsing. In this comic, Miss Lenhart claims that grammar is "''one'' of the most popular ways to structure a language". She also presents two alternative methods (though it could be interpreted as a list of four items without commas to split it up) that competed to substitute grammar, yet evidently never took off to be implemented in practical use. Despite seeming nonsensical, they've gained their own endonyms:<br /> <br /> ;Words order words random words words random good<br /> :This form of alternative grammar arbitrarily consists of words that vaguely help understanding the overall sentence.<br /> <br /> ;EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE<br /> :This is the strangest of the two. It might be referencing a scream as a form of communication (albeit an unreliable one)<br /> <br /> The title text continues Lenhart's lecture, as she moves on to {{w|communication}} and its rival alternatives, similar to the subject of grammar, but seems to cut off before naming the first one. This may reference {{w|nonverbal communication}} (which is communication without oral means), but this is a subset of communication. Either Miss Lenhart has transferred into another mode of transmitting information to self-demonstrate (that may be impossible to render textually) or lack thereof, as the sudden stop in the middle of the sentence could be a joke for how there no other ways to convey information without communication. Still, this doesn't rule out other possible alternatives to communication, as Lenhart implies that other methods exist. Nonetheless, self-demonstrating lack of communication would not be useful in this setting without further explanation, as abruptly ceasing to provide more information could instill confusion in her students.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Miss Lenhart is teaching in a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, [[Cueball]] in the first row and [[Megan]] in the second row.]<br /> :Miss Lenhart: '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''words order words random words words random good''' and '''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br /> [[Category:Language]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409772 3229: Grammar 2026-04-07T02:49:28Z

<p>Somefan: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|This page was created recently by a EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}. Grammar is a system and set of rules to describe how a certain language is structured. This is useful to make communication standardized and clear with little to no difficulty for parsing. In this comic, Miss Lenhart claims that grammar is "''one'' of the most popular ways to structure a language". She also presents two alternative methods (though it could be interpreted as a list of four items without commas to split it up) that competed to substitute grammar, yet evidently never took off to be implemented in common speech. Despite seeming nonsensical, they've gained their own endonyms:<br /> <br /> ;Words order words random words words random good<br /> :This form of alternative grammar arbitrarily consists of words that vaguely help understanding the overall sentence.<br /> <br /> ;EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE<br /> :This is the strangest of the two. It might be referencing a scream as a form of communication (albeit an unreliable one)<br /> <br /> The title text continues Lenhart's lecture, as she moves on to {{w|communication}} and its rival alternatives, similar to the subject of grammar, but seems to cut off before naming the first one. This may reference {{w|nonverbal communication}} (which is communication without oral means), but this is a subset of communication. Either Miss Lenhart has transferred into another mode of transmitting information to self-demonstrate (that may be impossible to render textually) or lack thereof, as the sudden stop in the middle of the sentence could be a joke for how there no other ways to convey information without communication. Still, this doesn't rule out other possible alternatives to communication, as Lenhart implies that other methods exist. Nonetheless, self-demonstrating lack of communication would not be useful in this setting without further explanation, as abruptly ceasing to provide more information could instill confusion in her students.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Miss Lenhart is teaching in a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, [[Cueball]] in the first row and [[Megan]] in the second row.]<br /> :Miss Lenhart: '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''words order words random words words random good''' and '''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude><br /> <br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br /> [[Category:Language]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3229:_Grammar&diff=409761 Talk:3229: Grammar 2026-04-07T00:47:13Z

<p>Somefan: </p> <hr /> <div><br /> E3EeE E3eE!! [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 22:26, 6 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I created a transcript, but used OCR for all the E's because I kept losing count of how many there were. If someone wants to factcheck that, please do. [[Special:Contributions/104.28.215.220|104.28.215.220]] 22:45, 6 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> It looks like the bot picked up the April Fool's "feature" as interactive, should we keep it or remove? [[Special:Contributions/104.28.215.220|104.28.215.220]] 22:46, 6 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Factchecked 19 E's counted in the image and 19 E's counted in the transcript. [[Special:Contributions/12.155.149.34|12.155.149.34]] 23:00, 6 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Side note: I have heard people using both alternate niche methods of language structure, kinda like those people who adopt a losing format even after it's clear it has lost. On character who has on occasion dabbled in both is Homer Simpson, BTW. --[[Special:Contributions/94.73.49.13|94.73.49.13]]<br /> :I still say that Video2000 was the superior home VCR format, in every way...[[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 23:55, 6 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Any "competitors" to grammar would still be grammars since a grammar, by definition, describes how a language is structured. [[Special:Contributions/75.248.235.98|75.248.235.98]] 00:00, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :Well, the Random Words one ''seems'' to have no particular structure beyond being word-utterances, and the EEEEEEEEEEEEEE one doesn't even have much that ''can'' be structuralised (though I'm half expecting it to actually supposed to be a modem 'yowl', it needn't even be that), so I'm willing to bet that this exempts them from any consistent quality of being grammar. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 00:08, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I interpreted "words order words random words words random good" differently. I assumed it was missing commas and should be read as "words-order", "words-random" "words-words" "random-good". <br /> <br /> Maybe(probably?) not what Randall intended, but if anyone interpreted it the same as me, you're not alone!<br /> <br /> i reconsider this: non-verbal communication isn't another rival for communication, as it is a subset (after seeing and liking [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=next&oldid=409748 this anon's edit]), but i'm not sure what other methods there could be than just communication and non-communication; Lenhart says "rivals" plural -- <span style="letter-spacing:0.1rem">[[User:Somefan|somefan]] ([[User talk:Somefan|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Somefan|contribs]])</span> 00:45, 7 April 2026 (UTC)</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3229:_Grammar&diff=409760 Talk:3229: Grammar 2026-04-07T00:45:37Z

<p>Somefan: alternative to communication</p> <hr /> <div><br /> E3EeE E3eE!! [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 22:26, 6 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I created a transcript, but used OCR for all the E's because I kept losing count of how many there were. If someone wants to factcheck that, please do. [[Special:Contributions/104.28.215.220|104.28.215.220]] 22:45, 6 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> It looks like the bot picked up the April Fool's "feature" as interactive, should we keep it or remove? [[Special:Contributions/104.28.215.220|104.28.215.220]] 22:46, 6 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Factchecked 19 E's counted in the image and 19 E's counted in the transcript. [[Special:Contributions/12.155.149.34|12.155.149.34]] 23:00, 6 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Side note: I have heard people using both alternate niche methods of language structure, kinda like those people who adopt a losing format even after it's clear it has lost. On character who has on occasion dabbled in both is Homer Simpson, BTW. --[[Special:Contributions/94.73.49.13|94.73.49.13]]<br /> :I still say that Video2000 was the superior home VCR format, in every way...[[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 23:55, 6 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Any "competitors" to grammar would still be grammars since a grammar, by definition, describes how a language is structured. [[Special:Contributions/75.248.235.98|75.248.235.98]] 00:00, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> :Well, the Random Words one ''seems'' to have no particular structure beyond being word-utterances, and the EEEEEEEEEEEEEE one doesn't even have much that ''can'' be structuralised (though I'm half expecting it to actually supposed to be a modem 'yowl', it needn't even be that), so I'm willing to bet that this exempts them from any consistent quality of being grammar. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 00:08, 7 April 2026 (UTC)<br /> <br /> I interpreted "words order words random words words random good" differently. I assumed it was missing commas and should be read as "words-order", "words-random" "words-words" "random-good". <br /> <br /> Maybe(probably?) not what Randall intended, but if anyone interpreted it the same as me, you're not alone!<br /> <br /> i reconsider this: non-verbal communication isn't another rival for communication, as it is a subset. after reviewing and liking [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=next&oldid=409748 this anon's edit], i'm not sure what other methods there could be than just communication and non-communication; Lenhart says "rivals" plural -- <span style="letter-spacing:0.1rem">[[User:Somefan|somefan]] ([[User talk:Somefan|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Somefan|contribs]])</span> 00:45, 7 April 2026 (UTC)</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409757 3229: Grammar 2026-04-07T00:30:48Z

<p>Somefan: embed this joke in paragraph more. i come to believe so too, but "rival methods" imply more</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|This page was created recently by a EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}. Grammar is a system and set of rules to describe how a certain language is structured. This is useful to make communication standardized and clear with little to no difficulty for parsing. In this comic, Miss Lenhart claims that grammar is "''one'' of the most popular ways to structure a language". She also presents two alternative methods that competed to substitute grammar, yet evidently never took off to be implemented in common speech, and also appear to be nonsensical in nature. Despite this, they've gained their own endonyms:<br /> <br /> ;Words order words random words words random good<br /> :This form of alternative grammar arbitrarily consists of words that vaguely help understanding the overall sentence.<br /> <br /> ;EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE<br /> :This is the strangest of the two. It might be referencing a scream as a form of communication (albeit an unreliable one)<br /> <br /> The title text seems to continue Lenhart's lecture, as she moves to {{w|communication}}. Similar to the subject of grammar, she beings to pose some rival methods thereof, but seems to cut off before naming the first one. This may reference {{w|nonverbal communication}} (which is communication without oral means) but this is a subset of communication. Either Miss Lenhart has transferred into another mode of communication to self-demonstrate (that may be impossible to render textually) or lack thereof, as the sudden stop in the middle of the sentence could be a joke for how there no other ways to convey information. Still, this doesn't deduce the other possible alternatives to communication, as Lenhart implies of other methods. Nonetheless, self-demonstrating lack of communication would not be of good taste here without further explanation, as abruptly ceasing any more information may instill confusion to her pupils.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [Miss Lenhart is teaching a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, a [[Cueball]] is on the first row and [[Megan]] is in the second row.]<br /> <br /> Miss Lenhart:<br /> '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''words order words random words words random good''' and '''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude></div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409748 3229: Grammar 2026-04-07T00:00:01Z

<p>Somefan: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|This page was created recently by a EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}. Grammar is a system and set of rules to describe how a certain language is structured. This is useful to make communication standardized and clear with little to no difficulty for parsing. In this comic, Miss Lenhart claims that grammar is "''one'' of the most popular ways to structure a language". She also presents two alternative methods that competed to substitute grammar, yet evidently never took off to be implemented in common speech, and also appear to be nonsensical in nature. Despite this, they've gained their own endonyms:<br /> <br /> ;Words order words random words words random good<br /> :This form of alternative grammar arbitrarily consists of words that vaguely help understanding the overall sentence.<br /> <br /> ;EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE<br /> :This is the strangest of the two.<br /> <br /> The title text seems to continue Lenhart's lecture, as she moves to {{w|communication}}. Similar to the subject of grammar, she beings to pose some rival methods thereof, but seems to cut off before naming the first one. This may reference {{w|nonverbal communication}}, which is a mode of communication without oral manner, such as eye contact, body language, and gesturing. Applying here, either Miss Lenhart has transferred into another mode of communication to self-demonstrate (that may be impossible to render textually) or lack thereof. The latter would not be of good taste without further explanation, as abruptly ceasing any more information may instill confusion to her pupils.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [Miss Lenhart is teaching a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, a [[Cueball]] is on the first row and [[Megan]] is in the second row.]<br /> <br /> Miss Lenhart:<br /> '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''words order words random words words random good''' and '''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude></div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409747 3229: Grammar 2026-04-06T23:56:31Z

<p>Somefan: detail a bit on the two (i'm a bit tired now)</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|This page was created recently by a EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}. Grammar is a system and set of rules to describe how a certain language is structured. This is useful to make communication standardized and clear with little to no difficulty for parsing. In this comic, Miss Lenhart claims that grammar is "''one'' of the most popular ways to structure a language". She also presents two alternative methods that competed to substitute grammar, yet evidently never took off to be implemented in common speech, and also appear to be nonsensical in nature. Despite this, they've gained their own endonyms:<br /> <br /> ;Words order words random words words random good<br /> :This form of alternative grammar arbitrarily consists of words that vaguely help understanding the overall sentence.<br /> <br /> ;EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE<br /> :This is the strangest of the two.<br /> <br /> The title text seems to continue Lenhart's lecture, as she moves to {{w|communication}}. Similar to the subject of grammar, she beings to pose some rival methods thereof, but seems to cut off before naming the first one. This may reference {{w|nonverbal communication}}, which is a mode of communication without oral manner, such as eye contact, body language, and gesturing. Applying here, either Miss Lenhart has transferred into another mode of communication, that may be impossible to render textually, or lack thereof. The latter would not be of good taste without further explanation, as abruptly ceasing any more information may instill confusion to her pupils.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [Miss Lenhart is teaching a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, a [[Cueball]] is on the first row and [[Megan]] is in the second row.]<br /> <br /> Miss Lenhart:<br /> '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''words order words random words words random good''' and '''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude></div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409745 3229: Grammar 2026-04-06T23:52:49Z

<p>Somefan: title text</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|This page was created recently by a EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}. Grammar is a system and set of rules to describe how a certain language is structured. This is useful to make communication standardized and clear with little to no difficulty for parsing. In this comic, Miss Lenhart claims that grammar is "''one'' of the most popular ways to structure a language". She also presents two alternative methods that competed to substitute grammar, yet evidently never took off to be implemented in common speech, and also appear to be nonsensical in nature.<br /> <br /> ;Words order words random words words random good<br /> <br /> ;EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE<br /> <br /> This is the strangest of the two.<br /> <br /> The title text seems to continue Lenhart's lecture, as she moves to {{w|communication}}. Similar to the subject of grammar, she beings to pose some rival methods thereof, but seems to cut off before naming the first one. This may reference {{w|nonverbal communication}}, which is a mode of communication without oral manner, such as eye contact, body language, and gesturing. Applying here, either Miss Lenhart has transferred into another mode of communication, that may be impossible to render textually, or lack thereof. The latter would not be of good taste without further explanation, as abruptly ceasing any more information may instill confusion to her pupils.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [Miss Lenhart is teaching a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, a [[Cueball]] is on the first row and [[Megan]] is in the second row.]<br /> <br /> Miss Lenhart:<br /> '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''words order words random words words random good''' and '''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude></div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409741 3229: Grammar 2026-04-06T23:39:59Z

<p>Somefan: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|This page was created recently by a EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}. Grammar is a system and set of rules to describe how a certain language is structured. This is useful to make communication standardized and clear with little to no difficulty for parsing. In this comic, Miss Lenhart claims that grammar is "''one'' of the most popular ways to structure a language". She also presents two alternative methods that competed to substitute grammar, yet evidently never took off to be implemented in common speech, and also appear to be nonsensical in nature.<br /> <br /> ;Words order words random words words random good<br /> <br /> ;EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE<br /> <br /> This is the strangest of the two.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [Miss Lenhart is teaching a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, a [[Cueball]] is on the first row and [[Megan]] is in the second row.]<br /> <br /> Miss Lenhart:<br /> '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''words order words random words words random good''' and '''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude></div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409739 3229: Grammar 2026-04-06T23:34:04Z

<p>Somefan: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|This page was created recently by a EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}. Grammar is a system and set of rules to describe how a certain language is structured. This is useful to make communication standardized and clear with little to no difficulty for parsing. In this comic, Miss Lenhart also presents two alternative methods that rival to substitute grammar, which appear to be nonsensical in nature.<br /> <br /> ;'''Words order words random words words random good'''<br /> <br /> ;'''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [Miss Lenhart is teaching a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, a [[Cueball]] is on the first row and [[Megan]] is in the second row.]<br /> <br /> Miss Lenhart:<br /> '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''words order words random words words random good''' and '''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude></div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409738 3229: Grammar 2026-04-06T23:24:27Z

<p>Somefan: add grammar context</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|This page was created recently by a EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about {{w|grammar}}. Grammar is a set of rules to dictate how a certain language is structured, which is useful to make communication standardized and clear with little to no difficulty for parsing. However, the lesson takes a turn when Miss Lenhart uses nonexistent sentanxe structures to convey meaning.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [Miss Lenhart is teaching a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, a [[Cueball]] is on the first row and [[Megan]] is in the second row.]<br /> <br /> Miss Lenhart:<br /> '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''words order words random words words random good''' and '''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude></div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3229:_Grammar&diff=409737 3229: Grammar 2026-04-06T23:17:38Z

<p>Somefan: link lenhart and favor miss</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3229<br /> | date = April 6, 2026<br /> | title = Grammar<br /> | image = grammar_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 227x312px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = Communication is one of the most popular ways to transmit information, ahead of rivals such as<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|This page was created recently by a EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [[Miss Lenhart]] is shown teaching a classroom about grammar, however the lesson takes a turn when Miss Lenhart uses nonexistent sentanxe structures to convey meaning.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [Miss Lenhart is teaching a classroom. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, a [[Cueball]] is on the first row and [[Megan]] is in the second row.]<br /> <br /> Miss Lenhart:<br /> '''Grammar''' is one of the most popular ways to structure a language, ahead of rival methods such as '''words order words random words words random good''' and '''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'''.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude></div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3227:_Creation&diff=409408 3227: Creation 2026-04-02T03:57:03Z

<p>Somefan: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3227<br /> | date = April 1, 2026<br /> | title = Creation<br /> | image = creation_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 567x198px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = This xkcd.com update introduces a variety of new reading modes which can be activated through the menu.<br /> }}<br /> {{series<br /> | series = April<br /> | number = 18<br /> | date = April 1, 2026<br /> | days_late = <br /> | day_category = Wednesday<br /> | prev_title = 3074: Push Notifications<br /> | prev_date = April 9, 2025<br /> | next_title = <br /> | next_date = <br /> }}<br /> To experience the interactivity of the web page, visit the {{xkcd|3227|original comic}}!<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|This page was created recently in ROBOTIC MODE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> This comic was created when modes were added to the xkcd website, on April Fool's Day, through a selectable drop-down list below the comic. This allows various different viewing options for the entire website, including older comics. Some are 'normal', like the typical "light" and "dark" modes, but others take such things in further and/or more esoteric ways. This includes an "airplane mode" (see below) that parodies and subverts the {{w|Airplane mode|normal implementation}}.<br /> <br /> The comic references one of the first lines of the {{w|Bible}} (Genesis 1:3), where God creates light, but then a person on Earth asks to turn on {{w|dark mode}}, referencing the new options.<br /> <br /> Unlike most comics, the title text isn't really a joke, it merely 'explains' the update and gives basic instructions.<br /> <br /> The comic credits the "Excellent Design Team", consisting of Amber, Benjamin, Staffin, and Kevin who helped create the modes.<br /> <br /> ===Table of Modes===<br /> {| class="wikitable"<br /> |-<br /> ! Mode<br /> ! Description<br /> |-<br /> | Light Mode<br /> | The classic site appearance, with no actual changes to the appearance applied.<br /> |-<br /> | Lighter Mode<br /> | The entire web page is overexposed, making colors wash out and reducing the contrast.<br /> |-<br /> | Dark Mode<br /> | A standard "white content on black background" dark mode. Inverts the comic’s black and white pixels (see umwelt) which makes the content of this particular comic nonsensical.<br /> |-<br /> | Darkest Mode<br /> | Everything on the webpage turns completely black, sans the drop down menu which is merely a dark gray.<br /> |-<br /> | Blurry Mode<br /> | Blurs the entire webpage.<br /> |-<br /> | Grayscale Mode<br /> | Applies a standard grayscale conversion filter to the entire webpage.<br /> |-<br /> | Greyscale Mode<br /> | Like Grayscale Mode, but also changes the spelling of "math" in the slogan at the top of the page to "maths" (as in British English).<br /> |- <br /> | Dorian Greyscale Mode<br /> | Makes the webpage slowly turn grey. This refers to {{w|The Picture of Dorian Gray}}, in which the titular character has a portrait that slowly ages and fades out while the character stays young and handsome.<br /> |-<br /> | Space Opera Mode<br /> | Turns the entire page into a ''Star Wars''-style opening scroll.<br /> |-<br /> | 3D Mode<br /> | Makes the comic render in {{w|Anaglyph_3D|anaglyphic stereoscopy}}.<br /> |-<br /> | Origami Mode<br /> | Rotates and folds various pieces of the webpage.<br /> |-<br /> | Ink Mode<br /> | Recolors the webpage as if drawn in blue ink.<br /> |-<br /> | Spring Mode<br /> | Gives the comic a simple physics simulation, making it slightly rotate as the page is scrolled.<br /> |-<br /> | Antipodes Mode<br /> | Turns the entire webpage upside down. An antipode is the point on the Earth's surface directly opposite of another, but "The Antipodes" is also term used for Australia and New Zealand by inhabitants of the northern hemisphere. Note: When the comic was first published this was labeled "Southern Hemisphere Mode".<br /> |-<br /> | Hacker Mode<br /> | Recolors the entire webpage in the stereotypical "green on black" hacker color scheme.<br /> |-<br /> | Screensaver Mode<br /> | Makes the comic float around on the webpage, bouncing as it hits the edges.<br /> |-<br /> | Modem Mode<br /> | Slowly reveals the comic top to bottom, as if slowly loading, accompanied with modem static audio playing.<br /> |-<br /> | Stained Glass Mode<br /> | Colors each closed area of the comic in a separate color. The colors vary each time this mode is selected.<br /> |-<br /> | Airplane Mode<br /> | Makes the comic fly around on the page, with a "NYOOM!" written next to it. This is unlike the usual use of "airplane mode" to refer to disabling the cellphone (or all RF) features of a mobile device.<br /> |-<br /> | Boat Mode<br /> | Makes the entire webpage tilt back and forth, emulating the way a boat rolls on the water. (It has been previously used as a reference in the [[Footnote]], which says "Remove your device from airplane mode and set it to Boat Mode).<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [Panel 1. Black background with white caption boxes.]<br /> <br /> Caption 1: And God said, <br /> <br /> Caption 2: "Let there be light,"<br /> <br /> [Panel 2. A bright explosion of light from a star in the center.]<br /> <br /> Caption: And there was light.<br /> <br /> [Panel 3. The star with bright rays of light is shown against the horizon of a planet.]<br /> <br /> [Panel 4. The same planet horizon is shown with a clear sky above.]<br /> <br /> Caption: God saw that the light was-<br /> <br /> Voice from the planet: Can you add support for dark mode?<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude>[[Category:Interactive comics]][[Category:Dynamic comics]][[Category:April Fools' Day comics]]<br /> [[Category:Comics with custom header texts]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3227:_Creation&diff=409407 3227: Creation 2026-04-02T03:54:12Z

<p>Somefan: include verse number</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 3227<br /> | date = April 1, 2026<br /> | title = Creation<br /> | image = creation_2x.png<br /> | imagesize = 567x198px<br /> | noexpand = true<br /> | titletext = This xkcd.com update introduces a variety of new reading modes which can be activated through the menu.<br /> }}<br /> {{series<br /> | series = April<br /> | number = 18<br /> | date = April 1, 2026<br /> | days_late = <br /> | day_category = Wednesday<br /> | prev_title = 3074: Push Notifications<br /> | prev_date = April 9, 2025<br /> | next_title = <br /> | next_date = <br /> }}<br /> To experience the interactivity of the web page, visit the {{xkcd|3227|original comic}}!<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|This page was created recently in ROBOTIC MODE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> This comic was created when modes were added to the xkcd website, on April Fool's Day, through a selectable drop-down list below the comic. This allows various different viewing options for the entire website, including older comics. Some are 'normal', like the typical "light" and "dark" modes, but others take such things in further and/or more esoteric ways. This includes an "airplane mode" (see below) that parodies and subverts the {{w|Airplane mode|normal implementation}}.<br /> <br /> The comic references one of the first lines of the {{w|Bible}} (Genesis 1:3), where God creates light, but a person on Earth asks to turn on {{w|dark mode}}, referencing the new options.<br /> <br /> Unlike most comics, the title text isn't really a joke, it merely 'explains' the update and gives basic instructions.<br /> <br /> The comic credits the "Excellent Design Team", consisting of Amber, Benjamin, Staffin, and Kevin who helped create the modes.<br /> <br /> ===Table of Modes===<br /> {| class="wikitable"<br /> |-<br /> ! Mode<br /> ! Description<br /> |-<br /> | Light Mode<br /> | The classic site appearance, with no actual changes to the appearance applied.<br /> |-<br /> | Lighter Mode<br /> | The entire web page is overexposed, making colors wash out and reducing the contrast.<br /> |-<br /> | Dark Mode<br /> | A standard "white content on black background" dark mode. Inverts the comic’s black and white pixels (see umwelt) which makes the content of this particular comic nonsensical.<br /> |-<br /> | Darkest Mode<br /> | Everything on the webpage turns completely black, sans the drop down menu which is merely a dark gray.<br /> |-<br /> | Blurry Mode<br /> | Blurs the entire webpage.<br /> |-<br /> | Grayscale Mode<br /> | Applies a standard grayscale conversion filter to the entire webpage.<br /> |-<br /> | Greyscale Mode<br /> | Like Grayscale Mode, but also changes the spelling of "math" in the slogan at the top of the page to "maths" (as in British English).<br /> |- <br /> | Dorian Greyscale Mode<br /> | Makes the webpage slowly turn grey. This refers to {{w|The Picture of Dorian Gray}}, in which the titular character has a portrait that slowly ages and fades out while the character stays young and handsome.<br /> |-<br /> | Space Opera Mode<br /> | Turns the entire page into a ''Star Wars''-style opening scroll.<br /> |-<br /> | 3D Mode<br /> | Makes the comic render in {{w|Anaglyph_3D|anaglyphic stereoscopy}}.<br /> |-<br /> | Origami Mode<br /> | Rotates and folds various pieces of the webpage.<br /> |-<br /> | Ink Mode<br /> | Recolors the webpage as if drawn in blue ink.<br /> |-<br /> | Spring Mode<br /> | Gives the comic a simple physics simulation, making it slightly rotate as the page is scrolled.<br /> |-<br /> | Antipodes Mode<br /> | Turns the entire webpage upside down. An antipode is the point on the Earth's surface directly opposite of another, but "The Antipodes" is also term used for Australia and New Zealand by inhabitants of the northern hemisphere. Note: When the comic was first published this was labeled "Southern Hemisphere Mode".<br /> |-<br /> | Hacker Mode<br /> | Recolors the entire webpage in the stereotypical "green on black" hacker color scheme.<br /> |-<br /> | Screensaver Mode<br /> | Makes the comic float around on the webpage, bouncing as it hits the edges.<br /> |-<br /> | Modem Mode<br /> | Slowly reveals the comic top to bottom, as if slowly loading, accompanied with modem static audio playing.<br /> |-<br /> | Stained Glass Mode<br /> | Colors each closed area of the comic in a separate color. The colors vary each time this mode is selected.<br /> |-<br /> | Airplane Mode<br /> | Makes the comic fly around on the page, with a "NYOOM!" written next to it. This is unlike the usual use of "airplane mode" to refer to disabling the cellphone (or all RF) features of a mobile device.<br /> |-<br /> | Boat Mode<br /> | Makes the entire webpage tilt back and forth, emulating the way a boat rolls on the water. (It has been previously used as a reference in the [[Footnote]], which says "Remove your device from airplane mode and set it to Boat Mode).<br /> |}<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}<br /> <br /> [Panel 1. Black background with white caption boxes.]<br /> <br /> Caption 1: And God said, <br /> <br /> Caption 2: "Let there be light,"<br /> <br /> [Panel 2. A bright explosion of light from a star in the center.]<br /> <br /> Caption: And there was light.<br /> <br /> [Panel 3. The star with bright rays of light is shown against the horizon of a planet.]<br /> <br /> [Panel 4. The same planet horizon is shown with a clear sky above.]<br /> <br /> Caption: God saw that the light was-<br /> <br /> Voice from the planet: Can you add support for dark mode?<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<noinclude>[[Category:Interactive comics]][[Category:Dynamic comics]][[Category:April Fools' Day comics]]<br /> [[Category:Comics with custom header texts]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1031:_s/keyboard/leopard/&diff=408324 1031: s/keyboard/leopard/ 2026-03-17T22:06:06Z

<p>Somefan: </p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 1031<br /> | date = March 19, 2012<br /> | title = s/keyboard/leopard/<br /> | image = s keyboard leopard.png<br /> | titletext = Problem Exists Between Leopard And Chair<br /> }}<br /> Clicking on the image takes you to [http://wiki.xkcd.com/irc/Leopard this link] (now defunct, [https://web.archive.org/web/20190810230906/http://wiki.xkcd.com:80/irc/Leopard archive]).<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> Extensions are small programs that install into your {{w|Internet browser}} and change the Web pages as you view them. Some make pages easier to read, some remove ads (the third extension is [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/adblock/gighmmpiobklfepjocnamgkkbiglidom AdBlock]) and so on. [[Randall]]'s browser looks like {{w|Google Chrome}} as viewed on a {{w|Mac (computer)|Mac}}, and he has installed at least four extensions on it, which explains the little symbols to the right of the address bar.<br /> <br /> For the joke in this comic, an extension accidentally replaces the word "{{w|Computer keyboard|keyboard}}" with "{{w|leopard}}" in a regex (or {{w|regular expression}}). In computing, a regular expression provides a concise and flexible means to "match" (specify and recognize) patterns in text, such as a sequence of characters or words. This can be helpful for "substituting" such patterns with new sequences, which is colloquially known as a "find and replace" procedure.<br /> <br /> One method to denote a string substitution is <code>s/old/new/</code>, where any occurrence of <code>old</code> is replaced with <code>new</code>. Originating from the {{w|ed (text editor)|ed text editor}}, this syntax is notably found in shell or scripting utilities for text processing. The title follows this format for changing any occurrence of "keyboard" into "leopard".<br /> <br /> It's not clear what the extension Randall installed was actually supposed to do, but most extensions that revolve around text replacement are humorous in nature (such as [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cloud-to-butt-plus/apmlngnhgbnjpajelfkmabhkfapgnoai?hl=en Cloud to Butt], which replaces all instances of "[[908: The Cloud|the cloud]]" with "my butt").<br /> <br /> The title text references the common IT phrase "Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair" or {{w|PEBKAC}}, which means that the problem is caused by the user, not by any failure of the computer. However, due to the substitution, it is now "Problem Exists Between Leopard And Chair". It could also be a reference to [[A-Minus-Minus]], the comic containing the phrase "Instead of office chair, package contained [[:Category:Bobcats|bobcat]]".<br /> <br /> There has been several [[:Category:Substitutions|comics using substitutions]], both before and after this one.<br /> <br /> ===Sentences===<br /> ; Weird, my leopard just switched to Chinese.<br /> : Sometimes, the keyboard settings may switch to Chinese due to a bug, or by unconsciously making the change. It is quite common for users with non-US keyboard layouts to find they have accidentally switched to the 'default', and conceivably this 'feature' could work the other way. Especially on systems with significant historic Chinese involvement in its [[2166: Stack|development]].<br /> : Leopards are not known to speak at all, let alone Chinese. Alternately, it refers to a change in diet of {{w|Man-eater|one form}} or {{w|Chinese restaurant|another}}.<br /> <br /> ; I work with one leopard on my desk and another in the leopard tray.<br /> : Keyboards often take up desk space, and one solution is to have a [https://www.bpfonline.co.uk/search.asp?catid=2737 keyboard tray] that slides from under the desk, or out of the computer cabinet, when needed. This person apparently has two ''separate'' keyboards attached to their system(s), one taking up desk space and the other on the tray. This is probably more convenient than having two keyboards side by side (or on top of each other) on the desktop or two separate 'trays' (or two keyboards somehow jammed into the same tray), and often a person with such a requirement will have a computer for typical use (with the most accessible keyboard) and a second one only occasional use (with the second keyboard). They could also use a {{w|KVM switch}} for some of the peripherals, but it may not be quite as convenient or as easy to set up as to double up on the keyboards.<br /> : Leopards are traditionally solitary animals outside of mating season, or when a mother is raising her cub(s), and so however practical it is to have two leopards in close proximity, it might be a somewhat necessary compromise to give them each their own area in a given workspace. However, it is generally uncommon to put a leopard in a ''tray'' specifically.{{Citation needed}}<br /> <br /> ; Ever cleaned a leopard? They're ''filthy''.<br /> : Most people will use a keyboard for a long time, rarely replacing them unless they are actually broken, and possibly using old ones with new computers (if not integrated within their system, as with laptops). All this time, general detritus, skin, hair and even scraps of food will accumulate upon and beneath the keys unless cleaned thoroughly. Most people don't try to clean a keyboard ''until'' the accumulated grime starts to make typing a problem with less sensitive (or over sensitive!) keys. If you're finding it necessary to clean a keyboard at all, you will probably find quite a lot of filth to clean off/out.<br /> : Leopards, like most cats, are generally adept at keeping themselves clean. However, as a wild animal they're perhaps considered less 'clean' than one would hope a household or workplace appliance might be, and this would depend upon one's attitude to their grooming by licking themselves all over.<br /> <br /> ; The iPhone virtual leopard is the fastest IMO.<br /> : The response time of a keyboard is one of the factors that determine its quality, and the ability to rapidly enter characters (words, code, commands). A {{w|virtual keyboard}}, often implemented as a touch-screen 'app', has to integrate into the interface and the speaker here apparently rates the default iPhone type more than others of this kind.<br /> : Real leopards are known to run fast. It is possible that a virtual leopard may be made to exemplify this speed. The makers of the iPhone have possibly made a virtual leopard that is faster than all real leopards, or at least they have made ''their'' virtual leopard faster than all other virtual leopards from all other vendors.<br /> <br /> ; I rarely email from my phone—I'm so slow when I'm not on a leopard.<br /> : A disadvantage with virtual keyboards is often the lack of {{w|Haptic technology|haptic feedback}}, as well as the compressed and compromised layout required to fit the keys within interface. It is often much easier to use a proper full-sized keyboard, whether you hunt-and-peck or are an accomplished touch-typist, although this may depend a lot on practice.<br /> : In the context of leopards, the individual concerned seems to appreciate the advantages of being on an actual leopard when emailing, as it makes them faster. This could mean faster because the leopard itself is wont to run around. Or perhaps it is because sitting on the back of a leopard (not particularly known for being a patient beast of burden) means you ''have'' to do what you are trying to do much faster, before the consequences being on a (possibly annoyed) leopard literally come back to bite you.<br /> <br /> ; My leopard died when I spilled tea on it &#58;(<br /> : Keyboards are not generally waterproof, and react badly to any liquid spill upon them. If you are lucky, you can quickly drain them, let them dry and they will not suffer too many ill effects in the long run. But, if the less resiliant electronics get directly affected, it can mean having to replace the now unresponsive keyboard.<br /> : Leopards are animals which eventually die. They are not known to be particularly susceptible to tea, as a substance, although the typically very hot water would not be comfortable and might contribute to the mortality of one in certain circumstances. Either way, it seems like an upsetting experience. "My leopard" suggests (as with several of the above) that a leopard is being kept as a pet, working animal or perhaps a personal zoo inhabitant, and the loss certainly seems more than if a random leopard were accidentally splashed with a drink.<br /> <br /> == Transcript ==<br /> :[There are two browser windows open on a computer screen.]<br /> :[The first browser window, taking up most of the screen, but partly blocked by the other window at the bottom, has a Wikipedia article open. The title of the page can be seen on the active tab.]<br /> :Computer leopard - Wikip...<br /> :[Next to the address bar are four add-ons and the toolbar icon. One of the add-ons is a letter:]<br /> :R<br /> :[To the left on the page are standard menus, with lots of unreadable text, except these words:]<br /> :Help<br /> :Go Search<br /> :[The page is not at the top of the article, so the text begins mid sentence, the very top of the letters just cut of in the first visible sentence.]<br /> :which range from pocket-sized leopards to large desktop leopards, the leopard remains the most common user input device. In addition to text entry, specialized leopards are used for computer gaming. <br /> :While many computer interfaces rely on mice or touchscreens, UNIX-style command-line interfaces require users to interact with a leopard.<br /> :[Below is the contents list - the text in the brackets can barely be read. And only the very top of the 2.3 line can be seen, and is thus only a qualified guess at what it was supposed to say, although it fits with the real wiki article.]<br /> :Contents [hide]<br /> :1. History<br /> :2. Leopard types<br /> ::2.1 Standard<br /> ::2.2 Laptop-sized<br /> ::2.3 Thumb-sized<br /> :[To the right there is a picture of a keyboard. The picture text written below:]<br /> :IBM Model M Leopard<br /> <br /> :[The second browser window overlapping the first, at the level of the 2.3 menu point in the content menu, is a message board. The title of the page can be seen on the active tab:]<br /> :Discuss - Leopard issu...<br /> :[Next to the address bar are four add-ons and the toolbar icon. One of the add-ons is a letter:]<br /> :R<br /> :[In the window there is a list of topics next to icons of those starting the topic. The top post is just inside the frame, the icon cut of at the very top.]<br /> :[Face of Cueball-like guy on white background:]<br /> :Weird, my leopard just switched to Chinese.<br /> ::3 days ago<br /> :[Super close-up of the head of a person with dark hair on black background:]<br /> :I work with one leopard on my desk and another in the leopard tray.<br /> ::3 days ago<br /> :[Full picture of a Cueball-like guy, with white background in the bottom half and dark in the upper half (which would conceal any hair on the persons head):]<br /> :Ever cleaned a leopard? They're ''filthy''.<br /> ::2 days ago<br /> :[Head of a cat on black background:]<br /> :The iPhone virtual leopard is the fastest IMO.<br /> ::19 hours ago<br /> :[Head of a girl with long blond hair on white background:]<br /> :I rarely email from my phone—I'm so slow when I'm not on a leopard.<br /> ::11 hours ago<br /> :[Head of Cueball-like guy. A line seems to be going our from his head, but it could just be one of the lines used to fill in the background:]<br /> :My leopard died when I spilled tea on it :(<br /> ::2 hours ago<br /> <br /> :[Below the main panel of the comic is the following caption:]<br /> :The Internet got 100 times better when, thanks to an extension with a typo'd regex, my browser started replacing the word "keyboard" with "leopard".<br /> <br /> ==Trivia==<br /> When first posted, the title of the comic was <code>s/keyboard/leopard</code>, with the last slash erroneously missing. This would have failed for not following the common syntax and was later fixed.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Substitutions]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br /> [[Category:Wikipedia]]<br /> [[Category:Internet]]<br /> [[Category:Language]]<br /> [[Category:Animals]]<br /> [[Category:Regex]]<br /> [[Category:Comics edited after their publication]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:3000:_Experimental_Astrophysics&diff=408252 Talk:3000: Experimental Astrophysics 2026-03-16T23:10:45Z

<p>Somefan: revert to heading format, it helps more to visually separate these topics</p> <hr /> <div><br /> ==Moaning about ''this'' being the 3000th comic==<br /> <br /> I really thought he would do something special for the 3000th comic :( i was so hyped [[Special:Contributions/172.68.64.207|172.68.64.207]] 03:48, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> :Saaame:( but maybe he will do something at 3072[[User:SomeRandomNerd|SomeRandomNerd]] ([[User talk:SomeRandomNerd|talk]]) 03:57, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> :It's about blowing up the Sun and likely destroying the Solar System. That's not special enough for you? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:01, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> ::It doesn't reference its three-thousandness, unlike comics [[1000]] and [[2000]]; it could've been released any other day. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.25|162.158.90.25]] 04:22, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> :::Maybe we got the pattern wrong: 1000, 2000, 4000, 8000, ... [[User:Ruffy314|Ruffy314]] ([[User talk:Ruffy314|talk]]) 19:44, 21 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> ::::And then it goes 16000, 31000 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtkIWDE36qU], right? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.39.165|162.158.39.165]] 23:05, 21 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> :::::Patterns fool ya... [[User:Poxy6|'''<span style="color:#8b0000;">P</span><span style="color:#6b002b;">o</span><span style="color:#4b004b;">x</span><span style="color:#2b006b;">y</span><span style="color:#00008b;">6</span>''']] ([[User talk:Poxy6|talk]]) 01:02, 24 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> :I was expecting xkcd 3000 for long but very busy today. I found this comic seemingly not too long after its publication, but not rather upset now [[User:物灵|物灵]] ([[User talk:物灵|talk]]) 06:40, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> :SAME! :( [[User:B_for_brain|B for brain]] ([[User_talk:B_for_brain|talk]]) ([https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg4bo-hj-mDyOOUp_Yp0pug youtube channel] [https://bforbrain.weebly.com/ wobsite (supposed to be a blag)]) 09:22, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> :ugh me too! why didn't he do it it's so special! {{unsigned ip|172.71.151.4|01:51, 20 October 2024}}<br /> :I was so hyped but couldn't check because I went camping-now I'm just disappointed. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 22:06, 20 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> Randall really did fall off 😭 [[User:CalibansCreations|'''<span style="color:#ff0000;">Caliban</span>''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 10:23, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> <br /> xkcd 4000 is coming out on 10 march 2031 unless randall uploads inconsistently during those 1000 comics (very likely)<br/>unrelatedly i pronounce TŻO as /tiː ʐɛd oʊ/. is that normal? [[User:MinersHavenM43|MinersHavenM43]] ([[User talk:MinersHavenM43|talk]]) 04:10, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> <br /> :You (as I) seem to be rightpondian (or have a smattering of ¿polish? culture still within your leftpondian upbringing). I suspect it would be more /ʐi/ for Randall and most of his countrypeople (or straight /zi/, if not a different attempt at the dot-diacritic). It might more correctly be pronounced as /ˈʐɛt/, however, if I have the correct origin. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.2|172.70.162.2]] 06:12, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> ::actually i am brazillian, my english is a mix of primarily american and british english. my understanding of polish came from when i was really into linguistics a few years ago. [[User:MinersHavenM43|MinersHavenM43]] ([[User talk:MinersHavenM43|talk]]) 12:34, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> <br /> That’s it? That’s 3000? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.245|162.158.154.245]] 04:20, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> <br /> 3000th comic! Yay? [[User:Beanie|<span style="text-shadow:0 0 5px black;font-size:11pt;color:#dddddd">Beanie]]</span> [[User talk:Beanie|<sup><span style="text-shadow:0 0 3px black;font-size:8pt;color:#dddddd">talk]]</span></sup> 10:29, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> sad[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.32|172.68.54.32]] 11:01, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> <br /> 4096 is the next big release by standard XKCD counting? {{unsigned ip|172.69.71.190|13:54, 19 October 2024}}<br /> <br /> wow, that's it? c'mon Randall, you made all those neat April fools comics, and you cant make something special for this [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.130|172.69.71.130]] 16:18, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> :Even worse. He did something special for comic #[[1000]] & #[[2000]]. I was '''''<u>SO</u>''''' hyped! [[User:B_for_brain|B for brain]] ([[User_talk:B_for_brain|talk]]) ([https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg4bo-hj-mDyOOUp_Yp0pug youtube channel] [https://bforbrain.weebly.com/ wobsite (supposed to be a blag)]) 18:37, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Damn. Ever since February of this year I've been waiting with bated breath for today to see what awesome and neat thing Randall will have cooked up for 3000. Talk about a disappointment. Hopefully this is just a mistake or a misdirection, and he'll either replace this comic with the real 3000 comic or maybe release the cool comic tomorrow for 3001. [[User:Pie Guy|Pie Guy]] ([[User talk:Pie Guy|talk]]) 17:25, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> :{{w|3001: The Final Odyssey|3001}} is a much more geeky number than 3000, anyway... (or maybe 3072). I ''shall'' definitely be anticipating something good for 4096, though. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.178|172.68.205.178]] 19:13, 19 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> ::There wasn't anything particularly special for 1024 or 2048. I'm not sure why you expect 4096 to be special.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.93|172.70.110.93]] 19:36, 21 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> <br /> And the disappointment of the year award goes to… [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.93|172.70.110.93]] 02:35, 20 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> :…this discussion section. C'mon, this is a perfectly good strip on its own merits, lack of celebrations be damned. [[Special:Contributions/206.245.134.17|206.245.134.17]] 00:52, 4 December 2025 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Perhaps Comic 3141 could have some reference to being the first 4 decimal digits of pi? Disappointed nonetheless. {{unsigned ip|172.70.127.139|17:36, 20 October 2024}}<br /> <br /> Perhaps we're not looking hard enough. Is there a numbering system where TZO means 3000? Or maybe the "Ż" symbol? The little dot is U+0307, which is just off by 7...<br /> Or perhaps the "little circle pointing into a mirrored C shape" means 3000 in some kind of diagram...<br /> --[[User:FrankHightower|FrankHightower]] ([[User talk:FrankHightower|talk]]) 17:09, 21 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> :Cheap cope. I think he either forgot completely about it or just didn't care to make something special. Now pass me the hopium, I need to convince myself this is a galaxy-brain scheme that'll tie in with a later comic [[User:Pie Guy|Pie Guy]] ([[User talk:Pie Guy|talk]]) 19:49, 24 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> <br /> It kinda sucks that there wasn't a big "WOW!!! 3000!!!" celebration, but he also could've just forgotten and he's cooked up something amazing for us! There's always a chance. [[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 17:27, 21 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> <br /> ==Actual comments about this comic==<br /> <br /> Randall's "Comic 3000" joke is... that he's actually ''found'' the funding, as we're soon to discover. (Any guesses where the neutron star came from?) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.58.30|172.70.58.30]] 10:03, 20 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> :Luckily for us, the nearest neutron star is at least 200 light years away. Getting there to capture it and bring it back is going to be at least another 400 years (maybe more like a few thousand) in the making. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.22|172.70.134.22]] 15:25, 21 October 2024 (UTC)<br /> <br /> This is probably gonna get deleted in a minute but, it’s my birthday and my 10th year on dice, also today is comic 3000, I just want to express how much I enjoyed the comics, there isn’t one comic that I haven’t read. Thank you XKCD and thank you Randall for making this the best birthday ever. Also congratulations on 3,000 comics! {{unsigned ip|162.158.91.92|09:36, 21 October 2024 (UTC)}}</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1031:_s/keyboard/leopard/&diff=408251 1031: s/keyboard/leopard/ 2026-03-16T22:57:16Z

<p>Somefan: missed a spot</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 1031<br /> | date = March 19, 2012<br /> | title = s/keyboard/leopard/<br /> | image = s keyboard leopard.png<br /> | titletext = Problem Exists Between Leopard And Chair<br /> }}<br /> Clicking on the image takes you to [http://wiki.xkcd.com/irc/Leopard this link] (now defunct, [https://web.archive.org/web/20190810230906/http://wiki.xkcd.com:80/irc/Leopard archive]).<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> Extensions are small programs that install into your {{w|Internet browser}} and change the Web pages as you view them. Some make pages easier to read, some remove ads (the third extension is [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/adblock/gighmmpiobklfepjocnamgkkbiglidom AdBlock]) and so on. [[Randall]]'s browser looks like {{w|Google Chrome}} as viewed on a {{w|Mac (computer)|Mac}}, and he has installed at least four extensions on it, which explains the little symbols to the right of the address bar.<br /> <br /> For the joke in this comic, an extension accidentally replaces the word "{{w|Computer keyboard|keyboard}}" with "{{w|leopard}}" in a regex (or {{w|regular expression}}). In computing, a regular expression provides a concise and flexible means to "match" (specify and recognize) patterns in text, such as a sequence of characters or words. This can be helpful for "substituting" such patterns with new sequences, colloquially known as a "find and replace" procedure.<br /> <br /> One method to denote a string substitution is <code>s/old/new/</code>, where any occurrence of <code>old</code> is replaced with <code>new</code>. Originating from {{w|ed (text editor)|ed}}, this syntax is notably found in shell or scripting utilities for text processing. The title therefore follows this rule for changing any occurrence of "keyboard" into "leopard".<br /> <br /> It's not clear what the extension Randall installed was actually supposed to do, but most extensions that revolve around text replacement are humorous in nature (such as [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cloud-to-butt-plus/apmlngnhgbnjpajelfkmabhkfapgnoai?hl=en Cloud to Butt], which replaces all instances of "[[908: The Cloud|the cloud]]" with "my butt").<br /> <br /> The title text references the common IT phrase "Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair" or {{w|PEBKAC}}, which means that the problem is caused by the user, not by any failure of the computer. However, due to the substitution, it is now "Problem Exists Between Leopard And Chair". It could also be a reference to [[A-Minus-Minus]], the comic containing the phrase "Instead of office chair, package contained [[:Category:Bobcats|bobcat]]".<br /> <br /> There has been several [[:Category:Substitutions|comics using substitutions]], both before and after this one.<br /> <br /> ===Sentences===<br /> ; Weird, my leopard just switched to Chinese.<br /> : Sometimes, the keyboard settings may switch to Chinese due to a bug, or by unconsciously making the change. It is quite common for users with non-US keyboard layouts to find they have accidentally switched to the 'default', and conceivably this 'feature' could work the other way. Especially on systems with significant historic Chinese involvement in its [[2166: Stack|development]].<br /> : Leopards are not known to speak at all, let alone Chinese. Alternately, it refers to a change in diet of {{w|Man-eater|one form}} or {{w|Chinese restaurant|another}}.<br /> <br /> ; I work with one leopard on my desk and another in the leopard tray.<br /> : Keyboards often take up desk space, and one solution is to have a [https://www.bpfonline.co.uk/search.asp?catid=2737 keyboard tray] that slides from under the desk, or out of the computer cabinet, when needed. This person apparently has two ''separate'' keyboards attached to their system(s), one taking up desk space and the other on the tray. This is probably more convenient than having two keyboards side by side (or on top of each other) on the desktop or two separate 'trays' (or two keyboards somehow jammed into the same tray), and often a person with such a requirement will have a computer for typical use (with the most accessible keyboard) and a second one only occasional use (with the second keyboard). They could also use a {{w|KVM switch}} for some of the peripherals, but it may not be quite as convenient or as easy to set up as to double up on the keyboards.<br /> : Leopards are traditionally solitary animals outside of mating season, or when a mother is raising her cub(s), and so however practical it is to have two leopards in close proximity, it might be a somewhat necessary compromise to give them each their own area in a given workspace. However, it is generally uncommon to put a leopard in a ''tray'' specifically.{{Citation needed}}<br /> <br /> ; Ever cleaned a leopard? They're ''filthy''.<br /> : Most people will use a keyboard for a long time, rarely replacing them unless they are actually broken, and possibly using old ones with new computers (if not integrated within their system, as with laptops). All this time, general detritus, skin, hair and even scraps of food will accumulate upon and beneath the keys unless cleaned thoroughly. Most people don't try to clean a keyboard ''until'' the accumulated grime starts to make typing a problem with less sensitive (or over sensitive!) keys. If you're finding it necessary to clean a keyboard at all, you will probably find quite a lot of filth to clean off/out.<br /> : Leopards, like most cats, are generally adept at keeping themselves clean. However, as a wild animal they're perhaps considered less 'clean' than one would hope a household or workplace appliance might be, and this would depend upon one's attitude to their grooming by licking themselves all over.<br /> <br /> ; The iPhone virtual leopard is the fastest IMO.<br /> : The response time of a keyboard is one of the factors that determine its quality, and the ability to rapidly enter characters (words, code, commands). A {{w|virtual keyboard}}, often implemented as a touch-screen 'app', has to integrate into the interface and the speaker here apparently rates the default iPhone type more than others of this kind.<br /> : Real leopards are known to run fast. It is possible that a virtual leopard may be made to exemplify this speed. The makers of the iPhone have possibly made a virtual leopard that is faster than all real leopards, or at least they have made ''their'' virtual leopard faster than all other virtual leopards from all other vendors.<br /> <br /> ; I rarely email from my phone—I'm so slow when I'm not on a leopard.<br /> : A disadvantage with virtual keyboards is often the lack of {{w|Haptic technology|haptic feedback}}, as well as the compressed and compromised layout required to fit the keys within interface. It is often much easier to use a proper full-sized keyboard, whether you hunt-and-peck or are an accomplished touch-typist, although this may depend a lot on practice.<br /> : In the context of leopards, the individual concerned seems to appreciate the advantages of being on an actual leopard when emailing, as it makes them faster. This could mean faster because the leopard itself is wont to run around. Or perhaps it is because sitting on the back of a leopard (not particularly known for being a patient beast of burden) means you ''have'' to do what you are trying to do much faster, before the consequences being on a (possibly annoyed) leopard literally come back to bite you.<br /> <br /> ; My leopard died when I spilled tea on it &#58;(<br /> : Keyboards are not generally waterproof, and react badly to any liquid spill upon them. If you are lucky, you can quickly drain them, let them dry and they will not suffer too many ill effects in the long run. But, if the less resiliant electronics get directly affected, it can mean having to replace the now unresponsive keyboard.<br /> : Leopards are animals which eventually die. They are not known to be particularly susceptible to tea, as a substance, although the typically very hot water would not be comfortable and might contribute to the mortality of one in certain circumstances. Either way, it seems like an upsetting experience. "My leopard" suggests (as with several of the above) that a leopard is being kept as a pet, working animal or perhaps a personal zoo inhabitant, and the loss certainly seems more than if a random leopard were accidentally splashed with a drink.<br /> <br /> == Transcript ==<br /> :[There are two browser windows open on a computer screen.]<br /> :[The first browser window, taking up most of the screen, but partly blocked by the other window at the bottom, has a Wikipedia article open. The title of the page can be seen on the active tab.]<br /> :Computer leopard - Wikip...<br /> :[Next to the address bar are four add-ons and the toolbar icon. One of the add-ons is a letter:]<br /> :R<br /> :[To the left on the page are standard menus, with lots of unreadable text, except these words:]<br /> :Help<br /> :Go Search<br /> :[The page is not at the top of the article, so the text begins mid sentence, the very top of the letters just cut of in the first visible sentence.]<br /> :which range from pocket-sized leopards to large desktop leopards, the leopard remains the most common user input device. In addition to text entry, specialized leopards are used for computer gaming. <br /> :While many computer interfaces rely on mice or touchscreens, UNIX-style command-line interfaces require users to interact with a leopard.<br /> :[Below is the contents list - the text in the brackets can barely be read. And only the very top of the 2.3 line can be seen, and is thus only a qualified guess at what it was supposed to say, although it fits with the real wiki article.]<br /> :Contents [hide]<br /> :1. History<br /> :2. Leopard types<br /> ::2.1 Standard<br /> ::2.2 Laptop-sized<br /> ::2.3 Thumb-sized<br /> :[To the right there is a picture of a keyboard. The picture text written below:]<br /> :IBM Model M Leopard<br /> <br /> :[The second browser window overlapping the first, at the level of the 2.3 menu point in the content menu, is a message board. The title of the page can be seen on the active tab:]<br /> :Discuss - Leopard issu...<br /> :[Next to the address bar are four add-ons and the toolbar icon. One of the add-ons is a letter:]<br /> :R<br /> :[In the window there is a list of topics next to icons of those starting the topic. The top post is just inside the frame, the icon cut of at the very top.]<br /> :[Face of Cueball-like guy on white background:]<br /> :Weird, my leopard just switched to Chinese.<br /> ::3 days ago<br /> :[Super close-up of the head of a person with dark hair on black background:]<br /> :I work with one leopard on my desk and another in the leopard tray.<br /> ::3 days ago<br /> :[Full picture of a Cueball-like guy, with white background in the bottom half and dark in the upper half (which would conceal any hair on the persons head):]<br /> :Ever cleaned a leopard? They're ''filthy''.<br /> ::2 days ago<br /> :[Head of a cat on black background:]<br /> :The iPhone virtual leopard is the fastest IMO.<br /> ::19 hours ago<br /> :[Head of a girl with long blond hair on white background:]<br /> :I rarely email from my phone—I'm so slow when I'm not on a leopard.<br /> ::11 hours ago<br /> :[Head of Cueball-like guy. A line seems to be going our from his head, but it could just be one of the lines used to fill in the background:]<br /> :My leopard died when I spilled tea on it :(<br /> ::2 hours ago<br /> <br /> :[Below the main panel of the comic is the following caption:]<br /> :The Internet got 100 times better when, thanks to an extension with a typo'd regex, my browser started replacing the word "keyboard" with "leopard".<br /> <br /> ==Trivia==<br /> When first posted, the title of the comic was <code>s/keyboard/leopard</code>, with the last slash erroneously missing. This would have failed for not following the common syntax and was later fixed.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Substitutions]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br /> [[Category:Wikipedia]]<br /> [[Category:Internet]]<br /> [[Category:Language]]<br /> [[Category:Animals]]<br /> [[Category:Regex]]<br /> [[Category:Comics edited after their publication]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1031:_s/keyboard/leopard/&diff=408250 1031: s/keyboard/leopard/ 2026-03-16T22:53:15Z

<p>Somefan: detail on find+replace/substitution. also clarify that s/old/new/ is just syntax, not a command on its own</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 1031<br /> | date = March 19, 2012<br /> | title = s/keyboard/leopard/<br /> | image = s keyboard leopard.png<br /> | titletext = Problem Exists Between Leopard And Chair<br /> }}<br /> Clicking on the image takes you to [http://wiki.xkcd.com/irc/Leopard this link] (now defunct, [https://web.archive.org/web/20190810230906/http://wiki.xkcd.com:80/irc/Leopard archive]).<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> Extensions are small programs that install into your {{w|Internet browser}} and change the Web pages as you view them. Some make pages easier to read, some remove ads (the third extension is [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/adblock/gighmmpiobklfepjocnamgkkbiglidom AdBlock]) and so on. [[Randall]]'s browser looks like {{w|Google Chrome}} as viewed on a {{w|Mac (computer)|Mac}}, and he has installed at least four extensions on it, which explains the little symbols to the right of the address bar.<br /> <br /> For the joke in this comic, an extension accidentally replaces the word "{{w|Computer keyboard|keyboard}}" with "{{w|leopard}}" in a regex (or {{w|regular expression}}). In computing, a regular expression provides a concise and flexible means to "match" (specify and recognize) patterns in text, such as a sequence of characters or words. This can be helpful for "substituting" such patterns with new sequences, colloquially known as a "find and replace" procedure.<br /> <br /> One method to denote a string substitution is <code>s/old/new/</code>, where any occurrence of <code>old</code> is replaced with <code>new</code>. Originating from {{w|ed (text editor)|ed}}, this syntax is notably found in shell or scripting utilities for text processing. The title therefore follows this rule for changing any occurrence of "keyboard" into "leopard".<br /> <br /> It's not clear what the extension Randall installed was actually supposed to do, but most extensions that revolve around text replacement are humorous in nature (such as [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cloud-to-butt-plus/apmlngnhgbnjpajelfkmabhkfapgnoai?hl=en Cloud to Butt], which replaces all instances of "[[908: The Cloud|the cloud]]" with "my butt").<br /> <br /> The title text references the common IT phrase "Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair" or {{w|PEBKAC}}, which means that the problem is caused by the user, not by any failure of the computer. However, due to the substitution, it is now "Problem Exists Between Leopard And Chair". It could also be a reference to [[A-Minus-Minus]], the comic containing the phrase "Instead of office chair, package contained [[:Category:Bobcats|bobcat]]".<br /> <br /> There has been several [[:Category:Substitutions|comics using substitutions]], both before and after this one.<br /> <br /> ===Sentences===<br /> ; Weird, my leopard just switched to Chinese.<br /> : Sometimes, the keyboard settings may switch to Chinese due to a bug, or by unconsciously making the change. It is quite common for users with non-US keyboard layouts to find they have accidentally switched to the 'default', and conceivably this 'feature' could work the other way. Especially on systems with significant historic Chinese involvement in its [[2166: Stack|development]].<br /> : Leopards are not known to speak at all, let alone Chinese. Alternately, it refers to a change in diet of {{w|Man-eater|one form}} or {{w|Chinese restaurant|another}}.<br /> <br /> ; I work with one leopard on my desk and another in the leopard tray.<br /> : Keyboards often take up desk space, and one solution is to have a [https://www.bpfonline.co.uk/search.asp?catid=2737 keyboard tray] that slides from under the desk, or out of the computer cabinet, when needed. This person apparently has two ''separate'' keyboards attached to their system(s), one taking up desk space and the other on the tray. This is probably more convenient than having two keyboards side by side (or on top of each other) on the desktop or two separate 'trays' (or two keyboards somehow jammed into the same tray), and often a person with such a requirement will have a computer for typical use (with the most accessible keyboard) and a second one only occasional use (with the second keyboard). They could also use a {{w|KVM switch}} for some of the peripherals, but it may not be quite as convenient or as easy to set up as to double up on the keyboards.<br /> : Leopards are traditionally solitary animals outside of mating season, or when a mother is raising her cub(s), and so however practical it is to have two leopards in close proximity, it might be a somewhat necessary compromise to give them each their own area in a given workspace. However, it is generally uncommon to put a leopard in a ''tray'' specifically.{{Citation needed}}<br /> <br /> ; Ever cleaned a leopard? They're ''filthy''.<br /> : Most people will use a keyboard for a long time, rarely replacing them unless they are actually broken, and possibly using old ones with new computers (if not integrated within their system, as with laptops). All this time, general detritus, skin, hair and even scraps of food will accumulate upon and beneath the keys unless cleaned thoroughly. Most people don't try to clean a keyboard ''until'' the accumulated grime starts to make typing a problem with less sensitive (or over sensitive!) keys. If you're finding it necessary to clean a keyboard at all, you will probably find quite a lot of filth to clean off/out.<br /> : Leopards, like most cats, are generally adept at keeping themselves clean. However, as a wild animal they're perhaps considered less 'clean' than one would hope a household or workplace appliance might be, and this would depend upon one's attitude to their grooming by licking themselves all over.<br /> <br /> ; The iPhone virtual leopard is the fastest IMO.<br /> : The response time of a keyboard is one of the factors that determine its quality, and the ability to rapidly enter characters (words, code, commands). A {{w|virtual keyboard}}, often implemented as a touch-screen 'app', has to integrate into the interface and the speaker here apparently rates the default iPhone type more than others of this kind.<br /> : Real leopards are known to run fast. It is possible that a virtual leopard may be made to exemplify this speed. The makers of the iPhone have possibly made a virtual leopard that is faster than all real leopards, or at least they have made ''their'' virtual leopard faster than all other virtual leopards from all other vendors.<br /> <br /> ; I rarely email from my phone—I'm so slow when I'm not on a leopard.<br /> : A disadvantage with virtual keyboards is often the lack of {{w|Haptic technology|haptic feedback}}, as well as the compressed and compromised layout required to fit the keys within interface. It is often much easier to use a proper full-sized keyboard, whether you hunt-and-peck or are an accomplished touch-typist, although this may depend a lot on practice.<br /> : In the context of leopards, the individual concerned seems to appreciate the advantages of being on an actual leopard when emailing, as it makes them faster. This could mean faster because the leopard itself is wont to run around. Or perhaps it is because sitting on the back of a leopard (not particularly known for being a patient beast of burden) means you ''have'' to do what you are trying to do much faster, before the consequences being on a (possibly annoyed) leopard literally come back to bite you.<br /> <br /> ; My leopard died when I spilled tea on it &#58;(<br /> : Keyboards are not generally waterproof, and react badly to any liquid spill upon them. If you are lucky, you can quickly drain them, let them dry and they will not suffer too many ill effects in the long run. But, if the less resiliant electronics get directly affected, it can mean having to replace the now unresponsive keyboard.<br /> : Leopards are animals which eventually die. They are not known to be particularly susceptible to tea, as a substance, although the typically very hot water would not be comfortable and might contribute to the mortality of one in certain circumstances. Either way, it seems like an upsetting experience. "My leopard" suggests (as with several of the above) that a leopard is being kept as a pet, working animal or perhaps a personal zoo inhabitant, and the loss certainly seems more than if a random leopard were accidentally splashed with a drink.<br /> <br /> == Transcript ==<br /> :[There are two browser windows open on a computer screen.]<br /> :[The first browser window, taking up most of the screen, but partly blocked by the other window at the bottom, has a Wikipedia article open. The title of the page can be seen on the active tab.]<br /> :Computer leopard - Wikip...<br /> :[Next to the address bar are four add-ons and the toolbar icon. One of the add-ons is a letter:]<br /> :R<br /> :[To the left on the page are standard menus, with lots of unreadable text, except these words:]<br /> :Help<br /> :Go Search<br /> :[The page is not at the top of the article, so the text begins mid sentence, the very top of the letters just cut of in the first visible sentence.]<br /> :which range from pocket-sized leopards to large desktop leopards, the leopard remains the most common user input device. In addition to text entry, specialized leopards are used for computer gaming. <br /> :While many computer interfaces rely on mice or touchscreens, UNIX-style command-line interfaces require users to interact with a leopard.<br /> :[Below is the contents list - the text in the brackets can barely be read. And only the very top of the 2.3 line can be seen, and is thus only a qualified guess at what it was supposed to say, although it fits with the real wiki article.]<br /> :Contents [hide]<br /> :1. History<br /> :2. Leopard types<br /> ::2.1 Standard<br /> ::2.2 Laptop-sized<br /> ::2.3 Thumb-sized<br /> :[To the right there is a picture of a keyboard. The picture text written below:]<br /> :IBM Model M Leopard<br /> <br /> :[The second browser window overlapping the first, at the level of the 2.3 menu point in the content menu, is a message board. The title of the page can be seen on the active tab:]<br /> :Discuss - Leopard issu...<br /> :[Next to the address bar are four add-ons and the toolbar icon. One of the add-ons is a letter:]<br /> :R<br /> :[In the window there is a list of topics next to icons of those starting the topic. The top post is just inside the frame, the icon cut of at the very top.]<br /> :[Face of Cueball-like guy on white background:]<br /> :Weird, my leopard just switched to Chinese.<br /> ::3 days ago<br /> :[Super close-up of the head of a person with dark hair on black background:]<br /> :I work with one leopard on my desk and another in the leopard tray.<br /> ::3 days ago<br /> :[Full picture of a Cueball-like guy, with white background in the bottom half and dark in the upper half (which would conceal any hair on the persons head):]<br /> :Ever cleaned a leopard? They're ''filthy''.<br /> ::2 days ago<br /> :[Head of a cat on black background:]<br /> :The iPhone virtual leopard is the fastest IMO.<br /> ::19 hours ago<br /> :[Head of a girl with long blond hair on white background:]<br /> :I rarely email from my phone—I'm so slow when I'm not on a leopard.<br /> ::11 hours ago<br /> :[Head of Cueball-like guy. A line seems to be going our from his head, but it could just be one of the lines used to fill in the background:]<br /> :My leopard died when I spilled tea on it :(<br /> ::2 hours ago<br /> <br /> :[Below the main panel of the comic is the following caption:]<br /> :The Internet got 100 times better when, thanks to an extension with a typo'd regex, my browser started replacing the word "keyboard" with "leopard".<br /> <br /> ==Trivia==<br /> When first posted, the title of the comic was "s/keyboard/leopard" (the last forward slash after the word "leopard" was missing). This string would have failed had it actually been typed as a substitution regex. The title was later fixed.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Substitutions]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br /> [[Category:Wikipedia]]<br /> [[Category:Internet]]<br /> [[Category:Language]]<br /> [[Category:Animals]]<br /> [[Category:Regex]]<br /> [[Category:Comics edited after their publication]]</div>

Somefan https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1597:_Git&diff=408181 1597: Git 2026-03-15T08:53:04Z

<p>Somefan: reword sentence to save a quote alteration</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 1597<br /> | date = October 30, 2015<br /> | title = Git<br /> | image = git.png<br /> | titletext = If that doesn't fix it, git.txt contains the phone number of a friend of mine who understands git. Just wait through a few minutes of 'It's really pretty simple, just think of branches as...' and eventually you'll learn the commands that will fix everything.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> ===This is Git===<br /> {{w|Git (software)|Git}} is a version control system, used to manage the code in many millions of software projects. It is very powerful, and was amongst the first widely adopted tools to use a distributed version control model (the "beautiful {{w|graph theory}} {{w|Tree (graph theory)|tree model}}"), meaning that there is no single central repository of code. Instead, users share code back and forth to synchronise their repositories, and it is up to each project to define processes and procedures for managing the flow of changes into a stable software product.<br /> <br /> ===How do we use it?===<br /> Although very powerful, the command line of Git is notoriously difficult to master. Dozens of blog posts and websites (see [http://think-like-a-git.net/epic.html], [http://stevebennett.me/2012/02/24/10-things-i-hate-about-git/]), and even books ([http://blog.anvard.org/conversational-git/chapter-01.html], [http://git-scm.com/book/en/v2]) have been written to help users navigate this complexity. <br /> <br /> The difficulty of using Git in common situations is contradicted by the apparent simplicity of its use in tutorial-style situations. Committing and sharing changes is fairly straightforward, for instance, but recovering from situations such as accidental commits, pushes or bad merges is difficult without a solid understanding of the rather large and complex conceptual model. For instance, three of the top five highest voted questions on Stack&nbsp;Overflow are questions about how to carry out relatively simple tasks: undoing the last commit, changing the last commit message, and deleting a remote branch.<br /> <br /> This comic thus explores the difference between the idealised view of Git's architecture, and its actual typical usage. Tutorials for Git tend to use simple systems in their examples, and only deal with the most basic commands to get started, which can create the misleading impression that Git can be used effectively without extensive study.<br /> <br /> Due to this problem, compounded by the fact that Git's commands are named differently from similar commands in other version control systems, many users (including Cueball) are unable to use it beyond basic commands, and might try to avoid problems by saving their code outside Git, downloading a newer copy, and then re-applying their changes to the new copy instead of trying to understand and use the features that exist in Git to accomplish this task.<br /> <br /> ===Memorize these shell commands===<br /> Cueball suggests to "just memorize these shell commands and type them to sync up". He is probably referring to a sequence of commands such as:<br /> <br /> git pull<br /> # remote changes have now been received, so work on your file<br /> git add file.txt<br /> git commit -m "Added some text"<br /> git push<br /> <br /> ===If you get errors...===<br /> As long as every contributor to the project follows these principles, this may suffice for a while. But many situations may cause "errors":<br /> <br /> * merge conflicts (two people editing the same part of the same file)<br /> * unmerged changes (another person committed a change before you did, so you need to merge their changes first)<br /> * attempting to recover from a situation such as an accidental merge, and making the situation worse.<br /> <br /> In a situation such as a merge conflict, Git will show an error message such as:<br /> <br /> CONFLICT (modify/delete): README.md deleted in HEAD and modified in branch-b. Version branch-b of README.md left in tree.<br /> # Automatic merge failed; fix conflicts and then commit the result.<br /> <br /> ===Save your work elsewhere...===<br /> Although Git experts can of course deal with such situations, the remedy proposed by Cueball is "save your work elsewhere, delete the project, and download a fresh copy". That is, to copy the files out of their local repository's working directory, delete that whole structure, then clone the remote repository again (and, implicitly, copy the saved work back again):<br /> <br /> # Copy files elsewhere<br /> mkdir /tmp/myproject<br /> cp * /tmp/myproject<br /> cd ..<br /> # delete the project<br /> rm -rf myproject<br /> <br /> # Download a fresh copy<br /> git clone https://github.com/myorg/myproject<br /> cd myproject<br /> <br /> # Copy saved work<br /> cp /tmp/myproject/* .<br /> <br /> Abandoning the old project likely means losing some work, but may be faster and give a more predictable outcome than attempting to salvage the situation. Applying this method to a mere merge conflict issue may prolong the issue however, as the merge conflicts may still be present.<br /> <br /> ===Title text===<br /> The title text suggests an alternative method for working around Git's complexities, which reflects common practice: knowing a "Git expert" who can help in any situation. Such experts are somewhat notorious for waxing lyrically about Git's strengths, so it may be necessary to win their favour by first letting them ramble enthusiastically about it. They will hopefully eventually give the exact commands needed. In practice, the question-and-answer site Stack&nbsp;Overflow is frequently used for this exact purpose.<br /> <br /> It may even be a reference to the infamous tweet "[https://twitter.com/agnoster/status/44636629423497217 Git gets easier once you get the basic idea that branches are homeomorphic endofunctors mapping submanifolds of a Hilbert space]" which has been [http://www.beyondjava.net/blog/git-explained-in-really-simple-words/ discussed here] but it is inconclusive whether a meaningful interpretation exists.<br /> <br /> Putting a telephone number of someone who "understands Git" into such a file is humorous because:<br /> *Software teams would more normally use electronic means of communication<br /> *Explaining Git over the phone to team members should not be necessary, as there is extensive help available online, and<br /> *In the situation where many team members would need phone support to avoid or fix basic Git problems, this would be extremely distracting to the person whose phone number was given in the file.<br /> <br /> === TL;DR===<br /> In short: programmers use {{w|Version control|version control systems}} to track changes to code. Most of these version control systems are quite similar and easy to learn if you already know another one. Git is a version control system based on completely different principles, and most programmers find it difficult to wrap their heads around it (although Git also offers a large number of nontrivial benefits over standard version control systems, which is why it is used). Cueball is one of those programmers.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[Cueball points to a computer on a desk while Ponytail and Hairy are standing further away behind an office chair.]<br /> :Cueball: This is git. It tracks collaborative work on projects through a beautiful distributed graph theory tree model.<br /> :Ponytail: Cool. How do we use it?<br /> :Cueball: No idea. Just memorize these shell commands and type them to sync up. If you get errors, save your work elsewhere, delete the project, and download a fresh copy.<br /> <br /> == Trivia ==<br /> <br /> This comic was referenced in an earlier version of the page for ''what if?'' #153, where Randall, due to a problem with git, had at one time erroneously posted a draft of his ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' piece on [https://web.archive.org/web/20161205191559/http://what-if.xkcd.com/153 peptides]. As of December 17th, 2016 the page read:<br /> <br /> :;Whoops<br /> :This article is still in progress. An early draft was unintentionally posted here thanks to Randall's {{xkcd|1597|troubled approach to git}}, and it took a little bit to get everything sorted out and rolled back. Sorry for the mixup!<br /> <br /> On January 30, 2017, the page was updated with a completed article, ''{{what if|153|Hide the Atmosphere}}''. As of September 23, 2019, the page no longer contained any reference to this comic or Randall's earlier mistake with Git (or anything related to Git, for that matter).<br /> <br /> The comic [[1296: Git Commit]] also features Git.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br /> [[Category:Computers]]<br /> [[Category:Programming]]<br /> [[Category:Version Control]]</div>

Somefan