2667: First Internet Interaction - Revision history

1234231587678 at 19:34, 13 September 2025

2025-09-13T19:34:41Z

FaviFake at 10:42, 28 July 2025

2025-07-28T10:42:47Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Transcript */ Spaces removed that aren't there

2024-06-06T14:08:39Z

‎Transcript: Spaces removed that aren't there

Mushrooms at 10:01, 27 January 2023

2023-01-27T10:01:16Z

172.69.34.30: /* Transcript */ done

2022-10-25T01:59:38Z

‎Transcript: done

172.69.33.209: /* Explanation */ done

2022-10-25T01:41:18Z

‎Explanation: done

172.70.214.189: /* Possible additional humor */ this is just too unlikely, given that it says it's impossible

2022-09-11T10:59:55Z

‎Possible additional humor: this is just too unlikely, given that it says it's impossible

JimTheFrog: Undo unsubstantiated deletion. (In what way is this possible joke "excluded" by the text?)

2022-09-07T19:41:00Z

Undo unsubstantiated deletion. (In what way is this possible joke "excluded" by the text?)

172.69.34.44: /* Transcript */ music

2022-09-05T17:31:40Z

‎Transcript: music

172.70.90.223: Undo revision 294142 by 172.70.126.245 (talk) Oh hello, it's the dumbass again...

2022-09-05T11:56:31Z

Undo revision 294142 by 172.70.126.245 (talk) Oh hello, it's the dumbass again...

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 In this comic, [[Cueball]], very likely as an autobiographical representation of [[Randall]], describes to [[Megan]] the first time he interacted with a group of people unknown to him over the internet; in an {{w|AOL|AOL}} chat room for children called the "KOOL Tree House chat room" in 1993, when Randall was about nine years old. He read a discussion about {{w|Green Day}}, asked who they are, and was told that not knowing was a serious problem. As Megan says, judging people for lack of pop culture knowledge has remained typical online behavior.
-Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987.  In 1993, they were still known merely as an independent punk band, and a year away from releasing their major-label debut album ''{{w|Dookie}}'', their first mainstream success. Anyone, especially a nine year-old, not recognizing the band in 1993 would be perfectly normal. After 1993, Green Day would go on to be a widely popular and influential rock band with many acclaimed albums.
+Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987.  In 1993, they were still known merely as an independent punk band, and a year away from releasing their major-label debut album ''{{w|Dookie}}'', their first mainstream success. Anyone, especially a nine year-old, not recognizing the band in 1993 would be perfectly normal.{{cn}} After 1993, Green Day would go on to be a widely popular and influential rock band with many acclaimed albums.
 This initial online social interaction was a significant formative experience for Cueball, molding his online behavior ever since, in that it still causes him to consider his correspondents' perspectives when communicating. The social dynamics at play are reminiscent of the mathematics of others' perspectives described in [[1053: Ten Thousand]]. Relating the personal experience of an oversized effect from a casual insult is humorous because the extent to which early experiences affect people can be both ironic and profound.

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 <!-- NB, won't be "...featuring multiple Cueballs". It's technically the same one! -->
 [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
-[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]] <!-- we can't be 100% certain, but it seems very likely and  wouldn't make much sense if not -->
+[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]] <!-- we can't be 100% certain, but it seems very likely and wouldn't make much sense if not -->
 [[Category:Music]]
-[[Category:Kids]]
+[[Category:Comics featuring children]]

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 :Cueball (narrative): People there kept using a name I didn't recognise.
 :Cueball (narrative): After a while I asked what it was.
-:Young Cueball (via the use of the keyboard): W... H... O... &nbsp;I... S... &nbsp;G... R...
+:Young Cueball (via the use of the keyboard): W...H...O... &nbsp;I...S... &nbsp;G...R...
 :[Third panel, close-up of Cueball's adult head, continuing the framing conversation]

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:01, 27 January 2023
Line 46:		Line 46:
	[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]] <!-- we can't be 100% certain, but it seems very likely and wouldn't make much sense if not -->		[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]] <!-- we can't be 100% certain, but it seems very likely and wouldn't make much sense if not -->
	[[Category:Music]]		[[Category:Music]]
		+	[[Category:Kids]]

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 ==Transcript==
 :[First panel, Megan and Cueball talking]
 :Cueball: You know,

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:41, 25 October 2022
Line 8:		Line 8:

	==Explanation==		==Explanation==
−	~~{{incomplete\|Created by AN AMERICAN IDIOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}~~

	In this comic, [[Cueball]], very likely as an autobiographical representation of [[Randall]], describes to [[Megan]] the first time he interacted with a group of people unknown to him over the internet; in an {{w\|AOL\|AOL}} chat room for children called the "KOOL Tree House chat room" in 1993, when Randall was about nine years old. He read a discussion about {{w\|Green Day}}, asked who they are, and was told that not knowing was a serious problem. As Megan says, judging people for lack of pop culture knowledge has remained typical online behavior.		In this comic, [[Cueball]], very likely as an autobiographical representation of [[Randall]], describes to [[Megan]] the first time he interacted with a group of people unknown to him over the internet; in an {{w\|AOL\|AOL}} chat room for children called the "KOOL Tree House chat room" in 1993, when Randall was about nine years old. He read a discussion about {{w\|Green Day}}, asked who they are, and was told that not knowing was a serious problem. As Megan says, judging people for lack of pop culture knowledge has remained typical online behavior.

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:59, 11 September 2022
Line 17:		Line 17:

	The title text indicates Cueball agrees with the reply to the question. This is humorous because it is effectively Cueball admitting that something is very wrong with him, possibly coincidental with and unrelated to knowing that specific piece of trivia. Alternatively, Cueball could have come to believe Green Day is culturally important. If this story is autobiographical, Randall could have hence become a Green Day fan, or at least acquired more than a passing knowledge of their {{w\|œuvre}}, recently mentioning their song "{{w\|American Idiot (song)\|American Idiot}}" in [[2665: America Songs]].		The title text indicates Cueball agrees with the reply to the question. This is humorous because it is effectively Cueball admitting that something is very wrong with him, possibly coincidental with and unrelated to knowing that specific piece of trivia. Alternatively, Cueball could have come to believe Green Day is culturally important. If this story is autobiographical, Randall could have hence become a Green Day fan, or at least acquired more than a passing knowledge of their {{w\|œuvre}}, recently mentioning their song "{{w\|American Idiot (song)\|American Idiot}}" in [[2665: America Songs]].
−
−	~~=== Possible additional humor ===~~
−	The comic could conceivably humorously compare modern search autocomplete (such as when you type "who is gr" into Google and it gives you suggestions such as "who is grindelwald," "who is grimes," and "who is gru's dad") by comparing it to the slowness of communicating in a chat room using a dial-up modem. A kid in 1993 would probably have a 2400 to 9600 bps modem (14.4 kbps and 19.2 kbps modems were available but expensive). The joke is that [[Cueball]] was slowly typing on a slow modem when another chat room user jumped in and "autocompleted" his question before he could finish it.
−
−	~~This couldn't actually happen, since AOL chat room messages were transmitted in their entirety, rather than a character at a time, but Randall could be taking liberties to make such a joke.~~

	==Transcript==		==Transcript==

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:41, 7 September 2022
Line 17:		Line 17:

	The title text indicates Cueball agrees with the reply to the question. This is humorous because it is effectively Cueball admitting that something is very wrong with him, possibly coincidental with and unrelated to knowing that specific piece of trivia. Alternatively, Cueball could have come to believe Green Day is culturally important. If this story is autobiographical, Randall could have hence become a Green Day fan, or at least acquired more than a passing knowledge of their {{w\|œuvre}}, recently mentioning their song "{{w\|American Idiot (song)\|American Idiot}}" in [[2665: America Songs]].		The title text indicates Cueball agrees with the reply to the question. This is humorous because it is effectively Cueball admitting that something is very wrong with him, possibly coincidental with and unrelated to knowing that specific piece of trivia. Alternatively, Cueball could have come to believe Green Day is culturally important. If this story is autobiographical, Randall could have hence become a Green Day fan, or at least acquired more than a passing knowledge of their {{w\|œuvre}}, recently mentioning their song "{{w\|American Idiot (song)\|American Idiot}}" in [[2665: America Songs]].
		+
		+	=== Possible additional humor ===
		+	The comic could conceivably humorously compare modern search autocomplete (such as when you type "who is gr" into Google and it gives you suggestions such as "who is grindelwald," "who is grimes," and "who is gru's dad") by comparing it to the slowness of communicating in a chat room using a dial-up modem. A kid in 1993 would probably have a 2400 to 9600 bps modem (14.4 kbps and 19.2 kbps modems were available but expensive). The joke is that [[Cueball]] was slowly typing on a slow modem when another chat room user jumped in and "autocompleted" his question before he could finish it.
		+
		+	This couldn't actually happen, since AOL chat room messages were transmitted in their entirety, rather than a character at a time, but Randall could be taking liberties to make such a joke.

	==Transcript==		==Transcript==

@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 :Cueball: Someone replied.
 :Cueball: "If you don't know who Green Day is, you have a serious problem."
-:Cueball: And that was it. My first virtual interaction. ¡Soy estreñido!
+:Cueball: And that was it. My first virtual interaction.
 :[Fourth panel, continuing the conversation, Megan and Cueball now seen walking rightwards as they speak]