Editing 1485: Friendship

{{comic
| number    = 1485
| date      = February 11, 2015
| title     = Friendship
| image     = friendship.png
| titletext = The only other Wikipedia vandalism that I would feel zero remorse about is editing the article on active US militia groups to replace "militia" with "fanclub".
}}

==Explanation==
A "{{w|Bromance}}" is a modern slang term for a strong non-romantic relationship between two males. It is a portmanteau of the words brother, meaning a close male friend (aka "bro"), and romance.

Although current in popular media, some commentators have criticized the implicit homophobia in the term, suggesting that it denotes cultural discomfort at relationships of emotional closeness between men. [http://www.xojane.com/entertainment/for-the-love-of-god-please-stop-saying-bromance]

In this comic, Randall is implying the Wikipedia page for the word "bromance" should more accurately represent what most bromances actually are: friendships. This could be a joke to reference the fact that some males prefer to not call friendships as such, for fear of looking unmasculine, or being confused as a gay couple. The comic makes light of the fact that the word bromance and friendship are interchangeable, and should be treated as such.

The comic later contains parts of the edited article, mocking the use of "bromance" in popular culture, implying that "friendships" can be used just as easily to describe platonic male relationships.

Despite supposedly vandalizing the "bromance" article, the article is titled "friendship", giving a similar result to word-replacement browser extensions, as in [[1031: s/keyboard/leopard/]].

The title text implies Randall does not agree with Wikipedia vandalism, except in the case of bromance/friendship, and also militia/fanclub, possibly to make light of the harsh sounding word in a negative light.

In the wake of this comic, several Wikipedia pages were vandalized, among them {{w|Bromance}}, {{w|Militia organizations in the United States}}, {{w|Militia (United States)}}, and {{w|Friendship}}. All these pages were semi-protected by an administrator against further attempts for a week after this comic was published.

The day this comic was published, a vote to delete the Bromance article was initiated on Wikipedia.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Bromance_%282nd_nomination%29]

A later comic called [[1746: Making Friends]], was also not so much about friendship, but rather about vultures...

==Transcript==
:[A Wikipedia style layout is shown for extracts from an article titled Friendship.]

:<div style="border-bottom: 1px solid #bbbbbb">'''Friendship'''</div>
:<span style="color: #A0A0A0"><sup>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</sup></span>
:A Friendship is a close non-romantic relationship between two (or more) men, a form of <span style="color: #0645AD">affectional</span> or <span style="color: #0645AD">homosocial</span> intimacy.<sup><span style="color: #0645AD">[1]</span></sup>
: Contents [<span style="color: #0645AD">hide</span>]
:<span style="color: #0645AD">1 Etymology</span>
:<span style="color: #0645AD">2 Characteristics</span>
:<span style="color: #0645AD">3 Portrayal of friendship</span>
::<span style="color: #0645AD">3.1 Celebrity and fictional friendships</span>
::<span style="color: #0645AD">3.2 Historical and political friendships</span>
::<span style="color: #0645AD">3.3 Gay-straight friendships</span>
:<span style="color: #0645AD">4 See also</span>
:<span style="color: #0645AD">5 References</span>
:<div style="border-bottom: 1px solid #bbbbbb">'''Etymology'''</div>
:''Friendship'' is a <span style="color: #0645AD">portmanteau</span> of the words ''friend'' and ''ship''. Editor <span style="color: #0645AD">Dave Carnie</span> coined the term in the skateboard magazine ''<span style="color: #0645AD">Big Brother</span>'' in the 1990s to refer to the sort of relationships that develop between skaters who spend
:[...]
:<div style="border-bottom: 1px solid #bbbbbb">'''Portrayal of Friendship'''</div>
:'''Celebrity and Fictional Friendships'''
:A number of celebrities have engaged in friendships with fellow celebrities. Examples include <span style="color: #0645AD">Ben Affleck</span> and <span style="color: #0645AD">Matt Damon</span>, described as "perhaps ''the'' pioneering friendship in showbiz history"<sup><span style="color: #0645AD">[9]</span></sup> which led to a hit <span style="color: #0645AD">off-broadway</span> play
:[...]
:Friendship on television has also become more commonplace, with some critics tracing its origins back to shows such as ''<span style="color: #0645AD">The Odd Couple</span>''.<sup><span style="color: #0645AD">[14]</span></sup> In October 2008, ''<span style="color: #0645AD">TV Guide</span>'' placed <span style="color: #0645AD">Gregory House</span> (<span style="color: #0645AD">Hugh Laurie</span>) and <span style="color: #0645AD">James</span>
:[...]
:The Japanese and <span style="color: #0645AD">Korean music industry</span> actively encourages friendship among male celebrities (particularly members of <span style="color: #0645AD">boy bands</span>) as part of the <span style="color: #0645AD">fan service</span> to please the audience.<sup><span style="color: #0645AD">[19][20]</span></sup>
:In fiction, what had once been called <span style="color: #0645AD">buddy films</span> have to a degree been rebranded as friendship films, although
:[...]
:<div style="border-bottom: 1px solid #bbbbbb">'''Historical and political friendships'''</div>
:Politically, the relationship between <span style="color: #0645AD">Bill Clinton</span> and <span style="color: #0645AD">Al Gore</span> has been called a precursor to the friendship.<sup><span style="color: #0645AD">[6]</span></sup> The relationship between <span style="color: #0645AD">George W. Bush</span> and former press

:[Below the extracts is this caption:]

:'''How to improve the "Bromance" Wikipedia article'''

{{comic discussion}}

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