explain xkcd:Editor FAQ

This FAQ is a short description about editing pages at this wiki 'cause you're dumb. If you have any further questions do not hesitate to enter them into this talk page. For general questions about wikitext please read first the MediaWiki help pages about Editing pages or look at the full overview here: Help Contents. You also can use your preferred search engine by entering "MediaWiki mytopic". Change mytopic to the theme you're searching for, i.e. "MediaWiki tables" will show you many useful sites about editing tables. Please always use the Preview button to verify your edit before finally pressing the Save button. This FAQ focuses only on topics related to this specific wiki.

What is the general layout of a comic page?

In general, you don't have to care about this because the pages are generated by a bot nearly immediately after a new comic is released. If the bot fails, please follow exactly the instructions here to create the comic page.

The layout and order are structured as:

• Comic picture with the title text below
• Explanation
• Transcript
• Trivia (optional)
• Discussion (embedded Talk page) (is sometimes removed if it grows too large)
• List of non-standard categories

What should I include in the explanation?

Everything is welcome as long as it explains the content of the comic. Everybody can edit here and when others disagree about your contributions they may change it. If the comic references a scientific concept, a brief description and a link to its Wikipedia page for further information should be given (see how to do this here). The explanation should also explain the title text of the comic.

In which cases are tables meaningful, and when are they not?

In the transcript, tables should never be used. Even when there is a table in the comic image, it should be described using text.

In the explanation, tables only make sense when the content is compact. When a single row contains more than a small item like a number, a small phrase, or something similar, a table isn't the proper layout because it's hard to read. Instead, it should be written in floating text chapters with distinct headers above (see next section below.)

Instead of using a two-column table (e.g. "sentence from comic", "explanation"), consider using a description list (bold text). Place a semicolon (;) at the beginning of the sentence to be explained and a colon (:) at the beginning of each paragraph of the explanation, like this (from 1987):

; Anaconda Python
: Anaconda is a Python distribution for data science and machine learning related applications.
: A second paragraph for the explanation.

The Wikipedia's Manual of Style/Tables describes it best:

Often a list is best left as a list. Before reformatting a list into table form, consider whether the information will be more clearly conveyed by virtue of having rows and columns. If so, then a table is probably a good choice. If there is no obvious benefit to having rows and columns, then a table is probably not the best choice.

What is the format of the transcript section?

The transcript should describe the content (think about explaining the comic to a visually impaired person, or to someone on phone). It should do this in a compact manner, and cite all written words. Every line should begin with an indent (a simple : at the beginning), and every panel from the comic should be separated by a blank line. The transcript must not contain any links, nor rich math markup, which once again relies on visuals. Tables should generally be avoided, although not all transcripts comply with this. Furthermore, the title text is not included in the transcript. Checking the pages for the older comics will help understand this.

What belongs to the trivia section?

As implied by the section name, it's just trivia, consisting of unimportant odds-and-ends related to the comic. Since this wiki focuses on explaining this section is not part of the default layout. If a word has been misspelled in the comic or title text, or the image was originally broken at xkcd and reuploaded... basically, the things that don't belong in the explanation but should still be mentioned should be written in the trivia section. To learn how to create a trivia section when Randall updates a comic, click here.

How do I behave on the talk page (discussion)?

Everybody can add here any thoughts about the comic and more. Consider it as the comments section of a blog, because that’s how it has always been (see explain xkcd#History), just more flexible. Please follow the common netiquette and don't be rude. Unless you are replying to a previous comment, in which you should add a colon before your comment, you should add comments at the bottom. Every comment has to be signed at the end with ~~~~ or just click the sign button at the top of the editor.

What does the incomplete tag mean?

There are two templates to indicate that an explanation or the transcript needs further rework, {{incomplete}} and {{incomplete transcript}}. Just enter {{incomplete|YOUR REASON}} or respectively {{incomplete transcript|YOUR REASON}} and don't forget to enter a proper reason to replace the filler text left by the bot, or if the reason said in the tag has been dealt with.

How do I add references?

You don’t. It is preferable to link the source you want to cite in the sentence that needs sourcing itself (see this section to learn how).

How do I enter links to other pages?

The three most-used options are:

• an internal link like [[Cueball]] which renders like this: Cueball
• a link to the English Wikipedia should be formatted like this: {{w|Page}} links to the Wikipedia article called "Page" (is shown like this: Page), and {{w|Page|Display}} links to the same article but is shown like this: Display
• an external link with text: [https://example.com Example Homepage] links to https://example.com and everything after the first space is shown: Example Homepage

External links can also be done in other two ways:

• just write the URL with no formatting and it will be shown like this: http://www.example.com (Only use this if the specific website address is relevant.)
• put it into single brackets: [http://www.example.com] and it will be shown like this: [1] (Please avoid this.)

Randall updated a comic, how do I upload the new image here?

Sometimes the original comic found at xkcd.com contains typos or other errors. In these cases, Randall often updates them after they are published, almost always to fix unintentional errors or appease fan complaints. When the mistake has been fixed and the updated image is live on xkcd.com, follow these steps:

• The comic picture here should also be updated. Save the picture from xkcd.com to your local PC, but be careful, there are two versions available. Here, we only use the larger version comic_name_2x.png and not the smaller one comic_name.png. So, go to xkcd.com, click the link under the comic, and then change https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/picture.png to https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/picture'''_2x'''.png in the address bar of your browser. To update it here, just click the image on the image on its explanation page (click here to go to the newest comic's explanation) and then click "Upload a new version of this file", below the file history. Please be patient, you won't see your upload immediately because it still comes from the cache at the server. If you see your upload in the file history, even if it's not the one you uploaded, it means it worked. Wait a few minutes for the newer image to appear.

• Now, since the comic was changed because of a mistake, you also need to create a Trivia section (if it doesn't already exist). Go to the same file history mentioned above. Hover over the original image (below the one you uploaded), right-click it, and choose "Copy link to image" on your browser's popup menu. Now, write the following to create the Trivia section, replacing "LINK TO ORIGINAL COMIC" with the link you just copied:

==Trivia==
In the [[LINK TO ORIGINAL COMIC|original version of the comic]], ...explain what changed

• Finally, add the comic to Category:Comics edited after their publication by adding this to the very end of the page: [[Category:Comics edited after their publication]]

Why can't I upload pictures or create pages?

Only registered and trusted users can create pages or upload images. After the registration, you have to wait at least three days and must have done a small number of edits. Then you will be able to create pages and upload images at will.

When I see "^{[citation needed]}", does it mean the content needs citations?

No, that notice has a different meaning here than on Wikipedia. That notice is just a joke that originated on Randall's what if? blog. In fact, {{Citation needed}} simply links to a comic from 2007. It looks like this:^{[citation needed]}. This template should only be placed when there is a deeper sense of humor and should not be overused. For statements that are unsourced and require actual reliable citations (such as sentences like "Randall has said he regrets making this comic."), use the {{Actual citation needed}} template instead. It looks like this:^{[actual citation needed]}. When you see it, it means the content is unsourced and unreliable, like on Wikipedia.

How do I embed images?

This wiki isn't a picture book. Use this feature only sparingly and reduce the size as much as possible. An example can be seen here: 1400: D.B. Cooper. The syntax in this case is [[File:DBCooper.jpg|thumb|150px|Cooper]] and the picture is taken from Commons, the main source for Wikipedia images. The full syntax can be found at MediaWiki.

You also can upload pictures directly to this wiki by using the Special:Upload link from the menu. But do not violate any copyright rules or it will be deleted. And when the picture is available at Commons there is no need to upload it here.

How do I enter mathematical or chemical formulas?

You can use the Math markup <math>...</math>. The other known code from Wikipedia <chem>...</chem> is not supported yet. It's based on LaTeX syntax and a general overview can be found at its Wikipedia help page. Don't use it unless you actually understand what you are doing, though. If you can, you can attempt to use Unicode math characters, along with <sup>...</sup> and <sub>...</sub>, to try and create the formulas yourself.

Furthermore, never use this markup at the transcript because that math code is rendered to a picture — in the transcript we try to describe the comic image by words. A picture there wouldn't be helpful.

Please note that pages that use the Math module will not be able to load if you set your Math markup preferences to MathML, and will lead to parse errors with LaTeX rendering. The setting that should be selected is PNG images.

What is the general layout of a xkcd character page?

When creating a new character page, it's easier to just copy and paste the contents of an existing character page, such as Megan or Jill, and change the information. The layout and order are structured as:

• {{Infobox character}} template with an image of the character, caption, and first appearance.
• Brief description.
• Noting the different names given to the character in different comics under the "Name" section.
• Characteristics of the character under the "Characteristics" section, including cameos of the character under a proper name and different personalities
• Adding the Characters category.

What is the proper layout for headers?

For headlines, you have to use wiki-style code. The simplest way is a preceding semicolon at the beginning of the line which causes the entire line to be rendered in bold.

On large explanations, it can be handy to divide it into subsections. In this case the header is written like this: ===Sub header===. But in most cases, the simple semicolon is just enough.

One or two spaces after a period? And what about newlines?

Two or more spaces are always rendered as only one, so multiple consecutive spaces can only be seen in the editor. This means it's usually best to only use one space after a period. Furthermore, a single newline is also just rendered as a space, as two newlines are required to form a paragraph.