warning
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- "Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)."
The last day it was on the page was September 12, 2016 when [[1732] was released.
Four hours later that day the page looked like this with no footnote or warning.
It was maybe due to the popularity of the comic that this warning was removed along with the footnote to not scare new fans away.
When the current footnote appeared, this warning did not reappear.
The warning thus lasted almost ten and a half years.
The warning on xkcd was originally added to xkcd.com before April 8th, 2006. It used to appear between Randall's list of "Comics I Enjoy" and the footnote, before it was removed on September 12th, 2016. For almost a decade and a half, it served as a humorous advisory message to users about the contents of the comics. It stated:
- Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors).
Warning removed
On September 12, 2016, the comic 1732: Earth Temperature Timeline was published and garnered attention from a much wider audience compared to other xkcd comics. Four hours after its release, the warning, along with the previous footnote, were both removed from the site. While a new footnote was added 22 days later, the warning never came back. This new footnote did not include a reinstatement of the original warning message.
The removal of the xkcd warning and its accompanying footnote was likely a result of the comic's sudden surge in popularity. It is plausible that the webcomic's creator, Randall Munroe, made the decision to remove the warning and footnote to ensure that new fans were not deterred by the cautionary message. The popularity of "1732: Earth Temperature Timeline" might have prompted Munroe to rethink the need for the warning, as the comic's appeal reached a broader audience.
With the removal of the xkcd warning, a new footnote was introduced on the xkcd website.
