History YMMV / XKCD

* {{FanDisillusionment}}/HypeBacklash: The reasons the [[http://xkcdsucks.blogspot.com xkcdsucks blog]] exists.

* CreatorWorship: Many of the more rabid fans believe Randall has the ability to [[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=GOOMHR read minds]] and they often try to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xkcd#Inspired_activities emulate the wacky antics]] depicted in the comic.

* HypeBacklash: The reason the [[http://xkcdsucks.blogspot.com xkcdsucks blog]] exists.

* IWantMyJetpack: [[http://xkcd.com/864/ Replace "jetpack" with "flying car" and the trope name's quoted word-for-word.]]

* UnpleasableFanbase: The comic used to be criticized for its reliance on math and science jokes. Over time there's be a shift to more everyday issues, which has made some people complain they wanted the "geek humor" back.

* {{Hatedom}}:
** [[http://xkcdsucks.blogspot.com This blog]]. It's one of the very few hatedoms that openly admits the relative harmlessness/pointlessness of hating what they hate. It often includes {{Gag Dub}}s. Given the fact that the blog's founder and many of its prominent fans used to be big fans of xkcd, this is a case of BrokenBase coupled with FanDisillusionment.
** Then there's [[http://xkcdexplained.com/ this blog]], which took the concept of {{Hatedom}} even further by meticulously reinterpreting every comic Randall Munroe's made to make him look like a sexist/misogynist/racist, regardless of the subject, or whether or not it actually deals with romance or non-geeky things. For example, it takes the [[http://xkcd.com/695/ 'Spirit']] comic about the martian rover and turns it into a 'projection of the author's emotional insecurity.'
** On the Livejournal xkcd RSS feed, there's one particular person who only ever comments to criticize every strip. To the point that other commenters have come to anticipate their remarks. They seem to have shades of [[FanDumb Toxic Visionary]]. Or they're just a {{Troll}}

** [[http://xkcdsucks.blogspot.com This blog]]. It's one of the very few hatedoms that openly admits the relative harmlessness/pointlessness of hating what they hate. It often includes {{Gag Dub}}s. Given the fact that the blog's founder and many of its prominent fans used to be big fans of xkcd, this is a case of BrokenBase.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome:
** For Randall for [[http://xkcd.com/687 strip #687]]: the math checks out to be within the error bars of the equation given.
** For [[http://xkcd.com/556/ Don Quixote]] no less.
** For the comic as a whole: [[http://xkcd.com/734/ #734]], [[http://xkcd.com/735/ #735]], and [[http://xkcd.com/736/ #736]]. All three are among the best strips Munroe has done, and even garnered praise from xkcd's primary hateblog. And all three appeared in the span of one week.
** And how could we miss [[http://www.xkcd.com/505/ this]] one?
* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: [[http://xkcd.com/767/ Mr. Rogers.]] The AltText deserves special mention:
-->''Mr. Rogers projected an air of genuine, unwavering, almost saintly pure-hearted decency. But when you look deeper, at the person behind the image ... that's exactly what you find there, too. He's exactly what he appears to be.''

** [[http://xkcd.com/249/ This strip]] inspired people to take similar photos.
* NightmareFuel:
** That goddamn [[http://xkcd.com/78/ Garfield]] comic.
*** How about this one, since the writer asked for it?
** The isolation in the [[http://xkcd.com/505/ "A Bunch of Rocks"]] strip.
** [[http://xkcd.com/647/ #647: "Scary"]]
** The [[http://xkcd.com/777/ "Pore Strips"]] strip.
** The strip [[http://xkcd.com/513/ Friends]]. Because this actually ''happens''.
*** [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism Sliding Scale Of]] [[strike: [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism Idealism Versus]]]] [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism Cynicism]]: Relationships might not be as tumultuous if more people actually ''did'' try to establish friendships first [[hottip:*: not just as bridges toward relationships, but even just for the simple sake of friendship]]. RuleOfDrama?

* TearJerker:
** [[http://xkcd.com/695/ Spirit.]] Which celebrates a RealLife CrowningMomentOfAwesome.
*** Oh no...now I'm going to spend the rest of the day feeling sorry for him.
** [[http://xkcd.com/383/ Helping]]
** [[http://xkcd.com/561/ Well]]
** [[http://xkcd.com/881/ if you ever known anyone with cancer]]

** On the Livejournal xkcd RSS feed, there's one particular person who only ever comments to criticize every strip. To the point that other commenters have come to anticipate their remarks. They seem to have shades of [[FanDumb Toxic Visionary]]. Or they're just a {{troll}}/

** On the Livejournal xkcd RSS feed, there's one particular person who only ever comments to criticize every strip. To the point that other commenters have come to anticipate her remarks. She seems to have shades of [[FanDumb Toxic Visionary]].

* RefugeInAudacity: He's cracked jokes at the expense of Anonymous, [[Imageboards 4chan]], and Encyclopedia Dramatica, collectives notorious for their {{Troll}} activities, [[HiveMind hive mentalities]] and tendency to go [[DisproportionateRetribution way over the top in response to]] [[SpeakOfTheDevil even being mentioned]].

** For the comic as a whole: [[http://xkcd.com/734/ #734]], [[http://xkcd.com/735/ #735]], and [[http://xkcd.com/736/ #736]]. All three are among the best strips Munroe has done, and even garnered praise from xkcd's primary hateblog. And all three appeared in the span of one week. Sadly, it also marked the beginning of a rare quality slump...
*** YMMV about the quality slump.
*** YMMV about the rarity.

** Then there's [[http://xkcdexplained.com/ this blog]], which takes the concept of {{Hatedom}} even further by meticulously reinterpreting every comic Randall Munroe's made to make him look like a sexist/misogynist/racist, regardless of the subject, or whether or not it actually deals with romance or non-geeky things. For example, it takes the [[http://xkcd.com/695/ 'Spirit']] comic about the martian rover and turns it into a 'projection of the author's emotional insecurity.'
*** That one appears to have stopped updating after an apparently particularly bad strip.

*** [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism Sliding Scale Of]] [[strike: [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism Idealism Versus]]]] [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism Cynicism]]: This troper imagines that relationships wouldn't be as tumultuous if more people actually ''did'' try to establish friendships first [[hottip:*: not just as bridges toward relationships, but even just for the simple sake of friendship]]. RuleOfDrama?

* AcceptableTargets: String theorists, liberal arts majors and [[http://xkcd.com/610/ Objectivists]].

* JumpingTheShark: Played with in [[http://xkcd.com/460/ this strip's]] AltText.

** Velociraptors, to the artist.

*** How about this one, since the writer asked for it? http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/997/

** [[http://xkcd.com/561/ Well]]