XKCD: It's more than a comic

Honestly, the Microsoft bit isn't the joke. How do I know this? Because when I read that one I was thinking of Bittorrent, which does this even worse.

SHIKI is dead.

@Zyxzy: (This is from memory, so may be slightly off): "Which online publication, started in 2003 by former-NASA contractor Randall Munroe, describes itself as 'A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math and language'?"

Like Shakespeare, but with more punching

Hypocritical because I recognize that Microsoft fanboys exist?

I guess it is.

In other news I didn't like the newest strip at all. Two stick figures talking against a blank background? That's pretty lazy even for a low-fi comic like XKCD.

the statement above is false

*yawns*

Yeah, that was pretty mediocre.

Heh.

I was amused.

You can't expect ground-breaking revelations every strip anyway.

edited 22nd Jul '09 11:11:12 AM by GlennMagusHarvey

At the risk of falling victim to Let's See YOU Do Better!, I challenge anyone to solo produce a non-serial comic three days a week that pleases everybody equally all the time. Some days you just can't come up with a good joke, but people always compare your latest output to your previous work.

I don't see the point of stressing out about it. As a reader, some jokes make me chuckle, some make me groan, some make me laugh out loud, and some make me crawl Wikipedia for hours trying to understand what he's talking about. Then I go read another webcomic.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

Non-serial comics are easier to produce than serial comics anyway.

At least, in the long term. Because you're not constrained by having to come up with a good, believable plot.

edited 22nd Jul '09 11:29:01 AM by GlennMagusHarvey

Of course everyone has their off days. I just pointed out that today was one of Randall's.

the statement above is false

No, I'd say it's a fence day. Neither on nor off.

Now, there have been some really off days in the past, where the best he could do was a sexual spin on some situation.

So, out of curiosity, just what would Randall have to do to make you say, "OK, that was funny. I liked it."?~ Madrugada

That is a very good question! It falls close to "What webcomics do YOU like?" but not quite, and as such, I will answer it.

First off, get rid of every comic he's made since 2009 (more or less). Add some basic coherency (Voynich is just painful...). Stop making so many (Can I swear here? I think I can. Shoot, I'm going for it!) fucking pop-culture references w/o punchlines and stop with the trite sex jokes. [If I wanted those, I'd watch Family Guy or read Least I Could Do.] He can stop being condescending ("Mal from Firefly") and having to resort to his alt text to explain the strip instead of adding on to it. He can stop ripping people off in order to make comics that are somehow less funny. (#161, while ripped straight from a news headline and therefore doesn't quite count, I find amusing.) In short, stop being the Garfield (or New CAD) of webcomics.

@Meta Four: This one had more substance than usual, but it's the only one. This is what I'm talking about. My comment about PA was in the wrong paragraph, but while I'm at it, I'm not aware of that they consistently rag on it instead of whatever one off joke.

Maybe I just have passion about what I like and dislike. Also, what assumptions am I making and what proportion is acceptable since I only post every other few days here in this forum? Oh Thomas, way to be spot on.

@Lucky Renevent: If you can't see it, I can't help you. You don't say he's not bashing it, and then go say "Well, yeah, Windows blows like he said. You'd have to be an idiot not to see that." (I paraphrased, but that's pretty spot on.)

@Nyktos: Nobody said anything about fanboys but you. See response to Lucky Renevent.^

Re Today's strip: It's a weak thing, not abhorrently bad but one of those I'd go "Hmm" and forget about in its entirety if I were to find it buried in the archive.

This italicize thing gets old. I need something else for emphasis.

The promises of children are worth less than the children themselves.

Interesting answer. Basically you're saying "Something completely different from and unrelated to xkcd".

edited 22nd Jul '09 3:13:27 PM by Madrugada

...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.

Ok, the link cements it. You're no doubt Carl of XKCD Sucks.

"They wanted to play 'memes' with the Old School. Now there are tears." - Fast Eddie

You can use [[quoteblock]]Some text yo![[/quoteblock]] to give you

I'm not helping you with emphasis however.

[1] This facsimile operated in part by synAC.

emphasis? Try bolding ('''bolding''')

Or "italics"

Sex, Drugs, and Rationality

[1] This facsimile operated in part by synAC.

shutup

Sex, Drugs, and Rationality

So you're ticked that he had a series of dumb jokes, and you respond by dissing on the least-bad and most original comic of the bunch?

Passion is admirable, but it's a given that a lot of people won't share your passion. And there isn't necessarily anything wrong with these people. See also: Serious Business.

A few pages ago, you interpreted some comics with thematic similarities to other webcomics as proof positive that R Munroe was plagiarizing those webcomics; and you implied that anyone who disagreed with you only did so because their raging fanboy-ness had blinded them.

Oh, you don't need to change on my account, sweetie.

edited 22nd Jul '09 8:16:36 PM by MetaFour

I didn't write any of that.

Well, okay, now I see where you're coming from, but I'm still not sure if that's hypocrisy. Definitely contradictory, but maybe not hypocrisy. I mean, he's not saying, "Windows-bashing is stupid, let's bash on Windows." He's saying, "This comic may not be Windows-bashing since only the most hardcore fanboy will not admit that Windows has this sort of issue."

In other words, I think you're mistaken when you say that Nyktos was bashing on Windows. Naming a problem an OS has =/= bashing on said OS.

"I can't imagine what Hell will have in store, but I know when I'm there, I won't wander anymore."

His current comic (Woodpecker) is "dawww".

Silly bird! Everyone knows you don't carry things by the cord unless you want to break them.

Your funny quote here! (Maybe)

That's so sweet.

What's the frequency Kenneth?|In case of war.

Reminds me of the Holy Grail.

Sex, Drugs, and Rationality

A bird just got a drill... That it can use to Pierce the Heavens!