# I don't quite get today's "Questionable Content" strip **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-strips\ **Created:** [April 13, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967 "2010-04-13T17:48:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 67
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1321 "2013-08-10T01:09:28Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Why is Dale the only person who can hear May? I can understand him being the only one who can see her - her image is being projected on to the lens of his glasses. But the glasses don’t have earplugs so he must be hearing her via speakers in the sidepieces. May’s normal speaking voice may be tuned low enough in volume to not be overheard but when she yells something, people standing nearby should be able to hear it. > > Or is this a case where I need to tell myself it’s just a webcomic and I should really just relax? > [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Presumably they work the same way as Google Glass, by transducing sound to the wearer by direct contact. Yep. Transmission of sound is intercranial… although I can’t find the comic where it says that. [This strip](http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2495) indicates that nobody else can sense her presence, although it only specifies sight, although apparently that only applies to humans. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1322 "2013-08-10T02:19:50Z")
I can’t remember — do we know Dale’s last name? I’m trying to guess his ethnicity. The dark skin + straight hair suggests Indian/Pakistani. The [cast page](http://questionablecontent.net/cast.php) just says “Dale”. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1323 "2013-08-10T04:32:36Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I can’t remember — do we know Dale’s last name? No. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1324 "2013-08-10T11:17:29Z")
Anyone else spot that [in this comic](http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2495) May hides her server location? “a box in ro- at a data center” Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1325 "2013-08-10T13:40:39Z")
Is it me or is Marigold looking rather vulnerable? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1326 "2013-08-10T15:31:18Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Anyone else spot that [in this comic](http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2495) May hides her server location? > > “a box in ro- at a data center” > Hmm. I think she was going to say “a box in robot jail” but caught herself. However, she soon revealed this to Dale anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1327 "2013-08-15T06:33:17Z")
Another technical question. How does May perceive things? It appears her senses are partially independent of Dale’s glasses. In this [strip](http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2494) she implied she can see whatever the glasses see. But she was able to see under her [skirt](http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2496) and I don’t think Dale would have looked there for her. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1328 "2013-08-16T10:19:36Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Another technical question. How does May perceive things? It appears her senses are partially independent of Dale’s glasses. In this [strip](http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2494) she implied she can see whatever the glasses see. But she was able to see under her [skirt](http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2496) and I don’t think Dale would have looked there for her. She can obviously only see the physical world through the glasses that Dale wears, as illustrated in the [comic today](http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2514). But her own appearance is virtual, so doing that is virtual operation within the virtual world she inhabits and overlays on the real world. She could probably have just shifted viewpoint outside of her eyes to give herself a clear view under the skirt, but it is possible that AIs require at least the illusion of embodiment, even when entirely virtual (a view that some real-world AI researchers expound). Oh, and it was funnier that way (via [narrative causality](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheoryOfNarrativeCausality)). ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1329 "2013-08-17T01:44:13Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > Oh, and it was funnier that way (via [narrative causality](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheoryOfNarrativeCausality)). Dammit! Warn us if you are going to link to TVTropes. I almost started reading, and I have too much to do tomorrow to be up all night! ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1330 "2013-08-17T16:54:29Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > Dammit! Warn us if you are going to link to TVTropes. I almost started reading, and I have too much to do tomorrow to be up all night! You’re welcome 😉 But TV Tropes is small beer … I’m the one who has lost goodness only knows how many hours (and tablet recharges) running through the entire Questionable Content archive (2500 or so comics) in the last week. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1331 "2013-08-20T22:19:03Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > You’re welcome 😉 > > But TV Tropes is small beer … > I’m the one who has lost goodness only knows how many hours (and tablet recharges) running through the entire Questionable Content archive (2500 or so comics) in the last week. :smack: Been there, done that. Also OOTS, LICD, Girls With Slingshots, Vexxarr!, and currently working my way through Schlock Mercenary. Life? What’s a life? Oh yeah, also Something Positive. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1332 "2013-08-20T22:45:03Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > Been there, done that. Also OOTS, LICD, Girls With Slingshots, Vexxarr!, and currently working my way through Schlock Mercenary. Life? What’s a life? Oh yeah, also Something Positive. HA! And I repeat, HA! Sluggy Freelance. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1333 "2013-08-20T22:52:58Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > HA! And I repeat, HA! > > Sluggy Freelance. Did the first couple of years, then skipped ahead, then the storyline lost me earlier this year. I think I would have a better chance with a dead tree edition for that one, I can’t keep interested like I do with OOTS when breaks happen. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1334 "2013-08-20T22:58:03Z")
Sluggy? Piffle. _Homestuck_. \ ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1335 "2013-08-21T00:43:03Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Sluggy? Piffle. > > _Homestuck_. \ I will probably regret this, but, _Homestuck_? Oh yeah, also [Goblins](http://www.goblinscomic.org/) and [A Girl and Her Fed](http://www.agirlandherfed.com/). ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1336 "2013-08-21T01:00:22Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > I will probably regret this, but, _Homestuck_? [Homestuck.](http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6) ~6000 pages (not quite sure how many, as the page numbers aren’t always consecutive, but they mostly are and run from 1902 to (as of when I’m composing this post) 8346 - although it was only at around 7000 when I finally caught up on it just before it went on a multi-month hiatus while Hussie worked on the game), which range from simple wordless panels to prose doorstoppers, as well as flash animations that can run upwards of 10 minutes (or as little as a few seconds), especially the interactive ones. Plus a bunch of ‘side’ pages, taking it off into the sister comic Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff, or showing drawings characters have made, or translating characters dialogue. (On which note…several dozen pages in Morse code!) It takes a _long_ time to work through it. (Also, the comic started in…2010, I think? So the archive grew a lot faster during my archive trawl than most would.) [Edit - oh, and I forgot the sequence that had a separate parallel plot going on in the banner!] ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1337 "2013-08-21T01:51:37Z")
I was right, I am going to regret it. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1338 "2013-08-21T05:48:22Z")
I’ve read the entire Schlock Mercenary archive a couple of times, it’s my favourite. Something Positive once. Girl Genius twice, plus some story arc overviews. I caught up with Quantum Vibe and Gunnerkrigg Court recently, too. Oh, and I followed XKCD Time for it’s entire run. I like LICD, but I wouldn’t reread it, nor Menage a 3, or GWS. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1339 "2013-08-21T19:04:58Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > I’ve read the entire Schlock Mercenary archive a couple of times, it’s my favourite. Something Positive once. Girl Genius twice, plus some story arc overviews. I caught up with Quantum Vibe and Gunnerkrigg Court recently, too. Oh, and I followed XKCD Time for it’s entire run. > > I like LICD, but I wouldn’t reread it, nor Menage a 3, or GWS. I agree with your last sentence, all good comics and reading to catch up with the story was good, but I won’t be re-reading them the way I do OOTS. Actually not many I would reread that way AGAHF I have done twice, partly because she is redoing the art and some of the dialogue form the beginning for dead tree editions. It is set up so you can switch between the original (very rough) artwork and the new look. Girl Genius I only read once online. I started reading it when the original came out as a comic and have reread the dead tree versions many times. ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967/1340 "2013-08-21T19:52:00Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > I’ve read the entire Schlock Mercenary archive a couple of times, it’s my favourite. Something Positive once. Girl Genius twice, plus some story arc overviews. I caught up with Quantum Vibe and Gunnerkrigg Court recently, too. Oh, and I followed XKCD Time for it’s entire run. Ten years ago, I was really into the webcomics scene, but work/life have gradually forced me to cut back on my habit. You wouldn’t think that reading comic strips on the internet would take up that much time, but then you see the archives for something like QC or Schlock Mercenary and realize that you’re gloriously, horribly wrong… 😛 That being said, there are a few strips I still follow closely. QC is one, and xkcd is another (“Time” was lovely and brilliant). But for my money, [“Gunnerkrigg Court”](http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/) is the best webcomic running right now, and up there for my favorite of all time. Densely plotted but never a slog, funny and poignant in equal measures, wonderfully realized characters, and some of the best original fantasy worldbuilding I’ve ever seen. And the art (after an initial rough start) is just friggin’ gorgeous. Highly recommended, for those reading this thread. You won’t regret it (where “it” = the week of nonstop reading it’ll take you to catch up :D). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967.md?page=66) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-quite-get-todays-questionable-content-strip/535967.md?page=68)