# XKCD comment thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 2, 2019, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902 "2019-11-02T05:59:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/1 "2019-11-02T05:59:01Z")
Since as far as I can tell the comments boards for XKCD is more or less permanently down, how about we discuss it here? [xkcd: Screen Time](https://xkcd.com/2223/) Friday Nov. 1 2019 IMHO, an app for tracking how much time you spend looking at the screen is sort of like methadone: if you’re using it you’re not really kicking the habit. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/2 "2019-11-02T12:15:50Z")
This [one](https://xkcd.com/2217/) reminds me of my days as a prof reviewing papers for journals. I’d find a flaw (many times quite obvious) in an algorithm. Recommend the paper be rejected. The authors would oftentimes respond “But I have a 35 page proof that the algorithm is correct! If you can’t find the flaw in the proof, then _you_ are wrong.” “Nope, see where the algorithm goes wrong in this simple situation. End of discussion.” Some people didn’t get it. One was one of the founders of formal program proofs. Pulled the same stunt. Was also the editor of the journal (which is actually a conflict of interest) so it was just little ol’ me against this Big Shot. But the algorithm fell apart in two different ways. (Turned out that the proof was how the author _thought_ it worked vs. how it was actually written down.) “Proof” doesn’t always mean “proof”, folks. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/3 "2019-11-02T14:17:19Z")
[sarc] Thanks, [/sarc] Lumpy. I just spent half an hour catching up on XKCD. I loved [Cell Phone Functions](https://xkcd.com/2212/), but I can’t believe Randall didn’t at least try to put actual dates on the X axis. Anyone here want to try? And add any other functions they used to use a standalone device for. I’ve got a few old Popular Mechanics magazines and came across a Radio Shack ad, where every device on the (very crowded) page was included in my phone. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/4 "2019-11-02T15:04:27Z")
Wednesday’s “[Terminator: Dark Fate](https://xkcd.com/2222/)” had me cracking up. > [@digs](#): > > [sarc] Thanks, [/sarc] Lumpy. I just spent half an hour catching up on XKCD. Yeah, I tend to forget about it for months at a time, then binge-read it. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/5 "2019-11-02T22:29:30Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Wednesday’s “[Terminator: Dark Fate](https://xkcd.com/2222/)” had me cracking up. XKCD is usually pretty unique, but in this case the comic was reminiscent of [Stewie upsets the Timeline](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5ADpIkzusU&t=520s) from _The Family Guy_. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2019, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/6 "2019-11-03T03:12:55Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > XKCD is usually pretty unique, but in this case the comic was reminiscent of [Stewie upsets the Timeline](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5ADpIkzusU&t=520s) from _The Family Guy_. Too much time travel and you usually end up with an infinite regression of people clasping their predecessor on the shoulder and announcing they’re from Scotland Yard. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2019, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/7 "2019-11-03T13:41:06Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Too much time travel and you usually end up with an infinite regression of people clasping their predecessor on the shoulder and announcing they’re from Scotland Yard. It’s a fair cop. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2019, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/8 "2019-11-03T19:01:17Z")
Well, I -did- have plans for my Sunday afternoon. Now I’m stuck in XKCD hell. It’s a good kind of hell, though. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2019, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/9 "2019-11-03T20:12:12Z")
Is there an archive of Matt Groening’s old strips anywhere? I could live through a “Life in Hell” hell… ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2019, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/10 "2019-11-03T21:50:11Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Is there an archive of Matt Groening’s old strips anywhere? I could live through a “Life in Hell” hell… Here’s a limited [archive](https://lifeinhellarchives.tumblr.com/). It doesn’t seem to have my fave on [Grad Student Hell](http://marcuse.faculty.history.ucsb.edu/images/ComicGradSchoolHell72dpi550pxw.jpg). A must gift for those who just got accepted into grad school. Hey, you didn’t really want to do anything else the rest of today, did you? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/11 "2019-11-04T23:54:47Z")
So, is anyone else still seeing Friday’s strip? This is very unlike Munroe, to be this late with the new one. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/12 "2019-11-05T03:10:08Z")
Finally update. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/13 "2019-11-05T03:20:58Z")
True dat. Task manager can’t end task for individual hung explorer tabs anymore. No use for task manager anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/14 "2019-11-18T18:21:07Z")
[xkcd: Versus Bracket](https://xkcd.com/2230/) Versus Bracket Is this supposed to be played as a game in some manner? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/15 "2019-11-18T18:25:45Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > [xkcd: Versus Bracket](https://xkcd.com/2230/) Versus Bracket > > Is this supposed to be played as a game in some manner? I don’t think so; it just takes movie titles (or a few classic fan arguments) that have “versus” in them, and imagines them as a NCAA-basketball-type bracket. Not that I wouldn’t like to see Scott Pilgrim versus Batman… ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/16 "2019-11-18T18:45:43Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > [xkcd: Versus Bracket](https://xkcd.com/2230/) Versus Bracket > > Is this supposed to be played as a game in some manner? I don’t think so-- it’s just a parody of a NCAA basketball tournament bracket, with lots of classic or amusing ‘versus’ matchups randomly arranged. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/17 "2019-11-18T19:52:29Z")
Had a good chuckle with [_Machine Learning Captcha_](https://xkcd.com/2228/), but then started to worry. A lot. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/18 "2019-11-18T20:16:56Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Had a good chuckle with [_Machine Learning Captcha_](https://xkcd.com/2228/), but then started to worry. > > A lot. I wouldn’t be surprised if half the captchas are there to help crack the other half. The AI Apocalypse won’t be Skynet, it’ll be the first intelligent spam bot. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/19 "2019-11-18T21:50:28Z")
[A similar, older XKCD](https://xkcd.com/2037/). My money’s on Madison winning it all. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2019, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902/20 "2019-11-18T22:36:57Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I wouldn’t be surprised if half the captchas are there to help crack the other half. The AI Apocalypse won’t be Skynet, it’ll be the first intelligent spam bot. That’s right, keep on cheering me up. ☹ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-comment-thread/842902.md?page=2)