tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post2530039509962057232..comments2024-03-17T05:03:46.056-07:00Comments on xkcd sucks: Comic 537: Duck You, RandallCarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-21261025681613577482009-05-01T10:13:00.000-07:002009-05-01T10:13:00.000-07:00Sure. I like my songs on mix. I like the "aestheti...Sure. I like my songs on mix. I like the "aesthetic mindfuck." I went to go see The Hours, and then A Guy Thing in theatres. 10 minutes apart. Look them up on imdb. I also liked this comic just for the "heh, I can't believe someone would do that" factor. That doesn't mean there's an actual joke here. Better than the recent average, but only by being not totally 'meh' inspiring.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05580228790308651175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-87476237495063470132009-04-10T12:33:00.000-07:002009-04-10T12:33:00.000-07:00NOTHING TO SEE HERE, FOLKS, MOVE RIGHT ALONG.does ...NOTHING TO SEE HERE, FOLKS, MOVE RIGHT ALONG.<BR/><BR/>does anyone have an opinion they'd like to share?Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-59400310487953082172009-04-10T12:32:00.000-07:002009-04-10T12:32:00.000-07:00ah fuck, let's delete them all thenah fuck, let's delete them all thenCarlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-30157077517285935432009-04-10T12:26:00.000-07:002009-04-10T12:26:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.rshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15828938843801425383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-27049647255111801532009-04-10T12:22:00.000-07:002009-04-10T12:22:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-61887934695824561562009-04-10T02:32:00.000-07:002009-04-10T02:32:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-13996768490862796942009-03-31T06:55:00.000-07:002009-03-31T06:55:00.000-07:00I'm surprised that, in all this talk of other webc...I'm surprised that, in all this talk of other webcomics, <A HREF="http://jesusandmo.net" REL="nofollow">Jesus and Mo</A> didn't rate a mention. They are, after all, the best thing on the Internet.<BR/><BR/>TRiG.TRiGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12252536592916793907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-30047114348507504242009-02-04T22:27:00.000-08:002009-02-04T22:27:00.000-08:00Um, Cuddlefish, did you not READ THE FIRST FUCKING...Um, Cuddlefish, did you not READ THE FIRST FUCKING PARAGRAPH of Carl's post?rshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15828938843801425383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-57569235607202196592009-02-04T22:25:00.000-08:002009-02-04T22:25:00.000-08:00Actually its an OLD meme reference. There was a "d...Actually its an OLD meme reference. There was a "duckroll" well before rickrolling. There is somewhat a point to it. Go google duckrollAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-33100370877616765252009-02-03T23:30:00.000-08:002009-02-03T23:30:00.000-08:00Heh. Carl, that country/African/Beatles-4-Kidz alb...Heh. Carl, that country/African/Beatles-4-Kidz album actually sounds like a lot of fun to me. A lot of people like a certain amount of aesthetic whiplash - in fact, that can become its own sort of consistency. You're consistently getting inconsistency, if that makes sense. I'd prefer that sort of WTF mix over Graceland + "Sounds of Silence" or the equivalent, even though Paul Simon is the man.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-70751889795055142212009-02-03T13:18:00.000-08:002009-02-03T13:18:00.000-08:00isn't woot.com kind of an "awesome thing of the da...isn't woot.com kind of an "awesome thing of the day" club? I guess it's usually technology related.<BR/><BR/>Anyway I haven't commented much in this conversation but I'd point out that even with the White Album, you still are consistently getting The Beatles. You get the four singers and a particular style of singing and lyrics, right? Like, if one of the white album songs just brought in like a female country singer to do a slow country song and then like an African singer to do something in some african language and there was no background music at all, and then for the fun of the beatles brought in a bunch of 5 year olds to sing "Help" etc, the album would suck.<BR/><BR/>thinking just about albums I like (and because I mentioned african musicians) one of the reasons I love Paul Simon's Graceland album is that it does such a good job of exploring a particular style of music (s. african) as it meets another particular style (American folk-rock). All of its songs are in that area somehow and it just works very well. Sticking "Sounds of Silence" in the middle, of course, would ruin it.<BR/><BR/>Oh and DoubleBlackbird, your analogy with this comic representing the forums is <I>brilliant</I>Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-29286539364691051802009-02-03T05:40:00.000-08:002009-02-03T05:40:00.000-08:00"A wine of the month club is, in fact, consistentl..."A wine of the month club is, in fact, consistently wine." <BR/><BR/>How true; I mean, you'd be pissed off if they sent you a bottle of Advocaat or a roast chicken, wouldn't you?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-3009513589318628382009-02-02T23:57:00.000-08:002009-02-02T23:57:00.000-08:00A wine of the month club is, in fact, consistently...A wine of the month club is, in fact, consistently wine. I'm not convinced an "awesome thing of the month club" would ever take off, unless it was catering to a suitably niche market, like internet culture. That's pretty broad and disparate. Also, "random thing of the month" delivers "surprise" consistently. And random seldom actually means random.<BR/><BR/>I'm unaware of the existence of any blogs with no central topic. I defy you to name one that actually has a significant readerbase. Or, for that matter, a successful business which has not created a brand based on a consistent line of products, or a successful television show without a premise.<BR/><BR/>As for your other questions: ask your mum.rshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15828938843801425383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-36931160217950446802009-02-02T22:16:00.000-08:002009-02-02T22:16:00.000-08:00Consistent _quality_ is needed to build loyalty. ...Consistent _quality_ is needed to build loyalty. Consistency in everything else is a matter of personal preference. As said, people loved the white album, despite how much variety there is in it. I'd buy an Apple product that isn't like anything they've made before.<BR/><BR/>Some people subscribe to a "wine of the month" club. Some people would rather buy the same exact wine repeatedly. Some people would subscribe to a "random thing of the month" club, <I>if everything it sent was awesome</I>, and worth the money.<BR/><BR/>xkcd fans (of which I no longer consider myself a member) keep returning because they find it consistently worth reading. It may not always be _funny_... sometimes, it's meant to be interesting instead, or "deep." I'm not saying Randall achieves this, but he does for his die-hard fans.<BR/><BR/>Some people will subscribe to a blog that has no central topic, if they find that the author is consistently interesting to read.<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>Again... why on earth are you wasting your time immersing yourself into something you dislike? As xkcd has shifted towards mediocre, I've become less likely to read it regularly. It seems the opposite has happened to you?<BR/><BR/>If xkcd bores you so much, why would you devote a significant portion of your life to reading every comic and then writing about how bad it is?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01903407580391657988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-81717557427015397142009-02-02T16:56:00.000-08:002009-02-02T16:56:00.000-08:00Rob: consistent quality also builds brand loyalty....<B>Rob:</B> consistent quality also builds brand loyalty. This is the argument for the White Album in a nutshell. Who cares what genre the Beatles play if everything they do is going to be fantastic (alright, aside from "Piggies"). Or in more traditional brands, you have companies like Toshiba and Honda, whose brand specialty is essentially "physical objects", or Sony, who is also willing to sell you IP (not that anyone has loyalty to Sony IP as such).<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I'd argue that early-to-mid era XKCDs were consistent mainly in quality and artistic style. There was a period of time when the main thrust of xkcdsucks was pointing out that Randall was doing the same things over and over again. And now if we are seeing an inconsistent period, it would seem to at least mean Randall is trying to stretch his boundaries. This is always a healthy thing for an artist, if not always the audience.<BR/><BR/><B>Carl:</B> I already see this precisely as "an elegant real-life example." It uses ducks rather than code, does it not? But I may be primed to see it that way by years of building and breaking systems. I feel like the average D&D player should understand this impulse as well -- but that's not a massive demographic either. This is the main problem with jokes about specialized knowledge; you need to set up the joke for the general audience without boring the specialists to tears. <BR/>Remember, any joke correctly explained ceases to be funny.Pathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12456796465979923295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-77877425417113543472009-02-02T16:08:00.000-08:002009-02-02T16:08:00.000-08:00It's okay, Stephen, I'll forgive you. HUGS.No, thi...It's okay, Stephen, I'll forgive you. HUGS.<BR/><BR/>No, this is just common sense. Consistency is how you generate readers with any sort of regularly released content. It's how you generate fan loyalty. If you want people to keep coming back, you need to make posts which consistently appeal to them. Since nobody can please everybody you need to make posts which consistently appeal to a certain audience. This implies a general level of consistency. This is why Gawker Media has a series of blogs about consistent topics, and why they consistently write posts only about those topics. This is /how brand loyalty works./<BR/><BR/>You can argue that XKCD is not inconsistent lately. You can't argue that consistency is not necessary for brand loyalty. Brand loyalty is all about consistency. Consistency in release dates, consistency in quality, consistency in content. If you are not consistent about release dates, people lose interest. If you are not consistent about quality, people lose interest. If you are not consistent in content, you lose your audience. To suggest otherwise is to be wrong. There's really nothing else to it. This isn't just personal preference, this is a basic element of marketing--blogs, webcomics, television series, book franchises. When I buy something with the X label, I expect it to be similar to all the previous X I have read. This isn't a matter of artistic preference, though I certainly prefer consistency and established narrative; this is a basic element of branding and marketing. You provide consistency or you lose your market. You lose your market because people want consistency in their products; people want consistency in their products for the same reasons I do. If I go to a political blog I want it to be political. If I go to ASW I want it to be like the rest of ASW's comics. I like what they have done and want them to continue. They can expand and develop, of course, and even subvert some of their previously established tropes--but they have to be, fundamentally, similar to ASW or I am no longer reading ASW.<BR/><BR/>In conclusion, you are wrong and also fundamentally misinterpret what I have to say, and your mother and I are very disappointed in you.<BR/><BR/>BlackbirdSquared: I like hipsters, what can I say?rshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15828938843801425383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-61702076714095316752009-02-02T15:50:00.001-08:002009-02-02T15:50:00.001-08:00What I mean to say is, Rob, that you seem to be el...What I mean to say is, Rob, that you seem to be elevating your preference to a universal truth about entertainment. A lot of people like the White Album. You don't like it as much, and that's cool. <BR/><BR/>You can either not listen to it, or you can devote a significant portion of your life to listening to it repeatedly and writing about how you'd rather be listening to Abbey Road.<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>I agree with you guys that xkcd is becoming less entertaining (although I usually disagree with your reasons). But there are a lot of unfunny things... why on earth are you wasting your time immersing yourself into something you dislike? As xkcd has shifted towards mediocre, I've become less likely to read it regularly. It seems the opposite has happened to you?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01903407580391657988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-59414772063794038622009-02-02T15:50:00.000-08:002009-02-02T15:50:00.000-08:00Rob, now that you have revealed that you read Ques...Rob, now that you have revealed that you read Questionable Content I cannot respect your humour analysis anymore. :(<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I always get here too late to make any original and insightful comments, so let's just repeat some that have already been made:<BR/><BR/>- This comic was actually pretty funny. A while back someone was accusing this blog of being unable to grasp XKCD's 'unusual humour', but that's total donkey-feathers, because it's mostly just memes and that's not unusual. But this <I>is</I> genuinely unusual humour. And no, it doesn't have a point because it doesn't need one. It's a <I>webcomic</I>. Not an instruction manual, a webcomic. So hats off to Randall for this one.<BR/><BR/>- That said, 'DUCKLOOP'D?' should be dragged through a field of burning leprosy.<BR/><BR/>- This comic can also be thought of as a clever metaphor for the XKCD forums. Mama Duck is Randall of course.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-5298483994362306892009-02-02T15:43:00.000-08:002009-02-02T15:43:00.000-08:00Rob:"I will proceed to prove that consistent thing...Rob:<BR/>"I will proceed to prove that consistent things are better.<BR/>1) I like consistent things.<BR/>1a) For example, here are some things that I like that are consistent.<BR/>2) Therefore, consistent things are objectively better."Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01903407580391657988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-44992103448192768322009-02-02T15:40:00.000-08:002009-02-02T15:40:00.000-08:00Well, I'm sorta late, but I'll still explain why I...Well, I'm sorta late, but I'll still explain why I liked this comic. Basically, it was cute (at least, ducklings in general are cute - these aren't well-drawn enough to have any personality) and free of the angsty bullshit that's permeated xkcd lately. More importantly, it was original, at least as far as I can tell. You realize we had two weeks there where we had nothing but reference-comics? And we haven't had a completely original joke for a long, long time.<BR/><BR/>Obviously, my expectations for xkcd are low.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-74243731641960139172009-02-02T14:38:00.000-08:002009-02-02T14:38:00.000-08:00feba: I don't really like the White Album nearly a...feba: I don't really like the White Album nearly as much as any of their other stuff; Sgt. Pepper's or Abbey Road in particular. Both of them are very well assembled and flow together nicely. Consistency.<BR/><BR/>Here is a lengthy description of why most things I read would be bad without consistency.<BR/><BR/>This is not a complete list of things I read but it is a fairly representative sample.<BR/><BR/>1. I'll start with blogs. I frequent Wonkette, which is a left-leaning political humor blog. Some of you may be familiar with it! They provide a constant, consistent stream of snark about politics and politicians and general DC gossip. If Wonkette was snarky about politics one day and switched over to deep introspection about philosophy and religion the next day, I would not read it. That would be inconsistent and I would no longer have an expectation of what is going to happen next. I do not want to read a blog without knowing what sort of information it contains.<BR/><BR/>2. I frequent XKCD: Overrated, which makes fun of XKCD. Some of you may be familiar with it! Carl, Rob, and Thomas provide excellent, intelligent discourse on a webcomic that has severely declined as of late. They do this consistently! I would never have bothered continuing reading if they only ever did one post about XKCD and then moved on to just randomly bitching about 4chan and talking about what kind of tea they like to drink and what NYU's student culture is like, with no real constant theme. It would be inconsistent and I really have no interest in that.<BR/><BR/>3. Now on to webcomics! I read A Softer World, which is the best thing that has ever been written by anyone, ever. Joey Comeau and Emily Horne provide a very consistent artistic medium with jokes which are all in the same genre, and depressing stories which also fit the same genre. They never break form. It is consistent art. If they were a photo comic one day and done with clay armitures the next and written with Joey's joie de vivre and love of adventure one day and with the sarcastic voice of Wonkette the next and with some of Penny-Arcade's more surrealistic moments the next, I would not continue reading it, because he is not offering a consistent product.<BR/><BR/>4. I read Questionable Content, which is about hipsters. Jeph Jacques provides consistent characters and storylines and even one-off comics mostly remain within continuity unless he is having a legitimate off day, which happens infrequently. If he tended to punctuate his storylines with a bunch of random unrelated bullshit about video games and go off on story arcs that do not feature any of the characters or affect the overall arc of the comic, I wouldn't read it because that would just be annoying as fuck.<BR/><BR/>5. Things I write! I write a blog called Dreamers Often Lie, which features morose microfiction on a consistent level. People would not read it if it suddenly switched over to the Rob Mason Book Review Club or livejournal-style postings asking my nonexistent readers if I should take a nap today. (The answer is no.)<BR/><BR/>6. I write another blog called When I Like Something, which is my personal blog. People don't read it because it has no unifying theme and is inconsistent.<BR/><BR/>7. Music! I seldom listen to music when it is not in an album structure, because within the consistency of an album there are no jarring changes in emotional content, and the album is much more capable of creating an overall artistic and emotional experience as opposed to an individual three-minute bite-sized chunk. I enjoy concept albums for this reason. I also enjoy seeing bands I know live for this reason, because of the tasteful arrangement of music in a way which is new and different.<BR/><BR/>8. Movies! I do not want to watch Amelie immediately before watching Casino Royale. That would just be jarring and weird.<BR/><BR/>Honorable mentions: Penny Arcade, Dinosaur Comics, Gawker.<BR/><BR/>I hope you are starting to see a trend.rshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15828938843801425383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-47044736949867495662009-02-02T13:22:00.000-08:002009-02-02T13:22:00.000-08:00*Scaring mama duck is mean.*Mama duck would FUCK Y...*Scaring mama duck is mean.<BR/>*Mama duck would FUCK YOUR SHIT UP if you tried to pick her up like that<BR/>*Baby ducks would not react in that way, they would likely spazz out and freeze up<BR/>*What the hell is the point?<BR/>*Ducks are cute (and tasty!,) fucking with them, not so much<BR/>*"DUCKLOOP'D" makes me want to murder people<BR/><BR/>That is all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-70796389421139480012009-02-02T13:09:00.000-08:002009-02-02T13:09:00.000-08:00Bad:* Totally radically lame-o img title.* I reall...Bad:<BR/>* Totally radically lame-o img title.<BR/>* I really don't think ducklings would do that, so it's unrealistic. BUT, who says comics should be realistic?<BR/>* Too simple art.<BR/>* Ducks will probably get hurt by too avid fans?<BR/><BR/>Good:<BR/>* Simple and undistracting drawings and idea execution.<BR/>* SUGARY CUTENESS! Ducklings are cute.<BR/>* Original idea. (am I wrong?)<BR/>* The img title could have been worse, right?<BR/>* No ducks were hurt in the making of this strip.<BR/><BR/>This one made me smile. I like it.cow_2001https://www.blogger.com/profile/14096806199197429766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-1583987986586648602009-02-02T10:02:00.000-08:002009-02-02T10:02:00.000-08:00Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da isn't a folky song, it's more Re...Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da isn't a folky song, it's more Reggae influenced. Blackbird or Mother Nature's Son are kind of folky.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, that's a good point- there's nothing wrong with a mix of styles. But when the jokes get worse and more inconsistent at the same time, you have to wonder if Randall's inspiration is running dry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-11488257556377158952009-02-02T07:50:00.000-08:002009-02-02T07:50:00.000-08:00Rob, I only have one thing to say to you: the Whit...Rob, I only have one thing to say to you: the White Album.<BR/><BR/>It's a mish-mash of everything from Folk (Ob-La-Di) to basically inventing Heavy Metal (Helter Skelter), and yet as a whole the album works, and is incredibly awesome to boot.<BR/><BR/>Now, http://xkcd.com/24/ may not be a Revolution 9, but the idea that something has to fit together and have continuity and a similar style to be good is just wrong.febahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10070905778313091691noreply@blogger.com