"[a] vitriolic and bitter collection of unwarranted nastiness about a silly and harmless comic."
Welcome. This is a website called XKCD SUCKS which is about the webcomic xkcd and why we think it sucks. My name is Carl and I used to write about it all the time, then I stopped because I went insane, and now other people write about it all the time. I forget their names. The posts still seem to be coming regularly, but many of the structural elements - like all the stuff in this lefthand pane - are a bit outdated. What can I say? Insane, etc.
I started this site because it had been clear to me for a while that xkcd is no longer a great webcomic (though it once was). Alas, many of its fans are too caught up in the faux-nerd culture that xkcd is a part of, and can't bring themselves to admit that the comic, at this point, is terrible. While I still like a new comic on occasion, I feel that more and more of them need the Iron Finger of Mockery knowingly pointed at them. This used to be called "XKCD: Overrated", but then it fell from just being overrated to being just horrible. Thus, xkcd sucks.
Here is a comic about me that Ann made. It is my favorite thing in the world.
f1rst p0st
ReplyDeleteAre you retarded?
ReplyDeleteWhat are you, dense?
ReplyDeleteIf You Know Humor So Well, Where's Your Webcomic, Smart Guy?
ReplyDeleteI liked the last line: "available in XS, XXL, XXXL and XXXL".
ReplyDeleteAs both a goon and an xkcdsucks contributor, this post warmed the cockles of my heart.
ReplyDeleteI thought goons were supposed to hate other goons for being goons.
ReplyDeleteFrom the xkcd forums
ReplyDelete"It looks like a jock's attempt at insulting XKCD. Obviously someone doesn't "get" XKCD's humor, doesn't understand the nature of XKCD's influence on the tech and science communities, and they're attempting to insult XKCD because it's a gathering they're not invited to and that damages their fine-china-fragile popularity-contest-driven-ego. Even the name is an attempt to insult XKCD fans (and completely misses the point that XKCD are randomly picked letters with no actual meaning).
I could be wrong, but that's what it looks like to me anyway.
I don't even find the shirts particularly funny"
Somebody sure is butthurt. The guy who created lnmc understands xkcd fans all too well.
The last LNMC is what you get when you cross xkcd and Powerup Comics.
ReplyDelete@Tim: Which half is Powerup Comics... I'm not familiar with them. But if it's the half that's "Cake > Pi" (the funny part) then I think I want to become familiar with them. That was awesome.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I couldn't resist making a Powerup Comics/LNMC edit. Come to think about it, this particular Powerup Comic works for many actual xkcds too.
ReplyDeleteRinnon: the part where a guy shoots the other guy. And I totally recommend against reading Powerup Comics if you wish to preserve your sanity. It's intentionally made to be as bad and unfunny as possible.
ReplyDeleteAs a parody, that was awful.
ReplyDeleteExcept for the fourth comic, that was pretty good. The rest sadly lacked any subtlety - as if we were in a schoolyard and the bully imitates the nerd to make him look ridiculous. They're not even trying to do it intelligently.
@Tim
ReplyDeleteOh. Well, then the funniest thing of that whole list was the shirt advertisement, which upon further investigation, was an advertisement for the website.
1st: I liked this one; it's every bit as in-your-face, hamfisted and unsubtle as xkcd itself. I think it nailed the pandering quite well, though it doesn't at all qualify as *witty* satire.
ReplyDelete2nd: Not sure I get this, really. Is it implying that the xkcd persona can't get along with women? It seems dumb.
3rd: That was nice and simple. It definitely distills the "I'm depressed and YOU SHOULD BE TOO" spirit of many xkcd comics.
4th: Actually, I thought this was one of the weakest. It's too obvious. In fact, if Randall were smart, he could use exactly this comic as a lighthearted laugh at himself.
5th: Nothing to add. It's not witty or clever, but it hits the nail in the head.
6th: Yeah, that doesn't look particulatly xkcd-esque. Though the feeling of superiority and subtle arrogance are all well-known elements of xkcd, they're not well represented here.
The T-shirt: I'm sort of neutral to it. It's not particularly clever, and not really very funny.
yeah #6 is much better as a Powerup Comics than an XKCD, because it is very nearly perfectly within Shad's wheelhouse
ReplyDeletemaybe if the dude on the left had been Black Hat Guy, and instead of shooting Dumb Jock Guy he had used a sonic screwdriver
Haha, Rinnon. You can tell she's the resident xkcd apologist, because she just lapped that facile cake > PI stuff up.
ReplyDeletexkcd fans are mewling idiots. Screaming "jocks" as a defense is amusing, because clothing yourself in expensive branded apparel, chanting stock memes and assuming that anybody not acting the same way is inferior to you is somehow different from what a jock does.
Cute, but not especially clever. I agree with much of the criticism that goes down here, but I agree with David in that a lot of it did feel like a dumb jock making fun of the smart kid in the playground. They may be on our side but they're making us look bad! Did snigger at the 3rd one though.
ReplyDeleteI believe David is correct in observing that there is a certain underlying animus against nerddom in this parody, but I would say that this is more of a reaction towards and critique of Randall's flamboyant flaunting of his way of being, interests and lifestyle, rather than a traditional "bully the nerd" attitude.
ReplyDeleteThe "jock" insult definitely needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. We're not in the 80's anymore, when nerds definitely were humiliated even on TV and films. Being a nerd is, now, more than ever, FASHIONABLE.
ReplyDeleteIn that sense, making fun of nerds is in no way different from making fun of emo kids.
but emo kids are SO CUTE
ReplyDeleteIt's somethingawful, jesus
ReplyDeleteIt's not "dumb jocks make fun of smart nerds"
It's "nerds who arent total spazzes making fun of nerds who think they're better than non-nerds simply because REFERENCES"
Somethingawful has a theme running throughout all its enterprises whether on the main site or in the forums at large that this whole idea of a "nerd culture" is profoundly retarded and that while its perfectly okay to enjoy nerdy things, to supplant your identity with the media you consume is retarded.
That's why they'd go after xkcd in the first place- because its a comic that celebrates how great it is to be an arrogant, socially stunted adolescent.
"Nerd culture" makes me shudder every time I hear it. Now that everyone that watches Lost, owns a Mac, and/or took a calculus course once thinks they're a "nerd" (doubly so if they have a t-shirt with "NERD" written across the front that they bought off the internet), what do they call the real nerds?
ReplyDeleteSuicidal, is what.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, as soon as I became an adult—ready to start enjoying the culture and lifestyle that had been a disadvantage to as a child—idiots had ruined it. That's not an exaggeration. I can't even work as a programmer without being miserable, because if you don't constantly spout the latest memes and act like a COMPLETE FUCK you have a miserable and lonely office life.
So hey, xkcdsucks is actually quite important to me. That's why I devote time to complaining about a web comic, cuddlefish. And no, I can't just avoid it.
RIP.
When did watching LOST become a part of "nerd culture?" And calculus is standard curriculum, anyway.
ReplyDeleteAnd Macs are hardly nerdy. Macs are for people who want to get shit done, not dick around with games on Windows. Linux would be superior to Mac except Linux can't run Adobe on it. Also, Macs are shiny...
I don't know how anyone could articulate the point so well and still miss it.
ReplyDeleteSomething Awful sure is something awful.
ReplyDelete@Anon 1:14: Are you talking about me, or to me? First, yep, I like XKCD, but I'm no apologist, I'm not here to defend it. Second, I feel the need to clarify that I'm not a she.
ReplyDeleteRinnon, I unconsciously become very attached to my mental projections. While I can normally do a decent job fighting value rigidity, voices in my head become locked in for years in less than a week.
ReplyDeleteAs such, while I now know you're a dude, everything you say shall henceforth remain said in the female voice my brain picked out for you.
Oh and Anon 1:14; You're silly!
My early submission to the xkcdsucks contest:
ReplyDeletehttp://dfranke.us/xkcdcontest.png
The funny thing about that comic (the original) is that Jim Davis did that exact thing, once and only once.
ReplyDelete@Scott: I was afraid of that... I didn't realize my name was so ambiguous! But, I understand and I'm not offended. In my head, your voice is Scottish, so yeah. (It's the McTony)
ReplyDeleteOn this note, true, slightly related, funny story. I've been working in tech support call centers for a few years now. Back when I was 19 when I was first getting started, I was working for the local ISP where I live. Over the phone, for whatever reason, I have a voice which is a tone or so higher than most guys. This is supplemented by the fact that when I am in "customer service" mode, my voice goes one tone higher. Consequently, I am often mistaken for a female by callers. (I'm destined to be mistaken for a girl it seems... but for the record, if you met me in real life, I'm seriously not the least bit feminine).
Anyways, at first someone would say "yes ma'am" to me and I'd think... "did she just say yes ma'am?" but I wouldn't ask and the call would end. Then, at one point, I got a guy on the phone, clearly and older guy, mid 50s or so, and I was positive he called me "dear" when I told him to restart his computer. I shrug it off, maybe I'm hearing things. Then he calls me "sweetheart"... I'm not really sure what to do at now... if I point out at THIS point that I'm a dude, it's going to make the whole rest of the call awkward, and this call is going to be at least another 15 minutes. So I pretend that I didn't notice. And finally, he says to me "You know, this is the longest I've been on the phone with a woman in a long time." It was pretty fucking embarrassing. I didn't know what to do, so I said nothing! I think I may have even acted a little indignant, as if I did not appreciate that attitude from a caller. My sup was listening in at that moment, I realized it when he couldn't stop laughing moments later. In retrospect though, it WAS pretty funny. Long story short, I'm used to it. =P
Anon 3:31, it this is a place of solace for you, then make a name, PLEASE, otherwise you're going to be mistaken as dumb cuddlefish 2:01 or something (just making up a time, not pointing fingers)
ReplyDeleteDaniel Franke: Haha, good one.
ReplyDeletei fucking hate geeks. I don't identify myself as one at all. I like the internet, I program and I'm tech savvy but being a geek implies being a fucking douchebag about it. I have mostly, if not only non-geek friends and I'm totally fine with that and they don't mind me being a bit techy because I'm not a fucking arrogant prick about it.
ReplyDeleteThat is all.
Dunno, everytime I read "Rinnon", I'm reminded of "Trymon", so in a sense I just can't imagine Rinnon as a woman now. Even after all these amusing tales, ha ha!
ReplyDeleteWhich, in retrospect, was a clever association made by my brain. Yay, brain!
Daniel, you could have made that stick figure over blue background look less pasted on... other than that, nice comic. :D
CAPTCHA: delema. The Rinnon Gender "Delema"
Professional Mole:
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'll fix that if I can. Let's just say my GIMP skills are not quite up to the task of stick figures yet.
@ProMole: I'm not sure how to feel about your post. On the one hand, flattered that you associated my name with that of a wizard. On the other hand... that captcha... It's a dilemma now? And did you NEED to capitalize it like it was an up and coming episode on 20/20!? Haha!
ReplyDeleteRinnon: No, of course it's not a dillema. But I had this very easily punnable CAPTCHA, I HAD to do it! I capitalized because that's how you do with those things, no? The Principle of Relativity, the Law of Gravitation...
ReplyDeleteDaniel: If you put the stick figures cut from white brackground on a separate layer and use the "Layer -> Transparency -> Color to Alpha" option on them(with white as the color), you can make it so it blends well over any background.
PS.: Rinnon, on the other hand, Trymon wasn't quite a guy to be flattered for being associated with, no? He was quite efficient as a wizard, on the other other hand...
Hahahah, I know I know, I just had to give you trouble for it. The pun was definitely worth it.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Trymon... look, my previous web handle when I was a kid (read like 12) was Buttonkid. It would be abreviated into BK, ergo, I was associated with Fast Food. Crazy Tentacle Wizard is a step up. (I'm remember the right wizard right?)
Really sucks that I can't socialize with anyone on the basis of common interests on account of how they are all totally mentally fucking retarded. Even in high school, the "jocks" were invariably way more creative and interesting than any self-described "nerd" or "geek" chosen from the population at random.
ReplyDeleteAlso, all that rampant sexism. Sucks, brah.
Captcha: miniplau. the most adorable of all plows, and with precision German engineering to boot
wow. that fails.
ReplyDelete