Questionable Content XVII: "My Brain Is Trash And I Live On The Internet"

[Wraith]

Welcome to the latest installment of discussion threads for Questionable Content (http://questionablecontent.net/), a M-F"slice of life" comic in which life is defined by coffee, robots, Butts Disease (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2016), and spontaneous metal interludes (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=666).

You have been warned.

Links To The Past
Questionable Content 1 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140480)
Questionable Content 2: Espresso With Extra Scorn (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176418)
Questionable Content 3: Ironically Quite Popular (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194380)
Questionable Content 4: Attack of the 60-Inch AnthroPC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215953)
Questionable Content 5: Suffers Occasional Outbreaks of Butt's Disease (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=242665)
Questionable Content 6: Murder Mode (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=280941)
Questionable Content 7: Will Work For Makeouts (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?328150)
Questionable Content 8: OMG I SHIP IT! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?383478)
Questionable Content 9: To Kill a Yelling Bird (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?433481)
Questionable Content 10: La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?503452)
Questionable Content 11: It's Like Seeing a Unicorn (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?531481)
Questionable Content 12: Artificial Unintelligence (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?548806)
Questionable Content 13: It's YOU Who Is The Dork! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?563685)
Questionable Content 14: I Deserve A Fancy Butt Emblem (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?578277)
Questionable Content XVI: Yes, Butt (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?589216-Questionable-Content-XV-I-HAVE-MORE-QUESTIONS!-I-Told-You-This-Thread-Was-Weird]Questionable Content XV: I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS! I Told You This Thread Was Weird[/url]
[URL="https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?610991-Questionable-Content-XVI-Yes-Butt)

And now we return to the adventures of Burger Oni and Semi-Naked-Blue-Robot-Chick. They fight crime with watermelons, or something, i'unno.

[Ibrinar]

I kinda forgot she had a new body until this strip reminded me.

[Delicious Taffy]

Yeah, and it comes with some rockin' eyebrows.

[Agi Hammerthief]

You don't have a spreadsheet about you, you don't get a rating.
depends on the situation.
I‘m sure May got good ratings on the way to COD especially because she has no sheets spread around her
:smallbiggrin:

[Max_Killjoy]

Shame the spreadsheet relies on violating privacy and security for millions of people.

[Keltest]

Shame the spreadsheet relies on violating privacy and security for millions of people.

Im not sure that i agree with the idea that one's tendency to pay off their debts on time (or not do so) is private information. Definitionally it is a trend constructed from your interaction with other people or groups.

I do think if you look at a 58 year old person trying to buy a car and go "wow, he has no credit score. Clearly he is a massive financial risk! Dont sell to him!" youre a pretty big idiot though.

[PhantomFox]

For every rule, there is someone who has made that rule necessary. Can you think up a situation where lending to someone in the same situation would be a bad idea?

[Traab]

If you dont have a credit history then how can anyone considering lending you money not find it to be riskier by far than lending to someone with a 20 year history of making regular payments to debts owed? Its a completely blind gamble. Good credit doesnt make it certain that the debt will be repaid, but it does make it far more likely as they have a proven history of doing so. Thats why its so important to establish a credit history even though everything up till house buying time you have managed to pay out of pocket and no payment schedule needed. Because paying up front is easy. Its being able to make payments long term thats far harder and more important to banks and such.

[halfeye]

If you dont have a credit history then how can anyone considering lending you money not find it to be riskier by far than lending to someone with a 20 year history of making regular payments to debts owed? Its a completely blind gamble. Good credit doesnt make it certain that the debt will be repaid, but it does make it far more likely as they have a proven history of doing so. Thats why its so important to establish a credit history even though everything up till house buying time you have managed to pay out of pocket and no payment schedule needed. Because paying up front is easy. Its being able to make payments long term thats far harder and more important to banks and such.
However, if you always clear your credit card bill, that's demonstrably not the case, the debts may only have lasted until the credit card bill arrived, but you've always paid them.

[TaRix]

Yeah, but the thing is, though I had a null score for years, I DO have a decades-long history of, you know, living, paying rent and bills(on time), and being employed (and insured, even.)

Also have proof of down-payment-have, years of direct-deposit-accounts, vehicles paid in full, and a conspicuous lack of black marks on said empty report.
Given all that, all I'd have to prove is that my identity isn't a made-up construct.

But no, I've been robbing the credit cards of their cut by not spending their extra charges on things, keeping my paycheck in my town. Therefore, I must be punished.

[Kish]

I have so much I want to say on this subject.

I am not saying any of it because it would all violate the no-politics rule.

Yes, I am in fact posting a contentless post because I am currently feeling martyred.

(I tried twice to write a post that I could look at and not think "that's an infraction waiting to happen." I did not succeed.)

[Max_Killjoy]

I have so much I want to say on this subject.

I am not saying any of it because it would all violate the no-politics rule.

Yes, I am in fact posting a contentless post because I am currently feeling martyred.

(I tried twice to write a post that I could look at and not think "that's an infraction waiting to happen." I did not succeed.)


I've lost count of the number of posts I've written and then deleted on that same account.

[Mechalich]

It's not really relevant to the comic anyway. I brought up the credit report thing as one of the functional mechanisms by which May's specific criminal history (as opposed to just having to check the yes in the 'Have you ever committed a felony' box on applications) impedes her ability to serve as a business manager.

Honestly, I'm just going to say that I really, really, dislike this plotline. It's a bizarre outgrowth of what seems to have been a poorly thought-out joke in the first place (Aurelia embarrassing Clinton with the whole digital cow thing), it makes no sense as a practical matter, it feels out of place with Marigold's personality, and it strikes me as wholly unnecessary.

[Vinyadan]

I think Hannelore could use a plotline now, to show how she's become. For example, her dad once sent a robo-boyfriend chassis. Now that technology has improved, could a relationship with an AI be viable for her? And what about a human, can she do that now?
It would be a way of showing parts of her personality that were buried by her disease. Or maybe to show that they need development. I think that a cured Hanners having a chance to meet a wider reality - like missing a bus on a rainy day and having to run your way to work while being spashed by passing cars - is more interesting than zen Hanners sitting on her throne in CoD like a videogame innkeeper with no life beyond answering random PC questions.

[Cikomyr2]

However, if you always clear your credit card bill, that's demonstrably not the case, the debts may only have lasted until the credit card bill arrived, but you've always paid them.

If you always clear all your credit card bills, then you have a history of using your credit card like a checking account for standard transactions. You aren't actually accruing debt, so it's not a history of taking a loan.

By the way, in the US how does student loans affect your credit rating? If you always paid your student loans but have no credit card, how's your credit rating?

[halfeye]

If you always clear all your credit card bills, then you have a history of using your credit card like a checking account for standard transactions. You aren't actually accruing debt, so it's not a history of taking a loan.

It ought to be, it's a debt that you cleared. It's a failure of the accounting system if that's not credited, now there is the capacity to do that, even if there wasn't in the 1800s.

[Drascin]

It ought to be, it's a debt that you cleared. It's a failure of the accounting system if that's not credited, now there is the capacity to do that, even if there wasn't in the 1800s.

Honestly, far as I can tell, the whole credit rating as an actual number thing in its entirety, let alone one that gets improved by being in debt longer, seems to be a uniquely American phenomenon?

[Cikomyr2]

Honestly, far as I can tell, the whole credit rating as an actual number thing in its entirety, let alone one that gets improved by being in debt longer, seems to be a uniquely American phenomenon?

More of a Anglo - Liberalist Capitalist thing. Credit rating is first and foremost a business rating. It applying for consumer is a relatively recent development in our societ.

[Wraith]

Credit is stupid, there's not question about that. It's all pretty moot, however. "BurgerOni Incorporated" or whatever it's called belongs to Marigold - its her bank account, her registered address, her contract with Twitch (or whatever it is in QC) and all the rest of it, so any transactions undertaken will be in her name and signed for by her.

Whether or not May can get involved in high-level transactions doesn't matter, because she shouldn't need to. The closest she'll get to it is that she can be a glorified postman or she can drop envelopes containing cheques into the bank's overnight slot, but the only thing she'll need to put her name to is a contract of employment under Marigold. That and a bank account, which presumably she has because even convicts can open chequeing accounts and she needs somewhere to deposit her wage every week.

May's eligibility to get involved with that isn't an issue - it's just a matter of how much her employer trusts her, which is why even the sketchy guy selling weed out of a van couldn't see past the "she stole lots of money from her former boss" angle. I feel that so far it's pretty clear that May is supposed to be a bit of a jerk, but mostly a victim of "the system" and that her failed employability so far has been entirely down to racism and/or discrimination, rather than the complexities of financial law and convention.

[Willie the Duck]

And now we iron out the plot holes. The locked-account seems glaringly like a retroactive decision (the at-the-time reason she sold the rare DVD was because Jeph hadn't yet decided this was happening), but it serves the purpose fine.

[Wraith]

Can you use an unsecured PayPal/eBay account for online transactions? Genuine question; mine are tied to my debit card, so if one stops working (eg, my account is frozen) then so does the other.

I guess they could have just had Dale or Momo do it. The alternative would be that Marigold would have to arrange, and then meet up in person with, a buyer who just happens to be the sort of pervert who would be interested in buying the world's worst hentai and I can't imagine that she would go for that even if she weren't worried about strangers connecting her to the Burger Oni persona. :smalltongue:

[Traab]

And now we iron out the plot holes. The locked-account seems glaringly like a retroactive decision (the at-the-time reason she sold the rare DVD was because Jeph hadn't yet decided this was happening), but it serves the purpose fine.

At least its a rational retcon that makes some sense. I could totally see that happening as a random member of society with no extensive knowledge of banking laws and such. I know that certain amounts of money being deposited has to go through paperwork and be reported and so on, and suddenly spending thousands of dollars more than you ever have at once is going to be likely to set off fraud alerts like crazy. I know I have always been told to notify my bank ahead of time if im going to, say, put down a couple grand or more on a new car, just to stop this very thing from going on. I can also see marigold not even thinking about that as its likely the first time she has made a major transfer like that and getting caught out by the security system of her bank. Lord knows the first thing I do when I get a sizeable amount of money is pay off as many outstanding bills as I can. I hate having those floating over my head as my financial life isnt always the most stable so getting rid of debts asap is great. Plus I love the long term benefits of no longer needing to make those regular payments which frees up more money in my budget. Yeah its not buying a new car kind of nice, but extra breathing room is always good.

[Rodin]

May's eligibility to get involved with that isn't an issue - it's just a matter of how much her employer trusts her, which is why even the sketchy guy selling weed out of a van couldn't see past the "she stole lots of money from her former boss" angle. I feel that so far it's pretty clear that May is supposed to be a bit of a jerk, but mostly a victim of "the system" and that her failed employability so far has been entirely down to racism and/or discrimination, rather than the complexities of financial law and convention.

The problem is that we've seen exactly one case of May being actively discriminated against. The rest of her rejections came from her stealing enough money to buy a fighter jet. You can't go from "she stole millions of dollars" to "the system is too harsh on petty criminals who have served their time". In reality, May would still be in prison and would be staying there for quite a few years. May's situation is very hard to be sympathetic for - she wasn't struggling financially prior to her crime, she didn't have a bad upbringing, etc etc. The human equivalent of what she did would be a middle class bank manager emptying the vault because they wanted to buy a sports car.



At least its a rational retcon that makes some sense. I could totally see that happening as a random member of society with no extensive knowledge of banking laws and such. I know that certain amounts of money being deposited has to go through paperwork and be reported and so on, and suddenly spending thousands of dollars more than you ever have at once is going to be likely to set off fraud alerts like crazy. I know I have always been told to notify my bank ahead of time if im going to, say, put down a couple grand or more on a new car, just to stop this very thing from going on. I can also see marigold not even thinking about that as its likely the first time she has made a major transfer like that and getting caught out by the security system of her bank. Lord knows the first thing I do when I get a sizeable amount of money is pay off as many outstanding bills as I can. I hate having those floating over my head as my financial life isnt always the most stable so getting rid of debts asap is great. Plus I love the long term benefits of no longer needing to make those regular payments which frees up more money in my budget. Yeah its not buying a new car kind of nice, but extra breathing room is always good.

I had a fun one of these. My father had just moved to the UK and needed money to buy a car, furniture, etc.. So, he does some research and finds a website with a really good transfer rate. Only problem is, he can only do $5000 at a time and there's a $10000 monthly limit. So, he does his transactions before sending me the other half. I do two transactions to his account, and the money is all where he can use it with a minimum lost.

Except one thing - I'm working for a bank at the time. My account is being monitored, and it flags up that I'm receiving and sending out large sums of money in a pattern that exactly fits money laundering. I had a very fun meeting with my manager and the fraud department where they explained to me why they were concerned and I tried to get through to them that I was not some criminal mastermind working for a European drug cartel.

[Willie the Duck]

At least its a rational retcon that makes some sense. I could totally see that happening as a random member of society with no extensive knowledge of banking laws and such. I know that certain amounts of money being deposited has to go through paperwork and be reported and so on, and suddenly spending thousands of dollars more than you ever have at once is going to be likely to set off fraud alerts like crazy. I know I have always been told to notify my bank ahead of time if im going to, say, put down a couple grand or more on a new car, just to stop this very thing from going on. I can also see marigold not even thinking about that as its likely the first time she has made a major transfer like that and getting caught out by the security system of her bank. Lord knows the first thing I do when I get a sizeable amount of money is pay off as many outstanding bills as I can. I hate having those floating over my head as my financial life isnt always the most stable so getting rid of debts asap is great. Plus I love the long term benefits of no longer needing to make those regular payments which frees up more money in my budget. Yeah its not buying a new car kind of nice, but extra breathing room is always good.

Oh, it certainly does, it's just a pretty obvious 'oh shoot, now I have to explain...' situation. Yeah, Marigold fits the situation very well. I've been sitting on my hands during the whole credit score and financial fraud discussions because I've worked in refinance and anti-money laundering, have lots of opinions on the subject, and don't want to be 'that guy' in the discussion, and this whole things sounds remarkably plausible. Jeph put some thought into it and did his basic research (perhaps learning a lesson from the number of subs he gave Burger Oni. if we still think this is an accidental plotline).

[Wraith]

The human equivalent of what she did would be a middle class bank manager emptying the vault because they wanted to buy a sports car.

I'm not at all disagreeing with you, but apparently Jeff is. It almost seems like his message is that if you have been in prison and completed your sentence, that's it - all done, back to normal, nothing to see here, 'consequences' is just a fancy word that means 'discrimination'!

It would probably help if May had in any way been shown to have been rehabilitated so that we had any indication that she wouldn't break the law again if given the chance. I can only imagine an up-coming story arc wherein May is given the opportunity to steal a chunk of money and then chooses not to, thus proving that she is a better person now. Or at least because she is scared of going back to prison, which amounts to the same thing.


I tried to get through to them that I was not some criminal mastermind working for a European drug cartel.

I would like to think your defence was, "Do you really think that if I *were* smuggling money for drug cartels that I would be dumb enough to do it through the same bank where I work? And if the answer to that is 'yes' please recall that YOU were the ones dumb enough to be completely manipulated into hiring me by my dumb ass!" however... I've worked in retail for a really long time, and those sort of rules exist for a reason. Someone, somewhere, probably is THAT dumb.... :smalltongue:

[Lapak]

I'm not at all disagreeing with you, but apparently Jeff is. It almost seems like his message is that if you have been in prison and completed your sentence, that's it - all done, back to normal, nothing to see here, 'consequences' is just a fancy word that means 'discrimination'!

It would probably help if May had in any way been shown to have been rehabilitated so that we had any indication that she wouldn't break the law again if given the chance. I can only imagine an up-coming story arc wherein May is given the opportunity to steal a chunk of money and then chooses not to, thus proving that she is a better person now. Or at least because she is scared of going back to prison, which amounts to the same thing.Well, I mean that there is the difference between a criminal justice system focused on rehabilitation vs. punishment, because those aren't the same thing at all. And yeah, the argument can be made that if you have a punishment-based system and not a rehabilitation-based one, then the penalty of time served should be the beginning and the end of it, because the goal isn't to change people but to discourage behaviors, and either the punishment is doing that or it isn't, regardless of whether the person has changed or not.

[Wraith]

I beg your pardon, I thought it was clear that that line was sarcasm.

[Lapak]

I beg your pardon, I thought it was clear that that line was sarcasm.The error is entirely mine.

[Kish]

You can't go from "she stole millions of dollars" to "the system is too harsh on petty criminals who have served their time". In reality, May would still be in prison and would be staying there for quite a few years.
The comic never actually establishes the time frame. However many years you would consider appropriate for such a sentence, unless it's either "life" or "long enough that it would have to be before there were fighter jets," she may well have exceeded it.

I'm not at all disagreeing with you, but apparently Jeff is. It almost seems like his message is that if you have been in prison and completed your sentence, that's it - all done, back to normal, nothing to see here, 'consequences' is just a fancy word that means 'discrimination'!

It would probably help if May had in any way been shown to have been rehabilitated so that we had any indication that she wouldn't break the law again if given the chance. I can only imagine an up-coming story arc wherein May is given the opportunity to steal a chunk of money and then chooses not to, thus proving that she is a better person now. Or at least because she is scared of going back to prison, which amounts to the same thing.

Treading lightly...
I suspect Jeph doesn't want to show that prison actually effects positive changes in people because he doesn't believe that. And going to prison, itself, clearly is a consequence; saying that someone who has served their term deserves a blank slate* is not synonymous with saying they should face no consequences...and saying "X deserves to be permanently unemployable" is a roundabout way of expressing the concept "X deserves to starve to death**," which is not the official legal sentence for anything because of cruel and unusual punishment rules.

*Which I should note, on the other side, I think Jeph would choke if he was asked to sign off on that statement for certain violent crimes, anyway.
**And yes, even AIs need to eat electricity apparently, so it's still starving.

[DavidSh]

The comic never actually establishes the time frame. However many years you would consider appropriate for such a sentence, unless it's either "life" or "long enough that it would have to be before there were fighter jets," she may well have exceeded it.
Do you mean AI fighter jets here? There should be a number of decades between the appearance of human-controlled fighter jets and the rise of AI-controlled fighter jets, since in our world the first jet fighters arose in the 1940s, while AI-controlled jet fighters are not yet evident.

[Kish]

I mean whatever you consider the comic to have established that May tried to steal.

I'd put that far enough back that "the development of sapient AIs with any legal rights at all," which is also unestablished but presented as recent, would be the barrier, not the jet itself, but that's me.

[BRC]

So, what SHOULD be done with somebody like May?

She's gone through the Justice system, and has been released. She, as far as we know, has no intentions of committing a crime again (She seems terrified by the concept), but seems to be of the opinion that what she regrets about her original crime is getting caught, rather than trying to do it.

Unlike a lot of criminals, she doesn't really have a sob story about herself? She wasn't forced into it by desperation or anything.

On the other hand, her desires seemed pretty specific. It's not clear that she presents much of a risk when it comes to being a repeat offender, especially if she's kept out of positions where she could steal enough money to buy a fighter jet chassis for herself.

So, we have a question of "What is the Goal", if the goal is to prevent May from committing another crime, well done.
If the Goal is to make sure May suffers in proportion to the severity of her crime, well, you have to start questioning "How much should somebody Suffer for attempted theft of over a million dollars so they could joyride in a fighter jet body".

Like, is the objection here that May shouldn't be trusted with such a role (I'd argue she could. Besides being terrified of Robot Jail, and a bit of a jerk, she does seem to take it to heart when people do right by her. I don't see her betraying Marigold's trust anytime soon), or that she doesn't deserve the quality-of-life improvement that would come with such a job.

[Rodin]

So, what SHOULD be done with somebody like May?

She's gone through the Justice system, and has been released. She, as far as we know, has no intentions of committing a crime again (She seems terrified by the concept), but seems to be of the opinion that what she regrets about her original crime is getting caught, rather than trying to do it.

Unlike a lot of criminals, she doesn't really have a sob story about herself? She wasn't forced into it by desperation or anything.

On the other hand, her desires seemed pretty specific. It's not clear that she presents much of a risk when it comes to being a repeat offender, especially if she's kept out of positions where she could steal enough money to buy a fighter jet chassis for herself.

So, we have a question of "What is the Goal", if the goal is to prevent May from committing another crime, well done.
If the Goal is to make sure May suffers in proportion to the severity of her crime, well, you have to start questioning "How much should somebody Suffer for attempted theft of over a million dollars so they could joyride in a fighter jet body".

Like, is the objection here that May shouldn't be trusted with such a role (I'd argue she could. Besides being terrified of Robot Jail, and a bit of a jerk, she does seem to take it to heart when people do right by her. I don't see her betraying Marigold's trust anytime soon), or that she doesn't deserve the quality-of-life improvement that would come with such a job.

It depends on if we're talking in the general or the specific.

In general May should not be trusted with such a role. We know how she acts around people she likes. This is a very small number of people. What she would do when faced with a client she doesn't like and a large sum of their money is a very different question than what she would do with Marigold's money.

May's situation is unfair in some ways and quite sensible in others. She got given a body that lasted...weeks? Months? Nowhere near long enough for someone to become financially stable. That's unfair. She works crap jobs because she isn't allowed to sell processor time and businesses aren't willing to risk hiring a recently released felon for financial crimes far worse than what your average non-violent offender is trying to overcome. That's perfectly fair, and May should expect to work crap jobs for a few years until she's built up enough of a reputation to put her past behind her. Let me also stress again that a large portion of my position hinges on her having stolen 750 million dollars.. It's not like she got arrested for having a dime bag or breaking into the change machine at the laundromat. So yes, I disagree strongly with Jeph's "excons are pure as the driven snow and society is wrong to distrust them" narrative here. It may not be the most moral thing in the world but I refuse to blame people for not trusting someone who has proven they are willing to steal money on that scale. Without having seen her inner self through the webcomic, would you hire someone with May's history?

In the specific, I don't believe she'd steal Marigold's money. As you said, she is honorable in her own way and wouldn't betray Marigold's trust like that. However, I still wouldn't hire her to be Marigold's business manager. She has poor impulse control, terrible people skills, and we haven't seen anything indicating she's particularly organized. Outside of her banking AI gig (or renting processer time) she has not been shown to have any practical skills and would likely be working at a convenience store even without the felony conviction. She doesn't have to steal Marigold's money in order to lose it all - she would just as easily lose it by making bad decisions. Momo's justification is that May worked for a bank and knew enough to fiddle the numbers, ergo she'd be good with money. I'd argue that her crime makes that statement demonstrably untrue.

The best advice for Marigold is to hire a trained professional to be her business manager. Someone with a degree who does it for a living. Not Momo, despite her obvious capability in the field. Not May, because of her obvious lack of capability.

[BRC]

It depends on if we're talking in the general or the specific.

In general May should not be trusted with such a role. We know how she acts around people she likes. This is a very small number of people. What she would do when faced with a client she doesn't like and a large sum of their money is a very different question than what she would do with Marigold's money.

May's situation is unfair in some ways and quite sensible in others. She got given a body that lasted...weeks? Months? Nowhere near long enough for someone to become financially stable. That's unfair. She works crap jobs because she isn't allowed to sell processor time and businesses aren't willing to risk hiring a recently released felon for financial crimes far worse than what your average non-violent offender is trying to overcome. That's perfectly fair, and May should expect to work crap jobs for a few years until she's built up enough of a reputation to put her past behind her. Let me also stress again that a large portion of my position hinges on her having stolen 750 million dollars.. It's not like she got arrested for having a dime bag or breaking into the change machine at the laundromat. So yes, I disagree strongly with Jeph's "excons are pure as the driven snow and society is wrong to distrust them" narrative here. It may not be the most moral thing in the world but I refuse to blame people for not trusting someone who has proven they are willing to steal money on that scale. Without having seen her inner self through the webcomic, would you hire someone with May's history?

In the specific, I don't believe she'd steal Marigold's money. As you said, she is honorable in her own way and wouldn't betray Marigold's trust like that. However, I still wouldn't hire her to be Marigold's business manager. She has poor impulse control, terrible people skills, and we haven't seen anything indicating she's particularly organized. Outside of her banking AI gig (or renting processer time) she has not been shown to have any practical skills and would likely be working at a convenience store even without the felony conviction. She doesn't have to steal Marigold's money in order to lose it all - she would just as easily lose it by making bad decisions. Momo's justification is that May worked for a bank and knew enough to fiddle the numbers, ergo she'd be good with money. I'd argue that her crime makes that statement demonstrably untrue.

The best advice for Marigold is to hire a trained professional to be her business manager. Someone with a degree who does it for a living. Not Momo, despite her obvious capability in the field. Not May, because of her obvious lack of capability.


First of all, and this is one of the places where Comedy and Social Commentary clash, I feel like May's situation doesn't neatly map to any common real-world situation.

May tried to embezzle 750 million dollars. She emerges from prison broke and destitute with no established support network.

There are people who try to embezzle large amounts of money, and there are people who get out of prison without a penny to their name and nobody to turn to for help. But I'm (And my opinion is not especially well-informed here), not sure there is that much overlap between the two groups. Jeph is trying to have his cake and eat it too, May is somebody who stole a comically large amount of money for a dumb reason (Comedy), but the social-commentary angle of her story seems to map better onto real-world minor offenders.

Like, there's a story to be told about the difficulties facing an ex-con trying to put their life together, but it doesn't quite work if their crime was attempted theft of $750 million dollars so they could joyride in a fighter jet.


As for May's Skills

She was a Bank AI, presumably akin to some sort of accountant. It's not quite clear how an AI would get recruited to such a role. We know AIs are often purpose-built, and then later can choose what they want to be doing, so it's not clear if she was just spun up in a server farm and dumped into a position of considerable importance at the bank "From Birth" or if she was selected for that specific role later. Maybe she started out handling smaller accounts before she was entrusted with $750 million dollars.

We also don't know if she worked for the Bank for some time before trying to pull her scheme, or if they just turned her on, told her to "Keep track of all the money", and she decided to steal it a week later.

If we assume that she did her job properly for at least some time, she's presumably got the basic accounting skills needed for this role, which will probably mostly require tracking budget and such.

I don't know if she could just download and comprehend the relevant tax laws, but maybe?

I'm not entirely sure how complex the finances of being a successful streamer are, but it doesn't seem like that's the sort of thing that would require top-level accounting skills. Mostly just reasonable spreadsheeting, focus, and time to throw at the problem.

The rest of the Job as MoMo describes it seems more like being an Assistant than a Manager. She's not going to be making business decisions, just kind of taking care of things. May is pretty determined to not screw up whatever second chances she gets. She hates working at the Convenience Store, but we haven't seen much indication that she's been slacking off or anything.

Really, the job seems to mostly be somebody reasonably competent and trustworthy who can be full-time dedicated to taking care of things for Marigold, so Marigold (The Talent) Can focus on streaming/decisions without getting overwhelmed. Dale also seems to be pretty involved in this whole enterprise.

The biggest issue I'd see would be May's people skills, although the fact that she's been able to hold down a retail job for a while indicates that she's at least capable of basic conversation without insulting somebody. This is fine if she's just going to be picking up laundry and filtering through emails or whatever, but it could be an issue if she's supposed to represent Marigold in any sort of negotiation or other serious professional exchange without a set script.

Unless her purpose in that scenario would mostly be to make sure nobody takes advantage of Marigold, in which case a suspicious misanthropic AI who understands accounting is a pretty good buffer against anybody trying to screw you over with a fine-print contract. However, her attitude is just as likely to torpedo any good-faith offers that come their way.

[Traab]

Mays biggest issues are impulse control. Thats what led her to steal all that money to buy a jet, thats what still gets her into trouble and causes incidents such as, oh I dunno, streaking down main street topless because she turbo quit her current job to be a manager for marigolds career. Her abrasive personality combined with her tendency to act on a whim would make me very unwilling to hire her for much of anything, her ex con status just serves as punctuation for the kind of trouble she could get into without thinking.

[Mechalich]

May's situation is unfair in some ways and quite sensible in others. She got given a body that lasted...weeks? Months?

At least months. May got out of robot jail prior to Faye getting fired (2710 v 2880. Her body was at least reasonably functional until she ripped her face and arm off around comic 3300, so almost six hundred strips, and it was still operating to some degree up until comic 4000 when she had something strongly resembling sex with Sven before her body entered its terminal failure spiral. The problem is that there are so few benchmarks for comic time we have no idea how long this is supposed to have been. In fact we can only note that May's body is substandard because Momo has had her body for longer since May's actually been around longer than almost all other embodied AI characters.

[eee]

Having worked an abacus, I can say that May's implied disdain is misplaced. She might be better served by one of those than a calculator. Although AI's may have calculator APPs as part of their chassis software.

[Wraith]

They keep calling May a manager, but I think it's pretty clear that she's more accurately a PA. It's not like she's going to be engaging in high-level financial transactions and arranging or signing contracts on Marigold's behalf or anything so complex, she's just a sentient calender who will also moderate Twitch chat. At most she might end up as a gofer between Marigold and the bank if she decides to purchase a house and needs keeping track of the paperwork, which ultimately Marigold will sign and be responsible for. It's barely a step up from working retail; some people use unpaid interns as PA's after all.

I'm on the side of those who say that May is horribly unsuited for this role for a large variety of reasons, but not because she's an ex-con. Least of all, because I firmly believe that working for your friends and family only ever ends in disaster; May is abrasive enough, and Marigold poorly socialised enough, that they're going to generate conflict and I predict that its going to be the sulky, passive-aggressive kind rather than the explosive, interesting kind.


Having worked an abacus, I can say that May's implied disdain is misplaced. She might be better served by one of those than a calculator. Although AI's may have calculator APPs as part of their chassis software.

First Jeph slanders .pdf's and then abaci - his so called hipster cred is shockingly ill-informed! :smalltongue:

[Vinyadan]

Sounds like a job for Tilly/Taffy.

[Max_Killjoy]

Sounds like a job for Tilly/Taffy.

There's a long list of characters I'd rather have back before that one.

[Traab]

Yeah im pretty sure she needs less of a business manager and more of a schedule keeper who can get marigold moving. I think tilly would drive her nuts like happened with hannerlore with the drive to impress making her push things further and faster than marigold would be comfortable with. Maybe im wrong, maybe marigold would actually like to see how big she can grow this burger oni thing and try to become the next pewdipie (minus the scandals) as she rules youtube with her awesome vr anime curves and gaming skillz.

[Eldan]

I mean, if the job is to yell at Marigold to stop procrastinating and do her job, I'm sure May can do that. If there's any actual business involved, she should really reconsider that. Because I'm not sure if you gave May access to your bank account, she wouldn't spend it all on something stupid she thinks is awesome. With the best of intentions for you.

[The Glyphstone]

Maybe Jeph just got sick of drawing May behind the gas station counter.

[InvisibleBison]

Maybe Jeph just got sick of drawing May behind the gas station counter.

If so, this seems like a bit of an overreaction. It's not like the only time May showed up in the story was when someone went to that gas station; if Jeph didn't want to draw it any more, he could just not set scenes there.

[Willie the Duck]

Right, but if he's done with whatever plot arcs need her to be behind that counter, she's free to be used for other plots. He is effectively just not setting scenes there, with the side benefit of her being able to more readily participate in this new 'Marigold is a streaming star' arc.

[Max_Killjoy]

The looks on Hanner's face in the third and fourth panel are... my vibe, a lot of the time.

[georgie_leech]

The looks on Hanner's face in the third and fourth panel are... my vibe, a lot of the time.

Really captures that "I know this isn't going to help but I can't do otherwise" frustration.

[georgie_leech]

Dangit, we lost the last non-standard robot of the cast.

[VoxRationis]

I don't know who has apparently been asking for this.

[Mechalich]

This development raises a rather important immediate question: how in the **** did he afford that? This is not an idle question either, since unless it is handled with extreme delicacy it is likely to absolutely torpedo May's whole storyline about struggling to afford a new body (though the recent Marigold developments already did some of that).

[Agi Hammerthief]

This development raises a rather important immediate question: how in the **** did he afford that? This is not an idle question either, since unless it is handled with extreme delicacy it is likely to absolutely torpedo May's whole storyline about struggling to afford a new body (though the recent Marigold developments already did some of that).
he sold CPU time?
his old body was pretty low maintenance, I guess.
and he spend most of his time hooked up surfing porn anyways.

[Agi Hammerthief]

I don't know who has apparently been asking for this.

that „you‘ve been asking for it“ refers to the t-shirt
it’s been up since strip 4521

[Wraith]

Remember that Pintsize's original chassis was some kind of experimental military prototype? It's been mentioned repeatedly that he could sell it to collectors for "thousands" of dollars if he felt like it, he's just never had the inclination... Until now, possibly. To say nothing of the money he's saved up by renting out his processors over the years; he had over $200 to hand in order to hire Faye to build him a giant metal dong, and who knows how much more he's saved up before and since then?

Yet another character apparently sitting on untold riches off-camera, cashing in "just because". Coming up next month: Marten wins the lottery, even though he doesn't remember ever buying a ticket.

[Morquard]

I hope this turns out to be a Nightmare and Claire wakes up to the real pintsize whispering subliminal messages into her ear. Everything else would be too horrifying to contemplate.

[Agi Hammerthief]

Coming up next month: Marten wins the lottery, even though he doesn't remember ever buying a ticket.
happes to plenty of people on the internet.

as soon as we receive the activation fee of $50.00 USD we will make the delivery of your Winning fund valued sum of $8,500,000.00 USD to your address between 24 hours

[Traab]

Pintsize has always had money to spend on his random zany antics. For all we know, this is something he bugged bubbles to bring in so he could use it for a prank. A cheap shell to try and startle claire then back to normal. Or maybe he decided he was tired of being the only lap dog sized robot in the room and bought himself a new one. Im sure by friday we will have it settled.

[Willie the Duck]

This development raises a rather important immediate question: how in the **** did he afford that? This is not an idle question either, since unless it is handled with extreme delicacy it is likely to absolutely torpedo May's whole storyline about struggling to afford a new body (though the recent Marigold developments already did some of that).

Her being a felon who couldn't do work in virtual space or sell her processor cycles was an established piece of the struggling ex-con storyline. If even silly ol' never-seen-working Pintsize can scrape together enough money to buy a new body (even after all the sculpted metal dongs and other flights of fancy), in my mind that supports her storyline.

Anyways, ugh! This is ugly. I mean, maybe under the googly eyes there's something more appropriate, but nothing is going to make 'Pintsize, but in a body where Jeph feels the need to put him in shorts' seem good (I mean, maybe good for wacky hijinks, but not good as in actually pleasing).

[Wraith]

For all we know, this is something he bugged bubbles to bring in so he could use it for a prank. A cheap shell to try and startle claire then back to normal.

I'm kind-of expecting this to be the case mostly by the fact that if Pintsize were going to get a humanoid chassis permanently, there is no way I would believe that he would choose the same sort of milquetoast, non-threatening little dweeb-body that Winslow did.


Her being a felon who couldn't do work in virtual space or sell her processor cycles was an established piece of the struggling ex-con storyline. If even silly ol' never-seen-working Pintsize can scrape together enough money to buy a new body (even after all the sculpted metal dongs and other flights of fancy), in my mind that supports her storyline.

Good of Jeph to pre-empt that plot hole, I guess. Pintsize has gone out of his way to point out that for whatever mischief he has committed, he's never been arrested for it let alone convicted. Makes sense, within the context of the world.

This does however open up the new plot hole which asks, "If Pintsize can rent out his processors and single-handedly afford an $X,000 chassis even after wasting his money on metal dongs, why did Momo and Winslow have to borrow money instead of doing the same thing?" to which the answer I presume is "shut up and stop looking behind that curtain".

[Ornithologist]

Pintsize has always had access to questionably sourced money.

Also, with being the last old style Anthropc in the main cast, He has become so one note, that he basically doesn't appear anymore. This seems as good a place as any to change up the character.

It reminds me of Belkar, but if he woke up form his fever coma and just said "nah, I'll just go back to stabbin dudes"


on a sort of unrealted note, I'm sure Pintsize would have a much easier time securing a loan to upgrade than May. No formal felony record, plus colateral in the form of the collector's model of body. Also, He can be very convincing if he actually tries, and likely used some of Martens credit line too. Because he's awful.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Might it be the body Hannelore was given (that Winslow tried out for a while (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1014))? The hair is the wrong colour, but that's not necessarly an issue.

Although I thought Halfpint wanted to avoid the full body experiencw as the other body let him get away with stuff.

Hopefully not May's old body, even for a prank...

[Mordokai]

... is this the Uncanny Valley?

[Delicious Taffy]

Dangit, we lost the last non-standard robot of the cast.

Yeah, so much for visual diversity. I won't touch the financial speculation, but if this sticks, I'd consider it a detriment.

[georgie_leech]

Yeah, so much for visual diversity. I won't touch the financial speculation, but if this sticks, I'd consider it a detriment.

Unless we get Spider Bot as a side character. Then it'd be a wash.

[Willie the Duck]

Unless we get Spider Bot as a side character. Then it'd be a wash.

Gordon (Spiderbot) still exists. Nelson (The pinkish Pintsize-old-body lookalike that works at the nonprofit) still exists. Crushbot still exists. There are plenty of robot characters that aren't just funkily-colored humans. They just aren't part of the main cast. Whether Pintsize really counted as main cast at this point is debatable. Still, I'd have to agree that I don't immediately see a value in this (thing to which we've seen all of one strip dedicated).

[Max_Killjoy]

Gordon (Spiderbot) still exists. Nelson (The pinkish Pintsize-old-body lookalike that works at the nonprofit) still exists. Crushbot still exists. There are plenty of robot characters that aren't just funkily-colored humans. They just aren't part of the main cast. Whether Pintsize really counted as main cast at this point is debatable. Still, I'd have to agree that I don't immediately see a value in this (thing to which we've seen all of one strip dedicated).

Jeremy... and 07, was it? They're humanoid but clearly not human. Same with Punchbot.

[Vinyadan]

I think that there can be value in this body-swap, if it's actually given some space in the strip. It would make Pintsize a lot easier to include in the various scenes, and body language would make him more expressive.

The problem is that he's been far from the spotlight for a while, so I'm not sure that it will actually be given room to show.

[Eurus]

I know it was well established long before this point, but man, the author really does have a type when it comes to men. "Pintsize becomes a twink" sounds like the kind of joke someone would have made if they were trying to parody QC. :smallamused:

[Mordokai]

This development raises a rather important immediate question: how in the **** did he afford that? This is not an idle question either, since unless it is handled with extreme delicacy it is likely to absolutely torpedo May's whole storyline about struggling to afford a new body (though the recent Marigold developments already did some of that).

So much for extreme delicacy, I guess.

[The Glyphstone]

At what point do Pintsize and 'extreme delicacy' even co-exist within the same time zone?

[Mordokai]

At what point do Pintsize and 'extreme delicacy' even co-exist within the same time zone?

I was under impression that Mechalich's comment had Jeph in mind.

[Delicious Taffy]

Oh hey look at that the author actually thought about his writing decisions and addressed them directly wow what a surprise. I'm starting to suspect Jeph Jacques may not be a dribbling buffoon with no understanding of his own story.

[Mechalich]

Oh hey look at that the author actually thought about his writing decisions and addressed them directly wow what a surprise. I'm starting to suspect Jeph Jacques may not be a dribbling buffoon with no understanding of his own story.

How does the most recent comic address the decision? It leaves wide open the question of 'where did Pintsize get the money for a new body?'

Pintsize does not have a job, he has never had a job. Now, this hasn't mattered because he's never needed money because the little anthroPC chassis he had was apparently comparatively robust and he never really needed more than the odd bit of loose cash to buy this or that (a $200 one-time expenditure is nothing, that's less than May's gross pay in a 2-day period). Somehow, without expending any perceptible effort he managed to do the exact same thing that took a heavy lift for the general comic community to provide for May.

The fact that May doesn't care is completely irrelevant to the overall problem.

[Traab]

How does the most recent comic address the decision? It leaves wide open the question of 'where did Pintsize get the money for a new body?'

Pintsize does not have a job, he has never had a job. Now, this hasn't mattered because he's never needed money because the little anthroPC chassis he had was apparently comparatively robust and he never really needed more than the odd bit of loose cash to buy this or that (a $200 one-time expenditure is nothing, that's less than May's gross pay in a 2-day period). Somehow, without expending any perceptible effort he managed to do the exact same thing that took a heavy lift for the general comic community to provide for May.

The fact that May doesn't care is completely irrelevant to the overall problem.

Pintsize has constantly been spending money, though less so recently as he became less of a character in the series. His mysterious funding has always been present as he blows money on everything from cosplay gear, to cake mix, to hand crafted giant metal dongs. This isnt something that only just now came up. He also has no bills that we are aware of. He lives with marten, presumably rent free, his body doesnt need constant repairs, and he can charge up whenever he needs to. He could literally be working an online part time minimum wage job and easily afford this with just a little saving up because his paycheck is all profit to him. Or be making regular payments on a more expensive purchase because, again, every dime he makes is profit so he could easily make monthly payments on garbage pay. And you know what? That would make sense. What else does he have to do all day that marten and company arent there other than plan his next bout of whacky hijinx? Just because he doesnt talk about what he does doesnt mean he doesnt do anything. And I dont feel like binging 6k comics to see if he ever mentioned taking part in those online ai gigs where you lend out processor power or whatever it was.

Im just not sure why you chose to get hung up on this point. May was obvious, she couldnt afford a new body because she had to spend every dime she made maintaining her current one as it was falling apart on her and she also pays some sort of rent i think. Her whole reason for existing in the comic is to be jephs example of the unfairness of the criminal justice system due to the after effects of being incarcerated or however he might choose to phrase it. Also, I think the cost of a new ai body has been somewhat overblown because of how easy it is for others to get one. When momo got her new body, all she had to do was get a job at the library as an assistant and boom, problem solved, she could pay off marigold without issue or stress. The only reason there was any stress at all was that she was an unemployed companion ai and thus marigold was on the hook for an out of pocket expense that, again, she was able to afford shortly after realizing her friend wanted a new body. Yeah we had the "comedic" nosebleed reaction to the price tag but that was before momo got a job meaning that there was no issue for her to afford it, and even if momo DIDNT work marigold could have absorbed the cost. All that before she went burger oni.

[Wraith]

The fact that May doesn't care is completely irrelevant to the overall problem.

I kind of disagree. May's apparent U-turn on her opinion of AIs who conveniently appear out of nowhere with a brand new body at minimal effort undermines her previous actions, and also makes for a pretty abrupt decline in engagement with this arc.

Winslow wanted a new body.
Winslow got a new body.
May wanted a new body.
May couldn't have a new body.
May bitched out Winslow for being privileged and not considering her feelings as a Has Not.

Pintsize wanted a new body.
Pintsize got a new body.
May wanted a new body.
May HAS a new body.
May is cool with Pintsize because she got what she wanted and no longer covets what Pintsize now has.

May is selfish and entitled, and almost certainly will not be called out on this. This arc is now centred on the wants and needs of two horrible characters who are intended by the author to be rude, unpleasant and irritating and I can't see a single problem with that as a concept for a story.

[Gez]

Pintsize's defining characteristics are:
- is a robot
- loves to gross out people
- is constantly horny
- has all of the fetishes, all of them (cf. point 2)

My conclusion is that his money comes from Patreon for the dozens of Poser porn webcomics he most certainly does with all his idle processing power. There's clearly a massive audience for that because whenever I look at topwebcomics, it seems like half of them are Poser porn.

[Kish]

May is selfish and entitled, and almost certainly will not be called out on this. This arc is now centred on the wants and needs of two horrible characters who are intended by the author to be rude, unpleasant and irritating and I can't see a single problem with that as a concept for a story.
Wait, two? May and who else?

If the other one's Pintsize, I think it unlikely that he'll be spending enough time in proximity to May, or Marigold for that matter, to qualify as having any arc "centered" on both him and May.

[VoxRationis]

Pintsize has constantly been spending money, though less so recently as he became less of a character in the series. His mysterious funding has always been present as he blows money on everything from cosplay gear, to cake mix, to hand crafted giant metal dongs. This isnt something that only just now came up. He also has no bills that we are aware of. He lives with marten, presumably rent free, his body doesnt need constant repairs, and he can charge up whenever he needs to. He could literally be working an online part time minimum wage job and easily afford this with just a little saving up because his paycheck is all profit to him. Or be making regular payments on a more expensive purchase because, again, every dime he makes is profit so he could easily make monthly payments on garbage pay. And you know what? That would make sense. What else does he have to do all day that marten and company arent there other than plan his next bout of whacky hijinx? Just because he doesnt talk about what he does doesnt mean he doesnt do anything. And I dont feel like binging 6k comics to see if he ever mentioned taking part in those online ai gigs where you lend out processor power or whatever it was.

When he commissioned Faye and Bubbles, he paid in cash, and I don't recall any instance in which we've seen him accept or issue electronic payment. It seems unlikely to me that his work is wholly remote.

Also, as an aside, the mid-torso articulation seam (presumably meant to imitate the false ribs) of Pintsize's new body makes no sense.

[Wraith]

If the other one's Pintsize, I think it unlikely that he'll be spending enough time in proximity to May, or Marigold for that matter, to qualify as having any arc "centered" on both him and May.

Jeph has shown us that "an arc" can be 5 strip posted in 5 days that depicts 15 minutes of conversation and then never referred to again. See also: Willow Dragonfang, Dora and Tai planning their wedding, Sam taking up streaming.... :smalltongue:

[georgie_leech]

Jeph has shown us that "an arc" can be 5 strip posted in 5 days that depicts 15 minutes of conversation and then never referred to again. See also: Willow Dragonfang, Dora and Tai planning their wedding, Sam taking up streaming.... :smalltongue:

Definitely not us assuming that any given subject is gonna be the next big arc rather than a slice of life (however absurd) in a slice of life webcomic :smalltongue:

[Kish]

If what you're calling an arc is that small, my advice is: Blink. When you're finished, the comic will no longer hinge on sympathy for Pintsize or May. (It will probably be focusing on Renee again, which is debatably an improvement but at least Renee is not a convicted felon.)

[Rodin]

I would also say that short bits like Willow Dragonfang don't count as an arc.

As I see it, there are roughly 4 main types in QC:

1) Single day gags. A strip that is entirely self contained within a single day for the purpose of humor.

2) Vignettes - short excursions that may or may not be referenced in future. They can last a week or even up to a month, but they aren't big sweeping stories. Sam taking up streaming is a perfect example of this - she's a tertiary character so we never see the result, nor do we need to. Going up to the space station would be another such vignette - it's fairly lengthy but almost entirely self-contained.

3) Arc - longer storylines that can take place over weeks, months, even years. Most of the relationships qualify, as does Faye's time at the robot fight club. Arcs don't have to be contiguous either - Faye and Tai's wedding plans aren't a vignette, despite the strips focusing on them not lasting a week at a time. They're all part of an arc. Arcs often begin and/or end with a...

4) World change. Faye leaving the coffee shop. Angus going to New York. Any change that fundamentally alters the makeup of the cast and is permanent. When Faye and Tai get married, that will be a world change.

This is a scratched together list, but it will do for my point - I have no problem with Pintsize getting a body for a single day gag or a vignette. It's not one I would have written, but I don't mind it either. If he makes it permanent though...yeesh. All the problems listed here become much bigger. What's more, Pintsize's appearance is iconic. He's the webcomic's mascot. Changing how he looks to develop him as a different character is just...ugh.

[Vinyadan]

I think that this could actually add variety -- I mean the fact that May doesn't adhere to the same standards as her college-educated friends who have never been in jail. May being sufficiently self-centered to get angry or happy based on her status, rather than on some absolute theoretical imperative, strikes me as very human, imperfect, and adequate for someone whose self-recognised personality trait is poor impulse control.


When Faye and Tai get married, that will be a world change.

Lol, no kidding! :biggrin: it would definitely make for a good story, however!

[Maryring]

This comic is to me a decent reminder that now that Pintsize looks human, the patience for him being a horrible little troll will be non-existant. I'm expecting a lot of misery in his immediate future as he realizes he'll no longer be getting away with everything.

[Wraith]

In-Universe-Time, Pintsize and Marten have lived together for.... What, 5 years or something? More? I think it's something like 5 to 7 years or something like that.

Having lived with Marten for all that time, and with Faye, and with Dora, and with Bubbles, and being periphery to characters like Hannelore, and Marigold, and Angus, and May.... If Pintsize hasn't already worked out for himself that being humanoid and having humanoid responsibilities is bull**** and that anyone with half an iota of sense would refuse it if given the chance, then I have no sympathy for the little twerp.

I'm not bitter, you're bitter.

[Willie the Duck]

In-Universe-Time, Pintsize and Marten have lived together for.... What, 5 years or something? More? I think it's something like 5 to 7 years or something like that.
In-universe time seems to be the most wibbly-wobbly-ish part of the strip. Marten started the strip at ~23-26 and is now probably ~24-26. It's vaguely Simpsons time -- newly introduced characters are no longer new so some time has passed, and the current events/media references are always relatively up-to-date, but otherwise things seem to be in a temporal loop.


Having lived with Marten for all that time, and with Faye, and with Dora, and with Bubbles, and being periphery to characters like Hannelore, and Marigold, and Angus, and May.... If Pintsize hasn't already worked out for himself that being humanoid and having humanoid responsibilities is bull**** and that anyone with half an iota of sense would refuse it if given the chance, then I have no sympathy for the little twerp.
I'm not bitter, you're bitter.
Being a grown up not feeling lovely? That's me every fifth day or so. :smalltongue:

[Rakaydos]

In-universe time seems to be the most wibbly-wobbly-ish part of the strip. Marten started the strip at ~23-26 and is now probably ~24-26. It's vaguely Simpsons time -- newly introduced characters are no longer new so some time has passed, and the current events/media references are always relatively up-to-date, but otherwise things seem to be in a temporal loop.


The worst offernder, IMO, is the storyline with the prototype boyfriend Station sent, before the singularity... followed much later in the comic by a flashback to martin getting pintsize, with humanoid AI running the store.

[Rodin]

I think we can say a minimum of 3 years. We've had at least two timeskips into "it's winter now" territory and I'm pretty sure there was a separate timeskip for "Faye gets buff at the robot fight club". My personal headcanon puts it at closer to 5-6 years to account for various people having relationships.


Meanwhile in Something Positive land we have the adopted daughter of two of the main characters having her first period. They got together years after the strip started and adopted said daughter as a baby. We've seen her grow older in roughly real time. It really puts into perspective how weird comic book time makes things.

[Traab]

I think we can say a minimum of 3 years. We've had at least two timeskips into "it's winter now" territory and I'm pretty sure there was a separate timeskip for "Faye gets buff at the robot fight club". My personal headcanon puts it at closer to 5-6 years to account for various people having relationships.


Meanwhile in Something Positive land we have the adopted daughter of two of the main characters having her first period. They got together years after the strip started and adopted said daughter as a baby. We've seen her grow older in roughly real time. It really puts into perspective how weird comic book time makes things.

I mean, a lot of it is unavoidable. Its just not POSSIBLE to keep up with real time when even updating every day can still take a week bare minimum to cover a single day in universe. Not without massive walls of text or chapter sized updates. Or frequent timeskips where the author pretends nothing happened for a week then picks back up one week later.

[Willie the Duck]

I mean, a lot of it is unavoidable. Its just not POSSIBLE to keep up with real time when even updating every day can still take a week bare minimum to cover a single day in universe. Not without massive walls of text or chapter sized updates. Or frequent timeskips where the author pretends nothing happened for a week then picks back up one week later.

I think it can work if you assume that a given group only does X number of interesting things per year, and only show those stories. The newspaper comic For Better or For Worse advanced in real time, with varying length plot arcs where sometimes a month of real time publishing might have shown the events of a single afternoon, and it roughly worked*. I just think QC is more in line with something like the Simpsons or Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, etc. (or maybe Seinfeld, to use a live action sitcom example, although in that case the actors at least aged, even if the characters never really changed place-in-life) where time marches on, the occasional references to the outside world keep staying up to date, but little if anything changes over time. It's an authorial decision and it vaguely works (although being in my 40s myself, I can tell that Jeph is going to have a harder and harder time relating to/portraying 20-somethings realistically).
*still grumbling about the ending, but that had little to do with how the strip managed time.

[Eurus]

On a different note, Claire's willingness to snag a possible opportunity is commendable. :smallamused:

[Wraith]

Pintsize kind of has a point. Claire is not being cool by trying to snipe a job out from under him, just because she feels like she deserves it more. Especially since she's now qualified as a librarian and has had all of 2 rejections for those posts in the last week (iirc); she's still got lots more to explore and apply for before she decides to give up on the industry and take whatever factory job she can find, let alone in such a way that it actively inconveniences someone she knows.

Pintsize wants to work at the dildo factory because he thinks it would be funny. God forbid that SOMEONE in the QC cast get a job doing something that they actively enjoy, better rain on that parade as fast as possible, Claire!

She's scolding Pintsize for applying for the job only for a joke, when she is applying for the job only to spite Pintsize. That isn't cool.
And it's spiting the dildo company, too - I don't see how going to the interview and admitting "yeah, I don't care about this job, I just want to rub my boyfriend's friend's face in it and then leave at the earliest opportunity to do something I'm more interested in when it comes along" will be seen very favourably.

[Rodin]

I think I've worked out what bothers me so much about Pintsize getting a body. When I look at Momo and Winslow, I don't see AnthroPCs. They're new characters that share some of the traits of the old ones. Both Momo and Winslow act differently after they get their bodies, and the AnthroPC version of them effectively ceased to exist. It worked well for Momo and significantly less well for Winslow.

And that's where I really struggle witth Pintsize. It's easy to picture how Pintsize with a human body will exist, because we already have Pintsize with a human body in the form of May. Giving Pintsize a human body removes his uniqueness and limits what can be done with him as a character.

[Eurus]

Pintsize kind of has a point. Claire is not being cool by trying to snipe a job out from under him, just because she feels like she deserves it more. Especially since she's now qualified as a librarian and has had all of 2 rejections for those posts in the last week (iirc); she's still got lots more to explore and apply for before she decides to give up on the industry and take whatever factory job she can find, let alone in such a way that it actively inconveniences someone she knows.

Pintsize wants to work at the dildo factory because he thinks it would be funny. God forbid that SOMEONE in the QC cast get a job doing something that they actively enjoy, better rain on that parade as fast as possible, Claire!

She's scolding Pintsize for applying for the job only for a joke, when she is applying for the job only to spite Pintsize. That isn't cool.
And it's spiting the dildo company, too - I don't see how going to the interview and admitting "yeah, I don't care about this job, I just want to rub my boyfriend's friend's face in it and then leave at the earliest opportunity to do something I'm more interested in when it comes along" will be seen very favourably.

She's not really scolding him, she didn't ask him to not apply. She did point out that he literally will not get what he was hoping for, which is probably nicer than not mentioning it at all.

Claire has no idea when or if she'll be able to get a job in her preferred field, and for the moment, she needs work. Expecting her to be deeply passionate about it or enjoy it in order to "deserve" it is unrealistic, and short term stepping stone jobs are just a fact of life these days. Nobody says "I'm still looking for better opportunities and will take one if I find it" in a job interview, obviously, but it's not an uncommon or unreasonable stance.

[Kish]

I think I've worked out what bothers me so much about Pintsize getting a body. When I look at Momo and Winslow, I don't see AnthroPCs. They're new characters that share some of the traits of the old ones. Both Momo and Winslow act differently after they get their bodies, and the AnthroPC version of them effectively ceased to exist. It worked well for Momo and significantly less well for Winslow.

And that's where I really struggle witth Pintsize. It's easy to picture how Pintsize with a human body will exist, because we already have Pintsize with a human body in the form of May. Giving Pintsize a human body removes his uniqueness and limits what can be done with him as a character.
I think the concept of AnthroPCs really stopped working as soon as Jeph decided he was going to go with "these sapient AIs have rights" rather than the early-comic "yes, they're sapient, but they're still just computers, which all the humans unhesitatingly treat as property, don't think about it too much."

[Keltest]

I think the concept of AnthroPCs really stopped working as soon as Jeph decided he was going to go with "these sapient AIs have rights" rather than the early-comic "yes, they're sapient, but they're still just computers, which all the humans unhesitatingly treat as property, don't think about it too much."

Martin always treated Pintsize like his room mate who owns the laptop, and not just a computer. Its just that Pintsize has a specific niche as a character that doesnt cooperate well with, you know, anybody else except as one off gags.

Now, Winslowe got treated like a pet rather than a room mate, but he also seems to have been written out of the story entirely now that he needs to have an actual character to justify inclusion rather than just as Pintsize's wacky Apple brand friend.

[Wraith]

She's not really scolding him, she didn't ask him to not apply. She did point out that he literally will not get what he was hoping for, which is probably nicer than not mentioning it at all.

I half agree, I suppose. Pintsize knew that May needed a job and similarly shares his rude sense of humour, so he asked her if she would be interested into trying out for the dildo factory before he did. He's only applying because he knows that May has another gig, so he's not taking work away from someone who really needs it.

Claire, on the other hand, is coming across to me as somewhat entitled. She needs a new job and is prepared to step over Pintsize to get it because... Well, because she's not as nice a person as Pintsize? She's shown no interest in working in the dildo factory before now and her sense of humour is very different to Pintsize's so she certainly won't get as much amusement or satisfaction out of it like he would - it just looks like the stupid robot person should get out of the way and let her get *any* job before he does. Even though he's had a body for all of a few minutes and is already trying to pull his weight and earn a wage.

It's not like Claire even actively dislikes Pintsize - although he's crude, Marten has made it absolutely clear that he won't tolerate anything degrading or bigoted and Pintsize has stuck with that so he's probably on nicer terms with her than anyone else in the apartment. It just seems weird that she's being so cold and making his life difficult just because he's got a body now. "You have thumbs now? Here's a taste of just how ****** life has been to me, because you deserve to struggle like I have" kind of thing.

[Keltest]

It just seems weird that she's being so cold and making his life difficult just because he's got a body now. "You have thumbs now? Here's a taste of just how ****** life has been to me, because you deserve to struggle like I have" kind of thing.

I dont get this impression at all. She genuinely needs a job, any job, and Pintsize isnt actually interested in the job for anything except being able to say he has a funny job. As she says, if she misjudged Pintsize and he genuinely also wants the job for the sake of having a job (as opposed to for the sake of a joke), she'll turn around.

[Kish]

Martin always treated Pintsize like his room mate who owns the laptop, and not just a computer.
Right, like when he quipped that Pintsize is like his teenage son except that he can grab him by the head and turn him off without going to prison, and the time he told Pintsize, "It's the rule of thumb: he who has the thumbs makes the rules".

What you said would be accurate if you had "never" instead of "always." (Until the comic shift, and the retcon of Pintsize from property into a companion with it, of course, as I said.)

I dont get this impression at all. She genuinely needs a job, any job, and Pintsize isnt actually interested in the job for anything except being able to say he has a funny job. As she says, if she misjudged Pintsize and he genuinely also wants the job for the sake of having a job (as opposed to for the sake of a joke), she'll turn around.
There, though, yes. I'm not getting the criticism of Claire here. It's straightforward: there's a job she wants, that Pintsize is only joking about wanting, even though he might carry the joke through to actually applying for it. He's said exactly nothing about pulling his weight or earning a wage; he's just chortling at the whole idea of working around dildos (which makes him vastly less qualified for an actual job involving sex toys).

[Wraith]

I think that the point I poorly tried to make is, why does Claire get to decide that her need is greater than Pintsize's? She thinks that Pintsize isn't serious about getting a job, so why does she get to gatekeep and steal it from him, if he's prepared to take the time to apply and go to the interview, which she wasn't until about 30 seconds ago?

Momo got a new body, and she immediately went looking for work to pay back Marigold. Winslow got a new body, and he immediately went looking for a way to make himself useful to 'earn' his good fortune, so to speak. May needed a new body, and because she worked a crappy job and was really trying to pull herself together, everyone chipped in with donations. AI bodies cost a not insignificant amount of money, enough that no one so far has gone without feeling the obligation to pay for it or otherwise earn it.

And now Pintsize has a new body too - what makes Claire think he didn't also need to take out a loan to pay for it? As has been mentioned, he seems to have some money to hand but no one knows where it comes from or how much he's got. She hasn't asked him about his body, how he paid for it, or if he still owes for it - she has just decided that he has applied for a job, and she needs a job, so she should get it first....

....Based on her presumption that he has no commitments, despite not having asked him about them. Pintsize said he wanted the job because he thought it would be funny, but in the past he has consistently used humour or his facade of flippancy to deflect people from asking about his real feelings - something that she knows, after her heart-to-heart discussion with him a while ago when they cleared the air after their discussion about body modification. Seems mean of her to disregard that possibility just because it benefits her not to think about it.

[Keltest]

I think that the point I poorly tried to make is, why does Claire get to decide that her need is greater than Pintsize's? She thinks that Pintsize isn't serious about getting a job, so why does she get to gatekeep and steal it from him, if he's prepared to take the time to apply and go to the interview, which she wasn't until about 30 seconds ago?

Momo got a new body, and she immediately went looking for work to pay back Marigold. Winslow got a new body, and he immediately went looking for a way to make himself useful to 'earn' his good fortune, so to speak. May needed a new body, and because she worked a crappy job and was really trying to pull herself together, everyone chipped in with donations. AI bodies cost a not insignificant amount of money, enough that no one so far has gone without feeling the obligation to pay for it or otherwise earn it.

And now Pintsize has a new body too - what makes Claire think he didn't also need to take out a loan to pay for it? As has been mentioned, he seems to have some money to hand but no one knows where it comes from or how much he's got. She hasn't asked him about his body, how he paid for it, or if he still owes for it - she has just decided that he has applied for a job, and she needs a job, so she should get it first....

....Based on her presumption that he has no commitments, despite not having asked him about them. Pintsize said he wanted the job because he thought it would be funny, but in the past he has consistently used humour or his facade of flippancy to deflect people from asking about his real feelings - something that she knows, after her heart-to-heart discussion with him a while ago when they cleared the air after their discussion about body modification. Seems mean of her to disregard that possibility just because it benefits her not to think about it.

Well, she gave him the opportunity to say he actually does want the job because its a job, and not for the joke, and he declined to do so. So yeah, i'd say her assessment was completely correct.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Momo got a new body, and she immediately went looking for work to pay back Marigold. Winslow got a new body, and he immediately went looking for a way to make himself useful to 'earn' his good fortune, so to speak. May needed a new body, and because she worked a crappy job and was really trying to pull herself together, everyone chipped in with donations. AI bodies cost a not insignificant amount of money, enough that no one so far has gone without feeling the obligation to pay for it or otherwise earn it.

You are comparing Momo, Winslow and May on equal terms with Pintsize?

Both Momo and Winslow are very moral characters. Momo in particular recognises that to Marigold the cost of her upgrade is a significant one. Even May, not the most moral of the three, recognises the cost of her new body to her friends.

And Pintsize literally treats his as a joke. This has already been heavily implied (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4532).


And now Pintsize has a new body too - what makes Claire think he didn't also need to take out a loan to pay for it? As has been mentioned, he seems to have some money to hand but no one knows where it comes from or how much he's got. She hasn't asked him about his body, how he paid for it, or if he still owes for it - she has just decided that he has applied for a job, and she needs a job, so she should get it first....

Nope. She needs the job, and is applying for for it. Her challenge to Pintsize is that he is treating it as a joke (remember - Pintsize does not need a job). In the second frame she says "I'm 99% sure you are doing it because you think it would be funny. Tell me otherwise and I'll turn right round." and in the third frame Pintsize admits that he is doing it because he thought it would be funny.

[georgie_leech]

Well, she gave him the opportunity to say he actually does want the job because its a job, and not for the joke, and he declined to do so. So yeah, i'd say her assessment was completely correct.

Right? Yeah, she came across as aggressive in her assumption that Pintsize was doing it as a joke, but... I mean, it's Pintsize, most things he does are because he thinks it would be funny. And I see no reason to assume she wasn't being genuine in her offer to turn around if the job actually meant something to him, even though she (correctly) thought it didn't.

[Kish]

Nope. She needs the job, and is applying for for it. Her challenge to Pintsize is that he is treating it as a joke (remember - Pintsize does not need a job). In the second frame she says "I'm 99% sure you are doing it because you think it would be funny. Tell me otherwise and I'll turn right round." and in the third frame Pintsize admits that he is doing it because he thought it would be funny.
Yes, this.

As far as I can tell, Wraith, what you're saying is: Well what if she had been wrong? But she's not wrong. She's allowed to have the most basic of pattern recognition and character observation skills.

[Traab]

I half agree, I suppose. Pintsize knew that May needed a job and similarly shares his rude sense of humour, so he asked her if she would be interested into trying out for the dildo factory before he did. He's only applying because he knows that May has another gig, so he's not taking work away from someone who really needs it.

Claire, on the other hand, is coming across to me as somewhat entitled. She needs a new job and is prepared to step over Pintsize to get it because... Well, because she's not as nice a person as Pintsize? She's shown no interest in working in the dildo factory before now and her sense of humour is very different to Pintsize's so she certainly won't get as much amusement or satisfaction out of it like he would - it just looks like the stupid robot person should get out of the way and let her get *any* job before he does. Even though he's had a body for all of a few minutes and is already trying to pull his weight and earn a wage.

It's not like Claire even actively dislikes Pintsize - although he's crude, Marten has made it absolutely clear that he won't tolerate anything degrading or bigoted and Pintsize has stuck with that so he's probably on nicer terms with her than anyone else in the apartment. It just seems weird that she's being so cold and making his life difficult just because he's got a body now. "You have thumbs now? Here's a taste of just how ****** life has been to me, because you deserve to struggle like I have" kind of thing.

There is no stepping over him, at all. At most she is applying for the job too. She isnt even remotely proclaiming she is entitled to it, she pointed out, entirely accurately, the only reason he is even applying is because it would be funny. (After all, he doesnt get free sex toys) She isnt trying to take a dream away from him, she is honestly applying for a job when she truly needs one, and pintsize is applying because haha sex toy fart noise giggle. She isnt telling him not to apply, or to throw an interview for her sake (as if they are the only two in town even trying to get hired) You just seem to be jumping to so many conclusions im fairly sure your body parts have turned into a red cloud to land on them all at once.

[Shadow of the Sun]

This isn't how I saw this going, although, in hindsight, I should have.

Jeph quite likes the "robots as an allegory for trans issues" thing.

[Ibrinar]

Most of the time it doesn't bother me as much as it seems to bother some others but this seems really awkwardly done. I think you could make an interesting storyline out of Pintsize growing frustrated by the limitations of his old form or one of doing this for a joke and then realizing how confining it is to be a tiny being without proper hands. But the way he just goes into it and has strong emotions about it already, yeah seems Jeph is awkwardly trying to map real world issues on his robots again and not really taking care in the conversion to make it good.

[Wraith]

Oh look, Pintsize has deep-seated feelings of which other people weren't aware, and hadn't taken into account, which explains his behaviour if only they had bothered to ask about it. If only someone had thought of that a couple of days ago. :smalltongue:

[Ibrinar]

Oh look they are feelings unconnected to what you were on about. :P

[Rodin]

Ugh, looks like this is going to be permanent. Because of course it is.

I already can't see the original Pintsize in the person who's talking to Claire in this latest strip.

Goodbye, Pintsize. It was a good run.

[Ibrinar]

Random side note, I just found the two qc reddit subs. For those that didn't know them either it seems to be split based on whether you are a fan and still really like it or whether you want to complain about every strip. The nice thing about threads in larger unconnected forums is that that level of polarization isn't as likely.^^

[Vinyadan]

It's nice that the two fanbases can each have their own place. I think of the EGS forums years ago, when there had been a major shift in the comic which had split the audience. It wasn't nice. It ended up with one side deciding to leave the forum to open one for the like-minded, while the author ceased to frequent the original* forum and actually even stopped considering it official and removed the link from his website. Now he's using reddit.

*it was actually the second, I believe, from migrating from Keenspot to GMX.

[SaintRidley]

She's scolding Pintsize for applying for the job only for a joke, when she is applying for the job only to spite Pintsize.

No, she's applying for the job because she's desperate to have a job that'll provide her an income. She may have her master's in library science now, but it turns out (read: it's true in the real world as with other academic jobs, and can speak from experience/colleagues' experiences) that it's incredibly difficult to land a librarian job even with that qualification, especially if you're trying to stay local and not move across the country. That does seem more pressing than "Man, wouldn't it be funny if I did this?"

Anyway, we'll see where this all goes, I guess.

[Eldan]

Yeah, I know several people who finished their master's degree in various biological subdisciplines, couldn't get an industry position or a PhD and then spent a few years as supermarket cashiers.

[Radar]

Yeah, I know several people who finished their master's degree in various biological subdisciplines, couldn't get an industry position or a PhD and then spent a few years as supermarket cashiers.
There is an old joke along those lines:
What does an employed graduate say to an unemployed one?
- Do you want fries with that?

edit:

Meanwhile in Something Positive land we have the adopted daughter of two of the main characters having her first period. They got together years after the strip started and adopted said daughter as a baby. We've seen her grow older in roughly real time. It really puts into perspective how weird comic book time makes things.
Something Positive is quite unique in that regard as the in-comics time flows at pretty much the same pace as the real time and all the characters grow older (and even grow up!). To be honest, in a typical slice-of-life story it should be fairly easy to handle as those are built from small largely disconnected episodes that can indeed be set days or weeks apart. We only ever get a glimpse at some chosen important moments of character's lives and often switch focus between different people. It mostly requires the will to synchronize time between the comics and the real world.

[Maryring]

Yeah, I know several people who finished their master's degree in various biological subdisciplines, couldn't get an industry position or a PhD and then spent a few years as supermarket cashiers.

If they're lucky. If they're unlucky, they don't get entry jobs because they're overqualified, and then they can't get a job they're qualified for because they lack job experience.

[Willie the Duck]

Yeah, I know several people who finished their master's degree in various biological subdisciplines, couldn't get an industry position or a PhD and then spent a few years as supermarket cashiers.


If they're lucky. If they're unlucky, they don't get entry jobs because they're overqualified, and then they can't get a job they're qualified for because they lack job experience.

Biological sciences are an especially tricky situation, as in a lot of the specialties there are a lot of associates degree or low-level bachelor's degree-type benchwork jobs, medical diagnostic work, field work for subfields like forestry, and similar stuff, and then professorships or high-level research, but not a lot in the middle (and a lot in the middle is in healthcare fields, for which biology degrees may or may not be useful for getting them). It also (and here library sciences is similar) has a problem in that there is a glut of the degree. For biology, because a huge chunk of aspiring doctors go for it. Given that not everyone makes it to med school, that means there is a bevy of people who are still likely highly motivated go-getters now trying to figure out their future and competing for the same jobs that someone who started out wanting to be a biologist from the get-go.

[Wraith]

No, she's applying for the job because she's desperate to have a job that'll provide her an income. She may have her master's in library science now, but it turns out (read: it's true in the real world as with other academic jobs, and can speak from experience/colleagues' experiences) that it's incredibly difficult to land a librarian job even with that qualification, especially if you're trying to stay local and not move across the country. That does seem more pressing than "Man, wouldn't it be funny if I did this?"

Evidently I have read too deeply into a non-issue. The consensus seems to be that no one else felt the same as I; fair enough. I can admit that I was looking with a snarker's eye and ended up trying to make a bit out of it.

As a genuine question though, I have seen the phrase 'desperate for a job' used a couple of times so far; how desperate is Claire, really? As far as I recall, she only got her results back about about a week ago and we've seen her have something like 2 rejection letters? Is that the same thing as being at the point where she's prepared to give up on her lifelong career goals and work in the dildo factory at short notice? Despite the above, I still feel like Claire has other options available before that.

[georgie_leech]

Is that the same thing as being at the point where she's prepared to give up on her lifelong career goals and work in the dildo factory at short notice?

Who said anything about giving up on her career goals? One can work at the dildo factory while they seek employment as a librarian.

[Max_Killjoy]

One can work at the dildo factory while they seek employment as a librarian.


Which philosopher said that? I can't recall.

[DaFlipp]

Which philosopher said that? I can't recall.

Probably Diogenes?

[Radar]

Probably Diogenes?
I doubt he was ever interested in employment or achieving anything except for getting rid of wordly needs.

[Eldan]

Maybe one of the stoics? Seneca? Zeno?

[Manga Shoggoth]

Who said anything about giving up on her career goals? One can work at the dildo factory while they seek employment as a librarian.


Which philosopher said that? I can't recall.


Probably Diogenes?


I doubt he was ever interested in employment or achieving anything except for getting rid of wordly needs.


Maybe one of the stoics? Seneca? Zeno?

Hypatia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypatia)? Sappho (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqzmDm1BvsY)?

(OK, Sappho was a poet, but Hypatia is at least a librarian).

[Vinyadan]

I have to say that I am extremely unhappy about QC's way of handling cookies. You have turn off all of the legitimate interest handles one by one, and you also have to open a menu for each handle to be able to do so. Plus, you get something this:


Below is a complete list of the information that may be gathered.


Type of browser and its settings
Information about the device's operating system
Cookie information
Information about other identifiers assigned to the device
The IP address from which the device accesses a client's website or mobile application
Information about the user's activity on that device, including web pages and mobile apps visited or used
Information about the geographic location of the device when it accesses a website or mobile application



And you have nested options with something like a hundred handles, more or less. The design itself is extremely confusing. Plus, you don't really get told how the cookies are used -- do you get identified by username in the various services you are logged in? It would be pretty easy to create a register of all usernames and services for a user.

Is it so hard to add a "reject all" button?

[Radar]

Is it so hard to add a "reject all" button?
No, as there is always an easy "Accept all" button. Rejecting the cookies being hard is done on purpose by many services managing advertisements as they are counting on people being lazy and accepting all the cookies for the sake of not having to click through a bunch of menus.

Not sure if any of that was done directly by the people managing QC site - this could be connected to whatever outside ad system they are working with.

[Traab]

So the steady forward progress to reducing everyone to boring normal status where nothing exciting happens marches on. Now pintsize is going to have to tone down his chaos gremlin behavior (not that there really has been much for some time) Its honestly like jeph is trying to shut down the comic by removing all drama from it character by character. Everyone is settling down into a stable relationship, with stable work, and stable daily life.

[Max_Killjoy]

No, as there is always an easy "Accept all" button. Rejecting the cookies being hard is done on purpose by many services managing advertisements as they are counting on people being lazy and accepting all the cookies for the sake of not having to click through a bunch of menus.

Not sure if any of that was done directly by the people managing QC site - this could be connected to whatever outside ad system they are working with.

This is why I run NoScript, PrivacyBadger, etc, on top of having my browser reject ALL third-party cookies, along with all known fingerprinting methods, etc.

I don't even see these stupid cookie things, and my browser is blocking them.

Hell, even the GITP site is trying to run JS from a site called "skimresources", which is on a couple of blacklists.

[Rodin]

So the steady forward progress to reducing everyone to boring normal status where nothing exciting happens marches on. Now pintsize is going to have to tone down his chaos gremlin behavior (not that there really has been much for some time) Its honestly like jeph is trying to shut down the comic by removing all drama from it character by character. Everyone is settling down into a stable relationship, with stable work, and stable daily life.

Yep.

I didn't have a problem with Momo getting a body because Momo is tied pretty closely to Marigold. Giving Marigold another "human" to talk to was very valuable from a storytelling perspective.

I don't see a point in giving Pintsize a body. We've had the "how do you human" story from 3 different sources already. There's no interesting story to tell that hasn't already been explored. What's more, Pintsize is the comedy mascot. He does wacky comedy, that's his role in the comic. It's like if Snoopy found a magical lamp and wished to be human, and then the strip was about him adapting to his life.

Of all the decisions he's made, I find this one the most baffling. It really does feel like he's done with the comic and is just carrying on out of sheer inertia at this point.

[Wraith]

Who said anything about giving up on her career goals? One can work at the dildo factory while they seek employment as a librarian.

Absolutely true, but it's a lot harder to look for a job while you are already spending most of your time at work. For Claire to give up a huge chunk of her focus on hunting for a job that she is properly qualified for after such a short amount of time feels premature.

I'd even go so far as to say that the whole thing was a bluff - that she never really wanted the dildo factory job either, and that was just her way of finding a way in to talk with Pintsize about his body. Particularly with today's strip, this little exchange almost has parallels with a 'coming out' conversation - although Jeff doesn't seem to quite want to commit to that so openly yet.


So the steady forward progress to reducing everyone to boring normal status where nothing exciting happens marches on. Now pintsize is going to have to tone down his chaos gremlin behavior (not that there really has been much for some time) Its honestly like jeph is trying to shut down the comic by removing all drama from it character by character. Everyone is settling down into a stable relationship, with stable work, and stable daily life.

Pretty much agree. That would explain why he keeps pulling more characters into plots that could already be explored by other characters who have been left by the wayside. For example, "AI gets a new body and has conflicting emotions" is a story that could have been told by Momo, Winslow and May and already HAS been started by Roko, and none of them were ever really broached or resolved. Throwing Pintsize into the mix, giving him a pep-talk from Claire and never mentioning it again is a handwave towards resolution, I guess.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Absolutely true, but it's a lot harder to look for a job while you are already spending most of your time at work. For Claire to give up a huge chunk of her focus on hunting for a job that she is properly qualified for after such a short amount of time feels premature.

Even ignoring the need to have some level of income, You very quickly hit a point where a long period of unemployment in your job history becomes a red flag to employers - this can be as little as 6 months, depending on the employer. You can backfill to a degree by doing voluntary work, but that puts no beans on the table.

[Ibrinar]

I wish for pintsize to realize that if two hands are useful then a dozen are much more useful and become a face with a butt on the backside surrounded by a dozen tentacles ending in hands.

[Mordokai]

Jeph Jacques, a master of subtletly.

[VoxRationis]

To be fair, Pintsize is exactly the sort of person (any)one would expect to have negative opinions about law enforcement.

Of course, if anyone, even those critical of law enforcement, were to consider his protestations objectively, they would be forced to admit that Pintsize's opinion more likely derives from a resentment of not being allowed to enact mayhem as he sees fit and less likely from considerations of justice or equity.

[Willie the Duck]

It is something of a mixed situation isn't it? If anything, this makes using Pintsize as the mouthpiece for Jeph's favorite political topic less effective than using Roko and May. It'd almost work better if he'd maybe just done that punchline and not added the footer and trailer comments. Still, it is absolute in character for Pintsize. If any other webcomic author could have had their Pintsize-like character say the exact same thing no one would bat an eye.

[Keltest]

I vote that we confiscate Jeph's soapbox until he can learn to use it responsibly.

[Thufir]

I vote that we confiscate Jeph's soapbox until he can learn to use it responsibly.

Lulwut. Lulwut again for the character limit.

[Morquard]

I already can't see the original Pintsize in the person who's talking to Claire in this latest strip.

Goodbye, Pintsize. It was a good run.

Can't really add anything to this. Pintsize is gone. If I had read today's strip without the last 5 or so as context, I would have thought that some weird colored Winslow, but never guessed Pintsize.

RIP chaos gremlin

[Keltest]

Lulwut. Lulwut again for the character limit.

IMO, and i think others share this opinion, Jeph really doesnt know how to write about many important issues. Regardless of where you stand on them, whether you agree or disagree with him, whenever it comes up as a topic in the comic, its just... cringe inducing, for the most part.

He handled OCD pretty well, and being an alcoholic, presumably because of his actual experience with those things, but when he wrote about, say, Brun growing up poor, he put his metaphorical foot in his mouth so hard. And he clearly has certain opinions on certain topics that i will stay well away from that, when he feels the need to, he just basically states as fact out of nowhere and with no context or nuance.

Like, its his right to put what he wants into the comic, but holy crap is his current method of writing about things he deems important completely not effective.

[Rodin]

IMO, and i think others share this opinion, Jeph really doesnt know how to write about many important issues. Regardless of where you stand on them, whether you agree or disagree with him, whenever it comes up as a topic in the comic, its just... cringe inducing, for the most part.

He handled OCD pretty well, and being an alcoholic, presumably because of his actual experience with those things, but when he wrote about, say, Brun growing up poor, he put his metaphorical foot in his mouth so hard. And he clearly has certain opinions on certain topics that i will stay well away from that, when he feels the need to, he just basically states as fact out of nowhere and with no context or nuance.

Like, its his right to put what he wants into the comic, but holy crap is his current method of writing about things he deems important completely not effective.

The other issue I feel he's done well with is writing a trans character. He's stayed away from the truly thorny issues while making it clear that Claire has had problems. It's not perfect, and as someone who is not trans I'm not sure how fit I am to comment. Still, I've had very little issue with how Claire has been written and she's quickly become one of my favorite characters.

[The Glyphstone]

I think it helps that Claire being trans is like...the 5th most prominent thing about her character? Far more front-and-center obvious are her various personality quirks and character foibles, whereas say...Brun, is far more defined by her 'difference' (autism, in this case) and comes across as more two-dimensional. So that is indeed probably the best way to write a trans character, as a character who just happens to be trans.

[Max_Killjoy]

IMO, and i think others share this opinion, Jeph really doesnt know how to write about many important issues. Regardless of where you stand on them, whether you agree or disagree with him, whenever it comes up as a topic in the comic, its just... cringe inducing, for the most part.

He handled OCD pretty well, and being an alcoholic, presumably because of his actual experience with those things, but when he wrote about, say, Brun growing up poor, he put his metaphorical foot in his mouth so hard. And he clearly has certain opinions on certain topics that i will stay well away from that, when he feels the need to, he just basically states as fact out of nowhere and with no context or nuance.

Like, its his right to put what he wants into the comic, but holy crap is his current method of writing about things he deems important completely not effective.

My brother is a member of the group of people Jeph seems to feel free to libel.

And Jeph's comic is slowly losing the level of quality that makes me willing to put up with his kneejerk garbage.

[Willie the Duck]

Can't really add anything to this. Pintsize is gone. If I had read today's strip without the last 5 or so as context, I would have thought that some weird colored Winslow, but never guessed Pintsize.
RIP chaos gremlin
I mean, I don't disagree (this is not the Pintsize we knew), but at the same time, he was already gone from the comic. 'Guy who is Pintsize in name only shows up only to become a bland-also-all-issues-resolved noncharacter is... not great, but also not a real loss, in my mind. It's kind of like the characters from a cancelled comic book line showing up in the first issue of another series only to get killed off to show that the stakes are real -- dumb (and a little frustrating to anyone who liked said characters and were upset about the cancelation), but it also was clearly those characters in color-scheme anyways. I don't know. We were never going to get the old dynamics back anyways, so I guess I feel there isn't much to lose (not that any of this makes the storyline actually interesting, mind you).


My brother is a member of the group of people Jeph seems to feel free to libel.
And Jeph's comic is slowly losing the level of quality that makes me willing to put up with his kneejerk garbage.
Now clearly I do not know Max_Killjoy the living breathing person, merely Max_Killjoy as presented by the words posted on this forum, but it seems to me that you would enjoy this. From D&D to webcomics, I don't think I've seen you engage in a published/media property except to hate-watch/hate-read them. Someone you disfavor repeatedly doing poorly at a political statement with which you disagree seems like it would be right up your alley.


IMO, and i think others share this opinion, Jeph really doesnt know how to write about many important issues. Regardless of where you stand on them, whether you agree or disagree with him, whenever it comes up as a topic in the comic, its just... cringe inducing, for the most part.
He handled OCD pretty well, and being an alcoholic, presumably because of his actual experience with those things, but when he wrote about, say, Brun growing up poor, he put his metaphorical foot in his mouth so hard. And he clearly has certain opinions on certain topics that i will stay well away from that, when he feels the need to, he just basically states as fact out of nowhere and with no context or nuance.
Like, its his right to put what he wants into the comic, but holy crap is his current method of writing about things he deems important completely not effective.

The other issue I feel he's done well with is writing a trans character. He's stayed away from the truly thorny issues while making it clear that Claire has had problems. It's not perfect, and as someone who is not trans I'm not sure how fit I am to comment. Still, I've had very little issue with how Claire has been written and she's quickly become one of my favorite characters.
Good examples.

I think it helps that Claire being trans is like...the 5th most prominent thing about her character? Far more front-and-center obvious are her various personality quirks and character foibles, whereas say...Brun, is far more defined by her 'difference' (autism, in this case) and comes across as more two-dimensional. So that is indeed probably the best way to write a trans character, as a character who just happens to be trans.
True, but I also think Jeph did a pretty good job with Roko's body dysphoria issue; and that was, while certainly not the most interesting thing about her, certainly placed front and center for multiple storylines in which she was involved. Honestly, when it comes to 'Important Issues(tm),' it is realy Brun's poverty and May/Roko's crime/police issues where he has consistently dropped the ball (there have been other plots, like Clinton and Elliot, that have not been great, but they haven't hinged on some big issue). I'm struggling to find a common thread that these two plots had that the others haven't.

[Max_Killjoy]

Now clearly I do not know Max_Killjoy the living breathing person, merely Max_Killjoy as presented by the words posted on this forum, but it seems to me that you would enjoy this. From D&D to webcomics, I don't think I've seen you engage in a published/media property except to hate-watch/hate-read them. Someone you disfavor repeatedly doing poorly at a political statement with which you disagree seems like it would be right up your alley.


It's frustrating because I want to like QC, and I used to like QC a lot more. But every so often, he has to open his mouth and stick his foot in it, and/or approach a nuanced and complicated subject with all the maturity and objectivity of a ranting belligerent half-informed teenager.

If I were simply done with the comic or its author (see, David Willis and his holier-than-thou puritanical attitude simply transferred from one set of beliefs to another) I'd barely talk about it, if at all.

[Traab]

I think it helps that Claire being trans is like...the 5th most prominent thing about her character? Far more front-and-center obvious are her various personality quirks and character foibles, whereas say...Brun, is far more defined by her 'difference' (autism, in this case) and comes across as more two-dimensional. So that is indeed probably the best way to write a trans character, as a character who just happens to be trans.

Honestly, thats the best way to write any character, where there is far more to them than a single trait/condition/stance that is all that defines them. Brun is autistic and thats all there really is to her. Everything she does, and everything that happens to and around her is tied into her autism. Claire is a trans bookworm librarian with a twin brother who is overprotective of her and she meddles in his affairs too much and holy crow does she look like her mom. Oh, she also has a love of terrible terrible puns and its awesome. One is a real character, the other is a soapbox.

[Thufir]

IMO, and i think others share this opinion, Jeph really doesnt know how to write about many important issues. Regardless of where you stand on them, whether you agree or disagree with him, whenever it comes up as a topic in the comic, its just... cringe inducing, for the most part.

Personally, I find this:


I vote that we confiscate Jeph's soapbox until he can learn to use it responsibly.

to be way more cringe-inducing than anything Jeph has put in the comic. From the idea that one line from Pintsize constitutes a soapbox, to the perspective that not liking how something is written makes it irresponsible, to the thought of a bunch of entitled fans 'confiscating' an author's soapbox.

I know that I'm somewhat againsst the grain of the general opinion in this thread, so usually I can't be bothered to argue it, but the double take I did on reading that compelled me to comment on it.

[Ibrinar]

In this case it just felt unnatural to me. Pintsize trying out a human body and realizing that he really likes having hands and expressive features? I honestly think that is an interesting idea for a storyline. Pintsize expressing himself in the way he did after a day? Doesn't work for me. Both because of the speed and because I think the dialog wasn't very natural sounding.

(My other problem is that I think his treatment of robots is boring, they could inhabit all kinds of bodies, how about the story of one that wants something wild instead of standard human?)

[Willie the Duck]

It's frustrating because I want to like QC, and I used to like QC a lot more. But every so often, he has to open his mouth and stick his foot in it, and/or approach a nuanced and complicated subject with all the maturity and objectivity of a ranting belligerent half-informed teenager.
If I were simply done with the comic or its author (see, David Willis and his holier-than-thou puritanical attitude simply transferred from one set of beliefs to another) I'd barely talk about it, if at all.
Makes sense -- you have more to say about a product you sorta- or sometimes- like than one you universally love or hate. Still, while I do recall you making passing reference to Willis' work and your opinion thereof, I don't recall hearing about anything you do like. So that's where I got the impression, I believe.


Personally, I find this:
to be way more cringe-inducing than anything Jeph has put in the comic. From the idea that one line from Pintsize constitutes a soapbox, to the perspective that not liking how something is written makes it irresponsible, to the thought of a bunch of entitled fans 'confiscating' an author's soapbox.
I know that I'm somewhat againsst the grain of the general opinion in this thread, so usually I can't be bothered to argue it, but the double take I did on reading that compelled me to comment on it.
No, I totally agree. Fans do not have the right to dictate what a content-provider provides. We merely get to critique whether we find it to be of high or low quality.
As to it being one line- you are right. Without the author commentary above and below the comic, Pintsize's one line means little.

[Max_Killjoy]

Personally, I find this:



to be way more cringe-inducing than anything Jeph has put in the comic. From the idea that one line from Pintsize constitutes a soapbox, to the perspective that not liking how something is written makes it irresponsible, to the thought of a bunch of entitled fans 'confiscating' an author's soapbox.

I know that I'm somewhat againsst the grain of the general opinion in this thread, so usually I can't be bothered to argue it, but the double take I did on reading that compelled me to comment on it.

First, a lot of the stuff that's bugging people is in Jeph's comments above and below the strips. It's one thing for Pintsize to say it, it's another thing for Jeph to add the comment that Pintsize is right.

Second, this isn't isolated, Jeph keeps pulling this stunt. See, the raisins.

[Kish]

I don't think Jeph is going to either change his politics or stop expressing them.

[Mechalich]

First, a lot of the stuff that's bugging people is in Jeph's comments above and below the strips. It's one thing for Pintsize to say it, it's another thing for Jeph to add the comment that Pintsize is right.

Yes, Jeph has increasingly displayed a real problem distinguishing between character voice and author voice.

It's perfectly in character for Pintsize to say 'all cops are bastards.' After all, Pintsize is a pretty criminal whose only reason for not having a rap sheet longer than he was (until very recently) tall was that his very size limited his mayhem to the 'not worth the effort' level. It's perfectly logical for someone who's lived their life in direct opposition to the existing social order to have such a viewpoint. Extremists have extreme views, no surprise there.

Jeph's end comment at the end of the comic though speaks not in the voice of a fictional character, but his own voice. That's a remark from a real person with a public platform that is both ignorant, insensitive, and insulting to over 700,000 people in the US (that's roughly the number of full time law enforcement personnel in the nation, not counting non-sworn support staff) and tens of millions of people worldwide.

Heck, it's insulting to his own characters, since multiple law enforcement characters have appeared in the comic. Steve, for that matter, may even be one at present assuming his job title is 'Special Agent' or something similar and even if he's not officially law enforcement for national security reasons he still moves in a similar sphere.

[Keltest]

First, a lot of the stuff that's bugging people is in Jeph's comments above and below the strips. It's one thing for Pintsize to say it, it's another thing for Jeph to add the comment that Pintsize is right.

Second, this isn't isolated, Jeph keeps pulling this stunt. See, the raisins.

Indeed. When I see a recurring pattern of him earnestly attacking a group, especially a group I have family in, I'm going to speak up.

[Rodin]

Honestly, thats the best way to write any character, where there is far more to them than a single trait/condition/stance that is all that defines them. Brun is autistic and thats all there really is to her. Everything she does, and everything that happens to and around her is tied into her autism. Claire is a trans bookworm librarian with a twin brother who is overprotective of her and she meddles in his affairs too much and holy crow does she look like her mom. Oh, she also has a love of terrible terrible puns and its awesome. One is a real character, the other is a soapbox.

That speaks to the change in how he introduces new characters and issues. We find out that Faye has alcohol and depression related issues a long time after her character was introduced. Claire only came out as trans after she had been around for hundreds of strips. It took a prybar to get Bubbles to talk about her issues. Angus was a joke character for a long time before he graduated to the main cast, and then dated Faye for a long time before the long distance relationship thing came up.

Brun was introduced and then her autism became her primary trait within a week. Roko was a tertiary character until the cops are bad storyline, and she was immediately hit with the body dysphoria problem. Renee and whats-his-name (sorry, I care so little that I've forgotten his name already) went straight from hello to "serious long distance conversation" within the space of a week or two.

All of the storylines are super compressed from how they used to be. That bothers me more than Jeph's political soapboxing. In truth, Jeph has nothing on some other authors I enjoy (looking at you, John Ringo) when they go on political rants in the middle of an otherwise enjoyable story. The problem with QC is that the enjoyable story is becoming less and less. Which is why I wind up ranting about it at 1 in the morning.

Because I'm like Max_Killjoy. I tend not to post when I'm enjoying something unless someone attacks it, and then I'll defend it. And I tend not to post when I simply dislike something from the word go. You won't find many posts of mine about The Mandalorian, because I simply haven't watched much of it. For QC though, I've been reading the comic faihfully for a good 15 years at this point. It means I have a lot to say when the comic starts to decline.

[halfeye]

Yes, Jeph has increasingly displayed a real problem distinguishing between character voice and author voice.

It's perfectly in character for Pintsize to say 'all cops are bastards.' After all, Pintsize is a pretty criminal whose only reason for not having a rap sheet longer than he was (until very recently) tall was that his very size limited his mayhem to the 'not worth the effort' level. It's perfectly logical for someone who's lived their life in direct opposition to the existing social order to have such a viewpoint. Extremists have extreme views, no surprise there.

Jeph's end comment at the end of the comic though speaks not in the voice of a fictional character, but his own voice. That's a remark from a real person with a public platform that is both ignorant, insensitive, and insulting to over 700,000 people in the US (that's roughly the number of full time law enforcement personnel in the nation, not counting non-sworn support staff) and tens of millions of people worldwide.

It might be a joke?

[Delicious Taffy]

It might be a joke?

Considering Jeph's obvious political leanings, probably not. Also, considering the comic has been devoid of jokes for what feels like months, still probably not. At least, I think they're gone. All I've noticed are the obligatory fourth-panel snarks that break the flow of the current conversation and don't really land.

[Kish]

I think there is exactly 0% chance that Jeph seriously believes that 1) anyone who expresses the opinion "you should possess some articles of clothing which are not designed to shock and annoy other people" in the general, or 2) Claire in the last strip in the specific, is demonstrating moral turpitude.

[Iruka]

I took the whole thing more as a jab at fashion police than anything else ...

[Delicious Taffy]

Nah, it's definitely the author assigning evil to anyone who comments on clothing in any way. That makes way more sense than whatever you folks are talking about. Jeph Jacques is very vocal about his disgust of openly acknowledging others' attire.

[Max_Killjoy]

Nah, it's definitely the author assigning evil to anyone who comments on clothing in any way. That makes way more sense than whatever you folks are talking about. Jeph Jacques is very vocal about his disgust of openly acknowledging others' attire.


I can't tell if this is sarcasm, or you've read something I haven't that makes this a clear thing.

[Wraith]

You say that, but there was that one time that Raven commented on Faye's ratty old shoes ("I think THAT one might actually be a hollowed out rat's carcass!") and she has since been sent to the B-List Character Gulag along with Steve, Penny and Emily.

Coincidence!? I think NOT!

Also: Pintsize bland, Claire preachy, Jeph unsubtle, Beepatrice incompetent, ya-da ya-da... However you feel about QC's politics, this hasn't been a great week in it's proud history of slow-boiling plots and snarky millennial humour.

[DaFlipp]

Leave it to R. K. Millholland to take time out of his own webcomic (https://somethingpositive.net/comic/pintsized-recycling/) to devise a fitting send-off for Pintsize's old body (with Jeph's permission, it seems!).

[Rodin]

Leave it to R. K. Millholland to take time out of his own webcomic (https://somethingpositive.net/comic/pintsized-recycling/) to devise a fitting send-off for Pintsize's old body (with Jeph's permission, it seems!).

Honestly, I'm surprised Pintsize didn't do this himself. Turning his old body into a sex toy and selling it for cash is exactly the sort of thing he'd do. Heck, it's why they burned Momo's old body!

Also, why is Beepatrice working the front desk at the dildo factory? Isn't she a tester?

We also don't seem to have a comic for today, which is pretty darn unusual. Unless I'm missing something and the comic labeled June 3rd is actually today's...

[Mordokai]

I took the whole thing more as a jab at fashion police than anything else ...

I wanted to believe that, trust me. When I first saw Pintsize's comment, I was like, yeah, sure... that's pretty much in character for him. I'm down with that.

And then I saw Jeph's comment under the comic and I was, oh no, you didn't...

But I guess he did.

[DavidSh]

We also don't seem to have a comic for today, which is pretty darn unusual. Unless I'm missing something and the comic labeled June 3rd is actually today's...
The June 3rd comic is also labeled "9:10pm", so today's might also be late. Or just plain dropped.

[Max_Killjoy]

The name of the company...

[Morquard]

Leave it to R. K. Millholland to take time out of his own webcomic (https://somethingpositive.net/comic/pintsized-recycling/) to devise a fitting send-off for Pintsize's old body (with Jeph's permission, it seems!).

Pintsize would be proud

[MoonCat]

This is a genuine question (and I'm prefacing with this because I don't want it to come across as an attempt as a gotcha), but isn't taking a stance on the content of Jeph's statements inherently taking a position on a political issue, and therefore out of bounds?

It seems that the discussion of whether he's handling stating his opinions with any sort of finesse is perfectly legitimate, but this sub-argument wherein his writing is called libellous, and the message 'must be spoken out against'—as opposed to his clumsiness of discourse—should be dropped.

(Naturally, the same goes for any post explicitly agreeing with the contents of Jeph's statement, but I don't see examples of such.)

[The Glyphstone]

Probably best to just move past it and drop the issue. We've switched to Beapatrice shenanigans now anyways.

[Keltest]

Oh, wow, right. That is Beeps. I forgot she worked there.

... Isnt she one of the testers? What is she doing manning the front desk?

[theNater]

Oh, wow, right. That is Beeps. I forgot she worked there.

... Isnt she one of the testers? What is she doing manning the front desk?
Desperately trying to avoid the pile of paperwork on her desk.

[Keltest]

Desperately trying to avoid the pile of paperwork on her desk.

Fair enough.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Desperately trying to avoid the pile of paperwork on her desk.

In fairness to Beeps, it may be that the company expects a degree of flexibility from workers for cover purposes. Back in the day when I had a holiday job in a hospital as a Clerical Assistant (very long story) I was also expected to be able to use the switchboard, so there was cover for the actual switchboard operators if they needed to go on a break. We also had a couple of people who could handle Reception for the same reasons.

(The switchboard had an interesting quirk in that if you pressed the 9 button, any other number pressed within the next second would also be treated as a 9, so you had to wait for a second before pressing any other number. Quite literally, since 99 was the "cardiac arrest" code...)

[Vinyadan]

Hell, even the GITP site is trying to run JS from a site called "skimresources", which is on a couple of blacklists.

I once asked about it and the staff said a few words about it. https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?617911-Skimlinks&p=24680262#post24680262


I can't tell if this is sarcasm, or you've read something I haven't that makes this a clear thing.

Oh, you have no idea! Jeph Jacques spends years working on a single rant about the clothing police, and refines it up to a million times to produce the finest rant known to mankind.

[The Glyphstone]

I once asked about it and the staff said a few words about it. https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?617911-Skimlinks&p=24680262#post24680262



Oh, you have no idea! Jeph Jacques spends years working on a single rant about the clothing police, and refines it up to a million times to produce the finest rant known to mankind.

I myself commissioned a genuine Jeph Jacques rant in Nova Scotia for 2,000,000 indie music albums (that's about $2.00) and have been practicing with it for 2 years. I can reduce a hardened hipster to tears in one line with my Jeph Jacques rant.

[Manga Shoggoth]

"S.T.A.L.K.E.R. but the anomolies are just porn".

Ah, memories - I loved that game, much to my surprise.

[Ionathus]

Hmm, after taking in the last few pages of Pintsize's body swap, I'm still not really on board. I figured it would grow on me but he still just looks like a generic AI, like Winslow but wearing pink underwear. I really wish he'd kept the googly eyes permanently. It would feel more "Pintsize" that way.

Not to say that he should never change while all the other AIs in the comic evolve, but it doesn't really feel like there was a good reason to do so (yet), and it doesn't really feel like it improves his character.

The last few months have been pretty ho-hum for me, and even that's after getting back into it from a long stretch away (I lost interest in the Brun/Mille-Fuille hangout/date/whatever when I thought "wait, do I have any compelling reason to care about either of these characters?"

The most compelling arc recently that I've actually cared about is May getting her new body. I felt genuine emotions for her, especially in the internalized "why is everyone being so nice to me, I can't possibly deserve this" moments. I thought that section was handled beautifully, and worked well with what had been established with her character.

And then other (read: most) times nowadays, it's like the story just wants to grab two characters and stick them together in a situation, regardless of whether their personal arcs & character development fit that storyline or theme.

[Morquard]

Who's this Iris or this Yemisi? Have we met them before?

[Yuki Akuma]

Who's this Iris or this Yemisi? Have we met them before?

Remember when Clinton just randomly started talking about his relationship issues with a complete stranger, again? This is that complete stranger's friend.

[Wraith]

Technically because the question was posed as "or" rather than "and", the answer ought to be "no". Little lexicographical tip for you, there.


Who's this Iris or this Yemisi? Have we met them before?

Yemisi is the personal shopper who helped Yay Newfriend buy her clothing (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4406), and then insulted Roko for wearing casual clothing in her own home, on her day off. She's nominally the sensible one out of her, Willow Dragonfang and the Sarcastic Grey Robot (https://questionablecontent.fandom.com/wiki/Them), with whom she apparently is a couple? That might be an assumption, but it seems implied.

[Iruka]

Who's this Iris or this Yemisi? Have we met them before?

They showed up some time ago as customers in ... the bakery, I think? Friends of Willow who hung out with Clinton. No idea why Pintsize is here.

[Radar]

Technically because the question was posed as "or" rather than "and", the answer ought to be "no". Little lexicographical tip for you, there.
Is or always exclusive? I am far more familiar with the specific logical distinction between OR and XOR to be particularly sure about the regular language, but I would guess, that or does allow for both inclusive and exclusive options depending on the context or intonation, or some other nuances.

[Traab]

They showed up some time ago as customers in ... the bakery, I think? Friends of Willow who hung out with Clinton. No idea why Pintsize is here.

If whats her name is a personal shopper, pintsize DID say he would be getting proper clothing.

[DaFlipp]

Who's this Iris or this Yemisi? Have we met them before?

Adding to what others have said, they've actually been background characters for quite a while now - long before they had names, there were a number of strips where Willow, Iris, and Yemisi would react bemusedly to whatever dramatics the main cast was getting up to in their vicinity. It's only somewhat recently that we've started getting names for them, though (and as noted before, Yemisi was established as a personal shopper and wardrobe specialist, which is... *probably* what Pintsize is here for).

[Wraith]

Is or always exclusive? I am far more familiar with the specific logical distinction between OR and XOR to be particularly sure about the regular language, but I would guess, that or does allow for both inclusive and exclusive options depending on the context or intonation, or some other nuances.

Fair point. I suppose it depends on context - Pintsize *is* a door-to-door pervert, but he's presumably not there in that official capacity, so in answering 'yes' he's stating that he intends to do both when Iris was implying that she wanted to know if he was one or the other.

It's not really a serious point, I just really wanted to use the word 'lexicographical' today. If anything, it's Iris' fault for asking ambiguous questions. She seems like the type of person who prefers direct statements and nitpicks people who don't measure up to her exacting standards (read: aren't literal mind-readers). :smalltongue:

[Iruka]

If whats her name is a personal shopper, pintsize DID say he would be getting proper clothing.

Ah, I did not remember that.

[Max_Killjoy]

I like her mug.

I have a mug that says "Turns out I don't like morning people. Or mornings. Or people."

Mean mugs are great.

[Willie the Duck]

I like her mug.

I have a mug that says "Turns out I don't like morning people. Or mornings. Or people."

Mean mugs are great.
It seems to be a thing. My wife has a collection which includes 'Friends don't judge each other, they judge others together,' 'I would tell you to go to hell, but I work there and I don't want to see more of you,' and 'I don't want to hear your problems until there's no more coffee (not in this mug, in the world).'

[Ionathus]

My favorite mug just says "probably whiskey." My office job gave it to me!

[halfeye]

Is or always exclusive?

I think the English "or" is a logical XOR, so it's a joke to treat it as an OR.

The evidence for "or" being XOR includes all those notices and legal statements saying "and/or", if "or" was OR those statements would be redundant.

[Yuki Akuma]

I think the English "or" is a logical XOR, so it's a joke to treat it as an OR.

The evidence for "or" being XOR includes all those notices and legal statements saying "and/or", if "or" was OR those statements would be redundant.

Treating the English "or" as a logical "OR" is called a "mathematician's answer", after all. This implies it's usually meant as "XOR".

[georgie_leech]

Treating the English "or" as a logical "OR" is called a "mathematician's answer", after all. This implies it's usually meant as "XOR".

Or, that a mathematician might accept "True" as a valid output while most people don't treat "or" as a boolean logic variable in the first place, and instead most often mean "are you X or Y?" to mean something like "which of X or Y are you?"

[Delicious Taffy]

I lost the thread of conversation here. Isn't "xor" the blending mode you use to make layers interact funny in photomanip programs?

[Wraith]

I just wanted to make a silly pun. I now regret it, and everything that came thereafter.

[Willie the Duck]

I just wanted to make a silly pun. I now regret it, and everything that came thereafter.

Make a mean mug comment, I'm sure that will turn the thread around. :-)

[DavidSh]

Have we seen other robots partaking of coffee before? I seem to recall Bubbles enjoying the aroma of tea, but I think I saw (part of) a French press in the first panel here.

[Iruka]

Make a mean mug comment, I'm sure that will turn the thread around. :-)

I have a Coffee of Doom mug I bought a long time ago. I was rather careful with it, so it still looks pretty nice.

[Wraith]

Have we seen other robots partaking of coffee before? I seem to recall Bubbles enjoying the aroma of tea, but I think I saw (part of) a French press in the first panel here.

Apparently AIs enjoy the scent of most things in a way comparable to the way in which Bubbles likes tea. Momo 'enjoyed' the cookies that Veronica baked for Sam and her, Roko with bread is an extreme example, and Melon with her bucket of drain cleaner that she found under the counter at CoD is another, weirder one.

Or maybe the mug is empty and she's carrying it around because that's just what humans do when they get up first thing in the morning, so AIs copy them without quite knowing why, except that it's the same reason that Roko has a melon baller and a potato peeler in her kitchen? :smalltongue:

[Thufir]

Or maybe the mug is empty and she's carrying it around because that's just what humans do when they get up first thing in the morning, so AIs copy them without quite knowing why, except that it's the same reason that Roko has a melon baller and a potato peeler in her kitchen? :smalltongue:

Also possible the copying is deliberate - "Don't talk to me until I've had my morning coffee" is a common thing for humans, so carrying a coffee mug can help Iris signal visually to people that she's grumpy in the mornings, whether or not she gets anything from the coffee itself.

[tyckspoon]

Also possible the copying is deliberate - "Don't talk to me until I've had my morning coffee" is a common thing for humans, so carrying a coffee mug can help Iris signal visually to people that she's grumpy in the mornings, whether or not she gets anything from the coffee itself.

Could be running a 'caffeine' or 'morning wakeup' program that mimics the morning lag and slow approach to full wakefulness of caffeine-dependent humans after that morning mug, similar to the 'drunk' program we saw Roko and other-robo-cop using that lets them share in the human "I'm so wasted lolol" experience. Pretending to be human is a weirdly large part of the AI culture in QC.. admittedly it's probably mostly so they can be treated as oddly-colored humans and avoid having the whole comic turn into an extended (..and.. probably really poorly handled..) sci-fi treatise about post-Singularity life with aliens that humanity created themselves.

[Keltest]

Pintsize IS vibing here. While i still dont care for humanoid Pintsize, i am at least slightly less worried that his character is now completely deleted. He's much more expressive now.

[tyckspoon]

Pintsize IS vibing here. While i still dont care for humanoid Pintsize, i am at least slightly less worried that his character is now completely deleted. He's much more expressive now.

Eyebrows are amazingly useful for emoting, especially in cartooning.

[Morquard]

Remember when Clinton just randomly started talking about his relationship issues with a complete stranger, again? This is that complete stranger's friend.


Yemisi is the personal shopper who helped Yay Newfriend buy her clothing (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4406), and then insulted Roko for wearing casual clothing in her own home, on her day off. She's nominally the sensible one out of her, Willow Dragonfang and the Sarcastic Grey Robot (https://questionablecontent.fandom.com/wiki/Them), with whom she apparently is a couple? That might be an assumption, but it seems implied.

Ah thank you both, I do unfortunately remember them now. But it seems once again, random people that person A meets, somehow inexplicably end up in the social circle of Person B, who seesm to have known them for a decade.

[Ibrinar]

I lost the thread of conversation here. Isn't "xor" the blending mode you use to make layers interact funny in photomanip programs?

xor stands for exclusive or, in boolean logic that means A xor B returns true if either A or B is true but not both. For image blending that is applied on a bit level apparently.

[Max_Killjoy]

Seems Iris was making coffee for her roommate, even while giving her massive sass.

[Wraith]

I kind of like the idea that an AI will make a cup of coffee for themselves, enjoy the aroma, and then when they have spent a suitable amount of time "having breakfast" they pass it over to a human to actually drink. Economic, and it saves on washing the dishes! :smalltongue:

[Delicious Taffy]

xor stands for exclusive or, in boolean logic that means A xor B returns true if either A or B is true but not both.

I remember this one, now. You ask the two guards which door will lead to your death, and then go through the door neither of them is pointing at.

[Manga Shoggoth]

I remember this one, now. You ask the two guards which door will lead to your death, and then go through the door neither of them is pointing at.

As I recall the puzzle is that one of them lies and the other tells the truth, and you can only ask one of them, so you ask "which one would your mate say was safe?" and use the other one.

(The things you learned when watching Doctor Who...)

[tomandtish]

I have a Coffee of Doom mug I bought a long time ago. I was rather careful with it, so it still looks pretty nice.

Yeah, same. Generally speaking if you hand wash mugs/glasses with designs on them they will last much longer than if you put it in the dishwasher.

[halfeye]

I have a Coffee of Doom mug I bought a long time ago. I was rather careful with it, so it still looks pretty nice.


Yeah, same. Generally speaking if you hand wash mugs/glasses with designs on them they will last much longer than if you put it in the dishwasher.

It also helps if you don't put literally boiling water in them.

[DavidSh]

It also helps if you don't put literally boiling water in them.
So no brewing tea in the mug itself?

[Manga Shoggoth]

Not sure what the problem is - I've been brewing tea in mug since my university days and haven't had a problem (that's including the mug I used to use at work, with 404 the Dragon. He's still there in all his hand-painted glory).

Not putting things in a dishwasher I can understand - those things look to operate like mini sandblasters, as far as I can see. Saw one family essentially ruin some nice glassware that way...

[halfeye]

Not sure what the problem is - I've been brewing tea in mug since my university days and haven't had a problem (that's including the mug I used to use at work, with 404 the Dragon. He's still there in all his hand-painted glory).

I have occasionally seen the bottom break out of drinking vessels due to themal shock. It doesn't happen often, but I broke a mug that way a couple of years ago. That was an interesting one, the mug looked almost okay when it was empty, but it leaked from a crack most of the way around it.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Ah yes, that's always fun. Not managed that with kitchenware, but have killed a few beakers and crucibles in various labs.

[Traab]

Ah yes, that's always fun. Not managed that with kitchenware, but have killed a few beakers and crucibles in various labs.

Had that happen to a glass baking dish once. Accidentally left it on a hot burner on the stove.

[Gez]

I don't think it would be that sanitary, robot skin is probably not food grade, and even if it were, would it really be safe from some bisphenol A type of scenario where "oh you know that thing that has been used in every plastic bottle and food packaging for the last half century, well turns out it's an endocrine disruptor and a carcinogen, woopsie!"

[Iruka]

Ah yes, that's always fun. Not managed that with kitchenware, but have killed a few beakers and crucibles in various labs.

Ah, yes. Been there, done that.


I don't think it would be that sanitary, robot skin is probably not food grade, and even if it were, would it really be safe from some bisphenol A type of scenario where "oh you know that thing that has been used in every plastic bottle and food packaging for the last half century, well turns out it's an endocrine disruptor and a carcinogen, woopsie!"

I assume you would have to do a lot of eating until that becomes relevant ...

[DavidSh]

I don't think it would be that sanitary, robot skin is probably not food grade, and even if it were, would it really be safe from some bisphenol A type of scenario where "oh you know that thing that has been used in every plastic bottle and food packaging for the last half century, well turns out it's an endocrine disruptor and a carcinogen, woopsie!"
I'm not getting what you are referring to by "it" here. If Iris just enjoys the aroma of the brewed coffee for a couple of minutes before passing it on to a human, there wouldn't need to be any physical contact with the coffee at all. If this is still hazardous, it probably isn't safe for the humans to be room-mates with Iris, either.

[halfeye]

I'm not getting what you are referring to by "it" here. If Iris just enjoys the aroma of the brewed coffee for a couple of minutes before passing it on to a human, there wouldn't need to be any physical contact with the coffee at all. If this is still hazardous, it probably isn't safe for the humans to be room-mates with Iris, either.
I thought the comment you were replying to was about kissing the robot's bottom, I await with interest finding out whether either of us were correct.

[DavidSh]

I thought the comment you were replying to was about kissing the robot's bottom, I await with interest finding out whether either of us were correct.
You're probably right. It makes a bit more sense as a direct response to the comic than as anything to do with the conversation here.

[VoxRationis]

You know, I was wondering what sort of place sold a robot body that needs to plug a connector from itself into itself before using a call function.

[Radar]

You know, I was wondering what sort of place sold a robot body that needs to plug a connector from itself into itself before using a call function.
We kind of also get an explanation, why Pintsize could easily buy himself a body - Internet prices had to be quite different from regular shops.

[Wraith]

Is it just me, or does Pintsize's new body continue to sabotage May's arc?

Okay, sure - an ex-convict who is out on parole may not want to have dealings with sketchy guys named Internet Jerry, but between the comic and the sub-tag we now know of at least two places where AI can go to buy a reliable, reasonably priced, second-hand chassis like they're just sat on the kerb waiting for someone to come and make an offer on them.

It's kind of like Marigold offering to sell her collectable hentai in order to donate money to May's fund, only for us to find out days later that she's a hugely successful streamer with more money than time to spend it. The Foundation did a big charity drive/gofundme and raised thousands of dollars, and then Roko and Beepatrice spent their loyalty points to top it up to the approximate tune of MORE thousands*.... And then Pinsize walked down the street and picked up a perfectly suitable body from the equivalent of a flea market or garage sale.

* -ish? Maybe.

I'll certainly change my tune if it turns out that Pintsize's new body is an utter dog and needed it's 50k mile tune-up 130k miles ago or something, but it doesn't appear to be heading that way so far.

[Max_Killjoy]

Is it just me, or does Pintsize's new body continue to sabotage May's arc?

Okay, sure - an ex-convict who is out on parole may not want to have dealings with sketchy guys named Internet Jerry, but between the comic and the sub-tag we now know of at least two places where AI can go to buy a reliable, reasonably priced, second-hand chassis like they're just sat on the kerb waiting for someone to come and make an offer on them.

It's kind of like Marigold offering to sell her collectable hentai in order to donate money to May's fund, only for us to find out days later that she's a hugely successful streamer with more money than time to spend it. The Foundation did a big charity drive/gofundme and raised thousands of dollars, and then Roko and Beepatrice spent their loyalty points to top it up to the approximate tune of MORE thousands*.... And then Pinsize walked down the street and picked up a perfectly suitable body from the equivalent of a flea market or garage sale.

* -ish? Maybe.

I'll certainly change my tune if it turns out that Pintsize's new body is an utter dog and needed it's 50k mile tune-up 130k miles ago or something, but it doesn't appear to be heading that way so far.


It almost seems like Jeph's repeatedly demonstrated inability to remember the past within his comics is getting worse.

[Agi Hammerthief]

[...] can go to buy a reliable, reasonably priced, second-hand chassis [...]
all assumptions ... based on what?

reasonably priced it might be, but as long as we don’t know anything about the specifications, we don’t know what „reasonably priced“ for this model is in relation to May‘s income.

[Manga Shoggoth]

More to the point, Pintsize literally got his off the back of a lorry. There's likley no guarantee of provinence at all. It's a bit like the old Computer Fairs of years past, where you could buy all sorts of stuff, usually very cheap, but despite the paperwork effectively had no guarantee (sometimes the real internet 'ain't a lot better).

Pintsize seems to have a lot of shady contacts...

On the other hand, May, Roko and Momo all got their chassis from reputable dealers.

[Wraith]

all assumptions ... based on what?

Reliable? He's had it for all of a couple of hours and nothing appears to have fallen off or caught fire. This is literally all May needed to just get about her day, and even if she then had to spend more on repairs she's better off because she would have had to do that anyway and now she's not crippled while trying to do so.

Reasonably priced? Pintsize's finances have always been of questionable source, but all he does is rent out his processors to crunch numbers - I can rent a dedicated server right now to do the same thing for ~$200 per month, for comparison - and he's never had a job so probably has no real credit history for a formal loan. How much did his chassis cost? No idea, but he managed it on nearly half of minimum wage, in cash, apparently on a whim so it probably doesn't compare to the brand new off-the-shelf models like Roko's.

Second hand? Yeah that's a guess, but we know there is an after-market for chassis (Momo and Winslow both donated their old ones to charity rather than sell them), and if it's not priced like a new body then it may well just be a slightly used one. It's not a huge leap, as assumptions go.

Bottom line: May was at any given moment apparently 30 seconds away from her head falling off and the stump of her neck bursting into flames; assuming all she needed was to find a chassis that definitely wasn't stolen property to make sure it didn't upset her parole, how picky did she really need to be whether it comes with a warranty, or tazer-fingers, or was the colour of old nicotine because it's previous owner worked in a bar?
Anything not actively on fire that would run for a few months to a year or so without her leg dropping out of socket was all she needed while she saved up for a better one, and apparently they're traded just like old cars and apparently with about as much fuss. :smalltongue:

I'm not saying it's an obvious, immediate and consequence-free solution to May's problem, but it's just a really weird path for the comic to take. May had a multi-thousand dollar charity drive set up for her, got the seal of approval for AI civil rights from Hannelore's Dad, and got Roko and Beep's pooled loyalty points to get her a new body... Or apparently they could have fronted her a couple of hundred dollars for a runner like Pintsize's and kept a couple hundred more back for Union Robotics to give it a 30k mile service and make sure it wasn't going to crap out on her.

[Traab]

Even assuming your 200 a month is accurate, he has zero bills. He doesnt pay rent, he doesnt pay for electricity, his money is all profit in his pockets for whatever zany thing he wants to do. May meanwhile is paying for constant repairs to her terrible body, rent, and is limited in what she can do while on parole. Her pay is basically eaten up instantly for everything she needs to support herself. If I may use my car as an example. Its an old cheap piece of garbage and I would like to replace it. However, I will have to save up for months to make enough to buy even another cheap car and thats assuming nothing comes up (I already need new brakes and rotors. /sigh)

[theNater]

I'm not saying it's an obvious, immediate and consequence-free solution to May's problem, but it's just a really weird path for the comic to take. May had a multi-thousand dollar charity drive set up for her, got the seal of approval for AI civil rights from Hannelore's Dad, and got Roko and Beep's pooled loyalty points to get her a new body... Or apparently they could have fronted her a couple of hundred dollars for a runner like Pintsize's and kept a couple hundred more back for Union Robotics to give it a 30k mile service and make sure it wasn't going to crap out on her.
Who is "they" in this context? Because the charity drive wasn't intended to be thousands of dollars; that surprised everybody. Indeed, when Roko and Beepatrice were setting it up, they probably expected a few hundred bucks.

[Mechalich]

Even assuming your 200 a month is accurate, he has zero bills. He doesnt pay rent, he doesnt pay for electricity, his money is all profit in his pockets for whatever zany thing he wants to do. May meanwhile is paying for constant repairs to her terrible body, rent, and is limited in what she can do while on parole. Her pay is basically eaten up instantly for everything she needs to support herself. If I may use my car as an example. Its an old cheap piece of garbage and I would like to replace it. However, I will have to save up for months to make enough to buy even another cheap car and thats assuming nothing comes up (I already need new brakes and rotors. /sigh)

Compared to Pintsize, May's additional expenses are modest rent - she splits the cost with Dale on a place Dale managed to afford by himself working a bunch of mostly low wage jobs - and body maintenance. That's it. No AI appears to pay any significant amount for their electrical charge (Lemon's comment about nuclear reactor AIs suggest the QC world may be awash in cheap nuclear power).

Meanwhile, the minimum wage in Massachusetts is 13.50 an hour. Assuming May manages to cobble together 40 hours a week (and since there was no discussion of her trying to find a second job or additional hours this seems reasonable), she'd gross 28,000 a year. Pintsize, making 200 a month would only make 2400 a year, less than 10% of what May brings in. Therefore, in order for Pintsize to be able to afford a body while May cannot her taxes+rent+body maintenance would have to set her back 90% of her income. This is rather absurd, especially given that May is likely to earn almost as much in a tax refund - an ideal source of a down payment on a new chassis - than Pintsize does in an entire year.

[Radar]

Bottom line: May was at any given moment apparently 30 seconds away from her head falling off and the stump of her neck bursting into flames; assuming all she needed was to find a chassis that definitely wasn't stolen property to make sure it didn't upset her parole, how picky did she really need to be whether it comes with a warranty, or tazer-fingers, or was the colour of old nicotine because it's previous owner worked in a bar?
Anything not actively on fire that would run for a few months to a year or so without her leg dropping out of socket was all she needed while she saved up for a better one, and apparently they're traded just like old cars and apparently with about as much fuss. :smalltongue:
(bolding mine) I think this is the key point here concerning buying things from Internet Jerry: a guy high on LSD selling things from a van around some abandoned mall. Does that sound legit? You can almost bet that body just fell off a truck or something.

At any rate, I still agree that Jeph is pretty bad at keeping consistency in his work.

[Delicious Taffy]

I've gotta hop on the "Pintsize's new body is weird for May reasons" bandwagon. On one hand, if he's better off than her financially (and I won't go all armchair-accountant here), sure, I see no issue with him getting a new body Just Because. Basically everyone except May has had the narrative freedom to, so why not?

On the second hand, I find myself wondering if maybe this should have come before that event, so there could be even more reason for May to be irritated and desperate for the new body. Sort of a "Damn it, even Pintsize can afford it easier than me, that's how expensive this lemon is." type of scenario.

Also, the whole streaming thing came out of literally nowhere and I'm not super here for it as a concept. It feels weird and sort of tacked on to ClaireMom's whole schtick, which I thought was funny enough on its own. But hey, I'm not the author.

[Traab]

I've gotta hop on the "Pintsize's new body is weird for May reasons" bandwagon. On one hand, if he's better off than her financially (and I won't go all armchair-accountant here), sure, I see no issue with him getting a new body Just Because. Basically everyone except May has had the narrative freedom to, so why not?

On the second hand, I find myself wondering if maybe this should have come before that event, so there could be even more reason for May to be irritated and desperate for the new body. Sort of a "Damn it, even Pintsize can afford it easier than me, that's how expensive this lemon is." type of scenario.

Also, the whole streaming thing came out of literally nowhere and I'm not super here for it as a concept. It feels weird and sort of tacked on to ClaireMom's whole schtick, which I thought was funny enough on its own. But hey, I'm not the author.

We got a brief intro to streaming from skullmaster, master of skulls, as she was buying equipment to do it and marigold was there for that part. Then like 16 years pass by and its never mentioned until suddenly she is a super rich streamer. So yeah, it feels a bit tacked on, but its not ENTIRELY unforeshadowed, just mostly.

[Rakaydos]

Compared to Pintsize, May's additional expenses are modest rent - she splits the cost with Dale on a place Dale managed to afford by himself working a bunch of mostly low wage jobs - and body maintenance. That's it. No AI appears to pay any significant amount for their electrical charge (Lemon's comment about nuclear reactor AIs suggest the QC world may be awash in cheap nuclear power).

I dunno, having therapy costs be part of your nuclear reactor's operating expenses might drive up the bills, and discourage creation of nuclear plants over alternative power production.

[Radar]

We got a brief intro to streaming from skullmaster, master of skulls, as she was buying equipment to do it and marigold was there for that part. Then like 16 years pass by and its never mentioned until suddenly she is a super rich streamer. So yeah, it feels a bit tacked on, but its not ENTIRELY unforeshadowed, just mostly.
Interestingly, Marigold had loads of good knowledge to share concerning the equipment etc., which could be considered a hint that she was also streaming something.

[Ionathus]

I've gotta hop on the "Pintsize's new body is weird for May reasons" bandwagon. On one hand, if he's better off than her financially (and I won't go all armchair-accountant here), sure, I see no issue with him getting a new body Just Because. Basically everyone except May has had the narrative freedom to, so why not?

On the second hand, I find myself wondering if maybe this should have come before that event, so there could be even more reason for May to be irritated and desperate for the new body. Sort of a "Damn it, even Pintsize can afford it easier than me, that's how expensive this lemon is." type of scenario.

Yeah, it really does cheapen/question the stakes of May's body problems. Which is too bad, because that arc was probably my favorite one in the last several years.


Also, the whole streaming thing came out of literally nowhere and I'm not super here for it as a concept. It feels weird and sort of tacked on to ClaireMom's whole schtick, which I thought was funny enough on its own. But hey, I'm not the author.

My money's on "Jeph thought it would be funny for Marigold to get rich streaming, so he threw it in on the next strip." QC's plotting seems to run on Jeph's whims right now, which is not necessarily bad, but he does not seem to show a lot of restraint when it comes to making all of the new characters & plots ultimately pay off.

[Kish]

Meanwhile, I'm going: wait what? Why is what amounts to: it's a plot hole that there's a really poor person in the general vicinity of people who aren't really poor, suddenly a common criticism? Pintsize is not May. "Pintsize has the money to buy a new body on a whim" only creates problems with May not being able to if you think Pintsize's money is May's money, but whenever the comic has dealt with Pintsize and money, it's featured him casually throwing disposable money around--including when he had an entirely unexpected contribution to the "May's new body" fund.

One could say Pintsize should have bought May a new body, entirely, out of the goodness of his electronic heart, but [this part elided because there's no way to not get into politics here].

[Mechalich]

I dunno, having therapy costs be part of your nuclear reactor's operating expenses might drive up the bills, and discourage creation of nuclear plants over alternative power production.

Well, the thing is, in the real world the US only has 86 operational nuclear power stations at present. Almost all of them commenced operations prior to 1990, making them extremely poor candidates for AI management. So if there's a substantial population of nuclear power operator AIs in existence at all, even a few dozen of them, that implies a huge construction boom in nuclear power plants from 2000 onward compared with the real world.

It should be noted that there have been occasional references to the world of QC diverging increasingly from the real world outside of the tiny pocket of New England college town that insulates the core cast. For example, Steve commented 'the thing the robots are building in Halifax is crazy' or something like that after returning from a trip thousands of comics ago. A clean energy revolution - and probably high capacity battery breakthrough as well - is almost a necessary prerequisite considering the kind of power draw an AI chassis - especially a heavier chassis like Bubbles or Crushbot - must output.

I mean, consider that your average Tesla has a battery pack that weighs over 1,000 lbs and will run the car for maybe around 6 hours of constant activity if you're really lucky. A QC AI chassis is heavier than a person of equivalent volume but not cripplingly so (they don't crush people they fall on and we see humans drag them around, if with difficulty) and most of them (May's old body being an exception) seem to be able to last all day on a charge.

[Willie the Duck]

Meanwhile, I'm going: wait what? Why is what amounts to: it's a plot hole that there's a really poor person in the general vicinity of people who aren't really poor, suddenly a common criticism? Pintsize is not May. "Pintsize has the money to buy a new body on a whim" only creates problems with May not being able to if you think Pintsize's money is May's money, but whenever the comic has dealt with Pintsize and money, it's featured him casually throwing disposable money around--including when he had an entirely unexpected contribution to the "May's new body" fund.

One could say Pintsize should have bought May a new body, entirely, out of the goodness of his electronic heart, but [this part elided because there's no way to not get into politics here].

I think the argument is that if the guy who is never seen working can go out and buy a body on a lark, then they must be cheap enough that May could have found something she could afford in her price range (or the very least some of her friends could have scratched together enough to do it, without resorting to the extensive fundraiser). Of course that doesn't have to be true (plenty of assumptions in the middle there), and it should be noted that we don't know that her friends couldn't have scraped together a couple grand for her to get a beater body better than what she had or something (that option was skipped right over in favor of a hopefully 'forever home'-level body).

I don't have a horse in this race. I treat QC as a sitcom, and loose continuity where vignettes are relatively separate most of the time. I'm used to scenarios where (ex.) Joey gets a great new acting job and spends it on fancy animal sculptures in a great new apartment and it isn't seen as rubbing it in the face of Phoebe/Rachel, which whom he was commiserating of their shared poverty a couple episodes prior or where Barney beats his drinking problem in time to save the Simpsons kids one episode, and is back to being a drunkard next time we see him. Mind you, I think series that can manage ongoing continuity to a greater level (think Arrested Development) are genuinely better products, and I will agree with the critique that if Jeph were doing that I'd consider the strip high art instead of a decent little gag a day strip.

[Ionathus]

Meanwhile, I'm going: wait what? Why is what amounts to: it's a plot hole that there's a really poor person in the general vicinity of people who aren't really poor, suddenly a common criticism? Pintsize is not May. "Pintsize has the money to buy a new body on a whim" only creates problems with May not being able to if you think Pintsize's money is May's money, but whenever the comic has dealt with Pintsize and money, it's featured him casually throwing disposable money around--including when he had an entirely unexpected contribution to the "May's new body" fund.

For me, it's a combination of "AI chassis are routinely depicted as very expensive, and now it's whatever, who cares" and "this new Pintsize development isn't really doing anything for me, narratively speaking."

Momo, Winslow, Roko, and now May have all had a moment in their chassis-purchasing arcs where the price was mentioned as being very, very high. Especially for May, this was repeatedly mentioned as a big hurdle for her to get out of her personal cycle of poverty. I laughed at the panel of May reacting to Pintsize's purchase, sure, but May's arc was one of my favorites in recent years and it just feels like there's suddenly a lack of consistency with that entire premise.

Pintsize suddenly has the disposable income to drop on a new body, out of the blue? The overall situation is just giving me "okay, whatever I guess" vibes. As someone else said, maybe having him get his body first, before May, might've helped that weird pacing.

And that bleeds over into my other gripe about this new storyline. It doesn't feel like any groundwork was laid for it; just another thing that got chucked into the story haphazardly. I know we're only a few weeks into this story, but I don't honestly feel sold at all on this being character development for Pintsize.

[BRC]

There's a few things to consider
1) May has been working a minimum wage job, and, since she's had a humanoid chassis this entire time, has been paying rent. Pintsize, with his small chassis, as far as we know has been freeloading off Martin for some time.
2) May's ability to save up for a body has been severely hampered by her need to pay for repairs to keep her current body going.

3) Unlike May, Pintsize has the ability to take out a loan for a new body. This kind of goes against the idea that he bought it from a shady guy in a van, but if a Chassis is similar to buying a Car, then it's not unreasonably that Pintsize could have gotten a loan from some AI-Bank that would have laughed in May's face. I'm begin generous with the worldbuilding here, but I wouldn't be surprised if banks had loan programs for AIs that wish to become fully embodied (Whether they lived in server farms, or toasters, or AnthroPCs).

4) All bodies we've seen have been purchase firsthand from a major dealer. If Pintsize is telling the truth about getting his from a sketchy guy in a van, that's a different story.

Winslow and MoMo wouldn't be the type to buy a Chassis secondhand from a sketchy guy in a van. May might have been, but the fundraiser came in with enough cash to get a top-line model from a reputable dealer.

Finally, Pintsized has been a non-entity in the comic for so long that I wouldn't be surprised by basically any revelation of his financial situation. Jeph could have him mention that he got rich of Cryptocurrency and memestocks and I'd believe it.

[Rodin]

Finally, Pintsized has been a non-entity in the comic for so long that I wouldn't be surprised by basically any revelation of his financial situation. Jeph could have him mention that he got rich of Cryptocurrency and memestocks and I'd believe it.

Heck, that's what he should have done. Have Pintsize mention that he made a mint off of Dogecoin or something equally ludicrious-but-fictional (Hentaicoin?) and the explanation is easy. It's perfectly Pintsize to invest in an obscene cryptocurrency and would explain his funding.

As it stands, I wasn't invested in May's quest for a new body and I'm still not sold on Pintsize's new body situation.

I went back and looked at the "Sam starts a Let's Play" storyline and noticed that there's a really weird sequencing in the timeline. We first see a timeskip with Claire complaining about how cold it is, then we see Marigold talking to Sam. Then we get a montage of Faye working at the robot arena and getting buff, implying that this is a second time skip we're seeing...only the next strip is right after Marigold left Sam and is now talking to Hannelore about the situation.

Why stick the Faye comic in the middle there? Move it to the start to show the timeskip, then have Claire announce how cold it is to drive home the timeskip. It's a weird place to put a "Faye gets buff" montage and it confused the heck out of me just now when I was trying to re-read it.

Linear time, how does it work?

[Eldan]

Great, we're back to this ****.

Seriously. Telling your son about the Fetish content you make when he's visibly uncomfortable is not okay. It's very not okay. It's in fact ****ed up. That's not only edging into (sexually) abusive territory, it's also abusing a position of power over him.

[Max_Killjoy]

It's major squick fuel, but I don't know if I see an authority/power issue here.

Mainly I just see one adult pushing borderline info on another adult that they clearly do not want, and don't need.

[Vinyadan]

Lol, I assume that there will be +1000 Patreons today :biggrin:

[theangelJean]

It's major squick fuel, but I don't know if I see an authority/power issue here.

Mainly I just see one adult pushing borderline info on another adult that they clearly do not want, and don't need.

Hmm, yeah I think I agree. In true abuse situations, parent/adult child can certainly feel like an authority/power relationship, with "her house, her rules" being maybe enough to tip it over the edge. But the challenge then is to help the victim realise the parent doesn't actually have to have any power or authority (and to get them out of the parent's house). If there isn't any previous history of abuse, and this isn't one of Clinton's buttons that his mum pushes all the time/every time he visits, it could just be a random off-colour reminder that she is an adult and not just his mother (in just about the most inappropriate manner).

Edit: I'm actually going to retract even that last bit. Discussing what you personally enjoy doing during sexual activity, while talking with a child not old enough to understand or consent to the discussion, would be sexual abuse territory. Making a joke abouit imaginary breasts on an imaginary character with an adult child who happens to be male? When the imaginary character is lactation-themed? Not that I think Jeph is getting at this, but I wouldn't be surprised if the whole "mommy milkers" thing is an explicit poke at the ideas that lactation=sex and that internet followers = sexual attraction. Aurelia is explicitly trying to avoid the latter and I haven't actually seen any signs that she is into the former either. But for Clinton, the fact of his mother having and talking about breasts is too much for him.

[Kish]

I don't think what Clinton's mother is doing qualifies as abusive. I also don't think she'd have grounds to complain if Clinton's response to all future invitations to visit was "no, the last time was thoroughly embarrassing and unpleasant in ways you could have warned me about but didn't."

[Traab]

What she is saying is thoroughly silly and strange, not abusive. He is weirded out, not traumatized. And as he just demonstrated, has absolutely no problem with leaving when the conversation gets too weird for him. Its literally a cup of milk she takes a picture of and posts online and I get the feeling its less fetish and more funny. A lot of youtubers have regular gags that develop organically over the years and often become really strange. Especially to an outsider. I watch a seven days to die gamer play numerous series and he has a violently angry aversion to looting cornmeal. He even has merch based on it. Her being a cow woman where one teat produces vegan almond milk while the one next to it is a steamer is obviously silly and not yank material. At least thats the feeling i get from this. Im sure that at least a few of her followers are enjoying it a little too personally, but it feels more like its fun than freaky.

[Rodin]

What she is saying is thoroughly silly and strange, not abusive. He is weirded out, not traumatized. And as he just demonstrated, has absolutely no problem with leaving when the conversation gets too weird for him. Its literally a cup of milk she takes a picture of and posts online and I get the feeling its less fetish and more funny. A lot of youtubers have regular gags that develop organically over the years and often become really strange. Especially to an outsider. I watch a seven days to die gamer play numerous series and he has a violently angry aversion to looting cornmeal. He even has merch based on it. Her being a cow woman where one teat produces vegan almond milk while the one next to it is a steamer is obviously silly and not yank material. At least thats the feeling i get from this. Im sure that at least a few of her followers are enjoying it a little too personally, but it feels more like its fun than freaky.

I think you've put more thought into this than the comic has. The joke is that Clinton's mom has a channel dedicated to a very specific fetish...and she is totally oblivious to the fact that she has done so. Even when shown that her entire fanbase is drawing porn fanart of her avatar.

That's it. That's the entire joke. Clinton's mom accidentally started a fetish channel and Clinton is super embarassed about that. It's more of the "haha, aren't embarassing parents funny!?" bit we've seen with Marten's mother on multiple occasions.

[geoduck]

Her being a cow woman where one teat produces vegan almond milk while the one next to it is a steamer is obviously silly and not yank material.

Literally anything can be yank material.

[Traab]

Literally anything can be yank material.

Yes, but its so ludicrously niche that its very unlikely she is some sort of super famous streamer because of the vast market of furry fetishists who love them some cyborg cow ladies.

[Mechalich]

Yes, but its so ludicrously niche that its very unlikely she is some sort of super famous streamer because of the vast market of furry fetishists who love them some cyborg cow ladies.

Aurelia has 20% of Marigold's audience, and Marigold is apparently making Top Ten Streamer in the world kind of money. Given how these sort of things work Aurelia is absolutely the most famous streamer for her particular fetish niche and also probably making a decent middle class wage off her streaming (and might well be a top 1000 streamer globally).

Of course, nothing about the streaming situation makes sense because Jeph appears to have wildly misunderstood how the streaming marketplace actually works (and by this I mean he made a whole bunch of highly significant decisions without bothering to spend 10 minutes using google first).