wtfe²日本語

xkcd #927

Standards

by Randall MunroePublished: License: CC BY-NC 2.5

Comic: Standards (xkcd #927). Transcript below.

Standards © Randall Munroe · xkcd · CC BY-NC 2.5

Hover textFortunately, the charging one has been solved now that we've all standardized on mini-USB. Or is it micro-USB? Shit.

Why it lands

The usual fate of the one standard meant to replace all the others: it becomes one more. Worth rereading before proposing a new format, protocol or in-house framework, and a reason to ask first whether one of the existing fourteen can be extended.

Transcript

  1. HOW STANDARDS PROLIFERATE:
  2. (SEE: A/C CHARGERS, CHARACTER ENCODINGS, INSTANT MESSAGING, ETC.)
  3. SITUATION: THERE ARE 14 COMPETING STANDARDS.
  4. 14?! RIDICULOUS! WE NEED TO DEVELOP ONE UNIVERSAL STANDARD THAT COVERS EVERYONE'S USE CASES.
  5. YEAH!
  6. SOON:
  7. SITUATION: THERE ARE 15 COMPETING STANDARDS.

Credits

Original
Standards — Randall Munroe, xkcd

The English page shows the original image unmodified. The Japanese page shows an adaptation by wtfe²: the lettering was erased from the art and replaced with a Japanese translation. The adaptation is shared under the same license as the original.