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If you're still not comfortable with me stayin' here...

If... if Dale says it's okay, then you can stay.

Friends? S-sure.

Now that we're friends, let's talk about your AMAZING RACK.

So, you guys are cool now? SUPER cool. (Marigold tries to protest)

She'll be propped up in a corner if they need her.

Won't make fun of their fuckin' noises.

Unless you make really funny ones. Like, whale noises. All weeeeeeeooooo

Mom just signed the lease for "a LOVELY one-bedroom apartment on Main street."

Wow. (Is that a good wow or a bad wow?)

Those apartments are WAY overpriced. (She's from California. Your prices are LAUGHABLE.)

Want really cheap rent? Nice apartment in Savannah just smilin' at the right people.

Hannelore and her hat says Hi to Martenmom!

How did your date go? Well, I'm moving up here. Oh my gosh

(furtive looks) did you kiss Yes. (OH MY GOSH)

Time for May to go look for work! Um... (What?)

Don't you have something different to wear?

All they give us is these coveralls, fuckbarn.

How do they expect you to find work wearing a "HEY I WAS IN JAIL" sign?

100 bucks for "necessities" but there's no way I'm spendin' that on CLOTHES.

I don't wanna know what you think qualifies as a "necessity."

[Is it cold in here?]

Speaking as a male moderator, the boobs discussion was lifting the needle on the creepiness meter. Pushback is appropriate.

(regular user)AnthroPCs have a configuration option for gender.

[Ben]

So, Pintsize's failed date was essentially down to differing interpretations of what those settings amounted to? I take it that the other AnthroPC was (analogously) "gay" - which makes no sense in terms of what Marten said, because it doesn't appear to be an option ? Or does it mean that an AnthroPC or whoever has administrator rights has discretion to configure its settings to the extent that another unit can't correctly interpret those settings?

Sorry, none of that makes sense?

[Neko_Ali]

uh... He said that there were settings for gender. Male, Female and Gender-unidentified. That has nothing to do with sexuality. There could just as easily be gay robots.

[Renimar]

And why on earth are robots fascinated with boobs (and porn)?

For this, I'm reminded of Jeph's postscript for 1658 on one of Momo's daydreams:

"No one is quite sure who decided it would be useful for artificial intelligences to posess libidos, but it is generally agreed that it would be more trouble than it is worth to remove it. Besides, the horny little buggers would revolt."

[Kugai]

Thank Grud that Marigold is on Mays Nice List - I'd hate to think what she'd have done if Marigold wasn't!

[Mlle Germain]

But of course it's not only the mods' job; other forum members can speak up as well. I am sometimes uncertain about doing it, though, just like you said.

We are comfortable with this.  However, I would just issue a caution that some forums are not - there are those which call it back-seat modding, and consider it an infringement of the rules.

Oh, I didn't mean that I have the same authority to moderate a discussion as you guys have (in the sense that "stop saying such things or bad stuff will happen"), just that if a forum member disagrees with/ is uncomfortable with what's being said, they should/could also voice their opinion.

[Thrillho]

It depresses me how little men and frequently even other women don't get just how much more there is to having big boobs than 'hey, I have a great rack that people want to motorboat.' I've known and been with a lot of chesty girls, and rest assured, the grass is always greener. I am pleased with the response by certain forumites.

[cesariojpn]

Ships are conventionally regarded as "female" after all, as are locomotives on occasion; I can't think of any inanimate object which is "male"

Theirs like a whole flotilla of US Navy ships alone named after males. Some by ship class.

[Mr_Rose]

So? They're still referred to as "she" or "her" when you're not giving the ships name explicitly.
Just as there's nothing stopping you from naming your boy "Sue" there's no rule that says a fine lady like the Eisenhower can't be called "Dwight."

[DSL]

On the Great Lakes, about half the dwindling cargo fleet is named after men. A ship (overgrown and underpowered motor barge, really, but we take what we can get) is referred to as "she."
(EDIT: I should add, though, that along the lakes, it's not uncommon for someone on shore observing freighters doing freighter things to comment on what "he" is doing. Referring to the captain, perhaps?)
I am told, though, common usage in the Russian merchant and military fleet is to refer to a ship as "he" or "him."

[Sidhekin]

Russian is one of those languages with gendered nouns, though.

As is Norwegian.  And in many dialects, including mine, with the "full" range of masculine, feminine, and neuter, with pronouns equally gendered, and choice of pronoun depending on the word for "ship" employed: If we're talking about "ei skute", we'd say "ho" (she), whereas if we're talking about "en bĺt", we'd say "han" (he).  And of course, if we're talking about "et skip", we'd say "det" (it).

[Barmymoo]

It's hardly decisive, but my friend calls his car "he", and the car is named Trebevor, due to the numberplate.

[Method of Madness]

I decided a while ago that my car is named Tyrion, but I would never refer to it as a gendered pronoun.

[Is it cold in here?]

Pintsize jumped to a conclusion because the other robot had a  pink avatar.

[Ben]

Various things above that are true in themselves but on,y to some extent.

Pintsize DID jump to a conclusion about the pink avatar. Both of them seem to have made the obvious mistake which Terry Pratchett's dwarves avert; they all look tbe same, so 80% of dwarf courtship consists of discreetly establishing tbe actual gender of the other one. It's also fairly clear that Discworld dwarves marry for functional reasons, ie they are concerned with transmission of property rights and (by implication) practice a high level of arranged marriage for that reason.

But Pintsize is basically a vehicle for gross-out humour which wouldn't work for a human character, so he gets away with it. The whole gag is that he is a box of plastic and wire with no actual gender at all. Why any if tbe characters put up with him, far less spend money on him is just an artefact of the background scenario.

Asimov's robot stories revolve around the sometimes unpredictable results of trying to create robot "personalities" (leaving aside the Will Smith film which has no recognisable connection with the Asimov oeuvre, really). Interestingly enough, Asimov postulates a robot who attempts to create the impression of finding "his" owner attractive to boost her self esteem, but she is scared stupid by it and he is returned to the factory toot-sweet. Of course, Asimov misses several points which would be obvious to a modern writer - the robot's brain and oersonality are integral and can't be reprogrammed or transferred, for one thing.

The Idoru robots are robots which happen to look like human females as currently configured.

Momo is interesting because of the civil rights aspect. In some ways she us more interesting than the human characters, who spend most if their time being snarky or obsessing over self-defined issues. May looked interesting at first but I do hope she doesn't turn into another Pintsize

[Zwammy]

Ships are conventionally regarded as "female" after all, as are locomotives on occasion; I can't think of any inanimate object which is "male"

From what I understand, the Russians refer to ships and other machines as male. I haven't heard of anyone else doing this, but that doesn't mean there aren't others.

[jwhouk]

Storyline Summary Time - Your fave so far?

The Return of May!    11 (31.4%)
Marigold and Dale    4 (11.4%)
Angus and Faye    1 (2.9%)
Martenmom and Jim    4 (11.4%)
Jimbo and "craft beers"    1 (2.9%)
Tai and Dora    3 (8.6%)
Claire and Emily    4 (11.4%)
The Band!    4 (11.4%)
Space Ham, Waffles and Space Tea!    0 (0%)
YELLING BIRD!    2 (5.7%)
Something else!    1 (2.9%)

Total Members Voted: 35

[Kugai]

Oh for GRUDS sake May, shut up and shut down for the night before you talk yourself OUT of Dales Apartment.

[Method of Madness]

Gruds?

[Is it cold in here?]

Whale songs have been mentioned in this context before.

[Aziraphale]

Ships are conventionally regarded as "female" after all, as are locomotives on occasion; I can't think of any inanimate object which is "male"

From what I understand, the Russians refer to ships and other machines as male. I haven't heard of anyone else doing this, but that doesn't mean there aren't others.

The only other exception that comes to mind is the Bismarck, which Hitler insisted be referred to as "he." Otherwise, I've heard of practically everything floaty from rowboats to guided missile cruisers referred to as "she."

[Method of Madness]

I once had a teacher who when asked why boats were called "she", she responded with "because men own them".

[DonInKansas]

AllllWeeeeeeOoooooo....

Try spicing up bedroom time with that. 

[T]

The only other exception that comes to mind is the Bismarck, which Hitler insisted be referred to as "he." Otherwise, I've heard of practically everything floaty from rowboats to guided missile cruisers referred to as "she."

Do people refer to the Titanic as "she"?

[Method of Madness]

They probably did, yeah.

[vforvancouver]

Going back in the archives, I noticed that Marigold's beauty marks have changed their position in her face... Look at comic 1560 (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1560) and 2716 (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2716).

[Storel]

Beauty marks? Hmm. Based on her appearance and slovenly hygiene in the early comics, I always figured they were pimples. Especially in #1560, there are other marks like that (but smaller) on her face, too. It would not be surprising for pimples to apparently change location, as one heals and another appears.

However, in the later comic you linked (#2716), they do look more like beauty marks. Interesting. Perhaps two of the pimples (not necessarily the ones shown in #1560) were severe enough to leave scars, or perhaps they were beauty marks all along.

Her complexion does seem to have cleared up somewhat with the passage of time. Maybe because of an improved diet now that Momo is big enough to cook, along with regular showers once she started having friends who could be offended by her body odor...

[vforvancouver]

Marigold always had two distinctive beauty marks along with a bunch of pimples. Pimples appeared and disappeared at random, but the beauty marks stayed there, in a constant location. The bigger one started to drift, however...

[Is it cold in here?]

If May had been forced into a female chassis contrary to her gender identity, she would have complained by now.

[Ben]

If May had been forced into a female chassis contrary to her gender identity, she would have complained by now.

Not so. If the settings can be changed arbitrarily by whoever has Administrator privileges, "she" would just accept it. I suspect, however, that an AI left in any one gender setting for long enough would tend to accrue a set of learned responses (I'm postulating here that they learn heuristic ally, which is pretty clearly implied in various times and places) and just changing the settings might not produce quite the required result.

This might be the root cause of why Pintsize and his "date" seemed to misunderstand each other. It would depend on what the settings actually consist of. His "date" might simply have regarded the settings as essentially irrelevant to a process which is inherently not sexual at all, in human terms.

[cesariojpn]

The only other exception that comes to mind is the Bismarck, which Hitler insisted be referred to as "he." Otherwise, I've heard of practically everything floaty from rowboats to guided missile cruisers referred to as "she."

Do people refer to the Titanic as "she"?

"Sunk."

So todays strippy.....think May might've crossed the sexual harassment line? Seems Marigold is a tad uncomfortable about something and yesterdays strippy end with May wanting to talk about Marigold's boobs......

[techkid]

That's how it looks to me, as well. I mean, they were barely introduced and May's already focusing on Marigold's chest and their sexual activities.

May's tact (somewhere approximately that of a sledgehammer) may make for humour, in an sitcom sort of way, but I'd say she'd be yelled at before too long if she keeps it up.

[KOK]

The whale noice remark is very unfortunate, since Marigold has this habit of comparing herself to a whale http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1880

[ankhtahr]

The only other exception that comes to mind is the Bismarck, which Hitler insisted be referred to as "he." Otherwise, I've heard of practically everything floaty from rowboats to guided missile cruisers referred to as "she."

From what I know the Bismarck is female, just like every other ship. So it would be "Das Schlachtschiff Bismarck", Neutrum, but "Die Bismarck", Femininum. And if you referred to the person it'd be "Der Reichskanzler Bismarck".

[maneyan]

Heyoooo, longtime reader, first-time poster etc.

I registered to say this: I think today's comic shows, more than anything, how May is utterly euphoric atm. Does anyone get that impression as well, that compared with her grumpy first appearance she's that much more spunky now. She's overjoyed to be out of prison, you really can tell that with this random energy she's got atm. While the remark was crass, like most of her, her subsequent "wooo" ing really nails how she's bursting with joy atm.

[Is it cold in here?]

Welcome, new person!

There's some anxiety along with the giddiness.

[NilsO]

Marigold does not look happy at all with the arrangements. If May is sitting in the corner, I doubt there will be any fuckin' noises tonight (and certainly not whale noises). Dale probably has a single-room apartment, there is no extra room for May to stay in (except the bathroom, which is probably not an option).

So, what are they to do? Walk over to Marigold's apartment? They certainly do not want Momo watching either; on the other hand, Momo can stay in the living room while they use Marigold's bedroom, it has happened before. Angus may however make some fun of them, it has happened before.

There is going to be a Marbearcalypse soon...

EDIT: I really like May's facial expressions in today's comics. She is going to be a great addition to the main character list.

[Ben]

Dale needs to walk over to Marten's apartment for some duct tape. That, or Momo will produce some sort of Deus ex Machina development.

[NilsO]

Dale is a practical guy. Any practical guy or girl will have plenty of duct tape available. Check out 1001 uses of duct tape, it is hilarious. However, it does not mention silencing or immobilizing robots.

[Sidhekin]

Dale should solicit advice from Marten and Faye.

Though I note May, unlike Pintsize, appears undented after the Marigold one-on-one.

[KOK]

I do not think this is a one room appartment. There is a door for Marigold to slam between the outer door and the sofa.  There is room for a bookcase besides the outer door, so this is a substantial room, not just a tiny entry room (I can not find the English word for this).

[Method of Madness]

It's probably a one bedroom apartment, which means a room for sleeping and a living room.

[NilsO]

It's probably a one bedroom apartment, which means a room for sleeping and a living room.

If so, May could stay in the living room. I had the impression that she would sit in the corner of the bedroom, observing, but abstaining from comments (unless there were whale noises). Still, she could hear noises through the door.

The noisessss...

[NilsO]

Speaking as a male moderator, the boobs discussion was lifting the needle on the creepiness meter. Pushback is appropriate.

Well, considering that boobs and butts and sexual encounters appear frequently in QC, it is difficult to totally avoid the subject in the Forum. I assume that people who are easily offended, neither read the comics nor the Forum. Still, the Forum should not have a higher creepiness factor than the comics.

Some things to consider before posting:

• Will anybody be offended? In all probability, the answer is yes, unless you post pictures of cute kittens. Be careful.
• Avoid generalizations, especially gender-related.
• Avoid topics that may be defined as creepy (even if based on creepiness in the comics).
• Avoid any topic, really.

This is going to be a really dull forum...

[pwhodges]

This is going to be a really dull forum...

Some years ago when we starting applying the current standards, a few people said just that.  The traffic is higher now than it was then.

[Mlle Germain]

Speaking as a male moderator, the boobs discussion was lifting the needle on the creepiness meter. Pushback is appropriate.

Well, considering that boobs and butts and sexual encounters appear frequently in QC, it is difficult to totally avoid the subject in the Forum. I assume that people who are easily offended, neither read the comics nor the Forum. Still, the Forum should not have a higher creepiness factor than the comics.
Will anybody be offended? In all probability, the answer is yes, unless you post pictures of cute kittens. Be careful.

This is so not the point! You're missing the point completely. First of all: Just because it's done in the comic (mostly for the effect of comedy) doesn't mean it's a great idea in real life. The characters sometimes also act dumb or mean, doesn't mean the readers should.
Secondly, the in-comic characters joking around about butts and boobs in a circle of friends is still something very different from people here assessing whether they prefer Faye's boobs to Marigold's etc. or generally making judgements about women's (or men's, for that matter) bodies or behaviours.
If you look at this forum, you will find that almost any topic, no matter how sensitive or private or controversial, from politics to racism to gender to sex, has been discussed here in a respectful and sensible manner (of course not without slips and some further discussion about what is acceptable and what isn't). When someone (especially the moderators) call you out on something you say, your reaction shouldn't be "Boo, people are easily offended here" it should be "What could I have written that was overly generalised, objectifies someone, is stereotypical in a bad way, or shows the way in which I think about minorities or marginalised groups in society in a bad light?" It doesn't mean that you have to agree with other people's opinion and also, people might sometimes misunderstand you, but you should at least question what you said to see whether their complaint was reasonable. Examining your own views and also sometimes admitting if you were wrong is part of being a decent person. If people are offended, there is usually a reason. Only very few people get offended purely for their own pleasure.

Ok, I promise I'm going to drop it now. Back to the comic discussion!

[GarandMarine]

Member of the United States Naval Service here. (Albeit a Marine, so amphibious, not a shellback) Ships are referred to in the feminine as a sign of affection between the ship and her crew. Some of it's tradition, and we're talking a tradition so old that history has lost the origin but it's continued today because it speaks to the close dependence we have on our ships for life, shelter, and sustenance a float. 

Outside of naval traditions I find most people gender objects and machines that are dear or important to them in some way. With males tending to give cars, rifles, or whatever feminine names and pronouns, and women doing the opposite.

[Is it cold in here?]

When I think of May being misgendered, I'm imagining someone leaving her software setting in one state and forcing her into a differently-assigned chassis. Robot Jail might be run by someone like Joe Arpaio, who makes male prisoners wear pink underwear.

If she were configured "male" and downloaded into her current chassis, she would not suffer in silence.

[GarandMarine]

I don't think either of those things is anything like Joe Arpaio forcing tough guys to wear a traditionally "girly" color.

[Ben]

No, May is just plain rude. We've seen from Momo that AIs will sit and watch their owners/companions , it seems to be a default behaviour; May appears to be saying that she has a long day ahead and wants to down-power, although whether that is simply a social thing, who knows? Frankly, if I had someone like her around I'd tend to feel that the more hours she spent switched off, tbe happier I'd be...