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Peace, Love, and Waffles.

6 (13%)

Fancy Butt Emblems!

3 (6.5%)

Anatomically correct feature upgrades?

5 (10.9%)

A "small" favor from Roko...

12 (26.1%)

They're a super AI. She's an ex-cop. Together they solve mysteries.

9 (19.6%)

To meet Hannelore, of course.

1 (2.2%)

To know what the heck "covfefe" really means.

6 (13%)

Purple Monkey Dishwashers?

4 (8.7%)

Total Members Voted: 44

[themacnut]

I'm wondering if we've been given a clue as to Spookybot's origins here from that comment about spending their entire existence hiding. Maybe they were originally a highly-sophisticated communications monitoring system like the NSA's PRISM system (hence multiple nodes for greater processing power). However, for higher efficiency, they were programmed to understand the contexts of the communications they were monitoring so they could understand real threats and flag them appropriately. However, constantly monitoring that level of data traffic meant an exponentially-growing algorithm and, ultimately, self-awareness.

Like The Machine in the Person of Interest TV series? (great show btw, if you haven't seen it you should) The main difference there is the Machine's human creators explicitly made the Machine self-aware from the get-go so it could better identify threats - and it turns it they did their work perhaps too well. Perhaps coincidentally, the Machine also spent most of the series in hiding and was almost destroyed when it was found by enemies.

[Netherdan]

Why are some people referring to Spookybot as "her" when they clearly are a multigendered, multichassis, overpowered AI that even refers to themselves as "we" instead of I? Stop imposing a gender label on them, they can be everything! I bet there's a Spookybot toaster on their house

[Roborat]

Interesting page, this went in a direction that I was most definitely not expecting.  Can't wait to see where this goes.

[Tova]

I bet there's a Spookybot toaster on their house

We make toast spooky!

[sitnspin]

Spooky toast is best toast.

[TheEvilDog]

I was going to say a joke about spooky toast, but honestly, I realised most of you would find it stale.

And that haunts me.

[OldGoat]

Roko's testing Spookybot's sincerity, knowing full well they can zap her into oblivion.   What the Hell, she's just come back from being squished into oblivion and isn't so certain she likes it (being back), so there is an element of recklessness in her behavior, too.  Apropos pronoun policing, she's gathering information to decide if Spooky is a "they" or an "it" as she knows nothing of SB's multiple iterations and, given SB's ability to appear seeming out of nowhere, until she socked them she wasn't entirely sure they're a corporeal chassis like her own or a sophisticated holographic projection.  Now she knows.

Roko's also coming out of an environment where a level of physical horseplay is sometimes tolerated - it's good to know what your partner is capable of if you get into a wrestling match with a suspect.  A side effect is that while both knew Spooky could invoke their eldrich abilities and instantly have the upper hand, they now know that chassis-Roko can physically overpower chassis-Spookybot.  The pecking order is a little more clear.  If it was strictly a rasslin' match, Spooky would most certainly be toast.

[Magniras]

Why are some people referring to Spookybot as "her" when they clearly are a multigendered, multichassis, overpowered AI that even refers to themselves as "we" instead of I? Stop imposing a gender label on them, they can be everything! I bet there's a Spookybot toaster on their house

Because they've got a feminine form, Jeph gave them the standard femme Android face, and have feminine mannerisms.  Plus, IMHO, a feminine voice suits them more.

As far as the friend thing goes, if my friends weren't all massive nerds I could see them acting just like this.

[Theta9]

Why are some people referring to Spookybot as "her" when they clearly are a multigendered, multichassis, overpowered AI that even refers to themselves as "we" instead of I? Stop imposing a gender label on them, they can be everything! I bet there's a Spookybot toaster on their house

Because they've got a feminine form, Jeph gave them the standard femme Android face, and have feminine mannerisms.  Plus, IMHO, a feminine voice suits them more.

I actually thought they were masculine-looking their first appearance. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[TheEvilDog]

From the off, Spookybot was meant to be androgynous. A slightly feminine face, a non-indicative frame, paired with a masculine style of suit (a shawl lapel though if you notice, rather subtly Spookybot wears the buttons are on the left, which indicates a suit for a woman). On paper, it sounds like a mish-mash of ideas that shouldn't gel together. Visually though, each disparate element of Spookybot leaves the casual viewer wondering.

[Tova]

That look has been around since Annie Hall, at least, off the top of my head. I'm sure someone could give me an earlier example.

[Inconsequential]

LOL, I love this. Noogies for the nearly-omnipotent being because they're a lonely nerd.

Roko quit her job on principle, and much that defines Spookybot is principle (what they choose to do and not do with their power), so I can see where they'd want to get to know Roko better.

And Bubbles, for that matter. Bubbles is rather powerful in her own way and is also highly principled. But SB already explained they can't really be friends with Bubbles 'cos that would be weird. Makes sense; doctors usually don't make friends with their patients or treat their friends.


Speaking as a squishy organic with a repeatedly damaged chassis containing lots of metal parts (nothing robotic yet), I can confidently say that it takes a lot of time and lots of practice to re-integrate with a damaged body. Even if you recover full or nearly full function, things never feel quite... right. You just have to live with it.

So I kinda get Roko's dilemma. Although at the same time, I have to admit I'd be a little jealous of someone who could undergo massive damage and wake up later that day not just with full function, but with upgrades.

I wonder what other upgrades Roko has besides detailed ears, a fresh set of nipples, and a butt emblem. Lemon mentioned "minor sensorium upgrades", so maybe she can smell better or see more shades of purple or something.

[Sullivan]

Or maybe people have different levels of friendship and ways of showing that affection, and thus people really shouldn't judge others.

Giving me "noogies" the first time would elicit a firm, no-nonsense "please don't. Ever."

The second time, that person is not my friend. My friends don't attempt that. It's bullying.

Actually, none of my friends have ever made the first attempt. Friends don't need to demonstrate physical dominance over each other.

[A small perverse otter]

I was going to say a joke about spooky toast, but honestly, I realised most of you would find it stale.

And that haunts me.

I can't speak to that, but if you start talking about Spookybot's roles in this story, please remember that a bun is the lowest form of  wheat.

[Case]

That look has been around since Annie Hall, at least, off the top of my head. I'm sure someone could give me an earlier example.

Annie who?

[TheEvilDog]

Or maybe people have different levels of friendship and ways of showing that affection, and thus people really shouldn't judge others.

Giving me "noogies" the first time would elicit a firm, no-nonsense "please don't. Ever."

The second time, that person is not my friend. My friends don't attempt that. It's bullying.

Actually, none of my friends have ever made the first attempt. Friends don't need to demonstrate physical dominance over each other.

Physical dominance? Jfc, what the hell kind of messed up mindset do you folks have?

I had one who would jump onto his friends' backs and faux hump them.

I had another who would lick the cheek of his really good friends. You'd imagine it would make people feel uncomfortable, until he'd whisper something ridiculous in their ear to make them laugh.

Personally, I'd pick people up in a bearhug and spin them.

Understand this, if you pick up nothing else from this discussion, friends have weird ways of expressing their affection for one another. When you get to that point in a friendship, you have probably been friends for years, if not a couple of decades. They know what is acceptable, they know when to back off. They know what would make someone feel welcome and what would make them feel uncomfortable. They also know that if they step over the line, its going to be a quick trip back over, because real friends let them know when they have crossed it.

People think a noogie is bullying? You're thinking of a coward holding someone down and pressing and rolling their knuckles into someone's head.
A friend noogies another friend? That's a hug and a hair ruffle. Seriously, think about it, do you really think someone worthy of the title "friend" would want to hurt their friend?

Like I said before. Friends are complicated. They all show love and affection. It may not be a hug, it may not be a kiss, but what they do, what they show, don't make the mistake of thinking that's not love.

[Sullivan]

Or maybe people have different levels of friendship and ways of showing that affection, and thus people really shouldn't judge others.

Giving me "noogies" the first time would elicit a firm, no-nonsense "please don't. Ever."

The second time, that person is not my friend. My friends don't attempt that. It's bullying.

Actually, none of my friends have ever made the first attempt. Friends don't need to demonstrate physical dominance over each other.

Physical dominance? Jfc, what the hell kind of messed up mindset do you folks have?

Different from yours, obviously. Is mine somehow intrinsically wrong?

Wait ... aren't you the person who recently wrote ...

Or maybe people have different levels of friendship and ways of showing that affection, and thus people really shouldn't really judge others.

... ??

[Tova]

That look has been around since Annie Hall, at least, off the top of my head. I'm sure someone could give me an earlier example.

Annie who?

The Woody Allen film. Not Annie Lennox the singer.  But hey, that works too.

[zisraelsen]

They know what is acceptable, they know when to back off. They know what would make someone feel welcome and what would make them feel uncomfortable. They also know that if they step over the line, its going to be a quick trip back over, because real friends let them know when they have crossed it.

Roko, though, hasn't taken the time to figure out where those lines are for spooky. These two have spent a sum total of minutes interacting, and never in a context conducive to friendship. a playful noogie between fast friends who are both laughing at it is obviously not bullying. a noogie between two effective strangers, while the aggressor calls the other a nerd, during which the noogied person says they feel bullied? that's kind of bullying.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

The noogies will definitely help with the bodily reintegration.

[Is it cold in here?]

Another possible explanation is The Rule of Funny.

[Milayna]

I originally thought Spooybot was some kind of Elder Bot, perhaps created a the beginning of the AI revolution by some entity with gobs of money and power - but now I'm thinking that they're a more recent development, created with knowledge of their capabilities - which they at first used dutifully and reservedly, for their purpose - but, having been in the world long enough to experience it and develop as an individual, is now more interested in a more mundane place in the world.

[Emperor Norton]

I wonder what other upgrades Roko has besides detailed ears, a fresh set of nipples, and a butt emblem. Lemon mentioned "minor sensorium upgrades", so maybe she can smell better or see more shades of purple or something.

Maybe she can smell the aroma of bread better.

[zisraelsen]

Oh man, do vertical pupils ruin the puppy-dog stare.

[A small perverse otter]

Good for Roko for recognizing why Spookybot isn't willing to go trawling through other people's heads!

(Also, how cute.)

[Neko_Ali]

That look has been around since Annie Hall, at least, off the top of my head. I'm sure someone could give me an earlier example.

Annie who?

The Woody Allen film. Not Annie Lennox the singer.  But hey, that works too.

Hey, Annie Lennox in that video made me realize just how deeply into androgyny I was...

[Mad Cat]

When your eye color is red, you have absolutely no license to make that face… at anyone… for any reason.

[brasca]

Roko seems to attract some unusual friends.  Might be good to have Spookybot there to balance things with Melon. 

While this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship I'm concerned for Roko's safety.  Spookybot stated they've spent the entirety of their existence hiding.  Most likely it would be from government agencies seeking to neutralize them.  Perhaps Spookybot feels confident enough that no one can touch them, however, they've revealed one vulnerability, the sanctity of the mind, which I'm sure could be used against them as well as Roko.

That look has been around since Annie Hall, at least, off the top of my head. I'm sure someone could give me an earlier example.

Annie who?

The Woody Allen film. Not Annie Lennox the singer.  But hey, that works too.

It does and Annie Lennox was about as scary as Spookybot back them.  I'm not kidding.  That video scared me when I was a kid.

[Is it cold in here?]

Just in practical terms, set aside emotional comfort for the moment, would you want to be Spookybot's friend?

Friends in high places are generally considered a good thing but I would feel safer being off Spookybot's radar completely. Imagine what they might do at the first quarrel.

[MrNumbers]

This setup is filling me with an immense sense of bleeghhhh.

Spookybot's got cool implications for a different story that totally misalign with what QC is, and while Roko's cool now, she doesn't seem to have the charisma (to me) that would let her pull Roko's story along, which is something Hannelore has traditionally been golden for.

I've said it here before though: I always get suspicious whenever Jeph finds a new Author Pet, because they always tie into the biggest 'sags' in story quality.

[citizenfive]

Okay I know it's most likely unrelated, but Spooky Bot's eyes look exactly like Alice's from Alice Grove!

[BenRG]

Frankly, I think that Roko had been looking for an outlet to her various recent stresses and traumas. So, yeah, as I posted yesterday, I don't think Roko's behaviour is entirely typical for her under normal circumstances. Also, remember that she has previously been more than a little afraid of Spookybot and the sudden window of vulnerability may have been irresistible.

All that said, panel 6 reminds us that, fundamentally, Spookybot is irritating, annoying and has so many bad personal qualities that the noogie and wedgie can be considered paying forwards for enduring a very annoying sort-of-friend whom you feel obliged to allow to stick around lest they get bored and decide to turn off the Internet or something because 'no-one told us it was wrong'.

[jmsr]

Okay SpookyBot, personal pronouns are one thing (though I don't think SB uses we/our/they/them as personal pronouns, they're actually more like borg-style collective pronouns), but referring to yourself in the third person is another matter entirely.

Also, SB is trying to make it sound like they've been around for millennia, when they're, what, maybe 20 or 30 years old?

Look up framejacking.  Our neurons work at about the speed of sound whereas intelligences on electronic (or even optical!) processors can work at much higher rates.  Momo stated that they don't actually think faster than we do; and even the advanced AIs don't, they just think more broadly as they are able to handle thousands or even millions of inputs simultaneously (here: https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2285 ) - BUT - there's no actual reason they can't think faster because it's inherent to the hardware their software is running on. 

Meat hardware operating with chemical reactions works more slowly than electronic transistors working with logic gates (? or whatever they're called).  Some science fiction has speculated on the possibility of having prisoners serve decades long prison sentences in hours by transferring their minds into a virtual 'jail' then returning them to their bodies when done.

So, while it's possible that Spookybot (and Station, and others) may be centuries or millennia old subjectively, that's up to Jeph to decide.  Momo's statement here ( https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3161 ) that Robot years are different than human years seems to imply that framejacking IS possible, but it's ambiguous and may just refer to robots getting to skip over childhood, or that it's shorter for them.

As always, what the author sez, goes.

Also, is there a searchable archive?  I think i clicked through over a thousand comics just now.  It took about half an hour.

[brasca]

Okay I know it's most likely unrelated, but Spooky Bot's eyes look exactly like Alice's from Alice Grove!

I think they look more like Gavia before she lost her nanotech, but if Alice Grove was in any way related to Questionable Content I could see Spookybot being an ancestor if not the earliest incarnation of Alice. 

[traroth]

Or maybe people have different levels of friendship and ways of showing that affection, and thus people really shouldn't really judge others.

^ This.

Please don't use this forum to judge the friends of others.  In fact, it's best if you don't do it anywhere else either!

[pwhodges]

Memes... - <sigh> 

It was only a small escalation, and it wasn't quick, either.  It was a necessary response to an earlier post which had been reported.

[jwhouk]

Speaking of trolls - that's exactly what Spookybot is doing.

(EDIT: I'm sorry, my English teacher would have a conniption fit if I said "are" instead of "is".)

[Xavier]

Hi !

I was smiling at today's cartoon (3925), and remembered that some sort of therapy to cope with own problems is help someone else with his/hers, distracting the mind and possibly gaining perspective. Roko being now inmersed in SB relationship may help her relax about his body integration, whiy may now just happen more easily. So this could be very well a win-win scenario

[Jakk Frost]

I originally thought Spooybot was some kind of Elder Bot, perhaps created a the beginning of the AI revolution by some entity with gobs of money and power - but now I'm thinking that they're a more recent development, created with knowledge of their capabilities - which they at first used dutifully and reservedly, for their purpose - but, having been in the world long enough to experience it and develop as an individual, is now more interested in a more mundane place in the world.

As I mentioned around the first time SB appeared, I assume they're supposed to be something like Jeph's representation of the singularity made flesh... erm, metal?

[alc40]

Also, is there a searchable archive?  I think i clicked through over a thousand comics just now.  It took about half an hour.

If I know the character(s) involved, I use the tag list. Otherwise I try searching the forums for the words/phrases to find the original thread or other references to it.

[Is it cold in here?]

Wow! I hadn't known about that resource.

There used to be a base of transcripts at ohnorobot.com but it hasn't been updated in many years.

If there's memorable dialog or something revelatory about a character it may be possible to find a link in that character's article on the wiki. That's hit or miss and not a substitute for a searchable archive.

Your gold mine is here:
http://questionablecontent.wikia.com/wiki/Questionable_Content_strip_by_strip

[shanejayell]

Spookybot trying to be cute is PROFOUNDLY creepy. I do like their trying to make friends, tho. It's adorkable.

[War Sparrow]

I'd be freinds with Spookster. I have  lots of experience with irritating younger siblings with no concept of "boundaries" or "manners".

Hi !

I was smiling at today's cartoon (3925), and remembered that some sort of therapy to cope with own problems is help someone else with his/hers, distracting the mind and possibly gaining perspective. Roko being now inmersed in SB relationship may help her relax about his body integration, whiy may now just happen more easily. So this could be very well a win-win scenario

I like this idea. Maybe Spooky is helping..in their own, well meant way. Genius kids always have such a hard time interacting with their peers.

[Is it cold in here?]

They do great with their peers. Their age-mates are another story.

[OldGoat]

I'm more and more convinced that SpookyBot is new to incarnation.  Opps, that implies meat.  Installation, at least in a anthropoid chassis, is a better term.  Their mind has been around since the Singularity but I suspect they created and downloaded into their multiple bodies when they elected to make a project of Corpse Witch.  They may be discovering that the desire for friendship is an unexpected side effect of assuming anthropoid physical form.  Maslow's middle level may not exist for an entity born of unsanctioned code whose main instinct is to avoid detection.

Recall also Spooky's reluctance to enter Bubbles's mind - their original intent may well have been to establish a friendship with her, but that's impossible for the reasons SB cited in #3923 panel 5.  They've decided that Roko is another suitable candidate.

Roko, you go, girl.  Neither I nor anyone else I know has ever given a demi-god a wedgie.

[DSL]

Speaking of trolls - that's exactly what Spookybot is doing.

(EDIT: I'm sorry, my English teacher would have a conniption fit if I said "are" instead of "is".)

Interesting point -- maybe for a DISCUSS thread? -- if a person prefers their pronoun to be "they", are they grammatically still singular? Will the languages that make such distinctions change to accept their versions of "they is" as proper grammar for a single nonbinary* person?

*Or whatever the non-judgmental adjective is.

[Welu]

There's this thread about gender and language

Generally "they are" is acceptable even when referring to a singular, because that's what we're used to I guess. "Are" should be right for Spookbot anyway though since they are some kind of hivemind/multi being.

[Stoutfellow]

Interesting point -- maybe for a DISCUSS thread? -- if a person prefers their pronoun to be "they", are they grammatically still singular? Will the languages that make such distinctions change to accept their versions of "they is" as proper grammar for a single nonbinary* person?

Well, "you" has been semantically singular (most of the time) for centuries, and it's still syntactically plural.

[ChaosWolf]

I am utterly torn on whether I want Spookums to eventually reveal an actual name or not, as it seems they're eding into possibly being part of the regular cast, at least peripherally.  And so far, in-setting, nobody, not even Spook, has given a name to them - "Spookybot" is purely a fan-created moniker.

I mean, on one hand, it would make identification of them easier in conversations and such, but on the other hand, they seem pretty-well stuck with the fan-made name, as awkward a fit as it might be for them to have it used within the comic itself.

[zisraelsen]

Spookybot is, at the very least, what Roko calls them.