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pudding

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[GlyphGryph]

But you CAN do it with pictures!

I remember there being one great picture summary of the first half of homestuck... but none of the details, other than greatness.

[Blizzlord]

I don't know if I dare ask, but should I read it? Multiple sources claim that you shouldn't.

Also, how would people looking over your shoulder react?

[Urist Imiknorris]

I don't know if I dare ask, but should I read it? Multiple sources claim that you shouldn't.

If you have a lot of free time, archive binge go.

Also, how would people looking over your shoulder react?

The same way as you, at first: "WTF is going on?"

[Bauglir]

You should read it, if you're willing to risk getting tangled up in one of the crazier fandoms out there. It might also turn out to be not your kind of thing, but if you can deal with it through Act 2, I'd wait till then to make a decision of that kind (I know that, "It gets really good after the first several hours!" isn't a good defense, but there it is). The main reasons not to read it aren't due to Homestuck, but due to the fan culture that surrounds it*. If you think that's a legitimate reason to dislike something, you should stay away, because even as a fan myself I admit we can get a little obnoxious.

People looking over your shoulder will likely be confused, for the same reasons it's difficult for us to explain Homestuck. And on top of that, almost all explanations occur in the text chat logs or narration below panels, so the panels themselves will generally range from inexplicable to uninteresting. Flash animations may garner some attention, given that they have sound, but as a general rule the only objectionable thing in them is violence and Nicolas Cage talking about boners.

*There's a well-known side effect of reading Homestuck where, for a month or two afterward, any and all conversations between two readers will revolve around it entirely, while conversations with non-readers will be difficult to carry through. I still have occasional meme outbursts. This is far from universal, and obviously only applies if you have the persistence to plow through 5000+ pages of archives.

[Blizzlord]

You should read it, if you're willing to risk getting tangled up in one of the crazier fandoms out there. It might also turn out to be not your kind of thing, but if you can deal with it through Act 2, I'd wait till then to make a decision of that kind (I know that, "It gets really good after the first several hours!" isn't a good defense, but there it is). The main reasons not to read it aren't due to Homestuck, but due to the fan culture that surrounds it*. If you think that's a legitimate reason to dislike something, you should stay away, because even as a fan myself I admit we can get a little obnoxious.

People looking over your shoulder will likely be confused, for the same reasons it's difficult for us to explain Homestuck. And on top of that, almost all explanations occur in the text chat logs or narration below panels, so the panels themselves will generally range from inexplicable to uninteresting. Flash animations may garner some attention, given that they have sound, but as a general rule the only objectionable thing in them is violence and Nicolas Cage talking about boners.

*There's a well-known side effect of reading Homestuck where, for a month or two afterward, any and all conversations between two readers will revolve around it entirely, while conversations with non-readers will be difficult to carry through. I still have occasional meme outbursts. This is far from universal, and obviously only applies if you have the persistence to plow through 5000+ pages of archives.

To 1st paragraph: The sources were about the comic itself being strange.

To 3rd paragraph: I have way to much free time. I also need something that will stop me from making pony references when talking to people.
BTW... If you have the patience to read the Wheel of Time then you have the patience to do anything.

[FuzzyZergling]

I don't know if I dare ask, but should I read it? Multiple sources claim that you shouldn't.

Also, how would people looking over your shoulder react?

It is, in my personal and incredibly subjective opinion, the greatest webcomic and form of entertainment that has ever existed. I feel comfortable saying that if I had never encountered MSPA, my life would be of noticably lower quality.

And if you don't like it, you've lost nothing but a small amount of your free time.

[Blizzlord]

I feel comfortable saying that if I had never encountered MSPA, my life would be of noticably lower quality.

That was just the thing my friend said about me introducing him to MLP. 

Totally an Edit: I decided to plonk the thing up, and it gives me a character name screen...
Are there any official/community names for consistency across discussion?
I should have pressed the button...

[Soadreqm]

I decided to plonk the thing up

Hehe, have fun. You should totally post your reactions here as you go along.

[Blizzlord]

Right now I'm doing something else (posting on Bay12). Someone is currently keen to look over my shoulder...

[Cerol Lenslens]

I also need something that will stop me from making pony references when talking to people.

This... may not do that. If you get far enough in... well, you'll see.

My own experience may be relatively common. I kept seeing these avatars of weird gray people, and wondered what that was all about. Somebody referenced MSPA, (in a discussion about pumpkins, IIRC) I checked the site out, and read a few pages of Homestuck, got sidetracked by a link to JailBreak, and read that instead. Then Problem Sleuth. Then I forgot about Homestuck until I ran across the page on TV Tropes, which had a lovely picture that piqued my interest. I decided to go back and at least read until that happened. A few pages later, and the sound kicked in. Then flash animations. I was officially hooked with the second major flash,  (The one with the deserts and the Explore soundtrack) which hinted that yes, things were going to keep getting more epic in scope. I finished my archive binge a few days later, somewhere during the Doc Scratch hosted segments. Along the way, I discovered that about three hundred more avatars I hadn't previously recognized suddenly became recognizable.

So yes, I'd say it's worth it to read it. It's a sprawling modern fantasy with a lot of site in-jokes, (Most of the beginning with John putzing around in his house is pretty much just the usual 'this is you playing a weird video game' premise that the others ran with, and it definitely helps to at least skim the other stories on the site.) so if you were enough of a fantasy reader to read the Wheel of Time, you should be fine reading this.

As for people looking over your shoulder, I'd expect one of two reactions:
1) "Oh, hey, Homestuck! Have you gotten to the part where *massively spoils a part you haven't read yet*?"
or
2) Them: "Huh, what's going on there?"
    You: *Briefly explain what's going on onscreen*
    Them: "Why are they doing that?"
    You: "Uh, it's a long, complicated story. Got a few hours?"

[jc6036]

Homestuck is difficult to explain simply because of sheer complexity and size. I do believe Darvi linked me to the site after I inquired about his and Putnam's avatar. And he linked to it on a friday.

I thought that it was only my weekend that would be taken by Homestuck, but it turned into a three week long escapade wherein I devoted nearly all of my free time to Homestuck. When people read over my shoulder, it's usually with a nice Dafuq? face on. Then when they inquire, I explain a little bit of the story. That is met with more Dafuq?, and then they ask to explain more. At which point I tell them 'Fuck no I have more Homestuck to read, go read it yourself'.

[FuzzyZergling]

Sometimes I entertain myself by trying to explain what happens in [S] Cascade to a non-Homestuck.
I've never succeeded.

[Blizzlord]

Try me. Id' like to hear.
Forgot the time. Europe time zones.

/AFK

[Liber celi]

I also need something that will stop me from making pony references when talking to people.

This... may not do that. If you get far enough in... well, you'll see.

I WARNED YOU ABOUT GETTING FAR ENOUGH IN!!!! I TOLD YOU, DOG!

Hm, I found a link to MSPA years ago, on KC Greens site, I think(?). I believe Homestuck was still in its first Act, maybe on the first few pages.
Anyway, first I read PS and the other adventures, felt entertained but saturated and a little... tired of the style. So I forgot about it... until half a year ago, when I was binging tvtropes and found it EVERYWHERE.

[GlyphGryph]

I'd actually like to say I recommend reading Jailbreak first. I enjoyed it more than Problem Sleuth, and especially considering the current chapter wouldn't be nearly as funny without that background...

But you'll have to accept you will never be able to get all the in-joked and homestuck references. There are references to shit posted by random people on forums years and years ago. Most of the time you'll never even notice a reference passed you by.

Luckily, the vast bulk of those end up being references to the comic itself. You'll still miss them half the time, of course.


Oh! And as to the name thing: We did actually get to pick the names of most of the characters. But once the names were chosen, they were locked in stone.