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So you have been participating in a thread in Trope Repair Shop or Image Pickin', there has been some discussion about what to do to fix a page, and you want to move on to the next step and that much closer to actually fixing the page. In most cases, this means making a crowner.

What are crowners anyway?

Crowners are a tool for measuring consensus for a decision on the wiki. The name is an Artifact Title from when they were used to determine Crowning examples of YMMV items like Moment of Awesome. Interested tropers can choose to vote in them by clicking on the up or down arrows next to each option. You may vote for multiple options and revert your vote if you change your mind, but you obviously can only select up or down for each choice. New tropers can’t vote on crowners until their accounts are two weeks old.

When should a crowner be made?

Generally, it is a good idea to wait until there has been a decent amount of discussion (and a Wick Check if appropriate) about the issue with the trope(s) before making a crowner. If you aren't sure whether it is time for a crowner, posting in the thread to ask is normally a good idea.

How crowners are made

After an update, regular tropers are no longer able to create crowners; only mods and engineers have access to the crowner creation tool. It is unknown when or if tropers other than the staff will be able to make crowners again. For now, if a thread needs voting, list out the options in a post (by clicking on the little ellipsis icon all the way to the right) and send a holler for that post to ask a mod to make the crowner for you.

What do I do after a crowner is made?

Building a consensus

The crowner should run until it stabilizes and there is a consensus. There is no strict set maximum or minimum number of days that a crowner has to stay open, but as a general rule of thumb, they should normally stay open for at least three days and should not be closed until there is a clear consensus. If the change is a major one (like the renaming of a whole namespace), you need at least one week. Crowners have timestamps in their headers, so check them if you aren't sure whether enough time has passed.

The important thing for consensus is the proportion of votes rather than the number of votes. For example, an option with 20 ups and 10 downs (a 2:1 ratio) beats out one with 98 ups and 75 downs (a 1.31:1 ratio).

Consensus requires at least a 2:1 ratio of up vs. down votes. In the event that multiple options have at least 2:1 support on a crowner regarding changes to a page, all of the ones that are compatible with the option with the most support may also be done after the crowner is called.

Calling crowners and getting to work

If you think that a crowner has reached a consensus or if you are unsure, feel free to holler and ask the staff if it is time for the crowner to be closed. If a moderator or engineer agrees they will call the crowner and suggest that people start getting to work.

You need to wait until the crowner is called before taking action or requesting another crowner. Also, in the rare event that no crowner options have consensus, it may be possible to use a new crowner with new options, or alternatively, the thread may be closed with no action being taken.

Due to the high throughput of Image Pickin', crowners generally only run for 5 days unless it's necessary for them to run longer. Additionally, the forum has guidelines for allowing a crowner to be called early:

  • At any point, if the leading option has a vote balance of at least 10 and no other options have consensus. This is considered "super-consensus".
  • After 3 days, if the leading option has a vote balance of at least 8 and no other options have consensus.
  • After 4 days, if the leading option is the only one that has consensus.

Usage outside of TRS and IP

Generally, moderators can hook crowners on any thread, even outside of IP or TRS. Sometimes crowners are used in non-Workshop parts of the fora, usually to allow people to vote on something without having the obligation to post. Depending upon the purpose of the crowner, the requirements may vary from those of the generic Workshop crowner.

Alternative Title(s): Crowner, How To Make A Crowner

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