->''"The wiki is going where it is going. Hang on for the ride."''
-->-- '''FastEddie''', our patron saint here on TvTropesWiki

{{Hello}} and welcome! We like having newcomers around here and hope you'll stay around and contribute. [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife You may not have a choice on that though]]. To make things easier for you, here are some tips for contributing.

!!Spoiler covering and Folder preference
To choose whether or not you want to browse the wiki with spoilers on or off, and with folders open or closed by default, go to [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/profile.php this page]] (accessible only if you're [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/knowerForm.php a known troper]]); this also controls your preferences for our fora (see below for more on that).

!!Basic navigation
The toolbar to the left contains the index, and links to tools and ongoing discussions.
* "Troperville" is for discussions and other community pages.
* "Editing" is for help on formatting, useful templates, and the sandbox, where you can test out the markup and make sure you've got it all straight before you start fiddling around with the pages themselves.
* "Tools" is the toolbox. Here you can Get Known, look at the master indexes, and upload media.
* "Toys" has some nifty scrips that generate pitches, story ideas, or trope titles.

The toolbar at the top is for editing pages. It changes depending on what kind of page you are viewing.
* "New edits" is a list of recently edited pages. The default is the last 100 edits; you can change this at the bottom. (This wiki moves along at a pretty good clip, so if it's been more than about two hours since you've checked Recent Changes it's likely that the list has completely rolled over.) A red dot indicates a page that's been edited since you last looked at Recent Changes.
* "Page history" is a list of recent edits for the page you're currently viewing.
* "Related to..." runs a search for this page's title. It lets you know how many other pages link to this page.
* "Edit page" lets you modify the current page's content.
* "Discuss" links to this page's discussion. This is where you go if you have a question, a suggestion, or a problem with an example or the entry itself. ''Don't'' put your objections into the page itself, as that's ConversationInTheMainPage and ''will'' be axed. New items go at the bottom, separated by a line ([=----=]), unless otherwise stated, and remember to sign your post ("YourName":, then your comments).
* "View Source" lets you see the page's wiki code. Helpful for some advanced techniques like moving pages.
* "Forum" links to the forums. The forums are for discussion and socializing that are outside the scope of the wiki proper. They're still new, so join up and help them grow.

The navigation bar at the top has the search box and a random page link. Try out the "random item" button. It'll help you find pages you might never have looked at otherwise and is a good way to kill time. The lower Google search box gives you another way to find pages.

!!Adding to the wiki

'''Editing pages:''' See a typo? Want to add an example? Click on the "edit page" button. An edit page will load. The large text box shows the page's current markup. Make your changes there. When you're done, double-check your work for spelling and grammar, markup errors, and organization. If you want, type in an "Edit Reason". It's helpful for other people looking at the page history. The "preview" button shows you what the page should look like, without saving those changes. You do ''not'' (and should not) "add index markup" unless it's a new page. Click save.
* There is a standard way to format examples. Titles are ''italicized''. Use two separate apostrophes around the title: [=''=]ThePriceIsRight[=''=] for ''ThePriceIsRight''. Episode titles are in quotes: "Brittle Bullet". See HowToWriteAnExample for details on examples. Really, take a look at it.
* Links to other pages are easy. If it is two or more words, use [[WikiWord WikiWords]]. If it is one word, use double curly brackets: [={{Jeopardy}}=]
* The bottom of the edit page has a button for handy markup reminders. The full markup is explained in TextFormattingRules.
* See TipsForEditing for details.
* Don't use HotLinked images. Go ahead and use the [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/uploadform.php Media Uploader]].

'''Adding new series, books, games, actors, producers, etc.:''' (In other words, anything that isn't a new index or trope.) All new entries are welcome, as ThereIsNoSuchThingAsNotability. However, don't just paste in the {{Wikipedia}} entry. Write something original.
* Look for the series to make sure you aren't duplicating a previous page.
* Add the title to the relevant index(es):
# '''{{Series}}''' for live action television.
# '''AnimatedSeries''' for American or European cartoons.
# '''NoteworthyAnime''' for anime (Japanese cartoons) . The title is more of an in-joke; a series need not be "noteworthy" before you add it.
# '''EasternAnimation''' for animations from all other non western countries. (Russia, etc)
# '''VideogamesOfNote''' for videogames.
# '''ComicBookTropes''' for comic book series, characters, or teams.
# '''{{Film}}''' for movies.
# '''NotableWebcomics''' for webcomics. Just like for anime, ThereIsNoSuchThingAsNotability, despite the title; all webcomics go here.
# '''{{Manga}}''' for manga.
# Same for {{Authors}}, {{Actors}}, {{Producers}}, {{Mangaka}}, and {{Networks}}, and many others. You can find the full list under {{Media}} and {{Creators}}.
* Click the new red link you made and edit the page. The ProgramEntryTemplate is a good place to look for formatting tips.
* When done, select the right index from "Add index markup."

'''Adding new tropes:''' Please don't just add a trope to the index, as these tend to be duplicates. If you have a good trope idea, go to [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/ykttw.php?interval=1 You Know That Thing Where...]] and pitch it to the community.
* Before adding your first suggestion, take a look at '''YKTTWGuidelines'''. Follow those guidelines and the experience will go a lot smoother for everyone.
* The check marks indicate new posts. A double check mark indicates a new YKTTW.
* The pencil button on the upper left corner lets you edit your post. If you edit someone else's post, your name will overwrite theirs, so add the original poster's name into the post if you do this.
* If bizarre things start happening, don't worry. When you reload the page they ''usually'' work themselves out. Be patient and keep trying.
* If a post has more than one reply, but the replies don't show up, click the "show replies" button until they show up.
*If you put a link to a picture in your post, it might be rendered. Use small images or text links to the picture.

'''Adding redirects:''' Stop and think. Most of the pages that end up being cut are unnecessary redirects. These redirect pages get cut most often:
* Misspelling redirects. "TheBeetles" redirecting to "TheBeatles" isn't needed. If one of these sticks around and someone misspells it on another page, the link won't show up as being misspelled. We're pretty casual around here but we ''do'' want the pages to look professional, so this is problematic.
* Pluralized redirects. "FruitCarts" redirecting to "FruitCart" is generally frowned upon. Using curly brackets duplicates the functionality and saves space. ([={{Fruit Cart}}s=] will give you a link to FruitCart with the "s": {{Fruit Cart}}s.) The only time a pluralized redirect is acceptable is if the noun is in the middle of the trope's name, and simply adding an "s" to the end makes it grammatically incorrect, i.e. BookOfShadows, or if the spelling changes in the pluralization, as in nouns ending in "y".
* Acronym and initialism redirects. "{{ATLA}}" redirecting to ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' would be cut. Acronyms will never be used in isolation. The full title of the work always gets used first before switching to an acronym; don't assume that everyone else draws the same meaning from an acronym as you.
* These redirects ''are'' needed:
** International English to American English and vice versa. "ColorCodedForYourConvenience" goes to "ColourCodedForYourConvenience". For the record, the wiki is completely neutral on International English versus American English - we don't have a default; it's first-come, first-serve. Leave the variations alone when you see them, but feel free to write your own additions in whichever version you use.
** Adaptation title changes. ''TheMelancholyOfHaruhiSuzumiya'' goes to ''SuzumiyaHaruhi''.
** Confusing trope titles. We like clever titles, but to make searching easier, we have a simpler name as a redirect.

!!Tools
* "New Edits", "Recently New", and "Launches" are great for checking new additions. Many regular tropers check them every day. You'll be surprised how quickly your entry works its way into the troper hivemind.
* "Get Known" will put a cookie on your system so that your YKTTW posts are automatically signed by you, your edits are attributed to you, and many other things. If you plan to contribute, it's a good idea to do this as soon as possible.
* "Indexes" is an index of our indexes, which list tropes by category.
* "Media Uploader" requires an uploader account. On that page is a link to ask for one. Use this page carefully.
* "Inbound Links" is a list of other websites that have linked to the wiki recently.
* "Images List" is a listing of all the images on the server. No duh.
* "Referral Count for This Page" counts how many other sites have linked to the page you're on.
* "Orphaned Entries" are pages without indexes.
* "YKTTW Salvage List" is a list of popular YouKnowThatThingWhere... suggestions that have lost steam and need attention.
* "Cut List" is where pages are proposed to be deleted. Posting a page here does not automatically delete it and you can make a case for keeping a page there.

!!The community
* Our Forums are a good place to shoot the breeze. If you're told to TakeItToTheForums, try it out. There are some interesting topics there. [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/topics.php Here's the link.]]
* MadeOfWin is where users point out pages, edits, lines, or pictures on the wiki that they find to be totally awesome.
* ContributorAnnouncements occasionally has important general messages.
* WikiTechWishList is a place to suggest upgrades to or report problems with the site or markup. If you have solutions for technical problems, suggest them here.
* AskTheTropers is where you ask everyone about the site, or media in general. Again, this is ''not'' where you propose new tropes; that's YKTTW.
* The WikiSandbox is your place to test the markup and practice formatting. Feel free to obliterate, modify, add, or scramble the code on the page. Just don't expect your contibution to the page to endure.
* If you want, add your details to WhereAreYouFrom, TroperDemographics and WhatAreTheContributorsRealNames. This is purely optional, so if you're uncomfortable giving out personal information about yourself, don't sweat it.
* TropesOfLegend will give you an idea of the tropes that keep popping up all over the site.
*Check out GenerallyRecognisedTropes for the tropes that we didn't think of.

!!Rules and policies
* There are very few concrete rules here. We like to use democratic ways of solving problems. AdministrativePolicy sums the rules up.
* Causing major problems will get you banned. Bans are rare, but play nice anyway.
* {{Spoiler}}s are our bread and butter here. Check out SpoilerPolicy for how to use spoilers.
* The readership of this wiki is international. Americans, two-thirds of the people reading what you write live in another country. If you live in a Commonwealth country, two-thirds of your audience will need at least ''some'' setup for a joke about, say, the PM of Australia. Despite the fact that an abnormally large percentage of {{troper}}s are multi-lingual, we stick to English on all pages but those specifically designated for another language (look for a flag icon near the top to indicate what language a page is available in). This is because that English is a language most tropers know.
* Most of the other tips are just guidelines. There are a few pages that are JustForFun or [[GrandfatherClause very old]] that violate the guidelines. [[MST3KMantra Don't worry about it.]]
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