Seems kind of confusing now with the actual dog index.: Tropey The Wonder Dog

Even the ykttw for This Index Barks seemed to have some confusion between these two indexes. Now there seems to be a proper theme for this index, but I think we should at least discuss the name and the viability of this index.

It is a Just for Fun page. It is entertaining. Leave it be.

The only reason it ended up on This Index Barks was that I did a cut and paste from Animal Tropes, which had it listed. It has been removed from both.

I know it's a just for fun page. That doesn't mean we shouldn't at least discuss any issues about it.

After all, if Just for Fun mean "leave it be", Fetish Fuel would still have examples.

edited 6th Feb '12 12:27:04 PM by DragonQuestZ

Like, say, that it is a Just For Fun index that has actual tropes on it and seems to invite snowcloning?

Can you demonstrate any current misuse?

Worst case scenario, you can turn it into something like Trope Tan, but I really think we should keep it as a page.

It's not about current misuse (although I will check the wicks). It's that now that there is an index about actual dog tropes, this issue should be discussed.

EDIT: Okay, I just checked 5 wicks, and already everyone of them is a misuse. I'll put in the full wick check next post.

edited 6th Feb '12 1:41:01 PM by DragonQuestZ

Wick check, 20 out of 54. Remember that this is an index of tropes based on dogs in a metaphorical sense (for plots and characterization):

• PlayingWith.A Dog Ate My Homework: As a dog name. misuse
• FanFic.All He Ever Wanted: Why would an index have something to say? misuse
• Amplified Animal Aptitude: Used in a comparison line for animal tropes. misuse
• Animal Athlete Loophole: Used as though it's a trope about dogs. misuse
• As Good As It Gets: Okay, double checking that one, it's not quite misuse, but if referring to the dog itself, the line is still not correct.
• Dragon Quest VIII: It refers to the index, but it's a natter line. Plus the term in the pothole text makes it seem as though it's about actual dog tropes. misuse (by default)
• Eat The Dog: Okay, the context of the line made it clear it was actually Just for Fun, so it's a proper use.
• Equal-Opportunity Evil: Just for fun, but used in a natter line. Should at least be adjusted to work properly in the example.
• PlayingWith.Genocide Backfire: Just for fun.
• Pantheon.Heroes And Villains: Just for fun.
• Hurricane of Puns: Used as a trope for actual dogs. misuse
• Hustle: Used as a trope for actual dogs. misuse
• Characters.Suikoden III: Used as an actual trope. misuse
• The Nicknamer: Just for fun.
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Not even sure that list is right for that page. Perhaps a just for fun sub page.
• The TV Tropes Cast List: Just for fun
• The Western: Used as an actual trope misuse
• Wonder Dog: Just noting the index.
• SoYouWantTo.Write A Dom Com: Used as a trope for actual dogs. misuse

• A Dog Ate My Homework: Correct. Used to refer to the character.
• All He Ever Wanted: Correct. Used to refer to the character.
• Amplified Animal Aptitude: Correct, used to refer to the index.
• As Good As It Gets: Correct. Used as a way of summing up the index.
• Bait the Dog: Correct, though it probably shouldn't be potholed that way.
• Character Calculus: Correct, used to refer to the index.
• Chekhov's Pun: Correct. An index listing of the index.
• Dialogue Tree: Correct, used as a character, in relationship to Trope Tan.
• Dragon Quest VIII: Correct, though nattery. Probably should be deleted.
• Eat The Dog: Correct
• Equal-Opportunity Evil: Meh. Kinda correct. It is a metaphorical use of a dog.
• Genocide Backfire: Correct.
• Oh, and X Dies: Correct
• One-Liner, Name... One-Liner: Correct.

Anyway, I need to catch a bus now so I can't finish this for a few hours.

Dragon Quest Z, your idea of what constitutes misuse is broken.

You aren't getting the point of the "Fun" part of Just for Fun.

"Used to refer to the character."

This is not a character. It's an index.

It would be a Search Generated Index then, which is misuse. Also, repeating: What do actual tropes have to do on a Just For Fun index?

I don't see any harm in this page.

There is where you have it wrong.

It is character that is a personified index, that acts as TV Tropes's Team Pet. See also Trope Tan.

5 yard penalty for misuse of Search Generated Index. If this were a Search Generated Index, it would include every trope with the word "dog", which it does not. This is only for a very specific family of tropes that are categorized by their usage and nature, which is an appropriate use for an index.

Also, quoting from Search Generated Index:

Note that indexes based on trope snowclones are often allowed, even if only under the spirit of Just for Fun.

So yeah, this sort of thing is specifically allowed.

edited 6th Feb '12 4:03:30 PM by Catbert

As further evidence that Tropey is a character, Tropey the Wonder Dog is on the The TV Tropes Cast List and is listed in Heroes And Villains as a follower of Rex the Wonderdog.

Anyway, I've gone through and deleted the actual misuse where what was meant was Team Pet, Heroic Pet or Wonder Dog. I also cut a few lines of natter on general principle, though some of those were using it reasonably correctly. Everything else refers to the family of tropes or is a use of Tropey as a character, like Trope Tan and Alice and Bob.

I don't see a serious problem. Like any other page it needs people to occasionally check the wicks to make sure it is being used correctly, but with so few wicks, that isn't exactly an overwhelming problem. Not like we have thousands or even hundred of misuse cases out there.

edited 6th Feb '12 5:45:55 PM by Catbert

So Tropey the Wonder Dog is an in-joke?

The page is written as an index. Putting it on pages for fun was something that came later.

I don't think using Tropey as a character is creating any problems, especially on things like Playing With pages, and such. I'm going to go through a second time to be absolutly sure I got all the uses where Tropey was being confused with other tropes, but I think that should be sufficient to fix this.

The issue raised was whether the presence of This Index Barks will cause confusion with Tropey the Wonder Dog. I would suggest that This Index Barks make misuse of Tropey less likely, now that people have an easier way of keeping track of all the literal dog tropes, vs. the metaphorical dog trope titles that Tropey lists.

Also, I'm perfectly willing to be the canine curator and keep an eye on both indexes to keep in check any possible future misuse.

We have an index for tropes about actual dogs, I'm not sure how linking to Tropey the Wonder Dog as TV Tropes's Team Pet is wrong. It's not misleading in the sense of a wick that's at odds with the contents of the linked page.

Meta-discussion that I will be happy to take to an appropriate elsewhere: I'm not sure that, when doing a Wick Check, it's useful to call all natter "misuse." What you're looking for is the trope name as Verbal Tic and indications that the name misled people, no?

By the way

Since January 1, 2011 this article has brought 283 people to the wiki from non-search engine links.

This is a whole lot for an index, and I think that the Just for Fun nature of the index, personified as a dog, is the primary attractor.

I think the page is just fine. I've cleaned up what real misuse there was, added a "not to be confused with" to both Tropey the Wonder Dog and This Index Barks, and I'm volunteering to be a Kennel Master to make sure that our dogish indexes keep under control.

edited 19th Feb '12 12:58:11 PM by Catbert