The Best Order To Read Work Pages

In the 6 years I've spent browsing this wiki, I've developed what I personally believe to be a flawless order for reading work pages which goes as follows:

• The Work (obviously) and example subpages if the work is large enough
• Video Examples
• Laconic
• YMMV
• Trivia
• Individual trope pages without icons (if the work is large enough, they'll be found under the "More" tab)
• Haiku
• Shout Out
• Ho Yay
• Radar
• Quotes
• Analysis
• Fridge
• Headscratchers
• Drinking Game (I don't actually participate in them though, since I'm only 15)
• Pantheon
• Fan Fic Recs
• Fan Works
• Recap
• Characters
• Awesome Music
• Awesome
• Funny
• Heartwarming
• Tear Jerker
• Nightmare Fuel, and last but not least
• WMG

That's cool and all, but I was curious as to how other Tropers go about reading work pages. Naturally, I started this forum thread to learn how. What's your prefered order of reading works and their subpages? Feel free to reply!

I should also note that my order still occurs even if not all of the subpages listed above are present

Eh I usually read either Laconic or Character page first, then Trivia, then YMMV, then the Moments Pages in no particular order, and the rest.

Did you gradually decide that this was going to be your system, or did you have it set in stone almost right away?

I just jump around randomly, often going directly to YMMV since I find it fun to read fan discourse over a retelling of the events I'm already aware of. In fact the main work page is often the last thing I look at.

I wonder more how you came up with your order since it seems like you'll still be randomly jumping around for no discernible reason.

Edited by WarJay77 on Aug 15th 2022 at 9:03:03 AM

I honestly don't know. It just happened. Maybe a neurodivergant thing?

...the closest thing I have to a specific order is that my time to read YMMV pages is consistently "never." They're cesspools.

I just read the work pages and maybe the Headscratchers, WMG, and Fridge pages if they exist. I don't care much for YMMV and moments pages,

Lol, I don't necessarily disagree but I do think they can be interesting, especially on works that aren't extremely controversial or highly-edited, which is why I tend to check them out first. Also headscratchers, fridge, etc. Anything that's not just "here's a thing that happened in the story" because there's nothing new to learn or think about.

Edited by WarJay77 on Aug 15th 2022 at 9:17:19 AM

I'll read the work page first, then the character pages, then YMMV, then Trivia, then The subjective ones(awesome, funny, tearjerker, and Heartwarming).

You don't care for WMG pages? That's a shame.

Personally, I like the concept of WMG, but the content... frequently disappoints. I tend to gravitate toward YMMV and moments, but drift around, especially if I have a trope that I can add to one of the pages. Though, I do rarely go to video examples unless I see one featured that has an obvious problem that I need to get details on to report.

Edited by ShinyCottonCandy on Aug 16th 2022 at 4:17:33 AM

I tend to just stick to the main article, the YMMV page, and the character page(s).

I sometimes look at YMMV pages to get an idea of how it is generally regarded. But I would rather see proper reviews, and yes they are often bad, especially in popular works (more fractured fandom). WMG only makes sense after I know the work. Trivia is often of interest because of behind-the-scenes stuff I wouldn't know of otherwise. I often find the main page to be of more interest than Characters... except for virtual Youtubers, where the main page tends to be bare-bones and it's the Characters that matter.

I just realized that I forgot to mention that after reading the work page, I go to the "Related" button's pages and read reviews (if the work has any).

Additionally, I only read Recap pages in full if the work has 3 seasons or less.

bump

I don't have an order per se, but I do sometimes go through YMMV first if I feel like there might be something I should worry about (That One Level, Scrappy Mechanic, other stuff like that). Otherwise I generally go through most of them, except for Fanfic Recs since I'm not really a fanfic guy (the Fanfics of the 2010s reorganization was made because I felt like it should be done).