Sandbox / Maxims of Trope Philosophy

1. A trope exists with or without us. It's defined by the way it's used in media, not by one guy in YKTTW. We can't make fiat changes to a recurring pattern in fiction; we only identify it and describe it as best we can. We are a secondary source.
2. If we try to lock tropes into a rigorous structure with straight lines and hard edges, we're missing the forest for the trees. In reality, tropes don't conform to any arbitrary grid. They are Flexible. Our definitions need to be flexible too.
3. Rule Number Two of TV Tropes: be accessible and fun to read. Rule Number Three: the wiki is for reaching the reader. That means we want to match their expectations—not try to make them match ours. The best trope definitions tell you something you already know.
4. If we can remove unnecessary complication from a trope, we should. Bureaucracy is a barrier, and we want the readers to see as little of it as possible.
5. The definition is derived from the examples, not the other way around. Our trope pages are describing something that already exists. Keep this in mind when analyzing a Wick Check.
6. When we describe a trope, sometimes we make a mistake and describe it wrong. In such cases, do not be Calvin.
7. A useful heuristic for deciding whether a trope is defined too strictly: imagine the relaxed version already existed, and the current version were proposed in YKTTW. Would it be The Same, but More Specific? If yes, it can probably loosen up. If the broader version is a trope in its own right, and close enough to the narrower version that they can't coexist on the wiki, might as well be inclusive.
8. Always remember the MST3K Mantra.