Massive cleanup/possible cut: Understatement

Not sure where to begin. This "trope" is seems to appear almost everywhere, with as of this post almost 7K Wicks (probably a bunch of misuse)? Anyway, something probably should be done about the "trope" and its Wicks, or it might end up the same way as So Yeah.

Not sure what you mean. They are all correct uses.

Yeah, those tropes were widely misused, not merely widely used.

I'm on the internet. My arguments are invalid.

I have to agree that it's rather prolific and easy to pothole.

Seriously though, I see this potholed on nearly every article I visit these days, and it's never an in-universe example. It's just like So Yeah, in that it's entirely superfluous and can be removed without changing the entry's meaning at all.

edited 19th Feb '11 4:04:13 AM by RocketScience

Main/Understatement found in: 6992 articles, excluding discussions.

Oh hell no.

New theme music also a box

Yeah, you're gonna have to prove that there's a significant amount of misuse present, unfortunately.

Experience has taught me to investigate anything that glows.

^ So Yeah had almost zero misuse and was cut and locked anyways.

Should we go that far, though? The actual trope page looks fine.

edited 19th Feb '11 5:48:37 AM by Redhead

The new It Just Bugs Me!

Red Head,it was being added onto the end of each sentence unnecessary(least that is what I saw),like Or So Iheard.

edited 19th Feb '11 5:49:17 AM by Ultimatum

New theme music also a box

Hm, let's see.

From My Way Entertainment:

Seems to be an in-universe usage, but I don't know the context here.

From Raised by Orcs:

Out-of-universe; the last sentence can be axed or rewritten.

From Jurassic Park:

Out-of-universe; the pothole is unnecessary. It's worth noting an actual example of Understatement is listed just below this.

From Fairy Tail:

Once again, out-of-universe; everything after "sword" can go.

Also from Fairy Tail:

Out-of-universe; again, the pothole is unneeded.

From Triumphant Reprise:

Out-of-universe; the pothole can go.

From Battle Chess:

Out-of-universe; the pothole alone doesn't tell us anything. Just tell us what's going on.

---

The problem here isn't misuse, but Word Cruft. The out-of-universe usages tend to be correct technically, but they're entirely unnecessary.

edited 19th Feb '11 6:14:52 AM by RocketScience

Are these references actually harmful? It seems to be tropers just having a bit of fun in a way that doesn't actually detract from the wiki.

edited 19th Feb '11 7:05:22 AM by CrypticMirror

I see no problem.

Creed of the Happy Pessimist:Always expect the worst. Then, when it happens, it was only what you expected. All else is a happy surprise.

It's almost exclusively used in potholes. It's not an ugly wart on the end of every other sentence like IANMTU or the So Yeah ellipsis.

Though you could say that potholing to Understatement muddies up the writting, like the Battle Chess example Rocket Science posted.

edited 19th Feb '11 7:46:20 AM by Redhead

The new It Just Bugs Me!

I would agree with the Battle Chess example, if it wasn't for the Bloodier and Gorier trope less than 3 inches away.

Creed of the Happy Pessimist:Always expect the worst. Then, when it happens, it was only what you expected. All else is a happy surprise.

I see Potholing to Understatement when making understatement as a particular kind of offense similar in spirit to Don't Explain The Joke. It has a Narrating the Obvious undertone that irks me. A wiki-wide cut may be overkill but I wouldn't fault anyone for removing it where they see it.

edited 19th Feb '11 11:04:42 AM by TripleElation

Pretentious quote || In-joke from fandom you've never heard of || Shameless self-promotion || Something weird you'll habituate to

The issue seems to be using an actual article for occasional subtext, à la Sarcasm Mode, Sincerity Mode, and so on.

An Ear Worm is like a Rickroll: It is never going to give you up.

I think this needs a new name before we worry about cleanup. Something you can't pothole to say that you yourself are understating something. Because I see this trope used far more often in that regards than for the trope.

We are not renaming Understatement. It is a pervasive trope referred to by that word everywhere English is spoken.

If you think it is being potholed too frequently, work that problem. Renaming is not the solution for everything.

Goal: Clear, Concise and Witty

I think part of the reason that Understatement is pot holed so frequently is because it's a good way to avoid spoilers. Sure, you could tell people in great detail about the horrible/wonderful things that happened in a work, but then you'd have to spoiler tag it. If you could hear tone of voice over the internet, you could tell that a statement was an understatement just from that. As it stands, it's a great way to give hints at what happened without having to spell it all out and spoil the series for people who haven't watched it.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

Then if you're not renaming it, cleanup is just going to have to be repeated again and there's already a ton of work. People will just keep misusing it. Though I don't really care if this one is misused since the way it's being misused shows people still know what it means.

Anyway, if we were to rename it, it would still be something with understatement in it. It'd just be a little different. But since we're not, we're not.

edited 19th Feb '11 1:10:09 PM by Arha

it doesn't really need cleaned up either. That is the thing. It is essentially harmless.

As I see it, Understatement potholes are a good way to bridge the gap between fans trying to be witty with each other by in-joking, and keeping non-fans in the loop.

Not referencing the show's most infamous, base-breaking, memetic, over-the-top scene, but only referencing it as "...he didn't take it well", or "... It was messy", is funny in a sort of reverse- Noodle Incident way.

What shimaspawn said is probably a pleasant side-effect. If I'm not a fan, and I read that a girl "didn't take it well" when her boyfriend was cheating on her, I know everything that I need to know about the trope's context, and it is also implied that it was followed by something yandere-related, but it stylishly avoids unneccessary specifics like depression, murder, or suicide.