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A "incorrect use of trope" button

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BonsaiForest Since: Jan, 2001
#1: Apr 23rd 2011 at 3:01:33 PM

We have "natter-fy" to help us cut down on natter, which is a pretty big problem on this site, and I've been using it as necessary.

How about a button that sends a message to the troper that they used a trope incorrectly? The message could encourage them to read the trope in question to find out what it really means so they don't make this mistake again. We have so many tropes that are used horribly incorrectly, that it's a real problem.

The button could include a text entry field where you type in the name of the incorrectly used trope so they know what it is.

FastEddie Since: Apr, 2004
#2: Apr 23rd 2011 at 10:05:56 PM

When you click on the troper's name in the history record, it presents you with a PM page. A good play is to have a little file you keep around the desktop containing some messages you frequently use. Copy the one about misuse, paste into the message box, and off you go.

Goal: Clear, Concise and Witty
BonsaiForest Since: Jan, 2001
#3: Apr 24th 2011 at 8:09:11 AM

Okay, cool. Good to know alerting people to misuse is acceptable. Could you put up a message letting tropers know that so they're aware? I do think a general "you used this trope wrong" message might help too though.

MorganWick (Elder Troper)
#4: Apr 25th 2011 at 4:21:35 AM

Being able to write your own P Ms is better than having a canned message. For both problems. That way you can be specific about what the editor did wrong.

SpellBlade Since: Dec, 1969
#5: Apr 25th 2011 at 4:15:53 PM

I would appreciate some templates, though.

BonsaiForest Since: Jan, 2001
#6: Apr 26th 2011 at 6:24:37 AM

Yeah. I was thinking the same thing, and picturing what such a message would look like.

Something like this?

"On [date] at [time], you added the trope [trope name entered from form] to the article [article]. However, the trope was applied incorrectly. If you visit the page for [trope], you'll find that it actually has a different meaning than you thought it did.

Many tropes are used incorrectly, and this can cause people to become confused about their meaning, to the point where the tropes become meaningless themselves. (See Square Peg Round Trope for a bunch of common examples) Please check the description of a trope on its page before you add it to an article to make sure this doesn't happen.

Thanks for keeping the wiki cool."

I know it could use a little rewording, but something like that might work. The message would definitely have to stress the importance of keeping trope definitions specific and prevent them from sliding to the point where they can mean anything.

I mean, someone freaking added Backseat Driver to Friday simply because the lyrics at one point mentioned being in the front seat and the backseat and "cruising, driving". Ignoring that the actual definition of a Backseat Driver is someone who sits in the back and gives directions to the driver up front.

Some of these incorrectly applied tropes baffle me and make me wonder if the person even bothered to look at the definition, or was instead just hastily grabbing for anything that sounded good so they could shove tropes into an article. I had to remove a bunch from the article for The Room.

edited 26th Apr '11 6:28:22 AM by BonsaiForest

EternalSeptember Since: Sep, 2010
#7: Apr 26th 2011 at 9:05:59 AM

[up]They can also be caused by a form of "troper myopia", when the editor knows that this is not the real definition, and expects everyone else to know it, but they still use it just for the lulz.

Like recently, referencing Wheatley, the stupid spherical robot from Portal 2, as an "Idiot Ball". The editor expects that everyone knows what the trope means, so no one would seriously mistake it for that definition, so everyone will understand their witty trope title reference.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#8: Apr 26th 2011 at 9:36:27 AM

Well, it's true that Wheatley is an Idiot Ball personified, but the example makes it clear that the use as a trope is intended to be a pun. I don't see that harming anything.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
BonsaiForest Since: Jan, 2001
#9: Apr 26th 2011 at 10:15:54 AM

An Idiot Ball personified is not an example of the trope, though, and it does risk derailing its meaning if other people see it and mistaken the meaning.

VmKid Since: Sep, 2009
#10: May 11th 2011 at 1:16:48 PM

Although in the Idiot Ball case, Wheatley DOES fit the definition in a way- his presence made G La DOS stupider when he was plugged into the mainframe. In this case, the trope was the correct one, but it appears in a different way. You can call it a "Mismatched Trope".

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