Note: If a newly launched trope was already given a No Real Life Examples, Please! or Limited Real Life Examples Only designation while it was being drafted on the Trope Launch Pad, additions to the proper index do not need to go through this thread. Instead, simply ask the staff to add the trope via this thread
.
This is the thread to report tropes with problematic Real Life sections.
Common problems include:
- Conversation on the Main Page
- Flame Bait
- Squicky content
- Impossible in Real Life
Real Life sections on the wiki are kept as long as they don't become a problem. If you find an article with such problems, report it here. Please note that the purpose of this thread is to clean up and maintain real life sections, not raze them. Cutting should be treated as a last resort, so please only suggest cutting RL sections or a subset thereof you think the examples in question are completely unsalvageable.
If historical RL examples are not causing any problems, consider whether it would be better to propose a No Recent Examples, Please! (via this forum thread
) for RL instead of NRLEP. If RL examples are causing problems only for certain subjects, consider whether a Limited Real Life Examples Only restriction would be preferable to NRLEP.
If you think a trope should be No Real Life Examples, Please! or Limited Real Life Examples Only, then this thread is the place to discuss it. However, please check Keep Real Life Examples first to see if it has already been brought up in the past. If not, state the reasons and add it to the crowner.
Before adding to the crowner:
- The trope should be proposed in the thread, along with reasons for why a crowner is necessary instead of a cleanup.
- There must be support from others in thread.
- Any objections should be addressed.
- Allow a minimum of 24 hours for discussion.
When adding to the crowner:
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- Announce in thread that you are adding the item.
- An ATT advert should be made as well (batch items together if more than one trope goes up in a day).
In order for a crowner to pass:
- Must have been up for a minimum of a week
- There must be a 2:1 ratio
- If the vote is exactly 2:1 or +/- 1 vote from that, give it a couple extra days to see if any more votes come in
- Once passed, tropes must be indexed on the appropriate NRLEP or LRLEO index
- Should the vote fail, the trope should be indexed on KRLE page
Sex Tropes, Rape and Sexual Harassment Tropes, and Morality Tropes are banned from having RL sections so tropes under those indexes don't need a crowner vote.
As per Real Life Troping, we never trope unscripted real life sports — so sports tropes where RL examples would only apply to those scenarios don't need a crowner vote.
Crowner entries that have already been called will have "(CLOSED)" appended to them — and are no longer open for discussion.
After bringing up a trope for discussion, please wait at least a day for feedback before adding it to the crowner.
NRLEP tag:
%%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13350380440A15238800
LRLEO tag:
%%The following restrictions apply: [list restriction(s) here]
%%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13350380440A15238800
Notes:
- This thread is not for general discussion regarding policies for Real Life sections or crowners. Please take those conversations to this Wiki Talk thread
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- Do not try to overturn previous No Real Life Examples, Please! or Limited Real Life Examples Only decisions without a convincing argument.
- As mentioned here
, the consensus is that NRLEP warnings in trope page descriptions can use bold text so that they stand out.
- The [[noreallife]] tag no longer works. This is a deprecated tag that was introduced many years ago — originally, it would have displayed a NRLEP warning banner when you edited the page. Per word of admin
as of 2025, any replacement for this system will not use markup, so these tags can be removed.
- If a newly launched trope was already given a No Real Life Examples, Please! or Limited Real Life Examples Only designation while it was being drafted on the Trope Launch Pad, additions to the proper index do not need to go through this thread. Instead, simply ask the staff to add the trope via this thread
.
Edited by GastonRabbit on Aug 3rd 2025 at 6:31:00 AM
A lot of this general info can be moved to the description or something.
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wallhere's a first for me: Accidental Discovery just needs a cleanup because all its examples are indented under a general top-level bullet. the section seems fine otherwise.
A lot of the "Episode" tropes are Narrative tropes (as real life does not have "Episodes" and a lot of the tropes would be "Chairs" without the episode context, like Broke Episode, the only one that already is NRLEP), and I'll get to some of them later, but I wanna talk about Missing Episode in particular. I think this is very much a meta trope, as RL has no "episodes" and a lot of the examples there belong in the TV or Internet sections (like the moon landing bit), or are totally misuse (like the bits about when your old elementary school closes down, that's not this trope at all, that's just nostalgia for something that isn't there anymore). The only examples that are neither of these are the Watergate thing (if we have a Useful Notes on Watergate, it's probably better served there), the fossils (a fossil is not an episode), a couple of variously disturbing examples, like the Basement tapes, Christine Chubbuck's suicide, and Timothy Treadwell's death, that I don't think really belong here, and the flight data recorders (again, not an "episode").
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I think I'd run with all of laserviking's suggestions. I don't see how any of that belongs in the description.
Honestly, the only thing there that really looks salvageable to me is that bit about how some early televised sports games have been lost forever or only partially remain, which could just as easily be moved to a Sports section. I'd cut the subpage itself.
Alright, since there's been backlash to "We should cut this, no further context" type posts, let me provide my rationale for why Pariah Prisoner should get some attention.
- Contrary to popular belief, child molesters, bad cops and snitches are not the only prisoners targeted by inmates (or in some cases, by guards). (In this case, this is definitely not a case of Even Evil Has Standards.)
- LGBT criminals suffer heavily in some prisons. This is due to the infamously homophobic sentiment shared among many guards and prisoners alike. they are seen as below even the worst of the child molesters, to the point where a common hoax circulated around the Double Standard: Rape, Male on Male trope was that the perpetrator in prisons was gay. In some years and areas, more LGBT people are killed by prisoners and guards than informants and child molesters.
- People with racially egalitarian ideas are seen by prisoners of many stripes as "traitors" to their own "race" (thus feeding into the extremely bigoted environments all too common in prisons) and are frequently the target of Prison Rape and/or lynchings. However, many activists willing to go into prison in a hope to further advance progress on social issues would often realize how ill-informed the decision was due to the extremely prejudiced environments in many prisons and would often either leave with no way of employment or income (causing them to be driven to the Despair Event Horizon, leading to homelessness, terrorism and suicide, as not even their fellow activists are willing to attempt to prop up that victim's income after prison) or get killed in prison.
- And just about any person with intellectual beliefs, or have no incentive for violence are seen as "worse" than informants and child molesters, due to them being seen as complete "cowards" who are "defenseless". Despite the obvious disparity in deaths, informants, bad cops, and child molesters disproportionately make up most of the pariahs in fiction and news coverage.
The section starts off with three general groups of people, the latter two quite sizable. This gives me the impression it may be too common. There are also potholes to NRLEP tropes and lots of commentary on prison politics, which is obvious Flame Bait.
Further down, you have indentation issues and ranting like this:
- James Eagan Holmes, the gunman who gained infamy for The Dark Knight Rises shootings in Aurora, Colorado, became this as not only that the judge expressed absolutely zero sympathy towards the shooter for maiming if not slaughtering scores of people including children who were at the theatre for the premiere, declaring that Holmes may "never set foot in free society again" and giving Holmes a Longer-Than-Life Sentence,note a fellow inmate named Mark "Slim" Daniels attempted to murder him ostensibly to avenge the deaths of Holmes's victims. Whether Slim's motivation for sending the Dark Knight spree shooter to hell is sincere or not is debatable though, as he might have done this merely for the notoriety.
Hopefully, this better explains my thoughts. Maybe we could get away with a cleanup, but I personally thing axing the section is the way to go.
Edited by badtothebaritone on Sep 3rd 2022 at 10:03:36 AM
I'd vote to put it on the crowner. It's far too common IRL and it's a bit gossipy too.
Wham Episode and Wham Line are NRLEP but Wham Shot is not. If anything, it's even more Narrative than the previous two since Wham Shot requires both the "Wham", which is a narrative element, and the "Shot", which isn't possible IRL since there are no "shots". Motion to add it to the next crowner?
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I took a look at the RL section, and you are right, it is quite nattery. Honestly, everything save for the last three examples is just generalized natter of a "let me regurgitate some things I read in an article a while back" type.
We should axe everything unless it's specific, as in "Person X at Prison Y was beaten/killed for [etc]".
I would say lets cut it down, then see about crownering.
Edited by laserviking42 on Sep 3rd 2022 at 11:10:40 AM
I didn't choose the troping life, the troping life chose mei cut all the examples that didn't mention a specific prisoner. here are a few concerns i have about the other examples:
- Pedophile Priest John Geoghan was murdered by Joseph Druce, who was serving a life sentence for murder (and now serving a second life sentence for Geoghan's death). It was suggested at the time that Druce killed Geoghan to gain prestige in the prison hierarchy.
Pedophile Priest is NRLEP, so that wikiword should be cut. i would change it to something like "Convicted pedophile and ex-pastor John Geoghan...".
- Serial Killer Jeffrey Dahmer was beaten to death by Christopher Scarver in 1994 while serving barely three years into his multiple life sentence. He was declared mentally competent to answer for his crimes, thus placed in the general population. What is notable about this incident is that Dahmer was white while Scarver is black. Normally, undesirable inmates such as pedophiles are always "handled" by inmates of their own race. To cross racial barriers on such an issue is a violation of prison politics, regardless of the end justifying the means. However, Dahmer was considered an acceptable exception due to the fact that while he was a white man, the majority of his victims were black males.
this seems nattery and could use a cut-down. personally, id move the second sentence before the first one and then cut everything from "What is notable..." onwards. in addition, Serial Killer is NRLEP, so needs to be un-linked at least.
- James Eagan Holmes, the gunman who gained infamy for The Dark Knight Rises shootings in Aurora, Colorado, became this as not only that the judge expressed absolutely zero sympathy towards the shooter for maiming if not slaughtering scores of people including children who were at the theatre for the premiere, declaring that Holmes may "never set foot in free society again" and giving Holmes a Longer-Than-Life Sentence,note a fellow inmate named Mark "Slim" Daniels attempted to murder him ostensibly to avenge the deaths of Holmes's victims. Whether Slim's motivation for sending the Dark Knight spree shooter to hell is sincere or not is debatable though, as he might have done this merely for the notoriety.
this needs to be rewritten to be less sensationalist and could probably also do with a general natter trim. seeking input on the best way to handle this one.
See, this is the sort of thing people are talking about when they say some things shouldn't go through the crowner - I'm not talking about making the page NRLEP. (I think a case can be made for that, as I agree with the argument that real life doesn't really have 'episodes', but it'd be a separate issue). I'm proposing cutting all of the examples that can't be moved anywhere else because they are misuse.
Black Helicopter is half misuse and half okay. consensus to cut the examples that don't mention at least a specific model of chopper?
Was Creepy Good ever crownered and voted on? Mechanicalman 450 both cut the folder
and added it to the Morality index
, but I don't see a vote on it.
Looking at the NRLEP-Morality Index, I see Mechanicalman 450 added a whole bunch of tropes:
I don't see any discussion, or see a mod having called any of these tropes. Before I make a report, wanted to make sure this wasn't discussed.
I didn't choose the troping life, the troping life chose meThe troper was already suspended for those and apparently it hasn't been undone.
Edited by Amonimus on Sep 4th 2022 at 8:30:53 PM
TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanupalright, i reverted the unilateral additions. want to do this properly? i don't see an issue with crownering Creepy Good, Face of a Thug, Evil Brunette Twin, and Bad Humor Truck as morality tropes.
x8 But the trope is impossible in real life and it's attracting misuse. I'd say that warrants a crowner...
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Yeah, I could see a case for crownering all of those. They all have a moral judgement involved in them so I'd vote for them.
Also, Reformed, but Rejected seems like not only a morality trope, but also a bit of an impossible trope in the way that 0% Approval Rating is - it's not possible for everyone to reject you the way it can happen in fiction.
Edited by MissConduct on Sep 4th 2022 at 3:38:03 PM
Apologies for not changing the thread title when I changed the crowner. It's possible I was tired at the time and just didn't think of it, but I think the main factor was that the relatively large amount of crowner entries I added made my wrists cramp up (I blame carpal tunnel for that), so I wasn't in the mood for more typing.
Edited by GastonRabbit on Sep 4th 2022 at 10:41:35 AM
I got a rock for Halloween.I will not do what I did before, since I have learned by lesson since my suspension. But do you believe these tropes should be in Morality Tropes:
Edited by Mechanicalman450 on Sep 5th 2022 at 12:21:28 PM
Don't forget Evil Brunette Twin.
Since Rules of the Road's NRLEP status is looking probable, I'm going to suggest Can't You Read the Sign? for next crowner as well - again, signs being posted for important reasons is Too Common, and a lot of the RL examples are just "wacky signs" which is not this trope.
Also, thoughts on Mum Looks Like a Sister? I feel like it's a little gossipy and also an attractiveness trope.
Edited by MissConduct on Sep 5th 2022 at 9:50:30 AM
Expressive Mask only has three examples, but at least two of them are misuse.
- Many high-quality full-head silicone and latex masks (particularly those made by SPFX Masks, Composite Effects, Immortal Masks and Greyland Productions) are capable of having somewhat-to-hyper realistic mouth movement and facial expressions, bringing Latex Perfection to real life. general
- There have been some experiments merging silicone/latex masks with mild animatronics that mimic the facial movements of the actor portraying the character (using things like chin straps), theoretically allowing for expressive masks that are further removed from Rubber Forehead Aliens that don't require separate animatronic performers. This was notably used in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace for Nute Gunray, and while the mask itself was of high quality and believable, the lip syncing with the actor was made fun of (doubly ironic because Gunray was already a Fantasy Counterpart Culture of Japan regarding clothing and accent, making him look like a badly dubbed anime). Later movies used CG or actual animatronics to get a better performance. natter, relevant part can go under Film folder if it's good
- Raccoons look like they wear painted on masks and are more expressive because of it. misuse, they aren't actually wearing masks
- John Rhys-Davis gave a lengthy talk on how to enact this trope in the Lord of the Rings extended edition documentaries. Acting through the prosthetics requires extensive overexaggeration. Jim Carry had similar discussion about how to make the Grinch prosthetic work, which you can truly appreciate in footage of the make up artists wearing the costume while testing it out, and it looked completely wooden in comparison to Carry's performance. maybe ok? i know similar examples have been kept in the past, but this is written very messily
probably no need to crowner, unless yall think it's Impossible?
Edited by ChloeJessica on Sep 5th 2022 at 9:22:18 AM
In Expressive Mask, I am unsure whether I agree or disagree with the first and third examples, but I agree that the second example is not an example of the trope.
Edited by Mechanicalman450 on Sep 5th 2022 at 6:10:20 PM
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I'd cut all three, honestly. 1 and 2 are misuse, and I don't usually like playing the [citation needed] card but unless it's mentioned if these were DVD bonus features or something I can't be sure if these interviews exist.
I wouldn't crowner though, I wouldn't say it's impossible just that it doesn't exist IRL yet.
Edited by MissConduct on Sep 5th 2022 at 1:59:31 PM
Crown Description:
Vote UP to cut real life examples; vote DOWN to keep. Anything marked DONE has been resolved. In order for a crowner to pass:- Must have been up for a minimum of a week
- There must be a 2:1 ratio
- If the vote is exactly 2:1 or +/- 1 vote from that, give it a couple extra days to see if any more votes come in
- Once passed, tropes must be indexed on the appropriate NRLEP or LRLEO index
- Should the vote fail, the trope should be indexed on KRLE page

I noticed this ATT report
and decided to bring the Past-Life Memories folder here for cleanup (I will post a link here in that report shortly). I don't think it's crowner-worthy as it stands, but could
In short, I find the examples are almost all too general, comments in bold mine: