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All-Purpose Policy and Meta discussion: Administrivia.Trope Repair Shop

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Before making or posting in a thread, read the Trope Repairing Guidelines to see whether a thread you're considering making actually should be made, as well as what is and isn't allowed in an open thread.

This thread is a metathread for Trope Repair Shop discussion. Things like TRS policy, what is needed in a TRS opening post, questions about whether a certain topic is TRS-worthy and questions about why a thread wasn't opened go here.

Some guidelines for when/whether to use TRS:

  • If the trope is fine, but has some bad examples, feel free to clean them up or to start a cleanup project at Projects: Short-Term. Trope Repair Shop is for when cleaning isn't sufficient.
  • If you think there's something wrong with the trope that systematically attracts improper examples, start a discussion at Trope Talk. Use a Wick Check to see whether there's an issue present (and if there is, what the issue is). The following methods are two possible ways to do a wick check (though not necessarily the only ways):
    • You can go ahead with the Wick Check without a discussion if you know what you're looking for. While it's not mandatory, feel free to ask someone for help confirming that you got the issue and the numbers correct.
    • Consult the Wick Check Project thread to collect evidence if you need help.
  • Depending on a trope (or non-trope) in question, a wick check may be determined to not be required, such as for tropes that are not thriving (per the standards for trope health listed on the Wick page). However, there is no problem if you want to do one anyway.

For a more detailed introduction to this forum, click here.

For related projects, see Wick Cleaning Projects and the Wick Check Project.

For a list of wiki pages related to thread outcomes, see the following:

Edited by GastonRabbit on Aug 12th 2025 at 11:35:13 AM

captainpat Since: Sep, 2010
#176: Jan 20th 2017 at 7:06:16 AM

What's the guideline for opening a trs thread when last one was closed because of no activity. I would like to start a new trs for Biker Babe.

Sidenote: I really think there should some kind of immediate action we can take for tropes that have massive amount bad examples. It's frustrating how often trs threads for tropes with massive amounts of ZC Es or misuse get stalled or closed and we have leave it in it's terrible state and let it collect more bad examples.

HighCrate Since: Mar, 2015
#177: Jan 20th 2017 at 8:20:21 AM

I mean, if it doesn't require a redefinition or rename, if the problem is JUST bad examples, you can start a cleanup thread in Short-Term Projects, right? And ZCEs don't typically need much discussion, you can pretty much just delete 'em or comment them out.

edited 20th Jan '17 8:21:08 AM by HighCrate

captainpat Since: Sep, 2010
#178: Jan 20th 2017 at 8:29:32 AM

I would but in a a lot of case the effort gets undone by people re-adding or adding more bad examples.

Gosicrystal Since: Jun, 2016 Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
#179: Feb 28th 2017 at 10:17:05 AM

Could we have another thread reason for when we have hints/evidence that a trope is Subjective/YMMV? Like "Really a Useful Note".

edited 28th Feb '17 10:17:19 AM by Gosicrystal

darkemyst Since: Mar, 2017
#180: Jun 11th 2017 at 2:36:14 PM

Not certain this is the right place to bring this up but I came across this fanfic recommendation page Natsumes Books Of Friends which is not connected to the works page, Natsume's Book of Friends, and was not sure how to go about fixing it.

crazysamaritan NaNo 4328 / 50,000 from Lupin III Since: Apr, 2010
NaNo 4328 / 50,000
#181: Jun 11th 2017 at 8:01:39 PM

It's a spelling error. The first one makes "book" a plural while the second one isn't. See How To Move A Page.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.
Malady (X-Troper)
#183: Aug 15th 2017 at 7:32:02 AM

Can the Unclear Description option be changed to Unclear Definition, which seems like what it should be, given it's description in Welcome to the Trope Repair Shop...

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
jameygamer Since: May, 2014
#184: Aug 20th 2017 at 4:51:51 PM

So how does a thread get a crowner?

GM_3826 Since: May, 2014 Relationship Status: In Spades with myself
#185: Sep 7th 2017 at 6:37:01 PM

...Just made a thread. The title needs to be fixed. Thanks to some bug currently it's linking to a nonexistent page called "Woman In Whiteneedsanewdescriptionandname"(sic), because I thought that if I phrased it as "Woman In White needs a new description, and name", it wouldn't assume it was all one article, rather it would take one part as an article and feature the rest as text. It was an attempt to make clear the fact that I felt multiple things needed to be done, at the very least, in the name.

wingedcatgirl mys. minty from the silly dimension from lurking (Holding A Herring) Relationship Status: Oh my word! I'm gay!
mys. minty from the silly dimension
#186: Sep 9th 2017 at 7:09:37 PM

So is the policy to rename all tropes that have the same name as a work that gets a page, or is it more precise than that?

Right now I'm thinking of Turncoat, which has effectively the same name as Literature.Turn Coat, but I don't know if I should jump right to renaming it when I'm not aware that it has any problems other than the shared name.

edited 9th Sep '17 7:12:39 PM by wingedcatgirl

Suddenly I'm... still rotating Fallen London in my mind even though I've stopped actively playing it.
Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#187: Sep 9th 2017 at 11:21:48 PM

[up] No. Not at all, especially when, as in this case, the trope name long predates the work (turncoat, meaning one who betrays or abandons their leader or group dates back to the 1560's.) and the work was named for the trope. The simplest fix would be to change the trope name to "The Turncoat", which would also be in keeping with our practice of naming character tropes as "The X" when it's clearer than just "X"

edited 9th Sep '17 11:22:01 PM by Madrugada

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#188: Sep 10th 2017 at 12:03:39 AM

Also, nowadays we use namespaces to distinguish works from tropes, so such a rename is no more needed much of the time.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#189: Sep 11th 2017 at 8:44:07 AM

It still creates wick confusion, though, as well as the occasional subpage collision. Best to avoid when possible. The practice of putting "The" in front of the trope name if it's a noun is good, but doesn't always prevent collisions.

edited 11th Sep '17 8:44:27 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Memers Since: Aug, 2013
#190: Sep 18th 2017 at 8:57:21 AM

So I had made a thread on Dye Hard [1] and waited weeks to get it opened only for it to be graveyarded. Its a quick and easy job of just splitting it into 2 tropes and the longest part would be deciding titles.

So what can be done to get it open? I mean most of the threads here have just stagnated with arguments and just might as well be closed as they arnt going anywhere.

edited 18th Sep '17 8:58:26 AM by Memers

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#191: Sep 18th 2017 at 9:03:37 AM

No, the the threads with the orange star are threads where work needs to be done.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
thatboy Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Dating Catwoman
#192: Sep 22nd 2017 at 10:05:50 AM

I have a question about wick checking. If a trope has under 100 yet over 50 wicks, do we still have to check 50 random words wicks?

Gosicrystal Since: Jun, 2016 Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
#193: Sep 22nd 2017 at 11:28:24 AM

[up] Yes. As Administrivia.How To Do A Wick Check says, either 50 or the square root of the wicks; whichever is larger.

thatboy Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Dating Catwoman
#194: Sep 22nd 2017 at 8:15:50 PM

[up] Even when it's in the 50s ?

WaterBlap Blapper of Water Since: May, 2014 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Blapper of Water
#195: Sep 22nd 2017 at 8:19:12 PM

If the number of wicks is — say — 55, then you should definitely do a wick check for at least 50 of them. Though, doing five (or seven or nine) more requires such little effort that you might as well include them. Plus, it'll strengthen your argument to demonstrate that the problem is present within the entire population of wicks rather than a sample of wicks.

Look at all that shiny stuff ain't they pretty
thatboy Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Dating Catwoman
mcgrew from Knoxville Since: Apr, 2012 Relationship Status: We finish each other's sandwiches
#197: Sep 29th 2017 at 5:11:20 PM

I created a page for the play Peter and the Starcatcher. A stub had been created and deleted previously, so I made sure to create a non-stub page.

Unfortunately, I got the capitalization wrong. I created it as

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Theatre/PeterandTheStarcatcher

instead of creating it as

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Theatre/PeterAndTheStarcatcher

Both URLs work, but the result is that the work title is displayed as

Peterand The Starcatcher

rather than as

Peter And The Starcatcher

This seems like something that would be easy for someone with the right access to fix, but a previous request to the Trope Repair Shop has languished. Is this the right place to request such a fix? Or should I try somewhere else?

edited 29th Sep '17 5:13:27 PM by mcgrew

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#198: Oct 16th 2017 at 7:07:29 AM

If you miscapitalized an article title while making it, the solution is to put it on the Cut List and then recreate it with the proper capitalization. It's the only way to fix the underlying database issue.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
captainpat Since: Sep, 2010
#199: Nov 20th 2017 at 1:36:41 PM

The crowner on the trs thread for Always V Sexy has me concerned because one of the options is merging with proposed trope that doesn't even have TLP draft.

edited 20th Nov '17 1:37:07 PM by captainpat

AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#200: Nov 20th 2017 at 11:52:59 PM

Question. Since when does "merging" mean "cutting"? Insane Forgiveness was voted to be merged with Easily Forgiven, but what was actually done was that the former was simply cut without any effort being done to move examples, and made into a redirect. Is that a standard policy, or was the ball dropped?

Check out my fanfiction!

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