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Let's Improve the TLP

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DivineFlame100 Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#301: Sep 13th 2020 at 5:14:01 AM

Got another one for the admins.


  • Make TLP drafts recognize small dashes (-) in titles to avoid similar cases of merged words like "Pullthe Trigger Provocation".

Edited by DivineFlame100 on Sep 13th 2020 at 5:17:31 AM

Serac she/her (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Oh my word! I'm gay!
she/her
#302: Sep 13th 2020 at 9:15:45 AM

So, I know that this thread discussed new guidelines for adopting old drafts. Are the current guidelines really a problem, though? If I wanted to adopt this draft that hasn't been touched in 7 years and that was posted by someone who left the site 5 years ago, would I really have to post two comments and wait 48 hours (and watch as bombs get dropped on it) before I can rewrite the description?

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
#303: Sep 13th 2020 at 9:18:26 AM

I don't think there should be a waiting period on adopting abandoned drafts.

Launching, sure, but not taking sponsorship.

Suddenly I'm... still rotating Fallen London in my mind even though I've stopped actively playing it.
ccorb from A very hot place Since: May, 2020 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#305: Sep 13th 2020 at 11:54:58 AM

Right, adopting shouldn't be a difficult process.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
Miss_Desperado https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YD2i1FzUYA from somewhere getting rained on by Puget Sound Since: Sep, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#306: Sep 13th 2020 at 12:35:34 PM

I just remembered a moment when I was a confused newbie making my very first TLP draft (which is now the trope Monsters Favorite Petting Spot) — if launching is the last thing you do to turn a TLP draft into a trope (with indexing and cross-wicking coming after), why is the button you press to make a new draft labeled "Launch a New Trope"?

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
MyFinalEdits Delete message from Parts Unknown (Spin-off Series) Relationship Status: Cast away
Delete message
#307: Sep 14th 2020 at 2:30:34 PM

(Crossposting from this ATT query, courtesy of Synchronicity)

For some time, I have thought that the Launch option should only be enabled for the sponsor and moderators unless it's Up For Grabs. There have been too many rogue launches in the last few months, and the resulting suspensions to the offenders aren't doing an effective job at warning other tropers to avoid doing it.

135 -> 180 -> 273 -> 191 -> 188 -> 230 -> 300 -> 311
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#308: Sep 14th 2020 at 2:33:12 PM

[up]Since the discard function is only available to sponsors when there's not five bombs yet, I imagine similar coding could restrict the launch button. The only problem is it would kill drafts that are up for grabs, unless we make it available to others after a certain amount of time.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#309: Sep 14th 2020 at 2:33:48 PM

Yeah, that's the thing. Not every draft can be launched by the creator.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
Serac she/her (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Oh my word! I'm gay!
she/her
#310: Sep 14th 2020 at 2:36:23 PM

If the admins coded in "only the sponsor can launch this", they could also code in something like "a sponsor is someone whose name is linked in the draft", "if a draft is up for grabs, anyone can click this button to become the sponsor", or something similar.

Edited by Serac on Sep 14th 2020 at 4:36:45 AM

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#311: Sep 14th 2020 at 2:38:08 PM

"a sponsor is someone whose name is linked in the draft" could be exploited easily. People could just make a small edit to draft before they rogue launch it.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#312: Sep 14th 2020 at 2:39:17 PM

Besides, letting only the sponsor launch doesn't stop stealth launches, only rogue launches.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
Serac she/her (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Oh my word! I'm gay!
she/her
#313: Sep 14th 2020 at 3:02:48 PM

But still. My point is that when/if the admins start implementing solutions to this, it would be pretty easy to come up with something.

Maybe, once the person clicks the launch button, it can be flagged as "launch pending" for 24 hours and it would get a different color when looking at the list of drafts, and the moderators can cancel it if it shouldn't be launched.

Van-San Since: Aug, 2020
#314: Sep 14th 2020 at 3:37:32 PM

I think something needs to be done about the Works' Pages Are a Free Launch mentality, as people seem to think it means that work pages aren't allowed in the TLP and will comment "Work Pages Are A Free Launch" if someone puts a work page draft in there as well as pointing out that works can't be under the "Main" namespace, even though that's the only namespace in the drop-down, such as in this draft.

The drop-down should include the "Work" page type and have namespaces for the types of works. That would make it possible to create work pages through the TLP if you need help fleshing out the page and you can just launch through there when it's fleshed out enough.

Troping across the universe...
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#315: Sep 14th 2020 at 3:41:20 PM

[up] I've talked about this before, too. People spam the page without even knowing what the policy is.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
ccorb from A very hot place Since: May, 2020 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!
#316: Sep 14th 2020 at 3:41:45 PM

[up][up] If you're saying people should be able to launch works pages through the TLP, that would be great! I think making that possible could give the OP an opportunity to meet other fans of the work and guide attention to tropes they may not know about.

I want to make Series.Love On The Spectrum and I'm not sure what tropes fit in it.

[down] When did they take that away?

Edited by ccorb on Sep 14th 2020 at 6:57:18 AM

Rock'n'roll never dies!
crazysamaritan NaNo 4328 / 50,000 from Lupin III Since: Apr, 2010
NaNo 4328 / 50,000
#317: Sep 14th 2020 at 3:52:53 PM

You can use the TLP (or the Sandbox namespace) and then discard (or cutlist) the draft when the page is ready. You used to be able to launch the work page.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.
ImmiThrax 🏳️‍🌈🎃 from A Galaxy Far, Far Away Since: Apr, 2020 Relationship Status: Crazy Cat Lady
🏳️‍🌈🎃
#318: Sep 14th 2020 at 4:05:39 PM

I totally forgot about that drop down! Added it to the sandbox, along with changing the language on "Launch a new trope".

Covered in Star Wars Cleanup, Deadpool, and Web Video sand. I'm not coarse and rough, but I get everywhere.
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
#319: Sep 14th 2020 at 4:14:24 PM

Relatedly, the namespace dropdown.

Suddenly I'm... still rotating Fallen London in my mind even though I've stopped actively playing it.
Van-San Since: Aug, 2020
#320: Sep 14th 2020 at 4:43:05 PM

Also, minor nitpick, but on the drafts themselves when it says "Last edited by: [troper] on [amount of time]", it counts comments as edit to the draft. Correct me if I'm wrong if it's supposed to be like that.

This is what I'm talking about. Sorry if the image is small.

Troping across the universe...
Serac she/her (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Oh my word! I'm gay!
she/her
#321: Sep 14th 2020 at 4:50:54 PM

I assume it's a coding workaround to get comments to bump drafts as well as edits, but it would be nice if it said "Latest activity by:" instead.

Edited by Serac on Sep 14th 2020 at 6:51:08 AM

Miss_Desperado https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YD2i1FzUYA from somewhere getting rained on by Puget Sound Since: Sep, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#322: Sep 14th 2020 at 5:30:56 PM

[up] That wouldn't quite be enough. As it stands now, if War Jay edits a draft one hour ago and I type "bump" in the comments five minutes ago, the automated system will say "Last edited by War Jay five minutes ago". If we JUST change "Last edited by" to "Last activity by" it still won't be correct. In that case, once War Jay edits a draft one hour ago and I type "bump" in the comments five minutes ago, the automated system would say "Last activity by War Jay five minutes ago". In neither case would the system announce me as the most recent participant. See the problem?

Edited by Miss_Desperado on Sep 14th 2020 at 5:32:27 AM

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
SkyCat32 The Draftsman of Doom (Five Year Plan) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
The Draftsman of Doom
#323: Sep 15th 2020 at 4:05:56 PM

How to improve TLP? Considering that ads interfere with the TLP functionality, and considering that not every trope launched is ad server friendly, I think that ads should be removed from TLP altogether.

[down] Fair enough. We still need a way to make sure it doesn't interfere with saving.

Edited by SkyCat32 on Sep 16th 2020 at 8:09:19 AM

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#324: Sep 16th 2020 at 12:17:46 AM

Ads are like TLP's least important problem, and at any rate we need the ad revenue to afford any change to TLP at all. So I think not.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
PurpleEyedGuma Since: Apr, 2020
#325: Sep 16th 2020 at 6:45:52 AM

The Launch and Discard buttons still refer to TLP as YKTTW. Is that really that hard to fix?


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