The OP was originally written by badtothebaritone.

Better Than Canon is a YMMV item where a fan work is viewed by audiences as "better" than the original. A Better Than Canon Wick Check reveals a few issues:

• 4/50 wicks are about how the fan work does some aspect better than the original
• 6/50 wicks are about how the fan work is better overall than the original
• 2/50 wicks are about a fan game seen as on par with the original rather than surpassing it
• 1 wick is just describing how mods enhance a game design to be expanded with mods
• 29/50 wicks are potholes, all but one of which come from Fanfic Recs pages
• 8/50 wicks are ZCEs

The most glaring issue here is the disproportionate amount of potholes, which is a result of the Fanfic Recs template containing a pothole in a sentence that generally looks something like this: Personally, I don't think this pothole adds anything, as non-canon does not necessarily mean better. Removing this pothole from the template would fix that issue by itself. This still leaves the issue that only 10/21 non-pothole wicks actually describe what the trope is about. I haven't thought of any particular solutions right now, though a few tropers have suggested moving it to Sugar Wiki on the basis that the trope is inherently a bit gushy.

1. YMMV.Rihannsu - Better Than Canon: Many fans consider this series to be much better than the canon depictions of the Romulans, where they were either just a little-developed Monster of the Week (Star Trek: The Original Series) or realpolitik-practicing villains only out for themselves (Star Trek: The Next Generation and beyond).
2. YMMV.Miracle Of Sound - Better Than Canon: For a lot of people, the consistent quality of Gavin's work often means that his songs are considered to be better than the actual game they're homaging. In particular, "Only Us", a song about Jaime and Cersei's relationship, is considered more enjoyable than the series' controversial ending.
3. YMMV.Corpse Party - Better Than Canon: The characterization of Ayumi in Corpse Party D2: Depths of Despair is seen as a much better portrayal than in canon. Corpse Party D2: Fatal Operation is also very liked due to giving an explanation for the disappearance of Seiko's mother, Sayaka. Kizami can also undergo a Heel–Face Turn that still feels true to his character, and Naomi and Seiko can potentially end up together.
4. YMMV.Call Of Duty Black Ops III - Better Than Canon: This Girls' Frontline character model replacement mod managed to make a Mind Screwdriver out of the story due to it being makes sense in context of the latter's story events. On page of original, not the fanwork

1. YMMV.Fall Of Starfleet Rebirth Of Friendship - Better Than Canon: Compared to Starfleet Magic, given that this fic has both a more engaging plot and fleshed-out characters, making it easier to remain invested in the story.
2. YMMV.Pokemon Reset Bloodlines - Better Than Canon: There are many who consider these stories to be outright superior to the anime, due to keeping the anime's strengths (such as its creative battles and humor) while improving on it in some ways (more dynamic and three-dimensional characters, stronger continuity, etc.) and making some of its characters more likeable.
3. YMMV.Syngenesophobia - Better Than Canon: Apart from the aspect of Lincoln having to be sent to the hospital and developing a strong fear of his own sisters, a lot of readers consider the story to be an improvement over the show since it helps portray the characters more positively (or explain certain behaviors and Fridge Logic) and have them receive consequences for their actions. In detail:
   1. The fanfic's take on "Brawl In The Family" gives a valid explanation about why Lincoln doesn't know about the "Sister Fight Protocol" and why the aforementioned protocol wasn't in effect in previous episodes during which there was a dispute between the sisters (such as "Space Invader"). According to the story, the protocol was a very recent creation that the sisters came up with with their parents, but without informing Lincoln (a flaw that Lisa realizes afterwards, and Dr. Lopez also points out). And it's clearly stated in chapter 10 that the events of "Brawl In The Family" were the first and only time that the protocol was ever put into action.
   2. The Author also justifies some of Lisa’s more questionable experiments. Her poop studies for example are done because she wants to keep track of her siblings’ eating habits to ensure they stay healthy. Because of them, she once discovered Lori was suffering from gastrointestinal blockade and could help her before she had to be hospitalized. Dr. Lopez also points out that Lisa’s curiosity is quite normal for a child her age, genius or no genius. While she is a prodigy as far as science is concerned, she also has the mindset of a 4-years-old who hasn't completely learned to differentiate right from wrong yet.
   3. For readers who disliked Luan for her cruel April Fool's Day pranks, this is mitigated in chapter 15 when Luan told Dr. Lopez that none of the family members ever told her how harsh her pranks are. It's stated that the reason why she's like this every April Fool's day is because of bullies who harassed her in elementary school. But the way she takes it out on her family results in Dr. Lopez calling Luan out for it.
   4. Lynn is portrayed in a considerably more positive light here. Not only does she clearly miss the closeness she had with Lincoln as small kids, but when Lynn found out about Ronnie bullying Lincoln, not only was she pissed but called the girl out for mistreating the object of her affection (and started quietly seething when she realized that it was indirectly Lori's fault since she did the same thing to Bobby before they paired up, making him think that such behavior was the way things worked) and was so furiously protective that Ronnie apparently thought Lynn would murder her for punching Lincoln in the eye after kissing her (which itself is portrayed not as her being malicious but being panicked by being kissed by her crush, making the apology steak more genuine).
   5. For Lola, it is explained that her pageantry made her into the manipulative brat she is in the show, since pretty much all contestants in those pageants are like that and the only way to succeed in the business is to become one as well. She also let her victories, as well as the cash and the prizes she earned, go to her head, explaining her Spoiled Brat tendencies. And she knows how her reputation prevents her from having friends or getting close to her siblings.
      1. Lola's (probably) expensive dresses, cosmetics and toy car are mentioned to be for the most part prizes she won during her pageants, explaining why she could afford them while the family is supposed to be on a budget.
   6. Ronnie-Anne punching Lincoln after the latter kisses the former was explained that she was caught off guard by Lincoln's sudden kiss. Her bullying of Lincoln was because she was copying what Lori did to Bobby when they were younger.
4. FanonDiscontinuity.Anime And Manga - Another popular crossover with JoJo's Bizarre Adventure that is often considered Better Than Canon is where Jotaro Kujo shows up to intervene right before her father attempts to have sex with her, which accelerated her downward spiral in the doujin.
5. YMMV.I Wanna Be The Guy - Seinfeld Is Unfunny: While I Wanna Be The Guy firmly held as a classic of online Platform Hell games, it's a common joke among IWBTG fans that IWBTG is ironically not even the best IWBTG. On top of being rather buggy and unreliable, many of its own fangames have been seen as eclipsing it in terms of quality (such modern favorites include I Wanna Be The Boshy, I Wanna Kill the Kamilia, I Wanna Run The Marathon, and Not Another Needle Game), usually by toning down the Trial-and-Error Gameplay and arbitrarily exhausting design elements, very rarely sacrificing the expected masochistic difficulty.
6. YMMV.If The Emperor Had A Text To Speech Device - Better Than Canon: Thanks to a combination of this series' interpretations of the universe's characters, plenty of catharsis to be derived from the hilarious dressing down of the ridiculously relentless torrent of grimdarkness that is the Warhammer 40K lore, the plentiful humor contrasting the normally grim tone of the home series, the extensive Character Development of both the original 40K veterans and TTS newbies, its interesting plot and more, many 40K fans have semi-seriously joked that they consider this series better than the source material.

1. Awesome.This Bites - The entrance of the TB!Straw Hat Pirates. Better Than Canon? Well, they certainly matched it at least.
2. YMMV.Shanghai EXE Genso Network - Better Than Canon: There's a consensus that this fangame's mechanics, level design, enemy design and story are on par with the most popular Mega Man Battle Network installments and that it's well worth a play even if one is not familiar with either Battle Network or Touhou. It's no wonder that once Capcom forced its cancellation it was leaked by a fan and then picked up by another developer to at least make it playable to the end.

1. YMMV.Ravenfield - Better Than Canon: The base game is merely that, a base upon which to build with the thousands of mods on offer. Aside from the countless weapons, skins, and vehicles, there are also whole new game modes such as Infection, and gameplay tweaks that fundamentally change the game into an indie knock-off of big-budget shooters like Halo and Battlefield 1.

1. FanficRecs.Archy And Mehitabel: Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexual^note please note this includes all sexual activity, not just homosexual or bisexual, including het. or non-canon territory.
2. FanficRecs.Marble Hornets: Do warn when a fanfic may head into non-canon territory, be it in pairings or plot.
3. FanficRecs.Adventures In Wonderland: Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexual^note please note this includes all sexual activity, not just homosexual or bisexual, including het. or non-canon territory.
4. FanficRecs.House: Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexual^note please note this includes all sexual activity, not just homosexual or bisexual, including het. or non-canon territory.
5. FanficRecs.Theater Shoes: Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexually explicit or non-canon territory.
6. FanficRecs.A Place Further Than The Universe: Do warn when a fanfic may head into non-canon territory.
7. FanficRecs.Spider Man Into The Spider Verse: Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexual^note please note this includes all sexual activity, not just homosexual or bisexual, including het. or non-canon territory.
8. FanficRecs.Room: Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexual^note please note this includes all sexual activity, not just homosexual or bisexual, including het. or non-canon territory.
9. FanficRecs.Transformers Generation 1: Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexual^note please note this includes all sexual activity, not just homosexual or bisexual, including het. or non-canon territory.
10. FanficRecs.Tales Of Phantasia: Do warn when a fanfic may head into homosexual or non-canon territory.
11. FanficRecs.The Magnus Archives: Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexual or non-canon territory.
12. FanficRecs.Venom 2018: Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexual^note please note this includes all sexual activity, not just homosexual or bisexual, including het. or non-canon territory.
13. FanficRecs.The Book Of Mormon: Warn when fic heads into non-canon territory.
14. FanficRecs.Black Clover: Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexual or non-canon territory.
15. FanficRecs.Worm: Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexually explicit or non-canon territory.
16. FanficRecs.Space Quest: Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexually explicit or non-canon territory.
17. FanficRecs.Your Turn To Die: Do warn when a fanfic may head into non-canon territory.
18. FanficRecs.Jujutsu Kaisen: Do warn when a fanfic may head into non-canon territory.
19. FanficRecs.Sliders: Do warn when a fanfic may head into non-canon territory.
20. FanficRecs.One Tree Hill: Do warn when a fanfic may head into non-canon territory.
21. FanficRecs.The Musketeers: Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexual^note please note this includes all sexual activity, not just homosexual or bisexual, including het. or non-canon territory.
22. FanficRecs.Osomatsu San: Do warn when a fanfic may head into homosexual, incestuous, or non-canon territory.
23. FanficRecs.Forever 2014: Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexually explicit or non-canon territory.
24. FanficRecs.Sleepless Domain: Do warn when a fanfic may head into non-canon territory.
25. FanficRecs.Les Miserables: Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexual or non-canon territory.
26. FanficRecs.Toradora: Do warn when a fanfic may head into non-canon territory.
27. FanficRecs.Bubblegum Crisis: Do warn when a fanfic may head into romantic or non-canon territory.
28. Sliding Scale of Character Appreciation: The audience may even begin to wonder whether the author is deliberately misrepresenting this character to prevent us from sympathizing with them. Or write Revenge Fics on their behalf.
29. FanficRecs.Mindhunter: Do warn when a fanfic may head into sexual^note please note this includes all sexual activity, not just homosexual or bisexual, including het. or non-canon territory.

1. YMMV.Jonathan Joestar The First Jo Jo - Better Than Canon: Most readers have agreed that the story is this compared to its source material.
2. YMMV.Twilight The Musical - Better Than Canon: Considering the canon is infamous for its poor writing...
3. The Draco Trilogy: Became wildly popular in fandom to the point where some fans began to prefer the Draco Trilogy to the actual canon.
4. YMMV.Super Mario Land 2 Six Golden Coins - Better Than Canon: The enhancements made in Super Mario Land 2 DX have made the game a considerable improvement in every way over the (already solid) Game Boy original. Entry is on the page for the original, not the fan work
5. YMMV.Ultimate Spiderwoman - Better Than Canon: Several reviewers on Fanfiction.net have claimed this.
6. YMMV.Phylactery - Better Than Canon: Head to the comments and you'll see many fans declaring that they personally consider Phylactery to be canon to the manga.
7. YMMV.Embers Vathara - Better Than Canon: What most still reading it think. Commented out
8. YMMV.Diplomacy - Better Than Canon: Called by many.