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Thoughts on Memetic Mutation examples

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NoUsername she's only programmed to be very nice Since: May, 2012
she's only programmed to be very nice
#1: Nov 8th 2024 at 2:53:59 PM

is there a reason that Memetic Mutation examples are formatted in the "Meme Without ContextExplanation" format? is this reasonable or preferable? is it in deference to Don't Explain the Joke? we normally don't allow zero context examples and of course these have context but having it tucked away in a labelnote leads to a lot of lists where your eye just glazes over the actual information and effectively results in ZCEs

i also think it results in cases where memes that aren't really memes get added because hiding the explanation in the labelnote means that you don't have to explain whether it actually qualifies as a meme, e.g. on YMMV.Sonic X Shadow Generations Dark Beginnings:

  • "Give us a series, SEGA!"Explanation

this would obviously not be an example if it was written in a format where explaining why this is a meme would be required in the main body of the text (because it's just saying "this series is good and people want a full series of it!", which isn't a meme), but because it's hidden, it makes it much easier to ignore. it feels like a strange outlier in the context of other subpages too; wouldn't it be weird if a Tear Jerker page was "Sad MomentExplanation"?

i don't know. this isn't really something i have the desire to personally change, largely because it would be a massive effort, but it's something i've thought about. this conversation might also be tied to the Awesome Music conversation and how that trope suffers from ZCEs due to user culture, though in this case it's more about a combination of rules and user culture resulting in a poor experience rather than awesome music's single clear-cut problem at the root.

Edited by NoUsername on Nov 8th 2024 at 5:55:03 AM

Lermis Purposefully Untitled from Out of touch with reality Since: Nov, 2018 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
Purposefully Untitled
#2: Nov 17th 2024 at 1:30:38 PM

I don't know the original reason but it makes it much easier to read, at least to me. Some pages are exceptionally long so it really helps then.

SpaceBattles.com fanworks (now oficial) index in my Sandbox.
king15 Have Faun Since: Mar, 2024
Have Faun
#3: Nov 17th 2024 at 3:37:29 PM

I personally think it works pretty well. The formatting means that the page's don't get too long and the pages always have the explanation for what the note is so that, for people who want them, they can see the explanation and it should therefore avoid being an even in-practice Zero-Context Example. Would like to hear others' think, though.

Nightwire Since: Feb, 2010
#4: Nov 17th 2024 at 11:11:54 PM

I think it works perfectly as well. I am not interested in scrolling through walls of text just so I can reach a meme that I'm looking for.

NoUsername she's only programmed to be very nice Since: May, 2012
she's only programmed to be very nice
#5: Nov 18th 2024 at 2:23:59 AM

mmhm, that's fair. i'm really more curious about how it came to be that this is the format it uses when it's unlike anything else on the wiki, and whether the format itself causes problems (though if that's the case it might be more user culture than the format itself). it's good to have some other opinions on it

animuacid The girl of the window from Astyr residence in Lilysthia's grounds Since: Jan, 2024 Relationship Status: I love you for psychological reasons
The girl of the window
#6: Nov 18th 2024 at 2:28:00 AM

I think it has to do with this 2021 TRS.

Bullman Enid Sinclair Since: Jun, 2018 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
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