Sampled Up needs a YMMV banner because it is a counterpart to Covered Up, which is YMMV.
Does Awesome McCoolname need one? The article doesn't give an objective definition of a "cool" name, and I can't think of one off the top of my head.
she her hers hOI!!! i'm tempeTrigger has been split into the in-universe examples, and the social justice wank moved to a useful notes page. Can we now remove the YMMV banner since it isn't about what might "trigger" anyone in the audience, but just characters reacting badly to things?
I did, something about this page just reminds me of that one. However, I may have said Hair-Trigger Temper when I meant Berserk Button.
Fight smart, not fair.I hope I'm not posting this in the wrong thread and/or subforum; if so, I'm sorry :)
So... Rule of Cool.
It potholes YMMV right at the start of the article ("...there will naturally be a different threshold for each individual"). Then it states that it's "...a complement to Bellisario's Maxim and the MST3K Mantra", which are both YMMV. Then it repeats that "Rule of Cool is very subjective", potholing YMMV again.
And, thinking logically, what's the objective criteria for "cool"? Btw, the article suggests that we use The Utterly and Completely Definitive Guide to Cool, but it's even less objective (looks like someone's Just for Fun joke).
So... should it be YMMV, then? :)
My guess would be no. Not because what's cool is subjective, but that something being done because the author thought it was cool is less so.
Fight smart, not fair.Hmm, yes, I see your point. An author putting something into his work because he thought it's cool, is actually objective. I agree.
But then, maybe it needs an article rewrite? Because right now it sounds more like "if the audience thinks it's cool" rather than "if the author thought it's cool". And judging from some of the examples (though thankfully not all of them), some tropers tend to misunderstand it, too. E.g., a theremin isn't Rule of Cool in any way, it's just a weird and beautifully-sounding musical instrument.
Btw, what do you think about The Utterly and Completely Definitive Guide to Cool? Does it maybe need to be moved to Just for Fun?
Rule of Cool is not subjective except insofar as it requires us to determine author intent.
I agree! But if Rule of Cool really means "the author adds an element because he thinks it's cool" and not "the audience is okay with a weird element because they think it's cool", then the article is rather non-indicative of that.
Let's see:
- The rule itself: "The limit of the willing suspension of disbelief for a given element is directly proportional to the element's awesomeness." It doesn't say who perceives it as awesome: the author or you, the viewer.
- The 2nd sentence: "Stated another way, all but the most pedantic of viewers will forgive liberties with reality as long as the result is wicked sweet or awesome." It specifically states that it's about the viewers' perception.
- The 3rd sentence: "This applies to the audience in general; there will naturally be a different threshold for each individual." Again, it says it's about the audience. Note that the second half of this sentence contains a pothole to YMMV.
- The 4th & 5th sentences, instead, indicate that this trope is about the author's perception.
- The 6th sentence: "It is a complement to Bellisario's Maxim and the MST3K Mantra." Both of these tropes are YMMV, and denote somewhat distinct aspects of audience reaction.
- The 7th sentence is an example that's not quite relevant to the trope in general.
- The 8th sentence indicates that this trope is about the author's perception.
- The 9th sentence is a non-sequitur, about quite a different (and in-universe) trope.
- The 10th sentence: "Note also that different opinions on what is "cool" create the most arguments over this." Again, it's about different perceptions of "cool" among the audience (presumably; but then again, it doesn't mention, e.g., a conflict between the author's and the producer's perceptions of "cool"). Note that "the most arguments" is a pothole to Flame War.
- The 11th sentence again potholes YMMV and explicitly states that Rule of Cool is "very subjective", implying that it's about the audience's perception.
- The rather non-sequitur'ish 12th sentence, however, supports the theory that Rule of Cool is about the author's perception. Note, though, that the potholed by "Failure to properly use this trope" What Do You Mean, It's Not Awesome? is an unrelated trope, since it's not "Rule of Cool done wrong", but rather "the author makes something non-cool look cool".
- The 13th sentence points us to The Utterly and Completely Definitive Guide to Cool, which, as I stated earlier, should probably go into the Just for Fun namespace, since it's not a trope.
So... is it about the author's or the audience's perception? The article has left me quite confused.
Eh, in most cases the entire purpose of doing something cool is to be striking. Given the tropes it's parent to, I'm inclined to think it's doing just find and not getting any of the abuse that YMMV, Audience Reaction or Trivia type pages get.
Fight smart, not fair.Well, between Tuesday and Saturday, not appeared any thread about Rule of Cool in the Trope Repair Shop or Special Efforts, neither was put any post about it in the Trope Description Improvement thread in Special Efforts. With the current description, it definitively belongs to ymmv.
Lost in Medias Res is In Medias Res Done badly .... YMMV?
edited 17th Jan '12 2:53:56 AM by Raso
Sparkling and glittering! Jan-Ken-Pon!Accidental Nightmare Fuel needs a YMMV banner. The disambig page Nightmare Fuel (which is actually a different page, it just looks the same when wicked until the custom titling goes away) probably needs its removed.
Waiting on a TRS slot? Finishing off one of these cleaning efforts will usually open one up.Probably should be Trivia. It's not a trope. The page itself says it doesn't know why it happens. It's void of meaning.
Discontinuity does not need a YMMV banner. It is a disambiguation page, so it should never be listed on a YMMV page.
I'm not crazy, I just don't give a darn!
Crown Description:
YMMV is for items that are reactions of the audience to works and tropes that need a significant judgment call to tell whether they exist objectively or not. Should these items become members of YMMV? Note: Audience Reactions need to be subjective, emotional responses and things that are likely to cause arguments and disagreements. Merely being outside a work or inside an audience don't make things YMMV

Magnum Opus
No matter objective it tries to be in the description, it's still an Audience Reaction.
edited 13th Dec '11 6:05:11 AM by captainpat