TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Rewrite proposal: Frequent Redlinks

Go To

LadyMomus Since: Apr, 2009
#1: Nov 8th 2010 at 5:02:16 PM

The Frequent Redlinks page currently refers to a tool to find the 500 most common redlinks. Sadly, this tool hasn't worked in some time, and the page has very little information aside from that. (The entire page is three sentences long.)

Since the current page isn't very helpful, I would like to propose rewriting the Frequent Redlinks page so that the page lists causes of red links and how to fix them.

Here's an draft, so you can see what I'm talking about. (Note: Most of this information exists somewhere on the wiki. However, the information isn't all available in one place, which can make it difficult to find if you don't know where to look.)

Frequent Redlinks

Red links are often misspellings, abbrevs., or works we don't have pages on yet  *

.

Here is a list of the common causes of red links and how to fix them.

1) Misspellings
Example: Anti Villian instead of Anti-Villain
How to fix: Correct the misspelling.

2) Plural Trope Names
Example: Complete Monsters
How to fix: Put the trope within two curly braces with the plural letter(s) outside the braces.
{{Complete Monster}}s becomes Complete Monsters

3) Mixed case names
Examples: Mc Donalds, De Witt
How to Fix: Put name inside [= =]
[=McDonalds=] becomes McDonalds

4) Abbreviations and Mixtures of letters and numbers
Examples: C Mo A, A K47s, DVDs
How to fix: Put the desired text in between [= =]
[=AK47s=] becomes AK47s
OR
If the full name of the abbreviation has a page, use this formatting: [[NameOfTrope Abbreviation]]
[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome CMoA]] becomes CMoA

5) Referring to pages that are not on the main namespace (such as the Film or Fan Fic namespaces).
How to fix: Namespace/PageTitle
Film/GroundhogDay becomes Groundhog Day

6) Works we don't have pages for yet.
Red links for works pages should not be removed. If you are familiar with the work, feel free to launch the page.

7) Members of the Permanent Redlink Club. (See page for further details.)


EDIT: Edited info for #6.

edited 11th Nov '10 2:26:27 PM by LadyMomus

rodneyAnonymous Sophisticated as Hell from empty space Since: Aug, 2010
#2: Nov 8th 2010 at 5:07:02 PM

Red links beware!

Becky: Who are you? The Mysterious Stranger: An angel. Huck: What's your name? The Mysterious Stranger: Satan.
CaissasDeathAngel House Lewis: Sanity is Relative from Dumfries, SW Scotland Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
House Lewis: Sanity is Relative
#4: Nov 9th 2010 at 9:48:47 AM

I like this a lot.

To the links to pages that don't exist yet, might also be worth adding that creating the page is an option, with a pothole to the relevant page for information on that?

My name is Addy. Please call me that instead of my username.
LadyMomus Since: Apr, 2009
#5: Nov 9th 2010 at 2:11:23 PM

[up] I added a line about launching a redlinked work and a link to the Works Pages Are A Free Launch page. How's that look?

Roxor Only Sane Fox from Land Down Under Since: Jan, 2001
Only Sane Fox
#6: Nov 10th 2010 at 12:30:50 AM

Maybe the entry for works without pages should include something along the following lines:

"If you are familiar with the work in question, please create the page for it."

edited 10th Nov '10 12:31:55 AM by Roxor

Accidental mistakes are forgivable, intentional ones are not.
Meeble likes the cheeses. from the ruins of Granseal Since: Aug, 2009
likes the cheeses.
#7: Nov 10th 2010 at 9:07:58 AM

That's great, I approve.

Visit my contributor page to assist with the "I Like The Cheeses" project!
CaissasDeathAngel House Lewis: Sanity is Relative from Dumfries, SW Scotland Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
House Lewis: Sanity is Relative
#8: Nov 10th 2010 at 12:03:13 PM

^^ Something like that was what I meant, yes.

My name is Addy. Please call me that instead of my username.
troacctid (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#9: Nov 10th 2010 at 1:24:11 PM

[up][up][up] I would go with "feel free to create the page for it." It's less like asking/telling them to do it and more like giving permission to do it if they want.

Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#11: Nov 10th 2010 at 1:37:23 PM

Copy that post over here and I'll lock that thread.

Meophist from Toronto, Canada Since: May, 2010
#12: Nov 10th 2010 at 1:39:36 PM

I think that thread is still useful for the actual removal of redlinks, but I'll copy the post over here:

From another thread:

So I think we can rewrite Frequent Redlinks to make the page more... useful. Here's what I have so far:
Red Links are often misspellings, abbrevs., or works we don't have pages on yet  * .

If you encounter a Red Link, what should be done depends on why it's a Red Link:

  • If it's a link to a work we don't have a page for yet, leave it alone. Red Links in this case, are useful for our editors for finding out about works we haven't made a page for yet. Ideally, these can be Blue Shifted later.
  • Try to fix any misspellings or typos that are encountered. They're bad, we don't want them.
  • Anything in the Permanent Red Link Club should be edited out. See the page for more details.
  • Some words, such as abbreviations and names that start with "Mc" will naturally become Wiki Worded. These should be escaped by surrounding it with "[=" and "=]".

The following are particularly common Red Links. If you have the time or are bored, you can help out by fixing them. The links will lead to a list of pages that have the Red Links. Ideally, they should be empty.


I'm not quite sure if I got the tone right, but it's a start. Does anybody have any suggestions or additions? Would this be an alright use of the Frequent Red Links page?

edited 10th Nov '10 1:40:13 PM by Meophist

Helpful Scripts and Stylesheets here.
Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#13: Nov 10th 2010 at 1:42:20 PM

Oh. I just looked at the post. No, that thread is good to stay open for now.

LadyMomus Since: Apr, 2009
#14: Nov 11th 2010 at 2:39:59 PM

^^ Hmm ... I thought about including a list of common redlinks I found when I made the draft, but I was a little worried that it would scare people off if they saw a long list at the end of the article.

I was also worried that a list would be difficult (if not impossible) to maintain, since I don't know a way of finding out what the most common redlinks are. We could make educated guesses based on the redlinks tropers run across, but if someone cleans up redlinks, they might not bother to update the list (if they even knew about it). And new redlinks are popping up every day.

I guess it's a question of whether we want to make the page about frequent redlinks or frequent types of redlinks. Or we could do both.

Meophist from Toronto, Canada Since: May, 2010
#15: Nov 11th 2010 at 3:04:08 PM

We can try putting the list into a folder; making it a separate page doesn't sound like a bad idea either. I think the list can be useful and think it should be somewhere.

Helpful Scripts and Stylesheets here.
LadyMomus Since: Apr, 2009
#16: Nov 11th 2010 at 3:36:29 PM

I really like the idea of keeping the list in a folder. Tropers could add to it as they found redlinks, and then update the list if they fixed the redlinks. We should probably also keep track of when a redlink was last cleaned up. That way it's easier to tell which redlinks need attention without clicking every single link.

How's this look? (I also added a note about ptitles, since they seem to cause the most problems.)

Frequent Redlinks

Red links are often misspellings, abbrevs., or works we don't have pages on yet  *

.

Here is a list of the common causes of red links and how to fix them.

1) Misspellings
Example: Anti Villian instead of Anti-Villain
How to fix: Correct the misspelling.

2) Plural Trope Names
Example: Complete Monsters
How to fix: Put the trope within two curly braces with the plural letter(s) outside the braces.
{{Complete Monster}}s becomes Complete Monsters

3) Mixed case names
Examples: Mc Donalds, De Witt
How to Fix: Put name inside [= =]
[=McDonalds=] becomes McDonalds

4) Abbreviations and Mixtures of letters and numbers
Examples: C Mo A, A K47s, DVDs
How to fix: Put the desired text in between [= =]
[=AK47s=] becomes AK47s
OR
If the full name of the abbreviation has a page, use this formatting: [[NameOfTrope Abbreviation]]
[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome CMoA]] becomes CMoA

5) Referring to pages that are not on the main namespace (such as the Film or Fan Fic namespaces).
How to fix: Namespace/PageTitle
Film/GroundhogDay becomes Groundhog Day

6) Works we don't have pages for yet.
Red links for works pages should not be removed. If you are familiar with the work, feel free to launch the page.

7) Members of the Permanent Redlink Club. (See page for further details.)


The following are particularly common Red Links. If you have the time or are bored, you can help out by fixing them. The links will lead to a list of pages that have the Red Links. Ideally, they should be empty. If you clean up all the wicks, please write a note beside the link of the clean up date.

Also note that the "Related To" feature cannot distinguish between ptitle and ptitle subpages, so if you can't find a redlink on a ptitle page, check the subpages.

Do not edit other people's contributor pages.

    Common Redlinks 
etc.


EDIT: Editted because I totally screwed up the formatting. And it doesn't look like the folder formatting works on the forums ... Oh, well.

edited 11th Nov '10 3:41:49 PM by LadyMomus

Meophist from Toronto, Canada Since: May, 2010
#17: Nov 11th 2010 at 3:50:58 PM

This could be easier if we make a Sandbox version of the page so that we can have an idea of what the final version would look like.

This should work as a link. Could you add your stuff to it and then I can add mine?

Helpful Scripts and Stylesheets here.
LadyMomus Since: Apr, 2009
#18: Nov 11th 2010 at 4:18:23 PM

^ It's in the sandbox.

Oh, and thanks for teaching me how to use the Sandbox. I honestly had no clue how to use it before now. (And I feel like an idiot for not knowing, considering how simple that was.)

Meophist from Toronto, Canada Since: May, 2010
#19: Nov 11th 2010 at 4:26:04 PM

I'm actually not quite sure if this is the way to use the Sandbox, but I haven't seen anybody complain about it so why not?

I added a bit and changed the number list into an actual number list. I've got another idea to use but that can go on later.

Helpful Scripts and Stylesheets here.
UncloudedTJ Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
#20: Nov 11th 2010 at 4:42:12 PM

The current sandbox page says not to edit contributor pages. Is there a reason for this? I ask because I have been editing them in my sweeps of the red links posted.

edited 11th Nov '10 4:42:28 PM by UncloudedTJ

Unclouded TJ: Taking Bunny-Ears Lawyer too literally.
Meophist from Toronto, Canada Since: May, 2010
#21: Nov 11th 2010 at 5:09:04 PM

I changed some stuff.

^ On one hand, I'm not sure if it's needed. On the other, I'm not sure why not.

Helpful Scripts and Stylesheets here.
LadyMomus Since: Apr, 2009
#22: Nov 11th 2010 at 5:34:39 PM

^I added it because Troper pages show up on the "Related to" page. If you aren't paying attention, it's easy to end up on someone's contributor page. I just didn't want anyone "correcting" someone else's page.

After all, if a troper wants to have a contributor page of nothing but redlinks, it's up to them.

edited 11th Nov '10 5:35:51 PM by LadyMomus

rodneyAnonymous Sophisticated as Hell from empty space Since: Aug, 2010
#23: Nov 11th 2010 at 5:38:05 PM

There are red links on my user page. Some are to works we don't have a page for yet, but some red links are intentional, for example "...baby-eater..." Worth mention? Nevermind, if you don't endorse editing user pages, that's irrelevant,unless there are intentional red links on "real" pages.

edited 11th Nov '10 5:40:42 PM by rodneyAnonymous

Becky: Who are you? The Mysterious Stranger: An angel. Huck: What's your name? The Mysterious Stranger: Satan.
Meophist from Toronto, Canada Since: May, 2010
#24: Nov 13th 2010 at 1:18:28 PM

I'm thinking it might be a good idea to define what "escaping" means... or maybe it'll be best to leave the word out.

Helpful Scripts and Stylesheets here.
LadyMomus Since: Apr, 2009
#25: Nov 13th 2010 at 2:25:43 PM

^ "Escaped" apparently means removing the red link by using [= =] tags. I revised it. Hopefully it's clearer now.


Total posts: 33
Top