Have a question about how the TVTropes wiki works? No one knows this community better than the people in it, so ask away! Ask the Tropers is the page you come to when you have a question burning in your brain and the support pages didn't help.
It's not for everything, though. For a list of all the resources for your questions, click here. You can also go to this Directory thread
for ongoing cleanup projects.
There is no reason the protagonist can't be The Scrappy.
TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
Actually the cleanup operates on the rule that protags usually cannot be scrappies because if you hate the main character you usually hate the work. Key word is "usually" because it's not outright impossible to hate the protagonist but otherwise love the work.
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
^ Interestingly, you have already told them there is no such rule
2 years ago.
Well, like I said, it's not a rule — not one that holds up in every scenario, anyway. But you need to be a fan to have a scrappy, so it's just an extension of the "hated by the fanbase" aspect, which is an actual rule
In other words, we don't cut protagonists simply for being protagonists. We cut them if the people who hate said protagonist also hate the work itself.
Edited by WarJay77 Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
It is possible for the Protagonist to be universally hated, but for the side character to have fans. That's why there isn't a hard rule against Protagonist Scrappies.
For a main character to be a Scrappy, it needs to explain why those who hate them otherwise like the show.
It's rare for them to like the work if they dislike the main characters, but not impossible.
Being rare doesn't make it impossible.
What's of relevance here is that the cut reason is invalid because it says something the trope description does not. If the description should make a note of main characters perhaps it's be better to flesh out at the forums.
TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
Vote to restore because the cut reason is wrong about the Audience Reaction's definition.
~Venomous Seal removed multiple Scrappies from the Western Animation subpage because they were main characters. Is this one of the rules? I can't find it on the main page.