History Administrivia / HowToWriteAnExample

* '''Do Not Alter or Pothole the Trope Name:''' When adding a trope to a work page, always use the trope's correct, unaltered title -- don't use "Red Right Paw" as a pothole to RedRightHand when writing about a FunnyAnimal. Potholing the trope name isn't as clever as you may think, and it creates problems with alphabetization and wick migration. However, it's OK to use gendered redirects to tropes on character pages if the redirect doesn't significantly disrupt with alphabetization.\\\

** Don't refer to [[MemeticMutation memes]] unless it's actually part of the example. No meme is popular or funny forever, and using such inside jokes is tacky at best.\\\

* '''Avoid Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike:''' The main wiki is not the place for you to complain about works that bother you. So ''don't''. TV Tropes is not a collection of [[CausticCritic caustic critics]]; people are here to learn about tropes and have fun, not read about why some goofball on the Internet hated a TV show or book.\\\

** Violating this rule tends to result in severe penalties, as nobody here is interested in cleaning up after whatever fights or [[Administrivia/EditWar Edit Wars]] your actions may start.\\\

* '''[[Administrivia/WeblinksAreNotExamples Good Examples Are Not Weblinks]]:''' Links to other websites, such as a Website/YouTube video or an offsite image, are ''never'' considered sufficient context for examples. Since the Internet is constantly changing, whatever links you put in an example may no longer exist in a few weeks, or may get put behind paywalls or other restrictions, preventing readers from being able to understand your examples at all. Weblinks may be used to supplement your written example, but they are never a substitute for it.\\\

** Tropers can write about upcoming works on TV Tropes, but that has its own set of [[Administrivia/CreatingAWorkPageForAnUpcomingWork special rules and regulations]] that must be followed.

** Don't use acronyms for work names (e.g. don't us LOTR for ''Lord of the Rings''); write them out. If you've already used the full name of the work in your entry, you can abbreviate it on subsequent uses, e.g. ''Order of the Phoenix'' for ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix''.

While the size of this list may seem intimidating, please remember that very few of these "rules" are completely unique to TV Tropes. Most of them are about the characteristics of good writing in general: clear, concise, organized, informative. Likewise, if you've spent time reading the wiki, you probably have a decent enough idea of what an example is expected to look like. These guidelines are about ''refining and improving'' your example writing, not boxing you into a boring, uniform writing style.

** Don't use the hottest new slang. Most slang terms fall out of use before long, and future readers shouldn't need an interpreter to understand you.
** Don't use Internet acronyms. Not everyone knows what they mean, and it makes your writing look lazy.
** Don't use acronyms for work names; write them out. If you've already used the full name of the work in your entry, you can abbreviate it on subsequent uses, e.g. ''Order of the Phoenix'' for ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix''.

* '''Don't Use Uncertain Language:''' Phrases like "Possibly subverted in..." or "<Show X> might qualify" make the example look wishy-washy and add no informational content. If you want to add an example and you're not 100% sure about the details, then ''ask other tropers''. Surely at least one will know what you're talking about.

** Keep the fan terms and jargon to a bare minimum. Not everyone is familiar with every fandom's terminology.

* '''[[Administrivia/ExamplesAreNotRecent Good Examples Are Not "Recent"]]:''' Avoid using words like "recent" or "new" when writing on Wiki/TVTropes. The work in question may be new when you ''write'' the example, but people might still be reading it years from now, when the work may no longer be considered "recent". Also, works tend to come out on different dates in different countries, so what is "new" to America may not be so recent in Japan or Europe. If the time of release is important to your point, use an actual date.\\\

* '''Don't Write in the First Person:''' Wiki/TVTropes is not a forum or a blog, so using such self-referential language (even something like "This Troper") is not appropriate. You aren't the topic of conversation; this isn't the time or place to make the discussion about you.\\\

If tropes are the "meat" of Wiki/TVTropes, examples are the potatoes, sides, sauces and condiments that give that meat both substance and flavor. A list of tropes with descriptions and clever names is all well and good, but examples bring articles to life, flesh out readers' understanding of tropes, and showcase the many ways a single trope can be used.

* '''Make Sure it's Allowed:''' Not every trope allows examples, and some only allow certain ''kinds''. Some tropes are [[Administrivia/InUniverseExamplesOnly strictly in-universe]], and others forbid [[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease non-fictional examples]]. Likewise, certain types of works (such as [[Administrivia/TheContentPolicyAndThe5PCircuit pornography]]) are not allowed on the wiki at all. Be sure to fully read the description to make sure your example actually applies, and that it's allowed on the page.\\\

* '''Do Not Alter or Pothole the Trope Name:''' When adding a trope to a work page, always use the trope's correct, unaltered title -- don't use "Red Right Paw" as a pothole to RedRightHand when writing about a FunnyAnimal. Potholing the trope name isn't as clever as you may think, and it creates problems with alphabetization and wick migration. However, it's OK to use gendered redirects to tropes on character pages if the redirect doesn't disrupt with alphabetization.\\\