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While this page primarily discusses Single-Issue Wonks as relates to TV Tropes, they also appear on Wiki/TheOtherWiki and pretty much everywhere else, both online and off.
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While this page primarily discusses Single-Issue Wonks as relates to TV Tropes, they also appear on Wiki/TheOtherWiki Website/TheOtherWiki and pretty much everywhere else, both online and off.
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* Seriously contending that [[WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}} slightly bratty children in children's shows]] are actually [[TheSociopath true sociopaths]]
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* Seriously contending that [[WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}} slightly bratty children children]] in [[WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}} children's shows]] are actually [[TheSociopath true sociopaths]]
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The Single-Issue Wonk isn't necessarily a bad person at first blush. In most situations, they may be quite friendly, benevolent to newbies, and contribute productively to discussions. However, when ''[[BerserkButton that one subject]]'' comes up, they undergo a shocking transformation: they start aggressively pushing their position, sometimes to the point of starting a flame war, [[Administrivia/EditWar edit warring]], or even vandalizing wiki pages. They might keep this up for ''days'', until everyone else gives up, a moderator shuts them down, or they flame out in spectacular fashion. Needless to say, such people are also primo targets for malicious {{Troll}}s who want to pour gasoline on a fire, if they aren't actual trolls themselves.
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The Single-Issue Wonk isn't necessarily a bad person at first blush. In most situations, they may be quite friendly, benevolent to newbies, and contribute productively to discussions. However, when ''[[BerserkButton that one subject]]'' comes up, they undergo a shocking transformation: they start aggressively pushing their position, sometimes to the point of starting a flame war, FlameWar, [[Administrivia/EditWar edit warring]], or even vandalizing wiki pages. They might keep this up for ''days'', until everyone else gives up, a moderator shuts them down, or they flame out in spectacular fashion. Needless to say, such people are also primo targets for malicious {{Troll}}s who want to pour gasoline on a fire, if they aren't actual actually trolls themselves.
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* Seriously contending that [[WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}} slightly bratty children in children's shows]] are actually [[TheSociopath sociopaths]] or {{Complete Monster}}s
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* Seriously contending that [[WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}} slightly bratty children in children's shows]] are actually [[TheSociopath sociopaths]] or {{Complete Monster}}strue sociopaths]]
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%% Image kept on page per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1447361912006287400&page=1#13
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[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/{{Xkcd}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cautionary_ghost_2x.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[-[[AltText "But then the Ghost of Subjunctive Past showed up and told me to stay strong on 'if it were'."]]-]]]
->A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.
-->-- ''Winston Churchill''
Generally speaking, being passionate about something is considered a positive, or at least neutral, trait. It's also something most of us have in common: almost everyone is a fan of ''something'', and "fan" comes from the word ''fanatic''. Sometimes, however, a person's affinity for one single thing -- be it a piece of entertainment, a social issue, or anything else you can imagine -- goes from passion to zealotry, obsession, or even monomania. When this happens, the Single-Issue Wonk comes into being.
The Single-Issue Wonk isn't necessarily a bad person at first blush. In most situations, they may be quite friendly, benevolent to newbies, and contribute productively to discussions. However, when ''[[BerserkButton that one subject]]'' comes up, they undergo a shocking transformation: they start aggressively pushing their position, sometimes to the point of starting a flame war, [[Administrivia/EditWar edit warring]], or even vandalizing wiki pages. They might keep this up for ''days'', until everyone else gives up, a moderator shuts them down, or they flame out in spectacular fashion. Needless to say, such people are also primo targets for malicious {{Troll}}s who want to pour gasoline on a fire, if they aren't actual trolls themselves.
The Single-Issue Wonk may take a number of forms. On the more benign end, you may have a person who's simply really opinionated and doesn't know when to let the matter drop. Others may assert that only they are right and only their opinion is valid. Yet others may be so convinced of their own "rightness" that they desire to ''punish'' anyone who disagrees with them, whether or not they actually have the power or ability to do so -- if they do, the result is often horrifying.
Given [[WeirdnessMagnet the nature of this site]], we've had Single-Issue Wonks wonking over all kinds of inconsequential things, some of which beggar rational description:
* {{Complete Monster}}s and {{Magnificent Bastard}}s
* [[ShipToShipCombat Shipping Wars]]
* [[BluenoseBowdlerizer Censoring Profanity]]
* [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Joel Vs. Mike]]
* [[WebAnimation/DeathBattle Which fictional character would win in a fight]]
* Seriously contending that [[WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}} slightly bratty children in children's shows]] are actually [[TheSociopath sociopaths]] or {{Complete Monster}}s
* Troping and/or gushing over [[DarthWiki/NonExistentFictionRecommendations non-existent works]]
* [[AVeryCrappyIndex Crusading against all mentions of using the bathroom on the wiki]]
Regardless of which form they take or what their BerserkButton is, Single-Issue Wonks are ''at best'' annoying and disruptive, and such behavior is naturally discouraged on this site.
What's much less amusing, however, are the Wonks who insist on Administrivia/RightingGreatWrongs or injecting their real-life sociopolitical opinions into almost every single thing they do or say on the site, [[OneTractMind whether it's warranted or not]]. A handful of these users may be genuinely well-intentioned (if misguided), but the fact is that TV Tropes is about storyteling devices used in ''fiction''. The site is not, and was never intended to be, a soapbox or platform for any person's or group's ideology.
Unfortunately, a certain percentage of the Wonks determined to push sociopolitical agendas tend to push ideologies with intent to cause harm to others, with vulnerable groups such as racial minorities, women, and the LGBT population being perennial targets. Needless to say, we do ''not'' tolerate this site being used as a weapon against vulnerable groups. In cases such as these, it's generally best to avoid engaging the offending poster directly, and notify a moderator via PM or posting on Ask The Tropers.
While this page primarily discusses Single-Issue Wonks as relates to TV Tropes, they also appear on Wiki/TheOtherWiki and pretty much everywhere else, both online and off.
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
%%
[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/{{Xkcd}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cautionary_ghost_2x.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[-[[AltText "But then the Ghost of Subjunctive Past showed up and told me to stay strong on 'if it were'."]]-]]]
->A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.
-->-- ''Winston Churchill''
Generally speaking, being passionate about something is considered a positive, or at least neutral, trait. It's also something most of us have in common: almost everyone is a fan of ''something'', and "fan" comes from the word ''fanatic''. Sometimes, however, a person's affinity for one single thing -- be it a piece of entertainment, a social issue, or anything else you can imagine -- goes from passion to zealotry, obsession, or even monomania. When this happens, the Single-Issue Wonk comes into being.
The Single-Issue Wonk isn't necessarily a bad person at first blush. In most situations, they may be quite friendly, benevolent to newbies, and contribute productively to discussions. However, when ''[[BerserkButton that one subject]]'' comes up, they undergo a shocking transformation: they start aggressively pushing their position, sometimes to the point of starting a flame war, [[Administrivia/EditWar edit warring]], or even vandalizing wiki pages. They might keep this up for ''days'', until everyone else gives up, a moderator shuts them down, or they flame out in spectacular fashion. Needless to say, such people are also primo targets for malicious {{Troll}}s who want to pour gasoline on a fire, if they aren't actual trolls themselves.
The Single-Issue Wonk may take a number of forms. On the more benign end, you may have a person who's simply really opinionated and doesn't know when to let the matter drop. Others may assert that only they are right and only their opinion is valid. Yet others may be so convinced of their own "rightness" that they desire to ''punish'' anyone who disagrees with them, whether or not they actually have the power or ability to do so -- if they do, the result is often horrifying.
Given [[WeirdnessMagnet the nature of this site]], we've had Single-Issue Wonks wonking over all kinds of inconsequential things, some of which beggar rational description:
* {{Complete Monster}}s and {{Magnificent Bastard}}s
* [[ShipToShipCombat Shipping Wars]]
* [[BluenoseBowdlerizer Censoring Profanity]]
* [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Joel Vs. Mike]]
* [[WebAnimation/DeathBattle Which fictional character would win in a fight]]
* Seriously contending that [[WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}} slightly bratty children in children's shows]] are actually [[TheSociopath sociopaths]] or {{Complete Monster}}s
* Troping and/or gushing over [[DarthWiki/NonExistentFictionRecommendations non-existent works]]
* [[AVeryCrappyIndex Crusading against all mentions of using the bathroom on the wiki]]
Regardless of which form they take or what their BerserkButton is, Single-Issue Wonks are ''at best'' annoying and disruptive, and such behavior is naturally discouraged on this site.
What's much less amusing, however, are the Wonks who insist on Administrivia/RightingGreatWrongs or injecting their real-life sociopolitical opinions into almost every single thing they do or say on the site, [[OneTractMind whether it's warranted or not]]. A handful of these users may be genuinely well-intentioned (if misguided), but the fact is that TV Tropes is about storyteling devices used in ''fiction''. The site is not, and was never intended to be, a soapbox or platform for any person's or group's ideology.
Unfortunately, a certain percentage of the Wonks determined to push sociopolitical agendas tend to push ideologies with intent to cause harm to others, with vulnerable groups such as racial minorities, women, and the LGBT population being perennial targets. Needless to say, we do ''not'' tolerate this site being used as a weapon against vulnerable groups. In cases such as these, it's generally best to avoid engaging the offending poster directly, and notify a moderator via PM or posting on Ask The Tropers.
While this page primarily discusses Single-Issue Wonks as relates to TV Tropes, they also appear on Wiki/TheOtherWiki and pretty much everywhere else, both online and off.
