The articles go in the wiki, the trope proposals go in the Trope Launch Pad, everything is nice, clean and natter-free. However, there's a problem: You liked natter, you enjoy discussing tropes and works with your fellow tropers, you love adding witty snark to the nearest Twilight or Eragon example. Well, worry not! There is a place where you can do all this and much, much more: the Forum!
So, what's with this "forum" we keep talking about? Well, for starters, it allows a more fluid conversation between tropers, avoiding Conversation in the Main Page (or on the YMMV tab, for that matter—just because every trope there is subjective does not mean that conversation and debate is encouraged there, either). It also covers a broad spectrum of topics, meaning you can talk about pretty much anything you like. The forum is not, however, completely isolated from the wiki, and in fact has a vital role in the administration of the site. Trope renames, reworkings, and wiki policies are all discussed in it.
Many subforums have a herald, dedicated to welcoming newbies and acting as a guide. The list can be found here. If you have any questions, feel free to contact them. But enough gushing, for those people who don't want to read through the detailed What Goes Where On The Forums guide, let's have a quick overview:
Subforums:
Frequently Asked Questions
The FAQ section of the site, which details common procedures on the forums and site rules. It also hosts several high-usage threads.
Wiki & Forums:
Trope Talk
Here we discuss everything regarding tropes.
Sandbox
For all your forum testing needs.
Wiki Talk
Anything wiki related, including discussion about policies.
Translations
Join the multi-language TV Tropes project! The title is pretty self explanatory.
Trope Repair Shop
This is where trope renames, merges and splits are proposed, discussed, voted on, and decided. Since it deals with topics regarding the wiki, it is more serious than the rest of the forum, and off-topic posting is highly discouraged.
Image Pickin'
See a page without an image, or with an image that doesn't explain the trope very well? Go here to help choose a good picture.
Projects: Long Term/Perpetual
A place for perpetual cleanup projects like natter or Complete Monster where you are supposed to bring the items in question to the topic.
Projects: Short Term
A place to start cleanup projects with a known end goal.
Content Violation Discussions
In this forum, as explained in The Content Policy, tropers discuss whether to cut certain pages for falling afoul of our new content policy. Of course, other people are allowed to voice their opinions and provide evidence for and against works on the chopping block.
Just for Fun:
Yack Fest
This subforum is for random conversation and general discussion, because every forum needs one of those. Threads tend to go off-topic very frequently, and it is also the most "community-oriented" subforum, perfect for newbies.
Forum Games
Run-of-the-mill forum games… with a troperiffic twist.
Wild Mass Guessing
Want to share your zany Epileptic Trees? That's what the WMG tab on your favorite work's TV Tropes page is there for, but you may also want to see whether other tropers agree with your theory.
It Just Awes Me!
A place for gushing, added after much demand.
Live Bloginations
Document your experience as you watch/play/read a new series! This board has been archived, but has been succeeded by a new section of the site, Live Blogginations.
Troper Covens
Get-togethers, collaborative writings, and other arcane majicks being brewed up to amuse and amaze an unsuspecting world.
Old Folks' Home
The old farts sitting around on the porch talking while the kids play tag and chase the dog and have squirt gun fights in the yard. If the kids want to come over and join the conversation, the adults won't chase them away, but they are expected to be calm and behave.
Zone: Forum RPG
Role Playing
This is where you go for ongoing play-by-post games with your fellow tropers!
Role Playing Signups
If you wanna start a new roleplay, go here to get people to sign up.
Role Playing Discussion
This is for OOC chat about the roleplays.
Real-ish
On-Topic Conversation
The place for Serious Business. Discussions here cover several topics, unlike the rest of the forum, and (as its name suggests) all posts in this section must be related to the conversation at hand.
Writer's Block
Where writers join and chat. You'll find tips, suggestions and feedback for your own writings.
World Building
Where people talk about world building, writing ideas, and brainstorming.
Media:
Anime & Manga
Here.
Comics
Here.
Fan Fiction
Here.
Film
Here.
Tabletop Games
Here.
Literature
Here.
Live-Action TV
Here.
Live Performance
Here.
Music
Here.
New Media
Here.
Radio
Here.
Video Games
Here.
Visual Arts/Graphics
Here.
Visual Novels
Here.
Webcomics
Here.
Western Animation
Here.
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General Behaviour:
The forum is generally easygoing. The tropers posting there are usually polite and friendly, and they probably won't give you any trouble. Conversations on any subforums other than "On-Topic Conversations", "Image Pickin' " and "Trope Repair Shop" tend to switch topics both quickly and frequently, so it's a good idea to read at least the last page of any thread to know what's going on right now.
This is not /b/, so please refrain from making offensive, badly spelled and completely random posts. There is no hierarchy in the forum, no post count nor join date, and everybody owes everybody the same amount of respect. A short list of rules may be found here.
No Not Safe for Work links are allowed on the threads. This includes sites that have NSFW content and/or ads.
There are moderators, who want nothing more than to have nothing to do except chat like everybody else. However, they can and will delete or edit offensive or insulting posts, lock threads that have turned ugly, and issue warnings and for unacceptable behavior, and they can forum-ban for repeated or excessive unpleasantness.
They're listed on the Know the Staff page, and you can PM any of them with requests for intervention if you feel it's necessary. At the top of each post is an ellipsis, and the menu therein has an option to "Holler This": doing so sends a post to a mods-only thread. Use it to report posts that break the rules; to ask for a crowner to be hooked or unhooked, or for a thread to be locked; or to ask for a mod to take a look at something in the forums on an official basis. Since all of the mods can see a post in the Hollers thread, the response will generally be faster than PM'ing a particular mod and hoping that they're online.
