Sandbox / FAQ

NOTE: The following will eventually be moved to Main.FAQ. Please make suggestions to the Outdated Pages thread here.

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This page is for Frequently Asked Questions. This list is mainly based on questions frequently brought to Ask The Tropers.

If you have a question that is not included here, please ask it in Ask The Tropers.

TVTropes, the Site

TV Tropes in general

• What, basically, are the rules around here?
  See The Troping Code, but basically the cardinal rule is "Don't be a dick."
• "I saw someone do something against the rules on the wiki. Does that mean I can do it, too? Is it part of the de facto rules?"
  No, there are no hidden de facto rules. This is an excuse people try to use in the Ban Appeal thread to get unsuspended, so it might as well be said that this is not a valid excuse.
• What is the mission of TVTropes?
  According to The Goals of TV Tropes, the wiki is about tropes used to tell stories. Moreover, we care about accessibility, so see also Fan Myopia and Just a Face and a Caption, which concern inaccessibility.
• If the wiki is about tropes that tell stories, then why host trivia items, Audience Reactions, Useful Notes, and other non-tropes?
  Because it's fun and interesting. Also, people who like tropes and media may also be interested in these things.
• How big is TVTropes?
  As of May 2020, there are well over 400K pages, and there was at least 500 GB of data in 2016. So to answer the question of how big the site is... it's "pretty." ^note Pretty big.

History of TV Tropes

• "Where can I find a detailed history of the site?"
  You can check out Timeline.TV Tropes.
• What was the first trope?
  Gilligan Cut.
• Why is it called TV Tropes?
  We started with troping television, hence "television tropes." Rather than rename and rebrand the site, we kept the name as an Artifact Title.
• Who was the first owner of the site?
  Fast Eddie, who now uses a new handle to make it clear he is no longer in a position of authority.
• Most questions regarding the histories of pages, TLP drafts, and the like can probably be answered by perusing The Great Crash and other Wiki Archives. Note that the original owner of the site used to clear page histories every year for the first few years, and the last issue affecting histories was around 2012.
• What's "the Google Incident"?
  The Google Incident occurred in October 2010. Basically, Google cut off all ad revenue because they felt TV Tropes had too much "mature and adult content" to make it the family-friendly site it has always claimed to be. Mature content was moved behind an age restriction. The Google Incident is why we have a report button on pages, and it also resulted in mature pages having Google Adsense disabled.
• "I've heard of the Google Incident, but I thought it happened in 2012?"
  The Second Google Incident happened in April 2012 when someone reported Naughty Tentacles, which already had Adsense disabled. This resulted in Porn Tropes being removed from the site completely, and Naughty Tentacles had a custom, HTML-coded redirect. There also was a massive rename of trope pages, particularly the "Rape is Okay/Funny If..." to the more tactful "Double Standard Rape." This incident established The Content Policy.
• There used to be something called "Troper Tales." What was it and why was it removed from the site?
  Troper Tales was a section of the site where tropers would give personal anecdotes about how tropes were used in real life. Basically, no Troper Tales story was verifiable, and many of these stories — as people love to brag about their exploits — were just disgusting. They will never be re-implemented.

Technology, Widgets, Functionality, Bugs

• "I have an idea for a feature of the site or forums. Where I can suggest new features?"
  Please use the wishlist for such suggestions.
• "I think an existing feature could be improved. Where can I suggest improvements?"
  Please use the wishlist for such suggestions.
• "An existing feature isn't working properly. Where I can report bugs?"
  Please use the bug report page for such reports.

The People of TV Tropes

The People "in Charge"

• Who owns the site? Who are the owners?
  The admins, drewski and itcdr (or Drew and Chris, respectively), co-own the site under the company they founded, Proper Media.
• Who are the admins? Who are the moderators?
  See Know the Staff, as mods may change from time to time. The admins, as above, are drewski and itcdr.
• What is a forum herald? Who are they?
  Forum heralds are people appointed to welcome newbies in by an automated PM and show them how things work in a given subforum. Ideally, there'd be one for each subforum. They are here to answer questions and to show newbies the ropes, so to speak. Appointments are made via the Herald Thread. You can view the list of heralds here.
• Are forum heralds and members of the 5P the same as moderators?
  No. Heralds and members of the 5P are respectable and you can defer to their senses of judgement just like any other veteran troper, but they have no authority to ban anyone, nor can they edit locked pages. They have different sets of responsibilities. That said, you can still contact them with relevant questions pertaining to what they specialize in.

Contributors, Accounts, and Usernames

• Is there a list of contributors?
  See the auto-generated index.
• "Can I change my username?"
  • Short answer: No.
  • Long answer: No, not right now. The ability to change an account name is on the long-term wishlist.
• "Can I make a new account?"
  • Short answer: It depends.
  • Long answer:
    • If you have been banned for any reason and are currently still banned, you are not allowed to create a new account. This is ban evasion and is punishable by a permanent ban on that account and any other accounts shared by the person.
    • If you have not been banned, you are allowed to make a new account. While it isn't encouraged, it isn't forbidden either. You are, however, required to notify us about your new account for approval.^note Be aware that sockpuppeting is against the rules, so you are not allowed to vote multiple times on a crowner or argue in a single thread with multiple accounts.

• Can accounts be deleted?
  • Accounts cannot be deleted. You'll have to create a new account. Moreover, we do not Un-person users by request.
  • If you would like to continue to use your same e-mail, however, you'll need to change the e-mail attached to the old account first.
• Can edit histories be purged or deleted?
  No. Moreover, we do not Un-person users by request.
• Can forum post histories be purged, deleted, or hidden?
  No. Moreover, we do not Un-person users by request.
• What does this word mean?
  Check out our fancy TV Tropes Glossary.

The Wiki

The Wiki Proper

• "I have a question about where I should put this on the wiki..."
  For questions about What Goes Where on the Wiki, see the page for, uh, What Goes Where on the Wiki.
• "I have a question about writing an exmaple..."
  For questions about How to Write an Example, see the page for... well you get it.
• Is there a manual of style for writing on the wiki?
  Yes, and it's listed on Administrivia. Very important pages include Repair, Don't Respond, Example Indentation in Trope Lists, and Edit Reasons and Why You Should Use Them.
• What subpages can X namespace have?
  • Regular tropes can have nearly any type of namespace subpage, considering that they belong in Main/.
  • Audience Reactions and trivia pages belong in Main/, but they cannot have PlayingWith/ subpages.
  • JustForFun/ pages cannot have any type of subpage, including PlayingWith/ or Characters/.
  • DarthWiki/ and SugarWiki/ can only have Laconic/ subpages.
• What's the difference between this trope and another?
  See the Canonical List of Subtle Trope Distinctions. If the tropes you're asking about are not there, please ask your question in the Trope Talk subforum.
• What is this trope? / "What does this trope mean? I've read the description but it isn't clear."
  For questions pertaining to what a given trope is, covers, or entails, see Trope Talk subforum.

Wiki Maintenance

• Is this an Edit War?
  As per our page describing edit wars, any sequence of edits where something was added, cut, and then re-added — including cut, re-added, cut again — is an Edit War. Please report Edit Wars in Ask The Tropers.
• Is this a ban evader?
  Please double check the editing histories of the two accounts before bringing this up. Also, please have some evidence before accusing anyone, and remember to assume innocence until... (etc.)
• "I think a page needs to be cut. Can I use the Cut List?"
  • We need consensus in order to properly cut a page. We build this consensus through discussion and with crowners, so if you want to cut a page, you need to discuss it either in the Trope Repair Shop, in Ask The Tropers, or in the forums. Please do not try discussing whether to cut a page on its own discussion page, as those pages tend to fly under the radar.
  • We have a policy regarding creators trying to cut the pages for their works. It's called The Fic May Be Yours, but the Trope Page Is Ours. Despite the name, this applies to all types of works. The gist of it is that all of the wiki pages are ours regardless of whether you created the work the page is about.
  • Remember that we only cut pages outright when we give up on the given page. More lenient options may be to migrate a page or to convert it into a disambiguation page.
• What purpose does a page's discussion page have?
  Generally, discussion pages (such as this one) are useful for discussing specific examples on the page, or to explain the history of an edit. Also, long edit reasons may be dumped on the discussion page (while being referred to in the edit reason).
• "I am the creator of X. Can I add Audience Reactions and other YMMV items to the YMMV/ page?"
  No. For one thing, you are not the audience. For another, YMMV/ is meant to collect reactions and opinions of fans. This excludes the creator from contributing to YMMV/ pages of their own works.
• "I am the creator of X. Can I add trivia items to the Trivia/ page?"
  Not unless the information can be verified by someone else. You cannot create Word of God "examples" whole-cloth. There must be some news article or other source for these items.
• "How do I index a page?"
  See How Indexing Works.
• "I want to edit this page, but it's locked. Where can I request edits to locked pages?"
  First, check to ensure the page is actually locked. With the 1.8 update to the site, many pages became "soft locked," and once that glitch was fixed, some pages retained the icon for a locked page but you can still edit them. So, before requesting an edit to the page, please actually click the edit button. Now then, if you've done that and you're sure the page is actually locked, please go over to the Locked Pages thread.
• "How do I format my edit request for a locked page?"
  You must include working links in your request to the page(s) in question. The mods making these changes cannot read your mind, after all. Generally, the formatting is (1) link to the locked page, (2) state or quote the text to be changed, and then (3) state your changes exactly as they should appear on the page, including proper Example Indentation, Namespacing, and pothole and quote formatting. Just make sure that what you want to add is actually a valid example.
• "A page I want to edit is locked but I don't think it should be. Where can I request an unlock?"
  As mentioned above, check that the page is actually locked first. Assuming it is locked, go to the Locked Pages thread and request the page be unlocked. There's no guarantee that a given page will be unlocked.
• "Can we unlock Final Fantasy VII?"
  No. And to address the inevitable follow-up question: yes, this is honestly a frequently asked question. There is a persistent and active hatred between FF7 shippers, so the page will be locked until we are all long dead.
• "A page is having a significant problem with vandalism, and a few other people and I think it ought to be locked. Where can we request a page lock?"
  Head on over to the Locked Pages thread and link to the discussion that built consensus. The issue probably should be reported in Ask The Tropers, too. There is no guarantee that the page will be locked.

Searching the Site, Perusing the Pages, and Wanting a Work

• "The search bar doesn't work! It just keeps loading."
  That's because you have an ad-blocker. Whitelist the site and the search bar should work, you monster.
• "Can you help me find a trope? I don't remember what it was called, but..."
  Please ask this type of question in Trope Finder.
• "Can you help me find a work/cartoon/sitcom/...? I don't remember the title, but..."
  Please ask this type of question in You Know That Show.

The Forums

The Forums in General

• "Where do I begin?"
  Be sure to read What Goes Where in the Forums and the Projects Directory.
• "I've seen people talk about the 'left side' of the forums. What is that?"
  On desktop, you'll see that the forums are organized by general topic into three colums. The "left side" of the forums include "Wiki and Forums" and "Real-ish" forum topics, such as TRS, IP, and OTC.
• What are the other areas of the forums called?
  "Media" comprises its own column so it's generally just called "Media," while the... other side of the forums includes "Just For Fun" (with Yack Fest and other very informal conversations), the RP Subforums (called "Zone: Forum RPG"), and the forum archives.
• How do crowners work?
  See How Crowners Work.

The Trope Repair Shop (a.k.a. TRS)

• What is TRS?
  Please read the Welcome Thread. Essentially, the Trope Repair Shop is where serious issues of pages need to be discussed.
• What are some of these "serious issues" that would require TRS?
  For a more complete list, see the Welcome to TRS thread.
  • A given trope's commonly used definition does not match its description, implying Trope Decay.
  • A given page is under-performing, implying a problem with the name or description.
  • A given trope covers too many concepts and people use it for vastly different things.
• "There is a problem with a page on the wiki, but it isn't a trope page. What can I do?"
  Despite the name, TRS is also the place to repair works pages if they have significant problems.

Image Pickin' (a.k.a. IP)

• What is IP?
  Normally? Intellectual Property. Seriously though, it stands for Image Pickin'. Here at TV Tropes, IP is where image suggestions belong. Most, if not all, image changes belong in IP. Certain types of changes, however, have their own threads to avoid needless clutter.
• "I want to change a page image. Can't I just change the image and be done with it?"
  It is considered vandalism to change images without consensus. Again, IP is the place to build such consensus.
• "I want to change a page image. Do I need to start a thread first?"
  Yes and no. If you only have one image to suggest for an image-less page, then please head on over to the Image Suggestion Thread. You won't need to start a new thread if (1) the page lacks an image at present and (2) you only have one image to suggest. If you have multiple images to suggest, or if the page has an image you want to completely replace, you do need to start a new thread.
• "I want to give an image a quality upgrade. It isn't a 'new image' so much as it is less blurry. Do I need to start a thread first?"
  You do need to discuss it, but you don't need to start a new thread. We have a dedicated thread for quality upgrades called Pages needing quality upgrades. You can also take a look at Artifacts 'R' Us.
• "I want to make the background of a page image transparent. Do I need to start a thread?"
  You still need to discuss it. You can ask in our thread titled Night Vision Image Quality Cleanup. Also look at Pages Needing Transparent Images.

On-Topic Conversations (a.k.a. OTC)

• What is OTC?
  As a subforum of "Real-ish," this is where formal conversations belong. Every thread focuses on one specific topic, and as such every new thread must be moderator approved.
• How does moderation work in OTC?
  Mostly, this is a self-moderating forum. If you see something, say something.
• Aren't there specific mods for OTC?
  Yes, despite it being mostly self-moderating, there are mods specific to OTC. This is because OTC is very popular, quite active, and (at times) heated.

Other Subforums (Or Is It "Subfora"?)

• "Where can I get criticism of my original (or derivative) writing?"
  The Writer's Block subforum is a great place to talk about writing and what you've written. There, we have the Constructive Criticism Thread for receiving criticism from multiple people. If you are looking for something more personable, take a look at Uncle Drunkie's Writer/Critic Dating Service.
• "If I post my writing on TVTropes or in the forums, do I keep the rights?"
  • See this thread, the "Your Rights" section on Welcome to TV Tropes, and The Fic May Be Yours, but the Trope Page Is Ours for specifics, but basically TV Tropes licenses anything you contribute to the wiki from you non-exclusively, permanently, and irrevocably. Because our contribution license is nonexclusive, you do keep your rights to what you post here and/or contribute to the wiki.
  • Furthermore, you also grant us a royalty-free, perpetual, unrestricted license over your contributions. Essentially, this all means that you don't have any say in what TV Tropes does with your written material once it's on TV Tropes. If you post your original work here, we could use it without your permission (unless you get written agreement first).
  • Unless you negotiate alternative terms in writing prior to submitting your content, you cannot demand that we remove your content, prevent your content from being altered, prevent us from using your content commercially, or demand that we attribute your content to you.
  • You have some risks when posting your original content on a public website such as TV Tropes. This includes:
    • A publisher may reject content that you have previously published elsewhere. That includes TV Tropes. This has nothing to do with our license, but rather we are considered a publisher. Generally, published excerpts wouldn't disqualify your work as "previously published."
    • Ideas and concepts that you post here may be used by other people without crediting you or asking permission. This also has nothing to do with our license; it's just a fact of the Internet.

Trope Launch Pad

TLP in General

• "I have a great name idea for a new trope. What are some standards for naming a trope?"
  See Naming a Trope. Please note that clarity is paramount, followed by brevity and then wittiness (in that order). Also note that we do not want more snowclones or new stock phrases.
• "I have an idea for a trope, but I'm worried it isn't 'tropeworthy.' Is there a place I can ask about my idea?"
  Yes, you can ask in the Trope Idea Sounding Board. Alternatively, if you're worried we already have the trope, you could ask in Trope Finder.
• "I started my TLP draft and it's up in the TLP. Can I get some help writing it?"
  Yes. You can either ask the people already engaged in the discussion or you can ask for help on the TLP Workstation Thread.
• "I have an idea for improving TLP. Where can I suggest it?"
  Please skim through the TLP reform thread to see if your suggestion has already been submitted (particularly this comment). For a more recent (2020) thread that you can make suggestions in, see the "Let's improve TLP" thread.

History of TLP

• "I've seen someone mention 'YKTTW.' What is that?"
  YKTTW is the old name of TLP. It meant You Know That Thing Where. Most people never actually spelled out the initialism, though, and the new name is more intuitive.
• What are "tags"?
  There used to be tags in TLP, back when it was known as YKTTW. They were meant to be used only when a draft had a particular problem, so they'd say things like "Needs a Better Description" or "Needs a Better Name." People misused them, especially "Motion to Discard," so they were removed.