Rename Attempt #2:: The Mario

The Mario, a.k.a. Jack of All Stats, came up here for a rename before, was highly contested, and ultimately failed. After some discussion that came out of The Umbridge I thought it might be time to bring it up again.

The primary argument:

The Mario fails as a Character Named Trope because while Mario is an example of this trope in his spinoff games (Mario Kart, Mario sports titles), but it is not an aspect of the character that first comes to mind.

Facts:

452 wicks and 1036 inbound links.

The thing I'd like to find out:

We noticed with The Umbridge that many Character Named Tropes will get potholed for *any* mention of the character. The contention is that this is misuse if the trope so named is not an adequate summary of the character or is not talking about the character where the context of the linked trope applies.

So is this happening with The Mario?

I'm starting looking from the top of the list; others are welcome to pick a letter and chime in.

Good. I was planning on doing this, but forgot.

I still would prefer to seperate Jack of all Trades as both a trope and a movie, though Jack of all Skills or possible The Jack of all Trades works too.

I know, since I found this out while using Jack of all Trades in a partial pun on the Quest 64 page. (Brian was originally named Jack).

Definitely rename. As I believe I mentioned in the last thread, Mario isn't even particularly known for that in the greater community - only among those who play spinoffs and it's not like it's all that vital. He's more known for being a plumber, jumping on the heads of creatures, being a mascot, et cetera.

Rename.

I did a quick survey roughly distributed throughout the alphabet. Out of about 80 or so articles I checked, I found two misuses. Not only is this trope popular, it's being used very well and without confusion.

The examples need cleaning up, but there is no way this should be renamed.

Jack of All Trades is actually a show, but being a show named after a saying, I think it gets the namespace.

I want to rename this, but is it being misused? If it's not, I don't think it's really justifiable.

Count me in for renaming this to Jack of All Stats. If you ask someone who Mario is, the things that come to mind are:

1. Italian
2. Plumber
3. Platform game character
4. Eats mushrooms
5. Does Goomba Stomps
...
5741. Tends to have well-rounded stats in spin-off games

I'm of the opinion that misuse is a sufficient, but by no means necessary, condition for seriously considering a rename. Sure, if there's no misuse there had better be a good argument for renaming, but, well, this is clearly the case here.

edited 22nd Sep '10 7:42:43 AM by TripleElation

I would like to see more in the way of actually misuse figures before I make a decision here. I voted in favor of renaming the Umbridge, but what swayed me was the large percentages of potholes that did not make sense in the context of the example.

Judging by the way the last attempt went, it will take signifigant evidence of misuse to sway the votes, those of us who think it's a bad name anyway notwithstanding.

Well, its number of wicks and inbound links seem to indicate that the name isn't causing too much trouble, as it's spreading pretty well. If there is a lot of misuse, though, that could be an indication that the name is having a negative impact.

edited 22nd Sep '10 9:07:32 AM by Meeble

Exactly. While I don't like the name, I don't want to replace it if it's both doing well and not being misused.

hey guys, how are those wicks determined, btw? i wanted to check a few of them and the page directed me to the Pokemon page, but i checked the page via the edit link and there seems to be no reference to The Mario in it— just to Super Mario Bros.

anyway, i checked around 20 works/tropes i'm familiar with. 4 of those had incorrect uses, mostly referencing "princess peach's boyfriend." and of course, many of the "good" examples were just the name of a certain character potholed to The Mario without much more of an explanation, so i took them as good even if i can't really have any idea of what the editor was thinking when he set up the pothole. who knows.

still, don't think that's overwhelming proof of misuse since the trope has 453 wicks at the moment.

having said that, i do support a rename. the problem with mario is that he's expanded so far from games, and has undergone so much Popcultural Osmosis through that medium jump, that his stats are likely not the first thing you think of when you hear his name. i've never been much of a gamer myself; i played quite a few mario games, but i've never been one to even look at stats normally— i did follow the tv show religiously when i was a kid, though. as Triple Elation said, when i think of mario i think of mustachioed italian plumbers, or Nintendo.

edited 22nd Sep '10 9:57:00 AM by carla

I tend to agree; while it may at some point have been his most notable characteristic (although I even kind of doubt that, outside of a niche of dedicated Mario gamers) it's not anymore.

...Just to be clear, this trope is about being statistically balanced, rather than having a balanced set of skills, right?

It's about both, depending on the type of game. In a game where characters are defined by skills, he'll have a balanced skill set at a moderate level in all of them. In a game that uses stats, he'll have decent stats across the board; no extraordinarily good ones, no extraordinarily bad ones.

"A character that does not specialize (and explicitly so). Strong but not the strongest, fast but not the fastest. The typical jack-of-all-trades, good at everything, the best at nothing. His biggest strength is his lack of any glaring weaknesses..."

I think the trope should be split into the two then. Then are games where one can have a balanced set of stats without a balanced set of skills and vice versa. The two, I think, are rather different.

Jack of all Skills could work for the skill point, with The Mario for the rest, maybe?

I don't see much point in splitting them, considering there are many games where skills are in fact the relevant stats. The point behind either is the same: the character is balanced between all or most available abilities (and it works out well). Whether it's skill points, abilities scores, or techniques is a matter for the work, not the underlying trope.

I think that stats vs skills is a meaningless division. It doesn't change the fundamental way the trope is applied.

BTW, if you checked the wicks, fnor, you should at least post some of those here so we can also see if they fit.

Absolutely needs a rename. As others have said, Mario's balanced stats are one of the last things fans will think of when they think of him, and even though most people know who Mario is, there's no way non-fans will know about this particular characteristic of his that only appears in spin-offs. Jack of All Stats is a great alternative.

Jack of All Stats works good. Averagely Average Character or Statistically Average would be my suggestions for a rename if it ever comes to that.

edited 25th Sep '10 9:53:03 AM by DRCEQ

If it's actually broken, then I'd say fix it, but if it's not, leave it alone.