# Proposal: double-click rule for TV Tropes **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 11, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309 "2010-07-11T16:11:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/1 "2010-07-11T16:11:47Z")
Like this: [TV Tropes](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage) With a madatory, big “WARNING: TV Tropes Link!” alert message in front of it. How many otherwise productive hours could have been saved by this simple, easy-to-follow rule? Please, for the love of whatever, and for all the stuff I have to get done and can’t spare the time getting sucked into this insidious website, let this rule be enacted. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/2 "2010-07-11T16:36:01Z")
I clicked it. Damn you. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/3 "2010-07-11T17:06:17Z")
Oh, thanks a _lot_. I was going to weed the garden and make lunch for my children, but they can just forget about it now. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/4 "2010-07-11T17:19:03Z")
Hmmm. ~49 views, and 2 responses. The hamsters at TV Tropes must be getting a workout this morning. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/5 "2010-07-11T17:37:06Z")
I hate the way people just provide a link to that site instead of discussing ideas here. It’s kinda like how wikipedia has ruined pub banter. I hate the internet. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/6 "2010-07-11T20:35:48Z")
Two clicks isn’t enough. I just mention the site and the trope name to search on. Even then I feel bad knowing that some poor souls are going to lost the rest of the afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/7 "2010-07-12T01:51:32Z")
I remain awed by TV Tropes. It explains the mechanisms of fiction better than any effort that I know of. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/8 "2010-07-12T03:49:06Z")
I can’t tell if you’re kidding or not. It really is a lovely website, though. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/9 "2010-07-12T03:53:24Z")
Damn you, OP! I’d heard of TV Tropes but never actually visited the site. Now I’m hooked on it. Damn you! Damn you to Hell! ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/10 "2010-07-12T20:16:54Z")
It was my link in the arrow thread that started this, wasn’t it? I should probably feel guilty or something. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/11 "2010-07-12T21:42:35Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > It was my link in the arrow thread that started this, wasn’t it? I should probably feel guilty or something. When it comes to feeling guilty, “or something,” I typically opt for “or something.” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/12 "2010-07-13T02:27:32Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I hate the way people just provide a link to that site instead of discussing ideas here. This bothers me, too. It can be a useful resource but a list isn’t the same thing as a discussion. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/13 "2010-07-13T07:34:03Z")
I’m as much a fan of time-wasting trivia sites as anyone, but I don’t find TV Tropes to be that interesting. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/14 "2010-07-13T14:07:43Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I’m as much a fan of time-wasting trivia sites as anyone, but I don’t find TV Tropes to be that interesting. Ditto. I did find it an engrossing site several years ago but as the place has grown the quality of the trivia has deteriorated. Bigger does not always equal better. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/15 "2010-07-13T14:32:19Z")
I don’t want to click the link, could someone explain what “TV Tropes” might be, please? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/16 "2010-07-13T14:57:16Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > I don’t want to click the link, could someone explain what “TV Tropes” might be, please? It is a website that talks about commonly observed themes, plot devices and similar in popular media - not just television but also films, animation, comics and so forth. It is addictive in part because the descriptors are cleverly named and written but also because you will _recognize_ them from something you’ve seen and read and want to read more. Also, every page links to other pages and once you’ve started reading the temptation to follow the links is strong. And there are a _lot_ of tropes/pages to look at. If you don’t ever watch television or films or read comics or sci-fi you’re probably safe - but then you’re probably not on the Internet either. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/17 "2010-07-13T16:09:45Z")
Actually, the biggest driver to me that makes me have to keep reading is that the descriptions are not self contained, but require cross referencing to understand. “_Monkey dancing_ is a trope where you see a monkey and he dances, which is sort of like _monkey swinging_, but not quite, and is similar to _monkey pole dancing_. However, do not confuse it with _donkey dancing_.” \* Now in order for me to really grasp what was said, I have to look up _monkey swinging_ to see why it is different, I have to look up _monkey pole dancing_, because that’s just weird. And I have to look up _donkey dancing_ to figure out why donkeys are mentioned at all in a discussion of monkeys\*\*. And each one of those articles requires 3 or more other lookups in order to understand what they are about, and it just explodes from there. That’s why I find it annoying. * * * \*Not actual example. Totally made up. \*\* “It’s supposed to be _ **Monkey** Kong_, you idiot!” ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/18 "2010-07-13T17:35:53Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > This bothers me, too. It can be a useful resource but a list isn’t the same thing as a discussion. So many threads in Cafe Society aren’t really discussions, though, just lists. “Name some movies with this unusual characteristic!” While I do sometimes take part, they don’t often have a lot of interesting discussion in them, and they’d be just as well served by a TV Tropes link as a bunch of Dopers throwing out names three or four times in a row. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/19 "2010-07-13T23:13:53Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > I don’t want to click the link, could someone explain what “TV Tropes” might be, please? It’s totally work safe. It’s just a time waster. A very fun time waster. ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309/20 "2010-07-14T02:28:52Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > With a madatory, big “WARNING: TV Tropes Link!” alert message in front of it. Sorry, doesn’t go far enough. Just ban linking to [tvtropes.org](http://tvtropes.org) entirely. We’re the SDMB liberals, and we know what’s good for you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-double-click-rule-for-tv-tropes/546309.md?page=2)