# tvtropes.org appreciation thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 8, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252 "2008-06-08T19:16:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/1 "2008-06-08T19:16:31Z")
I just discovered [this Wiki,](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage) and hope I need not explain why it should be of great interest to all CS Dopers. Many typical thread topics I’ve seen raised in CS – like “Examples of bad movie physics,” or “Stories where the protagonist is a villain” – are treated even more exhaustively in tvtropes, and broken down into subtopics and links even you would not have imagined. ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/2 "2008-06-08T20:22:25Z")
That site is a gigantic black hole for me. I frequently fall in and don’t come out until hours later. Fantastic stuff. ---
**Author:** ![kurilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea5d25/32.png) [@kurilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kurilla)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/3 "2008-06-08T20:26:38Z")
Lovely. ANOTHER time sink… I’ll just have to get rid of one or three others to make room for this one. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/4 "2008-06-09T04:57:32Z")
Just for one example, could you have imagined there could be so many different species of [tricksters](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Tricksters)? ---
**Author:** ![Pollux\_Oil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/858c86/32.png) [@Pollux\_Oil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pollux_Oil)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/5 "2008-06-09T05:04:01Z")
I don’t know if I should appreciate this or depreciate it. I love the site, but man, the hours I’ve lost because I clicked on one link to TVTropes and ended up surfing that site. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/6 "2008-06-09T12:21:05Z")
Must … resist…urge…to…click … ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/7 "2008-06-09T14:03:18Z")
It occurs to me the very existence of this site constitutes a Standing Trope Challenge: Write a story/screenplay that (1) is worth reading/watching and (2) employs **none** of the tropes listed. Might be impossible. No new thing under the sun, you know. See the Spider Robinson short story [“Melancholy Elephants.”](http://www.spiderrobinson.com/melancholyelephants.html) (Which itself probably does employ a listed trope, though none come to mind at the moment.) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/8 "2008-06-09T14:20:57Z")
I love it and it can consume large chunks of time for me. Where did you stumble across it **BG**? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/9 "2008-06-09T14:32:21Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] I love it and it can consume large chunks of time for me. Where did you stumble across it **BG**? [/QUOTE] Somebody linked to it in a CS thread, natch. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/10 "2008-06-09T15:12:17Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] It occurs to me the very existence of this site constitutes a Standing Trope Challenge: Write a story/screenplay that (1) is worth reading/watching and (2) employs **none** of the tropes listed. [/QUOTE] Can’t be done. I’ve spent quite a bit of time pondering this, and I’m convinced: can’t be done. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/11 "2008-06-09T16:07:28Z")
Looks interesting, but I don’t recognize most of their examples. The majority seem to be Japanese cartoons and video games which I am not very familiar. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/12 "2008-06-09T16:13:44Z")
[QUOTE=Icerigger] Looks interesting, but I don’t recognize most of their examples. The majority seem to be Japanese cartoons and video games which I am not very familiar. [/QUOTE] There are loads of pure TV and Movie ones. I learned to skim right past all the Anime stuff as it means nothing to me. Additionally it is a wiki, so you are free to edit it. I have made some few corrections or additions. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/13 "2008-06-09T17:37:17Z")
I love TVtropes. I keep meaning to add more Batman comic and Thundercats examples, but I rarely can think of them before getting distracted. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/14 "2008-06-09T18:09:07Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] There are loads of pure TV and Movie ones. [/QUOTE] And Literature and Real Life. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/15 "2008-06-09T18:38:09Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] And Literature and Real Life. [/QUOTE] Not surprisingly, most of my edits have involved a certain Literary Work and 70s sitcoms. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/16 "2008-06-10T01:28:08Z")
[QUOTE=Priceguy] Can’t be done. I’ve spent quite a bit of time pondering this, and I’m convinced: can’t be done. [/QUOTE] Wouldn’t surprise me – the list is so exhaustive, and even the subversion/aversion of a trope counts as a trope in its own right. You could write a “slice of life” story where, as in real life, nothing follows narrative expectation – but who would want to read such crap? ---
**Author:** ![Salmo\_Trutta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@Salmo\_Trutta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salmo_Trutta)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/17 "2008-06-10T02:51:00Z")
Damn you BrainGlutton! That’s all I have time to say right now. I’m too busy wasting time in a brand new way. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/18 "2008-06-10T12:24:20Z")
I’d stumbled across this before, but hadn’t real;ized how extensive it was. \ “TV Tropes” seems like the wrong name – it’s more games, manga, and anime. And it seems to have a severe lack of knowledge about literature, despite their putting that in as a column. Nevertheless, it’s a real education. I want to know how I can find my way to Marshmallow Hell. (In RenFaires, it’s called a “Wench Press”.) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/19 "2008-06-10T14:49:50Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] “TV Tropes” seems like the wrong name – it’s more games, manga, and anime. And it seems to have a severe lack of knowledge about literature, despite their putting that in as a column. [/QUOTE] [shrug] “It” is a Wiki. Remedy the lack. ---
**Author:** ![H3Knuckles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@H3Knuckles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/H3Knuckles)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252/20 "2008-06-17T06:13:17Z")
I found it a while back, and have already begun to use a fair bit of its terminology in discussing works of fiction. I love it, but yeah, it’s a huge time sink for me too. My favorite articles? “What do you mean it’s not awesome!?” “What do you mean it’s not symbolic!?” Just the titles give me a chuckle, but their descriptions and the lists of examples are both amusing and spot-on. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvtropes-org-appreciation-thread/452252.md?page=2)