Seeing the word "Tropes" used outside of TV Tropes

MoeDantes

Now, I'm probably one of the few people here who doesn't have a hate-on for TV Tropes. But it does annoy me that people keep forgetting that its basically just a site for nerds to say "LOL I noticed a pattern" (as well as forgetting that nerds are generally wrong about things) and start treating it as a valid source of information. This, of course, contributes to people online being dumber (in the sense that they have more mistaken ideas and bad information) than they did before. A part of this is that a "Trope" is apparently a real concept now, and not just a thing Fast Eddie made up that effectively translates to "its like a cliche, but more vague." (Don't tell me TropesAreNotCliches, because I'm immune to bullshit), so I've seen the word popping up more and more often. Friends, Romans, and Gettysburgers: Unless you're on the actual site TV Tropes, or you are discussing that website or its concepts, then you should never, EVER use the word "Tropes," in the same sense that you should never use the term "button mashing" if you're not talking about a video game. Doing so is just... dumb.

Bob

Friends, Romans, and Gettysburgers: Unless you're on the actual site TV Tropes, or you are discussing that website or its concepts, then you should never, EVER use the word "Tropes," in the same sense that you should never use the term "button mashing" if you're not talking about a video game.

Those are nothing alike, considering the word trope isn't exclusive to TVTropes...

Also, what Funny said.

inkblot

Are you pulling a Myr?

glennmagusharvey

No, this is like saying that we shouldn't use the term "button mashing" if we're not talking in a forum about videogames.

The term "trope" is a concept.  It can be used to mean this concept even when it is not used in its place of origin.  I see no reason why it cannot.

MoeDantes

"Pulling a Myr?" What?

According to Wikipedia, the word "Trope" originates in Greek... well, that's news to me. I've been a voracious reader (both the book reading and online kind) all my life and I never heard the term before the website came around.

As for a trope being a concept, yeah... but its a useless one.

ClockworkUniverse

You seem to have misunderstood the definition of "trope." It's not "a cliche." It's "a recognizable pattern authors deliberately use in works."

glennmagusharvey

It's not useless.  It refers to a pattern of human understanding of creative media.

inkblot

Stating your argument by mocking the other side.

^^ So a cliche means "a trope that draws attention to itself with its usage."

MoeDantes

"A recognizable pattern authors deliberately use in works."

You mean like Badass Decay, Executive Meddling, Fan Myopia etc.?

... Okay, actually I'll stop being a bitch for a moment, because those tropes highlight a huge problem with the wiki as a legitimate source of info: the idea that "anything can be a trope." If "anything" can be a trope, then tropes as a concept are meaningless.

Bob

My dick isn't a trope. Therefore, your argument is invalid.

ClockworkUniverse

@MoeDantes: Badass Decay and Fan Myopia have little banners at the top of their pages stating that they aren't tropes. Executive meddling is deliberately included in works by creators, just not the "main" creator.

MoeDantes

I'm so tempted to make a TV Tropes entry for "Bob's Dick," just to prove you wrong.

And Inuh, there are a lot of things on that site that are things not consciously thought about (such as Unfortunate Implications) or which are actually beyond the author's control. In short, they can't be "tropes" because they aren't deliberate.

ClockworkUniverse

Unfortunate Implications also has a banner at the top saying it's not a trope. "TV Tropes" is an artifact title. The site covers things that are neither TV nor Tropes now.

Bob

^^DO IT

TheMightyAnonym

"Now, I'm probably one of the few people here who doesn't have a hate-on for TV Tropes."

Wait, since when does the majority of people here hate TvTropes???

ClockworkUniverse

You know, I didn't even think to mention that. I can think of maybe two or three people here who might arguably have hate-ons, but a majority?

Nyktos

Edmond is Edmond.

MoeDantes

and Edmond good is Edmond great!

I seem to remember reading a thread around the time I first joined this community where practically everyone was saying they hated TV Tropes, including making comments like "IJBM was a good thing in a bad place" and stuff like that. I don't remember what thread it was tho.

Bob

IJBM? Good? Say wha?

Stormtroper

Many of us have gripes and such with aspects of the site, but I don't think many of us dislike it in general (or at least not the forums).

MillerCross

A lot of the bannees complain about TvT and this place has been a safe haven to complain about them. I don't see what's so surprising about that.

Bob

Well maybe if those assholes started handing out warnings instead of just banning people left and right, it wouldn't be this way! I don't even know what I did! I'm innocent, I tell you! INNOCENT! ;_;

-sniff-

_{I didn't even get a warning...}

MillerCross

You weren't even banned.

vacasama

Says who?  I think it did happen to Bob.

Bob