shamelessposer Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 It will destroy your life. In the late afternoon I looked up... I don't know. Dave Barry, or something. That led into The Friday Night Death Slot. Then, madness. The history files chart my journey. Harry Anderson. Pink Lady (band). Rosie Live. Pink Lady (television series). 8 Simple Rules. Boy Meets World. Family Matters. Step By Step. Evening Shade. Burt Reynolds. William Daniels. Trina McGee-Davis. Maitland Ward. Lily Nicksay and Lindsay Ridgeway (they both played Morgan on Boy Meets World, see). Family Matters again for some reason. Jodie Sweetin. Lorimar Productions. Telma Hopkins. Burt Reynolds again. Captain Nice. Magic Kid 2. The Angry Video Game Nerd. Gumbys. Buzz Aldrin. Wikipedia: No original research. Eric Idle. Figment. An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn. The Rutles. Ringo Starr. Figment (Disney character). List of films considered the worst. Monster A Go-Go. Hobgoblins 2. The Room (film). Tim Robbins. Christian Slater. ****ing Waterworld. Estelle Getty. The War Zone. The Hottie and the Nottie. Joel Moore. Christine Lakin. Paris Hilton. Joel Eszterhas. Jaws 3-D. Supergirl (film). Street Smart (film). Eric Wareheim. Tim Heidecker. ****ing Waterworld, again. The Golden Girls. Herb Edelman. Nurses (TV series). Lucy Lane. Santa Claus: The Movie. Let's Go To Prison. Zach Galifianakis. Empty Nest. Superwoman. Kristin Wells. Christopher Columbus: the Discovery. A second trip to the Boy Meets World page, which I do not remember. I do not, in fact, remember most of these page visits. My thoughts are now devoid of context. Whoever the son of a bitch is who invented tabbed browsing, he has, for tonight only, taken Ronald Reagan's place as The Devil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurningHamster Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 I am surprised your results were so consistently related to the field of entertainment. My usual wikipedia visit ends up covering so many random things I can't remember where I started. I can go from Bobby Eaton to Bubonic Plague in so few clicks it would make your head spin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ShortShortsarentdead Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 I think its trying to take over the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tha Black Phenom Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 I would look onto Family Matters twice myself, can't blame ya. I do hate that spiral zone, now even worse is I installed that Wikipedia-friendly app onto my iPod touch, so I might get s'more of these in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remianen Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 pfft, that's light stuff. You want serious? Click here. See ya in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UFC-KING Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 pfft, that's light stuff. You want serious? Click here. See ya in the morning. Oh Shi... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthsiddus2 Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 that site won't last long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nedew Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 pfft, that's light stuff. You want serious? Click here. See ya in the morning. Tell me about it! When the tabs get so tiny you can't even tell which one's which, when you've got 40 brand new bookmarks (none of which you've had the chance to read yet!)... That's TV Tropes territory! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpapa42 Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 pfft, that's light stuff. You want serious? Click here. See ya in the morning. Yeah, I find I spend more time on TV Tropes than Wiki, though both can both be consuming. TV Tropes is a fantastic resource for diary writers looking for ideas and characterizations. Pretty sure it was someone on here who first mentioned it - might have been you, even. If so, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazorbeak Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 I'm really not a fan of TV Tropes. While I like the idea behind the community, it seems like a lot of those active within said community are dumber than a box of rocks. The fact that virtually any garbage off the top of your head can be used as an example of a trope means you get a lot of entries that are somewhere between useless and completely useless. The tropes themselves start to lose meaning when you've got some idiot explaining how some obscure anime he's just read has a perfect example of a trope, only... it's not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shamelessposer Posted August 8, 2009 Author Share Posted August 8, 2009 I'm really not a fan of TV Tropes. While I like the idea behind the community, it seems like a lot of those active within said community are dumber than a box of rocks. The fact that virtually any garbage off the top of your head can be used as an example of a trope means you get a lot of entries that are somewhere between useless and completely useless. The tropes themselves start to lose meaning when you've got some idiot explaining how some obscure anime he's just read has a perfect example of a trope, only... it's not. Or how someone who writes for the The Whately Universe is damn near determined to get their pet character mentioned on every page on the site. I spent a couple of hours on TVTropes today. Every article I visited, someone had mentioned The Whately Universe as this perfect example of something. Lo and behold, it was usually inaccurate. That said, when you find a page that's populated mostly by knowledgeable Tropers, the site almost becomes worth all of the time you've wasted on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSelfDestruct Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 that site won't last long really? its been around for 8 years already, i dont think its going anywhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remianen Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 I'm really not a fan of TV Tropes. While I like the idea behind the community, it seems like a lot of those active within said community are dumber than a box of rocks. The fact that virtually any garbage off the top of your head can be used as an example of a trope means you get a lot of entries that are somewhere between useless and completely useless. The tropes themselves start to lose meaning when you've got some idiot explaining how some obscure anime he's just read has a perfect example of a trope, only... it's not. With all due respect, many tropes are derivatives. They come from things that are created every day (slang terms, euphemisms, anecdotes, etc). Thus, there will ALWAYS be tropes that you're not familiar with or that you don't agree with. For example, I don't know if I agree with the 'Most Common Superpower' (I think, in actuality, it's super strength) but I can see how someone (anyone) who reads comics and fiction could get that idea. Any word in any language can become an 'inside joke' or 'slang' within any community. Thus, you have the potential for any word in any language becoming a trope, since it can often be included in and integrated as a part of creative expression (books, TV, movies, poetry, etc). That's what makes the site so compelling, in my view. And yeah Bigpapa, I have suggested the site to a few folks (okay, more than a few, because I kinda dig the reactions like UFC-KING's), especially as a way to possibly defeat writer's block. I have literally gone through an entire work day (even skipping lunch) entirely on that site. Makes the boring days that happen a little more acceptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astil Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 My girl introduced me to TV Tropes. Very nice for avoiding the "it's been done over and over" thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazorbeak Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 With all due respect, many tropes are derivatives. They come from things that are created every day (slang terms, euphemisms, anecdotes, etc). Thus, there will ALWAYS be tropes that you're not familiar with or that you don't agree with. For example, I don't know if I agree with the 'Most Common Superpower' (I think, in actuality, it's super strength) but I can see how someone (anyone) who reads comics and fiction could get that idea. Any word in any language can become an 'inside joke' or 'slang' within any community. Thus, you have the potential for any word in any language becoming a trope, since it can often be included in and integrated as a part of creative expression (books, TV, movies, poetry, etc). That's what makes the site so compelling, in my view. And yeah Bigpapa, I have suggested the site to a few folks (okay, more than a few, because I kinda dig the reactions like UFC-KING's), especially as a way to possibly defeat writer's block. I have literally gone through an entire work day (even skipping lunch) entirely on that site. Makes the boring days that happen a little more acceptable. I'm not talking about not getting or disagreeing with tropes (although I do disagree with a lot). I'm talking about poorly written, poorly thought out examples from a user community that doesn't have any reason to write something that isn't total garbage because no one holds them to any standard of accountability. When I say "lose meaning" I don't mean that they're derivative I mean that when you have a hundred outsiders who want to sound like they know something about the industry blurring the distinctions between one trope and another, the whole thing gets pointless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Prime Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Or how someone who writes for the The Whately Universe is damn near determined to get their pet character mentioned on every page on the site. I spent a couple of hours on TVTropes today. Every article I visited, someone had mentioned The Whately Universe as this perfect example of something. Lo and behold, it was usually inaccurate. I'm glad I'm not the only one who's noticed that. I've added a few examples from my own website, for much the same reasons, but I at least make sure it actually matches up, instead of just making it up from the whole cloth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpapa42 Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 I'm not talking about not getting or disagreeing with tropes (although I do disagree with a lot). I'm talking about poorly written, poorly thought out examples from a user community that doesn't have any reason to write something that isn't total garbage because no one holds them to any standard of accountability. When I say "lose meaning" I don't mean that they're derivative I mean that when you have a hundred outsiders who want to sound like they know something about the industry blurring the distinctions between one trope and another, the whole thing gets pointless. Sure, there are some bad examples. But I don't find the value of the site necessarily in the examples alone. The definitions provide much of the value, and there are usually enough good examples to be worthwhile. To me, its like saying Wikipedia isn't useful just because some articles end up with biased and/unsourced information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praguepride Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Who reads TV tropes seriously? TV Tropes is not serious business, who cares if someone took the time to shoehorn in their pet character from some crappy webcomic or not. I just scan for the known elements. Who really sits down and reads every single entry under one of the larger tropes? As for "most common super power" yeah, it's definitely the super brassiers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nedew Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Who really sits down and reads every single entry under one of the larger tropes? Er, me? I just read through them hoping for something amusing/interesting. I'm usually fulfilled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazorbeak Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Sure, there are some bad examples. But I don't find the value of the site necessarily in the examples alone. The definitions provide much of the value, and there are usually enough good examples to be worthwhile. To me, its like saying Wikipedia isn't useful just because some articles end up with biased and/unsourced information. I don't understand your analogy: are these biased and unsourced wikipedia articles confusing one distinct thing with another because of vagueness, poor writing, and a community that doesn't have any minimum standards of quality? If that's what your positing, then yes, wikipedia would not be worth using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpapa42 Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 I don't understand your analogy: are these biased and unsourced wikipedia articles confusing one distinct thing with another because of vagueness, poor writing, and a community that doesn't have any minimum standards of quality? If that's what your positing, then yes, wikipedia would not be worth using. I am saying that Wikipedia, to a lesser extent, does have some similar issues as TV Tropes. Wiki is a more controlled commuity, obviously, yet it does happen. It doesn't make Wikipedia useless, at least not to most. What I was trying to get across was that you are correct that there clearly are some poor examples used on TV Tropes. Then again, TV Tropes is not intended to be as serious and controlled as Wikipedia, and you can see that on some of the introductary pages (or used to). While they are some worthless contributions on there, not everything is vague, poorly-written, or not really applicable. If the fact that some is keeps you from seeing any value at all in what is well done, that's fine. Some of would prefer to overlook that value-less to find what does have value on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazorbeak Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 I am saying that Wikipedia, to a lesser extent, does have some similar issues as TV Tropes. Wiki is a more controlled commuity, obviously, yet it does happen. It doesn't make Wikipedia useless, at least not to most. Did my last post not point out that my problem is not something wikipedia suffers from? My point has been a loss in distinctness, not a smaller issue of a few bad examples. If the fact that some is keeps you from seeing any value at all in what is well done, that's fine. When, exactly, did I say anything like that? Here I thought I'd been on message about tropes losing meaning, since I've mentioned it what, four times? What does that have to do with "not seeing any value"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpapa42 Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Did my last post not point out that my problem is not something wikipedia suffers from? My point has been a loss in distinctness, not a smaller issue of a few bad examples. When, exactly, did I say anything like that? Here I thought I'd been on message about tropes losing meaning, since I've mentioned it what, four times? What does that have to do with "not seeing any value"? So you are wanting clear distinction between tropes? As Reiman said, they are derivative and they are also subjective. The difference between one trope and another can be a matter of how far something goes. Even taking away examples entirely, tropes are not going to be clearly and entirely distinct from each other. Regarding seeing value in the tropes, I apologize for inferring. Given that you indicated that you "are not a fan" of the site and the only positive thing you've said is that you "like the idea behind the community", its didn't exactly come across that you find any use in it at all. If you do find value in the site despite the issue you clearly have a big problem with, I apologize. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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