TV Tropes - Why the hate?

[Formless]

You ARE here to troll, aren't you? Look, Sarevok, the same "if you don't like it don't read it" principal applies to threads where people are criticizing something you happen to like. It so happens that I wouldn't be making these criticisms if I hadn't used the website a lot in the past and really thought it could use some drastic improvements. And as a matter of fact, some people do seem to treat it more seriously than its intended (see Blayne), so you can just take that argument and sodomize yourself with it.

I happen to think that their appropriation of phrases said by other artists and comedians and apparent lack of original ideas belays an uncreative (NOT dishonest, contrary to your strawmen) mindset among the people there. I happen to think that this is part of the reason the website is so worthless (though by no means the only reason, or even the primary reason, as my first post shows). What exactly do you have a problem with, other than the fact that I happen to be critical of your oh-so-precious pastime?

[Sarevok]

stark wrote

Yes I like it and I dont have to dislike it because you say so. I think tvtropes is a fantastic idea. It makes fun of a lot of scifi serieses I like but thats part of its charm. They are ruthless about breaking down the bad and the ugly about a series. Yeah its a silly wiki but it does not claim to be anything more. If I wanted a literary analysis of Star Wars I would read books like The Hidden History of Star Wars or read the famous works of Campbell to understand how the star wars mythos formed and what the underlying themes mean. I would not read a funny internet website and expect it to be accurate.

[Stark]

Uh, what? The thread is about why people don't like it. Saying 'don't read it if you don't like it' is pretty meaningless in this context, since we're looking for understanding.

Amusingly, this superficial approach based on no real depth of understanding is EXACTLY why tvtropes is worthless.

[Sarevok]

I happen to think that their appropriation of phrases said by other artists and comedians and apparent lack of original ideas belays an uncreative (NOT dishonest, contrary to your strawmen) mindset among the people there. I happen to think that this is part of the reason the website is so worthless (though by no means the only reason, or even the primary reason, as my first post shows). What exactly do you have a problem with, other than the fact that I happen to be critical of your oh-so-precious pastime?

Here is a better question. What do you suggest they do ? They already attribute the source work. Often there are links directing to the source material. So what more can they do ? Or you fundamentally opposed to the idea of tvtrope in such a way you think such a site should not exist ?

I know you dislike tvtropes and its understanable different people like different things. Why not admit you just dont like it instead of making up silly reasons ? Subjective like/dislike can not be summed up by bullet points anyway. I know I would fail miserably if asked to explain I why like tvtropes.

[Formless]

Here is a better question. What do you suggest they do ? They already attribute the source work. Often there are links directing to the source material. So what more can they do ? Or you fundamentally opposed to the idea of tvtrope in such a way you think such a site should not exist ?

Once again, I'm not condemning the practice, and sometimes its not that bad (Chuck's "voodo shark" for one). The point is that its part of a larger pattern that does the website no favors. You might notice that when they took Mike's Brainbug idea they managed to come up with their own nicely descriptive name for the concept. Their problem in that case was in failing to admit where they got the idea (and yes, that does start to border on dishonesty).

I'm starting to wonder who really has the stick up their butt.

I know you dislike tvtropes and its understanable different people like different things. Why not admit you just dont like it instead of making up silly reasons ?

I *DO* like it you illiterate. I just finished explaining this in the exact post you quoted. I'm critical of it because I wish it were better, not because I hate it. Besides, why do you care? Why do my motivations matter so goddamn much to you? You've moved on from strawmanning to ad hominems. You clearly aren't capable of talking about this subject rationally.

[Balrog]

Had no idea they actually took an idea from this site, and didn't mention where it came from. That does seem pretty dishonest.

So what could be done to make it better? Purge all the idiots, transform it into a proper website and get a crew of writers to go through and fix it up?

[Ghost Rider]

Had no idea they actually took an idea from this site, and didn't mention where it came from. That does seem pretty dishonest.

So what could be done to make it better? Purge all the idiots, transform it into a proper website and get a crew of writers to go through and fix it up?

In the long run, sure. But given such endeavours take a great deal of money and time? That may never happen unless someone outright buys it just for the sake of doing so. The other problem is that there are other free resources online for what TVTropes does without the silly inane dialogue between people. RedImp even showed a number of website that do just that.

[Bakustra]

Had no idea they actually took an idea from this site, and didn't mention where it came from. That does seem pretty dishonest.

So what could be done to make it better? Purge all the idiots, transform it into a proper website and get a crew of writers to go through and fix it up?

Well, I actually preferred it when it wasn't serious, so I would argue in favor of purges followed by letting the site grow with a restricted membership, but that is about as practical as making it a serious site.