:TV Tropes#Licensing and content forks

{{Short description|Wiki documenting plot conventions in creative works}}

{{Infobox website

| name = TV Tropes

| logo = TVtropes-new-logo.png

| logo_alt = The words "tv tropes" with a lampshade on the second "t" in reference to lampshading, or talking about tropes already happening, in fiction.

| screenshot = TV Tropes Screenshot.png

| caption = Screenshot as of July 16, 2020

| website = {{URL|tvtropes.org}}

| commercial = Ad-supported

| type = Wiki

| language = 13 languages{{cite web|url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LanguageIndices|title=Language Indices - TV Tropes|work=TV Tropes|access-date=December 20, 2018}}

| num_users = 16,000+{{cite web |last1=Tropes |first1=TV |title=Page Counts |url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/page_type_counts.php |website=TV Tropes |publisher=TV Tropes Inc. |access-date=5 November 2019}}

| content_license = CC BY-NC-SA{{cite web |title=Administrivia: Welcome to TV Tropes |publisher=TV Tropes |access-date=May 15, 2014 |url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Administrivia/WelcomeToTVTropes |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140507003329/https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Administrivia/WelcomeToTVTropes |archive-date=May 7, 2014}} "Your Rights (Legal Stuff)" from July 2012

| programming_language = PmWiki (very heavily modified with no current source code used){{cite web |title=What Pm Wiki theme does this site use? |url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13273333140A33622800&page=1 |website=TV Tropes |access-date=5 November 2019}}{{cite web |title=PmWiki Users |url=https://www.pmwiki.org/wiki/PmWiki/PmWikiUsers |website=PmWiki |access-date=18 August 2023}}

| registration = Required for all features other than viewing

| launch_date = {{start date and age|2004|04}}

| current_status = Active

| owner = {{Plainlist|

Chris Richmond{{cite web |title=Ownership FAQ |url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/faq.php |website=TV Tropes |access-date=November 27, 2022}}
Drew Schoentrup}}

}}

TV Tropes (also written as TVTropes) is a wiki founded by "Fast Eddie" in 2004 that collects and documents descriptions and examples of plot conventions and devices, which it refers to as tropes. Its contents cover many creative works and non-media subjects, which are written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as "Tropers". The nature of the site as a provider of commentary on pop culture and fiction has attracted attention and criticism from several web personalities and blogs.

Website content

In its establishment of 2004, TV Tropes focuses on various tropes. Since then, it shifted focus from covering tropes to those in general media, toys, writings, and their associated fandoms. It also provides non-media subjects such as history, geography, and politics. {{cite web|first=Kurt|last=Cagle|title=From Mary Sue to Magnificent Bastards: TV Tropes and Spontaneous Linked Data|url=https://semanticweb.com/from-mary-sue-to-magnificent-bastards-tv-tropes-and-spontaneous-linked-data_b11936|publisher=Semantic Universe|date=April 1, 2009|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141103153038/http://semanticweb.com/from-mary-sue-to-magnificent-bastards-tv-tropes-and-spontaneous-linked-data_b11936|archive-date=November 3, 2014|access-date=April 3, 2019|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802130143/https://media.www.thecurrentonline.com/media/storage/paper304/news/2009/02/23/ArtsAndEntertainment/Tvtropes.org.Harnessing.The.Might.Of.The.People.To.Analyze.Fiction-3643420.shtml |archive-date=August 2, 2009 |url=https://www.thecurrentonline.com/2.14135/tvtropes-org-harnessing-the-might-of-the-people-to-analyze-fiction-1.1957948 |title=The Current - TVTropes.org: Harnessing the might of the people to analyze fiction |publisher=Thecurrentonline.com |access-date=May 18, 2010}}{{cite news |title=TV Tropes identifies where you've seen it all before |first=Zachary |last=Pincus-Roth |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-feb-28-la-ca-tropes28-2010feb28-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=February 28, 2010 |access-date=March 1, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100303150659/https://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/28/entertainment/la-ca-tropes28-2010feb28 |archive-date=March 3, 2010}} Contents of TV Tropes are written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as "Tropers". According to the site's Google Analytics in August 2020, tropers primarily consist of 18-34 year olds.{{cite web |url=https://www.similarweb.com/website/tvtropes.org/ |title=tvtropes.org |author= |website=Similarweb |access-date=2024-01-22}}{{Cite web |title=Troper Demographics |url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TroperDemographics |access-date=2023-08-09 |website=TV Tropes}}

From April 2008 until July 2012, TV Tropes published free content.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422200617/https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage |archive-date=April 22, 2008 |url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage |title=TV Tropes Home Page |publisher=TVTropes.org |access-date=May 16, 2014}} After that, the site modified its license to allow only non-commercial distribution of its content but continued to host the prior submissions under a new distribution license.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717055621/https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage |url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage |title=TV Tropes Home Page |publisher=TVTropes.org |archive-date=July 17, 2012 |access-date=September 3, 2015}}{{cite web |url=https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=14/05/15/1938243 |title=TV Tropes Relicensed its Content - Without Permit |publisher=Soylent News |date=May 15, 2014 |access-date=September 3, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005031905/https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=14%2F05%2F15%2F1938243 |archive-date=October 5, 2015}}

TV Tropes runs on its own wiki engine software, an extremely modified version of PmWiki to the point where the PmWiki website lists that it "no longer uses PmWiki in any way; the only trace that remains is in the URL" and that "no code is in use" but is not open source.{{cite web |url=https://www.pmwiki.org/wiki/PmWiki/PmWikiUsers|title= PmWiki Users|access-date=2023-08-18|website=Pmwiki}} Before October 2010, it was possible to edit anonymously; however, registration is now mandatory for all other activities besides viewing the website.{{cite web |url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Archive/TheGoogleIncident |title=The Google Incident / Archive |publisher=TV Tropes |access-date=May 16, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516034226/https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Administrivia/TheGoogleIncident |archive-date=May 16, 2014}}

TV Tropes has two subwikis meant to categorize the more informal tropes and is held to less rigorous standards. Darth Wiki, named after Darth Vader from Star Wars as a play on "the dark side" of TV Tropes, is a resource for more criticism-based trope examples or common ways the wiki is inappropriately edited. Sugar Wiki, on the other hand, is about praise-based tropes, such as funny or heartwarming moments in works, and is meant to be "the sweet side" of TV Tropes.

History

TV Tropes was founded in 2004 by a programmer under the pseudonym "Fast Eddie." He described himself as having become interested in the conventions of genre fiction while studying at MIT in the 1970s and after browsing Internet forums in the 1990s.{{cite web |url=https://io9.com/5479423/behind-the-wiki-meet-tv-tropes-cofounder-fast-eddie |title=Behind The Wiki: Meet TV Tropes Cofounder Fast Eddie |publisher=io9 |first=Annalee |last=Newitz |date=February 24, 2010 |access-date=February 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100227083524/https://io9.com/5479423/behind-the-wiki-meet-tv-tropes-cofounder-fast-eddie |archive-date=February 27, 2010 |url-status=dead}} He sold the site in 2014 to Drew Schoentrup and Chris Richmond, who then launched a Kickstarter to overhaul the codebase and design.{{cite web|first=Chantel|last=Tattoli|title=TVtropes.org's Treasure and Trash|url=https://www.thebeliever.net/logger/tv-trope-orgs-treasure-and-trash/|website=The Believer|date=March 11, 2021|access-date=April 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322191803/https://www.thebeliever.net/logger/tv-trope-orgs-treasure-and-trash/|archive-date=March 22, 2023}}

Initially focused on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, TV Tropes has since expanded its coverage of many forms of media, including fan fiction, and many other subjects, including Internet works such as Wikipedia (often referred to in a tongue-in-cheek way as "The Other Wiki"). Articles on the site often relate to real life or point out real situations where certain tropes are applied. It has used its informal style to describe topics such as science, philosophy, politics, and history under its Useful Notes section. TV Tropes does not have notability standards for the works it covers.

In October 2010, in what TV Tropes refers to as "The Google Incident", Google temporarily withdrew its AdSense service from the site after determining that pages regarding adult and mature tropes were inconsistent with its terms of service. The site separated NSFG articles (Not Safe for Google) from SFG articles (Safe for Google) in order to allow discussion of these kinds of tropes.{{cite web |url=https://productforums.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!category-topic/adsense/i-dont-yet-have-an-account-getting-approved/T7-CeRf60B0 |title=Google Groups |website=productforums.google.com|access-date=October 6, 2016}}

In a separate incident in 2012 (referred to as "The Second Google Incident"), in response to other complaints by Google, TV Tropes changed its guidelines to restrict coverage of sexist tropes and rape tropes. Feminist blog The Mary Sue criticized this decision, as it censored documentation of sexist tropes in video games and young adult fiction.{{cite web |url=https://www.themarysue.com/tv-tropes-rape-articles/ |title=TV Tropes Deletes Every Rape Trope; Geek Feminism Wiki steps in |publisher=themarysue.com |date=June 26, 2012 |access-date=May 16, 2014 |first=Aja |last=Romano |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423223946/https://www.themarysue.com/tv-tropes-rape-articles/ |archive-date=April 23, 2014}} ThinkProgress additionally condemned Google AdSense itself for "providing a financial disincentive to discuss" such topics.{{cite web |url=https://archive.thinkprogress.org/tv-tropes-bows-to-googles-ad-servers-deletes-discussions-of-sexual-assault-in-culture-9683495c786/ |title=TV Tropes Bows to Google's Ad Servers, Deletes Discussions of Sexual Assault in Culture |publisher=ThinkProgress |date=June 26, 2012 |access-date=May 16, 2014 |first=Alyssa |last=Rosenberg |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517121952/https://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2012/06/26/506563/tv-tropes/ |archive-date=May 17, 2014}} TV Tropes has then created "The Content Policy" to restrict works and tropes that are explicit sex contents or depictions of sexual activity between children. Several tropes and works were removed per the content policy.{{cite web |title=Archive / The Second Google Incident - TV Tropes |url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Archive/TheSecondGoogleIncident |website=tvtropes.org |access-date=11 March 2025}} Some forks were created after the change, notably All The Tropes and Tropedia.{{cite web |title=All The Tropes:Why Fork TV Tropes |url=https://allthetropes.org/wiki/All_The_Tropes:Why_Fork_TV_Tropes |website=All The Tropes |access-date=11 March 2025 |language=en |date=27 May 2022}}{{Primary source inline|date=March 2025}}{{cite web |title=Why Fork TV Tropes |url=https://tropedia.fandom.com/wiki/Tropedia:Why_Fork_TV_Tropes |website=Tropedia |access-date=11 March 2025 |language=en}}{{Primary source inline|date=March 2025}}

Reception

In an interview with TV Tropes co-founder Fast Eddie, Gawker Media's blog io9 described the tone of contributions to the site as "often light and funny". Cyberpunk author Bruce Sterling once described its style as a "wry fanfic analysis".{{cite magazine |first=Bruce |last=Sterling |url=https://www.wired.com/2009/01/tv-tropes-the-a |title=TV Tropes, the all-devouring pop-culture wiki |magazine=WIRED |date=January 21, 2009 |access-date=March 11, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312063723/https://www.wired.com/2009/01/tv-tropes-the-a |archive-date=March 12, 2017}} Essayist Linda Börzsei described TV Tropes as a technological continuum of classical archetypal literary criticisms, capable of deconstructing recurring elements from creative works in an ironic fashion.{{cite journal |last=Börzsei |first=Linda |title=Literary Criticism in New Media |website=Academia.edu |date=April 2012 |url=https://www.academia.edu/4570620 |url-access=registration |access-date=September 3, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711171506/https://www.academia.edu/4570620/Literary_Criticism_in_New_Media_A_critical_analysis_of_the_website_Television_Tropes_and_Idioms_and_the_place_of_literature_in_digital_culture |archive-date=July 11, 2015}} Economist Robin Hanson, inspired by a scholarly analysis of Victorian literature,{{cite journal |url=https://www.epjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/ep06715738.pdf |last=Kruger |first=Daniel |display-authors=etal |year=2006 |title=Hierarchy in the Library: Egalitarian Dynamics in Victorian Novels |journal=Journal of Evolutionary Psychology |access-date=November 1, 2013 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023074308/https://www.epjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/ep06715738.pdf |archive-date=October 23, 2013}} suggests TV Tropes offers a veritable treasure trove of information about fiction – a prime opportunity for research into its nature.{{cite web |last=Hanson |first=Robin |url=https://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/05/tropes-are-treasures.html |title=Tropes Are Treasures |publisher=Overcoming Bias |date=May 9, 2009 |access-date=March 11, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020232952/https://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/05/tropes-are-treasures.html |archive-date=October 20, 2016}} In Lifehacker, Nick Douglas compared TV Tropes to Wikipedia, recommending to "use [TV Tropes] when Wikipedia feels impenetrable, when you want opinions more than facts, or when you've finished a Wikipedia page and now you want the juicy parts, the hard-to-confirm bits that Wikipedia doesn't share."{{cite web |last=Douglas |first=Nick |url=https://lifehacker.com/use-the-tv-tropes-site-the-same-way-you-would-wikipedia-1822930619 |title=Use the TV Tropes Site the Same Way You Would Wikipedia |work=Lifehacker |date=February 12, 2018 |access-date=February 16, 2018}} Writing for The Believer, Chantel Tattolli commented that "It is deeply satisfying to go there and reckon with the patterns made over time, across culture, medium, and genre—and to catch them in rotation."

In the book Media After Deleuze, authors David Savat and Tauel Harper say that while TV Tropes does offer a "wonderful archeology of storytelling", the site undermines creativity and experience by attempting to "classify and represent" every part of a work.{{cite book|first1=David|last1=Savat|first2=Tauel|last2=Harper|title=Media After Deleuze|date=July 28, 2016|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1472531506|page=149}} The site is described in Reference Reviews as "an excellent example of linked data", but pointedly "lacks accountability as a reliable resource" due to its standards on notability.{{Cite journal |last=Whitford |first=Leslie |date=2015-01-19 |title=TV Tropes |url=https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/RR-07-2014-0213/full/html |journal=Reference Reviews |language=en |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=35–36 |doi=10.1108/RR-07-2014-0213 |issn=0950-4125|url-access=subscription }}

TV Tropes app

On March 19, 2025, TV Tropes launched its own mobile app.{{cite web |date=March 19, 2025 |title=TVTropes finally has an official mobile app (for IOS and Android). |url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=17424067720A94838000 |access-date=March 20, 2025 |work=TV Tropes}}{{Primary source inline|date=March 2025}} It is available on IOS and Android devices.