Main/What/TV Tropes Is Not/Sandbox

Here are some things TV Tropes is not:
 * Wikipedia: In a very circumscribed way. This wiki doesn't have notability standards like The Other Wiki's. It doesn't require an encyclopedic style (see below). You don't normally have to cite sources.
 * The Anti-Wikipedia: On the other hand, that doesn't mean anything goes. There are rules, there's a structure, there are certain things expected of editors here, even if they're not the same things Wikipedia expects of its editors. In particular, "becoming like Wikipedia" is not the threat it's sometimes used as, since TV Tropes is not intended to be unlike Wikipedia in the first place.
 * A hate site: We're here because we're fans. This is not the place to talk about how awful something is. If you don't have anything nice to say, the entire rest of the internet is all ears. If something truly is objectively dreadful, assuming a dispassionate, accurate description will adequately convey its dreadfulness.
 * A fan site: Gushing isn't nearly as bad as complaining, but it's still not what we're here for. Enthusiasm is OK, Fan Myopia is not. Try to be aware of the difference.
 * An encyclopedia: Well, not just any encyclopedia; we catalogue Tropes here. That means brief descriptions and clear examples, in a light, accessible tone, with no tangents or irrelevancies. Cleverness is welcome as long as it doesn't interfere with being informative.
 * Your blog: You're entitled to your opinion; you're not entitled to express it here (except in reviews). This is particularly true with opinions about Real Life. Since even discussing real life takes a back seat to discussing fiction, being doctrinaire about it will not go over well. However, the Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment applies everywhere on the wiki.
 * A forum: The wiki has a dedicated forum; the wiki articles themselves are not a place to have forum-style chats.
 * A monolith: The fact that a work is mentioned in an example means no more than that one troper is aware it's an example. The fact that a work has a page means no more than that one troper knows about the work. Neither means that the troper who added it even likes it, let alone that we all do.
 * Politically correct: Not in the "offensive blowhard" sense, but in the sense that some works and some tropes are problematic, and we just have to live with that. While we don't endorse bigoted attitudes, we can't ignore their existence either.