Update: TVTropes Deletes All Rape Tropes

[John Funk]

Update: TVTropes Deletes All Rape Tropes

Articles discussing rape were incurring the wrath of Google.

If you attempt to visit any of the various articles once linked under TVTropes' overarching category of simply says [http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:TOwx-f5ZpqcJ:tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php%3Fgroupname%3DMain%26title%3DRapeTropes%26line%3D8+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us], "We do not want a page on this topic. It does not meet our content policy."

TVTropes has been aggressively purging its article database of rape-related tropes since earlier in June, when site owner and admin Fast Eddie explained that the pages were "getting [the site] in trouble with google [sic]." From the information at hand, it seems that this was a result of Google's traditional refusal to place its lucrative ads on sites it deems explicit. For some reason, it termed that articles discussing the use of rape in fiction were either explicit or somehow promoting rape, and so TVTropes was given the choice to either pull the plug or take down the offending articles.

Obviously, TVTropes chose the latter. "There is no explanation needed beyond the fact that the topic is a pain in the ass to keep clean and it endangers the wiki's revenues, wrote Fast Eddie. "We just won't have articles about rape. Super easy. No big loss."

The Mary Sue [http://www.themarysue.com/tv-tropes-rape-articles/] has an excellent discussion on why this is, in fact, a significant loss - and not just to TVTropes' reputation as a comprehensive encyclopedia of fictional tropes.

The nerd/geek community right now is in the middle of a phase of self-examination when it comes to the use of sexual violence as a storytelling device in media for one, and the treatment of women and female characters for another. In June alone, the videogame industry has seen controversy flare over the "Tropes vs. Women in Videogames" Kickstarter [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/117776-Hitman-Studio-Apologizes-For-Nun-Massacre] - with furor over booth babes and treatment of female journalists at E3 to boot. Removing a significant catalog of information regarding the topic and its use in fiction can only hurt this sorely needed self-reflection.

For that matter, as The Mary Sue's Aja Romano points out, it's an inconsistent purge that only seems to care if the trope's title itself references rape. Geek Feminism [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AndNowYouMustMarryMe] wiki has volunteered to step in and mirror all data that can be recovered from the site via Google Cache. It's not a perfect solution, but it works.

Frankly, I'm not sure which party I'm more disappointed in - Google for having a policy that doesn't recognize that the frank discussion of an explicit (and terrible) topic does not equal the promotion of said topic, or TVTropes for knuckling under pressure without considering alternative solutions, such as turning off ads for the pages in question or asking for donations.

Nobody winds up looking good here.

Source: The Mary Sue [http://www.themarysue.com/tv-tropes-rape-articles/]

Update: It seems that TV Tropers are working on reinstating the deleted pages [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SexualHarassmentAndRapeTropes?from=Main.RapeTropes]. Whether or not this is a permanent thing remains to be seen, but it's possible that TVTropes and Google have worked out an agreement. (Thanks, warboss5!)

Permalink

 

[hudsonzero]

DAM i did not get to that index yet

 

[Jorec]

Wow, that's pretty sad. What happened to TVTropes man? It seems like the site admin just doesn't seem to care about the sites image anymore, only how much revenue he's able to get from those Google ads.

 

[gigastar]

Yeah, it did kind of get way out of hand before the purging started. Some pages, i wont say which (though to some it should be obvious), basically degenerated into a hentai index.

But such is the nature of an unregulated wiki, im surprised it didnt get this bad sooner.

Also while the loss of specifically Mind Rape is terrible, im sure itll end up being replaced with a new bumper sticker over the old name. Only we cant use that certain scene from Evangelion for the title anymore.

Spoiler: EDIT

EDIT:

Ok, i see some people are aiming hate at Google over this.

The problem was that the pages became too detailed as a result of fetishists getting carried away. As for what kind of fetishist, heres a prime example with a ton of exxageration.

Update EDIT:

If its going to go back and forth like that then the rape tropes might just end up bieng foisted off into a new sub-wiki. Or the Darth-wiki, which ever works.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

*Le sigh* This is why we can't have nice things. TVTropes - the sight dedicated to storytelling methods and tropes - is now not only removing everything related to a common trope in fiction, but is even taking down other topics like "Mind Rape" when they could just as easily be renamed to remove the word "Rape". This is complete bullshit and they know it.

EDIT: After doing a bit of looking up, it seems that Fast Eddie is talking with Google about how to get these pages back up and running. I'm still pissed about the "Mind Rape" page being down instead of simply renamed, but at least now I get that Fast Eddie is actually trying to get these back up instead of using this as a permanent solution. Still, this is why we can't have nice things...

 

[Bad Jim]

So how come these articles are offline because Google doesn't like them, yet they are still available via Google Cache?

 

[MrPeanut]

So basically "Fuck you we want moneyz!"

>_>

 

[Jack and Calumon]

Bowing down to pressure? Well, I'm not surprised given the aforementioned controversy. Probably not the best idea though. Such an encyclopaedia would actually be beneficial to this debate, but if TV tropes wants to purge the database yet again then who are we to...

Wait, they took away Mind Rape? That has nothing to do with rape in the context we are dealing with. It focuses on a horrific experience ruining someone's mind, which, while also traumatising, is not the same. The name is a reference to how a certain character in a certain series described their ordeal, through shrieking lungs and tears. It's not pleasant, but it's not worth taking down. You could've even changed the name! It's a reference and one that can easily be replaced.

This is disappointing TV tropes. As someone who loves human psychology, taking away Mind Rape in a panic is something I consider a travesty.

Oh, and a news post about TV tropes. I'd say you are killing everyone's free time, but it seems the links are all blocked. Ah well, for the best I suppose.

Looking for Calumon in a topic about rape? Really?

 

[him over there]

*Le sigh* This is why we can't have nice things. TVTropes - the sight dedicated to storytelling methods and tropes - is now not only removing everything related to a common trope in fiction, but is even taking down other topics like "Mind Rape" when they could just as easily be renamed to remove the word "Rape". This is complete bullshit and they know it.

they deleted mind rape because Eddie is a horrible coder who merely mass blocked trope pages with rape in the title. It's why mind rape is gone but serial rapist isn't.

 

[Eternal_Lament]

Before I begin, I just want to say I'm a little fascinated with the talk of rape as of late (mainly on this site). Not against that, although I'm curious what it's been about these past 2 weeks that's sort of sent everything into motion.

Anyways, this is just stupid on so many levels. I'm not sure what bothers me more, the implication that reading or talking about rape will send people out to rape, or that the reaction to such a suggestion is to just get rid of all topics concerning rape. In the end I guess TvTropes has to do what it has to in order to survive, but why the hell is such a policy there in the first place? Further if the logic is "Reading something causes you to act on it" then why is it only limited to one word? By this logic shouldn't TvTropes get rid of all articles discussing murder or torture because "It may promote these topics"? I really hope this changes back.

 

[RaNDM G]

They might as well take down Wikipedia's pages on rape too. Can't sponsor a web site with explicit content now, can we?

 

[Shjade]

As long as someone's mirroring the content so it's not a total loss. :|

I remember being just a little surprised a few months back when I noticed one of these pages having vanished (I think it was tentacle rape?), but figured yeah sure okay, they don't want to create a repository for every tentacle comic/game/anime/whatever in existence. Fine. Taking down all pages that are rape-related, though? Especially if it's as inconsistent as is described above? That's...kinda disappointing, in a, "Really, TVTropes? Really?" kind of way.

This is of course grounds for creating a new TVTropes page about how rape and other hot-button topics in creative works are handled in media surrounding those works. Something like, "Too Evil For Google."

 

[Aureliano]

This is clearly a brilliant idea on the part of Google. Now if we can just remove all the other potentially offensive words from the internet then everything will be doubleplusgood and we can crimestop before ever actually discussing any difficult topic.

 

[Tanis]

Freedom of speech, freedom of information?

Pisha!
That's SO outdated.

 

[him over there]

I don't think people totally understand what is going on here. Yes the deletion was because of google, however google isn't cutting ads because of rape. They're making them cut rape tropes because the tvtropes community is infested with rape apologists and fetishists, creating a disgusting image problem.

 

[itsthesheppy]

Remember guys, Google won't turn evil and start making Faceless Corporation decisions when they get big. They're still in touch with your roots! They ride scooters in the office!

 

[Shjade]

They're making them cut rape tropes because the tvtropes community is infested with rape apologists and fetishists, creating a disgusting image problem.

What.

Let me get this straight: they're making them cut content not because of the content, but because of the people who posted it? There would have been no problem if the same exact content were posted by puritanical Christians who only think about having consensual sex in the missionary position in the rare instances they think about sex at all?

I'm pretty sure Google didn't take a census of the TVTropes regular contributor population's sexual fetishes before determining whether to cut ties with certain content found there. However, your indignation about other people liking things you don't like is duly noted.

 

[Truly-A-Lie]

No one will argue that rape isn't awful, but are we really at the stage where people need to remove all mentions of its existence from what is essentially a discussion of all aspects of fiction? I presume The Millennium Trilogy is now summarised with "Lisbeth [this content has been blocked] and then she meets Blomkist who discovers [again, blocked]. The end."

Why don't we remove all the Tropes pages about murder and drugs, among others, so no one will ever be offended again and we can all watch and read about the Teletubbies for the rest of our lives?

 

[Richardplex]

No one will argue that rape isn't awful, but are we really at the stage where people need to remove all mentions of its existence from what is essentially a discussion of all aspects of fiction? I presume The Millennium Trilogy is now summarised with "Lisbeth [this content has been blocked] and then she meets Blomkist who discovers [again, blocked]. The end."

Why don't we remove all the Tropes pages about murder and drugs, among others, so no one will ever be offended again and we can all watch and read about the Teletubbies for the rest of our lives?

I dunno, I'd be content spending the rest of my discussing and dissecting the intricate philosophical undertones of Teletubbies.

 

[him over there]

They're making them cut rape tropes because the tvtropes community is infested with rape apologists and fetishists, creating a disgusting image problem.

What.

Let me get this straight: they're making them cut content not because of the content, but because of the people who posted it? There would have been no problem if the same exact content were posted by puritanical Christians who only think about having consensual sex in the missionary position in the rare instances they think about sex at all?

I'm pretty sure Google didn't take a census of the TVTropes regular contributor population's sexual fetishes before determining whether to cut ties with certain content found there. However, your indignation about other people liking things you don't like is duly noted.

Tvtropes has a massive image and community problem, they have fucking open pedophiles on the site. They have actually banned people for reporting people who are racists and sexists on the forums.

Not to mention that there is essentially zero analysis on tvtropes, any trope pages amount to this happened. So instead of having a page on the implications of rape in a story you have a page that is a directory to every instance somebody is raped.