TvTropes - "It's like rickrolling, but your trapped all day"

[arrow_storm]

In my "3 clicks to hitler" article, a couple of people mentioned TvTropes. I had never heard of it before so I googled it and checked it out. I made the mistake of opening tabs and suddenly five hours had past and I had 25 freakin tabs open. The only reason I got off was because my isp's server crashed and I had no net for two days afterwards.

Why is this site so addictive?
The link is below, but you may want to clear your schedule for the next three days...
http://www.tvtropes.org

Also, the title quote comes from this: http://xkcd.com/609/
I think it accurately depicts the Saturday afternoon/evening I looked it up.

Tell me what you think. Have you even been stuck like this? And to the ones who mentioned it in my other article (you know who you are): damn you!

 

[Schol-R-LEA]

Many, many times. But then, I'm a semi-regular Troper, having added my share of nonsense to the site.

 

[Sassafrass]

I have never been trapped by TVTropes, ever. ...Except when I found the Final Fantasy pages. I was stuck there for a while then.
But apart from that time, nope, not at all.

 

[eatenbyagrue]

Once, for over 24 hours straight, I was in a TV Tropes loop. The only thing that saved me was having to go on a family vacation to Hong Kong, and I think I might have actually stayed to read TV Tropes instead.

I think the reason TV Tropes tends to do that is that we all partake in media in one form or another, and it's nice and gratifying to see everything laid out like TV Tropes does, and even look for other stuff with similar examples. Hell, I've found a lot of music, movies and tv series via TV Tropes.

 

[arrow_storm]

I have never been trapped by TVTropes, ever. ...Except when I found the Final Fantasy pages. I was stuck there for a while then.
But apart from that time, nope, not at all.

Lucky bastard

 

[lacktheknack]

I get stuck on occasion, but can usually escape within a couple hours.

The trick is to REFUSE to use tabs.

 

[arrow_storm]

Damn you, every time someone links me to TVtrops my productivity plummets! I have 3 exams tomorrow, and a paper due, but my current motivation is now zero because of you.

Funnily enough, that was exactly what happened to me, except its was two speeches, two exams and a report.

 

[Ponch]

I got stuck there for about 6-7 hours every day last week.
Luckily, I just got bored and really have no reason to go back.

 

[Shockolate]

I don't get stuck.

If I'm there, it's because I want to be.

 

[Nostalgia Ripoff]

Every. Single. Time.

I'll go there looking up something and 12-22 hours later, I'm reading a linked article about the history of the color pink. Damn tabs...

 

[LavosPrime]

When I first found TVTropes, it was pretty brutal for a while. I couldn't finish my tabs, so I kept them, and they kept breeding, so I was trapped for a few weeks on and off. It happens less often now, but it still has a chance of snowballing every time I go there.

 

[Psionronin]

A similar thing happens whenever I look up something on Wikipedia. These sites have made information like chips-- you can't stop with just one.

 

[theComposer]

I've been there a handful of times, but never got caught or stayed very long. I just go there, read about what I need/want to know, and leave.

 

[4484448444844484]

I am very tempted to go read the page on the book I'm supposed to be reading for tomorrow...

 

[Nouw]

I quit when there's nothing to search. I usually go there to make me feel better about Starship Troopers.

 

[Kollega]

Why is this site so addictive?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WikiWalk

Here's your explanation. And TV Tropes is just like Wikipedia, only a lot less formal and dry, which means it's even more entertaining.

Tell me what you think. Have you even been stuck like this? And to the ones who mentioned it in my other article (you know who you are): damn you!

Well, after using it for about year and a half and getting familiar with all the "main" articles (the ones cropping up in potholes most frequently), i don't usually get stuck for long. Except when i'm writing "Playing With Wiki" examples - that makes me feel smart.

I was also supposed to do a bit of Grammar Nazism about "your", but forgot at first.

I get stuck on occasion, but can usually escape within a couple hours.

The trick is to REFUSE to use tabs.

Exactly. That, and always using Laconic Wiki when posssible.

 

[Heart of Darkness]

*you're

I've gotten stuck there a few times, but usually not for much longer than four or five hours. It doesn't happen as often now because I've already read a majority of the pages I'm probably ever going to read on that site, and I usually only go back to look up a piece of media I just devoured.

 

[SimuLord]

I think you broke the Internet. TVTropes will ruin your ISP.

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

Ah TvTropes. Yep I've been sucked in for hours just looking at different stuff and opening shit-loads of tabs. I'm even going to risk wasting the rest of my evening to look up a particular article there that explains this phenomenon.

My theory on why its so attention consuming is because its like Wikipedia, but its about all the stuff you love. TV shows [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Television], anime [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Anime], movies [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Film], video games [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VideogameTropes], manga [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Manga], narrative elements [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NarrativeTropes], memes [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MemeticMutation], religion [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ReligionTropes], books [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Literature], music [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MusicTropes], and tropes themselves [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TropeTropes]. So you have a wealth of info at your fingertips (just a link away!) and its all so interesting to read.

Notice how I managed to give a link for each one of those? Yeah that's how much stuff there is. (And it was a ***** to type it all up. It took so long to type that 18 people responded during the typing of this post.)

Here's that article I was talking about. Be warned though this will take to TvTropes and I can not promise that you will emerge within the hour. So link-to with caution.

TvTropes Will Ruin Your Life [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TVTropesWillRuinYourLife]

How appropriately named.