All The Tropes:How to Get a Page Name Changed

Because of the potential for vandalism and Edit Wars, the ability to rename pages -- called "Move" by MediaWiki for those unfamiliar with the wiki software -- has been limited to the wiki admins and moderators. However, this does not mean it is impossible to change a page's name.

Changes in grammar, punctuation and capitalization to match our Style Guide are an automatic thing -- point it out and an admin will take care of it after confirming it's needed. Quite honestly, though, it's unlikely (though not impossible) that any pages remain that require this level of renaming. We've been at this for nearly a decade as of early 2022 -- all the low- and medium-hanging fruit has been taken care of, and we're pretty sure we've gotten all the high-hanging fruit as well. But you never know...

Likewise, correcting a work name is an automatic approval as well. Even collectively, the mods can't possibly know the proper form for every work's title, and TV Tropes was (and still is) a bit slipshod when it comes to work names. So there may well be things out there that need correction. We'll make that correction without a fuss.

However, sometimes name changes are bit less... cut-and-dried. More subjective. Like renaming a trope. Then things can get a bit more complicated. But not by much -- like other ways to change things at ATT, it becomes a matter of consensus.

If you want to propose a change to the name of a trope or other page without an objectively "correct" name, the process is simple:

• First, start a thread on the talk page of the page you want to rename or in the ATT forums, in which you propose the name change and lay out the reasons why you think it's both appropriate and necessary.
  • You are responsible for contacting as many users as possible and asking them to weigh in on your proposal. Not all users pay attention to the forums or even talk pages, so you can't rely on anyone just stumbling over your thread and offering their opinion.
• Convince the other users of the wiki you're right.

You or an administrator can call for a vote at any time, with the following caveats:

• You need to establish a consensus -- AKA a clear majority -- that the change is wanted. This is at least three more "Yes" votes than there are "No" votes. (In the simplest case, this means three users need to vote "Yes" with no one opposing.)
  • Your own vote counts, so you should always have at least one "Yes" vote.
• Lack of response by the other users is not to be considered approval of the change. You need explicit "Yes" votes, not simply an absence of people saying "No". Disinterest or apathy from other users means you haven't made your case.
• Voting periods should run at least 48 hours. Not every user is on every single day.
• All votes are final. Once a consensus one way or the other has been determined, that's it. No retries, no begging the Governor of Georgia to find extra votes in your favor.

If at the end of the voting the consensus is to make the change, a moderator or admin will move the page and note that it has been done in the thread.

IMPORTANT: Do not take it upon yourself to do a TV Tropes-style "rename": that is, creating a blank page with the new name then cut'n'pasting the original page's content into it before turning the original into a redirect. For one thing, that breaks the chain of history associated with the page, which is something the Move function preserves, and which we need to preserve under the terms of our Creative Commons license. Second, it will not endear you to the admin staff and is liable to get you tagged as a vandal, especially if you've gone ahead and made such a change without a consensus. We can undo such a "rename" in seconds (unlike TVT) and it will be undone as soon as we see such a thing has been done, even if the rename has been approved.

Some hints:

• It helps immensely if you are an established editor with a history on the site. While we won't dismiss a newbie out of hand, having "street cred" will get more (and more serious) attention paid to your suggestion.
• Be polite (or at least calm), even if — especially if — the discussion isn't going your way. Getting snarky or insulting because you're not finding the support you want is not going to win you points with anyone.
• Badgering the mods or issuing demands that they change a page name to something you like will not result in anything but being pointed at this page. Follow the procedure, and your proposal will be treated seriously.