All The Tropes

RationalWiki

Revision as of 20:38, 26 October 2015 by Michaeldsuarez (talk | contribs) (CamelCase.)

RationalWiki is a skeptics' wiki. It was created as a negative reaction to Conservapedia. There have been some efforts to move it more in the direction of debunking, refuting, or poking fun at pseudoscience, religious fundamentalism, authoritarianism and other things that it doesn't like, per its stated mission statement:

  1. Analyzing and refuting pseudoscience and the anti-science movement.
  2. Analyzing and refuting crank ideas.
  3. Explorations of authoritarianism and fundamentalism.
  4. Analysis and criticism of how these subjects are handled in the media.

Functionally, it's more like a group blog than an encyclopedia (which they themselves acknowledge), though it also has quite a lot in common with Robert Todd Carroll's Skeptic's Dictionary.

Tropes used in RationalWiki include:
  • Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking:
    • The article on types of people that go to hell states that on the lowest circle of hell you find traitors, child molesters, and people who talk in the theater.
    • Also smokers aren't looked upon too highly and mentions of the dangers of smoking seem to pop up in the most unlikely of places.
    • There is a rather passionate hatred of Objectivists (or "Randroids") and of Ayn Rand too. In the name of synergy and absurdity there is short section on the Objectivism article that claims that Ayn Rand (or one of her followers) claimed it was a moral responsibility to smoke since she smoked. Ironically even some of the people there didn't know whether this was a joke or not at first. What the founder of the philosophy had to say about smoking four decades ago has to do with the philosophy itself is never really explained.
  • Catch Phrase: Goat. This is probably a reference to Matthew 25:31-46, where Jesus says that in the end times he will separate the sheep (his followers) from the goats (his detractors). Or maybe it's just because goats are awesome and tasty. Take your pick.
  • Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys: They actually (jokingly) mention the term in their France article.
  • Cursed with Awesome: If you've been around long enough (a few weeks or days) and are generally thought to be trusworthy, you will be demoted to janitor (i.e. sysop). (Frivolous block wars are common, and encouraged; fortunately, in addition to non-serious block reasons (such as one that outright says "block war") there are options to make said blocks last only a few seconds, which help differentiate them from serious blocks.) If you anger the gods sufficiently, you may even be further demoted to the lowly, despicable position of bureaucrat.
  • Deadpan Snarker:
    • In the article disproving a global flood: "How was the fossil record sorted in an order convenient for evolution if they were laid down in the turmoil of a single flood? That is usually dismissed with a hand wave by saying the animals quickly sorted each other out based on their ability to compete for the shrinking high ground. The theory also fails to take into account fossilized plants, which show the same type of order as animal fossils, and which are not noted for their ability to flee rising floodwaters."
    • A similar example of deadpan snark is found on the page regarding the Peanut Butter Argument that life should arise naturally in a jar of peanut butter if evolution is true: "Critics of the argument have pointed out that sealed jars of peanut butter are not, generally speaking, billion year-old volcanic environments rich in ammonia and methane, being bombarded by high energy cosmic rays."
  • Fan Nickname: They makes up names for all of their friends at Conservapedia.
    • Aschlafly is referred to as Assfly
    • Conservative is referred to as Kendoll
    • Karajou is referred to as Karajerk or Kowardjou
    • Jinxmchue is referred to as Jinx
    • There were numerous names for TK, including TeamKiller, TrollKing and TheKnife
  • Edit War: On RW, edit wars and even wheel wars are extremely common. So common, in fact, that accidental edit wars have become an issue - sysops assuming vandalism where there is none and performing knee-jerk reverts of edits without reading them, the original contributor re-adding the edit, and things kicking off from there.
  • The Fundamentalist: Described here.
  • He Who Fights Monsters:
    • RationalWiki was created to criticize Conservapedia. Take a look at the recent changes and block log at Conservapedia. Then take a look at the recent changes and block log at RationalWiki. Take a look at the RationalWiki Chicken Coop. Which one is more rational?
    • RationalWiki and Conservapedia both delve into Unfortunate Implications regarding their usual treatment of Christians and non-Christians, respectively, though Conservapedia is a lot harsher about it.
  • Just for Pun: A regular feature

"Indigo child" is not to be confused with "In dingo child", which is what your child might become if you misplace it in Australia.

  • Kicked Upstairs: Any user who sticks around for a while and regularly makes edits will be saddled with the tedious responsibility of being a (ugh) Sysop.
  • The Lab Rat: RationalWiki consists mainly of science geeks (with a few actual scientists and physicians scattered here and there). It is sometimes referred to as Rat Wiki, and its members are supposedly referred to as 'Rats' by those opposed to the site, although there is precisely zero evidence of anyone actually using this terminology.
  • Makes Just as Much Sense in Context: As described in the Jack Chick article:

This panel from a Chick tract makes even less sense in context. (It really does, check if you don't believe us.) Also, goats.

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