Talk:Tribble

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Romulans?[edit]

"...endears them to every sentient race which encounters them — except Klingons and Romulans." Where or when is it ever shown or stated that the tribbles don't like Romulans (or vice-versa)? John1701 10:39, 2 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Racist?[edit]

The tribble reaction to Klingons raises an interesting question:

  • Are tribbles racist, or are they just responding to Klingon hostility? (Maybe the Klingons are the racists -- or speciesists.)
    • They are apparently extremely biologically allergic, and therefore irritative, to each other. The tribbles' "life ethics" also go directly against traditional Klingon values, aggravating the Klingons to a near fanatical hatred of the species. I'd call it "kindism." :P --AndromedaRoach 4:42, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Shmoos[edit]

To what extent were Tribbles influenced by Al Capp's shmoos? Eclecticology, Tuesday, June 11, 2002

BBC Elite[edit]

The eighties computer game "Elite" for BBC, Commodore 64 and other microcomputers of that era featured an animal called a "Trumble" which behaved much like a Tribble: multiplying at a fast rate until the screen was literally blocked with Trumbles. Surely this qualifies as another pop reference to Tribbles.

Rewrite[edit]

This page is in serious need of a rewrite. The history section in particular seems written by a non-native english speaker.

Is this true?[edit]

"there are 140 documented Tribble predators, the main two are the shovel nosed fox and the plaid chested chimpanzee." UrbaneLegend 19:49, 11 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think so. Star Trek canon is pretty clear. There were two officially recognized Tribble episodes, one non-canon Tribble cartoon episode, and who knows how many novles referencing them. The article should make clear what information is taken from the non-canon sources. Canon-wise Tribbles breed (and self-reproduce), were hunted to extinction by Klingons, and repopulated thanks to time travel by the DS9 crew. Spookyadler 10:16, 24 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What about the Futurama Reference[edit]

"The Problem with Popplers"

Other Tribbles (Disambiguation)[edit]

I added a "Tribble (disambiguation)" page, since there is at least one more "tribble" wiki entry (Bud Tribble). I would prefer that this "Tribble" entry be renamed to "Tribble (Star Trek)", and then rename the disambiguation page to just "Tribble". - Loadmaster 20:34, 28 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. Certainly, this man seems to predate the phrase "star trek", & "Star Trek":

Samuel Joelah Tribble (November 15, 1869 - December 8, 1916) was an American politician and lawyer.

Added to the disambiguation page. — Loadmaster 23:51, 19 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Today, someone called me w/ the caller identification including "Tribble", as the name.

The earliest prominent indication of a concept should, in most cases, supplant the others, or the disambiguation should supercede everything else.

Thank You.

[[ hopiakuta | [[ [[%c2%a1]] [[%c2%bf]] [[ %7e%7e%7e%7e ]] -]] 00:54, 22 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Here's a better idea: Have "Tribble" redirect to "Tribble (disambiguation)". Then that article should link to the other articles, include "Tribble (Star Trek)". Val42 17:49, 23 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Any possible relation of Tribbles to tribbing? Fun and furry...


A tribble or trybble is a three-bit logical progression similar to a byte or nibble. It could also be spelled trubble.67.150.171.161 (talk) 15:05, 27 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

That sort of thing would go on the Tribble (disambiguation) page. And you'd need a good citation for it, because it does not appear to be in common use. — Loadmaster (talk) 17:32, 27 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Animated episode(s) now canon?[edit]

User:Diego_bf109 added this:

Tribbles return in the now-canon (Since 2006) Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "More Tribbles, More Troubles" ...

The question is, where is it stated that the animated episode (or series) is now canon? I can't find any reference to this at Star Trek canon. — Loadmaster 21:40, 4 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I changed this back to reading as non-cannon because I could not find any reference to this episode of The Animated Series being made canonical. 144.226.230.36 02:01, 26 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]


Sorry for the late reply. I based that on what I read on http://ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/canon.htm

Diego bf109 17:45, 8 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This is Otakudom[edit]

I came here because I was wondering where the term came from in the Anime Fan Parody called "This is Otakudom." There is a scene where a character calls another character's mother to see if she can go to Otakon. The mother then responds something like. "My daughter is not going to any convention. I was a trekkie, I know what happens at those things. No daughter of mine is going to wake up naked in a crowded hotel room with a bottle of tequilla in one hand and a tribble in the other."

I wonder if this is worth mentioning in the popular culture section, as the word led me here and she was at a Star Trek convention I assume this is what she was talking about. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Mavrickindigo (talkcontribs) 13:55, 27 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Capitalization[edit]

The word "tribble" is capitalized if it occurs in episode titles (e.g., "The Trouble with Tribbles"), of course, but the noun "tribble" is not capitalized anywhere else, just as the nouns "dog" and "cat" are not. — Loadmaster 16:33, 6 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The nouns "dog" and "cat" are not the only relevant comparisons. While "human", "targ" and "microbe" aren't capitalized, "Klingon", "Ferengi" and "Edo" are. In some cases, the capitalized word is also an adjective indicating cultural origin, as in "Klingon blood wine", but why is that capitalized while "human mating rituals" isn't? To figure out whether or not "Tribble" should be capitalized, we need to define the rules and conventions of species capitalizations a bit further than simply comparing to "dog" and "cat". - Ugliness Man 01:44, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Yet "Human", "Klingon", and "Edo" are all proper nouns, being the name of cultures as well as a species. "Dog" and "cat", and by extension, "tribble" as well, are not. Unless you're referring to a fictional "Dog" or "Doggish" culture", of course, but as far as I know, there is no "Tribble culture". — Loadmaster 20:42, 14 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

References in popular culture section[edit]

User:Tony Sidaway removed the "References in popular culture" section, which I pretty much agree with. It would be nice, however, to perhaps allow a two or three examples, in particular the Jeopardy episode:

Removed from the article
Tribbles made a brief appearance on Jeopardy! in the 1997 Teen Tournament when they were the object of a Daily Double answer. The tribbles appeared on host Alex Trebek's podium during the clue and then multiplied every commercial break, eventually covering the camera.

Loadmaster 20:45, 14 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

  • I put it back in. It's a nice section, and many, many other articles have similar sections, and unless they're all removed I believe it should stay. Now if anyone feels it can be better structured, than by all means. --Gero 02:07, 26 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It's gone again. I think it should stay, and if it doesn't I think the fact a book about speculative alien evolution hailed them as the most believable creatures in Star Trek should be worked in somewhere else. Daibhid C (talk) 00:04, 29 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There are certain editors who don't like trivia sections in articles. This is because of the Wikipedia policy "Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information". However, I see these references as related facts and thereby relevant. Do you want to battle against the anti-trivia editors? — Val42 19:18, 30 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Popular culture section, again[edit]

This really ought to go, unless it can be reorganized into something resembling an encyclopedic treatment. In my opinion, only the second item in the current version (regarding believability) is useful; the rest is just cruft. Tribbles are well known in popular culture, and that ought to be noted, but a list of times that some television program used the word "tribble" is crap. Gavia immer (talk) 13:16, 26 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I agree that most of the list is pretty meaningless. The item about the Jeopardy! show, however, seems relevant enough as TV history to be included. If we had a citation for it, it would be a cinch to include it. — Loadmaster (talk) 21:48, 6 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The section was removed by 168.12.253.66. — Loadmaster (talk) 21:47, 21 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
...and I removed it again. We really need a consensus here about whether the section should be included or not. — Loadmaster (talk) 18:33, 17 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Agreeing on that one. After all, it would be nice to know what kind of impact the Tribbles have outside of Star Trek.DanielC46 (talk) 08:48, 18 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Propose reduction of 'History' section[edit]

I suggest that the History section here be reduced to a fraction of its size. No sources are given, and it appears to violate a number of guidelines on information about editors' favorite episodes etc, as well as guidelines about excessive detail on various versions and patches of video games, etc.

In its length and detail, the section is misleading: it makes it sound as if Tribbles are a fundamental element of Star Trek. I've been a casual Trek watcher for thirty years and I'd never heard of them before today. And before anyone jumps in and says clearly I don't know my Star Trek - that is exactly the point I am making! Cpaaoi (talk) 12:14, 24 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, I've cut it right down - the article now actually makes some sense! Cpaaoi (talk) 16:20, 27 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Which films?[edit]

The page says of Tribble appearances: "...as well as in a number of Star Trek feature films". 'A number'? How many, and which ones? Thanks. Randy Kryn (talk) 11:16, 23 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Four films, from this older edition of the page. It looks like much good information was then removed and lost from the page, maybe some of that can be put back. Randy Kryn (talk) 11:21, 23 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

List of appearances?[edit]

it would be nice to have a complete list of all mentions and appearances of tribbles 74.109.240.229 (talk) 14:53, 4 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]