Trio's Deputy Loremaster Application

[Triogenix]

Ckey/BYOND Username: Triogenix
Position Being Applied For: (Wiki Maintainer, Lore Developer, Deputy Lore developer): Deputy Loremaster
Have you read the Lore Team Rules and Regulations wiki page? Yes.
Past Experiences/Knowledge: Deputy of the Unathi team for a year, then Unathi Lore Writer for a year and a half.
Examples of Past Work:
https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Unathi_Guilds

https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Unathi_Recent_Events

https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Tza_Prairie(this one was pretty much all me)

https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Notable_Unathi

Significant Contributions to the Original Peacekeeper Mandate Arc & Porta Antilla

https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Empire_of_Dominia#Zhurong_Imperial_Shipbuilding(with schwann) 

https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Human_Piracy(wrote the Unathi Sections for this page) 

The Original Unathi Scarcity Arc

The currently uncompleted Titan Rises arc

The currently uncompleted Sk'akh Reformation Arc(though rusting did most of the writing)

The TCAF expansion & articles

The Regions of Moghes(editing mostly, Rusting did a lot of the writing)

https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Tret(This was mostly the Vaurca Team, but I assisted a little) 

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1. Do you have any experience managing a Team? The duties of a Deputy Loremaster often revolve around being a Project Lead, not necessarily just writing.

In regards to recently, I've been managing the Unathi team for the better part of 6 or so months, ever since Haydizzle resigned, so I have experience from there.  Beyond that, in the past year part of my duties with classes has been leading people inexperienced in the outdoors on expeditions.

2. In a brief summary, explain the direction you'd wish to see the Lore Team take in regards to AuroraLore. 

I think the biggest thing I'd like to see that I sort of tried to start with the Zhurong Imperial Shipbuilding with Schwann is more diversification in the SCC instead of just "NT + friends". Pitting members against each other through lore, then having lore arcs where aforementioned members squabble, is something I'd like to see, rather than the SCC fighting/dealing with outside forces such as the SFA or others. Currently arcs have a sort of monotonous feeling in my opinion where the SCC as a whole goes somewhere, does x, y, z while fighting someone, then leaves without any sort of internal strife. Having a dreary futures style arc where instead of an external threat all the potential threats to the crew are internal is something I would like to run, though I accept it may be difficult as intrigue/internal style arcs are incredibly difficult to do properly. Still, it's something I'd wish to try.

3. If you were selected, what do you believe should be changed about how the Lore Team operates?

I think it's still similar to what I mentioned in my Unathi Lore Developer Application having the Loremasters be more present, and should I get this position I plan on trying to improve it myself. Time and time again I've found myself writing a vast amount for the team projects that have come up, the Peacekeeper Mandate and ongoing TCAF arc come to mind, because I feel if I do not they won't happen. It's been said that the Deputy Loremaster is supposed to be the Loremasters go-getter(I can't think of a better term), getting on people's asses about doing stuff and making deadlines; not only for team projects, but for species projects that have languished. The level of pressure on these projects, whether they be individual species or entire team projects needs to change, and by being in the position of Deputy Loremaster, I'll be able to best ensure that change occurs. This does not mean to over-rule a species writer and speak directly with their deputies, but to encourage species writers to formulate a plan for specific pages that may be in disrepair instead of going after other tasks. The biggest place this could have been done in recent memory actually concerns my own team - we focused on other things besides Ouerea which had not been updated in forever, before finally getting to reworking it. I think this was a mistake, and while I mostly blame myself, I think there could have been nudges towards it from the Loremasters.

Additional Comments:

I've absolutely loved working on the Unathi Team, both under Haydizzle and with my two deputies. We've written some amazing stuff and have gotten the species into a much better place than it was previously. However, should I get this role I think I'd want to dedicate most of my time to it, and therefore would resign my position as Unathi Lore Writer. I'd still help out whenever I find the opportunity, that goes for almost any team, but I don't want the duel obligations of being both Deputy Loremaster and Unathi Writer on my plate, as come the school year, I'd be unable to handle it.

Beyond that, I want to mention what I consider to be a few of my drawbacks. First among them is obviously my grammar, and writing. Anyone who has worked with me in the past can tell you that I have horrid spelling and grammer, and that editing of my work is always required. In a position of deputy loremaster, I'm unsure how I would be as a general editor for work others do, but I have done well with it in the past when the work was not my own. Second is my propensity to write things all at once, rather than in a slow methodical way. I tend to lean towards impatience when getting work done, sitting at my computer for however long it takes to get a full rough draft up, then presenting it with edits needed NOW because I wish to launch whatever lore as soon as possible. This may seem good, yet when writing things that might effect the entire setting, therefore needing input from the entire team, this may cause issues as people are flooded with requests for edits, and I don't feel like waiting so I launch anyway. I believe I can keep a lid on this however, as I did while being lore writer for the Unathi team(until I realized one of my deputies was the same as I am) and it shouldn't become a problem. However it is still something I am compelled to include in this application.

I look forward to answering any questions you may have!

Edited July 27, 2023 by Triogenix

[WhatsUpBrotendo]

Trio's been great to work with, I don't see an issue with them in the position.

[RustingWithYou]

Quote

The currently uncompleted Sk'akh Reformation Arc(though rusting did most of the writing)

Quote

The Regions of Moghes(editing mostly, Rusting did a lot of the writing)

Is this your application or mine? 

In all seriousness, I've had the pleasure of working with you since I joined the lore team and I do think you would be a good fit in this position, though I'd be sad to see you leave Unathi lore. You've been super welcoming and helpful from day one, and I don't think I could have asked for a better writer to work under as a deputy. I also generally agree with your thoughts on the direction the lore should move in, as more proof that we do in fact share the same brain cell.

That being said, I do have some questions

1. So, I know that you can write good Biesel lore given your contributions to the ongoing Libération, Révolution et Évolution Arc. But given that Biesel falls under the loremasters rather than any one team, is there anything specific that you'd like to do with that as an element of our setting?

2. I know you've worked with a lot of the people on the team for a while, and you're on good terms with most of them, myself (hopefully) included. Do you think you can crack the metaphorical whip when you need to, whether that's just in encouraging projects to be finished or if you wind up having to full-on fire someone?

3. You've talked a lot about your vision of the SCC, and as I said before it's one I agree with - but I've noticed a frequent topic of discussion is the kind of power that megacorporations should hold compared to nation-states in our lore. What role do you think megacorporations should play in our setting as a whole?

 

Questions aside, though, it's been an absolute privilege working with you on Unathi lore, and I look forward to continuing to work with you regardless of whether or not you get this position.

[Triogenix]

36 minutes ago, RustingWithYou said:

1. So, I know that you can write good Biesel lore given your contributions to the ongoing Libération, Révolution et Évolution Arc. But given that Biesel falls under the loremasters rather than any one team, is there anything specific that you'd like to do with that as an element of our setting?

I think with Biesel for me, it's good as is, nothing really new needs to be added, just IC arcs and expansions. I know that seems like a non-answer, but now that it is no longer our main setting, I feel that spending too much writing effort there would be a waste of time. We'll always need a place for people new to the server to make characters from, one that doesn't require much reading of lore or understanding of the spur, and to me, that's Biesels remit, so expanding upon it a lot would be counterproductive in addition.

However, I'd like to return to Port Antilla, and run a few more arcs there regarding their integration into Tau Ceti, as it hasn't been the site of an arc for a while. I have a few ideas swirling around in my head, but nothing super concrete I can point to. Continuing articles regarding the CRZ is also of interest to me, specifically, what exactly the corporations are doing in the Reconstruction Zone, along with further articles about the Peacekeeper Mandate and the newly formed TCAF. I have many many ideas for this, including using the notable units of the TCAF that I had written for the ongoing arc, but were dropped due to it's relatively recent formation. It'd make sense to bring them in once the TCAF is more established.

36 minutes ago, RustingWithYou said:

I know you've worked with a lot of the people on the team for a while, and you're on good terms with most of them, myself (hopefully) included. Do you think you can crack the metaphorical whip when you need to, whether that's just in encouraging projects to be finished or if you wind up having to full-on fire someone?

Yes. I've cracked the whip so to speak before on people who I considered my friends in regards to Unathi WLs, but I don't think you were around for that.

36 minutes ago, RustingWithYou said:

You've talked a lot about your vision of the SCC, and as I said before it's one I agree with - but I've noticed a frequent topic of discussion is the kind of power that megacorporations should hold compared to nation-states in our lore. What role do you think megacorporations should play in our setting as a whole?

In my eyes, megacorporations have the issue currently of 1) being too monolithic, and 2) almost always being the party that reacts in a given situation. The only time I can think of corporations, not nations or other entities, taking action in a meaningful was the establishment of the CRZ, and even then that could be argued was Biesel. I think, especially now with a weakened Sol and the corporations scared as a result of their assets being seized, corporations should shift towards a more active stance in the spur. I don't want to see corporations overpower nation-states, per-say, but I don't want them to be relegated to constantly reacting to situations. It's hard to put into words but here is an example:

In Dreary Futures, the main drivers, those acting, were either the SFA, FSF, or Elyra. The Horizon, and therefore the corporations, acted a little by hiring the FSF, but still were, in general, reacting to events as they occurred. Instead of this, I want to put corporations, and the Horizon, in the driver's seat of an arc instead, having them be the ones whose actions others must react to. As an example, Zavodskoi is having a squabble with someone, and therefore Horizon must assist Zavodskoi as best they can, making their own decisions about what to do based on their own thoughts, and the whims of corporate masters. Now, this can be incredibly difficult, but I think it's possible and will make for better events.

As for being too monolithic, beyond finally making them drivers of events and therefore giving them character, breaking up the corporations, plus giving them more unique flavor is the cure for this. When I say breaking up the corporations I don't mean a few paragraphs on a wiki page that won't actually affect anything. Instead, we should strive towards tangible effects of the differences between corporations that will affect players actually playing the game, mostly through arcs. Whether it's having corporations bicker or outright fight, I have a lot of ideas for this, but I must not only speak with the team about them but also most likely CCIAA, as they'd be pretty heavily involved. Consequences from these arcs should have impacts onboard the ship, anything from certain corporations can't be played for a couple of weeks, to certain characters being fired from the Horizon due to their affiliation with x corporation during a tense moment; in general, giving events weight for characters beyond the arc or people dying. To be clear, these are just potential examples I thought up of, and whatever is implemented would need much more workshops with the team and CCIAA. This would showcase in a clear way that the SCC, and to an extent the playable corporations, are not monolithic and could be used to give each corporation its own flavor, more than they currently have.

Edited July 27, 2023 by Triogenix

[La Villa Strangiato]

I think apart from myself that you are the person I would most want to see in the position. I think you really have the drive and writing chops to manage the team, and you demonstrate the ability to work with other people, which I believe is the most important part of being on this team. Spelling/grammar can be corrected, but good attitudes are a lot harder to find, and you have a good attitude. +1

[Caelphon]

What is your opinion on the following?

 

[Triogenix]

2 hours ago, Caelphon said:

What is your opinion on the following?

 

I like it! I think it's a pretty simple idea that has a lot of potential, not just for teaching people how ship-to-ship combat works, but for keeping engagement levels high in between more major event arcs. Alone it wouldn't keep engagement levels high, but I think it'd be a good testing ground for how these regular minor events could be done both in code and in staff organization. If it succeeds, I'd like to look at then expanding other regular events we could do.

Edited July 28, 2023 by Triogenix

[Lucaken]

As driven as you are as a writer (useful, because you do more writing as Deputy LM than you’d expect), my main contention is that I don’t think you’re strict enough.

This was also a failing of mine, consequently. When projects get left behind, reviews stagnate, and applications sit in the docket, someone needs to project a big voice. Even when it’s your boss who’s lagging behind.

I’m not sure you have the chops for that. But if you do get the position, I hope you keep this piece of advice in mind and don’t hold back nearly as much as I did.

[Triogenix]

8 hours ago, Lucaken said:

As driven as you are as a writer (useful, because you do more writing as Deputy LM than you’d expect), my main contention is that I don’t think you’re strict enough.

This was also a failing of mine, consequently. When projects get left behind, reviews stagnate, and applications sit in the docket, someone needs to project a big voice. Even when it’s your boss who’s lagging behind.

I’m not sure you have the chops for that. But if you do get the position, I hope you keep this piece of advice in mind and don’t hold back nearly as much as I did.

I'll be sure to keep your advice in mind should I be accepted.

[Triogenix]

On 27/07/2023 at 03:38, Triogenix said:

3. If you were selected, what do you believe should be changed about how the Lore Team operates?

I just remembered something that I had wanted to put in this section when originally thinking about my application, but never made it into the final draft as it managed to slip my mind; that thing being terms. As it's been 4 days since I posted my application, I decided to put my ideas about them here.

Terms are something I've spoken about with Cael in the past, and essentially the idea behind them is to enforce a constant input of new blood into the administrative roles of the lore team, by limiting the amount of time someone can hold the position for. Should I get this position, I'd like to start the process of changing the Lore Team Rules and Regulations to include a new rule that states Loremasters must resign after a period of 36 months in the position, and not reapply for a LTA position until another 12 month period has passed. The purpose of this rule would be, as stated, to ensure a constant input of new ideas to the highest levels of the lore team, preventing stagnation. The reasoning behind the 36 months is that it allows a recently elevated loremaster the time needed to get acclimatized with whatever their predecessor left them with, then begin working on whatever big thing they wish to do, such as arcs like KOTW, or in Cael's case, overseeing the transition to NBT. A 12-month break before reapplying to any LTA positions would then also give those with newer ideas the time to apply for the DLM position themselves, rather than have to compete against an applicant who had their time.

[La Villa Strangiato]

As you have been very gracious to me in asking me questions, I want to turn the questions back on you.

1. If you could retcon any arc ever run in Aurora Lore, which arc would you retcon and why? If you would not retcon any, why?
2. In your eyes, what is currently the weakest part of Aurora lore?
3. What are your thoughts on the IAC?

[GeneralCamo]

This is an important question in my mind that I will ask all deputies.

Lately, I have seen a disconnect between the desires of the development team, and the lore team. Examples include the attempt to give skrell Sol common which is blocked by maintainers, and an attempt to remove special glove types by maintainers which was rejected by lore. Do you feel that this is an issue at the moment? Do you have any ideas to potentially improve cross-team talks between lore, development, and moderation? 

[Fluffy]

What is your opinion on factions on the more "evil" side of the spectrum (eg. Lii'dra, SRF, ATLAS)? Any plan/direction on/for that front?

[Triogenix]

On 31/07/2023 at 06:14, La Villa Strangiato said:

If you could retcon any arc ever run in Aurora Lore, which arc would you retcon and why? If you would not retcon any, why?

I think I would retcon the Original Solarian Invasion Arc. While it wasn't a bad arc for it's time, it ran in 2015, on a very different aurora than we have now. Given that, in the current day it feels very sub-par, which in my eyes is an issue for an arc that has affected so much. If I could, I'd probably retcon it for that reason, and replace it with something better.

On 31/07/2023 at 06:14, La Villa Strangiato said:

In your eyes, what is currently the weakest part of Aurora lore?

I think currently, the weakest part of Aurora lore are the corporations. Despite being so massively important for our setting, corporations as a whole aren't really written about to the extent that nations, planets, and other entities are. Writing about them more, and thereby demonstrating their influence would make them stronger I think.

On 31/07/2023 at 06:14, La Villa Strangiato said:

What are your thoughts on the IAC?

The IAC is something that is currently barely hanging on as a vestige of the rest of Aurora lore, being rarely used by writers, whether it be for individual species or team-wide projects. I'd like to see it removed, and replaced with aid entities that are a part of corporations, as sort of a PR division of our playable corporations. That'd be much more interesting in my eyes, and allow for further integration into lore outside of "oh yea this IAC thing exists".

On 31/07/2023 at 19:48, GeneralCamo said:

Do you feel that this is an issue at the moment? Do you have any ideas to potentially improve cross-team talks between lore, development, and moderation? 

I don't really see this as an issue currently, for one particular reason. What people tend to see are the very few conflicts that flare up between the teams(such as the examples you gave), rather than the much more common areas of cooperation between the two teams, and between all the teams in general. Therefore, I don't really feel a need to try and improve cooperation, because I think it's already where it should be.

11 hours ago, Fluffy said:

What is your opinion on factions on the more "evil" side of the spectrum (eg. Lii'dra, SRF, ATLAS)? Any plan/direction on/for that front?

I don't really have a plan/direction for any of the "evil" factions, as all of them fall under specific species writers, and having plans for them would be stepping on that team's toes. I may encourage them to do something with those factions I feel they're not being utilized or are outdated,(yet not fully defunct/gone like ATLAS and the SRF) but I wouldn't want to give any specific ideas unless they had none.

However my thoughts are a different matter, and in my opinion, those factions are alright. Having a few factions that can act as a constant "big bad" or threat for whatever writing someone makes to bounce off of is a good thing if they're not overused. And I don't think they've been overused.

Edited August 2, 2023 by Triogenix

[Sneakyranger]

When I first wrote my support for Kyres' application, I specified that I reserved the right to change my mind based on further discussion, and now I exercise that. Convenient for me, then, that he withdrew his application and made the decision making process much smoother.

From the outset I felt that Trio and Kyres were the two best representatives of the direction I wanted to see lore go in in the future. I posted early to make sure I wouldn't forget even though in retrospect I wish I had given it more time - but enough about that, all of that is setup for the following two points:

1. I've worked with Trio on the wiki team, and his Unathi work seems to have been pretty good now that I've actually bothered to read some of it. I especially liked the recent articles, and he has my support, especially with a desire to expand on megacorporations.

2. 

On 27/07/2023 at 03:56, Triogenix said:

I think with Biesel for me, it's good as is, nothing really new needs to be added, just IC arcs and expansions. I know that seems like a non-answer, but now that it is no longer our main setting, I feel that spending too much writing effort there would be a waste of time. We'll always need a place for people new to the server to make characters from, one that doesn't require much reading of lore or understanding of the spur, and to me, that's Biesels remit, so expanding upon it a lot would be counterproductive in addition.

Given that Biesel is the exclusive remit of loremasters to my understanding, I was hoping for something a bit different.

My opposition to Biesel's lack of development and general status of the new player planet subdivides in to two things:

1. Biesel is a terrible candidate for a new player planet. New player planets should have cultures that are generally isolated from the rest of the spur but are not afraid of it; it should facilitate a new player playing a generally ignorant but well-meaning character who has a justification for knowing little and asking much about aliens and nations. This ideal culture would be rural and, again, relatively isolated; Biesel is the opposite of both of these. A Biesellite never having seen a Tajara before makes no sense given that, to my recollection, prominent public officials - ones likely to appear on video broadcasts if nothing else - have been Tajaran. Pre-rework Vysoka was an excellent place for this (though I hasten to add that I am happy with its post-rework state).

2.  In far fewer words, Biesel is the headquarters of the powerful organization we work for and a not-insignificant player on the galactic stage due to its economic backing, on top of being extremely cosmopolitan with a mix of different cultures. I think relegating such a location to the noob planet is less than ideal. 

Ultimately this isn't really a huge issue for me no matter how it goes, but it's something that I was disappointed with, and I wanted to provide my thoughts on it for your consideration, should you be accepted.

I reiterate my support and apologize for the length of this forum post on an SS13 lore developer application; if I had had more time, I would have made it shorter.

 

[Triogenix]

19 hours ago, Sneakyranger said:

Biesel is a terrible candidate for a new player planet. New player planets should have cultures that are generally isolated from the rest of the spur but are not afraid of it; it should facilitate a new player playing a generally ignorant but well-meaning character who has a justification for knowing little and asking much about aliens and nations. This ideal culture would be rural and, again, relatively isolated; Biesel is the opposite of both of these. A Biesellite never having seen a Tajara before makes no sense given that, to my recollection, prominent public officials - ones likely to appear on video broadcasts if nothing else - have been Tajaran. Pre-rework Vysoka was an excellent place for this (though I hasten to add that I am happy with its post-rework state).

2.  In far fewer words, Biesel is the headquarters of the powerful organization we work for and a not-insignificant player on the galactic stage due to its economic backing, on top of being extremely cosmopolitan with a mix of different cultures. I think relegating such a location to the noob planet is less than ideal. 

I personally disagree, but not because I think you're wrong in these statements, but because I don't think it's what really makes a good or bad new player planet. In my eyes, what makes a good or bad new player planet is how easy it is to create backstories from those planets, and in this, I think Biesel, and the whole of Tau Ceti(the system), excels. Biesel allows for incredibly simple backstories, such as "I grew up in a megacorporate-dominated system, so starting working for a megacorporation, and that's it.", compared to nearly every other nation/planet, which has vastly more in-depth culture and conflict that define it. Characters that try and replicate these simple backstories with other backgrounds usually fall flat and are generally considered stupid(sol warrior trope and the like), because those nations have much more complex foundational conflicts/cultures that aren't present in Biesel, which has very little in the way of complex foundational conflicts/culture. Biesel does this, while still being connected to the greater spur as well, some would say integral to it, also showing newer players how aspects of Aurora lore will constantly evolve, whether it be through articles or events.

As for not being isolated from the rest of the spur, personally I see that as a bonus for a new player planet. While yes, it does create issues in justification for a character to be asking a lot of the different nations/aliens of the spur, it encourages people to branch out in their reading of lore beyond humans to understand more about those aliens their characters share a planet with. This is an anecdote, but I discovered Tajara lore through D6, and it ended up becoming my first WL because I liked it so much. It's not perfect but I think it's workable, and there can be enough justification made up to allow new characters to ask incessant questions about nations and aliens. 

Either way, I wouldn't be opposed to the creation of a dedicated new player planet with the characteristics you mentioned, but I don't think it's worth the effort to create it and then maintain it, when Biesel, while it has drawbacks, is generally a solid new player planet in my eyes.

Or we could just re-add the Biesel ATLAS and kick the aliens out

Edited August 4, 2023 by Triogenix

[canon35]

1. Do you feel that in some cases, lore for a species needs to be curtailed or altered to better be consistent with a vision for aurora lore as a whole? If so, what's some lore from a species you feel needs to be changed?

2. Do you think you're able to stand your ground in the event that a lore writer takes massive issue against your rulings as lore master deputy, such as blocking a project they've been working on from being canonized?

3. Times change and so does lore, many species over the years have experienced retcons and rewrites. Some for the better, some for arguably the worse. While I do doubt that any large scale retcons or rewrites will happen again, how would you handle a species maintainer wanting to make major retcons for their species?

4. There's a sense that one day lore might be "done". No more planets to add, no more cities worth writing out, etc. Do you think we're anywhere near that for any species or factions? What's your feelings on the idea that more species may have to focus harder on event arcs or article arcs to really add anything?

5. How will you try to make lore more accessible for new players?

6. Are there any practices or ideas currently existing in lore or being done by the lorestaff you feel has to stop?

7. What are your thoughts on the idea of "antag lore", like the retconned Dominian vampire House Haradis or the Secret of Ouerea easter egg?

8. Just for fun, faction or culture has your favorite "feel" or aesthetic to it?

[Triogenix]

7 hours ago, canon35 said:

1. Do you feel that in some cases, lore for a species needs to be curtailed or altered to better be consistent with a vision for aurora lore as a whole? If so, what's some lore from a species you feel needs to be changed?

Yes, I think lore for species will sometimes need to be curtailed or altered to be more consistent with Aurora Lore as a whole. I can't think of anything currently canon off the top of my head that comes to mind, but an example in the past would have been the now-retconned Cataclysm Arc. It was Unathi Lore but made no sense within the broader setting of Aurora Lore, therefore had to be heavily altered in order to fit into the setting properly.

7 hours ago, canon35 said:

2. Do you think you're able to stand your ground in the event that a lore writer takes massive issue against your rulings as lore master deputy, such as blocking a project they've been working on from being canonized?

I think I'll be able to stand my ground because, in the end, the times I'll have to stand my ground will hopefully be few and far between. I think I tend to be a pretty easygoing person, and the list of things I'd outright block is small, in addition to being someone who is open to being wrong and able to be swayed by reasonable arguments in favor of something. In my experience on the team, members are rarely single-minded and are willing to change/adapt what they wish to add at the request of the lore masters, and are willing to work within the framework of being on the team and therefore being subject to the decision of Loremasters/other members without making a massive issue about it.

However, should it come to a massive issue for whatever reason, beyond that writer's ability to work within the framework of the team coming into question, I don't really see myself capitulating if I believe I am justified in whatever decision I make and no reasonable arguments are presented to sway my view.

7 hours ago, canon35 said:

Times change and so does lore, many species over the years have experienced retcons and rewrites. Some for the better, some for arguably the worse. While I do doubt that any large scale retcons or rewrites will happen again, how would you handle a species maintainer wanting to make major retcons for their species?

Generally, having been a species maintainer myself for the past half year and pushing several retcons/rewrites in the past 2 years, I think the biggest thing I would look at when handling major retcons a species writer may want to make is their reasoning behind them. Taking the Cataclysm arc for instance, the reason behind that retcon/rewrite was to make it fit better into Aurora Lore and to have the arc actually make sense given the setting. Should a species maintainer have a reason similar to this, approving a major retcon would be my course of action. Yet, should the reason be flimsy, or a simple "I want to massively change the direction of this species for no other reason than I think it's interesting", I'd be more reserved in giving out my approval, and would handle such a situation differently, requiring much more(I can't think of a better way to put this) reasoned arguments in the rewriters favor. An example of a rewrite that fits this description would be the Glorsh rewrite about 2 years back, where the history of skrell was massively changed, for what I see as very little reason beyond a writer's personal desire, and nothing else.

7 hours ago, canon35 said:

4. There's a sense that one day lore might be "done". No more planets to add, no more cities worth writing out, etc. Do you think we're anywhere near that for any species or factions? What's your feelings on the idea that more species may have to focus harder on event arcs or article arcs to really add anything?

When it comes to the sense that lore might be "done", I take that as meaning the very foundations of whatever species or faction are complete, and there are very few rewrites continuing. In this sense, I think we're beginning to near that point, the Tajara team especially, with all the other teams catching up. However, I feel that in order to focus on arcs of any kind, which species and writers should do, OOC additions such as planets, new cities, etc, will always be required. Arcs need specificity for a location/area already present in the setting, even if it is not fully written yet. As an example, before starting the Amor Patrie arc, the human team added San Collette as a planet, deepening its lore, and expanded on the Wildland factions, in order to give the arc a more specific setting in which to be run. These arcs may make use of the same specifics of lore, without needing further additions, but as teams change future writers might wish to branch out, necessitating the creation of new settings for new arcs to be run in.

Put simply, I feel that while it is true the focus on arcs will be strengthened as time goes on, the logical progression of writing requires that OOC additions such as planets, cities, and specific settings will always be required in order to accommodate them.

7 hours ago, canon35 said:

5. How will you try to make lore more accessible for new players?

Lore accessibility is a difficult topic because by making parts of the lore more accessible/easier to get into, you are required to water it down somewhat. I think the "new player" section of the wiki(which includes the background summary) we already have is pretty decent at making at least the basics of lore easily available to newer players but could do with an overhaul that simplifies it further, highlighting locations, important parts of the setting, specific planets, and backgrounds that a new player can just pick up in a 30 minute read before hopping into the game. Right now my biggest gripe with the background summary is that it is either far too vague or far too specific in its information, not imparting the key points of lore unless a new player has a lot of time to dive into other wiki pages. Changing this would be the main way I'd try to make lore more accessible for new players.

7 hours ago, canon35 said:

6. Are there any practices or ideas currently existing in lore or being done by the lorestaff you feel has to stop?

I can't really think of anything off the top of my head for this, the current practices of the lore team feel solid to me, and there's nothing that really has to stop. One minor thing though is writers commenting on lore subject to interpretation based on character as though their interpretation is canon. In my eyes, if something isn't on the wiki or in articles it's not canon, and shouldn't be treated as such. I see this a lot, a common example being Biesel, often referred to as a corporate dystopia where the will of the corporations is absolute and no effective dissent is allowed, despite the fact there are canonical protests that have succeeded in their goals. Though, this applies to a lot of the general themes of factions. I wouldn't say this has to stop per say, as our interpretations of lore govern how we write it, but I'd like it if it was made clear that characters, and players themselves, are free to interpret the lore as they see fit, using canon events/wiki pages to build their perception of a faction.

7 hours ago, canon35 said:

7. What are your thoughts on the idea of "antag lore", like the retconned Dominian vampire House Haradis or the Secret of Ouerea easter egg?

I don't like it, and if possible, it should just be removed as it rarely makes sense or contributes anything significant to lore.

7 hours ago, canon35 said:

8. Just for fun, faction or culture has your favorite "feel" or aesthetic to it?

Honestly, it's probably the PRA. The sort of, forced cultural reformation/consolidation attempted on an entire species that forms the foundation of Hadiism is really interesting to me, and I like exploring the thoughts of those loyal to it, as well as the thoughts of those who reject it. It allows for a lot of interesting backgrounds and character conflicts, which doesn't even get into how the Tajara as a species are sort of stuck between two time periods, those being the hyper-advanced spur and more of a 20th/21st century period, having technology from both.

Edited August 5, 2023 by Triogenix

[NewOriginalSchwann]

I have worked with Trio on a multitude of topics, and they are currently one of the lore team members who is most willing to cross the isle and work with other teams. He has reviewed multiple projects from other teams when they have asked for feedback, and is very helpful as a person. While it wold be a pity to lose such an adept head of the unathi team -- particularly on the heels of such a well-received arc -- he has my full support and confidence. Good luck!

My questions for you:

1). Do you believe article-based arcs, such as Amor Patriae for the human team and The Titan Rises for the unathi team, are a good addition to the lore? Should we pursue more of these?

2). How long is too long for an arc? Would you step in and tell people to hurry up, or to write less, if you saw one becoming too long?

3). What are your thoughts on new additions to the lore, such as expanding "paragraph" planets into full pages or adding entirely new locations?

4). What makes an arc personally appealing to you?

5). Would you like to see corporations adopt more of their local cultures? We've seen a bit of this with the Hegemony and Hephaestus, but what about Zavodskoi and Dominia or ZH and the skrell?

[Triogenix]

4 hours ago, NewOriginalSchwann said:

1). Do you believe article-based arcs, such as Amor Patriae for the human team and The Titan Rises for the unathi team, are a good addition to the lore? Should we pursue more of these?

I really like article-based arcs personally, as they allow for IC lore development that doesn't require the even larger-scale planning that events do. Multiple species can also run article-based arcs congruently, which can't be done with events, which are restricted essentially to one event arc/location at a time. I think once a species' foundations are written, these types of arcs should be done more frequently, not to an outrageous extent but to where people can expect a semi-constant amount of IC development in lore.

4 hours ago, NewOriginalSchwann said:

2). How long is too long for an arc? Would you step in and tell people to hurry up, or to write less, if you saw one becoming too long?

I think the length of an arc should depend not only on its importance but also on its digestibility by readers. By nature the more something is written about, the harder it will be for readers to digest properly, and in my experience, being concise is important, whenever possible. That said, I don't think there's a real limit on how long an arc can or should be, as long as it remains understandable for the average reader, who might not have read every single article. In my opinion, Amor Patraie did an amazing job of this, and I would use it as an example in the future, as despite its length and the number of articles written about it, as someone who didn't read every article I still felt I could follow along the different acts relatively well.

5 hours ago, NewOriginalSchwann said:

3). What are your thoughts on new additions to the lore, such as expanding "paragraph" planets into full pages or adding entirely new locations?

As I mentioned in my response to canon:

On 05/08/2023 at 11:01, Triogenix said:

However, I feel that in order to focus on arcs of any kind, which species and writers should do, OOC additions such as planets, new cities, etc, will always be required. Arcs need specificity for a location/area already present in the setting, even if it is not fully written yet. As an example, before starting the Amor Patrie arc, the human team added San Collette as a planet, deepening its lore, and expanded on the Wildland factions, in order to give the arc a more specific setting in which to be run. These arcs may make use of the same specifics of lore, without needing further additions, but as teams change future writers might wish to branch out, necessitating the creation of new settings for new arcs to be run in.

There will always be a necessity for new additions to lore, such as expanding paragraph planets, even if we as an entire team switch over to only attempting to write IC arcs.

5 hours ago, NewOriginalSchwann said:

4). What makes an arc personally appealing to you?

There are a lot of different things that make arcs personally appealing to me, but I'd say the two main things I look for in an arc are how it showcases a certain aspect/part of lore, and how it develops the setting as a whole. Arcs don't always have to massively develop the setting IMO, though those that do tend to be my favorite and every arc should develop the setting at least slightly, but instead can be appealing by just showcasing some lore that hasn't been utilized much.

5 hours ago, NewOriginalSchwann said:

5). Would you like to see corporations adopt more of their local cultures? We've seen a bit of this with the Hegemony and Hephaestus, but what about Zavodskoi and Dominia or ZH and the skrell?

Yes, this is something I'd like to see, both on a large scale and on a small scale. Giving an international, spur-spanning entity such as the megacorporations a good comprehensive culture is something that will always be difficult to accomplish, as understandably characters will always lean towards presenting their local culture more than whatever culture a corporation may have. By intertwining local cultures and the culture of corporations, this "issue", if you could call it that, is negated, allowing the culture of corporations to be more seamlessly included in character backstories.

That said, I think a line would have to be drawn within a corporation's culture should we start having it be more influenced by location. In my eyes, there'd be a ton of smaller corporate cultures specific to locations within the spur, such as Hephaestus in the Hegemony vs Hephaestus in Biesel, and then a larger "dominating culture" so to speak that the corporate executives and others who actually run the corporation follow, that "dominating culture" driving their actions and decisions in lore. Doing this would accomplish not only the above but still keep the higher levels of the corporation culturally open, allowing for it to be a spur-spanning entity, and not basically a cultural transplant of one faction.

[Sycmos]

1. What would you like to see more of from our lore? What kind of writing? What do you think our current body of work lacks?
2. What is your stance on the use of "dystopian" to describe our setting?
3. How do you feel about recent player contention regarding dangerous event arcs?

[Triogenix]

5 hours ago, Sycmos said:

What would you like to see more of from our lore? What kind of writing? What do you think our current body of work lacks?

I've talked about it in previous responses, but having the corporations take more of an active role in events of the spur, and having their cultures be more fleshed out is something I'd like to see more of. Beyond that, just, more cross species stuff is always cool, even if it's an inter-species arc.

5 hours ago, Sycmos said:

What is your stance on the use of "dystopian" to describe our setting?

I disagree with it. I don't feel our setting is a dystopia, except for maybe small parts of it(such as Northern Rassnrr in Tajara lore), but on the whole, it isn't dystopian.

5 hours ago, Sycmos said:

How do you feel about recent player contention regarding dangerous event arcs?

At the end of the day, whether an arc is dangerous or not is up to the writer who is willing to put in the effort to make the events happen. If a writer wants an arc to be dangerous, that's fine in my eyes, same with a writer that wants an arc to be more chill. However we should strive to have a balance of both if possible, so should I get this position I'd look more at proposed arcs(if there's ever more than 1 at a time), and try to make sure the next one run is different from the last.

[Caelphon]

Thank you for your application.

Welcome to Head Staff.