Ahoy! Akira with another suggestion.
You know, is it not
SO freaking difficult to keep histories in shape? Me and Q were having a discussion that prompted and sparked something. He wanted to know the history of something, so I went to search for it. Lo and behold, there were none.
If I wanted to find what had actually happened and made it factually accurate, what I'd have to do would be trawl through the various clan characters and determine myself through various approved histories what happened.
The idea is to actually make it as little paperwork for staff as is.
What is it?
The idea is for a flux timeline for clans. Here's how to explain it. In a....
Non-linear non subjective point of view...Firstly. What is it?
This is an idea to make clan histories easier for present and future staff and members. This means two things. Histories will always have
fixed points and
flux points in their histories, notated by
[FIXED] or
[FLUX] Pretty simple. Clans are created as they are, only with one major difference in two parts added to them.
ALL clans from hereon out will have a standardised history in a way set out in the timeline. 964, 1004, etc.... They will always be considered a fixed timeline, just like how the site is. They cannot be changed.
This means that certain characters will
always have and always will exist. This is key and quite important, because it means that all clan leaders, children, princesses, princes, and so other forms of descendant will always derive from that family.
When a person takes on the role of a princess or some other thing, their contributions will be considered a
[FLUX] point. Until they make considerable contribution for that to be considered a part of the character's clan. They can then appeal for those points to become fixed.
ALL it means, is that when a character is applying for a clan, it at the very least needs to adhere or explain anomalies to the clan history. It stops some deviation but doesn't outright deny it, but it does mean that nobody can get away with an entirely new clan history with a whole new wacky explanation.
But Akira, my clan leader to be got elected/made it through/killed the current/etc!!Yup. Totally get it. People want their backstories to reflect their characters well, for the best and maximum (theatrical, if that?) affect. Hopefully, the site is around for the long term and people's contributions should be noted properly.
When a clan is first created, they are given stock points. Here's how it might look.
[Clan leader] participated in a war, thus changing the course of the clan forever. THIS IS A FIXED POINT IN TIME.When a character is created, perhaps they want to work with a different family. This is the next part of the suggestion. This is considered the
FLUX timeline. They will need to explain somehow how their family came to be the leaders and henceforth allowing them to join the clan as the princess.
If they make considerable effort, and appeal for that flux point to become a fixed timeline, it then gets added to a clan's history.
So on and so forth, whoever is next in the line needs to explain what they did to overthrow the previous, so on and so forth.
Really, that's it.
A bit more detail to the actual events that happened in a clan's career,
What if they never become fixed points? That's a good question.
They do get added to history, but vaguely. It depends on the severity of the history, for instance, if someone is not on site for a long amount of time but is able to cause significant drama, it merely gets added in the form of:
A clan member decided to work independently of their clan and ....It means whoever goes next can ignore the flux points that happened from the previous person and do their own thing without interfering.
If someone did not make significant contribution or any meaningful addition, it simply reverts back to where the last fixed point was. Like a save game.
tl;dr- All histories should have a dated timeline.
- All histories should have fixed points to get to the current day.
- If a character is made in a significant position, they take up a slot which is not considered yet "FIXED"
- Members can appeal for their work to be put into the clan history.
- If significant contribution is there, those points instead of being "FLUX" become "FIXED"
- If no significant contribution is made, the flux point is 'deleted' and returned to the last fixed point.
- If a point is fixed, the next person to take up the slot merely has to explain how theirs came to "power".
- Anomalies can be explained away with reasonable effort and belief (and agreement from staff)
- No silly stuff and completely rewriting a clan history
Hopefully makes sense.
-
Akira
