Paradigm

[Brother Tyler]

Brother Tyler

 

The informal efforts haven't had as much of an impact as we would have hoped, so a much more public solution will be put in place (no big deal - it will probably be an addition or revision to the stickies).

 

To be quite blunt, that's because 'informal efforts' have given people precisely zero tools to use to deal with the problem. We're not allowed to discuss alternative formats in a way that might look like naming them, for example (if we were, I would have written something about it ages ago). That makes it difficult to produce any resources about them, or even have a discussion about them.

 

Unless you genuinely expected people to rush out and deliver lectures on the many possibilities for what they can write to every aspiring DIYer, while carefully couching those lectures in caveats to ensure they don't feel too restricted, I'm amazed that you're surprised the place did not magically transform overnight. If you did expect that, I'm just generally amazed.

 

If we're allowed to talk about different formats now, that's great. I'll start a discussion forthwith. The Octaguide could use it, as could the DIY Guide. But I, at least, haven't been talking about it because it seemed very clear we weren't supposed to. And that's because you told us not to:

 

So we will not be assigning any names to the IA9 format articles. And this also means that we don't try to do so in some underhanded fashion.

 

If the prohibition was not meant to be that broad, that's fine. But I think most people tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to these things. And 'underhanded fashion' encompasses a whole lot of things even without being cautious.

 

So: can we publicly talk about formats amongst ourselves now? Because it's a discussion I'd enjoy having.

To be frank, the argument that not being able to name a format leads to that format not being valid (not a quote of the argument, but a re-statement of the gist) is patently ridiculous. We don't need to assign a name to the format in order to use it. Unfortunately, there has been a bloc here in the Liber and at the B&C that has pushed forward the agenda that we have to name that format. Again, this comes down to trying to fit things into tidy little boxes. The format used in the Badab War books is what it is. We have at least one example of it being used here at the B&C. Did anyone have a problem with that format as a format (i.e., not including the content or quality of writing)? The only people that disliked that format were the ones that are advocates of the IA format:

To be honest, the Imperial Armour format is more suited for dry summary, than for exciting article every IA aspire to be.

The goal of an IA is to fit inside the shared universe.

Shortly after that discussion, another discussion was initiated in order to determine if a name would be assigned to that article format, and what that name might be. That issue is moot because the official decision was that it's not within our remit to give the format a name. If/when GW/FW creates a name, we'll go with that. Until that time, the format is what it is. However, that discussion brought up some interesting branches:

Perhaps its unorthodox, but I'd actually like to see this format presented as an alternative but entirely equal format for Index Astartes articles; it condenses or outright eliminates a lot of sections that are problematic for many of IAs, while leaving plenty of room to appropriately define a Chapter's character and essence. Really, I'd go so far as to say that it's the superior format for your average DIY Chapter.

Followed shortly thereafter by:

I've actually been toying with the idea of proposing a new type of article as well. Something larger than an IA with allot more of the stuff that gets trimmed out of regular IAs (like extensive detail on different types of creatures/landscapes/weather patterns on the Chapter's homeworld, full battle history, all rank colourschemes etc etc etc).

The discussion followed with quite a few comments about encouraging more creative thinking with regard to format, not shoehorning people into one or two formats.

 

As far as the "tools" Octavulg mentioned, I have to agree. However, I've been working on one - the templates. Players might find a few of the comments in that discussion interesting, though too many people got wrapped up in trying to name the new format again and ignored the point of the discussion, which was to identify a number of formats that might be converted into ready-to-use/modify templates.

 

And we've basically picked that discussion up again here. Ironically, the same arguments have been made over and over again. This is an example of the more informal efforts we've tried, though those have been stymied by resistance based on tangential things rather than the true point - creativity.

 

It's time to stop pointing fingers (though I'll do it one last time). No one is maliciously trying to stifle creativity by advocating one format or another (I hope). I honestly believe that most members are trying to be helpful, providing feedback that they sincerely believe will help the author. The pressure to write DIYs in the Index Astartes format started with me, though my intent was never to restrict members to that format. Over the years that format has grown to be accepted as the default expectation, even though that should never have happened. It was an accident and it's time to fix that accident. We're here to enjoy the hobby, after all, not turn what should be a fun excursion into unwanted work. We just need to adjust our thinking to embrace a broader range of options, indeed, there are few limits on what an author may choose to do. There are some good established formats that might be chosen, but that is up to the author.

 

The conclusion remains the same: Authors may use any format they want and should not feel constrained to any formalized format if they would prefer to do something else. Other players should respect the decisions of the authors and participate by providing constructive, but honest, feedback. Everyone is working together to help the author come up with something that he is satisfied with.

 

We've begun to argue in circles, so it's time to just shut this down and leave everyone with the final message. More will be coming on this as we formalize the paradigm shift.