As the only administrator not really attached to Resurrection, I have recently gotten a number of messages from people. I would like to quote from a few of them now:
I feel like if I don't like this thing, they're all going to automatically hate me, and I don't awnt [SIC] for that to happen because I'd like to be staff too one day.
I do not feel comfortable as an average user weighing in on this debate any longer…because those with a personal interest in this canon are indeed higher-level staff and the line between when they are authors and when they are staff is considerably blurred for me as this debate continues in commentary.
Does this mean that I can't write my story? Or am I allowed to do my own thing still?
I should note that some of the users were, to quote one particularly eloquent fellow, "not certain that approaching staff who are affiliated with the canon with my concerns would be productive or objectively considered," which is why they decided to come to me. Given that I'm only tangentially related to Resurrection, largely through a story that Moose forced me to write by stealing my headcanon1, I feel that I have the most removal from the subject and can address some people's problems with the canon and hopefully allay some of their fears/concerns.
Is Resurrection the site's new metaplot?
No. No, no, no. A thousand times, no. Because of the nature of the site, we constantly support multiple metaplots. This is just one of many. I will grant you, yes, it is a very large, wide canon with many authors, which makes it appear to be more than it actually is. But no. It is just one canon. If someone attempted to define this as the site's new and only metaplot, I would flip out.
Am I still allowed to write other stories?
Yes. Note the "not the site's new metaplot" point I just made. You can continue to write anything you want for the site. At no point are you going to be forced to write in a specific, set fashion or face banning/blackballing/etc. You may face downvotes for doing something people don't like, but that's part of life.
What is the ulterior motive here?
I'm not going to claim that the authors involved didn't have an ulterior motive. Mann flatly said, in this post, that the goal was not to make "people write this way now. We just want them to feel like they can if they want to."
The ulterior motive, if you can call it that, appears to be an attempt at loosening the restrictions on what can be written rather than an attempt to force people to write in a particular way. This isn't a "you must write this way" situation. It's a "you can write this way" situation.
At the same time, you can continue to write things in a number of different ways. It's all legal.
Why are they all getting posted at the same time?
Presumably, that's because people have been working on them for a while. I know that Clef, Mann, Bright, Moose, and a dozen other people have been asking users for critical input the last few weeks, at least. You'll have to ask them how long they've been working, planning, and writing, though, because I don't know.
Excitement always breeds a lot of speed. It's why our contests have so many entrants at the same time. When you enjoy something, you work faster.
I suppose it's something to do with how long they've been working to get things ready, since Moose has been talking about this and pitching it for a while now. I'm not sure why this is getting brought up as proof of some ulterior motive, though.
Why is it mostly staff writing these things if they're not planning something?
It's mostly staff writing them (at least currently) because staffers work with each other all the time. We're in chat with each other discussing site events, sharing writing, and talking about our lives. I am usually on the phone with one or two administrators (and a few mods/operational staff members) about once or twice a week. To sum things up:
We mostly like each other.
Which means we share ideas, concepts, and our work with each other regularly. You learn to appreciate each other's styles, personalities, and attitudes, which means we often like to write with each other as well. It just so happens that Moose managed to convince a number of people on staff that his canon idea was cool.
When are these people authors and when are they staff?
When they're not functioning in an official capacity, they are always authors. This is true of all members and ranks of staff. At no time should you feel obligated or forced to vote/comment/write a certain way because that's how staff do it or because that's how you think staff would like you to do it. They're just a bunch of writers who happened to move up the ranks. That is all.
I want to reiterate that, in spite of the volume of the entries in the canon, it's not got some sort of official administrative seal of godly approval. It's just another thing that people wanted to write.
This thread is open to anyone who would like to voice their concerns, which I will attempt to address as I can. If you would rather send me questions via Wikidot PM, please do so, and I will address them here as well.
Thanks.
"WELL FOUNDATION. YOU MADE IT SO EASY. SO VERY VERY EASY." - dimensionpotato
