[META/DRAFT/RFC] What crosses the line?

[Sofaspud]

M Fnord wrote:

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For me, Rule 0b is the key rule, particularly the bit about hogging the Cool. I understand that there's a strong desire to make your creations stand out
from everybody else, and when the major established Cool includes (among other things) huge domed cities on the Moon, a wheeled space station crewed by
meganekko androids, floating diamond cities in the clouds of Venus, a dozen different varieties of mad scientist, a colony of space ninja and the Goddamn
Buckaroo Banzai it can feel a little crowded. Which makes it even more important that you talk to people first before posting a complete work.




(Of course, this rule was formulated back when half the board's population was at least looking in on Fenspace. Now that it feels like it's only me,
Rob and Cobalt - with blue moon cameos from Foxboy, KJ, kentmagus & Bob - who have any serious interest in the project... well, at least I'm not
bitter. Much. Anyway.)





This is why discussion is a key thing. Instead of having to critique a finished work - which has the potential of getting out of hand and leading to bad
internet drama - going through an RFC thread with suggestions will help retool original ideas and help them fit better into the established collaboration.

I'm glad this came up.

First off... I've been reading and enjoying Fenspace stuff since Bob first introduced me to the board (by way of EPU and City of Heroes. Strange ride.).
I've got a half-dozen half-baked or still frozen ideas wandering around my head; Fenspace is full of cool and it's incredibly tempting to jump in on
that.

But.

It's ... nerve-wracking, I suppose, to try and get involved. From my POV, part of the problem is that you refer to Consensus, but there doesn't seem
to *be* any consensus. I've perused everything I can find, and spent Way Too Many hours on the wiki, and I'm still in the dark, really, about what
in general is going the hell on. Lots of stuff seems to be handwaved away (no pun intended) as something that Everyone Just Knows About. It could
very well be that I'm dense -- it wouldn't come as any surprise -- but I'm having a hard time finding a solid bit of ground to start from in this
chaotic, frenzied, free-for-all space opera you've got going on here. It's COOL, it really is, but it's also frightening in a way.
So
there's that.

Also, it's very much obvious that This Is Your Baby. I know you welcome new authors -- you say as much just about everywhere -- but, what, do I (as
someone who'd like to contribute) just post a message saying "hey is this cool or not?" Is there a protocol I should follow? What's the
deal? There aren't many examples, and the ones that DO exist ... well, not to be mean (we don't have to be mean), but I'd rather not follow
Murmur's lead, if you get my drift.

What I'm saying is, I at least would like to come play in your yard -- you've got lots of cool toys, and while the weather looks a bit stormy, it's
in the nice way. I'm just not sure how to get started on it. Maybe a primer, if someone could be bothered to come up with one (or suffer my questions
while *I* come up with one )?

So this thread helps a lot, actually, especially that last bit about an RFC process. I get that. So now I have an idea where to start, at least.

Am I making any sense here to anyone but myself?

Regardless, now that I have a framework of sorts to start with (the RFC thing)... I'll submit one within the next day or two and see if you guys throw me
out or not.

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs