The FAQ and multi Author issues, how canon SHOULD it be? Options

[Demonseed Elite]

Hah, I'm not even sure how I got put on the list, or who voted for me (I certainly didn't). :wobble:

Anyway, if this is a Shadowrun FAQ that is part of the main Shadowrun RPG website, Rob should be in charge of it, delegating whatever responsibility he feels he needs to delegate to other FanPro employees/freelancers/whatever. At least that's my two cents, and I don't want the job. :P

[tisoz]

If the FAQ didn't contain answers that contradicted printed rules and/or erratta rules, I would be more likely to accept it as canon. However, about every update to the FAQ has contained such a thing. So I see it as what it is. One guy answering commonly asked questions that get emailed to him so he can quit answering the same questions all the time and try to get his work done. It is oneguy giving his best answer to a question.

Then a wave of people descend on his words of wisdom in answer to a question and try to apply it to all situations it could possibly address because it is an official source of information. I'm sure people have spent more time arguing over something like called shots bypassing armor than Rob spent in thinking about his answer.

[mfb]

see, the thing is, it's really not necessarily about what you accept as canon in your game. the FAQ is what the writers and freelancers abide by, when they're putting together new products.

[Kagetenshi]

And that's just fine, and in no way requires it to be canon before it hits the books (which, again, makes canon unavailable to those without internet access).

Of course, there's also the fact that the FAQ explicitly contradicts canon as printed several times, so I hope they aren't really abiding by it. We have always been at war with Oceania?

~J

[mfb]

well, to be fair, it's a lot easier to toss changes up online than it is to actually fit them into books. it's not simply a matter of throwing in whatever changes you want to make; your change has to to fit within the space available on that page, or it's going to throw off the entire rest of the book. errata'ing is at least as much a matter of jamming the rules change into the book as it is deciding what the change should be. for instance, i'd predict that there's no way in hell the called shot rules will ever see print as an SR3 errata, because it'd be really hard to fit it onto the page the called shot rules are on--the rules change is simply too large to fit. (actually, now that i think about it, i bet that's why there's usually an extra page or two with some throwaway piece of art on it; if a future revision is too big, they can always shrink/remove the throwaway art, and use the space it took up for text overflow.)

[CountZero]

Frankly, and IMHO, I really think what Shadowrun really needs (and the one thing that D&D has as a major postive over Shadowrun) is a "Sage Advice" style column.

I have seen many a bordering-on-violent rule debate settled by a ruling by The Sage. An column on ShadowrunRPG.com with that general intent (answering rules questions) would really help with many of the problems I'm hearing (people asking frequently asked rules questions being referred to the FAQ which may or may not be canon).

Any thoughts on this idea (and any way to add a poll option for an FAQ?).

[Eyeless Blond]

I think the point being made is that if the FAQ is being used as if it were Errata--that is, if the FAQ is assumed to be Canon and its rulings are meant to be used as assumptions for future books--then it should actually be labelled as Errata. Or it could be labelled "Random Rule-Changing Statements," "Stuff we Decided to Make Canon Just the Other Day," something other than a document which is, in its original intent, meant only to answer questions and not change everything.

[Demonseed Elite]

[Ol' Scratch]

That rumor got started based upon something Synner said to try and calm down a heated thread recently.

[Stumps]

Hey Doc, I'll take turns with you rolling the die to determine if their right or not! :grinbig:

[Da9iel]

[Kremlin KOA]

Why dumphock specifically? Because out of the three online SR communities I have been part of (here R.G.F.C and Shadowland) The people here came across to me as the most rational and scientific in their arguments... even those I usually disagree with.

Oh and DE I remember you from shadowland and you earned my respect there.

[Skeptical Clown]

It seems obvious to me that if a FAQ is posted on the official website, it should be an official FAQ: purely canonical, and edited by Rob Boyle (or whomever he felt like delegating to take care of it.)

I haven't read any current incarnation of the Shadowrun FAQ, so I have no idea what shape it's in now, of course.

[Ol' Scratch]

Official doesn't mean Canon.

There's a big difference between the two concepts. Official just means it comes from the company, but that doesn't mean it's well thought out, well researched, or even accurate based upon the established rules of the game. The latter of which is what canon means. At least it's supposed to be what it means. People seem to use it as a synonym for "official" around here.

[Demonseed Elite]

Thanks. But as far as canon is concerned, it all comes down to the Grand Poobah, Rob. No matter who has the rational argument or who is a freelancer, Rob still makes the call. Trust me, I've made lots of rational arguments for things before as a freelancer, but if Rob (or Mike back in the day) said he didn't like it, it doesn't happen. And that's just the way it is with writing.

So, if we're talking about a canon FAQ, it's going to come from Rob, or whomever he says can edit it. Otherwise, I'm quite sure that it will be overruled whenever Rob feels necessary during freelance work. But I haven't had a case of this coming up yet in freelancing, because I've never been pointed at the FAQ to settle anything. I'm always just asked to show book references, and even then I've seen some book references overruled in the writing process by Rob.

EDIT: And Doc F is right. There's a lot that is official but not canon. For instance, pretty much all shadowtalk in any of the books is official, but is not canon. The same goes for foreign SR books, like the German releases. Official, but not canon.