Canonicity, Shades of authority Options

[Talia Invierno]

This poll derives from a discussion on another thread. I won't link to it, on the off-chance that we can get opinions relatively unbiased by the other discussion. Basically, I'm curious as to the degree of reliance and authority Dumpshockers place in the better-known and established fan SR resources.

Can I safely take as a given that the sourcebook rules text is canon for everyone, novels somewhat debatable, and shadowtalk mebbe yes, mebbe no, but more speculatory rumour information than anything solid?

Edit: Forgot "other". Had to happen. (Sorry. Ditto sorry if the wording on other choices is found inadequate.) If it's "other", vote "What's the Shadowrun Supplemental?" and please explain?

[The White Dwarf]

Im gonna go with option 3, better than most but dont use. I find it an interesting source of ideas and backdrops that I can use, because sometimes its easier to use an idea from somewhere that you didnt generate yourself. However I have little to no interest in using the rules. The canon rules are pretty comprehensive as is, and its hard to really find an area in which me and my players as a group feel needs fixing (again, thats where we stand ymmv). Thus on the offchance we need some rule made up, we're the most qualified people to do so for our games. So while I occasionally check out the more fiction-esque aspects of the fan stuff Id never really make use of them. Personally I find most of it either imbalanced or simply covering something already in place (from the way Im looking at things), so theres little point in including it for me.

[Senor 187]

BTW, it's "cannon."

[Sphynx]

No, Cannon is what you shoot, Canon is ByTheBook.

Sphynx

[Adarael]

Canon - as in 'Canonical'.
Can be traced to Norman as 'canus', late Latin 'canonicus', meaning 'to live under or by a rule.' Brought to the English language by the Roman Catholic Church, the meaning being used as 'books of the Bible officially accepted as Holy Scripture.'

<slaps his face>

This is what English majors do for fun, sometimes.

[John Campbell]

[Adam]

Repost for my perspective:

FWIW, my stance on TSS and canon: It is, absolutely and without any doubt, not canon.

However, we do our best to adhere to canon; while articles, rules, and items may end up drifting away from canon, they should all be derived from canon - for example, an article about Seattle suddenly turning into a Free City could not just be about Seattle as a Free City, it must also be How Seattle Became a Free City.

This is actually the major reason why the final Seattle 2063 has been delayed for so long; the draft took a hard right somewhere before New Seattle and wasn't compatible enough for my tastes - to be useful, content must be relevant. This is also why we try hard to adhere to FanPro style - simple things like capitalizing words in the same manner as FanPro, formatting NPC writeups the same way, structuring adventures the same way. There may very well be better ways to do these things, but familiarity typically wins out over excellence; I like to think we manage both, though.

The time and effort we put into TSS shows in the quality, and that is why many people treat the end result with as much respect as they do. Anyone with the time, dedication, and skill could do something on par with TSS.

[Talia Invierno]

Absolutely. And it's something to be proud of.

The only reason I raised the question at all was that I suspected you didn't really appreciate the sheer influence of your publication in the Dumpshocker environment ... perhaps to the point that once the resource is cited, to add further on the covered topic would be felt to override it. Not unlike sourcebook canon, that.

(Sigh ... one of these years I should start voting on my own polls ...)

[Adam]

Well, I don't think over-riding canon is a big deal - I mean, there are plenty of threads here talking smack about the FanPro books, and nobody is shy about adding their own two cents on those topics. :)

The reason there's less smack-talk about TSS is simply because people don't pay for it, so they don't feel such a need to bitch, and also because very few [less than 1%] of people who read any online content typically make any comments - positive or negative - about it.

[Adam]

I'm curious about the 4 "Other/Have not heard of TSS" votes. Have you really not heard about it, have you heard of it but not read it, or "other"?

[CirclMastr]

They're just hanging chad votes ;)