Policy Discussion

[singularitymods.livejournal.com]

Some of Singularity's players have questions about the game policies on AU character applications. This post has been put up to allow players to approach the staff to ask questions, offer suggestions, and voice concerns regarding those policies. The moderators are also available via IM/PM [contact information] if any player does not feel comfortable discussing their concerns in public.

As of the end of this application round (August 15th), AU applications will be closed until this matter can be resolved. This ban on AU apps does not apply to the exceptions listed in the AU policies (malleable protagonists and canon AUs).

Comments

[alaspooryork]

Coming from a canon where AUs and duplicates are more common than canon versions (Red vs. Blue), my experience has been different. We more or less have accepted everyone as being the "real" versions of the characters, only from different timelines (which is actually possible in the canon thanks to a certain character's ability to loop time and case multiple timelines; sound familiar?), and I'm just stating things as I see them from my point of view. If someone were to app a...say a Civil War Red vs. Blue character, they wouldn't have the same kind of intrinsic cast acceptance that I could see, and isn't interacting with an existing cast one of the main reasons people app from specific fandoms anyway? Regardless of how well-developed the Civil War Red vs. Blue AU was, it could still be very off-putting to existing cast members who didn't study the Civil War and have no idea what any of the specific terminology means--a problem they wouldn't have with an AU that sticks closely to canon.

[barkstabbark]

Well, when you're dealing with AUs there are obviously going to be times when canon characters don't understand things. I don't think that makes it impossible to interact with them. If an AU character used different terminology, it would only take explaining a few things and maybe a few silly threads before that got worked out. I don't think other muns would be expected to do much research on another character's canon either-- unless it's knowledge the canon character would have anyway, they wouldn't be expected to know those things.

When AUs are involved, there's going to be some confusion for canon characters, but that's just something that comes with AUs. It's an easily solved problem most of the time, and I think you're underestimating most canon characters' ability to interact with AUs. To use my own AU as an example, Jack's background is insanely different from Homestuck's canon, but everyone still recognizes him as the stab-happy asshole he is. I suppose I can't speak for everyone else, but I've yet to see or receive any complaints about him being difficult to interact with due to his differing background, and I haven't had the impression of such either. Once castmates got over the fact that he was squishy human Jack who likes beaches, they pretty much accepted that as Weird Alternate Universe Shit and moved on.

[alaspooryork]

On the one hand, that sort of acceptance does come easily for a canon like Homestuck or Red vs. Blue where Weird Alternate Timeline Shit is a valid explanation for things. This isn't, however, necessarily the case for Halo, Dead Space, Leverage, or many of the other canons represented in the game. And it would be unfair to allow wild AUs for some canons and not others--so I can see why the preference is to keep them fairly minor.

While it's fair to say that that's underestimating some casts' ability to accept an extreme AU castmate, it's also important to remember that not all casts or characters work the same way.