Have you written/encountered a really compelling theory you'd like to see represented in the Reference Collection? Link to it here!
Edit:
SerackSomething that can help in evaluating a suggested topic is to review it using the method described in
the index topic.
Also, this child board is not intended to supersede the origional spoiler board when it comes to discussion. As such, new topics on theories will probably spend considerable time maturing in the other sections of the boards before being moved here.
Edit2:
-Elegast as channeled by Serack The fundamental question is: do we want to save the thread from the auto-delete monster?
In practice, the threads being kept fall in five categories:
TheoryA thread where a new theory is explained.
Example:
Serack's Lash theoryDiscussionThat's a thread where the OP is often weak, but the following replies are strong.
Example:
conversation about the BlackstaffFunThose are just fun threads.
Example:
Knnn's codeFactual referencesthese threads try to collect all the facts on an aspect of the DF
Example: the
legendary timeline of PriscillieReferences about theoriesA thread where the OP trys to gather all the knowledge about a theory into a single post. (often the knowledge is otherwise spread over many threads, with no coherent organisation/structure).
Example: my
Cowl = Simon thread.
Edit3:
-SerackSo far I haven't been able to come up with a Thread worthy of being included in the Reference section. If you don't mind me asking, what am I doing wrong? How is a Thread judged good enough to be saved in the Reference Section?
Since I'm the curator that seems to be the quickest to pull the transfer topic trigger, I guess if one of your topics were to be transferred it'd probably be by me, and I'm human and that makes the decision a bit subjective.
As such I'd say that the criteria for topics I transfer are:
- A worthy topic has to somehow come to my attention after it gets auto-locked but before it gets auto-deleted or
- Is a "Reference" that can be expected to require maintenance by the OP (Original Post) as new books come out. I.E. a "list" of things in the series. Then it usually gets transferred before the auto-lock.
- The topic must somehow be significant in my best (not perfect) judgment.
Things relevant to "significance:"- Novelty: Something I'm pretty sure is an entirely new idea. Of course it also has to be relevant. The most pure example of this is the Lacuna = Tooth fairy theory.
- If it is a good representation of, or advances a popular topic. I.E. I think someone deliberately crafted a Simon=Cowl topic for the DFRC They did a good job with the presentation and development (discussed below) and it was a popular theory that we didn't have an archived representation of to point new members at so it got transferred (I think). I think I've transferred several Little Chicago threads that theorized from a relevantly different angle because of how they "advanced" the topic.
- Presentation: Formatting matters, so if I have a choice between 2 topics that say the same thing but one is a single paragraph with no line brakes, while another one with the same conclusions has all the thoughts in bullet form with nice bolded headers for each sub section, the latter will get the transfer.
- Development: Between two topics, if one includes things like "I remember a WoJ that implies x" or "I remember book Y saying this particular detail" while the other quotes the actual relevant WoJ's or book excerpt, I'll chose the one with quotes.
- References: External mythology and stuff that could have influenced Jim's creation of the DF also adds relevance to a topic becoming a reference topic since it brings material to our table that many of us may otherwise be unaware of. Links to sources and pictures and stuff really get my attention too. Take a look in the DFRC, and you will find references to Yeats, quotes from Wikipedia on the Battle of Hastings, and may discussions on various myths that Mac could be from with relevant references. Heck, I've got a topic that utilizes a Feynman Diagram to illustrate the relationships between the Fae mantles.
- Substance/meatiness: If a topic OP consists of just a 1 line question, unless some serious development progresses in the later comments, I probably won't transfer it because it's the conclusions that tend to carry the most weight for me, not the questions. Plus, see my first criteria. It's harder for a topic to get my attention after it's locked if the significance is in the replies rather than the original post.
Let me revisit the "it has to come to my attention" part. This is probably the most arbitrary part of my evaluating potential topics, because I'm not always active, and how something gets my attention can vary, but some rather subjective/arbitrary things influence it (Such as if I take a brake from participating on the forums). But in addition to that, there have been plenty of times when I went on an active prowl looking for new topics to transfer, and part of my method was to go to the profiles of forum posters who have a history of generating topics that I'd transferred in the past (There is a "topics" tab in the show posts page of everyone's profile). This ends up biasing things towards those that have already made contributions though. But I do post in the suggest topics sticky asking for suggestions as well.
Another way topics come to my attention is when I'm researching the forums using the search function to find a post I remember someone making that I want to use in my response to someone's current topic. This happened today, in that Griff listed his WAGs and I searched for one I remember him generating topics on. I saw that the topic he generated was well presented and developed, referenced interesting external mythos, and came to significant conclusions. Although the version I transferred wasn't in itself novel, it was novel relatively recently, and wasn't represented in the DFRC. The search also pointed me at a slightly older topic Eldest Gruff generated that had even more polish and meat to it and I transferred that one as well.
