[WikiEN-l] fancruft

[Ray Saintonge]

SonOfYoungwood at aol.com wrote:

>I see no issue in citing scripts for summarizing a series of facts  for a 
>plot synopsis in an RPG (such as, "After Galbadia invaded Dollet, the  parliament 
>dispatched a request for aid [1]."). Heck, in a situation where  one has to 
>show a character changing over time, citing the RPG game script at  multiple 
>points may be considered 'common sense synthesis' and not OR. I really  think 
>it's a case by case basis, and must ask: how far out of context does  the 
>Wikipedia synopsis take the original source? Moreover, I feel that finding a  
>reliable summary or two may help round out the sources and give the Wikipedia  
>synopsis more "freedom". A synopsis should list the events.
>
The stories of the warfare between Galbadi and Dollet are sometimes 
written in a way that challenges the attention span of most games 
players.  A certain amount is probably necessary to give context to the 
game, and still remain a minor factor in the play of the game.

Reliable summaries must themselves be verifiable in their own way.  The 
only way you can verify this stuff is by reference to the game itself.  
Who's to say whether in the elsewhere published summary some vandal 
hasn't distorted the play through?  You don't want to follow 
instructions that say, "Take the mountain path on the left until you 
find a trunkfull of treasure." when it really leads to an unbeatable 
monster.  Even when we assume good faith we encounter writers who simply 
get mixed up between left and right.

Ec