User:Sbp/notepad

In this notepad currently are a couple of experiments: firstly, I round up all of the normative bits of information that collectively make up the spoken and unspoken rules of Ghyll; secondly, I read the current entries and try to extract the facts and links between them.

It's the law! - The idea of drafting a set of rules that are extremely concise and extremely to-the-point is a commendable one, but I think we've overdone it by a huge margin. Here I'd like to explore some alternative methods that I can then propose to Morbus and the other players, in the hope that we can come up with something a little more inclusive of all the house styles etc.

What Goes On? - As I said in the Lexicon discussion, it'd be nice if once per turn we could issue a canonical summary of what's been going on in the definitionry. Once per round we could have a really large summary, but in any case, it'd be nice for me personally to go through and really understand what's been defined so far.

Those That Are Rules of Ghyll

The playing of the game of Ghyll consists of a set of augmentations over time to an Encyclopaedia describing the Ghyll world. There may be other, related, canonical activities, but these rules define play only as it concerns the Encyclopaedia.

(@@ Currently draughting this as a set of "truths", i.e. statements of rules that are as atomic as possible. Hopefully then some structure can be discerned.)

Definitions:

1. The Encyclopaedia is the Ghyll Encyclopaedia hosted on this, the gamegrene.com wiki.
2. The game shall be taken to mean the game of Ghyll as regards the Encyclopaedia.
3. A phantom is an entry which has been cited but not yet written.
4. A dib is the process of reserving a phantom with a short statement expressing the intention of creating that entry, in the place where the entry is to be created.

Rules:

• Turns:
  1. A game consists of a series of turns.
  2. The turns of the game start with "A", progress through the English alphabet to "Z", and restart at "A".
  3. New players may join on any turn, at any point in the turn.
  4. Turns progress according to the calendar maintained by the administrators of the game, which should be agreeable to player consensus.
• Entries:
  1. Scholars shall dib, and then write, one entry per turn.
  2. Scholars that have dibbed entries must write those entries before the end of the turn.
  3. Scholars may write, and revise, their entries at any point in the turn.
  4. Each entry written by a scholar must have a title beginning with the current turn's letter.
  5. Each entry written by a scholar shall cite two phantom entries.
  6. Each entry written by a scholar after the first turn of the game shall cite at least one existing entry.
  7. Scholars shall neither cite themselves, nor write phantoms they cited first.
  8. All phantoms for a letter shall be written before new entries are created for that letter.

@@ Morbus text: "Neither of these three citations can be terms you've created or written." - dubious. What's the difference between linking and citing again?

@@ However, if you've properly met these requirements, your entry can certainly refer to other terms in the Ghyll encyclopedia, including those you've personally written. These "other terms", however, MUST have been previously defined or created.

@@ Stuff from IRC, general mumblings of Morbus. Really, rule creating for Ghyll is somewhat of a Morbus observation activity since he seems to be pretty certain about what the rules should be (and with good reason since this is his idea, and he's read all of the initial rules and done the legwork in finding out how previous lexicons have done); the rest of us need to be just as certain as well.

Those That Are Summaries of Ghyll

The first turn consists of at least the following eight entries:

• Agony uncle (phrase)
• Alarius (person)
• Alezan (land)
• Altox bulb (invention)
• Andelphracian Lights (invention)
• Aquentravalkeration (practice)
• Avazian Box
• Quezlarian numerals

Note that Quezlarian numerals has been included as the initial test entry, but is irregular with the rules as they stand (equity).

Agony Uncle (phrase)

Discussion summary: Morbus's entry, and a good one as expected. He establishes the existence of the Folktown Records--which is carried over from the original wiki, and hence the ur-Ghyll--and then segues into a little intriguing plot which forms an excellent basis for further development.

• The Folktown Records is weekly newspaper.
• There are over 600 editions of the Folktown Records; hence it is roughly a dozen years old.
• Windsor Creame works at the Folktown Records.
• Windsor Creame is 57 years old.
• Windsor Creame is married to Bavarian Creame; they have been married for seven years.
• Windsor Creame has a (young) nephew called Daniel Mboya; hence he must have a brother or sister.
• The Folktown Records offices are surrounded by gardens.
• The Folktown Records, presumably, employ a gardener.
• Madam Calvian is a neighbour to a Folktown Records employee.
• Windsor Creame was "detained and brought in for questioning"; hence there must be a police force.

There are also a series of nuances that can't really be captured as facts: why, for example, did the transcriber take down the conversation? Is that related to Mboya turning up in Madam Calvian's?

Alarius (person)

Discussion summary: from an unknown author comes this highly renaissance-inspired entry. Though short, it sets an interesting intellectual bar for Ghyll. It's an historical account of a particular person. It seems to espouse a conspiracy theory.

• Alarius was a C15 renaissance figure.
• Alarius held a conspirational view of history.
• The Bureau of Forgotten Knowledge published the Encyclopaedia of Lost Lore.
• Alarius painted a fresco at the Palace of Lost Souls.

There's also a nice plot hook in here that has room for development--that of the mysterious lady and the sudden urge on Alarius's behalf to want to travel.

Alezan (land)

Discussion summary: crschmidt here comes up with his opening entry, which is geographical in the abstract, but focusses on some more granular features. He links in with the game as it has currently been played, and alludes to a distant past for Ghyll.

• Alezan is a land to the west of the Evesque Valley.
• Alezan is forested, and was inhabited by an old race who built a large twin tower structure.
• Alezan is either sparsely or non-populated, and visited only rarely (mainly by children).
• The Cranee Historical Society have investigated Alezan's past.
• Phennella is a member of the Cranee Historical Society.
• A vorpcara is a relic which may be embedded in the ground.
• Alezan (or Cranee) has a nearby museum which houses a vorpcara.

It's a careful entry, with substantive information, and yet only a passing reference to time, and very thin details when it comes to the historical society, the museum, the vorpcara etc., which makes it easier for scholars to define those terms, and restricts the world less at this point.

Altox bulb (invention)

Discussion summary: Robbi's entry, over which I mildly grumble.

• The Altox, or Altoxian, Bulb was invented by Professor Altoxian.
• Professor Altoxian is a resident of the city of Iganefta.
• Professor Altoxian is well acquianted with the lower class.
• Altox Bulbs are created from a jelly mined from deep under Iganefta.
• The Azura Mines have a stream of the jelly, it is rumoured.
• There are Adrizian sections of the Iganefta which apparently can access the jelly stream.

A clear lift of Andelphracian Lights, and the first entry to mention a city. More mild grumbling.

Andelphracian Lights (invention)

Discussion summary: my entry, and one which was carefully crafted out of pieces from the ur-Ghyll, some other previous endeavours, and new material. It attempts to be as micro an entry as possible, though it has to introduce some new concepts. It's based in rurality, but discusses the lights and their utility for the most part.

• Andelphracian Lights, or Andelights, were invented by Andelphracia.
• Andelphracian Lights are used to set a return path across difficult terrain at night.
• Margaret Widderson is an Andelight craftswoman.
• The Evesque Valley has quayres which contain materials used to make Andelphracian Lights.
• Andelphracia was the mayoress of the now lost Fylesgate.
• Fylesgate was likely in the Evesque Valley.
• The Fefferberry is used as an ingredient in making Andelphracian Lights.
• Quezlar 6 may have used the lights in crossing the Elminster Mire.
• Bysted Timperton of the Council for Quezlarian Research may write in Quester and Phorrus soon.
• The Fylesgate Annals allude to the invention of Andelphracian Lights.
• The term "Andelphracian Lights" can't be antedated back more than fifty years.

This is the longest entry so far of this turn, and has correspondingly quite a bit of information, though apart from the setting, some small history elements, and the dating, it's not too limiting.

Aquentravalkeration (practice)

Discussion summary: jcowan's entry, and apparently a parody of Wikipedia's NPOV.

• Aquentravalkeration was practiced by the now extinct Nitenmangrey culture.
• The Nitenmangrey culture flourished in the Third Epoch.
• Third Epoch documents are currently undeciphered, and comprised of hieroglyphs.
• The term "Aquentravalkeration" was coined by Supetupheraraphes.
• The Nitenmangrey had shamans and Paramount Queens.
• Rancticirchiretic is another scholar of the Nitenmangrey.
• Oblibestircus is another, less creditable, scholar of the Nitenmangrey.

Long names, lots of facts, bits of interspersed Latin, a complex plot, a parody, and all-in-all a very clearly jcowan authored entry!

---

Issue: Alezan, Alarius, Altox, Avazian? Starting to think that some of these ought to be changed outright. All of them except for "Agony uncle" show a yearning to coin new names, but when seven out of eight entries do that, I think that's a bad precedent for future turns. Discussed this on IRC with Morbus.

@@ Styles of the entries, time systems, the geography, characters, inventions, themes.

--Sean B. Palmer 19:11, 1 Sep 2004 (EDT)