So it occurred to me that we post a lot of threads here looking for family connections for new characters, but maybe we could save some of the trouble if we had some mechanism for collecting all these 'loose ends' in family trees that don't really merit ads of their own. Also, some people may not want to post up a whole big thread about a character idea they're kicking around, but might be interested in perusing connections.
So I made up this little template (and I should also say that Kayte used to have something along these lines so this is hardly original):
Here's the format I'm using:
Names: Regular type for firm names, "Quotes" for names that are referenced somewhere (profiles or posts) but you're not firmly attached to, --- for names that are 100% open.
Birth Years: A year if any has been referenced somewhere, a * added if it's flexible, a range if applicable.
Family Background: The three I'm using are established, flexible, and open. There's sort of a range within each of these, but in my mind established means that a character has a set family dynamic, or that you have opinions about their relationship with existing characters or NPCs. Flexible means some things are set (like their siblings, death dates for certain family members, major life events) but these are negotiable or that there's room for development around them. Generally speaking, they probably don't have firmly established relationships with other characters. Open is in the realm of 'I'm not even firmly attached to how many siblings they have, so do as you please.' As you can see above, I'm mostly using it for cousin branches.
What do you guys think? Would this be useful to you? Would it make the most sense to have people tack it on to their adoptable ads (maybe in spoiler tags so as not to take up too much room) or to have them collected in their own thread?
In any case, here's the code if anyone wants it:
So I made up this little template (and I should also say that Kayte used to have something along these lines so this is hardly original):
| Character Name | M/F | Born | Class/Blood | Family Background | Connection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Brianda Allen" | F | b. 1830* | MCHB - Squib | Established | Brannon Fisk |
| "Henry Allen" | M | b. 1845 | MCHB | Flexible | Brannon Fisk |
| "Vivian Allen" | F | b. 1847* | MCHB | Flexible | Brannon Fisk |
| "Oscar" Fisk | M | b. 1851 | MCHB | Established | Brannon Fisk |
| -- Mulciber | ? | 1830-1860* | U/MCPB | Open (Cousin Branch) | |
| -- Ragge | ? | 1840-1880* | WCHB | Open (Cousin Branch) | Adam Ragge |
Here's the format I'm using:
Names: Regular type for firm names, "Quotes" for names that are referenced somewhere (profiles or posts) but you're not firmly attached to, --- for names that are 100% open.
Birth Years: A year if any has been referenced somewhere, a * added if it's flexible, a range if applicable.
Family Background: The three I'm using are established, flexible, and open. There's sort of a range within each of these, but in my mind established means that a character has a set family dynamic, or that you have opinions about their relationship with existing characters or NPCs. Flexible means some things are set (like their siblings, death dates for certain family members, major life events) but these are negotiable or that there's room for development around them. Generally speaking, they probably don't have firmly established relationships with other characters. Open is in the realm of 'I'm not even firmly attached to how many siblings they have, so do as you please.' As you can see above, I'm mostly using it for cousin branches.
What do you guys think? Would this be useful to you? Would it make the most sense to have people tack it on to their adoptable ads (maybe in spoiler tags so as not to take up too much room) or to have them collected in their own thread?
In any case, here's the code if anyone wants it:
Code:
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://dl.dropbox.com/s/yms0ca77sspe2fx/basictable.css?dl=0"><div class="connections"><table><col width="auto">
<tr><th>Character Name</th><th>M/F</th><th>Born</th><th>Class/Blood</th><th>Family Background</th><th>Connection</th></tr>
<tr><td>Name</td><td>M/F</td><td>b. 18xx</td><td>ACA</td><td>Established/Flexible/Open</td><td>@"--"</td></tr>
</table></div>
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