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[tNok85]

Unfortunately you'll need to sign up again - apologies - had to revert to an older version of some software that didn't like the SQL dump from the newer version. All the data is saved (And reuploaded). Integrated forums are a go!

The CASOG Wiki is UP!
Create A Space Opera Galaxy
http://www.casog.com/

Current discussions:
Timeline - http://www.casog.com/wiki/index.php/Timeline
The state of humanity in the galaxy - http://www.casog.com/wiki/index.php/Humanity
Extinction event - http://www.casog.com/wiki/index.php/Extinction_Event

Contributors:
Digital Hellhound - Signed back up
Farseer - Signed back up
GamerKnight - Signed back up
LNCP (Lordnincompoop)
Nbonaparte
SingularitySRX - Signed back up
Taricus - Signed back up
Tellemurius - Signed back up
Tnok85 - Signed back up
Virex - Signed back up



Anybody can sign up and read, but ONLY 'Contributors' can add/remove/edit pages. For now, I will add people to the Contributor group through the following steps:
1. Create an account on the wiki at http://www.casog.com/
2. PM me *HERE* on Bay12 with the account name you signed up as, along with a summary of something you'd have to offer - a paragraph or two will suffice. (Or a logo - see below!) I won't be refusing anybody who makes a mature and serious effort.
3. I'll add you to the Contributor group, and you can go create your page!

NOTE: For now, DO NOT EDIT ANY PAGE YOU DID NOT CREATE unless you're simply adding a link. We will need to come up with a way to decide how content is added/removed.

This isn't the way I want to set up a contributor process - need to have more people deciding than me, obviously - but for the initial round of contributors, they need to be added somehow.

PLEASE only apply if you are *serious* about this. You need to be mature and flexible - this isn't a galaxy in your own image. In all possibility, your own personal planet/solar system/race will not end up exactly how you envisioned it. It's a collaboration... so go with the flow and let the magic happen.

===============================================================================
What's needed right now?
1) Logo! Something 135x135. JPG preferably, but I can convert. Something to do with "Casog". If there's enough interest in people wanting to make logos, all contributors could have a vote on which one to use. Don't worry about the coloring - we can modify the Wiki to match the logo, or slightly modify the logo if needed.
2) Wiki Administrators - Very little experience with this. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

===============================================================================
Webserver Info
VPS located in New Jersey, running Debian 5.0 Minimal with Apache2/MySQL/PHP5 and MediaWiki.
512 MB RAM (1 GB "Burst" available for heavy loads)
15 GB Diskspace
1000 GB Monthly Bandwidth

This should be more than sufficient for a community project.

===============================================================================

Original post:
Been kind of toying with this idea for a while in my head but never really put pen to paper - or fingers to keyboard, rather. There's a lot of VERY creative people here, so I thought this might be the best place to bring it up.

Imagine a community based project - something like a Wiki - where everybody (and anybody approved, to avoid griefing) could contribute to a space opera galaxy.

I say space opera (or soft science fiction) because even though I thoroughly enjoy a good hard science fiction novel, it would be near impossible with a group of people arguing over FTL travel, if that ship would actually fly, dogfighting in space is realistic/unrealistic, Newtonian physics, etc. So to avoid that and keep it simple, Space Opera is where it's at.


Why?

• It would be fun. I (for one) love reading and learning about fictional universes, the lore behind stories and games.
• We could allow anybody to base anything on the universe created. If somebody actually wanted to write a short story, it could be based on some facet of it. A forum game, sure thing. And all the lore/background would be present. (Plus, a game/short story author could see something he wants added and simply add it!)
• It would allow a creative output to generate and cultivate ideas without having to worry about following through. Have an idea for a planet, star system, government, alien race, technology, or anything that you think could be interesting but don't know how to develop it? Throw it in and see what happens!
• Why "space"? There are no limits. You can't run out of land mass. If somebody has an idea for a planet or a star system, there's no issue with adding it.

How?
Easy. Wiki software is easy to use. I have a web server, so that wouldn't be an issue if there was actual interest. Wiki backups are easy to download, so it wouldn't rely on any one person to maintain it - if it goes down, somebody else can pick it back up.



Is there any remote interest in this? 

[Nadaka]

I have an old star system generator that I wrote years ago as a 1 week learning project in college. It might be useful, but it sucks, is vb.net (HORROR!) and has to be downloaded, but it create some highly variable pseudo realistic star systems with up to 7 stars, many planets and even more moons.

http://nadaka.us/Publish.zip


Eventually I will get around to revisiting it, rewriting it in java for cross platform use and making it a fully functional star system editor as well as random generator.

Edit: it was previously discussed in brief here: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=49744.0

[Servant Corps]

Are we allowed to profit from this in...um...any way?

I'm guessing not, because people tend to contribute for free, and don't like doing stuff so other people can "profit" from their work, but I just want to ask.

[tNok85]

Are we allowed to profit from this in...um...any way?

I'm guessing not, because people tend to contribute for free, and don't like doing stuff so other people can "profit" from their work, but I just want to ask.

The big question right off the bat...

Honestly, I'm not sure. I imagine some sort of 'open source' licensing (if there is such a type that would apply to literature) might be applicable. If anybody has any experience with that... please chime in.

I know some forums have a whole 'everything posted is owned by the person who posted it', but in a collaboration where multiple people work on one article, that would be more difficult.


Edit: Anybody know anything about Creative Commons? Keeping it 'free' to use while preventing profit from it would probably be what most people would want.

[Nadaka]

I have some minor experience with licensing. The most common set of open source licenses for creative works are the Creative Commons licenses. Though you can theoretically use a more traditional software license like the GPL or BSD license instead. The Open Gaming License is a license used in the RPG market for handling composite works, it is used in D&D v3-3.5 and the rest of the d20 system as well as a few other games.

Edit: the CC license is a group of license described by their terms. Terms like attribution, share, share alike, commercial, non-commercial. CC is popular because it uses simple language and can offer a variety of conditions to match the needs of individual projects.

[tNok85]

I have some minor experience with licensing. The most common set of open source licenses for creative works are the Creative Commons licenses. Though you can theoretically use a more traditional software license like the GPL or BSD license instead. The Open Gaming License is a license used in the RPG market for handling composite works, it is used in D&D v3-3.5 and the rest of the d20 system as well as a few other games.

Ahh, beat my edit.

Cool. As above, obviously nobody wants to put a lot of time and effort into something that will make other people money - we'd probably want something that keeps it free to use but prevents commercial use.

[Virex]

Want to prevent commercial use? Make everyone who has worked on a page co-author of that page. That way if someone wants to publish something he'll have to find everyone who ever worked on the pages he's going to use and ask them for permission (At least, if he wants to publish anywhere were copyright laws are enforced). Good luck on that


Plus, most official open source licenses explicitly allow you to make money off of it, as long as you don't claim copyright. You can sell most Linux implementations just fine, you just have to enable access to the source code.

[Nadaka]

Screenshots for system generator:

Spoiler: "solar system" (click to show/hide)

 

Spoiler: "large screen shot" (click to show/hide)

 

[Delta_02_Cat]

Sounds like a very interesting project!

[Normandy]

Awww, but I love arguing over FTL travel and hard physics. I think we will need to set some basic groundwork and rules in terms of physics and what exists versus what can't exist, then allow people to work off of there. There's nothing that bugs me more than an inconsistent universe.

[Virex]

Awww, but I love arguing over FTL travel and hard physics. I think we will need to set some basic groundwork and rules in terms of physics and what exists versus what can't exist, then allow people to work off of there. There's nothing that bugs me more than an inconsistent universe.

FTL is going to be inconsistent no matter what way you turn it. The universe doesn't work if information can travel faster then light (which it will if it is possible). You'll also have to argue why FTL doesn't happen naturally or things get even weirder.

[Nadaka]

Awww, but I love arguing over FTL travel and hard physics. I think we will need to set some basic groundwork and rules in terms of physics and what exists versus what can't exist, then allow people to work off of there. There's nothing that bugs me more than an inconsistent universe.

FTL is going to be inconsistent no matter what way you turn it. The universe doesn't work if information can travel faster then light (which it will if it is possible). You'll also have to argue why FTL doesn't happen naturally or things get even weirder.

How does the universe stop working if you go faster than light? Light takes X time to travel between point A and B. With magical FTL, you can go from A to B in Y time less than X. Walking didn't suddenly stop working when we got airplanes. As long as you are not sending information with zero or negative delay, you won't bump into any kind of paradox.

[Normandy]

Actually, according to relativity, doing such a thing is sending information with a negative delay.

[Nadaka]

Actually, according to relativity, doing such a thing is sending information with a negative delay.

A: screw relativity. Without FTL travel interstellar travelers essentially have to leave everything behind any time they go to another star system. Even if they only perceive a few days of travel due to relativity, civilization at each end of the trip will advance years, centuries or millenia.

B: That isn't true either. Due to the asymptotic nature of time, at c time just stops. Acceleration is the change in velocity over time. Since time stops, you can't accelerate, or even decelerate. It is a terminal condition. you can not escape to turn time backwards or even push it forwards from that state.

[Normandy]

Well, that's what's supposed to happen. If by magic an object happens to travel FTL, then the object arrives at its destination before its destination can observe the object actually leaving. This is essentially a negative delay. The entire thing is moot anyways since it can't exactly happen in the first place, so it's not really clear how the universe would experience FTL in the first place.