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Design Notes |
What are these funny yellow text boxes at the bottom of each page, I hear you ask.
They are the design notes.
The reason we have design notes in this new version of Orion's Arm is as follows:
(1) They show the original influence or inspiration for this particular idea or theme. Because "Science fiction builds on science fiction", almost all of the central elements in this setting were originally inspired by earlier writers and visionaries. The design notes allow us to give credit to those who laid the original foundation for this endeavour. Also, a few reviewers have criticised us for being plagiaristic or derivative. The design notes will show that we fully acknowledge our original resources. Like other rich and detailed space operatic universes, such as (to only cite the most well-known, and perhaps the grandest) Traveller, Orion's Arm brings together tropes from many different sources, and sometimes (if the term is sufficiently widely used to be considered "public domain" - e.g. "terraforming", "robotics" - or if not, if the original author gives permission) adopt the terminology ("known net", "splice" etc). This is not plagiarism, but simply building on what has come before. Where we differ from earlier science fiction worldbuilding projects is first in the emphasis on hard science, secondly on transhumanist themes and especially on ai, and third on the fact that it is a multi-authored project to which anyone can contribute.
(2) How a concept has developed over time. Over the years, Orion's Arm has gone through a number of revisions and modifications. The present setting is very different from the original project (more on the history of Orion's Arm here). Sometimes a page or topic will have been given a completely different emphasis, been moved to a different directory, and so on. Where relevant, this will be noted.
(3) As "meta" notes. Finally, design notes are a good place to put idiosyncratic comments, and notes that do not fit into the actual essay itself.
Some people might not want to read the design notes, since they distract from the experience of the setting itself. In that case, don't scroll down further than the bottom menu bar (such as the one immediately below), Creative Commons button, and feedback link. The design notes have deliberately been placed near the bottom of the page, for this reason.
