Watch out! It's gonna get you!
What It Is[]
When your page is tagged with a "Lore Disclaimer", it could mean one of several things:
- Your page was viewed and compared with existing lore and found very lacking before being presented to an administrator (probably Devinicus), the administrator then agreed with the viewpoint and added the disclaimer to your page. If someone other than an administrator has added the image, something is wrong.
- Your page was viewed by an administrator (probably Devinicus) and compared with existing lore and found very lacking.
- A Lore Disclaimer is a suggestion that the page it's being used on needs to be looked at a second time, because there are one or more of the following problems with it:
- Severe violations of the lore (the common reason)
- Severe "Sue-ism" (a less common reason, as it is so very much a matter of personal taste)
- Really, there's a vast, unwritten list that's left up to a case-to-case basis. In the words of Justice Potter Stewart about obscenity in a case in 1964, "I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it."
Okay, hold up. I'm not sure I understand this rp thing, but come on. This fucker screams bias and ego. - Bling Ego
What It Is Not[]
A Lore Disclaimer is not...
- ... Put on your page by someone with a grudge against you because they dislike you. If you feel this is the case, please take it up with the administrator who put the disclaimer on your page, if your suspicions are confirmed (and they won't be), take it up with another administrator then, and only then.
- ... A personal attack.
- ... Griefing.
- ... Something anyone but an administrator should do.
Why the MG Wiki Has This[]
A roleplaying community requires, to some degree, community self-moderation to maintain its quality and general survival. Looking around, one might have a hard time fathoming that roleplay has gone in an "upward" direction in recent months. The disclaimer will be used as a friendly "bop" suggesting that one perhaps take a look at their character or guild and compare them to the lore, just to make sure they're on the right track. If you get this image on one of your pages, and hopefully you won't, you should take it as a reason to take a moment to check your character and their personal lore. If you make "corrections" to make your character more suited to the Warcraft roleplay environment, you may well find roleplay to come easier and be more enjoyable!
The lore disclaimer is, generally speaking, not a message from on high from a hoity-toity administrator who believes themselves superior to you, especially as a roleplayer. One's writing ability and by association their ability as a roleplayer really has nothing whatsoever to do with getting a disclaimer or not. It is entirely possible to be a brilliant, articulate writer who, quite simply, decided to take a gigantic dump all over the lore. I can personally say I have seen truly articulate people roleplay their character as a dragon in the most stereotypically bad way.
It is worth repeating that the disclaimer is largely nothing more than an opportunity for you, the thoughtful, creative-minded individual that you know yourself to be to consider that while your character is your own creation, the world of World of Warcraft is not and as such, one would likely do very well to take into considerations the limitations, conventions, and general logic of this world that is outside of your control. Artistic license is one thing, cutting completely new lore from whole cloth is entirely different.