User blog:Waterkai/Considering Applications: An Attempt Without Bias

Hello there. Whoever you are, you might know me, you might not, you might not care either way. In any case, I'm a guy who's been here for a while, though I haven't really achieved anything notable during this time. The reason why I'm writing is due to all the ruckus concerning the application system as of late. You might be aware I'm friendly with the admins as well as Sainami's aide, which might lead you to believe this blog will contain nothing but my full support towards them. However, I believe I'm mature enough to look at both the pros and the cons, without involving my personal opinion. No one is required to take this serious, but if you're still reading, why stop now amirite.

The Application System
The Application policy was installed on 10 September 2013, by Ten Tailed Fox. Now I'm not going to go to deep into the original intent of the policy, seeing how I was not active at the time it was set into motion. I will however focus on two snippets from the first version that I find highly interesting.

Does the article make logical sense within the Narutoverse? Does the article use sound spelling/grammar/punctuation?

Though this was sectioned under the Grandfather Clause, I think it's safe to assume that these were the two original criteria for any article to pass through the application. Proper grammar and fitting in the "narutoverse" seem only logical choices to judge an article by, seeing how we're a text-based community who concern themselves with fictional interpretations of a manga and there's really not that much else to judge each others' work by. Again, I'm not saying the application system was installed to judge another's work, seeing how the Western world flaunts the whole "freedom of speech and expression" in every direction. I'm just exhibiting this to say that these were the original criteria to pass the bar for Sage Mode, (Eternal) Mangekyō, Rinnegan, Tailed Beasts, Dust, Ice, Wood and fanon versions of kekkei genkai/tōta, (transplanted) dōjutsu, tailed beasts, sage mode variants and canon characters.

''Keep in mind that these policies are ultimately guidelines. If it's found that a policy restricts something that the reason the policy was created didn't intend to restrict, then the policy should be changed.''

This is still at the top of the page today, and captures the reason there is an argument about the application system really well. Keep this sentence in mind as you scroll through the rest of this blog, as it will probably be one of the defining factors when I come to a conclusion.

Why It's Good
The reason there is an application system (or my interpretation of it at least) is because certain abilities or lineages within the Narutoverse are stated to be rare. Most of the time, said abilities are also really powerful. Of course, when creating our own characters, there is always the temptation of giving said powers to them. Now, if each user had his own continuum there would be no problem: rare abilities such as the Mangekyō or the Rinnegan would still be uncommon within their own storyline. Except a good deal of this fanon takes places in a shared continuum, where the characters of different users can interact. I'm not even referring to the Fanon Canon, but to roleplaying in general. And because most characters essentially all exist in the same world, that single Rinnegan or Tailed Beast suddenly becomes one of many. This causes supposedly "rare" abilities to become more common than the average shinobi. The application serves to both maintain the integrity of the Narutoverse as well as the value of these rare abilities.

Furthermore, the application system promotes quality. By requiring the users to pass an application, there is certainty that those who pass possess a certain quality of content and grammar, the two virtues upon which the application system was founded on. Not only that, but the system also forces originality. If you want a surviving Uchiha member, you'll have to think of a unique and clever way he survived the massacre or otherwise you won't be allowed to make one. A system likes this compels out-of-the-box thinking, which is never a bad thing within fan works. Processing Kishi's work into something he himself hasn't thought of (yet) rather than copying something from within the canon gives the wiki a fresher and more attractive look.

The application system makes you a better writer. While certainly not everyone will agree with me on this point, it is connected to my previous statement on the quality of articles. If your application is denied because of bad spelling or an insufficient backstory, it will make you reconsider your thoughts and work them out more grammatically correct and more aligned with the Narutoverse. Though it might seem unfair at first, eventually it'll make you become a better writer and a better person. Like how your parents denied you things which made you angry as a kid but now you can see the reasoning behind it (of course I'm not saying it's NF task to be your parent or something, please don't take this metaphor too far).

Another important point about the application system, and one of the major reasons there have been so many problems with it as of late, is the "Roof of Power". At this point in time, we're seeing the absolute pinnacle of power of what can be achieved in the Narutoverse. Now before you come at me with comments like: "Puh, my character could easily beat Madara so and so", what I say to that is no. I don't care if you can come up with something bigger and badder, you shouldn't. What we're currently seeing in the manga has been stated several times to be the highest shinobi can go (i.e. Hagoromo and Kaguya's powers) yet it only causes fanon writers to think of things to even surpass that. This causes applications for things like the Rinnegan and Sage Mode to become more frequent, which of course leads to more denial from the admins and more frustration. But should it really be like this? Is there really a need for our Naruto fanon to take the DBZ road of "my explosion is bigger"? This is only my opinion, pertaining not to any works of fan fiction, but I feel like the shared continuum has no need for this kind of ego-booming.

Why It's Bad
Of course, there are also flaws to the system. Because I myself don't share this view, I will be mainly utilizing points that other users have made that I consider well-reasoned. Please note that it's not my intention to personally attack anyone or anything of that matter. I will utilize comments that are in public domain and can be viewed by anyone who wants them and refrain from any sort of private conversation.

''The purpose of the applications was to weed out the users who come on here and want to make a million Sasuke and Madara copies. The goal should be on allowing users who respect their work enough and understand those things well enough to write them, and that's it. Once that is proven, there's no need to put them through repeated assessments. Because no matter how necessary it may seem at first, it realistically will not keep up favor. People will- no, strike that - People ARE getting pissed off already about it. And it's getting to the point where users are leaving because of it. Not trolling users either. GOOD users.'' -Silver-Haired Seireitou, 1

There is of course the point that once a user has proven that he/she is capable of writing proper articles, is it really further necessary for them to keep submitting applications? One could of course argue that every application is different and just because a user has proven themselves once that doesn't mean they'll live up to the task every time, but are we not a community? Has trust lost all value? Do we seriously expect accomplished, veteran fan fiction writers to suddenly spew out this abomination of a Sharibyakugan hybrid with eleven tails? One could argue that the fact that even seasoned users have to keep answering for their ideas even though everyone already knows their worth shows a lack of faith and camaraderie within the community, causing users to be offended and leave. No matter who the admins or what the system, a wiki should never evolve to a site which scares away its users.

''I've seen people with perfectly reasonable apps according to canon get rejected and when the question is posed as to why the answers were based on purely subjective personal preference of the admin. Totally unacceptable. I've seen most apps denied without any explanation for why it was denied. You have to go to the denying admin and beg for an explanation. That's absurd. What body requiring an application doesn't send a rejection letter with the reason for the rejection right along with it? Why in hell should you have to be prompted for a reason why you rejected an app?'' -CyberianGinseng, 2

There are two points of criticism I can deduce from this post: subjectivity among the admins and the lack of explanation when an application is denied. I believe the the first point is kind of moot. I believe every admin is highly professional when it comes to judging an application, without letting themselves get influenced by who is submitting it. Accusing them of subjectivity accomplishes little, since you cannot circumvent the fact that we are all still humans. Even if they have the sole intention of judging an app using nothing but their professional knowledge of Naruto, personal preference will always come into play, no matter how little. When your teacher grades your paper, there will be some degree of personal preference. When you go to apply for a job, no matter how qualified you are, that company's personal preference will come into play. The admins aren't computers that can use purely objective parameters to determine whether your application is good enough or not. Expecting that of them is pure hypocrisy if you're also asking for a more "fun" community.

On the other hand, the complaints about a lack of explanation are entirely justified. While one should consider that the admins may not have the time to provide a detailed explanation for every app they have to deny, in cases were the reason is not painfully obvious there should be at least a few sentences on why that particular app was denied. I'm not saying there should be a page-long review every time, but I think everyone can agree a few short sentences is not that much effort and also gives the opportunity for the applicant to learn from their mistakes and grow as a writer, which was one of the boons of the application system in the first place.

''I was adamantly against the entire thing back in the day when it was first proposed as a counter to the abundance of poor writing material. You shouldn't discourage users to put up their content. But you should have the ability to critique other peoples' work. If the user doesn't want your critique, too bad; it's posted on the internet. If you put up your work in a public space, it's bound to receive critique regardless of whether it's advertised for such.'' -LaviBookman, 3

Discouraging users and/or restricting creativity is never a good thing for a wiki that strives to gather fanon material on the Naruto series. It isn't right when people come here full of ideas on their own character within the Narutoverse only to get shot down by rule after rule, saying they can't do that without that and can't do this without an application, until they've had enough and go find somewhere else to post their thoughts. This is where the line between the fanfiction and the fanon side of this wiki should be more clear. There was a lot of controversy surrounding applications for fanfiction not so long ago, and in all honesty I too believe that the only condition fanfictional work should meet is the wiki's Manual of Style. After all, it is that author's work and it meddles with no one else's, so we have no right to restrict them in developing their story. However, when it comes to the fanon side, that is a different case. It's the same how you can walk around naked in your own house as much as you like, but can't do the same when you go out on the street. If you want to be part of the fanon continuum and interact with other user's characters, you should show respect to them by adhering to the rules that have been stated for this. This doesn't say anything about whether these rules are right or wrong, but the principle in itself is nothing more than wikia's creed: you're part of a community, follow its rules.

Now that I'm here, I realized that last paragraph was not entirely unbiased and thus not really according to this blog's intention, but whatever.

Conclusion
Regardless of your or my opinion, there are merits and faults to the application system. Whether one outweighs the other is for you to decide. It does seem pretty obvious, judging from the storm that has been raging, that some kind of change has to be made. Do I believe getting rid of the application system all together is a good idea? No. I think that as long as it concerns the shared universe of the fanon, some degree of control over the content is in order. Otherwise, there will be no restrictions on who can write whose dick to be the longest and I fear this wiki will regress back to 2008, where every rp basically went like "X hits Y with Super Spirit Rasengan, Y shrugs it off and fires his Laser Beam of Doom" (again, no an attack against anyone, just an observation anyone could make by looking at an rp from that time).

Possible Changes
I don't consider myself smart enough to come up with a perfect alternative for the current system. We've seen Sei proposing something along the lines of BFF's RPCQ Exam, which I'm kind of the fence about. Something that might help is if applications were made anonymous somehow, so there could be no more accusations/cases of favoritism. If you have any more ideas, please let me know, I'll be interested to hear them.

If you didn't like me before you read this blog, I guess it won't have made much of a difference. If you no longer like me after reading it, I'm sorry to hear that. In any case, this was your friendly neighborhood Kai, off to organ trafficking.