User blog comment:Pelinal Whitestrake/The true meaning of C0DA/@comment-16047389-20140612192222

I understand why you support C0DA they way you do. I also understand why many people hate the word "canon". But canon is real, and it does matter. And it's why I disagree with the principle of C0DA. In fact, I think that C0DA only created more problems than it resolved.

The quote you brought up is correct in what Canon is: 'a modern concept that is really only relevant in an era that recognizes intellectual property rights. 'And that's preciesly why I consider it important. Intellectual property rights are important, and as a society and as a culture we DO recognize that they exist. You can't say that The Elder Scrolls universe and it's lore belongs to everyone. It doesn't. Everyone didn't write the first story. Everyone didn't create the first game. Everyone didn't come up with the lore that both of those followed. It was developed by a group of people that came together to make the game a reality. Now, other people might have their own interpretations of this universe, and they are entitled to them. But they weren't the beginning of the series, and they aren't the core of it either.

When I'm playing Skyrim, I'm playing the game with a story written by Bethesda. In essence, it's me reading the story that they chose to write. Now I accept that MK has his own take on events, and his own stories that occur outside this. But that's not the one I'm interested in reading, or exploring. Does that make me lesser than anyone else? No. Because which story I find more interesting and worth my time is my own opinion. It's not about making my own stories. I have plenty of those logged a way which don't even involve The Elder Scrolls series. I want to see what Bethesda has written. I want to see their story, and explore it through a medium which I find entertaining.

As a side note, exactly how much can one change of a story and still say that it resides in the Elder Scrolls universe? Can I elimnate all of the Mer races and still say that it is the Elder Scrolls Universe? Can I eliminate all magic, gods, history, and just make it a story about a guy named Phil who works at a McDonalds (that I somehow willed into the story) and still say that it is in The Elder Scrolls Universe? Can I just take the entire plot of Harry Potter, make no changes what so ever, and say that IS the Elder Scrolls Universe? How do we determine what the Elder Scrolls Univere even is, if there isn't some sort of base elements? To me, that's what the canon is. It isn't whether or not Vivec achieved CHIM, it's that Vivec existed and at one time held the powers of a God. Anything before or after is up to interpretation. Canon isn't the idea that only one viewpoint is correct, but it IS elements of a story/universe that are real. They are the core of what determines if something is part of a given story's universe or not. It's what seperates the Elder Scrolls from Harry Potter, or Star Trek, or Zelda, or Game of Thrones. And what I see most people complaining over aren't those core elements, it's over how they interpret them. We shouldn't just say "canon is bad and shouldn't exist" just because two people can't agree over if Talos really ascended to Godhood or not. As a community, especially for us as a wikia community, it is our responsibility to explore the official elements presented before us and determine, in an unbiased and logical fashion, on what the basic truths are. To me, the official elements come from Bethesda, because they are the creators of The Elder Scrolls, and to me the creators have the most authority over their creations. I consider MK's work while he was at Bethesda to be on equal authority of any of the writers who were also there. But I don't consider his work that he wrote after leaving part of that canon, nor do I any other writer that left.

To me, it works like this. The canon of what happened at the Battle of Red Mountain is that the Dwemer disappared, Dagoth was left to guard the Heart of Lorkhan, Nerevar died at some point during all of this, Dagoth was defeated and the Heart claimed by the Tribunal, The Tribunal became Gods, or at least God-like, and the Chimer changed into the Dunmer. This is canon because they are the basic facts that the in-game lore agrees to on all points, and never rejects it.

My personal viewpoint on these events, however, is that after the battle with Kragnec, Nerevar was mortally wounded and taken back down Red Mountain. He left Dagoth to protect the Heart and make sure no one used it. The Tribunal was with Nerevar during his final moments, and he made them swear never to use the Heart before he died. But the Tribunal was tempted by power, and eventually went back to the Heart. Dagoth refused to hand it over, for he swore to protect it, and for that he was "slain". The Tribunal then used the Heart to become "Gods", and Azura turned the Chimer people into the Dunmer for the Tribunals betrayal to Nerevar.

Is this what actually happens? Who knows? The canon of The Elder Scrolls is that no one outside the Tribunal, Dagoth, and Nerevar know the truth. But I choose to believe in my viewpoint, because it's the Elder Scrolls universe that I believe in. Is this what C0DA is? If it is, then what was the point in creating it? I didn't need someone else to tell me that I am entitled to my own opinion. Only people with little faith in their own ideas and creativity would need to be told that. If it's not that, and it is in fact that you can make up your own version of the Elder Scrolls universe, then how much is one allowed to change before it stops being the Elder Scrolls universe?

That's why I do not agree with C0DA as a concept. I like the idea of everyone having their own take on events, but the people who actually had their own ideas didn't need to be told that. All this does is make the other side of that argument even more angry and riled, and introduces a new group of people who just want to change anything and everything based on a whim. As a community, how are we supposed to handle it if someone wants to edit the "Nine Divines" page and replace them with pictures of ponies? Do you allow the change because it is what they interpret it as? Or do you put your foot down and tell them that making that kind of change is wrong, even though it is their own C0DA?

How do you determine what is right and wrong, when you are willing to accept all answers? That's why I disagree with C0DA as a concept.