Board Thread:Fiction Universe Discussion/@comment-4242472-20160124202207/@comment-1633483-20160125193742

The primary aspect of the Fiction Universe is that it should be fun for all participants. We have all learned the hard way that the wiki does not consist of a singular bloc of users who all share the same interests and aspirations with regard to their fictions. There are users to whom a status of "hyperpower" is the ultimate goal they aspire to reach while others are perfectly content in their own corner of the Universe to be bothered with such things. There are users who enjoy straightforward fictions pitting a band of heroes united against an almost impossible foe. There are those who enjoy more conventional conflicts based on real-world events. And there are still others that gladly enjoy all styles of fiction in whatever form it takes. Neither standpoint is inherently superior to the other, rather they all contribute to the diversity of the collaborative universe.

For that reason, I would ask are such classifications really necessary? In my view it boils down to this: Create your fiction however you wish, call it a hyperpower if you're in the mood, but do not operate under the view that self-identifying your fiction with such a title grants it superiority over the fictions of other users. I would argue that a Fiction Universe operating under such a system, despite potential inconsistencies, is a considerably healthier environment for all involved than a universe of tiered hierarchies of competing users and empires.

That said, I tend to keep the power of my various empires vague so as to avoid constraining potential story opportunities which may be hampered if I started precisely defining just how powerful either the Empire or the Republic are. From my standpoint, that is for the reader to decide -- of myself if it involves interaction between two fictions I have created -- as such, I would be wary of the cementing the relative power of empires in comparison to one another, be it a hierarchy of greater and greater power or a broad generalisation of equality.