User:BenWilson

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[Duncan Law Firm] has served Arkansas for the past 25 years by being one of [Injury Lawyers].

I would like to announce my newest contribution to the world of web sites. The UALR Bowen School of Law Student Bar Association now has its own web site. I would also like to make available my Critique of [Planet Law School]

My name is Ben Wilson, born not long after the Beatles broke up. I have had two careers and am embarking on my third. My first career was as an Arabic linguist for the U.S. Army, and I served throughout the 90s. My second career was as a software engineer where I worked for a beltway bandit firm out of Northern Virginia. Presently, I am in law school learning the rules that make society run.

Only recently (Jan, 2005) created a profile here, although I've edited pages off-and-on for a couple of years now. Never really had a need since I was just correcting other pages. However, I recently contributed my first article, LexiconRPG, against the advise of peers. Appears now that within two hours somebody wants it deleted.

Lexicon RPG is a wiki-based RolePlayingGame where players collaborate as Scholars on creating a fictional encyclopedia. It was first created by Neel Krishnaswami who was inspired by the Dictionary of the Khazars. Lexicons are ideally played on wikis where it is possible for many players to work together, but any collaborative environment would suffice. Lexicon RPG is a case of art-imitating-life where the scholars essentially produce a mini-wikipedia detailing some fictional topic.

Contents

[edit] Concept

The general premise of the Lexicon RPG is that players assume the role of scholars writing during a period when scholarly pursuits were not very professional. The scholars are high-opinionated, egotisitical, prejudiced, cranky, and eccentric. These pedantic player-scholars have the unfortunate job of collaborating on a highly regarded encyclopedia and write about some historical period.

The wiki owner sets out the general topic for the lexicon, preferably in an "open reference" fashion. "You are Imperial scholars writing about the significance of the demise of the rebel arch-magi Bob by the heroic exploits of the Imperial family." Who Bob was, the imperial family, the rebellion--all these are topics the scholars flesh out through collaboration.

The typical Lexicon game will turn out approximately 75 entries per player, using the standard rules. For a game involving four to six players, that comes to 300 to 450 entries.

[edit] Rules

A typical Lexicon game is played in 26 turns, one for each letter of the alphabet. The original concept assumed a game would finish in one month (one letter per day), but the game could also last six months if there is one week per letter. The underlying determination on turn length is the available time of the contributers.

[edit] Fairly Standard Rules

  1. Turns cycle from A to Z.
  2. New Entries: Scholars reserve and write one new entry each letter turn.
    1. When writing new entries, scholars must cite to two phantom (i.e., unwritten) entries.
    2. After the first turn, scholars must also cite to one written entry.
    3. It is academic heresy to cite one's own work, so a scholar may not cite to a work he has written.
    4. Entries should not cite to entries in that turn (e.g. a 'D' article cannot cite to another 'D' article).
  3. Phantom Entries: When new entries are written, scholars then write all phantom entries for that letter turn. For example, when new entries for Turn 'D' are finished, then any (and all) phantom entries for Letter 'D' are completed.
    1. Because a scholar cannot cite to an entry he has written, scholars are barred from writing a phantom entry they have previously cited. This may mean that a scholar must sit out this phase of the turn.
    2. Once all turns are complete (i.e., after Turn 'Z'), scholars should go back and complete any outstanding phantom entries.
  4. Accuracy of Cited Entries: Regardless of how misguided a scholar's peers are, they are honest. Therefore, scholars must treat other scholar's entries as factually accurate. However, a scholar is free to question the interpretation of another scholar, and even introduce new facts to support his argument.

[edit] Rule Variations

Naturally, virtually all rules are subject to revision as house rules. In looking through the various Lexicons available, there are a few common variations:

  1. Number of entries a Scholar may write per turn. This varies from the standard one entry to "as many as you want." However, there seems to be no softening on a Scholar citing his own work. So, if a Scholar writes too many articles, he may find himself having to sit out while others are writing phantom entries.
  2. Number entries a new entry must cite. The trend is to require more than the standard one actual and two phantom, and may involve citing more phantom entries or actual ones.
  3. Handling Phantom Entries. How to handle turns where phantom entries need to be edited. Some require that a Scholar either write a phantom entry or an actual one.
  4. Number of Scholars a player may play. Some lexicons allow a player to be more than on Scholar, although they are strongly discouraged from allowing one of their Scholars to cite to another, which is a violation of the spirit of the game's collaborative nature.
  5. Turn break-out. One Lexicon condenses the number of turns by combining less-commonly used letters (e.g. 'q' or 'z') and so only has 16 turns. Another Lexicon has two simultaneous games that start on different letters and cycle through.
  6. Rule X. An interesting option where obscure letters become wild cards. That is, when the current turn is on a letter that is rarely used to start a word (e.g. 'X'), then Scholars may then write a new entry on any letter they choose, even a past letter. This rule may not hold when a phantom entry is on that turn.

[edit] Lexicons on the Web

One difficulty in assessing the popularity of this game is the likelihood that those sites where it is played remain "under the radar" of search engines. More sites were locatable by examining blog discussions than googling. However, here is a sampling of those found.