@marcusdkane
I see logic in your post but look at the whole thing from another side. If we assume everything not on screen is fine as long as it doesn't contradict the official material then the problem arises when at one point it actually starts to contradict it. Do you imagine what a mess would that be?
I disagree. I've never had a particularly troublesome problem abandoning what has been contradicted and embracing (even if with disappointment) new cannon with my other fandoms. It's part of being a fan after all.
And soft-canon has been made into hard-canon before. Just looking at Andorian, in fact; information and specifics from Among the Clans has made it into actual episodes.
@marcusdkane
I see logic in your post but look at the whole thing from another side. If we assume everything not on screen is fine as long as it doesn't contradict the official material then the problem arises when at one point it actually starts to contradict it. Do you imagine what a mess would that be?
I understand. But that point makes no sense. As professorlawl mentions above, when hard canon replaces soft canon (or even pre-existing hard canon) then people have no choice but to accept the new hard canon as correct. That is part of fandom...
Where soft canon is contradicted by hard canon, hard canon is considered as the valid source.
Where soft canon is not contradicted by hard canon (either by comparison or by lack of definitive hard canon) then soft canon is considered as the valid source until new hard canon contradicts it.
The point I was making before, is that while the DS-9 novels are only soft canon, compared to the hard canon of the TV series', chances are, there will be no more hard canon to contradict them for the forseeable future, ergo, the DS-9 soft canon is now the official canon and will likely remain so indefinitely...
The point I was making before, is that while the DS-9 novels are only soft canon, compared to the hard canon of the TV series', chances are, there will be no more hard canon to contradict them for the forseeable future, ergo, the DS-9 soft canon is now the official canon.
I understand what you're trying to say: since this is all we have it's what we must use, but that doesn't make it canon.
Novels contradict each other all the time. If we consider them all canon simply because there's no more series or movies then canon would be an even bigger convoluted mess then it already is. What if an novelist decides that in his book there's 25 Andorian sexes - contradicting other books which say 4? Are we supposed to accept his novel as more canon then previous novels?
The reason TV and Movies were considered canon is because they are unalterable. They are carved into history. Novel canon changed depending on what the writer wants - which is why Kirk is dead, Kirk is alive, Kirk is dead, blah, blah, blah.
STO is about my Liberated Borg Federation Captain with his Breen 1st Officer, Jem'Hadar Tactical Officer, Liberated Borg Engineering Officer, Android Ops Officer, Photonic Science Officer, Gorn Science Officer, and Reman Medical Officer jumping into their Jem'Hadar Carrier and flying off to do missions for the new Romulan Empire. But for some players allowing a T5 Connie to be used breaks the canon in the game.
I understand what you're trying to say: since this is all we have it's what we must use, but that doesn't make it canon.
As in my first post, I am referring to an ettiquette used by Star Wars costumers for deciding what is and what is not canon. While it does not make it hard canon, the fact that it is in licensed novels (rather than fan fiction) does make it soft canon, which is still a form of canon until directly contradicted by hard canon.
Novels contradict each other all the time. If we consider them all canon simply because there's no more series or movies then canon would be an even bigger convoluted mess then it already is. What if an novelist decides that in his book there's 25 Andorian sexes - contradicting other books which say 4? Are we supposed to accept his novel as more canon then previous novels?
I didn't make the rule, so can't discount it simply because your hypothetical situation would change the canon into something ludicrous... Totally agree with what you are saying though, reading Memory Beta is enough to make me navigate away from the pages...
The reason TV and Movies were considered canon is because they are unalterable. They are carved into history. Novel canon changed depending on what the writer wants - which is why Kirk is dead, Kirk is alive, Kirk is dead, blah, blah, blah.
Yes, and absolutely so, such is the nature of novelizations of Film/TV series... Look at all the stuff which has been written in the Star Wars universe since the end of Return of the Jedi... Try telling some fanboy that there's no such character as Jacen Solo or Ben Skywalker, because Lucas didn't put it in a film... The results might not be pretty...
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I see logic in your post but look at the whole thing from another side. If we assume everything not on screen is fine as long as it doesn't contradict the official material then the problem arises when at one point it actually starts to contradict it. Do you imagine what a mess would that be?
And soft-canon has been made into hard-canon before. Just looking at Andorian, in fact; information and specifics from Among the Clans has made it into actual episodes.
Where soft canon is contradicted by hard canon, hard canon is considered as the valid source.
Where soft canon is not contradicted by hard canon (either by comparison or by lack of definitive hard canon) then soft canon is considered as the valid source until new hard canon contradicts it.
The point I was making before, is that while the DS-9 novels are only soft canon, compared to the hard canon of the TV series', chances are, there will be no more hard canon to contradict them for the forseeable future, ergo, the DS-9 soft canon is now the official canon and will likely remain so indefinitely...
Novels contradict each other all the time. If we consider them all canon simply because there's no more series or movies then canon would be an even bigger convoluted mess then it already is. What if an novelist decides that in his book there's 25 Andorian sexes - contradicting other books which say 4? Are we supposed to accept his novel as more canon then previous novels?
The reason TV and Movies were considered canon is because they are unalterable. They are carved into history. Novel canon changed depending on what the writer wants - which is why Kirk is dead, Kirk is alive, Kirk is dead, blah, blah, blah.
I didn't make the rule, so can't discount it simply because your hypothetical situation would change the canon into something ludicrous... Totally agree with what you are saying though, reading Memory Beta is enough to make me navigate away from the pages...
Yes, and absolutely so, such is the nature of novelizations of Film/TV series... Look at all the stuff which has been written in the Star Wars universe since the end of Return of the Jedi... Try telling some fanboy that there's no such character as Jacen Solo or Ben Skywalker, because Lucas didn't put it in a film... The results might not be pretty...
I still have the book *somewhere*...
Found it!