Conworlds:QSS and QAA

In the context of collaborative alternate history timelines or constructed world projects, the principles of QSS and QAA (Quod scripsi, scripsi and Quod assumpsi, assumpsi) are important and crucial to the consistency of internal history and continuity. The principles originated from the Ill Bethisad project which described them in order to preserve established canonical information.

QSS

Quod scripsi, scripsi (Latin for "What I have written, I have written") is the principle which holds that whatever has become canonized in a timeline or project shall remain canonical. It should remain canonical indefinitely and be free of alteration, distortion, or removal under general circumstances. The purpose of the principle is to prevent established facts from becoming voidable due to new, contradicting facts or material. It also ensures that important facts which have been relied on by subsequent information does not become changed or removed which would adversely affect the soundness of said subsequent information. For example, suppose an established fact was that Sierra was a federal monarchy and subsequent facts which relied on this fact came forth (Sierra has had seven monarchs and the current monarch is Angelina II of Sierra). However, a new fact retconned the original fact and declared that Sierra has always been a republic. This change in material fact will adversely affect all of the facts which had relied on the original fact, disrupting the timeline unless those facts are changed as well.

The purpose of QSS is not to restrict or prevent canonical information from being changed or altered, but to discourage unnecessary or significant changes to an established project's timeline. It becomes especially necessary to enforce large timelines which may consist of facts established by users who are no longer active and be presented with new, contradicting facts by newer users. QSS exists to give older, more established facts precedence over newer facts by virtue of seniority. It functions as a guiding principle that steers users to carefully consider and evaluate their decision before they choose to alter, modify, or remove an established canonical fact or detail.

QAA

According to the Alternate History Wiki, Quod assumpsi, assumpsi (Latin for "What I have assumed, I have assumed") is a corollary to QSS, in which "the degree by which assumed information about unclaimed territories in a particular ATL, with no direct importance to anyone's work is protected." In essence, QAA deals with assumed information which functions more as a placeholder. Such information may be kept deliberately ambiguous, vague, or open-ended based on the possibility or expectation that it will eventually be replaced by QSS-protected information (such as when a previously unclaimed territory in a timeline becomes adopted by an author). Unlike QSS information, QSS is purposefully flexible and can be altered, modified, or removed with or without community approval (this may depend from project to project).