Forum:Roland Rat: The Series

WIP.

Opening Post

Introduction

I'm not entirely sure how well I can manage a long-winded OP, so I'm not sure how clear, let alone elegant, this will be, but I'll do my best.

So, reading through User:Najawin's opening post for Forum:Rule 4 by Proxy and its ramifications: considered in the light of the forum archives, I was struck by a thought. Namely: What exactly is the point of Rule 4? Now, Najawin linked to Forum:Is The Infinity Doctors canon? (a very interesting read, and seemingly the originator of Rule 4), and provided the following quote, which seems sensible enough:

Tangerineduel has made the point that we can't believe a writer who says that their work is canonical. That's very true. But, in my opinion, he's incorrect on the reverse. I think we do have to believe a writer who declares, "Look, this isn't a part of the mainstream continuity." After all, we've believed it before. I don't see any rational argument for doing something different in this case. Moreover, it's kinda stupid to say that as the author, unless you mean it. Saying something is out of continuity will have a negative impact on sales. So if someone says it, you do take it seriously, because they're acting against their self-interest.User:CzechOut

And that was how Rule 4 was spawned.

Now, for those who do not know what Rule 4 (and I very much doubt that any such people who are likely to read this exist, but it is best to err on the side of caution), Rule 4 states: "If a work of fiction was intended to be set outside the DWU, then it's probably not allowed. But a community discussion will likely be needed to make a final determination."

However, something that has long been held to be very strong evidence for not being intended to be in the DWU, since that very first thread in fact, is parodies, and the other is fourth-wall breaks. These don't really appear to jive with the above quote, so let's go over both in detail.

Discussion

to be added