New member with a Q.

[Dutchy45]

Hello all,

I stumbled on OA yesterday and have spent the majority of my waking hours since reading various parts. As a lover off science (fiction), I've found it very intriguing and look forward to much enjoyment in the future.

I noticed that in the history section the events pertaining to the current time and immediate future are already dated (inevitable in hard sf). I don't know if this is the correct space to let people know but I figured I'd drop it here.

[Drashner1]

Hi - Welcome to OA!

It's fine to raise this issue here as part of introducing yourself to the forum. For issues that may come up down the road, please refer to the Suggestion Box subforms, which have various threads, depending on the subject.

Regarding your specific point, which items in the timeline do you feel are dated at this time?

Thanks!

Todd

[stevebowers]

We regularly update the current and immediate future timeline, often due to suggestions by members of this forum and other readers. So feel free to point out such problems.

[Dutchy45]

Hi - Welcome to OA!

It's fine to raise this issue here as part of introducing yourself to the forum. For issues that may come up down the road, please refer to the Suggestion Box subforms, which have various threads, depending on the subject.

Regarding your specific point, which items in the timeline do you feel are dated at this time?

Thanks!

Todd

My apologies! I stand corrected. I started googling some items I thought were wrong, but it turns out I was wrong. With 1 exception;  "hand-held web-connected camera phones allow individuals quick and easy access to independent news channels and other media" is projected to be a reality in the 50's (Tranquility Calendar). Smart phones are here already.

[Rynn]

Welcome to the forums Dutchy! I looked it up and your quoting from this part of the timeline:
http://www.orionsarm.com/eg-topic/45b2afc424975

You've cropped the quote though and missed some important context. It's not saying that smartphones are invented in the 50s (which would be the 2020s) it states that drones and smartphones are so cheap and ubiquitous that major privacy concerns have become a hot issue. It's 2017 now and whilst smart phones have reached a ratio of nearly one per person in the developed world it isn't true globally and good quality drones are still a niche consumer item. The timeline isn't saying that both are yet to be invented but that the social consequences of the pair have yet to be fully realised.

[Drashner1]

Hm. Looking at the entry, the bit about social consequences is really just the last single sentence after the majority of the entry talks about things that are actually happening now. I can easily understand why someone would miss the bit about social consequences being the main focus of the entry. It isn't at all obvious, and the part about it being a global phenomenon isn't referenced at all, so is more of an inference on our part rather than a 'fact of the setting' to be gathered from the entry.

Putting all this together, I'd like to suggest that we modify the entry in some fashion to change the focus from the technological developments (which are happening already in RL - perhaps that part should be a separate entry with a date somewhere in the 2016-2018 range?) to the social ones.

Todd

[Dutchy45]

Welcome to the forums Dutchy! I looked it up and your quoting from this part of the timeline:
http://www.orionsarm.com/eg-topic/45b2afc424975

You've cropped the quote though and missed some important context. It's not saying that smartphones are invented in the 50s (which would be the 2020s) it states that drones and smartphones are so cheap and ubiquitous that major privacy concerns have become a hot issue. It's 2017 now and whilst smart phones have reached a ratio of nearly one per person in the developed world it isn't true globally and good quality drones are still a niche consumer item. The timeline isn't saying that both are yet to be invented but that the social consequences of the pair have yet to be fully realised.

Hello Rynn,
I did crop the quote. I did that to focus on the part I believed to be dated. No maliciousness intended! By now several admins have gotten involved and I'll leave it all in your capable hands. I'm pleasantly surprised at the attention to detail you guys are showing here. I'm sure you all will make the right decision.

[stevebowers]

It would be nice to mention smartphone tech on the timeline, rather than the rather loose prediction shown there already. On the other hand, rapid access to web-connected cameras is already having an impact in many areas. Live-streaming smartphones have recorded several major incidents in progress in the last few years, adding to the immediacy of news media, although not always adding much to the accuracy of reporting.

[Drashner1]

It would be nice to mention smartphone tech on the timeline, rather than the rather loose prediction shown there already. On the other hand, rapid access to web-connected cameras is already having an impact in many areas. Live-streaming smartphones have recorded several major incidents in progress in the last few years, adding to the immediacy of news media, although not always adding much to the accuracy of reporting.

Perhaps add entry to earlier in the timeline noting the spread of cell phone technology to the 'average' person in general (this would be the late 1980s on into the 1990s), followed by noting the use and spread of smartphones and how they are impacting capturing of events, etc. Also, the rise of independent news channels or sources (which already exist in varying forms and flavors). Drones are already being used by major news organizations and others as well as 'for fun' by private citizens. Not sure what the dates would be for those developments exactly, but we could figure something out.

The final part of the current entry, about issues with privacy, could probably stay more or less where it is.

My 2c worth,

Todd

[Rhea47]

Welcome. Late I know