The WoTFAQ Is Updated

[Luckers]

The Wheel of Time Frequently Asked Questions, or "WOTFAQ" for short, has just been updated. This document was originally started in 1993 by Erica Sandun to document WoT discussion that had taken place at rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan, a Wheel of Time newsgroup and probably the first place fans were discussing this series online. Over the years, the series and the discussions grew, and the FAQ did as well. It changed hands several times, finally ending in the hands of Leigh Butler.

 

Unfortunately, after her last update in 2004, Leigh was no longer able to maintain the FAQ, though it still remained online in several places. In early 2009, Leigh agreed to pass control of the WOTFAQ to Dragonmount. Jennifer Liang (that's me!) agreed to take it on as a project when she retired as an active member of Dragonmount's community staff.

 

Since the last update, three new Wheel of Time books have come out (New Spring, Knife of Dreams, The Gathering Storm), Robert Jordan started a blog, become seriously ill, and passed away, and Brandon Sanderson was chosen to complete it. Additionally, a lot has changed with the internet and how we use it.

 

Here are some notes on how to navigate the WOTFAQ:

 

The FAQ is divided into thematic sections. Section "Zero" is meta-content about the series, it's authors and it's publishing. Section One is about everything that touches on the Shadow, divided into subsections. Section Two is everything else, divided into subsections. Section Three is discussion of Jordan's historical and mythological inspirations, divided into subsections. Section Four is a discussion of prophecies and Foretellings, divided into subsections. Because of the large amount of material this version of the WOTFAQ had to update, those two sections are not current. Then there is a big skip to Section Ninety-Nine, which contains information about the publication history of the series. The reason for the off numbering is so that additional sections can be added (which is very likely in the next update), but still keeping this section last.

 

Many articles cover very old discussions from the early days of the series. Others are new discussions. An article that has new information added has "Updated" in in the title. One that was heavily re-written will be marked as "Revised." Articles that are entirely new to this version of the FAQ are marked "New".

 

The WOTFAQ is not meant to be comprehensive. This means there is a good chance your pet theory isn't included (unless of course your pet theory is shared by many).

 

The WOTFAQ does not have spoilers for Towers of Midnight. Yes, we know that means some articles are incorrect now. Deal with it.

 

Aside from fixing typos and other mistakes, the next update of the WOTFAQ is planned for 2011, before the publication of A MEMORY OF LIGHT.

[JenniferL]

It's really too bad I'm getting my Masters in Special Education and not literature. This could have been my Master's thesis.

[dwn]

This is probably the best Wheel of Time thing to happen in recent memory, overshadowing, in my opinion, all the Towers of Midnight prerelease hype.

 

Thanks for the great work, guys!

 

-- dwn

[Duskfire]

Goob job! Always been a huge fan of the FAQ; used to visit the site heaps when I was a beginner to the WoT world.

[didymos]

OK, caught a bit that escaped updating in the Moghedien part of the "Who are the Forsaken? Where are they now?" section:

 

Current condition unknown; there is some suggestion that she may not have survived the Cleansing at the end of WH.

 

She shows up alive and as well as a mindtrapped minion can be in the "At the Gardens" chapter of Knife Of Dreams. As of the TGS Prologue, she and Cyndane are off rallying Darkfriends and taking occasional shots at Mat and Perrin. Lanfear/Cyndane got skipped too, but her section doesn't contain any now discredited notions.

[JenniferL]

Email stuff like that to me. I'm compiling a list. I'm not sure when I'll get to it, especially with TOWERS coming out next week, but I'm more likely to get to it if it's in my email. wotfaq@dragonmount.com

[JenniferL]

Oh and thanks for reading. When people find mistakes, I know you did more than say "Oh how nice." and click off to something else.

[didymos]

Email stuff like that to me. I'm compiling a list. I'm not sure when I'll get to it, especially with TOWERS coming out next week, but I'm more likely to get to it if it's in my email. wotfaq@dragonmount.com

 

Oh, OK, cool. I wasn't sure what the procedure was.

[didymos]

Oh and thanks for reading. When people find mistakes, I know you did more than say "Oh how nice." and click off to something else.

 

So, would that mean nitpicking is, like, the next most sincere form of flattery?

[fborch]

Nice stuff guys

[Dream]

Fantastic and perfectly timed. I know how I'll be spending the rest of the day.

 

Thanks jenniferl.

 

 

 

PS

It's a good thing the WOTFAQ is finally up. I've been waiting for it so long, I was considering setting up the Wheel Of Time Dream's Edition Frequently Asked Questions. What a mistake that would have been!

 

(If you caught that joke...sorry!)

[Sid]

WoT the FaQ

 

It's updated!

Thanks for the hard work

 

Now about those prophecies...

[JenniferL]

Not until January at the earliest. =)

[Baletickle_to_da_face!]

Love reading this thing every now and then. Appreciate the time and effort put in