I now pronounce you Dwarf & Hobbit...oops!

[davem]

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?op...=5400&Itemid=2

Now, this is not about the 'morality' of inter-racial marriage, same sex marriage or anything else.

Its about to what extent writers of fanfic & players of role-playing games ought to change an existing creation. No gay marriage in Middle-earth, no Dwarves marrying Hobbits - because those things don't happen in Tolkien's writings.

For the time being, that is ...

There still is a chance to allow for same-sex marriage in LOTRO in the future, according to executive producer Jeffrey Steefel. “I think we're waiting to see how the players react,” he said.

Now, should players have any say in the matter at all? If Tolkien didn't include it shouldn't it be verboten? Whatever it is - Elves can't fly in Tolkien's work. Hobbits can't become wizards. There are some things that simply can't happen. There are other things that simply don't.

Yet, what if the majority of players decide they do want to play a wizard hobbit, or a flying Elf - do the rules of Middle-earth get changed to suit them? And at what point does Middle-earth on-line stop having anything to do with Tolkien's creation & become just another on-line fantasy game?

And yet, and yet... one comes down to the question of discrimination - if same sex marriages are banned in this manifestation of M-e is this acceptable?

It seems to me that this incident has opened up a whole can of worms about Tolkien's creation - while the books (& movies based on them) set the boundaries of Middle-earth the question never even arose. Now one manifestation of M-e is suddenly opened up to thousands of co-creators, whose values & fantasies may conflict with Tolkien's own.

So, another 'canonicity' discussion in part, but also a simpler question - if players get to change the rules of M-e in this game, is it really M-e?