Dossier

A Dossier is a collection of documents or data about a particular person, event, subject, or other topic.

• They are typically stored in electronic formats. However, in lower tech systems, they may be retained on paper, stone tablets, or other media.

Description (Specifications)

While dossiers typically apply to personnel and events in a conventional sense, within the AAB Library Data files, they are typically used to describe history or background relating to sophontic matters, which is to say the knowledge relating to technologically sophisticated species, rather than astronomical, physical, or other scientific data related to relatively unchanging facts. Hard data is filed under Specifications.

Dossiers often describe the physical possessions of an individual, the details and layout of a facility, or the sophontilogical story of a world and its inhabitants. On vehicles and ships, the dossier describes the history and background of a design, its roles, its origin, who made it, why, and the like.

Detailed Dossier Breakdown

AAB Library Data Article Type

Dossier Sections

Article Type	Remarks
Base	The dossier section of this kind of file details: The history of a specific or general base type over technological epochs to include a variety of details that would be of interest to someone with the Traveller Gene.
Corporation or Megacorporation	The specifications section of this kind of file details: A basic history of the company including founders, stories, related events, etc. It might include a listing of Trade Partners, Trade Competitors, and possibly a Corporate Timeline.
Creature	The dossier section of this kind of file details: The history and background of the creature being profiled: who discovered it, what it can be used for, what role it plays in its ecosystem, how dangerous it is, etc.
Facility	The dossier section of this kind of file details: The history of a specific or general facility type over technological epochs to include a variety of details that would be of interest to someone with the Traveller Gene. It might also include a basic overview of what the facility does and who finds it of use. This would complement the specifications section. There can be overlap between the two headings.
Goods	The dossier section of this kind of file details: History and usage of the good. Technological development of the good by Technological Epoch.
Language	The dossier section of this kind of file details: The historical linguistics of a language: Who uses it, where it is use, how it developed, what status or prestige is associated with it, etc.
Periodical	The dossier section of this kind of file details: Primary source reference or sources. Links to external sites with reviews, commentary, data, or other kinds of related data. A referral tree to related articles. Background behind the scenes commentary from authors, fans, publishers, or other sources that help to illustrate the product's development or are otherwise of interest.
Personage (VIP)	The dossier section of this kind of file details: History and background of the VIP and details of their recent actions and how they may be of interest. A rough timeline of the VIP's life.
Polity	The dossier section of this kind of file details: History and background of the polity with details about the polities capabilities such as its commercial reach, military, technology, etc.
Publication	The dossier section of this kind of file details: Primary source reference or sources. Links to external sites with reviews, commentary, data, or other kinds of related data. A referral tree to related articles. Background behind the scenes commentary from authors, fans, publishers, or other sources that help to illustrate the product's development or are otherwise of interest.
Sector	The dossier section of this kind of file details: History possibly with a timeline Native sophonts Polities Trade routes etc.
Ship	The dossier section of this kind of file details: Details about the research and development of the ship, which polities use it, how it is operationally used, and related details.
Sophont	The dossier section of this kind of file details: A basic high level overview of the specie's history and how they came to be on the interstellar stage... Or why they are trapped within their gravity well with non-spacefaring technology. Cultural sophontology: belief system, values, psychology, religion, morality, motivation, traditions, aesthetics, architecture, art, language, calendar, timekeeping system/s, etc. Societal sophontology: Government, trade, military, research, technology, etc.
Subsector	The dossier section of this kind of file details: History possibly with a timeline Polities Native sophont / NILs Resident sophonts / demography etc.

History & Background (Dossier)

The AAB adopted the dossier system early in the time of the Vilani Imperium, and all of its succeeding empires have kept the system. It has a relatively standard format although many administrators over the millennia have modified or otherwise edited the files and databases, leaving a not perfectly standard set of data.

The Library Data used on Ship’s Computers at and starport libraries may diverge from the data collections at AAB Data Repository installations.

References & Contributors (Sources)

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science