Talk:Main
Discussions (2015)
CotI Link: What does one call a J-2 jump "main"?
- Maksim-Smelchak (talk) 14:28, 19 July 2016 (EDT)
Notes (2015)
Collected ideas from CotI members:
- Access
- Backwater
- Connector
- Corridor
- Hinters
- Line
- Loop
- Nexus
- Pendant
- Reach
- Route
- Run
- Scatters
- Space Lane
- Spur
- Starlane
- Tract
- Trade Route
- Wisp
Greater Mains (Yellow)
- Star systems on long (50 or more stars) mains.
- Most multi-sector and single-sector mains are greater mains.
- High economic and trade activity (interstellar traffic).
Lesser Mains (Blue)
- Star systems on short (10 - 50 stars) mains.
- Many subsector mains are lesser mains.
- Moderate economic and trade activity (interstellar traffic).
Arms, Branches, Traces, Clusters & Others (Green)
- Star systems with few if any significant connections to any main.
- May be subsets of larger mains.
- Most of these astrographic features are located in just one or two subsectors.
- Low economic and trade activity (interstellar traffic).
Origin of the terms
The first use of "Main" I've been able to find is in Library Data (N-Z) from 1983, in a reference to the Spinward Main.
The term Cluster shows up in the The Spinward Marches (referring to the Jewell cluster). And again in Library Data (A-M) under Glea (Glean Cluster, an unusually rich grouping of 16 Hiver-habitable worlds, mutually accessible by jump-I shipping). Library Data (N-Z) notes under Subsector that a synonym is "cluster", giving an approximate upper size on the term.
Later books (and non-canon references) make similar kinds of off-hand references to the terms "Main", "Branch", "Cluster", and "Trace". That is, the terms are used in names, like "Spinward Main" without any precise definition.
Based upon the existing known names and some of the references, I applied the separation at 50 system to distinguish between a Main (with branches) and a Trace or Cluster. As the latter two terms are never defined (just used), the wiki asserts they are interchangeable.
Since the smallest grouping of independent systems given a name in canon was between five and 10 systems, I asserted the smallest grouping was 5 systems. The list above gathered from the COTI group-mind may provide a non-canon version of a name for the smaller groupings.
Tjoneslo (talk) 18:36, 19 July 2016 (EDT)
Hi Thomas, I think we should change it to 2 to 50 then for the cluster/trace and 51+ for the main. What sayeth you?
- BTW, thanks for the research. It confirms my findings.
- Maksim-Smelchak (talk) 19:46, 19 July 2016 (EDT)
- I'll see if I can find some.
- - Maksim-Smelchak (talk) 22:04, 19 July 2016 (EDT)
As I was going through the process of getting the Empty Quarter into the Wiki, I arbitrarily picked four for a cluster and 30+ for a main. Ssteve