There's been tension in the broader shared dreaming community about whether "fictive" realms (fictional world shared dreams like Hogwarts, Middle-earth, etc.) count as "real" SPRs or are just elaborate collaborative fantasy.
Some established researchers argue that only "original" realms like Somnia/Ethel represent genuine persistent shared spaces, while fictive realms are just advanced roleplay with dream technology.
Others argue that any collaboratively accessible dream space with consistent internal logic and multiple independent witnesses counts as "real" regardless of its fictional origins.
This subreddit exists partly because the main shared dreaming forums can be hostile to fictive realm discussion. But I've noticed that some of the hostility comes from legitimate concerns:
Should we be documenting this tension? Should we reach out to the broader community to establish better protocols? Or should we keep developing our own methods separately?
I think we need to engage with the broader community. The splitting/branching behavior I documented in my other post might actually be relevant to SPR research generally, not just fandom stuff.
If fictive realms work differently than original ones, that's useful data. If they work the same way, that's also useful data. Either way, we're contributing to the field, not just playing games.
[MOD] As someone from the "original community," I can tell you that the hostility isn't about dismissal - it's about pattern recognition. We've seen people get lost in fictional constructs in ways that don't happen with "original" realms.
But your research is valuable. The branching behavior you're documenting might explain some things we've observed but couldn't articulate.
Just... be careful. Fictive realms seem to have different risk profiles. Don't assume that what works for Ethel exploration will keep you safe in Hogwarts.
Thank you for the perspective. What specific safety protocols should we be following that might be different from standard SPR exploration?
The fiction provides a convenient scaffold, but it can also create false confidence. You think you know how things work because you read the books. The realm might have other ideas.