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--- alternate_history:isot [2014/07/25 12:23] – Petike
+++ alternate_history:isot [2019/03/29 15:13] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
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-==== Pecularities of its use on AH.com ====
+==== Pecularities of the term's use on AH.com ====
 However, ISOT has become such a popular term that it is now often used simply in lieu of 'time travel', of one person, such as 'ISOT myself to WW1'. ISOT is primarily now used as a verb, though also as a noun.
+----
 ==== Pronunciation of the acronym ====
 ISOT is usually pronounced as 'eye-sot'.
+----
 ==== Possible physical ramifications ====
@@ Line 32: / Line 37: @@
 The first idea is generally popular and is also generally assumed to be the "default solution" of any scenario involving an [[ISOT]]. The second idea is less popular, but has its proponents and fans.
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 ==== Examples of works based on ISOTs ====
-=== Published works ===
+=== a.) Published works ===
 Many published AH works are based on the premise of an ISOT.
@@ Line 41: / Line 48: @@
 This includes the aforementioned //Island in the Sea of Time// trilogy by Stirling, but also Eric Flint's //[[163X]]// series, [[Harry Turtledove]]'s //The Misplaced Legion//, John Birmingham's //Axis of Time// trilogy and //Without Warning// series.
-However, note that the actual term/acronym 'ISOT' is rarely used in published fiction. The authors usually prefer to pick their own naming conventions. For instance, in the //163X// books, it is termed 'The Ring of Fire', and in the //Island in the See of Time// itself, it is referred to simply as 'the Event'.
+However, note that the actual term/acronym 'ISOT' is rarely used in published fiction. The authors usually prefer to pick their own naming conventions. For instance, in the //163X// books, it is termed 'The Ring of Fire', and in the //[[Island in the Sea of Time]]// itself, it is referred to simply as 'the Event'.
-=== AH.com works ===
+=== b.) AH.com works ===
 Many [[timelines:ASB timelines]] and stories created on AH.com are based around various types of ISOTs.
-Some notable examples from the [[offtopic:New Board]]'s early years :
+Some notable examples from the [[offtopic:New Board]]'s early years:
-  * [[offtopic:Chris]]' //**[[offtopic/complete_works_of_chris#the_second_chance_trilogy_britain_in_the_sea_of_time|Second Chance]]**// trilogy
+  * [[offtopic:Chris]]' //**[[offtopic:complete_works_of_chris#the_second_chance_trilogy_britain_in_the_sea_of_time|Second Chance]]**// trilogy
   * [[offtopic:Thande]]'s //**[[stories:Moonstruck]]**// trilogy
   * [[offtopic:Doctor What]]'s //**[[stories:Extinction Event]]**//
+Of course, the ASB forum offers many more ISOT timelines and stories, older and newer, with varying premises (and at varying levels of completion). A good place to start looking for interesting ISOT timelines is to visit the ASB sections of [[alternate_history:turtledove_winners_by_year|each annual]] [[alternate history:Turtledove Awards]] [[alternate_history:turtledove_winners_by_year|page]], and perhaps even open the annual Turtledove Awards nominations and voting threads that cover ISOT or ASB scenarios. You're bound to find an ISOT scenario that might interest you.
+----
+==== Types of ISOT scenarios ====
+Similarly to other ASB scenarios, ISOTs have gradually developed into something of a mini-genre, big enough to even have subgenres of its own. Here are some of the popular and common types (or subgenres) of ISOTs:
+  - **ISOTing small pieces of territory**, usually from a more technologically advanced era to a less advanced era, or to a noticably alternate timeline or fictional world
+  - **ISOTing entire sovereign countries** (or other self-governing areas), either individually or in groups, to a different historical era (commonly also from the future to the past), or a different timeline, or a fictional world
+  - **ISOTing a group of people**, either purely civilians or military personnel or even both, to a different historical era, different timeline, or a fictional world, usually with enough equipment for basic survival and getting by in the early days after the ISOT
+  - **ISOTing individual items** (tools, machinery, plans and blueprints, textbooks, powerful artefacts, etc.) rather than people from one era to another era, or to different timeline or fictional world
+  - **personal ISOTs**, where only a single person is ISOTed to a different era, or a different timeline or fictional world, instead of a whole group of people (usually, the individual gets ISOTed with minimum possessions)
+  - various plausible **combinations of the above** scenarios
+  - the '**self-insert**' (**SI**), where a mundane person or some historical personality wakes up in the body and mind of a (different) historical personality from another period, or a fictional character from a fictional setting
+Many of these ISOT types are not unique to AH.com works, having also appeared in many published non-AH.com works by various authors of speculative fiction. However, some occur on AH.com scenarios, timelines and stories with much greater regularity than in non-AH.com works.
+----
 ==== See Also ====
-**[[AH.com's AH Writing Slang]]**
+**[[alternate_history:ah_slang_and_acronyms|AH.com's AH Writing Slang]]**
 **[[Max's First Law]]** - A theoretical postulate dealing with the general results of an ISOT.
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 ==== Navigation ====
 **[[alternate history:alternate history|Alternate History Topics Section Main Directory]]**