[quote=ShonHarris]
I'm not trying to be an ass here, but I think this question could be good for the group.

Not everyone here is from America or the Euro-ancestral nations for the matter. That said, notable periods of history and well-known figures could vary pretty significantly. For example, if one wanted to place a story set during the Soviet-Afgan War, this period is very significant to many, but not really common knowledge in America. There are numerous other situations like this, so I just wanted to get some clarification. This is absolutely [I]not[/I] a criticism. I love the changes and this theme, and am happy to see the WOTM back and strong!
[/quote]

That's a fine question to ask. It was left purposely vague for the sake of not limiting it to periods notable to the United States or Europe (although the given examples might give that impression, whoops). The word "notable" was used rather than "significant" or "important" for similar reasons, that it needn't be a world-shaking event or period being discussed. Given our past extreme flexibility in letting people interpret themes and components within reasonable boundaries, I'm confident that there would be no problem with something set during the Soviet-Afghan war. If it's something worthy of a paragraph or more in a history textbook focusing on that region of the world, I would say you've absolutely crossed the threshold for what makes something notable. The well-known figure part could be interpreted the same way, if they're well-known (which I would say means you'd expect most people to recognize the name and maybe be able to give a brief outline of what they're known for) in that region of the world then they should count for that component.

This stuff goes for all themes and components now and in the future: if you could make a reasonable case for why your interpretation is logical, then we're almost certain to allow it. I can't think of a single entry we ever denied in the past due to a disagreement with interpretation of a theme or component, and we've gotten some things that were miles outside the box. :lol

[quote=Neobullseye]
Not to mention events that might not have been all that notable on a worldwide scale, but were life-changing on a local scale (think major natural disasters (Stupid spell check), civil uprisings) and are still remembered to this very day. Do those count too?
[/quote]

Things get a little tenuous when you get down to a local level like that, but there's still a case to be made. It's all about how you define "notable" really, and since we welcome creative interpretations I think most things could be fine. Getting down to a local level like talking about the time some house burned down and everyone was talking about it for weeks, well, that'd probably be pushing the bounds of credibility when it comes to the definition of notable historical events. Something that a local historian would want to write down for posterity, such as a major natural disaster or a civil uprising, ought to be just fine.