The occasion when a full synopsis of characters and plot segments was interjected (by request) into the third segment (iof memory serves) of the Steamboat thread was a spontaneous response to a bit too much spontaneous randomness in character and plot developments.

Institutionalizing such a response would be counter-productive, because it would establish pre-established boundaries and controls that would, I feel sure, dampen the free-spirited creativity of those engaged in the production in the first place. If there is ANY home-plate groundwork in such a thread, it should be absolutely minimal and exercised only in extremis, such as the appearance of some viscious, fat-headed troll from Chicago, or some such unfortunate complication. NOT controlling such a stream of contributions is the first and best policy.

A