Forenote: The information gathered here from The Ultimate Guide is not to rekindle a war. It is not to spark controversy. It is simply to give everyone on the CB a few good ideas when it comes to making AEs. All wars are terrible, and none of them should be repeated. I don't want people to start a war over these examples. 

Now that that's done, here's what I found on the Ultimate Guide about the topic (I couldn't find the exact threads, but rest assured, they did exist). There is no limit to creativity, like Leafpool said. These guidelines, however, were placed so that nobody falls out of creativity and makes an imitation-MP pie-throwing AE.

None of these comments have been edited, although some of them have been trimmed.  

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AE War- Admittedly, I was not there. I think it was a war where people started using AEs everywhere, and then other CBers got frustrated.

Please note that oldie, newbie, and middly are VERY controversial terms and if you use them you will be stampeded by a herd of multi-colored winged buffalos (hence buffalo wings). Just kidding, you won't be stampeded, but you may have some offended CBers (Chatterboxers plural) on your hands.

submitted by Bibliophile

(March 23, 2016 - 5:55 pm)

That's a good description, Bibliophile; again, I'm gonna add on to it.

The AE war was a big controversy (yes, I was there) where there was a very, very large arguement about AEs. Apparently, they had become overused and showed up everywhere, and most of the CBers who didn't have AEs became very, very frustrated. It became a whole thing but was eventually resolved with the solution that threads had to specify AEs were allowed before an AE could post there. This rule is slightly lax, but it's pretty obvious now where/where not AEs should post.

The war became something that we quite literally started an RP during (taking place in a crumbling CB) and of which quite a few people threatened to leave. Post-AE war, Somebody got rid of her AEs DNA and Agent Nightcat and replaced them with Shifting Sands (the Returned of the Continuity) and Volcano Flame (the Ignited of the Fire Realm), and I replaced my AE Saint Owl with Feather.

submitted by St.Owl, age Recarnated, Everywhere

(March 24, 2016 - 11:34 am)

The Second AE War- More recently. There was a lot of intense controversy over how many AEs someone can have, how developed their personalities should be, etc. It eventually faded away as more people called for peace. We cam to an unofficial agreement of these rules, suggested by Abi:

Abigail's Suggested-And-Totally-Unofficial Alter Ego Guidelines

Alter Ego: An alternate personality one sometimes reverts to usually to show a different side of oneself; i.e. sarcasm, nastiness, insanity.

a. Amount of AEs should be from one through three (1-3) per person. Recommended amount is 2.

b. Take time to develop your AEs. Create slowly. They're more fun to write for if they are developed and human. (On a similar subject, avoid OPness.)

c. Use common sense on which threads to bring your AEs onto. The subject is usually a good indicator, and the tone of the writing.

d. Read AE posts and get information about existing AEs prior to making one.

e. Be unique! Try to make your AE singled, seperate, and memorable from the rest.

f. If you do not want AEs on a certain thread that you created, state it clearly. 

Note that a) said "should be." You're not going to get in trouble or anything if you really want more than three. 

submitted by Owlgirl

(August 6, 2016 - 1:29 pm)

the AE War (noun, term/historical event): At one point, there were so many AEs flooding everywhere. These AEs hindered other types of expression- RPs, RRs, and common threads. The war ended with AEs only being allowed on certain threads. Though the rule is a bit looser now because the creators have been getting much better about figuring out when a little pie throwing is appropriate, that was the original agreement. 

submitted by Professor Indigo

(August 3, 2016 - 12:16 pm)

-First AE War

First AE Resolution 

-Second AE War

Note: Began with an Evil AE War thread that was originally intended to be just a fun thing between AEs; basically what I stated earlier is not something listed here. But it grew ugly, and had to be shut down. It was the spark for the war. 

Second AE War Resolution

submitted by Professor Owlgirl, age 13

(December 26, 2016 - 3:43 pm) 

^ CBette put it nicely.

Those rules are in place so we don't repeat past mistakes.

We call them rules, but they're not. They're really just guidelines to avoid another fight. Ways to keep track of AEs and make them interesting. Not everyone follows them to the letter. That's okay. They're not required, as you said. But they are helpful, and we've maintained relative peace with AEs for . . . well, years now, actually, thanks to those rules. 

We will keep calling them rules, yes. Though they're not necessarily rules. I think it's just part of the way we think about them, now. Even though the Admins don't enforce them, we feel the need to.

And we have a good reason to! Those who were around for the First AE War know it was . . . nasty. Like all our wars are. We don't like wars and we don't like nasty wars. That's what the rules are for. To avoid nasty wars.

We did need a reminder in your 2, 4, and 5 categories, though. Those are much appreciated.

I agree with everyting said.

Agreed. And also, I think because of those "rules" Æs are less used and more idle and bland around here than they were in the olden days of the CB. I'm still working on an Æ right now.....I'm dying to have one, but I want to have just the right character developement. Anyway Leafpool, thank you for that bit, and I agree with you, although some people just don't have six Æs because they just can't handle that many. I totally agree with you though.

Ellie says tbdn

To Be Determined How? Hmm...