In common terminology, eras are periods of time which are dominated by a single game, usually an MMORPG. They follow an endless cycle of gaming and, though there does not need to be an era all the time, a new era always appears to take the last one's place. The first era began in June of 2005, and the cycle continues to this day.
History
The first era began in June of 2005, when the game City of Heroes was released to the Imaginary World on the 19th. A string of eras continued, including games such as Runescape, MapleStory, and The Frozen Throne, along with CoH, which each had their somewhat fair share of eras.
List of Eras
1.
Began - June 19th, 2005
Ended - c. Early February, 2007
Game - City of Heroes
Era Number of Game - First
2.
Began - c. Early February, 2007
Ended - c. Early to Mid April, 2007
Game - Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
Era Number of Game - First
3.
Began - c. Mid April, 2007
Ended - Anywhere between June and Mid August, 2007
Game - City of Heroes
Era Number of Game - Second
4,
Began - c. Late August, 2007
Ended - c. Early to Mid September, 2007
Game - Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
Era Number of Game - Second
5.
Began - October 25th, 2007
Ended - Anywhere between Mid January and Early February, 2008
Game - MapleStory
Era Number of Game - First
6.
Began - Early February, 2008
Ended - June 5th, 2008
Game - Runescape
Era Number of Game - First
7.
Began - Somewhere in July, 2008
Ended - Anywhere from Mid August to Mid September, 2008
Game - City of Heroes
Era Number of Game - Third
8.
Began - c. Mid to Late September, 2008
Ended - Somewhere in January, 2009
Game - MapleStory
Era Number of Game - Second
9.
Began - July 22nd, 2009
Ended - December 7th, 2009
Game - MapleStory
Era Number of Game - Third
10.
Began - April 2nd, 2011
Ended - Ongoing
Game - Runescape
Era Number of Game - Second
Controversy
There are quite a few areas of the era string which are being challenged and argued over.
What Happened in the Beginnning?
The Era Historian Court, the ruling deciders of era history, have given the entire period between June 19th, 2005, and Early February, 2007 to the First City of Heroes Era. However, many believe that is wrong and are pushing to look further into that time period.
The Court presents this argument:
1. Because City of Heroes was the only MMORPG available at that time, the entire period between its beginnings and the dawn of the First Frozen Throne Era would automatically be given over to CoH because there technically wasn't any era and David would be able to go in and out of the game as he pleased, and no competition between games could exist.
Right now, there is ongoing pressure on the Court to dig deeper into this period.
Third CoH: Summer or Autumn?
When the Runescape era ended in July of 2008, there is a time period which is thought by many to be a Third City of Heroes era. While, because Issue 12 was released in March of 2008, the era most certainly exists, the argument over what season it took place in is major and ongoing.
The Autumn side presents the argument that Issue 13 wasn't released until Early December of 2008 and a City of Heroes Era could have easily taken place after the Second Maple Era. There is absolutely no evidence to support that the Second Maple Era continued all the way from September until January 2009.
The Summer side presents these arguments:
1. While it is a known fact that MapleStory was being played on New Years Day of 2009, there is no evidence to support that the era did or did not split itself into two.
2. There is also no iota of fact to prove that David Salapa, the conductor of eras, was in a CoH era at all. A Maple era during school years would prove far more flexible and time-managing.
3. David Salapa made his character, Auburn Attacker, to level 50 during this era. He would have taken note of the season, and he could see Summer being far more present in his mind the day he made it to level 50.
Being that David had said Summer as the season, that is the clearer answer to what time period that era took place in.
The 2009 Conundrum
Was there an era between the Second and Third Maple Eras? This is the question asked by some, who have challenged the ruling by the Era Historian Court that no era took place between January and July 22nd, 2009.
The Historian Court presents these arguments.
1. David Salapa knows for a fact that he did not play City of Heroes, because he does not remember playing Issues 13 and above.
2. A Maple era is not directly followed up with another after that short of a transition time.
3. David had asked for his 13th Birthday to cancel his Runescape Membership.
The skeptics, however, are saying there is no evidence to support that The Frozen Throne was not played in between those two time periods. Though there certainly isn't, the Historian Court finds no evidence of it being played either.
This argument is currently ongoing.
Code:
http://en.wikipedia.org.co.imaginary/wiki/Era