Everything

To preserve what netizens build in this Zone, Formatted Sectors are typically Constrained – that is, set into certain forms by protocols that limit the possibilities within that sector. That process used to be anathema to many Virtual Adepts, who claimed that information needed to remain free, especially in virtual reality space. That idea, sadly, faded under the stress of conflict, division, and the incursion of all those goddamned Sleepers who could not and would not follow the plan. Even the most idealistic Adepts soon wound up Constraining private realms where only the most elite of them could go. As usual, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

For a while, sectors that had been Formatted within certain protocols were called Constraint Realms, regions where visitors and their activities had to follow a certain theme. Folks who bridled at the term “constraint” preferred configuration instead. Eventually, the clunky phrase was streamlined into C-Sector (occasionally even into the grotesque pun “C-Section”), a term that’s come to mean “any area configured to suit a given idea.” And because almost any Formatted area is configured to suit a given idea – and, by extension, to exclude ideas that don’t fit the creator’s plans – C-Sector now refers to an area designed for a particular kind of use. Any type of sector that’s been deliberately Formatted by netizens is essentially a C-Sector.

Under that huge umbrella, you’ve got SRVRZ, the highly-Restricted Technocratic strongholds; FreeSpace, which has ironically been Constrained to keep out everyone but the most idealistic transhumanists; a multitude of private Saves where netizens gather in exclusive company, shaping little reality rooms to suit their needs and fancies; Coms (or ComGrounds) like the legendary Spy’s Demise, where folks from different factions can mingle in relative safety; and the massive Grid Sectors where the majority of the action, Awakened and otherwise, goes down…