--------------------------------------------
On Mon, 8/25/14, Craig Berry <cdberry@gmail.com> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [TML] expected ship traffic
 To: tml@simplelists.com
 Date: Monday, August 25, 2014, 2:27 PM

 the reason is that Traveller is not (and has
 never
 been) super high tech. There are
 elements of technology that we can't
 produce, mostly involving propulsion and
 weaponry. But there is no
 pervasive change
 in the fundamentals, such as an economy of scarcity.
 Traveller is fundamentally about a late 20th
 century society that
 happens to have
 gravitics, jump drives, and meson guns.

 Thus, the trick to making Traveller work has
 always been keeping the
 cables which support
 suspension of disbelief both sufficiently strong
 and reasonably well hidden. This will
 necessarily involve some
 handwaving. Where
 those handwaves work best is a matter of taste,
 bolstered (or otherwise) by canon. In this
 case, since we know the 3I
 has a great deal
 of trade from a number of canon-based arguments, it
 seems to me easiest to assume that this trade
 will follow the usual
 rules of business and
 economics. Giant container ships serving major
 worlds follows as a natural consequence.

 You can choose other handwaves
 to get one Far Trader a week visiting
 Mora,
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I guess we have a difference of opinion as to what constitutes super-hi-tech.
I believe the TU's Tech justifies such a term & you don't.
A difference of opinion that is necessarily subjective.

Choosing which 'handwaves' to use is also subjective.

As far as 'canon-based' arguments go, I believe we're all relying on canon but w/i Traveller(tm) canon has changed so much & so often that, IMO, it has come mean very little. We all embrace what we like & ignore what we don't.

As far as 'suspension of disbelief' goes, I've always felt that MegaTrav, Virus, & T4 actually worked to weaken those "cables" rather then strengthen them. I also have reservations about T5 but have not yet formed a definitive opinion.
=========================================================================