...canon as we define it isn't all what it is hyped up to be (As is the case with Paramount's more-recent canon), and perhaps it's better to tweak thngs a bit to the point where we don't go cross-eyed on even the government Kirk and crew serves in.
Couldn't agree more. The inconsistancies and lack of hard info in many areas of Trek "canon" practically invite us to fill in the blanks in whatever manner seems logical to us personally.
While this has been an interesting discussion overall (albeit a bit testy at times), I think it really comes down to this: all of us as individuals have a certain version of Star Trek in our heads, and this includes what exactly "canon" might be, how much we each take from all the varied information sources, what level of disdain we have for certain ST writers, lol...
Besides, the fact is, pretty much everybody here, everyone who plays this game, models for it, admins it, scripts for it, whatever, tends to be smarter than your average bear. After close to four years of being around these forums, that's quite plain to see. And in my experience smart people tend to be rather opinioned, and sure in their opinion, lol. The good thing is, we all tend to be pretty civilized about it. At least, now we do, the old days could get pretty rough, lol...