What is a KOTL?

Hello, KOTL folks! My name is hitthepin, and today we are here to answer the question: what exactly is a KOTL? 

During the month of May, as the quarantine and isolation caused by COVID-19 has marched on, the off-topic forums have absolutely exploded in popularity. New KOTLs, KOTL spin-offs, and KOTL look-alikes have appeared with such increasing frequency that they have now become a dime a dozen. 

But this leads to a philosophical question of sorts. What exactly is a KOTL? That's the question that we're here to answer today. 

So, join me on an epic journey, as we discuss what KOTL is, and just as importantly, what it is not. 

A KOTL does not need to have "KOTL" in the title.

The most prominent example of this would be @AustinXJet 's MOAR and MOAR 2, which obviously do not have "KOTL" anywhere in their names, yet still most definitely qualify as a KOTL. On the other hand, something with "KOTL" in the name might not be a KOTL - the troll KOTLs in particular are obvious examples of this. 

A KOTL is not a single game. 

I say that the definition of KOTL is "a text-based series of action-adventure multiplayer games". Note the word series. There need to be multiple games hosted on the same thread for that thread to be considered a KOTL. This disqualifies such things like the World Country Roleplay from being KOTLs. 

Then again, a KOTL may or may not be active.

A cursory look at the Directory will show you many more inactive KOTLs that active ones. Kind of the Ladder and VRBA are examples of gigantic, relatively important KOTLs that are entirely inactive. Hence, there are threads such as those that qualify as KOTLs despite not being active, and there are threads that are clearly not KOTLs, yet are still active. Activity and the state of being a KOTL are unrelated variables. 

A KOTL must be multiplayer.

Once again, look back at the definition. The games being played must be multiplayer games, obviously meaning that single-player games are not included. The most obvious forum that this excludes would be @eryxc 's Love Cookies series, which meets nearly every other criteria, but fails at this critical point. 

A KOTL need not be violent. 

"Action-adventure" is a loose term. Although no successful KOTL has begun that has focused on a sense of peaceful games, that does not mean that one never will. 

On the other hand, some sense of action and adventure must persist, while still remaining text-based. 

Mafia does not count as a KOTL - it is Mafia, not a KOTL. KOTL occupies a grey area that's between the heavily text-based Mafia and actual video games. It occupies a complexity that is slightly higher than, "I shoot you! I win!", but remains lower than any Dungeons and Dragons session that you might attend. 

Finally, a KOTL must be a KOTL. 

Trolls posting are not KOTLs. Chatting threads are not KOTLs. Science threads are not KOTLs. Chess threads are not KOTLs. Spam threads are not KOTLs. Word games are not KOTLs. And for the love of God, TOGOT is not a KOTL, no matter what the title might say. 

So, what is a KOTL? 

Of course, I could give you the classic definition that I always do. King of the Ladder, or KOTL, is the text-based action-adventure multiplayer series of games. 

But really? There's no scientific, hard definition on what a KOTL is. There is still a grey area between a KOTL and a not-KOTL. 

And that's OK. We don't really need to know what is or what isn't a KOTL in order to enjoy it. If it's fun, and we do not intend to hurt anyone, well then. All the better. 

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely, 

Me

EDITORS NOTE (@HorribleTomato): Maybe the true KOTL was the friends we made along the way.