In my desperation to change the subject, I offer forth moar IRC copypasta:
<Saddam> lore
<Crudblud> No
<Crudblud> Lore makes me snore
<Blanko> Have you guys noticed how Saddam doesn't actually ever talk about lore
<Saddam> What a twist!
<Saddam> the lorefag has no lore
<Blanko> Alexandyr and beardo know way more about TES lore than Saddam does
<Saddam> ON the contrary, I know quite a bit about it
<Saddam> I just don't talk about it as much as I do continuity
<Saddam> Because the fact is that the lore itself isn't really set in stone
<Blanko> It's true
<Saddam> When people complain that something violates lore, what it usually amounts to is just them criticizing the writing
<Blanko> Anything can potentially be a retcon I mean transcription error yes :^)
<Saddam> Not even that
<Saddam> It's like when people say "This city shouldn't look like that"
<Crudblud> All lore problems with TESO could have been avoided if they'd just said it was an alternate universe Tamriel
<Saddam> How do they know what the city should look like?
<Saddam> Because they imagined it differently?
<Blanko> lolwut
<Saddam> Yes
<Blanko> You were complaining about that as well
<Blanko> And I argued against it
<Foxbox> Yeah m8
<Crudblud> m8 m8 m8
<Saddam> But that was a continuity issue, not one of lore
<Blanko> ok saddam
<Saddam> We have seen Windhelm and Riften in previous games
<Blanko> ok
<Crudblud> Saddam: No one cares, go away
<Blanko> Yes, with a timespan of a thousand years separating them
<Saddam> I've heard some people complain that, say, the Aldmeri Dominion isn't portrayed how it "should" be
<Saddam> And as evidence, they offer forth the absurdly biased Pocket Guide to the Empire
<Blanko> I could argue that nothing in TESO is as it should be because it's a shit game
<Saddam> Irrelevant to lore
And I stand by this. It's fine to criticize the writing or design of any part of the game, but it's not always a violation of lore.