General Coat Patterns Questions

So I guess I am here to get clear answers. This does not concern grandfathered characters/puppies that derive from characters with markings approved and in game currently. I am looking to find out what is what is acceptable and what is not when it comes to coat patterns/markings/what have you. Currently, I feel that "semi-realism" is extremely subjective and thus leads to a lot of confusion. I know I, myself, am very hesitant to bring in a character with anything other than a plain coat parttern. I know there are lots of feelings on this but figured I'd make a discussion about the overall topic rather than specific markings/colors.

I tend toward leaning following the guidebook outlines (with ref to dog-gene markings like brindle, merle) but some markings- such as having ticked guard hairs, some darker fur or lighter fur around the shoulders, different coloured tail tip, darker ears, vitiligo, etc. Those are more naturally occurring in nature. Heart shaped patches also occur in nature, but other patches and stuff tend to be rarer. 

If I'm not sure, I just go on a good ol' google search to see if I can find a pattern and colour combo that is found in nature and go by that :)

This is our current wording from here: https://wolf-rpg.com/showthread.php?tid=16171

Character Designs
WOLF has a semi-realism policy that extends to character creation, in that players are free to design wolves with unusual markings or patterns, but all wolves must have realistic coloring.

Wolves can come in any shade of black, grey, white, tan, or brown -- and any agouti derivative of these colors. Depending on subspecies, some wolves can come in shades of russet brown or orange-tan. Iberian wolves, ethiopian wolves, and mexican wolves all demonstrate higher saturation of "rust", while arctic wolves, tundra wolves, and other subspecies tend to typically come in whites, greys, and agouti.

Patterning and markings can vary by subspecies, but please keep it realistic! Piebald markings, tri-color, dilutes, merles, and brindle are all unlikely to occur in purebred wolves and should only be used in wolves with direct dog ancestry.

Players are free to select any eye color.

Unrealistic Designs
Wolves cannot be blue, purple, red, green or any other color that is not explicitly mentioned above. Included in the non-permissible category are stripes and markings resembling stripes. Wolves may not have accessories unless they have a compelling backstory, and these accessories must be limited to realistic means such as: collars, tracking collars, harnesses, or tags.

The CMs are always happy to clear up any confusing language, so maybe a starting point would be -- what specifically isn't worded well or what is coming across as ambiguous or subjective?

I guess, to me, it reads as a bit contradictory. At the very beginning, it's stated that unusual markings and patterns are allowed, they just have to be realistic colors, and then further down it's said that there are specific markings allowed via dog ancestry only (which I'm not contesting, that makes sense to me). So I guess my big question is what is the line for "unusual" markings/patterns. I know someone struggled with a character that had a spotted face bc the spots were too symmetrical but at the same time, symmetry does occur in nature, which (to me) is where the subjectivity comes in.

I appreciate the time y'all take to answer this, I know it can be a point of contention <3

I guess, to me, it reads as a bit contradictory. At the very beginning, it's stated that unusual markings and patterns are allowed, they just have to be realistic colors, and then further down it's said that there are specific markings allowed via dog ancestry only (which I'm not contesting, that makes sense to me). So I guess my big question is what is the line for "unusual" markings/patterns.

Unusual markings and patterns are allowed within reason. Some examples:
https://wolf-rpg.com/member.php?action=profile&uid=4601
https://wolf-rpg.com/member.php?action=profile&uid=3762
https://wolf-rpg.com/member.php?action=profile&uid=6443
https://wolf-rpg.com/member.php?action=profile&uid=4733

None of these are designs that would ever occur IRL in a full-blooded wolf, but we have some flexibility as long as they are realistic colors. In general, as long as the color exists in the canid species, it is acceptable.

I know someone struggled with a character that had a spotted face bc the spots were too symmetrical but at the same time, symmetry does occur in nature, which (to me) is where the subjectivity comes in.

The character in question had two exact Rorschach markings on its face. It wasn't just the symmetry that was the issue but the inclusion of an unrealistically exact symbol - as a general rule, symbol markings are not permissible outside of hearts (which are found IRL).

Spotting is a non-issue. There's lots of things that cause spotting or variation in coat expression  -- unstable KIT genes (random mutations), merle, splash, dilutes, brindling, leukotricia, vitiligo. In general though, these things don't show up as an exact marking of a symbol.

If players are worried their design might toe the line they can always post it here to crowdsource. Historically, there have been very few declines because of design alone. In general players seem to have a good grasp of what’s permissible and this is rarely an issue.