A Fixed Attitude OS Throughline implies that all characters have the same type of outlook or may be different outlooks on something. Say, some characters are very positive about something, while others are very negative, etc.
It can mean that all of the characters in the OS have a shared mindset that creates problems for everyone, or it can mean that everyone has their own individual mindsets that create problems, or it can mean that some of the characters have a mindset that creates problems for everyone.
The different throughlines are different perspectives on a problem. They do not describe the characters or the events of the story. They describe what the source of conflict looks like to a single Storymind as it views the source from different points of view.
The OS throughline takes the perspective that conflict stems from a single source for the entire system. It doesn’t require every character to be engaged in the process that creates the problem. It only needs to see the source of conflict as applying to the system overall. When taking an OS perspective within a story, all of the characters (characters being analogies for different aspects of the same mind) should have conflict that stems from the same source.
If John’s fear of snakes causes everyone on the expedition to fall into the river and lose all of their equipment, then John’s fear of snakes is problematic for everyone. This works for an OS throughline because John’s fear of snakes has affected everyone even though not everyone is afraid of snakes.
If everyone fears snakes, and John’s fear of snakes causes him alone to fall into the river and lose his equipment while creating no issues for anyone else, then John’s fear of snakes is not problematic for everyone. This does not work for an OS throughline because not everyone has experienced conflict due to a fear of snakes, even though everyone fears them.
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