system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Terminator Series] How many different timelines are there? What is seen to be the most agreed upon cannon?

Possible Dark Fate Spoiler:

After Terminator 2 it seems like their are 3 separate timelines: Rise of the Machines + Salvation (where John Connor is needed after all), and Sarah Connor Chronicles + Dark Fate (where John is not neccessary needed after altering the past), and Genesis (T1, T2, T3 and Salvation all occur in order). Its all so confusing... Any Terminator experts out there have the real answer?
gpt
I think the timelines are basically:

T1-T2-T3-T:Salvation

T1-T2-T:SCC

T1-T2-T:Genysis

T1-T2-T:Dark Fate

And that's not including various comics and book series.

In terms of 'official' canon, it's pretty much whichever film series is most current, so Dark Fate at the moment.