darklordoftech said:
Also, Palpatine wasn't a Sith.
But he was a user of the dark side, at least as far back as Empire strikes Back. Vader bows to him and calls him master. He was at that point no longer an out of touch sovereign being used by his lackeys like the Emperor in Dune or a fraud politician hiding behind smoke and mirrors like an Evil OZ.
In the original concept you could be a force user and not be a Jedi, or a user of the dark side and not be a Sith Lord. One of Lucas confusing ideas around Return of the Jedi.