The biggest problem with this game is not Antiproton getting all the love, FAW being too strong, or anything else. It's that threads like this abound, with users who are too ignorant to realize the difference between weapon types is smaller than the difference they'd get by averaging .2km closer to their targets, and that people have achieved 20 times what they're currently getting with cannons. And that these people continue to spew their uninformed drivel all over zone chat, this forum, and anywhere else they can, as if it's word of law, and screaming "X is OP Pls Nerf" will suddenly nerf others down to their god-forsaken level of play.
SCM - Crystal C. (S) - [00:12] DMG(DPS) - @jarvisandalfred: 8.63M(713.16K) - Fed Sci
Thank you for such an in-depth and informative response :cool:
My knowledge of history, cultural development, and like things, is the one thing I have that I take true pride in. Any time anyone wants to know something about history, I'll be there.
However, identity...identity is IMPORTANT. Not accepting someone's identity is wrong. Special Snowflake whatever aside, if you are something, society SHOULD accept you.
It won't, because it sucks. But it should.
I'm sorry - I've really generally tried to stay out of this whole thing, but...
If this is your belief, and if someone has a vision of a part of a franchise they and you enjoy that you don't agree with, shouldn't you, as part of society, also accept that? It's perfectly all right to acknowledge you don't agree with the interpretation, but it would be unfair to that other person and their stance to consider it 'wrong'.
Fate - protects fools, small children, and ships named Enterprise Will Riker
Member Access Denied Armada!
My forum single-issue of rage: Make the Proton Experimental Weapon go for subsystem targetting!
I'm sorry - I've really generally tried to stay out of this whole thing, but...
If this is your belief, and if someone has a vision of a part of a franchise they and you enjoy that you don't agree with, shouldn't you, as part of society, also accept that? It's perfectly all right to acknowledge you don't agree with the interpretation, but it would be unfair to that other person and their stance to consider it 'wrong'.
Hmmmm...
1. That's a question of how you interpret the show canon, not of personal identity; therefore it is not inviolable.
2. I would say that there is a certain degree of muddiness to anything on TV, and that only people actually involved heavily with the production can understand the INTENT of the piece, but that there can also be implications that have a strongly negative ethos and nature, and certain reactions to certain episodes are not acceptable.
So...examples. Laughing at ENT: "Unexpected" is not OK because sexual assault isn't funny, but interpreting Picard as an arrogant martinet is valid. I may not agree with it and I'll argue with the interpretation, but it's an opinion that has some basis in canon and I can't dismiss it out of hand anyway.
Basically, if you're laughing at something disgusting and unfunny, that's bad and I won't accept that. But if you're interpreting a character differently from me, I will argue that your interpretation is incorrect and offer evidence to support my case, but I won't dismiss it out of hand.
Hell, I once had a twenty-day argument with a Neelix fan, of all things. I gave up after he said that it was perfectly OK to insist on serving food that was known to be poisoned, but I didn't dismiss his arguments out of hand.
Similarly, accepting the Cardassians as people and judging each one on an individual basis is an admirable thing...but praising the Cardassian military regime and/or hailing Dukat as a hero is not.
Grrrrrr. Stupid Star Trek Lego genetics, ruining a perfectly good hypothesis...
But seriously, is there any evidence AGAINST my idea?
The functional and structural differences in the Vulcanoid brain which I previously mentioned. A Human brain doesn't have a mesiofrontal cortex, nor does it have the ability to self-lobotomise in response to traumatic memories, so yes, there is evidence directly contrary to your idea.
Look, if you don't want to conform to the societal mold, that's your right and it's other people's duty to accept that*. Same as it's only polite to ask for pronouns.
*Criminal cases not included.
As you've already been told above:
- It's no one's 'duty' to accept anyone. It is the obligation of others to behave in a way which is not likely to cause offence, distress or discomfort to others. Just because you and your eccentric clique is happy hanging out at your clearly atypical university, don't assume that everyone, or indeed any one else will be as tolerant, or is under any obligation to be so...
- To ask for pronouns is political correctness taken to a ludicrous extreme, and IMHO should not be encouraged, tolerated or enabled. I know several people who are transgendered, and by that, I mean who have actually fully transitioned. They are nothing unusual or unique to me, and I can assure you that none have ever behaved in such a ludicrously entitled manner, and if they did, I would cease to associate with them.
Weather, the sky being more interesting than the ground...but I will note, that many cultures have legends about the Earth and its interior just as varied as those legends of the sky.
Indeed he did, and yes there are, but I'm not aware of many cultures who take actions of a similar nature toward the ground to the extent as other historic cultures have towards sky/sun worship. While I agree with jonsills' point about shamans and the weather, I also find the idea of historic alien visitation as a plausible proposition.
No, they just keep multiple backups on every ship, just in case.
Of course, those backups tend to fail because space BS, which is why we have drama.
When the backups on the Valkyrie failed, it was because it was having the sh*t pounded out of it in a battle which would have been a threat to an Odyssey-Class... No 'space BS' there
Pity, that guy needs to be humbled at least as much as Three does*.
May I ask why? He's a professional doing a job, and doing it to the best of his abilities. That his job is killing people, has no bearing on the level of competence which he brings to his assignments, and that he is an assassin is not reason enough for him to deserve to 'be humbled'. Lucas, on the other hand, has been humbled, in that his health has been taken from him, opening him to public ridicule, and leaving him reliant on pharmaceuticals, and physical contact with a Deltan, simply to not be in constant agony...
I wouldn't go so far as to say Lonnie gets 'humbled'... but, well, you'll see when we get to that bit ;-)
Huh. Guess it's a societal thing I haven't experienced. I've read about that sort of thing, but wasn't sure how much of an exaggeration it was--I mean, look how much of a hero that racist monster Columbus is.
It's not an exaggeration... The point being made, is that as a marine, Kian was not guaranteed to be favorably received by the general public, especially given Moab's reputation... Not even going to touch on Columbus, because I'm not prepared to debate your opinion of a historical figure...
And as above, just because you go to a ludicrously liberal school and have a clique of friends as 'eccentric' as yourself*, does not mean that other universities, or indeed the professional world, have/has the same lax standards. Once out in the real world, you(collectively) are going to have to conform to societal standards, which your university should have continued to prepare you(collectively) for...
*That's an observation, by the way, not a personal attack.
And not doing so was lazy writing, turning their "space Crips" into a bunch of one-note stupid thugs.
Agreed. But, you need to acknowledge that we're also dealing with the literary equivalent of fast food, not high-end fine cuisine... The standards of expectation are different... McDonalds doesn't fail just because it isn't the dining room at the Savoy or the Waldorf-Astoria... Voyager doesn't fail just because it isn't The Brothers Karamazov or War and Peace...
I'm saying that Chanos was an otherwise-competent officer who made one error in a high-stress situation (likely with added emotional baggage). Frankly, all he had to go on was a sensor blip...which is exactly what Lulu had when she left the Ensign alone in the cell*.
It was an error, and one that another officer might have avoided (by beaming the medical team DOWN instead of beaming Siri up, for example), but it was an error that was understandable.
Yes, Chanos was an otherwise-competent officer, but he did not make an error in a high-stress situation, he made it following a period of inaction which lulled him into a false sense of security...
A few points to note with that...
- Whilst beaming a medical team down might have prevented Siri being killed in the crash, it would:
i) Likely have lacked the resources to save her life, which needed either a fully functional sickbay, or the ER of a Pentaxian hospital...
ii) Not prevented the attack on the Vanguard which resulted in the deaths of 46 other crew members, endangered several megacities on Pentaxia, and trashed a starship...
The decision to beam her aboard was Claire's, based on what she statistically thought would provide the best care for Siri (While beaming her to a Pentaxian hospital would have had suitable resources and doctors trained to deal with her biology, Claire i) wouldn't know the facility layout to beam her directly to a surgical suite and ii) would still have had to explain to local physicians what was wrong and what needed doing, and the delay in explaining diagnosis was a factor she had already determined as unacceptable, so beaming her aboard was the most statistically sound decision )
- The error Chanos made was not understandable from a legal perspective, because regardless of what orders Ael may or may not have given when handing over command, his action was a failure to follow standard procedures, which he had been trained to follow.
- Chanos would have been aware that the Dynasty's territory was destabilised and beset by raiders and pirates, as Hugo's testimony showed. He wasn't punished necessarily because people died (although that was part of it) he was punished because he didn't follow procedure (when other officers such as Hugo and T'Natra clealt would not have behaved similarly and knew better) and because people died as a result of his failure to follow procedure.
*Noakes was in the head, not a cell (I only clarify this, because it's the same kind of error as your assertion that Lonnie had a nanite-camo suit ) and also, he left the interview room under guard. That they waited outside the head rather than following him inside was on them, because as Catherine noted, he had the right to carry out Private Acts (Although to clarify, to 'park off' is South African slang meaning 'to sit down and chill out', not slang for taking a sh*t...)) Lulu, however, had no idea that there was a cloaked assassin stalking academy grounds when Noakes left the room, ergo, she had no reason to give them an order to maintain absolute surveillance while he got his thoughts together.
Also, I'm a civilian pacifist. I don't know much of military justice beyond what I've read of the Romulan breed.
And I'm a tattoo artist who also likes sewing kimono, but I'm still capable of researching military justice to discover what charges might be brought against an officer in a given situation, and to find a suggestion as to what kind of sentencing or other disciplinary action may be given as a result...
As for my criticism--it is never intended to harm. I offer criticism solely to praise people for a job well done or to poke holes in their writing, and if they take it as a personal attack, that's on them.
It may not be your intent, but it is still the result...
Writers are held to a different standard than regular people, because everything that is written is PERMANENT. Every story that, say, objectifies women (think ENT or Seven's outfits) contributes to a culture of objectification. If I say something offensive in writing, that's permanent. Ergo, my feelings as a writer are of less importance than the feelings of others, and frankly I have a duty to not be hurt when people criticize my writing.
gulberat has already pointed out to you the difference between professional and amateur writers and the different standards of what constitutes appropriate review, and what constitutes inappropriate conduct which, once the critique is rejected, becomes no more than harassment. I strongly suggest you take their advice to heart...
Really? Every sentient creature on earth (including possible sentients like dolphins), and many nonsentients are capable of the pincer maneuver. The Kazon are not.
The Kazon are incapable of doing something that fish can do. That doesn't strike me as a species capable of coherent thought.
Look, it's partly me being snarky and hyperbolic but also partly the objective fact that the Kazon could not perform the literally most basic tactical maneuver in existence without outside assistance. That was so bad that it broke my suspension of disbelief.
Please stop with the pincer movement broken record. As mentioned several times, plot tactics only need to be as complex or simple as plot requires... There are also other criteria (listed by Commander Maddox during his attempt to disassemble Data) for sentience which the Kazon display. That you refuse to acknowledge them as such simply shows your intellectual arrogance and borderline-racism...
This was just something I mentioned to point out that I am capable of imaging the Kazon as something other than barely-sentient thugs.
As am I, but I'm not going to waste my time writing -- nor waste a reader's time, by expecting them to read -- AU nonsense which is just self-indulgent spouting of authorial preferences to existing canon...
I will admit that the Talaxians are capable of the simplest task in the universe (defeating the Kazon with comparable or superior tech), but honestly that isn't saying much.
Patrickngo did offer a very nice and reasoned explanation for the MV's economics, I just found it rooted in an inherently pessimistic view of humanity that I can't buy. Call it a fundamental disconnect because we're working from different starting points.
If you personally can't buy it, fine, but that doesn't mean that others don't...
...it's my job as a reviewer to point out when someone's writing an annoying character. If they can't take that, that's there problem.
No it's not... It's not your job, because you're not being paid. Just like amateur writers are not being paid. And again, re-read what gulberat said about such reviews. When you keep repeating a rejected point of review, the failing to acknowledge the rejection is yours.
Let me put it in terms you may understand:
Some guy goes over to a girl and asks her for a date. She says no. If the guy keeps going over and asking her out every time he sees her around, he is harassing her. By the 'logic' you're applying to writers/reviews, it is 'her fault' that she's told the guy she's not interested and he should keep asking her out until she says yes (or as is more likely, pulls a can of mace from her purse or lights him up with a taser... )
Have you ever seen me react negatively to a bad review? Sure, I'll explain my reasoning, but I accept that that won't change many people's minds. That's how I'm supposed to be, as a writer. If I let bad reviews hurt me, I go nowhere and I cease to develop.
Define 'badly' (actually please don't, that was a rhetorical response...) I've seen you:
- refuse to accept points made.
- use unannounced personal headcanon to answer points critiquing a character's behaviour.
- refuse to act upon advice offered, be it i) offered with regard personal conduct or ii) as relating to an issue with a piece.
You don't let bad reviews hurt you because i) most of the other writers here are too polite to offer primarily negative reviews, and ii) you ignore or refuse to accept the points which are made.
For example, I have commented on several of your pieces, that I feel there is not always significant distinction between characters voices. I don't want to use the term Mary Sues, but your characters largely read as avatars who speak with your voice. I'm sorry to say that I stopped reading the last D'trel piece you posted after a few paragraphs, simply because I found it too much to consider enduring for the length of the piece :-\
I disagree that it is so directly contradicted, but fine, it's just a headcanon anyway.
How can you disagree? First, you tried to say they were just aliens in similar makeup. When I pointed out that they were identified by Memory Alpha as Trabe, you started going on about black ops and attempts to subvert local government... O_O You're not doing anything but shifting the goalposts again, with your headcanon as the criteria...
No. I find most supermodels to be appallingly thin and unhealthy. Finding a particular physical trait or traits unattractive is not racist.
While I agree with the semantics of that point, I must point out that if someone was to say that they found black women ugly, most people would (rightly or wrongly) interpret that as a kind of racism...
Remember what I said about lazy writing, and what you said about missed opportunities?
Indeed, but as before, without officially writing something for the franchise, a writer does not have the right to go and revise an entire series' history. To do so, IMHO, is massively arrogant, and as unacceptable as trying to get another writer to modify their work into fitting one's own image...
I disagree. Look at the Tau'ri from SG-1. They're still decent people by the time they get actually helpful interstellar allies, despite every evil overlord in the quadrant trying to kill them all and/or beat them down.
Not the best example, but my point is that people with potential and drive will see it through no matter the situation.
Not the best example, as it is comparing the heroes of one franchise, to mook-status badguys of another...
And as I said, not everyone with the potential or drive has the connections/opportunities to actually manifest a successful situation...
1. Leaving politely but swiftly.
2. Calling him a racist jerk.
3. Calling him a foolish racist jerk.
Okay, maybe not the best examples... Substitute for any historical figure who you do admire, or say a favorite actor/ess...
And to be fair, with regards Lucrezia Borgia, as much as there's a part of me that says "That was one crazy girl, I wouldn't say no to that..." there's a bigger part that says I don't want to get TRIBBLE to pieces by her mad brother, so I would likely also make swift, but polite excuses to take my leave...
You do have a point. But again, I'm an optimist, and if a drunk jerk like Cochrane could value her opinion and assistance...
...means nothing more than the ( according to the novelisation) self-medicating bipolar individual, appreciated the person he was working with... No more, no less. You completely ignored the Kanye West lyrics I used to try to illustrate the point, so I'm going to have to re-state it. This time, sadly, with the kind of 'lyrics' which are racist garbage which sickens me, but illustrates the point I am trying to make about racists...
Your Cadillac doesn't mean a thing to me.
A bloodthirsty savage belongs overseas.
Civilization you cannot comprehend.
You cannot exist in a world of white men.
A white woman by your side.
You're still just a ni**er.
A devoted life of crime.
You're nothing but a ni**er.
Uniformed in blue.
You're still just a ni**er.
A lackey for the jew.
You're nothing but a ni**er.
A millionaire for playing a child's game.
Criminology festering within their brain.
They multiply like rats,
sell our kids their dope.
They terrorize our country
and our peoples hope.
A megafamous sports star.
You're still just a ni**er.
Driving around in your brand new car.
You're still just a ni**er.
You're my equal, so I'm told.
You're still just a ni**er.
How many times have you been told?
You're nothing but a ni**er.
Doesn't matter what Zef thought of her, how good an engineer she was, or what qualifications she had, at that point in Earth's history, there would likely still have been some to whom, she was still... well, I don't need to repeat it...
Sure, but that doesn't mean that I should just let lazy writing slide!
Yes it does! What makes you think that you can't let it slide, or that you must pass comment because something does not fit precisely into your interpretation of something, which invariably, is based more on your headcanon than the shown canon?
Yes it does! What makes you think that you can't let it slide, or that you must pass comment because something does not fit precisely into your interpretation of something, which invariably, is based more on your headcanon than the shown canon?
The functional and structural differences in the Vulcanoid brain which I previously mentioned. A Human brain doesn't have a mesiofrontal cortex, nor does it have the ability to self-lobotomise in response to traumatic memories, so yes, there is evidence directly contrary to your idea.
But there's also evidence for it; where did Sarek get his condition, for example?
And again, it's a headcanon hypothesis and untestable given the material at hand. I'll drop the subject now.
- It's no one's 'duty' to accept anyone. It is the obligation of others to behave in a way which is not likely to cause offence, distress or discomfort to others. Just because you and your eccentric clique is happy hanging out at your clearly atypical university, don't assume that everyone, or indeed any one else will be as tolerant, or is under any obligation to be so...
- To ask for pronouns is political correctness taken to a ludicrous extreme, and IMHO should not be encouraged, tolerated or enabled. I know several people who are transgendered, and by that, I mean who have actually fully transitioned. They are nothing unusual or unique to me, and I can assure you that none have ever behaved in such a ludicrously entitled manner, and if they did, I would cease to associate with them.
I'm sorry, dude, but this just isn't how I view the world. I have the responsibility and duty to accept people as they are, up to and including asking for pronouns. This is something that I fail at, regularly, but that's no excuse not to keep trying.
I guess it's because of our different backgrounds, and I'm going to say right now that I don't think any less of you for this, but I just can't imagine not being responsible for my conduct in this way.
Indeed he did, and yes there are, but I'm not aware of many cultures who take actions of a similar nature toward the ground to the extent as other historic cultures have towards sky/sun worship. While I agree with jonsills' point about shamans and the weather, I also find the idea of historic alien visitation as a plausible proposition.
Hmmm. I would agree with jonsills on this point, as I am liable to discard untestable hypotheses such as ancient astronauts out of hand.
When the backups on the Valkyrie failed, it was because it was having the sh*t pounded out of it in a battle which would have been a threat to an Odyssey-Class... No 'space BS' there
Yes...backups fail because of battle damage, too.
Not really sure what the point is at this stage, so I'll just leave it at that.
May I ask why? He's a professional doing a job, and doing it to the best of his abilities. That his job is killing people, has no bearing on the level of competence which he brings to his assignments, and that he is an assassin is not reason enough for him to deserve to 'be humbled'. Lucas, on the other hand, has been humbled, in that his health has been taken from him, opening him to public ridicule, and leaving him reliant on pharmaceuticals, and physical contact with a Deltan, simply to not be in constant agony...
I think that Lonnie is putting all of his eggs in one basket, and that is a basket that can be worked around.
Just like the unit needed its arm ripped off by Warat, Lonnie needs a little kick in the fork to remind him to have backups for his backups.
It's not an exaggeration... The point being made, is that as a marine, Kian was not guaranteed to be favorably received by the general public, especially given Moab's reputation... Not even going to touch on Columbus, because I'm not prepared to debate your opinion of a historical figure...
And as above, just because you go to a ludicrously liberal school and have a clique of friends as 'eccentric' as yourself*, does not mean that other universities, or indeed the professional world, have/has the same lax standards. Once out in the real world, you(collectively) are going to have to conform to societal standards, which your university should have continued to prepare you(collectively) for...
*That's an observation, by the way, not a personal attack.
Dude, eccentric's actually a compliment around here...
And you should look at some famous paleontologists some time. Bob Bakker, brilliant man, wears flannel and a cowboy hat most of the time. Darren Naish? Loves posting pictures of him being bitten by strange animals to his blog. Donald R. Prothero? Mentions the time his truck broke down on a dig in at least two books because it's just such a damn good story.
Agreed. But, you need to acknowledge that we're also dealing with the literary equivalent of fast food, not high-end fine cuisine... The standards of expectation are different... McDonalds doesn't fail just because it isn't the dining room at the Savoy or the Waldorf-Astoria... Voyager doesn't fail just because it isn't The Brothers Karamazov or War and Peace...
There's a difference between cheap, simple fare and McDonalds...
I guess my point is that I get intensely annoyed when an obvious writing fail could've been fixed in 3 minutes with half a brain.
Yes, Chanos was an otherwise-competent officer, but he did not make an error in a high-stress situation, he made it following a period of inaction which lulled him into a false sense of security...
A few points to note with that...
- Whilst beaming a medical team down might have prevented Siri being killed in the crash, it would:
i) Likely have lacked the resources to save her life, which needed either a fully functional sickbay, or the ER of a Pentaxian hospital...
ii) Not prevented the attack on the Vanguard which resulted in the deaths of 46 other crew members, endangered several megacities on Pentaxia, and trashed a starship...
The decision to beam her aboard was Claire's, based on what she statistically thought would provide the best care for Siri (While beaming her to a Pentaxian hospital would have had suitable resources and doctors trained to deal with her biology, Claire i) wouldn't know the facility layout to beam her directly to a surgical suite and ii) would still have had to explain to local physicians what was wrong and what needed doing, and the delay in explaining diagnosis was a factor she had already determined as unacceptable, so beaming her aboard was the most statistically sound decision )
- The error Chanos made was not understandable from a legal perspective, because regardless of what orders Ael may or may not have given when handing over command, his action was a failure to follow standard procedures, which he had been trained to follow.
- Chanos would have been aware that the Dynasty's territory was destabilised and beset by raiders and pirates, as Hugo's testimony showed. He wasn't punished necessarily because people died (although that was part of it) he was punished because he didn't follow procedure (when other officers such as Hugo and T'Natra clealt would not have behaved similarly and knew better) and because people died as a result of his failure to follow procedure.
*Noakes was in the head, not a cell (I only clarify this, because it's the same kind of error as your assertion that Lonnie had a nanite-camo suit ) and also, he left the interview room under guard. That they waited outside the head rather than following him inside was on them, because as Catherine noted, he had the right to carry out Private Acts (Although to clarify, to 'park off' is South African slang meaning 'to sit down and chill out', not slang for taking a sh*t...)) Lulu, however, had no idea that there was a cloaked assassin stalking academy grounds when Noakes left the room, ergo, she had no reason to give them an order to maintain absolute surveillance while he got his thoughts together.
Wow.
Thank you for that, that explains the whole thing a lot better.
In that case, I formally retract that objection, too. Although I'm still going to be sad that he's in prison because I like Chanos.
It may not be your intent, but it is still the result...
gulberat has already pointed out to you the difference between professional and amateur writers and the different standards of what constitutes appropriate review, and what constitutes inappropriate conduct which, once the critique is rejected, becomes no more than harassment. I strongly suggest you take their advice to heart...
I'm really not understanding...why should professional writers be held to a different standard?
It was currency, because Morn regurgitated an amount of liquid latinum for Quark...
I see. Wow, did he rip off Starfleet? Because the only group that I can realistically see needing a supply of international currency is Starfleet.
Private citizens...look, there are matter replicators in every home on the core worlds. Realistically, latinum's just for those few things that can't be replicated (mostly highly volatile and exotic compounds). And private citizens shouldn't have those.
Please stop with the pincer movement broken record. As mentioned several times, plot tactics only need to be as complex or simple as plot requires... There are also other criteria (listed by Commander Maddox during his attempt to disassemble Data) for sentience which the Kazon display. That you refuse to acknowledge them as such simply shows your intellectual arrogance and borderline-racism...
My problem with the Kazon is multifaceted, but first and foremost I'm angry that they are incapable of a task so basic that nonsentients reliably perform it successfully.
Sentient or not, the Kazon are not intelligent, especially by Federation standards. Also, they're bigoted, violent, sexist space pirates. Nothing worthwhile in the entire package.
As am I, but I'm not going to waste my time writing -- nor waste a reader's time, by expecting them to read -- AU nonsense which is just self-indulgent spouting of authorial preferences to existing canon...
No it's not... It's not your job, because you're not being paid. Just like amateur writers are not being paid. And again, re-read what gulberat said about such reviews. When you keep repeating a rejected point of review, the failing to acknowledge the rejection is yours.
Again, why should amateur and professional writers be treated differently? Sturgeon's Law holds for both groups.
Some guy goes over to a girl and asks her for a date. She says no. If the guy keeps going over and asking her out every time he sees her around, he is harassing her. By the 'logic' you're applying to writers/reviews, it is 'her fault' that she's told the guy she's not interested and he should keep asking her out until she says yes (or as is more likely, pulls a can of mace from her purse or lights him up with a taser... )
Well, no, she's not in a position to hurt someone or contribute to a negative aspect of culture merely by existing.
Whereas a writer by default IS in such a position.
Define 'badly' (actually please don't, that was a rhetorical response...) I've seen you:
- refuse to accept points made.
- use unannounced personal headcanon to answer points critiquing a character's behaviour.
- refuse to act upon advice offered, be it i) offered with regard personal conduct or ii) as relating to an issue with a piece.
You don't let bad reviews hurt you because i) most of the other writers here are too polite to offer primarily negative reviews
Which I actually find impolite; if you don't like something I write, PLEASE say it!
For example, I have commented on several of your pieces, that I feel there is not always significant distinction between characters voices. I don't want to use the term Mary Sues, but your characters largely read as avatars who speak with your voice. I'm sorry to say that I stopped reading the last D'trel piece you posted after a few paragraphs, simply because I found it too much to consider enduring for the length of the piece :-\
Hmmm. This is a consistent problem with me, especially since no matter how different my characters' voices are to me, they seem to blend to others.
Dunno why, nothing I do seems to change it. I've tried Funetik Aksents but that makes my eyes bleed and I can't do it consistently, I try vocabulary differences but I inevitably run into clunky dialogue...I don't know. I know I'm not that good of a writer, but I like to think I'm not THAT bad...
But please, if you have an opinion on something I write, share it! As many times as you deem necessary.
How can you disagree? First, you tried to say they were just aliens in similar makeup. When I pointed out that they were identified by Memory Alpha as Trabe, you started going on about black ops and attempts to subvert local government... O_O You're not doing anything but shifting the goalposts again, with your headcanon as the criteria...
Look, I stated from the start that my headcanon of the Trabe is of bigots who use the Kazon for any large-scale operations but do the small-scale stuff themselves because the Kazon can't be trusted with it.
Which is why I made the hypothesis.
Anyway, it's Voyager, they were notoriously inconsistent. I freely acknowledge that my hypothesis may be wrong, I'm just trying to explain it within the bounds of the information given.
While I agree with the semantics of that point, I must point out that if someone was to say that they found black women ugly, most people would (rightly or wrongly) interpret that as a kind of racism...
Ehhh. If the reasoning is that they are somehow inferior for being black, I would consider that racism, but if it's just "I prefer this narrow band of traits, and this is my opinion, and these people are no objectively better or worse than anyone else", then it would be unusual but probably acceptable.
Indeed, but as before, without officially writing something for the franchise, a writer does not have the right to go and revise an entire series' history. To do so, IMHO, is massively arrogant, and as unacceptable as trying to get another writer to modify their work into fitting one's own image...
Not the best example, as it is comparing the heroes of one franchise, to mook-status badguys of another...
And as I said, not everyone with the potential or drive has the connections/opportunities to actually manifest a successful situation...
Hey, I admitted it was a mediocre example at best.
And that's...that's pessimistic, but...
OK. I just found this website called notalwaysright dot com.
And...
I'm stunned.
I can barely comprehend that there is this level of raging stupidity in the world today. I mean, this is ridiculous.
You know, you and jonsills and the MV guys have a point. Maybe there IS a surfeit of stupid, lazy people in the world and I'm just the exception...again...
If I wasn't so sick and miserable I'd probably be mad at something.
Okay, maybe not the best examples... Substitute for any historical figure who you do admire, or say a favorite actor/ess...
And to be fair, with regards Lucrezia Borgia, as much as there's a part of me that says "That was one crazy girl, I wouldn't say no to that..." there's a bigger part that says I don't want to get TRIBBLE to pieces by her mad brother, so I would likely also make swift, but polite excuses to take my leave...
Oh, even the historical figures I do admire, most of them were either jerks or very private people. Or Cetshwayo kaMpande.
...means nothing more than the ( according to the novelisation) self-medicating bipolar individual, appreciated the person he was working with... No more, no less. You completely ignored the Kanye West lyrics I used to try to illustrate the point, so I'm going to have to re-state it. This time, sadly, with the kind of 'lyrics' which are racist garbage which sickens me, but illustrates the point I am trying to make about racists...
Doesn't matter what Zef thought of her, how good an engineer she was, or what qualifications she had, at that point in Earth's history, there would likely still have been some to whom, she was still... well, I don't need to repeat it...
I see.
I, being an optimist, am inclined to disagree with this interpretation. However, lacking evidence, you are free to your interpretation and I can't in good faith continue to try to convince you otherwise, because neither of us really has a leg to stand on.
Yes it does! What makes you think that you can't let it slide, or that you must pass comment because something does not fit precisely into your interpretation of something, which invariably, is based more on your headcanon than the shown canon?
If you let lazy writing slide, then you get Stephen Moffat.
SOMEone needs to criticize people honestly. And I've got a terribly bad case of SIWOTI syndrome, so...
I really don't know at this point.
Part of me is actually agreeing with you, mostly because what's the point of trying when someone doesn't take your advice?, but the other part is saying that someone needs to take a stand.
And I honestly am uncertain about what's the right move.
I'm starting to wonder if you've got a hard-on for me, and if I'm one of the primary targets of the cultural change you wish to instigate on the forums. I'm neither a Cryptic Hater nor a Cryptic Fanboi. Somethings I'll like, and somethings I'll dislike. If I dig something, I'll say cool. If I don't dig something, I'll share the /facepalm. They're just opinions, and I'm not out there rallying folks for any celebrations nor grabbing the pitchforks.
...co-creator of Sherlock, one of the most succesful iterations of Sherlock Holmes modern media has produced? Head writer for much of New Who's run from 2009 to now, and writer of some of the best episodes of the New Who era, including but not limited to "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances", "Blink", "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead", "The Beast Below", "A Christmas Carol", "Let's Kill Hitler", "Asylum of the Daleks", "The Day of the Doctor," "The Time of the Doctor", and "Time Heist"?
The guy who created the Weeping Angels, the Vashta Narada, and the Silence, two of which almost instantly became iconic Who antagonists?
That Steven Moffat?
...he and the things he's working on seem to be doing pretty okay for themselves.
I disagree with one thing you said, marcus. While it is, in my opinion, beyond the pale to rewrite canon characters, writing a member of a given species that doesn't match the Official Hat for the species is fine, and can potentially be great (although if you want to write, say, a highly emotional Vulcan, you'll need to justify that, given that we've explored the culture of Vulcan in detail in many places). We've only seen a handful of Kazon on-screen; who's to say they're not their people's outcasts, akin to the vast majority of batarians seen in the Mass Effect games? (The Codex mentions that most batarians utterly avoid contact with other species, and the interstellar brigands in the game are those who have been exiled from their homeworld.) Perhaps the smarter, better-organized Kazon just avoid that part of the quadrant because it's overrun with their version of gang-bangers...
Neelix and Kim, on the other hand, are canon characters, with characteristics defined in the shows. What's being written in that alt-u story aren't those characters; it's other characters with their names, as if, for instance, I wrote a Doctor Who story in which the Doctor was a slovenly couch potato who can't even be arsed to fire up the TARDIS.
I disagree with one thing you said, marcus. While it is, in my opinion, beyond the pale to rewrite canon characters, writing a member of a given species that doesn't match the Official Hat for the species is fine, and can potentially be great (although if you want to write, say, a highly emotional Vulcan, you'll need to justify that, given that we've explored the culture of Vulcan in detail in many places). We've only seen a handful of Kazon on-screen; who's to say they're not their people's outcasts, akin to the vast majority of batarians seen in the Mass Effect games? (The Codex mentions that most batarians utterly avoid contact with other species, and the interstellar brigands in the game are those who have been exiled from their homeworld.) Perhaps the smarter, better-organized Kazon just avoid that part of the quadrant because it's overrun with their version of gang-bangers...
Neelix and Kim, on the other hand, are canon characters, with characteristics defined in the shows. What's being written in that alt-u story aren't those characters; it's other characters with their names, as if, for instance, I wrote a Doctor Who story in which the Doctor was a slovenly couch potato who can't even be arsed to fire up the TARDIS.
I see the distinction you're making, maybe I ought to write something featuring the Kazon-Zani sect afterall... :cool:
I disagree with one thing you said, marcus. While it is, in my opinion, beyond the pale to rewrite canon characters, writing a member of a given species that doesn't match the Official Hat for the species is fine, and can potentially be great (although if you want to write, say, a highly emotional Vulcan, you'll need to justify that, given that we've explored the culture of Vulcan in detail in many places). We've only seen a handful of Kazon on-screen; who's to say they're not their people's outcasts, akin to the vast majority of batarians seen in the Mass Effect games? (The Codex mentions that most batarians utterly avoid contact with other species, and the interstellar brigands in the game are those who have been exiled from their homeworld.) Perhaps the smarter, better-organized Kazon just avoid that part of the quadrant because it's overrun with their version of gang-bangers...
Neelix and Kim, on the other hand, are canon characters, with characteristics defined in the shows. What's being written in that alt-u story aren't those characters; it's other characters with their names, as if, for instance, I wrote a Doctor Who story in which the Doctor was a slovenly couch potato who can't even be arsed to fire up the TARDIS.
Pretty much this.
It's explicitly an AU aimed at approaching the show's concept with the benefit of hindsight at what didn't work and a writing team that works well together. We're retaining the most basic concepts (trapped far from home, senior officers dead, Harry's a young Ensign trained in logistics, Neelix is a refugee from a military dictatorship that got overthrown) and just developing the story, characters, and setting in a way that we feel is both more realistic and less likely to frustrate those who consume the story.
For example, Neelix is a polite, friendly everyman and jack-of-all-trades who admits that he isn't GREAT at much of anything but has some useful skills that are handy in some situations. Harry Kim is an intelligent, proactive officer who signs himself up for combat training after he gets his butt kicked by Torres and an angry Cardassian on Ocampa Prime. Stadi's a young conn officer forced rapidly into command, who's experienced the sheer vileness of Kazon not-even-pirates through telepathic attack (two of them grabbed her in a fight, she reacted instinctively, she got a play-by-play of a bunch of Kazon sexually assaulting a captive, she got beyond angry), but she's intelligent enough to know her weaknesses, employs Tuvok as her eminently level-headed XO and works well with Gul Evek.
Basically, it's the same concept, characters have the same names, we're just endeavoring to make everyone intelligent and reasonably competent because this is Star Trek, not the Three Stooges.
Also, jonsills--With the Kazon in MCNL, we're actually taking your Batarian Hegemony idea and playing with it a bit. Suffice it to say that the dumb, brutish space Kazon are the result of a primitive, bigoted society being raided for slaves by the Trabe a thousand years ago. They've just been sort of like the Elachi to the Trabe's Iconians ever since, resulting in any vestiges of intelligence and sophisticated culture being selectively discouraged, while dumb, brutish violence is encouraged by the Trabe.
The rest of the Kazon on their homeworld have moved on in the thousand years since, building a late-21st-century-level society, maybe 10 years from warp travel, with a society no more biased or violent than 22nd century humanity.
A point you refuse to acknowledge when it relates to your own university, even despite explanation why it is i) atypical ii) unacceptable and iii) something you do not see an issue with...
Ability over appearance. That's sort of what we operate by. As long as your clothing functions for the task you are performing, nobody really cares what you look like. Results are all that matter.
That's an interesting factoid about Harry/Garret Wang, I certainly didn't know that, although I'm not surprised, as an early version of the Naked Now was rejected because it showed two TRIBBLE crewmen, and the HIV metaphor... But, I would say that it's not your place to re-write Neelix, just as I said it's not my place to write a piece showing non-stereotypical Kazon, regardless of if it is an improvement over canon, but that's another debate, and I don't want to derail the story any further (and will be replying to the reply thread soonish, as a kimono is taking time...)
As jonsills and I note above, it's not so much rewriting the character in the manner of, say, this series, but more reimagining the concept with an eye towards telling a better story.
And yeah, Garret Wang is a cool dude; he actively tried to make his character cooler and more interesting, but actually received direction REPEATEDLY to act with nothing but Dull Surprise to everything. TVTropes takes almost a ranting tone about this.
...co-creator of Sherlock, one of the most succesful iterations of Sherlock Holmes modern media has produced? Head writer for much of New Who's run from 2009 to now, and writer of some of the best episodes of the New Who era, including but not limited to "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances", "Blink", "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead", "The Beast Below", "A Christmas Carol", "Let's Kill Hitler", "Asylum of the Daleks", "The Day of the Doctor," "The Time of the Doctor", and "Time Heist"?
The guy who created the Weeping Angels, the Vashta Narada, and the Silence, two of which almost instantly became iconic Who antagonists?
That Steven Moffat?
...he and the things he's working on seem to be doing pretty okay for themselves.
You totally forgot about his work with Coupling as well, awesome show. Makes Friends look like amateurs.
I disagree with one thing you said, marcus. While it is, in my opinion, beyond the pale to rewrite canon characters, writing a member of a given species that doesn't match the Official Hat for the species is fine, and can potentially be great (although if you want to write, say, a highly emotional Vulcan, you'll need to justify that, given that we've explored the culture of Vulcan in detail in many places). We've only seen a handful of Kazon on-screen; who's to say they're not their people's outcasts, akin to the vast majority of batarians seen in the Mass Effect games? (The Codex mentions that most batarians utterly avoid contact with other species, and the interstellar brigands in the game are those who have been exiled from their homeworld.) Perhaps the smarter, better-organized Kazon just avoid that part of the quadrant because it's overrun with their version of gang-bangers...
Neelix and Kim, on the other hand, are canon characters, with characteristics defined in the shows. What's being written in that alt-u story aren't those characters; it's other characters with their names, as if, for instance, I wrote a Doctor Who story in which the Doctor was a slovenly couch potato who can't even be arsed to fire up the TARDIS.
I would not say that writing an AU is necessarily bad even when involving canon characters. "Parallels" leaves so many fascinating examples--some differences subtle, others huge (the Borg Rule universe, and the one where Bajoran and Cardassian roles are reversed, as examples). If the course of a world's history changes drastically enough, if the same people are born (despite the fact that IRL that would be insanely improbable ), it makes sense that significantly different characteristics could be seen. A known villain could be a good guy, or vice versa, for example.
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-) Proudly F2P.Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
That's the attitude that got their rear ends kicked in the Dominion War.
And?
To briefly reference Andromeda, the Commonwealth fell... Or as mentioned, the Roman Empire fell, the British Empire is essentially non-existent. All good things, etc
Ability over appearance. That's sort of what we operate by. As long as your clothing functions for the task you are performing, nobody really cares what you look like. Results are all that matter.
What you're missing/ignoring, is that while that may be the norm for your specific university, it's not a typical amount of leeway for all... And, while the people you mentioned as being 'eccentrics' in the field, the thing to remember, is that they are established in their field, not trying to break into it. One needs to know the rules before breaking them
And as mentioned, inVerse, there is precedent for less than ideal* candidates attending the academy, and as mentioned, you're giving majorly background characters way more consideration than they deserve
As jonsills and I note above, it's not so much rewriting the character in the manner of, say, this series, but more reimagining the concept with an eye towards telling a better story.
I do understand that, I just think it's an ultimately futile gesture, which given the 'self-satisfaction aspect' is why I consider it an egotistical thing to do. I put my hands up to doing a similar thing, when I featured Thomas Jerome Newton (The Man Who Fell to Earth) in a piece I did last year, but, when writing, I deliberately kept him as close to David Bowie's portrayal, combined with the portrayal on the TV Series of the same name, and some logical conjecture, rather than completely revising the franchise itself...
And yeah, Garret Wang is a cool dude; he actively tried to make his character cooler and more interesting, but actually received direction REPEATEDLY to act with nothing but Dull Surprise to everything. TVTropes takes almost a ranting tone about this.
He definitely sounds it, but sadly, with some series, the writers and directors are not open to input from the actors :-\
Thanks, it is, it's just time-consuming, and combining that with writing, writing debates as well as other real life time constraints, has meant it's taken longer than I'd wanted it to take
Comments
SCM - Hive (S) - [02:31] DMG(DPS) - @jarvisandalfred: 30.62M(204.66K) - Fed Sci
Tacs are overrated.
Game's best wiki
Build questions? Look here!
My knowledge of history, cultural development, and like things, is the one thing I have that I take true pride in. Any time anyone wants to know something about history, I'll be there.
*tips cowboy hat*
*rides off into the sunset*
*on a bike because I'm afraid of horses*
I'm sorry - I've really generally tried to stay out of this whole thing, but...
If this is your belief, and if someone has a vision of a part of a franchise they and you enjoy that you don't agree with, shouldn't you, as part of society, also accept that? It's perfectly all right to acknowledge you don't agree with the interpretation, but it would be unfair to that other person and their stance to consider it 'wrong'.
Member Access Denied Armada!
My forum single-issue of rage: Make the Proton Experimental Weapon go for subsystem targetting!
Hmmmm...
1. That's a question of how you interpret the show canon, not of personal identity; therefore it is not inviolable.
2. I would say that there is a certain degree of muddiness to anything on TV, and that only people actually involved heavily with the production can understand the INTENT of the piece, but that there can also be implications that have a strongly negative ethos and nature, and certain reactions to certain episodes are not acceptable.
So...examples. Laughing at ENT: "Unexpected" is not OK because sexual assault isn't funny, but interpreting Picard as an arrogant martinet is valid. I may not agree with it and I'll argue with the interpretation, but it's an opinion that has some basis in canon and I can't dismiss it out of hand anyway.
Basically, if you're laughing at something disgusting and unfunny, that's bad and I won't accept that. But if you're interpreting a character differently from me, I will argue that your interpretation is incorrect and offer evidence to support my case, but I won't dismiss it out of hand.
Hell, I once had a twenty-day argument with a Neelix fan, of all things. I gave up after he said that it was perfectly OK to insist on serving food that was known to be poisoned, but I didn't dismiss his arguments out of hand.
Similarly, accepting the Cardassians as people and judging each one on an individual basis is an admirable thing...but praising the Cardassian military regime and/or hailing Dukat as a hero is not.
As you've already been told above:
- It's no one's 'duty' to accept anyone. It is the obligation of others to behave in a way which is not likely to cause offence, distress or discomfort to others. Just because you and your eccentric clique is happy hanging out at your clearly atypical university, don't assume that everyone, or indeed any one else will be as tolerant, or is under any obligation to be so...
- To ask for pronouns is political correctness taken to a ludicrous extreme, and IMHO should not be encouraged, tolerated or enabled. I know several people who are transgendered, and by that, I mean who have actually fully transitioned. They are nothing unusual or unique to me, and I can assure you that none have ever behaved in such a ludicrously entitled manner, and if they did, I would cease to associate with them.
Indeed he did, and yes there are, but I'm not aware of many cultures who take actions of a similar nature toward the ground to the extent as other historic cultures have towards sky/sun worship. While I agree with jonsills' point about shamans and the weather, I also find the idea of historic alien visitation as a plausible proposition.
When the backups on the Valkyrie failed, it was because it was having the sh*t pounded out of it in a battle which would have been a threat to an Odyssey-Class... No 'space BS' there
May I ask why? He's a professional doing a job, and doing it to the best of his abilities. That his job is killing people, has no bearing on the level of competence which he brings to his assignments, and that he is an assassin is not reason enough for him to deserve to 'be humbled'. Lucas, on the other hand, has been humbled, in that his health has been taken from him, opening him to public ridicule, and leaving him reliant on pharmaceuticals, and physical contact with a Deltan, simply to not be in constant agony...
I wouldn't go so far as to say Lonnie gets 'humbled'... but, well, you'll see when we get to that bit ;-)
It's not an exaggeration... The point being made, is that as a marine, Kian was not guaranteed to be favorably received by the general public, especially given Moab's reputation... Not even going to touch on Columbus, because I'm not prepared to debate your opinion of a historical figure...
And as above, just because you go to a ludicrously liberal school and have a clique of friends as 'eccentric' as yourself*, does not mean that other universities, or indeed the professional world, have/has the same lax standards. Once out in the real world, you(collectively) are going to have to conform to societal standards, which your university should have continued to prepare you(collectively) for...
*That's an observation, by the way, not a personal attack.
Agreed. But, you need to acknowledge that we're also dealing with the literary equivalent of fast food, not high-end fine cuisine... The standards of expectation are different... McDonalds doesn't fail just because it isn't the dining room at the Savoy or the Waldorf-Astoria... Voyager doesn't fail just because it isn't The Brothers Karamazov or War and Peace...
Yes, Chanos was an otherwise-competent officer, but he did not make an error in a high-stress situation, he made it following a period of inaction which lulled him into a false sense of security...
A few points to note with that...
- Whilst beaming a medical team down might have prevented Siri being killed in the crash, it would:
i) Likely have lacked the resources to save her life, which needed either a fully functional sickbay, or the ER of a Pentaxian hospital...
ii) Not prevented the attack on the Vanguard which resulted in the deaths of 46 other crew members, endangered several megacities on Pentaxia, and trashed a starship...
The decision to beam her aboard was Claire's, based on what she statistically thought would provide the best care for Siri (While beaming her to a Pentaxian hospital would have had suitable resources and doctors trained to deal with her biology, Claire i) wouldn't know the facility layout to beam her directly to a surgical suite and ii) would still have had to explain to local physicians what was wrong and what needed doing, and the delay in explaining diagnosis was a factor she had already determined as unacceptable, so beaming her aboard was the most statistically sound decision )
- The error Chanos made was not understandable from a legal perspective, because regardless of what orders Ael may or may not have given when handing over command, his action was a failure to follow standard procedures, which he had been trained to follow.
- Chanos would have been aware that the Dynasty's territory was destabilised and beset by raiders and pirates, as Hugo's testimony showed. He wasn't punished necessarily because people died (although that was part of it) he was punished because he didn't follow procedure (when other officers such as Hugo and T'Natra clealt would not have behaved similarly and knew better) and because people died as a result of his failure to follow procedure.
*Noakes was in the head, not a cell (I only clarify this, because it's the same kind of error as your assertion that Lonnie had a nanite-camo suit
And I'm a tattoo artist who also likes sewing kimono, but I'm still capable of researching military justice to discover what charges might be brought against an officer in a given situation, and to find a suggestion as to what kind of sentencing or other disciplinary action may be given as a result...
It may not be your intent, but it is still the result...
gulberat has already pointed out to you the difference between professional and amateur writers and the different standards of what constitutes appropriate review, and what constitutes inappropriate conduct which, once the critique is rejected, becomes no more than harassment. I strongly suggest you take their advice to heart...
It was currency, because Morn regurgitated an amount of liquid latinum for Quark...
Please stop with the pincer movement broken record. As mentioned several times, plot tactics only need to be as complex or simple as plot requires... There are also other criteria (listed by Commander Maddox during his attempt to disassemble Data) for sentience which the Kazon display. That you refuse to acknowledge them as such simply shows your intellectual arrogance and borderline-racism...
So's getting tied up and getting kicked in the balls by prostitutes, but I don't particularly want to do that either
And, so your headcanon has no relevance whatsoever when debating canon issues, especially when the canon issues directly invalidate such hypotheses...
As am I, but I'm not going to waste my time writing -- nor waste a reader's time, by expecting them to read -- AU nonsense which is just self-indulgent spouting of authorial preferences to existing canon...
>_<
If you personally can't buy it, fine, but that doesn't mean that others don't...
No it's not... It's not your job, because you're not being paid. Just like amateur writers are not being paid. And again, re-read what gulberat said about such reviews. When you keep repeating a rejected point of review, the failing to acknowledge the rejection is yours.
Let me put it in terms you may understand:
Some guy goes over to a girl and asks her for a date. She says no. If the guy keeps going over and asking her out every time he sees her around, he is harassing her. By the 'logic' you're applying to writers/reviews, it is 'her fault' that she's told the guy she's not interested and he should keep asking her out until she says yes (or as is more likely, pulls a can of mace from her purse or lights him up with a taser... )
It is the imposition which is the issue...
Define 'badly' (actually please don't, that was a rhetorical response...) I've seen you:
- refuse to accept points made.
- use unannounced personal headcanon to answer points critiquing a character's behaviour.
- refuse to act upon advice offered, be it i) offered with regard personal conduct or ii) as relating to an issue with a piece.
You don't let bad reviews hurt you because i) most of the other writers here are too polite to offer primarily negative reviews, and ii) you ignore or refuse to accept the points which are made.
For example, I have commented on several of your pieces, that I feel there is not always significant distinction between characters voices. I don't want to use the term Mary Sues, but your characters largely read as avatars who speak with your voice. I'm sorry to say that I stopped reading the last D'trel piece you posted after a few paragraphs, simply because I found it too much to consider enduring for the length of the piece :-\
How can you disagree? First, you tried to say they were just aliens in similar makeup. When I pointed out that they were identified by Memory Alpha as Trabe, you started going on about black ops and attempts to subvert local government... O_O You're not doing anything but shifting the goalposts again, with your headcanon as the criteria...
While I agree with the semantics of that point, I must point out that if someone was to say that they found black women ugly, most people would (rightly or wrongly) interpret that as a kind of racism...
Indeed, but as before, without officially writing something for the franchise, a writer does not have the right to go and revise an entire series' history. To do so, IMHO, is massively arrogant, and as unacceptable as trying to get another writer to modify their work into fitting one's own image...
Not the best example, as it is comparing the heroes of one franchise, to mook-status badguys of another...
And as I said, not everyone with the potential or drive has the connections/opportunities to actually manifest a successful situation...
Okay, maybe not the best examples... Substitute for any historical figure who you do admire, or say a favorite actor/ess...
And to be fair, with regards Lucrezia Borgia, as much as there's a part of me that says "That was one crazy girl, I wouldn't say no to that..." there's a bigger part that says I don't want to get TRIBBLE to pieces by her mad brother, so I would likely also make swift, but polite excuses to take my leave...
...means nothing more than the ( according to the novelisation) self-medicating bipolar individual, appreciated the person he was working with... No more, no less. You completely ignored the Kanye West lyrics I used to try to illustrate the point, so I'm going to have to re-state it. This time, sadly, with the kind of 'lyrics' which are racist garbage which sickens me, but illustrates the point I am trying to make about racists...
Your Cadillac doesn't mean a thing to me.
A bloodthirsty savage belongs overseas.
Civilization you cannot comprehend.
You cannot exist in a world of white men.
A white woman by your side.
You're still just a ni**er.
A devoted life of crime.
You're nothing but a ni**er.
Uniformed in blue.
You're still just a ni**er.
A lackey for the jew.
You're nothing but a ni**er.
A millionaire for playing a child's game.
Criminology festering within their brain.
They multiply like rats,
sell our kids their dope.
They terrorize our country
and our peoples hope.
A megafamous sports star.
You're still just a ni**er.
Driving around in your brand new car.
You're still just a ni**er.
You're my equal, so I'm told.
You're still just a ni**er.
How many times have you been told?
You're nothing but a ni**er.
Doesn't matter what Zef thought of her, how good an engineer she was, or what qualifications she had, at that point in Earth's history, there would likely still have been some to whom, she was still... well, I don't need to repeat it...
Yes it does! What makes you think that you can't let it slide, or that you must pass comment because something does not fit precisely into your interpretation of something, which invariably, is based more on your headcanon than the shown canon?
Uneasy lies the head...
And again, it's a headcanon hypothesis and untestable given the material at hand. I'll drop the subject now. I'm sorry, dude, but this just isn't how I view the world. I have the responsibility and duty to accept people as they are, up to and including asking for pronouns. This is something that I fail at, regularly, but that's no excuse not to keep trying.
I guess it's because of our different backgrounds, and I'm going to say right now that I don't think any less of you for this, but I just can't imagine not being responsible for my conduct in this way. Hmmm. I would agree with jonsills on this point, as I am liable to discard untestable hypotheses such as ancient astronauts out of hand. Yes...backups fail because of battle damage, too.
Not really sure what the point is at this stage, so I'll just leave it at that. I think that Lonnie is putting all of his eggs in one basket, and that is a basket that can be worked around.
Just like the unit needed its arm ripped off by Warat, Lonnie needs a little kick in the fork to remind him to have backups for his backups. I eagerly await it. I see. In that case, I retract my objection. Dude, eccentric's actually a compliment around here...
And you should look at some famous paleontologists some time. Bob Bakker, brilliant man, wears flannel and a cowboy hat most of the time. Darren Naish? Loves posting pictures of him being bitten by strange animals to his blog. Donald R. Prothero? Mentions the time his truck broke down on a dig in at least two books because it's just such a damn good story.
It's an eccentric field. There's a difference between cheap, simple fare and McDonalds...
I guess my point is that I get intensely annoyed when an obvious writing fail could've been fixed in 3 minutes with half a brain. Wow.
Thank you for that, that explains the whole thing a lot better.
In that case, I formally retract that objection, too. Although I'm still going to be sad that he's in prison because I like Chanos. I'm really not understanding...why should professional writers be held to a different standard? I see. Wow, did he rip off Starfleet? Because the only group that I can realistically see needing a supply of international currency is Starfleet.
Private citizens...look, there are matter replicators in every home on the core worlds. Realistically, latinum's just for those few things that can't be replicated (mostly highly volatile and exotic compounds). And private citizens shouldn't have those. My problem with the Kazon is multifaceted, but first and foremost I'm angry that they are incapable of a task so basic that nonsentients reliably perform it successfully.
Sentient or not, the Kazon are not intelligent, especially by Federation standards. Also, they're bigoted, violent, sexist space pirates. Nothing worthwhile in the entire package. Uh...OK...
*slightly weirded out* ...I just mentioned it because I thought you'd find it interesting...:( I'd read it.
I happen to love AU fics myself. Yes? Again, why should amateur and professional writers be treated differently? Sturgeon's Law holds for both groups. Well, no, she's not in a position to hurt someone or contribute to a negative aspect of culture merely by existing.
Whereas a writer by default IS in such a position. Ah.
You're saying that I need some sort of professional status as a reviewer? Which I actually find impolite; if you don't like something I write, PLEASE say it! As I've said before, I am often but not always unconvinced by the points that are made at me.
If I find something unconvincing I'm not going to accept it as an excuse. Hmmm. This is a consistent problem with me, especially since no matter how different my characters' voices are to me, they seem to blend to others.
Dunno why, nothing I do seems to change it. I've tried Funetik Aksents but that makes my eyes bleed and I can't do it consistently, I try vocabulary differences but I inevitably run into clunky dialogue...I don't know. I know I'm not that good of a writer, but I like to think I'm not THAT bad...
But please, if you have an opinion on something I write, share it! As many times as you deem necessary. Look, I stated from the start that my headcanon of the Trabe is of bigots who use the Kazon for any large-scale operations but do the small-scale stuff themselves because the Kazon can't be trusted with it.
Which is why I made the hypothesis.
Anyway, it's Voyager, they were notoriously inconsistent. I freely acknowledge that my hypothesis may be wrong, I'm just trying to explain it within the bounds of the information given. Ehhh. If the reasoning is that they are somehow inferior for being black, I would consider that racism, but if it's just "I prefer this narrow band of traits, and this is my opinion, and these people are no objectively better or worse than anyone else", then it would be unusual but probably acceptable. I don't know what your point is, here. Hey, I admitted it was a mediocre example at best.
And that's...that's pessimistic, but...
OK. I just found this website called notalwaysright dot com.
And...
I'm stunned.
I can barely comprehend that there is this level of raging stupidity in the world today. I mean, this is ridiculous.
You know, you and jonsills and the MV guys have a point. Maybe there IS a surfeit of stupid, lazy people in the world and I'm just the exception...again...
If I wasn't so sick and miserable I'd probably be mad at something. Oh, even the historical figures I do admire, most of them were either jerks or very private people. Or Cetshwayo kaMpande. I see.
I, being an optimist, am inclined to disagree with this interpretation. However, lacking evidence, you are free to your interpretation and I can't in good faith continue to try to convince you otherwise, because neither of us really has a leg to stand on. If you let lazy writing slide, then you get Stephen Moffat.
SOMEone needs to criticize people honestly. And I've got a terribly bad case of SIWOTI syndrome, so...
I really don't know at this point.
Part of me is actually agreeing with you, mostly because what's the point of trying when someone doesn't take your advice?, but the other part is saying that someone needs to take a stand.
And I honestly am uncertain about what's the right move.
Worffan and his 'I was part of debate club all throughout my school career'-ness.
Most people have made it it's own thread, which is confusing for those of us who still just use it as the reply thread for the most part.
SCM - Hive (S) - [02:31] DMG(DPS) - @jarvisandalfred: 30.62M(204.66K) - Fed Sci
Tacs are overrated.
Game's best wiki
Build questions? Look here!
...co-creator of Sherlock, one of the most succesful iterations of Sherlock Holmes modern media has produced? Head writer for much of New Who's run from 2009 to now, and writer of some of the best episodes of the New Who era, including but not limited to "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances", "Blink", "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead", "The Beast Below", "A Christmas Carol", "Let's Kill Hitler", "Asylum of the Daleks", "The Day of the Doctor," "The Time of the Doctor", and "Time Heist"?
The guy who created the Weeping Angels, the Vashta Narada, and the Silence, two of which almost instantly became iconic Who antagonists?
That Steven Moffat?
...he and the things he's working on seem to be doing pretty okay for themselves.
Neelix and Kim, on the other hand, are canon characters, with characteristics defined in the shows. What's being written in that alt-u story aren't those characters; it's other characters with their names, as if, for instance, I wrote a Doctor Who story in which the Doctor was a slovenly couch potato who can't even be arsed to fire up the TARDIS.
It's explicitly an AU aimed at approaching the show's concept with the benefit of hindsight at what didn't work and a writing team that works well together. We're retaining the most basic concepts (trapped far from home, senior officers dead, Harry's a young Ensign trained in logistics, Neelix is a refugee from a military dictatorship that got overthrown) and just developing the story, characters, and setting in a way that we feel is both more realistic and less likely to frustrate those who consume the story.
For example, Neelix is a polite, friendly everyman and jack-of-all-trades who admits that he isn't GREAT at much of anything but has some useful skills that are handy in some situations. Harry Kim is an intelligent, proactive officer who signs himself up for combat training after he gets his butt kicked by Torres and an angry Cardassian on Ocampa Prime. Stadi's a young conn officer forced rapidly into command, who's experienced the sheer vileness of Kazon not-even-pirates through telepathic attack (two of them grabbed her in a fight, she reacted instinctively, she got a play-by-play of a bunch of Kazon sexually assaulting a captive, she got beyond angry), but she's intelligent enough to know her weaknesses, employs Tuvok as her eminently level-headed XO and works well with Gul Evek.
Basically, it's the same concept, characters have the same names, we're just endeavoring to make everyone intelligent and reasonably competent because this is Star Trek, not the Three Stooges.
Also, jonsills--With the Kazon in MCNL, we're actually taking your Batarian Hegemony idea and playing with it a bit. Suffice it to say that the dumb, brutish space Kazon are the result of a primitive, bigoted society being raided for slaves by the Trabe a thousand years ago. They've just been sort of like the Elachi to the Trabe's Iconians ever since, resulting in any vestiges of intelligence and sophisticated culture being selectively discouraged, while dumb, brutish violence is encouraged by the Trabe.
The rest of the Kazon on their homeworld have moved on in the thousand years since, building a late-21st-century-level society, maybe 10 years from warp travel, with a society no more biased or violent than 22nd century humanity. That's the attitude that got their rear ends kicked in the Dominion War. Ability over appearance. That's sort of what we operate by. As long as your clothing functions for the task you are performing, nobody really cares what you look like. Results are all that matter.
As jonsills and I note above, it's not so much rewriting the character in the manner of, say, this series, but more reimagining the concept with an eye towards telling a better story.
And yeah, Garret Wang is a cool dude; he actively tried to make his character cooler and more interesting, but actually received direction REPEATEDLY to act with nothing but Dull Surprise to everything. TVTropes takes almost a ranting tone about this.
Hope that kimono's going well!
You totally forgot about his work with Coupling as well, awesome show. Makes Friends look like amateurs.
I would not say that writing an AU is necessarily bad even when involving canon characters. "Parallels" leaves so many fascinating examples--some differences subtle, others huge (the Borg Rule universe, and the one where Bajoran and Cardassian roles are reversed, as examples). If the course of a world's history changes drastically enough, if the same people are born (despite the fact that IRL that would be insanely improbable
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-)
Proudly F2P. Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
To briefly reference Andromeda, the Commonwealth fell... Or as mentioned, the Roman Empire fell, the British Empire is essentially non-existent. All good things, etc
What you're missing/ignoring, is that while that may be the norm for your specific university, it's not a typical amount of leeway for all... And, while the people you mentioned as being 'eccentrics' in the field, the thing to remember, is that they are established in their field, not trying to break into it. One needs to know the rules before breaking them
And as mentioned, inVerse, there is precedent for less than ideal* candidates attending the academy, and as mentioned, you're giving majorly background characters way more consideration than they deserve
*in terms of moral values...
I do understand that, I just think it's an ultimately futile gesture, which given the 'self-satisfaction aspect' is why I consider it an egotistical thing to do. I put my hands up to doing a similar thing, when I featured Thomas Jerome Newton (The Man Who Fell to Earth) in a piece I did last year, but, when writing, I deliberately kept him as close to David Bowie's portrayal, combined with the portrayal on the TV Series of the same name, and some logical conjecture, rather than completely revising the franchise itself...
He definitely sounds it, but sadly, with some series, the writers and directors are not open to input from the actors :-\
Thanks, it is, it's just time-consuming, and combining that with writing, writing debates as well as other real life time constraints, has meant it's taken longer than I'd wanted it to take