I've been a Trekker for a while (prefer not date myself by stating the actual number of years

) and have a question or two regarding the continuity of the Star Trek Universe.
First, I just want to get a couple things off my chest, as it were. I hated the last Star Trek movie. It just seemed to me to be nothing more than a poorly written work whose only aim was to make money off the Star Trek name. I honestly believe that Gene Roddenberry is rolling in his grave over it. That's just my honest opinion.
Second, I love Star Trek Online and have been waiting for it for about ten years now ever since Microprose released Star Trek: The Next Generation: Birth of the Federation. At the time there was rampant buzz of a BOTF like MMO that would be coming VERY soon (it had lots of names over the years and I like the simple straight-forward name they finally decided on. If only STO was MORE like BOTF...lol) I hated the movie and love the game which supports the storyling put forth in said movie. Odd, but true.
However, the Borg are in STO even though they were wiped out in the David Mack trilogy "Destiny" (but not before they laid waste to the Alpha Quadrant. :eek:) How can this be? And all the "telepathic" species in the Mirror Universe (except Vulcans) were wiped out by the Terran Empire before Emperor Spock destroyed it. Spock even had all the Trill exterminated except for one yet I see them and other "telepathic" races in Mirror Universe encounters. Again, how?
Or better yet....Is Star Trek Online meant to be continuous with the movies, tv shows and books? Just curious.

Even if it is not and is simply meant to be the entertaining diversion that it is, I just wanted to ask. So there. I asked. lol
Comments
And why would you wipe out the Borg? they are a truly fun villainous entity
If it's on TV or in a movie, it's canon.
Anything else is just used as potential source material.
So..the continuity you are asking about IS there, provided it was in one of the TV series or movies(Star Trek 09 is an alternate timeline, events mentioned by Spock(from the future) and Nero take place in the STO timeline/universe, but the rest of the events in the movie don't).
David Mack did a wonderful job in explaining the origin of the Borg (I like William Shatner's Borg Origin story better-Sorry, Dave...) and a marvelous job in wiping them out en masse (you really have got to read the Destiny trilogy...it was a blast!) How it was done has opened up exciting new possibilities that simply were not there as long as the Borg were still around. I'm looking forward to seeing what David Mack, Keith R.A. DeCandido, James Swallow, Peter David and all the other writers of Trek are going to do with them.
(My apologies for leaving out all of the other authors who write Trek. There are many and they are good. And those mentioned were the only ones that came to mind this late at night......)
Enterprise never has been or will ever be cannon.
To most of us Trekkies, TRUE!
However, we don't actually get to decide what's considered canon, that's up to the IP license owners, and according to them, for many years now, if it's got the Star Trek brand and it's been on the screen(big or little), it's canon, even that abomination Enterpise.
Don't know how they got this wrong.
But I am loving the game...keep making it better:)
P.S. The new movie was awesome and all doubters don't like good movies.
I've always thought the Borg were a cheap cop-out and not very interesting at all.
That cliche riddled hack job was awesome? Must be the only movie you've ever seen. Ever.
Well you just don't like anything do you.
This was true in the original series, but in TNG Blue-Science Red-Command, and Gold- Ship Opperations
It changes, as does everything.
Safe to say, Star Trek continuity has been seriously farked over the years due to having so many different writers. Luckily, the books aren't considered canon so what straitjacket is there in terms of writing isn't loaded down with extra belts and buckles of the novels.
There are some good essays over at StarDestroyer.net on how screwed up the Star Trek universe and its engineering principles have become due to sloppy writing and the verbal game of "telephone" that Star Trek writers invariably take part in as they keep writing new show episodes.
This essay, Brain Bugs shows how crazy concepts become in the Star Trek universe due to multiple people having control while writing new episodes. The Klingon/Viking problem and the Borg/Vampire problem are quite interesting.
Here's a spoof document about starship engineer Leah Brahms to be arrested on charges of violating the Federation Engineering Act by designing deathtrap starships that blow up due to measly threats like computer viruses. Leah Brahms found guilty of violating Federation Engineering Act
Anyhoo, the Borg (originally) were one of the best villains that had ever been devised in the Star Trek universe. I'm frankly glad to see them back and menacing the Feds once more.
If it wasn't on the TV or big screen, it's really not canon. It may fit into the canon, sure, but not necessarily. See Star Wars EU now having direct canon violations with the movies.
I'll give you the discontinuity between tv episodes and movies (First Contact, anyone?) But one thing I've learned about Star Trek from reading the books as well, is that the writers have gone to great lengths to be consistant with both, trying to fill in the blanks to questions like "Since when does the Borg have a queen?" and "WHY would the Borg have a queen?"
It always seemed completely stupid to me that at the end of "The Best of Both Worlds" Data was able to simply hack into the Borg and shut them down, but "First Contact" comes along and suddenly there's a single consciousness driving the Borg and "she's" just looking for perfection. Really? If it wasn't for the books I'd still deriding this "plot hole" for the sham that it was; nothing more than a poorly written story whose sole purpose was to make money for the Trek franchise. But because of the books and the great pains the writers have gone to to be consistant with both tv and movie, I can better appreciate this past discontinuity.
The tv shows, movies and books ALL seem to be canon to me, then. The ONLY writer of Trek whose works do not seem to be accepted as such is William Shatner. Even though HIS origin of the Borg was much better, I thought.
In any event, I love STO. Its a great game in spite of itself. I just hope that as it progresses, the content shifts and the Klingons will once again ally with the Federation.
Frankly, I don't care if Cryptic tweaks a few things to make the game better : even the shows regularly screwed with the continuity anyway.
I think you've got us reversed.