JMS on CompuServe (Mar 04, 1997) *POSSIBLE SPOILERS*
bbarrett at speedlink.com
bbarrett at speedlink.com
Tue Mar 4 23:16:02 EST 1997
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upcoming Babylon 5 episodes.
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[ Summary of subjects in this section: ]
Sb: #653694-TNT Air Order
Sb: #653712-Caste, Clan, Family?
Sb: #653751-Delenn
Sb: #653759-To Sysops from jms
Sb: #653760-Next New Show?
Sb: #653803-TNT Air Order
Sb: #653829-B5 in new Ent.Weekly
Sb: #653930-Caste, Clan, Family?
Sb: #653936-Official: No year 5
Sb: #653947-Van Valen
Sb: #653992-<<The One and the Nine>>
Sb: #654018-Official: No year 5
Sb: #654156-Atonement
Sb: Sysop on CIS Rules
[ Summary: Asks if the CGI will also be updated in the pilot prior to TNT
airing. ]
#: 654172 S5/Babylon 5: General
04-Mar-97 14:00:18
Sb: #653694-TNT Air Order
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yeah, we're also going to update the CGI, if we can do this.
jms
#: 653712 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
03-Mar-97 12:57:46
Sb: #653683-#Caste, Clan, Family?
Fm: BRENT BARRETT
Re: Clans and family...
Ahhh... very interesting. So, am I correct in my memory that you said
Delenn changed castes when she was young? If so, what was her family's
original caste? And, if that's the case, I take it the caste she was born into
was her fathers, unless the Sisters of Valeria take members from other castes
as well.
Oh, hell. I just confused myself again.
Thanks (I think),
-- Brent
#: 654173 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
04-Mar-97 14:00:19
Sb: #653712-Caste, Clan, Family?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
No, Delenn never changed castes.
jms
#: 653751 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
03-Mar-97 15:11:06
Sb: #Delenn
Fm: DOUGLAS PILIGIAN
Joe,
Hasn't Delenn learned her lesson about telling the truth, all of it, to
Sheridan? Looks like she forgot the pain she caused earlier when she kept the
information about Anna back from John. Now in Atonement she's going to Minbar,
perhaps never to return, and she tells him that nothing's wrong. Are we
seeing a return of the old Delenn?
Doug
#: 654174 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
04-Mar-97 14:00:20
Sb: #653751-Delenn
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Certainly Delenn has some hard things to do coming up.
jms
[ Summary: Comments on the "Family" or "Adult" states of CIS forums. ]
#: 654175 S5/Babylon 5: General
04-Mar-97 14:00:21
Sb: #653759-To Sysops from jms
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yeah, that's the problem...it has to be one or the other Family, or
Adult...and if you have any content that ain't kid-approved it automatically
puts you in the latter category, which lots of people don't want for all the
reasons you cite. Something here don't make a whole lot of sense....
jms
[ Summary: Asks when the new episodes start. ]
#: 654176 S5/Babylon 5: General
04-Mar-97 14:00:24
Sb: #653760-Next New Show?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
The next ep comes around May-ish, so you can sleep in for a while...
jms
#: 653803 S5/Babylon 5: General
03-Mar-97 17:17:13
Sb: #653685-#TNT Air Order
Fm: JOHN M. GRAHAM
Joe, pardon my butting in, but it seems an appropriate thread.
Will the Gathering be shown before or after the Prequel Movie?
Thanks. John
#: 654177 S5/Babylon 5: General
04-Mar-97 14:00:27
Sb: #653803-TNT Air Order
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
The prequel will be aired first, then the pilot, then the series.
jms
#: 653829 S5/Babylon 5: General
03-Mar-97 17:55:51
Sb: #B5 in new Ent.Weekly
Fm: RAE AUGENSTEIN
Babylon 5 is featured in the newest issue of Entertainment Weekly (March 7,
1997, w/ Howard Stern [|-p] on the cover) on page 17 in the "Flashes" section.
It says IN PART (so noted cuz of Fair Use and all that):
"This May look for Scott Adams, creator of cartoondom's worker bee Dilbert, in
a small role on the syndicated sci-fi series Babylon 5."
Now this part cracks me up: "When the show's writer*s* learned that Adams ...
was a major Babylo-phile..."
Writer_s_? Joe, do you have multiple personalities that we don't know about?
<HG> Of course, I'm sure they meant "producers."
The blurb goes on to say that Mr. Adams signed autographs for cast and crew and
that he had a fine time socializing with TV vets Walter Koenig, Bill Mumy, and
Tony Dow. There's also a photo of Adams on the set with a Minbari behind him.
It's nice to see B5 getting press in EW and TV Guide of late. Tell your press
agents to keep up the good work!
Rae ^^^^
#: 654178 S5/Babylon 5: General
04-Mar-97 14:00:29
Sb: #653829-B5 in new Ent.Weekly
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
WriterS....sigh.
Hell, we're just happy to know they're AWARE of us....
jms
#: 653930 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
03-Mar-97 20:08:02
Sb: #653683-#Caste, Clan, Family?
Fm: TOM KNUDSEN
Joe,
<Mir is her family>
Interesting thing that. The fact that Mir is the Russian word for
peace wouldn't have anything to do with you using it for her family
name.....would it?
Tom^^^^
"The avalanche has ALREADY started. It is too late
for the pebbles to vote." - Kosh Naranek
#: 654179 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
04-Mar-97 14:00:31
Sb: #653930-Caste, Clan, Family?
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Yeah, there's that, and it nicely intersects with the fact that Delenn
is portrayed by MIRa Furlan. It's kind of a bank shot.
jms
#: 653936 S5/Babylon 5: General
03-Mar-97 20:31:24
Sb: #652521-#Official: No year 5
Fm: SCOTT BAKER
Ok I think I got this.
You and Netter own Babylonian Productions which produces B5, etc.
And Netter digital does the Special Effects, right? So what else does Netter
Digital do?
--Scott
#: 654180 S5/Babylon 5: General
04-Mar-97 14:00:33
Sb: #653936-Official: No year 5
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
NDEI has its own projects under development, was involved in the
Battleground Earth project with Majel Roddenberry, produces the occasional
documentary (such as the Wild West documentary a couple years ago), and other
projects which don't involve me at all.
jms
#: 653947 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
03-Mar-97 20:44:16
Sb: #653539-#Van Valen
Fm: REBECCA ESCHLIMAN
<< Actually, that was Dukhat, and yeah, that's pretty close to
how I saw him in my head. Definitely a bigger than life fellow. >>
The actor who played Dukhat was so effective in giving him the
"bigger-than-life" quality. And I noticed that the side-views where we
got to see the full effect of the bone upsweep really helped to convey
that this was one force to be reckoned with.
But one thing that just came to mind -- the Minbari with the greatest
personal force seem to be the ones whose dealings with the
world-at-large are leavened with humor -- Dukhat and Draal (Lennier
then qualifies as a Minbari with great personal force in the making).
-rje-
To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else. --
Emily Dickinson
#: 654181 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
04-Mar-97 14:00:34
Sb: #653947-Van Valen
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Certainly that ties in with what Delenn said about humor being essential
to Minbari philosophy and culture.
jms
[ Summary: Hey! This guy thinks he sees only eight Grey Council members
too. :-) ]
#: 654182 S6/Babylon 5: Spoilers
04-Mar-97 14:00:37
Sb: #653992-<<The One and the Nine>>
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
No, if you keep watching Dukhat comes in, followed by Delenn, through
the opening (the empty spot) and then another Minbari comes in to fill that
spot.
(Sudden thought...I have to check to see if we *used* that shot or if it
was just in dailies...but if you count the Minbari there at the end of the
scene, you'll find the count is correct.)
jms
[ Note: To clarify, the scene with the eight members is the final scene,
before the lights go out and the Council departs. -- Brent ]
#: 654018 S5/Babylon 5: General
04-Mar-97 02:15:11
Sb: #652521-#Official: No year 5
Fm: MR. TRACY SCHELL
Joe- I see the title of this thread "Official: No Year 5" and I'm hoping you
didn't start it. Has there been any word on the fate of year 5? Can you give us
the odds?
Mr.T- Having fun in Florida's sun!
#: 654183 S5/Babylon 5: General
04-Mar-97 14:00:40
Sb: #654018-Official: No year 5
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
No, no definitive word yet.
jms
#: 654156 S5/Babylon 5: General
04-Mar-97 12:47:54
Sb: #Atonement
Fm: BOB KOSLOSKY
JMS,
Those ships that showed up just before the humans attacked, where Delenn said
something to the effect that they only showed up when death was near - who were
those guys?
Respectfully,
Bob
#: 654184 S5/Babylon 5: General
04-Mar-97 14:00:43
Sb: #654156-Atonement
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Those were Soul Hunters, who in the first season we learned showed up to
attempt to grab Dukhat's soul...they were prevented from successfully boarding
the ship by the Minbari, who threw up a wall of bodies to stop them (which is
why there were few around with Delenn and Dukhat; Soul Hunters are a pretty
advanced sort, the terror of Minbari, and it took a lot to stop them). After
Dukhat died, Delenn went down and joined in, confronting them about this.
jms
#: 654309 S5/Babylon 5: General
04-Mar-97 18:28:35
Sb: Sysop on CIS Rules
Fm: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Just received this, and thought I'd pass it along for whatever use it
may have in illuminating the discussion.
jms
Subj:Confessions of a CIS sysop Date:97-03-03 23:00:21 EST
From:rick at hugin.imat.com (Rick Moen) To:jmsatb5 at aol.com
Here's how CIS forum-content regulation works, from the perspective of a
(former) CIS primary forum sysop ("wizop").
I used to work for a software company, and as part of my job as a support rep
created a CIS forum to support our customers -- and then ran it single-handed
for four years. This meant answering all CIS-based customer questions from
around the world, plus handling all forum administration. Many wizops recruit
assistants, giving them access to some sysop functions.
As a forum (primary) sysop, one is handed a couple of big binders, that mostly
cover technical matters, but in passing touch on content guidelines. These
were vaguely described, but the sysop is told he's obliged to keep "off" all
profanity, solicitations of business for other online services, and some other
things. Forum members were to be _advised_ by e-mail if a post had been
removed, and could be locked out (in ordinary circumstances) _only_ after a
warning. (As a courtesy, I also sent a copy of any removed post back via
e-mail, in case the poster wanted to edit and re-post it or send it unchanged
via e-mail.)
I enforced the profanity guidelines, among others, permissively, and always
with the advisories described. I told members up front that it was a _support_
forum, and that they could create a Berate Company Management forum elsewhere.
To get to the point, several things: (1) "Wizops" operate forums by contract
with CIS for a percentage of user billings. (2) CIS thus distances itself from
both administration _and_ some legal liability. (They can say "Not our fault.
We weren't running it." This, in my view, is CIS sysops' primary design
function.)
(3) The standard CIS forum contract forbids disclosure of its terms to any
third party. (Yes, I'm violating it. I have reason.)
(4) Many if not most forum sysops, both wizops and their chosen assistants,
ignore the obligation of accountability to users. They do this for
convenience's sake, and because there's little to hold them accountable. My
successor did this, for example. Sysops tend to see themselves as overworked
and under-appreciated (almost always true): Unfortunately, they tend to
consider this an excuse for whatever management techniques seem most expedient.
(5) CIS forum management routinely abdicates its responsibility to oversee
sysops. My guess is that exercising it would (most of the time) tend to
increase their legal exposure, and they intercede only if there's a disaster
brewing that might spill over from the sysop onto them. I've known a number of
cases of people appealing to CIS management over clear cases of high-handed
sysop behaviour: I don't think CIS even _responded_ to any of those users.
Again, little existed to _hold_ them accountable.
(6) The remedy: Exactly what you're doing. Have someone watch the watchers,
and spotlight abuse when it happens. Don't accept convenience and mishap as
excuses for absurd happenings such as those you've described. The responsible
parties _will_ be motivated to elmininate abuses if faced with fair complaints
from multiple parties, that won't go away if ignored.
Thank you for pursuing the matter. Feel free to quote this e-mail if you wish,
and you need not omit my name or mailbox, if you do. I stand behind it.
-- Cheers, Rick Moen rick at hugin.imat.com
[END]
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