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May 25, 2006

A Travissty

No PR is ever bad PR - Karen Traviss

Science Fiction fans are notorious for their rabid loyalty and dedication. But what obligation does the artist owe to his or her fans in return? I would venture that there is but one; do not insult them.

By "insult", I do not mean the traditional insult of putting out products such as The Matrix: Reloaded or Star Trek V, but rather, they denigrate a portion of their fan base something like this:

Except this is not a comedy and the insults are emanating from the parent company of the biggest sci-fi franchise there is. Yes, LucasFilm Ltd. is publicly insulting some of its fans. This segment in question tend to be more technically minded while enjoying the movies or books. They see the Death Star destroy a planet and ponder how powerful the weapon is. And while reading "Guide to the Grand Army of the Republic", they might wonder how only three million clone troopers can possibly wage a galaxy-wide conflict. Which brings us to the current situation.

So we start off with a traditional insult but unfortunately, it did not end there. When fans on TheForce.net began to question the veracity of the numbers, the author, Karen Traviss, attempted to personally defend it.

She failed.

So like any rational person faced with the realization that their argument is a slab of Swiss cheese, she labeled her detractors "Talifans" and claimed they have no life.

April 14, 2006

The name Talifan might be more apt than I ever thought, and rc_ghost's splendid phrase internet madrasas equally revealing.

Two key elements leap out at me: the insular nature of the deviant group, their previous normality until exposed to some idea or personal influence, and the "downward spiral" effect of them vying with each other to be more extreme - best described by former members of the Baader Meinhof gang in frank TV interviews.

This is clearly a universal phenomenon, but right now I'm not sure if I'm looking at one syndrome or a mix of aberrant behaviours manifesting similar symptoms. The internet element is a significant one in this, I feel. I get a whiff of Aspergers, OCD, religious orthodoxy, plain old normal human susceptibility, and a dozen other things.

And, yes, some of them - maybe most - might just be normal humans,and thus easily led and prone to conform.

Just like the clones*, in fact. How ironic.

But I need to unravel this.

I'll keep you abreast of what other dingbattery I unearth (every tie-in writer has a stack, I know) but at the moment I'm on the hunt for any academic who's done research into the psychology of obsession and anti-social behaviour among fans, be that in the context rock stars, actors or just grunt hacks like me.

Fascinating. Utterly fascinating. My gut reaction is that they all need garotting, but my rational self finds it all...fascinating.

(*Except the clones have sex lives. Chicks dig armour. )

I wonder if she floats the idea of killing off fans at Star Wars Insider meetings. Now, that was bad enough but when she writes on her VIP Blog on StarWars.com

Oct 6, 2005

Angels, pinheads and inquisitions

I'm a bit tired of words today, so I thought I'd try an equation. It's about light and heat.

eW= ty x L /k

Where: eW = energy available (in watts)
ty = kilocalories spent in angry typing
k = opportunities wasted to do something useful in real life
L = length of the Super Star Destroyer x by systolic pressure

I substituted a few numbers in that, and boy, there was a lot of wasted heat and not much light generated. I thought about getting a heat exchanger fitted, but then I tried something different.

sb = eW x r /ty

Where: sb = social benefit to real people
eW = energy available
ty = kilocalories spent typing angry responses
r = real issues requiring action

You can see that if you reduce ty, then sb increases.


There are thousands of people in the world who would love to have no greater source of unhappiness in their lives than arguments about SSDs, GAR strengths and whether Han fired first - because they're being blown up by IEDs, or bombed, or starved, or being driven out of their homes by disasters and wars and any number of bad, real things. If the most upsetting thing that happened to them in their lives was arguing about Mara Jade's hair, they'd rejoice.

Passion about fiction is great when it's fun and lighthearted, or when it provides respite or sheds light on real issues. But save your anger about it - on both sides of the argument - and channel it into improving real lives. Visit a vets' home. Send our troops books. If the military isn't your bag, then raise money for famine relief or help an animal shelter. But whatever you do, remember what's real and get het up about that.

Besides showing an ignorance of Physics (sad thing for a science fiction writer to be deficient of), she demonstrates a lack of respect for how people may decide to best enjoy their hobby. She assumes that if you try to "...synthesise and explore a self-consistent reality for that universe" you must not be doing anything worthwhile in the real world.

That is insulting and a false premise to boot. I'd wager that 90% of the people I know who are part of the so-called Talifandom do things that have a far greater impact on the world than Karen Traviss. And not just the scientists or the engineers, but even the bartenders too.

Finally, when an author licensed to write for LucasFilm is allowed to published such things on the official site, I must assume that such views are endorsed by the parent company. A company that holds this position is not worthy of either my loyalty or my money. I would rather support a franchise that has never faltered in its appreciation of its fans, tali or no.

I suppose this now means I have to buy Star Trek V.

Shit.

For further reading please reference Poe's Dark Side which contains many more examples of LucasFilm's attitude in general and Karen Traviss's specifically toward a large portion of its fan base.

Posted by Skayhan at May 25, 2006 11:05 PM

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