Any Other SW Forums With Balls?

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2006-06-14 03:17am

Is SD.net the only Star Wars-related foruum that doesn't quiver in its boots and piss its pants over what VIPs think of it? Are there any other free-form SW related boards like SD.net?

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2006-06-14 04:55am

millenniumfalcon is the only other one I can think of that isn't pussywhipped.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2006-06-14 09:38am

I'm not sure if it's a matter of guts or balls so much as simply not being mindless celebrity worshippers. A mindless celebrity worshipper would never dare say anything to offend a VIP in his presence because that VIP is like God on Earth as far as the fanboy is concerned. If the VIP so much as deigns to address the fanboy personally, the fanboy will happily lick up the VIP's droppings for life.

Even if the fanboy didn't like the VIP's work, that would instantly change the moment the VIP actually addressed him by name and spoke nicely to him. That's why so many of these no-life losers fight tooth and nail to protect Karen Traviss but not George Lucas. Karen Traviss actually deigned to speak to them and make them feel important. Why do you think it's so easy for her to pick up recruits? She can probably smell the stench of a loser fanboy's desperate need for approval from a mile away.

We simply lack that mindset, probably in large part due to the fact that we don't need approval from an obscure almost-celebrity in order to have a sense of self-worth.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2006-06-14 09:44am

Aside from the very very rare contribution from Dr. Saxton do we even have VIPs or ever had on this forum?

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2006-06-14 09:47am

Stravo wrote:Aside from the very very rare contribution from Dr. Saxton do we even have VIPs or ever had on this forum?

I doubt it. VIPs would be much more likely to go to a place like TFN, which is basically like Tribute Magazine for Star Wars. Oooh, look at what Natalie Portman wore for the premiere!

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2006-06-14 09:55am

Stravo wrote:Aside from the very very rare contribution from Dr. Saxton do we even have VIPs or ever had on this forum?

Unlike boards where people will grovel at their feet and give them endless praise, what do we have to offer? Legitimate critiques and observations on their works, and probably phrased harshly.

Of course, I'm not saying that authors don't wish to have legitimate feedback from fans- but I don't think they're going to actively seek it out, either.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2006-06-14 10:10am

DPDarkPrimus wrote:Of course, I'm not saying that authors don't wish to have legitimate feedback from fans- but I don't think they're going to actively seek it out, either.

A few do, because they are interested. Most SW wouldn't come here, even if so inclined because the board is not all about SW. This is not accounting for primadonnas like Travis.

Which makes me laugh, I've known authors, and some have bites that actually does not rely upon sychopantic worshippers. They will throw down as good as they get it. Travis on the other hand is such a pussy, she literally relies on her toadies to do shit, because at heart she has nothing she can back up her claim.

Honestly if she's the new direction of Star Wars, then I'll be glad to never buy another piece of product.

VT-16 · Post by **VT-16** » 2006-06-14 11:30am

Aside from the very very rare contribution from Dr. Saxton do we even have VIPs or ever had on this forum?

We have that KeVinK guy. That's two.

Since I've talked with several VIPs on several occasions already, the novelty's worn off. It's just not that big a deal, and if I disagree with them on something, that definitely makes it less of a deal much quicker. ;P

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2006-06-14 12:56pm

I got a nice polite (and reasonably intelligent) E-mail reply from Rick Sternbach once. It's nice to know that guys like that are personable and friendly, but it's not as if I sit there masturbating over the fact that a celebrity replied to me.

Dark Primus · Post by **Dark Primus** » 2006-06-14 06:13pm

And wasn't there a Trek author who came here after arguing with Dark Star?

consequences · Post by **consequences** » 2006-06-14 06:14pm

Dark Primus wrote:And wasn't there a Trek author who came here after arguing with Dark Star?

I'm pretty sure that's KevinK.

Dark Primus · Post by **Dark Primus** » 2006-06-14 06:16pm

consequences wrote:
Dark Primus wrote:And wasn't there a Trek author who came here after arguing with Dark Star?
I'm pretty sure that's KevinK.

Ahh okey I just forgot his name

000 · Post by **000** » 2006-06-14 07:03pm

Although I do hate TFN's new VIP rules and Traviss's influence in that, I do enjoy hearing from the VIPs who post there. All the regulars are great folks who can take criticism pretty well. John Ostrander in particular has my respect for how open he is to criticism-- and there's alot of it for Legacy over there.

It is odd, though, how TFN has bent over backwards to protect Traviss from criticism when she doesn't even post there any more. Ann Crispin left a year or two ago after being nastily attacked personally by a number of fangirls who were pissed about her Bria Tharen character or something or other-- not a whole lot was done. Traviss, on the other hand, was never personally attacked over there.

I got a chance to chat with Allston live the other week, and it was neat, although I'm not over the moon about it.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2006-06-14 08:08pm

Personally, I think the reason Traviss is shielded is simple: she demands it. Most VIPs, I suspect, are fairly reasonable folks. They understand that people will have opinions on their work, and those opinions are not necessarily complimentary. They're not going to expect web forums everywhere to silence and censor people who don't like their work.

But Traviss is a whole different animal; she gets angry at people who don't like her work, and decides that she must try to drive them off the Internet. Her fantasies about "garrotting" her critics make that pretty clear; she wants her critics silenced. This TFN policy is 50% due to TFN being gutless sycophants and 50% due to Traviss being a hyper-defensive cast-iron bitch who can't take criticism.

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2006-06-14 08:51pm

Note that Curtis Saxton, who's website is hosted at TFN, has never (to my knowledge) insisted that TFN or sw.com silence his critics, even though he's one of the most attacked SW authors.

Lonestar · Post by **Lonestar** » 2006-06-14 09:02pm

Darth Wong wrote:Personally, I think the reason Traviss is shielded is simple: she demands it. Most VIPs, I suspect, are fairly reasonable folks. They understand that people will have opinions on their work, and those opinions are not necessarily complimentary. They're not going to expect web forums everywhere to silence and censor people who don't like their work.

Hell, SM Stirling used to visit the Duchess's board, and yeah he got into arguments with the Drakafic authors, but as far as I know he hasn't acted in any way similiar to Traviss.

PainRack · Post by **PainRack** » 2006-06-14 10:57pm

What about RA Salvadore? We do know that he withdrew from the fan community because of death threats over Chewbacca, but he didn't go on a rampage over the fans.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2006-06-14 11:49pm

000 wrote: It is odd, though, how TFN has bent over backwards to protect Traviss from criticism when she doesn't even post there any more. Ann Crispin left a year or two ago after being nastily attacked personally by a number of fangirls who were pissed about her Bria Tharen character or something or other-- not a whole lot was done. Traviss, on the other hand, was never personally attacked over there.

I remember hearing that Crispin thing mentioned before, although it seemed to me to be an excuse to defending Traviss.

I suppose one of the supreme differences (or criteria), aside from how vocal they are, is whether or not they're still an active writer. Crispin has only written 3 books total; whereas Traviss is gearing up to write three more (at least) for Star Wars, so she's a "going concern" as it were....

Moreover, ,Traviss strikes me as attempting to make a "Big Name" for herself among the SW fandom ("finding her niche", to put it politely. I'm sure someone else might term it more like "prostituting" herself..) And if she's trying to do that, having critics who can argue with her effectively and point out the flaws (especially when she has reacted so poorly to begin with) only makes her "look bad". So naturally she's focusing on avoiding/ignoring them while doing her utmost to clamp down on any and all venues of dissent she can. (and if she doesn't do it, she has other people doing it for her.)

chitoryu12 · Post by **chitoryu12** » 2006-06-15 01:27am

I know what criticism is like. I post on www.fanfiction.net and www.fictionpress.com, and I obviously have a lot of bad reviews. I've seen people who put up stories where they fantasize about torturing and killing their critics. This one guy, Ferrix, likes to nitpick and mention minor grammatical errors. When they complain, he finds more errors in their complaint. He uses these errors as an excuse to ignore him. He even has his own one-man cheerleading squad that makes blatant and obvious lies about Ferrix's critics.

PainRack · Post by **PainRack** » 2006-06-15 01:42am

Connor MacLeod wrote: I remember hearing that Crispin thing mentioned before, although it seemed to me to be an excuse to defending Traviss.

I suppose one of the supreme differences (or criteria), aside from how vocal they are, is whether or not they're still an active writer. Crispin has only written 3 books total; whereas Traviss is gearing up to write three more (at least) for Star Wars, so she's a "going concern" as it were....

Moreover, ,Traviss strikes me as attempting to make a "Big Name" for herself among the SW fandom ("finding her niche", to put it politely. I'm sure someone else might term it more like "prostituting" herself..) And if she's trying to do that, having critics who can argue with her effectively and point out the flaws (especially when she has reacted so poorly to begin with) only makes her "look bad". So naturally she's focusing on avoiding/ignoring them while doing her utmost to clamp down on any and all venues of dissent she can. (and if she doesn't do it, she has other people doing it for her.)

Well, KJA did the exact same thing, but back then, the fan community didn't exactly shield him from it either.
Granted, KJA clearly avoided criticism and ignored reviews on his Jedi Academy trilogy but he certainly didn't decleare war on the fanbase either.

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2006-06-15 04:52am

Lonestar wrote: Hell, SM Stirling used to visit the Duchess's board, and yeah he got into arguments with the Drakafic authors, but as far as I know he hasn't acted in any way similiar to Traviss.

I have a vague feeling that Stirling is a member here, too.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2006-06-15 09:08am

Ford Prefect wrote:
Lonestar wrote: Hell, SM Stirling used to visit the Duchess's board, and yeah he got into arguments with the Drakafic authors, but as far as I know he hasn't acted in any way similiar to Traviss.
I have a vague feeling that Stirling is a member here, too.

He's posted a couple times, but nothing much. I believe his interest would be more for Marina's board because of the Draka fics.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2006-06-15 09:28am

How many previous authors have actually run around to dozens of different places on the Internet and tried to bully their critics into silence in all those venues? Traviss' behaviour of actually seeking out her critics wherever they may be and trying to convince different forum admins to silence them seems particularly unusual to me.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2006-06-15 09:34am

Darth Wong wrote:How many previous authors have actually run around to dozens of different places on the Internet and tried to bully their critics into silence in all those venues? Traviss' behaviour of actually seeking out her critics wherever they may be and trying to convince different forum admins to silence them seems particularly unusual to me.

The fact that one of her main counters is to claim some sort of misoginistic front for the criticism makes me suspect she's been skating by life using that excuse or she's some sort of feminazi who really believes that tripe and thinks any criticism (in particular from an overwhelmingl male dominated fanbase like this one) must be rooted in that. May help explain why she's so damned shrill about this. She can say we hate the writer and not the writing.

Lonestar · Post by **Lonestar** » 2006-06-15 10:49am

Darth Wong wrote:How many previous authors have actually run around to dozens of different places on the Internet and tried to bully their critics into silence in all those venues? Traviss' behaviour of actually seeking out her critics wherever they may be and trying to convince different forum admins to silence them seems particularly unusual to me.

Why, has she tried to contact SDN's Admin?(You, I guess...)