Every once in a while I have to put this out as an FYI, so
those of you who know the routine, stand down...the rest of
you...c'mere, Unca Straczynski wants a word with you.

From time to time, my personal email mailbox begins to fill up
with questions that really should be asked in public forums, and which
require lengthy, in-depth explanations. (One such today asked me to
explain, in detail, the military hierarchy of Earthforce, relative
strengths of ships, on and on and on. In itself, not a bad
question...but asked in email, that means that I have to answer the
same thing for the next guy who asks, on and on and on.)

I can't get into detailed, exhaustive discussions of the plot
or story or characters *in private email*. If your question is a good
or a valid one, it should be posted in a public forum, so that others
can benefit from the answer. Otherwise either I end up writing pages
of information over and over again, and nobody else gets the
information, or I just decline to answer the question.

The *only* reason for using email is if it's a personal or a
confidential question, or something you don't want to say on the nets
for whatever reason. Please help me to keep my head above water by not
using email unless there's a valid reason for it.

If there *is* something you need to express in email, please
use the genie address (straczynski@genie.geis.com) instead of the
compuserve address, because the CIS emailbox can only hold 100 letters
at a time; any more than that which arrive get bumped and sent back or
deleted. I lost an important piece of email regarding B5 business
today because it got shoved out by a letter asking me to explain the
differences in organization and accountability to oders between the
religious and military castes of Minbari.

Bear in mind that with CTS, it *hurts* to type. The more I
type, the more it hurts. (Please don't send me any more info on CTS,
btw...I have all the available information on CTS, more than most
doctors right now, and to type a thank you note for each one that comes
in just makes the problem worse.) If a question needs answering,
better if I can answer it once, so everyone can see it, than 15 times
for one person at a time. Every keystroke you see from me comes with
discomfort.

Please try and use the email address(es) only if there's a
valid reason for it; otherwise, let others benefit from the sharpness
and quality of your question by asking it publicly.

jms