Let me, in far less pejorative terms than those used by you, try and
set your mind at ease. Or not.

Regarding how I present myself here...I don't think about it one
way or another. I honestly don't much care how I'm perceived. Who and
what I am, if I'm annoying or a saint or just another Joe, is utterly and
completely irrelevant to the work. Fifty years from now, when I'm long
gone to dust, no one's going to remember me for being a swell guy, or a
rotten guy. All that matters, all that remains, is the work...if I did a
good job, the work will live on. If not...nothing matters.

My job here, as I perceive it, is to provide an inside glimpse into
how a TV series is produced; to engage the viewers of SF television in a
genuine dialogue and thus *engage* them instead of simply *exploiting*
them, as is generally the rule, out of some measure of respect, and
by virtue of being a fan myself. I'm frequently asked by studio people
why, in an average day where I get maybe 4 hours sleep, I continue to
take part in a process that, overall, will maybe reach a few thousand
people...a number so small it doesn't even show up in the ratings. They
sense, and they're probably right, that all of this dialogue probably
won't add a single ratings point to the show. Which is fine by me; that's
not the entirety of why I'm here. I could try to explain it to them, but
I doubt very much it would work.

Okay, you find me annoying. My response: that's life. I never said
I was bunny-rabbit cute. Never promised that you'd like me. Being well
liked is not why I'm here. I hope to provide a service. If you find that
service useful, that's great. If you don't like the service, well, like
I said...that's life.

To your point that I "don't understand the background in cyber
politics," and that I should understand how these nets work...I've been
modeming since 300 bps modems were considered speed-demons. I was one
of the first subscribers to Compuserve. I completely understand how
the nets work. What I don't understand, and don't allow to fly without
challenge, is an attack that stems from plain, mean-spirited vindictiveness
by that small slice of the fan community that feels it is not only correct
but *required* to tear down others. If someone has an honest question or
a problem with something, I try to answer that question with as much
grace and politeness as I can. And sometimes, when those questions come
in very blunt terms, it's hard. But I do try. On the other hand, if I
see someone coming into visual range with nothing more on his agenda than
to slam people, insult people, villify and destroy someone out of an
excess of bile and a notable lack of good manners...the kind of fan who
gives the rest of us a bad name...then I feel no compunction
whatsoever against firing back. Hard. Generally in proportion to the
offensiveness of the original message.

This is the one thing that I've noted, time and time again, on this
and other nets. I've seen someone call down the vilest terms to describe
a particular writer, smear the person, demean and debase the person, but
when someone has the nerve to actually respond in kind, and call this
person out in the same terms he used on someone else...well, THAT'S
outRAgeous! How rude!

My feeling: tough. You don't want to get your face bit off, don't
do something as monumentally stupid as sticking it in the lion cage. Or
more simply...try the Golden Rule sometime: do unto others as you would
have them do unto you (a tenet that seems to be lost on a certain portion
of BBSers).

Which brings me back around to Harlan Ellison. You don't like my
defending Harlan. Or the fact that I am forceful in doing so.

So?

Harlan is my friend. He has also been the target of cheap,
unwarranted, vicious attacks by that lunatic fringe that sits festering
on the edge of legitimate fandom. Maybe you're content to see your
friend jumped by strangers and beaten up for kicks. Maybe you'd sit by
the side of the road and watch. Or turn away. Or sell tickets.

I can't do that. One thing that Harlan and I have in common is
that we're both out of the streets. I'm basically a New Jersey kid,
born in Paterson, and raised for a long time in the streets of Newark. If
you know Newark, you understand what that means without further need of
explanation. Much of my attitude was formed in the streets. And one of
the first things you learn, the first rule you take to heart, is that if
somebody jumps your buddy, or attacks your buddy, he's attacking you as
well. YOu don't cut and run. Whatever the cost. Maybe you think that's
"macho posturing," as you put it. It's the way I run my life. I know
such things aren't fashionable just now, but I happen to care deeply for
and about my friends, and if they're in trouble, if someone is smearing
their reputation or trying to harm them out of mean-spiritedness, I will
not stand idly by with my finger up my nose pretending it isn't happening.
Maybe you can do that. I can't.

I have no difficulty in, as you say, "letting water roll off (my)
back." But this wasn't my back. It was a friend's. I've put up with a
LOT from people on some of these systems. And not taken it personally. It
does roll off my back. But a vicious smear or an attack on a *friend*
will not go unanswered.

You don't like it, that's your choice. I'm not doing it for you, and
I'm not doing it to impress anyone, or make friends, or be nice. This is
what I do because I can't do otherwise, because this is who and what I am.

jms