Federation Commander

I'm really enjoying the Snap Count series of stories in the monthly newsletter. Has this story already been published somewhere, or is this the first time for it?

Snap Count is the story of Juggernaut Beta, published in CL # 32.

Thanks for the info, Tony!

Speaking of Captains Logs, the last time I looked American Science & Surplus had some old copies they were selling in lots of 5 for $5. I spoke with them on the phone and they were willing to pull out the Prime Directive booklets and make up a set of just CLs. I picked up several CLs in the 'teens' range. They were brand new. I got them for the background material.

On a related note, does anyone know of sources of SFU based fiction that has been written and posted in other places on the Internet?

I've seen Loren's piece explaining why there is no U.S.S. Enterprise in the SFU after its original 5 year mission and I've seen a series called Ice on Fire.

I've enjoyed getting these and putting the text on my old Sony Clie PDA to read them 'on the go' so to speak and would like to do that with others if there are more.

Mike wrote:On a related note, does anyone know of sources of SFU based fiction that has been written and posted in other places on the Internet?

No, not specifically. SVC once told me that if someone should do so, if the story contained items specific to SFU, he would kindly request that they take it down.

Mike wrote:I've seen Loren's piece explaining why there is no U.S.S. Enterprise in the SFU after its original 5 year mission and I've seen a series called Ice on Fire.

Loren wrote such a story?? I wrote one (see Timelines at http://members.cox.net/garth.getgen/timelines.pdf), but I didn't know anyone else had.

Garth's timeline story is great. I haven't seen Loren's story but I'd like to.

You're right...it was Garth who wrote that timeline story, not Loren. Sorry.

I'm curious. What would be an example of something so specific to the SFU that might be mentioned in a generalized story that SVC would ask that it be removed from a website?

Mike wrote:I'm curious. What would be an example of something so specific to the SFU that might be mentioned in a generalized story that SVC would ask that it be removed from a website?

Anything that ADB invented not found in Paramount's Star Trek world, such as the Lyran, Hydran, and ISC empires. If a story is centered around specific events of the SFU historical time line, such as the Four Powers War, or uses ships found only in SFU, such as the Federation Police Cutter, it would fall into the "derivative copyright" category. Steve is very protective of his copyrights. He has to be, if he wants to keep food on the table.

But the real reason is quality control. Let's say that you wrote a SFB story and submit it to ADB for consideration. Your first hurdle is to get it past the Rules Expert, meaning Steve Petrick. Trust me: he will nit-pick it to death. If you violated the rulebook, he'll find it. He'll also point out any logical flaws from a military point of view. "And why did the captain suddenly decide to take his ship through the nebula instead of going around it like he was ordered to?"

Okay, so you can't get the story past Steve & Steve. So you post it to FanFic.com (and hope it isn't buried in the mounds of pure drek that's so prevalent there), and other SFB players read it. They see the illegal tactics and try to use the in a game (or worse, an ADB-sponsored tournament). Next thing SVC knows, he's getting a ton of mail saying, "Why can't we do this? It was in this story here on FanFic.com!!!" So, by keeping the "unofficial" SFB fiction in check, he saves himself (and the players) from massive headaches.

Mike wrote:....I've seen a series called Ice on Fire..

Okay, I found that story on-line. I know for a fact that SVC won't publish it ... heck, he won't even READ it ... in its current format. The author used that funky present-tense writing style. Now that I've read a couple screens worth of the story, I understand why SVC hates that style.

Scoutdad wrote:Snap Count is the story of Juggernaut Beta, published in CL # 32.

I hate to correct you, Scoutdad. It is CL 33. I just picked up that issue in a trade.

Ooops.
That's what I get for typing this at work, from memory.

Guys, it isn't just that the stories have to be up to snuff. There are legal reasons with the licenses that mean that ADB, Inc. cannot ignore fanfic or stories posted on a website or anything like that. Publishing stories that only involve Paramount's intellectual property bring Paramount down on your head. Publishing things with the ISC and Paramount's IP means Paramount could come down on ADB, Inc. Therefore SVC must be diligent.

Basically, if you write it for your own amusement, that is one thing. The moment you distribute it, that is another and is no longer "fair use" of the intellectual property.

Jean, how do all these "fan film" groups get away with doing what they do? They not only make references to TOS and its characters, but have others play them.

Just interested to know how that is different...

Mike wrote:... how do all these "fan film" groups get away with doing what they do? ...

Legally, they don't. It's just that Paramount and most other copyright holders choose to not pursue legal action. Some do, however. ADB is one, for the reasons as already explained above.

Paramount takes the view most do: as long as the writer / film producer isn't making money off the copyrights, it's not worth spending money to send the lawyers in. JK Rowling took the stance that encouraging fans meant more sales of her books, but she shut down the smut fiction. She's more protective of her characters than of her copyrights. I've read one legal opinion that by picking and choosing whether or not to take action, she was forfeiting all her copyrights to the public domain. Thankfully, that argument has already been shot down in previous court cases.