It’s my party, and I’ll reply if I want to…

If you tend to read the comments sections of my blogs, you know that I get quite a lot of posts from Axanar detractors looking to accuse Alec Peters or Axanar of this or that crime or incompetence or atrocity.  Seldom do I trash any of these comments, and I usually provide some kind of response because, well, isn’t that what a blogger is supposed to do?

But lately, it just seems like I’m spending hours and hours each week just reading and responding to all of these angry and challenging posts, leaving me less time to focus on fan films and even my family.  Granted, I still prioritize the latter two over doing any kind of response writing, but that just means I write most of my responses really, really late at night.  Or sometimes I have a little time during the day and try to sneak a few responses in.

This happened yesterday afternoon as I was having a marathon session of dealing with detractors like Rand Johnson saying things like this:

Let me remind you that it was you who FIRST started being a condescending, egotistical, pompous, self-righteous, conceited, ego maniac, holier-than-thou, hotshot, puffed-up, self-centered, snobbish and stuck-up blogger who defends a man who made outlandish claims he was going to make a fan film then spent all the money on crap he did not need to make a fan film. Then you attacked anyone who criticized that man and your hero worship of that man. Or criticized you for promoting and defending that man who took donor money and used it as personal income to financially benefit himself and his associates.

Man, just reading that again exhausted me!  And that’s just one comment, folks.  I get so many.

But then I received a call that has changed everything…

Mike Bawden, Axanar PR guy, helped me get this blog off the ground last year.  And we still chat fairly regularly.  He’s a very smart businessman, a friendly and upbeat individual, a great judge of character, and—as I’ve discovered many times in the months that I’ve known him—a very wise and insightful fellow.

When Mike returned my call yesterday, I was not in a good place. Maybe it was daylight savings and not getting enough sleep. Maybe it’s tax season. Or maybe—just maybe—it was all these darn detractors submitting one irate post after another after another.  I hadn’t intended to spend any of the call talking about them, but when Mike opened with, “Hey, man, how you doing?” before I could even think, I found myself saying the following…

“Remember Kirk at the end of ‘The Gamesters of Triskelion’ when he had to fight three different Thralls at the same time?  And if Kirk didn’t completely kill one and only injured it, another fresh Thrall would come in and take its place?”

“Yeah…” he said, having no idea where I was going with all this.

“Well, I feel like Kirk right now. And all these detractors are like those damn Thralls! The only thing that they have to do is just gang up on one guy. I, on the other hand, have to spar with all of them simultaneously…all day long! It’s frickin’ exhausting, Mike.”

“Then why do you do it?” Mike asked.

“Why DO I do it?” I repeated, in a lighthearted tone.

“No, seriously,” Mike said. “why do you do it? It’s not like they’re adding anything to Fan Film Factor. You’ve got a great blog, Jonathan.  Why waste your time with conversations that don’t add anything to it? Life’s too short.”

“But they submit their comments. It wouldn’t be polite not to respond,” I answered.

“Are they being polite? I’ve read their comments, Jon.  Hey, think about having a blog as being like you’re the host of a dinner party. You invite a lot of people over to have fun, chat, get to know each other. And you, as the host, wander around talking to your guests and making them feel welcome. And then you bring out food for everyone to enjoy. Think of Fan Film Factor as a big party, a friendly place to hang out…only there’s blog entries to read instead of appetizers to eat.”

“Well, I do like to cook!” I joked.

“So let’s imagine that a bunch of people come to your party and they begin to argue with the host. They insult him, complain about the food, and even start yelling at the other guests. What do you do if you’re the host?”

“Um, I have no idea.  I’m not very confrontational generally.  I wouldn’t want to kick anybody out.”

“You don’t have to kick them out.  But you sure a heck don’t invite them to the next party,” Mike said simply.

“I can’t prevent people from visiting my blog.”

“But you don’t have to approve their comments!” he said, as if he’d just solved one of the world’s biggest problems.

“That’s kinda rude…don’t you think?  And I don’t want to get a reputation for just deleting people’s comments.”

“Then just don’t engage them. If they don’t agree with you, fine. Let them have their say if you want. But don’t respond to them. They only keep coming at you because you make it fun for them to do so.”

“But isn’t my job as a blogger, or as a dinner party host, to talk to my guests and not ignore them?”

“It’s your blog, Jonathan. You can do whatever you want. And if you just want to ignore them, fine. What’s the worst they do…stop coming? Just ask yourself, are any of their comments really adding to the quality or experience of Fan Film Factor? If so, then fine. But if not, then why bother? Do something productive instead.”


Mike gave me a lot to think about. And the fact is that I don’t very much like the person I become when dealing with the detractors. Rand Johnson isn’t wrong when he says I come off as smug and arrogant when I’m dealing with smug and arrogant people…and that’s really not who I am or want to be.

So at least for the time being, I am going to stop engaging with the detractors. Mike’s right. It really doesn’t add anything to this blog, and to be honest, I don’t know why I’ve self-appointed myself as the unofficial defender of Alec Peters and Axanar Productions. Lord knows I’m not getting paid to be the official Axanar spokesman (which hasn’t stopped a fair number of those same detractors from constantly making that claim).

And to be honest, there’s nothing that really needs to be defended anymore. The lawsuit is over. Nothing anyone says at this point will affect the fact there was a settlement that both sides have agreed to.

All of this standing up for my friend Alec and my beloved project of Axanar against the same old arguments for the thousandth time…from people who aren’t ever going to change their minds or help with the next crowd-funding campaign but simply fling dung from their branches in the trees…debating with them over and over and over is just a waste of time and energy. And to tell you the truth, this blog takes up enough of my days and nights already. I really think I wouldn’t mind just ignoring the detractors for a while…maybe a long while. Sure, I might still respond to a few of them every now and then…if it’s a polite, rational, and civilized post.

But the bickering and sparring—man!—the quatloos just aren’t worth it!

119 thoughts on “It’s my party, and I’ll reply if I want to…”

  1. Good idea! (and post, as always). No go spend some well-deserved time with your family! 🙂 Though, I reckon it’s morning over there, and Jayden’s probably in school and you have to work, right?

    1. Pretty much. My one client at the moment is the children’s gymnastics facility when Jayden goes. I’m helping them make a series of training videos, and I’ve shot about 30 hours of raw footage for their younger kid classes (older kid class footage will get shot during the summer). Over the next few months, I’ll be editing that footage into a series of 2-to-5 minute long training clips for new instructors. So right now (as soon as I finish typing this), I’ll be returning to editing the assembly of the obstacle course for the toddlers during “Circus Week.”

      Yep, that’s Jonny’s day! 🙂

      1. That’s a good idea Jonathan Lane, on distracting yourself with other important parts of your life such as work or doing other things both inside the home, or in the outside world i.e. spending time with family, and friends. In any case, the Mike gentleman above is correct. The best way to deal with argumentative party goers ( or in this case of irate online trolls), is don’t engage with them in kind, and simply invite them to go somewhere else more to their liking. It’s just my thought.

  2. Woo, go Jonathan!

    I must say though that I found it quite inspiring the way you have dealt with the detractors, staying true and honest with yourself, and commanding yourself with an elegant poise, patience and grace, always seeming to have time for everyone, even the detractors, no matter how rude they act. Very Councillor Troi! Much kudos to you :D.

    However it reaches the point when the same people keep on bringing up the same arguments, where you have to say “this ain’t about Alec Peters, but some deeper emotional problem, some deeper need that you need to fill, and you use Alec Peters to achieve this”, and you have to decide whether you want to continue acting as Councillor Troi with them or not. If you do, remember that all councillors need their down time to recharge from the intense emotional experience that their patients come with and unload on to them, (Troi does this with chocolate ice-cream, yum yum :)).

    1. Well, I was a psychology major back in college. But I’m no Counselor Troi. And trust me, you wouldn’t want to see me in that skintight outfit she used to wear! (No, don’t even think about it. It’s like looking at a Medusan!)

      1. “No, don’t even think about it”

        As a psychology major you must have heard of reverse psychology, that telling someone not to do think something immediately gets them to think it… lucky for you, I have scrubbed early Dianna Troi (with the short dress) out of my mind, I found it horribly sexist, demeaning, and patronising of the show towards her character to demand all members of starfleet wear the starfleet uniform but not her. That said I think you could look quite fetching in the Deanna’s blue dress, anyway… But of course you know I wasn’t commenting about the outfit, but the personality, her way of approaching situations as a councillor.

  3. You’ve done yeoman’s work on this blog, and gone above and beyond in making all your comments.

    I support your decision, as most of the people making the comments aren’t trying to engage in rational discourse with you, they are just trying to “be right” (see Jo Moine’s fascinating attempt to invoke child labor laws for a prime exemplar). Carlos Pedraza constantly labeling you an “Axanar Surrogate” has also gone a long way toward people constantly challenging you and demanding explanations.

    Mike’s analogy is a good one. It’s your house! You don’t want to invite the jackass wearing a lampshade and dancing on your coffee table to the next party, then don’t!

    1. “…Carlos Pedraza constantly labeling you an “Axanar Surrogate” has also gone a long way toward people constantly challenging you and demanding explanations.

      Lets play a game Hubcap, I will post a quote, and give you a multiple choice selection as to who said it…

      Here is the quote – “I am a writer for Axanar Productions, INC.”

      So you tell me who said it?

      A. Lois Lane in Man of Steel Issue 67
      B. Jonathan Archer Captain of the NX Class Enterprise
      C. Jonathan Lane in his sworn statement to the 9th Circuit court in the matter of CBS/Paramount vs. Axanar Productions/Alec Peters

      1. Of course it was C, but the onus here is to prove that since Jonathan, at one time, wrote for the Axanar website makes him a surrogate.

        But before we can get to that, I’d like a source for the definition Carlos touts, because I’m not finding it in the usual dictionaries. This is more like what I have been finding: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surrogate

        Basically, a “surrogate” (from the definitions I’ve seen) is a replacement or substitute for someone else. If the assertion is that because Jonathan wrote for Axanar’s site that makes him a replacement or substitute for Alec Peters, well that’s a fairly ludicrous argument. That’s like saying the janitor at a McDonald’s is a “surrogate” for Ray Kroc.

        But more to the point, notwithstanding whether or not Carlos’ definition and usage of “surrogate” is correct, the fact that he has used the term over and over in regards to Jonathan has led to people from your side of the fence to use him literally as a substitute or replacement for Alec Peters.

        But thanks for making this somewhat sarcastic reply, Jumpsuit. You’ve done an admirable job of being a surrogate for Carlos, seeing as he’ll comment on his own FB page about this very subject, but not directly to me here. It helps me illustrate the point I was trying to make.

        1. Coming from the guy, who Peters went to in the middle of he night to put out a blog before Carlos couldn’t post his story…

          Poke a fork in you, Dave, because you are done…

          Say what you will about Jonathan, it’s clear he was a far more effective surrogate for Axanar than you were…

          1. I say very nice tgings about Jonathan, thank you very much….

            Beyond that, you’re going to bring up that little tempest in a teapot? Weak sauce, Jumpsuit, really weak! Whatever you might think about that article is immaterial to my argument, so bringing it up is not much more than an ad hominem attack on me, which all and sundry know is a logical fallacy, not to mention rude. For that alone, I fart in your general direction.

  4. Good for you Jonathon! Definitely agree with ‘life is too short’ argument. Getting upset with the detractors is probably helping to shorten that life. Not worth it.

  5. That’s the thing about trolls…if you don’t feed them, they die. Just ignore them and they’ll go away where they’ll be no trollble at all. 😉

      1. Nah!!!! Jonathan. The Klingons probably ate barbicued tribbles for dinner that night as a change from their normal boring meal of Gahg which they probably get tired of eating EVERY night!!!! LOL!!!!!

  6. I always admired you for patiently answering the same questions, allegations and hostilities time and time again. Even when – week after week – they came from the same persons in a less and less civilised manner. And for the most part you kept your tone very civil and objective. I have to admit that I wondered why you bothered with them even when it became clear that the barrage wouldn’t stop. I agree with Mike Bawden that this is your blog and that you decide who you answer to and whose comments you approve. But thank you for explaining yourself and being transparent. Keep on doing what you’re doing. I like this blog very much. 🙂
    (And apologise for any typos or grammatical errors. English is not my first language.)

      1. Indeed, that was excellent English!

        “The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.” — James Nicoll

        1. I just e-mailed that quote to my mom…she’s taught English and reading to children for 55 years and knows a massive amount of how our silly language came into being and developed. That quote is pretty darn accurate!

        2. Yes, English is a vast language, derived from many others. But apart from the sort of oddities Jonathan gives below, it’s also the language that is probably capable of a much larger diversity and subtlety of expression than any other. And, of course it is fluid, it grows.

          But it could have done without some of the distortions introduced by the good old USA. Has anyone checked the correct contextual meaning of the word ‘awesome’? Or, why can’t Americans pronounce the word ‘aluminium’? Stacks of examples. That old quote of Shaw, included in the script of ‘My fair Lady’ still pertains. (And yes, Australia is not totally immune from criticism either.) (Or should that be ‘immune to’?) 🙂

          1. Patrick Stewart did a convention appearance in Binghamton, New York during the first or second season of TNG. And during his talk, he said something that I will try to quote, because I remember it vividly to this very day…

            “Words. Words are amazing things. And our language is so rich with them. Absolutely astounding words exist, and they wait there just waiting for us to use them…and yet so many people choose not to. And it’s tragic, I feel, because these wonderful words are failing out of our vocabulary as our language atrophies from their lack of use. And I believe that we OWE it to each other to employ a more diverse palette of language in our communication with one another–to use the “big words” rather than just the same old small ones again and again. And the reason I feel so strongly that we owe it to each other to expand and enhance the range of words that we use is because, at its core, most of what we say is boring!” (The crowd laughed.) “It’s true, though. We typically don’t have very deep thoughts in our daily lives, and many of us just say the same kinds of things again and again. And that’s fine. But I feel that, if our thoughts themselves are most often uninspired, then we owe it to each other to at least make the WAY we communicate those thoughts more interesting and dynamic.”

            The catalyst for that little speech was someone commenting on how impressed they were with Mr. Stewart’s vocabulary.

      2. Thanks. 🙂 At least, you just have the one article. That is a vast improvement over my native language. 😉

        1. Yeah, but just try to figure out the plurals of moose, goose, and mongoose! 🙂

          Or for that matter, why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways? Why do we send cargo on ships and shipments by car? Oh, and “presently” does NOT mean “at this very moment”…that’s “currently.” “Presently” means in the very near future.

          Oh, and don’t get me started on why adding a “p” to the beginning of the word “lease” changes the “s” sound to a “z” sound!

          Honestly, I don’t know how you non-native speakers deal with my crazy language!!! 🙂

          1. Geese! And now you got me to look the others up. 😀 Moose, and why is there a blog article about the possible plural forms of mongoose? 😀 I love foreign languages!

            Add to everything you wrote the fact that we switched between British and American English in school. A nightmare (Rubber/Eraser is one example, you should NOT get confused about!). I still remember the faces of the Americans I met as they tried to deciver what I just told them. And I was like: “But I AM talking English. Right? Right??”

          2. Amusingly, I’ve been hanging out with Brits for the past few hours, Amy. My son’s best friend and his family are from London (and I LOVE their accent). But when Isaac came up to me and asked if I had any spades, I thought we were playing a game of “Go Fish!” for a second. Then I realized that he and Jayden were digging in the sandbox, and he was asking if I had any plastic shovels in my car for them to use.

            Every so often, I hear Isaac’s mom saying “petrol” or “lift” or “tube” and get a little chuckle at the small differences in our two versions of English. Fortunately, neither of us smokes, so she’s never asked me if I have a fag. 🙂

          3. Luckily we have E-Prime to make things a bit saner, say no to the meaningless and ambiguous copula that litters our language, dulling it with that drab and dreary nonsense verb, full of monotony as it sucks the colour and vibrancy out of the language with the plethora of real meaningful verbs ready to use instead.

  7. I’m glad you are taking this stand. It makes reading your blog less interesting to have to wade through troll postings. There’s a vast difference between feeding trolls and answering well-written points of view that disagree with yours. The later make the blog more interesting. The former cause me intellectual indigestion at best.

  8. I too agree with Mike and Olaf. I don’t know if you’ve ever read the “The Country of the Blind” a short story by H G Wells. It sort of fits many of the Axanar/Alec detractors. The gist of the story is a fellow falls into a valley of people who have been blind for several generations. They have been cut off from the rest of the world and have no idea about what “sight” is. He tries to explain it to them but they just think he’s crazy and suggest his eyes are diseased and are making him mentally unstable. Their cure is to remove his eyes and eyesight to restore his sanity.
    I think you have been generous in allowing the Rand Johnson types to pontificate on their version of reality for the sake of open dialogue. However, they only want us to consider their arguments and opinions not yours or Axanar supporters, so its really not a dialogue. This is your blog, that you put a lot of effort into, and its enjoyed by a great many truly sane people. Please don’t let detractors discourage or dissuade you in continuing FFF in a “fair and balanced” way. Let them write their own blogs. There is only one opinion you really need to pay attention to, your wife… :’D

      1. It’s a great story. I have to admit I haven’t read it, but I’ve heard it portrayed on a couple of old-time radio programs on Sirius XM’s “Radio Classics” channel.

  9. Oh Boy !! Turn the next page Jonathan….
    One thing for certain though, when Alec Peters let’s you down (and he’ll definitely accomplish that) there’s going to be a lot of supporters with egg on their face and Jonathan your going to leading the group into the line of fire !

    See where Mike Bawden is when this house of cards comes tumbling down, he’s always been notorious for hiding during the most conflicting situations and claiming that silence is golden – right !

    1. it seems the Dunning Kuger effect (a cognitive bias in which low-ability individuals suffer from illusory superiority, mistakenly assessing their ability as much higher than it really is) is alive a well! Even Charles Darwin know about this when he was quoted as saying “Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.” My vote is, if it’s not constructive criticism then “make ’em walk the plank.” (lol, I finally got to use the movie reference Star Trek:Generations)

  10. I could not possibly agree more besides they only say the same stupid thing over and over and over and over again.

    I am sure you do NOT need that addtional (unnecessary) stress!

  11. As a fellow blogger, I sympathize. But I think you are being too polite. This is your house, your rules. I have a simple rule for my blog: comments must be on topic (as in the game as a whole) and refrain from personal attacks. Those that break the rules get a warning, and failing that get banned. Luckily I have only had to ban one person over the years, as most get the warning, and really I just don’t have that issue with my readers. Since the way your site does comments, banning isn’t really an option, so just ignore.

    1. I have my “no personal insults” rule and “no potty language” rule, and some people have been warned along the way. And one person, Sandy Greenberg, actually lost posting privileges.

      I’ll still approve the detractor comments if they don’t violate the rules. I’m just tired of responding to them. It’s said you should never mud-wrestle a pig because all you get is filthy…and the pig actually likes it. 🙂

  12. Jonathan, you have a wise and perceptive friend in Mike Bawden. You have shown an almost biblical level of patience with so many of these detractors, and here I refer to that large body of detractors who are rude, abusive, and remain blind to facts. I’m not referring to all who hold negative attitudes to Axanar/Peters, as there are those who have logical reasons for their views – reasons and logic we may disagree with, but people are entitled to have calmly reasoned opposing viewpoints. It’s the blatantly rude comments that blithely ignore facts and continue to repeat questions that have been answered so many times that should slam against a brick wall.

    As an outsider (Australian) I should be careful in drawing a parallel with the issue of Trump (especially as our present political situation is dangerously farcical), but the parallel does seem to be clear. From outside, we see so many arguments on this situation where the blind are so blind they simply refuse to see the facts and become rude and ignorant and continue to repeat the same ill-informed ranting over and over. (I think I’ve managed to avoid directly taking sides on the Trump issue.) Such a parallel is not unique.

    Why try to make the blind see? Few have that gift. And whilst you have shown an almost biblical level of forbearance, there are limits to your near-biblical qualities. 🙂

    So the same applies to how you should deal with comments on your posts.

  13. Don’t sell yourself short, Jonathan! You come off as smug and arrogant to everybody! 🙂

    But yeah, arguing with people whose views are prejudged is like trying to blow out an electric light bulb–a massively futile waste of breath. No matter how polite or logical you try to be, they just refuse to listen.

    It’s not entirely fruitless in every circumstance, though. If nobody challenges their libelous accusations, newcomers and those on the periphery may repeat the error elsewhere. “Axanar? Uh, I think I heard that guy was a crook, or something…dunno.”

    My advice? Pick your battles, obviously. Just don’t throw down your phaser and expect them to follow suit. They won’t, because, from the looks of it, hating is the only thing most of them have that draws attention from anybody. Kind of sad that they choose to be destructive instead of creating something with all that time and energy. Most will eventually get bored and find new things to hate, and the die-hard ringleaders will get bankrupted by libel suits–the Internet never forgets…

    LLAP!

    1. “Don’t sell yourself short, Jonathan! You come off as smug and arrogant to everybody! ”

      Gee whiz…thanks.

      Actually, my original hope in being the “voice of reason” and the “Don Quixote of alt-facts” was that I could stem the tide of misinformation that had proliferated about Alec and Axanar. But as you said, you can’t blow out an electric light bulb. I’ve been on the treadmill now for a year, and I’m still pretty much in the same place. So having exercised enough, it’s time to get off.

  14. Mike’s right don’t waste your time on those people, nothing is going to change their minds. Besides I’d rather you spent more time on your blog.

  15. Great post as usual. I found your struggles really moving, I agree with everyone else you’re doing the right thing. I can tell you, I read your blog for you and the community, not the trolls.

  16. Not an entirely accurate analogy though; A hosted party is held in a private residence, comprising people known to the host.

    Writing a blog (especially once which gets linked and promoted by popular media concerns) is more like having a stall at a convention, and due to that heightened visibility, anyone and everyone can turn up.

    For the most part, people are happy to meet a hero, but there are also times (like when Leona Lewis was attacked at a book-signing by a ‘fan’) when people act up (or shock-horror, simply hold a contrary opinion to yours) People who read your posts, won’t always agree with you. People who follow/ed Axanar, won’t necessarily like Alec Peters. People are as entitled to their opinions as you are to yours, and enabling public comments is not only facilitating them in expressing them, but by implication, invites commentary due to that facility being available. Divergent opinion is not invalidated simply because it doesn’t match yours.

    Yes, it’s your blog, yes, you can post whatever you want, but that doesn’t render you immune from criticism or debate. If you only want responses which will align with yours, then disable public comments, send out the posts as a newsletter subscription, and only recieve comments and feedback from people you already know… _That_ would be like hosting a party…

    1. I still intend to let the detractors post their, um, detractions…assuming they follow the rules about personal insults and swearing. But I’m simply not going to hit the “Approve and Reply” button anymore (in general), and I’ll simply post the comments without response/rebuttal instead. The “Reply” part has been mostly fruitless and just doesn’t seem worth it anymore. It appears that most people are agreeing with me, and some (hi, Alec) just wonder why it took me so long to get here! 🙂

  17. I just watched ‘The Way to Eden’ and what comes to mind after reading this post is: ‘I reach.’ Stop being Herbert. 🙂

        1. And the song is back in my head again! I’d only just managed to replace it with “Philadelphia Freedom” (which is my go-to song for erasing other songs that get stuck). But damn, it’s back again!

          1. Does it give you peace of mind your daddy never had?

            Also,trivia question for you: Do you know who that song is written for, and why it is titled the way it is?

          2. I just looked it up on Wikipedia (I cheated). It was written for Billie Jean King and her tennis team, the Philadelphia Freedoms.

            That said, I still gotta wonder about those lyrics “took me knee-high to a man.” Not that there’s anything wrong with that! 🙂

          3. Lets try to keep it on topic here…

            Star Trekking across the universe, on the Starship Enterprise under Captain Kirk,
            Star Trekking across the universe, only going forwards ’cause we can’t find reverse.

            😉

            (have you started singing it yet?)

  18. “Shields up. Switch point defense to ‘selective’.”

    Good move, Jonathan. Everyone has limited resources. Don’t waste yours on self-important clowns. Rational discourse, sure, if you have time, and if you choose to. But as you said, it’s your party. So you get to choose.

    I’m not aware of regulations preventing those self-important clowns from creating their own blogs. Perhaps that’s their solution! Go forth and multiply blogs, self-important clowns! Once you invest some of your own capital in such a venture, perhaps you’ll get some of your own responses to respond to.

    Won’t *that* be fun?

  19. This is a joke, right? Is it April 1st already?

    If all you’re going to have is another echo chamber where you write something and everyone agrees with you, what exactly is the point? Yeah, go ahead and take your ball home and not play with us big meanies any more.

    1. Well, Curly, it doesn’t look like he’s not allowing the comments, especially given the fact that I am able to respond to this. Rather, it seems he is done trying to reason with the likes of you. One can bang one’s head against a wall for only so long…….

  20. It comes with the territory but it’s up to you to balance your blog life with your real life. IMHO, You should have decided to create and recognizr the balance moment you started the blog. So Grin and Bear it pal.

  21. I suggest that you don’t respond to those that say things you disagree with. It’s better for your health in the long run.

    I hear the words “detractor” and “hater” used a lot in the blogs and replies posted here. Truth be told it’s just a difference of opinion. Nothing more once you learn to remove the negativity associated with those words they won’t bother you at all.

    So in the end it boils down to letting everyone share their opinion AND remembering it’s just an opinion nothing more.

    Enjoy your day.

  22. As someone who has to deal with detractors just as well, who feels compelled to respond to every single point of criticism as unjustified it may be, and who used to spend many hours dealing with hateful comments, I can say I absolutely sympathize with your new policy.

  23. I agree with that. I don’t like being around negative people whose seeming only purpose is to knock-down other people, so after a while, I stop going where they are at. I’m sure I am not the only one who is like that. So, approving messages that are only being made to knock-down other people just increases the concentration of bad people as the not-bad people stop coming around. Telling them, sorry, we don’t want your unkind words and dishonest comments around here is just par for them being unkind and dishonest in the first place. If they are approaching from an honest and respectful and willing to get to the truth place from the beginning, that’s a different story. Most of the bad comments don’t seem to have any of those positive traits, let alone all of them. A good host is also responsible to protect his/her guests from the bad people… Barring the entrance of bad comments only intent on harming guests is good host practice. FFF is your house, your domain, your kingdom, and you can invite whom you want to. Anyone who says otherwise is not a good person. IMHO

  24. So, the other day, someone posts on Face**** [asterisks mine], that Aborigine comes from the Latin for Abhor and Original. I explained that it was actually AB-from, and Origine-first. They told me that Latin is tricky and so are the people who used/use it. I started this long explanation of the Latin origin (see what I did there), of AB and its many meanings, another poster came on and explained that AB was always used in the negative such as in abhor et al (yup, did it there too). He then went into their amazing diatribe about the number 9 and provided diagrams of the real meaning of nine… her immediate post was “Thank you for demonstrating that [Latin can’t be trusted]”. Having never ascertained how 9 in any of its forms (real or imagined), disproves modern understanding of Latin, I erased my long explanation, and started singing “let it go, let it go…”

  25. I think this a great idea, Jonathan. Personally, I’ve never understood the need for negative people to sap the joy out of everything. Our culture has become too polarized, with people feeling like they need to be on the extreme ends of any subject and then dedicating their lives to hating the people on the other end. The culture of Star Trek is Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. It’s about working together, not attacking everyone you don’t agree with and running back to your corner for high fives. Life’s way too short for negativity.

    1. “The culture of Star Trek is Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. It’s about working together, not attacking everyone you don’t agree with and running back to your corner for high fives.”

      Well, THAT sure needs to go onto a T-shirt! 🙂

  26. Another Suggestion.

    Close the comments or disable them for each article after 1 or 2 days automatically.

    That way they don’t pile up with terrible pointless comments, or get hi-jacked by people with an Agenda.

    If you don’t they beceom these big canvases for crazy people to find and spray paint with stuff to generate hatred and fear.. or torture chambers for random people to get stuck in while self appointed Marquis De Sades work them over.

  27. I can certainly understand your reasons Jonathan, but I have to say as a psychology major, I can’t believe you’ve not already psychoanalyzed every poster on here. I base this on my sister-in-law who is currently working on her Master’s degree in Psychology is constantly analyzing everyone she knows :).

    I’m just curious have you never wondered why some people feel the way they do, you make a leap of faith and trust someone and then when the going gets tough the person in charge instead of being the calming factor is anything but?

  28. I think we’ve more or less, had this conversation at various points Jonathan. At some point you have to weed the garden. I understand that you don’t want to be a bad guy. But the entire motivation of the detractors, is to continue a war that for all intents and purposes, is over and done with…

    I will say this when I have to take time out of my day, to respond to some of the negativity, and creative mathematics of some of the detractors. It certainly dampens my spirits. I can just imagine what it does to yours, since it’s so in your face.

    For what it’s worth I like to think that I have made some pretty decent friends along the way. I hope that you will count yourself among them. I don’t miss those on the other side at all.

    1. Oh, I’ve made some great friends along the way! For me, it’s one of the most wonderful things about doing this blog…and being a supporter of Axanar.

  29. You are much more patient than the detractors deserve. Especially with they are directly or indirectly disrespectful.

  30. Well, it’s about time!

    So ironic that Carlos Pedraza, who runs the fake wiki, won’t even allow comments, lest someone actually straighten out his biased bullshit.

    You have entertained everyone from supporters of Axanar to those who have legitimate questions, to the crazy nutjobs who have nothing better to do than spend huge chunks of their lives attacking us with their hatred. There is no reason to argue with people who refuse to pay attention to facts.

    Thanks for your support Jonathan. And ignore the haters. I do and my life is so much better for it.

    Alec

    1. It’s funny, but I got home this evening to discover a whole bunch of IMs from people saying, “Did you see what Carlos Pedraza said about you???” or something like that. And the answer is “No, I haven’t. And y’know what? I really don’t care.” Two days ago, I would have wandered over to Axamonitor or CBS/PvA on Facebook and checked it out. And it would likely have soured my mood. But instead, I just don’t care. We’re going to Disneyland for the weekend (don’t worry; I’ll have my laptop at the hotel), and I really don’t need to ruin the happiest place on earth (TM) with the crappiest detractors on the planet.

      And y’know what? It’s really quite liberating…and wonderfully relaxing. I’ve got my Mickey-as-a-leprechaun T-shirt, Jayden has his Luke Skywalker costume for the Jedi Academy, there’s two spare batteries for my camera, and I’ve been dieting all week so I can justify the food I know I shouldn’t eat when we get there.

      And Carlos and company…well they’re not even in my rear-view mirror. In fact, I kinda picture them now more like this:

    2. Oh my gosh, your post has even drawn Alec Peters out from under the covers ! Congratulations Jonathan!
      It’s incredible that anything directed toward the naysayers or the bearers of common sense is the only thing which draws all the deeply rooted Axanar supporters out, you even got a reaction from Alec and Reese – ha ha..
      Let’s hope that for the donor’s sake that this much effort is put into the survival of the studio warehouse and Axanar and not so much directed toward the group of reason which can see through the smoke and mirrors distraction’s !
      Sometimes the truth of the situation needs to be revealed and not clouded by all the empty promises – think of it as a learning curve !

    3. How is the fact you like to delete any comment you don’t like any different? Oh and as for “Ignoring the haters” – I COULD post your e-mail replies to me after you stated I was blocked; and that you never would never read anything more I sent in further reply (although the content of your replies seemed to show otherwise.) – LOL

  31. What can you say? The detractors have to feel like they accomplished something…anything, otherwise, their lives are meaningless.

    1. This whole idea that the “detractors” lives will be meaningless without this just has to stop. Does it make you feel better saying that? Are you really saying that your life has meaning because you support Axanar?

      My life has plenty of meaning, thanks. I don’t define it by you or Trek or my dislike of Alec Peters. I’m only a “detractor” in those quiet moments when I have time between the things that DO give my life meaning. It’s time for a new narrative Brian.

      1. Seems to me that you have an abundance of those “quiet moments” given the volume of commenting you’ve done over the last year-plus on the subject.

        1. HubcapDave I find it more laughable that Sandy can ask for a narrative change when he boasts on Facebook how he and several are reporting anything they deem suspicious to John Van Critters.

      2. “Does it make you feel better saying that?”

        Yes.

        “It’s time for a new narrative Brian”

        No.

  32. “Let me remind you that it was you who FIRST started being a condescending, egotistical, pompous, self-righteous, conceited, ego maniac, holier-than-thou, hotshot, puffed-up, self-centered, snobbish and stuck-up blogger…” – Just a tad bit long-winded there, Jon lol, but you’re DEFINITELY not wrong about people who act this way… P 😉

  33. Jonathan may be a swaggering, overbearing, tin plated dictator with delusions of godhood, but he is not “soft”.

    JK! 🙂

  34. Jonathan, one thing to remember here is a lot of this is reflective of our society as a whole, and how people now see “discourse”. IT is a “I have to make the other guy look trash” approach, and if anyone doubts it, just turn on the news, or the radio talk shows. Somehow, our whole culture has become one of antagonistic, negative ” I am right, you are wrong” acrimony. You have done an awesome job of trying to talk to idiots, and I salute you for it, but Mike and Alec are right. Ration your effort to useful discussion (and “who used the last sheets of charmin” type comments like a lot of the negative ones, do not qualify). It is a lot like Facebook, which seems to be a magnet for people with dysfunctional attitudes about EVERYTHING. If a bunch of people want to throw money at Alec for what THEY believe in, then you have to show your ticket that you contributed to even make a comment about it. I am willing to bet 90% of the “negative” ones never even contributed. Heinlein said it best:

    “A dying culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness. Bad manners. Lack of consideration for others in minor matters. A loss of politeness, of gentle manners, is more significant than is a riot.”
    ― Robert A. Heinlein, Friday

  35. It’s important to understand that the Axanar haters are just another group of Conspiracy Theorists akin to Truthers or Moon Hoax deniers, only their target “conspiracy” is a tiny one. For them it’s long since gone past a matter of evidence and facts to being a psychological high.

    It’s been shown that defying someone you think is in the wrong generates a rush of pleasure much like taking a drug. Conspiracy loons have become so addicted to that rush that they create a web of self-serving justifications and recurring “zombie arguments” (they are called that because despite being “killed” long ago thanks to logic and evidence they keep on returning anyway) to keep getting their high.

    Until Haters are willing to deal with their related psychological issues they are immune to reason – but very good at projecting their own closed-minded natures on others (which is why whenever you point something like this out to them they just accuse you of being the guy with the problem no matter how much evidence you have to back up your own arguments).

    You are right Jonathan to ignore those who have been lost to this cycle of arrogant claim/attack/denial as in doing so you’re just feeding their psychological addiction. The only exception would maybe be to engage with those that honestly seem more ill-informed or confused than defiant, but then again some Haters will fake being open minded just to lure others into the arguments they need so desperately to feed their addiction.

  36. Indeed.

    There is a saying from the early days of the internet. It’s something of lost wisdom, these days.

    Don’t feed the trolls.

    You certainly don’t deserve to have a mass of haters wasting your time. Haters gonna hate, you can’t stop that part, but the wasting your time part, mmm. Congrats on ending that.

  37. I have to disagree with this article, I understand you don’t want to be confrontational but if i was the host of a party and someone started causing trouble I’d boot them so fast they wouldn’t know what happened. In fact in my youth whenever I through a party I kept a baseball bat behind the bar in case of trouble. As a visitor to this little party I’d have to say that on more than one occasion the detractors have ruined the experience for me, I just skip comments section anymore because I don’t want to get drawn into wasting my time on their absurd BS. The only people who would give you grief for blocking these trolls are the very trolls you’d be blocking, I think the rest of the guests would appreciate the calmer environment. At some point you’ll just have to ask yourself WWSD, and the answer is obvious, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one.” So think of your many guests trying to enjoy your sight when weighing the choice of banning the one, or the few.

    1. Well, I don’t like playing censor unless someone is breaking one of my now-three rules (that latest being no one can try to score an argument point by bringing up my wife or son in any way…unless it’s a warm and positive comment; tell me that my kid’s cute all you want!). As for letting the detractors post here, my feeling is that, by the very nature and tone of their posts, I think most of them are casting themselves as the villains in this little drama that’s called Axanar. I know they like to think of Alec as the villain, but by and large, the detractor comments are the truly negative and hurtful ones on this blog. So when it comes time for Alec and Axanar to start raising money again–which I’m told will be tomorrow!–I find myself wondering if all these negative detractor comments will only serve to energize the supporters to donate more. We’ll just have to see…

    1. I was trying in vain to find a one-word rhyme for “cry” and met only frustration. But as soon as I opened myself up to the option of TWO syllable–BAM!–there it was. 🙂

  38. Haven’t been around much due to work(60 hr weeks), but this is a good move. I learned something a long time ago, which is very apt with this blog post.

    there are only 2 things that define a person in this world, Character and Reputation.

    Character is how you see yourself

    Reputation is how others see you

    You get to decide which one is more important

  39. Jonathan I can say that as a person who recently went through a life threatening event in the hospital, life is too short. I commend you for your post here. Life is too precious to expend it on such negative, sadly unhappy people. You need to do what makes you happy. I will never understand how people can be so hateful and negative. There is much more to life. And Mike is a great friend for telling you to not give the negativity the time of day. This is your blog, and I enjoy reading your thoughtful insights and being honest. I never thought you were an “insert negative connotation here” ever. So keep on writing and enjoying what you do! “You can’t take it with you, Mr. Kirby” has to be one of my all time favorite movie lines from one of the great Frank Capra silver screen classics: “You Can’t Take It With You”.

    1. That’s really beautiful and uplifting, Lance. Thank you so much for the kind words.

      It’s actually been incredibly liberating to no longer be engaging the detractors. I simply hit “Approve” for their comment (unless they don’t follow the three FFF rules for posting) and then move on with my life. I let them have their say, and their words, for the most part, do more to damage them than I ever could. And I am getting SO much more work done! I have a huge project for a client that I’ve just started diving into in earnest. It’ll be going on for another few months at least. I’m not sure I even could have managed doing that while also keeping up with the online pugilism.

  40. “Critters”! Ha! Slip of the fingers? After the way CBS never even bothered to send a form letter acknowledging their receipt of the packages we sent, I am not to bothered.
    “I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.”
    Robert A Heinlein

  41. To which one would say “So?” The Axanar debate has had so much defamation and slander in it, and no one has ever been held to account. It is just too hard to get the legal system to function today. Even the lawsuit didn’t settle anything except CBS has more lawyers and money than Alec, not whether anything was settled. The most that came out of it was the fans actually control the purse strings, given that the overall comments seem 20:1 in favor of Axanar, there seemed to be very few haters in the crowd, so time will tell if we can dent the battleship CBS.

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