From starsabr@mindSPAMBUSTERspring.com Mon Aug 21 11:22:29 2000 Path: news.bu.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!news-peer.gip.net!news.gsl.net!gip.net!news.maxwell.syr.edu!news.mindspring.net!firehose.mindspring.com!not-for-mail From: "Star Saber" Newsgroups: alt.toys.transformers Subject: Re: The TF Artifacts List (August 2000) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2000 10:16:56 -0400 Organization: MindSpring Enterprises Lines: 74 Message-ID: <8npt6m$oed$4@slb3.atl.mindspring.net> References: <20000817014357.04476.00000068@ng-fa1.aol.com> <20000817020715.18962.00000134@ng-fk1.aol.com> <399BDFB0.EAEF1763@pacbell.net> <8nk9ul$9hk$4@news.panix.com> <399DD938.C2B7B11E@csolve.net> <8nmc0p$4u1$1@news.panix.com> <8np1ri$qfr$1@news.panix.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: cf.45.1e.25 X-Server-Date: 21 Aug 2000 00:30:14 GMT X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Xref: news.bu.edu alt.toys.transformers:410423 I know I said I thought this thread was pointless and that everyone should just leave things be but there are a couple of statements here I simply could not refuse commenting on. > wrong. You bet she says she thinks Beast Wars sucks. Why should she NOT be > able to say this? Didn't the fandom already cover this point to death when BEAST WARS began? Saying that something "sucks" is by nature more than just the expression of a personal opinion. It's inflammatory and trollish and *begs* for someone to respond in kind. > Quite right, and I feel it is my right to say so in no uncertain terms. You > say some of Raksha's page screams "BW sucks!". Well so it does. Why is that > different than a fan site that says it rules? Because one statement evokes a *positive* response and the other a *negative* one. Saying that something "rules" or "rocks" is displaying a positive pro-active attitude. It's good-natured and is intended to evoke positive feelings about the subject. OTOH, saying that something "sucks" is a derogatory comment and contributes nothing. It does *not* evoke a positive response and is likely to cause more harm than good. *That's* the difference. > Yes, and when people say that it is part of the TF universe, they are just > as guilty. Why should everyone get to say they think it belongs, and she or > I are not allowed to say it doesn't? Who says you can't? Most people are just saying that you can't express that thought as *fact*. The TF universe is what Hasbro - the creators and owners of the license - says it is. You can disagree with their interpretation but you cannot logically dismiss it as "personal opinion". They *own* Transformers in *all* its incarnations. You and I don't. Only *they* have the *right* to say what *their* brainchild is or is not. While we can interpret things as we see fit, we do *not* have a right to twist *their* universe to our liking. We may have the ability to do so but not the *right*. That belongs solely to Hasbro. It may sound a little extreme but it's absolutely true. *Every* officially-endorsed aspect of Transfomers is owned by Hasbro and Hasbro alone. They own the rights to the characters, the designs, the toys, the names (but not all of them anymore it seems), the stories...all of it. They may give the fandom a certain freedom to use their universe for creative non-profit endeavors but that is by their choice alone. They could always go Fox's route and prevent the fans from displaying copyrighted images and trademarks on the Net and shut down each and every Transformers website that violated their legal rights to them. We may fume and fight and curse their very names were it to happen but we can never deny that it is *their* right and our websites, our newsgroups, and even BotCon itself exist out of their courtesy. > > Why? She thinks differently than you about a fictional universe. Why is that > an offense? Why are you not just as guilty for having an opinion I disagree > with? I think differently than you about subjects of race, religion, etc. Why is *that* an offense? Why can't I vocally express my opinions without fear of retaliation no matter how contraversial? Why is it OK to allow some people to be offended but not others? -Star Saber (who is no way endorses bigotry of any kind and just used an example)