[META] Stuff (ping Fnord, Ebony, and others)

[robkelk]

Yes, its me asking a bunch of meta questions again, for the Writers Guide... but at least this time Ive pulled together some of the scattered data in various
threads in an effort to turn it into information. (Including the first nine pages of the original Plotbunny thread, which means theres probably more to come.)

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Places, or What's Where

Weve got plenty of stickies for people and things, but aside from the Tourism in Fenspace Gazetteer
entry, theres nothing about the places of Fenspace... Do we want a Michelin Guide to Fenspace (or whatever) sticky, with descriptions of places like, but not
limited to, Port Phobos, The Island, Hades, the Village Hidden in the Asteroids, Stellvia, Crystal Tokyo, and Helium? Would we contribute to the sticky if we
had it?

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Organizations: The BBIs

Ebony, this ones your baby (and, for the most part, your wording); I offer it in case youd like to add it to the Gazetteer, with or without editing it in some
way. (You might not like how I organized it, or you might have more information aboout the BBIs for us, or both...)

Quote:

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The Blue Blazer Irregulars




Followers of the teachings of Buckaroo Banzai, as set down by Earl Mac Rauch in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the
Eighth Dimension and by W.D. Richter in the movie of the same name. The term Blue Blazer refers to the dark blue jackets that
members of this faction wear when in public and on duty. Even when not wearing the jackets, Blue Blazer Irregulars (Blue Blazers or BBIs for short) wear
either a patch or cloisonne pin depicting the back-to-back Bs of the Banzai Institute for Biomedical Research and Strategic Information. Blue Blazers are
known for their discipline and diversity of talent and knowledge, as well as their loyalty to Buckaroo Banzai. The Blue Blazer Irregulars are closely
affiliated with the Pulpers and Supers, but on the whole, are congenial with all factions.




Noted BBIs include Blackstone (captain of the World Watch One) and Jonathon Helscher (captain of
the Inelegant Truth).




The Banzai Institute for Biomedical Research and Strategic Information is a non-profit organization that handles business concerns for the Blue Blazer
Irregulars in the Danelaw. The Institute concerns itself with altruistic pursuits as simple as literacy and as complex as disaster rescue and relief. The
Institute is also developing a global network similar to what is in the DC comic book Global Frequency
. The Institute coordinates local agents and global experts to solve problems using a massive and widespread thinktank - if something
is going on, the Institute will be drawing upon the expertise of Blazers and consultants across the planet and in Fenspace, via satellite and Interwave
communications. Blazers report situations in their area or are called upon to investigate, based on their abilities. If something crosses the Institutes
radar, theres a possibility that anyone (Blue Blazer or not), anywhere, can get a phone call that starts, Good afternoon, (person's name here), this is
Buckaroo Banzai, and youre on the Global Frequency...




The Banzai Institute is registered in both the United States and the European Union. Its mailing address is listed as a P.O. Box located in Dallas, Texas.
Both the P.O. Box and the email domain, banzai-institute.org, are registered under a shell corporation, managed by a woman known only as Mrs. Johnson.

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Organizations Redux: Ninjaburger

I don't remember who came up with adding this one to Fenspace, but I think its worth writing up a bit more...

Quote:

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Ninjaburger




The second-most profitable venture of the Village Hidden in the Asteroids, and one of the few subculture references physically implemented in Fenspace that
is properly licensed with its owners in the Danelaw.

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If somebody wants to write up Fenspaces premiere native fast-food chain, please mention how far its spread throughout the Solar System. It may even have
franchises on Earth, but it wont have an outlet on Stellvia - we all know what Noah thinks of the Ninjas...

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Conventions

I pulled this one out of the top of page 8 of the original Plotbunny thread. It's Comrade Fnord's post (from 12 December 2006), and his wording, but
maybe it should be cleaned up a bit (at the least, removing the specific references to SOS-Con) before going into the Gazetteer...?

Quote:

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Conventions




I should probably elaborate some more on the Convention, since the whole thing was my idea in the first place. So:




The Convention is fandom's big experiment with direct democracy. The vast majority of fen come from the western liberal social tradition, so they by and
large don't automatically view government as a bad thing. (There are exceptions, such as the neo-Heinleinian & Discordian anarchist movements that
haunt the Main Belt, but those are another story.) The problem is, fandom is spread out all over the solar system with only an intermittent FTL
phone/internet system to keep it tied together.




The fractions provide a localized solution, but one that only works within the confines of their organization. Any attempt to expand, say, the Starfleet code
over the entirety of fandom would be met with resistance by the other fractions. The fractions also can't provide a solid framework for the independents
& other free agents who make up about half of the total population of Fenspace. So, the Convention was born.




The Convention was (ICly & OOCly) based loosely on Worldcon. Most folks think of Worldcon as the biggest SF-related party of the year, and they're
right about that. What a lot of folks, particularly those who've never been to one, *don't* know is that Worldcon is also a major business occasion
for the attendees. Worldcon plays host to the SFWA annual meeting (when the con's in the US) as well as voting for the Hugo Awards, providing attendees
the chance to network with publishers, and so on.




When a Convention is called - usually once a year, time and place determined at the previous Convention - as much of fandom as can arrives at the designated
area. There aren't a lot of places in Fenspace that can hold a quarter-million fans (and rising; between births and immigration Fenspace has a pretty
respectable growth rate) which means that sometimes Conventions are held partly on the station and partly on a cloud of spaceships surrounding it.




(As a note for the current storyline: Phobos Station is on the list of places capable of holding the entire Nation at one go. And now back to our feature
presentation.)




The first day of the Convention involves arrivals, sometimes opening ceremonies with the appropriate amount of bombast, drinking, dancing and networking.
Nobody is expected to *work* opening day, since most folks are tired enough from the trip in. On the second day, once the hangovers have cleared, the actual
work begins.




The next two to three days are filled with panel discussions. If you've *ever* been to a con, you know what this means. Panels at the Convention tend to
feel a bit more like Senate committee hearings, though. This is where the initial groundwork in setting rules & regs is done. Evenings are generally like
regular cons, with plenty of night activities for the general attendees.




Once all the panels have been concluded, all the information is carefully collated and sent to the organizers, who then spend a day or so transforming rants
and raves into something resembling laws and government. This annual constitution (because that's really what it is) is then distributed to the masses
for review before the vote. That usually takes another day or two.




Then, they vote. The vote is done by traditional means on the floor (usually by ballot, though sometimes voice if the measure's simple enough) and
electronic means for attendees who can't fit onto the main floor. The votes are then tallied and the results read out to the membership. Another night of
partying after the vote, and the fen wander back to their old lives.




The key thing to remember here is that whatever is voted on by a Convention is binding on all
members of the Convention, which is why the Nation makes it such a big deal to get the entirety of fandom together each time. No major fraction avoids the
Convention, and each enforces the rules enacted at the Convention. The alternative would split Fenspace, and (so far) the SMOFs have agreed that unity in the
face of the 'danelaw is better than trying to go their own ways and being crushed.




Almost forgot. Worldcon has a thing called "non-attending memberships," which means even if you don't get to go, you still get to vote on the
stuff open for membership vote. Since the Convention evolved from Worldcon, it has the same thing for non-attendees. Non-attending members only get to review
& vote on the final document; they have no input. This cuts down on the number of fen and "fen" who think they can do whatever they want
because "the government doesn't apply to me!" (It's kind of like an EULA; acceptance of the document means you accept the terms of the
agreement, even if you never bother to read it. Sort of a dirty trick, but it does help establish Fenspace authority through the system.)




So, what does all this verbiage have to do with Haruhi's Convention?




Not so much, really.




Traditionally the Convention only comes together once a year, but there's a clause in the commonly-upheld constitution (not even fen are nutty enough to
completely revise the entire body of law every year) that allows for a Convention "to be called by any group during a time of extreme crisis." The
point of the clause was to provide for something like a wartime government; at the time the authors were worried that the mundanes might try to attack the
fledgling Fenspace as a terrorist threat or somesuch.




Haruhi and her SOS Brigade are willfully - you might even say gleefully - abusing the crisis clause for their own benefit. This particular Convention was
called to address a single initiative, under the logic that if a Convention agrees to the initiative, then it becomes fannish law.




What's the initiative?




I'll tell you once I figure it out.




In the meantime, it's all the party without the governing work.

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And I still have approximately 3/5ths of the Plotbunny thread to wade through...

-Rob Kelk
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012