I received this today from a BZPer (whose identity will remain confidential), and I thought it was worth sharing --
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Hello, Mr. Farshtey. This is a rather long message, so if you're busy right now, I advise you to answer this later.
This is not a question-filled PM like the ones you get all the time. In fact this is a proposition.
I think you should either leave BZPower or stop answering all these PM's.
Let me just say that I have nothing personal against you. In fact I enjoy your comic writing and dialog immensely and I think you should finally actually get to write the script for one of the movies. But I propose you should quit it with all these PM's because they are hurting the story.
Getting bombed with thousands of PM's gives you extra work and it seems to me that the blue STARS Piraka is Nektann only because all the fans whined about it. And I have to say that listening to the hordes of fans in BZPower is not exactly good for the story. The fact that we get everything about the story on a silver platter every time we just ask is not good story development. It also pretty much kills the theories.
And yes, listening to fans is not really a good thing. Let me quote a really funny man:
QUOTE(Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
"Fans are clingy complaining *******s who will never ever be grateful for any concession you make. The moment you shut out their shrill, tremulous voices the happier you will be for it. (Incidentally, why not buy a Zero Punctuation t-shirt?)"
There will always be people who whine about some decisions you make in the story team, because you really can't please everyone. You shouldn't let the fans control the story. It will make everything better and way more unexpectable, if you listen to them a little less.
So, if you don't agree with this, just say so and I'll stay quiet. But I have three different solutions for this. The first is the most extreme, the third is a little easier.
1. Leave BZPower completely, maybe visit every once in a while. (This will not work if you are here just because you like these forums)
2. Stay in BZPower, but stop answering the questions.
3. Stay in BZPower, but only answer questions concerning what has already happened in the storyline. Everything else you could ignore.
Sorry if this all seems a bit harsh. I genuinely respect you as the writer, but it just doesn't work when the creator of a story is too intertwined with the speculative community of the fans.
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A few points I wanted to make:
1) While it is true that the character of Nektann exists thanks to a suggestion by a BZPer (Nuhrii the Metruan), the notion of the Piraka set BEING Nektann came about in 2008 and did not arise from conversations held here. Since that is the only example the poster gave me, I have no idea what other instances of fans somehow determining future storyline he/she had in mind. Future story, as you know, comes from the story team, and while fans have contributed a lot to the universe as a whole (see below), they rarely know the shape of future story early enough to have major, major impact on it, at least to the extent this person seems to think.
2) That said, I am personally proud of the fact that fans -- both on BZP and off it -- have been able to contribute to the story universe of BIONICLE the way that they have. The whole notion of interacting with the community is something LEGO is very much all about -- from me being here to Kids Inner Circle to the LEGO Ambassadors Program and the work of the entire Community division. We're not looking for one-way communication - we hand stuff to you and you just take it -- or for you to just be crying out in the wilderness with no one listening to you. The best of LEGO comes about when community and company can work together.
So I will never apologize to anyone for being open to a suggestion here when it's a good suggestion, or for adding to story to fix a possible contradiction a fan has pointed out, or for doing things like Rahi Guide or Dark Hunters guide that gave fans a chance to create an official piece of the universe. BIONICLE belongs to the fans as well as to the company, in that sense -- we all help to make it what it is. And I am honored that people of such obvious intelligence and imagination would want to contribute to this universe. I think just ignoring what people say they want in story would be to do a disservice to the fans and to the company I work for. Needless to say, I don't intend to take this poster's advice.
3) On the "ruining theories" thing -- yes, I have heard that before, but not sure what that means. If I come up with a theory -- say, that Captain America will come back from the dead as a 12-foot tall giant made of Play-Doh -- and I find out that is not the case, my theory is not "ruined" -- because it was never accurate in the first place. There's a difference between "ruined" and "wrong." A theory is a hypothesis based on evidence -- if the evidence is not there or it's being misinterpreted, then the person theorizing is going down a rabbit hole. To me, ruining a theory would be more like ... a BZPer guesses what is going to happen next, so I change it so he won't be right. And I don't do that sort of thing, it would be obnoxious and unfair.
Think of it like this -- you're driving along, and you're not sure you are on the right route. You stop and ask someone for directions. He can tell that you turned left three miles back when you should have turned right and you're going to wind up nowhere near where you want to be. Which should he do? Say nothing and let you waste hours being lost, or tell you, "You might want to look at the map again, I think you are off back here." (Now, it's possible you just were enjoying the drive, don't care whether you get where you are going anytime soon, and don't want to know if you made the wrong turn -- but I'd guess under those circumstances you wouldn't stop and ask directions.)
Anyway, that is what I think on this.
Greg
Fan Contributions To The Universe
Posted by GregF on
Yes, i have too agree with you aswell. The one whos sent the message, seems to have a negative feelign for...How shall i put it, over excessive fans, who would die to have a piece of the story made by them. Is is always been my opinion that fan help/support is wonderfull, and it s a priveledge and a Pleasure to be able to PM you.
-Star*
Not saying I agree with all the fan-suggested things that have made it into the story, but I think that overall the unique system here is pretty good.
~Bunda
But Greg, what's your response to his claim, "The fact that we get everything about the story on a silver platter every time we just ask is not good story development." Because that's the only part of this guy's PM I agree with... a lot of the time I like not to read all your answers to questions because it stops the story from developing on its own. Case in point, today's website update ("Unity") being complete old news for most of us.
People who think it's easy to get new info out of Greg obviously haven't tried recently.
But most of us share one common trait: we're the minority in the BIONICLE community who actively seeks answers to the enigmas presented, so it's natural than we get those answers earlier. And Greg doesn't just answer every question that is sent to him. If he thinks we shouldn't know something just yet, he "can't answer it".
You can do what you want on here (Well, not what you want) But YOU are the one who decides if you answer or not the questions.
Please no more fan contributions and contests. It may be fun, but I think it's too much. Maybe some contests in the LEGO Magazine or Brickmaster, but please no more online contests and storyline suggestions.
We do sometimes get too many plot points out of you ahead of time, and they end up spoiling the story when they actually happen. Like how you explained everything about the Baterra early on, when people were just beginning to get excited about what these mysterious new villains could be. The problem isn't you adding fan's ideas, it's you revealing too much to us. I would never even think about sacrificing the ability to ask you questions and give suggestions, but it might help to be a bit more tight-lipped.
As Greg said in the entry, it's his prerogative to let people know that they're on the wrong track-- if the truth about the Baterra's nature didn't excite people, that's no excuse for him to promote and endorse less accurate speculation and theories. Best to let people know the truth-- that Baterra aren't really a plot point that'll become critical anytime soon.
Besides, there's still some mystery left. After all, the graphic novel will show us what they look like, which Greg's only hinted at up until now.
Overall, regarding spoiler content, Greg can reveal it whenever he feels like it. If you choose to risk spoilers by reading online discussions, then any revelations you wish had come later are your own problem. And if it's discussion outside the OGD that's causing the spoilers, take that up with BZP staff in charge of spoiler policy, not with Greg.
Regarding fan-suggested content, I also approve, although sometimes I wish you'd either flesh out the details on it or ask the person who suggested it to flesh out the details-- the disputes regarding the recent Kanohi approvals lasted far longer than they should have, and even for things like that which you won't use in story it'd be nice to get all the kinks worked out before the final approval is given or publicized.
With regard to online contests for "canon" elements -- if you have an issue with the number of them, etc., this is something you need to take up with the staff at BZPower and BS01. These contests are run at their request and under their auspices, not mine, and if they concern things that I don't plan on showing/explaining, I see no reason not to okay them. BIONICLE.com does not run these contests. I have also rejected suggestions to do a number of contests because they dealt with things I could not or would not be able to make canon.
I do think, though, that all this may be leading into a larger debate among BZPers about what questions they ask and why. There is an insatiable hunger for future info on here, and even if it is stuff I can't answer, I still get constant questions on it. The poster who wrote me focused on me as the issue, and maybe that's fair -- but at the same time, I do not provide set images months before the sets come out, which always seem to wind up online (though not officially, as BZP staff are good about that sort of thing). Basically, a lot of people are on a spoiler hunt 24/7, and that's okay ... but if other people on here have a big issue with that, maybe the discussion needs to be among members.
Greg
Well said in the last paragraph.
However, if Greg hadn't explained the nature of Baterra to our persistent questions and just given the Baterra mysterious serial assassinations occasionally, we'd still be hyped right up until next year, at which point we would have the revelations of the Baterra's nature shown in glorious colour and comic action alongside the revelations of it's appearance. More than twice the cool from how it's currently playing out, and there would be no let-down period inbetween.
Even so, this isn't so much an issue of excitement and letdowns as it is an issue of basic storytelling. The serials are obviously telling a story with an element of mystery, and when the answers to all the questions are given out ahead of time, there's no longer going to be any interest. You simply aren't supposed to tell what the story is before it actually happens. That's not how fiction works.
In my case, I am a fan of Dr. Who and Torchwood, and I have friends who visit sites and get great spoilers about upcoming shows, casting, etc. I don't want to know that stuff, so I don't go to those sites. As a fan, what I do or don't get exposed to is my responsibility. On the other hand, I do read Previews, so I can get an idea of what is coming out in comics in the next couple months, story-wise, so I know which series I want to buy and which I don't. I don't mind some spoilers there, because it helps me plan my budget.
We also have to keep a sense of perspective here, too -- the only people getting any spoilers given here are, say, 40,000 members and let's add maybe another 100,000 casual visitors to the site. That leaves millions of fans who either don't know BZP exists or don't come here because they don't want to see the sets a year before they come out, etc.
In the end, wanting spoilers is not "bad" or "wrong," and not wanting them is not "bad" or "wrong." But this site was about spoilers before I came here, and would still be about it even if I left, just in different ways ... so this is a question of the site's identity, which is why I shared this message to begin with. If the site as a whole resolves that they DON'T want to know anything ahead of time, I will gladly stop teasing ... but I do not then want to still be getting 50 PMs a day asking about next year.