[color=#000000:post_uid0]Since the test thread I created and deleted is still showing up on the main forum screen for some reason, I'm making this new one to bump it out. Since we're in 5MV Talk, this'll just be an open thread for site-related comments and ideas. If anyone has a suggestion for 5MV, for example, post it here and I'll read it.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Well, I imagine that this is probably out of your area, but if it's within your power to give the PM system a good swift kick and get it working again, I'd appreciate it ;)[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I'll talk to Owen, but I've done so before. I don't think he knows what the problem is.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][whine] :( Â Zekeeeeeey, the big bad Forum Monster's eating all my PMs! WAAH! Â :crying: [/whine][/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Nothing terribly urgent, but this thread seems as good a place as any to ask. Idly wondering:

Since the Five-Minute Forums came back online the last time, the default clock setting seems to be GMT + 3 hours. Was this done intentionally?[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]No, and that's another of those "talked to Owen about it but he doesn't know what's wrong" things. I'll try him again.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]I'll try him again.[/quote:post_uid0]

Once he returns from the western wilderness?[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]He's back already.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Alright, i'm going to ask one more anoying tecnical question. Is there a reason that i don't show up on the active user list? :( It doesn't matter what browser i use, but if i sign in on my parents computer i do show up. :S[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]No idea, KJ, and you're not the only one who's had that problem. Â

But you'll notice I've fixed the time zones now! I've got the board back on GMT, so the time zone you select in the Account Options section of your Control Panel will be accurate. (I'm in Eastern time, for example, which is -5 GMT.) The problem was embarrassingly easy to fix, too.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Here's a random thought: has anyone considered putting together a book? (switches to newscaster voice) "Five Minute Voyager: Collected Works, the New York Times #1 Bestseller has been racking up sales all week, leading to important questions like, 'Who is this mysterious Canadian, Zeke? And why has Robert Beltran been repeatedly compared to wood?'"

Sorry, just another look into my disturbed mind.

--
Wowbagger: Unregistered so John Ashcroft can't hunt me down.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Great idea if you could (a) get a publisher to print it as "Unauthorized" -- and considering what happened to the Nitpicker's Guides, I'll bet that's a "no"; or (b) get Paramount to sign off on it.

It would, however, make a great book series. Starting with the Complete Voyager pantheon. And a fun project to set minions to work on.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Before that happens, I'll definately have to write a fiver sometime. I vaguely remember promising this the first time I posted on this forum, but I never got around to it. :)[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]Here's a random thought: has anyone considered putting together a book? [/quote:post_uid0] [i:post_uid0]I've[/i:post_uid0] thought about it. It's a great idea, IMHO, but one which would be hard to do.

Considering how many references a fiver can make to another show, you may have to ask permission of five corporations or more for a single fiver. (note that I am no expert on copyright law, and have no idea about any of what I just said. I'm just guessing there'd be difficulties like that)

Then there's the question of which fivers to publish. As Voyager looks to be the first series finished, those fivers would be logical. But Voyager was the first series started too. I wouldn't be surprised if some authors of early Voy fivers are hard to track down now. If you assume that everyone included wants to get royalties, it could get difficult.

Another option would be a 'best of' compilation. It could include all the TJIs, Paneldemonium, Sleapers, and some of the best fivers by staff members (and maybe ::cough:: selected guest authors? Â ;) )

And as an alternative to trying to convince a normal publisher that a 5MV book is worth the effort and the risk, we could consider a self-publishing company. It may not have a large market, but you wouldn't expect a [i:post_uid0]lot[/i:post_uid0] of people to be interested in such a book anyway. I remember reading an article about self-publishing websites. It recommended a few good ones. If only I could find the article...

Anyway, these are just some thoughts. I [i:post_uid0]would[/i:post_uid0] like to see a 5MV book, or any 5MV merchandise, for that matter.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0="Tate"]Considering how many references a fiver can make to another show, you may have to ask permission of five corporations or more for a single fiver. (note that I am no expert on copyright law, and have no idea about any of what I just said. I'm just guessing there'd be difficulties like that)[/quote:post_uid0]
I'm no legal expert either, especially not on Canadian law, but according to the US copyright law, 5MV doesn't need permission since it is a parody. That's why, though Paramount could theoretically shut down every fanfic site, it couldn't shut down 5MV.

[quote:post_uid0]I wouldn't be surprised if some authors of early Voy fivers are hard to track down now. If you assume that everyone included wants to get royalties, it could get difficult.[/quote:post_uid0]
This would be the harder part. Because it [i:post_uid0]would[/i:post_uid0] be necessary to get every author's permissions to publish their fivers in a different format. And as for royalties, it would be better to ask the writers to relinquish any rights they might have in that regard and just use the profit to improve the site.

[quote:post_uid0]Anyway, these are just some thoughts. I [i:post_uid0]would[/i:post_uid0] like to see a 5MV book, or any 5MV merchandise, for that matter.[/quote:post_uid0]
Yeah, 5MV shirts would be cool. So would 5MV flamethrowers!

Actually, if you're interested, you can probably make your own stuff. Back when I was in high school, some friends and I bought plain white shirts, went to Kinkos (I think) with some images off the net, and had them printed on to the shirts. You could probably do something similar, but technically you'd need Zeke's permission (though I doubt anyone would verify whether you had it or not).[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I'm in a book. I don't remember if I told any of yous here. See Amazon. :) It's just a story about how i'm close to all my friends online that I met cause of Star Trek. I got an autographed copy of the book and it was just something really cool for me. :)[/color:post_uid0]

[quote:post_uid0="Tate"][color=#000000:post_uid0]I [i:post_uid0]would[/i:post_uid0] like to see a 5MV book, or any 5MV merchandise, for that matter.[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]There was a plan once to have 5MV merchandise -- T-shirts and coffee mugs and the like. I think it fell into the Void of Soon.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]It fell into the void of "Hey, wait a minute, CafePress sucks." I had a CafePress store I was experimenting with, but it would have been basically pointless because CP's base prices are so high. To make a profit of, say, $5 on each item, I would have had to charge upwards of $20 US for a T-shirt. CP also introduced new fees that basically made it completely unprofitable to run a low-traffic store.

There are alternatives, though -- and if you guys are interested in 5MV merchandise, I'll make checking them out a higher priority. Just keep in mind that I can't use copyrighted material on anything I sell. The clock logo is okay, for example, but not the 5s with ships on top. If there's interest, I'll start a thread for talking about what items you guys would want, and what you'd want on them.

As for books, I thought about that even before I thought of T-shirts. If I approached a publishing company, the problem would be that I might have to do some stupid copyright-protection thing like changing the characters' names, like Sev Trek or the Star Wreck series. The other way to do it would be desktop publishing; I think that way I could print whatever I wanted as long as I didn't sell at a profit. [i:post_uid0]Enterprise[/i:post_uid0] season 1 is probably what I'd start with.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Another idea would be to release the fivers on CD-ROM -- either each Trek series on its own as it's completed, and/or the complete compilation of Trek parodies once they're all done.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]and/or the complete compilation of Trek parodies once they're all done.[/quote:post_uid0]
Well let's see, first Enterprise would have to end. Then, no other Trek series must air. And [i:post_uid0]after[/i:post_uid0] that, catch-up time.

I feel a great big SOON coming up.[/color:post_uid0]