In January 1995, Region Coordinator Dan McGinnis was elected Fleet Admiral of STARFLEET despite allegations of financial improprieties from a regional level. He assured the members of Fleet that these were unsubstatiated rumors from disgruntled opponents, and Dan was given the benefit of the doubt.
In the spring of 1995, revelations of fraud and breach of contract against Dan and his convention business by a Star Trek cast member were brought up. More questions were raised, which were met by a combination of denial, non-response, and invocation of lawyer-client privilege. Fearing that these circumstances could harm STARFLEET, members of the Admiralty Board, the governing body of STARFLEET, tried to pass a measure to remove McGinnis and the Executive Committtee (the decision-making cabinet of STARFLEET) until the allegations were resolved.
The measure failed, and then the fun started. McGinnis started to retaliate more blantantly against those who brought about the measure and their supporters by removing them from their positions in Fleet.
In May, disgusted by the resulting heavy-handed display of power politics, "Ranger" Mike Smith -- one of Dan's closest supporters -- resigned his Fleet position as On-Line Representative, cut all de facto ties with the administration, and later joined others who sought to remove Dan at the most opportune moment.
That July, in a tumultuous International Conference, McGinnis invoked the STARFLEET Constitution and STARFLEET's status as a non-profit corporation to remain in charge. By the end of the conference, two members of the Admiralty Board were tossed out of their positions.
The situation got worse. Communication from Fleet HQ ranged from silence to propaganda through 'filtered channels'. Checks were cashed and deposited, but no membership packets and Communiques were received. McGinnis appointed a Treasurer named 'Molly Baxter' to oversee finances; her very existance to this day is widely doubted.
But dissent continued to be swiftly handled in an atmosphere of fear, intimidation, and propaganda -- both from within the club and through threat of legal litigation. Questions about what was going on -- especially from Internet sources -- were either ignored or scatologically rebutted. Many a critic received "nastygrams" from the Chief of Staff and spokesman/apologist, Dr Dave Miller.
A "nastygram" is a letter of great disdain and IMO outright _hate_ from another person (in this case, from the Former COS). It can be a relatively mild one...or it can be downright slanderous, as in one sent to a STARFLEET member who voiced concerns about the past administration, raised ethical questions about the past administration, and was severly chastise by the past administration.
I have never seen the actual document in question, but having spoken to numerous people who were close the situation, it contained language such as (and remember, this is based on what was told to me, and is in no way exact quotes)......
I think this should give you an idea of a Nastygram. These were paraphrased from a few of the Nastygrams that I have heard about from 'Fleet members who were only doing what they thought they had a right to do .... asking the administration for answers to questions and concerns.
Thanks, Carl!
Using the time-honored (and constitutionally-protected) tradition of satire and humor to register dissent, the imagery of "Dr Dave and STARFLEET's Dan" sending experiments to the hapless Ranger and his Bots conveyed my strong outrage against what I saw was the harsh and venomous treatment of concerned Fleet members and the looting and pillaging of Fleet resources from within. Where these words were used to cause pain, they would be now be "bot fodder".
The nastygrams become the experiments. To use the above quotes as
an example [Pushing the button...]:
> "for all this pissing in the wind...."
Crow: Pissing in the Wind... isn't that an obscure British film with
Hayley Mills?
Servo: Coming to Broadway in an Andrew Lloyd Webber Production!
Mike: It's about two kinds who find a derelict stranger in a barn and
think he's the Commander of Starfleet.
> "..what the hell right Crow: The Hell Right? Are they affiliated with the Religious Right? Mike: I've heard of the Big Tent Theory, but this is ridiculous.
> do you have questioning this administration....?" Servo: I just want to know if this administration is now or has ever been a member of the Communist Party.
> "..you must be out of your God Damned mind to suggest....." Servo: Out, Out, Damned Mind! Mike: Do you have a cup of mind I can borrow before my God damns me?
> "..in my professional opinion, Crow: I play a doctor playing doctor on TV. Mike: George Clooney?
> you are in dire need of psychiatric help..." Servo: Thank you, Dr. Katz.
> "..will not f****** communicate with you in the future...." Crow: In the future, they put their combadges WHERE?!?! Ewwww! Mike: Are you hailing the ship or are you happy to see me? Servo: So, at the end of "Threshold", Janeway and Paris were... 'communicating'?
McGinnis attempted to micromanage the election process and withheld release of the membership roster to the accountant. That was Dan's critical error.
He didn't count on Doug Glenn and Kris Harah (may their names be blessed forever!), Chief and Vice-Chief of Communications, to stand up to possible tampering with the system. Despite attempts to browbeat Doug and Kris (mtnbbf!) out of their positions, they stood their ground and let the rest of Fleet know what what happening with Fleet HQ.
With the cat out of the bag, Dan decided to resign his position as Fleet Admiral, quit Fleet, and hide behind legal representation himself. Mike Smith was elected new Fleet Admiral, and he and his staff have been trying to put Fleet back together since January.
However, it has returned to take a look a Bot's-eye view at Fleet currently with a bit of a revamped format. Like Capt Mike's AREA 52, MSFT3K is my approach of taking on the whims and follies that is STARFLEET while avoiding the pitfalls of a flamefest. Oh, and with installment #6, no one should consider themselves spared. >:)