Federation Information Bureau (newsletter)

Zine
Title:	FIB
Publisher:	FIB, fan club (in a 1991 issue, it was referenced as "FIB/UFP")
Editor(s):	in 1991, it was Kim Farey, Ros Liddle, and Dave Liddle
Type:
Date(s):	1982 to at least 1991
Frequency:
Medium:	print
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS and Star Trek: TNG
Language:	English
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

cover of the 1982-1983 yearbook, the first (only?) yearbook

FIB is a Star Trek newsletter published by the UK fan club of the same name. Issues included episode reviews, articles, photos, press releases, movies news, convention news, book reviews, interviews, LoCs, puzzles, cartoons, and science news.

Some of the most inflammatory comments by one fan were reprinted in The Devil Made Me Write This.

V.3 N.2

Federation Information Bureau V.3 N.2 was published in September 1984 and contains 25 pages.

cover of V.3 N.2

• the editor notes the first yearbook was a success; did fans want to do more, and if they do, they need to send stuff in for it
• complaints the the recent reruns of Star Trek have a "kiddie slot" time, and unhappiness over how the BBC defines it as a children's show
• Star Trek in the news
• a fan comments on the UFP Con convention, saying David Gerrold made for an excellent speaker, had great room parties; this fan says "I was glad at last to hear the right version concerning that "person" at the business meeting, although my anger hasn't lessened any."
• there are comments about a recent talk by Gene Roddenberry and his comments pertaining to "tokenism" regarding sex and race
• there are comments regarding the four banned Star Trek episodes and censorship
• there are many, many comments regarding opinions about the last ST movie
• there are many, many comments regarding the what sounds like heated discussions at some recent convention business meetings
• there are many comments, quite heated, about nuclear power, specifically in relation to the episode "Balance of Terror"
• there are very heated comments about what constitutes "smut" and "profanity" and whether a warning for such makes fans more determined to read such material; they are written by Jim Pauley, "Lord of All Filth"/James "Teenage" Pauley
• there is a con report by David Gerrold for which he was a guest of honor; in it he praises "English cons" as far superior to US ones because the people are nicer and smarter, see David Gerrold's 1984 UFP Con Report

V.4 N.1

Federation Information Bureau V.4 N.1 was published in June 1985 and contains 27 pages.

cover of V.4 N.1

• Star Trek in the news
• several poems
• some fiction: "The Influencing Factor" by Sarah Cox
• the final tally of monies for Sol III
• there is fan speculation on what Spock and Saavik's childhoods must have been like
• complaints by fans over some British cons' timing and competition; some fans are upset that other fans are scheduling ST cons that are not "official":

  Surely there is room for both official and unofficial conventions in Star Trek fandom. However, since the official system was voted for and set up by fans I do think that organisers of unofficial cons have some responsibility toward organisers cf official conventions in that unofficial conventions should never be set up in direct competition with official cons and 1t does seem on the face of it that Midcons 85 and 86 have both been staged deliberately to do just that. So why, Instead of causing unrest, did the organisers not bid for an official convention? I do not agree with Mrs Elson's comment that she believes the criticism of Midcon centres around the fact that the guest happens to be DeForest Kelley - It 1s the timing of her con, guest or no guest, that is in question. I shall not attend Midcon 85 because at UFP Con 84 I voted for Enterprise One, and I shall support Enterprise One. I shall not attend Midcon 86 because I similarly voted for UFP Con 86, and shall support It. I cannot afford to attend two cons so close together, and so shall attend the ones I voted for. The official system was decided democratically by Star Trek fans and should not be swept aside without a second thought Just because it suits some people to do so.

• a fan comments on another fan's previous (quite inflammatory, see The Devil Made Me Write This) remarks on how he dislikes K/S:

  I won't involve myself with the K/S debate, per se, only to say I enjoyed Jim's article from a funny point of view... but I did object somewhat to the er... em... (rude) language used. I'm not a prude, but I do prefer a more subtle approach... ... I didn't know or think about K/S until I became a fan either, but, like alternate universes with Spock as Captain, join fandom and anything can happen. And in today's contradictory society, what does sexually explicit really mean? Talking to a male friend on the way home from Sol III this year, the conversation inadvertently turned to K/S. I have heard about Starsky and Hutch stories (although they both act VERY hetro to me, The Professionals (same for S/H) and even rumours from the States of a Hooker/Romano being written (good grief!), my friend enlightened me to the possibility of someone contemplating Batman and Robin. With a conversation he had had with male friends they had gone through a whole list of possibilities. One they had come up with had me almost falling off the chair laughing. Buck Rogers. Not Hawk, who is the extremely obvious choice (Buck is probably allergic to feathers), but Twiki of all people, er robots! In every side of life it is necessary to take the jokes that are thrown at you in your stride. If someone says they don't like something, that's their opinion, and who am I to contradict them? I like some K/S stories, but I won't try to convert someone who has tried them and doesn't like them. One quick question for Jim. How do you know that K/S 'dampened their pretty pink panties'? Have you been (1) peeking, (2) asking, or (3) have you had a sex change?

• a fan asks:

  Is it really true that some K/S zines include some so pornographic that a convention could be prosecuted for having them on the premises? If so, please let us make sure they are excluded, since it would be ironic in the extreme if fans were the final death of Trek! Also, how come women get a thrill out of something that portrays turning one's back on a guy? It wouldn't do a thing for me!

V.4 N.2

Federation Information Bureau V.4 N.2 was published in September 1985 and contains 21 pages.

cover of V.4 N.2

• Star Trek in the news
• description of "Star Trek: The Exhibition"—June 1–13, 1985 at the Bristol Central Library, College Green
• some pro book reviews, including The Prometheus Design, see that page
• more comments on the upbringing and experiences of Saavik, a Vulcan/Romulan
• a plot synopsis and fan discussion of "Amok Time"
• some fans applaud a recent plea for Star Trek fans to financially help with the famine in Africa

V.4 N.3

Federation Information Bureau V.4 N.3 was published in December 1985 and contains 28 pages.

cover of V.4 N.3

• Star Trek in the news
• a transcript of an interview with Gene Roddenberry (conducted by Paul Birchard, on "American Eye" broadcast on Radio Clyde on October 14, 1985, tape supplied by Janet Quarton)
• fan discussion of the episode "Amok Time"
• there is much more discussion of the pluses and minuses of "official UK cons" and unofficial ones
• there are full credits for "Amok Time" and "Day of the Dove"
• there is a long synopsis and review of "Day of the Dove"

V.4 N.4

Federation Information Bureau v.4 n.4. was published in March 1986.

V.5 N.1

Federation Information Bureau V.5 N.1 was published in June/July/August 1986 and contains 26 pages.

cover of V.5 N.1

• Star Trek in the news
• information about space shuttle Challenger memorials
• some comments about UFP Con
• a "Journey to Babel" plot synopsis and discussion
• an article, "Twenty-Five Years of Man in Space"
• a lot of political commentary that doesn't have anything to do with Star Trek
• a chatty con report for UFP Con, one that doesn't say much about the con itself

V.6 N.4

cover of v.6 n.4

V.7 N.1

cover of v.7 n.1

V.7 N.2

cover of v.7 n.2

V.9 N.1

Federation Information Bureau V.9 N.1 was published in winter 1991 and contains 32 pages.

front cover of V.9 N.1

back cover of V.9 N.1

• the editor notes that contributions from members is almost non-existent
• a long, long reprint from "Dr Who Bulletin" -- "Doing the Time Warp with Patrick Stewart"
• other reprinted articles from "Dr Who Bulletin"
• a long transcript from a 1974 "Tattletales" (a game show) which had Bill and Marcy Shatner as guests
• "Next Gen Rumours" by Gail Adams
• some TNG episode synopses and reviews
• reprinted articles from "Daily Express" and "Daily Mail"
• some comments from fans about the price of conventions, most which address how expensive it is becoming to run cons, how actor's fees are increasing, how actors don't want their fees disclosed to fans, how con coms are in a bind because fans are asking about "where the money went" but con coms can't say how much they spent on guests of honors (as that would make the celebrities angry), and con coms don't want to print a blow-by-blow account of where every pound was spent as it would be a waste of time and serve no purpose
• some costuming notes from TNG
• fantasy book reviews: "The Witches of Wenshar," "Dark Hand of Magic," "Dawnspell," and "Dragonspell"
• Michael Dorn interview, reprinted from "TV Zone" #14
• a fan asks if the newsletter could be produced and distributed on a 3" floppy disc "You could simply copy it onto a floppy supplied by anyone with a compatible machine... the recipient could then print out the articles s/he wanted to keep and send the disk back for the next issue."

V.9 N.2

Federation Information Bureau V.9 N.2 was published in spring 1991

V.9 N.3

back cover or last page of v.9 n.3

front cover of v.9 n.3

Federation Information Bureau v.9 n.3 was published in summer 1991 and contains 78 pages.

• an Open Letter to Star Trek Fans, which is a fan's major complaint about Creation Con
• three con reports for the most recent UFP Con two with an emphasis on the Klingon Klass
• Ralph Winter interview from the official fan club magazine
• a description of Paramount Studio's tour, taken from CompuServe
• a London Star Trek Group starts up (Saturday meetings, every other month from 11.00 to 7.00, with optional outings to pubs, cinema and restaurants
• reviews of the TNG episodes "A Matter of Honour," "Redemption," and "Reunion"
• a crossword puzzle
• review of the TOS episode "The Doomsday Machine"

"In Anticipation of 'An Undiscovered Country"—article by Michael Simpson

• info on the upcoming Trek movie, a Paramount Press release (Feb 20, 1991) taken from Compuserve
• "Night of the Two Captains" a reprint from DWB
• fantasy book reviews: "Dragon Wing 1- The Death Gate Cycle," "The Silent Tower," "The Silcon Mage", "Kill the Dead"
• Space and Science News by Steve Tidey
• "The Book That Never Was, What Really Happened to 'A Flag Full of Stars," by Brad Ferguson, reprinted from DWB June 1991
• "My Kind of Trek" by Maureen Hollinsworth
• a con report for Seatrek
• book reviews for the Trek pro books: "Fortune's Light," "Devil World," "Vendetta," "The Making of Star Trek"
• convention and club announcements