Marcus Cole Estrogen Brigade
| Mailing List | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Marcus Cole Estrogen Brigade (MCEB) |
| Date(s): | August 1996-? |
| Moderated: | |
| Founder(s): | Janis C. |
| Type: | |
| Fandom: | Babylon 5 |
| URL: | Marcus Cole Estrogen Brigade |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Marcus Cole Estrogen Brigade was a private mailing list for fans of Marcus Cole and Babylon 5.
It was founded by Janis C.
Also see Estrogen Brigade.
For more general information regarding some technical aspects of an early mailing list, see Administrative Gobbledegook: That You Have To Read Before Joining Or Else I'll Nail You With A Water Balloon.
General Blurb
Marcus Cole Estrogen Brigade...has around 65 members or so at last count (probably more, though). So you've got a thing for that poetic freedom fighter with the great hair, Babylon-5's resident Attention Deficit Poster Boy? Join us in rhapsodizing about him and getting to know one another! Also part of the MCEB list is the Neroon Platoon for those of us tempted by the Big, Bald, Boneheaded Bastard of Babylon-5, and Ivanova's Amazon Fighter Wing for those who dig the Station Sarcasm Specalist. So if these lovely individuals float your boat, you're welcome here. [1]
Introduction and Sub-Lists
In the fine Internet tradition of the SEFEB, the PSEB, and the DDEB, I present to you the Marcus Cole Estrogen Brigade, and if you've got a yen for the Mad Poet of Babylon 5, the Resident Ranger, the B5 Attention Deficit Poster Boy (played so well by Jason Carter), we're the group for you!
There are several lists comprising the MCEB in toto:
The mceb-l This is the general mailing list. It usually generates around 30 messages per day, but can jump up to around 100 if we get really chatty. This list also has a nontrivial number of people on it who adore both Commander Ivanova and Alyt Neroon. Smaller groups have formed as well, although they do not have lists of their own. These are called Ivanova's Amazon Fighter Wing and the Neroon Platoon.
The mceb-digest This is the digest version of the mceb-l. Instead of getting each individual mail message, the digest saves up messages and send them to you in large lumps, sometimes one or two a day in busy periods, otherwise about one every other day. This is excellent for people who cannot take the time to read 40 or so individual messages each day, or who must pay per number of mail messages they receive.
The mceb-ff This is a list for the fan fiction that the MCEB generates. Fan fiction can be very long, and often times people do not want to download very large text messages if they are not following a given story. The mceb-ff was the solution to the problem of allowing people access to the stories if they choose, but keeping them out of everyone else's hair if they aren't interested. I do not run this list. You do not have to be a member of one to be a member of the other, here. Since I am not the listowner, it would behoove you to check out the mceb-ff listowner's own page for the mceb-ff at http://www.io.com/~vitale/lists/mcebff.html. [2]
Club Privileges: Mainly, Do Not Violate the Fourth Wall
Club Privileges that will make you the envy of your net.friends
1.No contact with Jason Carter whatsoever! That's right ladies, since the MCEB is and will remain an unsanctioned fan club, you too, like zillions of other women and a not inconsiderable number of men around the world can have absolutely zero personal contact with your objet d'lust! Someone may indeed put together a sanctioned fan club for him in the future, but the MCEB is simply an electronic mailing list for people who dig him, and/or John Vickery and Claudia Christian. It will remain unsanctioned.
2.Free rights to scream, rant, bash your head repeatedly against your keyboard, and generally kick up a huge stink in a supportive, sympathetic atmosphere about how Jason Carter was arbitrarily bounced for the title role in Bram Stoker's Dracula because the producer wanted someone "better known" and didn't have the brains to hold on to him! So you would have sold blood plasma to buy tickets to the movie had he been in it? Tough cookies! Come and rip your hair out with the rest of us! Extra bonus rant points to any list members who have seen "Dark Dancer" and noticed (like you wouldn't) that he was the only castmember in the whole frigging show who kept his clothes on the whole time! CLUE ALERT FOR IDIOT PRODUCERS -- if you want women to watch your supposedly "erotic" crapola, try to make it so that we don't have to swim through an ocean of silicone tits to get a few shots of the best looking guy in the cast clothed from chin to ankle, okay? This is not rocket science. [3]
General Atmosphere and List Charter
"An estrogen brigade?" you say. "Sounds neat. I want to join."
Cool.
But keep in mind that, as a mailing list, the MCEB has a rather specific reason for existing, and is not a public place like a Usenet newsgroup. The membership is not automatic and you have to go through a hand-approval process to get on. This is not an open list. This is for a reason.
People who wish to join will be expected to add to the flavor of the list with enthusiasm. And drool. Gawkers who do not participate in the various political/social/sex-oriented conversations or do so for the express purpose of stirring up shit will not be welcome, and given that we've recently come off of a bit of a brouhaha over that sort of thing, I'm not up for a replay. (And please note that "lurker" does not equal "gawker.")
The MCEB itself started out when a number of women posting to rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated noticed that there was a heapin' helpin' of drooling going on over Marcus Cole, B5's Angry Young Man with the sexy angst and great hair. Around August of 1996 (I think), I started the list so that we could all have a nice place to chat with one another, since many of the women involved in the drooling were articulate, intelligent, fun, and generally great for conversation. It's become a very nice space since then, supportive and enjoyable. We talk about careers, family, politics, our own lives -- and even Marcus Cole, Neroon, and Commander Ivanova, along with anyone else who gets our hormones in an uproar. We've got a nice community here, and if anything, we'd like to extend our thanks to jms, Jason Carter, and Babylon 5 in general for giving us the excuse we needed to get together with one another.
This is the Marcus Cole Estrogen Brigade, with the NP and IAFW running off of it. The reqs for membership follow:
1.You drool over Marcus, or do not engage in gawking, baiting, snickering, or any other sort of behavior that irritates me and the membership like sand in a wet pair of shorts. If you're more interested in the Neroon Platoon or Ivanova's Amazon Fighter Wing, then --
2.You drool over one of them, and either drool over Marcus as well, or refrain from gagging overtly. It's also probably in your best interest if you don't even gag privately but instead just nod and say, "Hey, whatever works for you." This list is a predominantly Marcus-oriented list, so if you join, don't be surprised or too put out if 70% of the list traffic is devoted to him. But then, we're always willing to drool over damned near anyone in the B5 cast, given that they are all a remarkably sexy group of people.
3.This list is a gay/les/bi friendly space. (If you doubt that, then think why the A is in the IAFW.) If you can't handle posts of people drooling over members of the same sex or talk of stories that feature two men or two women going at it, then DO NOT JOIN. If you prefer one, then keep in mind that you may not gag publicly at the other. In other words the following posts will get you broomed:
◦"I love m/m slash, but GOD, that Ivanova/Talia stuff is GROSS. Have you people lost your minds? EEEEWWW!"
◦"I love it when two hot babes go at it, but the idea of two queer pigs fucking makes me nauseous. Hey you -- write more of that there Eye-va-NOE-va/Talia stuff, whydon'tchya."
◦"Oh, GOD, not ANOTHER straight white vanilla girl. Puh-LEEZE."
◦"Oh, GOD, not ANOTHER bondage crazy -- I'm sorry, but I just find that personally sickening!"
◦"Well, I don't actually care personally for any of the drooling on this list, but I figured I'd just join and see what sorts of crazy dames would like that little faggot." (Duck very quickly. If you honestly have no clue why he's so sexy, this must explain why your dating experience so far has consisted of going five-on-one in the shower.)
◦Or any other post that assumes that anyone who drools over something that you don't get turned on by is doing it for the express purpose of getting your panties in a wad.
We're friendly to all droolers, but you must be able to tolerate both unorthodox and orthodox attitudes without feeling put upon.
4.Since explicit material isn't on the list, there isn't any requirement that you be 18, but it would be nice if you were at least 18 simply because of the subject matter that occasionally pops up (we sometimes have discussions that verge on the explicitly gynecological, typical for a group of women). I personally have no problem with such information being made available to young kids and am in favor of it, but please be aware that subjects like homosexuality and sex education will crop up. And while there aren't any fanfiction or pictures posted to the list, there may sometimes be talk of them.
5.Anyone who posts an unprotected spoiler on the list after one warning will be unsubscribed without recourse.
6.Binary files (pictures in any format, most commonly jpg or gif) are not allowed on the list. They are too damned big.
7.If you post a chain letter or spam to the list, there is a distinct possibility that you will get flamed so hard you'll look like an overdone strip of bacon by the time the list is through with you. Do not forward chain letters or spams to the list.
8.All listmembers will undergo a bit of a trial period to help you settle in and make sure that you aren't a Stealth Asshole.
9.If you engage in, as stated before, gagging, baiting, trolling, or other obnoxious behavior, you'll get warned. If you don't give me a very good indication that you understand what the problem is and are actively interested in avoiding it in the future, you'll get ashcanned. If you hang around, are a pleasant addition to our little nook o'love, and then get rammy, you'll get reminded that you might want to sit on your hands from time to time, like most of us sometimes need to.
10.If you can't sit on your hands at least a little when someone else is being obnoxious, then TRY HARDER. Things usually get settled, and it's been the list's experience that when someone is acting like a twit, giving them ammo only makes things worse.
11.Please be aware that I'm not getting paid for this and, like most people who run web sites and mailing lists, I'm doing this for fun. On occasion, my own schedule may be such that I'm away for the weekend, or that I'm busy at work. As a result, I'm under no obligation to deal with rude people. I'm not like your provider's tech support. :-) If you tried to subscribe a few days ago, it may simply be that I haven't processed your request yet. Please reread the directions for joining and make sure that you have followed them to the letter, as well.
12.Don't be surprised if you get on this list and find a bunch of women drooling. We've gotten a few people subscribing to an "Estrogen Brigade" and then acting shocked to find that we are actually turned on by any number of fictional characters that don't exist. I'm not sure what the hell they expected to find on a list called an "Estrogen Brigade," but apparently estrogen wasn't it. If you subscribe to a list for a bunch of women who think that a few people who don't exist are sexy, it's really rather ridiculous to be stunned when we openly admit that we find them sexy. If you subscribe to an "Estrogen Brigade," expect estrogen. We're not all extremely experienced sexual matriarchs -- we're just outspoken. :-)
13.I'm going to try to be as open as possible with it, but since I've been off of Usenet for quite some time after having lost patience with the puerile chatter, I've got a low tolerance for idiots and don't want to waste anyone else's time with them either, in an effort to be "fair." This list is for fun and drooling, and anyone who tries flaming will get bounced hard. I'm much more interested in making a fun, pleasant space for those of us who dig the guy than in Being Fair and hence letting a few killjoys and creeps ruin it for everyone.
14.All on-list correspondence must be treated as confidential and may not be passed on to nonmembers without the permission of the originating author. I don't care who you're sending it to.
15.Play nice -- you may not think that politics etc. will arise on a list like this, but they will, and your fellow drooler might not have the same orientation on many issues as you will. Let's discuss; let's not get personal. If I sense that a disagreement is getting flamey, I will ask that listmembers politely avoid a topic out of consideration for the rest of the list. Last-word-itis and one-more-thing posts will not be tolerated and will result in the offender being bounced.
16.I DON'T HAVE ANY PERSONAL CONTACT WITH THE GUY NOR DO I WANT ANY. The list is going to be for fun and oriented toward the character and any other roles he's done purely for hyperhormonal drooling purposes. I'm not interested in creating a sanctioned fan club after having had a very bad experience with another sanctioned fan club for an actor that wound up very ugly and backstabbing. It's been my experience that when the actors themselves get involved in these clubs, the completely innocuous and yet more outspoken people, especially GLB members, find ourselves treated like pariahs from whom the club honoree needs "protection." It's certainly not always the case, but the instance that's most vivid in my mind was in that category. I've got enough drama in my life already, so while I'm sure Carter is a perfectly nice guy and all, this mailing list ain't gonna have jack to do with him. If a listmember, however, decides that s/he would like to get a sanctioned fan club up and running, go for it, and may you have better luck than the last one I was involved in. The MCEB, however, is a 100% on-line endeavor, and is and will remain unsanctioned.
17.We'll try to stay on B5-related topics, but the topics can wander if the conversation gets going. I DO NOT WANT TO MODERATE THE LIST, but I will encourage people to both be tolerant of topic migration, and conversely to try not to post constantly to EVERYTHING so that people who can't log on as much to download or read mail can still join without finding 2,872 messages to read every time they log on. :-)
18.When you first get on the list -- introduce yourselves so we know who you are! [4]