More Bad Star Trek News

[Mike 5]

Please give due attention to the following letter from our beloved

StarTrek.com, and pass it on to fellow fans. I have just received

this and it is early in the morning, so except for the address, I

can't confirm the additional contact information yet. I will forward

more to you later today, such as an e-mail or fax.

 

Angela Russ

 

------------------------------------------------------

Dear Tim Russ Fans,

 

As if we needed further reminding that the fate of Star Trek is a

tenuous one at best, it has been announced that Paramount Digital

Entertainment, the home to STARTREK.COM since 1996, is shutting its

doors as of 12/31/05.

 

As many of you now know, Viacom and CBS started trading as separate

companies today. The splitting of Viacom into two companies -- as

does any corporate maneuver -- comes at a great cost to personnel.

Needless to say, many here on the lot will be collecting their final

paycheck at the end of the year.

 

Oddly, one thing that hasn't been completely resolved is the

ownership of Star Trek. I know it sounds crazy, but it appears to be

true. We think CBS will be taking it over. (Even though it will be

forever identified as a Paramount product.) As a result of this lack

of clarification on the ownership of the franchise, the fate of

STARTREK.COM also hangs in the balance. As of this writing, we simply

do not know what is happening to the site, we just know that at the

end of the year we will be out of a job!

 

Rather than go quietly, we are in the midst of preparing a

presentation for the powers-that-be designed to show the vast scope

and depth to the site, and how it is a "go to" site for anyone in the

world in search of Star Trek information. STARTREK.COM is used not

only by fans of the show, but by licensees to promote their products,

various Paramount departments (including production), convention

organizers, news organizations, advertisers, etc. In other words, a

lot of people use the site, and it would be almost impossible to

assign it a monetary value.

 

Before we make our case, if you would like to write a testimonial

sentence or two that we can use in the presentation, it would be very

gratefully received.

 

Thanks for listening, and thanks for your support over the years.

This is a great franchise and it would be sad to see it sink into an

abyss of lost TV and movie franchises. I would like to think that we

could do better.

 

All the best,

 

Tg

 

 

Tim Gaskill

Editorial Director

Paramount Digital Entertainment

5555 Melrose Ave/MOB 1208

Hollywood, CA 90038

www.startrek.com

 

:(

[A l t e r E g o 9]

:( Never saw that coming and as if that weren't bad enough, the Star Trek Communicator is also closing.

[KIMIMELA 1]

Star Trek.com is closing?

 

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

That's the death of our beloved Trek! :(

[VaBeachGuy 12]

At this point all I'd take from this is that the company that runs the ST.COM website is shutting down, that doesn't mean that ST.COM will also and it in no way means that Star Trek is "dead" either. It also won't affect STF.NET in terms of our existance, we'll still be here.

[Capt_Picard 0]

This is more bad news. I think that there is some reality TV show maker, or some CSI producer that is right thanking the devil for his handy work. I will say that as long as sites like this are around and that fans keep this show, as corny as it might sounds, in their hearts for what it hopes what will become of mankind then we don't need some company running some site about a beloved TV show, but that we can still keep it alive online, in our minds, and in our hearts.

[zipkirk1966 0]

I will be glued to the computer to see what happens.

 

Brian

[Takara_Soong 4]

This has been posted by admin at st.com:

The statement you quoted at the beginning of this topic is what we know at this time.

 

We haven't made any official announcement about the future of STARTREK.COM - because it's still up in the air. As soon as we have definitive information we'll share it with you.

 

We are grateful for your support, and hope you'll stick with us going forward.

 

If you have comments, please send them to editor@startrek.com.

[Kor37 9]

I realize that I'm being selfish here and I'm not looking at the broader view but I was really teed off when StarTrek.com closed the Lounge. I've not been back to the site since and I hope it dies an agonizing death. I also hope that it results in a surge of new members here.

 

Never saw that coming and as if that weren't bad enough, the Star Trek Communicator is also closing

 

Now THIS I'm really upset about. I'm a subscriber and I've been wondering why I haven't gotten an issue in quite some time.

Edited December 7, 2005 by Kor37

[BKY1701 0]

This is a GOOD thing. Paramount didn't want to (or were unable to) make a high quality Star Trek ANYTHING anymore, so maybe this change can end up helping it.

 

I mean, you can't get worse then there being no more Star Trek at all (like after ENT), so this is ether good or indifferent.

 

As for the site, no one ever really uses Startrek.com, so it being gone would be little loss, since there are so many privet sites about the same thing, that tend to even do it better.

Edited December 7, 2005 by BKY1701

[MANVERU 0]

No, no , no, no, no, no, no, no

 

NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

What are those numnuts thinking??????

 

 

That means it's going to be the end of Treklife, and me being able to cheat on the trivia by looking up the answers on their library.......

 

 

Wait.........

 

 

oops.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

Na, only jokin!

Edited December 7, 2005 by Takara_Soong

[Takara_Soong 4]

I realize that I'm being selfish here and I'm not looking at the broader view but I was really teed off when StarTrek.com closed the Lounge. I've not been back to the site since and I hope it dies an agonizing death. I also hope that it results in a surge of new members here.

You do realize that what might be taken down is the ENTIRE startrek.com site. Not just the message boards but the entire site. All of the articles, episode information, interviews, convention reports, etc. would be gone.

 

As for the site, no one ever really uses Startrek.com, so it being gone would be little loss, since there are so many privet sites about the same thing, that tend to even do it better.

I disagree. I, like many members here, go there frequently (if not daily) to see if there is any news regarding Trek or Trek alumni. To lose the site with all that information would be a terrible loss to Trek.

 

I really encourage all of you to send an email supporting the site to editor@startrek.com so they can let the CBS/Viacom PTB see that the site is important to Trek fans and Trek business.

Edited December 7, 2005 by Takara_Soong

[VaBeachGuy 12]

I don't think it would be a good thing for ST.COM to be gone, it's the main source for all things Trek. When I made this site it was my intention to have it act as a sort of "child" site to ST.COM and give a lot of the same kind of information that they have but do it from the fans point of view.

 

Losing ST.COM wouldn't be the "Death of Star Trek" but it would be a day to mourn (and I don't mean the talkative guy at Quarks lol).

 

I honestly don't think that ST.COM will vanish, it may change from what we know now but I believe there will always be an official site.

[MANVERU 0]

Official site:

 

Yes.

 

But I doubt it's gonna have all of the features as it has now

[VaBeachGuy 12]

Official site:

 

Yes.

 

But I doubt it's gonna have all of the features as it has now

If so then it's up to us (Trek Fans) to fill the void.

[MANVERU 0]

AMEN!

[LoveMalePecs1 0]

Sad to hear that St.com might be shutting down been with the site a few years after it opened and was a long time member and in the chatroom as well and I had on ocassion gone back there for the latest news and once in awhile go into the simulation rooms.

[Capt_Picard 0]

The void?! Great... now we're going to be stuck light years from home in a place that has no light, plantes, or Star Trek what so ever!!!

... Sorry, VOY flash back.

Edited December 7, 2005 by Capt_Picard

[TRexx 0]

A change of StarTrek.com management shouldn't be a surprise.

 

In early April, I posted a news item at TrekWeb re the new CBS Digital Media. Here are excerpts from the press release...

 

"NEW YORK, March 31 -- Larry Kramer has been named President, CBS Digital Media, it was announced today by Leslie Moonves, Chairman, CBS and Co-President/Co-Chief Operating Officer, Viacom.

 

"Kramer, who founded Dow Jones' Market Watch, Inc. (formerly CBS Market Watch), will now oversee all developing new media operations for CBS, including CBS.com, CBS SportsLine.com, CBSNews.com and UPN.com, among others, as well as a new sales operation that will serve them. CBS Digital Media becomes a newly-created division within CBS headed by Kramer and reporting directly to Moonves."

 

Note the following...

 

"As he incorporates existing digital and new media operations into this new CBS division, Kramer will work closely with Nancy Tellem, President of the CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group; Sean McManus, President of CBS Sports; and Andrew Heyward, President of CBS News, each of whom has been instrumental in developing and operating the various online content destinations that serve the Company, and who will continue to be integrally involved in ongoing new media strategy and content development."

 

 

--------------

STAR TREK 2006 Calendar in the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and Deutschland

[stvoyagerfan 1]

this probably explains why i haven't see or heard from startrek.com about my prize. i hope they get stuff worked out, that doesn't involve leaving fans in the dust.

 

tm

[MANVERU 0]

ooh, prize?

 

What did you win?

[Jim Phaserman 0]

*Considers consulting Sarge about a potential Small-unit action to sieze ST.com, and privately fund it, then notices the pictures of his kids and realises he doesn't have the money for that kind of endeavor* Worth a thought anyways. I've thought for a while that Star Trek might exist as it's own business, or at least, contact Lucasfilm about buying the Franchise. Lucasfilm has been successful with franchises that have a more "Limited" as the industry insiders might say, fanbase. Star Wars, is the most obvious example. Besides, for many years, Star Trek and Lucasfilm have worked close. Last I checked (Though I could be way off the mark with this shot) they still own ILM.

[A l t e r E g o 9]

Never saw that coming and as if that weren't bad enough, the Star Trek Communicator is also closing

 

Now THIS I'm really upset about. I'm a subscriber and I've been wondering why I haven't gotten an issue in quite some time.

 

It's been saved! Sort of. http://www.trektoday.com/news/111205_01.shtml

[Kor37 9]

I'd still like to know who is keeping my subscription money and not sending me anything. Subscribers were not even notified about the magazine ceasing publication. This had really been handled poorly. When Star Trek:The Magazine ceased publication, a notice was sent to subscribers and a prompt refund was mailed. That magazine, unlike the Communicator, at least went out with class.

[Takara_Soong 4]

I'd still like to know who is keeping my subscription money and not sending me anything. Subscribers were not even notified about the magazine ceasing publication. This had really been handled poorly. When Star Trek:The Magazine ceased publication, a notice was sent to subscribers and a prompt refund was mailed. That magazine, unlike the Communicator, at least went out with class.

 

This is what is posted at the Decipher website regarding the Communicator:

STAR TREK COMMUNICATOR CEASES PUBLICATION: REFUNDS IN THE WORKS

22 Nov 2005

 

Decipher Inc. will not publish the STAR TREK COMMUNICATOR magazine after Issue #155. We are in the process of developing a program to access and process subscriber data, calculate refunds, and post to subscriber accounts. This process is taking longer than anticipated due to the migration of our data center to new servers. Instructions for the subscriber refund program will be emailed to each subscriber so that refunds can be properly handled on an account-by-account basis. We apologize for the delay and appreciate your patience.

 

Sincerely,

Cindy Thornburg

President

Decipher Inc.

I agree it was handled very badly by Decipher.

Edited December 12, 2005 by Takara_Soong

[Stephen of Borg 2]

I don't think ST.com will close, but if it did, there would be a good chance that a lot of the members there would come here.

 

What I'm really upset is the end of Communicator. If it goes, America doesn't have a Trek magazine. That thought really has me bummed out

[Angela 1]

Prehaps we should be copying some of the content for reasons of historical records?

 

Admittedly its a definate copyright breach, but if it is disappearing permanantly then well some one has to keep trek alive some how.

[VaBeachGuy 12]

Prehaps we should be copying some of the content for reasons of historical records?

 

Admittedly its a definate copyright breach, but if it is disappearing permanantly then well some one has to keep trek alive some how.

There's always Archive.org http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.startrek.com

[Renderking Fisk 0]

Couldn’t have happened at a better time. I can’t see how this is a bad thing for the other Trek related websites. Now everyone is going to compete to have “THE” Denfinitive website, and folks will work harded to make quality websites.

 

I also think that if this means people will spend more time paying attention to the real space program, even better.

[krysis 2]

At this point all I'd take from this is that the company that runs the ST.COM website is shutting down, that doesn't mean that ST.COM will also and it in no way means that Star Trek is "dead" either. It also won't affect STF.NET in terms of our existance, we'll still be here.

 

Thank God for that.