StarDestroyer.Net BBS

SecondToDie wrote:Who the hell is Karen Traviss? All I've been able to find out about her is that she wrote 2 books about the Clone Wars. Why does everyone dislike her so much?

Xess wrote:

Stark wrote:Does DM use the phrase 'discussing concepts not people' too much for anyone elses' liking? It's his silver bullet: when he wants someone to shut up/be banned etc, they were 'discussing people not concepts' and that's bad. Unless it's him or the 'VIPs', of course... and Dr Saxton deserves no such protection.

Indeed. I responded to Traviss' blog that discussed people and not concepts and got banned for doing the same. Fucking hypocrite.

Darth Wong wrote:I've made my views on websites with "civility" rules clear before. Civility rules are subjective, and as such, they are easy to apply in a grossly uneven and hypocritical fashion. To put it bluntly, when someone decides that any behaviour deemed "offensive" will be banned, what it usually means is that anything offensive to him will be banned. And the instant he has some emotional investment in an argument, "offensive" means "his opponents".

Karen Traviss wrote:When I look at a fictional army, my first reaction is to do what I did as a defense correspondent -- try to understand how it works. I need to know how big it is, what its main roles are, how the command structure works, how it deploys, how it keeps itself supplied and so on. Show me an army of three million men and I'm going to ask where their commanders are and what's happening in their ops room. Some people say that doesn't matter in fiction, but yes, it does -- because the more real you make it, the better plots it gives you

Darth Wong wrote:What precisely is a "defense correspondent" anyway? How could someone be a "defense correspondent" while subscribing to such mind-bogglingly ignorant notions of troop strength requirements? And here I was, thinking that Rumsfeld was incompetent.

A journalist by profession, Traviss also worked in advertising and in political public relations. In addition to her communications career, Traviss also led somewhat of a double life with her other vocation in the military. She was a rarity as a female defense correspondent. She also served in the reserve forces, first in the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service, and then the Territorial Army. But she wanted to give writing fiction a serious effort, so in 1998 she began taking a stab at it.

"Being a defense correspondent was a fantastic job," Traviss says. "Most people have never dived in a submarine or have been winched off ships by helicopter or have been out with the army in Northern Ireland. One of the most memorable days for me was standing on the deck of HMS Victory early one frosty morning on October 21 -- on Trafalgar Day -- to cover the annual commemoration of Admiral Lord Nelson's death. And interviewing servicemen and women about their experiences has been one of the most formative things in my entire life. I've heard first-hand accounts of war -- from WWI to the Gulf -- that have made me laugh, amazed me, moved me and even reduced me to tears in private. Service personnel have my utmost respect, all of them."

Darth Wong wrote:Ah, I see. So "defense correspondent" really means "I met lots of soldiers while taking their pictures and asking them fluff questions, but I don't actually know jack shit about military strategy or tactics".