View source for Babylon 5's use of the Internet

{{Short description|A study of science fiction fan interactions in the early Internet}}
[[File:B5discs.jpg|thumb|Original Babylon 5 Interactive Information Kit]]

Beginning around 1991, the creator of the television series ''[[Babylon 5]]'', [[J. Michael Straczynski]], participated in a number of [[Internet]] venues to discuss elements of his work with his fans, including the [[rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5]] [[Usenet]] newsgroup, where he continued to communicate as late as March 2007.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jmsnews.com/messages/message?id=3585|title=JMSNews Re: Attn JMS: (And semi-OT) "Forbidden Planet" Blu Ray|last=Straczynski|first=J. Michael|date=September 12, 2010|website=jmsnews.com|publisher=Midnight Design Productions, LLC|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323020458/http://jmsnews.com/Messages/Message/3585|archive-date=March 23, 2020|access-date=March 23, 2020}}</ref><ref>Straczynski's first fan-archived post, to [[GEnie]], is from November 1991, and clearly references earlier discussions now lost to time. (See [http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-7688 "Babylon 5 is the name of a particular place where our story takes place."] by [[J. Michael Straczynski]], November 20, 1991.  Archived at [http://www.jmsnews.com JMSNews.com], accessed September 3, 2007.)  The first [[Google Groups]]-archived USENET post is from 1993 ({{cite newsgroup | title = Re: Passage through jumpgates (first recorded Usenet post by J. Michael Straczynski) | author = Straczynski, J. Michael | author-link = J. Michael Straczynski | date = July 7, 1993 | newsgroup = alt.tv.babylon-5 |message-id= 9307120220.AA08678@relay2.geis.com | url = https://groups.google.com/group/alt.tv.babylon-5/msg/96db83d50eff6a97 | accessdate = September 3, 2007 }})</ref><ref>{{cite newsgroup | title = The power of B5 fans – from jms | author = Straczynski, J. Michael| date = December 5, 2001 | newsgroup = rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated |message-id= 20011204192458.29148.00001520@mb-mq.aol.com | url = https://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated/msg/5d434034310d2499 | accessdate = September 3, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite newsgroup | title = Re: ATTN JMS Questions | author = Straczynski, J. Michael| date = March 11, 2007 | newsgroup = rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated |message-id= 1173651565.320851.222460@h3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com | url = https://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated/msg/5ab455672df61cf1 | accessdate = September 3, 2007}}</ref> This flow of information and feedback had a substantial impact on ''Babylon 5'', as well as Straczynski's other shows and his fan base. This interaction pre-dated the coining of the term "[[blog]]", but is functionally similar.

As of June 2023, Straczynski continues to interact with his fans regularly on Twitter,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/straczynski/status/1669282387510038528|title=J. Michael Straczynski on Twitter: "Totally separate and apart." / Twitter|last=Straczynski|first=J. Michael|date=June 15, 2023|website=twitter.com|language=en|access-date=June 15, 2023}}</ref> Patreon,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.patreon.com/posts/babylon-5-update-78392748|title=Babylon 5 Update: 2/7/23 {{pipe}} J. Michael Straczynski on Patreon|last=Straczynski|first=J. Michael|date=February 7, 2023|website=patreon.com|language=en|access-date=June 15, 2023}}</ref> and Instagram.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/Cte8rxJs-FU/|title=J Michael Straczynski (@becomingsupermanjms) • Instagram photos and videos|last=Straczynski|first=J. Michael|date=June 14, 2023|website=instagram.com|language=en|access-date=June 15, 2023}}</ref>

==Internet usage==

===Forums {{anchor|Fora}}===
{{Main|rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated}}

''Babylon 5'' was one of the first shows to employ [[digital marketing|Internet marketing]] to create publicity among online readers far in advance of the airing of the pilot episode. Straczynski participated in online communities on [[Usenet]] (in the [[rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated]] newsgroup), and the [[GEnie]] and [[Compuserve]] systems before the web came together as it exists today.  Straczynski had long participated in many online forums since the 1980s, and is widely credited as being the first notable artist and celebrity to interact with fans online, even before the advent of the [[World Wide Web]].{{sfn|Bacon-Smith|1999|pages=87–89}}

This free interaction with his fans was not without its problems.  A third-season episode ("[[Passing Through Gethsemane]]") was originally developed a year earlier in 1994 but had to be "scuttled"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jmsnews.com/thread.aspx?id=_=%20Original%20Ideas%20=,%20etc.|title=Re:" Original Ideas ", etc.|last=Straczynski|first=J. Michael|date=February 21, 1996|website=jmsnews.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323021222/http://www.jmsnews.com/Messages/Thread?threadid=_%3D%20Original%20Ideas%20%3D,%20etc.|archive-date=March 23, 2020|accessdate=June 29, 2016}}</ref> because a fan posted a story idea on GEnie that matched the plot of the episode. The story was not put back into the production pipeline until Straczynski could obtain a signed legal release from the fan.{{sfn|Gwenllian-Jones|2004|pages=45–59}} The moderated [[Usenet]] group was created as a consequence, specifically to filter out story ideas.  Straczynski also asked fans not to engage in fan-fiction while the show was in production, and most fans complied with this request.<ref name="Oppenheim"/>

On rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, Straczynski regularly discussed with fans the process of creating and producing the show, the meaning of the work, and the development of the plot.{{sfn|Gwenllian-Jones|2004|pages=45–59}} He confirmed or denied fan theories and interpretations of the show, and answered questions – though often cryptically. In November 1995, Straczynski temporarily left the newsgroup due to an increasing number of [[Flaming (Internet)|flames]], but returned in December when a process was put in place to filter the threads that reached him.{{sfn|Jenkins| McPherson| Shattuc|2003|pages=209–226}}

===Fan sites===
{{Main|The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5}}
''Babylon 5'' also inspired a number of [[fansite]]s.  One of the first was ''The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5''.{{sfn|Jenkins|McPherson|Shattuc|2003|pages=209–226}} It was noticed by ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and acknowledged by Straczynski in a Season 5 DVD commentary. Its root [[URL]] at the time, Hyperion, was used on the show as the name of a heavy cruiser.<ref name=faneffect /> It also received early news from the show's copyright holders.<ref name="Oppenheim">{{cite journal
|last = Oppenheim| first = Charles|author2= Margaret Turner| title = Copyright and Internet fanzines| journal = ASLIB Proceedings| volume = 51| issue = 9
|pages = 290–301|location = Bradford| year = 1999| doi = 10.1108/EUM0000000006989}}</ref>

===Internet marketing===
In 1995, Warner Bros. started the Official Babylon 5 web site which was hosted on the now defunct Pathfinder portal.  In September 1995 they hired a fan, Troy Rutter, to take over the site and move it not only to its own domain name at www.babylon5.com, but also to oversee the "Keyword B5" area on [[America Online]].  The fans continued to play an important role in the development of the series and the online support campaign is credited with helping persuade former [[Prime Time Entertainment Network|PTEN]] station owners to carry the fourth season of the show in 1996.

Over the course of the series, Warner Bros. encouraged the use of pictures and images on fan web sites, and eventually created a home-page community called AcmeCity where users could create a homepage using logos and graphics without fear of lawsuits.  Also during this time, [[Warner Bros.]] executive Jim Moloshok created and distributed electronic [[trading cards]] to help advertise the series.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-13730 | title=JMSNews: The J. Michael Straczynski Message Archive | accessdate=August 8, 2008| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080627122717/http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-13730| archivedate= June 27, 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>

A contest was conducted in conjunction with [[Sound Source Interactive]] called the ''Mystery Alien Sweepstakes,'' with the grand-prize to portray an alien on the show.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.secinfo.com/dRqWm.98h2.p.htm|title=EX-10.43 · Material Contract|last=Noddings|first=Sarah|date=January 24, 1996|accessdate=October 23, 2008|publisher=SECinfo.com}}</ref>

==Fan influences==
*The ''Babylon 5'' pilot, ''[[Babylon 5: The Gathering|The Gathering]],'' originally featured music by former [[The Police|Police]] drummer [[Stewart Copeland]]. After ''B5'' was greenlighted Straczynski solicited suggestions on GEnie for a replacement composer. After some suggested [[Tangerine Dream]] member [[Christopher Franke]], that musician was eventually hired.<ref>[http://www.midwinter.com/b5/GEnie/jms93-09 GEnie SFRT thread archive of JMS posts only] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613033919/http://www.midwinter.com/b5/GEnie/jms93-09 |date=June 13, 2007 }}. Accessed September 3, 2007.</ref>
*Straczynski hired [[John E. Hudgens]], a fan of the show, and later the ''Babylon 5'' section sysop on [[GEnie]], to create promotional music videos for the show after seeing the original one Hudgens did on his own. They collaborated on a total of eight, and Straczynski would often use one as his introduction at convention appearances. Straczynski commissioned the fifth one (''Welcome to the Third Age'') to be his pitch reel to sell the show to [[Turner Network Television|TNT]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodupclose.com/movie_stars/celebrity-biography-John+E.+Hudgens |title=John E. Hudgens Biography |accessdate=October 23, 2008 |publisher=HollywoodUpClose.com }}{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
*The spatial location of the B5 station itself is stated as "Grid Epsilon coordinates: 470/18/22." This came about because Straczynski was touched by an outpouring of support from the GEnie Science Fiction and Fantasy RoundTable (SFRT) community in regards to a potential letter-writing campaign that turned out not to be needed after all. He was still grateful, however, and asked how he could show his appreciation. An SFRT participant suggested placing the station at the 3D spatial coordinates corresponding to the GEnie Page (#470, for original SFRT), CATegory (#18, for Non-Trek SFTV Series), and TOPic (#22, for Babylon 5) of what was then the only official B5 Topic on GEnie (the strange capitalization of CATegory and TOPic is because GEnie was command line-based and allowed commands to be abbreviated to three letters). Straczynski agreed and added that info to the series bible used by episode writers. The "Grid Epsilon" part was his own touch, based on the first two letters (which were usually both capitalized) of GEnie itself (since it was originally a GE ([[General Electric]]) property).<ref>[http://www.midwinter.com/b5/GEnie/jms92-04 GEnie SFRT thread archive of JMS posts only (posts from others removed).] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818010958/http://www.midwinter.com/b5/GEnie/jms92-04 |date=August 18, 2009 }} Accessed March 25, 2008.</ref>
*B5 fans on GEnie referred to themselves as "Grid Epsilon Irregulars".
*A fictional chemical substance called Quantium-40 was mentioned after Straczynski conducted a contest online to name the substance.<ref name=faneffect>{{cite web|url=http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/resources/fans.html|title=What Effect Have Fans Had?|accessdate=October 23, 2008|publisher=[[The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5]]| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20081029002912/http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/resources/fans.html| archivedate= October 29, 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>
*A Fresh Aire Restaurant waiter was named David after David Strauss, who came up with the name Quantium-40.<ref name=faneffect />  Another character was named after a fan who helped raise money when one of the actors had not been paid for his conference attendance.{{sfn|Gwenllian-Jones|2004|pages=45–59}}
*Babylon 5 fans on the Internet have popularized the <code><*></code> symbol ("the [[ASCII]] Jumpgate") as a sort of "secret handshake" to recognize each other online. In 1994, a [[birthday card]] for Straczynski was sent around the U.S. to many of the avid posters on the rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon-5 [[newsgroup]].  While the card was being circulated, clues were given on the newsgroup, denoted by the symbol <code><*></code>, and the jumpgate symbol continued to be used thereafter, even appearing on fan-produced jewelry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jumpgatepins.com/|title=The Famous B5 Jumpgate Pin - Home Page|last=Kestrel|first=Elana|date=August 9, 2018|website=jumpgatepins.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809000709/http://jumpgatepins.com/|archive-date=August 9, 2018|access-date=March 23, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://file770.com/tag/elana-kestrel/|title=Elana Kestrel|last=Glyer|first=Mike|date=February 5, 2010|website=File 770|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323015332/http://file770.com/tag/elana-kestrel/|archive-date=March 23, 2020|access-date=March 23, 2020}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Babylon 5 influences|''Babylon 5'' influences]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Bacon-Smith|year=1999|publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]]|title=Science Fiction Culture|location=[[Philadelphia]]|isbn=978-0812215304|pages=87–89|first=Camille}}
* {{cite book|first=Sara|last=Gwenllian-Jones|title=Cult Television|editor=Roberta E. Pearson|pages=45–59|publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]]|year=2004|location=[[Minneapolis]]|isbn=978-0816638314|edition=1st}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZZSz3ThOv9gC&q=An+auteur+in+the+age+of+the+internet+Babylon+5&pg=PA209|title=Hop on Pop: The Politics and Pleasures of Popular Culture|editor1-first=Henry|editor1-last=Jenkins|editor2-first=Tara|editor2-last= McPherson|editor3-first=Jane|editor3-last=Shattuc|pages=209–226|publisher=[[Duke University Press]]|year=2003|location=[[Durham, North Carolina]]|isbn=978-0822327370|edition=Geral}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|title=Interacting with Babylon 5: Fan Performance in a Media Universe|first=Kurt|last=Lancaster|publisher=[[University of Texas Press]]|year=2001|location=[[Austin, Texas]]|isbn=978-0292747227}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mIgHDAAAQBAJ&q=ASLIB+Proceedings+by+Oppenheim%2C+Charles&pg=PA76|title=British Librarianship and Information Work 2001–2005|publisher=[[Routledge]]|location=[[Abingdon-on-Thames]]|page=76|year=2016|isbn=978-0754647782|edition=New|editor=J.H. Bowman}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UgZsi_DOKoQC&q=An+auteur+in+the+age+of+the+internet+Babylon+5&pg=PA40|title=Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet: New Essays|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|location=[[Jefferson, North Carolina]]|year=2006|page=40|editor1=[[Karen Hellekson]]|editor2=[[Kristina Busse]]|isbn=978-0786426409}}
{{Refend}}

{{Babylon 5}}

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Babylon 5'''s use of the Internet}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2020}}

[[Category:Babylon 5]]
[[Category:1990s in Internet culture]]
[[Category:2000s in Internet culture]]