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So, online trolling and abuse have been in the news a lot. And a lot of people (including Wil Wheaton) have pointed out that anonymity, and thus lack of accountability, are a major part of the problem.

At the same time, there are truly good reasons for some people to stay anonymous. So how do we reconcile those?

Well, I’ve had a thought.

Lots of online games have PvP (Player vs. Player) and non-PvP servers. The user has a choice.

Why not offer Anonymous and Non-Anonymous servers?

Nobody who wants to stay anonymous is required to give up that right. But those who choose to can offer up their own true identity, for the right to play only alongside others who were willing to do the same.

I guaran-damn-tee you there would be enough takers to make it worthwhile.

Sure, that only solves the issues in gaming, not forums or social media or the like. But it’s a start.

(Because we all know they read my blog with baited breath on a regular basis.)

I’m not a big-name author. I’m not a scriptwriter. But I have written and published enough that I think I can say I have a pretty good grasp of story. So I’m going to point something out that you’ve probably already thought about.

No matter how good the writers, no matter how good the scripts, you cannot do justice to a five-year mission with movies that come out every three-to-five years.

The third Star Trek movie of the new continuity is coming up. We know that the cast signed a three-picture deal, and we know that at least some of them have already said they’re ready to move on.

So… You’ve had blockbuster movies, films that did better than any prior Star Trek films. And you’re going to have to recast anyway.

Cast actors willing to sign on for a series and bring Star Trek back to television.

You have an audience; the success of the movies proves that. You have a clean slate, to create brand new stories and revisit old ones, as you choose. You can write episodes to satisfy the action-lovers, and episodes to satisfy the more cerebral fans.

A five-year mission. A five-year series. Or heck, do a couple years, then a movie, a couple more years, then a movie… Have your cake and eat it, too.

The fans are ready, the franchise is ready. And it’s the only way to truly do Star Trek–five years of exploring the galaxy–any justice.

Let’s start hearing "These are the voyages…" on a weekly basis again.

Time for the Enterprise to come home. We’re waiting for her.

There’s a short story open-call going around that caught my eye. Or rather, one detail in the submission rules caught my eye.

I’m not naming the anthology in question, because my problem isn’t with the anthology. They’re just reacting to the culture in which we all live, and I don’t want people to misunderstand me and think I’m yelling at them. I’m not.

I’m yelling at a lot of other people, though.

The rule in question reads as follows:

• Stories must conform to the “Indiana Jones” rule of thumb regarding, sex, violence, language, drug use, etc. We try to keep things here appropriate for most audiences, so if it’s something you’d conceivably see in an Indiana Jones story, it should be fine (i.e., melting faces are okay, F-bombs, in general, are not).

Really let that sink in a moment. "Melting faces are okay, F-bombs, in general, or not." Think about it.

What the fuck is wrong with entertainment standards in this country?!?!

Bullets flying, people dying, acts of horrific, gory violence… These are no problem. But a "bad word"? A breast on prime time TV? That’s a goddamn outrage.

This is wrong; so wrong. Aesthetically. Ethically. Morally.

It’s a word. Fuck fuck fuck. Fuckity fuck fucking fucky fuck.

Or a body part. Oooh, your kids are going to be traumatized seeing something for two seconds that not only do they already know mommy has, but which they fed off of for a year and a half.

I like violence and gore in fiction, where it’s appropriate. I’m not suggesting it be curtailed (though a case could be made for certain TV shows). But the idea that it’s okay, where the others aren’t? It’s backwards, in every conceivable way, shape, or form.

Get your act together already, American culture. This isn’t even Puritan; it’s just lunacy. And hypocritical lunacy to boot.