I remember a yahoo group that was locked to members only, claiming that a woman who worked for Mutant Enemy was angry at the OB and wanted them to break off into their own special group.

Not quite; I've been a member of that group since day one. The forums at TWoP closed down without warning and we wanted a space to talk amongst ourselves. There was no anger, no orders, nobody working for ME.

One of the list members knows someone who used to work at ME, and there was a rumor that ME was watching the list for a while, because it was active and the fans there were unstinting in their "dangerously obsessive" devotion to Firefly; that's all.

The "lock down" came after a barrage of spam emails. The only "requirement" to join, ever, was to prove that you were human and had heard of Firefly.

One of the list members knows someone who used to work at ME

I never bought that.

there was a rumor that ME was watching the list for a while

Or that.

You know everybody who's ever worked at ME and their acquaintances?

LJ thingie on Serentity:

[link]

I liked Serenity a lot, but I actually came out quite shocked at--well, how FANFICCY it was. I mean, to my mind, Serenity is clearly an intellectual/ethical rewrite of Star Wars, and I look at Joss Whedon and say to myself, "Self, this is a man very near your age, who, like you, fell tragically victim to the cult of Han Solo," which in my mind is a religion involving a particular kind of masculinity that says, no, and says no and then caves and says, yes. yes. i will. And I think that--and please hear my fervor as a lifetime member of the cult when I say this--that this view of masculinity is in itself a sexual orientation. And I saw Serenity and thought, wow, Joss is as caught up as any of us in the "be him or fuck him" dilemna that haunts fandom. This is the movie that I wanted Star Wars to be. More than that, this is the story that Star Wars kind of WAS for me, as I rewrote it in my mind.

I think trying to decide which fandom is crazier is pretty much a futile pursuit. All fandoms have their crazies. It just depends who's waxing and who's waning.

That's really all I meant by my little list. Inherent in fandom is some sort of devotion to something (the work, the creators, the talent, etc.). Devotion can totally take rationality in a street fight.

You know everybody who's ever worked at ME

Yes.

Self, this is a man very near your age, who, like you, fell tragically victim to the cult of Han Solo," which in my mind is a religion involving a particular kind of masculinity that says, no, and says no and then caves and says, yes. yes. i will.

Previously known as the cult of Rick Blaine (Casablanca).

Previously known as the cult of Rick Blaine (Casablanca).

Heh.

Someone needs to write some Mal, Han Solo and Rick Blaine fic....

The hard part would be who shoots first.

Heh.

Seriously. A one-time true believer thinks he is disenchanted such that he will be content to operate as a self-interested mercenary, but his heart knows better.