The outpost they were ordered to man was assailed day after day by ruthless barbarians, and eventually the soldiers withdrew. They were not defeated, but they were not victorious. Well, the point of the story is that if you have to die, you should die well. The rabbit, when caught by the hawk, can still dream one last dream. And it's not always clear which is which.
Online fandom is just a corner of our real lives.
We seldom meet each other, though some people get together at conventions. But we can develop special relationships with other online fans that lead us down foreign roads. And when you're as active on Usenet as I am, you don't just win friends and influence people - you make your enemies, too. Herc and Xena fans recently lost a special friend. Ron Martin really loved Xena, but when he proposed a binary news group he ensured that it covered both Hercules and Xena.