Rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5

rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5 was a Usenet newsgroup for fans of Babylon 5 and its showrunner, J. Michael Straczynski (JMS). 
In 1996, JMS and many fans moved to rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated. While rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5 continued, without notable fans, BNFs, and JMS himself, the unmoderated newsgroup dwindled due to spam, flamewars, and relative disinterest.
 
The newsgroup's first welcome post: Welcome to Babylon 5! (March 28, 1994). The first Babylon-5 Frequently Asked Questions.
==Some History==
JMS was a frequent contributor to both of these newsgroups, and they were among the first internet-based forums where fans could directly interact with the creator of their fandom. JMS would frequently answer fan questions about the show, not only about production or technical issues but about the backgrounds of the characters and the worlds he created. His posts, which are archived at jmsnews.com, are an early example of internet creator/fan based interactions.The posts have also been collected into a five-part book series, compiled by JMS and a team of fans, that contains of every question JMS had ever answered on Usenet, AOL bulletin boards, GEnie, and in online chats, sorted by category. The books total approximately 2,000 pages and cover 5,296 questions. More .
JMS had participated in many online forums since the 1980s, groups on GEnie and CompuServe as well as rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5. Regarding his place as a showrunner and fan, he wrote in 1996: 
Fan interaction with JMS also helped to shape details in several episodes of the show. In the late first-season episode The Quality of Mercy, for example, there is a discussion of the rights of due process in a society where there are functional telepaths. JMS acknowledged on the newsgroup and in discussions that he fleshed out the on-screen discussion rather than glossing it over because there had been a high level of interest on the newsgroup.
 
This online interaction, however, was one of the reasons a script was scrapped, as well as for JMS's request that no fanfiction be written about the show until the series was complete. See JMS's Words for much more. 
In June 1995, JMS explained why he was online communicating with fans. See Why are you here?. 
==The Rangers==
The Rangers were a group of fans created to filter messages/"administer the feed" from rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5 (commonly called "rastb5") and pass them along to JMS. The messages that were filtered were ones that discussed fanworks, story ideas and anything else that the Rangers may have thought would be dangerous or problematic for JMS to read. 
See The Rangers.
==The Transition to Rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated== 
The group voted to split in late March 1996. There were 2241 YES votes and 109 NO votes, for a total of 2350 valid votes. There were 3 abstains and 14 invalid ballots.
The votes were posted by legal name here. YES !!! New B5 Group 
===Fan Comments Regarding JMS' Participation on Newsgroups===
====1995====
====1996====
==Comments from Some Slash Fans==
==Meta==
* ATTN: JMS (glossary term)
* Okay...I'm about to lose my temper,... by JMS (July 14, 1994)
* Rangers Unite! (was Re: Clearing the air.) (1995)
* JMS:Do you enjoy talking to us by JMS (February 14, 1995)
* Ok, a status report on what's going on (1995)
* Yo Theron by JMS and others (Mar 12, 1995)
* Ellison TREK Book! (from jms) by JMS and others (Aug 9, 1995)
* Abuse of this newsgroup by JMS by JMS and others (Aug 14, 1995)
* jms resigns rastb5 by JMS (November 27, 1995)
* from jms: benedictions by JMS (December 1, 1995)
* Slobbering Fan Worship & The Egomaniac TV Producer Blues (March 20, 1996) 
* Say you really miss Joe Straczynski on rastb5? & More of Joe Straczynski's Dialogue (March 21, 1996)
* A message from JMS by Jay Denebeim and others (Mar 27, 1996)
* JMS and moderation (April 2) 
* The Great War of Rastb5: How a cabal of trolls in the Babylon 5 newsgroup led the show’s creator to flouncing from the newsgroup, ultimately causing the most responded to RFD in Usenet history and the creation of a 2nd Babylon 5 newsgroup by 3eyedgiraffe at r/HobbyDrama. (2021)
==References==
Category:Babylon 5 Newsgroups