Serious Questions - That Need Answers

[The Tao of Frell]

I've had to spend a couple of days away from the Farscape thing because of personal stuff, but I come back to find this Atlanta Rally with cast thing going on. It certainly came as something of a shock to me because I had no inkling the preliminary machinery for this was even being set up. All the sudden - boom! It's here!

Well it sounds like great fun. If I lived anywhere near Georgia, I'd go.

But I have some questions.

What funding level is needed? On SaveFarscape"Central" there was first a request for $3500. Now it's "$5000 isn't enough"? What ARE the costs that fans are being asked to meet?

What kind of acccounting to the fans who gave money has there been? I see none at SaveFarscape"Central."

Why are fans being asked to support Barbarella's personal expenses for this?

When was there any open disclosure, discussion or consensus, that Barbarella would get her personal expenses covered? As far as I can tell on SaveFarscape'Central' there is no disclosure about this at all. I learned it through someone who was in chat.

Is the money in a special account or someone's personal checking account? If God forbid something should happen to that person, how the hell would anyone get access to the donated funds to actually buy the airfare? They've probably been purchased by now but...we're told $5K isn't enough? Huh?

Further questions:

Did anyone give money thinking that they were making Barbarella a compensated Farscape Phile? Or did they give money thinking of the cast's travel expenses?

Has anyone besides me even thought of asking for an accounting? Like seeing receipts? Like seeing what came in and what went out?

Asking for money from fans to be a professional fan? Oh Lord, I'd die of shame first.

If you can afford to spend time and money on your hobbies, and Farscape is a hobby, not a profession, then that's wonderful. Not everyone has time or money, but whatever is given is appreciated.

If you can't spare the time or money, then the show has to go on without you. No FAN is indispensable. The bloody rally could go on just fine without her. Isn't control of the chatroom enough for her? She has to be compensated for this now?

Is she being 'paid' by fans because of her service? Who voted on that?

I think that many good people have served this cause equally or better than Barbarella and of course they'd never dream of taking, much less taking without disclosure, any compensation for it. There are people out there who know how to communicate more effectively and efficiently than Barb does, for sure. I don't see value added to the movement by her appointing herself the head of it. People could do the 'job' she's doing in Atlanta just as well or better than she could without being compensated.

I have said all along that Barbarella's all about her ego, power and control. That was irritating but, whatever, I can ignore it. Now it's a matter of something more than my irritation at someone's ineffective leadership and ego - it's a matter of accountability and ethics.

I got criticized for commenting on Barb's ego before. I could not care less if someone swats at me. These questions HAVE to be asked and HAVE to be answered.

[Elfchick]

*staying out of this for sanity's sake

[NebariNixar]

I only have time for a short post at the moment, but I do want to reiterate what has already been said elsewhere, speaking as a co-coordinator of the Atlanta events.

Neither Barb nor myself nor any of the other rally organizers are receiving any money from the funds being collected. They are specifically to cover the cost of getting the cast here from Australia along with miscellaneous associated expenses that they may have while in town (food, etc.). If extra money is present (not likely), it will be used for future cast appearances to promote Farscape. In short, Barb's only coming because she's paying her own way.

Caitlin R. Kiernan (NebariNixar)
www.nebari.net/rally.html
www.caitlin-r-kiernan.com

[The Tao of Frell]

Originally posted by Elfchick
from what I understand the figures they're giving are for cast travel and lodging expenses..there's been talk, but I haven't seen details yet that they are also going to Orlando? (if someone wants to jump in on this please do so)

Barb is paying her own way out of her own pocket and is not receiving anything in terms of compensation.

All money being collected on the site is going direct to the person who is making all the travel arrangements for the cast.

I agree that everything is not out in plain view, but after talking to the people involved here in Atlanta, it all is on the level as far as what the donations are being used for.

I appreciate the information and the time that you spent to share it, but your information brings up even more troubling questions

Your response marks the first public discussion I can find anywhere about Orlando. Are they doing a promotional appearance to Save Farscape in Orlando?

"Going to Orlando" means.....for a promotion? Or for a holiday?

Why isn't this being discussed openly? Because it's not being disclosed openly, we can only guess. People don't like guessing about what was done with their money when it was generously donated for a specific purpose.

It would be in the Organizer's BEST INTERESTS to start, right now, today, with full, wide-open, discusion and disclosure.

Otherwise they are setting themselves up for, at a minimum, a lot of questions they have to answer.

At worst? They're setting themselves up for someone accusing them of using the money donated in ways other than intended by the donor. That's called a breach of fiduciary duty. That's just not good. At all.

So, that said, I guess Orlando is why there's a $1500 difference between what was originally called for and the $5000 that still isn't enough?

And, now I've heard two different stories about Barb's funding. Which is correct? Or are neither correct? She sure isn't saying.

Accounting? Disclosure? Discussion? Consensus? Accountability?

Am I wrong about any of this? I DON'T KNOW. NOBODY KNOWS. IT'S NOT BEING DISCUSSED OPENLY - OR AT ALL -- ANYWHERE!

I won't be bothering anyone with any more of my questions if you can just point me to a place on the Internet where there is some disclosure and some record of what donors were told about what was being done with their money and some evidence of what is actually being done with the money. I don't like guessing and all these questions.

[NebariNixar]

The Tao of Frell wrote:

And, now I've heard two different stories about Barb's funding. Which is correct? Or are neither correct? She sure isn't saying.

If you've heard anything other than that she's paying her own way, it didn't come from the organizers of the rally or the manager of the fund or anyone else who knows what they're talking about. Barb is coming because she's paying her way. Period. No one is getting a "holiday" out of this. Quite the opposite. A lot of us are out a lot of money and time, because that was necessary to make the events happen. As for the rest of your questions, there are answers coming, I promise. Please be patient. I'm not the person managing the fund and I'm not authorized to make official statements regarding the fund (and I'm not making any unofficial statements). The "Gas Money Fund" is being managed by Lani Tupu's stateside rep. and the answers have to come from her. And this morning, she's a very busy woman. If you're not comfortable making a donation until the questions are addressed, hold off. If you've already made a donation, again, please be patient and the answers will be along as soon as possible.

Thank you.

Caitlin R. Kiernan (NebariNixar)
www.nebari.net/rally.html
www.caitlin-r-kiernan.com

[The Tao of Frell]

Originally posted by NebariNixar
I only have time for a short post at the moment, but I do want to reiterate what has already been said elsewhere, speaking as a co-coordinator of the Atlanta events.

Neither Barb nor myself nor any of the other rally organizers are receiving any money from the funds being collected. They are specifically to cover the cost of getting the cast here from Australia along with miscellaneous associated expenses that they may have while in town (food, etc.). If extra money is present (not likely), it will be used for future cast appearances to promote Farscape. In short, Barb's only coming because she's paying her own way.

Caitlin R. Kiernan (NebariNixar)
www.nebari.net/rally.html
www.caitlin-r-kiernan.com

Ah, I see. You were typing when I was typing.

If you have a moment I would appreciate your pointing me to URL that fully lays out:

what donors were told
the expenses in approximate dollar amounts and type
who made or is making the decisions about spending the money
what activities are being supported by these expenditures
how these activities correspond to "Saving Farscape."

As far as I can tell, from scanning around various sites, this information has not collected and presented. It's either all happened behind closed doors or passed along by jungle drums. That's how bad information gets started.

It is very much in your interest to stop the flow of bad information by freely sharing accurate information. You don't want anyone questioning you later, and they won't if they already have the answers. I am sure you want people who gave money to feel confident of how it was spent.

Edited to fix an editing flub.

[NebariNixar]

I've just spoken with Allison Littleton, Lani Tupu's statestide rep. and the woman managing the "Gas Money Fund," and I'll now try to address some of the questions that have been asked here and elsewhere.

Tao of Frell asked:

what donors were told
the expenses in approximate dollar amounts and type
who made or is making the decisions about spending the money
what activities are being supported by these expenditures
how these activities correspond to "Saving Farscape.

Originally, we believed that we needed somewhere in the neighborhood of $3600. for airfare. That was based on getting the flights booked one week in advance, through a contact that Allison has. I'm the person who made the "$35 from 100 people" remark, based on that early estimation (to be perspicuous, I was covering the extra $100). However, because of a number of unavoidable delays, the flights were not booked for several days, which meant, of course, that the amount needed for airfare rose significantly. I do not know exactly what the tickets cost us, but they were in excess of $2K apiece. Also, other expenses became apparent (the need to cover meals for the cast, for example), which have also contributed to the initial estimate being so far off the mark. Please keep in mind, none of us raise funds for a living. For most of us involved, this was the first time.

The decisions about how the money is being spent are being made by Allison.

As I have said repeatedly, the ultimate purpose of raising the money to bring the cast to Atlanta is to gain as much press coverage as possible during the weekend of Oct. 5th. The press likes celebrities. It's one thing to have a large number of fans with posters; it's another thing entirely if there are cast members present. That might not be fair, but that's how the media works. Allison has been booking as many interviews for the weekend as possible. Simply stated, the object of the Atlanta events is to increase visibility of Farscape, in hopes that the increase in visibility will translate this January into many new viewers. Of course, that's the goal of all our efforts, all of us involved in the "Save Farscape" campaign.

I've seen a number of objections from people who seem to think that we're using money from fans to fund a weekend with cast members and a party for ourselves. The truth is that the events have been coordinated, to the best of our abilities, to maximize attendence while making use of available resources. More people will turn out for signings and celebrations than for rallies, sensu stricto, which is one reason we've set these events up as we have. We took the idea of "video parties" and simply expanded it. The events we've arranged will stay in people's minds long after Oct. 5th. And, as I've said, none of us involved, not me nor Barb nor Allison, are using any of the money for our personal pleasure or gain. Quite the opposite. I just, this afternoon, put out an additional $1000 to help cover unexpected expenses.

Also, as for Orlando, I couldn't address this before because we had not confirmed the venue. The cast will leave Atlanta and on October 8th, from 4-7 p.m., will be making an appearance at Sci-Fi City in Orlando. Details TBA. If there is any money left over from the money raised for Atlanta, which seems terribly unlikely right now, it will rollover to help offset the Orlando expenses. And that's why we need fans to continue donating what they can to the "Gas Money Fund," because there are still many bills to be paid and other opportunities to be seized. I cannot stress enough that the fund is still accepting donations and that those donations are still needed.

If there remain unanswered questions, I'll try to answer them. But I would like to ask that people keep in mind how hard we've worked on this for the cast and the show and the fans. If anyone believes themselves capable of doing a job like this better, I not only invite them to take it on, but would love, sincerely, to see it happen. We need these appearances to continue. The cast members are more than willing, as long as the events can be funded. And fans need to understand, as I've come to understand, that one of the keys to gaining a wider viewership and hence the possibility of a fifth season, is money. Lots of money. Lots and lots of money. The cast has waived their normal appearance fees for the Atlanta events; we're trying to match that gesture as fans and advocates.

I thank everyone for their generosity, and for their patience.

Caitlin R. Kiernan (NebariNixar)
www.nebari.net/rally.html
www.caitlin-r-kiernan.com

edited for typos at 5:34 p.m. CST by CRK

[DangerWillRobinson]

If Gigi needs a place to stay I would be more then happy to take her in:)