Before & After & Inbetween

"Star Trek is the second oldest fandom in existence. [...] I honestly don't think you can bring a new idea to the fandom. We've seen it all before, really. [...] you'll need more than a gimick to keep our attention [...] If you want us to respect you [...]"
[source: http://community.livejournal.com/fanficrants/8227664.html]

I am fan enough to have spent a fortune on tapes to record the various series when they -finally- aired on German TV. And I freely admit that I loved TOS and some of the later installments (though not TNG, with few humoresque exceptions). But to start writing means to treat into new territory. You have to learn the symbolism, the characters, and you will make mistakes until you figure things out. Therefore, statements like the one quoted above made me never to touch anything remotely StarTrek fanwise with anything but a very long pole. It certainly kept me from ever writing it (ever since the '90s).
Whether that's been good or bad (for me or ST) we'll never know, but it certainly allows me now to grab the e-popcorn, lean back and watch the battle to unfold. To quote one of the fashion entertainers in the -admittedly abysmal- model shows on German TV:

"Drama, baby, drama!" [*eg*]

One of the iron rules:

"Thou shall not give useful comments on fanfiction.net."

because if you do you get

a) obnoxious replies about "not getting the story"
(isn't the author's job to make me get it - as long as I attentively read the fic?)
b) aggressive replies
(from people blissfully unaware whom they are talking with until they gave that reply)
c) an explanation that it will explain itself later in the story
(excuse me, but physically impossible cannot be explained later on in a real world fic without magical elements)
d) [my personal favorite]: It isn't necessary to indicate each moment passed to tell a plot.
(too true, but the essential moments to give the continuity are not part of the ignorable ones)

time to keep in mind the three golden rules of reviews:

1. even a good fic may have a moronic author
2. people ask for your criticism, but they only want praise
and
3. thou shall not review on ff.net.

It's not worth the bother.