Fraser: Saint or Dark Manipulator?

I used to host panels at conventions, something I still miss. But as my health grew more...complicated, I stopped doing panels. Below are the notes from one of the last panels I held. I think it was at Bascon in the early 2000s. It was a Due South panel and at the time, few fans were willing to step into the gaping wound left behind by the Ray Wars to hold public discussions. That's is when my co-panelist (Mary E) and I came up with the (not so original) idea of using Fraser as the bridge between the two pairing sides. Because, really who does not love Fraser?

Although after the panel, I am not certain everyone was as comfortable with Fraser. The title of the panel was: "Fraser: Saint or Dark Manipulator. Does Fraser live in a delusion that he somehow shares with those around him? Does being friends with Fraser mean falling sway to this delusion or Is he actually the only completely sane person In a nasty, greedy world? (This discussion will be Ray-Ray neutral!) "

Panel notes are below, if you click on them several times you should get to a readable copy.

Speaking of the early 2000s

IRC chat rooms. Another thing I had to abandon because of the increasing difficulty sitting and typing. But I found  some old chat logs as I sort through CD-RW disks and this snippet caught my eye (the persons whom I am quoting anonymously are on my reading list so I will be amused if they recognize their 10+year old text.)

[08:19] <XXXX> Old Fen: "We're better because we don't do this new awful thing that's
[08:19] <XXXX> going to ruin fandom."
[08:19] <XXXX> New Fen: "*We're* better because we embrace change, and anyway, our way of
[08:19] <XXXX> doing the same fucking thing is more virtuous."
[08:19] <XXXX> Propellerheads: "It's all just a little bit of history repeating."

around this time, a new fangled thing called "blogs" was taking off and mailing lists were waning, prompting this IRC discussion

[08:26] <ZZZZ> here is the blog
[08:26] <XXXX> okey!
[08:26] <ZZZZ> you should read
[08:27] <ZZZZ> it has some discsusion of the vids too
[08:27] <YYYY> thanks!
[08:27] <ZZZZ> and you can wander onto other blobs on the left sidebar
[08:27] <ZZZZ> just be warned -- blogs -- and people are weird
[08:27] <ZZZZ> that should be sig line
[08:27] <YYYY> IMGLO, blogs are contributing to the comatose state of lists.

[08:43] <XXXX> YYYY- I agree re: blogs keeping the lists quiet
[08:44] <XXXX> and yet I can see that in a sense, blogging will become inevitable.
[08:44] <XXXX> and perhaps positive rather than negative - in that you don't have to *delete* stuff from idiots; just don't visit their blogs.
[08:44] <XXXX> and clicking from blog to blog is no different, really, from clicking from email to email.
[08:44] <YYYY> I think so, too.  I have 29 full, handwritten journals.  I guess I'm out of that phase.
[08:45] <XXXX> In a way, it allows you to create your own, specific email list
[08:45] <XXXX> with *just* the people you want to hear from.

Thought of the Day

"It is not a matter of acceptance of others, it's a matter of making room for those things we have not accepted about ourselves. "