User talk:Montoc1701

Hi Non-Canon Star Trek Wikia Members Firlsty I want to say that I love your site, it is great. I am part of the STNEG team. You may have heard of us or not. Check out the site here www.stneg.org. We are collecting data from all the novels and we would love to use the data you have collected with your permission of course. Also you can use any data you like from us as well. You may even want to help, who knows. We have authors and some of the Timeliners as part of the group. Let me know your thoughts Christophe Montoya. P.S. below is the latest update we have from the group to give you an idea of who we are. STNEG NEEDS YOU!

Nearly ten years ago Simon and Schuster published the first edition of The Star Trek Encyclopedia which was rapidly snapped up by the fans across the globe. This was the first time someone had sat down and shown how vast the Star Trek universe really was. It was a way for fans to see what planet that alien was from and also see what was the name of that officer who died in that episode. The book has had a number of updated editions but is still missing up to the end of Star Trek Enterprise. The book was for the television and films only, but Star Trek is so much more than that. The world of Star Trek books is vast, huge maybe even bigger than the TV and film universe, it serves to compliment the other. So what is STNEG? Well it is the Star Trek Novel Encyclopedia Group. That is where our story starts with the help of the lady who has spearheaded this endeavor and one of the groups many collaborators who is also one of Pocket Books Timeliners.

STNEG: Tell us about yourself, who you are, where you are from and how you got into Star Trek?

Deborah: “I'm Deborah, and I'm the facilitator of the Star Trek Novel Encyclopedia Group. This means, basically, that I am the chief pest and who tries to keep the project moving forward! (Aside from also participating in it, that is, meaning also helping to do the actual work.) I've been a fan of Star Trek for as along as I can remember (which is longer than I care to admit! ;) And I really enjoy all the on-screen incarnations of the franchise and, naturally, I'm a huge fan of the novels as well.”

Alex: I'm from Central New Jersey, on the eastern seaboard of the US. I'm a

technical editor by trade, working for a consulting firm. I've been reading since about the age of 3, and love science fiction, outer space, and, of course, Star Trek. I guess it was around the age of 9 or so that I became a hardcore Trek fan. As a young boy I was attracted by the spaceships and action, but as I got older, it was the optimism and excitement about exploring deep space in a hopeful future that attracted me even more. Trek's a show with a lot that's good to say, and it's made a big difference in my life.

STNEG: Your part of the group called the Pocket Books Timeliners, how is that project coming along and how does this project compare to that one?

Alex: It' going very well. Over the past eight years, we've done three versions of the timeline, each more comprehensive than the last. Looking toward a fourth version, we're starting to look at the Trek comics, as well. The Encyclopedia is a much larger project, really, and will take a great deal more work. Not to say the timeline was *easy*, mind you, but the sheer volume of material is different.

STNEG: But what exactly is the purpose of this project?

Deborah: “What we are working on is this: We are compiling a reference book that will do for the novels what the already-published Star Trek Encyclopedia does for the movies and episodes. It will be a comprehensive list of all the characters, ships, locations, etc., that appear in the books.”

So as you can imagine this is a huge undertaking and the project really needs all the help it can get, much the same way how a group of fans got together and started to create a Star Trek books timeline which then got published in two separate Star Trek books and a new revised version on the way in the eagerly anticipated Voyages of Imagination: The Definitive Star Trek Fiction Companion by Jeff Ayers. A fantastic book celebrating Star Trek books in every format which I urge you to buy.

STNEG: Why did you start this huge undertaking?

Deborah: “First of all, although I admit I am guilty of feeling a bit propriety about the project at times, I really REALLY want to make this clear: It is NOT *my* project, it is *our* project. I did not start it by myself; it has always been a team effort. The group includes a wonderful bunch of people who have already done a great job and put in a lot of hard work. WE started this project because we all love Trek, and we all believe that this type of resource will not only be a ton of fun to have, it could also prove quite useful.”

As you can see Deborah feels very passionate about this project since it all started way back on June 28 2001. It started its home on Yahoo! as a group and has lived there ever since. You can find it via the url: www.stneg.org where you will be greeted by the STNEG logo and an invitation to sign up.

STNEG: So Alex when and how did you get involved in this project?

Alex: I've been a regular on the PsiPhi Trek Books Board pretty much since it got started, and Deborah Stevenson and Jim McCain invited me to become part of the Encyclopedia project, pretty much as an outgrowth of my other projects for Pocket Books.

STNEG: You have mentioned this is a group project not a solo effort, but who are these people who help you?

Deborah: The current member count is 38 but we ALWAYS need more. They are fans who come from all over the world. We have plenty of members from the U.S. but we also have people from Europe and even Australia.

STNEG: So what does everyone do in the project?

Deborah: People choose the task that suits them the best, and that they enjoy the most. Some people read through the books and take notes, then post it at the site. This is the raw data we use. Other people "polish" the data and format it, and compile it into the encyclopedia file itself. Other people do proofreading and editing. We'll also need people to format the data.

Alex: I'm a proofreader/copy editor. I'm working through the first textfile with the compiled information, and editing for grammar, syntax, and accuracy. I'm trying to give the document a good polish, so it'll be easy and fun to read. I'm also correcting factual errors which occasionally creep into the document and occasionally fill in gaps in the information presented, as well.

STNEG: What are the most common mistakes that people do in the data gathering?

Alex: On the "mechanical" side, there are times when the writing's a little...umm...murky, and needs to be cleaned up. On the content side, the most common mistake I encounter is that someone has missed some obvious bit of information that an entry just really needs to make sense. Wherever possible, I'll supply that. Often it means I'm pulling out a given book and rereading 'til I find the reference, and fleshing out the entry with what I find.

STNEG: You mentioned data, how much has the group collected so far?

Deborah: “We already have the data from around 25% of the novels collected! Of course that means we still have 75% to go, though, so we still can use tons more help.”

The current figures are Enterprise 40%, The Original Series 25%, The Next Generation 35%, Deep Space Nine 31%, Voyager 8%, Starfleet Corp of Engineers 19% and New Frontier 20%. So how is this data collected?

Deborah: People read through the books and take notes. Some prefer to do it by hand (pencil and paper). Others type it in to a computer file (most often MSWord or Excel). Some use their PDAs. But there is no way around it. The only way to gather the data is to go through each and every novel page by page.

STNEG: Where is all this wonderful data stored?

Deborah: Several places, to avoid losing it. Much of the data is posted (in raw form) at the yahoo site. There is also a link at the yahoo site to another online location of the main file. The main file is much of the data which has already been compiled and formatted. It is currently being proofed. I and several other members have backup data on our computers as well. And it's backed up to CD.

STNEG: We can see you have the project well under control but can people see the progress the group has made so far.

Deborah: Non-members, not yet, but we are getting closer to the point when the current sample will be available for people to examine. The reason it is still for members only at the moment is that is very important to us to do a professional job. So we do not want to present something that looks sloppy, error-ridden, or thrown together. Once our sample is properly polished, then it will be open to the public. The document has over a thousand pages already and rising every day, with close to 20,000 entries. We have all the covers. Plus we want to have graphics beside many of the entries. There will be tons of pictures of characters, ships, and more.

STNEG: So what will be the final outcome be?

Deborah: Once we're done, we hope to have the Encyclopedia available in different formats so people can peruse the one that they like best. We will have an MSWord file for download. We will also have it in Wikipedia format and browsable online. We're also open to other suggestions. In any case, the information will be fully cross referenced and will include numerous indices: ships, planets, short stories, novels, authors.

Alex: Ultimately, a comprehensive, informative reference guide to the Trek Universe as portrayed in the many novels, something that fans and future authors can rely upon and enjoy, just as happens with the ST Encyclopedia already.

STNEG: When do you think the project will be completed to a releasable stage?

Alex: It's so huge that, realistically, I think it might be well into next year. But when we're at that point, it's gonna be worth it!

Although there is no official involvement in the project there is a hope that once the project is completed, Simon and Schuster may take an interest in the data. Alex, who’s favorite books are Uhura's Song, Prime Directive, Federation, My Enemy, My Ally, The Ashes of Eden, Articles of the Federation, The Sundered and Serpents Among the Ruins, has some thoughts on this.

Alex: Truthfully, I'd not hold my breath, but y'never know. The authors and editors have helped a lot with the timeline, but whether they'd have the time to contribute to the Encyclopedia is an open question. If we could talk Pocket into actual publication, I think 2008 might be a better year, for two reasons: 1] We'll be able to get more done, and 2] If plans for the new feature film pan out, it'll give the publishers something big to tie into, much as a lot of the fancier Star Wars publications get released as film tie-ins.

STNEG: Lastly what would you say to potential new members?

Alex: Enjoy the ride as much as anticipating the outcome because I think it's worthwhile. It's a lot of work to do this sort of thing well, but in the end, it's also a lot of fun.

Deborah: Just sign up.

www.stneg.org