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By CARLOS PEDRAZA | JULY 16, 2019 | 6 MIN. READ
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The CBS-Viacom situation: After dancing around the topic for more than a year, CBS and Viacom aim for August 8 as an internal deadline to come to a deal. Interestingly, the two companies' boards are setting aside the price of the deal until other issues, like leadership of the merged company, are worked out. Is August 8 coincidental? That's when both companies are due to report their most recent quarterly earnings. Stay tuned.
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1. Six Months Late, Ares Digital Launches with Usability, Compatibility Complaints
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THIRD TIME'S A CHARM? Producer Alec Peters announced the public launch of the third try at Axanar's perk fulfillment and fundraising platform on last week's Axanar: Confidential.
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Ares Digital 3.0 Public Beta. Months late, and suffering from usability problems identified in its private beta, Axanar's homebuilt perk delivery and fundraising system finally launched a few days ago … and eager donors ran into problems right away.
- Login problems. The biggest obstacle Axanar donors faced was getting into the system in the first place, with the password system failing, informing users "password reset token invalid."
- Bandwidth problems. According to Axanar producer Alec Peters, he hadn't adequately prepared for the number of people who would try to log in during the first days after launch. Peters said:
“Because of hosting issues with so many people hitting the site, we upgraded our hosting on GoDaddy. This was just completed so you may have gotten caught in the middle of it.”
- Errors. Users dealing with various errors on the site were confronted by raw (and to a layperson) meaningless code.
- Nagging system. After successfully updating their information, users kept being nagged by the system, "ACTION REQUIRED."
- Your fault: At one point ("Beta Test – Round Three," according to Peters' announcement) Peters blamed the password reset issue on users. "People are pressing the button more than once," he complained. The problem persisted even into Beta Test – Round Four.
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Mobile not welcome. Users attempting to access their Ares Digital from their phones or tablets found an unresponsive website. The software is desktop-only, despite the fact more than 60 percent (and growing!) of internet traffic comes from mobile devices.
In the screenshot: The 'will not play' icon (we've magnified and highlighted in red) is what you may see on your mobile device.
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Why this matters: Peters needs Ares Digital to work. His entire funding strategy relies on past donors successfully using registering, receiving what few perks they're currently eligible for and then donating yet again to the tune of $200,000 — the budget for the two Axanar short films. Ares Digital must also manage that private fundraising effort since public crowdfunding is off the table, thanks to the settlement of CBS/Paramount's copyright lawsuit.
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YOUR FAULT, CONTINUED The irony of Alec Peters' typographical error is exceeded only by tone of his customer service.
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2. AxaMonitor Editor Discusses Libel and Peters' Cease and Desist Letter in AlphaWaves Interview
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The hour and a half interview is from AlphaWaves Radio: AxaMonitor.com editor Carlos Pedraza joins Michael Hinman to talk about libel and accuracy in the media. It all comes on the heels of the primary subject of AxaMonitor stories — "Star Trek: Axanar producer Alec Peters" — threatening Pedraza with a cease and desist.
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3. In Wake of Dismissed Lawsuit Peters Extends Olive Branch to Axanar Director He Called 'Liar' and 'Thief'
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Come back. After months of calling former Axanar director Robert Meyer Burnett a liar and a thief, and in the wake of a dismissed lawsuit, producer Alec Peters unexpectedly says he's willing to take Burnett back.
- Email outreach. The olive branch comes in an email Peters wrote Burnett's attorney, Torin Dorros, a few days after what Peters called a deadline for his prior settlement offer.
- Failed settlement. Peters had tried to involve a third party in his legal dispute with Burnett, former Axanar PR director Mike Bawden. Peters owes Bawden $18,000 and made any settlement with Burnett contingent upon Bawden forgiving the debt by June 30, or else Peters would repay Bawden and pursue Burnett in California courts.
- Deadline passes. Bawden says he received no such payment.
- 'Involved in Axanar again.' In the email, Peters says:
“If Rob really wants to be involved in Axanar again … I am open to that. I am open to involving Rob again as part of [a] settlement.”
Bottom line: This email may indicate Peters is losing enthusiasm for suing Burnett, this time in California. Despite Peters' name-calling and threats, Burnett shows little interest in any rapprochement.
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4. Bawden Willing to Use Strong Iowa Laws to Claim Props Peters Used as Collateral on $30,000 Loan
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Photo/Facebook
No Peters payment: Of a $30,000 loan he made to Alec Peters in 2016, former Axanar PR director Mike Bawden is still owed $18,000 (including interest and late fees).
- Still waiting. After Bawden recently sued Peters in Iowa for repayment, Peters promised Bawden he'd pay by June 30, but Bawden confirms that never happened.
- Forgiveness. Peters had tried to get that debt forgiven by Bawden in exchange for suspending litigation against former Axanar director Robert Meyer Burnett.
Props are collateral. According to the promissory note Peters himself drafted, Bawden's loan was secured by Peters' prop and costume collection, even though Peters recently said his props are not personally owned by him.
- Iowa law. In cases involving collateral, Iowa law, an agricultural state, protects people who make personal loans secured by equipment and other tangible assets. "Iowa courts have no problem," Bowden says, "'clawing back' any assets that may have been sold or liquidated from the people who purchased them to the benefit of the person who made the loan."
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Short Takes: Patreon goal down, and Mignogna deposition
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Patreon goal reduction. Axanar producer Alec Peters tells supporters they won't have to cough up as much money as he first asked for in the Ares Studios Patreon campaign.
- Gimme a break. The landlord of the suburban Atlanta warehouse Peters calls a studio is giving Peters a $500 break over neighboring tenants' use of Peters' assigned parking, reducing Peters' goal from $4,000 a month to $3,500.
- Patreon stuck. While the Patreon campaign has been volatile, losing supporters every month, it has never reached its peak monthly earnings of $2,218 since May 26. It currently stands at $2,192.
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Mignogna deposition goes public. Depositions have begun in the Texas defamation lawsuit by Star Trek Continues star and anime voice actor Vic Mignogna against former colleagues regarding claims of sexual misconduct.
- The deposition is given a snarky play-by-law treatment by Internet law commentator Nick Rekieta in this YouTube video. Rekieta is doing the same thing — livestreaming for hours at a time — for every deposition in this case that he can get a hold of.
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Find Us on Super Geeks
Join AxaMonitor editor Carlos Pedraza every week on the Super Geeks podcast, and Geek of Thrones review show, both on Subspace Radio, Mondays at 8 p.m. PST/11 p.m. EST. If you miss it live check the "rewind" section for recorded episodes. Super Geeks is hosted by George Silsby. Check out the Facebook page, The Real Super Geeks.
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