Beeing Promoted in the Forums

[Guest Scathane]

Who has questions concerning ranks and/or insignia? Speak now, the Grand Imperator of BEAK listens!

Well, GAT and myself had a real nice debate about Star Wars ranks & insignia a few posts back in this thread... You should really scroll back a few posts and read it: you'll like it! It starts about here.

 

Actually, I do. Scath, is there any chance I can get my personal insignia?

Yes, you do..., er..., what exactly?

[SOCL]

Who has questions concerning ranks and/or insignia? Speak now, the Grand Imperator of BEAK listens!

Well, GAT and myself had a real nice debate about Star Wars ranks & insignia a few posts back in this thread... You should really scroll back a few posts and read it: you'll like it! It starts about here.

I will do just that.

 

Actually, I do. Scath, is there any chance I can get my personal insignia?

Yes, you do..., er..., what exactly?

Silly, Scath. I was answering my own question about questions concerning ranks and insignia (if that made sense)... Basically, I was asking if I could get my own personal insignia, seeing as I'm back and all.

[SOCL]

Jeez, Scath, you and _Thrawn really went at it. I don't have much more to say that you haven't already said, but I really do wish I had been there. What frustrated me more than anything was when _Thrawn addressed the fact that Veers was aboard a Naval vessel (i.e. the Executor). Yes, he is an Army officer aboard a Naval vessel...so what? Ground forces need to be transported in some way. Additionally, many Naval vessels in the Star Wars Universe have garrisons aboard, making them bases for Army operations. We have to imagine Naval vessels as the core of the any military force in the SW Universe. It serves the normal functions of a Naval vessel, a base of operations for Army units, and a base of operations for Fighter units. This does not mean, however, that all Naval vessels are thus (a good analogy is: "A bird can fly, but a fly can't bird"...it can work in one direction, but does not necessarily work in the other). So we can have vessels like Lancer-class frigates that serve only a Naval purpose, or we can have Star Galleons that serve an Army purpose (transport) yet are operated by a Naval crew; or we can have Carriers (like the Escort Carrier in Rebellion) that serves a Fighter purpose (transport) yet is operated by a Naval crew; or we have the amazing Star Destroyers that serve as an Army transport, a Naval warship, and a Fighter base, yet--as always--is operated by a Naval crew. We have to few the Army in SW as present-day U.S. Marines, they rely on the Navy yet operate outside of the Navy's command structure.

 

I could probably...no, I could go on, but with no challenge or question posed, (for once) I see no reason.

 

 

Oh, yeah, the Grand Imperator of BEAK is back!

[Grand_Admiral_Thrawn]

Where was it that I meantioned Veers was an Army officer? I know I did bring him up in there somewhere, but I can't remember the context.

 

I'm well aware of the purpose Veers had being aboard the Executor, and am also aware that there are garrisons aboard the larger capitol ships of the Imperial Navy. I think I was pointing out that it is difficult to distinguish between Army and Nacy offivers since they use the same rank insignia, and I also believe that I pointed out that Veer's had bars rather than the squares we see on the Naval officers, a possible way to distinguish.

 

EDIT:Ok, I found where I mentioned it. I was referring to the fact that at one point he says that the ranks of General and Colonel are not naval ranks. I was simply implying that he was confused by Veer's presence aboard the Executor as placing General in the naval ranks. Later on, he states that he was referring to the TIE Fighter game.

[SOCL]

Where was it that I meantioned Veers was an Army officer? I know I did bring him up in there somewhere, but I can't remember the context.

 

I'm well aware of the purpose Veers had being aboard the Executor, and am also aware that there are garrisons aboard the larger capitol ships of the Imperial Navy. I think I was pointing out that it is difficult to distinguish between Army and Nacy offivers since they use the same rank insignia, and I also believe that I pointed out that Veer's had bars rather than the squares we see on the Naval officers, a possible way to distinguish.

 

EDIT:Ok, I found where I mentioned it. I was referring to the fact that at one point he says that the ranks of General and Colonel are not naval ranks. I was simply implying that he was confused by Veer's presence aboard the Executor as placing General in the naval ranks. Later on, he states that he was referring to the TIE Fighter game.

Okay, calm down _Thrawn; I made no assault on you.

 

First off, Lucas and his costume designers were both American, and as Americans, they used the closest example they could of insignia--the American military. In the USA's Armed Forces, insignia is the same for officers, no matter what branch they are in, while enlisted insignia is different depending on the branch...just like in Star Wars. Now, we can go back and forth for years about how we can not rely on Earthly ranks for Star Wars, but lets get one thing straight: We're not from the Star Wars Universe, we're from Earth, and, thus, we have to rationalize the ranks in a way that make sense to us; therefore, for all instensive purposes, the ranks are based off of Earthly ranks (not mention Lucas and his costume designers--though some will debat this--are also from Earth).

 

But even so, excluding the American ranking system, we could follow any other ranking system in the world and it still comes out to the same basic system...and when translated into terms we can understand, then it makes even more sense and looks even more similar. Some ranks are based on branch (i.e. Admiral is clearly a Naval rank), whereas others are based on duty (i.e. High Colonel is someone of Colonel-level status, but General-level responsibility). Additionally, we, like Curtis Saxton, must remember that ranks each meant something. For instance, Corporal means "a man of the corps", not today's connotation of a mere rank within the enlisted military ranks.

 

Now, taking all this into consideration, the ranking system developed by Dr. Saxton and then modified a tad to present parallel structure is the best that can be done. Admirals will never be in charge of Generals and Colonels. Generals will never be in charge of Naval Captains and Commanders. There can be special situations where there is a flag officer in command of all units, but that is the same as General Eisenhower, an American general, being in command of all Allied forces in Europe during World War II: his command was based on position, not[/i] rank. Understood? So in theory a Colonel could be appointed to command a who slew of Admirals. Would this happen? Odds are, no (colonel is lower on pay grade than admiral, and colonel is Army, admiral is Navy), but in theory it could happen.

 

Anyhow, there is a theory that says that the insignia distinguishes Naval officers from Army officers, but this can easily be dismissed considering the amount of different insignia systems we have seen throughout Star Wars (read the SWTC for more on that, but basically there is one in ANH and another in ESB...ROTJ had an insignia flaw in it, so it is not a credible source). It simply goes on a person-to-person/need-to-know basis. Veers is a Lieutenant General, Ozzel is a Fleet Admiral, Piett is a Captain (later "battlefield promoted" to Fleet Admiral), Needa is a Captain (identical to Piett's), the lieutenant standing behind Piett at the end of ESB is a lieutenant just like the Snowtrooper lieutenant Veers speaks to aboard Veers' AT-AT (the best indication of two different branches of the military, yet the same insignia), and so forth. You simply have to know...and if you don't, well, you probably don't need to know (or so was the Imperial mentality concerning this matter).

 

Trust me on this matter, I've researched this matter to death.

[Grand_Admiral_Thrawn]

Erm, ok, but I wasn't dissagreeing with you or Scath on any of those points (maybe during the debate, but if you read my final post my evolved position is there). I realize that members of one Military branch can be in command of divisions from another, I've nver disputed otherwise, and don't really see how that connects to the SW situation.

 

I'm also well aware of the ranks of people in the movies, though I didn't know that Veers was aLieutenant-General, it's quite interesting .

 

Again, I agree with you that we have to rationalize the SW ranks with real-world ranks to get an idea of positioning and authority, I was only arguing the semantics of specific ranks that I've never encountered in SW material I've read/viewed.

 

As for the ranks in ROTJ, they were quite messed up, though there were some officers who had Lieutenant rank badges, so perhaps there is an explaination somewhere?

 

There is a difference between the rank insignia of the Nacy vs Army in the American Armed Forces. The army uses strictly epaulet rank insignia, such as stars for generals, which are then duplicated on the collar flap of the shirt the officer wears under his jacket (if he is wearing one. If not, all insignia are on his shirt. The nacy, however, uses a combination of collar, epaulet, and sleeve insignia. The collar and epaulet are the same as the army, but naval officers also have a series of bars on thier sleeves denoting rank. Also, for dress uniforms at least, the naval epaulets are gold board epaulets, not the fabric type used on army uniforms.

 

Now, I don't dissagree with you on the point of Eisenhower, but there is one thing you must understand: he was only in command of forces over Europe. The British navy was still under the command of the Admiralty onthe island. The General had command over troops and planes, the latter of which were still considered to be part of the army since there was no air force at the time. So, essentially, Eisenhower was just in command of the armies of other nations, not other branches of the military.

 

And I wasn't mad/excited in my last post. My typing just gives that impression .

[Guest Scathane]

As for the ranks in ROTJ, they were quite messed up, though there were some officers who had Lieutenant rank badges, so perhaps there is an explaination somewhere?

Nope, no explanation. As you said, they're messed up.

[SOCL]

There is a difference between the rank insignia of the Nacy vs Army in the American Armed Forces. The army uses strictly epaulet rank insignia, such as stars for generals, which are then duplicated on the collar flap of the shirt the officer wears under his jacket (if he is wearing one. If not, all insignia are on his shirt. The nacy, however, uses a combination of collar, epaulet, and sleeve insignia. The collar and epaulet are the same as the army, but naval officers also have a series of bars on thier sleeves denoting rank. Also, for dress uniforms at least, the naval epaulets are gold board epaulets, not the fabric type used on army uniforms.

Okay, I should have been a tad more specific about what I said. I know what there is to know about the USA's Armed Forces from personal experience and interactions with every branch of the service, to include the Coast Guard. My father personally served in the Marine Corps, the Army, and the Navy, as well as worked as a liaison for the Air Force and the Coast Guard. Now, I did not mean to open the door into the epaulet and boards and what-not the different branches have because those depend very much on what uniform is being worn. What I was referring to was the standard pin-on insignia used by the USA's Armed Forces. The only difference is between the Navy's O-3 pay grade and the Army's O-3 pay grade: the bar's are slightly different, but that has to do with another topic that is not relevent.

 

My point: USA's Armed Forces pin-on insignia are all the same, and most Armed Forces around the world have some form of standard insignia to denote the same levels of seniority between different branches. Considering how enormous the Star Wars military must be, it is quite safe to assume that there is at least one form of standard insignia (i.e. what Dr. Saxton nicknames the "Aesthetic 1", the most standardized form of insignia, featrued mostly in ESB). That standard insignia system is what Scathane and I used as a basis for our ranking system; then we substituted some of the standard insignia for ones in the other two Aesthetic patterns, to give variety to the system.

 

Here are a few reference URL's to visit to understand these systems a tad better:

Imperial Insignia: Officers
Imperial Insignia: Officer Examples

 

A rank Scath and I added in to the Fighter branch system was that of acting pilot officer, a British rank that makes sense to exist as a training rank (equal in status to an Imperial Navy ensign).

 

 

Something interesting I observed in the ROTJ "insignia blooper" is that it has an almost-pattern to it. If you watch, you'll notice that higher ranking officers, such as Moff Jerjerrod and Fleet Admiral Piett, have two rank cylinders rather than the one everyone else seems to have. This goes against Dr. Saxton's rank cylinder system, yet is excusable since the "insignia blooper" alone already makes any insignia or insignia-related system in ROTJ invalid.

 

-BEAK-

[Grand_Admiral_Thrawn]

There is also a scene in ESB where Piett's rank insignia are black rather than blue. They may also be on the wrong side.

[SOCL]

There is also a scene in ESB where Piett's rank insignia are black rather than blue. They may also be on the wrong side.

I hadn't noticed the black instead of blue bars, but I know at the end of Empire, Piett's insignia jumps to incorrect side (as does the lieutenant's), but then it's on the correct side for the bridge officer in the crewpit. Of course, Piett's insignia is a mistake.

 

An interesting argument, one that some of you may be interested in, is that in ROTJ Piett was promoted to High Admiral or even Grand Admiral. This is an argument I read sometime back (made by a Piett fan, of course), but the rationale is that the fleet massed at the Battle of Endor was on the scale of a Sector Group and would warrant the flag of a High Admiral or Grand Admiral. I find this hard to believe...if the Imperial fleet at Endor was the size of a Sector Group, then the Imperial Navy (shipwise) must have been pretty small, and we know for a fact it was nothing of the sort.

Something else most people don't realize is that Darth Vader appointed Piett, a captain, to take Ozzel's position. He did not promote Piett to admiral. So why the fleet admiral insignia? Well, no one was going to follow the orders of a mere captain aboard the Executor, so he was given the insignia as a way to denote his command. This is done quite often in real-life, especially during fierce combat involving many casualties, and is normally called a "battlefield promotion." Basically, the person is the next one in line to command and so he or she takes over, but because his or her rank is not sufficient to command the units under his or her command, he or she must be given the rank so as to have that authority. This happened quite a bit in the first World War of the early 1900s and the Vietnam conflict of the 1960s and 1970s. At times, after combat had ended, these battlefield promotions would remain...and sometimes they would not and the person given the battlefield promotion would return to the rank he or she was before. In the case of Piett, it is possible--however, unlikely--that he would have been returned to Captain by Supreme Naval Command after the Battle of Endor. Odds are, though, that by the time of the Battle of Endor, Piett had already been formally promoted to at least Commodore (the rank of a traditional Squadron Commander, which was the position of flag to Vader's Death Squadron); of course, we have no way of knowing this since the "insignia blooper" had no mercy. It would be interesting, though, to find out whether or not Piett was demoted for his failure to capture the Millenium Flacon in those last minutes of The Empire Strikes Back....

 

Just a rant.

 

-BEAK-

[Grand_Admiral_Thrawn]

I'd always assumed that, because of Vader's position in the Imperial command structure, that his promotion for Piett was official, and hence the Fleet Admrial insignia.

 

There are two possible explainations for the switch in the side of Pietts rank insignia in ESB. 1) GL didn't like having Piett on the right side of the screen and so reversed the image of he sceen, resulting in the insignia being on the wrong side, or 2) Kenneth Colley put his costume on wron, no one cought it, and that the Lieutenant was actually a Lieutenant-Commander, who wear their insignia o nthe left rather than the right side.

 

I don't think is plausible that Piett would have been promoted to High Admiral or Grand Admiral. The latter is out of the question because he was still wearing the olive uniform. The former isn't likely because I'm pretty sure that the fleet at Endor was Death Squadron plus a few other ships. Perhaps the presence of the Emperor and Vader lowered every one elses rank in some sort of formality?

 

EDIT:I'm watching the trillogy right now, and I've noticed thta there are quite a few scenes where they've simply reversed the image to get the effect they wanted. If you watch the scene where Han tells Lando to use the Falcon, you'll notice that one the closeups of Lando his General's insignia is on his right side, but every shot from a distance has it on his left.

[SOCL]

I'd always assumed that, because of Vader's position in the Imperial command structure, that his promotion for Piett was official, and hence the Fleet Admrial insignia.

That's the assumption most of us have.

 

There are two possible explainations for the switch in the side of Pietts rank insignia in ESB. 1) GL didn't like having Piett on the right side of the screen and so reversed the image of he sceen, resulting in the insignia being on the wrong side

I never thought of that, but the side viewscreen Vader is looking out toward the Millenium Falcon is the correct side to be looking (the Falcon was flying on the Executor's right side), so it seems more likely that someone messed up with the costume, as you stated:

or 2) Kenneth Colley put his costume on wron' date=' no one cought it[/quote']

 

BUT

 

and that the Lieutenant was actually a Lieutenant-Commander, who wear their insignia o nthe left rather than the right side.

I have no idea where you got the idea that insignia goes on different sides of your uniform depending on rank, but this is wrong. Insignia remains on the same side, no matter what rank you are. As far the uniform goes, the insignia then might change positioning because of different regulations, but the insignia does not change sides depending on rank.

 

I don't think is plausible that Piett would have been promoted to High Admiral or Grand Admiral. The latter is out of the question because he was still wearing the olive uniform.

On situation. Wearing a white uniform denotes a grand admiral, but not wearing a white uniform does not necessarily mean you are not a grand admiral. Grand Admirals can wear any sort of uniform he desires; the fact that most choose to wear the special white uniform has nothing to do with it.

 

The former isn't likely because I'm pretty sure that the fleet at Endor was Death Squadron plus a few other ships.

Okay, no, it wasn't merely the "Death Squadron plus a few other ships", it was somewhere around 22+ ships. We're talking about the Executor, the other 5 ISDs of the Death Squadron (Accuser, Devastator, Tyrant, Avenger, and I believe Conquest), and a slew of other Star Destroyers, of which we know some like the Chimaera, the Adjucator, and Pulsar. We also have reason to believe that other ships of larger classes (such as a large communications ship) may have been present.

 

Perhaps the presence of the Emperor and Vader lowered every one elses rank in some sort of formality?

The question, of course, is why? Why would they do such a thing when Palpatine and Vader are already far above them in both rank and status. I seriously doubt that had anything to do with it. Besides, the "insignia blooper" renders this argument moot.

 

EDIT:I'm watching the trillogy right now, and I've noticed thta there are quite a few scenes where they've simply reversed the image to get the effect they wanted. If you watch the scene where Han tells Lando to use the Falcon, you'll notice that one the closeups of Lando his General's insignia is on his right side, but every shot from a distance has it on his left.

Interesting, I'll have to watch to see that. This may explain the blooper at the end of Empire, but regardless, that would mean either Vader was looking out the wrong viewscreen to start with, or the Millenium Falcon is flying on the wrong side of the Executor. An examination of Piett's uniform will be needed to determine whether or not the image was flipped.

 

EDIT: Not to sound rude, but please try not to state things without having backing evidence. Thanks.

[Grand_Admiral_Thrawn]

Ok, the following is some evidence (it's ignoring anything in the past I've said about Decipher because, I think, I've been sufficiently prooven wrong about such sources. Credible they are.) for certain things.

 

Insignia on different sides:

 

http://www.decipher.com/starwars/cardlists/dagobah/dark/images/commandergherant.gif

 

This is commander Gherant, bride officer aboard the Executor after Ozzel's, erm, removal from command. Note the side of his rank insignia, the standard left side. He may not be a commander as his rank insignia are the same as that of a Captain.

 

 

http://www.decipher.com/starwars/cardlists/dagobah/dark/images/lieutenantcommanderardan.gif

 

This is Lieutenant-Commander Arden, commander of the Executor's command pit crews. Note that his rank insignia are on the right side of his uniform.

 

The above is assuming that the images of the scenes in question were not reversed. I'll have to watch ESB again to double check the exact details. As for the Lieutenant being a Lt. Cmdr, that is impossible simply because the rank insignia for a Lt. are two rows of red on blue, where a Lt. Cmdr. are three of them. Then there is the code cylenders which must be considered.

 

On situation. Wearing a white uniform denotes a grand admiral, but not wearing a white uniform does not necessarily mean you are not a grand admiral. Grand Admirals can wear any sort of uniform he desires; the fact that most choose to wear the special white uniform has nothing to do with it.

 

Just curious as to where this little tidbit of information came from.

 

While we can't be too sure how many ships were at Endor, we can guess at some of the names an roles:

 

Death Squadron:

Executor: Command Ship

Avenger

Tyrant

Stalker

Conquest

 

Others:

 

Chimaera: Auxiliary Command Ship

Thunderflare

Visage: Communications ship

Judicator

Dominator: Victory-Class Star Destroyer.

Accuser

Adjudacator

Pulsar

 

The others are up to speculation. My only qualm is that if you watch the scene where the Impeerial fleet surprises the Rebels, if you cound th number of ships you can see there isn't 22+, more around 10+. Even when the fighters are in the "thick of it", there doesn't appear to be anywhere near 22+ ships. I know that the computer display in the bunker on Endor shows 22 or more ships (I counted as best I could), but by that time the Imperial and Rebel fleets would have been entangled and thier images would have been overlapping from the perspective shown on the sensors. That, and no matter how horrible the commanders, or if the Executor and six ISDs were lost in fighting/the DS II's ecplosion, there is no way the Rebel fleet could have been victorious, based on the firepower of the Imperial fleet.

 

EDIT: Not to sound rude, but please try not to state things without having backing evidence. Thanks.

 

Well, other than the composition of the Imperial fleet at Endor, you didn't support your claims any better than I. Also, most of what I wrote was speculation, as is evident in the wording. This said, I will strive to provide you with more supporting facts.

[Guest Scathane]

Ok, the following is some evidence (it's ignoring anything in the past I've said about Decipher because, I think, I've been sufficiently prooven wrong about such sources. Credible they are.) for certain things.

Edited September 28, 2004 by Scathane

[SOCL]

Ok, the following is some evidence (it's ignoring anything in the past I've said about Decipher because, I think, I've been sufficiently prooven wrong about such sources. Credible they are.) for certain things.

What's that all about, Scath?

 

Just curious as to where this little tidbit of information came from.

The fact that Thrawn wears a grand admiral's uniform as a vice admiral and other occasions where people who are not grand admirals wear the white uniform leaves to assume that a grand admiral can wear whatever the hell he wants. Additionally, he's a Grand Admiral...I mean, who's going to tell him otherwise. Granted, perhaps the fact that people who aren't grand admirals wear the uniform of a grand admiral doesn't justify the claim that grand admirals don't always wear the white uniform, it does tell us that we shouldn't assume that just because someone wears a white uniform means they are a grand admiral.

 

As far as my sources go for the Lieutenant Commander switch-side dilema: We know that the Decipher cards tend to be a tad if not totally off when it comes to ranks for characters. Evidence can be found here. Furthermore, Gherant is wearing what we know to be a Naval captain's insignia (Needa and Piett wore the same insignia as captains). Credibility for Decipher cards isn't the best.

 

As far as the discussion of Imperial ships at Endor, we've had a long and extensive discussion concerning the Battle of Endor (both ground and space) many times in these forums. We good shot of the amount of Imperial ships is the one looking out the DSII's window. Sadly, I can't locate information as quickly as I used to be able to (Scath remembers those days) simply because I've been out of the loop for some time and I've lost a good portion of my memory, so I won't argue this point any further until I can find the information to which I used to make references. Look around the forums and you'll probably find our old Battle of Endor discussion (not a debate, but an all-out, "everyone bring as much information forward" discussion) with every piece of evidence known to humankind.

 

Well, other than the composition of the Imperial fleet at Endor, you didn't support your claims any better than I. Also, most of what I wrote was speculation, as is evident in the wording. This said, I will strive to provide you with more supporting facts.

I suppose I assumed the other links to various sites I had put up would be sufficient (and should have been, had you read them through thoroughly), but if links to everything I say are required, then I'd be happy to do post such.

[Paul]

Young men please humor this older man and argue nice now. Also Thrawn have you started another game yet? -Grand Moff Conway

[SOCL]

Young men please humor this older man and argue nice now.

I didn't realize we were being mean. I suppose I'm simply mean by nature.

[Grand_Admiral_Thrawn]

That's the problem with us. We're both cold hearted, and care nothing for emotions . I thought we were having a pretty good debate. Well, not really a debate, just posting of information... which occastionally conlficts with that of the other... well, you all get what I mean.

 

As for my starting another game, not yet. I've been too engrossed in Battlefront to even reinstall Rebellion. I should do that tonight...

[Paul]

I was just kidding about the arguing guys. Thrawn hope you get a game going soon.-Grand Moff Conway

[Guest Scathane]

What's that all about, Scath?

Well, my arguments with Thrawn were quite convincing...

 

As far as my sources go for the Lieutenant Commander switch-side dilema: We know that the Decipher cards tend to be a tad if not totally off when it comes to ranks for characters. Evidence can be found here.

But he seems to have found an ally in you...

[Grand_Admiral_Thrawn]

I think the big problem with this subject is that there is so much conflicting information and sources, that it's impossible to tell which is correct in what area. I've been looking at the cards for the new SWTCG from WoC, and they've gotten around the rank problem by simply not showing rank insignia. Maybe a letter to Insider would clear this matter up?

[Guest Scathane]

I think the big problem with this subject is that there is so much conflicting information and sources, that it's impossible to tell which is correct in what area. I've been looking at the cards for the new SWTCG from WoC, and they've gotten around the rank problem by simply not showing rank insignia. Maybe a letter to Insider would clear this matter up?

On the curious side: can the Insider be considered definitive?

[Grand_Admiral_Thrawn]

I personally say yes, but for the following reason: when answering questions they do not restrict thier information to one source (that is, not every question comes from, say, the Star Wars Encyclopedia), but from varying sources, including obscure reference books that most people don't have. I think that because they are so closely related to LEC, and because of the overall legitimacy of the publication, that they can be trusted. Whether their answer could be considered 100% definitive, probably not. Then again, the only source that could be is GL himself, and what are th chances he'll answer an e-mail from a fan?

[Paul]

I have written to the man twice a long time ago. I never expected an answer and never got one. I was young at the time. -Grand Moff Conway

[Guest Scathane]

I personally say yes, but for the following reason: when answering questions they do not restrict thier information to one source (that is, not every question comes from, say, the Star Wars Encyclopedia), but from varying sources, including obscure reference books that most people don't have. I think that because they are so closely related to LEC, and because of the overall legitimacy of the publication, that they can be trusted. Whether their answer could be considered 100% definitive, probably not. Then again, the only source that could be is GL himself, and what are th chances he'll answer an e-mail from a fan?

Fair enough. What's the frequency of the magazine: monthly?