Cupid's Errant Arrow

[CharlesPhipps]

I'd expect to see that be something Kirk is proud of.

On Voyager, the situation was reversed; everyone ate Neelix's cooking no matter how important they were.

You can afford to keep the holodeck running full time but not replicate soup.

[TGLS]

I'd expect to see that be something Kirk is proud of.

On Voyager, the situation was reversed; everyone ate Neelix's cooking no matter how important they were.

That's probably the last traces of "this is a survival situation".

[RobbyB1982]

That's because they had a set for the mess hall and that's where the writers knew to put Neelix.

If early in the first season they HADN'T made a mess hall set, everyone would just use the replicators.

But early on the actually tried to push the "we have to cut corners to survive" thing until they ignored it entirely.

Like in TNG Ten Forward was a designated emergency environmental support shelter. Not because it made any sense for that spot to be where they went in an emergency, but because they already had the set and it was pretty big and able to hold a lot of extras. Why did Miles and Keiko have their wedding there instead of a gorgeous holodeck location? Because they had the set!

[Deledrius]

Why did Miles and Keiko have their wedding there instead of a gorgeous holodeck location? Because they had the set!

Seriously! You'd think they could have rented out a water treatment plant or something, but the whole point of a bottle episode is to avoid costs like on-location shooting. Too bad.

[CrypticMirror]

It makes a certain amount of sense that there'd be different models of replicators, with some better equipped for certain tasks. Like, an early 2000's dial-up modem and a modern wifi router can theoretically do the same stuff, but that doesn't mean you can swap one for the other and not notice the difference.

Sure, we know there are food replicators, industrial replicators, and probably a lot more variation based at least on size if nothing else.

Lower Decks suggests that the food menu gives certain people better food than others, which only makes sense for a joke. That is, without making some very troubling assumptions I'd prefer to not do.

For LD, it is for the sake of a joke, but you can handwave it as saying the officer replicators are more advanced and can do it no problem, but the lower decks replicators are lower quality and adding a larger menu will cause maintenance problems earlier as the machines struggle to keep up (I hear that battered deep fried pizza with chips and cheese* is a real memory hog), so they just don't do it. Actually, I have no problem with the whole better rations as you advance. It makes people think about what is important to them, and how much they want to advance versus happy with what they have. Starfleet has always had a level of artificial scarcity as incentive to advancement, cadets have limited transporter credits, according to Sisko, as opposed to civilian unlimited use. If that sounds a weird thing in a post scarcity environment, well, nobody is forced to join Starfleet. It is something you do because you feel it can fulfil you and you can leave anytime, even in the middle of a war (also Sisko). There is nothing mandatory there.


* The cheese is always grated cheddar, none of your mozzarella here

[Nealithi]

For LD, it is for the sake of a joke, but you can handwave it as saying the officer replicators are more advanced and can do it no problem, but the lower decks replicators are lower quality and adding a larger menu will cause maintenance problems earlier as the machines struggle to keep up (I hear that battered deep fried pizza with chips and cheese* is a real memory hog), so they just don't do it. Actually, I have no problem with the whole better rations as you advance. It makes people think about what is important to them, and how much they want to advance versus happy with what they have. Starfleet has always had a level of artificial scarcity as incentive to advancement, cadets have limited transporter credits, according to Sisko, as opposed to civilian unlimited use. If that sounds a weird thing in a post scarcity environment, well, nobody is forced to join Starfleet. It is something you do because you feel it can fulfil you and you can leave anytime, even in the middle of a war (also Sisko). There is nothing mandatory there.


* The cheese is always grated cheddar, none of your mozzarella here

Now to be fair. When you join the military you lose some rights and have them altered to some degree. And some things that you took for granted are privileges. One RL example, when I was in basic there was practically a mantra from the cafeteria ladies. "One starch only, airman!" No hash browns and toast, etc. That was what they did as part of training. And some carried on as you continued. One choice of selection from area 'A' etc. Mostly to ensure you kept a healthy diet.

One other thing. I don't believe Star Trek is post scarcity. They are very resource reduced. But they still mine things. They still need to grow certain items. Not everyone can just have a starship or even a long range shuttle.

[CrypticMirror]

One other thing. I don't believe Star Trek is post scarcity. They are very resource reduced. But they still mine things. They still need to grow certain items. Not everyone can just have a starship or even a long range shuttle.

I think, if you live in the Federation and are a Federation citizen, you can. We've seen enough people with one who really oughtn't to be able to get one on their own resources. I think the limiter here is, you have to be able to demonstrate you can fly it safely and also entice crew to serve on it. Which I am okay with. The limiters are not resource scarcity, but personal responsibility, personal achievement, and actual capability. And I think those are good things.

[Nealithi]

One other thing. I don't believe Star Trek is post scarcity. They are very resource reduced. But they still mine things. They still need to grow certain items. Not everyone can just have a starship or even a long range shuttle.

I think, if you live in the Federation and are a Federation citizen, you can. We've seen enough people with one who really oughtn't to be able to get one on their own resources. I think the limiter here is, you have to be able to demonstrate you can fly it safely and also entice crew to serve on it. Which I am okay with. The limiters are not resource scarcity, but personal responsibility, personal achievement, and actual capability. And I think those are good things.

This presents me with a problem. The guy with a modified shuttle that was ferrying Picard and Wesley to the academy. He had a long range shuttle, and did not seem terribly good with it. I also keep missing why the hell Picard and Wesley even needed this guy other than him being the excuse to crash.

[CrypticMirror]

One other thing. I don't believe Star Trek is post scarcity. They are very resource reduced. But they still mine things. They still need to grow certain items. Not everyone can just have a starship or even a long range shuttle.

I think, if you live in the Federation and are a Federation citizen, you can. We've seen enough people with one who really oughtn't to be able to get one on their own resources. I think the limiter here is, you have to be able to demonstrate you can fly it safely and also entice crew to serve on it. Which I am okay with. The limiters are not resource scarcity, but personal responsibility, personal achievement, and actual capability. And I think those are good things.

This presents me with a problem. The guy with a modified shuttle that was ferrying Picard and Wesley to the academy. He had a long range shuttle, and did not seem terribly good with it. I also keep missing why the hell Picard and Wesley even needed this guy other than him being the excuse to crash.

Ep: The Final Mission.
That guy is a space libertarian. But also it is a mining dispute that has sought Federation arbitration, and one of the preconditions of being an arbitrator in the disputes was travelling in a non-Federation shuttle. It is in the episode. Taking his janky POS is a show of good faith by the Federation and Picard.

[Nealithi]

Thank you. I only ever came in around when Geordi was scanning some of the guys modifications in the shuttle bay. And never caught why they needed the guy.