Welcome to the UXN's Frequently Asked Questions page. This is NOT an FAQ for the X-Men... only for the website UncannyXmen.Net. If you have any questions not covered below, please feel free to ask in the Feedback section of our Forum. Thanks!
What is this site’s relationship with Marvel?
This site is run independently from Marvel Entertainment Group and no member of the staff has any connection or affiliation with those who print the comics for which we serve as a resource. We are strictly a group of fans who have created a web site for a medium and subject that we love – comics and the X-Men. Marvel is aware of our existence part in thanks to some of the interviews we've run and with the occasional creator popping up on our forum.
Do you have/receive inside information from/about Marvel?
No. We learn about future X-Men related projects the same way others do – through news sites, previews and comic advertisements. Editors and writers at Marvel neither seek our advice for upcoming stories nor impart any privileged information.
How is this site funded?
For the longest time, the UXN was given free web hosting by Ascension Web. However, we broke off with them in early 2004, due to demands that we felt compromised our vision of what we wanted to be. Since then, we have run a small amount of advertising on the site, which provides enough for our web hosting and bandwidth, the latter of which is considerable, due to our use of images and popularity. Our goal is to be revenue neutral, as our purpose is purely fan-based resource. We do not wish to make money, however small, on others’ intellectual properties.
Can I contribute via donation like Paypal?
No, we earn just enough ad revenue to cover our few expenses. Some sites request donations or even demand it in order to view their material. No matter what, the UXN will never require money from our visitors and we would rather you contributed by helping out with the site some how
Who are you people?
The staff of the UXN has varied over the years, with a few dozen giving some level of contribution, some being a single summary. Our current staff consists of a little over a dozen people from around the globe. We have written a little about ourselves in the About Us section. You might get to know us a little better on our Forum at unstablemolecules.com.
What do you people think about politics, religion, philosophy & all other controversial subjects?
Like most people, each staff member of the UXN has their own detailed outlook on such things… but we’re not going to tell you. This site is not dedicated to our personal takes on the world, but on the world of the X-Men. Perhaps you might elicit a specific response in the Forum, but for the most part we are going to keep such thoughts to ourselves. Suffice it to say that, as varied as we are, we cover the political spectrum quite nicely, as well as several religions. Like the X-Men preach, we are quite diverse… just private about it.
How was this site started?
The UXN itself was started by Dean Clayton in August 2000, on the same day as the release of the first X-Men film in the UK. He basically was just getting back into the world of X-Men comics and looked around for an X-Men related site. He didn’t find one to his satisfaction – so he made one. For the first 9 months, the UXN was not that much different than other fan sites and was trying to find its unique place in the world. Dean came across a site dedicated to X-villain teams, called “The Other Side of X,” which was owned by Peter Luzifer, and decided between them to merge the sites. Over the next couple of years, much of the current staff joined and the site evolved into its current form, which is almost unrecognizable from the original version.
What makes you people the experts?
While we, as a group are very knowledgeable about the world of the X-Men, we do not consider ourselves to be the experts. We do as much research as possible on whatever we post, many times having each other look at our work for accuracy. Nevertheless, we mistakes are bound to happen and occasionally someone like yourself will spot an error and send us a correction, and we will always fix our work when appropriate.
Are you going to do a “sister” site, for the FF, Avengers, Spider-Man, etc.?
Many of us dream of doing this in the future – however, if we do, it will be when the time is right. We do not want to be sidetracked from the task we have set ourselves upon – to be the most complete resource for the X-Men. We still have many years of work ahead of us.
Can I link to your site?
Sure, not a problem. We'd prefer for you to link to the articles rather than directly to images especially as we amend these from time to time and your link will be broken.
Can you link to my site?
This, we have a slight problem with. While there are many sites of exceptional quality around the Internet, any posting of links would be a sort of rating of someone else’s work. Where does one draw the line of whether someone else’s site is of acceptable quality? Could one scan a single picture of an X-character and call it a shrine, demanding that we post a link? Not only this, but sites can easily be closed down without notice, leaving links to sites that no longer exist. We really don’t have the time or interest to regularly double-check these links.
It should also be noted that we've never chased popularity. While the site has gained in visibility and popularity over the years, its never been due to us promoting it and its only in more recent years that we have used social media for those that don't visit the site on a regular basis.
Can I use your images?
Absolutely not. While the images themselves are owned by Marvel, our manipulation of those images belongs to us. Almost all of our images have had a degree of work on them, resizing, fixing and even recoloring. While we make no money off of our work and offer it for free, we ask that others not use our work, claiming it as their own.
If I see someone using your images or text elsewhere, what should I do?
Please contact Dean Clayton with details so we can contact whoever runs the site in question and politely ask them to take it down. Failing that, we will contact their Hosting provider.
Why don’t you have reviews?
The UXN has a strict neutral-voice when it comes to the material. While we all have passionate views about particular stories, loving some and hating others, we have no interest in forcing those opinions on our public. What one person hates, another might love – and we have no wish to take away from that enjoyment. Frankly, what we think of a story should not mean anything to your opinion – as it is all subjective, anyway. To that end there is a section of the Forum for discussing opinions on the comics.
Why don’t you have polls about favorite characters etc. and/or contests about trivia?
As a purely resource site, the UXN tries to shy away from things that make us “tread water.” While visitors might find such events enjoyable, it does nothing to expand the volume of raw information we are trying to collect - and that is our primary goal. That said our forum has sections dedicated for those type of conversations
Why doesn’t this character have a Spotlight? Don’t they “deserve” to have one? Are they not popular enough?
Deserving has nothing to do with it, nor does the popularity of the character. Eventually, all X-characters of significance will have a spotlight. Some are being held back for an Event Month or special occasion. Others we just haven’t gotten to yet.
It’s been 6 months since this important event happened to this character – why isn’t their Spotlight updated?
We try to keep our spotlights updated approximately every two to three years but with an ever increasing number of them, which include reworking of images for the older entries that's not guaranteed. We also like to take time to understand the scope of what has happened to a character – since we know no more than you do about where the writers are going with a storyline.
How do you decide on who gets the next Spotlight, and can I suggest one?
Generally, they are decided on the following: First, our own interest. If a contributor likes a particular character, they are free to write one – as long as it does not conflict with an Event Month or special occasion. For instance, the Wolverine's Spotlight was held back until we decided to do a Wolverine Event. Also, we try to time a Spotlight to coincide with events going on in the comics. The Jubilee Spotlight was released when her own mini-series started and Blink’s as the Age of Apocalypse returned to comics. And, no, we don't take requests. Sorry.
Why are you so secretive about what the next Spotlight will be?
We learned early on that if we give a hint of when something might be released… visitors will hold us to that. Unfortunately, all contributors to the site have real jobs and personal obligations. Work on the site is of secondary importance to real-world obligations, and timetables we set for ourselves are routinely missed – and we don’t want to disappoint anyone.
Why don’t you do Spotlights on villains?
For the most part, a villain Spotlight would read like this: first appeared… fought so-and-so… escaped from prison and fought… Not promising for exciting reading. Also, these characters tend to have little back story developed. The Blob, for example, existed for 16 years before we even knew his name was Fred J. Dukes! Now there are always exceptions. Some villains have become heroes, accompanied with new histories. Examples for these would be Magneto, Juggernaut and Emma Frost. There is also the section on the site called Bring On the Bad Guys which looks into the motivations of those villians, and includes entries on Apocalypse, Cassandra Nova, Belasco, Selene & Mister Sinister.
Why don’t you have more information in the Character Glossary entries?
The purpose of our Character Glossary is not to serve as a bio, but as a quick guide to information on a character. This would include first appearance, group affiliations, how they might have died and aliases. Perhaps one day it might be expanded, but this depends on the progress made in other sections of the site.
Why don’t you use stats given on trading cards and from resources?
While these may be the official status provided by Marvel, they are still subjective. Under the right circumstances, a writer can have any character best any other. Captain America, for instance, once beat the Hulk. Also, these stats change regularly to suit a writer’s take on a character, and the UXN has no interest in keeping track of this information.
When are you going to update this article?
Like Spotlights, articles are updated when a contributor has an interest in providing an update or we feel its worth including an update as part of an Event month. Trying to keep every article up to the minute would take considerable effort, especially as what would be updated would no doubt be found in the pages of recently published comics.
I have an idea for a new feature – how long will it take you to do it?
Grrrrr!!! For any idea that you might come up with, no doubt each UXN Contributor has two more we would like to do. The problem is time. We work on what captures our interest, while trying to fill in the gaps of what we have not yet covered. If there is truly something that you think should be on the site… contact us and volunteer to do it yourself and become a contributor!
Do you take suggestions?
We do, on occasion, take a suggestion and incorporate it into our site, a good example of this was the Forum member Crissicris, who suggested and “Alternate Versions” for Spotlight. Such suggestions can be made in the at our Forum – but please do not be upset if we feel your idea does not fit with our own vision.
How do I submit a correction?
As stated before, we are not infallible and occasionally make mistakes. Errors from text to punctuation to grammar can be made in the Feedback section of the Forum, or an e-mail to the author of the article/summary/feature in question.
Why haven’t you summarized this issue or series yet?
While the site has been around for many years, we still have many issues to summarise before we have a full index and there are whole sections and ideas that we have just not gotten to yet. As stated before, some things are being held for Event Months or special occasions – others just because we haven’t had the time.
Will you be expanding the Heroes Teams articles?
Eventually. We have a few other projects in mind before this feature will be started, so don’t look for it anytime soon. Of course if you're willing to assist, get in touch.
Can I contribute to the UXN?
Sure. We are always on the lookout for new talent. To help prospective Contributors, we have a contributors guide that explain what duties are available and what would be expected of you. The short version – we only want people who are truly interested in contributing long-term, those driven to put their creative talents for others to enjoy, and who agree with our philosophy of what the UXN should be.
Can I become a contributor and immediately begin to summarize the X-Men’s flagship title?!?
Uh… no. Issue summaries are normally allocated to current contributors first, taking on a title on going or a run of issues. We normally recomend New Issue Summarizers to start with “back-issues”, or secondary titles proving that they have both talent and staying power in terms of being a Contributor.
What is an Event Month?
An Event Month is a four-week period where the UXN releases summaries, Spotlights and articles of all sorts, all centering around a particular theme. We have done a number of these over the years with some lasting 3 months!
What will the next Event Month be? And when?
Like our Spotlights, we try to keep what we have planned secret. Not only would it spoil the surprise if we told you, but we would have the dreaded responsibility of trying to meet our deadline, which we never do. With many of the big topic ideas for an event month already used, we are probably not intending to produce another event month in some time, however we will likely do themed weeks/ fortnights as they don't require as much planning.
Why are you guys so uptight in the Forum?
For the longest time, we resisted forming a Forum. This was mainly due to our status as a resource only site – not really being interested in discussing latest news or rumors. In time, however, it seemed natural that we could communicate a little more directly with our visitors, as well as giving our visitors – you – the ability to communicate with us. Still, we try to keep the Forum a minor, branch part of our duties – and as such try to run a tight ship to keep it from taking up more time than is necessary. We are not interested in placating people who cause trouble the Forum is a privilege and not a right. Also, some people seem to type without thinking, sometimes making demands instead of requests. After working 40 hours a week on our regular jobs (some of us having school on top of that), then working on the site for the sole joy of being part of something – having some guy yell at you for not having the Psylocke Spotlight updated can really, really get us cranky.
Wait… you guys have a Forum?!?
Uh… yeah. Prior to 2007 we used to run the forum through ezboard, however when we last upgrading our hosting we were able to move the forum "on-site". Like the Fanfction section which became its own site ( uncanon.com ) so to has the forum, now located at unstablemolecules.com
Isn’t Longshot a mutant?
No, he isn’t. A mutant would be someone who is born with a slightly different genetic make-up than their parents, giving them abilities that are unusual for beings of that race. Longshot was artificially created..cloned from his own son. He doesn’t have any parents, nor is there any defined standard for what abilities are considered "normal" for beings of his race. He sure is different from other members of the slave race, but that doesn’t make him a mutant, for he was created to be different – whether it was intentional on his creator’s part or not doesn’t matter.