Syfy wasn''t exactly basking in the love from fans as things were - the channel that, in spite of its name and mission, could never quite come to terms with its innate geekiness, balancing the occasional masterpiece (Battlestar Galactica) with weekends full of Anaconda movie marathons, to say nothing of that name change.

The cable network once known as the SciFi Channel is among the worst offenders when it comes to canceling fan-favorite genre shows, even while operating the Blastr website where they aggregate news from around the web, the comment threads of which are fairly oozing with ill will from readers and viewers.

The cancellation of Stargate Universe was a tipping point, pushing the relationship with many of Syfy's core viewers beyond nerd rage and into the realm of "this isn't fun any more - I'm done," an attitude on display all over the Internet of late, best exemplified in posts like this one from Reddit.

It took some time, but Syfy has acknowledged the widespread alienation, and they've responded with an open letter to the fans, that addresses several of the complaints they've been hearing, while inevitably reading a bit like "We totally understand you - here are the many reasons why you're wrong."

But its a step. We're in a strange time right now, in which Internet anonymity has turned many fans into fearless critics, a small but loud percentage of whom are less than civil, not surprising given how many of their comments fall on deaf ears. The entertainment industry has responded by ignoring criticism even more steadfastly than in years past, and if the result is poor ratings or low sales, well before you know it there's a bill in the senate going after Internet pirates, who must surely be the cause.

At some point it became incumbent upon paying customers to not only accept anything that was shoved down their throats with a smile, it became their responsibility to watch, to buy, to fund an entire industry that in turn, tells them to shut up and like it or GTFO. Then they're baffled when people find other things to do with their time and money.

Sci-fi fans, critics and creators all want the genre to continue to thrive and grow. We've got to learn to communicate better.

The fans need a voice, they need to use it with civility, and they need to stop being goaded by an arrogant industry that vacillates between a complete lack of interest in what their audience wants and full-on rage baiting in the interest of short-term profiteering (I'm looking at you, Marvel.)

In the meantime, click here to read the open letter to Stargate fans from Syfy.