On Sun, 3 May 1998, The Eternal Lost Lurker wrote:

Wrong answer, Gary-chan...

                    ^^^^

Have I been doused with nyuniquan, or is Zen getting into a weird

area

here? :-)

I think we're better off not knowing...O_o (Maybe Zen was in
onna-teki form when he wrote that?) 

I'm not a Japanese suffix expert myself, but according to the AnimEigo
website for UY:

-chan: is the equivalent of "kun" for babies and girls, but it is also
used when an intimate friendship or other relationship exists between the
speaker and the person being referred to. While "chan" is rarely applied
to adult men, in situations where two men have had a long and close
relationship, they will often be "chan" to each other. "chan"  also pops
up in the mass media a lot, because of its intimations of intimacy;
perhaps the strangest example of this is that in Japan, Arnold
Schwarzenegger is often called "Shuuwaa-chan."


So, I suppose that Zen could consider Gary a good friend, or feels that
Gary is so well known as a fanfic author as to be an integral part of FFML
culture (and is doing that mass media thing).

Or maybe he likes him a lot.  But that's none of my business. ^_^

To the FFML at large, since there's always someone who is confused about
the suffixes to names, the site that I used as a reference is the liner
notes for the subtitled Urusei Yatsura TV episodes.  The info is about 3-5
pages from the top. 

http://www.animeigo.com/Resources/Liner/UYTV.html



-Natsume Ranma Ranma
-------
The sardines weren't worth the trouble.  A few more shots, then 
Ryoga-san would overheat and explode.  Ducking around a corner, 
I managed to lose him as I entered the ramshackle residence of 
my Anime supplier.

One look at his face and I knew that I was betrayed.  "Tell me."
I insisted.  He refused, so I slammed him against the wall.
"Last chance.  Where can Ranma-Ranma find good fanfics?"
"Try Jason Liao." he whispered, before he slumped to the floor.
I heard the sounds of a door splintering as I left through the 
window, one step ahead of Tendo Heavy Industries...