Welcome to our last newsletter of 2009: committee updates below the cut! We’ll be back, better than ever, in 2010, so catch you on the flip side!
Abuse:
The Abuse team is working closely with Archive Support to handle the deluge of new feedback, questions, and requests coming out of Open Beta and Yuletide.
ADT/Archive:
YULETUDE WHOOO!! \o/
Board:
Members of the board have been working on setting organizational goals and revamping structures for OTW’s next (third!) year; many of us are also neck-deep in work for the individual projects we work on for the org (the Archive! the server move! the website! searching out volunteers for next year! etc.)
Communications:
Communications has been working closely with other committees to keep information flowing inside and out of the OTW. Toward the end of the year, we have been trying to help AO3 Support, which has been heroically trying to keep up with the amazing feedback coming out of the AO3’s Open Beta and Yuletide.
Content Policy:
Content Policy has also been all-hands-on-deck to help out with the feedback coming out of the AO3’s Open Beta and first Yuletide.
Development:
DevMem has just posted its End of the Year Reminder post: after running two very successful drives, we want to remind you that there is still time to donate–and get a tax credit, or have employee matching funds apply–for 2009. We hope to see you all in 2010!
Documentation:
Documentation has been organizing the end-of-term tidying up to make sure things are ready for the incoming term in January, so things pick up smoothly right where they left off.
Elections:
Our work here is done; the OTW is currently updating the procedures and timeline for next year’s election season.
Finance:
FinCom is busy transitioning from one Head Shark to another, as our beloved Susan steps down as Treasurer. (snif!) We’re also looking forward to next term and getting ready to unleash financial statements, annual reports, and tax filings upon the unsuspecting public.
Journal:
TWC is on track for No. 4, a guest-edited issue about Supernatural. This issue is no longer accepting unsolicited content because we’re so close to print. No. 5, a general issue, is on track as well.
Legal:
Continuing to work on our primary mission: don’t get sued! \o/
Open Doors:
The Web committee has been helping Open Doors move to a Drupal subsite; we hope to be debuting that site at the beginning of next year. The Fan Culture Preservation Project has also had a terrifically successful year and continues to help to broker large fannish donations: check out Iowa’s greatly expanded page of Fandom-Related Collections.
Systems:
Thanks to a Webmasters-wide and Systems-wide effort (you might have heard the grunting) the server move of transformativeworks.org to a speedier, less crowded new home is now complete. The OTW Elections site and our donation software have also moved, and site visitors should see a commensurate improvement in performance. This also means at long last the org completes secure transactions on the main website (at https://transformativeworks.org), rather than at a separate secure subsite. This brings us very close to the victorious conclusion of our server-moving project, with only Open Doors and a few of our internal services left to move.
Translation:
Translation staff welcomed new volunteers in the wake of AO3 open beta, and are working toward making the Archive (and all of the OTW!) more internationally accessible – we have an international outreach subcommittee in the works for 2010, and big plans. We are also excited to announce that we have worked with Webmasters to add Russian localization to transformativeworks.org!
Vidding History:
Francesca Coppa, chair of Vidding History, will curate a second exhibition on vids from 2007 – 2009 for DIY 24/7; this exhibition will be web based and debut sometime next year. We are also hoping to expand our scope in 2010, so stay tuned!
Volunteers:
Volunteers has been collecting “Willing to Serve” entries and will be working closely with the board to restaff committees for 2010; Volcom has also been responsible for overseeing the formal transition of personnel within the org during the OTW’s winter break between terms.
Website:
The Webmasters are currently basking in the high speeds and improved navigation that were the results of our work with Systems to move transformativeworks.org and our OTW Elections subsite to a beautiful new server. We have also been thrilled to work with Translation to add Russian to the range of languages we are currently supporting at transformativeworks.org. Currently we are dipping into some new-to-us software — OJS, which Journal uses to publish Transformative Works and Cultures, needs a little CSS help, which we are doing our best to provide. On the horizon, we have plans to improve comment notifications, and we are industriously wrapping up our year of hard work and preparing things for next year’s committee.
Wiki:
We’ve had a few question recently about with our fair use policies and we worked with Legal to resolve them. We’ve been testing a search function extension that will make it much easier to search the wiki. It’s still in test right now, but we hope to have it out soon. We’re also writing a new policy out that will make major fandoms a category by themselves. And we’ve added 2 volunteers to work on documentation. Look for all of this to be done early next year.