I. NEW VOLUME OF TRANSFORMATIVE WORKS AND CULTURES
TWC has published the 26th volume of Transformative Works and Cultures, Social TV Fandom and the Media Industries, on March 15th. Edited by Myles McNutt (Old Dominion University), this issue studies the myriad challenges of social media and the production and consumption of television through an editorial, 9 articles, 4 book reviews, and an interview with Flourish Klink of Chaotic Good Studios.
Watch for the next issue of TWC, “Tumblr and Fandom,” out in June 2018.
If you’re interested in contributing to Transformative Works and Cultures, you can view the calls for papers on their announcement page.
II. FAIR USE / FAIR DEALING WEEK
The OTW participated in the Fifth Annual global Fair Use/Fair Dealing Week February 28th through March 2nd. The OTW was one of 153 organizations (and many individuals!) celebrating, promoting, and explaining the Fair Use and Fair Dealing exceptions to copyright internationally. As part of these activities, OTW’s Legal committee, with the assistance of Communications, made a post on Why Fanworks are (Usually) Fair Use.
Communications also posted a related guest post with the EU-based Ioana Pelehatăi and Alex Lungu, whose webseries “Copy Me” looks at myths of copyright and copying.
Rounding out the OTW’s participation in 2018 Fair Use/Fair Dealing Week, Legal Chair Betsy participated in a panel discussion, “Exploring the Role of Fair Use in Fan Culture” at the University of Michigan Law School.
III. AT THE AO3
Behind the scenes at the Archive of Our Own, things continue to be incredibly busy with a variety of ongoing infrastructure improvements. The Accessibility, Design and Technology committee has been working hard on some upcoming changes, and Systems has been diligently managing servers to make sure everything can run smoothly.
In March, Open Doors announced the upcoming import of VinXperience, a multifandom Vin Diesel fanfiction archive.
Tag Wrangling wrangled 548,000 tags in February. Policy & Abuse received over 900 tickets in March, up slightly from February’s over 800. Support received close to 1,600 tickets in March, including about 450 on one day due to some system upgrade-related bumpiness. Thanks to users for being patient and understanding as we continue to make infrastructure improvements! Follow @AO3_Status on Twitter for real-time updates on AO3.
IV. ELSEWHERE AT THE OTW
In Finance-related news, the OTW wrapped up the audit of its 2015 and 2016 financial statements this month, with the independent third-party auditors issuing the opinion that the OTW’s financial statements are accurate, reliable, and adhere to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The OTW’s Audited 2015-2016 Financial Statements can be found on the Reports and Governing Documents page of our website.
Legal also continued its advocacy work in March, joining allies in making several legal filings in ongoing matters, including Reply Comments to U.S. Copyright Office exemptions to the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provisions, and an amicus brief seeking rehearing of a case (TVEyes v. Fox), based on the provision of news broadcast clips for purposes including criticism and commentary as Fair Use. All of the OTW’s legal filings can be found on the Legal Advocacy page of our website.
V. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PEEPS
As of the 28th of March, the OTW has 662 volunteers. \o/ Recent personnel movements are listed below:
New Committee Staff: Kate Flanagan (Fanlore), shadowkeeper (Fanlore), Jessica Doble (Fanlore) and 1 other Fanlore staff
New Translator Volunteers: 1 volunteer
Departing Committee Staff: Carli Anderson (Elections), stellal (Tag Wrangling), Kiri Van Santen (Communications), and 1 Policy & Abuse staffer
Departing Tag Wrangler Volunteers: Tsukiko
Departing Translation Volunteers: IshaTagore, Kenyan-Girl, and 1 other volunteer
For more information about the purview of our committees, please access the committee listing on our website.
The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.