Welcome to the first October issue of the OTW Newsletter! We’re constantly on the lookout for ways to keep fandom up-to-date and informed about what’s going on behind the scenes here at OTW, so twice a month, Community Relations compiles updates about what the various committees are working on and we share them here.
All issues of the newsletter will be tagged accordingly, so you can follow our progress chronologically.
Academic Journal Update from mafaldastasi
No. 1 of Transformative Works and Cultures, the academic journal, which came out on September 15, 2008, is being extremely well received. Here are some links where TWC gets mentioned:
– http://www.ohindustry.com/2008/09/alotr-in-journal-of-transformative.html
– Jonathan Gray’s Extratextuals Blog, September 17, 2008:
http://www.extratextual.tv/2008/09/journal-births-and-blog-birthdays/
– Henry Jenkins’s blog, September 19, 2008:
http://henryjenkins.org/2008/09/aca-fen_raise_their_banners_hi.html
– Nancy Baym’s blog, September 25, 2008:
http://www.onlinefandom.com/archives/first-issue-of-transformative-works-and-cultures/
No. 2, which will be released on March 15, 2009, released its call for papers. This special issue will focus on Games. The TWC editorial team is actively looking for submissions.
Accessibility, Design, and Technology Update from black_samvra
AD&T are working on Tag Wrangling right now: the tags like ‘Fandom,’ ‘Character,’ and ‘Pairing’ that rename themselves, merge and move around – that’s our Beta tag wranglers hard at work! We’re also planning the next wave of new functionality and working through the awesome feedback you gave us.
We’re planning on putting out updates to the archive software on a weekly basis, so look for bugfixes and new features to roll out in a batch. Our first one will most likely be this Friday.
Board Update from kellyannbessa
The Board continues to focus on the newly launched projects, and also the rapidly approaching election.
Community Relations Update from femmequixotic
Community Relations continues to help Elections with the upcoming elections process, as well as get the word out about the beta version of the archive and the soft launches of both the website and Fanlore.
Content Policy Update from ainsley
Content Policy continues to do what it does best: writing policy with which we hope people will be content–more of which will be unveiled very soon!
Development and Membership Update from ignazwisdom
We’re gearing up for our big donations drive, which is starting very, VERY soon! You can donate to the OTW at any time, but next week we’re going to making a push for contributions, including new memberships. As a reminder, if you want to participate in the OTW Board election next month, you must have paid your annual membership dues of US $10 by October 19.
Elections Update from eponis
The first deadline for candidacy for the Board came and went, and two members declared their candidacy, as many as the number of seats opening up on the Board. As detailed in our FAQ, this means that the deadline was extended a further two weeks, and this week is the final opportunity to declare candidacy. Once we have a final count, we look forward to announcing the candidates and, if necessary, gearing up for an election. Even if we don’t end up holding a contested election, we will still publicize details about the candidates and hold a public chat with them, so our membership can get to know the new Board members!
Financials from sandersyager
Due to the failing economy, FinCom is placing our campaign of shark references on hold for this newsletter. What we have instead is a brand spanking new volunteer, Sanacrow who has come on board as our official OTW accountant, taking over duties previously shared between the wonderful Susan and Celli. Sanacrow has joined us just in time to continue work on the 2009 budget and take part in last round of triumphant FinCom “dancing” over having official 501(c)3 status for OTW. By dancing we, of course, mean studying spreadsheets and discussing the season premieres, reaffirming that one can be a shark *and* a fangirl.
Legal Update from killalla
Recently, the Legal Committee has been discussing and advising on licensing options for the archive software, while continuing to support other committees with diverse matters. And as always, we try to respond promptly to queries from members of the public as they arise.
Open Doors Update from Francesca Coppa
Open Doors is continuing to work with ADT on an “import”/”hoover” feature for older stories and is also researching libraries to house fannish artifacts of various kinds.
Public Relations Update from jacquez
After prepping like mad in case the press noticed our soft launches, the Public Relations Committee took a short break. Next, we’ll be back to working on our strategic direction for the upcoming year!
Systems
No update at this time.
Translations Update from logovo
We’re celebrating seeing all our hard work up on the OTW page! Plus, additional languages are still pending beta and upload.
On the Elections front, we’ve finished up and uploaded Spanish and German translations of the Elections FAQ and timeline, and we’re shooting for having other languages done this week, as volunteer time allows.
Also, other committees have work heading our way (*waves to Elections*) so we’re looking forward to getting our hands on the next project.
Volunteers and Recruiting from kellyannbessa
Volunteers is doing a lot of work in preparation for the organization’s upcoming second term.
Webmasters Update from juniperphoenix
The new website officially launched on October 1! (See our welcome post for details.) Thank you to everyone who has sent us feedback; it is greatly appreciated.
At the moment we’re getting settled into our new maintenance rotation and continuing to document technical info and procedures. Since so many OTW projects have launched recently and information about them is changing quickly, we are also reaching out to our fellow committees to encourage them to check their website content and make any necessary updates.
Wiki Update from angstslashhope
The Wiki Committee is proud to announce the soft launch of the Fanlore wiki: since last week the wiki is open for a its beta phase, which means we’re still testing how everything works in practice as well as responding to queries, suggestions and general feedback. In the process, Fanlore is growing rapidly as contributors add content and their practices are formed, while we alter and develop structures and supporting material as needed. It’s an exciting time and we’ve been thoroughly swept off our feet!
To give you an idea, here are a few fun numbers. Since the soft launch last Monday, we have seen
– About 100 new articles per day;
– Approaching 10,000 edits altogether;
– By over 300 registered editors.
Discussion pages are lively, as editors get their hands dirty on the tricky issues that come hand-in-hand with the early days of a project such as this, and the Wiki Committee is all hands on deck as we keep up with it all. We’ve also set up a Fanlore chat room to talk with contributors who seek assistance, inspiration or just company in real time. The room is open whenever any member of the Committee is available, and a notice on the front page of the wiki indicates whether it’s open or closed at any given time. Don’t hesitate to come in if you see the light!
Now let’s look forward: we are compiling, prioritizing and gradually tackling issues and bugs as they occur, but obviously, there’s only so much a little committee can do! So, following our grand plan, we will in the near future gather together a team of gardeners to help us keep track of all the edits and assist with wiki basics, and we will set them loose upon Fanlore to roam and help you. If you’re interested in becoming a gardener, you can leave your name on the Gardeners page: we might not answer right away but we take every name under consideration, of course. In the meantime, gardener-in-waiting or not, do not hesitate to jump in and start contributing! We look forward to seeing you there.
What details would you like to know? Please give ComRel a helping hand and let us know! Email us at comrel @ transformativeworks.org.
–femmequixotic, bethbethbeth, ciderpress, mirabile_dictu, shrift, svmadelyn
Community Relations Committee
Edited Financial blurb at committee’s request to correct the accountant’s name.