Don't panic! Livejournal isn't in any imminent danger, despite today's news (many of us here at OTW are archivists, and we know how long it takes for sites, even unattended ones, to degrade.) We'll all still be here tomorrow!

That being said, we do want to remind LJ-based fandom that:

* You can create a User: page for yourself on Fanlore. (All those "If LJ goes away" posts on LJ are kind of useless if LJ actually goes away!) You can put all your pseuds, journals, websites, and other contact info on your User: page, and the wiki is searchable and obviously updatable, so folks will always know where to find you. (See examples here, and there's an easy "create account" link in the left side toolbar of every page.) (Please note that the User: page is different from a regular wiki page. You control the content of your User: page: it's more like a LJ profile page, whereas regular wiki pages about individual fans are collaborative and editable; generally, others will make and edit these pages.)

We've heard from a number of people that YouTube has recently blocked a number of fanvids due to alleged music rights violations. But YouTube also provides a mechanism for vidders to assert their right to fair use: a quick and easy dispute process.

YouTube recognizes that there are legitimate artistic and critical reasons to use copyrighted material, and the online form gives, as a potential reason for dispute: "This video uses copyrighted material in a manner that does not require approval of the copyright holder. It is a fair use under copyright law." The form also asks you to explain further.

Welcome to the last issue of the OTW Newsletter for this year! As of December 19, the OTW committees will be taking a brief break over the holidays, then reconvening after the New Year to start back to work, so we thought we'd take a chance to do an end-of-term roundup for the various committees, focusing on what we've done over the past year and a half.

Committee Updates!

The OTW is proud to be co-sponsoring the 6th annual IP/Gender: Mapping the Connections Symposium at American University Washington College of Law on April 24, 2009. The theme of this year's symposium is Female Fan Cultures and Intellectual Property. Below please find the call for papers; abstracts are due December 19th. If you're interested in attending, the conference is free and open to the public, though registration is required.

The 2008 calendar year is almost over...which means 'tis the season for nonprofit organizations to remind their communities that if you want to deduct a contribution on your 2008 taxes, you'll need to donate by 12/31!

As you're thinking about your end-of-year contributions, we hope you'll keep the OTW in mind. You can make a one-time donation or sign up for an easy recurring donation on our website, here — and if your employer offers matching donations, you might be able to double your donation to the OTW; we're happy to help you figure that out as needed, so please let us know.

Part Two of Henry Jenkins' spotlight on OTW's vidding documentaries for MIT's New Media Literacies project is now online: Fan Vidding: A Labor Of Love (Part Two). We'd like to thank Henry, as well as MIT/NML, for giving us the opportunity to showcase fan vidding.

The Accessibility, Design, & Technology committee needs help! We're coming up on the end of our first term, which means getting all our records in order, and we want ADT to keep coding, so we're looking for people to help them get their meeting notes in order.

No technical knowledge is required--all you need is the ability to summarize a two-hour meeting in a half-page of short, bulleted minutes.

We need five to ten people for the job, and to show our gratitude for your hard work, each one will be paid with a shiny beta account at the Archive of Our Own.

The term ends in two weeks, so hurry hurry hurry. Send us your name and email address!