Aankondiging

The academic journal Transformative Works and Cultures, a project of OTW, released its latest issue on March 15, 2010: an issue on Supernatural guest-edited by acafan Catherine Tosenberger. Rush over here to read and comment on the essays! This is the first issue of TWC to focus on a single text.

In addition to academic essays, the issue contains shorter Symposium articles. There are close readings of specific SPN eps and the show as a whole as well as essays that discuss fan-created artworks and fandom itself. We also interviewed SPN profic writer Keith R. A. DeCandido, members of the Super-wiki team, and Wincon organizer Ethrosdemon.

The full press release appears below the cut. Feel free to disseminate widely!

It's that time! Time for a new drive premium!

The OTW, as you may know, is committed to keeping our donors hydrated. Well, maybe not committed, as such, but not standing in anyone's way. And definitely interested in offering donors at levels of US$100 and above a swanky bottle to fill with their beverage of choice. This time, it's a 24 oz. capacity stainless steel water bottle, in a lovely white finish, bedecked with the OTW logo in an ever-stylish and striking red. It's kind of ridiculously sexy, too, with an easy to grip shape and well-fitted screw-on cap. If you find that sort of thing sexy, that is. We won't judge you!

We're still offering a packet of OTW stickers and iron-ons, both useful for transforming your non-OTW related possessions, at a donation level of US$50, and you can opt to get everything -- stickers, iron-ons, and water bottle -- for any donation at or above US$120. We ship donation premiums all over the world. In fact, our premiums-shipping volunteer has been known to particularly enjoy sending packages internationally. We don't judge her, either.

In other news of useful things that you may want to make grabby hands at, we would like to direct your attention to the search bar plugin that resourceful Archive of Our Own user Punk has created! You can now search the AO3 on the whimsy of the moment, going directly to your search results. If you are using Firefox or Internet Explorer 8, you can download the plugin from this page on mozdev.org -- just click the link that says "Archive of Our Own" and answer yes when prompted by the dialogue box. Punk has also pointed out that there's a Fanlore version created by Loren Leah that can be downloaded from mozdev.org as well!

March at the OTW is an exciting month -- we're far enough in to 2010 that we've had time to evaluate our goals and examine our tasks with a fresh eye. We're excited about what we've done so far as an organization and in service of fandom, and we're exhilarated by the possibilities that are just around the corner.

So now, from 9-15 March, we are calling on you to donate. Any amount above US$10 will extend your membership to one year from the most recent donation -- that means if you donate today, you're a member until a year from today. Membership is a way to take part in the work and to accomplish our aims, and anything more you can give helps make our dreams a reality -- our fanworks hosted on servers controlled by fans, on software created for fans, and using fan-created policies. The donations made last March allowed us to buy those servers! \o/ It's an amazing accomplishment, and one we intend to make ever stronger and more sustainable. And we can't do it without you -- your suggestions, energy, hard work, and financial support.

While our members support us, we also want to be clear that we are the sum of our parts -- we are you. The OTW isn't just member-supported; our members are the OTW. We, as fans, want the OTW to reflect our diversity, our globalism, our many voices. Please join us, and bring your friends. Bring the fannish world.

<a href="http://transformativeworks.org/how-you-can-help/support"><img src="http://transformativeworks.org/sites/default/files/memdrive_0.png" alt="9-15 March 2010 OTW Membership Drive" /></a>

Feel free to repost this graphic by copying the text below the image and pasting it into your journal or website.
We know we didn't get a chance to represent everyone, so we invite you to contribute "membership" in your language if it's missing!

We've been accomplishing so much more than we can list for you in a single post! In fact, we'll be posting every day during the drive to spotlight our projects and mission, and to tell you more about why you should help us to sustain our work. The Archive Of Our Own is flourishing in open beta! Transformative Works and Cultures is about to release a much-anticipated issue focusing on Supernatural! Fanlore, where we are recording our history, our (sometimes not-so) common language, our tropes, and our inventions! The zine collections of the Fan Culture Preservation Project! The rescued fansites that make up the Geocities Rescue Project! Advocacy for Vidders and remix artists!

During this drive, we’re also continuing to offer the option of premiums for donations: at a level of US$50 or more you can choose to receive an OTW sticker & iron-on pack, to proudly display your support; at a level of US$100 or more, we're changing things up a little! For the first two days of the March drive (or while they last), we'll continue to offer the OTW insulated travel mug -- beginning 11 March (or as soon as we're out of mugs) we'll roll out an eco-friendly OTW stainless steel water bottle; at US$120, you can opt for either the mug or the bottle (whichever is currently active) along with a sticker & iron-on pack!

Greetings from the OTW Webmasters! We're pleased to announce two changes to our blog on transformativeworks.org that will streamline the user experience. These changes do NOT affect accounts on the Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, or Transformative Works and Cultures.

We're discontinuing user accounts on the OTW blog. Accounts have been a source of confusion for many people and offered little in the way of added features. New account creation is now blocked, and existing accounts will be disabled. Again, this does not affect AO3, Fanlore, or TWC accounts.

You can still leave comments on blog posts — simply enter a name or pseudonym to sign your comment. Existing comments will be preserved. And you can still receive comment notifications via e-mail.

In fact, we've installed a new comment notification system that is more powerful and easier to use. Notification e-mails now include the full comment text, LJ/DW-style, and you no longer have to leave a comment in order to receive notifications. Anyone can watch a post, with or without commenting, by clicking the "Watch this post" link and entering an e-mail address. (Your e-mail address will not be publicly visible.) You can unsubscribe at any time via a link in the notification e-mails or by returning to the post and clicking the "You are watching this post" link.

We hope these changes will make it easier to follow and respond to conversations on the OTW blog. If you have feedback about the website, please feel free to contact the Webmasters Committee.

We're pleased to officially announce that the popular multi-fandom holiday fanfiction exchange Yuletide is coming to the Archive of Our Own! As those of you who follow our AD&T meeting reports will know, this is something we've been working towards for a while, and we're excited to finally have the code written and everything in place! \0/

It's drawing in toward the end of the year, and we're all looking forward to doing end-of year things: breaking out the suntan lotion (Southern Hemisphere), breaking through the snow (Northern Hemisphere), breaking into shrieks of glee and/or terror (Yuletiders), and breaking bread with loved ones (holiday celebrants). But one thing you may have forgotten about is that the next few weeks are your last chance to qualify for tax deductions in 2009 (United States). If you've been thinking about donating to the OTW but haven't done so yet, you may want to take a look at your finances and see whether it would be to your benefit to do so before December 31. And if you're employed, please find out if your employer offers matching donations! Every dollar you give could be worth two dollars to the org. You can learn more about how to get your donation matched by your employer on the support the OTW page (scroll down to where it says, "If your employer offers matching donations, you may be able to double your gift!")

Of course, we're glad of donations of money or help at any time -- especially as we celebrate the open beta of the Archive of Our Own, now with more than 25,000 stories in almost 3,100 fandoms! If you'd like an AOOO account, you can add yourself to the invitation queue; a friend who already has an account may also be able to give you an invitation. And if you'd like to give of your time and effort as well as, or instead of, your money, please see our Willing to Serve post for descriptions of how you can help with the OTW's various projects.

And meanwhile, enjoy the sun, or the snow, or the shrieking -- and in any case, enjoy the stories!

Remember -- we're offering two premiums for your donation over US$50. Celebrate the OTW and get something for yourself this season!

This spring, Transformative Works and Cultures (TWC) will launch a special issue dedicated entirely to Supernatural! The issue will deal with the actors, the show, the fans--and of course the fanworks! There's been a bit of concern about what works will be discussed and what the journal policy is on discussing them; be assured that TWC policy is to make sure that its authors are in dialog with fan writers and artists, and know that we are always aware of issues of fan privacy. If you want to know more, see the editors' policy statement here on our site.

The Archive Of Our Own is now in Open Beta! *\0/*

This means that you can now request an invitation! Get all the details and answers to your questions in our Open Beta information post.

Thank you to everyone in fandom who made this possible! We're incredibly grateful to everyone who got us this far – all the OTW staffers in their many roles, those of you who supported us with your donations, and fandom at large for being awesome.

FANDOM OWNS THE SERVERS, GUYS! Come and join the party!

<a href="http://transformativeworks.org/open-beta-here"><img src="http://transformativeworks.org/sites/default/files/invitecat.jpg" alt="OTW: o hai donate" /></a>

The Archive of Our Own Open Beta launch: Saturday 14th November (see the world clock for the launch time in your timezone).

We're thrilled to announce that the Archive Of Our Own will enter Open Beta on Saturday! *\0/*

Now that we're in Open Beta, we're ready to start expanding our user numbers so that fandom can use the Archive for real!

Open Beta – your questions answered!

How do I get an invitation for the Archive?
You can get an invitation in two ways:

• You can add your email address to the invitation queue (opens Saturday 14th November see world clock for the launch time in your timezone) (ETA Invitation queue now open here!). We'll send out invitations to addresses on the queue on a first-come, first-served basis, depending on how many new accounts we can support at a given time. This way, you won't have to know someone who already has an account in order to have a chance of getting one.
• Users who have an account on the Archive will be given a certain number of invitations to hand out to their friends. We know that people like to share the fannish glee and to build their networks on new sites, and we want to give people a chance to do that. Extra invitation codes will be issued to users periodically depending on how many new users the site can manage.

When will the invitation queue open?
The invitation queue will open on Saturday 14th November – world clock for the launch time in your timezone. Our launch post will let you know the link for the queue, and we’ll begin issuing accounts to addresses in the queue right away! (ETA Invitation queue now open here!)

We know that many of you in North America will still be asleep when the queue opens - since fandom is international, it was inevitable that this would be the case for someone. We've timed it this way so that as many of our staffers as possible can be around to provide support. We also anticipate that there will be more users from North America, so we wanted to give folks from elsewhere a chance to get on board before the queue gets out of control.

If you are unable to join the queue because of the timing, a friend can add your email address to the queue for you.

How long will it take for me to get an account?
If you've requested an invitation code, you can check where you are in the queue. Just enter your email address on the invitations page, and you'll receive an estimate of when you will receive your invitation, based on the rate at which we're sending out invitations and the number you are in the queue. Exactly how many invitations we can send out per day will depend on how well the site responds to the extra users.

I already have an account. How do I give an invitation to someone else?
On your user homepage (which you can get to by clicking 'My Home' when you’re logged in), you'll see a new tab called 'Invitations'. You can manage all your invitations here, and if you've run out then you can request some more.

To send an invitation to someone, just enter their email address and select the invitation you’d like to use. They'll be sent an automated email. You’ll be able to keep track of which invitations have been used on your 'Manage Invitations' page.

What can I do if I have questions or need help?
If you have questions about the general process, feel free to leave a comment on this post and we’ll get back to you as quickly as possible. (So that everyone can share in the same discussion and see one another's questions, we're disabling comments everywhere except the main OTW blog. Please hop over there to comment!)

If you have questions about the Archive, then you might find the answer in our Frequently Asked Questions. You can also check out Known Issues to see if you’ve hit a bug we’re already working on.

If your question isn't answered in the FAQ then please submit a support request and our support team will get back to you as quickly as possible.

Finally, during the first few days of Open Beta, we'll be offering live support through our Support Chatroom. We'll keep this staffed as much as possible – OTW staffers can be identified by the OTW on the end of their names. Of course, non staffers should also feel free to help one another out – if you can answer someone else's question, then don’t feel shy!

I have Opinions about the Archive. What should I do?
The Archive is by fans, for fans and we love to hear your feedback! Open Beta is still a work in progress, and we'll be adding new features, fixing bugs and making enhancements in response to your feedback. Send us your comments via the Support and Feedback form.

If you'd like to be more involved, we always welcome volunteers. No previous experience required!

The Archive of Our Own is for all fans – please spread the word in your fandoms near and far, and come and join the party!

Our October donations drive has ended, and all we can say is wow: thank you so much. Bellyrubz for everyone!