• OTW Fannews: Fandom Misunderstandings

    By Kiri Van Santen on Zondag, 20 July, 2014
    Labels: Anime and Manga, Business Models, Gender and Sexuality, News of Note, Comics, Commercialization of Fans, Gaming, Books, Sports, Theater

    Banner by Lisa of a street sign that has been knocked down and is pointing arbitrarily.

    • Attack of the Fanboy put a spotlight on gender segregation in gaming tournaments. "Keeping a few tournaments specifically aimed at females is not an ideal situation, but it does allow a woefully underrepresented part of the population a chance to compete on a professional level. To use the IeSF’s own justification for the initial segregation, many major sports use this method as well. Technically women are allowed in the NBA, but due to various reasons none have been placed on a team. That is why the WNBA exists, to allow a group who would be left out, a chance to compete professionally."

    • OTW Legal at San Diego Comic-Con

      By Claudia Rebaza on Zaterdag, 19 July, 2014
      Labels: Event, Legal Advocacy, Legal Committee

      Banner by Erin of a spotlight on an OTW logo with the words 'Spotlight on Legal Issues'

      San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) the world-famous, multi-fandom convention is about to kick off and the OTW will be there!

      The Organization for Transformative Works, together with deviantART, will be hosting a panel titled “Comic-Con How-To: Fans, Love, and the Law” on Saturday, 26 July. The speakers will be Betsy Rosenblatt and Heidi Tandy from OTW Legal, and Josh Wattles from deviantART. They’ll be discussing the legal issues surrounding fanworks, so bring your questions about fair use, cease and desist letters, and any other legal issues that have come up in your fannish activities.

      The panel will take place in Room 2 from 3:30-4:30.

    • OTW Fannews: Legal Confusion

      By Kiri Van Santen on Vrijdag, 18 July, 2014
      Labels: Anime and Manga, Gender and Sexuality, News of Note, Audio Fanworks, Intellectual Property, Books, Movies, Sports

      image by TK of patent and copyright blueprints

      • The Washington Post was one of many media outlets covering the U.S. Trademark Office's decision to cancel the Redskins trademark registration. "The 99-page decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board said the team’s name and logo are disparaging. It dilutes the Redskins’ legal protection against infringement and hinders the team’s ability to block counterfeit merchandise from entering the country. But its effect is largely symbolic. The ruling cannot stop the team from selling T-shirts, beer glasses and license-plate holders with the moniker or keep the team from trying to defend itself against others who try to profit from the logo."

      • OTW Fannews: Investigating Fandom

        By Janita Burgess on Woensdag, 16 July, 2014
        Labels: Anime and Manga, News of Note, Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality, Music, Sports, Fannish Practices

        Describe the image in this space for the visually impaired

        The New Republic posted about fandom ethics in relation to the World Cup. "Objecting citizens may be overlooking the fact that students all over the world are learning about Brazilian arts, letters, and philosophy due to the attention brought upon the country by the World Cup. For example, this past semester, a student in my course on Latin American thought at Brooklyn College argued that the World Cup in fact represented a serious threat to democracy, given the authoritarian policies installed to organize and realize the Cup. He cited Leonardo Boff, a Brazilian theologian and philosopher, as a source for his concept of a just, participatory democracy...trying to track down all the consequences of buying a ticket from FIFA, coming to Brazil, and participating in the business surrounding the World Cup is impossible and does not get to the heart of the matter."

      • Volunteer Recruitment for Web Developers and Elections

        By Kiri Van Santen on Maandag, 14 July, 2014
        Labels: Volunteering, Elections, Volunteers & Recruiting, Web Strategy, Design & Development Committee

        Banner by Erin of a close-up of Rosie the Riveter's arm with an OTW logo on it and the words 'OTW Recruitment'

        We would like to thank everyone who responded to our previous call for Tag Wranglers and Wiki Staff.

        Today, we're excited to announce the opening of applications for:

        • Elections Workgroup Volunteer: Candidate Liaison - closing 21 July 2014 UTC

        • Elections Workgroup Volunteer: Communication Specialist - closing 21 July 2014 UTC
        • Elections Workgroup Volunteer: Voting Process Architect - closing 21 July 2014 UTC
        • Web Strategy, Design & Development Staffer: Web Developer - closing 21 July 2014 UTC

        We have included more information on each role below. Open roles and applications will always be available at the volunteering page. If you don't see a role that fits with your skills and interests now, keep an eye on the listings. We plan to put up new applications every few weeks, and we will also publicize new roles as they become available.

        All applications generate a confirmation page and an auto-reply to your e-mail address. We encourage you to read the confirmation page and to whitelist volunteers -(at)- transformativeworks -(dot)- org in your e-mail client. If you do not receive the auto-reply within 24 hours, please check your spam filters and then contact us.

        If you have questions regarding volunteering for the OTW, check out our Volunteering FAQ.

      • OTW Fannews: Remembering the past

        By Claudia Rebaza on Zondag, 13 July, 2014
        Labels: News of Note, Intellectual Property, Fanfiction , Music, Fannish Communities, Roleplaying, Fannish Histories, Technology

        Banner by Bremo of a timeline showing different fannish platforms starting with Geocities and ending with AO3

        At The Atlantic, Courtney Klauser discussed her education in social networks thanks to fandom. "Looking back, I most miss the personal anonymity; an online existence without photography or video, a time when it was normal not to use your real name, when people could interact without demographic data being harvested for advertisers or shuffling people into neat demographic categories in the name of improved user experience...Yet the online world where I first encountered the pleasures of fan culture no longer exists at all."

      • The censorship problems faced by anime and manga fans

        By Claudia Rebaza on Vrijdag, 11 July, 2014
        Labels: Anime and Manga, Fanhackers, Spotlight, Legal Advocacy

        Banner by Erin of a spotlight on an OTW logo with the words 'Spotlight on Legal Issues'

        For fans of manga, anime, and other Japanese media, pointing and laughing at inaccurate mass media portrayals of Japanese pop culture has been something of a sport for decades. A few weeks ago, however, things took a slightly more serious turn.

        The ball got rolling when early in June, the Japanese House of Representatives approved a long-overdue law banning the possession of child pornography. Up to now, creating and distributing child pornography was as forbidden in Japan as anywhere else, but “simple possession” had not yet been criminalized. The new law applies only to “real” child pornography and leaves alone completely fictional depictions of underage characters in sexual situations in manga, anime and other media. This exception came about after vocal protests from manga publishers, creators, fans and free speech rights activists. The story was widely reported in non-Japanese media. However, most of these reports focused on handwringing about Japan's “failure” to clamp down on sexually explicit manga. Most shared was a CNN article filled with outrage about how the new law supposedly permits Japanese bookstores to fill their shelves with shocking cartoon porn about children.

      • OTW Fannews: Personal journeys

        By Claudia Rebaza on Dinsdag, 8 July, 2014
        Labels: News of Note, Fanart, Fanfiction , Sports, Television, Fannish Histories

        Banner by Sidhrat of a butterfly moving through stages of growth

        At The Mary Sue, Elisabeth Flaum discussed her return to fandom. "In the beginning, I was not a fan. I liked stuff – Firefly, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings – but the tween who freaked over Bon Jovi and baseball grew up and moved out...Then I met the Doctor. Suddenly, in my late thirties, I was binge-watching a television show. I was pining over fictional characters – and I was writing my own stories for them when the official versions ran out. I was making costumes and going to conventions. I was lit up, inspired, excited as I hadn’t been by anything since childhood."

      • June 2014 Newsletter, Volume 81

        By Claudia Rebaza on Zaterdag, 5 July, 2014
        Labels: Newsletter, OTW Sections

        Banner by caitie of a newspaper with the name and logos of the OTW and its projects on the pages.

        I. FANLORE PASSES 30,000 ARTICLES

        On June 8, Fanlore reached the 30,000 article milestone with a post by Sparcicle on Nox et Lumos! The Wiki committee last celebrated a milestone in February when it reached the 500,000th edit on the site. Many thanks to all the gardeners and editors who have made this kind of progress possible!

      • OTW Fannews: When fandoms hit the big time

        By Janita Burgess on Vrijdag, 4 July, 2014
        Labels: News of Note, Books, Fanfiction , Music, Fanfilms, Sports, Fannish Communities

        As the World Cup kicked off, an American fan talked about the changes he's seen in his fandom. "Now, I will be able to stream the games on my phone at work. I can choose from multiple public parties showing the games I want to see. I can bring up the US team in casual conversation without worrying that people will think I'm weird." Back in 2002 "I watched alone in my house, careful not to wake up anyone else and sporadically running upstairs to post on a message board."

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