Organization for Transformative Works

Memorial Fund for Ming Wathne Established at the University of Iowa

Ming Wathne, long time archivist of the Fanzine Archives, passed away on December 17, 2010 at the age of 84. Before she died, the OTW helped her transfer the entire archive - over 3,000 zines - to the Special Collections Department of the University of Iowa, where it became the founding collection of the OTW's Fan Culture Preservation Project.

Ming's husband has been receiving queries about memorial donations, and so has established a fund in support of the Fanzine Archives at Iowa. Gifts in memory of Ming Wathne may be made by sending a check made out to The University of Iowa Foundation to:

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End of Year Reminder 2010

We're drawing toward the end of the year, a busy time on both fannish and non-fannish fronts for many of us. We wanted to be sure to remind you that the next few weeks are your last chance to qualify for tax deductions in 2010 (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 OTW.

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Ralentizaciones festivas (y sus lados positivos!) en el AO3

Esta es la época del año cuando los fans participan en en intercambios de fics, beben sidra fermentada y maldicen a Un Archivo Propio por ser tan @#$!%&# lento. Porque después de un día de lidiar con multitudes o esperar en las cajas de las tiendas departamentales, nada te frustra más que ver un Error 502: Page did not respond in a timely fashion en tu fic favorito para confortarte.

¡Creénos, lo sabemos! También somos fans y usamos el AO3, y después de un largo día luchando contra las multitudes festivas o programando, nada nos frustra más que nos salga un Error 502 en nuestro fic favorito de confort, tampoco.

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Holiday Slowdowns (& their Upsides!) at the AO3

This is the time of year when fans participate in fic exchanges and drink mulled cider and curse out the Archive of Our Own for being so @#$!%&# slow. Because after a day of fighting holiday crowds or waiting on lines in department stores, nothing bums you out like getting Error 502: Page did not respond in a timely fashion on your favorite comfort fic.

Believe us: we know! We're fans too, and we use the AO3, and after a long day fighting holiday crowds or coding a new feature, nothing bums us out like getting Error 502 on our favorite comfort fic, either.

We want you to know we're doing something about it! We're currently in the process of putting together a new systems architecture — including the imminent purchase of several very shiny new servers thanks to your support — that will boost performance substantially.

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