(no subject)

[izzybeth.livejournal.com]

so ok, this isn't really a mod post, and it has nothing to do with U2 slash per se, but i'm posting anyway. because this is important, and because i CAN. you gonna stop me?

so there's this thing, called the Organization For Transformative Works, or OTW. remember the FanLib debacle? and remember the strikethrough messiness of recent months on LJ? OTW was founded in response to that. it's a huge project, and fans have been working their tails off on it for about nine months. right now, they have a website up where you can find a lot of information about them (http://www.transformativeworks.org/).

what i'm most excited about right now is the archive. multi-fandom, pan-fandom, gen, slash, het, real people, fake people, any and everything you can think of is welcome there. the point of this ginormous undertaking is so everything can be under one roof. because most of us probably know how frustrating it can be to hit the "404 Not Found" wall when we're searching for a favorite fic. or vid. or piece of art. like i said, everything can have a home there. there will be threaded comments, bookmarks, rec lists, tags (like del.icio.us), ways to subscribe to your favorite authors/fandoms/genres, challenges, lots of goodies. oh yeah, and the software will be open source, so fans can make their own archives with it. info on the archive can be found here: http://transformativeworks.org/projects/archive.html

they have a bunch of different committees working on issues, including legal assistance and advocacy for fans, dealing with copyright intricacies and fair use and that sort of thing. i can't say i understand it all perfectly, but i still think it's freaking brilliant.

here's another awesome thing: they're working on applying for official non-profit status in the United States, so any donation you make to them will be (but is not now, unfortunately) tax-deductible. as of Monday, March 24, membership is open. you donate ten bucks, and you become a member. now here's the bit i'm going to stress: if you make a donation, you become a member of OTW. all that means is that you get a vote when they have board elections. if you choose not to donate, you still get to use the archive, and the tags, and all the nifty stuff that goes with it. you don't have to be a member to use the archive. the only thing your donation gets you is a vote. more info here: http://transformativeworks.org/getinvolved/

i think we all should be aware of OTW in this community, which is why i'm talking about it here. something i've noticed about our little corner of fandom over the years is that it can be pretty insular and isolated, and for many of us, U2 fandom is our only fandom. i'm not saying you have to support it or agree with it (there are those who don't), but you should at least know about it. ignazwisdom has a wonderfully worded post on why she supports and volunteers for OTW: http://ignazwisdom.livejournal.com/162058.html

the LJ community is otw_news
their FAQ is http://www.transformativeworks.org/faq
they also have presences on YahooGroups, InsaneJournal, GreatestJournal, JournalFen, Twitter, and del.icio.us.

thanks for putting up with me. now back to your regularly scheduled U2.