*waves* A friend pointed me to this post, I hope you don't mind me hopping into the discussion here :)
That comment you quoted was mine - I chose to use my real name rather than my fannish pseud to avoid gender confusion. And this:
Of course my response to this person is, if they don't think they're section of fandom is being represented, then join in and represent it.
Is a totally fair response. I actually have participated - I follow the community, I post comments when I have issues, I've written a couple metafandom-linked crit posts and welcomed discourse there. Which isn't to say "how dare you question my particpation, person who has no idea who I am", but just to point out that I do participate, and I'm not just running around bitching everywhere but to the people who could make changes based on my bitching :)
Also, the OTW is fairly new and can only work on so many projects at once, but I think they'd be open to more once they get their first few things done.<./i>
I totally get this, and my issue isn't so much with what they actually have/haven't done than with their attitude. And I should add my view of their attitude is perhaps unfairly colored by the amount of negative interactions I've had with non-"staff"(board/committee members) supporters when I've raised questions/criticisms.
But, to me, and to a few people I know, so far they've come across as very "we're going to do all these things the right way." Which I'm sure they're not doing on purpose, but...well, as an example, one of my very first problems with OTW was their announcement of a goal to create a fan history wiki, with no acknowledgement of one that already exists. And when I brought up the existing FanHistory wiki (http://www.fanhistory.com), the responses ranged from politely dismissive to downright vitriolic. And to see something I know has had hours and hours and hours of work put into it dismissed and insulted and heavily criticized (my favorites were the criticisms about incompleteness and factual error - it's a wiki, anyone is welcome to fix any error they find) and drug through the mud because it wasn't the right fan who owned it...I have a very hard time looking past that to see the good intentions.
I should point out I'm still not decided one way or the other how I feel about OTW. I think from a strictly marketing/PR standpoint they have a long way to go, I think they may be overambitious, I think they're treading in dangerous waters re: legal issues. But at the same time I think a lot of their issues stem from gaps in knowledge that anyone could be expected to have.
Time will tell if that "We'll do ___ the right way" attitude is a misconception, or a reality that will stand in the way of filling those gaps.
Re: OTW Part 2
That comment you quoted was mine - I chose to use my real name rather than my fannish pseud to avoid gender confusion. And this:
Of course my response to this person is, if they don't think they're section of fandom is being represented, then join in and represent it.
Is a totally fair response. I actually have participated - I follow the community, I post comments when I have issues, I've written a couple metafandom-linked crit posts and welcomed discourse there. Which isn't to say "how dare you question my particpation, person who has no idea who I am", but just to point out that I do participate, and I'm not just running around bitching everywhere but to the people who could make changes based on my bitching :)
Also, the OTW is fairly new and can only work on so many projects at once, but I think they'd be open to more once they get their first few things done.<./i>
I totally get this, and my issue isn't so much with what they actually have/haven't done than with their attitude. And I should add my view of their attitude is perhaps unfairly colored by the amount of negative interactions I've had with non-"staff"(board/committee members) supporters when I've raised questions/criticisms.
But, to me, and to a few people I know, so far they've come across as very "we're going to do all these things the right way." Which I'm sure they're not doing on purpose, but...well, as an example, one of my very first problems with OTW was their announcement of a goal to create a fan history wiki, with no acknowledgement of one that already exists. And when I brought up the existing FanHistory wiki (http://www.fanhistory.com), the responses ranged from politely dismissive to downright vitriolic. And to see something I know has had hours and hours and hours of work put into it dismissed and insulted and heavily criticized (my favorites were the criticisms about incompleteness and factual error - it's a wiki, anyone is welcome to fix any error they find) and drug through the mud because it wasn't the right fan who owned it...I have a very hard time looking past that to see the good intentions.
I should point out I'm still not decided one way or the other how I feel about OTW. I think from a strictly marketing/PR standpoint they have a long way to go, I think they may be overambitious, I think they're treading in dangerous waters re: legal issues. But at the same time I think a lot of their issues stem from gaps in knowledge that anyone could be expected to have.
Time will tell if that "We'll do ___ the right way" attitude is a misconception, or a reality that will stand in the way of filling those gaps.
(/end butting in)