alias_sqbr

I don't remember what I specifically replied to Dave when he asked me. My opinions may even have shifted somewhat since then, as I am reading the questions raised, the criticisms and discussions, and thinking about them.

I do have responses to a few of your specific points; I can tell you where I'm coming from with regards the OTW, but keep in mind that the Organisation is bigger than the sum of its parts.

--First up, the OTW does not "claim to be speaking for all creators of 'transformative works'".
That would be an impossible task just on the face of it, as fandom is not a cohesive unit; but also, not all transformative works are fannish. For instance, pro-writers have used similar sources and techniques, and so have "fans" of things outside of what is commonly understood to be fandom in this context of "media/sf/rpf" (and how I wish we had a better name for this part of fandom, which is narrow enough to distinguish fans of transformative works from the broader fandom of convention-goers and so on, but still wide enough to allow people clearly working within this context to feel included). For example, I went to Keating the other night, and it has a lot in common with RPF, but clearly is not arising from the same tradition, and its writers would not fall under the charter of the OTW (for that work anyway, perhaps they are closet slashers :).

What the OTW is attempting to do -- our mission -- is to serve fans of these kinds of transformative fan works, if they wish to use our services. "By fans for fans," that's the motto.

--Regarding this idea of primarily female space: no one at OTW, as far as I'm aware, has ever said that non-female fans have no value or are unwelcome to participate in the Organisation. In my opinion, it is possible for the OTW to value the historical roots of the fanfic/vidding/fan-art/meta part of fandom we're discussing, which as you say, is and continues to be primarily, but not exclusively, female, while also valuing other creators of transformative works. They aren't mutually exclusive ideas -- we can value both. We may well make another change to the wording of this aspect of our Values statement -- it's something we are still actively considering and fine-tuning.

There are several reasons the OTW makes a positive statement about valuing the predominantly female nature of this part of fandom, among them: this aspect of our history has been a big influence on our fannish traditions and values, and hence the values of the Organisation; female-centred arts communities are still unusual in the wider culture, so it is worthy of notice; and leaving it out is a kind of silencing of a central part of how we came to be.