2011-11-16

2011 OTW Board Voting Now Open!

Voting is now open in the 2011 OTW Board elections!

Voting will remain active for a full 48 hours, so you have until 12:00 UTC 18 November to cast your ballot. (What time is that where I am?)

To see the ballot and vote, you must be logged in using your voter account — that's a separate account from any other OTW-related accounts you might have, with a username consisting of randomly-generated numbers to make sure your vote is anonymous and secure. Your voter account username and instructions for how to set your password and log in are contained in your voter emails, so check your inboxes!

You can log in with your voter account here — please note that only a voter account will work there, so be sure you're using the username (string of numbers) from your voter email! If you have not received a voter email and you believe you are eligible to vote through a donation between 1 Oct 2010 and 17 Oct 2011, please contact contact the OTW Elections Officer.

Once you're logged in, the ballot can be found here, and you can read about our candidates here. Questions? Contact the Elections Officer.

You can read more about the elections process on the OTW Elections Website. A vote cannot be canceled or re-cast, so we encourage you to think carefully about your votes!

Additional text added at 15:31 UTC 16 November 2011 is bolded.

Mirrored from an original post on the OTW blog.

2011 OTW Board Voting Now Open!

Links Roundup for 16 November 2011

Here's a roundup of stories on the performative aspects of fandom that might be of interest to fans:

Several researchers at Lousiana State University have been studying sports fans. "Osborne's research on "Performative Sport Fandom" looks at how fandom is socially constructed. Her major area of interest is how the performances of fandom, particularly for hyper-masculine sports like football, work in conjunction with other performances such as gender. Put simply, how is performing as a fan different for women than it is for men?" Another professor studying sports fans' use of social media found "that the more active you are in the these social areas, the more passion you have for the sport and the team. People that were high users had a lot of frustration and anger - they are more aggressive."

One look at a very clear performative aspect of sports fandom is on ESPN’s College GameDay, which relies heavily on fans to provide both audience and backdrop for the broadcast. "At the heart of the show are the students. When I asked coordinating producer Fitting what was the best part about doing GameDay he replied that it was going to a campus for the first time. “To see the excitement and the thrill these kids have to see the guys and be a part of the show, it’s awesome."

Another clear aspect of fans' "performance" is a non-traditional sport taking place on college campuses. A University of Kansas article mentioned the International Quidditch Association's documentary about last year’s World Cup titled “Brooms Up” on YouTube and also the activities of the local team. "The Kansas quidditch team members ...travelled to Overland Park on Saturday afternoon to teach local kids how to play quidditch or, as they call it, “kidditch.”"

If you're part of a sports fandom or on a quidditch team, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW. Mirrored from an original post on the OTW blog. Find related news by viewing our tag cloud.

Links Roundup for 16 November 2011

Here's a roundup of stories on the performative aspects of fandom that might be of interest to fans:

Several researchers at Lousiana State University have been studying sports fans. "Osborne's research on "Performative Sport Fandom" looks at how fandom is socially constructed. Her major area of interest is how the performances of fandom, particularly for hyper-masculine sports like football, work in conjunction with other performances such as gender. Put simply, how is performing as a fan different for women than it is for men?" Another professor studying sports fans' use of social media found "that the more active you are in the these social areas, the more passion you have for the sport and the team. People that were high users had a lot of frustration and anger - they are more aggressive."

One look at a very clear performative aspect of sports fandom is on ESPN’s College GameDay, which relies heavily on fans to provide both audience and backdrop for the broadcast. "At the heart of the show are the students. When I asked coordinating producer Fitting what was the best part about doing GameDay he replied that it was going to a campus for the first time. “To see the excitement and the thrill these kids have to see the guys and be a part of the show, it’s awesome."

Another clear aspect of fans' "performance" is a non-traditional sport taking place on college campuses. A University of Kansas article mentioned the International Quidditch Association's documentary about last year’s World Cup titled “Brooms Up” on YouTube and also the activities of the local team. "The Kansas quidditch team members ...travelled to Overland Park on Saturday afternoon to teach local kids how to play quidditch or, as they call it, “kidditch.”"