![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
OTW elections
Oct. 27th, 2011 02:28 amAs many of you know, the OTW* is holding elections for the OTW Board. Six candidates are running for four seats that will open on the Board at the end of 2011.
I've recently seen someone 'pimp' several of the candidates on LJ, and have been feeling unpleasantly weird about this for two reasons.
One, I am not a friend of "vote for my favorite candidate / good friend / beloved sibling because they are awesome!" posts. People should make up their own minds rather than adopt someone else's opinion (because they like that someone's fanworks, or admire them as a BNF, or for whatever other reason).
Two, the candidates being 'pimped' are ones who already have very high recognition, and can be expected to win a seat anyway, merely on the strength of their names and/or non-OTW credentials.
So I think it's important to say one thing.
Please do not just vote for the most famous candidate, or the one with the most impressive credentials, or the biggest BNF. Take the time to look at what each of the candidates actually wants to achieve in respect to the OTW. How do you feel about her priorities? What does she want to improve? Does she even have concrete ideas of what needs to be improved, and how to do it? And: Does she actually need to be on the board in order to achieve whatever it is she wants to do? ... And so on and so forth. Never mind whether or not you recognize her name.
And now – despite great temptation! – I will not tell you to vote for my favorite candidate. Go make up your own mind. :-)
* If you don't know about the fannish Organization for Transformative Works, or OTW for short, do check it out! They have some very worthwhile projects going, including the pan-fandom archive AO3, the fandom wiki Fanlore, and more.
I've recently seen someone 'pimp' several of the candidates on LJ, and have been feeling unpleasantly weird about this for two reasons.
One, I am not a friend of "vote for my favorite candidate / good friend / beloved sibling because they are awesome!" posts. People should make up their own minds rather than adopt someone else's opinion (because they like that someone's fanworks, or admire them as a BNF, or for whatever other reason).
Two, the candidates being 'pimped' are ones who already have very high recognition, and can be expected to win a seat anyway, merely on the strength of their names and/or non-OTW credentials.
So I think it's important to say one thing.
Please do not just vote for the most famous candidate, or the one with the most impressive credentials, or the biggest BNF. Take the time to look at what each of the candidates actually wants to achieve in respect to the OTW. How do you feel about her priorities? What does she want to improve? Does she even have concrete ideas of what needs to be improved, and how to do it? And: Does she actually need to be on the board in order to achieve whatever it is she wants to do? ... And so on and so forth. Never mind whether or not you recognize her name.
And now – despite great temptation! – I will not tell you to vote for my favorite candidate. Go make up your own mind. :-)
* If you don't know about the fannish Organization for Transformative Works, or OTW for short, do check it out! They have some very worthwhile projects going, including the pan-fandom archive AO3, the fandom wiki Fanlore, and more.
