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Hal Duncan @ BSCreview on the Outer Alliance October 1, 2009

Posted by Natania in : The Outer Alliance, announcements, links , add a comment

Since the Outer Alliance came into existence last month, we’ve grown rather large rather fast, and we’ve already seen some surprising controversy and discussion. Outer Alliance member Hal Duncan recently wrote an article for BSCreview entitled “Notes from New Sodom: To the Water Fountains” which contains within a rather remarkable reflection on some of what we’ve been able to achieve in the last month and change. I was particularly taken with his reflections on the FFO issue and its aftermath.

But in place of another fucking FailFail, what we ended up with was not just a host of impassioned but level-headed criticism and statements of support, but tangible positive outcomes, with the rejected ad being displayed on scores of blogs and journals and free advertising space being offered by at least one major site. No shitstorm. No FailFail. This was a Win.

You might well agree; I sincerely hope you do. Or if you disagree, I hope it’s because you’re a bolshie motherfucker yourself, and think that shitstorms are exactly what’s called for in the face of prejudice. That’s fair enough. Still, even amongst those who agree, I’m kind of curious, to be honest, as to how much these sort of issues hit others in the gut and how much this sort of result just gives… a warm glow of affirmation that, yes, we can all be nice to each other and make the world a nicer place.

When I first sent out the call for members for the Outer Alliance, this is exactly the sort of justice I hoped we’d achieve. Did I think it would happen so swiftly and within our first few weeks of being? Well, no. But that it did just brought us together and affirmed that yes, this group is needed and is absolutely essential in the speculative writing community.

Thank you, Hal! And thank you all for being part of the Outer Alliance.

Outer Alliance Pride Day Posts Begin! September 1, 2009

Posted by Natania in : Outer Alliance Pride Day, The Outer Alliance, membership , 39comments

oalpridebannerDC

Outer Alliance Pride Day has officially begun around the world! We’ll be updating the post here as more appear. Thanks to everyone for contributing, and for those who’d like to join along, it’s never too late. Just link to this post, and your pingback will appear in our comments. Keep in mind that many of these links will go live during the day (as noted).

As a member of the Outer Alliance, I advocate for queer speculative fiction and those who create, publish and support it, whatever their sexual orientation and gender identity.  I make sure this is reflected in my actions and my work.

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Poll: Forum or Email? August 24, 2009

Posted by Natania in : The Outer Alliance, membership, polls , 4comments

A week ago, we started The Outer Alliance. At the time, we had about four members. By Wednesday we had forty. This morning we have 107.

In order to facilitate easier conversation and organization throughout, we’re considering having a forum.

The pros? It means we can order our thoughts a little better. Currently the GoogleGroups systems works on some levels, but doesn’t really allow for categorization. I like ordered little categories and responses. They make me happy.

Cons? A forum would require another login, and would make email notifications completely up to the user. It also would likely mean a little more in the way of moderation.

So, I thought I would leave the decision to you all. If a majority would like a forum, we’ll set one up that you can access directly off the site. If not, we’ll keep the current system as it is.

Thanks for the feedback!

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