My take on making it all time-sensitive is this.

The writers are fighting a shitty and much-needed fight, and they're in the immensely shitty position of having to start every single discussion about that fight with a preemptive explanation of every damn nuance of the history of that fight because they know it's an uphill battle. The majority of the comments on various writers' blogs I've seen have been positive (mostly from people connected to the industry or involved in unions and labor organizing), but there's a definite strong online minority (which likely translates to something closer to an offline majority) opinion that the writers are all rich and greedy and just pissed-off that the studios are even richer. The WGA doesn't hit instant-sympathy buttons like striking coal miners or strawberry pickers; if anything, they hit a lot of people's instant-antipathy buttons.

The more visible and vocal support the writers get from a wide range of voices, the better. And the sooner, the better, because if they're starting out having to make up for a lot of (however unfairly) pre-lost sympathy, it's just going to get worse the longer the strike drags on.

Yes, this. Support is timely. Supporting people we love is especially timely.

eventually no watching stop-gap reality shows/reruns/special programming.

That's not going to be a problem.

Yes, this. Support is timely. Supporting people we love is especially timely.

Yup. And we do have Buffista screenwriters, which makes it feel even more relevant. At least, to me.

I am with JZ, Kristin, and Steph. We're very pretty!

The site says anyone is free to make their own version of the icon, so I made one.

[link]

Just...being proactive. It can go away again if we decide not to use it, and can be re-sized to fit other dimensions.

Love it, Deena! Hell yes, support the writers! I'm for whatever!

I agree that we should vote, for precedent's sake.

I would support a bullshit consensus to begin voting as soon as we have a specific plan laid out, provided that voting is open on at least one weekend day and one week day.

I would also support adding Deena's graphic or one like it at the same height as the logo, either in place of the logo for the duration of the strike or immediately to the right of it. Immediately to the left would be aesthetically displeasing to me.

Go go gadget fandom. Support the writers. I'll vote early and often, whenever the community decides.

That is all.

I think people are interchanging a couple of ideas here.

• One is supporting the WGA.
• The other is aligning with the Fans4Writers.com support of the WGA

I believe that Allyson is proposing some version of the second. And if so, that needs to be spelled out, for the vote. What that involves and what committment the Buffistas are making.

On one end of the spectrum, we can do that banner, post a link and say, yeah, B.org is on board, yay! On the other end, we establish as a Campaign Affiliate and begin to work out how we align Buffistas support activities.

The Fans4Writers site is looking to Consolidate the fanbase support of the Writers and the WGA. There site provides a lot of resources and ideas on how to effectively do that.

• There's a Strike FAQ page which is being continually updated.

• A Participation page with ideas about how to support the Strikers; contact the Networks; contact the Advertisers; and get the word out.

• Then there is "Food for Thought", which is co-ordination of and help with the snacks for the picket lines approach. Part of it is to manage volunteers, part of it is to collect funds, but part of it is trying to consolidate the response and spread the efforts to avoid clustering. It also provides a way for fandoms or fansites to give as a group for their own specified agendas, but without any real risk of money disappearing or efforts being wasted.

I do think that there will be overwhelming support to align the b.org and to take on whatever that involves according to how Allyson writes the end ballot.

But I also don't think that anyone wants to have to keep coming back and choosing between consensus and voting every time some new show of support crops up. That's the situation we created when we decided to move with Bureaucracy and voting and for it to have any value, we have to honour it in all situations.

Maybe though, the decision isn't about aligning with this particular group, but whether Buffistas wish to actively support the WGA and how they will do that. I'm not trying to make this more difficult than it needs to be, but if we take a bit longer now, thinking it through, I believe we'll overcome some delays and be able to act faster, and more effectively later on.

Personally, I'd suggest electing a couple of representatives to run with it, whatever may come up. They can take responsibility for making calls when they are comfortable doing so and for taking the boards temperature on things they aren't so sure about. They can alert the board to things that are happening, opportunitites to donate, ways to volunteer etc. And in electing them, everyone else agrees to be personally responsible for keeping up with the discussions in whichever thread they are taking place.

It's not a bullshit consensus if we elect our Spartacuses, right?

A Participation page with ideas about how to support the Strikers; contact the Networks; contact the Advertisers; and get the word out.

Other than the AMPTP address on that page, has anyone consolidated a list of the Advertisers? I don't mean all of them. Just the main ones that you see over and over.

topicy: I would completely support an alliance and would love to see a support logo on the site.