Battlestar Wiki talk:Think Tank/WGA Strike

Wikistrike?

When I first saw this, I was concerned that it was proposing that WE strike. Which, while that might sound noble, I doubt would have any impact on the thinking on TPTB that make the real decisions. Stopping work (or, more extreme, shutting down the site) would hurt the fans without directly impacting the studios. (I'd like to think that our work does indirectly help them... but we're still here because they suffer us, so I don't want to get too big of a head.)

As for this proposal, I'd be in favor of it. Regardless of the position that we took, just having a visible position at all will help bring attention to the situation to those who weren't aware of it. As almost all contributions to this site involve writing, and are about the stories that the writers(and writer/producers) bring to the table, it's pretty reasonable to expect our community to align more on the side of the writers than otherwise. I'd certainly be welcome to hearing opposing views on the issue... I'd just be surprised if there were too many weighing in on the side of the studios. --Steelviper 08:47, 11 November 2007 (CST)

I have two polarized views on this, both important. (1) It is in Battlestar Wiki's interests as fans of the show to support the writers, since they are the content generators that actually make the show, and form it into something worth watching, worth reading, worth documenting. Without the writers, Battlestar Wiki would not exist. But, (2) Battlestar Wiki does not own Battlestar Galactica in any form. We are allowed to document the various Battlestar Galactica episodes and other media under the legally-specious "fair use" doctrines. In the end, the show is owned by NBC Universal, which, if we took sides in an issue that we do not own, can tick off people in the know and (in the worst case) order a cease-and-desist and shut Battlestar Wiki down in a heartbeat, and petition the transfer of the wiki's content to their wiki.

Because of this, I recommend that Battlestar Wiki stay Neutral on the Writer's Strike. I know that Joe (as well as myself and others as individuals) obviously support the writer's efforts for fair compensation for their efforts, but we must also respect the content owner's right not to have third-parties that haven't any legal involvement with the dispute from generating a protest action on behalf of fans. I think this is the "dark side" of being a free wiki on copyrighted works. As individuals we can support anything and anyone we want. As the organized body of Battlestar Wiki, we can be targeted for politicizing, which is not our purpose. I wouldn't want to tick off the network executives any more than the writers. I don't think we should use Battlestar Wiki as a soapbox in this issue. --Spencerian 12:34, 11 November 2007 (CST)