OTF's Blue Publication January 2013
Navi: How long have you been a member here?
Tanya: 11 years as of December 27th.
Navi: What are the biggest changes you've seen happen during your time?
Tanya: V2 was big, I saw that in my first year.
And the handover from Andrew to Andrew was significant personally as well, as it changed what my significant other was spending his spare time on.
The closing of many departments was big too, though in the opposite direction. What we're doing in Engineering now will be the next big change people will remember.
Navi: What projects or departments have you been part of in the past?
Tanya: I was Division Leader of Aurora (Simming) for quite a while, before passing it on to HAL. I regretted doing so at the time, as I don't think Kaela and I did much good in the short-lived Holidays department. I was an ISA member as well.
I've picked up jobs here and there since then, but I had most success in Aurora, built the most memories and friendships there. Many of the people we still see here today were at one time part of my team: HAL, Keith, DeBoe, and even Iain for a short time.
Navi: Now that you're in charge of Engineering, what are your plans for the department? Any projects you're working on now that you'd like to share with the community?
Tanya: There are three things we'll be working on (and hopefully completing) over the next year.
1. Firefly Chat. This was started over the summer, and is so close to being finished. Hopefully it will please our Joss Whedon fanatics.
2. Game of Thrones Chat. I'm really excited about this one. Winter is Coming.
3. Site updates. There are a few small tweaks we need to make all over the site just to clear out dead pages and links, and bring us quietly into 2013.
Navi: Whom do you have working with you?
Tanya: I work mostly with Trinity, Hobbie, Navi, Synii, and Michiel at the moment. Trinity is full of boundless enthusiasm and is a very hard worker. Hobbie, the wise old sage. Navi, the ever reliable and friendly. Synii has been with me from the beginning, talking Game of Thrones. Michiel and I have just begun working together on some of the art. Even if I didn't mention other team-members by name, I do appreciate them being there, even if they just comment and offer opinions on things.
Navi: What would you like to see from OTF? What is your big vision of what the future holds for the site?
Tanya: Our future is in maintaining what we have and keeping our content and membership active. Community is so important to us as human beings (or Romulans, Wookies, Elves, and other species as listed in our individual dossiers), and it isn't always easy to find it in our modern lives. There will always be value in what OTF has to offer in that sense, and our future is in the same place as our past and present: chat-based community.
I'd like to see more of what we've had over the last half year. I feel like folks are getting excited about OTF again, which is neat to see 10 years after our peak. The return of in-chat Trivia is a huge draw, and I hope that the Firefly and Game of Thrones chats can bring back some of the excitement and magic we had, as well as drawing new membership. Even this issue of the Blue Report marks another return, another step out of hibernation, and I am glad to see it.
Navi: Any further comments you'd like to add?
Tanya: Constant vigilance.