Meta Links 11-13-14 through 11-19-14
Notices
If you have meta to submit or rec, please comment to this post or to the screened Submissions Post. If you'd like to give us blanket permission to link your meta please comment to the Blanket Permissions Post. If you have feedback or questions, check out our FAQ, Contact the Mods, or PM/email. If you'd like to volunteer to link-find or mod, please comment to the Volunteers Post.
Links
General Fandom
Day 1: The History of Podfic: anatsuno, general_jinjur, and paraka (podcast) - "Podfic has a long and varied history, check out pod_aware on DW, LJ or Tumblr to hear some personal accounts of podfic history."
topic:fandom, topic:podfic
A Cast of Thousands...: Jennifer Cruise (blog) - "My theory of character casts is that you basically have four kinds of characters. This is not a rule, it's not even a tool. It's just the way I sort characters."
topic:writing
Everyone gets 15 Minutes of FAE Doubleplus Fun: quinn (blog) - "The problem for me comes in having to move from narrative to quantities and numbers. How can I make the narrative arcs of the shows fit numbers? Yes, I can develop systems and mechanics for this, but what if I want to just get something together really quickly? Let's say I want to play Sleepy Hollow as an RPG in about 15 minutes?"
topic:gaming
Steampunk and the Heroine's Journey: Part Four Appendix: Mary Sheridan (blog) - "Given the large number of established, up-and-coming, mainstream, independent, and self-published novels on the market, this a relatively small sampling, and still these writers' comments form an eloquent, multi-layered answer to the question, "Why write Steampunk?""
topic:femalecharacter, topic:herosjourney
Assembly of Geeks Awakens the Force: Assembly of Geeks (podcast) - "In today's Geek Assembly meeting, we react to the title of the new Star Wars movie and how it may or may not tie-in to recent Luke Skywalker rumors.
We'll also discuss our favorite animated movies, review Big Hero 6 and ponder whether or not there needs to be a Toy Story 4."
fandom:starwars, fandom:bighero6, fandom:toystory
The Chilling Familiarity of Gamergate: mikelywhiplash (blog) - "On some broad, unsettling level, these are guys like me. They're men. They're straight. They're white. They're about my age. They're middle-class, educated, Americans. They like fantasy novels, comics, sci-fi, and Game of Thrones. They claim to speak for me. The hatred, rage, and violence espoused by Gamergate emerged out of my same world. Why is it them and not me?"
topic:fandom, topic:gamergate
When Are Two Comics the Same Comic (Part V): Roy T. Cook (blog) - "This is not to say that I believe that the unwrapped version of The Court of Owls is not an instance of the same comic as the inked-and-colored version. But I do think the question is a difficult one, and that the obvious quick strategies for defending an affirmative answer are flawed. In addition, we do have very different aesthetic experiences when reading the two different versions of the story, suggesting a negative answer isn’t completely out of the question. So, is the unwrapped version of The Court of Owls an instance of the same comic as the inked-and-colored version?"
fandom:comics
Transsexual Supervillainy: Chris Gavaler (blog) - "[The Master] may be evil, but not the transsexual transformation. That’s a first in pop culture supervillainy."
fandom:doctorwho, fandom:comics, topic:transgender, topic:transformation
Specific Fandom
Agents Of Shield
Meta on Ward’s Motives: drunkpuppycannottype (tumblr) - "I’m just not really buying the whole “he didn’t have a choice” argument."
fandom:agentsofshield
American Gods
Microreview [book]: American Gods by Neil Gaiman: Tia (blog) - "What it really is, is a piece of literary mastery that does what good literature does best: states where we are, where we came from, and where we are going as a people, a culture."
fandom:literature
Avatar
Oh, My Pop Culture Religion: Avatar, Eywa, and Faith: MadameAce (blog) - "Avatar is one of those movies it's easy to have mixed feelings about."
fandom:avatar
Batman
Ask Chris #220: Catwoman And The Villainous Love Interest: Chris Sims (blog) - "But at the same time, she's probably the single most successful example of a cliché that bugs me to no end: The Villainous Love Interest."
fandom:dccomics
Big Hero 6
Big Hero 6: oyceter (DW) - "I feel with this, Frozen, and Wreck-It Ralph, Disney is really entering another golden age (I know, all the critics say that...), which makes me happy despite all my issues with Disney because Disney is so much of my childhood."
fandom:bighero6
Black-ish
What 'Black-ish' gets wrong about race in post-Ferguson America: Lola Bakare (blog) - "Instead of jumping on this trend, ABC's new show Black-ish digs in its heels and insists that a black TV show must focus only on "black problems"-in this case the challenges of living in the 'burbs."
fandom:black-ish
Chronicles of Narnia
Untitled: sharpestrose, elidyce, formerqueenregent (tumblr) - "Susan was Aslan's big fucking success. The others couldn't do it."
fandom:chroniclesofnarnia
Constantine
What NBC's 'Constantine' Is Getting Completely Wrong About Constantine: Jacob Hall (blog) - "And it's for a completely unfair reason that's going to make me sound like a self-entitled fanboy: the main character of this show, the one who goes by John Constantine, is an impostor."
fandom:constantine
Doctor Who
Is Doctor Who’s Missy Reveal Progressive or Patronizing: Sarah Arboleda (blog) - "Instead, there were two proper, spine-tingling, didn’t-see-it-coming surprises."
fandom:doctorwho, warning:spoilers
The Free
Microreview [book]: The Free by Brian Ruckley: Tia (blog) - "The Free by Brian Ruckley is a gritty (but not quite grimdark) stand-alone fantasy that follows the last and greatest company of mercenaries (a.k.a The Free) as they take on one final contract to right a wrong done long ago."
fandom:literature
FullMetal Alchemist/Harry Potter
On Epilogues: Comparing Harry Potter and Fullmetal Alchemist cora_morant: (LJ) - "Long before I ever saw FMA, I was into Harry Potter. Really, really into Harry Potter. And I distinctly remember the dustup about the epilogue. It seemed like most people hated it, or at best were pretty ‘meh’ about it."
fandom:fullmetalchemist, fandom:harrypotter, topic:canon, topic:fandom
Hocus Pocus
Why 'Hocus Pocus 2' is the sequel the Internet deserves: Nico Lang (blog) - "Last week marked an observance nearly as perennial as watching Hocus Pocus at Halloween: the Internet collectively freaking out over the possibility of a sequel."
fandom:hocuspocus
Horns
Horns and Male Entitlement Culture: Rebecca Pahle (blog) - "That’s when the film takes a turn for the good with one scene that says a lot about the culture of male entitlement that’s been rearing its ugly head of late with things like GamerGate, CelebGate, and StreetHarassmentThankfullyNotaGateGate"
fandom:horns, topic:misogyny
Legend of Korra
A Midseason Analysis Of 'The Legend Of Korra' Book Four: Juliet Kahn (blog) - "The Legend of Korra has been about many things-generational divides, anarchy, teen romance-but mostly, it's been about power."
fandom:legendofkorra
Lost
You Can’t Have All the Answers: Lost and the Problem of Induction: Richard Rosenbaum (blog) - "Beyond even that, protesting the absence of sufficient explanations is nothing less than to completely miss the entire point of Lost. Of the many philosophical themes of which Lost was concerned, the central one seemed to be Reason (represented by the character of Jack Shephard) versus Faith (represented by the character of John Locke)."
topic:television
Marvel Cinematic Universe
My Life with the Hill Kill Theorem: dogsbody32 (AO3) - "Bleakly calculating the chances Maria Hill dies in "Age of Ultron". With pictures. And bitterness."
fandom:mcu
SHIELD Clearance Level Discussion: eatinccroutons (tumblr) - " It seems unlikely that Rumlow would have the same clearance level as Steve and Coulson,"
fandom:mcu, topic:canon
Coulson and why the OTP still works: beccaelizabeth (DW) - "It's interesting what fanfic does and doesn't soak up. Clint/Coulson came out of pretty much nothing and is still going strong, but it's mostly ignoring Agents of SHIELD."
fandom:mcu, topic:relationships, topic:canon
Miss Meadows and The Homesman
Miss Meadows & The Homesman Miss The Mark With Their Treatment Of Child Abuse And Mental Illness: Lesley Coffin (blog) - "If Miss Meadows is tackling too little for an entire movie, Tommy Lee Jones'sThe Homesman has to deal with far too much plot."
topic:television
Monument Valley
Memento Re-mori: A Review of Monument Valley: Kristin (blog) - "The game itself requires a paradigm shift, and one that we desperately need."
topic:gaming
Nashville
I'M THE LAST BLACK PERSON IN AMERICA WATCHING NASHVILLE (AND I THINK THE WRITERS KNOW IT): Kendra James (blog) - "Since I am one of approximately five Black people in America watching Nashville (discounting those who accidentally left the television on after Blackish), I doubt the writers are hearing much complaint about anything other than their faltering ratings. So I'm taking this opportunity to put Nashville on notice. No one is going into this soap opera expecting Deep Thoughts On Race, but we're not looking for characters from Song of The South either."
topic:race, topic:representation
Once Upon A Time
Once Upon A Time In Conversation: "Smash the Mirror": Jill Pantozzi (blog) - "No new episode next week but share your thoughts on the episode with fellow viewers below. Spoilers welcome, of course!"
fandom:onceuponatime
Script Analysis Of Hook: n3v3r-mind (tumblr) - "Killian makes a father choose between the health and safety of his son (when we know that Rumple will do ANYTHING, up to and including permanently crippling his leg(!) to protect Bae), and the safety of his wife (in a battle he knows he can’t win)."
fandom:onceuponatime, topic:relationships
The Originals
Klaus’ Fathers: sicklyscribe (tumblr) - "Klaus experiences what it’s like to have a father for a day."
fandom:theoriginals
Person Of Interest
On Canon Ships, Characters and Queer Representation In Person Of Interest Centauri Anthropology: (tumblr) - "So, recently on one of my favorite television shows, Person of Interest, had a queer ship all but confirmed as canon.
"
fandom:personofinterest, topic:queer, topic:canon
Pokemon
On The Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire Demo's Quiet Misogyny: Chalkey Horenstein (blog) - "It initially seems greedy to expect too much more of what isn't even the full game, and is explicitly advertised as such; but several of my friends and I couldn't help but notice that the demo gives a lot more exposure to the male protagonist, Orlando, than the female protagonist, Anna."
fandom:pokemon, topic:sexism
A Song of Ice and Fire
Rhaegar, Rhaegar against the dying of the light: Johnny (blog) - "The World of Ice & Fire makes a compelling case that the tournament of Harrenhal in the year of the false spring was a pretense for the great lords to discuss the growing problem that was the Mad King."
fandom:asoiaf
ON THE WESTEROSI ECONOMY: A RESPONSE TO “MORE DARKNESS THAN LIGHT”: Steven Attewell (blog) - "Ok, a while back, madeinmyr responded to my rebuttal of their critique of A Laboratory of Politics Part III. I had been intending to reply for some time, but a half-finished version of this got eaten by a browser crash, and I got delayed."
fandom:asoiaf
Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Arya V, ACOK: Steven Attewell (blog) - "For all of my past criticism of some meandering in Arya's storyline, Arya V actually has some really interesting thematic and plot elements going on, despite being something of a detour on the road to Harrenhal."
fandom:asoiaf
Magical Mondays: A Song of Ice and Fire, Magic, and Science: MadameAce (blog) - "Though, like many fantasy stories before it, A Song of Ice and Fire takes place in a medieval setting, has dragons, and is probably going to end with an epic battle between the forces of good against the forces of evil, it is not a typical fantasy story. One of the reasons for that is its use of magic."
fandom:asoiaf
Supernatural
Supernatural's 200th episode is a fitting tribute to its fangirls: Aja Romano (blog) - "But if Wednesday night's 200th episode of Supernatural (SPN), "Fan Fiction," taught us anything, it was that even the hoariest, most testosterone-filled chestnuts can grow and evolve."
fandom:supernatural, warning:spoilers
X-Men
Sexualized Saturdays: Gendered Powers in the X-Men: polyglotpisces (blog) - "Follow me after the jump as I look at some of the intersections of gender and superpowers in the comics of the X-Folk."
fandom:x-men
Special PSA
This is more than a little outside our purview and is older than what we usually post, but we thought readers might be interested, and it is important.
Henneth Annun, a major Tolkien archive containing more than 6000 stories, will be closing at the end of the year due to problems with server hacks. Efforts are underway to save the contents, but some things, like themed rec lists, are probably going to be lost.
Links:
The initial announcement post on the HASA LJ. There are other relevant posts on the journal.
This and this are news posts on the archive itself.
This entry contains the initial efforts to organize to try to save the contents of the archive. It's a starting point for those wanting to help.
There's probably more information out there about this, but these links are, we hope, a reasonable starting point.
If you have meta to submit or rec, please comment to this post or to the screened Submissions Post. If you'd like to give us blanket permission to link your meta please comment to the Blanket Permissions Post. If you have feedback or questions, check out our FAQ, Contact the Mods, or PM/email. If you'd like to volunteer to link-find or mod, please comment to the Volunteers Post.
Links
General Fandom
Day 1: The History of Podfic: anatsuno, general_jinjur, and paraka (podcast) - "Podfic has a long and varied history, check out pod_aware on DW, LJ or Tumblr to hear some personal accounts of podfic history."
topic:fandom, topic:podfic
A Cast of Thousands...: Jennifer Cruise (blog) - "My theory of character casts is that you basically have four kinds of characters. This is not a rule, it's not even a tool. It's just the way I sort characters."
topic:writing
Everyone gets 15 Minutes of FAE Doubleplus Fun: quinn (blog) - "The problem for me comes in having to move from narrative to quantities and numbers. How can I make the narrative arcs of the shows fit numbers? Yes, I can develop systems and mechanics for this, but what if I want to just get something together really quickly? Let's say I want to play Sleepy Hollow as an RPG in about 15 minutes?"
topic:gaming
Steampunk and the Heroine's Journey: Part Four Appendix: Mary Sheridan (blog) - "Given the large number of established, up-and-coming, mainstream, independent, and self-published novels on the market, this a relatively small sampling, and still these writers' comments form an eloquent, multi-layered answer to the question, "Why write Steampunk?""
topic:femalecharacter, topic:herosjourney
Assembly of Geeks Awakens the Force: Assembly of Geeks (podcast) - "In today's Geek Assembly meeting, we react to the title of the new Star Wars movie and how it may or may not tie-in to recent Luke Skywalker rumors.
We'll also discuss our favorite animated movies, review Big Hero 6 and ponder whether or not there needs to be a Toy Story 4."
fandom:starwars, fandom:bighero6, fandom:toystory
The Chilling Familiarity of Gamergate: mikelywhiplash (blog) - "On some broad, unsettling level, these are guys like me. They're men. They're straight. They're white. They're about my age. They're middle-class, educated, Americans. They like fantasy novels, comics, sci-fi, and Game of Thrones. They claim to speak for me. The hatred, rage, and violence espoused by Gamergate emerged out of my same world. Why is it them and not me?"
topic:fandom, topic:gamergate
When Are Two Comics the Same Comic (Part V): Roy T. Cook (blog) - "This is not to say that I believe that the unwrapped version of The Court of Owls is not an instance of the same comic as the inked-and-colored version. But I do think the question is a difficult one, and that the obvious quick strategies for defending an affirmative answer are flawed. In addition, we do have very different aesthetic experiences when reading the two different versions of the story, suggesting a negative answer isn’t completely out of the question. So, is the unwrapped version of The Court of Owls an instance of the same comic as the inked-and-colored version?"
fandom:comics
Transsexual Supervillainy: Chris Gavaler (blog) - "[The Master] may be evil, but not the transsexual transformation. That’s a first in pop culture supervillainy."
fandom:doctorwho, fandom:comics, topic:transgender, topic:transformation
Specific Fandom
Agents Of Shield
Meta on Ward’s Motives: drunkpuppycannottype (tumblr) - "I’m just not really buying the whole “he didn’t have a choice” argument."
fandom:agentsofshield
American Gods
Microreview [book]: American Gods by Neil Gaiman: Tia (blog) - "What it really is, is a piece of literary mastery that does what good literature does best: states where we are, where we came from, and where we are going as a people, a culture."
fandom:literature
Avatar
Oh, My Pop Culture Religion: Avatar, Eywa, and Faith: MadameAce (blog) - "Avatar is one of those movies it's easy to have mixed feelings about."
fandom:avatar
Batman
Ask Chris #220: Catwoman And The Villainous Love Interest: Chris Sims (blog) - "But at the same time, she's probably the single most successful example of a cliché that bugs me to no end: The Villainous Love Interest."
fandom:dccomics
Big Hero 6
Big Hero 6: oyceter (DW) - "I feel with this, Frozen, and Wreck-It Ralph, Disney is really entering another golden age (I know, all the critics say that...), which makes me happy despite all my issues with Disney because Disney is so much of my childhood."
fandom:bighero6
Black-ish
What 'Black-ish' gets wrong about race in post-Ferguson America: Lola Bakare (blog) - "Instead of jumping on this trend, ABC's new show Black-ish digs in its heels and insists that a black TV show must focus only on "black problems"-in this case the challenges of living in the 'burbs."
fandom:black-ish
Chronicles of Narnia
Untitled: sharpestrose, elidyce, formerqueenregent (tumblr) - "Susan was Aslan's big fucking success. The others couldn't do it."
fandom:chroniclesofnarnia
Constantine
What NBC's 'Constantine' Is Getting Completely Wrong About Constantine: Jacob Hall (blog) - "And it's for a completely unfair reason that's going to make me sound like a self-entitled fanboy: the main character of this show, the one who goes by John Constantine, is an impostor."
fandom:constantine
Doctor Who
Is Doctor Who’s Missy Reveal Progressive or Patronizing: Sarah Arboleda (blog) - "Instead, there were two proper, spine-tingling, didn’t-see-it-coming surprises."
fandom:doctorwho, warning:spoilers
The Free
Microreview [book]: The Free by Brian Ruckley: Tia (blog) - "The Free by Brian Ruckley is a gritty (but not quite grimdark) stand-alone fantasy that follows the last and greatest company of mercenaries (a.k.a The Free) as they take on one final contract to right a wrong done long ago."
fandom:literature
FullMetal Alchemist/Harry Potter
On Epilogues: Comparing Harry Potter and Fullmetal Alchemist cora_morant: (LJ) - "Long before I ever saw FMA, I was into Harry Potter. Really, really into Harry Potter. And I distinctly remember the dustup about the epilogue. It seemed like most people hated it, or at best were pretty ‘meh’ about it."
fandom:fullmetalchemist, fandom:harrypotter, topic:canon, topic:fandom
Hocus Pocus
Why 'Hocus Pocus 2' is the sequel the Internet deserves: Nico Lang (blog) - "Last week marked an observance nearly as perennial as watching Hocus Pocus at Halloween: the Internet collectively freaking out over the possibility of a sequel."
fandom:hocuspocus
Horns
Horns and Male Entitlement Culture: Rebecca Pahle (blog) - "That’s when the film takes a turn for the good with one scene that says a lot about the culture of male entitlement that’s been rearing its ugly head of late with things like GamerGate, CelebGate, and StreetHarassmentThankfullyNotaGateGate"
fandom:horns, topic:misogyny
Legend of Korra
A Midseason Analysis Of 'The Legend Of Korra' Book Four: Juliet Kahn (blog) - "The Legend of Korra has been about many things-generational divides, anarchy, teen romance-but mostly, it's been about power."
fandom:legendofkorra
Lost
You Can’t Have All the Answers: Lost and the Problem of Induction: Richard Rosenbaum (blog) - "Beyond even that, protesting the absence of sufficient explanations is nothing less than to completely miss the entire point of Lost. Of the many philosophical themes of which Lost was concerned, the central one seemed to be Reason (represented by the character of Jack Shephard) versus Faith (represented by the character of John Locke)."
topic:television
Marvel Cinematic Universe
My Life with the Hill Kill Theorem: dogsbody32 (AO3) - "Bleakly calculating the chances Maria Hill dies in "Age of Ultron". With pictures. And bitterness."
fandom:mcu
SHIELD Clearance Level Discussion: eatinccroutons (tumblr) - " It seems unlikely that Rumlow would have the same clearance level as Steve and Coulson,"
fandom:mcu, topic:canon
Coulson and why the OTP still works: beccaelizabeth (DW) - "It's interesting what fanfic does and doesn't soak up. Clint/Coulson came out of pretty much nothing and is still going strong, but it's mostly ignoring Agents of SHIELD."
fandom:mcu, topic:relationships, topic:canon
Miss Meadows and The Homesman
Miss Meadows & The Homesman Miss The Mark With Their Treatment Of Child Abuse And Mental Illness: Lesley Coffin (blog) - "If Miss Meadows is tackling too little for an entire movie, Tommy Lee Jones'sThe Homesman has to deal with far too much plot."
topic:television
Monument Valley
Memento Re-mori: A Review of Monument Valley: Kristin (blog) - "The game itself requires a paradigm shift, and one that we desperately need."
topic:gaming
Nashville
I'M THE LAST BLACK PERSON IN AMERICA WATCHING NASHVILLE (AND I THINK THE WRITERS KNOW IT): Kendra James (blog) - "Since I am one of approximately five Black people in America watching Nashville (discounting those who accidentally left the television on after Blackish), I doubt the writers are hearing much complaint about anything other than their faltering ratings. So I'm taking this opportunity to put Nashville on notice. No one is going into this soap opera expecting Deep Thoughts On Race, but we're not looking for characters from Song of The South either."
topic:race, topic:representation
Once Upon A Time
Once Upon A Time In Conversation: "Smash the Mirror": Jill Pantozzi (blog) - "No new episode next week but share your thoughts on the episode with fellow viewers below. Spoilers welcome, of course!"
fandom:onceuponatime
Script Analysis Of Hook: n3v3r-mind (tumblr) - "Killian makes a father choose between the health and safety of his son (when we know that Rumple will do ANYTHING, up to and including permanently crippling his leg(!) to protect Bae), and the safety of his wife (in a battle he knows he can’t win)."
fandom:onceuponatime, topic:relationships
The Originals
Klaus’ Fathers: sicklyscribe (tumblr) - "Klaus experiences what it’s like to have a father for a day."
fandom:theoriginals
Person Of Interest
On Canon Ships, Characters and Queer Representation In Person Of Interest Centauri Anthropology: (tumblr) - "So, recently on one of my favorite television shows, Person of Interest, had a queer ship all but confirmed as canon.
"
fandom:personofinterest, topic:queer, topic:canon
Pokemon
On The Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire Demo's Quiet Misogyny: Chalkey Horenstein (blog) - "It initially seems greedy to expect too much more of what isn't even the full game, and is explicitly advertised as such; but several of my friends and I couldn't help but notice that the demo gives a lot more exposure to the male protagonist, Orlando, than the female protagonist, Anna."
fandom:pokemon, topic:sexism
A Song of Ice and Fire
Rhaegar, Rhaegar against the dying of the light: Johnny (blog) - "The World of Ice & Fire makes a compelling case that the tournament of Harrenhal in the year of the false spring was a pretense for the great lords to discuss the growing problem that was the Mad King."
fandom:asoiaf
ON THE WESTEROSI ECONOMY: A RESPONSE TO “MORE DARKNESS THAN LIGHT”: Steven Attewell (blog) - "Ok, a while back, madeinmyr responded to my rebuttal of their critique of A Laboratory of Politics Part III. I had been intending to reply for some time, but a half-finished version of this got eaten by a browser crash, and I got delayed."
fandom:asoiaf
Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Arya V, ACOK: Steven Attewell (blog) - "For all of my past criticism of some meandering in Arya's storyline, Arya V actually has some really interesting thematic and plot elements going on, despite being something of a detour on the road to Harrenhal."
fandom:asoiaf
Magical Mondays: A Song of Ice and Fire, Magic, and Science: MadameAce (blog) - "Though, like many fantasy stories before it, A Song of Ice and Fire takes place in a medieval setting, has dragons, and is probably going to end with an epic battle between the forces of good against the forces of evil, it is not a typical fantasy story. One of the reasons for that is its use of magic."
fandom:asoiaf
Supernatural
Supernatural's 200th episode is a fitting tribute to its fangirls: Aja Romano (blog) - "But if Wednesday night's 200th episode of Supernatural (SPN), "Fan Fiction," taught us anything, it was that even the hoariest, most testosterone-filled chestnuts can grow and evolve."
fandom:supernatural, warning:spoilers
X-Men
Sexualized Saturdays: Gendered Powers in the X-Men: polyglotpisces (blog) - "Follow me after the jump as I look at some of the intersections of gender and superpowers in the comics of the X-Folk."
fandom:x-men
Special PSA
This is more than a little outside our purview and is older than what we usually post, but we thought readers might be interested, and it is important.
Henneth Annun, a major Tolkien archive containing more than 6000 stories, will be closing at the end of the year due to problems with server hacks. Efforts are underway to save the contents, but some things, like themed rec lists, are probably going to be lost.
Links:
The initial announcement post on the HASA LJ. There are other relevant posts on the journal.
This and this are news posts on the archive itself.
This entry contains the initial efforts to organize to try to save the contents of the archive. It's a starting point for those wanting to help.
There's probably more information out there about this, but these links are, we hope, a reasonable starting point.