I’m not bringing up epistemology to excuse their statement. I’m bringing it up because I think it’s interesting that there is this disconnect between what the space is from the perspective of the community, and what Terraform saw the space as. I don’t think Terraform pulled a Christopher Columbus and was like “uninhabited land! let’s move in!” I think it is because there is maybe a slightly different aim between this publisher and the rest of the community. I don’t think they are blind to the current community; but in their attempts to go somewhere else, they trampled over it. I’m curious about their real motive, rather than just assuming that they’re ignorant. And at the same time, I don’t want to say that the statement was innocuous, because it wasn’t. As Sarah mentioned in her comment above, it is the difference between “meant to” and “did”. “Did” is what is obviously more important, but I am interested in “meant to” from a forensic perspective.

Because, while a new platform should never alienate or belittle anyone, we shouldn’t expect that it will completely comply with current expectations, either. So, how does a platform identify a new space for new types of work, without insulting those currently making work? The point of being avant-garde, is to not be like the status quo, and to distance yourself from the status quo. I think Sarah’s essay here is very important, because it rightly raises the question of erasure in the act of defining a avant-garde. If you are going to claim that the scene is passe, then you will be implicitly be claiming that those who fought for representation in that scene fought for nothing. So, how do you critique the current status of creative work without glossing over these important political movements within that community? Clearly, making blanket statements about “dearths” is not a good way to start. But I think figuring out the right way is important, as someone who tries to explore new contexts for creative work, while also recognizing the fundamental important of equal access to those new contexts.

The core of their statement was incorrect in a way that aggrandizes themselves at the expense of everyone who worked to create the space they’re moving into. That’s the bottom line. There is not an epistemological model or theory that alters that fact. The distinction between non-fiction and fiction doesn’t enter into it. Whether they’re part of or aware of the community is irrelevant.

I totally believe they MEANT to say that, yeah. But that’s just… not what they said. They said there was a “dearth” of it as a whole, which is, again, untrue. I really believe they misphrased it, but they could have accomplished the exact same thing by saying “There is a lot of short SF online right now but most of it isn’t positioned to make its way in front of a wider audience, which is unfortunate, because people miss great stuff. We aim to fix that by featuring the best short SF fiction from the best writers working today. That’s our mission, that’s why we’re here, that’s why we’re unique.” They would have been received with loud applause on all sides.

Again, they really seem to not have understood that when you launch something like this, you’re talking to authors in the genre in which you’re publishing whether or not you want to. If they had realized that and acted accordingly, a huge amount if not all of the ensuing kerfuffle could have been avoided.

Thanks very much for highlighting Shadmi and Torres – art usually doesn’t get enough appreciation, I think, and that’s important.

Also wanted to point out the artists involved with the opening, Koren Shadmi and Gustavo Torres. I don’t know their ethnicities, genders, or other relevant identities, but I think they made a serious contribution to the opening of this site, and just thought they shouldn’t be forgotten. As one of the three white/male authors out of four, I did feel blockish, when I saw the opening line up, and hope that changes. To that point, I would highly encourage those of less-respresented identifications to submit, because Claire Evans, the fourth author and one of the editors, is excellent to work with.