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Hoo boy, the OTW has had a rough couple of weeks. Can I first confess a teeeensy bit of schadenfreude, because some of what I've been waving my hands around all Cassandra-like about for years now it turns out is actually coming to pass (The code is a mess! The organization is in shambles!) when it felt like people looked for every opportunity to label on their fingers the reasons why AO3 was superior to any independent site a stupid fan (like me!) might want to set up because of its institutional heft. I said this, not even six months ago: "But I am most comfortable with governance that takes into account local needs and culture. I also think it is downright empowering to take care of yourself and your community rather than relying on someone else, no matter how benevolent they are ... or seem." Seem! Heh. But that aside.
To sum up the OTW's very bad no-good month: There was the whole AI kerfuffle that I wrote about in my last post. From May 17-30, End OTW Racism waged a campaign (which seems to have been pretty successful) to call attention to the fact that the OTW has gone three years without doing much of anything toward fulfilling their promises to address racism within the OTW. Then there's the former volunteer who spoke out about problems on the Policy & Abuse committee and has subsequently been vaguely accused by the Legal team to have attacked hundreds of volunteers with CSEM. Combined, this all seems to have had the effect of exposing multiple problems with how the OTW is run and governed.
Truly, I want the OTW/AO3 to be successful. It would be a disaster (and I don't think that's too strong a word) if AO3 in particular were to fail. My gripe isn't with OTW/AO3 (which has been consistently clear across the years that they do not wish to centralize fandom unto themselves) but with the people who worship at the altar of OTW/AO3 to the extent that they think there should be nogod archive but theirs. I'm hoping that whatever shit needs to be gotten together at the OTW can be gotten together for them to pull out of this funk they're in.
Because I'm interested in fanworks archives generally, I've been following everything that's going on with growing interest, and of course lots of people are expressing what they'd hope to see change. But some of those things would make the OTW ... not the OTW. By which I mean that the core purpose of the organization would be changed.
( Read more... )
To sum up the OTW's very bad no-good month: There was the whole AI kerfuffle that I wrote about in my last post. From May 17-30, End OTW Racism waged a campaign (which seems to have been pretty successful) to call attention to the fact that the OTW has gone three years without doing much of anything toward fulfilling their promises to address racism within the OTW. Then there's the former volunteer who spoke out about problems on the Policy & Abuse committee and has subsequently been vaguely accused by the Legal team to have attacked hundreds of volunteers with CSEM. Combined, this all seems to have had the effect of exposing multiple problems with how the OTW is run and governed.
Truly, I want the OTW/AO3 to be successful. It would be a disaster (and I don't think that's too strong a word) if AO3 in particular were to fail. My gripe isn't with OTW/AO3 (which has been consistently clear across the years that they do not wish to centralize fandom unto themselves) but with the people who worship at the altar of OTW/AO3 to the extent that they think there should be no
Because I'm interested in fanworks archives generally, I've been following everything that's going on with growing interest, and of course lots of people are expressing what they'd hope to see change. But some of those things would make the OTW ... not the OTW. By which I mean that the core purpose of the organization would be changed.
( Read more... )
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