I attended the public #OTW Board meeting yesterday, and it was much much calmer than the last, so I'm back to being able to report on the proceedings without dissolving into hysterical laughter.
I think, despite all of the #OTW drama, what’s really motivating me to migrate or back up my fics is just…redundancy. Ao3’s recent outage was a pretty harsh reminder that centralizing fandom in one place can draw some unpleasant attention or unwanted effects. I do have Google Drive backups, and if Google goes down I’m a little bit screwed. But I’ve got free time, so I’m gonna see how it goes.
Two weeks ago we uplifted two posts from Dhobi ki Kutti, a fan of color and #OTW volunteer, that recount the retaliation she's experienced at the hands of OTW leadership for speaking out against racism within the organization. We support Dhobi ki Kutti in her efforts and continue to amplify her voice.
A thread of my Fandom Elder Izzy memes. Expect profanities 😈
So far there are 18 of these, but if the inspiration hits, I might make more at some point. For many of these, I owe thanks to Lux (https://luxbeatrice.carrd.co) for being my muse.
At this time, all members of the #OTW who are eligible to vote in the August election should have received an email linking to the voting instructions for 2023.
During the first round of #OTW candidate chats Zixin was asked a series of malicious anonymous questions, including one so racist that the Elections committee chose to publicly redact it. Kutti has (with Zixin's permission) posted the redacted question and Zixin's response on DW in an ETA to this post: https://dhobikikutti.dreamwidth.org/135655.html
As kutti says in the comments, Zixin's response is "brilliantly eloquent proof of how high the stakes are here, and what we are fighting for."
Zixin's response illustrates how high the stakes are for volunteers working in mainland China. Kutti's post itself also summarizes some (just some!) of the systemic racism she's experience during her time in the #OTW. Other people have said this far more eloquently than me, but the OTW has a massive problem with systemic racism and (as the retaliation against Kutti shows) astonishing levels of white fragility. And I say this as just a random white fan.
The #OTW Board election on August 11-14 is now uncontested with five candidates and five open positions on the Board, but it’s still important to vote, as OTW members will elect three candidates to serve a full term (3 years) and two candidates to serve partial terms. Whoever gets the most votes will serve the longer terms, so we encourage everyone who’s eligible to vote to do so! #VoteToEndOTWRacism
I read into the list of people applying for the elections with #AO3 ##otw
Sadly I am still unsure and I am a bit sad nobody has words for how to handle some countries blocked the archive.
One person said they have never heard a country blocking the archive because it allows stories on minors - seems that person has never heard of ... Germany?
Here the archive was exactly because of that on google's blacklist for months. The ban was lifted because ... of a formal mistake.
Antonius Melisse and Natalia Gruber have resigned from the #OTW Board of Directors.
Because the number of Board vacancies is now the same as the number of candidates, this year’s OTW Board election will be uncontested. However, the election will still happen, on August 11 – 14, and OTW members will elect three candidates to serve a full-term (3 years) and two candidates to serve partial terms.
We have learned that an #OTW volunteer is currently being retaliated against by leadership within the OTW for speaking out against racism they have experienced. We (Fandom Against Racism) support whatever measures necessary to make the org into a more inclusive, less racist space and offer our wholehearted support to Dhobi ki Kutti.
候选人 Audrey Richards 是共和党[图 1]，参选过国会议员[1]，工作单位研究过 "media w/romanticized abuse and sexual content lacking partner communication may be impacting teens' attitudes and behaviors"[2] AO3 候选人文字问答槽点满满，包括各种（装作）看不懂问题[3]。目前已从单位辞职，声称遭到了“猎巫”，但表示不会退选[4]。AO3 发声明劝大家不要骚扰她[5]。