OTW Election Candidate Chats and Q&A Roundup 2021

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2021-07-13 17:39:17 UTC

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Organization for Transformative Works Elections News: Cast Your Vote!

The Elections season is in full swing! We have chats with candidates coming up soon. You can also find links to the candidates' answers to your questions at the bottom of this post.

Chats

There will be four public chats, all of which will last 90 minutes. All of them will have 2 candidates in attendance. Chats will take place in our public chatroom.
They are scheduled for:

Tuesday, July 20, from 12:00 UTC to 13:30 UTC – Antonius Melisse and Laure Dauban (What time is Chat 1 where I live?)
Friday, July 23, from 19:00 UTC to 20:30 UTC – E. Anna Szegedi and Laure Dauban (What time is Chat 2 where I live?)
Saturday, July 24, from 20:00 UTC to 21:30 UTC – E. Anna Szegedi and Kari Dayton (What time is Chat 3 where I live?)
Saturday, July 31, from 21:00 UTC to 22:30 UTC – Antonius Melisse and Kari Dayton (What time is Chat 4 where I live?)

During these chats, chat attendees will have the opportunity to ask the candidates questions not already covered in their platforms, bios, and Q&A, as well as to ask individual questions of specific candidates. New questions will only be accepted for the first hour of the scheduled chat time to make sure candidates have time to finish them all.

We hope that you can join us for one or all of these chats!

Please note that though the link to the public chatroom is already active, chatting capabilities will not be enabled until approximately half an hour before the chats begin. Read on to learn more about using Discord.

On the login page, you'll need to provide a screen name.
Once you enter the server, you'll find a list of users on the right and a list of chat rooms on the left. Settings are available via the gear icon on the lower left, near your screen name; there you can choose, among other options, whether you prefer a dark or light chat room appearance.
There are three rooms available to chat attendees who are not candidates or Elections Committee staffers: general, candidate_chats, and open_chat.
- General is where you'll find a list of rules for the chats. Please read through these carefully before entering the other two rooms.
- Candidate_chats is where the candidates will answer questions and debate amongst themselves. Only the candidates and moderator will be able to chat in this room.
- Open_chat is where all attendees can participate and talk to each other. We ask that you try to stay on topics related to the election. A moderator will be in the room, so if you have a question for the candidates, you can signal the moderator with o/, the candidate's name, and the question. Use o// if it's a follow-up question to the current discussion.

Q&A

When we posted the Board candidates' bios and platforms, we asked the public to submit additional questions for them. Once again, our sincere thanks to everyone who did so! We have been posting groups of questions as the candidates finished them, and 2 have been posted so far. For the categories that have not yet been posted, the dates they will be posted are listed in parentheses.
To navigate answers by individual candidate, please use the links below:

The following is a list of the topics covered by the questions. Clicking on a topic will take you to the tag containing all the candidates' answers on that topic.

To read all the posts regarding Q&A, simply select the 2021 Q&A tag.

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

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wtf (Guest) Wed 14 Jul 2021 09:32AM UTC

I'm genuinely curious as to what the chuds who asked those inane, tendentious questions about "racism in AO3" are actually fucking talking about? Like, do they have any specific instances of what constitutes "racism" on a fucking fanfic website? Or are they just repeating buzzwords to sound woke? And what the hell do they think a fucking fanfic website is supposed to "solve racism"? Like, bruh. Jesus Christ, can't we just enjoy our smut in peace? I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

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also (Guest) Wed 14 Jul 2021 09:34AM UTC

also, they all misunderstood the question about the supension/previous violation rule

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1. shinykari (meinterrupted) Fri 16 Jul 2021 07:19PM UTC
  
  The question was worded poorly. They answered the question that was posed.
  
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2. 1. nah (Guest) Mon 19 Jul 2021 11:06AM UTC
    
    If you read the whole question it's rather easy to understand what they're asking.
    
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  2. 1. shinykari (meinterrupted) Mon 19 Jul 2021 01:46PM UTC
      
      I did read your whole question, OP, multiple times, and I didn't understand it. Once I read your comments on a previous news post, it made a lot more sense--but that context was not in the question. And frankly, a TOS violation is a TOS violation is a TOS violation. Once you got notice that they were breaking the rules, it becomes your responsibility to ensure you don't break them again. Commercial advertisement has been against TOS from the beginning of OTW, and is integral to keeping its non-profit status. Abuse gives notice and a chance to fix the problem before moving to time-limited suspension. It is not their responsibility to ensure that the email you provided is accurate; it is yours. Just because you didn't like the answer they gave doesn't mean it was wrong.
      
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ftw (Guest) Wed 14 Jul 2021 09:56PM UTC

I'm genuinely curious as to what the chuds who ask leading questions in bad faith about racism on ao3 are actually fucking talking about? Like, do they have any idea that some fans would prefer not to think about this shit on any fucking website? Do they understand that racist moderators and racist challenges and racist users and racist tags and racist comments and racist fic do not make for a neutral experience on a fucking fanfic website? Or are they just obsessed with this pathetic idea of "wokeness" that they've built up in their heads? And what the hell, do they think that ao3 has not already made it abundantly clear for years that they are more interested in work preservation than they are in user protection? Like, bruh. Jesus Christ, can't they understand that some fans have been trying to enjoy smut in peace for a very long time but racism completely ruins this experience? I guess I wouldn't want them to live on this planet, either.

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1. LaikaFlash Thu 15 Jul 2021 01:46AM UTC
  
  I guess it's because reading comprehension is now, as the kids say, "cringe".
  
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2. hi bitch (Guest) Thu 15 Jul 2021 04:20AM UTC
  
  This is exactly what I'm talking about. You keep repeating rAcIsT like it's some sort of mantra that's supposed to make people take you seriously.
  "racist moderators and racist challenges and racist users and racist tags and racist comments and racist fic"
  Post your fucking receipts. I guarantee you've got nothing--nothing any sane person would consider worthy of notice, anyway.
  
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not satisfied (Guest) Thu 15 Jul 2021 03:28AM UTC

I feel none of them are understanding the suspension/previous violation question.
The user simply wants to know if after having been suspended a user has to in the span of one week go through possibly hundreds of their fictions to attempt to find everything posted previously to their ban that may be a rule violation. (this is how long they give you after your suspension is over) They're pointing out that if the user is currently behaving this isn't reasonable or fair, and I agree.
As it stands this way of reporting only serves to encourage those with a vendetta to rather then report all of a users offensive stuff, wait and report one each month in order to give the user as many suspensions as possible.
A few of the answers said this would impact PAC greatly, but it would not. They could simply implement a rule that all appeals for bans from old violations go through instantly.
Nobody who has changed their behavior should have to suffer multiple bans for old violations.

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1. Finlaena Thu 15 Jul 2021 02:56PM UTC
  
  "Nobody who has changed their behavior should have to suffer multiple bans for old violations."
  Sadly, in this day and age some people believe no one is capable of change in any positive way from past behaviors or actions.
  
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2. 1. agreed (Guest) Thu 15 Jul 2021 08:25PM UTC
    
    That sadly seems true. The ao3 candidates, in particular the Antonius one, seem especially unwilling to believe this and unsympathetic.
    
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  2. Wrong (Guest) Sat 17 Jul 2021 01:03AM UTC
    
    The user in question keeps breaking the rules and refuses to believe they have any responsibility for their own actions. They can bite it, frankly.
    
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3. ? (Guest) Thu 15 Jul 2021 04:13PM UTC
  
  If the user who now knows what they did wrong was wrong and they don't fix it, the only way for the PAC to know is for the wrong works to be reported. The user agreed to the rules when they created their account; the lack of action to change is not anyone's fault put the user themself.
  
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4. 1. do you have no life? (Guest) Thu 15 Jul 2021 08:20PM UTC
    
    You realize people have a life outside of ao3 and may not be able to catch or remove all their previous violations? Especially when given only a week to do so.
    Also the rules are not always clear in certain cases. I thought what I did wasn't violating any rules but a mod claimed it was, even though looking thro the rules again and again I can see nothing indicating I broke any rules.
    Lack of action to change? Do you really have such poor reading comp skills? I was specifically talking about violations that occurred previous to when the user was warned or suspended the first time.
    
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  2. 1. cthchewy Fri 16 Jul 2021 06:15AM UTC
      
      "a mod" - what is up with this recent spate of people who seem to think this site has mods? :/
      This is not a forum or a chat room. People come to AO3 primarily to read, not to have conversations. If the site were a store, Abuse volunteers would be like a customer service counter rather than security guards. They only come out when there's a user complaint. You wouldn't call the customer service counter at Walmart the "mods of Walmart", would you?
      It's true though that the ToS are not the most clear; that page is written in legalese. The ToS FAQ, however, explains all the rules in more detail and gives examples.
      https://archiveofourown.org/tos_faq
      
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    2. 1. you don't understand what a mod is (Guest) Fri 16 Jul 2021 09:40AM UTC
        
        Your comparison only proves my point as a security guard can remove you from the premises and a customer service rep can't, similar to how an ao3 mod can take action against your account. That you think they're closer to CS reps then security guards is so insane that I almost wonder if you're trolling.
        It doesn't matter if they aren't actively seeking violations. If they're someone that people report content to and issue out warnings and suspensions then they're a mod. End of story.
        I don't care what people come here to do. The candidates probably view these posts to see peoples feedback and if they don't they're bad candidates. Your opinions are irrelevant to me. Last reply you'll get from me.
        
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      2. cthchewy Fri 16 Jul 2021 01:29PM UTC
        
        Sure, sure, insult me all you want if it'll make you feel better. I'll explain a bit more in case other people are wondering why I'm such an insane troll. Feel free to ignore my irrelevant opinions and have a nice day! I'm just gonna unload all my brain barf now, thanks!
        For what it's worth, if you're on the reporting end of dealing with PAC, it does feel a lot like talking to customer service. So it's like, beefed up customer service with some admin-ish abilities. Still not security guards though.
        There perhaps isn't a good one-to-one real world comparison that I can think of, but anyway. Online moderation and moderators are terms used almost exclusively in the sense of keeping the peace during conversations between users, presiding over discussions and blocking inappropriate comments. If that is the definition being used, it is inappropriate here because this is not a social media site where people go for those kinds of general discussions. (So yes, even if you don't care what people come here to do, what they come here to do is relevant in a discussion about moderation.) Also, the moderation system would prioritize mods to be actively scanning these conversations... So, that's not it.
        When it comes to an archive, I've usually only heard of moderator used in the sense of "a moderated archive/collection", which means submissions are checked over before they're allowed to be posted. That's not true here, either.
        What AO3 has, the tag wranglers and abuse team... if you want to call them "mods" it would seem to be doing a disservice to every site out there with active moderation. The site itself can be considered lightly moderated, but it's strange to call any of the volunteers actual "mods" since their duties are so different from those of traditional forum/chat/archive moderators. Call them staff or PAC or whatever, but "mod" has connotations that don't apply here. Tag wranglers would then be mods too, since according to the ToS FAQ "Tag wrangling is the process of moderating the tags", and I believe they can also warn users about improper tagging. Can you imagine how strange that would be in a conversation though, to be like, "Yeah, I'm a moderator on such-and-such site. What do I do? I fix people's tags."
        Recently I've been seeing, in the comments of fics in perhaps younger fandoms, people say stuff like "uh oh the mods are coming to get you!" which imply that the moderating forces of AO3 are actively looking for infractions. Like it or not, the word "mod" very strongly carries this connotation of someone watching and monitoring content/conversations whether in real time chat or making the rounds on a forum. PAC and tag wranglers can technically be called mods because they do moderation work, but it's really freakin' odd and contributes to misunderstandings.
        
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        You don't understand how authority works (Guest) Sat 17 Jul 2021 09:54AM UTC
        
        The fact that you think you can stay on the premises of a store after a customer service rep kicks you out is telling. If you are asked to leave private property and don't, you can be arrested for trespassing. You are not entitled to stick around the store just cause the person that asked you to leave isn't a security guard, and you are not entitled multiple chances to fix behavior that you have already been warned about. Personal responsibility is the key issue at hand - not the definition of mod.
        
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        are you slow? (Guest) Mon 19 Jul 2021 11:30AM UTC
        
        I see my point flew right over your head. I'll explain it simpler.
        A CS rep cannot actually remove you themselves. They can tell you to leave and threaten to call security but cannot actually do any ACTION themselves to remove you. Security are the only ones who can actually DO something. You know similar to how the ao3 mods on here can do action against your account but the support team can only tell you what to not do.
        Now as for this part:
        "and you are not entitled multiple chances to fix behavior that you have already been warned about."
        Well maybe the tos should be more clear then. There isn't even anything in it about linking to ko-fi or paying sites. Yes in the TOS FAQ there is but I why would I think the TOS itself wouldn't have all the info about what actually breaks the rules? More importantly why is a week to go through hundreds of fictions, (including the comments) and find where previous violations might be something that anybody would consider reasonable? Even going through them in the month of suspension takes longer and is made even more time consuming because you have to make notes to refer to later because their stupid rules don't even let you edit your stuff while suspended.
        Maybe they should actually be useful as mods and find and remove the stuff themselves instead of giving out suspensions for honest mistakes. Or they could let you edit stuff while suspended and then appeal once you've gotten everything removed and have them take a look. Otherwise I guess they only exist to go on power trips by issuing out warnings and suspensions.
        And finally, you are either insane or have no life if you think that amount of time to fix things and a ban when a user is behaving currently is a good thing. Either way, I didn't read the other users drivel and won't be reading yours if you reply. Some people have a life and don't want to argue with trolls who have their head up ao3s ass.
        
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fwiw (Guest) Thu 15 Jul 2021 04:10PM UTC

If you'd like to find something such as racism on this website, you can go to Google and type in "site:archiveofourown.org" followed by a space and then whatever racist slurs/terms/phrases that you want. That way you can do your own research and you don't have to make other people relive their trauma.

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1. ragdollwitch Sat 17 Jul 2021 09:48PM UTC
  
  The presence or lack of words that are or can be slurs is not a guaranteed way to tell if a work of fiction or writer is racist or not, it's all about context and how the writer treats actual people. AO3 does not have the manpower to check the context of every work, and that would go against their main philosophy on fiction anyway. They are however working on tools so that users can filter and block works and users for any reason, including racism.
  
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2. 1. fwiw (Guest) Sat 17 Jul 2021 10:36PM UTC
    
    Yes. You can search and figure it out yourself when you see the results. Sorry if that was unclear.
    
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