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I. BUMPS ALONG THE WAY
Accessibility, Design & Technology (AD&T) and Systems investigated issues with users having trouble staying logged in. Unfortunately, what should've been a simple change to the code for handling cookies led to multiple periods of disruption.
The issues seem to have been resolved, but they're still working together to figure out the cause and prevent issues like this in the future. Systems plans to release a postmortem work on their official AO3 account once they are confident that the issues are fully resolved. Elsewhere, AD&T worked on small bug fixes and enhancements.
II. AT THE AO3
Tag Wrangling paused their long-running project to standardize fandom tree structures, and they will conduct a comprehensive review of the current guidelines regarding them. Discussions regarding the guidelines are in development, so they can better meet users' needs.
In August, tag wranglers handled more than 450,000 tags across over 67,000 fandoms, which amounts to more than a thousand tags per wrangler. Policy & Abuse received 2,175 tickets, while Support received 2,358 tickets.
AO3 Documentation has been holding meetings regarding updates to their style guide, and has been working on updates on several documents.
Open Doors completed importing The 9 Forum, an archive of fanworks for the 2009 film "9". They also announced the import of the Choices Fanfic Archive, for works based on the game "Choices: Stories You Play". They are continuing work on other import projects, reviewing applications for the Import Assistant role, and documentation for the AO3 Fanzine Scan Hosting Project.
III. ELSEWHERE AT OTW
Communications and Translation celebrated the OTW's 17th anniversary! They are glad to see users celebrating in news post comments sections and across social media. The anniversary-specific site skin was well received, and also led to some users exploring site skins for the first time!
Fanlore had a busy month with their Stub September editing challenge! It was a big success; thanks to everyone who took part and awarded badges. Video Game Month also started October 1 – check out Fanlore's Tumblr and Twitter/X for more information!
Development & Membership has been busy preparing for the upcoming Drive in October! They are excited to share the new thank-you gifts they have been working on. They have also been working hard to improve some of their documentation this month, and getting additional gift shipping support set up.
Legal joined allies in sending a letter to the U.S. Senate and Congress expressing concerns with the proposed NO FAKES Act. The act would create constitutionally questionable restrictions on free expression and put undue burdens on Internet platforms.
Transformative Works and Cultures published their annual general issue on September 15 – this is Issue #43 for the journal! Next up, they have two special issues: Centering Blackness in Fan Studies and Sports Fandoms.
IV. GOVERNANCE
Board had a busy month. They are in the process of finalizing Board turnover as they welcome two elected Board members: Erica Frank and Rachel Linton. They also ran the fourth quarter public Board meeting on September 30. Meeting minutes will be made available soon on the OTW website.
Board Assistants Team continued its work on ongoing projects, such as overseeing the OTW Organizational Culture Roadmap. They also helped draft FAQs for the OTW Whistleblower Protection Policy so the project can be officially marked as complete. Additionally, they worked on some internal policies and procedures and prepared for the public Board meeting.
Strategic Planning has reviewed the 1-year assessment of the Strategic Plan with the Board to prepare for its release to the OTW and in public-facing announcements.
V. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PEEPS
Volunteers & Recruiting conducted recruitment for 3 committees in September: Open Doors, Tag Wrangling, and Policy & Abuse.
From August 24 to September 22, Volunteers & Recruiting received 102 new requests, and completed 109, leaving them with 53 open requests (including induction and removal tasks listed below). As of September 22, 2024, the OTW has 925 volunteers. \o/ Recent personnel movements are listed below.
New Directors: Erica Frank, Rachel Linton
New Communications Volunteers: 2 Chair Track Volunteers and 1 Media Outreach Volunteer
New Development & Membership Volunteers: 3 Shipping Specialists
New Open Doors Volunteers: 1 Technical Volunteer
New Translation Volunteers: Teelee (Task Assistant), 1 other Task Assistant, and 1 Volunteer Manager
New Volunteers & Recruiting Volunteers: infinity-inkling and Query (VolCom Volunteers)
Departing AO3 Documentation Volunteers: 1 Editor
Departing Tag Wrangler Volunteers: Ceme, Dan L (Tag Wranglers), and Madi (Supervisor role only)
Departing Translation Volunteers: Reptile Ruler (Translator), and 1 other Translator
For more information about the purview of our committees, please access the committee listing on our website.
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.