What Is A Drive?

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2015-10-08 16:04:25 UTC

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Different Tropes for Different Folks – OTW Membership Drive October 2015

Author's note: You may have heard that the OTW is doing a "drive" this week. We wanted to make sure everyone knew what this thing was all about, so if you're curious, you've come to the right place. Whatever your drive-related questions, we're here to answer them. Happy reading!

What a drive (a.k.a. a donation/membership campaign) IS:

a semiannual, week-long fundraising event to raise money for the OTW
a way to encourage people to become OTW members
the time when the OTW generates about 85% of its income. (The other 15% comes from donations given during the rest of the year.)

The OTW generates about 85% of its income during the drive. (The other 15% comes from donations given during the rest of the year.)

the reason why the OTW is able to keep working on projects like AO3, Fanlore, Open Doors, and Legal Advocacy
the reason those projects can continue helping fans all over the world

What a drive is NOT:

an evil plot to take over the world, one donation at a time
a way to raise money for individual people. In fact, the OTW is a nonprofit, and every cent you donate goes directly to operations. The OTW doesn't pay any of its volunteers, staff, or Board members.

The elements that come together to create a drive:

the OTW's Development and Membership, Translation, and Communications committees (the people writing, translating, and publishing these posts and answering your emails about donations and premiums)
spreading the word (the posts and graphics you see, the emails you get, and the stuff we share on social media)
premiums (the thank-you gifts you can get for donating)
a theme. (This drive's theme is "Different Tropes for Different Folks".)
you!

None of this would be possible without your support. Please help us meet our goal of US$175,000 by donating today!

Actions

Comments

Sorry, this news post doesn't allow comments.

assbuttstiel Thu 08 Oct 2015 09:36PM UTC

Cool

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1. Amy (OTW_DevMem) (Official) Fri 09 Oct 2015 03:05AM UTC
  
  Thanks!
  Amy
  Development and Membership
  
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movedwin Thu 08 Oct 2015 10:15PM UTC

Nice

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1. Amy (OTW_DevMem) (Official) Fri 09 Oct 2015 03:10AM UTC
  
  Thanks!
  Amy
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Zweiss Thu 08 Oct 2015 10:20PM UTC

I like that: an evil plot to take over the world, one donation at a time

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1. Amy (OTW_DevMem) (Official) Fri 09 Oct 2015 03:10AM UTC
  
  Thanks!
  Amy
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2. 1. Zweiss Fri 09 Oct 2015 04:15AM UTC
    
    I think my kitty would like to join that evil plot, he already stole my dog's bed and teach the dog to jump to my bed. The damn cat just send my RWBY DVD to the floor.
    
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Eter_Puralis Thu 08 Oct 2015 10:36PM UTC

It's this time of year already? Time sure flies

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1. Amy (OTW_DevMem) (Official) Fri 09 Oct 2015 03:11AM UTC
  
  Glad you are having so much fun on the archive that time is flying for you!
  Amy
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Lazymoon Thu 08 Oct 2015 11:06PM UTC

Next Year I'm gonna Save up Money so I can donate,I wish I could now but I'm a Broke 13 Year old so...Yeah

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1. Amy (OTW_DevMem) (Official) Thu 08 Oct 2015 11:47PM UTC
  
  Thanks! We are so glad you enjoy the archive. We appreciate all support be it donations or just spreading the word about the OTW!
  Thanks for your support!
  Amy
  Development and Membership
  
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Kxro Fri 09 Oct 2015 12:31AM UTC

I have $300 on me. I wish I could donate but my parents are strict on what I spend my money on ;_; Is this yearly?

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1. Amy (OTW_DevMem) (Official) Fri 09 Oct 2015 01:42AM UTC
  
  Thanks for your support! We hold fund drives twice a year, and do accept donations throughout the year. You can also help by spreading the word about our projects and fund drives!
  Thank you!
  Amy
  Development and Membership
  
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Account Deleted Fri 09 Oct 2015 01:58AM UTC

i don't have any money; it's all helping me pay for my college. is there any other way i can help?

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1. Amy (OTW_DevMem) (Official) Fri 09 Oct 2015 03:14AM UTC
  
  Sure there are! One of the best things you can do is just spread the word about our fund drive and projects, but also check out http://transformativeworks.org/how-you-can-help .
  Thanks for your support!
  Amy
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2. 1. Account Deleted Sun 11 Oct 2015 03:22PM UTC
    
    i'll tell all my AO3 friends ASAP!
    
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AR (Guest) Fri 09 Oct 2015 02:40AM UTC

Give us a budget first, then I - and a lot of other people - would considering donating. As it stands there isn't enough transparency.

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1. Amy (OTW_DevMem) (Official) Fri 09 Oct 2015 03:47AM UTC
  
  This topic is already being discussed here: http://archiveofourown.org/comments/41113780
  If you have any questions feel free to ask them there.
  Thank you!
  Amy
  Development and Membership
  
  Last Edited Fri 09 Oct 2015 03:50AM UTC
  
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2. 1. impertinence Fri 09 Oct 2015 09:43PM UTC
    
    Hi! I'm in that thread and have not gotten an answer yet - nor, as far as I can tell, has anyone else asking questions in that thread, since last night. Will our questions be answered? I'd like for answers to be publicly available as soon as possible, given the short window of the fundraising; the discussion thus far has lacked the specificity that so many of us have requested. Thank you!
    
    Last Edited Fri 09 Oct 2015 09:44PM UTC
    
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  2. 1. Alex (Guest) Fri 09 Oct 2015 10:28PM UTC
      
      There will be a budget put up when it is finalized, but there are other avenues for you to persue if you want to know a financial matter:
      http://transformativeworks.org/faq-page
      Under "Finances", you might want to read the last question: "What measures are in place to protect the investments of members?"
      I'll copy it for you here, because I think you'll want to know the part about the IRS form 990:
      
      What measures are in place to protect the investments of members?
      The OTW is a nonprofit corporation, subject to laws and regulations dictating its fiduciary responsibilities to conduct activities in a manner that upholds the public trust. The OTW will be scrutinized not only by its members and fans outside the organization, but also by the IRS and the State of Delaware, our incorporation state.
      There are a number of additional safeguards in place. Misuse of OTW funds constitutes fraud and could be subject to prosecution. This operates as a solid deterrent. Distribution of the OTW's funds will follow generally accepted accounting principles with regard to oversight and authorization of expenditures. Finally, the OTW is required to file Form 990 with the IRS each year to report the organization's financial activities.
      The OTW produces an annual report, which includes a summary of OTW’s activities over the previous year, as well as the organization’s financial statements. This is made available each year on the OTW Web site. The Form 990 is a public document; however, it will not be available on the OTW Web site, as it contains personal information about individuals that should not be made available via the Internet. Individuals can obtain a paper copy of the annual report and the Form 990 for the cost of duplication and postage by contacting the Treasurer. Please put "Annual Report/990" in the subject line and provide a mailing address.
      
      This is how you contact Finance/the Treasurer: http://transformativeworks.org/contact/finance
      
      Once you have this information, please be considerate to people's personal information. Thank you.
      By the way, all of this can be found by reading "About Us" under the "About" button at the top of Ao3's mainpage.
      
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    2. 1. impertinence Fri 09 Oct 2015 10:41PM UTC
        
        Hi! I have read most of your about pages; I've used the AO3 for years and experienced many of your donation drives. You don't seem to have answered my question on the other post, which pertains to what organizational failure led to over $450 in checking account fees.
        Additionally, if I'm reading this comment correctly, you're saying you're attempting to raise $175,000 with no current budget?
        Thanks!
        
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      2. Alex (Guest) Sat 10 Oct 2015 05:38PM UTC
        
        Hi impertinence- I'm not a staff member of Ao3! So, I haven't read your other posts and therefore can't answer your questions. Sorry!
        
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        impertinence Sun 11 Oct 2015 12:58AM UTC
        
        Ok, then I'd suggest you stop representing yourself as someone who knows anything about the OTW's workings. Thanks!
        
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        Alex (Guest) Sun 11 Oct 2015 04:16AM UTC
        
        Hi impertinence- I never said I was a staff member, so I'm not sure what you're suggesting. I was simply pointing out some information I thought you would like to read. I'm engaging in a conversation with my peers, lke you. You know as much about the workings of the OTW as I do. What made you think I was representing myself as something I'm not? "Thanks!"
        
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  3. tremontaine Fri 09 Oct 2015 09:51PM UTC
    
    The questions have been raised, certainly, but thus far they have not been answered; is there any chance of that happening soon?
    
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Fuzzysocks23 Fri 09 Oct 2015 03:18AM UTC

I wish you either could store our address and information or use the PayPal thing that fills it in automatically.

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1. OTW_DevMem (Official) Sat 10 Oct 2015 01:58AM UTC
  
  Msaffron,
  We take donor privacy very seriously. It may be an inconvenience but we will never link your fannish identity to your name when donating. We are committed to your privacy as seen in our privacy policy here: http://transformativeworks.org/privacy
  We appreciate your support,
  Dan Lamson
  OTW Development and Membership
  
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tarcy42 Fri 09 Oct 2015 04:14AM UTC

When I click on donate now I get a funky error message. So...you might want to get that fixed.

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1. OTW_DevMem (Official) Sat 10 Oct 2015 02:01AM UTC
  
  Hey tarcy42,
  Thanks for your willingness to donate. Everything seems fine now and the page is working. We apologize for any hiccups in our service.
  Thank you for your support!
  Dan Lamson
  OTW Development and Membership
  
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flat404 Fri 09 Oct 2015 06:39AM UTC

I enjoy the archive very much (thanks to all) and would consider donating if there was a budget and clear, basic information regarding how money has been spent in the past, your reserves, how you came up with the drive goal amount, and anticipated future funding needs. I read the thread you provided and did not see that information. Absent organization and transparency, I can't donate at this time. I was president of a non profit organization at one time and we always provided an annual line item budget to be voted upon, for example, and also explained funding issues if they arose. Please do not take advantage of the youthful participants who do not think to question these things. Please try to make Ao3 more accountable. That would be a win for all of us. Thank you.

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1. Alex (Guest) Fri 09 Oct 2015 10:12PM UTC
  
  It is voted upon, by the board, staff, volunteers, and members of OTW. The 2016 budget isn't finalized yet (probably due to the change in chair; you can read a bit more about it in the thread or the September Newsletter 95, linked above) but when it is they will put it up. Donations are taken all year, so for those that won't participate without seeing the budget first, they will still have a chance to donate later. Most of the operations breakdowns for Ao3 and OTW are in the newsletters--you'll at least get an idea of what it being worked on (and who flies where for what).
  By the way, not all non-profits are the same and please appreciate that a lot of the volunteers are under fannish aliases and so you might not get the full, corporate transparency that you might want. Privacy does have a place in fanspace.
  
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2. 1. syllic Fri 09 Oct 2015 10:22PM UTC
    
    Hey, Alex. I feel that there's a bit of a straw-man defensiveness manifesting on a lot of these comment threads, perhaps not intentionally.
    I don't think flat404 at any point said anything along the lines of, "We'd like to see the full names of all involved so we can hold them personally accountable the way we would a corporate CEO". She's simply asking for "basic" information regarding how the current Board reached the conclusion that further funding was needed--with some solid data to both provide clarity on the process by which the figure was reached (which should be available in succinct form in one place; asking potential donors to hunt for it across newsletters is not good practice) as well as demonstrate the source for the numbers that went into the calculations that led to that final figure--which has nothing to do with protecting privacy in fanspace and everything to do with answering the question, "Could you tell me a bit more about why you are asking me for money?"
    The request, "Please donate!" gives natural rise to "Can I have a bit more information?". Any organisation asking for money should be prepared for that follow-up question, and OTW, at this time, does not seem to be. That makes a lot of us feel uncertain about donating.
    I protect my personal details zealously--and have done for the over fifteen years that I've been in fandom. That's not the issue here at all, I don't think.
    
    Last Edited Fri 09 Oct 2015 10:25PM UTC
    
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  2. 1. flat404 Sat 10 Oct 2015 02:27AM UTC
      
      Exactly, syllic. I was asking for financial, not personal, transparency. There is a disconnect between the questions being asked and the responses that is disconcerting and feels like obfuscation. By the way, I happened to read on this or a related thread that donors have to provide names and addresses.
      
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  3. Jan (Guest) Sat 10 Oct 2015 12:44AM UTC
    
    uhm? What is voted upon? The budget is most definitely not voted upon anyone but board.
    
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  4. 1. Holly (Guest) Thu 15 Oct 2015 01:28AM UTC
      
      I worked for a nonprofit for years and the only people who ever voted on the budget were the Board of Directors. Donators never got to vote.
      
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Loilita (Guest) Fri 09 Oct 2015 11:15AM UTC

I wish I could donate, but I dob't have a credit card :(. I pay everything with cash.

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1. OTW_DevMem (Official) Sat 10 Oct 2015 02:05AM UTC
  
  Loilita ,
  Sorry to hear that! But if you are in the US, you can send cash or checks to:
  Organization for Transformative Works, Inc.
  2576 Broadway #119
  New York, NY 10025
  USA
  We appreciate your support,
  Dan Lamson
  OTW Development and Membership
  
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Account Deleted Fri 09 Oct 2015 01:28PM UTC

Be transparent and accountable and THEN I'll donate. Especially since it isn't clear how much of the donations will help AO3 - which is the only site I use and thus want to support.

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1. OTW_DevMem (Official) Sat 10 Oct 2015 02:19AM UTC
  
  Hi,
  Sorry you feel that way. We make sure the archive has everything they need to run well, including the tens of thousands of dollars in new servers they needed this year. We also just hired a contractor for them to help make AO3 even better than it already is. What money goes to the other OTW projects allows for things like protecting fair use rights and making sure it is still legal for your favorite fanworks to be posted, as well as preserving not only fannish history but also at-risk archives.
  I'm sorry you won't be supporting the many projects that make the OTW great, but know we'll still be here, regardless.
  Dan Lamson
  OTW Development and Membership
  
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2. 1. hakuen Sat 10 Oct 2015 04:20AM UTC
    
    "I'm sorry you won't be supporting the many projects that make the OTW great, but know we'll still be here, regardless."
    Wow.
    Passive aggression:
    a pervasive pattern of negativistic attitudes and passive resistance to demands for adequate performance in social and occupational situations.
    Your comments are typically full of crap, but this is a breathtaking low.
    And now that I look at it, that last part precisely describes the overall AO3 response to the entire business. As many other comments have spelled out, several of which have come from people with actual cred, the AO3/OTW needs to GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER. These comments are plainly "demands for adequate performance in...occupational situations." Nothing crazy or out of left field here. Adequate performance.
    This is basic stuff. Seriously, no budget? That is insane.
    
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  2. 1. LOL OTW (Guest) Sat 10 Oct 2015 02:16PM UTC
      
      Thank you for bringing some straight talk to this page full of bullshit, entitlement, and obfuscation.
      
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  3. venusm Sat 10 Oct 2015 11:30PM UTC
    
    What if, instead of being defensive and upset, you took a different approach?
    Here is my challenge to you.
    As part of this fund-raising effort, the disorganized state of OTWs finances came to light. Instead of entrenching, digging in, and clinging to the phrase 'we're working on the 2016 budget, it'll be released soon,' what if you just--fixed this?
    Go to every single person who has a financial worry and concern. Offer a separate, dedicated donation fund, specifically to pay for a financial audit and organization, done by an outside consultant/accountant. Not some time in the hazy future, but beginning December 1st and to be completely, and published, January 1st.
    I would donate to such a fund.
    The board doesn't have to pay for all it. Just ask them to match it, and to cooperate fully with the auditor/accountant when hired.
    Not only would I donate to such a fund, I would be willing to ask my readers to donate to this fund.
    What would happen if instead of retreading the 'we're all volunteers, we're doing our best, we will someday,' what if OTW just.....fixed this. Now. Want to give it a shot?
    I bet you'd be blown away by how many people would step up and pitch in the bucks to get this fixed.
    
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Bookworm51485 Fri 09 Oct 2015 02:12PM UTC

I will admit to still having less than positive feelings towards the administration of the site. I'm now in a position to donate, but I'm not willing to give hard-earned money when I haven't seen anything that's indicative of improvement in the oversight of the people running certain parts of the site. I had an issue with the Abuse Reporting team and was essentially told that there was absolutely no oversight to make sure that they weren't, themselves, abusing the power given to them. They weren't even following their own written policies. Maybe when something is done to address that, I'd think about donating.

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1. 528491 Fri 09 Oct 2015 09:15PM UTC
  
  Hi! I'm not a representative of Ao3 or OTW, but I am sorry to hear about your experience with Abuse reporting. I was just reading the September Newsletter (#95) and it covered some of the changes being made in the Abuse committee. There's a link at the top of this article. I think you'll be happy to know there is change/progress being made! :) Hopefully they learned from your experience and can move forward!
  
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onlyforreading Fri 09 Oct 2015 07:56PM UTC

Hi, forgive if I have misunderstood this post, in you state that as a non profit NO volunteers, staff or Board members get paid, so no donations goes to that.
But I thought there had just been an announcement of a paid contractor for the AO3 - how is that then funded?
Don't get me wrong, it is great that a contractor is there to work on the AO3 to try and get the coding sorted out so it can function better, but if OTW relies on donations, and your post says no donations pay people, I don't understand how the contractor gets paid?

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1. Mx_Ully_H Sat 10 Oct 2015 12:06PM UTC
  
  It is typically commonly understood that contractors are not employees so while you do pay them you do not provide them with benifits, i.e. health insurance or vacation. Additionally they are paid by the job rather than by the hour or salary. These things almost always work out in favor of the person/organisation who purchases the contractors services.
  It seems that, the volunteers who run Ao3 have decided that they need help in the form of purchasing the services of a contractor in order to make this site better. This, in no way violates the fact that they do not pay their staff/members of the board. The only way in which this could violate our trust is if the contractor selected had bribed a member of the board for the contract or was personally related or actually in and of him or herself a member of the board or staff.
  Additional people that they likely pay are the lawyers used for the legal battles. Unless we have a bunch of lawyers who like to read fanfiction and are willing to donate their extra time.
  The very strict idea of only paying for things and not people is not actually possible to accomplish. For instance, any things purchased were created by somebody and their creation gave that somebody a salary. You cannot make dinner from scratch without paying the sales clerk at the grocery store, the trucker who brought the vegetables there, the technician who put your oven together...
  
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2. 1. bunnymcfoo Sat 10 Oct 2015 10:02PM UTC
    
    Unless we have a bunch of lawyers who like to read fanfiction and are willing to donate their extra time. You'd be surprised - I believe that's exactly how the legal team started, even if that's not the make-up of it now.
    
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baranduin Sat 10 Oct 2015 01:03AM UTC

I'll donate again when the OTW earns it by stepping up and becoming financially accountable.. not a penny again until that happens.

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1. OTW_DevMem (Official) Sat 10 Oct 2015 02:51AM UTC
  
  Hi baranduin,
  Sorry you feel that way. There's a good discussion about the way the OTW does things financially here: http://archiveofourown.org/comments/41040907
  I hope this sets your mind at ease,
  Dan Lamson
  OTW Development and Membership
  
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2. 1. hakuen Sat 10 Oct 2015 04:26AM UTC
    
    This does not set anyone's mind at ease. What kind of comment is that, anyway?
    
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  2. 1. (Previous comment deleted.)
    2. 1. LOL OTW (Guest) Sat 10 Oct 2015 02:16PM UTC
        
        Oh, dear. Someone's being inflammatory. The Cult of Nice is gravely offended!
        
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      2. syllic Sat 10 Oct 2015 03:01PM UTC
        
        Hey, madeofmydreams, I think it's important for the discussion that we not draw false parallels such as "the U.S. Government doesn't have a budget either", which can mislead people.
        The U.S. Government has literally thousands of expert people in its employ whose job is to ensure that the government's investments are safeguarded, that funds are handled responsibly, and whose job it is to project realistic and sustainable budgets; they also have strict and very defined guidelines for how money is used, tracked, and spent. These are huge differences that break that parallel down.
        What's more, a budget absolutely exists--for political reasons, it is often not finalised/approved by Congress until quite late in the political day. The November 5th date currently represents an 'extension' that legislators have given themselves to keep arguing to try to come to a political agreement while avoiding a shutdown. But this does not mean there are not (often-to-the-cent) numbers outlining how much the federal government wants to spend on each thing--some in Congress just disagree with them, which is a separate question.
        
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      3. hakuen Sat 10 Oct 2015 03:13PM UTC
        
        This particular comment was directed toward the condescending nature of Dan Lamson's comment above. My comment further up the page was made after having read all comments on the three fundraiser posts so far. Please consider doing the same, as there is a great deal of detailed, important information in there.
        I read the information at the link you refer to some time back and was not satisfied with it, for similar reasons to those already explicitly elaborated on by other commenters on these posts.
        
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suspicious_one (Guest) Sat 10 Oct 2015 02:28PM UTC

I'm curious.. just how hard is it to make a detailed budget report? How did you came up with 175K? hmmm.. sketchy. sketchy, sketchy...

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1. reasonable_one (Guest) Sat 10 Oct 2015 05:44PM UTC
  
  It's being made by volunteers in their sparetime across many timezones and decisions must be made across multiple committees, so it takes time. The 175 probably came from the 173 of the year prior. It's not some sinister to plot to steal from you. It's just a bunch of people trying to do their best under a certain set of circumstances. They are working on it now and it will be posted publically. Please have some patience.
  
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2. 1. drlense Sun 11 Oct 2015 02:13PM UTC
    
    I'm sorry, but they "they're just volunteers!" argument doesn't hold water anymore. The OTW has been around for 8 years and has solicited donations in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. There's a basic level of accountability and financial responsibility that needs to be met.
    
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  2. 1. reasonable_one (Guest) Sun 11 Oct 2015 03:09PM UTC
      
      And I agree with you, but realistically, if there is a new treasurer and multiple committees across timezones and non-volunteer lives, then that still means it will take time. Outsiders demanding instant gratification isn't going to change that.
      Consider also that every legitimate question asked needs a thoughtful answer. They're thinking about the questions and trying to formulate answers. You won't have your answers right this very second, because in this moment the answers don't exist concretely. If you are asking about past action, maybe ask yourself: why was the last treasurer so suddenly let go? Maybe they are researching what has happened and must formulate a fair answer (as in, not say anything personal about the previous people who have been treasurer, but rather account for all the action taken with the finances).
      For example, when people ask about the PayPal accounts, maybe they are looking into it--maybe they don't know what the motivation was to keep the money there. And now they must also look into alternatives. Until they have all these answers, they can't answer some of the quesitons being asked. This is a lot of money to carefully account for; a lot of receipts to comb through.
      8 years of volunteers doesn't mean it has been the same volunteers for 8 years.
      tl;dr- Volunteers are still (international) volunteers and finding answers still takes time. A basic level of accountability and responsibility needs to be met--not slap-dashed together for the sake of instant gratification.
      
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    2. 1. syllic Sun 11 Oct 2015 04:07PM UTC
        
        Absolutely agree with you that it can be time-consuming to formulate comprehensive answers; having worked with people across different time zones for most of my career, I also agree that that can be a limiting factor.
        However, I believe it would be important for the Board to issue an official statement confirming that they are looking into it, and offering a timeline going forward. It would demonstrate commitment on their part and reflect that they are taking this seriously.
        I, for one, have no desire for "instant gratification", and I suspect most don't: the urgency of questioning in these threads is, in my view, likely related to the lack of any confirmation that the Board is looking into these issues.
        All of what you highlight above may be true, or it may not. Because they have not provided users/members with any specific information (I'm referring to information about the process of answering questions, not information related to the questions themselves), or acknowledged receipt of our questions (genuinely: excepting one statement from the Treasurer in one of the earliest threads in the discussion, every comment asking a specific question has been ignored or, in a few cases, given a stock response), it is equally reasonable to assume that they are not looking into this with the specificity and commitment that it warrants.
        This inability/unwillingness to tackle the issue head-on is another potential indication that the OTW may be lacking a solid understanding of best transparency practices for non-profits, which in this type of situation would call for an immediate acknowledgment of stakeholders' concerns and the quick formulation of a (publicly accessible) strategy for addressing them.
        
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      2. reasonable_one (Guest) Sun 11 Oct 2015 04:30PM UTC
        
        I agree that it would be beneficial to issue a statement confirming they are looking into everything. It should go up as soon as possible. I do wonder though if they have assigned something like that to any committee, or if anarchy has broken loose behind the veil. I think communication has broken down, at the very least, between Board and staff, because I just read this (from another thread on another post): http://sanders.dreamwidth.org/113864.html (This is a statement from the previous treasurer; their blog contains at least one more post about the fall out of their forced resignation.)
        Typically, after the October fund-raising drive comes the Fall volunteer drive. Have you thought about joining a team? I ask because it might be a case of be the change you wish to see. Being all volunteer, they might not have anyone who has a solid background in finance (I assume you do; if you don't, I think you at least have valid ideas to bring to the table.).
        I'm less uncomfortable about the time it takes to see the budget and more nervous about the upcoming board elections. At least, from the last batch of answers, it looks like most candidates won't spend money on meeting in person, so that's one big expense that might be axed. But there doesn't seem to be a lot of accountants or solicators in the group--this is a media archive and it attracts media scholars. I'm getting off topic. I apologise.
        tl;dr I agree with you. I would like the peace of mind that comes from a confirmation that someone is looking into answers. But I still am not bothered by the glacial slowness.
        
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        syllic Sun 11 Oct 2015 06:02PM UTC
        
        Hey!
        While I am not familiar with OTW politics, I am familiar with the panic that this barrage of questions can engender in an organisation. It usually works like this, too: queries slowly trickling in and issues being flagged periodically and then some kind of trigger that brings on critical mass and an accompanying internal meltdown. So, based on my own experiences, I think you're probably right.
        I have to seriously consider whether I have the time to commit to a team (I have a demanding job and the time I have invested in engaging on these issues has meant a pretty sleep-deprived three days for me), but I am giving serious consideration to the idea. I am definitely 100% up for putting in some more sleepless nights in the near future to help get the ball rolling. My background isn't in finance--I said that in my first comments, because I definitely didn't want to misrepresent myself--but I do have a lot of experience in ethics/transparency/nonprofit operation more generally, as well as in external relations, so hopefully I can help. I just offered to again in my last comment to them.
        I actually just re-read the candidate bios this morning and three people specifically mention these concerns and seem really committed to tackling them. One has a background in book-keeping. I think a good first step is to just outright hire some people, you know? Not to set the OTW direction--that's for those super committed volunteers who know fandom to do--but just to get the house in order. Once you have systems in place, enforcing them is relatively easy. Setting them up is like 75% of the battle.
        (I am considering adding tl;dr as one of my pseuds after the last two days of commenting on these threads...)
        
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