From: Lady Date: Sun, 14 May 2023 21:13:54 +0000 (-0700) Subject: [2023-05-14] end_otw_racism X-Git-Url: https://git.ladys.computer/Blog/commitdiff_plain/761595ec2a01b9832e3f5d7749ec27edbc898f2e [2023-05-14] end_otw_racism --- diff --git a/2023-05-14/end_otw_racism/#entry.rdf b/2023-05-14/end_otw_racism/#entry.rdf new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1b77269 --- /dev/null +++ b/2023-05-14/end_otw_racism/#entry.rdf @@ -0,0 +1,298 @@ + + End Racism in the O·T·W + 2023-05-14T14:13:54-07:00 + + Archive of Our Own][AO3], is a +fact so welknown among the fans who frequent it that any comment on the +matter feels like an exercise in stating the obvious. Haven’t read +their [Terms of Service](https://archiveofourown.org/tos +"Archive of Our Own: Terms of Service") recently? Here you go :— + +
+ +> **[I. Offensive Content +> Policy](https://archiveofourown.org/tos)** +> +> As provided in part [I.E.3](https://archiveofourown.org/tos#exposure) +> of the Terms of Service, the OTW is not liable to you for any Content +> to which you are exposed on or because of the Service. +> +> Unless it violates some other policy, we will not remove Content for +> offensiveness, no matter how awful, repugnant, or badly spelled we +> may personally find that Content to be. + +
Archive of Our Own: “Terms of Service” +§ⅠⅤ∷I
+ +As A·O·3 is one of the largest fan “archives” (fannish +term of art) and a place a great many people go (or might like to) in +order to consume fanworks, this kind of blithe, cheerfully dismissive +stance _ought to_ read as a clear & obvious dereliction of duty. It +should come as no surprise that many people find the prospect of going +to a fanspace populated with “awful, repugnant” works (works which, to +be painfully clear, might suggest, threaten, or otherwise constitute +bigotry, harassment, or violence towards themselves or their loved +ones) to be _somewhat undesirable_, and that their presence has a +chilling effect (to say the least) on who feels welcome and able to +participate in fandom as a whole. + +Of course, getting the O·T·W to actually revise this policy has thus +far been about as difficult as one might imagine, considering that the +O·T·W is an incredibly disorganized nonprofit run entirely by +volunteers and whose board is effectively decided by personality +contest with little actual meaningful organizational power besides. +Fans were, through much effort (starting, in a sense, in 2020, but +ongoing, in a different since, as part of an effort which has persisted +since the organization’s founding), able to at least get the O·T·W to +_entertain the idea_ of hiring a Diversity Consultant (temporary; not +staff) to help them fix some of their problems, although the farthest +they have gotten in _that_ respect so far (in 2023) is appointing a +Diversity Consultant Research Officer (a volunteer), whose job it is to +research _whether_ or _how_ the organization even _wants_ a Diversity +Consultant (because, evidently, _they just don’t know_). + +
+ +> The Board has been brainstorming the possibility of instating two new +> officer roles in the OTW: A Paid Staff Transition Officer and +> a Diversity Consultant Research Officer. The people in these +> roles would be responsible for overseeing and managing progress on +> both of these projects, since historically, the OTW tends to struggle +> to advance long-term projects due to the frequent turnover of Board +> members. […] +> +> […] +> +> […] the Diversity Consultant Research Officer would […] research +> and explore possibilities for diversity consultants and present their +> findings to the Board, who would then evaluate them and make a +> decision on how to move forward. + +
Not a promise to actually hire a Diversity Consultant, just +to research the possibility; O·T·W Board Minutes,
+ +
+ +> Avenues that we will consider and plan for addressing diversity and +> inclusion include: +> +> -

Contracting with an individual or organization to consult on +> issues of racial bias and inequality within the Organization and +> its projects. Options for this will be researched by a dedicated +> Diversity Consultant Research Officer, appointed by the Board of +> Directors.

+ +
Also not a promise to actually hire a Diversity Consultant; +“O·T·W Vision Statement 2022–2025”
+ +The current timeline is for the (still hypothetical) Diversity +Consultant’s work to be “completed” within the next five years, with an +unknown percentage of that time spent actually getting them in the +position. Of course, we all know that diversity work _never ends_, so +what we really have learned is that while the O·T·W doesn’t know when +they will actually be _hiring_ someone to the job, they certainly _do_ +know when they will be _firing_ them. + +[This information has been extremely difficult to +extract](https://runpunkrun.dreamwidth.org/982132.html +"Notes from the March 26 OTW Quarterly Public Board Meeting") and this +schedule is obviously painfully, and unacceptably, slow. + +This June will mark the three‐year anniversary of the O·T·W [beginning +to make some of these commitments][OTW-Statement], and consequently +some fans have decided to once again raise a fuss to try and get the +ball rolling a little faster. However, instead of using the usual fan +tactic of being loud on blogs, social media, and the occasional board +meeting, they have decided to instead go with **direct action**, which +I think is _excellent_. They’re calling their movement [“End O·T·W +Racism”][EndOTWRacism] and have [issued a call to action for the dates +17–31 May][EndOTWRacism-CtA]. In addition to the usual social media +campaigning, they hope to get the issue in fans’ faces through the +voluntary changing of fanwork titles to ‹ End Racism in the OTW ›—a +tactic which is disruptive _enough_ that people will definitely notice, +but not so disruptive that it constitutes a T·o·S violation that +A·O·3 could reasonably retaliate against. + +Now, generally speaking, I am far more interested in antiracist & +feminist & queer fandom existing _without_ A·O·3 than +_within_. As the above probably makes clear, I think that the O·T·W as +an organization is inept and that the possibility of End O·T·W Racism +having any of their demands met is slim‐to‐nil. **_Nevertheless_**, I +whole·heartedly support this action, and I do so for the following +reasons :— + +1. Successfully applying pressure to the O·T·W will result in one of + two outcomes :— ① They could show their true colours, retaliate, + and demonstrate hypocrisy by refusing to give platform and voice to + antiracist fans even as they continue to defend their right to give + platform to the racist ones. Or, more optimistically, ② they could + respond favourably with change. Both of these outcomes advance the + cause, in different ways. The third outcome—the status quo—is that + they continue to leave the question open and fail to make any + meaningful progress, which is an invitation to apply more pressure + because clearly we have not applied _enough_ then! + +2. If successful, this action could serve as a template for future + feminist & queer radical actions in fandom (in addition to ongoing + antiracist efforts). As a lesbian, this obviously matters to me, and + I think that any lesbian who cares about lesbian fannish fiction + should work in solidarity with this movement because we desperately + need to learn how to organize _ourselves_. Even if the action is + unsuccessful, it could at least serve as a warning of things to not + attempt again. + +3. I believe that the organizing potential that these sorts of actions + provide is useful in its own right, regardless of any other result. + I hope that the people running this programme are learning things + and I also hope that we all are able to learn things from them. But + I also think that the very fact that they _have_ organized + themselves is incredibly valuable, in that it allows these + conversations to escape the informal networks of fannish social + circles to which they have (mostly) been contained until now. I am + certain that I have no idea who any of the people running this + action are, and I am also certain that if they had simply, as a + group of friends, all decided to do undertake this action on their + own (without any further organizational structure or competency) I + never would have even heard about it, much less be writing a + blogpost on the subject. This _is_ largely how antiracist action on + A·O·3 has progressed so far (blogposts on blogs I don’t + follow and author’s notes on fics I don’t read), and the movement + desperately needs to escape the limits that this structurelessness + has enforced. Even if this particular action is ultimately worthless + in terms of its direct effects, simply by existing it provides a + cultural reference point for people outside of those cliques and + circles to begin to think about further organizing, which is vital. + +4. Fans need to _get used to_ seeing other fans organize politically + and engage in direct, disruptive, and occasionally confrontational + political action. Fans need to get used to seeing it because fans + need to be _doing_ it, and until they see it happen they won’t + realize that it is a thing they even can do. The O·T·W is a + nightmare _in part because_ fans have no idea how to organize in a + way which actually gets anything done. Every attempt at maybe not + being quite so accommodating to active racists and fascists is seen + as “anti behaviour” by some because organized harassment campaigns + are _so much_ the only form of meaningful organization that most + fans encounter that they have learned to treat “organized action” + and “harassment” as equivalent. _This needs to change._ + +With respect to the action itself, as an author who publishes on +A·O·3, the steps I personally will be taking (beginning +17 May) are as follows :— + +- I plan to set the title of *nearly* every fic I have published since + —the date of [“This + Week In Fandom, Volume 149”][TWIF-149]—to ‹ End Racism in the OTW ›, + in solidarity. Specific exceptions will made for the following + minority of works :— + + - **Joke fic,** where the title & summary is setting up the joke. + Example: [In Hyrule, they don’t say + “baka”](https://archiveofourown.org/works/31751758). + + - **Meta fic,** where the title is necessary for describing the + subject of the meta. Example: [Zelda’s Fingers Could + Conceivably Be Longer Than + Link’s](https://archiveofourown.org/works/46556131). + + - **Fic with fictional authorship,** for which changing the title + would be breaking the fourth wall. Example: [Strange Stories + from the + Surface](https://archiveofourown.org/works/41041395). + + (**Why make exceptions?** Because these are niche works, because I + don’t think leaving a few fics with their original titles will + negatively impact the action, and because these are the few instances + where changing the title does substantially affect the work itself + and not merely how it is presented in A·O·3’s + interface.) + +- I will include a note explaining the previous point at the beginning + of every affected fic. The following note text is planned :— + + > This fic, which was first published after the + > O·T·W’s + > [“This Week in Fandom, Volume 149” (10 June 2020)][TWIF-149] but + > before the implementation of meaningful antiracist policies + > anywhere in the organization, has been titled ‹ End Racism in the + > OTW › in solidarity with the [End O·T·W Racism][EndOTWRacism] + > protest | movement. You can read more about [the original call to + > action][EndOTWRacism-CTA] and [my personal take on + > it](https://blog.ladys.computer/2023-05-14/end_otw_racism/). I have + > no plans to further revise the title of this fic. + + For fics whose titles did *not* change, I am planning a slightly + different note :— + + > This fic was orignially published after the + > O·T·W’s + > [“This Week in Fandom, Volume 149” (10 June 2020)][TWIF-149] but + > before the implementation of meaningful antiracist policies + > anywhere in the organization. In solidarity with the [End O·T·W + > Racism][EndOTWRacism] protest | movement, the author respectfully + > demands immediate action from the Organization for Transformative + > Works on this issue. For more, read [End O·T·W Racism’s original + > call to action][EndOTWRacism-CTA], or see [my own personal take on + > it](https://blog.ladys.computer/2023-05-14/end_otw_racism/). + +- I will maintain this policy *indefinitely*, until either :— + + - The demands of the End O·T·W Racism call to action have been + satisfied, or + + - Participation in a future action requires me to act differently, or + + - I am banned from A·O·3. + + Although the End O·T·W Racism action is currently only planned for + 17–31 May, with fan·authors free to set their titles back its end, I + _personally_ feel that it is better that the historical context in + which these fics were created and published _not_ be erased. I + certainly think “this fic was published during a time when the + Organization for Transformative Works was grappling, largely + unsuccessfully, with the racism of various fans who used its service” + makes for a far juicier and more interesting title than than + anything _else_ I might come up with. If the O·T·W somehow manages to + pull principled action out its arse and address these problems, + perhaps at a future date I will see that history as less relevant. + As things currently stand, its relevance is *direct* and *immediate*, + so I don’t see any reason to scrub it off once the action completes. + +**_I invite any other fan·authors who read this post to join me in +solidarity._** + +[AO3]: "Archive of Our Own" +[EndOTWRacism]: "End OTW Racism" +[EndOTWRacism-CtA]: "END OTW RACISM: A CALL TO ACTION" +[OTW]: "Organization for Transformative Works" +[OTW-Statement]: +[TWIF-149]: "This Week in Fandom: Volume 149" +]]> + [Aspirational Fannish Organizer]. +Some rights reserved. + +This blogpost is licensed under a Creative +Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. +]]> +