so this is how a fannish headache starts

You know, my job kicked into high gear (and gmail is batshitting in weird themes and losing things at a terrifying pace), but I resent that so much less than I do the fact I apparently completely skimmed over (by that I mean, missed by a mile) OTW election wank.

It's almost like the classic coming of age story. Except there are too many initials and no porn--by a classic coming of age story, I mean, a fannish one, with smut.

There's election wank. I don't even know what to do with that. I mean, besides read it.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

True, but interestingly enough, not one that everyone can agree with.

After looking at bookshop's post linked to above - which raises similar points to blueraccoon's to which I initially replied here http://blueraccoon.dreamwidth.org/972166.html?thread=4460934#cmt4460934 - I can only say that leaving aside personality issues, I agree with Naomi's priorities for OTW and AO3 and will vote for her.

And I am stunned at the negativity of this debate, which is another reason why I will vote to help Naomi and Francesca keep control of the OTW because they are both rational, level-headed and open to compromise, qualities which are far too rare in our circles (fandom, I mean) and crucial to the successful continuation of OTW.

[seperis]

I'm kind of stunnd at the--outright personal attacks on Naomi and Francesca. OTW election politics really shouldn't approach this kind of vitriol and grudgematching.

[(Anonymous)]

Agreed. But it also seems that a lot of people who - for whatever reason have taken the opportunity to speak now, rather than at another time - have a pretty consistent message about working with/for them being a rough go. When that many people say the same thing about one consistent issue, it at least bears looking at. I suspect letting really normal workplace issues simmer for however long (years?) just made everything worse.

One of the real questions at stake is whether the projects would be able to continue without a founder at the helm. I think they would, but not everyone agrees. Second to that is whether anyone who works really hard on a project, or starts it, "deserves" to be in charge, which is a term I've seen lobbed around in the wank. I think yes and no, personally, but again obviously not everyone agrees.

[(Anonymous)]

Exactly: fandom and its pettiness can be demoralizing at times until I remember that it is overwhelmingly composed of very nice people, even if a few are misinformed, misguided or far too naive to live.

Or, horror of horrors, just happen to be wrong... :D

On a different topic, I have also ordered a Kindle Fire (it should arrive the 21st!)

Argh.

[(Anonymous)]

That's the level of respect Naomi has for non-coders in private; we're just normally too polite to say so publicly. (And before you start in on a personal testimonial, I consider Naomi a friend, though not a close one, and I've seen how badly she treats staff outside of a one-on-one tech mentoring situation. She's polite about it, but it's still not something I want back on the board this year.)

[seperis]

I also don't claim her as a close friend, but I have never had that experience with her and I don't trash her anonymously. We really don't have much in common, do we?

[(Anonymous)]

Original anon here, not the one above nor the anon who replied to you first: yes, this is weird, but I actually feel slightly better after re-reading bookshop's post and as well as generaljinjur's resignation post.

I am gratified and reassured to see that the aggressiveness and personal accusations I saw are few and far between and do not seem to be very representative of all the posts floating about this topic, but only the result of a few uninformed and excitable people...

I am both very grateful to all the OTW volunteers and sorry for every volunteer who is stressed, burned out or who feels his/her contribution is at an end, but besides agreeing that one sometimes needs to take a step back to preserve their own sanity, I must say that it strikes me as a fairly normal phenomenon, especially after 4 years: it happens to all of us and is something that most people usually deal with by changing fandoms. Obviously in the case of OTW, that escape route is just not available, which naturally leads to burnout as one tries to keep going past the reasonable limit.

Having said all that, as an international fan who did notice the special characters issues of AO3 and does indeed disagree with some of the directions taken by archive, I will nevertheless vote for NN because I strongly believe in individual responsibility and the need for strong leadership in massive undertakings like OTW.

For instance, my native language may not be English, but I do not feel that bringing non-Western languages and fandoms to the archive is a high priority, political correctness notwithstanding: it is a valid goal indeed. For the long term.

But an urgent target, justifying losing a strong, visionary leader who understands that Rome cannot be built in a day and knows that priorities need to be assigned and held to in order to succeed? No.

I certainly would not be interested in reading fanfiction in my own language, nor do I fancy seeing all international archives being gobbled up by AO3 right this second, nor do I think that OTW should make it a priority to provide access to adult fanfiction in some of the most restrictive countries.

This is what is comes down to, really: I understand the concerns raised, I just do not agree with their conclusion, ie, that NN should be voted out.

On the contrary: the only way to get somewhere is with consistency - even if one disagrees with minor details, that is what working in a team means. Sometimes you end up doing something other than you would do if it was your own decision.

And the few personal attacks I see -which are indeed in the extreme minority- are only leaving me disgusted. And I hate how hurtful the whole mess must be for NN.

[(Anonymous)]

Non-Western fandom doesn't refer to fanfics written in another language, though. (That seems to be a mistake a lot of people are making.) It refers English-language fandom based on non-Western canon sources, like Japanese manga or Korean TV dramas. There are literally thousands of western fans interested in these fandoms, and the fact that they feel excluded/marginalized by the OTW is alarming.

[icarus]

Are there outright personal attacks? bookshop's post doesn't seem to be. generaljinjur and lim's resignations aren't personal either. Checking out blueraccoon's post now....

[icarus]

No, blueraccoon's post doesn't seem personal either. At worst, Naomi is a symbol of the internal culture at OTW perhaps... but it all seems to be substantive, related to the issues of the election, or personal experiences of people volunteering at OTW.