Unfortunately, the OTW has come under fire and Board members have responded with resignations before. Specifically, in 2015, the Board resigned after severe financial malfeasance came to light (six figures held in uninsured PayPal accounts) and after sitting Board members attempted to appoint one of their own to a new Board term rather than filling a newly vacated position with one of the runners-up candidates from that year's election.
The new Board, of whom Alex Tischer was a member, did fix the financial issues. Unfortunately, the rampant disrespect for volunteers and institutional racism did not improve - and if anything, seems to have worsened as the site gets bigger and more international fans have the nerve to think "our" includes them.
This is unacceptable.
With that in mind, as a user (not a member, but still a stakeholder), I'd like to request the following:
1. Alex Tischer should be immediately removed from the OTW as a whole, not just the Board.
2. Everyone involved with the racist censuring of Dhobi Ki Kutti should themselves be subject to a disciplinary process which permanently corrects this blatantly racist, bullying application of the CCAP.
It is ridiculous that a volunteer can be served with a disciplinary message that contains almost no specifics about the objectionable behavior but intermingles (alleged) true policy violation with insinuation and tone policing. Any disciplinary or grievance process should have a standard format and basic standards for correctness and fairness. The OTW should prioritize creating such a format - within the week, not within the next 5 years. There are templates online for this stuff!
3. Kutti should receive an apology, immediately.
4. I support Kutti's calls for an audit of the organization.
5. Tischer has a documented and externally verified history of open racism towards Chinese and Black volunteers. Every single leader within the OTW, from the (now-former) Board to chairs to old-timers who are individual contributors, should be asking themselves how Tischer thrived so long in this organization. Why was this behavior permitted to continue? Why are there other members of the OTW who say things like "play in traffic" and are not disciplined? The double standard with Kutti's discipline is obvious, but beyond that, this is a testament to the complete lack of care for volunteer safety and fair treatment. It is unacceptable and must end.
In addition to supporting Kutti's calls for an audit, I would like to invite the OTW to become a more transparent and fair organization: make your policies public. End the embargo on information-sharing within and external to the org. Implement a grievance process - not an online form, but an actual process with transparent policies and documented results - specifically for volunteers of color. Empower volunteers of color to be decision-makers within the org. End the ridiculous process by which chairs hold massive amounts of power in the org but consider themselves unanswerable to the Board. (The latter also contradicts your bylaws - not great!)
6. The OTW has thus far not addressed claims by current and former volunteers that the org is noncompliant with CSAM reporting standards. I asked, at the last Board meeting, about a specific detail attested to by Legal, which is "relevant to [their] analysis" (they stated AO3 doesn't host images beyond icons; this is factually incorrect). I was told that Legal had not provided inaccurate information. There is an urgent need to address PAC's lack of training in handling CSAM and Legal's negligence and professional misconduct in misinforming the organization regarding their responsibilities and appropriate processes.
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The OTW was recently DDOS'd because, as a top-100 website, it enjoys a high level of visibility in the United States, where its nonprofit is incorporated. The more visible the org is, the more scrutiny it's likely to experience - from parents wondering what Little Jimmy's reading, to regulators wondering why AO3 lets Little Jimmy read it. It is appalling that the OTW is leaving its volunteers open to legal trouble because OTW leadership can't be bothered to ensure volunteers dealing with illegal material are actually trained and supported in their work. It is appalling that the OTW is leaving itself open for liability claims with blatant negligence towards volunteers. It is appalling that the OTW has to be cajoled, begged, bullied, and bothered to issue even a crumb of grudging anti-racist lip service - and it is appalling that the OTW has failed, for its entire history, to make the org a safer place for fans of color.
Additionally, they need to properly address the Tiffany G. situation. I say this not as a stakeholder but as a vote-eligible member, but the fact it took a year to remotely address Tiffany G.'s horrific treatment is unacceptable. Worse, they didn't even acknowledge her by name - only as an offhand reference in their defense of Aubrey R. Tiffany G. continues to be harassed for the crime of running for the board, and this sustained harassment should be compensated and properly addressed.
Agreed. I spoke strongly on Tumblr about why I didn’t want her on the Board (her platform was riddled with anti talking points and also I was concerned about the fact she didn’t seem to know basic fandom terminology—if you’re in a high ranking position in the OTW you really need that), but some people took to attacking her directly or being super-Sinophobic.
I’d suggest the voting process also needs to provide some cultural context when we have international members running for positions (as we should). It occurred to me later that what a lot of us in Western fandom took as vagueness and thus dishonesty or lack of a true position is actually Chinese politeness. She was trying to show respect and it was completely misread because of culture clash. Someone should have told her beforehand that Western fandom will appreciate directness even to the point of bluntness—that most of us would rather hear “the process for PAC to handle CSAM is absolutely fucked” than “I understand there is some concern about certain issues”—and noted on posts that due to the presence of international candidates, voters are reminded that different cultural norms and expectations will be present. It’s an unfortunate but true fact (and I say this as an American) that Americans tend to forget our way of being isn’t the default everywhere.
I feel like that's putting a lot of blame on her and expecting her to conform to Western ways. The problem is the people who lashed out weren't culturally literate and accused her of being an agent for the CCP - which is just deeply racist. I'm sure she's familiar with fandom terminology, just language from fandom she's in which in all likelihood are predominantly Chinese-speaking. Yeah, she obviously needs to communicate with the other volunteers who do speak English, but it's also on the Organization to take her background and the backgrounds of the Chinese volunteers they endangered into account. There's a very large base of Chinese fans on this platform that do not engage with Western fans and it's important to have people that reflect them and are knowledgeable in this regard. To expect someone like Tiffany or even Zixin to conform solely to Western fandom language while no one does the work to understand them on their level is beyond hypocritical and deeply insensitive. So yes, there ought to be context. But context in a way that doesn't compromise someone like Tiffany or Zixin and how they engage with the board from their perspectives in CN fandoms.
Also what anti beliefs? That word has so little meaning because it's often just used for "views I don't like", and is thrown around like how conservatives use woke, or something like tenderqueer. Tiffany had a fairly tepid platform and the backlash was severely overblown in good part because she's Chinese. I guarantee that if she had been white, none of her stances would have been read as "dangerous anti talking points" and we wouldn't be here talking about her continued harassment campaign that OTW has done nothing to stop or slow down.
Comment on Resignation of OTW Directors
impertinence Thu 27 Jul 2023 11:52PM UTC
Last Edited Thu 27 Jul 2023 11:59PM UTC
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Lielac Fri 28 Jul 2023 12:13AM UTC
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Enya - End OTW Racism (SHIVASDARKNIGHT) Fri 28 Jul 2023 12:18AM UTC
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DumpsterPhoenix (verhalen) Fri 28 Jul 2023 12:43AM UTC
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Lady_Ganesh Fri 28 Jul 2023 01:19AM UTC
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Prismatic Bell (PrismaticBell) Sat 29 Jul 2023 04:32AM UTC
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iamthelowercase Sat 29 Jul 2023 04:02PM UTC
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Enya - End OTW Racism (SHIVASDARKNIGHT) Sat 29 Jul 2023 07:26PM UTC
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