briar_pipe
Ok, looks like we’ve got a good group. I’ll get us started.
Hi everyone, and welcome to our candidate chats! My name is briar_pipe and I’m a member of the Elections Committee. I’ll be hosting today.
This is the first in a series of five 90-minute-long chats with our Board candidates – the candidates present today are Atiya Hakeem, Katarina Harju, and Matty Bowers. The purpose of these chats is to see how candidates interact, both with each other and the public, and to give OTW volunteers and members a chance to ask questions not already covered in their manifestos, bios, and Q&A, as well as to ask individual questions of specific candidates. Transcripts of this chat will be posted publicly on our website.
We welcome all questions, subject to the following restrictions:
- Raise your hand to speak, like this: o/. You will be called on when it is your turn to speak. Use /done when you’re finished asking your question.
- Specify who your question is for, or if it’s for all candidates.
- Refer to everyone in the room by the name given in the sidebar for them. Don’t use other names you may know them by.
- Please keep questions reasonable and polite (these are our expectations:
https://elections.transformativeworks.org/node/534 ). - Make sure your question is not a repeat of one already answered in the manifestos ( http://transformativeworks.org/news/board-candidate-manifestos-qa-and-chats ) or the Q&A ( http://transformativeworks.org/news/elections-2014-qa-and-chats ). If it’s a follow-up to one of those, please say so.
Any questions about the format before we start?
It sounds like no one has questions about the format, so let’s move on to questions for the candidates. Please raise your hand if you have one!
puckling
o/
Trey C
o/
briar_pipe
puckling, go ahead!
puckling
Atiya Hakeem, you mentioned in you Q&A “Third, I think it would be easy to find a company that was not in fact competent at the task, and given previous examples of Board choices of external people to pay, I’m not confident we’d be spending our money wisely.” – could you speak to how you would like to see external contractors vetted? /done
briar_pipe
Thanks for your question, puckling! We’ll give her some time to compose a response.
Atiya
Hi! First, an aside…it’s not necessarily obvious if you’re on mobile, but I got dispensation to have “Lady Oscar” in my sidebar name, so people can call me that, or “LO” to save typing.
I think it’s important that any external contractors be examined in the same way one would when hiring for any company…look at their past work, reviews of their service, references from others who have hired them.
/done
briar_pipe
Thanks, LO! puckling, do you have a follow-up, or is that enough?
puckling
Could I also ask this question of the other candidates in this chat?
briar_pipe
Sure, we can expand that. (Sorry for the wait, Trey!)
Trey C
(np!)
briar_pipe
Matty and Katarina are working on their answers.
Matty Bowers
I agree with LO. In the past when committees have had to search for external tools, we’ve researched them independently, checked with outside people who’ve used them, asked other chairs/staffes who have used them if they liked them, etc.
Matty Bowers
It’s even very important to get things right. We don’t want to waste money donated by users on tools/contractors that don’t work out. I’d rather take some time researching and get things right the first time. /done
Atiya
(agreed!)
Matty Bowers
(sorry for the typo, dog is trying to sit on my lap)
Atiya
(aww)
Katarina H.
I agree with what both LO and Matty, said, Also, I think it would be a good idea to talk about it in open board, so that people can offer suggestions. And of course talk with people in the committees that have the relevant knowledge and know what kind of skills are needed. /done
briar_pipe
Thanks, everyone!
briar_pipe
puckling, anything else before we move on to Trey?
puckling
No, I’m good, thank you all.
briar_pipe
Thanks!
Trey, what was your question?
Trey C
For all three candidates: last year, the OTW paid for a non-violent communication training course, and 16 of our volunteers took part in it. If you were aware of this, do you think this was a useful experiment for the OTW? Should we look into either non-violent communication or other communication training again?
/done
elmyra
o/
briar_pipe
Thanks, Trey! Our candidates are working on their answers.
elmyra, you’ll be next.
elmyra
thx
Atiya
I was one of the staffers who took part in the NVC training. It is an example of why I think external services should be vetted. The emphasis of the course was not compatible with our online mode of communication, I found the course instructors to be unprofessional, and the entire process was a waste of my time and the OTW’s money.
I did some further reading about NVC during the (painful) process of taking the course and discussed it with other staffers, and I don’t feel NVC would be useful to us at all, as it does not focus on actually communicating to solve problems.
I was happy to take part in an experiment, but I think any future experiments should be researched a bit first.
It’s possible that some sort of other communication training could be beneficial, but on the whole I can think of many other things that would have a more guaranteed return for our money.
/done
Matty Bowers
I wasn’t able to take part in the actual training, though from what I’ve heard it was problematic in several areas. I also wasn’t impressed with the way it was handled; I know several people finished the course, but there was no followup by Board as had been planned. The whole thing just fizzled out. All in all, it seemed to have been a complete waste of money (several thousands dollars I believe). I would be leery about trying something similar until I’d done a lot more research. /done
Katarina H.
I was aware of it at the time it was happening, but didn’t take part of it. I think it was one of those decisions that would have benefited from more discussion before a decisions was reached, and other options should have been researched. I am personally acquainted with people who do NVC training and talking about it with them, they were very surprised about trying to apply it to online communication. I’m not opposed to some kind of communication training, but we definitely need to do our research before paying anyone for it. /done
briar_pipe
Trey, do you have any follow up questions?
Trey C
nope, thanks for your answers!
and the Q&A answers 😀
/done
briar_pipe
Thanks, Trey!
elmyra, what was your question?
elmyra
Question for all. The OTW has had some bad press recently, in relation to the membership drive (both its messaging and its scheduling in relation to the election), the withdrawal of Nikisha Sanders from the election, as well as our lack of budget and financial oversight. Most candidates have spoken in various places about fixing some of the underlying issues, but could you tell us a bit about what else you think needs to be done to address the image/credibility questions that are being raised and how you would go about it? /done
briar_pipe
Thanks, elmyra! The candidates are typing their answers.
Atiya
I think that there’s no quick fix to undo that sort of damage. I hope that the fact that many of the current candidates make it clear that we are aware of the problem will help. However, we mainly need to simply go forward from here with transparency and ethical behavior and sound fiscal management and work to put systems in place to keep things that way.
I think that among those systems need to be changes to the bylaws to put in checks and balances on the ability of Board to unilaterally take unfortunate actions.
/done
Nerine Luna C.
o/
briar_pipe
Nerine, you’ll be next once elmyra’s question is finished.
james_
o/
Katarina H.
I think it’s important to make the board’s work more open, to tell people about what the board is doing and why they’re doing it. We should try to have more open board sessions, we should have more updates in the newsletter and so on. There really isn’t an easy solution, but doing things right (whether it be finances or anything else) and being open about what we’re doing should go some ways into fixing our image./done
Matty Bowers
I agree with LO and Katarina. I do think many of the problems could have been avoided if certain issues/situations had been dealt with promptly. For instance, it was obvious for quite awhile that we needed to handle our finances better, but nothing was done about it. Requests for budgets were ignored, a bill not being paid was overlooked, etc. In the future think we need to be more proactive about situations and deal with them promptly, not ignore them and hope they don’t get any worse. /done
briar_pipe
elmyra, do you have any follow-ups?
elmyra
i don’t. thanks to the candidates for their answers (and for standing in the first place!)
/done
briar_pipe
Thanks, elmyra!
Nerine, you’re next, then james.
Nerine Luna C.
This one’s for everyone: During this last drive, we saw people getting upset about our (perceived) lack of diversity, mainly surrounding the Fandom is Ageless post, which showed Western-centric and Movie/TV-Show-centric stories. I’m assuming all of us here are hoping to make the Org more diverse, and to show a more diverse picture to our members (and non-members). Who do you believe should be responsible for trying to make sure a situation like this does not happen again, and do you have any ideas on how to do this?
briar_pipe
Thanks, Nerine! The candidates are typing.
Atiya
I think that the OTW is in fact already extremely diverse! One thing that would help with the problem would be to take advantage of the resource of our diverse staff and volunteer pool by sharing ideas and getting feedback before things go public.
Nerine Luna C.
(Just a clarification. I don’t think we’re not diverse at the moment! My questions is mainly about how such a (perceived? possible?) slip-up like that Western-centric post will not happen again.)
briar_pipe
Thanks for clarifying, Nerine!
Atiya
oop, /done
Matty Bowers
I know most committees strive to avoid just this happening, any such issues are addressed while being betad and comments from other committees are encouraged. In this particular case, I believe the stories were based on comments sent in by staffers (the only ones that had access to that post); I think they used all the ones that were sent in. In the future, for this type of post I would suggest committees contact a wider range of participants, for instance, we have several hundred volunteers who may have happily sent in a more diverse set of stories. /done
Katarina H.
I know the Fandom is Ageless post was personal stories that were submitted to Development and Membership, and that there wasn’t a lot of stories submitted and therefore not much to choose from. I think it would have helped to make that clear in the post. I don’t think any of our volunteer pools (like Translation or Tag Wrangling) were contacted about submitting stories, that could have netted more stories in different fandoms. But in general I think it’s everyone’s responsibility to make sure that we are as diverse as we can be, and if anyone sees an issue with a post like this they should be encouraged to comment on it as early as possible. /done
moth
o/
briar_pipe
Nerine, do you have any follow-ups for anyone?
Nerine Luna C.
No, that’s answer enough, thank you.
briar_pipe
Thanks!
james, you’re next, then it will be Moth’s turn.
james_
This election will be contested which is unusual, what can be done to make that more common in the future. ( As an aside we have some excellent candidates this year, can I please ask the candidates that don’t get one of the two seats that they stand for the next election ).
Nerine Luna C.
(+1 for that last part)
briar_pipe
james, this question is very similar to one that was asked in the Q&A, so the candidates may choose to link to their answers or paste them in, rather than creating new answers.
To save time.
james_
ok
( I have read all the answers that and I am impressed that almost all the candidates mananged to answer them all )
briar_pipe
(It was very impressive!)
Matty Bowers
In the past, committees could not afford to lose staff to Board. Now, many of the OTW committees are thriving and losing, or sharing, key personnel will not negatively impact the committees. This means it’s time to turn our attention to Board. As both volunteers and members are aware, the OTW is facing numerous issues which should have been dealt with long ago. It’s past time for these concerns to be addressed so can we get the organization back on track. /done
Katarina H.
I believe we are all aware that it will not always be easy to change things, but if we can successfully implement clear policies for the Board, achieve more transparency, and in general change the Board’s culture for the better, then I think there would be more people willing to step up as candidates in the following elections as well./done
Atiya
(Summarizing from my Q&A answer.) I think we can get more candidates if we have: 1) A Board that works transparently and has a well defined job description, so candidates know what they’re getting into. 2) A Board that has been in the trenches doing committee work, so new people may have worked with them and can relate to them, and 3) A Board who are approachable, so candidates will have gotten to know them. /done
james_
Thank oyu
briar_pipe
Thanks, james! Any follow-ups?
james_
No thanks 🙂
But thanks for standing
briar_pipe
Alrighty, I think Moth was next?
moth
The org by its very nature has staff, volunteers and users scattered across different time zones, languages and cultures and we have just agreed it is already a diverse entity. What problems do you think this diversity can cause (especially but not solely for Board) and how would you address these to ensure smooth running both of the org’s day to day life and the achievement of its overall aims? I would welcome specific examples of problems and solutions from your experiences in the committees you belong and have belonged to. (We have alredy mentioned the Fandom is Ageless post.)/done
Atiya
I think that a lot can be done by listening. Hear where everyone is coming from and be _aware_ that this type of issue can exist and watchful for when one may be overriding others’ needs or stepping on toes. Maintaining professional communication habits (be polite, don’t assume what people meant, etc.) can also help stay focused on the work to be done rather than potential personal conflict.
Logistical issues such as time zones are another thing that need to be taken into consideration. Ideally, meeting times will be compromises that are never consistently bad for one particular set of people. If this isn’t possible for a particular committee, offline meetings (such as Support’s Basecamp meetings) are one solution, as is focusing discussions on mailing lists.
Awareness of language difference issues and how they may affect the ability of all committee members to interact is another important thing./done
Katarina H.
Well in Translation we do have people from a lot of different places. I’m not sure I can think of specific examples right now, but we’ve definitely found out that people can see the same issue from totally different points of view, which can be because of culture differences or personality differences. It’s important to remember that such differences exist, to listen to people when they bring up issues and never assume that you know why someone feels or thinks like they do. Try to be polite and professional and listen to people, basically. /done
Matty Bowers
On a practical level, the only real drawback I’ve run into is trying to plan chat meetings. Timezones are evil! I’ve solved that by trying out alternatives such as email “meetings” and having weekend chat parties. This way no one is left out or inconvenienced.
In other situations, too often in the past org staffers/volunteers have been asked for their opinions then had to watch them be completely ignored or dismissed. I’ve always found that effective communicating means both speaking AND listening. I value input from all our staffers and volunteers and hope they know I’m always going to be listening to them. /done
moth
Thank you. No follow-up questions but I would also like to thank all the candidates for standing for election.
briar_pipe
Thanks, guys! Moth, do you have any follow-ups?
Thanks, Moth!
moth
Thanks, no – /done
briar_pipe
Since we have no more questions, I plan to turn this chat over to the candidates to talk about topics of their choosing.
C. Ryan Smith
o/
briar_pipe
Hopefully they can be more casual in this context.
C. Ryan Smith
(Is it too late to ask a quick question? /o\)
briar_pipe
Ah, sorry Ryan, sure!
C. Ryan Smith
(Sorry, I thought there would be a last call for questions or something. ^^; Anyway…)
In the past, I’ve heard of other volunteers/staff/committees expressing dissatisfaction with our current fundraising model (not as related to budget woes or “pulling a target figure out of thin air”). The lead-up to fund drives currently is a huge effort that often times spans committees and into Board. What would you like to see from future fund raising efforts (including but not limited to, fund drives)? /done
briar_pipe
(I should have done!)
Priscilla D.
o/
Atiya
I’d like to see fund drives become simpler…_give people the budget numbers_, thus having a good target figure and letting them know what we need money for, then ask for the money. And, of course, be prepared to listen to feedback people may have on the numbers. /done
Katarina H.
I know how much work gets put into drive planning from Translation’s side, I can only guess at the time DevMem puts into it. Personally I would like the fund drive to focus more on talking about what we’re actually going to do with the money and why we need it, with concrete numbers. /done
Nerine Luna C.
(o/ quick follow up for LO – scratch that, probably all three)
Atiya
Oh, that’s kind of disturbing ^^;
Nerine Luna C.
xD
briar_pipe
Nerine, go ahead and post your follow-up while Matty is working, if you can?
Then we’ll go to Priscilla after this.
Matty Bowers
My main concerns do concern the budget, or lack of one. As someone who has had tools shut off due to non-payment (several times), I am very concerned about how our money has been handled in the past, and I do worry about what could happen if future drives are unsuccessful. I’m very excited about some of the things I’m hearing being planned (not sure if they are public yet) and hope that as an organization we can make drives be as successful as possible. I don’t have any other concrete suggestions at the moment, but hope that by discussing and listening to feedback we can ensure we keep doing well. /done
Nerine Luna C.
Okay. I was wondering, do you mean you would be interested in doing away with the current ‘theme’ of choosing a theme for the drive and posting something related to that theme every day?
(So, for LO and Katarina, it seems)
briar_pipe
Ryan, do you have any follow-ups yourself?
Atiya
It seems like a great deal of effort for DevMem, Translation, and other committees who participate in writing posts. I think from the feedback I’ve been seeing, donors would be happier with that effort being channeled into making budgets and plans available.
C. Ryan Smith
Not really, I should have been more specific as to the intent of my question. I won’t hog the question time. 🙂
Atiya
The more creative approaches could be used at other times, for non-fundraising purposes. /done
briar_pipe
Ryan, it’s fine! If you want to clarify, feel free.
Matty Bowers
I think that’s really up to Devmem; it’s not really a Board decision. I would encourage staffers/volunteers to contact Devmem if they have issues about something like that. On a personal level, I have no problem with a well-executed theme. /done
Atiya
(yes, definitely up to DevMem)
Katarina H.
Yes, I find that trying to fit everything into a theme can end up with problems like the Fandom is Ageless post. On a personal note, this style of fundraising is very strange to me, I’m not used to seeing fundraising like this where I come from, and my answers on the topic are coloured by that. /done
briar_pipe
Thanks, guys!
C. Ryan Smith
Okay, clarification: I was talking more specifically about fund raising strategy in that, we change the scheme drastically (eg: doing a model similar to Wikipedia, doing away with fund drives unless in times of need, etc). Would you see anything else done in that aspect? /done
briar_pipe
Thank, Ryan! The candidates are typing!
Folks, we’re going to go over by a couple of minutes. My apologies.
We’ll make sure they get asked in a future chat, at the beginning.
If you’re unable to attend that chat, the answers will appear in a transcript of the chat on the site.
Matty Bowers
I would want Devmem’s input on any major decisions like that – they’d be the ones responsible for carrying out such a plan. As long as they and any other involved committees (Translations/Comms/etc) think it’s doable and would work better, I’m all for exploring those other options. /done
Atiya
I think it’s something that should be considered only after gathering feedback widely, from our donors as well as from within the Org. /done
Katarina H.
I think it’s a good idea to consider alternatives, but yes, it is a big decision and I wouldn’t want to make any concrete decisions before having input from everyone involved and having a clear budget to base our fundraising goals on. /done
briar_pipe
Thanks, Ryan and Nerine! Last question goes to Priscilla.
Priscilla D.
No questions—I just wanted to give a huge thank-you and major kudos to Elections for doing a brilliant job putting all this together and coordinating the Q&As and the candidate chats. Thank you all for your hard work
Carli A.
<3
briar_pipe
Thanks, Priscilla! <3
mumble
seconded very much! /done
Matty Bowers
Yes, Elections has been amazing. Thank you all for your hard work!
Trey C
seconding Priscilla
briar_pipe
^_____^
Aline C.
seconded!
hele
thirding or fourthing!
Ridicully
You really have been!
Thirded or fithed or whatever xD
Katarina H.
Echoing everyone here 😀
Atiya
As a candidate, I really appreciate all Elections has done! 😀
Qem
Fifthing!
moth
Me too.
ubicaritas
To you all…well done!
Nerine Luna C.
A big thank you to all of you, especially since I don’t think any of you could have predicted the number of people who went up for election, and the amount of extra work that probably brought ^.^
briar_pipe
Aw, thanks guys.
We’re very happy about the numbers, though.
Ok, the candidates have said they’re able to hang around and chat casually with y’all for a little bit, if anyone’s interested.
I’m going to call the chat officially done.