[Note: There will be 2 Q&A posts total, covering all the topics brought up during the user-submitted Q&A period. Candidates were limited to 300 words per answer.]
Some candidates mentioned internationalisation in their platforms. Where do you see the OTW at in this regard, in particular when it comes to current challenges and roadblocks?
While we are making progress toward internationalization, there is still much work to be done. Several technological roadblocks from the initial development of the archive are slowing down our progress, but we are gradually implementing changes as we update code and new technologies become available that will enable the AO3 user interface to be translated as we update code and new technologies become available.
To assist non-English readers in navigating the current user interface, we could create native language guides to add context and clarification that may be missed using an in-browser translator.
Additionally, increasing our multi-language posts on various social media platforms, specifically non-English spaces, would help us reach and engage a broader audience.
The OTW has come under fire recently for not doing enough to protect fans, especially nonwhite fans from racism. How would you address this issue and how would you balance not policing darkfic creators with not allowing thinly-veiled harassment, or singling out people of color/their allies unfairly?
To effectively address reports of harassment as methods evolve, I believe it is essential to regularly review and update the Terms of Service (TOS) to allow our Policy and Abuse team to take action. I would like to ensure we prioritize the ongoing work reviewing the TOS to get much needed updates in place, as well as commit to future review timelines.
While there are third-party browser scripts available that provide additional mechanisms to filter out unwanted content, incorporating this functionality natively may not be feasible. I think we could do more to raise awareness about these tools as viable options, and possibly direct users to resources providing information on building or customizing scripts.
What would you like to see the OTW do going forward to protect fans and volunteers from parts of the world under peril (e.g., Congo, Palestine, Sudan)?
While protecting fans and volunteers from world events falls outside of the OTW’s mandate, I feel that providing fans and volunteers spaces where they are able to enjoy fan works and communicate with each other in a respectful manner is something the OTW can strive to do. The work we are doing to update the TOS will assist in this.
We need to ensure that there are policies in place to mitigate harassment and assist fans in curating a positive experience on our sites regardless of their nationality, religious or political views.
With the looming risk of Project 2025, what are your proposals to protect writers’ freedom of expression?
Well, first I would like to say I would like to live in a world where Project 2025 did not exist and was not something to be concerned about. As someone who is not a citizen of the United States, internal policies such as what is proposed in Project 2025 would not directly affect me.
As with any proposed changes in legislation that would affect creators and fans, we need to ensure that the Legal team has the tools and resources they need to work against increases in censorship and ensure continued right to freedom of expression in all forms.
Censorship law is on the rise in the US. Do you have a strategy to mobilize the legal team to try and prevent it from impacting Ao3’s usability?
I feel the best way for the Board to support the Legal team is provide the support that they request. I do not have a legal background and would not want to make assumptions on what the Legal team needs in terms of assistance.
In a broader sense, ensuring that there is a coordinated effort to highlight proposed legislation in news posts and OTW News by Email so that fans are also aware of what action they can take to combat increased censorship proposals.
I also believe that fans everywhere who are concerned about censorship should try to get informed on their local policies and ensure they are voting for candidates that will support combating increased censorship laws.
what are your opinions on censorship, specifically limiting what kind of works creators can share (loli/shota, noncon, studentxteacher, incest, beastiality, etc)
I do not believe in censorship and stand behind the OTW’s policy of not limiting the content of fictional works which are allowed.
I believe creators should be free to create any fictional content that they want, but that creators also have a responsibility to properly tag that content so that fans can make informed decisions on what they view.
The OTW was founded in part to allow a safe space for content which was not allowed or actively being removed from other sites, I want to ensure we continue to provide that space for all creators.
What will you do to protect fanworks from being stolen by AI content farms for profit on YouTube, etc?
From a technological standpoint, there is only so much we can do to prevent the scraping of our sites, as we rely on bots adhering to the rules set in our robots.txt file. Implementing more stringent controls could inadvertently restrict legitimate user traffic that appears as bots.
I support our Legal team in advocating for legislation that offers broader protections for content creators, ensuring they are not left to individually request content removal.
otwarchive and AO3 have been in beta since 2008. The AO3 roadmap was last updated in 2013. Version 0.9.0 was released in 2012. What is your position on exiting beta in terms of organizational will, timeline, and operational improvements required to reach 1.0?
The roadmap is in need of review and updating, there have been many changes in technology and policy which may mean that some planned features are no longer feasible. I believe from an organizational stand point, we need to be in a more stable position internally before reaching version 1.0. Working in conjunction with the Strategic Plan, specifically items related to Internal sustainability (Succession Planning and Retention), I believe we should work to solidify a product Roadmap highlighting the features that are needed to reach 1.0, as well as a reasonable time frame to reach that goal.
Any candidate here who will try to implement a statistical breakdown of views/kudos/comments on chapter per chapter basis like the “other” site? I feel like that would complete this site. Also, it would allow authors to better understand their strengths and weaknesses. That will be so cool 🙂
I would also love to have more statistics, but I am concerned about the potential strain on the servers. Any additional statistical information should be carefully weighed against the potential performance impact of viewing those stats. I would love to start investigating what can be provided, perhaps not in real-time but up to a specific date, or possibly as an offline or emailed report. This approach could allow the data to be processed without negatively impacting performance.